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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

XV

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

--W. Blake

Watching Ga Eul yang sleep could be a hobby in itself. Occasionally she sighed; sometimes she mumbled something too soft and quick for him to catch. And she liked to toss and turn. A lot. And this was the reason why he was awake at six in the morning in spite of the fact that he had slept barely three hours ago. At least he would be occupied on the flight back. Yi Jeong had already decided that he was going to press the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, pull the sleeping mask over his tired eyes and spend the rest of the flight oblivious to the rest of the world. At least it would help the dull the ache in his heart once he left her.

She stirred once again and gently, he tightened his arms around her to hold her still. He loved holding her like this; it was hard to imagine that in a few hours, all this would be a memory. 'Just two more years,' he told himself. It was something that he needed to do, something he wanted to do. She would not ask him to put aside his plans for them and he could no more ask her to leave everything behind and follow him to Sweden. At least this time he knew for sure that she would wait for him, that even if she met someone better—although there was more chance of her finding a needle at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, he reassured himself—she wouldn't let herself be won over.

A quick look at his watch informed him that ten minutes had slipped past him. It was now six, time for them to wake up. If only time were really grains of sand. He'd catch them all and never let go, just to live in the here and now always.

"Ga Eul yang," he murmured, brushing his hand through her hair, before running his thumb over her smooth cheek. "Wake up sweetheart." It a few more minutes of coaxing and calling before she finally responded.

"Mmph. Five more minutes," she whispered, burying her face against his chest.

"You'll fall back to sleep. Come on Ga Eul yang." He felt tempted to let her have her way and Yi Jeong could feel some of his resolve weakening. "There's breakfast on the way."

"Really?"

"Not unless you let me get up and make that call."

"That's a lowdown trick," she muttered before lifting her head up and looking sleepily at him. And then she smiled shyly at him. "Good morning sunbae."

He kissed her, a soft, lingering kiss full of yearning. "Good morning Ga Eul yang."

It was their first morning together. She wondered if the same thought had occurred to him. A part of her wanted to bring it up but she was a little afraid of sounding overly sentimental. "I guess we should wash up now," she said, reluctantly extricating herself from his arms as she got up. Stretching languorously, she stifled a yawn, only to realise that he was still lying on the sofa, looking up at her. "Sunbae?"

"I have to call my staff first, you go ahead. But don't worry, I'll join you in a minute or so."

It took her a few seconds before she realised what he was implying. Snatching up a cushion, she hit him over the head with it, giving him an extra whack when he would not stop laughing. "You shameless man," she muttered as she left the hall.

Yi Jeong grinned. "That didn't sound like a 'no' to me," he called out as she went up the stairs. Her only response was to slam the door so loudly that he could hear it clearly from below. One day, Yi Jeong told himself. The bathroom was another place which featured prominently in his fantasies and he was pretty sure that reality would be even better. It was a good thing there were three bathrooms in his house, four if he counted the common bathroom. Variety, after all, was the spice of life.

………….

Ga Eul tugged at her blouse one more time before giving up. No amount of pulling was going to make the creases come out and she would only ruin it. Pushing her damp hair back, she was about to go to the hall when the smell of food hit her and her stomach growled. Unless her nose deceived her, she smelled…

"Scrambled eggs?"

When it came to food she had a nose like a bloodhound. But since he doubted Ga Eul would feel flattered by that, he kept the statement to himself and instead, ushered her to the seat next to his. "Omelettes, with mushrooms, cheese and herbs. There's also croissants and strawberry jam, in case you want something sweet. If you don't want a western breakfast, we have tofu, radish kimchi, rice, porridge…"

As she watched him remove each cover from the dishes that were laid out on the long table, Ga Eul stopped listening. He'd done this all for her. "We can't possibly finish all this," she said weakly. There was enough food here to feed a small army. Or the children whom she taught. All twenty of them.

"Well, I didn't know what you liked…"

Impulsively, she grabbed his hand and tugging him down to her level, brushed her lips against his cheek. "Thank you Yi Jeong sunbae."

He gave her a boyish grin. "If getting breakfast for you makes you this grateful, I'd gladly do it every day." There was a sudden awkward pause and Yi Jeong wanted to kick himself. His departure was less than three hours away and here he was making promises about being with her every morning when he very well couldn't do that. Talk about rubbing salt into their wounds.

"I'll remember that when you come home." There was too little time left to waste for them to brood. "So sunbae," she said, giving him a bright smile as she took his plate, "what would you like to eat?"

Breakfast was eaten in short but sweet silence. Yi Jeong learnt that Ga Eul would not eat ketchup no matter what and that she liked her croissants with loads of butter. Ga Eul realised that Yi Jeong preferred his coffee black with sugar only, and that for a guy, he ate very little for breakfast.

The sky was a watery mix of deep and pale blue when they finally emerged from the house. As he walked her to the car and opened the door for her, he couldn't help but turn back and look at the house. In some ways, it already felt like home and he couldn't wait to come back to it.

"Sunbae."

He looked down at her but she was staring straight ahead, her eyes fixed on the house too. "Yes, Ga Eul yang?"

"Let's do this again when you come back. I'll cook dinner and you can pretend to help me in the kitchen."

She could turn his heart over with only a few words. One day he would be able to admit to himself that he was in love with her and would love her more in time to come. "Only if you let me beat you at Monopoly."

"Hmm, I'll think about that."

"It's a date then."

……………………..

She had felt a little strange walking into the airport with him, knowing that the other two F4 members would be there, along with Jan DI. "And Jae Kyung." Ga Eul's eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful heiress with her arm casually hooked around Woo Bin's. Was there something that Jae Kyung had forgotten to mention in all the time they'd spend shopping together?

Jan Di was standing next to Ji Hoo. She looked pleased to see him, but a little suspicious when she looked over at Ga Eul, especially the slight creases on her clothes. Behind her, Woo Bin had waggled his eyebrows and winked but a glare from Yi Jeong had stopped that. It was a little too late though. A quick glance at Ga Eul confirmed that she was turning red. And then Jae Kyung elbowed Woo Bin hard in the side, to Yi Jeong's satisfaction.

"Ga Eul ssi, let's go get some coffee yah? We'll let the boys do some catching up. See you later Yi Jeong!"

Before he could say anything, Jae Kyung had swept Ga Eul and Jan Di away. He'd forgotten what a force of nature that girl could be. It was probably for the best. Knowing Jan Di and Jae Kyung, they probably had questions of their own for Ga Eul.

"Yo Yi Jeong, did you do what I think you did?" Woo Bin looked thoughtfully in the direction of the girls. The creases in Ga Eul's clothes pretty much confirmed his suspicion that she had spent the night at Yi Jeong's place.

"Are you as whipped as I think you are?" Yi Jeong replied smoothly, enjoying the small scowl that appeared on Woo Bin's face. "We all know who wears the pants now. Prince Song, tamed by Monkey."

"You're no better than me, you retired Casanova."

Ji Hoo simply smiled and sighed as he watched the two of them bickering. Even without Jun Pyo there, somehow things had managed to regress back to their kindergarten days. It made him a little nostalgic; after all, they had met Woo Bin because he had gone after the same girl as Yi Jeong. "Fighting because of girls again I see."

The two of them broke off and looked at him, slightly confused. "Remember, So Eun? Long hair, huge eyes, red ribbon in her hair. She wore pink all the time. We were five years old."

"Oh yah. Well, this isn't the same thing you know," Woo Bin sagely pointed out.

"Yup. Besides, that's all in the past. I doubt Woo Bin is still sore because she liked me better."

"She did not!"

"Did too!"

……………………

They were in line queuing for their coffee when Jae Kyung suddenly blurted out the question that had been on her lips ever since she had spotted Ga Eul with Yi Jeong. Unfortunately, Jan Di had also chosen that moment to spring her question as well.

"So, did something happen—"

"Uh, I'm sure nothing happened—"

Ga Eul looked at the ground and wished briefly that it would open up and swallow her. How could they think of asking such questions! Surely the notion of privacy existed, even amongst best friends. "No, nothing happened. Nothing that would alarm you," she said, sounding mildly reproving. At least Jan Di had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed. Jae Kyung on the other hand, looked fascinated and intrigued.

"Really? Hmm…I was right and now that pabo owes me."

"What? You made a bet?" Ga Eul was aghast.

"Aren't you glad I betted that you would do the right thing?" Jae Kyung flashed her megawatt smile and then placed the order for their coffee.

"That's hardly the point," Jan Di muttered. "Anyway, I'm glad that you are alright. I was so worried when Ji Hoo told me what happened. That you had to go to a club and get him out of there…" She placed an arm around Ga Eul's shoulders. "I take it that things worked out well though?"

She couldn't help but smile. "I think so."

"Well, that's good to hear. Here, help me hold these."

Apparently, Jae Kyung could rattle off orders for six cups of coffee, bagels and specify how much whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles each cup would get, and still manage to eavesdrop without missing a beat. Time to change the subject, Ga Eul thought. "So, Jae Kyung unnie, what's going on with you and Woo Bin sunbae?"

A hint of uncertainty darkened her sunny smile for a moment before it vanished. "We're just hanging out. I'm leaving in a couple of weeks. And then I'm going to get serious about learning how to run my father's company. You could say this is my swansong or last holiday in a long, long time to come."

"Erm, I see." Geez, she really had put her foot into her mouth. Obviously Jae Kyung wanted more but either Woo Bin wasn't willing to go further or they simply were to afraid of discussing the possibility of a relationship with each other.

"Don't look so sad Ga Eul. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. After all, look at you and So Yi Jeong. So I have hope."

Jan Di, who had been looking rather thoughtful, opened her mouth to make a comment but the sight of the boys caused her to fall silent. It was just as well, she told herself. Ji Hoo had mentioned a few things to her in strictest confidence and perhaps she ought to do a little bit more thinking before she broached the topic of Woo Bin with Jae Kyung. As fearless as the latter was, she had been burnt before, no thanks to that unfortunate love triangle that was now thankfully behind them all.

"Eh, why are they coming over?" Jae Kyung's comment brought Jan Di back to earth and she realised that Woo Bin and Ji Hoo were coming over.

"Come on Monkey, it's time to go." Smoothly, Woo Bi took the coffee and bag of bagels from her with one hand and encircled her waist with his other arm, trying not to recall Yi Jeong's advice about seriously thinking things through before Jae Kyung went back to America. Casanova giving romantic advice to Don Juan. Who would've thought? "Wave good bye to Yi Jeong."

"Yah! Give the food back to me. And why are we leaving like this?"

"So the lovebirds can have more time together."

"Oh. That's the first sensible thing you've said this morning Prince Song. Bye Yi Jeong! Take care!"

Great, now half the people here knew his name. Yi Jeong winced and managed a weak nod as Woo Bin dragged Jae Kyung away.

Ga Eul was still standing there, looking uncertain when Jan Di, who had been waving at Yi Jeong, turned to her and gave her a quick hug. "Ga Eul ah, Ji Hoo will give you a lift back. We'll be waiting around. Give me a call when you are ready."

"But—but…" Ga Eul was still trying to form a sentence when Jan Di left with Ji Hoo. Although she was slightly embarrassed by Woo Bin's reference to her and Yi Jeong as lovebirds, she deeply appreciated their gesture. She would have to send Ji Hoo and Woo Bin a message to thank them for their consideration.

"I guess it's just you and me now."

The sound of his voice so close behind her sent a thrill up her spine. And then he turned her around and took the coffee from her, and slipped his hand into hers. "Come on Ga Eul yang, let's go for a walk."

……………………

She ended up buying him a book to read on the flight back. In turn, he bought her a handphone accessory from Swarovski. He'd practically had to drag her into the shop and when she refused to pick out something for herself, he chose a blue and pink bee for her.

"It's pretty." She finished looping it through the small catch in her handphone and held it up. "I kind of liked the flower though."

"I'll buy you flowers next time," he said casually, and then promptly started flipping through the book. Set against the Napoleonic wars but only with dragons, it was a strange mix of history and fantasy. Too bad here were no scenes he could picture Ga Eul in though.

They were in a chocolate shop deciding between the raisins covered in chocolate and the strawberries with chocolate centres when Yi Jeong caught sight of the time. It was time for him to go in.

"Ga Eul yang…"

"I know. Let's go then."

Hand in hand, they walked to the Departure Hall in silence. Ga Eul wondered whether Yi Jeong was aware that he was squeezing her hand so tightly that it bordered on uncomfortable. She hoped that she wouldn't cry; she was determined to put on a brave face.

Finally, she could go no further. Ignoring the people who streamed past them in groups and pairs through the entrance, Yi Jeong stopped. "You know I could…" The words trailed off as he hesitated. As he hoped, she understood what he meant. If she wanted him to, he would come back again just to see her.

"You don't have to do that. You should focus on what you want to accomplish in Sweden. Just remember your promise." Too shy to kiss him in public, she did the next best thing she could; standing on tiptoe, she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a close hug. Her throat tightened and she could feel the sting of tears behind her eyelids. "I'll wait for you to come back."

Yi Jeong held her as tightly as he could; it was hard to believe that in a few minutes, she would no longer be in his arms.

They stood there, clinging to each other and what time they had left. "I should go," he said reluctantly as he released her. And then he took out a blue envelope and pressed it into her hands. "Here's an incentive for you to keep writing to me."

"Sunbae…"

"Well, since I can't see you I should at least know what's happening. What kind of soulmate doesn't know what his other half is doing?" There, he had said it. What he really wanted to say were three very special words but that would have to wait for another time. This was as much as he could manage. Her mouth dropped open, to his amusement, and her already huge eyes grew even wider. "See you in two years, Ga Eul yang." With that, he grabbed his hand luggage and made a beeline for the gate.

"Yi Jeong sunbae!" Ga Eul sputtered as soon as she regained the ability to speak. He'd just made what amounted to a confession of sorts and now he was running away! But it didn't take away any of the sweetness of his words. Ga Eul watched him as he checked himself in. Before he disappeared from sight, he turned to catch a final glimpse of her. "See you in two years Yi Jeong ah," she said softly, waving to him. He gave her one of those lopsided smiles that she loved so much, lifted his hand to wave at her, and then he was gone.

Folding the envelope carefully, she slipped it into the little sling bag she carried and then took out her phone. Composing herself, she took a deep breath before dialling her best friend's number. "Jan Di ah, where are you? I'm ready to go home now."

"We're on the same level as you are. Do you know where Starbucks is?"

"Yes, I'm making my way there now."

"Ga Eul ah, are... are you alright?"

Was she alright? Eventually she was probably going to have a good cry over his absence. But he had promised to come back to her, as her soulmate. And that made everything worth it. "Yes, I'm fine."