Time 2:30 Am
The hospital corridors echoed with the hurried steps of doctors and the faint beeps from machines as Mr. Park rushed in, his breaths heavy and uneven, eyes wide with urgency.
He spotted Mrs. Choi and Taehyung and made a direct line toward them, barely catching his breath as he reached them.
"Seung-Hui, where's my sparkles?" he gasped, clutching his chest dramatically, looking from Mrs. Choi to Taehyung. "Where is she?"
Mrs. Choi, in her usual calm way, placed a hand on his shoulder. "First, Hae-joon-ah, you need to take a breath," she said softly, her voice a gentle but firm reminder. "Calm down."
"Calm down?" Mr. Park's voice shook as he straightened up, his face red with both exertion and anger. "How can I calm down, Seung-Hui? My sparkles is lying in the emergency room, and you're telling me to—" He turned, his gaze fierce, and marched toward Taehyung, his eyes burning with frustration and hurt.
With a barely contained anger, he stood nose-to-nose with Taehyung, his voice low and full of accusation.
"If you can't protect what's important to you, do you really think you're worthy of it?" The words dropped heavy between them, cutting through the air like a blade.
Taehyung looked down, words catching in his throat, guilt forming a heavy knot in his chest.
But before he could respond, Mrs. Choi's hand came down firmly on Mr. Park's head with a loud smack.
"Ow!" Mr. Park yelped, instinctively clutching his head. He spun around to face Mrs. Choi, his eyes wide with incredulity. "Yah, Seung-Hui! Why the heck are you hitting me?"
Mrs. Choi's arms crossed, her eyes narrowed in a no-nonsense expression. "Because you're being a fool, that's why," she snapped.
"I told you to calm down! We're in a hospital, Hae-joon, not your living room! Have you lost your mind?"
Her words cut through his bravado, and Mr. Park's shoulders slumped, suddenly looking as chastened as a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
He mumbled something under his breath, glancing down as he rubbed the spot on his head where she'd hit him.
Taehyung watched the exchange, feeling almost as though he were outside himself, a witness to an absurd family drama unfolding in front of him.
For a moment, despite the heaviness of the situation, he found himself suppressing a smile. This was a scene straight out of a movie, with Mrs. Choi scolding Mr. Park like a child, and Mr. Park sulking under her glare.
Mrs. Choi wasn't done. "And another thing," she continued, wagging her finger in Mr. Park's direction. "Why on earth are you blaming Taehyung? As if he hasn't already been through enough tonight!"
Mr. Park kept his head low, shifting his weight uncomfortably, still holding the back of his head. For a second, he glanced up, trying to muster a defense, but her glare silenced him immediately.
YOU ARE READING
Darkness Between Us
Fanfiction"I thought I was content-proud of my achievements. But deep down, there was a void. An emptiness that no amount of success could fill. The loneliness was my only constant companion. My conversations were superficial, my connections fleeting. I was s...
