Rebels At Their Finest (Block B)

43: Strong

River watched as Eiji pushed through the crowd towards his brother. Akito was sitting at the bar with a funnel tube in his mouth, his fist pumping beside his head to the cheers of "Chug! Chug!" from the crowd as Loki poured beer into the funnel. Eiji tapped his brother's shoulder and Loki let go of the beer tap hose, leading the crowd to boo repeatedly as Akito pulled the funnel tube from his lips and turned to his brother. River wasn't too good at reading lips from far distances, but by the look on Akito's face, Eiji wasn't sticking around.

Akito stood and hugged his brother, nodding his head and waving his hand as his brother pushed through the crowd towards the door. Immediately, River pushed towards her boyfriend. "Hey, everything okay?" She asked, reaching for his hand.

His hand breezed past River's and landed on her hip. He pulled her to him and kissed her lips. "Yeah, everything's fine. Eiji had to get going, but I have his contact information, and he has mine so... I guess we're okay." He said, sighing.

"I'm sorry babe." River said, resting her head against his chest. "But you still have your gifts. Do you want to go ahead and open them? Maybe that'd make you a little less dreary."

Akito's laugh echoed through River. "I think we should just take them home. It's almost three and I'm kind of hammered so maybe we should head out."

River pulled back. "Are you sure? I mean-"

"Today's my last day with you, River. I won't be back for a long time, and I don't want to regret not spending all the time I have with you. Please, let's go home." He said, knotting his hands with hers.

Kyu Ree shot out of the back room and looked around frantically. She had to find Taeil, and she had to find him fast. Her chest was constricting and she felt like she was on the verge of passing out, but he was nowhere in sight.

Kyung stood a few feet away from her, having a very spirited conversation with a girl Kyu Ree couldn't quite recognize, but he looked her way for a moment, his eyes fleeting past her, and then shooting back in her direction. He muttered something quickly and then moved around the girl, shooting towards Kyu Ree. "What's the matter? What happened?"

Kyu Ree shook her head, but stumbled as she stepped, and gladly let him lean against her so she wouldn't fall again. "Nothing I just need to leave. I need to get home." She said, moving towards the door.

Kyung nodded in understanding. "I'll hail you a cab," He said, holding her wrist and tugging her towards the door, his other arm around her waist in case she lurched backwards.

The two cleared the door of the club and were out on the street in no time. Kyung threw his free hand out and shouted at one of the yellow cars across the street, which sped towards them. He opened the door and began loading Kyu Ree inside. "Where to?" The driver asked.

Just as he did, and as Kyung moved to slide into the taxi beside Kyu Ree, the opposite door opened and Taeil slid in, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and spouting the address to her apartment. "Why didn't you find me?" Taeil hissed.

"She'd already fallen over, I thought it was a better idea to just get her home and call you from there." Kyung answered, closing the door behind him. "Where were you that you didn't know she was nauseated?"

Taeil frowned. "Obviously not where I should have been." He said flatly. "Enough with the questions. What matters is I'm here now, and so are you, and she's not alone." He kissed her cheek. "And she's safe. That's what is most important."