Rain falls heavily against the plastic tarp of a neighborhood pojangmacha. The small stall is pretty much abandoned except for the owner and a lone man slumped over with empty bottles in front of him.  

Ji Chang Wook stares out at the shards of rain reflected in the dull light of the street lamps. See, he thinks, even the Gods were crying over how pathetic he is. His head feels heavy, too heavy to lift up. But he's not ready to go yet. He doesn't know what time it is and he sure as hell doesn't care. 
 

He thinks back to that phone call earlier. Right after the contract was signed and the lawyers had left, he had immediately pulled out his phone and dialed JiHyun's number. It seemed to ring endlessly but the relief he felt when the phone was picked up had almost blinded him.

"Oppa?" It was her. She was safe.

"JiHyun..." he didn't know what else to say.

"Is everything ok?" He can hear the concern in her voice,  "Are you finished with that thing you were working on?"

"Yes," he replies.

"Oh, that's good," For the first time there's awkward silence.

"Oppa," she continues after the silence had gotten too uncomfortable, "You would have laughed at me if you saw me. Earlier I freaked out a little when some unexpected people arrived."

Chang Wook looked up sharply at the CEO.

"This whole thing about the tabloids and media has me paranoid. I was so ridiculous." she laughs at herself. Chang Wook doesn't feel like laughing. But he bites his tongue. There was no use scaring her now. He would take care of it from here. He had taken care of it and he would make sure nothing could ever hurt her again.

He looks up at the CEO, a simmer of rage and hatred burning within. If it would take him the rest of his life, he would make the monster in front of him pay. Never again would he be helpless or so trusting. Never would he let anyone else decide his life for him and, by all the Gods, he would rebuild everything he had lost.

"JiHyun," he takes a deep breath and hardens his heart, "I have to go to China."

"Oh," there is a slight pause, "When are you leaving?"

"I don't know yet. But I'll be gone for a while."

"I see... " but he can hear the confusion in her voice, "I'll miss you." Chang Wook's heart clenches at that.  Then he swallows hard and pushes ahead.

"JiHyun, I can't ask you to wait for me."

He hears her breath catch on the other end.

"What- what do you mean...?"

He's not sure he can go ahead with this.  He just can't. But then he thinks of her lying helpess. All the wonder and joy in her just gone...

"Since coming back here," he replies woodenly, "I realized it is unfair of me to... to string you along. Nothing can come of it. It's best if you forget me."

She draws a harsh breath and he can feel his own heart silently breaking.

"JiHyun, I'm sorry...." and then he can't take it anymore and he hangs up. He flings the phone across the room and  it shatters.   

He doesn't remember much more than that. His fury had been too blinding. Other helpless items and furniture in the office became victims of his rage before he was finally dragged away. And then, somehow he had ended up here, in this little tented stall on this wet, bastard of a night. 

"JiHyun-ah...." he slurs, "did you know your Oppa was this pathetic?"  He waves his glass at the empty air.

"I'm not your Oppa anymore am I?" he laughs bitterly "I've f-ked up. I've lost everything." He bangs his head against the table. And then again, harder, for good measure.

"I wish we could run away... let's run somewhere far away where nobody knows us," he whispers but then his face twists with pain. "Ahh... I'm penniless. Did you know that? I can't feed you, I can't even take care of Omma. God, how did I get so pathetic?"

His vision starts to blur. He feels a warm wetness on his cheeks. Damn rain. How did it get into this stall? He lays his head on his arms not able to fight the bone-deep weariness any longer.

JiHyun... I'm sorry....

His last thoughts are of her before the blessed darkness induced by the bitter drink takes him away. He doesn't even notice when his manager comes over to half-carry, half-drag him home through the rain.

Not far away on the upper floor of a four-storey building, another man sits in the dark sipping his whiskey. His hands shake though his head still feels clear.

He had done it. He had closed the deal... 

Why then, did he feel this bitter agony inside?

CEO Kim thinks back to Chang Wook's stricken face and he closes his eyes but the image remains. To his dying day he would never forget the hurt and betrayal on his friend's face.

I'm so sorry Chang Wook. I'm so damn sorry

The tears come through. Of bitter regret, of pain.... but also of relief.

He imagines his little girls sitting at home safely tucked in bed. His wife, probably waiting for him; ready to reheat his dinner when he arrived no matter how late he got home. 

I'm sorry....

He had no choice. He had overextended the company's credit during their expansion and even borrowed a