Chapter 5

She really wasn't like anyone he had ever met before. Up until now, all the girls that Yi Jung had taken shopping had expected him to foot the bill. Ga Eul however was absolutely mortified when he stopped in front of the Chanel store.

"Chanel?" she had asked shakily, "Are you out of your mind? I can't afford Chanel."

Yi Jung was baffled, "So?"

Ga Eul stared at him as if he'd really taken leave of his senses, "What do you mean 'so'? Let's go somewhere more reasonable. I'd like to be able to eat for the rest of the month you know."

It was then that her point dawned on Yi Jung, "Wait! You mean to say that you'll be paying?"

"No! I expect the President of Korea to pay for me ," she retorted sarcastically, "Duh! Of course I'll pay."

Yi Jung shook his head, "There is a walking talking bank sitting next to you," he said pointing at himself.

Ga Eul gaped at him, "Oh no, no, no, no, no, NO!"

Yi Jung raised an eyebrow in question.

"I will not let you buy anything for me," Ga Eul insisted, "That's not how it works."

"Ga Eul," Yi Jung said seriously, "I want to do this. Besides, did you forget that you're my date tonight?"

"Be default," she answered, "But I don't like this. One shouldn't accept gifts that's beyond their means. I can't do this. It'll be demeaning."

He nodded, "Fine, I will not dent that pride of yours. How about we reach a compromise of sorts?"

She cocked her head to the side, "What do you propose?"

"How about we rent the dress you'll wear tonight?"

She beamed, "That works!"

Sometime later they were standing in front of an array of dresses at a boutique.

"This?" Ga Eul was holding a blue and green sequined dress.

"No," Yi Jung answered.

Between the two of them, they had already rejected about ten dresses.

"Why?" she whined, "It's nice."

"Yes. But it's not you."

Ga Eul looked like she was about to protest but then decided against it. Yi Jung picked up a pale gold dress that looked nice but as soon as he saw the bodice, he put it back. One after another, lavender, pink, silver and yellow dresses got rejected before both of them reached for the same dress at the same time and briefly their fingers touched. Yi Jung inhaled sharply as Ga Eul jerked her hand away. The sensation had been akin to the time when he had accidentally touched a live wire. Unsure of what to do, he stuffed his still tingling hand inside his pocket and picked the dress with his other hand.

THIS was what he had been looking for. Nodding in approval he handed it to her.

"Try it on," he suggested, his voice quivering slightly.

Wordlessly she took the dress and walked over to the trail room. Yi Jung took his hand out of the pocket and stared at it. This spark, he had felt it at the Hospital as well. Back then he had brushed it off as static electricity but now he didn't know what to think. More importantly, he didn't know what to make of Ga Eul. What had started out as a means to entertain his bored mind was now morphing into something else. With all the girls, Yi Jung maintained clear lines of what was acceptable and what was not. With Ga Eul, the lines were blurring. With the sole exception of Eun Jae, he had never allowed himself to feel anything other than lust but Ga Eul was stirring up the hitherto undisturbed pot.

He wanted her, oh yes; Lord knew that there were a million and one things he wanted to do to her and none of them were PG-13. But it were more than that. He enjoyed bandying words with her. He liked the fact that she had downplayed the entire drunk dialling fiasco. He admired her courage of picking him up from the bar and dropping him off at Ji Hoo's. Today, when she had refused to let him buy anything for her, she had managed to earn his respect. But then she had also managed to confuse him with all that talk of 'Soulmates'.

He rubbed his face wondering what he'd gotten himself into. He realized that he had zones out for about fifteen minutes and she still hadn't stepped out. He walked over to the trial room and knocked on the door. "Ga Eul."

No reply.

That's strange. He wondered. Aloud he said, "Ga Eul? You alright in there?"

"Uh yeah," came the shaky response, "I'll be out in about a minute."

Puzzled Yi Jung frowned but agreed with her nevertheless. True to her word Ga Eul was out of the room in little over a minute, dressed in the same outfit that she was before.

"You didn't try the dress?"

"I did," she answered, "I'm taking it."

"Hey, you didn't show it to me," he complained.

Ga Eul smiled slowly, "You'll see it later."

The rest of the accessories were quickly picked up. Then, overriding all her protests to the contrary, Yi Jung took her to the parlour and forced her to sit still as she was dolled up. The hair stylist was thrilled to bits about Ga Eul's hair and praised her so much that Ga Eul blushed a very adorable shade of pink. Yi Jung was thankful that she didn't notice his reaction as he abruptly reached for a glass of water and drank it in one shot. Her hair was done in soft curls that were held together by a small clip causing it to cascade down to her shoulders in soft waves. Her eyes were given a smoky effect and her lips were given a pale pink shade. Finally finished, she was led to the room in which she could change her dress.

Yi Jung waited as patiently as he could and soon he was rewarded. She demurely stepped out and instantly stole his breath. She was dressed in a wine coloured, one shoulder dress. It looked as if it was tailored for her. The figure hugging bodice and the full skirt showed off a delicate and beautiful figure. She had accessorised it with simple silver earrings and a silver bracelet. The look was completed with silver high-heels. Yi Jung stood mesmerised.

"So," her voice cut in to break his trance, "How do I look?"

He cleared his throat. He took his time in cooking up a cheeky retort because his brain was suddenly very hazy. "Not bad," was all he could manage.

She pouted and Yi Jung was convinced that somehow he had pissed off some God who had a very perverted sense of humour and this was the guy's revenge. He desperately wanted to kiss that pout away. He wanted to take her to the nearest possible hotel and make hot, sweet, and passionate love to her, party be damned. His mind was busy painting erotic and intimate scenes between them. He was wondering how she would sound moaning with pleasure. What he would have to do to make her scream his name. He pictured her lying on the bed, completely naked with that glorious hair fanned out beneath her as he…

"Yi Jung" she waved a hand in front of his face.

He blinked several times and found her standing close to him, looking at him perplexed. She was near enough that if he raised his hand just a little bit, he could snake it around her waist and then pull her for a ki… STOP!

With a long suffering sigh, he signalled that they should be heading out. As they reached his car, it suddenly dawned to him that she would be sitting merely a couple of feet away from him. That guy upstairs was seriously mad at him. Yi Jung was almost certain that after today he would have to write to the Oxford Dictionary makers to add an alternative definition of Claustrophobia – sitting in a cramped car with a girl you're crazily attracted to but can't make a move on.

On some level Yi Jung wondered why he couldn't make a move on Ga Eul, any other girl and he would have done so long time ago, but his head wasn't working- at least not the one that sat on top his shoulders. Yi Jung sighed, this was going to be one hell of a long ride.

Truth be told, Ga Eul was a little disappointed by Yi Jung's reaction. When she had seen herself in that trail room, she had been stunned by the change a simple dress had wrought in her. She looked nothing like a school girl. It was simple, elegant and incredibly sexy in an understated way. Ga Eul wasn't vain but for once, she had fallen in love with the person in the mirror. She couldn't help but stare at her reflection. A part of her wanted to run over to him and show him the mini miracle but a larger part wanted to wait and show him the end result.

Yi Jung had bullied her into getting into that parlour and for once she was glad that she had relented. Those people sure knew what they were doing. They completely changed her look, enunciating her wide eyes. When the stylist had offered her a room where she could change, Ga Eul had gladly taken up the offer. She had been both nervous and excited as she took the few tentative steps from the room in the parlour to where Yi Jung sat. In Ga Eul's opinion, she had never looked better, but then, she would be the first person to acknowledge that she didn't know enough. She wanted to hear what Yi Jung had to say. She had reluctantly come to admit that she loved it when he called her beautiful.

However, Yi Jung's reaction was lukewarm at best and that had dampened Ga Eul's newfound confidence. Now they were on their way to the party complete silence. What was worse was the expression Yi Jung wore, as if he was in a lot of pain. Ga Eul had tried to start a conversation a couple of times, but he had been oddly unresponsive. Just like at the parlour, he seemed to have zoned out completely.

Finally they reached the club. Yi Jung got out of his car and opened the door for her. She smiled slightly; she hadn't expected to see chivalry in this day and age. Silently he led the way towards the entrance. Ga Eul wasn't someone who frequented clubs and she wasn't sure what to expect. The first thing that struck her was how dark and crowded the inside was. Instinctively she clutched Yi Jung's hand. She felt him give her a gentle squeeze. Reassured, she looked around and started taking in more details. The club was a tasteful mix of black and white. Ga Eul barely had time to register the dance floor when Yi Jung's presence had been noted by his fan club. She felt him lace his fingers through hers, tighten his grip and tug her closer.

The reaction from the horde of girls surrounding him was immediate. They either sighed, or screamed or threw incredibly nasty looks at her.

"Who is she So Yi Jung?" someone from the crowd screamed.

Yi Jung merely flashed his dazzling smile and walked on, pulling Ga Eul around. For the first time she realized what a potent weapon his smile was. Just one flash of those pearly whites and an entire mob was disarmed. His smile should come with that little yellow triangle of 'bio-hazard', Ga Eul thought dryly. He led her to the VIP lounge where the rest of the F4 and Jan Di were waiting.

"Ga Eul!" Jan Di gasped, "Oh my God! You look phenomenal!"

"So do you," Ga Eul replied. It was true. Jan Di was dressed in a pale pink dress that came up to her mid-thigh.

Woo Bin wolf whistled, "Ga Eul, you look positively … enchanting. Yah, Yi Jung, you're gonna have a tough night man. I can bet a lot of guys out there are jealous of you right now. "

While Ga Eul thanked Woo Bin bashfully, she missed the death glare that Yi Jung had thrown at him.

"I agree," Jun Pyo said, "You look very pretty."

Ji Hoo walked up to her and said, "If Yi Jung doesn't mind, can I have a dance with you?"

Before Ga Eul could answer her date spoke up, "Yi Jung does mind. Now go to your dream world and leave her alone."

Ga Eul's stomach had suddenly become home to a million butterflies as Yi Jung walked into the lounge and poured himself a drink. She missed the glance that Woo Bin and Ji Hoo exchanged.

"Any way, let me introduce you to my date Ga Eul," Woo Bin said gallantly and pointed at a black haired girl sitting on the couch.

"I know you," Ga Eul said slowly, "You were the one who helped Jan Di remove those petals from me."

Jan Di snapped her fingers, "Now I know why you seemed so familiar!"

The pretty girl's eyes danced with joy as she walked up to them, "I'm Ha Jae Kyung."

"You're a year senior to us, right?" Ga Eul asked and she nodded.

The three girls seemed to hit off instantly and they started chatting. Although she wasn't actively participating in it, Ga Eul was sufficiently distracted by Jan Di and the over enthusiastic Jae Kyung. Absently she wondered if she was reading too much into the somewhat possessive statement Yi Jung made a while ago but couldn't really examine it. However her eyes kept darting over to him and every time she found his gaze fixed on her with a strange and intense expression on his face. He cut an impressive figure, dressed in a chocolate brown suit, sitting regally on the armchair and nursing a drink. The way he was looking at her was making her skin tingle. Her very extremities were becoming numb. What was this man doing to her? Ga Eul couldn't really concentrate on the conversation, nor could she quite scrutinize the quandary Yi Jung was presenting.

"Girls!" Woo Bin's voice cut through their chatter, "The dances will start soon. Let's go downstairs."

He offered his hand to Jae Kyung who took it with a smile. Jun Pyo offered his arm to Jan Di. Ga Eul didn't miss the faint blush on her friend's face. Ji Hoo walked out of the lounge after them. Only when they were completely alone that Yi Jung moved. He drained his drink in one gulp and slammed the glass on the table. He had the same pained expression that he did in the car as he approached her and held out his hand. Ga Eul wanted to refuse. After all if dancing with her or being in her company was so painful for him, she should ease his pain and stay away, right?

When he noticed her hesitation, he clicked in annoyance and grabbed her hand, "Let's go," he said gruffly.

What on Earth was wrong with him? Why had his mood taken a sudden nosedive? He almost dragged her downstairs and to the dance floor. By this point Ga Eul was getting annoyed with him. She didn't know what caused his mood to plummet into the dark abyss but she wasn't about to let him drag her around wherever he felt like.

"Yi Jung," she hissed as they joined the couples on the dance floor swaying to the soft romantic number that was playing. "Stop dragging me," she whispered.

"Just dance will you," he ground out.

He placed a hand on her waist and took her hand with the other. Ga Eul noticed that he was taking extra care of not touching her any more than the dance required. The hand at the waist was feather light, almost barely there and the one in her hand was similarly placed. With a soft sigh, she placed her hand on his shoulder and started to sway to the music. She was hoping that they would soon be done with the customary dance and that she could go home. She didn't want to be here with this black hole. She found herself missing the usual vibrant Yi Jung.

Suddenly she felt his breath in her ear, "Don't pout."

"I'm not pouting," she fiercely whispered, "I don't pout."

He chuckled, "Oh you do. Whenever you're mad, you pout."

She opened her mouth to protest but paused, she didn't even know what to say to that. She decided to stay quiet.

"What? No comebacks?" he sounded both amused and curious.

What amazing mood swings! Is this guy bipolar? She wondered.

He snorted, "No, I'm not bipolar."

"Shit! I said that out loud, didn't I?" she blushed.

"Yup," he answered the dazzling smile firmly in place.

"Well if you're not bipolar," Ga Eul asked, "Then how do you account for your mood swings?"

"What mood swing?" he asked as they moved with the rhythm.

"Well you were brooding a while ago and now you're chatting with me, I don't know what to make of it."

"Sometimes a man needs to brood," he answered vaguely.

Ga Eul was busy scowling at him and consequently missed a step and almost tumbled. However Yi Jung was alert and he instantly pulled her closer, steadying her against his body. All of a sudden, GA Eul forgot how to breathe. Her legs had turned to jelly and her brain had turned to mush. Yi Jung had stopped moving, his ebony eyes staring deeply into her. His eyes seemed like the turbulent sea in a dark night. His handsome features stood out against the black background. Her heart thudded wildly as it worked overtime to pump blood into her face. Slowly, after what seemed like eons to her, Yi Jung lowered his head and started to bridge the distance between them. He was going to kiss her. A stone cold panic gripped her and she brought up a hand and placed it on his lips.

"Yi Jung, no, please," she whispered.

He held her hand, moved it from his lips and nodded. He let go off her and bowed slightly. "Let's go. I'm hungry," he said with a smile.