Right Behind You | Park Gunwook ZB1

Chapter EIGHT

Arin woke up to an unfamiliar environment. She looked around and tried to recall what led her here.

The high pressure in her skull and the nauseous feeling that was intensified by the bright sunlight peeping through the curtain blinds, were notifying her of a serious hangover.

Scenes of the night before popped into her brain. She remembered that after the wedding, Gunwook asked to have a drink together, she remembered going to ZeroBase, she remembered chugging down shots of soju... She facepalmed herself in frustration, hoping that she didn't embarrass herself too much last night.

She slowly got out of bed and walked out of the room.

"Hey, you are up! Good morning." Yoonhee's bright voice greeted her.

"Who... are you?"

"Oh sorry, I should have introduced myself first. I'm Lee Yoonhee, Gunwook's friend."

"I think I've met you in ZeroBase."

"Yes, I've been there a few times with Gunwook."

"Why am I here?"

"Ahh You were a bit drunk last night, so Gunwook brought you here. He's on his way here now, he just went to buy you hangover soup for breakfast."

"It's okay. I think I should leave now."

"No no no, Park Gunwook's gonna kill me if I let you leave now. I left a set of towels and a toothbrush for you in the bathroom if you want to freshen up a bit. I can lend you some of my clothes too if you want a change of clothes."

"Thank you, but I'm fine. I'll just go and wash my face."

"Sure, take your time."

Yoonhee's smile faded as Arin went into the bathroom. She had nothing against Arin, but after all, she was still Gunwook's love interest.

"I poured you a glass of warm water, Arin-ssi. Hopefully that will help you recover from your hangover." Yoonhee spoke as Arin came out of the bathroom.

"Thank you." Arin sat down on the sofa, across from Yoonhee. "I hope I didn't cause too much trouble last night."

"No, don't worry. You just slept through it. Plus, Gunwook was the one who did all the hard work of carrying you back."

The air was dead for a good while, the two girls kept taking sips simultaneously from their mugs. Yoonhee stole glances at Arin, while contemplating whether she should talk to Arin about Gunwook, because from what she had observed, they weren't really going anywhere. She couldn't have him, but she still wanted him to be happy with the girl he loved.

"This may sound abrupt, but what do you think of Gunwook?" Yoonhee broke the silence.

"Yes? Ah... Gunwook... He's gentle and warm just like Eunbyeol unnie. And he has a bright personality."

"Yeah, I always think that their parents gave them names that match their personalities really well." Yoonhee smiled. "Eunbyeol unnie is quiet and calm like the silvery stars in the sky, always there to listen to you, while Gunwook is like the bright, rising sun in the sky, shining light into lives." She continued. "He is always nice to people around him, but he doesn't treat everyone with the amount of care he does with you. I've known him for over 10 years, so I can say that for sure."

Arin looked into Yoonhee's eyes, trying to comprehend what she was trying to tell her while also noticing the subtle pain seeping through her eyes.

*Ding Dong*

"He's finally here." Yoonhee pulled herself together and went to open the door.

"Good morning." Gunwook's lively voice was heard as soon as the door sprung open. "Is she awa..." Before Gunwook could finish his sentence, he noticed Arin who was standing up next to the sofa in the living room. A big smile immediately appeared on his face. "Good morning, Arin. How is the hangover? I bought you some hangover soup." He motioned towards the plastic bag he was holding in his left hand, before moving towards the dining table.

Arin was still processing what Yoonhee just told her. If she didn't misunderstand, Yoonhee was trying to tell her that Gunwook liked her?

"Why are you still standing there? Come and eat it while it's still warm." Gunwook said to her with a warm smile.

Arin then walked slowly towards the dining table and sat down next to Yoonhee, across from Gunwook. Gunwook carefully placed the bowl of hangover soup, which was still steaming, in front of her.

She silently analysed Gunwook's every single action. It was probably her first time paying this much attention to him. She did notice that Gunwook is always at ZeroBase, and most of the time he lingers around her to keep her company - she especially felt that at the wedding last night. But she had always thought it was because Eunbyeol asked him to take care of her, she would have never thought that it was because she was special to him.

Had she been too focused on Gyuvin that she had just completely ignored everything that was happening around her?

Arin wasn't sure what to do with this newly acquired information.

"Thanks for the breakfast. I really should go now." Arin said after she finished her soup in haste.

"I'll drive you back." Gunwook offered.

"No." Arin immediately declined. "I'll go back myself, I insist."

"I have something to say to you too. Can't you stay here for a bit longer?" Yoonhee said to Gunwook.

Gunwook looked at Yoonhee with slightly widened eyes, asking her to read the room.

"I'll get going then." Arin grabbed her bag from the sofa while Yoonhee opened the door for her. "Thank you again for last night."

"No worries." Yoonhee replied

"What was that?" Gunwook interrogated after Arin left.

"She probably needs a bit of time to digest the news."

"News? What news?"

"Well, I didn't expect her to be completely clueless about how you feel about her when you're this obvious."

"What does that even mean?" Gunwook was losing his patience.

"I kinda hinted that you like her..." Yoonhee muttered.

"You did WHAT?"

"Calm down. You can't just quietly stay beside her and expect her to fall in love with you someday. It's frustrating to see you like that, just tell her you like her."

"It isn't good timing yet!"

"That just sounds like an excuse to me."

"You don't understand. She...." He shouted and she felt as if a sword pierced through her heart. "That's enough, I don't want to talk to you about this. Even if you were trying to help, please stay out of this. It's more complicated than you think, okay?" He softened his voice after realising he raised his volume at her.

"Okay, then can we talk about us now?"