Luckily, after receiving the location, she found out that the studio where the photoshoot was taking place was merely two stations away from her home. Mrs. Choi had probably taken the distance into account when she had recommended her; if she took the subway, she could make it in, perhaps, fifteen minutes tops.
Yeo Ri immediately rushed to pick up her bag, stuffing her wallet and other things into it. She didn't need to dress up for the shoot seeing as GG Doll was an online clothing store. The stylist would probably be happier if she came barefaced so they could style her however they want.
"Oppa, I don't know how long I'll be gone, so if I don't return before 3 o'clock, can you help take Gun-oppa to the clinic if his fever still hasn't subsided by then?" Yeo Ri requested just as she threw on a sweater over her shirt.
"Okay~" Ha Jun easily agreed.
"Ah, there's food in the fridge. If you get hungry, feel free to eat them." Yeo Ri bade them goodbye fleetingly. She paused for half of a split-second before going back to kiss Gun on the forehead, then hurriedly ran to put on her shoes. "Then, I'll be going—"
"Take care, Yeo Ri-ah!" Ha Jun quickly shouted as he watched her run out of the house like a hurricane.
"..."
"..."
"So... what do we do now?"
Now that the girl, who was the only able-bodied host in the house, had left, the uninvited guests had no idea what to do.
Gun was still unconscious, and the only one familiar enough with the siblings who could act like he owned the house was Ha Jun. The three companions looked at the aforementioned man with confounded gazes.
Ha Jun met their looks with a shrug.
He glanced around the room, examining every detail of the quaint place as though he was looking at something novel. "It's exploration time!" He announced with a feline grin.
"Isn't that a bit rude?" One of his male friends asked. With the exception of the chair for the study desk, there was nowhere else to sit other than the floor, so he made himself comfortable on the floor.
"It's fine," Ha Jun assured. "Yeo Ri already said to make ourselves at home, didn't she?"
The group helplessly shrugged at Ha Jun's reasoning. Fine, whatever! He was the closest to Lee Gun, so it was probably alright.
Smirking victoriously, Ha Jun placed down his bag and began walking around the tiny space.
The room was small, with a small kitchen by the door and a bathroom. The room was equipped with a washing machine, and there was a balcony where the tenants could hang their laundry.
Although there was not much space, the area was kept clean and tidy. All items were arranged neatly in their respective spots, showing the top-notch organisation ability of the occupants.
"..."
Ha Jun turned to look at his female classmate, Kim Hae Yoon. She stood still at one corner of the room, staring at the bed with a peculiar gaze. She had insisted on tagging along with him to the Lee siblings' house earlier, but now, she was all silent. He wondered what she was thinking about.
"What's wrong, Hae Yoon?" Ha Jun tilted his head quizzically at her.
"Hey, Noh Ha Jun." She suddenly spoke without taking her eyes off the bed.
"Yeah?"
"The two of them... live together?" She asked, her brows furrowing. She narrowed her eyes at the empty space next to Gun. The bed was large enough for two people to squeeze in, and on the empty side, a set of lilac-coloured pillow and blanket was folded and stacked neatly. Since there was only two people living in the house, it was clear that the two shared the bed together.
"Yeah, of course." Ha Jun eyed her strangely. "They're siblings, after all. They live here together because they don't really have any other relatives to take them in," except for that one currently in prison, Ha Jun added silently in his mind.
"No, but, don't you guys find it weird? That they share the same bed," she muttered. She found it strange that the two got along so well that they didn't mind sharing the bed, especially since the two were of opposite genders.
"I thought so too," the others nodded in agreement. They, too, found it strange that there was only one bed. But then again, the house was small so they dismissed it as trying to save space. Unless they pushed two single-size beds together, there was probably not enough space for more beds.
"It's none of our business," Ha Jun said. He somewhat understood the reason why, but he wouldn't dare to divulge it to outsiders. Instead, he smirked, asking: "Why? Are you afraid that there won't be any space for you if you start dating Gun?"
"T-that's—!" Kim Hae Yoon blushed at Ha Jun's direct question. It wasn't a secret that she was pursuing Gun, but it was still embarrassing nonetheless.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Gun doesn't like you~" Ha Jun laughed. He knew that Gun cared for no one but Yeo Ri. Even his best friend, Da Na, had been pining after him for a while, but Gun never even spared an extra glance at her. On top of that, because he was smart and good-looking, the guy was not short of admirers. 'Girl, get in line!' He thought as a wry smile surfaced on his face.
"Noh Ha Jun, you—!" After hearing Ha Jun's jeer, she seethed. She glared at him, thinking that he was only making fun of her because he was her rival's friend and thus sided with her.
Kim Hae Yoon's loudness seemed to have startled the sick man awake.
Out of habit, Gun turned to Yeo Ri's side of the bed. Seeing the emptiness, his already feverish mind became a mess. He struggled to push himself up, a dizzy feeling sending him into disorientation.
"Yeo Ri?" He called out, gasping for breath. Finding out that his sight was blurred, he became even more panicked. Gun's heart began beating erratically. The fact that he could not find Yeo Ri was making him scared. "Yeo Ri?!"
He could see a silhouette near him, but the person seemed to be too big to be his baby sister.
"Who are you?!" He hoarsely yelled, dragging himself out of bed. "Where's Yeo Ri?!"
"Hey, hey, hey!"
His classmate who was sitting closest to him hurriedly tried to catch the fumbling guy.
"Lee Gun, calm down!" Ha Jun rushed to his side, pushing him back into bed. He didn't expect Gun to suddenly wake up. With an annoyed glare, he frowned at Kim Hae Yoon who stared back at him with wide eyes.
"Yeo Ri!"
His weakened body seemed to have affected his mental state, causing him to enter a state of delirium. He was stuck in a nightmare he could not forget. The trauma that had plagued him since the incident kept replaying itself in his mind, threatening to break him.
"Yeo Ri!" Gun called out again and again. His voice sounded extremely miserable and anxious.
"Gun, snap out of it!" Ha Jun yelled, shaking the guy.
"My baby... my baby sister...!" Gun's eyes misted over as he thrashed harder, trying to break away from Ha Jun. The image of Yeo Ri lying on the ground with blood pooling under her flashed in his mind. Then, that man's looming figure took her away.
"No...! Yeo Ri! Yeo Ri!"
Gun hovered between dream and reality. He couldn't tell if he was awake or if he was still stuck in his nightmare.
"Gun!" Ha Jun shouted, squeezing his friend's shoulders firmly. Something seemed to break in Ha Jun's heart as he observed his friend's current condition. Gun had the exact same look he had bore on that day.
That day, he saw his friend's life fall apart.
He was there when the police came and took away Gun's brother.
He'd been standing by the side with Da Na as they watched Yeo Ri being carried into the ambulance, Gun trailing behind the flurry of medics like a lost, broken soul.
He saw his friend, who was usually unfeeling and indifferent, keel over as he tried to get on the ambulance to accompany the blood-covered girl, his legs shaking so badly to the point where they could barely support his weight.
The memories burned in the back of his eyes, making him teary-eyed as well. God only knows how much pain Gun had been bottling in all this time.
He stared into Gun's glassy, insecure eyes. "It's all over now. Everything's fine. Yeo Ri's fine. She's safe now. You don't have to fight anymore. It's over. Those days are done. You're all okay now..."
Thanks to Ha Jun's coaxing, Gun slowly quietened. His breathing slowed until he finally went back to rest, closing his eyes with his brows still scrunched together tightly in apparent distress.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...What just happened?"
A heavy mood lingered in the air after Gun's breathing evened out.
Ha Jun turned away from the three outsiders, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it," he dismissively said as he fixed Gun's blanket that had fallen off earlier.
"Bu—"
"Don't!" Ha Jun abruptly said. Slowly, he turned to look at the three with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't worry about it, okay?"
'It's none of your godd*mn business,' his eyes seemed to say.
This attitude of his was so different than the usual easygoing and friendly Ha Jun that the three could not help but flinch, slowly nodding their heads in understanding. Clearly, the relations between the two friends were deeper than what they thought.
Silently, they pondered about Gun's mysterious past.