[CHAPTER EIGHT]
; AFTERMATH
➖
"We should head to bed," Ban Ryu finally announced as the three have been gazing at starts for an hour now. Han Sung nodded and yawned. He rubbed his eyes, "You're right, we should."
Suji shook her head, "I don't want to sleep yet."
"But it's late," Ban Ryu sighed.
Suji simply shook her head and Han Sung blinked and nodded, "Okay," he yawned, "We can stay for a bit longer."
Ban Ryu looked at Han Sung, "You can head to bed, I'll stay up with Suji."
Han Sung looked at Ban Ryu, "Really?"
Ban Ryu nodded, "You're tired. I'm not that tired yet, so you can go sleep, I got Suji."
Han Sung instantly got up and nodded. He smiled widely, "Thank you Ban Ryu!"
"It's no problem."
Han Sung hugged Suji who happily hugged him back, "Goodnight Suji! Good luck tomorrow morning when you wake up!"
Suji simply giggled as Han Sung smiled tiredly at Ban Ryu, despite his distaste in the past for him, "Goodnight Ban Ryu!"
"Goodnight Han Sung."
Ban Ryu watched Han Sung disappear around the corner and turned back to Suji, about to tell her that she should head to bed when he saw her staring up at the sky with a serious face.
"How are you doing, Suji?" Ban Ryu asked, leaning over to see her face.
Suji shrugged, "I'm okay." She turned towards Ban Ryu and stared at him with blank eyes. Ban Ryu chuckled at her.
"What's on your mind?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as she kept her eyes on him. She suddenly broke into a soft smile and grabbed his hand. His eyes slightly widen at the action but he still grabbed it back and held it softly.
"Thank you for sticking by my side, I never thought we'd be such good friends."
A smile melted its way onto Ban Ryu's face and he grabbed her hand back, "You're right, we used to hate each other but I'm glad we made up. Just so you know, I'll always be here for you, Suji."
Suji smiled and giggled, her hand still clutching onto Ban Ryu. She suddenly let out a sigh and leaned her head against Ban Ryu's shoulder. Ban Ryu didn't know why he was so flustered at the contact with Suji but he sighed in content and let Suji rest on him.
"Hey Ban Ryu.." Suji blurted out, her tone suddenly serious.
"Hm?" He hummed, his eyes still looking up at the stars.
"Do you.." Suji trailed off softly. Ban Ryu simply stayed quiet and waited for her to continue.
"Ever think.."
"Yes Suji?" Ban Ryu responded, urging her to spill out what she's been wanting to say.
"Do you think I'll ever be happy?"
Ban Ryu froze and slowly looked over at Suji. "What do you mean by that—" He stopped when he saw Suji's closed eyes and calm breathing. As Ban Ryu watched Suji sleep, with the moonlight resting upon her face, he realized something. Something that he didn't want to admit. Suji was absolutely breathtaking.
Ban Ryu let out a small sigh and turned his gaze back to the sky. "What goes on in your mind, Suji?"
-
Suji felt like death. As soon as her mind woke up, the worst feeling washed over her. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned at the sun — the sun? Suji snapped her eyes wide too quick that the headache that was beginning to brew in her head started to take action.
She shut her eyes and threw her head back down onto the floor but she froze when she felt something soft. She slowly lifted her head and peeled an eye open to see Ban Ryu.
Suji's eyes widen so wide at the sight of Ban Ryu sleeping under her. Suji looked down at herself and saw that she was laying on his chest.
Suji glanced around rapidly to look at her surroundings and blinked in confusion. What happened?
Realization hit Suji shortly after when she remembered that she was out with the girls, drinking. Suji rubbed at her forehead and was about to move but she froze when she felt shuffling.
Ban Ryu furrowed his eyebrows and squeezed his eyes at the sun. He slowly opened them and looked around his surroundings in confusion before his eyes landed on Suji. She was propped up on one arm by his side and her face was over his. He shortly realized the situation they were in and how close their faces were.
Both of their eyes widen and Suji dove for the empty space beside Ban Ryu. She landed with a loud 'thud' and rolled away from him.
She started to stumble on her words as she stumbled to her feet, "I-I wasn't trying anything! What—" Suji began to choke on her words, "What happened? H-How did we end up here? W-Wha—"
Ban Ryu cleared his throat and sat up, trying to fight away the heat that crawled up his neck. He avoided her wide eyes but quickly reassured her.
"Don't worry! Nothing happened! Y-You just got drunk and then you fell asleep!"
Suji's face was a light pink and her throat was dry, "That-That doesn't answer my question as to why I was on top of you!"
Ban Ryu began to explain how she had got drunk and he stayed up with her while everyone went to sleep. Suji sat there for a moment, registering what Ban Ryu had just told her.
She sighed and rubbed at her face, "God, I'm so embarrassed.. I'm sorry you had to go through that."
Ban Ryu chuckled, "It's no problem, it was entertaining."
Suji looked up at him suddenly with a soft look, "Thank you for taking care of me."
Ban Ryu was caught off guard by the sincerity but he broke into a smile, "It's no problem, I wanted to stay up with you."
Suji raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
Ban Ryu quickly cleared his throat at how his sentence came out, "Well, I mean, I just wanted to witness how crazy you'd get."
Suji's face dropped into a blank one, "Of course you did," She started to stand up, "Jeez, I'm not even sure if I want to see the others, I know some of them won't ever let this go. Especially Yeo Wool and the twins."
Ban Ryu grinned and nodded, "You're not wrong."
Suji groaned as Ban Ryu stood up. He then motioned for her to follow along but she stood her ground and shook her head. He raised an eyebrow at her and motioned for her to move again. She shook her head.
"Don't make me drag you," Ban Ryu smiles innocently. Suji narrowed her eyebrows at him.
"You wish,"
Ban Ryu complied to that wish and grabbed Suji's hand. He started to pull her along with him and she was surprised at how strong he was, but she stood her ground.
"Heck no!" Suji exclaimed, "I don't want to see them yet!"
Ban Ryu tried to yank her while she pulled back, "Come on, Suji, everything will be fine,"
The two began to yank on each other, as if each other's arm was a rope. Suji had her other hand on their held hands and made sure she stood her ground but she shortly cursed when she felt her feet slide and Ban Ryu began to drag her across the floor.
"No it wouldn't, they'll never let me breathe—" Suji halted in her sentence when the door to the balcony opened and the other side revealed Soo Ho. Suji instantly stood up straight and averted her gaze to the floor. Ban Ryu, whose hands were still holding Suji's, looked at Suji and then at Soo Ho.
Soo Ho stared at Suji for a moment before looking at their hands. His face was blank as he looked at the two. Suji and Ban Ryu noticed and slowly let go of each other's hands. Ban Ryu cleared his throat as Suji's eyes looked the other way. She didn't want to look at Soo Ho, and he noticed that, which made his chest squeeze with hurt.
"Good morning," Ban Ryu muttered out, glancing over at Suji who refused to look at Soo Ho.
Soo Ho glanced over at Suji before looking at Ban Ryu, "Uh, morning. Soo asked me — I came to check on you guys — are you feeling—" Soo Ho stumbled on his words and then cleared his throat. "Everyone is in the breakfast hall." And with that, he turned around and went back inside.
Ban Ryu looked over at Suji who was busy staring at the nothing in particular. Ban Ryu let out a small sigh before smiling softly at Suji.
"Are you ready to go inside?"
"No."
"Good, let's go."
-
Suji felt like she was going to explode from embarrassment. As soon as the door to the breakfast hall opened, all eyes turned to Suji. All eyes as in everyone who witnessed her drunken state looked at her.
Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment instantly and Suji made a sharp turn to leave, and she would've been successful if Ban Ryu hasn't quickly grab her by the arm and hold her back. Suji was still in awe by Ban Ryu's strength.
Now, Ban Ryu was dragging Suji toward the large table filled with teasing grins and mischievous smirks. Suji kept her face stoic and her eyes on the table but couldn't fight the heat rushing up to her face.
"Good morning Suji," Yeo Wool sang with a light, teasing tone. "How was your sleep? Did you sleep well?"
Suji pursed her lips. "I-It was okay."
Soo, Ah Ro, and Soo Yeon started to giggle with each other, making Suji send them the quickest glare before her eyes found its way back onto the table.
"How about you Ban Ryu?" Sun Woo asked with a cheeky smile.
Ban Ryu sighed softly, "Oh god.."
"Yeah, major thanks for taking care of our sister when no one else did. You're a strong man for being able to handle her." Inseong shared grins with Sun Woo while Suji groaned.
"Was I that bad?" Suji muttered to Ban Ryu, her cheeks still burning.
Ban Ryu shook his head, "You were fine, don't listen to them."
"Would you look at that?" Jihan started, a smirk on his face, "You know big sister, when Jihun and I asked if Ban Ryu was your boyfriend when we first met him, you said no."
"But then last night, he offered to take care of you and made sure you were fine and taken care of." Jihun continued.
"Did you lie to us?" Jihan finished. Jihan and Jihun looked at each other and bumped shoulders with one another.
Now it was Ban Ryu's turn to blush.
Suji let out a cough and shook her head, "Can we talk about something else?"
Before the brothers could protest and continue their teasing, Sun Woo nodded his head with a serious expression on his face. "Yeah. Why did you drink so much?"
Suji furrowed her eyebrows, "What? I can't enjoy my night and have some fun?"
Sun Woo continued to stare intently at Suji, "You were the only one that came home intoxicated. Plus, you got emotional last night."
Suji mentally cursed as everyone's attention turned to Suji. When Sun Woo mentioned her being emotional, Suji instantly guessed that her drunk self spoke the truth and must've blurted something out about Soo Ho; who was the one of the main reasons she let herself drink so much.
Soo Yeon quickly came to Suji's defense, "Leave her alone, guys, she's probably suffering from a huge hangover right now."
Ah Ro nodded in agreement, "Yeah, let her breathe."
Sun Woo furrowed his eyebrows at the two girls, "I'm just worried for her." He turned to Suji, "You're not one to let yourself get that intoxicated. You couldn't even walk straight."
Suji kept quiet, unsure on what she should say. This was one of the rare moments where she was caught off guard and had nothing to say.
"Suji."
"I don't know, Sun Woo."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"It means I don't know."
"You do know. Now isn't the time to play the guessing game."
"Do you have to do this in front of everyone?"
Sun Woo furrowed his eyebrows, "We are all curious. We were all there to witness you."
Suji clenched her jaw, "Well I have nothing to say. The one time I let loose and have fun, I'm being questioned for it?"
"You call having a mental breakdown having fun?" Sun Woo muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"I can call it whatever I want."
"Suji."
"Sun Woo."
Soo looked over at Inseong with wide eyes. The bunch were curious as well but they shouldn't force it out of Suji. Well, they knew that one of the reasons that Suji drank a lot was because of Soo Ho but they wanted to hear what she had to say. Maybe there was more to it. She couldn't keep her feelings in herself anymore and had to let go.
Soo gave Inseong a look, telling him to step in and ease the tension.
"Do you have a headache, Suji? Want me to ask the kitchen to make you some soup?" Inseong spoke up with a light tone but the two ignored him and continued to stare down each other.
"You know you can lean on us, right? You can't do everything by yourself."
Suji let out a small sigh, "I get pissed drunk one time and you're acting like I'm on a suicide mission."
"Exactly, Suji. You never drink yourself too death," Sun Woo frowned, "You can't just suddenly do something totally out of your character and expect us to not think that something is up."
"Why are you pestering me? You know why I drank so much?"
Sun Woo nodded his head.
Suji continued to stare at Sun Woo as the others glanced between the two.
"It's because I wanted to."
"Goddamn, Jiho!"
"Don't start saying my name, Sun Woo," Suji snapped.
Sun Woo glared at Suji, "Will you stop being so stubborn!"
"Will you stop being so nosy! I know you're concerned but if I don't want to tell you, I'm not going to tell you."
Sun Woo let out a grunt, "We can't help you if you won't tell us!"
"Well maybe I don't want help!"
When Sun Woo shut his mouth, after Suji slammed her fist on the table. Suji released what she did once she saw everyone jump at the sudden bang. She inhaled and exhaled deeply.
She looked at Sun Woo with a calm expression, "I don't need your help."
"If you keep pushing yourself like this, you're going to kill yourself." Sun Woo muttered lowly.
Suji looked straight back at Sun Woo, not caring about the worried stares from the others.
"Then I die."
•
WOAH it's been four years since hwarang was released and two years since my last update—
it's been like three years since i've watched hwarang and i have no clue which episode i left off from so i'm not sure if i'm going to continue with the original plot from here
but i intended to have the crown prince from baekjo to be in this story.. i guess i will have to go back to the episodes haha
i know i update every blue moon but as you can tell, i am not as invested into the series as much since i have others books i published but i am surprised to see some of you still reading this series so i am trying my best to keep going with this book
omg i still have to re-edit the first book tooooo
it's cruel if i left you guys hanging just after finding out that suji is a royal blood so i'll try my best to keep writing this book
thank you for your support <3
(i'm literally going to finish this book in 30 years lmao)
—fathercoups