"Look at you!" Lisa exclaimed, welcomed by grateful licks on her face. "You've gotten so big, Love!" and her head turned to witness a strict-posture Jung-Kook, who eyed them from two meters away. The brunette concluded that the boy resembled a guard waiting for the prison visit to be over, and at that awkward thought, she gave Love a pat and discreetly led him to Jung-Kook.

Receptive and willing to interact, Love's first move was to play "tug of war" with the lower rim of the boy's pants.

"Sit." he then commanded and Lisa's mischievous expression was discharged for a surprised raise of her eyebrows after Love, strictly obedient, followed with the request. Bending down for a threatful pat on the head, he left a "Good boy." exclamation, then looked up grinning devilishly at Lisa. A way of signaling that he had won their unannounced fight. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." she accepted nonchalantly.

"Where'd you get him?"

"I found him the night we met in the parking lot."

"You found him?" Jung-Kook repeated, bewildered. Love is a well-fed doberman puppy that can go up to two thousand dollars. Nobody in their right mind would do such a thing as abandon one, at least in Jung-Kook's books.

"Yes." she confirmed, her hand in between Love's teeth as he playfully chewed her fingers. "I wanted to go out with my friends, when I stepped outside, he was at my door. I picked him up and went to my father's restaurant to show him - hence our encounter."

"Perhaps it was a gift from wooer." he guessed. He learnt that her father is a rich restaurant owner just now, thus her admirers must be on the same boat. Maybe filthy wealthy suitors give hundred dollar puppies as a display of love.

"It would be hard for any wooer to find my address. He could've simply gotten lost."

"Did you bring him to the vet for a scan? Maybe he has a microchip."

"I did. He has one, however it's not connected to the database, so it's useless. I did my part, most NGOs are informed about this. I'll just keep him until further notice."

"Why did you bring him to your father first?" he further questioned. In his mind, he already assumed that Lisa's father must be a huge dog lover, but he wished for the conversation to continue.

"He's a big dog...enjoyer? I guess. He's a know-it-all when it comes to this, so I figured I should ask him. Plus, he's had this breed of dogs before."

Lisa struggled against that <before> for she knew that meant before he had met him. That before connects her to a past where she'd lived with her biological father in a house of constant unhappiness and stress.

"So you had a doberman before?" Jung-Kook concluded, for if her father had one, then she also must have had him by logical connection. Unknown to Jung-Kook, Lisa's history was more profound than that, and his simple thoughtless logic did not apply.

"You could say that." the brunette affirmed, for she saw the spark that lit in his eyes the moment the conversation wrapped around dogs. Truthfully, she was not an expert but her soul did not dare to put an end to his happiness, thus she kept going about dogs for as long as she could. "I heard Dobermans are not really a family dog, so I suppose Love would be my first doberman."

"They're really dependent." the boy agreed, taken back by even her smallest knowledge about the breed. "That's why you should start training him, before he loves me more. Then it will be too late."

"Excuse me?!" she exclaimed, palm on chest as she faked a surprised gasp. "Love would never love you more!"

"Be delusional starting from tomorrow, for now, let's go."

"Where?"

"What do you mean <where>? To purchase some food, they have got none left." his tone bantering as if it was the most obvious thing she failed to notice.

"Jung-Kook?" Lisa finally abandoned the puppy back inside the yard and threateningly approached the younger boy.

"Yeah?"

"It's six in the morning."

"I'm on duty tonight, I have to do it anyway. Might as well just do it now."

"Ok, do it then." the brunette signaled for him to go, as she stomped back to the yard. Jung-Kook's eyes never left her, and when he saw her squat back down to play with the dogs, he turned back as if wanting to leave.

"Fine, I'll just leave you here then, have fun finding your way back."

The girl's attention was hooked, her gaze went from the concrete pavement to the swallowing nothingness that began five meters ahead. She was perhaps unready to face the darkness all alone, hence she considered the offer. But her ego rather huge refused to allow her to follow the man, for she had to have dignity. "What, you'll follow him anywhere now?" She told herself as per trying to convince her fearful side. "I'll sleep with the dogs if I must, but I won't follow him again. "

Creak.

His steps were slow but huge, and so when Lisa got up and decided against her initial intention, her legs began a jog fueled by her imagination that made up horrific scenarios of unknown creatures reaching for her from the dark.

"Fine, wait!" and at that, Jung-Kook's pleased gut gave birth to another grin, as he slowed down and slyly turned his head back only half-way. At that sight, Lisa frowned. "I'll come, but you'll walk behind me."

"Really?" his left eyebrow raised to his hairline, but was hidden under his bangs, and his grin never left his face. "What if someone jumps in front of you?" and at that, Lisa's pace decreased significantly. "See, sometimes it's best to stay side by side." he suggested, throwing a hand over Lisa's shoulder. "Or," the boy continued, retracting his hand, "you could learn boxing."

"No! It's fine." She grabbed him by his arm and placed it back around her. "Let's just hurry."

"What if your admirer sees us like that? What if he'll fight me?" Jung-Kook faked a scared wave of his eyebrows, such an exaggerated terrified imitation that Lisa's truly scared face made place for a giggle.

"Shut up."  

*

"Absolutely not."

"Fine," Lisa finally gave up, looking displeased at a Jung-Kook that barely peeked behind a pile of dog food packs that he was carrying. "Then at least let me carry your phone. It's going to fall out of your pocket."

"Ok, take it." and at his agreement, Lisa's hand slipped into the pocket of his jeans, taking it out.

"You said it's going to fall, why'd you have to slip your hand all the way into my pockets?"

"Oh, shut up. I'm offering a kind gesture and that's what I get?"

"Sorry, I was just worried! You dug your hand until your elbow, I was scared you're going to fall in my pocket and you'd suffocate."

"You're such...oh? Look at that!" Lisa exclaimed as she mistakenly catched a glimpse of something in a shop. Jung-Kook, who struggled to see over the pile of bags, finally met the subject of the girl's excitement and sighed in disbelief.

"You're so easily distracted." he commented, but regardless, Lisa's gaze never broke eye contact with the shop's window, and when it eventually did, she met Jung-Kook's eyes with a subtle sign of sadness overshadowed by what he found to be shameless begging. He was against it, but from his height, her pleading eyes only appeared bigger and fuller of hope, and so he broke the moment with a sight before giving up. "It's not even open yet. It opens at seven."

"Well, it's almost seven. You have to drop this in the car anyway. By the time we'll be back, they will have opened."

"Lisa?" he called, starting to walk towards the parking lot.

"Yes?" she walked proudly, swinging her car keys on her finger, thus her tone was rather radiant of joy.

"Do you see me as some sort of personal assistant?"

"Do you see me as some sort of personal driver, Mr. I-don't-have-a-license? What if I leave you with all these twenty kilograms packs of dried dog food here?"

"Let's go," Jung-Kook - defeated - stated, after a moment of contemplating, "it's almost seven."

The city life began to awaken, for it was almost seven in the morning. Sounds of mere nothingness in harmony with occasional humming were soon overtaken by purring of the cars' motors. The orange that announced the rise of the sun slowly floated higher on the sky, emerging into a monotone blue. One by one, shops were lit up by neon lights and as the streets began crowded, the city finally was fully awake.

"When do your courses start?"

"Courses?" Jung-Kook, puzzled, repeated her words.

"Well..." Lisa stopped, not only metaphorically but also physically standing unmoved besides her car as the trunk opened with the click of the key, "when do you have to go back to the Uni?"

"Oh, don't worry about it."

"Great!"

"Why?"

"You're quite strong," Lisa concluded, after witnessing how her jeep significantly trembled when he deposited the dog food inside it, "aren't you?"

*

"I can't accept that," the doctor concluded, her hand pinching the bridge of her nose in a desperate attempt to convince herself, "Young-Ji can't accept that. I'm sorry. Thank you, but I have to say no." Somewhere in her heart, perhaps even in one room of it, there was a deafening scream that begged her to take it, as her eyes laid defeated on the huge toy that completely hid her "welcome" mat outside her door. Min Seo-Yeon, the immoveable and dedicated doctor Lisa had visited just yesterday regarding her teacher's death, was now under a different kind of pressure.

Lisa's intentions were now clear, from Dr. Min's perspective, the brunette attempted to bribe her into revealing more about the case of Mrs. Song Jang-Mi's death. Thus, her doubt in accepting the gift. And, surely, the girl would be pleased to hear something about it, but truthfully, she came at the doctor's doorstep with no ill intentions, for her decision was fueled by the little girl's desire to have such a toy more than her own desire to know about the case. In the end, the girl reminded Lisa of her younger self, therefore fulfilling the girl's desire was like fulfilling her own.

"Well," the brunette began her speech as she gradually moved away from the entry of the house, "we're going to leave it here." to which Jung-Kook obediently nodded. "Look, Dr. Min, I'm not trying to offend you or bribe you into something. I know it may seem like it, and I deny every assumption of this kind, so just...give it to Young-Ji."

"Then why?" the woman asked, perplexed. Toys of this size cost tons of money, thus it's understandable to question why a stranger would spend this much on another. Dr. Min had been in this situation before, with a slightly different form - powerful people trying to win her silence or find information from her, all paid in cash.

"I'm not some kind of loan shark trying to win over you, don't worry." Lisa announced as the corner of her lips melted into a warm smile. "Young-Ji reminds me of my younger self, it's just an act of kindness. Birthdays mean a lot to kids, so make sure hers is the best! That's all I ask for."

A moment of emptiness laid over them. Dr. Min's repeated sighs gradually disappeared into thin air, until then, Jung-Kook tried to catch Lisa's eyes for an exchange of meaningful looks, for he dared not to speak through the silence. However, soon enough Lisa decided to step forwards and embrace Dr. Min's hands with hers, a moment of enclosure that allowed for her sincerity behind her actions to be proven. And that itself was a gift for the doctor, for a long time has passed since she felt the warmth of safety encircling her.

"How'd you know?" her tiny voice trembled as it left her tongue.

"Excuse me?"

"How'd you know about Young-Ji's wish for her birthday?"

"Hmm...long ago," Lisa adopted her narration voice after thinking her story through, "I've worked as an elf at the North Pole! I guess the senses just never disappear. Did I guess right!? I was afraid I'd mess up since it's nowhere near Christmas and my abilities sometimes lack."

"Thank you," Dr. Min's overwhelmed cry was broken by a giggle, "I'm sure Young-Ji will love it." and her hands hurriedly wiped off the never-ending tears.

"Lisa?" Jung-Kook finally interrupted.

Lisa's head discretely rotated in order to give him a wordless response, to which he signaled towards the phone by his ear, then the car. Something must have come up, she acknowledged with a nod, then turned back to Dr. Min, who, up until now, never got over Lisa's kindness, thus her hands didn't leave the brunette's. With regret and reluctance, she broke the bond and excused herself.

"We have to leave, Mrs." she announced, to which Dr. Min's hands retracted and she performed a bow full of gratitude.

"Give me your number, I'll pay back for it sometime."

*

"Lisa! You're here!" Jennie's words slipped out of her mouth as soon as she saw Lisa's figure exiting the car. In the parking lot near the campus, Jennie waited anxiously for Lisa to arrive. To her side, her well intended boyfriend, who called Jung-Kook earlier to request for him to return to the campus, held her hand in an innocent attempt of reducing Jennie's stress. However, he was abandoned as she rushed to Lisa soon after her appearance.

"What happened?" She locked the car and approached the couple with Jung-Kook following close behind.

"Here." Tae-Hyung led them to the open trunk of his car. On the black carpet, placed carefully - a laptop - closed and secured in a half-opened carrier.

"What's this?" Lisa questioned the terrified manner Jennie talked about a mere laptop, and reached with her hand to touch it. Jung-Kook, who was towered above her to see inside as well, grabbed her wrist to stop her, then threw a disapproving look. It appeared to Lisa that everyone was aware of the object and she figured as the only uninformed one among them. Thus, she requested to be informed with a look that traveled from one to another.

"Put these on, then open it." Jennie instructed her after giving her a pair of blue gloves.

The strangeness of the scene became insufferable, but with each moment that passed by her, her impatience regarding the laptop grew, even more as Jennie's concerned look never vanished, instead her eyebrows accentuated her frown more and more. Further back, Tae-Hyung scanned the parking lot for any passers-by.

Her fingers, almost unwilling, pressed it open. As the loading screen finished displaying a circling arrow, the lock screen appeared.

Hello, Song Jang-Mi! Read the screen, requesting a password before unlocking.

"Is this some sort of prank?" the brunette asked in disbelief. Something similar to fear attacked her logical thinking, along with questions that penetrated her brain. What would a dead person's laptop do here? Or rather, anywhere except the investigating room? "Where did you get this?"

"This morning, I went to your door because I needed some pads, and it was on your bed. I didn't think much of it, but it was already opened on its lock screen and I unconsciously read the name it displayed and..." she told Lisa, with a nervous shake interrupting her cursive talking. Perhaps hormones were also messing with her coherent speech. "Is it really...hers?"

"How would I know?"

"You're in her Legal Advice Team, you must've seen it before."

"I don't know!" her hands tangled in her hair, a desperate attempt to recall those times. "I didn't pay attention to it."

"Should we unlock it?" Jung-Kook chained in.

"We don't know the password." said Tae-Hyung, crushing his hopes.

"I think you guys are missing the big deal here." Lisa suggested, in a faked nonchalant voice. "The laptop of my dead lecturer...appeared, out of nowhere on my bed, inside the "high security" dorms," she then threw a look submerged in irony at Jung-Kook, as he recalled his description, "and you guys are worried about the password? Give it." her hand opened and closed, waiting for Jung-Kook, who held it, to place it on her palm.

"Why?"

"I'm bringing it to the police station."

"No way, Li!" Jennie grabbed it in a rush at Lisa's words, then displayed a look that embraced sorrow, as if Lisa's rational thinking betrayed her plans. "If they haven't got their hands on it to begin with, do they really care? Let's just take a look ourselves, then you can give it to the... president of Venezuela for all I care. Okay?"

"Jen, this isn't right. Don't be reckless."

"I'm not, Li! I'm not, really!" Jennie was almost begging for Lisa to believe her. Her eyes, her sly eyes were now round and drowned in a salty sea of hopelessness. She had to see what the device held, and so did Lisa. Perhaps Lisa had to see even more, if you dared to compare the desire in their hearts, but her obedient-to-the-law manner of handling crisis refrained her from acting as she urged.

"Fine, do it." and as her hand left her hair, the disagreeing look disappeared from her face. She was left with empty eyes and a neutral tone. "I'm leaving. You are on your own on this one."

"Leave." her colleague said, "But you're the only one that could come close with guessing the password. Fine, leave, but know that if you don't help, I'll probably mess it up so bad that no one will be able to open it ever. Not you, not the police, not the investigators." her tone increased as Lisa began distancing. She had to hear this, and she did, then recognized it was all a way of Jennie's to destroy her emotionally until she gave up. "What if she knew her end was near, and purposely planned for you to find the laptop. Would you be able to live with that?"

Lisa stopped.

Lisa stopped but didn't turn around, in fact, she made sure her back was facing the three she left behind. Her lids kissed deeply, allowing darkness to swallow her view, and as the environment did not steal her focus anymore, her thoughts became louder. Her initial guess was that some sort of criminal placed it there - and even the fact that someone had access to her room scares her deeply, so deep that she felt her marrow freeze inside her bones. But then again, which criminal would rather reveal evidence than destroy it?

"We don't even know if it's hers." she whispered, defeated.

Behind her, the three had already claimed their seats inside Tae-Hyung's car, except Jung-Kook, who patiently kept a door open, turned towards her. And when she finally chose to face him, his hopeful eyes twitched.

"After you."