Chapter 25

Yi Jeong slowly opened his eyes, feeling exhausted but in some strange way refreshed as well. Instinctively his hand felt the other side of the bed and upon finding it empty, he was a tad disappointed. Without giving it much of a thought, he climbed down the bed and walked to the bathroom to freshen up. Just as he was about to step out of the bedroom, his phone rang.

"Yo my buddy!" Woo Bin's voice was bright and loud- much too loud for so early in the morning. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks," Yi Jeong muttered. The sight that greeted him upon entering the family room filled him with an unprecedented sense of contentment. His father sat on a chair, a cup of tea or coffee kept in front of hm. His mother was stirring her own cup while his wife sat on the kitchen platform, her hands curled around another steaming cup. To someone else, it may have seemed a slice of daily life, but for Yi Jeong, this normalcy was rare, and achieved after a long, hard struggle. This was something he had craved for a very long time but hadn't found.

Woo Bin's query forced him to tear his eyes from the joyous sight, "What plans for the day?"

"I'm just spending it with family," Yi Jeong answered.

"Oh with your parents?"

"And Ga Eul," he added. "I'll meet you guys tomorrow."

"Cool, see you. Have fun!"

He disconnected the call and walked in. Ga Eul spotted him first and hopped off the counter. "Here's the birthday boy!"

He smiled softly as she walked up to him and gently kissed his cheek, "Happy Birthday!"

In turn he pecked her forehead, "Thanks."

It was Kyung Mi's turn next and she hugged him, "Happy Birthday Son."

Yi Jeong hugged her back, "Thanks Omma."

Hyun Sub beckoned Yi Jeong with a smile and patted his cheek after he crouched next to him. This was going to be the best birthday he'd had – ever.

Some days later, Go Ae Cha had just finished her shot when someone informed her that she had a visitor waiting for her at the greenroom. The visitor turned out to be Gong Su Pyo.

"Su Pyo? This is a surprise."

He didn't even wait for her to sit and began excitedly, "I've found it! The way to teach them a lesson!"

Her eyes gleamed as she quickly took her seat. He proceeded to explain in detail what his plan was. She had to admit, he'd given it a lot of thought. After all he'd spent close to eight months finding a good plan, so it'd better be well thought out. But there were a couple of things about it that worried her.

"I don't know Su Pyo, Yi Jeong might never invite me to the museum opening."

He brushed her protest aside, "He's invited me and you'll go as my date. All you have to do is ensure that Ga Eul does exactly as we want her to do."

She still wasn't assuaged, "And what if Yi Jeong or one of the other guys show up at the right time? Those guys keep an annoyingly close watch on each other."

He grinned, "That's what I'm for. I'll keep them busy. We just need Ga Eul alone for a couple of minutes, two times in the night. I'm sure you can manage that."

Ae Cha frowned, "I can do that. That won't be a problem. But won't Ga Eul be wary? I mean she's already been through something similar once."

Su Pyo laughed, "That's the beauty of it. No one expects to be humiliated the same way twice. Plus, they're the hosts. Which means a scandal like this will be even bigger."

Slowly her lips spread into a smile he'd truly given it a lot of thought. If they did do this, it would be the ultimate insult for Ga Eul and a very satisfying revenge for both of them. "Great! Let's do this!"

Ga Eul was in the kitchen, chopping up some vegetables when she felt a strong, muscular arm snake around her waist. She leaned on his chest, allowing him to nuzzle against her neck.

"Leave that, we'll order something in," Yi Jeong mumbled. "Come on, let's have sex."

She poked him in the forehead with a finger, "You and your one track mind."

He turned her around, pulling her flush against himself, "I can't help it. I have an incredibly sexy wife."

"And I have an incredibly horny husband," she laughed but put her arms around his neck nevertheless.

He was about to pull away but she resisted, "Right here. On the kitchen floor."

Yi Jeong's eyes widened, "Really?"

Ga Eul raised an eyebrow challengingly, "Why? Scared of cooties being all over the kitchen, are you?"

Yi Jeong sputtered, "Cooties? How old do you think I am?"

"Admit it, you're freaking out," Ga Eul taunted. "You're a clean freak."

"No I'm not freaking out," Yi Jeong countered without much conviction.

She shrugged, "Prove me wrong then."

"Challenge accepted!"

Ga Eul let out a surprised yelp when he pulled her closer to himself and tugged her top off. He kissed her passionately and muttered against her lips, "You of all people should know better than to challenge me."

"And you of all people should know that I won't back down from whatever you have in store for me."

He groaned appreciatively and captured her lips in another kiss. Her pant and his shirt soon joined the top on the floor as did her hair fastener. He lowered her on the floor, kissing her on top of her bra. Ga Eul arched, her head thrown back in ecstasy while he slowly outlined her breasts with his tongue. His erection was nudging against her gently, driving her to a crazed frenzy. His hand went around her and he was about to unhook her bra when the chime of the doorbell interrupted them.

"What the…," he muttered.

Whoever was at the door must've been extremely impatient, because it rang again.

"Go get the door!" Ga Eul said urgently as the two disentangled.

"You go!"

"You're more clothed than I am."

"I can't," he pointed to his stiff and erect member.

The bell rang again. "Oh great!" Ga Eul muttered and quickly threw her clothes on. In her haste, she didn't hear Yi Jeong call out after her. She took a deep breath to control her still raging arousal along with the annoyance at the unannounced visitor and opened the door.

"SURPRISE!" Three feminine voices chorused loudly. On the other side of the door stood Jan Di, Jae Kyung and Ae Cha, all of them looking bright and jubilant.

"Wh…wow. Surprise indeed. Come in."

Jan Di and Ae Cha walked in but Jae Kyung stood at the door, eyeing her mischievously. In a low, conspiratorial voice she asked, "Do you want us to come later maybe?"

Ga Eul was surprised, "What? Why?"

"I think you were… busy," she said suggestively.

How could she have known? Ga Eul cleared her throat nervously, "I don't know what you mean."

Jae Kyung leaned in and whispered in her ears, "Those two haven't noticed so you can change it now but you're wearing your shirt inside out."

Ga Eul could've sworn that she blushed to the very tips of her hair. Without a word she darted into the half bath that was just next to the coat closet and changed. When she was certain that her cheeks no longer resembled a pair of tomatoes, she walked into the living room. At the same time, Yi Jeong stepped out of the kitchen bearing no signs of their 'activities'.

"Hi girls, what brings you here?"

"We're here to steal your wife for a while," Jan Di piped.

"By all means," he answered genially. "But do ask my wife if she wants to be stolen or not."

"Yes, Ga Eul," Jae Kyung asked much too innocently. "Do you want to be stolen?"

Ignoring the gleam in her friend's eyes, Ga Eul turned to Jan Di, "Where to?"

"Shopping!" Jan Di chimed in a very 'unJan Di-like' way. "Ae Cha came up with this brilliant plan of a surprise shopping and lunch date. Girls only."

It didn't escape Ga Eul's notice that Yi Jeong's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hang on, I'll change and be back. Yi Jeong, a minute please?"

He nodded, "You'll have to excuse me ladies, I'll be right back."

At their bedroom, Ga Eul apologized while changing, "Sorry. I'll take a rain check."

Sitting on their bed, he laughed a little, "Hey, not a problem at all. Good thing you noticed your shirt though, I called after you, you didn't hear."

"I didn't. Jae Kyung did. It was so embarrassing."

Yi Jeong groaned, "Which means Woo Bin's gonna hear about this and the guys are going to give me a tough time. Anyway. You have fun. And please, be a little careful."

She peered at him through the mirror, "Careful? About what?"

"I don't know. Call it a hunch. I have a feeling something bad is about to happen."

Half-way through tying her hair, Ga Eul put down her hair brush and walked over to him and kneeled in front of him. "Since when did you start believing in all that?"

Gently he cupped her face in his hands, "Just promise me that you'll be careful."

"I promise."

"He's insane! The other day he made such a huge ruckus, you wouldn't believe it. He practically brought the house to a standstill, employing every servant in the house. All because a wasp had entered into the house! I'm married to a mad man, I tell you, mad man," Jan Di was lamenting loudly but from the soft smile on her lips, Ga Eul knew that she was head over heels in love with Jun Pyo. This was her way of showing it. Jan Di continued to talk about Jun Pyo through the appetizer and part of the entre. But then, probably realizing that she'd told more than needed, she changed the topic and focused her attention on Ga Eul. "How about you, Ga Eul? How's married life with Yi Jeong?"

Involuntarily her lips stretched to a tiny smile, "Good. In fact, better than I'd anticipated."

"Really?" Ae Cha leaned forward. "What's he like?"

Smiling, Ga Eul bit her lips wondering what to say, "Well, he's … not what I'd thought initially. I mean, he's… nice."

"Just nice?" Jae Kyung probed.

"What more do you want me to say?"

"Do you love him?" This was Jan Di.

Ga Eul leaned back on her chair, biting her thumbnail, "I don't know. I care for him a lot. I like him and I'm willing to do quite a few things for him. But, I haven't really examined the depth of my feelings for him."

"Why not?" again from Jae Kyung.

"I'm scared," Ga Eul admitted for the first time. "Given the circumstances in which we were married and the contract we signed, I don't want to give myself any hopes. Tomorrow if my marriage comes to an end, I don't want to be overly disappointed. Anyway, tell me, what's the occasion? Why are we shopping?"

"For the museum opening," Ae Cha answered happily. "Su Pyo asked me to be his date."

The other three girls 'ooh'ed, making her blush a little.

"I'm so glad for the two of you," Ga Eul said sincerely. "You guys will be good together."

"Yeah," Jan Di agreed. "Su Pyo is a sweetheart."

"Girls! It's nothing serious yet! Don't get your hopes up too much. Anyway, I was thinking, we should all shop together," Ae Cha added hurriedly. Turning to Ga Eul she said, "Please tell me you haven't finalized a dress or Yi Jeong hasn't bought one for you."

"I don't know about Yi Jeong but I haven't finalized anything. And shopping is always a welcome distraction."

Later that evening the four girls were trying out different dresses when Ae Cha picked a pale pink number. "Ga Eul! I just found the ideal dress for you. This is just your color and suits your body type."

"Ooh that's lovely!" Jae Kyung added. "Too bad pink sort of washes me out otherwise I'd have picked that dress for myself."

Ga Eul stuck her tongue out at her, "Your loss, my gain. This is so pretty! Thanks Ae Cha!"

"Why aren't you picking it up for yourself though?" Jan Di wondered.

"Su Pyo is wearing white," Ae Cha explained. "I'd look very dull next to him in pink. I should wear a brighter color."

Ga Eul tried the dress on to a resounding approval from the other three.

"I heard something very interesting," Woo Bin was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Here it goes! Yi Jeong suppressed a groan and remained silent.

"Really? What?" Jun Pyo had to ask.

"Why was Ga Eul wearing her shirt inside out this morning, Yi Jeong?" Woo Bin probed innocently.

The moment he had been dreading was finally here. With the girls out, the guys decided to meet up as well and were spending some quality time in the lounge but apparently, time for peace was up.

"These things happen," he answered levelly.

"Yeah. I can't tell you the number of times Jan Di or I have worn our clothes inside out after… you know. It's fairly common."

"To normal married couples, maybe," Woo Bin pressed. "But I thought you guys had a 'no sex' clause."

Yi Jeong sighed. Damn Woo Bin and his eidetic memory, "We broke that clause a while back."

"When?" Ji Hoo was suddenly interested. "Jun Pyo's wedding, right?"

Yi Jeong nodded.

"You sly dog!" Jun Pyo laughed. "You didn't even tell us!"

"There was nothing to say," Yi Jeong defended. "We're married. It's not surprising."

Woo Bin leaned in closer, "So is it good?"

This time, Yi Jeong laughed. "No. Good is what you have in one-night stands. It's not the same with your wife. It's completely different."

"Hold it!" Ji Hoo said suddenly. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Woo Bin whistled and Jun Pyo's eyes widened, "Wow! That's a complete 120 degree turn from your past self."

"You mean 180," Yi Jeong deadpanned.

"Yeah whatever!" Jun Pyo waved a hand in dismissal. "Point is, this is totally different from what you said earlier."

"Yes, I know. To be honest, I'm still a little shaken. But, I have no doubt in my mind as to what I feel for her."

Ji Hoo raised an eyebrow, "When and how did this happen?"

Yi Jeong ran a finger down the bridge of his nose, "I'm not sure. All I know is she gave me something that no one else could. She gave me my family back. I saw my dad laugh because of her and that's when I realized that I'm in love with her."

Woo Bin smiled, "Have you told her?"

Yi Jeong shook his head, "No. I have no idea what's on her mind. Like you said, we're not an average married couple. Ga Eul and I are in a really good place right now, I don't want to jeopardize things or make things awkward between us by saying anything."

"But you will tell her, won't you?" Jun Pyo queried.

He shrugged, "Yes. Someday. I don't know when and how, but I will."

Ga Eul held up the pink dress for Yi Jeong to see, "This. How is it?"

"Beautiful, I think you'll look pretty hot in that."

Carefully hanging the dress in the closet, she climbed on the bed next to him. "I'm planning on wearing it for the museum opening."

"Good choice," he said allowing her to settle in her arms.

"You don't mind that I brought this without showing you?"

Yi Jeong looked at her questioningly, "Why should I mind? It's a pretty thing, why would I object or have a problem?"

"It's your big night," Ga Eul answered. "Maybe you have different plans?"

He laughed, "I like you no matter what you choose to wear or not wear for that matter."

She rolled her eyes, "You had to get that in, didn't you?"

"Of course," he laughed. "You know, I have been attracted to you for a very long time. I think it started when you walked into my office demanding that I patch things up with Ae Cha."

"Really? Then why did you start a battle with me?"

Yi Jeong wagged a finger, "Correction, YOU started the battle. But I really enjoyed your spunk. There was something very interesting about you; I wanted to get to know you more."

"And then?"

"Then what? I asked you for a one-night stand and you slapped me."

"Oh come on!" Ga Eul chided. "Give me the goodies! Tell me more. What were you really thinking when you picked me up in the rain?"

"You really want to know?"

She nodded.

"I was extremely turned on. I wanted you, have wanted you for a while," Yi Jeong turned to look at her. "What about you, you kept denying it but you were interested weren't you?"

Ga Eul smiled with the tongue between her teeth, "Honestly, I don't know when I got attracted, but I know when I realized it. It was when you called me to let me know that Luigi was about to come to my office. Your voice did things to me, things I couldn't explain. You'd turned your charm on, I don't know why."

"I didn't do anything deliberately, whenever you showed up, something stirred," he admitted. "I found myself reacting to you. You know… I found myself saying and doing things that I didn't want to."

Ga Eul smiled brightly, "I affected you that badly? Good to know."

He laughed and pulled her closer, kissing her gently, "You still do."

Ga Eul moaned appreciatively, "Didn't know you could flatter so much."

"You haven't seen the best of me yet."

Ga Eul's laugh washed over him. Life was beautiful, content and at peace. At that moment, he sent a silent prayer, wishing that life stayed that way.