𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺𝑰𝑫𝑬 | 𝐊. 𝐆𝐖 - 𝐱𝐢𝐯. 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬

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When they arrived back at the apartment, they hadn’t wasted anymore time in trying to gather as much information as they could. The information ranged from Smile Capital to the heir of Lil Group of whom they found out was named Hong Min-Beom.

They had an altercation with Da-min of which Nari found out you could get notified when someone uses your computer and when the girl all but ran to them, seething before leaving with a warning, they had got back to work with a plan to lure Hong Min-beom onto their side. How would they manage that? With a threat on Instagram of course. Woo-jin was a bit too pleased at himself for Nari’s liking but he was confident Min-beom would take the bait.

”He will take it. ” he said rather chuffed.

“And how are you so confident?” Nari questioned, eyebrow arched incredulously.

“Because I would. Call it Hong intuition”

And well, while he usually made it very difficult to trust him, Woo-jin was right and not long after they had received a response to meet them at a bar. Which is where they found themselves, shuffling in the street and apprehensive to enter. 

“Are we sure of this?” Nari cautioned, brows furrowing at the rather secluded bar.

“We don’t really have any other choice” Geon-woo muttered before they were ushered into the bar. Nervousness pooled in her gut as they made their way deeper into the room. The music wasn’t so loud, but it was loud enough to drown any prying ears from overstepping boundaries. The barman was tending to two men who eyed them discreetly. Besides them, they were the only two people save for Min-beom and an unexpected man beside him, lazying about on the sofa. When he caught sight of them, he beckoned them forward.

The four bowed respectively, much to Min-beom and his companion’s surprise. The lesser known of the two stood up to introduce himself, gently patting Min-beom’s leg to remain seated. “Hello. I’m Min-beom’s cousin, Gang-yong”

They introduced themselves out of curtesy, further confusing Min-beom who watched them all warily and uncertain. They were unlike any intimidator he had ever encountered. Gang-yong offered them a seat and they obliged, albeit a bit shyly. Nari felt something unsettling at the way they began insisting that they cannot go forth until they had a few drinks despite their protests.

“We’re taking about serious stuff here. Let’s drink” Gang-yong persisted, gesturing to Geon-woo after Woo-jin informed them that he and Nari could not drink due to their injuries.

“Sir-” Nari went to interject but Gang-yong merely raised his hand and the words died on her tongue. She noticed how tense Geon-woo suddenly became. Burdened trauma flickering in his eyes and Nari remembered their conversation where he told her why he doesn’t drink. She watched him with concern, going to intervene again when he plastered the fakest smile she had ever seen on him and both he and Hyeon-ju offered to take the fall for Woo-jin and Nari much to Min-beom and Gang-yong’s delight.

“That’s the spirit!” Gang-yong cheered and then started filling the glasses.

“You don’t have to do this” Nari whispered into his ear, eyeing the rather large glass Gang-yong filled which she knew was not meant for whiskey.

”We need them” he whispered back. “I’ll be fine” he promised her but Nari did not like it, not one bit, not even when Gang-yong slid the glasses to him and Hyeon-ju. 

Both Woo-jin and Nari watched in trepidation. Hyeon-ju was a lightweight, Nari recalled but she didn’t mind, however Nari didn’t hide her worry at the haunted look in her boyfriend’s eyes as his faux smile wavered when he turned out of respect. 

Geon-woo hesitated and Nari found herself placing her hand on his thigh at the way he shut his eyes and took a swig with the rest. He exhaled rather shakily, plopping the glass onto the table and had it not been Nari’s hand on his leg, it would’ve given way to his uneasiness about this whole situation. 

Flickers of his father came and went. Yelling, glass shattering, slurring voices and familiar hysterical cries. His mother’s, his, his father’s- bits of them all rang in his ears as Gang-yong filled another glass with a compliment to each of them. 

You’re a natural

He didn’t want to be. He tried so hard to not follow in his father’s shadow, to be nothing like him, the furthers possible resemblance. But those words cut him deeper than any knife Kim Myeong-gil could ever sink into his flesh. 

You’re a natural. You’re just like your father. 

The burn in his throat from the whiskey was nothing compared to the burn of regret in his heart. He stomached the onslaught of drinks as Min-beom and Gang-yong poured one after the other. Each time they filled it to the brim, tipped their head backs and slammed the empty glass onto the table. 

“Slow down yeah” Woo-jin whispered lowly, his eyes just as concerned as Nari’s who was fixated on her boyfriend. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes had a slight haze over it, but he had been fairing way better than the other three. 

By the time they were two bottles dry, Hyeon-ju was passed out on the seat, soft snores escaping her while Gang-yong leaned precariously close to Woo-jin, muttering in his ear while Min-beom burst into hysterics. 

“I have been stressed because of that bastard Kim Myeong-gil” he cried, his tie hanging loosely from his neck, his shirt unbuttoned by two with his head in his hand and face twisted into despair. His tears poured quicker than the alcohol filling Gang-yong’s cup. 

“Because of that asshole” he wailed, pointing to his hair ” I lost so much hair from the stress.  I have hemorrhoids.” he hiccupped. ” Earlier he punched me before I could even speak ” 

“He’s a very bad man” Nari sympathised and he found himself holding desperately onto her hands. Nari just pursed her lips and patted his shoulder in pity. 

“He is” the wail came loud before he turned to his companion who was giggling with Woo-jin. “Bro, we need to take care of these kids” he cried, ” They’re family. They’re good. Good kids” he kept muttering. 

Gang-yong nodded in drunken approval, his words slurring as he waved his empty glass. “You guys do whatever the hell you want . Fck it, all right. We’ve got your back till the end of time” 

Min-beom continued sulking about his hemorrhoids before eventually dosing, Gang-yong not far behind.  Woo-jin had helped both Gang-yong and Min-beom to the car, catching them when they stumbled before coming back to carry Hyeon-ju who was out cold and unlikely to stir till the following afternoon. 

Nari had stayed behind to coax Geon-woo from the couch. He was curled into the black leather seat, a sheen glistened over his eyes, sweat seemingly to dampen the edges of his hair from the lights and amount he had drunk. 

“Geon-woo” Nari called his name softly, the back of her hand resting on his forehead. He was very warm against her touch. Her concern only rose at the way his eyes drooped and he began muttering intelligible sentences. He definitely had a higher tolerance than the others but no one could stomach that many bottles and remain in their right mind- Geon-woo was proof. 

“Hey” her tone was soft as she turned his face to her. ” You okay?” 

He hummed and smiled and closed his eyes.

” I know you’re tired, but we need to go. ” Her worry was evident on her face, lips downturned and frows crinkled in the middle. She couldn’t imagine how he felt and her guilt worsened on the fact she did nothing to stop him. It wasn’t like he’d make her do it anyway but it didn’t stop the guilt at seeing him so out of it. His own demons creeping up on him. 

His eyes barely opened, brown eyes flickering beneath heavy lidded eyelids before settling on her. She was crouched at his side, her hand on his arm and the other on the chair’s. 

“Anything for the pretty lady” he muttered drunkenly and Nari  hid her smile as she coaxed him up and out of the chair. She slung his arm around her shoulders, the other locking around his waist and together they made their way to the car. 

“You know” he said, his voice twinging with a drunken undertone. ” My girlfriend is super pretty too. ” his smile was genuine. ” She’s super pretty, like super-duper pretty. She has this perfect smile and her laugh” his chuckle was affectionate and Nari glanced up at him but his eyes were trained on his feet. ” her laugh is the most beautiful sound. You would like her” he suddenly said and Nari fought of her smile. 

“But you know” he confessed. ” The best part about her is that she has this ability to always make me happy. She cares and I mean, she cares a lot. Like I know we both have daddy issues but her dad’s a complete asshole and yet she still cares about him. I guess we all do. I mean.” his voice trailed into a more sullen disposition. ” I hate my father, but he is still my father you know. There must’ve been something good in him. My mother must have seen something I didn’t to have married him. It may not look like it but I don’t drink” he said it to her like a secret of which she already knew, but she didn’t interrupt, she just let him talk with her heart breaking at each word. 

” I felt myself slipping. These thoughts started echoing in my head but I then remembered my girlfriend. The one I told you about. I started thinking about her and those thoughts didn’t seem so prominent anymore. She makes all the bad things go away. I really love her” 

Nari felt a tear slip down her face. She used her hand that held his to brush it away before he could notice. But Geon-woo just sagged in her grasp until she managed to ease him into the back seat of the mustang, Woo-jin opening the door for them. 

Woo-jin eyed her curiously but she merely waved him off, saying she would take the mustang while he took Min-beom’s car. He nodded, then decided to go to Min-beom’s place after he insisted they have a few more rounds there. They all knew that wouldn’t be the case but they obliged, needing to take them home anyway. 

” Geon-woo” Nari called. His eyes were shut and he was dosing in the back, but he hummed in reply. 

” She must really love you too” Geon-woo smiled against tired eyes. 

“She does”

” I really do” she felt herself say, smiling the whole way back to Min-beom’s residence. Nari helped Woo-jin deliver them all to bed before taking over Geon-woo and placing him in the spare bedroom. 

He groaned as his back hit the mattress. And as Nari began taking off his shoes, he buried himself into the pillow with a defiant whine. 

“My girlfriend wouldn’t like you undressing me.” he muttered and Nari chuckled, grabbing the blanket and draping it over him.  She went to brush the curls from his face. 

”Can I let you in on a secret” she said, and he barely nodded, eyes shut. 

“I am your girlfriend” she was amused and his bleary eyes opened slightly, almost in disbelief. 

“Really?” 

“Yes.” she chuckled. ” So I don’t think she’ll mind very much.” 

” Wow” he muttered. “I must’ve really done some good in my past life if you’re my girlfriend” he grinned lopsidedly. 

“You’re still doing good in this one Geon-woo” she told him before brushing his cheek lightly and then ensuring the blanket reached his chin.  She bid him goodnight and placed a kiss to his temple the way he had done so many times before and then made her way to the kitchen where she and Woo-jin prepped for the hangover that would kill the four of them in the morning. 

Nari couldn’t help but mull over his words. Even drunk, his loyalty to her remained unwavering. Nari didn’t reply to Woo-jin when he asked her why she was smiling so much but all she could think about was that that how did she get so lucky to have Kim Geon-woo in her life. 

They genuinely make me sob 😭😭

They love each other so much. I can’t.

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