How It Should Have Ended Part2 (The Continuation)

Chapter 3

"When's Ji Hoo back again?" Yi Jung questioned her.

She pulled out her phone and glanced at the countdown she had set until his arrival.
"5 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 25 seconds", she blurted out, without thinking.

Woo Bin and Yi Jung stared at her in astonishment. Woo Bin let out a low whistle.

She looked away, cheeks burning. "Or somewhere around there," she mumbled.

"Jan Di, I think you need a hobby," Yi Jung teased, though he was grinning from ear to ear.

She wished the ground would swallow her up whole then.

"Anyway," Yi Jung began, though a smile was still plastered on his face. "Promise me you'll make sure Ji Hoo is there, okay? Otherwise, I won't be able to go through with this."

"He'll be there," she promised. "When are you planning on doing it?" She was excited that she now had something to keep her mind distracted while Ji Hoo was away.

"Soon," Yi Jung rubbed his hands together. "As soon as we've got everything set up and ready."

Woo Bin shook his head. "I still can't believe it, you know." He met Jan Di's eyes. "I thought for sure Jan Di and Mister Long-Term-Commitment would be the first ones to get married in the group."

Jan Di shrank back in her seat. She looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Her hand automatically went to the simple gold ring she wore on her ring finger. The truth was, she and Ji Hoo had discussed getting married before. Anyway, in her mind she was already engaged to Ji Hoo when she accepted his ring.

"We agreed to wait until Ji Hoo's done his residency," she explained to them. "And Ji Hoo wants to...mend things with Jun Pyo first." Ji Hoo had mentioned that if they were to get married, he wished for Jun Pyo to be there. She understood. They were more than friends; they were brothers – and Ji Hoo wanted all his brothers to be there.

Woo Bin squeezed her shoulder, his eyes sympathetic. "I guess you guys might be waiting a while."

...

"Jan Di!" Ga Eul cried out on the phone. "Did you see the news?"

Jan Di rolled over on her bed. She was still half asleep. "Huh?"

"There's a big freak snowstorm in Calgary. Isn't that where Ji Hoo is?" Ga Eul sounded worried. "Is he okay?"

Jan Di sat straight up. Yes, Ji Hoo was in Calgary, which was a city in Western Canada. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's all over the news! Lots of people are snowed in."

Jan Di turned the tv on. Sure enough, they were talking about it on the news.

"I'll give him a call right now."

She decided to video call him so she could see his face. It rang around 7 times before he picked up.

"Hey," he greeted. His hair was all over the place and she could tell he had just woken up too.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Are you enjoying the weather there?" She asked, sarcastically. It had been nice and sunny all week in Seoul.

She heard some shuffling and saw him open a small fridge and grab a bottle of water. He opened the curtains and looked outside.

"I guess," he replied, and when he turned around to go back to the bedroom she caught a glimpse outside his window. It was clear and there was not a trace of snow on the ground.

Jan Di frowned in confusion. Why wasn't it snowing there? Where was he?

"Hey, I have to go. I have a meeting here soon," he yawned again, then gave her a lazy smile. "I miss you."

She forced a smile back. Her mind was screaming doubts at her.

As soon as they hung up, she plopped back onto her bed wanting to cry. Doubt gnawed at the edges of her mind.

Why did he lie to me? Where is he?

...

Two days later, she met Yi Jung at the mall after her shift. He had called her earlier that day to ask for her help in picking out a ring for Ga Eul.

"I really appreciate you doing this for me, Jan Di." Yi Jung walked beside her, as they went from one jewelry store to another browsing through the displays.

She was almost out the door when a ring caught her eye. It was a sleek cathedral solitaire ring. The diamond was set on four prongs and the band was white gold. It was simple, yet classic.

Yi Jung asked the attendant to take it out for a closer look. The girl took out both rings – the male and female version. The male version was just a simple white gold band, around a quarter inch thick. Yi Jung looked at the price and frowned. "Are you sure she'll like this? Don't you think she'd want something bigger?"

Jan Di smiled and shook her head. Ga Eul was just like her; they liked simplicity. "She'd love it."

Yi Jung looked at her doubtfully. "You'd say yes if someone gave this to you?"

She nodded. Though her heart felt heavy with worry, she managed a small smile. "We don't care about the price. It's the person giving it to us that matters."

They got her to try it on to ensure they had the correct size. She and Ga Eul were almost similar in size so she was certain it would fit her friend perfectly. She walked out of the store, her mind in a daze, as Yi Jung paid for the ring and asked for their initials to be engraved on it.

She stared longingly at the ring on her finger. She tried to dispel the doubts she'd been having around Ji Hoo lately, but it was hard.

Her phone rang. She looked at it and saw Ji Hoo's name appear on the screen. She tried to sound cheerful as she answered. "Hey, I was just thinking about you!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm at the mall with Yi Jung sunbae."

"Oh." He paused. "How's the ring hunting going?"

"Good. We finally found one for her. He's just wrapping things up at the store." She looked at the date and smiled. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow."

She heard a few minutes of awkward silence on the other line. Her heart thumped nervously in her chest.

"Umm...about that," he began, though Jan Di had a pretty good idea what he was going to say next. "I'm not coming back tomorrow." She heard him sigh. "I have to stay here for a few more days."

"Oh." She saw Yi Jung coming out of the store, looking thrilled. She turned away from him, so he wouldn't see that she was on the brink of tears.

"I'm sorry." Ji Hoo's voice was soft, and sombre. "I'm just not done here yet."

"Ok." She sounded like a little mouse, but it was all she could do not to burst out sobbing. "I miss you, Ji Hoo," she managed to croak out.

"Is that Ji Hoo?" Yi Jung pointed at her phone. She managed a quick nod before handing it to him.

"Hey, what's up Ji Hoo?" Yi Jung's dimples appeared on his cheeks. "Oh. Okay. Yeah, okay. You better come back in time though!" He scowled. "I need you, dude!" A pause. "Uh huh. Okay. Be safe."

Jan Di hastily wiped a tear that made its way down her cheek.

Yi Jung handed her back her phone. She snatched it and stuffed it hastily in her purse.

"You okay?" Yi Jung eyed her uncertainly. "He'll be here on time, don't worry. He won't let me down."

She bit her lower lip and dipped her head slightly. Then she started walking out the door.