A/N: As some have noted, Yi Jeong is a bit of a villain in this fic. If that bothers you, and you don't want to see him punished, you might not want to read this chapter and the next one. I promise this is a side story, and you won't miss anything too important as far as the rest of the story goes.

For the rest of you...enjoy? Suffer? Whatever you want to call this lol

"Sunbae, your pottery is already so beautiful. I'm sure if you continue working on it, you'll be even better than you were before." The girl in the cute red headband and collared white blouse smiled at him, and Yi Jeong smiled back at her. He'd been showing Ga Eul, via video chat, a few of his latest ceramic pieces. His instructor wouldn't give him her glowing appraisal—far from it—and he could see a hundred tiny imperfections in the vases himself, but Ga Eul's enthusiasm lifted his spirits. He would try even harder and show her how much he'd improved next time. Perhaps he'd send her one of his pieces.

Maybe.

He wasn't sure how much he should or shouldn't do, given the nebulous status of their relationship.

He didn't want to kill her hope that he might be her soulmate. He didn't want to feed it too much either. He'd told her enough times that he didn't believe in happy endings, and he didn't, but...she made him want to believe.

He wanted to believe that, at the end of the next four years, he would stand up to his family and to the world that would say they didn't belong together. He wanted to believe he wouldn't hurt her the way his father had hurt his mother. But he didn't know if he could trust himself.

He hoped he would learn to be brave in the next four years, just like he was learning to be a brilliant potter again. He hoped he would return to Korea an improved version of himself. But all he had was hope, and Ga Eul was more skilled at hoping than he was.


The news that Ga Eul was in a serious relationship had struck Yi Jeong like a bullet in the chest.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that had struck him. Jan Di's foot in his stomach came first. On a visit from her and Jun Pyo, she'd stormed through the door of his apartment in Sweden and had sent him sprawling onto the floor.

How could he have put her friend through so much pain? What the hell was wrong with him? she'd wanted to know as she sat on top of him and smacked his face over and over. He'd caught her by her wrists only to have her knee him in the groin. By the time Jun Pyo hauled her off of him, he'd gathered that she knew how things had progressed between him and Ga Eul and also how things had ended.

He'd feared this day would come, but it had seemed less likely that Ga Eul would mention it to Jan Di with each passing year, so he remained on the floor after Jan Di got up, stunned by the sudden assault.

That was when the second wave hit him. The bullet.

"Not that it matters now," Jan Di informed him. "Ga Eul's practically engaged already. She's forgotten all about you, you coward."

Ga Eul engaged? His Ga Eul-yang? Engaged?

He couldn't wrap his head around it. Hadn't it been only yesterday that they were two teenagers sitting in a paddleboat together? He still saw her, in his mind's eye, the way she'd looked that day with her girlish ponytail and bright, innocent eyes.

He'd always known she wasn't his, not really, but how could he lose her completely? How could she be someone else's?

It was his own fault. His family pressures had increased during his time abroad—the more successful he was, the more responsibility he was expected to take on when he returned—and instead of learning to fight back, he'd simply avoided it. He'd gone to Sweden because it gave him distance from his parents' toxic relationship and his grandfather's expectations, and he'd stayed in Sweden because he didn't feel ready to go back to that world.

At the same time, he didn't feel ready to entirely reject it either. Four years came and went, and he hadn't trusted himself any more at the end of them than he had when he'd left Korea. He hadn't been strong enough to follow his heart, so he'd broken hers. Like he'd always known he would.

He'd choked, and he'd thought if he just stayed away from her, if he didn't return to Korea, he could numb the pain of her absence. But it hadn't worked. He saw her everywhere, even though she'd never visited him in Sweden. Even though he hadn't physically seen her in five years.

Now, she was engaged. It was Eun Jae all over again, but worse.

When would he learn? Was he too late again? Could he really live with himself having missed not one, but two chances at love?

Spurred by the panic of losing Ga Eul entirely, and possibly by Jan Di's guilt trip, he'd packed up his life in Sweden and had slipped quietly back into the country with only one mission in mind. He would go to her school. He would make his declaration even if it was late. Hadn't Ga Eul been the one who'd told him to never give up?

He'd made it to the school, and he'd presented his case before her, but it hadn't gone at all the way he'd planned it. His charm had never impressed her, but it did even less for him now. Everything he'd said had backfired on him, and he didn't know how to proceed without burning his connection to Ga Eul for good. He wasn't sure if he hadn't done so already.

Yi Jeong uncapped another beer. He'd been drinking them steadily since he'd wandered into the club. It was the only place he could think of to go after his attempts to reconnect with Ga Eul had gone so horribly wrong.

He shouldn't have come there; he knew that. But in the face of such rejection—and the reminders of his own failings—his old haunt felt like home. It felt like comfort. The girls were different, but the atmosphere and the booze hadn't changed.

Ga Eul had always been sweet and innocent, even if she had a mouth on her. There was something different about her now. She seemed more worldly. More sure of herself. She'd even dyed her hair a fiery copper color, and the effect was striking.

He just couldn't believe how easily she'd been tricked by her current boyfriend. Did she really believe such a shady guy could be her soulmate?

He'd once accused Jan Di of liking bad boys, but he'd been wrong. That was Ga Eul's type, as evidenced by her high school boyfriend, then him, and now this...this…

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Yi Jeong raised his head, ready to reject the voice's offer, but standing before him was the most stunning woman he'd ever seen, and he'd seen a lot of beautiful women. Her lustrous black hair was upswept and loosely curled, and she wore a wine-colored velvet dress with a plunging neckline that revealed ample cleavage. Her tight skirt stopped in the middle of her smooth, toned thighs. Her most fascinating feature, though, was her face. More specifically, her eyes. In the light, they danced with flames as though they contained fiery secrets. Hidden desires. The longer he looked into them, the less inclined he was to look away.

But no. Ga Eul. He was going to get her back. He hadn't returned to Korea to fall back into his old patterns.

Yi Jeong blinked and looked back down at his drink.

"No, thanks. I don't want company."

"That's fine," the woman answered, her voice a silk sheet that whispered over his skin. He heard her drop into the booth and slide next to him. "We don't have to talk." Her voice grew husky, and when he looked up to push her away again, he found he could not. Up close, she was even more entrancing. And those eyes...they called to him.

"Are you sure you don't want company?" She tilted her head, her full, wine-painted lips drawn into a smirk. She toyed with one dangling, sparkling earring.

"I…" Yi Jeong opened his mouth to say something. To protest, maybe? But he couldn't remember why. This had to be the sexiest woman in the club, and she'd approached his table. Clearing his throat—he wasn't used to being at a loss for words—he managed, "Let's go somewhere more private."

The woman gave him a ravenous smile, as if she wanted nothing more than to get him alone so she could devour him.


A few minutes later, Yi Jeong was in one of the club's private rooms, his arms and legs bound to a chair with rope. This titillating position, combined with the music pulsing below, had shot his arousal and his adrenaline sky high.

He'd asked the woman if he should take off his pants first, and she'd replied, with a sultry grin, that she'd cut anything that needed to be cut. She excited him too much, and damn, she tied good knots. How had he not even worked for this? He guessed his natural charm had only increased since high school, along with his good looks.

The woman slid her manicured hands over his shoulders, down his chest.

"Are you ready to be punished?" she whispered in his ear.

"Always," he replied.

"Good." Her stilettos clacked as she circled the chair until suddenly they sounded more like loafers. He glanced to the side, and she'd vanished. In her place stood a man, dressed in a suit the same wine red of her dress.

Yi Jeong startled, nearly tipping the chair over.

"Who the hell are you?!" he demanded. "Where—" He broke off, his memories flooding back to him. His return to Korea. Going to Ga Eul's school. Being rejected. Winding up at the club. And then...then…

What the hell was he doing here? What the hell was he doing?

The man smiled as though he could read Yi Jeong's thoughts, and at that moment, Yi Jeong recognized him.

"You—"

"Still ready for your punishment?" His fist connected with Yi Jeong's face, and the chair tipped back. Yi Jeong crashed to the floor, and pain rammed through his skull. Though he was no stranger to a fight or being punched in the face, the immense force of the man's punch temporarily stunned him. Before he could react, the man was on top of him, pummeling his face over and over. When he finally hauled him upright, Yi Jeong's vision was swimming. His nose stung—it felt broken—and blood was dripping into his mouth.

Yi Jeong spit it out.

He squirmed in his bindings, but they were too damn tight, nearly cutting off his circulation.

"Hey! Why don't you fight me like a man? Instead of doing all this?"

"I don't want to fight you. I want to use you as a punching bag." As he spoke, his attacker shed his red jacket, cool and composed, revealing the axe sheathed at the waist of his dress pants. He grabbed a bottle of wine from the room's stores, popped the cork free with his bare hand, and gulped it down as though it were water.

"Who are you?!" Yi Jeong demanded.

The man—no, the creature—wiped his mouth on his black shirt sleeve and snickered.

"Don't you recognize me?" He cocked his head. "You got your hands on plenty of my photos."

"What the hell are you doing with Ga Eul? What have you done to her?"

"I'm more interested in discussing what you've done to her." The creature's gaze darkened. "So Yi Jeong."

"I would never hurt Ga Eul."

"No. You would just come back and give her false hope, only to abandon her again. I know your type." His scowl deepened. "Do you have any idea how easy it was to make you come with me? Almost no resistance at all." He smashed the bottle in his fist, and red wine ran like blood down his shirtsleeve, but the glass didn't seem to phase him; it cut into his skin, then fell away, leaving no marks whatsoever.

Yi Jeong paled. He'd been in too many scrapes alongside Woo Bin to fear ordinary men—he knew he could hold his own in a fair fight—but all the signs told him this wasn't a man. He had shifted into a woman; glass didn't hurt him; the force of his punches felt inhuman. He wondered if some of the bones in his face were broken. He wondered if the creature had chosen this location because the music blaring downstairs would cover up any screams. Not that Yi Jeong intended to scream.

He hardened his jaw.

How had Ga Eul gotten mixed up with this monster? She'd always been too innocent for her own good.

"A nine-tailed fox."

"What?"

"You're wondering what I am."

"You can read minds?"

"No. I can read people, which is why I'm telling you to stay the hell away from my girlfriend." The monster's jaw twitched; his eyes flashed in warning.

"You must have bewitched her. If Ga Eul knew what you are, there's no way she would love you."

The creature smirked and goaded, "She knew what you were, and she loved you. She waited on your miserable carcass for four years."

The words stung worse than his wounds, and he knew there was truth in them, but he spat out, "That's different. I'm not a monster."

"Of course you are. Your claws are just invisible."

"Ga Eul's a good person. She'll never forgive you if you hurt me."

"Ga Eul is a good person, but that's not all there is to her. And I am a monster, but that's not why you should be scared of me."

"No?"

"No." The monster dropped his voice to a whisper. He languidly approached, then leaned in close enough for Yi Jeong to feel his breath. "You should be scared," he taunted, "because I'm her pet fox." Unsheathing his axe, he brought its blade to rest on Yi Jeong's arm, just above where the ropes were tied, and Yi Jeong stopped squirming; he scarcely dared to breathe as the blade bit his skin.

"I heard your hand recovered from a horrible injury," the fox noted lightly. "Let's see if it can recover from being removed."


Three Days Ago

The first few weeks of school had been an exhausting whirlwind of activity, but finally, Ga Eul's students had settled into their routine, and she felt like she'd established clear expectations for her classroom.

She enjoyed her students. She got along well with her assistant teacher. She felt even more confident in her skills than she had the previous year, and that was good because she needed those skills for the career development program she had to participate in over winter break.

Yes, her fourth year of teaching had gotten off to a great start, and her relationship with Rang was stronger than ever. She'd gone back to staying at her apartment three days a week—she was still paying rent, after all, and her mother liked to visit—but it didn't matter because Rang slept over there anyway. They'd made a pact to never spend the night alone again, even if Rang had to pretend to be a cat to sneak into her parents' house.

At least, he didn't seem too bothered by her return to school. He still drove her to and from school each day, but he'd quit stalking her so much. If she was grumpy and exhausted at the end of the day, he'd tell her she was crazy for wanting to work so hard, but underneath his gruff comments, she could see that he was proud of her. He never failed to inform anyone that she was the best teacher at her school.

She loved her boyfriend, and she loved teaching. Still, on some weeks, like this one, she lived for the weekend, and she was glad it was Friday as she returned to her classroom to collect her take-home work.

On the way there, she passed by one of her colleagues who taught fifth grade.

"There's a very handsome man waiting in your classroom," she informed Ga Eul with a cheeky smile.

"Oh? My boyfriend must be here to pick me up." Ga Eul smiled back as they crossed paths. Of course, Rang was early. He'd been ready for the weekend since Monday. He was probably drawing crude cartoons on her whiteboard out of boredom.

"No, it's not your boyfriend," her colleague called out.

Ga Eul frowned.

A very handsome man who was not her boyfriend?

Was it a parent she hadn't met?

Ga Eul sighed.

It was five-thirty on a Friday afternoon. The last thing she wanted to do was meet with an overbearing parent. Rang's mind control abilities would come in handy right about now.

Her steps slowed as she neared her classroom, and she took care to put on a polite, sympathetic expression though her insides were screaming let me go home!

She turned one corner into her hallway, then another corner into her classroom. She saw the back of the man's head before she saw his face, but her heart dropped into her stomach all the same. She would know him anywhere. She knew how he stood, how he walked, how he spoke, and she knew the back of his head as well as she knew his face.

Still, shock overcame her when he turned.

So Yi Jeong, after so many years. He stood in her classroom wearing an expensive, three-piece light gray suit, a blue handkerchief square tucked neatly into his breast pocket. A single diamond earring. Perfectly styled hair.

She froze.

So many times, when she'd first started teaching, she'd dreamed of Yi Jeong showing up at her school. In her dreams, he'd apologized for the way things had ended, for his silence and cowardice. He'd swept her off her feet again, and she'd forgiven him, and they'd lived happily ever after.

But seeing him there now, standing in her classroom where he didn't belong, just left her cold.

She didn't want a happy ending with him anymore. She didn't want him to disrupt the full, beautiful life she'd made for herself without him.

She wanted him to leave. Immediately.

A/N: To be continued...