Woo Bin didn't keep up with his promise.

It has been three days already after that fateful day had happened, and then poof! he just went on and disappeared. He vanished right after dropping her off, saying he had to rush back home to check on something. 'For someone who has a reputation for being smooth, you're quite not good with being elusive, Woo Bin-sunbae.', Ga Eul inwardly thought back then.

Woo Bin had promised to answer her questions, every single one of them. He said so himself. So why is he suddenly gone?, Ga Eul pondered somberly.

But rather than being angry, Ga Eul found she was filled more with worry, not remorse, and flicked herself over for the morbid thoughts occupying her brain, making her dread the worst of the worst.

It wasn't lost on her that Woo Bin was a mafia. And not a small-scale, insignificant, unrecognizable member of a gang. He was the son of a Mafia leader. He was the Mafia Prince personified. He wasn't called the Don Juan just because of his womanizer status. She knew this because Jan Di mentioned it to her in passing once or twice before, and although she doesn't know the ins and outs and the order of business about being one, she knew it was a dangerous thing to be. She just didn't realize how dangerous it actually was. And if it was true Woo Bin was trying to vacation from his old life at the very least, then what happened that day means more trouble for him.

To be honest, nothing bad or grotesque actually happened, at least in her perspective. Although she was nervous and anxious as she drove through the streets, she can still remeber bits and pieces of the whole ordeal. There was a phone call made. A gun taken out the side of the driver's seat. Lots of turns and lots of swerves until they made it to the main road. Parking inside an abandoned warehouse. Switching cars. Other cars driving through the openings. Woo Bin driving her through another set of gates from before. Miles and miles of trees. Then nothing.

It was a very silent and tense ride. If it wasn't for the rush of adrenaline coursing through her and anxiety keeping her toes on the brink of never-ending nervousness, she was sure she would have felt awkward. She didn't even remember thinking anything. All was lost to her the moment her eyes found Woo Bin. She just watched there in her seat as Woo Bin's focus turned hawk-like and his grip turned into steel. He clocked his jaw once, twice, and tightened his grip on the steering wheel even more. How he kept an eye on the rearview mirror while having austere focus on the road ahead was something she couldn't comprehend. He checked on the side mirror a couple of times too, before they passed through a narrow passage Ga Eul hadn't even known would somehow lead to her house. When she was about to slip out of her seat belt, her fingers were visibly shaking and unsteady, and she couldn't help but bite her lip as Woo Bin turned to do the seemingly impossible task for her. She remember mumbling her thanks and going out of the car, silently regarding him the entire time. She invited him for snacks inside, but he politely declined, saying he had to rush home to fix some things. He smiled to her, however, and turned to get something from the backseat. After reaching for something, he turned towards her once again, his hands filled with a box of what seems to be doughnuts, and a cup of coffee. Although his smile looked genuinely real and heartfelt, the strained look on his eyes hadn't escaped her. She knew then, what he had done for her.

Woo Bin took it his responsibility to make sure she was safe and secure. All of those zigzagging directions, the encouragements he said to make her drive faster than she would normally allow, everything was so she wouldn't be tangled in the mess he found himself in. Her suspicions and doubts about his character and intentions vanished by this account. Woo Bin might be mafia, but he wasn't a brash and uneducated member that would flick danger and destruction to just about anyone.

All she remembered after realizing all of that was staring at his car speeding away, then staring at a box of doughnuts in her bed, with half of its contents sitting in her belly.

She wasn't even in a trauma about the whole experience, she proceeded to think. It was just so surreal and anticlimactic at the same time. She thought she was really gonna die. She thought about the scenes she saw on movies, cars flipping and guns trading bullets. But none of that happened. It was just Woo Bin egging her on to speed past the limit and she watched as a red car behind her become a miniature of its size before.

This was how she came into the conclusion why Woo Bin was nowhere to be found these past few days. He probably wants to cut off ties to protect her. He might be terrified he'd cause her tragedy. But rather than comfort Ga Eul that she was no longer in danger, it only worsened how she felt. The ugly feeling has been simmering low in her stomach since then, and it was finally time for her to acknowledge how horrible the notion of safety while Woo Bin was facing the notion of death made her feel. No, if this is how she'd feel, she'd rather know how Woo Bin is doing and be there to help him if anything goes wrong. ' It's ridiculous, Ga Eul. You don't even have any skill to dispose, how could you possibly help him?'. But she doesn't know what else to do.

Ga Eul tried to call him to no avail. Her texts were left unanswered. She didn't even know where he stayed.

This was probably the driving force that prompted her to call Jan Di. She felt terrible that she's just now calling her best friend to inform her of this whole sonata, but she didn't know what else she could do. She carried on fine the past days, but now the void is proving too much to avoid any longer.

"Ga Eul, what do you mean Woo Bin had to transfer you to another car so you can go home! What is he even doing there? I don't get the whole picture!", she heard Jan Di purr.

"Neither do I, Jan Di-yah. I'm starting to get a little neurotic in here. I haven't seen a glimpse of him since then!", Ga Eul can't help but wail.

She bit her nail as the other line turned static for a moment, before she heard a huff of breath on the other end.

"Okay wait, let's talk again later. My brain is having a hard time processing this. I'm gonna speak to Jun Pyo, ask him to check on Woo Bin then I'll call you. Okay?", her best friend assured her.

"Okay. Take care, Jan Di-yah."

"No, you take care, okay? Don't forget to eat. Don't do anything stupid, unless I say so, okay. Bye!", Jan Di said.

Ga Eul smiled at this. "Bye!", she said before she dropped the call. Somehow, Jan Di calmed her nerves. Her friend is always willing to go the extra mile for her, and she couldn't be more thankful.

However, those few moments of calm didn't last very long. After several minutes of thinking about the good ol times, Ga Eul's mind went drifting once again to thoughts of a certain man and she began pacing about in her room, not finding comfort anywhere. She felt hopeless. She didn't like feeling this way. She knows that it is useless to blame herself for not knowing anything, but she can't help it. That's how she feels right now. And she has learned a long time ago, how it's best for her to acknowledge these feelings no matter how horrible, than to fake her enthusiasm and positivity all the time.

Yi Jeong inadvertently taught her that. When he broke her heart, everyday became a battle for her. It was hard being swayed by her emotions one moment, then turn to reason the next, but it was even harder for her to mediate between the two. It was a hard task to propel herself forward towards the waves of her emotions crashing against her boat, but she continued rowing with the little paddles of reason within her control. She now knew that if she had let herself askew, she would have lost it and have nothing to hold on to now. If she didn't push herself to atleast move as a creature of habit, she would have willingly let herself fall apart.

But that was beside the point.

Because, now, she realized Yi Jeong was probably the only person who'd be privy to Woo Bin's location, or at least have the privilege to ask for it, and as much as she hated to confront him again so soon or just ever, she also knew it would only be a matter of time before the absence of Woo Bin would cease to be tolerable even to someone with her patience. Besides, at least now she was sure that she can talk to him and not be a heaping mess afterwards.

Ga Eul waited patiently for Jan Di to call her again. It must have only been an hour, although it felt like too much time has passed. Ga Eul didn't wanna dwell too much on the prospect of having to call Yi Jeong to appease herself of her worry for the man's best friend. She also didn't dwell on the fact that perhaps she's worrying too much about a man who can definitely take care of his own body better than anyone she knows.

When her phone began to vibrate against her desk, she all but ran towards it and held it against her ear without checking the caller ID.

"Hello? Jan Di-yah, have you got any information? Please tell me Jun Pyo found something. I really am so worrie–", she managed to squeak before an all too familiar voice broke her sentence.

"Ga Eul-yang? Why are you asking about Woo Bin?", the charming voice of Park Yi Jeong voiced on the other end.

Ga Eul forgot to breathe for a moment. She was so taken aback by the sound of his voice, she needed to chant breathe, breathe, breathe to herself to keep steady. After giving an audible sigh, Ga Eul allowed herself a moment of silence before addressing the man who called her.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae.", she breathed out.

That name was once the reason of her heart skipping a beat, before it became the reason it stopped beating at all. Now, however, she was finding herself more in control of his name, like it was a scar she has looked at too many times in the mirror to be bothered by it anymore.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae," she tried it on her tongue once again before proceeding.

"I know that Jun Pyo-sunbae has probably told you about what happened already, although if it was through Jan Di-yah's narrative, I'd probably have to start telling it once again so you'd understand."

"Tell me, then.", came his nonchalant albeit curious reply.

Ga Eul began retelling the story, at least the parts she could remember, and answered his questions in between. When she finished giving him information, she heard him click his tongue on the other end. She could almost hear him thinking.

"I don't know Ga Eul, I don't understand why you're so concerned?", Yi Jeong prodded.

"What do you mean, sunbae? Of course I'd be worried. Aren't you?", Ga Eul asked, perturbed by his nonchalance.

"You should know not to stick your nose in this Ga Eul. Woo Bin might be carefree and chill, but he certainly isn't someone you'd wanna get tangled with. If he's distancing himself from you, then perhaps you should allow him. He's just like that. You shouldn't be surprised.", Yi Jeong said to her.

Ga Eul was decidedly bothered now. Maybe he had a point, and he knew Woo Bin better than her, but somehow she can't find it in herself to believe that that's just how he is. She refuse to.

"Sunbae, I know you think I'm getting too att–", she retorted before hearing a vague voice that sounded feminine on the other end.

Yi Jeong then hung up.

Ga Eul drew back from the phone, staring at it for a few terse seconds before huffing in exasperation. Why Yi Jeong hung up on her, she doesn't know. She wasn't even able to at least get Woo Bin's address in here. She looked at her phone, and realized Yi Jeong had a new number. She saved the new one on her contacts, promising herself that she would force the man to cooperate if it was necessary.

She might be suddenly caring for far too much, and with her guilt of her previous assumptions about Woo Bin paired with it, she can't help but worry for the man. At least, that's what she told herself.

If only Ga Eul was placing more attention to her surroundings, she would have noticed a man dressed as a commoner who has been following her since that day happened, guarding her from a distance, who's stance suggested he was not a commoner at all.

...

A/n:

1. This was not edited, so please forgive the mistakes.

2. Please tell me your thoughts about this chapter lovely people.

3. Reminding you to drink water:)