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,

44. Chapter 44

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 44 - A Tangled Web, Part 1

Location: International Airport of Macau, 30th November 2009, Monday, 3pm

Although Song Woo Bin's initial plan was to return to Seoul on the 29th of November, his plan kind of went awry when his meeting with the new flooring supplier in Zhuhai, China overruns and he ended up leaving Zhuhai for Macau only minutes away from the timing his visa in Zhuhai was due to expire. International visitors who visited Zhuhai via Hong Kong or Macau are usually granted 3 days non-extendable visa, and they would have to leave Zhuhai by the time the visa expires.

By the time Woo Bin got back to Macau, it was already way after midnight. Now, although the heiress of the JK Group visited Zhuhai on the same day as he did, they had applied for the visa online at different timing. As such, their visas though granted and expire on the same day are of different timing. The visa granted to Woo Bin's stay in Zhuhai, China by the authorities through the online application system is valid from 12am on the 26th of November to 12am on the 29th of November, 2009. The reason why it starts at 12am, it mainly had to do with Woo Bin's decision to submit the visa application at midnight because he was concerned that he might end up forgetting to apply for the visa if he waited until the following morning.

Especially, Woo Bin didn't have his personal secretary traveling alongside him on this trip, and John, who is his acting secretary during his time in Macau has been a great help. It didn't change the fact that John isn't the one handling his schedules on a professional level, and hence would only do as he instructed. And therefore, John wouldn't have the insight to remind him every morning about what he needs to do for the day. Sure, John would dutifully inform him that he has a business meeting scheduled in Zhuhai with a potential new flooring supplier but John wouldn't have handled the application for the visa to Zhuhai for him since John doesn't have access to his travel documents. So, he had to do the visa application on his own… which brought him to end up submitting the application at midnight shortly after he was told by his cousin - Victor, that to enter Zhuhai from Macau, he would need to apply for a visa before crossing the border.

The heiress of the JK Group is another matter entirely, the girl had only applied for the visa to enter Zhuhai two hours before she crossed the border. And since the girl only arrived in Zhuhai sometime around 6.30pm on that day, it means her visa in Zhuhai wouldn't expire until 4pm on the 29th of November giving her ample time to do some last-minute shopping before having to pack up and leave the city. Woo Bin's situation though, is completely different. After spending the bulk of his day on the 28th of November escorting the heiress of the JK Group around the few infamous tourist spots in Zhuhai, he had rushed off to meet up with another potential supplier for the flooring, this time for the bathroom tiles. The meeting was supposed to be only an hour long, but the supplier suggested for the discussion to be postponed until after dinner which Woo Bin obliged naturally.

What the Don Juan of F4 had failed to factor in, was the client's insistence on talking business in the VIP lounge of a Karaoke establishment. And so, the business meeting didn't end until it was around 10pm disrupting Woo Bin's initial plan of being able to leave Zhuhai by 11pm that night. The only good thing is that the Karaoke lounge where his client insisted on bringing him that evening was within the Gongbei district and thus allowing him to travel back to his lodging accommodation without spending too much time on traveling. Once arriving back to his lodging hotel accommodation, Woo Bin wasted no time in rushing up to his room that evening to pack up his belongings, check-out of the hotel, book a ride via the ride-hailing app for a vehicle with double-plate and leave for Macau without a moment of delay.

The packing and checking out of the hotel doesn't take much time, it is the booking of the ride that took up most of the remaining time. After all, only private cars with double-plate are allowed to enter Zhuhai from Macau. And so, it took Woo Bin a bit of time to source for a private-hire car which wouldn't mind traveling across the border this late in time to pick him up. Thankfully, he managed to find someone willing to travel across the border when he promised to pay double the hiring price for the ride. Still, by the time he made it back to Macau and out from Zhuhai - it was already well over midnight.

Too exhausted to think of anything else, Woo Bin instructed for the private hire vehicle to drop him off at the villa house belonging to his maternal family in Macau and spent the night in the guest room which is actually his cousin Kelvin's room when the guy is in town. But since Kelvin is staying with his grandfather in Hong Kong at present, he could use Kelvin's room as his own for one night without issues. But because of that, he ended up waking late and had to essentially postpone his return trip to Seoul after his grandmother insisted for him to stay on for an extra day in Macau.

Not wanting to disappoint his grandmother knowing his mother would nag his ears off upon his return to Seoul if he did, Woo Bin caved to his grandmother's insistence for him to postpone his return trip to Seoul by a day. And thus, explaining the reason why he's still in Macau on the 30th of November.

A buzz coming from the pocket of his leather jacket informs the Don Juan of F4 that he had an incoming text on his mobile. Taking out his mobile device to have a good look at the screen, the Don Juan of F4 found himself faced with an incoming text from a certain heiress of the JK Group. Raising an eyebrow up in a questioning manner, Song Woo Bin tapped into the newly received text message as he wonders what the girl has in mind to message him about, now.

A private message between Ha Jae-Kyung and Song Woo Bin, 30th November 2009, Monday, 3.30pm

Jae-Kyung: Hey~ where are you now?

Woo Bin: … I'm at the airport. Is there a reason why you're asking me this question?

Jae-Kyung: Airport? In Macau?

Woo Bin: Yes.

Jae-Kyung: So, it wasn't a trick of my eyes. You are indeed still in Macau. But I thought you mentioned earlier that you were scheduled to return to Seoul yesterday morning? *Curious Emoji*

Woo Bin: Going by that statement of yours, I'm assuming that you saw me somewhere earlier?

Jae-Kyung: Kind of, but it wasn't earlier. I thought I saw you last night in the company of an attractive young lady at a French restaurant in the Shinhwa Hotel Mall… but I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me since you told me earlier that you were leaving for Seoul yesterday morning.

Woo Bin:… and you thought it prudent to check on my whereabouts? Why?

Jae-Kyung: *Shrugs* Curiosity, I guess. So, who's that young lady? You didn't lie to me about leaving Macau, but is actually picking up girls somewhere - did you? You should have told me if you are craving female companionship, I thought we were good friends! *Pouting Emoji*

Woo Bin: Are we? Good friends, I mean… given that we've only known each other for less than a year. And the number of times we've actually met in person can be counted with a single hand… yet, you considered us as friends?

Jae-Kyung: Of course, I considered you as a valuable friend. I mean, you never complain when I dumped all my pent-up frustration over my parents on you. Not every acquaintance of mine is as patient as you in this aspect, so I truly appreciate your patience with me. Thank you. ^_^

Woo Bin: I'm flattered to hear this from you. I'll bear it in mind to ask you, the next time I craved for some female companionship. Of course, provided we are in the same country then. Anyway, in response to your inquiry on the identity of that attractive young lady you claimed to have seen me traveling around with last evening, she wasn't a girl who I had picked up from the nightclubs. Instead, she's the granddaughter of my grandmother's acquaintance - in short, my grandmother tricked me into attending a high-tea session which is actually a guise for a matchmaking attempt of hers, and make me show the girl around Macau.

Jae-Kyung: O_O Wow… so, that girl isn't native to Macau?

Woo Bin: Nope, the girl's from Shanghai actually. Her family is in the renovation industry, and thus my grandmother thought she might be a good match for me since my family's in the construction/property industry. *Shrugs* Of course, though I'm not that interested in the girl… it's not in my nature to simply stalk off from the site and so, I brought her around Macau playing the dutiful role of a tour guide for her while keeping all our interactions to an impersonal scale. I've also made sure to highlight to her that I'm not in the least interested in settling down anytime soon and that this meeting of ours is just something which I've agreed to attend to humor my grandmother. And apparently, she agrees because she's already in a relationship with a Caucasian whom she knows overseas while studying abroad. Only her family disapproved of her choice of partners, which spurs on her grandmother's decision to try and match her up with someone else.

PS: Enough about me, have you met the guy whom your parents kept pressuring you to meet up with?

Jae-Kyung: … no, not yet. Apparently, he's swarmed with business meetings recently. ^^;

Woo Bin: That's good news to you, I supposed.

Jae-Kyung: Not exactly. I would rather meet him once and get this entire match-making attempt over and done with, rather than having my freedom to explore the country restricted by my parents. I now have guards stationed outside my door 24/7, can you believe it?! I can't believe father agrees to let mother do this to me! *Upset Emoji* I wonder who gave my mother such an idea to restrict my freedom! _

Woo Bin: … You have my sympathy on this. In compensation for your loss of freedom to explore the country, check out this video. [Insert link to virtual tour video of Beijing on YouTube] - one of my acquaintances did a VLOG on her trip to Beijing, a few years ago. Since you can't explore the city in person right now, you can get a feel of the few infamous tourist spots through her VLOG entries on her YouTube channel.

Jae-Kyung: Oh, thank you so much *Muack* [Kisses Emoji] Out of curiosity, is this acquaintance of yours one of your ex-girlfriends?

PS: Anyway, what time are you flying off?

Woo Bin: In 20 minutes actually. I'm just waiting to board, the crew is getting the jet ready as we chatted. And no, the owner of that YouTube channel isn't my ex-girlfriend… she's the sister of the woman I last dated in the official sense.

PS: Do inform me if you are visiting Seoul, I'll make time for you if you're in the country for a social visit. Alright, it's time for me to board. Bye for now~

Jae-Kyung: O_O Seriously? Wow… there's a lot of VLOG in her channel… and most of them are videos taken in foreign cities. Is she an avid traveler like myself, or does she works in the tourism industry?

PS: Bye, have a safe trip home! ^_^ And I'll be sure to drop you a message if I ever decide to pop by Seoul for a visit.

Woo Bin: The last time I checked, she works as an air stewardess with a budget airline carrier. And she does VLOG whenever she flew to a new city during the short respite from her air stewardess duties. Now, I really had to go. The jet's taking off in a jiffy. Ciao~

With that, Song Woo Bin of F4 ended his brief text exchange with the heiress of the JK Group. Inwardly, he thought of how the girl had lamented about her loss of freedom to explore the country because she now has guards stationed outside her room's door in the hotel with a bemused expression clouding his features. Something about the idea of stationing guards outside the door reminded him of his friend's experience for a time when the witch of the Shinhwa Group first discovered the relationship between his friend and Geum Jan Di.

[...certainly, it can't be the witch that gave her mother the idea of assigning guards outside her hotel room, can it?] - Song Woo Bin thought uneasily to himself for a moment before discarding the thought.

Meanwhile, over at the Shinhwa Hotel in Macau, the mood of Jae-Kyung soured immediately when she sighted the approach of her bodyguard - Chen. If it's up to the heiress of the JK Group, she would have headed straight to Beijing after leaving Zhuhai. However, her plan was foiled when her mother went to the extent of sending a group of bodyguards to ambush her at the airport and dragged her back to the Shinhwa Hotel in Macau forcibly. Even now, while she's given the freedom to roam about the hotel suite, there are guards stationed outside her room's door 24/7.

"What did my mother wants from me now?" Jae-Kyung huffed as she addressed her bodyguard - Chen, with a dark look clouding her features.

"You are expected to join Sir and Madam for dinner later at 6pm." Chen, the bodyguard responded dutifully.

"... is this dinner a strictly family dinner or is this going to be yet another dinner involving the representatives from the Shinhwa Group?" The heiress of the JK Group queried looking rather wary upon her parents' demand for her to be present at the dinner. After all, she's in a bit of a tantrum at present and usually, her parents tend to leave her alone to brood in silence.

"...Your family has been invited to join Madam Kang and her son for dinner this evening," Chen responded evenly to the displeased heiress of the JK Group.

"...right, and is that guy going to show up for real tonight? I'm quite sick and tired of having my travel plans placed on hold forcibly by my parents because I'm obliged to meet him and give him a chance, to say the least." Ha Jae-Kyung deadpans with hints of sarcasm coloring her tone indicating her underlying displeasure of having her travel plans disrupted.

"Madam said to inform you that measures have been taken by Madam Kang to ensure the presence of her son at the dinner session tonight. And therefore, Madam kindly implores you to be punctual for the dinner this evening." Chen, the bodyguard proceed to convey the message from Jang Bongseon, the mother of Jae-Kyung to her displeased young mistress.

And after a moment of silence, Chen proceed to add on as an afterthought. "And Sir promised to retract the guards stationed at your door by the end of the day if you show up at the dinner on time."

"...fine, but I get to decide the choice of attire on my own!" Eventually, Jae-Kyung agreed to show up for the dinner session but made sure to highlight the fact that she would be picking out her own attire for this evening.

"Of course. I'll be sure to convey your desires to Sir and Madam." Chen, the bodyguard told Jae-Kyung before leaving the heiress' hotel suite to go in search for the girl's parents to report the result of the chat with their daughter.

The notion to start another chain of a text exchange with the Don Juan of F4 is strong, but Jae-Kyung managed to stamp down the impulse of doing so. Mostly because she knows that the guy's phone is likely on flight mode at present, and therefore there isn't a point for her to message him when she knows that the guy is likely unable to respond to her messages until hours later. And because of the time difference between Macau and the UK, she can't exactly text her friends in the UK either. Even though, it's already 7am in the UK at present… most of them are probably rushing to school at present and therefore aren't likely to respond to her messages either.

[Darn… I should have gotten back to the UK after my Hong Kong trip. But then again, there's no guarantee that Mom and Dad wouldn't put in a leave of absence request to the school and take me to Macau for their meeting with the representatives from the Shinhwa Group.] - The heiress of the JK Group thought inwardly to herself as she trudged her way to her suitcase intending to pick out an outfit for the upcoming dinner session with haste.

Jae-Kyung's original intention was to go for a punk look, but a text message from her bodyguard -Chen came in with the dress code expected for the restaurant where the dinner would be held screwed up her plans. In the message, it specifically mentioned the term - Fine-dining. And so, it means formal wear is expected for the dinner event.

"..." So, with a huff of annoyance, Jae-Kyung set aside her original idea of attending the dinner in a punk-style attire and retrieved a one-piece sleeveless black cocktail dress from her suitcase. While there were other dresses suitable for the event in brighter colors in her wardrobe, Jae-Kyung decided on the black cocktail dress because that's the color that best described her feelings towards the impending dinner session.

Location: Shinhwa Academy, High School Division, Seoul. Monday, 30th November 2009, 2pm

Back in Seoul, Chu Ga Eul who has heard about Jan Di's newfound goal during lunch felt relatively more comfortable with the idea of leaving her friend to her own device. Originally, Ga Eul was wondering if she should head over to the porridge shop and clocked a two-hour shift to observe her childhood friend's performance at work. But now that Jan Di had found a new goal to work towards, Ga Eul thought there was a lesser chance of Jan Di screwing up at work, this time around.

Regardless of how Jan Di's performance at work might be for this afternoon, Ga Eul isn't going to reschedule her plans to cover for Jan Di at the porridge shop today. She had already canceled out on her Casanova beau once last Friday, and while they went out for their dinner date as planned on Saturday - she has been relatively distracted and ended up cutting short their date to pop over to the porridge shop after the date to check in on her childhood friend's work performance with the master. And then, on Sunday, she had even canceled out on her routine plans with the E3 to clock a full day of work just to ensure that her friend is faring well at work.

A buzz on her mobile phone draws Ga Eul out from her thoughts as she pulled out the gadget to get a good read on the incoming text via Line Messenger.

Line Messenger - Group chat with the E3, 30th November 2009, 2.15pm

Kazuki: Ga Eul, sorry… something crops up that requires my immediate attention so I can't send you home. Shuichi Shunsuke, can either of you help to send Ga Eul home?

Shuichi: Kazuki, sorry - I can't. I've been selected as a participant for the inter-school figure skating competition representing Shinhwa High, this afternoon. So, I need to be present at the ice rink.

Shunsuke: As much as I love to assist, I need to be home earlier today because I have a parcel to receive that's due to arrive today. ^^;

Kazuki: Shunsuke, can't Hyo-Rin help you with the parcel collection?

Shunsuke: Kazuki, apparently not. One of their family friends is getting married today, their entire family needs to attend the reception event for the wedding.

Ga Eul: Gees, Kazuki. It's fine, I can go home on my own via public trains. I'm not five years old anymore. =_=;

PS: Before you ask, no… my Casanova beau can't send me home either because he's still in class at present.

With that message send into the group chat on the Line messenger, Chu Ga Eul proceeds to pack up and leave the classroom for the lockers area. Since she's heading home on her own, she decided to drop off the heavier textbook in the locker for today and collect it the following day. The walk from the Shinhwa Academy grounds to the nearest train station is too long for her liking and thus, she would prefer not to carry a school bag that's far too heavy. Either way, it's not as though she would need the textbook for her revision tonight. Her notes are comprehensive enough that she could do without her textbook for reference this evening.

Along the way to the lockers area of the high school academic building, Ga Eul met up with her childhood friend - Geum Jan Di. It seems, like herself, Jan Di is also visiting the lockers to drop off a couple of the heavier items before leaving school for the day. Only, unlike her who's dropping off the heavier textbooks, Jan Di was dropping off the English-Korean dictionary. As for the rest of the textbooks, Jan Di is bringing them back with her as tonight is the first tutoring session whereby Yoon Ji Hoo of F4 is going to help her friend catches up with the rest of the class progress. After dropping off the items at their assigned lockers, the two girls went on to walk their way out of the school grounds heading towards the direction of the nearest train station, together.

Since the campus ground of the Shinhwa Academy is rather massive in terms of scale, it took them about 20 minutes to reach the school gate from the high school academic building. And then, from the school gate, it took them another 10 minutes to reach the nearest subway train station. So, in total, it took them 30 minutes to reach the nearest train station. No wonder, most of their classmates resort to the ride-hailing app on days whereby their family vehicles aren't available for their use.

The two girls parted ways at the train station as both of them are headed in a different direction, with Jan Di heading for the Mapo district which was served by line 5 of the subway system, and Ga Eul heading for the Jamsil station via line 2 of the Seoul subway system. As the train station is an interchange of a sort, with a total of two lines serving the station at present and another two more lines under construction which are due to open for service in the next few years. The train station is currently undergoing uplifting work, as to accommodate the two new train lines which would be opening in the next five years - the station is currently undergoing some expansion construction work.

Still, that didn't mean the station is devoid of crowds. Despite the noise generated by the expansion work of the station itself, the station is also house to the largest movie theater in Seoul - CGV IMAX, the Four Season - a water park, Enter 6 - one of the largest clothing shopping malls in South Korea excluding the Shinhwa Group operated malls. There is also an Emart, which is a convenience store in the train station, and words have it that an indoor golf zone is opening for business soon. Either way, the conversion of the train station into a multiplex space did sort of result in complications for the commuters while trying to navigate around the station… it's not too much of an issue for Ga Eul. Having seen how complicated the Tokyo train station and Shinjuku train station in Japan were, Ga Eul thought the Wangsimni train station in Seoul was still lacking in comparison. After all, a native likely wouldn't encounter the problem of losing their way in the Wangsimni station unlike the Shinjuku train station in Tokyo. That is a station that even natives had issues getting around if they doesn't reside in that area.

Coming back to the topic at hand, Ga Eul's family resides in the Songpa district of Seoul which is served by both line 2 and line 8 of the Seoul subway system, but since line 8 doesn't run through the area where the Shinhwa Academy is situated - she had to make do with the line 2 train services. Even though the Jamsil station is approximately 25 minutes away from her neighborhood as opposed to the Songpa train station which is only a 5 minutes walk away from her neighborhood. And while there is always the option of transiting to line 8 upon arriving at the Jamsil train station, Ga Eul thought she might as well utilize the 25 minutes walk from Jamsil train station to her family home by making a pit-stop at the supermarket that is situated in between the Seochon train station and the Songpa train station, which just so happens to be along the way if she opted to travel on foot from the Jamsil station to her family home.

There are a couple of supermarkets in the area, there's one operated by the Shinhwa Group previously but has now been taken over by the Miyazawa Group. It was previously known as Shinhwa Supermarket, now it's known as the Miyazawa Mart as the Miyazawa Group had taken over its management from the Shinhwa Group, shortly before the collapse of Gu Bon-Hyeong in China. Two other smaller-size supermarkets within walking distance are owned by the GS group, commonly known to the public as the GS supermarket. For Ga Eul, she naturally prefers to shop at the Miyazawa Mart - after all, she gets membership discounts at the supermarket runs by the Miyazawa Group. And so, that's the supermarket she made her way to after alighting at the Jamsil train station situated within the Songpa district of Seoul.

Having already prepared a shopping list beforehand, Ga Eul grabbed a shopping basket from the entrance of the supermarket and promptly started going around to collect the items she needs to replenish for both her own family pantry as well as the pantry of her Casanova beau's kitchenette. First, she went to pick up some fresh fruits that were in season; in particular, she didn't forget to pick up some berries for her own kitchen fridge. Next, she picks up a new container of Kimchi since her family doesn't have the habit of making their own Kimchi, unlike Jan Di's family. Once she had picked up the items listed on her shopping list from the chiller, she went on to explore the vegetable section. Here, she picks up some fresh cucumber flown in from Japan as well as a bag of Japanese sweet potato. Moving on to the condiments section of the supermarket, Ga Eul picks up a bottle of Japanese cooking wine, salad dressing, soy sauce, and a tub of miso necessary for the preparation of the miso soup. She skipped out on the meat and seafood corner because she didn't think her family freezer have space for more meat which requires storage in the freezer compartment of the fridge.

Her last stop before heading for the cashier counter was to pick up some dish-washing liquid soap for the kitchenette of her boyfriend's place. She had noticed the dish-washing soap running out the last time she was there, and she highly doubts that her boyfriend would think of replenishing it without her reminding him of it. And so, she thought she might as well grab it while she's doing her own grocery shopping. Finally, before she brought her shopping basket to the cashier counter - Ga Eul decides to drop a quick text to her mother and her Casanova beau, checking in with them if they need her to grab anything else since she's already at the supermarket.

A private message between Chu Ga Eul and Lee Mi-Young, 30th November 2009, 3.15pm

Ga Eul: Eomma, I'm at the supermarket (Miyazawa Mart) now. Is there anything you want me to grab for you?

Mi-Young: Oh… you're doing grocery shopping already? Well… in that case, grab me a set of the shampoo/conditioner set.

Ga Eul: Sure, any brands in specific?

Mi-Young: Nope, Just make sure it's for hair-fall control would do. I'm fine with whichever brand that's on offer.

Ga Eul: Noted.

A private message between Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong, 30th November 2009, 3.20pm

Ga Eul: Afternoon, Yi Jeong-sunbae. I'm at the supermarket near my home now doing some grocery shopping. Is there anything you would like me to pick up for you from the supermarket? *Smiley Emoji*

Yi Jeong: Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for offering, but I can't think of anything... oh wait, maybe you can pick up some bread for me from the bakery section of the supermarket? That is if they do have a bakery section in the supermarket. If not, I can just head out to grab them from the convenience store later on in the day.

Ga Eul: Hmm… I will check out their cakes and confectionery section later, and snap a picture for you to see if the loaves of bread they have on sale are appealing enough for you.

Yi Jeong: Sure, and what time are you coming by later?

Ga Eul: Not quite sure, since I'm not sure how long the dinner preparation would take me… why?

Yi Jeong: Well… remember how I mentioned that I have a surprise in store for you? I need some time to set up the surprise…

Ga Eul: I see… in that case, I'll drop you a text when I'm done with the dinner preparation. And I'll be coming over via public train transport, how does that sound?

Yi Jeong: That's fine. I'm sure that'll give me enough time to set everything up for the surprise I have in store for you this evening.

Ga Eul: Great! See you later. ^_^

In the end, Ga Eul decided against the idea of getting her boyfriend any of the bread on sale in the supermarket. Mostly because she had known her boyfriend's taste penchant by this point to know for certain that neither of the loaves of bread available in the supermarket would suit the Korean Casanova taste buds because the pieces of bread available are mostly sweet buns. It might work for Yoon Ji Hoo of F4, but it would never work for her potter boyfriend. And so, Ga Eul ended up heading back home after she had made payment for her grocery purchases and the shampoo/conditioner set she had purchased under instructions from her mother.

Meanwhile, Yi Jeong who had just ended his class in college for the day was just about to leave the school when he received an official summons from his grandfather for a meeting on the 13th of December at noon via the means of a text message coming from the mobile of his grandfather. Yi Jeong had no idea what to think of the official summons at present since his entire mind was revolving around the idea of getting the make-shift theater space in his pottery studio set up for his date with Ga Eul tonight. So, in the end, the potter of F4 decides to push the impending discussion with his grandfather about his relationship with Ga Eul to the furthest end of his mind and filed it away for later contemplation. For now, he'd best think about where he would want to set up the make-shift home theater space in his pottery studio.

Location: Incheon International Airport, South Korea. 30th November 2009, Monday, 5.30pm

In the meantime, after a long flight that lasted 14 hours, the heiress of the Shinhwa Group, Gu Jun Hee had finally arrived at the Incheon International Airport via the commercial flight operated by the National flagship carrier of South Korea - Korean Air. Of course, she flew on the first-class tier seat.

Due to her intention to avoid catching the attention of her mother, Jun Hee forgoes the idea of utilizing the family's private jet while the idea of booking a seat on the commercial flight operated by the Shinhwa Air did occur briefly to the heiress of the Shinhwa Group. Eventually, the heiress of the Shinhwa Group decides to forgo the idea as well. After all, her trip back to Seoul was meant to be kept secret from her mother… and the best way to avoid detection is to travel via commercial flights operated by airlines that have nothing to do with her family business. Albeit, as soon as she reached home, her mother is bound to learn of her return on an eventuality but the longer she could prolong this information from reaching the ears of her mother, the better. Thus, after much debate, Gu Jun Hee decides to book her flight from New York to South Korea with Korean Air.

Nobody aside from the butler serving the Gu family knows of Jun Hee's return to Seoul, and the only reason butler Lee was informed of the heiress's return to Seoul is simply that Jun Hee needed the guy to arrange for a means of transport to pick her up from the airport. And because Jun Hee had requested butler Lee to keep the information of her return to Seoul away from her mother's knowledge, the family butler decided to send his own son out to play chauffeur for the heiress of the Shinhwa Group since he can't leave his position unattended. And also because his son isn't working for the Gu family in any sense, there would be no obligation for his son to report to Kang Hee-Soo about Gu Jun Hee's return to Seoul, at any point in time.

Lee Chang-ho, the son of butler Lee, just so happens to be on leave from his banker job with the Shinhan Bank these few days. As the year is coming to an end, the employees of the bank are encouraged to clear their leaves as the company doesn't allow for the unused leaves to be brought over to the following year. As such, Lee Chang-ho was pretty much idling at home. Knowing this, butler Lee had reached out to his son shortly after he received the instructions from Gu Jun Hee requesting for transport to be arranged for her upon her landing at the Incheon International Airport.

"Are you…Chang-ho, by any chance?" Gu Jun Hee started after a moment of silent observation from the passenger back-seat of the black sedan that she had assumed was a private hire vehicle sent over to fetch her from the airport by her family butler, since the car plate of the vehicle weren't among the list of an automobile owned by her family based on her understanding.

"Indeed. I was wondering if you still remember me, given how long we haven't met in person." Lee Chang-ho, the son of Butler Lee serving the Gu family responded politely to the heiress of the Shinhwa Group.

"I had to admit I almost didn't recognize you but I thought your eyes seems rather familiar to me. So, how have you been?" Gu Jun Hee inquires out of basic courtesy.

"I've been well, thank you for asking. Now, where should I bring you? Straight home or to the hospital?" Lee Chang-ho inquires, directing his words to the heiress of the Shinhwa Group after maneuvering the vehicle out from the airport zone and towards the city of Seoul from Incheon.

"Home first. It's a long flight from New York, I need some time to freshen up before heading to the hospital and paying my father a visit. While on the subject, I had to say I wasn't quite expecting for your father to send you out to play chauffeur for me this evening." Gu Jun Hee admitted in a bemused tone of voice.

"Yes, well… you did tell him to keep the news of your return under wraps for a while. So, he thought it best not to send out any of the chauffeurs serving your family for the time being. And I happen to be on leave from my job these two days, so he decides to send me out to play temporary chauffeur for you." Lee Chang-ho explains with a shrug casually as he steers the vehicle towards the direction of Pyeongchang-dong, a neighborhood in the Jongno district where the family home of the Gu family is situated.

Although, he doesn't work for the Gu family nor the Shinhwa Group and his family home is situated elsewhere. Chang-ho is quite familiar with the neighborhood of Pyeongchang-dong, given it's where his father had spent the majority of his life working. When Chang-ho was a bit younger, he had spent a fair bit of time on the grounds of the Gu family home helping his father in simple tasks such as mowing the grass in the garden as well as watering the plants placed around the perimeter of the house owned by the Gu family during school break. As such, he has his fair bit of encounters with the heir and the heiress of the family. Only, conversations between them are fairly sparse. So, he's actually quite surprised when the heiress managed to address him by his given name earlier.

"Oh, you're working already? What do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking…?" Jun Hee commented sounding quite interested in keeping the conversation between them going.

"Yes. I have been working full-time for a few years now. As for the nature of my job, well… I'm just an ordinary banker with the Shinhan Bank." Though Chang-ho had no idea why the heiress of the Shinhwa Group was so keen to keep the conversation between them going, he didn't react and instead opted to go with the flow and respond whenever a question was being put forth by the heiress to him as he drove the lady back to the Gu family mansion where his father awaits to welcome the heiress home.

"I see…" Gu Jun Hee nodded, and with that said - the rest of the journey back to her family home was taken in silence. Mostly because she had run out of topics that she could utilize to attempt small conversations, and there are things best left unsaid lest the atmosphere took a turn for the awkward. Not that they had any history between them, but it was through Chang-ho that Jun Hee has gotten to know her first love, whom her mother strongly disapproved of. Unlike Geum Jan Di though, that guy had caved in easily under the pressure of her mother and broke up with her. It was also because of that failed relationship that Jun Hee ended up obligating her mother's wishes and agreed to the political union with the heir of the Malloy Hotel Group in the states.

"Alright, we're here!" The announcement of having arrived at the destination coming from the driver's seat broke Jun Hee out from her thoughts. Blinking twice as she took a quick look at the surrounding, she nodded as she expressed her word of gratitude to Lee Chang-ho for playing chauffeur for her this evening.

"Thank you. Do you need a tip from me?" Gu Jun Hee asks in jest.

"Nay… you can tip my father instead. Alright, it's time I take my leave. I'm sure now that you're home, you would have a pool of ready staff at hand to play chauffeur for you if required so I bid you farewell now." Lee Chang-ho commented as he directed his cheeky words to the heiress of the Shinhwa Group before steering his own vehicle out of the grounds of the Gu family home.

"Welcome home, young mistress. Let me help you with the baggage, you shouldn't be exerting yourself in your current delicate condition." Butler Lee was at the door to greet Jun Hee and assists with her baggage when she enters her childhood family home.

"...Dong-Min called up earlier, did he?" For a while, Jun Hee was surprised by the words of greeting she had received from butler Lee… seeing as she wasn't showing yet, so it doesn't make sense for the butler to be able to tell that she was in a delicate condition at present. But then, she thought of how reluctant her husband has been about letting her travel to Seoul when she's still in her first trimester. Although eventually, her husband had relented due to her insistence to travel alone, he had specifically told her that he would have someone there keeping tabs on her well-being. Looks like, he had decided to pick butler Lee as the supervisor for her well-being while she's in Seoul.

Butler Lee didn't respond to Jun Hee's inquiry verbally but his silence was enough to clue Jun Hee in on the fact. With a roll of her eyes in exasperation, Jun Hee shrugged and continue on her way to her own bedroom suite to get settled in. Having napped briefly on the flight, she didn't require a nap at this time… but she did feel a tad peckish. And so, she instructed butler Lee to arrange a light snack for her while she took a quick shower in her own En-suite to freshen up.

Location: Songpa district, Chu family home, Seoul. 30th November 2009, 5.30pm

Due to the pit-stop Ga Eul had made at the supermarket, she didn't reach home until 4.30pm. The first thing Ga Eul did upon arriving home was to pack away the things she had bought from the supermarket into its' respective storage space in her family's kitchen. Of course, she left the shampoo/conditioner set her mother had told her to buy from the supermarket on the coffee table in the living room as she isn't sure where her mother usually stores such items. And then, she left the dish-washing liquid soap she had purchased for her boyfriend's kitchenette out on the dining table temporarily so she wouldn't forget to bring it out with her later on when she's ready to set off for her boyfriend's place of residence.

Moving on, Ga Eul went on to check on the ingredients she have available for dinner preparation for this evening in the freezer and chiller compartment of her family's fridge. A peek into the fridge's freezer compartment informed her that there's still plenty of meat available for her use, thanking her insight for not purchasing more meat from the supermarket earlier. Ga Eul surveyed the contents of the freezer before deciding that she would make spicy chicken bulgogi for dinner tonight.

Decision made, Ga Eul removed the pack of boneless chicken thigh meat from the freezer and set it into the kitchen's sink to thaw. Next, she went on to pick out the condiments necessary for the preparation for the dish and set them aside so they would be within reach when she needs them. And then, recalling her boyfriend's remark of having not tasted miso soup prepared by her yet… Ga Eul decided to go for a fusion dinner menu this evening.

With the menu decided upon, Ga Eul went to her room and changed out from her school uniform into a set of her comfy lounge-wear before putting on the apron on her person as she starts bustling around the kitchen to get dinner ready for her entire family, and for her dinner date with her Casanova beau.

A Fusion menu means having a variety of dishes from different origins and mixing them up together to form a meal. In this case, the starters/appetizers is a garden salad made with the Japanese cucumber, fresh celery, baby spinach, lettuce, and cherry tomatoes which are served with the roasted sesame salad dressing as opposed to the thousand island dressing which is common in the western salad bowl. And then once the salad is ready, Ga Eul proceed to make a pot of seaweed tofu miso soup using the last remaining portion of the miso paste in the kitchen. Throwing the emptied tub of miso paste into the trash bin of her family's kitchen, Ga Eul was immensely glad for her decision to buy a new tub of the miso paste earlier from the supermarket - otherwise, she might have to head out to the supermarket to grab a new tub later on in the day because miso is a critical ingredient for her lunch menu, the following day.

With the miso soup simmering away on the stove, Ga Eul went on to scoop up three cups of rice into her family's rice cooker unit, wash the rice twice before setting it to cook in the electric rice cooker. Finally, Ga Eul moves on to prepare the main dish for tonight's dinner - the spicy chicken bulgogi. As for dessert, Ga Eul decided to use the fresh fruits she had purchased earlier at the supermarket for dessert this evening. After all, most desserts dishes require baking and baking takes time which she doesn't exactly have to spare at present. Besides, her Casanova beau doesn't really care for dessert with his lack of penchant for sweet treats. And so, Ga Eul reckons that freshly cut fruits would suffice in this case.

It took Ga Eul slightly more than an hour to finish preparing the meal, and since the food can't be packed into the food containers immediately after dishing out from the frying pan. She set them out to cool for a moment, by using this time to pick out the ideal food containers for her boyfriend and herself from the variety of lunchboxes she has available in her kitchen's cabinetry. Perhaps, it's due to the influence of the Japanese culture in her upbringing since childhood days - Ga Eul enjoys collecting different types of lunchboxes even though the bento culture isn't all that strong in South Korea, as compared to Japan.

In Japan, all students are encouraged to bring their own lunch to school, unlike in South Korea whereby lunch is provided by the school for a fee up until middle school. And then, students are welcome to purchase their own meals during the lunch break from the school's cafeteria from high school onward. Of course, if the student chooses to bring their own meals to school, nobody is going to say anything either. Regardless, Ga Eul had taken to pack her own lunch to school ever since she started experimenting with different recipes in the kitchen and that's when her vast collection of lunchboxes came to be put into good use.

After a detailed inspection of the storage cupboard that she had utilized for the storing of her various food containers, Ga Eul managed to pick out two lunchboxes from her kitchen's cabinetry that comes with different compartments. The lunchboxes are designed differently in terms of appearance, one is a round-shaped transparent food container while the other is a translucent food container that's squarish in shape. Both are microwavable and come with three separate compartments.

Ga Eul packed the bigger portion compartment that took up half the space of the lunchbox with steamed white rice and uses the other two smaller-sizing compartments for the storage of the garden salad and the main dish - spicy chicken bulgogi. Leaving the remaining portion of the spicy chicken bulgogi in the frying pan and covering it with its lid, Ga Eul decided to leave a memo note for her family members who aren't home from work and the after-school enrichment classes to inform them that dinner has been prepared for them. All they needed to do is to heat up the food upon their return. Last but not least, she retrieved the insulated thermos food jar from the cabinet that was utilized to store her various food containers to fill it up with the miso soup she had prepared for this evening's meal. To prevent oxidization of the fruits, Ga Eul didn't cut the fruits and packed them away, instead, she picked out a large size Japan Fuji Apple and a decent-size Japanese pear from the fruits she had purchased at the supermarket earlier and placed them into a separate bag, intending to bring them over to her boyfriend's place of residence for their after-meal dessert.

Once she had everything packed nicely into the respective food containers, Ga Eul started putting them into her food carrier bag. Satisfied that despite the numerous food containers she intends to bring over to her boyfriend's place this evening, her reliable food carrier bag is still able to fit everything in. Chu Ga Eul finally removed the apron from her person and hang it back up onto the wall hook of her family's kitchen, zipped up the zipper to the food carrier bag, and headed back to her room to get herself changed before setting off for her boyfriend's pottery studio.

Once ready, Chu Ga Eul grabbed her food carrier bag and her red clutch where she had stashed her mobile phone and house keys into as well as the grocery bag from the supermarket that holds the dish-washing liquid soap. After doing one last cursory scan of her surroundings to ensure that she had not left anything behind, Ga Eul turns to leave her family home in the direction of the local subway train station. Of course, Ga Eul didn't forget to send a message off to her boyfriend informing him of her arrival at his pottery studio in approximately 30 minutes.

Between the option of hailing a cab or taking the public train, Ga Eul opted for the latter since the cost of traveling on the subway is relatively cheaper. Of course, the cheapest option would be hitching a ride off from either her cousin - Shuichi or her half-sibling, Kazuki. But Ga Eul didn't want to inconvenience her cousin, nor did she wish to deal with her half-sibling childish attitude this evening.

Just like how her Casanova beau had a tendency to get jealous about her whipping up a feast for the E3 when it's her turn to host the Sunday dinners, Kazuki also has a tendency to get jealous when he noticed the high frequency whereby Ga Eul prepped up home-cooked meals for the Korean Casanova. And therefore, to avoid having to deal with Kazuki's childish behavior - Ga Eul thought it best for her to make her way over to her boyfriend's place of residence on her own via the public train system.

The train ride itself took 10 minutes including a transit from line 8 to line 2 on the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, but it takes Ga Eul five minutes to walk from her home to the nearest train station in her neighborhood and then another 15 minutes walk from the train station to her boyfriend's pottery studio. All in, the entire traveling time took Ga Eul 26 minutes, and therefore, it was approaching 7pm in the evening when Ga Eul finally crossed the threshold of the pottery studio owned by the Korean Casanova in Gwangjin-gu of Seoul.

Location: So Yi Jeong's Pottery Studio, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. 30th November 2009, Monday, 7pm

"Yi Jeong-sunbae, I'm here… where are you?" Ga Eul calls out as she enters the pottery studio with her food carrier bag in hand, and nearly dropped the food carrier bag in hand when she heard a crashing sound coming from the back of the pottery studio. Raising her voice slightly as she calls out, Ga Eul first set down the carrier bag she had in hand on the table closest to her before venturing deeper into the studio.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae, is everything alright back there? I heard a crash…" Ga Eul begins as she starts inching towards where she thought the crashing sound had originated from.

So Yi Jeong had been busy in the back of the pottery studio, he was setting up a make-shift home theater with the mini home movie projector and a portable projector screen he had ordered in through online means after having heard his girlfriend's remark about a home movie night date, the other day. But because he wasn't certain if he would be at the studio when the delivery was made, he had arranged for the delivery to be made to the cafe owned by his estranged brother over the weekends. That was the reason why his brother had dropped by yesterday night with the leftover croissants which he had heated up for breakfast this morning. His brother was dropping off the items he had ordered through e-commerce platforms which were delivered to the cafe for safe-keeping under his request.

The Korean Casanova was so engrossed in the task of fixing up the legs for the stand of the projector screen through the means of trial and error as there wasn't an instruction manual given in the package that he didn't hear the sound of his girlfriend's arrival at the pottery studio. Not until one of the legs to the stand gave way when it wasn't tightened properly resulting in a crashing sound as one side of the stand collapsed from the weight when he attempted to hook the screen to the corners of the metal frame of the stand.

[Darn… I should have Hyung assist me in the setting up of the projector screen stand last night.] - Yi Jeong thought as he detached the screen from the corners of the collapsed frame as he works on fixing it up, again.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae, are you alright at the back? You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?" Ga Eul's concerned voice broke the potter out from his thoughts, as he hurried to call out to his girlfriend in response.

"Everything is fine, there's no need for you to come over. Just stay out there and I'll be out in a jiffy." Yi Jeong called out just in time to halt his girlfriend from venturing closer to his present location, he had meant to surprise his girlfriend with the make-shift home theater space, after all. Now, if only the set-up for the projector screen is as easy as the set-up and configuration for the mini portable home movie projector unit.

"Okay…" Despite sounding unconvinced, Ga Eul didn't venture any closer to where her Casanova beau was. Well, whatever her beau is busying with at the moment, one thing's for certain - the Korean Casanova had no intention to let her find out for now. This means, the crash she heard earlier may or may not have had anything to do with that 'surprise' her boyfriend had in mind for her which he mentioned in passing to her via text earlier this morning.

So, with a shrug, Chu Ga Eul headed back towards where she had left the food carrier bag - deciding that while her boyfriend busied himself at the back of the pottery studio doing who knows what, she might as well get their dinner ready to be served by taking them out from the carrier bag. She supposed they could eat their dinner out from the lunchboxes directly, but the soup would need to be poured out from the food jar and into a proper bowl. Now, it's just a matter of locating a soup bowl from the storage compartments in the kitchenette where her Casanova beau had randomly stashed the bowls after they purchased it from the kitchen utensils section of the departmental store, a few weeks ago.

Meanwhile, So Yi Jeong glared at the offending parts that come in the package of the portable projector screen. Why didn't he put this thing together the night before when his brother is here? Then again, it's not as though he has lots of experience purchasing things through online means. So, how was he to know that the projector screen comes in different options? He had simply assumed that the projector screen he had ordered is the pull-up projector screen which is typically quick to install based on the image provided on the shopping platform. How was he to know that the projector screen comes in two options, with option 1 being - projector screen with stand, and option 2 being the pull-up projector screen. Either way, it's too late to ask for an exchange for the product so he could only make do with what was ordered and delivered to his doorstep. Oh well, worst case scenario - he simply had to enlist his girlfriend's help in setting up the projector screen for their home movie night date.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae, are you done yet? Dinner is ready." Chu Ga Eul raised the volume of her voice as she calls out to catch her Casanova beau's attention. She has been hearing quite a bit of clinking sound coming from the back of the pottery studio where her boyfriend has been working since she arrived at the studio. Is her boyfriend trying to fix up something on his own? Although, Ga Eul didn't know for certain what her boyfriend was busying with… she thought the sound reminds her eerily of the time her adoptive parent was trying to fix up a metal shelving on his own which he had bought online for their home study. One downside about purchasing furniture online is that sometimes you need to fix things up on your own, and there might not be any instructions manual provided in the package that was delivered. One can only piece things together through the means of trial and error, perhaps… that's exactly what that earlier crashing sound was all about - Ga Eul thought inwardly to herself.

"...Alright, give me a minute. I'm coming out." Yi Jeong calls back to his girlfriend in return, finally managing to get the stand holding the screen fixed up after multiple tries and adjustments. Taking a deep breath as he hang the rope on the four corners of the screen onto the frame he had finally managed to set up after multiple attempts of trial and error means.

Satisfied that he had no need to enlist Ga Eul's assistance in setting up the projector screen, Yi Jeong finally left the make-shift home theater space at the back of his pottery studio and headed back out front to where his girlfriend was waiting for him with their dinner.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Yi Jeong commented as he approached the kitchenette's sink to wash his hands real quick before heading towards the table where the food has been laid out by his girlfriend for their dinner meal.

"It's fine. I went for a fusion menu today, and I hoped that the food prepared this evening is to your liking." Ga Eul said as she greeted her Casanova beau with a bright smile on her lips while stamping down the urge to pry into the cause behind that crashing sound from before.

"I have full confidence in your culinary skills, so I'm sure I'll find whichever food you prepped up for us this evening satisfactory." Yi Jeong flashed a charming smile at his beloved country bumpkin before taking a seat at the table where Ga Eul had picked out to serve their dinner meal for today. Flicking his gaze down to the food laid out on the table, Yi Jeong's eyes landed on the lunchbox that's still covered with the lid and remarked innocently. "Oh… so, it's bento-style dinner meal today?"

"Yes, well… and I have miso soup ready for this evening as well. The bowls are too small to hold everything, so I only poured out half the soup I had brought over this evening for now. There's still enough for a second round of the soup in the food jar, feel free to help yourself to the remaining soup during the latter half of the meal." Chu Ga Eul commented as she took her seat at the table as well while handing her Casanova beau a set of the cutlery that she had located in the kitchenette of the pottery studio.

"Thank you. Well, then… let's not dally further and start digging into dinner, shall we? I have something else in mind for us to do, this evening." Yi Jeong commented with his charming dimpled smile at Ga Eul, the woman with who he found himself falling deeper with each passing day.

"Ah… the surprise you mentioned having in store for me, earlier today. Alright, let's dig in then." Ga Eul beams in response, deciding to go along with her boyfriend's secretive whims and stamped down her desires to pry into the subject of the impending surprise.

Location: Seongbuk-dong, Seongbuk District, Seoul. Yoon Family Home, 30th November 2009, Monday, 7.30pm

As the Korean Casanova and his beloved country bumpkin are enjoying their dinner date in the comfort of the pottery studio, over at the Yoon family home - Geum Jan Di has just arrived at the doorstep of Yoon Ji Hoo in the Seongbuk-dong for her tutoring session.

"Welcome, have you taken your dinner yet?" Yoon Ji Hoo inquires as he answered the door upon noting Geum Jan Di's arrival at his doorstep through the monitoring screen of his family CCTV system installed.

"Ji Hoo-sunbae, that was fast. How did you know that I'm here before I even rang the doorbell?" Geum Jan Di blinked as she took a step backward on reflex when the door opens before she could even press the doorbell.

"Ah… I was on my way to the kitchen to whip up a quick meal when I noticed your arrival through the CCTV surveillance system installed at the gate. Anyway, come on in. So, have you had your dinner meal yet?" Yoon Ji Hoo responded before repeating his earlier question to the girl, for the second time around.

"Oh… erm, yes. I did take dinner before coming over." Jan Di nodded in response, as she stepped over the threshold into the entranceway of the Yoon family home.

"Good, in that case, make your way to the living room and wait for me. Do you still remember the way to the living room?" Yoon Ji Hoo asks flicking a quick glance towards the girl's direction.

"Yes. I still remember the way to your living room. You mentioned going to the kitchen to whip up a quick meal earlier, does that means that you haven't had your dinner?" Geum Jan Di nodded before she thought it prudent to ask the auburn-haired member of F4.

"I took a nap after arriving home from school earlier, and before I knows it - I'd overslept. So, you're right to say that I haven't had my dinner yet." Yoon Ji Hoo responded with a shrug.

"...and out of curiosity, what exactly is the quick meal you have in mind to prep up for your own dinner in the kitchen?" Geum Jan Di was silent for a second before inquiring out of curiosity. While she is aware that the guy wasn't exactly hopeless in the culinary department, he didn't strike her as the type that can cook either. But then again, considering how Yoon Ji Hoo had a friend that's capable of cooking up a feast in the kitchen… who knows, maybe that guy had managed to pick up a few useful culinary skills from Min during his previous trips to Macau?

"I assured you, although I'm not as well-versed in the culinary department as compared to Min. I'm in no danger of burning down the kitchen unlike the rest of my friends, so preparing a simple bowl of instant noodles on the stove is still well within my capability." Yoon Ji Hoo remarked in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Ah… in that case, I shan't deter you from your trip to the kitchen. I'll just wait for you in the living room then." Geum Jan Di nodded looking a tad sheepish for doubting the guy's capability in the kitchen.

"..."

It didn't take the auburn-haired member of F4 more than five minutes to return from the kitchen to the living room where Geum Jan Di sat waiting with her textbooks and assignments out on the coffee table. The instant noodles didn't take long to prep up, seeing as all Ji Hoo needs to do is to bring the water to a boil before dropping in the piece of instant noodles with the accompanying ingredients as well as the soup base powder and let it cooked on the stove for a few minutes until the noodles turn soft. Not really well-versed in the culinary aspects, the only ingredients Ji Hoo used for his instant noodles is an egg followed by a sprinkle of the finely chopped spring onions he had managed to locate in the fridge of his kitchen. The spring onions are likely prepared by his housekeeper ahead of time before she left his family home for the day while he's still taking his nap.

Alongside his bowl of noodles that serves as his own dinner meal for the day, Yoon Ji Hoo also returned to the living room of his family home with a tray of tea service in hand.

"Please do help yourself to the tea and snacks when necessary. So, what do you have in mind for us to tackle in this evening's tutoring session?" Yoon Ji Hoo started as he voiced his query across to Geum Jan Di who's eyeing her textbooks and assignments with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Oh… Ji Hoo-sunbae, you're back. Right, I was thinking perhaps we should just focus on getting me to catch up with the progress of the rest of the class before anything else. I reckon before I start working on pulling up my grades, I ought to first get a basic understanding of the current topics that the teacher is going through with the rest of the class first. I can't pull up my grades if I don't even understand what the teacher is talking about during class time, either way." Geum Jan Di responded turning towards her former prince charming with an expectant gaze.

"In that case, let's begin with the notes provided to you by Ga Eul-yang then." Yoon Ji Hoo nodded, setting down his bowl of noodles that's still hot to the touch momentarily to retrieve the copy of the notes he had gotten from Geum Jan Di earlier on in the day.

"Aren't you going to eat your noodles first?" Geum Jan Di asks out of curiosity.

"The noodles can wait for another minute or two, it's too hot and I have no intention of scalding my tongue while ingesting it. So, which subject would you like to begin? Science or Mathematics?" Yoon Ji Hoo asks as he sifts through the copy of notes Chu Ga Eul had compiled for the benefits of Geum Jan Di's self-revision under his guidance.

"Perhaps, Mathematics first?" Geum Jan Di began as she suggested to start with the subject which she had the easiest time comprehending. Science can be confusing as hell for her, and thus needs more time to work on and she didn't want to delay her former prince charming dinner meal ingestion and so, she thought it best, to begin with, the catching up on the Mathematics subject first. And then, she could utilize the time after the guy goes through with her the different formulas and concepts of the mathematics equation to work on her homework assignment. Likewise, her former prince charming could use the time she's working on her homework assignments to finish up his late dinner meal.

"Sure." Yoon Ji Hoo shrugged, having no objection to Geum Jan Di's suggestion to kick-start their first round of tutoring sessions with a revision of the Mathematics subject. So, the auburn-haired member of F4 reached out for the copy of notes prepared by the meticulous Chu Ga Eul ahead of time for Geum Jan Di and flipped towards the page with the heading of Mathematics and starts going through the contents with Geum Jan Di.

Unlike the rest of the subjects, there's only a single page worth of notes provided by Chu Ga Eul for the subject of Mathematics. The notes begin off with a list of the topics covered in the textbook over the past week, and then Ga Eul separated the notes into three distinct sections with the labeling of each section with the number - 1 to 3. Part 1 of the notes involves the mention of the first topic, and it comprises the equation to be applied with the purpose of when the equation ought to be applied to solve a Mathematics problem. Also included in the notes is an example question with a model answer provided using the above-mentioned equation, and the same goes for the other two sections of the notes.

Ji Hoo, personally, thought that the notes are clear-cut enough and easy to comprehend so he simply handed the notes over to Geum Jan Di and let her go through the contents of the note on her own before asking if the girl has any trouble understanding the concept. And while Geum Jan Di studied the notes provided by her childhood friend earlier on in the day, Yoon Ji Hoo started ingesting his dinner on the side.

After spending some time studying Ga Eul's notes in detail, Geum Jan Di thought the concept behind the equations is easy to comprehend. Now, it's just a matter of whether or not she could apply the equations to the questions listed in her homework assignment with ease. So, she decided to give it a try by starting to work on her Mathematics homework assignment while referencing the notes from her childhood friend every now and then. And at the end of the hour, she handed her completed assignments to the auburn-haired member of F4 for a check whereby the guy would then highlight to her the few steps where she had gotten the question wrong and thus applying the wrong equations to the situation.

The entire tutoring session lasted 3 hours, with the two of them spending the first two hours working on the Mathematics subject and the final hour working on English, which is a subject that Jan Di was rather weak in. During the hour they spend working on the English subject, Ji Hoo utilized half an hour working on the aural aspects of the language with Geum Jan Di whereby he would attempt to converse with Geum Jan Di using English and expect the girl to try and understand and later respond to him in English as well. And when Geum Jan Di asks why she must attempt to respond to the conversation in English, Yoon Ji Hoo simply responded that most of the lectures in medical school are conducted in English and thus making it prudent for Geum Jan Di to brush up her English skills if she truly wished to enter medical school for her college education.

"Oh…" Upon the explanation given to her by her former prince charming, Geum Jan Di allowed an audible sigh to escape from her as she resigned herself to the notion of adding yet another subject to work hard on, to attain her goal of becoming a doctor.

Location: So Yi Jeong's Pottery Studio, Gwangjin district, 30th November 2009, Monday, 8.30pm

As Yoon Ji Hoo continues to work with Geum Jan Di on her English language skills, back in the pottery studio, the dinner meal between the Korean Casanova and his beloved country bumpkin has ended for some time. And once the dishes have been washed, dried, and put away for storage - the duo had left the pottery studio for their routine evening stroll around the vicinity of the studio as part of their after-meal exercise regimen. During this time, Yi Jeong went on to visit the convenience store to pick up a loaf of sourdough bread for his breakfast over the next few days.

"Sourdough bread? That's surprising, I thought you would have picked the baguette for certain." Chu Ga Eul piqued up when she noticed the bread loaf her boyfriend had decided to buy for his breakfast over the next 2-3 days.

"Hyung recommended for me to give the sourdough bread a try, and since the bakery corner of the convenience store happens to have it on offer today. I thought, why not? While on the subject, have you ever tried the sourdough bread before?" Yi Jeong shrugged his response to his girlfriend as they made their way to the cashier of the convenience store to proceed with the payment of his purchase.

"Hmm…? Oh, yes - I did try sourdough bread before but it wasn't store-bought. There's a period whereby my adoptive parent seems to have developed a penchant for experimenting on baking loaves of bread at home, he made a homemade sourdough rye bread once and I thought it's good but since I'd never really tried store-bought sourdough bread before, I can't compare." Ga Eul responded musingly as she shared the story with her Casanova beau.

"Well… the sandwiches sold at Hyung's cafe are made from sourdough bread it seems, so if you ever feel like doing a comparison between your adoptive parent's homemade sourdough bread and the store-bought sourdough bread, maybe you can drop by and tried out those sourdough sandwiches available at the cafe. I'm sure if you brought up the mention of my name, Hyung would give you a discount on my account." The potter of F4 commented as they left the convenience store with his purchase in hand, and headed back for the direction of his pottery studio.

"Really? Is your brother finally made aware of the nature of our relationship?" Ga Eul raised an eyebrow in surprise at her boyfriend's words, inwardly wondering if that means her boyfriend is finally ready to make their relationship public.

"Not quite, but because I had sort of enlisted his assistance for the surprise I had in store for you later… I may or may not have let it slip to him that I'm sort of involved with someone in the official sense." The Korean Casanova confessed on an eventuality to his curious girlfriend.

"Oh… and how did he react to the bit of information?" Ga Eul grinned as she continues to pry into the matter.

"To say he was shocked by the information was a bit of an understatement." Yi Jeong commented rather drily to his girlfriend as he launched into a reiteration of the events from the previous night when his elder brother dropped by the pottery studio with the parcels which he had requested for the courier to deliver to the cafe because he might not be available to receive the parcels when the delivery was made.

[Flashback to 29th November 2009, Sunday evening, 9.30pm Yi Jeong's Pottery Studio]

"Yi Jeong, care to hold the door open for me? I'm afraid I had my hands full for the moment." Ii-Hyun calls out to his younger sibling, who seems to be busy working on some thesis judging from the number of reference texts sitting on the table where Yi Jeong was cross-referencing several books while typing out something on the laptop.

Blinking once then twice, the potter of F4 thought he was hallucinating at first when he heard the sound of his estranged brother speaking up. But then, a knocking sound coming from the doorway of the pottery studio draws his attention over and clues him in on the fact that he wasn't hallucinating. It was indeed his estranged elder sibling standing outside the doorway leading to his pottery studio.

"Hyung! What brings you over this evening?" Hurrying towards the door, Yi Jeong answered the door for his estranged sibling only to find the guy standing outside with two paper bags in hand. One of the bags seems to be rather large in sizing, which makes Yi Jeong wonders what exactly was in the bag.

"Your parcels for instance." So Ii-Hyun commented as he held up the larger bag in hand and handed it over to his younger sibling, at the end of his words.

"Oh… thank you. But seriously, Hyung… you could have just given me a call and informed me that my items have been delivered. I would have popped over to the cafe and collected them myself from you in person, that would have saved you the hassle of coming by after you closed up the cafe for the day." Yi Jeong commented as he took the offered bag from his estranged elder sibling and brought it over to the table where he has been working on his college project.

"It's no hassle, I was thinking of swinging by either way. There's quite a bit of croissants leftover today at the cafe, and I can't finish them all on my own… so, I thought you could help me finish them up so there wouldn't be any food wastage. The croissants are freshly baked just this morning, and usually, there are only 1-2 pieces left at the end of the day. But maybe it's because it rains for the better half of today, there are not many patrons at the cafe for me to serve this afternoon. As such, I ended up with half a dozen of croissants leftover at the end of the day. I took three home with me intending to heat them up for breakfast tomorrow and thought you could help me polish off the remaining three croissants." So Ii-Hyun told Yi Jeong as he handed a smaller plastic carrier bag over to his younger sibling, inside the plastic carrier bag were three croissants that are individually packed in a transparent plastic bag which are nicely sealed up to keep the bread fresh.

"I see…thank you, Hyung. These croissants came just in time, it saves me the hassle of needing to head out to grab breakfast for the next two days." The potter of F4 remarked as he accepted the offered croissants from his estranged elder brother with gratitude, and promptly store them away in the cube fridge of his kitchenette space.

"You're welcome, anyway, since when did you start shopping on an e-commerce website?" Ii-Hyun inquires out of curiosity, he was under the impression that his brother prefers to shop in brick and mortar stores, to be honest. So, the discovery of his brother purchasing stuffs online and then using his cafe as a drop-off point for the parcels was a bit of a surprise for Ii-Hyun.

"Oh… it's a recent thing. I require some items urgently and didn't know where to get them, an internet search informs me that there are plenty of the items I'm looking to procure easily available via online shopping platforms. So, I thought… why not give online shopping a try?" Yi Jeong responded casually as he went in search of a penknife that could be used to unwrap the tightly sealed parcels that were delivered by the courier guy to his brother's cafe earlier on in the day.

"..." Helping himself to a glass of water from the water pitcher placed on the countertop of the kitchenette, So Ii-Hyun kept half his focus on the parcels which were dropped off at his cafe earlier on in the day. He had to admit, he was curious to see just exactly what kind of items his brother had ended up resorting to the means of online shopping to purchase. The first package was unwrapped to reveal a compact and portable mini gadget, which Ii-Hyun had initially assumed to be a speaker or sort. It wasn't until he ventured closer to the item that he realized that it was actually a mini projector unit, and then the other larger size parcel turns out to be a portable projector screen.

"A projector and a projector screen? Are you planning to hold a presentation outdoor anytime soon?" So Ii-Hyun couldn't help but piqued up with a blatant look of curiosity as he directed his query towards his younger sibling.

"...whatever makes you think that I have a presentation that's to be held outdoor coming up?" Yi Jeong blinked at his elder brother in bewilderment.

"Oh, so… the projector and the screen aren't purchased for a presentation event then? Sorry, I'd simply assumed since these items are kind of essential for an outdoor presentation." Ii-Hyun apologized without delay upon realizing that he had leaped to the wrong conclusion of his brother's reasons for procuring the above-mentioned items.

"Well… I do admit, part of the reasons why I had taken to purchase these items rather than looking into the option of renting is because they are practical and useful in plenty of situations. Anyway, I bought them because they are critical and essential for a home movie night session." Yi Jeong confessed as he starts looking through the instructions manual that came along with the projector unit to figure out how to set up the device and get it to work the way he intended.

"A home movie night session? You mean, you are looking to set up a home theater space in here?" So Ii-Hyun blinked as he flicked his gaze around the pottery studio, with an expression that seems to scream 'disbelief' at the potter of F4.

"Yes, I'm indeed looking to create a make-shift home theater space in the studio. Why else would I go to the extent of getting these items through online means if I weren't actually thinking of setting up the home theater space? Of course, it's not going to be a permanent home theater… but a temporary one, and therefore the portable screen and portable projector unit. That way, I could stash them away in storage when they are not required." Yi Jeong explains without looking in his brother's direction, and if he did, he would have noticed a peculiar look clouding the features of his elder sibling.

"... don't mind me prying, but are you going to enjoy this home movie night alone or with a companion over?" So Ii-Hyun hesitated momentarily before speaking up. If his brother is simply looking into the idea of enjoying a movie session alone without stepping foot into the cinema, he would simply leave it be… but if his brother is thinking of inviting friends over for a movie night. The benches in the pottery studio are hardly going to be comfortable seating for the home movie night session.

"Why does it matter whether I'm having company over for the home movie night?" Yi Jeong asks his elder sibling in return, warily.

"Because the seating wouldn't have mattered if you're thinking of enjoying the home movie night session solo, but if you're thinking of having friends over for the movie night. I would recommend that you bring in some comfortable seating arrangements for your movie companions. A movie typically lasted for at least 90 minutes, imagine sitting that long on a bench without back support… that certainly isn't going to be comfortable for the audiences present for the movie night." Ii-Hyun pointed out objectively to his younger sibling.

"... and what would you do in my position?" Yi Jeong asks his elder brother innocently back in return.

"If it's me, I would invest in some comfy-looking furniture…when exactly are you going to hold the movie night session?" So Ii-Hyun prompted thinking of what he could do to assist his younger brother. Depending on his brother's response, he had two different suggestions.

"I was thinking about holding it tomorrow night actually." Yi Jeong confessed without coming outright to his brother with the information that it's not just a simple movie night he was thinking of holding, but a home movie night date which he's planning to surprise his girlfriend with.

"Oh well… in that case, you'd best come over to my place. I think I have some items in my storage that might be useful for your movie night tomorrow." Ii-Hyun suggested eventually and then wasted no time in dragging his younger brother out of the pottery studio.

[End of Flashback]

"Oh… so, this surprise you've been telling me about since this morning is referring to the home movie night session?" Chu Ga Eul finally came to a realization about what the surprise her boyfriend had in store for her is about.

"Indeed." Yi Jeong nodded in affirmation, as he reached into the pocket of his pants to retrieve his keys to the gate of the pottery studio.

"But what exactly was the catalyst that spurs you onto the idea of surprising me with a home movie night session?" Ga Eul asks turning towards the Korean Casanova with eyes that sparkle with unbidden curiosity

"Well… remember how you were saying the other day about how we've never been on a movie date before?" Yi Jeong commented as he retrieved his keys from the inside of his suit to unlock the door to his pottery studio.

"...and?" Ga Eul prompted as she wait for her Casanova beau to elaborate on his statement.

"So, I thought it prudent to arrange for a home movie night date for us. Although, I have to warn you in advance that I'm not all that educated in entertainment films. So, you are going to be the one to decide on the film to watch later." Yi Jeong commented honestly as he turns to regard his girlfriend with a charming smile playing on his lips.

"Really? You mean to say, you've never watched a movie before?" Chu Ga Eul raised an eyebrow up in surprise at her boyfriend's words.

"Yes. Outside of the historical films which the teacher had us sit through during class time back in my elementary school years, and the documentaries films that I'd watched from time to time voluntarily in my free time. I don't exactly spend much time on films, it's not exactly I could simply waltz into a movie cinema and not find myself getting mobbed by a bunch of fan-girls. Moreover, the ladies' friends I had hung around before don't exactly request for me to bring them out for a movie date, usually, they are fine with simply spending time shopping and indulging in some fine-dining experience." Yi Jeong told his girlfriend in a matter-of-fact tone of voice when the girl appears to be surprised by the information of how unfamiliar he was in general when it comes down to movie films.

"Right… I'll see what I can do then. So, where did you set up the make-shift home theater space?" Chu Ga Eul inquires after a moment of silence, inwardly she was thinking of how exactly is she going to pick out the film for their movie night session shortly. Given how unfamiliar her Casanova beau is when it comes down to selecting movie films, Ga Eul couldn't help but wonder where on earth did her boyfriend source the movie films for their movie date from…surely, the guy didn't borrow the films for her selection from his elder brother, did he? Then again, perhaps that was exactly what Yi Jeong-sunbae had done… how else would he end up letting it slip to his elder brother about him being in an official relationship with someone.

"Come on, I'll show you the area where I've set up as a make-shift home theater this evening." Yi Jeong's words then jolted Ga Eul out from her musing thoughts, as she smiles at her Casanova beau while following the guy deeper into the pottery studio.

The make-shift home theater turns out to be set up in the same spot where Yi Jeong had once brought Ga Eul over and served the girl tea in the wake of her 'break-up' with that scumbag - Gong Soo Pyo. Yi Jeong picked this spot because of its natural dim lighting, making it suitable to be utilized as a home theater space. Previously, this space is a tad cramped due to the presence of the two tables. So, for this evening, Yi Jeong had taken the effort to remove one of the tables which were originally placed by the side and shifted it out of the pottery studio to the back patio temporarily to free up the space needed for the setting up of the home theater space. Likewise, he did the same with the benches that were originally placed in this area, because as per his brother's comment - the benches aren't comfy enough to be used as the seating for the home theater space.

"...where's the table that was originally tucked to the side of the wall? And where did the beanbag chairs come from? That definitely doesn't seem like something that came out from your storage space, to be honest." Chu Ga Eul blinked as she took in the transformation the space had taken on, as compared to the last time she was brought to the back of the pottery studio.

She distinctively recalled this space holding two tables situated diagonally across from one another the last time she was here. Now, only one table remains in its original spot whereas the other table where she had sat down for tea after the Casanova picks her off the street after her rare moment of an emotional meltdown in public was missing from the site. In its space was two comfy-looking beanbag chair in the shade of gray that looks a tad odd in the setting of a pottery studio.

"To make space for the make-shift home theater, I had temporarily shifted that table out to the back patio of the pottery studio. As for the beanbag chairs, you are right to say that they aren't pulled out from my storage room… they are, in fact, something which I had borrowed from Hyung when he pointed out to me that the benches I owned in the pottery studio aren't comfortable enough to be used for our home movie date night." The potter of F4 confessed to his curious girlfriend, as he allowed Ga Eul to take her time for an inspection of the make-shift home theater space he had created out for this evening at the back of his pottery studio.

"I see… and what film do you have in mind for us to watch this evening?" Ga Eul finally turns inquiring eyes upon the figure of her Casanova beau, after she was done inspecting the make-shift home theater space, and satisfying her curiosity about where the original furniture had disappeared off to.

"I'll leave that up to you to decide." Yi Jeong shrugged, since he wasn't much of a movie fan and thus, didn't really have any idea in mind about what to watch for their home movie night date - this evening.

"Right… and how do I go about deciding the film?" Ga Eul asks naturally back in return, it's not as though the movie is going to be played out from the DVD player. In her inspection of the home theater space, she had noted the presence of the mini home movie projector unit placed atop the other table in the space facing the portable projector screen of 48 inches, going by Ga Eul's estimation via visual observation. She didn't ask but she thought the screen is 48 inches, as it reminds her uncannily of the sizing of her TV unit at home.

"You can pick a film out from the Netflix app installed on the IPAD device." Yi Jeong said as he handed over the IPAD device to his girlfriend.

"...I wasn't aware that you owned an IPAD… and you definitely didn't strike me as the type to subscribe to the Netflix streaming service." Ga Eul remarked as she took the offered IPAD device from her Casanova beau to explore the films available to stream via the mini projector unit.

"Again, like the beanbag chairs - the IPAD belongs to Hyung. I borrowed it from him because he has a subscription to Netflix. Basically, whatever I have here in the make-shift home theater was borrowed from him, except for the projector screen and the projector. These items, I purchased it online last week since they can be used for other purposes outside of screening movies." The Korean Casanova confessed as he left his girlfriend to explore the films available for streaming on Netflix for their movie night date, while he headed to his kitchenette space to get them some tea service so they needn't put the film on pause to venture out for a drink mid-movie.

"So, have you decided on which film to watch?" Yi Jeong asks shortly after he returns from the kitchenette with tea service in hand.

Ga Eul took one look at what he brought back from the kitchenette and couldn't resist a snort from escaping. "You know, Yi Jeong-sunbae… the standard snacks for a movie session is usually popcorn and cola."

"...sorry for not having any popcorn snacks on hand, you know I don't usually keep such snacks at hand. As for cola, they are sweetened beverages and you know how rare it was for me to indulge in such beverages." Yi Jeong rolls his eyes at his girlfriend as he remarked in a dry tone of voice.

"I know, and I'm not complaining. But please understand from my standpoint that this is the first time I was served hot tea during a movie night activity. The E3 holds movie night sessions occasionally as well, and they have served a bunch of beverages during those movie nights but hot tea was never part of it. So, please pardon my amused reaction when I saw you coming back in with tea service in hand." Ga Eul explains as she responded to her boyfriend's dry remark about not having the standard movie snacks on hand.

"Whatever… so, have you decided on the film to watch yet?" Yi Jeong prompted steering the focus of his attention back onto the film which they are going to watch via the projector screen shortly.

"Hmm… I'm having trouble deciding between the film - My girlfriend is an agent and the film - Hachi: A dog's tale." Ga Eul confessed and upon noticing the blank look on her boyfriend's face, she recalled how unfamiliar the guy was when it comes down to movie films that aren't historical or documentaries based. "I would show you the synopsis but I doubt you would want to read something this wordy, so to put it in short. My girlfriend is an agent in a romance comedic action-packed film, while Hachi: A dog's tale is based off a true story from Japan which is a tearjerker film."

"...going by the term - tearjerker, I'm going to assume that you would start tearing up at some point mid-movie if we were to pick that film?" Although Yi Jeong wasn't really educated in the movie films aspect, he understood the term - tearjerker enough to gather that the film had a tendency to bring tears to the viewers' eyes.

"You assumed correctly." Ga Eul nodded in affirmation, seeing no point in withholding the fact from her boyfriend. It's an undeniable fact that she tears up easily when feeling touched or moved by a scene in a movie or something that she could relate to in real life.

"Well… in that case, I'm leaning towards the romance comedy if I absolutely must decide the film to watch this evening." Yi Jeong took a moment to consider his options, before casting his vote. Due to the timing, and the fact that he had no idea how his girlfriend would look after tearing up during a movie… he didn't want to risk invoking any misunderstandings or ire from Ga Eul's adoptive parent when he send the girl home. Yi Jeong decided to pick the romance comedy film, although he has absolutely no clues about what the film is all about.

"Hmm… the romance comedy, it shall be, then." Ga Eul shrugged since she's interested in both films, although she has to say, the film - My girlfriend is an agent wasn't what she was expecting her boyfriend to pick. Then again, maybe her boyfriend just wasn't keen on dealing with her tears if they were to watch the other film.

[Oh well… I could always watch the other film at home over the weekends.] Ga Eul thought inwardly to herself as she shrugged, after all, her family does have an active Netflix subscription and therefore, she could always watch the other film at a later time in the comfort of her own home.

With the film decided, the couple settled down on their respective beanbag chairs and start streaming the movie via the projector unit. Thanks to the set-up Ii-Hyun had assisted Yi Jeong in programming the night before, it didn't take Yi Jeong too much time to connect the projector unit to the IPAD unit for the streaming to take place via the projector screen.

The film - my girlfriend is an agent, is a native Korean film directed by Shin Tae-Ra and starring Kim Ha-neul and Kang Ji-hwan which is released earlier in the year, on the 23rd of April 2009. But it was relatively new on Netflix, and thus was one of the few trending movies streaming on the Netflix platform recently.

Throughout the film, Ga Eul had to confess she spend more time observing her boyfriend's reactions to the film than paying attention to the storyline of the film itself. The film begins with an organized crime group from Russia taking possession of an advanced bio-chemical weapon from Korea with the help of a corrupted Korean scientist, and the two special agents are the world's only hope to stop them. Now, the two agents played by the male and female lead features the female lead as the veteran agent trained in martial arts and fencing and the male lead being a rookie international agent whose foundation is in analytical work rather than fieldwork. And therefore, the male lead often goofs up on the job and land into trouble throughout the film.

Funnily enough, which is also the comedic aspect of the film - the male and female leads are dating each other, but have absolutely no clues of each other's secret identities as agents. The passion between the two leads in the film turns into madness as the lies and secrets between them build until they nearly kill each other.

And while Ga Eul had her fill with laughter during the progress of the film, Yi Jeong was bemused half the time while sitting through the movie. Twice when Ga Eul shifted her attention to the side to refill her teacup, she nearly snorted aloud at the odd look marring the features of the Korean Casanova. But she managed to stamp down the urge of hilarity and refocused her attention back onto the film. It wasn't until the film ended, and the credits starts rolling on the screen that Ga Eul finally turns her curious eyes onto the figure of her Casanova beau to check on the guy's thoughts on the film.

"So, what's your verdict on the film?" Chu Ga Eul prompted as the movie came to an end, and she stood from her seat to make her way towards the light switch to flick the lights in the back of the pottery studio back on.

"Illogical and bizarre." Yi Jeong frowned as he thought back to the scenes featured in the film before offering his opinion on the film itself.

Ga Eul snorted aloud as she commented, "well… comedies are seldom logical. You aren't supposed to watch the film with a logical and analytical mind. The film might be action-packed filled, but it's also a comedy. When it comes down to comedy, the best way to enjoy it was to ignore all the illogical settings in the film. For instance, don't try to analyze why the male and female leads fail to realize each other's secret identities. Because if you really want to look at things from the logical standpoint, the story itself is rather ridiculous, to begin with."

"I see… well, I'll try to keep that in mind the next time we attempt to watch another comedy film." The Korean Casanova nodded slowly as he digested the words coming from his girlfriend, before changing the subject entirely.

"So, do you want to watch another film or should we call it a night for today?" So Yi Jeong inquires, after darting a quick look at the timing reflected on the IPAD screen.

"I think we can call it a night for today, although I didn't exactly have a curfew in place… it's already approaching 10.30pm. It's best not to worry my parents unnecessarily." Ga Eul spends a few seconds considering her options before responding to her Casanova beau's inquiry.

"Fair enough, let's make a move then. I'm due to meet Woo Bin in about half an hour either way but I'll send you home before heading off to meet him." The Korean Casanova responded after taking a moment to check on his mobile phone.

"Oh… Woo Bin-sunbae is back in town?" Ga Eul was quick to ask after hearing her Casanova beau mentioning the name of the Don Juan of F4.

"Apparently so. It seems he got back to town when we were halfway through the movie but because I've set my mobile to silent mode, I've only just noticed his text message inviting me out for a drink." So Yi Jeong commented with a shrug.

"Hmm… well then, enjoy your night of partying with Woo Bin-sunbae. Just don't drink too much, you have a morning lecture to attend in school tomorrow. I'm sure you wouldn't wish to deal with a nasty hangover tomorrow morning." Chu Ga Eul had no issues with her boyfriend meeting up with the Don Juan of F4 for a drink or two, even if the meeting between them is bound to take place in some nightclubs.

"Of course. Come on then, let's get you home before your adoptive parent decides to show up at my doorstep in person to fetch you." The potter of F4 remarked wryly as he directed his words to his girlfriend.

~TBC~

Chapter's notes:

Alright, after one entire week of stewing on this chapter - Chapter 44 is finally completed! Sad to say, I failed to cover any scenes from episode 15 in this chapter. So, the entire chapter is fully original contents and scenes came up by yours truly.

The chapter begins with some Woo Bin & Jae-Kyung interaction via chat, not in person. ^^; and then Jae-Kyung gets a cameo scene on her side. In the next part of the chapter, the scene took place in Seoul.

Back in Seoul, we have scenes featuring Jan Di and Ji Hoo's tutoring session, and then a cameo scene featuring Jun Hee's return to Seoul. Last but not least, we have the highlight of the chapter - a home movie date night for the SoEul couple! Oh, and I incorporated a cameo scene featuring Ii-Hyun in a flashback event of the previous night.

I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, originally I wanted to fit in the scene between Jun Hee and Jan Di into this chapter, but then I realized if I did so - it's over to overshot the words limit. Especially since I'm thinking of slotting in a scene between Yi Jeong and Woo Bin meeting at the club as well ^^; Oh well, I'll push it to the next chapter in this case. And maybe, just maybe… I might include the scene of Jae-Kyung's first official meeting with Jun Pyo in Macau. ^^; No guarantee though, ultimately it depends on whether or not I could find an appropriate timing to slot in that scene.

Ciao, for now, ~ see you next update!