Eyes Full Of Stars || Park Sunghoon

3 ¦ The hurtful Truth

My heart is up to my neck as I slam the door of our driver's car behind me and look at the small modest house where Yeosang lives with his parents.

The party already seems to be in full swing as I approach the house. Just as I come to a stop at the front door, my best friend's voice rings out behind me.

"Lola!" exclaims Leela, surprised and delighted at the same time. We fall into each other's arms. "I thought you were sick," she says, breaking away from our embrace to look me in the eye.

"I'm feeling better already.... Migraines, you know," I reply, which is a lie, of course, but I made a promise not to tell anyone about the wedding.

My father made it abundantly clear to me that there would be consequences if I didn't keep that promise. And I don't want to get Leela or anyone else in trouble. Sometimes it's better to be ignorant than to know too much.

"Yeosang will be so happy to see you," Leela exults, holding a gift for Yeosang. Since I haven't left the house in the past few days and didn't know I was even going to the party until last night, I don't have a gift.

Leela presses the doorbell and only a moment later the door opens and Yeosang looks at me, then at Leela, and then back at me in a flash.

"Lola," he says in surprise and his lips form into a wide smile. His eyes sparkle. He greets Leela and me with a hug and accepts the gift Leela bought for him.

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to buy you anything," I confess to Yeosang, lowering my eyes in shame. Yeosang makes a waving-off motion with his hand.

"That you came is gift enough for me. You saved my evening with that," Yeosang replies, offering us something to drink.

"Don't worry, Lola, I have non-alcoholic drinks here too," he says to me, since I usually don't drink alcohol, but today will probably be the last opportunity to get really drunk at least once in my life.

So I take the cup from Yeosang's hand, which he actually filled for Leela, and down it all at once. The clear bitter liquid makes my face contort and I shake myself.

"Oh wow okay... are you sure?", asks Yeosang as I hold the empty cup out to him with a hand gesture inviting refills. He fills the cup only halfway with vodka this time and tips a little cola after it.

"You'll like the mixture better," he assures me, and I taste. It's still slightly bitter, but the sugary cola makes up for it, and as Yeosang said, it actually tastes better to me that way.

An hour and a few cups later, I feel like everything is spinning around me. "Lee...the ceiling is spinning," I share with my best friend, giggling.

Aside from the occasional glass of wine I've had at my father's business lunches, today is the first time I've consumed this much alcohol in one sitting.

"The ceiling doesn't spin, you're just drunk," Leela replies with amusement, joining me on the sofa.

I look at her face, see the smile on her lips and the joy in her bright blue eyes. It makes me sad, because I miss feeling like this.

"I'm going to miss you," I say. Confused, my best friend looks at me, because of course she doesn't know that today will probably be the last time we see each other. Maybe for a few months, maybe forever.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lola," Leela says, wrapping her thin arms around me. "But you're my very best friend, and I'd miss you terribly if you weren't here anymore, too."