"I'm not going to help you for free, I'm not a saint. I do have conditions," Lisa spoke each word slowly.
"What are your conditions?"
"Be a good mother, be Soobin's mother. Be the mother you were supposed to be, apologize to him, beg for his forgiveness... and then take good care of him and make up for all these years you owe him."
"What?" Soobin's mother was a bit dumbfounded.
"What? Is it too difficult and you can't do it? If you can't, then I don't have anything else to say to you. I wouldn't care about that little son of yours at all, we'll just let fate do its work."
Lisa stood up to leave after she spoke...
Soobin's mother immediately got up and stopped Lisa...
"Don't leave. I'll agree to all of your conditions as long as you can save my younger som."
Lisa looked at Soobin's mother with hints of pity...
"They're both your sons, and they both came out from you. Why are you so harsh on Soobin, but so kind to the other?"
No wonder Soobin had depression, anyone else would go insane if they met this woman...
They were both her sons, what was with this drastic difference?
"I... I have my own difficulties as well..." Soobin's mother changed up her fierce shrew-like image, as tears flashed in her eyes.
"How about this, you should consider it first, and then decide whether you want to agree to my terms."
"No, I can give you an answer now. I agree to your terms, please admit my younger son into your hospital immediately, okay? I already can't handle the burdensome fees anymore... many of the hospitals won't even accept us, we don't have any other option left... If I did, I would never go looking for Soobin," Soobin's mother started crying as she spoke...
"Don't cry..."
"No, I beg you, please save my younger son. He is only thirteen years old; his life hasn't even started yet."
Soobin's mother kneeled down to Lisa as she spoke...
This was something that Lisa didn't expect. She thought that Soobin's mother was just an unreasonable shrew.
The truth was she was, but she was still willing to discard all her dignity for her younger son...
"Please get up..."
"You must save him." Soobin's mother hugged Lisa's leg emotionally.
"I will definitely save him, as long as you do what I asked you to."
"I will, I will do every, even if you use my kidney. I'll agree to anything."
"Okay, get up first, then we'll talk."
"No, I want my younger son to be hospitalized right now; I'm afraid that it'll be too late."
Soobin's mother cried very miserably and didn't look like she was faking at all...
Lisa helplessly agreed to her first, and then drove to where Soobin's mother lived with her younger son.
She lived near a recycling station towards the north end of town. In a 40 square meter bungalow, Lisa saw Soobin's younger brother.
This boy was Soobin's younger brother of the same mother.
He was only thirteen years old, but he already looked incredibly worn out and pale as he laid on an old and used futon.
"Mom... you're back?" He forced out a hint of a smile.
"Son, this lady is from the hospital, she said that she had a way to save you. We've come to pick you up to go to the hospital."
"Really?"
"Yes." Lisa nodded as she smiled at the little boy.
"I've already made the call, and the hospital's ambulance will be here soon. I'll arrange for him to stay at South Side Recuperation Center, conduct a series of check-ups, and then find him an appropriate donor, and we'll perform the surgery soon."
"Okay, okay, do whatever you need to save him."
"Mom... did you sell all of the pancakes today?" asked the little boy.
"I did, this lady bought everything." Soobin's mother forced a smile.
The little boy looked at Lisa with an innocent gaze.
"Miss... you really are a good person."
"No, I'm not a good person, I just like your mother's pancakes."
Lisa began to feel a bit bad for them...
She originally felt very sympathetic to Soobin's experience, but then she saw how unbearable this home looked and how empty it was.
Inside this forty-square-meter space, bottles and cans were piled all around and a smelly stench filled the air.
The blanket on the little boy's body was pitch-black, and green moss covered the corners of the wall.
"Where is his dad?" Lisa suddenly asked.
"I can't reach him anymore. He ran off three years ago, ever since we discovered that our younger son was suffering from kidney disease... Apparently, he ran off with the wife of a construction worker, and no one knows where he is... that man parents won't talk to us either, and I'm out of options... I can't just watch our son die, I can't bear it."
Soobin's mother sat by the side of the bed and started crying again as she spoke...
"Mom, I won't die... I will live very long, and I'll take care of you when you retire."
The little boy's voice sounded very crisp and innocent. Everyone said that children spoke the truth, and what they said would always come from their hearts.
Lisa didn't ask anything else...
– Twenty minutes later –
South Side's ambulance arrived...
"Head Nurse."
"Take this child to South Side, put him into an ICU. Sanitize and wash him first, then conduct a series of checkups on him. Also, get doctor of the Internal Medicine Department to properly examine him. Tell him I'm the one asking."
"Yes, Head Nurse."
Then, they took the little boy into the ambulance...
Soobin's mother seemed to have relaxed a bit...
"You really will save him, right?" She still didn't seem to fully believe it.
"Don't worry, it will be fine as long as we find a matching kidney... His disease isn't terminal, in most cases, the patient will make a full recovery."
"Then good, that's good." Soobin's mother nodded nonstop.
"Now can you tell me your story?" Lisa knew Soobin's was someone with a story.
So, Lisa planned to listen to her story first and then decide how to treat her in the future...
She originally planned to force Soobin's mother into begging for Soobin's forgiveness. As long as she could be a good mother, Lisa was willing to threaten her.
It would be fine even if Soobin's mother acted, but she had to pay Soobin back for all these years...
Soobin's mother sat by the door of their bungalow, bit her lips, and slowly said, "Soobin's father is the reason why I don't love him... I've always loved my second husband. Back then, our village often had film screenings, and since the entire village would go, I did as well. One night, I headed back very late, and on my way back along the dark road, I was... pulled into the sorghum field by Soobin's father and raped."
Lisa felt slightly shocked upon hearing this...
"Ha... it might be fate. I was impregnated that one time and my parents were ashamed of me, so they wanted me to marry him. He was the infamous alcoholic in our village, and I didn't want to, so I went to find my then lover (her younger son's father). But he frowned upon me as well and said that he didn't want a woman that someone else raped. People gossiped, and I couldn't bear the pressure, so I was left with no choice but to marry Soobin's father... He began to beat me ever since I got pregnant. He would beat me every time he was drunk, and I nearly had a miscarriage this one time... but Soobin was strong, so I was able to give birth to him... But that man never changed out of his old habits. He didn't work all day, and only drank, and after he was drunk he would hit people. I truly couldn't stand it anymore... I couldn't find hope in that life... But then, the girl who was supposed to marry my second husband suddenly backed out, so he came to see me in sorrow and we got back together. We snuck out to see each other several times, and even had our younger son... Later on, I decided to leave him."
"Then why didn't you take Soobin with you?" Lisa looked at this woman before her with hints of sympathy.
"How can I bring him? My second husband was only a construction worker and earned his living carrying bricks. It was already very hard enough for him to support our son and I... Plus he said that he would break up with me if I brought Soobin along... I didn't want him to leave me. I was truly terrified of living like I used to. Plus, I didn't love Soobin's father, so I decided to escape from the old home. However, I never expected that... my second husband was a scumbag as well. He ran off as soon as our child got sick. He even said that our younger son was a bottomless hole, and we should leave his life to fate."
Tears trickled down Soobin's mother' face as she spoke...
Even though she tried hard to cover her mouth so she didn't cry so loud, Lisa still felt heartbroken by her story...
If Lisa didn't hear her speak about it herself, then she would never believe that a woman as unlucky and unhappy as she existed in this world.
Her life was truly like hell... It was extremely miserable.
"Then why didn't you tell Soobin about all this? If you told him, then I'm sure that he would have sympathized."
"What was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to say, 'I don't love your father because he raped me?' As a mother, how am I supposed to say something like that to my son? The truth is... I'm happy to see Soobin so successful. When I heard that his father died, I wanted to go looking for him. But my second husband threatened me, and told me he would take our younger son away and sell him if I went looking for Soobin."
"What an awful man..." Lisa felt like cursing.
"Back then, I was weak and didn't know that I could live without a man... It wasn't until after he left and I took over the responsibility of taking care of my family that I realize that I had the ability to raise my son on my own. If his disease wasn't so serious, I really wouldn't have looked for Soobin, I know that he hates me."
"Because of the unhappy things that he had experienced over the years... Soobin... suffers from severe depression. You might not know, but it's a serious mental illness which gives him the tendency to commit suicide."
"Suicide?" Soobin's mother looked at Lisa in bewilderment.
"I'm not trying to scare you, but his condition is really serious. If it wasn't, then I wouldn't be in such a hurry to find you... the only thing Soobin cares about is that he doesn't have a good mother and never got to enjoy motherly love... That's why he doesn't want to live anymore. To him, death is liberation."
"I've done him wrong..." Soobin's mother opened her eyes wide in remorse.
"Forget about it, I used to think that you were the worst mother alive, but now I can see that you had your own grievances... Let's not struggle over this, the most important thing right now is curing your younger son."
"But... I can't pay you. I heard that including surgical fees, a kidney transplant costs around more than a million. I don't have that kind of money; I don't have any savings."
It was true – Soobin's mother didn't have any money, so she decided to tell Lisa upfront...
"I can help you out."
She knew that Soobin's mother didn't have money, and she couldn't ask the hospital to treat her son for free. After all, this was a hospital, not a charity.
She could use the Oh Foundation's money, and Soobin's younger bother's conditions complied with the funding requirements.
However, if she wanted to use the Oh Foundation's money, she had to submit a detailed chart, which will result in an information leak.
He was Soobin's brother from a different father; if someone who held bad intentions began hyping this up, the results would be unthinkable.
In the end, Lisa decided to pay for the surgery herself.
Of course, her salary wasn't enough, so she planned on using Jungkook's salary, which he still transferred to her account each month.
Because Jungkook had always treated her with generosity...
She used her own secondary credit card for her day-to-day expenditures, and never touched that money.
"You shouldn't stay here... bring some clean clothes and go back to the hospital with me. You can take care of your son there for the time being."
"Can... I really?" Soobin's mother was flattered.
"Don't forget our deal. Remember to make things up for Soobin. Even if you hate his father, you shouldn't blame him. After all, he's your son... you carried him in your belly for 9 months."
Lisa said, word for word...
"I know..." Soobin's mother nodded.
*
After a busy day, it was already 8 PM when Lisa got back to Imperial Park.
Jungkook was on the couch, looking at data and going through information on his laptop...
"Kook, I'm home."
"Doll, why are you back so late today?"
"I don't want to talk about it... today was the busiest day ever." Lisa shook her head and moved her neck back and forth.
Her whole body ached...
"What happened?" Jungkook looked at her in surprise.
"Soobin's depression relapsed, so I went to his mansion."
"Was it serious?" Jungkook knew that Soobin treated Lisa like an older sister, so he was worried as well.
"Yeah, I'm going to go take a shower, I'll tell you what happened afterward."
Lisa took a few steps forward. Then, she suddenly remembered something and said, "Han Tzuyu came looking for me at South Side today."
Jungkook froze for a second upon hearing what she said...
"Why would she go looking for you?"
"Who knows, maybe she wants to see what Jungkook's wife looked like."
"Haha... she sure is curious." Jungkook barely gave a reaction.
Jungkook only knew Tzuyu from when she was 8 years old, and he barely remembered her...
Throughout these years, he occasionally heard Mayor Han (Tzuyu's father) and his own mother mention this girl...
Jungkook truly felt nothing towards Tzuyu...
But she was pretty good at giving herself a sense of presence after returning to South Korea...
Just yesterday, she came to have lunch with him and today, she went looking for Lisa.
"She had lunch with me at South Side but didn't say much. She is really pretty... and really elegant, very much like a socialite. Too bad I just don't like her."
"Is it because you treat her as your romantic rival?"
"Isn't she?" Lisa answered with a question.
"Of course she isn't, there's nothing going on between us... Plus, we haven't seen each other in 18 years. Don't tell me you're jealous of her, there's really no point..."
Jungkook smiled, and continued typing and organizing documents...
"Fine, you have a point... what am I so worried about?"
Lisa's entire brain was filled with Soobin's stuff, and she completely forgot about Tzuyu.
After she showered, Lisa came back downstairs...
Jungkook had already made her a sandwich and warmed up a glass of milk.
"Thanks,... you're the best husband ever."
Lisa hugged Jungkook and nuzzled his chin...
Then, she began wolfing down the sandwich, completely disregarding her image. Perhaps she was just too hungry.
"Slow down... or your stomach will hurt." jungkook felt angry and amused as he looked at his wife eat.
"I'm hungry..." Lisa looked like as if she had been wronged.
She devoured the sandwich and the milk in ten minutes...
Then, Lisa sat down on the couch and told Jungkook about Soobin's family.
Jungkook listened quietly...
"That's the entire story."
"It's pretty complicated... no wonder Soobin is suffering from depression," Jungkook sighed faintly.
"Yeah... he could write a book about his life experience, titled 'Miserable World'. It really is miserable... did you know how many times I wanted to cry today? His younger brother is only 13 years old, I feel so bad for him as well. He lied there slowly waiting to die..."
Lisa's heart throbbed for that poor child...
"Let's pay for the surgical fees. Tell the doctors to quickly schedule it, uremia needs to be treated as soon as possible."
As a medical professional, Jungkook was well aware of these common diseases...
"I know, I'll schedule the surgery as soon as I get to work tomorrow."
"Okay, doll, don't work yourself too hard. Come, lie down, I'll give you a massage."
"Yay!"
Lisa looked excited as she lied down on their huge bed...
She closed her eyes as his big hands massaged her head...
The massage was good, and it felt nice...
But soon, his hands began trailing down her body...
"Kook... just massage my head, you don't have to massage my tits," Lisa said shyly.
"I do, doctors specializing in cardio say if this part of the body is frequently massaged, it will achieve magical results," Jungkook said in all seriousness.
"What magical results?" Lisa really believed him.
"An A will turn into a B, a C will turn into a D."
Lisa was really speechless, "-_-"
She shot up as soon as she realized that she had been played...
"Come here, Mr. Jeon, I promise I won't kill you."
– At Jimin's private mansion –
Bang Chan said on purpose, "I have good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"
"Good news."
"The good news is... you have an ally."
"An ally?" Jimin furrowed his eyebrows slightly.
"The bad news is... Lisa is faced with a tough opponent, that woman's really something... I think if you form an alliance with her... you might be able to break the 7-year relationship between Jungkook and Lisa." Bang Chan smiled slyly.
"First, tell me who that woman is." Jimin really had no idea; Bang Chan was the one who loved to gossip, so he was exposed to more back alley news.
"I knew that your news isn't as up to date as mine, none of you guys know that Mayor Han's daughter came back to Seoul, right?" Bang Chan asked mysteriously.
Jimin shook his head... he never paid much attention to Mayor Han, let alone his daughter.
"That's normal, she hasn't been back in more than a decade. I heard that she has a house in Italy... Mayor Han and his wife stay there for a few days every year, but a few days ago she suddenly came back for no reason. Plus, I heard that she's really close with Jungkook's mother, and visits her almost every day... so I was thinking, why would a young and pretty single woman maintain such a good relationship with Mrs. Jeon? Plus, the latter doesn't like Lisa to begin with, so I'm thinking..."
Bang Chan stopped before he finished his sentence...
However, Jimin fully understood what he wanted to say...
"Apparently, she looks like a kpop idol. I was really curious and wanted to check her out, but it's too bad that this socialite rarely appears out in the public. If it weren't for some of her close friends, I wouldn't have even known. She came back to the country in such a low-key manner, almost comparable to Lisa..."
Bang Chan was just talking casually, comparing the two people...
But, Jimin was unhappy...
"Not just anyone can compare with Lisa."
"Right, right, Lisa is the prettiest, and the most low-key, okay? I misspoke, haha."
Bang Chan knew that Jimin was obsessed, so he didn't bother arguing with him...
"So, if the two of you team up, you'll have much more of an advantage, even a solid wall will crack... I know a girl who's close to her, do you want me to introduce her to you? She likes Jungkook, and you want Lisa. You guys can combine forces."
"No thanks... liking Lisa is my business, whether I can get her is irrelevant."
Then, Jimin got up and left...
Bang Chan hopelessly shook his head...
Ever since Jimin fell into the whirlpool of love, he became more and more righteous... He was not even as flashy as he used to be.
He was always so considerate of Lisa's feelings...
But did he really not want to consider teaming up? Tzuyu was a powerful ally.
If she were a mistress, then she would be the most powerful mistress on this earth...
Could Lisa handle her...?
– Next morning –
The first thing Lisa did after she arrived at South Side was to visit Soobin's younger brother, who was in the ICU.
Soobin's mother spent every waking minute taking care of her child; Lisa was very considerate, and she made sure that the ICU was suited for their needs.
The ICU had a kitchen, bathroom, shower stall, closet, and cabinet. The beds of patient's families were very comfortable too.
However, Soobin's mother didn't seem to have gotten any rest last night, as she looked haggard.
Lisa looked at the Soobin's brother's chart in the morning; he wasn't on the brink of death, but his disease was still serious...
When she came into the room, Soobin's mother was feeding her younger son congee...
It was pumpkin congee that looked homemade and there were also two hand-pulled pancakes by the side.
"Hi, noona." The boy remembered Lisa.
"How do you feel today?"
"My legs hurt..."
Lisa carefully lifted up a corner of his blanket and saw his swollen thighs caused by his nephrosis. The sight shocked her.
"Don't worry, you'll be getting surgery in the next couple of days, and then you'll get much better."
"Really? Will I be able to play soccer afterward?" The boy asked after he took a sip of the pumpkin congee.
"Of course you can." Lisa smiled.
"Can I run and long-jump?" Then the boy batted his eyes innocently at Lisa.
"Yes, you can... when you get better, you'll be able to do what everyone else does."
"Yay, that's great!" He clapped.
Soobin's mother turned around. "Miss, I made the congee and pancakes myself, if you don't mind..."
"Sure, I haven't had breakfast yet." Lisa picked up a hand-pulled pancake and began eating it.
Then, she took a card out from her lab coat. "This is South Side's meal card, I already put money in it. You can take him there to eat and use this card. The food isn't bad... Oh, right, don't forget about the hours. Breakfast is from 6 AM to 8 AM, lunch is from 11 AM to 1 PM, and dinner is from 6 PM to 8 PM."
"Thank you..." Soobin's mother awkwardly licked her lips, seemingly embarrassed.
Lisa used to think that this woman was a vampire, out for Soobin's money.
But now, Lisa realized that she wasn't; she didn't have the ability to accept the help of others with a clear conscience...
Just like everyone else in this world...
"By the way, you don't have to take care of him 24/7... we are preparing for his surgery, so for the next few days, I will ask the night-shift nurse to take care of him with you. Don't worry, nothing will happen. You need to get some rest as well, or else you'll wear yourself out before your child gets better."
"I know, I'll listen to you. Dr. Lisa" Soobin's mother was very trusting of and reliant on Lisa.
"I'm not a doctor yet, I'm just a head nurse in the Orthopedics Department." Lisa corrected her.
"But a lot of people call you Dr. Lisa."
"That's because..."
Lisa really didn't know how to explain things...
She touched her nose helplessly...
Her adorable colleagues wanted her to pass her test, so they started calling her 'doctor'.
Once she left the patient's room, Lisa went looking for Department Director of Internal Medicine Department.
Lisa explained Soobin's younger bother's conditions to the head of the department; the good news was that the kid wasn't in grave danger. However, they couldn't keep stalling, and a kidney transplant was the key to solving the problem.
"Director... will it be easy to find? Do we have any matching kidneys in our reserve?"
"Not at the moment, but we can ask Director Jung. He is the executive director of the Korean Medical Association and has the right to move one reserve's organs to another. I don't think it'll be a problem, and the kid needs surgery as soon as possible."
"Okay, I'll talk to Director Jung."
Then, Lisa went back to her office and called Director Jung himself. Director Jung immediately agreed without a shadow of hesitation.
Soobin's brother' conditions obviously gave Lisa more work to do, but she never once complained.
He was Soobin's family, and as soon as his younger brother gets well, pressure would be relieved from Soobin's mother' shoulders, allowing her to make things up for Soobin.
Hopefully, Soobin will forgive his mother upon seeing her repent, which will, in turn, enable him to recover.
After another day of hard work, at the end of the day, Lisa took off her lab coat and put on her long black blazer and walked out of her office.
As she was about to open her car door, a car honked at her. She looked up to see Jennie's Lexus parked outside the hospital entrance.
"Lisa, let's have dinner." Jennie was wearing a coffee-colored knit dress, paired with a white jacket. She looked really pretty.
"Girl, can you not always show up out of nowhere? You could've called." Lisa smiled.