"You guys leave first."
Jungkook's voice was chilling, Lee had never seen his boss's mood drop so low.
He didn't yell at anyone, he didn't explode in anger, he didn't redirect his anger at others...
He just sat there silently, making Lee feel bad for him.
Once Lisa's negative news surfaced, the PR Department came over and asked if Jungkook wanted them to take care of it.
However, Jungkook didn't answer them.
She went to help Jimin, but now JC needed to clean up her mess? How could he not feel hurt?
Plus, at this time, any official statements would be taken as a joke, right?
–In Japan –
Yerim was in a great mood upon seeing the news.
"Haha, look at the karma... Lisa, look at you today..."
Yerim had basically been banished to Japan and didn't even get to go to JC's thirty-year-anniversary party.
Her hatred towards Lisa had peaked, so she couldn't wait for something to happen to her.
She didn't think that she would be dragged down so quickly, basically being forced to jump into a hole she dug herself.
Talk about karma...
Yerim wondered how bad President Jeon's mood was.
So, she held up her phone and called the president's landline.
The assistants were off work now, but Jungkook was still at the company, so he picked up.
"Hello?"
Yerim was extremely happy to hear Jungkook's voice.
"President Jeon, I am Yerim."
"What do you want?" Jungkook coldly asked.
"President Jeon, here's the thing... I was working overtime at the company and came across a problem. I don't know how to handle it, and I thought that you may still be at work. That's why I called, please forgive me if I am intruding."
Yerim kept up her gentle persona in front of Jungkook to get him to like her.
However, she never knew that Jungkook liked Lisa not because she was gentle.
In other words, he liked her because she wasn't gentle at all. He loved her no matter what faults she had.
"What is it." Jungkook was a little annoyed. He didn't want to deal with Yerim, but he didn't want to mix his private life with business.
"Here's the thing... We had a swap of employees, and some of the employees left with the old general manager... According to company regulations, we do not have to pay employees who resign without notice. However, these people are causing trouble every day at the company. Should I call the police, or do something about it? Afterall... I never had to take care of anything like this before."
"Just pay them," Jungkook indifferently said.
"But they're traitors who suddenly resigned."
"They were our employees, and we should still pay them for their work."
"Yes, President Jeon. I'll do what you said."
"That's all," Jungkook was just about to hang up when he heard Yerim suddenly say, "President Jeon, please wait."
"What?" Jungkook was clearly impatient.
"President Jeon... If possible, I want to go back to HQ... I think that the Design Department suits me better. I don't want to be a general manager, I just want to be an employee who works under you," Yerim pitifully said...
"We'll talk about it later." After speaking, Jungkook hung up the phone.
He didn't want to take care of Yerim's business because his brain was filled with Lisa.
He wanted to go home, and he wanted to see her. However, he was still mad over her stubbornness.
He was disappointed by what she did, and the fact that she didn't think she did anything wrong.
Jungkook held up his phone, looked at it and saw no notifications.
After Lisa got off work, she didn't return to Imperial Park or South Hill Manor.
She went straight to Sky Blessing Court; now that Haruto was gone, she thought she should spend more time with her mother.
"Mom, I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?" Lisa asked immediately as she stepped into the house.
"Yeah, but it's probably cold now. I'll heat it up."
"Thanks, Mom."
Because her mother didn't know how to use the internet or read newspapers, she didn't know what was going on outside.
Her mother's house was the only place where she could find peace...
At this time, her phone rang. She thought that it was Jungkook, so she picked it up immediately.
"Hello?"
"Lisa, my dear sister, do you wanna come out for a drink? It's my treat."
It was Sehun...
If it were any other day, Lisa would definitely have said 'no, thank you'. However, after suppressing her feelings all day, she really did feel like drinking.
Therefore she said, "If I were to drink with you and someone photographed us, don't you think I would be in even more trouble?"
"If you're not afraid of a scandal with Jimin, why would you be afraid of drinking with me?" Sehun burst out in laughter.
...
Upon hearing this, Lisa actually thought that he had a point...
"Fine, where do you want to meet?"
"Old Town Bar, I'll wait for you there." Then, Sehun hung up the phone.
Lisa got up and put on her jacket.
"You're heading out?" confused, her mother asked.
"Mom, I'm sorry, I can't have dinner right now. I'm going out, but I'll be staying here tonight, remember to keep the door unlocked."
Then, Lisa left the house and hailed a cab to meet up with Sehun.
20 minutes later...
Old Town Bar was a dim bar that not a lot of people frequented.
Lisa was wearing a black cashmere jacket and black heels paired with white gloves and a scarf.
She looked like the female lead from a Korean TV show...
Sehun, on the other hand, was wearing a coffee-colored leather jacket and slim-fit pants, looking as dashing as ever.
Truth be told, he was a handsome man, but a little too dangerous...
That's why neither Lisa nor Jungkook liked him.
"I didn't think you would actually come." Sehun smiled as he waved the cocktail glass in his hand.
Lisa didn't say anything. She sat up on a bar stool, looked at the bartender and said in a depressed manner, "A dozen Budweisers."
"You don't want a cocktail?"
"Nope, there's not enough alcohol in them." Lisa was really depressed.
"Haha... I love it when you're pretentious." Sehun burst out in laughter.
Lisa picked up a bottle of Budweiser and drank it all...
Sehun squinted and looked Lisa up and down through the dim lights; she was just as pretty as she used to be 7 years ago.
She was also just as stubborn and headstrong...
The way Lisa lived caused people to only have two feelings for her – love or hate. There was no 'in between'.
Jimin, Jungkook , Jennie, and Chaeyoung all loved Lisa, whether as a friend or lover.
Yerim, Dahyun, Seulgi and Tzuyu all hated Lisa, whether as a romantic rival or enemy.
Only Sehun both loved and hated her...
He loved that although time has passed her by, she still remained the same.
At times it felt like she was still that stubborn girl from years ago that liked to show off.
He hated that her gaze never fell on him, not even once. No matter how he missed her or cared about her...
He once said that Lisa could only see Jungkook.
It was as if all the other men on this earth were dead...
He couldn't stand being looked down upon like that, but it was something every man that fell in love with Lisa had to endure.
"If you knew what would happen, why did you do it? With your IQ, you shouldn't have let yourself sink into this mess,"
Sehun enunciated each word; he put away his usual careless attitude and said in all seriousness.
Lisa was already drinking her second bottle. Halfway through, she waved her bottle at him...
Then, she slowly said, "Because I'm Lisa."
Sehun's expression dimmed... a weird light flashed before his eyes...
She was right – only she was capable of never playing by the rules. That's what made her unique.
"I didn't think you would challenge Jungkook."
"Loving him is one thing but following my character is another. The two don't conflict... I don't think I challenged Jungkook, it's how I live in this world, that's all," Lisa said slowly.
"If you already did what you did, then why are you so depressed? If I guessed right, did you two... get in a fight?"
Sehun probed...
Upon hearing this, Lisa's expressions turned grim...
"We didn't fight. I'd rather we started fighting," Lisa said slowly.
"So, you guys are giving each other the silent treatment?" Sehun continued asking.
Sometimes fighting was a method of communication. Fighting wasn't scary, but not fighting was.
Silent treatments were the worst...
Lisa didn't reply, but her answer was implied in her silence...
"Lisa, have you ever considered that maybe you and Jungkook aren't compatible?"
Sehun stared at Lisa's pretty profile and asked slowly.
"I used to, but not after we got married. I want to be his wife my entire life, it's what we both want."
"But... you have to know that sometimes, you need to learn how to take detours, rather than drive down the same route for the rest of your life. If you knew that it's a dead end, would you still decide to go down that path, even if you find yourself with nothing left but cuts and bruises? Is it worth it?"
Lisa remained silent...
Her life with Jungkook hadn't been easy, and the only thing supporting them was love.
If their love disappeared one day, what would be left between her and Jungkook?
Should they say goodbye to each other, rather than spend the rest of their lives together?
Most couples find it hard to forget each other, even after they break up...
Many stories start by promising love and happiness and end by hoping that the other person is happy.
What about them?
A little over 6 months ago, they registered for marriage.
Although it wasn't Lisa's choice marry Jungkook, Lisa really did love him.
She thought that their being together was the best ending she could have...
However, Sehun's question threw her into a nonstop struggle...
Were they really incompatible? Would it be better if they split up?
*
When Jungkook arrived back at their home in Imperial Park, as expected, he didn't see Lisa.
She didn't come back; Jungkook called Uncle Li at South Hill Manor, but the latter said that Lisa hadn't returned there either.
It seems like she was at Sky Blessing Court...
Usually, he would drive there and woo her until she forgave him.
However, this time, Jungkook didn't...
He was tired; he felt like Lisa never tried to think in his shoes. He had lined up the disadvantages for her to see.
However, she still disregarded his feelings and let negative news erupt between them.
He didn't care about JC's stock market declines; money was just an accessory.
However, has she ever thought about her husband?
Just then, Jungkook's phone rang...
He immediately picked up; he was disappointed to see the caller because it wasn't Lisa.
"Jungkook, it's Tzuyu." Tzuyu's voice was gentle.
"Mhm," Jungkook sounded indifferent.
"Do you have time? I want to visit you."
"Right now?" Jungkook was surprised.
"Yeah, I'm at Imperial Park."
"Why are you here?" Jungkook frowned.
"It wasn't convenient to live with my parents since we have really different schedules, so I moved out and bought a condo here. It's not too far from yours."
"Oh."
"I assumed that you're not in a good mood today after the news, so... I wanted to see you."
"Sorry, I'm not at Imperial Park."
Jungkook declined Tzuyu's offer; he wasn't in a good mood, but he didn't need another woman to console him.
"Oh... I see... okay then, another time."
Tzuyu hung up; she peered at the Maybach outside one of the buildings, and disappointment filled her chest.
Jungkook always had his guard up around her...
Even if he and Lisa were giving each other the silent treatment, he still didn't want to see her.
On the other side of town, Lisa had already downed 10 bottles of beer, but she wasn't drunk at all...
"Don't drink anymore." Sehun gently tried to stop her.
"Why? Didn't you say it was your treat? Are you afraid that I will drink you poor?" Lisa half-jokingly retorted.
"No, I don't want your stomach to get upset..."
Once again, Lisa fell into silence...
After a while, she suddenly opened her mouth and asked, "Sehun, do you like me?"
Sehun's body froze for a second upon hearing her question...
He never thought that Lisa would ask him such a direct and sharp question.
"Would you believe me if I said that I did?" It took him a while to come back to his senses, but he replied with a smile on his face.
Lisa put an empty bottle on the counter with a 'bang' and smiled as she looked at Sehun. "Of course I wouldn't."
"Why not?" Curious, he tilted his head to look at Lisa.
He looked at her with such loving tenderness...
"Because you were born with a mask on your face. People like you will only ever love themselves; you will never love others. Haha... if I'm not wrong, you've never loved Irene, but she likes you very much, right? That's why she keeps probing you, trying to find out who you like. She also suspected me, right?"
"You're very smart," Sehun said faintly.
"But she probably doesn't know that you're a man who pretends with everyone... all you care about is conquering the Oh Corporation... Don't worry, I don't want the inheritance, and you don't have to wrack your brain to deal with me. Moreover, you don't have to mislead me by telling me that you like me... because I'm no threat to you... We never wanted the same things to begin with."
"Oh? You know what I want?" Sehun raised an eyebrow.
"You want the world to be under your feet, you want power and money... your number 1 goal is to topple that old man."
"Haha..." Sehun laughed but didn't say anything.
"I, on the other hand, want to live a peaceful life... we don't have the same goals, but we suspect each other because we're both smart people..."
"So that's how you think of me."
"Am I wrong?" Lisa looked at him.
"Nope... you're absolutely right." Sehun licked his lips and finished the rest of his cocktail.
Lisa had 13 bottles of Budweiser by the time they left the bar.
However, she didn't feel drunk at all...
"You have a good tolerance."
"Thanks for the drinks, bye."
After saying goodbye to Sehun, Lisa immediately hailed a cab.
"Where to?"
"Imperial Park," she said the first place that popped into her head.
Then, she realized that she gave the driver the address of her place, not her mother's.
The taxi headed towards Imperial Park...
Lisa thought, since she was already there, she might as well go upstairs. Jungkook was probably asleep at this hour anyway.
If worse comes to worst, she'll sleep in the guestroom...
However, to her surprise, as soon as she arrived downstairs, she saw Tzuyu head in, with a bento box in her hand.
Lisa stopped in her tracks...
She looked at her phone; it was 12:30 AM.
Why was Tzuyu here with a midnight snack?
Did Jungkook ask her to come, or...
She didn't even dare to think about it...
However, she was not in the mood to go upstairs anymore...
She stood quietly downstairs like an idiot...
*
Jungkook was curious upon hearing the doorbell.
After seeing Tzuyu in the peephole, he opened the door.
"I saw your car downstairs, so I came up. Did you just get back?"
Tzuyu said on purpose so Jungkook wouldn't feel awkward about having his lie exposed. It's been more than 2 hours since she called him.
"Oh." Jungkook's reaction was bland, and he didn't seem to want to invite Tzuyu in.
"I couldn't sleep and was a little hungry, so I went out to get something to eat. I bought an extra serving for you."
"I'm not hungry," Jungkook said faintly.
"Have some, it's spicy and sour noodles. I remember that we both used to love eating this dish, and whenever your maid made some we always fought over them, and it was so spicy that I cried..."
Tzuyu extended her hand, so Jungkook had no choice but to take it.
"Thank you."
"Is Lisa home? I brought her some barbeque corn... I heard it's her favorite."
Tzuyu asked pretentiously...
Before Jungkook had the chance to say anything, a voice behind her said, "Thanks, I really do love corn."
Then, Lisa walked out from behind Tzuyu and impolitely took the corn from her hands, walking inside as she munched on it.
Tzuyu and Jungkook were both dumbfounded...
They both thought they were hallucinating...
Lisa shouldn't be at home, because Tzuyu didn't see her car on the way up.
"You drank?" Jungkook frowned upon smelling the alcohol on her.
Lisa didn't reply, but she turned around to look at Tzuyu. "It's late, why is Miss Han at our place?"
"Oh... I couldn't sleep, so I went out to get some food. I was passing by, so I brought some for you guys."
"I don't seem to recall that you lived here, did you purposely come to bring us snacks?" Lisa looked at her.
"I just moved here, since it's not convenient to live with my parents because my schedule is all over the place. I didn't want to disrupt them, so I moved out. I asked a friend to scout a place for me, and it turned out to be Imperial Park."
"What a coincidence." Lisa raised an eyebrow as if to say, who are you trying to fool?
Tzuyu smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, I was surprised too. Lisa, you won't think too much, right?"
"Of course I won't... thank you for the corn, it looks delicious." Lisa looked at her provokingly.
Lisa's return ruined Tzuyu's plan to spend some time alone with Jungkook...
Therefore, she had no choice but to say goodbye to them. "Since you guys already got the food, I won't be bothering you anymore, goodnight."
"Kook... go down and send Miss Han off. She took the time to bring us corn, so you have to at least appear appreciative."
Lisa spoke in a tongue-in-cheek manner...
Jungkook's expression was grim; he didn't care about Tzuyu or the corn, but he did care about the fact that Lisa drank again.
How could she not have learned her lesson...
"Don't be like that, I just asked you to send Miss Han off... even if you don't want to, you shouldn't reveal it on your face. If so, Miss Han will feel awkward." Lisa smiled at Jungkook.
Jungkook continued to remain silent...
Tzuyu, on the other hand, felt embarrassed by what Lisa said.
She immediately waved her hands. "It's okay, I live close by and can leave myself. Goodnight guys."
After saying goodnight, Tzuyu ran away with her tail between her legs...
She realized that if she continued standing there, Lisa might say something even more shocking.
After Tzuyu left, Jungkook asked her faintly, "Was that fun?"
"What? Are you heartbroken that I spoke rudely to Tzuyu?" Lisa was obviously trying to piss him off.
Jungkook's expression was awful...
"You know what I'm talking about."
"How would I know? I'm not a god, how would I know what you're thinking if you won't explain it to me? Anyways... go and eat your love-infused midnight snack, after all, it's a gesture from Miss Han..."
Then, Lisa yawned and headed upstairs...
She drank more than 10 bottles tonight; she wasn't drunk, but she... was sleepy.
Since she was already home, Lisa wanted to at least have a good night's rest.
However to her surprise, after a few steps, Jungkook yanked her back and blocked her by the edge of the staircase...
He looked at her domineeringly. "Lisa... what do you want?"
"You're funny...because, you've asked a weird question. What do I want? What could I want? If I didn't come back on time, I'm curious, what would you and Tzuyu have done?" Lisa sneered, her expression filled with disdain...
She didn't actually think that way. She trusted Jungkook, but she wasn't about to lose to him in a verbal fight.
Jungkook was angry because she cleared Jimin's name, and so ignored her the entire evening. He didn't call her, didn't WeChat her, nor did he pick her up at her mother's.
Lisa had never felt such unease...
It was as if an adult gave a child a lollipop every day, but one day, suddenly stopped.
Of course, the child would be mad.
"Yeah... you sure came back at a bad time, I didn't even think you'd be back."
Jungkook was mad too, so he spoke out of anger.
"Good job, Jeon Jungkook." Lisa smiled in despair.
Jungkook looked at her; at that moment, he both loved and hated her... but he didn't know what to do with her.
"What about you? Didn't you do the exact same thing? You ignored your reputation, my reputation, and JC's reputation, just to help someone who doesn't even need your help. Lisa, what was going on with that brain of yours?"
Lisa glanced at him with a complicated expression on her face. "I shouldn't have come back. I'll leave."
They were both mad and couldn't even communicate properly... therefore, she decided to turn around and leave...
Jungkook hugged her by the waist; he carried her up and dropped her on the couch. He didn't use force, but he wasn't gentle either.
She could tell that he was angry.
"Lisa, we're not done talking yet, how can you leave like that?"
"About what? What do we have left to say?" Lisa sneered.
"I remember that you asked for my opinion... why did you still do it, even if you knew that you shouldn't?" Jungkook had never hated Jimin nor had he gotten jealous of him, even when he sang for Lisa at JC's 30th anniversary...
But this time, he couldn't take it anymore...
He didn't care about what others said, nor did he care about gossip. He only cared about Lisa's heart.
He was scared that Lisa felt something for Jimin.
"Are you kidding me? I'm an independent person, not your accessory. I discussed it with you because I respect you, but it doesn't mean that I have to take your advice... I thought about this a lot, I'm not a child and I know to weigh the pros and cons. But Jungkook, I have my own ethics, and everyone has different standards in life... If I didn't stand out to help him, I would feel bad for the rest of my life."
"Why don't you just say... that you care about him?" Jungkook was furious.
"What... did you say?" Lisa stared at Jungkook in disbelief.
Jungkook had a feeling that his words were too impulsive just now... he didn't have the courage to repeat them.
Lisa got up from the couch and pushed Jungkook aside with all her might, attempting to leave their home.
However, she couldn't...
"Let go of me..."
"No."
"I'm leaving!"
"Where?"
"I'm going to go look for Jimin, didn't you say that I cared about him?" Lisa stopped filtering her words.
This was the most serious fight they had ever gotten into...
They both said things they didn't mean.
Upon hearing what Lisa said, Jungkook became even angrier. He pushed Lisa down onto the couch, lowered his head, and bit on her plump lips.
"Mhm..." Lisa struggled, but couldn't escape from Jungkook's embrace.
His tall and strong body pushed down on hers, so hard that she couldn't breathe.
His kisses came down like raindrops, with a hint of punishment. He bit the corner of her lips, as she felt a slight pain there.
She was furious, but couldn't do anything about it...
Therefore, she put her arms around Jungkook's neck and bit him back.
She used ten times the strength... one bite and Jungkook's lips began to bleed...
The stench of blood quickly flowed out and into their mouths...
Yet, Jungkook was still stubborn; even though his lips were in extreme pain, he still didn't let go of Lisa...
He kissed her even more domineeringly...
He only stopped when they were completely worn out...
Lisa pushed him aside, breathing heavily as she did.
She leaned back on the couch, exhausted. Her lips still tasted like Jungkook's blood...
She coughed gently... and forced herself to get up from the couch.
"Lisa..." The truth was, he wanted to apologize.
She paused, but then walked up to the door and left immediately. She didn't even give him the chance to say 'I'm sorry'.
Jungkook regretted what he did...
He pushed aside the curtains and saw Lisa leave Imperial Park... his heart began throbbing in pain again.
After she left, Lisa hailed a cab.
"Sky Blessing Court." After she got on the cab, she only said three words before falling silent in the back seat.
The driver couldn't help but look at her from the rearview mirror; the more he looked at her, the more scared he got...
"Um... I have to go home for dinner, why don't you... get off up there and hail another cab?"
Lisa looked up to see that there were still bloodstains by the corner of her mouth; it was indeed terrifying to look at during this hour.
"I'm not a freakin vampire..." Lisa vented her anger at Jungkook in her head and then growled at the driver.
The driver was at a loss for words...
He shivered and focused his attention onto the road, not daring to say anything else.
It was already past 1 AM by the time she arrived at Sky Blessing Court. Thank goodness her mother didn't lock the doors.
Lisa went upstairs quietly, took a shower, and rolled into bed...
Her phone had run out of juice and turned off; she plugged it in without turning it on, and then lied down.
Jungkook took out his phone and dialed that familiar number...
"I'm sorry, the subscriber you dialed is not available right now."
His heart sank upon hearing that Lisa's phone was off...