| Fan Fiction |
by shattered teardrops
Ga Eul slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to have seen unfamiliar surroundings. She rubbed her eyes before finally sitting up. When she looked to her side, she was surprised to see So Yi Jung sleeping serenely beside her. Furthermore, he was only clothed in white polo shirt with the few buttons opened. Her eyes widened in unuttered surprise. When she checked whether she was still fully clothed, she was surprised to have found that she was clothed in a white cotton dress!
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” She screamed loudly, waking up the sleeping Casanova. “Sunbae! What did you do to me?!”
Hearing the loud and unprecedented shout from Ga Eul, Yi Jung suddenly scrambled atop the bed and soon fell in a semi-panicky state. “Wha… What happened?!” He asked, standing upright with uttered concern and worry written all over his face. When he finally saw Ga Eul looking at him with accusing eyes as she held the sheets close to her chest, only did he realize what made her panic. He soon gulped hard and looked away, unable to meet her eyes.
“Sunbae… Don’t tell me…” Ga Eul’s voice was no more than a whisper with a somewhat dazed expression on her face.
“I’m sorry…” He muttered with a guilty tone and spoke no more.
“I’m sorry?! That’s all you can say?! Sunbae! How could you?!” Ga Eul’s voice rose high as she felt herself tearing up. She didn’t want to believe that something actually happened between them, however, Yi Jung’s guilty face somehow screamed otherwise.
“Yah! It wasn’t my fault that there were no female chamber maids on duty last night! I asked for someone to come up here and help me but they sent a male attendant! What was I ought to do?! I couldn’t just let any other man touch you…” He explained. His voice was defensive and loud at first but gradually came to soften upon saying the last sentence. He was still unable to meet her eyes as he found it uncomfortable.
“What do you mean?” Ga Eul asked. She was a little confused.
“I swear… My eyes were closed when I changed your clothes.” Yi Jung finally confessed. It was only then that Ga Eul heaved out a sigh of relief. He only changed her clothes. Wait… What?! Changed her clothes?! Realizing that he was able to change her clothes, let alone undress her and… and… Ga Eul suddenly screamed again.
“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” She screamed loudly and hid under the blankets, her face blushing furiously. ‘This wasn’t happening… This wasn’t happening…’ She thought, mentally reciting a mantra which she hoped to be true. However, reality begged to be different. Yi Jung had come to change her clothes and only God knew what he had seen underneath.
“Ga Eul-yang… I swear… My eyes were closed…” Yi Jung explained, however, he couldn’t deny the fact that he had taken a few peeks. With these thoughts entering his mind, a reddish hue slowly crept on his cheeks as he again, tried to look away. He was a little agitated by the fact that he had tried his best to change her clothes out of pure concern for her, but she only thought of nonsensical things about him. God knew how much he had to control himself in order not to… do things to her. It never occurred to him that Ga Eul could be so tempting.
“But… But… Nooooo!!! My chastity! I can’t believe you did that! You violated me!” Ga Eul continued her hysterics.
“Ga Eul-yang, I didn’t violate you. I only changed your clothes since you were soaked in sweat the whole day. If I violated you, and I meant that hypothetically, then you wouldn’t be screaming like that. I bet you’d even be smiling and asking for another round when you wake up.” Yi Jung half-smirked as he looked at her. There was simply that unexplainable amusement whenever he teased Ga Eul and he liked doing it over and over again.
Ga Eul suddenly threw a pillow at him and stood atop the bed. “Hah! I am not that easy! I am so not like your girls!” Ga Eul retorted, playing an angry and offended expression on her face.
“Yes, indeed, I must agree. You are not like them… They’re hotter…” He replied with a hint of mischief on his eyes.
Ga Eul looked at him sharply upon hearing his words. After which, she acted coolly and smugly crossed her arms across her chest. “It is okay, Yi Jung-sunbae… They’re hotter huh? Well, I bet you liked what you saw last night. Too bad you can’t touch it.” She smirked triumphantly and walked towards the side table. She retrieved her clothes and went straight to the comfort room to change.
Yi Jung was left to ponder on her words. She then massaged his temple with discomfort written all over his face. He closed his eyes and all he saw was Ga Eul’s sleeping image as he slowly undressed her. ‘Damn…’ He thought. He needed to release the heat. Ga Eul’s memory was more than Viagra and any other aphrodisiac combined. ‘Damn it…’ He cursed again.
-oOo-
Ga Eul was standing in front of a half-opened door, allowing her to see the pottery class that was occurring inside. She was mentally debating whether to come in or not. Jae Joong told her that it would be a wise move if she involved herself in pottery in order to better understand Yi Jung’s passion for the craft. Also, she might ask him to teach her a thing or two as well, allowing them to have some time together.
She was turned her back and was about to leave when someone suddenly called approached her. It was the teacher for the pottery class. She was a pretty lady with very nice features and a refined tone of voice. She greeted Ga Eul warmly and cheerfully welcomed her to the world of pottery. It was then that Ga EUl was given no chance to back out so she proceeded to take the lessons instead.
Later that day, Ga Eul officially began a hands-on tutorial on how to mold clay. Apparently, she was the youngest one in class, and her classmates were mostly married woman who were trying out a new hobbie. The teacher named Cha Eun Jae was a patient woman. She was all smiles during class as she thoroughly explained the basics of pottery. Ga Eul also eagerly listened as she was genuinely interested to learn other than joining for the sake of Yi Jung.
By the end of the class, Ga Eul was kind enough to remain and help Eun Jae put away materials for the class. “Komaowoyo…” Ga Eul smiled and politely bowed in gratitude.
“I should be the one thankful for you…” Eun Jae spoke. Her face still radiated kindness and refinery with a smile.
“Eh?”
“Usually, elder ladies take this class. I’m just really happy to see someone my age, Ga Eul-sshi…” Eun Jae explained. “By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get interested in pottery?” She asked.
Ga Eul smiled. “Someone I know does pottery.” She replied.
“You like that person, don’t you?” Eun Jae guessed and she was right.
“Eh?” Ga Eul was a bit embarrassed but Eun Jae seemed oblivious to it.
“Because you want to know that person… The feeling of wanting to do what that person does and hopefully, you could do it together… I know it quite well.” Eun Jae spoke still with a smile. Apparently, she was speaking from experience.
“By chance, are you…” Ga Eul asked, waiting for a confirmation but Eun Jae gave it to her quite eagerly.
“It’s a childhood friend… When other kids fooled around, we learned to use the potter’s wheel…” Eun Jae narrated.
“Did your boyfriend become a potter?”
“Hmm… Though he is a potter… He didn’t become my boyfriend.”
“Aah…” Ga Eul felt sorry for Eun Jae. She found herself embarrassed for being too nosy into other’s business.
“You don’t have to feel bad for me. Thanks to him, I’ve become quite stable.” Eun Jae assured. Here was a woman who looked quite contented narrating the story of a love that never progressed but she was happy to share it nonetheless. This only showed that Eun Jae has long moved on. Eun Jae moved on to taking a cup from the nearby shelf and showed it to Ga Eul. “You see this tea cup? Though it looks weak, do you that it’s very strong inside? Turned upside down and stepped on… And after it’s endlessly cut, over and over again on the potter’s wheel, and then…”
“One thousand three hundred degrees…” Ga Eul momentarily recalled and spoke out loud.
“That’s right.” Eun Jae seconded. It needs to withstand one thousand three hundred degrees of heat in the kiln. That’s how this cup’s table soul is created. But… how did you know that, Ga Eul-sshi?” There was a hint of curiousness on Eun Jae’s voice as she asked. Usually, newbies at pot making don’t know of this procedure.
“Aah… I listened to something like this in the past…” Ga Eul explained to which Eun Jae nodded apprehensively.
“To… That friend… was my kiln and potter’s wheel…” Eun Jae further narrated as she looked away from Ga Eul as if she was lost deep in her thoughts. Clearly, she was recalling long buried memories from her past. After momentarily speaking though, she smiled once again.
“Were you able to forget that person?” Ga Eul further interviewed.
Eun Jae didn’t answer the question but smiled and sigh instead. “You can bring your friend sometime, Ga Eul-sshi… I’m curious…” She said. Ga Eul merely smiled in response, mentally wondering if she could ever get So Yi Jung to come over and see her in her pottery class.
-oOo-
Yi Jung was walking steadily towards his Workshop after a night of drowning himself in lustful pleasure with his playmates. He was dissatisfied though. He kept searching for something from them however, he never knew what it was that he was looking for. Furthermore, his thoughts were almost always dominated by one naïve school girl whom he had spent a night inside a hotel room, surprisingly without anything happening between them.
The moment Yi Jung opened the lights inside his workshop, he was stunned to see two people in standing dangerously close. His eyes immediately turned into flaring slits the moment he saw his own Father in the hands of a woman who was no more than a few years older than him. Anger and aggravation instantly dominated Yi Jung’s features as he faced his Father, who even took a liberty of taking a bottle of wine from his mini bar.
With a heavily controlled voice, Yi Jung restrained himself from lashing out unto the man who was his Father. It took every ounce of self control he has, not to spout profanities to the man who gave him life. Even his knuckles were tightly closed to restrain himself from attacking his own Father. “This is my work place.” Yi Jung spoke. “Do you work elsewhere, Abeoji.”
With a nonchalant smiled, his Father took a sip of wine and looked at Yi Jung. “Son…” He said. “You do your ‘work’ here too. Let’s help out each other a bit, shall we?” Yi Jung knew that when his Father spoke of ‘work’, he meant another kind of work, a kind of work aside from pottery which they both undeniably excel at.
Though obviously very annoyed and aggravated, Yi Jung still chose to undermine his true feelings. “If you’re going to be like this, I’m going to have to move my work place.” He threatened.
“You couldn’t possible do that.” His Father replied, sounding so sure of himself. “It will be alright if I was the one to leave… But you can’t. Did you forget? The potter who’s also the head of the So household is not me… It’s you…”
“I never said I wanted to do it.” Yi Jung replied. Though at the back of his mind, he knew that a time will finally come that he will be forced to take the obligation and fulfill it. His Father was an unreliable philanderer. His mother was mentally and emotionally unstable. His Grandmother was getting old. His brother had run away and decided to live free of the So influence upon knowing that Yi Jung was the one chosen to head the clan. There was no one else who was bound to take the obligation, none but him.
“But you also never said that you didn’t want to do it. Isn’t that so?” There was truth in his Father’s words and he perfectly why Yi Jung did not refuse. He was simply given no option to do so. And he knew that Yi Jung would never let the people around him suffer. He took it upon himself to suffer in place of others. Despite being a philanderer, Yi Jung was only a little boy who was unable to break free from the knots that bound him tightly. This was one of those tight knots.
“Why do you keep on living like this?” There was contempt on Yi Jung’s voice as he asked.
His Father didn’t answer but merely smiled. He took a final gulp of his wine before finally speaking. “Because I’m bored…” He finally replied. “Living is so boring…” Somehow, his answer wasn’t one that Yi Jung expected. And this aggravated him even more.
“Living you life properly… Was there even a time when you did that?” Yi Jung asked. His voice was acrid and his face full of abhorrence and contempt for his Father. If it weren’t for his Father’s irresponsibility, Yi Jung wouldn’t have to carry on the burden of the being the head of the So household.
Almost suddenly, his Father looked at the glass of wine that was on his hand with sadness in his eyes and a bittersweet smile creased on his lips. “The woman that made me want to live properly… There was only one in my entire life… After you lose a girl like that… All of the other girls will be the same… And everything will fall into an endless repetition…” His Father narrated almost sadly.
“And mother? Don’t you think that’s too cruel to mother?” Yi Jung asked, his eyes beginning to grow dense by the second. He thought, he would never do anything like what his Father did to any girl. He would let mo girl cry over him. As long as he didn’t keep himself attached to a specific girl, then, no one would get hurt because of him.
“And that’s why I wished life would just hurry up and go by… But that sure doesn’t work out the way I wanted it to…” He slowly placed the wine glass on the mini bar with a soft thud and faced Yi Jung. “Do you know why you surpassed Il Hyun and became the head? It’s because you resemble me the most… It’s cruel, isn’t it?” With that, Yi Jung’s Father placed a hand on Yi Jung’s shoulder with a carefree smile on his face. “Don’t forget… Once in a lifetime… There’s only one that’s true… It’s another cruel truth…” With that, he left the work shop, leaving Yi Jung with words h had familiarly heard from a certain girl.
Unable to suppress his anger and aggravation any longer, Yi Jung placed a hand on the wine bottle standing on the mini bar. Almost too suddenly, with a loud scream, he threw it on the floor with full force, shattering the wine bottle into hundreds of tiny crystal pieces which are no longer fit to be fixed together. Later that night, Yi Jung didn’t do anything else, than simply drown himself in the comfort of alcohol. The appearance of his Father greatly reminded him of one girl from his past, whom he loved dearly.
To Be Continued…
- - - - - - - - - - Preview of Chapter 21: “The Phantom’s Anguish”
“Sunbae… Will you go out with me?” Ga Eul courageously asked.
Hearing that from Ga Eul, Yi Jung turned to face her with an expression of disbelief and surprise. He had never expected something so bold from sweet and demure Ga Eul. Furthermore, he was the complete opposite of her right? He was never her type… So why?
“A date?” He asked once they were safely inside his workshop. “Didn’t we do that last time?” He asked. He maintained the stoic expression on his face, completely hiding his surprise and wonder as to why Ga Eul was acting this way.
“Not the fake one… A real date…” Ga Eul explained with a hopeful expression on her face.