A/N: This chapter is perhaps too long… sorry for any spelling/vocab errors

Chapter 21: Apologies

Song Woo Bin had been sneaky. Ji Hoo had given him good, honest advice at the hospital and then turned around and had shoved Woo Bin out into a hospital hallway, telling him to leave straight away. Apparently his girlfriend was more important than Woo Bin's issue with Hye Rim.

Woo Bin discreetly watched as Ji Hoo approached a girl at the nurse's desk. The girl, Sun Hi, wasn't beautiful in the way Hye Rim was, but she was effortlessly pretty. Her smile was wide and attractive as she greeted his friend, and flashed a bento box.

"Not bad, friend. Not bad at all" Woo Bin mumbled to himself before leaving the hospital the way Ji Hoo had told him to.

What Ji Hoo had said made a lot of sense, and Woo Bin liked things that made sense. He had gone a day working restlessly at his father's company and had spent the night drinking at one of his own nightclubs. He wanted to flirt with girls and take them home, but the clack of Hye Rim's angry heels was burned into his mind and he had rejected attempts for women to approach him.

Now, having seen Ji Hoo with Sun Hi, he didn't want to be the only F4 member who hadn't grown up and didn't treat the woman he cared about with respect. He needed to find Hye Rim and apologize.

"If I was Hye Rim, where would I be on such a day?" he asked himself.

Hye Rim was doing what she did best. She was shopping.

That was all there was to do in Seoul, now that Woo Bin had banned her from seeing other guys, and she was trying not to sleep with anyone, including him. At least their marriage would be good for something. One could also go to so many restaurants before they all blurred together and everything tasted the same. In Japan, the world felt at her fingertips, but here in this city, she felt like any one thing could get her scolded. She was even wary of her own bodyguards, wondering if they now reported back to her parents and Woo Bin's father on what she did.

She was checking out with the sales clerk when a credit card was extended to pay. Hye Rim turned to see who was holding out the card and there stood Song Woo Bin. He grinned at her, as if it would suddenly make her forget that she was extremely upset with him. She let him pay for all of her purchases, figuring he should pay for his harsh words that he had said yesterday.

Outside, they leaned against his sports car outside of the shopping boutiques, while she crossed her arms and he tried to apologize.

"I'm sorry," he said, somberly. "For what I said and for hiding you. I'll admit that it's what I'm doing."

Hye Rim said nothing.

Woo Bin sighed at the lack of response. "I really like you, Hye Rim, a lot. And I think you really like me too, but I don't know if I like you more than my friends."

Hye Rim heaved a sigh. She was tired of having this conversation and tired of hearing about how worthy the F4 were over her. She wanted to do something interesting. "What do you guys do? For fun?"

She could tell that the question had caught him off guard. "Who?"

"You and the F4?"

Woo Bin thought for a moment. "We work a lot these days, but we go on trips mostly. We have a little place we like to hang out at on occasion and do childish things like drink and play pool and video games."

"Take me there," she requested. Again, Woo Bin was confused of what she was trying to achieve, and it made her forgive him a tiny bit. "I'm bored. As my fiancé, it's your job to entertain me."

Woo Bin took her to the F4 hang out spot without hesitation, which both amused her and intrigued her. There was a bar and a state of the art stereo system, but mostly, it was a game room that rich boys enjoyed.

"Play me in a game of pool," she challenged him happily. In Japan, she had impressed many men with her skill and had succeeded in distracting the better players with her short skirts and long legs. She knew that if there was one thing Woo Bin couldn't resist, it was her legs. Oftentimes, she would catch him staring at them and sighing as if they were something even he couldn't obtain. She was going to make him pay in several ways, and this was a good place to start.

Woo Bin smirked at her suggestion. "Are you sure? I've never lost a game."

"There's a first time for everything, Oppa. Don't take it easy on me."

They started the game and not even halfway through, she was winning and Woo Bin was finding it hard to focus. She knew the right ways to lean over the table to hit the ball into the pockets, and when she succeeded in making a shot, she'd look up to see Woo Bin staring at her backside. Then he'd realize that he was losing and huff in disappointment.

When she got the last ball into the pocket, she cried out "Oppa!" and threw herself onto him, hugging him tightly. It was on purpose, an act to tease him. When they pulled away, their lips were inches apart, their hazy eyes staring. Just when Woo Bin leaned in, Hye Rim slowly turned away and sauntered over to the sofa where a gaming system was hooked up.

Woo Bin was recovering from the almost kiss. "Hey, wait. Let's play another game of pool."

"Why? I already won."

"I want a rematch."

"You'd just lose again. Come one, play me in this racing game," she clapped excitedly. She had never really played video games before. A long time ago, she had dated an older man who always played video games after they made love. He never allowed her to play, and she always left, not wanting to wait around for his second rush of interest in her.

She started the console and watched as the menu flashed and the highest scores were shown.

"Video games are for children," said Woo Bin, but still, he obediently approached her on the sofa.

"For children?" Hye Rim scoffed, looking at the screen at who's name filled all of the top rankings of the game. "Isn't 'King Jun Pyo' your friend? I didn't know the CEO of Shinwa was a child."

"Jun Pyo is a lot of things. Is this really what you want to do?" he asked.

"Yes."

"One game only, and then I play you in pool again." Woo Bin sat down and took the controllers.

Several hours later, they had lost track of how many games had been played, and Hye Rim had broken Jun Pyo's top score. Woo Bin hadn't won a single game.

"Jun Pyo won't be happy," was all he managed to say.

"I forgive you," she grinned, sitting down the controller and fixing her hair that had been frizzy with adrenaline and excitement while she had competed with him. "Your debt's been paid."

"Good, because I missed you," he admitted.

She had missed him too, but she wasn't going to admit that she had been heartbroken over what he had said. It was partially true, but of all men, she didn't want him to think badly about her. Her feelings for Woo Bin had grown, and they were starting to reveal themselves, but all of her life, she had only known protection and not love. She had been with many men, but she had never cared for any of them. Woo Bin was different, but she still kept up a wall. She wasn't sure if he would ever knock it down.

He was so handsome that it drove her crazy. And he was a good lover, the best she had experienced. It had been difficult to maintain abstinence until their marriage while they were getting to know each other, but in this moment, she didn't care about that. She wanted to make up with him with more than a verbal apology and acceptance.

"I vote we break our rule," she spoke into his ear sensually. "Just once."

Woo Bin didn't need to be told twice. Their rule had apparently been harder on him than on her. He picked her up in one swoop and she let out a cackle in surprise. The video game was still on, but they abandoned it, him taking her back over to the pool table. He sat her down on the green top, and she fell onto her back, pulling him on top of her.

"You know, it's been a long, long time since I've been with a girl on this pool table," he whispered, stroking her leg.

She exhaled before they fell into a kiss, smashing their lips and tongues roughly with passion. Hye Rim felt Woo Bin's hand ascending up her skirt, and she craved for them to start.

"Anneyeongha—" came a petit voice. Woo Bin and Hye Rim's heads shot up and saw the girl from the art gallery opening, the kindergarten teacher who was dating Woo Bin's friend, Yi Jeong. Chu Ga Eul. Her eyes widened as she finished with "—sayeo!"

Woo Bin and Hye Rim both fumbled to sit up and get off of the pool table, while Ga Eul looked away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry!" she cried nervously.

Hye Rim's heart was pounding. Never ever had she been in a situation like this. She was mortified. Not for been seen with Woo Bin like this, but she was sure that Ga Eul probably thought she was one of Woo Bin's random, faceless women who he fooled around with. Not anyone of real importance. Certainly not his fiancée.

She pulled down her skirt and told Woo Bin, "I'll go," before leaving the room as quickly as she could.

Woo Bin watched as Hye Rim fled the scene.

"Ga Eul," he spoke when she was gone. "What are you doing here?"

Ga Eul turned to face him, blushing ferociously. "I'm sorry Woo Bin sunbae, I didn't mean to ruin your… date."

"Wait here, I'll be back," he told her and rushed out to find Hye Rim.

He found her standing outside on the sidewalk on her phone, no doubt calling for a car to pick her up. "Hey, are you ok? I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine," she put on a brave, uncaring face, but Woo Bin had seen how scared she had been when Ga Eul had seen them. The only other time he had seen her that worried was when they had breakfast with his father, and she was worried about her image. "I didn't want to frighten her."

He knew what her answer was going to be, but he asked anyway. "Why don't you come back and let me introduce you. She's a really nice girl."

"I'm not a nice girl," she replied with aggravation over top of his sentence. "So what reason do I have?"

It was quiet as thoughts swam in Woo Bin's mind. He didn't want to keep Ga Eul waiting, but he didn't just want to leave Hye Rim alone.

"Hye Rim…" he spoke quietly.

"Go back to your friend. I'm trained to fight just as much as you are and can take care of myself. Thank you for all of the fun today. Goodbye, Oppa."

Woo Bin claimed her waist and pulled her into him, kissing her deeply. They pulled away and pressed their foreheads together. "Don't forget what I said. I really like you."

He turned to walk away. He didn't hear her whisper "but your friends are still more important."

When Woo Bin returned to the game room, Ga Eul was sitting on the sofa, frowning. When she saw him approach, she stood and greeted him, and immediately lunged into apologies.

"Sunbae, I'm so sorry. She didn't have to leave. I could've left. I'm so sorry."

"There'll be another opportunities," he replied, then allowed himself a chuckle. "I've never been caught with a woman before."

Ga Eul stared off into the distance. "She didn't seem like any woman."

"What do you mean?"

"In the past, I visited a lot when Yi Jeong oppa or you had girls over. You weren't up to anything yet, just hanging out, but anyone could tell where the night would lead. They always seemed so shameless. Your friend just now is the only person to ever run out, and you went after her."

Woo Bin didn't know what to say. Should he tell her? If he did, it'd be everyone's knowledge in no time, and they'd be grilling him the next day as they had with Ji Hoo. But if he didn't, then Hye Rim would remain his dirty little secret, and he didn't want to hurt her anymore.

Woo Bin decided to take Ji Hoo's advice, but played it safe.

He sat down next on the sofa next to her. "She has no reason to be ashamed. She's someone I actually like."

Ga Eul's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together. "First Ji Hoo sunbae and now you? Wow!"

"Hold your excitement before you get out your phone to tell everyone. Things are complicated, and I want her to greet everyone when it's the right time. She's not ready yet, and I'm still getting ready."

"I'm the only person who knows?"

"Ji Hoo figured it out, mainly because he was doing the same thing. I want to tell everyone else when we're all together. Do you understand?"

"Sure. It'll be a hard secret, but I'll protect it."

"Good," he was ready to change the subject. "Now, what did you break up my date for?"

"I'm sorry. I tried calling you, but I couldn't find you and was told you weren't at the company when I called there. I thought it'd be a long shot to find you here. I wanted to plan a special event for Yi Jeong since the gallery opening was such a success, and he's been so busy and tired. I thought we could all do something special, and since you're the closest to him, you know what would empress him the most."

"He'd really like that," smiled Woo Bin. "Although I think you know him more than I do now."

"Impossible."

"Just… don't get any ideas after seeing me in action tonight. Yi Jeong couldn't resist you, and you'd both be in trouble."

The both of them laughed and Ga Eul attempted a poker face. "I'm dating So Yi Jeong. Who says I've been all that innocent?"

"You have been," he challenged her.

She laughed again. "It's true, I have."

"And he has too, which only means one thing," then he spoke in English, pointing at her. "Miracle Worker."

They left to go plan the event somewhere else, but Woo Bin's mind was on Hye Rim, the scent of her skin and hair, the smoothness of those legs, and the roundness of her lips. He thought of other things too, but Ga Eul was with him, and it was awkward to be thinking such things around her. He was certain that he and his girl would have plenty of time to break the rules.

A/N: There won't be another update until July sometime, but I'll be jumping right into the action of everything. Until then, readers :) Thank you for the reviews!