Disclaimer: We don't own Boys Over Flowers and are not making any money from this.
A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing.
"Geum Jan Di, please take a seat," said the chief financial in charge.
On being called to the financial office, Jan Di had suspected the worst. In hindsight, it shouldn't come as a surprise; ever since she had received the notice of her fee being late, she was anticipating this summon.
"You must be aware of why I have called you here. We still haven't received your entire fee."
Jan Di attempted to compose herself. Her lips were quivering and her legs shaking. After gaining some of her composure, she said, "There has been a change in my scholarship scheme. Due to a change in family income, I had applied for full scholarship, as opposed to the 75% I get. That may have been the reason for the hold up. Once it gets approved, the matter will be resolved."
The lady looked at her sympathetically. Sitting in front of her was a bright and hardworking student, who had earned her place here through determination and diligence. She wished there was more she could do for her, but her hands were tied.
"I understand, Jan Di, but there isn't much I can do. I had already given you a 10 day extension. I'm afraid I can only give you until the end of the week." Jan Di bowed gratefully and made her way to the exit, her mind churning with ideas.
_oOo_
"Plant the golden apple. Do it. The king caterpillar is approaching and it looks mad," screamed Jun Pyo.
"Calm down, Jun Pyo. We can't use the golden apple now. We might need it later when the big wave of caterpillars come. Besides, the golden apple can blow up the front row defense system," replied Ji Hoo.
Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo were engrossed in a game of Apples Vs Caterpillars. It was an online game that Woo Bin had discovered. The participating teams would either be on the apple team or the caterpillar team. The objective of the game was to defeat the flesh eating caterpillars using different kinds of apples. Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo were playing against some people in Brazil who were blowing the duo's pride into smithereens as they had successfully defeated them four times. So engrossed was the pair that they didn't even notice their friend entering.
"Hey guys," greeted Yi Jeong as he made his way to the lounge's kitchen.
"Not now, Yi Jeong," the duo screamed.
All this commotion had woken Woo Bin who came to the living room of the F4 lounge while rubbing his eyes.
"Caterpillars vs Apples. Good choice. So, what's the score?" commented Woo Bin.
After getting no response, he repeated himself.
"Ji Hoo, Jun Pyo, what's the score?"
"No! It's eating everything!" screeched Jun Pyo.
"There's no point. It's a lost cause," sighed Ji Hoo in defeat.
"Woo Bin, can't you see? We were at the final stage. It took a lot of effort to convince ArtilleryAiden65 for a rematch."
"ArtilleryAiden65. Oh how I hate those words. I was unbeatable at this game until he came along. My tale begins on the fateful day of December 25, 2016. I continued my winning streak until the computer had matched me with AA65. After being defeated 65 times, I never played that game again. That 65 in his user-name was added after my humiliating fall from grace. I really miss those apples sometimes," muttered Woo Bin.
"Wow. He already kicked our ass five times," replied Jun Pyo.
"Anyway, I'm going to make myself some breakfast," said Woo Bin as he made his way into the kitchen.
"Yi Jeong, pass the jam please," said Woo Bin.
Yi Jeong, whose head was buried in the fridge, stuck his hand out to pass Woo Bin the bottle of strawberry jam.
"You're making breakfast? Woo Bin, did you sleep here?" questioned Yi Jeong as he began to fill his backpack with mushrooms, butter, marshmallows, cherries, whipped cream, cheese crackers, lettuce, and grape juice."
"Dude. You know much I love grape juice. Leave me some."
"Fine," said Yi Jeong as he poured Woo Bin a glass.
"How come our fridge is stacked today?" inquired Ji Hoo as he entered the kitchen with Jun Pyo.
"Well since I slept here, I had my men pick up some groceries."
"You slept here?" questioned Jun Pyo.
"Don't look at me like that. Since your girlfriend refused to help me with apartment hunting and I had to drop Yi Jeong's girlfriend home, I had to catch the last show of the movie I wanted to see. The lounge is closer to the movie theater so I just slept here instead."
"Apartment hunting?"
"For a friend. She's looking for a place to stay and…"
"Ga Eul is not my girlfriend. She's just a friend. Now, get out of the way I have to go," said Yi Jeong while interrupting Woo Bin.
"Gentlemen, notice how quickly he deduced that I meant Ga Eul from the word 'girlfriend'. Besides, where are you headed?" teased Woo Bin.
An exasperated Yi Jeong snatched the glass of grape juice from Woo Bin's hand and drank it.
"Dude. I bought all those groceries. Ungrateful jerk. Have fun on your date," screamed Woo Bin as Yi Jeong exited the lounge.
" Why do you people keep lying to me? I guessed that he was struck by cupid's arrow when he bought all that ice cream, but he said he didn't have a girlfriend. So is Ga Eul his girlfriend or not?" complained Jun Pyo.
Woo Bin's affirmative nod and Ji Hoo's nod of denial didn't really answer Jun Pyo's query.
_oOo_
This is pretty good," said Yi Jeong as he took a bite of The Soeul Sauté'.
"This completes the 7th item on my list: invent a dish," said Ga Eul as she beamed proudly at her creation.
"So, what's the next item on your list?" asked Yi Jeong.
"Not so fast my friend. Who do you think is going to eat batch 1?" smiled Ga Eul.
"You mean the first dish we made that turned out to be a complete disaster and tastes like shoes?"
"Yes. The one with marshmallows marinated with cheese and grape juice with a mushroom, cherry, tomato, lettuce blend curry."
"Can't we just feed it to Woo Bin?"
"Don't worry, we'll make this interesting. How about we turn this into a game of two truths and a lie? For every question you get wrong, you have to eat some of the shoe dish. If you get it right, your opponent has to take some. Just in case you didn't know, in two truths and a lie, we'll give each other three statements out of which two would be true statements. The other would have to guess which one is the lie."
"Okay, sounds simple enough."
"I'll start. I first baked cookies when I was 5. I'm afraid of the dark. I have been writing my list since I was 16."
"Well, you baked cookies the day you met Jan Di. Hence, the first statement is true. The second statement is false. It's my final answer."
"Correct."
"So, what are you afraid of?"
"Heights, I have to wear a blind fold every time I accompany Jan Di to the roller-coaster."
"So going by your list, that's the fear that we will be conquering."
"We?" said Ga Eul with a playful smirk while raising her eyebrows.
Yi Jeong had diverted his attention to filling Ga Eul's bowl with the dish. Absentmindedly he had added fourteen spoons. Ga Eul was just watching him with an amused expression on her face. Upon realizing what he had done, Yi Jeong started transferring the contents from the bowl back into the casserole until there was only half a teaspoon left.
Ga Eul smiled at the little amount of food in her bowl. There was a reason the man in front of her didn't make Jan Di's blood boil. It was because he cared about her friend just as much Jan Di did.
"Okay, my turn. I once beat up someone. I once cheated on an exam. I'm not found of apples" said Yi Jeong.
"You have never beaten up someone"
"Yeah, I had Woo Bin for that."
"Okay, this one is going to be a bit tricky. I once played the lead in a play. I use to have stage fright. I had my 1st kiss when I was 5."
"Hehe the options on this one are a bit bizarre. The third statement is probably false."
"Nope."
_oOo_
"As you can see this place is fully-furnished. The couch is very comfy and the art pieces have been made by the finest artist of our time," informed Woo Bin.
"You mean Yi Jeong?" replied Jae Kyung.
"I was actually talking about my paintings. But sure...Yi Jeong's pots...if you're into that stuff."
This drew Jae Kyung's attention towards Woo Bin's 'art work' displayed on the wall. She walked towards them to get a better look.
"What exactly is this painting about? It's hard to read the expressions of these stick figures."
"That figure is me in a superhero suit rescuing the damsel in distress, a.k.a Yi Jeong. These two stick figures are Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo who are cheering me on."
"He let you put that up? That too in the living room?"
"We each have a say in what gets put in the living room. Yi Jeong decided to display some pots. He chose poorly. Anyway, so did I make the sale?"
"I can't live in the F4 lounge, Woo Bin."
"Why? You didn't like my room? You can take Yi Jeong's if you want."
"For starters you share this place with three other people. And I started this independent life to prove that I can make it on my own. It would be cheating if I live here."
"Okay. I guess we will just have to keep looking. Anyway, Ga Eul promised to help us over the weekend. Don't worry Jae, we'll find something," assured Woo Bin.
_oOo_
Yi Jeong's eyes leaped out of its socket. He didn't know what to believe anymore.
"Don't be so surprised. There are a lot of people who haven't played the lead in a play."
"Ga Eul, there is a little Woo Bin that resides in all of our brains. Yours is starting to grow. Reduce your protein intake."
"Hold on a second. Come with me," said Ga Eul while laughing hysterically.
Ga Eul led Yi Jeong to her bedroom. It was a small yet neatly kept room. A queen size bed stood against the wall with purple sheets. There were pictures all over the walls. Some of them were of her and Jan Di. Some appeared to be family photos. On her nightstand, there was a picture of the group at the F4 lounge. Yi Jeong picked it up and admired the wide smiles on everyone's faces.
"Where did you get this?" inquired Yi Jeong.
"It was a gift from Woo Bin sunbae," replied Ga Eul as they put it back on her nightstand.
Yi Jeong noticed a "32X32" poster of a guy above Ga Eul's bed. He was wearing a white shirt and a black tie. The poster's borders were decorated with what seemed like a million hearts cutouts and glittery assumed that it was probably some celebrity. To be honest, Yi Jeong couldn't understand her fascination with this man. It was quite clear that he was probably her crush. However, he wasn't even good looking. He switched his gaze towards Ga Eul who was busy looking for something. He then snuck a glance at the mirror on the wall and then looked back at the poster. Thinking that asking about it would be too invasive, he decided to stay mum.
"I found it," said Ga Eul who was holding a picture frame.
She walked towards Yi Jeong and showed him a picture of what appeared to be three kids dressed up in costumes for Halloween.
"That's Jan Di on the left ,as Boo from Monster's Inc. I'm on the right, dressed as Sully. The guy in the middle dressed as Mike Wazowski is our friend, Ji Min. "
"Aww you guys look so cute. Jan Di seems pissed."
"Well Ji Min got hurt while he was playing in the playground. So, I kissed his bubu. Jan Di saw that and wasn't pleased. Later that day, he joined us for trick-or-treating and that was when the picture was taken. Hence, Jan Di's scornful expression."
"That's what you meant by first kiss? That doesn't count."
"I think it does. Ah Ji Min. I hope he's doing well. I haven't talked to him in weeks. Anyway, let's get back to the kitchen."
Ga Eul served half a teaspoon of punishment to Yi Jeong in his bowl.
"Come on. Give me a real challenge said Yi Jeong while taking three teaspoons in his bowl."
Squirming at his bravery, Yi Jeong swallowed his regret as he finished up his bowl.
"Let it be, Yi Jeong. We shouldn't eat anymore of this. We might fall sick. Let's just play. It's your turn."
"I once ate nothing but ice cream for a day. I once failed a pottery assignment. I have flown in a hot air balloon"
"Well, you had told me that you hadn't had ice-cream for a long time. So that one is probably false."
"I never said as a child, Ga Eul," he grinned. "I had nothing but ice-cream yesterday. I have never been on a hot air balloon."
"I thought Jun Pyo sunbae probably took you on one of those."
"You are confusing me with Jan Di. Your turn."
"I once won a mud wrestling fight. I have never pulled an all-nighter. I once turned vegan."
"These options are too out there. The first one is obviously wrong."
"Nope, I never turned vegan," in response to his shocked expression she continued, "Jan Di got into a brawl with a boy who insulted my cookies."
"I can understand that, Woo Bin lives and dies for your cookies."
"Eventually, they fell into mud and I had to help her, Jan Di is really scary in her own right but that kid was huge, so I jumped in. Soon enough, the whole playground had gathered around us screaming, "fight! fight!"
"Okay... Anyway… I have been in a YouTube video. I have been stung by a jellyfish. I can juggle 7 oranges.
"I guess the one about the oranges is false." In response to that, Yi Jeong took 7 oranges and began to juggle them. He did it perfectly.
"I have never been stung by a jellyfish."
"You people have a weird set of skills," commented Ga Eul while thinking about her next statements.
"My turn, I once ditched school. I was once in a relationship for a day. I don't like broccoli."
"Well, you had mentioned ditching school on the trip. I guess the relationship thing must be a lie?"
"Nope."
"Seriously? A day? What did you do, try dating Woo Bin?"
"When I was 5, a guy asked me to be his girlfriend. I didn't know what that actually was and thought it was being someone's really good female friend. Once I found out what it actually meant, I wanted to end it. But then my friend told me that you can't just break up for no reason. I had accepted my fate and mentally prepared myself to marry him. The next day I brought him home to my parents. They weren't home so we were hanging out in my room. I noticed that my goldfish didn't like him at all. So, I had to let him go. He's the same guy from the picture, Ji Min."
"Oh my god! You stayed friends, despite the disapproval of your goldfish?" said Yi Jeong in a dramatic tone.
"Well, a week later my goldfish died. And we were just kids then. Although, Jan Di still claims that he killed my fish."
_oOo_
"Oh holy mother of tacos! What happened here!" screamed Woo Bin as he entered his messed up room. All his furniture was centered in the middle of the room and covered by blankets, forming a fort of some sort. But he paid none of that any attention. His eyes were focused on the wall where his beloved certificate once hung.
"Where is my certificate? Where is it! Yi Jeong!"
_oOo_
"Ga Eul, give it up. You are not going to find the video." After hearing about the YouTube video Ga Eul proceeded to hunt it down. An hour had passed but she still had no luck. She was interrupted in her mission by the ringing of her phone.
"Hello. Are you okay? I'll be right there," she then turned to Yi Jeong and said, with a clearly worried expression on her face, "That was Jan Di. I really have to go. Could you please watch Chin Hae till I get back? Help yourself to the Soeul Sauté," with that said, she was gone.
_oOo_
"Do you think it'll be enough?" asked Ga Eul while pointing to the ensemble of clothes, watches, and other trinkets.
"Well this almost all of the stuff I own. Let us take this to the shop and see what price we can get for this," she said while leaving her University assigned accommodation.
"How much more do you need?"
"I need 1,730,595 Won. So far from tutoring and selling my notes I have gathered 346,119 Won. I still require about 1,384,119 Won."
After walking for 15 minutes they entered a well-kept but small shop.
"Welcome ladies, what can I do for you?"
"We were wondering what price we could get for these things," said Jan Di while putting her backpack on the table so the man could have a look.
He meticulously examined each item, flipping it over several times. Then with a kind smile, he said, "86,529.75 Won."
"How about 230,746 Won?" Jan Di bargained.
"Young lady, I can't go higher than 115,373 Won." Then catching a glimpse of the necklace she was wearing, he said, "That is quite a piece there. It can get you a whopping 5,768,650 Won."
"Are you kidding me? That costs more than all our 5 year rents combined, come on Jan Di. We'll go to a different shop," remarked Ga Eul.
Jan Di took the chain of her necklace into her hand. It was the first gift she had ever gotten from Jun Pyo, but what really made it special was that he paid for it himself with the money he made from a modeling commercial. She was brought out from her musing by the beeping of her phone alerting her to a new message.
"It says my fee had been paid."
"Did Jun Pyo sunbae find out?"
"If he did then we must head back to my room. It must be filled with…"
The girls rushed back as fast as they could. To their relief the room wasn't filled with chocolates and flowers.
"So, looking at the absence of gifts, it probably wasn't Jun Pyo. That leaves the question that who was it?" she asked her best friend.
_oOo_
"So, how have you been?" asked Yi Jeong.
"Cut out the chit-chat mister. We have business to discuss," informed Chin Hae while pointing Yi Jeong to a nearby sofa.
"Name?"
"You know my name Chin Hae. It's Yi Jeong."
"Full name."
"So Yi Jeong." Chin Hae proceeded to note this down in his notebook with crayons.
"What is your zodiac sign?"
"I'm an Aquarius."
"Now this is an important one. Who is your favorite tellytubby?"
"Uhh, I don't have one." Chin Hae proceeded to note something in his notebook. Then, folding both his hands together, he put on a serious expression and asked, "How do you plan to support noona? Being a driver probably doesn't pay much."
Yi Jeong let out a chuckle, "I'm not actually a driver. I am a potter. I auction my work in art galleries. Many art enthusiasts pay me to make pottery for their homes and museums."
"Pottery?"
"Yes, I enjoy it almost as much as I enjoy my part-time job of being your sister's driver."
"Save the sweet talk, mister. So what are your intentions with noona?"
"My intentions with your sister are completely pure. She is the most amazing person I have ever met. Only a fool would have impure intentions towards her."
"That is true. Wait, sit still while I google you. Wait, I don't have a phone and I'm not allowed on the internet. Google yourself," commanded Chin Hae.
Yi Jeong took out his phone and googled himself and then handed it to Chin Hae.
Pointing to one of the images he asked, "This your house?"
"Yes."
"It says here that you're the heir to some kind of business. I have heard that business men travel a lot. How will you find time for noona? Will you leave her alone in this big house with nobody to check for monsters under her bed?"
"I promise you if your sister marries me, then she will be the most important thing in my life, and I would never let any monsters come near her," he replied with complete sincerity.
They were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.
"That must be noona; I guess you are free to go. But remember, I'm watching you."
"Hi, I'm back. I hope Chin Hae wasn't much of a bother."
"Not at all. We just had some guy time. I guess I should be going," said Yi Jeong, winking at Chin Hae while making his way towards the exit.
Around this time, Ga Eul's mother was coming home from the market when she noticed an intruder near her home, hiding near a window.
"Did you hear that Jae? Not once did he deny that he was going to marry her."
Unknown to Woo Bin another conversation was taking place near him.
"I see that Woo Bin person. Near our house. Should I hit him with my basket?" she asked her husband through the phone.
"No, honey. How will you deal with him by yourself? Go in the house and be with our children. Bolt the doors. I'm on my way."
Unfortunately for Il Won, by the time he made it home, Woo Bin was long gone.
_oOo_
Jae Kyung entered the F4 lounge, to find an utterly confused Woo Bin. He was holding a casserole in one hand and a spoon in another.
"This tastes like cardboard. Who in their right mind would put marshmallow, grape juice, cheese and lettuce, together?"
"Let me have a taste," she took a spoon from the kitchen and dug in. "What are you talking about? It's delicious. Marshmallow, cheese, tomatoes. It has 3 of my favorite things." While saying this she took 4 more spoonsful of the dish."
"Hi, Unnie, Hi sunbae. So have you made any progress with the search?" asked Ga Eul.
"Nope. We were waiting for you," replied Woo Bin.
"I may have something for you. My friend Ji Min's neighbor just moved out and he is very friendly with the landlord. I'm sure he could put in a good word for you."
"Can we take a look at it?" asked Jae Kyung.
"Will Ji Min be home?" added Woo Bin.
"I don't know sunbae, but I'll give him a call and ask him to inform the landlord that we'll be on our way."
She dialed the number and waited. To her amazement, Woo Bin was standing close trying to eavesdrop.
"Hello? It's nice to hear from you too. Yeah, about the apartment in front of yours," Then, glaring at Woo Bin, who was trying to press his ears against her phone, she said, "What are you trying to do?"
"No, not you Ji Min. Oh, so we can come now? Thanks. See you."
"Woo Bin sunbae , what was that?"
"I was admiring your earrings. Where did you buy them?"
"Okay….we should get going."
_oOo_
"It's nice. Not the best we've seen, but I can live here. Besides, the rent is lower than the other places we've visited," remarked Jae Kyung.
"You could get a roommate. That'll cut your rent by 50%," advised Ga Eul.
Both Woo Bin and Jae Kyung gave Ga Eul a wide grin suggesting that she would have to help with that.
"Okay. Woo Bin sunbae, you print out some fliers. Jae Kyung Unnie, you put it up on social media. I'll go talk to my parents about holding the interviews at our house. If you find someone you like, we can bring her here and show her the apartment. Hopefully, it won't take too long."
"Alright, girl-scouts. Go! Go! Go!" yelled Jae Kyung.
_oOo_
"So, what do you do for a living? Or are you still studying."
"I'm in between jobs. And I'm a physics major," said a spunky red head who Woo Bin found in the library while he was printing fliers.
"Oh, well, me too I guess. In a way. We already have a lot in common," replied Jae Kyung."
"You see. I don't want to be just someone with a menial job. I want to change the world. That's why I need some time to work on my death ray."
"Death ray?" the trio asked in unison.
"Yes, I won't bore you with the physics details. But the only way to change the world is by getting rid of these sinners and by starting over and rebuilding from scratch."
"…."
"We have one more interview," said Jae Kyung.
"But don't worry. She probably doesn't stand a chance," assured Ga Eul.
"And neither does the human race," whispered Woo Bin to Jae Kyung.
"We'll call you," said Ga Eul.
With that said, they led her to the door and said their goodbyes, to her and to each other.
"What's wrong with you Ga Eul? What if she wipes us out first for not calling," exclaimed Woo Bin.
"Woo Bin, cut her some slack. She's in most danger. She has Ga Eul's address. She'll come after her first," said Jae Kyung.
"I didn't have any other option," argued Ga Eul.
"You can move in with me until the danger has passed," suggested Jae Kyung.
"There's no use. We're next," said Woo Bin as a shiver ran down all their spines.
_oOo_
"You go talk to him," said Mrs. Chu.
"No, you go," replied her husband.
The couple had recognized Woo Bin and was worried that he was trying to abduct their daughter again.
"Do you think he has come to ask her hand in marriage?"
"No, it's too soon for that. She has probably brought him to introduce him as her boyfriend."
They shuddered at that word.
_oOo_
"Hello, please take a seat," said Jae Kyung to their next interviewee.
"Hi. I'm Lee So Eun. I'm a pharmaceutical sales rep."
"Oh? Miss, I have this friend who suffers from severe anxiety issues. Will you be able to recommend something?" asked Woo Bin.
"I may be able to recommend something. But I think it'll be better if you let me talk to his doctor first."
"That would be lovely. It's really sad; he suffers from a severe case of wussism." This earned him a glare from Ga Eul.
"He is just kidding. Anyway, have you brought your credit scores for us?" asked Ga Eul.
She handed the file to Jae Kyung and the trio began to inspect it. She seemed to be quiet well-off. Which led Jae Kyung to wonder: why she would need a roommate? Thinking of the best way to phrase this question she asked, "So, what makes you seek out a roommate?"
"Well… I have many skills but housekeeping isn't among those."
"I understand, they aren't my forte either," said Jae Kyung
"Oh? Then this may not work."
"Don't worry. I'm sure I'll learn with time and I don't expect you to do it all."
"But I do."
"Pardon?"
"I'll pay 51% of the rent and you do all the chores."
"You're kidding, right," chimed in Ga Eul.
"Okay… I'm willing to go as high as 65% but that is my final offer."
"We'll let you know," said Jae Kyung while showing her to the exit. "I think that is enough for one day. Let's meet again tomorrow evening."
_oOo_
The girls had just finished cleaning up in the porridge shop. The trio was assembled in the kitchen.
"When did life get so complicated?" asked Jae Kyung.
"I'll drink to that," said Jan Di while gulping down some coffee. Then taking some porridge in a bowl, she continued, "I have been reduced to eating left-overs. That is how poor I'm."
"Hey, hey, Jan Di-ah cheer up. Don't put a damper on this porridge party. No more sad talk," said Jae Kyung.
"Yeah, for all we know these could be our last days," said Ga Eul while exchanging a look with Jae Kyung.
Jan Di gave her a questioning look.
"Don't ask," Ga Eul replied.
"So Ga Eul, Jan Di, who do you think is the hottest F4 member?" asked Jae Kyung
"What?" both the girls chorused.
"Oh come on. Okay, I'll start. You two could just jump in. Yi Jeong is definitely the most good looking one…"
"But Woo Bin sunbae has the best physique," added Ga Eul.
"What are you talking about? Hands down, Jun Pyo's the hottest. He's tall, handsome and has a pretty decent body."
"Oooh… does he," said Jae Kyung.
"Unnie!" chided a flushed Jan Di.
"Everyone shh! A customer's coming! Put the bowls back," squealed Ga Eul.
"Jan Di, did you eat all the porridge?" inquired Jae Kyung.
"Don't worry, Unnie, I just ate the leftovers from yesterday."
_oOo_
Is it Kim Rae Won? Yi Jeong inspected a picture of a pop-star. No, his nose was too different. The guy in the poster was shorter too.
"Wassup bro," said Woo Bin. "Why are you looking up pictures of celebrities. You have a man-crush or something?"
"It was just a pop up site."
"Really, let me see," he said while snatching the tablet from Yi Jeong and running towards the bathroom.
"What the hell, Woo Bin! Open up," said his friend while banging on the door.
"So, Yi Jeong, why is your search history filled with 'pop up sites'," he said while examining the various searches of 'ugly teenage heart-throbs' contained in the aforementioned search history.
"If you come out, I'll tell you."
Once Woo Bin came out, Yi Jeong kicked him in the shin and snatched his tablet back. Just at that moment Yi Jeong's phone started beeping.
"Why did you set up an alarm?"
"To remind myself that break time is over and now I have to return to work."
"That's how you spend your break time," said Woo Bin.
_oOo_
"I know. There is something mysterious about him. Don't you think?" commented Ga Eul.
"Yeah. I guess. He is perceptive and insightful. That is an attractive quality in a man," added Jan Di.
"Plus, he's tall, elegant and kind of hot," stated Jae Kyung.
"Hey, Jan Di, you said you wanted to talk about something important?" said Ji Hoo as he entered the porridge shop.
"Oh…Ji Hoo sunbae…Uhm…we'll be right there…give us a minute," stuttered Jan Di and Ga Eul while blushing profusely.
Jae Kyung looked at the duo with incomprehension. She wondered why the girls suddenly became embarrassed and red-faced.
"Do you think he heard us?" the duo asked Jae Kyung.
"Who cares? If anyone asks, we'll tell them that we were talking about some other Ji Hoo."
"Like the movie star?" suggested Jan Di?
"I was thinking about the fish-cake vendor. But movie star works too," replied Jae Kyung.
_oOo_
"So, I heard you were looking for a roommate. I'm here to offer my services again," said the landlord of the kitchen come bathroom apartment they had seen, while staring intently at Jae Kyung.
"You are back!" "Wasn't I clear with you the last time!" yelled Woo Bin while raising his fist at him.
"There is no need to get agitated." Then turning to Jae Kyung, he said, "I'm willing to pay the entire rent. I'll even do your laundry," he offered. At which point Woo Bin grabbed him by the collar, "Leave. Now."
"Okay…okay. I'm leaving. Quite a temper this one," he murmured.
"Sunbae, you're scary when you're mad," commented Ga Eul.
Two pair of eyes were watching this display from the kitchen.
"He is so violent. I can't believe our little girl would choose someone like that," commented Mr. Chu.
_oOo_
"So, what did you want to discuss?" asked Ji Hoo while fluffing the pillows in the F4 lounge.
"How did you know, sunbae?"
"Know what?"
"About my fee problems."
"I heard the emergency bell," he said while smiling at her.
"Very funny, sunbae," Jan Di replied while returning his smile.
"Have you heard of Woo Bin's F4 program?" When Jan Di indicated no, he went into Woo Bin's room. On returning he handed her a bunch of applications.
"Wow! What does he do with all these applicants?"
"The winner becomes one of us for a week. The program is very popular. I use these applications to form an information web of sort. One of them alerted me to your situation."
"Sunbae, thank you," she replied with gratitude then with much conviction she said, "I'll pay you back as soon as possible, I promise."
"Oh Jan Di, you are already working three jobs. You need to cut yourself some slack. ."
"Sunbae…"
"Fine, if you really want to pay me back then how about you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Talk to Jun Pyo about this. He loves you, Jan Di. He needs to understand the situation. You have no idea how hurt he will be if he finds out from someone else."
"I'll try, sunbae. It's just difficult. Imagining the look on his innocent face when I'll tell him all that his witch of a mother has done just breaks my heart."
"I understand Jan Di, but he can't give you the support you need until you tell him."
_oOo_
"You're bank statements look good," commented Ga Eul. They had returned to the interview of prospective roommates.
"Yes, I'm very careful with money and being an accountant pays well enough."
"Well, do you have any expectations as such?" asked Jae Kyung.
"Well there is one thing, I love gardening. I'm sad that I'll have to abandon my garden when I move out."
"Oh, how come you are moving out?" asked Woo Bin.
"My roommate is getting married and it is her house so her husband will be moving in with her."
"You seem to be the best so far. Would you like to take a look at my apartment?" asked Jae Kyung
"I would love too."
The four of them sat together in Woo Bin's car and began to speed towards Jae Kyung's new home to be.
However, after about twenty minutes, they were stopped by her potential roommate.
"My old house is just down the block. Want to take a look?" They all nodded and followed her to an isolated house. Come, take a look inside. The house was spotlessly clean and well kept. It had a rather homey feeling to it. Jae Kyung could imagine herself curling into a blanket on the sofa with a plate full of rice-cakes.
"Where did Ga Eul go?" she asked Woo Bin.
"I think she went to the backyard." As if on cue, Ga Eul appeared
"Unnie, sunbae, you have to check out the backyard," she said while practically dragging them out.
Calling that garden a garden was a huge exaggeration. It was more accurately a cannabis farm with a few tomato plants scattered here and there.
"Maybe she grows it for medicinal purposes," Woo Bin suggested which earned him a glare from both the girls. Thee three of them were so busy looking at all the weed grown here that they didn't notice the girl walking towards them.
"Admiring my garden are you?"
"Uhh.." said the three of them in unison.
"Oh, you are one of those people. Don't worry, it'll cause you no inconvenience. I don't even smoke it."
"You don't?" asked Ga Eul.
"No, I bake them into my brownies."
"We'll let you know," the three of them chorused.
"Do you want me to drop you off, Ga Eul?" asked Woo Bin when they reached his car.
"No, if it's not too much trouble, could you drop me off at Yi Jeong's studio. I have already missed so many pottery lessons. I don't want to miss more."
_oOo_
"Hey Jan Di-ah. This is the first time I have been to your room. You didn't put up that picture of us."
"It was too big. It was blocking my roommate's cupboard."
"Hey, that's a cute picture," he said picking up the framed picture of Ga Eul, Jan Di and some guy.
"It was taken on Halloween. I think we were 5."
"Who is the guy?"
"Ji Min. He is Ga Eul's friend; remember the one I told you about? The one who killed her fish?"
"Oh… yeah. "
"Anyway, I wanted to talk about something."
"What happened? Are you ill?" he said while feeling her up for fever.
"No, Jun Pyo. Sit down. I'll tell you."
So she began to tell him all that she had endured over the past year and with every confession his expression grew paler and paler. With tears in his eyes, he said, "Oh Jan Di-ah I can't believe that while you were suffering I have been playing Apples Vs Caterpillars with Ji Hoo."
"Aww Jun Pyo, come here," she said while giving him a hug.
"I know that you won't take money from me since it's basically my mother's money but I can still be supportive. I hereby release you from the obligations of our romantic endeavors."
Jan Di gave him a chaste kiss.
_oOo_
Ga Eul made her way to Yi Jeong's studio. With a huge smile on her face, she opened the door and said, "How is my favorite pottery teacher." On seeing the state he was in, she paused. He was hastily putting on his coat while speaking to someone on the phone.
"I'm on my way," he said into his phone. "Pottery class is canceled today," he said taking notice of her for the first time.
"What happened?"
"I have to go."
Making her way to him, she put both her hands on his shoulders to calm him down.
"What. Happened. Yi Jeong," she said while emphasizing each word.
"It's my mom."
A/N: Thanks for reading. Did you like it? What was your favorite part? Let us know your thoughts in the reviews.