Boys Over Flowers if the property of Korean TV

A/N As I have said previously, all name spellings have been taken directly from the program where possible (ex name plaques in classroom) Where it was unavailable, I have gone with the most frequent spelling in subtitles. I am trying to be as realistic as possible in this fic, going by the characters personalities and the challenges they would have faced. You don't have to agree with me, but please always be polite in reviews, even if you think my visions are stupid or unrealistic.

Some reviews would be totally adored!

Four Years

Chapter Two

Promises

He had been walking for nearly three hours by the time he headed for the familiar house. By then, the numbness had started to wear off and the sadness had begun, mingling with disbelief.

He stopped for a minute when he reached the door. As much as he knew he would be welcomed, he wondered if he should be there at all. Everything he and Jan Di had been through, Yun Ji Hu had been through as well, he had suffered right along with them, because he loved her too. The difference was, when she cried, he was the one who held her; he was the glue to her broken heart. Ji Hu was the one who had gotten her through the past year; if not for him, who knew where she would be right now?

He took a deep breath and pulled the door open, grateful that the lights were still on. He found him sitting in a chair by his bed - his violin in place under his chin while he played. Jun Pyo closed his eyes for a moment, willing the notes to take him back in time. A time when the only song Ji Hu knew was 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and his biggest problem was deciding between chocolate and butterscotch pudding for lunch.

"By the look on your face," Ji Hu's voice was soft, yet he nearly jumped out of his skin. "I'll assume things didn't go as you hoped."

He smiled a little, a sad smile that came no where near his eyes, then sat on the end of bed. "You knew she'd say no, didn't you?"

"I didn't know," He bent over, laying his violin carefully back in it's case and latching it, and then turned to face him. "But, I knew it was a possibility."

"It's just like Geum Jan Di. It wouldn't be her if she didn't drive me crazy; if she didn't dig her heels in and refuse to budge once she set her mind to something." He sighed "What am I going to do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"What I have the desire to do, and what I want to do, are two different things." He shrugged "I knew this would have to happen when we forced the witch out of Shin Hwa. Noona has already taken her place at the offices here, there's no one left but me. Besides, I want to do this, I don't want the future of the company to be her kind of future - I want it to be something I can be proud of."

"Four years is a long time."

"Yes," Too long

They were quiet for several long moments, the only sound the ticking of a far off clock. They didn't look at one another, yet a silent conversation took place. They looked at each other for a moment and then Ji Hu looked away, towards the darkness outside.

"Ask me,"

"I don't think I can," Jun Pyo stood to pace, his step brisk, as if he was trying to outrun his guilt. "Not this time."

"Why not?"

"It's bad enough that I have depended so much on you in the past, but…"

He shook his head, his heart pounding hard in his ears. It felt like it wanted to explode out of his chest, to escape and take flight, far away from this constant human agony.

"This time…it's different. It's not a few weeks or months. It's years."

"Whether you ask or not, it doesn't matter." Ji Hu sighed "You know I'll do it anyway."

Despite his guilt, he felt his tension ease the slightest bit. As wrong as he knew it was, he had expected this all along.

"I know."

"I've decided to go back to school."

Jun Pyo shouldered the door frame and looked at him quietly. He had expected this too. He would go to medical school, just like Jan Di. He would always go wherever she needed him to be.

"I'm not surprised."

Ji Hu turned to face Jun Pyo, "It's not just for her, but for my parents and grandfather, and myself. Somehow, it feels like it's what I am supposed to do."

"It helps, knowing you'll be here to watch over her." He sat down directly across from him and put out his hand. "I'm grateful."

Ji Hu accepted his hand, sealing the unasked promised. He knew Jun Pyo wouldn't ask, wouldn't put that burden on him, but he didn't need to. Watching after Geum Jan Di wasn't a decision, it was a reaction, as natural to him as breathing. Both were necessary to his survival, he couldn't be happy unless she was.

"I told you once before, you're not alone in this, you're not the only one who cares about her, " He smiled a little "and I won't be the only one looking after her."

Jun Pyo nodded, a small smile playing about his lips, that too was true. Geum Jan Di had many devoted friends. She and Chu Ga Eul would be roommates, her family had decided it would be a good idea to have someone living above the new business, to keep an eye on things at night, and Jan Di had agreed. Ga Eul had promised to move in with her so she wouldn't have to be alone. She needn't have worried about that, he was fairly certain that Ji Hu would become a constant fixture. His Noona, Jun Hee, he knew, would check in on them often, and Woo bin was sure to find plenty of 'important life and death' reasons to drop in. Of course, Jan Di would see through all of them and she was sure to think HE had put Woo bin up to it. Knowing her temper, the resulting arguments would be quite fun to watch. He was already sorry he was going to miss it.

"I won't be worried, she has plenty of people who will be here for her." Jun Pyo smiled sadly and looked away. Ji Hu looked at him a moment longer while an unasked question drifted in the empty air around them.

'But who's going to be there for you, Jun Pyo?'

His eyes glazed over while he stared at the empty cupboard, the box of plates he was supposed to be unpacking sitting untouched beneath his still hands. Time was moving too fast, the past two weeks had been a blur of activity that he had no control over, like his life a year before, it all felt beyond his control.

He'd been forcing himself not to think about it, keeping himself busy and spending every minute that didn't absolutely have to be spent at the office with her. Today however, reality - in the form of keys to his new office and apartment- had arrived via currier. Only one more week, and then he would be leaving her. Tomorrow morning they would be seeing So Yi Jung off to Sweden and then the countdown would begin, not in weeks, but days. It felt horrible, nearly as bad as the days leading up to his forced wedding, but only almost. At least this parting had a bright light he could hold on to, the promise of happiness at the end.

"Is something wrong?" Ga Eul set a box on the counter next to him, jarring him out of his thoughts. He glanced over at her and shook his head, not willing to trust his voice.

"Nothing more than usual then." She smiled sadly, pulling the tape off the top of the box and opening it before pulling out a pair of glasses to stack on a shelf. "It's been a bad week for everyone..."

Her words broke off and she forced a smile to her face. Jun Pyo didn't know exactly what was between her and Yi Jung, but he knew that there was something. He didn't seem all that pleased to be leaving either.

"Ga Eul, if I asked you for something, would you promise not to tell Jan Di?" He turned away from the box, then glanced out the window to be sure that the other four hadn't returned with the truck yet. "Something important."

Ga Eul hesitated. It wouldn't be a good to get in the middle between Jan Di and Jun Pyo, but looking at him now, the look in his eyes, she knew she had to at least hear him out.

"I guess I would have to hear what it is first." She turned around and leaned against the counter

"Fair enough." He took a deep breath "You know that everything that happened the past two years, the bad things, were caused by my mother."

She did know, he had gotten her father appointed to a new job, executive director at one of Shin Hwa's newly acquired subsidiaries. As if that wasn't enough, he had insisted on meeting her family, on apologizing personally for thing things his mother had done to them.

"Yes," She smiled "My parents can't stop speaking about how good you have been to our family."

"We've done as much as we can, Noona and I, to make sure she can't get try anything again, but I'm still worried. She has friends, powerful friends. Whether they will still help her now that she isn't in power herself or not, I don't know, but I can't say for sure that it isn't possible." He stopped and looked at her, his eyes pleading for understanding. "You know Jan Di won't tell me if she tries anything."

"So you want me to…"

"Want has nothing to do with it." His eyes turned fierce and he broke off, his jaw clenched tightly while he remembered the documents Manager Jung had faxed to him the day after he recovered his memory. Copies of money transfers, e-mails from the man she had following his every move and the lackeys- kidnappers and men she hired to destroy the food Jan Di's family was selling in the street. And the worst, the absolute worst, her plans to make Jan Di leave town - using Ga Eul and Ji Hu, his best friend to do it.

"I need to know, the slightest thing, the smallest irregularity. Everything that happened could have been stopped if only I had known what the wit…my mother…was up to. I would rather die than see her hurt Geum Jan Di again."

Ga Eul looked hesitant and he understood her reluctance, it would mean going behind Jan Di's back. But he had to convince her, it was why he had finagled this chance to be alone with her; he had to get her to promise- it was the only way he would find any kind of peace over the next four years.

"I know you're reluctant, but I wouldn't ask if I had any other choice. You know how proud and stubborn she is, she would never tell me on her own."

Ga Eul laughed a little; Jan Di certainly was stubborn, and she was proud. Looking at the past honestly, if she had only kept her promise to Jun Pyo, much of what had happened the past two years could have been stopped. Maybe even her father's losing his job. Jan Di had always been there for her; she was the one who had defended her in kindergarten, who had taught that jerk Gong Soon Pyo not to mess with her. Perhaps it was time she stood up for her now, even if it meant being devious about it.

"You're right, someone has to protect her from her pride." She turned to Jun Pyo and smiled "I'll do it."

Jun Pyo smiled in return, reassured beyond belief by the promise.

"Give me your phone." Ga Eul handed it over and he programmed in his cell, home, and office number. "Any time, day or night, okay?"

She nodded and slipped the phone back in her pocket.

"Jun Pyo Sunbae, could I ask you something?"

He nodded

"What will you do if your mother does try something?"

He turned away to stare at the wall, his face turning ugly and bitter.

"To protect Geum Jan Di," He looked back at her, his eyes fierce - yet reassuring at the same time. "I'll do whatever it takes."

Geum Jan Di looked around the storage warehouse in exasperation; after two years, she really should have known better. When he promised her 'old, worn out' furniture that had been in storage for years, she should realized that his definition of 'old and worn out' and hers would be completely different. She had expected out of style and thread bare, instead she got what looked like it could be fresh off a showroom floor. She had no choice now, she had already used the money she had managed to save to stock the kitchen and pay her first months bills early.

"Gu Jun Pyo!" She fisted her hands on her hips and clenched her teeth, wondering if he had really tricked her again, or if it was just a matter of different points of view.

"What's wrong?" Woo bin came to a stand behind her, his elbow resting on the arm of a moving dolly. "Nothing you like?"

"Is this stuff really old?" She walked over to a large tan sofa and slapped it with her hand, not even the slightest puff of dust, just as she suspected. "It doesn't look old to me."

"Most of this is from the Shin Hwa building." Yun Ji Hu said from her other side "They replace the furniture every year, then store it here to use when they remodel offices in other subsidiaries. There are things from the hotels too, so there is plenty to choose from."

"From the hotels?"

"Over here," Yi Jung took her elbow and led her to room off the large main room. He had hoped for a chance to speak to her alone and it seemed he had just found it; he looked over his shoulder to see that Ji Hu and Woo Bin had become absorbed in trying out several desk chairs.

"Everything in this room is from the hotels." He smiled and let her arm drop. "I doubt the former president has ever seen any of it, much less touched it."

Jan Di smiled sadly "Was I that obvious?"

"After all you've been through, it's an easy enough guess." He slid up to sit atop a dresser "You have no reason to worry, his mother can't hurt you anymore." He and the other three members of F4, along with Jun Hee, were the only ones who knew how true that was. The witch couldn't make a phone call without Jun Pyo or Jun Hee hearing about it. When Granny went back to the school, Butler Lee had returned to the house with an impressive increase in pay - along with a change in duties. His primary job - though she didn't know it- was keeping them aware of the witches every movement.

"Yes." She smiled, the overly bright smile she used to cover her sadness. Whether it was from lingering scars or the parting to come, he didn't know, but he knew it wasn't his place to ask. He loved her like a sister, but delving the depths of Geum Jan Di's pain was for Gu Jun Pyo to do, and if not him, then Yun Ji hu.

"Geum Jan Di…" His voice was soft and quiet, a tone that he rarely ever used. She looked up at him, the smile replaced by her natural curiosity. He sounded sad somehow, though she knew how excited he was about his trip to Sweden and the opportunities he would have there.

"Yi Jung Sunbae?" She turned back, then went to stand in front of him. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, yet the look didn't leave his eyes.

"I'm glad that you and Ga Eul will be living with one another." He forced a smile to his face. "You'll be able to look out for one another."

"Yes," Her smile was real now, a true Geum Jan Di smile that came from her soul. Bright and happy, full of sunshine and light. "Ga Eul and I, we always seem to do that, don't we? No matter what happens, no matter where we are, we always find each other when one of us needs the other."

"Because that's what best friends do." He couldn't help but think of how he was leaving his best friends behind, going to a place where he would be alone, with no one.

Without her.

"You'll take good care of each other then?" He looked back up at Jan Di, his eyes saying what he couldn't force himself to put into words.

'Geum Jan Di…Promise you'll care of Ga Eul, because she's precious to me.'

"I will, I promise." Jan Di's smile softened into understanding and she nodded. "We'll take care of each other."

The airport was nearly empty while they exchanged unimportant small talk, waiting for inevitable announcement. Yi Jung and Ga Eul sat quietly, neither able to summon a single word. Across from them sat Geum Jan Di and Gu Jun Pyo, neither admitting to themselves what this really was - a rehearsal for their own parting, now only a week away.

"It's come to this then." Woo bin sighed "The great F4, look at us, so gloomy."

"The screaming girls would be disappointed if they could see us now, wouldn't they?" Jun Pyo smirked a little "Who do you think they would blame it on? Geum Jan Di, or Chu Ga Eul?"

Jan Di's head snapped up "What?"

"F4 is never to blame." Yi Jung grinned "So it has to be you two."

"You're the one who's leaving," Ga Eul looked at him spitefully "And it's somehow our fault you're all so sad?"

"Arrogant." Jan Di cast a scathing glare at Yi Jung and then at Jun Pyo "Idiot."

"Stupid woman." Jun Pyo smirked

"Stupid man." Jan Di spat back

He gave her a soft elbow which she gently returned, both halfhearted with none of the enthusiasm of the past. Jun Pyo sighed and reached down for her hand, the four sitting around them smiled at each other in understanding. This was Gu Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di - when their time to say goodbye came, it was up in their air whether they would kiss goodbye or yell and hit each other. To them, both were shows of their deep affection.

"You'll write I hope." Jan Di smiled at Yi Jung "To let me know how you are doing?"

"Him?" Woo bin laughed "Yi Jung doesn't write letters."

Yi Jung grinned "For Geum Jan Di, I'll make an exception."

"Don't hold your breath." Jun Pyo smirked

"E-mail then" Jan Di gave Jun Pyo and Woo bin a dirty look, then looked at Yi Jung "Or text."

He nodded, then slanted a look at Ga Eul. He knew she wouldn't ask if he would write her, nor for e-mail or texts. She had barely said two words since they picked her and Geum Jan Di up an hour before and he knew she was carefully controlling herself. She liked to say what was on her mind, which was not always a good thing. Was she thinking of asking him not to go; or maybe take her with him? That wouldn't do. She was a part of the reason he was leaving, to give him time and space to fix what was broken inside him, so that when he returned he could offer her more, a whole person who could give her the life she deserved. But if she asked him to stay, or to take her with, he couldn't deny that it would be hard to refuse. Maybe even impossible.

'Air Korea Flight 254 to Stockholm now boarding in gate 23'

He felt her tense beside him and his own muscles clenched. The time of parting had come, in a moment more, there would be no going back. All that he knew, all that he trusted, all of it would be wiped away for the unknown. It was the right thing to do, for both of them, but it was the way of life that doing the right thing was usually the hardest thing you would ever have to do.

He forced a smile to his face, then stood and turned to his friends.

"I'll visit" Woo bin smiled and hugged him, patting him on the arm. "As often as I can."

"You better." He punched him on the shoulder, then turned to Ju Hi.

"Take good care of Geum Jan Di" He whispered softly in his ear so the others wouldn't hear, particularly Jun Pyo.

"Of course." Ji Hu replied and released him with a pat on the back. "I'll try to come, when you have your first exhibition."

He nodded, then turned to Jun Pyo who was unable to look him in the eye.

"Good luck in New York."

"As if the great Gu Jun Pyo needs luck." He snorted, then pulled him into a hug. "You stay out of trouble."

"Don't I always?" He laughed, stalling for a moment before turning towards Geum Jan Di - the last goodbye before the one that he was most dreading.

"You're going to be okay." Jan Di smiled brightly "It's all going to come back, I know it."

"Just like Geum Jan Di, even at the end." His smile was true, warmed by her words.

"It's not the end," She shook her head and backed away, wiping at her tears with her sleeve. "It's just see you later."

Yi Jung pinched her cheek, and then winked "Keep those two out of trouble." He nodded over his shoulder at Woo bin and Ji Hu "Kick them in the head if need be, but be sure to video tape it, so you can send it to me."

Jan Di laughed and backed away "I will."

He turned finally to Ga Eul, noticing as he did that the others backed away to give them privacy. He had been dreading this moment since making the decision to go to Sweden and now that it was upon them, he was almost wishing that she would ask him to stay. All it would take was one word, a single plea; but he knew she wouldn't ask. Neither would she ask him to write, call, or even text. He had treated her so poorly that she would have no expectations, may not even trust in his promise to look for her first when he returned.

"Have a good trip, I hope all goes well." She said, working up a smile and offering her hand. He felt his heart thump hard in his chest at the idea of leaving her behind with just a hand shake. After all she had done for him, how could she only offer her hand upon his leaving? He took her hand, and then pulled her into his arms and held on tightly.

"I should have told you better," He whispered into her ear "How thankful I am for you. I'm sorry."

He felt her body tremble against his and he knew that she was crying. He didn't want to see it, he hated to see her tears, better to remember her smiling and laughing.

"Remember my promise, okay?" She nodded, her cheek brushing against his as he pulled back and closed his eyes. His lips brushed over the tears on her cheek before finding her lips, then he kissed her softly before turning away.

He didn't look back, but only gave a one handed wave over his shoulder.

"I'm leaving."

She watched him go, her fingers on her still tingling lips, her eyes wide with surprise. He had kissed her! So Yi Jung had kissed her goodbye! It was more than she had dared to hope for.

She watched while he handed his ticket to the attendant, then disappeared into the door that would take him away from her. It was okay then to let go, to cry all she wanted, no one would accuse him of being the bad guy now. She put her hands over her face, the sobs rocking her body, her knees shaking beneath her. An arm went around her and lead her to a chair, then sat her gently and handed her a handkerchief. She took it and wiped her eyes, just catching the initials embroidered at the bottom.

GJP

She glanced up to see, not Geum Jan Di kneeling next to her as she expected-

But Gu Jun Pyo.