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,

43. Chapter 43

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 43 - Jan Di's newfound goal, Part 2

Location: Shinhwa Country Club, Bistro Bar. 27th November 2009, Friday, 7.15pm

It took a few minutes for Yi Jeong to locate his auburn-haired friend in the bistro bar upon his arrival. The reason why he hasn't been able to recognize his friend, at first sight, was due to the vastly different appearance his friend had taken on, this evening. Instead of the chin-length hair, he was accustomed to seeing… Yoon Ji Hoo had gone for a haircut, it seems. So, now… the heir of the Su Am Group has hair the same length as the rest of them, except Jun Pyo.

"What's with the sudden change in hairstyle? I almost didn't recognize you when I entered the bistro bar earlier." So Yi Jeong commented when he finally reached the table where his auburn-haired friend had settled down before his arrival.

"No particular reasons, I just felt like it's time for a change of my hairstyle." Yoon Ji Hoo shrugged in response to his Casanova friend's inquiry.

"Hmm… have you placed your order yet?" Deciding to drop the topic of why his friend felt it prudent to change the hairstyle in favor of something else, Yi Jeong picks up the copy of the menu lying on the table of his friend's picking as he inquires.

"Not yet. I thought you would prefer for us to place the food orders together." Yoon Ji Hoo answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Well then… I'm already here, so maybe we ought to order dinner first?" Yi Jeong commented as he handed the copy of the menu over to his auburn-haired friend to have a look, having already decided what to order for his own dinner.

Signaling for the attention of the waiting staff on duty, the Korean Casanova proceeds to order the roasted turkey for his own consumption before glancing over to the direction of his auburn-haired friend. Yoon Ji Hoo blinked upon receiving the look from his potter friend before he turns his attention towards the waiting staff with the ordering note in hand and answered. "I would like to have the grilled chicken burger, and a vanilla milkshake."

"...seriously? Vanilla milkshake?" Yi Jeong blurted out to his auburn-haired friend with a blatant look of disbelief, as soon as the waitress left their table to communicate their orders to the kitchen.

"Yes. I've always had a penchant for sweet menu items, I thought you're very well aware of this little trait of mine." Yoon Ji Hoo told his Casanova friend nonchalantly in response.

"True, I do know that you have a sweet tooth that's comparable with the young ladies, but I wasn't expecting for you to order a vanilla milkshake to go along with dinner. Surely, the soda water would be a better choice if you don't think wine is suitable as a beverage to go along with the grilled chicken burger that you'd ordered for your dinner meal." The Korean Casanova was stumped silent for a second before recovering his speech ability to respond to his auburn-haired friend's comment.

"... I'm in a mood for a milkshake, I guess. So, what exactly brought this on?" Yoon Ji Hoo started eyeing his Casanova friend with a look that says 'explain'.

"... pardon?" Yi Jeong feigned ignorant as he took a sip from the complimentary glass of plain water served to each and every patron by the bistro bar when they settled down at a table.

"The reason why you invited me out for dinner… I was under the impression that you would be meeting Ga Eul-yang for dinner today." Yoon Ji Hoo commented with a knowing look in his eyes as he addressed the Korean Casanova seated opposite him in the bistro bar of the Shinhwa Country Club.

"Under usual circumstances, maybe. But Ga Eul had to cancel our dinner plans today because Geum Jan Di wasn't quite herself at work today. And so, the master of the porridge shop had requested for Ga Eul to extend her shift hours until closing time today." So Yi Jeong shrugged his answer as he responded to the comment of his auburn-haired friend.

"... and I supposed Ga Eul-yang is to do with your decision to invite me out for dinner, this evening?" Yoon Ji Hoo sighed as he leaned back in his seat and waited for the barrage of questions that would be brought on by his friend soon if his conjecture was proven right.

"Hmm… partly, I supposed. I mean, since Ga Eul cancel our dinner plan… I hated the ideal of dining alone… it's only natural for me to look for an alternative dining companion for this evening. But I admit, Ga Eul might have suggested for us to have dinner tonight so I could try to find out for certain what happens between Geum Jan Di and Jun Pyo after I departed Macau. She figured that whatever had transpired between those two likely had something to do with Geum Jan Di's oddly distracting behavior at work, today. And for your information, Geum Jan Di didn't say much to Ga Eul except for the fact that Jun Pyo and she, had broken up in Macau." So Yi Jeong then told Ji Hoo what he had gathered from his brief text conversation with Chu Ga Eul earlier, as he attempted to gather the information which his girlfriend seeks from his childhood friend who had accompanied Geum Jan Di back from Macau.

"I see… and what do you want to know from me?" Yoon Ji Hoo nodded in acceptance of his friend's explanation, before inquiring.

"What exactly transpired after I left? Did they end up meeting? I was under the impression that Jun Pyo refused to see her, that's why I lost it and ended up punching him in the face." Yi Jeong started as he put forth the first two questions that pops into his mind, once his auburn-haired friend has given him the green light to proceed with his inquiry.

"You remembered how Geum Jan Di told us that she's was expecting the possibility of Jun Pyo being unwilling to meet her that night after we found her looking at the canal in Venetian Macau, following our return from the meeting with Jun Pyo?" Yoon Ji Hoo sighed as he decided to start from the beginning, as he started to outline the events of what had transpired in Macau after Yi Jeong departed for home.

"Yes. What about it?" So Yi Jeong nodded in response, how could he forget about what took place that night?! That was apparently the night whereby under Woo Bin's brilliant suggestion, they ended up playing the childish game of hide-and-seek with masquerade masks on their face in the plaza of Venetian Macau. Not only that, but it was also that same night that his mother's suicidal whims got out of hand that drove her caretaker into contacting him because nothing they said can calm his hysteric mother down. And it was also because of that phone call that he ended up departing from Macau earlier than planned.

"Geum Jan Di mentioned how she wanted to hear it straight from Jun Pyo, which stuck with me for a while. And then, later during the game - I caught her staring at the advertisement screen featuring Jun Pyo and started crying behind the cover of the masquerade mask. And that strengthens my resolve to seek out Jun Pyo, and ask him to meet up once with Geum Jan Di as a favor. I basically told him what you said earlier when you punched him in the face. I told him that even if the meeting only serves the purpose of them breaking up, he still ought to meet Geum Jan Di once in person to put an end to their relationship properly instead of leaving things hanging."Yoon Ji Hoo reiterated the event of his meeting with Jun Pyo that same night, after Yi Jeong and Woo Bin departs Venetian Macau for Macau Peninsula.

"You said that? And how did he react?" Yi Jeong was glad that he wasn't drinking, else he might choke in reaction to Ji Hoo's nonchalance in reiterating the event from the private meet-up between Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo after Woo Bin and he took their leave from Venetian Macau.

"I can't exactly tell his reaction since I didn't bother to stay and observe. I simply said what I intend to say and then proceed to leave him alone to stew in his thoughts. But seeing as it took him slightly more than half an hour to send an 'okay' response to my phone, I reckoned he's quite troubled by my request for him to meet with Geum Jan Di." Yoon Ji Hoo shrugged and paused momentarily in his reiteration of the events when the waitress brought them their food orders.

"Thank you." Both Yoon Ji Hoo and So Yi Jeong shifted their attention towards the waitress who's serving them their food and thanked the waitress for her service.

"You're welcome, enjoy your meal." The waitress smiles back at them professionally in response before leaving them to enjoy the food.

Taking a moment to snap a photo of his dinner plate, Yi Jeong proceed to forward the image out to his girlfriend to certify that he didn't skip his dinner meal just because she had canceled out on him, at the last minute. Once the photo has been sent out, the Korean Casanova went on to dig into his ordered food to savor the taste of the food for a few minutes before indicating for his auburn-haired friend to continue with the reiteration.

"I wasn't present for their meeting, but I know it couldn't have been a good meeting since Geum Jan Di broke down crying after they parted ways while on a gondola ride. As for Jun Pyo, well… he left shortly after the promised meeting with Geum Jan Di to Macau Peninsula with his mother so there's no way for me to tell how he's faring after breaking up with Geum Jan Di." It was at this moment that Yoon Ji Hoo took a brief pause in his reiteration to sip at his vanilla milkshake as he did a mental comparison of the milkshake served at the bistro of Shinhwa Country Club with the milkshake he had tried out at the infamous fast-food chain - Mcdonald's in Macau.

"...wait, Geum Jan Di hopped onto a gondola ride after Jun Pyo broke up with her? Why do I find that hard to believe?!" So Yi Jeong repeated incredulously as he stared at his auburn-haired friend, wondering if his friend is pulling his leg.

"To be exact, she sort of slumped onto the ground after leaving the bridge where the meeting with Jun Pyo took place. I know she wanted to be alone then, and so, I didn't approach her… hence I paid a gondolier to invite her for a free gondola ride." Yoon Ji Hoo rolls his eyes at his Casanova friend before clarifying the matter of Geum Jan Di hopping onto a gondola ride shortly after having her heartbroken by his long-time friend in Venetian Macau.

"Ah… now that makes better sense. And what did you do to cheer her up afterward? By any chance, did you two continue staying in Venetian Macau?" The Korean Casanova inquires as he continues to fish out the relevant information which he thought his girlfriend would like to know, from his auburn-haired friend.

"No. We stayed at Venetian Macau until noon that day, and then we checked out of the Palazzo suite to return to Macau Peninsula. But before we left Venetian Macau, I make sure to bring her around to explore the other areas of the resort that we didn't get to show her before. As far as my attempts to cheer her up go, I would like to think that I managed to distract her from dwelling on the subject for the most part of the day. I can't say for certain how she fares when she's alone at night in her own hotel room, but as far as I know - she didn't seem to be much affected during the day. We continue our sightseeing on Macau Peninsula after we left Venetian Macau, I even ask if there's a need to switch hotels due to the close proximity between the Grand Emperor Hotel and the Shinhwa Hotel but she turns down the notion." Yoon Ji Hoo shrugged in response then, before changing the subject momentarily. "Do you mind taking a break for the conversation? I don't know about you, but I'm finding it a tad hard to resist the urge to start focusing my attention on the food."

"...sure, now that you'd mentioned it… I'm feeling a tad peckish myself. So, let's eat first. We can continue the conversation after we are done eating." Yi Jeong agrees easily enough to his auburn-haired friend's suggestion to finish eating dinner before the continuation of their discussion about the events in Macau following his early departure from the city.

It took them about twenty minutes to finish up their dinner in absolute silence, other than the sound of their cutlery scraping across the plate. There were no signs of communication between them. It wasn't until their dinner plate was 80% emptied out that conversations resumed between Yi Jeong and Ji Hoo. This time, it was Yi Jeong that kick-start the conversation.

"So, other than the meeting in Venetian Macau… were there any encounters between Geum Jan Di and Jun Pyo?" The Korean Casanova asks upon finishing his own dinner. He had spent the bulk of the time while he's ingesting his dinner dwelling on Jun Pyo's odd behavior towards them and Geum Jan Di, on the whole through his observations made in Macau.

While Yi Jeong still finds it hard to comprehend Jun Pyo's actions and behavior in Macau, he thought his best friend is accurate on the account of Jun Pyo being under a tremendous amount of stress. And people tend to react to stress differently, some strive while some struggle. More importantly, stress is often a major contributor to bad decision-making. Throw in Jun Pyo's witch of a mother who's likely to try and brainwash Jun Pyo on the sideline by reminding his friend repeatedly about his responsibility to the Shinhwa Group and its future instead of trivial matters of the heart and romance. Yi Jeong wouldn't be surprised if his exceptionally naive friend would end up succumbing to the pressure coming from the witch. The potter of F4 was jarred out from his thoughts when his auburn-haired friend begin to respond.

"As much as I would like to say that there haven't been any more encounters between them, that wasn't what happened. They did meet once more, this time, the meeting took place at the airport public area on the day of our scheduled departure from Macau. While on the subject, Jun Pyo punched me once when I refused to step back and let him approach Geum Jan Di. But having witnessed the first-hand effect of how he had broken her heart in Venetian Macau, can you blame me for not wanting to give him another chance to hurt her?" Yoon Ji Hoo directed a rhetorical question to his Casanova friend as he reiterated the event that took place in the Macau International Airport with a look that's a cross between exasperation and annoyance.

"..." It took a while for the Korean Casanova to respond to his auburn-haired friend's rhetorical question, granted he knows Ji Hoo probably wouldn't fault him if he opted to maintain his silence on the subject. "Knowing how you feel for Geum Jan Di, I'm not surprised that you reacted to Jun Pyo's abrupt appearance at the airport in that manner. But I felt it prudent to ask, what did you say to push his buttons this time?"

"What makes you think that I'd said anything that triggered him to go into a raging mood?" Yoon Ji Hoo couldn't resist the urge to smirk as he directed his query to his Casanova friend.

"Jun Pyo jolly well knows that he's at fault, and therefore must have been working very hard to keep his temper at bay. I hit him and he didn't retaliate… but he punched you in the face after you hindered him from approaching Geum Jan Di. Something must have triggered off his raging mood… and if it's not something that you'd said to push his buttons, it must have been something you'd done that sets him off." Yi Jeong commented dryly at his auburn-haired friend, as he leans back into his seat to wait for his friend's answer.

"Well… he might or might not have arrived at the airport to witness the sight of me putting on a pair of new shoes on Geum Jan Di's feet. And supposedly he really broke up with Jan Di under duress and threats from his mother, seeing that might have triggered off a spark of jealousy in him. And then, I went on to act as a barricade between him and Jan Di…but the straw that broke the camel's back might have been my proclamation of not going to back off and allow him another chance to hurt Geum Jan Di, again. Based on his mentality and understanding of the feelings I'm harboring for Geum Jan Di, he might have taken it as a confirmation of my intention to woo Geum Jan Di now that they'd broken up." Yoon Ji Hoo surmised grimly as he ended his reiteration of the second encounter between Geum Jan Di and Jun Pyo in Macau.

"...right, and was that your intention?" Yi Jeong prompted and unlike the time in New Caledonia, he isn't going to pick a side - this time. Back then, it was Ji Hoo that betrayed Jun Pyo's trust by kissing Geum Jan Di when Jun Pyo had basically declared the girl his love interest publicly. This time though, Jun Pyo was the one to instigate a break-up with Geum Jan Di, and since he had been the one to officially cut ties with the girl… Yi Jeong couldn't find any fault with Ji Hoo if his auburn-haired friend did end up deciding to woo Geum Jan Di for his personal interest.

"Honestly, I have no clues. My logic and my heart seem to be at odds with each other at most times, regardless, it didn't matter about what I thought. Perhaps, I might really have a chance with Geum Jan Di if she's truly over Jun Pyo but as far as I know, she isn't over Jun Pyo yet. How could she? The memory's still too fresh for her to forget about Jun Pyo. Likewise, Jun Pyo's attitude towards me at the airport in Macau was yet another proof of how he wasn't truly over Geum Jan Di either. Under this kind of circumstances, it doesn't seem right for me to pursue my personal interest in Geum Jan Di… what I could do now, I supposed is to be her pillar of strength and support her through this difficult period." Yoon Ji Hoo eventually sighed as he confessed to his Casanova friend about his stance on the matter of Geum Jan Di and his friend, Jun Pyo's relationship.

"..."

Location: Yoon Family Care & Surgery, 27th November 2009, Friday, 7.15pm

While the Korean Casanova and Yoon Ji Hoo of F4 were meeting up in the bistro bar at the Shinhwa Country Club for dinner, Geum Jan Di who was sent out with an errand by the master of the porridge shop finally arrive at the doorstep of the building based on the address listed on the piece of paper provided to her by the master of the porridge shop.

At first glance of the listed address provided to her on the slip of paper by the master of the porridge shop, Geum Jan Di had thought that was the master's eloquent way of sending her home for the day. After all, the address listed for the delivery just happens to be within the vicinity of her current residential address. Why else would the master tell her that she have to remain until the customer finished ingesting the food before she could leave for the day?

[Well… with how many bowls you'd broken at work today, it's only natural for the master to send you home for the day. So, get a grip! Geum Jan Di, put your weed spirit to use! Stop dwelling so much and focus on one thing at a time!] - the Wonder Woman of Korea thought inwardly to herself as she alights at the train station that serves her residential neighborhood.

Two train lines are serving the Seongbuk district, line 4 and line 6, but the closest train station to the Samseon-dong of the Seongbuk district is the Bomun station on line 6 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. From there, Jan Di could either get to her destination on foot or hop onto a short-distance bus ride. Looking at the time, Jan Di decided to walk her way to the delivery address… with all the thoughts clogging up her mind at present, she thought a walk might do her some good in getting her focus back on track.

Geum Jan Di's first reaction upon arriving at the doorstep of the listed address was to look for a doorbell, but failing to find the doorbell - she finally lifted up her eyes to observe the building in detail. Upon noticing the wording of 'clinic operating hours' on a plaque installed on the wall next to the doorway of the building, Geum Jan Di finally realized that this wasn't a residential estate but a commercial building. No wonder, there hasn't been any doorbell within sight.

[Surely, this isn't the clinic that Kang San patronized for his appendicitis surgery, right?] Geum Jan Di thought with a slightly bemused expression on her face, inwardly she berated herself for not having scouted out her current neighborhood outside of the immediate vicinity upon moving over. If she did, she probably would be able to tell for certain if this was the clinic her parents brought her younger brother over to seek medical attention on Wednesday night.

With a shake of her head, Geum Jan Di snapped her focus back onto the delivery task at hand and stepped foot into the clinic. Upon stepping foot into the building that housed the clinic, Geum Jan Di had to rectify her initial thought of the building is a commercial building because it has the layout of a typical residential house. The only difference between this house and her childhood friend's family home lies in the fact that the entire ground floor has been converted to be used as a clinic space.

Following the signage on display, Geum Jan Di managed to find her way into the main clinic reception area. The clinic is separated from the rest of the building with a sliding doorway, and upon entering the clinic reception area - Geum Jan Di was met by the sight of a waiting area full of patients waiting in queue for their turn to see the doctor and a nurse busying with patients registration as well as tending to different patients' needs.

When Yoon Seok Young, the owner of the clinic glances out from his consultation room to find the figure of Geum Jan Di hovering in the doorway separating the clinic area and the rest of the building - he wasted no time in barking out an order. "Ya! Stop standing around and stare, make yourself useful!"

Geum Jan Di blinked once then twice, before pointing hesitantly to herself as she asks the old man who's a regular customer of the porridge shop in bewilderment. "Erm… you aren't talking to me, are you?"

"Is there anyone else aside from you that isn't busy with work in here?!" Yoon Seok Young barked out impatiently at Geum Jan Di in response.

"... but… I'm not trained to handle medical matters, how can I be of assistance?" Geum Jan Di couldn't help but inquires in response.

"Whoever said you need to have the medical knowledge to be able to help?! Can't you see that there are so many people waiting in line for their turn to see the doctor? Make yourself useful by serving them drinks and snacks, keep the children in the clinic entertained if they aren't the ones waiting to seek medical attention." Yoon Seok Young countered back in his loud ordering tone of voice, as he addressed the dumbfounded-looking girl standing in the doorway of his clinic like an idiot before turning his focus back to the patient he was attending.

The nurse on duty who had the honor of overhearing the conversation between the doctor and Geum Jan Di had to stifle her snort of amusement, before pointing the dumbfounded-looking girl towards the direction of the water dispenser in the clinic.

"Go on, the water dispenser is just over there. Get the waiting patients some water, some of them have been coughing very badly since coming in. I haven't had time to speak with them on their symptoms yet, too busy with the registration procedures for the new patients." The nurse told Jan Di, after noticing the girl looking around the clinic waiting area with a lost expression on her face.

"Oh… okay." Heeding the advice of the nurse on duty, Geum Jan Di decides to make herself useful by running ad-hoc errands. She bustles around the place serving out cups of water to the patients waiting for their turn to see the doctor, so the nurse could attend to other things such as taking the blood pressure of the patients seeking medical attention. Usually, unless the patient has some chronic conditions - the blood pressure would be taken only once by the nurse on duty. Only for patients with chronic illness, Yoon Seok Young would take the blood pressure again to ascertain the patient's condition for himself when he attends to them in the consultation room.

Since Geum Jan Di wasn't trained in the medical aspects, she alternate between serving water to the visiting patients waiting in line to seek medical attention and to keep the young children occupied. One of the children accompanying the parent to the clinic is an 18 months old child, that Geum Jan Di ended up carrying the child in the baby carrier on her front as she tried to get the kid to stop crying when his mother had to leave him with Jan Di for a moment so she could make a quick trip to the washroom.

Geum Jan Di had to say, the minutes she spend babysitting the kid is probably the most exhausting errand she had been tasked to run at the clinic since her arrival. However, the kid also helps in the sense that for a moment, she had literally forgotten all her personal woes as she only had one purpose in mind - which is to stop the kid from crying his throat hoarse.

Twice when Yoon Seok Young chanced his glance over to where Geum Jan Di was, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the girl swinging the child around and making funny faces at the kid to stop him from crying. Meanwhile, Geum Jan Di was at her wit's end with the kid. No matter what she do, the kid just refused to stop crying. So, she finds it incredibly relieving when the mother finally returns from the washroom to take over the task of caring for the fussy child again.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused." The mother said to Jan Di as she reaches out to retrieve her fussy son from the hands of Geum Jan Di.

"It's fine, you're welcome." Geum Jan Di managed to keep a polite smile on as she responded to the mother's words of gratitude.

Moving on, Geum Jan Di found herself roping in by an elderly grandma to be her listener as the elderly grandma took a walk down the memory lane and start sharing child-rearing tales of her own in her younger days. Although what Jan Di was doing in the clinic might seem insignificant, it does provide some form of help to the staff on duty, in particular, the nurse. As it would allow the nurse to move on from one patient to another more efficiently. Twice, Jan Di was requested to help take down the height and weight of two new patients as the nurse is busy pulling out medication from the medicine storage area behind the reception counter for the patient waiting for bill payment and to collect the relevant medication prescribed by the doctor after their consultation.

It took hours before the crowd patronizing the clinic starts to die down, and when Jan Di noticed that the clinic is no longer that busy. She left it to the nurse to handle the remaining patients waiting in line for their turn to see the doctor and took a seat on the bench in the waiting area to rest for a while. All the bustling around in the clinic has exhausted Jan Di, much to her disbelief. It's either a child needing to use the facility or accidentally peed in the pants - resulting in the need for Jan Di to clean up the accident on the floor in the clinic or someone who's down with the flu virus vomited before they could leave for the washroom in time.

Upon the remembrance of the pungent odor from the vomit on the floor which Jan Di had been tasked to clean up, the Wonder Woman of Korea couldn't help but scrunched up her nose in distaste. Yet, being bossed around the clinic by the odd grandfather who's a regular at the porridge shop where she works part-time officially really does make the day goes by a lot faster. More importantly, it took Jan Di's mind away from her lack of purpose in life.

When the nurse clocked off at 9pm sharp, Yoon Seok Young finally had time to come out and see what exactly is the girl doing here at his clinic. When he came to a stop in front of Geum Jan Di to find the girl dozing off with her head leaning on the wall, Yoon Seok Young allows a ghost of a smile to form on his lips momentarily before he snapped loudly at the girl for falling asleep.

Geum Jan Di's eyes flew open at the familiar sound of the porridge shop's odd but regular patron loud scolding tone, as she sat up straight on reflex and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep here… I was just waiting for the last patient to leave for the day so I could proceed to deliver on the promise I made to the master."

"... and what exactly did your master make you promised him to do?" Yoon Seok Young had on an unimpressed look on his face as he prompted, turning on his heels to head back into the consultation room.

Although, the clinic closes at 9pm daily Yoon Seok Young had a tendency to stay behind for a little while to tidy up the patients' records and to be on stand-by just in case of some last-minute emergency that crops up with the residents staying in the nearby vicinity. Of course, part of the reason why he remains behind after operating hours of the clinic is that he resides on the upper floor of the clinic. This clinic was initially a single-family home under his late wife's name, he had moved here after returning from his voluntary medical practices in Cambodia some years ago because he's too guilty and ashamed to see his grandson in person. Not one to simply idle around, and his job as the director of the Su Am Group doesn't exactly require him to be working on-site at all… Yoon Seok Young decided to convert the ground floor of the building into a clinic and the second floor of the building into a studio apartment for his own residential use.

The clinic operated on a 12 hours basis, from 9am to 9pm from Monday to Friday. On the weekends, the operating hours are shortened. It operates from 9am to 2pm on Saturday and 9am to 12pm on Sunday, respectively. The reason why he listed his clinic's operating hours as such is mostly because he needs time to attend to his other businesses as well as some free time to unwind. He mostly spends his Saturday meeting up with the heads of the various departments of the Su Am Group via Zoom, after the operating hours of the clinic, and then to head out for some personal time on Sundays afternoon. Such as fishing in solitude on his personal yacht after taking it out to the sea.

Yoon Seok Young was drawn out from his thoughts when the girl - Geum Jan Di placed a food thermos jar down on his work desk and said. "I was sent here by the master to deliver this to you, and I wasn't allowed to leave until you finish consuming everything in the food jar."

"..." Yoon Seok Young was at a loss of words, inwardly he was thinking that he didn't recall placing any food orders with the porridge shop today. So, why did that guy send the girl out on a delivery to him?! Still, Yoon Seok Young was wise enough to not actually comment his doubts aloud and instead decides to indulge the girl by finishing up the porridge delivered to him this evening.

As Yoon Seok Young took his first bite of the porridge delivered to him, he heard the girl asking hesitantly about his profession as a doctor. Raising an eyebrow questioningly at the girl, Yoon Seok Young asks Geum Jan Di back in return. "By asking me such a question, does that means that I seemed like a quack in your eyes?"

"...maybe just a little?" Geum Jan Di responded sheepishly under the questioning gaze of the old man.

Yoon Seok Young was about to say something in response to Geum Jan Di's sheepish remark when they both heard the sound of the distressing call for help coming from the waiting area of the clinic. Both Yoon Seok Young and Geum Jan Di rush out of the consultation room to find a young girl and a middle-aged woman in the waiting area of the clinic. The young girl seems alright, but the middle-aged woman was holding onto her stomach and calling out for the doctor in distress claiming that her stomach hurts real bad.

Yoon Seok Young took one look at the situation and promptly leap into action, he requested for Geum Jan Di to help him bring the woman into the treatment room so he could better assess the woman's condition. The mother has been seeing him regularly for her high blood pressure and more recently for her second pregnancy. It didn't take him too long to ascertain the fact that the woman is in active labor, and with his nurse already left the clinic for the day. It's only natural for him to rope the inexperienced Geum Jan Di as his assistant during the delivery procedure.

It's good that the woman's daughter is a very well-behaved girl, although that likely had to do with the woman having told her daughter beforehand that her sibling would be born soon as they made their way over to the clinic with difficulty. Either way, Yoon Seok Young was glad that he needn't spend additional time calming down the woman's young daughter when the woman's already in active labor.

"Come, get yourself changed into this and joined me in the treatment room." Yoon Seok Young dumped a set of the surgical garb into the hands of Geum Jan Di and ordered.

"Huh?" Geum Jan Di gaped stupidly at the surgical garb in her hands as she stared at the old man in confusion. "But I know nothing about delivering a baby…"

"I know, but I need you in there to hold the hands of the woman in labor while I focused my full attention on delivering the baby. Anyway, time is ticking. So, stop dallying and get yourself changed." Yoon Seok Young barked out at Geum Jan Di in an ordering tone of voice as he headed into the treatment room where the woman in active labor now lays on the gurney with her underwear stripped off in preparation for childbirth.

"..."

Jan Di felt relatively calmer when she entered the treatment room fully changed into the surgical garb now that she knows for certain what her role during the entire delivery procedure was. During the woman's laboring process, Jan Di flicked her gaze between encouraging the woman in labor to push hard and towards the position where the doctor was working on delivering the baby. And when the first sound of cries was heard coming from the newborn once the delivery was completed, Jan Di felt a sense of fulfillment in her that she has never encountered before.

In hindsight, perhaps it was the witnessing of the new birth that gives Jan Di an idea of what she could work towards in her now bleak future. Even though, she's uncertain of how attainable the idea actually was - but she thought it's worth a shot. Still, it took her an entire night of thinking over the idea before deciding that she wants to try and get into medical school.

Before that though, she probably needs to get a better idea of the entry requirements for the medical school in general. That was her last thought before Jan Di allowed the lull of sleep to claim her consciousness that very night upon her return from the clinic to her own family home. Since that was Geum Jan Di's last conscious thought before allowing sleep to claim her fully, the thought stick with her for the majority of the morning on Saturday, 28th of November 2009.

Location: Geum family home, Seongbuk district, Samseon-dong. 28th November 2009, Saturday, 8am

"Noona, thanks for the Chopper mascot hat." Geum Kang San greeted his elder sister cheerfully when Geum Jan Di appears in the dining area of their new home. Kang San truly enjoyed the fact that the apartment came to them fully furnished, because they now had a proper dining space as compared to their last place of residence. Even if the dining table wasn't as big as their old dining table which also doubles up as the coffee table, at least they needn't clear the items off the table before mealtime now because they have a coffee table and a dining table at the same time.

"Ah… Kang San, how are you feeling today? I'm glad you liked the chopper hat, but you ought to direct your word of thanks to Ji Hoo-sunbae. It's him who bought the hat, in the first place. If it's up to me, I probably wouldn't have bought it - things that are sold in Venetian Macau aren't cheap." Geum Jan Di answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, and her words finally draws in the curiosity from both her parents as well as her younger brother.

"What? Yoon Ji Hoo bought the hat for me? What about Jun Pyo-Hyung? He didn't get me anything?" Geum Kang San blurted out in surprise, he had thought that his sister traveled to Macau for the sake of meeting Gu Jun Pyo but why is she spending time with Yoon Ji Hoo at one of the largest resorts in Macau?

"...Gu Jun Pyo's too busy with work to bring me around for shopping and sightseeing, and it just so happens that the F3 was there to visit him as well. So, he let his friends bring me shopping and sightseeing on his behalf. All of them are very familiar with Macau, having visited the city on multiple occasions in the past." Still uncertain of how she ought to let it slip to her family that Gu Jun Pyo had broken up with her, Geum Jan Di decided that a little white lie wouldn't hurt for now.

"I see…" Geum Kang San nodded taking Jan Di's words at face value, as he's too young to see underneath the cheerful facade of his elder sister. His parents, on the other hand, though is another matter entirely.

So, Geum Jan Di found herself being cornered twice by her parents separately to speak on the subject. First, her mother cornered her in the kitchen of the apartment when she offered to help with the dishwashing after breakfast. In response to her mother's inquiry, Jan Di managed to fend it off by claiming that her depressive mood stems from the inability to see Gu Jun Pyo in person and she went to the extent of pulling out the name of Kang Hee Soo to fend off further nosy questions from her mother.

"..." Na Gong-Joo let out a huff of annoyance, going as far as to label that woman as a pain in the butt. And then, looking at Jan Di sympathetically - she said. "Poor daughter of mine, that woman is truly a witch to keep standing in the path of your happiness with young master Jun Pyo. But no worries, I'm sure with time - young master Jun Pyo would be able to shake off her vice-like control over his personal life."

"..." Forcing a smile onto her face, Geum Jan Di nodded mutely in response to her mother's words. This was the only way she could afford to respond without breaking down in tears, and luckily her mother didn't press on for more details about the events that took place during her trip to Macau. With her father, Jan Di fed a similar story at first, but when Geum Ii-Bong eyed her with a look that says he's not buying into the story. Jan Di finally cracked and confessed to her father that Jun Pyo had broken up with her in Macau.

Geum Ii-Bong was silent for a moment, before sighing aloud as he pulled his daughter into his arms in a comforting gesture. "Jan Di, my dear girl… it's okay. It's fine, heartbreak is part of growing up."

"Thanks, Appa, but please don't let Eomma know…she will never let me hear the end of it, otherwise." Geum Jan Di sighed in her father's embrace as she commented in response.

"I know, I'm not going to tell her anything." Geum Ii-Bong told his daughter reassuringly, what he didn't say is that things like this are bound to be discovered in time. But he knows his daughter is vexed enough already, and the last thing Jan Di needs was for his wife to get onto her case about the break-up in Macau.

The father and daughter parted ways at the Bomun train station, with Geum Ii-Bong heading towards the convenience store near the train station for work and Geum Jan Di towards the station to make her way to work at the porridge shop in the Mapo district.

When Jan Di arrived to report for work, Chu Ga Eul isn't in for work yet which isn't really surprising since Ga Eul had her Japanese language class to attend on Saturday morning in school. So, the earliest Ga Eul could come in for work would be at 10am. And because Ga Eul has piano class at the Su Am Arts Center at 4.30pm, she would usually clock off from work by 3pm so she would have enough time to head home, get changed, and head off for the piano class.

Jan Di, on the other hand, is scheduled for a full day shift work from 9am to 9pm at the porridge shop on Saturday and Sunday. The porridge shop only closed once a month and is usually closed on the last Tuesday of the month, which is exactly the reason why Chu Ga Eul was able to meet up with the Korean Casanova for dinner on the day he return to Seoul from Macau, the week before despite Geum Jan Di not being present for work at the porridge shop.

Either way, coming back - Geum Jan Di entered the porridge shop with the food thermos jar she had been tasked to deliver to the clinic yesterday by the master and set it down onto the cashier counter where Bom Choon-Sik was preparing the cashier float for the day.

"Good morning, master." Geum Jan Di greeted, placed the food jar on the cashier counter before heading towards the back where the staff pantry/changing room is located to stash her personal belongings away.

Recalling the thought that ran through her mind the night before heading to bed, Geum Jan Di was in no hurry to leave the pantry. Instead, after setting down her sling bag into the locker unit with her name assigned… the girl took a seat at one of the two folding chairs in the room to start tapping into the porridge shop WIFI network to access the internet.

Jan Di conducted two searches on the internet during that brief 15 minutes she had utilized as her preparation time in the staff pantry. The first search she conducted was to find a list of schools - tertiary institutions that offer degrees in the medical field. Next, she went on to look into the entry requirement for a general degree in medicine from the various institutions that she had shortlisted for consideration. One of the main considering factors for Jan Di was the distance from her residential place, which might be subjected to change in time… but either way, she's not looking into options outside of Seoul because she didn't want to travel too far from home. Of course, the option of studying medicine overseas was outside of her consideration list, to begin with - mainly due to her lack of financial ability to do so.

She continues her search on the internet until she heard the soft click of the door to the pantry turning behind her, and then Jan Di frantically stuff her phone into the zipper compartment of her sling bag before stashing it into the locker while she took the apron belonging to her to drape it onto her person.

"...Good morning, Jan Di. You're in early today. How are you faring this morning?" Chu Ga Eul started eyeing her friend with unbidden concern.

"I'm doing better, thank you for asking, Ga Eul." Geum Jan Di managed a small smile in response to her friend's concern inquiry.

Chu Ga Eul took a moment to assess her friend's expression in detail before nodding slowly in acceptance of her friend's words at face value. Okay or not, everything will be revealed in time - Ga Eul thought, as she took the apron from the inside of her own locker and put it on her person. Together, the two girls linked arms and stepped out to clock in for work together.

Location: Shinhwa Hotel in Macau, Lee Dong-Min's Suite Room. 28th November 2009, Saturday morning, 9am [Macau Time], 8pm on the 27th of November 2009, Friday [New York Time]

While Geum Jan Di and Chu Ga Eul were getting ready for work in the staff pantry of the porridge shop owned by Bom Choon-Sik, Lee Dong-Min; the heir to the Malloy Hotel Group in the states and son-in-law of the Shinhwa Group was holding a voice call with his wife, the heiress of the Shinhwa Group over the phone in his hotel suite room in Macau.

Of course, Lee Dong-Min is lodging with the Shinhwa Hotel for free while in Macau. It would be unthinkable for him to be lodging elsewhere, even if Gu Jun Pyo would be completely fine with the idea of him choosing to lodge elsewhere, Kang Hee-Soo wouldn't. And so, to save the hassle of having to argue with his mother-in-law, Lee Dong-Min accepted the woman's offer to host him at the Shinhwa Hotel in Macau for free.

"Dear, how are you faring today?" Lee Dong-Min inquires as soon as Gu Jun Hee picks up on the other end of the line.

"Quite well, all things considered. if it weren't for the presence of those dreadful sicknesses in the morning, I'll probably even forget about my delicate condition if I were, to be honest." Gu Jun Hee responded drily to her husband through the phone, before changing the subject altogether. "Anyway, I don't suppose you called me at this time to simply inquire after my well-being."

"Right… your brother's a mess, right now." Lee Dong-Min sighed aloud at his wife's words and wasted no time in reporting his observations to his wife who's very concerned about the mental well-being of her little brother - the new owner for the Shinhwa Group, Gu Jun Pyo.

"Jun Pyo's a mess? Explain." Gu Jun Hee wasted no time in demanding an explanation from her husband.

"Well… first of all, he's under a great amount of stress and pressure coming from the people around him. This is a given, so I shan't go into details. Secondly, although he didn't tell me anything… I'd gathered from the brief words of exchange between your mother and Jeong Sang-Rok, your brother's current head secretary that the F3 and Geum Jan Di were recently in town. I supposed, Geum Jan Di's the girl your brother likes but that your mother disapproves? Anyway, I found him in a near-drunken state last night in the lounge bar. While escorting him back to his room, we chanced upon your mother… who found his behavior unbecoming. Naturally, I covered for him and claims that we were having a drinking competition but it seems Jun Pyo isn't very good at drinking. For that, I got a tongue-lashing from your mother, which didn't hurt a single bit if I'm to be honest. Either way, after sending him back to his room in the hotel, I was told by his head secretary that he had broken up with the girl he likes very recently." Lee Dong-Min said, relating the events of the past twenty-four hours to his wife over the phone.

"...What?" Gu Jun Hee sounded rather incredulous over her end of the line, she finds it hard to comprehend the fact that her brother had actually broken up with Geum Jan Di. Having seen how he had reacted previously during the internal competition between the F4 over the subject of whether or not Yoon Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di ought to be expelled from Shinhwa Academy… she had gathered enough to determine the fact that her brother was very much invested in Geum Jan Di. So, the notion of Jun Pyo actually breaking up with the girl was beyond her comprehension level.

"Now, dear… don't get so agitated. I did some fishing around afterward, and your brother's secretary revealed to me that Jun Pyo broke up with the girl he likes under duress. Your mother threatens to make it impossible for the girl and her family to survive in Seoul unless your brother stops seeing the girl permanently. And Geum Jan Di's decision to show up in Macau then kind of forced your brother's hand, originally he could still drag the matter on by simply not making any move to contact the girl. But the girl's decision to come to Macau makes it impossible for your brother to avoid cutting ties with her officially to please your mother." Lee Dong-Min said, hurrying to placate his wife so the matter wouldn't bring undue stress that would then threaten the well-being of his wife who's in a precariously delicate condition at present.

"... Dong-Min, I'm not that fragile. Regardless, did you successfully convey my message to Jun Pyo outside of my mother's earshot?" Gu Jun Hee deadpans at her husband through the phone, before changing the subject of conversation. What happened had happened, it's not as though anyone could have foreseen the possibility of Geum Jan Di deciding to head over to Macau and see Jun Pyo in person before it actually happens.

Sighing inwardly, Gu Jun Hee decides to start putting her plan into action. But for her to leave New York, her husband needs to be back to hold down the fort in her absence. And so, Jun Hee started. "Are you done with your errands in Macau yet? Aside from conveying my message across to Jun Pyo, have you gotten the meeting you desire with the representative from the Las Vegas group yet?"

"Yes, I've already met up with the representative of the Las Vegas Group yesterday afternoon for lunch." Lee Dong-Min responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice to his wife.

"Good. If there's nothing else to discuss over there, you can get your arse back to the states and hold down the fort because I need to make an impromptu trip back to Seoul, and I can't do that if you're not back in the country." Gu Jun Hee stated in a flat tone of voice, ever since the embezzling case with the accounts manager employed in the service of the Shinhwa Group in New York… which later becomes part of the contributing factor to her father's collapse in China, the heiress is a little apprehensive about leaving the business unsupervised. So even though she knows that her husband wouldn't be able to keep an eye on the Shinhwa Group business 24/7 since he has his own business to run, it would still set her mind at ease knowing that there's someone who's here to oversee matters when the need arises.

"... you're off to clean up your brother's mess, again. Aren't you?" Lee Dong-Min sighed as he inquires from his end of the line, sounding rather resigned. No matter how hard he works at winning the affections of his wife, it seems he still isn't on the same level when compared to his brother-in-law. Because his wife would always place his brother-in-law at a position that's higher than him in her heart.

"...yes. Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself and our little one. It'll be a quick trip, and I'll check in on my father's condition while I'm there." Gu Jun Hee responded promising her husband as she gave him her words that she'll not do anything too reckless that will put her and the unborn child of theirs in any potential danger.

"Well… since Jun Pyo isn't in Seoul at present, I supposed I could live a tad easier knowing that there wouldn't be any physical fights between the two of you, in your current delicate condition." Lee Dong-Min eventually responded, caving in to his wife's request for a quick trip back to Seoul while he works on getting a member on his brother-in-law's secretaries team to secure him an air ticket bound for New York, without delay.

"Thank you." Gu Jun Hee told her husband with gratitude over the phone, making a note mentally to give him a pampering treat once she's back from her trip to Seoul.

Location: Zhuhai, China. Intercontinental Hotel, 28th November 2009, Saturday, 10.30am

A private message between Ha Jae-Kyung and Song Woo Bin, 28th November 2009.

Jae-Kyung: Morning~ so, how is it? Are you able to fit me into your schedule today? ^_^

Woo Bin: Well… you're in luck, I have until 4pm today free from meeting commitments. So, I guess I could fit you into my schedule. Have you thought about where you want to go? Unfortunately, I can't escort you to the bar street… so, you're going to have to explore it under the company of your own bodyguard if you truly wish to explore that area.

Jae-Kyung: Aw… that's too bad. I was looking forward to having a drinking competition with you again. *Pouting Emoji* Oh well, but I supposed business ought to come first. In that case, let's meet up for brunch at the Commune first, and then I can share with you my sightseeing plans for today.

Woo Bin: Sure. See you there in 5 minutes?

Jae-Kyung: Absolutely! ^_^

The Commune is a restaurant that provides the hotel guest with buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner for both adults and children, the whole day around. It started operating as early as 6.30am. And the hotel provides most of its guests with complimentary breakfast dining vouchers, and so, neither the heiress of the JK Group nor the heir to the Ii-Shin Group is required to pay for their brunch in the restaurant when they met up at the entrance at 10.35am in the morning, on the 28th of November 2009.

"Good morning." The heiress of the JK Group greeted the Don Juan of F4 cheerfully when she sighted the guy coming out from the lift elevator of the hotel building.

"...Good morning, wait… you didn't text me in front of the restaurant, did you?" Song Woo Bin felt the corners of his lips twitching as the realization of why the girl had no issues with a five-minute waiting time. That's probably because the girl was already stationed outside the restaurant, to begin with, come to think of it… it has been the girl's suggestion for them to meet up for brunch at the Commune, hasn't it?

"Yep, you know me too well." Jae-Kyung beams at Woo Bin in response, before linking arms with him as they entered the restaurant together.

"..." Song Woo Bin raised an eyebrow questioningly at their linked arms as they entered the restaurant together, but didn't make it a point to comment on the girl's sudden act of chumminess with him. If anything, he appears to be rather indulgent with the girl's antics even.

The heiress of the JK Group, on the other hand, beams in satisfaction when the Don Juan of F4 didn't find her decision to link arms with him as they ventured into the restaurant too friendly for his liking. Then again, considering his reputation as the Don Juan of F4… perhaps, he's used to the ladies acting this chummy with him regularly.

And when they were shown to a table tucked away in a cozy corner of the restaurant, Song Woo Bin, like a perfect gentleman proceeds to pull out the chair for the heiress of the JK Group before settling down in the seat across from the girl at the table. Having already tried out the buffet menu of the restaurant the day before, at different timings… and separately. Neither the heiress of the JK Group nor the heir to the Ii-Shin Group is keen to repeat their breakfast experience. And so, they ended up opting for the a-la-carte breakfast set menu served at the restaurant.

"I would like to have the American breakfast platter." Both of them said at the same time to the waiter serving them at their table, causing them to pause and stare at one another with wide eyes before a snort escaped them both, at the same time.

"Ladies first." Song Woo Bin gestured for the heiress of the JK Group to place her orders with the waiter first.

"Right… okay, as mentioned earlier. I wanted the American breakfast platter but with the scrambled eggs and the grilled pork sausage option. As for the beverage… I would like to have the cold-pressed juice to go along with my breakfast platter." Jae-Kyung told the waiter before flicking her eyes over to hear what the Don Juan of F4 is going to order for his own breakfast platter.

The American platter is served with two eggs prepared according to the consumers' preference, along with cheese, bell peppers and ham, grilled bacon, baked tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, hash brown, and grilled pork sausage or chicken sausage.

"As for me, I wanted poached omelet and grilled pork sausage option for my American breakfast platter. Beverage-wise, I would like to have a cup of latte to go along with my breakfast." Song Woo Bin told the waiter as he handed his copy of the menu over to the staff serving them at their table, this morning.

"Sure, so two American breakfast platter with the grilled pork sausage option, and one with scrambled eggs while the other is the poached omelet option. One cold-pressed juice and one cup of hot latte, did I get everything right?" The waiter serving them makes sure to repeat their order once before leaving to send their orders to the kitchen for preparation.

While waiting for their breakfast to be served, Song Woo Bin decides to continue the conversation from their earlier chat by inquiring into the areas where the heiress of the JK Group intends to go sightseeing this morning with him as her personal escort. "So, have you given any thoughts about where you wish to go sightseeing for the earlier part of today which I had, as you requested managed to fit you into my schedule."

"Hmm… let's see, first of all… I wanted to visit the New Yuanming Palace for starters. After that, I was thinking of visiting the Zhuhai International circuit, not for the race tracks but for the go-karts. Of course, if there's still time - I wouldn't mind taking a stroll down the lovers' road as well. I've heard that it offers a magnificent view of the Macau skyline across the border but it's not exactly on the top of my to-do list for today." The heiress of the JK Group commented as she shared her outline plan for the itinerary with the Don Juan of F4.

"Visiting the New Yuanming Palace sounds interesting enough… and I've been interested in swinging by the circuit myself for some time as well. So, I guess I'm in on your plan. And while I'm not so sure about whether or not, we would have time for a stroll down that infamous lovers' road… there's a Japanese restaurant in the area that I would recommend grabbing a late lunch." Song Woo Bin nodded in acceptance of the suggested itinerary plan coming from the heiress of the JK Group, as he provide his own input on the subject.

"Excellent, then let us enjoy our brunch real quick and get a move on." The heiress of the JK Group beams brightly in response as a buzz of excitement fills her, indicating that she's very much looking forward to kick-starting her sightseeing trip for today.

Location: Shinhwa Academy, Students' Cafeteria - High School Division, 30th November 2009, Monday, 7am.

In the meantime, Geum Jan Di spend the bulk of her weekends tapping into the WIFI network at the porridge shop to source the relevant information regarding the entry requirement for the top medical schools in Korea, or Seoul, since she isn't keen on venturing outside of Seoul for her tertiary education.

"Good morning, Jan Di. I didn't keep you waiting for too long, did I?" Chu Ga Eul started when she finally arrived at the students' cafeteria where she had requested to meet up with her childhood friend, this morning before classes begins for the day.

Due to them being in different classes now, the only time they can meet up is only during lunch hour and the hour before classes officially commence for them. Although, Ga Eul's reason for wishing to meet up with Jan Di this morning isn't anything too pressing - she simply thought that it might do her friend some good in getting a copy of the notes for the lessons covered in the last week which her friend had missed out upon due to her leave of absence from school.

"Erm… no, I've just got here about five minutes ago. So, what is it that you wished to see me about?" Geum Jan Di blinked as she snapped her head out from her deep thoughts to focus on her childhood friend.

"Right… previously you'd mentioned in passing about how it would be good to have a copy of the class notes for the lessons you'd missed while on your leave of absence from school, remember?" Chu Ga Eul started as she fished out a copy of the so-called class notes for her childhood friend - Geum Jan Di.

"... Ga Eul, are these your notes for the lessons covered last week?" Geum Jan Di was very well accustomed to the handwriting of her friend to be able to tell the source of these notes.

"Yes, these are my own class notes. I know, we aren't in the same class anymore. So, I had taken extra effort in finding out for certain which topic your class actually covers over the last week before preparing these notes for you. So, rest assured that everything in the notes is relevant to the learning pace of class 3D." Chu Ga Eul answered as she reassured her friend that what she provided her with, is definitely in line with the contents covered by the teacher-in-charge of teaching class 3D.

"...thank you. But how did you get your hands on the above-mentioned information? You didn't approach the teacher outright and ask, did you?" Jan Di directed a smile of gratitude to her friend as she accepted the offered notes, but then thought it prudent to ask when the question came to the forefront of her mind after she took the notes from the outstretched hand of her childhood friend.

"Of course not, it's supposed to be your own responsibility to catch up with the rest of the class. But seeing as you don't actually have friends in your own class, I seriously doubt you would approach the annoying duo for information since there's no guarantee that they won't trick you again. I thought it best to attain the information for you and help you personally with the compiling of the class notes. Anyway, in response to your inquiry about how I got my hands on the information of your class progress… I got Hyo-Rin to check with Ginger about how far into the syllabus has been covered for class 3D. Once Hyo-Rin got back to me on the info, I started putting together the copy of the notes that I had just given to you earlier. My original notes were written in shorthand for efficiency, but to make sure that you wouldn't have issues comprehending the contents of my notes - I had reorganized them and rewritten them into a neat format for your understanding." Ga Eul said, and to prove her words - she pulled out a copy of her own notes and showed it to Jan Di as supporting evidence to her statement.

Sure enough, the original copy of Ga Eul's class notes was beyond the comprehension level of Geum Jan Di. Not only was there mind-map involved in the notes taking, but the shorthand was also basically alien language to Geum Jan Di. Not to forget, there are even some Japanese characters mixed into the notes at times. How that even comes to occur(?), Jan Di truly had no clues and she had no intention of asking for clarification from her childhood friend either.

"Anyway, that's all I wanted to do for this morning. I thought you might appreciate having some time to look through the notes before attending your first class today. It might give you a better idea about what the teacher was trying to convey in today's lesson if you at least get a gist of the topic outline via the notes I'd just provided for your reference." Chu Ga Eul eventually said, and with that, she stood from the seat across from Geum Jan Di intending to leave the students cafeteria for elsewhere.

"...Ga Eul, thank you for taking the effort to compile the notes for me. I'm sure they would come in handy for my classes later." Geum Jan Di managed to get her words of gratitude across before her childhood friend leave the students cafeteria completely.

"You're welcome. I need to make a detour at the school's library to drop off a book, so… I'll meet you for lunch later today?" Chu Ga Eul suggested glancing in her friend's direction with a questioning look.

"Sure, I'll see you at lunch later." Geum Jan Di nodded in response, as she remains seated until she couldn't see the back of her childhood friend any longer. And then, Geum Jan Di tucked the copy of notes her childhood friend had given her into her backpack as she stood to approach the drinks vendor.

While Geum Jan Di wasn't one to splurge on unnecessary items, she had taken to purchase two bottles of fresh milk from the vendor in the students' cafeteria this morning because she's in a relatively good mood today. And the main contributing factor behind her good mood this morning had to do with the fact that she had found her new purpose in life. It had taken her two nights of consideration before solidifying her resolve - she's going to strive and put in more effort into her academic studies so she could get into a medical school to pursue a degree in the medical field. It will be a hard journey ahead though since her academic results haven't always been stellar but since she had made up her mind about becoming a doctor, she's going to work extra hard to ensure that she would be able to attain her ultimate goal of graduating with a medical degree no matter how long it might take her.

Granted, Jan Di hasn't actually revealed her newfound goal to her friends and family… mostly, because she wanted to run the idea by her former prince charming first. More importantly, that guy's a legit medical school student at present, which means that his opinions and advice on this particular subject would mean a lot to Jan Di. For instance, a chat with her former prince charming would likely provide her with some insights on which areas she would need to start working on to pull up her grades in general.

And because Jan Di had multiple favors to ask from the auburn-haired member of F4, she had decided to get two bottles of fresh milk from the drinks vendor in the students' cafeteria. One bottle for her own consumption, and the other bottle for Yoon Ji Hoo of F4. Tucking the two bottles of milk into the pockets of her uniform coat, one on each side - Geum Jan Di turns to leave the cafeteria for the direction of the building that housed the school's ice-skating and hockey rinks. The emergency escape stairway in that building was one of the common hang-out places for both of them, and though they didn't exactly specify a designated meet-up point earlier when the guy dropped her off in front of the high school division academic building… Jan Di thought it was very likely for the guy to seek her out before classes begins for the day. After all, he did mention updating her on the matter she had inquired over the phone yesterday, after her meeting with Ga Eul in the cafeteria earlier when he dropped her off.

When Geum Jan Di arrives at the emergency escape stairway, Yoon Ji Hoo was nowhere in sight. Shrugging nonchalantly, Geum Jan Di uncapped the bottle of milk she retrieved from her left pocket of the coat and took a sip from it as she waited for her former prince charming to arrive.

For Yoon Ji Hoo, the guy was on his way over to the meet-up point that he believe he would be able to find Geum Jan Di, after having parked his white lotus in the parking facility closer to the medical school of the Shinhwa University. Although there is quite a bit of distance to cover on foot between the university department and the high school department - it helps that the building that housed the school's ice-skating and hockey rinks sits in the heart of the academy grounds, since it's a shared facility building across all departments of the school. And so, it means that the distance from the high school academic building and the university department to the building is about the same.

Upon pushing open the doorway that leads to the emergency stairway via the third floor of the building, Yoon Ji Hoo was glad to find that Geum Jan Di was exactly where he expected the girl to be. "So, what did Ga Eul-yang have to say to you, this morning?" Yoon Ji Hoo inquires out of curiosity, because of the need to factor in time for the girls to meet up before class in the students' cafeteria; the auburn-haired member of F4 who had agreed to ferry Geum Jan Di to school every morning for the next one month to follow had to leave home at an earlier time.

"Ah… she had taken the efforts to compile a copy of the class notes for the lessons I'd missed last week for my benefits. And she had taken the effort to attain the information about how far my teacher had covered the syllabus ahead of time, so the notes she compiled for me are completely relevant to the progress of my class." Geum Jan Di turns at the sound of her former prince charming voice, as she flashes a beaming smile at the guy in response.

"That's good, it would save you from feeling lost in class." Yoon Ji Hoo nodded in response, thinking that the notes would definitely come in handy when he tutored the girl to help her catch up with the rest of the class when it comes down to the submissions of the assignments.

"Exactly! Ga Eul's always so thoughtful and prepared, unlike me…" Geum Jan Di commented in an off-handed manner causing Yoon Ji Hoo to voice his objection on the subject.

"In terms of thoughtfulness, I would like to think that both of you are equal. Although I do have to agree that Ga Eul-yang is always well prepared to handle anything that comes her way… that's probably due to her meticulous nature. Anyway, can I have a look at the notes she had compiled for you? So, I'll have a better idea on where to start with the tutoring session tonight." Yoon Ji Hoo commented as he requested to have a look at the copy of notes Chu Ga Eul had given to Geum Jan Di at the end of his words.

"Of course, here you go. You can have them for now, and give them to me during our tutoring session tonight. I seriously doubt I'll be able to understand what the notes are trying to convey when there are only 30 minutes left until the class begins for the day. Either way, I'm resigned to the idea of feeling lost in class for the majority part of today." Geum Jan Di responded in a bemused tone of voice but is still grinning from ear to ear, indicating that she's in a very good mood this morning.

"...did anything good happen to you?" It took a while, but eventually, Yoon Ji Hoo realized that the good mood of Geum Jan Di had nothing to do with the notes Chu Ga Eul had helpfully compiled for her self-study to catch up with the progress of the rest of her class.

"...kind of, but how did you know?" Geum Jan Di blinked as she handed the other bottle of fresh milk she had purchased from the students' cafeteria over to her former prince charming to show her gratitude for the things the guy had done/would be doing to help her out.

And Jan Di does have a lot to thank the guy for - including the tutoring session he had offered to give her to help her in catching up with the progress of her fellow classmates since the teacher obviously wouldn't wait for her to finish catching up before starting a new topic since they need to finish delivering the lessons on the syllabus within a specific time frame. Of course, there is also the fact that her former prince charming had agreed to ferry her to school for the next one month so she could save up on her transportation cost to supplement the family expenses in the wake of her brother's surgical procedure expenses.

"Well… it's kind of written all over your face." Yoon Ji Hoo commented drily as he uncapped the milk bottle to take a drink from it.

"..." Geum Jan Di had no words to rebuke the statement made by her former prince charming. She had known by now that it's very easy to read her thoughts because of her inability to mask her feelings behind a blank expression. So, she simply smiles and turn her gaze back out to look at the sky as she commented. "I think I've found my new goal in life… although, people might be tempted to laugh in my face after hearing of it."

"Really? That's rather fast. So, care to share with me what your newfound goal is?" Yoon Ji Hoo prompted keeping his eyes focused on the girl when Geum Jan Di wasn't looking in his direction.

"Promised me that you wouldn't laugh at me for it…" Geum Jan Di was reluctant to share her thoughts with her former prince charming at first, but after she had managed to get the guy to promise her that he would not laugh at her outright for her newfound goal. She finally revealed to him that she wanted to try and get into medical school.

"..." Yoon Ji Hoo's first thought was disbelief, having gotten into medical school personally - he knows how high the expectation for the entry requirement to the medical school actually was. Even for other renowned tertiary institutions that offer medical degrees, the entry requirements don't vary off too much from the entry requirements to the Shinhwa College - School of Medicine. But recalling his given word to the girl that he wouldn't laugh at her newfound goal outright, Yoon Ji Hoo decided to pry deeper into the subject as he tried to uncover the reason behind Jan Di's sudden aspiration to get into the medical school to pursue a degree in the medical fields.

"Don't mind me prying, but what exactly brought on this idea of getting into the medical school?" Yoon Ji Hoo asks making sure to emphasize that he's simply asking out of curiosity and nothing else.

And so, Geum Jan Di found herself sharing with her former prince charming about the event that took place on Friday night at the clinic where one of the porridge shop's regular customers serves as the resident doctor. At the end of her reiteration, she remarked somewhat hesitantly. "It's laughable, isn't it? For me to wish to get into medical school simply because of the sense of fulfillment that overwhelms me upon witnessing the birth of a new life. Because of that, I'm not even sure if I should let other people know of my newfound goal… because I'm not exceptionally smart at the academic aspects."

"Yes. It is quite laughable." Yoon Ji Hoo nodded in response, and upon sighting the crestfallen look on Geum Jan Di's face. He went on and added as an afterthought, "don't you find that it's a rather unimaginable feat to be able to find a new aspiration that most people would find laughable? Still, why should you bother about what the others think? It's your dream and so, it's well within your rights to work towards it."

At first, Geum Jan Di was disappointed that she fails to get the moral support that she seeks from her former prince charming until she heard the second half of Yoon Ji Hoo's response. And then, she finally allows a grin to form on her lips as she turns towards her former prince charming with a questioning look in her eyes. "No matter how long it may take me to attain the goal?"

Yoon Ji Hoo nodded in affirmation, "no matter how long it would take. As long as you don't give up, one of these days you would be able to reach the goal."

"Thank you, Ji Hoo-sunbae!" Geum Jan Di beams, and with that, she finishes off the rest of the milk in the bottle in one single gulp. Beside her, Yoon Ji Hoo mirrored her acts before commenting. "Come on, let's go. I'll walk you to class, that way your teacher wouldn't penalize you for showing up in class late."

And while Yoon Ji Hoo was walking Geum Jan Di to class, Chu Ga Eul was busy wrapping up her routine morning text exchange with her boyfriend - So Yi Jeong of F4, in her own class. Outside of reminding her beau to grab breakfast before school, this morning's text message exchange between them also involves her extending yet another invitation to her boyfriend to join her and the E3 for their upcoming tennis game at the Shinhwa Country Club.

A private message between Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong, 30th November 2009, Monday, 7.45am

Ga Eul: Good morning, sorry for the late message this morning. I was busy using the multipurpose printer at home this morning to compile a set of class notes for Jan Di that I forgot to send you the routine breakfast reminder message. ^^; Anyway, classes don't begin for you until 10am today so… if you haven't grabbed your breakfast yet, kindly do so.

Yi Jeong: I see… well, I did wonder why your message didn't come in at 7am this morning. Because the message is already in usually by the time I wake up to get ready for the day. Either way, no worries - Hyung came by last night with a bag of leftover croissants from his cafe. I heated them up this morning using the oven for my breakfast, although I forgot to take a picture of it and forward it to you as evidence to prove that I wasn't lying about having eaten my breakfast for today.

Ga Eul: Yi Jeong-sunbae, ^^; You don't always have to forward me an image of your meal to prove to me that you aren't lying about having taken your meals. You know?

PS: You're once again invited to join us for our bi-weekly tennis game taking place on Sunday at the indoor tennis court of the Shinhwa Country Club. The next game would be held on the 6th of December. ^^

Yi Jeong: Ah… I was just thinking when I'm going to be slated to meet the E3 all at once after having missed the tennis game on the weekend you send me off to Macau to chase down Geum Jan Di, to be honest. And then, your message came in…

PS: I know… but I thought it best to do so, lest you try and wriggle the information out from my dining companions (if any) at a later time to verify the authenticity of my words.

Ga Eul: Really? Well, you got the answer that you seek then. ^_^ So, are you in for the tennis game this coming weekend? And in response to me double-checking with your friends about your food intake during mealtime, I wouldn't have done that if you had been honest with me upfront about the food being unsatisfactory to your taste buds. =_=;

Yi Jeong: I know… and hence I had taken to snap a photo of my meal on most days if I'm not dining in your presence. Either way, coming back to the tennis game invitation. I reckon, I should be able to attend the game on the 6th of December… but I'll confirm with you on the matter tonight when we meet up for dinner. I need to double-check my schedule first, I can't access the schedule when I'm running too many apps on my phone. Not enough memory space to run so many programs… speaking of tonight's dinner, I have a surprise in store for you as well.

Ga Eul: A surprise? Hmm… I shall look forward to it then. ^_^ Alright, I've got to go… classes are beginning soon. See you tonight ^_^

PS: Is there any specific menu you wish to have for dinner tonight?

Yi Jeong: See you. And no, I have no personal preference for tonight's menu. And because I have complete faith in your culinary skills, I'll leave it entirely up to you to decide on the menu for tonight's dinner.

Ga Eul: Hmm… okay. In that case, you're just going to have to wait and see what I ended up bringing over to your place for dinner then. Since I won't know what I'll be making until I actually see for myself the ingredients available for my meal preparation upon arriving home.

Yi Jeong: I'll look forward to the dinner menu for tonight, in that case. Alright, I shan't deter you from your classes further. See you later.

Ga Eul: See you ^_^ *Hearts Emoji*

Location: Class 3D, Shinhwa Academy - High School Division. 30th November 2009, Monday.

When Geum Jan Di arrived at the doorway of her classroom, there was a moment of awkward silence because the teacher is already doing a roll-call in the class.

"Finally, Geum Jan Di. I thought you weren't going to show up for a class today." The teacher who was amid the roll call commented in a huff and was about to say more when he noticed the presence of Yoon Ji Hoo of F4 at the side of the commoner girl of his class.

"..."

"I apologized, it's my fault that she's late for class. Our morning appointment seems to have overrun without us realizing until we heard the chime of the school bell." Yoon Ji Hoo said directing his words to the teacher-in-charge of class 3D before Geum Jan Di could even respond.

"Oh… young master Ji Hoo. I wasn't aware that she was with you this morning. In that case, I'll overlook her lateness this morning." The teacher told Yoon Ji Hoo in response, as he shoots Geum Jan Di a look for her to take her seat in the class without delay.

"Thank you, teacher." Yoon Ji Hoo nodded at the teacher-in-charge of class 3D, before turning on his heels to leave the classroom for the direction of the building's exit.

Needless to say, Miranda Lee Mi Sook, a member of the annoying duo from class 3D was upset beyond reasoning upon the sight of Yoon Ji Hoo escorting Geum Jan Di to class personally. Furthermore, the auburn-haired member of F4 had also intervened to prevent Geum Jan Di from being punished by their teacher despite having turned up for class late. The more she thought of it, the more upset she was and so, Miranda wasted no time in dragging her childhood friend, Ginger along with her when the bell signaling for the lunch break chimed to block the exit of the classroom preventing Geum Jan Di from leaving.

"Ya! Geum Jan Di, when are you going to take the hint and stop pining after people that are way out of your reach?" Miranda started as she corners Geum Jan Di before the commoner girl could leave the classroom with the cheapskate lunch bag in hand.

"..." Geum Jan Di was silent for a moment, the week away from school had caused her to forget about the presence of the annoying duo in her class until this moment in time. Luckily, getting taunted in the face by Ginger and Miranda wasn't anything new to Geum Jan Di so she's able to take it in stride. And if she noticed how it has been Miranda that took the lead in taunting her this morning, she didn't comment.

"If my memory serves me correctly, I seemed to recall that neither of you actually had a right to interfere with the actions of Ji Hoo-sunbae. Actually, not just Ji Hoo-sunbae. Nobody from the F4 is keen on having the two of you interfered with their personal decisions." Geum Jan Di rolls her eyes momentarily before responding to the words hurled her way by the upset Miranda.

"Jan Di… are you done yet?" Just then, the voice of Chu Ga Eul sounded from outside the classroom and broke through the haze of anger clouding the mind of the annoying duo. Upon remembrance of the influence the Miyazawa family had in Japan, Ginger snapped her focus back to the present as she hurried to pull Miranda aside, freeing up the exit way for Geum Jan Di to head outside for lunch meeting with Chu Ga Eul.

"..."

"Did anything happens between you and them which I didn't know of? They, in particular, Ginger seemed cowed upon your appearance just now." Geum Jan Di asks her childhood friend out of curiosity after they had gotten some distance away from the classrooms.

"I may have threatened to drive the Choi family out of business in Japan at the peak of my temper at one point in the past." Chu Ga Eul shrugged as she told Jan Di briefly in passing about the event that took place in Sapporo, Hokkaido during their skiing trip.

"Seriously? When was that?" Geum Jan Di gaped as she stared disbelievingly at her childhood friend, that doesn't sound like the Ga Eul she knows.

"In Sapporo, during our skiing trip with the F4. They tricked you into believing that you dropped the necklace outside resulting in your stranding in a middle of a snowstorm when they were actually the ones to steal the necklace from you. I lost it…" Chu Ga Eul admitted nonchalantly to her friend, before changing the subject abruptly. "Anyway, enough about them… where do you want to have lunch?"

"Hmm… did you bring lunch today? If not, we'll just go to the students' cafeteria." Geum Jan Di inquires as she glanced over to her childhood friend with a questioning gaze.

Holding up her lunch bag for Jan Di to see, Chu Ga Eul commented. "See this here? This is my lunch bag, so yes - I did bring my lunch with me today."

"Good. In that case, why don't we find an abandoned classroom on the ground floor for lunch instead of heading to the cafeteria? The annoying duo is bound to be there… and I'm not sure if I want to listen to their ranting about my chumminess with Ji Hoo-sunbae during lunch, after having the need to endure Miranda's shrilly voice for the most part of the last two hours. Every single time a teacher leaves the class, she would start to rant to Ginger about Ji Hoo-sunbae walking me to class personally this morning. I would tell her to shut it, but that would mean engaging her in a verbal argument which I have no intention of doing." Geum Jan Di rolls her eyes as she shares with her friend about what had transpired during the earlier half of today in her class.

"I have a better idea, let's go to the F4 private lounge instead. It comes with a kitchenette sink, making it all the more convenient for us to clean up the cutlery and lunchbox after the meal." Chu Ga Eul suggested thinking that instead of letting the space go to waste, they might as well put it to good use. And as long as the F4 doesn't mind them using it, who's going to complain about their trespassing into the private lounge?!

"EH?!" Geum Jan Di was barely able to react as she was promptly dragged off by her childhood friend towards the direction of the F4 private lounge for their lunch break.

Location: Students Cafeteria, Shinhwa Academy, High School Division. 30th November 2009, Monday, 11.25am

"Ginger! Ya, Ginger!" Miranda snapped her fingers in front of her childhood friend twice before Ginger snapped out of the dazed-like behavior. Blinking once then twice, she turns towards her friend with a questioning look as she prompts. "Yes, Miranda?"

"Gees… Ginger, what on earth is wrong with you today? You've been exceptionally distracted today." Miranda remarked with a frowning look on her face from her seat across Ginger in the students' cafeteria after she was done purchasing her lunch from the stall vendors.

"... sorry. I didn't sleep well last night. What was it you were trying to say earlier?" Ginger Choi Jin-Hee lied through her teeth, before asking her friend in return. As to the reason behind her distracted state of mind, that probably had to do with something which she had heard from her mother last night before bed.

Based on the account of her mother, it would seem that her father and grandfather are both keens on the idea of striking up a political union between her and the son of their business partner in Japan. Only, they have different candidates in mind for her future husband. Her grandfather is leaning towards betrothing her to the eldest son of the Mishima family that owns the R&D business - Mishima Industries in Japan. Her father, on the other hand, was leaning towards the idea of betrothing her to the heir of the Koizumi Incorporation - that owns a franchise of pharmacies in Japan. Both companies are working with the Choi Foundation at present, with the former working on an agreement to endorse the cosmetics products manufactured by the Choi Foundation which would make it easier for their products to be brought into the Japanese market and the latter amid a discussion with Choi Foundation about a consignment sale agreement.

As neither deals are exactly iron-clad yet, since it's still in the discussion period. But both her grandfather and father are leaning towards the idea of striking up a political union to strengthen and solidify the deal. However, it seems her mother is quite against the idea so much so that she had told Ginger of the matter before anything has been set in motion. Ginger's mother was of the mindset that she wanted to keep her daughter close to home, so it would be best for Ginger to marry a fellow Korean, as opposed to a Japanese young man.

Ever since Ginger heard of her grandfather and father's secret plan concerning her future, she has been plagued with thoughts ranging from whether or not she should rebel against her family by picking a partner for herself among her fellow classmates or she should just go with the flow and consented to the political union idea which her grandfather and father are toying on, at present. That was the main reason why she was distracted half the time Miranda is ranting to her about Geum Jan Di and Yoon Ji Hoo's chumminess in class earlier.

"I was saying that you can go and buy your lunch now that I'm back." Miranda deadpans to her childhood friend with a roll of her eyes, especially after noting that faraway look in Ginger's eyes again. So, she makes it a point to raise her voice slightly to snap her friend's head out of the clouds again.

"Right…" Ginger blinked as she slowly stood from her seat in the cafeteria and make her way over to the direction of the stall vendors. Not having much of an appetite, Ginger opted for the fruits salad for her lunch.

Location: F4 Private Lounge, Shinhwa Academy. 30th November 2009, Monday, 11.25am

Geum Jan Di's first reaction upon stepping foot into the private lounge of F4 on campus ground was to stare disbelievingly at the lack of changes made to the room itself. She had thought that with the graduation of the F4 from the high school division, the school would convert the room to be used for other purposes. Instead, what Geum Jan Di found upon arriving at a stop in front of the door leading to the lounge was that it was still labeled as the F4 Private Lounge.

Gaping wordlessly, Geum Jan Di watched open-mouthed as her childhood friend turns the knob to the room with ease and stepped through it nonchalantly. "Ga Eul, are you sure we ought to be using this place as we deem fit?"

"Jan Di, I'm sure neither of them would mind us using the room for our lunch spot. As far as I know, Ji Hoo-sunbae uses this place as a napping spot these days, and Woo Bin-sunbae utilized this place as a temporary hotel room after a night of clubbing from time to time. The only person who hasn't utilized this place since graduation would be Jun Pyo-sunbae, but that's mostly because he wasn't in the country." Chu Ga Eul told her hesitant-looking childhood friend reassuringly, and then to further prove her point - she went on to show Jan Di her last correspondence with a certain Don Juan of F4 whereby she had sought permission to utilize the private lounge of F4 on campus after their graduation as a potential lunch spot.

Technically, Ga Eul had also asked for her boyfriend's permission… but because she didn't want her friend to notice the high frequency of text messages she had with the Korean Casanova, she opted to show Jan Di her chat history with the Don Juan of F4 instead.

"... Ga Eul, since when did you have Woo Bin-sunbae on your contact list?" Geum Jan Di queried after she took a good look at the screenshot shown to her by her friend about the matter of them utilizing the private lounge of F4 in school for their lunch spot in the wake of the F4 graduation from Shinhwa High.

"... Since our skiing trip to Sapporo, I think. I got my hands on his contact details after he ask me for my contact number so he could send me the payment for his drinks via Line Pay." Chu Ga Eul took a moment to recollect the exact moment where she had first gained the contact details of the heir to the Ii-Shin Group.

"Line Pay?" Geum Jan Di blinked as she glanced questioningly to her friend for an elaboration of the foreign term.

"One of the E-payments accepted in Japan. It works exactly the same way as the Kakao-Pay in Korea, but I doubt you'd ever used it before… since you don't even have a digital bank account set-up." Chu Ga Eul explains and while she isn't sure how many members of the F4 actually use such payment applications, one thing she knows for certain is that the Don Juan of F4 certainly uses the apps. Given how familiar he was with the Line Pay function on the Line App while they were on their skiing trip in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

"I see…" Geum Jan Di nodded as she accepted the explanation given to her by her childhood friend, and then went on to take a seat on the sofa couch. Setting down her lunch bag, Geum Jan Di withdrew her single-tier lunchbox from within that opens up to reveal the routine Kimchi Fried Rice within.

Chu Ga Eul took one look at the contents of her friend's lunch and promptly shared a couple of her meatballs with Jan Di. Unlike her own version of the Kimchi Fried Rice, Jan Di's version doesn't even have any meat in the dish. The only source of protein in Jan Di's lunch would be the presence of the single sunny-side-up fried egg, which Ga Eul thinks is insufficient for a growing adolescent of their age. And since Ga Eul had packed her lunch with plenty of meat and vegetables, she thought she could share them with her friend.

"Thank you." Geum Jan Di smiles at her friend in surprise and gratitude, thinking that she ought to do something to show her appreciation for Ga Eul at a later time. Due to the lack of content in her own lunch, she can't exactly share her food with her friend.

"You're welcome. Alright, time's ticking away. Let's hurry up and eat, so we can clean up and head back to our afternoon half of the classes on time." Ga Eul told Jan Di with a beaming smile, as she took the lead in digging into her own lunch.

It wasn't until the end of the lunch break that Geum Jan Di finally musters up her courage to share her newfound goal with her childhood friend. And though Ga Eul was genuinely surprised to hear about Jan Di's new aspiration of becoming a doctor after witnessing the birth of a new life in the clinic owned by that odd but regular customer of their master's porridge shop, she didn't laugh and instead support her friend's newfound aspiration strongly.

"That's good. So, have you thought about which discipline you intend to go into? Since you got inspired to become a doctor after witnessing the miracle of childbirth first-hand, does that means that you are aiming to become a gynecologist?" Ga Eul wasted no time in pressing Jan Di for more details about the newfound aspiration.

"...I haven't thought that far ahead, actually. For now, I just want to work on pulling up my grades so I can have a better chance of getting into the medical school in college." Geum Jan Di admitted before revealing to her friend that she had accepted Yoon Ji Hoo's help in tutoring her thrice a week after her work at the porridge shop.

"I see since Ji Hoo-sunbae is already offering his service in tutoring you after work. You might as well ask him for advice on which study guides to get from the bookstores about the subjects necessary for getting into medical school. Since you aren't doing a pure biology subject, you probably need to score a high grade for the general science module to be able to get a shot in entering medical school. Either way, I'm no expert on this - Ji Hoo-sunbae might be able to provide you with more tips since he's already a legit student with the medical school in Shinhwa College." Chu Ga Eul told her friend as she rinsed out her own lunchbox and cutlery after finishing her lunch in the kitchenette that came equipped in the F4 private lounge on the grounds of Shinhwa Academy.

"I will. Thanks for your support and for not laughing at me about my newfound goal." Geum Jan Di nodded as she flashed a beaming smile at her childhood friend, feeling light-hearted for the first time since her return from Macau.

"Jan Di, of course, I wouldn't laugh at your newfound goal. In fact, I think it's incredible that you've managed to find a new goal to work towards this fast. Alright, I'm done here… you can use the sink now." Ga Eul commented in response, as she retrieved a paper towel from the inside of her own lunch bag to wipe dry her cutlery and lunchbox before storing them back into her lunch bag. The downside about using the kitchenette's sink in the F4 private lounge lies in the lack of dish rags and towels which she could use to dry her dishes after rinsing them in the sink.

"Nah… I think I'll bring my lunchbox and cutlery home before washing them. Unlike you, I didn't come prepared with anything that I could utilize to dry the dishes after rinsing them out." Geum Jan Di shakes her head in response when Ga Eul told her that it's her turn to use the kitchenette sink in the private lounge belonging to the F4 on campus.

"Well… in that case, let's head back to the academic block - shall we?" Ga Eul shrugged as she doesn't see the need to force Jan Di to follow in her example. If Jan Di doesn't mind rinsing out the lunchbox until she reaches home, who is she to stop Jan Di from doing so?

~TBC~

Chapter's Notes:

Okay, here's the end of chapter 43. Once again, it's packed with plenty of original content with only the scene in the clinic featuring Ji Hoo's grandfather and Jan Di as well as the scene in the school's emergency escape stairway being taken from the drama.

I have arranged for Woo Bin and Jae-Kyung to have a scene in this chapter, but I didn't go into too many details of what they did in Zhuhai, just a brief summary of what they would be doing there. Not many SoEul scenes in here, unfortunately. The only scene I have of them in this chapter is likely just that brief chat conversation mid-chapter. ^^;

I start off the chapter with the conversation between Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong, which was a continuation from the last chapter where I ended with them arranging to meet up for dinner at Shinhwa Country Club. Following this, I had given Jun Hee a cameo scene featuring a phone conversation with her husband - my OC.

The annoying duo - Ginger and Miranda got a cameo in this chapter, and Miranda is as delusional as always. As for Ginger, she's starting to face up with the reality that the F4 isn't within her reach and she needs to take a realistic approach to her impending future. Finally, I ended the chapter with some Jan Di and Ga Eul interaction ^_^

That's all for now, see you next time. I hope everyone has enjoyed this update despite the lack of SoEul. ^_^