Author's notes: Okay, I have to admit - I started this new document on a spur of the 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 at 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 50: Interlude - Christmas Break, Part 2
Location: Sunny's family home in Myeong-dong district, Seoul. 22nd December 2009, Tuesday, 8pm
While Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong were off for their routine evening stroll after dinner in the vicinity of the pottery studio, Sunny and her friends from the study group formed by Areum Lim were finalizing their plan for a Christmas gathering through the use of the Kakao Messaging App - Kakao-Talk.
Kakao-Talk Messenger: Group Chat [Kim Nari - Creator, Sunny, Areum, Jessica, Dong-Jun]
Nari: Good evening, about the plan to meet up during Christmas… is it a confirmed thing? *Sheepish Emoji* Cause' I haven't received any updates on the meet-up, and my BF is asking me to meet him on Xmas day for a date… ^^; So, please get back to me on the matter ASAP.
Areum: Oh, hi, Nari. Yes, the Xmas gathering is on. Sorry, I forgot to inform you… it slips my mind that you are studying in another school. ^^; Okay, so here's the plan for our Xmas meet-up. We would be meeting up on Boxing day, around 1pm at my place of residence since my place is just a short minutes walk to the shopping district in Myeong-Dong. We can then exchange our Xmas gifts with one another, after that, we can either go ice-skating or bowling before heading to a buffet restaurant for dinner.
Nari: Okay… but why are we meeting on boxing day instead of Xmas/Xmas eve? *Curious Emoji*
Jessica: Simple, none of us can spare time for the meet-up on the 24th and the 25th of December. *Shrugging Emoji* Personally, Dong-Jun is spending his Xmas day at a chalet party hosted by his relatives which I've been invited to join in the party as well, as for Xmas eve… we kind of have our own plans to meet up for a date. So, we can only make it on the boxing day for our group meet-up.
Nari: I see… and how are you spending Xmas eve and Xmas day itself then? Areum Sunny
Areum: My parents are not working this Xmas, so our family is going for a stay-cation on the 24th and 25th [2D1N Stay-cation package] ^_^
Sunny: As for me… well, I'm playing tour guide for a friend who's visiting Seoul on Xmas eve/Xmas day.
PS: Areum, oh~ your family is doing a stay-cation this Xmas? Which hotel stay-cation package did your family sign up for?
Areum: Sunny, Grand Hyatt Seoul in Hannam-dong. (^_^) v
Sunny: Areum, that's a good choice. Any particular idea why Grand Hyatt Seoul was selected for the stay-cation? *Curious Emoji*
Jessica: Areum, indeed. I'm curious as well… after all, in terms of pricing range - Park Hyatt Seoul offers a lower pricing rate for the same amount of luxury comfort. Moreover, Park Hyatt Seoul is in the Gangnam district which makes it closer to the shopping belt.
Areum: Jessica, I know what you mean. But my parents had a dining voucher for the in-house restaurant of Grand Hyatt Seoul which they intend to put to good use during our stay-cation. Moreover, they wished to get a respite from the hectic city lifestyle that Grand Hyatt Seoul offers them. ^^;
Sunny: Ah… I see, in that case, enjoy your family staycation at Grand Hyatt Seoul ^_^ We will see you on boxing day.
Areum: Thanks ^_^
Nari: Okay, noted. In that case, I'll block out the boxing day for our group meet-up and get back to Jae-In about meeting him for a date on Xmas then. ^_^ See ya!
With the discussion over the Kakao-Talk messenger coming to an end, Sunny Park Sun Ja set aside her mobile device in favor of finalizing the itinerary plan she had in mind for Xmas eve when she met up with her new friend - a certain Shinosaki heir who is in town from the 24th of Dec to the 30th of Dec. Technically, the winter break for the Shinosaki heir lasted about a week, from the 24th of Dec to the 1st of Jan. The new school term would begin on the 2nd of January, but the Shinosaki heir has planned his getaway trip to Seoul, South Korea to last from the 24th of Dec to the 30th of Dec because he needs to be back in Tokyo, Japan in time for the New Year celebration with his family.
After all, the New Year is a big event for the Japanese and thus his family absolutely wants him to be present for the family celebration of the event. As such, Shinosaki Izumi isn't allowed to spend the New Year away from home. Therefore, the Shinosaki heir decided to spend his Christmas holidays overseas instead. And right now, Sunny is busy putting up an itinerary for her visiting friend on both the Christmas eve and the Christmas day, which she had reserved exclusively for the visiting Shinosaki heir. As for boxing day, which is also her final day off from school for the Xmas season has already been reserved for the Xmas gathering her friend - Areum had planned for the members of their study group.
Neither Areum, Jessica nor Nari made it a point to pry into the subject of Sunny's friend who will be visiting Seoul, mostly because they had assumed that the person visiting Seoul is yet another acquaintance of Sunny from her hometown - Busan. The notion of Sunny's visiting friend being a guy and a foreigner to boot didn't even occur to them in the slightest until they chanced upon an update of Sunny's social media accounts on Xmas day itself. But that's a tale for later, for now, they are still oblivious to the identity of Sunny's visiting friend.
In the meantime, Kim Nari who has finally gotten her query about the Xmas gathering plan confirmed wasted no time in establishing contact with her boyfriend for several months.
Kakao-Talk Messenger - Private chat between Kim Nari and Park Jae-In
Nari: Hey ^_^ About your suggestion for meeting up on Xmas day… I've just checked with my friends, and they confirmed with me that the Xmas gathering for the study group would be taking place on boxing day. So, I'm free to meet you for the entire day on Xmas. ^_^
Jae-In: Really? That's great! Would you like to meet for lunch or dinner?
Nari: I'm fine with either… but if I absolutely have to pick one or the other, I would pick dinner. Lesser chance of me turning up late due to oversleeping. ^^;
Jae-In: In that case, we will have dinner together on Xmas day then. So about dinner, which do you prefer? Western cuisines or Japanese cuisines? There are a couple of restaurants doing Xmas promo in the Myeong-dong district. Or would you prefer to meet elsewhere… e.g. the Mapo district? Itaewon district might be alright as well, but Gangnam is a tad out of my budget range *Sheepish emoji*
Nari: I'm fine with meeting you in the Myeong-dong district, besides there's plenty to do in Myeong-dong. We can even meet up slightly earlier to catch a movie at the theater before dinner, or would you prefer to go ice-skating instead? As for dinner, I'm not too picky about food in general. So, just pick whichever that's within your budget. *smiley emoji*
Jae-In: Hmm…a movie before dinner sounds good, let me check on the timings available for the films showing in the theater first. I will come back to you with the available choice shortly.
Nari: Sure, I'll wait for your text then. ^_^
[About 15 minutes later]
Jae-In: Nari, sorry to keep you waiting. I've checked the movies list screening in the cinema on Xmas just now and below are the films available. Let me know which of the films you would prefer to watch on that day.
Movies showing in Cinema as of current: A Christmas Carol [3pm/5pm/7pm], Sherlock Holmes [2.45pm/5.15pm/8pm], The Twilight Saga: New Moon [3.45pm/6.30pm/9.15pm].
PS: Do you like the musical-theme movie? There's one coming up produced by the 20th Century Fox that would begin screening on the 30th of December, 2009. The show's titled: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Let me know if the show interest you, we can watch it on New Year's Day or New Year's eve - whichever you prefer. ^_^
Nari: That was surprisingly fast, I was expecting you to take more than an hour to get back to me with a response, to be honest. ^^; Okay, here's my decision - I'm casting my vote for the show - A Christmas Carol. I mean, it's Christmas day… so, I would prefer to watch something with a Xmas vibe. As for the show - Sherlock Holmes, we can watch it another time, maybe next week or the week after. It's coming out only on 23rd Dec, after all… so, I reckon it would continue to screen in the cinema for another month or so… the show - A Christmas Carol, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. Seeing as it came out back in October, I reckon it would be removed from the screening list soon. So, best to catch it while it's still available. As for the Twilight, sad to say… I didn't even watch the first part of the movie, so I figured there isn't a point to watch the sequel. I wouldn't be able to follow the story either way. ^^;
PS: Oh~ the Chipmunks movie! That sounds like a fun show to watch… I'm up for it, but I'm not sure of the date I could meet you yet. ^^; I would need to check with my parents to see if they have any plans made for the New Year's Day first… I'll get back to you on this in a few days, is that okay?
Jae-In: That's fine. We still have time before the New Year swings around. In that case, we will watch the show - A Christmas Carol on Xmas day then. Which time slot for the film would you prefer? Let me know ASAP so I could proceed to book the tickets for the show.
Nari: 5pm would be the most suitable timing, that way we could head off straight for dinner after the movie ended. That is, provided that we stick to having dinner in the same district where the movie theater is located.
Jae-In: No issues, we can just keep to the Myeong-dong area in that case since you've got no particular preferences for the dinner meal.
Nari: Excellent. So, it's decided - we will meet up for a movie on Xmas day at 5pm, and later go for dinner together. Where shall we meet up? In front of the cinema or shall I meet up with you at one of the train station exits?
Jae-In: Nay… I'll pick you up from the lift lobby of your residential building. Shall I pick you up around 4.30pm?
Nari: 4.30pm works for me. See you on Xmas then ^_^
Jae-In: See you *Winking Emoji*
Location: Takahashi Family Home, Minami, Meguro, Tokyo. 23rd December 2009, Wednesday, 5pm
In the bedroom of Takahashi Shuuhei, a group of three were hanging out by making themselves at home. The group trio included the heir to the Shinosaki Bed & Breakfast Inn - Shinosaki Izumi, the heir to the Saionji Spa & Wellness Group - Saionji Ichiro, and the owner of the bedroom who is also the heir to the Takahashi artisan bakeries - Takahashi Shuuhei. Missing from the scene would be Isshiki Masashi, a local young talented celebrity, who is currently preoccupied with a photoshoot job somewhere in downtown Tokyo.
Currently, Takahashi Shuuhei was busy finishing up his class assignments from his college at the study desk of his bedroom whereas his two friends, a sophomore from the Tokyo Keizai (Economics) University - Saionji Ichiro, and a fellow junior of his from the Teiko Academy, high school division - Shinosaki Izumi were entertaining themselves with his Play-station game set connected to the TV unit installed in his bedroom.
"...Guys, care to lower the volume for the game? It's distracting me from completing my homework assignments." Takahashi Shuuhei lamented aloud as he found himself having difficulty making sense of what he had just written for his class holiday assignments.
"Shuuhei, is there an absolute need for you to finish up your holiday assignments today? The winter break lasts for an entire week, surely you can leave those assignments of yours unattended for another day or so, can't you?" Shinosaki Izumi commented to his annoyed friend without glancing away from the TV screen where another round of the fighting game is ongoing between him and the heir of the Saionji Spa & Wellness Group.
"Unlike you, who have the luxury of going on a getaway trip during the winter break - as I've mentioned earlier, I've got to work 4 days out of the entire week during the winter break. As for the remaining days, while I'm not required to report for work - I'm expected to attend various events with my parents. And thus, the more homework assignments I can finish up today, the lesser the chance I would need to burn the midnight oil for the rest of the week to meet the deadline for the submission of these homework assignments." Takahashi Shuuhei deadpans as he responded to his childhood friend's comment.
"..." Having won against the Shinosaki heir in the latest round of the 'Street Fighter IV' on the Play-Station 3 (home video game console), which was connected to the TV unit installed in Takahashi Shuuhei's room, Saionji Ichiro decided to put an end to the hour-long video game session for the time being.
"So, Izumi… have you decided where to go for the getaway trip yet?" Saionji Ichiro then shift his inquiring eyes upon the figure of Shinosaki Izumi as he prompted.
"Oh, I didn't inform you guys about my decided destination for the getaway trip yet?" Shinosaki Izumi blinked at his two friends with an innocent expression on his face.
"Well… duh, I wouldn't have to ask you this question if you did." Saionji Ichiro rolls his eyes openly at the Shinosaki heir as he responded.
"I see… well, I'll be heading off to Seoul for the getaway trip. My flight out is tomorrow morning at 8.05am, you guys needn't see me off at the airport if it's too early." Shinosaki Izumi responded casually with a shrug. Being an avid traveler, he's too accustomed to flying in and out of the country on his own, as such he didn't care much about whether or not he has people seeing him off at the airport for his oversea trip.
"Good, because I doubt either of us can wake that early tomorrow morning. Anyway, since you're heading over to Seoul - do you mind popping over to my place after this? I have something for Shunsuke that I would need you to bring over to Seoul on my behalf, I was contemplating shipping it out via courier earlier but since you've decided to visit Seoul, you can play courier for me. Don't worry, it's not anything bulky so it shan't take up too much of your luggage space." Saionji Ichiro commented, his tone giving no room for Shinosaki Izumi to argue.
"... fine." Shinosaki Izumi sighed inwardly in response, in hindsight, he should perhaps expect this. After all, didn't Ichiro request Masashi to do the same the last time that guy flew over to Seoul for a modeling job? The thought of Masashi then reminded Izumi that their celebrity friend wasn't present for their gathering today.
"Speaking of, where's Masashi? Did he cancels the gathering last minute?" Shinosaki Izumi then asks, directing his query at the host of today's gathering session - Takahashi Shuuhei.
"Nope, he didn't cancel on us but he did claim that he would be arriving late due to a photoshoot commitment downtown. Anyway, I reckon he would arrive just in time for the dinner session to begin." Takahashi Shuuhei responded nonchalantly.
Today's gathering serves as an advanced Xmas gathering between themselves, neither of them are fans of hosting big parties - finding it too much of a chore. And so, they had opted to gather usually a day or two before the festive holiday came around for a meal as a form of celebration. While the usual practice is to find a restaurant outside for the celebration, there are times whereby they would hole up somewhere in one of their family homes and order food delivery for the occasion. And today just happens to be one of such occasions.
Typically, these gatherings are held at either the Takahashi family home or the Isshiki Family home. Occasionally, the Shinosaki family home would be utilized for their private gathering sessions but one thing's for certain, which is the fact that neither of them had been to the Saionji family home, no matter the occasions, not even for the birthday celebration of the Saionji heir. As for the reason, well… if there's an absolute need to name a reason for the above-mentioned situation, it likely had to do with the negative impact which the matriarch of the Saionji family had upon them.
It's common knowledge among the upper echelon of the Japanese community that the current CEO of the Saionji Spa & Wellness Group - Saionji Mitsuru wasn't born into the family that founded the business. In fact, Saionji Mitsuru inherited the business from the previous owner after he married into the family by wedding the only daughter of the previous owner. Only, the union took place out of necessity in the wake of a scandal. Apparently, the duo was forced to tie the knot after being caught in bed together during a party event hosted by the Fuyusawa family. Of course, the reasons behind how the situation came to be were covered up and hidden by both the Fuyusawa and the Saionji family, in the wake of the scandalous discovery.
So, in the general public eyes, Saionji Mitsuru has taken to employing underhand tactics to achieve his position today. When in actuality, he was simply, a victim resulting from his wife's unsuccessful ploy. Anyway, following the union between Saionji Mitsuru and Saionji Mitsuki - the original heiress to the Saionji Spa & Wellness Group… toxic is the only term that could be used to describe the nature of their relationship. Except, under the usual circumstances, it's usually the man that's unfaithful to the marriage… but in the Saionji family, it's the complete opposite.
As far as Saionji Ichiro is aware, his mother has been a regular patron of the local tabloid news since his earliest childhood days. His mother is often absent in his childhood memories, and his father is the one that's constantly around showering him with doting affections as he grows up. One of his earliest strongest memory of his mother was one that comprises of his mother flirting intimately with his family chauffeur, and later - the family butler after his younger brother was born. So, today - he had learned to turn a blind eye to his mother's unfaithful antics within his own family home if he had the misfortune to chance upon them, personally.
Still, to avoid any discomfit on his friends' part - Ichiro had taken to avoid inviting his friends over to his family home. Likewise, his father had done the same for their family business associates. Every party and event held by their family business group tends to take place in some ballrooms of the hotels downtown, or even within the lobby of their corporate office if an alternative site for the event couldn't be found. Never would it be held on the grounds of their family home, it's bad enough for the press to continually feature the matriarch of the Saionji family on the front page of the tabloid news. There's no need to have the woman's unfaithful antics to be put on open display for their invited guests within their own family home.
Saionji Ichiro was drawn out from his thoughts by the sound of the ringing doorbell, blinking once then twice, he turns towards Takahashi Shuuhei and asks. "Are you expecting any other visitors today?"
"No, I didn't invite anyone else aside from the three of you over this evening. So, whoever is at the gate at present is either Masashi or the food delivery guy. My parents have plans to head out for dinner this evening, and so, we are getting in food delivery for today's gathering." Takahashi Shuuhei shrugged in response, knowing full well that his mother has yet to leave home to meet his father for dinner - he didn't bother moving an inch from his spot in front of his study desk.
Sure enough, approximately 10 minutes later, Takahashi Shuuhei receives a text message from his mother informing him that the food that he had ordered via the food delivery services had arrived and that she had left the food on the dining table downstairs.
"Okay, the food has arrived. Can either one of you buzz Masashi to check on his whereabouts?" Takahashi Shuuhei started as he directed his words to his two friends, while he proceeds to speed up his typing speed on his personal computer intending to finish up as much portion of his thesis assignment as possible.
"..."
It took another half an hour for Isshiki Masashi to arrive at the Takahashi family home situated in the Meguro city of Tokyo. The Takahashi family home is a quaint, modern-looking three-story single-family home with a single parking lot space and a tiny front yard with minimal green space. On the ground floor of the building, it houses the sheltered parking lot space, the front entrance to the house on the outside. On the inside of the house, the first thing that greets the visitors' eyes was the presence of the only bathroom in the house - with the toilet and bath facility housed in a separate cubicle located on the two sides of the bathroom space. The main communal area of the bathroom is where the vanity sink and the laundry area are located. This particular layout of the bathroom was designed to allow more than one person to utilize the bathroom space at the same time, to save the hassle of fighting for the bathroom facility during the morning peak hour.
Opposite the bathroom is a stretch of plain-looking hidden cabinet space for the storage of the shoes, as well as the staircase that leads to the upper floors of the house. Also located on the ground floor of the house is one of the four bedrooms available in the house, and presently, the bedroom on the ground floor of the house was the designated bedroom for the only elderly resident in the family - the former matriarch of the Takahashi family, Shuuhei's grandmother - Takahashi nee Takano Sachiko.
On the second floor of the building, it houses the main communal area of the family comprising of the main living space, dining space, and kitchen. Aside from the main communal area, the second floor also houses the only balcony space in the entire house. And finally, the top floor which is also the third story of the single-family home belonging to the Takahashi family houses the remaining three bedrooms. Of the three bedrooms, the bedroom with the walk-in closet space was utilized as the master bedroom for the owners of the property. In other words, this is the designated bedroom for the parents of Takahashi Shuuhei. And across the hall from the designated master bedroom is where the remaining two smaller size bedrooms with equal square foot-inch are located, one of which was the bedroom of Takahashi Shuuhei while the other bedroom was left empty, and typically utilized as the guest bedroom for any visiting guests who ended up staying overnight at their place.
When the trio receives the text reply from Isshiki Masashi informing them of his impending arrival, the trio set aside their respective activities (homework for Takahashi Shuuhei and video games for Saionji Ichiro and Shinosaki Izumi) and headed downstairs to the main communal area, to get ready for the official start of their advanced Christmas dinner gathering.
"So, what did you order for our dinner today?" Shinosaki Izumi inquires out of curiosity as they left the bedroom of Takahashi Shuuhei, for the second floor where the main communal area of the house is located.
"The food has been left out on the dining table according to my mother's message before she left home to meet my father for dinner, so please feel free to satisfy your curiosity by helping me re-heat the food before Masashi's arrival." Takahashi Shuuhei deadpans to his curious friend without batting an eyelid.
As the home economics classes are part of the mandatory program for Japanese middle-school and high-school students, anyone who had gone through the above-mentioned six-years mandatory education under the Japanese education system, regardless of the gender ought to know how to operate the typical kitchen appliances safely. And so, Shinosaki Izumi shrugged nonchalantly as he followed the Takahashi heir towards the dining area of the house to get the food ready for their upcoming advanced Christmas dinner.
Meanwhile, Saionji Ichiro headed for the balcony area of the house, to keep a lookout for the arrival of Isshiki Masashi as he had nothing else better to occupy his time for the time being. With both Shuuhei and Izumi bustling about the dining area and the kitchen of the house, Saionji Ichiro figures that he needn't join them in doing the same. After all, there's no need for three people to get the dining table set up and reheat the ordered food for the upcoming dinner meal.
Isshiki Masashi arrived just as the dining table is being set up, as he entered the dining area behind Saionji Ichiro who had gone downstairs to open the front door for him upon his arrival - he handed over a petite size cake box to the host of today's gathering.
"Sorry for the hold-up, and here's the Xmas cake for today's dessert." Isshiki Masashi commented as he joined his friends in the dining space of the Takahashi family home.
"It's fine, given how frequently you're often the last one to arrive for our private gathering. It's kind of within our expectations for you to turn up late for today's dinner meet-up. But since you have the insight to bring us dessert for the day, you're forgiven for your tardiness." Takahashi Shuuhei deadpans in response to Isshiki Masashi's words, as he took the cake into the kitchen to store it in the fridge chiller compartment until later.
Dinner for the day comprises mainly junk food or fast food since most of the food served on the dining table is deep-fried food. Among the dishes included a tub of fried chicken from the renowned KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), a large serving size of the coleslaw and mashed potato from the KFC, a box of popcorn chicken bites, two KFC Zinger burgers, and two servings of the cheese fries, as well as a 1.5-liter bottle of the Pepsi Cola drink.
Aside from the cheese fries which had been heated up briefly in the oven before Isshiki Masashi's arrival, the rest of the food was left untouched on the dining table. Mostly because those food tastes pretty much the same whether it was heated up, or not. It's a common practice for the Japanese to eat fried chicken on Christmas day, as for how the tradition came about - nobody could tell for certain. And though some families do traditionally celebrate Christmas by serving up turkey roast, with other Christmas treats… those were rare and hard to come by. The Takahashi family, they don't actually celebrate the Christmas festival and so, the most they do is utilize it as a day for the extended family to come to visit.
On the dining table, aside from the food ordered in from the renowned fast-food chain - KFC was a miniature Christmas tree decoration piece that Takahashi Shuuhei had purchased a couple of years back from the store - Don Quijote. Other than that little piece of Xmas decoration, there is nothing else present that serves as a symbolization of today's gathering is a meet-up event for the upcoming Christmas festival.
After proposing a toast to the upcoming Christmas festival, and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas in advance - the group of four started digging into the dinner meal. Of course, conversations were being held throughout the meal with the topics ranging from whether or not the Shinosaki heir has packed for his impending getaway trip to Seoul, to whether or not they should meet up on the eve of the New Year's day so to visit the shrine together at midnight.
Location: Incheon International Airport, 24th December 2009, Thursday, 10am
Stepping out into the public area of the arrival hall of the airport, Shinosaki Izumi took a moment to study the copy of the airport map he had downloaded onto his mobile device a day ago via the website of the Incheon International Airport. Although, Sunny had offered to fetch him from the airport in their last email correspondence… the Shinosaki heir had turned down the offer, citing the desire to try navigating around the city on his own for a start. And so, they have arranged to meet up outside the hotel where Shinosaki Izumi would be staying during this getaway trip of his, for the next seven days.
"Okay, let's see… where's the train station…?" Shinosaki Izumi studied the map attentively as he tried to pinpoint his present location on the map while looking for the logo that symbolize the airport train station.
There are a couple of ways to travel from the Incheon International Airport to Seoul, one can either travel via the means of trains, buses, or cabs/private-hire vehicles. Of course, for Shinosaki Izumi, there is always the means of getting Saionji Shunsuke to come by and pick him up. Seeing as his friend, Saionji Ichiro, did provide him with the contact details of Shunsuke before he left Japan for South Korea. Only, he didn't wish to inconvenience the younger brother of his childhood friend unless absolutely necessary. And so, Izumi has decided to make his way from the airport to the hotel where he would be staying during this getaway trip on his own via the train system.
The reason why Izumi decided to use the train system as opposed to the buses and cabs plying between the Incheon Airport and the city of Seoul is simple - he wasn't sure if he could communicate the directions to the hotel accurately to the cab drivers. And when it comes down to using the buses, he isn't sure of the bus numbers that could take him from Incheon to Myeong-dong given how he didn't exactly conduct an internet search on the bus routes before he arrives in Seoul. Therefore, he figured the safest means of travel he could attempt on his own is via the train system whereby he could rely a great deal on the instructions provided by the Google Maps application installed on his mobile device.
One could travel on the trains system in Seoul by paying for the fare via either the cash (single-trip tickets) or the T-money card option. The T-money card functions similarly to the Japanese travel smart cards (e.g. Suica issued by JR East, or Icoca issued by JR West) - and the value of the T-money card could be reloaded/top-up at the vending machines at various trains stations or via the convenience store/airport. The only difference between the T-money card and the Japanese travel smart card lies in the validity duration of the card. For instance, the Suica has a validity period of 10 years from the last use of the card, whereas the T-money card only has a validity period of 5 years. Getting a T-money card is easy enough, as it could be purchased at the convenience store situated within the airport.
After figuring out how to use the Seoul subway system through a blog online, the Shinosaki heir proceeded to purchase a T-money card from the airport's convenience store for 4000 KRW for a start. The purchase of the T-money card also got him some loose change, and perhaps it's because he had made the purchase at the airport - nobody bats an eyelid at him when he handed over the note of 1,000,000KRW for an item that cost only 4000KRW. With the newly purchased T-money card, Shinosaki Izumi then follows the directions signage that hangs from the ceiling of the airport building to make his way toward the airport train station.
Seeing as the check-in time at the hotel is listed as 3pm, and the time now is only 10am in the morning. Shinosaki Izumi knows that he has ample time to make his way from the Incheon International Airport to the Myeong-dong district where his lodging accommodations are situated. And so, instead of taking the AREX Express train service which costs more and uses a different ticketing option, but is generally the fastest means of transport - he had opted to use the local subway system to make his way to his destination.
While Shinosaki Izumi is navigating his way from the airport to the Myeong-dong district in Seoul, a certain potter of F4 is getting ready to leave his pottery studio for his estranged elder brother's place of residence in the Itaewon district.
A private message between So Yi Jeong and So Ii-Hyun, 24th December 2009, 10am
Yi Jeong: Hyung, I'm on my way over to your place and would pick up breakfast along the way. What would you like for breakfast?
Ii-Hyun: Noted. As for breakfast, I'm not too picky about food so just grab whichever you would like to have for breakfast. I'll go along with your choice for the meal. I'll make coffee, by the way, so you can leave out the beverage for breakfast.
Yi Jeong: Duly noted. See you shortly.
Ending the text message, So Yi Jeong makes his way out of the pottery studio in the direction of his orange lotus. Although the thought of utilizing the red Lexus did cross his mind briefly, he eventually decided against the notion after finding it too much of a hassle to have to come back for a switch in the vehicle before he attends the Xmas Gala event hosted by the Shinhwa Group. As not a lot of people know of his possession of a red Lexus, he intends to keep it that way. And so, arriving at the Shinhwa Hotel in the red Lexus was a big 'No-no' for the Korean Casanova. Henceforth, he decided to simply use the orange lotus as his default means of transport for this entire day.
Location: So Ii-Hyun's apartment unit, Itaewon district, 24th December 2009, Thursday, 10.30am
Standing outside the apartment unit belonging to his estranged brother, the potter of F4 was in no rush to press the doorbell. Instead, he first double-check the unit number against the address his brother had sent him minutes ago via the text messaging app on his mobile. It would be rather embarrassing if he were to get the unit number wrong. After checking that the unit number listed on the door of the apartment unit matches the unit number reflected on the text message he had received from his estranged elder brother minutes ago, Yi Jeong finally pressed the doorbell of the apartment unit to inform its owner of his arrival.
It took about two-three minutes for the door to be answered, as the door swings open to allow the Korean Casanova into the apartment… the first thing that greeted Yi Jeong was the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
"Good morning, Hyung. I'm not quite sure what you would like for breakfast, so I brought us some freshly baked croissants and some egg tarts from the bakery nearby." Yi Jeong started as he handed over the carrier bag with the logo of the bakery to his estranged brother.
"That's fine, we can have something light for breakfast and grab lunch after we visit the cemetery later." Ii-Hyun was quick to respond as he invited his younger brother into the apartment unit.
Yi Jeong had no objections to his elder brother's suggestion, and so, they settle down in the dining area of the apartment for their breakfast meal. While the potter of F4 retrieved the croissants and egg tarts from within the carrier bag of the bakery, So Ii-Hyun proceed to pour out the freshly brewed coffee from the pot into two coffee cups before bringing it out to the dining area and set the cups down onto the table.
As the brothers sat down for breakfast, neither of them attempted to speak for a start. After all, they have been estranged from one another for a couple of years before getting reconnected. Even after they had made peace with each other, they tend to only speak with one another when necessary. For instance, when Ii-Hyun was at the beginning stage of setting up his cafe business, and when Yi Jeong requires Ii-Hyun's assistance in using the cafe as a parcel drop-off point before his first home movie date with Ga Eul. And therefore, instead of conversing, the two brothers were content with taking their breakfast in silence, this morning.
Of course, that didn't mean that Yi Jeong was fully focused on the task of eating. Instead, the potter of F4 was discreetly taking in the interior layout of his brother's apartment unit. Despite having been over once, Yi Jeong was too preoccupied with his mind to take note of the interior layout of his elder brother's new home when he was here, the last time around. And so, he decides to make full use of his time here this morning to inspect the apartment unit in detail.
While Yi Jeong was discreetly surveying the layout of the apartment, Ii-Hyun was splitting his attention between savoring the taste of the breakfast meal and studying the body language of his younger brother. And therefore, So Ii-Hyun didn't miss out on the tell-tale signs of his younger brother's interest in exploring his apartment unit.
So Ii-Hyun's apartment unit is a typical 2-bedrooms apartment that could be found on the property market in Seoul. Unlike the newly-built private apartments, the apartment owned by Ii-Hyun is one of the older-design units. As such, there is no proper master suite in the apartment unit - what it has is just two bedrooms, one slightly bigger than the other facing one another, separated by a single common bathroom on one end of the flat. Whereas, on the other end of the flat is where the main communal area of the apartment is located - the living, dining, and kitchen space.
The entire living, dining, and kitchen are one open floor-plan and honestly, if it weren't for the open floor-plan design of the communal space - the entire place would seem cramped. The last time Yi Jeong was here, he had only seen the living area and the balcony, as well as the tiny storage room, tucked in between the walls that separated the balcony and the bigger size bedroom which he figured his elder brother had utilized as the master bedroom for the apartment unit. To make the apartment seems bigger than it is, compact pieces of furniture were chosen to furnish the place. Likewise, the color white was picked as the main coat of paint decorating the apartment unit.
As for how Yi Jeong worked out which bedroom is the bigger size room in the apartment despite not having seen the interior of the two bedrooms, he could only claim that he had guessed it through the means of visual assessment. Through his assessment, he had noticed that although the doors leading to the two bedrooms faced one another, the wall that separates the rooms from the other part of the apartment varies by a few inches difference. And his guess turns out to be an educated guess when Ii-Hyun offers to show him the rest of the apartment following the end of the breakfast meal.
As it turns out, the room that was beside the tiny storage room was indeed the bigger-size bedroom in the apartment unit. It was also the room Ii-Hyun had set up for his own use and designated as the master bedroom of the apartment. Inside the room, it held a standard-size two-doors sliding wardrobe and a double bed. There are no signs of any work desk or vanity table placed in the room, then again, because his elder brother is still single - it makes no sense for the need to have a vanity table placed in the master bedroom. As for the lack of a work desk in the room, Yi Jeong figures that his brother tends to work at the dining table out front in the main communal space than work in the bedroom. Especially since the display cabinet placed in the main living room space has been utilized for the storage of his brother's business documents for the cafe.
After showing Yi Jeong the master bedroom of the apartment, Ii-Hyun proceeds to allow his younger brother a peek into the bathroom. As with the typical bathroom in Seoul, there is no separate shower and toilet space - everything was fit into one place with the presence of a single shower curtain dividing the bathroom into two. Next, they moved on to the other bedroom which has been decked out as the guest bedroom by Ii-Hyun. Proving Yi Jeong's assessment accurate that the second bedroom is smaller in sizing is the fact that the room was only equipped with a standard twin-size bed, fit for a single adult guest. Aside from the single twin bed placed in the room, and the similar two-doors sliding wardrobe unit - the room held no other piece of furniture.
Out of curiosity, Yi Jeong turns to his elder brother and asks. "I see that the guest bedroom is only equipped for a single house guest, but how are you going to work things out if you had more than one visiting friend who intends to stay overnight?"
"Well… I had an extra futon tucked away in the wardrobe of the guest bedroom. And since there isn't much furniture in the room, the extra futon could be utilized to fit in a second house-guest when the occasion arises." So Ii-Hyun responded casually, and with that, he led his younger brother out of the guest bedroom and back towards the main communal space of his apartment unit.
"Fair enough, I supposed." So Yi Jeong nodded in acceptance of his elder sibling's words and headed back out to take a seat on the living room's couch while waiting for his elder brother to get ready for the outing to the cemetery. Meanwhile, So Ii-Hyun made his way back to his bedroom for a quick change of clothes since he wasn't quite dressed for an outing yet.
Leaning back against the sofa, the Korean Casanova was alerted to the presence of something hard pressing up against his hip. The uncomfortable feeling informed him that he was obviously sitting on something small and hard. Though whatever he was sitting on wasn't hurting him much, it still causes him some mild discomfit. And so, in an attempt to try and locate the item he was sitting upon from the sofa couch, he started combing the sofa couch to locate the source of his discomfit. It took a bit of time for him to locate the cause of his discomfit from the gaps in the sofa couch and when he did, Yi Jeong's first reaction to the item found on the couch was to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
[A lipstick?! ...why on earth is there a lipstick stuck in between the gaps of the sofa couch? Is Hyung romantically attached to anyone at present?] - The Korean Casanova couldn't help but wonder inwardly. Unable to stamp down the curiosity burning in him, Yi Jeong decided to start fishing around for answers. And so, setting the tube of lipstick down onto the coffee table in front of the living room's couch, So Yi Jeong started nonchalantly. "Hyung, are you dating anyone at present?"
So Ii-Hyun was buttoning up his shirt in the bedroom when Yi Jeong spoke up from the living room, and for a while, the elder So sibling froze mid-act. But he managed to recover within the minute as he resume the act of buttoning up the rest of the buttons on his shirt. Thankfully, Yi Jeong isn't in the room else Ii-Hyun might have difficulty hiding his moment of stiffness in the body language from the Korean Casanova. Taking a deep breath to calm his erratic mind down, So Ii-Hyun put on his coat and headed back out to the living room to rejoin his awaiting younger sibling.
Plastering on an unfazed expression, So Ii-Hyun responded to the query from Yi Jeong with a question of his own. "... don't mind me asking but what makes you think that I'm attached to anyone at present?"
"I didn't mean to pry into your personal matters, but seeing as you aren't a playboy like myself… I really can't think of any viable reasons why there's lipstick being stuck in between the gaps of your living room's couch. Thus, my assumption of you being involved with someone romantically." So Yi Jeong commented nonchalantly as he gestured towards the lipstick which he had set on the coffee table in his brother's living room.
For a while, Ii-Hyun was baffled and when his eyes landed upon the tube of lipstick sitting innocently on the coffee table - he found himself taking a walk down his memory lane as he tried to place the specific occasion that might have resulted in the tube of lipstick being left behind in his apartment. As for the owner of the lipstick, Ii-Hyun believed that it could only be Eun-Jae. Seeing as Eun-Jae was the only lady friend who had the opportunity to come by his apartment for a visit.
Of course, given that he had previously promised Eun-Jae that he wouldn't reveal to Yi Jeong about Eun-Jae's presence in Seoul… Ii-Hyun had to think of an alternative reason to explain the presence of that lipstick in his apartment, this morning. And so, after a moment of consideration, Ii-Hyun decided to whip up an excuse about one of his college friends who came by for a dinner party leaving behind the lipstick by accident.
"Of course, I don't make it a habit to bring home random ladies. I mean, I don't even go clubbing. As for the lipstick, I reckon it must have been left behind accidentally by one of my college friends who came by for a class reunion dinner party last week. As you know, my cafe business kept me busy on most days of the week and as such, I don't really have time to clean up the apartment too often." So Ii-Hyun feigned nonchalance as he responded to his younger brother's curious inquiry.
"Really? Interesting, I didn't peg you for the type that enjoys hosting parties." Yi Jeong commented, sounding unconvinced by his brother's offered explanation.
"That's because I'm not. I only hosted the bloody party because they insisted upon having it at my place using the excuse of not having seen my new home yet. And to get them off my back, I grudgingly agreed to the notion of having the class reunion dinner party here, this year." So Ii-Hyun answered in a tone of resignation as he rolls his eyes openly at the thought of the party he had been forced to host, which wasn't exactly a lie.
Because, in truth, he did host this year's class reunion party at his place. Only, the majority of the party attendants had been guys. And therefore, there was just simply no way for either of his former college friends to own that tube of lipstick his younger brother had found hidden in between the gaps of his living room's couch. Still, there was no harm in telling a little white lie since he had to keep his promise to Eun-Jae about not revealing her presence in the town to his brother. Besides, it's not as though Yi Jeong could verify his words with his college friends since Yi Jeong had never met those friends of his from his college days.
"Anyway, I'm ready to depart. Are you?" So Ii-Hyun started as he changed the subject of the conversation eagerly.
"Of course, I'm ready to depart for the family cemetery grounds. Before that though, I need to visit the bathroom for a bit." Yi Jeong nodded, standing as he headed for the direction of the bathroom in his brother's apartment unit. To avoid the need of trying to locate a public washroom at the cemetery, Yi Jeong figured that he might as well use the facility while it's readily available.
"Sure, I'll wait for you out here." Ii-Hyun nodded in response as he gave his consent for his younger brother to use the bathroom facility in his home. While waiting for his younger brother to be done using the facility, So Ii-Hyun hurried to send a text message to Eun-Jae informing her about the tube of lipstick she had accidentally left behind at his place, the last time she came visiting.
A private message between So Ii-Hyun and Cha Eun-Jae, 24th December 2009, 11am
Ii-Hyun: Good morning, Eun-Jae. Happy Xmas Eve, by the way. Remember how you were telling me about misplacing your favorite lipstick the other day? Yi Jeong found it stuck in between the gaps of my living room couch.
Eun-Jae: O_O Seriously? How did you explain the presence of the lipstick to him? You didn't tell him anything about my presence in town, did you?
Ii-Hyun: Of course, I didn't tell him about your whereabouts. I gave you my word, didn't I? As for how I go about explaining the presence of that lipstick… I think I managed to fool him into believing that it was left behind by one of my college friends when they came by last weekend for the class reunion dinner party. Anyway, I'll see you tonight for dinner and would return you the lipstick then. For now, I've got to go. I'm using the window of opportunity whereby Yi Jeong's using the bathroom facility to text you.
Eun-Jae: Of course, see you tonight.
Location: Lobby of Park Residence, Myeong-dong. 24th December 2009, Thursday, 11.30am
While the So siblings made their way towards their family cemetery grounds to pay respects to their late grandmother, Shinosaki Izumi had just alighted at the Myeong-dong subway train station with his baggage in tow. It took him roughly about 1 hour and 30 minutes to travel from the Incheon International Airport to the Myeong-dong district via the local subway train service, which involves a transit from the AREX railroad service to line 4 on the Seoul Metropolitan Subway service at the Seoul station. Granted, if he took the express service… it probably wouldn't take him more than an hour to get to Myeong-dong but he didn't. Instead of the express train service operated by the AREX, he took the All-Stop train service, and hence, it took him 1 hour 15 minutes to get from the airport to the Seoul train station, and from there, it took him another 15 minutes to travel to Myeong-dong where the hotel he had booked for his stay is situated.
Coming back to his choice of accommodation for this getaway trip, after going through the list of options provided to him by his newly acquainted travel friend - Sunny, a native of South Korea. Shinosaki Izumi had decided to book a week's stay at the boutique hotel chain - Park Residence, owned by the family of his new friend. As for the reasoning behind his decision made, well - first of all, he wanted to experience for himself - the services provided by the chain boutique hotel, Park Residence, and see how it differs from the services provided to the guests by his own family B&B inn. Secondly, he found that the Park Residence hotel group is having a promo package for the guests who are booking their hotel rooms this holiday season. And so, the Shinosaki heir decided to give it a try.
Upon arrival at the hotel's lobby of the Myeong-dong branch of the Park Residence Hotel, the Shinosaki heir easily found the figure of his new friend waiting for him on the front porch of the hotel building.
"Hey." Shinosaki Izumi greeted cheerfully as he dragged his baggage over to meet the heiress of the Park Enterprise, the group that owns the chain of boutique hotels - Park Residence.
"Hello, I see that you've managed to find your way from the airport to Myeong-dong on your own with no issues." Sunny Park Sun Ja greeted her new friend with a pleasant smile etched on her features. Though it has been a few months since they last met in person, Sunny was glad that she had no difficulty recalling the looks of her new friend. It would be rather awkward if she ended up not recognizing the guy, otherwise.
"Yes, well… the research I conducted before flying over helps somewhat. Of course, the Google Map app plays a crucial part in helping me with the navigation around as well." Shinosaki Izumi responded with a bashful smile.
"That's good. Come along then, it's still a tad too early for you to check in but you can leave your baggage with the hotel's reception. Alternatively, there are baggage storage lockers available in the Myeong-dong train station. Which do you prefer to use for the storage of your baggage?" Sunny commented and then waited for her new friend to make his decision.
"Well… seeing as I'm already here, I might as well utilize the hotel's complimentary baggage storage service. Erm… the service is complimentary, right?" The Shinosaki heir clarified after making his decision, that he had chanced across the information about the hotel's baggage storage service via the web site's FAQ page but there aren't many details provided for the service itself on the corporate website. He had simply assumed the service to be complementary, as most hotels provide it free of charge.
"Of course, as long as you are registered as a hotel guest, you are very much welcome to use the baggage storage service without any extra charges." Sunny nodded in response as she led her visiting friend through the entrance of the hotel building and into the reception area of the hotel.
Being a boutique hotel, its lobby and reception area doesn't vary too much from a typical reception lobby of any commercial building. For a start, it didn't give off the vibe of a grand entrance to the guests unlike the high-end luxury hotels, e.g. Shinhwa Hotel.
The exterior of the hotel building isn't much different from the interior, aside from the signboard with the name of the hotel listed clearly for the passerby to see from afar. It looks no different from its neighboring commercial building. Due to its strategic location in Myeong-dong, tucked in between a stretch of eateries/restaurants - the hotel offers only room plans without breakfast for its guests. The hotel spans twelve-story in total, including a basement level comprising the hotel's laundry room and a parking facility equipped for up to 10 vehicles at one time.
The ground floor/first story of the hotel comprises its' reception area, a lift lobby, a storage room that functions as the temporary storage area for the guests' baggage as well as the pantry area for the receptionists to take their tea break when necessary. There's also a beverage vending machine tucked to the side of the lift lobby, near the emergency stairway escape of the hotel. The second floor holds the corporate office of the hotel, and the lift elevators had buttons clearly listed level 2 as the corporate/management office thus, guests would know not to visit level 2 for no reason. The guest rooms were spread across levels 3 to level 10. There's a total of 80 guests rooms with each floor housing 10 rooms for the hotel guests, among the 80 guest rooms available for booking… 25 of which are double-rooms catering for couples, 10 of which were single rooms catering for solo travelers; 5 of them were family suites and the rest of the rooms were standard twin rooms.
For Shinosaki Izumi, since he was traveling alone - he had opted to book a single room for his week's stay in the hotel. The rooms catered for solo travelers were situated on the top floor of the hotel building. Sunny was the one who had assisted the Shinosaki heir in communicating his desire to utilize the hotel's baggage storage service as the staff on duty this morning doesn't have a strong grasp of the language - English, and it certainly doesn't help that Japanese slang English used by the Shinosaki heir can be a tad hard to comprehend for people who aren't used to the Japanese accent.
"Okay, all done. You can come back here at 3pm to complete the check-in procedure, for now… let me bring you around the vicinity, so you would have a better idea of what's in the area that you could consider grabbing your meals over the next few days." Sunny started as she handed the baggage storage slip over to the waiting Shinosaki heir as she commented.
"Sure, thank you for your help. So, I'll just have to hand this slip over to the staff later when we come back in to complete the hotel check-in procedure?" Shinosaki Izumi inquires curiously as he studied the baggage storage slip handed over to him by the heiress of the boutique hotel where he's staying for the week in Seoul.
"Yep. No worries, I reserved both today and tomorrow for you exclusively. So, I'll be here to assist you whenever you required." Sunny responded cheerfully to the Shinosaki heir as she led them out of the hotel building and onto the streets of Myeong-dong.
"Really? You are going to spend both days guiding me around the city?" Shinosaki Izumi started as incredulity and surprise colored his tone.
"Of course. I did make you a promise to show you around Seoul when you come to visit, didn't I?" Sunny said casually in response.
"True… but it's Christmas! Don't you have to spend the time with your family or friends?" To say that Shinosaki Izumi was surprised was an understatement, while he was expecting Sunny to spare him a day to bring him around the city… he wasn't quite expecting the girl to go to the extent of burning her entire Christmas holiday for his sake.
"Nah… it's fine. Christmas isn't exactly a big thing in my family, so my parents don't exactly celebrate it. As for my friends, well… the meet-up was planned for boxing day, so there's no harm for me to spend both my Xmas eve and Xmas day with you. Besides, aren't you also my friend? Come on along, let us go find somewhere for lunch. There are plenty of eateries in the area, surely there's something that you would find suitable for your taste buds." Sunny waved off the incredulity response from the Shinosaki heir and start leading her dumbfounded friend down the street in search of a dining venue for their lunch.
It took the duo a fair bit of time to find an ideal location for lunch, mostly because the majority of the restaurants in Myeong-dong are crowded with patrons around this time. Not in the mood to hang around and wait for a table at most restaurants that are fully occupied, the duo eventually decided to stick to restaurants catering to local Korean food. Since most of these restaurants cater menus that are more or less similar to one another, they aren't as crowded as the restaurants catering food from other cultures/areas in the world.
The restaurant Sunny brought Izumi to patronize for their lunch this afternoon is tucked away in the back alley of the vibrant street of Myeong-dong. And honestly, the restaurant's location is so secluded that if it weren't for Sunny… the Shinosaki heir probably wouldn't have found it if he were to scour the area on his own. As most patrons of these little restaurants are locals, the shop doesn't offer an English menu and therefore, Sunny took it upon herself to place the orders for them to save the Shinosaki heir from the headache of having to decipher the Korean menu by his own means.
"Do you want to order a set meal or would you like to order a variety of dishes to share between us?" Sunny inquires as she went through the menu to determine what to order for their lunch.
"Personally, I'm fine with either option as long as you let me know what are the ingredients used in the dish before placing the order." Shinosaki Izumi told Sunny in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"Ah… sure, I'll explain to you what are the dishes before placing the order." Sunny agreed easily enough, as she proceed to go through the menu items with the Shinosaki heir.
Eventually, they both ordered a soup noodle (guksu) dish as their main staple and later ordered a Kimchi pancake, and a light portion of the spicy rice cake to be shared between them. And while Sunny and Shinosaki Izumi were having their lunch in one of the many small restaurants selling local dishes in Myeong-Dong, over in the Mapo district where the porridge shop is located. Jeong Mi-Sun, the daughter of Jeong Sang-Rok, who currently serves as the head secretary to Gu Jun Pyo, has just arrived at the porridge shop for her shift, and to relieve Chu Ga Eul from having to remain in the shop to help the master in handling the lunch crowd.
Location: Porridge shop, Mapo District. 24th December 2009, Thursday, 12.45pm
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ga Eul. I'm here to take over, so you're free to leave when you're done." Jeong Mi-Sun announced shortly after she had dropped off her belongings at the staff pantry/changing room located at the back of the porridge shop owned by Bom Choon-Sik.
"Right… thanks for agreeing to come by and work on Christmas eve." Ga Eul commented in response as she removed the apron of the porridge shop from her person and ended her shift for this afternoon.
Originally, it should be Jan Di who's working today at the porridge shop but because Jan Di's father is down with influenza, and requested for Jan Di to cover for him last night at the convenience store. Jan Di is unable to come in for her shift work this morning. And therefore, the master who was informed of Jan Di's need for taking urgent leave today had called in Ga Eul to help out with the porridge shop. But since Ga Eul is unable to clock a full shift work at the porridge shop today, the master had to call in Jeong Mi-Sun to cover for the latter half of the day despite today being the girl's scheduled off-day.
Either way, Jeong Mi-Sun had agreed after shifting the Christmas eve gathering plan with her friends to Christmas day itself. As for the lunch session she had scheduled with her mother, she brought it forward by an hour to have brunch instead of lunch. As it is, she had rushed down to the Mapo district upon the end of the brunch session she had with her mother today.
"It's fine, at least I was given some time to work out an alternative Christmas meet-up plan with my friends. Alright, I've it covered here so you're free to go whenever you are ready." Jeong Mi-Sun answered once she had clocked in officially for her shift using the punch card system in place behind the cashier counter.
"Alright, I'm done here. Help me clock out via the punch card system, will you? I'll see you soon." Chu Ga Eul calls out as she made her way out of the restaurant to head out for the meet-up with her Casanova beau.
"Sure. Enjoy your Christmas holiday." Jeong Mi-Sun responded as she took the attendance card belonging to Chu Ga Eul from the drawer behind the cashier counter and slot it into the punch card system after switching the system to the clock-out mode.
The Korean Casanova would be picking Ga Eul up at the passenger pick-up point near the train station, both of them had agreed to use that pick-up point whenever the potter has plans to pick her up from work. Mostly because neither of them wishes for Geum Jan Di to discover the nature of their relationship before they're ready to deal with the over-reactive expressions and nosy questions coming from the Wonder Woman of Korea yet. And therefore, except on certain occasions whereby the Korean Casanova had a valid reason for swinging by the porridge shop - the potter of F4 wouldn't be caught pulling up directly outside the shop within the staff's direct vision range.
When Ga Eul arrived at the passenger pick-up point near the Mapo train station, it didn't take her long to find the vehicle that belongs to her Casanova beau. After all, it's rather hard to miss out on the trademark vehicle - the orange lotus that's been crowded by a throng of female passersby ogling and whispering among themselves as they wondered aloud about the whereabouts of the vehicle's owner.
"..." Ga Eul took one look at the gathered crowd and figured that her boyfriend must have gone off elsewhere to kill time while waiting for her arrival. And so, she pulled out her mobile phone and drop a quick line of text to her Casanova beau informing the guy of her arrival at their designated meet-up point.
A private message between Chu Ga Eul and So Yi Jeong, 24th December 2009, 1pm
Ga Eul: I'm here, where are you?
Yi Jeong: I'm grabbing us lunch take-outs from a nearby Italian restaurant.
Ga Eul: I'll head over to find you, there's a bunch of girls ogling your orange lotus by the way. So, there's no way I'm going to wait for you by the side of your car… because I'm not in the mood to deal with any of those girls' nosiness. *Roll Eyes Emoji*
Yi Jeong: Sure. Do you need me to send you the name of the restaurant?
Ga Eul: Of course, there's more than one Italian restaurant in the area.
Yi Jeong: Right… I'm at Aldente, the restaurant situated in the building across from the train station. Speaking of, do you want to have pasta for lunch or risotto?
Ga Eul: Hmm… I wouldn't be able to tell for certain until I see the menu for myself. Anyway, I'll be over in about 5 minutes. In the meantime, you can think of what to get for yourself first. Speaking of, why are we getting lunch takeouts by the way? *Curious Emoji*
Yi Jeong: Didn't I mention before? I have plans for us to have another home movie date, so I figured we could get takeouts for lunch and head back to my pottery studio to take our lunch as we watch a movie via the home entertainment system. After the movie, I'll take you out shopping for suitable attire and grab us some quick bite before heading off to attend the Xmas Gala event hosted by the Shinhwa Group.
Ga Eul: Ah… I see, that's a sound plan. Alright, I'm in the building already. Will be there in a jiffy.
Yi Jeong: See you in a bit.
Location: Seongbuk-district, Geum Family Home. 24th December 2009, Thursday, 1pm
While the SoEul couple is getting their lunch takeout from the restaurant - Aldente in Mapo district, over in the Seongbuk-district, Samseon-dong… Geum Jan Di was just getting out of bed for the day. She had covered a night shift at the nearby convenience store on behalf of her father who was down with influenza the night before and therefore has taken the day off at the porridge shop where she's supposed to be working. Given that she has only been knocked off from work and got back home early this morning at 7am, Geum Jan Di would have preferred to continue getting some sleep at this hour but unfortunately, the sound of her rumbling stomach from hunger woke her up from her very much required sleep. Tumbling out of bed as she makes her way into the family kitchen, Geum Jan Di went through the fridge as she tried to find something edible that doesn't require much cooking.
Unfortunately for her, the only thing she could find that was readily edible is the homemade kimchi made by her family earlier on in the year.
"..." Just when Jan Di resigned to the idea of having to cook for herself, the sound of the doorbell ringing broke her out from her thoughts.
A quick look around informed Jan Di that nobody is at home, her mother is off to work at the Su Am Arts Center… her father is likely off to visit the doctor or the pharmacy to get some medication for the influenza judging by the looks of things. As for her little brother, Kang-San is likely off to keep her father company.
Assuming that whoever is at the door is either the door-to-door salesperson, Geum Jan Di was very much willing to ignore the visitor. And she would have continued ignoring the sound of the ringing doorbell if it weren't for the sudden buzz of an incoming call on her mobile device from her former prince charming - Yoon Ji Hoo.
"Yes, Ji Hoo-sunbae?" Geum Jan Di answered the call with a bizarre look clouding her features, while she continues to sift through the kitchen cabinets for something she could use for a quick meal. She had just landed her eyes upon the pack of instant noodles tucked away in the deeper end of the kitchen cabinet when she was notified by her former prince charming that he was the one ringing the doorbell at the front step of her family home.
"EH?!" Geum Jan Di widen her eyes at the sound of the words coming from her former prince charming and promptly made a beeline to the front door of the apartment unit. Pulling it open, she was met by the sight of Yoon Ji Hoo with a phone by the side of his ears, another hand on the doorbell button and a bag of takeouts from an eatery nearby dangling from the wrist of the hand pressing the doorbell.
"Ji Hoo-sunbae! What brought you here this afternoon?" Geum Jan Di sounded shocked as she invited the auburn-haired member of F4 into the apartment.
"A whim I'll say. And I brought you lunch." Yoon Ji Hoo answered with a cheery smile that he tends to show only when no outsiders were around to witness.
"Oh… thank you." Geum Jan Di literally beams in response at the sound of the words coming from the auburn-haired member of F4. The timely arrival of the Su Am heir with takeouts from the nearby eatery meant she needn't fret over the idea of whipping up a quick meal for herself, this afternoon.
"You're welcome." Yoon Ji Hoo grinned in response as he set the food takeout bag down on the dining table of the apartment.
As Geum Jan Di sat down to enjoy the lunch brought over by the auburn-haired member of F4, Yoon Ji Hoo busied himself with the task of going through the mock test papers he had assigned Jan Di to complete a few days ago. He figured that as long as he had something to occupy his time with, the girl wouldn't feel too uncomfortable about making him wait for her to finish eating.
Knowing that Yoon Ji Hoo's presence in the apartment unit is bound to bring on some nosy questions from her father and younger brother upon their return, Geum Jan Di had every intention to leave home with her former prince charming in tow before their return. So, after speeding through the ingestion of her lunch, Geum Jan Di shifted her focus back to the auburn-haired member of F4 and asks. "So, aside from bringing me lunch this afternoon - what else do you have in mind for me to do for the rest of today?"
"You're done eating?" Yoon Ji Hoo set aside the mock test paper he had been going through earlier, as he shifted his eyes onto the curious figure of Geum Jan Di.
"Of course." Geum Jan Di nodded her response firmly.
"Good. I'm sure you're aware of Jun Pyo's sister's arrival in town." Yoon Ji Hoo began.
Nodding slowly in response to the statement coming from Yoon Ji Hoo, Geum Jan Di waited patiently for the second pin to drop. Somehow, she doubt that her former prince charming dropped by this afternoon and brought up the mention of Gu Jun Hee for no reason. And sure enough, a few seconds later… Yoon Ji Hoo begins to speak up again.
"The Shinhwa Group is having a Xmas Gala event later this evening at the grand ballroom of the Shinhwa Hotel. Hence in return for my effort in bringing you lunch this afternoon, would you please be my date for the Xmas Gala event this evening." Yoon Ji Hoo decided that there was no point in procrastinating further and thus simply state his point bluntly as he revealed the reason behind his visit to Geum Jan Di, this afternoon.
"What?!" Geum Jan Di couldn't help it, she gaped open-mouthed at the figure of Yoon Ji Hoo while silently questioning her sanity. Was it simply a hallucination on her part or did her former prince charming literally just invited her to attend a Xmas Gala event hosted by the Shinhwa Group verbally?
"... I'm asking you to do me a favor in return for my efforts in bringing you lunch this afternoon by attending the Shinhwa Xmas Gala Event this evening as my date." Yoon Ji Hoo repeated his words from before in an unfazed manner.
"...but why me?" Geum Jan Di blinked stupidly at her former prince charming, finding the entire situation too bizarre for her to make any sense out of it.
"Well… for one, I need a date for the event and you're readily available for obvious reasons. Two - I'm neither Yi Jeong nor Woo Bin, so it's not exactly in my nature to pluck some random girls out from the streets and take them out as a date. Three - Jun Hee-noona had expressed her wishes to see you in person again but can't actually send you a proper invitation to the event and thus had sought me out for assistance. Given that I need a date for the event, and she wishes to see you again - I thought I should simply invite you to join me as my date for tonight's event. That way, it's a win-win situation for us all." Yoon Ji Hoo then proceeded to clue Geum Jan Di in on the various reasons that supported his decision about inviting the girl to the event as his date for this evening's event.
"... right…when you put it in that manner, I guess I have no choice but to accept." Geum Jan Di sighed aloud in resignation as she consented to the idea of attending this evening's Xmas Gala event as the 'plus-one' for the auburn-haired member of F4.
"Excellent. Now that's settled, it's time to get a move on. The event is hours away, but we have plenty to do before then." Yoon Ji Hoo remarked and wasted no time in dragging Geum Jan Di off to get some shopping errands done.
"..."
~TBC~
Chapter's notes: Sorry for the delay in getting the chapter ready, but at least, I managed to get it out before April comes to an end. ^^;
Okay, unfortunately, I didn't manage to cover the gala event in this chapter and there are not a lot of SoEul scenes here as well. But the couple does get a cameo in the sense of a chatting scene. ^^; in this chapter, I have assigned scenes for Ii-Hyun and Yi Jeong, as well as a cameo chat scene between Ii-Hyun and Eun-Jae. And I have also incorporated scenes involving Sunny and Shinosaki Izumi, before ending the chapter with a scene between Ji Hoo and Jan Di.
To make up for the lack of SoEul, I'm intending to assign them more screen time in the next chapter. I may or may not incorporate into the next chapter, a scene between Ii-Hyun and Eun-Jae… I've yet to decide. That's all for now, see you next update.