Eyes Full Of Stars || Park Sunghoon

66 ¦ Only Love Can Hurt Like This

The first time I applied to art school, I got a rejection. "They'll take you, Lola. They'd be stupid to reject a talent like you again," my husband talks me through it, reaching across the table for my hand, whose fingers I've tensely formed into a fist and which is resting on the table. 

Sunghoon gently strokes the back of my hand with his thumb and smiles at me with encouragement and confidence. "Okay...", I murmur in an occupied voice and slowly open the large envelope. Again and again my eyes dart over the writing before I realize what it says. 

My eyes fill with tears. "Oh my God," I sob. "What's wrong?", Sunghoon now asks worriedly. Tears are just streaming down my cheeks as I lift my gaze to look at Sunghoon. "I did it." 

I am relieved, filled with happiness, and most of all, overjoyed. Everything in my life is going exactly as I dreamed it would. Sunghoon jumps up from his chair to hug me. 

"Oh dear Gods," it now escapes his lips as well, with which he spreads many little kisses on my face. "I knew you could do it, I knew it! I'm so happy for you." 

Smiling, I return his hug and close my eyes. "Thank you," I reply contentedly, burying my face in the hollow of his neck.

TimeSkip:

A few days later I have an appointment with Leela for ice cream. The weather is even playing along today, as we are gradually approaching May and the typical changeable April weather is gradually calming down. 

"There you are," my best friend says impatiently as I arrive at our appointed meeting place almost twenty minutes late. "Sorry, Sunghoon's meeting is dragging on a bit, so he couldn't drive me," I inform Leela, completely out of breath.

It's twenty degrees today and the sun is really getting to me. "Well, at least you're here now," Leela replies, eyeing me anxiously. "Do you want to sit down for a minute?" "I'm fine," I reply, waving it off, when suddenly a slightly stronger than usual tugging in my lower abdomen makes me pause. 

Probably another exercise contraction, nothing I'm not used to before. Since last night, the pain has increased in frequency and duration, but it is still bearable and, according to my midwife, still within limits. 

Of course I'm worried and at first I didn't plan to go out today, but on the other hand I'm too anxious to sit at home all day in this beautiful weather. 

A little later, Leela and I reach the ice cream parlor, where almost all the seats outside are taken. Only the ones under the big parasol are free, which is just fine with me. Relieved, I sink into the chair and throw my head back. 

Every movement feels like torture to me, I feel so exhausted and at the same time I have this inner restlessness that keeps me on my toes. Again I feel this pain in my lower abdomen that makes me gasp in fright. 

"Lola?" Leela asks worriedly, looking at me across the table. With narrowed eyes, I place my hand on my belly, which feels quite hard. This is the third contraction in a short time, but I refuse to admit to myself that it might not be a training contraction, but a labor contraction. 

"Call Hoon," I ask my best friend, who immediately pulls her cell phone out of her pocket and calls my husband. The contraction lasts for almost a full minute, during which I sit with my eyes closed, remembering the breathing exercises my midwife showed me. 

"He's not answering," Leela says in shock and slides her phone back into her pocket, rising from her chair. "I'm taking you to the hospital." Suddenly, everything happens very quickly: Leela and I leave the café and head to her car. On the nearly half-hour car ride, my contractions become more frequent, longer, and increasingly painful. 

"Lee, I think it's starting," I state the obvious, pressing my lips together in pain as the next contraction overtakes me. "Don't you dare give birth to your baby until we get to the hospital! Because I have no idea how to do that!" Leela  says frantically, stepping on the gas. 

When we reach the hospital and enter the entrance hall, the lady from the reception immediately meets us. She gets a wheelchair and shows Leela the way to the gynecology department. On the way there, she keeps trying to reach Sunghoon and leaves him several voicemail messages.

For Fuck's sake, where the hell is he?