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Warning: Alternative Universe
Summary: Chu Ga Eul was perfectly ordinary until best friend Jae Kyung forces her to pose in one of her commercials. Now she's the hottest new model around, has plenty of suitors and a lot more money. But the thing that she wants the most lives a few blocks away, is completely out of reach and goes by the name of So Yi Jeong. What's a girl to do but up the ante when she wants the most notorious playboy around? At least that's what Jae Kyung says anyway…
A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews. :) Btw, for those of you who didn't know, this was written as part of an Opposites Challenge prompt kinda thing. So if you look at certain scenes and lines, I've given Yi Jeong's to Ga Eul and at times, vice versa. Just thought you might enjoy that little titbit.
I LIKE IT (SO) HOT
He glanced anxiously at the clock, aware that this was the fifth time he had checked for the time. Ten more minutes before the date. Time was crawling by deliberately to torture him, he was sure of that. Wiping his palms on his pants, he exhaled loudly, told himself there was nothing to worry about and that he was Casanova; he was completely in control. "Right," Yi Jeong muttered, knowing the lie even as he fed it to himself.
Switching on the television for the sake of having some background noise, he channelled surfed, all the while keeping an eye on the clock. Five minutes. Another milestone. He wondered what Ga Eul yang would want to talk about. But she had promised to go slow. So that meant no deep confessions right? Then again, he had told her about Eun Jae and his brother. Weren't they past that stage already? Maybe he should ask her if there had been anyone in her past, just for the sake of mutual sharing.
Now there was a thought. Call it arrogance but Yi Jeong had never seriously considered the fact that Ga Eul might have had a sweetheart before him. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, loosening the top button. The answer was probably 'no' but…hmmm…what if she said yes? For one thing though, there was no way the guy was better looking than he was, Yi Jeong assured himself. And it was hardly likely that he was even close to being as wealthy. So what kind of man would attract Ga Eul yang's affections? Yi Jeong could hardly use himself as a measuring stick; he knew he was not the kind of man girls like Ga Eul met on a daily basis and truth be told, he was a little puzzled as to what it was about him that had drawn her attention in the first place. Ga Eul wasn't fooled by good looks, neither was she in love with money or power. That pretty much ruled out the reasons why most women threw themselves at him.
Thirty seconds. Yi Jeong picked up his handphone, dialled her number and waited. Should he call on the dot? Would that seem overly eager? Nah, punctuality was politeness. After all, he had never been late for any date before. But he'd never been this eager before. And he wasn't even going to get to see her.
Three, two, one. Before his finger touched the call button, he heard footsteps outside the door and although he knew what was about to happen, he was utterly powerless to stop it.
"Bro!" Woo Bin crowed cheerfully, oblivious to the fact that he had just shattered Yi Jeong's peace of mind. "Man, you owe us an explanation."
'Us'? What did he mean by 'us'? Oh God, please don't let Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo be here as well, Yi Jeong prayed fervently.
"Yi Jeong ah, you sly dog. You're lucky Geum Jan Di doesn't know what you did or even I wouldn't be able to save you." And right behind Jun Pyo came Ji Hoo.
Great, so much for praying. Yi Jeong shoved the phone into his pocket and realised it was already a minute past eight. With friends like these, who needed enemies? And so much for hiding in the entertainment den. The next time, he was telling the butler not to admit any guests or at the very least, lie about which part of the house he was in.
"What are you doing here anyway? You hardly ever use this room," Woo Bin asked, a quizzical look on his face.
If they ever found out he had been about to call Ga Eul, he would never live it down. After all, he was the one who insisted that real men never called first. Doing that was tantamount to being the woman's slave.
"Just watching some television and playing some games," he replied smoothly. "I was about done when you guys showed up."
"Hmm, the console feels rather cool actually." Ji Hoo ran a hand over the sleek white top.
Damn Ji Hoo. How could someone who lived in his own private dream world ninety-nine percent of the time be so sharp? "I didn't play for long."
"Speaking of playing, what was the deal with bringing Ga Eul back last night eh?" Jun Pyo, with his usual gift for being direct and unsubtle, demanded.
"Last night?"
Woo Bin grinned. "A little monkey told me what happened this morning."
Ah, that explained it. As thankful as he was to Jae Kyung for agreeing to cover for Ga Eul and for putting up with being lectured by the latter's parents when she called to 'apologise' for not informing them about Ga Eul's sleepover at her home, he still felt like throttling her for blabbing to Woo Bin whom she knew would in turn blab to Jun Pyo and Ji Hoo.
Yi Jeong squirmed slightly under the gaze of all three of his friends. "She's not a fling, if that's what you guys are asking about," he finally said, aware of the slightly defiant tone in his voice. "And that's all I am saying."
"So you slept with her?" Jun Pyo exclaimed, his expression slightly aghast.
"What part of 'that's all I'm saying' did you not understand?"
"Yi Jeong ah, you have to let Jun Pyo know. If Ga Eul mentions anything to Jan Di, the first head to roll will be his."
"Yah, Yun Ji Hoo! Are you insinuating that my woman bullies me? Because I'll have you know I wear the pants in that relationship!"
Ignoring Jun Pyo's huffing and puffing, Woo Bin chipped in. "Better you let us know bro, so I can tell Jae Kyung everything is fine. You don't want her questioning Ga Eul about what happened and she's gotta know what to tell Jan Di as well, if you really are dating."
He was now officially late with a capital "L". And since Woo Bin had a valid point there, Yi Jeong decided to tell almost all of the truth. "Nothing happened. I brought her home, we talked a little, she fell asleep, I sent her home. I repeat, she is not a fling and that is what you can tell both Jae Kyung and Jan Di who I assure you, wear the pants in your relationships."
In the silence that followed, silence that was marred only by the sound of Ji Hoo's soft chuckles, Yi Jeong got up and walked to the door. "Now, I have a call to make. I'll be back with you guys soon."
He was halfway down the corridor when the door was flung open and both Woo Bin and Jun Pyo chorused. "Since you're calling her first, that makes you one of us!"
So much for making a smooth getaway and keeping his mouth shut. Yi Jeong practically ran for the sanctuary of his bedroom.
…
Ga Eul lay on her bed, her handphone beside her, one eye on the clock. It was now fifteen minutes past eight and Yi Jeong had still not called. She wondered if he had forgotten but told herself that could not be the case. Yi Jeong was not like that.
"Actually, you do think he could possibly blow a girl off but you're just hoping he will treat you differently," she murmured.
Should she call instead? A part of her wanted to but she wondered if that would seem desperate. The last thing she wanted to do was feed his ego and as sweet as she thought Yi Jeong was, she had no illusions about his opinion of himself when it came to the opposite sex.
Another five more minutes and she was going downstairs and watch television with her parents. The sappy dramas that both of them enjoyed would offer a good excuse for crying into the tissue paper.
At that moment, the ringtone of her phone went off and Ga Eul jumped. Snatching the phone up, she pressed the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hello, Ga Eul yang."
She smiled as sweet relief washed through her. She had been a fool to doubt him. "Sunbae, are you alright? You sound a little breathless."
Silently he cursed his three friends who were at that moment probably playing his games and having a good laugh at his expense. "Woo Bin, Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo stopped by. I had to get away from them. They were badgering me about last night."
"Oh."
He could practically hear her blushing and Yi Jeong could have kicked himself. "They don't know anything though. I didn't tell them anything."
"So what will you tell them? Jae Kyung hasn't asked me for details yet but if we are going to say anything—"
"We should get our stories straight."
"Exactly."
"So what do you want to tell them?" Yi Jeong asked smoothly.
"Ah? Erm…" She didn't want to say 'dating'; that was presumptuous and she had promised she would go slow. "How about we're just testing the waters?"
"That's a good answer but I don't think Jun Pyo would understand what that means." He grinned when he heard her laughing. It felt good hearing her happy. "You can tell that to Jan Di and Jae Kyung though. I'll work out something similar but easier for my friends."
Ga Eul idly twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Jan Di was going to be displeased, to say the least, when she heard about this. She had been warning Ga Eul about men like Yi Jeong and Woo Bin for years and when she had realised the soft spot Ga Eul had for the former, she had made her horror known.
"Ga Eul yang, you there?" She had gone quiet and he knew she was worried about her friends' reactions. "Are you afraid of what Jae Kyung and Jan Di will say?"
"Just of Jan Di's reaction. But it'll be okay."
"That's my girl." The words escaped from his mouth before his brain knew what it was saying. This time, he did kick himself.
Ga Eul sat up straighter. Yi Jeong had gone completely quiet after that statement and the silence was getting more awkward by the minute. In spite of that, she couldn't quite help but bask in his words. "If you say so, sunbae. By the way, that's a possible slogan for the next ad campaign I'll be shooting next month…"
Yi Jeong listened, grateful that Ga Eul had rescued them both from that loaded statement. Sliding down further into the warm depths of his bed, he couldn't help but think though that he had meant it.
Maybe one day he would tell her that.
