Author's notes: Okay, I have to admit - I started this new document on a spur of a moment. I'm not even sure if I would persevere to the end with this new idea. Either way, I was reading English Fics on the SoEul couple from the TV show Boys Over Flowers [Korean Version] and thought, perhaps I should try my hands in writing something on the couple. I had my fair share of dabbling in the ship with the Chinese language but I have never tried writing it in English before.
Summary: [AU] Chu Ga Eul has always been a country bumpkin in the eyes of the F4. Especially so, in the case of So Yi Jeong, the renowned Korean Casanova. But what if… Chu Ga Eul wasn't really a country bumpkin, nor was she the ordinary commoner friend of Geum Jan Di that everyone thought her out to be? And this secret side of hers was revealed unintentionally to the Korean Casanova of F4, how would that affect the entire story flow in the Boys over Flowers universe?
Title: Secret of the Autumn
Chapter 5 - The friendship crisis of F4, Part 1
"Ga Eul-yang, wake up. We have arrived." So Yi Jeong, the infamous Casanova of F4 announced aloud - his voice shaking Chu Ga Eul out from a light doze.
Blinking several times to get her mind reoriented to her surroundings, Chu Ga Eul stifled another yawn before stretching her arms over her head - a routine of hers while getting out of bed, before turning towards the direction of the driver's seat and commenting bashfully to the Korean Casanova. "Thank you for the ride, sunbae. And I'm sorry for falling asleep in your presence."
"Huh?" At first, the Korean Casanova had seemed baffled at the word of apology spilling forth from the lips of Chu Ga Eul. But when he came to realize that the girl is actually apologizing to him for falling asleep in his presence. So Yi Jeong simply couldn't help but allow a look of amusement to form on his face as he waved off the matter nonchalantly.
"It's fine, Ga Eul-yang. Although I do have to admit, I seldom encountered girls who fell asleep in the passenger seat of my orange lotus when I offered to give them a ride." So Yi Jeong commented teasingly in response, looking amused as he flashes one of his charming smiles in the direction of the country bumpkin.
"I gathered as much. Those girls are more likely to swoon in your presence under that particular scenario. Alright, once again… thank you for sending me home and keeping me away from being mobbed by the press earlier at the airport. Have a good day ahead, sunbae." Chu Ga Eul responded, unbuckling the seat belt from her person so she could step out of the car to collect her luggage from the car-boot of the orange lotus.
"You're welcome, Ga Eul-yang." The Korean Casanova responded while stepping out of the car as well intending to help the country bumpkin with the retrieval of her baggage from the boot of his car. His actions got him yet another word of gratitude and a polite smile from the country bumpkin, which he returned with a polite smile of his own.
Chu Ga Eul waited until the orange lotus of the Korean Casanova disappeared completely from her sight, before turning towards the front porch of her family home. The residence for the Chu family is a cozy, little house with two stories completes with its own front porch with a tiny patch of lawn space, as well as a parking lot space for a single vehicle.
The first story of the house is made up of the living room, kitchen, powder room, a moderate-size dining area in place of an actual dining room, and a room that has been modeled and furnished into a home office space. There are three bedrooms in this cozy little house, and all of them are located on the second floor with the master bedroom suite taking up one side of the house, and the remaining two similar-size bedrooms taking up the other side.
"I'm home." Chu Ga Eul announced as she stepped over the threshold of her family home after having unlocked the front door with her own set of keys.
At first glance, it would seem as though nobody is at home. But a closer inspection revealed to Ga Eul that there's light coming from the room that functions as a home office. A glance towards the direction where the wall clock was situated informed Ga Eul that it's 5.30pm in the evening. Still a tad early for her parents to be home from work, but definitely considered late for her little brother to still be in school.
So, heading towards the room where the light is emitting from… Chu Ga Eul pushes open the door to the home office expecting to find her 13-years-old brother, Chu Jung Min playing on the computer only to be surprised by the figure of her father - Chu Su Won, seated behind the work desk.
"Appa, shouldn't you be at work still?" Chu Ga Eul started, surprise coloring her tone as she addressed her adoptive parent.
"Hmm…? Oh, Ga Eul ah… welcome home. Did you just get back in? Sorry for not meeting you out front, I didn't hear you coming in." Chu Su Won responded, looking up from the screen of the computer unit to glance at his daughter in everything but blood.
"Yes, I just got back. It's fine, I'm not a kid anymore… I can handle opening the front door to the house on my own. But you've not answered my question from before…" Chu Ga Eul told her father, pouting towards the end of her words.
It took a few seconds for Chu Su Won to recall just what exactly Ga Eul had asked him when she poke her head through the doorway that separated the home office from the rest of the house. When he finally did recall his daughter's question, the man pinched the bridge of his nose wearily before addressing Ga Eul.
"Sorry, my dear… I wasn't ignoring your question on purpose. Anyway, in response to your earlier inquiry about why I wasn't at work… well, the thing is I am working. Only not from the office but from home at present. As for the reason why… well, I'm sure you've heard about the series of scandalous news featuring your mother recently? The reporters, especially those that work for tabloids, in particular… could be quite relentless in their pursuits for story coverage. Long story short, they have been staking out at the place where I work for several days in a row… so my direct superior had requested for me to work out from home until the buzz dies down. So, here I am… working out from the comfort of the home office in our home residence."
"I see… and where's Eomma?" Ga Eul nodded, before inquiring her father about the whereabouts of her mother. As the main focus for the series of scandalous news, she could hardly imagine that her mother would still be working out from the office building… and with her father already working from home, it's all the more likely for her mother to do the same as well.
True enough, Ga Eul's thoughts were proven right when her father responded without looking away from the screen of the computer. "Your mother is over at the Shinhwa Hotel with your biological father, in preparation for the press conference scheduled to take place at 7pm tonight. Of course, your mother isn't going to remain there until the press conference start… she's simply there to oversee the set-up for the press conference and to speak to your biological father on the subject before the press starts to arrive. I gathered she would be home by the time the press conference begins."
"... What do you reckon Eomma would want to speak to Chichiue about?" Ga Eul asks, not really expecting any response from her adoptive parent and thus was genuinely surprised when she receives a reply from Chu Su Won, without delay.
"Knowing your mom, she's probably going to give that biological father of yours a piece of her mind for not giving her any warning on the recent events she had undergone. Honestly, I've never seen her behaving in such a flustered manner for a very long time. The last time she behaved in this manner, was upon her discovery of her pregnancy with you during her annual medical health check." Chu Su Won responded, sounding oddly amused for some reason.
"I see… and where's Jung Min? Isn't it way past the usual let-out time for his school? Why isn't he at home?" Ga Eul inquires about the whereabouts of her little brother next, curious about why her brother isn't home on a weekday.
"Jung Min is with your aunt over at Namhaedo. Your mother didn't want him around when the scandalous news broke, so she arranges for him to take a leave of absence from school." Chu Su Won explained patiently, even though this particular conversation with Ga Eul is likely to hinder his work progress for the day.
"... Appa, just how aware is Jung Min about Mom's past with Chichiue?" Chu Ga Eul hesitated for a moment, before voicing her query across to the man whom she had dubbed 'Father' since the day she was born, despite having no blood relations.
"Enough to know that your mom isn't a homewrecker nor a cheating slut. Of course, your mom had sat him down after you left for your vacation trip to New Caledonia to inform him that the two of you were born to different fathers. Something to prep him up when your status as the illegitimate daughter of Miyazawa Hideaki was exposed to the public, I supposed." Chu Su Won commented as he filled his adoptive daughter in about the events that transpired in their home while the girl is out of town.
"And how did Jung Min take it?" Ga Eul asks, a little fearful about the reaction her younger brother might have concerning this little bit of news.
"He threw a tantrum if you must know. Refuses to believe it, until your mother gets your aunt to verify the story upon dropping him off at Namhaedo." Chu Su Won deadpans in response.
"Right… is there anything else which I should know?" Ga Eul knew that her father is likely busy, and so decided to leave her father to work in peace. But before that, she would like to know if there's anything that should be brought up to her attention.
"Now that you'd mentioned it… I think Kazuki dropped by last night with your new school uniform and a folder of information? He left it on the desk in your room, feel free to go through it." Chu Su Won commented then, the memory rushing to the forefront of his mind after being reminded by Ga Eul.
"Alright. I'll leave you alone to work in peace now." Ga Eul said, turning on her heels to leave the home office room for the direction of her own bedroom.
After leaving the home office of the house, Ga Eul went back out to the living room to sort out the items in her suitcase. There is no way she would be able to lug her entire suitcase full of things up the flight of stairs without help, so, Ga Eul decided to empty her suitcase in the living room first. From there, she could retrieve the clothes that need to be laundered and set them aside as well as pick out items that could be left downstairs until later. Eventually, the unpacking took her half an hour to complete and by the time she's done with the sorting - her suitcase is 50% lighter than it was as compared to the time when she had just stepped into the house.
Setting the two bottles of vintage wines she had gotten from Sovidal Plaza - one of the wine retailers in New Caledonia under the recommendation of a certain Casanova of F4; on the coffee table in the living room. Ga Eul went on to bring the rest of the souvenirs upstairs to her room for safe-keeping, the wines are definitely the heaviest weighted item among the list of souvenirs she had picked up for her family friends, and relatives.
Once back upstairs, Ga Eul left her suitcase at the foot of her queen-size bed before heading over to where her desk stood in the room to check on the folder of information brought over by Kazuki as mentioned to her by her father earlier on. The folder turns out to be the information about her impending transfer to the Shinhwa Academy and neatly wrapped up in plastic packaging next to the folder are three sets of uniforms from the infamous Shinhwa Academy.
Setting aside the uniforms for later, Ga Eul picked up the folder of information about the Shinhwa Academy and brought them over to her bed while reaching for her IPAD device from her backpack to contact her half-brother through the Line Messenger. A look at the battery level on the IPAD device informed her that she likely still had enough power to last for another 40 minutes before the battery of the device would go completely flat.
Line Messenger - Private chat with Miyazawa Kazuki
Ga Eul: Kazuki, are you there?
Kazuki: Yes, I'm here. Welcome back to Seoul, BTW.
Ga Eul: How did you know I'm back in Seoul?
Kazuki: Saw the Don Juan of F4 in school about 45 minutes ago? He's looking for Gu Jun Pyo, I reckon… only the Shinhwa heir wasn't in school today either. So, the Don Juan likely made a wasted trip over. *Shrugging Emoji*
Ga Eul: Right… so, what you're saying is that Gu Jun Pyo hasn't been turning up in school over the past two days?
Kazuki: Yes. Including today, it would be three days. But I doubt anyone would call him out on it since his family literally own the school.
PS: Have you seen the items I dropped off at your place?
Ga Eul: If you're referring to the school uniforms and the information pack of Shinhwa Academy - yes. I have seen them, in fact, I'm going through the information pack as I chat with you now.
Kazuki: Lovely, in the folder there should be a form titled course selection. Please fill that up and have it submitted to the admin office of Shinhwa High ASAP.
Ga Eul: … By ASAP, how soon are you talking about?
Kazuki: Within the week, if possible, that way, you would be able to transfer in by the end of next week [which would be this month-end, essentially]
Ga Eul: In short, I'm looking at starting classes in Shinhwa High in the last week of January.
Kazuki: Ideally speaking, yes.
Ga Eul: I'm almost afraid to ask… but how did I get accepted into Shinhwa High? Jan Di was able to transfer in under the scholarship scheme offered to her, after that entire 'Wonder Woman of Korea' fiasco as instructed by the member on the higher management team of the Shinhwa Group working to salvage the corporate image. You got in alongside Shuichi and Shunsuke under the exchange program scheme in place between Hyotei and Shinhwa… what about me? How did I get in?
Kazuki: As it turns out… father-dearest is a friend of Gu Bon Hyeong, the owner of the Shinhwa group. So, he pulled some strings in the background to get your transfer request accepted by the school.
Ga Eul: O_O Okay… just found the information that I need. So, I'm been offered a spot in Shinhwa Academy due to my excellent performance in the academic aspects. As such, I'm offered an academic scholarship fully sponsored by the Miyazawa F&B Group to attend classes in Shinhwa Academy?! =_=; Should I be glad that my school fees aren't sponsored by the Shinhwa Group, since I'm getting transferred into Shinhwa Academy under the scholarship scheme?
Kazuki: *Sweat-drop Emoji* Well… under the usual circumstances, the fees are usually sponsored by the Shinhwa Group. However, we all know this is a farce in your case. Chichiue isn't going to let the Shinhwa Group sponsor your tuition fees, not if he could help it. Still, the fact remains that to transfer you into Shinhwa we need a good cover story. Either way, he says and I quoted 'things wouldn't have been this complicated if your mother had heeded his words of suggestion and enrolled you in Shinhwa from day 1 when you're due to begin your kindergarten education'.
But your mother and Su Won-Ji has disagreed with Chichiue's suggestion then, citing that they are already drawing suspicions from their family friends who didn't know any better about the truth behind their marriage - when they agreed to send you off for enrichment classes organized by the Su Am Arts Center. Enrolling you into Shinhwa Academy would definitely bring in a bunch of nosy members from their extended family to start poking their nose into the financial capability of your family. Thus, Chichiue reluctantly stepped down and allow your mother to send you off to a public school where you proceed to make your first friend in the form of the Wonder Woman of Korea. *Shrugging Emoji*
Ga Eul: Right… and just how exactly did you come across this little bit of detail? This doesn't seem like the type of topic that would come up over dinner, in my opinion.
Kazuki: Ah... you're right that this topic didn't make it to the dinner table at home. And our recently deceased grandmother wouldn't have taken it well for Chichiue to speak about your mother in front of my mother. So, nope - this topic has never been brought up for discussion over family dinner. As for how I chanced upon such information… I sort of overheard Chichiue lamenting on the subject over the phone with someone… likely Gu Bon Hyeong, I suspected though I have no actual proof.
Ga Eul: Right…and how long would he be staying in Seoul, this time?
Kazuki: Until this weekend is over, I reckon… *Shrugging Emoji* Why do you ask?
Ga Eul: Noted. Well, I'd bought him a souvenir gift from New Caledonia and would prefer getting it to him without having to resort to an international courier. While on the subject, I might swing by the villa house in a day or two with the souvenirs for you and the boys. Now I've got to cut this conversation of ours short because the IPAD is running low on batt.
Kazuki: … I'm assuming you're talking about Shuichi and Shunsuke when you mention the boys?
Ga Eul: Yep. Too lazy to type out their names, so… *Shrugging Emoji*
Kazuki: *Roll eyes Emoji* anyway, do let me know before you decide to pop over, that way I can avoid heading out. Ciao~
Ga Eul: Ciao~
Location: Shinhwa Hotel
"Thank you for your hard work." Miyazawa Hideaki said as he approached the woman who was once the love of his life, from behind.
Meeting his ex-lover in person hasn't always been this easy, but thankfully the pain of seeing his ex-lover with another man has lessened with time. Although, he had no proof … Miyazawa Hideaki suspected that his ex-lover feels the same way when it comes down to seeing him escorting another woman around. After all, they had been passionately in love with one another at one point… and the fact that they parted ways due to a simple matter of opinion differences in life was a shame.
Chu Mi Young paused briefly upon the sound of her former beau addressing her, but she didn't turn to acknowledge the man. Instead, she continues with what she has been doing thus far - the act of adding final touches to a flower arrangement used in the set-up of the function room for the purpose of the press conference shortly. Only after she was done doing what she has been doing that the woman turn around to face the figure of Miyazawa Hideaki - her boss, ex-lover, and the father of her first-born child.
Meeting the man in the flesh didn't quite cause her pain like it used to, these days such meetings only managed to garner a dull ache in the deepest part of her heart. Besides, it's her own decision to bring an end to their relationship and so, she had nobody to blame for the present circumstances.
"Hideaki-Sama." Chu Mi Young greeted, shaking the bittersweet thoughts from her mind as she returns her focus to the present.
"... Do you have to always be so formal with me, Mi Young?" Miyazawa Hideaki sighed aloud as he meets eyes with the woman, he had loved whole-heartedly at one point.
"Considering that it's still office hours at present, I would say - the formality is warranted." Chu Mi Young stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"..." Staring incredulously at the woman in front of him, Miyazawa Hideaki rolls his eyes momentarily before checking the time on his wristwatch - a Royal Oak Jumbo timepiece from the luxury brand - Audemars Piguet. As soon as the time hit 6pm, the director of the Miyazawa F&B Group started to address the woman who was once his ex-lover, again.
"Alright, it's 6pm. Are you able to drop the formality with me now?" Miyazawa Hideaki started, sounding a tad exasperated.
"Of course, Hideaki. Shall we move over to the lounge and talk over tea?" Chu Mi Young suggested, as she finally stop being formal with the man. As much as she wished to give the man a piece of her mind regarding the recent scandalous news that centers around her, Chu Mi Young knows not to penalize the man who's essentially her big boss in public. So, she thought the least she could do is to move their conversation to somewhere that privacy is ensured.
Miyazawa Hideaki shrugged in response to Chu Mi Young's suggestion of having a conversation over tea in the hotel lounge. He didn't quite care for the place to have the conversation, as long as he gets to speak with the woman before the press conference began. And so, minutes later found them both seated in one of the VIP lounges in the hotel owned by the renowned Shinhwa Group.
"First of all, I guess I should start off with an apology to you." Miyazawa Hideaki began, shortly after their tea has been served by the staff-on-duty.
Raising an eyebrow up in a questioning manner, Chu Mi Young waited for further elaboration from the man seated opposite of her at present, in the VIP lounge of the Shinhwa hotel. Taking the questioning look from the woman as a signal for him to elaborate further, Miyazawa Hideaki sighed aloud as he spoke.
"In hindsight, I should have gotten Shinobu to mention something to you about the threats the company has received from the retrenched staff. Maybe then, you wouldn't have been caught off-guard by the series of slandering articles in the local news."
"Ah… yes, you do owe me an apology for that. I was quite unprepared when a reporter suddenly ambushed me and snapped a photograph of me dining with a male client out of nowhere before running off without a word. Imagine my surprise when a friend of mine who works in the media industry calls me up out of the blue warning me about an article insulating that I'm a cheap slag who climbed the social ladder through the means of sleeping with different men is in the process of being written." Chu Mi Young deadpans at her ex-lover and current top boss at her workplace with an unimpressed look on her face.
"I know, and I'm sorry for the trouble that arises from my latest decision concerning the policies in place for the business." Miyazawa Hideaki then said, bowing as he issued a formal apology to Chu Mi Young behind closed doors.
"Apology accepted." Chu Mi Young eventually sighed as she accepted the apology from her ex-lover, it's not as though she could hold a grudge against the man. After all, the man is her boss at the end of the day. It isn't as though her boss would need to seek her permission before setting some new policies in motion. It's one thing if she's his wife, but the truth is - she's simply an employee who also happens to be his ex-lover.
The next few minutes lapsed them by in silence as they sip at their tea, before Miyazawa Hideaki begin to speak up, again. This time, shifting the focus of the topic to the daughter he shared with the woman seated across him.
"How's Ga Eul coping with this turn of events? It couldn't have been easy for her in school…" Miyazawa Hideaki inquired, he had feared that something like this would happen with time and thus his repeated proposal for Ga Eul to transfer into Shinhwa. Not that the speculations would be any lesser, but at least, in Shinhwa… the students' reaction to such news wouldn't be as dramatic as the reactions of the students studying in a public school.
"That, I wouldn't know. The moment I knew of the article's existence, I promptly apply for a leave of absence for both my kids and then carted them off somewhere for a week." Chu Mi Young admitted, not in the least ashamed of her doings.
"... Where exactly did you cart them off to, if you don't mind me asking?" Miyazawa Hideaki was glad he wasn't drinking; else he might find himself choking on his tea.
"I send Jung Min off to my sister in Namhaedo, our history wasn't much of a secret over there… so, nobody would be speaking ill of my character in Namhaedo. Kids his age are a tad more sensitive, so, I was hoping the week away from school would help him come to terms with the situation at his own pace. Granted, on the topic of Ga Eul being our daughter... they have never asked me about it outright though, I believe they have their suspicion on the matter. After all, the way I've announced my decision to marry Su Won was a little too soon following my decision to break up with you back then. Not to mention, there's also the fact that Ga Eul was born a mere seven months after we tied the knot. I think the only people who have no clues that Ga Eul isn't Su Won's biological daughter is the relatives on his side, as far as the relatives on my side are concerned… they might not have verified the fact with me, but they certainly have an inkling about who the father of my daughter actually is." Chu Mi Young responded drily, shooting the man seated across from her in the VIP lounge of the hotel another look of annoyance.
Because really, if the man has at least provided her with some kind of warning as soon as the company started receiving threats from that guy who was retrenched… she wouldn't have the need to deal with the headaches that come along with the exposure of her daughter's origin. It's already bad enough dealing with the speculations on her character from the public, now she would have to deal with the criticism coming from the relatives on her husband's side of the family, too. Chu Mi Young allowed an audible sigh of weariness to escape from her lips, before refocusing her attention onto her ex-lover, again. This time, revealing to the man where exactly she had sent their daughter off to avoid dealing with the repercussions from the series of slandering articles revolving around her character.
"Coming back to Ga Eul, well… seeing as she wasn't completely in the dark about her origin, at least, I needn't worry about her getting a denial reaction out of this entire mess of a situation. Although, to avoid her from getting overly stressed out on the matter - I send her off with her friend and the F4 on a trip to New Caledonia. She's scheduled to return to Seoul today, in case you would like to know." Chu Mi Young responded, her tone matter-of-fact as she addressed the man she'd nearly married in the past.
If Miyazawa Hideaki was surprised by the information of his illegitimate daughter going on a trip to New Caledonia with the F4, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he simply nodded thoughtfully in response to the words of his ex-lover.
"That's a sound decision on your part, by sending your son off to your sister. While on the subject, do let me know if you think that there's a necessity to remove your son's presence in Korea for a while until all the buzz over this entire series of the event has fizzled out. I might be able to have your son's name placed onto the list of exchange students for Teiko Academy under the cultural exchange program scheme that would be taking place under a pilot scheme sometime in the next two months." Miyazawa Hideaki commented as he offered his ex-lover his assistance in getting her son with Chu Su Won over to Japan for a few months under a new cultural exchange program that's underway between the two countries.
"... Teiko Academy?" Chu Mi Young couldn't help but prompt, the corner of her lips twitching in amusement.
"Yes, Teiko. Hyotei already has an existing exchange program with Shinhwa Academy which is rather long-standing… Teiko, on the other hand, was upset about Shinhwa picking Hyotei over them… but recently, they were thinking about restarting the suspended exchange programs with the academic institutions in Korea, again. This time, not just setting their eyes on the Shinhwa Academy but expanding to include other schools in the vicinity of Seoul as well." The director of the Miyazawa F&B Group rolls his eyes as he explained the situation to his ex-lover, who couldn't help but smile at his response.
"Well… that's rather surprising. I would have thought that the competitive streak that existed between the two schools would have ceased with the change in the school directorship of Hyotei last year." Chu Mi Young commented, sounding quite amused by the information brought forth by her ex-lover about the two elite schools in Japan.
"It would have ceased if that old geezer retains his position as the school director for Teiko Academy, unfortunately, he suffered a mild stroke last month and had to pass down the role to his son. And guess what, it brought on a new generation of competition between the two academies." Miyazawa Hideaki deadpans in response, as he thought of the number of squabbles that he had to help diffuse over the entirety of the past month.
Teiko Academy and Hyotei Academy, two of the top elite schools in Japan were founded several decades ago by the family of Mizuhashi and Takano. Both families are well-known in the educational industry of Japan, with the Mizuhashi having founded Teiko Academy about half a century ago, making the academy one of the oldest elite schools in Japan to date. The Takano family, on the other hand, despite having established the Hyotei Academy only about 3 decades ago - owns the largest educational group, the Hyotei Group in present-day Tokyo. Under the management of the Hyotei Group, outside of the academy… it also included several franchises of elite tuition centers both in and outside of Japan.
Now, what have the two families got to do with Miyazawa Hideaki? The ironic reality side of things is that Miyazawa Hideaki is related to both the Mizuhashi family and the Takano family through marriage. His own mother - Miyazawa Renka, who has recently passed away at a ripe old age of 98 is a daughter of the Mizuhashi family that founded the Teiko Academy. Whereas his mother-in-law, who now goes by the name Takahashi Sachiko was formerly a Takano before marrying out to the Takahashi family where his own wife is descended from.
Although the two families are loggerheads, the relationship between the former Mizuhashi Renka (his mother) and the former Takano Sachiko (his mother-in-law) has always been good. In fact, the two women could very well be considered best friends to one another. That, ultimately, was the reason behind his arranged marriage to the heiress of the Takahashi family when he returned to Japan, heartbroken from the end of his relationship with Mi Young.
Of course, when Miyazawa Hideaki had first agreed to the marriage union with his wife - the former Takahashi Midori, the feelings that he had for the woman weren't anything more than friendship. In fact, the notion of marriage wasn't quite on his mind then, seeing as he just suffered from a heartbreak moment when the woman, he loves rejected his proposal for her hand in marriage. But alas, what fate has in store for Miyazawa Hideaki upon his return to Japan wasn't quite what he had originally imagined.
Miyazawa Hideaki hasn't got much time to dwell on the end of his romantic relationship with Mi Young when he was informed blatantly by his mother that his father – the founder of their family business, is terminally ill. It would appear that his father - Miyazawa Hizashi, has been diagnosed with liver cancer at a terminal stage and thus only has a few months at most, to live.
Shell-shocked from the information received, the heartbroken Miyazawa Hideaki had to start getting his personal affairs into order and ready himself to take over the family business without delay. And therein lies another problem - the unspoken rule that to succeed the business, the heir would need to be married. Apparently, that was one of the main reasons his parents haven't quite minded the fact that he has picked a commoner for his girlfriend when he informed his parents about the status of his love life when they decided to swing by Korea for an impromptu visit following the discovery of his father's deteriorating health.
In hindsight, he supposed that should have been the first warning sign of his impending successorship to the family business. Alas, Hideaki was simply relieved that his parents aren't against the notion of him dating a commoner to think anything weird with how fast they had accepted Mi Young's position in his life. Because otherwise, even though the Miyazawa family doesn't have anything against the idea of their heirs' dating commoners or marrying commoners… they would usually conduct a background check on the commoner before welcoming them into the family, which is exactly what had happened when Shinobu started to date Sakuraba Manabu, who's a lowly clerk working in the company then.
Either way, his parents had accepted Mi Young so readily because with the discovery of his father's ill-health…they don't exactly have the time to be picky about his choice of a potential bride. However, when it becomes apparent that things wouldn't be proceeding as anticipated… his mother ended up putting her backup plan into motion. And the backup plan was for him to marry Takahashi Midori, his childhood friend and the daughter of his mother's long-time friend.
With no time to lose, the wedding and his succession of the family business practically took place concurrently. Just when Hideaki was starting to get used to the life of being a married man, he received that fateful phone call from his ex-girlfriend informing him about the result of an unplanned pregnancy. If Hideaki was still single when the phone call came in, he would have claimed responsibility to marry the woman he loved without delay. Alas, the phone call came in a month too late - by that point, not only was Hideaki already married to his childhood friend but there's also the fact of his father being hospitalized in a state of frailty. Henceforth, a divorce isn't quite possible if the new director of the Miyazawa F&B Group didn't wish to drive his father to an early death.
Two weeks later, Miyazawa Hideaki received another call from Mi Young informing him that she had accepted the proposal of her childhood sweetheart - a young man by the name, Chu Su Won. He remembered Chu Su Won as the man that his ex-girlfriend would always look to for advice, as well as when she needed a confidant. At the same time, he also knew that the man played a significant part in Mi Young's decision to break up with him - three days after he proposed to Mi Young.
Under usual circumstances, Hideaki supposed he ought to feel anger towards the man. Yet, funnily enough… he found that he didn't quite have it in him to channel his ire towards the man who had robbed him of a future with the woman he loved. Perhaps, somewhere deep down in him - he already knew that the woman he loves wouldn't be happy living the life of a traditional housewife. That was why instead of getting angry and blowing up at the two of them, Hideaki had calmly packed up his belongings and left Korea behind with a broken heart.
The knowledge that Chu Su Won had taken up the responsibility that should have been his to shoulder, Miyazawa Hideaki was relieved because he knew Mi Young and his unborn child would be in safe hands under the care of Chu Su Won. Still, that doesn't mean that he's simply going to stand aside and let the man raise his biological child without getting a say in the way his son or daughter should be raised. And so, Hideaki began to negotiate with his mother by coming clean about how he had unintentionally left his ex-girlfriend pregnant. They kept things hush-hush for a while, not wanting to jeopardize the already ill-health condition of his hospitalized father.
Of course, Hideaki had also come clean to his wife on the matter before actually presenting his case to his mother. While coming clean to his wife on the fact that he had unintentionally left his former lover pregnant, Hideaki had also expressed his intention to provide monetary support to the mother and child, which thankfully is something that his wife agreed upon after listening to the entire story in a calming manner. Granted, it helped that their relationship was pretty much built upon a friendship that doesn't involve any romantic feelings. Otherwise, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy getting his wife on his side for this particular issue. And while it's a smooth ride to gain his wife's support on this, it's wasn't quite the same for the rest of his family. Regardless, through continuous negotiation with his mother – his efforts paid off. He had finally managed to get the rest of his family to agree on his stance for this particular matter, after spending months bartering with them on the extent of monetary support, he would be providing his illegitimate child with.
On the day of his ex-lover's marriage to Chu Su Won, Hideaki got himself utterly drunk in an attempt to numb the pain in his heart after getting his friend in Seoul to send a gift hamper to the couple on his behalf, wishing them well on the marriage union. And on the following day, Hideaki snapped himself out of his drunken haze to focus on doing his job as the new director of the Miyazawa F&B business while making a resolution to stop dwelling on the issue of a love that's been lost to him. During this period, his wife has been a constant pillar for him and eventually led him to find love, again. Granted, the kind of love he has with his wife wasn't quite the same passionate love he had held for Mi Young... it is still love.
Miyazawa Hideaki was drawn out from his thoughts when the door to the VIP lounge of Shinhwa Hotel was being knocked against.
"Come in." The director for the Miyazawa F&B Group calls out in response.
"Pardon my intrusion sir, but it's time for the press conference to begin." His personal assistant commented, after entering the room where he had been taking a stroll down his memory lane after his ex-lover has left him alone to his thoughts following the end of their conversation.
Gu Jun Pyo - the heir to the Shinhwa Group has been sitting in the dark for some time now. Some distance away, his mobile phone was left abandoned on the desk in his room. The phone has been ringing for some time but the Shinhwa heir made no moves to answer the call. After another few minutes, the ringing ceased and another missed call alert have been sent to the text inbox of his mobile phone.
The Shinhwa heir was brooding, his mind constantly throwing him back to the time he had witnessed his long-time friend kissing his girlfriend on the beach in New Caledonia. He hasn't quite decided what to do with the situation yet, he was still trying to decide between his girlfriend and his long-time friend… which one of them is the cause behind his bubbling rage? Until he was certain that he could reiterate the event to his friends without feeling the urge to kill something, he isn't going to answer any calls from the Don Juan of F4.
"Jun Pyo's still not answering any calls?" So Yi Jeong inquired when Woo Bin slapped the offending piece of the mobile gadget onto the table in his studio, glaring at the mobile device out of sheer annoyance.
"Yes. He is still not picking up his calls." Song Woo Bin gritted out, looking very much annoyed at the lack of communication from the Shinhwa heir.
"... Have you tried going over to his place to check on him?" The Korean Casanova asks next, directing his words to his obviously concerned friend.
"I've already done that; I've even checked over at our private lounge in school." The Don Juan of F4 rolls his eyes at the suggestions of his Casanova friend.
"Okay… and?" So Yi Jeong prompted and ended up being on the receiving end of another look of annoyance from the Don Juan of F4.
"I went to his home first, but his butler claimed that he wasn't in. So, I went to the school next… and he isn't there as well." Song Woo Bin responded, sounding very much annoyed at the entire situation in general.
"Could it be that butler Lee is lying to you under the instructions of the witch?" So Yi Jeong then asks, knowing full well that Jun Pyo's mother doesn't like the idea of them hanging out with the Shinhwa heir. Albeit, usually the witch wouldn't interfere with them when they went looking for the Shinhwa heir… but if Jun Pyo was not in the mood to meet up with them for some reason, the potter wouldn't be surprised if the witch had anything to do with the butler's response to their visit.
It was two hours later that they finally got a response off from the Shinhwa heir in the form of a text message informing them not to call anymore, and that they can speak when they see one another in school the following day.
Location: Seoul High School, 8am
Chu Ga Eul wasn't quite sure what to expect when she entered through the gates of her school, only minutes away from the sounding of the bell that would signal the start of the first class for the day. Originally, she was worried that there might be a mob of reporters waiting outside the school gate but luckily, it seems her concern was unfounded. Although, her appearance in school did cause several of the students that weren't in class to start whispering among themselves when she passes them by in the corridor way.
"Ga Eul!" The minute she stepped into her class; she was greeted by the high-pitch voice of her classmate - Kim Nari.
"Yes, Nari? What can I do for you?" Chu Ga Eul began, a polite smile in place on her lips as she shifted her eyes towards the approaching figure of Kim Nari.
Kim Nari is the very same classmate who had managed to talk her into attending the speed-dating event that resulted in the meeting between Ga Eul and Gong Soo Pyo, a guy who has graduated from Seoul High School about two years ago. While Chu Ga Eul wouldn't go to the extent of declaring Kim Nari a friend of hers, as she did with Geum Jan Di… she wouldn't deny that Kim Nari was one of the closer classmates that Ga Eul gets along with.
"Is it true?" Kim Nari stared at Ga Eul with disbelieving eyes.
"... What is it that you want to ask me? You're going to have to be more precise, Nari…" Chu Ga Eul said in response, throwing a confused look in the girl's direction.
"Are you dating Soo Pyo-Oppa?" Kim Nari inquires, curiosity burning in her eyes.
Ga Eul was about to say 'yes' when she caught herself, taking a moment to recall the exact word of her classmate - Chu Ga Eul turn towards Kim Nari with a spluttering look as she responded. "Of course not, I'm not dating Gong Soo Pyo. While on the subject, why are you calling him Oppa as opposed to using the term - sunbae?"
"Huh? Oh… I used to address him as Soo Pyo-sunbae, but he says he prefers to be addressed as Oppa. Apparently, the term - sunbae is too formal, or so he claims. Coming back to the original topic at hand, if you aren't dating him… why did he drop me a note of thanks on the Kakao messenger that claims that you had agreed to go out with him?" Kim Nari blinked, explaining the reason why she was referring to Gong Soo Pyo using affectionate slang for 'brother' to Ga Eul, before proceeding to inquire after Ga Eul's claim of not dating Gong Soo Pyo with a bewildered expression.
"... While I'm not exactly sure what went wrong in the exchange of messages between the two of you, I believe there is a miscommunication going on. In the email response, I'd give him, all I said was that I am willing to give him a chance. I hardly think agreeing to go out on one single date with him is equivalent to dating him in essence." Chu Ga Eul commented flatly in response while ignoring the rest of her classmates who were busy sneaking glances in her direction and whispering among themselves.
There isn't even a need for Ga Eul to listen in on their whisperings to know that they are talking about her. In fact, after the press conference called by her biological father the night before, it could only be a miracle if nobody is talking about it. In a sense, she's glad that they are now talking about her status as the illegitimate daughter to Miyazawa Hideaki than to hear them speculating on whether or not her mother has been cheating on her father. Ga Eul was drawn away from her thoughts when her classmate began to speak, again.
"Sorry, what was that again?" Chu Ga Eul started, turning her attention back to Kim Nari.
"I asked if it's okay to give out your number to Soo Pyo-Oppa now that you've agreed to go on a date with him." Kim Nari wasn't in the least surprised to have to repeat her words, judging from the faraway look in Ga Eul's eyes earlier - it was obvious that the girl had zoned out on her mid-conversation.
"... Fine, but do inform him to text before calling me up. I do not have a habit of answering calls from unknown numbers." Chu Ga Eul eventually responded, grudgingly agreeing to her classmate's suggestion to hand out her mobile number to Gong Soo Pyo. The only reason she agreed to have her number given to the guy was simply that it's easier to arrange for a date via the phone, than by email. That is, provided her phone doesn't go wonky on her when Gong Soo Pyo decides to give her a call.
As it turns out, Ga Eul's phone is indeed malfunctioning to an extent. Just early this morning, her phone turns off by itself without her touching it at all. At first, Ga Eul had thought the reason why her phone went off by itself was due to the gadget running low on battery. But when she turns the device back on, the battery level was at 85% rendering her previous assumption invalid. And then, her phone conversation with Jan Di this morning got cut off on its own without warning… causing Jan Di to panic on the other end until she called her friend back to apologize for the sudden disconnection of the phone call.
Still, the thought of getting a replacement phone hasn't quite occurred to Ga Eul yet. She decided to observe the condition of her wonky phone for a while longer before deciding if she should switch to using her older phone until it's time for her to re-contract her mobile subscription plan with Shinhwa Telco.
Gu Jun Pyo of F4 was already waiting inside the private classroom of F4 in Shinhwa High, when So Yi Jeong, the Korean Casanova, and Song Woo Bin, the Don Juan turns up one after another on the school grounds. Ignoring the throng of girls crowding the hallway of the academic building waiting to catch a glimpse of them - the two playboys of F4 headed straight for the direction of the classroom reserved exclusively for their lessons.
The two of them were running a little late this morning, and so, didn't get much of a chance to speak to the Shinhwa heir before their teacher arrived to begin their first lesson for the day. Since the first lesson on the class schedule for the members of F4 is a class on the modern history of South Korea. Neither the teacher-in-charge nor the two playboys of F4 made a comment about the fact that the group F4 is missing out on one member.
Gu Jun Pyo, on the other hand, wasn't in the least surprised by the fact that the heir of Su Am Arts Center had chosen to skip this morning's class. In fact, the Shinhwa heir would be surprised if Yoon Ji Hoo dare to show up in front of him after what happened in New Caledonia.
Yoon Ji Hoo, on the other hand, while is indeed present on school grounds… had opted to skip out of his morning classes with the rest of the F4, this morning. Partly because he wasn't quite ready to face Jun Pyo in person just yet, and partly because he didn't want to be around when Jun Pyo tell the story of what exactly transpired between them to the remaining two members of F4. Still, the auburn-haired member of F4 knew it's inevitable that he would have to face up to the consequences of his actions on an eventuality. Therefore, he decided to still show up in school. Especially since he's also concerned about what Jun Pyo, in his enraged mood would do to Geum Jan Di.
"...Ji Hoo-sunbae." The voice of Geum Jan Di drew Yoon Ji Hoo out of his thoughts. Glancing over towards the doorway access to the emergency stairway in one of the lesser populated buildings in the school, Yoon Ji Hoo allows a small smile to form on his lips upon the sight of Geum Jan Di as he calls for the girl to join him at the steps where he was sitting upon.
The two of them sat on the steps of the stairway, enjoying the moment of tranquil silence in this part of the school briefly because Geum Jan Di let out an audible sigh that draws the attention of Yoon Ji Hoo onto her person.
Assuming the worrying expression on Geum Jan Di's face to be a sign of her being worried about her uncertain plight after angering the Shinhwa heir, Yoon Ji Hoo began to speak reassuringly."Don't worry so much about getting into trouble with the rest of the school, I'm still here."
"Actually, I'm more concerned about what Gu Jun Pyo would do to you than what he would do to me. The worse he could do is to chase me out of Shinhwa…" Geum Jan Di admitted, thinking back to how the Shinhwa heir had not hesitated for a split second about the act of punching Yoon Ji Hoo that fateful night in New Caledonia.
"...Whatever Jun Pyo has in mind to do to you, I wouldn't let him succeed." Yoon Ji Hoo told Geum Jan Di assuringly, leaving the topic of what his enraged friend would do to him - untouched.
"I'm sorry, Ji Hoo-sunbae." Geum Jan Di began, apologizing for how her existence has come to threaten the friendship between him and Gu Jun Pyo, the Shinhwa heir.
"There isn't a need for you to apologize, I'm the one who decided to kiss you that night." Yoon Ji Hoo responded as he reached out to grasp Geum Jan Di's hands in his and hold them with his own hand for some time. It wasn't until he received a questioning look from the girl, that Yoon Ji Hoo finally let go of his hold on the girl's hand.
"I know, but it's me who actually hurts Gu Jun Pyo…" Geum Jan Di responded to the auburn-haired member of F4, with a depressing look on her face.
In an attempt to cheer Geum Jan Di up, Yoon Ji Hoo took a piece of yellow chalk that someone likely had dropped while using the stairway at some point in time and started drawing away on the wall of the emergency stairway.
"I think, Jun Pyo should be looking like this now…" Yoon Ji Hoo began as he started doodling an angry face on the wall of the emergency stairway landing, and dubbing it the Shinhwa heir.
Snorting at the words from the auburn-haired heir of the Su Am Arts Center, Geum Jan Di took the chalk from Yoon Ji Hoo and add her own finishing touches to the doodled drawing on the wall. With every stroke added to the doodled drawing representing Gu Jun Pyo, the dull ache in the heart of Geum Jan Di seems a tad heavier. Eventually, Geum Jan Di found herself tearing up without an inkling why she's feeling this way when she has her supposed prince charming right by her side.
"..."
It was lunchtime when Geum Jan Di saw Gu Jun Pyo for the first time since her return to Seoul from New Caledonia. The Shinhwa heir had appeared at the entrance to the cafeteria with So Yi Jeong and Song Woo Bin in tow. The students gathered in the cafeteria watching on as the Shinhwa heir headed for the direction where a bell has been installed and rang it with his own hands.
"On behalf of F4, I have an announcement to make. From today onward, Yoon Ji Hoo is no longer a member of F4, and within a week both Yoon Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di would be expelled from Shinhwa Academy." Gu Jun Pyo stated flatly while keeping his eyes upon the figure of Geum Jan Di, whereas behind him - the other two members of F4 shared a look of confusion among themselves.
When Gu Jun Pyo turns on his heels to leave, Song Woo Bin wasted no time in chasing after the departing figure of the Shinhwa heir intending to seek further clarifications on the matter. So Yi Jeong followed them from behind at a slower pace, but not before shooting an unreadable look in the general direction where Geum Jan Di was seated.
To say So Yi Jeong was shocked by the words coming from the Shinhwa heir was an understatement, he had no doubt that the Shinhwa heir's interest in Geum Jan Di was strong. This could be seen from the amount of effort put in by his friend in wooing the girl, so he finds it incredibly hard to believe that the Shinhwa heir would do something like this.
"Ya, Jun Pyo… what was that about?" Song Woo Bin calls out to the Shinhwa heir from behind, increasing his speed each time so his friend wouldn't be able to give him the slip.
So Yi Jeong who had reacted a tad slower wasn't quite as lucky, especially since he had several encounters with the fan-girls who were concerned about Ji Hoo's expulsion from F4 along the way. After he managed to extract himself from those girls, he found that both his friends are no longer in sight.
Cursing inwardly at the situation in general, the Korean Casanova decided to call up Song Woo Bin on his mobile to track down the Shinhwa heir. His Don Juan friend picked up on the third ring and promptly told him to make his way over to the clubhouse because that is exactly where the Shinhwa heir is heading towards. Making a beeline for where he had parked his orange lotus, So Yi Jeong droves straight towards the clubhouse that F4 frequently meets up for drinks and game night that's situated in the country club owned by the Shinhwa group.
"Why do you keep on following me?" Gu Jun Pyo demanded, his voice a near-shout as he addressed the Don Juan of F4.
"You know exactly why I'm following you. Besides, it's not as though I could turn a blind eye to your behavior now. Seriously, what were you thinking about driving so fast on the road?! Are you trying to kill yourself or something?" Song Woo Bin throws back at the Shinhwa heir, equally annoyed.
"..." Cursing aloud at the knowledge that his friend is right, what he had been doing on the road is a safety hazard for everyone. Too proud to apologize for his antics, the Shinhwa heir simply remained silent and turn his eyes away from the Don Juan of F4.
"Come on, bro~ I will buy you a drink. And then you can let me know why you thought it necessary to oust Ji Hoo from F4." Song Woo Bin slung his arm around the shoulder of Gu Jun Pyo in a friendly manner as he led the Shinhwa heir into the country club, heading straight for the direction where the clubhouse of F4 is located.
If the Don Juan of F4 had noticed how stiff the Shinhwa heir had appeared to be after he mentioned the name of Yoon Ji Hoo in Gu Jun Pyo's presence, Song Woo Bin definitely didn't comment on the little detail. It wasn't until the Korean Casanova arrived at the clubhouse that Gu Jun Pyo finally informed them of the events that transpired in New Caledonia between him, Ji Hoo, and Geum Jan Di on the night he decided to return to Seoul, without delay.
"..."
Silence reigned between the trio after the Shinhwa heir was done reiterating the events which resulted in his impromptu return to Seoul - approximately 96 hours ago. And then, the Korean Casanova turns to leave the clubhouse with a look of resolution on his features leaving behind the Shinhwa heir and his Don Juan friend to their own device.
"Ya, Yi Jeong! Where are you going?" Song Woo Bin calls out to his Casanova friend when the guy suddenly turns on his heels and leave without a word, baffling the hell out of him.
"Woo Bin, leave it. Knowing him, he's probably off to hear Ji Hoo's account of the same event. You know how he's like, always giving Ji Hoo the benefit of doubt. Only this time, I can jolly well claim that the fault doesn't lie with me." Gu Jun Pyo muttered aloud in response to the heir of the II-Shin Construction, as he reached for the pitcher of beer brought in earlier by the staff-on-duty and help himself to a mug.
Sitting behind the steering wheel of his orange lotus, So Yi Jeong did the first thing that came to mind. He called up the Su Am Arts Center to check if his auburn-haired friend is somewhere in the arts center, only after receiving a negative response from the staff employed Su Am Group did the Korean Casanova finally start up the engine of his orange lotus. Figuring that since Ji Hoo wasn't anywhere in the arts center, then chances are that guy is at home. Unlike Woo Bin and he, neither Jun Pyo nor Ji Hoo is the type who would go out partying.
Yoon Ji Hoo of F4 was indeed at home, he was practicing his violin when the Casanova of F4 came seeking him out. The look on Yi Jeong's face was one that he couldn't read, but he gathered enough from the aura emitting off his Casanova friend that the guy has some words for him. And so, Yoon Ji Hoo halted his violin practice and beckoned for his friend to speak up.
"Why did you do that?" So Yi Jeong inquires, finding the entire situation out of his depths. Whenever the Shinhwa heir fought with Yoon Ji Hoo, he was usually the one giving Ji Hoo the benefit of doubt. Because, 80% of the time… Jun Pyo turns out to be the one at fault. However, this time, he had a feeling that Jun Pyo wasn't the one at fault. With how besotted Jun Pyo was when it comes down to Geum Jan Di… he hardly thinks the Shinhwa heir would go as far as slandering his own girlfriend's reputation just to mess with Ji Hoo.
"I felt like doing it, so I acted accordingly to my desires." Yoon Ji Hoo stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"Don't you know that Jun Pyo's head over heels with her?!" So Yi Jeong demanded, his tone snappy as he addressed the heir of the Su Am Arts Center.
"I know." Yoon Ji Hoo responded, completely unfazed in the face of Casanova's ire.
"You know...I wouldn't have been this mad at you if you'd seduced my sister and went on to dump her three days later." The Korean Casanova commented in response to his auburn-haired friend, his tone calm.
"... It's irrelevant, you don't even have a sister." Ji Hoo started to respond, only to get his words cut off by the Casanova of F4.
"I'm just saying it as an analogy. Ji Hoo… I hope you know; I've always given you the benefit of doubt when a dispute took place between you and Jun Pyo. But this time, I don't think I could stand the idea of sticking by you. You've gone too far." With that said, the Korean Casanova promptly turns on his heels to show himself out of the family home of the Yoon.
With the departure of the Korean Casanova from his family home, Yoon Ji Hoo found himself no longer in the mood to practice his violin. Setting aside his violin and violin bow onto the sofa couch in a somewhat rough manner, Yoon Ji Hoo ran his hands down his face in a weary manner as a frowning look clouded his features. Despite not having a clue about what to do next, the auburn-haired heir of the Su Am Arts Center knew he couldn't sit by and let Jun Pyo evict Geum Jan Di out of Shinhwa. He would have to think of a way to protect Geum Jan Di from the wrath of his long-time friend.
Back at the clubhouse, Song Woo Bin was still trying to talk Jun Pyo out of the idea of getting both Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di expelled from the school.
"Jun Pyo, I get that you're upset. But isn't it a little too extreme to expel them from school?" The Don Juan of F4 started, only to receive a glare in return from the Shinhwa heir.
"You think this is extreme? In my opinion, the extreme is to kill them all for what they've done to me. The two of them, one betrayed my trust and the other trampled on my feelings like it's nothing. Do you know how murderous I'd felt when I saw them kissing that night?! The fact that I didn't decide to hire someone to kill them both is already an act of mercy." Gu Jun Pyo snapped at the Don Juan of F4 in response, as he moved away from the pool table and switch to the game of throwing darts at the target. Regrettably, he didn't have any pictures of Ji Hoo on hand… if not, they would make the perfect target for his darts.
"But Jun Pyo… you know Ji Hoo wasn't quite in the right state of mind now." The Don Juan of F4 started to speak, only to get cut off by the Shinhwa heir before he could get the next sentence out.
"That is precisely yet another reason why I'm so angry at him. He wasn't kissing my girlfriend because he likes her or anything. He's simply trying to use her to get over his own heartbreak, and that notion itself is pissing me off." The Shinhwa heir gritted out in irritation, as he silently willed for his friend to stop trying to talk him out of his decision.
"But Jun Pyo…" Woo Bin was about to give it another shot when he received a death glare promising pain if he didn't shut up from the Shinhwa heir.
"Not another word from you, Woo Bin… unless you wish to be expelled from Shinhwa together with them." Gu Jun Pyo warned, before throwing the darts back onto the table and stalking out of the clubhouse without another word at the Don Juan of F4.
"..."
Dropping himself wearily onto the couch in the clubhouse, Song Woo Bin was feeling really frustrated and vexed about the precarious state of the friendship among the F4. On one hand, he's upset about what Ji Hoo had done to betray Jun Pyo's trust. On the other hand, he's also feeling conflicted about Jun Pyo's decision to oust Ji Hoo out of F4, and Shinhwa Academy.
"Argh! Damn it all to hell, what can I do to stop F4 from breaking apart?!" Song Woo Bin lamented aloud to no one in particular, he would tear at his hair except he didn't quite appreciate the need to set his hair again after tearing at them. So, the heir of II-Shin Construction settled on the idea of yelling instead.
One good thing about yelling in the clubhouse of F4 is that the room is completely soundproof, and therefore wouldn't startle the people outside. Pulling out his mobile phone from the pocket of his leather coat, Song Woo Bin decided to give his Casanova friend a call.
"Yi Jeong, wherever the hell you are - get yourself back to the clubhouse now." Song Woo Bin practically ordered over the phone, once his friend had picked up his call.
"... Fine, give me another 30 minutes." So Yi Jeong responded, before cutting off the line from his end so, he could finish up with what he has been doing when his friend decided to call him up.
Standing in a mobile retail store, So Yi Jeong was browsing through the collection of flip phones on offer. The notion to check out the retail store was a random decision on his part, in an attempt to cool his head after his conversation with Ji Hoo. The Korean Casanova thought he ought to do something that would help to distract him from the headache situation surrounding his friends this evening. Thus, after driving past the shopping district of Myeong-Dong - in a spur of a moment, So Yi Jeong decided to do some window shopping in this part of the city where he seldom visits.
The Korean Casanova was just taking a walk around the shopping belt of Myeong-Dong that's a popular shopping spot for the commoners when he chanced upon a mobile gadget retail store. Upon the sight of the mobile phone on display through the store's glass window, the Korean Casanova was reminded of the incident of him startling Chu Ga Eul into dropping her phone on their last day in New Caledonia. And it was the thought of getting a replacement phone for the country bumpkin that brought So Yi Jeong into this little mobile gadget retail store tucked away in a corner of the Myeong-Dong shopping belt.
Although, the Korean Casanova's initial idea was simply to browse through the range of flip-phones available on the market… and not actually make any purchases. Not when he wasn't certain if the phone of the country bumpkin was really malfunctioning. But then, when the staff behind the counter started informing him of the functions of a newer model flip phone that has just come out on the market… he was sold on the idea of getting the phone for that country bumpkin before it went out of stock on the market. One of the main reasons why he was sold on the idea of getting that particular phone for the country bumpkin was due to the phone's camera functions, apparently, it has the best camera out of the existing range of flip phones on the market.
The thought of how the country bumpkin would react to the notion of being gifted a brand-new mobile phone from him didn't even occur to the Korean Casanova until he was well on his way back to the clubhouse to meet up with his Don Juan friend. And then, out of a sudden, the newly purchased phone he had gotten for the country bumpkin stood out like a sore thumb from where it was sitting on the passenger seat of his orange lotus.
[Oh well… what's done is done, certainly, she won't reject the gift if I were to insist on the idea of getting her a replacement phone? After all, it would be my fault if her phone did indeed start to malfunction after returning from New Caledonia.] - So Yi Jeong thought as he shifted his eyes away from the shopping bag that held the newly purchased phone, to focus himself back on the task of driving.
"So, Woo Bin… why did you call me back here with Jun Pyo absent?" The Korean Casanova commented as he entered the clubhouse for the second time, today.
"We need to talk about the crisis of F4." Song Woo Bin declared solemnly to his best friend.
"...What is there to talk about?" So Yi Jeong responded, as he threw his friend a questioning look while taking a seat on the sofa couch in the clubhouse of F4.
"This situation between Jun Pyo and Ji Hoo… we can't let it continue on like this." Song Woo Bin commented, sounding determined.
"So? This isn't like old times… Jun Pyo isn't going to budge this time. You know how besotted he was with Geum Jan Di, and what Ji Hoo has done this time is just too much. With how invested Jun Pyo was when it comes down to Geum Jan Di, I really don't think he's going to forgive Ji Hoo this easily." So Yi Jeong pointed out subjectively to his Don Juan friend.
"I know… but I couldn't sit by and watch our friendship, watching F4 break apart in silence either." Song Woo Bin commented, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"... Then what do you think we should do? Nothing we said would be getting through to Jun Pyo, judging by the current situation." The heir of the Woo Sung Museum allowed a sigh to escape his lips, as he starts rubbing the side of his temples to soothe the headache that's forming behind his skull at the thought of the complicated issue revolving around two of his friends at present.
"I was thinking we should call in reinforcement." Song Woo Bin eventually said, as his thoughts traveled towards the one and only candidate that can keep the Shinhwa heir under control.
For a while, So Yi Jeong was bewildered until he caught the meaningful gaze of his friend landing upon the lone bamboo sword sitting in an abandoned corner of the clubhouse and came to a dawning realization. "Reinforcement as in… Jun Hee-noona?"
Song Woo Bin nodded wordlessly in response to his Casanova friend, and then upon receiving a hesitant nod from his friend - the Don Juan of F4 promptly dialed up the elder sister of the Shinhwa heir - Gu Jun Hee and invited the lady to come back home for a visit. Of course, Woo Bin didn't tell the heiress of the Shinhwa Group everything that has happened over the phone.
All that was mentioned during the phone call between Song Woo Bin of F4 and the elder sister of the Shinhwa heir was that - Jun Pyo has found a girl that he genuinely likes, but seems to have an odd way of showing his interest in the girl. So, they would like to invite the heiress of the Shinhwa Group back to keep Jun Pyo under control before he ruined things completely with the girl. Not entirely the truth, but not exactly lying either - that was how Song Woo Bin had gone about spinning the tale over the phone to lure the elder sister of Gu Jun Pyo back into town.
"Interesting… I guess I'll head back to Seoul for a while then." Gu Jun Hee smirked as the phone conversation with Song Woo Bin of F4 came to an end.
Immediately, after hanging up on the call - the heiress of the Shinhwa Group wasted no time in calling up her personal assistant to reschedule her commitments over the next two weeks so, she could afford an impromptu trip to visit Seoul, her hometown.
~TBC~
Chapter's notes: Slightly shorter compared to Chapters 3 and 4 of this fic. But this is the start of a new arc, ^^; I dubbed this the F4 friendship crisis arc XD I'm not sure how many chapters this arc will end up featuring since I had to add original scenes into the chapters as well :P At present, I'm thinking about 2-3 chapters to cover the events of episodes 7-8 of the original drama. Some things would be different, of course… seeing as I would be adding my own twist to the scene/story development.
Alright, in this chapter - the first half focused on Chu Ga Eul and her family. Both her father figures were given screentime alongside Ga Eul's mother. Also, quite a bit of the history between Ga Eul's parents has been revealed in the 'walk down the memory lane on Miyazawa Hideaki's part. I hope it helped provide further insights into the history between Ga Eul's biological parents.
As for the part about the competitive streak between Teiko and Hyotei, don't ask me where I got those inspirations from… I might have been thinking of Ukai (Karasuno) and Nekoma from Haikyuu when I wrote that part *Sweat-drop Emoji*
Finally, I would like to apologize for the lack of SoEul moments in this chapter ^^; except for the beginning of the chapter… they didn't get much screentime together. Anyway, let me know what you people thought of this chapter. See you next time, ciao~