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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

XXVII

Ga Eul woke up bright and early that day. For a moment she lay still, her cheek pressed against the soft cotton of her pillow, eyes barely opened, still caught in half dreams of Yi Jeong coming back. As always, she felt a sharp pang and lingering disappointment when she realised he wasn't really there even though she could've sworn she had just heard his voice, so beloved and familiar, clearly.

With a soft sigh, she pulled herself from the bed and began to get ready. She had a full day of classes at the studio today, one of the rare days when she did not have to attend her own course classes. Her mind still on him, she absently pulled out a white dress and lavender belt, not the most practical of clothing especially since she was teaching the children how to mould clay later.

It had been more than a month since Yi Jeong's last letter and next week, it would be two full months. When was he coming back? Had something happened to delay him? Every day, she waited for some sign, another letter, maybe a message on her phone, a call. But there was nothing, only silence. She had to fight the urge to make contact with him somehow. "You have to trust him," she told herself every once in awhile. "Anyway, what's a few more days when you've waited for four years?" But Yi Jeong was right though and she knew it was her expectancy, her hope of seeing him soon that made even one day hard to bear. So she kept herself busy. She threw herself into her teaching and her studying. Jan Di was busy at medical school and at times, they would go out, though not as often as before. Sometimes Woo Bin met up with her, she had seen him with a new girl, someone tall, slim and gorgeous. Ga Eul was sure her bias for Jae Kyung was interfering with her judgement but the girl struck her as being brittle and cold. She wondered if the former knew that Woo Bin had moved on but since Jae Kyung never spoke about him in her emails, Ga Eul decided it would be wiser to avoid the topic altogether. She of all people knew what it was like to grapple with heartache.

She was standing at a traffic light, waiting for the green man and still mulling over the past, the present and the hopefully not too distant future when Yi Jeong came back when she looked up at the huge screen atop the a low building and froze. 'Gu Jun Pyo?' she thought, stunned as she recognised her best friend's soulmate and the richest man in the country. Since when had he returned? Did Jan Di know? Her first instinct was to send a message to her friend but she decided against it. It was their reunion, she would leave it up to Jun Pyo to inform Jan Di of his presence.

Ga Eul smiled wistfully. At least Jan Di's waiting was over. There had been occasional nights when the both of them would stay up for romantic movie marathons and inevitably end up bawling their eyes out over the men they were really missing. They both refused to confess though. At least Jan Di wouldn't be having anymore of those nights.

She started as she realised that people had started moving past her. Only then did the loud beeping of the green man register. Hurriedly, she dashed across the road, clutching her white shoulder bag. If she walked briskly, she would make it to class with half an hour to spare. And then the children would come in and she would be swept up in her lessons. For awhile, she would forget.

……………………

It was cold and dark, and even as he showered and dressed, he found himself looking around the room and house as never before. For four years this place had been his home. He had worked in the studio for the last few days, finishing up a final piece of work, a beautiful bowl incised with cranes and flowers. It was his way of thanking the couple who had allowed themselves to be persuaded into renting this lovely house to him.

His bags were waiting in the taxi that had been called and before he got in, Yi Jeong cast one last long look at the place before telling the driver to head for the airport. Although at times it had seemed like forever, four years had just gone by and he marvelled at how he was in the here and now, this moment of leaving and returning.

As he settled into his seat on the plane, he pulled his jacket closer around him and watched as Sweden became a rapidly disappearing bright green dot on the horizon. There was some uncertainty at leaving a country where he knew he would be free to do as he pleased, where he could pursue his art without any hindrance, where his work and not his family name mattered. Back in Korea, things would be the same and yet vastly different. He wondered whether his grandfather would abide by the promise that his father had somehow extracted from him, he thought about what it would be like to live in a place where the rich and powerful would know that he had been cast out of his family. But most of all, he thought of a certain young trainee Art teacher whom he knew would be in class at the time of his arrival.

To his surprise, Yi Jeong managed to sleep through most of the hours and when he awoke, the plane was less than two hours away from Seoul. He spent the time alternating between watching the movies, attempting to play the games, and fidgeting with impatience. When the captain told them they could begin to disembark, he fairly sprang out of his seat. It had been two years since he had seen Ga Eul, and he was eager to keep his promise to her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, face to face. He wanted to hear her say it, to wrap his arms around her and feel her hold him close.

When he got to the arrival hall, Yi Jeong was surprised to see his family chauffeur waiting. And not only that, his precious car was there in the car park as well. "Please tell Master So I said thank you," Yi Jeong said quietly to the chauffeur as he instructed the man to send his luggage back to his own house. Hopping into the Lotus, Yi Jeong ran a quick hand over the leather and the dashboard. He had missed this car too.

He remembered the address, and he found his way there without any problems. As he pushed open the door, memories submerged him and he recalled standing behind Ga Eul, waiting patiently for her to find her keys, sitting with her, laying his head on her lap, feeling safe yet scared. Their first kiss, the peach scent of her hair, her skin against his as they clung to each other in the warm darkness.

He could hear the sound of high voices and slowly, he followed it, aware that his heart was starting to race even as he tried to keep himself calm, at least outwardly. And then he could see her, through the clear glass, pretty in white and pink as she rolled clay between her hands, singing a song to the boy next to her, surrounded by children in a room full of light. Yi Jeong's breath caught as he gazed at her, vaguely aware that he was moving towards the door, drawn by the sight of Ga Eul.

Pulling open the door gently, he stood in the doorway, wondering how it was that she could not feel his eyes on her, and slightly amused that none of the children knew he was there. They were all industriously absorbed in their task. The little boy was rolling what looked like a… come to think of it, he wasn't sure what it was actually.

"Is that a grape?" Ga Eul asked as she smiled at the child. The little boy nodded at her, a huge grin on his face.

It looked more like a misshapen marble but he was not about to offer that opinion. So instead of the student, he focused on the teacher. "You're still using too much pressure on your wrists."

Now that sounded familiar, in more ways than one. Whoever the visitor was, he sounded uncannily like Yi Jeong. She looked up, intending to welcome him. And then the automatic smile dropped from her face and the breath left her body as she realised that it was him. Shock sent her surging to her feet. "Yi Jeong sunbae!"

He didn't say anything, no apologies for showing up at her work unannounced. No flowery declarations, no romantic gestures. All he did was smile, and say very softly, "Hello." And just like that, he swept her off her feet.

She wanted to ask him why he hadn't warned her, why he had to show up now with all her children around her, when the only speaking they could do was with their eyes. Instead, she smiled, blinking back the moisture which stung her eyes.

I've missed you. I can't believe you're back.

I'm here now. And I'm staying.

"Who is he? Is he your boyfriend?"

A cheeky voice interrupted their silent conversation and Yi Jeong realised it was the boy with the 'grape'. Ga Eul looked a little stunned and opened her mouth, but no reply came. They had never referred to each other in those terms. Truth be told, it sounded a little strange to him. She wasn't the girlfriend; she was just Ga Eul yang and she was his.

"Ajjushi, are you from abroad?" A very plucky little girl was speaking to him directly and Yi Jeong pulled his gaze from Ga Eul.

"Well, how did you know?"

"Hmmm, from Sweden?"

Someone had been speaking to her students about him. It was a little absurd but it pleased him to know that she had talked about him to them.

"You're a very smart little lady."

Her eyes crinkled as she grinned and clapped her hands together. "So you're the one! Seon-saeng-nim mentioned that her boyfriend was in Sweden."

Ga Eul was still mulling over how to answer Sang Min's question when to her horror, she heard Hyun Jung blurt out that last sentence. Too late, she reached for the girl and pulled her close, a hand half over her mouth.

"That was supposed to be a secret!" All Hyun Jung did was giggle into her hand, as did the others. Ga Eul bit her lip, shooting sheepish looks at Yi Jeong as her face burned with embarrassment. 'Oh my God, he must think I blab everything to the children!' She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

"I guess you could call me her boyfriend."

Ga Eul's eyes widened and she looked over at Yi Jeong.

"But we prefer to use the term 'soulmate'."

"Yi Jeong sunbae…"

Ga Eul's soft whisper was drowned out by a chorus of questions that all echoed the same questions: What was a soulmate? Would he explain? How about coming in? Seon-saeng-nim could teach him how to make pottery while he told it to them. What was Sweden like?

"Well, are you willing to teach me about pottery?" Yi Jeong asked Ga Eul, biting back a grin as he allowed several pairs of tiny hands to pull him into the classroom.

"Luckily for you, this is a Beginner's Class. You've come to the right place," she replied, tongue firmly in cheek.

Yi Jeong swallowed his laughter and mouthed the words, "I'll get you later." For now though, he was content to answer the children's questions and teach them how to mould a proper grape.

………………………..

"Bye Seon-saeng-nim! Bye Mr So!"

Ga Eul and Yi Jeong waved as her last student left the room. Once the child was safely out of view, Ga Eul turned to Yi Jeong. "My next class starts in fifteen minutes," she said regretfully. "I didn't know you were coming back—"

She stopped as he touched a gentle finger to her lips. "I wanted to surprise you. It was my choice. So, did it work?"

"Y-yes." She hated the quiver in her voice but it was a little hard to answer when he was tracing her jaw line with his thumb.

"I kept my promise," he murmured, stepping closer as he slipped an arm around her waist.

"I never doubted that you would," she whispered. "So, are you going to kiss me? Because I'm dying to kiss you."

"Anything for my soulmate."

Then his lips were pressed against hers, and she needed no urging to open her mouth for him. He groaned softly as she clutched his jacket, her hands fisting in the material as she tried to pull him even closer. He was jetlagged, tired and had just co-taught a pottery class with her and still she could set him on fire with just a kiss. She was so sweet, he wanted to claim all of her.

Yi Jeong was in the process of backing her up against a wall when they both heard it at the same time. "Yay! I got here before you! Seon-saeng-nim said first one to class gets a sweet."

Ga Eul turned her head, breaking the kiss even as Yi Jeong pulled away from her. They were both panting hard and she wiped her mouth, trying to slow her breathing even as the sound of running footsteps echoed along the corridor outside.

"And you want four kids," she muttered. He looked so surprised that she laughed. And then he started to chuckle.

"Why stop at four? I'll make sure you have lots of fun making babies with me."

"Yi Jeong sunbae! You—"

Ga Eul was about to swat him when the children burst through the doors. That saved him.

"Eh? Seon-saeng-nim, who is this ajjuishi?"

"This is an old friend who was just leaving," Ga Eul said, ushering them to their seats as she shot Yi Jeong a meaningful look.

"I'll call you later. Think about what I said. I know I'll be." Yi Jeong grinned as Ga Eul's face turned red and she made a shooing gesture at him.

He had just gotten into the car when Woo Bin's message came in. Jun Pyo was back and he was on his way to see Jan Di. It had been three years since he had last seen them and Yi Jeong found himself looking forward to meeting them again. Time had not diminished their ties to each other. And he would be seeing Ga Eul later again tonight.

It was good to be home.