Discovery

Hearing the sudden question, Seo-Jun remained speechless for a moment. Then, waved one hand airily, while the other one brought the glass closer to his lips.

"Oh, you know me. My heart lies in just one place."

It was now Ji-Won's turn to roll his eyes at his friend.

"Oh, please, don't give me that." Ji-Won retorted. "I know you are dating a different girl every week."

"Enough about my love life. What about you?" Seo-Jun speedily changed the subject.

"What about me?"

Ji-Won blinked slowly. The rapidity with which the subject turned from Seo-Jun to himself left him completely baffled.

On the other hand, Seo-Jun persisted in keeping the topic away from himself. He swiftly gestured with his glass towards Ji-Won's chest.

"You've been back in the country for almost two months now. Didn't anyone spark your interest?"

"Seo-Jun, for the past month since I became Director at the Planning Department I've been working non-stop. When would I be able to find someone to spark my interest?" Ji-Won replied, sighing deeply.

It was true, work had kept both Ji-Won's mind and body busy. Not that he minded though. Dating was the last thing he wanted to think about or have to deal with. Thinking of ways to save his mother's Foundation was giving him enough stress as it was. He really didn't need more on his plate right now.

"How about at work then?" Seo-Jun's voice pulled Ji-Won back to the conversation. "Hmm, how about Miss Jung? I must say she's very good looking and smart."

"She's also very taken. Haven't you seen her boyfriend? He seems quite well-off judging by the looks of his car."

Ji-Won stopped speaking in order to take a sip of whiskey. Afterwards, he sighed and shook his head slowly.

"Really, it's outrageous how you don't pay attention to things that don't interest you." he chided.

"What can I say, Miss Jung may be beautiful, but she's not my type. My heart is drawn to the more sensitive type." Seo-Jun replied, placing a hand over his heart in a dramatic gesture.

"Yes, because that's the only type of woman who would stand being near you for long enough."

"Stop it. You're flattering me." Seo-Jun retorted.

In a bout of sudden childishness, Seo-Jun mimicked being bashful. But he immediately stopped when he saw the fierce look Ji-Won was giving him. He swiftly retrieved his wits and continued to interrogate Ji-Won.

"So, Miss Jung is down. Hm, what about the new interns?"

Ji-Won groaned, taking a large sip of whiskey before answering.

"Honestly man, have you paid attention to any of them?!" he said in disbelief. "One of them looks like a frightened little rabbit, barely speaking two words. And the other one... "

Here, Ji-Won momentarily paused. He remained silent as if searching for his words.

Just when Seo-Jun was about to inquire further, he heard his friend's voice finish his previous sentence.

"The other one acts like a feral cat."

"Oh, is that so?" Seo-Jun chuckled, then continued teasingly. "Well, I believe you've taken quite a fancy to the feral cat."

Those words successfully earned him another glare from his friend.

"Shut up!" Ji-Won snapped.

He lowered his eyes, staring intensely into his glass. His eyes, however, were not seeing the liquid. They were reminiscing a different image, that of Su-Jin's face and arms all covered in black ink.

Ji-Won raised his head, throwing Seo-Jun an infuriating look.

"She's a public menace. Not five minutes go by without her making trouble. Whenever I think about that printer incident I feel my blood boiling."

"Yes!" Seo-Jun laughed wholeheartedly. "That was hilarious, going elbow-deep inside the printer trying to mend it. But still, you've got to give her points for proactivity." He finished reasonably, raising his glass.

"Humph, as if! More like points for stupidity." Ji-Won scoffed. "Finish your drink and let's go. I want to look over some things."

Seo-Jun raised a hand defensively.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Sheesh, I think you are getting old, Ji-Won, seeing how you're losing your sense of humor."

Reaching up to here, Seo-Jun paused, then added in a rather pensive tone.

"But then again, if I think about it, you never had any to begin with."

"I swear if you don't shut up..." Ji-Won began, frowning menacingly.

Seo-Jun let out a loud, heartfelt chuckle before downing the remainder of his drink. Ji-Won did the same, and afterwards, the both of them got up and left the bar.

~~~

It was a ten minutes' walk between the bar and Ji-Won's apartment. While heading home he kept thinking about what had happened earlier that day. His clash with Ji-Su, the conversation he had with his father, they all came back to his mind, rekindling his frustrations and annoyance.

First thing he did when he got home was take a shower. He hoped the warm water would calm his burning irritation. Even though it wasn't perfect, at least he felt better after washing and changing into more comfortable clothes.

In his living room there was a square, short table, stacked with several files. He had taken them from the office in order to go through them during the weekend. Thinking he might as well start now, Ji-Won went and picked one. With the file leisurely held in his hand, he flopped onto the couch, beginning to read the papers. Twenty minutes later, he closed the file and placed it beside him, letting out a frustrated sigh.

It appeared that his mind was too agitated for him to focus on work. After re-reading the same sentence three times without understanding a word from it, Ji-Won ultimately decided it was best to stop for the day. Therefore, he slowly got up and strode towards the bedroom.

On his way there, his eyes fell onto the bags he had brought home with him. Suddenly changing his mind about resting, Ji-Won took one of the bags, crouched in front of it and opened the zipper. Then, he started pulling out the few books and notepads that were inside. Based on his rather impatient movements, it seemed that he was searching for something.

Finally, after rummaging for a while, Ji-Won found what he had been looking for. His hands reached inside the bag, grabbing onto a square shaped object. Based on its shape and appearance, it seemed to be an old photo album.