Star Planet II - Zerobaseone Added Members

Chapter Forty-Seven: More than Anyone

As with everything that girl did, she always had to take it to extremes. Driving me crazy was an understatement of the century with Beom Giovanna. She would always drive me to the edge of insanity, and yet, I couldn't walk away. She was a force of nature, dragging me back into her orbit every time I thought I was done.

I watched with anger and concern as Giovanna tumbled and fell while snowboarding. I had warned her repeatedly about being careful, but she had brushed off my concerns as overprotectiveness. Now, as she lay on the snow, ankle possibly broken, frustration and fear welled up inside me, and I couldn't hold it in any longer. I didn't care who was watching us or what they heard.

"What the hell, jagiya!? I told you to be careful!" I shouted, my voice laced with anger and worry. "You could have seriously hurt yourself!"

She struggled to her feet, her face flushed with defiance. "I'm fine, Gunwook! Stop overreacting!"

"Overreacting? You think I'm overreacting?" I seethed, my fists clenched at my sides. "I care about you, Gio! I don't want anything to happen to you, but you brush off my concerns like they mean nothing!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she matched my anger with her own. "Oh please! Stop it, you big noisy know-it-all!"

I knew what she wasn't saying. All of this reckless behavior, the drinking, the partying, the anger, and the tears, she was hiding something big, and I still didn't know what it was.

"You need to tell me!" I shouted, my voice filled with frustration and desperation. It echoed around the mountain, and around us, people were dispersing. I noticed Gyuvin hurrying away from the two of us like his tail was on fire. "I want to help you, to be there for you, but you keep shutting me out! It hurts, Gio! It hurts to see you hurting and being unable to do anything!"

Gio turned her back on me, put her snowboard underneath her armpit, and started storming down the mountain. I growled in anger as I followed her down, but she was damn quick on those long legs, and that ankle was definitely not broken.

A tremor passed through her body, her defiance giving way to vulnerability as she stopped in her tracks and whispered to me over her shoulder. "I'm scared, Gunwook. Scared of what will happen if I tell you the truth."

My anger softened as I realized the depth of her fears, and my heart ached at her admission. I took a step closer, my voice filled with love and determination. "Jagi, you can tell me. You know you can!"

She shook my hand away and turned to the equipment shed to drop our snowboards. She opened the wooden door, stepped into the little shed, and dropped her board at the right corner. I did the same in silence. Our thoughts hung heavy in the air.

"Why?" she said through tears. "Why do you keep bothering with me! If I keep turning you away! Why Gunwook?"

I snorted. She really didn't know? How impossible it was for me to turn away from her? To walk away from the girl I loved more than anything and anyone.

"Why, Wookie?" she repeated, her entire stance defeated, and she was this close to breaking. I wondered if now was the right time to tell her. Right here, right now, in this little wooden shed where anyone could walk in on us at any time.

But as I looked at her breaking and knew she was this close to giving up, I knew it was the exact right time.

"I love you, Gio. God... I love you more than anything or anyone and have loved you from the first day you walked into me while running away from Jisoo in that shower block. You ran into me, and I never thought it was possible. I never even believed it was in the realm of possibilities, but it was love at first sight. I have tried to fight it, but I can't. I just can't. I love you. I love everything about you, every last annoying thing about you. There is nothing you can tell me that would ever make me walk away from this, from you. Nothing, Gio. Nothing."

Her tears fell freely now, as did the snowflakes drifting around the cabin, outside of the small little window. It remained quiet, way too quiet.

My heart started shattering as no reply came, yet I was still proud of myself for telling her this—the words I had carried within my heart for over a year.

She walked my way, reached for my face, and in an instant, yet eternity, her lips landed on mine. It was like falling down the mountain. My stomach did a free fall, and my heart leaped out of my throat. I couldn't believe I could ever be this lucky. I kissed her back, picked her up underneath her ass, and planted her on the counter while the snowboards rattled loudly. I deepened the kiss, and I couldn't get enough.

"I love you too, you dork." She groaned out between feverish kisses. "More than words can say. And it's because I love you that I'm afraid. I'm afraid of losing you if you discover the truth about me."

I kissed her nose again; my smile stretched beyond my ears. I had never been this happy. I didn't care what the secret was. If she told me she had killed someone, I would ask her when and where, and if she needed help getting rid of the body.

She had all of me.

I didn't care about anyone else, to be honest. Gio was my entire universe.

I gently brushed away her tears, my touch filled with tenderness. "You don't have to be afraid, jagi. We can face anything together."

The air between us seemed to crackle with emotion. I could feel the weight of her secrets, the pain she carried within her, and I wanted nothing more than to ease her burden. My anger dissipated, replaced by a fierce determination to be someone she could rely on.

"You can tell me, baby," I said softly, my voice filled with quiet resolve. "But you need to be ready. I won't push you."

Gio looked at me, her eyes filled with fear and longing as we kissed again before she responded. "I want to trust you, Wookie. And I do. I want to tell you everything. But it's complicated, and I'm afraid of the consequences."

I took her hands in mine, offering her a reassuring smile. "Complicated or not, we'll figure it out. I won't let anything come between us. We can take it one step at a time, at your pace. Just know that I'm here for you, always."

Silence hung between us, the snowflakes falling gently around the cabin, creating a serene backdrop to our turbulent emotions. Then, Giovanna took a deep breath, her voice filled with vulnerability.

She took another deep breath, gathering her thoughts before she spoke. "The truth is, Gunwook, there's a secret I've been keeping from you. It has haunted me for a long time, and I was afraid that you wouldn't want me anymore if you knew."

I reached out to cup her face, a gentle, reassuring touch filled with love. "Jagi, nothing you could say would make me stop loving you. We all have our pasts, our demons. It's what we do with them that matters."

A tear slipped down her cheek as she looked into my eyes. Her voice held relief and fear. "I'm not who you think I am, Gunwook. I'm not a good person."

I listened attentively, my heart pounding in my chest. Was this the moment I would finally know what she had been hiding?

The door slammed open, and Matthew and Billie entered with loud voices and lots of laughter. They saw us sitting this close, and Billie rolled her eyes. 

"Finally!"

Matthew groaned, "I thought it would never happen!"

I threw one of my gloves at their heads and hauled Gio down from the ledge. The moment was broken, and I hoped she would share her concerns with me tonight.