Lesson #6
Learn the Way of the Jungle
[ Act like a lady, think like a man. – Best and briefest explanation. Ever. ]
"I had fun tonight."
Yi Jeong just stepped out of Tsukame Rarenai when he heard her voice. He didn't have to look to know it belongs to Ga Eul. He can take a guess that she and her date's waiting for a taxi. He took a deep breath before started walking because he suddenly had the urge to give her a ride home and the prospect of leaving her date behind feels more satisfying than he thought it would.
"Wait, I didn't catch your name earlier."
"Jun Baek, that's the name you're going to scream in bed."
His feet stopped. What did he say?
"So, your place or mine?"
Yi Jeong turns around, Ga Eul's date is holding the taxi door for her while sporting a smile.
"What?" he heard her say.
"Aw come on, Ga Eul-ssi. No need to still act all innocent. You got me already. I suppose my place, right? You look like you still live with your parents." Yi Jeong saw his eyes going up from her feet to her body then to her face. The bastard even bites his lip!
"What did you say?!"
Yi Jeong's body were frozen. He can't believe what he's hearing.
"Don't worry, I have lost of condoms at home. You can choose any flavors you want." He took a step closer to Ga Eul, snaked his arm on her waist, pulling her to his body. "Or we can do it raw, if you like."
Son of a bitch!
Yi Jeong ran towards them and swings his fist to his face but someone beat him to it.
Chu Ga Eul.
"You're disgusting!" she yells at him.
Ga Eul turns around to run away from him but Yi Jeong is right behind her and he caught her body as she stumbles to his chest. She looks up at him. She gasped upon recognition. "S-Sunbae."
"Wait here." He steadied her on her feet then squatted down to the bastard on the ground. He grips his collar as the man stares at him with fear.
"If you ever lay a hand on my girl, I swear to God it would be the last thing you'll ever do." he said to him in a tone just higher than a whisper.
He let go of his collar, dropping his worthless body on the ground. He stood up, removes his coat and swings it around Ga Eul's shoulders. He put his hands on each side of her arms and guides her towards his car.
"You can say it, sunbae."
They had parked in front of a higher ground, a quieter place to calm Ga Eul. With hot chocolate beverage in her hands, Ga Eul sadly smiles as she stares up at the sky.
"Say what?" with hands inside his pocket, leaning at the hood of his car, Yi Jeong turned sideways to look at her.
"You can say that I'm the unluckiest person in the world when it comes to love."
She said it so quietly and so calmly it felt like it didn't bother her but Yi Jeong knows the truth.
"Not quite, some still had it worse."
Ga Eul chuckles without humor. "That may be true, but I bet they're not as stupid as I am."
"Ga Eul-yang you're not stupid."
She turns her eyes to look at him. Yi Jeong's surprised she's not in tears. "You don't have to say that to make me feel better, you know."
"You know I'm not that kind of person."
They were silent for a few minutes before she speaks again. "I suppose I get why you're a playboy."
Yi Jeong didn't answer back. He's good at sweet talking and whatnot but serious talk is not his line of expertise. It's Ji Hoo's. But adding his 4-dimensional friend in the picture is not something he would like to do as of the moment.
He wishes he can say something or do something to lighten up the mood. He doubts alcohol would do the trick and as much as he doesn't mind being slapped by Ga Eul, his cheeks would not appreciate it.
"You don't suppose we can have another Jack Daniels this time?"
He flinched upon hearing his own thoughts from her. Can she read minds now?
"No. No alcohol for you."
Ga Eul sighed next to him, turning her eyes to look up at the starless sky again. "Yeah, alcohol would not solve anything anyway."
Yi Jeong opens his mouth to say something but Ga Eul beat him to it again. "And don't say make over will because seriously sunbae, it won't."
He chuckles. "How 'bout boxing? I didn't know you can hit people." Aside from slapping me of course.
"Yi Jeong sunbae, I've been friends with Geum Jan Di since pre-school." Jan Di's name is an explanation by itself.
He laughs, he gets what she means. "Let me see that hand." He reaches out his hand for her.
Now that Yi Jeong mentions it, Ga Eul felt a tingling pain in her hand especially at her knuckles. She let him examines it. A purple-ish shade had started to form at the point of her knuckles. She had hit him pretty hard.
"What are you smirking at?"
Yi Jeong traces his fingers at the bruise part. "I'm proud of you Ga Eul-yang. I was about to beat him but you got him first." He looks up at her still with his signature smirk. "Looks like my damsel in distress no longer needs rescuing."
She narrowed her eyes at him. His smirk reminded her of one thing. She pulls her hand from him. "It's because of men like you there are ladies like me who's always in distress."
"What?" Yi Jeong looks at her blankly. Why is he getting the blame all of a sudden?
"If there are no playboys in this planet women would be worry free. We don't need to cry over unfaithful men. We don't need to get hurt and be crushed. There won't be a single brokenhearted girl in the world!"
"Yah, women also cheat! And don't blame this on just our species. Women are good at playing as much as men does."
"So, you were saying let's just all play with each others' hearts then?!"
"That's not-" he took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not saying you should be …" his eyes shifting from left to right, searching for the right word but can't think of anything "you shouldn't be…like me. But it would be better if …if you're not so naïve. You're too easy to be a target. You have to show you're not easily fooled."
Yi Jeong watch as her expression softens. Ga Eul digested what he said and it made sense to her.
"It's a Jungle out there, Ga Eul-yang. You need to be ready in facing the predators or else they will just eat you up alive." He put his hands on her shoulders. "We adore nice pretty girls but we like our woman to be dangerous too, you know."
"Dangerous?"
"Yeah."
Now that he said it, he's starting to regret it. What if Ga Eul turns into a female version of himself? What if Ga Eul will start flirting with lots of men? What if she will like the game too much she will forget who she really is?
"So, if someone flirts with me, I need to punch them in the face first?"
Yes! Please do that!
"No. No, what I mean is, you need to think in a guy's perspective. There are ways to check if the guy is into you or he just wants to play with you."
Ga Eul's face crunch up in confusion. "How do I do that, sunbae?"
His smile returns. "That, Chu Ga Eul , is the right question."
"GUYS! I'm so glad you could come!" Ha Jae Kyung almost fly from the doorsteps of her house from her excitement. She jumped right into Jan Di and Ga Eul's arms, making the two girls stumble in their feet.
"Unnie!"
"Welcome to my aunt and uncle's farm! It's so nice here, isn't?! Jan Di-ah, Ga Eul-yang, close your eyes and smell the fresh air." She demonstrates and encourages the two to follow.
"Ahhhh! Soooo nice!" she exclaims.
Woo Bin covers his ears, shaking them with his hands as he cringes at Jae Kyung. "Still loud as ever."
Jae Kyung opens her eyes and glares at Woo Bin. "Yah! Close your mouth and cover your nose! You're not allowed to breathe the air!"
"You don't own the air, woman." He retorted.
"It's passing through our farm so it's now mine." She countered, hands at her hips as she widens her eyes at Woo Bin. When Woo Bin didn't comply Jae Kyung jumped on his back and tries to cover his face with her own hands.
"Yah! Get off me, Monkey!" Woo Bin exclaims as he wiggles his body to shake off Jae Kyung.
Ji Hoo, Jun Pyo and Yi Jeong can't help but to laugh at their friends then they did a fist bump then tries to hide their grins which Ga Eul had noticed. She caught Yi Jeong's eyes, he shook his head and puts his index finger on his lips, telling her to keep quiet.
Those three are up to something.
One of the perks of being friends with F4 is their unlimited vacation trips. May it be short or long, each trip is always filled with fun, food and bonding. Over the course of time, Jan Di and Ga Eul got used to it.
One afternoon they got an invitation from Jae Kyung at her country side farm which they all happily accepted and now here they are in the middle of a rural area somewhere south of the country.
After the wrestling match, the whole gang went inside the farm house. Woo Bin now wears a mask on his face, though Ga Eul has no idea where it come from but she be it was Jae Kyung's doing. They met Jae Kyung's aunt and uncle who had prepared a sumptuous food for them which they happily shared over lunch. After settling their luggage at their perspective rooms -boys in one room, girls in another room, much to Jun Pyo's annoyance- Jae Kyung offered a tour to the whole farm and then before dinner she told them they will attend at the Harvest Festival at the plaza.
None of them had been on this festival before and when they arrived, their eyes grew from all the treats, games and rides scattered around the main plaza. The boys went off to the sports booths while the girls went to the souvenir shops.
They were having a blast, especially the boys who looked like it was their first time playing like this in public.
Jan Di got interested with the firing booth, she tries it with Jun Pyo's assistance as the rest of the F4 joins the game. Yi Jeong won the round and got a small corn stuffed toy. Jae Kyung wants to try it as well so she took Yi Jeong's gun and demands her turn. Woo Bin, who's playing next to her kept shooting the wolves faster than Jae Kyung can even aim at them leaving her with zero score.
Jae Kyung's about to complain when a pretty lady approaches Woo Bin.
"That looks fun. Too bad I don't know how to play it." says the lady.
Woo Bin smiles at her flirtatiously. "It's easy. Come on, I'll show you." Ga Eul saw Jae Kyung's eyes roll from hearing this.
They were expecting him to step out of the firing range but he didn't, instead, he pulls the girl softly to get inside his arms and positions her to hold the gun.
Gosh, they're even sweeter than Jan Di and Jun Pyo.
"Real smooth, eh?" Yi Jeong said as he and Ga Eul watch Woo Bin demonstrates the use of the gun. Jae Kyung on the other hand takes advantage that her opponent is distracted and busy flirting so she won this round.
"Pointer Number 1 – Eyes."
Ga Eul turns to Yi Jeong with a questioning look.
Yi Jeong turns to her and smiles. "Look at his eyes."
She did what she was told. "Now look at Jun Pyo's eyes." Yi Jeong turns her face towards the couple at the other booth.
She gasped the moment it registers in her brain. Wow.
"The eyes are the windows of our soul. You can tell if the person is sincere just by looking at their eyes. Your mouth can say a lie but your eyes can never tell a lie."
The way the two guys stare at the woman beside them are different. Jun Pyo's eyes holds adoration and love while Woo Bin's eyes screams flirting. Ga Eul had not noticed it before. She knows there's a difference when a man is in love and when a man is just attracted or interested. It's so obvious, how did she not see it before?
After the firing game, the gang moved on to the rides but sadly none of them got the chance to enjoy it. F4 would not allow them.
"Have you seen those materials? They looked like they're about to fall in just a gust of wind!" Jun Pyo yells at the persistent Jan Di, Jae Kyung and Ga Eul,
Ga Eul and Yi Jeong's waiting for her order of burger when Yi Jeong taps her shoulder and points at the three ladies lining up at the donut stall behind them.
"Pointer Number 2 – Packaging."
"Huh?"
"Men are consumers. We buy depends on what we want and what we need. Women are like donuts. Some are plain, some are glazed, some are frosted and there are some who's just special." Yi Jeong explains.
The vendor gave her order as Yi Jeong pays for it and continues to elaborate his explanations because Ga Eul still looked confused. "Some like it plain, some like to eat with their eyes and there are some who just can't resist the treat."
"We're still talking about woman, right?"
Yi Jeong chuckles. He leads Ga Eul at one of the side bench and sits there as she eats. "Men hunt according to their preference. Women projects themselves how they wanted others to see them. It's a matter of choices." She took a bite while staring at the ladies he was pointing with a blank expression.
Yi Jeong points at the woman at the food cart wearing simple shirt and jeans, then he points at the lady wearing a mini skirt and sexy top, then points at the lady in a pretty green cocktail dress. "Packaging."
Slowly, she nods her head, finally getting his point.
Their eyes followed the lady in a dress as she went up the stage. She appears to be a participant of a competition. Yi Jeong and Ga Eul stood up and joined the crowd that had gathered in front of a stage.
"Ms. Harvest 2017." Ga Eul reads the sash in one of the candidates in front as 16 ladies display their beautiful bodies in their elegant cocktail dress.
Yi Jeong raised his hand, showing Ga Eul his three raised digits. She stares at his fingers. "Third. Confidence." He said with a mischievous grin. "Confidence is the new sexy."
Nodding her head, she turns back to the candidates up on the stage, smiling and waving at the crowd. She knows she can never do something like this in this lifetime. And this exact reason why she started feeling down.
Confidence.
That's what she's lacking. She always needed a boast and now Yi Jeong is telling her all these pointers so she will be a better version of herself but the question is, can she do it?
Ga Eul knows the first step on achieving this is to face her fears.
Loud cheers from the west side of the plaza caught her attention. Curiosity got her and she went to see the commotion.
All the candidates went inside the backstage as the MC announces that Swimwear is next. Yi Jeong chuckles. Seriously? Swimwear in the middle of a festival?
"Look Ga Eul-yang, they even have swimwear competitio-"
He looked over his shoulder. Ga Eul is not there anymore.
"Ga Eul-yang? Ga Eul-yang? Chu Ga Eul!"
Some of the people close by glared at him from yelling at their faces. "Sorry." He smiles apologetically.
He narrowed his eyes to scan the crowd for that familiar body and after a few seconds he found her. Sometimes it amazes him on how easily he can spot her even in the sea of people. She's running towards the large crowd gathered at the west side of the plaza.
"Yah, Chu Ga Eul! Why did you left me there?" Yi Jeong asks once he caught up with her. He just noticed they had joined the rest of their friends. He looked at the place they gathered.
There's a chest-tall fence surrounding a large puddle of water and mud and at the center is a raging mechanicalbull.
There's a collective gasped from the crowd as the robotic bull tossed the man riding on its back. The man bounced and the crowd screams as the man flew from the bull and landed on the mud.
"Oh my god! Is he okay?!" Jan Di exclaims.
After a dramatic five seconds, the man stood up raising his hands. Cheers erupted from the crowd.
"He's okay now but he's gonna feel it later." Ji Hoo mutters behind Yi Jeong. Jan Di nodded her head in agreement.
"Alright! Who wants to challenge our mighty Bull next?" the game dealer asks the crowd.
Ga Eul took a deep breath. This is it.
She raised her hand. "I do."
Yi Jeong burst out laughing. Their friends on the other hand didn't find it funny.
"What?!"
"Yo, Ga Eul-yang, didn't you see what it did to that man?"
"Are you insane?!"
"Ga Eul what are doing?"
"Wooo! Go Ga Eul-yang! Fighting!" they all turn their eyes at Jae Kyung.
"Yah, Monkey! Did you asked her to do this?!" Woo Bin says accusingly.
"Of course not! But you guys should relax. It's actually fun."
"Your definition of fun is different." says Jun Pyo.
"Nursing broken bones is never fun." says Ji Hoo.
"Pfft! Don't exaggerate, the game's not that bad. It's safe."
"Have you tried this before Unnie?" Ga Eul asks.
"Yep. I didn't win though but it was still fun." Jae Kyung puts her hands in Ga Eul's shoulders. "Avenge me Ga Eul-yang. Teach that bull a lesson. He shouldn't be messing with us girls."
Yi Jeong had expected her to shake her head and finally back out but it surprises him when she nods her head in determination and proceeded towards the entrance to the fence even though they all told her not to.
Before getting inside, Yi Jeong grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"Are you serious?" Now he doesn't find it funny anymore.
"Yes, sunbae. Don't worry it's just a game." She smiles at him to reassure this is not a big deal although her heart's screaming from her chest.
"It's dangerous, Ga Eul-yang."
"You said woman should be dangerous."
Dammit! He knew it! It's not a good idea to teach her how to toughen up. "Not that kind of dangerous." he pleaded.
She shook her head and softly removes his hold on her. "Relax sumbae. It's just a game." and with that she faces the bull that will supposedly make her fears go away.
*89*
