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Summary: When Woo Bin asks Ga Eul for help with 'emergency measure' date, how come Yi Jeong is the one who ends up going out with her? A little story about how Casanova manages to wrangle his second 'pretend' date with Ga Eul.

JUST PRETENDING

III

Ga Eul gulped as she looked up at the museum owned by Yi Jeong's family. It was huge. Huge was an understatement. She had to crane her neck all the way back to see the ceiling. Swallowing hard again, she tore her eyes away from the huge statue at the entrance and looked for Yi Jeong. He was some distance away, speaking to a security guard. Apparently the plan was to lure Jun Pyo and Jan Di into the museum and then lose them. The entire place was so silent that she could almost hear the gentle sighing of the air-conditioning.

She had never been here before. Seeing that Yi Jeong was still speaking to the guard, Ga Eul took a brochure from the counter. Great, there was a map. Yi Jeong could find her later. She wanted to do some exploring on her own. The Archaeological Gallery was on this floor. There were two more levels and she had the whole afternoon to look at the various treasures.

After ensuring that the guard understood his seemingly eccentric request, Yi Jeong turned around, expecting to see Ga Eul waiting for him. Instead, he saw that she wasn't at the spot where he had left her. "What the—" Yi Jeong muttered before starting after her. Where had the country bumpkin gone? If she lost herself in the place the entire plan would go to waste. Whipping out his handphone, Yi Jeong dialed her number only to be told that the number could not be reached and that he should leave a voice message. "Aish! She actually obeyed the signs and switched off her handphone. Couldn't she at least have put it on silent mode?" he muttered, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. "Ga Eul yang, where are you?" He turned the corner and stopped in his tracks.

Her back faced him as she stood in front of a display, under the soft glow of the museum lights. He could see her reflection so clearly in the glass. She was bending down slightly, reading the information panel the museum provided. He could see her lips moving as she tucked her hair behind her ears. Her eyes were wide and took in every detail as she carefully scrutinized the artifacts.

Yi Jeong leaned against the wall, watching her. If he was not mistaken, this was the first time a girl had deserted him for the museum treasures. The few he had brought here were more impressed with the wealth represented by the museum. He had meant to impress them after all, that had been the sole purpose. Apparently such a fact had bounced off Chu Ga Eul's pretty head. She had actually dumped him and wandered off to explore the place on her own. His ego ought to have been bruised but Yi Jeong actually felt absurdly pleased. It was a refreshing change.

Ga Eul had just finished reading the information when she glanced up and saw Yi Jeong's reflection in the glass. He was watching her with an expression that took her breath away. Her knees suddenly felt weak and she looked away, wondering if he realised she had seen him. Was this still acting? Jan Di and Jun Pyo weren't here yet, were they? Gathering her courage, she looked up again and saw that Yi Jeong was still gazing at her with that gentle expression on his face. That was the Yi Jeong sunbae she loved, the gentle man who was hiding behind Casanova's mask to protect himself. She had no idea why he was so terrified of love but she yearned to understand him.

With a start, Yi Jeong realised that Ga Eul was looking at his reflection in the glass. Crap, she had caught him watching her! For one moment he felt so vulnerable, so exposed before this girl who understood him in a way that none had for such a long time. And then his protective shields kicked in. He smirked. "Ga Eul yang, did you expect me to go hunting for you? You're going to get lost in here and ruin my plan."

To his dismay, she didn't get irritated. Instead, she turned around and shot him a smile. "That's why I have this map," she said slowly and with great emphasis. "That's what maps are for sunbae."

Ga Eul yang was standing there, dangling the map between her slender fingers and mocking him in his museum. "Ga Eul yang, it's not wise to make fun of me here. Most of the guards are gone and there's no one around."

"And what are you going to do?" she retorted, arching a sassy brow at him before turning her back and strolling off. "Come on sunbae, there's so much I want to see."

What was he going to do? Obviously this called for some kind of retribution but at that moment, Yi Jeong didn't quite trust himself. The museum was utterly deserted. There would be no one to see him. No one would know if he took her in his arms from behind and kissed her. Knowing Ga Eul yang, she would not be one to tell, even if he crushed her heart at the end of the day by reminding her it was all an act. She was a good girl, she didn't deserve that. He would just have to keep her safe from himself. "Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di had better make this worth my while," he muttered as he slowly followed after the one girl he decided he could not have.

……………………………

At first she wondered if Yi Jeong was upset that she had caught him at an unguarded moment. He didn't attempt to hold her hand or touch her, and things felt awkward between them until she caught sight of Jun Pyo and Jan Di crouching behind a wall, bickering none too softly about who was making more noise.

"They both deserve each other," Yi Jeong laughed quietly as he took her hand. Ga Eul tried to ignore the sweet relief that rushed through her. He was alright now. "Come on, let's lose them." He then led her quickly through a series of passages and corridors before pushing her into the elevator and pressing the third button.

"This is my favourite part of the museum," he said as the doors opened. Without waiting for her, he strode out.

A little puzzled by his sudden comment, Ga Eul nonetheless followed Yi Jeong and in a second, she understood why. A whole section of this floor was dedicated to Joseon Dynasty ceramics. Almost reverently, she wondered from display to display. The patterns were exquisite and wide ranging. No two artefacts looked the same.

Eventually, she came to a stop at the same display he was gazing at. He must have been here hundreds of times, she thought. "Yi Jeong sunbae, how did you come to love pottery so much?"

How could he answer that? It was a gift, a curse sometimes. It was something he could lose himself in when everything else was breaking down around him, something he could control, mould and shape with his hands, something associated with his first memories, with first love.

He had that faraway look again. She had seen it before.

"It's the first thing I remember," he finally replied after a small eternity. "And when it was clear that I had a gift…" He was anointed the heir apparent and his brother left after not being able to bear the competition. Or had Ill Hyun used that as an excuse to run away from their dysfunctional family? Sometimes he thought it was both.

"Did you want to do this?"

He smiled humourlessly. "No one forced me to do this Ga Eul yang. It's something I chose to do."

"It helps you to forget?"

His eyes snapped to hers and there was steel in that dark gaze. "I didn't—"

"I was just guessing sunbae, that's all," Ga Eul interjected softly. "It was just a silly hunch." They both knew she was dismissing the truth for his sake.

Once again she left him feeling winded and defenceless. How did one slip of a girl reduce him to such a state time and again? The first time she had done that was in his studio, where she told him point blank that he believed in true love and that he was afraid of it. It had shocked him that she had seen through the big lie that he had tried so hard to turn into truth.

"Do you think Jun Pyo sunbae and Jan Di know we're here?"

"Ah. Jun Pyo knows I bring girls here all the time. He'll figure it out eventually." He meant to hurt her and judging by the way she turned her head to the side, to hide her face from him, he had succeeded. It made him feel both good and terrible. Good because it affirmed to him that he was the bastard he knew himself to be, terrible because he had to stomp on her to do that. He was starting to get a headache from all the conflicting emotions inside. What was the matter with him?

"Are you hungry?" he asked abruptly. She nodded. "Let's go find those two dorks and lead them to our next destination. What do you want to eat?"

Her favourite comfort food was French fries and a horrendously greasy burger but Ga Eul could not imagine Yi Jeong sitting in a fast food joint with his pristine suit. "Umm…"

"Ga Eul yang, we'll go wherever you want to. It's alright with me."

Fine, he said it. "Sunbae, have you ever eaten fast food before?"

"What?"

……………………………….

His stomach was used to foie gras and caviar. It was having trouble digesting the fries and burger he had attempted to eat. Yi Jeong shifted slightly in his seat. "Please, please don't let me get the runs," he prayed fervently.

Ga Eul was apparently having no such problems. She had wanted to go for a movie and was now absorbed in the romantic comedy that he was not watching. She was even hogging the popcorn, not that he wanted any at the moment.

Idly, he wondered whether Jun Pyo was suffering through the movie as well. But apparently because Geum Jan Di was a closet romantic comedy fan, they were stuck here. Ga Eul was obviously enjoying herself, oblivious to his discomfort and the fact that he was bored out of his skull.

"Sunbae?" Ga Eul suddenly leaned over and whispered in his ear.

Yi Jeong's eyes widened a little. Had the movie affected her that much?

"Sunbae, I didn't want to say this initially but I can't hold back anymore…"

Oh no, she was going to confess her feelings—

"Sunbae, please stop fidgeting. You're disturbing me."

Suddenly, Yi Jeong was terribly grateful for the darkness of the theatre. It hid the deep flush that he could feel on his face. It had been awhile since he had been this embarrassed.

"It's your fault. You made me eat that burger," he muttered and earned an annoyed "shhhh" from the woman next to him.

"You ate it because you wanted to prove you didn't have a delicate stomach," she whispered back.

"You taunted me," Yi Jeong hissed, leaning closer to her face to avoid disturbing the other viewers.

There was an outraged squeal somewhere from the back and it was unmistakably Geum Jan Di. There was a loud chorus of shushes from the audience and a rude "What's your problem?" that could've come only from Jun Pyo. That gave Yi Jeong an idea. He would kill two birds with one stone.

"Ga Eul yang, put your head on my shoulder now."

"Eh?"

"Come on, we want Jan Di to worry about us for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Do it." Without waiting for her to consent, he stretched out his arm and curled it around her, pushing her head gently into the crook of his shoulder. Ah, things were far more interesting now at least.

"Sunbae…"

"Shhh, watch the movie."

Of all the nerve! He hadn't watched more than five minutes of it. But Ga Eul found herself nestling against him. Eventually she was aware of a warm weight atop her head. Yi Jeong was resting his head against hers. Hoping that he couldn't feel the thudding of her heart, Ga Eul quietly ate her popcorn and tried to focus on the movie. At least he had stopped fidgeting.

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed!! As always, feedback is welcomed. ^_^