-Gardenia-

-2-

#

"It hurts, get it from my eyes!" JanDi shouted, as I took a warm rag from a bucket of water and rang it out. We sat at a place where we knew we couldn't be disturbed by students. It was the rooftop of a hallway that was closed for renovations.

"I'm trying here, shouting isn't going to make it hurt any less." I chuckled lightly. We were covered from head to toe in flour and egg, and we were making light of the situation. I took the damp rag and wiping off her face. "I'll make sure to buy you a new uniform!" I grinned, and she shook her head.

"You really don't have to do that, Sohee sunbae!" JanDi defended, and I just smiled. "I want to, because you're my friend." I simply stated, as I started to wipe off her hair.

"Why are you so nice to me?" She asked, genuinely confused.

"You know, I haven't genuinely smiled since High School started." I suddenly said, as she blinked rapidly.

"But I see you smile all the time!" She tilted her head in confusion. I nodded, and started wiping her jacket off. "It wasn't until I met you, honestly." I began.

"When I met you, I actually found somebody who wanted to talk about relevant things, not just shoes, clothes, jewelry, or someone's looks and fortune!" I smiled. "I met somebody genuine, and warm-hearted!" I finished, as I brushed her off one more time. "That's why I'm your friend."

She smiled back at me, and bowed. "Thank you for choosing me as a friend."

There was a comfortable silence until the bell for the next class rang. JanDi stood up, and helped me stand. "I'm going to go swimming," JanDi said, as she bowed.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked, completely concerned. After what happened, I didn't know what these students would be capable of. JanDi brightly smiled, and shook her head.

"I think I'll be strong enough to make it through!" She reassured herself. I smiled, and gave her a hug.

"You are strong enough, hm?" I said, as I ruffled her hair. "Meet me after school, hm? I'll drive you home!" She nodded, as she aimlessly walked away.

I took my mirror out of my purse, and saw that I was still covered in dry egg and flour. I wet the rag again, and was about to begin to clean myself off until I heard shuffling behind me. I turned around to see Yoon Jihoo standing behind where he was presumably sleeping. I let out a very audible squeak by accident and quickly turned around. My heart felt like it would pound out of my chest.

"First your friend, and now you?" He began, as he walked towards a stone pillar and leaned against it. "You both are equally as noisy." He finished, and it took all of the strength in my body to turn around.

I couldn't speak even if I tried to, so I just picked up the bucket with the rag, and slowly began to walk out, because I felt as though my whole body was jelly. 'Gain some composure, Sohee.' I mentally cursed.

"Hey, do you know how to make hotcakes?" Jihoo suddenly asked. I turned around quickly, confused by the question. "Hotcakes?" I asked, confirming that it's what he said. He gave a nod, and I put the bucket down.

"U-uh," I started as I stuttered. "You use flour, eggs, sugar, and milk, and then you fry them." I confirmed. He looked as though he was in deep thought. "That seems simple…" was all that he said. There was an awkward silence, and I took the opportunity to look down at my appearance. JanDi took most of the hit, but I got the immediate aftershock.

My thoughts were cut short by my face being touched. I looked up to see Jihoo wiping my face with a handkerchief, and he looked down at me. My body started to feel as though it was burning up, and once he looked into my eyes, I had to look elsewhere. I cursed myself because I was obviously blushing.

Throughout the years, I had a huge liking to Yoon Jihoo. While the others disincluded me from whatever they were doing, Jihoo was always by himself and would let me join him. As high school approached, the cliques got a lot more closed, and I saw him a lot less, but whenever I saw him, I knew in my heart that I still liked him just as much as I did when I was younger. Even when he clinged to Seohyun instead of me, I didn't know it at the time because I was a bit too young to understand, but I knew that it was a feeling of sadness.

He folded the handkerchief and handed it to me. I blinked for a second, before gesturing for him to take it back. "This is yours-" I started, but he interrupted.

"Keep it. I don't need it." He said, as began to exit. As soon as the door closed behind me, I was able to mutter a quick "Thank you."

#

After school, I waited for JanDi in the front of the building. She was running a bit late, and I was worried more than ever. I bit my lip, and checked the time again. I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I didn't know why.

Soon after, JanDi ran out of the front doors in tears, and her uniform blouse was half open. As soon as she ran out, I gave her a huge hug, and she started crying. "What's the matter?" I asked, trying to figure out what exactly happened.

"After I swam, I went into the locker room to get changed, and all of a sudden a group of guys walked in, and they started ganging up on me," She began, as she started to cry harder. I started to turn red in anger. "I-I wouldn't have made it out unless Jihoo didn't see." She said, and the mention of his name made my heart skip a beat.

"He really does have a heart. I mean, if you dyed his hair white, he'd be frosty the snowman!" I tried to make a joke to make the atmosphere lighter, and shake off the feeling I felt. JanDi let out a genuine laugh.

We walked into the parking lot, where I pointed out my car. "Get in, I'll drive you home!" I offered, as JanDi look a look at my car, and automatically went wide-eyed.

"T-This is your car!" She stuttered, looking at the dark purple lamborghini. I nodded, and gave a toothy smile.

I got it as a gift from my mom! It's one of my favorite things in the world!" I exclaimed, as I got into the driver's' seat. Once JanDi got in, I started the engine.

"I've never seen a rich person so thankful for a car that they could probably have 10 of." JanDi said, as she looked out the window. I nodded in agreement.

"It's sad that they have so much money but aren't even thankful for anything that they have." I shook my head as I started driving.

Once we arrived at her 2nd job, a restaurant named "Slow Food", she bowed gratefully, and I waved as I drove off. I didn't tell JanDi where I was about to go because I knew she would disapprove, but I had to discuss some business with the F4.

#

As soon as I appeared at Junpyo's spacious mansion, I was immediately greeted by the butlers. They knew me by a name-basis already, especially since most of the butlers have been in business with the Gu family for more than 10 years.

The butler led me down to the F4's lounge, where the 3 who occupied it were distracted by various video games, card games, and movies. I walked farther into the room, catching the attention of Woobin, and Yijung as Junpyo was distracted by his video game and facing away from me.

I sat next to him on the leather couch, as he didn't acknowledge my presence. I heard Woobin trying not to laugh in the distance.

"Gu Junpyo!" I shouted, completely making him jump, and having his controller fly out of his hands. "Kim Sohee!" He echoed, making Yijung and Woobin practically die of laughter.

"The next time that you make your "minions" do your dirty work for you, make sure that they don't try to rape females you piece of shit!" I yelled, as I flung pillows at him.

"What are you going on about, 1,000 Won's friend?" Woobin asked seriously, as I was still glaring at Junpyo.

"Those guys that you hired to take care of Geum JanDi? Yeah, they tried to rape her." I deadpanned, as I threw pillows at Junpyo once more.

"Chill out, you Gremlin!" Junpyo yelled, as I stopped. There was a silence before he began to speak again. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I only wanted for them to scare he-" He began before I interrupted.

"You're so disgusting." I started. I contemplated for a second. "I'm telling your sister." I finished, as I motioned to pick up my phone. Junpyo jumped up as quickly as ever.

"No!" He shouted, as I began to dial numbers. "Kim Sohee! Don't call her or else-"

"Or else I get a red card and I'll have to bring my stepfather into this?" I threatened, as I slowly kept dialing. "Kim Sohee!" Junpyo shouted as he began to chase after me.

"You'll have to catch me first~" I taunted, as I ran around the room. I could hear Woobin dying of laughter. It felt as though we did in middle school; Back when we were all like siblings.

"Kim Sohee, stop right now." Junpyo demanded, out of breath. I stopped, and taunted as if I was going to press the send button.

"What do you want from me, you demon?" Junpyo asked. I narrowed my eyes at him, and thought for a long moment.

"I want you to get rid of JanDi's Red Card notice, and-" I began, and Junpyo stopped me.

"And?" He interjected, amused.

"And, I want you to…" I trailed off, thinking of something nice he could do. I snapped when I thought of something. "I want you to invite Geum JanDi along on the field trip we're having. It's a cruise, right? You can afford it." I demanded, and Junpyo snorted.

"Why would I invite 1,000 Won to do anything?" Junpyo asked, and I motioned at my phone, as he rolled his eyes. "Alright. Now get out of my house you annoying bug." Junpyo ordered, and I made a hand signal to motion that I'm watching him, as I walked out with a smile on my face.

#

As soon as I walked into school, whispering filled the halls. I considered turning back already, but I took a deep breath, and kept walking. Suddenly, a hand grasped my shoulder and I turned around. It was Ginger, with a smug expression on her face.

"Is it true? About your friend," Ginger began, with fake sympathy dripping from her voice. "Is she really pregnant?" She asked, making my face scrunch up in confusion.

"Where did you hear such a stupid thing?" I asked, as she shoved her phone in my face. As I read the text, and it said that one girl in Shinhwa, Year 2 with the initial 'K' in her family name was pregnant, I shrugged. "So, what? That could be anybody!" I stated, and she laughed.

"It's so weird that this is all happening as soon as you two met," She started, as I rolled my eyes. "And the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree as they say," She said, as she circled around me. "Tell me, Sohee: Are you as much of a slut as your friend i-" Ginger was interrupted by a slap to her face.

I looked over to see JanDi, clearly offended. She grabbed my wrist, and charged off with me. "I need to settle this with that devil of an F4 leader!" She shouted.

#

We made our way into the F4's territory within the school. When we walked in, we both crossed our arms and glared at Junpyo. "What did I say? She came looking for me!" Junpyo gloated to his friends.

"Gu Junpyo, we had a deal!" I whined at him because of how childish he was acting. He looked genuinely amused.

"Quit whining, I agreed to take away her red card notice, and invite her to the cruise, and that's all I had to do on my part." He shrugged, and technically, he was right. He then turned to JanDi. "If you came to apologize, it's too late 1000 Won." He deadpanned.

"Why must the victim apologize to the culprit?" JanDi asked, angrily. Junpyo raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?" He asked, as he stood up.

"Did I stutter?" She asked, as she got into a fighting stance. Everyone who was watching was completely bewildered.

"Hey you, What are you doing?" Junpyo asked, obviously taken aback as well.

"I told you, I won't take this anymore!" She shouted, as she roundhouse kicked him in the face. I gasped, and clasped my hands over my mouth, as I couldn't stop laughing. I heard Yijung laughing too hard in the background, while saying "Hooooly shit!"

"Did you ever see me with a man!? Did you ever see me even holding hands? I haven't even had my first kiss yet!" She fumed, as Junpyo stared at her completely astonished. It was the first time in a long while that I've seen genuine emotion aside from brattiness come out of him.

"If you keep this up, then I'll really have to kill you!" She shouted, as I held her back before she could do anymore damage. He looked up at me, and I began to sweat.

"The cruise trip deal is cancelled you little shit!" He shouted, and JanDi perked up.

"Good! Because I didn't want to be stuck on a boat with you for the weekend anyways!" She shouted, as she stormed out.

#

"Y'know, I think Gu JunPyo might like you," I smiled, as I drove JanDi home. JanDi scoffed, and quickly shook her head.

"Gu Junpyo? And I?" She questioned, as she gagged. "I would throw up, but he isn't worth it." She scrunched up her nose in disapproval, and I laughed at her reaction.

"I bet right now, Gu Junpyo is sitting down, with his usual smug expression, and thinking 'She likes me'." I giggled, and JanDi cringed. "I don't see that at all," She muttered, as she shook her head.

"Usually people don't see it right away, but give it a few weeks," I said, as I pulled up to her house.

"I know him, and I think he'll soften up to you if he really likes you." I smiled.

"Whatever you say~" She said, in a condescending tone, as she opened the car door. "Ah, wait!" I shouted before she left. "Hm?" She asked.

"I forgot to give this to you!" I smiled, as I handed her a ticket for her trip.

"Is this a ticket for the trip!?" She asked, and I nodded.

"It covers your hotel expenses! Since you said that you didn't want to be caught dead on a ship with Junpyo overnight, I requested that I drive my family's speedboat!" I gave a toothy smile, and she stared wide eyed.

"You're driving a speedboat?" She asked, completely astonished that a rich person would know how to drive a speedboat, and I laughed, and ruffled her hair at her reaction.

"It's not much, but speedboats are a ton of fun!" I happily said, and she gave the hugest smile that I've ever seen her wear.

"Thank you so much, Sohee-eonnie!" She bowed happily, as she left the car, and waved enthusiastically.

I waved back at her as I drove off. 'I just hope that I did the right thing with letting her go.' I prayed in my mind.

#

As I walked into school, I walked up the stairs to the building, and quickly turned around when I realized who was hiding behind the concrete steps. I froze, and backed up slowly, as I ducked down and saw JanDi hiding.

"Geum JanDi?" I asked, as I sat down with her. She ducked my head down, and put a finger to her lips, making a loud 'SHHH' noise. I was beyond confused.

"Why are you hiding?" I whispered, as I looked around and saw no apparent danger.

"I'm so sick of Gu Junpyo," She began. "I just want to lay low for the rest of the day so he won't have an excuse to find me." She ended, and I laughed.

"JanDi, get a hold of yourself!" I joked, as I pulled her up, and she hesitantly stood. I brushed myself off before starting to walk up the stairs with her.

"Junpyo has been awfully quiet, and plus you have me by your side at all times! If he lets anyone lift a finger on yo-" I turned around to see JanDi completely gone. "G-Geum JanDi!" I whimpered, as she was nowhere in sight, not even under the stairway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a limo drive off, with the flag on the side belonging to the Gu family's. As soon as the window rolled down, I saw JanDi's hands waving frantically out of the window, and her screaming.

"Hey!" I shouted, as the limo sped off. I pouted, and went straight for the F4 lounge. When I went through the door, Junpyo and Jihoo nowhere to be found, and I crossed my arms. I would have to deal with the players of the bunch.

"Oh, if it isn't the gremlin!" Yijung teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"Where is Gu Junpyo?" I asked, as Woobin and Yijung exchanged glances, obviously confused.

"We actually haven't seen him this morning at all," Woobin began. "I think he said that he had some business to take care of at home." He shrugged, and I scoffed.

"Well that "business" was Geum JanDi." I pouted. "I just saw her in one of his limos."

Their glances became interested. "Really?" They both asked at the exact same time, and I nodded. Yijung got up from his seat, and pulled out a chair in front of them.

"You should take a seat." He offered, and I crossed my arms. The only way this could actually end is if the F4 and I were on friendly terms, and maybe we could all help each other out. I puffed out my cheeks absentmindedly, and hesitantly took a seat in front of the three.

"We wanted to thank you for the amazing entertainment that you and your friend have been giving us for the past few days," Woobin smugly smiled, and I scrunched my nose up.

"Entertainment?" I echoed, and they nodded. "Yeah, the past few days have been a blast thanks to you guys!" Yijung joked, as he poured a glass of tea and motioned it my way. I playfully raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, is it poisoned?" I joked, and they began to laugh. "I doubt there's any poison in it, Sohee." Woobin reassured, as I took a sip.

"This trip is going to be a blast," Yijung begun, as Woobin nodded in agreement. "Especially since Seohyun is coming back." He finished. As soon as he mentioned Seohyun's name, I choked on my tea, and they glanced at me curiously.

"Maybe that was the one with the poison." Woobin playfully contemplated, and I had to laugh at the one-liner.

"I didn't know Seohyun was coming back!" I glanced, surprised, and Yijung nodded.

"It feels as though the entire squad is coming back together," Yijung sighed. "It feels a lot like old times." He commented, and I nodded.

"Jihoo must be very happy" Woobin said, and my heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. 'Just like old times' echoed in my head, as I took another sip of tea to hide the pout I was subconsciously doing.

#

As soon as we boarded on to the speedboat, I could see JanDi's excitement. Her excitement immediately rubbed off on me, and we were both completely giddy. "This is the first time I've ever taken off of work for fun!" She excitedly danced from her seat, and I started the boat.

"This is going to be a ton of fun, then!" I smiled, as we started to glide along. The radio blasted dance music that we shouted the lyrics of.

"I don't know why, I can still hear the annoying voice of Gu Junpyo." JanDi sighed, as I turned the music down. I wiggled my eyebrows and nudged her.

"See? You're thinking of him~" I teased, and she playfully hit me.

"Hey!" She defended. "Not like that! I just feel his presence from all the way over here." She pouted, and I grinned at her.

"The connection is really deep then." I winked, and she glared at me playfully, until a shadow casted over our boat.

"OH!" We both shouted, as we looked up, and saw Junpyo's huge ship over us, as our classmates laughed.

"I heard the witches went to sea. I didn't expect that you'd be here." Junpyo chucked, as Ginger, Sunny and Miranda pointed.

"Well, you should leave before we cast a death spell!" JanDi shouted, and Junpyo showed mock fear.

"See? All they need is a broomstick." He laughed, as the other classmates laughed along phonily. "Your boat will hold steady right? If it capsizes, I hope you can swim." He snottily grinned.

"And hopefully, your ship will crash into an iceberg." I deadpanned, as I stuck up my middle finger and sped off, Splashing everyone on the ship with water. I heard Ginger screaming in the distance and grinned.

JanDi huffed, and straightened out her bangs. "I hate him so much." She pouted, and I playfully rolled my eyes, only replying with a "Mhm."

#

When we made it to the deck, we were freezing cold clinging on to our jackets for dear life. "I need hot chocolate," I sang as my teeth chattered, and JanDi giggled as well. Everyone was waiting outside of the spacious hotel for our assurance that we could go in.

"I-Is that..?" JanDi asked, as I looked over and saw Seohyun and Jihoo together, locking arms. Seohyun was one of the most beautiful people in the entire world. Her skin glowed healthily, and her teeth were pearly-white. She always carried herself with grace and confidence; Something that I envied even when I was younger.

"Kim Sohee," Min Seohyun gleefully greeted, as she walked over to where I was. She greeted me with a warm hug as well. "You've gotten even prettier." She complimented, as she took a good look at me, and I gave a smile in return. As much as I envied her, she was the nicest woman that I've ever met, and we quickly became friends because of how beautiful of a person she was in the inside.

"It's so amazing to see you again, Seohyun-eonnie." I bowed. She smiled at the greeting and smiled at JanDi and I. Our greetings were cut short by Junpyo walking over to us, and we both had the instinct to glare.

"What now?" JanDi asked, and Junpyo chuckled at her attitude.

"I can tell you're very glad to meet me here." Junpyo smugly smirked, and JanDi showed false enthusiasm.

"I was happy before I met you." She corrected, with a cheeky smile.

"Tell me, Weren't you bored in that cheap boat?" He asked, and I scoffed.

"It was the most fun I've ever had since I have this displeasure of meeting you." She glared, and he looked slightly fazed.

"There's going to be a party. As a student, you should come." Junpyo offered, and I raised my eyebrows. JanDi gave an angry glare, before stepping up to him.

"Why would you ever think that it was intention to go!?" She shouted, as Jihoo decided to step up towards us. I felt my hands feel clammy, and I quickly looked down at my feet. He stood in front of JanDi, who looked just as nervous. I looked at JanDi and him, and inwardly frowned.

"Seohyun is having a welcome back party. It'll be a lot of fun," He began, as he smiled at her. "You're going, right?" He asked, politely.

"Yes, I'll definitely go!" She replied quickly, slightly hypnotised. Junpyo outwardly looked as upset as I was in the inside. "Sohee, are you going too?" She asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I might not. I don't want to." I replied quickly, feeling heat go to my face. JanDi had a incredulous expression on her face when I said my reply as fast as I did.

"Why? What's the matter?" She asked, noticing my face was as red as ever, and I shrugged.

"It's not important. I promise." I said, as I gave a weak smile. JanDi frowned, and gave a whine.

"Please, go with me! I want you to go!" She frowned, throwing puppy-eyes at me. I looked at her face, and immediately sighed with a chuckle.

"Alright, I'll go." I gave in, as she happily hugged me. "I'll meet you at the party, hm? Knock at my hotel room door if you need me!" I cheered, as I went into the hotel doors.

#

When I walked into Seohyun's welcome party, it was the most formal party that I've seen in a long while. I even felt underdressed even though I wore one of the most formal dresses I could wear; A simple purple plum dress.

The first thing I did when I came in was look for JanDi. I saw Woobin sitting with Yijung instead of dancing, and I went over to them.

"1000 Won's friend seems to clean up very nicely." Woobin teased, as I rolled my eyes sassily. I scanned the dance floor for JanDi, and pouted.

"Have you guys seen JanDi?" I asked, as Woobin gave a curious glance at me.

"We thought you'd be with her." He shrugged, and I bit my lip, and sighed. I thought that she'd want to go to the party with me, but she never came to the hotel room.

Suddenly, we heard a crash near the food area. "Uh oh." I muttered, as I already had a bad feeling about this. I slowly walked over, anticipating the worst.

"So this is wonder-woman? Have all the compliments gotten to your head?" Ginger laughed at her petty comment. I pushed past them, and saw JanDi laying on the ground, with a wonder-woman costume on. The way that Ginger looked so smug made me realize that she had something to do with it.

I extended my hand, and JanDi graciously took it. A white jacket wrapped around her, and I looked up to see Jihoo helping as well. Seohyun regally walked over, in front of the crowd of people, who weren't anticipating that she would help.

"I know why you did this," She began, looking in Ginger's direction. "This proves how low you are, and not her." She finished, as Ginger angrily gasped, as we walked up, following Seohyun to her room.

Another chapter done! This chapter was a lot better than Chapter 1 because we're finally discovering more about our main characters~

Until my next chapter, loves~ Thank you so much for reading!

-BunniUnni