Disclaimer: We don't own Boys Over Flowers.
A/N: We could not find the names of Yi Jeong's parents on the internet. Perhaps it was never mentioned. So we are going to name Yi Jeong's mom Choon Hee and his dad Ji Sung .
Also, for those who don't remember, Ji Min is Ga Eul's childhood friend who was introduced in chapter 11.
_oOo_
Mrs So continued to sip her wine. It had been five years since her husband had taken her out. The restaurant was fancy, like always. The tables were dimly lit and the food was exquisite. That was how her husband preferred restaurants to be.
"Choon Hee, my last meeting went very well. So well that I'm going to extend my stay here and spend time with all of you."
Mrs. So nodded, only half listening. The music from the violins playing was much sweeter than her husband's voice.
Mr. So glanced at his watch. "Oh, I got some paperwork to catch up on. I'll drop you off at home on my way to the office."
Her son's house was not his home, but she didn't say that. "It's alright, I'll stay here for a while and then I'll go to the art gallery with Il Hyun."
"Okay, suit yourself." He kneeled down in front of her and kissed the tip of her fingers.
She was struck by a sudden wave of nostalgia. He was wearing cologne, a good suit and had the most charming smile on. He looked similar to how he had when they had first met, thirty-two years ago. She couldn't forget that day even if she tried. She was locked up in her room with a bowl of popcorn, her eyes glued to the TV. Her father was incessantly knocking the door. "Choon Hee, get dressed. The suitor will be here soon."
"No," she barked. "No…please." She cowered under her father's stern gaze.
"Choose a dress, and come down in thirty minutes." He slammed the door behind him.
Choon Hee groaned. She had been through this seven times already. Getting all dolled up for a suitor. Acting all coy and feminine as she served him snacks and then taking him up to her room to talk. The result of the talk was always the same. Some of the suitors were politer than the others but they all said the same thing. Chun Hae was not what they were looking for. She didn't expect this meeting to be any different. But she still got dressed, did her hair and was ready to come down. Her suitor had already arrived. He was sitting on the couch, facing her father. High cheekbones, broad shoulders with the most melodious voice she had ever heard, he was the most handsome of her suitors. There was no way he would like someone as plain as her. But she made her way to him, anyway.
"Choon Hee, this is So Ji Sung." He smiled at her. She looked down at her shoes.
She sat down beside him, making sure to maintain distance but it did nothing to steady her nerves. All throughout the conversation she could feel his eyes on her. When the time came for them to talk privately, he entwined his fingers with hers and led her upstairs. Choon Hee mistook his rapt attention and loving gaze as a sign of genuine affection. She didn't see the hidden agenda behind his charming smile but now, after being married to that man for over thirty-two years, she knew that smile too well.
"Ma'am, can I get you something?" The waiter's voice brought Choon Hee back to the present.
"No, I was just leaving." She gathered her things and hurried out. She had somewhere to be.
_oOo_
The constant chit-chatter was giving Mrs. So a headache. She put the menu in front of her face and tried to concentrate, to drown out the voices. She glanced at her watch. It was still 15 minutes until her guest would arrive. It had been years since she had done something like this. Since she had taken action.
"Mrs So?" The young lady- Ga Eul approached.
They sat there in silence for some time. Choon Hee was trying to find the appropriate way to broach the subject.
"Ga Eul?" The girl looked up from the menu and attempted a smile. "I heard my husband came to visit you?" Ga Eul's fingers tightened around the menu, ever so slightly. "My husband is an expert on getting woman to do his work. Financing his business, marriage and other things." Choon Hee looked away. Ga Eul was still quiet. "It never turns out well for them."
"Yi Jeong is an intelligent young man…"
"Ga Eul," she touched her hand. "I think occasional games of paintball is exactly what the So heir needs."
_oOo_
Jae Kyung carried four bowls of porridge and four cups of hot chocolate on a tray. She served them to their respective owners, going over the order in her head. She hadn't messed up once this whole week.
"Can I get you anything else, sir?"
"An evening with you, lovely will be great." The man leered at her.
Pick-up lines kept getting cheesier and cheesier.
Jae Kyung beamed at him. "I'm old enough to be your grandmother, fifty-two."
On reaching the kitchen she was greeted by Ga Eul's giggles.
The girls went over to their bags and retrieved a plastic bag. Jan Di ruffled through hers and put a model of the human heart and the human skeletal system on the table. "That's all I had."
Jae Kyung's apartment was empty, save for a sofa that could be opened into a bed, and a coffee table. She couldn't afford to redecorate on her current salary, so the girls had decided to pitch in. Both Jan Di and Ga Eul had brought her a housewarming gift. She accepted the human skeleton from Jan Di and put it inside her bag. It was kind of cool.
Ga Eul took out curtains with Jan Di's face on it. Jae Kyung took them from her and examined them closely. The curtain Jan Di was giving two thumbs up and 'I want you to go to sleep.' was printed in huge block letters underneath.
Ga Eul took the skeleton in her hand. "You brought a naked man. It's hard to top that," she told Jan Di
_oOo_
Yi Jeong took Ga Eul's latest pottery piece in his hand. "You are improving." He smiled.
Ga Eul was standing by the window staring at the landscape. She made no comment. Yi Jeong walked to her side. He leaned against the wall and waited.
She finally turned towards him. "I have completed seven items on my list." She tapped her fingers against the window-sill.
"That's great .That's progress. Great Progress," said Yi Jeong.
"Yeah."
He stepped closer towards her and sat down by her feet, signaling her to take a seat. He tried not to look directly at her, and let her continue at her own pace. He stretched his arm towards his side and reached for the wheel that had a lump of clay on it. He gave it two good spins to get the wheel going and then took her right hand and put it on the spinning clay. That brought Ga Eul out of her trance. He then took her left hand and proceeded to do the same.
Her fingers fumbled a bit, all her nervous energy transferring onto the tower of clay that was beginning to deform. It looked like she was back to square one but then she wasn't.
"I thought I would feel satisfied, Yi Jeong. I thought that this little adventure would make accepting a normal stable life easier . But with every new item I cross off my list I…It's not that I don't want all the normal stuff, a family, a house, I do. But I don't want to end up being just somebody's wife."
Ga Eul focused her attention back to the clay and tried to continue to work on it, without aggravating the damage that had been done.
Yi Jeong put his hands at the base of the tower, and slowly slid it to the top.
The doorbell buzzed but Yi Jeong ignored it. He stoked her hand. "Ga Eul…" The keys on the lock turned an Il Hyung walked in. He stared at the couple but quickly looked away. "I can come back."
Ga Eul smiled at the older So brother, nervously wiped her dirty hands on her jeans, and began to gather her things. "It's alright Il Hyun, sunbae. I was just leaving."
_oOo_
Woo Bin was rolling up in Jae Kyung's new curtains. "I was right, the fabric more than compensates for the strangeness of having Jan Di's face wrapped around me." Woo Bin tried to roll out but failed. "Jae, I think I'm stuck."
Jae Kyung began to entangle him. "Woo Bin, would you focus? I think we should just wait for him to get a haircut."
"But what's the fun in that? We got a think outside the box." Woo Bin dusted off his clothes. "Besides, for that we would have to keep a constant eye on Ji Min."
"I suppose we could invite ourselves to breakfast and steal some from his comb."
Woo Bin held the door ajar. "I hear someone on the stairs, maybe that's him." Jae Kyung followed him outside.
Woo Bin put an arm around a startled Ji Min. "Hi, buddy. I never got to thank you for all your help." He wrapped him in a hug.
Ji Min's arms hung by his side and his feet remained firmly planted on the ground. Woo Bin took advantage of his startled state by plucking a strand of hair from his head. Ji Min winced in pain but before he could retaliate Woo Bin had snuck back into the house.
"Sorry, he is a little…" Jae Kyung laughed. "He has had a weird day." She shut the door behind her.
"You were right about one thing Woo Bin, your way was definitely more adventurous."
Woo Bin brought out a white three ring- binders with a photo- shopped picture of Ga Eul and Yi Jeong in wedding attires. He opened it to the section labeled Ji Min and pinned the hair sample under the subheading DNA. There were two other subheadings: Relationship with Ga Eul and danger level.
"How would you classify his relationship to Ga Eul? Ex? Friend?" he asked.
"Childhood 'friend'? And I would put danger level as low. " Woo Bin looked up at her. " I think she takes the whole date episode as a joke."
Woo Bin smiled as he handed her the book. So far things were going according to plan. He hoped Yi Jeong didn't do anything to mess it up.
_oOo_
Yi Jeong dug into another cup of strawberry yogurt. It had been a long time since he had had one of these treats.
"Want another one?" his brother asked. He ruffled throw his backpack and took out another. "I have mango too."
Yi Jeong nodded. He knew his brother still harbored guilt over what happened, but Yi Jeong was beyond caring. He was just glad to have him back. Il Hyun stood in front of the poster that declared Yi Jeong to be the second sexiest prodigy in the world and giggled. Yi Jeong didn't understand what about that was so amusing. His brother was now examining Clarisse. The potter could detect pride in the older So's face.
"I can't decide which of these is my favorite. My little brother has gotten so good." He beamed at Yi Jeong who was trying to hide his smile. "You know, I'm glad that it is you who is inheriting the business. You are much more suitable for the job. That is the only thing I agree with father on. This lifestyle was never for me." Yi Jeong's eyes darkened. He knew his brother didn't mean it to be insulting but Yi Jeong couldn't help but flinch. This lifestyle, the one of charisma, fame, money and everything that came with it, their father's lifestyle was much more suitable for Yi Jeong.
"Yi Jeong," his brother held a distorted pottery piece in his hand. "This one is rather interesting and it's not your usual style," he said while he playfully took a smidgen of clay and wiped it on Yi Jeong's hand.
Yi Jeong ignored his brother's suggestive smirk. It was the pottery piece Ga Eul had made the day she had broken up with her boyfriend, the day her and Yi Jeong had had one of their first real talks. It was distorted, and felt out of place amongst all the beautiful pieces but Yi Jeong found it oddly comforting.
"Thinking about her?" Il Hyung grinned. "She is something special."
Ga Eul was special, a special girl full of hopes and dreams. She wasn't made for this lifestyle either. He thought while he walked towards his wash station and watched the water run through his clayey hands.
_oOo_
Yi Jeong continued to churn the wheel. Some people cooked, some listened to music while others preferred to talk it out but for Yi Jeong, pottery was always the answer. Pottery was what soothed him. An incessant knock forced him to pause his work and open the door.
"Hello, son. I think it is about time we had a little chat."
Yi Jeong took a calming breath. There was no use getting his blood pressure up. "This is my studio, father. Hyung can come here whenever he pleases."
"Don't play dumb with me. You know this isn't about your deadbeat brother. I have been patient with you. I have tried to drop subtle hints but subtlety just doesn't do it for you. You are going to inherit this entire empire one day. The responsibility to uphold its honor and image will fall on you. Do you really think that that uncouth commoner is an ideal choice for you?"
"Ga Eul is not uncouth. She is an intelligent, sophisticated, beautiful girl. And she is my friend. But I suppose you want me to be with a girl who is a better investment?"
"Yes, someone who is well-bred and cultured. A girl who will bring something to the family."
"You mean an heiress? A girl whose money I can use to fund our business. That is after all how you started the business right? With mother's money?"
Yi Jeong's dad growled at him. He lifted his arm as if to slap him but stopped halfway.
"What? Did I say something untrue? Isn't that what happened?"
Mr. So took a deep breath. "Yi Jeong, you are my heir. You have both enough charm and talent to be immensely successful and that is why I have been so patient. But this is enough. I will not have my heir frolic around the city with that girl."
"I make enough from my studio to live comfortably." Yi Jeong glared at his father.
"Don't make any hasty decisions. I'm not saying you have to cut her out of your life. I too have become besotted with women less beautiful than her. You can have all the fun you want with that one, as long as you remember that it can never turn into anything serious."
Yi Jeong slammed his fist on the table. "Leave…now."
"You remember what happened with the others, right .You are my son, whether you like it or not. You are enamored with this girl but you and I, we are not made for committed relationships. You will grow tired of her and then this relationship will end exactly like your previous ones have." He held open the door. "Walk away now, before anyone gets hurt."
_oOo_
Ga Eul glanced at her watch. She still had five minutes before she had to meet Yi Jeong. She made her way to a nearby park bench. The park rang with laughter. Children were running around playing tag. A group of middle-schoolers were skipping and a couple was strolling by, holding hands. Despite all the voices, she found the scene peaceful.
"Ga Eul yang, I hope I haven't kept you waiting." She scooted over to make room for Yi Jeong. "Ever since that dinner, I have been doing some digging about that chef of yours, and well," he handed her a form. "He holds this global cooking contest. Twenty countries are participating this year. He will select one winner from every county and train them."
"It's a difficult contest."
"If you get in, you won't have to move. The classes are being held in Seoul. What do you have to lose?" He stood up to leave. "And Ga Eul, you can never be just somebody's wife."
He began to walk away from her. Ga Eul called after him but he didn't stop. Perhaps he had something important to do. Ga Eul examined the form in her hand. She had known about the contest for a long time but hadn't considered entering this year. She didn't think she stood a chance but Yi Jeong was right, what did she have to lose?
A/N: Thanks for reading guys! Please tell us what you thought in the reviews.