"Explain what?" Ga Eul said, practically rocking on her sensible heels as she looked everywhere but at him.
Goddamn, but he really had to state the obvious here, hadn't he.
"Her," Woo Bin said, fighting the urge to rub his nape in agitation. He was not, in any way or form, nervous. Nope. The very thought was absurd. He was just- well, caught off guard, that's all. Anyone would be, if they were caught entertaining another woman in their office! Not that that had any meaning or anything. "Park Yo Na. She was-"
"I'm not asking anything," Ga Eul said softly - pointedly. "I mean- why should I care if she's here? She's your business. I mean she's probably-" She paused, inhaled slowly, and released it before looking up at him and smiling through her teeth. "It's really none of my business."
"Ga Eul-"
"I came because I- um. Here." She bent to pick up something from the floor - only his assistant beat her to it. He handed the bag to her before smartly disappearing altogether.
"This is... it's homemade," Ga Eul stated almost absently while handing the package to Woo Bin. "I thought you might want it since you said... I mean, we haven't been- I know you're busy, so I-" She cleared her throat, then took a step back. "I'm sorry. I really should have told you I was coming-"
Without even thinking about it, Woo Bin's free hand shot out to capture hers in a firm grip, making her halt her attempt to escape him. "Ga Eul," he said. "Will you at least listen to what I have to say?"
She shook her head, tried to pull away. "Like I said, it's really not-"
"What if-" Woo Bin squeezed her hand as if drawing strength from it before plunging with, "What if I want it to be your business?"
She stared up at him with something akin to shock on her face.
Well. So much for that route, then. "Just- come inside. Let's talk." After a beat he added, "Please? It won't take long."
Ga Eul looked down at their hands, sighed loudly, and nodded.
He led her inside his office and closed the door behind her. Woo Bin reluctantly let go of her hand, placed the bag on his table, and began with, "Park Yo Na dropped by because she wanted to invite me for her birthday. And before you think it, no - we're not friends." He paused, wondering how he could further elaborate on their tenuous connections. "Our fathers are business partners, but I never knew anything about her until... well, until that incident in your school. I never even knew what her name was until my father told me - and only because her family had threatened to cut ties with mine because of what I've done." For you, he didn't say, though it was fairly obvious anyway.
Ga Eul was quiet for some time, seemingly absorbing what he had told her. But then she said, with her arms crossed, "Her clinging to you back then is a funny way of cutting ties with you."
Woo Bin grinned wryly. Was that... was that a reaction from her, just now? Progress. "Don't you know? Money has a funny way of mending ties - no matter how broken." He walked to his chair and leaned over it, not taking his eyes off of her. "Our businesses kind of... depend on each other, so I suppose tolerating Park Yo Na is a negative consequence of that." He then added, "Unluckily for me."
She uncrossed her arms, still refusing to meet his gaze and focusing her attention on her shoes instead. Then, "Why are you telling me this? I wasn't-"
"Asking?" he guessed. "I don't know. I guess I wanted to tell you the truth - even when you said you didn't care." He rubbed his nape and chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I'm kind of sad about that, by the way. I think I would have wanted you to be affected in some manner."
Ga Eul glanced at him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, closed it abruptly. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just- I think- I don't think I'm in any position to care about it."
Woo Bin looked at her closely, wondering if there's any point in chasing that particular train of thought without hoping and harming himself in the process - like he did the first time. "Even if you don't admit it, you must be wondering what my connection is to your tormentor." He waited for her to comment on his word usage. When she didn't, he continued with, "That's why I told you. I wanted to clear the air before you started doubting me."
She walked towards the windows, then. The afternoon light streaming into his room gave her a certain kind of glow, making her look almost ethereal, making his chest constrict just the tiniest bit. God, Woo Bin thought. What he wouldn't give for her to actually give a damn about him entertaining some other woman, because that would mean something, wouldn't it? That he wasn't the only one feeling feelings?
Not for the first time in his existence did Woo Bin envy Yi Jung - especially at this very moment.
"You know what, it doesn't matter," he said, choosing to move on from the topic since it didn't seem like they were going anywhere. "As long as I've said my piece, then-"
"What if-"
Their eyes met for the briefest of moments before she looked away again.
Woo Bin held his breath.
"Maybe I was doubting you," Ga Eul admitted. Her voice sounded shaky, as if she was unsure of what she was saying, but still she pressed on. "Maybe I was thinking about why she was here. About how much I don't want her to be touching you, when you-" She paused considerably. "But that doesn't make any sense, does it? I mean... doesn't it make me selfish? And I have no right because... because-"
Here she shrugged and looked up. "Of course you have other female friends. I mean... you're Song Woo Bin. I knew this about you ever since I met you. To be honest I hated it about you. You probably have hundreds of women at your beck and call-"
"Not hundreds," he cut in, unable to help himself.
She glanced at him and smiled, but something in her expression remained sad. "Just a lot, then."
Well.
Well.
Of course his womanizing past would catch up with him. He just didn't realize it would catch up with him in this manner.
Woo Bin inhaled slowly, before straightening himself and walking towards her. Ga Eul watched him come nearer, and he caught naked fear on her face before she turned away. He didn't want to be bothered by its implications, but of course he was.
It was now or never.
"No," he said, choosing to look out the window like she was, "not since the day I took you out for lunch. I chose to have no time for other women ever since."
Or was it even before that? Woo Bin could no longer recall with pinpoint accuracy.
How could anyone who ever liked someone do, anyway?
It was as close to a confession he could give, and his heart hammered like mad in his chest. It was terrifying, this experience. He was a great connoisseur of women, but nothing in his life could have ever prepared him for this.
She was quiet for some time, and waiting for her to speak, acknowledge his words, do something, was, quite frankly, torture for him.
Woo Bin was about to reach for her when she said, "Sunbae. What are we doing?"
Ga Eul glanced at him and added, "What are we, exactly?"
The confusion in her tone had him chuckling, no matter how inappropriate the timing was. "Would you believe me if I told you I've been asking myself the same question for some time now?"
"This isn't funny," she said.
"No. God, no." Woo Bin shoved his hands in his pockets despite burning with the need to touch her. "Me. You. Us. This has got to be the unfunniest joke in the world, considering who we are."
"Besides, at the end of the day the decision will not be yours. It will be Ga Eul's." Ji Hoo's words rang loud and true in his mind, and he supposed that today, he would get to test them.
Funny how these things worked.
So he said, with all the sincerity he could muster, "What we are will depend on you."
"If she chooses Yi Jung, then you can go on with your life knowing that you did something about your feelings for her. But if she chooses you-"
She blinked repeatedly and whispered, "That's not fair."
He reached for her hand to pull her in and said, "Tough luck. You asked - and that's my answer."
Unable to help himself, Woo Bin placed his other hand on her arm, where it traveled up, up, until he could caress her neck and cradle her face in his palm. Her eyes were wide, luminous, as she stared up at him - but to his joy, not once did she try to pull away.
"Ga Eul," he whispered, drawing closer still until he could rest his forehead against hers. "Ga Eul. What have you done to me? I've often wondered."
"I didn't-" she said, squeezing his hand. The other she lifted to encircle his wrist, but she didn't push him away. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathed through her mouth. "I want-"
What do you want?
What do you want, Chu Ga Eul?
He was almost afraid of what her answer would be, because it would most certainly change things between them... if they hadn't changed already.
"I'm not asking you to make any decision now," he assured her, moving his thumb up and down her cheek, even daring to touch her lower lip. "Not if you don't want to."
"If she chooses you... then you'll be able to feel the joy Jun Pyo is experiencing, at this very moment."
She shook her head. "It's... not that," she said. Ga Eul squeezed his hand, and made a sound suspiciously close to a sob. "I'm just- what about-" Her eyes flew open as she continued, "What about...?"
So Yi Jung.
Woo Bin didn't hear her utter his name, but she might as well have.
He could feel her pull away from him before she even did it. Disappointment mixed with hope tasted acrid on his tongue, but he had no choice but to swallow them. He knew this would happen, didn't he? He had always known the truth:
That she was Ga Eul and he was Woo Bin and no matter how they looked at it, the two of them would always have Yi Jung between them.
She crossed her arms and said, almost belligerently, "He's- he's your friend."
Ga Eul was just stating the obvious, but he couldn't help but feel accused and accosted, somehow.
"You don't think I know that?" he said, trying his damnedest not to sound angry or hurt, knowing that he failed spectacularly on both counts. Woo Bin dragged his hand through his hair. "You don't think I tried to ignore this? To fight it? To not feel anything for you?"
She looked away, and her silence nagged at him more than anything.
"Yi Jung is my friend," Woo Bin said, almost desperate now. "More than that, he's my brother. But I can't just set aside my feelings, no matter how much I needed to. No matter how much I should."
"Your happiness is just as important as his, after all."
He stared at Ga Eul, wanting her to say something, anything, just so they could move forward.
So he asked her: "Can you?"
When she didn't answer, he prodded her with, "You liked him first, after all."
It was an obvious thing to say, but he felt as though he needed to say it.
"I-" Ga Eul rubbed her arms, looked everywhere but at him before saying, "I have to go."
And she did.
Author's Notes: So this fic is like 5 years old last September 8 HOLY SHIT THANK YOU GUYS FOR MAKING ME CONTINUE THIS STORY I'M DEAD THIS CHAPTER UGH hold me