Hi! Just as I promised. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Thanks to those who subscribed to the story and even more to those who leave a comment. I really, really like you, people.

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“Peace Treaty”

Maya did as the day before. She took a long shower and dressed on her most comfortable pajamas: a White t-shirt and short pants of the same color. She had always liked white, not only because it marked a difference with her skin color and suited her well. It was a peaceful color, pure light. Just the two things she wanted in life to be happy.

She sighed, remembering it was hopeless: she could have anything but peace. It a certain way, she envied Ji Hoo, the man who hated her without reason. She didn’t know why or how, but she was sure about it, even though they had known each other for just two days.

As she couldn’t sleep, overwhelmed by the day she had had and thinking about the next one, she went for a walk to the garden. It was a chilly cold, and her body quivered as she felt the wind crushing her skin.

“So cold… like home. I was always cold, even in Summers” she muttered.

Talking to herself again, like a crazy woman, but she did it all the time. Feeling saddened, she started singing. Whenever she felt her heart too heavy to hold it, she sang.

In a moment everything can change
Feel the wind on your shoulders
For a minute all the world can wait
Let go of your yesterday

Can you hear it calling?
Can you feel it in your soul?
Can you trust it's longing
And take control?

She didn’t realize that minutes ago, the owner of the house was looking at her with curiosity. He was about to approach to her, but he stopped himself when he saw her… showing too much skin. Of course, that was ok for her, just like she was ok with calling him by his name or talking in banmal.

He also stopped himself from interrupting her because she sang well. If she saw him, he was sure the improvised concert would end and he wanted to listen to her a little bit more.

“You’ll catch a cold if you keep her outside dressing like that” he ended up saying. As he predicted, she stopped singing, her expression reflected her fear.

“Such an idiot…”

“Idiot? For caring about your health?”

“You scared me to death. Why do you have to go around so quietly?”

“It’s you who is too noisy. You’ll get used to it”

She sighed. She really didn’t want to quarrel nor fight with him.

“You’re right. I should get in.” She said, barely moving her footh “Night, Ji Hoo”

She smiled tiredly and it was then when Ji Hoo felt guilty. Maya was a good person, and they could even be friends. Maya was a good person, and they could even be friends, get alog well as she had suggested. At least she was trying, but he was just making things more complicated than they really were, just for fear. Fear of what? He did not even know, so he was just making a fool of himself.

Furthermore, now he realized, Maya hide a secret pain in her heart. When he was like that, he received help. Jan Di helped him in those moments. At least, he should make things easier for this woman.

Maya woke up early, got dressed and walked to the kitchen to have breakfast. It was not late, but grandpa was gone already and the breakfast was waiting for her. She saw hotcakes, one of her favorite foods, and put some strawberry marmalade on them. Getting some hot chocolate, she was about to enjoy her breakfast.

“Good Morning” Ji Hoo greeted her, appearing quietly once again. She was caught by him and chocked with her food. She should better get used to these kind of things from him.

“Morning…”

“Can I have breakfast with you?”

“Of course. This is your house, Ji Hoo. I am the intruder here”

“You’re not an intruder” He said, frustrated because of her words, since it was him who probably made her thought that way. “You’re our guest”

“Oh, thank you” she said, surprised to notice that he was being sincere, not just forced to be a gentleman. “So, will you like to be my tour guide here in the city? Just for today?” she asked, feeling more positive.

Ji Hoo smiled.

“Why not?”

She smiled back at him. It was the first time she saw Ji Hoo, the always melancholic and quiet, smiling. She liked his smile, it would be good to see him like that always. Perhaps, if they became friends, if she got to know him better, she could make it happen.

“Great, ‘cause I want to see the museums, parks and everything that is beautiful to see around here”

“Well, that’s not a very hard task to accomplish, but we may not finish today”

Maya prepared another hotcake with marmalade.

“Do you like hotcakes?”

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The day started, for the first time both sides going in the same direction, wishing they could become friends.

The first thing they did that day was visiting one of Yi Jeong’s museums. Maya often ignored the craftship, but when she found something she really liked, she could stay minutes staring at the artwork. Then they went for ice creams and hung around the park. He even showed her the ShinHwa school and the university, were they all had studied.

“So here’s were you all studied, the most important school in Korea”

“Do you want to see our class room?

“Your classroom?”

“The F4’s”

“I’ve heard your friend Woo Bin mentioned the F4, now you. What is exactly the F4?”

It was the first time someone did not know about them, besides Jan Di of course. But then again, Maya wouldn’t know if she came from somewhere in Europe or America, or some other mysterious point of the world”

“Flower 4 they called us… Goo Joon Pyo, So Yi Jeong, Song Woo Bin and I. We… were just a group of spoiled rich kids.” He recognized, feeling embarrassed “and we were also the most powerful here at school. We were the most powerful kids everywhere”

“And you’re not now?

Ji Hoo laughed.

“Yes, we are” he agreed “But I mean, before Jan Di. Before she came into our lives, we acted foolish, worrying just about ourselves, sometimes we were even cruel with the side of the world we did not want to see, that we did not learn to see. Geum Jan Di changed our lives.”

“Well, she is a wonder woman then”

He smirked and nodded, while opening the door of the special room of the F4.

“And this is?”

“Our class room. That was Joon Pyo’s desk, the one ear the window was mine, and those two i the left were Yi Jeong’s and Woo Bin’s”

“Spolied brats. 4 heirs. And if Woo Bin’s nickname is the Don Juan, what was yours?”

“Who told you Woo Bin is the Don Juan? – Ji Hoo asked. In fact, she had also said that Woo Bin mentioned the F4. When did they get to talk that much? Certainly, it wasn’t that day he took her to the F4 lounge.

“He told me. Yesterday I just crossed paths with him in a club”

“When you went out, that’s what took you so much time to come back” she nodded, not even looking at him because she was more entertained going over his old desk. “be careful, you could also fall for his charms without noticing”

Maya smiled.

“Don’t worry. I’m not that easy, a little bit of charisma is not enough. He is very nice, though. I liked him”

She couldn’t, of course, tell him the reason.

“Are they your parents?” she asked, holding a photograph in her hand. Ji Hoo nodded. “They seem to be nice people…”

Her mood became obscure.

“Do you ever see your family? Don’t lie to me, because I did notice how you lied to my grandpa yesterday”

“I don’t get along well with my parents, since I was really young. You see, I come from a very wealthy family, too. They wanted me to take care of the family business, but I wanted something different… All what I am doing with my life goes against what I’ve been taught when I was a child.”

He did not picture Maya as a heiress, and this discovery surprised him.

“Where do you come from? Don’t give a silly answer as you did with Jan Di”

It was like he had to always remind her to tell the truth, because she was so reluctant to talk.

“My mother comes from Colombia, but his father was an Spaniard and her mother Italian. My father is also Italian. We lived here and there, depending on my father’s decision. He was the one to take care of the business”

“Which kind of business?”

“Nothing as important as yours or Joon Pyo’s. You’re like another world. “She took another photo from the desk, and was surprised to see the people in there “Jand Di and you…?”

“It was only a contest” he said.

“But you would’ve liked it to be real, that’s why it’s here. Ji Hoo, are you still in love with you best friend’s fiancée?”

“You’ve not answered my question. Why do I have to answer yours?”

“Let’s do something. If you answer, I’ll answer too”

“It’s better to get going. You said you wanted to see the city: we still have to have lunch, so there’s a place we must definitely visit”

They just arrived at the restaurant and Maya noticed the deathly glares of the girls around them, just as they had done last night when she was accompanied for Woo Bin. They were treated like if they were the royalty or something similar. Ji Hoo ordered a lot of food, mostly for her, who could ever eat it all in one day.

It was delicious, and she tried to finish it all before they continued their way.

“And now?” she asked.

“We’ve not done yet. Just wait and see”

“This is a good moment to seal our deal. Will you answer my question?”

“About what?”

“Jan Di and you…”

“Why do you care about the feelings I might or might not have towards Jan Di?”

“You’re sad for a reason, there’s something that does not let you be happy. I would like to be your friend, you know? But friends trust each other”

“Friendship does not imply to reveal our feelings to the other”

“Yes, it does when it affects your life”

“If I answer your question, what guarantee do I have that you’ll answer mine and not avoiding them again?”

Such a difficult thing he was asking. But she was asking just that much from him. Maya fighted herself, her own darkness and fears.

“I give you my word. I never step back on my word. It’s a promise”

Ji Hoo culd hear those words coming from a lot of people and it would not be enough for him. But Maya was different. Until now, in so many ways, she was different from any men or women he had met. He could see it in her eyes that she was being sincere.

“It was difficult to give her up, loving her so much. But Joo Pyo had fallen in love with her before, and I couldn’t go against. He is my best friend. Jan Di chose him instead of me” he told her “My duty was to take care of her because I was told that she… she would give me a family someday. I think the person who told me this was wrong, because now she is giving all that to Joon Pyo”

“I believe in Soulmates” Maya confessed “those people who perfectly complement each other, that it seems like they have been made to be together. But I do not think there is just one person for us out there. If so, in this word of billions, you would never find love. It seems to me that Jan Di has feelings for you… I can see it in the way she look at you, and how she cares for you. But she decided to stay by Joon Pyo’s side, whom she loves even more. Isn’t it a signal that there might be more than one person who can make you happy?”

He didn’t say a word, but decided to kept it in mind and reflect about it later.

“Now you tell me. What about your family?”

Maya sighed. She tried to smile but failed, because it always broke all of her walls and masquerades.

“I abandoned my family because I didn’t want to be like them. But not matter how bad I want it. I can’t erase the years I lived with them. And there is this sense of guilt… guilt. Can you believe it? Just for escaping of something so horrible like that. You asked me what was my family’s business, so I’ll tell you. It’s not going to be a secret aymore, since I have told Woo Bin too, but I still want you to keep this between us.”

He nodded, sensing how much it affected her. He regretted the deal they made. Maybe he was asking from her more than he had given before.

“The greatest family of the Mafia, that’s what they are. My father, my mother and maybe even my younger sister, who’s 21 by now. I was raised to take on my father’s place one day, but I ran away. I decided I couldn’t stand it anymore. I wanted to help people, not to be responsible for their deaths.”

“What did you do when you run away? Were you by your own?”

“I worked. I had many half-time jobs, but I was still studying. I used to be home-schooled, and thanks to my father I had received the best education... that helped me later when I was on my own. After all, I am still in debt with him “her eyes were red and she felt like crying “I worked hard for it, I hide myself, I did my best effort… but I am still in debt with him. And the worst is, Ji Hoo, my sister… “ and she let her tears come down “I cannot believe I just left her alone, taking the weight that I should be enduring. What kind of bid sister am I to Gina? She must hate me! Woo Bin is far more corageous than I am.”

Seeing that strong woman broken in front of him was shocking. There was she: the strong, cheerful and lively person replaced by a fragile and tormented young woman. Not knowing what to do, with Maya crying in the streets and the people glaring at them, he took a step closer to her. He did not know what to say to stop the tears, but he put an arm around her shoulder. She surprised him again and hugged him, burying her head in his chest. She cried out her soul, until no more tears were left.

 

After ice-skating, they headed to Goo Joon Pyo’s house, where the F4 met again.

Jan Di was delightful to see Maya and introduced her to Ga Eul, So Yi Jeong’s girlfriend. She soon gained Maya’s sympathy, as she was a warm and friendly person. Ga Eul also had a good impression of Maya, whose smile and her lively eyes were enough to charm anyone. She still had puffy eyes, but someone who didn’t know she had cried would never guess.

“We are going to get the desserts.” Jan Di said “Want to come, Maya?” she asked, and Maya joined them with a bigger smile, leaving the men talk about the things they knew they would not talk in front of them.

“Did your arabbeoji forced you to bring her again?” Joon Pyo asked.

“No, that’s not it”

“So?”

“We were just hanging out”

“Have you already given up?” Yi Jeong asked, a naughty smile in his face.

“It’s not what you think. Even though my grandpa might disown me for this, I am not going to follow his plans”

“It’s a pity, because that’s such a great woman you’ve got to live in your house” Woo Bin said “She’s pretty, smart and lively. I also like her for you. I think your grandpa really got it this time”

“Are you sure you don’t want her for yourself? You really prize her for what I’ve heard” he questioned, waiting for the Don Juan’s response.

“Is it me, or there’s a tone of jealousy in your voice?”

Yi Jeong and Joon Pyo were just watching the scene between their two friends. It was turning out interesting indeed.

“Of course not, it’s just out of curiosity. But you know you can’t play around with her. My grandpa is becoming fond of her”

“I know. She isn’t someone you can even play around with, right?”

“So you do wanna try it, Woo Bin?” Yi Jeong asked in disbelief. “Will you get serious?”

“Not at all.” The Do Juan replied, taking a glass of whisky “It would be tempting, but I would let her be. She’s too good for me”

His friends argued that he was also a good man, and Maya just as any other woman would be lucky to get him.

Only he and Ji Hoo knew the real reason. In fact, Woo Bin had been really attracted to Maya, but after seeing how much her family matters affected her, and how she had left even the person she cared the most just to leave the past behind, he would not dare to take her back into that world. Since she had done so much to get ride of it, she deserved something different in life.

“However, just for this time I will let the path clear for you, Ji Hoo. You’d better take advantage of it or you will regret it”

“What will you regret, Ji Hoo?” Maya asked, coming back with the girls. They had coffee and candies for everyone.

“How did you know that our friend’s secret weakness are those damn hotcakes?” Yi Jeong asked, as he saw what she had in her hands.

She sat by Ji Hoo’s side, just because, after spending all day in his company.

“I had not idea” she answered with a small smile. “These are all for me, if he wants some, he might as well get up and go to look for more”

Even Ji Hoo gave her a look which was between surprise and disbelief.

The rest of the group had their eyes on them, expectant. They wished those two could really get along for their friend to be happy, but it seemed an impossible. They were opposites most of the time, but then… she just said a word or smiled.

Maya was almost everything Ji Hoo lacked in his life. The only problem was that she didn’t know it, and he would never admit it.