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Summary: Four years and continents apart. What keeps Yi Jeong and Ga Eul's hope alive are the letters that they write to each other from time to time…

LOVE LETTER

XII

It was now close to four in the morning and they were all mellowed with tea, wine, and talk. Most of the conversation had revolved around the past and the present, and he could see the changes in his friends, especially Ji Hoo. While he had always been quiet, now he seemed more at peace, at rest now that his grandfather was here to stay. That was Jan Di's gift to him, perhaps in return for all that Ji Hoo had done for her. Sometimes, Yi Jeong wondered what really went on in Ji Hoo's head, whether he planned on being Geum Jan Di's guardian angel forever, undeniably her soul mate but never her lover. There had been no other girl, perhaps there couldn't be until Jun Pyo married Jan Di.

"So…"

The sound of Woo Bin's voice startled him out of his musings. "So what? And who was that might I ask?"

Yi Jeong had a feeling that his Casanova days were over, especially after what happened that night. But back in his heyday, Woo Bin had been the Don Juan to his Casanova. And if anything, Don Juan did not try to cover up the fact that a girl had called him. "Oh, just someone. We're not here to talk about my—"

"It was Jae Kyung," Ji Hoo announced triumphantly, holding up Woo Bin's handphone that he had quietly fished out from the latter's pocket.

"Hey! Yun Ji Hoo you—" Woo Bin sighed in exasperation as Ji Hoo tossed the phone to Yi Jeong who waved it at him.

"Aish, just someone? Song Woo Bin, you're a terrible liar. A twenty minute conversation on the night of my first arrival in Seoul with Monkey is not noth—" Yi Jeong dodged as Woo Bin threw a cushion at him before wrestling the phone from his grasp.

"You two are incorrigible," he muttered, glaring at Ji Hoo who shrugged unrepentantly and sipped his tea.

"And you might have found someone who could be different?" It was a touchy question to ask, considering that Woo Bin had never mentioned Jae Kyung to them before. But it was a guess worth hazarding. Woo Bin's father, while nowhere as emotionally abusive as his own, enjoyed the occasional affair and Woo Bin's mother had chosen to passively accept it in return for a life of luxury. That was what had turned him cynical about love.

If he asked them to back off, they would. But it had been building up inside him and there had been no one to talk to, partly because he had been afraid that talking about his feelings would be tantamount to admitting them, that somehow giving voice to the issue would make it even more real. "I don't know. We have a lot of fun, just going out. She promised me no karaoke bars and I promised her I would try the chicken feet."

Sounded like love to him. The only way Yi Jeong would have eaten that disgusting thing was if he were starving and Ga Eul yang begged him to.

"She's staying until the end of next month…" He trailed off as the prospect of Jae Kyung leaving loomed in his mind again. When had he started counting down to the day she left? When had he started feeling like he didn't want her to go?

Woo Bin had gone very quiet. Ji Hoo and Yi Jeong's eyes met and they both silently agreed that enough teasing had been done. Yi Jeong especially could empathise with Woo Bin's unease. One minute the world and every girl in it was your oyster, the next, you were falling because someone had breached that protective armour and you hadn't a clue what to do about it, about her and about yourself.

"Well, if you want to go out with her, you should. I won't be able to see you guys until the day after. I'm going to see my lawyer tomorrow; I need my father to sign some papers."

"And then you're going to see Ga Eul." It wasn't a question that Ji Hoo asked, it was a statement.

Yi Jeong nodded. "I want to take her somewhere…" No one had ever been there before and he wanted her to be the first to see it. "Besides, I'll be leaving soon again."

"What? I thought you'd be staying for at least a week or something." Woo Bin stared at Yi Jeong, somewhat confused.

"No, I'm going back the day after tomorrow. It's a morning flight. Originally I intended to just come back and take care of matters here."

"You can still delay your flight or cancel it. That's not an issue." Ji Hoo's tone was light but his eyes were serious and watching Yi Jeong. "Or maybe now the longer you stay…"

The harder it would be to leave her. And knowing Ga Eul yang, she wouldn't be the kind to ask him to stay just for her sake. "The sooner I finish what I started in Sweden, the sooner I can come back."

"Is there going to be a wedding?" Woo Bin quipped.

"What?" To Yi Jeong's chagrin, he felt a flush creep up his neck and make its way to his face. Before he could stop himself, a vision of Ga Eul in cream satin and a white veil appeared in his mind's eye.

"Well, aren't you serious about her?" Ji Hoo added pointedly.

What were they, the matrimonial police? "I am," he said defensively. "I mean, I haven't… thought that far ahead but… if things go well…that is if she'll even say yes…"

"Yi Jeong ah, you know they say the bride is the one that does the blushing, not the groom." By then, Ji Hoo and Woo Bin were laughing so hard that they didn't care about the cushions that hit them.

"Idiots," Yi Jeong muttered but he couldn't help smiling.

……………………………..

Her shift had finished about fifteen minutes ago and Ga Eul sat in the shop, waiting for Yi Jeong. The mere thought of him made her pulse race and she refused to think of the kisses they had shared for fear that she would end up blushing in public. Sometimes it all seemed like a dream, from the moment she had seen him in the club to the minute he had sent her home. Luckily though, her mother hadn't grounded her and even if she had, Ga Eul would have found a way to meet Yi Jeong.

She'd hardly slept at all, the events of the night playing out over and over in her head. There was always that same wave of thankfulness and relief that she had faced her fears and gone to look for him in the club. She couldn't bear to think of what might have been otherwise.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She jumped slightly and realised that he was there, standing in front of her. "Yi Jeong sunbae!"

"I tried waving my hands in front of your face but it didn't work. So, what were you thinking about?"

"I was...I…" She didn't want to tell him that last night she had been afraid that he would sink back into the sea of debauchery that he had managed to fish himself out. As she scrambled for something to say, she couldn't help notice how handsome he looked and that in turn, caused her eyes to somehow focus in on his mouth. And that surfaced the memories of their kisses last night and the good night kiss she had given him. She blushed.

Yi Jeong smirked slightly as Ga Eul sputtered before promptly turning red. She must have been thinking about last night. Truth be told, he'd hardly slept even when he had dragged himself into bed last night because he had been thinking about them too. "There'll be plenty of time later for that Ga Eul yang."

"What?" Her eyes widened as the implied meaning of his words sunk in.

"Come on, I can't park out there illegally." Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the shop. She couldn't quite look him in the eye as she got into the car. "I'm sorry I'm late," he said as he started the engine. "It took a little longer than I had expected."

"It?"

He hesitated for a moment. Ji Hoo had volunteered to drive him to the lawyer's and later to his father's; he had been glad that he had agreed. It had helped just to have an understanding presence around even if he hadn't really told Ji Hoo much. His policy about his parents was to never say much. If he didn't talk about them, no one would know, he would have less to be ashamed of and it wouldn't hurt.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

He glanced at her. She meant it, although she looked a little disappointed. "I had my lawyer draw up some documents; that will give me the authority to get psychological treatment for my mother. She'd have to see a psychologist at least once a week. I needed my father's signature and it wasn't enough for him that I fax the documents over. He wanted to meet me."

Ga Eul didn't dare to ask how it went. Instead, she reached over and squeezed his hand, hoping that the gesture would give him the comfort that she didn't know how to give in words.

"It wasn't that bad," he said quietly. But after that encounter, he found that he couldn't wait to see her. She couldn't make his problems go away, but he felt better about them when she was around. "It was something to be done and gotten over with. But at least I managed to get his signature."

"You're a good son Yi Jeong sunbae."

"At least you think so." He'd meant it as a joke but somehow it didn't seem that funny, to either of them. Before the silence got uncomfortable, he changed the subject. "Ga Eul yang, don't you want to know where I'm taking you?

She was pretty sure she knew what he had in mind. "That restaurant with the fancy, overpriced burger." To her surprise, he shook his head and grinned. "No? Oh, let me see." It couldn't be to his house because they were going in the opposite direction and considering that he probably wanted a break from his parents', she would have been surprised if he had taken her there. "The skating rink?" Again, he shook his head. "Okay fine, I give up. Where are you taking me to?"

"I'm taking you to my house."

"But… but your house is in the other direction."

"That's my parents' house. This is the house I bought with my own money and which I intend to move into once I come back from Sweden. I bought it just before I left and gave instructions to an interior design firm to renovate and furnish it. This will be the first time I'm seeing it in its new condition. I thought you might want to come along with me."

He hoped she realised what he was trying to tell her. She was the first person whom he was bringing to see his future home, not the other members of F4 or anyone else, but her.

"Yes, I'd like that," she said softly. Yi Jeong might never be one for direct romantic confessions but she knew what he was trying to tell her, understood the significance of it.

"You might want to call your mother and ask for permission to stay overnight at Jan Di's house though."

"Huh? Why would I do that?"

He looked over and flashed her one of those smiles that always took her breath away. His next words almost caused her heart to stop beating. "Because Ga Eul yang, I'd like to spend the night with you."