Hello...are you still there?
I hope you are and I can't express in words how sorry I am for taking so long in updating. Life has happened, my son is now 3, I have a bit of a health issue I'm hoping to attack soon and my work is very demanding 4 out of 5 days of the weeks. Not trying to excuse, just to explain. I'm very grateful to you who have been sending me PMs and reviews, following and choosing this story as favorite. I'll try my best that the next update is not so far away.
Thank you all!
Shoutout to JHsgf82, she shares my thoughts and what we come up with is epic. Thanks, boo! And thanks for lending me the candy line ;)
Previously on Part of Me: Jan Di and Ji Min went to a museum and had a blast. An encounter with Yi Jung's father left a bitter taste for a bit; however, later, all the gang plus girlfriends spend a movie night. Woo Bin revealed Jan Di's model pictures from her Shinhwa days and Ji Hoo has moved his day once more because of preparations for his day.
When Jan Di woke up the next day, she realized it was way later than she usually did. Normally, on the island, she would have to rise with the rooster song, all the family actually, except for Ji Min. She would need to put some hot water for hers and Ji Min's bath, finish putting his lunchbox together, and help her mother with breakfast. When this was ready, she'd have to drag Ji Min out of bed; he absolutely hated to be woken early.
When everyone finally arrived, showered, dressed and with lunches in hand, they would all leave for different activities at 7am. Her dad left home at 4am to catch the fish her mother would sell at the market.
While Kang San went to school with his nephew, Jan Di went to her job at the diner. It wasn't close to home, but it was the job that had paid her the most so far. Chul Moo had gotten her that job; he was the one in charge of deliveries of fresh vegetables, meat, and the like for the small place, so he volunteered Jan Di for the cashier job after they found out the last girl had been stealing.
It was a good thing she had paid attention in the finances classes at Shinhwa, not that you needed a lot to run a petty cash register, but her organized ways had gained her the trust of the owners, and she was happy with it.
Now, she was getting ready at almost 9:30am...she couldn't deny it felt nice to simply laze around for a change.
As Jun Pyo had said, she and Ji Min were picked up after breakfast and taken to Shinhwa Co., the tallest building in the country. They were told to wait in a huge lobby, and she felt a bit nervous at clashing so hard with her attire. She wore jeans again, sneakers, a long sleeved shirt, and a jacket. Same with Ji Min, except he also wore one of the new hats he had been gifted with.
It was no more than fifteen minutes, that felt like six hours to Jan Di, when Jun Pyo came out of an office as two people opened the double doors. He was still talking with a man to his right while, to his left, a woman held up a carpet, and he was signing some papers. A couple more minutes, and more people came out. Jun Pyo politely smiled, shook hands, bowed and turned to them with a true smile on his face.
"Sorry about that! It took longer than I thought. Ji Min…" Jun Pyo gave his left hand to the boy, and before a very surprised Jan Di, they performed the 'secret greeting' Yi Jung and Woo Bin had taught him the day before yesterday. "That was very good, just a few more tries and you'll get it perfectly." Ji Min was happy.
After greeting Jan Di with a hug, he said they could go, but Ji Min had other plans.
"Jun Pyo Hyung-nim!" The man in question was pleasantly startled by the boy's new term of endearment. So far, Ji Hoo had been the only one Ji Min hadn't called 'Uncle.'
"Yes, Ji Min-ah?"
"What do you do? I mean, what's your work? You looked so cool! Like those TV commercials when the guy is dressed nice and has a lot of underlings!"
"Ji Min, I've told you they're not underlings." Jan Di rolled her eyes. "Excuse him, Jun Pyo, he thinks that anyone who follows a person who holds power is like that. It's because of a cartoon he watched at a friends' house."
"I get that. Ji Min, I've planned to go someplace else."
"But this...office?" He looked to his mom to see if he said it right, and she nodded. "Looks so nice and pretty. Can we stay for a bit?"
Jun Pyo could understand, in a way, that even a boring office would hold Ji Min's attention. After all, Shinhwa only hired the best interior decorators.
"I'll give you a tour before we leave, then." Ji Min did a little happy dance and thanked Jun Pyo with a hug.
Taking his mom's hand, he asked Jun Pyo to take the other, and soon, the three of them were walking around while Jun Pyo tried his best to tone down his usual business speech when presenting the building. Jan Di, of course, helped with simple explanations that made Ji Min even more sure that he would someday be like Jun Pyo Hyung and work at a big, pretty office.
Of course, the three of them turned heads as they walked through the halls. No one had ever seen the Shinhwa heir openly laughing with a kid or another woman that wasn't his girlfriend. Used to his stern look and his serious demeanor, they all respected the new boss and even felt a sense of loyalty to him that his mother had never provoked in them, but still, it was weird to see him so relaxed. Of course, you can't make everyone happy, and Jun Pyo was aware that some of his workers only stayed at Shinhwa because of the attractive benefits package.
"How did you convince your mother to let you take over the business at last?" Jan Di asked while she and Jun Pyo watched Ji Min play on the daycare floor of the company. One of the many changes Jun Pyo had made was to dedicate a whole floor, instead of a large office, for it. Every mother needed to be at ease about her kids.
"It was a huge acquisition I managed to make. The old witch had tried for years to woo these people, without any success. She thought it would be a good lesson for me to be completely humiliated as she had been. I went in blind; I knew nothing about this particular investor but what she told me." His face denoted pride now. "Lo and behold, they handed over their company for a merger with the condition that I would be the one in charge of negotiations."
"I can only imagine your mother's face."
Jun Pyo looked as if he was remembering a happy occasion. "I actually taped it. I can show it to you later." They both laughed at this.
"What have you planned for today, Jun Pyo?"
"It is a surprise, so no more bothering me with it."
"Oh, of course not. I wouldn't dare. Do excuse me, please," Jan Di mockingly answered.
"Yah! You are already a mother and a...How old are you again?"
"Classy...I'm 25. Are your curls too heavy that you forget things?"
"What's wrong with them?" He had always been self-conscious about his uncommon curls.
"Nothing, I'm just messing with you...really."
Jun Pyo had missed that. With Jan Di, sometimes the people around them might they were offending each other, which they did, at first. But then their banter escalated to something only they could do. None of the other guys would even dare to call her 'low class laundry girl', but he could, and he knew Jan Di gave as good as she got.
"We should go, not that we're late or anything, but I know Ji Min will like where I'm taking him."
Jan Di had to call her son and be very stern about them leaving because the boy was incredibly entertained at the moment. But as soon as they got to their next destination, Ji Min's pout vanished and his eyes grew as big as saucers.
Unable to utter one single word, he was led by Jun Pyo, along with his mother, to the biggest, most amazing toy store he had ever laid eyes on.
"This is the newest Shinhwa toy store we have, Seoul Kid's Palace."
"Goo Jun Pyo, this is...amazing." Jan Di was clearly impressed, and Jun Pyo couldn't help but feel proud at the praise.
"You're the first to come to this store before inauguration. So, please, would you mind helping me give it a test run?"
"What's a tes...a tess...what's that you just said?" Ji Min couldn't very well pronounce the name, and even though he was interested in knowing how he was going to help Jun Pyo, his eyes still roamed over the various colorful boxes and big book corner in sight from their vantage point.
"It means I want you to go and choose whatever you want, play with every game, and pretty much touch everything you see."
"I...really!? I can do that!? Omma, Omma!" Ji Min was jumping up and down in excitement.
"Jun Pyo-ah," she whispered, "are you sure about this?" Clearly, he didn't know how much energy an seven-year-old could have.
"Yeah, that's why I brought you here." Jun Pyo was clearly happy with his idea, and Jan Di, after a glance and a sigh, decided to relent.
"Ji Min-ah..." She kneeled in front of her son, ready to tell him the rules of being in a place that wasn't their home. But then she fell short. What was she supposed to say now? The rules were: 1. Don't touch anything that isn't yours. 2. If you want something that isn't yours, you need to ask for permission. 3. You touch with your eyes and see with your hands.
Really, with a young boy, rules were necessary, not that Ji Min was a naughty kid, but he was a kid, so he of course was curious about anything and everything.
But Jun Pyo had effectively voided all of their usual rules, so she had no other choice but to acknowledge that. "Just, try not to break anything. Okay, honey?"
"Okay!"
"Do you promise me you'll be careful about what you touch and what you play with?"
"I will!" said Ji Min, holding his hand up in sacred oath.
"Then off you go." With a last smile at her little star, he ran to the nearest shelf and went crazy.
"It's okay if he breaks something. It's not like I can't replace it," Jun Pyo told her as they made their way closer to Ji Min.
"Please, don't ever say that to him." She turned to her friend. "I know you're almost omnipotent, Jun Pyo, but he needs to know and follow a few rules. And just a bit of advice for the future, never diminish a parent's authority in front of their children." She said this with a raised brow and a smirk. "You'll know what I mean in a couple of years, probably."
Ji Min had the time of his life. He thought the laser tag had been great, but this? To be in a toy store on his own? He was living out the life dream of every other kid out there in the world. He played with a remote control car; Jun Pyo helped him a bit at first, but he quickly got the gist of it. He went on the swings and then ran to the ball pool. He was able to open a tea set and ask his mom and Jun Pyo Hyung to sit with him and play. By the time he realized, it was lunch time, and he was extremely hungry...and thirsty.
"Omma, I want water, please." Jan Di took out his bottle from the small backpack and watched how the liquid was quickly gulped down.
"I'm sorry. I can get someone to bring us food here," Jun Pyo said, a bit embarrassed. Of course he skipped meals when he was busy or simply didn't feel like eating, but Ji Min was a kid. Jae Kyung had told him children needed at least three meals a day.
"That's okay. It's just a habit to bring a bit of everything, just in case."
"What do you have there?" He was curious
"Oh, just the usual," she opened the bag so he could see inside, "wet wipes, some cookies, water, band-aids, an extra shirt and underwear, a comb, perfume…" Jun Pyo knew a woman's bag was a different world, but Jan Di's bag was a whole different universe.
"That's the usual?"
"Wait until you get a kid; you'll know Pororo by heart."
"Know who?"
"Just let me know when you have a kid and he's two; we'll talk then."
Jun Pyo once again thought about how Jan Di was a single mom and how easy she made it look, although he knew it was everything but. There were two or three single moms in his company that he knew of, and gossip told him that for these women it was never easy to be a father and a mother. Jae Kyung's own sister was soon going to be a single mom. The father of the child had died in a hiking accident, and her sister had just found out she was pregnant at the time. It hadn't been easy.
"Should we go get something to eat?" Jan Di agreed because her stomach was a minute away from making its presence known with a very loud sound. She called Ji Min, and he came running.
"Can I take these toys?"
"Ji Min! These-"
"Sure, that's why I brought you here. Take whatever you want."
Jan Di turned to Jun Pyo slack-jawed. Was he really going to…?
"Jun Pyo, this is way toomuch!"
"It's okay, he had fun; he can take whatever he wants. You're not drilling a hole in my budget, Jan Di."
"I know, but…" Of course it was already too late. Ji Min had already gone to choose what he wanted to take. Jan Di had never been able to buy such toys. Her son had toys, yes, but not a huge amount of them, and not of expensive brands like these. She usually bought the imitation; it was cheaper and fulfilled the same purpose.
Truth was, she was starting to get worried. They were only staying for a week, and Ji Min had never known luxuries like this. Not that she hadn't experienced this kind of thing on a daily basis after getting close to F4, but she had been older and knew not to let sparkly things go to her head when she hung out with them...but what about her son?
"Are you okay?" Jun Pyo asked when he saw the worried expression on Jan Di's face.
"Yeah."
Ji Min chose that moment to appear with five boxes in hand.
"Is that all you want to take?" Jun Pyo was surprised; usually kids went crazy, and Ji Min had, but in a more measured manner. He had only opened three boxes and was now carrying five.
"Yeah, I want to give one to Halmeoni, one to Harabeoji, one to Samchon, one for mom, and one for me." Then he looked a bit sheepish. "Is that okay?"
Jan Di exhaled, and some of her worries lessened. But now, she was conflicted. Her son was being careful in what he chose, not going all out as he had been instructed, even after receiving her okay for it. Should he really be this cautious at his age?
She didn't understand herself sometimes. She wanted her son to enjoy the leisure time F4 was gifting them, but she didn't want him to be lost in the riches, and now she felt bad when Ji Min didn't, in fact, lose his head.
"Yes, it's okay. Just leave them here; I'll have someone take them to your hotel later." Jun Pyo told him.
"But…" Ji Min clearly didn't want to let go of the new toys.
"It's okay, I promise all of these will be waiting for you when you get back to the hotel." Ji Min looked ready to cry, and Jun Pyo didn't know what else to do.
"Hey, little prince, why don't you take one with you? The one you like the most, and then the rest can stay here and we can play together later with the one you chose for me." Jan Di knew she needed to bargain for the toys; it wasn't fair to give Ji Min all of these and then tell him to leave them.
After careful deliberation in his head, Ji Min thought it better to have one rather than none and took the 'Simon Says' game.
"I thought he was going to cry," Jun Pyo confessed to Jan Di once they were inside the car that would take them to lunch.
"He was, but I know what to do in these cases."
"Glad to know…"
Lunch had been funny. Jun Pyo had taken them to a luxury restaurant, only to have the lobster and crab rejected by Ji Min. The little kid didn't know what to do with such a grandiose presentation, so Jan Di, once again, came to his aid and asked for a salad, some crab meat in a Japanese omelette, and a fresh lemonade. She accepted the amazing dishes with a smile; although, she needed his help to discern what was actually being served. The portions were tiny, and according to the Chef, meant to be savored slowly.
To her great surprise, they didn't get to finish, and Jun Pyo took them to a market where they went all out: Tteokbokki, Egg Toast, Grilled Cheese Lobster and Hweori Gamja. She felt like they were at a festival because they went from stall to stall just eating away. The people around weren't the least bit intimidated by Jun Pyo's designer suit, for it was no secret that even higher representatives came down to the streets to get the best food Korea had to offer.
"So, how does it feel to come to the commoner's turf?" Jan Di asked while eating with gusto a Tornado Potato.
"Just so you know, Geum Jan Di, I visit several markets for business research."
"And the food, no doubt."
They both laughed, and it was relaxing. Jun Pyo was smiling, something that his subordinates almost never got to see. Being next to Jan Di, it felt like no time had passed.
But they still needed to talk.
He was about to open his mouth again when his phone rang.
"Give me a minute. Sorry."
While he talked on the phone, Jan Di crouched next to Ji Min to share some of the food. The little boy was completely stuffed, but he still wanted to keep eating.
She could see Jun Pyo making wide movements with his arms and rubbing his forehead in discomfort. Not a minute later, he came back to them.
"Jan Di-ah...Sorry, I need to run to the office."
"Oh, that's okay. We can take the bus to-"
"No! We're not cutting the day short. But, could you please come to the office again? They just need me to sign some papers. I'll take 10 minutes, tops."
"I wouldn't want to-"
"I want to go!" Ji Min said, raising his hand. He was excited to once more see Jun Pyo's office and him in action.
Before Jan Di could say anything, the older man took the younger one's hand and began to walk to the exit of the market. Laughing a bit to herself, she followed them. There was no way she could win a two-against-one battle. Besides, Ji Min could be as stubborn as Jun Pyo when he wanted to be.
Smiling to herself, she followed them to the car, and they were off to Shinhwa again.
Ji Min was so excited that he kept asking questions of Jun Pyo while they traveled to the offices of Shinhwa again. Jun Pyo was incredibly patient and answered even repeated questions without seeming uncomfortable. Jan Di looked at the both of them with a bit of longing. Perhaps, if she had come forward earlier about her pregnancy, things would've been different. Ji Min would've had more moments like this, growing up beside four crazy but good men.
She internally scolded herself once more, but there was no use wondering what could've been. Things had happened; she had made a decision, and she was sticking by it, no matter what.
oº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºoº°˚˚°ºo
As soon as they arrived at the building, Jun Pyo took them to the fifteenth floor and asked them to wait in the lobby. He ran off, and Jan Di laughed.
While her son watched some videos on her new phone, she caressed his hair and smiled at him; he was being such a good boy today. Not that he was naughty all the time, but he had known how to behave, and that made her proud. She loved for her son to be a kid, scraped knees and dirty hands and all, but to see him trying to be a bit more mature made her proud. While watching Pororo with Ji Min, she didn't realize there had been a person carefully hidden, adding numbers in her head.
It wasn't until the distinctive sound of heels clicking on the floor could be heard that Jan Di turned around and saw the only person she truly hated in this world.
"What are you doing here?"
"Madam Kang." She immediately stood up and shielded her son. The woman in front of her looked older but still beautiful, with perfect makeup and expensive clothes on. One thing that hadn't changed about her was the cold flame in her gaze.
"I don't usually repeat myself, girl."
Jan Di remembered she had been asked a question. "I'm visiting the city."
"And you had to come to Shinhwa?" Kang Hee Soo folded her arms and looked Jan Di up and down, from head to toes. "You still haven't changed. Trailing behind my son, begging for him to accept you and no doubt, that brat behind you."
"Say whatever you want to me." She took a step forward, causing the other woman to flinch a bit. "It's not new, and I frankly don't care. But say something bad about my son, and I'll rip off your pretty manicured nails one by one," Jan Di hissed through clenched teeth. She remembered all this woman had done to her, how she had tormented her family because Jun Pyo liked her, the lay-off of her best friend's parents, the absurd amount of money she pushed at her to 'disappear,' insisting it should be 'enough for someone of her class'.
One of her favorite memories was that of throwing that envelope right back in Madam Kang's face. It actually made her laugh during rough times.
'Class,' as if Madam Kang knew anything about that word.
"You're such a shrew," she spat out her words with venom.
"We'll be taking our leave." Jan Di could take whatever this woman had in her repertoire; she wasn't eighteen anymore, but she wasn't about to have a showdown in front of Ji Min.
"Is Jun Pyo the father?" Jan Di stopped carrying her son and turned around. Was this woman for real? Had she really asked this, here? In a lobby where people passed by every moment and where a secretary was paying way too much attention to the scene?
"What?!"
"You disappear for eight years, don't leave a note or tell anyone what happened. I'm ashamed to say Jun Pyo and his little group went half mad trying to look for you, and now here you are, with a kid that looks strangely the same age. I'm not stupid. If you've come to ask for money, I can give it to you, but there is no way I'll allow a bastard child to be the next heir of Shinhwa."
"Omma?" Ji Min's voice was small. "Is Jun Pyo Hyung-nim my dad?"
"Mother!" A disheveled Jun Pyo appeared from an office to bellow at the woman. He quickly made his way to his friends, and now it was him shielding both Ji Min and Jan Di. "I thought it was strange that they so suddenly called me to 'sign some papers.' I had made sure to free up this day as best I could."
Hee Soo sighed. She had wished to avoid this with Jun Pyo. Her son was still too immature, and she couldn't risk the appearance of the commoner to cloud his mind. If he broke up with the heiress of JK Group…
"Jun Pyo-ah, just go home. I'll deal with this."
"Deal with what?" Jan Di was trying desperately to move away with Ji Min, but the little boy went to tightly grasp Jun Pyo's leg, much to her misfortune.
"That." His mother pointed down at his leg and spoke in a deadpan tone. "This doesn't need to be a big deal; it's not like it's the first or last time I've had to clean up after one of your messes."
"You have no right to talk to me like that, or her and her son. She's my guest; she's welcome here, and you will not humiliate her."
"If you were stupid enough to get her pregnant you need to be smart enough to get rid of the problem before she sells the story to the media."
Jun Pyo looked lost for a second before he understood his mother's words. "What!?"
"Your mother believes Ji Min is your son." Jan Di stood next to him, no use in trying to avoid the confrontation now.
"Bu- Tha- The- Impossible!"
"I know, but she doesn't believe it." Jan Di moved her hand in the general direction of Hee-Soo.
"There is a quick way to know if he is or not. A blood test-" But Hee Soo was immediately cut off by an enraged mother.
"If you think for a second I'm going to let one of your doctors pinch my son with a needle, you're stupider than I thought." Before his mother could have a conniption at Jan Di's words, someone else joined the party.
"There is no way he's the father, Madam Kang." A sweet voice interrupted the small gathering. Jae Kyung was walking toward them in a business suit that looked cut-throat. Standing next to Jun Pyo, she declared, "I can assure you Ji Min is not Jun Pyo's son."
"Jae Kyung-ssi, I'd appreciate if you stayed out of this. You shouldn't be subjected to some commoner lies."
"But I'm not." Jae Kyung then moved to stand next to Jan Di and linked arms with her, much to her future mother-in-law's annoyance. "I can assure you Ji Min is not Jun Pyo's son," she repeated, "because I was his first."
The way she delivered that line, as if she was saying she had sushi for lunch, made everyone stare at her in bewilderment. "What? Now you can be sure that this beautiful little boy has not even one single drop of your blood running through his veins." She stopped for a second to look at her boyfriend. "That sounded a bit dramatic, huh?" That was the Jae Kyung Jun Pyo knew and loved, addding a touch of funny and I-don't-give-a-fuck to the situation.
"Happy now, Old Witch?" How this woman had ever had kids, he didn't know. He couldn't remember even one time his mother had held him the way Jan Di held Ji Min, or carried him, or stroked his hair just for the sake of it. As soon as he took the reins of Shinhwa Co., he was so going to send her on a sweet, long, faraway vacation.
Madam Kang was, obviously, raging inside, but she was a woman of many masks. Giving the group a final look, she left them without another word.
A collective sigh came from the three adults in the lobby.
"A word of this to any media site, and you'll be on the blacklist," Jun Pyo threatened the secretary that seemed to be hiding her phone.
"A...A blacklist...sir?"
"You won't be able to get a job in Seoul, Chungchon, Kangwon or Kyonsang."
"I...I didn't see anything, sir." She suddenly slipped into her professional demeanor. "I assure you nothing of this will leave this room."
"Good. Now, go take a break somewhere." With a bow, the secretary ran away before the next owner of the company changed his mind. It was not a secret that in his younger years he would fire someone just because he didn't like the color of his tie.
When Jun Pyo turned around, he was shocked to find Ji Min crying on Jan Di's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" He asked Jae Kyung.
"He thought for a second you were his father, so he started asking Jan Di if you weren't him, then where is he." She sighed, knowing that, at some point, perhaps her little nephew would ask the same thing. Hopefully, her sister would find a man to love, but for now, that seemed impossible; her wounds were still too fresh.
"By the way, why did you lie?"
"What?"
"You told her you were my first, and you know that isn't true."
"I know, but she doesn't. And you said you weren't the father, so I believe you." Short and simple, so Jae Kyung.
"Thanks, Jae."
Suddenly, they could hear Jan Di softly speaking to her son. "I promise you; I promise your appa will return, and when he does, I'll introduce you to him, and he'll be very happy to meet you. He'll love you so, so, so much."
"Why isn't he here now?" Ji Min cried, and Jan Di felt a stab deep in her heart.
"Because...Because he had someone he needed to meet. Hmm? He had to meet this person and then, one day, he was going to come back. So, please, my prince, please don't cry. I'll do my best to find your appa, yeah?"
"Y-You p-pr-promise?" Ji Min hiccupped his words.
"Yes, I promise."
Liar, liar, pants on fire. She recited in her head.
"Ji Min-ah, what do you say we go clean your face, yeah?" Jae Kyung offered her help, and Ji Min obediently took her hand after his mother said it was okay.
Jan Di was fighting her tears and the feeling in her chest that once more consumed and bludgeoned her with guilt.
"Who is he?"
"Huh?" Jan Di turned around to find a stern-looking Jun Pyo.
"Who is Ji Min's father? You know where he is, don't you?"
"I- What are you talking about?"
He quickly grabbed her arm and led her to one of the corners that could give him a vantage point of the hall from where Jae and Ji Min would return soon.
"Jan Di, if he did this to you, if he abandoned you and Ji Min, then tell me, so I can-"
"So you can what?!"
"So I can beat him to an inch of his death! You don't think all of us want to do that? Do you think that if I told Yi Jung, Woo Bin, and Ji Hoo that I knew who and where this guy is, they wouldn't come with me and take turns using him as a punching bag?"
"Goo Jun Pyo, please. You don't know-"
"Yes! I don't! Because you won't tell us! 'He had to meet this person.'" He faked Jan Di's voice. "At least create a better lie! Say he died or something!"
Jan Di knew he was right. She could've simply invented an accident and told her child that his father was dead; that would've been so much easier than causing her little prince pain. But another small part of her head had always asked her, what if someday you find him? What if, by a miracle, you make up with him and you can once again be together?
"Jan Di-ah," he took her face in his hands and tilted it up so he could hold her gaze, "I loved you. I was in love with you. I was so angry when you left, but then I know so were the guys. I knew you didn't feel the same way about me; that was made clear after the trials, but damn it! You could've told us something! We could've helped you! I wanted to help you, no matter the amount of money you needed; you know I could've afforded it, all of us could've." Jan Di couldn't keep the tears at bay anymore. "I know you won't tell me who he is, but if you ever, ever, want to, then I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you or Ji Min, you hear me?" She nodded, and he hugged her.
Jan Di couldn't have imagined the extent and consequences of her actions. She knew she was going to hurt them, but not this much. They had only been friends for months! Except for Ga Eul, she never thought F4 would take her departure in such a harsh way.
"Oh, and, I'm sorry about what happened when I went to your house."
"What?" Jan Di pulled away from him and cleaned her eyes with a handkerchief he offered her. "Ji Hoo is rubbing off on you."
"Yeah, probably."
"What did you say about…?"
"Remember when I went to your house? It was a week after the trials and…what I did, I mean…"
"Oh! That, um," she blushed, "it's okay. I mean, it's not, but you weren't thinking clearly and we hadn't spoken about what happened in New Caledonia, so...yeah."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forced you to-"
"We promised to never talk about that, right?"
"Right. But still, I'm sorry for the jerk I was when we were at school."
"You're still a jerk, Jun Pyo." She joked.
"Yah!"
Jae Kyung came back with Ji Min a few minutes later, the boy clearly excited for some reason.
Jun Pyo greeted them. "Glad that you're back. Now we can go to-"
"The salon!" Jae Kyung exclaimed.
"Excuse me?"
"I was telling Ji Min he has such nice hair but I think a modern style would suit him better. And Jan Di also needs a trim, right?"
"Well, I-" Jan Di was a bit surprised.
"Trust me. I know the best stylist in Korea. He would definitely give you a makeover, so, so…!" She seemed unable to find the words. "Anyway, you'll end up looking très magnifique."
"Yah, monkey! It's my day, and we weren't done yet."
"Aw, Jun.." she stretched the 'u' in his name, "can you just let me do this one itty-bitty tiny little thing?" She put on a pout that made Jan Di want to give her some candies. She could see Jun Pyo was fighting a losing battle.
"Well, I guess we can go after the salon…"
"Yay!" She went to take Jan Di's hand. "Jan Di-ah, please entrust me with your makeovers. I'll make you and Ji Min look fabulous."
Jan Di didn't know if 'fabulous' was a good look back in the village, but she supposed she and Ji Min could use a haircut. Looking into Jae Kyung's puppy eyes, she agreed.
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-Starting extreme makeover! *Ha Jae Kyung has sent you an attached pic*
-Whoa, whoa! Why didn't anyone tell me about this? Where are you guys?
-Wasn't it supposed to be Jun Pyo's day?
-I convinced him to let me do the makeover! You guys coming?
-On my way!
-Bro, pick me up.
-Sorry, Jae Kyung, have some work to do. Do send some pictures later.
-You're a bore, Ji Hoo. Just come for a bit.
-I can go, Jae Kyung Noona.
-This was supposed to be my day!
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Jae Kyung was happy. One of the things that she loved the most was dressing other people up. If she had been a daughter of a more normal family, she was sure she would've been a fashion designer.
But for now, in the salon, she was moving around quickly. She needed to make sure that the new looks would fit both Jan Di and Ji Min perfectly, plus the photographer was late! And the clothes she asked for hadn't arrived yet.
Jun Pyo watched his girlfriend move confidently and quickly, in her element. He trusted her when it came to clothes; she had renewed his entire wardrobe once they hit the year together mark, and although he had thought he was going to be furious, he had to admit 90% of his clothes were selected thinking of his preferences.
When Yi Jung and Woo Bin arrived, they were immediately banned from seeing their friend and her son. Jae Kyung wanted the maximum surprise element for when she made the big reveal. The only other one allowed to go in was Sun Mi.
"What's taking so long?"
"You think this is long?" Jun Pyo glared at Yi Jung. "I was sitting here for an hour before you arrived."
"You know how women are, bro." Woo Bin clapped his back.
"Yeah, but adding up the time Jun Pyo was waiting to our own, they've been inside for nearly two hours!"
They heard the door through which the 'subjects' were sliding open, and they all stood up, but only Sun Mi came out.
"Sorry, guys, they're going to be a few more minutes. Please be patient a bit longer; they're just adding the finishing touches."
"Ji Hoo is the only one who isn't here." Jun Pyo sent him a text.
"He's trying to get some work done for his day. I think he has something big prepared, so he needs all the time he can get. He was supposed to be with them on the second day, but then he exchanged it with me, and then with you, Jun Pyo," Yi Jung said.
"You think he might exchange his day again, Sun Mi?" Woo Bin asked the girl who took a seat across from them.
"He hasn't asked us, so I wouldn't know."
"What do you think he's doing?" Yi Jung asked, and Jun Pyo answered.
"Knowing him, I bet it has something to do with music."
The rest of the F4 laughed at this, well aware that their friend loved music above anything else.
After 10 more minutes of chat, Jae Kyung bounced out of the room.
"They're all ready!" She excitedly announced, and all of her friends stood up in expectance. Once they were as Jae Kyung wanted, she cleared her throat.
"He is a seven-year-old guy, loves meat, Pororo, and hanging out at the beach. He's Geum Ji Min!" On his cue, the mentioned boy came out, and everyone started clapping.
He looked so different!
With a new haircut, Ji Min came out rocking some ragged jeans and new sneakers. The look Jae Kyung had gone for was black: Hat, shirt, and leather jacket. Chic but not eccentric. The little boy smiled widely, though his cheeks were a bit pink.
"Ji Min! My man! You're going to break so many hearts!" Woo Bin was the first to go to him and salute him with F4's secret greeting.
"You look very handsome, Ji Min-ah," Sun Mi said, and she pecked his hair, which made Ji Min blush furiously.
"Thank you, noona! I really like the clothes, and I smell nice too!" Jun Pyo noticed they had put a bit of cologne on Ji Min, nothing too grown up, but definitely male.
"That's good, Ji Min. A man should always give off a scent that makes others turn around." Or course, at this comment, the boy seemed a bit confused, but he smiled nonetheless.
The only one who hadn't said anything yet was Yi Jung, and it wasn't that he didn't think Ji Min looked great but rather that he was having some kind of revelation that had turned him a bit pale.
"Yah, bro, you okay?" Woo Bin saw Yi Jung's somewhat stunned expression.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry." He went to Ji Min and told him he looked very cool, and the young man once again felt very tall, receiving praise from 3 men who were the coolest he'd ever seen.
"Okay, okay, and now, for the piece de résistance…" She opened her arms to the door and out came Jan Di.
All the people outside had slack-jaws or widened eyes. They couldn't believe that the woman before them was Geum Jan Di. With a different hair color and a trim, fringe gone and makeup on, she looked nothing like the girl they knew, loved, and remembered.
She was wearing a long, tight black skirt, a white button down, sleeveless blouse, and a thin, black leather jacket.
At the silence both Jan Di and Jae Kyung encountered, the latter spoke, "Is everything okay?"
After a couple of seconds, Woo Bin took a step forward, stared at the new her, and sighed. "Geum Jan Di, I'll always look at you as my sister, but damn it if I'm not lying when I say I'm jealous of Ji Min's father. After all, he got you." Jan Di had always been immune to Casanova's and Don Juan's charms, but right then, seeing his smile, she looked down and felt shy at his words.
Yi Jung came up next. "Jan Di-ah. I really meant it when I asked you out on a date." And he was serious.
Of course he had joked and flirted, telling her what a fine woman she had turned out to be on the laser tag day, but deep down he knew that Jan Di was a kind of woman that came along only once. He had never liked her in that way, not ever, but looking at her right then, he was sure that if he tried, he could easily fall for a woman like her; and it wasn't only Jan Di's beauty, but her heart and her character.
But, of course, he could never really go for it. Not with her connection to both Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo. Even though the two had moved on, he couldn't do that to either of them, so he slipped on a sly smile and winked at her.
"I believe not one word from your mouth, So Yi Jung," Jan Di replied.
Shaking away the thoughts that had appeared in his mind, he turned back into his usual self.
"Just kidding." Yi Jung chuckled and nudged her.
Jan Di made a sound of annoyance but smiled, nonetheless.
Jun Pyo and Sun Mi also gave her compliments, though Jun Pyo had to receive a slap on the head from Woo Bin to stop gawking.
"So, what do you think? How many points out of ten for Ji Min?" Of course everyone raised their phones with a sound 10, which made Ji Min hug Jae Kyung and thank her loudly for what she had done.
Jae Kyung really, really liked kids but knew that she was a klutz when it came to babies; it had been proven when she visited a cousin after the birth of her daughter and had tried to help. Not half an hour later, her mother had loudly 'asked' her to leave the house. It had hurt her a bit. Still, she hoped someday to have kids of her own and to be able to handle it by then.
Shaking her head and the thoughts away with it, she asked for Jan Di's score.
Jun Pyo and Sun Mi raised a 10, while Woo Bin raised an 11 and Yi Jung a 20.
"So great! I also give them the same! I'll get Ji Hoo to score your outfits later."
"But, Jae Kyung, do I really need to stay in this skirt? It's hard to move around in."
"I knew you were going to say that, so go back and put on what I left for you. Just let Marcus take a picture, okay?"
"Again?" Jan Di whined.
"Yes, again. Now go, go, go."
Some minutes later, Jan Di was kinda matching with her son: Ragged jeans, white tank top and a heavy, black leather jacket. She would've never put this on on her own, not because it didn't look amazing, but because she didn't think her sense of fashion was that good.
They decided to simply stroll around for a bit and show Jan Di some new stores and also places where Ji Min could play for free. No one told her that they had already asked the managers of certain places to never charge Jan Di or her son a dime; everything would run on F4's tab. Also, there was another reason for them to show Jan Di and Ji Min around.
All of F4 had had a meeting that very first night after the gifts, and they all wanted Jan Di to come back. It wasn't a money problem; it was a pride problem on their stubborn friend's part. If Jan Di hadn't asked for their help all those years ago, they were certain she wasn't going to do it now, but they were planning to bring her to the city often. Yi Jung was looking for a job for her dad; Jun Pyo was in charge of finding options for a new place; Woo Bin was reaching out to each and every not-so-legal contact he had to find out if there was still anyone looking to settle the score with the head of the Geum family. Ji Hoo, of course, had been given the role of mediator, for if anyone could convince Jan Di of something, it was him.
The girls, of course, were also helping in whatever way the could, so the whole gang was in on the plan. The only person unaware was Jan Di, but they were trying to do what they thought was best, not only for her, but also for her son.
They had all quickly and irrevocably started to care for Ji Min as they did for Jan Di, so their mission was clear. In six months' time, they wanted the whole Geum family to be back in town.
While they hung out around town, two guys had tried to pick up Jan Di, inviting her for a drink. Of course, she had quickly refused, and the second time, had even told the guy her boyfriend wouldn't like that. As if on cue, Woo Bin and Yi Jung had promptly appeared next to her, leaving the unfortunate guy confused and scared.
Jan Di felt very weird and a bit uncomfortable with all the attention. Back in her teens, no one gave her a second thought; well, alright, two guys, but still the circumstances had been very peculiar. She wondered at how some makeup and the right outfit could transform a person.
They stopped for a bit at a coffee shop, where Ji Min drank hot chocolate and Jun Pyo complained that it was too late to go to the zoo, which had been part of his plan.
"I'm sorry, Jun. I didn't mean to crash your day." Jae Kyung gave her boyfriend her signature 'I'm-sorry' look, and to the amusement of the party, he blushed and relented. "Did you have any plans for tonight?"
"No, the zoo was the last destination. Why?"
"Because I've just thought of something that we can do tonight, Sun Mi-ah!"
"Yes? What is it?" The girl asked.
"You, Jan Di, Ga Eul, and I are going to have a girls' night! We can watch movies, eat some junk food, play some games...It's going to be awesome!"
"Jae Kyung-ssi, though I appreciate the thought-" Jan Di was about to protest, but Jae Kyung promptly cut her off.
"If you're worried about Ji Min, don't. We'll have girls' night in the next room, and I have bought the best baby video monitor on the market, so you'll be able to watch him either on the device or simply by going back to your room; it won't take you more than five minutes."
Jan Di could only stare at her. It wasn't that Ji Min didn't sleep through the night; her son loved his sleep time, but he was used to sleeping with her. He had done so since he was a baby until today.
When she turned to look for help, everyone was simply shaking their heads or smiling, as if telling her to go with it. They'd all learned and suffered the bludgeon of Jae Kyung's personality.
"I don't know if Ga Eul is available, though…" Jan Di played her last card.
"She is. I wrote her a few minutes ago, and she asked for a vacation day so she can come." While she didn't know when Jae Kyung had gotten her best friend's phone number, Jan Di saw that she only wanted to help her have a good time. And she had to admit, it had been a while since she last had a night with just women of her age.
Coming around to the idea, Jan Di agreed to Jae Kyung's plan.
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It was 11pm, and four women were in pajamas. Two of them sat on the floor with cushions in their laps, laughing madly; the other two were trying to win a game that they'd never played.
This consisted of feeding your partner while blindfolded, and so far, Jae Kyung and Sun Mi were losing spectacularly.
"Stop, stop! My stomach hurts, oh God…" Jan Di couldn't remember the last time she had laughed till tears.
"Jae Kyung, you better go clean yourself up and probably even change into a different set of pajamas," Ga Eul managed to say between laughs.
"Oh, alright, you guys win," she said. Sun Mi removed the blindfold and apologized to her unnie. "That's okay. This game goes to you, ladies."
They had been competing in silly games that required pairs, and of course, Jan Di had teamed up with Gaeul, and Jae Kyung with Sun Mi.
From pulling a rope to solving a puzzle to memorizing a choreography, the four of them were having a blast. It was the sleepover that every girl wanted to have, except they also had fondue, strawberries, chocolate fountain, and champagne.
Jan Di had been to her room twice, but after noticing that her baby monitor was actually a camera, she was calmer. Besides, Ji Min had been happy to know his mom was going to have fun, and through the monitor, she saw he was out for the night.
Yup, best sleepover ever.
Jae Kyung and Sun Mi had started the night with matching pajamas, a cute three-piece set, strapped shirt and tiny shorts with a silk robe in a floral pattern, while Jan Di and Ga Eul had been gifted by them with a set of two-piece pajamas, shirt and shorts. The latter two were both grateful for the more comfortable alternative.
"Make way, ladies, cause the lioness is coming through." Jae Kyung was standing at the bathroom door. She raised her leg to the wall and put on her sexy look.
Jan Di admired Jae Kyung's beauty, in and out. She had lived a privileged life, but she could be goofy and fun as well; although, she had to admit she shared something with Jun Pyo.
"Isn't that a leopard print? Lions don't have spots," she said.
"What? Really?" Jan Di couldn't help it; after her comment and remembering Jun Pyo's 'The early worm dies first' saying, she doubled over laughing.
After that incident, the alcohol started to run high. They played "UNO" and "Ubongo" and were all feeling a bit too happy. And inevitably, the mandatory game for a girls' sleepover came up.
"Buckle up, ladies. Next up is Truth or Dare." Jae Kyung set a candle in front of each one of them and dimmed the lights to set the mood. "Sun Mi can explain the rules."
"Yes. So, it is simple. The one at the base of the bottle will ask the question, and the person at the mouth will answer, or do the dare. A person can't have two turns in a row, so if the bottle falls on you again, it has to be spun one more time. No follow-up on questions if the person decides so. You can't refuse the dare."
"Wait," Ga Eul sat with a mimosa, "we can't refuse to do them at all? I don't want to end up naked or something."
"Have you ended up naked in a Truth or Dare game before?" Jae Kyung looked excited.
"No, not me, at least, but I did hear about a dare like that once in college. So I want to know if there are also rules for the dares."
"I don't think we've ever gone for nudity, but we may ask you to sing, do a sexy dance, drink shots, text your ex-"
"Can we skip anything to do with exes?" Sun Mi piped in. Jae Kyung almost hit herself; of course Sun Mi wouldn't like that.
"Yes, sorry. I don't think I'd like that, either. So, let us say we can refuse dares but only if they're completely unreasonable."
"Call!" They all finally said, and the round started.
"When did you have your first French kiss?"
"Biggest lie you told your parents?"
"I dare you to drink three shots of tequila."
"How's your sex life?"
"Dare you to moan like a porn star."
"Ever done it in a public place?"
"Were you ever caught in the act?"
Things were getting heated, and between Ga Eul and Jae Kyung, there was a competition going over who had had the greatest sex ever.
"If I could tell you who it was...It was amazing, Jae Kyung, I almost fainted."
"But Jun does this thing with his-"
"Please, please, please, I don't want to be scarred for life. Stop talking about your sexcapades with Goo Jun Pyo, please?" Jan Di pleaded.
"Okay, alright, but you don't know what you missed!" They all laughed while the bottle spun again, landing on Jan Di. "Great! How many sex partners have you had?"
"Dare."
"Really? That's an easy one…"
"Yeah, dare."
"Okay, I dare you to...belly dance! Do it as if your life depended on it!"
Of course, there were laughs heard round the room while Jan Di attempted and failed to do a Shakira dance. She had no problem with girl group choreos, but to imitate a Latina's flavor took serious effort.
After she finished, between claps and cheers, they realized that all of them were drunk, and it was almost 3AM, time to hit the sack.
Of course, no one was going to sleep in the bed; instead, Jae Kyung had prepared sleeping bags, so it could be a 'real' sleepover.
Jan Di and Ga Eul decided to stay up just a bit longer to drink some water; they didn't want a massive headache the next day.
"I'll go get some ice." While Ga Eul went to the kitchen, Jan Di took out her phone to check on Ji Min once more and for any messages.
Her prince was sleeping, and Ji Hoo had written. He had gotten the pictures of hers and Ji Min's makeover.
-If I say you look beautiful, are you going to say I'm drunk again?
Jan Di stifled a laugh at his text. Incredibly, she remembered when that had happened.
-I won't this time, unless you're out with F4 again.
An answer quickly came, surprising her, for it was very late.
-I am out with them but not drinking tonight. Will you trust my words this time?
She smiled again.
-Fine, thank you for the compliment. Although, I don't think I'll dress like that everyday.
-You look better in your sweatshirt, anyway. Tell Ji Min he looks very cool.
-Will do. Good night, Ji Hoo.
-See you tomorrow, Jan Di.
"All okay?" Ga Eul asked.
"Yeah, just checking on Ji Min." Jan Di put her phone away.
"So…" She gave her a glass.
"So…"
"Did you have fun?"
"I can honestly say this topped any of our parties."
"I concur."
They giggled quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping girls.
"There was something I wanted to ask you, though."
"Yeah?"
"Why did you ask for a dare when Jae Kyung asked you how many people you've slept with? Have there been a lot, huh?" Ga Eul winked. "Come on, tell me the juicy stuff."
"Nothing juicy, besides, would you have answered that?"
"Sure. For me, it's three."
"Wow, ok...I'm not judging; I'm just surprised you told me."
"You're my best friend, even if you were to disappeared for a decade; you're my sister, and it's okay. I can even tell you about a certain F4 and me-"
Jan Di sputtered and almost choked. "What?! What do you mean an F4 and you?!"
"Calm down!" She turned to see if anyone had woken up, but it seemed not. "It was one time, and it was kind of an accident."
"Please, do explain how you end up in bed with an F4 by accident!"
"I'll tell you about it if you answer how many men have been in your life. Come on, it's fun!"
Jan Di sighed. She didn't want to say because it was nothing to be proud of, but she couldn't deny the curiosity running through her head. "Fine, you tell, and I'll tell."
They did the pinky promise hold and drank a bit more water.
"Ok, so. It was like 3 or 4 years ago. I had been dumped...I was so sad, Jan Di-ah, but now I can feel nothing but disgust, ugh. I shouldn't have shed even one tear for that guy." She was remembering the idiot. "He was cheating on me. I caught him in the act, and he simply dumped me. I walked without direction, numb; I was dressed up to the nines for our date, and he had discarded me as nothing."
"Ga Eul-ah…"
"It's okay, really. Someone saved me." She winked. "I ended up crying on some stairs, and out of nowhere, a hand appeared before me. It was...wait, who do you think it was?"
"Don't make me guess!" Jan Di laughed.
"Come on!"
"Okay, Jun Pyo."
"What? No! Eesh, not that he's not handsome but, no, just no. Okay, get ready...It was Woo Bin. Don't yell!" Ga Eul whispered, smiling. She could see Jan Di was shocked. "Yeah, I know, let me finish. He actually crouched down and comforted me, took me to his car, and led me to his house. Once there, I told him what had happened, and Woo Bin said I should simply forget about the jerk and send someone to hit him; he actually offered." She snickered.
"Wow…"
"Yeah. So, he asked for a lot of junk food and drinks to be brought to us. At first, I wasn't drinking, but then I said I wanted to forget, and he said it was cool if I wanted to get drunk, that he had guest rooms to spare."
"I just bet he'd say that." Jan Di snorted.
"He really didn't mean anything. We drank, we talked, and then, somehow, we were kissing. We really can't remember who started it, and he asked me if it was okay. I was angry and drunk and wanted a bit of revenge on the guy who just dumped me. I told Woo Bin that, and he said he was okay with being my 'rebound guy.'"
"Ga Eul!" Jan Di wanted to scold her, but she was actually smiling at her friend's tale.
"Yeah, I mean, I don't speak much English, but I knew what he had said. So, after that, we went to his room and-"
"Say no more. I also consider Woo Bin a brother, so to hear about him doing the nasty with you...ugh." Ga Eul laughed.
"Yeah, I get it. But, he was very sweet and kinda wild. It was my first time doing something like that. I'm sure if I hadn't been drunk, I wouldn't have done it. He told me I could leave anytime I wanted or stop him and he would understand."
"You can go if you want to."
"You don't have to stay."
Jan Di had a flash of a memory but quickly brushed it away.
"So, you started going out or something?"
"What? No, not at all; I think we both knew it was a one-time thing. But do you know what was the best thing he did? I promise it's not a dirty detail," Ga Eul quickly added at seeing her friend's face. "He woke me up several hours later and took me to a beauty salon, did a 'Pretty Woman' on me and drove me to a club. I didn't know it, but my ex was there, and Woo Bin made a huge spectacle of me being 'his woman.' He actually punched the guy when he tried to grab my arm."
The friends laughed at the tale and made a toast with water.
"We promised we wouldn't tell anyone what happened, but...you're my sister and I know you won't talk about it."
"And you wanted to brag…" Jan Di raised an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah...who am I kidding? I slept with Korea's Don Juan, Jan Di-ah! I deserve the bragging rights!" They both just laughed at it. "Okay, so, I've told my tale; now it's your turn."
Jan Di saw that her friend looked excited, maybe even anticipating some exciting passionate night with an island guy, but she couldn't lie to her.
"One."
"Yeah, just one tale is okay."
"No, I mean one. That's the answer."
"One? You mean you've only been with one person? Omo….Wait…" Jan Di could see her friend realizing what it meant. "Just Ji Min's father?"
"Yeah...after that, there wasn't much time for anything else. When you're a single mother living paycheck to paycheck, sex is the furthest thing from your mind."
"But you told me about this Chul Moo guy, did anything ever happened there? Or with someone else?"
"No. Well...Chul Moo kissed me once."
"I knew it!"
"Don't sing victory yet. He kissed me, but I didn't kissed him back."
"You don't like him?"
"I like him a lot; he's been amazing to me, to Ji Min, to all my family. I just don't see him that way. And the time he did that, Ji Min wasn't even a year old...I was stressed, depressed, and all sorts of hysterical with a new baby."
"But after that?"
"I tried to imagine myself with him, and even though I know he is an amazing person, I just don't love him like that. I told him so, and he said we could be friends."
"I don't know him, but I believe it must be hard to be near you if he still likes you."
"He doesn't like me anymore. There's this girl at the place I work at; they've been very close, and I'm happy for them."
"Well, that's good for him...But Jan Di-ah, so many years and only this one guy? I know you've told me he didn't take advantage of you or anything and that it was consensual, but still...Are you waiting for him to come back?"
"No, I'm not. He didn't know about my pregnancy when he left, and I didn't want to burden him with something he wasn't expecting and most likely didn't want."
"Was it at least good for you?"
Jan Di couldn't help but smile at the memory"It was not what I had imagined, but very nice."
Ga Eul inspected her friend's face and sighed "You're way too good and an idiot. I know you know where he is; if you didn't, you wouldn't talk about him so nicely." Jan Di looked close to tears, so she apologized. "It's your life, and I know you've been a fantastic mother. I only hope that someday you find love again and let it in."
"Thank you."
They hugged and shared a moment in the dark of a luxury hotel window.
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The next day was supposed to be Ji Hoo's day, finally, but Jae Kyung asked him to change it one more time. Because Ga Eul had gone so far as to ask for an anticipated vacation day, she wanted everyone to be present in her day plan.
Ji Hoo had no issues in doing so; he already had everything ready for his day, so just hanging out with everyone didn't sound bad.
The day didn't start as a day per se. Knowing that the girls had stayed up drinking the night away, F4 went early to Ji Min's hotel room to have some breakfast out. And although they had been right about most of them, they found Jan Di already showered, dressed, and about to ask for some breakfast.
"Don't you have a hangover or something?" Jun Pyo asked.
"Living on an island, you learn to hold your own when drinking alcohol. Plus, I'm a mother, so whatever I do, I need to be sharp and up early to take care of Ji Min."
They all remembered Jan Di being a real light-weight when it came to drinking, but it seemed she had overcome that.
"Should we go for some breakfast?" Yi Jung offered, and a more than excited Ji Min went out to greet everyone and hug Ji Hoo
"Hyung-nim! You didn't come yesterday!"
"I'm sorry, Ji Min-ah; I've been busy with work. But we can hang out today with everyone, what do you say?"
"Yeah!"
After sending a text to their respective girlfriends and Jan Di to Ga Eul, the guys took Jan Di to the Executive Lounge of the hotel. Ji Min grabbed both Yi Jung's and Ji Hoo's hands. He liked the art that the first man could do with his hands, and he had missed the second the day before.
When they reached the 23rd floor and Ji Min saw the amazing display of furniture and food, he forgot everything else and started running.
Everyone started running after him, except for Jan Di and Yi Jung. He showed her where they could sit, although Jan Di noticed no one else was there. Another F4 perk, no doubt.
"Ji Min seems to be very attached to Ji Hoo." Yi Jung arranged some fruit on a plate.
Jan Di thought that her son was actually very attached to all the F4, but Yi Jung was kind of right. "Yeah, I've noticed. He's the one who saved him, and Ji Min wouldn't stop talking about it after."
Yi Jung gave her the plate he'd made up and smiled. "Like mother, like son, I suppose."
"Wha-" Jan Di was about to ask what he meant, but he simply went to join the rest of the men.
Well, I suppose Ji Hoo did help me a lot when we were in school. She shook her head and went to sit with the rest, who had all grabbed lots of food from another table.
Ji Min was incredibly happy eating yogurt, pancakes, fruit and cheese buns; besides, he was sitting next to Jun Pyo Hyung, who was dressed nicely.
The table noticed the young man asking a lot of 'business' questions of Jun Pyo and their leader struggling a bit to level it down for the child.
"Did you ever think Jun Pyo would be so good with kids?" Woo Bin asked Yi Jung.
"Never in a million years."
"I knew he was going to be." Jan Di piped in. When the guys looked at her, waiting for the rest, she rolled her eyes. "He always talked about being sorry for breaking a toy of yours, Ji Hoo. He also talked about looking at the stars and later wanting to show them to a son. So, even though he's 'The Great Goo Jun Pyo,' when he has his own children someday, I know they will be spoiled rotten."
They accepted the explanation because they also knew their leader had a creamy candy center, even if he didn't admit it.
"Jan Di-ah, when did you say Ji Min was born again?" Yi Jung suddenly asked her before biting into his toast.
"Huh? Oh, he was born on August 10th."
"2011, right?"
"Yes."
"I think you said he was a little early?"
Jan Di was feeling a bit weird about the questions. "Um...yeah. Premature. He was supposed to come in October. Why?"
"So we can throw him a party, of course!" She snorted. "And also, I was early, too. My mom used to tell me I was very sickly as a kid, and I wanted to know if maybe that's why Ji Min was sick. Ji Hoo told us he came to the city to get better."
"Oh, I didn't know that. He has been very healthy, but he had a cold he couldn't shake off for a long time, so I decided to come here. The city always has better stuff."
"Well, if he ever needs to see a doctor, you'll let us know." Woo Bin stated. He wasn't offering; he was saying. "He's my nephew, so he'll get the best possible attention."
Jan Di smiled and saw that Ji Hoo, Jun Pyo, and Ji Min were listening to the conversation now.
"Thank you, Woo Bin."
"But I like Doctor Araboji." Her son pouted.
"I know, baby, but let us hope you don't have to see him again soon."
"He's okay now?" Ji Hoo asked.
"Yes." Jan Di wanted to tell them what he had, but she had a feeling they would blow it out of proportion. "His cold was so severe, but the doctor gave him some antibiotics, and he's good as new, as you can see."
"Yeah! I'm super strong!" He raised his arms to show his biceps.
They were all talking and sharing stories of when they were younger to make Ji Min laugh when the elevator doors opened, and in came the three remaining ladies of the party.
"Espresso double, toast and orange juice." Jae Kyung groaned while sitting down next to Jun Pyo.
"Spinach with carrots, cereal with milk, and a bar of bitter chocolate...please." Sun Mi complained as well, putting her arms around Ji Hoo.
"Milk? Are you serious?" Ga Eul was looking a bit tired but way better than the other two women.
"For some reason, it helps. Trust me, I've done it before."
"Sun Mi-ssi, I didn't know you were the party girl kind," she joked before leaving to get some of the things she'd asked for, as well as Jun Pyo.
What Ga Eul didn't know was how exact her words had been.
Ha Sun Mi had partied and partied hard. It was a chapter of her past that she'd rather never repeat. Making decisions at 15 years old was never a good choice.
Only two people at the table knew about it; one was Woo Bin, for obvious reasons, and the other was Ji Hoo, because they'd promised each other honesty above everything else.
But, anyway, it was way too early to take a trip down memory lane.
"I know you told me you were going to do a commoner's game day today, Jae, but looking at you, I know you are not up for it right now." Jun Pyo placed in front of her the coffee and toast she had asked for. "So, what do you guys say about the zoo? I was going to do that yesterday, but we got a bit sidetracked."
"A zoo? Omma, a zoo! Can we go, please, please?" Ji Min held up his hands in prayer.
"I don't see why not." She smiled.
Ji Min gave a huge yell and ran to hug Jun Pyo and thank him for the idea. Then he went to pull on everybody's hands to quickly get them up and going.
"Wait a second, Ji Min-ah. Are we all coming, or does someone have to work?" Jun Pyo saw everyone saying they were ok, and they agreed to meet in an hour to get dressed in more comfortable clothes.
"Jan Di-ah, don't forget the new clothes you got and the hair products I gave you yesterday, okay?" Jae Kyung offered as her goodbye before grabbing onto Jun Pyo's arm for stability.
"Where are we going, Jun Pyo?" Ji Hoo was piggybacking Sun Mi.
"To Seoul Grand Park. I was planning to take the helicopter but seeing how the girls are not feeling well, we'll go by car. It'll take about an hour to get there."
"Yes, that will be great. They need some rest." He moved his head to point out Jae Kyung and Sun Mi.
"Jan Di-ah. Both of you change, get the things you need, and then go down to the lobby. I'll leave a driver here to get you to Ji Hoo's house. That's our meeting point." Jan Di thanked them, and they all stepped into the elevator. She got out first, of course, and had to kinda pry Ji Min from Jun Pyo's leg.
"It's okay. We're just going to change and get some things packed before we go to the zoo, okay?"
"But we are going, right?" Ji Min wanted a clear confirmation. The zoo was a place he'd always dreamed of going to...like the cinema.
"Yes, we are going."
"Yeah!"
I hope you liked it! I have a huge writers block for a long time for this one chapter too.
Remember to check the Pinterest board! I updated it =)
www. pinterest nerwentasartir /part-of-me / (Delete the spaces)
Coming up in Part of Me:
The gang goes to the zoo and, even though it had been years, Jan Di still remembers certain name. A game of charades lets the rest know the strength of one of the couples and they all want to beat them. Will Ji Hoo finally reveal why he took so much time to prepare for his day?