Jae Kyung was slightly terrified. She hadn't been planning anything special for the day until she received a call from Woo Bin to come to the studio. It was odd for Woo Bin to say anything because the studio didn't belong to him. He was the friend of the studio and nothing more. But since he had called her first, she had showered and gotten ready so she could go meet him.
She stopped by Starbucks and picked up two coffees and a few pastries to share. She hadn't hung out with Woo Bin since she had returned to South Korea a few months ago. Woo Bin had always been out of reach because he hadn't been interested in her. She remembered him and Yi Jeong trying to get her to break up with Jun Pyo when they were engaged. She had worn them out by shopping and dragging them to eateries they would never frequent. Since she had left, they hadn't kept in contact.
But there was something that Yi Jeong and Woo Bin valued more than her friendship. They were gentle men when it came to the fairer sex but one person had taken all of that and warped it into something much stronger. If all of F4 were here, and the three wives, this family would be at its full strength. Then there were the three brothers that had been adopted in. Cho Min Ho and Kim Junho and Junsu had been brought into the tight knit family because they were good men and Eri loved being around them. They were usually the first line of defense before all of F4 united. They weren't minions of F4 like people thought they were. They were family.
She stopped outside the studio doors and stared at it. Inside was the one place where the family was at its strongest. It was the one place where every emotion was laid bare and everyone could say what they were feeling through art. It was covered in paint and clay and whatever else they used in there. They were calmest in that room.
She opened the door and ventured in, calling for Woo Bin. The man didn't answer so she walked on in. Woo Bin looked over his shoulder as she dropped her bag to clean table and ventured forth. He shook his head when she offered him some coffee then looked forward again.
Eri was sitting on the floor with a huge piece of Plexiglas towering over her. The top half was etched and painted. She was working on the other half slowly. She had a bandana tied over her head to keep the paint out of her hair as she worked. Her hands were steady as she dipped the brush in the paint then pulled it across the glass.
Woo Bin pushed off the table and strode out of the studio, leaving the women alone. Jae Kyung gaped after him as he left. She was going to be alone with a woman who couldn't care less if she liked her or not.
Eri finished and sat back to look at the work she had just completed. She looked up and double checked everything that was drying to make sure there weren't any white spots. Satisfied she stood up. She was covered in paint but she never looked more attractive, and Jae Kyung wasn't interested in women.
"You came," she said as she set the paint can down on the table.
"Woo Bin called and said he wanted to meet up," Jae Kyung muttered.
"He called on my behalf. I wanted to meet you but since I can't hear, he called. Please sit. I have the studio for the day. Since you're here, Min, Bin and Yi can take the day off."
"Do you have to have a chaperone?"
"Until I pass my hearing test, yes. They're afraid that if I'm alone here, something will happen." She looked at the second coffee in the woman's hand. "Is that for me?"
Jae Kyung looked at the cups in her hand. "One was for Woo Bin, but since he's gone, it's yours."
Eri nodded and took the cup then pulled herself onto the table. She swung her legs as she stared at the glass. "What do you see?"
The other woman looked at the glass. The colors were vibrant, making the black stand out. The black was used as a border and was dispersed about the glass. Red, yellow, green, blues, pinks, gray, and white covered the glass in an array. A starburst array is what it looked like.
"It's a universe," she said. "I see stars, galaxies of stars. It explodes as it goes outward but on the inside there's a black hole where no light can penetrate." She looked over at Eri to see a slight smile on her face. "What?"
"The black hole represents all of us. There're twelve adults, hence the twelve huge stars. The cluster is all of us, united by choice and thrown together by chance. We glow bright as a unit. The saying goes united we stand, divided we fall." Eri tilted her head. "That black hole is everything we feel. There's no light, no wind, just swirling emotions that can be accessed from time to time. It's like a glass box, only it's dark and cold."
"Are you dark and cold? Is that how you're feeling right now?"
She thought a moment then shook her head. "No. I haven't been dark and cold for a while. Dimmed and chilled maybe from time to time, but never dark and cold. I don't have the luxury to be dark and cold. My family needs me too much for me to do that."
"Do you ever talk to your parents?"
"No, I'd rather not. I haven't spoken to them in four years. There's no point when it just upsets us all. My kids have grandparents that love and cherish them. I won't mess with them. That's one thing that will make me lose my temper."
Jae Kyung handed her the bag of pastries and they ate in silence as they stared at the drying artwork. This wasn't as awkward as she thought it would be. The other woman was calm and relaxed today. It seemed she had gotten over her hatred, if it could be called that.
"Have you thought about Min Ho?" she asked suddenly. The heiress looked at her. "We set you up so Min Ho could forget about me. Now, how do you feel about him?"
"He's a good man," she said without thinking.
It was an instinct. She never lied about people and their emotions. Min Ho was a good man. He was kind and thoughtful but fierce at the same time. He was all man he rivaled Woo Bin. She had been close enough to him to smell him, and he had that musk of man. He was an emotional artist but he didn't lash out unless he needed to do so. He was loyal and diligent with a kind spirit.
"By the look on your face I can tell you like him," Eri said. She slid off the table and padded to the kiln room. She returned with a group of canvasses and handed her the first. "He painted this not too long ago. He was in a particularly foul mood when he did so."
The canvas was black on its borders, but on the interior it was the moon. A perfect sphere that had the dips and valleys of the real moon. Behind it were the sun's rays in vibrant yellows and oranges. It was a solar eclipse, the moment when the moon passes over the sun and blocks it for a time. His sunny exterior had been eclipsed by something dark.
"He always dates his work. This was the day after you showed up here at the studio, the day he first met you."
She handed her the second. This one was of a river with its banks flooded. He had painted the downpour that forced the river out of its banks. But it was the broken bridge that caught her attention. It had been shattered just out of the scene, but she could see the way it floated away from its base.
Jae Kyung flipped it over. "This is dated after the day I came to your house."
"He wasn't very happy that day either. You were treading on sacred ground in his view."
The third one was dated the day after the amusement park. Fear was evident in this one. She remembered she had forced him to go on a ride he hadn't wanted to. He had yelled at her afterwards but then had become human again after she had sat down and talked to him.
The fourth one followed closely after the fourth. It was the day she had come to visit the studio while Eri and Yi Jeong had worked. It was the day she had finally realized how close F4 had become due to that woman. She was kind and gentle but firm. She was the one everyone clung to when they needed strength. She had seen the way Eri treated her brothers even though she knew nothing about their feelings for her. Junsu and Junho were now considered her family no matter what anyone said.
"He and I aren't too different. He understands his emotions and puts them down on the canvas. I sometimes don't understand mine or anyone else's but it doesn't matter. It always ends up here." Eri tapped the canvas on the table. "It's how I know how he feels. I don't have to hear it. I can see it."
"He looks up to you. He thinks you hung the moon and stars," Jae Kyung said.
"I think he's pretty great too, but he's my little brother. I'll never see him as anything more. But you on the other hand can. He can rely on you."
"He won't give me the time of day."
"Oh on the contrary. Song Construction is hosting a party in two days. All of Min Ho's family has been invited. His father So Un will bring his wife Lee Mae Lin. His eldest son Oh Rin will bring his wife Lee Sung Ji, ex-girlfriend of Min Ho. Cha Ohn will be with his fiancé, and Min Hae will bring her husband Choi Tae Min. I will be going with Woo Bin, obviously, and the rest of F4 will be in attendance. Junsu and Junho will be there as well. Min Ho has been invited."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because Min Ho's family will try to embarrass him. He's an artist instead of a business man. They look down upon him for it. He won't say anything to them, but if you were to be his date, they can't say anything to you."
"What if they tried?"
There was an evil glint in the other woman's eyes. "No one would go against me, wife to the VP and mother to the heir of Song Construction. Plus I have F4 at my backing. Have you ever seen the full force of eight men and women when they are united in one cause?"
"Let's not forget the twins."
"Of course not. Make sure you wear something nice. We're all going to be jaw dropping, especially me. I need women who look as equally dashing."
"You sure are hateful when you need to be."
Eri shook her head. "No, I'm just a better negotiator. Don't tell Min Ho. He'll fight me, and I'd hate to have to hand him over to Woo Bin and Yi Jeong to get what I want. He won't stand a chance with them. I'd hate for them to get into a fight, because Woo Bin will beat the hell out of him just to give me what I want."
Jae Kyung knew it was true. Woo Bin would do whatever Eri wanted and beating Min Ho was one of them. He would rough him up a little then put him in the best clothes available to parade him around the group of people. Then Eri's plan would come into play and everyone would never say anything again. She really was a devious little minx when she needed to be.