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chapter 29 : we're each other's starlight
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seonghwa and kyunghee, still injured and dirty from the tattoo shop incident, walked nonchalantly into a sandwich restaurant as people stared - especially at seonghwa's blood-stained turtleneck. neither of them cared, though.
they ordered and took a seat in a booth in the corner of the place. kyunghee immediately grabbed her pink handkerchief and dipped it into some iced water.
"can i see your arm?" she asked seonghwa. he nodded and propped it in front of her.
she squirmed a little, the cut so deep and so bloody. kyunghee took a deep breath and began to clean the nasty wound for him. she also made sure to remove tiny glass fragments. seonghwa was clenching his teeth in pain and bouncing his knee as a way to calm himself.
"sorry, i know it probably hurts." kyunghee told him. "thank you."
"thanks for what?"
she blushed a little, as if it was the first time she saw him all over again. "for getting me out of there. thanks."
"did you think i'd leave you?" he chuckled, staring deep into her eyes.
kyunghee glanced away nervously, "n-no, but you found me. i didn't even have to ask you... you're the sweetest boy in this world."
"you're cute, you know that?" seonghwa suddenly told her and laughed.
kyunghee smiled too and looked away. "jeez, my boyfriend is crazy about me, isn't he?"
"he sure is." seonghwa nodded.
then the sandwiches arrived to the table and they began to eat dinner together. nothing fancy, but it felt so nice just being together.
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the couple slowly walked together down the starlit sidewalks, both rolling their motorcycle and bike along instead of riding home. they were quiet, not really wanting to ruin the moment, and oddly felt like they were on a first date.
they walked to the driveway of kyunghee's house. she sighed and opened the rusty gate.
"i hope my mom doesn't kill me. it's past nine." kyunghee chuckled.
seonghwa nodded and ran his hands through his hair. "yeah, sorry i kept you out late. good luck with her."
"wait..." kyunghee grasped the sleeve of his dirtied sweater. "don't leave yet."
"why? you'll get more in trouble."
"because i miss you already." she said softly and looked into the sky, dazzling with billions of stars.
he chuckled and pat her head, "i'm right in front of you."
"but you'll go home and i'll miss you all night until i see you again at school." she explained, becoming rather flustered.
"kyunghee." seonghwa said lightly.
she glanced up and met his eyes, as if a spark went off in between them.
"if you want me to spend the night, you could've just asked." he scoffed cockily. kyunghee was blushing with embarrassment.
"oh my god, i'm not trying to say that, i—" seonghwa cut her off and strided through the gate by himself until he reached her front door step. kyunghee's eyes widened in confusion and slight concern.
seonghwa turned the knob to the door and stepped in. kyunghee was running after him at this point. he looked around and inhaled happily.
"it smells just like you, kyunghee. like peaches and strawberries." seonghwa told her as he watched her run towards him worriedly.
"kyunghee!"
it was mrs. kang's voice. the two stopped in their tracks and looked all around. seonghwa bit his lip and looked to kyunghee in confusion.
she was standing in the hallway to their right with her hands upon her hips. glaring at kyunghee she asked, "who's this?"
"i'm park seonghwa." he said, sweeter than usual. "nice to meet you. sorry for barging in. i know it's late, ma'am."
kyunghee smiled awkwardly at her mom, "sorry, i forgot to tell you... this is my boyfriend."
"park seonghwa. come here..." her mom barked sternly and seonghwa walked to her. he stood before her with his head down. kyunghee's heart skipped a beat.
she told him, "don't act so polite. if my daughter loves you, i should accept you too, right?"
seonghwa was relived and sighed, "oh. thank you."
"now, oh my god!" her mom yelled as she took a look at seonghwa's bleeding arm. it was even gorier in the light. kyunghee felt pale. "your arm looks pretty bad... how'd that happen, seonghwa? you okay?"
he glanced at kyunghee as he said unsteadily, "i, um, saved kyunghee... from... a road sign that fell down randomly. i'm perfectly fine now, though."
he lied to prevent her from getting in trouble. kyunghee's heart rate picked up as her mom nodded, totally believing the dumb lie. it was so exhilarating, though.
"well, don't do anything too crazy with that arm for another week or two, okay? i want you staying safe and healthy, sweetie." she told him genuinely and smiled. seonghwa thanked her.
kyunghee sighed sadly and told him, "you might want to go home before it gets too dark."
seonghwa nodded, then bent down to kiss kyunghee on her cheek. mrs kang felt excited to see her daughter fall in love, but also a bit skeptical of him in particular.
he cooed, "see you tomorrow and goodnight."
"okay, goodnight. be safe."
the girls walked him to the door and waved him off as he rode on his motorcycle. her mom closed the door and sighed deeply.
kyunghee felt nervous for some reason, "so... what do you think? about seonghwa?"
"i think..." mrs kang looked into her daughters innocent eyes. "i think he's a good boy. you're lucky because he's attractive, too."
"ew, mom!" kyunghee chuckled with her mom. "but... thank you."
