It had been a few days after they returned from their trip, and Ga Eul was tired of seeing her friend that miserable. She and Jun Pyo had stopped talking. But that wasn't the worst of it all. According to Jan Di, he announced to the whole school that he was cutting Ji Hoo out of the F4. Jan Di spent the last few days only complaining about Jun Pyo, and how he gave her no chance to explain. And she was right. But Ga Eul felt that a huge part of his aggression came from Ji Hoo's passiveness in defending their situation. It felt like Jan Di was the only one trying to prove her innocence while Ji Hoo was just a bystander. Jan Di didn't necessarily say it out loud, but it was obvious. She could tell from the way he looked at the couple that he was envious of them. Despite his innocence, he never put up a fight against Jun Pyo as if he was guilty. He was contradicting Jan Di's efforts.
As a favor to her friend, Ga Eul took on her morning shift. Although Ga Eul preferred working with Jan Di, but she was glad that she was alone today. It was tiring to hear her talk about Jun Pyo all the time. That also meant that she was stuck alone with her boss, and the restaurant didn't do so well that early in the day. After talking her ears throughout the day, Ga Eul was glad that her shift would almost end.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she saw a message from Hong Joon. Her eyebrows furrowed at the screen. He wasn't supposed to arrive this early. He still had a week before he came back. When she didn't reply, he called her. She answered the phone quickly and stepped out of the store, hoping her boss wouldn't eavesdrop.
"Hey, you came back early. I wasn't expecting you for another week." Ga Eul said.
"Yeah, I got bored, so I cut my trip short. It feels like I haven't seen you in ages. Would you like to meet up? Are you at home? I can pick you up." Hong Joon said. She hated when he referred to that house as her home. It was no where near a home to her. But he didn't know that she spent four of the seven days of the week sleeping anywhere but "home".
"Actually I'm about to finish my shift at the store. You can come to the neighborhood, and you can pick me up from there."
"Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Bye." Ga Eul said, handing up the phone.
She didn't want him to know where exactly she worked. She only told him the name of the neighborhood before to prevent any sudden visits to her workplace. He would normally pick her up from a random coffee shop Ga Eul used as a landmark. He tried before to know the name of the store, but she brushed him off. He never asked again because he didn't need to. Ga Eul would usually meet him whenever he liked.
She was standing in front of the cafe waiting for his car. He always arrived earlier than planned, but today he didn't, and that was the only day Ga Eul wished he would have. When the sleek black sedan arrived, and Ga Eul was getting into the car, her eyes locked with Yi Jung. He was walking along the other side of street with a woman on his side towards her. Ga Eul quickly broke eye contact and got into the car hastily. But she knew it was too late as she saw the recognition in Yi Jung's eyes. She swore underneath her breath, not acknowledging Hong Joon beside her. He drove straight away, too fast for her liking. Everything was a blur as she was watching out the window. Her mind was elsewhere freaking out about Yi Jung seeing her. Out of all the places he could bring a woman on a date, why did he have to choose this neighborhood. Ga Eul damned her luck. It wasn't necessarily a secret that she met Hong Joon. She didn't like to be seen with him, but she didn't go out of her way to hide it either from anyone except Jan Di. She didn't like the consequences of Jan Di knowing, and Yi Jung was somewhat close to her. If Yi Jung tells her, it wouldn't take long for Jan Di to put two and two together and realize that the car belonged to Hong Joon.
Her mind was running faster than the car, and she turned the volume on louder on the radio to overpower her consuming thoughts. She could feel Hong Joon's confused glances at her, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
She was laying on the couch of the garage she worked at. It was shabby, and they didn't get many customers. She barely even saw her boss as she only worked on the weekends. So most of the time the place was all for her. She knew that the place was bound to be shut down one day as even its owner didn't care for it. He had his other high tech garage to care for. Leaving Ga Eul to roam around as if it were her own. Back then, it was the only place that accepted a high school girl that had minor experience. She had improved greatly by now, but she had already developed an attachment to the place. Not to mention, no other place would give her so much freedom in terms of working hours and letting her crash into the night.
She kept thinking about Jan Di, Jun Pyo and Yi Jung. For the first time, she didn't think of her sister after meeting up with Hong Joon. Her mind kept sailing away with terrible scenarios. Both for her and Jan Di. she was so caught up in her head that she didn't work on the ancient car she was supposed to work on, or more correctly what was left of it. Fixing a car like would take more money than it originally cost. It was a mustard yellow car. The kind a grandfather rode in the 60's. Its model was cheap even then. The only logical reason someone would want to revive it was sentiment. Maybe it was more than a car to its owner. He already spent so much on new parts for it. She got up and started to work hoping to clear her mind.
After spending hours on the car, she was worn out. She called it quits for the day. There was no way a car like that could be finished before three months. If the customer went to a more professional workshop, he might've gotten it sooner, but she guessed he could only afford the price of the parts, so he compromised on which workshop he went to. It wasn't that she wouldn't be able to do it, but a car like that needed someone a bit more professional. The car was proving to be a challenge every weekend.
She had already settled on spending the night in the workshop. As she started to drift into sleep on the couch, her nightmares came in full force. Her sleep was colored with images of a bloodied Chun Ja with her head dangling from her upside down car. She was woken up several times into the night by the horridness of the dream. It wasn't the first time nor the last. It was only an image created by her treacherous mind. She never saw the real accident, but everyday it felt real.
Ga Eul couldn't tell which was worse. The screaming pain in her neck or the headache she was getting from Jan Di. She couldn't take another day of this, and after their morning shift ended, Ga Eul had already made up her mind. She had to talk to Jun Pyo and talk some sense into him since no one apparently would. Ga Eul knew that in the end they both were in love, so a wake up call was long overdue. A part of her also wanted to meet Yi Jung, and she knew the F4 almost always hung out together. She had to make sure he wouldn't tell Jan Di anything. The problem was she had no idea where to find them, so she decided to pull some of her own strings. To be exact, they were her sister's, but she was borrowing them for a minute. She contacted one of her sister's old friends. She was one of the only of Chun Ja's friends that would respond. After a few polite greetings on the phone, and the usual pity she got, she was able to find her answer. The F4 had a—not so secret to pretty girls—den. Chun Ja's circle was exactly the kind that could get involved with the likes of the F4. Pretty and rich. But not rich enough to have a serious relationship with. Just for fleeting entertainment. Ga Eul was sure she would find them there, and she got her desired location.
It wasn't hard to pin the location down, and Ga Eul found herself in front a security guard at the door of their den. He eyed her speculative eyes before allowing her to pass. He probably thought that she was one of their girlfriends. She did fit the age range. Their den was underground, so Ga Eul climbed down a few stairs before she reached it. It was vast and extravagant. The place smelled like a mix of men's perfume and rich leather. On the far end of the den was a pool table where Woo Bin and Yi Jung were "teaching" some girls how to play. Jun Pyo was sitting on a couch playing playstation completely immersed in the game. Ga Eul imagined that this place was every guy's dream. Even she found herself tempted to just hang out in one of the—what she imagined to be comfortable—leather chairs.
Her thoughts were cut short as she realized the conspicuous eyes on her as she fully entered the den. Jun Pyo was the first to acknowledge her.
"What are you doing here? How were you let in the first place?" An enraged Jun Pyo asked.
"That doesn't matter. I'm here to talk about Jan Di." She said as she took a seat on the armchair next to him.
"There is nothing to talk about."
"I warned you before not to mess up, and you did. Jan Di was going to accept your feelings that day. She told me she felt the same about you, but you got carried away by your ridiculous jealousy." Ga Eul said. She saw the look of surprise on Jun Pyo's face. And maybe a bit of euphoria.
"But that was not what I saw as she was hugging Ji Hoo."
"She was worried about her friend that had just gotten his heart broken. I can't tell you for sure what Ji Hoo thinks, but I know that Jan Di doesn't think of him that way anymore. Don't forget that Ji Hoo was the only one by her side when you gave her that stupid red card before, so of course she wanted to be by his side. You acted irrationally and didn't hear her out. You should go apologize to her, and put an end to this mess. Maybe she'll hear you out." Ga Eul said.
It didn't take long before Jun Pyo took his jacket and rushed out of the door to Jan Di. Now Ga Eul had to face the hardest part.
"Yi Jung, can we talk outside for a second?" Ga Eul asked him. He only shrugged his shoulders then looked at the girl beside him.
"I promise it will only take a second."
Fine." He said as he followed her upstairs.
Climbing up the stairs, Ga Eul thought of what to say. Yi Jung was the one to speak first when they got outside. "I believe you owe me an apology."
"I'm sorry that I interrupted your date, but I won't take long." Ga Eul said. Just as she was about to finish speaking, Yi Jung interrupted her.
"I'm not talking about my date."
Ga Eul was lost for a second before she understood what he meant.
"Actually that was what I wanted to talk to you about. Can you not tell Jan Di that you saw me?" Ga Eul asked.
"What a lack of manners. You should've apologized first before asking for a favor."
"What should I apologize for?" Ga Eul replied.
"Do they not teach commoners about politely greeting people?" He asked. Ga Eul couldn't believe that he was that childish.
"I only greet people I know, and you're technically a stranger. We only happened to meet because of Jan Di and Jun Pyo. Anyway can you not tell her?"
"I had no thought of telling her, but now I'm kind of tempted to. What do such close friends have to hide from each other? I'm too curious to drop it." Yi Jung said, grinning.
"That's a private matter. Can you just do me this favor?"
"I don't do favors for strangers." Yi Jung said as he turned his back to head back into the den.
"If you tell her, I'm going to tell Jun Pyo about your little visit to the porridge store." Ga Eul said, hoping he would just drop the matter and let her be. She didn't want to be that petty, but he left her no choice.
"If you tell Jun Pyo, Jan Di will also hear about it. Do you want Jan Di to know that her friend hid this behind her back?" He said.
"What do you want me to do then?" Ga Eul said, getting bored. Ga Eul hated how much he was enjoying playing with her. She wanted to stop meeting him, but somehow she ended up getting entangled with him every time she tried to avoid him.
"It's only fair to ask for favor in return for one?" Yi Jung mused.
"What could you possibly want from me?" Ga Eul said, her eyes traveling to the door of the den to point out the obvious. There was nothing Ga Eul could ever do that Yi Jung wouldn't be able to get himself.
"I'll have to think about that. I'll let you know when I figure it out, but first I'll need your number." Yi Jung said.
Ga Eul exhaled loudly through her nose before she took his handed out phone to type in her number. She waited until he gave her a call to make sure that she gave him the right number. When he heard her phone ring, he said while a wining smile crept on his face
"I'll call you."
Ga Eul left immediately and went to the bus stop. While she waited for the bus, she cursed him silently in her head. It was wrong to show him her cards that easily, but she couldn't take any chances with him. At least that was better than Jan Di finding out, she thought. She hoped Yi Jung would forget about this whole ordeal. After all, he was a billionaire heir. She was sure he had exhibits and affairs—in addition to numerous women—to worry about other than playing a game with her.