A/N: The original draft of Daddy Long Legs is posted on Asianfanfics. com under the same title under foxycometwong. I originally just wanted to repost this fanfic here, with just beta changes (i.e. grammar, sentence structure, etc.) but I might have additional chapters not present in the original draft. Hopefully, I will be able to muster enough muse to continue writing this fanfiction. :D Here's chapter 26, hope you enjoy! -Comet
There were times when Woo Bin knew right on that his friends were in a good mood. Jun Pyo was fairly obvious. He would walk around with a big stupid grin on his face and was not mean to the whole world. Evidence of this was during the time he realized he was smitten over Jan Di and even the weather didn't bring him down.
Yi Jeong, on the other hand, was a little less dramatic. He would still be prone to smiling all day, but he would couple it with random sprouts of pottery trivia that was actually quite amusing to watch.
Ji Hoo was a little more complicated. Ever since they were kids, it took a lot of effort to make him smile, or laugh, or make him happy in general. He would never tell people, not even the other members of the F4, so Jun Pyo had figured out a way to determine Ji Hoo's mood through the music he often played during the day. It had been an effective system, one that Woo Bin regretfully couldn't rely on nowadays because Ji Hoo had refused to play music when he entered medical school.
That was why it surprised Woo Bin immensely when he visited Ji Hoo at the hospital that day. He was about to pick him up for their weekly dinner, and was quite surprised to hear instead of the sound of a pen scratching or fingers on the keyboard, there was faint music coming from behind the closed doors to Ji Hoo's office. That and a gaggle of nurses hovering excitedly outside it.
"Good evening, ladies." Woo Bin announced his presence with his signature debonair smirk and the gaggle gave a collective gasp and blushes on cue. They pulled away from the door guiltily. Still grinning, Woo Bin had that smirk on his face even as he knocked on the door and he entered the room, still a bit surprised to see the familiar Stradivarius underneath Ji Hoo's chin. What more was that Ji Hoo's usually stoic expression was actually replaced with a faint smile as he played. By then, Woo Bin couldn't resist/ and he returned the smile, before lounging expertly on Ji Hoo's sofa.
"Somebody's in a good mood." Woo Bin commented unnecessarily. "Funnily enough, your date with Hyun Jae was two weeks ago, so something must have happened recently." Woo Bin ignored Ji Hoo's dark look over his violin with another chuckle and waited for Ji Hoo to finish the measure before he pressed his questions again.
"So..what happened? Did you receive a confession?"
Ji Hoo was silent as he turned around to place back the violin on his case and Woo Bin interpreted as he saw fit. "Woo ma bro, you did!" Whooping, Woo Bin stood up and thumped Ji Hoo at the back. It was either Ji Hoo's own physical fitness, or he was far used to Woo Bin's displays of enthusiam that he didn't so much as flinch. However, he made a complete show of turning around and with the most exasperated voice he could muster said:
"Nothing happened."
To which Woo Bin just retorted with the complete disbelief on his face. "Don't be like that bro. You're obviously happy. You were playing the violin, you were humming! So it something must have really happened. Teeelll meee..." Woo Bin whined, closely imitating his twin sisters that Ji Hoo involuntarily gave a snort.
He further raised an eyebrow even as Ji Hoo went to fix his things in order to leave with Woo Bin, shaking his head much to Woo Bin's display. "I can't play the violin and hum without there being a reason?"
"Are you Jun Pyo?" Woo Bin answered just as quickly. "Ahh. You're no fun bro. Keeping secrets from your friends, I thought we had something special!" Woo Bin mocked getting injured with a hand over his heart that Ji Hoo merely shook his head again.
"Maybe you're the one in a terribly good mood. Does have something to do with the fact that Ha Jae Kyung will be visiting Korea soon?" Ji Hoo expertly diverted the subject as they left the office, leaving the gaggle of nurses gawking after them.
"Nah, I knew about that weeks ago and-wait. How did you know Monkey was coming to visit?" Woo Bin turned to Ji Hoo momentarily diverted. It was Ji Hoo's turn to smirk knowingly as the two walked across the hospital. Shaking his head once more at Woo Bin's nickname of Ha Jae Kyung, Ji Hoo shrugged. "Jan Di told me. It seems she's not the only one excited about her coming back." Ji Hoo glanced slyly at the corner of his eye at the kkangpae heir, and for one who was schooled in the art of the poker face, Woo Bin seemed to have a hard time schooling his features into something totally neutral. A few minutes of that before Woo Bin turned to Ji Hoo looking utterly scandalized.
"Yah, Yoon Ji Hoo. We were talking about you and Hyun Jae!"
Ji Hoo gave an elegant shrug of his shoulders before bursting out laughing at the betrayed look on Woo Bin's face. It was really far too easy to divert Woo Bin's attention when he really wanted it, and Ji Hoo needed the extra time to think about what he just read.
In love.
He had received the email a few hours ago while he was having a particularly stressful day at the office (primarily because the attending doctors were pressuring him to focus on his specialization) when he had received the email. Hyun Jae was getting into that habit of unknowingly being able to cheer him up. He had read through the email, immensely glad that she had enjoyed their date, to be honest Ji Hoo had been more than a nervous wreck. Just because he hadn't shown it didn't mean he wasn't. He had been particularly nervous to show her his family's grave. That decision in itself had taken a lot of time for Ji Hoo to show her. He had never taken anybody up at the family grave site, and he had chosen her because she would understand the most. He wished he was able to find her parents' grave sites (he had asked Woo Bin about those and he had said he would look into it), or at least anything about her family. Inasmuch as she did not like speaking about it, Ji Hoo knew that she wanted to know.
Because he couldn't give her what she really wanted, Ji Hoo had settled for the next best thing, which was a Christmas celebration she would definitely remember. He had never been a fan of Christmas in the past, and even with his grandfather still alive, they didn't make it much into an occasion.
With Hyun Jae however, he had genuinely enjoyed the holiday for the first time in a long while and he was more than relieved that she did the same. He had the fear lurking at the back of his mind that she was just smiling for his sake, because Hyun Jae was a genuinely warm person and had more than pleasantly surprised when she was all praises for it in her email. That and..
In love...
Ji Hoo mulled those words over and over all throughout the night, even as he had dinner with Woo Bin that evening and drinks after. He had tried to store it at the back of his mind, but clearly it was definitely not something you momentarily forget. All evening he mulled those words over in his mind, trying to fully grasp the words in his head.
Hyun Jae was in love with him.
To be fair, she had written the words to Daddy Long Legs, her confidant, and there was a high chance that she was not going to say it to him just yet. For that chance, he was actually grateful. He could not understand, the sudden hesitation he felt in his heart at the confession. He honestly had no idea what he would say if she did say it out loud to him. It was terribly flattering, at the same time overwhelming, that he was pretty sure he looked it several times during conversations with Woo Bin that night. Perhaps it was only because Woo Bin was used to his spacing out by now, or he too was distracted with his own thoughts that he didn't call Ji Hoo out for it.
"So how was it bro?" Woo Bin asked Ji Hoo though, after hours of drinking and the bottles lay by the many at the table in the Song mansion's veranda.
Ji Hoo paused in taking a sip of his wine to look over at Woo Bin askance.
"The date." Woo Bin spoke in a voice that was clearly impatient, Ji Hoo had to smile at his friend.
"It was..." He started after a few moments of silence, lips twitching at the clear anticipation on Woo Bin's face. "...nice."
"Aish!" Woo Bin raised his palms in the air as if washing himself off whatever eccentricities only to peer back again asking for details like a gossiping school girl. Ji Hoo, because he really did wish to be able to share the news.
"Woo!" Woo Bin whooped loudly after Ji Hoo gave them the details, (except for the part about Hyun Jae's email) and clapped Ji Hoo on the shoulder that the medical student couldn't help but give a small grin at his friend's enthusiasm. "I told Yi Jeong you could do it! Now he owes me."
"Why am I not surprised you had bets going around about me?" A raised eyebrow and Woo Bin didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. "Of course." the Song heir spoke, nodding his head with certainty. "It's tradition. And Yi Jeong was going on about how you probably would be too smitten to ask her properly. I bet otherwise. Though now, I owe Jun Pyo money."
That caught Ji Hoo's attention and his hand stilled as he reached for the wine bottle. "Why? What did Jun Pyo bet?"
Woo Bin gave an amused smile, lips twitching again as he took a swig of beer. "He bet that all your planning wouldn't go as planned and that Hyun Jae would do something unexpected. So I guess he won in that area. Got to hand it to him, sometimes Jun Pyo does use his brain. Or maybe it's based on experience with Jan Di?"
Ji Hoo didn't reply to that, save an noncommittal nod and Woo Bin subtly shook his head to himself. If he was being honest, he knew very well that whatever feelings that Ji Hoo might still have for Jan Di were residual feelings, born out of a habit of loving her. Woo Bin could hardly blame his friend. After all loving one woman like a habit was pretty much the pattern of all his previous relationships. That didn't mean it was right though, for Ji Hoo to carry on like this. Not that Woo Bin ever presumed to tell his friend that. Love was complicated enough to understand without the added baggage of the past and other possible girls.
"Have you told Hyun Jae?" Woo Bin asked now, as the light atmosphere slowly turned the serious, even as the alcohol began to finally take effect upon the two. Another raised eyebrow from Ji hoo and a silent look and Woo Bin gave out a sigh. "She knows yes, but it won't mean much if you don't tell her."
"Tell her what exactly?" This time Ji Hoo's voice had a tinge of warning in them and Woo Bin had to shake his head and take another drought of his beer before replying.
"The truth. Or whatever it is you feel to tell her. Especially since she tells you everything in her emails doesn't she?" Woo Bin answered quietly back, meeting Ji Hoo's eyes over his beer and clearly answering all of Ji Hoo's suspicions about how much Woo Bin really knew about Hyun Jae and Daddy Long Legs.
"You asked me to help her find her family's graves." Woo Bin said by way of explanation at the inquisitive look Ji Hoo sent his way, that secretly hid the alarm he was clearly feeling. "That would entail me looking at her background and you really didn't do much of a job hiding the fact that you are financing an orphan from the Su Am orphanage to study in Shinwa. I pieced two and two together." Woo Bin's word had that calm he used when he was talking about business. Staring back unflinchingly towards Ji Hoo, he took another swig of beer. "So. She obviously doesn't know that the person paying for her education is also the person standing with me here today."
"What exactly do you want me to say?" Ji Hoo retorted quietly, sipping his wine, and ignoring the deep sigh from Woo Bin.
"I don't know bro, I might not know as much, but last I checked, lying to the person you are in love with is not the best way to start a relationship."
"Who says I'm in love with her?" Ji Hoo calmly retorted and was surprised at the sudden fierceness in Woo Bin's mien.
"Yoon Ji Hoo, you are many things, but cruel is definitely not one of them. And if you're stringing Hyun Jae along just to fill whatever feelings you still have for Jan Di-"
"Leave Jan Di out of this." Ji Hoo was quick to retort and Woo Bin looked at him, surprise in his face this time around. A silence stretched between the two friends, their eyes meeting and Woo Bin once more shook his head before standing up, draining his bottle. "One of these days, ma bro, you're going to end up escalating your problem into a situation that would and could have been avoided. I hope not just for your sake but for both Jan Di and Hyun Jae, that it won't end up bringing them trouble." He patted Ji Hoo on the shoulder before walking back inside the house waving his hand dismissively at the men stationed just beyond the veranda doors and throwing over his shoulder about Ji Hoo using his old room if he was too drunk to drive back home, and leaving Ji Hoo with his thoughts.
"Yo, Hyun Jae?" Yue knocked on the door of Hyun Jae's dorm room, hearing the soft tinkling of guitar music stop. A few moments later, her friend opened the door, and Yue resisted the urge to squeal and demand answers. Hyun Jae meanwhile had looked at her friend with a mere curious expression, dressed for home and looking quite unlike a girl who discovered she was in love a few days ago. Without even considering it, Yue hooked her arm around Hyun Jae's and began tugging her forward.
"Come on." She said rather imperiously, making Hyun Jae squeak in protest.
"Yue, I can't. I have to practice-" She said in a rather breathless voice even as her hand held firmly unto her door frame. Yue gave Hyun Jae that stare that could rival that of her brother's, knowing exactly an excuse when she heard one.
"Departmental exams have finished, and your recital isn't until the end of the month. You need a break." Yue interjected rather firmly and started tugging her again. She didn't need to add that since Hyun Jae had gone to her date with Yoon Ji Hoo, she had been avoiding Yue and Tsuki like the plague. Yue didn't even know if their date had gone well. Given that Christmas was a big deal in her family (despite being Buddhists), the twins had hardly time to catch with their friend over the holidays. Which Yue decided to change that day. This would not do at all. Hyun Jae might not want to talk about it, but she was going to have to share with Yue something. Otherwise she would end up owing money to her big brother.
"Where are we going?" Hyun Jae asked still struggling, dressed in her home slippers and looking very much out of place in the glamorous world of Shinwa University.
"To my place, Tsuki has been asking to see you." Yue answered without skipping a beat, though she had come up with that excuse just a half second ago. Hyun Jae was still protesting. "But I see her most of the time here at school-"
Yue made a great show of stopping in the middle of the hall, and Hyun Jae unable to predict her actions actually bumped into her and struggled to maintain her balance before righting herself up, making a show of straightening up her hoodie and sweatpants.
"Hyun Jae." Yue spoke her name making the other girl look up, her face wary. Well Yue personally didn't know what was so scary about her. But then, she was technically 5 foot and 5 inches and she was about 3 inches taller than Hyun Jae, so there was that. Yue cut quite an imposing figure with her hands on her hips and staring down at Hyun Jae. "You're hiding yourself away. It isn't healthy. Come outside for a bit. Hang out with me and Tsuki for a few days then you can go back to hiding away all you want. We don't even know if you and Ji Hoo oppa are doing okay." Yue's tone softened a bit at the end and she let her concern show for her friend. She knew that was Hyun Jae's weakness. They might have only known each other a few months, but Yue knew Hyun Jae could never resist anybody needing her.
Evidence of that was Hyun Jae taking a deep sigh and nodding. "Araso." She spoke softly digging her hands into her pockets. "Where are we going exactly?" She added in a quiet voice. Was it Yue or did she detect a hint of relief and a smile on her face when Yue mentioned Ji Hoo oppa? That might be a good sign, so this plan so far seemed like a good idea.
"My house." Yue replied, much more cheerful and immediately added to cut off whatever remaining protests Hyun Jae might have in mind. "Appa's on a business trip for the better part of the week, Eomma's visiting Guam with a few of her friends, so it's just me and Tsuki at home. Plus Woo Bin oppa is there, so Ji Hoo oppa might come and visit?" She gave Hyun Jae a sidelong glance.
Hyun Jae shuffled and turned bright red at the mention of Ji Hoo. Jackpot. Yue thought to herself before turning back to her friend who giving Yue a confused look. "How did you know-"
Yue flashed a smile that reminded Hyun Jae very much of Woo Bin and slung her arm around hers, starting to drag her forward yet again. "I'm a Song, if you forget." Was all the explanation she gave. And that was supposedly the end of all protests from Hyun Jae about spending a few days over at the Song mansion, though she did allow Hyun Jae to go back to her dorm room and pack a bag of her comfortable clothes. Yue didn't say anything about the plan to replace said clothes with new ones though and happily stowed Hyun Jae in the family car, ignoring the stares from their peers who saw Yue and Hyun Jae together. Hyun Jae had ducked, as if shielding herself from the stares. Yue meanwhile had lifted her chin and walked purposefully, the stares seemingly bouncing off her as she slid inside her seat in the car.
"Just ignore them." She spoke sagely as the car drove away and left Shinwa behind. Hyun Jae had looked up from her studying of her feet. "Wae?" She asked softly and Yue gave her a small smile settling into her seat. "The stares. They come and they go. People are often fascinated by things they cannot comprehend. It's not their fault though." She added and Hyun Jae stared at her for a few moments before smiling and nodding.
Yue glanced at her friend and relaxed against the seat. "Besides, they're all jealous that you're dating the hottest doctor in Shinwa." She quipped cheerfully, her smile stretching wider as Hyun Jae's blush returned full force and she proceeded to hide her face behind the guitar case (which she insisted in bringing with her)
"Kim Hyun Jae!" Yue admonished playfully tugging on the guitar case. "You don't expect me to pry each gory detail of your dating life from you are you?" She tried to take a good look at Hyun Jae.
A squeak of protest came from behind the guitar case and a mumble that sounded suspiciously like "We only went on one date..."
"Ha!" Yue crowed triumphantly at those words. "I have very good sources that say otherwise."
"What sources?" Apparently, Hyun Jae's curiosity got the better of her and she peeked tentatively from behind her guitar case her brow furrowed. Yue, knowing that teasing Hyun Jae too much would end up her bolting like a rabbit back to her dorm room, struggled to straighten out her gleeful expression. Instead she reached forward and wrenched the guitar case from Hyun Jae's grip and set it aside. She looked her friend squarely in the eye and asked in her most serious voice.
"Did you and Ji Hoo go out after that one date you had?"
"Yes..but.." Hyun Jae's brow furrowed even more but Yue plunged on. "Alone or with other people like my brother?"
"Alone..but.."
"Did he treat or pay for any of the things while you were out with him?"
"Yes, sometimes. But.." Hyun Jae's face became redder and redder when she realized where the line of questioning was going. Yue's smug smile returned and she patted her hand consolingly.
"Honey, those are called dates. You've been dating Ji Hoo oppa since Christmas." Yue said in a mock-forlorn voice.
"But!" Hyun Jae spluttered waving her hands frantically in front of her face. "But he specifically said those were not dates and that we were just hanging out!" She protested futilely as the Song car maneuvered through the ostentatious gates of the mansion.
"Oh sweetie." Yue clucked her tongue sympathetically as they left the car, servants quickly rushing out to meet one of their mistresses and divesting Hyun Jae of her things so they could carry them off to the guest room Yue had had ready for months for an occasion such as this. Hooking her arm around Hyun Jae's, Yue led her friend through the front doors and off towards her and Tsuki's suite.
"Ji Hoo oppa understands you very well. Did you freak out when you went out during Christmas?" Yue continued to ask even as Hyun Jae typically started wandering off towards where the piano was. Tugging on her arm to keep her focus on their conversation, she prodded Hyun Jae gently on the elbow to remind her she had a question.
"Uhm..." Hyun Jae's brow furrowed again, as she tried to remember what her reaction had been. "I only knew it was a date when he kissed me..." She stopped abruptly when she realized what she just said.
Too late, Yue heard it and her response was a loud and excited squeal, echoing loud enough for Tsuki to come poke her head out from the doors to her room. "What happened?" She asked curiously, though a smile of greeting was already on her face quite identical of that of Yue's at the sight of Hyun Jae.
"Hyun Jae has been kissed!" Yue declared happily none-so-subtly pushing Hyun Jae towards her twin sister. Hyun Jae had to cover her ears when Tsuki responded with her own squeal and proceeded to jump and dance happily around Hyun Jae. They did this for a few more seconds before completely ushering Hyun Jae into Tsuki's room (which was even larger than the largest dorm room in Shinwa) and plopped her unto one of Tsuki's overstuffed sofas. Hyun Jae had barely began to admire the room when Tsuki and Yue sat on either side of her and proceeded to give her pleading looks to share all the details of that fated Christmas date.
Feeling even more self-conscious than ever, Hyun Jae spoke in a halting voice as she tried to tell the date to her two friends, trying not to feel too nervous that it felt like all of her past actions were being cross-examined. After all, she was less experienced in the dating field than the twins.
After a while though, sharing the story seemed to be easier as the twins' only reactions were of gasps of surprise and more squeals of delight with each detail. When she had gone to the part with the fireworks and that kiss, even Hyun Jae herself couldn't help the smile that flashed across her face at the memory.
"I knew it!" Tsuki enthused, clasping her hands together. "Ji Hoo oppa is so romantic! We tried to get details from Woo Bin oppa when we learned that Ji Hoo oppa was planning the surprise but he just said he didn't know all the details as well." Tsuki pouted a bit. "It's so much better to hear it from you though." She smiled brighter and clasped Hyun Jae's hands eagerly.
"But did you really enjoy yourself Hyun Jae-ssi?" Tsuki's question was asked gently now. Yue had left a few minutes ago to ask for some snacks to be delivered to them so they can continue with what Hyun Jae interpreted was girl talk. " You can be honest with us, we'd never betray your trust." Tsuki added still witht hat gently concerned voice.
"Yeah, just because you're dating an F4 member now doesn't mean we wouldn't watch your back for you." Yue piped up from the doorway as she came back pushing a snack tray towards them. The maid who had been the one delivering the snacks looked scandalized at her mistress doing her work, but was quickly dismissed. Yue maneuvered the tray towards her twin and their friend, laden with every snack the maid had been able to scrounge, which was still pretty impressive. Their were bowls of fresh fruit, a whole cake, a plate of cookies and a tray of cupcakes. There were also some bags of imported chips and a small cooler under the tray that had the twins' preferred cool drinks. Yue fished a can of sparkling cola and tossed it towards Tsuki who as able to swiftly pluck it from the air. She handed the can to Hyun Jae who took it numbly, still impressed with that catching trick. Tsuki meanwhile merely smiled and caught another can of soda and a bag of chips from Yue before the latter sat back down on another chair.
"I still don't fully understand..." Hyun Jae murmured, cradling the can of soda in her hands, examining it thoughtfully. "I don't really understand the whole F4 thing. I mean I know I'm extremely lucky that Ji Hoo even decided to take me out on a date..." She trailed off when she saw the identical looks the twins gave to each other.
"What?" Hyun Jae asked feeling defensive for the first time. "I know I'm not good enough for him-"
"Oh jeez, that's not what we're thinking at all Hyun Jae-ssi!" Yue effectively cut her off with a wild shake of her head and a toss of her hair. "We've been friends for a while it's kinda hard not to remember you don't really know uch about our brother's idiotic club, F4." A smirk flashed across her face before she reached for her tablet and typed a few keywords and showed it to her.
"The F4 stands for Flower Four." Tsuki explained in a patient voice and what followed was the twins explaining how Woo Bin, Ji Hoo, Yi Jeong and Jun Pyo oppas were viewed by the rest of South Korea and the rest of the world. Hyun Jae had listened to each of the stories surrounding the F4, everything from their extravagance (that one she said she easily believed, having been to Sweden with them), but the others she had a hard time accepting. The bullying during their high school days for one was something she extremely frowned upon.
"I can't believe they chased away all those poor people." Hyun Jae was frowning when Tsuki and Yue painfully recounted some of the F4's none-so-savory behavior during the past. "Are you telling me Ji Hoo condoned this? And your brother?"
Yue frowned guiltily. "There's no excuse, except that they were completely different people before. They, Jun Pyo oppa especially, were quite jerks. That was before they all met Jan Di unnie."
Tsuki nodded with a nibble on one of the potato chips she filched from Yue's bag. "We were studying abroad then, back in Hong Kong, so we never really went to Shinwa after kindergarten. Back then, the F4 oppas were just cute adorable kids. We heard stories though." Tsuki bowed her head as in guilt.
"They're different now though," Yue offered helpfully reaching for a cookie. "All of them, including Ji Hoo oppa. I think..." She cleared her throat a bit, as if it was her turn to get shy. "I think being around you has helped him too, Hyun Jae."
"What?" This time, those words were of disbelief. She had just heard the entirety of the F4 story and not just bits and pieces. If there was ever a time to feel inadequate, Hyun Jae was definitely feeling it now.
"You keep him on his toes." Yue gave a shrug and an encouraging smile. "Before, Ji Hoo oppa would n't really care what was happening around him. Especially if it didn't affect him personally. When he met Jan Di unnie, he had began to change, you know? He started talking a lot more, but when we met you and he you, he changed even more."
Hyun Jae frowned and drank soda as if to stop herself from blushing some more. Tsuki decided it was her turn to speak since Yue looked like admitting those things had been a total departure from her character, which Tsuki admonished her with a look. "Ji Hoo oppa started opening up to people more since you became friends Hyun Jae."
The twins saw Hyun Jae pause with her drinking and look at them with fearful hope shining from eyes. "You..you don't think he's too good for me?" She mumbled, those few words explaining exactly why she had been hiding from them for days, not saying a word about their dates.
"Hyun Jae," Yue spoke out now, her usually smiling face, very serious. She saw the fear lurk back into Hyun Jae's eyes and Yue quickly spoke to reassure her friend the words she wanted to say were not of chastisement.
"Everybody deserves a person who will love them for them and not because it's "convenient" or "expected"." Yue's look softened now and she saw Hyun Jae's understanding in her eyes. "As cheesy as it sounds, no matter where they come from, no matter the choices they make. Everybody deserves love."
Hyun Jae sniffed loudly and that was enough to break the seriousness of the moment, as she collapsed in embarrassed laughter, trying to hide the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Tsuki went to give her some tissues, and Yue, in typical Yue fashion gave an unlady like snort and a wave of her hand.
"My god, woman, if those words were enough to bring you to tears, what would happen if Ji Hoo oppa were to say he loved you?"
"Omo!" Hyun Jae squeaked at those words from behind the tissue she was using to wipe her eyes. A few more moments and the sound of hiccups were heard, and Hyun Jae emerged, still quite red and this time, hiccuping quite loudly.
"Aww cute," Woo Bin's voice floated from the doorway and the twins cried in mock-outrage at their big brother violating the sanctity of their bedroom. Woo Bin playfully ignored them and sauntered his way over to the hiccuping Hyun Jae, who merely stared at him wide-eyed through her hiccups as if wondering exactly how much he had heard.
"I think I'll keep this memory to myself and not tell Ji Hoo that his little musician is quite adorable when embarrassed." He grinned that teasing smirk of his, and even though Hyun Jae was still hiccuping, she recognized that he was plainly teasing and threw a couch pillow towards him. The twins cheered even as Woo Bin deftly dodged it, laughing quite loudly at Hyun Jae's attempt at indignation.
"You know, Ji Hoo slept over a couple of night's ago." Woo Bin commented as Tsuki gave Hyun Jae a glass of water to stop her hiccups. "It's too bad, you would've been able to see him look so insecure about you too." He patted Hyun Jae playfully on the head as he always did, smiling at her reassuringly. Hyun Jae had looked up at him then, still waiting for her hiccups to die down. Woo Bin merely gave a wink in response before turning back to the twins.
"Feel like having a grill night tonight?" He asked and the way his words were asked sounded like it was sort of a tradition between the siblings.
"Oh yes!" Tsuki responded enthusiastically, clapping eagerly. "With samgyeopsal, galbi and maybe even some yakitori?"
"We can hang out at the hot springs first before we grill though, right oppa? Hyun Jae has never been." Yue added, grinning at Woo Bin's effective maneuvering of changing the subject.
"Sure," Woo Bin replied with an easy shrug, smiling at Hyun Jae once more. He looked at his watch thoughtfully. "I can have the meat delivered in about an hour or so, that'll give you plenty of time to visit the hot springs at the East end." He patted Hyun Jae in the head again.
"A nice soak in the springs ought to relax your overworked mind Hyun Jae-ssi." Woo Bin smiled teasingly to whcih Hyun Jae could only nod in confusion. She had neverer been to a hot springs and had no idea how she was supposed to react.
"Okay oppa, we'll leave you to the preparations of the grill night then," Tsuki nodded and stood up, stretching slightly. "We can have somebody buy Hyun Jae some clothes for the springs-"
"No." Hyun Jae spoke up from the couch, her voice small but still surprisingly clear.
"Whu-?" Yue rounded on her, confused for a second. Even Woo Bin turned to look at her with surprise.
"Thanks but I did bring my own clothes." Hyun Jae spoke with a resolve that had not been present when they were speaking of Ji Hoo minutes ago.
"But sweetie are you sure-" Tsuki started to say reasonably but Hyun Jae shook her head to cut her off. "It's a terrible waste of money buying me clothes which I'm sure I wouldn't be able to wear elsewhere." Hyun Jae's delicate features were set into a firm line.
"Oh I'm sure we can find some that you will be able to-" Yue started but Hyun Jae spoke again. "No." Her hiccups gone she nodded resolutely. "The only thing I don't have is a swimsuit. I think you use that for hot springs right? I saw that in a movie once..." Her confidence slightly wavering before she cleared her throat and nodded once more. "If I could borrow any of the suits you don't like wearing, I'm sure I can use that." She said with a small reassuring smile now, hoping that it didn't make her look ungrateful.
"I could lend you some of mine. " Tsuki said with an understanding nod now even as Yue looked like she wanted to protest. "I don't think you'd like very much Yue's scandalous swim wear."
"Hey!" Yue protested but her twin was already dragging Hyun Jae towards her closet leaving her to follow in their wake.
"I'll leave you to it then!" Woo Bin called after them, straightening up to head out. In truth he already had the grill set up and ready, just waiting for Ji Hoo and Jan Di's shift to be over. He had time to pick up Ga Eul from the kindergarten where she worked too, and Woo Bin was smiling at the thought of having a small party with his friends and sisters. It had been a bit of time since they last gathered together, and that was during Hyun Jae's last recital. Plus, it would be fun to see Ji Hoo and Hyun Jae act around each other now that they were sort of dating. Added also that Woo Bin was figuring out opportunities for Ji Hoo to actually finally admit to the woman he loved that he was also the man who was sponsoring her through school, it was bound to become an interesting night.
Grinning to himself, he fished his phone out of his Italian suit pocket and made an international call to both Yi Jeong and Jun Pyo, promptly starting another round of bets.
Aaaand there we go! Hopefully this little fluff of a chapter is enough to satiate your cravings for Ji Jae (?) for a time. The girl talk was definitely not part of the original draft so it was pretty fun to write. I do enjoy the twins' characters as it's always fun for me to explore writing them. Plus Woo Bin being a good brother, and just generally more Woo Bin. Also mentions of Jae Kyung! I have a bit of inspiration again so let's see how far along I can take these extra chapters. :D
Please read and review, I'm so happy to read them and they give me fuel. I'm sorry I don't have time to thank each and every one of you but please be reassured I read them all and treasure each one and they definitely motivate me to update and write more. Love love love, Comet
PS. If you are wondering whom I imagine as Hyun Jae if this were turned to a season 2 of BOF, I imagined IU ( . ) playing her. For reasons that is IU is an amazing musician and actress and I absolutely admire her guitar skills and voice. Oh if it were only possible for BOF to have a second season with these plot I would give anything. hehe anyway please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think! ^^