"You said you'd let it go. I understand, but I really am fine. I won't put anyone in danger. I just need to get back into routine and I'll be fine. It'll be as if... I had never left to begin with" She explained as clearly as she could

"We're friends right?" He asked.

"Yeah..."

"So as a friend I can still get mad right? I still have the right to know certain things right?"

"I guess" She replied wearily.

"So if we're friends then why did you disappear like that?" Myungsoo asked, his voice reflecting just how much it had bothered him.

Min Ah stared at him and tried to answer. The truth was on the tip of her tongue, it was just begging to be released because if she did speak about it... then it became more real. She blinked, as long as she didn't talk about it then she could work through this. She could work on pretending that none of it had ever happened.

"I... I didn't disappear I went on a vacation" She finally said breaking the silence, but never raising her eyes higher that the tip of his nose.

"I called you" He insisted, refusing to let things go like this.

"I know you did"

"Did you leave because of me? Because of what I did or because I didn't want to end things between us? Were you that angry at me that you couldn't stand even the sight of me? If being with me was such torture that you had to run away..." He said. His eyes glimmered with uncertainty as his words came tumbling out.

Min Ah felt like crap for lying to him.

"That's not—"

"It's not what? That's not the reason you left because all signs point to that?"

"We didn't even have  relationship for god's sake Myungsoo!" She blurted out, her mind immediately switching to an easier emotion to deal with. Anger was simple and it meant a distraction from the more hurtful topics. It was a distraction from the truth, "We're friends and I trust you with my life, but let's face it I was nothing more than the girl you called when you were bored! Romantically, I was never anything more than that and you made sure I knew it. What the hell was I ending? Your free access pass into my bed whenever you wanted?!"

He grit his teeth as he fixed her with a livid glare.  Why was she so blind to everything he tried to tell her! How the hell is he even supposed to say that he might have wanted something more if after a certain point she hadn't made it clear that she loved some fictional image of a guy he could never compete with?! Even if he had wanted more, she was just as much at fault!

"You— you frustrate me so much you know? I just... I can't deal with you sometimes" He confessed and he was startled at the sudden change in her.

Her eyes dimmed with disappointment and she instantly looked away. In less than a second he wished he could take his words back. Even though he didn't understand, he recognized that he had hurt her.

"You too huh?" She asked quietly as she broke into his train of thoughts on how to fix this.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, honestly confused. He didn't understand. She had changed so much. She left the stubborn and obnoxious person she usually was and came back... a mess. She was all over the place and he couldn't help the worry he felt.

"Am I bothering you Kim Myungsoo? Is that it? What, because I don't instantly put out I'm not worth anything to you anymore?!" She said, her voice rising with every single question.

"What are you talking about?!" He yelled, his chest heaving as he punched the wall behind her. Pent up anger and concern over the time she was gone finally spilling out.

Screw the nice guy act what the hell was she talking about?

"Isn't this what this is all about? Little prince Myungsoo who gets everything he wants, whose daddy fixes every single little problem, finally gets something taken away and he can't stand it?" Min Ah said coldly, easily grasping at the words she knew would set him off. At that moment she wanted to hurt him, she wanted to infuriate him because he was not allowed to throw her away like that. He wasn't allowed to make her feel worthless. Not him.

"Min Ah..." He warned, his voice matching the chill in hers.

"So suddenly I'm just not worth it? Fine! Leave me alone! I don't need you!" She screamed not understanding how she could actually feel worse. Was it because all this anger, all this pain, had nothing to do with Myungsoo? It was probably more because of the fact that she felt helpless at not being able to scream these words at the person she truly meant them for.

She shoved him back and reached for the door. She flung it open and made a blind turn to the right and forced herself to keep walking. She looked around took another turn. She kept walking and burst into the women's bathroom down the hallway, thankful that it was empty. With silent steps she stopped in front of the mirror and stared at the image in the mirror. Her eyes looked tired and there were dark bags from lack of sleep. She stepped out of the mirror's view and pressed her back against the wall. It was cold as she slowly slid to the ground next to the sink. She placed her head in her hands and shook her head. What on earth was she doing? Myungsoo was just worried about her and she treated him like she should've have treated Wu Fan. She bit her lip to keep herself from screaming when she heard loud footsteps walk in.

Myungsoo went straight for her and grabbing her firmly by the shoulders, he pulled her up and held her up against the bathroom wall. She could see the anger in his eyes as he stared at her and she prepared herself for the worst, telling herself that she could take him abandoning her. She couldn't. His fingers dug into her skin nearing the point of pain, but she didn't say a word.  

"It's because I was worried. No, I was livid and near panic do you know  that? No notice, no explanation, all of the sudden you were gone and I couldn't even call you. Was this punishment?"

"...I put in a request for vacation time, it couldn't have been that much of a surprise..." She heard herself say.

"It was because you didn't submit that request to me, I had to find out from the director and by then it was too late. I was already beyond worried sick. I called, I left messages, I tried to email you I tried to find you" He said through gritted teeth.

"When I left you and I weren't exactly on the best of terms..."

"That gives you no excuse. I was worried. We were all worried" He hissed.

"I'm... sorry. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have left. You have no idea how much I regret it" She whispered, her eyes b with tears at his words because despite all their anger and accusation there was something more genuine bursting its way through. She looked down at the ground, regretting every single thing she had done as soon as she laid her eyes on Wu Fan.

She felt his hand on the back of her head and stumbled forward as he loosened the hold he had on her and  pulled her into his arms and said nothing.

"You piss me off" He said as if it was fact, "But... you're not worthless. You're a lot more important than you know. To all of us" He added on quickly, feeling awkward and thankful for the fact that he had her face pressed against his chest and he  couldn't see the weird look she probably had on her face.

She nodded and he pulled back only slightly. His eyes lowered as he hesitated in pulling away.

"So what are we?" He asked quietly.

"We're... we're friends. Just friends" She whispered, staring intently at his lips knowing just how soft and gentle they could really be.

He let her go and stepped back.

"As friends I feel obligated to tell you that I'll find out eventually" He stated.

"Find out what?"

"Who it was that made you like this. We've fought much worse than this, we've broken things in some of our fights and you've never cried. The only time I've seen you cry was the first night we met. So I'm going to hurt the person that made you feel like that  do you hear me?" He said very seriously and she felt strangely touched by his words. It probably had something to do with the  fact that she knew that Myungsoo and Wu Fan would never cross paths so his words didn't worry her.

"Don't say that" She said none the less.

"Even if we're just friends, I'm allowed to protect you" He said with a confident smile on his face and she smiled a real smile for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime.

~~~~~~

"Should we celebrate Min Ah's return tonight?" Sunggyu said as the clock and their working day wound down and they were getting ready to leave.

"A-ah that's ok I'm pretty tired" She tried to explain.

"Are you guys getting together tonight?" Myungsoo asked as he came out of his office, briefcase in hand and ready to go home.

"Yeah we're trying to get Min Ah to come with since after all we are celebrating her" Hoya said with a laugh and Min Ah sighed.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me?" Myungsoo asked after a second of silence.

Everyone, including Min Ah, turned to stare at him in astonishment. In all this time, unless it was absolutely necessary as in mandatory for work, Myungsoo had never voluntarily come out with them. It was always either excuses, work, or plain refusal.

"Are you alright?" Dongwoo whispered, his eyes widened as the words simply slipped out of his mouth.

Everyone turned to him instead and froze. Myungsoo's laughter broke the tension as everyone cracked a smile and more sounds of laughter chimed out.

"Min Ah, you can't miss out tonight now! It's a workplace miracle that our boss actually wants to hang out with us" Woohyun joked and she laughed.

"Alright, I'll come with" She said brightly.

As they all headed downstairs and everyone was deciding what cars to take, Min Ah caught Myungsoo's gaze on her. She smiled and slowed her walk as he did the same. They lingered only a few feet behind, but none of the guys noticed as they got wrapped up in deciding where to go.

"How come friendship you is a lot nicer and friendlier than relationship you?" She whispered.

"It just felt like a good day to start over. Don't you think so?" He asked in a quiet voice.

She smiled and nodded as they decided all decided to take two different cars. Myungsoo kept his eyes on her the entire ride even though she didn't notice. The worry was still there, along with the anger and his impulsivity, but she needed a friend. He recalled the broken look in her eyes from earlier and tried to push it from his memory. He could be a friend, even though he had a short temper, and he was forceful and stubborn, he could try to be a friend.

For a man that had even gone undercover, he found it a bit strange... the fact that at least for the first few hours, it wasn't all bad.

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Thanks for reading! :)