stardust | park seonghwa ✓

44

Seonghwa notices the way my fists are clenched in my lap and when we stop at a red light, I can see him worriedly glancing at me through the corners of my eyes. He brings his right hand to my knee and slowly rubs it reassuringly.

"He'll understand," he tells me with a smile when his eyes meet with mine. "In fact, out of everyone in the world, he would be most understanding."

I sigh. "I hope so..."

"You know I love you, right?" Seonghwa asks, picking my hand and spreading it open before intertwining them together.

His confession still makes my heart stutter, feeling an embarrassing warmth spread down from the tips of my ears to the tips of my fingers. "'Course I do, you tell me that every day," I say, hoping he doesn't realise the slight stammer to my voice. "I love you too."

"Good," he states, grinning, "it's us against the universe, then."

Later on, when we finally arrive and as I exit the car, I can feel my knees wobble underneath me. My palms are starting to get a little sweaty and I can feel a slight shake to them so I shove them inside my pockets.

Seonghwa's gone already to standby at his own stand at his faculty's side of the showcase. Before he left, he gave me one last squeeze of my hands, telling me words of encouragement and parting ways with a quick kiss. It didn't relieve my nervousness as much as I hoped it would but at least I wasn't going to cry and pass out.

"You can do this," I monologue to myself, surprisingly finding my steps get lighter and lighter the closer I get to the building.

Yerim greets me with an enthusiastic grin from across the room. She and her romantic-style paintings stand brightly compared to the rest of the art on her side of the wall. Mingi is not too far from her, with his collection of sceneries from his hometown.

I take one look at my wall. My heart thumps against my ribcage when I read over the titles on the label plate planted on the wall. I wince internally, why did I even think it was a good idea to name it 'MOUNTAIN'? That's too obvious. Anyone would know.

Sighing, I fix the hem of my shirt and wait for the first guests to come through.

My family comes early. Hyekyung is perched on mum's hips, pointing her fingers at a random piece hung on the wall animatedly. Not too long ago, I saw dad separate from the rest of my family to wander on his own, enjoying things on his own like he always does. Mum approaches me with a smile, letting Hyekyung down from her arms.

"Hi, hi!" she chirps, "nice collection!"

"Thanks, mum," I say gratefully.

"Kyung seems to like it," mum tells me, chin jutting at my little sister who is gaping up at the painting of my aunt's mark from the barrier.

A smile fixes itself on my face. "Yeah," I agree, "she was there when I painted them. At first she was like what are these swirls but..."

Mum laughs, "typical Kyung."

"Has Hwa seen?" she asks.

I shake my head. "Not all of them, no," I say, "he's seen that one." I gesture to the centrepiece.

"He's seen yours."

"Uhuh, he was actually the reason why I added this piece to the collection," I hum, "he said it's pretty."

"Of course it is! There's no mark that's not pretty!"

Hyekyung suddenly tugs at my pants.

"What is it, Kyung?"