Chapter 1

So Yi Jeong was bored. He hated these society parties where he was required to measure his smile, watch his words, pose for photographs and generally be pleasant to people who were certain to start bitching about him the moment he turned his back. Not that he cared about the malicious whispers because barking dogs didn't bite, but it did take him quite a bit of effort to maintain a semblance of politeness with people he disliked. Given an option, he wouldn't have attended the party but sadly he didn't have a choice. His father was ill again and his mother wouldn't leave his bedside for a mere party. But somebody had to represent the So clan and hence, he was here.

He had finished the necessary formalities and hit the bar as soon as he could. He wished that at least one of his friends was around but all of them were otherwise occupied and had been unable to attend. Ji Hoo had a concert coming up in two days and he was busy with the practice. Jun Pyo was out of town and Woo Bin had been strangely vague about his plans for the day, making Yi Jeong think that he was with some woman. Bastard!

Yi Jeong swirled his Glenfiddich, watching the amber liquid whirling in the glass. Born to an extremely rich and influential family, Yi Jeong was a member of the F4. Being the proprietors of the prestigious Woo Sung museums, the So's had been the bastions of art and culture of Seoul for generations. Under Yi Jeong's guidance, they had recently diversified into movies and they were meeting with phenomenal success there as well. At twenty-nine, Yi Jeong was rich, famous, immaculately handsome and most importantly single.

He stood a whisker short of being six feet tall, with a ruggedly defined face, lush black hair, black eyes and a devastatingly beautiful smile. Many a film producers had actually suggested that Yi Jeong try his luck in front of the camera, but he stoically refused. He was in the business of movies just because they were lucrative and he was a shrewd businessman. If it had seemed to him that being in front of a camera would yield profits, he would have done that. But as things stood now, he didn't think the proposition to be profitable.

A tap on his shoulder distracted him from his scrutiny of his whiskey and he turned to find himself facing a person whom he could tolerate. He didn't have any particular affinity towards the newcomer, but he didn't mind his company either.

"Yi Jeong!" the man said enthusiastically, slipping on to the barstool next to him, "How are you?"

Yi Jeong shrugged, "Same old. You?"

Gu Su Pyo ordered a drink for himself and turned to him, "I'm good. I didn't expect to run into you here."

"Well, one So had to show up," he answered dryly, "Guess who drew the short straw?"

Su Pyo grinned. Since he was of the same age, he had always wanted to be a member of the F4, but he had always ended up being in the periphery rather than inside the circle. He was a little too cheerful, a little too eager and a little too clingy to be a member of the F4 but because he was related to Jun Pyo, everyone tolerated him. The thing that was most annoying about him however was how rarely he thought for himself. More often than not, his life decisions had been made for him by one of the F4 and that worked against Gu Su Pyo. Not that he was bad, but he just wasn't cut out to be a part of the F4. Period.

"Hey," Su Pyo waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

"You know Chu Ga Eul, right?"

Yi Jeong saw the wide grin and the twinkle in his eyes and suppressed a groan. This man was obviously smitten, "Chu?" he thought a bit, "The fisheries?"

"Yes, them," he nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I know her. Why?"

Su Pyo leaned closer, "What can you tell me about her?"

Yi Jeong blinked, "Uh, I've met her maybe three or four times, and that too on formal occasions. All I know is that the packaging is attractive, I've no idea what's on the inside."

"All you have to do is introduce me to her," Su Pyo said confidently, "I'll see the 'inside' for myself, if you catch my drift."

He finished the sentence with a wink and Yi Jeong resisted the urge to barf. The Chu heiress was well known for her fiery temper and a razor sharp tongue. This gullible idiot was headed for suicide and he wanted Yi Jeong's help in it. "You do know of her reputation, right?"

"Yes," Su Pyo said importantly, "I know. I believe she's yet to meet the right man. A true man would know how to keep her in control."

Yeah, good luck with that, Yi Jeong thought wryly. This was another reason Su Pyo could never be a member of the F4. The members of F4 may have a string of affairs, but they did not prescribe to the antiquated idea of women being inferior to men. The F4 had always believed and treated women as their equals. Su Pyo would sometimes make remarks that annoyed every one of them, including Jun Pyo. This was a case in point.

Su Pyo wanted to enter the lion's den without any protection, then so be it. It was his duty as a friend to warn him and he had done so. Besides, the evening could do with some entertaining. He drained his whiskey in one swig and slid off his bar stool, "Sure, let's go."

Su Pyo hopped off excitedly and almost skipped after Yi Jeong who was calmly walking over to Chu Ga Eul. Yi Jeong ran an appreciative eye over the aquamarine lacy, floor length, high collar, and open back evening gown that accentuated a well-endowed figure. The cinched waist and the silken floor length train only served to amplify the mermaid like figure. Yi Jeong never really understood the craze of size zero. In his mind, those women looked malnourished. He liked his women shapely and this one was definitely curvaceous. Well, points to Su Pyo for taste.

He reached up to her and cleared his throat. Ga Eul looked away from the people she was talking to and turned her head towards him.

"Hello Miss Chu," Yi Jeong kept his tones as polite as he could manage, "Good to see you again."

She excused herself from her group and turned to him, "Mr So," she accepted his extended hand, "Good to see you too. How have you been?"

"Good," he smiled his best smile, "And you?"

"Never been better," she answered with a smile of her own.

"I heard you were not going into the family business?" Yi Jeong enquired.

"Oh that's just rumor," she waved a hand, "It was just a spur of the moment rebellion that got blown out of proportion. You know how these things go."

He did indeed, "Absolutely," he paused for a couple of heartbeats, "You look positively charming tonight."

"Why thank you," she said with a polite nod of her head.

"Oh by the way," he extended an arm towards Su Pyo who was standing awkwardly beside him, "This is Gu Su Pyo. You know Gu Jun Pyo, right? The Shinwha heir?" she nodded, "He's Jun Pyo's cousin. Su Pyo, this is Chu Ga Eul."

"Pleased to meet you," Ga Eul extended a hand. Su Pyo looked like he had seen a ghost and slowly extended a shaking hand.

Oh you poor bastard! Yi Jenog thought, suppressing a chuckle. Maybe the evening had chances of becoming entertaining after all.

Chu Ga Eul was bored. Her mother had coerced her to come to a party that she was least interested in. She had tried to wriggle her way out of it but trying to argue with her mother was like trying to fight a pond with a sword. You could poke and prod all you want but in the end, you'll be drenched and the pond would be unscathed. The result was the same every time, Ga Eul would argue, her mom would cry, Ga Eul would huff, her mom would cry, Ga Eul would storm out, her mom would cry some more and in the end, Ga Eul would feel guilty and cave in. She knew her mother manipulated her with her tears but she couldn't help it. She was powerless against her mom.

So here she was, standing with females who were doing what they did best: bitching about the females who were absent and swooning over the males. Ga Eul had long since tuned out their inane chatter and was now merely standing there, nodding every now and then. In her mind she was at a shooting range in which the target looked suspiciously like her mother's face and she was cheerfully riddling it with holes. Ga Eul loved her mother fiercely, but damn that woman could try her patience.

Someone cleared their throat next to her and she muttered a soundless prayer of thanks to the God of timely interventions for saving her from death by boredom. Turning around she was a little surprised to find herself facing So Yi Jeong. No one knew that Ga Eul actually had a brief history with the So heir. Ga Eul had been a late bloomer, attaining her curves and figure at the age of seventeen. She had reached her current height at the age of thirteen and had spent majority of her teenage years as a gangly, awkward girl with glasses. She had spent hours in front of the mirror, willing her flat chest to grow but to no avail. She was called 'parallel lines' and she hated it.

Then, the almost fifteen year old girl had met the most devastatingly handsome man she had ever seen. Ga Eul clearly remembered the party she had been forced by her mother to attend. Socially awkward and completely out of place, Ga Eul had felt like a bull in a china shop. She had yet to develop the thick skin and the razor sharp tongue that she was now famous for. She had overheard some nasty whispers about herself and had been pretty hurt. She had fled from the scene and hidden herself in the balcony, crying softly.

"Why do you give them so much power?" a voice had queried.

Ga Eul turned around and facing her stood a man who looked like a Greek God. If Adonis had stepped into 21st century, Ga Eul imagined that he would look exactly like this. He was tall, handsome and was looking at her kindly. Awestruck, she had been unable to reply. He reached out and wiped her tears, making her shiver.

"Don't ever let anyone walk all over you," he said softly, "They're only as powerful as you let them be. You'll have to fight your own battles. Stand up for yourself, because no one else will."

The stranger had then handed her a silk handkerchief that had the letters SYJ embroidered in it. He gave her a brilliant smile and then walked away. Not quite fifteen, Ga Eul had fallen in love for the first time. She had spent the next few months obsessively collecting information about Yi Jeong. She would see him in parties, but could never muster up the courage to talk to him. As time went by, Ga Eul started to see the person behind the handsome façade and realized that her kind stranger didn't really exist. All that So Yi Jeong was was a ruthless businessman and a shrewd flirt. She saw him move from one pretty girl to another and slowly Ga Eul's attraction waned away. However, his words stayed with him. They became the mantra of her life, making her who she was today. Today, all that Yi Jeong was was a pleasant memory.

After attaining adulthood, from the few times that she had spoken to him, it was clear that he didn't remember her at all. Why should he? She reasoned. It had been ten years ago. Why would he remember a few kind words he had spoken to a distraught girl as a nineteen year old?

"Hello Miss Chu. Good to see you again," he offered his hand.

She excused herself from her group, who were now busy ogling at Yi Jeong, and turned to him, "Mr So," she accepted his extended hand, "Good to see you too. How have you been?"

"Good," he gave her the same smile that had melted her heart long ago, "And you?"

"Never been better," she answered with a smile of her own.

"I heard you were not going into the family business?" Yi Jeong enquired.

Oh damn! The target in the shooting range located inside her mind had just changed its appearance. It was now the mug of that journalist who had spread the rumor. It had been yet another argument with her mother that had gotten out of hand and unfortunately it had happened at a public place. Over the ears Ga Eul had developed a keen taste in art and she wanted to open an art studio of her own. She had been trying to explain that to her mother and had merely stated that she wasn't looking forward to sticking to fisheries. She had intended to explain the idea of the art studio to her, but her hysterical mother assumed that Ga Eul didn't approve of the family business. A journalist had overheard snippets of the argument, had filled in the gaps with his own overactive imagination and had run the story in the national papers stating that Ga Eul was parting ways with the Chus. The Chu family was still dealing with the aftermath of the rumor.

"Oh that's just rumor. It was just a spur of the moment rebellion that got blown out of proportion. You know how these things go."

She saw a flicker of understanding on his face, "Absolutely," he gave a small pause before changing the topic, "You look positively charming tonight."

"Why thank you," Ga Eul nodded her head. Yi Jeong was nothing if not a smooth talker.

"Oh by the way," he gestured towards the man standing beside him, "This is Gu Su Pyo. You know Gu Jun Pyo, right? The Shinwha heir?" she did, "He's Jun Pyo's cousin. Su Pyo, this is Chu Ga Eul."

"Pleased to meet you," Ga Eul offered her hand to Su Pyo who looked nervous as he accepted it.

From the corner of her eyes Ga Eul could see a gleam in Yi Jeong's eyes but didn't have time to consider it because Su Pyo was now gushing, "So nice to see you Lady Chu!"

Lady Chu? Really? "Umm I'm not a royalty you know. Miss Chu or Ga Eul is fine."

"Ga Eul," Su Pyo said grinning, "That is fine, just fine. I can call you Ga Eul, I definitely can call you Ga Eul."

Yi Jeong had taken a couple of steps back and from where Ga Eul stood she could see him struggling to keep a straight face and her eyes narrowed. Agreed that Su Pyo was clearly taken in by her and was doing a piss poor job of hiding it, but that didn't give Yi Jeong the right to laugh at him. In fact, truth be told, Ga Eul actually found his eagerness a little endearing. She had faced both complete apathy and suave practiced charm. Never before had a man been so taken with her that he became a stuttering mess. It was a new experience and she found herself actually enjoying his adulation. From the barely suppressed glee on Yi Jeong's face, she guessed that either he was really happy for his friend or he was waiting for Ga Eul to shred Su Pyo to bits with her words and she had a strong suspicion that it was the later.

She smiled at Su Pyo sweetly, "Yes, Ga Eul would do. So exactly how are you related to Gu Jun Pyo?"

Yi Jeong watched with increasing confusion and restlessness. What the hell was happening? Instead of cutting Su Pyo a new one, Chu Ga Eul was actually flirting with him, albeit subtly. It was abundantly clear to Yi Jeong that the interest was actually mutual. Although Yi Jeong was a little disappointed at the colossal failure of his plan he didn't really mind. If nothing, he may have inadvertently played cupid to a reasonably attractive couple and he could draw some solace from that fact. With a small shrug he dismissed the budding romance from his mind and walked away, not caring if it was impolite of him to desert the two that way.