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,

37. Chapter 37

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 37 - Time flies, Jan Di's Trip to Macau, Part 5

Location: Cunha Street in Taipa District, Macau. 21st November 2009, Saturday evening, 7.30pm

Cunha Street is a narrow pedestrian street in Vila de Taipa, the town center of Taipa, Macau. It is known for shops selling almond cakes, phoenix egg rolls, coconut flakes, cherikoff (Nougat), and peanut candy which tourists tend to buy as souvenirs. It is also known for its various Portuguese restaurants, including 'O Santos' which has been in business for 30 years.

Although, by the time they reached the place - a number of the shops have closed or are closing. They still managed to do a couple of things, such as stopping by for some Gelato ice cream under the insistence of Ji Hoo at one of the shops that sell ice cream. Following this, they went on to visit the renowned confectionery shop - Koi Kei.

Here - the F3 did their fair share of souvenirs shopping, mostly it was Woo Bin that patronized the business. Since out of them all, only he needs to bring home souvenirs from the trip for his mother and his two sisters. The shop not only carries confectionery products as souvenirs, but they also sell jerky much to the surprise of Geum Jan Di. Although sampling of the jerky wasn't available like the shops selling the products in the red market pedestrian street - it didn't stop Geum Jan Di from buying another pack of the jerky.

Originally, Jan Di only have enough budget for a package of the product but since she didn't pay for the jerky she already owns as it was gifted to her by her savior when she was held at knifepoint at the red market pedestrian street…Jan Di had the money to spare for another bag of jerky. This time, she intends to gift it to her childhood friend - Ga Eul for the girl's insight to send the F3 after her. After all, if it hasn't been for the timely arrival of the F3… her things might have been robbed off by the local thugs in that alley earlier on.

The jerky carried by the confectionery shop - Koi Kei, is only available at the standard package of 200g. That's fine since 200g is definitely priced at a cheaper rate than the 500g, which is within Jan Di's budget. The dilemma actually sets in when Jan Di had difficulty deciding whether to get the tender pork jerky or the thin-sliced pork loin jerky.

"You do know that there's always the option of getting both versions of the jerky, right?" Yoon Ji Hoo commented from the side, his voice startling Geum Jan Di out from her thoughts.

"Ji Hoo-sunbae…" Geum Jan Di began, before flicking her eyes back to the two types of jerky available. "I know… but my budget is only good for one bag of the jerky since I would like to get a box of the almond cakes back home too."

"... In that case, why don't you go for the beef jerky? There's only one type of beef jerky available, and I'm sure Ga Eul-yang would be fine with either type." Yoon Ji Hoo suggested, having known that his friend - Yi Jeong is bound to get something from the shop for the childhood friend of Geum Jan Di.

"But is the beef jerky any good?" Geum Jan Di seems skeptical as she eyed the jerky in a darker shade of color as compared to the pork jerky.

"Geum Jan Di, why don't you get the thin-sliced pork loins for Ga Eul then? I'll get her the tender pork slice jerky. That way, she gets to try both." Exasperated by the conversation going on between Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di, Yi Jeong couldn't help but interject with a suggestion of his own.

"Huh? You're going to buy jerky for Ga Eul too? Why?" Geum Jan Di couldn't help but ask, sounding both curious and bewildered.

"... I thought, it was a common practice to bring souvenirs back for friends? And she's a foodie, isn't she? So, it's only natural to bring snacks home for her as a souvenir." Thinking quick on his feet, Yi Jeong managed to come up with a plausible and convincing excuse to fend off Geum Jan Di's curiosity on his decision to get his girlfriend souvenirs from the Macau trip.

"Oh… sorry. I was under the impression that you would find her a bothersome burden rather than thinking of her as a friend, to be honest. Since Ga Eul was deliberately dumped on you as a responsibility by Gu Jun Pyo forcibly during the last two trips we had taken overseas." Geum Jan Di then apologized to the Korean Casanova for leaping to hasty conclusions on the subject of Yi Jeong's perception of her childhood friend.

"... I assured you if I truly find Ga Eul a bothersome existence… I wouldn't have bothered to engage her in a conversation every single time we crossed paths." Yi Jeong was rendered silent for a minute, before responding to Geum Jan Di's comment.

Although, the potter wasn't going to deny the fact that Jun Pyo initially did have to bribe him into spending time voluntarily with the country bumpkin. Now though, it's another thing entirely. Stamping down the urge to smile at the thought of his beloved country bumpkin, Yi Jeong reached out to grab a bag of the tender pork slice jerky before moving towards the other section of the confectionery store.

Outside of getting souvenirs for his beloved girlfriend waiting back home in Seoul, he's also going to get something for his elder brother as well. The question now is whether he's going to get the cookies or the traditional pastry available for sale in the store. Maybe he ought to check with Woo Bin on this subject, after all, Woo Bin did spend a fair bit of time of his childhood days in Macau. So, likely his friends would know which would make a better choice for a souvenir gift for his estranged elder brother, with who he had recently patched things up.

Meanwhile, Geum Jan Di decided to heed the advice of the Korean Casanova and buy her childhood friend a bag of the thin-sliced pork loins jerky. Moving on to the almond cakes section, the Wonder Woman of Korea was stunned by the wide variety of almond cakes available. However, it didn't take her long to decide which type of almond cakes to get. Going purely by the price tag, Geum Jan Di reached out for the original flavored almond cakes as it's not just the cheapest among the variety of almond cakes available but also because she thought the original flavored almond cakes would be most ideal for souvenirs to bring home from the Macau trip.

Yoon Ji Hoo ultimately purchased a box of the phoenix egg rolls, a box of chocolate crispy cookies, and a bag of peanut candy. The box of phoenix egg rolls, he later gifted it to Geum Jan Di citing that he had seen the girl eyeing it for some time and thought perhaps Geum Jan Di would like to try it out and that she could bring the remaining back home to share with her family. After all, just like the traditional almond cakes - the phoenix egg rolls are yet another signature treat that people tend to bring home from Macau as a souvenir gift. The peanut candy and the chocolate crispy cookies are more for his own consumption, as he had sampled it earlier when the staff on duty at the shop offered him a small piece to try out.

Song Woo Bin bought the most products in this shop, he had purchased both the egg rolls and the almond cakes for both his family and his newly acquainted classmates from his college class. And then, he had also bought the jerky under the instruction of his mother. For his two sisters, he bought them a box of chocolate crispy cookies and cashew cookies to share. He also threw in a bag of peanut candy for his father who he knows has a penchant for the snack.

In the end, Yi Jeong bought the bag of tender pork jerky, a box of Portuguese-style chocolate cookies, almond cookies, almond cakes (original flavor), and a box of the cashew cookies solely for Ga Eul and her family to share. And then, separately he bought his grandfather the signature phoenix egg rolls and his estranged elder brother, a box of the almond cakes. He will leave it to his girlfriend to decide what to gift to the Miyazawa heir from the souvenirs he brought home from his Macau trip.

Yi Jeong thought since he had to cancel out on the tennis game rather last-minute, the least he could do is to bring home an apology gift. But seeing as the potter has absolutely no idea about the preferred snacks of the Miyazawa heir, he ended up purchasing an assortment of the snacks he could find in the shop and hoping one of them would suit the preference of the overprotective brother of his girlfriend.

"Anyone wanted to grab supper before we leave the area?" Song Woo Bin inquires at the end of their souvenir hunting trip in the Taipa district of Macau.

When nobody said anything about needing supper, the Don Juan of F4 declared an end to the souvenir hunting trip and brought everyone back to the Grand Emperor Hotel situated in the Macau Peninsular district of the city.

Overall, the souvenir hunting trip to the Taipa district of Macau was a success. First, it managed to distract Geum Jan Di long enough to not think about her boyfriend's lack of response to her presence earlier in the atrium of the Shinhwa Mall. Secondly, Geum Jan Di managed to get the souvenirs she wants to bring home for not just her family members but her best friend, as well. So, in a way, she's really grateful to the Don Juan of F4 for bringing her to a place outside of the red market that carries products that would fit into her budget.

"Don't thank me… if you really want to thank someone. You ought to express your gratitude to Yi Jeong instead. After all, he's the one that suggests to continue the trend and make this evening trip to the Taipa district - a souvenir hunting trip because your original trip to the red market was cut short after you nearly had your wallet stolen and later being held at knifepoint by the desperate thief." Song Woo Bin commented in response to the Wonder Woman of Korea who was seated next to Ji Hoo in the back passenger seat of the black sedan he's currently driving on the roads of Macau.

"Thank you, Yi Jeong-sunbae."Geum Jan Di heeded the advice of Song Woo Bin and turns towards the Korean Casanova of F4 as she voiced her words of gratitude across to the guy.

"...you're welcome." Yi Jeong throws his Don Juan friend a dirty look from the side passenger seat, as he accepted the words of gratitude from Geum Jan Di.

Even though part of the reason why Yi Jeong had suggested doing some souvenir hunting in the Taipa district is simply that he wanted to get some souvenirs home as well and he thought his girlfriend would appreciate receiving signature snacks from Macau as opposed to some branded products he could easily pick up from the shopping malls in Macau. After all, Ga Eul was rather pleased with the strawberry-flavored Kit-Kats chocolates he had brought back to Tokyo following the end of his Tochigi trip where he had conducted a 3-days workshop on pottery and ceramics in general during the summer.

Upon arrival back at the hotel where they would be lodging over the next few days, Woo Bin handed the keys of the black sedan back to one of the lackeys of his cousin who's still hanging around the hotel for some reason. As the Don Juan of F4 lingers on behind to converse with the lackeys of his cousin, Yoon Ji Hoo escorted Geum Jan Di back to the room which they had the girl settled in earlier on in the day.

The Korean Casanova, on the other hand, part ways with Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di citing that he wants to hit the shower before retiring for the night and so, headed off towards the direction where the Royal Suite room he had booked for his stay is located when the lift elevator reaches the floor where the Suites rooms were being housed.

The Executive Suite and the Royal Suite are located on the same floor but in completely different directions. As for how many rooms among the 300 over rooms available for guests bookings are suites, and how many are the standard guest rooms… that's something which the hotel staffs would know. Anyway, as Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di are both staying in the Executive Suite - they are traveling in the same direction.

When Geum Jan Di was led back to the room she had utilized to freshen up after the F3 picked her up from the alley, and came to her rescue while she was cowering in a corner like a damsel in distress… she went straight for her baggage and lugged it towards the doorway.

"...Geum Jan Di, just where on earth do you think you're going?" Yoon Ji Hoo had a peculiar look on his face as he addressed the girlfriend of his long-time friend.

"Erm… heading downstairs to look for Woo Bin-sunbae?" Geum Jan Di answered somewhat hesitantly.

"...And why would you want to look for Woo Bin?" Yoon Ji Hoo couldn't help but questioned Geum Jan Di with a look of bewilderment.

"Oh… you mean you know where's my room? I was under the impression that it was Woo Bin-sunbae that had booked the hotel room for my stay, so I was going to ask him which floor the room's located." Geum Jan Di responded completely neglecting the possibility that the Don Juan of F4 had booked this particular Executive Suite room for her stay while she's in Macau. She had assumed that this room is actually meant for one of the F3 and that her room would be one of those standard guest rooms.

"...Did it not occur to you that you're already standing in the room which Woo Bin had booked for your stay?" Yoon Ji Hoo felt the corners of his lips twitching as it threaten to split into a wide grin at the stupefied look on Geum Jan Di's face, following the end of his words.

"What?!" Geum Jan Di couldn't help but gaped open-mouthed at her former prince charming, as she splutters unintelligibly. Looking around the room in amazement, Geum Jan Di blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I had assumed this room to be your room, to be honest."

"Well… you thought wrong. This room is your room, my room is located next door. While at it, this is the access card key to this room. Do try not to misplace it." Yoon Ji Hoo grinned as he handed the access card key to this particular Executive Suite room over to the dumbfounded Geum Jan Di.

"..."

"So, come back here and sit down. How long do you intend to stand in the doorway with your baggage?" Yoon Ji Hoo waited for a few seconds before speaking up to break Geum Jan Di out from whatever thoughts that has been clogging up her mind.

Geum Jan Di blinked as she heeded the words of her former prince charming and headed back to join the guy on the sofa couch of the living room space in the Executive Suite. Inwardly, she was thinking - the F4 will always be the F4. Even if she wasn't traveling with Gu Jun Pyo, it seems every one of them has certain standards and expectations for the lodging environment. Come to think about it, the room she has been assigned to stay in is also a Suite room with its own living room space in the Shinhwa Ski Resort over at Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. So, perhaps in hindsight, she should have expected for the Don Juan of F4 to make a similar arrangement for her lodging this time around.

The thought of Gu Jun Pyo starts making her feel melancholy, again. And as though sensing her sudden melancholic state of mind, Yoon Ji Hoo opens up the box of phoenix egg rolls he had purchased from the shop earlier and hands it over to the girl with a melancholic look on her face.

"Geum Jan Di, want to try this?" Yoon Ji Hoo prompted making a move to unwrap the sealing plastic over the box.

Geum Jan Di blinked as she steers her focus back to the present, "I thought you bought it as a souvenir? You're unwrapping it now?"

"Unlike Yi Jeong and Woo Bin, there isn't anyone waiting in Seoul for my souvenirs from this trip. So, I mostly bought them for my own consumption. As such, it doesn't really matter when I unwrapped them - isn't it? Come on, try out the egg rolls. It must have a reason for being on par with the almond cakes that tourists tend to purchase as souvenirs." Yoon Ji Hoo shrugged nonchalantly in response at the girl he adores, as he urged Geum Jan Di to try out the egg rolls in an attempt to distract her from whatever thoughts that's plaguing her mind at present.

"Thank you." Geum Jan Di flashed a small smile at her former prince charming and took a piece of the egg rolls out from the box to try for herself.

"Is it good?" Yoon Ji Hoo inquires keeping his eye out on the girl's reaction to the snack, while he personally didn't try any. Geum Jan Di, on the other hand, simply assumed that her former prince charming wanted some feedback on the snack before trying it out on his own and so, went on to nod enthusiastically in response.

"Yes, it's good!" Geum Jan Di nodded enthusiastically at her former prince charming, as she reached out to take a second piece of the egg rolls.

"I'm glad you love the snack. You can keep it then, I actually bought it in mind for you. After all, you seem to be having some difficulty in deciding whether to buy the egg rolls or the almond cakes earlier. And although you eventually decided to get the almond cakes - your eyes keep flickering towards the egg rolls. So, I thought I ought to satisfy your craving. Don't worry if you can't finish it, you can bring it home to share with your family if there's still leftover by the end of this trip." Yoon Ji Hoo commented as he stood from the couch with his shopping bag from the confectionery store in hand. It's getting late, and thus, he decides it's time for him to leave for his own room next door.

"...thank you, Ji Hoo-sunbae." Geum Jan Di smiles at the auburn-haired member of F4 in gratitude, as she walks the guy to the door of the room. Once she had the entire room to herself, Geum Jan Di started exploring the room as she didn't get a chance to do so before.

Location: Royal Suite Grand Emperor Hotel, Macau. 21st November 2009, Saturday, 10pm

While Geum Jan Di and Yoon Ji Hoo had their conversation in the Executive Suite room, Yi Jeong who had returned to the room - Royal Suite, he had booked for his own stay while in Macau decided to postpone his plan for the shower. After all, there's an hour time difference between Macau and Seoul… and recalling his promise to give his girlfriend a call tonight to speak about how they managed to locate Geum Jan Di in Macau. The potter of F4 thought it best to call up his girlfriend before he proceeds to take his shower. Especially since he's very much aware of how rare it was for his girlfriend to stay up late into the night.

So, taking out his mobile phone - Yi Jeong did a quick scan of the battery level of his phone before making the call. Deciding that his phone is likely to hold up for another hour or so, Yi Jeong proceeds to scroll through his contact list on his mobile until he reaches the entry of 'Country Bumpkin' in his phone directory and pressed on the 'call' button. He needn't wait long for the call to be answered, it seems the call was picked up shortly after it got connected. And that causes a look of surprise to cross the features of the Korean Casanova momentarily.

"Hello, Yi Jeong-sunbae?" Chu Ga Eul's voice greeted him eagerly from the other end of the line.

"Good evening, Ga Eul. The speed of you picking up the call was unbelievably fast, to be honest. I was quite surprised. You haven't been waiting by the side of your phone for me to call you up, have you?" Yi Jeong begins as he speaks into the phone, sounding rather surprised at the speed of the call being answered on the other end.

Ga Eul laughed a tad sheepishly on the other end of the line, as she responded eagerly to her boyfriend. "Kind of? I mean, I wanted to know what exactly was going on in Macau with Jan Di… and hear about how you guys managed to locate her when she didn't have a functional phone connection over there. And then, there's also the fact that I didn't want to risk missing out on a call from you."

Honestly, though, Ga Eul was glad that this is simply a voice call and not a video call, else her boyfriend would be able to see the lovely blush coloring her cheeks at this particular moment. The reason why she has been able to answer the call this quickly was because she has been holding the phone in her hand debating if she should send a message over to check when the guy is going to call her up when the phone suddenly blares to life.

"Ah… I see. I did promise to give you the full story about how we chanced about your friend earlier in our routine chat message, didn't I? Alright, are you ready to hear the story now?" Yi Jeong mused aloud in response then, and while the temptation to tease his girlfriend is strong - he managed to stamp it down in favor of giving his girlfriend a summary of the account of how they, the F3 finally tracked down Geum Jan Di in Macau.

"Of course, I'm ready." Chu Ga Eul responded in affirmation.

"First of all, the concerns you shared with me the night before? All of them hit the jackpot. And then, I have to say that the Miyazawa heir is right when he says that Geum Jan Di is a trouble magnet but then, she always has some ridiculous luck on her side." So Yi Jeong begins with a sardonic statement, before proceeding to launch into a summarized event of Geum Jan Di's disastrous exploration of the infamous tourist spot - red market solo before the F3 even arrived in Macau.

"...Meaning?" Chu Ga Eul prompted wondering why her boyfriend claims that her childhood friend had some ridiculous luck.

"Mind you. This event took place before we even landed in Macau, so we had no control over what happened to Geum Jan Di at that point. Okay, so… what happens was that - upon her arrival in Macau, she nearly got ripped off by a cab driver who quoted her 100 dollars (HKD) for a trip from the airport to the CBD area of Macau. Of course, Geum Jan Di didn't accept the offer but she had to take out her calculator to do some impromptu calculations on the conversion rate before turning down the offer. If she had the insight to conduct some form of research into the transportation cost in Macau, she needn't even do a conversion on the calculator to know that the cab driver was attempting to rip her off. Moving on, after she somehow managed to find her way to the CBD area of Macau… her attempt to seek out Jun Pyo didn't go progressively well. She decided to do some souvenir shopping in the red market of Macau, well-known for the cheap bargains. It was there in the red market area that she found herself being held at knifepoint as a hostage by a local thief, after nearly having her wallet stolen by the same thief. The only reason why she had escaped unscathed from the incident was that another tourist had decided to intervene in the situation and saved her in the process." So Yi Jeong reiterates the event that had taken place during the first half of the day, while Geum Jan Di was exploring Macau on her own to his curious girlfriend over the phone.

Of course, the above information - the Korean Casanova had heard it off from several different sources. Among them including John, the man in charge of receiving them at the airport and later from Victor Ma, the cousin of his best friend, as well as the men shadowing Geum Jan Di around before they landed in Macau.

"What?! Jan Di got held hostage at knifepoint by a thief who was aiming to steal her wallet?!" Chu Ga Eul was openly gaping at her phone when she heard the summarized event of her friend's disastrous solo exploration of the infamous red market in Macau.

"Yes. Although, Woo Bin had his contacts keeping tabs on Geum Jan Di… they didn't dare to follow Geum Jan Di too closely lest it aroused her suspicion and attempted to shake them off, and throw in the fact that the red market is quite crowded with people on a weekend. They haven't been able to react in time when the thief acted. First to steal from Geum Jan Di, and later to hold her at knifepoint as a hostage when his ploy to steal from unprepared tourists got busted by another tourist who had caught him in the act, red-handed." Yi Jeong explained as he clued his girlfriend into the reason why none of the men Woo Bin had instructed to keep tabs on Geum Jan Di managed to act before the incident took place.

"That's understandable. I assumed those men shadowing Jan Di around don't exactly speak Korean? If so, they likely make the right decision to follow Jan Di from a distance. Anyway, I'm glad that Jan Di managed to escape from the hostage situation unharmed. You said another tourist came to her rescue?" Chu Ga Eul mused aloud in response after the end of her boyfriend's summary of the first part of her friend's exploration in Macau.

"Yes, and you know what's even more ironic? The person who came to Geum Jan Di's rescue happens to be the heiress of the JK Group." So Yi Jeong grinned as he let the bit of information slip to his girlfriend, as the thought of the look of exasperation on the face of his Don Juan friend came to mind. Escorting the heiress of the JK Group around the infamous red-light district in Bangkok must have left his friend with quite a mentally scarring experience, for Woo Bin now tends to hang out in VIP rooms when they visited the nightclubs instead of spending time in the public area where the hostess comes and goes as they pleased.

"...You mean the girl that dragged Woo Bin-sunbae off as an escort forcibly, so she could openly explore the infamous Nana Plaza in Bangkok?" Chu Ga Eul felt her eyes widening in surprise as she blurted out across the phone connection to her boyfriend on the other end of the line, incredulity coloring her tone of voice.

"Yes. That very same girl." So Yi Jeong commented in affirmation, despite still having no clues of the girl's name - it didn't stop him from having fun teasing his best friend on the subject. And judging from the way his friend's cousin was speaking about the girl earlier, it seems that his friend's cousin is quite supportive of the idea of Woo Bin getting together with the heiress of the JK Group. Granted, a thought could only be a thought … unless his friend does something to turn it into a reality, which Yi Jeong doubts would be happening anytime soon. After all, Woo Bin seems rather content with the idea of leading a bachelor's life at present.

"What a coincidence." Chu Ga Eul eventually commented after digesting the bit of information. "Okay, I assumed that's just part 1 of Jan Di's solo exploration of the city. Since that took place before you guys landed in Macau, what happens after? How did you guys manage to chance upon Jan Di in the end? I highly doubt that the men that were shadowing Jan Di from a distance could get a say in where Jan Di should go while exploring the city." Ga Eul inquires as she pressed on for the second half of the story.

"Remember how I mentioned that your concerns have hit the jackpots?" Yi Jeong prompted then, as he took a seat on the couch of the Royal Suite living room space. Previously, he has been staring out of the window of the Royal Suite at the night view of the Macau city as he related the tale of what Geum Jan Di had encountered in Macau before the F3 arrived in the city. Now, Yi Jeong thought he ought to make himself comfortable for the remaining half of the conversation, and hence, he decided to seat himself onto the comfy-looking sofa couch in the living space of the suite room he had booked for his stay while in Macau.

"Yes. What about it?" Ga Eul nodded as she dragged her pillow closer so she could hug it while she sat up in bed as she continues this phone conversation with her boyfriend.

"Long story short. Geum Jan Di's original plan to bank her hopes on Jun Pyo to make arrangements for her lodging didn't come to fruition. Jun Pyo's apparently too busy running around the place to attend various business meetings, and so, Geum Jan Di either didn't get to meet up with him as planned or didn't manage to get in a word outside of a quick glimpse of Jun Pyo since her arrival in Macau. And having not listened to your advice to book a room for her stay in Macau, she was trying to source for budget accommodation in the city when she nearly got herself robbed by a group of local thugs." Yi Jeong remarked, choosing not to go into details about how his friend had disregarded Geum Jan Di's presence when they met eyes briefly in the atrium of the mall attached to the Shinhwa Hotel in Macau. Instead, he glossed over the fact and simply went on to inform his girlfriend about what happened as Geum Jan Di went searching for an affordable and budget accommodation site on her own, without an escort.

"What?! First, she nearly got thieved upon and now she nearly got robbed off of her belongings? Talks about rotten luck…" Chu Ga Eul mutters aloud as she pinched the bridge of her nose in weariness, upon her boyfriend's latest summarized account of her best friend's trip to Macau.

"Yes. Anyway, instead of staying put and seeking assistance from the passer-by or even going to the authorities for assistance. Which, mind you - is what the normal people would do when faced with this situation. Would you like to take a guess on what Geum Jan Di decided to do?" So Yi Jeong prompted as he threw the query over the phone to his girlfriend waiting on the other end of the line.

"...Don't tell me she decided to try and get her things back on her own…?" Chu Ga Eul sighed as she responded to her boyfriend's sudden line of query.

"Bingo! Congrats, you guessed right. So, she took off chasing after the boy who stole her suitcase trying to get it back on her own only to find herself being cornered in an alley by the entire group of thugs. I guess, by the point, she finally realized that she has bitten off more than she could chew and thus, ended up landing into hot soup. Either way, that was how we chanced upon her. She was calling out for Jun Pyo in a distressing manner… and we had just arrived at the area after hearing of her latest whereabouts from the men shadowing her around. Anyway, we were just about to split up and start looking for her separately when we heard Jun Pyo's name being screamed aloud. That was the only cue we need to realize that it must have been from Geum Jan Di. Who else would scream out the full name of Jun Pyo for no reason in a civilian district? So, we took off running towards where we thought we heard the sound of the distressing cries and sure enough, Geum Jan Di was seen cowering in a corner while being surrounded by a group of local thugs. It goes without saying that there was some fists fight involved afterward between us and the local thugs, but it certainly seems that we have safely found Geum Jan Di before she could come into any potential harm." Yi Jeong commented as he finally put an end to the entire summary of how the F3 managed to locate Geum Jan Di in Macau, to his curious girlfriend on the other end of the line.

"... Jan Di… I swear she has no common sense, at times." Chu Ga Eul mutters aloud, before addressing the potter of F4 with unbidden gratitude in her tone. "Anyway, thank you for taking the time to fill me in on the happenings in Macau. And thank you for saving Jan Di, please forward my gratitude towards Ji Hoo-sunbae and Woo Bin-sunbae on this as well. As for Jan Di, I'll be sure to give her a good telling off when she's back in Seoul."

"Oh…? You aren't going to lecture her, right away? I was half-expecting to have to head over to Geum Jan Di's room and knock on her door so you could nag her ears off, to be honest." So Yi Jeong commented in a teasing manner.

"Yes, well… the thought is indeed tempting but I think my blood pressure will rise if I were to speak to her now. So, I figured it best to cool off my head for a bit first. And Jan Di might fare better with a good night of rest, so… I decide to leave the lecturing talk for later." There was a moment of silence before Chu Ga Eul responded to the teasing comment coming from the Korean Casanova over the phone.

"I see…well, I hate to cut this short but my phone is getting low on battery. So, I think I ought to end this call now before it cuts itself off. Sweet dreams, Ga Eul." The beeping sound signaling the low battery status of his phone starts sounding aloud then, and Yi Jeong knows he needs to end the call before the line cuts itself off when the battery runs out. So, it was with great reluctance that the Korean Casanova took the initiative in ending this current phone conversation he had going with his lovely girlfriend.

"Ah… so that's what the beeping sound is all about. Alright then, I supposed it can't be helped. Good night, Yi Jeong-sunbae, and sweet dreams to you, too." Ga Eul echoed the sentiment before ending the call on her end, knowing full well that her boyfriend doesn't enjoy being the one to hang up on her and so, she might as well be the one that actually hangs up the call when their conversation has already come to an end.

"..." With a sigh of regret, Yi Jeong stared at the dim screen of his phone as the battery dies off shortly after his girlfriend took the initiative to end the call on her side. A good look around informed him that he didn't have any suitcase with him, and it was only at this moment that he recalls the fact that in their rush to chase after Geum Jan Di, neither of them had taken the time to pack for the trip.

[Darn… okay, so… not only do I not have any clothes to change into. I also didn't have the phone charger with me.] - Yi Jeong thought in exasperation, a quick look at the time informs him that it's too late to venture out to pick up a new phone charger. Now he could only hope that Woo Bin's contact would have some ways of getting him a phone charger that fits the model of his phone, this late in time because he absolutely hated the idea of not having a functional phone on his person.

Since his phone is completely 'dead' from no battery, he can't contact his best friend through the form of a text message and had to resort to the old-fashioned way of locating his friend. Meaning - he had to take the lift elevator down to the lobby of the hotel and go in search of his best friend in person.

It took a while, but eventually, Yi Jeong managed to locate the figure of his best friend in 'The Windsor' located on the 21st floor of the hotel building. The Windsor is the chill and hang-out bar of the hotel, with live music performances. When he had arrived at the lobby area, he was greeted by the sight of the man named - John, who had met up with them at the airport and later drove them over to the hotel. And now, it was that same man who had informed him of his best friend's whereabouts - apparently, his friend had gone drinking with his cousin on the 21st floor where the bar - The Windsor is located.

Location: The Windsor, Grand Emperor Hotel, 21st Floor. Saturday, 21st November 2009, 11pm

"Woo Bin, do you have your phone charger on your person? My phone battery just died on me, and I've only just recalled that I didn't have the sense to bring my charger along on this trip." The first thing Yi Jeong said upon coming to a stop in front of his best friend, was to ask if his friend had brought along the phone charger for the trip.

"... You're in luck. I do happen to have my phone charger on me, even though, just like you guys - I didn't bother to pack a suitcase of clothes for the trip. I do, however, brought along my laptop bag since I'm expected to work on this trip." Song Woo Bin commented as he reached for his laptop bag, and fished out his phone charger from the front zipper compartment of his laptop bag.

"Thanks, I'll return you tomorrow morning. Remind me to get a new charger from the shops at the mall during breakfast tomorrow." Yi Jeong responded, grabbing the phone charger from the hands of his best friend without delay. Once he had gotten what he needs from his friend, he promptly turns on his heels to make his way out of the bar to head back to his room so, he could start charging his phone.

"..."

"So, that's your counterpart?" The sudden sound of a familiar voice speaking up next to him, causes Woo Bin to snap his focus to his side.

"...If by counterpart, you are referring to our common reputations of being notorious playboys. Then yes, you're right. He's the Korean Casanova, while on the subject - Ms. Jae-Kyung… what happens to your bodyguard or bodyguards, in this case?" Song Woo Bin inquires when he noticed that the girl was once again, alone chilling out in the bar with no bodyguard hanging around her.

"They are waiting outside. The Windsor isn't like those shady bars in the Nana Plaza, and I highly doubt anyone would dare to mess around with me when the heir of the Ii-Shin Group is sitting next to me." Ha Jae-Kyung shrugged nonchalantly in response.

"...Right, and you wouldn't happen to know where my previous drinking buddy vanishes off to - would you?" Raising an eyebrow up in a questioning manner, the Don Juan of F4 inquires as he directed his query towards the heiress of the JK Group who's nursing a glass of cocktail judging from the color of the beverage.

"...hmm… are you referring to the guy dressed up in a flora-printed shirt? If so, he left a moment ago citing that he had something urgent to attend to. And he's also the one who pointed me to your direction, saying that you need a drinking buddy this evening." The heiress of the JK Group responded casually to the query of Woo Bin, as she took a sip of the cocktail served to her by the handsome bartender working behind the bar.

"..." Woo Bin had no words to describe his current feelings about his cousin's nosiness. Certainly, his cousin wasn't thinking about playing cupid between him and the heiress of the JK Group, right?

Darting a discreet look in the direction of the laptop bag, Ha Jae-Kyung went on to inquire after Woo Bin's reason for visiting Macau - this time. If it weren't for the fact that her parents are now on the way over to Macau, and are due to arrive tomorrow at noon. And the fact that she now has an entire team of bodyguards shadowing her instead of just a single bodyguard - she would be tempted to persuade the Don Juan of F4 to take her into the casino for a look. But considering the number of bodyguards she has shadowing her around today, she highly doubts she could successfully pull off her plan of touring the casino. Damn her parents for sending the team of bodyguards ahead to keep tabs on her whereabouts!

"So… are you in Macau for work or leisure?" The heiress of the JK Group inquires, trying her best to make small talk with the Don Juan of F4.

"A bit of both… I was initially coming here for some personal matters, but then my father decided to send me off to meet up with some of his business acquaintances when he learns of my intention to swing by Macau. You?" Song Woo Bin responded taking great care in not letting slip too much information to the curious heiress of the JK Group.

"Me? Well, I would love to say I'm here fully for leisure purposes… but unfortunately, my parents are on their way over to Macau at present for some business meeting and is now forcing me to tag along with them upon their arrival for some absolutely dreadful and boring social parties to meet up with potential business partners." The heiress of the JK Group couldn't help but roll her eyes in response as she lamented to the Don Juan of F4.

"Ah… speaking of which, I guess I ought to thank you for your assistance earlier on in the day in the red market. My friend's girlfriend nearly got thieved while on her souvenir hunting trip in the red market earlier this morning. I heard that it was due to your interference that she managed to escape unharmed." Woo Bin started out of the blue, as he bestowed his charming grin towards the heiress of the JK Group as he thanked the girl for helping Geum Jan Di out earlier.

"Oh! Really? What a coincidence. So, have the girl gotten a chance to meet up with your friend yet? She did tell me that she's here to see her boyfriend, earlier on in the day." Ha Jae-Kyung beams at Woo Bin in response, the thought of her earlier encounter with Geum Jan Di brought a smile onto her face.

"Not yet. He's also who I came over to meet up with… but so far, he hasn't got a free slot in his schedule to fit in a meeting with us. Anyway, how long have you been in Macau thus far? Have you gotten any sightseeing done yet?" Steering the topic of conversation away from Jun Pyo, Woo Bin decides to inquire into the heiress sightseeing plan instead.

"Ah… I landed yesterday and had been to the tourist sites like - Ruins of Saint Paul's, the Flora Garden, the Senado Square, and the A-Ma Temple. That was all visited yesterday when I have more freedom at hand to explore the area, today though… I've only been to the red market and its neighboring pedestrian street. After that, I went to the Guia Fortress to have a look before spending the rest of my time hanging out in the neighboring shopping malls, such as the New Yaohan within walking distance from here." The heiress of the JK Group started out blabbing in excitement before her tone changed into one of lament when she brought up the mention of spending time in the shopping malls.

"I thought girls like to shop? So, why the tone of dread when you mention spending time in the shopping malls?" Song Woo Bin inquires out of genuine curiosity.

"Well… if it's up to me to decide which store to patronize, I'll be very happy to spend my time in the mall. But if I'm patronizing shops whereby I'm expected to show up to get fitted for certain attires as specified by my mother, forgive me if I find it more of a chore than an enjoyable activity." The heiress of the JK Group sighed aloud in response.

"Ah… I see, and is that what brings you over to the bar tonight?" Song Woo Bin then steered the conversation to the girl's reason for visiting the bar this late in time.

"Kind of. Tonight's my last night of freedom to do as I pleased. When my parents arrived in town tomorrow, I can jolly well forget about spending the entire night partying away because that isn't something appropriate for a young lady to be doing. Oh well, at least, they can't really restrict me from the sightseeing activities during the day…but I'll be expected to show up with them at social functions though. Anyway, enough about my parents' impending arrival - let's toast to our coincidental meeting tonight instead. Cheers!" Ha Jae-Kyung sighed aloud as a cloud of gloom hangs over her head for a moment before she shrugged it off, and propose a toast to the Don Juan of F4 in celebration of their reunion meet-up in Macau by chance.

"Cheers!" With a shrug, Song Woo Bin raised his own whiskey tumbler in response to the toast proposed by the heiress of the JK Group.

Location: Shinhwa Hotel in Kowloon area, Hong Kong. 21st November 2009, Saturday, 11.30pm

While the heiress of the JK Group chatted away with Song Woo Bin in the bar of the Grand Emperor Hotel, over in Hong Kong - Gu Jun Pyo had just ended the meeting with the client who is unable to fly out to Macau for the meeting with him, resulting in the need for him to slot in an impromptu trip to Hong Kong, this evening. Instead of flying back to Macau immediately, Jun Pyo who isn't in the mood to deal with the witch of his mother at present decides to lodge in the Shinhwa Hotel - Hong Kong branch situated in the Kowloon area of the city overnight before heading back to Macau.

Due to space constraints in Hong Kong, even hotels with a five-star rating. For e.g. Shinhwa Hotel is unable to offer room sizes that are too big in scale. And so, the standard guest room sizing range from 42-meter square to 45-meter square. And the suites room range from 82 meters square to 225 meters squares depending on the type of suites booked. Either way, since Gu Jun Pyo is literally the owner of the hotel - it's only natural for him to get the biggest size room available in the Hong Kong branch of the Shinhwa Hotel.

Therefore, Gu Jun Pyo was shown to the presidential suite room situated on the very top floor of the hotel building. The presidential suite room has a sizing of 225-meter squares and gets to enjoy a magnificent view of the Victoria Harbour from the floor-to-ceiling window in the room. The suite comes with its own living and dining space, and the bathroom is equipped with a Jacuzzi tub as well as a separate shower cubicle. But all of these set-ups are only available for suite rooms that are above the 100-meter squares, and even then - only the special suite and the presidential suite are equipped with the Jacuzzi tub. For the rest of the suite rooms, they only get the shower cubicle in the bathroom with Italian marble flooring tiles.

For a suite room with sizing below 100 square meters, they don't get a separate dining and living space atop the bedroom in the suite. Instead, what they would get is a bedroom and a living/working space in the main area of the suite. Anyway, it's not as though Gu Jun Pyo is in any mood to do a comparison between the room sizes of the presidential suites he had stayed in while touring the hotels of the Shinhwa Group in the various prominent cities of China, at this point. If anything, Gu Jun Pyo simply felt exhausted.

Previously, he had too many things lined up on his agenda to dwell on the subject of Geum Jan Di's impromptu visit to Macau. Now that he finally had time to rest, Gu Jun Pyo found his mind returning to the point where he had met eyes, however briefly, with his girlfriend and feel suffocated. Yes - suffocated, that's exactly what he feels when the thought of his girlfriend came to mind recently. A part of him yearns to hold on to this relationship he had with Geum Jan Di because he knows he loves the girl deeply and irrevocably. But another part of him wasn't confident if he could withstand the pressure that comes along with this relationship. Originally, he only had to cope with his mother's displeasure, and that alone, is stressful enough… but now, with his father's early retirement - it seems everyone is fixating their eyes on him waiting to find fault with each and every decision he made.

His mother has plans to rope in the JK Group as their investor for the upcoming resort project the Shinhwa Group plan to launch in the year 2020 in the Incheon area of Korea. His mother, after visiting Venetian Macau thought it prudent for the Shinhwa Group to build a similar resort in their hometown. And so, he had spent the last three months building up a proposal based on his mother's idea of a resort town in the Incheon area of Korea using Venetian Macau owned by the Las Vegas Group as a sample blueprint.

Anyway, to entice the JK Group into becoming one of their investor for the project - his mother had the idea of suggesting a political union between him and the heiress of the JK Group. Knowing how stubborn he could be on the subject, his mother has been chatting his ears off recently by promoting the virtues and traits of the heiress whom he's expected to meet up soon since two weeks ago, upon her arrival in Macau. Gu Jun Pyo, personally, wasn't all that keen on the prospect of a political marriage union. There's only one woman he wants and is in love with, who he knows his mother is vehemently against them being together. And so, Jun Pyo knows his mother would definitely be pushing for this union between him and the heiress of the JK Group.

And then, now at this particular moment in time, Geum Jan Di choose to show up in Macau. God, just the sheer thought of how his mother would react upon coming across this information was enough to make Jun Pyo's head swell and throb with a migraine. Would his mother believe him if he claims that he wasn't the one that invited Geum Jan Di over to Macau, to threaten the possibility of the business deal between the Shinhwa Group and the JK Group from coming into fruition? True, he wasn't a big fan of a political union between him and the heiress of the JK Group for certain… but he was thinking of biding his time, and just dragging the thing/arrangement on indefinitely, or until his father could regain enough strength to put a stop to his mother's plan. Only Jun Pyo fears that Geum Jan Di's appearance in Macau at this time would only serve to aggravate his mother and speed up the process of the potential political union arrangement between him and the heiress of the JK Group.

[Aargh… all this thinking is seriously making my head hurt!] - Gu Jun Pyo thought as he flopped down onto the bed, as he stared up at the dark ceiling in the room. The fatigue must have been worse than he thought because he soon finds his mind growing fuzzy and before he knows it, he was completely asleep.

The next time Gu Jun Pyo opens his eyes, it was already 8am in morning. And after a quick breakfast, he rushes back to Macau on his family-owned private jet with Jeong Sang-Rok, the secretary his mother sicced on him in tow. A quick shower later, he was dressed immaculately as he joins his mother in the private dining room at the in-house restaurant of the Shinhwa Hotel in Macau.

Location: Grand Emperor Hotel, Macau. 22nd November 2009, Sunday morning, 8am

Song Woo Bin has to say, of all things he has been expecting. Getting sloshed in the Windsor bar on the 21st floor of the Grand Emperor Hotel in Macau, and accepting the invitation to spend the night in the Queen Suite which the heiress of the JK Group had booked for her stay was the last thing he has been expecting. Yet, this was exactly what happened.

Still, waking up on the same bed with the heiress wasn't in his plan at all. The only good thing, both of them are fully clothed which means nothing beyond sleeping on the same bed for the entire night has occurred. So, other than the fact that he had woken up to the unnerving sight of his arms around the heiress of the JK Group and the feel of the lady cuddling up to him… the experienced playboy could safely ascertain that nothing has happens the night before.

[Still, what the hell happened last night? I didn't recall climbing into the bed with her at all? Even though, I did accept her invitation to spend the night in her room - I was quite certain that I went to bed on the couch in the living space of the suite. So, why am I waking up on the bed with her in my arms this morning? Did I sleepwalk? No… I don't think that's a possibility, or did I wake up in the middle of the night to use the washroom facility and later mistook the room for my own bedroom at home? Now, that sounds a tad more plausible… but which is it? Aargh… damn, all that whiskey is causing my head to pound. I shouldn't have drunk so much.] - Song Woo Bin thought as he tried to shift his position to no avail, the heiress of the JK Group was latching onto him too tightly.

His constant moving around on the bed must have woken the rightful owner of the suite, because soon after he was met by the sight of the heiress opening her eyes. The moment Jae-Kyung opens her eyes and noticed her close proximity with the Don Juan of F4… she couldn't help but groaned aloud as she feel the onset of a migraine setting in on her, the after-effects from drinking too much the previous night, no doubt.

"What exactly happened last night?" The heiress of the JK Group took a moment to register the fact that she had the Don Juan of F4 in the same bed with her, and that she had woken up in the position of latching onto the guy for some unfathomable reasons. Certainly, she wasn't drunk enough to invite the notorious playboy into her bed last night, was she?

"...I think, the first thing we could ascertain is that we both got hopelessly sloshed last night at the bar." Song Woo Bin responded as he held his free hand up to his still pounding head, his other hand is still a bit numb from being used as a pillow by the heiress of the JK Group through the night. Damn, he should have stuck to red wine and he wouldn't have to nurse a hangover now. Getting drunk from whiskey is an experience he didn't care for repeating soon.

"Yes, that - I agree." Jae-Kyung nodded in response, she recalls getting sloshed in the bar and then her somehow making it back to her room with her bodyguard - Chen supporting her the entire way? Still, that doesn't explain why she had the Don Juan of F4 in her hotel room's bed though?

"Okay, and then in a moment of folly. Instead of rejecting your offer, I actually accepted your invitation to crash in your suite for the night." Song Woo Bin continues on, as he tried to piece together the random images from his pounding head to get a clear idea about what exactly had transpired the night before between them.

"I remember that too… Chen was protesting the idea when I first suggested it, but then I kind of dismissed her words and insisted on getting my way. To prevent us from creating a ruckus in our drunken addled mind, she caved into my wilful insistence in the end." Jae-Kyung nodded in response, as she hurried to remove her person from the Don Juan of F4 so the guy could distance himself from her person.

As Jae-Kyung scrambled to roll away from the guy with the infamous reputation as the Don Juan of F4, she couldn't help but think about how warm the guy actually felt when she was cuddling up to the guy upon waking earlier. Now that they had put some distance between them, she could feel the chilly air from the air-con unit distinctively. It was the feel of the cold air against her exposed skin on the neck that brought forth the exact scenario of what had transpired that leads to them sharing the same bed, to the forefront of Jae-Kyung's mind. It would seem that she's indeed the one to blame for them sleeping in the same bed.

"Right, anyway… I recalled falling asleep on the sofa couch out there in the living space, but when did I move from the couch outside to your bed? That, I truly can't recall." Song Woo Bin responded with a frown.

"Okay, I think you can safely blame that on me. You did go to bed on the couch in the living space last night, at least, that was the case until sometime around 2 or 3am. I can't recall exactly, Chen has left for her own room on the lower floors after ascertaining the fact that I'm fast asleep and isn't likely to wake anytime soon. I assumed I must have kicked off the blanket and woke up feeling cold. And you were up because you have need to use the bathroom. But for some reason, instead of using the half-bath situated outside…you decided to use the bathroom attached to the bedroom. Either way, in my sleep-addled mind, combined with intoxication… I must have decided that you would do good as my human-sized teddy bear for the night, and ended up dragging you into the bed." The heiress of the JK Group flushed pink momentarily when she reached the part of her explanation about why she had thought it prudent to drag the Don Juan of F4 into her bed when the guy was just leaving after using the bathroom attached to her sleeping quarter.

"...Now that you'd mentioned it, I think I still have a bump somewhere when you dragged me into your bed forcibly." Song Woo Bin deadpans in response as he finally determined the cause behind the throbbing sensation he had in the lower part of his leg. He must have rammed it against the foot-post of the bed when the heiress dragged him over to her when he was just about to leave the sleeping quarter for the living area of the suite.

"Sorry. I apologize for causing you distress if any." Ha Jae-Kyung said to the Don Juan of F4 after a moment of awkward silence between them, after realizing that she only had her own self to blame for the unnerving and awkward scene upon waking this morning.

"It's fine, anyway, can we forget about the acts we have committed in a moment of drunken and sleep-addled mind, last night?" Song Woo Bin took a moment to regather his thoughts, before addressing the silent and slightly mortified-looking heiress of the JK Group. It seems in the wake of finally recalling what had transpired that led to them waking up in a tangle of limbs this morning on the same bed had finally brought on some form of embarrassment in the daring and wilful girl. After all, the girl's blushing faintly in the cheeks which are rather rare in Woo Bin's opinion. Especially, since the girl has absolutely no shame when she cling onto his arms last night when they were making their way out from the bar - Windsor, and previously when he has been roped in as an escort to bring her around the Nana Plaza, one of the three infamous red-light districts in Bangkok, Thailand.

"Absolutely!" Jae-Kyung promptly responded, very eager to go along with the suggestion from the Don Juan of F4. Just like Woo Bin, she's determined to put the unnerving morning experience aside and flip over to a new page. Of course, she isn't going to share what had transpired last midnight and this morning to her bodyguard - Chen, when the girl report in for duty later. Jae-Kyung has no doubt that her bodyguard would lecture her to no end if Chen were to know of the above-mentioned events that occur between her and the Don Juan of F4.

"Good. I think it would be best if I took my leave first. Anyway, see you around, and thank you for taking me in last night." Song Woo Bin commented as he grabbed his coat from the sofa couch in the living space of the suite, and hightail out of the Queen Suite which the heiress of the JK Group was staying in before the female bodyguard of the heiress were to appear in front of them.

The way they had woken up this morning was too unnerving for them both to feign nonchalance in the face of being questioned, and so, the earlier Woo Bin leave the place the better. It would minimize the chances of the heiress slipping up in front of Chen, the bodyguard.

Neither Ji Hoo nor Yi Jeong had thought it strange when their Don Juan friend fails to show up at the doorstep of their suite asking to crash for the night. They simply assumed that Woo Bin had found somewhere else to stay for the night, and so, neither of them thought to inquire where their friend had spent the night when they congregated at one of the Chinese restaurants in the hotel for breakfast that morning.

"..."

Geum Jan Di was effectively rendered silent when she noted the similar attires worn by the F3, this morning. When Yoon Ji Hoo shows up in front of her room to collect her for breakfast dressed in the same attire as the previous day, she didn't comment. But when she noted how the other two members were also seen in the same attire as the previous day, Geum Jan Di couldn't help but stare.

"In our defense, we were in too much of a rush to come after you yesterday that neither of us has the insight to bring along a change of clothes. So, after breakfast - we are going shopping." So Yi Jeong declared in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, and then he handed the phone charger he had borrowed from his best friend the night before over to his distracted buddy.

"Oh…" Geum Jan Di wisely hold her tongue upon the realization that she was to blame for the F3 lack of wardrobe choice for this morning. And so, she didn't complain when the Korean Casanova dragged them off to the mall right after breakfast, to procure a change of clothes for them all. Of course, the Korean Casanova didn't forget to get a new phone charger for his own use. In case, his phone was to go into low battery status, again.

After the trip to the mall, they make their way back to the lodging hotel to drop off their shopping bags before leaving the hotel, again. This time, they had their mind fully set on doing some proper sightseeing.

"So, Woo Bin… where are you going to bring us sightseeing today?" Yi Jeong prompted startling the distracted mafia heir back to the living plane.

"Right, Geum Jan Di has already seen the red market and the Cunha street… both of which are milling with locals and civilians. So, I thought we could spend the day in Venetian Macau situated in the reclaimed land - Cotai district today. That's where all the expatriates love to spend their time, and also where the major casinos in Macau could be found. Anyway, there are things we could do that don't involve gambling in Cotai." Song Woo Bin snapped his focus away from the thought of a certain heiress of the JK Group who's the main cause of his distraction this morning and shifted his attention back to the present. Little did he knows that he would once again cross paths with the girl in Venetian Macau, this afternoon.

Location: Venetian Macau, Cotai District. 22nd November 2009, Sunday.

Upon stepping out of the MPV at the entranceway to the Venetian Macau Resort, Geum Jan Di could feel her jaws slackening in shock. If she had thought the building owned by the Shinhwa Group on Macau Peninsular is big, the Venetian Macau Resort is even bigger. It's easily triple the size of the Shinhwa Hotel and mall located on the Macau Peninsula, the mainland of the city of Macau.

"Goodness, how big is this place?" Geum Jan Di gaped as she voiced her awe aloud to her traveling companions.

"10,500,000 square feet, and it's modeled after its sister casino resort in Las Vegas." Song Woo Bin responded obviously having done his homework beforehand.

"Wow…" Geum Jan Di breathed as she stare at the resort completely awe-struck.

"Come on, let's head inside instead of ogling at the magnificent scene in the entranceway of the resort." Song Woo Bin declared as he shepherded the gobsmacked Geum Jan Di through the entranceway of the resort.

Skipping over the Venetian Casino building, Song Woo Bin led his friends and the dumbstruck Geum Jan Di towards the shopping complex located in the resort. He had also forgone the idea of bringing Geum Jan Di into the hotel building because he didn't want to risk running into his friend's mother - Kang Hee Soo, whom he had heard rumors about the lady checking out the infrastructure of Venetian Macau for a new resort project to be undertaken by the Shinhwa Group soon. Maybe that's exactly why his friend has been so busy recently, the witch likely had his friend coming up with the grand five-year development plan of the Shinhwa Group to test out his friend's capability at running the Shinhwa Group. Anyway, that's none of his business and he ought to refrain from studying too much about the Shinhwa Group and focused on his own family business plans to come, in time.

"This place is really huge, are we really going to be able to finish exploring the resort in a single day?" Geum Jan Di found herself voicing the first question that sprang to mind.

"It's fine if we are unable to finish sightseeing this place within a day, I already booked us a night stay in the Palazzo Suite at Venetian Macau tonight. So, we can finish exploring the area tomorrow if we aren't done exploring this place by the end of today. The Palazzo Suite comes with 3 bedrooms, and four beds. 2 king-size and 2 queen-size beds, so no worries - Yi Jeong. Even if we have to share a room, we would still have our own beds." Song Woo Bin responded casually with a shrug, completely disregarding the jaw-slackening look on Geum Jan Di's face after being told that she would get to stay overnight in the extravagant Venetian Macau Hotel, even if she hasn't quite managed to get a look at the hotel building yet.

"Come on, stop dwelling on Woo Bin's words and just enjoy the sightseeing trip. Outside of Jun Pyo, Woo Bin's likely the richest among us. So, let's just enjoy the experience besides, with Jun Pyo around… he seldom gets the chance to splurge on playing host. So, let him have his fun while the opportunity arises." Yoon Ji Hoo whispered to Geum Jan Di outside of his friend's hearing range, successfully getting a smile of amusement from the girl.

The F3 then brought Jan Di into a shop that sells a range of masks, and though Geum Jan Di was confused why the shop sells absolutely nothing but masks and costumes that isn't practical for everyday use, she wisely didn't comment on it and instead went along with the whims of the F3. At some point, they even started fooling around by donning on a random mask they had taken off from the shelving and started role-playing as though they were at a masquerade party as they fought for the affections of Geum Jan Di.

It took a while for Geum Jan Di to catch on to what the guys were trying to do, and when she finally caught on to their antics - Jan Di couldn't help it, she burst out into giggles. Plucking a mask from the display rack closest to her, Geum Jan Di responded to the role-play by extending her hand out to the auburn-haired member of F4 as she allowed Yoon Ji Hoo to lead her away to another part of the shop.

"Figures she would pick Ji Hoo over us." Song Woo Bin sighed dramatically as he replaced the mask he has been donning on previously, back to the shelf where he had taken it from for the role-playing act earlier. Mirroring his actions was his Casanova friend, who simply shrugged and commented. "Well… those two have a special bond that even Jun Pyo had to take in stride."

Inwardly, Yi Jeong was wondering about Ga Eul's statement about Ji Hoo being the soulmate of Geum Jan Di. Perhaps, his girlfriend is right - soulmate does exist. Only, not every pair of soulmates would end up together as a couple. Recalling how Ga Eul had once compared the relationship of Ji Hoo and Jan Di to her mother's relationship with her adoptive parent before they got together officially… Yi Jeong could only hope that the relationship between Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di wouldn't end in the same way as Ga Eul's birth parents.

Following the end of the trip to the shop selling masks and costumes for a masquerade party, the group went on to explore other areas of the resort. They went to watch an ongoing show titled - Zaia, a 90 minutes stage production by the Canadian entertainment company - Cirque du Soleil, which took place in the custom-built theater in Venetian Macau. As they watched the afternoon run of the show, the theater wasn't fully seated as most people tend to watch the show in the evening hours. After the show, they went on to find a place for lunch. As they had dined in a Chinese restaurant for both dinners yesterday and breakfast this morning, they decided to go to western gourmet for their lunch this afternoon. And so, they patronized the bistro - McSorley's Ale House for their lunch.

For lunch, Yi Jeong went for the Baby Back Ribs & Chips while the Don Juan of F4 went for the Fish & Chips, one of his all-time favorite dishes. Yoon Ji Hoo ordered a Steak Frites, while Geum Jan Di went for the Texas BBQ Burger. And while Yi Jeong and Woo Bin both opted to forgo dessert, Ji Hoo who always has a penchant for sweets ordered the rustic apple tart to share with Geum Jan Di. As Yi Jeong took in the scene of Ji Hoo sharing dessert with the thrifty Geum Jan Di, he found himself wondering what Jun Pyo would think if the guy is around to witness the scene.

After lunch, the group proceeds to hop onto the Venetian Gondola Ride available for hire along the canal of the Shoppes. As they rode the Gondola boat with the Gondoliers singing as he maneuver the Gondola along the canal, Geum Jan Di found her mind drifting off towards her absent boyfriend, again. Yi Jeong and Woo Bin, on the other hand, was truly enjoying the scene of the Shoppes from the Gondola while Ji Hoo split his focus between enjoying the scenery along the way and keeping half his focus on Geum Jan Di's mood. And although Geum Jan Di was half-distracted by the thoughts of her boyfriend, she still makes sure to return a smile to her former prince charming whenever the guy glances in her direction.

Upon the first sound of an atrocious singing voice reaching their ears, Song Woo Bin feels like face-palming. He could recognize the owner of that voice anywhere, especially since he had just spoken to the owner of the voice earlier this morning.

[What's it with me and my tendency to run into her these days?] Song Woo Bin found himself wondering inwardly to himself, as Yi Jeong mutters aloud in a questioning manner.

"What the hell is that noise?" So Yi Jeong frowned finding the sound of that atrocious singing more of noise pollution than the pleasant tunes of a singing Gondolier.

"That is the sound of someone singing at the top of their lungs." Song Woo Bin commented drily to his Casanova friend.

It was at this moment that the two Gondolas crossed paths, and Yi Jeong finally located the culprit behind the cause of the 'noise pollution. With the corners of his lips twitching, he couldn't help but wonder aloud. "Is that girl trying to interview for the position of a Gondolier? If so, I reckon she would fail the audition badly. That girl's pretty much tone-deaf, nobody would wish to hire her on as a Gondolier after hearing her atrocious singing. I pitied the Gondolier interviewing her, to be frank."

"..." Woo Bin was about to point out to his friend that the girl probably isn't trying to interview for the position of being a Gondolier. After all, that girl is the heiress to the renowned JK Group… and he's willing to bet his entire fortune on the fact that the girl was simply satisfying her inner desire to have a go at the feel of being a Gondolier after finding the prospect fun.

In the end, the Don Juan of F4 discarded the notion of defending the girl's actions and simply maintain his silence on the matter. Knowing Yi Jeong, if he did try to defend the girl's actions… his friend would zeroes in on the level of understanding he had about the girl's antics. And that wouldn't do, the last thing he wished is to subject himself to the teasing remarks of his Casanova friend. Taking into consideration how much he had been teasing Yi Jeong about Ga Eul-yang, Woo Bin's more than certain that his friend would respond in kind if he dares to defend the antics performed by the heiress of the JK Group.

"That person…" Geum Jan Di murmurs softly as the light of recognition dawns in on her after the two Gondolas crossed paths briefly on the canal at the Shoppes.

"Why? Do you know her or something?" Yoon Ji Hoo who was seated close enough to overhear Geum Jan Di's soft murmurs then commented, drawing both his friends' attention onto the figure of Geum Jan Di with his words.

"Ah… she's the savior of my life." Geum Jan Di responded with a beaming smile.

"... What?!" So Yi Jeong stared at Geum Jan Di in response, as his mind promptly tried to make sense of the girl's words about the tone-deaf girl being Geum Jan Di's savior. Seeing as the F3 were the one to come to Geum Jan Di's rescue when her belongings were about to be robbed, Yi Jeong knew the girl isn't referring to that particular incident. As for the other incident that Geum Jan Di had landed herself into that requires saving would be the incident that took place in the red market. Slowly, Yi Jeong shifted his stare away from Geum Jan Di to land on the figure of his best friend seated next to him on the Gondola boat.

"Woo Bin, was that girl by any chance - the heiress of the JK Group?" Yi Jeong pressed his friend for an answer, despite having arrived at the logical conclusion behind the identity of the tone-deaf girl whom they had crossed path briefly earlier on the canal.

"Yes." Seeing that Geum Jan Di has already let the cat out of the bag, Song Woo Bin knows there's no hiding of the girl's identity from his best friend now and thus simply nodded to Yi Jeong in affirmation, confirming the truth in his friend's statement.

"... I see, well. That girl is sure interesting." Yi Jeong eventually commented, given how the girl didn't give a damn about what people would think about her singing… it's no wonder that she would dare to venture into the red-light district of Bangkok with an escort she barely even knows. Thinking about how the girl had bombarded Woo Bin's phone with her sightseeing pictures taken in Hong Kong, shortly after getting the number from his friend… Yi Jeong nearly had trouble withholding his urge to smirk at his friend.

"..."

While the F3 and Geum Jan Di were touring Venetian Macau on the Gondola ride, the heiress of the JK Group was enjoying herself by trying out the role of the Gondolier on the canal despite her being tone-deaf. Gu Jun Pyo and his mother, Kang Hee Soo, were waiting to welcome the arrival of the representatives from JK Group at the airport of Macau on the private runway reserved for chartered flights landing.

"Welcome and thank you for coming all the way over from the UK for this meeting." Kang Hee Soo greeted the figures of Ha Dae-Jung, and Jang Bongseon as they disembarked from their chartered flight.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Kang." Ha Dae-Jung, the owner of the renowned JK Group responded as he reached out to grip the hand of Kang Hee Soo in a firm shake.

Jang Bongseon, on the other hand, fixated her assessing gaze onto the figure of Gu Jun Pyo momentarily before turning her attention to the figure of Kang Hee Soo as she commented. "You must be very happy to have such a handsome young man as your son."

"Oh… these are really flattering words from you. Where's Jae-Kyung? I've been looking forward to meeting that young lady as well. But it seems, Jae-Kyung isn't here with you?" Kang Hee Soo inquires out of curiosity, without sounding too nosy on the matter.

"Ah… that girl's likely enjoying Macau on her own at this point. We've long given up on trying to get her to go along with our plans by now." Ha Dae-Jung responded with a sigh of resignation.

"Really? Well… that does sound like she's a carefree and spirited young lady. Now, it makes me look forward to the idea of meeting her, officially." Kang Hee Soo smiles pleasantly in response to the owners of the JK Group.

"Oh, please… do try not to put too much expectation onto the notion of meeting her. I feared she might disappoint you in your expectation. That daughter of mine is too wilful for her own good." Jang Bongseon responded, as she discreetly shot a dirty look in her husband's direction. If it weren't for her husband's encouragement of freedom in their child-rearing ways, Jae-Kyung wouldn't have grown up with such a carefree attitude towards life in general.

"No worries, Madam. I'm sure Jae-Kyung is a lovely young lady, and she's young still. Youngsters tend to behave recklessly in time, even my son has his fair share of wilful actions. It wasn't until he took over the business officially that he toned down his wilful side." Kang Hee Soo was heard saying as she led the owners of the JK Group towards the transportation they had arranged to fetch the couple from the airport to the Shinhwa Hotel where they would be lodging the couple, free-of-charge while the business discussion is in progress.

During the period whereby Kang Hee Soo was engaging the owners of the JK Group in a conversation about the absent heiress of the group, Gu Jun Pyo wisely maintain his silence and plastered on his perfect mask with his version of the business smile whenever the owners of the JK Group glanced in his direction. Deep down inside though, he was dreading every single minute of it. Especially since it's quite apparent that his mother is trying to create a perfect image of him in the eyes of the owners of the JK Group, to make them a tad more susceptible to the idea of a proposed political union between their families to solidify the investment of the JK Group in the next upcoming grand resort building project proposed by the Shinhwa Group.

Upon arriving at the Shinhwa Hotel's VIP entranceway, the owners of the JK Group were shown directly to the conference room where the meeting between various parties would be taking place. Their baggage, on the other hand, would be brought up straight to the VIP suite room that has been arranged for their stay while they're in Macau. Originally, they had prepared a room for the heiress of the JK Group as well, but since the girl is off exploring the city solo - the girl had likely found lodging elsewhere. Nevertheless, they kept the room readily available in case the heiress of the JK Group decides to show up voluntarily at the Shinhwa Hotel at a later time.

During the conference meeting, Gu Jun Pyo tried his best to sell the business proposal he had come up with in regards to the Shinhwa Group's plan to build a resort similar to Venetian Macau located in the Cotai district of Macau, back in Korea within the Incheon district. For that to happen, the Shinhwa Group would require the support of the largest infrastructure group in the world, the Las Vegas Group as well as the renowned JK Group which had helped build the large scale resort in the US, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, in this upcoming grand plan for the Shinhwa Group in the year 2020.

Towards the end of his presentation, everyone attending the conference clapped in response to his well-delivered speech. Even his mother appears to be appeased with his performance this afternoon as he presented his proposed business proposal to the gathered group of business associates, new and old investors alike.

And after the conference, the owners of the JK Group expressed interest in getting a look at the scale of the resort which the Shinhwa Group intends to build in Incheon soon for reference purposes. And so, arrangements were made to bring them both to Venetian Macau owned by the Las Vegas Group in Macau's Cotai district which is created out of reclaimed land for a look.

While this is going on, the F3 and Geum Jan Di are still exploring Venetian Macau. This time, they were off to watch a concert event taking place at the Venetian Arena. Despite not knowing much about the group that's performing in the arena, they are mostly there for the feel and atmosphere. Exiting from the arena following the end of the concert event, Yi Jeong called for a dinner break as he's feeling peckish.

Looking at the time reflected on the screen of his mobile device, the Don Juan of F4 agrees that it's perhaps time to break for dinner.

"Geum Jan Di, have you ever tried Chinese fine-dining before?" Song Woo Bin inquires just as the thought of the restaurant - Marmeleira Seafood came to the forefront of his mind.

"Chinese fine-dining? Erm… no, I've never tried Chinese fine-dining before." Geum Jan Di took a moment to think back on the number of times she had dined out in the company of Gu Jun Pyo before shaking her head in response.

"Alright, in that case, it's best to let you try it out for once." Song Woo Bin proclaimed as he starts leading the way towards the top-class Chinese fine-dining restaurant situated within the Shoppes on the fifth floor.

Yoon Ji Hoo was walking slightly ahead of the group when they were being shown in to the restaurant, whereas Geum Jan Di was walking at the very back of the group. The moment Ji Hoo sighted the figure of his long-time friend seated down at a table dining in the presence of Kang Hee Soo, and another unfamiliar couple. Ji Hoo decided that it might be best to change their dining venue for the evening, and so, he turns back around and suggested switching to another restaurant for their dinner meal.

"Why? Is it very crowded in there? If so, I'm sure with a mention of Jun Pyo's name we should be able to get a private dining room or dining booth." Song Woo Bin commented in response to Ji Hoo's suggestion of changing their dining venue for the evening.

"I just feel like eating something else." Yoon Ji Hoo responded stiffly to his Don Juan friend's words, and then shooting Yi Jeong a look that says 'back me up; he waited for the Korean Casanova to say something.

Realizing that there must have been a reason behind Ji Hoo's sudden change in mind about their dinner menu, Yi Jeong decided to back the decision made by his auburn-haired friend without questions raised.

"Woo Bin, let's just change the dining venue. There's an Italian restaurant here based on what I could remember, why don't we try out the Italian cuisines instead?" So Yi Jeong hurried to interject and then steered Geum Jan Di out of the restaurant before she could comment that there's plenty of space in the restaurant waiting to be filled up.

"Ji Hoo… what exactly was the cause behind your decision to change our dining plans? I thought you were fine with Chinese fine-dining earlier when I first suggested it?" Song Woo Bin whispered out of earshot of Geum Jan Di to his auburn-haired friend.

"The witch is in there with some business associates of theirs, I reckon." Yoon Ji Hoo responded leaving out the mention of his long-time friend being present at the restaurant for fear of triggering any downtrodden reaction in the girl he adores.

"...Good call." Eventually, the Don Juan of F4 agrees with his auburn-haired friend's decision to switch their dining venue. It's best not to ruin their good mood, which a run-in with Jun Pyo's mother definitely counted towards a letdown in their sightseeing plans.

As it turns out, the Italian restaurant is nearly full-house this evening. They nearly had to find another place for dinner when a familiar-looking female bodyguard starts approaching Geum Jan Di, with the invitation for them to join her young mistress for dinner. They were then led into a private dining cubicle in the restaurant where the heiress of the JK Group was waiting.

"Hi! So, we meet again! Isn't this a small world?" Ha Jae-Kyung beams as she greeted Geum Jan Di pleasantly, as she ignored the guys in her presence.

Mostly, until the group were being seated at the table. Needless to say, Jan Di found herself seated next to the heiress of the JK Group with Yoon Ji Hoo on her other side. And then, So Yi Jeong took the seat next to his auburn-haired friend and left the last empty spot that's next to the heiress to his Don Juan friend.

"..." Wordlessly, Song Woo Bin settled down in the seat next to his best friend and the heiress of the JK Group while trying his best to push the images from this morning awakening to the very back of his mind.

[Okay, Woo Bin. You're the Don Juan of F4, waking up in the same bed with a woman isn't anything rare. Just play it cool and it'll be fine.] - Song Woo Bin told himself as he sat down next to the heiress of the JK Group.

Although, Woo Bin is renowned for his playboy reputation… and does have his fair share of taking a woman to bed from time to time. He doesn't really indulge as much in such sexual escapades contrary to what people may think. Furthermore, he isn't Yi Jeong who often visited clubs for the sake of getting laid… when he does pick up girls from the clubs, he doesn't usually date them. For the girls that he had truly dated for a time, he tends to pour his heart out and so, when a break-up occurs. It's usually him that got dumped, instead of the other way around. With Yi Jeong, it's the exact opposite - his friend is usually the one to dump the girls. Henceforth, even though both Yi Jeong and he were known as the playboys of F4, they have different ways of doing things. But one thing that's common between them is that they would never two-time any girls whom they were dating at a time.

He must have zoned out rather badly, because by the time he came back to his senses - he realized that the food orders have already been placed.

"Welcome back to the land of the living. You seemed pretty deep in thoughts earlier, so your friend had taken the liberty to order on your behalf." The heiress of the JK Group commented when she realized that the guy seated next to her seems to be looking around for a copy of the menu, which has been collected away by the waiting staff on duty at the restaurant when they were done placing their orders.

"Oh… okay." Woo Bin nodded in response, inwardly hoping that it has been Yi Jeong that ordered for him since Yi Jeong would have a better idea of his taste penchant as opposed to Ji Hoo.

When the appetizer was being served, outside of the standard salad dishes - there's also a set of Torre di mare with a portion size meant for 2 people. Geum Jan Di stared wide-eyed at the portion size as she flicked her inquiring gaze towards Yoon Ji Hoo as she wonders if he had been the one to order the appetizer set.

"Nope, it wasn't me. While I did order an appetizer, I ordered deep-fried calamari instead of the Torre di mare." Yoon Ji Hoo responded before shifting curious eyes onto his remaining two friends.

"Don't look at me, I was zoning out - remember?" Song Woo Bin was quick to respond, while So Yi Jeong shakes his head in negativity citing that he only ordered a Minestrone soup from the starters menu.

"..." Slowly, the group shifted their eyes towards the heiress of the JK Group who nodded in affirmation. "Yep, it's my order."

"You are aware that this entire portion is meant for 2 people, right?" Song Woo Bin felt the corners of his lips twitching as he commented to the heiress of the JK Group.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. It's been clearly stated on the menu after all, but I thought there's so many of us here. Surely, between all of us - we could handle finishing off the entire portion of the appetizer." The heiress of the JK Group responded as she indicates for the F3 and Geum Jan Di to help themselves to her appetizer dish.

"..." The F3 shares a look among themselves before Yoon Ji Hoo shrugged and help himself to a big tiger prawn. Only, after removing the shells - instead of eating it himself, he placed it onto the empty plate in front of Geum Jan Di.

Following Ji Hoo's example, Song Woo Bin helps himself to the oyster and mussels from the appetizer set ordered by the heiress of the JK Group for them to share, apparently. Yi Jeong refrained from touching the appetizer set at all cost, which wasn't surprising given his tendency to avoid food sharing on most occasions. The only exception is when he's dining with his girlfriend - Chu Ga Eul.

"You have a very good appetite." Song Woo Bin commented when the appetizer dish has been finished up, as the table was cleared off for the mains to be served. Even though the dish is meant for 2 people, outside of the prawns which Ji Hoo had removed the shell for Geum Jan Di and the few oysters and mussels he had helped himself to… the rest of the appetizer dish was cleaned off the plate by the heiress, herself.

"Yes. Looking at your figure, I could hardly believe that you are capable of eating this much." Geum Jan Di nodded in agreement as she addressed the heiress of the JK Group. And that's only the appetizer, there's still the main dish waiting to be served. But what the girl had eaten earlier was probably more than what Ga Eul and she could handle eating at one time.

"Ah… well, I'm an outdoor person… so, I guess I expended more energy than the typical girls?" Jae-Kyung shrugged as she responded to Geum Jan Di's comment about her hefty appetite.

"Hmm… so, what do you usually do in your leisure time?" Geum Jan Di asks curiously to find out more about her new friend.

"I like to travel." Jae-Kyung was quick to answer, before adding on as an afterthought. "Hmm… I guess shopping counts towards a hobby of mine as well, followed by food and then… adventurous activities such as buggy jumping and rock climbing? Oh, and I would love to parachute at least once… too bad, I haven't quite managed to experience parachuting yet."

"... Is daring your middle name?" Song Woo Bin couldn't help but mutters under his breath, outside of her love for food and shopping… the rest of the girl's hobbies seems to be borderline reckless.

"Pardon? Did you say anything?" Jae-Kyung shifted her attention away from Geum Jan Di to land on the Don Juan of F4 as she comments.

"...Nothing. I'm just wondering what my friend had decided to order for me." Song Woo Bin shakes his head as he plastered on a smile in response to the heiress of the JK Group.

While the F3 and Geum Jan Di joins the heiress of the JK Group for dinner at the Italian restaurant in Venetian Macau, over at the Chinese fine-dining restaurant… Gu Jun Pyo is dining with his mother and the parents of the heiress to the JK Group. Sometime mid-dinner, he received a series of photos from Jeong Sang-Rok, his current head secretary. The series of photos turn out to be photos featuring his friends and Geum Jan Di on the Gondola boat ride, but mostly focusing on Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di.

Kang Hee Soo darted her gaze to the side and noted her son's distraction with something on the phone. But since her son's phone was under the table, she couldn't get a good view of what is so interesting to have caught her son's attention on the phone. Either way, she knows how to steer the focus of her son back onto the dining table and so, she proposed a toast in the next minute for smooth cooperation between the Shinhwa Group and the JK Group.

Taking the hint from his mother to focus, Gu Jun Pyo tucked his phone away and reached for his wine glass to respond to the toast suggested by his mother. Inwardly though, Jun Pyo was thinking about what he ought to do about his relationship with Geum Jan Di. Not to mention, his friends who were in town and waiting for him to find time for a meet-up.

As the F3 and Geum Jan Di parted ways with the heiress of the JK Group after the dinner session came to an end, Woo Bin suggested that they swing by the Boggi Milano to pick up a change of attire for the following day since they are bound to spend a night in Venetian Macau.

"Why only stop by the Boggi Milano?" So Yi Jeong butted in as he queried his best friend, there's more than one store that carries men's apparel in the Shoppes.

"Well… I thought that store fits the fashion taste of most of us, but I'm not opposed to the idea of making a pit-stop at the Hugo Boss outlet if you prefer their apparels." Song Woo Bin commented nonchalantly to his friend.

"Nah, Boggi Milano is fine. But I was thinking we ought to stop by Hugo Boss or Uniqlo to pick up some sportswear." Yi Jeong eventually said, somehow he had a feeling that Jun Pyo wouldn't agree to fit them in for a meet-up anytime soon. And none of them had all the time in the world to wait for Jun Pyo to take the initiative in meeting up with them, and thus he thought maybe they ought to seek out Jun Pyo's secretary help in rigging a business meeting of his friend for them. But for now, he's willing to give his friend one more day to arrange for a meet-up with them. If by tomorrow morning, he still hears no news from Jun Pyo. He's going to do things his way.

"In that case, I suggest we stop by Uniqlo. Geum Jan Di probably needs something to sleep in tonight, and we need pajamas for ourselves as well. Uniqlo has a mixture of both men's and ladies' apparel, but we probably could stop by Boggi Milano first." Yoon Ji Hoo commented then, sharing his own opinion with his friends.

Decision made, the group went on to visit the apparel store - Boggi Milano before heading over to the Uniqlo outlet in the Shoppes to pick up the attires they would need for tonight, and tomorrow. At first, Geum Jan Di tried to argue against the need for a new set of attire. But then, she got stumped when her former prince charming pointed out the glaring fact that it wouldn't have been comfortable for her to sleep in her current attire because the attire wasn't meant for sleeping use. And just like that, Geum Jan Di ended up being talked into the idea of accepting two sets of attires from the F3. One set of loungewear for her to wear to bed that night, and another set of attire for tomorrow.

Similar to the F3 and Geum Jan Di, Gu Jun Pyo is spending the night at Venetian Macau with his mother as well. Only they were using the Florence Suite with 2 bedrooms, whereas the representatives from the JK Group were being housed in the Milano Suite with a single bedroom since they are husband and wife and thus don't require separate sleeping quarters.

Even though Venetian Macau is owned by the Las Vegas Group, the Shinhwa Group had invested heftily in the project when it was still being built in Macau. Henceforth, the Shinhwa Group was part of the shareholders for the Venetian Macau Resort and therefore did have some form of sway over the tenants of the resort, which is why the Don Juan of F4 had mentioned earlier in the Chinese fine-dining restaurant that with the mention of Jun Pyo's name, they are likely to get a dining booth even if the restaurant was crowded with people.

Likewise, the same applies when it comes down to the last-minute booking of the hotel suites. The mother and son were able to secure the Florence Suite for their own use and booked the owners of the JK Group the Milano suite simply by calling up the hotel hours before their scheduled arrival at the Venetian Macau Resort.

While Gu Jun Pyo and his mother are still chatting with the parents of Jae-Kyung in the Chinese fine-dining restaurant about their upcoming grand plan to build a similar resort in the Incheon area of Korea… Geum Jan Di and the F3 have checked into the Palazzo suite at the hotel where they would be spending a night.

The three bedrooms, two of which hold a single king-size bed while the last room holds two queen-size beds. Since Geum Jan Di is bound to get a room for herself, there's no argument on which room she would be getting. The F3, on the other hand, had to decide on the ownership of the other room with the king-size bed by playing a quick game of scissors, paper, stone. Yoon Ji Hoo won the game thus, leaving the two playboys to share the remaining room with the two queen-size beds.

As Geum Jan Di sat by the side of the window in her assigned room for the night, looking out of the window in deep thoughts. Yoon Ji Hoo spends a moment hesitating at the door before stepping into the room, and approaching the girl.

"Are you alright?" Ji Hoo began, he could easily sense that Geum Jan Di's heart wasn't really in it half the time when they were riding on the Gondola boat.

"What do you mean?" Geum Jan Di feigned confusion as she turns her eyes away from the window to look at her former prince charming.

"Do you regret coming over here?" Yoon Ji Hoo asks as he took a seat on the other chair next to the window.

Knowing that there's no avoidance in answering her former prince charming, Geum Jan Di forced a smile onto her lips as she responded. "Why would I regret coming here? I mean, if I don't come here now using the excuse of coming over to see Gu Jun Pyo… when would I be able to come here for a holiday? It has always been a dream of mine to travel overseas on my own, and while I have you guys with me here now. It still doesn't change the fact that I'd somehow fulfilled my dream of boarding the plane myself, and try navigating on a foreign land on my own."

"...And what exactly is your plan now?" Yoon Ji Hoo pressed on, not in the least convinced by Geum Jan Di's false cheer.

"Honestly, I have no plan. What do I plan to say to him when we meet? I have no idea. I'll probably say hi, and ask him how he has been? And expect that he will ask the same, which I would then respond with something along the line of I'm doing fine. Outside of that, I don't really know what I'm going to do when I finally meet him." A melancholic look crossed Geum Jan Di's features briefly as she thought back on the time she had spent with her boyfriend before his father had collapsed.

"You know, sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if it has all been a dream. So, if Gu Jun Pyo really decided to put an end to the things between us by not seeing me at all… I might end up wondering if I had dreamt everything up." Geum Jan Di eventually said in a half-whispering tone of voice.

"...It's not a dream." Yoon Ji Hoo stated as he stood from the chair he had been sitting in, moments ago as he turns to face Geum Jan Di straight on.

"After letting you go, I've always found myself thinking about you. The thought of you would always come to my mind, regardless of what I'm supposed to be doing at the point. It wouldn't have been this hard and this hurt if this is all a dream. So, no - it isn't a dream." Taking in a deep breath as he stamped down the urge to pull the girl into his arms, Yoon Ji Hoo decided it was time for him to leave before he allows his inner desires to get the best of him. "Sleep well."

With that said, Yoon Ji Hoo left Geum Jan Di alone in her room and made a beeline for his own room for the night.

Geum Jan Di, meanwhile, stared at the departing back figure of her former prince charming and gaped. Certainly, her former prince charming didn't just confess to her about his feelings for her - did he?

[Good lords… this is really too much for me to handle at present!] Geum Jan Di wailed in her mind, turning towards the window panes. Geum Jan Di traced the wording of the name that begins with 'J' before wiping it off with her hands. And then, she headed into the En-suite bathroom to get ready for bed. Deciding to shove everything to the back of her mind and get some rest, for the time being, Geum Jan Di decides to not think too much about the meaning behind Yoon Ji Hoo's words from before.

~TBC~

Chapter's Notes:

Whee~ Chapter 37 is done! And 80% of it are original scenes of mine, what do you guys think of them? I had weaved in my original scenes into the beginning parts of episode 14 from the original drama. Original scenes weaved in included the SoEul phone conversation scene, and Woo Bin + Jae-Kyung scenes! XD Please let me know what you think on these scenes ^^

I had some Jun Pyo inner thoughts scene inserted into the story as well, and Jae-Kyung parents made a reappearance as per the drama dictates. This unfortunately also means that the Macau trip arc will go on for another chapter at least ^^; as the F4 haven't met up yet

Alright, that's all for now! See you in the next update! Ciao!