Honest (Part One - Night)
The one time he can’t take her to the reporters’ room, Hwang Gyo Dong takes Yoon Yoo Rae home.
***********
He didn't mean for it to go this far, but Gyo Dong looked out for a certain reporter at YGN, as a result of working late. And if anyone ever found out, he would just tell them it was part of his responsibility as her captain.
The first time he saw her drunk, she was going off about some egg roll. Officers at the front booth didn't know what to do with Yoon Yoo Rae, staring helplessly at the young woman throwing a fit. Figuring out where she lived was out of the question: she couldn't even string words into a coherent sentence, and they slurred into one another terribly. YGN's captain was in the area by chance, letting the night cool his frustration with Ki Ha Myung's case. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about what would become of the older brother, but he had hopes that the newbie would make the right decisions.
On impulse, he brought Yoon Yoo Rae into the reporters' room at Seoul District Police Station. Seeing her struck a chord in his heart, and he'd feel bad for leaving her in such a state. So he put her on a couch, listening to her talk as he continued working. Nighttime was always more productive for him, anyway.
Nowadays, Gyo Dong still stayed up far too late, but at least he could look out for Yoo Rae if she came by.
Which, inevitably, would happen again.
And again.
And again.
The extent to which she drank herself silly intrigued him, and though he had never considered it before, he almost wanted to ask her to grab a drink with him sometime. He had three main reasons. One, it would put an end to the mystery of how she ended up at the police station. Two, maybe then she'd watch herself and go home sober.
And three, maybe he could put these feelings behind him if he spent a little more time with her. Because no matter how hard he reasoned with himself using the distance between them, he kept wanting to close the space. It was irritating.
Now, it was 11 P.M. on a Thursday night, and Gyo Dong wasn't quite in the mood to babysit. The item he was desperately trying to look into wasn't working out the way he wanted it to, and it didn't help that MSC's captain was looking into the same matter, with much more success at that.
"You look tired, Sunbae."
"Yes, thank you," Gyo Dong muttered. He clicked his pen repetitively, staring at a bright screen with a dull intensity. This wasn't doing anything.
He pushed himself away from the desk, and turned to MSC's captain. "Are you still going to be here?"
The balding man looked up from his work. "Ah? Yes, Sunbae. Are you stepping out?"
"Just for a moment." Gyo Dong's mind flashed to his colleague with awful drinking habits. He shook his head. There was nothing for Yoon Yoo Rae to complain about lately. At least, that's what he thought. He'd been too busy to keep an ear out for whatever complaints snuck out from under her breath.
Without another word, Gyo Dong stepped outside of the office and made his way to the front of the building where, lo-and-behold, was Yoon Yoo Rae.
Drunk. Again.
This girl, Gyo Dong thought. He looked to the officers at the booth, who pointed at Yoo Rae as if to tell him to take care of it.
"Hope! Hope, hahaha." Yoon Yoo Rae laughed, turning over from her spot on the cement. She wore a black jacket over many layers, a red scarf wrapped around her neck.
Gyo Dong grimaced. He couldn't put her in the reporters' room: Kim Gong Joo was there. If the rest of the captains from the other companies found out that he was the one putting her there, he'd never hear the end of it. Sure, he could tell him he was just worried about her as captain, but knowing Gong Joo, he wouldn't buy it. Gyo Dong didn't want to risk it.
Hesitantly, he crouched down and brought Yoo Rae to a sitting position. "Yoon Yoo Rae. Where do you live?"
"Hope, hope, hope. All this hope, hope, hope." She pouted, her pink lips sticking out slightly.
"Where is your house?" Gyo Dong tried again.
"Stupid hope. Mmmm." Yoo Rae pushed him off with surprisingly great strength for a small, drunk woman.
"Yoon Yoo Rae!" Gyo Dong stood up, watching his subordinate squirm on the sidewalk. This was impossible. There was no other way. Turning to the officers, he said, "I'm sorry, but can you look after her for a few minutes? I'll be right back."
He would have to take her home. *************** In retrospect, Gyo Dong realized he could've just looked up her records and dropped her off at her address. But he was already at his front door with Yoon Yoo Rae mumbling a mess of words into his shoulder.
He sighed, careful to balance her on his back while he put his key in. Upon entering, he immediately turned a sharp left, and he gently dumped Yoon Yoo Rae on the only couch in his living room. It was a modest space. With a wooden coffee table in front of the TV, there wasn't much to see. He walked into his kitchen that connected to the living room, pulling out some meds from his cabinets and pouring a glass of water. He placed them on the table across from where Yoo Rae was curling into a ball.
"Hope. Stupid hope. Stupid, stupid, stupid." She turned around, facing Gyo Dong as he sat next to her face, tucking his knees into his chin as he watched her. Her eyes were shut tight, wisps of hair caught in her closed mouth. Her captain grazed her forehead, putting those hairs behind her ear as he pondered over her words.
"You said something like that a while back."
The memory came back vividly.
It was another chilly night, and Yoon Yoo Rae had worked her way to the front of the Seoul District Police Station. He brought her in like the times prior, listening to her grumbling. Her incoherent words weren't new: what was, in fact, new, was hearing his name in the mix.
"Tell Hwang Gyo Dong to get out here. Hwang Gyo Dong!"
He had stopped reading the article on his computer, bewilderment a mute emotion in his features. What had he done to earn the wrath of this woman?
"You shouldn't have given me hope." Silence. "Jeez, it's cold!"
He remembered smiling to himself. He didn't think she'd catch on to the very few and miniscule things he did that would give away his true feelings. It was amusing to see her react in such classic Yoo Rae fashion, even if he knew nothing would come of it. Like the case with Ki Ha Myung, Gyo Dong figured that Yoon Yoo Rae would forget about it. And by the time she did, he would've, too.
But here she was, talking in her drunken sleep, about hope again. It stirred something familiar and exciting in his chest.
"Hwang Gyo Dong." The Yoon Yoo Rae on his couch brought him back to the matter at hand.
His subordinate was in his home, drunk. Come morning, he was going to have to explain why she was there, maybe even a few other things as well.
"Yoon Yoo Rae." Gyo Dong crossed his arms. "You can't misunderstand this."
"Hope, useless hope. Hwang Gyo Dong should take responsibility." She pouted, thrashing her arms for a split second before becoming still. "So cold."
Gyo Dong sighed, slipping his winter coat off and laying it over Yoo Rae. He stood up, disappearing into his room and reappearing with a thick, navy blue blanket. He covered her with it, adjusting her head so that she wouldn't wake up with a cramp in the morning. He glanced at the water and meds. What if she woke up and left without saying anything?
Scratching the back of his head furiously, Gyo Dong pulled a couple of water bottles from his fridge. She should at least hydrate before leaving. If she was hungry, he'd feed her something small for breakfast. That is, if she didn't scurry away first.
"Bah! It'll be fine." Gyo Dong threw Yoo Rae one last glance before heading to his bedroom for some rest tonight.
"Hwang Gyo Dong!"
He stopped in his tracks.
"Aish. He should be more clear if he never liked meeeeeee." Yoon Yoo Rae turned again, this time facing the couch.
Gyo Dong rubbed his chin in deep thought. Perhaps a misunderstanding wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. Not that it was a misunderstanding to begin with.
Maybe it was about time he started being more honest about his feelings.
When Yoon Yoo Rae didn't say anything more, Gyo Dong left for his bedroom, falling asleep thinking about what he would tell her in the morning.
