"I'm not afraid to say that Jungkook is the first man I ever had a crush on."
"Oh," Lisa nodded; she wasn't surprised at all.
It was perfectly normal for others to have a crush on her husband, given how outstanding and brilliant he was.
"I lived with his family when I was 8 years old, and his parents treated me like I was their own. I'm very grateful for that time, but after I moved back with my own family, I never got to see Jungkook again. However, I haven't forgotten about that friend of mine this whole time... haha... I'm not afraid of being laughed at for saying this, but I never thought that a man like Jungkook would get married so young... I thought he would at least wait at least until he was more than thirty-years-old."
"So you've never done anything, or even confessed your feelings for him?" asked Lisa.
"No... it might be because I was over-confident. I didn't find out that you guys got married until I came back. I was quite surprised, and my parents haven't told me anything about it, perhaps they were worried that I would be upset... Jungkook's mother didn't mention this either when she called... I seem to be the only one left in the dark about this."
"So he doesn't know you like him?" Lisa looked at Tzuyu; from the way she spoke, it didn't seem like Jungkook knew about her feelings towards him.
"He doesn't know, I never told him."
"Then do you plan to tell him?" Lisa asked, word for word.
Tzuyu slightly stiffened, as if she didn't know how to respond...
"The truth is, I've never thought of this question."
Tzuyu indeed was being honest. If she said that she didn't plan on confessing, then it would be a lie, because she had had a crush on him for all these years.
If she said that she planned on confessing, then it would be a lie as well, because he was already married. If she made any moves, then she would definitely be labeled as the 'other woman'.
At that exact moment, the perfect answer was that she 'never thought about it'...
"Then did you come to find me today just out of curiosity? Just to see what I looked like?"
"I guess so... so please forgive me if I've disturbed your work."
"It's fine. It's my lunch break right now, so you're not disturbing me."
Tzuyu smiled; then, she looked at Lisa and said, "Auntie Jeon doesn't seem to like you. She told me a lot of bad things about you when I visited her yesterday. However truth be told, I don't believe her... because I don't think Jungkook is dumb enough to fall for such a disheveled woman. Jungkook's mother might be biased against you... but that's not an issue. I think you won the lottery, being able to win over Jungkook's love."
"So are you feeling a bit envious of me?"
Lisa suddenly asked...
Tzuyu nodded without hiding away. "I do envy you, with hints of jealousy, but there is no hate... I believe that God has already made the best plans for me before I even realized it."
"Miss Tzuyu, you truly are an accommodating person, and the way you speak and act are very composed as well."
Lisa noticed that Tzuyu was truly flawless in the way she spoke...
Her IQ and EQ were no less than Lisa's, if not even higher.
Tzuyu surpassed women like Yerim and Seulgi by quite a lot...
However, because of this, women like her would be terrifying if they were to become the enemy, because they were too good at their games.
"Okay, it's about time, I shouldn't waste your time anymore... Let's meet again when we get a chance." Tzuyu stood up after she spoke, but she stopped after she took a few steps forward.
She turned around with a smile on her face. "I'm truly thankful for the lunch you treated me to. The beef was very good."
After Tzuyu left, two little nurses came over and asked, "Head Nurse, was that your friend? She is so pretty... and she looks a lot like Kim MinJu."
"She isn't my friend, I don't have such gorgeous girlfriends." Lisa smiled.
She had a sense of self-awareness and would never toot her own horn...
Tzuyu was Jungkook's friend at most, so she wasn't her friend, right?
She only had two friends – Chaeyoung, and that challenging doctor, Jennie.
Just as Lisa was about to get off from work in the afternoon, she received a call from Soobin's agent.
"Young Madam, please hurry over, Soobin..."
"What happened to him?"
"You'll know when you get here. We're at the mansion by Phoenix Splendid Shore."
JC owned this mansion, and it was a gift Jungkook gave to Soobin and Irene when they first met.
Each of them had one mansion to themselves, surrounded by beautiful scenery in a secluded area, so their privacy was protected...
Losa didn't hesitate at all after she heard what Soobin's agent said and immediately headed towards Soobin's home.
"What happened?"
Lisa hurriedly asked when she saw his agent.
"You should go check up on him, he went out earlier this morning and came back like this at noon. He won't talk to me, and I don't even know what happened. He was like this when his condition was at its worst, and it was frightening..."
Soobin's agent knew that Lisa was an experienced neurology medical professional, so she called Lisa at once.
Lisa nodded. "Okay, I'll go inside and take a look. Don't worry about it too much."
She walked to the second floor and found that the door wasn't closed all the way. She knocked on the door, but no one responded.
She slowly walked inside and saw that Soobin had crawled into a corner.
He wrapped both of his hands around himself, which was a very self-protective pose as if he had to do this because harm had been inflicted onto him.
Soobin's state has been quite stable recently, how did this happen all of a sudden?
"Soobin..." she softly called him.
He didn't respond. Instead, he sat there absentmindedly, and his eyes stared forward in trance.
"Soobin, I'm Lisa."
He responded a bit when he heard that it was Lisa...
He slowly raised his head, while his expression remained pale. "Noona... tell me, why would she treat me like that? If she hated me, then why did she give birth to me? Why would she do that to me?"
Lisa seemed to have realized something when she heard what Soobin said...
"You went to see her?"
The 'her' Lisa mentioned was Soobin's mother.
Lisa had looked into Soobin's family background. His father had already passed away...
Both his paternal grandparents lived in the countryside, but they weren't very healthy. However, she couldn't reach his maternal grandparents at all.
The only person she could reach was the aunt who brought Soobin up back then, whom he hardly ever saw nowadays.
In Soobin's perspective, they were all endlessly greedy creatures.
Now he only had a mother, who abandoned him when she became pregnant with someone else's kid.
After she left home, she formed a new family with someone else, but then that man ran off with another woman.
She was left on her own now and lived with her other son, who suffered from a serious illness.
Her work seemed very tiring, as she sold sausages and hand-pulled pancakes at a breakfast stand.
She looked for Soobin several times to ask him for money right on the spot. Soobin refused, and she even threatened to expose their own family scandal.
Later on, she only stopped when Soobin threatened to kill her little son...
Why would they end up seeing each other all of a sudden?
Lisa originally planned to see his mother after she was done with her exams so she could help resolve the conflict between them.
After all, she was the root cause of Soobin's depression...
She never expected them to see each other so soon.
"Yes, I saw her, haha..." Soobin's eyes were hollow as he smiled coldly.
"What happened, can you tell me?"
"Do you know what she said to me?" Soobin spoke bitterly.
Lisa didn't say anything...
"She said...'Soobin, donate a kidney to your little brother. His uremia is very serious, if he doesn't get a kidney transplant, he will die. He's your little brother, and you guys are related by blood. Please save him.'"
"Kidney transplant? What sort of joke is this?"
Lisa felt terrible for Soobin when she heard this...
Was this something a real mother could say? Weren't they both her sons?
Why did she have to get Soobin's kidney to save the other?
"Haha... I told her that I won't donate my kidney, and I won't give her money either... I'll let that dumb son of hers wait around for death... noona, do you think that I was being too harsh?"
"No, I think that she wounded you too deep..."
Liaa looked at this youth sympathetically...
He had gone through thick and thin to become a superstar...
However, he still couldn't escape the torment that came with common emotions and desires.
To others, the word 'family' consisted of love and warmth, but for Soobin, it was a curse... a terrible curse.
Soobin looked at Lisa, as crystal-clear tears ran down his face...
"Noona, why does everyone else have a kind mother, but I don't?"
Lisa felt like her heart was being torn out as she looked at Soobin, who was sobbing uncontrollably before her...
"Soobin... only after you've experienced a pain that normal people never have will you acquire things that normal people never would... You're now a great star, watched by all. It's that woman's loss for not acknowledging you... but you must believe that the gift God gave you might be late, but it won't go missing... One day, you'll obtain what you have always desired."
"Noona... I suddenly feel like there's no point in anything in life... What is my purpose for existing? If I die... the earth will still spin, and the world wouldn't change because I left... With the passing of time, the fans that mourn over me will eventually forget everything about me, like ashes flying away in the air... without any hints of evidence left, as if I was never here."
Everything that came out of Soobin's mouth had hints of despair...
Lisa had encountered patients struggling with depression before, and most of them didn't have any hope for life.
Some even had suicidal tendencies and thoughts...
Soobin was no exception...
He lacked motherly love, and had always been like an insecure child.
He admired the happiness others had at every moment of everyday...
A mother's peskiness...
A mother's food and dishes...
A mother's smiles...
Also a mother's criticism...
Everything normal children had was an extravagant desire for him...
She truly felt bad for this child...
"If God wants you alive, then he must have other plans for you... Why don't you calm down and wait around to see what sort of gifts he has for you."
"Will that happen?" Soobin was a bit stunned and didn't seem like he had faith in Lisa's words.
"I never lie. Why don't you be patient and see? Living can actually be more difficult than dying at times... but to me, you're not inferior, and you're not one to run away when faced with problems, so you shouldn't think of death all the time, because death is too easy; being alive is much more difficult."
"Noona..."
"Do you remember Uzumaki Naruto from 'Naruto'? Both of his parents died when he was born, and because he had the nine tailed fox inside his body, he was treated like a monster by the whole village, but he never gave up. Ever since he was young, he wanted to become the Hokage and protect his village to prove his value and existence. You're the same... You're now standing on a stage, under the watchful eyes of many and praised as an idol. It's not just because of your attractive appearance, but rather because you are so determined. The fact that you never gave up on your dreams is inspirational, and you need to let your fans know that you will never give up because that's how you got to where you are today; you have to be everyone else's dawn of hope."
"Me, dawn?"
Soobin confusingly asked Lisa...
"Of course... you've always been." Lisa patted his shoulder.
"Yea... I still have all those fans with unlimited anticipation for me."
"Did you think that they all liked you because of your superior appearance? Of course not, they're all smart people. A comment on your Instagram moved me quite a lot."
"Which one was it?" Soobin was a bit confused.
"Your fan said, liking someone begins with his looks, but they stay loyal because of his talents, and they fall for his character'. Clearly, not all of your fans are only into appearances. They've seen how much you changed over the years, and how hard you have worked. They saw all your effort in every film, and how you sang all your songs with all your heart. Everyone has witnessed your efforts, so why would you put yourself down completely, all because of one person?"
"Even I forgot about that..." Soobin spoke to himself.
"You've been thinking too lowly of yourself, and therefore walked into an endless loop."
"Noona... then what should I do now?"
Soobin slowly got up from the corner...
He looked like a lost child as he looked at Lisa in a daze...
It was as if he was trying to find a direction to proceed towards from her words...
"Let me deal with her, I'll think of a way to help you. What you should do right now isn't accepting new jobs, preparing for concerts, or even traveling around to promote the release of your new movie... Instead, you should get a good night's sleep. Look at you, your eyebags are so obvious that you've got your own smokey-eye look."
At the mention of the smokey-eye look, Soobin couldn't help but laugh...
As soon as Lisa mentioned 'smokey-eye makeup', she would think back at her exaggerated look during the grand opening of JC Film and Television a while ago.
Jimin had already mocked her about it several times, and it has clearly already become Lisa's sore spot.
However, despite how humiliated she was, she still brought it up, just to make Soobin laugh...
'Thanks, noona."
"Okay... since you've always treated me like a real sister, of course I have to take care of my little brother! On behalf of the company, I will give you tomorrow off. You can wake up later tomorrow, have a meal, and then walk around by the beach or something. Just make sure to relax for a bit... and come back for work the day after tomorrow, any questions?"
"I'll try my best," Soobin slowly spoke.
"Okay, then I'll be going now, send me a message if you need anything later."
"Okay."
Lisa sighed in relief and headed out when she saw that Soobin had calmed down quite a bit...
"Young Madam, how is he?" asked his agent worriedly.
"I have to go meet... that mother of Soobin. She has quite an influence over him."
"It was because of his mom?" His agent was a bit taken back.
"Yes, it's a long story. I have to go first, please watch over him, and call me anytime if anything happens."
"Okay, thanks for all your help, Young Madam."
After a few interactions, and after she saw how Lisa dealt with things, Soobin's agent had completely fallen in admiration for this young madam.
She always knew how to solve urgent issues...
Lisa didn't head back home after she left the Phoenix Mansions, but instead, she called Assistant Lee.
"That woman I told you to investigate before, do you know where her food stall is?"
"Uhm... wait for a bit, Young Madam, let me look into it. Oh, it's that street by the Third Road, next to Madam Square."
"Okay, I got it."
Lisa then drove straight to Third Road, the busiest part of town. There were cars and people everywhere... and even more red lights...
After Lisa finally found a place to park her car, she got off and walked towards the pedestrian walkway.
There were countless food carts all over the pedestrian streets...
This was a place tourists would often visit, because one could eat everything that Seoul had to offer on this single street.
After Lisa walked around for about ten minutes or so, she finally saw a stall that sold hand-pulled pancakes and grilled sausage...
The banner that hung above read, 'Jun's Grilled Sausage'.
"Hi, are you Miss Jun?"
"Who are you?"
The woman was very skinny and tan and looked to be about forty or so years old.
She wore a blue work uniform with a black apron.
She skillfully grilled the sausages while she flipped pancakes...
"It doesn't matter who I am, I have something important to talk to you about."
"I don't even know you, why do I have to talk to you?" The woman was clearly very impolite.
Lisa didn't say anything, as she took out a few paper bills from her wallet and placed it in the cash basket.
"This money should be enough for your entire day's work, let's go."
Lisa didn't even wait until Soobin's mother finished and walked towards the side as soon as she finished speaking...
As expected, Soobin's mother immediately packed up her stall, closing up for the day...
She pushed the cart as she followed behind Lisa...
"Park your cart there, we'll sit inside."
There just happened to be a Starbucks on the pedestrian street, so Lisa walked in...
After Soobin's mother parked the cart, she followed behind Lisa.
"Waitress, two cups of blue mountain coffee please."
"Who are you?" Soobin's mother looked at Lisa cautiously.
Lisa didn't say anything as she checked Soobin's mother out from head to toe. It was hard for her to believe that this middle-aged woman, who looked completely ordinary, was the main culprit who repeatedly pushed her own son, Soobin, into despair.
"I represent Soobin."
"Ha... are you his agent? That's not right, you're not that old woman, did he switch agents?"
Soobin's mother smiled... and that smile carried hints of disdain...
"You don't need to know who I am. I came to talk to you about Soobin today."
"Sure... what about?" His mother asked as raised her greasy hand, held up the coffee, and took a sip.
"What would it take for you to leave him alone?"
"Five million," She raised five fingers without any hesitation; talk about an ambitious demand.
"Hah... you sure can ask."
"What? Soobin is very famous right now... he earns way more than five million with a single endorsement deal, I don't think it's a lot."
His mother seemed to think that she was being very reasonable....
" I would like to interrupt you for one second. Let me ask you, did you really give birth to him?"
"Of course." His mother's eyes flashed for a bit.
"Haha... then I'm very confused. Since he's your son, then why would you do that to him? Not even a fierce tiger goes for its own children. You're a mother, why would you treat your own son like so?"
"What's wrong with what I'm doing? I'm only asking him for money. He is wealthy, and he should show filial piety towards me anyways... I carried him in my womb for nine months back then."
"You're right, nine months in your womb... The process a mother goes through to give birth to a child is very painful, but what did you do after you gave birth to him? Have you ever held yourself responsible for him? Did you just think that you laid an egg, just to let him die and live on his own?"
"I..." his mother didn't expect Lisa's tone to change all of a sudden and mock her like so.
She found it a bit difficult to respond at once...
"Have you ever taken care of him, after you gave birth to him? Back then; you selfishly pursued your happy life and ran off to be with your new husband with your younger son. You left him with that alcoholic father to be beaten up until wounds covered his body... Where were you as a mother when he was so hungry that he nearly fainted? Where were you as a mother when he was about to be beaten to death by that violent father? Where were you when he was chased out by his aunt and was left wandering on the streets? Where were you when he crawled into Internet cafes overnight and lived filthier than a beggar?"
"I..." his mother suddenly couldn't say anything, because she didn't know how to respond.
"So you can't answer? Very well, let me answer it for you... when he suffered from the cold and hunger, you ran off with your new lover, and you no longer cared about the pain your other son was going through... So what gives you the audacity to say that you're his mother right now? For better or for worse, at least you're a forty-something woman, do you have no shame?"
"Huh... how could you say things like that, little girl? How am I shameless... I still gave birth to Soobin, no matter what you say. There wouldn't be him if it weren't for me... If I chose to get an abortion back then, would there be the idol star that you have today? What a joke... I just wanted some money... do you have to humiliate me? What's wrong with you?"
His mother's accent carried hints of an odd pitch...
It was because she was born and raised in the countryside, so she had a thick rural accent...
"There's a great saying, 'if you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best?' You left Soobin during his most difficult days, so now you don't have any right to enjoy all that he has, even if you're his mother. You don't deserve to be called 'mother', after all that you've done."
"Did you come looking for me just to scold me? Who do you think you are? I don't have the time to talk to you. Don't think that just because you gave me some money, you can scold me all you want. I'm not going to put up with all this."
Then, Soobin's mother stood up to leave...
"I can cure your younger son."
Lisa's nonchalant words immediately stopped her in her steps...
"He has uremia and needs a kidney change, right? It's easy, I have a way."
"You can save my son?" Soobin's mother looked at Lisa in disbelief.
"I work at South Side Recuperation center, and I know Director Jung of the Asan medical center, what do you think?"
This was the first time that Lisa felt incredibly proud when she said her occupation ...
Soobin's mother' expression changed when she heard the words 'Asan medical center' and 'Director Jung'.
"Don't try to fool me, you little girl, or else I'll fight you."
"I'm not trying to fool you. A kidney transplant isn't difficult. As long as there is an appropriate kidney, your son can get surgery right away."
"But why would you want to help me?" His mother wasn't dumb, and she looked at Lisa cautiously.