| Fan Fiction |
by shattered teardrops
Ga Eul and Yi Jung were silently walking out of the theater house to take their leave after Yi Jung’s uncomfortable confrontation. Ga Eul had taken it quite well but Yi Jung could swear that he saw sadness in those eyes of hers. He was sorry about it but not sorry enough to take back the words that he has spoken. ‘It’s for the best.’ He thought as he consoled himself silently.
“No more talk of darkness… Forget these wide-eyed fears… I’m here… Nothing can harm you… My words will warm and calm you…” A sweet and melodious male voice began to sing that both Ga Eul and Yi Jung just had to turn back to see who it was. They were both surprised to see Kim Jae Joong, still dressed as the vicomte, Raoul. And he was looking straight into Ga Eul’s direction. “Mademoiselle, we meet again…” He took a few abrupt steps towards where Ga Eul and Yi Jung stood as he extended a hand, asking for Ga Eul’s.
Ga Eul threw Yi Jung an unsure glance and hesitantly placed her hand on Jae Joong’s. The action brought a charming grin on the actor’s face and a disturbed expression on the potter’s features. Jae Joong bowed low and placed a feathery kiss on the back of Ga Eul’s palm as a sign of courtesy. Surprisingly, Yi Jung did not react but distaste was clearly written on his face. “Jae Joong…” Yi Jung spoke, as if announcing his presence to Jae Joong, whose attention was obviously too focused on Ga Eul.
“Yi Jung-sshi, have you seen my performance?” Jae Joong earnestly asked. “It was my debut in stage acting and musical.” He looked quite ecstatic.
Even before Yi Jung could reply, “You gave a very wonderful performance and your voice is amazing!” Ga Eul spoke with enthusiasm which caused Jae Joong to smile even more.
“Thank you…” Jae Joong beamed. “Ah! What was that?” Jae Joong pointed elsewhere causing Ga Eul and Yi Jung to look at it, only for him to hold out his hand by Ga Eul’s ear and pull out what appeared to be a red rose. He grinned and held the rose in front of Ga Eul. “For you, Mademoiselle.” Ga Eul blushed and took the rose with a smile on her face. “Ah. I’m not interrupting anything, am I? Are you two in a date?” Jae Joong inquired.
Yi Jung was about to answer but Ga Eul had beaten him to it once again. “Aniyo…” She vehemently declined. “We’re not dating and I certainly wouldn’t date someone like him.” She added, adding more fuel to the already secretly sulking Yi Jung.
“I’m sure…” Jae Joong chuckled knowingly. Suddenly, someone called Jae Joong, telling him to go to the back stage. “Well, I must be going. By the way, I did not get your name back at the exhibit… May I have the honor of knowing your name, Mademoiselle?”
“Ga Eul… My name is Ga Eul…”
“Ah… Thank you… I’m pretty sure we’ll meet again…” Jae Joong blew a kiss in mid-air as he retreated but before he could completely go back to the theater house, he called out to Ga Eul once more. “Ga Eul-yang! The Phantom is a prisoner. Set him free. I’ll help you capture the Casanova.” He said in semi-riddle-ish sentences which only made Ga Eul puzzled.
‘He talks too much…’ Yi Jung thought. “Kaja…” He whispered and dragged Ga Eul by the arm towards his car.
The drive back was mostly comprised of unforgiving silence. Yi Jung was too annoyed to speak and Ga Eul kept on remembering Yi Jung’s honest confrontation. For Yi Jung’s part, his decision was for the best. It’s only a matter of time before his Grandmother showed herself right at his doorstep and demand to see the lady he brought to his exhibit. He knew his Grandmother too well. And the fact that he was her favorite Grandchild also didn’t help. The deeper reason of trying to sever his deepening tie with Ga Eul was because of his Father. He didn’t want history to repeat itself. No woman shall ever walk the same path as Eun Jae…
There was a time in Yi Jung’s life when he truly loved deeply, but it was an unrequited love. He was too shy to tell her anything and he was contented of loving from afar. She was his Father’s student, a bright young lass, who easily succumbed to his Father’s mature charm and deceitful manners. That girl was Cha Eun Jae… Hers was a case deeply kept within the family. And what was worse? Yi Jung wasn’t the only one who had eyes on her. Other than his Father, there were three of them who were indomitably pursuing her and all of them were members of the So clan. First was him, second was his elder brother and the third was his cousin and former best friend, Kim Jae Joong. Looking sideways at Ga Eul and judging from the reaction of his Father and of Jae Joong, it was only a matter of time before history repeated itself once again.
“I’ll repeat what I said before.” Yi Jung finally found the courage to speak. “Stay away from that man…”
“I don’t want to argue with you but I can assure you of one thing: I’m not under your command. I will do as I please.” Ga Eul tenaciously replied.
Yi Jung sighed and decided to change topic. “Has Goo Jun Pyo made contact with Jan Di?” He asked and was met by Ga Eul’s hopeless pout.
“Aniyo… It’s getting me worried… Jan Di hasn’t been acting like her usual self lately…” She replied with deep worry creased on her beautiful face.
Yi Jung’s annoyed face turned into a concerned one. Something was definitely not right. It could have been acceptable for him if Goo Jun Pyo had not contacted him or any of the other F4, but for him not to contact Jan Di? The man was crazily in love with that commoner. Not a day went by without him calling Jan Di and drabbling about how she was falling deeper into him, only that it meant the other way around.
“Hasn’t he contacted you too?” Ga Eul asked and Yi Jung shook his head in response. “Aish… That man needs some serious beating! Don’t tell me he’s been enjoying with other girls in another country?! Has he forgotten about his girlfriend who’s waiting for him?! I am seriously pissed off at that Goo Jun Pyo!” Ga Eul did not hesitate to rant and let off some steam.
“So… What is Jan Di planning to do about it?” Yi Jung asked, ignoring Ga Eul’s rant. He didn’t stop her from pouring out her anger because frankly speaking, he agreed with her. He might be a big philandering cad but he was not a liar. All those girls who got into his bed knew what were bound to happen to them. He had clearly briefed them that theirs was only a one-time thing with no strings attached. They agreed to the rules of his game so there were no troubles when it came to leaving. However, Jun Pyo and Jan Di’s case were different. Jun Pyo made Jan Di wait. And he did not cleanly sever their connection. In a way, he was breaking Jan Di’s heart and Yi Jung thought that he was no better than Sun Pyo, the guy whom he and Ga Eul took revenge into.
“I haven’t asked her yet… But if she’s planning to do anything, I’ll let you know…” Ga Eul volunteered. She knew that Yi Jung was concerned with Jun Pyo as much as she’s been concerned with Jan Di. Even if they were interacting with each other for the sake of their friends, she was glad that she and Yi Jung were getting along over something…
-oOo-
Yi Jung found himself listlessly retracing the path towards his workshop after watching the Phantom of the Opera with Ga Eul. He was trying his best to shake off her words off his mind but he was doing poorly at it. He finally decided that it would be best if he focused his attention elsewhere. And found pottery as the means to do so.
He was a few meters away from the entrance of his workshop when he saw an unfamiliar vehicle parked in front. For a moment, he was puzzled but shrugged it off and proceeded into his workshop coolly. To his surprise, he found himself face to face with the woman he has been dreading to hear from.
“Yi Jung…” She acknowledged with a charming smile.
“Hamoni…” Yi Jung had expected his Grandmother to randomly show up whenever she felt like it. She had always been so unpredictable in her ways. He was just caught off guard. Clearly, there were a lot of different thoughts running inside his mind. Most of them contained dear thoughts and conflicting emotions towards a certain commoner whom he called his Jagiya.
“Well, aren’t you going to give your Grandmother a hug?” She extended her arms and Yi Jung obligingly walked into them, giving her a half-hearted hug. He was in no mood to deal with his Grandmother but he had no choice now, hadn’t he?
“It’s a surprise to see you…” He smiled politely, offering her one of those deceitful smiles of his.
“Ah… Of course, it is. I love surprising people. Anyhow, I came to pester you.” She openly admitted which caused Yi Jung’s jaw to drop surprisingly.
“Ehh? Pester me? About what?” He chuckled uncomfortably. Somehow, he had a feeling about where this conversation with his Grandmother would lead. And he didn’t like it. Not one bit. He had just dealt with Ga Eul and apparently, his Grandmother was a harder situation to deal with.
“Tell me about Ga Eul.” She smiled sweetly as she took a seat towards the nearest bench inside his workshop.
Yi Jung wasn’t surprised that his Grandmother already knew Ga Eul’s name. The woman was known for her various connections. “Hamoni…” He looked at her exasperatedly and outwardly groaned as he sat beside her. He was clearly showing her that he was in no mood to be pegged about getting married and settling down yet, but she seemed oblivious about it.
His Grandmother sighed. “Don’t tell me you’ll keep on living like your Father? Honestly, So Yi Jung, I cannot wait for the day that you find a girl to kick your butt and tame you down.” Well, that was a very spunky statement for a Grandmother to say, isn’t it? Well, So Yi Jung’s Grandmother wasn’t exactly one to be underestimated.
“Hamoni, I’m not ready to settle down yet…” Yi Jung groaned.
“I’m not getting any younger Yi Jung. You are the heir of the So family. I need to see you stable before I die.” She said. “Besides, I like that Ga Eul… If you won’t pursue her, I might just do that in behalf of you…” She smiled like a Cheshire cat.
That kind of smile on her face suddenly made Yi Jung nervous.
-oOo-
Over the next few days, Ga Eul was back into her usual business. She still worked two part time jobs but made sure to spare some time to cheer Jan Di whenever she looked down. And for a few days already, she had been coming home late from her night shift at the bake shop safely because new street lights were already installed on the area where she was attacked. She wanted to thank whoever had installed the street lights but learned that they were donated by an anonymous person who didn’t wish to be acknowledged.
Other than the streetlights, Ga Eul was also perfectly aware of the stranger who followed her home from the bakeshop. At first, she was afraid, thinking that it was some psychotic stalker, but after a few days, she began to relax as she observed that the man meant no harm and was only making sure that she got home safely. She saw him looking at her go inside their house and patiently waited to make sure that she was safe before he would leave.
Eventually, she began to discover the identity of her bodyguard as he wore the same baseball cap the night he saved her. Ga Eul thought it was quite nice of him to get out of his way every night just to make sure that she was safe. And he wasn’t even trying to get himself noticed. He just followed her discreetly. He even hid whenever she tried to look back at him.
Finally, one night, Ga Eul decided to acknowledge the presence of her bodyguard. “Yah! Choi Seung Hyun! Komaowoyo!” She called out into the street, loud enough for him to hear her even as he hid. She took out a can of orange juice from her bag and left it outside the gate of their home. “I’ll leave this orange juice for you to drink, araso?! Make sure you drink it!”
On her next night shift, Ga Eul found Seung Hyun waiting outside the bakeshop. This time, he was no longer hiding himself and he silently handed her a can of orange juice, the same brand she gave him on the night she acknowledged him. “Well, what’s the use of hiding if you already know it’s me?” He reasoned out to answer her silent question. Ga Eul found herself smiling as she walked along side Seung Hyun.
“You don’t have to do this, you know…” Ga Eul spoke.
“Ugly pigtails.” Seung Hyun randomly announced.
“Huh?” Ga Eul asked.
“When we were in grade school, you were the girl they called ‘Ugly Pigtails’, right? I clearly remember that because your pigtails were always lopsided and messy.” Seung Hyun smiled as he recalled their childhood memories. Ga Eul found herself pouting when she remembered. Of all memories of her, why did he have to be reminded of that one? “I also remembered that I was the one who took your pigtails off and told you that you looked better without them…” Seung Hyun further detailed.
“And it was you and Jan Di who fought off those mean bullies at school…” Ga Eul added.
“Jan Di? The girl with the deadly spin kick? Are you guys still bestfriends?”
“Yeah… Apparently, we stuck glued to each other…” Ga Eul smiled sheepishly.
“I see… I still kind of missed those pigtails though… They were pretty cute…” Seung Hyun looked a little embarrassed to admit it but he sort of found her messy pigtails charming. And she was a cute little thing back then that he just felt compelled to protect her. Like what he was doing now.
To Be Continued…
- - - - - - - - - -Preview of Chapter Thirteen: “Humane”
“Don’t act like you know everything…” It was a warning. His expression was devoid of any form of amusement or mischief. His features hinted seriousness and long-hidden secrets that she unconsciously brought forth in front of his eyes. He didn’t like how she had made him feel vulnerable and weak or the fact that she had, in part, understood his underlying meaning behind the context of true love and soul mates.
Ga Eul smiled warmly, the kind of smile that was both glad but it was as if she pitied him. “For the first time, I feel as though you’ve become humane… Like a real person… I’m glad I came here. Maybe I could come some other time to talk about Jan Di. I’ll be going.” Leaving those words behind, Ga Eul left Yi Jung to ponder on her words.
-oOo-
a/n: Don't tell me you guys are now rooting for TOP?!
-oOo-
Date Written: March4,’09
Date Posted: Mrch7,'09