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Even death has a heart
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Days left until the competition: 44
Park Sunghoon was sitting in his living room, casually scrolling through his phone when he heard his father yelling for him. With a sigh of annoyance, the boy shifted in his spot, hands clenched tightly around his phone as he watched the furious man tramp into the room. He looked up at his father in an expressionless manner, though on the inside the boy was shivering. Sunghoon hated his father, despised the man for how he treated his own kid after the death of his wife and Sunghoon's mother.
The boy was left in an emotionless pit when he looked at his father or thought about him. He was always reminded of how cruel and harsh he was to his own son. All Sunghoon wanted was to pursue figure skating like his mom who was very famous because of it. He was always amazed over how it seemed so calming to glide freely over the ice with perfect balance—something he finally perfected.
"I told you not to get involved with that girl! She's in your competition! What if she's just trying to bring you down!" His father's voice roared, snapping Sunghoon out of his temporary trance.
"You've been ignoring your lessons! You're wasting my god damn money!" His father mindlessly went on and on but Sunghoon couldn't focus on what he spat out.
"If you don't win this...this competition, I'm sending you off to the States! Boarding school can deal with you!"
Sunghoon's eyes bored into his father in surprise. Boarding school? So he's going to ship me off to a whole new place now!? Without my consent??
"You can't do that—" Sunghoon professed, getting up from sitting to now eye level with his angered father.
"Oh, trust me young man, I can. If you fail to attain first place, you'll be shipped away from that wretched girl."
Sunghoon turned away, biting back his urge to argue with his father so he just shrugged, rolling his eyes at the man who stood in front of him. His father scoffed, clamping his fingers on the ring that was clinging around his thick finger. He struggled, but successfully pulled the ring off his finger, throwing it at Sunghoon. Surprised, Sunghoon watched the ring hit him, falling on the marble floor with a click.
"I don't need this anymore." He said through gritted teeth, walking away from the boy who was left dumbstruck. Sunghoon bent down, picking up the precious ring that his mom would have cherished. Sickened, he held onto the ring, clenching it in his hand tightly, eyes locked on the back of his father, watching the man exit the room without a care.
He placed the ring in his pocket, knowing too well he couldn't just leave it there. With a shake of his head, running his fingers through his hair, the boy left the living room, isolating himself in his bedroom. He plopped himself down on his bed, recalling what his father recently drilled into him.
Boarding school? In the USA? Away from his friends?! Away from the person who his heart mourned to see everyday..? Sunghoon couldn't see himself doing something like that...never. He had to do everything in his power to keep first place, even if it meant to overthrow the girl who played with his heart every time he saw her. Staying with her was something he wanted to do.
After hours had passed of Sunghoon restlessly laying on his bed, finding it hard to fall asleep, the boy was struck with the vague idea of going to the ice rink to calm himself even if it meant sneaking out at 12 in the night. He cleaned himself up, dressed himself in fresh clothes but kept the ring on him, holding it dearly. He carefully exited the house without being heard, walking to the Ice Rink all alone in the stillness of the cold night. Going there was a way to calm his mind of all the thoughts running rampant. He just wanted to be at ease.
He quietly hummed to himself as he tilted his head up to look up at the starry night, eyes sparkling so beautifully as the twinkles invaded the void in his eyes. The cold gentle breeze that swooshed by made his hair fizz, waving softly as it stopped right by his brows, shading his forehead.
Looking up at the breathtaking sky, a single thought ran through his mind, causing an array of emotions to spur together.
I wonder if Ji-eun is seeing how beautiful this is...
A faint warmth began to eclipse across his chest, making him feel fuzzy on the inside. Sucking in a deep breath, the boy closed his eyes, sorting out every question his heart wanted an answer to. His heart was calling out to him, pleading for him to finally realize what effect the girl had on him.
The boy did wanted answers but he was also deeply afraid. Afraid he'd make the wrong decision, afraid he'd hurt Ji-eun, afraid she'd dislike him, afraid he'd hurt himself as well. He wanted to push past all the disapproving thoughts, to only focus on his main concern as of the moment.
Placing a hand over his heart, the boy listened to the soothing silence, memories of his mother began to flashed by, making the boy's emotion swirl into a whirlpool. Tears were welled up in his eyes but a smile was visible on his lips. He was crying because he missed his mother but he was also smiling because of all the precious memories he had with her.
If there was anything he needed right now was his mother, someone who'd hold him in a comforting hug which was so calming that it would make all his worries fade away. Someone who truly loved him for who he truly was. Someone who listened and understood exactly what his heart was trying to express.
There was nothing he wanted more than to feel the comfort and affection he was dreading for all these years.
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Sunghoon wasn't the only one in need of clarity. Yang Ji-eun also felt stifled in her own house, though nothing was wrong between her or her parents at the moment the girl wanted alone time but in a place where it was more secluded. She wanted time to think about herself and where she stood, what she truly felt and anything else that was bothering her.
You could say she also sneaked out but it was for the better. She needed this as well.
She had her hair up in a pony, her backpack that contained her skates was slung over her shoulder as she exited the house quietly. She quietly walked down the empty street that lead to the main road, her eyes trailing up at the night sky that was so beautifully colored, that it had looked like a painting on a canvas. With her mind high up in the fleecy clouds above, the only thing the girl could hear was her heartbeat through the elapsing silence of the night. On the outside she was at ease, her figure dauntingly gazing up at the world above as her mind started to work.
Countless thoughts plagued her mind, questions the girl was afraid to ask herself. She too had a problem with listening to her heart. She too, found it very complicated to describe what exactly she was feeling. All she could think about was him. She pondered over many little things concerning him, things from even in the recent past. Things like, his personal life and how it affected him, how he truly felt, if he was in need of a shoulder to lean on we're very much all she could think about.
She wanted to know more about him, to help the scared little boy who she saw trapped inside those eyes that sealed away hidden secrets but she didn't know how to approach him. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable or come off like she was trying to be nosy.
As each day went by in the distant past, Ji-eun's curiosity of the boy grew more. She knew exactly when it all started. It was the very day Ji was at her breaking point. The day the girl had finally been given the courage to speak up as thanks to Sunghoon who made her feel comfortable, who genuinely listened to her voice her problems. That day, she knew from then on that her outlook of the boy was going to change, and so it did.
Here she was, a hand over her beating heart, thinking about him, worrying about him. Ever since the day at the rink when his phone kept buzzing which made Sunghoon slightly on edge was when Ji began to worry. The cut that he had on his cheek made her worry also and she couldn't explain why. Seeing him with Heeseol made her heart clench in a sad way but she brushed it off like she usually did but tonight, right now, the girl was ready to confront what she was feeling. She wanted to understand herself.
Finally, after what seemed like a good distance of walking, Ji finally made it to the entrance of the building. The thick glass doors weren't locked and the lights were on inside the building, making the girl feel slightly happy that she didn't come all the way there for nothing.
Without thinking twice the girl pushed the glass door open, casually striding in the building like it was pretty normal for a girl her age to be there that late in the night.
"God this is so what I need right now." The girl breathed out, placing her backpack down to take out her skates, the one in which was gifted to her by Sunghoon. After securely strapping it onto her feet, she carefully stepped onto the ice, letting her body take control. At first all she did was simply glide around the rink, letting the coolness of the ice breeze past her.
With her mind now empty, she quickened her pace, adding a few elegant spins and double jumps. She was so immersed in the feeling of letting her body take control that she wasn't aware of her surroundings. Nothing mattered to her when she was skating. It took away all of her worries.
When she finally began feeling tired, her eyes fluttered open as she circled around the rink, slowing herself down. Not only did she feel tired, a hinting pain in her ankle also itched the girl from continuing to skate but she woefully brushed it off.
The sound of clapping radiated from one side of the building, making her jump in shock. When she swirled herself around to see who it was, a genuine smile fell upon her lips.
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