Boys Over Flowers: Reloaded

Chapter 3: Your story...

Jae Kyung was enjoying herself very much at the party. She had not expected it to be so much fun to dance with strangers, men who she would probably never meet in her life again. A dance partner would make some small talk while dancing, and then in a few minutes a new partner would come and take his place. She was complimented by most of them for her nimbleness in picking up the steps. She quickly glanced to her side to check her friends. Ha Jin could not be spotted, but she saw Ga Eul dancing a little distance away from her. There were some couples at the centre of the circle, who must have found their partners and removed their masks already. She saw Jan Di and Jun Pyo among them, dancing away happily.

A new partner approached her. He placed his right palm delicately at the small of her back and held her right hand in a soft yet firm hold. The music started and Jae Kyung started moving with the cue from her partner. There was such a natural flow in their dance, that Jae Kyung almost regretted moving on to her next partner in a few minutes. He did not speak at all, only his eyes sparkled through the mask, and suddenly Jae Kyung had the urge to remove it and see him for real.

In a couple of minutes, the music paused and her partner loosened his hold on her waist, and took a couple of steps away from her. Jae Kyung stared at their parting hands and regretted immediately.

"Do you mind another dance with me?"

Her partner was taken aback for a fraction of second, then a stepped close to her.

"Are you sure, Jae Kyung?"

For the second time in a day she heard her name being called by that voice. But somehow this time it did not disappoint her, instead it urged her to grab his hand and pull him to the centre of the circle and take off her own mask. Following her cue, Woo Bin took off his mask as well, and stared back with a half-smile.

"Thanks for saving me from the fall in the morning, and I am sorry," murmured Jae Kyung.

Woo Bin wore an amused expression without saying a word.

"I am sorry for my rudeness in the morning," she added.

Woo Bin kept his gaze on her face without any expression.

"Hey, you two! This is a dance floor; you need to move!" shouted Jun Pyo as he turned Jan Di around him in a swift move.

Jae Kyung placed her hand on Woo Bin's shoulder again and smiled at him, signaling to resume their dance. He too smiled and held her closer to himself this time without making her feel too uncomfortable and started leading her with the beat of the music.

"How did you know it was me?" asked Jae Kyung.

"That pendant on your neck gave you away. I noticed it in the morning while pulling you..."

"Oh, I see."

Jae Kyung's cheeks turned several shades of deeper pink on remembering the scene in the morning.

"I was not stalking you to the hills, if you can believe me."

"Please do not make me feel more ashamed. It could have been a severe accident, if you were not there at that moment. I don't know how I can thank you for that."

Woo Bin could sense the change in her demeanor towards him from their previous encounters. He felt relieved to have broken the ice with her. Being friend with Jan Di had taught him how it was difficult for girls like her to trust people from his society.

"Just dance with me all the evening."

Jae Kyung looked at him with surprise, and seeing the softness in his gaze, she nodded in agreement.

................................................................................................................

Ji Hoo frowned at the woman kneeling beside him. He hesitated for a second and then slowly untied the mask on her face.

"Ha Jin?"

Her face was all smeared with tears and mascara. Her eyes were bloodshot red. The doctor in Ji Hoo took over when he started studying her limbs and face for any sign of injury.

"Tell me where is it hurting. Did you hit on something while coming here?"

Ha Jin kept on staring at his face with a blank expression. Ji Hoo noticed that her ankle was a bit swollen and her knee scraped.

"Do you think I am a loose woman?" Ha Jin spoke out suddenly as Ji Hoo wrapped his hand around her waist to lift her up.

Ji Hoo froze at her question.

"What happened Ha Jin? Did anyone try to misbehave with you at the party?"

"Do you think I am a woman of no character just because I am partying with the great F4 in this fabulous Paradise resort?"

A deep furrow appeared on Ji Hoo's forehead.

"I do not think of anything about you."

Ha Jin huffed and wiped her face. "Then why does my fiancé think like that? All my life I have been obedient. I have never done anything to displease my parents. They wanted me to study when all the other kids played. And I did that. They wanted me to sacrifice music and dance, and I did that. They never allowed me to make friendship with boys, while my other friends boasted about their Valentine's Day gifts. Then one day they brought their friend's son to me, saying that I was to be engaged and married to him. Then also I obeyed them. No matter how incompatible we were in our tastes and choices, still I believed So Bin to be my soulmate. And just because for once I wanted to live a few days with my friends on my terms, without seeking for their approval, they started blaming me? They made me feel that all these years of obedience did not matter anymore, and I failed to live up to their expectation."

Ji Hoo saw how painful it was for her to recall her past, as continuous streams of tears flowed down her cheeks. He held her strongly and pulled up on her feet. Ha Jin winced as she put her weight on her sprained ankle.

"Will you be able to walk? Should I ask for a resort cart to take you...?"

"I don't want to go there now. Please, I want to stay alone."

She was barely able to stand on her own. Ji Hoo held her around her waist and helped her to walk up to the sail boat where he was sitting. After placing her on the edge of the boat, he sat a few feet away from her and picked up a can of beer.

It was quite a surreal ambience. The sound of the incessant crashing of the waves on the beach sand added to the serenity of the moment. The moon was quite high on the sky now, giving out an ethereal glow to the earth below. Ji Hoo glanced at Ha Jin as she picked up a can of beer for herself. She looked angelic in her long dress, despite the smudged make up all over face. Her long brown hair that was held in a chic bun cascaded over her back as she took out the pin, and the wind blew it over her face. Ji Hoo could not take his eyes off her that moment. As the wind played with her hair, he felt like tucking the strands behind her ear. He was brought back from his stupor as she threw the empty can behind and bent over to pick up another one.

"Stop drinking, Ha Jin. You have had enough already," rebuked Ji Hoo trying to grab the can away from her clutch.

"Aishh!" exclaimed Ha Jin with utter annoyance and ducked behind the boat to drink the beer all in one gulp.

As she tried to stand up, a sudden surge of bile came up her throat and she started throwing up all the alcohol and food that she had inside. Ji Hoo rushed to her side and held her hair away from her face, as she struggled to keep up with the vomiting. After several minutes of her sickness throwing up everything from her stomach, she collapsed in Ji Hoo's arms.

"Foolish girl!" huffed Ji Hoo.

He searched his pockets for his phone when it dawned to him that he had purposefully left his phone in his room. He did not even know where the girls were staying. Dejectedly, he looked at the lifeless body in his arms and decided to take her to his cottage.

He pondered whether to carry her on his back or in his arms. Then looking at her lifeless form, he picked her up in his arms and started walking towards the resort.