"You should have said something earlier," Woo Bin insisted as he led the way out of the building. 

"About what?" Ga Eul asked, her attention on the path before them.

He shot her a look as though asking her: really?

She caught his eyes and rolled her own in response. "I told you; I'm fine. I can handle them myself." A beat, then, "Not all women need a handsome man to take care of their problems for them. You have to remember that."

He wasn't convinced. He'd seen firsthand how helpless she'd been the moment he rounded that corner; how menacing those three girls had been to her. The images flashing in his brain of what could have been weren't pretty - especially since he was very familiar with the possible outcomes of that situation. "If I hadn't come--"

"If you hadn't come, they would have taken my phone, sure, but then I would have a reason to report them." She glanced at him. "Those three are notorious troublemakers. I think the school just needs an actual complaint to act on to get them expelled. Stealing my phone and causing me undue emotional distress qualify as grievous offenses, especially since I can use the CCTV footage from the hallway as evidence to support my case. But since you stepped in and chased them away... I guess you saved them, Sunbae, from undergoing all of that." She seemed amused at the notion.

Woo Bin turned towards Ga Eul and frowned. "Ya, that's not what I..." 

She looked at him innocently.

. 

"You know, they could've hurt you," he said, crossing his arms defensively. 

"But they didn't, so..." She shrugged.

"But they could have," he insisted. "I prevented that."

"You don't know that." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

Shiiiiit.

"Are you-- are you saying I actually helped them even if they had been bullying you?" The realization tasted ugly in his mouth.

Ga Eul nodded. "I'll be sure to tell them they owe you their thanks when I see them again. Some of us students have manners, after all." She patted him on the arm. 

"I didn't-- That's not--" 

Goddamnit!

Why was it that when it came to this woman his chivalry wasn't just wasted, but also caused more harm than good? It was like his reputation as Don Juan could be put to question when it came to her. Woo Bin deflated. There was no other word for it. "That wasn't what I wanted to do at all. What I really wanted to do was to--" save you. "--help you. You know that, don't you?"

"Again, it's something you don't have to do." She grinned. Taking mercy on him she said, "But I'm not completely ungrateful for your presence earlier. I have to admit, you looked really cool doing what you did. That should count for something, right?"

Ah. Now they were talking. He perked up immediately. "And were you?"

"Was I what?"

"Counting." He dimpled at her.

Ga Eul laughed. "Do I need to? You only had to breathe to be cool - which, I'm sure, is something you're aware of. Besides--" Here her expression shifted, becoming more guarded, closed, "--I'm sure you do it for all your other women, too."

He blinked, caught unawares at the sudden change in her mood. "My other--"

She sniffed. "I suppose that's why you purposely ignored me that day, didn't you? You were out impressing some other girl and you didn't want her to know you associate yourself with a-- with a commoner like me. That's why you were-- that's why you did that." Ga Eul raised her chin and fairly bristled with indignation. "I don't even know why I let men like you--"

"Whoa, whoa!" Woo Bin had to grab her arm before she walked away from him which, judging from her stance, she was seconds away from doing. "What are you talking about?"

She crossed her arms and peered up at him. "It's true, isn't it?"

--how did their conversation even turn into something like this? His brain had to do a bit of a run through of how their talk went before he was able to formulate a response. "No! No, of course not. There were no 'other women' involved, Ga Eul. I was just... I was just doing business that day. Really." 

"Here?"

"F4 business," he said quickly. "The school is owned by Jun Pyo and--"   

She shook her head. "Still doesn't explain why you had to do what you did."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and did his best to look appropriately contrite. "Let's just say I had a lot of things going on in my mind, back then." Concerning you. Concerning us. "I guess I just sort of... panicked."

Her brows rose. "Seeing me made you panic?"

Woo Bin supposed she had every right to doubt him; his explanation did sound ridiculous, even to his own ears. Still, what he said was the truth.

Or at least, a version of it. "What can I say? You make me feel many, many things." He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, his expression teasing all the while.

Don't think too much on this, Ga Eul.

It worked. She expelled her breath loudly, pulled her hand away and said, "Ya. I'm serious, Woo Bin-Sunbae. I want to know--"

"I'll tell you the truth," he said quietly, as a compromise. "One day. I'll tell you everything you want to know. I just need to... think on it more, for a little while."

I can't tell you everything - not until I've talked to Yi Jung first.

It was his commitment to himself and he would damn well follow-through with it.

She gazed at him, and there were a lot of unasked questions in her eyes. Tentatively she ventured with, "Is it something I should be afraid of?" 

"It depends," he said flippantly. Honestly. 

It'll depend on how you feel about me. About Yi Jung.

And whether or not I'll be able to accept your answer.

Ga Eul opened to speak when his phone rang. 

Again.

It was his assistant - and his timing couldn't have been better. Woo Bin made a mental note to give him a bonus once they were back in the office. He was, after all, a very generous employer. "Got it. I'll be there," he responded after the man told him that everything was all set.

"Leaving already?" she asked him.

Was it his imagination, or did she sound disappointed for a second there? Woo Bin glanced at her. "I told you I'll show you why I'm here, didn't I? Let's get going, then." He offered her his arm.

To his satisfaction, she showed little hesitation in taking it.

Their arrival at the construction site was well-documented, with camera flashes warmly greeting them as soon as they were spotted by members of the press. Woo Bin pasted on a genial smile and waved importantly at some of them, already accustomed to this role.

Ga Eul's hold on him tightened - reminding him that she, on the other hand, wasn't. "Is--is there a party?" she asked, sounding flustered.

Woo Bin leaned towards her. "The F4 business I told you about earlier," he said. "This is it." 

"Oh," she said faintly. "But why is there--"

"Master Song!" his assistant said, with the Vice Chancellor right at his heels. "The groundbreaking ceremony is about to start. We should--"

"Your designated seat is ready," the Vice Chancellor announced. Then her eyes slid over to Ga Eul and her brows rose in surprise. "Miss Chu? Why are you here? And during school hours no less?" The censure in her voice was unmistakable.

Ga Eul bowed. "Vice Chancellor," she said demurely. "I was--"

"I invited her," Woo Bin said, patting the arm looped around his while addressing the school executive. "I thought it would be better if a student from this university was also around to witness this activity. Besides, she's a friend of mine and Jun Pyo's." He gave Ga Eul a reassuring smile. "I want her here."

She blinked at him but didn't say anything - if one didn't count the blush on her cheeks.

The Vice Chancellor pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and stiffly commented, "What a fine, marvelous idea, Master Song. But if you wanted attendees from the school to be present, we could have arranged for the Student Council to represent--"

"But there's really no need to disrupt them from their schoolwork. They'll read about it in the paper tomorrow, anyway," Woo Bin told her.

Seeing that the Vice Chancellor was still wearing quite a severe, disapproving expression - and that Ga Eul was fidgeting uncomfortably beside him - Woo Bin thought he needed to say something charming to diffuse the situation... so he did. He made a show of looking around him before casually saying, "Your preparations this morning are quite commendable, Madam. You and your team have so far exceeded my expectations." He placed a hand on her arm and leaned forward. "I'll be sure to mention it to Jun Pyo next time we talk."   

And it worked. The Vice Chancellor actually blushed and glowed at the sentiment. "W-Well! That's-- that's mighty kind of you--"

Ga Eul stared at her, agog.

"Where are we seated?" he asked politely. 

"Of course! Of course, right this way please." And the Vice Chancellor happily lead them towards it.

His assistant had made arrangements so that there was an empty seat beside his. Good. Woo Bin made another mental note to increase the bonus he was going to give him. He was a very generous employer, after all. 

"I can't believe it!" Ga Eul squealed once they were seated. She pulled on his arm. "You made Miss Han smile? She never smiles at anyone! Oh, I wish I'd taken a picture of her as proof."

Woo Bin turned to her and scoffed. "Ya. You make it sound like you were doubting my charms."

Ga Eul laughed. "I'll be sure never to do that again from now on."

"And I'll be sure to forget that you sort of insulted me today." He winked at her. 

She stuck her tongue out at him in response.

The opening ceremony went by in a blur. At one point Woo Bin gave a perfunctory speech about how unbelievably glad he was about the construction project, how undeniably happy he was to be working with Jun Pyo's very very talented pool of people - and he was sure to lay the charisma on thick. His eyes met Ga Eul's and, somehow, he'd managed to keep a straight face on even though hers was far from it, the minx.

The time for the groundbreaking ceremony had come. Woo Bin was given a safety helmet and a ceremonial shovel to use, but he asked for one more set. He passed his own to Ga Eul, who looked up at him in surprise.

"But--"

"You're my guest, Ga Eul," he reminded her before taking the hard hat from her fingers and gently setting it on her head. "You're not going to leave me to fend for myself now, are you? Not after I passionately defended you from the Vice Chancellor?" He tweaked her on the chin. 

She sighed. "Miss Han is going to kill me," she said forlornly.

"I'll make sure she doesn't," was his promise as he helped her up to her feet. 

Together with Jun Pyo's executives and his company's own, the two of them dug their shovels into the ground and smiled at the camera when prompted. Woo Bin then made a comically exaggerated move with his shovel, making Ga Eul and the others laugh.

After some more speeches and a ceremonial toast for the success of their endeavors - they were done.

The Vice Chancellor took the microphone and said, "On behalf of Shinhwa University, we wish to thank everyone for witnessing this momentous event. We are--"

Woo Bin's assistant signaled that some important people wanted to talk to him. He caught that look, frowned, and turned to Ga Eul. "Would you like something to eat? There's a buffet waiting for us in the office, I was told. You could--"

Ga Eul shook her head apologetically. "I can't; I'm sorry, Sunbae. I have class in an hour and I have to prepare for it. I really have to go."

"...Oh," he said, fighting disappointment and barely winning.

"Thank you for this, though? It sure was..." She searched for an appropriate word and settled on, "...something."
 
"It was work," Woo Bin said, pouting slightly. "I'll bring you somewhere fun next time."

She nodded and smiled. "I look forward to it."

He watched her leave, and only when her silhouette had disappeared in the distance did he - begrudgingly - face the executives waiting for him.

His phone vibrated after a few minutes. Excusing himself, he took it out and saw that he had received several text messages.

One of them was from Ga Eul: I had fun, Woo Bin-Sunbae. It was nice seeing you again.

Woo Bin grinned. 

At least something good came out of this mundane activity, he thought.

The other was, surprisingly, from an unknown number. It read:

This is So Yi Jung. If needed, you may reach me through this number instead of the old one. Thank you and good day.

Another text message from the same number read:

Woo Bin, you . Someone robbed me, can you believe it? Sweden's not as safe as advertised. Got your texts, though. Call me through this number as soon as you can. I may have to kill you if you don't.