CHAPTER 27

WOO BIN'S POV:

Looking around the table, it's nice to see everyone together again. I just wish it was for a better reason. Jun Pyo, Jan Di, Seo Hyun, Yi Jung, Ga Eul, Ji Hoo, Saia, Jae Kyung… Where is Boo Ki?

"I thought Boo Ki was coming with you." I say to Ji-Hoo.

"She had to work." He shrugs.

"…Oh really?" Bullshit… She closed last night and opened this morning? She's the fucking manager… She did that on purpose… I grit my teeth in frustration. She needs to be here. Digging my phone out of my pocket, I move away from the table for some privacy. She isn't answering again. By the 4th try she finally picks up.

"What now?" She says irritably.

"You need to be here."

"No. I don't. This doesn't involve me anymore."

"Yes. It does. Boo Ki-ssi, if you don't get your stubborn behind over here in 20 minutes I will have my men drag you here. You are seriously trying my patience."

"Go ahead and try it. It's your men's funeral." She sighs and her voice becomes serious. "Why are you being like this? Please just leave me alone Woo Bin-ssi. Good bye." She hangs up before I can answer and I stare at my phone in surprise. My chest feels oddly tight at her words.

Making my way back to the table, Yi Jung looks at me curiously.

"Is everything alright?" he asks. Of course he would notice.

I clear my throat and nod my head. "So this is what we know so far," I begin. I explain everything, including that we know of at least 5 people in governments around the world who are involved in Isaac Caelum's death. With the assassination of Jean-Paul Dauphin, I believe there is a 6th person in France also involved but we don't know who yet. Plus there may be others involved too that we have yet to discover.

"I think our main goal should be to focus on finding the person in our government that is involved in this. They will have the most information about us and will be our biggest threat." I say.

"Agreed but how do we find this guy?" Jun Pyo asks.

"Do you still have contacts in the government that could help find him?" Yi Jung asks.

"Ani. They have all disappeared. I can only assume that they've already been taken out. What about you Jun Pyo?"

"I'll make some phone calls and see what I can find out." He says.

"In the meantime, you girls are going to have to stay home-"

"No way!" Jan Di says.

"We can't!" Ga Eul protests.

"Ya! I won't be told what to do!" Jae Kyung glowers at me.

"It isn't safe for you girls to be working right now. We can't be using all of our resources to lookout for you. We need to find these guys first." I argue.

"We can't Woo Bin-ssi." Saia says quietly. Ji-Hoo's head snaps towards her and he opens his mouth to protest. "No Ji-Hoo. Don't you see? They don't know we are aware of them yet. If we go into hiding they will know we are on to them. If we keep going about our daily lives as if nothing has happened, then we have an advantage. It may buy us some time to look for them and maybe even draw them out first."

"You want us to use you as bait? I will not let Ga Eul be put in harm's way for anything or anybody-" Yi Jung protests.

"Yi Jung-ah, Saia's right. Plus I am around too many people all day. They wouldn't dare do anything to draw attention to themselves. Nothing will happen to me. " Ga Eul argues.

Ji-Hoo finally stops staring at Saia to turn his attention towards the rest of us. "I won't agree to this unless you girls are never alone." He raises a hand to silence Jan Di before she can speak. "I mean it Jan Di-ah."

"I agree with Ji-Hoo. You girls are too stupid to listen to us so it's best we keep you safe." Jun Pyo says. Everyone rolls their eyes at his comment.

"Do you want to die?" Jan Di mouths at him.

"I can make sure that one of my men keeps an eye on them at all times and it won't take much man power. That will keep the suspicion down and keep them safe while we continue our investigation. As much as I hate to admit it, we do need to let them think that everything is normal. So it's best if everyone also stays in their own homes for the time being. But you girls need to promise us that you will call at the first sign of trouble." I say, looking at each of them in turn. They nod in agreement.

"What about you, Seo Hyun? What are your plans now that you are back in Seoul?" Yi Jung asks.

"Well my parents are out of town at the moment and I'm staying with Ji-Hoo. I'll look into getting my license to practice law here in Korea."

"You're staying for good Eonni?" Jan Di asks in surprise. Seo Hyun nods and smiles at her.

I glance at Ji-Hoo and see his jaw clench but other than that he remains his calm, cool self. We all talk for a while longer about the minor details of our plans until finally Ji-Hoo stands up to leave.

"I need to get to the hospital. I'll drop Jan Di off at the clinic on my way." He says.

"The hospital?" Seo Hyun asks.

"Yes. Ji-Hoo Sunbae and I are doctors now." Jan Di says with a smile. Seo Hyun looks at Ji-Hoo in surprise but he doesn't notice. He is too busy speaking to Jun Pyo. Saia makes plans to spend the day with Ga Eul and Jae Kyung but I manage to pull her aside for a minute.

"Saia-ssi I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course. What is it?"

"I need you to tell Boo Ki what is going on. She needs to be careful. She won't listen to me but I know she will listen to you."

Saia smiles and nods her head. "I'll tell her but honestly she can take care of herself. If anything, they should be afraid of her."

"She's not invincible… What is it with you two? Do you both not see how dangerous this is? She's your best friend! Aren't you worried about her?"

She grows serious and grabs my arm. "Of course I'm worried about her. I guess my confidence in her makes me forget about how much danger she is in. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make light of the situation."

I nod and notice Ji-Hoo watching us closely while Jun Pyo tries to tell him something. "Well I know a way you can make it up to me." I tell her.

"Oh? How?"

Slinging an arm around her shoulders, I pull her close to my side. "Just play along for a second." I say under my breath. Her eyes go wide and a blush stains her cheeks. Saia really is gorgeous. If Ji-Hoo hadn't found her first... I give her my most charming smile and brush her bangs out of her eyes with my hand.

"Woo Bin-ah…" I hear Ji-Hoo say quietly beside me. He sure can move fast when he wants to… I plant an innocent look on my face and turn to look at him. I'm surprised at how calm he looks but his voice is still laced with an underlying warning. Saia steps away from me and hides her grin in his shoulder. She has a great smile. I wonder if Boo Ki's smile is like that?

"What?" I ask with a smirk. "We were just having a friendly little chat." To my surprise, Ji-Hoo actually smiles at me and shakes his head. I thought he would be angry at me.

"You sure do have a sick sense of humor sometimes." His arm slides around her waist as he turns to her. "Meet me outside?" She gives him a curious look but nods and after giving me a small bow she walks away. Ji-Hoo just watches me, his face completely blank.

"At least I have a sense of humor that most people understand." I finally say with a shake of my head.

"…What did Boo Ki say to you?"

How does he do that?

"She still refuses help." I say through my clenched teeth.

"…Why don't you go see her?"

"Huh?"

Ji-Hoo chuckles and shakes his head as if he understands something that I don't.

"What?" I ask. His face grows serious and his eyes narrow at me.

"Don't touch Saia again." He turns and walks away.

Ji-Hoo always manages to notice things that others don't. Many times even we, his best friends, don't understand his cryptic words. But this time I understand his meaning…even though I don't want to admit it to myself. I miss her…

(^_^)

SEO HYUN'S POV:

They have really grown up. I look at all of the F4 around the table in surprise. They are very thorough and detailed in their plans.

Woo Bin didn't say how Saia is involved with this whole situation but everyone else already seems to know. The boys are calm but concerned about their girls. I see how Ji-Hoo looks at Saia. He never looked at me that way. It hurts and it makes me realize even more that I should've never left. I was so stupid. I'm losing the most important person in my life.

He really has changed a lot. I never imagined that he would become a doctor. It's such a demanding profession. He had always only lived for his music and for me. What changed? Why would he take such a dramatic step? He used to keep to himself a lot more too. But now he is more open and attentive. It's surprising. I need to find out more about both Ji-Hoo and Saia. He hasn't known her for very long that much I already know. Why does he trust her so easily? She isn't one of us.

"Yi Jung. Let's have lunch. We need to catch up." I say as I grab his arm. He gives me his charming smile and nods. Ga Eul is spending the day with Jae Kyung and Saia so that gives me a chance to speak to him alone.

"Alright. I don't need to be back at the museum till later this afternoon anyways. We can go to your favorite restaurant. It's been a long time since you've been there."

Yi Jung isn't stupid. I know that he will see right through all my questions about Ji-Hoo and Saia but that is why I like Yi-Jung. He isn't naïve or easily fooled. We were always very friendly to each other even though I didn't approve of his Casanova ways. It's nice to see him settle down but I never thought it would be to such a simple girl. Some things have changed but he will still tell me everything I want to know. We are still friends and I will always be connected to the F4.

(^_^)

JI-HOO'S POV:

I'm exhausted. After a 16 hour shift at the hospital I'm finally home. As I come in the back door, I see Saia's sleeping form in our bed along with a few boxes sitting on the floor in our room. I know that she spent part of the day packing her stuff at Boo Ki's. It would be great for her to be moved in as soon as possible.

At the moment, I would like nothing more than to just collapse on the bed beside her but I drag my feet towards the bathroom instead. Bracing my arms against the wall, the pellets of water pound against my back in the shower and I take a deep breath. My thoughts wander to Saia's words this morning and I know that she's right. We need to go on with our daily lives. I don't want her to put her life on hold and I don't want to change her. I just want to be sure that she's safe. These men are dangerous and we only know a little bit of what they are capable of. I'm determined to protect her this time.

Drying off, I pull on a pair of pajama pants but leave my chest bare. It's too hot for a shirt tonight. Grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen, I make my way back towards the bedroom but Seo Hyun is waiting for me in the hallway.

"You're home late." She says quietly.

I nod at her and move to go around her but she stops me.

"Ji-Hoo-ah I'm proud of you for following in your grandfather's footsteps to become a doctor. I'm happy you two were able to make peace with each other. I think it's wonderful that you decided to carry on your family's legacy. You really have grown up to be an amazing man." She steps towards me but I'm in no mood for her games.

Moving around her, I return to my room and crawl onto the bed next to Saia. Pressing myself against her back, I wrap my arms around her and she stirs.

"…mmm…Ji-Hoo?" her sleepy voice makes me smile.

"Go back to sleep."

"…how was work?"

"Long. Sleep now." I tell her with a yawn and gratefully let sleep overcome me.

(^_^)

TAE MU'S POV:

"She was engaged to Dauphin AND she knows the F4? Why is she still alive?" I shout into my phone.

"We were unaware that she was connected to the F4 until she returned to your country. Our concern was stopping Dauphin. We were successful with killing him at least. The police believe it's a botched robbery attempt."

"How did she escape?" I ask.

"Dauphin's bodyguard helped her get out of France. He's been dealt with already."

"Good. I'll deal with Min Seo Hyun." I say.

"Has Serena Knightly and her family been taken care of yet?"

"Not yet." I say with a sigh. "It's important that we deal with them around the same time as the F4 so that they do not become suspicious of the Knightly's "accident". We need to time everything perfectly so that no one will be aware of what we are doing."

"Agreed."

I hang up the phone and look up as my secretary knocks on the door.

"Sir, the President has invited you and your wife to the Blue House for tea tomorrow afternoon. What should I tell them?"

"I'll accept of course." I say with a nod. After all, I need to become more familiar with the Blue House before I become President in 2 more years. "And get my son on the phone. I want Kang Woo to come with us."

"Yes Sir."