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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

XIX

"Okay, here she comes. Get ready," Woo Bin warned even as he stepped on the accelerator. Thankfully, the road was empty at the moment and Ga Eul came dashing across it, looking frantically to her left and right even as he pushed open the car door and beckoned for her to get in.

"You weren't kidding about the reporters!" Woo Bin exclaimed as he eyed the small crowd that came running after her. But before they could make it across the road, there was a furious screech of wheels on tar and the ear piercing blare of an extremely loud horn. The reporters shouted in alarm, scooting back to the pavement as Ji Hoo's white Mini Cooper blazed past them.

"And he's right on time! Let's go Ga Eul yang. Fasten your seatbelt!" Woo Bin whooped as he revved the engine and hit the accelerator.

Ga Eul was about to thank him for rescuing her when Ji Hoo's call came through. "Nice going bro. Operation RCW is an official success. See you at your place."

Ga Eul raised an eyebrow. "What does that stand for?"

Woo Bin chuckled; she wasn't going to like this. "It's short for Rescue Casanova's Wife."

"That's not funny!"

"It is from our perspective."

"I can't even go home. They'll be lying in wait for me," Ga Eul wailed before slumping back against the seat. "They aren't going to print any articles are they?"

There was no easy way to tell her. "Ga Eul ssi, you shouldn't be worrying about the newspapers. It's on the TV entertainment news."

"What? Oh my God, why?!"

…………………..

"Because," Ji Hoo explained patiently as he sat her down on the sofa and poured her a cup of tea, "Yi Jeong is a celebrity of sorts. While all of us are famous, our fame differs depending on the context or circles you are referring to. There isn't anyone worth his salt in the world of business that doesn't know who Jun Pyo is. When it comes to businesses with a slightly shadier tinge," Ji Hoo stole a look at Woo Bin who was some distance away, looking out of the window with his phone to his ear as he paced about, "you don't get more famous than Woo Bin."

"And in politics, your connections carry heavier clout," Ga Eul finished. "But Yi Jeong sunbae comes from a family of artists. Very wealthy and famous artists but essentially, why should the paparazzi care about what he does anymore than they would any other socialite?"

"Ga Eul, Yi Jeong is a South Korean prodigy potter who debuted at the Venice Biennale with stunning success. He's not just an artist; he's an artist who stirs up a lot of national pride in the population. Yi Jeong's works have been featured in museums and exhibitions overseas, and he gets plenty of newspaper coverage when those occur. Plus, as you mentioned, he is wealthy, handsome and has a colourful past when it comes to the opposite gender. That makes for great entertainment nowadays."

She'd never thought of him as being famous. He had always just been Yi Jeong sunbae to her. "I guess I've been a little naïve," she murmured, curling her fingers around the cup for warmth.

"Perhaps," Ji Hoo acknowledged. "But then again, that's why he liked you to begin with. You saw through the glamour and the looks."

Startled, Ga Eul looked up to see Ji Hoo smiling gently at her. It felt strange to be discussing her relationship with Ji Hoo, but she found his reassurance and calm presence comforting. "Thank you Ji Hoo sunbae. And for rescuing me too."

"Anything for Casanova's wife." He grinned as she shot him a mock scowl.

Both of them turned as they heard Woo Bin swear. "He's not picking up the phone. I can't get through at all. I sent him a couple of texts explaining what happened. Hopefully he'll call back soon."

"Did you manage to find out how this rumour was started?" Ga Eul asked anxiously, biting her lip. She was already wondering how she could clear up this mess and when she could go home.

"Well, in a way, it's Yi Jeong's fault. When you're an F4 member, you don't get away with extravagant gestures like the ones he made without having someone blab about it to the press. Especially if you send thousands of dollars worth of flowers to a girl and pay for her grandmother to go on a holiday. I think it was your grandmother's involvement that sent the marriage or engagement rumours into overdrive. That's all my men could find out anyway. It would be nice to find the blabbermouth and make him or her pay for it but unfortunately, there are too many people involved, although I doubt Yi Jeong's staff would be the culprits."

"It wouldn't do any good even if we did find them," Ji Hoo said thoughtfully. "What we need to figure out is how to keep Ga Eul away from the media. I don't think she can go home, at least not for today."

Ga Eul was busy trying to digest the fact that those irises had cost thousands and that it had been Yi Jeong's own jealousy that had made them the centre of a media storm. "Can we turn on the television?" she asked. Suddenly, she wanted—needed—to know how bad the situation was.

"Are you sure you want to?" Ji Hoo asked but Ga Eul was already reaching for the remote.

All three of them watched the screen as she switched to the entertainment news channel. To her horror, she and Yi Jeong appeared to be the fodder of the day.

"Currently, we have been unable to contact celebrity potter So Yi Jeong…"

"Join the club," Woo Bin muttered.

"However, we have ascertained that he did indeed pay for Madam Lee Soo Jin, Miss Chu's grandmother, and her best friend's holiday tour. It looks like those engagement rumours floating around may be true after all. One wonders if there are other reasons for a secret and hurried engagement or wedding. Could we be, pardon the pun, expecting baby news—"

Ji Hoo switched it off when he realised that Ga Eul's face was turning an alarming shade of red. "Is—is she saying I'm pregnant?"

Ga Eul normally had a lovely soothing voice but now she was almost screeching. She sounded like Geum Jan Di when she was fighting with Jun Pyo actually, Woo Bin thought. Now might not be the best time to crack a joke about that though. It was one thing to be rumoured to be married or engaged to a celebrity potter; it was another for a nationally syndicated entertainment news programme to broadcast to the nation that she might be pregnant and unmarried.

At that precise moment, his phone rang. It was Yi Jeong.

…………………………………

"Not good enough."

Yi Jeong resisted the urge to scream and break something. Like his master's neck. Plus, the way that old man was craning it as he proceeded to find fault with the tiny jade green and olive rice bowl seemed like an open invitation to Yi Jeong.

"It looks dead, which is absolutely disastrous for celadon. Didn't you study that sake vessel and jar I gave you?"

If he had stared any longer at them either his eyes or the vessel would have given way. He didn't even have to think for the images of those two objects to appear. He knew by heart every mark, every curve, the way the light bounced off the glaze from a certain angle. So why couldn't he reproduce it?

He rubbed his tired eyes and looked up to see his mentor standing there, weighing the bowl in his hand while watching him like a hawk. "Yes I did study it," he answered mechanically.

"You missed something then."

"Maybe it's because I've only started a month ago?" Yi Jeong drawled sarcastically as he massaged his aching shoulders. That bowl had taken him countless hours to produce and it was such a simple piece. It felt like the work had sucked the soul out of his body. Usually working on pottery brought him immeasurable satisfaction but celadon was a daunting mountain that most talented potters steered clear off. So naturally, his mentor had to insist that this be the next goal in their training.

"Do you or do you not want to learn this?"

There were plenty of different kinds of pottery skills to master. If he said no, his mentor would never ask him again and they would simply proceed on to something else. Something less difficult, something that he could be fully confident of mastering in a third of the time it usually took other people.

"I want to learn this." Then again, he had never been one to shy away from a challenge thrown at him. And what was the point of remaining in one's comfort zone always? If he had not faced his inner fears, he would have missed out on the sweetest thing in his life now. Celadon was the one area which he actually wondered if he would ever master. The next two years would be as good a time as any to find out what exactly was the limit of his talent.

"Good. Then this is what we will do. No more letters, no phone calls, no interruptions for at least two weeks. You'll stay here at my workshop and we will discuss exactly what it is that you missed, what you see when you look at the pieces."

A part of Yi Jeong wanted to protest; he was sure that Ga Eul was going to send a letter and he wanted to read it. He wanted to write to her, to let her know what he was working on now, to put his heart and mind down on paper so that he could speak to her.

"It's only two weeks. Surely you'll be able to survive two weeks without writing to her or reading her letters."

It was hard to believe that this cranky elderly man had been designated a Living National Treasure. Nishikado Akira, who had more Korean and British blood in him in spite of his very Japanese name, had been a contemporary of Yi Jeong's own grandfather. He had caused a stir in Asia during his years there but had left about two decades ago for semi-retirement in Europe. Yi Jeong knew that his grandfather and master had never met but often wondered what a meeting between the two would have been like. They would probably have hated each other, given how similar they actually were.

'And that includes their gigantic egos,' Yi Jeong thought sourly. "I didn't say I wouldn't do it," came his testy reply and he winced, knowing that he sounded like a nine-year-old. That was another thing those two old men had in common: they reduced sensible adults to children. His father, for all his devil may care, blasé attitude towards life was terrified of his grandfather. That was why he had left the woman he loved and thrown everything away.

"Great. We'll start tomorrow. Clean up the workshop and don't throw this away." Nishikado placed the bowl gently on the table. "If you can see your mistake, hopefully you won't make it again."

It would be quite useless to glare at his master as the latter took his leave so Yi Jeong didn't bother. He would have to clean the wheel and mop the floor, chores that he was by now used to. Never mind, he consoled himself. Two weeks might seem interminably long now but time would pass and he would receive her letter. A smile touched his lips as he anticipated its contents, wondering whether she would mention the irises he had sent, a symbol of his promise.

After ensuring that the workshop was nothing less than sparking clean, Yi Jeong picked up his bag and walked out to the front of the house where his driver was waiting with the car. Gratefully, he sank into the soft leather cushioning. Every bone in his body ached and fatigue was threatening to close his eyes at any minute. Sleepily, he slipped out his handphone and switched it on. Only to have it suddenly buzz and beep like mad thing. Checking his inbox, Yi Jeong found ten messages. All of them were from Woo Bin.

Yi Jeong, where are you? Call me now!

Yi Jeong, why haven't you called me yet? Switch on your damned phone!

Ga Eul's being hounded by the paparazzi. Ji Hoo and I are on the way to save her.

Btw, did I mention the news is saying that you married or got engaged to Ga Eul?

The remaining messages were completely forgotten as Yi Jeong stared at the words on the screen. How in the hell had that happened?

As he dialled Woo Bin's number, Yi Jeong had the sinking feeling that someone involved in his planned surprises for Ga Eul's grandmother had spoken to the press and claimed that there was some kind of marriage or engagement plans involved. "Damn damn damn," he cursed softly as he waited for Woo Bin to pick up.

"It's about time you called back."

Woo Bin sounded distinctively relieved. In the background, he could hear Ji Hoo and Ga Eul but could not quite make out their conversation. Ga Eul sounded louder and higher than usual though.

"What's going on?"

"Well, apparently now you've gotten her pregnant."

"What the hell!"

"You took the words out of my mouth, buddy."