"I- Woo Bin-ssi?" Ga Eul tilted her head to one side in puzzlement as she registered what she had seen. She took a couple of steps backwards and peeked in through the half-open doorway she'd just passed. She had been on her way out from her pottery class - a bit late; she'd hung back to talk to Eun Jae unnie as everyone else left - and certainly would not have expected to see Woo Bin here.
He was frowning rather impressively - it was rare, really, for Ga Eul to see him in less than a cheerful mood, she thought. It was rare for her to see him alone, as well, though less so. And yet there he was, glaring down at a chunk of clay he was shaping, one that looked almost perfect to her, generally clean lines and a stable form, seemingly progressing well even if it was still obviously unfinished.
Ga Eul hesitated, then indulged her curiosity - perhaps she could ease whatever was creasing his face and put the tension she could see in him to rest. Or at least offer a small distraction from it.
"Woo Bin-ssi?" Ga Eul said delicately as she stepped into the room, tapping her fingers on the doorframe.
Woo Bin jumped, and a small patch of the piece beneath his hands shredded in an ugly fashion, making her wince. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, ducking her head slightly. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
Woo Bin looked up at her, sighing and throwing a hunk of clay at the rest of the piece, crumpling it pathetically beyond salvaging. "It's all right, it wasn't worth anything anyway." He leaned forwards and braced his chin in one hand, smearing clay there.
Ga Eul tried not to smile at the sight, but like this, and now the scowl had eased, he looked boyish and . . . cute.
"It wasn't too bad." she told him optimistically. "I think you could have fixed it." she added, nodding slightly to underline the suggestion.
"No. It has to be perfect." Woo Bin said, pulling the clay together and pushing it into a homogenous lump once more. A moment later he picked up a dull bladed tool to scrape it all off his work surface. "It's . . . it needs to be perfect."
"I didn't know you were interested in pottery. Do you take lessons here?" Ga Eul asked as he worked it over, adding a little water to smooth the process.
"No." Woo Bin said, frowning a bit. "I think it's a very cool art form, but I don't take classes. It's not really my . . . thing." He shrugged. He was already working the clay smooth and shaping it out once more - this time it was dipping into a hollow and rising into a pretty curve, clay shaping the rough outline of some kind of vase or cup.
"So, if it isn't really your kind of art," Ga Eul questioned softly, "what are you working on that has to be so perfect?" She bent a little, looking at the piece he was pulling and pressing at, his callused hands graceful but strange, big and unpractised on the clay.
"It's Yi Jung's birthday in a few weeks." Woo Bin commented, and for a moment Ga Eul, nodding, didn't understand the connection. She blinked, feeling her cheeks warm inexplicably.
"You're . . . making him a present?" Ga Eul hazarded, startled.
"He'll appreciate it." Woo Bin said, almost defensively. "It won't be as good as anything he could make, but . . . he'll appreciate it. That's why it has to be perfect. He's my best friend. It's" he hesitated, looking at his work, "important."
Ga Eul nodded again, lashes fluttering as she tried to imagine Woo Bin, who was a great friend but not- A loud thunk startled her, and Woo Bin ducked his head and offered an apology even as he picked up the clay again, having evidently just smashed it flat.
Ga Eul frowned slightly, her lips twisting. "Let the clay rest." she said after another few moments. "It will be easier to work again." You could probably use the break too. she thought, but didn't say - he probably wouldn't appreciate the suggestion. He seemed very determined.
Ga Eul slid her purse around and sat down opposite Woo Bin, a little further away from the table he was working on, as he sighed and rolled the clay up, forming it into a ball and tucking it back into the shield of plastic wrap even as he cut free another chunk instead. No rest for him, then, even if he was following her advice on the clay.
Woo Bin handled the space with an absent ease that was belied by the awkward unfamiliarity he showed as he worked the clay, and Ga Eul watched, puzzled. She realised when she watched him scowl, muttering under his breath again as he collapsed another shape with an almost idle shove, that it was a familiar gesture to her.
Woo Bin's familiarity with a potter's workbench and materials probably came from watching Yi Jung, from spending time in his studio, even if Woo Bin himself had never really held the interest to work with clay himself. Ga Eul hid a smile again and made gentle suggestions, knowledge earned from a few years of friendship with Eun Jae and taking lessons from her. Lessons slanted specifically for beginners, and probably things that Woo Bin had never picked up, because Yi Jung, no doubt, had no need of them for a very long time, if ever.
Woo Bin still hadn't finished whatever he was working on - he hadn't told her, and Ga Eul hadn't pried either - by the time he cleaned up and left, offering to take Ga Eul to a café for a treat as thanks. Ga Eul hesitated, but accepted with a smile.
She was curious what Woo Bin was making, and what Yi Jung's reaction to the gift would be, certain that Woo Bin would eventually succeed in the so-important task he'd set himself.
This was written for the prompt 'Important' (centring on Yi Jung and Woo Bin) in a random challenge.