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 19 - Red tag in the locker, again?! Part 5
Location: Porridge Shop, 11th April 2009, Saturday 12 noon.
Seated at the table near the window, So Yi Jeong leaves the ordering of their lunch to Chu Ga Eul. Not that he enjoys the idea of bossing the country bumpkin around, no - he isn't Jun Pyo and thus doesn't really have the habit of bossing anyone around. The notion of letting Chu Ga Eul place the orders for their lunch was a difficult decision on his part because he didn't wish to inconvenience the sick girl for something as trivial as placing an order for their lunch. However, it was proving too much of a challenge for him to remain unfazed in the face of an adult male swooning at him with starry eyes.
No matter how many times the Korean Casanova enters the porridge shop, he still has trouble stomaching the sight of a grown adult man swooning at him. Thus, it was with great reluctance on his part to allow Chu Ga Eul to assist him in the task of communicating their lunch orders to the master of the porridge shop.
"Master, one bowl of abalone porridge and one bowl of vegetable porridge." Chu Ga Eul calls out to the master of the porridge shop, feeling bad about being unable to help. Luckily, the porridge shop doesn't seem too busy this afternoon - so, the master of the porridge shop was still managed to cope with the workload without his two part-timers around to help.
"Alright, I've got it covered. Go back and take a seat, I'll bring you the porridge shortly." Bom Choon-Sik, the owner of the porridge shop responded as he took one final look in the direction of the Andromeda Prince before heading into the kitchen to start preparing the porridge ordered by his sick part-timer, Chu Ga Eul for her and the Andromeda Prince's consumption.
"..." Chu Ga Eul felt the corners of her lips twitching upon the melancholic sigh coming from the master of the porridge shop, and really couldn't find it in her to fault the Korean Casanova's reluctance to interact with her employer unless there's an absolute need for them to interact.
Re-joining the Korean Casanova at the table the guy had picked out for them to take their lunch, Chu Ga Eul ensures her surgical mask is still up, as she starts to fill the Korean Casanova in on the story, about how her childhood friend had gotten acquainted with HAJE, to begin with. Until the porridge arrived, Chu Ga Eul had no intention to remove the surgical mask from her person.
"I've placed the orders for the porridge, the master says he will bring the porridge over when it's ready. Do let me know if his constant staring in your direction creeps you out, I'll find something else to distract him if that's the case." Chu Ga Eul commented as she took a seat at the table opposite from the Korean Casanova.
"Sure… so, care to fill me in on the story about Geum Jan Di and her experience in Euljiro-dong now?" So Yi Jeong in an attempt to steer the conversation topic away from the master of the porridge shop, went on to remind the country bumpkin about the story she had promised to relay to him if they were to stop by the porridge shop for lunch.
"Ah right, I did promise you that I'll fill you in on the details just now - didn't I? Well… it took place on the 3rd of March, I believed. But before that, let me rewind a bit and start the story off from a scene that took place here, on the 2nd of March. That day I arrived at the porridge shop for my shift when I found Jan Di flipping through the newspaper recruitment advertisement column again. So, I ask her what she's trying to do - given that she's already juggling two permanent part-time positions. She told me she's looking for some quick cash opportunity which I went on to spend half an hour lecturing her on the notion of why quick cash opportunities are never good, to begin with by citing the example of such opportunities in Japan usually comes in the form of exchanging sex for cash. She then told me she would be careful, and I took her word for it - completely neglecting the fact that she might have trouble saying no in the face of an attractive pay-check."
"Pardon my interruption, and going off-topic for a moment. How did you know what the quick cash opportunity typically refers to?" So Yi Jeong placed a hand up as he interrupted the girl mid-story, and inquires. He highly doubts that the girl knew of what quick cash opportunity comprises of because she had tried them out herself, in the past. After all, Chu Ga Eul likely has never undergone any cash-strapped period.
"I've heard stories from my acquaintances in Japan. These things travel fast in school, after all." Chu Ga Eul shrugged nonchalantly in response, before continuing with her reiteration of the story concerning her childhood friend's near-scare experience in the Euljiro-dong of Seoul.
"Either way, that afternoon - a new customer came in and was served mainly by Jan Di. As I was busy on the other side of the shop, I didn't get to listen to their conversation. Basically, that guy told Jan Di that he's a scout for a modeling agency and thought Jan Di's image to be fitting for their next project. He then inquires if Jan Di is a college student, to which Jan Di responded with a negative response. The guy then expressed his disappointment, purposely saying things that would pique Jan Di's interest. Before he left the porridge shop, he gave Jan Di a name-card of the modeling agency he was working for, and for Jan Di to swing by the agency if she's interested in modeling for some quick cash pay-out." With that, Ga Eul ended the story portion that has to do with the 2nd of March, removing her mask momentarily for a quick sip of water before replacing it back on, and continuing with the story that took place on the following day.
"I believed Jan Di didn't think of heading to the modeling agency initially, as she has never been very confident about her looks before. So, the notion of her being a model likely has never crossed her mind before but then she came across the information of her brother skipping lunch in school due to their family's inability to pay for the school-supplied nutritious meal plan offered to the students. Thinking about how well-paying the modeling job is, Jan Di decided to go and give it a shot. Only the modeling agency wasn't legit, think of a production studio that's mostly producing mature-themed films for a specific group of people and I think you would know what I mean. To put it simply, the interior decor of the production studio reeks of the sadomasochism vibe." Chu Ga Eul stated dryly in response, shooting a quick look in the Korean Casanova's direction to see if he had caught her drift before averting her eyes to the cloth napkin on her lap.
Chu Ga Eul might be capable of telling the story with a straight face, but that's subjected to the condition that So Yi Jeong didn't keep staring at her as though she's a puzzle waiting to be solved, while she reiterates the story of Jan Di's experience in that fishy production studio to the Korean Casanova. Thus, she only dared to glance in the direction of the potter briefly before shifting her eyes away lest her cheeks started to flame up on reflex.
To keep herself from flushing under the observing gaze of a certain Casanova of F4, Chu Ga Eul spends a bit of time dwelling on the idiotic acts of her childhood friend that particular day. Even now, weeks later - Ga Eul never failed to stop feeling annoyed at her childhood friend's impulsiveness and naivety. Because really, who the hell would remain in a place that doesn't seem right with a logical sense of mind? Anyone with enough common sense would have instantly started getting cautious of their situation and probably flee at the first available chance upon setting their eyes on the strange interior decor of the production studio. Yet, what did her childhood friend do? Stay put and hope for the best, that's what her childhood friend had done despite having a bad feeling about stepping foot into the studio.
Every time Ga Eul recalls the tale her friend relates to her in the wake of the event, she feels like tearing her hair out from frustration. Still, as frustrated as she was with her friend's actions - there wasn't much she could do to change the situation. Thus, she could only suck it up and deal with it by giving her childhood friend an earful worth of lecture at a later time.
"..." So Yi Jeong nearly choked on his sip of water when Chu Ga Eul brought up the mention of mature-themed films and the term sadomasochism in such a nonchalance manner. To be honest, the Korean Casanova was expecting to see the country bumpkin blushing when she talks about how improper the production studio's interior decor was. But what truly happens was that Chu Ga Eul was able to rehash the set-up of the production studio to him with a straight face.
Although, the fact that the country bumpkin had quickly averted her eyes from him shortly after the reiteration of that particular part of the story was proof to Yi Jeong that Chu Ga Eul wasn't all that unfazed during the reiteration process. But the potter of F4 thought the girl discomfit mostly stems from his constant studying of her body language during the story-telling process rather than the contents of the story which she was reiterating to him. And that got the Korean Casanova thinking, was the country bumpkin truly ignorant in the sexual department?
Well… So Yi Jeong is certain that the girl's likely still a virgin, after all, she's isn't the type to go for a premarital sexual relationship. The way she's holding out for the hopes to meet her soulmate is evidence enough. Still, the girl must have at least explored the sexual area from a theoretical aspect, given that she knew the proper term for 'S&M' and what's being included in mature-themed films. Though curious on the subject, the potter of F4 didn't pry into how exactly Chu Ga Eul came across such information - that would be prying too much into the girl's personal business. So, he decided to steer his focus and attention back onto Geum Jan Di's experience in the neighborhood of Euljiro-dong instead.
It wasn't until years later when they're officially a couple, that So Yi Jeong finally realized how and where the country bumpkin had gotten her sexual knowledge from...but that's a tale for a later time. For now, the Korean Casanova is still blissfully unaware of the vast collection of mature-rated Japanese manga that existed on one of the shelving of the girl's bookshelf at home.
"Okay, and…? I supposed Geum Jan Di didn't meet with any mishaps in the studio… otherwise, she wouldn't have turned up in school, the following day. So, I assumed this is when HAJE appears to save her from the desperate situation?" So Yi Jeong prompted already seeing how the next part of the story would go.
"Indeed. She screamed for help, and guess who appears? HAJE appears like a knight in shining armor and knocked out the two lecherous men, in the process, rescuing Jan Di. What a coincidence. The building was quite deserted, and it doesn't make sense for someone else to be in the building at that moment. So, if it weren't pre-empted and staged out like a play… I can't see any possibility how HAJE would have appeared on site as soon as Jan Di shouted for help. Do you know what's even funnier? The building turns out to be a vacant building under a requisition order from the Park Enterprise, they are looking to turn the building into a new boutique hotel. Of course, Jan Di being one who never keeps track of the economic and business news on TV wouldn't know that. So, to date, she still had no idea that the production studio where HAJE saved her from is a bogus studio which doesn't exist in the Korean media business directory listings." Chu Ga Eul mutters aloud, her voice taking up a sarcastic tone.
"...I didn't know you pay attention to business and economic news on TV." So Yi Jeong commented nonchalantly, steering the conversation away from Geum Jan Di's experience in the neighborhood of Euljiro-dong to get the long-haired girl to calm down for a bit. He could easily sense the agitation in Chu Ga Eul's voice with each passing minute as the girl relate the tale of Geum Jan Di's experience to him.
"I have to, Kazuki can be a tad forgetful at times. So, he might have conveniently forgotten to inform me something about Chichiue's new business venture in the Korean market or something. Granted, I could always look towards Shuichi for the same info… I didn't want to inconvenience him too much. Anyway, enough about me… coming back to our original topic, I have a feeling that HAJE did a thorough check into Jan Di's family situation - how else would he be able to stage something that's literally tailor-made to suit Jan Di's troubled state of mind?" Chu Ga Eul responded with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh... and before I forgot, there's something I ought to inform you about HAJE. According to the biography information my acquaintance in Japan had assisted in acquiring for me, it would seem that HAJE has an elder brother who used to be a former student at Shinhwa High. The name of the elder brother is Lee Min-Ha, a former victim of the school bullying antics in the wake of receiving a red tag from the F4. I think he's the guy who Jan Di ended up saving on National TV, which resulted in her ultimate transfer into Shinhwa. And according to the conjecture of my acquaintance in Japan, there's a very high chance of HAJE nursing a grudge against the F4 in general." Chu Ga Eul added as an afterthought, providing the Korean Casanova with some food for thought.
"..." The Korean Casanova fought against the urge to mess up his hair from the mounting frustration on the subject of the impersonators of F4. This is turning out to be more troublesome than he initially thought. Looks like they have some underlying enemies that lurk in the school still, likely those who dare not retaliate against their authority but generally feel negative about them. How else would HAJE be able to rope them into assisting him, in his revenge ploy?
"Okay, so… what you're saying is that HAJE pre-empted the entire fiasco of the modeling agency job, just to stage a perfect opportunity for him to get acquainted with Geum Jan Di. But why go through all the hassle if his motive was to take revenge on the F4? He could have simply arranged for someone to kidnap Geum Jan Di and lured Jun Pyo out, it would have the same effect - isn't it?" So Yi Jeong couldn't help but point out to the long-haired girl seated across from him in the porridge shop.
"Normally, that would be the easier way. However, given that Jan Di was the Wonder Woman of Korea who helped save his elder brother from suicide. I reckon he wanted to get Jan Di away before taking his revenge on Jun Pyo-sunbae and the F4 in general. While on the subject, you might want to run a check into HAJE's financial situation to see if there's any strange monetary flow recently. While I do not have any substantial proof to support my next theory, I had a feeling that lady president Kang might have a hand in this entire fiasco as well. Albeit, perhaps only in the part of separating Jan Di from Jun Pyo-sunbae." Chu Ga Eul explained her theory to the Korean Casanova, as they waited for their porridge to be served.
"...Is there a basis behind this particular suspicion of yours?" So Yi Jeong couldn't help but inquires, curious to see how the girl had arrived at the above-mentioned suspicion of Jun Pyo's mother having a hand in the matter.
"HAJE has been really active in endorsing products with ties to the Shinhwa Group, recently. And his rise to fame was a tad too quick-paced. I hardly think anyone without significant backing could rise up the ranks so fast. Min Seo Hyun was able to rise to fame so fast in Korea when she first debut as a model because her own family presence in the Korean market is always strong and steadfast, the rest of the models spend years building up their fan base to reach their popularity today. HAJE only took three months at most to make it to where he was, today. Now look at this from a business point of view, if there weren't any instructions coming from the higher-ranking management staff - would you dare to let a new model endorse your new products or would you prefer to use someone with a strong fan base, to begin with?" Chu Ga Eul commented with a raise of her eyebrow at the Korean Casanova, stating her point from another angle.
"Fair enough, when you put it in that manner. It does sound plausible for Jun Pyo's mother to play a hand in the part of separating Geum Jan Di from Jun Pyo. I wonder if she would regret her decision to approach HAJE if she knows of HAJE's hatred for Jun Pyo…" So Yi Jeong conceded, conversations with Chu Ga Eul have always been enjoyable to him. Because, unlike the airhead bimbos that tend to flock around him, Chu Ga Eul is actually someone he could carry out an intelligent conversation with.
"Well… that, I wouldn't know. But given her nature and personality, even if she does regret her decision - she probably wouldn't let it show on her face." Chu Ga Eul shrugged in response, thanking the master of the porridge shop when he brought them their lunch orders.
The Korean Casanova waited until the master of the porridge shop had returned to the cashier to tend to the next customer, before speaking up and addressing the figure of Chu Ga Eul who's removing her mask from her face so she could dig into her lunch. "So, can I take a look at the information of HAJE which you had someone gathered for you?"
"Sure, I'll forward the email to you. What's your email address?" Chu Ga Eul asks, she figured it would be easier for the Korean Casanova to look through the information on his own mobile device than on hers. After all, the guy might have gifted her with the phone… but he sure as hell doesn't know the functions of the phone inside-out, she dares say.
"I'll text you my email address." So Yi Jeong responded, not wanting to cite his email address aloud in the porridge shop lest someone overhears it and decides to spam his inbox with unwanted emails.
"Of course." Chu Ga Eul nodded in response.
Once the message from the Korean Casanova came in, she promptly copied the email address to her email client on her phone and forward the email she receives from Isshiki Masashi over to the Korean Casanova for perusal.
"Thanks. I'll look through it after lunch. While on the subject, I really think you ought to go home after lunch and actually rest for a bit. I'm sure between Woo Bin, Ji Hoo, and myself - we would be able to locate Geum Jan Di with time. You, on the other hand, do need to go home and sleep. A cold might be milder than the flu, but it doesn't change the fact that it could last up to a week if you're not careful. Today's already the 11th and your birthday falls on the 16th so unless you're inclined to spend your birthday in your bed by the time it rolls around. You'd best head back home to rest after lunch." So Yi Jeong first expressed his gratitude for the information to the sick girl, before insisting on the girl to head home and rest up to recover from her bout of cold ailment.
"But Jan Di…" Chu Ga Eul knows that the Korean Casanova did have a point, but she's just too restless to stay at home not knowing how the search is going.
"How about this? I dropped you back home, and update you on the search progress every half-an-hour through the phone?" So Yi Jeong eventually suggested, trying to compromise with the country bumpkin on the issue.
It took a bit of back-and-forth negotiation, but in the end - So Yi Jeong won the debate. Thus, after their lunch session at the porridge shop - Chu Ga Eul was promptly sent back home in the red Lexus belonging to the Korean Casanova, while So Yi Jeong headed off to meet up with the rest of his friends to look over the information package sent to his email account by the country bumpkin earlier about the model - HAJE.
"Ga Eul-yang, please do take care of your health. I wish to see you back in school when Monday rolls around. Don't worry too much about Geum Jan Di, we will be sure to recover her safely from wherever she is." So Yi Jeong commented as he pulls up his red Lexus in front of the Chu family residence, as the country bumpkin unbuckled the seatbelt from her person to alight from his vehicle.
"I will. Yi Jeong-sunbae, you will keep me informed of the updates concerning the search for Jan Di – right?" Chu Ga Eul seeks affirmation from the Korean Casanova one last time before she stepped out of the car.
"Of course. I always deliver on a promise made." So Yi Jeong responded in a firm tone of voice.
"I'll wait for your updates on the matter then, thank you for the ride home – sunbae." Chu Ga Eul nodded in acceptance of the Korean Casanova's words, before bowing politely at the potter of F4 and turning to enter her family home.
So Yi Jeong, meanwhile, waited until the figure of Chu Ga Eul disappear behind the front door of the single-family home before reigniting the engine to his red Lexus and swerved his vehicle out from the neighborhood, heading for the designated meet-up point where he and his friends had agreed upon, earlier on in the day.
Location: Yoon Ji Hoo's family home, 11th April 2009, Saturday afternoon 3pm
"Guys, sorry I'm late. Anyway, I have information and reasons to believe that HAJE or Lee Jae-Ha is up to no good." So Yi Jeong started as he finally arrived at the Yoon family home to meet up with his two friends - Song Woo Bin, and Yoon Ji Hoo of F4.
"No worries, Yi Jeong. I completely understand, you need to drop Ga Eul-yang back home before coming over." Song Woo Bin responded in a jovial tone, despite the solemnity of the present situation at hand.
"Seriously, Woo Bin… even now at this timing, you are still going to tease me about Ga Eul-yang? Shouldn't you be fretting over the current situation at hand instead?" So Yi Jeong rolls his eyes at his Don Juan friend, sounding somewhat exasperated.
Meanwhile, Yoon Ji Hoo disappears off somewhere for a moment before returning to the living room with a tray of ginger-tea for everyone present.
"... Ji Hoo, we didn't request for tea service." Song Woo Bin pointed out to his auburn-haired friend, upon sighting the tea service in his friend's hands.
"I know, I've taken the liberty to brew us some ginger tea. After all, Ga Eul-yang is down with a bout of cold. Minor ailment it might be, it's still contagious. Given that we have spent time in her presence, however minimal - it's best to ward off the symptoms before it could even set it." Yoon Ji Hoo deadpans, and then turning towards the Korean Casanova - he said. "In particular, Yi Jeong… you ought to drink more of the ginger tea. Oh, and do remember to disinfect your car at the end of the day too. Both the orange lotus and the red Lexus."
"... Duly noted." So Yi Jeong stamped down the urge to scrunch his nose up at the notion of being served ginger tea by his auburn-haired friend, but can't argue against the fact that his friend does have a point.
So, the Korean Casanova sighed inwardly as he downed the concoction with an offending smell in one gulp, before helping himself to a second serving. Hopefully, two servings of the tea are enough to fend off the chances of being infected by the country bumpkin. As for the disinfecting of his vehicles, well… he probably would get someone else to do it for him, at the end of the day.
"Coming back, didn't you say you have information for us?" Yoon Ji Hoo reminded, steering the topic back onto the subject they have been discussing before the Korean Casanova arrived and put the topic on hold.
"Right… here, sorry - I haven't had time to get them printed out. So, you guys could read it off the PDF reader on my mobile phone - just remember to give me back the phone at the end of it." So Yi Jeong begins as he handed his phone over to his Don Juan friend, who swiftly scanned through the contents before passing the gadget over to Yoon Ji Hoo for a look.
"Lee Min-Ha… why does the name sound so familiar?" Song Woo Bin frowned as he tried to place the name with a face, only to draw a blank on the matter.
"It sounded familiar to you because he was the reason why Geum Jan Di ended up transferring into the Shinhwa High." So Yi Jeong pointed out to his Don Juan friend in a dry tone of voice.
"Ah! You mean he's the guy who attempted to commit suicide on the rooftop of Shinhwa High only to get rescued from the act by the ever-nosy Geum Jan Di, who ended up being dubbed the Wonder Girl of Korea by the mass media?" Song Woo Bin exclaimed as he finally made the connection of the name Lee Min-Ha to something impressionable in his mind.
"Indeed." So Yi Jeong nodded simply in response.
"Right, so... you're saying that this HAJE is the younger brother of Lee Min-Ha? And there's a high chance of him planning this entire ploy to break Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di up, so he could take revenge against Jun Pyo without implicating Geum Jan Di into the mess?" Song Woo Bin clarifies as he seeks affirmation with his Casanova friend to see if he had understood his friend's words perfectly.
"Yes, granted – this is actually Ga Eul's theory." The Korean Casanova admitted with a shrug.
"Hmm... that does sound plausible. Alright then, what should we do next?" Song Woo Bin inquires, glancing towards his two friends for ideas.
"I suggest we look into his residential address and branched out into his social connections. If he's going to take revenge on the F4, he's definitely going to have accomplices in this revenge ploy of his." Yoon Ji Hoo commented after spending a moment to consider the matter.
Needless to say, this job lands on the plate of the Don Juan of F4. Given that, outside of the Shinhwa heir – Song Woo Bin is the only one with plenty of manpower at his disposal. Throw in his mafia background, digging into the dirt of someone isn't going to be too much of a hassle.
The moment they got the information on the residential address of HAJE, they immediately head over to the apartment building and check-in with the security office of the estate ground. It's a good thing that the building was owned by the Ii-Shin Group, so the F3 has no issues accessing the video footage of the CCTV installed in the building lift lobby to determine if Geum Jan Di has been here. Through the footage, they managed to gather that Geum Jan Di has indeed been here at some point yesterday. Seeing as the video footage had captured the scene of Lee Jae-Ha bringing the unconscious figure of Geum Jan Di into the lift around 4pm yesterday.
"Is it possible to tell which unit he's staying in?" Song Woo Bin inquires, voicing his query to the security guard on duty at the guardhouse of the apartment estate.
"Unfortunately, no. All we could tell from the video footage is that they exited the lift on the 5th floor of the apartment building." The security guard on duty responded to the Don Juan of F4, respectfully.
"Do you have the video footage for the underground parking facility or the emergency stairway exit?" Yoon Ji Hoo started to ask, trying to see if there's other video footage that they could view to ascertain the fact whether Geum Jan Di is still in the apartment building. After all, it has been literally 24 hours since Geum Jan Di was brought over – for all they know, the girl is no longer in the building at present.
Location: Gu Family Mansion, 11th April 2009, Saturday evening 6pm
While the F3 tried to trace Geum Jan Di's location on their own, the absent Shinhwa heir was finally back in Seoul. Upon his arrival back at his family residence, he was met up by the figure of his family servant – Butler Lee.
"Young Master, you're back. Why didn't you return my call? The young masters from the F4 are looking for you, urgently." Butler Lee commented as he greeted the Shinhwa heir at the entrance to the Gu family's living room.
"Why on earth would they be looking for me urgently?" Gu Jun Pyo frowned, looking absolutely befuddled by his butler's words.
"Actually, they are looking for you because of Miss Geum Jan Di." Butler Lee responded to the inquiry of the Shinhwa heir respectfully.
"Jan Di? What happened to Jan Di?" Gu Jun Pyo pressed on, going on high alert mode.
"..." Butler Lee was about to respond when a maid approached with a tray in hand. On the tray lays a single unlabelled envelope, as the maid informed the Shinhwa heir that a letter had come for him while he was out.
Although, finding it odd to have someone sending him an unlabelled letter. Gu Jun Pyo took the letter up from the tray, and pull out the letter from within the unlabelled envelope. He took one look at it, and promptly stuff the letter back into the envelope before his butler could see it. Turning towards his butler, Gu Jun Pyo started and demanded absolute compliances from his family servants. "I'm heading back to my room to sleep. Do not let anyone disturb me."
"Now?" Butler Lee seems a little surprised that the Shinhwa heir is ready to retire for the night, given that it wasn't even time for dinner.
"Yes, somehow I find myself very exhausted. Why am I so tired?" Gu Jun Pyo mutters aloud as he feigned a series of yawns as he headed for the stairway to access his bedroom on the second floor of his family mansion.
Shaking his head at the bizarre behavior of the Shinhwa heir, Butler Lee recalling the instructions of Yoon Ji Hoo from before promptly instructed for a maid to give the auburn-haired member of F4 a call to inform about their young master's return.
Meanwhile, Gu Jun Pyo took out the letter to glance through it another time when he's back in his room, alone. There's only a single message in the letter, and its wordings were all cut out from newspaper clippings making it impossible to tell who's the sender behind the letter. The message read:
'If you wish to save Geum Jan Di, come alone.'
Included with the letter in the envelope is a photo taken from a Polaroid camera featuring Geum Jan Di in a gag, and tied to a chair as well as the address of an abandoned warehouse from a rubber-ink stamp with the name of a now-defunct company. The Shinhwa heir had a dark look on his face as he crumpled up the letter and threw it onto the floor, the photo though – he tucked it into his wallet. Shrugging on his black leather jacket, the Shinhwa heir proceeds to lock the door to his bedroom from the inside. Once done, he went towards the direction of the balcony of his bedroom suite and proceed to climb down to the ground level from his balcony.
Thanks to his excellent body reflexes, the Shinhwa heir managed to pull off the stunt of escaping through the balcony of his bedroom suite without any troubles. Since he needs to avoid drawing attention to himself as he leaves his family grounds, the Shinhwa heir didn't utilize any of his family vehicles and instead traveled on foot to the main road before flagging down a cab to bring him to the mentioned warehouse listed on the mystery letter attention to him, and hand-delivered to his family home.
Meanwhile, the F3 were discussing what to do next when Yoon Ji Hoo received a call from the family maid of the Gu family informing him that his absent long-time friend has finally returned home. Upon receiving the news of their friend's return, the F3 decided to meet up with the Shinhwa heir before deciding their next course of action. Only, they haven't realized that their friend had given them the slip and went off on his own to rescue Geum Jan Di from danger.
"Butler Lee, Jun Pyo is back – right? Where is he?" Yoon Ji Hoo demanded to know upon arriving at the Gu family mansion with the two playboys of F4 in tow.
"He's in his room, but the young master had requested for me to stop anyone from disturbing his rest." Butler Lee began, but the F3 waved him off and reassured him that they would be able to handle the Shinhwa heir on their own.
"It's fine, Butler Lee. We will deal with him ourselves if he kicks up a fuss over being disturbed." So Yi Jeong throws over his shoulder at the hesitant-looking butler, as the three of them raced up the stairs heading straight for their friend's bedroom suite.
"Jun Pyo, come on – open up!" Song Woo Bin took it upon himself to knock and seek entrance into their friend's room. He repeated the motion a few times, before stopping to place his ears at the door to listen out for any sounds from within. The lack of movements from within the room was the first telling sign that something isn't right, if his friend truly does not wish to see them at this point – the Shinhwa heir would have yelled for them to get lost by now. The fact that their friend is completely silent doesn't bode well.
Together, the F3 shifted their gazes upon the figure of Butler Lee seeking the man's help in unlocking the door to their friend's bedroom suite. After all, they didn't want to resort to the act of ramming open the locked door through sheer force unnecessarily.
"Please hold while I go and retrieved the master key to the bedroom suite of the young master." Butler Lee responded with a sigh of resignation.
Tapping his foot impatiently on the floor, Song Woo Bin was the first to enter the bedroom suite of the Shinhwa heir when the butler returns to them with the master key to the locked room. True to his premonition, the entire bedroom suite was empty of his friend's presence. While Yoon Ji Hoo went on to check on the En-suite bathroom of the room to see if there's any chance of his long-time friend falling asleep in the tub or something, however slim the chance is. So Yi Jeong was the only one to notice the sliding door leading to the balcony area was left wide-open. Recalling a particular stunt their friend had once pulled to get out of the mansion when he was being grounded by his witch of a mother at one point in the past, the Korean Casanova promptly calls out for the attention of his two friends as he gestured towards the direction of the balcony.
"Guys, you might want to have a look at this." So Yi Jeong started, indicating for Ji Hoo and Woo Bin to look over at the balcony area of his friend's bedroom suite.
"..." Both Yoon Ji Hoo and Song Woo Bin were silent for a moment, as they thought of the same incident of their friend sneaking out through the means of playing 'spiderman' by climbing out from the balcony, a few years back.
Apparently, Butler Lee had recalled the same incident and thus, after hesitating for a moment revealed to the F3 that a letter had come for his young master shortly after his return home. After reading the letter, his young master promptly ordered for him to not let anyone disturb his rest and went on to retire to the bedroom suite for the night.
"A letter? What letter?" Yoon Ji Hoo pressed the butler for further details, only there isn't much Butler Lee knows of the subject.
"I'm afraid I've no idea of the contents in the letter. Young master took it with him when he came upstairs and retire for the night." Butler Lee responded somewhat apologetically to the auburn-haired member of F4.
Looking around the room, So Yi Jeong took notice of a crumpled ball of paper that lay on the side of the chair where his friend usually sat while changing his footwear. Picking up the crumpled ball of paper, the Korean Casanova unfurled it and straighten it back out so he could get a good read of the contents in the paper. One look at it, he thought – Bingo!
"Guys, I found the letter." Calling out for the attention of his two friends, the potter held up the paper in his hands as he handed it over to Song Woo Bin for perusal – first.
"Good job, Yi Jeong! Where did you find this?" Song Woo Bin prompted as he looked over the content of the letter, before passing it over to his auburn-haired friend for a look.
"By the foot of his chair near the corner where the shoes of his walk-in wardrobe are displayed." The Korean Casanova answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"Well... just be glad that Jun Pyo only crumpled the paper into a ball instead of tearing it into shreds. So, shall we get a move on then?" Song Woo Bin prompted, glancing towards his two friends for their opinions.
"Let's just hope we could get there in time." Yoon Ji Hoo mutters aloud, as he stalked out of the bedroom suite of his friend heading straight for the front porch of the Gu family mansion. Behind him, the two playboys of F4 mirrored his actions.
Location: Abandoned Warehouse in Gyeonggi Province, 11th April 2009, Saturday, 7pm
When Geum Jan Di regain consciousness, she found herself tied to a chair in a warehouse with a gag over her mouth. Instead of panicking over her plight, for the first time ever, Geum Jan Di was calm. Given that she had been knocked out before even exiting the home of Lee Jae-Ha, it's only natural for her to scan the faces of the people guarding her in this warehouse for the only face she recognized. When her eyes landed upon the figure of Lee Jae-Ha, Geum Jan Di glared at the guy intensely. If looks could kill, Lee Jae-Ha would have collapsed on the spot, no doubt.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Sunbae. Hold on, I'll remove the gag from you in a jiffy. You look like you had something to say about your current plight." Lee Jae-Ha commented as he approached the chair where Geum Jan Di had been secured to, in the middle of the abandoned warehouse.
Shortly after Lee Jae-Ha removed the gag from Geum Jan Di, the Wonder Woman of Korea wasted no time in demanding an explanation from the guy she had thought was her friend. "Why are you doing this? I thought you were a friend!"
Lee Jae-Ha smirked as he commented idly in response, "Sunbae... first of all, let me clear some things up for you. That modeling job you went to interview for, and nearly got yourself molested by two lecherous men? That was planned by me. The red tag in your locker the other day? That's also planted by me, the same to go for the flowerpot incident and the science lab incident. All of these were events machinated by yours truly."
"What?!" Geum Jan Di spluttered, as she inwardly thought of how she had even doubted the Shinhwa heir at one point and promptly starts feeling guilty all over, again.
"Why are you doing this to me? Who puts you up to it?!" Geum Jan Di demanded after digesting the bit of information thrown her way by someone, she had initially thought was her friend. Including the time with Min-Ji, this is the second time she had placed her trust in the wrong person. Is there no one else in Shinhwa outside of the F4 and Ga Eul, whom she could actually trust?
"Who puts me up to it? You ask..." Lee Jae-Ha mused aloud, before allowing another smirk to pull at the corner of his lips as he commented nonchalantly. "With all the fuss Gu Jun Pyo has been making over the subject of losing his girlfriend, I wonder how he would react when he found out that it's actually his mother who pay me to break up his relationship with you."
"Come again?! Gu Jun Pyo's mother pay you to break us up?" Geum Jan Di repeated, incredulity coloring her tone.
"Yes. She paid me for it, and quite handsomely too – the amount. To be honest, I was thinking of splitting the money with you if you hadn't turned down my proposal. Anyway, from the point you turn down my proposal – Gu Jun Pyo becomes the only objective in this entire game." Lee Jae-Ha deadpans at the incredulous figure of Geum Jan Di.
"What do you want with Gu Jun Pyo?" Geum Jan Di forced herself to remain focused on the task as she demanded Lee Jae-Ha to explain himself.
"What I wanted was revenge! All of us gathered here today have something against Gu Jun Pyo, one way or the other. It's the concept of revenge that brought us together." Lee Jae-Ha confessed to the obviously shell-shocked figure of Geum Jan Di in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"Why? Whatever did Gu Jun Pyo ever do to wrong you?" Geum Jan Di pressed on, unwilling to let the subject go.
"He didn't wrong me. It's my elder brother who he did wrong." Lee Jae-Ha responded, throwing a flat look in the direction of Geum Jan Di.
"Your elder brother?" Geum Jan Di repeated with a frown marring her features.
"Sunbae, take a good long look at me and tell me if it reminded you of anyone. I was told I shared some distinctive features with my elder brother, despite being born to different fathers. The reason why our parents divorced, lies with my mother's infidelity. Father was quite upset when a blood test reveals to him that I wasn't his biological son. Either way, Hyung was my only source of moral support when I was going through a bad time. Do you know how terrible I felt when I learn of his near suicide attempt from the mass media?!" Lee Jae-Ha didn't mean to go into a monologue, but somehow, he find himself spilling the beans of his anguish towards the girl he had kidnapped to lure Gu Jun Pyo over to exact his revenge.
"..." If Geum Jan Di was truly trying to recall who could be Lee Jae-Ha's elder brother, there isn't a need to search her memory anymore. After Lee Jae-Ha brought up the mention of his brother's near-suicide attempt – Geum Jan Di knew who it was that Lee Jae-Ha was referring to. It's that guy standing on the rooftop of the Shinhwa High on the day she delivered his uniform to the school.
"Sunbae, do you know my brother's mostly catatonic these days. The only time he even smiles was when he talks about how you had saved him on the rooftop of the school. And this revenge ploy against Gu Jun Pyo...? It wouldn't have mattered if you had agreed to my proposal, to stay with me." Lee Jae-Ha commented a tad ruefully, he was about to say more when the sound of Gu Jun Pyo's voice changes his mind.
"Geum Jan Di?! Geum Jan Di, answer me if you hear me!" Gu Jun Pyo calls out the name of the woman he loves, completely ignoring the fact that he's presently being pushed and shoved around by a bunch of unknown guys in a rough manner.
"Gu Jun Pyo! Gu Jun Pyo, why did you come?!" Geum Jan Di calls back, sounding distressed not of her plight but due to the amount of worry she had for the Shinhwa heir. In particular, after knowing that her kidnapping was only serving as bait to lure the Shinhwa heir over so, Lee Jae-Ha could exact his revenge on the guy.
"Go in!" A man barked out at the Shinhwa heir, shoving him into the warehouse. Despite the rough manhandling of his person, Gu Jun Pyo was relieved to find Geum Jan Di unharmed and simply tied up on a chair.
"Geum Jan Di, are you alright?" Gu Jun Pyo calls out, ignoring the pull he felt on his hair by the guy standing behind him.
"Gu Jun Pyo, you idiot! Why did you come?" Geum Jan Di calls out to the Shinhwa heir in response, sounding choked as she tried to hold back her tears.
"Let her go!" The Shinhwa heir practically demanded.
"Look, I don't think you understand the position you're in now. Do you think you're in a position whereby you can bargain?" Lee Jae-Ha commented mockingly at the Shinhwa heir, before barking out for the guys to do as they pleased with the once high-and-mighty figure of Gu Jun Pyo.
"Gu Jun Pyo..." Geum Jan Di watched in horror as the Shinhwa heir was being kicked around by the guys, and then the tears start falling from her eyes like a waterfall. "Please, stop..." Geum Jan Di cries out as she calls for the guys beating up Gu Jun Pyo to stop, but needless to say – her words fell on deaf ears.
"Stop!" Lee Jae-Ha started, calling for a temporary stop to the beating. Keeping his eyes on the Shinhwa heir, Lee Jae-Ha begins to speak. "Gu Jun Pyo, go down on your knees and beg me. And then, I'll let Geum Jan Di go."
"No... Gu Jun Pyo, don't!" Geum Jan Di shakes her head as she addressed the Shinhwa heir from where she was tied up. She knew the Shinhwa heir has never gone down on his knees to beg anyone for anything before, and she didn't wish to be the reason behind the Shinhwa heir's first attempt at begging.
Only Gu Jun Pyo was already in a kneeling position, but he hasn't been able to say anything when Lee Jae-Ha brutally kicked him away. Lee Jae-Ha could hardly believe what he's seeing if he hasn't kicked the Shinhwa heir away forcefully – that guy might truly beg him to let Geum Jan Di go. So, he decided to try a second approach. Placing his hand by the side where a chair sits, Lee Jae-Ha demanded the Shinhwa heir to declare that he would give up on Geum Jan Di.
"Gu Jun Pyo, say it, say that you'll give up on Geum Jan Di." Lee Jae-Ha demanded, keeping his eyes focused upon the figure of the Shinhwa heir.
"I'm afraid that isn't possible." Gu Jun Pyo responded with a ghost of a smile playing on his lips, despite his terrible appearance now – with blood flowing from the sides of his head and corner of his lips; there's just one thing he wouldn't do. That would be to give up on the woman he loves.
"What was that again?" Lee Jae-Ha repeated, staring at the Shinhwa heir with an unreadable look on his face.
"I said, even if you guys were to kill me today – I wouldn't give up on Geum Jan Di." The Shinhwa heir commented, the corner of his uninjured lips quirking up into a smile.
Feeling rage consuming his logical sense of mind, Lee Jae-Ha promptly grab the chair and was about to hit it over the head of the Shinhwa heir when Geum Jan Di finally found it in her – the strength to move. Lunging forward and throwing herself straight at the Shinhwa heir, Geum Jan Di was just in time to shield the Shinhwa heir from the force of the chair ramming into the side of his head – saving him from a certain dying fate. Granted, what she did comes with a fair share of consequences that wasn't made known until a later timing – but for now, she managed to prevent the Shinhwa heir from suffering from any life-threatening injury.
The force of the chair ramming into the sides of her shoulders hurts so much that it knocked Geum Jan Di out within a second of its' collision. While Gu Jun Pyo attempted to fuss over Geum Jan Di in his haze of pain and blood, his friends from F4 finally arrived at the scene.
Location: Outside the abandoned warehouse in Gyeonggi Province, 11th April 2009, 8pm
It was already 8 pm when the F3 finally found their way over to the address listed on the crumpled ball of paper they found in the bedroom suite of their friend. Yoon Ji Hoo was the first to arrive on-site, but he was in no rush to head into the warehouse. After all, he wasn't certain how many people are there inside the warehouse. He might be able to handle 1-2 guys on his own, but more than that... he would need backup.
When he sighted the approach of the yellow lotus belonging to Woo Bin and the red Lexus driven by Yi Jeong – he counted to five mentally, before calling out for the names of Geum Jan Di and his long-time friend aloud.
"Ji Hoo, are you trying to alert them of our approach?" Song Woo Bin begins, sounding a tad incredulous as he eyed his auburn-haired friend with a look of incomprehension.
"In a way. I was trying to startle them so; they would stop doing whatever they are doing inside to Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di. If they started panicking, then all the more it would work for our benefits. We might be able to gain the upper hand if the situation inside is chaotic enough." Yoon Ji Hoo told his friends, as he shared with them the reason why he had called out the names of their friends.
"Alright, on the count of three, we barged in. The two of you, behind me. I will take the lead, given that neither of you is exactly good at fighting." Song Woo Bin rolls his eyes in response, as he did a quick round of warm-up of his limbs.
Inside the warehouse, there was indeed a moment of panic when they hear the sound of someone calling out for the names of the couple who are now practically immobile and lay on the ground in a heap.
A couple of them attempted to flee only to walk straight into the figure of Song Woo Bin, who then swept them straight to the ground with a flying kick. Behind the Don Juan of F4, So Yi Jeong handles one of the minions simply with the use of his legs. Being a potter, he tried to avoid fighting with his bare fists – after all, his hands are best to remain protected and so, unless it's against someone who can't fight... the Korean Casanova tends to rely on the use of his legs in a physical fight. As the two playboys took out the minions, Yoon Ji Hoo headed straight for the figure of Lee Jae-Ha. It's probably a good thing that Lee Jae-Ha isn't skilled in the martial arts area, because he was easily subdued by Yoon Ji Hoo when he attempted to throw a punch at the auburn-haired member of F4.
Maintaining a strong grasp on the dominant arm of the model – HAJE, Yoon Ji Hoo then split his attention towards the area where his long-time friend lays with the unconscious figure of Geum Jan Di. The Shinhwa heir didn't allow himself to lose consciousness until he was certain that his friends had knocked out all the kidnappers of his girlfriend, only then did he allow himself to collapse atop of his unconscious girlfriend.
"Jun Pyo!" Ji Hoo's distressing call of the Shinhwa heir's name startled the two playboys from their task of tying up the men they had subdued on-site with the ropes they found lying around in the abandoned warehouse.
Song Woo Bin took one look at the terrible state of his friend, promptly pulls his mobile phone out, and call for a private ambulance to be dispatched to the warehouse from the Shinhwa Hospital. So Yi Jeong then took over the task of keeping an eye on the men they'd subdued, while allowing Woo Bin and Ji Hoo to fuss over their unconscious friend and Geum Jan Di.
"Ji Hoo, you go with the paramedics to the hospital. We will meet you over there later." Song Woo Bin instructed while he headed out of the warehouse to give a call to his underlings in the area for them to dispatch a team over to keep an eye on those guys they'd subdued earlier in the fight. Needless to say, Lee Jae-Ha is also included.
When the gang members of the Ii-Shin gang appear on-site under the orders of his best friend, who also goes by the nickname – Mafia Prince; So Yi Jeong finally was able to stop playing 'supervisor' to the kidnappers of Geum Jan Di. As soon as he needn't be on his full alert mode, the Korean Casanova took his mobile phone out from the pocket of his coat to give a call to a certain country bumpkin he had promised to provide updates every half-an-hour as per their previous agreement.
The call was picked up on its third ring, and although the country bumpkin sounded weary – she's still giving him her full attention.
"Yi Jeong-sunbae, seeing as you're calling and not simply messaging. Can I assume that Jan Di's been found?" Chu Ga Eul started before So Yi Jeong could say anything on his end.
"Yes. Ga Eul-yang, Geum Jan Di has been located. Now, you can go on and rest for real. She's now on the way to the hospital with Jun Pyo, don't worry too much. She didn't seem to have met with serious harm, Jun Pyo, on the other hand, is in a more worrying state of condition." So Yi Jeong responded as he moves toward the red Lexus parked outside the warehouse, intending to head down to the hospital to meet up with Ji Hoo and find out for certain the condition of the unconscious duo.
"Oh... alright then, but you'll update me if there's anything new about Jan Di's condition – right?" Chu Ga Eul heaved a sigh of relief on the other end of the line, glad to know that her friend has safely been recovered by the F4 but also concerned about how her friend is doing – seeing as a trip to the hospital was necessary. Still, she knows she is hardly in a position to rush down to the hospital herself. Her earlier escapade from home had garnered her parents' attention to sic a babysitter on her, in the form of her 13-year-old little brother – Chu Jung Min, who has been instructed to keep her in the bed at all costs.
"Noona! You should be resting, not chatting on the phone." Chu Jung Min commented, eyeing Ga Eul with a disapproving stare.
"... Is that your little brother?" So Yi Jeong sounded rather bemused from his end of the line, as he tried to envision the scene taking place in the home of the country bumpkin now.
"Yes. Apparently, my little escapade from home was noticed by my parents, and thus I now had a babysitter sic upon me in the form of my little brother. He has literally camped out in my bedroom to ensure that I wasn't going to run off without a warning, again." Chu Ga Eul sighed dramatically as she responded to the inquiry coming from the Korean Casanova on her end, causing the 13-year-old Chu Jung Min to roll his eyes at her.
"I see... well, listen to your brother. He's right, you ought to be resting. Don't worry, I will definitely update you if there are any changes in Geum Jan Di's condition. It's a little early, but goodnight. I need to get going as well, have to go down to the hospital to check things out." So Yi Jeong told Chu Ga Eul over the phone, and then proceed to end the call from his end of the line.
Location: Shinhwa Hospital, 11th April 2009, Saturday night, 10pm
"Ji Hoo, how's Jun Pyo?" Song Woo Bin inquires the moment he arrived at the hospital and found his auburn-haired friend in the hallway outside the private hospital room of the Shinhwa heir.
"The doctors are still assessing his condition, so far, it looks like he isn't in any life-threatening condition. But to ascertain the fact, the doctors are putting him through a thorough medical examination." Yoon Ji Hoo responded and then explained that the reason why he's seated out here instead of the inside is that the doctors are giving Jun Pyo a medical check in the room at present, and since it involves the removal of the clothes from his friend... he thought it best to wait outside the room to grant his friend a certain degree of privacy.
"That's relieving to know." Song Woo Bin heaved a sigh of relief, and this was exactly when So Yi Jeong finally appears. He was the latest to arrive, given that he needs to call up Chu Ga Eul to provide an update on the situation first.
"Looking at the relieved expression on Woo Bin's face, I'm going to assume that Jun Pyo's injuries aren't as bad as they look." So Yi Jeong commented in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"Indeed. Most are superficial injuries, and then some broken bones in the ribs which would heal on its own given time... the most terrible injury is the broken leg which would be in a cast for the next few weeks." Yoon Ji Hoo helpfully supplied the Korean Casanova with the information that he seeks.
"Good, and Geum Jan Di?" So Yi Jeong prompted drawing an odd look from his Don Juan friend.
"...What? Why are you staring at me like this?" The Korean Casanova snapped, feeling self-conscious under the odd look he was receiving from his best friend.
"Nothing... I just thought it strange that you had it in you to inquire after the well-being of Geum Jan Di is all." Song Woo Bin deadpans in response to his defensive Casanova friend.
"I'm asking because I promised to give Ga Eul-yang an update on Geum Jan Di's condition is all." So Yi Jeong huffed out at his friend in a tone that sounded slightly annoyed.
"I see..." Song Woo Bin nodded before turning back to Yoon Ji Hoo and prompt. "So, how's the Wonder Woman of Korea doing?"
"As far as the medical team could tell, she's fine. While there's a bruise around her back when she shields Jun Pyo from being hit by a chair, there isn't anywhere else on her that's bruised." Yoon Ji Hoo responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"Well... Jun Pyo would be relieved to hear about it when he wakes, that is." Song Woo Bin shrugged in response, as he joined the auburn-haired member on the seats situated along the corridor outside the private hospital room ward in Shinhwa Hospital.
"Do you think Jun Pyo's family would be notified about his injuries sustained tonight?" The Korean Casanova started after a moment of silence, finding the atmosphere too dreadful to endure in silence.
"I believe the hospital would inform them once they get the full medical examination result." Yoon Ji Hoo answered, after spending a moment to dwell on the matter.
"Hmm... there's something I probably ought to share, Jun Pyo's witch of a mother likely paid Lee Jae-Ha to break up the relationship between Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di. What do you reckon she would do when she learns that not only was her ploy to separate Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di failed but it also resulted in her own son ending up in danger because she had neglected to conduct a thorough background check on the guy, she decided to engage to break up her son's relationship?" The Korean Casanova begins then, bringing up the topic of Lee Jae-Ha for discussion.
"How did you know of it?" Song Woo Bin promptly zeroes in his gaze on his Casanova friend, having been quite certain that his friend was nowhere around when he beat the answers out from that guy earlier.
"... Judging from your reaction, I'm guessing I'd hit the jackpot then. Anyway, that's another theory of Ga Eul-yang. Looks like a woman's sixth sense could be eerily accurate at times... in particular, coming from a woman as astute as Chu Ga Eul." So Yi Jeong sighed aloud as he commented to his Don Juan friend, inwardly he was wondering what he should do about his growing feelings towards a certain country bumpkin going by the name – Chu Ga Eul.
There, Yi Jeong admits it – he does feel something for the country bumpkin, and with each interaction, he had with the girl, these feelings he had for the girl just seem to grow deeper. Still, while he might have admitted the fact that he feels something for the girl to himself – he wasn't quite ready to admit it to his friends, about them being right – yet. Either way, Yi Jeong isn't quite sure of what he should do with these feelings he had towards the girl.
Logically, Yi Jeong knows he ought to let the girl go... because he has some deep-rooted commitment issues when it comes down to relationships. But then... the sheer idea of seeing the country bumpkin with another man seems to irk him to no end. Thus, the potter found himself reluctant to push the girl away from him. So, he thought until Chu Ga Eul actually comes outright to confess her feelings for him – he is going to leave things be. By leaving things be, meaning he wouldn't push the girl away nor would he attempt to avoid the girl.
Honestly, the notion of entering into a committed relationship with anyone both daunts and entices him. Therefore, So Yi Jeong thought the best thing to do now is to keep things status quo between Chu Ga Eul and himself.
Aside from the fact that Yi Jeong wasn't prepared mentally to make whatever thing he had going on with the country bumpkin official, at present... another reason why he wasn't going to do anything about his growing feels for Chu Ga Eul is due to the unresolved situation between him and his first love – Cha Eun Jae. The thought about his first love and ironically also happens to be the woman his elder brother is in love with as well – brought on the start of a migraine behind his skull.
Even though, it has been years since Yi Jeong crosses paths with either one of them. His elder brother had walked out of their family shortly after his grandfather decided to pick him as the heir to succeed the Woo Sung Museum, in the wake of the discovery of his talents in pottery is better than his elder brother – So Ii Hyun. Whereas his first love had departed Korea, after he refuses to show up on some rooftop in Myeong-dong because he didn't know how to respond to the feelings Eun Jae held for him, then. Especially since he knew his elder brother was in love with Eun Jae as well. So, instead of heading to meet Eun Jae on that rooftop that particular day – Yi Jeong decided to go clubbing with Woo Bin, and spend the entire night mingling with different girls.
Heartbroken from his failure to show up, his first love – Cha Eun Jae decided to leave Korea for another foreign land, on the following day without a word. It wasn't until days later that he realized that Eun Jae had left Korea, and that puts him in a foul mood for the subsequent days that follow. And then, a month later... his grandfather officially declared him the heir to the Woo Sung Museum, and his brother packed up and leave their family home within a week from the point of his grandfather's official announcement.
[Well... at least, with Chu Ga Eul – I needn't concern myself with the prospect of hurting Hyung if I ever decide to act upon my feelings for the girl, in the future.] - The Korean Casanova thought wryly to himself, as he rests his head against the wall on the seating area outside the Shinhwa heir's hospital room.
During the time the Korean Casanova was obviously stuck in his mind with his thoughts, neither Yoon Ji Hoo nor Song Woo Bin attempted to engage their potter friend in a conversation. So, they ended up exchanging ideas about what to do to the guys they'd subdued earlier in the fight if the Shinhwa heir decided to leave the fate of the kidnappers of Geum Jan Di to their discretion.
It took another few hours for the medical examination on Gu Jun Pyo by the entire medical team to be done, and once the medical team exited from the hospital room of the Shinhwa heir – the F3 who has been waiting outside patiently, promptly flocked into the room as one.
Despite having been informed by Ji Hoo, that the Shinhwa heir wasn't hurt as badly as he had appeared to be, at first sight. Both the Don Juan and the Korean Casanova only allowed themselves to truly express their relief after witnessing the Shinhwa heir's state of condition with their own eyes. Indeed, after cleaning up, the Shinhwa heir appears to only have a gauze attached to the side of his temple; and then it's the unmistakable cast on the right leg which was broken according to Ji Hoo recount of the medical team assessment.
"Jun Pyo, you really give us quite a scare earlier." Song Woo Bin scolded his friend with a disapproving look.
"Indeed. What on earth possessed you to walk into a possible danger zone by yourself without anyone to back you up?" So Yi Jeong added on, looking at the Shinhwa heir with an unimpressed look on his features.
Glancing over to the auburn-haired member of the group, Gu Jun Pyo started before his long-time friend could get a word in. "Don't say anything if you intend to berate me like those two over there."
"... Given that they have already berated you for your brainless acts, I shan't do the same. But Jun Pyo, I'm glad that you're alright." Yoon Ji Hoo eventually responded, heading forward to give his current handicapped friend a brotherly hug.
"..."
Knowing that he had likely given his friends a bad scare with how he looked in the warehouse earlier, Gu Jun Pyo didn't protest the idea of his friends coming forth to hug him, one by one. He waited until the moment of 'bromance' is over before bringing up the subject that he's most concerned about, at present. The condition of his girlfriend – Geum Jan Di.
"How's she faring?" Gu Jun Pyo begins, and neither of the members present in the hospital room needs to ask who the Shinhwa heir is referring to – there could only be one person, the Shinhwa heir is concerned about.
"The Wonder Woman of Korea is fine. Had a bit of a nasty bruise to her back where she shielded you from the force of an incoming chair heading straight for your head. But other than that, she's completely fine." Song Woo Bin responded, wasting no time to set his friend's mind at ease with his response about Geum Jan Di being fine.
"Where is she then?" Gu Jun Pyo inquires next, after realizing the fact that his girlfriend wasn't anywhere in his hospital room.
"... She's in the room next to yours. Have you forgotten the fact that she was brought in unconscious like you were? Either way, she hasn't awoken yet – something about the aftereffects of being dosed with chloroform, and the residual effects from smoke inhalation." Yoon Ji Hoo responded, being the only person who had accompanied both Geum Jan Di and the Shinhwa heir to the hospital – he's the only one with the full grasp of the situation.
"Good." Finally, the Shinhwa heir allows himself to relax for real as he collapsed back against the fluff-up pillow of his hospital bed.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Jun Pyo... what do you wish for us to do with those guys that kidnapped Geum Jan Di and later beat you up? The Ii-Shin gang still have them in custody, you know?" Song Woo Bin butted in then, bringing the focus of the Shinhwa heir away from his now safe girlfriend to the kidnappers pending the Shinhwa heir's decision on what to do with them.
"... Leave the mastermind to me, you can do as you pleased with the minions." Gu Jun Pyo responded as his face took on a dark look.
"Well... if you wish to deal with Lee Jae-Ha yourself, it's up to you. Only, I thought you should know... he has been paid handsomely by your mother to break you and Geum Jan Di up. You may want to take that into consideration when you planned out your revenge plan against him." Song Woo Bin commented, dropping the information of Kang Hee Soo's likely involvement in certain aspects of Lee Jae-Ha's ploy.
"..."
Location: Shinhwa Hospital, private hospital room of Geum Jan Di, 12th April 2009, Sunday morning, 9am
When Geum Jan Di regained her consciousness again, she found herself staring right into the figure of the injured Shinhwa heir.
"Gu Jun Pyo..." Geum Jan Di started, her eyes reddening upon the reminder of what happened the previous evening in the warehouse. "Why did you simply let them beat you up? Weren't you always claiming that you could easily take on 10 people at one time during a fight?"
"Idiot, how could I retaliate when you got yourself kidnapped by them? Besides, I would rather let them beat me up rather than have you hurt by them." Gu Jun Pyo, who is seated in a wheelchair with his right leg in a cast, throws back in retort to the words of his girlfriend.
"..." At this, Geum Jan Di fell silent. Guilty as charged. However, she didn't have time to immerse herself in guilt, because the Shinhwa heir begin to speak up again.
"You idiot! Why did you interfere when I was purposely letting them beat me to death?" Gu Jun Pyo demanded; his heart literally stopped when Geum Jan Di threw herself at him to shield him from the chair smashed his way by Lee Jae-Ha.
"Stupid, an idiot with IQ of 2-digits, slow-witted dumb-ass." Geum Jan Di responded in kind, throwing the insults the Shinhwa heir dumped her way back at Gu Jun Pyo before responding. "You expected me to stand by and simply watch you being plummeting to a pulp by him? He's aiming for your head with that chair, if I haven't interfered - you would have died from that impact of the chair smashing into the side of your head. Have you forgotten that your head isn't as hard as you think it is?!"
"Ya! Who are you calling a dumb-ass?! You stupid woman!" Gu Jun Pyo yells back at his girlfriend indignantly.
As the couple duo started bickering in the hospital room of Geum Jan Di, Yoon Ji Hoo who had swung by the hospital this morning intending to visit the girl ended up forgoing the idea of heading in. Standing outside the hospital room, the auburn-haired member of F4 couldn't help snorting aloud at the childish conversation taking place behind the door. Deciding to come back at a later time for the visit, he left the flower basket outside the door before turning on his heels to leave.
It wasn't until half-an-hour later, that a nurse came by to check on Geum Jan Di's blood pressure and took a tube of blood to run a test to see if her body has been cleared of all traces of the drugs, she had inhaled over the past 48 hours that the flower basket left outside the door by Yoon Ji Hoo was brought in.
"Looks like Ji Hoo was here earlier." Gu Jun Pyo would have recognized that flower basket from anywhere because it was the exact same one, he had gotten yesterday from his long-time friend.
"Huh? Ji Hoo-sunbae came by earlier? Why didn't he come in then?" Geum Jan Di started, turning towards the Shinhwa heir with a look of confusion clouding her features.
"How would I know?" Gu Jun Pyo rolls his eyes at his girlfriend, inwardly though, he thought maybe his friend doesn't feel like intruding upon them and thus decided to leave the flower basket behind and come back at a later timing to visit the woman.
Location: So Yi Jeong's Pottery Studio, 12th April 2009, Sunday morning, 10am
The Korean Casanova didn't know what possessed him to do it, but when he looked out of the window of his room this morning - he found the view too beautiful to resist and thus he snapped a photo of the view with the camera of his mobile phone. And then, he attached it to an empty text message converting a simple text message into a multimedia message with the text content of a morning greeting before sending it off to a certain country bumpkin - Chu Ga Eul. From there, it escalated into a full-blown text conversation that he had ended up spending the bulk of his morning indulging in.
A private message between So Yi Jeong and Chu Ga Eul, 12th April 2009, 10am
Yi Jeong: Good morning, Ga Eul-yang. I hoped you managed to sleep better last night, knowing that Geum Jan Di is now safe and sound. Took this picture this morning upon waking from the window of my room, I thought it's a pretty day today. How are you faring? Getting any better with your bout of cold ailment?
[Attached Image01. JPG]
Ga Eul: Good morning, Yi Jeong-sunbae. Lovely picture, I've meant to say it before… but I kept forgetting. You had good photography skills. ^_^ Thank you for asking, I did sleep better last night. Partly because Jan Di has been found safely, and partly because my sneezing has gotten a tad better as compared to before. While on the subject, I didn't pass on my cold ailment to you, did I?
Yi Jeong: No worries, Ji Hoo makes sure to make us all ginger tea when we met up at his place for a meeting to discuss our next steps. So, we are all cleared - at least, I didn't hear from Woo Bin nor Ji Hoo about them being down with cold symptoms thus far.
Ga Eul: That's good to know. *Relieved Smiley Emoji* My mother gave me an earful when she came home last night, telling me that it's irresponsible of me to head out when I'm down with a contagious ailment. Anyway, do you have any idea how long Jan Di would be kept in the hospital? I'm tempted to visit, but my mother forbids me from going anywhere before I recovered. ^^;
Yi Jeong: As far as I know, Geum Jan Di was kept overnight for observation. If she managed to clear her blood test taken today, she would be free to leave the hospital by tomorrow morning. Jun Pyo, on the other hand, would be required to stay on in the hospital for an entire week which he kept on bitching about, for the entirety of last night.
Ga Eul: I see… oh well, then I supposed I'll just have to go see Jan Di at her home when I've recovered from my bout of cold ailments. Either that or I'll wait to see her in school. *Cross fingers and hope that my family physician will declare me in the pink of health when he swings by later this evening*
Yi Jeong: You have a family physician that does house visits?
Ga Eul: Erm… actually, the family physician is a family friend of a sort. DR. Ninomiya - he's a family friend of the Miyazawa family, he's in town for the month in preparation for his daughter's upcoming music competition taking place at the Su Am Arts Centre, this month-end. His daughter is scheduled to arrive in another two days, he came over a tad earlier to visit my aunt Shinobu. They were childhood friends, anyway, while at it - Aunt Shinobu send him over to my family home to attend to my bout of cold symptoms. ^^;
Yi Jeong: I see… I had thought it a little strange since not a lot of doctors who practiced privately in Korea do house calls for the general public. As far as I know, only Ji Hoo's grandfather had done so when he was younger and before he took on the mantle of being the president of our country.
Ga Eul: ^^; This may seem a little strange… but Yi Jeong-sunbae, do you use any messenger apps? I'm just asking out of curiosity; the simple text message is fine. However, given that MMS is always big in file size… how do you usually communicate with the F4 if pictures need to be sent? Do you guys always use email for such correspondence or are you guys on some messenger apps?
Yi Jeong: Ah… we use Skype mostly. It's multifunctional and way better than having Jun Pyo spamming our email inboxes with random photos of his intended vacation spots.
Ga Eul: Oh… okay. ^_^;
Yi Jeong: While on the subject, have you ever gone skiing before?
Ga Eul: Skiing…? No, never. Why?
Yi Jeong: Jun Pyo might be tempted to organize a skiing trip to the ski-resort recently established by the Shinhwa group in Gangwon-do.
Ga Eul: … I thought he broke his leg? And the skiing season is only until early April at most?
Yi Jeong: Officially it is until early April, but Jun Pyo is the Shinhwa heir. As long as there's still snow present on the skiing trail, who is the staff stationed at the ski resort to deter Jun Pyo from getting what he wants? As for his broken leg, well… if he abides by the doctor's instruction - he likely could recover in two weeks. Otherwise, there's always the option of traveling to Japan on a weekend for skiing… it's only a few hours plane ride away.
Ga Eul: *Sweat-drop emoji* Right, I forgot… the Furano ski-resort and Niseko United were both open until May 6. Definitely enough time for Jun Pyo-sunbae to recover from his broken leg and plan for a skiing trip… and if my memory serves me right, the Shinhwa Group did have plans to set up a ski-resort of their own in Japan. Only I wasn't sure if the Ski-resort belonging to the Shinhwa Group in Japan have commenced operations or not. ^^;
Yi Jeong: Anyway, don't say I didn't give you a heads-up on the matter. I'm not sure when the skiing trip is going to take place, but I think you should prepare for it ahead of time.
Ga Eul: Easy for you to say… I know practically nothing about skiing gears. How do I know which one to pick out?
Yi Jeong: How about this? 16th April is your birthday, right? Given that it's a Thursday… what time is your ballet class?
Ga Eul: Yes, 16th April is my birthday indeed. My ballet class begins at 3pm and ends at 4.30pm.
Yi Jeong: Good, keep your evening block open for me. I'll take you shopping for skiing gear. While at it, I'll throw in a dinner meal for a private celebration of your birthday too.
Ga Eul: That's workable for me. I'll simply spend my lunch hour that day in school with the E3 then. ^_^
Yi Jeong: That's settled then. It's about time for me to start working on my half-finished projects, take care and hopefully, I'll get to see you in school tomorrow.
Ga Eul: ^_^ Sure. Have a nice day ahead, Yi Jeong-sunbae.
~TBC~
Chapter's notes: Wee, done with yet another chapter ^_^ And I completed the entire episode 11 in this chapter, and it covers the first part of Episode 12 contents too. The Jun Pyo - Jan Di and Ji Hoo scene mostly.
While the bulk of the chapter is from episodes 11-12, concerning the kidnapping portion of the drama. I make sure to start and end the chapter with SoEul! XD Original scenes of mine to the finest… what do you think of them? Like it, love it?! Let me know ^_^
Yi Jeong finally admits to himself that he is attracted to Ga Eul… but he didn't quite know what to do about the feelings he has for Ga Eul though. Until he figures things out, he isn't going to admit to his friends that they're right - let them think he's in denial still, which he still is, to a certain extent. For now, he's leaving things status quo between him and Ga Eul. As long as Ga Eul doesn't come up to him with a love confession, he isn't going to do anything about it.
This chapter also marks the end of the red tag arc, and the next arc is the skiing arc! XD, I thought the text conversation between SoEul was a clear enough hint :P Albeit, I'm not plunging straight to the ski-resort scene in the drama, there's still some other original SoEul scenes before the ski-resort, and of course, Jan Di family drama before the trip to the ski resort. ^^; Until I'm done writing, I can tell how many chapters the ski-resort arc would comprise of either. So, either way... just stay tuned and keep a lookout for my next update.