Author's Note: I'm sorry, yesterday it was Tuesday and it totally slipped my mind :(
As you'll notice, I did a time jump in this chapter, skipping all the part in the drama where Jun Pyo lost his memory. I did it because I didn't want to mix that part with what I did in this chapter, I felt Yi Jeong and Ga Eul deserved to face this last thing with their mind free of everything else, to concentrate on themselves.
Next chapter will be the last one... and then it's all over!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Well, I didn't expect it to be easy, but Jan Di and Jun Pyo set a sort of record." Yi Jeong told Ga Eul. They were in his workshop drinking tea, a couple of days after what would later be renamed "the pool scare".
Ga Eul shook her head, still bewildered by what had happened at that party. "I don't know whether to be grateful I wasn't there or not. I think I would have been frightened to death when Jan Di jumped in the pool."
"I thought I was going to have a heart attack." Yi Jeong confessed. "I honestly didn't know what to do, how to help. And then Jun Pyo jumped in the water, and he was always terrified of water!"
He sipped his tea, remembering the moment when Jun Pyo had called Jan Di by name. The relief in knowing his friend had finally come to his senses, that he was whole again.
"That Jang Yumi..." Ga Eul snorted. "I wish she was still here to give her a piece of my mind. She tried to manipulate Jun Pyo sunbae! She almost indirectly killed Jan Di!"
"Easy sweetheart," Yi Jeong chuckled before looking at her with a hint of steel in his eyes, "I can assure you that girl will wish she never met Jun Pyo. Nobody messes with the F4."
"Unless they are called Geum Jan Di or Chu Ga Eul." She replied with a half laugh. "Or Ha Jae Kyung. Do you think Woo Bin sunbae already landed?"
Yi Jeong looked at his watch before shaking his head. "He still has some hours to go. It's a long flight to New York."
Ga Eul looked worried while putting down her cup. "Do you think he will be allowed to meet her?"
"Woo Bin won't let anyone keep him away from Monkey." Yi Jeong laughed. "If her parents won't let him visit, I'm pretty sure he will kidnap her and smuggle her back to Korea. After marrying her."
"Marrying her?" Ga Eul's eyes went wide.
"Oh yes. He's completely crazy about her. He left with a ring in his pocket. I bet Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo that he'll come back married or at least engaged."
"But his family..."
"They won't say a word. Monkey can bring a world of wealth into Woo Bin's family, it's a match they will approve."
"Well, at least that's settled then." Ga Eul smiled. "Although I hope they will have the wedding here. I want to see it!"
Yi Jeong smiled back and started replying when his phone rang. He went immediately still while slowly reaching for his pocket. It was his father's ringtone. Why was his father calling him? He never did. A sudden apprehension strangled him.
"Has something happened to Mother?" He didn't even bother to say hello. His father would only call him for the direst reasons.
"No. Your mother is fine." Hyun Sub's voice was quiet. "Your grandfather is planning to do something about your girl though. Be warned."
The call was disconnected. And, just with one sentence, Yi Jeong's world came crushing down.
...
"Sunbae, I'm not going to run." Ga Eul said with a determined glint in her eyes. "First of all, where would I go? Second, I'm not afraid. We promised to stick together and that's all I need. As long as you're by my side, I can face anything."
Yi Jeong was pacing, digging a hole in his floor, barely listening to Ga Eul. His grandfather was finally ready to mess with his relationship. He must have realized Yi Jeong was serious about Ga Eul and would never accept a mating of his choosing. In a way Jun Pyo had both saved and damned him; his failed wedding ceremony had been the gossip of the year, people were still talking about that. His grandfather probably dreaded the moment when he would try to force Yi Jeong to marry and he would crush Ga Eul under his thumb for that reason, to prevent Yi Jeong from rebelling.
"I can't lose you." He said, fisting his hands. His hands... true to his word, he was undergoing physical therapy for his damaged nerves. It was painful but the doctors were positive he would gain his full strength back. He could be a potter again. And it was all because of his sweet country bumpkin. No, he couldn't lose her, it would be like being shut in the dark without hope or air or sun. He would never survive. He would die of anguish.
"And you won't." Ga Eul stopped him, putting both her hands on his face and making him look at her. "I'm right here sunbae. I'm not going anywhere. Nothing he can say or do will make me decide to leave you."
"You saw what happened to Jan Di..."
"And I know it won't happen to us." She interrupted him. "Because we won't let it. Because we'll go talk to your grandfather and sort this out before he does anything."
Yi Jeong looked at his insane girlfriend. "Are you crazy? Talk with him? You can't talk with my grandfather. He's used to order people around. He won't hear a word of what we have to say. And besides, I prepared for this. I moved my money, invested it where my family can't touch it. When my hand recovers, I can earn more with pottery. We can have a good life even if I'm not the So heir anymore."
But apparently he hadn't been careful enough in all his maneuvers and his grandfather had noticed Yi Jeong was taking steps to ensure the threat of a disinheritance wouldn't touch him. He would hurt Ga Eul. He would make her cry. He would go after her and her family. No!
Calm yourself. Take a deep breath and calm down. Your country bumpkin needs you. Don't panic now.
"Alright. Alright." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "You're probably right. We should talk to him. We should try to make him understand. At least we should try to do something before he decides to target you or your family. But what can we tell him? What will it take to sway him?"
"Leave that to me, sunbae." Ga Eul replied, a hint of steel in her eyes. "We'll bring ammunitions with us."
...
Yi Jeong was so nervous that he was ready to jump out of his skin. This was it. The moment of truth. If this didn't work, there would be war between him and his grandfather and, no doubt, he would lose. But then, maybe it wouldn't be so terrible to be cast out of the So family. After all, his brother managed just fine and Yi Jeong already took steps to make sure he would live comfortably for the rest of his life. His only real regret was that he would have to give up the museum. But he would have Ga Eul. She was worth everything.
Taking a deep breath, Yi Jeong looked at his country bumpkin, still wondering what good deed Heaven was rewarding in sending her to him. She saved him, no doubt about that. She saved him from a life of misery, of self loathe, of desperation and endless longing for something he would never have.
"Are you ready to do this?" Another voice asked him, much more confident that he felt at the moment. His brother stood beside him with Eun Jae, looking at him with a stare that conveyed both love and unending support.
"I think I'll never be ready, hyung." Yi Jeong sighed. "But if I don't, I'll always live in fear. I'm past that. I'm ready to start the rest of my life, and this is the obstacle I need to overcome."
"We're here." Eun Jae said, smiling gently. "We'll support you."
Yi Jeong nodded and squeezed Ga Eul's hand, before opening the door to his grandfather's study. He only had bad memories of that place, it was the room he was called to when it was time to punish or chastise him. The worst time had been when he had been ordered to forget he ever had a brother. Yi Jeong was still ashamed that he never rebelled against that absurdity.
His grandfather was behind his desk, and not for the first time he wondered if time simply decided to skip the boring process of aging him: ever the rock of the So family, Yi Jeon'g grandfather was intimidating, his gaze focused, his demeanor impeccable.
"And what," the old man said, looking up from a stack of documents, "is the meaning of this?"
No hello. No, pleasantries. That's my grandfather, always right to the point.
"Harabeoji," Yi Jeong said, bowing his head. "We came today to talk to you."
"Indeed," was the answer. "I don't recall giving him permission to come here." He was clearly pointing at Il Hyun, but the man simply smiled and squeezed Eun Jae's hand.
"Yes, it's good to see you too."
"You brought the commoner as well. What a charming company you keep these days, Yi Jeong."
"Her name is Chu Ga Eul." Yi Jeong hesitated, clearly torn between being intimidated by his grandfather and his desire to talk this out. "I know you're aware of who she is to me. I know you don't approve. But can we please talk about this before you decide to do everything you can to separate us?"
"You know, I admire this new spine of yours." The man leaned back on his chair, clearly enjoying seeing the youth squirming before him. "So, talk, grandson. Plead your case to me. Tell me about this relationship of yours. Especially enlighten me about the reason you think a commoner is worthy of you and your fortune. Is she a gold digger? Is she willing to turn a blind eyes to your... future escapades? I can see it is indeed a valuable skill in the women of this family."
Ga Eul's hand squeezed his own and he knew that his grandfather's words had hit her. He set his jaw, and took a step forward. "With all due respect, harabeoji, I didn't come here to plead. I love Ga Eul. I intend to have a future with her, and there won't be any side relationship. I'm faithful to her."
"So this is more a declaration of intent than an attempt to persuade me." Yi Jeong's grandfather looked at Il Hyun. "And why did you bring him?"
"I asked Il Hyun sunbae to come." Ga Eul said, steeling her spine and looking the man in the eyes. When she first entered the room she hadn't been sure she would actually manage to talk to him, but all the venom spewing from his mouth had given her the necessary courage. "Because I think you need to see once and for all what you're willing to give up."
"And that would be?" He asked, raising his brow. If he was surprised Ga Eul was talking directly to him, he never showed it.
"Your legacy." Ga Eul simply replied. "You had two grandchildren before you decided to toss one out. Now you're ready to threaten the same fate to the other, but you must know that won't end well, not after what happened with Jun Pyo sunbae. He set the precedent."
Yi Jeong was so proud of her that he was ready to burst. "She's right. You can disinherit me, take the museum away, and I'll still be with Ga Eul. I'm not giving her up, harabeoji."
"Are you that ready to give up seeing your future great-grandchildren?" Il Hyun asked then, his presence a quiet force behind Yi Jeong. "I asked Eun Jae to marry me, yesterday. Children will follow. And if you persist in your thirst for more power and more money, you won't ever meet them. Or Yi Jeong's children. You'll be alone in this magnificent house, and it will be silent. You'll have nurses and the best care money can buy, but no comfort."
The man was silent for a second. "Your brother," he told Yi Jeong then, "he's ending up married to the girl I selected for him. He may not have followed the path I wished for him, but the conclusion will be the same. What makes you think I would choose poorly for you when I didn't with him?"
"You didn't choose that wisely for me, abeoji," a voice called from the door. Yi Jeong turned around, surprised to see his father there. "Or are you claiming my wife is the best match you could have arranged?"
For the first time since the beginning of this confrontation, Yi Jeong saw his grandfather upset. "And whose fault was that? You ruined her. I gave you a perfect woman and you degraded her to the point that she lost all the will to live."
"You gave me a doll, without brains or aspiration beside being pampered and spoiled. And when I stopped doing that, she crumbled. But this stops now, abeoji." Hyun Sub stepped forward until he reached his father's desk. "Her nurse is packing up as we speak, I'm sending my wife to a psychiatric ward that will finally help her rebuild herself."
"You're not!" Yi Jeong's grandfather shot up from his chair. "I will not allow it!"
"It's already done." Hyun Sub replied. "Despite what you think of me, I still have an ounce of decency within me. I'm done ruining that woman's life. It took seeing Yi Jeong with his girl to finally drive home the point that I allowed your decisions and my poor judgment to destroy both me and her. I'll make sure she gets the best care and when she's lucid again I'm going to discuss getting a divorce so we can finally both be free."
For the first time in his life, Yi Jeong saw his grandfather truly speechless. He pressed the advantage. "I agree with abeoji. Mother needs help and they both need to rebuild their life. I'm begging you, harabeoji, reconsider your position. Allow us to be a family again. Be there for hyung's wedding, be there for me, for any future children. Isn't it time that the So family tries to look forward instead of clinging to old traditions?"