The preparation was finished.
Lisa smiled proudly at the way her studio was decorated.
Normally, books were piled up close to the brink of collapse, and there were traces of devoured sweets or an empty bottle of milk that had been abandoned here and there. Such garbage only disappeared once a week, probably because her brother or someone had sent somebody to clean it up after her.
When she came to the studio to clean today, she discovered that the inside was already clean, so instead, Lisa put pink scented candles everywhere. It was a scented candle ‘for lovers’ that she had bought after seeing an advertisement which said it had a sweet yet melting scent.
One low-alcohol champagne and one terrifying red wine that was so strong that you might not even be able to drink a single glass. She also bought four crystal glasses on the way home.
The bed in the studio was already very soft and clean, so she didn’t need to change much, but she did need one more pillow as two people might be sleeping together later.
‘Phew, all that’s left is for him to come. He will come, won’t he?’
Maybe the note was sent as a joke. If so, Lisa would drink all the alcohol she had just prepared and go to bed alone, or she would call Jungkook, pour out all her upset feelings to him, and cry.
But she didn’t like either option, so she could only hope that he would come.
In fact, all the men she would interact or have conversations with were chosen since she was born. Her father, brothers, and Jungkook. Other than that, there were no other men in her life. Even the employees around her were either old like a grandfather, or women. Where the young men worked, she was never able to see them in the first place.
After she made her debut in the social world, she would wonder if she could talk to noble men of her age, but there seemed to be some problems with that.
To her surprise, noblemen shunned her. They seemed to be having a very interesting conversation, but when she approached them, they kept their mouths shut and shivered and did not try to avoid or even make eye contact.
Of course, even during the dance time, her partners were only her brothers or Jungkook. Sometimes her father.
No matter how much she wanted to approach them, she didn’t have the knack for talking to noblemen who avoided her.
So Lisa was curious. What about the men out here in the city?
What about the commoner men who are not under the influence of her father, who is the country’s military minister? Could it be that a fateful love is waiting for her somewhere?
If someone cursed at her for being young, Lisa would answer ‘yes’
What’s wrong with dreaming? What’s wrong with anticipating fate? In an era when romance could suddenly disappear, Lisa just wanted to keep that feeling and mindset.
It didn’t mean she expected a prince.
“Oh, it smells good.”
When the pink incense candles were lit one by one, a sweet smell began to permeate the studio. ‘Should I have a drink first or not?’ Lisa wondered and worried. Then the sound of heavy footsteps entered Lisa’s ears. It was the sound of shoes hitting the marble slab right in front of the door of the house.
‘He’s here!’
It felt like her heart was pounding and falling. Still, Lisa barely managed to not scream and walked over to her front door. Then there was the sound of two brief knocks on her door, and someone opened her mouth.
“I am looking for a rabbit.”
“Oh, my goodness! Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you!”
Was it okay for her to be so happy like this? Or maybe she should be calm. No matter, it would be okay.
Lisa didn’t really know what it was like to be shy, and how to act like it. It was just nice to meet this man, and it would be good if she likes him!
When she opened the door wide, there was a very tall man standing there. He was wearing a half-mask in the shape of a black tiger on his face and a stylish suit tailored in the latest fashion trend. The handkerchief in his jacket pocket was red. His waist was not bent at all, and his shoulders were also quite straight. At first glance, he looked like a nobleman, not a commoner.
“Nice to meet you, Young Lady.”
As Lisa reached out her hand, he took it naturally and kissed the back of her hand. Though it was a brief kiss, her heart felt like it was pounding loudly. Probably because she liked this man at first sight.
What kind of person are you? Why did you contact me? And this flower… What else?
Lisa inadvertently accepted the bouquet of flowers offered to her. Three lilies were placed in the middle of white mist flowers. Tied up together with a purple ribbon, it was very elegant.
“A gift.”
“Thank you for bringing these flowers! It would look good next to the champagne I prepared.”
With the half-mask covering his face from view, she couldn’t see his expression. However, it seemed he was happy too. A man in such a nice outfit, crazy! Lisa was so excited that she rushed to the living room first.
“Oh, please do come in!”
When she had remembered that she hadn’t given him permission to enter, she hollered back, then he finally stepped into the house. It was obvious at a glance that he was polite and well mannered.
“Hello, what’s your name? My name is Lisa Bruschweiler.”
“My name is Jk.”
“Jk! Jk, Jk. I will memorize it well. Thank you for coming, Jk.”
Lisa brightly smiled and hugged the bouquet tightly in her arms without noticing that Jk’s shoulders twitched slightly.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a relief, I only brought alcohol without any accompanying snacks. There are some fruits though.”
Lisa casually sat on the lavender sofa and picked up a bottle. She meant to pull out the cork in one move.
As soon as she bravely reached for the cork of the champagne, Jk stopped her.
“I’ll do it.”
“Oh, y-you will?”
“Of course you can open it yourself, but why don’t you give me a chance to pour it for you?”
A gentle yet friendly tone. Never forceful and at the same time polite. Even when compared to the nobles, his actions and attitudes were not considered tacky at all.
‘Are you a nobleman?!’
But nobles don’t read romance advertisements in a newspaper like BrokeDown. It was also considered obscene and vulgar to them. So, she thought that she would never have such a relationship with a noble, so she was surprised to see such an aristocratic man appear.
“Are you good at drinking?”
“Oh, no. I’m not that strong. Compared to my father and brothers…”
“You have a large family.”
“I’ve never heard such a witty answer!”
Every word he uttered was funny and it made her laugh. Lisa shared a drink with the man. She couldn’t wait to find out every detail about this man. From the shape of his fingers that stretched out to the joints of his strong hands, there was nothing she didn’t like about him.
With her eyes twinkling like stars, she wondered if they had talked for a while. Lisa opened her eyes wide when she heard some unexpected words and asked.
“You say we can only meet at night?”
“That’s right.”
“Why? Are you very busy during the day?”
“I have to work.”
“Oh…”
‘I see!’
Lisa blamed her insensitivity. Among the nobles, there were many people who played and ate without doing anything at all because they did not have an honorable job, such as a knight, working at the imperial palace, or a research job. If she was the lord of the estate, she would be extremely busy as well, but other than that, there were a lot of nobles who didn’t really do anything all day.
But all common people work. There was no family that could protect them for the rest of their lives and guarantee their status, so they had to work to eat.
It came out because she had forgotten about such contrasts between them, and Lisa’s question, ‘Are you very busy during the day?’ was disrespectful.
“Sorry. I won’t complain about it; I’ll see you at night.”
“Is that all right?”
“Of course. I’m a writer. I often work alone at night, so it’s not that difficult to come here.”
Of course, her brothers were very worried. They were still worried. But it’s hard to concentrate at home. When she first saw this house, she fell in love with it.
“I see. It would have been a shame if it was hard for us to meet.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes.”
‘Oh my! His hand touched my back!’
Currently, they were sitting together on a long sofa. There was a space enough for one person to fit in the middle, but he casually reached out and made physical contact.
Lisa’s heart dropped, and she quickly pretended to be calm. She felt as if her face was flushed in front of him; she quickly tried to take a deep breath to try to return it to normal.
Honestly, it didn’t work.
“Ah!”
The fingers that had hovered near her shoulder slid down her arm, then grabbed her defenseless hand that had been left on her thigh.
“Lisa.”
“Y-yes, yes!”
“Don’t be so surprised. Do you think I’m doing something bad?”
Jk’s voice made her smile. A sweet yet heavy adult male voice. She was, of course, an adult but not really experienced being an adult yet. Jk was an adult, so he could just do things like holding her hand and… something else……!
“Have you ever dated anyone before?”
“Ah, no.”
“It’s amazing. How can such an attractive person be alone?”
Such sweet words made her head spin. The eyes behind the mask were warm and playful. Where had she seen eyes like that before? She thought there was, but she couldn’t remember. And besides, there was no way he was a commoner.
Jk never once said that he was a commoner, but Lisa already decided so.
“The hair under your ears is cute, and the shape of your eyebrows is pretty… Your eyes shine like jewels. Is it true that no one has ever said you are pretty?”
“I am embarrassed. Though my brothers say I’m pretty… It’s the first time I’ve heard of it from a man.”
“All right. Then I will have to tell you that you are very pretty often in the future.”
‘In the future!’
‘Does that mean that we will continue to meet in the future? He must be saying he likes me too?’
Even though she hasn’t drank a sip of the strong alcohol yet, her whole body shook as if her blood kept rising. When she looked into Jk’s eyes, it felt like the insides of her thighs were about to instinctively press against each other, and when she listened to his voice, it was painful to imagine what this man would be like in bed.
She was afraid that he would be able to see what she was thinking. She wanted to open up his mind to see what he was thinking.
Though Jk was definitely someone she met for the first time today, it felt like they had known each other for a strangely long time.
“The wine looks very strong.”
“Oh, it surely is a strong wine. I mean… today… So the reason we met… I mean, I’m ready.”
“I see.”
Oh, he laughed.
Jk’s eyes crinkled with laughter. She felt that she was being impolite and serious, but he didn’t hate it.
“Um, the wine… Shall we drink now?”
‘He is suppose to be my sex partner. Aren’t we going to do it now?’
Lisa’s hands trembled as if she had her heart planted in the fingertips heading toward the wine bottle. She suddenly became thirsty, and she didn’t know where to look. Was it because of the sticky scent from the pink scented candle? Or was it because of Jk, who was staring at her actions as if savoring it?
He was really watching her as if she was a bunny. His gaze didn’t fall for even a single moment, so…
“Let’s wait.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s save this drink for the next time.”
“Why?”
‘I’m ready!’
Her question was filled with regret. Jk, who carefully took the bottle of wine, returned an answer.
“I only came here to see your face today. I was wondering what kind of woman you were to put out such a bold advertisement. I didn’t want you to be taken away by someone else.”
“Oh…”
“But now that I know you are such an attractive woman, I want to do everything slowly. As if we are dating, one by one.”
Oh my, she really liked him.
No matter how much experience she wanted, she had no intention of meeting more than one man, so it was a good thing.
Lisa opened her mouth without hiding her slightly flushed face.
“You mean, it’s not just a partnership, correct?”
“That is correct. But also don’t believe what a man other than me says. It could be that he is a bastard trying to use you to get ahead with the Bruschweiler family name.”
“You’re saying you are not?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re an interesting person.”
Even if another man tried to take advantage of her, her father and older brothers were not the kind of people who could easily be taken advantage of.
In any case, Lisa liked Jk’s confidence. He didn’t look intimidated. His confident voice and way of speaking, there was power in his tone.
That was the characteristic appearance of an honest person.
There was nothing in the world that he had sinned against — that was how it appeared.
‘My father always said we should look at a man’s spirit.’
First of all, in Lisa’s point of view, Jk passed. It might not be the romantic relationship she had dreamed of at the beginning, but it would be good to start with dating.
“Would you like to go out with me?”
“Yes. Let’s meet.”
“It is an honor.”
Jk ruffled her hair gently and tucked it behind her ear like he was dealing with the most precious thing in the world. Her heart pounded again at the tender touch. ‘We’ve definitely met for the first time today, so why does it feel like we’ve known each other for over ten years?’
‘I’ll have to ask Jungkook.’
Yes, the only person to discuss this with was Jungkook.
Jk took hold of her silver hair and kissed the tip of it. Though the kiss didn’t touch her cheek and didn’t steal her lips, why was her heart pounding so much? It was her first time in a relationship like this, so only questions piled up.
Lisa faintly thought as she looked at his back as he left elegantly.
‘Oh, I should’ve put up the advertisement earlier!’