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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

XIII

"Because I want to spend the night with you Ga Eul yang."

Her mouth dropped open and Ga Eul stared at Yi Jeong. "Wh-what? You want to what?" Before she could stop herself, an image of the both of them in each other's arms sprang to mind and she recalled his heady kisses from the night before. Was that what he had meant in the porridge shop? Had he planned to seduce her? And why wasn't she feeling angry with him but nervous and excited instead?

"I said, I want to spend the night with you. We can spend it watching DVDs, cable, playing video games. I told my staff to stock up on whatever entertainment they could lay their hands on."

If it had been possible, she would have curled up into a ball and hidden herself away somewhere. Her face burned with embarrassment as she looked away and muttered something vague about board games. 'Argh! Chu Ga Eul, how could you even have thought of such a thing!' she scolded herself sternly. 'You better stop all these thoughts at once. Yi Jeong is going to be shocked if he even knew what you were thinking of.'

Ga Eul had become quiet but her face was a rosy shade that made it hard for Yi Jeong to concentrate. 'You'd better stop with the teasing before she realises you are serious,' he warned himself. When he had mentioned spending the night together, the idea of them actually sleeping together had been on his mind. While part of him still shied away from the notion of love, he knew that she was different; she meant so much to him. Women used to throw themselves at him and he would think of it as claiming his due, as passing the time. Sex was an exchange of pleasure, nothing more. Yi Jeong knew that with Ga Eul yang, it would be like nothing he had ever experienced before. He wasn't sure if he could leave her bed in the morning. Leaving the house was entirely out of the question.

"Do you have staff living at the house while you aren't there?" It wasn't the best of conversation starters but anything would do at this point to distract herself. When he didn't say anything, she looked over and realised that although his eyes were fixed on the road, they had a faraway, thoughtful look. "Sunbae?"

"Hm, yes?"

She wondered what he had been thinking about but decided against asking. "I asked about why you maintain staff at your new house although you don't live there yet."

"They don't live there but they look after the place daily. It's the same arrangement that Ji Hoo has at his home and in some ways, it allows for more privacy. Although it's a chore when you have to get things done yourself."

She made a face at him and he laughed. "You are such a spoilt chaebol."

"Or I could say you are such a country bumpkin," he replied.

Ordinarily she would have been offended but she knew from last night's experience that he meant it as a term of endearment. There was a special intimacy attached to it; it was his nickname for her. "Since when did you start referring to me as that?"

"Right after you called me and my friends rich chaebols. Rich being an euphemism for spoilt."

"And bratty," she added, grinning.

"You're going to pay for that later Ga Eul yang."

"Let's settle it over Monopoly shall we?"

………………...

"You were saying it's not such a big house?" Ga Eul repeated, staring at the house in disbelief as the gates parted and they pulled into the driveway.

"It isn't as big as my parents' house, that's for sure. And it's smaller than what I am accustomed to," Yi Jeong replied and Ga Eul realised that he wasn't being flippant. He was serious. Usually with Yi Jeong, she felt at ease in spite of the fact that they came from two different worlds but at that moment, she was never more aware of the financial chasm that separated them, along with all the experiences their different upbringing entailed.

"It's bigger than most houses I've seen on the market," she murmured, getting out of the car. "Double storey?"

"Yes. But it came with a rather large basement which I've converted into an entertainment den."

It might as well be a triple storey house then. 'Small house my foot,' she thought as he opened the door for her. From now on, she was going to take his descriptions of what constituted as humble living with more than a pinch of salt. Her eyes widened as she took in the hall and the extended dining area. Then again, it really was a pretty house. Very pretty.

Usually the last thing he felt when he brought a woman—or depending on his mood, women—home was nervousness. Yi Jeong tried to ignore the fact that he could feel his heart pounding as he watched her explore his home with tentative steps. On some levels, he was amused that he was giving more attention to her response to his home than he was actually giving his own home. On the other hand, it felt extremely important that she like the place. Again, a vision of Ga Eul dressed in white with a veil flashed across his mind and he shook his head slightly. 'One step at a time,' he warned himself. For once he didn't want to screw up a relationship. Hell, this was his first relationship, to be honest.

"Sunbae, you don't like your new home?" Ga Eul had turned around to see Yi Jeong pinch the bridge of his nose and shake his head. "It's really beautiful actually. Don't you think so?"

His face brightened and a warm glow spread through her. Was her opinion that important to him? "Come on, let's have a look at it. There are still two levels to explore." She beckoned to him and turned around, heading off down a corridor. She had expected him to follow her; what she didn't expect was for him to take her hand and twine his fingers with hers. "Sunbae…"

"Let's start from the top, shall we?" He tugged on her hand and pulled her towards the staircase as she followed him unresistingly. It felt almost too surreal, as though they were exploring their new home together. 'Don't think about that, stop it,' she told herself firmly. And then her eyes turned round as they stopped at the entrance of the bedroom that was furthest from the stairs. "Is this your bedroom?" It was bigger than the house Jan Di's parents had stayed in when they'd still had their laundry business.

"I told the designers to knock down a wall and put two rooms together," Yi Jeong managed to reply, hoping that Ga Eul wouldn't notice the way his hand had tightened over hers.

It was an impressive room for sure. Lush carpeting covered the floor and intricate wallpaper in deep dark gold gave it a warm yet sophisticated look. Semi-parted floor to ceiling curtains added to the luxurious feel of the place. And at the far end, was a huge ornate bed frame with a high mattress. Even from where they stood, Yi Jeong noted the soft gleam of the dark sapphire sheets, a gleam that only pure silk gave off. But what startled him was how much it looked like the bedroom in his fantasies, where he and Ga Eul yang did all sorts of things that, in reality, would mortify her and cause her to never be able to look him in the eye again if she found out. He must have had more on his mind than he had known when he had relayed the instructions for the décor of this room.

"Would you like to go in and have a closer look?" she asked and he inhaled sharply. Of course he knew that she didn't mean it like that, it was a perfectly innocent question. Unfortunately, his thoughts were anything but. It was rather trying not to entertain fantasies about her when she was standing there in that bedroom with him.

"No, that can wait. Let's go look at the rest of the rooms," Yi Jeong replied. "If I'm not mistaken, I've got three other rooms on this floor."

"Three rooms!" she exclaimed. "Why do you need that many?"

'So that we'll have variety while we're getting lots and lots of practice,' he thought wistfully as he looked at her. Not that that was going to happen anytime soon. "I might need the space for guests. Besides, I'm used to having a lot of space."

"It figures," Ga Eul muttered. But in spite of her unease with the extravagance of the place, she soon warmed to it. Decorated in mostly warm muted shades, it had occasional splashes of vibrant colour. A huge feature wall dominated a large part of the hall but the display shelves were empty. "Where are the ceramics?"

She had let go of his hand to explore the place and he let her, watching as she looked out of the windows, as she touched the heavy fabric of the curtains and ran her hand over the smooth, cool leather of the sofa. "I don't live here yet Ga Eul yang. The staff here don't stay overnight either. There's no point in tempting thieves and robbers by leaving ceramics here."

"Hm, I hadn't thought of that," she said, plumping the cushions before she sank down into the immense sofa. It felt heavenly. "So sunbae, do you like your new home?"

She was scrutinising at the small but intricate chandelier that hung from the ceiling and thus missed the warm look in his eye as he watched her. "I think it's perfect," Yi Jeong replied quietly. 'Mostly because you are here.' But the latter part choked in his throat and he couldn't bring himself to say that. One day he would be able to put down the emotional barriers he carried for so long but it was too soon. "There's a studio at the back of the house too."

"Why didn't you say so?" Ga Eul got to her feet.

"Well, it's late and I'm hungry…"

Men, regardless of economic status, could be such babies at times. "Didn't you ask a cook to prepare anything?" He shook his head and she tried not to roll her eyes. "We could always get delivery."

"Delivery?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I had something else in mind actually…"

Uh oh, that didn't sound good. She had a sneaking suspicion where this was headed.

"Why don't you cook for me? In fact, since I can't cook, you'll have to."

Ga Eul watched in disbelief as Yi Jeong started sauntering off after making that announcement. "I can't…Sunbae, I can only cook porridge!"

"Then I'll have to make do with that then." He chuckled, knowing that Ga Eul was probably giving him the most evil glare she could muster.

"You'll make do…You spoilt chaebol. Yah! If I have to be the chef, then you'll have to be my assistant. I'm not slaving over a hot stove just for you."

"Whatever the lady commands." He turned around and grinned before winking at her.

Damn the man, he could get away with murder with that smile. And it was wrong for anyone to look that good in pants. Ga Eul tried not to sigh with admiration as she watched him from behind. She wasn't given to gushing at all but anyone who wasn't blind would have to agree that Yi Jeong had a perfect b—

"Ga Eul yang, are you checking me out?"

"You wish!"