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 48 - A Tangled Web, Part 5
Location: Jae-Kyung's Suite Room in Shinhwa Hotel, Macau. 7th December 2009, Monday, 8am
Sitting in front of the hotel room's desk with her personal laptop power source switched on, the heiress of the JK Group was waiting for the online lecture via Zoom conducted by the Shinhwa University to begin. Previously, Jae-Kyung was enrolled with the University of London (UOL) but was later forced to transfer to the Shinhwa University because she wasn't able to get back to London in time for the new school term to commence after the political union arrangement instigated by Kang Hee-Soo of the Shinhwa Group kept her trapped in Macau.
When she had first brought up the mention of wishing to return to London for her new school term when her leave of absence applied came to an end, lady Kang had insisted for her to transfer to the Shinhwa University Business School so she could attend online classes alongside with Gu Jun Pyo, the guy whom she was supposed to get engaged to, much to her reluctance.
Thus far, between her constant act of aversion to the idea of the political union, and Gu Jun Pyo's lack of motivation in trying to 'charm' her over - they had somehow managed to delay the inevitable engagement between them. Albeit, Gu Jun Pyo's lack of motivation was constantly called upon by lady Kang with blatant disapproval, he made no move to rectify his behavior. After all, this was his only means of protesting against his mother's dictating act. Of course, if he's the only one refusing to cooperate, his mother would definitely take on a more forceful approach.
But because Jae-Kyung was equally uncooperative on the political union arrangement, Kang Hee-Soo can't exactly go about things in her way. Because while Kang Hee-Soo could force her son to comply by resorting to thinly veiled threats involving Geum Jan Di, she can't force Jae-Kyung to comply with her inclinations. And so, the progress of the political union arrangement between the Shinhwa Group and the JK Group had arrived at a standstill.
Jae-Kyung was drawn out from her thoughts when the screen on the Zoom application installed on her laptop started to change. With the change, it means that the lecture is about to begin. And so, the heiress of the JK Group managed to force out her stray thoughts to focus on the contents of today's lecture.
Now originally, Kang Hee-Soo's idea is to have Jae-Kyung attend the online classes together with her son. However, Jae-Kyung vetoed the idea claiming that she prefers to attend the class in her own room instead of in the office of Gu Jun Pyo. She did, however, agree to work on the class assignments together with the guy since there's bound to be assignments that are too complex to complete on their own assigned by the lecturer from time to time.
Granted, Jae-Kyung would have preferred to work on the assignments alone as well but she also knows that Kang Hee-Soo wishes for her to spend more time with Gu Jun Pyo and, to take this time to get to know, one another better. Through her regular text conversations with a certain Don Juan of F4, Jae-Kyung had gathered enough to know that it wouldn't be wise to go against Kang Hee-Soo too frequently lest it provokes the woman into taking extreme actions to ensure her cooperation. Henceforth, Jae-Kyung didn't object to the woman's suggestion for her to spend an hour a day in the private office of Gu Jun Pyo to complete the homework assignments assigned by the lecturer via the online lessons attended.
Of course, Kang Hee-Soo's idea for making such a suggestion is to have the youngsters mingle and interact with one another outside of classroom assignments. But sadly for her, because none of the youngsters are too keen on the prospect of the political union arrangement - what they did during that one hour in the private office of Gu Jun Pyo of the Shinhwa Hotel in Macau was indeed purely focused on the classroom assignments assigned to them by the lecturer conducting the classes for them via Zoom.
Today, it was the same. Both of them first attended the online classes via the zoom app separately, but when lunch break comes around - the two youngsters would meet up for lunch in the in-house restaurant of the Shinhwa Hotel in Macau. Although neither of them is exactly keen on mingling and interacting, they kind of had to do just that if they didn't wish for the guards assigned with the duty of 'chaperoning' them during lunch break to report their lack of interaction back to their respective parents.
Under the scrutiny of their respective chaperons, the two youngsters simply can't ignore each other throughout the entire meal. Therefore, after having placed the orders with the waitress of the restaurant - the heiress of the JK Group finally spoke up in a low hiss.
"Just exactly how much longer do we have to endure each other presence? You might have grown accustomed to the idea of having your freedom limited, but I'm not. The lack of freedom to do as I pleased is killing me." Jae-Kyung gritted out her words at the figure of Gu Jun Pyo in a low hissing tone of voice.
"...just suck it up and endure it for another two weeks or so. And then, my mother would be leaving Macau for Washington D.C to attend a Xmas Gala event. You would get a taste of the long-overdue freedom then. I'm sure with my mother out of the country, your parents wouldn't forbid you from heading out to explore the city." Gu Jun Pyo responded in an equally low tone of voice while stamping down the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in weariness.
Between his mother's constant lament of his lack of motivation in attempting to charm the heiress of the JK Group, and the heiress's constant complaint about the lack of freedom - it's causing him about double the stress level as compared to working overnight continuously for several days in a row. Thankfully, his mother had to leave Macau for Washington D.C in the states to attend some social event that her presence is absolutely required while leaving him in Macau to his own device for a few days. At least, that few days of freedom would allow him to unwind and de-stress for a bit. Likewise, it would also give the heiress of the JK Group the reprieve that she seeks.
"Really? How long would your mother be away from Macau?" Ha Jae-Kyung's eyes lit up upon hearing about lady Kang Hee-Soo's near departure for Washington D.C and promptly wasted no time in pressing for more details from the newly minted owner of the Shinhwa Group.
"Ideally, I would prefer her to stay away for a week but knowing her, chances are she's only going to be away for a total of 5 days. That is, unless, something else came up in Washington D.C that requires her attendance in presence." Gu Jun Pyo answered flatly careful to keep his expression a blank mask to convince that he's not in the least interested in the conversation topic brought up by the eager heiress of the JK Group.
Though Jae-Kyung wasn't in the least appeased by the notion of getting only 5 days of freedom, she knows that's the best she could attain under the present circumstances. And so, she had grudgingly dropped the subject and went back to poking at the remaining food left on her lunch plate.
Location: Shinhwa Academy, Tertiary Department, Cafeteria. 7th December 2009, Monday, 12pm
"Yo! Yi Jeong, do you mind me joining you?" Song Woo Bin started upon sighting his Casanova friend seated at a table in the cafeteria of the Shinhwa University.
"...suit yourself. It's not as though the table is reserved exclusively for my use. As long as you don't lure a horde of your fan-girls over, I'm perfectly fine with the idea of you joining me at this table for lunch. Speaking of which, what happens to that two dudes who have been hanging around you recently?" The Korean Casanova quirked an eyebrow up in a questioning manner as he addressed his childhood friend, who has a playboy reputation on par with him up until a few months ago.
It took the Don Juan of F4 a few moments to make a connection between the mentioned 'dudes' in his friend's statement with his recently acquainted classmates, and when the realization dawns on the mafia heir. Song Woo Bin simply shrugged nonchalantly as he responded to his Casanova friend's inquiry. "Ah… they're off on their lunch dates with their significant others."
"I see… and is that why you decided to impose your presence on me, this afternoon?" Yi Jeong remarked as he digs into his lunch - Mapadubu (Korean-style Mapo Tofu) set lunch purchased from the vendor selling traditional Korean food in the cafeteria of the tertiary department.
"Sort of, besides as someone who doesn't really enjoy taking meals alone. Shouldn't you be glad that I had decided to join you for lunch this afternoon?" Song Woo Bin shrugged his answers as he threw a questioning look in his friend's direction.
"...fair enough. Seeing as I'm already midway through lunch, shouldn't you go ahead and grab something for your own consumption instead of wasting your time chatting with me?" So Yi Jeong couldn't help but remind his friend, upon noticing that his friend hasn't actually gotten anything for lunch yet.
"Right, out of curiosity, is that the Mapadubu set lunch which you're having? Is that any good?" The Don Juan of F4 then proceeds to inquire, out of sheer curiosity.
"... yes, it's the Mapadubu lunch set that I'm having for lunch today. As for whether or not it is good… I guess that would ultimately depend on which version of the dish you're comparing it to. In terms of spiciness, it's definitely better than the Japanese version of the same dish. But if you're comparing it to the authentic version of the dish served in the Sichuan province in China, it's definitely not quite up to standard because of the difference in the ingredients used for the preparation of the dish." The Korean Casanova answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Even though he knows nothing much about culinary skills in general, his tongue could at least distinguish the difference in the taste of the same dish prepared and served by chefs of different origins. That's one of the reasons why he was known for his pickiness when it comes down to food in general.
"Hmm… and which stall did you get it from?" Song Woo Bin then went on to voice his next question to his Casanova friend. Despite having taken lunch in the same cafeteria over the last few months when he's present in school, the Don Juan of F4 still hasn't quite finished exploring the cafeteria of the college department yet. Mostly because the size of this cafeteria is about twice as large compared to the cafeteria over at the high school division. Thus far, he had stuck to purchase his lunch from the few western cuisines stalls which are congregated over at the left side of the cafeteria and have yet to explore the stalls over on the other end of the cafeteria.
"The stall selling traditional Korean cuisines." So Yi Jeong responded, he didn't bother to inform his friend of the stall's exact location in the cafeteria.
If the stall vendors on the left side of the cafeteria are focused on the western cuisines, the stall vendors on the right side of the cafeteria are then dedicated to cuisines in the Asian region. The western cuisines available in the cafeteria included Italian (Pizza, Pasta & Baked Rice), French (Quiche, Baguette Sandwich, Duck Confit, etc), Mexican (Tacos, Nachos, Burritos, etc), American (Fish & Chips, Hamburgers, Steak, etc). And then, the Asian region cuisines included stalls that sell the traditional Korean cuisines, Japanese Cuisines, Chinese Cuisines (Fusion of menu from all over China), South East Asia Cuisines (renowned dishes from the South East Asian Countries), and then to cater to the vegan, there's also a stall dedicated to serving strictly Vegetarian dishes as well as a Halal certified stall selling Halal food for the Muslims International students enrolled with the Shinhwa University.
Nodding absently, Song Woo Bin then left the table to explore the stalls in the cafeteria which he has yet to explore before. It took the Don Juan about 20 minutes before returning to the table with a food tray in hand. The mafia heir spends about 10 minutes looking at the menu board of the different stalls selling Asian cuisines in the cafeteria, before making up his mind about which queue to join for the purchase of his lunch. And then, he went on to spend another 5 minutes deciding on the exact lunch set to order and finally ended up getting the Tom Yum Soup rice set from the stall selling South East Asian Cuisines.
Rejoining his Casanova friend at the table with his newly purchased lunch set, Song Woo Bin spend a moment inhaling the aroma of the soup before digging into his lunch. Although, there have been no attempts to communicate with the mafia heir; it didn't take long for the Korean Casanova his friend was curious about something. And taking into consideration of today's date, Yi Jeong had an inkling behind the cause of his friend's curiosity. Chances are, Woo Bin wants to know what had transpired the day before when he met up with the E3 and spent the bulk of the day hanging around them.
"You know, you can simply just ask me outright about how yesterday went. As long as you aren't trying to fish for details about what I tend to do with Ga Eul behind closed doors, I'm not going to go on the defensive." The Korean Casanova rolls his eyes momentarily before taking the initiative to broach the subject of yesterday's meeting with the E3 to his childhood friend.
"Really? Then how exactly did your meeting with the E3 go? Did the Miyazawa heir really trash you on the court? I have to admit, I'm quite curious about how you fared in the game against the Miyazawa heir but I didn't want to ask outright lest it upsets you." Song Woo Bin admitted as he wasted no time to pry for details after his friend took the initiative to bring the subject up for discussion.
"Contrary to what you may think, I'm not so much of a sore loser that I would avoid speaking on the subject when probed. Anyway, in response to your question on whether or not did the Miyazawa heir trashed me on the court yesterday. The answer is yes, Miyazawa Kazuki did trash me completely during our tennis match played the day before at the indoor tennis court of the Shinhwa Country Club. Aside from the one game that he allows me to score and win because he was trying to gauge my level of expertise on the tennis sports itself, he completely shuts me down throughout the entire match. The final game count for our match was 6-1, which is sort of within my expectations, to begin with." So Yi Jeong sighed as he responded to his friend's curious inquiry about the tennis game he had with the Miyazawa heir, the day before.
"I see, and what happens next? Seeing as you aren't Jun Pyo, there's no chance of you requesting a rematch after losing against the Miyazawa heir. So, certainly, tennis isn't the only activity carried out throughout the entirety of yesterday - right? Aside from the tennis game, what else did you guys do yesterday?" Song Woo Bin continues to pry on the events that transpired the day before at the Shinhwa Country Club, having known in advance that his Casanova friend had literally cleared the entire schedule for yesterday so to spend the entire day hanging out with the E3 and the ever-lovely Ga Eul-yang.
"...well, we spend the first half of the day on the tennis court for a start. A total of 4 games were played during that period, I personally played two games. One game with Ga Eul as a warm-up before going up against the Miyazawa heir lasted 30 minutes. The game between me and the Miyazawa heir lasted for an hour, and subsequently, I sat out of the remaining games since the match against the Miyazawa heir had depleted my energy and stamina for the most part I would need time to recover. So, the next two hours, I spent lounging on the sideline of the court and watched on as the Miyazawa heir played against Saionji Shunsuke before he retreated from the court so that Sakuraba Shuichi could go up against Saionji Shunsuke. Afterward, we went on to grab a late lunch at the bistro. After lunch, I treated them to a round of a shooting game at the rifle range which helps soothe my bruised ego from losing the tennis game. Following this, we moved on to the bowling alley for another round of competition whereby I teamed up with Ga Eul, which helps even out the final scores at the end of the game. Finally, I joined them on their routine weekly dinner session which they took turns hosting." The Korean Casanova then proceeds to give his friend an outline of the events that transpired the day before, careful to leave out the few hours of private time whereby he took his girlfriend to the jockey club to pay a visit to his beloved mare.
"I see, that sounds like you had a rather fulfilling day, overall. Now, out of curiosity, how likely do you think of your involvement in the future Sunday activities planned out by the E3 after yesterday's events?" Song Woo Bin nodded slowly in acceptance of his friend's answer before bringing up the next question that pops into his mind.
"...honestly, I have no idea. Based on Ga Eul's speculation though, they might extend the invitation to me on routine but wouldn't expect me to show up for their Sunday activities every single time." So Yi Jeong shrugged in response, and honestly, he hasn't quite decided if he would want to face off against anyone from the E3 on the tennis court, again. But he wouldn't mind joining them for the weekly routine dinner sessions though, since those dinner parties are way more relaxing than the usual dinner parties he's expected to attend, every so often that are organized by the business associates of his grandfather or family friends. More importantly, the girls invited to the dinner gathering though seem oddly curious about him in general, don't flock around him and fawn all over his presence and thus don't bothers him as much.
"...well, given your reputation as the infamous Korean Casanova; it's only natural that the Miyazawa heir wouldn't be satisfied with the idea of simply trashing you once on the court." The Don Juan of F4 remarked in a wry tone of voice as he ingested his lunch meal in the presence of his childhood friend.
"Whatever, I'm not as much of a sore loser as compared to Jun Pyo. So, I'm perfectly fine with letting the Miyazawa heir get a win in his books against me. Either way, enough about my meeting with the E3 yesterday. What were you up to for the entirety of yesterday? Surely, you didn't spend the entire day in office, did you?" Yi Jeong shrugged nonchalantly in response before he took his turn at prying into the mafia heir's activities for the previous day as he didn't wish to be the only one subjected to an interrogation by his nosy childhood friend.
"Huh? Me? Nothing is interesting on my part, but you're absolutely right that I didn't spend the entire day working in the office. It's Sunday, after all. The corporate office isn't open on Sunday, so there's no need for me to be in the office at all. But I did spend time working from home by responding to all the emails that I have accumulated over the week in the comfort of my own home. And then, I spend some time in my family home theater facility with my mother and my two sisters. Last but not least, I went out for a routine inspection of the high-end luxury nightclubs owned by my family. Of course, I took the liberty to indulge in some alcohol while at it. There - you have it, the outline of my itinerary for yesterday. As you can see, there's nothing special going on - that's basically how my Sundays tend to go without Jun Pyo around to throw my schedule into disarray with his random ideas." Song Woo Bin deadpans as he outlined his activities carried out on the previous day to his Casanova friend.
"That's all? No text correspondence with a certain heiress who's currently in Macau?" So Yi Jeong raised an eyebrow up at his friend in a questioning manner, somehow finding the lack of any text correspondence with the heiress of the JK Group on his friend's part - a tad disbelieving. The Korean Casanova was under the impression that the heiress of the JK Group had taken to correspond with his Don Juan friend over the phone regularly since they've gotten acquainted with one another.
"...so, that's what you wish to know? You could have simply said so, you know? That would save me from the hassle of outlining my entire Sunday's itinerary to you, earlier." Song Woo Bin rolls his eyes in response as he commented rather drily to his Casanova friend, before adding on as an afterthought. "Well, of course, I did converse with her briefly on the phone yesterday. Ever since she had her freedom restricted by her parents, under the suggestion of the witch… she has taken to the habit of messaging me for a chat whenever the stress of dealing with the witch overwhelms her."
"Really? And what did she complains to you about, this time?" Yi Jeong then went on to press his friend for further details on the subject, his interest obviously piqued.
"Well… as you know, the witch has been creating opportunities for Jun Pyo and Jae-Kyung to spend time together to bond and hoping that some form of affections could be nurtured between them so she could proceed on to make an announcement of their official engagement. So, the witch has arranged for them to take lunch every few days, on occasions whereby Jun Pyo isn't needed elsewhere to attend to official business. Of course, a chaperon would be available to report the progress of these lunch dates back to the witch. And since yesterday is a weekend, the witch decides to have them spend more time in each other presence and so, had arranged for them to go out on a date." Song Woo Bin then proceed to give an outline about what the heiress of the JK Group had complained to him over the phone yesterday, about the zoo visit in Macau with their common friend - Jun Pyo.
[Flashback to the day before, 6th December 2009, Sunday, 9pm at the Song Family Home…]
Song Woo Bin had just stepped out from the home theater room where he had spent the past hour watching an animated film with his two little sisters when he felt his mobile phone buzzed with an incoming text message. A look at the screen of his mobile device informed him that he has received a new text message from a certain heiress who has recently been matched with one of his childhood friends against her wishes.
A private message between Ha Jae-Kyung and Song Woo Bin, 6th December 2009, Sunday, 8pm [Macau Time], 9pm [Seoul Time]
Jae-Kyung: Evening, Prince Song! Do you know how dreadfully boring your friend is? =_=
Woo Bin: Good evening. What did Jun Pyo do or rather not do, this time?
Jae-Kyung: Since it's Sunday, and nothing is pressing in the company that requires his attention. His mother forced us to go out on a date which he did oblige due to his mother's insistence, but he has got completely no plans about what to do for the day which was fine. I mean, I have a dozen things in mind that I would like to do… only he refuses to cooperate. *Frustrated Emoji*
Woo Bin: … don't mind me inquiring but what exactly did you suggest to do that got shoot down by him?
Jae-Kyung: I first suggested visiting the red market for some shopping of local snacks and delicacies which he rebuked on the basis that the red market is too crowded. So, I went on to suggest visiting Cunha street in the Taipa district of Macau, which he refused again for the reason that it's not somewhere that's befitting for someone of his status to visit. Can you believe it?! I seriously can't believe that's the excuse he has for me, I wouldn't even end up this annoyed if he uses the excuse of the place being an infamous tourist spot and is bound to be crowded with people which he isn't fond of, rather than citing that the place is too commoner for him. Especially since I know for a fact that outside of him, the rest of the F4 had visited the Taipa district for souvenirs shopping. So, I don't see why visiting Cunha street in the Taipa district would be an issue for him. *Fuming Emoji*
Woo Bin: I see… would you like me to speak to him about the matter?
Jae-Kyung: Could you? I mean, I understand that he isn't enthusiastic about going out on a date with me given the circumstances, because I'm not too keen on the idea as well. But I'm sick and tired of being cooped up indoors… and if going on a date with him is the only way I could explore the city freely, I'm willing to compromise.
Woo Bin: In that case, I'll speak to him and try to get him to see things from your perspective. Either way, coming back to the earlier topic, what did you two end up doing for today, in the end? Seeing as he had shot down your idea of visiting the red market and the Cunha street in Taipa district.
Jae-Kyung: Ultimately, I ended up talking him into the idea of visiting the Coloane district. We went to the Macao Zoo and visited the Giant Panda Pavilion in the zoo. Of course, he only agrees to go after instructing his secretary to ring up the organization in charge of the zoo to book out the entire zoo for two hours so we could get the entire place for ourselves, which is absolutely no fun at all. You know, I personally, detest the private setting environment and would very much prefer to blend into the crowd. Your friend, on the other hand, seems to hate the idea of mingling and interacting with random strangers.
Woo Bin: Yes, well… Jun Pyo is accustomed to the idea of being treated like royalty ever since his childhood days as opposed to the rest of us. But he has mellowed down quite a bit since Geum Jan Di came along and crashed head-first into our lives, at least, he's willing to listen to the advice of others nowadays.
PS: Out of curiosity, how did the zoo visit go?
Jae-Kyung: [Insert Instagram link to Zoo visit] - while it isn't as fun as I expected due to the private setting environment, at least I get to take some exclusive photos of the animals, especially the pandas while visiting the zoo. Check out the photos I've taken during the visit to the Macau Zoo on my Instagram account. ^_^
PS: Your friend spend the entire two hours while I explored the park, sitting on a bench with his tablet looking through something which I'm not privy to. Not that I have any interest in what he's doing though… *Shrugging Emoji*
Woo Bin: I'll check out the photos shortly. Is there anything else you wish to rant/vent to me for now? If not, can we end the conversation here for today? Something else had come up that requires my attention, it seems.
Jae-Kyung: I think that's all I have to complain about your friend for now. I'll let you know if I happen to think of something else, do speak to your friend about accommodating my request to visit either the red market or Cunha street. I really have things that I desire to pick up from either of those places, which I can't visit them on my own unless he joins me on those trips due to my mother's fear of me giving them the slip, and his mother's incessant pressure and insistence for us to spend time together and bond. =_=
Woo Bin: Of course, I'll make sure to speak to him as soon as I can get hold of him. Take care, and I'll speak with you another time.
Jae-Kyung: Ciao~ take care. ^_^
[End of Flashback]
"..." At the end of Woo Bin's reiteration of how the 'date' between Jun Pyo and the heiress of the JK Group went, the day before - the Korean Casanova was left in a state of speechlessness. After a few minutes of silence, the potter of F4 finally managed to recover his speech ability and the first thing he commented upon was the obvious lack of interaction between Jun Pyo and the heiress of the JK Group during the so-called 'date' that took place at the Macau Zoo.
"So, you're saying that during the zoo visit… all Jun Pyo did was to sit on a bench with a tablet in hand while leaving JK Group heiress to her own device?" The Korean Casanova found the corners of his lips twitching as he commented, incredulity coloring his tone.
"Yes. That is exactly what happened based on the recount given to me by Jae-Kyung." Song Woo Bin nodded as he responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"... and he did this under a chaperon's supervision?" Yi Jeong continues on, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner as he seeks clarification with his Don Juan friend.
"Indeed, but given that it has been Jeong Sang-Rok who was there to play chaperon… I reckon that's why Jun Pyo dared to blatantly ignore his mother's instructions." Song Woo Bin shrugged his response in between bites of his own lunch.
"..."
In the meantime, over at Busan - Gye Sun Hee, a graduating student from the Korea Cooking Art Academy, Busan; had just received a favorable response to her internship application whereby she had attended an interview about a week ago in Seoul. In the email, she was told that she had gotten the intern position as a kitchen assistant to the pastry chef with the MZ Kitchen. Also included in the email is the stipulated reporting time for her on the first day of work.
Gye Sun Hee read through the email twice to ensure that she didn't misread anything before whooping aloud in joy, and headed out to announce the good news to her family members. Her family members' reactions to her announcement were mixed. Her siblings are generally happy for her, but her parents' reactions are conflicted at best. Whereas her grandparents were downright disagreeable with her decision to venture to Seoul for the internship position. Then again, her grandparents were among the first to react negatively when she confessed that instead of applying to a local university after high school graduation, she had applied to the Korean Cooking Art Academy of Busan for her tertiary education.
After reporting the news of her impending departure to Seoul for her internship position, Gye Sun Hee headed back into her room at home to drop her cousin - Sunny, a text message updating the girl of the result of her successful application to the internship position with the MZ Kitchen in Seoul. After all, she did promise her cousin that she would send an update as soon as she receives news from the company in regards to her interview session attended last week in Seoul.
A Private message between Gye Sun Hee and Sunny Park Sun Ja, 7th December 2009, Monday, 1.30pm
Sun Hee: Guess what, Sunny?! *Happy Emoji*
Sunny: What? *Curious Emoji*
Sun Hee: *Joyful Emoji* Well… I got the response to my interview session attended last week in Seoul just now ^_^ So, I'm here to inform you that I've gotten the internship position with MZ Kitchen and would be back in Seoul soon ^_^ v
Sunny: Oh, that's definitely a cause for a celebration. You're starting work in January, right? When would you be coming over to get settled in?
Sun Hee: That has yet to be decided, but I reckon I'll be in Seoul at least a week before as I would need to find a place to rent for my stay during the period of my internship but whether or not I'm looking to spend Xmas in Seoul has yet to be determined. I'll get back to you on the subject once things have been finalized on my end in Busan. ^^
Sunny: Sure, in the meantime, shall I get my dad to be on the lookout for possible accommodations for you?
Sun Hee: That would be great, it would spare me the hassle of looking through the various options when I arrived in Seoul. I'll let you know of my budget later on tonight as I haven't got around to planning my budget in Seoul yet. ^^;
Sunny: No worries, take your time. There's no need to rush through your budgeting plan, just inform us of your allocated budget for accommodation before you arrive in Seoul would do. That way, we can help to eliminate options that are outside of your affordability range.
Sun Hee: Of course. Right, I shan't disturb you anymore… you're still in school, aren't you? Will speak with you again, later tonight or something. I'm about to leave home to meet up with my friends as well.
Sunny: Sure. See you soon. ^_^
Ending the text message with her cousin, Sunny Park Sun Ja flicked her glance discreetly towards the direction of Chu Ga Eul seated a few rows ahead of her in class and briefly considered if she should approach the girl to ask for advice about the subject of the accommodation arrangements for the interns working for MZ Kitchen, that's under the management of the Miyazawa Group.
In the end, Sunny decides that there's no harm in asking. After all, it would be good to know for certain if there's a specific way to provide feedback on the company's practice as opposed to the services provided by the company itself. And so, Sunny seized the moment when the school bell signaling the end of the school session for the day to approach Chu Ga Eul on the subject.
Chu Ga Eul was moments away from stepping out of the classroom when she heard the sound of someone calling out for her attention. Turning around, Ga Eul was genuinely surprised to see the former member of the annoying trio - Sunny Park Sun Ja, approaching her from behind.
"Yes, Sunny? Is there anything you require from me?" Ga Eul begins, as she regards the approaching girl with a questioning look.
"I have something to ask you. It's not going to take up too much of your time, maybe we could walk as we converse about it?" Sunny began as she hugged her textbooks harder against her chest, the idea of seeking out Chu Ga Eul still unnerves her to this day. Even though, she knew deep down in her that as long as she did nothing to piss off the girl, the illegitimate heiress to the Miyazawa Group isn't going to do anything in retaliation to her in general.
"Sure, I'm heading towards the lockers area. We can speak as we make our way there." Chu Ga Eul nodded in consent to Sunny's suggestion of conversing as they make their way out of the classroom. Inwardly though, Ga Eul was drawing a blank on the plausible topics which Sunny would wish to converse with her about. After all, there aren't any ongoing class assignments that would require them to work in groups/pairs at present.
"Of course." Sunny agreed readily enough as she moved forward to join Chu Ga Eul, at the same time, she didn't forget to inform her friend - Areum Lim to go on ahead to the school library first, and that she would head over to the library after she finished speaking with Ga Eul.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Ga Eul took note of Sunny's obvious apprehensiveness and decided to take the initiative in breaking the silence between them. "So, what is it that you wished to speak with me about? Seeing as we aren't exactly friends, I highly doubt that you'd sought me out for some girls' talk." Chu Ga Eul began in a dry tone of voice as she broke the thick silence hanging like a cloud between Sunny and herself.
"... you're right. There's no eloquent way to put this across to you. In fact, you might actually find it odd for me to speak with you on this… but seeing as I can't find any suitable channels of communications on the website itself, I thought coming to you for advice is the next best thing to do." Sunny responded as she addressed the figure of Chu Ga Eul with affirmation.
"..." For a while, Chu Ga Eul didn't speak as she was busy trying to make sense of the words uttered by Sunny. The fact that the term 'website' and the mention of suitable channels of communications means that it probably wasn't something to do with her in specific. More than likely, whatever Sunny had approached her to speak about might have something to do with the Miyazawa Group in general. And so, after a few moments of consideration - Ga Eul spoke up. "Okay… and what is that that you wish to seek out my advice for?"
"Right… so, the thing is - I was wondering if there's anyone I could contact from the MZ Kitchen in regards to feedback on the short-term employees' benefits? My cousin has recently gotten her internship application with MZ Kitchen approved, but because she's an intern… it's her sole responsibility to find accommodations for herself while she's interning with the company. Of course, it wouldn't be too much of an issue for my cousin to do just that - since my parents would be able to help her out in the sourcing of suitable accommodation. But it then occurs to me that my cousin is likely not the only applicant for the internship program that doesn't actually reside in Seoul, there might be others in the same boat as her. And I'm not sure if you're aware, but apartment hunting in Seoul could be a bit of a headache especially when one has to bear in mind the budget available for their spending. As far as I know, the company does arrange accommodations for their long-term employees… so, I was wondering where I could submit official feedback to the company about extending the same benefit to the short-term employees who don't actually own a property in Seoul, themselves." Sunny then said, going to the extent of quoting her cousin as an example to provide Ga Eul with a clear picture of the situation to get her point across.
"I see…so, what you're asking is a referral to someone so you can provide feedback on the general practice of the company. Am I right to say that?" Chu Ga Eul surmised after having heard Sunny out.
"Indeed." Sunny nodded.
"In that case, you can email your opinion or rather your feedback to the main inquiry email address indicated on the website of the Miyazawa Group for now. They will then route it to the designated department for their attention. In the meantime, I will speak with my aunt who's the CEO of the branch office of the Miyazawa Group in Korea on the subject this coming weekend, so the company might consider adding a feedback channel on the corporate website when it undergoes a new revamp of its' look, the next time around." Chu Ga Eul nodded in response to Sunny's remark on the subject of the short-term employees' accommodation benefits, and it was at this point that they arrived at the crossroad where the lockers area and the stairway leading downstairs were situated.
"Thank you. I'll do just that when I got home later today." Sunny answered upon receiving the response/advice given to her by Chu Ga Eul on the subject. Seeing as she's heading off to the library in search of Areum, she didn't continue on towards the lockers area but headed towards the stairway instead.
Location: Shinhwa Hotel, Macau. 7th December 2009, Monday, 5pm [Macau Time]
Gu Jun Pyo was in his office looking through some documents after he was done attending the online classes for the day, when the land-line phone installed in the office suddenly beeped aloud and shortly after, the voice of Jenny, a fellow receptionist employed in the service of the Shinhwa Hotel Group in Macau sounded over the intercom system calling out for his attention.
"Sir, you have an incoming call coming from Seoul on line 3." Jenny, the receptionist who had transferred the call to the private office of Gu Jun Pyo called out for his attention via the company's intercom system.
"... thank you." Gu Jun Pyo answered as he picks up the call on hold which was transferred from the reception to his private office, shortly after he had thanked the receptionist for the call transfer. Originally, he had assumed that the call is from the main office of Shinhwa Group in Seoul because he couldn't think of anyone else who would think to contact him via the corporate hotline. So, he was quite surprised when he answers the call to find that the call is actually from one of his childhood friends. To be precise, the call which was recently transferred to his private office in the Shinhwa Hotel of Macau was from Song Woo Bin, otherwise known as the Don Juan of F4.
"Good afternoon, this is Gu Jun Pyo on the line speaking." The newly-minted owner of the Shinhwa Group picks up the call in a professional manner.
"...Yo! Jun Pyo, so that's how you sound like while handling a business call - eh?" Song Woo Bin cheekily responded as he greeted his friend, who's the first among them to officially took over the family business.
Gu Jun Pyo blinked at the receiver of the phone incomprehensibly, before responding to the caller with blatant incredulity. "Woo Bin? Why on earth are you calling me on the corporate hotline?"
"Yes, well… I wouldn't have to resort to reaching you via your company's land-line if you had bothered to respond to my text message via SKYPE." Song Woo Bin deadpans from his end of the line, his voice sounding a tad exasperated.
"... I apologized, I had my phone on silent mode and hence, I didn't notice that you've been trying to reach me via SKYPE for the better half of today." Gu Jun Pyo answered after taking a moment to check his mobile phone for the message his friend had mentioned sending to him earlier on, in the day.
A quick look at his phone informed the young owner of the Shinhwa Group that the Ii-Shin heir had indeed tried to contact him on his private mobile-first. In fact, based on the number of SKYPE notifications reflected on the screen of his mobile device - it would seem like he had a total of 3 missed calls via SKYPE from Woo Bin, as well as two more text messages asking for him to return the call as soon as possible. And the final message from Woo Bin was sent about half an hour ago, citing the possibility of establishing contact with him via the corporate hotline if he still remains unreachable by typical means.
"Really? So, you weren't deliberately trying to avoid my calls on purpose?" Song Woo Bin remarked with a raise of an eyebrow on his end of the line.
Given that this isn't a video call - it's rather difficult for the young owner of the Shinhwa Group to determine for certain whether the Ii-Shin heir was trying to mess with him, or was truly irked by the fact that he hasn't been responding to the messages sent to him via SKYPE earlier today. And so, Gu Jun Pyo answered steadily into the phone. "Of course, I wasn't trying to avoid your calls. It's not as though you had done anything to offend me…This is simply a matter of oversight on my part. Anyway, it's rare of you to take initiative at contacting me, so care filling me in on the reason why you've been trying to reach me for the better part of today?"
Setting aside the documents he had been going through in favor of giving his friend on the line his full attention, Gu Jun Pyo turns his seat away from the desk to face the window in the office instead.
"I heard that the witch is amid the arrangement of a political union between you and the heiress of the JK Group." Song Woo Bin started, after realizing that there's no easier way for him to follow through with the promise he had made to the heiress of the JK Group, last night without letting it slip to Jun Pyo of his knowledge of the political arrangement even though it wasn't quite public knowledge yet.
Sure enough, Gu Jun Pyo's first reaction after hearing Woo Bin's words was to splutter unintelligibly. "Where on earth did you hear about that?!" Gu Jun Pyo demanded upon recovering his wits, he was quite certain that he hasn't spoken to anyone about the political union arrangement his mother had in mind to solidify yet.
"I heard it straight from the source, of course." Song Woo Bin commented nonchalantly in response.
"Explain yourself, just what exactly do you mean by hearing it straight from the source? Because I'm quite certain that I didn't mention anything concerning the political union plan my mother has in mind to arrange for me to anyone of you." Gu Jun Pyo gritted out into the receiver as he demanded to know who exactly is his friend's source of information.
"Well, if you must know… I heard it straight from the heiress of the JK Group." Song Woo Bin shrugged as he responded, completely unfazed by his childhood friend's demanding tone. After all, he's pretty used to Jun Pyo's demanding tone whenever something displeased the guy.
Of all the possible answers Gu Jun Pyo had expected, he definitely wasn't expecting his friend's source of information being the other party involved in the political union and thus, he was left speechless for a few seconds after having heard his friend's response to his demanding question.
[Was it just me or did Woo Bin say that he heard the information from the JK Group heiress?] - Gu Jun Pyo thought as he tried to wrap his mind around the fact that his friend was acquainted with the heiress of the JK Group.
"Jun Pyo, are you still there?" After a moment of silence, Song Woo Bin started hesitantly on his end of the line. The Don Juan of F4 was somewhat unnerved by the prolonged period of silence, but the fact that the call wasn't disconnected means that the call is still in session. The only thing that seems to be the fact that his friend wasn't speaking at all… was the information of me being acquainted with Jae-Kyung this is shocking for Jun Pyo to comprehend? The mafia heir couldn't help but wonder.
"Yes, Woo Bin. I'm still here. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that the two of you are acquainted with each other is all. Speaking of, how exactly did the two of you even got acquainted with one another in the first place? The JK Group is based in the UK, after all… and as far as I know, your family hasn't quite expanded your family business into the Europe region yet." Gu Jun Pyo then inquires, deciding to find out for certain how those two became acquainted with one another before anything else.
"Long story short, we met in Bangkok over the summer and kind of hit it off straight away. Either way, I'm sure you know her aversion towards the entire political union arrangement by this point, and seeing as she couldn't quite vent her pent-up frustration to her parents, she decided to ring me up every so often for a rant. What happens was - she currently has her freedom restricted, which I supposed was an idea of your mother because apparently, her mother had confiscated her passport to trap her in Macau, so she couldn't pull another disappearing act. Anyway, she isn't someone who could remain indoors 24/7, and the fact that she's unable to leave the city of Macau without having access to her passport at present, exploring the city seems to be the only way she could get some fresh air. Now, I know you're not exactly keen on this entire political union arrangement but can you please do me a favor? To prevent her from ringing me up every day to rant about being bored out of her mind, can you - I don't know, try to go along with your mother's idea of 'bonding' and bring her out for a walk or so? While on the subject, she seems determined to visit either the red market or the Cunha street in Taipa district… can't you accommodate her request to visit those places? You can find a cafe and hole yourself in there citing that you aren't a fan of crowds and let her do her own shopping as she deems fit. I'm sure whoever is chaperoning the two of you on such outings aren't going to report every single thing back to the witch." Song Woo Bin then proceeds to state his point, bringing up the main purpose of his call to his friend - this evening.
For a while, there was silence. It wasn't until a minute later that Gu Jun Pyo finally responded, and when he did - there's a bit of an unreadable glint in his eyes which the Don Juan of F4 definitely can't see since they weren't speaking in person, but over an international voice call.
"Woo Bin, you didn't call me up this afternoon just to speak with me about this matter, did you?" Gu Jun Pyo begins as he addressed his friend evenly over the phone, with an unreadable look clouding his features.
"And if I did?" Song Woo Bin glanced out of the window of his office in the corporate building belonging to the Ii-Shin Group as he responded, trying to keep up with his nonchalance facade.
"...you do know you're asking a lot from me with your request, don't you? The last thing I want is for my mother to assume that we are making progress in these 'bonding' sessions she had in mind for us to sit through. Supposedly, I went along with your request and voluntarily took the JK Group heiress out for a breather every single day, even it's only for an hour - the witch is no doubt going to assume that things are going smoothly between us. And neither of us wanted the political union arrangement to be made public knowledge, but chances are that's exactly what my mother would do if she hears of our regular 'outings' from the chaperon she had sicced upon us to keep track of the progress of these bonding sessions." Gu Jun Pyo said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he addressed his friend on the other end of the line.
"I know, that's why I'm asking this of you as a favor. As for the complications that would arise from you doing me this favor, well… your witch of a mother is determined to see through her plan of announcing the political union between the two of you through any means possible. So, it's simply a matter of time before she throws an engagement party for the two of you, in my opinion. Henceforth, the situation is bound to get complicated whether or not, the bonding sessions between the two of you progress smoothly. At the end of the day, the only way for the two of you to get out of the political union arrangement is to dissuade your mother because I know for certain that her parents are completely fine with not having a political union in place for the business deal to go through." The Ii-Shin heir responded flatly as a grim expression forms on his face. Woo Bin, for some unfathomable reasons, wasn't exactly keen on the idea of hearing about an official engagement between his friend and the heiress of the JK Group as well, but there's nothing he could do on his end to stop the witch's plan.
"... fine.." Gu Jun Pyo eventually said, though he was curious about the sort of acquaintanceship between his Don Juan friend and the heiress of the JK Group, he decided against the notion of asking for the details at present. The sheer fact that his friend knows the girl whom he was supposed to enter a political union with was shocking enough, the last thing he needs was the additional knowledge of the nature behind the acquaintanceship between Woo Bin and the JK Group heiress, at this point. The lesser he knows, the better it would be for his Don Juan friend. After all, there's no telling what his mother might do if she were to come to discover the acquaintanceship between the JK Group heiress and Woo Bin.
Granted, the witch might not do anything too drastic to Woo Bin as opposed to her measures taken against Geum Jan Di… Jun Pyo isn't willing to risk the possibility of his mother changing her mind about matching him up with the JK Group heiress and finding someone else to match him up with. At least, with the JK Group heiress, Jun Pyo could rest easy knowing for certain that the girl isn't keen on the idea of the political union arrangement like himself but there's no telling whether he would be this lucky if his mother decides to match him up with someone else.
After ending the call with Jun Pyo, the Don Juan of F4 then proceed to drop a new text message to the heiress of the JK Group.
A private text message between Song Woo Bin and Ha Jae-Kyung, 7th December 2009.
Woo Bin: Evening, I've just spoken to Jun Pyo about accommodating your request to visit the red market/Cunha street in the Taipa district.
Jae-Kyung: Really? What did he say in response to your request?
Woo Bin: I ask him to accommodate your request as a personal favor from me, which he had agreed eventually… after finding out for certain when we got acquainted with one another. Seeing as I told him that we got acquainted in Bangkok over the summer, and has hit it off straightaway since then. He may or may not have come to the assumption that we had a summer fling with one another some time ago, so he might/might not attempt to do some fishing about the nature of our acquaintanceship when the opportunity arises.
Jae-Kyung: Really? Interesting… do I have your permission to mess with his mind if he did try to fish information out of me, concerning the nature of our acquaintanceship? *Playful Emoji*
Woo Bin: You can mislead him but please don't blatantly lie to him. After all, there's always a chaperon hanging around you two. There's no telling what the chaperon would say when Jun Pyo's mother demanded a report of the bonding sessions she had arranged for the two of you. And therefore, to avoid rendering the situation more complicated than it already is - do avoid lying outright to Jun Pyo about the nature of our acquaintanceship.
Jae-Kyung: Hmm… does that means I could drag your friend along to the bars/pubs under the management of your family in Macau if I find myself in need of some time to unwind? *Thinking face Emoji*
Woo Bin: Do as you deem fit. As far as I know, after the stunt you pulled in LKF in Hong Kong, words have already gotten around that you're under my 'protection'.
Jae-Kyung: Thank you ^_^
PS: Out of curiosity, is it possible for your lackeys in Macau to cover for me if I were to attempt sneaking out under the radar of the supervision sicced upon me by the witch?
Woo Bin: If you're talking about wanting to explore the red market/Cunha street freely without Jun Pyo's bodyguards shadowing your every move, I'm sure between Jun Pyo and me, something could be arranged.
Jae-Kyung: Noted. I'll think about it and let you know afterward.
Woo Bin: Sure. Keep me updated on that front, and if there's nothing else you wish to address with me at present. Here's where I ought to put an end to our correspondence for the day, I have, after all, a dinner appointment to keep with my family this evening.
Jae-Kyung: Oh, right… it's dinner hours on your end already, isn't it? Go on ahead then, I'll chat with you another time. Ciao~ and once again, thank you for speaking to your friend on my behalf ^_^
Woo Bin: You're welcome. I'll talk to you another time.
Location: Shinhwa Hospital, Garden. 8th December 2009, Tuesday, 5pm
Geum Jan Di's first encounter with the former owner of the Shinhwa Group, Gu Bon-Hyeong was completely unplanned. In fact, if it weren't for the timely arrival of Yoon Ji Hoo, the Wonder Woman of Korea would have completely been left in the dark of the identity of the middle-aged man seated on the wheelchair whom she had crossed paths briefly in the garden of the hospital.
Geum Jan Di's rehabilitation visit to the Shinhwa Hospital was currently scheduled for every Tuesday afternoon from 4pm to 5pm, before proceeding to the rehabilitation center of the hospital, she would first need to visit the outpatient clinics for a routine follow-up consultation with her doctor-in-charge of overseeing her torn muscles injury first. During the consultation, the doctor would check the recovery progress of her shoulders torn muscles through a physical assessment as well as through the procedure of asking her a few questions about the aching she had experienced while going about her daily routines. Of course, the doctor also didn't neglect to ask about the rehabilitation exercises that her physiotherapist had instructed her to do at home during her free time and noted everything down in her medical records filed with the hospital system.
After the follow-up consultation at the outpatient clinic, Geum Jan Di would then make her way to the rehabilitation center for her visit to the physiotherapist. And then, once the 30 minutes of the physiotherapy session is up - she would then proceed to the payment counter to settle the fees for her hospital visit. This has been her routine while visiting the hospital ever since she started undergoing treatment for her torn muscles injury of the shoulders.
Today, though… she didn't leave the hospital immediately after her physiotherapy session because she had received a call from her former prince charming, the Su Am heir of F4, about his intention to pick her up from the hospital as he happens to be in the area. And so, Geum Jan Di had decided to take a walk in the garden of the hospital grounds while waiting for the auburn-haired member of F4 to show up at the hospital to collect her.
Jan Di has been walking about the garden aimlessly when she came across the wheelchair-bound figure of Gu Bon-Hyeong. Of course, she hasn't known who the man was initially, given how seldom she had bothered paying attention to the economic news before her former boyfriend took over the ownership of the infamous Shinhwa Group.
Gu Bon-Hyeong had the routine of being taken out for a walk every day at three different timings, in particular, after breakfast, before dinner, and an hour before bedtime, following his awakening from his coma-induced sleep. Gu Bon-Hyeong isn't the type who could simply stay up in bed doing absolutely nothing, and so, after his request for reading the daily morning news and the company's documents were turned down firmly by his visiting daughter and his caretaker team without a bat of the eyelid. He had requested routine walks on the hospital ground for a fresh breather of air instead.
Naturally, his request for taking walks within the grounds of the hospital was obliged after his daughter spoke with his doctor-in-charge about his recovery progress from his ailment. Usually, he would have his caretaker or a nurse on duty with him at all times during his routine walks but because his daughter was with him until a minute ago, before having to step away to answer an incoming call - there wasn't anyone else hovering near him at the moment.
Deciding to seize this moment of rare opportunity to get a good idea about what's exactly transpiring out in the world while he was tucked away in the hospital recuperating from his sudden ailment, Gu Bon-Hyeong decided to try to get hold of something that might allow him to catch him up-to-date with the happenings out there which his family and caretaker team has been determined to shelter him from. And so, when Geum Jan Di walked past him - Gu Bon-Hyeong purposely dropped his grip on the bottle of water he had been holding in his grasp to call upon the girl's attention.
"Apologies, miss. Could you be a dear and assist me in picking up the water bottle?" Gu Bon-Hyeong began as he calls out for Geum Jan Di's attention.
Blinking once then twice, it took a moment for Geum Jan Di to comprehend that it was her whom the wheelchair bounded patient was addressing his words to. And when she realized the fact, Geum Jan Di wasted no time in bending over to pick up the fallen water bottle and brought it back to where the wheelchair bounded figure was.
"Here, sir. Your water bottle." Geum Jan Di responded with a smile as she handed the water bottle over to the figure of Gu Bon-Hyeong, kindly.
"Thank you, miss. Do you mind letting me know of the time at present?" Gu Bon-Hyeong asks next, trying to find out if the girl who had assisted him in the recovering of his water bottle had any mobile device on her person that he could perhaps borrow for a moment to establish contact with the outside world.
"Oh… erm, the time now is 5.05pm." Geum Jan Di responded after pulling out her mobile phone for a quick look at the timing.
"Thank you, miss." Gu Bon-Hyeong responded, he was trying to come up with a plan to get the girl to lend him her phone for a moment so, he could gain access to the news website online when the girl's phone suddenly came alive with the ringing tone signaling an incoming call.
"Excuse me, sir. I need to take this call." Geum Jan Di told the wheelchair-bound figure before stepping aside to pick up the call.
"Yes, Ji Hoo-sunbae? Eh? My current location? I'm in the garden. Which garden? Erm… let me see, the one in front of the hospital rooms block?" Geum Jan Di did a quick survey of her surrounding before responding to the query coming from the other end of the line.
Meanwhile, Gu Bon-Hyeong felt his eyebrow rise significantly upon realizing that the girl is an acquaintance of Yoon Ji Hoo, the son of his late friend - Yoon Young-Jae, and a fellow friend of his own son.
[What a coincidence…] Gu Bon-Hyeong thought, and then he promptly arrived at another idea of how he could go about getting his hands on the information which he seeks. Certainly, it would be better to engage the Su Am heir in a conversation and fished the information he seeks out of the young man as opposed to trying and get the girl into lending him her personal mobile so he could access the news website.
For Yoon Ji Hoo, nothing shocks him more to the core than finding Geum Jan Di in the company of the father of his long-time friend. Still, the auburn-haired member of F4 was able to keep his thoughts masked as he approached the duo in the garden of the hospital ground. Based on what he could see, the duo seems to be engaged in some kind of conversation. Judging from the lack of tension in the air, Yoon Ji Hoo could only assume that whatever conversation that was going on between the duo was nothing of importance.
"Jan Di." Yoon Ji Hoo called out once he arrived on site, before shifting his glance over to the wheelchair-bound figure of Gu Bon-Hyeong as he greeted politely. "Uncle."
Gu Bon-Hyeong shifted his eyes away from the girl who has been kind enough to offer her companionship to him while waiting for his caretaker to return on site. Well, at least, that was what he had said to keep the girl with him and to lure the Su Am heir over to seek the girl out. Seeing as it wouldn't have made sense for him to insist on the girl to bring him to wherever the Su Am heir was waiting for her. And so, he figured the next best thing to do would be having the girl luring the Su Am heir over to the garden so he could speak with the young man, himself.
"Ji Hoo, it's been a long time since we get to meet. Isn't it?" Gu Bon-Hyeong then greeted the auburn-haired heir to the Su Am Group cordially.
Geum Jan Di flicked her gaze between the wheelchair-bound patient and the figure of Yoon Ji Hoo with a look of confusion on her face for some time before mustering up her courage to ask, "pardon my inquisitiveness but are the two of you somehow acquainted with one another?"
"..." Yoon Ji Hoo kept his eyes on the figure of Gu Bon-Hyeong unmoving for a second, before letting out an audible sigh as he finally works out the reason why the man was engaging Geum Jan Di in a conversation of no importance, all this time. Apparently, Jun Pyo's father must have overheard his previous phone conversation with Jan Di and decided that he's the best person to fish out the information which the rest of the Gu family has been keeping away from the man's knowledge.
"Yes, Jan Di. We are acquainted, he's a friend of my late father. And well… he's also the former owner of the Shinhwa Group." Yoon Ji Hoo responded, resigning himself to the notion of introducing Jun Pyo's father to Geum Jan Di.
"EH?!" Geum Jan Di couldn't help it, her eyes widen as the realization finally dawns on her. "He's the father of Gu Jun Pyo?"
"... yes." Yoon Ji Hoo nodded in affirmation of Jan Di's disbelief.
"..."
Hours later found Gu Jun Hee seated in the cafeteria of the hospital with Yoon Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di, with the Wonder Woman of Korea still reeling from the sheer notion of her having to spend more than half an hour engaging the father of her former boyfriend in an idle conversation of no importance. Not only that, but she had also confessed to the former owner of the Shinhwa Group that she didn't exactly have a fond impression of the Shinhwa Academy, initially. Going as far to share her first-hand witness to a bullying incident that took place in the Shinhwa Academy during the entire Lee Min-Ha incident.
Still, that wasn't the most embarrassing thing that happens earlier. What embarrassed Geum Jan Di the most was when Yoon Ji Hoo spoke to the man about how she had gotten acquainted with the members of F4. The one thing Geum Jan Di would remain eternally grateful to her former prince charming was the fact that the guy mentioned nothing about how she had sent a roundabout kick to the face of Gu Jun Pyo, during one of their confrontation in school.
While Geum Jan Di remains stuck in her mind about what had transpired earlier in the garden of the hospital, Gu Jun Hee was busy finding out for certain the things Yoon Ji Hoo had ended up communicating to her frail father who's still in recovery from his earlier heart attack in Beijing, China.
"Ji Hoo, you didn't let anything that might cause a deterioration in his recovery progress across to my father earlier, did you?" Gu Jun Hee began, wasting no time in getting to the bottom of things after she had sent her father back to the VIP hospital room to rest.
Yoon Ji Hoo took a moment to think back on the conversation he had with the father of his long-time friend earlier in the garden before Gu Jun Hee returns on-site to put a halt to their ongoing conversation. And then, meeting the eyes of the Shinhwa heiress straight-on; Yoon Ji Hoo answered evenly. "Other than filling him in on how exactly Jun Pyo and the rest of us had gotten acquainted with Jan Di, I didn't exactly have time to reveal much of what's going on with the Shinhwa Group following his collapse in China. So, for now, all he knew was the extent of the bullying Jun Pyo had subjected Jan Di to when we first got acquainted in school."
"I see… " Gu Jun Hee nodded, heaving an inward sigh of relief that she had arrived in the nick of time and before her father could get Ji Hoo to reveal anything about the situation that arises for the Shinhwa Group after the collapse of her father in Beijing, China. And since Ji Hoo has already filled her father in on how Jun Pyo had gotten acquainted with Geum Jan Di, and also of how Jan Di, a mere commoner found herself enrolled into the renowned Shinhwa Academy… it would make things easier for her to speak to her father about Jun Pyo's obvious attraction to Jan Di, and also about their mother's discontent about Jun Pyo's interest in Jan Di.
Darting a glance over at the immobile figure of Geum Jan Di, the Shinhwa heiress sighed as she refocused her attention on the figure of Yoon Ji Hoo. "Well, I think Jan Di's still in a bit of a shock, and I really do not have the time to stick around and wait for her to recover her wits. So, I shall leave her in your capable hands."
"Of course." Yoon Ji Hoo nodded in response to the words of the Shinhwa heiress as the elder sister of his long-time friend stood to leave the hospital's cafeteria.
When Geum Jan Di finally managed to recover her wits, it was to the sound of a food tray being placed in front of her person. Looking up from the food tray, she was met by the sight of her former prince charming smiling at her.
"I tried catching your attention before, but since you had your head in the clouds earlier. I had taken the liberty to order dinner for you." Yoon Ji Hoo commented as he sets down the food tray in front of Geum Jan Di, who had just gotten her head out of the clouds.
Looking back down at the dinner tray, Geum Jan Di did a quick scan of the items on the food tray before answering. "This is fine, I'm not too picky about food. Thank you, Ji Hoo-sunbae."
And after a quick scan of the surrounding, Geum Jan Di follows up with a question in regards to the whereabouts of the Shinhwa heiress. "And where's Jun Hee-unnie?"
"She headed back upstairs to keep her father occupied. And don't worry about zoning out on her earlier, we both know that you're still in shock over the drastic difference in Jun Pyo's parents' treatment of you." Yoon Ji Hoo answered nonchalantly, as he took his seat on the opposite end of the table with his own dinner tray in hand purchased from the vendor in the cafeteria of the Shinhwa Hospital.
To say, Geum Jan Di was in shock was an understatement. Having seen how Kang Hee-Soo tends to look down upon the commoners, the last thing Geum Jan Di expected from the father of her former boyfriend was an apology for the bullying antics Gu Jun Pyo had once subjected her to, at the point of their first acquaintanceship.
"Jan Di, do eat up before the food gets cold. You wouldn't want to be late for your shift work at the porridge shop, do you?" Yoon Ji Hoo reminded as he digs into his own dinner set, from the opposite end of the table in the cafeteria of the Shinhwa Hospital.
"Of course." Geum Jan Di shakes herself out of her stupor-like mode and promptly starts digging into her dinner. Due to the overwhelming thoughts swimming about in her mind, it didn't even occur to her about inquiring on the cost of the dinner meal as she digs into the food ordered for her consumption by the auburn-haired member of F4.
Later on that evening, after arriving home from the hospital - Gu Jun Hee thought about the happenings in the hospital today and thought it prudent to give her younger brother a heads-up about their plan to have Geum Jan Di meet their father.
A private message between Gu Jun Hee and Gu Jun Pyo, 8th December 2009, Tuesday, 10pm [Seoul Time], 9pm [Macau Time]
Jun Hee: Geum Jan Di met father today.
Jun Pyo: What?! How?
Jun Hee: It wasn't a planned encounter between them. It happens entirely by chance. Apparently, Jan Di was taking a walk in the garden while waiting for Ji Hoo to come and pick her up from the hospital following the end of her follow-up appointment at the hospital, and father just happens to be in the garden for his routine walk before dinner time. I had to take a call from your brother-in-law who rings me up about something that requires my input about the affairs in the New York branch office of the Shinhwa Group. As you know we are trying to keep appa away from bothering himself with the company matters while he's in recovery, I had to take the call outside of his hearing range. Anyway, since I was the one taking him out on his routine walk - the caretaker and the nurse isn't with us. So, he was left alone to his own device for a moment.
I reckon he was trying to find some ways at getting his hands on a copy of the recent news or something, and that was when Jan Di passes by him in the garden. In an attempt to try and get his hands on Jan Di's mobile device, I believe - he purposely draws Jan Di's attention on his person by dropping his water bottle onto the ground. And he likely would have borrowed Jan Di's phone to access the internet if it weren't for the timely call coming in from Ji Hoo on Jan Di's mobile and so, he changed his mind and instead decided to keep Jan Di in the garden with him so to lure in Ji Hoo. Between the internet news and Ji Hoo, certainly, our father would trust the information coming from Ji Hoo better, seeing as Ji Hoo is a close family friend of ours.
Jun Pyo: … and what did Ji Hoo tells him?
Jun Hee: Ji Hoo tells him nothing of importance, the only thing he reveals to our father was how the F4 got acquainted with Jan Di. Of course, by doing so, he reveals to our father the extent of bullying you had once subjected Jan Di to before the two of you got together.
Jun Pyo: I see… so, is appa aware of the nature of my relationship with Jan Di now?
Jun Hee: Not quite. I mean, considering the difference in our family status, he probably wouldn't have reacted well if I tell him right off the bat that Jan Di and you were involved romantically. So, all I said was that Jan Di has grown to become a close friend of the F4 over time. And because she isn't afraid of standing up against you, which reminds you a fair deal of me that fills up the hole in your lonely soul following my marriage out of the family - you had grown to form an attraction towards her much to the discontent of our mother, and so, our mother had taken underhand tactics to try and keep the two of you apart.
Jun Pyo: Okay… and how did appa react to that bit of information?
Jun Hee: He wasn't pleased with mother, of course. Especially since he had grown up having friends of his own, and so, he wasn't buying into mother's entire idea about the Shinhwa heir not requiring friends in life at any point in time. It certainly helps that Ji Hoo sort of hinted to appa that he hasn't been in contact with you ever since appa collapsed in Beijing, because our mother was determined for you to cut off all ties and communications with the F4. So, in a way, that's also his way of telling our father that he has no useful information for appa outside of what was being broadcast to the members of the public over the official news channel.
PS: On the subject, he's asking if you would be back in Seoul for a visit anytime soon.
Jun Pyo: Not likely. Fearing the possibility of me attempting to shake off her eyes and ears in an attempt to reunite myself with Jan Di, she's not letting me leave Macau for the Xmas Gala event seeing as she's needed in Washington DC during that period. So, I reckon if I were to return to Seoul, it would be under her watchful eyes as well.
Jun Hee: Noted, I'll attend the Xmas Gala in Seoul on your behalf then.
Jun Pyo: Thank you. And how is Jan Di?
Jun Hee: Heartbroken over your actions taken in Macau, of course. And need I warn you that Ji Hoo was quite upset with the way you handle things in Macau?
Jun Pyo: No need. I know Ji Hoo's upset with me, the way he reacted in the airport spoke volumes about how he felt about me and my treatment of Jan Di.
Jun Hee: Well… I've managed to talk Jan Di into the idea of giving you another chance when the time comes, but let it be known that I'm not going to be around forever to keep cleaning up your mess. So, please… don't do anything too reckless the next time around.
PS: I've got to go, your brother-in-law is calling me up again.
Jun Pyo: Goodnight, Noona and thank you.
Jun Hee: You're welcome.
~TBC~
Chapter's notes:
Alright, here's the end of chapter 48. Once again, the chapter is full of my own original scenes. Sad to say, there's no SoEul in this chapter… but there's plenty of Woo Bin and Jae-Kyung interaction. I'm going to time-skip a lot in the next chapter, and I have a few ideas about what I would be covering in the next chapter. Now, I can only hope that the ideas would flow smoothly when I attempt to write them out.
So, Jun Pyo's father finally met Jan Di… I'm likely having the Xmas Gala event scene in the next chapter, which the F3 would attend with Ga Eul and Jan Di. I'm considering having Ga Eul's birth father attend the event, but uncertain yet. As I say, I have ideas but haven't quite put them into order for the writing yet. ^^;
Another thing I aim to incorporate into the next chapter is the scene whereby Yi Jeong handed the invitation card to Jun Pyo's birthday party to Ga Eul from the drama. The question now is what changes I'm going to do with that scene. ^^;
I'm also toying with the idea of whether or not to have Jun Pyo's brother-in-law making a cameo in the next chapter during the Xmas Gala event… as well as how to incorporate a scene for Sunny and Shinosaki Izumi in the next chapter…
That's all for now, see you next update. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter regardless of its' shorter length. Ciao~