[CHAPTER SEVEN]
; INTOXICATED
➖
"I just can't believe he actually hesitated!" Suji exclaimed, glaring at the bottle of sake as Da Xia poured more into her cup.
"I can, my brother's really dumb." Soo Yeon shrugged, taking a bite of her rice cake.
"Yeah but this is over an older woman, a woman who's old enough to be his mother!" Suji ranted, gulping the sake in one go. Da Xia blinked as Suji motioned for her to pour her more. She hesitantly obeyed and went to pour more for Suji.
Ah Ro shuddered, "That's weird, and I'm sure it is for the Queen too."
It's been months since Suji's and Ah Ro's fight but they made up after a month of Jin's death. Ah Ro came to send condolences to Suji and to also apologize for being childish and rude. Suji immediately forgave her and apologized to her. The two girls instantly became close friends again, missing each other's presences for too long.
"Of course it is, I wish I could smack some sense into my brother." Soo Yeon sighed, shaking her head.
"Why don't you?" Da Xia questioned, taking a sip of her tea. She was a bit young to drink, she was the same age as the twins.
After Suji came back storming to the Hwarang House in annoyance, Soo Yeon gathered all of the girls and went to the tea shop. The sake was just snuck in by Ah Ro but Pa Oh didn't care.
"Because they're siblings, they're both messed in the head." Eunha giggled, eating her moon cake with a grin.
"Eunha!" Soo gasped softly, giving her a look.
Soo Yeon laughed, "I mean, she's not wrong, but I'm not as bad as my brother."
"Don't worry, my brother Inseong is messed in the head too." Eunha shrugged, reassuring Soo Yeon.
Soo Yeon simply giggled, commenting on how Inseong is funny, making Eunha glance at Soo. The two exchanged a look and glanced at Suji but she was too busy gulping down another cup of sake. She motioned for Da Xia to pour her more but Da Xia sent a hesitant glance to the others as she held the sake bottle.
Ah Ro frowned, watching Suji lean her forehead against her palm as her elbow was leaned on the table. "Don't you think you should tone down on the sake Suji? Your cheeks are getting rosy."
"No," Suji kept her forehead in her palm, "Just give me some more."
"You don't want to end up like Ah Ro when she chugged the entire pot of alcohol," Soo Yeon teased as Ah Ro became flustered and began to stumble on her words, trying to fight for her side.
"Come on Da Xia, pour some more for me." Suji muttered, holding her cup out.
Soo grabbed the cup from Suji making Suji shout out in protest, "Suji, why are you drinking your problems away?"
"Yeah, don't tell me you're seriously drinking over Soo Ho," Eunha raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not, I'm just in the mood to drink."
"You only drink when you're hurt." Eunha pointed out, a frown forming on her face. Suji never drank, especially to the point where she's drunk. The last time she drank so much was Jun's death, and she drank by herself in her room, so everyone just found out that she got drunk by her massive hangover. Nobody has ever witnessed a drunk Suji before.
"Are you hurt by Soo Ho?" Soo softly asked.
Suji sat up and frowned at the table, "So what if I am?" Suji's words dragged a bit.
"It's okay to be hurt but you shouldn't drink your problems away," Da Xia told Suji as Suji snatched the cup away from Soo who tried to grab it back but Suji glared at her. Suji poured more sake for herself and downed it again. She sighed and set the cup down, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
"I rarely drink so just let me drink for tonight. I know it's dumb and reckless to be drinking and getting drunk but I like the feeling it gives me." Suji muttered the last part quietly but everyone heard. They all glanced at each other in surprise.
"What do you mean by that, Suji?" Ah Ro asked.
Suji shrugged, "I've lost a lot of people I've loved in my life.. I thought Jun was going to be the last and that I'll make sure nobody else leaves but I think Soo Ho just walked out of my life, and it hurts."
Everyone including Da Xia flinched at the mention of Suji's deceased fiancé — cousin for Da Xia. Suji often brought him up but it was only to reminisce on the happy times they've had together.
"Do you.." Soo Yeon trailed off, eyes quite wide, "Like my brother?"
Suji kept her stare on the table making Soo Yeon gasp and an angry expression form on her face, "I'm going to kill him—"
"Huh?" Suji snapped out of her little snooze, "What? No, I don't, I just care for Soo Ho very much," Suji chuckled, waving her hand at Soo Yeon to calm her down. "I mean, Soo Ho was my first good friend that I've made in a while and he's been a special person in my life but it's sad to know that our friendship just ended because of a pointless crush."
"Your friendship didn't end—" Soo tried to reassure but Suji snorted.
"Well if it didn't then it's on pause because I know for sure that we won't be talking anytime soon."
The girls quietened down and watched as Suji started to drink out of the bottle.
"Relax girls, just let me enjoy tonight, I've had enough of my plate in the past year and letting loose tonight will really help me."
The girls understood what she meant. From Jun's death to Huang Fu's execution, it was a lot for Suji but she managed to hold herself up well. And now with this plan that's soon to take action, everyone was afraid that Suji was going to officially snap and break down, but they knew Suji was stronger than that, and they admired her for that.
"Go ahead and get drunk, you don't need to be on your toes all the time, but we've never encountered a drunk Suji so we're kind of worried." Eunha snorted.
Suji shrugged, placing down the bottle. Her eyes were heavy as she glanced over at Eunha and burped, "I don't know, I think I'll either be really angry or really sad, or both."
-
"Oh my god, it's like a whole new person." Soo Yeon watched as Suji giggled at her fiddling thumbs.
"She's so going to regret this when she sobers up," Eunha grinned, watching her older sister in amusement.
Soo watched Suji in worry, "Yeah, she'll experience horrible migraines.. I should get medicine prepared for her."
"I could do that tomorrow morning for her," Ah Ro suggested and Soo thanked her.
"No, I mean she's going to regret getting drunk since this side of her comes out. She's making a fool out of herself." Eunha snorted.
Soo smiled softly, "You're right, but it's nice to see this side of Suji again. It's been a while."
Eunha paused and watched Suji pinch Da Xia's cheeks. Eunha smiled. "You're right."
-
"How do you think the boys will react when they see Suji?" Da Xia questioned as she couldn't help but smile at Suji who skipped down the path. She was humming a song to herself while letting her body sway.
"I can predict what each boy will do," Eunha started as the other three turned to listen to what the younger girl had to say, completely forgetting about Suji who was attempting to braid her hair but her fingers kept slipping, resulting in her turning into a giggling mess.
"Sun Woo would freak out at the sight of a drunk Suji and yell at us for letting her get drunk, Ban Ryu would be surprised but he'll do anything to help Suji, Yeo Wool would probably enjoy a drunk Suji and watch her make a fool out of herself and tell her the next day, Han Sung would probably giggle and dance with Suji, Inseong would be happy to see Suji all giddy, the twins would never let Suji live after this and Ji Dwi would be amused by everything."
"What about Soo Ho?" Da Xia brought up.
Eunha shrugged, "He'd probably freak out as well and fight anybody who dares to mess with Suji since she's intoxicated but since they're not on good terms, probably just watch from afar."
"Well," Ah Ro chuckled, catching sight of the Hwarang House, "Let's see if you're right."
-
"The girls are still out, are you sure we shouldn't go out and see if they're okay?" Jihun questioned, glancing at the doors. The men were just sitting around after a long day of training.
"They've got Suji with them, they'll be fine." Jihan snorted, waving his hand.
"Hey, I think they're back," Ban Ryu said after hearing feminine voices and giggling. The men waited and watched as the doors opened. What showed on the other side shocked them.
Suji's face was red and she was barefooted. She was swaying side to side and she was struggling to walk straight. She grinned widely and waved happily at the boys, "Hey everybody! Sorry I'm late but I'm ready to party!" She began to do some weird dance as the men watched her with wide eyes and dropped jaws.
"Wait Suji!" Soo Yeon shouted, a few feet away from Suji. Soo Yeon carried a pair of shoes in her hand. "You have to wear your shoes!"
"What the hell did you girls do to Suji?" Sun Woo barked as he came rushing over and placed a hand on Suji's forehead. He drew his hand back immediately, "Holy, she's burning up!" He glared at the girls who feigned innocence.
"Suji wanted to let loose tonight so we let her. Plus it's nice to see her all happy." Eunha shrugged, watching with a grin as Suji bounced around barefooted.
Sun Woo shouted in exclamation and lifted Suji up, making her yelp and giggle.
"Woah, am I seeing this right? Suji drunk and loud?" Jihan snorted, watching his older sister get lifted by Sun Woo. Ban Ryu quickly rushed forward and grabbed Suji's shoes from Soo Yeon and put them on Suji's feet, not wanting her feet to get hurt from the gravel.
Sun Woo placed Suji down after her shoes were put back on and Suji grabbed Sun Woo's face and began to squish it around.
"Whmat tha hwell?" Sun Woo mumbled as Suji laughed in his face.
"Well you guys can deal with Suji while us ladies go to sleep, we've been with a drunk Suji for hours now and she's been great entertainment but she's too energetic." Soo Yeon grinned as she grabbed Da Xia's and Soo's hand and ran off. Ah Ro giggled with Eunha and the two followed after the three girls, making the men glance at each other blankly.
"What now?" Inseong questioned, his eyes on his drunk sister.
"We should sit in a circle and listen to her talk, she's amusing right now." Yeo Wool suggested, watching Suji in amusement.
Han Sung giggled and began to dance around in circles with Suji who came twirling toward him. The two jumped together with wide grins and they giggled like children.
"I think you should go to sleep, Suji," Ji Dwi smiled and chuckled as Suji skipped over to him. She danced around him and grinned.
"You're handsome.." Ji Dwi smiled, shaking his head as Suji trailed off, "but too bad you aren't handsome as," Suji hopped to where Inseong was and threw an arm around his shoulder, "My baby brother here!"
Inseong snorted and shook his head as Suji put him in a loose headlock. He simply let her and laughed quietly to himself as she 'roughly' swung him around.
"What about us?" Jihan questioned, poking Suji's head.
She snapped her head up and squinted at Jihan. Her eyes then wandered to Jihun and her eyes went wide. "Woah, there's too Jihans.. or Jihuns.." she giggled, "I don't know!"
"Wow." Was all Minghao could say. Minghao whistled as he couldn't help but grin at the sight of Suji like that. He hadn't known her for long but from their first encounter he never really expected her to be like that. Especially when he knew her being the Fearless Warrior when he was with his father.
"Man she's really drunk," Jihun muttered, "Hey Suji, how much did you drink?"
Suji shrugged, holding up two fingers but then switched it to three but then it went back to two.
"Only two bottles and you're already this wasted?" Ji Dwi questioned, laughing under his breath.
Suji shrugged, slightly dozing off as she continued to hold Inseong in a headlock. "I don't know.. Ah Ro snuck in a bottle and then I ended up drinking seven of those bottles—"
"What?! You drank seven?! You said two!" Inseong exclaimed, still in a headlock.
Suji giggled, "No, I said two plus three plus two!" Suji then lifted two fingers then three then two like she did before.
Yeo Wool placed a hand over his mouth, "Oh my.."
Suji's eyes lit up, "What a pretty man!" She gasped and released Inseong, stumbling toward Yeo Wool with awe but a hand grabbed her wrist before she could go any further. Suji looked over and saw Ban Ryu chuckling softly.
"I think it's time you head to bed."
Suji pouted, "But I don't want to sleep yet!"
"Ban Ryu's right, you'll really regret this tomorrow morning." Minghao giggled, watching Suji 'try' to yank her wrist from Ban Ryu's soft grip.
"No, I want to have some fun!"
"Like what? Fly to the moon?" Jihan snorted as a joke but Suji's eyes widen.
"Can we really?"
"No, don't even bother." Sun Woo muttered, knowing that a drunk Suji would try to find a way to fly.
Suji suddenly looked at Ban Ryu and wrapped her arms around his waist. Caught off guard, Ban Ryu coughed, "What are you doing, Suji? Are you tired?"
Suji let out a loud and tired sigh before leaning back and smiling up at Ban Ryu. She grabbed his face and grinned, "You're really handsome, did you know that?"
Ban Ryu turned flustered when Suji blew him an air kiss before she hopped over to Ji Dwi. "We should play family! I can be the mother, you can be the son and Jun can be the father! Just like old times!"
Ji Dwi's smile slowly faded as the other men glanced at each other. "Jun?"
Suji nodded and smiled brightly, "My fiancé! He proposed to me on the night of our date! I know we're quite young but we really love each other and we want to start a family together! Maybe one daughter and one son, yeah.." Suji sighed in content, her eyes softened.
Jihan glanced at Jihun, wondering if he should say anything but Jihun shook his head. So, Inseong decided to speak. "Do you know where Jun is, Suji?"
The others sent him an alarmed look but Suji giggled and nodded, "Yep! He's on a trip but when he comes back, we'll have our wedding! We talked all about it on the night he proposed! We would want a purple and red themed wedding since red is the colour of luck and purple is the colour of royalty," Suji giggled, leaning over to Han Sung who smiled sadly at her, "Jun's favourite colour is purple."
Han Sung nodded, "I know, Suji.." Han Sung trailed off, smiling at her as she went on about the wedding that was planned but everyone knew that it was never going to happen.
Suddenly, Suji blinked and went silent.
"Suji?" Sun Woo called out cautiously.
Suji laughed abruptly, "Do you think I can eat grapes while doing a handstand?! Imagine how cool that'd be! But you'd—" as Suji talked, she jumped in circles. She ended up tripping on air and landed on her face.
"Jesus Christ," Ji Dwi sighed, a smirk on his face, "We should really make her go to sleep, she's going to hurt herself."
"You're right, Jihan's crazy but Suji's fricking psychotic," Jihun snorted, shoving Jihan back when he shoved Jihun's head.
"She's a bit too hyper, don't you think?" Minghao questioned, "How are you going to make her sleep?"
As the men exchanged funny comments while Ban Ryu and Inseong helped Suji up, Soo Ho was silent the entire time, watching Suji with eyes that held an indescribable emotion. He knew that they weren't on good terms but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He was concerned for Suji and confused as to why she would let herself get this drunk.
"You're lucky the girls watched you, you really don't know what's going on." Inseong chuckled, shaking his head as Suji began to do some weird dance.
"I do know what's going on!" Suji shouted, making Sun Woo shush her.
"Oh why are you so strict?" Suji giggled, pointing an accusing finger at Sun Woo.
Sun Woo pointed at himself with an offended look, "Me strict? What happened to the 'I'm a responsible adult that does everything the formal way'? You can't even walk properly!"
"Yeah but if anything or anyone were to jump at me, I'd kick their sorry asses!" Suji grinned, kicking the air for emphasis.
"Be careful or you'll kick one of our heads—" Yeo Wool started but stopped when Suji swung her leg too hard, making her slip to the ground. The boys moved to help her in panic but when she started to crack up laughing, they calmed down and mentally sighed in relief.
"God she's crazy," Minghao grinned, shaking his head.
"I think we all knew that." Ji Dwi snickered.
"Hey, Suji, why'd you let yourself get so drunk? Are you stupid?" Sun Woo scolded but immediately regretted it when Suji started to pout, her eyes becoming glossy. "W-Wait—"
"I'm sorry.. Please don't leave me too.."
Sun Woo's face hardened, "What do you mean? Why would I leave you?"
Suji hung her head low, scratching at the back of her neck, "Everyone I love leaves me.."
Inseong furrowed his eyebrows, stepping forward to Suji with Jihun and Jihan begins him. "What are you talking about, Suji?"
Suji rubbed at her eyes roughly, "Mom left, Dad left, Jun left, it's like I can't keep anyone I really love in my life."
The boys glanced at each other in surprise and sadness. Suji yawned softly as tears formed in her eyes. Suji simply wiped them away while her face formed into a blank one.
"Who hurt you Suji?" Ji Dwi asked softly, his eyes sharp.
"Soo Ho.. We're not friends anymore." Suji shrugged tiredly, not noticing that the said boy was there in her presence.
Eyes moved to Soo Ho who looked away in shame.
Shortly, a smile making its way onto her face as she caught sight of Ban Ryu. She ran up to him and grabbed his hand, "But I know Ban Ryu will always be my friend! Let's go watch the stars together Ban Ryu, like we always do!"
"Always do?" Minghao questioned as Ban Ryu turned flustered.
"You and our sister watch stars together?" A weird grin formed on Inseong's face as Jihan and Jihun exchanged weird, mischievous looks.
Sun Woo noticed the panicked look from Ban Ryu and he cleared his throat."Uh, Suji, maybe you should rest," Sun Woo suggested, his eyes on Suji who could barely keep her eyes open.
"No, I want to hang out with Ban Ryu! Let's go!"
"Can I come?" Han Sung asked, oblivious to Yeo Wool's glare.
Suji nodded, "Of course! Let's go! The stars are extra bright tonight!"
"Wait Suji—" Ji Dwi called our but Inseong chuckled.
"Just let her be, she's been hurting for a long time now and it's nice to see her happy like this." Inseong cracked a smile.
"When was the last time we've seen her that happy?" Jihun questioned, watching as Suji rolled on the ground and jumped off the fence. He blinked at his sister.
"When Mom was still around." Jihan muttered, gaining silence from his brothers.
"Well, we'll let Ban Ryu and Han Sung deal with Suji. We should all head to bed." Ji Dwi said. Everyone nodded.
"She's going to regret this tomorrow." Sun Woo snorted, shaking his head.
Yep Wool and Jihan immediately grinned as Jihun chuckled, nodding, "She definitely will.
Before anyone could leave, Inseong called out to Soo Ho who glanced over at him, "I know that you and Suji aren't on good terms right now but I hope you guys make up soon. You may not know it but you mean a lot to Suji."
Soo Ho slowly nodded, "I hope we do make up soon."
"And I hope you realize the truth before it's too late."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Soo Ho questioned but Inseong simply shook his head and greeted everyone a good night and headed to bed.
•
y'all i've been so busy with school and i literally have a test every single week but hEy here's another chapterrrr
(lol let's have a few fun chapters before the shit goes down and everything is just being thrown at you guys)
—fathercoups