Second chapter, here we go. Enjoy!
Ga Eul was cold. She could not feel much but she knew that she was cold. And tired, so tired. She had been walking around after having lost Se Joo, he had followed the bus for three complete cycles before he had given up and so she got off at the first stop after he'd left the bus' tail and just walked around. She didn't have a destination in mind, she just wanted to walk. Clear her mind.
She used to have multiple ways of doing that in the past.
It used to be art, one time but then she had gotten in an accident where a car had hit her. Her injuries were not too bad but her hand had taken the brunt of it, much like Yi J-
No, she would not think of him. He had left her.
She had let him. But he didn't come after her. He just let her go when she called it quits. She had to do it before he would have. And he would have.
Not to mention, if he found out about her friendship with Yi Jeong... she'd have hell to pay. She had been able to keep it a secret so far but now? The closer she got to the famous potter, the more of a risk it became. She didn't want to put him in danger, his hand was just getting better and Jan Di had told her that he would be travelling back and fort to Sweden where he'd receive additional therapy from renowned teachers. He'd be fine.
Ga Eul would be too... after a while.
At first, it would hurt like it was at that moment but with time, she would start moving on from the man that was So Yi Jeong and she would be able to live her life again.
According to his rules.
She could not believe that this was what her life had become. One day, she used to go around and have fun with Jan Di and sometimes Se Joo would join them. They'd do something stupid, the two girls introducing Se Joo to all kinds of commoner stuff. Ga Eul still wondered how and why Se Joo went to a public school instead of a school like Shinwha. Scratch that, he's Song Woo Bin's cousin so he should have gone to Shinwha.
Ga Eul didn't know where she'd ended up, all she knew was that after a while it had become too difficult for her to keep walking. Her feet felt heavy and it took a great deal of power for her to move them even an inch forward. It was even too much of a task to keep her eyes open, she kept walking with her eyes closed before struggling to open them for three steps and then her lids would fall closed again. After a while, she just gave in to the temptation and just sat down in front of someone's door. She didn't know where she was or if the person was home but whoever they were... she hoped she wouldn't freak them out too much if she was still in front of their door when they opened it.
Man, it was really cold.
The air around her was brutally punishing her by creeping through her worn out coat, it did nothing to protect her against the cold air outside. She really should invest in a new one.
As soon as she got her money.
On the other hand, Yi Jeong was cursing inside his car. He had driven around town for so long and had been looking everywhere. He wasn't sure he would ever find her. Just like the others, he had tried calling her but her phone was switched off and no one could get to her. He had left her several messages regardless and wished she would just pull out her phone and see his name pop up and cave.
He needed her to be safe.
Ji Hoo had called him after they'd been searching for two hours straight, "Yi Jeong, I don't think we're going to find her like this. I can't reach Jan Di either so I have no way of figuring out where we could possibly go looking next. Maybe it's time to pull out the big guns."
"You don't mean-" He was cut off by his phone signalling a new caller, "Hey, Ji Hoo, Woo Bin is calling me. I'll add him to this conversation, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." Ji Hoo agreed.
By pressing a couple of buttons, Woo Bin was talking to both Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong. "You guys... I went to my father and he sent out multiple men to go look for her all over Seoul. They found her and it's not looking good."
"Where is she?" Demanded Yi Jeong.
A sigh preceded Woo Bin's voice, "She's at our place. Hurry over please, we already have one of our doctor's looking after her but I think she could really use a familiar face. Any luck on contacting Jan Di?"
"No, I think she's still locked up in the cabin with Jun Pyo and has no service." The young doctor sighed, "I'll be there in ten minutes, give or take a few."
"When are you arriving, Yi Jeong?" Woo Bin asked.
"I'm here." He snapped and hung up.
To be honest, Yi Jeong had broken several traffic laws in order to get to Song Woo Bin's residence in the time he did. He should've driven for another 7 minutes if he abided the traffic laws but he managed to get there in 2 minutes. He was surprised himself that he hadn't gotten in an accident.
He didn't bother aknowledging the help that had opened the door for him but instead stormed through the foyer, up the stairs and towards the voices at the end of the hallway. He knew that this was Song Woo Bin's father's study but he didn't care. Chu Ga Eul, his Ga Eul was in danger or hurt or both, who knew? And they were keeping her there, he needed to see her.
Yi Jeong threw open the door, sure he looked like a crazed maniac and looked at the father and son duo who were sitting across from each other. "Where is she?"
"Take your friend to Ga Eul, Woo Bin. We'll finish this conversation later, maybe you can join us when we do, Yi Jeong."
Yi Jeong was confused, "Why should I be there, sir?"
"Because it's about Ga Eul, mate." Woo Bin muttered, "I'll catch you up later, for now I will take you to Ga Eul. The doctor is still with her, so is Se Joo so she isn't completely alone."
Woo Bin led his friend down another hallway and turned around a corner before opening a set of double doors that led to a grand suite. It looked like a studio to be honest, it had everything a real studio had: a seperate living room area, a small kitchen, a door that presumably led to a bathroom and the whole shebang.
In the large bed that dominated the room, laid Ga Eul with her eyes closed but her face looked so old, so worried as if she couldn't even escape her demons in her sleep.
"Thank you, doctor." Se Joo said and shook the man's hand before he saw himself out. "Woo Bin. Yi Jeong."
"What did the doctor say?" Asked the mafia prince.
His cousin grimaced, "Maybe we should call your father in, Woo Bin. The doctor had a lot to share, he'll want to know about it."
"I'm here." Song Li Bin announced when he walked in. "So, answer my son, Se Joo and tell me what the doctor said."
"He didn't undress her so he cannot tell how it is for her torso or back but there are bruises all over her arms and even on her chest so he does think that they are all over her body. He says that these bruises don't come from being clumsy but from being mistreated. The doctor also couldn't say for sure because he couldn't weigh her but he believes she is underweight and possibly hasn't eaten all day. He drew some blood to see if that covers it but he's afraid not. Right now, she's just really tired and is catching up on sleep, he has no idea when she'll wake up."
"Why is it so cold in here?"
"Because she was undercooled and to prevent her body from going into shock, we cannot crank the heat up in here yet. We have to do it gradually, otherwise it could do more damage than good." Se Joo explained, "The doctor said that judging by her response time or lack thereof and the very obvious bags under her eyes, it's possible she hasn't slept in days."
"Why would she not sleep?" Ji Hoo asked, having entered the room during the last part of Se Joo's explanation.
"I don't know. But she was scared." Song Li Bin said, "Jae Hyun, the man who found her, said that she sleeping outside, against the door of a random house. When he got near her, he heard her mumbling and said she was having a nightmare. It got worse when he touched her when he tried to wake her up. She started trashing around and kept trying to scream when he picked her up, her voice didn't allow her to scream though. I haven't figured it all out yet but I'm looking into her family right now, see if they can help us. Jae Hyun and Min Seok are at her place right now, seeing if they can figure something out. Until we know more, she is to stay here and is under constant supervision. Se Joo, you don't mind staying with her a bit longer while I talk to these three gentlemen right?"
"Of course not, take your time." Se Joo said, sitting down on the chair next to her bed, "I'll be right here."
"Good." The mafia leader said and then led the F3 back to his study where Yi Jeong had unceremoniously barged into just minutes earlier. "You will not like what I am about to tell you, I think."
"Just tell us, father. It's worse not knowing."
"Ga Eul... she had not told you everything about her family." He started, "I think she doesn't even know everything about her family but still, it's a secret. You know how the Kang family is Shinwha's biggest competitor in the business with their Hanwha business. The chairman of the company, Kang Tae Jo, is Chu Ga Eul's grandfather. Her mother is his shunned granddaughter who was kicked out of the family for having a relationship with a man who was not approved by her father."
"Does he know of Ga Eul's existence?" Yi Jeong asked.
"I don't know, maybe." The elder man nodded, "I haven't spoken to the man in years but I did reach out to him and he has agreed to meet with me. I'm going to see him tomorrow morning, I hope that by that time we will have more answers about her injuries and her in general."
"Okay, but what does that have to do with her current state?" Ji Hoo asked confused, "I don't see how heritage come into play in this abuse that she has clearly suffered."
"After doing some digging, I found out that Ga Eul's father left her mother when she was less than two years old. Soon after, her mother met someone knew and they got married within a year so the man who's acting like her father right now is not her biological parent. What I found out though was that he used to work for Shinwha but was recently fired."
"Yeah, it was a way for the witch to get to Jan Di so she would leave Ju-" The mafia prince cut himself off, "That is not what happened?"
"No." Song Li Bin quickly denied. "Apparently, his superior got an anonymous tip about the man. Saying that he was stealing from the company and had been lying about nearly everything he ever told the company. When I asked further about that, it seems that the company has granted him certain bonuses because he supposedly had an ill wife or that his daughter needed special care. They never looked any further into it but now that they have, it seems that Chu Young Cheol embezzeled millions of won that way. When he got fired, he also was expected to pay it back."
"But it's nearly impossible to get a job after something like that happens. And something like that always gets exposed in our world, there's no hiding it." The young potter frowned, thinking it over and over until he had a thought. It was terrible and he hoped he was wrong but there was still a possibility, "He's making Ga Eul work for him, isn't he?"
"That is what I think. I can't find any evidence, I can just find records of her working at that porridge shop but there is no way he is paying back the money by himself." His friend's father agreed.
"That would explain why she wouldn't have slept for days." Ji Hoo thought aloud, "But it doesn't explain the bruises or her fear. Is that also this man or is there something else going on?"
"We'll find out soon enough I guess." Song Li Bin sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Yi Jeong, I expect that you will stay here and watch here?"
"I'm not leaving her." He snapped.
The older man smirked, "It's nice to see you pulled your head out of your ass, son. Now go and stay with her. It's late, I'll see if a maid can come and bring some extra pillows or something for you to sleep tonight."
"Thank you, sir." With that he stood up and walked out of the room.
The two younger members of the F4 stayed behind and looked at the mafia leader, "What aren't you telling us?"
"I told you Jae Hyun and Min Seok are watching the house, right?" The two nodded, "They reported seeing three people in there. Her mother and her husband and a young man, around your age, perhaps a little bit younger. They haven't found out who he is yet but there is no way he is family or something. They have not been able to take his picture yet or something but they're doing whatever they can to find out who he is. I'm hoping maybe Kang Tae Jo will be able to provide us with some more answers but I doubt he even knows of Chu Ga Eul's existence. Do you have any idea who he might be?"
"None." Ji Hoo muttered.
"Beats me." His son shrugged, "I'll go take over from the guys for a couple of hours, maybe they can put feelers out on the guy, see if word comes back."
"I'll join you." His friend offered.
Soon the man was sitting alone in his study and looked at the picture of Ga Eul and his son with his best friend that he had on his desk. While Ga Eul was definitely not his daughter, there was something about her that instantly made him like her and made him want to protect her no matter what. Now, it would seem he really did have to protect her and he would go all the way to do so.
She may not be his but he certainly thought of her as an honorary Song family member.
So she would be treated thusly.