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,

42. Chapter 42

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 42 - Jan Di's newfound goal, Part 1

Location: So Yi Jeong's Pottery Studio, 26th November 2009, Thursday night, 9pm

After the unexpected run-in with So Yoon Hee, the grandfather of the Korean Casanova at the exhibition hall. Yi Jeong and Ga Eul didn't continue lingering in the museum, so after they were done with the tour in the exhibition hall 1 of the museum… the Korean Casanova decided to call it a day. It wasn't part of his plan to have his grandfather meet Ga Eul this early in their relationship, but since the meeting has already occurred… he has to start mentally preparing for an official summon from his grandfather to speak on the subject.

"..." Chu Ga Eul who was seated in the side passenger seat of the orange lotus sighed when her boyfriend got so distracted that instead of sending her home, went straight to the pottery studio following their departure from the Woo Sung Museum.

[Looks like Yi Jeong-sunbae is still shaken up by the unexpected run-in we had with his grandfather at the exhibition hall earlier…] Ga Eul thought inwardly to herself as she followed her boyfriend into the pottery studio, with her food carrier bag in hand. Originally, she was going to bring the lunchboxes back home to clean them… but since her boyfriend brought her to his pottery studio instead of sending her straight home. Ga Eul thought she might as well use the kitchenette's sink to wash the lunchboxes which she had utilized to store their dinner meal earlier.

It took the Korean Casanova a few minutes after arriving back to his pottery studio to recall the fact that he's supposed to send his girlfriend home upon leaving the museum. So, naturally, Yi Jeong turns to apologize to his girlfriend for forgetting to send her home earlier and offered to do it, right away. Chu Ga Eul, his ever lovely girlfriend waved off his apology and commented. "It's fine, I'm in no rush to head home either way. The only reason I ask you to send me home as we are leaving the museum is that I want to wash the cutlery and the lunchboxes I've used earlier to store our food for dinner. These things can't wait, otherwise, they might emit off an unpleasant odor. But now that I'd already washed them out in your kitchenette's sink, I don't mind the delay in returning home."

"Thank you, Ga Eul, for your kind understanding." So Yi Jeong bestowed a genuine smile of gratitude at his girlfriend's understanding of his rare moment of distraction, as he starts to think about what they could do in his pottery studio to occupy their time. Since Ga Eul didn't mind staying around for a while, there's no need for him to rush back out to send his girlfriend home.

"You're welcome." Ga Eul responded as she returns her boyfriend's smile. And just like her boyfriend, she was also thinking about what they could do in the pottery studio to occupy their time until it was absolutely time for her to return home. Watching a movie in the comfort of the pottery studio would be ideal if there's a TV unit and a video player installed in the workspace but unfortunately, there aren't any.

Mostly because when the Korean Casanova revamped the pottery studio to make it habitable so he could move out from his family home to get away from his mother's hysteria that's seriously threatening his sanity, he didn't think much about having an entertainment space in his new 'home'. So, other than crafting out a space for his bedroom with a mini-size walk-in closet and installing a kitchenette space into the pottery studio… there isn't any entertainment space for him to entertain his guests.

"What are you thinking?" So Yi Jeong prompted after having noticed the thoughtful look on his girlfriend's face.

"Hmm… I was thinking about what we can do until it was time for me to head home. Originally, I was thinking that maybe we could watch a movie or something… since we have never been on a movie date before. But then, the idea wouldn't work since there's no entertainment space in your pottery studio...since I don't see any TV unit or video player around." Chu Ga Eul admitted as she confessed her recent thoughts to her curious Casanova beau.

"... Ah…I see. Well, it's too short of a notice to arrange anything like this at present. But if you truly wish to enjoy a home movie night date with me, I'm sure I could have something arranged - the next time you swing by. For now…" So Yi Jeong glances about his workspace in the pottery studio before landing his eyes on his music player, and a new idea came to mind as his lips start to quirk upwards into a smile.

"Ga Eul, do you know how to dance?" The Korean Casanova suddenly inquires, his eyes full of mischief as he meets eyes with his lovely girlfriend.

"Dance? I don't suppose you're talking about ballet…are you?" Chu Ga Eul sounded bemused as she asks her boyfriend in return.

"Nope, I'm talking about the waltz… otherwise known as ballroom dancing." The Korean Casanova commented with a playful smile on his lips.

"Hmm…no, I don't think so. There isn't a lot of social functions that I've attended which actually requires me to dance with a partner. Why?" Chu Ga Eul took a moment to properly recall if she ever had any experience with the ballroom dancing aspects before shaking her head in negativity as she responded to her boyfriend's inquiry.

"Would you like to learn then?" So Yi Jeong asks while giving his girlfriend a meaningful look, silently urging his girlfriend to agree to his suggestion.

"Are you offering to teach me?" With lips twitching as the realization begins to dawn on her, Chu Ga Eul playfully asks as she continues to feign ignorance to her boyfriend's plan for them to occupy their time in the pottery studio, this evening.

"Yes, I'm indeed offering to teach you. Come on, are you agreeable or not? It's not every day that the Korean Casanova of F4 offers to teach a girl how to waltz dance, you know? After all, patience with the ladies was never a forte area of the Casanova… that's usually Woo Bin's job." Yi Jeong commented as he continues the playful moment with his girlfriend.

"Of course, I'll be honored to have the Korean Casanova teach me how to waltz dance. So, how are we going to do this?" Chu Ga Eul finally allows a bright smile to form on her lips as she accepted her boyfriend's offer to teach her how to dance the waltz.

"Come here." So Yi Jeong begins as he led his girlfriend towards an area with a bigger moving space in his pottery studio, and then he signals for Ga Eul to wait for a moment while he went to his CD collection and picks out his Tchaikovsky classical music compilation CD. There are a few tracks in the Tchaikovsky collection which is suitable for waltz-dancing, among them including the infamous Swan Lake and a few tracks from the Nutcracker series.

After switching out the CDs in his music player, he made his way back to where Chu Ga Eul stood waiting for him before hitting the play button on his music player remote control. Setting down the remote control, he held his hand out to his girlfriend which Ga Eul accepted without a moment's delay. Using the few seconds before the music begins, Yi Jeong guided his girlfriend into the proper beginning posture for the dance.

The waltz-dancing lesson goes on for about thirty minutes before they both decided that they can put an end to the dancing activity. Originally, they were simply doing standard slow waltz-dancing… but then somewhere along the line, Yi Jeong upon realizing that his girlfriend had already figured out and mastered the slow waltz decided to teach her another type of waltz - the Viennese Waltz. The Viennese Waltz differs from the standard waltz in the sense that its music is quite fast. And so, Yi Jeong paused momentarily to switch out the CD playing in the background for their dancing activity from the Tchaikovsky compilation album to the Strauss collection.

Funnily enough, despite Ga Eul's remark about having never performed ballroom dancing before - she's incredibly quick on the uptake for both the standard waltz and the Viennese Waltz. If it weren't for the space constraints in the pottery studio, Yi Jeong might be tempted to teach Ga Eul the other types of ballroom dances that are commonly danced at the various social functions he had ever attended.

"You're really good at this, I wouldn't have known that you'd no previous experience in ballroom dancing if you haven't said so before we begin the lessons. Your friend, on the other hand, is just…" Yi Jeong remarked to his girlfriend who's flushing under his words of praises with a pleased expression, but when he brought up the mention of Geum Jan Di's capability on the dance floor - he could only shake his head in response as he allowed his words to fade off.

"Thank you." Chu Ga Eul responded as she told her boyfriend as their dancing activity came to an end, still, her curiosity couldn't help but piqued up when she heard the Korean Casanova bringing up the mention of her friend in the same sentence. And so, she glanced towards the figure of So Yi Jeong with a questioning look as she inquires. "Based on your last statement, I'm assuming that you'd danced with Jan Di before?"

"Yes, just once. And if my memory serves me correctly, other than Jun Pyo… all of us took Geum Jan Di to the dance floor at least once that night." The Korean Casanova nodded in response as he pulled the images of that very night to the forefront of his mind.

"...when was this?" Chu Ga Eul frowned as she searched through her own memory for her past conversation with her childhood friend, trying to recall if Jan Di had shared anything like this with her in their past conversation only to end up drawing a blank.

"Hmm… let's see, I believe it was the party we organized at the ballroom of the Shinhwa Hotel in Namhaedo to welcome Seo-Hyun back from France." So Yi Jeong responded before his lips split into a wide grin as another image from that night sprang to mind. The scene that came to the forefront of his mind now comprises of Jun Pyo falling into the pool by accident and ending up being rescued by Geum Jan Di. Of course, his friend's incident isn't funny… the funny moment actually took place afterward. Jun Pyo attempted to take advantage of Geum Jan Di after he woke up to the sight of the girl performing CPR on him, needless to say, he ended up with a slap on his face when Geum Jan Di realized what he was trying to do.

It took a while, but eventually, Chu Ga Eul managed to dig up a past recollection of how her friend had returned to her aunt's home cursing the name of Gu Jun Pyo, the entire way, in a dress that's soaking wet and completely different from what Jan Di had first worn to the party event. "Ah… I think I know which event you're referring to… it's the night whereby Jan Di got conned by the annoying trio from school that the party is a costume party and ended up attending it in the attire of the wonder woman, isn't it? I distinctively recalled Jan Di informing me that she lost her balance after one of the annoying trio members pushes her which causes her to crash into the buffet table."

"Yes, it causes a bit of a commotion that ended up attracting the attention of Seo-Hyun. So, she brought Geum Jan Di up to her hotel room and dressed your friend up in one of her spare party dresses. It was afterward that Seo-Hyun send Ji Hoo over to make the first move to invite Geum Jan Di to the dance floor. Knowing how invested Ji Hoo was with Seo-Hyun then, Woo Bin and I decided to cut in and invite Geum Jan Di for a dance shortly after so that Ji Hoo could go back to stay close to Seo-Hyun." The Korean Casanova commented wryly to his girlfriend as the memory of that particular night started replying in his mind.

"I see… and what did Jun Pyo-sunbae do that pissed Jan Di off so much? Cause she mentioned nothing about dancing with you guys and simply mentioned how the annoying trio bullied her so much that they only stopped with Ji Hoo-sunbae and Min Seo-Hyun interfered with the situation. Outside of that, she was cursing Jun Pyo-sunbae for the better half of the night after returning to my aunt's home where we were staying for the weekend." Chu Ga Eul couldn't help but inquires out of sheer curiosity.

"Long story short, I'm sure you already knew of Jun Pyo's phobia of the water. I recalled having told this story to both you and Geum Jan Di when we were in New Caledonia." So Yi Jeong begins as he flicked his eyes towards the direction of his girlfriend, and upon receiving the nod from Ga Eul. He continues on with the summarizing of the event that took place after Geum Jan Di left the ballroom that evening.

"Either way, the gist is that Jun Pyo was accidentally shoved into the water by a group of kids playing in the area near the poolside. Since Jun Pyo is unable to swim due to his psychological fear of the water, Geum Jan Di who happens to witness his struggle in the water leap into the pool to save him. Anyway, Geum Jan Di was performing the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Jun Pyo after dragging him out of the water by the side of the pool when Jun Pyo started to come back to his senses. Instead of giving some form of indication to Geum Jan Di that he's fine, he tried to lure your friend into performing yet another round of the same CPR steps on him. Of course, Geum Jan Di wasn't so much of an idiot, once she realized that Jun Pyo has regained consciousness… she was going to pull away but Jun Pyo refuses to let go and attempted to kiss Geum Jan Di on the mouth. Okay, no… it's not so much of a kiss as compared to a bite on Geum Jan Di's lips. I doubt Jun Pyo knows how to kiss properly at that point, regardless… Geum Jan Di was incensed by his antics and ended up slapping him in reaction before stalking off from the scene fuming the entire way. Jun Pyo, on the other hand, was grinning like an idiot for the rest of the night." The Korean Casanova reiterated the event of that night to his curious girlfriend in an exceptionally dry tone of voice laced with a tinge of humor.

"With all that said, how seriously do you think Jun Pyo-sunbae is about breaking up with Jan Di?" Chu Ga Eul inquires after having heard a handful of stories from her boyfriend about how Gu Jun Pyo had tried to woo the heart of her childhood friend.

Upon Ga Eul's mention of the latest developments in Macau, So Yi Jeong sighed as he commented with an unreadable look. "Hard to say… although when I came back to Seoul, nothing is made official yet but based on the conversation Jun Pyo had with us when we met up… it seems he does have the intention to break up with Geum Jan Di. But whether or not he is serious about ending his relationship with Geum Jan Di, I think it's still hard to say for certain at present."

"Poor Jan Di… she would be devastated if Jun Pyo-sunbae really broke up with her. Especially since her dream of becoming a professional swimmer has already been lost to her." Ga Eul allowed a melancholic sigh to escape from her as she wonders how her friend is faring at present.

"Alright, don't fret. Geum Jan Di's in good hands. Even if Jun Pyo did end up breaking up with her, Ji Hoo would still be around to pick up the pieces. Come on, it's getting late - I'd best get you home." So Yi Jeong started picking up his coat and the keys to his red Lexus as he leads his girlfriend towards the direction of his two-cars garage.

Unknowingly to both Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong, Geum Jan Di was currently on her way back to Seoul from Macau with a broken heart and a certain auburn-haired member of F4 as her dutiful and loyal escort.

Location: Incheon International Airport - Terminal 1, 26th November 2009, Thursday night, 11pm

The first thing Geum Jan Di did upon disembarking from the first-class cabin of the return flight from Macau was to perform some stretching of her limbs. Due to the multiple turbulence encountered during the return flight, there wasn't much opportunity for Geum Jan Di to move around during the four hours flight from Macau to Seoul. And so, she could feel the stiffness in her limbs due to the effects of sitting unmoving for the past four hours straight.

Unlike the time when she first flew to Macau, this time, because she's returning to Seoul flying Shinhwa Air under the first-class seat sponsored by Yoon Ji Hoo of F4… Jan Di was able to check in her suitcase instead of lugging her suitcase onto the plane as her carry-on baggage. Henceforth, her disembarking experience from the flight upon landing was swift and easier as compared to the time when she first landed in Macau.

Getting through the immigration was also a breeze since she's traveling in the companionship of a member from F4, this time. And after clearing the immigration checkpoint, Geum Jan Di excused herself to visit the washroom for a quick toilet break since she hasn't gotten a chance to use the facility on the return flight due to the presence of turbulence for the most part of their return journey.

"Ji Hoo-sunbae, can I trouble you to pick up my suitcase for me from the luggage belt? I need to use the facility urgently." Geum Jan Di started a tad awkwardly as she voiced her request across to her former prince charming.

"Sure. I'll grab your suitcase from the luggage belt, so you can go on ahead and use the washroom facility. I'll meet you by the luggage belt - A6?" Yoon Ji Hoo responded as he surveyed the area to locate a suitable meeting spot where Geum Jan Di could find him after she was done visiting the washroom facility.

"Okay. I'll meet you there once I'm done visiting the facility. Thank you, Ji Hoo-sunbae." Geum Jan Di directed a smile of gratitude towards her former prince charming before rushing towards the direction where the washroom is located. It's definitely good to be back in Korea, at least, she wouldn't have to worry about losing her way around the Incheon International Airport, even though she hasn't been here too frequently.

When Geum Jan Di returns from her washroom visit, she wasn't surprised to hear her former prince charming offering to give her a ride home. At first, she had assumed that there would be a chauffeur coming by to pick them up from the airport but Yoon Ji Hoo surprised her by leading her towards the parking lot facility at the airport where she proceed to land her eyes on the unmistakable white lotus that belongs to the auburn-haired member of F4.

"Oh…" This time, Geum Jan Di didn't gape in surprise when she saw the auburn-haired member of F4 get behind the steering wheel of the vehicle. So, silently… Geum Jan Di settled herself in the side-passenger seat of the white lotus after both their suitcase has been stashed into the boot of the car.

The journey from Incheon International Airport to the area where Geum Jan Di's family currently resides would have taken over 1 hour via public transport as there is a need to transit between train services. However, the time was significantly cut short by half while traveling in the car. As Yoon Ji Hoo pulled up in front of the apartment building in the neighborhood of Samseon-dong, Seongbuk district where the Geum family resides at present. The time is just approaching 11.25pm.

"Thank you for the ride, Ji Hoo-sunbae." Geum Jan Di said as she unfasten the seat belt from her person, preparing to alight from the white lotus.

"You're welcome. Do you need me to walk you up?" Yoon Ji Hoo inquires as he helps to remove Geum Jan Di's suitcase from the boot-space of his white lotus.

"Thank you for offering to walk me upstairs, but I don't think it's necessary." Geum Jan Di responded politely as she turns down her former prince charming escort service. She had already troubled the guy so much when in Macau, now that they're finally back in Seoul - there isn't a need to rely so much on the auburn-haired member of F4. Besides, this is her place of residence… certainly she's able to handle walking up the flight of stairs to the second floor of the building on her own.

"Alright then, take care and goodnight." Yoon Ji Hoo nodded in acceptance of Geum Jan Di's response, as he headed back to the driver's seat of his white lotus. But he was in no hurry to drive off yet, instead, he waited until Geum Jan Di disappeared into the building before he finally reignited the engine to his car and drive off - this time, heading for the direction of his own home in Seongbuk-dong.

Location: Seongbuk district, Samseon-dong. Geum Family Rental Apartment, 26th November 2009, Thursday, 11.30pm

It was 11.30pm when Geum Jan Di finally make it home with her baggage in tow, after climbing up the flight of stairs to the second floor of the apartment building. Although there is a lift elevator installed for the residents' use in this building, the elevator is practically on the other end of the building. So, outside of the time when they were moving into the apartment - Jan Di and her family usually opted to use the stairs which are positioned diagonally across the front door of their apartment unit.

Anyway, the first thing Geum Jan Di noticed upon entering the apartment was that both her parents are still awake and were looking through some wordy documents in the living room. Other than the light in the living room of the apartment which they were apparently using to go through the wordy documents, literally the entire place is shrouded in darkness which wasn't surprising, given how her mother is always talking about the need to save electricity to cut down the amount of their electricity bill.

"Appa, Eomma… I'm home. Where's Kang San? And what are you looking at, Eomma?" Geum Jan Di asks out of curiosity when she didn't see her little brother around.

"Jan Di, you're back! How did your trip to Macau go?" Na Gong-Joo asks her daughter eagerly and enthusiastically, wasting no time in setting aside the wordy document she has been going through earlier. The document deemed wordy in Jan Di's eyes was actually the insurance claims form that the nurse had given Na Gong-Joo at the clinic earlier on in the day when Kang San was discharged from the doctor's care.

Apparently, because she isn't employed full-time with the company she was working for - the nurse isn't sure if she would be able to claim the 25% coverage for her son's surgical procedure expenses under the National Health Insurance scheme. There are two ways that she can find out for certain, - she call up her company HR department and ask. Two - she look through the figures indicated on her payslip under the deduction made for insurance. Based on the premium deducted monthly, and then comparing it to the listed premiums for the National Health Insurance indicated on the official website of the ministry in charge of healthcare. She should be able to tell if she's entitled to the full coverage or only the basic coverage.

But Na Gong-Joo wasn't very good at studying, to begin with, and so, just by looking through the form already made her head swell. Henceforth, upon the sight of her daughter returning, she promptly dumps the insurance claim form aside in favor of showering her attention on her daughter.

"It's a long story and I'm tired. Can I tell you the story tomorrow instead? I've brought souvenirs home for everyone as well. While on the subject, you have yet to tell me where's Kang San? Is he asleep already? It's rare of him to be fast asleep by 11.30pm, I would have thought he would have rushed out the instant he heard the sound of my return." Geum Jan Di tried to divert her parents' attention from zeroing in on her trip to Macau, not wanting them to sense anything amiss in her behavior.

Especially since Jan Di knows her parents had high hopes for her relationship with Gu Jun Pyo, and so, the last thing she wanted was to let them in on the fact that Gu Jun Pyo has broken up with her in Macau. Her father might not be fast enough to leap to a hasty conclusion, but her mother, on the other hand… might think that it was her problem that resulted in the situation of Gu Jun Pyo breaking up with her. Geum Jan Di was drawn out from her thoughts when her father finally clued her in on the whereabouts of her little brother.

"Ah… Kang San… he's already asleep today. He just had surgery last night, after all." Geum Ii-Bong responded as he inwardly thanked his insight to have his son sleep in the master suite tonight. Otherwise, where else would his daughter sleep tonight? Although his son had claimed that he would be fine sleeping on the upper bunk in the second bedroom tonight, Geum Ii-Bong had insisted on his son to sleep on a mattress laid out on the floor of the master bedroom tonight for fear of his son falling or jostling the incision wound of the surgery procedures while trying to access the bathroom at night.

"Wait… surgery? What surgery?!" Geum Jan Di gasped as she zeroed in a wide-eyed look upon the figure of her father as she demanded an explanation.

"Kang San collapsed from abdominal pain last night around 8.30pm, we rushes him to the clinic near the main road and the doctor who attended to him diagnosed him with acute appendicitis. As you know, to fully treat appendicitis - surgery is required. So, we gave the doctor the approval to conduct the surgical procedure on him." It was Na Gong-Joo that responded to her daughter's inquiry this time, as Geum Ii-Bong was doing some quick calculations on their family finance budget for the next one month in the wake of setting aside the required amount to pay for Kang San's surgical procedure costs.

"Oh…" Slumping down onto an empty spot on the sofa couch that comes equipped with the apartment rental, Geum Jan Di took a moment to digest the bit of information regarding her little brother's recent health condition. When the information finally sinks into her, Geum Jan Di brought up the next logical question that came to mind.

"And how much do we owe the doctor for the surgical procedures?" Geum Jan Di ask as the thought of her brother's medical expenses finally came to mind.

"No clues. We haven't paid anything except for the medication - antibiotic prescribed for Kang San yet. The doctor says the clinic would submit a claim for the surgical procedure with the National Health Insurance Scheme first, and then after the claim submitted was approved - and the amount paid out directly to the clinic, we can then work on settling the balance payment for the procedure. We aren't sure if your mother's claim would be approved since she's only working part-time, but mine is definitely claimable." Geum Ii-Bong responded as he flipped the cover of the budget notebook closed for the day.

"Speaking of the insurance claim, Jan Di… you're close to Yoon Ji Hoo, right?" Na Gong-Joo was suddenly hit by an epiphany, why hasn't she thought of it before? There's no need for her to approach the HR department to make an inquiry on the subject, she could simply have her daughter bring her query to the heir of the Su Am Group. Surely, the heir to the company she's working for at present would be able to get the information with ease - right?

"... Is there a reason why you're asking me this, Eomma?" Geum Jan Di sounded wary as she glanced at her mother.

"I'm not thinking of taking advantage of him if that's what you're wary about. I'm just thinking that maybe you could help me ask him if the part-time employees at Su Am Arts Center are entitled to the full coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme? I mean, if we can know for certain if another 25% of Kang San's surgical procedure can be claimed from the insurance then it would be easier for your father to work out the budget figure for the coming month." Na Gong-Joo rolls her eyes at the wary look directed upon her by her eldest child.

"I see… in that case, I can check with him tomorrow morning. I'll let you know what he says when he responded." Geum Jan Di heaved an inward sigh of relief at her mother's words, glad that what her mother had requested her to do wasn't anything too embarrassing.

"Of course, alright… it's late. You'd best go and wash up before heading to bed. We will listen to your story about how the Macau trip has gone, tomorrow as well." Geum Ii-Bong commented as he addressed his daughter. It's approaching midnight, and he had to work tomorrow so he figured it's about time for him to call it a day and retire for bed.

"Goodnight, Appa. Goodnight, Eomma." Geum Jan Di reached out to give both her parents a brief hug before heading towards her shared room with Kang San with her baggage in tow.

Lugging her suitcase into the second bedroom of the apartment, Geum Jan Di flipped on the lights in the room and flicked her eyes briefly to the direction of the bunk bed. At first, she's surprised to find the upper bunk empty but upon recalling her little brother's recent surgery for appendicitis… Geum Jan Di figured that her parents must have kept Kang San in their room for the night.

With a shrug, Geum Jan Di left her suitcase sitting in a corner of the room without unpacking and instead made her way towards the direction of her side of the wardrobe that she shares with her little brother to pick out a set of pajamas for herself. And then, she left the bedroom for the direction of the common bathroom for a quick rinse of her body under hot water and to get changed for the night. As she was in the shower, Geum Jan Di didn't realize that her mobile phone had rang for some time and when she returns to the bedroom, the thought of checking her phone didn't occur to her either since she didn't think anyone would have bothered to call her this late.

Location: Chu Family Home, Songpa district. 26th November 2009, Thursday, 11.45pm

Although, Chu Ga Eul has the habit of sleeping before 11.30pm daily to ensure a clear mind on the following day, in particular, during the period whereby the school is in session. But because Jan Di does not have a functional phone while in Macau, and Ga Eul has no access to the contact number of a certain auburn-haired member of F4… she didn't want to get Yoon Ji Hoo's number from her Casanova beau. Mostly because she knows that the guy would probably offer to contact Yoon Ji Hoo on her behalf instead of handing out the contact details of the auburn-haired member of F4 to her.

Ga Eul has learned by now that her Casanova beau - So Yi Jeong of F4 has a jealousy streak of his own when it comes down to her being in the presence of a bunch of guys in general. Only her boyfriend was a bit more tactful when addressing the subject with her than what Gu Jun Pyo tends to do with her childhood friend. While this particular display of jealousy behavior wasn't so obvious before they made things official between them, now that they were finally official… Ga Eul had come to notice a high frequency of the Korean Casanova taking her cousin's place in picking her up at the Su Am Arts center on days whereby she have classes to attend.

At least, with her cousin - Sakuraba Shuichi, Ga Eul could still occasionally hitched a ride from him with no issues… likewise for her overprotective half-sibling, Miyazawa Kazuki. But when it comes down to the last member of the E3… these days, outside of the routine Sunday tennis games and the weekly dinner gathering where they took turns hosting - she rarely gets to see the guy around anymore. When inquires, Saionji Shunsuke flat out told her that he had received a visit from a certain Korean Casanova some time ago to address the subject of the chauffeuring rights when it comes down to ferry her around. And while the Korean Casanova didn't blatantly tell him that he ought to keep a distance from Ga Eul… what was implied in the message from that brief meeting between them was that Shunsuke ought to forgo his chauffeuring rights to Ga Eul, because they aren't related in any sense and it wouldn't do to create any misunderstandings from the outsiders about the nature of their relationship to one another.

Ga Eul, though surprised to hear of the actions taken by her Casanova beau, didn't kick up a big fuss over the matter. Mostly because she wasn't so comfortable with the idea of being chauffeured around by Shunsuke either, given how little she knew of him on a personal scale. The atmosphere, when she's riding in Shunsuke's blue Lexus without either Hyo-Rin or Kazuki being present, could only be dubbed as awkward and stiff. It's generally worse than how she felt when she was being given a free ride in the yellow lotus belonging to the Don Juan of F4.

Speaking of the Don Juan of F4, these days, Ga Eul seldom has the opportunity to interact with that guy without her boyfriend being present on-site. Whether was it because of her boyfriend's reluctance to have his friend divulge more of his secrets or bad lifestyle habits to her, Ga Eul had no idea. Before they have made things official between them, Ga Eul always wonders why the Korean Casanova kept accusing the Don Juan of F4 attempting to chat her up and thought it prudent to remind her repeatedly about his friend's reputation of being a ladies' man when he's equally popular among the ladies' population. Now though, she surmised that it might simply be his jealousy acting up without his realization since he was still in denial of the attraction between them at that point.

With a shake of her head, Ga Eul pushes aside the thoughts of her Casanova beau to focus on the present. Her intention was to give her childhood friend a call on the phone, to see if the connection would go through. If it fails to get a connecting tone on the phone, it basically meant that her friend is still outside of reception range - meaning, Jan Di is still in Macau. But if the line managed to get connected with ease, that means that her friend is back in Korea.

It didn't take long for the line to be connected this time, although there is no sign of her friend picking up the call up until the point the call got directed to the voice mail. And so, Ga Eul hang up and decided to wait for a few more minutes to see if her friend would call her back in time.

[Looks like Jan Di's back in the country…perhaps, I ought to drop by her place for a brief chat with her tomorrow.] - Chu Ga Eul thought as she ended the call, and she stayed up for another few minutes just in case her friend decided to call her back. But when midnight came and there still aren't any calls coming in from Jan Di, Ga Eul finally shrugged and went to bed.

The next morning, Ga Eul woke especially early despite it wasn't her turn to prepare breakfast for the entire family. The reason why she had woken up this early is that she intends to leave home a tad earlier, so she could pop by her childhood friend's place of residence to have a brief chat with Jan Di. She had a long-overdue lecture to deliver to her childhood friend about the Macau trip that she would appreciate having no one eavesdropping on, and so, it wouldn't do for her to deliver the lecture to her friend in school or at their workplace.

"Good morning, Appa. Where's Eomma?" Chu Ga Eul started upon realizing that her mother was nowhere in sight, as she took her seat at the breakfast table.

"She's off to work already. They have a morning meeting today for the heads of various departments at the office."Chu Su-Won, the adoptive parent of Ga Eul responded as he sets down a bowl of instant oatmeal cereal in front of his adoptive daughter, and his biological son who has just trudged into the dining area of the house still looking half-asleep.

"Jung-Min, have you washed your face yet?" Chu Su-Won started as his voice snapped his son's focus into the alerting mode.

"Oh… not yet, I'll go and wash up right away." Chu Jung-Min blinked blearily at his father for a few seconds before his father's words finally sinks into his head, and then he hopped down from his chair at the dining table and made a beeline for the direction of the common bathroom to wash his face to rid the sleep from his eyes.

Looking at the bowl of instant oatmeal cereal that sits in front of her, Ga Eul knew that her mother likely didn't have time to whip up breakfast today. So, her adoptive parent has taken over the job… but baking takes time, and outside of baking… Chu Su-won wasn't much use in the kitchen. Therefore, they ended up having instant oatmeal cereal for breakfast this morning. Still, eating the instant oatmeal plain isn't tasty at all… so, Ga Eul stood from her seat and made her way to the fridge to locate some fresh fruits that she could dump into her cereal bowl to enhance the bland taste of the cereal with some flavors.

"Noona, can I have some fruits to go along with my cereal too?" Chu Jung-Min inquires when he noticed what his elder sister is doing at the sink of their family's kitchen.

"Sure, bring me your cereal bowl." Chu Ga Eul agreed readily as she started chopping up the apple into small bite-size portions after rinsing it under the running tap water for a few seconds. Usually, she would dump berries into the cereal bowl… but apparently, the berries have run out and have yet to be replenished. Therefore, she had to make do with the use of apples in the oatmeal cereal instead.

When the sound of a car honking from the outside reaches the ears of the occupants within the house, Ga Eul knows that's likely her cousin - Shuichi coming by to fetch her for school. So, she rushes back to her room to pick up her school bag before heading out front to meet up with her cousin for the free ride to school. Only, once she climbed into the side passenger seat - she made two requests to the bespectacled studious-looking young man behind the steering wheel of the white Lexus.

"Shuichi, sorry to inconvenience you but I need you to make a detour this morning. First, I'll need to make a pit-stop at the convenience store around the corner to pick up some quick bites, and then, I'll need you to drop me off at Jan Di's place. Is that okay for you?" Chu Ga Eul began as she settles in the side passenger seat of the white Lexus.

"...sure, but how long do you intend to stay at Geum Jan Di's place?" Sakuraba Shuichi inquires as he inwardly started to figure out what he could do if Ga Eul spends a tad too much time at Geum Jan Di's place. After all, he had a morning training session to attend at the school's ice-skating rink before school officially begins for the day.

"Honestly, I have no idea. But it's fine, you can leave me at Jan Di and I'll make my own way to school if you have somewhere else to be." Chu Ga Eul told her cousin honestly, and as much as she wished to be able to provide Shuichi with an affirmation response to his inquiry. She truly had no idea how long her visit to Jan Di's place is going to take since it depends a great deal on whether her friend is awake. If yes, things would be easier since she could just say her piece and leave… but if not, she likely would have to sit down and wait for a while.

"..."

Location: Geum Family Rental Apartment, Seongbuk district, Samseon-dong. 27th November 2009, Friday morning, 7am.

Geum Jan Di woke up on the morning of the following day after her return from Macau to the sight of her childhood friend sitting in her family's living room patiently waiting for her to wake. The sight of Ga Eul sitting on the sofa couch of the living room this early in the morning had Geum Jan Di stunned speechless literally.

"Oh good, Jan Di. You're up. Ga Eul came by to see you with breakfast for us and she told us that you needn't go to school today, which is good. Kang San's on MC for today from school, so you can take care of Kang San for us while I head off to the market. I'll be back in about an hour, until then, Jan Di - you're in charge." Na Gong-Joo instructed as she took her market shopping basket with her as she left the apartment for the wet market in the neighborhood.

"..."

"...Jan Di, good morning. Did a cat come by and got your tongue by any chance?" Chu Ga Eul commented in a questioning tone of voice when she realized that her childhood friend was gaping at her wordlessly upon exiting from the second bedroom in the apartment unit.

"Ga Eul… good morning. So, I'm not hallucinating. It's really you sitting in my family's living room this early… but what brings you over this morning? No, wait… the better question is how did you know that I'm back in Seoul?" Geum Jan Di inquires once she regained her speech ability after digesting the information that it was truly her childhood friend that was seated on the sofa couch of her family's living room this morning.

"...Simple, I managed to get through your phone last night. If you're still in Macau, there would be no connecting tone when I tried to call you up on your mobile." Chu Ga Eul answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, and judging from her friend's reaction - she already knew that Jan Di hasn't exactly gotten around to check her phone for any missed calls yet.

"Eh? Did you call last night? When?" Geum Jan Di blinked in surprise at her friend as she blurted out in shock, inwardly thinking why she hasn't heard the sound of ringing from her mobile since her return to Seoul last night.

"Around 11.45pm, I was just trying my luck to see if the call would go through since I have absolutely no clues when you're going to return from Macau. It's not as though I could call up Ji Hoo-sunbae personally to check on the matter since I do not have his contact details stored on my phone." Chu Ga Eul deadpans at her friend.

"Right… sorry, I supposed I'm in the shower then. So, what brings you over this early? I was contemplating if I should go to school later, to be honest." Geum Jan Di answered despite having known that her leave of absence has been extended to this weekend, she didn't exactly want to miss too many classes in a row. After all, her grades weren't doing so well that she could afford to miss an entire week worth of classes and not have to struggle in the latter part of the lesson's contents.

"Jan Di, there's no need for you to rush back to school. Given that I've extended your leave of absence until the weekend, I suggest for you take both today and tomorrow off from school and work on catching up on the lessons you had missed over the last few days before turning up in school. That way, you would be able to comprehend the contents of the lessons being covered in class easier. Anyway, enough of the conversation about your class for now. And no, I'm not pressing you for stories about what happened in Macau now. Classes begin at 8am, it's already 7.15am… so, this chat of ours would be a quick one. I will catch up with you properly after classes ended for the day." Chu Ga Eul then said, after darting a quick look at the time reflected on her wristwatch.

"Right… so, what are you doing here this early if not to press me for the entire details concerning my trip to Macau?" Geum Jan Di asks out of morbid curiosity.

"I heard about how the F3 found you after I send them off to Macau to catch up with you from Yi Jeong-sunbae, who returned from Macau a few days ahead of you. He told me that they had to rescue you from a bunch of local thugs because you tried to chase them down on your own to retrieve your stolen baggage. Why? What possessed you to chase them down on your own? Have you forgotten that you're in a foreign city with absolutely no idea of the language and the way around? Have you thought about what might have happened to you if they led you somewhere too far away from civilization to be able to request assistance? Isn't the common practice after being robbed to approach the local authorities for assistance? So, why did you think you have to retrieve your stolen items on your own?" Chu Ga Eul wasted no time in tearing into her childhood friend about her brainless act taken in Macau before the F3 actually found her, and rescued her like a damsel in distress from that alleyway.

"... Ah…well, Ga Eul… you see, the suitcase contains not only my clothes for the trip but also a pouch full of the Korean Won that I've brought along to Macau as the contingency cash for exchange at the money changer just in case I find myself in need of extra spending cash. And then, I also had a couple of souvenirs already purchased sitting in the suitcase…but most importantly, I didn't want to spend extra on the traveling cost, so I had opted out from the optional travel insurance when I bought my air ticket at the airline counter in the airport before departure." Geum Jan Di appears somewhat sheepish as she explained to her childhood friend why she did what she did in Macau before the F3 appears on-site to save her from danger.

"...you opted out of the travel insurance to save cost?! Jan Di ah! How could you… no, how dare you hopped onto a plane without purchasing any travel insurance?! Are you aware of why it's so important for travelers to purchase travel insurance before any trips overseas? It's to safeguard not just the traveler's belongings from being damaged or stolen, but also in the case of any accidents met during the trip. You're lucky that nothing too terrible happens on your trip over to Macau." Chu Ga Eul had a look of utter exasperation clouding her features after digesting the explanation given to her by her childhood friend.

And as the time started to approach 7.30am in the morning, Ga Eul thought it was about time for her to leave if she didn't want to be late for class and so, she stood from the sofa couch and crossed over to her friend to give Jan Di a hug as she whispered in a tone of relief. "Either way, I'm glad you got back home in one piece. Next time, if there's ever going to be a next time you attempt to go overseas on your own, please do us all a favor. Get a tourist sim card before departure so you remain contactable throughout your entire trip, and please buy travel insurance. You do not have to buy the insurance that's offered in a package deal with the seat from the airline if you find it too expensive, there are alternative sources of travel insurance widely available from the market offered by private insurance companies."

With that said, Ga Eul let go of her friend and retrieved her school bag from the sofa couch as she made her way to the front door of her friend's family apartment. "Bye, for now, I'll call you tonight to properly catch up with you."

"Goodbye, see you soon - Ga Eul." Geum Jan Di responded as she walks her friend to the door, inwardly relieved that due to time constraints - her friend hasn't exactly nagged her ears off for her 'brainless acts' in Macau.

Then again, it's probably silly of her to opt-out of the purchase of the travel insurance to cut traveling costs… thankfully, she didn't let this little information slip to the F3 when they found her in Macau. Ji Hoo-sunbae might not tell her off on the matter, but she isn't so certain when it comes to the other two members of F4. Especially Yi Jeong-sunbae, that guy certainly doesn't mince his words when feeling annoyed.

Chu Ga Eul, on the other hand, left the home of Geum Jan Di to find the sight of a familiar orange lotus parked in the place where a white Lexus has been parked earlier. Blinking once then twice, before shrugging and making her way towards the waiting orange lotus - Ga Eul greeted her boyfriend casually as she inquires.

"Good morning, Yi Jeong-sunbae. When did you switch places with Shuichi? I seemed to recall quite distinctively that it was Shuichi that dropped me off earlier. While on the subject, where is he?"

"Good morning, Ga Eul. To answer your question, he called me shortly after dropping you off citing that he had to attend morning training at the rink in school and thus, couldn't afford to stay and wait for you to finish with your visit to Geum Jan Di. But he knows for you to get to school on time after leaving Geum Jan Di's place, taking the public transport isn't going to work. So, he decided to give me a call and ask me to play chauffeur for you - this morning." The Korean Casanova explained casually as he steers his orange lotus out from the neighborhood where Geum Jan Di presently resides with her family and towards the main road as he started heading for the direction of the Shinhwa Academy.

"I see…" Ga Eul nodded in acceptance at Yi Jeong's explanation then, before inquiring if his grandfather has summoned him in for a discussion yet.

"Hmm…? Not yet, at least, I haven't received an official summon from him for a conversation. I reckon, he would likely wait a few days before summoning me over for a chat." So Yi Jeong sighed in response, as he responded to his girlfriend's inquiry before changing the subject of the conversation on their ride to school, completely. "So, what were you up to by coming this early to Geum Jan Di's home?"

"If you must really know, I came here to deliver my long-overdue lecture to her with regards to her poorly planned and executed Macau trip." Chu Ga Eul responded drily as she answered her boyfriend's inquiry of her reasons behind visiting the home of her childhood friend, this early.

"Oh… she's back in Seoul already? Does that means Ji Hoo is back as well?" Yi Jeong remarked naturally, flicking curious eyes onto the figure of his girlfriend as he navigated his vehicle through the traffic towards the direction of the Shinhwa Academy.

"I believe so, Ji Hoo-sunbae wouldn't have let Jan Di fly home alone. So, it's likely that he accompanied Jan Di back from Macau. Feel free to check in on him later. Judging by Jan Di's words, it seems they got back in sometime after 11pm last night. Since I didn't manage to get through Jan Di's phone until 11.45pm last night." Chu Ga Eul answered as she explains how she had gotten hold of the information about her friend's return to Seoul.

"... why are you calling up Geum Jan Di at freaking 11.45pm at night? Isn't that usually the time you retire for the night?" The Korean Casanova sounded bewildered as he voiced his query across to his girlfriend.

"It is… but I have the habit of checking to see if I could get a call through Jan Di's mobile over the period when she's away in Macau daily. After all, it probably wouldn't occur to her to send word back to me through Ji Hoo-sunbae to inform us about her estimated date of return from Macau." Ga Eul answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, as she shrugged nonchalantly to her Casanova beau.

"I see… alright, we are here. You might want to hurry if you don't wish to be late for class, there are only a few minutes left until 8am arrives." So Yi Jeong commented as he pulled up his orange lotus in front of the academic building that housed the high school division of the Shinhwa Academy.

"Thank you, Yi Jeong-sunbae for the ride. I love you." Chu Ga Eul beams gratefully in response as she reached over to peck her boyfriend lightly on the cheek, before unbuckling her seatbelt, grabbing her school bag, and rushing out of the vehicle to make her way into the academic building as fast as her feet could carry her.

"...you're welcome." The Korean Casanova murmurs as his lips quirked upwards into a grin, in the wake of receiving the quick peck from his girlfriend's lips on his left cheek. With a shake of his head, So Yi Jeong steered his car away from the high school academic building and continues down the driveway of the school, this time heading straight for the direction where the tertiary department of the school is situated for his own college classes.

Meanwhile, Ga Eul was rather glad that she had turned up in school rather late today and so, not a lot of people were still hanging around to witness the sight of her being dropped off by the infamous Korean Casanova of F4, this morning. If not, she reckons that the annoying duo from Jan Di's class would have approached her to make idle comments by this point. But since she arrived at the high school academic building with less than five minutes to spare before classes officially commenced for the day, most of the students are already congregated in the classrooms and unless the windows of the classroom are facing the entrance of the building directly - they wouldn't be given a good view of the sight of her alighting from the orange lotus belonging to the Korean Casanova of F4, earlier. And therefore, Ga Eul was spared from the need to listen to the various speculating comments and jealous remarks coming from the majority of the female members of the school population.

"..." In the classroom of 3A, Miyazawa Kazuki turns his eyes away from the window of the classroom with a sour look on his face. Just his luck to be assigned with a seat near the window for the duration of this school term, the sight of his half-sister arriving at school in the distinctive orange lotus belonging to the Casanova of F4 has dampens his mood significantly. Even though, he knows he doesn't actually get a say on the subject about who his sister - Ga Eul, wanted to date… since she's the older sibling, on a technicality. It still didn't change the fact that he isn't fond of his half-sister dating a notorious playboy.

"Morning, Kazuki. What's with that sour look on your face?" Saionji Shunsuke, the second-born son of the Saionji Enterprise that owns a chain of spa & wellness businesses in Japan and also a fellow childhood friend of the Miyazawa heir, piqued up when he waltzed into the classroom minutes before the official start of their first class for the day.

"Nothing…" The Miyazawa heir mutters under his breath in response, knowing that the mention of having sighted the orange lotus stopping in front of the academic building is going to send the majority of the girls in their class into a gossiping mood. Not wanting to deal with a bunch of rowdy girls moments before classes were slated to begin for the day, Miyazawa Kazuki shoots his friend a look that says he would explain over lunch later in the day.

"Hmm… fine, we'll continue the conversation at lunch." Saionji Shunsuke shrugged easily in response, as he headed towards the back of the class where he has been assigned to sit for the duration of this school term.

Location: Emergency Staircase 3 of Shinhwa High, 27th November 2009, Friday, 11am.

When lunch hour comes around, instead of heading toward the students' cafeteria - Miyazawa Kazuki brought his two friends along to the emergency staircase 3 located closer to the wing where the science labs of the school are situated for their lunch break. Tagging behind them without an invitation are the two girls, Choi Hyo-Rin and Oh Ha-Na.

"Wait… why are you two following us?" The Miyazawa heir paused mid-steps as he turns quizzical eyes upon the figures of Choi Hyo-Rin and her friend.

"...You guys are not taking lunch in the cafeteria, isn't it? And in case it slips your memory, we have to discuss the topic for our social-studies project this school term." Ha-Na rolls her eyes momentarily as she reminded the Miyazawa heir about their group project assigned only, a day ago by their social-studies teacher.

"... can we have the discussion after school today, instead? I've something private to speak to the guys." Miyazawa Kazuki pinched the bridge of his nose as he cursed himself for not recalling the previous agreement for holding a discussion over lunch about their upcoming group project for the social-studies module this term.

"I see… well, in that case, shall we meet up in the library after school to discuss the project?" Choi Hyo-Rin took it upon herself to diffuse the tension between her friend and the Miyazawa heir. Why do those two always see the need to argue over trivial matters, she would never be able to comprehend?! So, with a roll of her eyes in exasperation - Hyo-Rin reaches into her lunch carrier bag and withdraws a squarish lunchbox that's double the size of her own lunchbox and hands it over to the figure of Saionji Shunsuke, her long-time crush as she commented.

"Your lunch for today, just bring it back to me after lunch hour came to an end." Choi Hyo-Rin remarked before turning on her heels to head for the students' cafeteria as she dragged her friend - Ha-Na along with her.

"Right…" Saionji Shunsuke accepted the offered lunchbox with grace as he nodded towards the girl in response.

"...okay, this is new. So, after popping by your bachelor pad to perform the more challenging housekeeping duties, she's making you lunch as well? Shunsuke, care to explain what exactly is going on between the two of you?" Miyazawa Kazuki couldn't help a smirk from forming on his lips as he draped his arm casually over the top of his friend's shoulder while prying into the new development between his childhood friend and Hyo-Rin, the girl whom he knows harbors a long-time crush on his buddy.

"Nothing is going on between us. And the bento wasn't prepped by her, but her mother who insisted on fattening me up citing I'm eating too much junk food after having seen the contents stored in my kitchen's pantry, the other day when she pops by to collect the rental fee in cash personally as she happens to be in the area." Saionji Shunsuke deadpans at his childhood friend as he shrugged off the arm of his friend from his person, and then dragged the figure of Sakuraba Shuichi over to act as a barrier between him and the Miyazawa heir.

"Che…" Miyazawa Kazuki tsk in response, before shifting his attention and focus onto his cousin - Shuichi as he demanded to know why exactly was his sister traveling to school in the orange lotus belonging to the Korean Casanova when it's obviously Shuichi's turn to ferry her to school, this morning.

"Oh… was that why you looked so sour this morning? You saw Ga Eul exiting from the orange lotus from the window as you took your seat in the class." Saionji Shunsuke whistled in response as he grinned cheekily at his childhood friend who threw him a look of annoyance upon hearing his comment.

"Long story short, I did pick Ga Eul up earlier this morning. But instead of coming straight to school, she told me that she needs to stop by her friend's place of residence for a while. Fine, I can do that…but I can't stay for long, since I have morning practice to attend before class. So, I gave the Korean Casanova a call asking him to send Ga Eul to school in my stead. After all, his classes don't begin this early in the day and because of his status as a member of F4… speeding on the road isn't so much of a big deal for him, since the worse that could happen is for him to pay a fine and the entire issue can be settled. Sure enough, he agreed to pick Ga Eul up from the neighborhood where Geum Jan Di stays… so, I left shortly after dropping her off." Sakuraba Shuichi shrugged nonchalantly in response as he answered the question put forth to him by his annoyed cousin and childhood friend.

"...Seriously though, what do you not like about So Yi Jeong? I mean, aside from his notorious reputation as the Korean Casanova… he's good to Ga Eul, and most importantly, Ga Eul truly likes him." Saionji Shunsuke pointed out objectively to his childhood friend, the annoyed-looking Miyazawa heir.

"I know Ga Eul likes him, and that's why I didn't protest too vehemently upon being told by Ga Eul that they're now dating. Still, a part of me couldn't help but worry about Ga Eul being hurt. As you've mentioned, he's a notorious playboy. How could we tell that he has truly reformed for the better?" Kazuki lamented aloud as he shares his woes with his childhood friends.

"Gees… Kazuki, you worried too much. Ga Eul is a sensible girl, I'm sure she could tell if her boyfriend is genuine in reforming for the better on her own. While on the subject, just be glad that So Yi Jeong doesn't have the history of two-timing anyone, and just that alone, makes him way better than that scumbag Ga Eul used to date briefly." Saionji Shunsuke deadpans at his childhood friend as he digs into his lunch for the day, which is the Chinese-style sweet & sour pork rice with egg.

"Hmm… that smells heavenly, and just the aroma of the food is enough to make me hungry. While on the subject, Shuichi… where's my lunch for today?" The Miyazawa heir then shifted his demanding gaze upon the figure of his cousin and made his request known.

"Here…there you go. I don't understand why you can't prep up lunch for yourself, it isn't as though you don't know how to cook." Sakuraba Shuichi commented dryly as he handed a second lunchbox over to his cousin, after retrieving his own lunch from his lunch bag.

"Yes, well… it's too time-consuming to self-prepare lunch every day. So, I alternate between making my own lunch and getting your family's domestic helper to assist with the task." Kazuki shrugged as he truthfully answered his cousin.

Location: Porridge Shop, 27th November 2009, Friday, 11am

Meanwhile, Geum Jan Di who had the day off from school was too restless to stay put at home. So, after taking out the souvenirs she had purchased back from Macau - the bag of jerky she was gifted with by her savior - Jae-Kyung, and the box of almond cakes she had purchased from the Taipa district as well as the leftover phoenix egg rolls she had been gifted by the auburn-haired member of F4 to set them down on the dining table of her family rented apartment. She packed the remaining bag of jerky that she had gotten for her childhood friend, Ga Eul which she hasn't given to her friend earlier this morning since she has yet to unpack her baggage.

Geum Jan Di then left the Chopper mascot hat she had gotten off from Yoon Ji Hoo of F4 exclusively for her little brother when the guy had admitted that he had no reason to keep the silly hat around, onto the empty upper bunk of the bunk bed placed in the second bedroom of the apartment. Geum Jan Di didn't leave any memo note behind, believing that her little brother would be smart enough to figure out that the hat is a souvenir gift for him exclusively upon the sheer sight of the mascot hat. After this, Jan Di went on to get herself changed out of her lounge-wear and into something more presentable for an outing before setting off for the porridge shop with her souvenir for Ga Eul tucked away in her sling bag to pay her employer a visit and to report in for work a little early today since she need not attend school.

"Master, I'm back. Do you need me to help you with anything at present?" Geum Jan Di popped her head into the porridge shop with the flap on the door still indicating the 'closed' sign but knowing full well that the door isn't locked as she could see the figure of her employer bustling about inside the restaurant getting ready the place for opening, soon.

"Jan Di, you're back! That's earlier than I've expected, Ga Eul told me that you might only come back in over the weekends." The master of the porridge shop started upon landing his eyes on the figure of Geum Jan Di standing in the doorway of his shop.

"Yes, well… she didn't know my exact return date because I wasn't contactable while in Macau. Anyway, I'm back now. So, feel free to boss me around." Geum Jan Di plastered on a cheery demeanor as she responded to the words coming from her eccentric but friendly employer.

"Well, you're just in time. Take a cloth from the back and help me with the wiping of the tables, we still have about 30 minutes to spare before we need to open the shop for business." Bom Choon-Sik, the owner of the porridge shop who had taken both Geum Jan Di and Chu Ga Eul as his part-time helpers told Jan Di with no hesitance.

Although, somewhere deep down in him - Bom Choon-Sik had a feeling that it might be best to put the newly returned Jan Di on duties that don't involve much customer service today. However, what the guy wasn't expecting was that not only was Geum Jan Di not performing well in customer service today… she's also making plenty of amateur mistakes that she hasn't made for a very long time since she had gotten used to the job. For instance, the repeated breaking of the bowls when he had her assisting in the task of wiping dry the dishes after he was done washing them.

The first time Geum Jan Di broke the bowl, it was due to being startled by the voice of the master as she seemed to be zoning out. The second time, she broke the bowl because the soap applied to the dishes was a tad too much and causes it to be extra slippery and thus it broke after she lose grasp on the soapy bowl as it hits the floor in the kitchen. The third time, she had broken two bowls in a row because while wiping dry the dishes - she had failed to take note of how close to the edge of the table the bowls were sitting on. So, when her elbow accidentally hits the table while she stretched out her limbs as a means to loosen her stiffness in the arms… the bowls fell from the edge of the tables and shattered on the floor. Luckily, it didn't happen during the peak hour of the shop, and so, other than the master of the shop - nobody was around to witness the scene.

Taking a look at the clock in the kitchen, Bom Choon-Sik started counting down the seconds until his other part-timer arrives to report for work. And then, he calls out to Geum Jan Di and instructed. "Jan Di ah… why don't you leave the dish-drying task to me, and go on to the back and take your staff meal? You can have the leftover fish porridge in the kitchen, there should be enough to fill up a bowl. No worries, it isn't chargeable. We can't keep the leftover sitting in the pot for too long either, I'll make a new batch for the evening crowd. So, go on and take your lunch when there aren't any customers around."

"Alright… thanks master, and I'm sorry for breaking so many bowls today. You can deduct the cost of replacing the bowls from my salary. I'll go and have the staff meal now." Geum Jan Di responded as she bowed apologetically to the master of the porridge shop, glad that her employer hasn't scolded her too badly for her amateurish mistakes made for the better half of the day when she's being more of a nuisance than a capable help in the shop.

Entering the kitchen of the shop to retrieve a bowl for her own use, Geum Jan Di took extra care in scooping out the leftover fish porridge from the pot into the bowl. And then, once she had successfully emptied out the contents from the pot into the bowl - she carefully brought it out of the kitchen to the staff pantry situated at the back of the shop for her late lunch. Dropping herself wearily into one of the two folding chairs situated in the corner of the staff pantry, Geum Jan Di cupped her hands to her mouth in an attempt to muffle out the sound of a frustrated groan.

Yes - frustration, that is exactly what Geum Jan Di is feeling at present. And no, it wasn't frustration of how the day has been but frustration directed towards herself.

[Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?! Geum Jan Di, where's your weed spirit?! You need to get your act together! You are supposed to be earning money, how are you going to earn enough money to contribute to the household expenses next month if all you kept doing at work is making mistakes that are considered amateurish? Keep up with the breaking of the dishes, and you are likely to lose half your salary this month to the compensations of the bowls you've broken today since reporting in for work.] - Geum Jan Di berated herself in the mind, as she tried to snap her mind back into focus.

Geum Jan Di had originally assumed that her restlessness at home was due to being idle and that as soon as she returns to work - things would be getting back to normal. That was why she had left home as soon as her mother returned from the market, deciding that since she took the day off from school… she could at least show up for work early. However, it seems it wasn't being idle that brought on her restlessness. If anything, her restlessness seems to be stemming from her lack of a goal to work towards for the foreseeable future combined with the effects of her heartbreak in Macau.

When Geum Jan Di first learned of her inability to swim in the future, she had thought she would be fine since she still have her boyfriend - Gu Jun Pyo to support her through this difficult period. She had thought that meeting her boyfriend in person, would help her find something else she could work towards in the future. Yet, her trip to Macau didn't result in the happy reunion between them that she has been anticipating before her trip. If anything, it brought her only the feeling of heartbreak and agony in return. While she's grateful to have the support of her former prince charming, it wasn't quite the same… Geum Jan Di thought as she moved through the actions of wiping dry another bowl before setting it down without looking at where she had placed her hands.

'Clang' - the sound of the bowl shattering into pieces snapped Geum Jan Di's focus back to the present, as she hurried to determine the cause for the breakage of the bowl this time. It seems, in her distracted state of mind, she hasn't been paying attention to where she had been placing her hands earlier when setting down the bowl. Instead of putting it onto the solid surface of the table, she had stationed her hand on air and let go of it automatically. Since there isn't anything solid to hold the bowl, naturally the gravity would pull it down to the floor… and anything that was dropped from a foot above ground naturally would shatter on impact.

"..." Geum Jan Di stared wordlessly at the debris of the latest bowl she had shattered in her distracted state of mind before sighing inwardly, as she turns towards the direction of the master with an apologetic look.

"... Jan Di, you can stop wiping the bowls now. Why don't you take the glass cleaner and cleaning cloth from the back to clean the windows and door of the restaurant instead?" Bom Choon-Sik, the master and owner of the porridge shop suggested after Geum Jan Di broke the fifth bowl since she reported in for work on this very day. Surely, Jan Di isn't capable of breaking the glass windows and glass door even if she were to zone out mid-task, right?

"Right… I'm sorry for the breakage of the bowls. You can deduct my salary for the replacement of the bowls I've broken with my careless handling." Geum Jan Di bowed apologetically to the master of the porridge shop as she apologized to her employer with sincerity.

"..."

When Chu Ga Eul shows up at the porridge shop for her supposedly 3 hours shift, she was immediately beckoned over to where the master of the porridge shop works for the bulk of his time - the kitchen.

"Did Jan Di tell you what happen in Macau?" Bom Choon-Sik wasted no time in trying to pry the above-mentioned information out from his other part-timer.

"...no, we didn't exactly have time to speak much this morning. I was intending to get the story from her later this evening." Chu Ga Eul told the master of the porridge shop in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Try and pry the information out of her or tell her to get her act together. She hasn't been performing well so far, do you know she has already broken five bowls before you got here?" Bom Choon-Sik told Ga Eul, before shooing her towards the general direction of his out-of-sorts part-timer, Geum Jan Di.

"Jan Di ah… why don't you join me in the pantry for a break?" Chu Ga Eul suggested upon receiving the hinting looks coming from the master of the porridge shop.

Recalling the bag of jerky in her sling bag she had meant to gift to her childhood friend but had forgotten about it earlier this morning, Geum Jan Di agreed readily to Ga Eul's request for a break in the pantry that also served as their changing room.

Standing in the staff pantry that also doubles-up as a changing room for them at the back of the porridge shop, Chu Ga Eul placed her school bag into the locker unit assigned for her use before turning around to make her friend a cup of tea using the tea-bag that's ready in abundance in one of the storage cabinet in the pantry. The staff pantry came with a countertop with a power plug that they could use to boil water with the electric kettle for their tea, but no sink for them to wash the cups. Instead, they have to go to the washroom for the cleaning of the used teacups after every tea-break session they had taken. Still, that's simply a small inconvenience that the girls are willing to put up with as long as they get a break every now and then during their working hours.

"Ga Eul ah, sorry I didn't give it to you earlier but I wasn't expecting you to swing by my place so early in the morning especially since I went to bed without unpacking my baggage last night. Anyway, here's a souvenir for you from me. I'm not sure if it tastes as good as the jerky I'd tried in the red market, but that shop is the only place that sells jerky in the Cunha street of the Taipa district in Macau." Geum Jan Di started as she took out the vacuum-sealed pack of jerky she had gotten back from Macau for her friend and handed it over to Chu Ga Eul with a smile.

"Oh… Jan Di, you know you didn't have to get me anything. I know how cash-strapped you are when you head over to Macau." Chu Ga Eul accepted the packet of jerky with grace, mentally noting that it's in the same packaging as the jerky she had received from her boyfriend a few days back… and surmised that both of them must have gotten it from the same shop in Macau. But it seems like they had gotten her jerky made from different parts of the pork, Ga Eul mused inwardly to herself as she took note of the product name listed on the packaging of the jerky she had received from her childhood friend. Unlike the jerky she had gotten from her boyfriend, Jan Di's gift to her had the word 'pork loin' written in the product name.

"I know… but I bought it with the notion of expressing my gratitude to you for sending the F3 after me. If it weren't for their timely arrival, who knows what could have happened on that day I decided to chase down the thieve on my own without giving a thought of my own safety or the fact that I'm on foreign land." Geum Jan Di commented in response as she sat down in a chair at the small table in the staff pantry tucked against the wall under the window as she accepted the offered cup of tea from her childhood friend.

"Well… in that case, thank you." Chu Ga Eul nodded as she set aside the pork jerky and placed it into her school bag in the locker, so she wouldn't neglect to bring it home with her at the end of the day. And then, she turns her attention back to her childhood friend - Geum Jan Di, and inquires. "Now, Jan Di… care to share with me what exactly happens between you and Jun Pyo-sunbae in Macau? I know, it probably isn't anything good… given how much Yi Jeong-sunbae had ranted to me upon his return when he met up with me to provide me with an update about how the F3 found you in Macau and the disagreement he had gotten into with Jun Pyo-sunbae as well as giving me the souvenirs he had gotten for me."

"Oh… so, you've met up with Yi Jeong-sunbae already? Where did you two meet up? Did he come by the porridge shop personally to meet you?" Geum Jan Di inquires as she cited the first plausible scenario that pops into her mind when she thought about how her childhood friend can meet up with the Korean Casanova with the F4 having graduated from high school by this point.

"...actually, we met in the school's F4 private lounge the day after he returns from Macau." Chu Ga Eul responded as she provided her childhood friend with a half-truth. She left out the bit of information about her meeting the Casanova for dinner on his return day and didn't mention anything about the meeting in the school's F4 private lounge involving her bringing the guy breakfast. Instead, she left the response vague allowing Geum Jan Di to form her own conclusion about how the meeting between Ga Eul and the Korean Casanova took place.

"Oh... so, he caught up with you in school." Geum Jan Di mused aloud in response as she made a humming sound under her breath.

"Yes. Anyway, don't change the subject - Jan Di. I'm still waiting to hear about what happens between you and Jun Pyo-sunbae in Macau." Chu Ga Eul deadpans as her voice broke her friend's trains of thought.

"What's there to say…? Gu Jun Pyo broke up with me, it's as simple as that." Geum Jan Di allowed a brittle smile to form on her lips as she confessed to Ga Eul about her recent heartbreak in Macau.

"I see… and is that the reason why you're so out of sort, today? The master says that you'd broken five bowls when he asks you to wipe dry the dishes in the kitchen before I got here." Chu Ga Eul commented as she meet eyes with her childhood friend, who grimaced in turn.

"Did the master send you in to have a pep talk with me to find out what exactly is bothering me?" Geum Jan Di started as a grimacing look clouded her features momentarily, she knows she isn't doing too well at performing her routine duties at work today. But to think that she had already broken five bowls in total? No wonder the master is worried about her…

"What do you think? Honestly, Jan Di - are you feeling alright?" Chu Ga Eul sighed as she eyed her friend with a look of blatant concern.

"Ga Eul… the thing is I don't know. Emotionally, I doubt I'm okay. Logically though, I know I have to pull myself together. As the saying goes - out of sight means out of mind, as long as I don't see Gu Jun Pyo in person. I think I would be fine, and honestly… I'm more worried about Kang San's condition than my own heartbreak, at present." Geum Jan Di sighed as she relayed her current train of thoughts to her childhood friend.

"...what happen to Kang San?" Ga Eul, in an attempt to forgo the mention of Gu Jun Pyo, went along with her friend's words and steered the topic of discussion onto Geum Kang San's condition.

"Appa and Eomma told me that Kang San had undergone a surgical procedure on Wednesday night to remove the appendix. The surgical procedure costs about three million dollars, and you know as much as I do that this isn't a small amount for my family. The clinic and the doctor has been exceptionally understanding that they didn't insist on full settlement of the bill upon Kang San's discharge and had even offered to help Appa and Eomma proceed with the submissions of the claims from their National Health Insurance scheme. But even with the insurance claims, only 25% can be claimed from Appa's insurance… as Eomma's only working part-time, there's no guarantee that the claim would be approved." Geum Jan Di then proceeds to fill Ga Eul in, about her little brother's recent medical treatment for appendicitis as a frowning look marred her features upon the thought of where to get the money for the household expenses for the following month.

Previously, the family had worked out a budget whereby the entirety of Geum Ii-Bong's salary from his convenience store job would go into the payment of their rental for the apartment in which they were staying. Whereas Na Gong-Joo's salary would cover the general household expenses, such as the cost of food for the family and the purchase of the household essential products. Jan Di's pay from her part-time job would then goes into the payment for the mobile subscription fee, Kang San's school lunch expenses, and her own personal expenses.

Now though, due to Kang San's medical expenses - the budget needs to be reworked in full. The rental for the apartment can't be delayed, the landlord wouldn't be happy otherwise. So, if her father's advance paycheck goes into the payment for Kang San's medical expenses - it would mean that her mother's income would need to be utilized for the apartment rental. That means her salary would need to be stretched thin to cover both the household expenses and Kang San's school lunch fee as well as the mobile subscription fees, again. That leaves her with practically little to no money for her own expenses, supposedly she could save on the food expenses since she brings her own lunch to school daily… what about the transportation fees? She can't possibly ride her bicycle to school anymore, it's too long a distance for her to handle cycling to school from her current place of residence.

"... first of all, have you checked with Ji Hoo-sunbae about the part-time staff insurance coverage? If the claim submitted under your mother's name can be approved by the relevant authority, that would mean that the amount of cash your family needs to fork out for Kang San's medical expenses would be lessened greatly. Following this, I know you don't like the idea of troubling others with your family woes… but perhaps, you would like to consider the option of getting Ji Hoo-sunbae to drop you off in school with his family car for the next month? That would negate the need for your transportation expenses, and it really wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience for him to give you a ride to school. Because either way, his family car or his own car if he decides to drive himself is bound to pass by the area where your family resides at present when traveling to the Shinhwa Academy. It's just the matter of making two more pit-stops before arriving at the tertiary department of the school either way." Chu Ga Eul took a moment to think on the subject before broaching the suggestion with her childhood friend.

"... I'll think about it, thank you, Ga Eul." Geum Jan Di allows a small smile to form on her lips as she responded to her friend's suggestion. And it was at this point that they heard the master calling for them to come out and help, apparently the dinner crowd had come in a tad earlier than usual.

In the next two hours that follows, Geum Jan Di screwed up another two times. First, she mixed up the orders from the customers at two different tables which resulted in her childhood friend apologizing to the customers on her behalf. And then, when she went on to clear the table for the next group of customers - she ended up breaking another dish when she lost her hold on a bowl. The sound of the bowl shattering against the force of landing onto the ground, causing everybody in the porridge shop to turn in her direction.

Bowing at the entire group of customers and staff alike, Geum Jan Di apologized for the ruckus she had unintentionally created in her carelessness.

"Ga Eul ah, I know you're originally scheduled only for a three hours shift but can you extend your working hours for today until closing time?" Bom Choon-Sik sighed inwardly as he turns his pleading eyes upon the figure of Chu Ga Eul seeking the girl's cooperation. Instead, to distract Geum Jan Di from committing further amateurish mistakes - he's going to send the girl out on an errand to deliver an order to his odd but regular customer, Yoon Seok Young, the former president of the country and the grandfather of Yoon Ji Hoo.

"Of course, I'll extend my working hours for today. But can you give me a minute, I need to send a text to someone to cancel my original plans for tonight." Chu Ga Eul requested as she voiced her words to the master of the porridge shop.

"Ah… the Andromeda prince… tell him I'm sorry to disrupt his plans with you but I need you here to cover for Jan Di this evening." Bom Choon-Sik commented as he gave his permission for Chu Ga Eul to head towards the back of the shop to send a message to the Korean Casanova of F4, canceling their scheduled plans for tonight.

"..." Ga Eul didn't even bother to ask why the master of the porridge shop seems to know that she's off to cancel her dinner plans with the Korean Casanova. She was used to the master's cryptic way of telling things at times, and so… simply shrugged off the matter with ease. Entering the staff pantry, Ga Eul reaches into the front zipper compartment of her school bag to pull out her folding phone as she swiftly typed out a text message to her boyfriend notifying the guy of the change of plans.

A private chat between Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong, 27th November 2009, Friday, 6pm

Ga Eul: *Apologetic Emoji* Sorry, Yi Jeong-sunbae. I'm afraid I need to cancel our dinner plans. Jan Di is behaving too out of sort at work that the master pleaded for me to extend my working hours for today. So, I'll be working until closing time today.

PS: Jan Di told me that Jun Pyo-sunbae broke up with her without giving me the details, and I didn't want to push her on the subject. Maybe, you can invite Ji Hoo-sunbae out for dinner and fish out the exact details from him?

Yi Jeong: … That's definitely a disappointment, and it most certainly put a bummer effect on my mood today. Oh well… given the circumstances, I supposed it can't be helped. During the conversation we had in Macau that brought on my temper, Jun Pyo had implied that he might be giving up this relationship he had going with Geum Jan Di. Either way, since Geum Jan Di isn't going to share the details with you… I'm going to heed your advice and ask Ji Hoo to join me for dinner tonight. Hopefully, he would be willing to give me an outline of what exactly transpired between Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di after I left Macau.

PS: On that same note, our dinner plans for tomorrow aren't going to be affected - right?

Ga Eul: I don't think so. I mean, I have piano class on Saturday before our dinner date… so I'm sure the master wouldn't mind me leaving the shop early tomorrow regardless of how Jan Di fares in her work performances.

Yi Jeong: Good. I'll see you for dinner tomorrow then.

Ga Eul: See you. Enjoy your dinner with Ji Hoo-sunbae. Talk to you later tonight. I'll be waiting for your update on the subject.

Yi Jeong: Sure, we'll talk tonight. I'll call you but I'll text before calling. So, you can let me know if it's fine for me to call you up at that point.

Ending the text message with her boyfriend, Chu Ga Eul headed back out to the front of the porridge shop - just in time to hear the master requesting for Jan Di to run an errand for him.

"Jan Di, go and run an errand for me." Bom Choon-Sik commented out of the blue, drawing the eyes of both his part-timers on his person.

"Master, I'll go in Jan Di's stead." Ga Eul intervened as she knows that her friend's attention wasn't all that focused today and thus offered to take her friend's position when the master asks for her friend to make a food delivery to their odd but regular customer. That old man had a nasty temper, and she didn't want to risk Jan Di getting scolded by that old man if her performance wasn't good enough.

"Ga Eul, I need you to serve the customers in the shop. So, Jan Di will be the one doing the delivery of the food to the old man today. Besides, I prepared the order myself after answering his call and so, there's no risk of Jan Di mixing up the food order - this time." Bom Choon-Sik told Chu Ga Eul in a firm tone of voice, and then turning towards Geum Jan Di - he emphasized.

"Jan Di, bring this to him and make sure that you stayed there and watch him eat until he finished the food before leaving." Bom Choon-Sik told his out-of-sorts part-time worker in a no-argument tone of voice as he handed the paper bag with the thermos flask used to hold the take-out to keep the food warm in the food container over to Geum Jan Di.

"Right…" Geum Jan Di nodded obediently in response as she removed the apron from her person, collected the take-out bag and the slip of paper with the address for the delivery to be made from the master of the shop before leaving for the errand.

"Ga Eul, don't worry so much about Jan Di. I didn't send her off to that odd customer of ours for no reason. I'm sure if there's anyone who can snap Jan Di's focus away from whatever things that plaguing her mind, it would be that old man. He's very good at doing that." Bom Choon-Sik told Ga Eul, who still seemed a tad worried about the idea of sending Geum Jan Di out on an errand to deliver food to their regular but odd customer.

Meanwhile, over at the pottery studio, So Yi Jeong ended the brief text exchange with his girlfriend with a sigh of resignation. And then, he shrugged off the feeling of disappointment that wells up in him after his girlfriend had texted in to cancel their dinner plans for tonight. Recalling the task his girlfriend had entrusted to him, the potter of F4 tapped into his Skype Messenger App installed on his mobile device to start off a new chat with his auburn-haired friend.

Skype Messenger - private chat between So Yi Jeong and Yoon Ji Hoo, 27th November 2009, Friday.

Yi Jeong: Ji Hoo, welcome back to Seoul. Heard from Ga Eul who, in turn, heard it from Geum Jan Di that you got back in last night. Anyway, care to meet up for dinner? Ga Eul had to cancel our dinner plans because Geum Jan Di was kind of out of-sort at work today, so her boss had requested for her to extend her working hours to provide backup support at the porridge shop.

Ji Hoo: Sure, where would you like to meet up for dinner?

Yi Jeong: The bistro at Shinhwa Country Club?

Ji Hoo: Of course. See you there in 30 minutes?

Yi Jeong: See you.

~TBC~

Chapter's notes:

Chapter 42 is done and this chapter, outside of the scene at the porridge shop where Jan Di kept making mistakes are all my own original scenes. ^_^

SoEul fans, I purposely incorporated the first scene into the story - a continuation from where the chapter ends the last time around. What do you think of the scene?

Following this, I have a scene featuring Jan Di and Ji Hoo returning to Seoul at the airport, and later when Jan Di got home. I figured her parents will fill her in on her brother's recent medical situation. After that, I had a scene featuring Ga Eul at her own home.

In this chapter, the E3 is given screen time once again. ^_^ Of course, Hyo-Rin and Min Ji's cousin both got a cameo from that same scene.

Now for the porridge shop scene, I extended it for quite a bit by having Jan Di in the shop way ahead of Ga Eul. In the drama, the two of them were working in the shop when Jan Di keep making mistakes with Ga Eul apologizing to the customers on her behalf. So, I figured Jan Di had been repeating her mistakes for the most part of the day… and hence, I had arranged for her to start fumbling on her job hours before Ga Eul arrive at the porridge shop.

Of course, I had the girls chatted in the staff pantry about Jan Di's troubling thoughts as well. Granted, in my story, the girls actually chatted before the scene of Jan Di mixing up the customer's orders and breaking the dishes. In the drama, it was afterward, and just before the master send Jan Di out on an errand to deliver porridge to Ji Hoo's grandfather.

Originally, I wanted to squeeze everything into this chapter… but I realize if I did so, the chapter would overshoot the word limit ^^; So, I decided to end the chapter here and continue in the next chapter. I'm debating if I should include the dinner scene between Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong. Well, I'll just have to write it first and decide later if I'm going to keep that scene ^^;

That's all for now, see you next time. ^_^