Scope of Life || Yeonbin

chapter 8: call back

Soobin's POV:

I pursed my lips, clenching my fist as I turned on my heel and walked out of the conference room. I had to think for a moment wondering where Yeonjun would go. I didn't see him out in the main room, so the first place I would go is the locker room to talk to someone. I speed-walked there, passing by Yuna's desk. I think she said 'hi' to me, but I was too focused in order to turn to her and reply.

As soon as I got to the door, I paused, taking a breath. I slowly opened the door, softly in case Yeonjun was still on the phone. I heard him talking when I stepped inside, "So, everything must've been staged. That has to be the only way everything could've happened."

I took a few steps closer to the lockers, and I guess he was on speaker phone since I heard a reply, "Danny, I knew you would figure it out. How long did it take?"

I scrunched my eyebrows; that's not his name.

"What do you mean? I think I looked at the photos for like five minutes. It doesn't matter – I figured it out." He said, stammering a bit.

I closed my eyes and sighed, leaning against the side of the lockers as I heard, "It took us two days to figure out those pictures were set up."

"What? Wait – you solved the case already?" He asked, hearing the confusion in his voice.

"Don't you miss it?..." I heard over the phone, "I can hear it in your voice. You miss the rush of it all, right?"

Yeonjun paused for a moment, "Excuse me?"

"It took you five minutes to get a lead that took us two days to get. Dan, don't you see? You have to come back."

I heard him take a deep breath, "You know why I left, Alex. You know the situation I'm in, and you try to bring me back by hyping me up with a case? I-I thought you needed my help." He said, his tone switching to an annoyed one.

"Come on, don't be mad. I was just showing you—"

"No, you know what..." Yeonjun cut him off, "Never talk to me again."

I guess he must've hung up because I didn't hear anything after that. He let out a big sigh, and then I flinched when there was a crash. He must have hit the lockers with his palm, "Daniel, you're a fucking idiot." He mumbled under his breath.

I waited a few seconds before peeking around the corner of the lockers, seeing him sitting on the bench between the rows. He was facing away from me, an elbow on his knee and his head resting in his hand. He had his eyes closed, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

I stepped out from my hiding spot, "Yeon—"

I stopped myself when he flinched, turning to me quickly. I instantly felt bad since he looked away from me, sliding away on the bench. I pressed my lips together, "Sorry, I umm..." I paused, crossing my arms over my chest, "I came in here to tell you..."

He couldn't look at me, "Chan knew too?"

I nodded, "He was just following orders. The director threatened to cut our funding. He was upset and told us right after you left."

He sighed again, "H-How much of that did you hear?"

I took two steps closer, "Like, the last minute..." I replied, sitting down on the bench to try and move closer. I was still considerate, keeping a good distance between us, "I'm really sorry, Yeo— I mean, Dan, I guess."

He gulped, "Yeah, umm... Yeonjun is my middle name..." He couldn't meet my eyes, "Soobin, there's a lot you don't know about me and why I transferred here. C-Can we just forget that ever happened, please?" He said quickly, still looking at the floor.