Chapter 21 The Relationships
Disclaimer: I don't own F4 or Jan Di or Ga Eul or everyone who was in BBF drama, but I did create some my own characters in this story.
Okay, out of topic. Does anyone of you read Percy Jackson series? Don't you think his relationship with Annabeth sort of like Joon Pyo and Jan Di? Percy, powerful and dependable but stupid and ridiculous, and Annabeth, smart but bossy and can keep him in line. When I read The Mark of Athena, they remind me of Jan Di and Joon Pyo a lot. Sorry, just want to share something. I'll let you get to the story..
Thank you so much to my wonderful beta, ladyofthedragons1, for editing this chapter. Here it is. Enjoy :)
Ji Hoo was walking out of his car when he first felt the stares from some people who were in the parking lot too. He glanced around quietly. The people around him were clearly trying to stare at him without getting his attention. Ji Hoo frowned seeing this. He didn't understand why they wanted to stare at him all of sudden. He tried not to think too much about it. After all he was a member of the F4. He knew how to handle stares. He was just a little confused about the sudden interest. He tried to make his mind focusing on his classes and some of the patients from the clinic.
When Ji Hoo finally arrived at the professors' office, he found Professor Shin. Professor Shin was one of two professors whose class Ji Hoo assisted in. Ji Hoo greeted him before sitting down across from him. They talked about the plan for the lab for that day. The professors' office was quiet enough and Ji Hoo had to admit that it made him slightly relieved that he didn't feel any stares.
After the conversation with Professor Shin ended, Ji Hoo walked out of the professors' office and headed towards the library. There were some things that Ji Hoo had to prepare for that day's lab. He suddenly felt the stares and the whispers around him. That made him realized that the stares were just from the students. That was why he hadn't felt any stares in the professors' office. He tried to walk quietly without drawing too much attention to himself. However, at the same time he tried to listen to the whispers to find out what was going on.
Before he reached the lab, he finally found out what this whole staring business was about. The students were talking about his date with Eun Jae the day before. It seemed like one of the students had seen Ji Hoo and Eun Jae at the art exhibition. And it had started some rumors. The rumors became gossips within minutes. Some female students even started to talk ill about Eun Jae.
Ji Hoo stopped his steps. He glanced around to find some quiet spot. He found one and pulled out his phone. He went through his contact list, trying to find Eun Jae's number. After he found it, he dialed the number. He waited for the dial tone, but Eun Jae didn't answer. He tried again a couple times, but Eun Jae was still not answering. It made Ji Hoo panic. He was worried that Eun Jae had heard the whispers and blamed him for them. He tried to find another solution when he suddenly remembered someone.
Ji Hoo looked for another number in his phone. He dialed the number and waited. This time after the second ring, the call was answered.
"Jan Di, where are you?" he asked to the point.
"In the car. I'm a little late," Jan Di answered. Ji Hoo could hear the sheepish tone in her voice.
"So, you haven't reached the university, yet?" Ji Hoo asked again. Usually he would've made fun of her for being late, but it was not the time to do that.
"Nope. I'm five or ten minutes away. Why?" Jan Di asked. She finally noticed the tense tone in Ji Hoo's voice. "Sunbae, did something happen? You sound strange," she said, feeling slightly concerned. Ji Hoo grimaced.
"There is this rumor at the university about me and Eun Jae," he admitted.
"What? What rumor?" Jan Di asked. There was a shocked tone in her voice.
"Did Eun Jae tell you about our date?" Ji Hoo asked.
"You had a date with Eun Jae?" Jan Di's surprised tone indicated that she hadn't heard about the date.
"Yeah, last Saturday. So, you didn't know about it? Eun Jae didn't tell you?" Ji Hoo asked again.
"No. She did call me though. She said that she wanted to talk to me about something. That's why we're planning to have lunch together. Maybe she wanted to talk about the date. But, what is the rumor, sunbae?" Jan Di suddenly asked, remembering the right reason why Ji Hoo had called her in the first place.
"There's just this rumor going around the campus. They are saying bad things about Eun Jae. Anyway, the point is I tried to call her phone a couple of times, but she wasn't answering. I'm worried that she has heard the rumors and she's mad at me," Ji Hoo confessed. Jan Di was silent for a few seconds.
"Wow, sunbae. I never thought that you could sound this emotional and desperate about anything," she told Ji Hoo. There was half-proud half-teasing tone in her voice. "You do like her, huh?" she added. Ji Hoo groaned.
"Jan Di, not the point!" he tried to point out. "I just want you to make sure that Eun Jae's alright. I'm worried," he reminded Jan Di.
"Okay.. okay.. I'll try to call her and find out how she is. Later, sunbae," Jan Di said before hanging up the call.
Jan Di stared at her phone after she ended the call. She was smiling imagining Ji Hoo's panicked expression. She wasn't happy about the rumors, but she was happy Ji Hoo could be that emotional about a girl.
"Is something wrong, Miss Jan Di?" Cho Ha Yeon suddenly asked when she saw Jan Di's expression.
Jan Di had woken up late that morning. That was why she asked her bodyguards to give her ride to campus. Hearing Cho Ha Yeon's question, Jan Di looked up from her phone. She smiled and shook her head to answer the question. "Nothing. My friend just has a problem," she answered before turning back to her phone to make a call. It took Jan Di two tries to get through to Eun Jae
"Eun Jae, where are you?" Jan Di asked quickly.
"Hmm.. in the parking lot," Eun Jae answered.
"What are you doing in the parking lot?" Jan Di asked, feeling half-confused half-worried.
"Why do you call, Jan Di?" Eun Jae asked instead of answering the question.
"I got some news about the rumors," Jan Di admitted as the car entered the front gate of Shinhwa University.
"Then, you must know that I'm hiding," Eun Jae pointed out. Jan Di sighed. She had guessed as much.
"We need to talk, Eun Jae. Where are you hiding?"
"I said I'm in the parking lot. In my car," Eun Jae answered.
"Okay, fine. Stay where you are. I'll try to find you," Jan Di said before ending the call. She turned her eyes to Cho Ha Yeon. "Ha Yeon, please take me to the parking lot. I want to meet my friend there," she asked her bodyguard.
"Yes, Miss," Cho Ha Yeon answered readily.
The team drove the car through the parking lot, so Jan Di could find Eun Jae's car. After five minutes circling the parking lot, Jan Di finally saw Eun Jae's blue car. The driver drove toward the car and Jan Di got out right in front of Eun Jae's car. She thanked Cho Ha Yeon and the driver before closing the car door behind her. Jan Di walked towards the passenger side. She knocked on the car window. Eun Jae opened the window and told Jan Di to get in the car. Jan Di sat in the passenger seat and stared at her friend. She sighed and shook her head.
"What is really happening?" she asked. She felt concerned for her friend. Eun Jae sighed.
"You haven't been on campus today, right? Your bodyguards just brought you here," she commented.
"Yeah. I was running late. So, tell me what happened," Jan Di said.
"How do you know about the rumor, then?" Eun Jae asked.
"Ji Hoo-sunbae told me. He called me and asked me to talk to you because it seems like you don't want to talk to him," Jan Di answered clearly. "Why are you mad at him?" she asked.
Eun Jae groaned. She was leaning her head on the steering wheel.
"It's not that I don't want to talk to him. I just didn't know what to say to him. It's a disaster," she practically whined.
"Are the rumors really that awful that they are making you not want to talk to Ji Hoo sunbae anymore?" Jan Di asked more clearly.
"It's really bad. It made me so embarrassed," Eun Jae mumbled. Jan Di frowned immediately hearing this.
"You're embarrassed about Ji Hoo-sunbae?" she asked, gasping. She couldn't believe that Eun Jae would say something like that.
"Not about Ji Hoo-sunbae, but about me," Eun Jae said, correcting Jan Di's assumption.
"What do you mean?" Jan Di demanded.
"Jan Di, I know that it has been awful how they have been treating you. I should've been more sympathetic to you. I'm sorry. I just never faced something like this and it felt really terrible. They didn't talk about me any worse than they talked about you, but it still felt really bad," Eun Jae told Jan Di. She looked really bad. Her feelings were mirrored on her face.
"What did they talk about?" Jan Di asked. She felt a little sympathetic toward her friend. Jan Di knew how bad it could be to become the gossips target.
"They said how unsuited I am to be with Ji Hoo-sunbae. Some of my old friends even talked about how I was in middle or high school. They know that I was not rich back then, so they think that I'm not good enough for Ji Hoo-sunbae," Eun Jae said to Jan Di. Tears were starting to fall down her cheeks. "I never said that I'm suited for Ji Hoo-sunbae or something. I never thought or dreamt that I could be with him, no matter what you said about us. That's why I didn't hope too much about him. I just like to spend some time and have fun with him, or with you guys. However, the way they talked and whispered about me really made me feel down. It's awful," she added before sobbing. Jan Di got closer to Eun Jae and she stroked Eun Jae's shoulder gently.
"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.
"We were just hanging out, you know. Ji Hoo-sunbae got some tickets for this art exhibition," Eun Jae started between the sobs. "And he asked me to come with him. We were just hanging out as friends and the students found out. Then they started the rumors about us. Some of my old friends talked and that made them judge me badly."
"So you regret going out with Ji Hoo-sunbae?" Jan Di asked.
"No, I don't," Eun Jae denied immediately.
"Then why are you avoiding him? You said that you weren't mad at him. Now you tell me that you don't regret going out with him. Then, why don't you want to talk to him?" Jan Di demanded more answers. Eun Jae made her feel confused with the whole situation.
"I said that I didn't know how to talk to him," Eun Jae corrected.
"Why?" Jan Di asked, still not understanding where the problem was. Eun Jae groaned. She looked frustrated.
"I don't know how to face him because we weren't going out, Jan Di. We were just hanging out. As friends. However, the rumors stated that we were more than that. Can't you understand? I'm embarrassed and I don't know what to say to him. I'm afraid that he's the one who regrets inviting me to that art exhibition," she explained.
"Eun Jae, Ji Hoo-sunbae won't do something like that. You don't have to be embarrassed about talking to him," Jan Di said, trying to calm Eun Jae.
"But still.. it will be awkward and confusing. I don't know how to face him, Jan Di. I mean, when you get treated badly or hear bad rumors about you, you can go to Joon Pyo-ssi. You can whine or pout or complain to him. He will try to comfort you. The worst scenario is he may tease you or being insensitive about your feeling. But, you can be sure that he will be there for you," Eun Jae tried to explain. "However, I'm not Ji Hoo-sunbae's girlfriend or something like that. I can't whine or complain to him. No matter how I feel, it just feels wrong to talk to him about the rumors. That's why I don't know how to act or what to say in front of him. It's confusing and awkward."
Jan Di finally realized what the problem was. She finally understood the reason her friend didn't want to talk to Ji Hoo.
"Eun Jae, you should know that Ji Hoo-sunbae will be sympathetic about your problem. You can talk to him, you know. Like you said, Joon Pyo can be insensitive or joke about my problems if I go to him. Ji Hoo-sunbae won't do something like that. He will be understanding about this," Jan Di tried to give her friend advice.
"But I can't be sure about that. What if he really regrets asking me to go with him? What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?" Eun Jae said glumly. Jan Di chuckled.
"I'm pretty sure that he doesn't want to be just a friend anymore," she said teasingly. Eun Jae frowned.
"What do you mean?" she asked, feeling confused. Jan Di smiled.
"It's just the way he talked to me earlier. He really sounded tensed and panicked. It was really clear that he was really worried about you. He was worried that you weren't answering his calls. He cares about you, Eun Jae," she explained. Eun Jae didn't say anything for a minute.
"Maybe he really feels bad about the gossip. Does that mean that he's not mad at me?" she asked, still feeling unsure. Jan Di chuckled again.
"It means that he likes you, Eun Jae," she said confidently.
"No. That can't be possible," Eun Jae replied quickly. "I don't believe that."
"Wanna bet?" Jan Di asked challengingly.
"Jan Di, be serious!" Eun Jae scowled.
"I am serious," Jan Di answered. She pulled out her phone and dialed Ji Hoo's number.
"Jan Di, what are you doing?" Eun Jae asked, panicking. Jan Di just smiled and shook her head. After the second ring, the call was answered.
"Ji Hoo-sunbae, I'm with Eun Jae in her car at the parking lot. Can you come here?" she asked quickly before Eun Jae did something that could prevent her from doing it.
Eun Jae gasped at Jan Di's behavior. She couldn't believe that Jan Di would do something like that.
"Jan Di, stop that!" she demanded while trying to reach for the phone. Jan Di pulled the phone out of Eun Jae's reach.
"Okay, sunbae. We'll be waiting," she said loudly to Ji Hoo who had said that he would come immediately. Jan Di ended the call before turning her eyes back to Eun Jae.
"I can't believe you did that!" Eun Jae exclaimed angrily. Jan Di sighed.
"Eun Jae, you have to talk to him! I'm sure that everything will be alright once you do that," she said, trying to convince Eun Jae.
"But.. but.." Eun Jae tried to argue. However, before she could say more, the window was knocked on the outside. Eun Jae yelped and turned her head to the window. Ji Hoo was waiting outside the car. Jan Di smiled simply. She patted Eun Jae's hand.
"Just calm down and be reasonable. Everything's gonna be alright," she said. "I'm sorry, but I have to go, okay?" she added before getting out of the car. Jan Di turned to Ji Hoo. "Talk to her carefully, sunbae. She feels bad about the rumors," she informed Ji Hoo.
Ji Hoo nodded his head solemnly before getting in the passenger side. Jan Di walked away from the car. She prayed that everything would be alright. She was sure Ji Hoo could calm Eun Jae down. She even thought that Ji Hoo would ask Eun Jae to become his girlfriend officially. Just wait and see, Jan Di thought.
Jan Di had been busy the whole day. She had to do her research at the lab, so she didn't have time to meet Eun Jae or Ji Hoo again that day. She got a phone call from Joon Pyo, saying that they would go to the base camp that night. Apparently Woo Bin thought that all of them should meet. That was why Jan Di found herself at the bus shelter that afternoon.
Jan Di was waiting Joon Pyo at the bus shelter in front of the university. She had promised to meet Joon Pyo there, but he was running late after his meeting at his office. He had called Jan Di to let her know that he would be late picking her up. Jan Di sighed and glanced around the road, trying to find any familiar car that Joon Pyo might use. Instead of finding Joon Pyo's car, Jan Di found other familiar cars. Her bodyguards' cars were parked at the side of the road not too far from the bus shelter. However, she had to admit that she wouldn't have noticed her bodyguards if she didn't know about them. She finally realized that was why her bodyguards had been able to be invisible before these last couple of weeks. Jan Di couldn't see inside of the car, but she knew that Cho Ha Yeon and her team must have been watching her. Jan Di scoffed thinking about it. Her bodyguards were really overprotective of her, but she couldn't really blame them. That was their job after all.
After another couple of minutes, Jan Di's eyes caught the sight of red car passing her bodyguards' cars. Jan Di's focus shifted to the red car and she could see that the red car was really Joon Pyo's Lotus. Jan Di stood up from where she had been sitting. She walked to the side of the road to wait for Joon Pyo to get closer. Joon Pyo stopped the car right in front of Jan Di. He got out from the car and walked toward Jan Di. He threw his arms around Jan Di's shoulder to bring her closer.
"I'm sorry I'm late," he said, kissing her temple. Jan Di chuckled.
"That's okay. I have company after all," she said easily. Joon Pyo frowned. The confusion was clear on his face.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Jan Di glanced toward her bodyguards' cars and Joon Pyo's eyes followed her eyes' direction. "Ahh.. Those are your team's cars," he said, finally understanding. He chuckled too. "Well, at least I know that I don't have to worry too much about your safety," he added, putting his hand on her waist. "Come on, we should go," he said, escorting her to the car. He opened the passenger side door and ushered Jan Di in. After he made sure to close the door safely, he walked toward the driver's side and got in. Then, he drove the car away from there.
After a couple of minutes without a sound, Jan Di finally opened her mouth.
"Why are we going to the base camp again?" Jan Di asked Joon Pyo the same question that she had asked when Joon Pyo told her about the plan before.
"We just thought that maybe we could discuss a few things," Joon Pyo answered.
"Who's we again?" Jan Di asked.
"The F4," Joon Pyo answered sighing.
Jan Di turned her head, smiling. It seemed like the F4 hadn't found out about Ji Hoo. That meant they were in for a surprise. She didn't know the details herself, but she was pretty sure that Ji Hoo wouldn't come alone to the base camp that day. She couldn't help but grin again. She couldn't wait to arrive at the base camp and wait for Ji Hoo and Eun Jae to show up. Secretly, Jan Di felt giddy inside.
After twenty minute ride, Joon Pyo slowed the car down and drove the car entering the base camp front gate. He parked the car between a black Mercedes, owned by Jae Kyung's bodyguard, and an orange Lotus, that was Yi Jeong's car. Besides those, there was Woo Bin's yellow Lotus too. From the cars, Jan Di could guess that Jae Kyung, Woo Bin, Yi Jeong, and Ga Eul had arrived. However, she didn't see Ji Hoo's white Mini Cooper or Eun Jae's blue sedan. Jan Di smiled after she realized that the couple hadn't arrived yet. She wanted to see their arrival and the others' surprise reaction about the new couple.
Joon Pyo put his hand around Jan Di when they were walking toward the front door. Joon Pyo opened the door and let Jan Di went inside first. They found Jae Kyung, Woo Bin, and Yi Jeong in the living room. They could hear that someone was in the kitchen, so Jan Di assumed that Ga Eul was there. Jae Kyung and Woo Bin were cuddling on one of the couch. Yi Jeong was sitting on another couch with a bowl of popcorn on his lap. His couch was facing the front door, so he noticed Jan Di and Joon Pyo's arrival first.
"Hey, guys," Yi Jeong said, waving his left hand while his right hand was still in the bowl.
Ga Eul came into the living room with soda cans in her hands.
"Hey," she greeted Jan Di and Joon Pyo. She offered them a couple cans of soda which Jan Di accepted.
"Thanks," Jan Di said to Ga Eul before giving one of the cans to Joon Pyo. She took a seat on the couch that wasn't occupied.
Woo Bin had his eyes closed and his chin rested on Jae Kyung's head. Jae Kyung smiled lazily at Jan Di. She had Woo Bin's arms around her waist and her back to Woo Bin's chest. They looked comfortable.
"Yah! You're the one who wanted to have this meeting. Why are you sleeping instead?" Joon Pyo asked Woo Bin teasingly.
"Shut up, Joon Pyo! I just wanted to close my eyes for a minute," Woo Bin replied, denying Joon Pyo's accusation.
"Sure, you did!" Joon Pyo said sarcastically. "Where is Ji Hoo by the way?" he suddenly asked after doing a head count.
"He called and said that he would be late. He said he had something to do at the clinic first," Yi Jeong answered before stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. Joon Pyo grimaced, seeing his friend's attitude.
"Why are you eating like that?" he asked, looking slightly disgusted.
"Shut up!" Yi Jeong scowled before swallowing. "You would too if you just had a meeting with my father," he replied, without a care. Ga Eul stroked his shoulder sympathetically.
"That bad, huh?" Joon Pyo asked. He could guess a little of what Yi Jeong had been talking to his father about.
"Do you really need to ask?" Yi Jeong responded harshly, before going back to eat another handful of popcorn.
"What did he say to you?" Joon Pyo asked. He started to feel concerned about Yi Jeong after their conversation. He didn't want Yi Jeong to go through the same trouble as him.
"Well," Yi Jeong started, sighing. "He still didn't want to see reasons. Besides, I'm still trying to get grandparent Joo first. My mother has given her approval and she's helping me with her parents. So, that leaves my father and his parents. And he's still stubborn. I have to work on him more," he explained.
"And you have plan for that?" Woo Bin asked while he was still cuddling with Jae Kyung. Yi Jeong shrugged.
"Maybe. We'll just have to see," he answered sounding uncommitted. Ga Eul leaned her head on his shoulder with her hand around his arm. "We'll make it work. I promise," he whispered to her and kissed her forehead before getting back to his popcorn.
They were silent for a few minutes. Jan Di and Joon Pyo were just sipping the sodas. Woo Bin and Jae Kyung were cuddling. Ga Eul was changing the television channel. And Yi Jeong was still stuffing his mouth with popcorn. Then, suddenly Woo Bin opened his eyes and shifted, so he could sit properly.
"I think we should just start with reading these papers while we wait for Ji Hoo," Woo Bin said, indicating stacks of papers that were on the table.
"Why are we reading about Hwang Q again?" Joon Pyo asked after reading the title that was written on the paper that he had taken. "I thought that Jae Kyung would just work on her parents," he added.
"This is just for precautions, just in case that doesn't work out. We have to find another loophole or something that can be used to persuade her parents," Woo Bin explained.
The others just nodded and took the papers and started to read. Yi Jeong put the bowl on the table reluctantly before picking up another paper. They were just reading in the silence for a few minutes until someone opened the front door. The others didn't turn their heads, but Jan Di did. Like what she had been expected, Ji Hoo and Eun Jae were stepping inside the living room.
"Hey," Ji Hoo greeted them all and caught Jan Di's eyes.
Jan Di smiled. The others just murmured "hey"s without looking up from their papers. Jan Di grinned at Ji Hoo and Eun Jae.
"Hey, Eun Jae," she said loudly.
Hearing Jan Di's words, the others finally looked up from their papers quickly. They stared at Eun Jae with stunned expression. They didn't make a sound and just kept staring. Their stares made Eun Jae fidget on her feet while she stood beside Ji Hoo.
"Hey, Eun Jae," Ga Eul greeted finally coming out of her daze.
"Hey, Eun Jae," Jae Kyung greeted with a smile on her face. It seemed like she finally understood the meaning of Eun Jae's presence there. On the other hand, Woo Bin didn't.
"Why is Eun Jae here?" he asked spontaneously. Before Ji Hoo or Eun Jae could say anything, Joon Pyo opened his mouth too.
"Yeah, why are you here, Eun Jae?" he asked, echoing Woo Bin's question. Jan Di hit the back of his head after she heard her fiancé's tactless question. "OUCH! Why do you do that?" he exclaimed.
"Stupid question!" Jan Di hissed at him.
"No, that's not. I just asked," Joon Pyo denied instantly.
"You're here," Yi Jeong muttered. "Does that mean that you two.." he said, pointing his index finger between Ji Hoo and Eun Jae. It seemed like while his friends were busy being insensitive and tactless, Yi Jeong figured out the real reason.
Eun Jae blushed instantly. She was glancing at Ji Hoo and waiting for him to answer the question. Ji Hoo grinned sheepishly.
"Hmm.. Yeah, we are," he answered simply.
Ga Eul and Jae Kyung clapped simultaneously. "Ohh.. Congratulation!" they said excitedly.
The other boys were gapping at the new couple.
"I thought you just asked her out last weekend," Yi Jeong finally exclaimed.
"Damn, you're fast!" Woo Bin said loudly.
"Yeah. You're fast!" Joon Pyo said, echoing his friend's words. Jan Di hit the back of his head again. "What?" he asked, feeling annoyed. However, he shut his mouth after seeing Jan Di's glare. He gulped. "Congratulations, anyway," he added, being scared of his fiancée. Ji Hoo and Eun Jae chuckled, seeing his scared expression.
"Thanks," Ji Hoo said.
Jan Di stood up and walked toward them. She pulled them both into her embrace.
"Congratulations, guys!" she exclaimed happily.
The others followed her lead and surrounded the new couple. The boys patted Ji Hoo's shoulder and said, "Welcome to the base camp, Eun Jae!"
"Welcome, Eun Jae!" the girls said, echoing the boys' words.
"Come on. Let's sit!" Jae Kyung said.
They all finally took seats on the available couches. Jan Di, Eun Jae, and Ga Eul were sitting on one of the couch. Jae Kyung, Woo Bin, and Yi Jeong sat on the couch across from theirs. Ji Hoo and Joon Pyo sat on the middle couch.
"What were you guys doing?" Eun Jae asked curiously.
"Still on Hwang Q, huh?" Ji Hoo guessed after picking up one of the papers. Woo Bin answered with a grimace on his face and a nod.
"Hwang Q?" Eun Jae asked again. "The car company?"
"You know about them?" Ga Eul asked from beside Eun Jae. Eun Jae turned her head to Ga Eul's direction.
"Yeah, I've heard about them a little," she answered before turning her eyes around the room. "What's with them? Why are you guys reading about them?" she added. The others' eyes went to Woo Bin and Jae Kyung immediately. After all, it was their story to tell.
"Umm.. my parents are planning to make a marriage arrangement for me with the heir of Hwang Q," Jae Kyung answered quietly. Eun Jae gasped.
"With Kwon Dae Gyu? That's horrible!" she said spontaneously. All heads turned to her with naked curiosity on their faces.
"Why do you say that?" Ji Hoo asked the question that all his friends were thinking about. Eun Jae grimaced. She had spoken those words without thinking first.
"Sorry if I offended anyone," she apologized immediately.
"No. No. Not at all. We're just curious why you said that," Woo Bin answered quickly. Eun Jae grimaced sheepishly.
"Well, I just don't think that he's a good guy, you know," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.
"You know him?" Ji Hoo asked, frowning. He didn't like the idea of Eun Jae knowing Kwon Dae Gyu.
"No. Not personally. Well technically, I don't know him," Eun Jae answered. "I just heard a few things about him," she added.
"From where? From who?" Joon Pyo demanded.
"What did you hear?" Woo Bin added before she could say anything.
"I heard from my brother. He went to the same college as him," Eun Jae told them.
"Your brother is his friend?" Yi Jeong asked with shocked expression.
"Well, not really. Hyun Jae-oppa just knew him from school. They never hung out together. They're just.. acquainted, I guess," she explained, not looking too sure herself.
"What did you hear from him?" Woo Bin asked impatiently.
"Guys.." Jan Di tried to remind them to slow down. Ji Hoo looked at Jan Di for a second before turning his eyes to Eun Jae.
"Yeah, guys stop it! Don't interrogate my girl like that," he said. Eun Jae grinned at him.
"No, it's fine. They're curious, I get it," she said, trying to assure Ji Hoo. She smiled understandingly. "It's just there's not much that I know. Hyun Jae-oppa doesn't like him. Well, if I may say, he thinks that Kwon Dae Gyu is kind of a.. jerk, you know," she said, feeling slightly hesitant to say the word 'jerk'.
"Why does your brother think that?" Yi Jeong asked.
"Hyun Jae-oppa didn't say much. He just told me that Kwon Dae Gyu is an arrogant, selfish, ambitious.. jerk. Kinda like a spoiled brat. A mean spoiled brat. If he wants something, he won't stop until he gets it. He will do anything.. anything.. to get what he wants," Eun Jae explained. "And because he's rich and smart and he also has power, there are not many things that he can't do," she added.
The others went silent after hearing that. They were not surprised to hear those things about Kwon Dae Gyu, but hearing them directly made them worried.
"Anything else?" Jae Kyung finally asked.
"From Hyun Jae-oppa? No. That's it. But, I kinda heard that Hwang Q is involved with mafia," Eun Jae answered before chuckling. She thought that the news was ridiculous. The others, on the other hand, looked shocked immediately after hearing that.
"What? Where did you hear that?" Woo Bin asked instantly. Eun Jae looked surprised seeing the others' expression. She chuckled warily.
"Guys, that's just a joke between my father's employees," she admitted.
"What? How are they connected to this?" Joon Pyo asked.
"Well, some of my father's employees have been working for him since I was a kid. So, when I would come over to the office, sometimes they would chat with me. You see, Kwon Dae Gyu, or his family at least, usually orders around twenty or thirty crates of beers once a month. One of the employees whom I chat with is the driver. He told me.. jokingly of course, that he thought that every time he delivered the beers, there was some kind of mafia convention or something," Eun Jae explained. She chuckled again nervously.
"Why did he think that?" Woo Bin asked, looking confused.
"He said that every time he went there, there were many black cars and many men in black suit," Eun Jae replied. Woo Bin was silent and looked like he was deep in thought.
"Once a month, huh?" he muttered, but everyone could hear that.
"Pretty intense, don't you think?" Yi Jeong said, commenting about the mafia meetings. Eun Jae was staring at the two guys warily.
"Hmm.. Woo Bin-ssi, Yi Jeong-ssi, that was just a joke. The driver was just joking," she said nervously.
"Eun Jae-ya, that's not a joke. They really have connections to the mafia," Ji Hoo informed her kindly. Eun Jae's jaw hit the floor. She was gapping for a minute.
"You're joking," she said to Ji Hoo. However, the serious look on Ji Hoo's face made her realized the truth. "You're not joking," she breathed the words.
"Do you know about Kwon Dae Gyu's sister?" Yi Jeong asked her. Eun Jae shook her head.
"No," she replied simply. "Like I said, Hyun Jae-oppa didn't like Kwon Dae Gyu, so he didn't know much about Kwon Dae Gyu's family," she elaborated.
"Well, she's married to a Japanese man, named Akira Takazawa. And we found out that he was an heir of a mafia clan," Joon Pyo explained to her.
Eun Jae's jaw hit the floor once again. "Wow, that's.. I don't know what to say to that," she said. "Why would Jae Kyung-unni's parents want to have an arrangement with that kind of family?" she asked wonderingly.
"Well, let's just say that they gave Jae Kyung's parents a good offer," Woo Bin answered. He still looked like he was thinking about something else.
"Then, why can't you give them a better offer, Woo Bin-ssi?" Eun Jae asked curiously.
"It's not that easy, Eun Jae," Ji Hoo said.
"You know, it's kinda weird that you call Jae Kyung unni, but you call us Woo Bin-ssi, Yi Jeong-ssi," Woo Bin said to Eun Jae out of the blue. "It feels distant," he added.
"Huh?" Eun Jae looked confused.
"Hey, that's right," Yi Jeong quipped. "Maybe you should call us sunbae," he suggested to Eun Jae.
"I think you girls should call us oppa," Woo Bin offered something else. "So we can feel closer, you know. Like real brothers and sisters," he added with a grin on his face. Jae Kyung scoffed hearing her boyfriend's statement.
"Yeah," she started. "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with your obsession to have a little sister," she said sarcastically.
"Woo Bin has what?" Yi Jeong asked, gapping.
"An obsession to have a little sister?" Ji Hoo asked, not believing that fact.
"Yup," Jae Kyung answered, cheekily.
"No way!" Joon Pyo exclaimed. He was staring at Woo Bin, waiting for him to deny that statement. Woo Bin, being stared at like that, felt nervous.
"What?" he asked Joon Pyo challengingly. "Sue me! I want to have little sister," he said, trying to defend himself.
"You never told us that," Yi Jeong pointed out, chuckling.
"Yeah," Joon Pyo agreed. "How do you know about this anyway, monkey?" he asked Jae Kyung.
"Are you kidding me?" Jae Kyung snorted. "The first random question he asked me after we started dating officially was whether I had a little sister or not," she said trying to humiliate Woo Bin more.
They were silent, being stunned, for a few seconds until Jan Di shook her head.
"But.. but still.. what does this have anything to do with what you want us to call you?" she asked, getting back to the real point. Woo Bin's mouth gapped open hearing the question.
"Well, I can't have blood related little sister officially. I don't have one and neither does Jae Kyung. You girls are the closest things I get to little sisters," he said, trying to explain his reason.
The boys chuckled, but the three girls stared at him with surprised expression on their faces. After a minute, Eun Jae finally talked.
"That's kinda sweet," she commented. Ga Eul smiled.
"Yeah, that is sweet," she agreed. Woo Bin grinned.
"So, you girls don't mind to call us oppa?" he asked, looking giddy. Jan Di chuckled, seeing Woo Bin's attitude.
"Yeah, sure. It's gonna be awkward at first, but it's fine, I guess," she agreed.
"Yeah, no problem," Ga Eul said, echoing Jan Di's words.
Jae Kyung just smirked and shook her head, hearing the girls' agreement. Eun Jae shrugged.
"I already have an oppa, so I think it's no problem with adding.. three more," she said, looking around the room to see the boys' faces.
The boys just raised their eyebrows at first before they finally smiled.
"Sounds good to me," Yi Jeong agreed nonchalantly.
"Yeah, that sounds fine," Ji Hoo agreed while Joon Pyo just nodded his head as a sign of agreement.
After a few minutes, Eun Jae finally asked again.
"So what are you gonna do about Kwon Dae Gyu, Woo Bin-s.. hmm oppa?" She slipped slightly when she said the name.
Woo Bin smiled nonetheless. It seemed like he was truly happy being called oppa. "Well, I have friends looking for other things that maybe can help us. But, for now, we'll just wait and lay low," he answered.
A/N: So, what do you think? Hope you like it ;) I really apologize because I didn't write about the actual moment when Ji Hoo and Eun Jae got together. I'll let you to imagine by yourself about that one.
Special thanks for the people who commented for the last chapter. Male1248/Marce, iamsunshine18, veeegeee, ladyofthedragons1, lorafairy, Yhangbelle, Camy, Guest and ritz2012. Thank you so much guys.. You're awesome..
Thank you for your time. Please don't forget to write comments for this chapter in the box below, so I can find out what you think about it. Next is The Surprise. See ya..