Hey, everyone. How have you all been? I'm hoping you all are doing wwell. I again broke my route and updating this one.
I have been suffering from writer's block. Whenever I get time I can't write but when there's no time to write idea comes to my head. As I'm on holidays now, I have sometime but couldn't seem to write anything. I even asked for help from one of my favorite authors for any idea and she gave also. Thanks for that and I think I will use that idea with my idea in my next chapter.
Anyway this chapter has something out of the story like 'ghost'. You will get to know after reading it. Like I said because of my writing problem I just took the idea from my little sister as she had experienced something related to ghost a few years back. I just took the idea of ghost and modified it. If you hate it I won't blame you because it's my fault for not being able to write well and this souldn't be in the content but I still wrote it. Sorry in advance if it turned out bad.
OK I babbled enough about myself. Sorry for always delaying my updates and thanks for still staying with me and reviewing. So let's get to the story...
Jan Di sat on one of the chairs and kept her head on her folded arms over the table during the little break – actually it's almost closing time. As there wasn't any customer except a couple, she relaxed. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts of meeting with Jun Pyo and sorting everything out that she hadn't realized until entering the porridge shop that a special occasion is approaching soon. She exhaled deeply and looked to the side only finding her best friend chatting excitedly with their boss. What depressed her was the reason of her excitement. Christmas...
It's not that she hated it or anything. It's just that she really didn't know what to feel about it this year as her parents and brother were not with her to celebrate it like every year. Before going to Macou Jun Pyo had confessed to her that he never had any happy memory of Christmas because his parents were never home to celebrate that day with him. They were always away for business and just sent him gifts which he didn't want. He just wanted to celebrate that day with them like other ordinary kids but that little wish of his was never fulfilled. So he never felt any excitement for that day. On the contrary it was kind of depressing which reminded him all the more that he was not an ordinary kid who was left all alone in the huge Gu mansion.
But when Jan Di said that she always enjoyed that day with her family and friends, he expressed that he would like to celebrate it with her and would be looking forward to it this year. Jan Di had felt very sad upon hearing that he never got to enjoy the day with his family but when he said that he would like to celebrate it with her this year, she became very happy. She got excited just by thinking of celebrating that very day with him, her first boyfriend though it was long before Christmas. She had taken a mental note and promised to herself that she would make that day a memorable one for him. And after all those talk they had their very first kiss there.
Jun Pyo had come and knelt in front of her. They locked eyes and kept staring at one another for a few seconds. When his face moved close to hers automatically her eyes fluttered shut and then they shared their first kiss. It was brief but sweet at the same time. She recalled that she was able to feel his nervousness from it. She herself was nervous as hell. After that he had taken her home. Her face was red all the while and Jun Pyo was silent as well which was very unlike him. They both were feeling shy about it.
While recalling that memory a lone tear slipped down her eye, unchecked. She wouldn't be able to fulfill her promise to him and herself because he wasn't by her side anymore. Also her family was away from her as well because of the debt courtesy to President Kang. Suddenly her sadness was replaced by fury. Her knuckle turned white as she clutched at the edge of the table. Not only did she succeed in making her miserable but also her family. But alas…! There's nothing she could do as she was powerless. So she heaved a sigh with dismay.
Her eyes moved to her friend from the table. Ga Eul would be celebrating Christmas with her parents. If she asked she knew that her best friend would invite her to celebrate it with her family but she really didn't want to intrude at such a special occasion as an outsider though her parents always treated her as their own daughter. She turned her head and looked outside the window. The town was decorated colorfully and there was festive mood everywhere. She recalled she must have passed by a Christmas tree when she was coming to the shop but hadn't bothered to look at it. Then she lifted her head and when she bent her neck and cradled her cheek in her palm her fingers felt wetness there. Realizing what it was she quickly wiped it with her finger while berating herself mentally for being so weak like that all along.
Why was it getting this hard? Why wasn't she able to forget about him? She exhaled with frustration.
Ga Eul had noticed that Jan Di wasn't talking that much and was pensive the whole time. At first she wanted to ask but thought better of it. She wanted to give her some time to herself and that's why she hadn't asked her about anything since she didn't want to trouble her more than she already was by asking questions because there were times when people can't say or doesn't want to say anything even if the other party is very close to him/her. But now she was having doubts on her judgment worrying that if Jan Di was thinking about Jun Pyo and hurting inside more. She hadn't gotten the chance to ask her anything regarding Jun Pyo. She just heard that he pursued her and again tried to talk to her but didn't know the details yet as there wasn't the right time to bring up the topic and she was too scared to bring it up and make her best friend upset. So she trotted towards her and lightly put her arm around Jan Di.
Jan Di peered up at her slightly startled. Ga Eul asked, "Are you OK, Jan Di-yah?"
"Hmm…" she said with a nod. Her eyes moved to the wall to check the time which said 6 past 20. There was still a little time before closing the shop she thought unconsciously.
Though Ga Eul didn't believe her, she didn't press her to say anything there because she knew that she would get to know everything later as she had planned to ask her. So sitting across Jan Di and she started to talk. She prattled about school and other matters to take her mind off of whatever it was saddening her.
Jan Di appreciated her friend's thought and was kind of glad that she really was able to take her mind off of her thoughts. She was also glad for her consideration since Ga Eul didn't ask her anything as it was a little hard on her to talk about them.
When the couple left, they started cleaning up. They wiped the tables while master cleaned the kitchen. At closing time Ga Eul turned to Jan Di who was taking her bag. When she looked at her she asked, "Jan Di-yah, wanna come to my place for a movie? It's been a while you know…"
The wonder girl thought for few seconds. The idea seemed good and she hadn't hung out with Ga Eul for a while. Actually they hadn't hung out after her return from Macau. So she accepted her invitation without any hesitation. Ga Eul was glad that she accepted it.
The cold air hit their faces as they came out of the shop. Ga Eul put on her mittens but Jan Di had forgot hers at home. So she rubbed her hands and blew air for warmth. She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. They strolled along the road while chatting.
Suddenly Jan Di stopped as she recalled that she needed to let Ji Hoo know knowing very well how easily he got worried. So she searched for her phone in her jeans pocket.
Ga Eul asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing… Just let me text Ji Hoo sunbae. I need to let him know." She quickly pulled out her cell phone, swiped unlocked it and her fingers flew over the screen. She texted Ji Hoo saying, "Sunbae, I'm going to Ga Eul's place for a movie. I'll be a little late today. So have dinner/supper with Grandpa without me."
Ji Hoo's reply came quickly, "Sure, take your time and have fun. By the way do you want me to pick you when you are done?"
At that a smile came to her lips. 'Always so caring…'
Ga Eul watched her friend's face which had brightened up just by texting with Ji Hoo. She smiled to herself. At one side it amazed her that he was able to cheer Jan Di up even without being in front of her on the other side it galled her that she had to babble so much to take her mind off of things. 'How does he do that?' After that she wished earnestly for Jan Di to forget about Jun Pyo and start a fresh with Ji Hoo as she knew very well that there was no one else as him who would love Jan Di as much. And besides he was Jan Di's first love, so it should be fine.
Ji Hoo put down his phone beside him on the sofa and took the cup from the coffee table. Take a sip of the warm tea he put it back down and scooped the book up from his lap. Reopening it he started reading it from where he left but the thought of Jan Di came to his head. He was glad that she went to her friend's place.
These past days she seemed preoccupied. He had asked her once if something was bothering her but she just forced a smile and said that she was fine striving bubbly tone. So he wished for her to pass some quality time with her friend and relax. He was sure that after talking to her best friend she would be able to think clearly.
After reading for a while he closed the book and checked the time on his wrist watch. Putting down the book he went to the kitchen to cook dinner for grandfather and himself. After finishing up he needed to go to the clinic to pick him up as their secretary had taken a leave for the day.
Meanwhile…
Both girls entered Ga Eul's house. Ga Eul's mom's back was turned towards them, so she didn't see them as she was occupied with cutting vegetables but hearing the sound of door clattering she turned back. When she saw Jan Di, "O my," she left her work putting down the knife on the table and stepped towards them. Jan Di bowed in greeting.
She hugged Jan Di and then looked upon her face, "How have you been, child? You haven't come for a while…" she ushered them both to come inside from the door. They both removed their overcoats. Ga Eul took Jan Di's with her and hung them both on the coat-rack while they exchanged pleasantries. She then returned back.
Jan Di was chatting with her mom in the kitchen while she cooked. Ga Eul joined them. After chatting for a while there when the food was ready, she sued them to the table. Before leaving the kitchen Ga Eul turned to her mom and asked, "Where's dad? Why is he so late today?"
Her mom just shrugged saying may be stuck at work. Ga Eul returned to Jan Di who had left the kitchen and was sitting on the mat. They chatted until food came. The food was served shortly and the older woman encouraged them to start eating.
…
After dinner/supper both girls excused themselves and they entered Ga Eul's room. Jan Di sat on the floor leaning back against Ga Eul's bed. Rumbling through her desk drawer Ga Eul pulled out some CDs and came were Jan Di was sitting.
"Choose, which one do you wanna see? They are all ghost movies though. Well there's a comedy romance but I know you don't like them but you are OK with them right?" Taking the CDs of the horror movies she asked uncertainly as she just recalled that Jan Di used to get scared at night after watching horror movies when they were little but they were in high school now, so she should be over it already, right? She tried to convince herself.
It's not like she didn't want to see the ghost movies. She always enjoyed watching horror movies. Though she got scared while watching it, still she enjoyed it. But in the past whenever she watched one recalling it in the night she always got scared. 'Should I really watch it?' she wondered looking at the covers of the CDs – her eyes fixed on one of the covers in which a pair of crimson red eyes looking back at her as if daring her to watch it – but she was not the little girl anymore, so it should be fine, right? Deliberating with herself she came to a conclusion that she would watch that movie.
They watched the horror movie. Ga Eul's mom brought them snacks. The two girls screamed and held each other's hands when they got scared of watching a scene. As the room was dimly lit the atmosphere was even scarier. At some point they even flinched and shrieked when their hand or shoulder touched.
Jan Di totally forgot about her thoughts. After the movie was finished they sighed with relief. "That was unexpectedly scary," Ga Eul commented.
"Yeah," Jan Di replied taking the bottle. She uncapped it and drank water, downing half of the bottle with two gulp. She recapped it. While she was drinking water, Ga Eul switched on and light spilled on the room. Jan Di closed her eyes as the sudden brightness hurt her eyes. Ga Eul returned to her previous spot while her best friend blinked several times to adjust her eyes with the light.
The wonder girl turned towards her friend, "Ga Eul-ah…"
"You OK, Jan Di-yah?" she inquired.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, I'll be alright. I'm no more the little girl."
"I'm not talking about the movie."
Jan Di gave her a confused look as she couldn't comprehend what Ga Eul was talking about other than it.
Sighing she thought to be direct. "How are you feeling now about… Gu Jun Pyo sunbae?"
"Oh," Jan Di looked down and blinked. She wasn't very clear now.
"Jan Di-yah…" Ga Eul put her hand on her shoulder and gave a light squeeze. Jan Di looked up and found her friend's compassionate eyes which were encouraging her to speak.
"I don't know, Ga Eul. I – I'm trying to forget about him as he is married now and besides we were never meant to be together but it-it's hard," she swallowed as her throat was constricting obstructing her from saying anything.
"I'm trying to forget but he keeps coming to me. First he says he misses me and then hurts me saying hurtful words and the next day he comes running to me to apologize. What should I do? I don't know what to feel about it. My head is getting jumbled up. Whenever I see him I just feel pain more than anything else. It's like my heart is being ripped out of my chest," she stopped as her eyes blurred with tears. She blinked to prevent them from falling but still they kept coming and finally spilled out and made their way down her cheeks unheeded.
Watching her best friend in such a miserable state, Ga Eul felt tears coming to her own eyes. She hugged her, patted her back lightly and let her cry.
When her sob receded she pulled her arms from around her and let Jan Di sit straight as she had been bending for quite some time. From the table beside her bed she grabbed her tissue box and pulled out several ones. Silently she gave Jan Di some and took one for her. Jan Di wiped her eyes and blew her nose.
Ga Eul thought Jan Di wouldn't say anything anymore today but what Jan Di said next really surprised her.
"Ji Hoo sunbae proposed to me." Jan Di was surprised that her voice didn't quiver.
"Huh?" Ga Eul was dumbfounded. Well she knew that he loved her and would propose to her sooner or later but now it felt a little… unlike him when Jan Di was still going through a hard time… "Wh-when?" her voice came out lower than she wanted it to sound.
"Huh?"
"I'm asking, when did he propose to you? Is this what bothering you now?" She inquired impatiently. This time her voice came strongly.
"Umm… Not really…" Jan Di blushed recalling that night. There was no way in hell she was gonna tell her friend why he did it that night even if it killed her. "…Ji Hoo sunbae's proposal doesn't bother me at all." She looked tentatively at her friend who was watching her with a stone face, arms crossed tightly over her chest and giving her the look which clearly said she needed to finish her answer.
So she hung one shoulder and reluctantly finished, "On the night of Jun Pyo and Jae Kyung unni's… wedding."
"What!?" Ga Eul burst out standing up; couldn't believe her own ears. 'How could he do such a foolish thing?'
Somehow Jan Di read what her best friend was thinking. So defending Ji Hoo she said, "It's OK. There were circumstances which forced him to do so. You know very well that he's not a stupid guy."
"What circumstances?" Her fury now replaced with confusion.
"Err…" Jan Di looked anywhere but Ga Eul biting her lower lip, her cheeks burning.
Seeing Jan Di hesitate Ga Eul thought, 'Something must have happened between them. Otherwise Ji Hoo sunbae wouldn't do that.' Then she felt like a stupid for going to the conclusion and reacting like that.
Taking a few deep calming breath she said, "OK, I won't ask you if it's something private. So what do you feel about it?"
She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out first as she was not very clear about their current relationship. Surely they had already kissed several times and even slept in the same bed – yeah real sleep, nothing else. After learning about his feelings she felt even closer to him now than ever though she feared at first that they would drift apart. But one thing she was sure that they were not quite a couple yet. 'Then what are we?'
"Jan Di-yah?"
Jan Di quickly came out of the web of her thoughts upon hearing her friend's voice and said, "I – I'm not quite sure. Just I know that I'm not bothered by it. He is not forcing me but also not trying to hide it either. We are just… comfortable with each other now?" her answer came as a question.
Observing her face Ga Eul asked Jan Di her next question, "When you are with him, how do you feel?"
"I always feel safe and happy whenever I'm with him," Jan Di replied without thinking as it was true.
"Do you love him, Jan Di-yah?" Ga Eul asked.
"I – I… I'm confused Ga Eul-ah," Jan Di confessed, "When I'm with him my heart beats so hard. I am attracted to him. Well I've been attracted to him from day one as you know already and I always want to stay close to him. These feelings feel so familiar to me which scares me but at the same time I'm still not over Jun Pyo. So aren't I a bad person as I have feelings for two guys at the same time?" She looked down with self disgust.
Ga Eul just smiled sympathetically. "It's OK Jan Di-yah. I'm glad that you are falling for Ji Hoo sunbae," her tone was gentle.
"Huh?" she was shocked. "But isn't it too fast? How can I…?" Jan Di floundered looking around for words. 'It doesn't make sense at all.'
"It's not too fast. Look Jan Di-yah, remember, Ji Hoo sunbae is your first love and you just said that you are attracted to him and have been all along. Though you started your first relationship with Gu Jun Pyo sunbae, you still hung out with Ji Hoo sunbae a lot. If I'm not wrong, you spent more time with him than Jun Pyo sunbae."
"So?"
"So even though you thought you forgot about your first love, you never forgot about him totally but that doesn't mean that you were not loyal to Gu Jun Pyo sunbae," she quickly added when she saw her friend's eyes getting wide.
"But…"
"It's OK. It's not your fault. He was always by your side whenever you needed help even though you never asked for it. He understood you more than anyone else. So it's natural to fall for him again. I'm just surprised that it took you so long to realize."
The wonder girl kept silent as if processing everything in her brain. Then she asked, "Then what about Gu Jun Pyo? What should I do about him?"
"You know that he's already married and that's why you want to forget about him but brain and heart don't work along. Though your brain tells you to forget about him as it's the right thing to do but your heart is not quite ready yet as you had so many memories together that it will take some time to forget about him and also as he is coming to you it'll be a little tough now but it'll get better with time."
"Really?" Jan Di asked like a child – her eyes were innocent.
Ga Eul nodded her head reassuringly.
"You know I was thinking of having a proper talk with Gu Jun Pyo to end our relationship properly as we never got the chance to do so," Jan Di expressed her inner thoughts.
"That's great, Jan Di-yah. You should really do that. Go for it." Ga Eul encouraged.
Jan Di sighed; feeling light in her heart. She was carrying too much burden that it was getting painful to think clearly. "Thanks a bunch, Ga Eul-ah."
"Hey, what are friends for?" They hugged.
Jan Di came out of Ga Eul's house. It had taken more time than expected. When they were finished it was 11:15 PM. After the movie and long chat she had called Ji Hoo to come pick her up as it had gotten very late but he replied that he was already out of Ga Eul's place. Surprised Jan Di quickly took her coat from the rack, hugged her and bid Ga Eul and her mom good night.
Coming out of the door she found Ji Hoo leaning against his car door; hands in his pocket. So she quickly strode towards him. He smiled when he saw her coming towards him. "Enjoyed your time?" Ji Hoo asked when she came close.
She nodded.
Without saying anything he opened the door of the passenger seat for her and she slide in. He quickly went to the other side and closed the car door behind after getting in himself. He started the car.
"When did you get here? Were you waiting long? Did you have dinner/supper?" she asked looking at him after fastening the seat belt.
Without taking his eyes off the road he replied, "Yeah, we had. After supper Grandpa went to bed and I was studying. When I noticed the time, it was getting late. So I drove here and when I reached you called me to pick you up. So I didn't have to wait long," he reassured the last part glancing at her with a small smile.
He didn't want her to know that he had been waiting for an hour outside Ga Eul's house in this chilly weather. They chatted about various things throughout the drive. Jan Di also prattled on about the horror movie she just watched with Ga Eul. Ji Hoo noted that she was back to her cheerful self. He sighed silently with relief.
After getting home they sat on the sofa and chatted a little bit, Jan Di went for a shower and when she was done, she excused herself to her room. Ji Hoo stayed a little longer in the drawing room reading and after half an hour he went back to his room.
It's been an hour already and still she couldn't go to sleep. Jan Di tossed and turned from right to left pulling the blanket off of her on the process. Sleep was not coming to her eyes and whenever she closed her eyes, she got scared as she could only see those crimson red eyes looking at her, haunting her. She tried to think about something else to distract herself but it was no use. Firstly, she was glad that the thought of Jun Pyo wasn't disturbing her but secondly, she didn't want to be haunted by a ghost to push aside her troubling thoughts.
If it was day time she wouldn't have felt this scared because if she had seen the movie in day time then by night she would have been able to forget about it and wouldn't get scared. She would be long asleep.
She pulled her blanket over and covered herself properly. She had pulled it over her head so that she wouldn't get scared but it wasn't giving her the feeling of relief she needed. The music of the movie was still playing in the back her head as if background music was playing to make her more scared.
'Ugh… seriously!?' she pulled down the blanket so that her face was out. 'Why am I still getting scared just because of watching a ghost movie? I'm a big girl now!' She thought looking up scowling at the ceiling clutching her pillow.
She closed her eyes again hugging her pillow tight to her chest trying to sleep all the while ignoring her fear but after trying hard for ten minutes she reopened her eyes as sleep was not coming to her eyes. Suddenly an idea came to her head. 'Should I go to sunbae? No no no…" as soon as the idea came, she dismissed it quickly. She really shouldn't disturb him for her own selfishness and besides what would he think of her?
He knew her as a strong girl. She can't simply go to him and say that 'Sunbae, I'm scared of ghosts!' What the hell! He would think of her as an annoying brat.
Thinking this she turned to the other side and tried to sleep but she flinched and stiffened suddenly hearing a rattling sound. Five minutes went by and there wasn't any sound anymore. Thinking that she heard wrong she tried to relax but at that moment she heard that sound again and she heard it clearly now which sounded like a growl of animal. She shut her eyes tight and put her hands over her ears. Before long again she heard that sound and now she was confirm that she didn't hear anything wrong.
Under the blanket she was sweating even in this cold weather. Heart hammering in her chest – she balled inside trembling and pinned the ends of the blanket under her body so that there was no space left for anyone to enter. But after a while not hearing any sound she pulled down the blanket tentatively. Looking around finding nothing she sighed thinking it was all her thought. 'What was I thinking? How stupid!'
Leaning to the side she took the glass from the table and finished the water. Keeping it back on the table she straightened on the bed but then she felt like someone was walking in the room. She looked to the right – found none, to the left – none, in front – there stood someone with a pair of crimson red eyes. She screamed and covered herself with the blanket again. After a few minutes hearing nothing she peeked out to see but none was there in the room.
Deliberating with herself she finally thought them all as her hallucination, heaved a sigh and turned to the right but her eyes went as wide as a saucer when she found those two red eyes so close. Now it was close she saw a shadow of human form which seemed relatively larger than normal human, it had large fingers with sharp pointed nails. She couldn't see anything without its eyes as the room was dark but she didn't need to know that now as the fearful thing was coming close to her.
At first she was so shocked with fear that she wasn't able to move even a muscle but when it came even closer her sensory nerve began to work again and she screamed. She got down from the bed and ran to the door hurriedly for once without losing balance. She grabbed the doorknob and twisted it but it didn't budge; tears of fear and frustration running down her eyes. When she turned to check where it was her heart almost jumped out of her chest as she found the red eyed creature on the floor which had as well got down from the bed and was now crawling towards her unhurriedly.
She screamed loudly and kept twisted the doorknob but it didn't open at all, rather the knob broke and it fell from the door. She screamed even louder ramming hard the door desperately, "Sunbae! Please open the door… Ji Hoo Sunbae, help me!"
With a gasp she opened her eyes. Her night dress was soaked with sweat. Pulling down the cover she sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard heavily. That was some kind of a dream. She covered her face with her hands. She felt a little stuffy for sweating too much. So she unhooked her bra from over the dress and pulled it out from under the dress. She tossed the wet cotton material under the bed thinking of washing it tomorrow.
When she covered herself at first trying to sleep, she indeed fell asleep and saw such a dream. It felt too real. Now she didn't really have the guts to go back to sleep. Leaning against the headboard again she closed her eyes.
Not long after she quickly opened her eyes hearing someone twisting the doorknob. She backed but there was no more space left. 'No…' Then when the door opened she saw a human form there, as her fogged up brain hadn't completely recovered from the vivid dream she had just now she thought that it was the ghost. So shrieking she quickly lied back and covered herself by the blanket.
Trembling for real under there she felt that someone was pulling the blanket. 'No no no…!' She pulled it back harder not wanting to face whoever it was pulling it from outside. Then when it was pulled off of her, she screamed.
Ji Hoo woke up when he heard the rattling sound. He opened his eyes and blinked several times. Taking a look at the window through the half drawn curtain confirmed his thought that the sound was really coming from the window. Pulling out his long legs from under the cover he walked towards it.
He pulled the half opened curtain and uncovered the glass window. He was surprised to see the blizzard which was going on outside. No wander it made such loud noise there. He drew the curtain back and went to his bed side table. Taking the glass in hand he noticed that it was empty. Looking at the wall he checked the time which said 2 AM.
Ji Hoo went out of his room to the kitchen to get a glass of water. After finishing it he went to check on grandpa and found him sound asleep. Glad that the snowstorm wasn't disturbing him as he was a deep sleeper he was about to go back to his room but before that he went to the bathroom.
When he was returning to his room while crossing Jan Di's room he stopped thinking if she was asleep. His hand came up knuckle against the smooth surface of the door to knock but changing his mind he turned to go back. When he was half way to his room he didn't know why he felt so uneasy. He suddenly felt like Jan Di needed him right now.
Though it didn't make sense, even without knowing his long legs had already carried him back to Jan Di's door. He knocked at the door but no response came. Knocking a second time a little harder he decided to just go in, check on her and quickly go back to his room. That was the plan but who knew that he would see something like that.
Opening the door he strolled inside. The rattling sound of the window was harder there than his room he noted subconsciously. 'Is she able to sleep? The sound is quite loud here.' As he was very familiar with her room, he didn't need to switch on the light. He quietly walked towards the bed and saw that Jan Di had wrapped herself up in a ball.
At first look it seemed kinda funny but fearing that she would have breathing problem if she covered herself like that, he thought to at least uncover her face. So sitting at the edge of the bed he pulled at the blanket but to his surprise she just pulled it more tightly.
He frowned at that. Something felt wrong. So he pulled it harder and finally succeeded in pulling it off of her but before he could understand what was happening Jan Di had balled herself up on the bed hugging her bent knees tightly to her chest and was screaming with tightly closed eyes. "No…!"
The blanket was forgotten as it slipped out of his finger. Quickly leaning over he shook her, "Jan Di-yah!"
It seemed like she didn't hear him as she just screamed louder and tried hard to get away from him. She cowered at the other side of the bed. Ji Hoo quickly turned and switched on the table lamp; got on the bed and pulled the screaming girl in the middle of the bed so that she wouldn't fall off which was very difficult as her body was so stiff and she was restraining. He shook her harder this time, "Jan Di-yah, look at me, please... It's me Ji Hoo!"
This time it felt like it went through her fogged up brain – she heard his voice as she stopped her screaming and looked at him. He noticed – her bangs sticking to her forehead; hair sticking to her cheeks and sides of the neck as she had sweated a lot. At first she was silent just staring at him but then he heard her quavering voice which sounded uncertain, "Ji Hoo sunbae…?"
"Yeah, it's me," his hand went up to cup her tear drenched cheek gently. His thumb wiped the tear from there.
Relief washed over her. Hearing his gentle voice and seeing his face she threw herself in his awaiting arms which pushed him back against the headboard of the bed and clutched at his back for dear life. He didn't know what was scaring her like that but he gathered the frightened girl in his arms and held her there protecting her from any harm and fear.
Her heart was beating like frenzy. He rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair soothingly till she came down. She wasn't crying, just hugging him very tightly.
When Jan Di was in his arms she felt so safe. She was searching for this safe place for the whole time. She didn't hear anything else except his heart beat which helped her to calm down and fortunately forget about the damn ghost.
Keeping her in his arms – his chin on her head he asked, "What's scaring you, otter? Did you have a bad dream?" That gentle voice was enough to reassure her that she was safe and gave her a peace of mind.
She didn't say anything. She was fine now but felt very embarrassed to face him thinking what he might think of her if he knew what she was so scared of. Then she heard the rattling sound of the window and asked, "Sunbae, is there a storm going on outside? The window is making quite loud sound."
"Yeah, a snowstorm is going on. Snow will be piling up outside. It won't be easy to go out tomorrow. You have work tomorrow, right?" He asked while rocking her lightly.
"Hmm… but I've half day tomorrow as boss will be closing early as he had some business to attend to. So I will be home early and prepare a big meal tomorrow night."
Ji Hoo smiled at that. "OK. I can help with that but as you will be out soon wanna hang out?"
"Sure!" she looked up smiling.
He was glad that she was smiling though he still didn't know what had been making her so afraid. He came to his senses when she hugged him a little tighter seemingly still not wanting to let go just yet. Though he would have loved to stay like this forever, he felt like he shouldn't be hugging her because he could tell that she wasn't wearing anything inside her night dress as he could feel her curves perfectly. He felt that it would be wise to distant himself from her before his body awoke and embarrassed him in front of the woman he loved so dearly. But his distress was short lived as she pulled back from him though he must say that he was a little disappointed as he would have loved to stay like that a while longer.
She got down the bed and walked towards the window. Pushing the curtain to the side she looked outside through the window. Watching the snowstorm for a while she closed it and turned towards Ji Hoo. He was sitting on the bed looking at her. They held each other's eyes for a few seconds.
Suddenly the atmosphere changed. Suddenly Jan Di felt nervous being with him alone in a room at the middle of night. But it's not the first time they were alone together in a room she thought. But still she felt somehow shy because though they weren't in a proper love relationship they had already kissed several times and that one night they were a little more intimate. Now she could clearly see his love for her in his eyes.
She broke their eye contact when she couldn't bear his heated gaze anymore and looked at the wall clock surreptitiously. It said 2:45 AM. Her nervousness was replaced by guilt. Because of her stupid fear she was keeping him awake.
She cursed, 'Damn you Ga Eul for making me watch a horror movie and now I'm in this kind of humiliating situation!'
While she was in her own world she didn't notice that the tall lean figure had already come and stood in front of her. When he put his hands on her shoulders she noticed that he was in front of her. She got flustered for suddenly finding him this close.
Ji Hoo bent a little so that they were on eye level. Locking his eyes with her so that he got her full attention he asked, "Is something bothering you, otter? Can you tell me now why were you so scared?"
She slum her shoulder and looked down. Though she didn't want to lie to him, she couldn't quite bring herself to tell him her stupid reason.
"You know, you can tell me anything without any…" he trailed of when he noticed something then quickly looked away. 'Not good!'
"Sunbae!?" Jan Di looked at him.
"Umm… I think, you should change your clothes, Jan Di-yah," his voice sounded husky and his eyes didn't listen to him as it came back and looked down at her chest. Because of sweating a lot the dress was clinging to her body emphasizing her figure. He feasted his eyes on her chest. He could clearly see the shape of her breasts and puckering nipples.
Following his eyes she looked down. She gasped and hugged her chest for modesty when she realized that the thin night dress she was wearing became semitransparent and wasn't quite providing her any veil she need. Her cheeks got red and she looked anywhere but him because of embarrassment.
Forcing his eyes away he said calmly, "You should go change."
She quickly moved. Opening the closet Jan Di grabbed another night dress and a new set of under garments. She ran out of the room to the bathroom.
Behind the closed door of the bathroom she leaned heavily. Then looking at the mirror she quickly went there and stood in front of it watching her reflection in the mirror. There stood a girl who was blushing furiously, wearing a semitransparent white dress which was clinging to every curve of her body. 'What he must have thought?' she mused. She normally didn't wear anything under her dress before going to sleep but after coming here she hadn't done so frequently whenever she slept in his room and today. Well she did it later because it got so wet and…
She didn't know how she was gonna face him now but recalling how he wasn't able to take his eyes away from her chest...
She covered her face with her hands. Putting her hands down she quickly changed in to the clean set of dress. She knew that he was waiting in her room and thus before going back she checked her appearance in the mirror for the last time.
Yoon Ji Hoo ran his fingers through his hair, 'Dear God, did I just lose control?' Not only they had already shared kissed several times, Jan Di had done something to him quite daring on that faithful night and today he had seen something he wasn't supposed to see now. Well it's not like he didn't want to, of course he wanted to but not like that as if he needed any more fuel for his fevered dreams when it came to her. Anyway he thought to apologize to her when she was back.
But the thought of apology went out of his head when he saw her in her door wearing a salmon colored night dress with flushed cheeks. She looked adorable. She was standing looking at him with shy eyes there but wasn't entering.
Realizing he was gnawing at her he quickly shook his head inwardly. 'Get a grip, Yoon Ji Hoo!' He tried to smile to her. "You are back," he said more to break the silence - a little nervous.
"Yeah," she entered the room. Jan Di sat on the bed. Ji Hoo watched her movements carefully and then after fer minutes he came back from the window. He sat beside her. They stayed in silence for a while seemingly both were struggling to say something but couldn't find anything.
Resolutely he turned towards her, "Jan Di-yah."
Hearing his serious tone she turned towards him. "Yes, sunbae?"
"Tell me now why you were so scared?"
Jan Di searched for his eyes, he looked really concerned about her. For the things that happened a while ago she had totally forgotten about it. She turned towards him and said, "I-I saw a dream."
"Was it very scary?"
"Umm… it-it-it's… I saw a ghost in my dream," she said very quickly and looked down with embarrassment.
"Huh?" Ji Hoo was dumbfounded.
…
After finishing her dream in very short and mumbling most of the time she looked down in utter humiliation for once fearing to look at his eye thinking if he was going to laugh at her. She looked up to check when he didn't say anything for a while but was surprised and relieved to see his gentle eyes.
He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, "It's OK, Jan Di-yah. Everyone has their own fear. I'm still afraid of the dreams of my parents' death. Whenever I see it, I can't sleep that night. So it's OK."
Jan Di was amazed at how he could put her at ease with just few words but still she felt sad that he was still suffering from his parents' accident. Not wanting for him to remember sad things she asking, "But don't you think it's stupid?"
"What?"
"My fear for ghost..."
"Why will I think it stupid? You don't need to feel ashamed of it as you don't control your fear, Jan Di-yah and no one is perfect in this world. Everyone has their own weakness. Like your weakness is ghost, my weakness in car." He joked, smiled his angelic smile and reassured her.
Jan Di had the sudden urge to kiss him right that moment but she refrained. She just smiled at him. They both sat on the bed leaning against the headboard and chatted. They fell asleep there together.
In the morning grandpa came in finding the slightly opened door and found them sleeping there – Jan Di's head on Ji Hoo's shoulder and his head against her head. They were holding hands. Watching them a smile came to his face but making a fake disapproving face he said, "Hey you two, wake up!"
Ji Hoo moved his head a little. He opened his eyes and squinted in front. Seeing grandpa standing on the door his sleep went away as he stiffened and was wide awake now. Jan Di turned her head in her sleep but as her comfortable position was disturbed she opened her eyes. She blinked, opened her eyes and found grandpa standing at her door.
When she looked to the side she found Ji Hoo looking at her. Her eyes went wide and taking a glance at grandpa she moved away quickly putting some distance between them though Ji Hoo thought that it was too late already.
The old man crossed his arms over his chest and chastised, "You shouldn't share a bed before you get married!"
Jan Di blushed looking down and Ji Hoo coughed and looked away. Jan Di got down the bed, "I-I'm going to make breakfast, Grandpa," saying so she sprinted out of the room trying to escape.
The older Yoon turned to his grandson, "Well…"
"Grandpa, I…" he prepared himself for a good scolding and lecture.
"Chill, I know, I trust you, my boy," saying so the older Yoon winked and left the room.
Alone in the room a surprised Ji Hoo watched his grandpa's retreating back and then he chuckled.
Ga Eul laughed hard clutching at her stomach as it was beginning to hurt because of laughing so much.
"Ga Eul-ah, don't laugh! It's your fault, you know?" she said accusingly. She had filled her in about almost everything just didn't mention about her dress and the little moment they had as she really didn't want to be teased to hell.
As the closing time came Jan Di checked her mobile and was taking her belongings. Jan Di sat on one of the chair to drink a glass of water but she suurted them out when Ga Eul asked her something unexpected.
"Have you guys kissed already?"
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand jan Di asked, "Wh-what? Where did that come from?" blushing all along.
"So you did," Ga Eul confirmed.
"Wh-what are you saying? I need to go," stuttering which gave away the answer already Jan Di bid Ga Eul farewell and rushed to where Ji Hoo had asked her to come.
Ga Eul watched her friend's back and smiled. "You will be very happy, Jan Di-yah, I already can see it."
To Be Continued...