My Shining Light

Chapter 39

Cha Eunwoo remembered the one time he confessed his feelings for Lucy.

It was the real reason he took her back to the same old restaurant a few nights ago. He wanted to know if Lucy remembered that night.

She did, but she didn't remember everything.

On the night the old owner let them drink soju together, they were celebrating getting his first acting role and he was on a high. After dinner, they sat on a park bench nearby to sober up.

It was so peaceful. He was feeling content to have her by his side, staring up at the sky as they talked about random things and held hands in the dark.

He still remembered her head falling onto his shoulder as she grew tired, her eyes drooping to a close.

He squeezed her hand, "Lucy, are you awake?"

She didn't respond, her hand limp and her head heavy.

"Lucy, I love you," he said softly.

Suddenly she smiled, causing his heart to race.

Did she hear him?!

His whole body tense, he gripped the arm rest and peered down at her face.

"Lucy?" he repeated, but she stayed still, her face flushed from the alcohol, and her breath the only sound he heard in the quiet of the night.

He let out a huge sigh of relief.

She'd drifted off. That was lucky! He'd been so relaxed that the words just slipped out of his mouth! He wasn't prepared to face her reaction... or rather the possibility of her rejection.

A bunch of his friends had attempted to ask her out, and he was always making fun of them when they failed.

"I told you she'd say no," he said smugly to Kangjoon when they hung out the weekend before.

"I just had to know, I just had to try," Kangjoon replied.

"But you didn't have a chance," he told him.

"You don't know that," said Kangjoon, unfazed by Eunwoo's doubts.

"Yes I do! Because it's the second time she's said no. Or is it the third?" he scoffed.

Kangjoon looked at Eunwoo and puffed out his chest, "It's not the third time, it's just the second time... that time on the bus doesn't count."

"Are you crazy?" laughed Eunwoo, shaking his head.

"She might've changed her mind!" insisted Kangjoon. "Girls can change their minds... it's always worth a shot! And can't you put in a good word for me? Tell her I'll be good to her, tell her I'll make her happy."

"Gross! No way! You're an idiot for trying!"

"Just because you're too scared to ask her yourself," said Kangjoon, facing him head on.

Eunwoo froze. He managed to laugh off the comment in the moment but the truth cut to his heart.

He had wanted to ask Lucy to be his date at his high school graduation ball, he'd practiced saying it in his head on the bus ride to music practice for days.

But when the moment came for him to ask her, he was so afraid that she would say no that he choked. His palms went sweaty and his mouth went dry, he tried to speak but all that came out was a croak which then turned into a coughing fit. Lucy thought he had a cold and had insisted they go to the pharmacy so she could buy him throat lozenges and cough medicine. It was a complete failure.

The next day, Haewon approached him at school and told him very openly that she was available to be his date. Lots of guys were in love with Haewon, she was pretty and had the kind of big open smile that made a guy feel at ease. But what was the real reason Eunwoo found himself nodding along and agreeing to go out with Haewon? Well, because Haewon was easy.

He didn't have to toss and turn at night wondering about what she was feeling, thinking, or doing. She simply told him.

Dongmin, you look incredible... Dongmin, I'll be your date... Dongmin, I really like you... Dongmin, my dress zips open at the back...

Whatever he did was right in Haewon's eyes. She always agreed with his opinions and came whenever he asked, happy to go along with anything. It was fun for a while, but there was absolutely no mystery about her. While he was with her, he sometimes found himself wondering what Lucy was doing at that moment, what she thought about the song on the radio, what she was wearing... and he missed her.

After his graduation ball, him and Lucy began to drift apart. There was less communication and a few misunderstandings between them. But with everything happening in his life, he didn't reach out to her like he should have. He should have repaired things between them, but he didn't.

All of a sudden, it seemed that they hardly ever spoke anymore. Because he stopped returning her calls, any news about her came second hand. Like finding out that she was dating the famous Kim Taeho. Handsome and successful, he seemed like the kind of man who was worthy of Lucy. He figured that she was much better off with a man like him. She deserved to be with the a man like him.

Eunwoo had no idea that her marriage was called off and that she was left heartbroken. And he wouldn't have known anything if she hadn't stumbled back into his life.

Now that he laid eyes on her again, he remembered everything... all the reasons why she was his first love.

He cradled his drink, feeling the warm, cozy effects of the alcohol as he watched her listen to another one of Bin's stories and laugh along to MJ's jokes.

She really fit in with his brothers but he was tired of sharing her with them tonight.

"Lucy, let's go and dance," he said, draining his glass and jumping up to a stand.

The moment she nodded, he took hold of her arm and helped her off her stool.

"Wait, it'll be hot on the dance floor," she said, stopping to take off her red sweater.

Eunwoo helped her pull it over her head, letting his eyes rest on her figure. He began to feel hot under the collar as he took in the curves of her body revealed by her little white crop top. Wow, she was making him go crazy for her tonight.

"You look great tonight," he uttered, overwhelmed by her beauty.

She lifted her eyes to his and smiled, her cheeks pink.

Her smile gave him courage. So, with inhibitions numbed by the alcohol, he put his arm around her small waist and led her away from the Astro boys.

They passed through the doors to the club and entered the space where the music was pumping. It was so crowded that they were forced to push their way onto the chaotic dance floor. People pressed against them on all sides and they were bumped around from one area to another, but they laughed, clinging onto each other as they kept on dancing.

For Eunwoo, it was like the people around him didn't exist. All he saw and felt was Lucy, her white top glowing under the fluorescent lights as she danced with her arms in the air and her head tilted back, the movement of her body transfixing his mind.

With the loud music thumping in his ears, there was no way for Eunwoo to agonise over what was going on between him and Lucy. Caught up in the moment, he pulled her close to him and kissed her in the middle of the dance floor.