"Hel--"

 "Robbed, Yi Jung?" came Woo Bin sharp words, even before his friend had stopped talking.

A pause, and then a low chuckle reverberated from the other end of the line. "An hour after I sent the text and then you call. Makes one wonder if you just don't value our friendship anymore, Song Woo Bin."

He rolled his eyes. "Cut the bull, man. I was working when I got your text; I had to wait until I got back here at the office before calling you. Do you want my clients to see me explode?"

"Wasn't asking you to," Yi Jung said easily. "I texted you to tell you my new number and the reason for changing it. I was robbed, not kidnapped or harmed in any way. I'm fine, in case you're wondering."

"Well you are still talking, so I kinda figured you still have your wits about you, at the very least." Taking in a more somber tone he asked, while loosening his tie, "Did you catch whoever it is that robbed you? What did they get?"

"Just my phone," Yi Jung replied. "And no, not yet. Whoever did it had a face mask on and some kind of modulator. Didn't recognize the voice, but they were speaking Korean."

"You were robbed by Korean nationals... in Sweden?" Woo Bin queried, raising a brow. 

He could almost imagine Yi Jung shrugging as he replied, "...more or less."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"I just meant that things happened so fast some details might be a bit... I don't know, murky, to me now."

Woo Bin thought about that for a bit before saying, a bit carefully, "Well, them speaking Korean narrows the search a bit, doesn't it? I'll call my men, tell them--"

"You'll do no such thing," Yi Jung told him firmly. "It's just a phone. I got all the information I needed from the old downloaded into the new one anyway. Took the phone company several days though, which was why I was offline for the most part. Being cut off from everyone was the most infuriating part of the ordeal, let me tell you."

"All the more reason to punish whoever robbed you, don't you think?" Woo Bin asked. 

"Just let it be, Woo Bin," Yi Jung placated. He paused for a while. "Let me handle things here. I have an inkling who did it, but as long as I'm not sure--"

"You know who did it to you?"

"Weren't you listening? I said I have an inkling. No use acting out now when I can't confirm it." 

"But who do you think--"

Yi Jung sighed. "I open my mouth, tell you to drop it, but you--"

"Yo, how did you even get robbed anyway?" Woo Bin turned away from his window, grimacing.

He paused. "Do you really want to hear the specifics?"

"Just the part where you're apparently without any sort of bodyguards there." 

"I don't need them."

What a load of bull. Woo Bin said so and added, with a hint of anger in his voice, "Yi Jung you idiot, you could have been killed. You could have died while you're out there and we wouldn't have known. I wouldn't have known." That, he supposed, was where his indignation was stemming from - he wasn't able to protect his friend, didn't know he was in some sort of trouble, couldn't help in any way. Man, distance could be a . "Bodyguards are supposed to prevent that from ever happening to you and--"

But Yi Jung was chuckling again, prompting Woo Bin to ask, quite irritably, "What the hell's so funny?"

"Nothing. I was just remembering all the times I called you but you didn't answer. It was fun, trying to imagine all the things that could have happened to you back then."

Woo Bin paused, suddenly caught between indignation and shame. He cleared his throat. "That's-- that's different."

"Oh?" Yi Jung asked. "So you're free to overreact to what had happened to me but--"

"I'm not overreacting," Woo Bin said, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows. 

God, he could use a drink. He really should have thought about going home instead of going back to the office after the groundbreaking ceremony but here they were; what's done was done. He cancelled all his afternoon appointments though, so at least he had so many hours off to do as he wished - depending on how this conversation went.

And, well, it wasn't going nicely.

He hadn't even brought up the main topic yet!

"You just said you'll be calling your men," Yi Jung reminded him. 

"To guard you, man, because it seems you need--"

"It could have meant a million things, especially since I'm well aware of what your men's specialty is."

"And thank goodness for that, isn't it?" And wouldn't one know it, he actually meant that sentiment. "Do you really think I'll stand idly by while my friends get assaulted?"

"Robbed, Woo Bin. There's a difference."

Woo Bin emitted a sound of pure frustration. If he didn't know better he'd think Yi Jung was protecting this suspect - but that was just stupid. "Not from where I'm standing."

Yi Jung sighed again. "Can we stop talking about what happened to me? I'm fine. You're just wasting your time." He then added, rather testily, "In any case, what I really wanted to know is why the hell you weren't taking or returning my calls a few weeks ago. What, were you so busy with work you couldn't take any time off to say hello?"

Rubbing at his face, Woo Bin was quite uncertain how to respond to that question without sounding like... like some sort of . Which, when it came to Yi Jung, he unfortunately had been. Tentatively he said, "Something like that."

"Woo Bin--"

"It's not just work," he added somewhat loudly. "I've been sort of... busy with... other things."

"Other things," Yi Jung echoed. "You mean women?"

"Woman," Woo Bin corrected, slightly miffed at the connotation. "Singular."

"Ah." Yi Jung chuckled. "Now why am I not surprised that I'm playing second fiddle to some woman?"

"She's hardly just 'some woman'," Woo Bin clarified. He cleared his throat. It was now or never. "You would know, bro."

"I would?" Yi Jung asked. 

"Actually... yes." 

"...And?"

"And, what?"

"Come on, Woo Bin. Shouldn't you be bragging to me what she looked like, by now? How good she is in bed? How fast of a learner she is about the 'ways of Don Juan', as you put it?"

Woo Bin frowned. While he took pride in his earlier conquests, hearing them being thrown at his face in this manner wasn't at all... pleasant. In fact, they sounded a wee bit insulting, to say the least.

Yi Jung was obviously teasing, but still, it hit a nerve. "I haven't bedded her yet, if you must know," he said - and there was an edge to his tone that he couldn't control. Just thinking about it made him--

--well, never mind.

"Really?" Yi Jung commented, sounding really amused by now. "So. What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing!" Woo Bin said quickly, still frowning as he spoke. "What makes you think--"

"I'm just trying to make sense of all of this," Yi Jung said. "You're interested in a girl - singular. You obviously devote time for her - at my expense, I might add - but you haven't slept with her?" He tsked. "Something isn't adding up. I'm assuming it's her fault - unless of course it's yours, and I was actually being kind to you."

"You speak as though you've slept with all the women you're interested in," Woo Bin said dryly.

"I try," Yi Jung said, laughing.

"Even after meeting Ga Eul?" 

That got Yi Jung to stop laughing long enough to say, "Well you would know the answer to that - wouldn't you?"

No. 

The answer was no.

And Woo Bin knew it; of course he did.

He curled his lip but said nothing.

"What's the matter?" Yi Jung asked, seemingly sensing that Woo Bin was not, in any way, privy to his lightheartedness. "You're not going to tell me this isn't a good time to talk to you, are you? I mean--"

"Yi Jung," Woo Bin cut in, stupidly feeling nervous all of a sudden. "I need to be very honest with you, okay? I have-- I have something to tell you but I need to know--" He paused, not knowing how to continue that particular train of thought. "Just... whatever happens, know that I value our friendship over anything and everything else. You are my best friend, after all. I mean-- you know that, don't you?"

And Yi Jung said, after several moments of silence, "Ya. You sound serious."

"I am," Woo Bin said, scratching the back of his neck, unsurprised to find some stiffness there. "I mean-- I am." He laughed, feeling just a bit embarrassed over how sentimental all this bull sounded.

"Woo Bin," Yi Jung said. "...Are you dying?"

Woo Bin snorted. "It's nothing that dramatic." He paused again. "Or--or it could be, depending on--" 

"What the hell is it, then? All your stalling is making me nervous."

Tell me about it. He opened his mouth, closed it - as though he wasn't quite sure how to word his query. Then, "I'm-- I havebeen... spending time with this girl," Woo Bin began. God, all these things felt like he was pulling his own teeth. "She's just... she's amazing. Funny and sweet and kind and just... I think-- no, I know that I'm falling. For her."

"All this build-up for a girl?" Yi Jung exhaled loudly. "I'm going to kill you, you know that? I thought it was something serious--"

"It's Ga Eul," Woo Bin said, before he could lose his nerve. 

He couldn't explain it, but the silence between them now had morphed into something cold and forboding.

Then Yi Jung said, "What?"

"I know," Woo Bin said, racking his brain for something, anything, to make this conversation somehow better. "I mean-- I know what she means to you, what you mean to her, but I can't help it--"

"What do you mean you can't help it?" Yi Jung demanded. "Wait. You're telling me-- are you actually telling me that you're falling for Ga Eul? Chu Ga Eul?"

It sounded wrong, coming from So Yi Jung's mouth like that - like he had committed some sort of crime. Some sort of unforgivable sin. But goddamnit it was the truth, no matter how ugly it sounded. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't plan on doing it, I swear. It just... happened."

"You're joking," Yi Jung said, after a few seconds. "This is a joke. Tell me you're joking."

"Bro--"

"Don't 'bro' me, you--" Yi Jung swore loudly. "For 's sake, Woo Bin. Why the hell do you feel like this is something I needed to know?" 

"Because you should!" Woo Bin shouted, before catching himself. "I can't-- I refuse to do anything about all of this without you knowing. I'm--"

Yi Jung laughed, and it was an ugly sound. "What, were you expecting me to tell you that it's okay? That this is okay?"

"No. I just wanted--"

This was a mistake. This was a mistake and , maybe he should have kept his mouth shut. . He tried again, "I'm not--"

"You're just going to hurt her, Woo Bin." The tiredness in Yi Jung's voice was unmistakable. 

But it stoked Woo Bin's ire better than anything could. "What the do you mean by that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Yi Jung said. "I know you better than anyone else. When it comes to women, you're just after one thing. After that, they're just garbage to you." He laughed again. "No wonder you were never in any serious relationship."

It was probably a good thing that Yi Jung was nowhere near him; he would have hit him just for that comment alone. Woo Bin closed his eyes, tried to reign in his anger. Yi Jung losing his was expected, but him losing his wasn't. "I don't want to fight you on this."

"Yeah? Sure sounded like it when you brought it up." Then Yi Jung added, "Man, you really had me going with that protective of yours. Were you concerned about me? Or would you really rather have me dead? Just be honest."

Woo Bin gritted his teeth. He had patience in abundance, but he was not a saint. "I said I don't want to fight you on this. Doesn't mean I won't."

"Is that a threat?" 

"Doesn't have to be."

"Get your filthy hands off of her, Woo Bin. She's too good for you. Chu Ga Eul is--"

"--not yours, bro," Woo Bin said, knowing that he was stepping on toes at that very moment and suddenly caring very little about it. If Yi Jung wanted to fight--

--well, he was never one to back out from it. "At least, not in any way that's legally binding. Hell, she's not even your girlfriend."

"You don't think I know that?" Yi Jung snarled. "You don't think I actually regret leaving her behind? After all she's done for me--"

"--You left her for Sweden?" he finished for him. "I was wondering about that, myself."

"Shut up. I don't have to explain anything--"

"You left her all alone, and for what? Pursuing your own dream while not caring about how she'll get hers?"

"What the are you talking about?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Woo Bin dared him. "Unless, of course, you don't want to talk to her. I mean, isn't that why you haven't been calling her at all?"

"Shut--"

"I've been taking care of your girl for you, So Yi Jung," Woo Bin told him point-blank. "You and Jan Di left her to fend for herself. All the times she needed you, I was there. I was a friend to her, something you never were. So don't you dare tell me I'm going to hurt her, because God knows I won't. And she's--"

"I said--"

"Ya, are you seriously wondering why I fell for her, when you know the answer to that yourself?"

Yi Jung took a deep breath, obviously fighting for control. Then, "Song Woo Bin. If you hurt her in any way I swear to God I will kill you. It won't matter how many bodyguards you have; I will kill you with my bare hands."

"Not if you're a million miles away," Woo Bin said, before severing the connection and throwing his phone to the floor in disgust.

.

.

Just--

.