Chapter 1:
"Ga Eul, what are you doing? We have to go or we are going to be late. Today is a very important day for you!" said Jan Di. It was finally the end of the year at the school and the children were getting excited over the prospect of summer vacation. Every year, each school votes one staff member for the regional Teacher of the Year award, and this year, like the past 5 years, Ga Eul was nominated.
"I'm coming. Did you get the invitations? We can't forget them, like last time. We had to drive all the way back to come get them" Ga Eul said as she came down the stairs. Her hair was in long curls down to her hips on the right side. She placed a clip on the left side to keep it from falling back. Her red dress hugged her curved perfectly and gave off a vibe filled with sophistication and elegance. "How do I look?"
"You look...beautiful!" said Jan Di quietly. "Ga Eul, we will always be together right? You will always be by my side right?"
"What are you talking about so randomly? I will always be with you no matter what. I will never forget you, I will never give you pain. We are best friends aren't we? I love you! Now, come on, YOU are going to make us late! Ga Eul quickly rushed Jan Di out of the door. She knew if she let Jan Di talk like that for too long and think about their past, she will fall into the depression she was in years before. After years of escaping their past, their past still haunts them. Jan Di may be strong physically, but Ga Eul knew better than anyone that Jan Di is actually vulnerable in the inside. A yell from the car pulled Ga Eul back to the present.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE WILL NEVER GET THERE AT THIS RATE! DO YOU WANT TO MISS THIS?!" said Jae Kyung. Also living with Ga Eul and Jan Di was Lee Jae Kyung another teacher who taught high schoolers at the same district that Ga Eul did. Oh Min Ji, Jan Di's colleague, a neurosurgeon also lived with them. Jae Kyung is hyper, gets mad easily, and silly, but she is a loyal friend who cares deeply about others. Min Ji is a simple girl who loves everyone around her passionately but is very blunt which sometimes can hurt her in the end.
"Unni, why are you yelling? Its okay we will get there. We still have 1 hour and with traffic we will get there in about 50 minutes so calm down. Unni, are you sure you shouldn't take any medication?" said Min Ji.
"Yaa! I will kill you! Wait till we get back home. We can't ruin our Ga Eul's night. Right Gu Eul?"
"Lets just go, Unni" Jan Di said while she was bitting her teeth to tell them both to shut up.
On the ride there, Jan Di thought about how much her best friend had changed. She became independent, and finally was confident enough to take care of herself and know what she wanted from life. Though her past was filled with insecurities, and bad men, she has now really become a woman. While Jae Kyung, Min Ji and Ga Eul talked about their reservations for dinner that Jae Kyung reserved at a high end restaurant, Jan Di thought about her patients and her surgeries for tomorrow to get her mind off of her past. When she was looking for jewelry to wear for this function, she stumbled on that necklace that He gave her a long time ago and everything came flooding back to her. The memories that she kept trapped inside in a locker. A sudden stop snapped her out of her own head to see that they had arrived at the hall.
"Unni, what happened did we hit someone? Why did you break so hard?" Jan Di asked Jae Kyung.
"Nothing happened. It was just fun to do. We need to spice up our lives. No one will remember it if I just slowly stopped and parked." She laughed and the other three felt chills in their spine. What is wrong with this Unni? She will kill us in the end was the thought that was going through everyone's mind.
In the hall, the ladies were escorted to the table in the front of the stage where the nominees and their friends and family can sit.
At the event, the ladies chatted with the other nominees and their families and friends. The time had finally come in which the director of the organization called the results.
"Thank you everyone for attending. I know everyone is dying to know who the recipient of this prestigious award is. I will get right to the chase. The winner of the Teacher of the Year is...Cha Ga Eul for her dedication, flexibility, kindness, and most of all the positive impact she has on her children by teaching them life lessons on life. She received this award for her new teaching techniques and teaching children not only what they need to know but everything about life"
When Ga Eul's name was called, Jan Di, Min Ji, and Jar Kyung, yelled in pure joy. They jumped up from their chairs and hugged their best friend. People would have thought they all won a war or something. They yelled and cheered while creating a huge ruckus. Ga Eul tried to calm them down but ehh who cares, this is her day! She still could not believe that she got the award after 5 years of being nominated. She could hear her heartbeat and was so shocked that she could not even move her legs to get up. Finally, Jan Di nudged her and Ga Eul came spinning back to reality. As she walked up the stairs she put all her attention into not tripping over her dress and balancing herself on her high heals. She thanked the director and finally was about to give her speech that she had been rehearsing for 5 years when she realized she forgot it. She looked at her friends and saw their reassuring eyes and started to say anything that could come to her mind.
"I am honored to have received this award. I have been nominated a couple of times and it just feels great finally being awarded this. I want to thank all of my friends and family for all their support for all these years. Education is necessary in this world we live in but being a good human being, understanding others, being compassionate, honest, trustworthy, and kind is the qualities all people should have to excel not only in their education, but in their life. Knowledge is what brings meaning to life and helps one make choices to better their own lives. I hope we all strive to excel and be better humans for the future of our species and for the world. Thank you to the people who pushed me in a positive and negative way that let me be here with you today. Thank you all once again."
After the function was over, the ladies went to a high end Italian restaurant that they got reservations at.
"Ga Eul, I am so proud of you! You are so pretty. I love you!" Jan Di was about to cry of joy. While looking at her, Ga Eul was about to cry when Min Ji started to rant on about how it was obvious that Ga Eul was going to get the award.
"I looked at the competition and Ga Eul you were bound to win, especially with all the charity work you have done, the time you have dedicated, and the number of children you have impacted with your teaching. We have to look at the facts right? Well this is how it goes." Min Ji could have gone on forever about how Ga Eul was obviously going to get it and everyone knew it.
"Okay, what do you want to eat Min Ji? Fettucine Alfredo? Linguini?" said Ga Eul.
"You guys just want me to shut up don't you? Fine. I will get the Alfredo!" said Min Ji.
Suddenly Jan Di got up and said "Guys, I am going to go to the bathroom to wash my hands. When the waiter comes to ask what we want, get the bottle of the most expensive wine. We are here to celebrate after all. You want to come with me Unni?"
"Yeah let's go." said Jae Kyung. While they were walking, Jae Kyung was talking on and on about how picky she was with her food and worried if the cook could make it for her in that certain way. Jan Di kept on listening and walking across the hall to the bathroom. As she walked to the entrance where the bathrooms were, she could feel that something bad was going to happen tonight and she could not have spoken any sooner. She heard the door to the restaurant open and a bright light shown that could have blinded her if she looked directly at it. She saw four figures coming in and
there they were illuminated just like they were the first time she saw them in high school. She halted in her step. All these thoughts were going through her head. The first being "Shit! What are they doing here? Why are they here?" Jae Kyung who was walking behind her walked right into Jan Di.
"Yahh. What are you doing? How could you-" Jan Di shut Jae Kyung up by placing her hand over her mouth and quickly dragging her to the bathroom. When Jan Di released her from her grasp, Jae Kyung's eyes were furious and demanding an explanation. "Why did you do that?"
"Unni! I just had to go to the bathroom so bad that I could not handle it and you were yelling in front of a crowd. I have to go really bad. Go back without me." Jan Di said as she ran into a stall so as to not die from Jae Kyung's hands.
"Okay I got it. I am leaving. One more time you do that, I swear I will hit you! Come back as soon as you can." With that Jae Kyung left and Jan Di was left alone in the stall only with her thoughts.
"What are we going to do? Did they notice her? Did they see her face? Did he know she was here?" She stayed in the bathroom for a good 15 minutes before daring to come out. She ran out of the bathroom and to the table without being noticed and acting cool. When she got to the table, she tried to act as if everything was normal and okay. She looked around the hall and saw that the F4 was sitting across the hall behind her and Ga Eul. Their backs were facing the F4 while Jae Kyung's and Min Ji's face was the only ones they could see. When she got back to the table, Jan Di focused only on her food and ate quickly and made everyone speed up so they could leave quickly without being noticed by them. She did not want all those emotions to break loose, she did not want to remember, she did not want to face the past, she did not want to encounter them and go through that pain again. She sure in hell did not want Ga Eul dealing with that again. Right when they were moving on and being successful and at the peak of their career, she did not want to ruin that or Ga Eul's night. Unfortunately, Ga Eul knew Jan Di since kindergarden and knew that something was wrong.
"Jan Di, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" Ga Eul said in worry. Jan Di looked up at Ga Eul and saw that she could not escape this one. It was too obvious and Ga Eul already knew something was up. She knew that Ga Eul would not stop asking and worrying until she told her. Jan Di was left with no choice.
As she looked in Ga Eul's eyes, Jan Di whispered "Code Red. They are here."