Chapter 17
Thursday afternoon found Song Navya, one of the newest additions of Shinhwa high wandering around highschool's campus, looking for Song Woo bin, her cousin, who was miraculously avoiding her since their last group meal at the porridge shop. Which was weeks ago. That isn't to say he never appeared, because he did, though only in public places along with his friends. She hadn't been able to track him down for a much needed conversation, and that was saying something considering they lived in the same house. He wasn't even carrying his phone along with him majority of the time, much to her annoyance. At first, she had tried her best to let Woo bin and Jae kyung, her cousin and her best friend, sort out their differences on their own. But then she learned Jae Kyung's story. By now, she knew her cousin and his behaviour around her friend to suspect there was more, much more depth to this story than eyes could see. She feared for the worst and felt she had to get to the bottom of this before the infection in her friend and cousin's relationship could become worse. Besides being able to be in each other's presence, if they decided to rekindle their relationship, it was just another positive motivator for her. She wanted to see both of them happy, the way they were before all this mess.
She was surprised at first when she actually felt a sibling-like bond forming between herself and her cousin when she enrolled in Shinhwa. They'd never been close, mainly due to competition among them and the troubled history they shared when they were children. She still remembered crying in a dark unused classroom of kindergarten because her cousin and his friends had thought it would be amusing to lock her up in one. Or them teasing her mercilessly until she ended up in tears. She didn't have any friends when she was a child. Due to her mixed heritage, other children thought of her as an outsider. Although her family name protected her to some extent, F4 were in the same circles so they always got away unscathed. It would have been the story of her entire childhood if she hadn't met Geum Jan di and Chu Ga eul after running off to a nearby playground and hiding behind the bushes.
Five year old Song Navya was playing in a sandbox by herself. All other children in her class were playing around. Most of the other kids stayed away from her, except for her cousin and his friends who loved to tease her alot. She didn't like them, they were just mean to her, and her momma told her that she should ignore meanies, they would get tired of messing with her then. So she tried to do that as much as she could. Not that she was always successful, they've had many fights ever since they first met.
Filling her bucket with sand, she tried to make a castle with it. She was covered in sand after a while. Soon the sand she was playing with started to resemble a castle. She suddenly heard voices of Woo bin and his friends coming towards her. Turning around, she saw them walking towards her purposefully. No one dared to get in their way. She rose from the sandbox, mentally preparing herself for the upcoming mess those idiot boys were going to make.
"Hello, weirdo!" The curly haired one, Gu Jun pyo called, in a strangely chirpy voice.
She stared at him, without replying.
"Forgot how to speak cousin?" Her cousin asked while leaning forwards, his hands crossed in front of him, and his voice mocking.
The other two with them were standing back, not getting involved as always.
"I can speak better than you do, Woo bin," she replied in her best deadpan voice, trying hard to appear unaffected and strong.
"Ha! You wish! Everyone knows you can't! That's why no one speaks with you!" He replied with triumph.
"You can't even make a proper sandcastle! Can this even be called a sandcastle?" Five year old Gu Jun pyo asked with a frown, pointing towards the castle she had made with a lot of effort. Before deciding to destroy the said castle as it was not good enough by his standards.
He was about to trample the sandcastle with his feet by jumping on it when she shouted, "NO!" And rushed forwards to push him away.
"How dare you push me, weirdo!" Jun Pyo cried.
"How dare you ruin my castle!" She exclaimed in a trembling voice, trying to control her tears.
Glaring at her, Jun pyo pushed her back in retaliation. She stumbled backwards due to sudden imbalance and fell. Her elbows hit the edge of the sandbox and the wood scraped against her skin. She glared towards them, trying her best not to cry. She was a big girl now, and big girls don't cry! Tears pooled in her eyes despite her best effort. She stood up with shaking legs, and said, "I hate you all!" Trying her best not to let the tears fall in front of them, she ran towards the gate of the playground leading towards the road.
"Gu Jun Pyo! She was crying!" Yoon Ji hoo, who was watching everything from afar, strode toward him and called him out, "You hurt her! That's mean!"
"She pushed me first!" Jun pyo yelled back.
"She said she hates us…" Woo bin said in a small voice, suddenly looking guilty.
"I'm sure she'll be back to bug us in no time, we are not so lucky that she'll stop coming to this school." Jun pyo huffed, not getting what the fuss was all about. Yes, the weirdo said she hated them, that was fine, Jun pyo didn't like her either. She wasn't a bug, but he didn't like her, even if she was Woo bin's cousin. So what if she was hurt? He was hurt too! She pushed him first!
Ji hoo let out an annoyed sigh and went away with his violin.
Soon almost everyone got back to whatever they were doing, all thoughts about Song Navya out of their minds.
She ran out of the school campus, there was no one to stop her. She ran towards a nearby playground she often went to along with her parents. Thankfully, the road was for pedestrians. She reached the entrance and glanced around the large playground, she saw a couple of girls on the swings where she normally sat whenever she was with her parents. With her normal sanctuary occupied, she went in the opposite direction, towards the bushes, and hid there, hoping no one would find her.
The two girls on the swings noticed someone running towards bushes. Sharing a glance, they got down from swings and went towards the older lady who came along with them to the park. She was sitting on one of the benches.
"Grandma! We just saw someone running towards bushes!" One of the girls whispered.
"Oh? And do you know who that was Jan di?" The elder lady, Geum Jan di's Grandmother, asked.
Both girls shook their heads in the negative.
"It seemed like someone who was of our height!" Ga eul, the other little girl supplied.
"Grandma, can we see if whoever it was is okay?" Geum Jan di requested with an adorable frown on her face.
"Please grandma?" Asked Ga eul before Grandmother could say anything, her face too scrunched in a concerned frown.
Grandmother sighed, "Of course girls, but let me just get up and come along with you."
Both girls eagerly assisted grandmother to get up from the bench, and slowly they went towards the bushes so as not to strain the grandma's ageing bones.
Once there, they parted the bushes to reach the girl. They saw a little girl around their age curled up, clutching her hand which looked injured.
Slowly approaching, trying not to startle her, Jan di said, "Hi?" In a small voice.
The girl looked up startled and scooted back, looking scared.
Jan di turned towards her grandma in confusion. Her grandma just gave her an encouraging smile and nodded towards the girl.
Jan di nodded her head in determination and stepped forwards, "Hi! I'm Geum Jan di and this is Chu Ga eul" she said pointing towards Ga eul, who waved in girls direction, "and this is my grandma!" The elderly woman smiled towards the girl, hoping to ease her mind. The child was injured and scared. "What's your name?" Jan di asked with a bright smile.
Looking hesitant, the girl replied in a small voice, "Navya…"
Ga eul stepped forwards, "Hi Navya! Would you like to play with us?" She asked with excitement.
"You..? I... I can play with you? You won't mind?" She asked, wide eyed and hopeful.
"Why would we? We'd love to play with you!" Jan di replied with a firm voice, or as firm as a five year old could be.
Navya looked away, embarrassed, and mumbled, " No one likes to play with me…"
"Then they are all stupid! Come on! Let's go and play on swings!" Ga eul exclaimed.
"Yes!" Jan di supported her friend. Both girls grabbed each hand of the girl and pulled her in standing position, causing her to yell out in pain when tender muscles of her scratched elbow were strained.
"I'm sorry! I forgot you were hurt!" Ga eul exclaimed, on the verge of herself, hoping she hadn't hurt her new friend.
Navya tried to smile a little through the pain, it wasn't like she was hurt for the first time. She had fighting matches with her cousin and his friends a lot.
Jan di's grandma stepped near the girls and said in a gentle voice, "Now girls, let's take a look at the poor girl's elbow before you all go off to play, shall we?" And beckoned them towards the nearest bench.
She sat on a bench and made Navya sit beside her, before opening a little bag she had carried along with her and taking out a bottle of ethanol along with a bit of cotton.
"This is going to hurt a little." She told Navya, before gently cleaning the wound, and putting a band-aid over it. To her great surprise, the girl didn't cry out when she was disinfecting the wound.
"Were you in school before you came here dear?" She asked in the same gentle tone.
Navya nodded, biting her lip and looking nervous all of a sudden.
"Where do you go to school Navya?" She asked further.
"Shinhwa kindergarten," she murmured. Jan di and Ga eul, who were standing besides the bench were looking at them with curiosity written over their faces.
"How about we drop you off to school and you all can come back here to play later?" She asked with a smile.
Navya shook her head furiously, looking as though she was about to cry, "I don't want to go back there!"
Grandma hid her surprise well and changed the tactics, "Do you know where you live? Or your parent's contact number dear? So we can contact them?" She asked.
Navya slowly nodded her head and recited the number. Grandma took out a black cell phone from her bag and dialed the number, after sending the girls towards swings and telling them to be careful. The phone was answered in a couple of rings.
"Hello?" A distracted voice of man replied, sounding like he was in his mid 30's.
"Hello? Am I speaking with Miss Navya's father?" She asked.
"Yes you are, may I ask who is this?" Asked the man, now identified as Navya's father. His full attention towards her voice.
"I'm Do Jin Ae, I was at the playground with my granddaughter and her friend when she came here. She gave me your number after we checked on her," Grandma replied in a solemn voice.
The noise of a file dropping on the ground and hurrying footsteps was heard as the man yelled, "What? She was supposed to be in school right now! I thank you for looking after her madam, I'll be there as soon as I can!"
After assuring him that his little girl was fine, she hung up and sighed. Looking towards the girls, a smile appeared on her face as she saw them chatting with each other.
"So you both live in the states and are just visiting for a couple of weeks?" Navya asked in a small voice. Afraid of losing her new and only friends so soon after meeting them.
"Yeah, I'm visiting my grandma here, and Ga eul and her parents came here too, so mommy and daddy let me come with them! Grandma owns a dry cleaning business and Ga eul's parents are artists…" Jan di rambled on.
"We are here to attend a few events my mommy and daddy said we have to go to, but the rest of the time we're free," Ga eul continued.
"I wish you could come to the States with us. It would be so much fun!" Jan di exclaimed.
"Yeah! I like you! I don't like the meanies back home!" Ga eul said.
"There are meanies in your school too?" She asked.
Ga eul nodded, "Yes, but Jan di makes them go away!"
"Really? Can you make the meanies in my school go away too?" Navya exclaimed, suddenly full of hope.
"Of course I can! You just make them scared of you and they stay away from you!" She replied with confidence.
"How?" Navya asked, a bit confused.
"She kicked one of them when he was trying to scare me!" Ga eul replied with a snicker, "and we play pranks on mean kids too! But only on the meanies."
"Dad said I can't kick anyone out of practice," Navya said with a frown, before saying, "But No one ever said anything about pranking!" Her eyes lit with mischief.
Soon her dad came to the park and took her home after fawning over her and promising her that she could come back to see her friends the next day after school.
And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. With Jan di's ideas, she had for the first time in her life pranked those boys. And a few weeks later, her parents told her they were moving to states themselves, to help her dad's sister in managing the business there. She was overjoyed at the prospect, for she could be with her friends then! Coincidentally, and fortunately for her, the Songs moved to the same city as the Geum and Chu families. So they were enrolled in the same school there. It was in school they met Ha Jae kyung, and became fast friends. All of them were inseparable ever since.
She had never thought she would be on friendly terms with Song Woo bin, or that she would be concerned for him. But after he had come to visit them, nearly ten years after kindergarten, and apologized with such sincerity, she couldn't not forgive him and his friends. Clearly, he had changed, and everyone does stupid things in childhood, that wern't worth holding a grudge over. During that visit, both of them had avoided each other as well as they could after their first and only meaningful conversation. Woo bin always spent his time with Ha Jae kyung while avoiding her whenever she was in proximity, and she was trying to focus on her own life. Few fifteen year olds are concerned with studies, and martial arts training, and keeping their friend's training schedule, and things like that, but she was one of the exceptions. It had caused a slight strain in her relationship with Jae kyung after they both split up, and Ha Jae kyung didn't tell her what happened until recently, but that misunderstanding was in the past. Now she had to find out why they even broke up for real, and for that, she needed Woo bin's side of the story.
She sighed and headed towards the F4 lounge, hoping he'd be there. Pausing mid step, she took out her phone, as she was quite a ways from the lounge and it would take her more than fifteen minutes to get there. If he was there then she might as well make sure he stays there. Opening her contacts, she scrolled down, looking for a specific contact. She had obtained all important numbers soon after enrolling in Shinhwa, and now she was thankful she did.
In the F4 lounge, a pensive potter was staring ahead, a textbook sprawled in front of him. is best friend, Song Woo bin who was laying on the couch beside him, engrossed in his book. 'How could someone pay so much attention to a textbook,' he wondered when his phone rang.
Looking at the caller id, he was confused to see an unknown number. Sliding his thumb across the screen, he accepted the call and held it up to his ear.
"Hey? Is this So Yi jung? Are you in the lounge?" A familiar feminine voice asked.
"Yes, who's asking?" he inquired, unable to ascertain why the voice sounded so familiar.
"Is Song Woo Bin around you?" The voice asked again.
Getting suspicious, he replied, "Yes."
Before he could continue, the voice asked, "Can you please get a bit away from him, this is important."
He glanced at Woo bin, who was still lost in his book. Thinking about it for a second, he got up and went towards the snooker table.
"Okay I am alone, now, who are you and what is all this about?" He demanded.
"So Yi Jung, it's Song Navya, I need to speak with him about something important. Can you make sure he doesn't run away from the lounge for a while? I wouldn't be asking this if it wasn't important." She replied.
He was astonished, "Miss Navya, you both live in the same house, I'm sure whatever it is, you do not need my assistance to gain his attention," he replied with annoyance, about to hang up.
"Yi Jung wait! He's avoiding me! I really need to speak to him!" She exclaimed, desperation seeping into her voice.
If he was startled by her tone or use of his first name, he didn't show it, instead replied with, "If he is avoiding you then I'm sure he has good reason to do so. Now, I would recommend doing something else and not using his own best friend against him."
"I'm not using you against him! I'm worried about him So Yi Jung and I need to speak with him," she cried.
He was shocked because of her demeanour, he had never seen her or heard, in this case, as anything other than calm and composed. 'Worried about him? What could she be on about?' He wondered. "Why? What are you worried about?" He asked suspiciously.
"I… You are going to find out anyway when I get there... Just, please make sure he remains there?" She sighed, before hanging up without waiting for a reply.
He was now thoroughly confused, shocked and concerned, what could be so important that Princess Song was pleading with him?
He turned to face his friend, and for the first time in weeks, noticed his lost gaze and rattled appearance. Nothing obvious, just the way his hairs were dishevelled like he was running his hands through it way too many times, or the newly forming dark circles underneath his eyes. But was this enough to trust Woo bin's cousin? Should he just wake him up and tell him about the weird phone call he just had with Song Navya?
He was contemplating what to do when the choice was taken out of his hands.
Song Navya entered the lounge, looking as rattled as her cousin and sighed in relief as she saw her cousin sprawled on the couch, with a textbook in his hands. She looked around and noticed Yi Jung near the snooker table. Nodding at him, she went and sat on the couch facing the one Woo bin had occupied.
Yi jung too went to sit with them, curious and little concerned over what could be so important that the girl in front of him was looking so disheveled.
"Finally!" She exclaimed loudly, just as he sat down near them, intending to observe and learn as much as he could about the situation.
Woo bin glanced in her direction before groaning loudly. "What do you want, cousin? Why can't you just leave me alone." He hissed.
He could feel tension rising in the air, and without any preamble he could tell tempers were going to blaze. He thought about leaving, but then decided against it, in case Woo bin needed him.
She was surprised by his direct admittance of avoiding her, but she composed herself. "Why should I leave you alone when I don't even know why you are taking so much effort to avoid me? Why did you even think it would be a good idea?" She asked, tilting her head in genuine confusion. He should know better than that after all.
Groaning, he sat up. Crossing his arms, he stared at her, "You know bloody well why, Navya."
"Do I?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't want to talk! Do you think I didn't notice a change in your behaviour after that dinner at the porridge shop? Aren't we supposed to be family?" He asked, his temper flaring. She was the one who was constantly trying to corner him into talking after all.
"Wha- What are you talking about? My behaviour? I needed to get a few things straight! And I've been trying to talk to you since a day after that! It's been nearly two weeks now!" She yelled back.
"So you weren't trying to find me for interrogation, huh?" He asked with a tilt of his head, repressing his anger.
"Why would I do that?" She asked with a huff.
He just raised an eyebrow at that. Yi Jung was silent but confused. 'Who were they talking about? And if it was some girl, then since when Woo bin cared about any particular girl?'
"I need you to tell me what happened a couple of years ago, Woo bin." She replied in a soft voice. "I'm not trying to interrogate you, I just need something to make sure my theory is not right. No judgement here." She said with raised hands, sincerity clear in her voice.
He got up and started pacing, running his hands through his hairs. "It doesn't matter, Navya, nothing does. Not anymore."
"I suspect foul play," she said in a low voice, making him stop his pacing and stare at her.
He sighed, before sitting down. "What do you want me to say, cousin? That I got a single text from her saying it was over? No further explanation? And a warning to stay away from her? Is that what you want to hear?" He asked, frustrated.
She was shocked beyond words at his admission. This was completely different from what Jae kyung told them. But she didn't think either of them was lying. She sighed, now this was going to be difficult, and awkward, "Woo bin ah, were you- it might not be my place to ask, but were you loyal to her?" She asked, her voice resigned. No matter how tactless or embarrassing the question seemed, she didn't have time or patience to beat around the bush.
Woo bin just stared at her, incredulous. "What sort of question is that?" He asked menacingly, "Are you asking if I was loyal to the only girl I've ever lo- I've ever cared about? Are you high, Navya?" Anger clear in his voice.
Navya swallowed down her own anger at his words, she was the one who wanted answers after all, and she was the one who wasn't willing to handle the matter more delicately.
She sighed, "Woo bin, no I'm not high..." she tried to stall, before clenching her eyes shut and leaned forward, "Are you aware that Ha Jae kyung got an anonymous email containing your image? All of them depicting you in a compromising state with a 'few' girls? And that she has never gotten in contact with you after that because she was waiting for you to call her even though she thought you were cheating on her, but felt she needed you in her life?"
He felt a shock running through his system with every word she said. "What?" He asked dumbly. "Navya, I swear I never cheated on her! Hell, it was a semblance of her I was looking for in each and every girl I ever dated!" He admitted, surprising even himself with the truth.
"You need to tell her that Woo bin ah," she told him gently.
He stood up, saying, "No I don't, I can't. And you won't either. Even if this is the case Navya, she could have called me herself, at least to clear things up or to yell at me! And tell me, how do you think I got that text then? It is too late for all this Navya, too late." And stormed out of F4 lounge.
"Woo bin and Ha Jae kyung? As in Don Juan of the nation and your Monkey girl?" Yi jung murmured, finally coming to his senses after getting over the shock of finding that his best mate loved a girl, she broke up with him and he didn't even know about it.
Navya sighed, rubbing her forehead with annoyance and feeling like she shouldn't have said he would learn everything once she got there.
She needed to make sure those two survived being in the same room without killing each other before she had to leave the country. Knowing her history, she knew it won't be long before something comes up and she would have to leave, at least for a short period. She hoped Yi Jung wouldn't betray the trust she had placed on him. She was feeling like this was just the beginning of an upcoming storm. Little did she know how correct that gut feeling was.
A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for taking so long to update, but I recently finished this chapter and it was work in progress. Thanks for your continuous support and love! And I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Huge thanks to KyliEisMC2 for editing.
To Mariposa: Hey, I'm sorry there weren't elaborate pranks in last chapter or any in this one, but that arc of this story is mostly over now so I can't promise there are going to be many pranks, but I'll try to add few in middle! Thank you for inquiring about my health, I'm fine now, and my exams too thankfully ended few days ago. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
To Guest reviewer who asked people to stop writing if they are not going to finish the story: I know how frustrating incomplete stories feel like, but please don't say stop writing, think about encouraging those writers to finish the story instead! Besides, this story is work in progress and I've been writing and updating it as often as I can.
Read and Review!