A/N: This is a companion piece to 'How Do You Know' , covering Jun Pyo and Jan Di starting from the time Jun Pyo regains his memory and going to the time they are reunited (and possibly longer) perspective will change, one to the other per chapter. There may be bits of Yi Jung and Ga Eul and Ji Hu and Woo Bin will be part of this as well. No clue right now how often I will update, but will try to not be too long between updates. I am trying to be as realistic as possible going by the characters personalities and the challenges they would have faced. You don't have to agree with me, but please always be polite in reviews, even if you think my visions are stupid or unrealistic.
Boys Over Flowers is the property of Korean TV
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Four Years:
Chapter One
Restitution
Gu Jun Pyo glared angrily at the black, document filled, folder that sat before him on the conference room table. It had taken two days, but finally he had uncovered everything, or at least what he hoped was everything. If there was more, it was likely for the best that he had missed it. He already knew enough to drive him to the brink of detonation, one more revelation and the fuse would be lit.
He flipped the cover closed, then looked up at his sister who was thumbing through an identical folder of her own. He had never seen her frown in such a way before, her eyes narrow, her lips pinched together in a thin, white line. When she finished and looked up at him, her eyes flashed with hostility.
"I'm more sure than ever that we are doing the right thing." She reached across the table for the IPAD, then started scanning the videos. Jun Pyo reached out and pulled it from her grasp.
"Don't." He shook his head "Don't watch it. It will only make you angrier."
Jun Hee thought of arguing, then thought better of it, there were some things it was better to just not see. Instead, she nodded and sat back in her chair. Her temper wasn't quite as bad as her brothers, but it was bad enough. If things went badly, one of them would need to be able to keep their head.
"Will you be alright?"
He knew that she was still upset about the attack, even though he was perfectly fine now. He still had some foggy places in his memory, but the blank area's had been filling in. Wonderful memories of Geum Jan Di and their time together, horrible memories of the things she had suffered because of him. The worst came the night of the pool party. Laying sleepless in the dark, trying to work the puzzle pieces of their time together into a complete picture, he remembered her terrible words, screaming out for her before collapsing in the street. Drinking himself numb, sleepless nights, days in bed unable to move, to eat, to function - barely able to breathe.
Jan Di had left him, and it had plunged him to the deepest pits of hell.
He'd felt a touch of the depression again, but as he thought about it he realized - her actions that night, putting herself in danger to restore his memory, had proven her reasons for leaving false. It could only mean one thing - the witch had been behind her leaving. When he confronted Jan Di about it, she refused to admit a thing, yet her expression gave the truth away. The witch had been behind it all, just as he had suspected from the beginning, and her refusal to admit it meant that she was still afraid of what she might do. He vowed then that he would see to it that Jan Di never had reason to fear the witch again. No matter what it took, she would never be afraid to be with him again.
He shrugged "This is going to be ugly no matter how we play it, but the witch has nothing to stand on, not with what we have."
"Can you control your temper?" She raised an eyebrow. "We won't accomplish anything if this turns into a shouting match."
"I promise not to kill her. " He gave her an ugly look "Right now, that's the best I can do."
She sighed sadly, thinking of the past. Things that had been stolen from her, a childhood, a normal life, a love that could never be replaced. Decisions that she'd had no choice but to make. She'd made them for his sake, for Jun Pyo, and now they were about to pay off. Seeing him happy would make her happy too, it would all be worth it. A spiteful part of her was planning to enjoy watching the witch knocked off her throne as well, though she never would have told her brother so.
The shrill sound of bells echoed through the empty conference room and her body tensed. Jun Pyo pulled out his cell phone, looked at the message and tapped out a quick response.
"They're here."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Jun Hee gave him the worried look again "If you want me to, I can…"
He shook his head. "No,"
He had to do this himself - for the people she had hurt, for Ji Hu and his grandfather, for Chu Ga Eul, for Jan DI and her family…for himself.
The double doors opened and the president walked in on a rush of temper, her eyes blazing.
"Since when do you reschedule board meetings?" She stopped in front of Jun Pyo "And who are you to order me home immediately?"
"Sit down." He indicated the chair across from himself and Jun Hee - the chair usually reserved for visitors.
"Whatever it is, we can discuss it at home," She turned and began to walk towards the door. "It was a long flight and I am tired."
"If you value ShinHwa, you'll do as you're told." His voice was cold and angry.
She had never heard him so hostile, not even the day in the hall when he rejected her as his mother. She narrowed her eyes, a look that had somewhat frightened him in the past, and glared at him. Her upset over his attack had greatly dimmed in the days since finding out he would be fine, she had already gone back to business as usual.
"Mother, please." Jun Hee - always the more diplomatic of the two - gave her a placating look. "We wouldn't have gone to all this trouble if it wasn't important."
She looked like she would continue the argument, instead, she rolled her eyes and took the indicated chair, signaling an assistant to bring her a drink.
"What is this about?"
"You really have no idea?" Jun Pyo glared at her angrily "After all that has happened recently?"
Her eyes narrowed so that she resembled a venomous snake, a dangerous, deadly snake, coiled up and ready to strike. "If this is about that annoying little girl, I am warning you…"
"You're damned right it is!" Jun Pyo slammed his fists on the table, going to his feet, ready to strike himself.
"Jun Pyo," Jun Hee put her hand over his, her influence calming and soothing him as only a sister can. He took a deep, calming breath, regained his chair, and nodded to Manager Jung.
"In one hour there will be a press conference." Jun Pyo forced himself to calmness. Jun Hee was right, this would get ugly fast if he couldn't keep his head. Besides, if he was going to be successful in business, he needed to learn patience. If he could learn to control himself with the witch, he could do it with anybody.
"Press conference? What gives you that right?" She looked from Jun Pyo to Jun Hee "Has there been a change? Why was not I told immediately?"
"That's why were here." Jun Pyo relaxed back in his chair and looked at her, his eyes cold. Manager Jung set a folder on the table in front of him, then took a chair at the end of the table. "In one hour, you will announce that you are stepping down as president of Shin Hwa and resigning all positions, both public and private."
She was quiet for a moment while she tried to decide if she was hearing right, then, it was almost as if they could see the steam rising from her feet to her head, waiting to break free from every orifice. The struggle on her face gave proof that she was desperately trying to control the building fire and it was only the bourbon in the glass in front of her that was allowing it. She laughed as if he had just told her a particularly amusing, yet infinitely silly joke.
"And what makes you think that I would ever do such a thing?"
"Do you remember… what I told you in Macau?" He looked her square in the eye, the anger heat hot enough to burn her to ashes. "Regarding Geum Jan Di?"
'Geum Jan Di…if you mess with her, I'll destroy everything.'
"If you don't step down, I am perfectly ready to keep my promise." He glanced over at his sister. "Both of us."
"And you think you are enough to bring down me down, to bring Shin Hwa down?" She laughed. "You don't think the board will know a temper tantrum when they see one? A wet behind the ears child throwing a fit."
Jun Pyo's mouth thinned in temper and he felt Jun Hee's hand on his again.
"Do you think that we haven't considered your every angle?" He brushed a hand over the black folder "I've underestimated you for the past year, and Geum Jan Di and others important to me have had to pay for it. Do you honestly think I would be foolish enough to underestimate you again?"
She laughed loudly and tossed back the rest of her bourbon, then signaled for a refill. "More of this insipid drivel, I've grown so weary of this. Will I have to force them out of the country before you learn that your silly love nonsense is just that;…nonsense!"
"Learn? Learn?!" He yelled "There is nothing I want to learn from you! Ever, you wretched, evil …!"
Jun Hee put her hand on his arm, a gentle reminder that nothing would be solved if he continued as he was. He forced himself calm, taking deep breaths as he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them and considered her quietly. She was hostile, and angry, yet she looked satisfied, as if she was already planning how to punish him - how to punish Jan Di. That was something he would never allow. He tossed a folder across the table at her.
"Unless you resign, every last thing in that folder will be released to the public. Think carefully, because if you think the outcry after the bullying at Shin Hwa school two years ago was bad, how do you think they will react to your abuse of power, the use of corporate muscle to put an innocent girl and her family out of their business and home? And not just any girl, but the famous 'wonder girl' having her home destroyed over her head, Chu Ga Eul's father losing his job and your attempt to take over Yun Ji Hu's grandfather's foundation?! All because she dared to fall in love with the heir to Shin Hwa."
Documents had spilled out of the folder as it slid across the table and she eyed them, but didn't touch. It was enough for her to see that what he said was the truth, somehow, he had uncovered evidence of the things she had done to push Geum Jan Di out of his life. She looked up at him, her look much cooler than she felt.
"Is that not enough for you?" He reached for the Ipad, scrolled through and then hit a video and rose from his chair and went to her side. He bent over, holding it only inches from her face. The room filled with the sound of Geum Jan Di's agonized screams. His name - Gu Jun Pyo - over and over while he was beaten bloody by four men. Then finally, the crash of a chair against Geum Jan Di's back ending her ability to swim forever.
"Do you remember him?" He paused on the face of the kidnapper, the former model who had mysteriously vanished. He dug through the pile of papers on the table, then came up with a copy of a wire transfer and slapped it on top of the pile. "You should remember - you hired him."
"That proves nothing." She pulled the Ipad from his hand and tossed it onto the table "Papers can be faked. You have nothing."
Jun Pyo looked down the table to Manager Jung, thinking of the middle of the night phone call the night he regained his memories.
'Manager Jung, you have been a loyal ally in the past and I want you to know it is appreciated.'
'Thank you, young master.'
'But you have also been loyal to the witch.'
"Yes sir"
'You can no longer be loyal to both of us, the time has come to decide where your loyalties truly lie.'
Manager Jung met his eye, then stood and bowed. "I am prepared to stand behind the young master and miss, to testify to their claims if you refuse to sign."
'My first loyalties are to you and your sister.'
Jun Pyo pulled a pen from his pocket, then pulled a stack of documents from the bottom of the pile.
"Unless you want to see Shin Hwa destroyed, I suggest you sign."
She glared at Manager Jung, then at Jun Pyo and Jun Hee for a moment, tossed back the glass of bourbon, then took the pen from his hand.
She had been quiet all night and he knew it was because of the witch. She knew the president was in town and she had broken her promise to leave and not come back. Experience had taught her that repercussions were sure to come, swift and terrible. She was afraid, so afraid that he considered going against his better judgment and telling her everything. But he knew Geum Jan Di, knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't be pleased to know how far he had gone to assure that she would be protected. In fact, she wouldn't like being protected at all. But this was about more than protecting her. The witch had upped the ante when she attacked Yun Ji Hu's grandfather and Chu Ga Eul's family. If the witch was going to use third parties to get to Jan Di, he had to protect them whether she liked it or not.
But she and those she cared about were safe now. The witch had been dethroned, control of all business and family finances signed over to him and Jun Hee - all expenditures required their signature. She couldn't even get a car and driver without one of them signing off. Her place now, her only place, was at their fathers side and they were going to make damned sure she stayed there. They had denied her a personal assistant and control of the household staff, Jun Hee even had control of their fathers medical decisions. In effect, they had made her a prisoner in her own home - much the same as she had so often made Jun Pyo.
His final words to her before parting had made it clear that Geum Jan Di was going to be a part of his life, a big part, so she best learn to deal with it.
Yet he didn't dare tell Geum Jan Di any specifics. He would in time, he would have to since he didn't much like the idea of keeping secrets from her. But he would wait until some time had passed, when she was stronger and was more like her old self. When she didn't still look so wounded.
"You're being too quiet." He reached down for her hand and gave it a squeeze "It doesn't suit you."
He wanted her back, the old Geum Jan Di who yelled and screamed at him, the girl who smashed ice cream in his face and kicked him in the head.
"It would help if I knew where we were going." She sighed softly, happy to feel her hand in his again, yet apprehensive just the same. Jun Pyo was correct in his assessment of her fear. She had watched the press conference, knew that his mother had stepped down from Shin Hwa and Jun Hee was now president - Jun Pyo the executive director. But that didn't mean that anything had changed for her. The evil woman still hated her, still had money and influence. She had broken her promise by coming back and she was sure now that Ga Eul and her family and Ji Hu Sunbae and his grandfather were going to pay the price. Another thing as well - Ji Hu had paid their debts, had arranged for them to return home, but how long would it take for the woman to drive them from the city again? How long before she was forced apart from Gu Jun Pyo again? Their brief moments of happiness between attacks had never lasted long.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" He gave her hand a squeeze again. She couldn't help but smile a little. Being with him, no matter how short a time it lasted, was worth it. She thought of her family, following in the car behind them. Jun Pyo had sent a helicopter to collect her father earlier that day, then arrived after the press conference to take them all to diner. Not in one of the extremely fancy places that always made her feel so uncomfortable, but a place where families went to eat, the sort of place her family had visited on birthdays when times had been better for them.
"We're not going to the airport are we?" she bit her lip nervously. They had come into the heart of the city, the upscale business district where all the big office buildings were. "Kangsan and I have school tomorrow, so if you think you're going to drag us off on a plane somewhere…"
"So like Geum Jan Di," Jun Pyo sighed "Always so trusting."
"Why should I trust you?" She looked up at him, her eyes narrow "It's just the sort of thing you do, whether it gets me into trouble or not."
"Calm down, we're almost there."
The car pulled into a parking lot next to a brick building just a block down from several skyscrapers, the Shin Hwa building one of them. Perhaps he meant to show them his new offices, it wasn't unlike him to want to impress people. He opened the door and then held it open for her, her family rushed up to meet them.
"What is this place?" Geum Kang asked in bewilderment.
Jun Pyo picked up Jan Di's hand "Come with me please."
He led them to the front of the building, heavy shutters had been drawn so Jan Di was surprised when Manager Jung opened the door. He bowed politely to her parent's, then pulled the door open and motioned them inside. It was dark and they huddled together, their bodies bumping into each other, until the lights came on. The family gasped loudly as one.
Jun Pyo had brought them to a large dry cleaner, easily three times the size of the one they had previously owned. He let go of Jan Di's hand, then went to her parents and bowed.
"Father, mother," He looked at them solemnly, his face earnest. "I would be most honored if you would please accept this humble offering from Gu Jun Pyo and Shin Hwa corporation."
They stared at him in silence, unable to speak, unable to believe what they were seeing. They had hoped in time to reopen their old business, but their hope had died when the space had been rented to another businessman for a store.
"Gu Jun Pyo!" Jan Di pushed past her brother and parent's, ready to give him an ear full. He knew how much she hated it when he did things like this, after two years, he should have known better than to try.
"Forgive us Gu Jun Pyo." Her father surprised her by cutting her off, he stepped forward and bowed deeply "But we can not accept this gift."
Jun Pyo looked surprised and somewhat hurt, he waited for Jan Di's mother to speak up, surely she would take his side. But she didn't, for the first time ever since he had known her, she stayed silently behind him as he continued.
"In the past, we have been selfish parents, thinking only of gain and not of our daughter's feelings and wishes. We have been a burden on our Jan Di and on your relationship. After all the burden we put on her, and all that she has had to overcome, we will not use her happiness for gain."
Jun Pyo looked at manager Jung in frustration, he gave him a small nod in encouragement.
"Sir," He bowed again "May I speak to you privately?"
Jan Di's father looked reluctant, it had been difficult, turning down the gift. But was determined that he would make up for the past, and the only way to do that was by providing a future for his family, and that he had to do on his own - with help from no one else.
"Please." Jun Pyo took his arm and led him back behind the counter, into the heart of the drycleaner. His heart quickened at the site of the machines. Such lovely machines! All top of the line, the sort of thing he had dreamed of owning before he lost his business. In this location, and with this equipment…but no, all he had left now was his pride. At one time he had been as proud as his daughter, but time had worn that down.
"There has been a misunderstanding." Jun Pyo looked at him miserably. It was important that he make him understand "This isn't meant as a gift."
"Then…"
"Can you tell me that it never occurred to you that Shin Hwa and it's president were behind your losing your business and being driven from your home; for your debts suddenly being called in and for the building being knocked down over your children's heads as they slept?"
His eyes drifted over to Jan Di who looked back at him questioningly. She seemed confused by the entire situation, most particularly her parents sudden ethics. He looked away from her and back to her father.
"If you can tell me so, then I will withdraw the offer without regret."
Jan Di's father sighed and looked at his feet. "I'd have been a fool not to consider it."
"I am not offering a gift, but asking for the chance to make restitution, to right the wrongs the former president of Shin Hwa committed against this family." Jun Pyo waited until he looked up, then he gave him a look so sincere there was no way he would dare doubt it. "I am asking for the ability to look Geum Jan Di's family in the eye with honor and not guilt."
He looked towards his daughter, his little girl who he would give the world to on a silver platter if it was within his reach. He couldn't erase the pain she had suffered because of him, couldn't remove the calluses that the extra work she was forced to do because of him had formed. But he could do this, not for himself or his wife, not even for his son who he loved just as much. He could do it for his Jan Di, for the one she loved.
"I'll accept," He bowed "But only on condition. I wish to sign papers, agreeing to a loan for the full amount to be paid back once my family is back on our feet."
Jun Pyo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was so obvious now where Jan Di had gotten her pride.
"Twenty percent." He said stubbornly "Since this is bigger than your previous establishment and has apartments upstairs that you can rent out for extra income, I will accept a repayment of twenty percent."
"Twenty percent?" Her father screwed up his face in frustration. "For a building and equipment? Eighty."
"The building is a graduation gift to Geum Jan Di from a mutual friend, you can't refuse to accept it." It wasn't exactly true, Woo bin had given HIM the building to give to Jan Di's family, but he didn't have to know that. "Thirty percent."
"What's going on?" Jan Di grabbed Jun Pyo's arm and pushed her way between them.
"Stay out of it." He pushed her back "Thirty percent, that's the end of it."
"Gu Jun Pyo!" Jan Di protested, trying to shove her way back in between them.
"Jan Di, listen to what you're told!" To Jun Pyo's great amusement, her father pushed her back. "Seventy percent, and not a bit less!"
"Dad!" Jan Di crossed her arms, her eyes angry, her mouth pulled down in an angry frown. However the bickering ended, it appeared they had just gained a dry cleaning business.
"Thirty -five!"
"Gu Jun Pyo!"
Her father turned on her, his temper raised. "I told you to stay out of this, discussing business is for men, not women. Sixty - eight!"
Jun Pyo didn't know whether to be amused or angry. It was much the same quandary he found himself in when arguing with Jan Di. But it was getting late, he was wasting time and he still had other things to do with the family. He hoped they weren't going to argue about everything, otherwise it was going to be a long night.
"Fifty percent," He said at last. It was a considerable drop, and far from what he had planned on, which was zero percent. But it seemed like Jan Di had given up on getting into the argument, that made it worth it. Her father, on the other hand, still looked reluctant.
"Give up dad." Kang said with a grin "He can argue even better than Noona."
Jan Di cuffed her brother on the shoulder "Can not."
Her father sighed and reluctantly offered his hand. "Fifty - percent."
Jun Pyo took the offered hand with a grin. Considering they had no idea how much he had paid for the equipment, it wouldn't be hard to make their payments as low as possible.
"I'll want an itemized list of what you spent." Jan Di's father said shrewdly "I'll be comparing prices to make sure you're not trying to pull one over on me."
"I'll have the papers drawn up tomorrow." Jun Pyo turned to see Jan Di smirking. He gave her a disgruntled look, then nodded to manager Jung who pulled a large box from beneath the counter and began towards them. "In the meantime, I have one more thing to discuss."
Manager Jung presented the box to Jan Di's brother and he looked at Jun Pyo with a baffled smile before sitting on the floor to open it. Jan Di looked at Jun Pyo warily, this was the only surprise that he knew she wouldn't dream of protesting. There was nobody that she loved more than her brother, having to send him away that spring had torn her heart out. She wanted him to have the best of everything, always.
Kang gasped when he lifted the blazer from the tissue paper, his fingers brushed lightly over the Shin Hwa high school crest.
"With Geum Jan Di graduating, Shin Hwa needs a new defender of the weak and innocent." Jun Pyo grinned "I hope you'll accept."
"Gu Jun Pyo..." Jan Di looked up at him, her eyes teary, wondering how he had ever gotten his mother to agree to such a thing.
He smiled, watching her speechless parents hugging her brother so tightly it was a miracle he could breathe.
"Before you start yelling," He walked to Jan Di's side "It's not just him. Noona and I both agreed that the admissions system needed to be overhauled. A good future shouldn't be promised only to those who have the money to secure it."
Jan Di looked at him in confusion "What do you mean?"
"Starting in the fall, each year from kindergarten through college will offer three scholarships, full scholarships that include uniforms, meals and the school trip, with applicants chosen from families who don't have the advantages other Shin Hwa students have."
Commoners, he meant commoners. Poor people like her and Kang san. Jan Di grinned a little, thinking it funny how he was so careful to control how he spoke around her parents, yet didn't bother to control his tongue around her.
"It won't be easy to get in, being there are only three spots open per year after next year, and keeping the scholarship will depend on maintaining your grades little brother, you'll have to test at the end of each year to keep it, so I expect you to work hard."
"He will," His mother spoke, putting Kang in a head lock "He will or else!"
"Of course I will!" Kang laughed and pulled away, hugging his new uniform to his chest. "I'll make you proud, just watch and see."
"Imagine!" His father's smile was wide with pride in his two children. "Our family, with not just one but two Shin Hwa students! I could die now and die happy!"
Jun Pyo smiled and reached down for Jan Di's hand, she accepted it and as she did, he realized that he mirrored her fathers sentiment-if he died at that moment, he too would die a happy man.
His memory drifted back to the day nearly two years before that he met the famous wonder girl - the day she smashed an ice cream cone into his face. Who would have dreamed that he would be where he was now? Certainly not him, certainly not any who had witnessed that day or his temper afterward. There had been a time when it seemed hopeless, when he thought that even she couldn't possibly forgive him. Geum Jan Di, the girl with the biggest, the warmest, heart he had ever known.
His Jan Di Baht.
She smiled and looked up at him, knowing that the scholarship had been given not because of Jun Pyo's feelings for her - but because he genuinely cared about her brother. And despite her initial feelings over the new business, she realized, that too had nothing to do with her. It was for her parents, atonement for what his mother had stolen from them - things that had to be weighing heavily on him, so how could she dare to be angry about it? Getting angry with him when he tried to help them had become a knee-jerk reaction. Maybe it was time that she learned to control her temper long enough to look at his side of the situation, instead of yelling, talk it out instead.
She started to giggle, then the giggle turned into a laugh. She was Geum Jan Di, he was Gu Jun Pyo - the day they reached a resolution without fighting it out would be the same day she found out the world was ending. That was just who they were, that was what made it so much fun.
"What are you laughing about?" Gu Jun Pyo looked happier than she had seen him in a long time. So long that seeing it made her happy too. Someday soon, she would have to worry about his mother again, but not tonight. Not on this perfect night with her family all together - her whole family.
"Nothing." She shook her head and moved slightly closer to him, enjoying the sight of her parents and brother huddled together on the floor, mooning over his new uniform, her side warmed by the one she loved.
"I'm just..." She tilted her face to his and smiled up at him again. "Just really happy right now, that's all."
Gu Jun Pyo smiled and looked over her head to see manager Jung smiling back at him. He nodded, then looked back at Jan Di's family on the floor.
It had all been worth it. The misery and tears, the anger and hostility. All of it had brought him to where he stood now, at Jan Di's side with their entire future ahead of them. He remembered then the moment that he realized that he was in love with her, the feeling of being knocked to his knees by the headiest emotion in the world, and yet, it didn't compare to this moment.
Geum Jan Di hadn't just given him her love, she had given him his greatest dreams.
She had given him a family.
