Eyes Full Of Stars || Park Sunghoon

2 ¦ Alone

"I... have something that's been on my mind," I announce and put my fork aside. My father's eyes turn to me, while Sunghoon, though he also puts down his fork, does not look at me. Instead, his gaze is straight ahead at the wall where a family portrait hangs.

"I don't know when it will be-" I put in. "A month from now, hasn't anyone told you yet?", interrupts Sunghoon, who obviously knows immediately what I'm talking about without taking his eyes off the family portrait.

Although he doesn't see me anyway, I shake my head. So in a month, my life will be over for good.

"I've been thinking the past few days that I'll either rarely see my friends again or never see them again, and I was wondering if it might be possible for me to go to a friend's birthday party tomorrow to see everyone again before I have to say goodbye to them..."

Skeptically, my father looks at me and now also puts his fork next to his plate. "No way," he replies firmly, shaking his head. I lower my eyes and fight back tears. I really didn't mean to run away, I really just saw it as a chance to see everyone again and say goodbye.

"I don't want to run away.... I just want to say goodbye to my friends before I don't see them again," I say in a thin voice. "I think my answer was more than clear, wasn't it?" my father asks irritably. "I said no"

"Well I don't see a problem there," Sunghoon of all people interferes. His golden brown eyes have long since stopped focusing on the family photo of my parents and me on the opposite wall, and instead bore deeply into my green eyes as they meet.

"Why don't you let Dolores spend time with her friends one last time before she has to say goodbye to them indefinitely," Sunghoon adds, then, as he continues to look me in the eye.

Still not very impressed with my future husband's idea, my father looks back and forth between Sunghoon and me. Sunghoon seems to notice my father's uncertainty about my plan. "There's really nothing to worry about, Mr. Rey," so he tries to reassure him.

"All right," my father retorts. "You can go to this birthday party, but at 00:00 I'll send our driver to pick you up" "Thank you," I finally say, reaching for my fork again to pick up the next potato on my plate.

"Dolores," my mother says suddenly. It's the first time I've heard my mother's voice since the day my father told us about his deal with Sunghoon. Looking at her face, I especially notice her slightly sunken cheeks and the dark shadows under her tired brown eyes.

"Sunghoon just told us he was interested in art. Maybe after dinner you'll have time to show him your studio?" Her suggestion hits me like a hard blow to the pit of my stomach, and I feel myself suddenly feel sick.

Obviously, by now she seems resigned to the idea of her only daughter being married off. It hurts me deeply and also the very last spark of hope I still had left goes out. But in order not to jeopardize the agreement with my father, I nod.

I feel much too sick to speak and I don't even know where this is coming from all of a sudden. Another look into Sunghoon's eyes is enough to encourage me to stand up.

"Excuse me for a second," I say, holding my hand in front of my pressed-together lips before walking quickly toward the bathroom, where I kneel on the floor in front of the toilet, where everything I've ingested tonight comes rushing back up to me.

When I'm done, I hit the flush button but still remain sitting on the floor for a moment. A soft knock makes me cringe in shock, and then when Sunghoon enters the bathroom, I feel sick again.

"Did you throw up?" he wants to know. I can't tell if he's just curious or worried. Because I lack the strength to speak, I merely nod and immediately pick myself up off the floor, which turns out to be a rash mistake, because my circulation, which is already weak today, can't handle it.

My vision blurs and my eyes go black as I sway slightly back and forth. And suddenly my knees threaten to collapse under my own weight. "Not so fast," Sunghoon says, reaching under my arms. The intense smell of his expensive aftershave hits my nose.

"Come... Sit down again for a minute," Sunghoon prompts me, directing me to a stool, which stands in the corner of the bathroom. Pushing me down by the shoulders, he makes me sit on the stool and wait a moment for my circulation to gradually calm down.

"I'm sorry...," I mumble, lowering my eyes in shame. All the stress of the last week is hitting my stomach incredibly hard. "I'll expect you back at the table in five minutes," Sunghoon merely replies and leaves the bathroom.

My eyes fill with tears and slowly I get up from the stool I'm still sitting on. After rinsing my mouth with lukewarm water and washing my hands, I return to the dining room, where I sit down at the table again as if nothing had happened and laboriously eat the remaining potatoes, so that at least I don't have to go to bed with a completely empty stomach.

A/N: What do we think about our dear Sunghoon's behavior?