Disclaimer: We don't own Boys over flowers.
A/N: Thank you to all those who are still reading this story and to everyone who has favorited and followed it. We know that the updates on this have been slow . Thank you so much for putting up with us. We really appreciate the support.
A Huge thanks to out wonderful Beta, Yurima Muru for editing this chapter. Thank you so much for all your help!
"No, a little to the left. A little more."
Woo Bin's men moved the projector as he instructed.
"Perfect. Roll the show." Jun Pyo fixed his tie while Woo Bin straightened his coat.
"So Yi Jeong, my esteemed F4 brother." Began Jun Pyo. "Today we will present you with an idea that is just a gold mine."
Woo Bin and Jun Pyo then began their power-point presentation.
The title popped up on the screen. Yi Jeong took one look at it and frowned. "No."
"Hear us out," said Jun Pyo.
Woo Bin dimmed the lights and played carnival music on his phone.
"Who doesn't love the circus?" he asked.
"Cotton-candy, the smell of buttery cheesy popcorn," added Jun Pyo
"And the clown and acrobat. So much to love."
Woo Bin and Jun Pyo moved on to the slide with picture of acrobats. This went on for a little over ten minutes.
"In conclusion, we will be able to get all of this entertainment at our fingertips for a reasonable price."
"No," said Yi Jeong .
"Give us one good reason," Woo Bin demanded.
"You will be bored with the circus after two shows. Then what will the crew do? We will have to pay them consistently regardless of whether or not they are performing. Where will we place the circus? There isn't that much space around the lounge. Plus, we already have the kitchen to remodel."
"Kitchen?" asked Jun Pyo.
"For Ga Eul. Yi Jeong and I thought it would be nice if she could have a good place to practice, with all the latest equipment and stuff."
"Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have an actual functioning kitchen. So, Woo Bin and I are pitching in to remodel it."
"Ga Eul is Jan Di's best friend. I would gladly pitch in too."
All eyes turned to Ji Hoo. "I suppose I will look like a jerk if I'm the only one who doesn't pitch in?"
The other three took that as affirmation.
"How about after the kitchen is remodeled? Can we build a circus then?" asked Jun Pyo.
"No."
"Why not?" asked Jun Pyo. "We gave you an entire presentation. Weren't you listening?"
Yi Jeong opened a pie chart on his laptop. "This part is the amount of expenditure dedicated to bills. This one's for travel and this is for emergencies." He went on to explain the various sectors of the chart. " As you can see, the amount reserved for ridiculous frivolities is already expended. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to get myself a snack." Yi Jeong went to the kitchen.
"All he did was show us a stupid pie chart. It didn't even have any animations," said Woo Bin.
Woo Bin's bodyguard walked in. "Young master, the caretaker is asking where to place the elephant."
Woo Bin bowed his head. "Tell them to go."
He watched from the window, as one by one, the circus packed up their belongings and left. The clown, the trapeze, the acrobat, all turned to leave.
"No, not the contortionist," Woo Bin cried out. "He was going to teach me how to put both my legs behind my back."
"A clown just sprayed water on me, from his nose. Also, there is an elephant outside?" said Jan Di on her way in.
"Roll the presentation," said Woo Bin
The first page titled Why we need a circus opened.
"I don't have time for this. Just tell me what's going on."
The boys explained their plan.
"But why do you need Yi Jeong's permission? You build stupid things from your parents' money all the time."
"Yi Jeong is in charge of the F4 finances. No money can be spent on the lounge without his permission."
"Since I'm in charge of décor, technically no changes can be made to the lounge without my permission either," said Woo Bin
"They made you in charge of decorating?"
"Can't you tell from the amount of finesse oozing from this place?"
Jan Di rolled her eyes. "What about you, Jun Pyo?"
"I am in charge of documentation, rules, and regulations. And Ji Hoo here is in charge of dispute management."
"Ji Hoo, solve our dispute with Yi Jeong. He can't say no to everything."
Ji Hoo made no move to go to the kitchen.
"Fine. I'll do it myself."
Woo Bin made his way to the kitchen where Yi Jeong was drinking grape juice.
"Yes, just drink. Drink away all my happiness. Go on."
"There is more in the fridge. Drama queen." Yi Jeong poured Woo Bin a glass.
The boys made their way back to the living room.
"By the way, you didn't mention which section of the chart was dedicated to Ga Eul?"
Yi Jeong pointed to a point outside of the chart. "Right here."
_oOo_
Ga Eul adjusted her pencil skirt. She had done her hair in a bun and had taken out a pair of heels to go along with her skirt. She looked professional, but it felt a little constricting. Perhaps jeans would be better? Chef Lee was a practical person. What if he thought her dress was too fancy? She rummaged through her closet and took out a pair of jeans and a mauve shirt.
"Ga Eul, honey," her father called. "Are you done, sweetie?"
"In a minute."
Since her friends had gone to see her off on the day of the contest, her father had insisted on being the one to drop her off on her first day.
"You didn't have to do this, Appa."
"Nonsense, I wouldn't miss dropping my little girl off on her very first day. Besides, I happen to enjoy leaving work early."
After a two-hour long drive, Ga Eul finally arrived. She took a deep breath, waved goodbye to her father, and walked in. It was a huge room with four round tables on one side and workstations on the other.
Each table had names of the country whose citizens were to be seated on it. Ga Eul found herself seated with Vietnam, Japan, China, Thailand, and Malaysia. All the tables didn't have equal members like one would expect. Ga Eul's table had six, but some were way more crowded. Some tables had hardly three people. It was a strange arrangement for sure.
"Good morning, class. As I'm sure you all must know, I am Chef Pirro Alfred Lee."
Vietnam raised his hand up. "And I am Le Xuan from Vietnam. I like cooking, of course, tap dancing, and chugging beer."
"I was saying," Chef Lee continued. "I find introductions a waste of time. None of you will remember anyone's names today. You will learn the names of the people who matter in due time." Chef Lee gestured to India who had raised his hand up.
"With all due respect, sir, it's a little offensive that the only people on my table are Nigeria, Mexico, and Argentina. We are not even from the same continent."
The arrangement did paint the chef in a bad light. On one side, all the people with a Caucasian appearance: France, Italy, Russia, Germany, England, Greece, and Australia, were lumped together. On another table, all the East Asian countries were bundled together. While on another one- Indonesia, Israel, and Turkey were grouped together, for some bizarre reason.
"I had not arranged the tables this way. I would never favor such an impractical sitting arrangement." He pointed to the table with the European countries. "It's too crowded."
The tables were then shuffled around. In the end, each table had five members grouped together. Ga Eul's table was occupied by Vietnam, Japan, Nigeria, and France.
Chef Lee was about to begin the class formally when Germany raised her hand.
"Sir, I am Emilia Schneider. I am very happy to be here. As a token of appreciation, I baked my famous blueberry pie. I would be honored if everyone would take a piece."
She handed it to Chef Lee who cut out a piece. "The crust is too dry. If I am being generous this is mediocre. I want everyone to taste it and then give their critique. This would present an excellent learning opportunity."
Everyone was a little shocked to hear this, but nobody had a stronger reaction than Japan who put a paper bag over her head.
"Japan, remove that thing from your head. This is completely unprofessional."
Japan pulled at the edge of the bag, covering herself more. Ga Eul noticed that her eyes were welling up.
Chef Lee inhaled sharply. "I suppose you can wear a bag if you please." He turned to the other students. "What are you all staring at? Taste the pie and give Germany your feedback."
"It's amazing. I love the filling and the crust is so soft," said Ga Eul.
"I would expect this response from a three-year-old making their first dish, not from someone who has been selected from the entire country to be here. Is your taste so vulgar that you cannot taste the inadequacies of this dish?"
Ga Eul flinched but did not say anything more.
The boy from France did not share Ga Eul's reticence and went on to insult everything from the texture to the filling to the color of the pie.
"That was a middle school playground-level critique. I expect someone at your level to be more refined in the flaws they point out."
_oOo_
Jae ran her hands over the frilly black dress with white lace.
"I don't know, Woo Bin. The French maid's costume is certainly pretty, but it's not the best to move around in."
Since she was having trouble removing the cobwebs from the wall, Woo Bin had offered to help out. He had come to her house carrying the usual cleaning dress he wore when he cleaned the lounge.
"You can wear the capris underneath if you want. Trust me. It'll spice up the boring process."
She took the dress with the capris he offered her and went to change. Woo Bin took a look around her apartment. The living room was still mostly empty except for an old sofa. Jae hated cramped spaces. She probably preferred it this way.
"Woo Bin, let me clean the floor first, then you can help me remove cobwebs."
His eyes focused on her. The French maid's dress reached to her mid-thigh. She was wearing khaki capris underneath. On anyone else, that combination would look ridiculous but on Jae, it looked adorable. He watched her as she attempted to clean.
"Jae, you should really make broader strokes with that broom." He took it from her and demonstrated.
Within a matter of minutes, they were done with the room.
"Ok, I'll hold on to that chair while you climb on and remove those cobwebs."
She did as instructed, but instead of collecting it in her broom, the cobweb dropped onto the floor barely missing Woo Bins's head.
She bit her lip. "Sorry."
After all the cleaning supplies had been put away, Woo Bin made his way to the kitchen. Where Jae was standing near the stove holding a packet of instant noodles in one hand and a loaf of bread in another.
"What do you think I should eat?"
Woo Bin took the items from her hands. "Tell you what, why don't you come over to my house for dinner? Gran has been asking me to invite you over for a while now. She misses you."
Jae looked at the packet of noodles and then back at Woo Bin. "Yeah, I think I would like that."
"I totally forgot to tell you. Check out this thing I put up in the kitchen for Ga Eul," said Woo Bin handing Jae Kyung his phone.
"A giant picture of Chef Lee? Ooh, she would like that."
_oOo_
"So, I think it'll be safe to assume that you lads have been to kindergarten."
Everyone exchanged glances with the strangers spread across the room.
"Don't look surprised. Your task is simple. Something even a child can do. All you have to do is recreate a dish from the ingredients you notice while tasting it. That shouldn't be so hard from the world's finest," said Chef Lee emphasizing the last word.
He proceeded to remove the cloche cover to reveal a dish that seemed unfamiliar to an inexperienced eye. On second thought, it didn't look conventional and could spin circles around a professional as well. It had a runny consistency. Certain portions of it were dark and lumpy while other parts were perfectly whipped. The students gathered around it, hoping to take notes about its appearance.
"Hold it right there," said Chef Lee placing the cover back on the dish.
"Undisciplined children. Go back to your stations. You'll notice a black mask there. Put it on yourself. Don't even think about cheating, you'll get caught. I'll call you one by one. After tasting a spoonful, you can go to the pantry to get your ingredients. One last thing, what you prepare from the ingredients you manage to notice, should be an improvement on this dish. To summarize, taste it, recognize the ingredients, and recreate it while improving it. Let's go. Chop. Chop. I should be hearing the sound of knives against chopping boards, cookers whistling, beaters churning, ingredients broiling, frying, searing. Starting from the first station come up to the table one by one."
"Can't we just get a peek at it? These blindfolds seem unnecessary," said Turkey as she tasted the dish.
"If this was an elementary school and you were working with an easy bake oven and a cook-by-numbers kit, then you wouldn't need the blindfold. Sadly, that's not the case, Turkey. Go get your ingredients."
"Hey Turkey, do you think we'll be cooking some nice turkey today?"
"Shut it Indonesia before this spoonful of goop travels too far down your throat," said Turkey as she collected her ingredients.
_oOo_
Woo Bin opened the car door for her.
"Come on, I want this to be a surprise for Gran."
He turned the key and entered into his sitting room, Jae Kyung behind him. She made her way to the dining room where she found Woo Bin frozen at the doorway.
"I don't remember inviting you over for dinner? You can't come barging into my home whenever you feel like it." Gran yelled at a middle-aged man dressed in a formal suit and tie.
The man, who was busy wiping the cutlery and arranging the table looked up, "I don't need an invitation to see my own son." Then seeing Woo Bin at the door, he paused.
He walked over to them before engulfing Woo Bin in a hug.
"Dad? I didn't know you were in town."
Woo Bin seemed delighted to see his father. He had a huge grin on his face. Grandma, on the other hand, did not. She was sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed and the expression of someone who had swallowed two lemons whole. It looked like Jae Kyung had chosen a bad time to come over.
The look on Gran's face softened on seeing her. "Jae Kyung dear, do come in."
Jae Kyung walked over and gave the woman a hug. She then turned to Woo Bin's father and bowed. "Hi, I'm Ha, Jae Kyung. A friend of Woo Bin's."
He looked at her with interest, as if trying to solve a puzzle, and then with a warm smile, he said. "Hello, I'm Kim, Jae Rim, Woo Bin's father."
Jae Kyung found it strange that Woo Bin did not share his father's last name but kept silent. It would be inappropriate to question it.
"Woo Bin, you should have told me you were bringing her over today. I would have had the cook prepare her favorite dishes."
By the time they had all sat down to eat, the tension had dissipated slightly. Woo Bin's father was sitting next to him while Gran was seated next to her. Woo Bin and his dad were engrossed in a conversation, while Jae Kyung tried her best to distract Gran by catching her up with the events in her life since she had left Song mansion.
"Woo Bin, how is sophomore year? Your semester is almost halfway done, right?" asked his dad
"Good. My attendance is as high as thirty percent this term."
"Woo Bin," his dad chided. "That is not acceptable." He then turned to Gran. "You knew about this?"
"What can I say? He takes after you."
"So Gran, did I tell you about the new porridge recipe they started in the porridge shop? Pepsi flavored porridge."
For a split second, all eyes turned to Jae Kyung.
"I'm sure it will be the next new thing," Jae Kyung continued.
The butler chose this moment to walk in.
"More garlic bread?" He asked Gran.
"No," Woo Bin's dad interrupted. "I think she has eaten enough. Mother-in-law, we wouldn't want you to be sick in bed. After all, after a certain age, one's days are numbered."
"Dad," Woo Bin chastised.
For a few blissful seconds, there was a fragile peace. It was, however, short-lived.
"Dad, how long will you be staying?"
"Not for long, Woo Bin. You know your dad has important duties to see too," Gran interrupted.
"I can always make time for my son."
Gran looked him straight in the eye, then without breaking eye contact said, "We wouldn't want your work to suffer. Your business is very important after all."
They continued to stare at one another, neither willing to look away. Jae Kyung turned to Woo Bin, who was looking down at his plate, his expression cold.
"Hey, Gran, did you do some redecorating recently? The house looks great. I especially like that painting over there." Jae Kyung pointed to a handmaid drawing of what looked like a triangle with a line on top. Perhaps it was a boat? It was difficult to tell.
Woo Bin's dad smiled at her. "He gets his artistic skills from his grandmother."
This earned him a glare from Gran.
Woo Bin's father turned towards a picture of a young woman on the wall. Jae Kyung followed his gaze. The girl looked about her own age. She had long waist-length hair and a mischievous grin that reminded her of Woo Bin.
"She was as young as Jae Kyung," Gran said. "She was barely twenty when you stole my precious nugget away." She said with a smile. "I'm going to go check on the dessert."
"Let me help clean up the dishes." Woo Bin's father followed after her.
The sound of arguing erupted from the kitchen. "Stole? Stole her away? I married her."
Woo Bin got up from his seat. "Come on, I'll drop you home. It's getting late."
He left the table without bothering to see if she was following. Jae Kyung jogged her way to his side.
_oOo_
"I'm out of truffle oil. Does anyone have any left?" screamed France from across the room.
"Truffle oil, where did you taste truffle oil in this?" questioned Argentina.
"It was only the most obvious ingredient."
"Okay students, you should be finishing up," said Chef Lee as he walked around from station to station.
"Vietnam, you're making pancakes."
"I noticed some blueberries in there," said Vietnam winking at Chef Lee.
"You must have noticed dried red chilies in there too. How could one not? It was blatantly obvious."
"I did. They won't go with my pancakes though. I think we can agree on that."
"You were supposed to use all the ingredients in the dish, not just one."
"You asked us to improve it. This is an improvement."
Noticing Chef Lee coming towards her side of the station, Ga Eul snuck a quick glance at her pie in the oven while she continued stirring her soup. She saw his silhouette from the corner of her eye standing next to her with his arms crossed. Ga Eul tried her best to appear confident and continued working on her soup until she noticed Chef Lee turning her stove off.
"Is anything wrong, Chef?"
Chef Lee picked up her saucepan from the stove and swirled its contents around.
"What is this?"
"You see, I had this idea of taking ingredients from the given dish and presenting them in three…"
"Is this soup, syrup, stew, or saliva?"
With that said Chef Lee walked to the other side of the room. Ga Eul looked around the room. The room filled with the world's greatest talents. All struggling, all miserable. Yet she didn't find solace in these stranger's similar circumstances. She decided to zone out the distressed mumbling of her fellow classmates and get back to plating her dish.
"Can you please take a look at my dish?" asked a girl whose name tag read Malaysia.
"Sure. But I'm no expert at this."
"I just want to see if it's lumpy enough. I definitely noticed some lumps in Chef's dish. It was a bit runny too but I'd like to capture the essence of the lumps."
"Hey you, is this a kitty party? Get back to your station. Let me see your dish," said Chef Lee as he led Malaysia back to her station.
"Hold on, sir. I think my lumps need a tad bit more work. This isn't as lumpy as your dish."
Rolling his eyes, Chef Lee walked to the front of the classroom.
"Stop what you're doing. Hands down everyone. It is time. You may all leave now."
"We haven't even presented our dishes yet," said Nigeria.
"You see Ms. Nigeria, in a restaurant you don't get to chill. While you are monkeying around waiting this long to present your dish, your customer would have spat in your face by then. Huh, heaven knows how any of you are going to survive in the real world."
"Do you have any feedback, Chef?" asked Turkey.
Clasping both his hands together Chef Lee continued.
"My feedback is that my team went soft."
"Pardon sir? I didn't quite understand that," said Germany.
"I didn't select any of you to be here. You are all inadequate to be professional chefs. The reason you are here is because my team picked you and I guess they had to pick somebody. Now go along. Class dismissed."
"He let us go fifteen minutes early. What time loss is he talking about?" whispered Vietnam.
Ga Eul followed the rest of the students towards the exit. All of her classmates got into the bus that would be taking them to their hostel. The program under Chef Lee provided students with accommodation facilities with a fully equipped kitchen so that they could practice their craft. When she had first heard about this she had been impressed with Chef Lee's thoughtfulness, but after today's class, she wasn't sure if kind and thoughtful were the right adjectives for that man. A shiny black limo pulled up in front of her, bringing her out of her trance.
"Madam, Young Master Gu could not personally come to pick you up, and has hence sent me to do so."
Ga Eul checked her phone and noticed a voicemail from Jun Pyo.
"Hey, Ga Eul. Sorry I couldn't come to pick you up. There was an accident at Jan Di's lab. I'm not too sure about it but all she said was that there was blood everywhere. I have sent Mr. Park to pick you up instead."
Ga Eul got into the limo, ignoring the stares of her fellow classmates. She looked up once more at the building which would be the hell in which she would be roasting for the near future.
The car had approached the traffic signal near her house when her cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Noona , Omma, and Appa are throwing you a surprise party to celebrate your first day. They said I can't cut the cake until you get here. Hurry up."
"I'm coming, Chin Hae," said Ga Eul hanging up the phone.
Ga Eul needed some time to calm herself. She couldn't appear in front of her family in such a foul mood.
"Mr. Park? Can you take a right turn here and drop me at the F4 lounge?"
"Sure, Madam."
_oOo_
They walked in silence, Woo Bin hardly registering her presence. When they reached the car door, he turned to her. "I'm sorry, Jae."
Jae Kyung beamed at him. "Song, Woo Bin. Don't be ridiculous. You saved me from eating chicken flavor instant noodles and being disappointed once again with the lack of chicken. Can you believe it? It tastes just like curry flavor instant noodles. What a sham."
He gave her a tired smile.
She took his arm. "Come on, I feel like going for a walk."
They walked together in silence for some time, with her hand on his arm, gently leading him ahead.
"Jae," he asked. "Has the porridge shop really started serving Pepsi-flavored porridge?"
"I'm sure they will soon. I did put it in the suggestion box."
For the first time that hour, Woo Bin let out a genuine laugh.
_oOo_
"I'm telling you bro, Kim Il Suk is one of the most underrated cat detectives of our time."
"I didn't exactly disagree with you, Woo Bin. I just said that the concept of a cat detective is weird."
"Oh look, Ga Eul is here," said Woo Bin as he entered the living room.
"Very funny, Woo Bin"
"No, really. Look," said Woo Bin pointing at a glimpse of her back that was visible from where they were standing.
"What is she looking at?"
"It's a mega poster of Chef Pierro Alfred Lee that I put up in the kitchen for her. You have your pots, I have my drawings. I figured she should have something she likes put up in the lounge as well.
"Wow she has sure been staring at it for a while, she must be really enjoying it."
"I'm going home," said Yi Jeong.
As he turned around, preparing to walk towards the exit, Yi Jeong felt a firm hand on his shoulder halting his progress.
"Woo Bin, I swear to God!"
Woo Bin gestured towards Ga Eul. She was staring at Chef Lee's poster, but her eyes lacked their usual adoration, and her arms were bawled into a fist.
"Ga Eul," Yi Jeong stepped towards her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Ga Eul said as she turned towards him. "Apparently, all of our dreams about coming out of this class with glowing recommendations and restaurants lining up to hire us, may not come true. "
Yi Jeong put his hand on her shoulder, "Ga Eul, they always say these things on the first day."
"But that's no reason to worry," Ga Eul continued. "There is a place for each and every one of us. Because they are always hiring in prison. Then again, that means that the crime rates of our countries might go way down."
Both the guys were too stunned for words. Yi Jeong stood there with his mouth hanging open.
"Ga Eul," Woo Bin began, but whatever he was going to say was cut off by the ringing of her phone. Ga Eul picked up to find Chin Hae on the other line.
"Noona," he said, "Would you please tell Omma that you don't mind that I licked some of the icing off your cake?"
A/N: Thanks for reading guys! If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider leaving a review. It'll make our day. It's really motivational to know that there is someone out there who is enjoying our work.