A/N: Chapter Twenty-Five! Nearing the end! I think..
Onto reviews!
The punishment wasn't anything big. Just silent treatment! I wonder what you expected though! Also thank you (angee818323)! And yes, I considered it to be a transitional chapter. And yes, I also wanted to add that part about Ji Hoo not needing further relationships to know who he wants to be with because that's what a lot of people think needs to happen. I do respect the idea of wanting to find the right person, but why continue searching when you're clearly happy with the person you have in your life, so I wanted Ji Hoo to express that, if it made sense how I explained it. And it's okay, thank you again (JHsgf82)! Thank you for that! It means a lot to hear you're enjoying it (Abby)!
Onto business! Yes, wow, it's been.. two weeks or longer since I last updated? I can't remember, but I want to apologize! I've been extremely busy and I've been too anxious to focus on my writing. And right when I have spare time to write again, my internet and computer mess up and it's just a long story, but that's not important! The chapter is out today, and honestly, I had a different idea in mind, but I ended up writing too much to even get to that.. Just so Jan Di / Ji Hoo time, but next chapter you'll get to the romance again!
Thank you to my reviewers and readers for staying patient with me! I'll update again soon, and enjoy!
So this was her punishment. Geum Jan Di was pouting now, kneeling beside Ji Hoo's bed with elbows resting on the mattress. After their dinner, Yoon Ji Hoo left to go to the kitchen, only to return several minutes later, but also giving her little attention. She didn't know why she received such a punishment.. It wasn't her fault she couldn't focus properly. Was Jan Di really to blame for failing all his questions? She did admit to herself afterwards that she should have paid attention to him when he was taking the time to try and teach her so she would be prepared for the banquet they were invited to. But for some ridiculous reason, she spaced off into her own little world, to think about what? The sudden recollection of why she was so distracted in the first place caused her cheeks to heat up in embarrassment.
I was busy drooling over him! Geum Jan Di, what is wrong with you?
"Geum Jan Di, I will spare you a minute of my time tonight." Jan Di glanced up suddenly, hiding her embarrassment the best she could. She watched as Ji Hoo set down the novel he was reading. He didn't bother taking off his glasses. He was no longer dressed in a tuxedo, but more casual clothes that he changed into after obviously ignoring Jan Di's question back at the dining table. Now his attention was on her and he saved his page between his fingers. "You now realize what your punishment is, don't you?" Despite all seriousness he tried to express to Jan Di, his lips were curving into a small smile of amusement. "Because you chose to ignore me and not listen to what I had to say, I will be doing the same to you as your punishment. I'll ignore you like you ignored me."
Jan Di parted her lips to object, but remained silent with a pout still on her features. She knew better than to argue against that. She did technically ignore him, and even after the time he took to prepare her. It was only fair. But she wondered how long it would take before he finally spoke to her again.
As if he had read her mind, Ji Hoo added, "Don't worry. This will only last until tomorrow morning." He flashed her a quick smile to reassure her. Then he focused his gaze back to the novel in his hand. However, with the novel in one hand, he used his other one to grab a hold of Jan Di's. This sweet action caused her to smile to herself as she kept her eyes locked onto him. Even though he was supposed to be ignoring her, he still wouldn't neglect her. And it comforted her that he would never do that to her. In return to his sweet actions, Geum Jan Di also smiled faintly before closing her eyes, keeping her chin resting on the mattress as Ji Hoo read his novel silently.
Ji Hoo figured it was probably rude to punish her in such a way, although he didn't necessarily mean it. He, of course, wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible with her. Perhaps this punishment was just a way of teasing her. But then again, Ji Hoo was also very curious to see how she would react to the silent treatment. Would she not care? Or would this 'punishment' really mess with her? It was a test to see how much she cared to have Ji Hoo's attention. Although Jan Di wasn't desperate for attention, he assumed that if she were crazy in love with him as he was with her, then she would react the same way as he would to being ignored. However, despite the plan to ignore her, he still reassured her otherwise, that this whole punishment would last until the morning. So what did she have to worry about?
I can't possibly ignore her..
Finally he closed his novel and shifted his gaze over to Jan Di who expected to be looking at him expectantly. Instead, he found her passed out, her chin still resting on the mattress almost like a puppy.
Aren't you supposed to be an otter?
With a soft sigh, Ji Hoo set aside the novel and shifted in the bed so his feet were now touching the ground. She still didn't stir, surprisingly. By now, Ji Hoo should have expected her to be a heavy sleeper. But perhaps Ji Hoo was to blame for waking her the other night. He gave a small shake of the head to dismiss those thoughts and got up onto his feet. He bent over to scoop Jan Di up into his arms carefully before leaving the room. He was very careful for his own health. Wounded weeks ago, Ji Hoo knew he had to be very cautious, otherwise the wound would open back up – as confirmed by the Doctor who reluctantly approved on discharging Ji Hoo. Maybe he was overworking himself.. Ji Hoo didn't do much, but almost anything could put him back into the hospital. While discharged, Ji Hoo was expected to do regular check-ups at the hospital, and the next would be very soon; specifically, before the banquet. His grandfather also planned to give Ji Hoo some check-ups himself. He, once again, discarded those thoughts. He was okay now, healthy as ever, and never did anything to strain himself. One would say he was in perfect condition almost.
Entering Jan Di's room, he strolled over to her bed to lay the small Geum Jan Di down. Afterwards, he carefully pulled the sheets over the sleeping Jan Di, only to sit on the very edge of her bed to watch over her for a few minutes. He felt the need to watch over her because she was now under his care. Ji Hoo wasn't living alone anymore, he had to care for his grandfather and the woman he loved. Maybe it was considered more of a hassle, but Ji Hoo no longer felt lonely in his home. He enjoyed the company he received from the both of them and vowed to do anything to protect it. Being able to smile and laugh in this house with other people.. it comforted him. For so long he felt so alone, but he never brought himself to actually fix that loneliness. Perhaps it was because of Seo Hyun's busy career that he decided to remain alone for most of his life; just maybe he had hope that she would settle down with him. But surprisingly, fate had other plans in mind and instead gave him something entirely different – and he loved it.
Ji Hoo smiled to himself as he gazed at Jan Di's sleeping face. Dark strands of hair fell in front of her face and he used his fingers to brush them gently aside. Yes; Geum Jan Di wasn't perfect. She didn't have money, she couldn't dress fancily nor could she afford to wear make-up. But that itself didn't matter, because strangely enough, Ji Hoo found himself in love with her; despite it all. The first love of his life was a model, Seo Hyun, yet this time around Ji Hoo found himself longing to spend his entire life with someone who was normally seen as a commoner. Wouldn't most find that insane? The grandson of an ex-president, falling in love with a girl who worked at her parent's cleaners. That sounded like an insane love story – a comedy one would stumble upon on television. But it was very much real between Ji Hoo and Jan Di.
Finally, Ji Hoo decided to let her sleep comfortably. He leaned down a little bit to press his lips against her forehead; to kiss her goodnight. Then Ji Hoo got up from the edge of the bed and headed to the bedroom door; flicking off the light switch and leaving the room with the door cracked open slightly. After leaving the room, he leaned against the wall outside her room to check the time on his cellphone. The clock read '10:00', which left Ji Hoo's mind to wander.
"Where is harabeoji? He's been gone for some time.."
She woke up with a jolt, only to find herself in bed; her bed, specifically. It was strange; the last thing she remembered was watching Ji Hoo read. It also happened to be the only thing she remembered, oddly enough. What happened before and after remained a complete mystery to her. Jan Di sat up, pressing a hand to her forehead as she tried to recall the events of the previous night. After moments of struggling to remember, it finally hit her: she had a date with Ji Hoo. Well, he didn't exactly say it was a date, but every bit of it felt like it was. He was after all, dressed up very nicely; a bit too nicely for a casual practice. But she did manage to recall their date, and the bit afterwards where he decided to give her the silent treatment as punishment for ignoring his lesson. But she didn't remember falling asleep, unless..
Embarrassment flooded over Jan Di as she yanked the sheets up to her face, her cheeks heating up again. Unless I passed out! That explained why she didn't have any memory of anything after spending time with him in his room. And she could only further assume that he carried her into the room, despite his condition. Guilt began to build up along with the embarrassment. How could she be so reckless and force Ji Hoo to take care of her like that? It frustrated her to no end that she couldn't control her drowsiness. She sighed lightly, screwing her eyes shut. The whole reason behind her residency at Ji Hoo's house was not to burden him like that. Just as she thought she couldn't be anymore careless, she remembered the dress Jae Kyung purchased for her for the banquet. Her eyelids flickered open and searched the bedroom for the bag with her dress. After not spotting it in plain sight, she practically leapt out of bed and began to search around for it within the bedroom; opening up drawers, looking under the bed, even searching through places she knew it wouldn't be in. But it wasn't anywhere in her room.
Where is it?
That's when she heard a voice outside her bedroom, "Young Master, what is this bag?"
Jan Di recognized it as the voice of one of the maid's that worked under Ji Hoo. Although she didn't know them well or personally, she did know them well enough to be able to recognize their voices when she heard them. But a few seconds after hearing her speak, she suddenly remembered where she left the bag.
I left it out there!
After coming home, she hid her bag near the entrance so Ji Hoo wouldn't find it.
Suddenly Ji Hoo's voice echoed outside her room, "A bag? What's inside it?"
"I'm not sure.. It looks like.. fabric..?"
Jan Di panicked silently, seeing as she didn't want Ji Hoo to discover that dress at all. Maybe it was the possible humiliation she would feel if he saw it. After all, Jan Di knew dresses like those fit other women better than her. She wanted to scream from it, but she decided to hold back. Instead, she decided to retrieve the bag before he did. Immediately, she yanked open the bedroom door and dashed out to reach the maid before he did. Racing out of the bedroom, she searched the hall for the maid, and saw her on the far end of it; nearing Ji Hoo by each second that passed. And before Jan Di knew it, she was racing down the hall, only to trip over something. A small yelp came from Jan Di as she fell forward, and to prevent herself from hitting the floor face first, she extended out her arms in front of her and landed with a thump. She grimaced slightly as excruciating pain ran up her arm to her shoulder.
"Jan Di!" a voice called out to her. Before she knew it, Ji Hoo was kneeling beside her, helping her sit up against the wall as he examined her arm. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"
"Not really.." she mumbled. Suddenly she groaned in pain as his hand went to check her shoulder. "Ow, ow.."
Concern was now visibly etched onto his features at the sound of her groan. "Your shoulder.. The fall must have strained your shoulder.." He gave her an apologetic expression, acting as if he were the one to trip her. "I'm sorry, Jan Di. What did you trip over?" Ji Hoo moved to stand up and went to check the area she suddenly fell; as if to investigate the cause of her injury.
While he was distracted, Jan Di forced herself up onto her feet and made her way over to the maid who looked scared out of her mind. In her hands was the bag that held Jan Di's dress. Jan Di pointed to it with a slight smile. "Sorry about that.. That's mine."
The maid barely realized Jan Di was standing before her. After hearing her speak, the maid practically jumped, but she cleared her throat and nodded with a fearful look in her eyes still as she passed the bag to Jan Di. Relief flooded over Jan Di once she had the bag back in her possession, although she felt even more humiliated at the fact that she caused a big scene because of it. She rubbed her shoulder cautiously, feeling the slight ache return. What worsened this whole situation was Ji Hoo's cold tone towards the maid as he approached them, a small dust pan in his hands.
"You left this lying around?" He kept his gaze locked onto the maid. "Where someone could just trip over it?"
The maid flinched at his cold words and bowed her head in apology, clearly fearful of the consequences. "I-I'm truly sorry, young Master.."
"An apology doesn't heal wounds. Apologies do not bring back the dead, for any accident in that matter. I'm certain that if I were the one who fell because of it, you wouldn't just be apologizing. Be more careful with your work so that this doesn't have to happen again." Ji Hoo handed the maid the dustpan before shifting his gaze to Jan Di, his tone gentler as he spoke again, "Are you sure you're okay? Does it hurt a lot?" His hand went to rest on her shoulder as if to confirm the answer himself, but Jan Di side-stepped and bowed her head apologetically.
"I was being clumsy, I'm sorry sunbae!" Jan Di felt guilty for the situation. She was the reckless one, and she was only concerned about her humiliation at the time. "I'll be more careful!" She lifted her head to peek up at Ji Hoo, smiling nervously. He looked as if he didn't believe her. But before he could even consider speaking, his phone began to ring. He hesitated before holding up a finger to Jan Di as if to say 'give me a moment'. Afterwards, he turned away and went to answer his cellphone, strolling down the hall and out of her sight. Once he was gone, Jan Di turned to face the maid once more, who still had her head bowed in shame. "I'm sorry about that.. I wasn't watching where I was going. But don't let it get to you!" Jan Di tried to reassure her. "Ji Hoo is very generous, so you don't need to worry about it.."
"Maybe you should have been more careful," mumbled the maid.
Jan Di blinked slowly at her retort. "..Excuse me?"
"I said maybe you should have been more careful. While you're residing here for free, you get the free luxuries he offers you. You don't need to worry about working to survive anymore, do you?" The maid lifted her head, and by her expression, Jan Di could tell she no longer looked sorry about what she did. Instead, she looked irritated if anything. "You live a free lifestyle, thanks to him. But what good are you to him? We all appreciated Seo Hyun when she visited; she wasn't a bother to him or us. We didn't need to worry about losing our jobs, because she wasn't careless." Then before Jan Di could say another word, she strolled down the hall to continue her work.
Jan Di was speechless. She couldn't believe the words she just heard. But Jan Di felt the guilt continuously build up within her chest and she lowered her gaze. Was she really burdening Ji Hoo? Why would someone say those things unless they were true? Unsure of how to take it, Jan Di silently walked into her room, closing the door and dropping the bag on the floor. Then she moved to her bed and sat down, still in deep thought about those words from the maid.
Am I really that much of a burden..?
It wasn't hard to believe, considering Ji Hoo already did a lot for her outside of the house. But not only did he protect her from people in the world, he also searched for Kang San, almost paid up a large ransom for her brother, and took the bullet that was meant for her which ultimately landed him in the hospital. And the list only went on.
Is she right..?
With a sad sigh falling from her lips, Jan Di stared at the floor in guilt. Before she could think up anything else to confirm those words, she heard a knock at her door with Ji Hoo's voice following after.
"Jan Di? Come on out. We're going to have another practice session."
Jan Di went to hide the bag with her dress once more beneath her bed before opening the door, spotting Ji Hoo right outside her room. She cleared her throat, tilting her head to the side. "A practice session? For what?"
"I'm going to help you practice your dancing. The banquet is coming up, remember. This time you need to pay very good attention to me, or else we'll be tripping over each other. So.." He smiled at Jan Di teasingly, "Are you ready?"
A/N: What do you think?