Work Text:
"Hey, Sang-Woo-ya! How is life going so far? How is your job going? I hope better than mine... but it is surely a given, you are the genius of Ssangmun-dong! You graduated from SNU, so nothing is a challenge to you!"
Beep
"Hey, I know you have a busy schedule, and I know it is hard to reach you because of it. But please, once you get the chance, return the call, please..."
Beep
"Hey, if you want me to be honest with you... things haven't gone great so far. I... I was just laid off my job... the company went bankrupt and... you know, my daughter was just born... I... I don't know what to do, I would greatly appreciate your guidance..."
Beep
"Sang-Woo... I was thinking I could make a small buisness. I would name it after my daughter... "Ga-yeong's fried chicken!" What do you think? Maybe, you know, you could give me some tips on how to run it effectively, you have a buisness major from SNU after all! If you want royalties or keeping a percentage of it... you are more than welcomed, you don't need to give me money! Just sharing your knowledge is enough!"
Beep
"Hey... I really miss you. I miss the time we were kids, and we didn't have such worries about the future to come... we just. Had fun with the playground games... and, while I know we are not kids anymore... I just.., I just wish for your company. If you hear this... please, just... come for a drink, okay? I invite... just... pl..ease... I don't know what I'm doing.... I... I just want you..."
Beep
Sang-Woo grabbed the cushions in the sofa, slowly standing from the floor to make himself more comfortable. His heartbeats were frantic, he was loosing his breath. Everything felt so hot, so god damn hot, he unbuttoned his shirt, allowing the fresh breeze to crash against his palpitating chest. He saw the glass table in front of him. His glasses, his phone, a stale glass of water, and the recidue of the cocaine he put in his nose a few minutes ago.
His shaking hand approached the water, pouring it into his head without a care for the mess he was doing. He might die if he doesn't regulate his body, although the more he thought of it, the less he cared about that possibility.
He just came back from work. He had a job that made his life comfortable, but it wasn't the life people had envisioned he would have.
One day, a coworker just talks to him about how to quickly get the numbers that would reflect the sucess he was promised.
It consisted of taking some of the money from his clients, investing it on the side, and once the earnings flowed, he would give it back like if nothing had happened.
Everyone would benefit from it, all he needed to do was to be smart at it. And smart, he was.
It started with small investments, he quickly got the gist of it, and kept it. He could turn as little as 200k and turn it into 2 million. These big turns gave him the confidence to risk big, and he won, most of the times.
He saw how his income increased by each passing day, until that day.
He clocked in at 8 in the morning, putting the money of his victim into a high-risk stock, hoping that by the end of the day, he would have made ten times the income he originally invested.
But when he checked... the numbers were on negative. A huge loss Sang-Woo didn't envisioned nor prepared for.
He, of course, covered the money with his own savings before people noticed... the savings he wanted to use to buy a new shop for his mother... now would have to wait.
It wasn't the first time he had consumed cocaine. He first tried with his classmates in SNU, who would explain how they would use it during finals and how it helped them get their brain functioning again, much more faster, much more energized.
The times before today, he had used such detrimental drug for that purpose, feeling the "positive" effects that helped him manage both his clients needs and the side buisness unbeknownst to them.
Ring
He heard the phone. It almost midnight, who would call him with such little consideration?
Ring
Maybe.., it was his mother... maybe she wanted to know how her son is doing with his job. And he would lie to her, as he has lied before.
Ring
Or maybe it was his father? The deadbeat who abandoned his mother and him before Sang-Woo could remember his face. What did he want? Finally coming for him to claim his success, like if he attributed anything? Does he want to "reconnect" just to ask him for money?
Ring
Maybe... it was his client, maybe he did noticed the missing money in his account and wanted an explanation... but... all of his money is there? Why would he even bother?
Ring
Maybe it was his job to give him a termination notice... maybe, they became aware of Sang-Woo's buisness behind the scenes, and just couldn't risk someone breaking company policy, risking turning their clients earnings into debt.
Ring
What if it was the cops? He has done this for over two years now. Maybe they gathered enough evidence against him, and this was the final straw.
Ring
Sang-Woo's demons gained a human figure. His eyes ruptured on how noisy they were.
"I'm dissapointed"
"I trusted you"
"Look at what you did!"
"Why, Sang-Woo? Why?
"Cho Sang-Woo, you are fired from Joy Investments. Please, clean up your office and leave immediately."
"Cho Sang-Woo, you are arrested for embezzlement of company funds. We suggest you contact your lawyer."
His head began to spin, as the fear consumed him alive, his respiration accelerated again, loosing consciousness, fainting on the couch while the sounds of his fast heartbeats echoed in the room.
Ring
Ring
Ring
Sang-Woo slowly gained consciousness, his heartbeats gained a non-lethal rhythm, he could breathe better.
His blurry vision focused on the phone that was still ringing, who could it be?
18 missed calls from Seong Gi-Hun.
5 new voice messages.
Of course it was him, ssibal. What could he possibly want now? And why did he leave voice mails? He knows that it is not customary to do that. But it's not like he ever cared for ettiquete, either way.
What could he possibly want?
Sang-Woo looked at the calendar. June... june...
It clicked.
Of course, his wife gave birth to their first daughter and now he just wants to bother him with that? Wasn't it enough by making him the groomsman on his wedding? Torturing him by the sight he would never experience himself? Seeing him express his love and devotion for someone who wasn't him? Promising to be there for her?
Promising to love, honor, and cherish her, and committing to be with her in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do them part?
Sang-woo laughed in misery and self pity. Would he even love him if he saw just how badly he fucked up? If he saw him overdosing for his failed attempt to be rich?
At least his wife would always compensate him for the new life they created together, what could Sang-Woo possibly provide for him? The social stigma and punishment that came with being a homosexual?
He needed to drop the illusion that Gi-Hun viewed him as anything else than a friend he would call occasionally to rub his own success in his face.
He would leave the past behind, he would leave Gi-Hun behind, and his childish love for him he has held since they were toddlers.
Today's loss was just a misstep. He has seen gain before. He would just be smarter about it, he was valedictorian in SNU after all, nothing should be an impediment for his success.
Gi-Hun can learn to live on his own, unlike Sang-Woo, he has succeeded in life. A stable job, a loving family, and some new friends he has made. He didn't need Sang-Woo anymore, he didn't need to see in the state that he was.
Sang-woo would get out of his hole, and would do it alone. Maybe, if everything turns fine, he would go back to Ssangmun-dong, being the multimillionaire people had envisioned him to be, and maybe then, he would be worthy of Gi-Hun's attention and appreciation.
For now, this was the healthiest measure.
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