Secret of the Autumn

by xiaoj

[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,

26. Chapter 26

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 26 - Back to Seoul, and the abrupt departure of the Shinhwa heir - Part 1

Location: Shinhwa Ski Resort, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. 3rd May 2009, 10am

In the end, there isn't a need for the Korean Casanova to wake Ga Eul up from her nap. Mostly because she woke to the feeling of hunger around 10am. Taking a look at the timing reflected on her mobile phone, Chu Ga Eul decided that 4.5 hours' worth of nap is enough for now. She could always nap again on the return flight to Seoul, South Korea.

The first thing she did upon waking up from her nap was to drop a quick text to a certain Casanova, informing the guy that she's already awake and hence there isn't a need for the guy to wake her up two hours ahead of their departure for the New Chitose Airport.

A private message between Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong, 3rd May 2009, 10.05am

Ga Eul: Yi Jeong-sunbae, just to inform you - I'm already awake. So, there's no need for you to give me a call later to wake me up. While on the subject, are you open to taking brunch with me? Truth be told, I woke because I'm hungry. ^^;

Yi Jeong: Ah… brunch sounds great. I haven't had breakfast too, comes to think of it.

Ga Eul: Lovely! I'll meet you outside in 15 minutes?

Yi Jeong: Of course.

15 minutes later, Chu Ga Eul opens the door to her assigned room to find the Korean Casanova already waiting for her outside. Smiling brightly at the potter of F4, Ga Eul greeted. "Good morning, Yi Jeong-sunbae. Are you done with your packing?"

"Good morning, Ga Eul. Yes, I'm done with my packing. So, where do you have in mind to visit for our brunch session?" So Yi Jeong inquires, smiling back at the country bumpkin in return.

"I'm too hungry to venture out far, so if you don't mind - I think we can stick to the cafe situated around the corner of the ski lodge." Chu Ga Eul responded somewhat bashfully as she sneaks a glance at the Korean Casanova of F4.

"You mean, the same cafe you treated us dinner from last night?" So Yi Jeong promptly starts thinking back on the layout of the ski resort and arrived at the most logical conclusion within seconds.

"Yes." Ga Eul nodded in response.

"Deal, but I get to buy you brunch instead of you treating me to the meal, again." So Yi Jeong commented, he doesn't mind dining at the cafe owned and managed by the Miyazawa F&B Group as long as he gets to pay for the meal, this time.

"Of course." Chu Ga Eul rolls her eyes inwardly at the words of the Korean Casanova, and then promptly starts leading the way towards the cafe managed by the Miyazawa F&B Group under the brand name of 'Deli'.

Upon arriving at the cafe, Chu Ga Eul turns towards the Korean Casanova and asks. "So, would you prefer the indoor or the outdoor seating area?"

"I prefer indoor, it's cold outside." So Yi Jeong responded after taking a moment to check the temperature reading reflected on the home screen of his mobile device.

"Alright, we'll stick to the indoor seating area then." Chu Ga Eul shrugged since she doesn't really have a preference for the seating area.

Grabbing a copy of the menu from the counter area, Ga Eul handed it over to the Korean Casanova to take a good look at the all-day breakfast selection while waiting in line to place their orders. Most cafes in Japan operate on a self-service basis, only family restaurants that double up as a cafe have waitresses and waiters serving the customers. Deli-Cafe belongs to the former, which means the customers have to place the orders directly at the cashier and later collect their own food from the food collection counter.

Having patronized the branch in Tokyo before, Ga Eul is no stranger to the menu items offered by the Deli-cafe and thus, doesn't really need to look at the menu to decide what she wanted to eat for brunch.

"I would like to have the deluxe breakfast set with hot tea. He would be paying for my orders." Chu Ga Eul proceeds to place her orders with the cashier when the customer in front of her headed towards the food collection counter having already ordered. And since the potter of F4 who is standing next to her in the queue, had yet to decide on what he wished to order. Chu Ga Eul makes sure to point out to the cashier that the two of them are together, so the cashier would know to wait until the Korean Casanova had placed his orders before moving to serve the next customer queuing after them.

"I would like to get the Eggs Benedict set with the Espresso." A few seconds later, the Korean Casanova returns the menu to the cashier and places his own orders for the brunch session he's having with the country bumpkin for company.

"Of course, sir. The total amount payable would be 5000 Yen, thank you." The cashier then proceeds to ring up the sales and quoted the payable amount to the Korean Casanova.

Thankfully, Yi Jeong did remember to bring some cash money with him when the country bumpkin invited him out for brunch. Otherwise, it would be a tad embarrassing for him when it's apparent that only cash payment is accepted for a cash transaction that's below 10000 Japanese Yen. Handing over the 10000 Japanese Yen notes he managed to find in the pocket of his pants, the Korean Casanova accepted the change of 5000 Yen back from the cashier and collected the ordering number tag.

Proceeding towards the food collection counter, he signaled for Chu Ga Eul to go ahead and pick out a table for them within the indoor seating area while he would take care of their food order collection when their orders are ready to be served. Naturally, Ga Eul didn't bother arguing with the Korean Casanova over the subject of who to collect the food, she isn't Jan Di - after all. The remembrance of her childhood friend reminded Ga Eul to pick something up for her friend, so her friend needn't starve until they reach the airport to eat something.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae…" Chu Ga Eul started, shortly after the Korean Casanova arrived at the table, she picked out for them in the cafe with their food orders on a food tray supplied by the staff manning the food collection counter.

"Hmm…?" Glancing up from the food tray, the potter of F4 threw a questioning look towards the country bumpkin curiously.

"Do you have any idea if Jan Di and Jun Pyo-sunbae did eat something before they return to their room for rest upon their return from the mountain, earlier this morning?" Chu Ga Eul inquires, wanting to know for certain before she went ahead and gets something for her childhood friend to eat. It wouldn't be necessary if someone from the F4 did remember to feed those two something before sending them off to bed. After all, she doubts those two had eaten anything for dinner the previous night. After all, one was stranded in the middle of a blizzard after being tricked by Ginger and Miranda, while the other is probably too anxious to find his girlfriend to even bother about eating dinner before going on that self-appointed rescue mission.

"Ah… if my memory serves me right, I seem to recall Woo Bin commenting something about Ji Hoo making sure they both ate a cup of instant noodles before sending them off to bed. After all, when they return from the mountain - it's still too early for any of the restaurants and cafes to open their doors for business. So, Ji Hoo opted to visit the vending machine at the lobby of the ski resort that's operational 24 hours, to buy them each a cup of instant noodles so they needn't go to bed on an empty stomach." So Yi Jeong responded as he thought back to the conversation, he had with Woo Bin shortly after he escorted Ga Eul back to her room for her nap, and went back to find his friends in the lounge.

The Korean Casanova didn't get started on his packing task until an hour ago, to be honest. Luckily, he doesn't have many things to pack so, there isn't a need for him to rush through his packing task when he receives the brunch invitation from the country bumpkin, about 20 minutes ago.

"I see, I'm glad to hear that someone did remember to get them to eat something before sending them off to bed." Chu Ga Eul mused aloud, discarding the notion of buying a sandwich for her childhood friend. Since Ji Hoo-sunbae has already ensured that neither Jan Di nor Jun Pyo-sunbae was sent off to bed without eating, they likely could last till their arrival at the airport before breaking for a late lunch.

"These Eggs Benedict sure look appetizing." So Yi Jeong commented when he finally had time to take a look at the food on his own breakfast plate.

"Yes, and I can guarantee you that they taste good, too." Chu Ga Eul beams proudly in response.

"Really?" The Korean Casanova prompted, raising an eyebrow up questioningly to the country bumpkin in response.

"Yep! I love their Eggs Benedict, but I'm too hungry today so I thought I ought to go for the deluxe breakfast set that comes with a bigger portion. Otherwise, I would opt to order the Eggs Benedict set too. Too bad, they didn't have any branches in Seoul… thus far, Miya's Cafe is the only cafe franchise chain that has ventured into the Korean market. Deli-Cafe and Miya's Cafe though offered similar menus for lunch and dinner, but their breakfast menu varies. Unlike Deli-Cafe that offers all-day breakfast sets for their customers, Miya's Cafe doesn't have the all-day breakfast option. They served breakfast until 11am, afterward, they will switch to serving their standard menu options. Instead of traditional style Eggs Benedict and the American style breakfast platter, they tend to serve the Italian style breakfast. So, while they do have the Eggs Benedict option on their breakfast menu - it just doesn't taste the same." Chu Ga Eul commented with a pouting expression on her face.

"I see, would you like to have a bite of the Eggs Benedict to satisfy your cravings then?" The Korean Casanova offered then, and his words caused the country bumpkin seated opposite him to freeze up and stare at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Heck, Yi Jeong personally feels like palming his head in response too.

[Damn… the lack of sleep must have gotten to me, after all. What the hell am I saying?!] - The Korean Casanova thought, feigning nonchalance under the wide, disbelieving gaze of the country bumpkin. Inwardly, he was grateful that his logical sense of mind didn't forsake him entirely since he didn't try to feed the girl a bite of his Eggs Benedict with his own fork. Otherwise, he might really die from embarrassment, on the spot.

"...well, I'm tempted to try. The question is, would you mind though? I mean, I've dined with you enough times to know that you aren't much of a fan for food sharing." Chu Ga Eul flushes pink in her cheeks as she commented in response to the Korean Casanova.

"Right… well, but this wouldn't be the first time I've made an exception for you. So, go on ahead and satisfy your craving for the Eggs Benedict. I know, you're dying for a bite since you landed your eyes on them." The Korean Casanova commented, trying to appear nonchalant as he responded to the inquiry coming from the country bumpkin.

"Well, then… you're welcome to try out the sausage from my breakfast set too, or would you prefer to try out the scrambled egg from my breakfast set instead? Both are equally good in my opinion." Chu Ga Eul then suggested for them to trade food with each other since neither of them had actually dug into their respective breakfast set yet.

So, in the end, Yi Jeong ended up with one half of his Egg Benedict and the other half of his breakfast plate being taken over by a big fat sausage contributed from Ga Eul's breakfast set, a portion of her scrambled egg with a dash of black pepper, a strip of the bacon and about two scoops of the baked beans. Likewise, Ga Eul took the other half of his Egg Benedict breakfast and placed it onto her own breakfast plate. The only thing she didn't share with him was the bread and butter served along with her breakfast platter.

For Yi Jeong, he's simply glad that nobody he knows on a personal scale is around to witness his brunch session with the country bumpkin. Otherwise, he would be subjected to more teasing antics from his friends about how he totally bends to the whims and will of a girl going by the name of Chu Ga Eul.

Location: New Chitose Airport, International Terminal. 3rd May 2009, 10.30am

If Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong had a wonderful brunch session before leaving the ski resort, for the airport. It wasn't quite the case for Sunny - a member of the annoying trio, her morning has been anything but wonderful. It wasn't so bad when she's only interacting with Ginger, but her morning gradually worsens when Miranda is up and about.

First, because Miranda fails to wake until 7.30am - the girl was unable to take a last soak in the tub before they had to check out of their room at the Shinhwa ski resort. As the end result, Sunny had to put up with the girl's constant bitching on the subject all the way from the point of their checking out from the ski resort to the New Chitose airport.

Because Sunny's always a budget-conscious traveler, no matter how she masked up the fact in front of her two friends - the notion of leaving ahead to the airport without Ginger and Miranda never even crossed her mind. Especially after she had taken into consideration of the expensive cost of a cab ride in Japan, so, she thought sharing the cost of the cab ride with Ginger and Miranda is the best way to proceed and thus, she sucks it up and try her best to ignore Miranda's incessant bitching about the loss of an opportunity to indulge in one last round of a soak in the tub of their assigned room in the resort.

Upon arriving at the airport, they went on to report to the check-in counter first so, they could drop off their baggage before heading off in search of a place to take their breakfast. Honestly, there weren't many choices for breakfast in the international terminal building of the New Chitose Airport. There are quite many shops selling the local souvenirs and gifts for the tourists to buy for their friends and relatives, waiting for them back in their own country but not so much of the dining options in the public area. There might be more dining outlets in the boarding area, but a look at the directory informed them that those dining outlets aren't exactly ideal for a breakfast meal. Seeing as those are mainly restaurants that serve noodles or lunch/dinner set, which is generally too heavy-filling for them in the morning.

"Well… I think Mitsumoto Coffee is the only option for us if we just want a light breakfast meal." Sunny commented to Ginger and Miranda in an objective tone of voice, as she flicked her eyes towards the area where she believes she had sighted the signboard of the coffee house earlier.

"Alright, we'll get our breakfast at Mitsumoto Coffee House then." Ginger nodded in consent to Sunny's suggestion, and while Miranda feels like arguing against the choice - she knows that time isn't on their side for them to head outside the airport for breakfast if they wish to be on time with their boarding.

As they sat down for their breakfast, Miranda finally stops lamenting about the bathtub issue and move on to another topic. Only, this time, the topic chosen was yet another subject that Sunny was quite fed-up with. The girl is once again teasing Sunny about her constant interaction with the Don Juan of F4, during this weekend get-away skiing trip.

"Seriously, Miranda! Can you stop with your insulation about me having something going on with the Don Juan of F4, already?! How many times must I emphasize that I did not have the Don Juan of F4 in my bag?! I assured you; our interactions have been anything but personal. He only tolerates me because our family is amid a business contract deal. I'm sure as soon as the contract terms come to an end, he would go back to ignoring me as per usual." Sunny stated flatly in response to the insulation coming from Miranda, her patience with the girl stretched thin and approaching the limit. While it is true that she's kind of attracted towards the Don Juan of F4, Sunny isn't so delusional to believe that she might stand a chance with the heir to the Ii-Shin Construction.

Two reasons - one, neither of her parents are comfortable with the fact that Ii-Shin Construction is founded by a Mafia Lord. It's fine if they are just keeping things strictly business, but it's quite another thing when it comes down to the notion of having the Mafia Prince as a potential son-in-law material. Her parents had issued her a stern warning on this matter when they noticed the dreamy look on her face when it becomes apparent that - they are going to be working with the Ii-Shin Construction this time, for the revamping of their recently acquired commercial building into their new boutique hotel within the Euljiro-dong of the central district of Seoul.

The second reason is that Sunny isn't delusional. Besides, the Don Juan of F4 had told her straight in the face during their first meeting where their fathers had begun the first step in negotiating the business contract terms between the Ii-Shin Construction, and the boutique hotel group - Park Enterprise, that she had best get her facts straight. That, and the fact, that the only reason they are sitting down for tea that particular afternoon was simply due to business reasons. Being someone with a realistic mindset, Sunny naturally shook herself out from her fan-girl persona and took on a behavior that's only befitting for her status as the heiress to the boutique hotel group founded by her father, solely.

Either way, coming back to the subject of her two soon-to-be-former friends. Honestly, between Miranda and Ginger, Sunny personally prefers dealing with Ginger more than Miranda. Mostly because Ginger doesn't have a voice that annoys her constantly. Miranda tends to screech whenever the girl is feeling agitated and when she does that, it grates on Sunny's nerves. At least, Ginger's squealing sound whenever the F4 is present, isn't that intolerable… to her.

[Sunny, calm down. This is nothing new from Miranda, after all. She has been yapping constantly on the subject since she heard of how you had sat down for tea with the Don Juan of F4, two weeks ago. You had managed to tune her out before, so you can jolly well do it again - now.] - Sunny, Park Sun Ja took a deep breath as she reminded herself pointedly in her mind while chanting the mantra of ignoring Miranda repeatedly to herself until she could ignore the words of envious spilling forth from the lips of Ginger's childhood friend, about her chumminess with the Don Juan of F4.

[Chumminess, my foot! My interactions with Song Woo Bin are hardly considered chummy, instead, chumminess should be used to describe Geum Jan Di's dynamics with Yoon Ji Hoo of F4. Heck, even Chu Ga Eul's interactions with the Korean Casanova could be considered chummy. My interactions with Song Woo Bin are cordial at best.] - Sunny thought sarcastically in her mind, while she busied stuffing herself with the mouthful of her fluffy pancakes, to avoid throwing a sharp retort in Miranda's direction.

As though sensing that Sunny was about to lose it with Miranda, Ginger Choi Jin-Hee finally took it upon herself to intervene by steering the topic of conversation elsewhere. "Alright, Miranda - quit bugging Sunny on the subject of her interactions with Song Woo Bin of F4. Weren't you talking about having no time to grab souvenirs for your mother earlier? I think there are some gifts and souvenirs store nearby, maybe you would like to go and take a look? You might be able to find something suitable for your mother in the store."

"Ah… that's an excellent suggestion. Come on, Ginger. Let's hurry up and finish our breakfast so we can go for some last-minute shopping." Miranda beams at her childhood friend, the notion of inviting Sunny along for the shopping trip completely slipped her mind. So, it was Ginger who ended up asking if Sunny would like to join them on their shopping trip.

"Nope, the two of you go on and visit the gifts and souvenirs store. I already know what I'm going to get for my family, so I'm heading straight for the local delicacy store. My mother specifically ordered me to bring her a few boxes of the infamous confectionery biscuits from Hokkaido, Japan - commonly known as the 'Shiroi Koibito'." Sunny responded, waving off her two soon-to-be-former friends as she took her own sweet time finishing her breakfast.

Thinking that putting some distance between Miranda and Sunny might be good for her sanity during their return flight to Seoul, Ginger didn't object to Sunny's suggestion of them splitting up for their respective souvenirs shopping errand in the New Chitose Airport.

Since Sunny already knew what to get for her parents from this particular trip, she was the first to arrive at the boarding gate waiting for Ginger and Miranda. Knowing that there's still time until the boarding procedures begin, Sunny set down her shopping bag of the infamous confectionery biscuits her mother had demanded her to bring home from Japan. Sunny retrieved an English novel titled 'The Witching Hour' written by Anne Rice, she was midway through and start reading it as a means to kill time.

Truth be told, Sunny wasn't much of a fan of horror-themed stories… but one cannot argue against the fact that Anne Rice is exceptionally good at writing such fiction. She only started reading this particular novel because her cousin had gifted it to her last Christmas, and said it's worth a read. Having no time to actually visit the library before this getaway trip to Sapporo due to its' last-minute nature, Sunny brought this particular novel along with her as she figured she might need a book with her to kill time, and to assist her in the task of tuning out from Miranda's incessant complains about one thing or another.

"Ginger, please tell me you booked the premium economy seats for our return flight, this time. The economy seats have too little legroom." It was the sound of Miranda's voice that brought the engrossed Sunny back into the living plane from the world of gothic horror featured in the novel created by the infamous author - Anne Rice, who specialized in writing horror-themed novels.

"...Yes, Miranda. I make sure to book our seats under the premium economy tier, this time around. I didn't want to have my ears nagged off by you, again." Ginger rolls her eyes as she responded to the inquiry coming from her childhood friend.

Despite being born and raised in an affluent family, the members of the annoying trio aren't as rich as the top four families in Seoul, South Korea. Thus, they can't afford to fly first-class every single time, let alone on a chartered flight. Heck, only the Shinhwa heir and maybe the Mafia Prince could afford flying on chartered flights frequently. After all, those two have a family that is wealthy enough to own a private island of their own. The Shinhwa Group owns the island of New Caledonia, while the Song family owns the Jeju Island on Korean grounds. Yoon Ji Hoo and So Yi Jeong, mostly fly first-class on commercial operated flights instead of the chartered flight.

For the members of the annoying trio though, flying first-class is out of their budget. So, they are usually flying business class or premium economy class if the business class isn't available. Albeit, when they first came over to Sapporo, they had to fly economy on the domestic flight from Narita Airport to New Chitose Airport because they booked their tickets too last-minute and the premium economy tickets are already sold out by then. That, in turn, brought on an entire afternoon of bitching reaction from Miranda who isn't used to the cramped legroom offered to the economy class travelers.

Sunny, on the other hand, didn't complain as much - mostly because she had flown on the economy class before, mostly before her father found the Park Enterprise. Not that she had revealed this little detail to either Ginger or Miranda before, upon her transfer into Shinhwa Academy three years ago, she had kept her past in Busan on the hush-hush side. By then, the Park Enterprise already owns five boutique hotels in Busan and has two new hotels building in process in the Incheon and the Daegu city district. Therefore, when Ginger and Miranda got themselves acquainted with Sunny - she's already known as the heiress to the up and rising Park Enterprise in the hotel industry.

Therefore, neither Ginger nor Miranda knew of how thrifty Sunny had once been - in particular, when her father has just set up his hotel business. Granted, Sunny was never cash-strapped to the level that's comparable to Geum Jan Di… since her mother had been working for an MNC as an accountant before resigning from her position to help her father full-time in the hotel business. Still, with the majority of the money invested into the hotel business by her father - Sunny was living on a budget during the first year when the Park Enterprise was founded.

After all, the business can't start bringing in profit and revenue in the first year of operation. In fact, it took an entire year of operation for her father's new-found business to break even, and it took them another two years to grow their profits and revenue to a sizable figure that they could look into expanding their business.

Either way, because of that - Sunny is a tad more budget-conscious as compared to Ginger and Miranda, as such, flying economy isn't something she minded much. As long as it isn't flying with a budget airline, she's fine with the economy class tier while traveling overseas.

Likewise, when it comes down to the accommodation. Unlike Miranda, who only wanted to stay in hotels with at least a four-star rating, Sunny is completely fine with a three-star hotel. Heck, she wouldn't even mind the hotel with a two-star rating if the amenities and facilities are kept clean and tidy for the guests. After all, her own family business lies in the field of managing a chain of boutique hotels which are normally considered three-star ratings on the global ranking chart.

So, one of Sunny's new-found hobbies is to do comparisons while staying in such mid-range hotels when she's traveling out of the country. Through the observations made on her overseas trip after lodging in such accommodation, she could then provide input and opinion to her father on what to improve, or the type of services they could value-add for their customers upon her return to Seoul from her annual solo holiday trip during the summers.

Yes, Sunny's a frequent solo traveler. She started this hobby of hers just last year since her parents had reservations about letting her travel the globe alone before she reaches the age of 18. So, last summer after her 18th birthday, Sunny went on a solo trip to the city of Sydney in Australia for a week, during the summer. Of course, since Australia's climate is the exact opposite of the rest of the world, she gets to experience the winter during July when it's summer back in Seoul.

These solo trips of Sunny's served as a form of stress-relief, and allow her to recharge and truly be herself. After all, when she's in Seoul, and in the company of Ginger and Miranda, there are sides of herself that she couldn't show in front of her two friends. And it can be truly tiring to live behind a mask every single day without a break in between. It was on these solo trips of hers that she eventually met the love of her life, granted, that's a story for another time. For now, Sunny has just boarded the return flight bound for Seoul operated by the Shinhwa Airline, from the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan alongside Ginger and Miranda.

Location: Washroom at New Chitose Airport International Terminal Building, 3rd May 2009, 2pm

"Ga Eul ah, I seem to recall you have a book on lunchbox recipes - right?" Geum Jan Di started, after a moment of hesitation during their visit to the washroom following the end of their group lunch session.

They had just taken their late lunch in a Ramen restaurant named KEYAKI, situated on the 3rd floor of the New Chitose Airport. It was the idea of Song Woo Bin for them to go for lunch at a Ramen restaurant, citing that it wouldn't be a Japan trip without eating Ramen, at least once. Luckily, nobody protested against the suggestion of eating Ramen for lunch and thus, they went in search of a restaurant that could fit their entire group of six at one time. Aside from the restaurant KEYAKI, there is also another noodles restaurant - only, their menu seems more Chinese oriented, so they decided to patronize the restaurant named KEYAKI, instead.

It took a moment for Chu Ga Eul to recall which book her childhood friend was talking about, and when she did - she grinned. "Yes… I do have a book on lunchbox recipes, why?"

"Can you lend me that book after arriving back in Seoul? I kind of promise to make Gu Jun Pyo lunch as a form of repayment for him saving me from dying out in the snow last night… although, he says he's keen to try out the same food I've always been eating for my own lunch. I thought it a tad too plain to make him a homemade lunch with only rice, kimchi, and fried egg. He deserves something better…" Geum Jan Di responded with a slight pink in her cheeks under the amusing gaze of her childhood friend.

"I see. Of course, I'll lend you that recipe book of mine when we get back to Seoul. I'm sure you would be able to find something suitable in that recipe book of mine… that will fit your budget as well." Chu Ga Eul grinned in response, as they hooked their arms together before heading back out to find the members of the F4.

"Thanks, Ga Eul. You're really a life-saver!" Geum Jan Di beams in response, she would have to fret about how to go about preparing the Shinhwa heir a homemade lunch if she had got nothing to use as reference material. Hopefully, with the recipe book she borrowed from her childhood friend - she would be able to come up with something budget, and yet still makes it appetizing for her boyfriend when she finally presented the homemade lunch to the Shinhwa heir.

"Ah, so…the ladies have returned." Song Woo Bin commented with a jovial grin when he sighted the figures of Chu Ga Eul and Geum Jan Di returning from their visit to the washroom.

"... Woo Bin, why are you so damn cheerful?" Gu Jun Pyo couldn't help but lament aloud, shooting his Don Juan friend a look of annoyance. His head still ached from the lack of sleep, and the sheer thought of what awaited him in Seoul caused his stress level to increase ten-fold. No doubt, his witch of a mother would lecture him on his reckless act and then berate him for shaking off his guards to return to the ski resort when she sees him later tonight back home.

"Jun Pyo, ignore him. The barista serving him earlier must have accidentally put too much sugar syrup in his Frappe coffee, so it rendered him a tad too hyper for our sanity." So Yi Jeong commented to the Shinhwa heir in a deadpan tone of voice.

"Ya! Yi Jeong, in my defense - I ordered Latte. But the barista must have misheard and given me Frappe instead." Song Woo Bin hurried to explain, lest the girls thought he ordered Frappe coffee on deliberation, which most definitely isn't the case. He isn't Ji Hoo, who has a sweet tooth, thank you very much.

"Well… that isn't surprising. Sometimes, such things do happen… for instance, one of my cousins who visited Tokyo two years ago for a vacation trip with his friends was asking for the bill check for the settlement of the payment for the meal… but the waiter thought he was asking for beer and brought him a new bottle of Asahi cold brew. Luckily the bottle of beer hasn't been opened by the waiter, else my cousin might have to pay for an additional bottle of beer which he didn't even order, in the first place." Chu Ga Eul commented with an amused twitch in her lips as she took in the sight of an obviously hyperactive Don Juan of F4.

"Whatever, it's about time to board. Let's just get to the boarding gate." Gu Jun Pyo rolls his eyes in response, leading the way towards the boarding gate for his private jet.

As per the usual arrangement when it comes down to the seating on the private jet belonging to the Shinhwa Group, the Shinhwa heir had arranged himself to be taking up the seat opposite from his girlfriend - Geum Jan Di. Likewise, Chu Ga Eul was seated next to the Wonder Woman of Korea with the Korean Casanova seated directly opposite from her on the return flight to Seoul.

Since neither Geum Jan Di nor Chu Ga Eul gets to sleep much the night before, and while Chu Ga Eul did take a nap earlier - it wasn't quite enough, and thus, shortly after boarding the plane - both girls found themselves dozing off within a moment of minutes. With nothing better to do, the members of F4 follow suit in the girls' example by nodding off themselves. Especially, they had all taken a heavy lunch at the airport before their boarding - and it's even easier to fall asleep on a full stomach than an empty stomach.

Neither of them stirs until the air stewardess wakes them up to inform them that it's time for the in-flight dinner meal to be served. Given that their plane departed New Chitose Airport at 3pm and the entire flight to Seoul would take them approximately 7 hours, they are looking to land back in Korea's Incheon International Airport at around 10pm, that night. So, it's only natural that they would be served the in-flight dinner meal at around 7pm.

"So, did you have a good rest?" So Yi Jeong inquires, seizing the opportunity while the air stewardess serves them their in-flight dinner meal to check in with the country bumpkin. With the Wonder Woman of Korea seated so close to Chu Ga Eul, there wasn't much that he could speak with the country bumpkin within the earshot of Geum Jan Di. Especially since neither of them was keen on having the Wonder Woman of Korea coming to the realization of how frequent they tend to meet up in private, over the past month.

"Yes, Yi Jeong-sunbae. I did have a good rest, how about you?" Ga Eul inquires politely in return, smiling as she voiced her words across to the Korean Casanova.

"It was adequate. I still prefer to sleep on an actual bed. As comfortable as the seat of a chartered flight is, it still doesn't change the fact that it isn't a proper bed." So Yi Jeong commented in a dry tone of voice.

"Ah… well, I'm sure you can get a quality rest time tonight. After all, we would be arriving back in Seoul in only a couple of hours." Chu Ga Eul commented, inwardly thinking that unless the guy intends to hit the clubs first thing upon touching down - he should be able to get some good quality rest in his own bed at his place of residence, later tonight.

Unknowingly to Ga Eul, the Korean Casanova had given the words from his Don Juan friend some serious consideration and thus, thought that the least he could do to ensure the continued interest of Chu Ga Eul in him, is to cut back on his clubbing activities. Albeit, it would have to be a slow process since he couldn't cut out clubbing from his lifestyle habit in one go, given how clubbing had become his number one choice of stress relief activity. Yi Jeong thought he could start out by making small changes to his clubbing habits. Such as, instead of visiting the clubs four to five times a week, he could cut it down to once or twice a week and slowly progress from there.

Location: Incheon International Airport Arrival Hall, South Korea. 3rd May 2009, 7pm

While the F4 and the two girls are only mid-way through their flight back to Seoul, the annoying trio who departed New Chitose Airport at 11am earlier this morning had just touched down at the Incheon International Airport. The first thing they did upon getting off the flight was to visit the bathroom facility, there have been multiple occasions whereby they had tried to visit the washroom on the plane only to have either the plane undergoing some turbulence forces outside and they were advised to return to their seats with their safety belt fasten up… or that the washroom happens to be occupied by someone else.

While visiting the washroom, Sunny seized the opportunity to switch her phone from flight mode back to the usual mode. And almost immediately, her phone started blaring alive with a series of text messages coming in.

"..." Scanning her eyes through the list, she noted three messages from her cousin who's in town for a visit and then two messages from her parents. The first message from her cousin was a greeting message and the comment about her presence was missed. The second message from her cousin told her that her parents had arranged for a dinner session on the day she's due to land at Incheon International Airport, causing Sunny's lips to twitch uncontrollably as she tapped into the message, she had received from her father next.

'Sunny, I tried persuading your mother otherwise but she insisted to have you attend the dinner session scheduled at 7.30pm tonight at the restaurant - Seasonstable Soban, situated within Incheon Airport. Do try not to be late, your mom is going to be unbearable for me to endure otherwise.' - From Appa.

Next, Sunny moved on to tap into the message she received from her mother. Sure enough, inside the message is the exact address for the restaurant mentioned in the earlier text message she had received from her father. And that, her mother was willing to give her an additional grace period of 15 minutes to arrive at the restaurant.

Finally, it was another message from her cousin with the content. 'Sunny, I forgot to inform you before but I'm currently staying at your family home. I know, your family apartment in Seoul doesn't have a guestroom, and believe me, I tried to tell aunt that I'm fine staying in a hotel. Only she refuses and insisted on housing me in your family apartment, she said and I quote - you can share a room with Sunny. I thought you ought to know this ahead of time. ^^;'

Dropping a quick text reply to her cousin, Sunny typed in the message. 'Noted, Sun Hee unnie. It's fine, I could handle sharing a room with you for a period. How much longer are you planning to stay in Seoul? Never mind, we can speak in person later. See you in a bit, ciao~'

With the text message sent out to her cousin, Gye Sun Hee, a female cousin of her mother's side of the family. Sunny Park Sun Ja shifted her attention towards the leader of her current little social group in school and started. "Ginger, let me know how much the flight tickets and the accommodation cost once you had the figures tabulated out. I will bank transfer you the amount once you informed me of the figures. For now, I need to go. I'm due for a family dinner session with my parents at a restaurant situated in the basement area of the airport at 7.45pm."

While it is Sunny's ultimate goal to cut Ginger and Miranda from her social circle, she knows she can't do it right away. The distancing of herself from them needs to be taken at a slow and gradual pace, after all, it could be a bit of a nuisance to have to deal with the possibility of Miranda bullying her in the wake of finding out her intention to cut them out from her life. So, step one to distance herself from them is to keep finding plausible excuses to fend off their invites for group activities. Granted, it wasn't exactly an excuse she's creating out of thin air to skip out on having dinner with her friends tonight - because it is true that she has a family dinner session scheduled to take place in a restaurant within the airport by her mother, this evening.

"Seriously? A family dinner gathering only an hour after we landed back in Korea grounds? Why couldn't your parents reschedule the family dinner to another day, instead?" Instead of Ginger, it was Miranda that complains.

"Sorry, my cousin from Busan is here for the weekend. So, my parents were a tad irked that I went off to Sapporo for a skiing trip with the two of you without giving them a heads-up. Henceforth, I really can't skip out on the family dinner session tonight. And to ensure that I wouldn't show up late at the dinner, they went to the extent of booking a table for the meal at a restaurant within the Incheon Airport… so, the least I ought to do is to show up for the dinner as soon as I landed." Sunny explains, plastering on an apologetic look as she directed her words towards Ginger and Miranda, but mostly towards Ginger since she couldn't care less for what Miranda is thinking.

"In that case, don't let us keep you. I will text you the total cost of this trip after I'm done tabulating the figures." Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee told Sunny in an understanding manner as she waved her off to find her parents for the family dinner session in some unnamed restaurants within the airport.

"You aren't serious, are you?" Miranda lamented aloud, stamping her foot down as she turns towards her childhood friend with a look of annoyance clouding her features.

"Miranda, what are you on about now?" Ginger sighed wearily, as she turns to regard her childhood friend with an exasperating look on her features.

"Sunny, what else?! First, she ratted us out to Prince Song without giving us a heads-up. Next, she blew us off for dinner last night and tonight. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that she's trying to avoid mingling with us unnecessarily." Miranda, Lee Mi Sook huffed in annoyance as she shares with Ginger what's exactly on her mind.

"Miranda, are you sure you aren't reading a tad too much into the situation? Judging from what Sunny had told us earlier, it would seem that her decision to join us on this trip without giving her parents warning in advance had irked them somewhat. Throw in the fact that she had a cousin who's visiting Seoul for the weekend while she's away, it's only natural that her parents are going to be upset with her. As for her ratting us out to Song Woo Bin, well - the F4 is pretty intimidating if they put their heart into it. Remember how you literally blanched when Yoon Ji Hoo raised his voice at us yesterday after he overheard our conversation? So, I hardly think it's fair for you to shift the blame of us facing the wrath of the F4 entirely onto Sunny." Ginger, Choi Jin-Hee told her childhood friend - Miranda, in an awfully patient tone of voice as though she was speaking to a five-year-old.

Ginger is a girl with many flaws, among these flaws includes pettiness, rash, impulsiveness, prone to jealousy but she's also smart. Only, she doesn't put her smart intellect to good use and instead tends to use her smart brain for coming up with new bullying tricks to her fellow competitors for the affections of F4. However, these ploys and tricks that Ginger came up with wouldn't be executed if she didn't have her childhood friend supporting her on the side. It is often Miranda's support that Ginger decided to go through with her ploy and tricks.

Miranda, on the other hand, is petty and competitive by nature. She's also possessive and delusional at times. In particular, when it comes down to the topic of F4 - she didn't like it one bit that Geum Jan Di had managed to win the heart of the Shinhwa heir and the auburn-haired member of F4. Henceforth, she's always the one whispering things that she knew would heighten the flame of her childhood friend's jealousy towards the commoner girl from their class. She's also the first to go along with whatever tricks/ploy her childhood friend had come up with and put them into action while dragging Sunny along for the ride.

Out of the entire trio, Sunny is probably the only one with common sense and a realistic outlook when it comes down to the topic of F4. Just like the other girls in Shinhwa Academy, Sunny is also drawn to the charms of the F4. Only, she's completely fine with admiring them from afar - knowing full well that all of them are out of her reach. It wasn't until Ginger and Miranda becomes her friends, that she found herself getting the chance to interact with the F4 from time to time. Even if, 80% of the time, this interaction with the F4 involved them receiving a telling off from a member of the flower boys' group.

Granted, because the notion of interacting with the F4 up-close intimidates her to an extent. She pretty much leaves Miranda and Ginger to do the speaking when there's a need for conversation. The only exception was when Miranda had blatantly pushed her out towards the direction of the F4, before the skiing trip to Sapporo.

That's the first time she actually spoke to the F4 directly, albeit - she makes sure to keep her focus on the figure of Song Woo Bin; since that's probably the only guy she would have a legit reason to converse with at present - with the ongoing business contract between their families.

As Sunny approaches, the restaurant of her parents' choosing for the family dinner gathering inclusive of her visiting cousin, this evening. She promptly shakes her head to get rid of the stray thoughts concerning her two friends and focused on greeting her cousin with a pleasant disposition, instead. Plastering a bright smile onto her lips, Sunny approached the table where her family members were seated in the restaurant. It's good that her mother had picked a table close to the entrance to the restaurant, so she needn't look too far to locate them in the crowded area.

Seasonstable Soban is a restaurant renowned for their Korean food, hot and popular items on their menu includes the Korean Beef Hache & Hot Pot Rice, Grilled Spicy Pork & Hot Pot Rice, Bulgogi Bibimbap, Kimchi and their pork stew. Sunny is immensely grateful that her mother didn't go and pick a BBQ restaurant for dinner, because she would hate to get her current attire drenched in the smell of smoke and food. After all, this attire she had worn on her person was a fairly new piece of attire which she had purchased mere weeks ago during a shopping trip with Ginger to the posh and upscale Gangnam district.

"So, unnie - how long are you staying in Seoul, this time?" Sunny asks, shortly after she had given the waitress her orders.

"I'll be leaving for Busan on Tuesday afternoon. So, don't worry - you would just need to endure my presence in your room for two nights, and then I'll be out of your hair." Gye Sun Hee told her younger cousin by two years, in a teasing tone of voice.

"Unnie, I didn't mean to imply that I didn't want you staying in my room. I was simply asking because I had places that I wish to bring you around, but since you're leaving on Tuesday afternoon. That doesn't give me a lot of time to work with." Sunny responded with a pout at her elder cousin by two years.

"I see… well if that's the case. I don't think you need to worry too much. It's about time for me to start my internship program, and I was thinking about applying for an internship in Seoul. My visit this weekend is kind of like self-appointed marketing research of sort, and to learn a tad more in-depth about the public transport system in Seoul." Gye Sun Hee commented as she directed a cheerful grin at her cousin - Sunny.

"You're starting your internship program soon? That's fast, wait… it didn't occur to me to inquire before. But which college did you end up applying for, after you graduated from your high school?" Sunny finally had it in her to ask, after finding that it's a tad odd for her cousin to begin the internship program of her college course this soon. Usually, internship only begins in the second semester of the third year of college studies.

"I didn't tell you before? I didn't apply to any of the universities in Busan, instead, I apply for the Korean Cooking Art Academy of Busan." Gye Sun Hee blinked as she told her cousin innocently in response.

"What?!" Sunny was stunned speechless by her cousin's words, with how good her cousin was in the academic areas - she was almost certain that her cousin would opt to enroll in one of the few renowned universities in Busan. To hear that her cousin went to apply for a position with the vocational school in the culinary area was downright shocking for her.

"Erm… Sunny, are you okay?" Gye Sun Hee begins somewhat apprehensively, it wasn't her intention to break the mind of her cousin. She had genuinely thought her cousin was aware of her enrolment into the cooking art academy of Busan in prior, after all, her decision to enroll in a vocational training school as opposed to the traditional college caused a bit of an uproar during their new year family gathering two years ago.

"I'm fine, a tad shocked and dumbfounded for certain. But I'll live…" Sunny eventually recovered her wits to respond to her cousin's words of concern.

Location: Unnamed Chinese restaurant in Beijing, China. 3rd May 2009, 6pm [China Time], 7pm [Seoul Time]

Meanwhile, over in Beijing where Gu Bon-Hyeong, the director for the renowned Shinhwa Group was based over the past two years. Miyazawa Hideaki, the director for the Miyazawa F&B Group in Japan has just gotten off the plane about an hour ago. Instead of heading towards his lodging hotel to get settled in for the night, the man was being chauffeured over to a shopping mall - Oriental Plaza, in Beijing situated on the Xidan Commercial Street. The reason was - he had a dinner appointment with his high-school friend and classmate, the director of the renowned Shinhwa Group - Gu Bon-Hyeong, scheduled this evening.

Gu Bon-Hyeong, the father of Gu Jun Pyo and Gu Jun Hee, and the director of the Shinhwa Group has been based in Beijing, China over the past two years. The man has based himself in Beijing over the past two years because China is a relatively new market that the Shinhwa Group has ventured into. Until the business operations in the China market is on track and stable, the man dares not remove his presence from the country. Previously, when the Shinhwa Group enters the Japanese market - the man had also based himself in Tokyo for five years before uprooting himself and settling down somewhere else.

As such, he was seldom home and thus had neglected his two children somewhat. For that, Gu Bon-Hyeong had always felt apologetic to his two children, and therefore, when his daughter had come forth to him with the information of his son dating a mere commoner that his wife disagrees upon. He had agreed to keep his wife's actions in check, and that he wouldn't agree to any political union between Jun Pyo and some other heiress, his wife had her eyes set upon until he meets the girl that his son adores to form an opinion for himself, instead of listening to whatever his wife had to say on the subject.

Still, the best-laid plans sometimes tend to go awry. Apparently, it was the same for Gu Bon-Hyeong. Either way, this is a story for later. For now, he's busy meeting up with an old friend of his from high school, and college.

"Sorry to make you fly all the way over for this meeting." Gu Bon-Hyeong, the director of the Shinhwa Group said as he stood to greet his high school friend and classmate, Miyazawa Hideaki - the director for the Miyazawa F&B Group of Japan.

The Shinhwa Group business in the Chinese market mostly centers around the hotel and manufacturing industry, not so much on the retail side. That was, ultimately, the reason why there isn't a Shinhwa Mall in Beijing, China. And while there is always the option of meeting his friend in the in-house restaurant at the Shinhwa Hotel of Beijing, Gu Bon-Hyeong decided against the idea for he didn't wish to attract everyone's attention to his person. Which, he knows will definitely happen if he were to host a guest in a restaurant within the Shinhwa Hotel. The last thing he wishes is to amplify the rumors of his business's financial woes and spark a wide-scale panic among his staff.

"It's fine. I know you're a busy man, but seriously… how long has it been since you went for a medical check-up? You don't look very well in my opinion, and I thought I'm a workaholic… but obviously, you're worse than I am." Miyazawa Hideaki frowned, as he took in the sight of his friend's skin pallor.

Upon his friend's inquiry, Gu Bon-Hyeong paused momentarily as he tried to recall when's the last time, he went for a generic health screening and drew a blank. Making a mental note to go for a blood test in the next few days, the director of the Shinhwa Group thanked his friend for the concern of his health before inviting Miyazawa Hideaki to take a seat, so they could officially place their dinner orders and then talk business.

The main purpose of their meeting today is to discuss the downsizing of the supermarket sector under the management rights of the Shinhwa Group in Korea. After repeated discussion with his wife on the phone, Gu Bon-Hyeong had decided to not sell off the entirety of their supermarket business. Instead, what he would do is to downsize the supermarket sector by letting go of the smaller supermarket branches - that's part of the franchise to the Miyazawa F&B Group. After all, it would simply be weird for a Shinhwa mall not to have a supermarket owned and managed by the Shinhwa Group.

So, after looking over the profits across all the supermarket branches owned and managed by the Shinhwa Group. Gu Bon-Hyeong has decided to let go of the neighborhood supermarket chain stores, and sell the management rights to these stores over to the Miyazawa F&B Group.

Currently, the Miyazawa F&B Group has only three supermarket branches set up in Korea. The flagship store is situated in Seoul, Myeong-Dong renowned for their fresh imports from Japan daily. The other two branches, one is in the area of Incheon while the other is situated in Busan. As the Miyazawa Supermarket is the only supermarket that sells mostly Japanese-originated goods and products - the local Japanese community tends to flock over to the branch in Myeong-Dong to do their grocery shopping.

That tends to lead to an overcrowding situation at the supermarket, resulting in the management's need to employ additional manpower at the stall to keep the crowd under control. So, Hideaki is hoping that by taking over some of the branches that the Shinhwa Group is letting go - and with more Miyazawa Supermarket branches set up within the city of Seoul, it would help with the crowding issue at their flagship store in Myeong-Dong, Seoul.

"Truth be told, I'm surprised that you managed to get through to that wife of yours. I was under the impression that she's quite against your idea of downsizing the business of the Shinhwa Group." Miyazawa Hideaki commented after the contract terms has been discussed and agreed upon. Now, all that's left was the official drafting of the contract and agreement which would take place two days from today in the office building of the Shinhwa Group in Beijing, China.

"Well… it is true that our business is facing some liquidity flow issues, and we need to get the money rolling fast. Your proposal is the best we had received thus far, so after looking over the figures and having multiple discussions on the subject via the video call… she had finally relented on the idea of me selling part of our supermarket business to the Miyazawa Group. Only, she's adamant of me not selling the entire supermarket business over to you." Gu Bon-Hyeong responded in a sardonic manner as he toasts to his high school friend with a cup of tea. After all, they are dining in a Chinese restaurant that doesn't serve wine… and so, they had to make do with the idea of drinking tea with their food.

"Understandable. After all, the Shinhwa Supermarket was the fruits and labor of your late father. It would be a waste to simply let go of it, without the supermarket - the Shinhwa Group wouldn't be as well-known as it was today." Miyazawa Hideaki remarked in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, afterward.

"That's why I'm not selling everything to you, unlike what I'd first suggested to you over the phone the other day." Gu Bon-Hyeong admitted eventually.

"In my defense, I did advise you to think twice on the matter when you suddenly brought up the subject of selling off the entire supermarket business chain to me over the phone last week." Miyazawa Hideaki responded in a flat tone of voice.

"Alright, let's just leave it be… moving on to a lighter subject, what's your uptake on a political marriage union?" Gu Bon-Hyeong inquires out of the blue, nearly causing Miyazawa Hideaki to choke on his tea.

"I beg your pardon? Please, you call this a lighter subject of conversation? Goodness, I'm not getting between another disagreement between you and your wife on this subject, again. Personally, I have nothing against a political marriage union if it's between two friends, after all, friendship could be a pretty good foundation base for a marriage to work out in a long run. However, if you were asking me for my honest opinion about a potential marriage union between two parties who don't even know one another, to begin with. Sorry to say, I'm not a fan of such unions." Miyazawa Hideaki deadpans, he can't say he objects to the idea since his own marriage to his wife is pretty much a political marriage union that works out for the better, at the end of the day.

"Nah… don't worry, I'm not going to involve you in another verbal disagreement with my wife - this time. I just need someone to bounce my ideas and without Young-Jae around, you're the only one I could bounce my ideas and use as a sounding board." Gu Bon-Hyeong admitted eventually, mostly because his wife had suggested a potential business merger with the JK Group based in the states to stabilize their business liquidity flow, but he wasn't sure if he wants to sacrifice his son's happiness as he did with his daughter the other time, to save his family business financial woes.

Unfortunately for Gu Bon-Hyeong, his lack of insight on the matter of maintaining his health put a dent in his plan to hold back his wife on her idea of a merger plan with the JK Group. That, in turn, brought on a series of complications to his son's love life for several months. But that's a story for later, now, he's still blissfully unaware of his upcoming health crisis as well as another crisis of his business empire.

Location: Shinhwa Academy, High School Division, 4th of May 2009, Monday, 8am

"Ya! Geum Jan Di, where's the homemade lunch you promised me?" Gu Jun Pyo demanded upon arriving in school on the following day, after their return from their skiing trip in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. His voice halting the figure of Geum Jan Di, who's on her way to her classroom situated on the second floor of the academic building.

"Homemade lunch? What homemade lunch?" Song Woo Bin blinked, voicing his doubt aloud as he shifted a quizzical look towards the Shinhwa heir.

"...Did you talk Geum Jan Di into making you lunch by any chance, Jun Pyo?" Ultimately, it was So Yi Jeong that caught on to the situation first, as he voiced his query across to his childhood friend.

"So, what if I did? Anyway, it's none of your business - so, stop being nosy." Gu Jun Pyo commented, eyeballing his two nosy friends as he headed straight for the sheepish figure of his girlfriend.

"Gu Jun Pyo… I know I promised to make you something for lunch, but we've only just returned to Seoul, last night. There aren't many ingredients left in the fridge to make lunch for you this morning, I need to go shopping first… how about this? I'll make you the lunch I promised you this weekend, instead? That will give me ample time to go shopping, and still have time to focus on studying for the year-end exams." Geum Jan Di sheepishly told her boyfriend, given that she had only just gotten her hands on the lunchbox recipe book from Ga Eul - it's only natural that she hasn't had the time to study through the recipe yet.

But the Wonder Woman of Korea figured, by the time the weekend comes around - she would likely have an idea what to put in the lunch box for her boyfriend. Thus, her decision to suggest a meet-up with the Shinhwa heir on the coming weekend.

"Hah! You said it, not me! Deal! We will meet up this weekend, and you would then present to me the lunch you promised to make me." Gu Jun Pyo declared smugly at his girlfriend, and then promptly went on to escort Geum Jan Di to the classroom for her first class of the day, ignoring his girlfriend's protest of his actions attracting too much attention on them, the entire way.

"..."

"So, where's Ga Eul-yang this morning?" Song Woo Bin then shifted his eyes towards the figure of his Casanova friend and asks.

"Damn if I know, go and ask the members of E3 instead." So Yi Jeong rolls his eyes at his Don Juan friend in exasperation as he responded.

"Oh… she didn't swing by your pottery studio, this morning to bring you breakfast?" Song Woo Bin blinked, as though surprised by the fact that Chu Ga Eul didn't pop over to his friend's pottery studio earlier this morning.

"...She might have been swinging by my pottery studio to bring me dinner every other day, but we didn't exactly have a set routine for the breakfast meal. Besides, this morning when she texts me to remind me about taking my breakfast before coming to school - she had informed me ahead of time that it's the Miyazawa heir's turn to ferry her to school, this morning." The Korean Casanova deadpans as he explained why the country bumpkin wasn't riding with him to school, this morning.

"Ah… I see. In that case, would she be joining us for lunch today?" The Don Juan of F4 inquires next, sounding curious.

"No idea. Ultimately, it depends on who she intends to take her lunch with, this afternoon. If it's Geum Jan Di, then there's a high chance of her showing up in the F4 lounge since Jun Pyo is no doubt, going to insist on Geum Jan Di coming by the lounge to take her lunch with us. But if she decides to spend her lunch hour with the E3, then she likely wouldn't show up at the lounge during lunch hour. Anyway, why are you so curious about whether or not she's joining us for lunch?" So Yi Jeong responded to his friend's inquiry, before shooting an odd look towards the direction of his Don Juan friend.

"No reason… I guess I'm just curious to see what's on her lunch menu today. After all, unlike Geum Jan Di - her lunch menu isn't fixed, and thus it's always interesting to see what she's having for lunch in our presence." Song Woo Bin shrugged, randomly pulling out an excuse to explain his curiosity away. It's not as though, he could admit to his friend about how he's always spending his lunch hour observing how his Casanova friend interacts with the long-haired childhood friend of Geum Jan Di when his friend thought nobody is looking in their direction.

The inner thoughts of Song Woo Bin aside, when Chu Ga Eul and Geum Jan Di crosses paths with the members of the annoying trio in class on Monday. There was a moment of awkward silence that hangs between the two groups of girls. Still cowed by the intensity of Chu Ga Eul's cold-blown anger two days ago, Ginger Choi Jin-Hee promptly took a step back from the classroom entrance and allows Chu Ga Eul to enter the classroom with Geum Jan Di in tow first.

While Sunny is perfectly fine with letting Chu Ga Eul and Geum Jan Di priority in entering the classroom, the same couldn't be said for Miranda. So, Ginger found herself on the receiving end of her childhood friend's blunt words of comment. "Ginger, why did you do that?"

"I swear, it wasn't a conscious decision on my part. I guess, she managed to get to me with her threatening words two days ago. Hence, my faltering stance in her presence…" Ginger Choi Jin-Hee then proceeded to defend her actions against her childhood friend's demanding gaze.

"That's enough already, Miranda. Let's just go in, unless you wish to have the teacher catching us loitering outside the classroom instead of being in the classroom." Sunny reminded Miranda in a pointed tone of voice.

Despite Sunny's resolution to withdraw herself from her two friends, she can't avoid them altogether. After all, they are in the same class… and thus, Ginger and Miranda are bound to expect her to join them, first thing upon her arrival in school. As such, after dwelling on the issue for the bulk of last night - Sunny had arrived at the conclusion that either she had a major fight/dispute with her two friends and cut ties with them publicly in school… or she could go for a softer approach by distancing herself from them through the means of improving her grades so to ensure that she would be placed in a different class from Ginger and Miranda, in the coming school year.

The first option might be the fastest way to cut ties with Ginger and Miranda, but it's a tad too dramatic for Sunny's preference. As such, Sunny decided to go for the second route - distancing herself from her two friends through the roundabout manner, by prioritizing her time in the academic aspects that she knew would only serve to bore Ginger and Miranda to tears.

For instance, instead of arriving at school earlier today as per her usual style - Sunny had opted to turn up in school exactly on the dot. That way, even though she still made a beeline to join Ginger and Miranda first thing upon her arrival in school, she had managed to cut down on the amount of time she would need to spend socializing with them. Next, when lunchtime comes around, Sunny turns down their invitation to join them for lunch at the outdoor seating area of the student's cafeteria which just so happens to fall outside the 1km radius stated by Yoon Ji Hoo of F4, two days ago in punishment of the stunt they had pulled on Geum Jan Di in Sapporo during the skiing trip.

Instead, Sunny took out a petite design two-tier lunch box from the inside of her school bag and apologetically told Ginger that she has brought lunch from home this afternoon.

"...Sunny, I thought you had mentioned how much it was a chore to pack lunch to school every day and vowed not to do it, at one point?" Miranda couldn't help but ask, voicing her doubt across to Sunny with a frowning look on her face.

"It is a chore to pack lunch to school every day, the only reason I brought lunch today is that my mother made too much food for breakfast this morning since my cousin is still around. As it's a sin to let the prepared food go to waste, my cousin and my mother make sure both my father and I leave the home with a nicely packed lunchbox in hand. So, it wasn't exactly me that goes about packing the lunch but my cousin. All I need to do is to bring it to school, and polish it off." Sunny responded to Miranda's inquiry, nonchalantly and casually.

Sunny knows to ensure that she would get placed in another class in the coming new school year - is to make sure that the grades of all the subjects she's taking at present would hit 75% during the year-end exams period. Currently, she had two subjects that's bordering on the 65% and three subjects hovering between 69% to 72%. Out of the seven subjects she's doing, only two subjects were above the 75% grading during the mid-terms. Henceforth, to achieve her end goal of being placed in another class away from Ginger and Miranda, she had to double the amount of effort she had been putting in on the academic aspects of her education. Thus, she decided that regardless of what kind of activity Ginger and Miranda had in mind to do after school for the entirety of this week - Sunny is going to ignore it all, and focus on the task of pulling up her grades to 75% that she requires to arrive at her end-goal.

There are a total of three libraries situated within the campus grounds of Shinhwa Academy. The first library is situated in between the Kindergarten and the Elementary School division of the academy. As such, it's been decked out in bright colors that would attract kids and children from afar. Needless to say, this particular library building is mainly serving the students population from both the Kindergarten and the Elementary school divisions of the school.

The second library is shared between the middle and high school division of the school, and situated within the shared facility building spanning a total of three levels, taking up an entire wing of the building on its own. The largest size library on campus is definitely the library building situated in the heart of the university division of the school since it needs to cater to the students from the five different faculties, and over 24 undergraduate, graduates, and post-graduates course of disciplines.

"Sunny, where are you going? I thought you are going to join us for Karaoke?" Miranda calls out to the attention of Sunny when she noticed the heiress of the boutique hotel group - Park Enterprise standing to leave the classroom at the first signal of the school bell indicating the end of their last class for the day.

"Sorry, change of plans. The year-end exams are coming up, so… I thought it best to fit in some extra studying time. Thus, I decided to spend the entire week after class from today in the school's library instead. My mid-terms results aren't to the satisfaction of my mother, she threatens to send me to after-school tuition classes if I don't do well for the year-end papers. After all, next year is our graduation year - and she really wishes for me to make it into a good undergraduate course in the university division of the school." Sunny, Park Sun Ja explains as she throws over her shoulder to Miranda and Ginger, who appeared rather gob-smacked by her declaration of wishing to kick-start her revision plan earlier than usual.

"..."

Satisfied that she had rendered her friends speechless, Sunny headed straight towards the shared facility building situated in between the middle-school and high-school division on the campus grounds. Of course, it was a lie that her mother had threatened to send her to after-school tuition classes but she can't exactly come outright with the real reason why she wants to pull her grades up to Ginger and Miranda, so Sunny thought a little white lie wouldn't hurt. Besides, it wasn't as though either of them is going to waltz up to her mother for confirmation, at a later time.

Location: Porridge Shop, Monday, 4th of May 2009, 3pm

"Ga Eul ah… what's mirin?" Geum Jan Di was looking through the recipe for the Japanese omelet when she came across a foreign word and thus turns towards her childhood friend with a questioning look.

"Oh… Mirin is a type of cooking wine in Japan, it's okay if you don't have it in your kitchen for the making of the Japanese egg roll. You can just use sugar to replace Mirin in the recipe… the color of the end-product would just vary slightly." Chu Ga Eul blinked, and then she glances over to see which page of the recipe book her friend is looking over before responding to her friend's inquiry.

"Oh… so, you mean I don't have to follow the recipe word-for-word?" Geum Jan Di blinked, turning inquiring eyes upon the figure of her childhood friend.

"Of course. Modifications could be made to the recipe to suit your budget and ingredients available in the kitchen. The recipe book is only used as reference material at most times. For instance, if you wish to include octopus-style sausage in the lunchbox, you don't have to specially go and buy the wiener sausage from the Miyazawa Supermarket in Myeong-Dong. Because those are expensive… a 100g packet of wiener sausage is priced at 2,500 Korean won. Add in another 300 Korean Won, you can get a 340g packet of ordinary sausage in any other supermarket. Trust me, the taste doesn't vary much even if you were to use the locally packaged sausages for the lunchbox. So, a lot of ingredients mentioned in the recipe book could be substituted with cheaper options." Chu Ga Eul told her childhood friend, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Granted if it weren't for Jan Di… whom she knew is living on a tight budget, Ga Eul would have recommended them to follow the recipe down to the T and go ahead to make the purchase of the mentioned ingredients from the Miyazawa Supermarket. After all, that's considered her family business - isn't it? Even though, she has no succession rights to the company, at the end of the day.

But because it is Jan Di who is going through the recipe book now, Ga Eul is willing to teach Jan Di a cheaper variation of the same type of lunch box. Armed with Ga Eul's words of advice, Geum Jan Di went home and did a trial run of the lunch menu using the modified recipe and listed ingredients provided by Ga Eul that's well within her budget to create a test-run of the lunchbox recipe. After that, she gets her brother to try it out before she tries them out herself. Satisfied that the taste did seem fine with the modifications made to the recipe, Geum Jan Di decided to go ahead and use the modified recipe for the lunch she would be making for her boyfriend, this coming weekend.

Location: Shinhwa Academy, Shared Facility Building - Library. 4th May 2009, Monday, 3pm

[Finally, the library!] - Sunny beams as she headed into the doorway that led to the inside of the library facility shared between the middle-school and high-school students' of Shinhwa Academy with a look of anticipation and eagerness. She had been dying to visit the library since her official transfer into Shinhwa Academy three years ago, only she hasn't had a chance to do so. She was told she needed to wait for her library card to be ready before she could start borrowing books home from the library when she first transferred in.

But then, by the time her library card had been issued to her - she's already friends with Ginger and Miranda, and neither of them fancies spending their time in the school library after classes ended for the day. Therefore, Sunny hasn't got a chance to patron the school library in an official capacity, excluding the time when she was given a school tour by the class representative on her first day of school in her third year of middle-school education following her transfer into the Shinhwa Academy from the Hwayeong Middle School of Busan.

The library isn't as big as the public library in the Seoul City Hall where Sunny tends to patronize during the school breaks when she isn't meeting up with Ginger and Miranda. Given that it's a library catering to the middle and high school students within the campus grounds, the smaller size collection of the books is kind of within Sunny's expectations. Since the library isn't serving that big of the readers' crowd, aside from a sizable collection of the fiction corner - the non-fiction category is significantly smaller as compared to the Seoul Metropolitan Library. Nevertheless, it didn't dampen Sunny's interest in exploring the facility.

It took Sunny a good while to locate the study corner in the library since this was her first official visit to the facility. Her last visit three years ago was a brief tour, and thus the memory of that particular visit had faded off by now.

[This is really crowded…] Sunny thought as her eyes scanned the study corner of the library, trying to find an empty seat for her use. She sighted the presence of Choi Hyo Rin, the cousin of her friend - Ginger, at one table with another girl with shoulder-length wavy curled hair studying earnestly. Deciding to intrude her presence on them as a last resort, Sunny continues to scan her eyes around the study corner of the library trying to find an available seat for her impromptu study session, this afternoon.

Since the library facility span over an entire three levels, there are study corners tucked away at every level of the library facility. While the first floor is generally the most populated area, due to its computer stations with printing facility whereby middle-school students are often seen occupying the station to finish up their project work after school. The newspaper corner containing past issues of the school published newsletter is also situated on the first floor of the library facility. While there are a couple of high-school students spotted among the crowd, it could be said that the first floor of the school library is mostly patronized by middle-school students.

And so, Sunny went on to explore the second floor of the library soon after, finding the first floor too rowdy for her liking. On the second floor, is where the non-fiction books collection is mostly housed and this is also the floor where she had sighted the presence of Choi Hyo Rin and Oh Ha-Na at one of the tables tucked away in the study corner. The third floor of the library housed the fiction collection of books, and thus it is also the quietest area of the entire library facility. Instead of a study corner, what it has tucked away on the third floor is the reading corner comprising of several comfy-looking sofa couches, a sofa armchair, and a table for the students to pile up their books collected and chosen from the bookshelves.

The encyclopedia collection, as well as certain generic study materials, are housed on the first floor of the library since it's usually the middle-school students that have need access to such materials. Thus, Sunny found herself returning to the study corner on the second floor after conducting a walk-through of the facility and found that she would prefer to find her seat in the study corner on level two of the library facility, after all.

Lim Areum, a quiet and soft-spoken bespectacled girl from class 2C had recognized the figure of Sunny at first glance. After all, the annoying trio from class 2D is kind of famous in her class as well, since their classrooms are kind of just situated right next door in the academic building. So, while Sunny had no idea who Areum is… the bespectacled girl definitely knew the annoying trio by sight, alone.

[How rare it is to find a member of the annoying trio visiting the school library…?] Areum was thinking to herself, as she glances up from the book she's studying to see if there's a need for her to offer up the study table, she's using to someone else who might need it more than her. After all, she's only reading to enhance and broaden her knowledge on certain topics - it's not as though she's doing any actual work that would require the use of a table, officially.

It took a while for Areum to realize the reason behind Sunny's visit to the library, and when she did - the quiet and soft-spoken girl shrugged and spoke up, drawing the attention of Sunny onto her person.

"Would you like to share a table with me?"

Sunny jumped slightly at the sound of someone speaking up to her side, darting her eyes swiftly towards where she heard the voice speaking up. Sunny allows herself to breathe a tad easier when she realized that she had been standing next to a table in the study corner without realization, and it was the occupant of the table where she was standing next to that decided to address her.

"Really? You mean I could share the use of the table with you?" Sunny begins, sounding hopeful because she really didn't wish to intrude her presence on the table utilized by the cousin of her friend - Ginger. She doubts Choi Hyo Rin had any good impressions of her, judging from how the girl always ignored their presence when crossing paths in the academic building. Likely, the girl had classified her as an airhead bimbo like Ginger and Miranda, outside of her knowledge.

"Of course. I mean, I'm using this table alone… and with the library being this crowded these days, it doesn't seem right for me to hog the use of the table to myself. Usually, the library isn't so densely populated - it's only during the exam season that people start flocking in all of the sudden." Areum explains, knowing full well that it's Sunny first visit to the school's library and thus, the girl might be startled by the number of students utilizing the facility.

"Thank you. I'll gladly take you up on the offer." Sunny directed a smile of relief at the unknown girl, as she settled her things down on the other end of the table and started her revision work, without delay.

That was Sunny's first encounter and interaction with the bespectacled girl going by the name of Lim Areum. Granted, then, Sunny still had no idea of Areum's name, only that the girl was kind enough to offer Sunny the option of sharing a table in the study corner on the second floor of the school's library facility.

Location: Shinhwa Academy, Shared Facility Building - Library. 6th May 2009, Wednesday, 4pm

It was on Wednesday, that Sunny and Areum had their second brief conversation. Due to the crowded nature of the library facility with the approaching exam season, Sunny had taken to share a table with Areum in the study corner of the library. On most days, it's Areum who was there first and Sunny would later arrive to seek permission for the use of the table. Although Sunny was personally curious about why the bespectacled girl is always seen alone in the library - she didn't think she was in a position to pry. After all, they aren't even friends with one another. Heck, Sunny still has no idea of the girl's name despite having shared the use of the same study table over the past two days in a row.

"Sorry, but are you still using that book? If not, can I perhaps borrow it for a moment? I need it to cross-reference something for my history project assignment." Sunny began, mustering up her courage to address the bespectacled girl with hair styled up into the twin-tail who's pouring over another book with an expression of utter seriousness.

Upon the sound of Sunny Park Sun Ja addressing her, Lim Areum blinked as she glances up at the girl whom she had graciously allowed to share her study table over the past few days before following the line of vision of Sunny to land on the book titled 'Modern History of South Korea' sitting within a pile of her reference materials.

"Oh… of course, you can have the use of it. I'm sorry for hogging onto the book, I simply have the habit of getting everything I would need from the shelf at one shot instead of making separate trips to the shelves in search of the reference materials. Here, you can have it first - just remember to pass it back to me after you're done perusing it." Areum apologized for hogging onto the book without using it at all, as she hurried to retrieve the book and hand it over to Sunny without delay.

"...Thanks." Sunny responded as she took the book from the girl sharing the same study table in the library with her, as she settled back down onto her seat. Inwardly, thinking why the girl had appeared so fidgeting while conversing with her. She didn't give off any intimidating vibe without intention, did she? Or was it simply the residual effect of her reputation as part of the annoying trio from class 2D at work, again?

The third time, the two girls had any forms of interaction was when Sunny chanced upon the girl being talked down by another female student from Class 2C. Initially, Sunny was walking together with Ginger and Miranda, heading for the washroom towards the end of their lunch break session. Since the altercation between the girl whom she had been sharing a studying table in the library over the past few days and another unknown girl was taking place outside the washroom, Sunny can't overlook the situation.

"Ginger, Miranda. The two of you go on ahead to visit the facility, there's something I need to do first." Sunny commented as she broke away from her two soon-to-be-former friends and headed straight for the bespectacled, twin-tail girl whom she had sort of befriended in the school's library. Why sort-of? Well, if she had truly befriended the girl - she would have known the girl's name by now… but the truth is, she still had no idea of the girl's name. And the friendliest interaction they had with one another was a polite nod to one another in greeting while they sat down in the library at the same table to work on their respective revision work or classwork.

"..."

"Excuse me, I know it's none of my business to poke my nose into the issue but this girl here is a friend of mine. So, if you wish to threaten her - could you kindly do it elsewhere that I couldn't see or hear anything about it? Comes to think of it, whatever has she ever done to displease you? Let me guess, did you catch her speaking to a guy you adore by any chance? If so, I suggest you take a reality check on the situation. Just because the Don Juan of F4 spoke to her, it didn't mean he's interested in her. Trust me, I would know given that I'm taking tea with him once every two weeks… and if I'm not taking any issue with her brief conversation with Song Woo Bin, who are you to threaten her to stay away from the Don Juan of F4?" Sunny, Park Sun Ja deadpans to the unknown girl smirking in satisfaction when the girl starts fidgeting uneasily under her scrutiny.

Once the unknown girl left the site, Sunny turns towards Areum and commented a tad bossily. "Why do you let her walk all over you, and speak to you in that manner?"

"...It's not like it's going to hurt to let her bitch on the issue for a bit, and I thought if I don't react to her taunting remarks - she would eventually give up and go bother someone else," Areum responded to the comment from Sunny with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that her friend - Jessica was out sick, today. That airhead bimbo likely wouldn't have gotten a chance to corner her alone outside the washroom, because Jessica would have been with her throughout the entirety of the lunch break. But oh well, because Sunny from the annoying trio had decided to intervene… the taunting from that airhead bimbo from her class didn't get too bad. Since Sunny had intervened before more vicious words were hurled towards Areum, so not much harm has been done.

"You're too nice-tempered." Sunny rolls her eyes at the response she had received from the bespectacled girl, her expression a cross between exasperation and resignation.

"Seriously though, how did you know she's throwing a fit because I was seen interacting with the Don Juan of F4, however, brief the interaction was?" Areum inquires, knowing full well that the members of the annoying trio weren't anywhere in sight when she had her brief encounter with the member of F4 in the hallway outside the students' cafeteria earlier.

"Lucky guess, but seriously - I recall seeing her screaming the name of the Don Juan of F4 whenever the F4 appears on-site. Because her voice was shrill that it nearly burst my eardrum the one time, I stood next to her, it left a pretty strong impression on me. So, she's from your class?" Sunny inquires, fishing a bit deeper into the subject.

"Yes, she's from my class. Her family is in the beauty line, I think… they own the infamous nail salon - Paradise Pink, that the mother of Prince Song patronized every month without fail. Maybe that's why she's under the impression that she would stand a chance with the Don Juan of F4, but personally, I think that's simply wishful thinking on her part." Areum rolls her eyes as she commented on her classmate's delusional mindset when it comes down to a certain Mafia Prince of F4.

"Is everyone from the beauty line this delusional? Miranda thought the same, to be honest. Just because their family-owned beauty salon serves patrons such as the lady president of the Shinhwa Group, and the matriarch of the Song family - it doesn't mean they are on their consideration list when looking for prospective brides for their sons." Sunny couldn't help but remark as well, whispering these words to the side of Areum's ear after checking to see that Miranda was nowhere near them to overhear her little comment.

Areum couldn't help it, she snorted in response to Sunny's comment. Before shaking her head in blatant amusement as she responded. "Who knows…? Maybe, their parents are equally delusional in these aspects? Either way, thanks for standing up for me earlier. By the way, my name's Areum. If you wish to call me your friend, the least you could do is to address me by my given name."

"You're welcome. I believe you already know my name, but either way - I'm Sunny. It's nice to get officially acquainted with you, Areum. Alright, I've better go before Ginger and Miranda thought of coming out to locate me in person. See you later this afternoon in the library." Sunny told Areum before heading into the washroom in search of her soon-to-be-former friends.

Humming a happy tune under her breath, Sunny entered the washroom in search of Ginger and Miranda.

"I didn't peg you for someone who would poke your nose into someone else affairs… so, what exactly brought on your decision to interfere with that altercation between those two girls outside?" Ginger, the leader of the annoying trio, started voicing her query across to Sunny out of pure curiosity.

"Well… that girl's voice is too shrill. It gives me a headache, and the sooner I could put an end to that altercation, the sooner I could get rid of the migraine her shrill voice is causing me. Besides, I've found myself having a soft spot for Areum since she has been a great help to me by providing me with the tips to prepare for the upcoming year-end examinations." Sunny told Ginger in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, not exactly lying because she did detest the shrill pitch of the other girl's voice.

"I see…" Ginger murmurs under her breath, looking thoughtful in the wake of Sunny's response. Miranda, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow up in interest upon hearing about Sunny's soft spot for that bespectacled girl from another class. Inwardly think that perhaps it would be good for Sunny to expand her social circle. That would greatly minimize the chance of Ginger replacing her with Sunny as a confidant, in the future.

[Thank God, Ginger isn't insisting on me introducing Areum to them…] Sunny was thinking as she followed Ginger and Miranda out of the washroom, heading back towards the direction of their classroom.

Unknowingly to Sunny, the only reason why Ginger wasn't insisting for her to introduce them to her new friend was that Ginger didn't wish to trigger the possessive streak in her childhood friend to act up, again. Having grown up with Miranda, Ginger isn't blind to the obvious flaws in her friend's personality.

One particular flaw that stands out to Ginger over the years was her childhood friend's obvious possessiveness streak. Not just when it comes down to love interest, Miranda could be exceptionally possessive of her friends too. That was why when Ginger befriended Sunny three years ago, a few weeks after Sunny transferred into Shinhwa Academy from Busan… Miranda threw a big fit over the matter.

Although over the years, Miranda had learned to accept that she had no right to interfere with Ginger's choice in friends… it didn't stop Miranda from blemishing Sunny's image at every possible opportunity in front of Ginger. Still, Ginger already fully in the know of her childhood friend's flaws tends to take her friend's comment and opinion with a pinch of salt. But honestly, it's a chore to cope with Miranda's constant bitching… and thus, after Sunny - Ginger didn't bother to try enhancing or broadening her social circle anymore unless she's dealing with the guys.

Miranda's possessiveness of her wouldn't act up if it's the guys that Ginger is trying to get acquainted with, likely because Miranda's status as her best friend wouldn't be threatened when Ginger is trying to chat up and get acquainted with someone from the opposite gender.

Location: Geum family home, Saturday, 9th May 2009, 8am

Waking up early on a Saturday is no issue for Geum Jan Di, and since she is going to make her boyfriend a lunchbox for their meet-up this afternoon. Geum Jan Di was in a relatively happy mood when she woke up at 7am, this morning.

"Noona, you're up early today. Are you going out on a date with Jun Pyo Hyung-nim?" Geum Kang San, the younger brother of Geum Jan Di inquires when they crossed paths in the bathroom facility of their family home.

Even though the landlord had refused to rent out the shop space to them, after repeated negotiations with the landlord. They had managed to finish up the rental contract for the residential space above the shop space until it expires. Albeit, that's mostly because the landlord refuses to refund them the security deposit, they had paid upon the signing of the rental lease contract earlier on in the year before the Shinhwa Group starts to apply pressure on the landlord to terminate their rental contract for the laundry shop space with the promise of letting the son of the landlord get a job with the Shinhwa Electronics.

So, anyway, because of the landlord's reluctance to refund them the security deposit and the fact that the lady president of the Shinhwa Group had stopped applying pressure on their landlord. The Geum family was able to continue living in the residential space above their original laundry shop, until the lease contract expires in July, this year.

Either way, because the lease is set to expire in two months. Geum Ii-bong and Na Gong-Joo, the parents of Geum Jan Di and Geum Kang San are still looking into potential properties to rent after their current residential lease was to expire while working on their part-time jobs to sustain their family livelihood. Therefore, neither of them is home when Geum Jan Di woke up on the morning of Saturday to start getting the lunchbox ready for her afternoon date with the Shinhwa heir. Which, Geum Jan Di is thankful for - else her parents are going to be unbearable this morning.

"Why bother to ask when you already know that I have a date with Gu Jun Pyo, this afternoon?" Geum Jan Di rolls her eyes at her younger brother as she commented.

"Great! Where are you guys going for the date?" Geum Kang San inquires, sounding curious. Mostly, because he wanted to know if there's any chance of him getting any good treats from the Shinhwa heir at the end of the date. After all, the Shinhwa heir had sent someone over to prepare them a sumptuous meal the last time his sister went out on a date with the guy.

"We are meeting up at the Gwanghwamun Plaza, after that, I had no idea where he intends to visit." Geum Jan Di told her brother half distractedly as she started lining up the lunch box with the egg roll she had made from the modified recipe provided by her childhood friend.

Geum Jan Di would be using two lunch boxes for today's lunch date, ideally, it would be best to utilize a two-tier lunchbox but since she does not own anything like that in her kitchen. She decided to use two separate lunchboxes for the task instead. For the first lunch box, she packed it up with plenty of side dishes - among them included the Japanese style egg-rolls (without mirin version), octopus sausage created out from the locally packaged long sausages cut into 1/2 and then trimmed into octopus-shaped, again under the teachings of her childhood friend. Aside from the above-mentioned items, the lunch box also included some cherry tomatoes she had gotten from the Shinhwa supermarket that's on offer.

In the other lunch box, originally, she packed it up with rice and then decked out a heart-shaped logo atop the rice using green peas. But then, her younger brother commented that it looks too plain and too ordinary. Thus, she changed her mind and promptly redecorated it by emptying out the content onto the plate of her younger brother.

"Kang San, you can have this for lunch. I'm going to repack the lunchbox again." Geum Jan Di announced as she went on to use a smaller size bowl to scoop out the rice - pressed it into a round shape nicely before placing it in the middle of the now emptied lunchbox.

Thinking of the character lunchbox she had seen in the recipe book she had borrowed from Ga Eul on Monday, Geum Jan Di went on to fill up the gaps atop of the rice with seaweed stripes making it appears as though it's the hair of her boyfriend. Following this, she fits in green broccoli around the sides of the lunchbox ensuring that there aren't any gaps in between. Finally, with the use of seaweed and egg-white - Geum Jan Di uses them to form a face on the white rice. Standing back to observe the final end-product of the newly decorated lunchbox, Geum Jan Di nodded in satisfaction - this time, before finally packing it away with the other lunchbox into her thermal lunch carrier bag.

[Mission accomplished!] Geum Jan Di thought with a beaming smile, as she headed back into her bedroom to get herself changed for the upcoming date with her boyfriend.

At this point, Geum Jan Di is still blissfully unaware of the fact that her boyfriend is not going to be able to show up on time for their lunch date. The reason being - his father, the director of the Shinhwa Group, Gu Bon-Hyeong had collapsed in shock earlier this morning in Beijing, China upon the discovery of yet another reason behind the financial woes of the group.

As it turns out, it wasn't just his wife's expansion plan for their hotel business before the recouping of their investment in the building of the ski resort in Hokkaido, Japan that resulted in the business liquidity problem. Another factor that contributed to the company's liquidity issue is that someone from the managerial position had embezzled funds from the company for personal use. The shocking discovery of this particular detail had caused Gu Bon-Hyeong's blood pressure to sky-rocket and later collapse in his office chair. It's only the quick reaction from his personal assistant that got him immediate medical attention that saves his life, ultimately.

Still, the fact that an ambulance was seen carting him off from his office building to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital had sparked media concerns over his health. As a direct result of his collapse, the shares of the Shinhwa Group started plummeting from the point the news of his collapse came out on media channels.

If Geum Jan Di has turned on the TV unit upon waking up in the morning, she probably would have expected her boyfriend to not show up at their designated meet-up point for their lunch date. But as it is, she didn't have her family TV unit switched on – before leaving home. Therefore, she was completely in the dark about the collapse of her boyfriend's father until she waited hours for her boyfriend to show up only to see her former prince charming appearing on-site on his motorbike, instead.

~TBC~

Chapter's notes: Alright, an entire chapter of fully original content - well, except for the lunchbox part that's taken from episode 12 ^^; Oh, and to compensate for the long wait for my update this week - I make sure that it's an extremely fat chapter. Do let me know what you think of this extremely fat chapter, was it satisfying?

The scenes in this chapter are fully original, SoEul fans - what do you think of the beginning of this chapter? Knowing that there's a lack of SoEul interaction with fluff in the last chapter, I make sure to give them some screen-time at the beginning of this chapter ^_^ What do you people think of it? Let me know, okay? XD

Next, originally - I wanted to cover the last bit of episode 12 in this chapter but it's getting too long - so, the ending minutes of episode 12 would be going into the next chapter instead.

Thirdly, I had once again given Sunny plenty of screen time in this chapter. Beginning with her plan to distance herself from Ginger and Miranda. And I created yet another new OC because I thought Sunny need a new friend in her life. The family background of Sunny's new friend would likely come up in future chapters, I had it planned already.

Oh, and Miranda's family business is finally revealed - her family owns a chain of beauty salons while the unnamed girl in this chapter from Areum's class family is the owner of a chain of nail salons going by the name - Paradise Pink. Now for the beauty salon owned by Miranda's family, it wasn't mentioned in the chapter - but tentatively, the beauty salon is named Mirage Beauty. ^^;

Finally, before I forgot – I had incorporated a scene between Ga Eul's birth father and Gu Bon-Hyeong in the chapter. I figure there ought to be some sign of indication that Jun Pyo's father isn't faring well in the health area, which then leads to his subsequent collapse in Beijing, China in the drama. Too bad, the drama didn't exactly mention why and how Jun Pyo's father collapsed – thus, I came up with my own reasons in the next chapter. In this chapter though, it has been hinted that Gu Bon-Hyeong has been neglecting his health monitoring over the past few years due to his hectic and busy work schedule.

Either way, that's all for this chapter. See you next week. I hope you all had a wonderful time reading this chapter ^_^