LALISA
🍂

"So you mean to say, she had a boyfriend other than you?" I blurted out while pacing back and forth in Taehyung's room.

"Correction. We were never a thing to begin with," Jungkook answered as he placed an ice pack on his head. "Seriously, are you Southsiders that violent? That rock could've killed me."

"You were on top of her and pinning her to the ground. What do you think I should have done, applaud you?" Taehyung defended.

"She was hitting me with that notebook!" He argued back. "It was self-defense."

"From a measly pink notebook?" Yoongi sassed. Yup, he came as soon as we called. "God you're a wuss."

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, I'm with the Northsider on this one," Jimin countered earning a glare from us three. "What? Lisa with anything on her hand is dangerous. She almost killed me with that popsicle stick in third grade!"

I rolled my eyes at him and averted my gaze towards Jungkook.

"So you mean to say that you're not the guy she mentioned here?" He nodded. "Then who? Who else did she talk to in the Northside aside from you?"

"Well she talks to our classmates from time to time but honestly? I was her only friend there," he said. "But when she rejected me, it kinda became awkward between us. We kinda drifted apart."

"So you in short, you abandoned her?"

"I didn't abandon her!" he blurted out. "It was awkward, okay? She rejected me. Do you think it would be that easy to talk to someone you have feelings with but doesn't feel the same?"

Taehyung suddenly coughed uncontrollably. Jimin rubbed his back harshly. I chose to ignore them.

"Still! You knew she had no one else to talk to!" I was about to pounce at him when Yoongi blocked the way. "Yoongi!"

"He wouldn't have known, Lis," he said. "It's wrong to accuse him of something he didn't have any control of."

I huffed before turning back towards him.

"But still. He knew he's her only friend. He should've manned up and just stayed beside her."

Jungkook suddenly sighed. "You're right. I should've stayed beside her. Supported her. I i knew she was happy with him, I would've—"

"Him? Who's 'him'?"

"The guy she likes."

"Do you know who that person is?"

Jungkook shook his head. "She didn't tell me his name or anything. But one thing's for sure, he's a Northsider. Because if it was a Southsider, you guys would've known and this attack on me would've been prevented."

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes at him. "Taehyung doesn't hit that hard. You're such a wuss."

Jungkook just sighed before letting his back fall on the bed. I stood up from the chair and sat beside him.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" I asked making him raise an eyebrow. "I meant Tzuyu's boyfriend. The guy she mentioned in her diary. Do you have any hunch on who that person is? Judging from how she described you here, I'm guessing you're some kind of heartthrob there. Golden Boy, to pin it exactly."

"I do know everyone from the north... but wait a minute. Why? Are do you want to know her estranged boyfriend?" His forehead creased. "You're not gonna kill him, are you?"

I clicked my tongue. Typical Northsider.

"What do fucking take me for? I'm not a fucking murderer, you ass!" I hissed at him. "I just want to know 'coz my best friend killed herself because of him! He should at least fucking be aware of what he did to her!"

"And torture whoever it was onto thinking he's a murderer?"

"That and also egg the shit out of him."

"You can't do that!" He blurted out. And to my defense, you looked like you were about to kill me in the woods with that notebook so you can't blame me for thinking that!"

"Again, with a freaking pink notebook. How do you think I could kill you with that, read 'til you die of boredom—"

The door suddenly flew open. Kang Daesung—Taehyung's dad, went in with a tray of snacks on hand.

"I thought you kids wanted some snacks while you talk," he said smiling. "And... Kim Jungkook? How's the mayor doing?"

"Mom's doing okay sir," he said politely. "I'm sorry for intruding so late—"

"Don't worry about it," he said. "But does your parents know you're here? I mean, your mom might worry."

"My father's on a trip with mom so they won't worry that much."

"Oh..." Uncle Daesung gave a tight-lipped smile. "Anyways, you can stay in for as long as you'd like. I'll go get some extra beddings for you—"

"Um that won't be necessary," he said giving the ice pack back to Taehyung. "I'll be heading out in a few so I won't be staying over."

"Are you sure? It's already pretty late."

"I'll be fine, sir," he smiled. "I'll just call someone to fetch me here."

"Okiedokie. If you say so," he smiled back before turning towards me. "You dad called. He said that if you want to stay here again for tonight, you'll leave him no choice but to give you permission to marry Taehyung—"

"Dad!"

"Uncle Daesung!"

Yoongi and Jimin bursted out laughing as the old guy closed the room's door. Jungkook looked lost.

"Are you two dating?" Jungkook asked making Taehyung cough. He excused himself and went straight out of the room. "So I guess that's a no?"

"Of course it's a no," I answered. "He's like a brother to me. And I'm no fan of incest."

"Oh..." He just nodded making me roll my eyes again.

"So, who's Tzuyu's boyfriend? We don't have all night, Kookie."

"Kookie?"

"Yeah. Kookie. Jungkook's mouthful. So I'm giving you your own nickname."

He turned towards the other guys.

"Is she always like this?"

They all nod.

"She calls me Yoongibear."

"Taengie."

"Chimmy."

"Wow. Endearment-giver doesn't really add up to the badass chick vibe you have," he said making me roll my eyes at me.

"Chop chop, Kookie. Tell me who killed my best friend before I throw you outside the window."

"And now you wonder why I think you have the capacity to kill someone?" He shook his head sideways. "I don't know exactly who her boyfriend but I did see her constantly talking to someone..."

"Give me a name, Kookie. A name."

"Kim Mingyu."

🍂

"I don't think this is a good idea, Lisa," Taehyung said as he followed me towards a certain house.

Two days have passed after that encounter with Kim Jungkook and here I am in the Northside waiting to egg the shit out of that Mingyu—Tzuyu's so called boyfriend.

One may think I'm acting rashly but I have evidence that this guy broke my sweet Tzutzu's heart. And hell hath fury like a woman scorned. Or in this case, a woman's best friend.

Well, I did do a little digging myself and found out that they were indeed close. He was mentioned in some of the diary entries Tzuyu wrote.

"Lis, we might get in trouble—"

"If you're such a wuss then just go back home, Tae. I can't just let what happened to Tzuyu slide and be forgotten. They hurt her so I'm gonna hurt them too."

"But Lis—"

"Lisa?"

My eyes grew wide as a guy in a black hoodie called my name.

"Taehyung?"

The guy ran towards us. It was Jungkook!

"What are you guys doing here—"

I grabbed his arm and yanked him down.

"Shh! Can't you see? We're here to avenge Tzuyu," I whispered. "Revenge is best served with eggs."

"What?! That's illeg—" I immediately covered his mouth.

"Shh! You're blowing our cover!" I exclaimed quietly while releasing his mouth. "If you don't want to be part of my plan then you'd better shut the fuck up."

He turned towards Taehyung. "You're in on this? Why didn't you stop her?"

"Do you think I can?" He argued back—whispering. "Why don't you try?"

"Shh! You two are gonna get us all in trouble—"

"Jungkook?" Another guy in a black hoodie saw us. "What are you doing in front of my house?"

"Oh hey there Mingyu," Jungkook said standing up. "I was just... um... showing Tzuyu's friends from the South around. They're on their way to her house to pay some respect."

"Oh, I see."

It did not escape my eyes. Kim Mingyu diverted his gaze away like he was hiding something. Like he was guilty of something. And I know for sure Jungkook and Taehyung saw that too.

"So you're Kim Mingyu..." I said crossing my arm. The guy looked at me questioningly.

"Yeah? Have we met before?"

"I'm Tzuyu's best friend from the South," I introduced myself. "She mentioned you a lot."

"She did?"

"Yeah. In fact, before she passed she told me to give you something."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Where is it?"

"Right here."

"Lis no!"

I smashed the rotten egg straight on his head.  It was too late for Jungkook to even try to stop me.

"That's for breaking my best friend's heart, you ass!"

Taehyung immediately went in and gave the guy a handkerchief as Jungkook pulled me away from the guy as I try to throw in a punch.

"What were you thinking?!" He yelled.

"Doing something you don't even have the balls for! Avenging our best friend!" I yelled back. "Tzuyu deserved more, Jungkook. She deserved a life. A real long one to be precise. But because of that guy, because he hurt her, she wasn't able to have that life! That egg? That was nothing compared to the pain Tzuyu felt! When he abandoned her—"

"I didn't abandon her," Mingyu—who clearly overheard our exchange, butted in. "There's nothing going on between us. We're partners for our English paper and nothing else. Yeah, we talked before she... she passed but, only about our paper."

Jungkook and I exchanged looks. If he's not the boyfriend, then who is?

"I'm really sorry about the misunderstanding... and the egg," Taehyung said on my behalf. "We just... uh... let me just help clean this up."

The two left towards the house as Jungkook and I stood there frozen. Then, he sighed.

"You shouldn't have done that, you know," he said.

"You said he was her boyfriend."

"I said I wasn't sure!"

"Ugh. Now we're back to zero again," I sighed—frustratedly. "Are you sure you're really not the one she's talking about? I promise I won't punch you but please just let me egg you once."

Jungkook stared at me pissed. I shrugged then sat on the sidewalk. Clearly frustrated as I have no one to blame for for her death.

"I miss her," I suddenly said. "At times like this, she's the only one who could stop me from doing crazy shit."

"So that explains why Taehyung wasn't able to," he said as he sat next to me. "I guess you two were really close."

"Well, Taehyung and I practically grew up together but he's kinda afraid of me. And so is Jimin and Yoongi. But with her... it's different with Tzuyu," I explained. "She's like my anchor, you know? Like a sister I never had. We used to do everything together back in the South before she moved here. So it really hurts me more, you know? I wasn't with her during those times she felt alone. None of the messages I sent sufficed. It's like... fuck. Why the fuck am I crying?! Shitballs. This fucking sucks—"

I was caught off guard when I found myself inside Jungkook's warm embrace. As strange as it may seem, it felt good.

"Misery likes company," he said making me look up to him. "I miss her too. And you're right. I should've been there for her even if she didn't like me back. Maybe I'm also guilty for her death too."

"Wha—Kookie no!"

I was too late. My mouth flew open when Jungkook took an egg from the tray and smashed it on his head.

"Weirdly, that felt good," he said chuckling. I then started to chuckled as the shock in my system subsided. "Who knew eggs could be therapeutic?"

"I would look pathetic egging myself," I joked.

"Then let me do the honors."

Jungkook did the unthinkable. He took another egg from the tray and cracked it on my forehead. Yup, the Serpent Princess just got egged by a Northsider.

Weirdly, it also felt good. Minus the putrid smell of the rotten egg, of course.

"You asshole!"

Jungkook flashed a wide grin showing his cute bunny teeth before running for his dear life. Grabbing a few eggs, I stood up and ran after him—laughing. He managed to grab a water hose from Mingyu's yard to defend himself.

Running around the yard while throwing eggs at him and him fighting me off with water, I managed to laugh wholeheartedly again. All thanks to an unlikely companion.

Then my phone suddenly vibrated.

"What? Giving up already?" Jungkook taunted. "I thought you Southsiders were tough?"

I rolled my eyes as him before fishing my phone out of my pocket. It was Yoongi calling.

"Yoongs? What' up?"

"Where are you and Tae?" His voice was frantic. My forehead creased making Jungkook rush towards where I'm standing.

"At the Northside. We're with Jungkook. Why?"

"You have to come down the station as soon as you can. Bring him along."

"Why? Did something happen? Are you okay? Is Jimin okay? Is it about Dad?"

"It's about Tzuyu's death, Lis," he started. I put our conversation on speakerphone so that Jungkook would hear it too. "The case is being reopened."

"Why? What happened?"

"Tzuyu's death wasn't suicide. It was murder."