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,

27. Chapter 27

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 27 - Back to Seoul, and the abrupt departure of the Shinhwa heir, Part 2

Location: Gu family mansion, 9th May 2009, Saturday, 11am

Gu Jun Pyo was nearly out of the front door of his family mansion, intending to head off for his lunch date with his girlfriend when he found himself being surrounded by the bodyguards employed by his mother to keep track of his movements. Shortly, after - Jeong Sang-Rok, one of the personal secretaries in his mother's service approached him from behind calling out for his attention.

"Young Master Jun Pyo, the madam had asked for you to see her in the family's study." Jeong Sang-Rok stated, his tone giving away nothing of the witch's possible reason for wanting to meet him.

"What does she wants with me now?" Gu Jun Pyo asks, but naturally, he receives no response from his mother's secretary.

Sucking in a deep breath, the Shinhwa heir turns on his heels to head back into the mansion as he stalks towards the direction of the family study room. Thinking that his mother is simply going to lecture him again, about him skiving off from his duty as the heir to the Shinhwa Group. After all, it seems that's all his mother has in mind to speak to him about these days. In particular, ever since his return from the skiing trip to Sapporo, Hokkaido with his friends and his girlfriend in tow.

"Jun Pyo, are you going somewhere?" Kang Hee Soo took one look at her son's attire and promptly knew that her son likely had something planned after this meeting with her.

"Yes, so please hurry up with what you have to say." Gu Jun Pyo deadpans to his witch of a mother.

"... Cancel your plans immediately, we are needed in Beijing, rather your presence as the heir to the Group is needed in Beijing." Kang Hee Soo commanded in an authoritative tone of voice.

Gu Jun Pyo appeared incensed by his mother's commanding words and was about to argue his case when his mother dropped the bombshell piece of news on him. "Jun Pyo, I'm not joking with you. Our company needs you and your presence now. Your father collapsed this morning at work, so, to prevent an all-out panic in the shareholders - I need you to start taking up your duties and responsibilities to the Shinhwa Group seriously, from this moment onward."

"...When are we leaving?" The shocking information about his father's collapse had finally gone through the head of the Shinhwa heir, as he wiped the look of incensed at having his plans disrupted by his mother off his face and asks the next pressing question that pops into his mind.

"Tonight, the flight will depart at 7pm on the dot. But we need to be at the airport by 6pm, before that - there's a press conference at 3pm that you need to be present for at the Shinhwa Hotel. We need to alleviate the fears of our shareholders and the members of the public at the earliest possible timing." Kang Hee Soo told her son in a business tone of voice.

"And Noona… is she aware of Appa's collapse?" Gu Jun Pyo inquires next, his mind turning towards his elder sister immediately.

"Of course, Jun Hee's the one in charge of running the show in Beijing now. She's in Beijing to visit your father last week and has yet to leave the country, so she's the first to be contacted when your father collapsed at work. But there's no time to lose, depending on your father's health condition – you might need to take over his position in the company prematurely." Kang Hee Soo commented to her son in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, before allowing her son some time to settle his private matters - only he wasn't allowed to leave their family home.

For a while, Gu Jun Pyo was about to argue against the words of his mother by claiming that he wasn't quite ready for the role yet. But then, the Shinhwa heir decided to hold his tongue in front of his mother. He could discuss this matter in private with his elder sister, when they meet up in Beijing, China later tonight. And so, without a word said to his mother – Gu Jun Pyo turns on his heels to leave the study room of his family home for the direction of his bedroom suite. He still had to pack for the trip to Beijing, after all.

When her son turns to leave the study room of their family home, Kang Hee Soo shoots her personal secretary - Jeong Sang-Rok a look, that indicates that the man ought to follow her son and to ensure that Jun Pyo isn't trying to leave the grounds of their family home, again.

As worried as she was about the health of her husband, Kang Hee Soo knows this isn't the time for her to panic. Unlike those weak-minded women who tend to rely on the man to keep things running, she's a businesswoman that's goal-driven. As such, her priority now is to stabilize the volatile stock market of their company's shares and to cultivate the image that even though her husband is out of commission for the time being, her son is still around to keep things going. Even if it's regrettable that her son no longer had the luxury of time on his hands, and had to learn things on the go - judging by the current circumstances.

Meanwhile, seated on the steps situated outside the underground walkway lined with the mascot - Haechi Madang that links the Gwanghwamun Plaza with the Gwanghwamun train station exit 9. Geum Jan Di held the thermal carrier bag that contains the lunchbox she had prepared for her boyfriend with a hopeful smile playing on her lips. She had hoped her boyfriend would like the homemade lunch she had placed special effort in preparing this morning.

Unfortunately for Geum Jan Di, her boyfriend isn't going to be able to show up for their lunch date this afternoon. If she had the insight to keep a lookout on the news headline displayed on the newspaper that literally every single passer-by had on hand as they brush past her to head towards the underground linkway to the train station, Geum Jan Di would probably know to forgo the idea of waiting unmoving from her position for the next few hours to come.

But because Geum Jan Di isn't paying attention to her surrounding at all, she had ended up waiting foolishly on the designated meet-up spot for more than six hours, without moving an inch until Yoon Ji Hoo found his way over to her after being instructed by the Shinhwa heir to locate the girl in person, because Geum Jan Di isn't answering her phone.

Meanwhile, back at the Gu family mansion - Gu Jun Pyo was busy packing up a suitcase of clothes for his use in Beijing, China. He figured, he would be at least out of town for 1-2 weeks and would be back in the country once his father's health condition stabilizes. At this point, the Shinhwa heir was completely unaware that his father's condition is worse than what he had envisioned it out to be, and as such, he was kept overseas for up to two months before he was able to return to Korea.

Anyway, that's a story for later - now, the Shinhwa heir is busy packing for the impromptu upcoming trip to Beijing, China with his mother. Gu Jun Pyo was midway through packing when he was hit by the realization that he ought to call up at least one of his friends to give them a heads-up that he needs to go on an impromptu trip overseas to fulfill his duties and responsibilities to the Shinhwa Group in the wake of his father's collapse. Otherwise, his friends might decide to bombard his phone at a later timing, likely on Monday when they realized he wasn't in school. The Shinhwa heir ultimately decided to call up his Don Juan friend first, mostly because Woo Bin was the first name that came up in his recent contact list - outside of his girlfriend, that is.

"Yo, Jun Pyo! What's up? If you are calling for a meeting for the F4, I'm afraid I can't make it. Dad had me helping him out at the office for the bulk of today." Song Woo Bin, the Don Juan of F4 commented as soon as he answered the call on the other end of the line.

"...Nah, I'm not calling for an F4 meeting. I'm just calling you to give you a heads-up that I'll be away from Seoul for a couple of weeks, I think. My father collapsed at work earlier this morning in Beijing, so the witch and I are heading off to Beijing to visit my father later this evening. I had no idea how many weeks I'm going to be stuck in Beijing at present since that greatly depends on the outcome of my father's medical prognosis. Anyway, can you keep Yi Jeong and Ji Hoo posted on the situation?" The Shinhwa heir explains, cutting straight to the point, seeing as beating around the bush has never been his style.

"Okay, I understand. I wouldn't be able to see you off at the airport though. My father needs me to be around for his meeting with the representative from the Park Enterprise, tonight." Song Woo Bin told the Shinhwa heir over the phone.

"It's fine, I didn't call you to order your presence at the airport to see me off later this evening. I know, it's too short of a notice period for you to reschedule your plans. So, go on ahead for that business meeting that you need to attend." Gu Jun Pyo answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Right, and what about Geum Jan Di… have you told her of your impending departure from the country yet?" Song Woo Bin thought to inquire, distinctively recalling that his friend had set up a lunch date with the Wonder Woman of Korea ahead of time… but judging from the current situation, it's likely that his friend wouldn't be able to show up for the date, now.

"Oh shit! Thanks for the reminder, Woo Bin. In the wake of receiving the information of my father's collapse, I completely forgot that I have a date scheduled with Geum Jan Di, about now actually." Gu Jun Pyo throws out to the Don Juan of F4 before hastily hanging up, on his friend.

"..." Song Woo Bin stared at his phone for a moment, before shaking his head as he tucked his mobile device away to shift his eyes and focus back onto the figure of his father. "Right, sorry for the moment of distraction. What was it that you were saying earlier?" Plastering on a jovial grin onto his face, Song Woo Bin directed his words towards his father, apologetically.

Back at the Gu family mansion, the Shinhwa heir took a good look at the timing reflected on the home screen of his phone and knows - it's likely too late to cancel his lunch date with his girlfriend before the girl even leaves the comfort of her home. After all, it's already 30 minutes past their stipulated agreed time for the lunch meet-up. Cursing under his breath, Gu Jun Pyo sincerely hoped that his girlfriend wouldn't bite his head off when he calls her up at this point, to cancel their date. Scrolling down the list of contacts in his phone directory, until he reaches the entry of 'Wonder Woman' - the Shinhwa heir hit the 'call' button on his phone and waited patiently for his girlfriend to pick up on the other end of the line.

Only, instead of someone answering the call - his repeated calls to his girlfriend's mobile keep getting transferred to the voice mail. Frowning down at his mobile device, Gu Jun Pyo cursed aloud wondering what the woman is doing by not having her mobile phone answered.

Unknowingly to the Shinhwa heir, Geum Jan Di was in too much of a hurry to leave for her date with him that she had accidentally left her mobile phone behind in her school bag on silent mode. Since the phone is on silent mode, even her brother couldn't have known that the Shinhwa heir was trying to establish contact with her.

Meanwhile, over at the Gwanghwamun Plaza - Geum Jan Di didn't even realize she didn't have her mobile phone on her person until she waited for quite some time, and yet there's still isn't any sign of the Shinhwa heir arriving. Deciding to give the Shinhwa heir a call to check in on the guy's present location, Geum Jan Di searched through the pocket of her coat to find no signs of her mobile device. It was only at this point that Geum Jan Di realized that she had left her mobile phone in her school backpack, and didn't have the sense to bring it out with her earlier this morning because she was in a hurry to leave home.

[Shit!] - Geum Jan Di cursed inwardly upon the realization, and while the thought of borrowing the phone of a random passer-by to call up her boyfriend did cross her mind briefly. She discarded the idea after realizing that she can't remember the exact order of her boyfriend's phone number. And so, she decided to stay put and continues to wait. After all, Gu Jun Pyo had once spent eight hours in the cold waiting for her to show up at a date that she wasn't even sure she would be showing up then. The least she could do is to have faith in her boyfriend and continue to wait for the Shinhwa heir to turn up.

The Shinhwa heir waited until 1pm for his girlfriend to return his call when 1pm comes and arrive and there's still no signs of the girl calling him back in return. He figured that the girl likely had forgotten to bring her phone along with her, wherever she was. Thus, he resorted to his next available option in establishing contact with his girlfriend. He called up his Casanova friend.

So Yi Jeong was just about to send a new batch of pottery collection to the kiln for the final step of production - the heating process in the kiln when he receives the incoming call from his childhood friend on his mobile device. The sight of the Shinhwa heir's name on the Caller-ID of his phone, had the Korean Casanova halting mid-act and picking up the call instead.

"Yes, Jun Pyo?"

"Is Chu Ga Eul with you, at present?" The Shinhwa heir wasted no time in asking, causing the Korean Casanova to raise an eyebrow up in a questioning manner as he responded negatively to his friend's inquiry.

"No, she's covering Geum Jan Di at the porridge shop today. So, she isn't with me… why are you looking for her anyway?" So Yi Jeong inquires, sounding curious – inwardly, the Korean Casanova couldn't help but wonder why his friend had thought Chu Ga Eul would be with him on a Saturday afternoon.

Even though, Yi Jeong does have a standing arrangement with the country bumpkin about picking the girl up from her piano class at the arts center, every Saturday afternoon so, they could proceed to grab dinner together before parting ways for the day. However, that's only applicable for days whereby the country bumpkin didn't adjust her personal schedule to cover shifts for her childhood friend at the porridge shop – which is, exactly what had happened this morning. As such, Chu Ga Eul had rescheduled her piano class from Saturday to Sunday, this weekend. Henceforth, Yi Jeong would lose his chance at meeting up with the girl this weekend, seeing as the girl has a routine of meeting up with the E3 for dinner on Sundays.

The Korean Casanova was drawn out from his thoughts and musing over a certain country bumpkin when he heard his friend starting to speak on the other end of the line.

"I need to leave the country with my mother later this evening, and I'm supposed to be out on a date with Geum Jan Di. Only, something came up and I'm not able to turn up for our date - I tried to contact her but she either doesn't have her phone with her, or she didn't hear the sound of her phone ringing. Either way, I can't reach her… so, I was thinking of sending Chu Ga Eul off to our designated meet-up spot to inform her of the change of plans on my side but since Chu Ga Eul isn't with you, it's fine. I'll just get Ji Hoo to play messenger for me, this time." Gu Jun Pyo mutters aloud in response, as he proceeds to hang up on his Casanova friend without another word.

"..." So Yi Jeong stared disbelievingly at the mobile phone he held in his hands for a moment, before rolling his eyes and going on to continue with his original task at hand.

Yoon Ji Hoo had just caught the news report of Gu Bon-Hyeong's collapse in Beijing, China on TV when he receives an incoming call from his long-time friend, Jun Pyo.

"Yes, Jun Pyo?" Yoon Ji Hoo answered the call, wondering what his friend had in mind for him to do now.

"I need you to do me a favor. Head out to Gwanghwamun Plaza and see if Geum Jan Di is waiting there. If she is, tell her to go home first. Something crops up and I wouldn't be able to meet up with her for our date, today. In fact, I'll be leaving the country later this evening with my mother. First, I had to attend a press conference - until the press conference is over, I likely wouldn't be able to access my phone." The Shinhwa heir admitted, it's likely that his mother would confiscate his phone during the time whereby the press conference is in progress, lest he got distracted.

"Are you referring to the collapse of your father in Beijing?" Yoon Ji Hoo pried into the matter that crops up for his long-time friend, causing the Shinhwa heir to freeze up for a second on the other end of the line.

"Yes, but how did you know?" Gu Jun Pyo blinked, sounding stunned that his friend had known what the issue that requires his priority attention was before he even revealed the fact to his friend. Even Woo Bin had no idea until he let the information slip, so how did Ji Hoo know of it before he even said anything on the subject?

"It just came over the local news, earlier this morning - only BBC reported the news. Now, KBS is reporting it." Yoon Ji Hoo told his long-time friend over the phone in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"...Never mind, after the press conference - likely every media outlet in Korea would know of the information of my father's collapse. Either way, can I leave you to get the information across to Geum Jan Di? I tried calling her, but I can't reach her… so, you are my only option left at this point." Gu Jun Pyo responded, combing a hand through his hair in frustration while shooting a look at the secretary of his mother to hold on for another few minutes.

"Of course, I'll help you. What time are you leaving Seoul?" Yoon Ji Hoo inquires next, trying to see if there's going to be enough time for him to bring Geum Jan Di to the airport to meet his long-time friend before Jun Pyo departed from Korean soil.

"7pm is the departing time…alright, I really need to go now." Gu Jun Pyo managed to get in one last word before his mother arrived to end the call for him and confiscated his phone just as he expected.

"All done with your packing, I presumed?" Kang Hee Soo remarked, flicking a gaze towards his suitcase that sits on the foot of his bed.

"Yes."

"Good. Now, we leave for the Shinhwa Hotel for the press conference." Kang Hee Soo nodded in satisfaction, as she signaled for one of the guards to come forth to bring her son's luggage out to the front porch and load it into the car trunk of the vehicle that would be ferrying them to the hotel first, and later to the airport.

Gwanghwamun Plaza is situated in the Jeongno district of Seoul, and while Yoon Ji Hoo's residential address isn't too far away from the Jeongno district… it's still a long ride away for the auburn-haired member of F4. The reason is - there is an underwritten ground rule in place on the highway that except for the motorbike with the traffic police logo, no other motorcycles are allowed to use the highway. Therefore, he had to take a long detour to the designated meet-up spot for Geum Jan Di and Jun Pyo, after receiving the call from his long-time friend.

As such, by the time he arrives at the Gwanghwamun Plaza and located the despondent figure of Geum Jan Di who's feeling morose about Jun Pyo not showing up for their lunch date - it was already approaching 5pm.

"Ji Hoo-Sunbae?" Geum Jan Di tilted her head questioningly at the auburn-haired member of F4, wondering why it had been Yoon Ji Hoo who showed up at her meet-up spot with Shinhwa heir over 6 hours late?

Yes, 6 hours - that is precisely how long Geum Jan Di had sat waiting at the steps of the Gwanghwamun Plaza for the Shinhwa heir to show. She thought of leaving earlier, but when she recalls how the Shinhwa heir had spent eight hours out in the cold waiting for her to show up - she thought, she could do the same as well. Thus, she had told herself to not move from the spot and continues waiting. Only instead of the Shinhwa heir showing up six hours after their original stipulated meet-up time, it was Yoon Ji Hoo of F4 who shows up instead.

"If you want to see Jun Pyo, we have to hurry." Yoon Ji Hoo commented, staring straight at the figure of Geum Jan Di as he waited for the girl's response.

"Ji Hoo-sunbae, what's going on? You aren't going to tell me that Gu Jun Pyo met an accident, again - are you?" Without intention to, Geum Jan Di found her mind jumping back to the point when she had first got together with the Shinhwa heir as a couple - the F3, on the whole, had ganged up with Gu Jun Pyo to fool her into thinking that the Shinhwa heir had met with a terrible accident. And what the auburn-haired member of F4 had said earlier, sounded too similar to that trick she had once fallen prey to and thus, she was a tad hesitant to believe Yoon Ji Hoo this time.

"...no, he didn't meet with an accident on the road. What happens was that his father had collapsed at work, and now Jun Pyo had to leave Seoul with his mother without delay to visit his father in Beijing, China. He had no idea how long he would be away from Seoul, if he's lucky - he would be able to return in mere weeks. But if his father's condition isn't good, he would be held up overseas for up to months' worth of time. So, do you want to see Jun Pyo before he leaves or not?" Yoon Ji Hoo sighed as he promptly launched into a summarized version of the events that led to his friend's inability to show up at the date with Geum Jan Di in person, today.

"What?!" Geum Jan Di couldn't help it, she froze on the spot upon hearing the words coming from her former prince charming with a shell-shocked expression on her face. And then, she nodded wordlessly at the auburn-haired member of F4 as she found herself at a loss of words. Her mind blanked out upon the thought of her boyfriend leaving, and that she wouldn't get to see him in person for some time. She wanted to speak, but words failed her at this moment in time.

Luckily, Yoon Ji Hoo had known Geum Jan Di well enough to read the girl's expression and thus knew that her wordless nod was actually the response he was waiting for. Handing over his spare helmet to the girl, Yoon Ji Hoo had truly no idea whether they can make it to the airport on time to meet Jun Pyo in person or not.

It's at times like this that he wonders why he didn't think of using the white lotus instead. After all, there are too many restrictions on the highway for motorcycles but not for the four-wheel vehicle. If only he had utilized the white lotus, he probably wouldn't arrive at the Gwanghwamun Plaza this late in time because he would be able to use the shortcut route between the area of his residence and the designated meet-up spot for Geum Jan Di and his friend instead.

Meanwhile, over in the waiting room of the airport - Gu Jun Pyo was pacing back and forth in the room. Miraculously, Kang Hee Soo didn't comment on his restless behavior - then again, considering the circumstances, his mother likely thought him restless because he was concerned about his father's condition. Well, his father's health is indeed weighing a portion of his mind down… but what's causing his restlessness is the lack of contact from his long-time friend, Ji Hoo. The Shinhwa heir was hoping to receive an update from his auburn-haired friend about the reaction of his girlfriend before he boarded the private jet bound for Beijing, China.

So, when the flight stewardess working for Shinhwa Airline enters the waiting room to inform them that their chartered flight is ready for boarding. Gu Jun Pyo knows, he likely wouldn't receive an update from his friend until the point he landed in the Beijing Capital International Airport of China. From the point of boarding until the point he had to switch his phone into flight mode as the plane ready itself to take off, Gu Jun Pyo spend his time staring at the home screen of his phone whereby he was using a photograph of his girlfriend - Geum Jan Di as the wallpaper, vowing internally that he would definitely return to her.

[Geum Jan Di… you'd better wait for me. I love you…] The Shinhwa heir thought, as he finally switched his phone into flight mode as he fastens the safety seatbelt as the plane ready itself to take off. An aisle away sat the personal secretary of his mother - Jeong Sang-Rok, and behind the man was where his mother - Kang Hee Soo had settled down for the flight towards Beijing, China.

True to Yoon Ji Hoo's premonition, they are still a few kilometers away when the private jet of the Shinhwa Group took off. Knowing that it's pointless to continue their way to the airport, Yoon Ji Hoo stops his bike on the road and allowed Geum Jan Di to stare up at the skyline where the silhouette of the departing plane could be seen soaring above their heads.

Yoon Ji Hoo stood by as he listens to the tearful murmurs coming from Geum Jan Di lamenting on why things must always take a turn for a worse just when they thought things between them were getting better? And then, the girl went on to express her regrets about not having told the Shinhwa heir about the love she had for him, and why she hasn't thought of making food for the Shinhwa heir to try before today?

With every tearful statement made by the girl, Yoon Ji Hoo felt his heart growing heavier by the second. He knew he probably shouldn't do this, but he couldn't help stepping in to take the girl into his embrace. Albeit, all he could do at present is to offer the girl a shoulder to cry on - but it's better than simply standing aside and watching the girl he had grown to love to break down in tears over the departure of his long-time friend.

It took quite a bit of time for Geum Jan Di to finish shedding her tears in response to her boyfriend's abrupt departure from Seoul, for Beijing, China. And when she was finally done crying, a portion of Yoon Ji Hoo's shirt was stained by a wet splotch where she had apparently cried on, moments ago.

"Sorry for ruining your shirt, sunbae." Geum Jan Di remarked when she was finally able to speak without hiccupping, an aftereffect of her crying episode.

"It's fine, this could be easily rectified through the means of a laundry wash." Yoon Ji Hoo commented, he didn't apologize for not being able to bring her to the airport in time to meet Jun Pyo one last time before his friend flew out of Seoul. After all, the girl had finally stopped crying and the last thing he wish is to bring forth another bout of tears from the girl.

The sound of stomach growling causes Geum Jan Di to form a wide-eye look as she flushed crimson under the assessing gaze of the auburn-haired member of F4.

"Did you spend the entire afternoon waiting at the Gwanghwamun Plaza without getting a bite?" Yoon Ji Hoo could hardly believe that Geum Jan Di could be this silly, but it seems like that's exactly what had happened judging by the sound of the girl's stomach growling away, this moment.

"I kind of forgot about making myself a lunchbox, since the main purpose of today's date was to bestow upon him a homemade lunch of my own." Geum Jan Di admitted somewhat sheepishly, of course, upon the remembrance of the effort she had put in for the making of the lunch for the Shinhwa heir caused a melancholy look to form on her face, again.

"I see… well, let's not waste the food you went to the extent of prepping up for Jun Pyo then. It's a sin to waste food, anyway. So, let us split the lunch you made for him between us… don't worry, I'll take a picture and send it to him, so he would at least, get to see the image of your homemade food for him even if he can't eat it in person." Yoon Ji Hoo smirked impishly at Geum Jan Di as he suggested splitting up the lunchbox content between the two of them.

"Huh?!" Geum Jan Di couldn't help but gape at the suggestion of the auburn-haired member of F4, but eventually, she agreed to the suggestion of splitting up the food among themselves. After all, Yoon Ji Hoo is right - it's sinful to waste food, especially since she's already cash-strapped, to begin with.

Granted, Jan Di hesitated somewhat when she brought out the second lunchbox which she had decorated to resemble the cartoon figure of her boyfriend. But still, deciding that food is food regardless of how she had decked it out to be, Geum Jan Di took a deep breath and unveil her creation to the auburn-haired member of F4.

Yoon Ji Hoo's first reaction upon the sight of the second lunchbox was to stare, before shifting curious eyes up to meet the eyes of Geum Jan Di as he inquires. "Is that supposed to be Jun Pyo?"

Flushing red under the amusing gaze of Yoon Ji Hoo, Geum Jan Di nodded in response. "Yes, I got the inspiration off the character lunchbox I saw in the recipe book I borrowed from Ga Eul." Geum Jan Di explains somewhat embarrassingly to the auburn-haired member of F4.

"I see… well, all the more necessary to take a picture of it and send it to Jun Pyo then." With a cheeky grin, Yoon Ji Hoo took out his mobile device to snap a photo of the two-lunchbox prepped up by Geum Jan Di and dropped it into a private chat he had with the Shinhwa heir on the Skype app.

After that, he wasted no time taking a bite of the rice that forms the 'face' of his friend. Upon the sight of Yoon Ji Hoo digging into the lunchbox she had prepared for the Shinhwa heir, Geum Jan Di allowed a lopsided smile to form on her face before she shrugged and give in to the temptation of getting food into her empty stomach as well.

It wasn't until they finished splitting up the food among themselves, and was done eating that food from the lunchboxes originally meant for the Shinhwa heir consumption that Geum Jan Di came to a realization of what they had just done. "I can't believe we did just that…"

"Pardon?" Yoon Ji Hoo blinked at Jan Di with a slightly quizzical look, wondering what has the girl so amused now. Wasn't it just minutes ago, that the girl's on the verge of an emotional breakdown?

"You are lucky that the road is nearly deserted by this point, and that there weren't any fan-girls of the F4 around. Or they might faint upon the sight of Yoon Ji Hoo eating out from a lunchbox on the side of a road. After all, this isn't exactly befitting for the image of a member from the F4." Geum Jan Di commented wryly after realizing how comical they would appear to be in the eyes of the other passer-by if someone else did chance upon them while they are eating out of the same lunchbox.

"I see… well, it's good that nobody is around to witness it then." Yoon Ji Hoo commented nonchalantly as he shrugged in response. After a moment of silence, the auburn-haired member of F4 turns towards the Wonder Woman of Korea and asks. "So, is there anywhere else you wish to go, or do you want to head home straight away?"

"...I think I'll just go home, no wait, on second thought - can we pick up some food for my brother and my parents?" Geum Jan Di began, thinking how her little brother might have revealed to her parents about her being out on a date with the Shinhwa heir. Knowing them, they might very well be starving themselves at present - hoping to get a chance to feast on something sumptuous sponsored by Gu Jun Pyo. If that's the case, they might be sorely disappointed since all they would be getting are street food picked up in Myeong-Dong by their daughter this evening.

Location: Porridge Shop, 9th May 2009, Saturday, 9.30pm

"Sorry, we are closed for the day." Chu Ga Eul cited automatically when she heard the sound of someone pushing open the door to the porridge shop while she's doing a tally of the cash in the cash register behind the cashier counter, so she could report the sales figure for the day to her boss - Bom Choon-Sik, while the man is cleaning up in the kitchen of the porridge shop.

"I know, I'm here to pick you up from work actually." So Yi Jeong commented in response, amused by how the country bumpkin had reacted promptly and automatically at the sound of the chiming coming from the bell attached to the top of the shop's entrance doorway.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae?!" Looking up in surprise, Chu Ga Eul couldn't help but beam at the sight of the Korean Casanova standing in front of the cashier counter waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. "Why didn't you mention that you would be coming by to pick me up from work? If you had mentioned something earlier when I text you the routine reminder message for you to take your dinner, I probably wouldn't have treated you as a normal late walk-in customer just now." Ga Eul commented with a pouting look on her features, inwardly wondering if the Korean Casanova simply has a penchant for embarrassing her.

"Hmm… true, but my decision to pick you up from work wasn't exactly planned. I was out running an errand, and upon realizing that the porridge shop is in the vicinity, I thought I could swing by and offer you a ride home." The Korean Casanova admitted, the truth was - he had just been sent out by his mother to go in search for his father, again.

And every single time Yi Jeong was tasked to do something like this, his mood tends to sour without fail. However, his past experience had taught him that if he were to meet up with the country bumpkin afterward, chances are his mood would lighten up significantly. That was, ultimately, the reason why the Korean Casanova decided to swing by and pick the girl up from work, this evening. Despite having resigned himself to the idea of not being able to see the girl this weekend, after having been told by the girl about her adjustments made to her schedule for this weekend in prior.

"Ah… in that case, please find yourself a place to sit and wait for another five minutes. I'm about done with the tally of today's sales figure. After that, I just need to change and then we can go." Chu Ga Eul beams in response.

"... I think I'll just wait for you outside. You are going to be done soon, right?" So Yi Jeong commented in response, feeling the hair of his skin prickling when he gets the sudden vibe of being stared upon. No doubt, it must have been the odd employer of Chu Ga Eul that's the cause behind his sudden unease.

"...Of course. I'll meet you outside then." Chu Ga Eul nodded in response, the sudden sound of a wistful sighing coming from the kitchen reminded her of the undeniable fact that her boss had a tendency to swoon upon the sight of the Korean Casanova. And likely, the potter of F4 would like to avoid any forms of contact with her boss. Thus, she didn't object to the guy's decision to wait for her outside the shop, instead of staying put in the shop until she's done with her task of closing the cash register for the day.

It was fifteen minutes later that Chu Ga Eul emerged out from within the porridge shop, upon sighting the figure of So Yi Jeong leaning against his orange lotus parked a few steps away from the porridge shop. Chu Ga Eul hurried forward as she commented, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Yi Jeong-Sunbae. I'm ready to go now."

"No worries, Ga Eul. I was fully prepared to wait for at least 30 minutes, to be honest. The fact that you're able to end work 15 minutes earlier is good for me." So Yi Jeong commented, as he opens the door to the side passenger seat of his orange lotus and hold it open for Ga Eul like the perfect gentleman he was nurtured to be.

"Thank you, sunbae." Chu Ga Eul directed a bashful smile in response to the Korean Casanova's gentlemanly act, as she settled down in the passenger seat of the orange lotus. In response, So Yi Jeong simply smiled and headed towards the other side of the car, so he could get behind the wheel and drive them towards the family home of the country bumpkin.

"Are you aware of the news concerning Jun Pyo's father yet?" The Korean Casanova begins as he steered his orange lotus towards the direction of the neighborhood where the Chu family residence is located. This is a route he had long memorized by now, having driven through it for more than enough occasions that he no longer requires the aid of his GPS system to navigate through the various routes that would take him to the neighborhood where the country bumpkin resides with her family members.

"Yes, I caught the news over the TV earlier this evening." Chu Ga Eul nodded, wondering where this conversation is going.

"Ah… then are you aware that Jun Pyo was never able to turn up at the lunch date he had arranged with Geum Jan Di earlier on in the week?" So Yi Jeong inquires, as he pulls his vehicle to a stop at a traffic light as he glanced over to the side to observe the reaction of the country bumpkin to his latest comment.

"Really? Now, that - I wasn't aware. I haven't heard anything from Jan Di about it yet." Chu Ga Eul responded with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well… if you haven't heard anything about it, you should be hearing from her after you got home. I assumed. Jun Pyo tried to contact her on the phone to cancel the date, but he says she couldn't be reached on her mobile… so, I'm guessing that she left her phone behind at home or something. That's why Jun Pyo was unable to establish contact with her. Either way, Jun Pyo sends Ji Hoo over in-person to their designated meet-up spot to inform Geum Jan Di over the issue that crops up and requires his full attention. So, hopefully, Geum Jan Di wouldn't be overly upset about Jun Pyo failing to show up for their lunch date." The Korean Casanova commented as he resumes driving upon the traffic light signal turning green for the vehicles to proceed.

"Ah… given the circumstances, I doubt Jan Di would be truly upset with Jun Pyo-sunbae's inability to show up for their date. Still, she would be disappointed though… and judging from your comment, I'm going to take a wild guess that Jun Pyo-sunbae is no longer in the country?" Chu Ga Eul inquires, wishing to confirm her suspicion on the matter.

"Indeed. He flew out with his mother to Beijing, China about 2.5 hours ago. Likely, he had just landed in the airport of Beijing, right now. It's still unknown how long he would be away from Seoul… but, if you're going to meet up with Geum Jan Di tomorrow. Try your best to cheer her up, I'm sure Ji Hoo did his best this evening when he went to meet her in Jun Pyo's stead… but with how abrupt Jun Pyo had departed from Seoul, I doubt Geum Jan Di would recover from the shock of being left behind by Jun Pyo so soon." The Korean Casanova remarked as he pulls up his orange lotus in front of the cozy two-story single-family home that belongs to the Chu family in the Sincheon-dong, of the Songpa District.

"I will, thanks for the heads-up. At least, that way I wouldn't unintentionally inquire Jan Di about how her date went today if she did ends up calling me tonight. Thanks for the ride home, Yi Jeong-sunbae. Goodnight, and see you on Monday." Chu Ga Eul nodded in response, flashing a grateful smile towards the Korean Casanova as she alighted from the orange lotus belonging to the potter of F4.

"You're welcome, Ga Eul. Goodnight, and enjoy your weekend. I'll see you in school on Monday." So Yi Jeong flashed his charming smile at the long-haired girl, and as per usual - he didn't drive off from the drop-off point until he saw the girl enter the house.

"Well then… what should I do next?" So Yi Jeong couldn't help but murmur to himself as he swerved his orange lotus out of the neighborhood of Chu Ga Eul's family home.

A quick check on his friend's whereabouts informed the potter that unless he wishes to go clubbing, there is nothing else for him to occupy his time but to head back to his pottery studio. After all, Ji Hoo is likely preoccupied with the task of consoling Geum Jan Di somewhere in another part of the city or he's on the way home after dropping off Geum Jan Di. Woo Bin is preoccupied with a meeting under his father's instruction at the Ii-Shin Construction relating to the redevelopment of the building acquired by the Park Enterprise recently, to revamp it into a new boutique hotel under the brand name of 'Park Residence'.

[...Looks like it's back to the studio for me then, let's just hope nothing else would happen to sour my mood, again for the second time today.] - So Yi Jeong thought inwardly to himself as he steered his orange lotus onto the route that will bring him back to his pottery studio, upon making up his mind about what to do next.

Location: Beijing, China. 9th May 2009, Saturday, 8.15pm [China Time], 9.15pm [Seoul Time]

During the entire 2 hours 15 minutes flight from Seoul to Beijing, Gu Jun Pyo spend the bulk of his time staring at the image of his girlfriend - Geum Jan Di, which he had set as the wallpaper for his mobile phone home screen. His mind keeps dwelling on the content of the message he intends to send to his girlfriend upon his arrival in Beijing, but nothing really comes to mind because a number of the things he had in mind to say to his girlfriend depends a great deal on the health condition of his father. So, until he had seen his father in person - it might be best for him to avoid promising his girlfriend anything.

With Seoul being ahead of Beijing for one hour, it was 8.15pm when they landed in the Beijing Capital International Airport, despite them having boarded the flight bound for Beijing at 7pm in Seoul. As special arrangements for their arrival have already been made ahead of time, they were given priority clearance for the customs and immigration procedures shortly after their private jet landed at the airport.

Upon emerging into the public area of the airport, the mother and son found themselves ambushed by the media of the China press. While Kang Hee Soo appears unfazed by the crowd of reporters present on-site, Gu Jun Pyo was completely stunned. It took Jeong Sang-Rok, the secretary of his mother nudging him to shake him out from his stupor-like mode. Under the team of security personnel stationed at the airport, they were finally able to emerge from the airport building without being mobbed by the reporters hanging around waiting to ambush them for an interview. Transportation has already been arranged likely by his elder sister, who was said to be in Beijing at present - to bring them to the hospital where Gu Bon-Hyeong has been hospitalized for the time being.

Due to being preoccupied with the health status of his father, the Shinhwa heir didn't even recall the fact that his phone is on flight mode still - until late into the night. Either way, for now - Gu Jun Pyo is on the way to the hospital with his mother, and his mother's secretary to find out the condition of his father's health from the doctors and medical team attending to his father since his father's admittance into the hospital.

"Eomma, Jun Pyo." A weary-looking Gu Jun Hee met up with her mother, and younger brother at the entrance to the hospital as she led them towards the private hospital room where Gu Bon-Hyeong was staying after getting admitted earlier this morning.

"Jun Hee, how is your father?" Kang Hee Soo cut straight to the point, as she voiced her query across to her daughter.

"Not good. According to the doctor, Appa has a heart attack." Gu Jun Hee told her mother in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Heart attack? But your father has no known ailment of the heart in his previous medical screening." Kang Hee Soo frowned as a puzzled expression crossed her features briefly.

"True, but Appa has not been going for health check over the last three years being too busy with the company's expansion into the Chinese market. Anyway, Appa's latest blood pressure check shows that he had high blood pressure. His heart attack earlier on in the day was due to his blood pressure skyrocketing to the dangerous level." Gu Jun Hee then clued her mother and younger brother in on the latest prognosis given to her by the doctor-in-charge of attending to her father since Gu Bon-Hyeong's admission into the hospital earlier on in the day.

"And what exactly caused Appa's blood pressure to sky-rocket?" Gu Jun Pyo zeroes in his gaze onto the figure of his weary-looking sister and demanded.

"... Appa thought the cash-flow of the business in the states was a tad odd when he looked through the overall figures. So, he ordered an audit of the entire US branch of the company by engaging external auditing personnel for the job. As the end result, it was discovered that the accounts manager employed in the service of Shinhwa Group in the states has been embezzling the funds from the company for his personal use. The discovery sends Appa into a fury, causing his blood pressure to sky-rocket and later collapse in shock." Gu Jun Hee sighed as she reiterated the events that led up to her father's collapse in office, earlier this morning.

"What?!" To say Gu Jun Pyo is feeling angry is an understatement, while his first thought was to find the culprit - dragged him out to punch the daylight out of the guy. He also knew that violence isn't the best way to go about dealing with the current situation. Taking a deep breath, he turns towards his sister again and asks for the whereabouts of his brother-in-law.

"Dong-Min is off to the states to oversee the aftermath of the audit discovery. First, the manager who had embezzled the company funds needs to be terminated from his position at the company, and later charged with an official lawsuit for the offense he had committed, in the process breaching the company's trust in him." Gu Jun Hee explains, cluing her little brother in on the reason why her husband wasn't with her at this moment in time.

While Jun Hee is filling the oblivious Jun Pyo in on the details of what he should be doing at this point, Kang Hee Soo had left the teaching of her stubborn son to her daughter's capable hands since she had known by now that Jun Pyo listens to Jun Hee's words more than her own. So, she decided to let Jun Hee guide Jun Pyo into the role of a proper heir to the company while she headed into the private room of her husband to visit the man, she had married for two decades and known for nearly three decades.

Her union with her husband wasn't a love match, they were the product of a political union. The Shinhwa Group started out as a company in the wholesale and retail industry, since their first successful business income originated from the supermarket franchise. Whereas her own family, the Kang is involved in the Telco business. During the eighties, her father-in-law thought it's time to expand the business sector of the Shinhwa Group and laid their eyes on the telco market. And since her family business isn't doing so well, at that particular point in time. Her father-in-law brought up the proposal of the business merger to her parents, to safeguard the benefits of their family following the sale of the business to the Shinhwa Group - she was to marry the heir to the Shinhwa Group, as soon as they both graduated from college.

It takes a lot of time for them to get used to the idea of marrying someone unknown, but knowing what was at stake - Kang Hee Soo, didn't protest on the idea and instead went along with her parents' inclinations. Being students at different colleges, they didn't even have the luxury of going out on dates before they got themselves hitched and married off to one another. To say, the beginning stages of their marriage is awkward is an understatement. With time though, they managed to get things to work and even produced two children between them.

While they didn't go into the marriage union with an undying love for one another, they were able to treat each other with respect and make sure to discuss things through with one another before any decisions is made. The next market the Shinhwa Group expanded into was the property market - that was what spurs on the establishment of the renowned Shinhwa Mall, following this - they went into the hotel industry. With the marriage between their daughter and the heir to the multi-million hotel tycoon in the states, Lee Dong-Min (Korean-American descent) - they expanded into the resort sector of the hotel industry.

Now, one of the main disputes between Kang Hee Soo and her husband lately involves the World Class Resort in the process of construction within the South-East Asia region. Her husband was against her idea of expanding into South-East Asia when they haven't recouped the amount of money, they had invested in the building of the ski resort in Sapporo, Hokkaido of Japan but she thought it best to strike while the iron is still hot.

Without being aware of a managerial staff employed in the company's service in the states having embezzled a portion of the company's funds - her decision caused the company to run into financial woes of liquidity issues. That ultimately, led to her husband's decision to sell off a portion of the company's supermarket franchise business within their home turf to Japan's Miyazawa F&B Group. Kang Hee Soo was jarred out from her thoughts when the unconscious figure of her husband came into her view, and her husband's personal assistant had turned towards her in greeting.

"Good evening, Madam."

"How is he? Has he awaken from his unconscious state yet?" Kang Hee Soo swallowed at the sight of seeing her husband looking this frail, as she turns her attention towards the personal assistant of her husband.

"Not yet, Madam."

"I see, did the doctor says when he's going to regain consciousness?" Kang Hee Soo inquires next, asking the next question that pops into mind.

"The doctor says it could range from days to a week, and that even after recovery - he ought to refrain from getting too stressed out." The personal assistant to her husband responded in a reporting tone of voice.

"I see…" Kang Hee Soo nodded as she spends the next minute observing the unconscious figure of her husband lying still and motionless on the hospital bed, the only sign of her husband being alive was the sound of light breathing through the aid of the respirator system attached to her husband's hospital bed.

"What are the current business projects he had on his hands?" Kang Hee Soo shakes herself out from her heavy heart mood and resettled back into her usual business-oriented self. Even without her husband around to keep things running, the business projects can't be put permanently on hold and need to carry on, regardless.

It was probably good that none of her children are in earshot when she stated her piece to the personal assistant of her husband, else she might find herself getting glaring looks from her two kids thinking she's an unfeeling woman, all over again. The truth is, she wasn't unfeeling… but is just being logical and knows how to prioritize in a distressed situation is all.

Outside the hospital room, Gu Jun Pyo was asking for the honest opinion of his elder sister about whether or not their father is going to recover from his collapse.

"Honestly, Jun Pyo... even if Appa wakes up from his comatose state within the week, he's not going to be capable of running the business like he used to do. So, you – as the heir to the Shinhwa Group had to step up to the role, of course, you can still consult Appa if you had things that you're not sure about but you can't expect him to run the business full-time, again." Gu Jun Hee responded to the inquiry of her little brother brutally and honestly. Given the circumstances, she didn't attempt to sugar-coat anything. After all, now isn't exactly the time to coddle her younger brother.

"But Eomma..." Gu Jun Pyo was about to point out that their mother could take over the running of the business when Jun Hee cut him off mid-speech.

"Jun Pyo, Eomma might be a capable businesswoman... but she is not the heir, you are. Moreover, you can't expect our shareholders to be completely okay with Eomma running the entire company on her own. Remember, Eomma's a Kang before she married Appa and the Shinhwa Group belongs to the Gu family. The same applies to me, I might be the heiress to the Shinhwa Group... but I'm married to the heir of the Lee family that owns the Malloy Hotel Group in the states. So, the shareholders aren't going to listen to me. You, on the other hand, could make them listen because you're the rightful heir to our family business." Gu Jun Hee told her little brother in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"But... Noona, I know literally nothing about the business projects that's ongoing for the group." Gu Jun Pyo started, as he stamps down the urge to pull at his hair out of frustration.

"That's why I'll be personally guiding you through the various projects the Shinhwa Group is currently amid, what you need to do is to pay attention and learn on the job. Eomma would help in whichever ways she could, too. Together, we will wade through this crisis as a family." Gu Jun Hee patted her little brother on the back in a comforting gesture, before leaving the Shinhwa heir to stew on her words while she headed into the hospital room to speak with her mother. There are things she needs to discuss with her mother before any decision could be made.

Location: Seoul, South Korea. 9th May 2009, Saturday, 10pm

It was nearly 10pm in the evening by the time the business meeting between the Ii-Shin Construction Group and the Park Enterprise came to an end. Today's meeting involved going over the blueprints of the building once more before the official hacking work would take place at the building procured by, Park Enterprise to revamp into their newest branch of the boutique hotel in the central district of Seoul. Aside from the finalization of the blueprint and design of the building interior, things like the materials for the beams, and tiles, as well as electrical fixtures, were also discussed in detail. Last but not least, the color scheme for the walls and tiles are also decided upon.

Sunny's job this evening is to take down the minutes for the meeting, while Song Woo Bin talked business with her father with his father listening in from behind. The sheer remembrance of that scene earlier causes Sunny's lips to quirk up in amusement, somehow that particular scene reminds her of an examiner grading the Don Juan of F4 in a practice round of a simulated role-play. Only, they aren't role-playing but talking genuine business. But whether or not is the Mafia lord truly grading the performance of his son, is something only the Don Juan of F4 and his father would know.

As soon as Sunny climbed into the side-passenger seat of her father's Hyundai SUV, she allowed the yawn that she had been earnestly suppressing to escape from her. Her yawning reaction, no doubt, attracts the attention of her father as the man promptly inquires if the meeting discussion was too dry for her to stay awake.

"... Nah, I'm just tired. I didn't quite get enough sleep last night." Sunny admitted, that's why she's having trouble keeping her sleepiness at bay now.

"Whatever were you doing up late, last night?" Park Chung-Ho, the founder for the boutique hotel group - Park Enterprise and father to Sunny, inquires as he swerved his Hyundai SUV out from the parking facility of the building of Ii-Shin Construction.

"I was busy fine-tuning the project report due for submission this morning. Miranda didn't send me the file until 9pm last night, and thus I was up half the night going through the report and editing them accordingly to the information I had gathered on hand through the research work I was doing." Sunny explained, stifling yet another yawn.

"In that case, young lady. It's off to bed straight away for you upon arriving home, you can hand over the minutes of meeting you had taken earlier at the meeting to me tomorrow morning instead." Park Chung-Ho responded as he told his daughter in a tone that offers no room for negotiation.

"Of course, Appa. And thank you." Sunny beams at her father, sounding absolutely grateful that she needn't sort out the meeting minutes immediately after arriving home.

Unlike Ginger and Miranda, Sunny's family home in Seoul wasn't a standalone single-family home. Instead, it was just an ordinary two-bedroom apartment situated within the Myeong-Dong district. It was her parents' decision to keep the single-family home they owned in Busan, instead of selling it off when they decided to relocate to Seoul. Currently, their three-bedroom single-family home in Busan was placed under the care of a relative and was on the rental market for foreigners to rent for their stay while in Busan.

Anyway, when her parents look into the properties available for purchase in Seoul - they discarded the notion of getting a single-family home and instead went for an apartment unit, mostly because they wish to stick to the budget they had created for their relocation from Busan to Seoul. For some reason, property prices in Seoul are a lot steeper and higher as compared to the property prices in Busan. As such, the amount of money that would get them a house in Busan is only sufficient to get them an apartment in Seoul. With no intention to revise the budget figures, Park Chung-Ho, Sunny's father made the decision to downsize from a three-bedroom house to a two-bedroom cozy little apartment in the city center.

While there have been other bigger-size apartments available for purchase at the point of their relocation from Busan to Seoul, her father had picked this little two-bedroom apartment out of all the available options because of two reasons. One - it's situated within the Myeong-Dong district, making it very convenient for him to travel to work. Two - he fell in love with the apartment at first sight, because it's newly built and ready to move in without the need to do any renovation work on his part.

Either way, because of this - Sunny had never invited Ginger and Miranda over to her family home for a visit, ever. As such, neither of her parents had ever met her friends from school since they relocated from Busan to Seoul. Her parents had urged her to invite her friends from school home on multiple occasions before, but Sunny had never really extended Ginger nor Miranda an invitation to visit her home - because, she could already anticipate their possible reactions without even having them step foot into her family humble abode.

So, no - Sunny would never invite Ginger or Miranda over for a visit, period. After all, nobody would enjoy the notion of being insulted in their own home… and Ginger and Miranda could be rather tactless with their comments, at times.

Sunny has just entered her bedroom, flicked on the light switch in the room when she heard the chime of an incoming text message on the Kakao-Talk messenger app of her mobile phone.

Kakao-Talk Messenger, private chat between Lim Areum and Sunny, 9th May 2009, Saturday, 10.15pm

Areum: Hi, I hope you aren't asleep yet. If so, you can reply to me tomorrow morning - it's completely okay. *Sheepish Emoji*

Sunny: Hi, Areum. Nope, I'm not asleep yet. Just got back in from a meeting that my father brought me along to, at the Ii-Shin Construction talking about renovation plans for the new hotel my father's building in Euljiro-dong. So, what can I do for you?

PS: I'm glad you decided to drop me a text, I was worried that even after I gave you, my contact details - you would never get to the point of putting me on your contact list ^^;

Areum: Yes, well… before Wed, maybe that might very well be the case. But how could I simply cast you aside after you stood up for me to that annoying bimbo from my class, on Wed? Anyway, I'll cut to the chase - I'm holding a study group tomorrow at my home. Would you be interested to join in?

PS: my childhood friend would be part of the study group as well, and she's not a student at Shinhwa High. So, the contents covered during the study group would be inclusive of materials studied in public schools as well. Let me know if you are interested, cause my home isn't very big in size - thus, I need to keep the study group size to about five. ^^;

Sunny: Study Group on a Sunday? That's an interesting pastime… what time are you holding the study group session? And how long would the session last? Depending on the timing, I might be able to join in. ^_^

Areum: I'm thinking about 10am. And then, we will break for lunch at 12pm. ^^; depending on the number of subjects we would be going over during the study group, we might resume the study group at 1pm and end around 3pm… you are welcome to leave before or after lunch.

Sunny: Is lunch going to be provided? *Curious Emoji*

Areum: Hmm… that's a nice question. Usually, we will just head out for lunch since my family home is within the Myeong-Dong district. So, there are plenty of eateries nearby… ^^; and sometimes, we just ordered food delivery from a nearby restaurant.

PS: So, are you coming?

Sunny: Well, 10am sounds good for me. So, I guess I'll be heading over for the study group you are hosting tomorrow at your place of residence.

PS: You reside in the Myeong-Dong district, too? What a coincidence, I stay in the same district as well. Which part of Myeong-Dong are you staying in?

Areum: Really? What a coincidence indeed. I stay in an apartment building situated along the Toegye-ro with my parents. You?

Sunny: My family's apartment is tucked between Toegye-ro and Sogong-ro.

Areum: Seriously? That's incredibly near to where I stay… I think it's about a 1-2 minutes' walk away?

PS: I'm surprised though, I would have thought your family would be residing in a house instead of an apartment. ^^;

Sunny: Yes, well. I know… Ginger and Miranda brags a lot about the neighborhood they are staying in. I mostly keep silent when they start bragging about the landed properties in their neighborhood. Anyway, my family does own a house - just not in Seoul, we are originally from Busan. So, our house is in Busan… my parents decided to invest in an apartment when they relocated to Seoul.

Apartments are readily and easily available in Seoul, not so much for houses… and my parents didn't want to spend too much on a residential property in Seoul. The budget they set aside is only enough to purchase an apartment in Seoul, it seems. Thus, we ended up downsizing from a three-bedroom single-family home to a two-bedrooms little apartment in the Myeong-Dong district. *Shrugging Emoji*

Areum: Ah… make sense, I supposed. The high cost of buying a house in Seoul is why my parents aren't moving even after their business has stabilized.

Sunny: Speaking of your parents' business, what kind of business are they involved in? If you don't mind satisfying my personal curiosity, that is. ^^;

Areum: My mother's a dermatologist, and my father's a general physician. They co-founded Lim's Aesthetic & Family Clinic in Myeong-Dong. Before their business venture, my mother works for the Shinhwa Hospital while my father works for the Seoul University National Hospital.

Sunny: I see… alright, I think we can continue our conversation tomorrow during lunch perhaps? I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open… the woes of being sleep-deprived.

Areum: Of course, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow at 10am, and before I forgot [insert address] - here's my address.

Sunny: Noted. Thank you. I'll be sure to arrive on time for the study group tomorrow.

Upon ending the chat with Areum on the Kakao-Talk messenger app, Sunny went on to remove the make-up from her person and proceed with her nightly routine, in the common bathroom situated next to the kitchen and across the hall from her room. Because she's totally knackered, Sunny decided to forgo the routine of applying a rejuvenating night mask on her face that she has a habit of doing every other night. By the time she was done with her nightly routine and crawled into bed after flicking off the lights in her room - she was asleep the moment her head hits the pillow.

Location: Shinhwa Hotel, Beijing, China. 9th May 2009, Saturday, 10pm [China Time], 11pm [Seoul Time]

Gu Jun Pyo stayed in the hospital for about 1.5 hours before he was sent off to the presidential suite room at the Shinhwa Hotel in Beijing, China to get settled in. As of present, his family does not own any residential property in Beijing, and thus they tend to stay in the VIPs class hotel rooms offered at the Shinhwa Hotel when they are in town. Usually, such VIPs rooms aren't openly available for booking on their hotel rooms booking system. For the members of the general public, they can only book the standard, deluxe, and executive rooms online. For suite rooms, the members of the public would get to choose between the options of the family suite and corners suite rooms.

Anyway, the Shinhwa heir dropped himself wearily onto the sofa armchair of the presidential suite room he was assigned for the duration of his stay as he took out his mobile phone to look at the time. Only, when he stared at the home screen of his phone - the Shinhwa heir came to the realization that his phone is still on flight mode. Hurrying to switch his phone back to the normal mode, the moment the connectivity of his mobile phone was restored - he started receiving several incoming text notifications.

First of all, he receives text messages from Woo Bin and Yi Jeong checking in to see if he had safely arrived in Beijing, followed by an inquiry into his father's health status. Following this, he noticed Ji Hoo sending him a few image files on the Skype messenger app. Tapping into the message, he was greeted by the sight of two images of the lunchboxes alongside the caption message - 'Lunch prepped up for you by Geum Jan Di, unfortunately, you aren't around to taste them. So, lucky me~ they are quite good, at least to my taste buds.'

"..." Gu Jun Pyo stared at the message from his long-time friend with blatant disbelief, is that gloating he sensed in Ji Hoo's text message? It's gloating, right?! His friend is bragging to him about being able to taste the fruit of his girlfriend's labor because he wasn't around to enjoy them, and his girlfriend is too thrifty to let these food go to waste - so, naturally… Ji Hoo would get to eat them in his stead.

[Damn you, Ji Hoo… Just you wait, I will get you back on this. I swear!] - The Shinhwa heir mutters under his breath as he glared at the text message of his long-time friend for some time, before shifting his focus to observe the image of the lunchboxes his girlfriend had taken the efforts to make for him. Saving the two images away onto the gallery of his phone, Jun Pyo didn't bother to respond to his friend's text message. After all, his heart is still too heavy to jest around with his long-time friend.

When it comes down to the messages he received from his other two friends, all he did was to respond that he had arrived in Beijing safely. However, he didn't share with them the status of his father's health condition - only that he's going to be very busy over the next few days, and thus they'd best not to expect him to reply to their messages frequently.

While a part of him does want to drop a text message to his girlfriend, reassuring the girl of his soon return. The Shinhwa heir, ultimately, didn't send out that particular text to Geum Jan Di. After all, there's no guarantee that he would be able to return in time for his graduation ceremony even - and he didn't want to promise his girlfriend that he'll return soon, only to break his promise at a later time. So, until he could ascertain his date of return to Seoul - Gu Jun Pyo decided to not mention anything about his estimated date of return to his girlfriend. So, in the end, all he did was send a text to his girlfriend informing the girl that he had arrived in Beijing, China, and would be away for some time.

After sending off that message, the Shinhwa heir went on to switch off his mobile device and went on to hit the shower. Jun Pyo thought, the best way to ensure that he would encounter no distraction over the next one week since he had a lot of things to learn under the guidance of his elder sister about their family business - it's best for him to have his mobile phone switched off for the time being.

Location: Choi Family Residence, Sillim-dong, Seoul, South Korea. 10th May 2009, Sunday, 9am

The Choi family residence comprises of three detached single-family homes situated within the neighborhood of Sillim-dong, a statutory division of the Gwanak district in Seoul, South Korea. As for the reason why they took up three detached single-family homes, well… that's mostly because the Choi family owned the plot of land that the houses were built on. At one point, the three detached family homes were one big Hanok house but about two generations ago, one of the family members thought that with the development made to the surrounding environment - they ought to change the outlook of their family home as well. Thus, a restructuring was done to the house seated on the plot of land owned by the Choi family.

The head of the Choi family then had two sons; the two sons then went on to establish their own family. As more and more people start staying under the same roof, conflicts are bound to occur. Eventually, the head of the Choi family decided to have his sons moved out to the smaller sizing cottage house he had originally built on his plot of land intending for the families of his retainers to reside. Today, the main house is occupied by the current head of the Choi family - the grandfather of Choi Hyo Rin, and Ginger Choi Jin-Hee. While the two smaller-sizing detached houses located on the two sides of the main house are where the family of Hyo Rin and Ginger's family stays.

While the family might be staying in a separate dwelling, but because the dwellings sit on the same plot of land - they are sharing the same residential address. Thus, the three houses are accessed through a single driveway and a single main gate. This is, the reason why Ginger had dared to boast to her fellow schoolmates about how big her family home is… on paper, it's true. Since the size of the plot of land where the Choi family residence sits upon is almost as big as the house that belongs to the Yoon family.

Coming back to the current topic, while traditionally cottage houses refer to dwellings with a two-up, two-down structures - the house which Ginger resides in, is more of a mock-cottage house. Meaning on the outside, it has a cottage-like appearance but inside the house, it's a lot of spacious than it appears to be. Likewise, it was similar to the house occupied by the family of Choi Hyo Rin. The only thing that differs between the two houses is that their selected theme of decoration of the interior of the houses varies greatly. But that mostly had to do with the difference in preferred style and theme of its' owners.

Either way, Ginger's family home is a two-story detached house with its ground floor housing a spacious living/family room, separate dining room, a half-bath for guests' use, a full-size kitchen as well as a room for their stay-in full-time domestic aid. On the second floor, it housed a common bathroom equipped with a shower facility that's mostly utilized by Ginger, two standard-size bedrooms (one of them belongs to Ginger, and the other room function as a guestroom), and the master suite that comes complete with its' own En-suite bathroom.

Ginger has been up and about since 8am this morning since Sunday is the day whereby her grandfather had insisted on the entire family sitting down together in his dining room for the breakfast meal. During breakfast, the adults talk business, while youngsters like Hyo Rin and herself simply sit and listen. How much of the conversation could her cousin follows, Ginger had no idea(?) But what's indisputable is that most of what's been said over breakfast went over the top of Ginger's head.

While it's nearly an iron-clad fact that her father would be the one to succeed the cosmetic empire build-up by her grandfather, and previous generations of her ancestors - Ginger, personally simply had no interest in taking over the business for herself. What she's more interested in, is the prospect of finding herself a rich man to marry in the future. That was, ultimately, the reason why she and her childhood friend, Miranda got along so well after getting acquainted during a tea party organized by her mother.

From day one since their enrolment into the Shinhwa Academy, both Miranda and Ginger had set their eyes on the boys studying in the same school with them as potential husband material. Before the F4, they had both treated the boys inside and outside of their classes the same way. When the F4 rise up to fame overnight, Ginger had spent months envisioning herself as the woman standing next to the Shinhwa heir while Miranda had her eyes set upon becoming the future granddaughter-in-law of the former president.

But then, the reality decided to deal them a harsh blow by bringing the commoner girl - Geum Jan Di into the picture. From the moment Geum Jan Di appears in their world, their imagined future as a potential life partner for the Shinhwa heir and the heir to the Su Am Group becomes nothing but a figment of their own imagination. At first, Ginger had thought Sunny is the same as her and Miranda - as she could easily see that Sunny admires the Don Juan of F4.

Now though, Ginger found herself correcting her assumption. Sunny is definitely not the same as Miranda and herself, because Sunny is far more realistic than them. Not only that, Sunny isn't attending Shinhwa Academy solely to land herself a rich husband in the future - the girl truly had the intention to take over the management of her family business in time. This could be easily seen from the amount of effort Sunny is putting into the task of preparing for their upcoming year-end examinations.

Sure, Sunny enjoys talking about guys and fashion trends with Miranda and her on most days. However, shopping wasn't the only hobby on Sunny's list - although, the girl didn't say… Ginger knows the girl likes to read for leisure. She had often encountered Sunny killing time by popping into a bookstore while waiting for them to arrive for a shopping trip when they were running late due to Miranda oversleeping, on most if not all occasions. And more recently, through the observation of Sunny's Instagram posts - Ginger had come to discover that Sunny enjoys going on solo holiday trips as well.

So, even though she's getting the feeling that Sunny might be distancing herself from them on purpose - a part of Ginger still held on to the thought that maybe she's being too sensitive. Therefore, when Miranda dropped her a text message asking if she's keen to visit the spa for some relaxation time before their shopping trip, this afternoon. Ginger could not help but give Sunny a call to invite the girl along for the spa trip.

"Sunny, did I wake you?" Ginger started, only to pause momentarily at the sound of her friend's sleepy voice coming through from the other end of the line.

"...Sort of, but it's fine. So, what can I do for you this morning - Ginger?" Sunny stifled a yawn, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes while voicing her query across to the heiress of the cosmetic empire - Choi Foundation.

"Miranda wanted to visit the spa today before our shopping trip to Myeong-Dong this afternoon. I know, you usually spend your afternoon at the library at the city hall building… so, I'm just calling to check if you would be keen to spend your morning at the spa with us?" Ginger Choi Jin-Hee started, masking up her sense of unease by feigning nonchalance as she voiced her invitation across to her friend of three years.

"..." Sunny Park Sun Ja was silent for a moment on her end, and then recalling her resolution to cut Ginger and Miranda out from her social circle for good - the girl went on to decline the invitation politely. "Thanks for your invitation, Ginger… but I'm afraid I've got to decline. I have a pre-existing agreement with Areum to join her study group, this morning."

"Oh…alright then. I guess I'll just see you in school on Monday." Upon hearing Sunny's declination of her invitation, Ginger knew that her gut feeling had proven right. It would seem that Miranda had hit the jackpot, after all. Sunny does seem to be distancing herself from them ever since their return from Sapporo, was it because they went too far with that stunt, they pulled on Geum Jan Di? Still, regardless of what's going through her mind - Ginger isn't Miranda, so she didn't fly off the handle upon being rejected by Sunny once again. Instead, she simply accepted Sunny's declination in stride and shrugged off the matter nonchalantly. She would think about what she ought to do with the discovery of Sunny's intentional withdrawal from their little group, at a later time.

Kakao-Talk Messenger, private chat between Miranda and Ginger, 10th May 2009, 9am

Miranda: So? Is Sunny going to be joining us for the spa trip?

Ginger: No, she's not. I called her up, and she's still sleeping. And she had plans to visit the Seoul Metropolitan Library later on in the afternoon. I reckon she wanted to sleep in on a Sunday, so let's just leave her be and visit the spa on our own.

Miranda: Seriously? It isn't enough for her to spend the past week after class holing up in the school library, she had to spend her weekends visiting the public libraries too?! What's with her and her passion for books, anyway?

Ginger: Reading is just one of her leisure hobbies, just like shopping. Anyway, stop complaining this much - it's not as though you're the one closest to her in this little friendship group of ours. I've never seen you inviting her out on any activity without me being involved over the past three years of our acquaintance. It has always been me that contact her with plans for an outing, if I didn't do it - you would have conveniently forgotten about inviting her along for your planned activity on a weekend. =_=

Miranda: Oh… so, you noticed huh? ^^;

Ginger: I'm not blind nor am I so dense to have missed something this obvious. =_=;

Miranda: Well…guilty as charged. But I indeed missed the good old times whereby there's just the two of us, we clicked in a lot of areas so it makes things easier when planning an outing. But when Sunny is around, plans have to be tweaked to suit her preferences too. Because she doesn't like places that are too noisy, we haven't been visiting the clubs and game centers for a very long time. Granted, it's only recently that we reached the legal age for clubbing… what do you say about us visiting a club in Hongdae district, tonight?

Ginger: Sounds good to me, so… our itinerary for today is a trip to the spa for some relaxation, followed by a shopping trip in Myeong-Dong and ending with clubbing in the Hongdae district?

Miranda: Yep! ^_^

Ginger: Noted. See you in a while.

Miranda: See You!

Location: Geum Family Home, 10th May 2009, Sunday, 9am

Armed with the knowledge that the Shinhwa heir had left Seoul last evening, without showing up for the lunch date with her childhood friend. Chu Ga Eul woke up exceptionally early this morning to prep up a set of homemade pancakes breakfast for her childhood friend. Of course, she didn't forget to make enough pancakes for the parents and younger sibling of her childhood friend as well.

Once everything has been packed properly into her food carrier bag, Chu Ga Eul headed out to the front porch of her family home and waited for her ride for this morning to arrive. She needn't wait for long, as the white Lexus belonging to her cousin - Sakuraba Shuichi arrived at a stop in front of her family home at exactly 9.15am, on the dot.

"Hey, Shuichi. Thanks for agreeing to come by half an hour early, so I could pop over to Jan Di's place for a quick visit before heading off for the tennis game with the boys and Hyo Rin." Chu Ga Eul commented as she climbed into the side passenger seat of the white Lexus.

"It's fine, I'm quite used to you canceling out on a ride in my car or calling me out of the blue to arrange for an impromptu ride to somewhere." Sakuraba Shuichi commented in a rather dry tone of voice, while Ga Eul flushed crimson under the pointed stare of her cousin. She couldn't argue against the fact that she had a tendency to call up her cousin out of the blue to cancel a scheduled ride home from the Su Am Arts Center after the end of a class, because a certain Casanova of F4 decided to swing by and invite her out for a meal.

After all, it's easier to cancel out on her cousin than on her half-brother… since Kazuki is bound to have a dozen questions lying around for her if she were to cancel a prearranged appointment with him. Shuichi though, because he's already aware of her interest in the Korean Casanova wouldn't ask her too many questions on the subject when she decides to cancel on him, last-minute.

When Chu Ga Eul arrives at the doorstep of her childhood friend's family home, she wasted no time in ringing the doorbell to the apartment unit. Although, the door was answered promptly - it was answered by her friend's younger brother instead of her childhood friend.

"Ga Eul Noona? What brings you here this early? Noona is still sleeping, shall I go and wake her up?" Geum Kang San started, volunteering to wake her childhood friend up from her sleep simply because Ga Eul has popped by for a visit.

"No, Kang San. It's fine, let her sleep. She likely didn't get to sleep until late last night. Here, I made Jan Di and your family some breakfast this morning. After her bad day yesterday, I thought she needs some cheering up. I've heard that eating something sweet tends to brighten up the day, not sure how true it was… but it's worth a try, so here's a bottle of brand new maple syrup to go along with the pancakes I've made this morning. Enjoy the breakfast meal with the rest of your family, now I've another appointment to keep… so, I'll take my leave first. Do tell her to drop me a message afterward." Chu Ga Eul instructed the younger brother of her childhood friend and left a message behind for the still sleeping Jan Di before turning on her heels to leave the family home of her childhood friend.

Meanwhile, over at the gate of the Choi Residence in Sillim-dong. There was a bit of an awkward moment for Ginger Choi Jin-Hee, as she had mistaken the blue Lexus for the Grab vehicle she had booked on her ride-hailing app to bring her to the spa where she would be meeting up with Miranda. It wasn't until she had climbed into the back passenger seat and given her instruction to the driver, that she realized she had made a mistake.

Saionji Shunsuke was caught between feeling annoyed and bemused when the wrong girl climbed into the back passenger seat of his blue Lexus. And when the girl who had climbed into his vehicle uninvited went on to bark out a set of instructions for him to drive her to the spa under the management of his family housed within the Shinhwa Hotel in Gangnam district - Shunsuke had finally lost it.

"Miss Ginger Choi, I didn't recall inviting you into my vehicle. And please, did you even check the car plate number before climbing into the car? I'm quite sure, the car-plate number of my blue Lexus isn't listed on any of the ride-hailing services." Saionji Shunsuke sniped at the oblivious girl seated in the back passenger seat of his blue Lexus with an unimpressed look on his face.

"..." Upon the response of the driver, Ginger finally look over to the driver of the vehicle properly. Upon realizing that she was staring into the face of a member from the Japan Trio of class 2A, Ginger Choi blanched belatedly when she came to the realization that she had mistaken her cousin's private ride to the Shinhwa Country Club as the Grab ride she had booked via the ride-hailing app on her mobile phone.

With flaming hot cheeks, Ginger Choi hurried to remove herself from the blue Lexus belonging to the figure of Saionji Shunsuke just in time to meet her cousin who's rushing out from the other house with the cottage-feel appearance which her uncle and his wife of Chinese descent resided alongside her cousin - Choi Hyo Rin.

"...What did I miss?" Choi Hyo Rin took one look at her cousin's flaming red cheeks, and promptly zeroes in her gaze on the figure of Saionji Shunsuke, who's also her not-so-secret crush… since she figures that everyone from the group E3 knows of her crush on the guy. Even the guy, himself is aware of the fact.

"Nothing much, just your cousin mistaking my Lexus for her Grab ride. So, if she's blushing - it's likely due to sheer embarrassment at being called out by me on her err instead of being shy." Saionji Shunsuke deadpans, before asking if Hyo Rin is ready to leave for the Shinhwa Country Club for her scheduled tennis game with Ga Eul, impatiently.

"Of course. Let's get a move on then." Choi Hyo Rin nodded in response, as she climbed into the side passenger seat of the blue Lexus.

Once ascertain that Hyo Rin had her seatbelt fastened on her person, Shunsuke wasted no time in speeding off from the neighborhood where the Choi family residences are situated and headed straight for the route that would bring them to the Shinhwa Country Club.

Chu Ga Eul had quite a fully-packed schedule for this Sunday, first, she had her routine tennis game at the indoor tennis court over at the Shinhwa Country Club with the E3 and Hyo Rin. Next, she had a lunch appointment with Ninomiya Risa, who is still in the country has made it through to the finals of the International Violin Competition held at the Su Am Arts Center. After lunch with Risa, she had the piano class that she had rescheduled from yesterday to today, to attend. Last but not least, she had a group dinner session with the E3 scheduled to take place at Shunsuke's bachelor pad, this time.

The group dinner session with the E3 has always been hosted on a rotational basis, and this week - it's Shunsuke's turn to host the group dinner. When Kazuki hosted the dinner session, they would be eating whatever Kazuki whipped up in the kitchen and putting it on their dinner plates. They could feedback on the result of the dishes prepped up by Kazuki, but they aren't allowed to place orders for their dinner meal.

On the occasions whereby the dinner is hosted by her cousin at the Sakuraba's family apartment, they would be treated to a lovely meal prepared and whipped up by the domestic aid employed in the service of the Sakuraba family. Of course, if Ga Eul is the one hosting the dinner meal at her family home - she would either be the one cooking, or the E3 would get to enjoy the food prepped up by her adoptive parent. But when it comes down to meals hosted by Saionji Shunsuke in his bachelor pad, well - chances are, they would be getting food delivery services to his studio apartment in the city hall area of Seoul.

The studio apartment in which Shunsuke is currently staying is actually a rented property. After all, the Saionji sees no reason to invest in a proper residential property in Korea as they do not have a lot of businesses in the Korean market. Thus far, they only had a single spa in operation within Seoul and even that, is housed within the Shinhwa Hotel falling under the management of the Shinhwa Group by proxy.

Moreover, the Saionji group is in a partnership contract with the Shinhwa Group, and thus, while the training of the staff, as well as the staff payroll, is under the Saionji Group responsibility - the rest of it, could easily be handled by the management team of the Shinhwa Group. As such, Saionji Mitsuru, the current director for the Saionji Group sees no reason for his family to own a permanent residential estate in Korea. As such, when Shunsuke decides to follow his childhood friend - Kazuki into exile in Korea, he had to work on finding a lodging accommodation on his own.

So, that was when he got reconnected with Choi Hyo Rin who had once been an exchange student at the Hyotei Academy in Japan, for a brief period. With no idea how to go about the search for long-term lodging, the hotel wouldn't work since his friend's exile into Korea likely would last a few years at the least. Thus, he dug through his pile of the contact information given to him by his fan-girls back in his middle-school days - simply to locate the contact details of Hyo Rin. And then, with an email sent - the two of them got to reconnect months before Kazuki was officially exiled from Japan.

Most apartments on the rental market function similarly to the property market in Japan, requiring a security deposit and key money, alongside the move-in cost. With Hyo Rin's assistance on the issue, Shunsuke was able to rent a studio apartment that was owned privately by Hyo Rin's Chinese descent mother.

The woman bought the studio apartment as a bachelorette pad originally, having relocated to Seoul for a new job position. Unexpectedly, she later met Hyo Rin's father and fell in love, and got hitched shortly after that. Since her marriage, she no longer had use for her bachelorette pad but because she had invested quite a bit in the renovation works - she didn't want to let go of it by selling it off. Thus, she reserved it as a guesthouse to host her visiting relatives who don't feel comfortable living under the same roof with her family - likely due to the stress of the language barrier.

Anyway, because Shunsuke had asked for Hyo Rin's assistance in this particular area… Hyo Rin musters up her courage to bring the matter up to her mother's attention. With Hyo Rin's vouching for Shunsuke's credibility, her mother decided to rent out the studio apartment under her name to Shunsuke privately without going through the property agent. Either way, that was how Shunsuke ended up getting a studio apartment for his stay while in Korea, and ultimately also the reason why Shunsuke was more patient with Hyo Rin than with other girls who are forthcoming with their feelings for him.

~TBC~

Chapter's Notes:

Alright, chapter 27 is done. What do you think of it? I can't believe I could split the last few minutes of episode 12 from the drama into two chapters ^^; Of course, with plenty of my own original scenes.

First things first, I'm not sure where the scene was being filmed in the drama - so, I simply come up with my own idea of where the designated meet-up spot for Jun Pyo and Jan Di's lunch date took place. ^^; So, bear with me there…

Secondly, the drama only shows Ji Hoo receiving a call from Jun Pyo about his impending departure from Seoul. Which I thought doesn't make sense, shouldn't Jun Pyo try and establish contact with Geum Jan Di first? And thus, the notion of him being unable to get into contact with Jan Di came to mind - resulting in him calling up Ji Hoo in the drama. ^^;

On the subject of Jun Pyo and his mother set off to Beijing, well… I know in the drama they are in Macau. But I was thinking, Gu Bon-Hyeong collapsed in Beijing - surely, they will head over there first to find out the details and the health of Gu Bon-Hyeong before heading towards Macau for whatever business. After all, Jun Pyo's priority lies with visiting his unwell father first - isn't it? Hence, my decision to make them visit Beijing first.

Next, SoEul - not a lot, but I managed to fit in one single scene of them in this chapter. It wouldn't be a SoEul story without SoEul interactions ^_^

I have just two-three more chapter planned in the mind of fully original contents, and then we can start going into the contents covered in episode 13 of the original show. Originally, I planned for one chapter of interlude chapter to bridge episode 12 and 13 together, but imagine my horror when I re-watch episode 13 for one minute and realized 6 months have passes by since the last scene. So, I have to revise my plans for a bit. Among my plans include a big one for SoEul in Japan, because the 6 months would include the Summer season of my story :D

Anyway,I have plans to make Jae-Kyung appears in the next chapter briefly before she officially made an appearance in the drama in front of Jan Di and Jun Pyo. ^_^ Keep fingers crossed, and hope everything goes to plan. ^^ That's all for now, and see you next update.