Chapter 14

The next day, Song mansion.

The sun was already up in the sky, and Song Woo Bin was still twisting and turning in an unrestful sleep. The curtains were suddenly drawn open, and the bright rays of the sun fell on his face, waking him up. Moving his comforter aside with a hand he sat up, his hair sticking up in all directions messily. Getting up, he freshened up before picking up his phone, to see it was already half-past ten. He sat down on his bed and opened the lock on his phone screen with a fingerprint scan. Surprised to see so many missed calls from So Yi Jung and Gu Jun Pyo he decided to call them back after a quick brunch. Getting ready, he headed towards the breakfast parlour.

It was the first time in a while that he had slept in. Although he was glad he wasn't woken up for the training he along with Navya still had to go through. They were still going through it almost every day with his father coming up with various ways to train or rather torture them, he kind of missed the training session with Navya. The purpose of the training session was still lost on him, and according to his guess, on his cousin as well.

He hadn't realised how much someone's presence can impact the lives around them without even their knowing it. The presence of V4 was working in a somewhat positive way in F4's lives, he mused as he walked towards breakfast parlour. After all, Jun Pyo was playing pretty much harmless pranks for fun on the girls, instead of purely out of revenge, unlike the previous times. Yi Jung seemed different somehow too. Although he hadn't said anything, Woo bin had seen the way his best friend glanced towards a certain painter in V4. He was hoping to see a positive change there as well. As for Yoon Ji hoo, they had never seen him doing much besides sleeping, playing music or spending time with kids, but his knowledge about Navya's hobby of playing the guitar came as a surprise to him, although he was just hoping no one would get hurt among all his friends including girls. Even her, he thought, after all, no matter what happened, he could never wish any harm to her. He would gladly put his life on the line if it meant she would be happy. It was the only reason he didn't hop on the first flight back to the states when… he sighed, running his fingers through his reddish-brown hair.

As for himself? He thought with a self-deprecating smile, how could someone avoid pain when it was performing the role of most faithful companion for the last few years? He didn't even remember how it felt to be truly happy, not since that day when he received the most dreaded text from the person closest to his heart. But thinking about the past was useless, he tried to tell himself when all of a sudden their last encounter from a few days ago came to his mind. He could remember all her features clearly. Her expressive eyes, her pink lips, her straight nose, her hair, even her minty breath… all of it was just... The way he remembered... She herself was just the way he remembered, not a bit of her was changed, if something had changed then it was him, his life, their relation with each other and clearly the way she felt for him.

He sighed, trying to shrug off his depressing thoughts as he reached the parlour and sat down on the chair. A maid brought eggs and toast and placed them in front of him, while the other one poured steaming hot coffee in his cup. Enjoying the smell of the fresh brew, he took a bite of the eggs served in front of him. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was missing an essential part of his life. The same feeling was haunting him ever since he got her text, and now that she was here, it was much more intensified.

He still remembered the text she sent, it was the first thing he saw when he woke up in the morning. She had said she was ashamed of him for the work his family did, for their connection to the mafia. She even asked him not to contact him afterwards, although in much harsher words. If she had a problem with him because of what his family did, then she didn't deserve to know the secret of his family, he had decided. But when his resolve broke and he tried to call her later, he couldn't even reach her number, she had blocked him apparently.

He had delved into drinking and spending time with random women after that, slowly gaining a reputation of Don Juan for himself, hoping to find her essence in someone, but not a single one of them could compete with her, and now that she was here? He couldn't spend a single moment with all those women, not since their last encounter. He couldn't even look at any of his previous contacts in the eyes after his cousin picked him up from that night club. Her presence with his cousin was most surprising to him, 'if her problem was his family, then what was she doing with Navya?' He knew he couldn't say anything to Navya, knowing she won't listen. Additionally, he wasn't even sure if their newly formed bond would be able to survive such a strain. And he remembered her words clearly that she didn't expect him to go against his friends, so how could he ask her to do so? Even if he was sceptical of Ha Jae Kyung's friendship with her.

He finished his brunch with the thought that either she lied to him, or she's deceiving Navya, but that didn't sound believable to his own ears. Because in all months he had known her, she never lied to him. Besides, why would she lie to him? But if that wasn't the case then why would she deceive Navya? Little did he know that his heart was leading him in the right direction. There was indeed much more to the story than what met the eyes.

He got into his car before heading towards school. Blaring the sound of music at its highest to keep all thoughts away from his mind, he sped off. Parking his car once he reached the school and ignoring everyone on his way, he went straight towards the lounge, hoping to find his friends there. To his relief, Yi Jung and Jun Pyo were there, playing a game of cards. In his melancholy state of mind, he went to sit on the couch with others without noticing the new interior decoration of the lounge.

Noticing his absentmindedness, Yi Jung nudged him before asking him with a smirk, "It seems you like the new interiors Woo bin ah."

"Huh?" He asked, confused, before noticing a hideous shade of pink covering all the walls in the lounge, with a message graffitied on the wall in front of him saying:

Hope you guys like a little gift from us

-V4

"WHAT THE HELL?" He yelled.

Only his closest friends knew how much he despised pink as a colour. He got up, clenching his fists and closing his eyes, thinking about any other person who knew just how much he hated pink, he knew Navya wouldn't do anything that would directly go against him after the conversion they had, which means only one person could have done this, the girl whose thoughts he was trying to avoid desperately. Although he was surprised and a little bit pleased to note that she remembered such an insignificant detail about him, he was still annoyed. If this was how she wanted to renew their acquaintance, then he had no qualms with playing along.

"My eyes are hurting with all this pink colour surrounding us. And I need to send the return gift for this new interior decoration." With narrowed eyes, he headed towards the door, leaving the others highly amused. While they too didn't like the new change in interior decor, they weren't affected as much as him.

The same day, Shinhwa high.

Yoon Ji hoo was wandering around the school, looking for his beloved violin. Although he could have asked someone to find it for him, he was intrigued, and this was the first time he was enjoying Jun Pyo's squabbles, although the reason was unclear to even himself. He had made sure to stay away from all the bullying Jun Pyo enjoyed, but this wasn't bullying anymore, this was a prank war between F4 and V4. And he was more than willing to move his weight for his own amusement.

He was the first to arrive at school this morning. Enjoying the fresh air the early morning provided, he parked his motorbike in the parking area. He then headed straight towards the lounge due to having no interest in mixing with other students of the school. Once he reached outside the lounge, he noticed that the door was open, and the smell of fresh paint was looming around in the air. Pushing the wooden door, he went inside and was shocked to see the state lounge was in. All the walls of the lounge were covered in a hideous shade of pink. Although he didn't have any problem with a pink colour in general, this particular shade was difficult for him to bear as well. Besides the colour, the cushions on the couch were replaced with pink ones too. And a lot of stuffed toys were placed all around.

As he went towards the couch, he noticed a graffitied message on the wall in front of him. He couldn't help his amusement as he saw V4 referring to the mess in the lounge as a gift. Deciding to escape the lounge with his violin before he became colourblind, he turned towards his violin's usual place, but was shocked to see it wasn't there! Going towards the glass shelf he kept his violin in, he opened the glass door, only to find strings of his beloved violin there, with a note in clean handwriting attached to it, saying, "Find it if you can." His amusement soon turned into annoyance. Picking up the strings and note, he stormed out of the lounge.

But now that he thought about it, he was no longer as annoyed as he was at that moment. Sure he was missing his violin, but now he also had a revenge to plan. Because no one can mess with his violin and get away with it!

He was thinking about where his violin could be, and why exactly it was stolen. It was clear V4 was one behind the disappearance of his violin, as they were the only one who would dare to do so. Besides he had noticed the precision with which strings were removed, they weren't yanked out as any non-musical person might have done but were released slowly, with the patience of a music lover. It made him sure exactly which member of V4 had hidden his violin. At least he wasn't worried about the condition it could be in, because remembering Navya's expression as she played the guitar, he was sure she was as incapable of harming any musical instrument as he was. But he couldn't come up with an answer for why she was attacking him, having no idea about the condition of guitars in the music room.

Remembering their first encounter in the music room, he decided to go there. Placing his hands in his pockets as he walked, he was gawked by students of Shinhwa, which wasn't unusual for him. Soon he reached the music room, and the smell of dust entered his nose. Ignoring the smell as he always did, he went towards guitars and banjos in the room.

Running his finger on a black coloured guitar, he picked it up, immediately noticing the lack of strings it had. Crouching down to sit on his haunches in front of the guitar stand, he noticed not a single instrument had strings.

He sighed, and got up, looking around. To his disappointment, his violin was nowhere in sight. But at least, now he knew why it was missing.

Sometime later.

The gym class was just released, and So Yi Jung was desperate for a shower. Informing the other members of F4, he went towards the bathroom, while the others stayed around, still passing the basketball around. Yi Jung was into sports and outdoor activities as much as any other guy and believed there was nothing more refreshing than a shower after a good basketball game. There was maybe an exception for when it came to having a couple of hours spent making a vase or dedicated to pottery, but that was his personal opinion, one he knew even his friends wouldn't agree with.

Going inside, he shed his sweaty gym clothes and tied a towel around his waist, before taking out a pair of comfortable, casual clothes and hanging it outside the shower stall. Usually, all of the F4 members avoided public bathrooms, but there was a separate private bathroom for F4 attached to Shinhwa gymnasium.

Unbeknownst to him, Chu Ga Eul was keeping an eye on his movements from the beginning of the day, and found a perfect opportunity as soon as he went to take a shower, having heard his conversation with other boys before as she was not far from where the guys were. Taking her phone out, she moved away and called someone. Speaking in hushed tones, she nodded towards two guys wearing Shinhwa uniforms, who were standing in the sitting area, although their faces weren't familiar to anyone. Receiving her signal, they went into the bathroom, where Yi Jung was showering in the stall, his fresh clothes hanging just outside. The air had become misty due to the hot spray of water, giving them a steamy cloud to help with their stealth. Picking up the fresh pair of clothes Yi Jung had placed outside his shower stall, they placed them in their backpacks and went out. Leaving So Yi Jung behind, unaware of the predicament he was about to find himself in.

Feeling refreshed after a quick shower, Yi Jung came outside to change his clothes. To his shock, the clothes he had placed there were nowhere in sight! Cursing underneath his breath, he thought about what to do. Checking on his other stuff, he was bit revealed to find just his fresh clothes were missing, The sweaty clothes he had worn before, his mobile phone, wristwatch, and everything else in his backpack was still accounted for.

Reluctantly picking up his mobile, he called Woo bin, knowing there was no way he would be able to live this down for a long time.

The same day, F4 lounge.

Gu Jun Pyo was pacing in a now pink coloured lounge, thinking about what he should do to counter the pink lounge prank. Everyone else was busy elsewhere, and he was the only one in the lounge. Truth be told, he himself wanted to get out of the lounge, but it was still better than the constant staring and whispering he was forced to endure while he was among the other students of the school. He was forced to bear with this behaviour ever since he could remember, and it had made him cold and unfeeling towards them. Geum Jan di, along with the rest of the V4, was the first who dared to call him out on his behaviour. He was pleasantly surprised to have a challenge after all these years. What started as an obsession to make that commoner apologize was now a fun prank war. Their retaliation was making everything worth it. He was reminded of the times when all of them were kids and F4 used to prank each other.

A large grin was on his face as he remembered their childhood days when everything was much simpler. He was astonished that those girls had managed to colour the entire lounge without getting caught. He was immersed in his thoughts when he heard an excited scream outside the door. Looking at the closed door in annoyance, with a scowl on his face, he thought about going outside to see who was causing nuisance. But he thought better of it and he continued with his pacing.

Unbeknownst to him, an unknown girl in Shinhwa uniform, ran downstairs from the lounge and excitedly announced that she heard Gu Jun Pyo say, whichever girl in the school managed to bear with him, no matter how angry he got and stayed with him no matter how much he pushed her away, she would be the only one worthy of being his girlfriend.

This news somehow spread all over the campus within a few minutes and every girl was out to become Jun Pyo's girlfriend. Every girl was willing to bear with his temper, his antics. They were waiting for him to come outside, with many gifts in their hands as evidence of their undying love. Each and every one of them wanted to become the girlfriend of the Shinhwa heir.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing.. I apologise but I don't think I will be able to update the story for few days at least. Covid-19 is having great impact on everyone's lives. Hopefully everything will be under control soon enough...

Stay safe and take good care!