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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

XVIII

Sunbae,

I know this is the second letter in a row but I have a feeling you are expecting this anyway, especially after this past week. But before I go on, I would like you to know that I loved the flowers. I didn't expect you to practically fill my home with so many different types of red irises. But they were all beautiful. Did you know the iris is a symbol of a promise?

My grandmother refuses to tell me exactly what the two of you talked about. All I know is that she thought you were a fraud, hence the rather spectacular three days she spent being impressed by you (yes it worked and I know that you already know that). Oh yes, there is one other thing. She said you wanted children, three to be precise. As with all things my grandmother says, I'm taking that with a pinch of salt. Just in case you were serious though, I'm letting you know that my future plans involving children are limited to two. And how on earth did you let her drag you into the subject of marriage? I told you I was handling the matter. You probably deserve whatever trauma you got for interfering.

But thank you for attempting to be my knight in shining armour; apparently cool guys can be nice guys too.

Anyway, she said to tell you that she enjoyed the trip to your museum and that the guide you provided was extremely knowledgeable, not to mention good-looking. I hope you paid the poor man extra because now she has his number and is planning to arrange an appointment between him and my cousin. The restaurant she loved and I'm sure it's not a coincidence that all her favourite food was listed out on the special menu she was given.

Thank you for sending her to that bookstore that sells rare books. She refused to buy anything although you opened an account for her but that gesture touched her. I think you probably arranged that trip because you found out that she used to work in a library but what you couldn't have known was that she met my grandfather there. As she tells it, he was hogging the book for the longest time and after waiting an hour for him to be done with it, she went over and insisted that he give it to her. As my grandfather used to tell it, she only asked him for the book as an excuse to get to know him. She misses him terribly even after all this time; that's the side that not many people realise when they talk about love lasting forever.

We saw her off at the airport about three hours ago. I have no idea how you convinced her best friend to go on a five day local holiday tour with her but you pulled it off and now she is out of my hair! And she's happy because she's convinced that we're going to get married and have many children. She said I'm not allowed to even look at another man. Obviously, there will be no more appointments arranged for me. You can stop smirking now.

So whatever details you didn't know about, you now do. And you've managed to make three women very happy: my mother is overjoyed because now no one will pressure her with prophecies of doomed spinsterhood about me, my grandmother for obvious reasons and myself, simply because you've been so sweet, even though you also did it because you were jealous (that's the another small detail she let slip).

I'll thank you properly when you come back. That's a promise. For now, this long letter will have to suffice. Expect a surprise this coming New Year's eve.

Ga Eul

………………………..

Softly humming under her breath, Ga Eul got off the bus and started walking down the narrow street that led to her home. She had just mailed her letter and in spite of her best efforts, she could not stop smiling. Just thinking about the past few days produced a warm feeling that suffused her entire being. The irises were still rather fresh and their scent lingered in the air at home. For the moment, there were reminders of Yi Jeong all around and although at times her yearning for him was so sharp it was akin to pain, there was always sweetness, especially when she thought of his return.

She was so busy thinking about him and his response when he received her letter that she didn't notice the small crowd of people outside her gate until she was a few feet away. Frowning, she stopped and stared at them. Almost all of them had mikes and …was that man actually carrying a video camera?

"There she is!"

"Miss Chu!"

Ga Eul's eyes widened as they started to descend upon her. Frantically backing away, she paused to consider if she should stay and ask them what on earth was going on, or whether she should run.

"Is it true that you and Mr So Yi Jeong are now engaged?"

"I heard he met your grandmother? Is it official? When's the wedding?"

"Miss Chu, is it true you got married to Mr So when he returned a month ago?"

Ga Eul blinked, too stunned to react as the cameras started flashing. Belatedly, she raised a hand as the questions they were yelling at her sunk in. So that's why they had been waiting outside her home.

Good grief, they were paparazzi. Later, she would find out who had spread that lie but for now, self preservation was more important than truth.

Whipping out her phone, she pressed the buttons frantically as she ran for her life from the mob behind her. Behind her, they shouted questions as the cameras clicked away. "I can't believe they're still taking pictures!" she muttered, the phone pressed to her ear as she ducked around a corner. "Pick up, pick up!"

"Yo! Ga Eul yang, what do you—"

"Woo Bin sunbae! Help! I'm being chased by reporters who think that Yi Jeong sunbae and I are engaged or married."

There was silence over the phone and for a moment Ga Eul thought that either Woo Bin had passed out or the line had gotten cut off. And then there was a loud yell.

"Woo Bin sunbae?"

"Sorry, I'm here. I just got Ji Hoo to pinch me to make sure this isn't a dream. Where are you now?"

"I'm still in my neighbourhood. I'm trying to lose them but they're like leeches. I'm hiding behind a car now."

"Try to stay hidden for as long as possible. Ji Hoo and I are on our way. We'll call you once we're there."

"Thank you Woo Bin sunbae. I can't believe this is happening."

………………………………..

"She said she can't believe this is happening. Tell me about it," Woo Bin muttered as he and Ji Hoo rummaged around for their car keys. His room was a mess, no thanks to the late night drinking session they had indulged in the night before.

"Got it." Ji Hoo held up the keys triumphantly. "Come on, let's... Oh no."

"What?" Woo Bin asked but Ji Hoo brushed past him and headed towards the television which they had left on. "Hey I asked…Oh crap."

Somewhere out there, Ga Eul was waiting for them to save her from a horde of gossip hungry paparazzi but at that moment, all they could do was stand there, eyes transfixed on the wide screen as they watched a pretty reporter and heard her loud and clear in the silence.

"And now for the latest breaking entertainment news! Sources have said that So Yi Jeong, the famous potter and heir to the wealthy So family that owns the Woo Song Museum, has recently gotten engaged to Miss Chu Ga Eul, a second year Business and Economics student at a local university. We now bring you a live interview where we have been waiting outside Miss Chu's house…"

"Is that Ga Eul yang?" Woo Bin pointed at a figure dressed in a pink blouse and black skirt, wearing boots that looked familiar. "It looks like her, except that it's a little hard to tell from the back since she's running away."

Ji Hoo's exasperated expression made it clear that he thought Woo Bin was being more than a little dense. "Obviously they found her. Come on, we have to go. Wait until Yi Jeong hears about this."

"Are you kidding? Not from you. I get first dibs on breaking the news of his marriage-engagement to him."

"You think this is funny, don't you?"

"Don't you?"

Ji Hoo's smile and quiet chuckle said it all. And then his phone rang. "Hello? Yes Jun Pyo, the media is speculating that Yi Jeong and Ga Eul are married. Stop laughing."