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

Chapter 20

"Wait here," she instructed him. "I'll go grab us some water."

Ji Hoo watched her disappear into the back of a gray building. He sat there waiting, admiring the statues that lined one side of the pathway. They were white, either made with marble or ivory, and each around two feet in height.

A few monks passed by, and one particular monk paused to study him. The monk wore a long gray robe, with a gray hat that covered most of his head. He gave a polite bow in greeting, and the monk smiled at him. Just then, Jan Di appeared from behind the building and started walking back to him, carrying two bottles of water. The monk looked at him, then at Jan Di, then back at him.

"I see you are still with your lotus flower." The monk said, making Ji Hoo jump inside.

"You remember that? I mean... you remember us?" Ji Hoo couldn't believe his ears. It had been so long since they were last there.

"Your face is not easily forgotten." The monk answered. "Did your lotus flower give you a family?"

The smile on his face reached his eyes. He thought of Grandfather. "Yes. She gave me back my grandfather."

The monk leaned forward. "She will give you more than that." And with that, he left.

"What did the monk say?" Jan Di asked as she handed him a bottle of water. Ji Hoo's face was flushed and he couldn't stop smiling. He couldn't bring himself to speak for a few minutes and just stared at her with a huge grin on his face. He took several small sips of water, deliberately taking his time with each sip.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to tell me?"

"He told me the future." He beamed at her.

She tapped her foot on the ground, waiting for him to continue.

"He said we'll be very happy together."

She pouted. "I could have told you that, you know."

They visited the temple and said a little prayer inside, then went and looked at the other structures that surrounded it.

After a couple of hours, he decided it was time to go. "We should probably head back," he informed her. "We wouldn't want to be late for Kang San's fashion show."

...

"Noona! You made it!" Kang San squealed. "For a minute I thought you guys wouldn't show up." His face became sad when he saw Ji Hoo. "Hyung, how are you feeling?"

A corner of Ji Hoo's mouth lifted. "Never better. Guess who promised to never leave my side now?"

"Ha ha. Way to go, hyung!" Kang San gave Ji Hoo a high five.

Jan Di glared at them, but they pretended not to notice.

"Thanks for coming, by the way," Kang San said, his eyes full of hope.

"Are you guys ready?" she asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be, I suppose."

The campus was packed, and Jan Di couldn't tell whether most of them were students or spectators. Min Kyu and Joo Won stood beside Kang San, nervously shifting from side to side.

They had a stage set up in the middle of the square and rows of folding seats were neatly arranged in front of it. The stage had a huge spotlight shining on it, and streams of colorful lights were hung around the bottom. Instead of booths, small tables lined up the right side of the stage, each with a couple of boxes that Jan Di guessed were full of shirts, and manned by one to two eager-faced students.