Before he knew it, harsh sunlight was piercing through the foggy haziness of his sleep-deprived brain, robbing him of blessed unconsciousness.
"Close the blinds," he murmured into the void, turning his head and burrowing deeper into his pillow.
A few seconds went by. Then, as if sensing that his wishes remained unheeded, he lifted his head a fraction of an inch to glare in the general direction of the window. "Are you deaf? I said close the blinds."
"Apologies, Young Master," his butler said, and to his credit he did sound apologetic. "Your father orders you to meet him in the dining hall in approximately ten minutes for breakfast."
Woo Bin stifled a groan. This was why he hated mornings. Whoever said people couldn't get up whenever they wanted ought to be shot. "Tell him I died," he said, pulling his blanket up to cover his entire body. Let the whole world forget he existed, just for a little while more. "Tell him you found me dead. Tell him-"
His butler sighed. "You have nine minutes, Young Master Song."
He contemplated on ignoring the silent threat embedded in those words. Nine minutes. God, he'd give his right arm so he could sleep for nine minutes more.
Yet even he was cognizant of what could happen if his father's commands went ignored.
With that pretty thought in mind, Woo Bin pushed himself up - feeling more than just a tiny bit peeved. "Ya. You should have told him I was indisposed. Don't you have any regard for my comfort? I haven't slept for more than three hours thanks to you!" He raked a hand through his hair, feeling the stirrings of an incoming headache and hating them. "You know what time I went home last night. You know-"
"Eight minutes. Your father ordered-"
"Ordered?" Woo Bin repeated, blinking. He really didn't like the sound of that.
His butler hesitated before saying, "I will advise you to get dressed, Sir." He took the clothes hanging from the dresser and handed it to Woo Bin. "Your father," he started to say, "is in a mood."
Woo Bin snorted. "Like I'm not," he said. But he did take the offered clothing and reluctantly rose from his bed.
God. Maybe he shouldn't have drunk too much last night. Had he known his father would oh-so-suddenly summon him in the morning, Woo Bin would definitely not have gotten drunk last night.
Hell. Who was he kidding?
You're only going to hurt her, Woo Bin.
No wonder you were never in any serious relationship.
He winced. Now he was nursing the mother of all hangovers, and whose fault was that?
So Yi Jung, you ass.
Got to hand it to the potter, though - he knew exactly where to hit Woo Bin.
"Two minutes, Young-"
"I got it!" Woo Bin snapped as he moved towards the door, buttoning his shirt as he did.
There was dead weight in his stomach as he headed towards the dining hall; he attributed it to having too much blood in his alcoholic system. He really, really needed to be numb right now, and all this walking was not helping matters.
The day hadn't even begun yet, and here Woo Bin was, wishing it was already over.
"You look like hell," his father succinctly told him, soon as he'd sat down his usual seat at the table.
Woo Bin chuckled humorlessly. "But do I still look human to you?"
"Quite," Song Senior said, with a slight shrug.
"Then I guess I haven't drunk enough last night." He waved away his butler when the man tried to set his plate before him. "I'm not hungry."
"I called you down for breakfast, Woo Bin," his father said with mild censure, gesturing for the butler to set his food up anyway. "The least you can do is eat with me. It's been quite a while since we sat together, don't you agree?"
"I'll just make a mess out of anything I eat," Woo Bin replied, fighting the urge to plant his face on the table. "Think of it as me saving our servants from having to clean up. Not to mention what me hurling will do to your appetite." He pushed his plate away and leaned further into his seat. The smell alone was causing his senses to go haywire. "I'm such a considerate son, aren't I?"
Song Senior said nothing in response, merely wiped his mouth with a napkin. Then, "Your Secretary told me that you haven't gone to work in a week."
He snorted. "I guess with me gone he has to report to someone." His temple was throbbing. Woo Bin swiped his father's glass of water and placed it there. "The company's still standing, as far as I can tell. Please don't tell me this summons is you telling me I need to go back soon?"
His father studied him for a few moments. "Is there anything I should know?"
How about me ruining almost twenty-years' worth of friendship over a girl who may not be capable of returning my affections? He shook his head, then wished he hadn't. "What can I say? I never realized how much working for the company had made me into this boring, straitlaced person. I missed the old me; he was a fun guy."
"Woo Bin," his father cautioned.
He sighed loudly. "You need not concern yourself over my affairs, Father," he said, opting a more serious demeanor. "I know better than trouble you with things I can handle."
And really, all things considered he was handling this matter pretty damned well, wasn't he?
Get your filthy hands off of her.
She's too good for you.
Woo Bin barely managed to resist hurling the glass of water onto the floor. That sneaky son of a-
"Oh?" Song Senior said, reaching for his coffee now. "And yet it seems as though I do get troubled by your affairs, even if you don't wish me to be."
He set the glass down and frowned. His father was now speaking in a tone he intensely disliked. "I-what?"
"Tell me," his father began benignly, "since when did it become a habit of yours to cross the Parks?"
"The-" Woo Bin drew his brows together. "-Parks?"
Now there was a name he hadn't thought of in a while.
Or ever.
"Don't play dumb," Song Senior warned him. "It doesn't suit you."
The dead weight in his stomach settled even lower. God. So this was why he was 'ordered' to have breakfast with his father; he was needed to explain something.
Problem was, he didn't even know what that something was.
"I haven't crossed them!" he said vehemently. "I overlooked everything they did in our company. I even used their materials in Jun Pyo's school despite how ridiculously overpriced they are. I'm sure I did everything I could not to offend them!"
"Within our office premises, perhaps," his father said, just looking at him. Woo Bin fought the urge to squirm; he was not twelve, for crying out loud. "But does it hold true outside of it as well?"
"Of course!" Woo Bin said with feeling.
What the hell was going on?
Song Senior's keen eyes scrutinized him. Taking a sip of his coffee he said, "Do you know that Park Jung's eldest daughter is attending Shinhwa University?"
And the confusion just kept piling up. He cleared his throat. "I'm sure that's an interesting tidbit-"
"Park Yo Na," his father said, as though he hadn't spoken, "is almost your age. She also had some interesting things to say about you, last time her father and I spoke."
"...Park Yo Na?" The name didn't ring a bell. He was sure any acquaintance of his did not bear that name. And considering he'd been living like a damned monk these past few months, he was pretty certain that was not the name of any woman he'd slept with, either. Woo Bin shook his head. "I don't know her."
"Then you never assaulted her last week?"
"Assaulted?" The accusation had him launching to his feet, despite the severity of his pounding head. "I never-"
"She told us quite a tale, that girl. Said that you visited her in school last week, threatened her and her friends." Song Senior set his coffee down and looked at him. "Did you?"
"I-"
Visited her in school last week.
Last week.
Attending Shinhwa University.
Which was where Woo Bin was last week, come to think of it.
I'm going to count to three. I expect that by that time, the three of you have already disappeared from my sight.
If I found out that she got hurt in any way, all of you... will get to see me angry.
"This woman..." Woo Bin said slowly, as memories came up to the surface. "Short legs? Pointed chin? Red hair, up to-" He gestured at his neck. "-here?"
His father barely blinked. He took that to mean yes.
Shit.
And now, as he remembered exactly who Park Yo Na was, Woo Bin sagged into his chair.
She was the leader of the trio of women harassing Ga Eul in school.
She was that girl he-
Shit.
On one hand, it wasn't like he laid a hand on any part of her.
On the other hand-
...Shit!
"I didn't assault her," Woo Bin reiterated. "If anything, I actually prevented her from assaulting someone else. I helped her not be expelled from school!"
"Woo Bin-"
"She was threatening someone I ca- a friend of mine," he explained earnestly. "So I... may have threatened her and her friends in return. But I didn't touch her or any of them, I swear, Father. You have to believe me."
"You're being careless again," Song Senior remarked harshly. "What did I say about committing such impudent acts?"
"I never knew she was Park Jung's daughter," he defended himself. "I never knew Park Jung could even have a daughter. But even if I did, the fact that she was harassing Ga Eul-"
"Ga Eul?"
Woo Bin paused. His father didn't really need to know about her. "She's- my friend," he said. "She's also attending Shinhwa University." And that was all he was willing to divulge.
His father asked for a refill of his coffee, seemingly contemplating on something. Then, "And this... Ga Eul," he said, "is she the reason why we have a partnership with Shinhwa in the first place?"
It was all Woo Bin could do not to get a heart attack. "How did you-?"
"The financial reports from the last semester," his father said, gesturing vaguely. "It stated that your office donated a hefty sum to Shinhwa University. I had someone look into the details." He chuckled. "I didn't know you're into sponsoring commoners nowadays."
His neck felt as though it was being squeezed by merciless hands. Who knew his father even have enough material time to read through those reports? He cleared his throat again. "When the mood calls for it." Pause. "But you're right; she is the reason we got a deal with Jun Pyo. You can't take that against me."
"It was a rather profitable venture." He stirred cream into his coffee. As if coming into a decision he then said, "You've always been overprotective of your friends; that much I know about you. If what you're saying about Park Yo Na is true-"
"It is!" Woo Bin insisted.
"-then I'll talk to her father," Song Senior said, "and tell him there's no need for you to beg for her forgiveness."
"-beg?" he repeated incredulously. "Is that why you called me down here? Is that what you want me to do? Beg for-"
"It was either that," his father remarked gravely, "or let them have your head."
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.
"So... either I say sorry or I'm dead?" he clarified, half-hoping he misunderstood things.
To his father's credit, he did look a bit chagrined
Woo Bin couldn't help it; he just had to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Oh what a wonderful world they lived in.
Refusing to dwell on the negative implications of that, he said, "I guess I should be thankful you didn't talk about us getting married, instead."
His father paused for several terse seconds. "Well, you are of age, Woo Bin." He then added, in a wistful tone, "And I've often wondered how it would feel to bounce a grandchild on my knee."
Woo Bin's eyes rounded in alarm. "Father--!"
And then Song Senior laughed. "Don't worry. I would never dream of associating with them longer than any of us should. The idea's banished even before it crossed my mind."
He didn't even fight the urge to plant his face on the table, so great was his relief at that moment. "You're killing me here."
His father patted him on the shoulder. "I would never dream of it."
The rest of the day, thankfully, went by in a blur.
After that hodgepodge of a breakfast, Woo Bin was finally allowed to go back to his room and sleep - without interruptions from his butler and his father, this time.
However, he was rudely awakened a few hours into his slumber by the sound of his phone ringing.
Woo Bin reached for it even as he contemplated shoving the thing under a pillow. Without another thought he placed it on his ear and replied, "-llo?"
"-Woo Bin-Sunbae?"
He opened both eyes and checked the caller ID, because it sure as hell sounded like the caller was "-Ga Eul?"
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around him. With his window curtains shut close he couldn't exactly tell what time it was - but at least his headache was gone, so that was a plus. "I'm... okay?" he said, then winced as his answer sounded more like a question. He cleared his throat. "I'm fine. But why are you asking?"
"Your secretary told me you're not feeling well lately," she responded, "and that was why you haven't been going to work."
Woo Bin frowned. Something didn't sound right. "You know my secretary?"
"I... spoke to him," she said, "when I went to your office this afternoon."
"-you did?" he asked.
"I wanted to surprise you," she said. "But it turns out you've been absent from work for a week. And when I heard you weren't feeling well I thought- I mean, I bought some Abalone Porridge from- from the shop. So if you want I can... I can just bring it to you."
Woo Bin couldn't help himself from smiling rather stupidly at the offer. God, this woman.
Are you seriously wondering why I fell for her, when you know the answer to that yourself?
Could hangovers be considered an illness anyhow? Woo Bin rubbed his nape. "I'm... not exactly 'not feeling well'," he replied honestly. "But I really wasn't well enough to report to the office this morning." He sighed. "I'm sorry you wasted your trip."
"Oh," Ga Eul said. "It's okay. I mean at least I got to see your office, right? In any case, I can just drop the porridge off your house or... or you can have your driver pick it up or... something. It's not much but I think it can help make you feel better."
"If it's something you prepared, then I'm sure it will," he said warmly. "But... you know what I think the best medicine for me right now is?"
"What?" she asked. "I'm near a-"
"Seeing you," he said softly.
She was silent for a few seconds. Then, "Sunbae, Don't joke. I was really worried."
Man. And he even sounded really suave saying that, too!
Still, the fact that she was worried... had to mean something, right? "Then have dinner with me so you don't have to be."
Ga Eul sighed. "All right. But only because I want to see that you're really okay."
He laughed. "I'll even let you see more than that if you want."
"You're impossible," she said, almost sounding exasperated. She then cleared her throat. "It'll be best if we do meet, though. I- I need to talk to you about... well..."
Woo Bin frowned. "About what?"
"It's better," she said, "if we talk in person."
And the dead weight in his stomach kept sinking even further.
Notes: wow you guys are the actual best! The reviews I've been getting for this story have been so lovely. Thank you for your support!