Comforted A Dog

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Taehyung turned to look at Jin but failed to detect anything amiss on the latter’s face.

He said proudly, “Brother Jin, you might not know this, but Lili is taking part in the National Quiz Contest. She has stood first in every level of the contest till now and is bound to win that spot in Tsing University.”

Jin looked down but his younger brother’s words kept echoing in his ear. After a long time, he finally gathered his thoughts and said, “Really? Congrats, Lili.”

His voice clearly sounded distracted.

Lisa probably did not hear him since she did not answer. She had curled up lazily on the couch and was fully immersed in the online game on her phone.

The atmosphere instantly became very quiet.

Jin was incapable of keeping this up. He stood up and said, “I suddenly remembered I have some work waiting for me.”

Jin looked at Lisa, who had not made eye contact with him all this time. His lips parted, but nothing came out in the end. Quietly, he headed for the door.

Taehyung was stunned to see his oldest brother fleeing the scene. He stood up hurriedly and followed behind Jin. “Brother Jin, let me walk you out.”

After they reached the main gate, Taehyung finally asked him in a confused voice. “Brother Jin, did you and Lili… get into a fight?”

Jin halted and compressed his lips in a defiant line. His eyes suddenly turned a few degrees darker as he recalled the misunderstanding between him and Lisa. It was worse than a fight.

He shook his head. “I’m off.”

Taehyung scratched his head but then he shut the main gate before heading back to the living room. He wanted to say something when he saw his little sister but became hesitant.

Lisa put down her phone and detected his conflicted gaze. She frowned and said, “There’s no point asking since you won’t get any answers.”

Taehyung’s lips twitched.

Lisa changed the topic and said in a solemn voice, “But we can talk about how you texted me in the afternoon to ask me to appear on the variety show with you.”

Taehyung was stunned. After trying to talk to her about this all afternoon, he had failed to get the point across, but she shockingly saw through him.

A complicated expression emerged on his face.

A few seconds later, Taehyung coughed drily and sat down on the couch in a stiff manner. He said, “Then… will you come, Lili?”

With a serious expression on his face, his voice sounded humble and cautious.

If anyone from the entertainment industry could see Taehyung now, their eyes would definitely pop out due to shock.

Lisa picked up the bottle of mineral water from the coffee table and opened it. After taking a couple of sips, she enquired. “What show is it? Why are they insisting on bringing a family member along?”

Taehyung scratched his head. “I only know that the show is called ‘Countryside Life With My Family’. Since the show is still in its early stages of production, I’m not sure about its details either.”

Lisa’s expression looked a little odd when she heard the program’s name.

‘Countryside Life With My Family’… Countryside life… Countryside…

She seemed to be the only person in the family who had ever lived in the countryside. So did her fourth older brother spend so long composing his text because he was trying to seek her help for this harmless request tactfully?

Ah, she got it now!

“Why don’t I call Yeonjun and ask him. He has more information than I do,” added Taehyung after giving it some thought.

Lisa waved her hand. “Forget it.”

Taehyung was stunned. Did this mean his baby sister did not want to appear on the variety show with him?

The moment Taehyung recalled how he had confidently told his agent that he could convince his little sister to come along, his face burned with embarrassment.

As Taehyung’s imagination ran wild, he looked at Lisa with hurt and indignance brimming from his eyes.

Lisa had already stood up. She pretended that she did not take notice of Taehyung’s adorable reaction and asked him nonchalantly. “Brother Taehyung, where’s the bathroom?”

Taehyung pointed to the corridor on the right and said weakly, “Turn left at the end of the corridor.”

Lisa’s eyes turned into half crescents. She took two steps before she suddenly stopped and enquired. “When will the recording start?”

Taehyung hung his head. He was still thinking about how he should convince her when he heard her question. He raised his head to look at her. “Oh… not so soon.”

“Okay. Just tell me when it’s time to shoot,” said Lisa before heading to the bathroom.

“Okay…” Taehyung nodded automatically. A while later, he suddenly gathered his thoughts. What did his little sister say?

Did she just agree to appear on the program with him?!

Yay! She agreed!

Taehyung’s face surged with joy. He retrieved his phone and sent Yeonjun three text messages at a go.

[My little sister said okay.]

[Who said I couldn’t handle this matter?]

[She’s my little sister. So how could I fail?]

Yeonjun happened to be holding the phone when he saw his artist texting him. The first text was still okay, but the other two were baffling. Why all these questions if he had already convinced his little sister to appear on the show?

Yeonjun scratched his head and replied: [Okay, great.]

He paused and added: [Give me your sister’s contact number. I have to tell her about some details ahead of time.]

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed as replied: [No need for that. I can tell her all those things personally.]

Yeonjun: [You? What do you know? What can you tell her?]

Taehyung: […]

Yeonjun: [It’s good enough if you don’t hold us back. Hurry up and send me her contact number.]

Taehyung: […]

Here Yeonjun was demanding his little sister’s phone number while expressing his loathing for him.

Hmph! Get lost, Yeonjun!

Taehyung compressed his lips and stopped chatting.

After Lisa came out of the bathroom, Taehyung told her in a grave manner. “Lili, if anyone asks for your WeChat ID or phone number, ignore them. You never know what they are thinking. You have to be careful lest you get conned.”

Lisa looked at him cluelessly. “?”

Taehyung cleared his throat awkwardly. Then he stood up and collected his jacket from the sofa. “Let’s go. I’ll take you out for dinner.”

Lisa looked at Taehyung thoughtfully.

Were people with a cool exterior always so adorable inside?

*

Taehyung went to get the car from the parking lot, while Lisa slowly walked out of the villa. She looked at the surroundings and saw that even the landscaping was filled with contemporary design elements. Since it was not a townhouse, the villa offered a lot of privacy and felt serene.

Villas like these were a real jewel in the city and they did not come cheap.

Lisa was waiting by the roadside when she suddenly heard a faint click. She narrowed her eyes and looked up to her left. She saw a quick flash at the corner of the villa’s wall.

Lisa turned back to see that there was no sign of Taehyung. She walked over stealthily, barely making any sound.

A man was hiding in that corner of the villa wall, holding his camera. He was reviewing the photos he had just taken with a look of satisfaction on his face.

“What are you looking at?” said an icy voice from behind.

The man trembled when he heard the voice. When he made eye contact with Lisa’s deep eyes, his hand trembled so hard that he almost dropped the camera.

He quickly straightened his body and suppressed his panic before he covered the camera lens and firmly said, “Nothing.”

Lisa stared at him expressionlessly. “Were you secretly taking pictures of us?”

The man gazed at Lisa’s unbelievably stunning face. Despite her young age, he seemed to inexplicably fear her intensely. His lips parted, but his hand lost its grip before he could utter another word. In an instant, the cameral landed in Lisa’s hands.

Lisa swiped through its contents and frowned. “Your skills are terrible. Why did you even take the pictures?”

There were a few pictures of her and Taehyung in there. Since they were secretly taken from a distance, they were quite blurry. However… the angles were good and made the two of them look like lovers.

He was definitely part of the paparazzi gang.

Before he even had the time to consider how his camera ended up in Lisa’s hands, he hurriedly said, “Give me back the camera.”

In the next moment, he attempted to snatch it.

Lisa glanced at him coldly, and the man’s outreached hand froze mid-air.

A minute later.

Lisa patted her hands and walked out from the corner happily.

Taehyung had already driven over with the car. He was about to dial his sister’s number when he failed to see her at the entrance. Suddenly, her silhouette appeared in the rearview mirror, so he put his phone down.

Lisa opened the front passenger door and got in.

Taehyung looked sideways at his little sister and asked rather quizzically. “What were you doing there?”

Lisa put on her seat belt and replied calmly. “Oh. I spotted a dog, so I went over to comfort it.”

Taehyung instinctively checked the rearview mirror. What dog?

But then he started the car without giving it much thought. He said casually with a shrug, “Maybe someone forgot to secure their dog, so it came running over.”

Lisa leaned back into the seat lazily and gave a gentle nod.

The car pulled out of the estate smoothly. Lisa rolled down the window after they got onto the main road. She extended her hand casually outside the window and flicked her fingertips, almost imperceptibly. Something quietly fell out the window and got crushed under the wheels of the oncoming cars.

*

The two of them went home after having dinner outside.

Shortly after they entered the apartment, Namjoon’s bitter voice came from the living room. “Why did you come back only now? Don’t you know what time it is?”

Taehyung and Lisa looked at each other. Then they turned to check the time on the wall in unison. It was 8:00 pm and not 12: 00 am, right?

Taehyung scratched his head as he walked over and sat down on the couch across from Namjoon. He could not help softly asking when he noticed Namjoon’s strange expression. “Brother Namjoon?”

Namjoon veered his eyes away from him in a smug manner and looked at his little sister instead.

Lisa was clueless. “?”

After some time, she also asked. “Brother Namjoon?”

“Uh huh?” replied Namjoon finally in a gentle tone.

Taehyung: “?”

What were these double standards?

Namjoon only replied to their little sister and ignored Taehyung.

Lisa pretended that she did not notice the look in both their eyes. Instead, she glanced around and asked him. “Aren’t Mom and Dad home yet?”

“They went out for a walk.”

Lisa touched her nose. She was always caught off guard by her parents’ display of affection. No wonder Namjoon acted as though they had forsaken him.

“Cough. Brother Namjoon, I’m going upstairs.” Lisa prepared to go back to her room.

Suddenly, Namjoon pressed his shoulder and said in a loud voice, “I don’t know why, but my shoulder hurts so bad lately.”

Lisa halted instantly when she heard Namjoon’s words.

Namjoon’s eyes glinted slyly when he spotted Lisa pause.

Then he rubbed his shoulder and whined in pain.

Taehyung immediately stood up and said considerately, “Shall I give your shoulders a rub?”

Namjoon’s face instantly turned dark. He viciously glared sideways at Taehyung.

Taehyung: “…”

“Mom said Lili is very good at massaging,” said Namjoon as he deliberately turned to look at her.

At this moment, he was looking at Lisa like a poor puppy.

Lisa’s lips twitched. She shook her head helplessly before she headed over to him.

“A shoulder ache?” asked Lisa.

Namjoon nodded.

“Want me to massage it?” Lisa raised her brow.

Someone nodded madly again.

“Fine.” Lisa raised her hands and placed them on Namjoon’s shoulders. She started to rub them.

In an instant, tears almost burst from Namjoon’s eyes. “Ow… That hurts. Can you be more gentle?”

Lisa did not stop. Instead, she said gravely, “Stiffness in the shoulders is a sign of severe strain. Brother Namjoon, your shoulders need to be massaged properly since you’re unwell.”

But it was so painful that Namjoon’s shoulders trembled under her hands’ ministration. He hurriedly shook his head and said, “I feel fine, so there’s no need for you to…”

“No, you’re unwell,” interrupted Lisa in a serious tone. Then she massaged him even harder without giving him the chance to escape.

Namjoon’s vision was turning dark. “!!!”

Why did he dig a grave for himself?

Why did he have a death wish?!

Taehyung instinctively inched away in fear when he saw Namjoon’s ghastly pale face and agonised look.

Ten minutes later, Lisa finally let Namjoon off.

The moment Namjoon escaped her clutches, he felt alive again. He turned to look at Lisa with fear lingering in his eyes.

Despite how petite she was, their little sister was very strong.

Lisa completely disregarded the look of fear on her second older brother’s face. “How do you feel now? Are your shoulders still in pain?”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Namjoon waved his head like a marionette. He had no doubt that his sister would ‘massage’ him again if he said otherwise.

Taehyung covered his eyes when he saw Namjoon behaving like a coward.

Lisa raised her brow and said airily, “Oh yes, Brother Namjoon. I can give you acupuncture treatment as well.”

Namjoon went into shock. “!!!”

He felt as though his life was severely endangered!

“Ahem. Erm… Didn’t you say you had homework to finish? I shan’t hold you up. Why don’t you go upstairs?” said Namjoon, waving his hand.

He looked completely different from a few moments ago when he had pulled this ruse to gain her attention.

“Okay. You can tell me when it hurts next time,” said Lisa before she left.

There was no way Namjoon’s shoulders would ever ache again. Not in this lifetime!

(-᷅_-᷄)

After she was out of sight, Namjoon finally heaved a sigh of relief and slumped onto the couch. His energy was completely sapped.

But soon after, he realised that his shoulders were feeling much lighter. He moved them a little to find that the usual stiffness and ache seemed to have disappeared.

Namjoon exclaimed in surprise. He straightened his body and pressed his shoulder. There was no pain at all.

Although he had exaggerated the matter purposely, he did suffer from chronic shoulder aches.

Wow! His little sister’s massage technique was amazing.

Taehyung noticed the change in Namjoon’s expression and could not help asking him. “Brother Namjoon, are you okay?”

Since Namjoon was completely relaxed now, and felt fully energised. He glanced at Taehyung with a smug look. “Of course, I’m fine.”

Taehyung: “…”

Judging from Namjoon’s earlier reaction, it was a complete lie.

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