Where has she disappeared to so quick??

Jungkook finally managed to dodge himself out from the swarm of classmates who (as always) enthusiastically trying to chat with him after the class ended. He's been telling himself to patiently wait for 2 hours during class, just so he can find 'Lalisa' and maybe talk to her again.

Maybe that's why I never noticed her...she showed up and dashed out at every last second –

He saw her standing rigidly in front of a door to a lecture hall. Jungkook sighed in relief, partly huffing his tired breaths out for chasing after her shadow. From 15 feet away, she doesn't look that intimidating – unlike the previous 2 times he'd seen her. 

It's probably those clothes she's wearing...and the lack of make-up, what a contrast! He then began walking towards her...until he's near enough to hear the sound of a girl, coming from behind that opened door.

"Who is this girl - acting like some...some...delinquent! Yah...are you even a student here?"

Delinquent? Why, what did she do? Since 'Lalisa' is the only one he could focus on, he started moving faster. Even more when she fixes her stance – how her shoulders squared up and her hand seemingly ready with her cool, shiny, black helmet. She took a step ahead and for some reason, his heart beats faster.

"I wonder if you're still tough when I shove your pretty little face through this door...or are you gonna cry?"

She sounds so cool - oh wait...is she serious??

"Is everything alright..." He mumbled out quickly, just as she's about to raise the helmet. "Lalisa-ssi?"

She turns to him with a frown. It doesn't look like a good surprise...shoot – I should've thought about this!

"Ahh...Jungkook oppa...hello,"

Op...oppa? Nevertheless, he finally gets to see whose voice it belongs to. The girl has a few ribbon-like accessories and with the way she greets and dipping her head, he knew that she's a junior.

"Hello," He said, almost smiling but not really. An enemy to her is no friend of mine – I don't care who it is!

"We just bumped into each other...not a big deal," It's almost amusing to watch 'Lalisa' rolling her eyes at the girl. "Do you know her, oppa?"

I'm not your oppa! "We're classmates. You okay?" The question was directed to 'Lalisa' but she's obviously not wasting her time with it.

There she goes again -

Jungkook dipped his head like the polite boy that he is before jogging towards the girl. "Lalisa-ssi..." He calls out when he's close enough. He knew she heard him but it didn't seem like she is going to stop. "Are you okay?" He jogs faster until he reaches her pace. Why is she walking so fast - "Listen, I'm sorry! I didn't recognize you yesterday,"

"Don't sweat it, Jungkook-ssi..." What's wrong with her voice – "I won't go back and hurt your little girlfriend, if that's what you're worried about,"

Ahh I get it! Was that her impression of the girl just now? Aishh...she sounds cute! "She's not my girlfriend. I don't even know her," He chuckled embarrassingly.

"Funny. You don't even know me either but here you are, apologizing as if you hurt me," She finally stopped walking when they reached her awesome-looking bike. Then she smiles. "My feelings aren't as fragile as your girlfriend's chest. Have you checked if she's bleeding anywhere...oppa?"

On God, I will die if she really calls me that!! "I um...I asked you just now. Not her," She frowns. "Just now...I asked if you're alright but you just walked off," And now she's staring at him with amusement. "Listen, we seem to got off on the wrong foot,"

"Nahh...my feet feels alright! My shoulder too, thanks for asking,"

Jungkook can't help but sigh a smile because her cheekiness is testing. "Good to know..."

"Anything else?"

"I'm sorry?"

She rolled her eyes. "Anything else you wanna check cus I need to leave already and you're in my way,"

Oh...well then, should I just wing it? "Since um...since you enjoy getting straight to the point..." He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "I'd like to take you out," Her passive expression is unreadable... "On a date..." ...and he's getting nervous... "Maybe we can go for a movie..." Have I gone pink? "Have dinner after –"

"Hold hands while giggling shyly to the ground and getting our first kiss under the moonlight before you suggest we go to classes together, spend more nights with each other – uhuh, what else?" 

He could hear crickets in his mind. "What?"

"I don't have all day, Jungkook-ssi. What other clichés do you have for me?"

I mean...those didn't sound so bad, right? Hold hands...kiss under the moonlight - "I uh..." What else can we do on a first date – think, Guk!! "Maybe not a movie then,"

"Right," She smiles again and his heart felt like it has fallen...way too deep. "We can revisit this once you've figured it out. In the meantime, please don't act like my entire existence in the classroom has been bothering you for two whole semesters. Let's just both accept the fact that you've never even noticed me before yesterday and let me just clarify this, I don't give a single fuck about it. We can skip the pity-party and move on with our lives for the better of world peace, okay?"

. . .

"Eomma...can you um...can you tell me about the Heulgs?"

His parents stopped eating instantly – "Jeon Jungkook! Who taught you to call them that??" – and the disbelief is evident.

Jungkook looks down to his plate with guilt. "Sorry. I just...I heard it so many times this past couple of days..."

"By who?" His father asked calmly – quite the contrary of his mother.

"Just...friends, I guess,"

"Just because your friends call them that way doesn't mean it's alright for you to do so, you hear me? They're human beings, not some piece of land you step on! No human beings should be subjected to something so demeaning,"

"Yes, eomma...I'm sorry," He sighed because it's true. It was just at the tip of tongue after having to hear the incessant whining from Jaehyun, Chaeyoung, and Yugyeom in their pursuit to get Jungkook's mind off Lalisa. He's heard of that call for 4 days now and it's dangerously settling in his brain. "Can you tell me about them?"

His mother relaxed and smiled. "What do you want to know?"

Before he decided to ask his parents about the people from Heulg, Jungkook had visited the university library to do his own research. Not much was uncovered, other than the usual, factual reality that the rest of the Soulites already knew. 

In the ever-developing Soul, there is a major gap between 2 classes and it's not just Hon River. The books are saying that Jungkook lives in the good side of the city, where every family earns a certain level of income, from their fathers and their father's father - all the way since the 1950s.

While across the river, the three districts are where the low-tiered workers lives. They are known mostly by a mix of segregation - other than the original settlers, the misfits (ex-criminals) are also banned from living in Geum and forced to make their homes in the lands of Heulg. 

If the large difference is not seen between Geum's skyscrapers and perfect townhouses, and Heulg's scattered-looking makeshift shelters and old-looking apartments, the two social entities carry themselves like poles apart too.

For one, everyone in the good side of Geum tends to dress in the same conservative manners in the shades of everything soft. Jungkook does not own anything black (as much as he is fond of that color) or anything too bright for that matter. And neither does his friends. Soft browns are the best to go for a man, and so everyone looks pretty much the same all the time. 

Because of the strict upbringing of Geum's governed principles, you don't hear anyone cussing (like Lalisa did) and arguing in public. The locals could tell immediately if a crime or a fight had been committed - that it must be done by someone from Heulg (just by the reputation). 

Which was kind of odd, Jungkook's now beginning to think. So anyone can steal anything and just blame it on the south, simply because they have more people that used to be in prison? I mean...what if half of them used to be Geum's very own??

"Like...their lifestyle, maybe?"

"They're just like us, sweetie. They work...sleep and eat –" His mother chuckled, making him feel like a stupid child for asking. 

"They go shopping too –" And his father joins along – jeez!

"I know that! No, like...how different are they from us? Cus everyone's acting like there's a big gap between the river –"

"The only gap was made by our government, dear. Unfortunately, by most of us from Geum too. It's been unfair for far too long that we tend to normalize it,"

"They can be quite skilful, since they've been working independently and on hard labors for generations," His father adds.

"I have a classmate who's from Heulg,"

"We know,"

Oh! "You do?" Am I the only one who's clueless about her around here??

His mother's face brightened up. "The only one from Heulg who got accepted into Jilsin! She's very bright too – did you see her paper, The Logical Priority of the Question – Assessment for -"

"Assessment for the Excellence of Soul – yes!" His father responds excitedly. And again, Jungkook blinked with zero understanding of what they're talking about. "Oh, I love that paragraph...'these fabrications of ideals suggest that the entirety of Soul had somehow mutually agreed' –"

"'And encouraged the ongoing, non-interchangeable principles to renegade both parties' physical and spiritual needs and values – to which is dehumanizing in every forms acceptable in any society of the world, that it is a wonder how the United Nations have failed to recognize and we must ask..."

"'For building the new world – a far better world which the eternal dignity of man is respected, how did we let the power seats decide which neighbours are worth less than the other?' oh my - such brilliance!!" His father is now clapping his hands in awe. "She's a brave one for sending it to the faculty paper, truly!" 

Oh wow...they're really finishing off each other's sentences!

"It's a shame that they refused to publish it, it really is!"

"Sorry...faculty paper?" There are so many questions in his mind on top of this one, such as...

Are they talking about the same person? Lalisa? When did she submit a paper and how did they get to see it? Is it from one of our assignments? Which one? That sounded like some heavy topic...with big words...what are the context behind it? It must be really good since eomma and appa memorized it line by line...where can I read it?

"It's a newsletter to the members across all faculties. Personally, I won't mind having that article published for my students but it's banned by the boardmembers so all I could do was mention it in my classes," It's kind of new to see his mother talking about a student's work so passionately like this.

"She submitted an article for the professors?" Wow... "I didn't think students are allowed to do that –"

"They can...just that they don't. Youngsters like you aren't really excited in talking about the serious stuff, right? You're busy enough with your assignments...most will probably take it as another homework,"

"Which is why I said she was brave. Imagine handing that paper to the faculty staff – they called it a propaganda, these silly oldies!" His father laughs.

"Who knew she could write something so provocative at such a young age. That girl will go far in life – I bet my Doctorate for it! She was always so quiet in my class last year...always at the back. How is she now, Guk?"

"Same...still at the back, I mean," He said with a smile – imagining the many times he had to turn his head around just to catch a glimpse at her pretty round eyes.

"Are you friends with her?"

And...reality kicks in! "No...I tried but...she doesn't seem to like me,"

"Oh..." His mother reaches out for his hand as if he needed that consoling. "That's okay, sweetie...what did I always tell you? That growth –"

"Is like a tree," He answered.

With a pleased smile, his mother continues, "There's a fear of being swept away or eaten when it's just a sapling. It grows a little more and it starts acknowledging itself and its surrounding...it goes through all these phases by force yet all the while, it never stops giving. I always tell you to be that tree. Give kindness, give your best...just like the tree, tirelessly giving oxygen, fruits and shades for those who needed it. Stand strong on your ground, no matter the season. As long as you're doing that, people will appreciate you. They might not see it now, but they will...okay?"

. . .

This morning marks the 13th day of Jungkook watching and thinking about Lalisa from a far. 12 nights have passed with him wondering how on earth can he thaw the icy vibrations coming from the girl.

He can't say that he's had any good insights since she always comes in at the very last minute before a class starts and leaves not even a second after it ends. All he gathered was that she never spends the extra time on school grounds...but as of yesterday, Jungkook might have added a new lead on his questionable quest.

He visited Namjoon's bar to deliver the good news about his theses. It lasted for five minutes before he spent the next 2 hours ranting and blabbering about Lalisa and as it turned out, Namjoon has already asked Jackson about the girl who danced like there's no tomorrow 2 weeks ago.

Indeed, she is from across Hon River. In Heulin to be exact, the first district to meet the Hon bridge. Jungkook's curiosity dipped deeper when the 'hyung' revealed that her tattoos were done by Jackson. 

The gasps and gapes had probably shocked Namjoon a little too much but it can't be helped. Jungkook doesn't know any girl in his town who has tattoos on their bodies and maybe he didn't see her 'arts' anywhere in the past instances - forgive him for not taking it too well!

But never mind that, he has taken a big step today (more than a few, actually!). After a not-so-careful consideration, Jungkook decided to spend his Friday evening crossing the bridge and visiting the tattoo parlour that Namjoon had mentioned before. He calls this 'viewing the pond and see if it's worth the dip or not', rather than a stake-out.

 I'm not a stalking her...I'm just trying to 'figure it out'...like she asked me to!

But because of the not-so-careful consideration, he regularly froze in his taxi seat when glimpses of the vibrantly dangerous-looking streets and people passed him by. That, and when a girl with blue streaks and tattoos covering every inch of her bare arms asked if he has an appointment with any of their tattooist.

Yes...he literally imagined walking in and immediately finding Jackson tattooing Lalisa on the spot - that's how deep his thoughts and research were. While waiting for Jackson, Jungkook began collecting his strategy.

Of course, he can't simply mutter about Lalisa on his opening statement. No, he has to ease his way into it - make it sound casual enough so Jackson won't notice how desperate he is to find something (or at least one thing) about the girl. 

"Hey," Jackson appears from behind the black, velvet curtain. Jungkook stood up almost instantly.

"Hyung! Remember me?" He was quite tipsy that night!

"Vaguely...you're a friend of Joon, right?"

"Yes!"

"Cool...ssup?"

"Ssup..." He channelled back the slang, easing his shoulders to mimic how swaggy and cool the people here are. 

Don't get him wrong, Jungkook isn't a preppy nerd, if that's what you're thinking. He's just...a good boy. A heartbreakingly handsome, too good of a boy - as many in his town would say. His manners are top of class and his brain just works within the confinement of the world he was brought up in...by a philosophy professor as his father and sociology professor as his mother. How can he stray too far away?

But since Jackson didn't know any of his personal background, it's understandable that he's looked at weirdly.

"Whatchu need?" Jeez, he sounds even cooler when he's not drinking!

. . .