Lesson #12
Closure is Just A Word
[ If you really want closure…at some point, you have to shut the door. - Jacki Wells Wunderlin ]
Ga Eul shuts the door quietly.
Today is a good day. Kids from the Pediatrics Ward loves her organic Onion Soup and on top of that Lee Min Jin even asked for a second serving. As she push the now empty food cart, a wide smile on her face is very visible, thinking tomorrow maybe she can bring some old clay and play with the kids. She's sure they will love that especially Min Jin. Big thanks to Yi Jeong, the teenage girl had now soften up to Ga Eul.
Ga Eul can finally accept the fact the Yi Jeong is indeed a man of many talents but she chuckles at the thought of the potter at the kitchen, sporting an apron and concocting edible arts. That would be a miracle if they really turn out edible.
"Well someone is definitely happy. Is it because of a certain famous potter?"
Yoon Ji Hoo joined Ga Eul as she push the cart along the corridors of the hospital.
"Ji Hoo sunbae." she greeted with a broad smile and a hint of blush. How come this doctor's good at reading thoughts?
He got good eyes too because he noticed her faint blush. "It's true then." he said with a playful smile that can always make the nurses faint faster than the patients.
"Just so you know, it's not just Yi Jeong sunbae I was thinking about." Ga Eul said defensively.
"Did I mention Yi Jeong's name? I said 'a certain famous potter'. There are lots of famous potters around the world, Ga Eul-yang."
Ga Eul opened her mouth to counter his comment but he beat her to it. "But obviously it was Yi Jeong you were thinking, you said so yourself." he grins at her. Yi Jeong's right, it's fun to tease Ga Eul.
She can never win with Ji Hoo, Ga Eul knows that too well. She just sighed and glared at him as he laugh at her expression. They passed the Nurse Station and as usual whispers followed. Ji Hoo and Ga Eul paid them no mind, the former's used by the attention he always gets and the latter got used to it as well since the Museum's anniversary.
It was not secret to her that she's the trending topic in the hospital because of her rich and famous friends. At first she's scared of it but since most of the rumors are true, she learned to just ignore the gossiping around her. They can gossip all they want, it will not harm her.
This is the very reason why Ji Hoo made sure to check up on Ga Eul at least once or twice everyday. His potter best friend asked him to keep an eye on her in case she will be bullied or harassed by the gossipers. Ji Hoo willingly obliged. Ga Eul is like a little sister to him and of course he knows how Yi Jeong cares about her the most even though the latter doesn't realized it yet.
"I heard you're going to sing at the wedding." says Ji Hoo as they ride the elevator.
Ga Eul gasped. "Who told you that sunbae?!"
"The very same potter you were thinking about." he said playfully.
"Aish! I told him I'm not decided yet." she said, stumping her feet at the elevator flooring.
"But you're getting private music lessons from Yi Jeong's aunt, right?"
"Yes but I still don't think I can-" she gasped again. "Did you say Yi Jeong's aunt?!"
The doctor nodded. "His aunt from his mother's side."
Goodness gracious! She had no idea! Can't their family be more talented? If even one of them turned out talent-less that means it's the end of the world!
Ji Hoo only laughed at her shocked expression. These two best friends are truly the F4's living entertainment. The elevator door opens, it's his floor. He stepped out leaving Ga Eul behind but before the door closes and he held his hand for it to remain open.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Can you pass a message to him from me?"
"It's possible. It's rare but it's possible. Those are Ji Hoo sunbae's exact words."
The message had been relied. Ga Eul and Yi Jeong are having dinner at Lavander Hotel-Shinwha's newest branch in Seoul. It was Yi Jeong's turn to treat Ga Eul and he decided to bring her to a world class multi-cuisine restaurant in hopes of erasing the traces of his chipmunk cousin's cooking skills in her memory.
They were tasting the delicious wonders of France when she remembered the message Ji Hoo passed on her.
"Huh?" Yi Jeong didn't get the message at all.
"I asked him what it means but he said you would understand." she said.
He turned his gaze at the marvelous chandelier in the ceiling, rummaging his brain what his genius best friend meant with those words but his brain disappoints him. He glanced back to Ga Eul who's drinking her strawberry champagne when it hit him.
"Hangover!" he said it so suddenly Ga Eul chocked on her drink.
"I'm sorry, Ga Eul-yang." he said, reaching out his hand to wipe the spilled liquor in Ga Eul's lips. He felt her body stiffen from the gesture but then she relaxed again. It was then his turn to stiffen from the softness of her lips. He pulled his hand back and hide it under the table pinching his thigh, he can't afford to blush right now. Since Ga Eul knew he's bringing her to some expensive restaurant, she initiated to dress up for the dinner. She had her hair in soft curls, little make up on and completed with an elegant dress. This is not helping Yi Jeong's battle with himself.
"You figured out what the message was about?"
"Yes."
Ga Eul looked at him with raised brows, waiting for him to explain but he chooses not to confined it with her. There are some things only for the boys. She pouted when he said it's nothing but didn't push to pry. It's not her business anyway, she's just a messenger.
They continued exploring different cuisines and enjoying each others' company when she suddenly gasped, looking straight behind Yi Jeong. He followed her gaze and there across the glass walls of the hotel restaurant is Ga Eul's ex boyfriend with a new girl. His arms are snaked on her impossibly thin waist as they walk towards the hotel's front desk.
"Uhm sunbae…"
Yi Jeong turned back to Ga Eul. He's expecting to see her tears again but to his surprise and great delight, they don't show any sadness anymore. In fact she's smiling.
"Is it okay if I leave you for a moment?"
"Why? Where are you going? We're haven't gone to Japanese cuisine yet." his voice panicking. He will not let that pig ruin their night like this. He will do anything to let Ga Eul know he's here for her, as cliche as that sounds but he doesn't care.
"I'll be back. It won't take long." she said calmly. "I just needed to talk to him."
Yi Jeong wants to scream no but the calm expression on Ga Eul's face is keeping him from doing so. At the back of his mind he knew she needed to do this. Unwillingly, he nodded his head, sighing in the process. Ga Eul smiled at him again before standing up and head to the elevator as the couple just rode one.
It's taking all of Yi Jeong's will power not to rush to that bastard's face and introduce him his fists and his expensive shoes but with difficulty, he controlled himself. Ga Eul needs to do this. This is the closure she needed.
He checked his watch, it's been two minutes since Ga Eul followed them. When the long hand of his wrist watch passed the number 12 again, he had enough. He stood up and rush to the front desk . Closure be damned!
She caught up with them before they reach their hotel room.
"Goon Su Pyo." she called, surprised that the pain she felt few months ago is not there anymore, in fact she doesn't feel anything at all towards the man who broke her heart twice.
Su Pyo turned at the call of his name as well as the lady beside him. His eyes grew wide upon seeing his ex at the same hotel he painstakingly booked just to impress this model in his arms.
"What do you want?" he asked irritatingly. Ga Eul walked closer and stopped in front of them. He almost didn't recognize her, she's never been this pretty before.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"What for? We're through. Get over me already!"
"I'm not here to beg you to take me back. I'm way over that. I'm here to talk to you about your lifestyle."
"My what?!"
"I know you love the attention the ladies are giving you but you should know that a woman's heart is not a play thing." she said confidently. She prefers it if his current lady companion is not present when she say this to him but since their bodies doesn't looked like it can be detached from one another, she'll just have it this way.
"You followed me all the way here just to tell me that?" he said with an air of smug and arrogance.
"I happen to be here before you came and when I saw you, I find the need to tell this to you. You should stop doing this, Su Pyo. Does your girlfriend know you're here with her?"
"It's none of your business and stop pestering me!"
"You have a girlfriend?!" Su Pyo's female company asked him, pushing his body from her.
"Are you going to listen to this lunatic? She's just saying that so she can have me for herself." says Su Pyo.
"Hey you! Find yourself, your own man!" she yelled at Ga Eul. "You're good enough to at least attract a middle-aged man on the streets, so leave Su Pyo alone!"
"Jagiya! There you are."
Yi Jeong strides towards them all along smiling at the stunned Ga Eul. He placed his arm around her, squeezing her shoulder a little bit to pass the message that he's here for her.
"So Yi Jeong?!" the woman gasped.
"You again?! What's your deal? And you can drop the act, I'm not buying it. You dumped Ga Eul years ago that's why we got together again so don't pretend that you're her boyfriend now. I know your story." Su Pyo said bravely even though Yi Jeong's presence intimidated him again like those years in that club.
"Maybe it's also a good thing you are here. There's something I wanted to tell you."
Ga Eul looked up at Yi Jeong with pleading eyes, slightly shaking her head. There's no point of arguing with Su Pyo, all she really wanted is for him to stop his womanizing. It's for the sake of women in general. Yi Jeong smiled at her reassuringly, relying through the eyes the message that he will just talk to him.
He faced Su Pyo again. "I wanted to say thank you."
That is definitely not everyone expected coming from the famous potter.
"Thank you for being there when Ga Eul-yang needed someone to hold on to. I hate it that it had to be you but I can't do anything about it now, can I? I want to punch you in the face for breaking Ga Eul-yang's heart yet again but I also wanted to thank you for doing so. Because of it, you had let go of her. She's finally out of your grasp."
Yi Jeong shifted his eyes back to the woman in his arm, to those doe eyes he likes the most. "I can't blame you for something that's originally my fault. It's my fault you needed to console Ga Eul-yang when I left her. I should not have let her go. I should have stop her when she said she's not going to bother me anymore. I should have told her that's not what I wanted. It's the exact opposite of what I want but as the idiot that I am, I let her literally and figuratively walk away from me."
Ga Eul stood there staring at Yi Jeong's eyes. She can see sorrow, remorse and regret in them. Why is he saying all these?
"I thought keeping her away from me is the best thing for her and when I went to Sweden to find myself, I thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted to give her the chance to find her soulmate but deep inside I was hoping it was me and if we really are meant to be, our souls will find each other again."
Are we still pretending? Where are these coming from? All Ga Eul can see is sincerity in his eyes. He looks at her the same way Jun Pyo stares at Jan Di. He looks at her with the same adoring eyes as how Woo Bin steal glances at Jae Kyung. Eyes can tell a lot of things but right now, Ga Eul is getting lost from Yi Jeong's sudden confession.
Yi Jeong broke his gaze at Ga Eul and looked back at the stunned and confused faces of the two in front of them, almost forgetting they have an audience. "So thank you for messing up. You played a very big role in our lives but don't take this the wrong way. I'm only thanking you for this but I'm still itching to obliterate you from this world and don't think that I can't do it because we all know what I'm capable of."
He shifted his eyes to Su Pyo's date. "And you, I don't know you but you're a woman too. You deserve someone better than this scumbag. Any man who brings a woman in a hotel room will never take you seriously, take this from a former Casanova's perspective."
"Come on, Jagiya let's go home."
Yi Jeong moved them both towards the elevator. Ga Eul complied, she's too shock to object. When they got out of the elevator, her senses finally came back but it was Yi Jeong's turn to panic. He can't believe what he just did. He literally confessed his feelings to Ga Eul. Feelings he himself are still uncertain of but he openly declared it like a president declaring an open war to the enemy country.
Of course he meant all of those words he said but now what? How is he going to explain this to Ga Eul? She's going to ask him about it and that's for sure. Will he say the truth or pretend that he just said that because they have an audience? Brain please decide faster!
Before he can make up a decision, two slender arms snaked on his waist from behind. He stopped from walking. His breath hitched and his heart that's already been pounding in his chest almost stopped from beating.
"Thank you, sunbae."
*89*