EGOIST (Sang Woo x Fem!OC) [COMPLETED]

24

"If you keep chasing me around, you'll lose your chances of getting a partner."

Hae Young looks over her shoulder, Sang-Woo still doesn't let up.

"Stop being prideful and just shake my hand already." He says coldly, though his voice slipped a bit that Hae Young smirked at the slight hint of desperation.

"You're smart, and strong." Hae Young starts. "And you said the same thing about me. We can be of great help to our other team members." She tells him. "You don't need me, Sang-Woo."

"And where are you getting your partner?" He retorts. "No one is going to want to pick you."

She frowns at him, he sighs.

"I'm just being realistic. I just want to make sure that if things don't go well, then at least I'll be partnered up to help to you too--"

"--I don't need you either!" Hae Young raises her voice, somewhat surprising him. It was really rare for her to snap like that back then, and even more so now.

"I don't want to partner up with you to protect my pride, Sang-Woo." She hisses. "I don't want to partner up with you because you're an asshole. I already know what you'll do the moment things don't go your way."

He opens his mouth to retort, though Hae Young beat him to it.

"What? You're going to lie to my face and abandon me again?" Her voice slips a little at the end, the sudden memory of way back when hitting too close for her. She recollects herself, sighing and breathing herself back to composure. This isn't what she needs right now. She scoffs, leaving the conversation to look for someone else in the crowd.

**************

Sang-Woo took Hae Young around Yeouido, though there wasn't much to do in that district. The city was just surrounded by tall buildings, business, and banks, but it's not to say it wasn't fun. Yeouido wasn't meant to be a place for tourism, anyway, but it's the company that made things better. It was the little things, too, when Sang-Woo brought her to his places. A coffee shop he found that actually serves good coffee, a booth that sells overpriced tteokbokki, and an area at the edge of the city that overlooks the lake. It was freeing to say the least, where every worry in her mind was washed away. She missed this, she missed her best friend.

"Do you feel better now?" Sang-Woo asks her, in which she merely answers with a nonchalant shrug.

"If you're tired, you can go home, you know--"

"--No." Hae Young says a little too quickly, blushing as she catches herself. "Not... yet." She saves. "I don't want to go home yet."

Though Sang-Woo seemed relieved--no, glad, at that answer, his smile curving up ever so slightly as he tried to suppress it.

"Where else is there to go?" He wonders, looking over the view of the river. It was no longer daylight, too. All those hours spent running around the city, though neither of them feels tired yet. Maybe they can see a movie, or go window shopping? They can even take the train and get out of the city spontaneously. That was until he felt something fall on his head, then on his shoulder. They both looked up, watching rain fall on them gradually until the drizzle had turned to a downpour.

They both yelp in surprise, looking around the area in panic for someplace with a roof. Sang-Woo spots a bus shed. "There--" He points, then quickly takes his coat off . He places it over head, over him and Hae Young, much to her surprise, his grey coat barely covering the both of them from the rain. Then they both run for it, getting to the bus stop already soaking wet. They both laugh, somehow everything about this felt familiar.

"We can't go anywhere else!" Hae Young yells through the downpour. "We don't even have an umbrella!"

He looks around for something to solve their dilemma, though nothing. Hae Young was already breathless, taking a seat on the also wet bench.

"Are you tired?"

She just nods. "Kind of. We walked around the city the whole day."

"We can go back to my place and warm up there." He suggests, and she gratefully nods at the idea. "I just need to buy an umbrella--"

Hae Young stands up, stopping his train of thought. "--Let's walk in the rain." She says, smiling.

The spontaneity of it all is probably what made it great. The visit, the lunch, a walk in the city, then the rain. And as they make it to the facade of his apartment building, Hae Young already feels her legs giving in. They giggle at the strange looks they garnered, dripping rainwater in the hallway and elevators and smiling sheepishly as the custodian gave them a harsh look.

The elevator bell dings, the doors open and they both get out. He leads her to his apartment, and as he opens the door--to her surprise-- she sees the neat, gray apartment Sang-Woo resides in, and it reflects him so well. From the minimalism down to the gray tones, she chuckles at the thought.

"I'll make tea." He says, pushing past her from the door and to the kitchen. "You can grab any clothes you want from the room. Keep yourself dry." He instructs her, and she follows, walking into his bedroom like it was second nature. She rummages through his clothes and opts for a large shirt and sweatpants, both hanging loosely from her frame. She smiles, as if she's done this before.

The moment she'd gone out, he had already prepared tea.

"Aren't you changing?"

"Later." He tells her, drinking his own cup of tea. She takes a seat next to him on the couch, stretching her legs on the coffee table. He smiles down at her.

"You know, if you're exhausted, you can stay the night."

She smiles, sipping into her cup. "Tempting." She hums.

"At least no one's keeping guard of me anymore."

She turns to him.

"It'll be just like last time."

He smiles. He remembers.

He was about to say something, turning to her fully as he set his cup down. "Hae Young..." He says heavily, but the sounds of his doorbell ringing interrupted him. They both share a surprised look.

"I-I wasn't expecting anyone tonight." He admits. "Let me...just go get that.

Hae Young was left on his couch confused, though she watches approach the door, and answer it. Su-Bin stands in his doorway, gracing the man with a smile. Hae Young's heart drops. Perhaps staying here was a mistake.

"Su-Bin?" Sang-Woo greets her, a little surprised. "Did you need something?"

"You left this in the office." She says, handing him a file. She inspects the man, scrunching her brows. "What happened to you? Did you run in the rain?"

"Well, yes I--" He stops himself from further explaining, looking back in the living room. He catches Hae Young watching, and she just looks away in shame, sipping her tea.

"What?" Su-Bin pressed on. "Do you have company--" She looks over, though Sang-Woo tries to stop her. From the entrance of his apartment, Hae Young and Su-Bin lock eyes. She stares her up, and down, with an odd, though withheld expression on her face.

"Oh." It's like she had turned pale at the sight, then red as she looked at Sang-Woo and Hae Young, connecting the dots.

"I'm sorry--" Su-Bin stammers. "I didn't know you--" She stops. "Nevermind."

She turns back to Sang-Woo.

"I just meant to return that file you left, anyway. I'll see myself out." She says, giving one last nod of acknowledgement to Hae Young before leaving the two standing in Sang-Woo's apartment in awkward silence.