Hey Everybody!
Thank you so much for all the great reviews! Again I really appreciate it and it means a lot. It's great to know that you are all enjoying the story and there is a lot more to come! As usual I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review! Thanks!
Chapter 7
Jae Kyung wrapped her arms around herself; she felt cold, she felt cold ever since she had left Woo Bin that morning. She was aware of the fact that she loved him. She did not need anybody to tell her that; she had figured it out months ago when they would speak on the phone at least once a week, every week. The kind of man he was, especially when it came to women and relationships, she knew that it took something he had seen in her to trust her with even something as little as to talk every week. Not only Woo Bin, but she knew herself better than anybody. She did not open up to anybody very easily before but especially after the whole drama went down with Jun Pyo and Jan Di. There was just something about him that made her heart warm, she felt comfortable with telling him anything but it was never a comfort level of a brother. It was always something more; she knew that he would be there for her for anything she needed but she never really knew if he felt something more for her until he had kissed her. Sure, she had kissed other guys before but she had never allowed it to get that heated, she had never felt the spark that she felt with him. Never in her life had she felt so safe and at the same time cautious of the potential future with a guy because as much as she loved him she knew that his past made it hard to have a relationship with him.
She tried to come up with some sort of reason as to why he would date Seo Yun but the only logical explanation to her was that he was forced into it. It was not that she was super sure that he was madly in love with her but Seo Yun just did not strike her as Woo Bin's type and it was so out of nowhere that he settled down and no longer lived his previous life.
Jae Kyung inhaled a deep crisp breath leaning on the kitchen counter and let out a shaky breath.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Ga Eul said entering the kitchen.
"Oh yeah, fine" Jae Kyung said, managing to smile.
"You know you are a really bad liar" Ga Eul said.
"Not I am not!" Jae Kyung protested.
"Are you thinking about Woo Bin?" Ga Eul asked.
"Yeah" Jae Kyung whispered in defeat.
"Well, stop it. If you have something to ask him then just do it, we need to start acting like adults" Ga Eul said.
"So does that mean you are going to tell Yi Jung you still love him?" Jae Kyung asked.
"What?" Ga Eul's voice getting louder but trembled.
"Easier said than done, right?" Jae Kyung said.
"But I don't love him, I have a boyfriend!"
"Yeah, okay" Jae Kyung said, "Then have you had sex with your boyfriend yet?"
"Excuse me?" Ga Eul yelled, appalled at Jae Kyung's boldness, "That does not matter!"
"It does and I will answer it for you, you have not have sex with your boyfriend because you still want Yi Jung to be your first" Jae Kyung said.
"I – I – that's not accurate" Ga Eul stumbled over her words.
"Really so you are telling me that if Yi Jung grabbed you right now and told you that he was going to please you then you would say no?" Jae Kyung asked.
"This conversation is turning ridiculous" Ga Eul said slightly blushing.
"Besides Yi Jung loves you so if anybody should be professing they love it should be the two of you" Jae Kyung said.
"That's not true, if he loved me then he would have said something" Ga Eul said looking at the floor.
"Yi Jung is not a man to say he loves you but you can find out other ways and really drive him crazy, maybe even get a little revenge for what he put you through" Jae Kyung said smiling.
"What are you talking about?" Ga Eul asked.
"Don't play naïve Ga Eul, you know what I am talking about; now let's test my theory and see how long he lasts" Jae Kyung said.
"What are you going to do?" Ga Eul asked afraid of her answer.
"Yi Jung" Jae Kyung called his name from the kitchen and when she saw him coming inside from helping the guys build a fire pit outside she left the kitchen saying,
"Have fun"
"No Jae Kyung" Ga Eul yelled after her and tried to leave the kitchen too but it was too late.
"Did you need help with anything?" he asked his body right in front of hers. He had stripped off his vest and was just in his black pants, deep blue dress shirt and black tie.
"I wanted to ask you something" she said and he swallowed hard.
"Sure" his voice came out a faint broken whisper.
"When you came to my classroom, we were interrupted when you were going to tell me the reason you left after coming back to Sweden so I want to hear it now" she demanded gaining strength from Jae Kyung's words, "What is your reason?"
It was foreign for him to admit that he loved her even more, even when she was angry at him, even when she demanded something of him. If this had been years ago when he had first met her, he would not have given her a second glance and he would be offended that she demanded something of him but now he felt grounded. He felt like his heart was finally beating again after years of solitude, he felt whole when he held her, when he saw her smile and even when he thought about seeing her that day. He licked his lips and as much as he wanted to be a man he was not sure that this was the right time to tell her how he felt. He wanted it to be perfect and he wanted to be alone not surrounded by people especially her boyfriend. He looked at her and finally said,
"I guess I missed a lot, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked crossing her arms in front of her.
"You are so different, in just one year, what happen?" he asked.
"You left" she said, her tone harsh.
"I know" he nodded and she looked at him noticing something different in him as well. He was much calmer but not like his previous self, she thought she saw a vulnerable side to him standing in front of her but she shook her head thinking that she was over thinking it.
"Which brings us back to my original question" she said.
"When I came to your classroom after I came back from Sweden" he said leaning on the kitchen counter, "I realized something which is why I left after Jun Pyo's wedding".
"What did you realize?" she asked almost immediately not getting her hopes up but still wanting it to be something positive, something that could make her feel like she did not waste all these years hoping that he would somehow change and be only hers.
He turned around to face her. Even though he wanted this moment to be perfect, there was nothing like the present and he had waited long enough. He wanted to in his life, as his alone and nobody else's.
"I guess I realized that I lo - "
"Ga Eul" her boyfriend called her walking in to the kitchen cutting off Yi Jung, "there you are" he said kissing her on the cheek and wrapping his arm around her waist.
Yi Jung shook his head and chuckled. It was definitely karma getting him.
"Oh Yi Jung, I did not even see you there" Hyun Jun said.
"You didn't? I am pretty sure Ga Eul and I were having a conversation but that's okay" Yi Jung said his hand twitching and Yi Jung found it hard not to punch him in the face.
"God, stupid Hyun Jun" Jae Kyung whispered to herself, spying on them behind the wall in the hallway.
"Why are you spying" Woo Bin whispered behind her and she jumped.
"You scared me" she continued whispering but her breath was cut short when she turned around and was face to face with Woo Bin. His body so close to hers that she could feel the heat emanating onto her own body.
"I did not know you scared that easily" he teased her.
"I don't" she said raising her head up.
"Are you going to stop spying? I am pretty sure the show is over" Woo Bin said noticing Yi Jung leaving the kitchen.
"I was just trying to see how my advice was going to play out" she said smiling as she walked away from the kitchen and towards the patio outside.
"Advice?" he asked following her outside.
"Well I told Ga Eul to be creative when it came to Yi Jung admitting that he loves her but of course proper Ga Eul did not take my advice" she said chuckling.
"And what was your advice, bad girl?" he asked laughing.
"You know what my advice was" she said slightly blushing but shivered from the cold breeze rolling in from the mountains.
"Here" he said unbuttoning his thick navy sweater and draping it on her shoulders.
"You are going to freeze" she said looking at him left in only a thin white tee shirt.
"No, I'll be okay" he said and she nodded putting her arms in the sweater and buttoning a couple of buttons in the front.
"So, how come you did not tell me about your new boyfriend?" he asked his voice with a hint of bitterness unable to hide all his hate for Yong Sun.
"I would not call him my boyfriend" she said, "We have only been on two dates if that".
"Is he the one you were supposed to bring to dinner at my house" he asked.
She nodded not wanting to talk about that night and what had happened before dinner.
"Do you like him so far?" he asked fearing her answer.
"I think so" she said and his heart dropped to the ground, "He is very nice but I think he is going a bit too fast".
"In what way?" Woo Bin asked grinding his teeth together ready to beat him to a pulp.
"He told me that he wants me to meet his family" she said, "He told me that his father especially wants to meet the girl that has his son's heart".
Woo Bin could not help but laugh and she looked his way.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing, sorry, it just seems like you totally won this guy over, not that I can blame him" he said, not noticing the last part of his sentence.
Jae Kyung was taken back a bit with his response but she maintained her composure and said,
"Yeah I don't know, I mean my parents are doing business with his father's architecture company for our new China complexes but I don't want our potential relationship to be a business deal, I think I have had enough of those for a lifetime" she said sadly.
"Hey, I know you will do what you feel is right, don't feel pressured to do business with his family just because your parents do that in China" he smiled at her.
"Thanks" she smiled back at him and his heart jumped back in his body.
He cleared his throat and said,
"Well, we should probably go help with dinner even though all I want to do is sit here, I am so tired from that drive up here" he stretched out but froze in place when Jae Kyung stood up and approached him.
"What's that?" she asked slightly lifting up his shirt and pointed to his scar on his hip. He forgot he had changed into a loose pair of black pants after he had helped them put the groceries inside. His black pants clung to his hips, tied by a silver draw string. His scar was much better than before. It was night and he was getting out of a late day at work when he had been ambushed. It was five men against him and one of his new bodyguards. He had lost the young bodyguard that night and as he tried to save him, he had gotten shot himself. He shook his head thinking about that night.
The sadness in his heart was melted away with her touch. It made him feel warmth throughout his body and he wanted to take her into his chest and never let her go.
"It's nothing, don't worry" he said pushing his shirt down even though deep inside he wanted her to take off the shirt. He looked at her and the way his sweater hung on her was perfect. It was baggy and comfortable on her and it definitely looked better on her than any other girl he would occasionally let wear his shirts the morning after.
"You know everybody tells me I am a terrible liar but you are just as bad and for lying to me I am not giving you your expensive sweater back" she said wrapping her arms around herself and inhaled his cologne on the sweater.
"You can keep it" he finally whispered out after watching her perfection against the night skylight.
"I wasn't asking your permission" she teased him sticking her tongue out and he laughed.
….
"Wait, you must be joking" Yi Jung said.
"No I am dead serious" Woo Bin took a deep breath.
They had all had dinner at the grand dining room and now they were all spread out throughout the property. Ji Hoo was reading a book in from of the fire pit, Ga Eul sat with Hyun Jun on the patio couch, Jan Di and Jun Pyo were inside the house, and Jae Kyung sat across Ga Eul with Yong Sun. Woo Bin and Yi Jung stood on the pier a short distance away from the house and they faced the lake as Woo Bin told Yi Jung who Jae Kyung's new man actually was.
"Now I understand what you meant about him being a pretty boy but what I don't get is how nobody else especially Jae Kyung knows about his family being in the mafia" Yi Jung asked.
"It's because everybody just always puts my family in the forefront of that business, my father has been ruling that world for years and Tae just got into it about 10 years ago and rose to power because he used money and manipulation so now he knows the only person standing in the way is my father or I guess me" Woo Bin said looking at the ground and letting out a shallow breath.
"I still don't get it though" Yi Jung said, "Your father of course is the ruler but even if something happens to your father, you don't want to be like him, right?"
"Right, but that does not matter because even if something happens to my father, even if I may not want to be in the same business as him, I still have all the people who trusted my father and feared my father on my side. Tae can't get all the power as long as I am alive as well" Woo Bin explained.
Yi Jung felt a shiver go through his body. The cold breeze picked up from the lake and blew cold wind in their faces but it was not the wind that made him shiver.
"And if you are going to ask how dangerous or serious is Tae' Woo Bin said reading Yi Jung's mind, "About two weeks ago Yong Sun was attacked by a disgruntled ex-employee of Tae and nothing major happened to Yong Sun but of course Tae took the slight bullet graze his son got as a lack of strength and defense from Yong Sun's new bodyguard so he killed the bodyguard and his young wife who was 2 months pregnant".
After a piercing moment of silence Yi Jung spoke up,
"Why didn't you tell me how serious this was?" he yelled and even though Ga Eul was sitting by the house she noticed the distress in his tone even though just the fact that he was yelling was enough to know something was wrong.
"I am not telling you all this to make you upset" Woo Bin's tone remained calm, "I just don't know what to do about Jae Kyung"
Yi Jung took a deep breath and cleared his lungs. He never really thought about Woo Bin's family or the kind of business his family was in mostly because if he thought about it too long he got worried and angry. The world he was in was the reason why he completely shut all of them out for a whole year after his mother died and it was now the reason why he could not be with Jae Kyung. If there was anybody Yi Jung knew had his back no matter what, it was Woo Bin without a doubt in his mind he knew that he would take a bullet for him.
"You have to tell her to distance herself from Yong Sun immediately" Yi Jung finally spoke up, "From what you are telling me, you should not even let her meet Tae especially since now he knows that you know her".
Woo Bin nodded but he knew it was going to be difficult to convince her, if she was anything it was strong headed.
"We should head back up to the house, it's getting late anyways" Woo Bin said and they both turned around to head back to the house.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Jae Kyung said still wearing Woo Bin's sweater.
"Yeah fine" Yi Jung answered but his gaze was stuck on Ga Eul.
"Well, I am going to bed" Jae Kyung said, "I am a little tired and we are going to the beach and the small town up the road tomorrow".
"Good night" Yong Sun said kissing her on the cheek and Woo Bin clenched his jaw forming a hard line.
"Night everybody" she said standing and walking into the house.
….
2:00 AM
Ga Eul pulled on a thin sweater over her tank top and shorts. Slowly she made her way to the large glass window. She opened the window slightly and a crisp wind breeze rolled in and she shivered thinking about Yi Jung. Her hips leaned on the side of the wall and she pulled up her hair in a high pony tail. She thought about what Jae Kyung had told her about Yi Jung but she shook her head. As much as she wanted to believe that he loved her, it was difficult for her to believe that he loved her and it was even harder for her to believe that he would admit it to her. But was it fair to stay with her boyfriend if she really did not love him, as much as she tried to convince herself of the love she had for him, it was not there, it had been with Yi Jung the moment that she met him.
She headed for the door and closed it quietly after she left her room. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she noticed a light coming from the kitchen and she walked towards the light. When she pushed the double doors open she saw Yi Jung sitting on one of the chairs on the marble island eating cereal. He looked up as soon as she entered and his mouth formed a smile.
"Hey" she said.
"Hey" he said taking a spoonful of cereal.
"Cereal?" she asked leaning on the island across from him.
"Not just any cereal" he said, "Banana Nut Cheerios".
"I have never had that kind of Cheerios, are those special cereal just for Korea's Casanova?"
"Touché" he smiled and her heart fluttered, "Sit I will get a cup for you".
She sat down and he grabbed the box out of the counter and a white bowl along with a silver spoon. She noticed he wore a pair of long black pajama pants and a sleeveless white shirt. His hair was still styled up and away from his face; it looked like he had not touched it since earlier which meant he had not slept at all.
"Is everything okay?" he asked noticing she was staring at him as he grabbed the milk out of the fridge and placed it on the kitchen island.
"Yeah, sorry you just look different without your usual suit and tie" she admitted, "I like it".
"Do you?" he smiled placing a bowl of cheerios in front of her and placed the spoon next to the bowl.
"It makes you more approachable and normal" she said pouring milk in the cereal.
"So you don't think I am normal when I wear a suit and tie?" he teased her as he sat across from her.
"You look closed off and stern" she said taking a spoon full of cheerios in her mouth and smiled, "These are really good" she said after swallowing the cheerios.
"I told you, now you can have the special Casanova cheerios" he laughed.
"So, it seems we keep getting interrupted when you tell me about your abrupt leave" she said.
"Yeah, we get interrupted by the same person" he said his tone icy, "what do you see in him anyways?"
"Well, he is nice, kind, and he is honest" she explained.
"I guess it's true love then" the sarcasm in his tone was bitter, "Do you think he is your soul mate?"
"Umm, I don't know if I believe that anymore" she said honestly.
"Why?" he asked standing up and placing his bowl in the sink.
"Because that was childish concept to begin with, life is much more different and harsh, it does not really wait for you to find your soul mate" she said sadly taking another bite of her cereal.
"That's too bad" he said leaning on the kitchen island.
"Why?" she asked.
"I guess that's the thing I missed most about you when I was gone for that year" he said and she blinked a couple of times, surprised at his words so she did not say anything, "Your positivity about everything even at the worst time and your hope of finding love even for somebody like me".
Ga Eul stared up at him as he stood in front of her. She was still seated and he looked into her big chocolate eyes. There was something about her eyes that made him say,
"Yeah, I definitely missed everything about you" he said leaning down and cupped her face. She looked up at him and her eyes got even bigger and even though she knew that she should not be doing this with him, there was something in his touch that made her trust him. Her eyes fluttered as he got closer until she finally closed them. She felt the heat of his body close but she did not feel his lips on hers instead he kissed her forehead and she opened her eyes never having felt such a warm feeling from him.
"Good night" he said leaving her in the kitchen with her thoughts.
Oh God she thought I am in so much trouble.
