Hey Guys! So, this chapter is a little short because it is really the continuation of the last chapter. When I started this story, I never intended to make Ga Eul's parents quite so materialistic and abusive. However, it was the way it ended up flowing along. I never thought Ga Eul had the same family support as Jan Di which is why she was able to sympathize with Yi Jeong so easily. So, this update is more about Ga Eul realizing some things. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you all think!

Chu Dae Seon walked into the study where Yi Jeong was waiting. He looked slightly disheveled and resigned. When Woo Bin had gone to retrieve him, it had not exactly been a gentle request. Woo Bin had deeply enjoyed sneaking up behind him and dragging him away from the party by his collar. Yi Jeong glared at him stone-faced while his best friend guarded the door in case he tried to bolt. Dae Seon sighed wearily. "I was told you wanted to see me?"

Yi Jeong didn't answer right away, his anger vibrating around them like a pulsating beat. "Do you have any idea what you put Ga Eul through tonight?"

Dae Seon had the decency to look ashamed. "I had no idea Kang Ha Joon was going to propose. We assumed the decision would be made after dinner."

"Your wife knew," Yi Jeong snapped. "She deliberately went out of her way to keep Ga Eul separated from me tonight. She also told my friend Yoon Ji Hoo she was finishing helping her get ready when in truth, she had already sent Ga Eul downstairs with Ha Joon."

Her father didn't answer which told Yi Jeong that he had been aware of their actions. "It took me an hour to calm Ga Eul down. She was sobbing and half sick with fear."

"I didn't realize Ga Eul disliked Ha Joon so much until this weekend," Dae Seon replied weakly. "She always complained about him. You know waking up in the middle of the night and her door is open with him standing there watching her sleep but- "

"Wait a minute," Woo Bin broke in harshly. He moved from the door to stand in front of her father. "You knew? You knew about him trying to break into her room and didn't do anything?"

"I couldn't- "

"Bull shit," Yi Jeong exploded. "You just didn't want too. You liked the lifestyle of Kang Do Yun too much. You were afraid if you stood up for Ga Eul it would all end. And they knew it. They knew you wouldn't defend her so Ha Joon did whatever the hell he wanted."

"Do you have any idea how lucky you are that he never hurt her?" Woo Bin asked in disbelief. "What if he had done more than try to scare her one visit? What If Geum Jan Di had not started coming with her growing up to help keep him at bay? He could have…" Woo Bin trailed off not wanting to voice the words. The image of what Ga Eul had endured growing up and never telling any of them. Instead of letting them focus all their energy into protecting Jan Di.

He shook his head disgustedly remembering the pure horror and panic on Ga Eul the day she burst into his home begging for help. "You selfish son of a- you're going to stand there and tell me you are going allow him to marry her? How dare you call yourself a father."

"Don't stand there and judge me." Dae Seon yelled. "I wouldn't even be in this position if it weren't for your friend Gu Jun Pyo. His family had me fired and my whole family was one paycheck away from the streets. I did what I had to do in order to survive. Ga Eul will forgive me for this eventually. I can't go back to being so poor that I can't even ride a damn bus."

Yi Jeong took out his wallet. "If money is all that matters to you then fine. How much?"

"What?"

"How much for Ga Eul?" Yi Jeong demanded. "Whatever Kang Do Yun offered, I will double it."

Dae Seon flushed but didn't respond as Yi Jeong threw the bills on the ground. "If this doesn't cover it let me know and I will give you more. However, my offer is conditional. You pick up those bills and you relinquish all your ties with Ga Eul. You are never to contact or see her again. You or Min Rae. So, pick which is more important. The money or Ga Eul."

"You can't do that," Dae Seon said in deathly outrage. "She is still my daughter."

"You're going to say that now?" Woo Bin snapped and pulled out his own wallet, throwing more bills onto the ground. "Here. Since you seem to like selling and buying your own flesh and blood so much, this is my bid for Ga Eul."

Dae Seon moved to the window battling with himself. "I'm sorry Ga Eul is frightened. I never wanted her to be hurt by any of this."

"You should have thought about that when Ga Eul begged you not to do this three days ago." Yi Jeong told him furiously.

"What do you want me to do?"

"The fact that you are debating what to do tells me everything," Yi Jeong growled. "You already made your decision. So, take the damn money. Brag to Kang Do Yun about your loyalty."

Dae Seon shifted his gaze to the bills on the floor. "I want to talk to Ga Eul. I feel like I should explain why her mother and I didn't- "

"No," Yi Jeong interrupted coldly. "The last thing Ga Eul needs right now is to hear your pathetic excuses for your behavior tonight. I won't allow you to hurt her any more than you already have."

As he turned to leave, Dae Seon wondered out loud, "What are you going to do about the engagement?"

Yi Jeong stopped and peered at him over his shoulder. "I will handle Kang Do Yun and Ha Joon. So, don't concern yourself about her now. It's not a very convincing act anyway."

The silence of the room as Dae Seon stared at the money on the ground felt like a weight of rocks were sitting on his chest.

Woo Bin shook his head. "Your daughter is the sweetest woman I have ever met. Which is no credit to you. She loves everyone she meets and wouldn't hesitate to help any of us. In these past two years she never once told us about you or her mother blaming her for your troubles. Because she didn't want us to be hurt or to feel obligated to help you out. Despite knowing money has no meaning to us."

Dae Seon opened his mouth to speak but Woo Bin wasn't finished. "Before they officially started dating, Ga Eul was shopping with Jan Di and the rest of us. She saw this dress she loved, and Yi Jeong went to buy it for her, and she categorically refused. Later I asked her why. She said it was because she never wanted us to think she was friends with us only because of what we could buy for her. That stuck with me because she was by far the first woman to ever say that to any of the F4. So, I vowed to protect her from men who would try to take advantage of her sweet nature. It never occurred to me that it would be her own father."

"I love my daughter," Dae Seon told him. "I only did what I thought was right for her."

"No. You did what you thought was right for you. Nothing about this was for Ga Eul." Woo Bin gestured to where Yi Jeong had been standing previously. "But you better decide how you want to handle this going forward because So Yi Jeong does not give second chances. Especially to people who mess with Ga Eul. He loves her. He has since the moment they met, and no one touches her. If you think Gu Jun Pyo and I are protective, you have not seen anything yet."

"I can't go up against Do Yun." Dae Seon looked close to tears. "I made a deal."

"And that means more to you than Ga Eul?" Woo Bin could not understand why her father was holding on so tightly to Do Yun. "Even knowing that Yi Jeong would have happily taken care of your debts simply for Ga Eul's sake?"

"He won't marry her!" Dae Seon finally roared. "His family will never allow it. I don't want a temporary fix. I want her to marry someone who will be able to keep us out poverty for the rest of our lives. Not just right now. I am tired of being seen only as a lowly commoner."

"Then take the fucking money." Gu Jun Pyo growled from the doorway where he and Ji Hoo had been eavesdropping. He looked like a mixture of bored and furious whereas Ji Hoo had a rare flash of hatred on his face. "I will even arrange it, so you never have to lift a finger again in your lifetime."

"That's not what I meant – "

"Yes, it was." Jun Pyo picked out a piece of lint on his jacket sleeve. "You want a life of comfort and are willing for Ga Eul to be abused to get it. Because that is what marriage to Kang Ha Joon means for her. So, take the money. I will provide for you even if Yi Jeong and Ga Eul never marry. That is my counteroffer. Give Ga Eul over to F4 and never worry about your finances again."

"What about my relationship with Ga Eul?"

"There won't be one," Jun Pyo said casually. "Even if she wasn't my fiancé's best friend, I would never allow Ga Eul to be subjected to this kind of treatment any longer." He took out his wallet along with Ji Hoo and both added money to the pile on the floor. "There you go. Your life of comfort. Enjoy."

They walked out without bothering to see if Dae Seon moved to the money. It didn't matter one way or another if he did at this point. He made his decision regarding Ga Eul. Now he would have to live with it.

Yi Jeong was stroking Ga Eul who had stopped crying, but her face was stark white. Her eyes were huge and glassy. He kept telling her not to worry but it didn't seem to do any good. There came a light knock on the door and Ga Eul scrambled back into the bed with a frightened squeak. He placed his hand on her thigh. "It's probably just Woo Bin or one of the others, Ga Eul."

She let out a shaky breath. "Can we go home? I don't think I can handle staying here any longer."

"Gu Jun Pyo is working on Kang Do Yun. Once he comes up with a solid plan we will go. All right?"

Ga Eul nodded but as the door creaked open and she met the face of her mother, her spine stiffened. Yi Jeong moved his body protectively, so she was blocked out of sight.

Min Ra wrung her hands. "Mo Hyeon and Do Yun were wondering if it was appropriate for you to share a room since the engagement has been officially announced."

Yi Jeong opened his mouth to tell her to go to hell and if Do Yun wanted him out of this room then send Ha Joon to remove him. He would relish the opportunity. However, Ga Eul beat him to it.

"I may have been forced to put on his ring and have to stay here but I am not leaving Yi Jeong. They can come up with any story they want to explain my behavior. Tell the papers I am slut or gold digger, whatever they like."

He gave a bitter chuckle before turning to Min Ra. "The first person who writes or says the word slut about Ga Eul loses a limb."

Min Ra rolled her eyes. "Do you honestly think I would allow someone to call my daughter a slut?"

Tears were rolling down Ga Eul's cheeks as she glared at her mother and Yi Jeong had enough of seeing her cry. "I'm not even going to bother explaining how ridiculous that sentence sounds. Time to go."

"Ga Eul please let me explain… I know you don't understand why but honestly this is better. You will finally be able to be free. No more working long hours with nothing to show for it. Go shopping and buy the shoes you like without looking at the price tag. No more worrying about how we can afford your father's medicine… or yours for that matter."

Yi Jeong whipped his head around furiously. "What medicine?"

"My allergy medicine." Ga Eul tried to dismiss it but seeing an opening, Min Ra pushed on. "She is deathly allergic to nuts. If she has even a taste of one, it will close her lungs. She has to be extremely careful because we can't afford to replace her EpiPen."

"And yet look," Ga Eul spread her arms wide sarcastically. "I have survived without it. It is not so terrible having to read labels or ask the chef not to put nuts into a dessert. Certainly, no reason I should marry a creep like Ha Joon!"

"Then what about your friendship with Jan Di?" Min Ra said frantically. "You can stay friends with her by marrying Ha Joon. Someone like Gu Jun Pyo would never allow his wife to be publicly friends with a commoner. It's all right now when you're dating So Yi Jeong but once this is over – "

"Why do you keep saying that?" Ga Eul cried. "Is it so impossible for you to believe someone like Yi Jeong could love me?"

"Well you're not much." Min Ra snapped without thinking and then immediately regretted it by harsh gasp of pain from Ga Eul. "I only meant our family is not much. We all know his family won't support your relationship…" She trailed off weakly.

Ga Eul was openly crying by now as the realization of her mother disdain towards her flowed over. Yi Jeong moved to embrace her, but Ga Eul slipped away.

"I know you blame me for getting involved with the F4 by continuing to be friends with Jan Di. The pain of dad losing his job you can put on my shoulders. I will accept it. I will even take the consequences for my actions. But I will never regret or apologize for falling in love with Yi Jeong. He has made me feel beautiful and special in a way no-one ever has before. In fact, the whole group has protected me and taken care of me better than you guys ever had. None of them would have allowed Kang Ha Joon to harass me the way you all did. So, even IF Yi Jeong and I don't make it, I have no doubt Woo Bin, Ji Hoo, and even Gu Jun Pyo will still be there for me. And if you think Geum Jan Di would allow her husband to end our friendship, then you don't know her. Now, get out."

Min Ra stared at her daughter. Despite the tears flowing down her face, her voice was strong and harsh. "I'm sorry if you were hurt."

"But not sorry you did it." Ga Eul's voice cracked for the first time and she turned into Yi Jeong chest. "I don't want to talk anymore."

Yi Jeong glared over her head to Min Ra. "Leave or I will throw you out."

Min Ra gave a reluctant nod. "I hope you love her as much as Ga Eul thinks you do."

"I love her more. Now for the last time," Yi Jeong growled threateningly. "Get out."

Min Ra left after one more teary glance at her daughter. Afterwards Ga Eul completely broke down. The idea of her mother believing she was not worthy of someone like Yi Jeong hurt more than anything else.

"Ga Eul, I'm sorry," Yi Jeong whispered. "None of what she said is true, okay? I'm not leaving you and if anyone is not much in this relationship, it's me."

She didn't respond but only clung to him like a burr. Woo Bin walked in grumbling under his breath, still mad about his earlier conversation with Chu Dae Seon. His eyes widened at the sight of Ga Eul sobbing like her heart had been shattered. "What the hell?"

Yi Jeong shook his head and tightened his grip on Ga Eul.

"She hates me." Ga Eul wailed. "I don't know why but she-she."

"Hush."

Ga Eul sniffed trying to pull herself together. Sensing Woo Bin was worried, she gave him a watery smile. "Hey, Sunbae. I'm fine, I promise"

Woo Bin smiled tenderly back at her. Only Ga Eul would be concerned about someone else right now. "All right, Ga Eul." He stroked her hair. "Who do I need to beat up?"

"What?"

"The idiot who made you cry. No one is allowed to make you cry. Not even this guy." He gestured to Yi Jeong with a wink. Ga Eul chuckled and moved to hug him, keeping an arm around Yi Jeong's waist. "Thank you."

"Come on Ga Eul." Yi Jeong took her back from Woo Bin with a kiss to the head. "You've had a long day."

"Is she crying about me already?"