I was re-watching all the Soeulmate parts of BOF, and I came across this awkward transition. I mean, just a few days ago they were on a painfully embarrassing "date", and now they're all chummy-chummy while redecorating Jan Di's house? What?
I have no idea how the directors and screen-writers wanted it to go, but this is just my interpretation. Seeing as we never see where Ga Eul lives, I'm assuming she lives on her own. She seems to go out and go in whenever she wants, and we don't hear from her parents at all except for when her dad loses his job.
And of course, this is a Soeulmate fic.
P.S.: I've done my best to translate certain Korean phrases into English. However, some phrases are just uniquely Korean, so the English word might seem a little clumsy. I'm sorry!
It was a beautiful, glorious, slightly-cloudy-but-still-nice Saturday morning in Seoul when Ga Eul tripped over her bed, obtained a bruise on her leg from the corner of her desk, burned her eggs, lost her favorite bracelet, and knotted her hair while braiding it. Then she couldn't find her comfortable jeans, spilled juice on her shirt, dropped her MP3 player twice and couldn't make her bed properly.
Then her doorbell chimed.
"Aish, I knew I should have stayed in bed today," she grumbled. Not bothering to check the video feed, she unlocked the door and yanked it open. "What?" she growled.
"Bad night?" a quiet voice asked her, amused.
Her eyes snapped up to see So Yi Jung standing on her welcome mat, t-shirt and button-down neatly in place with a smirk presiding over it all. A squeak escaped her mouth as she realized she was still in her pajamas. Her, uh, matching, stained Hello Kitty ones.
"Should I lend her to you? She's the same age as your previous girlfriend, right?"
Ga Eul's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"
"We've planned a housewarming gift for Jan Di," he said, tone cool and self-assured. She edged away from the door a tiny bit, hoping he wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, his eyes flashed down to the single step she'd taken, registering the movement before meeting her gaze again. Was it just her, or did he look a little hurt?
Stop it, she told herself firmly. He's a total Casanova. People like him don't get hurt.
"What is it? I'm sure that with your money, you can do everything without me." Okay, so she wanted that to sting a little. Sue her.
He crossed his arms. "Are you going to go wash up and change on your own, or am I going to have to drag you out of another building?"
She mimicked his stance. "Why do you need me to come along?"
He looked pained. "Can you just hurry up? We still have a few places to go."
"We?" She raised an eyebrow. "Who's 'we'?"
He took a step toward her. She pulled back, letting go of the door. He pushed it open and entered her apartment fully, looking around for a brief second before grabbing her arm.
"Hey! You can't come in and take me hostage - "
"Where's your bathroom? Oh never mind, I see it..."
"You - you jerk! Let go of me! Hey!"
He pushed her toward the sink and handed her the toothbrush resting on the sill. "Here. Hurry up. I'll wait outside."
He whispered to the girl in the yellow dress, arms wrapped around both of them as his eyes flitted to her face. She shifted uncomfortably as the other woman's gaze followed his, derisive laughter spilling out from both of them.
Gripping the edge of the sink, she looked up just in time to see him slip out the door. He closed it behind him and she took a deep breath, trying to ignore the smell of his cologne.
Turning the water on, she squirted toothpaste onto her brush.
Yi Jung leaned against the wall next to her bathroom, eyeing the decor of the apartment he was in. Everything was either creme, brown or a light pink, reflecting the personality of the owner herself. He felt terribly intrusive, standing inside her personal space like this. He heard the water running just a few inches behind him and he sighed, glad that she was listening to what he said. Of course, that was a miracle in itself. After what he'd done to her, he was surprised she hadn't kicked him out by now.
But she's too nice to do that, he reminded himself. That's why she's off-limits, remember?
It wasn't fair of him to take out his angst on her. It was his family, his sick mother and his playboy father, his problems. But she'd stood there in front of him, clean, pure and practically begging to be soiled. And in his darkest moods, he liked to play with things he shouldn't.
The water stopped and he pushed off from the wall, standing up straight. It had been a long time since he had last worn a t-shirt, albeit the button-up he wore over it. It felt good. Comfortable.
He stared after her as she left the table, taking her small bag with her. He knew she wouldn't be coming back, and he couldn't blame her. Still, he had to give her credit. Maybe this girl wasn't one to take things lying down after all.
Maybe being a commoner was better. He wouldn't have to deal with standards, he wouldn't have to spoil things, and most of all, he could choose who he wanted to be in his life.
The bathroom door opened.
Ga Eul shook her hair out from the hasty ponytail she'd gathered it into, avoiding Yi Jung's gaze as she stalked into her bedroom. He wisely stayed behind and the slam of the door reverberated around the apartment, making Ga Eul shiver. She had noticed the less-formal clothes that Yi Jung had worn and she copied him, pulling out a comfortable hoodie and pair of jeans.
"If a rich chaebol has to dress down..." she muttered, picking up her brush. She yanked it harshly through the knot in her hair, wincing in pain but satisfied when her hair was smooth again. She took a deep breath, grabbed a woolen purple vest from the corner of her closet, and walked out of her room. Heading straight for the front door, she pulled on her white sneakers. She felt Yi Jung behind her, waiting patiently. Lacing the sneakers up as quickly as possible, she all but jumped away from him and put a hand on the doorknob. He gave her a curious look, probably wondering why she was so jumpy.
You not only broke my heart, you smashed it and scattered the pieces to the four winds! she wanted to scream. Your first rejection was good enough; you didn't have to fake me out!
"Let's get this straight before we go," Ga Eul said, secretly congratulating herself when her voice came out firm and strong. "We're doing this for Jan Di. Strictly for Jan Di. I don't even know what we're doing, but whatever it is, it's for her and her only." No more fake dates, she added internally. "I honestly don't want to talk to you all that much, and I don't think you want to talk to me either." Here he showed all signs of interrupting, but she talked over him. "No charming one-liners, no mixed messages, and no touching. At all. Got it?"
He looked startled. "Ga Eul..."
"At all." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Please, sunbae. You owe me."
There was no sound for at least five seconds, just the warm sunshine on her face and the metal doorknob in her hand. Then a small shuffling sound reached her ears and Yi Jung sighed. "Fine. Whatever."
Turning around, she walked out the door. From the windows by the staircase she could see his bright orange sports car parked along the curb, a gaggle of younger boys already surrounding it tentatively.
Here she was again, trying to enter a world where she didn't belong.
When they got into the car, Ga Eul marveled silently at how well she knew the Lotus already. The seats sunk only slightly under her weight, the silky smooth interior was dark and appealing, and the overall musky scent of leather, coffee and him enveloped her. She knew he was looking at her but she refused to turn her head, instead staring out of her window.
"What are we going to be doing?" she asked quietly.
"We're going to decorate her house for her. You've seen how dirty everything seems. We're going to paint the windows, put up some wallpaper, you know." He turned left. "Just make everything a little better for her."
Ironic, Ga Eul thought. "So where are we going?"
"The hardware store. We're in charge of getting the paint, painting supplies and wallpaper."
Ga Eul became a fraction more excited. "Oh, can I pick out what colors we're going to use? Please?"
Yi Jung gave her an undecipherable look. "Sure."
She leaned back in her seat, satisfied that something was going her way. After all this time, she thought that she deserved it, just a little.
The hardware store smelled like wood, metal and paint. Everyone's voices and footsteps echoed around the large warehouse-like building, creating a mess of noise that was strangely far off and comforting. Ga Eul stayed a few feet away from Yi Jung's side, interestedly checking out all the paint options. Yi Jung was watching her and talking to the salesperson at the same time, conflicting emotions already starting to well up.
She was just a country bumpkin. With no money, no connections, no achievements and no empire to take over, Ga Eul was a voided option in the eyes of the world he belonged to. He'd learned a long time ago to look through this world's lenses, ignoring his own convictions and beliefs. But she was slowly challenging that, making him wonder if something lay beyond money and contacts.
If he were to look at it from a comfortable, shallow point of view, he could say that it was because she was a realm yet unexplored. As a Casanova, he prided himself on being able to attract any type of girl. Country bumpkins were a new challenge, and this one was pretty enough to keep around. But if he wanted to be honest with himself for the first time in a long while, he had to say that it was because of her personality. The cheerful optimism, the hope for a better future, and unexpectedly fierce loyalty that resided inside were only a few of the many good qualities Ga Eul possessed. And although he'd been taught that none of those things mattered, he was beginning to disregard those lessons in favor of experience.
"This time, my son, you took it too far."
"Sunbae? Sunbae. I picked a paint color for the windows. Sunbae?" Ga Eul's questioning eyes cut through his hazy thoughts. He blinked and focused back on her, the salesperson stopping midsentence.
"What?"
"I picked a color. I think that this off-white color would look really nice with the wallpaper that we saw earlier - you know, the pink and white cherry blossom one? I think it'd complement her furniture too."
"Oh. Oh, okay." He realized that she was holding two large cans of paint. "Here, let me take those - "
"Here, take this one..." She handed over just one can, ignoring his other outstretched hand. "If your male ego feels bruised, I can let you carry the wallpaper," she said in response to his expression. "Come on, we still have to pick that up." She started to walk away, then hurried back. "Thank you!" she added to the salesperson before turning down the next aisle.
Yi Jung shook his head in amazement.
"Okay, so we still have to meet up with Woo Bin and Ji Hoo, and we need to get there before Jan Di gets back from grocery shopping. Ji Hoo planted hints about that and she took off about thirty minutes ago, taking her brother with her." Yi Jung loaded the bags into the back seat. "We'll get there in time to meet her on the balcony. We have to hurry though - I hope we don't hit any traffic." His brow creased and Ga Eul hid a smile, impressed by the genuine worry that Yi Jung was showing. Maybe he wasn't a stone-cold Casanova after all.
She climbed into the passenger seat and he gunned the engine, blending straight into the congested Seoul streets. His hand rested on the gear shift and his fingers absentmindedly tapped the leather, forehead still creased with concern. She sighed inaudibly and looked out her window, feeling the familiar uncomfortable silence make a comeback. She found herself casting around for a subject to discuss, but everything was either too stupid or too sensitive to bring up. She gave up after a while and contented herself with counting the number of red cars that she saw.
"I have a question," Yi Jung suddenly said. "Did you... did you tell anyone about... uh..."
She immediately understood. "No." Then, in a flash of boldness - "Worried about your reputation?"
He scowled, giving her a hot look. "No. I'm worried about yours."
She scoffed. "What reputation? Commoners don't have reputations, sunbae. At least, not ones that count."
"Excuse me for caring."
"Since when have you cared about me?"
A ringing silence descended and Ga Eul realized that she much, much preferred the awkward kind.
"Look, I - "
"No, never mind." Ga Eul cut him off, afraid of what was going to come out next. He had helped her with Su Pyo, saved her from a drunk snowboarder, worked with her to bring Jan Di and Jun Pyo together, and had been part of so many other small moments that she didn't want to break anything now, not yet. Although she knew that a flawed tea cup had to be broken to start again, she didn't think that she was ready to let go of this particular flaw.
"Can we just... not talk about it right now?" she asked, voice flat. "It's not the right time, or the right place. We need to focus on Jan Di."
She saw him hesitate, then give a terse nod. Looking away, she took a deep breath and started to count cars again.
One, two, three, four...
This is going to be a two-shot. Just to warn you, there isn't going to be much of a 'resolution' since I feel like everything kind of spills out when Ga Eul and Yi Jung go to the steps and she walks away from him.
Review?