Chapter Twenty Five: Hopes and Dreams

It had been exactly one week since the incident at the rooftop. Yi Jeong had closed himself off from all human contact by not replacing his cell phone and not checking any emails. His hair was messy and unruly, but he didn't care to stylize it. The once barely visible five o'clock shadow became a prickly mess, taking the chance to sprout while Yi Jeong neglected to shave.

Yi Jeong had spent his nights half awake, hoping Ga Eul would sneak out of her house and give him a surprise, but then he would remember they had unofficially broken up. When his longing for her became almost unbearable, he looked at pictures of her that he took both with and without her mission, and the latter only reminded himself of how much his body craved her too. His index finger ran along the computer screen, tracing the curves of her naked back. He loved that picture of her, sleeping on her side with the blanket in between her legs. It must have been a hot night, one of the many nights that she spent over at his house while her parents were away on business. They had so much love back then, without any third wheels or outsiders to disturb them. He really wanted to go back to those days, or relieve those days if it were possible. But it was impossible. She had chosen the third party. Upon thinking back, Yi Jeong angrily slammed the laptop shut and sank into the comforts of his bedcovers again, the ones that he and Ga Eul had slept and made love under. He half sobbed himself to sleep again.

Ga Eul sat in her living room, her legs propped up on the coffee table in front of her as she watched yet another episode of "Unstoppable High Kick." Her right hand dipped down, scooping a large portion of the cookie dough flavored ice cream straight from the tub, and shoved it into her mouth. Somehow it wasn't as sweet as she remembered. Before she was even done swallowing the previous bite, she fed herself another spoonful, leaving a rim of cream around her lips.

Her attention shifted to her cell phone next to her, sitting peacefully under a glass lid. She had been leaving messages on Yi Jeong's cell phone ever since their disastrous separation, but after the third day, she realized that if he wanted to call her back, he would have done so by now.

Still, a small ray of hope remained with Ga Eul, and she kept her phone close to her no matter where she went – even to the toilet – just in case Yi Jeong decided to return her phone calls. She became delirious after watching her phone statically for hours, and "hid" it under the glass lid of her rice cooker. By not "watching" it, she had hoped the phone would ring. Her mind had become delusional after sleepless nights and an all sugar diet.

The characters on the show were so happy, joking around with one another and such, which made Ga Eul jealous of their intimacies. If only she could share everything on her mind with Yi Jeong like people on the show, but again this was television not real life.

Another scene with Kim Bum came on the screen. Those scenes were her favorites because Kim Bum was just so drop dead gorgeous. If Ga Eul didn't have Yi Jeong already, she would secretly follow Kim Bum's news. But wait, she didn't have Yi Jeong either. She sighed again, scooping another spoonful of ice cream.

Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of her ringtone, but she had to listen for a few more seconds to make sure it was not a fraction of her imagination. She had, sadly, picked up the phone when there was no one on the other line before. When she saw the screen flashing, she jumped up in excitement, but was thoroughly disappointed to see Woo Bin's name.

"Hi Woo Bin sunbae."

"Wow, I can just hear your excitement," Woo Bin teased. He was glad that Ga Eul was just as miserable as Yi Jeong.

"I'm sorry. What's up?"

"How are you holding up?"

"Can't you tell from my voice?" Ga Eul's voice was very faint and weak.

"At least you're not in denial about your feelings. Have you been eating?"

"Um, just ice cream, doughnuts, chocolates, things in that category." Ga Eul chuckled nervously.

"At least you're eating. Yi Jeong's maid tells me he hasn't really eaten. Maybe a cup ramen here and there."

"Oh no! He should eat! He has a lot of responsibilities, and he's going to lose all of his muscles!"

"Afraid you two can't exercise together anymore?" Woo Bin couldn't help his mind from going into the gutter.

"What!" Ga Eul gasped, her face turning pink. "Um so why did you call?"

"You have to talk to Yi Jeong. I don't want to see you two suffering like this."

"I will talk to him when he talks to me first." It was time for the man to make the first move for a change.

"If I get Yi Jeong somewhere, will you go and talk to him?"

"Depends… we'll just have to see."

Yi Jeong's upper body felt cold and unprotected, but he could have sworn he went to bed with a t-shirt. He lazily opened one eye and saw that the shirt was gone, exposing his well toned chest and stomach, and there was a tiny layer of sweat accumulating already. What surprised him was the girl who sat between his legs, stroking and licking his already very stiff member.

"Yah, Ga Eul-yang! How did you get in?" His surprised expression was soon replaced by an ecstatic one, as he lied back in excitement. She had taken him in her mouth, and her licks only increased in intensity as time went on.

It had been so long since she touched him, and he felt his release coming on with just a few strokes of her tongue. "Ga Eul-yang," he sighed happily, "don't bite too hard." He didn't want to come too early, but at the rate she was going, his efforts may be wasted.

She giggled to his request, the vibration only served to turn him on even more. A tiny gust of wind brushed against his cheek, and a piece of clothing landed on the pillow next to his head. From the smell he knew it was her underwear, and that she had wanted him for quite a while.

He felt the tingling sensation deep within his body, and he clenched the bed sheets in anticipation for what would come. "Ga Eul-yang, you better move away now," he warned, but she didn't budge. "Ga Eul-yang, please, I can't hold it any longer!" He lifted his head from the pillow to look at her, but she wasn't there anymore. The darkness slowly dissolved away and he only saw his right hand wrapped tightly around his erection, and the blanket was kicked off to the side.

It was a dream? Yi Jeong thought to himself. It was one very lucid dream though. He had dreams about her this week and in the past, but they became more life-like the more he thought about her. Another unfulfilling dream… He rolled over and a smooth fabric made contact with his skin. It was Ga Eul's underwear, the one that he had stolen from her after the incident in the library. How did it get here? Yi Jeong didn't remember taking it from his pants pocket, but then again he had been walking like a madman in a desert.

He grabbed the comforter on the side and wrapped it around his body. His hand quickly stroked himself, finishing what he had started. He imagined her on top of him, grinding her body against his, her mouth never ceases to moan and call out his name. Just as he was about to reach his release, he heard the bedroom door open, which then he immediately let go of himself and wiped his hand on his sweatpants. Luckily he was under the bedcovers.

Woo Bin came into view and strut towards Yi Jeong with a force. He took a firm hold on the covers and tried to wiggle it away, but Yi Jeong also had held it tightly on the other side. It would be a bad idea to reveal himself right now.

"Yah! What are you doing it? Have you never heard of knocking? Who let you in?" Yi Jeong growled, not happy at Woo Bin's untimely intrusions.

"You're getting your butt up and into the real world. No more hermit Yi Jeong."

"What if I like being hermit Yi Jeong?"

"No you don't. Up, up boy."

"Leave me alone!"

Woo Bin let go of the blanket, much to Yi Jeong's relief. "All right fine. But how would Ga Eul-yang say about this? Her favorite sunbae is now not groomed, unshaven, and even smells a little. Have you been taking showers man?"

Yi Jeong shot him a piercing look. "If she loved me, she would not care that I look like crap."

"So you admit that you look like crap."

"The point of the statement was that she doesn't love me."

"Okay, then get over it! I have never seen So Yi Jeong mope around for a girl before. Nor has he ever gotten dumped. Just come out with me. We can get some honeys and have a good time. You'll forget all about her."

"What if I don't want to forget about her?"

"Then go find her."

"I'm not going to find her unless she comes to me first."

Woo Bin was about to strangle Yi Jeong. How could the both of them be so stubborn? At this rate Yi Jeong will marry some rich valley girl heiress that his parents set him up with, and Ga Eul would be unhappily married to someone who was boring but good to her.

"Whatever, get up, shower, and get dressed. I don't care how much you protest. We're going somewhere tonight, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Just leave me alone!" Yi Jeong whined, thrashing under the blanket so Woo Bin would escape in fear. Like that trick would work on Woo Bin, who had seen much worse scenarios.

"Leaving you alone is not healthy. I'm setting you straight. Either you get up to shower on your own, or I will rip this blanket off of you. I think you would much prefer the former." After Woo Bin finished his speech, he narrowed his eyes at Yi Jeong as a final threat before he excused himself from the room to call Ga Eul.

"Ga Eul-yang, go to Club Nova in two hours. Wear something skimpy and leave little to the imagination," Woo Bin instructed. "I've persuaded Yi Jeong to go. Okay he's not too willing, but I'm going to drag him there. Just go there and you won't regret it."

"But, why go to a club? And if he's not willing I don't want to go."

"Aish. Will you two children just grow up already? Everyone else is sweating rivers because of your situation! He's got that pride thing going on, but I know he misses you like hell. Think about it. Infamously known as the Casanova of F4, So Yi Jeong gets dumped by a girl, and an innocent girl at that."

"What's wrong with innocent?" Ga Eul asked. She would have thought guys would be into her type of girls.

"Innocent girls don't hurt Casanovas. Casanovas hurt innocent girls. So you can see how the logic is backwards, and how Yi Jeong's ego is deflated and pride wounded."

"I didn't dump him in the first place. I showed up during the last possible minute but he had left early. So it's not my fault he gave up before the time ticked down. I also called and left messages. But does he call me? NO!"

"His phone was dead."

"I can't imagine him not getting a new one by now."

Woo Bin sighed. There was a comeback to every comeback. "Would you just please go? Do you want to live with regret forever? This is Yi Jeong we're talking about here. Aside from the ego and womanizing, I think he's a pretty good catch. And I don't know if you have noticed, but since you, he has not looked at another woman's, and he has been very considerate of your feelings. So what if he freaks out and becomes an immature boy when he gets angry? You should be glad that he's showing you the real him."

"Is that so…" Ga Eul had never heard everything spelled out so clearly for her before. Sure she had these thoughts before, but her lack of confidence shook those thoughts away. "I'll be there."

Woo Bin pumped his fist in the air and silently whispered "Yes". One child down, another one to go.

Yi Jeong stared at himself in the mirror. Woo Bin was right in every way possible. He should go out there and find his options himself. If he could be enticed by other women, then he would accept himself as the bastard he had always been and not deserving of Ga Eul's love. But if his mind was clouded with thoughts of Ga Eul while sexy women were doing indecent things around him, then he would chase her or die trying. Yi Jeong squeezed some shaving gel and dispersed the cream onto his upper lip and jaw. With a few smooth strokes he wiped away both the foam and the unpleasant mustache.

Half an hour later, the Yi Jeong's bedroom door swung open. Woo Bin, who had been leaning against the wall adjacent to the door, smiled at Yi Jeong's fresh look. He was wearing his best navy suit, a white dress shirt, and a dark blue scarf around his neck. His hair was swiped to one side and not wavy and sticking up like it was before. It looked as if the suave So Yi Jeong never left.

"You clean up well buddy."

"Psht, do you know who you're talking to?" Yi Jeong sneered, exhibiting a lot of excessive arrogance.

"Okay, confidence is one thing, but don't turn into Jun Pyo."

Yi Jeong looked out of the window into the dark streets, hoping for something to distract himself with. Then he saw her wearing a black and white striped dress with a yellow sweater over it.

"Stop, stop!" Yi Jeong demanded, slapping Woo Bin's arm furiously.

"Why?"

"I see her! Ga Eul-yang!"

"Impossible!" Woo Bin lied. Did she get there too fast? Woo Bin had specifically instructed two hours. It would give them enough time to settle in and for Yi Jeong to get depressed about not being with her.

"No, it's her I'm telling you!" Yi Jeong's slaps were too annoying for Woo Bin, and he finally pulled over. If they meet now, it would save them some time at least.

Yi Jeong dashed out immediately and ran after her. "Ga Eul-yang," he said breathlessly, grabbing her right arm to stop her.

"Excuse me?" The lady turned around, but it was evident she was not Ga Eul. Yi Jeong's eyes grew big, surprised that he had mistaken a stranger for Ga Eul, but also at the uncanny resemblance between the two. She had scrunched hair, and from her looks it was evident she had a few Yeahrs on Ga Eul.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else," Yi Jeong apologized.

"Don't worry about it." She gave him a weak smile and continued on her way. There was a hint of melancholy in her walk and smile, but Yi Jeong couldn't be bothered with saving other people's lives now.

"Yi Jeong-ah, who was that?" Woo Bin asked when he caught up.

"Don't know. You were right, it couldn't have been her. I was just too hopeful."

"It's all okay. You didn't see her from up close. I would be worried if you were still convinced it was Ga Eul when it clearly wasn't. Come on, the club is right around the corner."

The club had renovated itself since the last time Yi Jeong came in. The bar was moved to upstairs with private booths along the wall, providing more room for the dance floor downstairs. The green and blue neon laser beams flashed around the dance floor, igniting the shadowy figures of the exhilarated dancers. A few girls came to their side almost instantly, flaunting their plump fake breasts and collagen filled butts, but Yi Jeong looked away in disgust.

"Okay buddy I'm going to go for round one," Woo Bin shouted and gave him a sailor wave.

"What about your fiancée?"

"Min Young goes to clubs too! As long as we reconvene at the end of the night we've agreed it's fine!"

Yi Jeong shook his head. What part of grinding your body against another woman fine? It wasn't exactly cheating but it was straddling that dangerous line. The heavy scent of the girls' perfume dulled him, and their sweat-drenched bodies repulsed him. He didn't know how he could be into this type of exercise before. There were a few girls with nice bodies, but his eyes didn't stray to their goodies like he did before. He excused himself to the booths upstairs to reevaluate himself and his feelings.