Eyes Full Of Stars || Park Sunghoon

36 ¦ Jagiya

A/N: YOOOO ENHYPEN'S COMEBACK WAS SOOOOO GOOD!!! What's ur fav song??
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A few days ago, Sunghoon offered me the use of his mother's studio. After so much has happened between my mother, Teresa and me, especially in the last few days, I finally decided to take up this offer to clear my head a little.

Lost in my thoughts, I dip the brush into the white paint before placing it on the canvas. Gradually my painting, which shows a light blue vase with magnificent white daisies, takes shape. I'm so engrossed in what I'm doing that I don't notice Sunghoon has entered the room and stopped right next to me until he clears his throat.

Startled, I cringe and look at him with wide eyes. Sunghoon's lips form into a slight smile as he examines my painting with his arms folded behind his back. "You scared me," I inform Sunghoon, looking at him indignantly. I almost painted off the page, which would have destroyed the whole painting.

"I'm sorry," Sunghoon replies amusedly, his brown eyes now fixed on me. The smile on his lips widens a little. "You have some color there," Sunghoon notes with amusement. He carefully wipes the color from my face with his thumb, bringing us a little closer as I look at him with slightly parted lips and widened eyes. Sunghoon pauses and swallows hard as his brown eyes bore deeply into my green ones.

"Daisies.", Sunghoon finally states and takes a step back, removing his hand from my cheek and letting it sink. His eyes move back to the painting depicting daisies. "Yes, I think they're beautiful," I inform Sunghoon. Daisies are my favorite flowers.

He turns back to me and his brown eyes bore deeply into mine. "Mine too," he replies, and for a moment I wonder if he actually means the flowers. But immediately I put the absurd thought that Sunghoon could possibly mean me out of my mind.

As a little girl, when I was in love, I used to tear off the petals of the daisies that grew in our garden to play he-loves-me-he-doesn't-love-me. When my mother saw this, she always got really mad, but just as quickly forgave me.

"I was going to ask you if you were coming down for dinner?", Sunghoon changes the subject. "I don't know if I can sit at the same table with them," I reply honestly.

Although I talked things out with Teresa a few days ago, the whole thing is crushing me like a stone weighing a ton. I can't look at Teresa anymore without imagining what my father did to her. It must have been terrible for her to have lived with him under the same roof all those years, not to lose me.

"They've already eaten and went out for a walk," Sunghoon replies, looking at me hopefully out of his brown eyes. "I cooked," Sunghoon quickly adds, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"You cooked?", I ask in surprise. I know Sunghoon has a housekeeper who usually cooks. So I am all the more surprised that he has now cooked himself. "I'll be waiting for you in the dining room in ten minutes," he informs me and leaves the studio.

After cleaning all the brushes and putting everything back in its original place, I head straight to the guest room to change. I decide on a simple light blue dress and tie my brown hair into a high braid.

The heart in my chest pounds excitedly as I descend the stairs and enter the dining room. The lights are dimmed and there are candles on the set table, illuminating the room and creating a cozy atmosphere.

"This smells delicious," I say as the aroma hits my nose. "This is japchae," Sunghoon informs me. "A Korean dish." He pulls the chair out from under the table and motions for me to sit with a gallant wave of his hand.

With a tingle in my stomach, I sit down in the chair and follow Sunghoon with my eyes until he settles into the seat across from me and our eyes meet.  Sunghoon reaches for the wine bottle. It's the same wine we drank that day at the lake when he prepared the picnic for me.

"Would you like some?" he inquires, holding the open bottle up a little. "I'd love to," I reply, holding my wine glass out to him so he can pour for me. Silently, we sit across from each other and eat the meal that Sunghoon has cooked. It is delicious.

"To what do I owe this honor, that you went to so much trouble?", I inquire, breaking the nerve-wracking silence between us. As I do so, I let my eyes wander around the room again; the candles, the expensive wine, and Sunghoon's efforts make me think there's more to it than him merely wanting to have dinner together.

"I just wanted to make an effort for you," Sunghoon informs me. "Why?", I want to know, reaching for my wine glass to sip. "Because you deserve it, Jagiya," Sunghoon replies with a smirk. His brown eyes bore deeply into mine and suddenly he reaches across the table for my hand.

"Jagi-what?", I ask, confused. "Jagiya." His lips form into a charming smile. "It's Korean and means darling, though beauty would suit you better," he explains to me in the next breath.

Instantly, I feel the blood rush to my cheeks, so I lower my gaze in shame. I remember back to the day Sunghoon told me that I wouldn't have been his first choice either. And suddenly he's preparing a romantic dinner and calling me darling?

"I'm not pretty," I say so quietly that I don't think he even heard. But I am wrong. "No, but beautiful," Sunghoon replies. I press my lips together and close my eyes for a moment.

Sunghoon's words set off a wave of emotions in me; starting with a warm tingling in my stomach, to confusion, to a feeling I can't quite interpret. But that feeling suddenly grows stronger as Sunghoon reaches across the table and lifts my face.

"Look at me," the young man prompts me. His usually cool eyes are full of affection and warmth. "I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you, Dolores," Sunghoon says sternly, rising from his chair to come to me and stop immediately in front of me. "I know that our start was very bumpy and I did a lot of things wrong. But I want to do one thing right, and it starts with-" Sunghoon pulls a box covered in burgundy velvet from his pants pocket and flips it open.

"I swear to you to protect you. And I will do so by any means possible." Eyes wide, I stare at the ring in the box. It's the ring I saw in the window that day after our first visit to the bridal store, and it wasn't there on our last visit to the bridal store.

Is he proposing to me? Sunghoon must have absolutely lost his mind. And despite everything that's happened, there's this incredibly strong feeling inside me that's screaming to just throw all my doubts overboard and kiss Sunghoon.

"I don't even have a choice," I whisper. "Yes you do," Sunghoon replies softly, brushing a strand of brown hair behind my ear, which has loosened from my braid and is falling into my face.

"Remember the day I came home with a busted lip and a black eye?"

I nod.

"That was your father," Sunghoon explains to me. Shocked, I cover my mouth with my hands. "When I terminated the contract," he adds.

"But your company?" "Forget the company, they'll get over it," Sunghoon waves me off, shaking his head. The emotions crashing in on me are overwhelming.

"I'll do everything to keep you safe. You are my top priority, and only you.", Sunghoon adds emotionally. What storm of emotions has this man unleashed in me?

A/N: Liked this chapter??