| Fan Fiction |
by shattered teardrops
- - - - - - - - - - -Chapter Ten: “An Untold Secret”
Feeling aggravated and less playful, Yi Jung opted to go back to their room and cool his head off first. And Woo Bin, sensing the fiery anger of his friend, he decided to follow Yi Jung and talk to him. Personally, Woo Bin thought it was very unusual for Yi Jung to lose his temper with matters that didn’t even concern the F4 or his dysfunctional family. Furthermore, rarely does the great playboy So Yi Jung lose his temper in front of women, so why was he so revved over Ga Eul’s carelessness. It was an accident, wasn’t it?
“Yo… What’s the problem, bro?” He asked in simple English Ebonics. Clearly, Woo Bin has been watching a little too many of Ghetto movies to be able to speak like that. And for an Asian, he didn’t sound so bad. It was actually what made him unique among the other F4.
“Nothing…” Yi Jung replied and took off his beanie as he settled himself on a chair. He heaved a deep sigh and leaned his head on the chair. Even he himself could not understand why he was acting all irrational and short-tempered.
“Aight, look here, bro… I’m here to listen to you. I can’t say anything if you’re not going to tell me anything.” Woo Bin prodded. Even as friends, the F4 weren’t that close. Yes, they did grow up altogether but their friendship wasn’t a kiss-and-tell kind. And so, when one is bothered about something, the others would have to squeeze it out of him or find other means to get the information they need. “It’s Ga Eul-sshi, isn’t it?” Woo Bin added.
At the mention of Ga Eul’s name, Yi Jung’s head shot up and he looked at Woo Bin. Bingo. “What made you think that?” He asked defensively.
Woo Bin smirked. “I’m not exactly as dumb as Jun Pyo and I don’t have mild autism like Ji Hoo who I know notices things too but keep quiet about it. That’s why I’m here prying into your business before it gets out of hand.” He tossed a can of soft drink at Yi Jung which the latter caught expertly and sat by the chair opposite him.
“Ga Eul has always been off limits, Woo Bin, you know that. I’d get caught in a messy entanglement if I messed with her. I hate complications, you know that too.” Yi Jung reasoned out loud. He realized that he had been saying the exact opposite of what he’s been doing lately. It irked him but it was the truth.
“Funny you should say that. Coz you sure aren’t acting like she’s off limits.” Woo Bin smiled and raised an eyebrow at his friend. He then took a big gulp from his can of drink as if to celebrate his impending victory over his friend.
“Yah, stop making assumptions.” Yi Jung obviously looked annoyed.
“Kkangpae don’t make no assumptions without hard evidence. I’m kkangpae. Pure Korean gangster right here, bro!” Oh right. Aside from being a member of F4, Woo Bin was the heir to a long line of South Korean underground gangsters. Of course, his family appeared legitimate with several legal businesses, but that was as much as saying that those legitimate businesses were mere covers for their massive underground operation. Despite appearing sophisticated and decent, Woo Bin was a very dangerous man.
Yi Jung smiled. Woo Bin never really outgrew his pride as a member of a clan of gangsters and Yi Jung found it amusing. It was another side of Woo Bin’s personality that was held discreet to the public. “Oh, yeah? So what evidences are you talking about?” He asked with a challenging tone.
“Well, quoting from Princess Diaries 2, the one non-cartoon fairytale movie apart from Princess Diaries 1, that Jun Pyo’s big sister made us watch, ‘Maids know everything’. Only this time, my men aren’t maids, we’re kkangpae. We’ve got men all over the streets and people in different places.” Woo Bin explained. Yeah, he’s very proud of his kkangpae lineage. “Let’s just say she spent the night at your house last night… But I don’t think anything happened between the two of you because if anything really DID happen, I would know…” Woo Bin smiled mischievously and winked at his friend. “Oh wait, let’s not forget the very obvious evidences, you called her Jagiya in public and you show very obvious signs that you care for her. Lastly, you didn’t give me her number. The last one sums up just about every other reason I mentioned.”
It was freaky how Woo Bin knew things about him but Yi Jung was amused instead. He wondered briefly if Woo Bin also knew about his kidnapping and stalking of Ga Eul, however, he did not dare ask. “So you think I like her because I didn’t give you her number?” He was especially amused upon remembering his little prank on his friends. Although, he had known that Woo Bin’s kkangpae friends have been keeping track of the actions of the other F4 members aside from Woo Bin, he didn’t realize that their monitoring was this extensive.
Woo Bin sighed. “Let’s not overlook what’s obvious, shall we? Besides, I bet you haven’t read the newspaper lately, have you?” Truth be told, he had the intense need to knock some sense into Yi Jung at that moment. The signs were very obvious but he was refusing to see anything. But apart from that, Yi Jung seemed like he was ignorant of the bigger problems at hand.
“Aniyo… Why? What’s up?”
“Your Father publicly invited ‘his son’s beautiful Jagiya’ to see his own pieces. It was on his latest interview in the Lifestyle section of the newspaper. There was even a picture of you and Ga Eul talking intimately to each other. I’m surprised that the media hasn’t found out Ga Eul’s real identity yet. Furthermore, your Father mentioned wanting to hear her comment on his pieces.” Woo Bin explained. He immediately saw Yi Jung’s jaw tighten at the mention of his Father.
‘Don’t tell me he wishes to repeat what he has done in the past…’ Yi Jung’s mind screamed in defiance to his Father but he remained silent. The thing that infuriated him the most was his Father’s public declaration of interest in Ga Eul. He couldn’t help but feel loathsome towards the man who turned out to be his father. He thought that the man was utterly despicable. His face did not fail to express the abhorrence and anger that he was feeling and Woo Bin did not fail to recognize it either.
“Oh and yeah, I think you might want to consider your Grandmother’s reaction when she sees the picture…” Woo Bin added.
‘Damn!’ Yi Jung instantly thought. He was reminded of the main reason why he never brought a date to social functions. It was because of his Grandmother, who was so keen on having him give her grand children already. Looks like he dragged Ga Eul into a bigger mess after all and he was regretting the foolish actions he did. He wasn’t even pursuing the girl yet but there were already complications.
“Looks like I got you thinking, didn’t I? Anyhow, my friend, I have to give you credit since you’re not as dumb as Jun Pyo either, I assume you have a clear picture of what you’re up against…” Woo Bin looked at his friend and waited for any positive sign that Yi Jung was indeed prepared for anything to happen. Apparently, Yi Jung remained silent and still lost deep in thoughts. “Oh, man… Don’t tell me… Seriously, am I the only one not being infected by Jun Pyo’s stupidity here?!”
-oOo-
“It’s Jan Di…” Worry was etched on Ga Eul’s beautiful face as she broke the news to the F4, excluding Jun Pyo, that Jan Di had gone missing despite the news that there was a blizzard.
Apparently, Jan Di had gone up the mountains to search for the necklace which Jun Pyo had given her, ignorant of the news about a heavy blizzard. Goo Jun Pyo was also nowhere in sight. He was summoned by his mother and was escorted by his bodyguards. Looking out the window and watching the heavy snow, Ga Eul couldn’t help but worry. She felt an intense need to go find her friend by herself but in such condition, doing that was a very stupid move.
Ji Hoo found out that the necklace was actually taken by the three female students from Shinhwa who always bullied Jan Di. He was furious of course. To think that Jan Di had gone out into the blizzard and endangered her life for nothing made him especially ticked off. But instead of lashing out his anger, he merely took the necklace and gave them a sharp glare. If only they weren’t women, he would’ve done more than glaring.
Ji Hoo had contacted Jun Pyo and had informed him of Jan Di’s disappearance. Miraculously, Jun Pyo didn’t act all irrational. Instead, he calmly received the news. On the other hand, Ga Eul together with the other F4 members had to patiently wait for the news from the rescue group that was sent to find Jan Di. They were all feeling the same thing as they sat waiting: they all felt helpless. Unable to contain what he felt, Ji Hoo abruptly stood up and declared that he would find Jan Di by himself. However, he was stopped by his Yi Jung who chose to keep a clear head and reminded him that it would be a stupid move to do that. Helpless and worried, Ji Hoo had to endure the long hours of waiting while holding on to the necklace that Jun Pyo had given Jan Di.
On the other hand, Ga Eul attempted to put on a brave front, choosing to believe that Jan Di would be alright. She tried her best to stop the impending tears from coming and apparently, she was doing a poor job at it because her eyes still looked dense. Truthfully, the one thing that she wanted to do right now was cry. But she bit her lip trying to stop the tears from coming because it would only make her look weak. And she couldn’t afford that. Not while she was with the F4. She refused to let them see her cry.
Looking sideways, Yi Jung saw Ga Eul’s face scrunching up into a look of deep worry and unease. He wanted to do something to appease her but realized that he couldn’t do anything. The only thing that could comfort Ga Eul was Jan Di’s safe return. And he himself, wasn’t sure if she could really return safely so he merely looked away. This was one situation where his charm was useless. He wanted to reach out to her and comfort her, at least let her cry to lessen the emotional baggage that was torturing her but he realized, he couldn’t do that too.
“Excuse me, I’m going to the comfort room…” Ga Eul stood up and excused herself away from the guys. With her head bowed low, she made her way towards the comfort room to hopefully set free the tears that she had long held back. Jan Di had been out into the blizzard for hours already. Her faith in her friend was slowly wearing thin. No one would surely survive in that type of weather. She didn’t want to think about such thoughts but she couldn’t help it.
When Ga Eul left, Woo Bin met Yi Jung’s eyes and motioned him to follow her. Yi Jung didn’t want to but Woo Bin was persistent. There were no words between friends but Woo Bin managed to convince Yi Jung to go after her. So he did. He stood up as well and went to check on how Ga Eul was doing. Yi Jung stood by the door of the women’s comfort room and waited for Ga Eul to come out. He could hear muffled sobs coming from inside the women’s comfort room and couldn’t help but feel his chest tightening in pain as well. It went on for a few more minutes until he could no longer bear hearing her cry. He slowly twisted the knob of the door and allowed himself inside. If he would have to answer why he was bothering to do this, he would have to say ‘Woo Bin made him do it.’ But he knew that it was merely an excuse. He freely acted by himself.
“Ga Eul-ah…” Yi Jung called out and the sobs abruptly stopped.
The 3rd cubicle suddenly opened and revealed Ga Eul who looked surprised. Her eyes were puffy from the crying but when she came out, she tried her best to hide the fact that she had been crying. She nonchalantly walked and smiled uncomfortably at him. “Uhm… Yi Jung-sshi, you went in the wrong room. This is the female’s comfort room…” She said and walked past him. However, he held her back with one hand on her arm. Ga Eul turned to look at Yi Jung questioningly.
“You didn’t have to hide out here, you know…” Yi Jung’s voice was soft and his tone was comforting. On his face was an all too tender expression as he laid eyes on Ga Eul’s tear-stricken face.
Ga Eul’s composure began crumbling before Yi Jung’s very eyes as he saw tears threatening to fall once again. She still tried her best to contain them again but this time, she did not succeed. Tears came falling one after another as she broke into hysterical sobs. Yi Jung found himself breaking his playboy principles as he gathered the crying Ga Eul into his arms for a comforting embrace. At that very moment, Yi Jung forgot his philandering ways and the playboy commandments he had long kept. At that exact moment, his world only revolved around comforting Ga Eul. He refused to think about the consequences.
Finally, after a long, sleepless night, Ga Eul and the other F4 members were relieved when Jun Pyo had gone through the door with the limping Jan Di in his arms. Relief flooded through Ga Eul that she immediately ran to her friend and hugged her tightly. “Jan Di!” The other F4 met Jun Pyo with smiles and gave him brotherly taps on the shoulder for being able to save Jan Di. The happy scene ultimately ended with Ji Hoo handing the necklace back to Jan Di with a big smile on his face.
Unbeknownst to all, Ga Eul gave Yi Jung a look of pure gratitude for comforting her. They also shared a silent agreement that whatever happened back by the comfort room should remain there. It was an untold secret and Ga Eul was happy to keep it. As for Yi Jung, though he realized that he had just done something in contrast to his ideals, he refused to regret his decision.
To Be Continued…
- - - - - - - - - -Preview of Chapter Eleven:
“Ga Eul-ah… Will you come with me?” He asked and on his face was a tender expression, like a little boy pleading.
Without much choice, Ga Eul succumbed to Yi Jung’s wishes and sat back down the passenger’s seat. “Araso… Since you look like you are in dire need of company, I can spare some time.” Ga Eul spoke smugly with a proud expression on his face. She smirked as she looked at him and Yi Jung found it amusing and attractive at the same time. She was definitely a woman like no other. He only smiled and shook his head.
“Keep on acting like that and I might kiss that smirk off your face…” He whispered incoherently as he revved up the engine of his car.
-oOo-
a/n: You guys will just have to wait to find out about juicy Preview for the next chapter! XD
-oOo-
Date Written: Feb24,’09
Date Posted: March1,’09