Chapter 35: Four

Woo Bin had finally come out with the truth. Hye Rim had finally had the courage to give a silent bow towards the group in greeting.

No one said much of anything. They were too stunned by the news.

"We'll be staying in a water bungalow instead of the hotel," he announced to break the ice. "Figured I could give you feedback on the value, Jun Pyo."

"Thank you," said Jun Pyo, looking like he was still trying to piece together the fact that Woo Bin was engaged.

Yi Jeong looked a mixture of shocked and confused. Ga Eul looked relieved that she no longer had to hide a secret from him but surprised that the relationship was in an engagement stage, and Jan Di looked like she didn't know what to think. Ji Hoo was grinning, seeing as he had known all along and got some joy out of seeing Woo Bin sweat.

It was then that Woo Bin noticed that Sun Hi was hiding from him.

"Ah," he searched her out from behind Ji Hoo, "you must be Lee Sun Hi. My man Ji Hoo has told us a lot about you. I'm Song Woo Bin."

"Hello," she greeted him nervously and very formally, avoiding eye contact.

He snickered. "Don't worry. I come in peace. I left my bodyguards and metal pipe back in Seoul."

The others chuckled, finally broken of their daze, and he saw her crack a smile.

"Sorry," she said to him apologetically. "I was unsure of what to expect. I can be a bit naïve."

She then smiled at Hye Rim, who frowned at her and linked her arm around Woo Bin's even tighter.

"After you claim your bags and send them off, let's have a drink," Jun Pyo suggested in a friendly manner. Woo Bin knew what he really meant though. He wanted to get the F4 alone so that they could make sense of his announcement and press him for details.

After claiming their bags, Woo Bin sent them off to the water bungalow they would be staying and took a quick tour of the resort with the group. Woo Bin kept Hye Rim close to him, until the men wanted to go for their drink, and the girls wanted to go back to the hotel to get ready for their plan events for the day. Hye Rim was made to follow.

"Four months!" Yi Jeong exclaimed more to the air than Woo Bin, his eyes bulging. They were at the bar, nursing their drinks, and Yi Jeong had been the first to call him out. "Four months and you said nothing? Were you going to wait until you were walking down the aisle?"

"You guys were busy!" Woo Bin tried to defend himself, which was a new experience. He was usually the peacekeeper who stayed away from drama, not caused it in his friendship circle. "Yi Jeong had his art show and was promoting, Jun Pyo is hardly ever in the country anymore, and Ji Hoo is a doctor always rushing off. Besides, Ji Hoo kept someone hidden from us. He was just caught."

"Ji Hoo isn't engaged, and Sun Hi arrived for the trip on time," stated Jun Pyo, swiveling around his drink in his glass contemplatively. "There were many times you could have told us."

Woo Bin looked at Ji Hoo, hoping he would rescue him. He had not directly come out and told Ji Hoo what was going on, but Ji Hoo had guessed right that day long ago at the hospital when Woo Bin had come to complain to him. Ji Hoo was no help in this current situation however. He simply sipped at his glass, a humorous smirk on his lips.

Then the three men looked at him, expecting him to tell the truth. No one looked upset, not even Yi Jeong, who seemed the most effected. They simply looked concerned, as if Woo Bin had been working to distance himself from them and they had just found out. This was not his intention, but it was hard to defend that at the moment as well.

"Ok, ok. Our parents arranged it, and I was embarrassed. I wanted to hide that side from you guys, but it became too hard. Then, love started to grow," Woo Bin broke and told them. He did a shot of his glass of alcohol. "Hye Rim's not the easiest girl to like, but she's the woman I love so please be kind to her."

The three men were quiet momentarily until they all laughed. Relieved, Woo Bin smiled guiltily at them.

"Yes, you must feel embarrassed. The hair, the face, the legs, the other things I'm sure you two have indulged in," said Yi Jeong bumping shoulders with him. "When can I get Ga Eul in a dress like that? I want to feel embarrassed too."

On the other side of him, Jun Pyo punched him in the arm playfully. "You got lucky. She matches you well."

"She's trouble," Woo Bin said wistfully, as if it were both a turn on and a curse.

Ji Hoo finally added his two sense of wisdom. "Jan Di was trouble. I have a feeling Hye Rim will be something entirely different. I'll try my best this week."

"I've met all kinds of girls in my lifetime. I doubt Hye Rim will show me anything new," said Yi Jeong, reassuring Woo Bin that he would also try his best during the vacation.

Woo Bin looked at Jun Pyo expectantly. Jun Pyo patted him on the shoulder. "I can't hide my annoyance well, you know that. I can't promise anything, but I'll try. All I care about is that Jan Di has a good birthday."

"Good enough, but either way, I'm marrying her." They all drank from their glasses in thought once more.

Woo Bin wanted the attention off of him, and remembered that Ji Hoo had brought along someone new too. "Ah, Ji Hoo, Sun Hi is very pretty, very innocent. She looks shy being here with all of us, but I can tell by her smile that she has the charm you like. She's far from being a sick, lonely patient."

"Ji Hoo's love nursed her back to health," said Yi Jeong, and all of the boys laughed. Ji Hoo looked away and shook his head, then cracked a smile.

"Well I think it's about time for all of you," said Jun Pyo. "How is it that I'm the only one married? It's true, I was fortunate to find the most perfect woman, but how can my friends face me as men?"

Again the boys laughed, this time at Jun Pyo's expense.

"I'm engaged, and Yi Jeong is proposing to Ga Eul soon, or so he says. That leaves Ji Hoo," Woo Bin said matter-of-factly.

"So what about it?" Yi Jeong asked Ji Hoo, ignoring Woo Bin's comment that in three months time, he still had not proposed. "Is Sun Hi the one?"

"Of course she's the one, Ji Hoo. Jan Di likes her and thinks you two are suitable for each other," said Jun Pyo.

Ji Hoo looked around at them. "It's true. I've liked her since the beginning, when I saw her at her weakest. I thought it was because I was a doctor who wanted to protect his vulnerable patient, but when she was at her strongest, I liked her even more."

"If you can like someone at their weakest and strongest, then I think they're the one," said Woo Bin.

"I just want to make sure," Ji Hoo replied. "I've had strong feelings for people in the past, and I want to make sure I can give her the same amount of love if not more."

Jun Pyo smiled. "You should've seen him that day in the park. He was close to holding her hand and they were smiling at each other and couldn't stop talking. When Ji Hoo saw us, I thought his face might melt. He wanted to protect her from the craziness of the F4. Same with you, Woo Bin."

"I might need to protect the F4 from Hye Rim's craziness," Woo Bin muttered into his glass.

The men chuckled then began to plan the itinerary for the next few days on the island.

Sun Hi had tried to prepare herself to meet Woo Bin, but she had not been prepared to meet Im Hye Rim, the fox-like girl who was engaged to him. The engagement seemed to be a surprise to all of them, except maybe Ji Hoo.

Hye Rim looked like she had walked straight out of a fashion magazine, her hair falling perfectly around her shoulders, her features even and well-placed, her flattering S-line, and long legs lengthened even more by heels. She was the exact girl that Sun Hi had expected the F4 to date, gorgeous and rich, but Hye Rim was vastly different from her and her unnies.

Her confidence was intimidating too. She seemed on another level, out of reach, and this caused Sun Hi to feel even more out of place on this trip. The F4 had picked these women, but Ji Hoo had not truly picked her just yet. She was simply a poor tag-along. Still, despite this intimidation, Sun Hi was also enthralled by the girl.

After Woo Bin and Hye Rim's luggage was squared away, the four men went off to have a drink at the hotel bar while the girls went upstairs of the hotel to have a glass of wine in Jan Di and Jun Pyo's suite. The wine was Ga Eul's idea, as Jan Di said it was too early and only wanted juice. Hye Rim had two glasses, which she gulped down quickly.

"So, since the boys are together, we should do something together today. We should get to know each other," said Jan Di politely to the group, but speaking mainly to Hye Rim.

Hye Rim said nothing.

"Hye Rim, how do you like the island so far? Is there anything you want to do today?" Ga Eul tried.

"If you've seen one luxury island, you've seen them all. I doubt this place is any different," the girl replied in boredom. "I'll leave first," she then announced, pulling down her sunglasses and rising from the table.

When she left the room, the three girls exchanged glances at each other.

"She's definitely Woo Bin's type looks-wise," commented Jan Di.

"But it's clear she doesn't like us, or the F4," said Ga Eul. "Still, as her unnies we should try to include her. She'll come around."

"Did you see her dress? So sexy!" Sun Hi couldn't help but smile even though the girl had been cold. "I could never look flattering like that in such a thing."

"I wouldn't have the courage to put it on," laughed Jan Di.

Ga Eul was quiet. The girls asked her what was on her mind.

"Yi Jeong sunbae used to like girls like that. Did you see the look on his face when she appeared?"

"He looked like the rest of us, shocked."

"Besides, Unnie, I can tell Yi Jeong really likes you," Sun Hi comforted her. That seemed to cheer Ga Eul up.

"Wait," Jan Di said excitedly, "I know something that we can include her in. Something I bet she won't say no to."

Jan Di ran into the hallway, followed by Ga Eul and Sun Hi. "Hye Rim!" she shouted as the girl was still continuing down the hall to the elevators. "We thought you might like to go shopping with us."

Hye Rim stopped dead in her tracks. She turned slowly with curiosity. "Shopping?"

"Yeah," Jan Di nodded.

To their surprise, Hye Rim actually looked interested. "I'll go get my credit card. No," she corrected herself, smiling mischievously, "I'll go get Oppa's credit card. Wait for me."

"There's one thing I've learned about rich women," said Jan Di, as Hye Rim stepped quickly into an elevator to go get Woo Bin's credit card. "Retail therapy cures everything."