Chapter 8: Gluttony and Apologies

                                    

                                          
Gabrielle's eyes fluttered open, her eyes meeting the white wall at the end of her bed. Her eyes felt swollen and she realized it really is swollen. She remembered how she cried until she slept last night. She laid on her back and groaned.
                          
She also remembered how she snapped at the boys last night.
                          
She got up from her bed to take a shower. She thought she should apologize to them later. She shouldn't have behaved like that to them. Angels cannot show negative emotions to humans.
                          
As soon as she finished her morning routine, she looked at herself one last time in the mirror. She clicked her tongue at the sight of her swollen eyes. Good thing her bangs could cover it a little. "I don't think they'll notice." She said as she fixed her bangs.
                          
Gabrielle made her way to the door and as soon as she opened it, Ravn dropped to the floor in front of Gabrielle. She looked at him, puzzled, and realized four of the men were outside her room too.
                          
Seoho was leaning on a wall with his arms crossed and Keonhee was crouching at the ground. Leedo was nudging at Hwanwoong who fell asleep on the ground, probably tired from waiting for Gabrielle to come out. Ravn, on the other hand, was supposedly resting his ear on the door, trying to listen on what's going on on the other side, and which in return got him sprawled on the floor the moment Gabrielle opened the door.
                          
When they all saw Gabrielle, they stood up straight. Ravn went back up and stood beside Leedo. Hwanwoong too, was finally wide awake.
                          
Gabrielle looked at them in surprise and wondered how long were they here. She instead smiled at them. "Good morning, guys. What's up?"
                          
As if nothing happened.
                          
The boys looked at each other. Leedo pushed Hwanwoong forward, which earned Leedo a glare from the short man. Ravn, Seoho, Leedo, and Keonhee glared back at him in return, their eyes screaming at him that this was his fault.
                          
Hwanwoong cleared his throat and tried to make eye contact with Gabrielle who is still smiling but her eyebrows raised as a question. His eyes went back from her eyes and to the ground, or at the wall. He scratched the back of his neck. "Um, Gabrielle. I'm sorry for treating you with disrespect. I really didn't understand anything, and I--"
                          
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize." Gabrielle smiled as she patted Hwanwoong's head. The gesture caught Hwanwoong off guard and seeing someone so angelic patting his head and smiling so purely made his heart skip a beat. Before Gabrielle could see the pink tint on his cheeks, Gabrielle already faced the rest of the men.
                          
"I'm the one who should apologize to you, guys. I shouldn't have shown you any negative emotions. I was being unprofessional." Gabrielle apologized and they all looked at her.
                          
"Darling, you can't just hold in what you're feeling. You can show and pour out your emotions. Crying doesn't mean you're weak. It doesn't mean you're being unprofessional. It means that you are capable of feeling anything because you have the right to." Keonhee said, his hands on his pockets. His head tilted to the right as he gave Gabrielle a comforting smile. "Crying means you're not a machine. It means that you're a human that also gets hurt after how many storms."
                          
"Bro, she's not a human though. She's an angel." Seoho elbowed him which made everyone laugh. Keonhee rolled his eyes at him. "I know I made a mistake the moment I said that, okay? You don't have to point it out, Mr. Perfect."
                          
"You definitely ruined the mood, Seoho." Ravn laughed. "But to ruin it even more, I'd like to point out Gabrielle's peanut eyes."
                          
"Seriously?" Gabrielle laughed as she fixed her bangs. When the guys moved forward to look at her eyes, she instantly covered her eyes with her hands. "Guys, what are you doing, get away from me!"