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 24 - To the Ski Resort, Let's Go! Part 5
Location: Shinhwa Ski Resort, Chu Ga Eul's Room, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. 2nd May 2009, 6am
Chu Ga Eul woke to the sound of her mobile phone chiming repeatedly. For a while, she was confused since she's certain that she didn't set an alarm while she's on the skiing trip, so why on earth is her phone chiming repetitively at this hour? Reaching towards the bedside table where she had left her mobile phone the night before, Chu Ga Eul flipped open her phone to take a good look at the home screen of her mobile phone.
With sleep in her eyes, Chu Ga Eul had to squint to get a good read at what was being displayed on the screen of her flip phone. When she finally managed to see what was the cause behind the incessant beeping, Chu Ga Eul groaned aloud as she proceed to rub the sleep away from her eyes and resigned herself to the idea of having to wake up to deal with her childhood friend who's currently outside her assigned room at the Shinhwa ski resort.
"..." Swinging her legs off the bed, and trudging towards the doorway of her assigned room - Chu Ga Eul wasted no time in answering her door to get her friend to stop spamming her text inbox with a floodgate of messages.
"Good morning, Jan Di. Should I be glad that you decided to wake me up by flooding the text inbox of my phone, instead of hammering on the door of my assigned room? Anyway, make yourself at home and take a seat - I'll go and freshen up for a bit, and then we can talk." Chu Ga Eul greeted her childhood friend with an underlying tone of sarcasm, as she invited the restless figure of Geum Jan Di into her assigned room.
"Oh… did I wake you up? Sorry, I didn't mean to… but I'm just too restless to sit still and wait until breakfast to speak to you." Geum Jan Di appears somewhat sheepish upon taking note of her friend's obviously not awake expression.
"I gathered as much. Anyway, take a seat anywhere you like… I'll be out with you in 20 minutes." Chu Ga Eul answered in a flat tone of voice, as she stepped into the En-suite bathroom of her assigned room and promptly shut the door to the bathroom in the face of her childhood friend.
With Ga Eul busying getting ready in the En-suite bathroom, Geum Jan Di took a moment to inspect the interior layout of her friend's room before settling down on the chair in front of the room's only desk.
When Chu Ga Eul finally emerged from the En-suite bathroom of her assigned room, she was half expecting for her childhood friend to hound her for details concerning the party event she had attended the night before, with the notorious playboy of Japan as her date. After all, a certain Casanova had filled her in on how her friend had reacted when Woo Bin-sunbae let it slip to Yi Jeong-sunbae about Masashi's reputation as a playboy in Japan with Jan Di being around to listen in to their conversation.
And considering how Jan Di's always panicking over her spending time in the company of Yi Jeong-sunbae over a prolonged period while they are vacationing in New Caledonia, she thought it probably wouldn't differ as much in the case with Masashi. Only, instead of Jan Di hounding her for details and checking her over for possible harm - she found herself being shown a necklace by her childhood friend instead.
"Erm… Jan Di? This is a lovely necklace, did Jun Pyo-sunbae gift it to you?" Chu Ga Eul was confused, but that didn't stop her from coming to the accurate conclusion of the necklace being a gift her friend had received from the Shinhwa heir. Mostly because she knows her friend finds owning jewelry luxury and thus would prefer to spend the money on something that's considered essential, and therefore upon the sight of the necklace even without taking note of the diamond on the pendant of the necklace - Ga Eul already could tell that the item is a gift from the Shinhwa heir.
"Yes, Ga Eul. This is, indeed, a gift from Gu Jun Pyo." Geum Jan Di nodded at her childhood friend, before sighing aloud with a stressful look marring her features.
"...And? Is there a point to you showing up this early in the morning to show me the necklace, and then promptly start sighing aloud for no reasons in particular?" Chu Ga Eul continues to prompt, knowing that this is the only way to get her friend to spill the beans when she's in this kind of mood.
"Ga Eul… I'm stressed." Geum Jan Di commented, turning towards her friend with the 'I need some advice' kind of expression which causes Chu Ga Eul to sweat-drop momentarily.
"I can see that, but why are you stressed though?" Chu Ga Eul sighed inwardly as she resigned herself to the idea of continuing this Q&A session with her childhood friend for the next hour to come. Thank God, she's used to waking up at this timing… although there goes her chance of sleeping in on a day, she needn't fret about prepping up breakfast for her family members.
And so, Geum Jan Di took that as a cue for her to start unloading her thoughts to her friend after reiterating the events that transpired the previous night between the Shinhwa heir and herself. Chu Ga Eul, on the other hand, took a seat at the foot of her double bed in the room as she listened to the reiteration of her friend's tale while picking out an outfit for the group breakfast session later.
(20 minutes later…)
"Jan Di ah… pardon me for saying this, but what's so stressful about Jun Pyo-sunbae gifting you a necklace that's one of a kind? I thought he's being romantic at going to the extent of having something custom-made for you. While on the subject, why aren't you wearing it?" Ga Eul was silent for a moment at the end of her friend's reiteration, before she decided to be honest with her opinion.
Inwardly, Chu Ga Eul was thinking back to the white valentine's day about how overjoyed she had been when she received the hand-crafted ink-stone from a certain Casanova of F4. However, that ink-stone wasn't exactly unique like the necklace Jun Pyo-sunbae had custom-made for Jan Di. After all, the necklace is one of a kind… whereas the ink-stone though hand-crafted by Yi Jeong-sunbae personally, wasn't anything unique.
In fact, because the ink-stone was Yi Jeong-sunbae's first attempt at crafting a calligraphy tool - he went for simplicity and practicality, after studying the available ink-stones on sale in the market. Henceforth, apart from the fact that the ink-stone is crafted out of ceramic modeled after an existing Chinese ink-stone crafted out from stone that most calligraphy students used at the beginning stages of their study of the calligraphy art - there wasn't anything special. Still, it's the thought that counts - the fact that So Yi Jeong didn't choose to buy her an ink-stone but to craft her an ink-stone personally as a return gift for the handmade dark chocolates she had gifted him on valentine's day was what truly matters to Ga Eul. And so, she was really overjoyed on that day… therefore, Ga Eul really finds it hard to comprehend her friend's apprehensiveness upon receiving such a unique gift from the Shinhwa heir.
"I'm just afraid that I might lose it somewhere…of course, I know he's going to be elated if he sees me wearing the necklace but I can't help but worry. After all, there have been occasions in the past, whereby he gifted me something one moment, and I dropped it elsewhere without even realizing it until it's too late." Geum Jan Di admitted her unease to her childhood friend, that's the reason why she had felt so stressed upon knowing that the Shinhwa heir had gifted her something so invaluable.
"Jan Di ah… this may sound random. But, would you forgo the idea of eating fish altogether, even if there's a risk of swallowing a fishbone by accident?" Chu Ga Eul rolls her eyes openly at her childhood friend as she prompted.
"Huh? Why would I forgo the idea of eating fish altogether simply because of such risk? I just have to be careful while eating fish is all…" Geum Jan Di blinks at her friend in confusion, not quite understanding where the irrelevant query originated from.
"Exactly! So, why are you worried about losing the necklace at this point? I hardly doubt the necklace Jun Pyo-sunbae custom-made for you would be so fragile that it would snap and fall off from your person without a reason. Surely, you can't tell me that you won't be able to sense it if anyone attempted to rob you of the necklace since you would be wearing it on your neck." Chu Ga Eul deadpans at her friend then, completely unaware that she had hit the jackpot because that is exactly what had happened later on in the day.
Either way, seizing the moment whereby Jan Di was zoning out - the long-haired girl promptly took the necklace from her dumbstruck-looking childhood friend and went on to put it around the neck of her friend since it's obvious that Jan Di isn't going to do it on her own.
"See… how pretty the necklace is, it'll be a pity if you don't wear it. After all, Jun Pyo-sunbae went to the trouble of having it custom-made for you." Chu Ga Eul commented and Geum Jan Di found herself looking into the mirror to stare at her own image, and admire the sight of the necklace that's now clasped around her neck instead of held in her hands.
Leaving Jan Di alone to admire the necklace through the mirror etched to the wall where the room's desk is resting against since the desk doubles up as a dressing table for the guests as well. Chu Ga Eul went on to her wardrobe while pretending to pick out an outfit for breakfast when in actuality, she was dropping off the routine morning greeting text message to a certain Casanova staying in the room next door, while they are on this particular skiing trip.
A private message between Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong, 2nd May 2009, Saturday Morning, 7am
Ga Eul: Good morning, Yi Jeong-sunbae. I'll meet you later directly at the restaurant for breakfast. Jan Di's with me now, so, we would likely head over to the restaurant together. While on the subject, please update Jun Pyo-sunbae about Jan Di's whereabouts. I doubt she told anyone that she's coming over to my room early this morning. ^^;
Yi Jeong: Good morning, Ga Eul-yang. Noted, I'll be sure to inform Jun Pyo on the whereabouts of Geum Jan Di shortly.
Resigning to the idea of not being able to meet up with the country bumpkin ahead of breakfast time, this morning. The Korean Casanova wasted no time in dropping a message to inform Jun Pyo about the whereabouts of Geum Jan Di, lest his friend decides to call on a search party because the Wonder Woman of Korea had disappeared from her room early this morning. And then, after he send off the message to the Shinhwa heir via Skype - Yi Jeong went on to leave the comfort of his assigned room to pay his Don Juan friend a visit.
As it turns out, the message from So Yi Jeong informing the Shinhwa heir of the whereabouts of Geum Jan Di came through to the Shinhwa heir, just in time. Mostly because Gu Jun Pyo was poised with his fist on the door to the room assigned for Geum Jan Di, about to knock. Upon receiving the message from the Korean Casanova - the Shinhwa heir promptly turns on his heels and headed straight for the assigned room of Chu Ga Eul in search of his girlfriend instead.
In the meantime, Song Woo Bin was in for a bit of shock when he opens up the door to his room to find the figure of his Casanova friend waiting for him outside his door.
"What in the world…?! Yi Jeong, what the hell are you doing? Standing outside my door without warning in advance? The last time I checked, I'm not a lady and hence doesn't require an escort around the place." The Don Juan of F4 commented drily at his Casanova friend, who in turn, simply rolls his eyes at him in response.
"Woo Bin, get your mind out of the gutter. The only reason I'm standing out here waiting for you to emerge is only that I didn't want to intrude on your privacy. Because who knows if you had ended up taking back some lady from your clubbing activity the night before?!" So Yi Jeong deadpans to his Don Juan friend with an obvious look of exasperation.
"...But why are you waiting for me instead of Ga Eul-yang? I thought it's your habit to escort her around? I mean, you went to the extent to rent a vehicle for your use while on a skiing trip in Sapporo, because she might have a need to go solo during the trip." Song Woo Bin pointed out the glaring fact to his Casanova friend, objectively.
"I would love to wait for her outside her room, but the thing is Geum Jan Di is with her - this morning. And given that we are in Japan, albeit not in her home turf of Tokyo - Ga Eul-yang has no issues with the Japanese language and thus doesn't really require a guide to bring her around the place. So, to avoid arousing the suspicion of a certain Wonder Woman of Korea about just exactly why I couldn't leave her friend alone… I had to find something else to occupy me this morning." The Korean Casanova explains as he deadpans to his best friend since childhood days.
"Well… if only, you had made things official between you and Ga Eul-yang. You wouldn't have to fret over the subject of arousing Geum Jan Di's suspicion on the matter." The Don Juan of F4 commented, throwing his Casanova friend a pointed look as he speaks his mind.
"Seriously, Woo Bin. We are not speaking about this subject, again. I believed I'd told you multiple times before, that I am not ready to take that step yet." So Yi Jeong responded flatly to his Don Juan friend, as a look of annoyance starts clouding his features.
"... fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. Ga Eul-yang might be patient with you now, but I hardly think she would continue to let you string her along in this manner without you making any significant changes in the lifestyle you lead. A smart girl like her knows when to give up on hopeless pining, so, if you don't want to lose her… you probably got to do something about the lifestyle you're leading currently." The Don Juan of F4 sighed in response, as he stepped out of his assigned room to join his Casanova friend as they made their way to the in-house restaurant of the ski lodge for breakfast.
"..." The Korean Casanova wordlessly fell into steps beside his Don Juan friend, with the words of his best friend ringing loud in his mind.
The breakfast meal is taken in relative silence, except for the brief moment of eye contact when Ga Eul settled down in the seat next to the Korean Casanova and the verbal morning greeting exchanged upon her arrival in the restaurant for the group breakfast session. Ga Eul didn't get to communicate much with the potter of F4. The lack of communication between them didn't bother So Yi Jeong much, this morning. Mainly because half his mind is still on the conversation he had with Woo Bin earlier before they made their way over to the restaurant for the group breakfast session. Woo Bin's words have provided quite a bit of food for his thoughts.
With his mind preoccupied with the words of his best friend, it goes without saying that Yi Jeong ended up zoning out mid-breakfast. As such, the Korean Casanova had unintentionally overlooked the fact that Chu Ga Eul was attempting to speak to him and ended up directing his attention elsewhere instead.
"..."
[What on earth is up with Yi Jeong-sunbae now? Is he ignoring me? Why though? Did anything happen between the time of our morning message and the breakfast session?] Chu Ga Eul thought with a frown marring her features when her repeated attempts to catch the attention of the Korean Casanova ended up in a failure. In the end, she decided to forgo the idea of getting the guy to give her a ride to the mall situated in the JR tower for the time being. Worse come to worst, she would simply book a cab to head off to the mall for her little errand.
"Ga Eul ah… do you know where's the washroom?" Geum Jan Di started, and her voice successfully snaps the focus of Ga Eul away from a certain Korean Casanova, and onto the figure of her childhood friend.
"...I'll go with you." Chu Ga Eul responded upon the sound of her friend's inquiry, making it a point to stop glancing at the figure of So Yi Jeong who seems determined to ignore her presence, this morning for some unfathomable reasons.
"Yi Jeong ah, I didn't say those things to you this morning to push you into avoiding Ga Eul-yang - you know?" Song Woo Bin waited until the girls are completely out of earshot before addressing his childhood friend.
"I know. It just gives me a lot of things to mull over." So Yi Jeong responded knowing full well why his friend said those things to him, earlier on in the morning.
"Then why on earth are you ignoring Ga Eul-yang, just now? I don't know about you, but she seems a little upset about being ignored by you earlier." Song Woo Bin pointed out objectively to his Casanova friend.
Upon the words of his best friend, the Korean Casanova appears startled for a second. Looking over to where the country bumpkin was seated earlier, he was met by the sight of a vacant seat. Shifting a questioning gaze upon his friends, the potter waits for someone to update him on the whereabouts of the country bumpkin.
"... Ga Eul-yang went to visit the washroom with Geum Jan Di in tow. Judging from your reaction, I'm going to make an educated guess that it wasn't your intention to ignore her earlier." Song Woo Bin deadpans at his Casanova friend, given the fact that Yi Jeong had frantically glanced over to where Chu Ga Eul was seated earlier - he had gathered enough to know that his friend had simply zoned out mid-breakfast and thus wasn't ignoring the girl on purpose.
"Of course, it isn't my intention to ignore her. I simply had a lot on my mind to think about is all… so, I might have zoned out for a bit. Either way, what was it that she had asked me earlier while I wasn't paying attention?" So Yi Jeong hurried to check in with his best friend, knowing full well that his friend would not withhold such information from him.
"Ga Eul-yang was wondering if you would mind giving her a lift to the Sapporo Stellar Place - a shopping mall near the Sapporo JR Station later this evening because she has to pick up something from the mall." The Don Juan of F4 stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he repeated the words of Chu Ga Eul to his friend, who had obviously zoned out earlier when the girl first made her request known.
"... I see. I'll be sure to apologize to her later for zoning out mid-breakfast, and give her the response to her request in a while." So Yi Jeong responded nodding to his Don Juan friend in gratitude.
"That's entirely up to you, anyway. Excuse me for a moment." Song Woo Bin commented before making a move to stand and leave the in-house restaurant heading for the direction of the washroom himself.
Location: Lobby of Ski Lodge at Shinhwa Ski Resort, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. 2nd May 2009, 10am
The Don Juan of F4 was about to head back to the restaurant after having visited the washroom when he heard the sound of the receptionist on duty behind the counter at the ski lodge apologizing to a guest of the ski lodge repetitively. Upon taking a closer look, the Don Juan of F4 came to realize that the guest whom the receptionist is apologizing to - just so happens to be one of the members of the annoying trio in Geum Jan Di and Chu Ga Eul's class.
"Is there a problem?" Song Woo Bin began, as he flicked his gaze between a local staff employed in the service of the Shinhwa Group at the ski lodge and the figure of Sunny, Park Sun Ja from Shinhwa High.
"Woo Bin-sunbae! Thank God, finally, someone who understands Korean is here. My friend, Ginger had a bit of an issue with an upset stomach… I was tasked with the duty of getting her some over-the-counter medication to treat diarrhea. However, it seems I have trouble getting the information I need from the staff stationed at the check-in counter, this morning." Sunny was beyond relieved to find the Don Juan of F4 approaching them, as she wasted no time in voicing her issue across to the Mafia Prince so, the guy could hopefully help in playing the role of a translator for her this morning.
"I see… so, do you wish to know the location of the nearest pharmacy or do you wish to know if the reception could help in procuring the medication that you need for your friend? Which is it?" Song Woo Bin prompted, despite finding the trio annoying like his fellow friends from F4… he wasn't someone who could blatantly ignore a lady in need of assistance. After all, he's the Don Juan of F4, isn't he?
"The pharmacy. I need to know the location of the nearest pharmacy." Sunny didn't even need to hesitate, as she cited her desire to know the location of the pharmacy closest to the ski resort. It would be best if she could get her hands on medication with English instructions listed on the medication package, else she doubts her friend would dare to try out the medication provided. Thus, she figures the best way to go about the issue is for her to make a personal trip over to the pharmacy to grab the medication for her friend.
With the Don Juan of F4 around to play translator between Sunny and the staff manning the check-in counter at the ski lodge this morning, Sunny was finally able to procure the information that she needs from the staff. The girl was about to rush off towards the direction of the drug store mentioned by the staff on duty when the Don Juan of F4 decided to tag along with her for the trip.
"Woo Bin-sunbae?" Sunny started, sounding surprised to find the Don Juan of F4 following her from behind.
"Just in case you need a translator to convey your message across to the pharmacist at the drug store, after all, you might not be able to find the product you seek directly off the shelf. Based on my understanding, most staffs employed in local stores are local villagers and thus, might not be able to understand much English, let alone the Korean tongue." Song Woo Bin explains with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
Location: Public Washroom on the ground floor of Shinhwa Ski Lodge, 2nd May 2009, Saturday, 10am
"Ginger, are you okay in there?" Miranda, Lee Mi Sook knocked on the door of the cubicle that her friend and leader are occupying as she voiced her concern across to the occupant within.
"Yes, I'm fine. As long as there's toilet paper in here for me, I'll be fine. Where's Sunny?" Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee calls back in response from her position on the toilet bowl.
"She went to ask the receptionist for the direction to the nearest pharmacy, with how many times you have been visiting the toilet since this morning. She thought it best to get you some over-the-counter medication for diarrhea as a precaution." Miranda, Lee Mi Sook responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
This is exactly the moment whereby Chu Ga Eul and Geum Jan Di came out from the neighboring cubicle. The moment they met eyes with the figure of Miranda, Lee Mi Sook - Geum Jan Di had on an expression that seems to be saying 'rotten luck to be running into the annoying trio here'. Chu Ga Eul, on the other hand, remained unfazed and instead nodded towards the figure of Miranda, politely.
"Let me know if Ginger needs a visit to the doctor. It's a tad troublesome for a foreigner to seek medical attention in Japan, without a valid health insurance card. I would be able to get her medical attention without the need to go to the local hospital." Chu Ga Eul offered her assistance gracefully to Miranda, from the annoying trio of her class.
"Right… I'll keep that in mind," Miranda responded with a nod directed towards the figure of Chu Ga Eul while ignoring the presence of Geum Jan Di.
When Chu Ga Eul shifted her attention towards where her childhood friend was standing in front of the sink and stared into the mirror to verify that the necklace is still safely clasped around her neck, the long-haired girl couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend's actions.
"Seriously, Jan Di… as long as nobody tugged on it - the necklace isn't going to fall off on its own." Ga Eul commented exasperatedly at her childhood friend, given that this is already the fourth time in the past hour her friend was checking to see if the necklace is still resting on her neck. So, forgive her if she finds it a tad annoying by this point.
"I know, but I can't help but feel uneasy about it. You know? Given that Gu Jun Pyo was so adamant when he warned me not to lose the necklace when he gifted it to me, last night." Geum Jan Di responded to her childhood friend with an uneasy look.
"..."
As Geum Jan Di and Chu Ga Eul are exiting the washroom, still engaged in a conversation about the necklace gifted by the Shinhwa heir… Sunny, Park Sun Ja was just entering the washroom facility after thanking the Don Juan of F4 again for his assistance. Needless to say, the information of the Shinhwa heir gifting Geum Jan Di with a necklace that's one of a kind reaches the ears of the annoying trio at the same point in time.
The eagerness to get the medication over to Ginger left forgotten, Sunny and Miranda promptly started huffing in annoyance over the idea of a commoner girl like Geum Jan Di had managed to garner the affections of the Shinhwa heir enviously. This is also when Ginger finally emerged from the toilet cubicle where she has been occupying for the past ten minutes, looking visibly upset about the gift Geum Jan Di received from Gu Jun Pyo of F4.
"Did you hear that, girls?!" Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee demanded from her friends.
"Yes, how could we have missed hearing that?!" Both Miranda and Sunny echoed in response, and while Miranda is truly upset by the fact and is willing to go along with whatever ploy Ginger had cooked up to get Geum Jan Di into trouble with the Shinhwa heir. Sunny, was a bit more reluctant to act upon the ploy cooked up by her friend.
True, she's envious of the fact that Geum Jan Di had garnered the affections of both Gu Jun Pyo and Yoon Ji Hoo of F4. And she's also incredibly jealous of the fact that Geum Jan Di had received such an invaluable gift from the Shinhwa heir, but she didn't think they should purposely 'steal' the necklace simply because they wish to see Geum Jan Di getting into trouble with the Shinhwa heir. Especially, when Chu Ga Eul is bound to be near Geum Jan Di… who's to say for certain that Chu Ga Eul wouldn't be able to catch them red-handed in the act?!
"Sunny, what's with that look on your face? I thought you wish to teach Geum Jan Di a lesson as well?!" Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee didn't miss the look of hesitance that crosses the features of Sunny's face and promptly tore into her friend without wasting a single minute.
"Of course, I want to teach Geum Jan Di a lesson just like you two. Only, I'm not sure if stealing the necklace gifted to her by Jun Pyo-sunbae is the correct way to go about it." Sunny, Park Sun Ja sighed inwardly as she tried to justify the reason behind her obvious hesitance to her two friends. Unfortunately, her reasoning could only fall on deaf ears since neither of them wish to come up with an alternative way of 'teaching' the commoner a lesson.
"Go on, what are you two waiting for?" Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee demanded shooing her two friends off to catch up to Geum Jan Di to put her ploy into action.
"... Ginger, before that - here's the medication. You'd best take it before joining us out on the ski slopes." Sunny then handed the bottle of medication she had picked up from the local drugstore earlier under the assistance of the Don Juan of F4.
As it turns out, the Don Juan of F4 is right - the medication is indeed not displayed on the shelf and she had to approach the pharmacist on duty to get the medication. It would be a tad troublesome for her if Song Woo Bin hasn't been around to play translator for her at the pharmacy, because the pharmacist's English is so bad that she couldn't understand a single thing and she has zero knowledge of the Japanese tongue.
Miranda, in a rush to catch up to Geum Jan Di ahead - wasted no time in plucking the medication out from Sunny's hands and placing it into the hands of Ginger. And then, she started pushing Sunny forcibly out of the washroom door as she said. "Come on, Sunny. Stop stalling and get going already!"
In the washroom, Ginger allowed a smug grin to form on her features briefly before holding her belly once again as she groaned aloud. "Damn… my belly hurts again…" Holding on to her belly, Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee made her way back into the washroom to sit atop the toilet bowl for yet another round of business. As she went about conducting her 'big businesses with the toilet bowl, Ginger was thinking that her friend - Sunny is right. It's likely that the sashimi she ate last night didn't agree with her stomach, and thus she probably does need to take some medication to put a stop to her constant diarrhea episode.
Funny though, she didn't have such an issue when she eats sashimi back in Korea. So, is it because she ate too much sashimi in one go? Since the portion of sashimi served for last night's dinner is indeed a tad more than the amount she used to ingest while eating Japanese cuisine back in Korea. The leader of the annoying trio thought inwardly to herself as she does her business in the toilet cubicle of the washroom situated on the ground floor of the ski lodge at the Shinhwa Ski Resort in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
So Yi Jeong was waiting outside the area of the washroom to apologize to the country bumpkin for ignoring her earlier, only it seems the girl was trying to give him a taste of the same medicine. Because instead of acknowledging his presence, Chu Ga Eul simply kept her focus on the Wonder Woman of Korea.
"Come on, Jan Di - let's go!" Chu Ga Eul said to her childhood friend.
"Huh? Wait… where are we going?" Geum Jan Di blinked at her friend in bewilderment.
"Where else?! This is a skiing trip, of course, we are going skiing!" Chu Ga Eul declared, and then promptly brushes past the figure of So Yi Jeong while dragging her childhood friend alongside her as they made their way out of the ski lodge.
"..." So Yi Jeong stared after the departing back figure of Chu Ga Eul completely speechless, whereas Song Woo Bin who has been around long enough to witness the scene couldn't help but burst into laughter, outright at the stupefied look on his friend's face.
"Ya! Woo Bin, stop laughing and get a move on already!" Coming back to his senses, the Korean Casanova wasted no time in snapping at his friend and then promptly headed out of the ski lodge - in an attempt to catch up to the girls. Although, Yi Jeong still had no idea how to get the country bumpkin alone so he could apologize for ignoring the girl earlier on.
As the Korean Casanova followed the girls from behind, he couldn't help but wonder where on earth is the Shinhwa heir when he needs someone to occupy the attention of Geum Jan Di. As of the present, due to the presence of the Wonder Woman of Korea next to the country bumpkin - there is simply no way he could approach Chu Ga Eul to apologize for ignoring the girl previously during the breakfast hour.
Despite being a newbie in skiing, Chu Ga Eul was able to ski quite well after attending a 30 minutes session with the local coach who's teaching kids how to ski on the beginners' slope. Granted, the entire lecture was conducted in Japanese that went over the head of Geum Jan Di, it managed to stick with Ga Eul since Japanese is a language, she's pretty well-versed in. And so, after giving the activity a try and figuring out how things work - Ga Eul, in turn, went on to teach what she learns from the coach to her childhood friend.
This is probably when Ga Eul's talent as a teacher comes to light, because shortly after Ga Eul taught Geum Jan Di the basics - the Wonder Woman of Korea was able to handle the skis on her own. Though, still a tad shaky at times - it's definitely way better than when she was being taught how to ski under the guidance of her boyfriend - Gu Jun Pyo.
"Ga Eul, ever thought of becoming a teacher? You're very good at teaching people things, I've come to realize…" Geum Jan Di beams at her childhood friend as she praised her friend for a job well-done. After all, she almost thought she had zero talent in skiing because Gu Jun Pyo spend about 2-3 hours yesterday afternoon teaching her the ropes at skiing and she still fails to get it by the end of the entire session. Yet, Ga Eul only guided her through for half an hour and she could now ski on her own without assistance for the most part.
"Really? Thank you, I'll keep that in mind as a potential prospect for my future plans." Chu Ga Eul beams at her childhood friend in response, while she tries to ignore the pointed stare a certain Casanova had been focusing on her person.
As Jan Di expressed the urge to try skiing on her own without Ga Eul leading her by the hand, Ga Eul obliged her friend's request and went on ahead. At first, Geum Jan Di was handling the skiing motion on her own pretty well - but later she got distracted by the snowboarder nearby and lose her balance by falling. Luckily, the snow is pretty thick so it helps to cushion her fall without her injuring herself in the process.
"Jan Di ah, are you okay?" Ga Eul calls out to her friend, shortly after noticing that Jan Di had stumbled mid-way through skiing.
"Yes, I'm fine. Go on ahead, I'll catch up to you in a bit." Geum Jan Di calls back to her childhood friend in response, as she tried to pick herself off the snow by thinking back to what Ga Eul had taught her if she were to fall while skiing.
Miranda and Sunny, who have been keeping track of the movements of Geum Jan Di thought this was the best opportunity to strike and put the ploy cooked-up by their absent leader into action. After all, the Shinhwa heir and Yoon Ji Hoo aren't around and Chu Ga Eul was quite a distance away, and probably wouldn't be able to witness their little thieving act. Whereas the Don Juan and the Korean Casanova seem to have their attention elsewhere for the moment.
"Well… what are you waiting for? Sunny?! Go on!" Miranda urged, and as reluctant as Sunny was - she begins to ski towards the direction of Geum Jan Di's location with Miranda following her from a distance. She was about to act the part of skiing ahead and collide with Geum Jan Di by feigning ignorance of the girl's presence at the ski slopes while Miranda would follow behind.
Hopefully, with the collision - Geum Jan Di would fall back down onto the ground, allowing them the perfect chance to help her up, and seized the opportunity to remove the necklace from Geum Jan Di by force but keeping their actions discreet, at the same time. Wanting no part in the actual theft, Sunny told Miranda that it is up to Miranda to remove the necklace from Geum Jan Di because she isn't going to do that. What Sunny would do, is to help Geum Jan Di up from the snow and advice the girl to be a tad careful while skiing.
When the first collision took place, Miranda wasn't able to snatch the necklace off Geum Jan Di. So, she shoots a discreet look at Sunny signaling for her friend to feign another round of collision with Geum Jan Di. It's downright impossible to stage another collision and make it seems like an accident on her part, Sunny isn't that much of an idiot. Still, she knows how Ginger could be at times and thus she decided to pretend to lose her balance while getting up from the snow. In the process, she knocked Geum Jan Di back down onto the snow intentionally.
Of course, given the angle where the F2 and Chu Ga Eul stood - they can't tell for certain whether Sunny's actions were intentional or not. Since it can be a tad challenging for newbie skiers to recover from a fall on the snow.
"Jan Di ah, are you okay?" Ga Eul calls out again, to her childhood friend.
"I'm fine." Geum Jan Di responded, calling back to her childhood friend as she allowed herself to be pulled back up to her feet by the duo from the annoying trio of her class.
"Be more careful next time, Geum Jan Di." Miranda commented as she patted the snow from the shoulders of Geum Jan Di while shooting Sunny a look that says 'mission successful' and then the duo promptly sped off on their skis towards another direction, leaving Geum Jan Di alone and blissfully unaware of the fact that the necklace is no longer on her neck.
Chu Ga Eul, meanwhile, due to having the bulk of her attention focused on her childhood friend failed to realize that there's a snowboarder who seemed a tad drunk and was snowboarding without paying attention to his way around the slopes. The guy only managed to narrowly avoid colliding with Jan Di but not without swaying on his feet for a bit, and when he snowboarded ahead - Ga Eul happens to be in his path. By the time he noticed Ga Eul in front of him, it was nearly impossible for him to avoid colliding into Ga Eul.
This was when So Yi Jeong reacted, having placed the bulk of his focus on the country bumpkin since they came out onto the ski slopes. It's only natural that he would be paying extra attention to the happenings around the girl, after all, he had been desperate to get the girl alone so he could apologize to the girl for his previous unintentional oversight of ignoring the girl during the breakfast session earlier. Thus, when he noticed the danger Ga Eul was in - he didn't even have time to give Woo Bin a heads-up before he was off running towards where Chu Ga Eul was standing rooted in the path of the snowboarder and tackled the girl down to the side.
Chu Ga Eul was bracing herself for the force of impact from the collision with the snowboarder, so much so, that she had purposely shied her head away not looking in the snowboarder's direction lest the collision had landed them in a position where their faces are being exceptionally close. However, what greeted her instead wasn't the collision with the unknown snowboarder but a certain Korean Casanova tackling her out of the way. The force of the tackle causes Ga Eul's head to land right into the snow, thankfully the snow beneath her head was thick enough to cushion the force of the tackling move from the potter of F4. Else, there's a high chance of her getting a concussion from the guy's decision to tackle her out of the snowboarder's path.
"Ga Eul! Ga Eul, are you okay? Wake up, Ga Eul! Can you hear me? Are you okay?" So Yi Jeong wasted no time in fussing over the country bumpkin once the snowboarder had passed them by smoothly. In his panic, he had literally dropped the honorific to the name of the country bumpkin without realization.
"..."
Song Woo Bin and Geum Jan Di were both rendered speechless by the acts of So Yi Jeong. For the Don Juan of F4, his only thought was that this is the most reckless thing he had seen Yi Jeong do in the past decade. Meanwhile, Geum Jan Di was both baffled and relieved by the actions taken by the Korean Casanova of F4.
On one hand, the Wonder Woman of Korea was thankful that the Korean Casanova had saved her friend from an accident on the slopes… but on the other hand, she thought the reaction of the Korean Casanova was a tad too panicky. The snow is very thick, having fallen over three times in a row - Jan Di was certain that it wouldn't have hurt her friend in the least. Yet, the Korean Casanova was fussing over her friend as though Ga Eul is in a state of imminent danger.
A quick look in the direction of Geum Jan Di, the Don Juan of F4 knew that his Casanova friend had just doomed himself to the possible fate of being interrogated by the Wonder Woman of Korea when the girl finally caught on to his unnatural anxiousness over Chu Ga Eul. Meanwhile, Chu Ga Eul thought she was hallucinating when she heard the voice of So Yi Jeong calling out her name in an anxious manner.
Slowly, she begins to open her eyes and assess her surroundings. The first thing that met her eyes was the sight of the anxious-looking Casanova of F4 peering at her with unbidden concern.
"Ga Eul, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Yi Jeong heaved an inward sigh of relief upon the sight of the country bumpkin opening her eyes.
"..." Unable to form a coherent response at present, Chu Ga Eul settled for a wordless nod in response to the concern of the Korean Casanova, as she allowed the guy to pull her up on her feet. Unwittingly, her lips started to quirk up into a grin as she thought of the anxious reaction her near accident had garnered from the infamous Casanova of F4. Looks like her plan to capture the Casanova is progressing smoothly, and now it's only a matter of time before she would have the Casanova in her grasp.
"Ga Eul, I ought to offer you an apology." So Yi Jeong begins, seizing the opportunity to apologize to the girl before Geum Jan Di and Woo Bin reach where they stood.
"An apology for?" Chu Ga Eul prompted, tilting her head to the side in a questioning manner. The earlier near collision with the unknown snowboarder had literally caused her to forget about the episode of the Korean Casanova ignoring her presence in the restaurant where they took their breakfast meal earlier.
"I didn't mean to ignore you in the restaurant earlier. I was zoning out, and thus fail to hear your request. It wasn't an intentional decision on my part to ignore you. For that, I apologized." The Korean Casanova managed to get it out, just as Geum Jan Di and his friend - Woo Bin arrived at a stop in front of them.
"Ah… I see it's fine. Since you didn't hear my words before, I'll ask you again. Is it okay for you to drive me to the Sapporo Stellar Place later this afternoon?" Chu Ga Eul waved off the words of apology from the Korean Casanova and brought up her request to the man again, completely unaware that a certain Don Juan of F4 had already passed on her request to the Korean Casanova earlier.
"Of course, I'll drive you over to the mall for your errand. That's the entire point of me renting the vehicle, to begin with. What time do you intend to swing by the mall?" So Yi Jeong inquires, smiling at the country bumpkin as he voiced his query across to the girl.
"Hmm… I was thinking around 2pm, after lunch. That way, we will be able to come back in time for dinner." Chu Ga Eul responded, flicking her eyes to her friend momentarily. Despite the temptation for her to invite the Korean Casanova to a private dinner session over at a restaurant she knows in the mall that is under the management of the Miyazawa F&B Group, she decided to drop the idea after noticing that her childhood friend was listening in to her conversation with the Korean Casanova attentively. After all, her friend would know something is up between the two of them if she were to invite the Korean Casanova out for dinner without the others around for companionship.
"Sounds good to me. We shall leave for the mall after lunch then." So Yi Jeong nodded in response, having regathered his wits together to regain control of his facial expression once again.
"So, Ga Eul… you're, okay?" Geum Jan Di turns her eyes upon her childhood friend and asks, seeking confirmation after her friend ended the brief conversation with the Korean Casanova about an errand trip to the mall later this afternoon.
"Yes, I'm fine. Yi Jeong-sunbae tackles me out of the way in the nick of time. Although the tackling from him had kind of knocked the wind out of me for a bit - so, it took me a while to reorient myself with the surroundings." Chu Ga Eul answered directing her words to her childhood friend while directing a look of gratitude towards the Korean Casanova, making it a point to provide her childhood friend with a plausible explanation behind the fussing a certain Casanova was directing towards her in the wake of the near-collision incident between her and the snowboarder.
"I see…so, that was why he was fussing over you so much just now. I had thought his reaction was a tad overboard since the snow should be thick enough to cushion your head from the impact after he tackled you to save you from colliding with the snowboarder." Geum Jan Di nodded, taking her friend's words as the explanation behind the anxious reaction from the Korean Casanova moments ago.
Meanwhile, Ga Eul and Yi Jeong shared a secretive smile as they meet eyes with one another, but the moment was over in a blink of an eye. Except for the Don Juan of F4, who truly knows of the mutual attraction that exists between the two of them as well as the real reason why Yi Jeong was so anxious earlier. Geum Jan Di remains none the wiser about the meaning behind the eye contact between So Yi Jeong and Chu Ga Eul.
Location: Shinhwa Hotel, Seoul, South Korea. Kang Hee Soo's Office
"Yes, I know. And I took responsibility for it, but honey…" Kang Hee-Soo said, trying to keep her tone calm as she conversed with her husband on the phone.
"No, dear. You listened to me; I've told you multiple times to put that expansion plan of yours, on hold. Why did you choose to go on ahead with the expansion plan?" Gu Bon-Hyeong, the director of the Shinhwa Group responded on his end of the line, trying to refrain from letting his temper show but it's proving very hard to do so. Especially since, he had only just come to find out that his wife had gone behind his back to launch a new expansion plan of their hotel business when they haven't quite recouped the money from the building of the ski resort in Hokkaido, Japan.
Now, while their business isn't exactly in the red. But it's a damn near thing, from his understanding for he had to delay the payment of his staff salary for a week which has never happened before. To say that Gu Bon-Hyeong was more than a little upset with his wife at present is an understatement. The last time something like this happened, they had to sacrifice the happiness of their daughter… are they going to have to repeat the performance with Jun Pyo as well? Upon the thought of his son, Gu Bon-Hyeong felt the start of a migraine behind the back of his skull.
"I hate to say this, but I think it's time to reassess the situation of our business scale and downsize the business if necessary." Gu Bon-Hyeong eventually said this was the best course of action he could think of at present.
"Are you telling me that you intend to sell off a portion of our business?" Kang Hee-Soo could hardly believe what she's hearing from her husband over the phone, so much so that she actually sounded incredulous on her end.
"Well - I was thinking of letting go of our supermarket chain business in Korea. It isn't the most profitable area of our business, and the Miyazawa Group has expressed interest in taking up more market shares in the supermarket department within our home country. I thought we could just let them have that area of the market… if we simply look at the figures, we aren't profiting as much in this particular area as compared to a decade ago." Gu Bon-Hyeong admitted, the idea to let go of the supermarket business has been on his mind for some time. But it is only now that he thought he ought to do it because it could help save the rest of his business for the money, he could get from the sale of the supermarket business to the Miyazawa F&B Group is quite significant and could be considered a lifeline to the crisis the Shinhwa Group is facing at present.
"But honey… the supermarket business was the labor of your father's effort and hard work." Kang Hee-Soo tried to argue against her husband's decision, but it seems that her efforts are in vain because her husband decides to hang up on her soon after.
"President…" Jeong Sang-Rok entered the office of Kang Hee-Soo then.
Still staring at the phone in her hand, the lady president of the Shinhwa Group sets the phone back down on the cradle as she holds a hand up to her head in weariness. "We are not doing very good now, where's Jun Pyo? Find him. We'll need him to start taking up his role as the heir to the Shinhwa Group, so find out where he is now. After that, we will leave for Macau at the earliest possible timing." Kang Hee-Soo instructed the thought of dealing with Geum Jan Di was the furthest thing away from her mind now.
Location: Shinhwa Ski Resort, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. 2nd May 2009, 4pm
Shortly after arriving back from her errand trip to the mall, Chu Ga Eul left the Korean Casanova with a box of pastry to share with the other members of F4 while she went in search of her childhood friend with the treats she had gotten back from the mall. She had picked up both the pastry and the sweet treats from the franchise chain of artisan bakery that the Takahashi family owned in the Sapporo Stellar Place, a shopping mall next to the Sapporo JR Station.
"Jan Di, there you are!" Chu Ga Eul calls out upon sighting her childhood friend near a cafe within the vicinity of the ski resort.
"Ga Eul, how did your errand trip go?" Geum Jan Di asks, addressing her approaching childhood friend with a beaming expression.
"It went well, come on, I've brought some treats. We could share them." Chu Ga Eul told Jan Di as she starts dragging her childhood friend into the cafe, after taking a look at the name of the cafe. Upon recognizing it as a subsidiary cafe chain of the Miyazawa F&B Group in Japan, Ga Eul promptly disregards the fact that she's bringing in her own food and dragged her childhood friend forcefully into the cafe.
The staff who noticed the outside food was about to comment on it when the manager of the cafe halted the staff in the act and whispered in a soft tone of voice. "Don't - that's the daughter of our big boss. If she wishes to bring in outside food, let her."
"...Oh…" The staff nodded, and promptly turn a blind eye to the actions of Chu Ga Eul. The manager of the cafe, on the other hand, was thankful that she had the insight to pop by the newly set-up branch in the ski resort for a look. Why on earth is the illegitimate heiress to their big boss in Japan at this time of the year? Isn't she only due to visit Japan in the summers?
"Wow… this looks delicious. What are these?" Geum Jan Di gasped in delight when she landed her eyes on the sweet treats brought back by her childhood friend for them to enjoy for their tea break.
"These are Chocolate Ganache cakes." Ga Eul introduced the cakes to her friend, as she holds out a fork to Jan Di so her childhood friend could try out the cake for herself.
However, before Jan Di could take a bite of the delicious-looking treat. Ga Eul noticed something 'off' about her friend, and a quick survey of her friend's person informed her just what it was that's missing from her friend.
"Jan Di ah, where's your necklace?" Chu Ga Eul inquires, the thought of her friend losing the necklace didn't occur to her as she thought Jan Di had taken them off and kept them elsewhere. But it seems her friend did indeed lose the necklace, given how her friend had reached automatically for her neck when Ga Eul voiced her query about the whereabouts of the necklace to her childhood friend.
Resisting the urge to face-palm upon the panicky look on her childhood friend's face, Chu Ga Eul told Jan Di calmly. "Jan Di, take a deep breath and calm down before you start panicking. Now think back on all the places you've been since this morning, where have you been? Is there a possibility of you have taken off the necklace at some point and forgot all about it, afterward?"
"..."
Meanwhile, over at the lounge of the ski resort is where the Korean Casanova found his friends sans the Shinhwa heir.
"Where's Jun Pyo?" Yi Jeong asks as he enters the lounge with the pastry box given to him by the country bumpkin in hand.
"No idea. Welcome back, Yi Jeong. What do you have there in your hand?" Song Woo Bin inquires, darting his eyes towards the box held in his friend's hands.
"Ga Eul-yang got these for us to share, apparently - these are pastries sold in the franchise bakery stores owned by the Takahashi Group." The Korean Casanova responded as he set the pastry box down on the coffee table in the lounge, and open up the cover lid to the pastry box for his friends to take a look into the content.
"Oh, these are Danish pastries. It's been a long time since I had eaten Danish pastries, somehow the bakeries in Seoul don't offer Danish pastries for the customers." Song Woo Bin commented as he took one of the cinnamon rolls out from the box to give it a try.
"Yes, well… such pastries take a long time to make. And most bakeries in Seoul, aren't artisan bakeries. Thus far, there are only a couple of artisan bakeries in Seoul… and none of them are specialized in Danish pastries, it's a tad hard to find a bakery that sells such pastries in Seoul. But apparently, the artisan bakery chain owned by the Takahashi Group offers Danish pastries for their customer group. Albeit, only for a limited period… and the pastries vary daily. Today, they had the cinnamon rolls but I heard, they offer the Viennese Bread yesterday at the bakery. The branch in the mall we visited earlier is just a cozy little bakery tucked in one corner of the basement level, in the mall, I heard from Ga Eul that the branch in Ginza, Tokyo is a bakery cafe, and the choices of bread and cakes are a lot more than the variety offered in the branch we visited earlier." So Yi Jeong explains, as he reached for a cinnamon roll to try out given that he hasn't had a chance to give the pastry a try yet.
"...What happens to the honorific you tend to use with Chu Ga Eul?" Yoon Ji Hoo, always one to zero in on points that most people wouldn't - was the first to pick up the change in Yi Jeong's way of addressing the childhood friend of Geum Jan Di.
"I know, it flew out of the window when Yi Jeong plays the knight in shining armor earlier as he saved Ga Eul-yang from being run-over by the snowboarder. And then, he went on to drop the honorific altogether." Song Woo Bin grinned a Cheshire grin as he went on to relay the event that took place earlier out on the ski slope to the auburn-haired member of F4, while the Korean Casanova rolls his eyes from the sofa armchair in the lounge where he had settled down upon his return to the ski resort.
"In my defense, it would simply be weird if I drop the honorific one moment, and then went back to using the honorific the next moment." So Yi Jeong deadpans to his two friends present on-site.
Geum Jan Di who had finally come to the awful realization that her necklace is missing promptly went into a panicky mood. No longer in the mood to try out the treats brought back by her childhood friend after a visit to the mall, the Wonder Woman of Korea promptly made a beeline back to her assigned room as she tried to locate the necklace to see if there's a possibility of her dropping it in the room. Unknowingly, the annoying trio was watching Geum Jan Di's every move and upon noticing that the dense girl had finally realized that the necklace is missing.
Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee smirked as she commented. "Finally, I thought she was never going to realize that her necklace is missing."
"..." Sunny watched on, uncertain of what to make of her friend and leader's statement.
Miranda, on the other hand, took it upon herself to prompt Ginger. "So, what should we do next?"
"We go to Jun Pyo-sunbae and inform him about Geum Jan Di losing the necklace he had gifted her. That would definitely get Geum Jan Di into trouble with Jun Pyo-sunbae." A gleeful look formed on the face of Ginger, as she envisioned the scene of the Shinhwa heir breaking up with Geum Jan Di in front of her eyes.
For a while, Sunny was tempted to remind her friend that even if the Shinhwa heir got so disappointed with Geum Jan Di that they parted ways… the Shinhwa heir would still not look in Ginger's way because Ginger is definitely not the Shinhwa heir's cup of tea. Heck, Sunny is willing to bet that they aren't on the list of girls that the members of F4 would consider dating - period. After all, Yoon Ji Hoo of F4 outright detested them on sight. Gu Jun Pyo barely tolerates them, So Yi Jeong ignores them every single time they crossed paths while Song Woo Bin treated them as invisible on most days.
In the end, Sunny thought of the possible reaction of her two friends and promptly discarded the idea. After all, they are sharing a room while on this trip… so, it could be a tad hard for her to block out the sound of their whines and complaints if she were to say something that disagree with the idea of her two friends. Henceforth, to ensure that she would have a peaceful night of rest tonight - Sunny decided to simply go with the flow.
Gu Jun Pyo was not in a good mood, he had just gotten off a phone call with Jeong Sang-Rok, the secretary of his mother checking in on his whereabouts. Thus, when the three annoying girls dubbed the annoying trio by his girlfriend approached him in the hallway of the ski lodge - Gu Jun Pyo couldn't help but frown.
"What do you want?" The Shinhwa heir had all but demanded.
"Jun Pyo-sunbae, is it true that you had gifted Geum Jan Di a necklace?" Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee begins with a smile.
"..." Uncertain of what the girl was trying to say by bringing up this topic to him, Gu Jun Pyo opted to maintain his silence on the matter.
"The necklace features a pendant of a moon within a star?" Miranda, Lee Mi Sook added on with a grin.
"And how on earth do you know of this?" Gu Jun Pyo finally responded, directing a question of his own towards the annoying trio.
"Well… in that case, perhaps you would like to check with Geum Jan Di to see if she still has it." Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee finally dropped the 'bombshell' piece of information on the Shinhwa heir with a gleeful look that appeared in her eyes.
"Yes, it seems she might have dropped it or lost it somewhere…" Miranda, Lee Mi Sook allowed the rest of her words to trail off when the Shinhwa heir stormed off - likely to go in search for Geum Jan Di.
"Let's see how Geum Jan Di is going to wriggle out from this one." Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee smirked as she commented under her breath.
"..." Leaving her two friends behind to continue envisioning the upcoming scene of confrontation between Gu Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di, Sunny turns on her heels to leave for the veranda of the ski lodge.
"Ya! Sunny, where are you going?" Miranda, who had noticed the departing back figure of Sunny suddenly calls out to the girl's attention.
"...I'm off to make a call to my father. Is that going to be an issue for you?" Sunny, Park Sun Ja calls back to her friend sounding slightly annoyed.
"Ginger, don't you think Sunny is a tad weird recently? She seems to be pulling away from us bit by bit." Miranda then turns towards her friend and leader as she voiced her query about the oddity she had detected in their other friend, recently.
"Nah… Sunny's just stressed. Unlike us, her father had told her to start interning in her family business and to prepare to take over the company upon graduating from college." Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee shrugged in response.
"..."
As Geum Jan Di ransacked her entire room trying to find the necklace, Chu Ga Eul was helping her childhood friend along in the search by checking in with the receptionist of the ski lodge to see if there's anyone on the staff roster that happens to find the necklace while they were going around the place for their routine inspection.
Geum Jan Di has been searching underneath the sofa armchair of her suite room after ransacking the bedroom area to find no sign of the missing necklace when Gu Jun Pyo entered her suite room without knocking in advance.
"Did you lose something?" Gu Jun Pyo started, although he hasn't been keen to believe the words of the annoying trio it seems they were telling the truth, this time.
"I'm just cleaning the room for a bit…" Geum Jan Di tried a diversion tactic first, only the Shinhwa heir wasn't so naive to take her words for it, this time.
"Really? And why aren't you not wearing your necklace?" Gu Jun Pyo decided to cut straight to the point, his tone blunt and flat.
"Sorry, I was wearing it before. Only, I wasn't sure when it had fallen off." Geum Jan Di, seeing no way to avoid telling the truth promptly started apologizing to the Shinhwa heir.
"Why are you always like this? Are you sure you didn't lose it on purpose?" Gu Jun Pyo demanded; his tone full of hurt. How many times has this been? Him gifting the girl something only to have her lose it within a day.
"Gu Jun Pyo, it's not what you think." Geum Jan Di attempted to explain only to have the Shinhwa heir cutting her off in a dismissing manner.
"Why do you always have to trample on my feelings for you?" Gu Jun Pyo started and knowing that more hurtful words were about to spill forth from his lips if he stays on in the room of his girlfriend further. The Shinhwa heir promptly turns on his heels to leave the room for a breather, he needs some time to calm down before attempting to converse with his girlfriend, again.
Geum Jan Di didn't blame her boyfriend for getting upset with her, she would be upset too in his position. With her mind in turmoil, she didn't even stop to think of the possibility that her necklace had been stolen off her neck by the duo of the annoying trio during their collision on the ski slopes earlier in the day. All Geum Jan Di could think of, was the possibility of her dropping it while she was bustling around the place.
Deciding to head out to try her luck in the search, the Wonder Woman of Korea went to her childhood friend first requesting her friend's help in penning out a message in Japanese that would allow her to go around asking if anyone had seen her necklace a tad easier. After all, they are in Japan, it's not as though the other patrons to the ski resort would understand Korean and her English language ability is rather limited as well.
It goes without saying that the search of her necklace within the ski lodge turns up empty-handed, and for obvious reasons she didn't wish to inquire the members of the annoying trio about whether or not, they had seen her necklace. Because she knows that they aren't going to provide her with an honest response. And although Ga Eul had offered her assistance in helping Jan Di in the search - the Wonder Woman of Korea had turned down her friend's offer of assistance citing that she needs to do this, on her own.
In the meantime, back in Korea - Jeong Sang-Rok had reported back to Kang Hee-Soo shortly after the end of his phone call session with the Shinhwa heir, about the whereabouts of Gu Jun Pyo.
"What?!" Kang Hee-Soo had thought her son was goofing off somewhere within Seoul, but to know that her son had taken that commoner girl and the F4 off to a skiing trip in the neighboring country was completely outside her expectation.
"... Send a team stationed in Japan over to bring him back, and find someone with martial arts training." Kang Hee-Soo ordered, with how rebellious her son had been these days - she wouldn't put it across her son to attempt to hit the members on the bodyguard team while trying to escape them.
And so, Gu Jun Pyo who's busy throwing stones at a snowman he had created and decked out with a winter cap belonging to his girlfriend while ranting about his pent-up frustration over the girl's careless handling of his gifts soon found himself to be surrounded by a team of men who's obviously from his bodyguard group.
"What are you lot doing here?" The Shinhwa heir practically demanded, upset that his bodyguard team had dismissed his orders for them to remain hidden from sight while he's on his skiing vacation.
"The president ordered for us to bring you back." The leader of the bodyguard team responded respectfully to the inquiry of the Shinhwa heir.
"I don't care what the witch is saying, but I'm not going anywhere." Gu Jun Pyo responded in a demanding tone of voice.
Needless to say, with him insisting on not leaving and the bodyguard team insisting on bringing him back. They ended up going to blows, but eventually, the leader of the bodyguard team had enough of the Shinhwa heir tantrum and interfered officially. Using his more experienced martial art training, he managed to subdue the protesting Shinhwa heir in time. And so, Gu Jun Pyo found himself being shoved into the black sedan that his bodyguard team had been using to travel around the city while in Sapporo. Resigning himself to the ultimate fate of being carted off back to Korea without delay, the Shinhwa heir was blissfully unaware of the danger his girlfriend is in, at present.
Chu Ga Eul was in her assigned room sorting through her baggage, and tidying it up ahead of time - so, she needn't rush through her packing when they are set to depart for Korea, the next afternoon when she heard the news coming on TV about an approaching blizzard storm. Without even hesitating, Chu Ga Eul sped towards the direction where she knew her childhood friend's assigned room was situated and barged into the room in search of her friend. Somehow, there's a pool of dread forming at the pit of her stomach when she found the room to be empty. A quick scan around the room led her to the discovery of a memo note left behind by her childhood friend with the message of her leaving the ski lodge to go in search of her missing necklace.
[Holy shit! Jan Di is going to be the death of me one of these days! How could she venture out onto the slopes on her own?!] - Chu Ga Eul thought with an angry frown marring her features.
Snatching the note from the table where she found it sitting upon in the sitting room area of her friend's suite room, Ga Eul went on to go in search for the F4, or F3 - whichever applies. The F3, on the other hand, had long finished up the box of pastry among themselves. In the end, because Jun Pyo never showed up - they decided to not leave any pastry for the Shinhwa heir and split the balance of the cinnamon roll among themselves.
Now, still lingering in the lounge of the ski lodge - the two playboys were engaged in a card game while Yoon Ji Hoo strummed away on his guitar. The TV unit in the lounge was on, as the auburn-haired member of F4 wanted to listen to the weather forecast for the following day. Given that they are supposed to fly back to Seoul, on the following day. Depending on the weather forecast, they might need to adjust the timing of their return flight accordingly.
Location: Shinhwa Ski Lodge, Lounge - Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. 2nd May 2009, 7pm
"Hold on, Woo Bin. Ga Eul's calling me." So Yi Jeong said, holding up a hand to halt whatever it was that his best friend was going to say and prioritize the answering of an incoming call from the country bumpkin.
"..."
"Yi Jeong-sunbae, where are you guys now?" That is the first thing Ga Eul had inquired when Yi Jeong picks up the call on his mobile phone.
"We are in the lounge on the ground floor of the ski resort." So Yi Jeong answered, not quite understanding the underlying urgency in the tone of Ga Eul's voice.
"Don't move, I'm on my way over. We have a problem." Chu Ga Eul commented through the phone as she rushes down the stairway and made a beeline for the direction of the lounge of the ski resort.
Five minutes later, Chu Ga Eul barged into the lounge panting for breath as she handed the memo note she found in Jan Di's room over to the Korean Casanova for perusal. And then, to quench her thirst from running all the way down from the third floor where her assigned room was situated on to the ground floor where the lounge is located - Ga Eul simply grabbed the glass of water sitting on the coffee table that's the closest to her and gulped it down in one go, without a bat of her eyelid.
"..." The Korean Casanova didn't even have time to inform Ga Eul that she ought to wait for the new glass of water that Ji Hoo had gone to retrieve for her consumption when the girl had promptly emptied out the glass of water which he had already taken a sip from before.
"Yes?" Ga Eul, upon noticing the stare the Korean Casanova was directing at her person went on to tilt her head questioningly at the man with a quizzical gaze.
"Nothing... so, what do you mean by we have a problem?" So Yi Jeong shakes his head at the girl before inquiring about the sense of urgency that Chu Ga Eul was currently displaying.
"Look at the note first, and if you still fail to comprehend the situation – then only, I will explain the details to you. Else, it's going to take up too much time." Chu Ga Eul commented as she flicked her gaze to the memo note left behind by Jan Di for her to find in her childhood friend's assigned room.
It took a while for the Korean Casanova to comprehend the meaning behind Ga Eul's earlier comment about them having a problem on their hands. And when he did, the first thing he did was to clarify with the country bumpkin to see if he had understood the situation correctly. "Wait... you mean to say that Geum Jan Di went out to the slopes in search of the necklace?"
"Yes. Given that she has already asked around and did a complete search indoors, I believe she is referring to the outside when she left me that memo note in her room. After all, we have a prearranged agreement to have a sleepover in her room earlier this evening before she discovered that her necklace is missing. So, she knows I'm bound to go over to her room to find her when the time comes, and hence the reason why she had left me that memo note." Chu Ga Eul explains in a matter-of-fact tone of voice to the Korean Casanova, how she had come across the memo note in her friend's room.
"Necklace...? Surely, you aren't referring to the necklace Jun Pyo gifted her, are you?" Song Woo Bin blinked as he voiced his query across to the anxious-looking Chu Ga Eul.
"Yes, Woo Bin-sunbae. You assumed correctly, the necklace Jan Di went out in search of is the necklace gifted to her by Jun Pyo-sunbae, last night. I wouldn't have panicked this much if Jan Di had stuck to the boundary of the indoor area for her search. The issue lies in her decision to venture outdoor, alone without being aware of an approaching blizzard storm." Chu Ga Eul fretted as she starts to pace around the lounge in anxiety.
"Ga Eul, do you have any idea when Geum Jan Di left the lodge to head out to the slopes in search of her missing necklace?" So Yi Jeong inquires next, trying to see if there's any possibility to catch up to the Wonder Woman of Korea.
"No clues, it could have been more than an hour ago." Chu Ga Eul shakes her head in response, as she continues her anxious pacing activity around the lounge of the ski resort.
"... Where's Jun Pyo?" Yoon Ji Hoo then brought on the next crucial question.
"Good question, it's been hours. Has anyone seen Jun Pyo around?" Song Woo Bin asks then, glancing between Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong for an answer.
"No, I haven't seen him since about two hours ago whereby someone alerted him to attend to an incoming call in the office coming from the secretary of his mother." Yoon Ji Hoo responded, while Yi Jeong simply shrugs his response. Given that he was out with Chu Ga Eul earlier, he didn't even get a chance to meet up with the Shinhwa heir upon his return to the ski resort.
"Never mind, I'll give him a call." Yoon Ji Hoo sighed as he took his mobile phone out to call up his long-time friend to inform Jun Pyo about Geum Jan Di's decision to head out alone in the search for her missing necklace and that the weather forecast reported an approaching blizzard storm that would hit the area they are presently in.
Gu Jun Pyo was seated in the back passenger seat of the black sedan utilized by his team of bodyguards sandwiched between two of the guards when he heard the sound of his mobile phone ringing aloud from the pocket of his coat.
"It's cramped." The Shinhwa heir commented, throwing the guard seated to his right a look of annoyance.
"..." The guard then went on to adjust his position to allow the Shinhwa heir some wriggle room so the phone could be accessed.
Pulling out his mobile device, Gu Jun Pyo spends a moment staring at the screen of his phone before picking up the call.
"Yes?"
"Where are you, Jun Pyo?" Yoon Ji Hoo asks, sounding slightly agitated on his end.
"I'm amid of something annoying, why?" The Shinhwa heir responded while throwing a look of annoyance at the guards that surrounded him in the black sedan car he was traveling in, not wanting to let it slip to his friend that he had gotten himself captured by his own bodyguard team.
"Geum Jan Di went out to the slopes alone, in search for the missing necklace. It wouldn't be too much of an issue if there wasn't an approaching blizzard storm hitting our location in less than an hour." Yoon Ji Hoo finally let the pin drop, and as soon as the Shinhwa heir heard the words from his long-time friend about what his girlfriend is doing – his face promptly turns a shade darker. Hanging up the call, the Shinhwa heir figured he ought to do something soon to escape from his current situation. Taking a deep breath, he instructed his guards to find him a bathroom citing the need to attend to some urgent business with the toilet facility.
Back in the ski resort, the Korean Casanova went to consult the professional skiing coach working for the ski resort to inquire if there's any possibility to send out a search team with an approaching blizzard storm to look for a friend of his. Chu Ga Eul went on to get into contact with the disaster rescue forces of Japan, to see if there's any possibility for an official rescue mission to be carried out amid an approaching blizzard storm. Song Woo Bin left Ji Hoo to contact the missing Shinhwa heir, while he headed out to go in search for a certain member of the annoying trio from Geum Jan Di and Chu Ga Eul's class, whom he thought might be a tad partial to provide him with an honest account of the earlier collision incident out on the slopes.
While it might seem like a mere incident, the more Woo Bin thinks back on the earlier scenario – the more suspicious he became of the entire incident. After all, he had chanced upon the duo from the annoying trio multiple times on the slopes today, and neither of them appears to be a pure beginner in the activity. Therefore, it makes absolutely no sense for them to be colliding with Geum Jan Di so easily while out skiing on the slopes. Even if that area where the incident took place was a bit of a mashed-up for both the beginners and intermedia skiers.
Moreover, even if the first collision was a mere incident – what about the subsequent moment whereby Sunny lost her balance and knocked Geum Jan Di off to the ground? Given that Sunny isn't a beginner in skiing, the girl can't lose her balance this easily... unless it was an act done on purpose.
With these suspicions running through his mind, the Don Juan of F4 is a man on a mission when he stalked through the hallway of the ski lodge as he went in search of the members of the annoying trio. Hopefully, they would come outright to him with the truth without him having to employ the means of intimidation which he had mostly reserved the use for the guys on most occasions. He didn't exactly enjoy the idea of threatening the truth out of young ladies, given his reputation as the Don Juan of F4.
~TBC~
Chapter's notes: A slightly shorter chapter today, but given the amount of workload at work these few days. Please bear with me, unfortunately, this wasn't the entire episode 12 content. So, the skiing arc would go on for another chapter... ^^;
Now in the original drama, the conversation scene between Kang Hee Soo and her husband was only focused on one end. In my version, I let her husband show up in the scene as well ^^; If you are smart enough to catch the underlying hint, then it should be obvious how Ha Jae-Kyung comes into the picture as Jun Pyo's fiancée in the next part of the story. ^^
I've changed a few scenes of the drama, in the drama, Ga Eul invited Jan Di out to ski after Yi Jeong and Woo Bin headed out without acknowledging them. In this chapter, Ga Eul's the one that heads out to the ski slopes with Jan Di first, and she ignored Yi Jeong in the process 😛
What do you think of the SoEul moments in this chapter? Let me know 😀
Please do endure the scenes with the annoying trio as well ^^; That's all for now, see you next update ^_^