# Chapter 14
Moon Bin set two cans of cold drinks on the coffee table with a soft clink. Across from him, Rocky sat back, surveying every corner of Moon Bin's new house with a critical eye. Bin dropped onto the sofa opposite him, directly facing Rocky.
For a while, heavy silence enveloped the room. They exchanged sharp looks before finally curling their lips into matching cold, faint sneers. Reluctant to keep staring at the man in front of him, Moon Bin rose and turned his back on Rocky.
"Is she the reason you came back to Korea?" Rocky asked, breaking the silence after taking a drink from his first can.
Moon Bin glanced over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at Rocky. "If I say yes, so what?"
"Have you confessed your feelings to her?" Rocky asked again, his voice flat.
"Not yet," Moon Bin answered shortly, turning his gaze toward the window.
A faint, mocking smile crossed Rocky's lips. "Coward. I've given you plenty of chances. So you really still haven't done it?"
"What exactly do you think I am?" Moon Bin cut in, turning around and looking at Rocky with a cynical smile. "Some bastard who'd steal his own friend's girlfriend? After seeing how you acted today, I guess you really don't care. You threw her away—worse than garbage!"
"Watch your mouth! I'm not that bad!" Rocky sprang to his feet, offended by Bin's words.
"Aish, damn it, you bastard!" Moon Bin moved fast, rushing forward and shoving Rocky until he crashed back onto the sofa. He couldn't accept Rocky's voice suddenly rising.
"Not that bad, you say? You're insane! You enjoyed it, used her, and then abandoned her just like that. You call that not bad? Is your brain not working anymore, huh?" Moon Bin continued, seething.
Wham!
A heavy punch slammed into Rocky's right jaw. The man's head snapped to the side, but Moon Bin showed no mercy. He grabbed Rocky by the collar, breathing hard.
"Listen, Minhyuk!" Moon Bin shouted, calling Rocky by his real name with barely contained fury. "I don't even know if you deserved to go on living after what happened! You have no right to show your face in front of Hae-Li ever again! If I weren't thinking about our friendship, I swear I'd hunt you down and kill you!"
Moon Bin unleashed all the emotions he had buried for years. But he suddenly stopped throwing punches when he realized Rocky wasn't fighting back or resisting at all. The man simply stayed silent and took every blow.
"Why are you standing there doing nothing?!" Rocky shouted, gasping for breath as he stared at Bin with bloodshot eyes. "Come on, hit me again!"
The door to Moon Bin's anger swung open again. He raised his clenched fist high into the air, ready to smash Rocky's face. Rocky squeezed his eyes shut, prepared to accept the consequences.
Crash! Shatter!
But Bin's fist didn't hit Rocky's face. Instead, it struck a flower vase on the side table beside the sofa. The ceramic shattered into pieces, spilling water and flowers onto the floor. Moon Bin turned away, his flushed face twisted aside, then walked off while shaking his bruised hand.
Rocky slowly tried to get up. His fingers touched his numb jaw, which was trembling violently from Bin's blow. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Bin ... I didn't leave without a reason," Rocky said hoarsely. "You've known me longer than anyone. I would never do something that vile. All those rumors were slander!"
"Then why did you run away back then, huh?" Moon Bin shouted, turning around, his chest heaving. "Did you ever think, even for a second, about the consequences of what you did? Do you know what Hae-Li had to endure after you left?"
"I didn't run away!" Rocky insisted, his voice rising an octave. "Hae-Li knew I had to go to Korea that day! I was shocked myself that those trashy reports and rumors spread on the exact day I was leaving. I'm sure someone deliberately set us up back then!" Rocky stepped closer to Moon Bin, demanding his old friend's trust.
"That's bullshit!" Moon Bin closed the distance, glaring at Rocky with a face flushed crimson—a mixture of mounting rage and pain. "You were in the wrong, and you're still blaming the circumstances!"
"You and Hae-Li never gave me even the slightest chance to explain everything!" Rocky cut in, his voice suddenly trembling. He lowered his head deeply. "I thought you'd listen to me, Bin. But you ended up believing those baseless rumors too. Back then, you were the only friend I could rely on."
Hearing that honest confession made Moon Bin's chest tighten even more. He clenched his fists hard. "Then what about the videos and photos that spread everywhere back then? Wasn't all of that enough proof? You even confirmed your relationship with her. You made the gossip run even wilder!"
"I've told you, I never did that!" Rocky insisted, raising his head and meeting Moon Bin's eyes without hesitation. "I was forced to acknowledge her as my girlfriend in front of the media and our friends because I wanted to protect her, Bin!"
"Protect her, you say?!" Moon Bin shouted, his voice echoing through every corner of the room. "By ruining her reputation and letting people think you'd slept with her?!"