Eyes Full Of Stars || Park Sunghoon

47 ¦ The Courthouse

Silently, I stand in front of the mirror and smooth out the black blouse I am wearing. Today is the day when my father has to justify himself in court for all his actions. I'm nervous because even though I want nothing more for my father than for him to rot in hell, it feels strange to have to meet him face to face for the last time today and testify against him.

He will probably do anything to convince me how sorry he is. But I have sworn to myself to stay strong. For me, for my mother, for Teresa, and for Sunghoon.

My father won't be able to talk his way out of this like he usually does. He has lost. For good. And yet, I am also afraid that he will be found innocent.

I don't hear the knock on the door and the sound of Sunghoon entering the room because of my musings and the buzzing in my ears. He's wearing a black suit and his brown hair is neatly styled back.

"You look worried," he states as he stops immediately behind me and looks at me through the mirror out of his brown eyes. "I'm nervous," I confess to Sunghoon, averting my eyes.

Gently, the young man wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me back against his chest. "Look at me," Sunghoon prompts me. Hesitantly, I turn my head in his direction to look into his eyes. He leaves a kiss on my forehead.

"Everything's going to be fine. You're going to do great." "Thank you," I whisper, feeling my excited heart gradually calm down. My breathing is also becoming calmer and more even again, and the pressure on my chest has almost completely dissipated.

All the stress of the past weeks has affected me not only psychologically, but also physically. Lately I've been feeling this tugging in my stomach area all the time, and even though I'm getting enough sleep, I feel drained and tired.

"What are you thinking about?" Sunghoon asks anxiously, who seems to have noticed that I have drifted off with my thoughts again. Still holding me in his arms, he examines my face anxiously.

I smile. "Nothing, I'm fine. I'll just be glad when we get home tonight," I inform him. "Home," he repeats my words and begins to grin. "That's the first time you've ever said it like that."

"Well, I've been living here for the past few months," I reply, shrugging my shoulders before my lips form into a smile. "Besides, we're getting married in the near future. So I should get used to calling this house my home by now, don't you think?"

Sunghoon leans forward to my face to close the gap between us and breathe a soft kiss on my lips. As he does so, he wraps his arm around my waist a little tighter and presses me against him.

"I've been thinking that we'll buy another house once we're married," Sunghoon shares his plans with me as he breaks away from my lips again.

"But this is your home. This is where you grew up with your mother," I say in surprise, turning to face him so that we are now standing directly across from each other.

"Of course, there are memories of my mother within these walls. But so many bad things have happened here, especially in the last two months. I want to put all of that behind us," Sunghoon explains his motives to me, reaching up to stroke my face with his thumb. "I want to create new, more beautiful memories with you. And I can't do that in a place where we both almost died. Besides, you're my home, jagiya."

Sunghoon's last words set off a storm of emotions in me. No one has ever said such a beautiful thing to me before. And although I'm happy, tears suddenly well up in my eyes and run unstoppably down my cheeks in response.

I immediately wrap my arms around Sunghoon's neck and pull him into a tight hug. The knock on the door brings us back to the here and now, and shortly thereafter Teresa pokes her head into the room.

She seems nervous, which is probably also due to the upcoming court hearing. Still, her lips form into a gentle smile when she sees us. "We have to go," she informs us.

Sunghoon and I break away from our intimate embrace. He strokes my cheek one last time before turning to Teresa. "We're ready," he tells her, reaching for my hand.

We get into the black Bentley that is already waiting for us on the driveway. Sunghoon is not driving himself today, his driver Jungkook is doing that; a friendly middle-aged gentleman.

While my mother, Sunghoon and I sit in the back seat, Teresa gets in on the passenger side. When she is excited, she falls into an almost unbearable flow of speech.

I almost felt sorry for Jungkook, but instead he seems quite taken with her. This doesn't seem to escape Sunghoon's notice either, because when I give him a quick glance, he returns it with a grin on his lips and shrugs his shoulders, just as surprised as I am.

Jungkook stops the car in front of the courthouse and we get out. I would love to get back in the car and go home, but Sunghoon puts his hand on my back and encourages me to keep going.

I can hardly believe that today is the day I have been longing for, for a few months. My father has dug his own grave and he's going to get the punishment he deserves after everything he's done.

"We should go in," announces our lawyer, Mr. Vincenzo Cassano, after he greets us in the entrance hall of the district court.

The trial is about to start in a few minutes and gradually I feel that excitement in my stomach again. Unconsciously, I cling to Sunghoon's arm as he leads me into the courtroom behind Teresa, my mother and the lawyer.

It doesn't take long before the judges and other people involved in the trial finally enter the courtroom and take their seats. Finally, my father, accompanied by his lawyer and two police officers, enters the courtroom, where he is led to his seat and looks down at his handcuffed hands.

The trial begins with the court questioning my father. The prosecutor then reads out my father's indictment, which accuses him of aggravated assault in several cases, as well as attempted manslaughter.

Afterwards, the evidence is presented to the court by our lawyer, including pictures of Sunghoon's bloodied dining room and his and Jay his graze wound, as well as my father's gun.

Even during the testimonies of my mother, Teresa, Sunghoon, Jay, and me, my father acts unusually calm. He probably knows that he has lost.

Last but not least, my father's lawyer speaks out, reading out a two-page letter from my father in which he apologizes for his actions. He even sheds a few crocodile tears.

The trial lasted several hours and after half an hour of deliberation, the verdict was finally reached and announced.

My father is found guilty and sentenced to a 10-year prison term without probation and compensation for pain and suffering.

While Teresa and my mother fall into each other's arms in relief, I watch as my father is led out of the courtroom by the police officers with his eyes downcast.

Sunghoon gently reaches for my hand and squeezes it a little. "It's over," he whispers, pulling me into his arms. "He won't hurt you anymore."

Tears of relief stream down my cheeks and I feel a ton of weight lift from my heart. I almost forgot what it felt like to be so free.

A/N: Well... now we got rid of her dad but what other problems will come in the future? Will they have their happy ever after? Who knows :-)