Eri and Yi Jeong stared at a huge canvas board, completely boring Jae Kyung. How long were they going to watch that one place? She had showed up just as Min Ho had said and sat at the back of the studio. He had said that she would have to be quiet as the two worked. Yi Jeong didn't normally mind the noise, but when he was with Eri, he was extra cautious.
None of it made any sense to her. These guys took extra care of one person. After their date the other day, they had met up a couple of times to discuss what would happen when they sat in the studio. Min Ho was a great source of information. He could tell her whatever she wanted to know unless it was too sensitive.
He wasn't a bad guy. He was quiet and kind and used to the craziness of this group of people. He was very protective and quick to anger if his friends were the subject. He was very defensive of Eri and it seemed he had more than brotherly feelings for her.
"What are you feeling?" she heard Yi Jeong ask. He was leaning close to Eri so she could see his mouth.
Jae Kyung looked at Min Ho for an explanation. He laughed. "Since she can't explain what she's feeling, he always puts up a blank canvas. Then he tells her to do what she must. It always works, but it takes some time."
Eri turned on her heel and walked to the store room across the hall. She returned with a hammer, nails and a bunch of spools of twine. Yi Jeong didn't have to be told what to do. He took the hammer and nails and started putting them around the perimeter of the canvas. He made sure the nails didn't stick out too far. He wasn't even finished when Eri started tying the twine around the nail. She criss crossed them across the canvas, hooking them to other nails and repeating the process.
It took thirty minutes with the two of them working together. Red, blues, white, green, and yellow twine crossed and meshed and made an interesting array of color. But Eri wasn't done. She took the remaining twine and the hammer back to the store room then returned with spray paint and a couple of masks. Pulling the mask over her face, she shook the can then popped the cap. Yi Jeong donned the second mask as he shook the other can. Simultaneously they dispensed their canisters on the canvas.
Jae Kyung was mesmerized. The two moved in harmony. Yi Jeong always knew where Eri was going to move and he compensated for it. He touched her very gently to let her know he was behind her. It was an intricate dance that only the two of them knew.
Min Ho knew the second Jae Kyung understood what was going on. She was seeing firsthand what they dealt with on a regular basis. None of it was bad but it all wasn't good at the same time. Eri was an enigma only a few chosen could figure out. Yi Jeong just happened to be one of them.
He couldn't help but the emotions that kind of popped up whenever he sat and watched. Eri was so welcoming once you got under that hard outer shell. She would go out of her way to help her friends. Not even his own family would do that. That was the reason he felt so strongly towards her. She had defended him when his family would have left him to be slaughtered by the people opposing him.
Yi Jeong and Eri were his friends, his best friends. He didn't have anyone else he could call that. But he wished he had been four years earlier. If he had known them four years earlier, he could have put up a fight against Woo Bin to have her as his wife. But he couldn't do that now. No matter how he felt about her, he wouldn't break up her family.
He heard the front door open. Once again the twins invaded the space he was. Junsu's hair was blond now. Junho's had changed as well, now a russet brown instead of blue. The younger twin bounded over to the two working friends and passed off cups of coffee. Eri stared at him as he spoke quickly. There was a slight flush to his cheeks as he spoke.
Junho sighed. "He's at it again." He ran his hand through his hair.
"What are you talking about?" Min Ho asked.
"The rank bastard. Hey! Junsu! Quite playing and come on. We have to get back to work. Hoon says we can't waste too much time."
Junsu waved back to his brother seconds before he said something. Before he could get too far away from them, Eri grabbed his hand. He turned back and she held up her hands in the universal sign for wait as she walked to the far side of the studio. She picked up a huge canvas then returned, handing it off to Junsu.
"Hoon wanted this last time he was here," Yi Jeong said. "It's been on the wall at the gallery. I refused to sell it after he said he liked it. Tell him it's a gift."
Eri's face brightened in some sort of remembrance before she went off again, this time into a room at the far end of the studio. It took longer to find whatever she was looking for. When she returned she had two boxes in her hand. Junsu took one off her hands and read the letter scrawled across the frame as Eri walked by him and handed the last one to his twin.
"In this life we will never be apart," Junsu read.
"For we grew to the same beat of our mother's heart," Junho finished.
"Daphne Fandrich," Yi Jeong said. "I don't even want to know how you found that or where you got the wood for those boxes."
Eri nodded at Junho. "I never had a twin, but my brother and I are very close even though we're three thousand miles away. I made these thinking of him and you." She rocked back on her heels and shoved her hands into her back pockets.
Junsu couldn't make any words so he just nodded and walked out the door. Min Ho understood what Junho had said. He caught his arm before he walked away.
"How long have you known Eri?" he asked.
"Since she moved here," Junho replied before he shrugged his hand off and followed his twin.
Min Ho knew what Junsu was going through. What would have happened if Junsu had said something first? Everything would be totally different. F4 would be out of reach and he wouldn't be working with someone he respected. Eri wouldn't be his friend and would probably still be a surgeon. She wouldn't have Bin Ji or Ahn Na and she wouldn't have Woo Bin.
"Hey, Min Ho," Yi Jeong called across the room. "Help us clean up and we'll get something to eat."
He couldn't say no so he got up started to help clean. It was usually his job anyway. He moved Eri out of the way as he picked up the big canvas and moved it into the kiln room. He brought out a broom and started to sweep the floor as the other two changed.
By the time he was done, they were ready. Eri watched him as he walked across the room, her head tilted slightly to the right. What was she thinking? Yi Jeong looked down at her and tried to read her but she was closed off from him as well. She turned on her heel and headed out of the studio, Jae Kyung hot on her heels.
The two men stared at each other for the longest moment. They both knew what had just happened and neither had the desire to talk about it again. If they did, it made it real. But he couldn't leave it alone.
"Did you know?" he asked, his voice breaking just a bit. "Did you know about Junsu?"
"I had an idea but by the time I realized it, Eri was already bonding with Woo Bin. Junsu saw it and decided to take a step back. Seeing her everyday was hard but he still became her friend. That's why she made those boxes," Yi Jeong replied.
"Eri knows how he feels?"
The potter nodded. "She knew, and I'm sure if Woo Bin hadn't come around, it would have been Junsu she ended up with. He's just that good to her. Or you if you had met her first. There's no way of knowing right now because she's made her choice. Junsu has to get on with his life, as do you so make the most of your time. You never know who's waiting on the other side of that door."
"You sound like an old man."
Yi Jeong laughed as he walked past him. They caught up with the girls outside and headed for the little bistro down the street. European restaurants were becoming even more popular now and this place had just opened up. It was doing well so Yi Jeong thought to make everyone feel better by treating them to lunch.
He led them into the shop and over to a table for four. He held a chair out for Eri and waited for her to sit before sitting beside her. He smiled when Min Ho refused to do the same courtesy for Jae Kyung. The boy was still a little standoffish from the woman but he was easing up.
They were trying to understand each other. It was the reason Jae Kyung had been able to come to the studio. They had made some sort of deal that involved her being quiet while she was around. Min Ho seemed to be able to tolerate her even more than he had in the beginning. Now he was able to sit beside her and not cringe.
Eri tugged on his arm. When he turned toward her, she snagged the pen on the inside of his jacket. He watched her scribble something down on a napkin then turn it to him.
"Should we set them up again? I think it's working." When he shook his head, she retracted the square and scribbled again. For a French nationalist, she had expert penmanship when it came to Korean. "He needs to be happy."
He took the pen from her and scribbled under hers. "He will be. Just give it time." She scowled at him. "What do you want to eat?" he asked aloud. She pointed at a sandwich on the menu. "A club? That's very unlike you."
"I'm not really hungry," she replied, hands and all.
"Your stomach must be full from the coffee," Min Ho said.
"Does she eat more than this normally?" Jae Kyung asked.
Eri shook her head, finding it pertinent to answer because if she didn't, they would make up something. "It's hit or miss on how much I eat. I've never been a big eater to begin with. Some days I eat all day long. Some days I pick at it. Then there are days when I don't eat at all. Those days everyone gets mad at me."
"Coffee is not a sufficient source of sustenance," Min Ho argued. "There are times when I want to strangle you for thinking that."
Yi Jeong shook his head. "You're never going to win this fight. I gave up a long time ago."
Eri waved her hand to shut them up. "I've been eating. Junho brings breads over every few days. Lately honey bread and melon bread are the only two I can tolerate since I was sick. Oh, and soups. Woo Bin's gotten really good at making soups. Beef and chicken are his best ones."
The potter watched with his chin propped in his hand as Min Ho let that sink in. The happy light that always filled his eyes when he was around Eri dimmed just a little more. He was finally starting to let go of those feelings the more and more he realized this was how she lived.
"Noona, do I need to call him for some more?" he asked after clearing his throat.
Eri shook her head. "No, Woo Bin does. Or he just shows up with them. I'd like it better if he just showed up with a cake or something."
Yi Jeong rolled his eyes. "You eat more sweets than anyone I have ever met."
"That's because a sweetheart has to replenish."
Everyone looked up as Woo Bin appeared over Eri's shoulder. His huge hand covered her cheek as he leaned down and kissed her. Pulling back, he smiled at her as he rubbed his thumb against her cheek.
"Hello, Yaebo," he said. She leaned her face in his hand in response. He looked up at them. "Can I kidnap my wife for the rest of the afternoon?"
"She's your wife. You can do whatever you want with her." Yi Jeong held his finger up as a warning. "Within reason."
Woo Bin drew his wife up and into his side. "I have never placed my hand on a woman in an untoward manner. Now if you'll excuse us. We'll see you at the house. Ga Eul has the kids."
Jae Kyung watched them walk off arm in arm. "So that's what it feels like?" The men looked at her. "I never thought I'd see anything like that. My parents loved me and each other, but I've never really felt that way, not even for Jun Pyo."
"Maybe you just haven't found the right one yet. Chasing after Mr. Wrong is a great way to lose Mr. Right," Min Ho said as he looked out the window.
As they continued their conversation, Yi Jeong wondered how long it would take them to realize they liked each other more than they let on.
