2. une nuit pleuvieuse
[a rainy night]

The sound of the raindrops echoed against the glass panels. It was raining yet again.

Like all the other territories, Busan hadn't seen the sunlight for over months now. Everyone was just so consumed in their pursuit of power, that they had succumbed to their passions, giving up their hope to live.

Perhaps this was God's way of punishing everyone by turning nature against themselves.

Lisa boringly stared outside the wall sized window ㅡ only to find grey clouds reaching beyond the horizon. Her slim body slouched against the window frame, with a sudden want to explore the outside world.

She knew it was dangerous. Jungkook wouldn't let her be outside. Not even for a minute.

She wanted to feel the petrichor, even if it meant only for once.

"Ms Kim." Min Soojung, the elderly woman voiced out, making Lisa frantically turn her head to face her.

The woman who looked after the household chores along with the other staff, instantly took note of the grief that settled in the young girl's eyes.

"You want to go out?" She asked in a tiny voice, faintly reaching to Lisa's ear as she slowly nodded.

"Yes please."

When Jungkook returned, there wasn't a trace of Lalisa in the entire manor. The girl who would always wait for him behind the pillars had suddenly disappeared.

He couldn't simply just walk up to his staff to ask about her whereabouts; it would directly point a question, that why exactly he was so worried for her. Instead, he looked up around each hook and crook, checked the basements, all the rooms and bunkers by himself where she might've possibly trailed her footprints.

A gasp of horror flushed in his face.

"Where the hell did the woman go?!" He yelled, terrifying all the workers that stood quivering before him.

"S-s-sir..." Soojung stuttered.

"She went out, she said she'll be back-"

"Out? Why! Doesn't she know how much of a danger she isn't in? Who let her out!?"

Just then, a faint voice spoke into one of Jungkook's earpieces. A moment later, a girl wearing a black oversized hoodie stepped in, drenched golden locks peeking out from the side. The hood slipped down a little, revealing her face.

Jungkook grabbed the girl furiously by her shoulders, turning her to face him.

"I-I...." she tried to explain, but her lips trembled, her body shivering from staying out in the rain for long.

"Do you think it's so easy out there for you to go and roam around? Especially if it's an immature kid like you who loves to invite dangers?!"

"I j-j-just wanted some fresh air...can we p-please talk in-"

"No were not. Why should we, let everyone know the consequences of stepping out of the comfort they're getting to face the grim reality outside. Did you perhaps forget the consequences in which I found you?!" He raised his voice, sternly mocking her.

Lisa had heard enough. The pressure within her finally found a way to burst outside, just right after Jungkook's comment.

"Yes, I did walk out. You wanna know why? Cause I feel pathetic, trapped inside. It's so suffocating, I feel as if I'm more of a hostage to your than a refugee. Why would you save me then, you could've let me die instead. Because this is another living hell you want me to rot in? Answer me, Jeon."

The sudden outburst from Lisa was quite a rare scenario to witness. The impact was so strong that it forced Jungkook to zip his mouth, unable to utter a single word as she stomped off to the cage-like room upstairs.

Although standing bold in front of him throughout the argument, Lisa couldn't  help but feel sorry for her behaviour towards Jungkook. It was true that she felt like being trapped, but she couldn't forget how much of a risk her life was in and Jungkook strived so hard to protect her.

Protect from whom? Well from her uncle, Kim Hyun Shik. Who was also the ruling cult of Seoul. Majorly he's been trying to execute Lisa after planning for months and years, he was even successful in doing so. Lisa was certain she would've died that day if it were not for Jungkook who noticed her lifeless body lying by one of the estranged alleys.

Jungkook stretched his arms, heaving a deep sigh of exhaustion. Lisa's words continuously rammed inside his head.

He was only offering a help; he drifted away from the matter so quick that he never really had an open conversation with her for once. To him, she was only a person seeking shelter under his roof and possibly talkative, bubbly yet annoying at times.

Maybe it was his fault that he never understood her. Jungkook knew Lisa meant of some importance to him, he just didn't know why. Or rather, he never sought to find a reason for it.

Was his help only a gesture of kindness?

Was she only a responsibility?

Or was there something more to itㅡ

"L-Lisa?" Jungkook noticed her silhouette shuffling across the hallway from his peripheral view. Bringing a halt to his thought, he edged closer; only to find the girl, mumbling a few incoherent words whilst her eyes drooped down in drowsiness.

Maybe she's just sleepwalking again. He wondered.

He was habituated to this settled tendency of hers. He mostly never give much of a care towards it, since she would pace to-and-fro around the hallway and get back to normal.

He heard some noises later, typically those which are heard when someone is banging against the wall. Confused, he decided to go take a check.

He found Lisa just outside her room, subconsciously hitting her head while murmuring the same words over and over again.

"Tsk, this girl." He muttered, before placing his hand to pose as a barrier between her head and the wall, so as to stop her from hurting herself.

"No wonder she complains of concussions every morning."

Jungkook placed his arm under her thighs, the other on her back, before lifting her up in his arms as she snuggled onto his neck.

It was the first time he had been this close to a girlㅡ the soft breaths and whimpers weren't helping either. He carried her into his room, since he didn't want to risk the chance of having her banging her head again.

Laying her down on his bed, he unconsciously pulled the duvet over her lean body, as she waddled close to him.

"Hey, Lisa. L-Lisa?" He whispered a couple of times in her ear, until she shot her head up, startling him a bit.

"Its....raining again right?" Was the first thing she asked, her voice reduced to a whisper.

"Hmm...yeah." Jungkook nodded, not knowing how to continue the conversation. So he chose to directly apologize to her about the incident.

"I'm sorry for today. And everyday, I guess." He mumbled. "I'm sorry too." She whispered back, making his eyes widen in shock.

"Maybe I'll take you out for a walk or two, we'll stay hideous then probably you'll be safe." He answered, as she nodded.

"So are we sorted?" He questioned as she hummed in response.

A moment of silence draped over, as Jungkook shifted a little closer to Lisa who was looking out of the window, taking in the view of the city now covered in thick fog, the atmosphere so dense that only a few skyscrapers could be seen around.

"I don't like the rain." Lisa muttered, her eyes still fixated on the glass. "It brings out the greyness that exists in my life....bad memories."

Her words were barely audible as she was slowly falling asleep, resting her head against the cool glass to relieve herself. His mind traced to the memory of the day he found her, when she escaped her city, Seoul.

"I did everything to fit between them. Life was tough, they always kept me alienated from their plans. I decided to run away, I tried multiple times....they would always find me and lock me up despite my cries to let me out. It was horrible." Lisa gulped, trying to fight the inner demons that resided in her mind.

"They said I meant nothing but a filth to them...a trash. Some of them tried to harass me, but my uncle said nothing. He only sees me as his brother's daughter who died years back in the revolutions. I didn't know what to do, so I did what I can do best; run away. They kept shooting at me as I barely managed to dodge them, some of them groping me whilst I tried to free from their grip...I ran directionless, not knowing if I'd ever survive. Until i gave up, tired and sick, my cries washed away with the rain that followed."

Jungkook merely stroked Lisa's hair, trying to comfort her as she quietly teared up. He remembered the events of that day, and after knowing about her past thoughts of rage and anger dwelled in his mind.

A security breach at the city entrance, his members had informed. They identified some of the intruders, they obviously came from the Busan cult. He found Lisa in a hopeless state.

Only God knows what might've happened to her if he hadn't reached to her at the right time.

There were bright flashes of lightening that illuminated the room for a split second, accompanied by booming thunder ruling the night sky. Terrified by the sound, Lisa pulled the duvet more towards herself, as if meaning to hide herself.

She continued to stare outside the window, the reflection of the night sky sparkled in her eyes. Jungkook stroked her hair, patting her back in an attempt to make her feel comfortable.

"You know Jungkook..." she started. "You might think of me as an annoying brat who gets on your nerves asking you where you've been, have you eaten or not, whether you are happy with everything you have and..." she sighed, reminiscing how long the list goes on.

"You might find me irritating, but Jungkook I appreciate and respect you a lot. You're just like the knight in shining armour I've read in princess stories. I thought they never existed, but perhaps they do. Maybe people say they don't since its hidden within them." The last of the few words were reduced to a whisper, as Lisa tried to get off the bed.

"Where are you going?" "To my room? I've already bothered you enough." "No, stay here please." Jungkook held her hand, pulling her back down.

"But you should sleep, I don't know how early you leave for your missions or whatever they're called. I must beㅡ"

"I don't like the rain too." He said quietly, as Lisa rolled around to look at him.

"Are you afraid thunderstorms too?" She curiously asked, her eyes fixed on his face that somehow glimmered in the faint moonlight reaching the window.

"Every person, of a high or low status, does have fears."

"True." She hummed.

Jungkook glanced at the clock tower which stood proudly a few miles away from his penthouse. He never bothered to spare a look at it, however it was today when he realized how close it was from his room.

"Do you see that tower there? People regard it to be just an ordinary city clock that reads time. They don't realize it symbolizes the phase we're going through."

"I don't get you." Lisa questioned.

"What I'm meaning to say is, that time is precious. Time never stops ticking, it waits for no one. Everyone who goes through a bad phase, blames it all on the time. And brags about how unfair life is. Don't you think it's better if we just let the happenings of the past stay in the past? Because it's easier to move on, when you get over the past events and focus on your present."

"Its pretty ironic of you to say so, but I like it. You're certainly a mystery, Jeon Jungkook." Lisa remarked.

Just a few moments later when the pattering of raindrops had stopped, Jungkook noticed Lisa had already fallen asleep, resting her head on his arm. He carefully moved his arm out in an attempt to not disturb her sleep, before motioning away to stand near the balcony.

Taking out a cigarette from his pocket, he was just about to light it up, when he remembered the last time Lisa advised him not to smoke.

He looked around and found a box of candies that was uniformly placed on his desk, as he put one in his mouth.

Maybe switching to sugar from nicotine would be the first step to change himself, to let go of his bad habits.

Unknowingly, a smile formed at the corner of his lips when he turned around to look at the girl ㅡ now peacefully sleeping like an angel, soft snores that escaped her plump lips.

Taking small steps, he reached the bed before leaning in to peck her forehead, followed by her cheek.

He just didn't know why, but a spark of warmth ignited in his soul, calming the tension in his nerves.

He wasn't aware of what this feeling was called, but he just loved it.

"What are you doing to me, Kim Lalisa?"

｢A/N」

Is it just me being unsatisfied with the plot or the storyline is actually very boring? =/