E | ●
It was Yang Ahjussi from the villa.
An old servant of the Bae family. Lisa had been introduced to him on the first day that she had started staying by Irene's side; she had learned the rules from Yang Ahjussi. In the beginning, the other had only been a strict and harsh teacher. After becoming familiar with him, though, Lisa discovered that he was actually a friendly and caring elder. He took care of Lisa like he was taking care of his own granddaughter.
At the time, she had left in a rush. She hadn't even had time to pack up the miscellaneous items still at the villa: clothes, daily goods, and a few sketchbooks. These sketchbooks were all filled with drawings of Irene. They were also technically the best works she had created to date. She had always found it quite a pity that she hadn't brought them back with her.
However, she was already an expired lover, after all. It felt inappropriate to go back and ask for these things. Additionally, she didn't have the courage to do so either, so could only forget about them.
Unexpectedly, after brief small talk, Yang Ahjussi actually asked, "Uri Lisa-ssi, did you get into an argument with Young Miss?"
How was Lisa supposed to respond to this? She had never dared to assume, not even for a second, that she was qualified to argue with Irene.
She could only vaguely deny this. She couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"
Yang Ahjussi fell silent for a moment before responding, "Recently, Young Miss......hasn't been in a great mood."
Lisa's heart twinged with pain. Her hands uncontrollably tightened into fists. She quieted for a moment, "She's probably......been busy with work, I guess. They're recently signing the renewal contract for her company, right?"
Even though she was no longer by Irene's side, Lisa still kept the habit of watching the entertainment news. This was the only way she could see Irene now. Recently, Irene's contract renewal case had picked up great momentum. Even while eating at the cafeteria, she could hear trainee friends discussing it. At such a time, it felt even more like her experiences had merely been part of an extravagant dream.
Yang Ahjussi didn't respond to this.
As usual, he asked a few questions about Lisa's current situation before hesitantly hanging up.
Lisa blanked out for a long time while staring at the dull, black screen of her phone. She incessantly thought of the scratch marks on Irene's arm. Did the girls back home touch you like I did? Lisa thought. She was a bit worried that the person by Irene's side now wasn't that obedient— But upon second thought, she also felt like she wasn't in a position to worry.
They had just reached one week of separation. Lisa frequently dreamed of Irene. Almost every night, she jolted awake, startled.
Sometimes, they were sorrowful dreams. Other times, they were wet dreams. They were so realistic that Lisa often felt shocked and embarrassed by her own memories.
She also felt a bit of hidden delight that she didn't dare to share with others. After all, being able to see Irene, even though it was only in her dreams, was still nice.
The time she spent missing Irene was just as much as before.
But she wasn't depressed. She was so determined and hardworking that even she herself felt a bit surprised. Probably because in her subconscious, she believed that she didn't have the spare time or energy to waste on meaninglessly moping.
Rosé's exhibition had already officially opened. It received very positive responses.
Gradually sponsors and investors started contacting her. Among them, there were also a few wealthy individuals from Irene's social circle.
This more or less gave Lisa a bit of hope for the future.
For that day, she needed to work as hard as she could. She couldn't waste even a moment.
As for Irene, she wasn't actually in as bad a mood as Yang Ahjussi had said.
Although she really wasn't in a great mood.
After all, she wasn't on break like Lisa was; she didn't have enough time to shift her mentality. There were daily tasks to take care of at the company every day. Though they had already finished negotiations for the contract case, there were still many formal steps to be taken.
Their collaborators had flown over from halfway across the country. The person leading the team was also her elder sister's longtime best friend. His name was Kim Heechul. He had both a spicy personality and intelligence. With the advantage of being half an elder, he was relentless when he opened her mouth. Simply welcoming him had been an extremely tedious process.
But there were benefits of being so busy too. While busy, she could throw her love life to the back of her mind.
Otherwise, as soon as she had free time, her brain would become a kaleidoscope: while eating, she always wanted to see the dishes that Lisa liked to eat. She would notice girls on the road with similar statures. She dreamed all night, every night. During a fifteen minute nap after lunch, she could dream of four to five different positions. They would all be in different locations, too.
Varying dinner parties followed one after the other. Upon seeing that the spot beside her was empty, everyone teased her. Her friends urged her to find someone who looked similar and to keep them around instead.
"Do I, Irene, seem like someone who would use counterfeit products?" On the spot, she rebuked and furrowed her brows.
She really could think of Lisa while looking at anything. However, Lisa was unique and irreplaceable. Nobody was similar to Lisa.
She obviously did feel sad. But the sorrow didn't last for too long.
This was actually thanks to Rosé.
The first day after their separation, Irene went to see Rosé's exhibition. At that time, her heart still felt like it was getting clawed out and she could barely sit still. She only wanted to be able to see Lisa. Unexpectedly, she didn't manage to find Lisa. Even the sculptures that Lisa had modeled for had been removed.
Rosé recognized her. She directly walked over, "Sorry, that was an incomplete set. It's not for sale."
Only now did Irene remember she had intended to spend a lot of money to buy that set of sculptures. However, she obviously wasn't here to ask about the sculptures. She simply apologized for her loss of composure last time and inquired how Lisa was currently doing. She purposefully acted nonchalant. There was a hint of childish challenge in her actions.
Who would've thought that Rosé would completely refuse to engage. "I don't know."
"Don't know?"
"Of course not. Haven't you seen her art pieces before? She's already become an artist capable of being independent. Why would she still collaborate with me? Also, how would I know what her plans for the future are?" Rosé instantly responded, as if everything was super obvious.
Should she say she felt happy or sad?
Lisa actually hadn't left her for Rosé. Lisa had left her simply because she didn't want to be with her.
However, it was still nice that she wouldn't need to steal Lisa from anyone else.
Irene stood among Rosé's group of strange artworks for a little over an hour. She let her mind go blank, then made a decision: the way her relationship with Lisa had started truly hadn't been too healthy. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing that they were ending here. After completely signing off the merger case and letting the dust settle on this busy period, she would slowly try to woo that person so that she would come back again.
She bought her subordinate's normal, second hand car worth a hundred-something thousand.
She ordered the family tailor to make a few ordinary clothes that looked like things a student would wear.
Heechul, her collaborator——as her elder sister's best friend——asked Irene in private if she was dating.
Irene thought about it, then generously admitted that she hadn't successfully wooed the other yet.
At this time, it was the last day of the contract signing. They stood in front of the reporters' cameras to sign. Both felt like such an activity was too formal. Thus, they simply decided to start chatting.
Heechul asked her if she needed a bit of outside help?
Irene shook her head. "I don't want anyone else to get involved."
Heechul smiled. "Seems like you really treasure that person."
"I do." In a rare occurrence, Irene acted a bit shy. She lowered her head and smiled too.
This scene was captured by the cameras of Disbitch reporters and completely broadcasted in the social media.
■■■
Lisa, who had been eating in the cafeteria, was suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by Irene's smile.
Before she could regain her wits, she heard the younger female trainees who were majoring in advertising chitter-chattering about Irene, Heechul, their family backgrounds, their wealth and education, how suitable they were for each other. Each barely discernible sentence seemed like a sharp knife.
Lisa's chopsticks fell onto the ground.
Yes.
She was still too naive.
Irene was so wonderful. So many people liked Irene. How was it possible for her to stay in place and only wait for one person?
The pain appeared out of the blue.
The reasons she had used a few days ago to comfort and encourage herself were instantly struck down, like a sand castle knocked down by an enormous wave.
Lisa belatedly felt a never ending despair. She didn't want to eat anymore either. She stood up, turned around, and walked outside. She couldn't handle seeing Irene smile like that next to someone else.
Yet, she didn't know where to go. She only walked forward in a daze.
When she came back to her senses, she realized that she was standing on the little platform of the bus station next to the edge of the garden belonging to Irene's private villa—— If she took one extra step forward, she would be in the viewing vicinity of the security cameras of Irene's villa. She hurriedly froze and started taking steps back. Then, she sat down on the curb.
She stared at the well-protected private garden in front of her.
Finally, while hugging her own shoulders, being a lovesick girl, she burst into uncontrollable tears.
As if the Heavens felt like she wasn't crying hard enough, a flash of lightning suddenly stretched across the sky. Huge drops of rain poured down. What a dramatic scene, Double Patty ratings might dropped TV broadcast upon seeing this.
On the way home, Irene found such a Lisa: eyes and nose red from crying, completely lost, and soaked to the bone. She looked like a puppy that had been abandoned by its owner.
In the beginning, Irene thought that she had started hallucinating because she missed the other too much. After all, she actually hadn't wanted to return to the villa today. There were too many of Lisa's things in the villa. Even now, looking at them was a bit......
However, upon finishing work, she had relaxed and forgotten to notify the chauffeur. After a short nap, the car was already outside the garden. She was just about to ask the chauffeur to loop back around when she heard the other ask, "Young Miss, is that Miss Manoban?"
Irene's heart felt like it was being squeezed.
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
She hurriedly held up an umbrella and left the car. When she took a closer look, she realized it really was Lisa. Her heart almost stopped beating.
"Lisa? What's wrong? Why are you here?"
Lisa had cried herself stupid. Her reaction came a moment later.
With an "ah," she regained her wits and tried to escape, but she had already been trapped in Irene's embrace. The other's arms were wrapped around her waist.
"How come you came here alone to cry? Who bullied you? Don't you know to find cover during such a big rainstorm? You got yourself into this state?"
The person in her arms was so cold that it felt like she had just been taken out of the freezer. Irene felt extremely displeased. Without another word, she stuffed Lisa into the car, holding onto the other's hands and ordering her not to move around. She hugged the other to keep her warm. As soon as they reached the villa, she immediately carried Lisa into the bedroom and soaked her in a bathtub full of hot water.
Lisa was still bewildered.
Until Irene fished her out of the tub, dried her off, and stuffed her under the blankets. Only then did she finally weakly call out, "Miss Bae."
"응." Irene's brows had stayed furrowed together all this time. Her expression was conflicted. "Drink the ginger soup."
Lisa didn't dare to make another peep. She obediently did as she was told.
Irene walked out to the balcony and smoked a cigarette. After standing there for a while, she suddenly opened the door and walked back in. "Lisa, I'm going to ask you a question. You have to answer honestly."
"Eh?"
"In actuality......you like me a little bit, right?"
The bowl in Lisa's hands fell onto the ground with a thunk. Tears instantly started streaming down her face. "S-sorry! I won't bother......ah......umm......"
Without another word, Irene had directly walked over and pressed her into the bed. She only let Lisa go after the other was completely breathless from being kissed and could no longer speak.
"Are you dumb? Why did you run, then? Can't you tell? I like you."
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