Boys Over Flowers: How It Should Have Ended Part3 (The Return)

Chapter 11

"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear." - Oscar Wilde

Chapter 11

"Did you miss me?" Ji Hoo grinned from ear to ear as he walked towards his longtime friend. "Because I sure did miss you."

Rui's head bobbed up and down and the horse whinnied excitedly as it saw Ji Hoo approach.

"Sorry I haven't been around much," he said, as he gently stroked Rui's white mane. "Life has been hectic lately. Oh, but I had a patient from Japan the other day and his name was Rui too! He was a sweet little boy. He wasn't feeling well so his mother brought him to the hospital. Turns out he just had the common cold so I told his mom how to take care of him and sent him home to rest." Rui nudged him playfully and Ji Hoo laughed as he gently touched his forehead to Rui's nose. "I missed you too. I'm going to be a married man soon, you know? I get to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love. It's going to be real busy the next few weeks but don't worry, we'll still come visit you."

"Do you always tell him your life story?" A voice called out behind him.

Ji Hoo turned towards the voice and his eyes widened. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit my best friend." Jae Kyung grinned.

Ji Hoo was taken aback by her reply. Sure, they became closer when he visited them in the United States, but it wasn't what you could classify as best friends. They hadn't even spoken since then, other than the text message Jae Kyung sent him announcing she and Jun Pyo were coming to Seoul for a visit.

Jae Kyung seemed to notice his slight surprise. "Aigoo... did you think I was talking about you? I mean, I like you and all, but we're not quite at the best friend level yet." She looked amused as she pointed a few stalls to the right of Rui. "I have a horse here too. I figured she must be missing me."

Ah, Ji Hoo breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, that makes sense now.

She took a few steps towards the stall, looked admiringly at the excited horse inside it, and beamed. "Ji Hoo, meet my best friend." She grabbed a brush and started stroking the beautiful black thoroughbred mare. "Her name's Sushi."

Ji Hoo raised an eyebrow. "You named your horse Sushi?"

Jae Kyung laughed. "Why not?" Her face brightened as she looked at her horse. "She was a gift from my father when I was young. I've always wanted to have a pet named Sushi, but I wasn't allowed to have a dog or a cat. Not even a goldfish. So when my father gave me a horse and told me it was the only pet I'd ever have, I knew exactly what to name her." She wrapped her arms around the horse's neck. "I've missed you, my friend." She raised her chin at Ji Hoo. "Sushi's a pretty fast runner. Don't judge a horse by its name."

Ji Hoo raised his hands in the air. "Hey, I never said she wasn't. She's a beautiful horse."

"And what can your unicorn do?" Jae Kyung teased, but there was no malice in her voice.

Ji Hoo's mouth dropped open. Did she just call Rui a unicorn?

"Rui's a pretty good runner too." Ji Hoo had won many races on Rui.

Come to think of it, he'd only ever lost that one time to Jun Pyo. Sometimes, he still wondered how Jun Pyo beat him at that race.

"Care to go for a quick run?" Jae Kyung challenged.

Ji Hoo hesitated for a few seconds. He hadn't raced Rui in a while. Could his horse still handle it? He looked at the white stallion and whispered. "What do you think? Do you want to go for a run?"