hidden stars || kth. (discontinued)

chapter five

I couldn't remember when was the last time I genuinely smiled.

I stared out of the window, sighing as I looked at every corner of the town. Busy roads, people rushing to work, couples walking hand in hand while lovingly gazing at each other, kids running around in the park with wide smiles — I thought to myself, what am I living for?

Maybe if I could be a little more optimistic about myself, I could live just like anyone else, but it seemed like no one and nothing could pull me up from my broken state. On top of that, I began to hate everything. How unfair the world is to me, how luck always isn't on my side, how I'm always alone and how I'm always the failure while everyone else is far ahead towards success.

I closed my eyes and let out another sigh, and a tear fell without me realising.

"Eunhee?"

"Yeah?" I hummed softly, turning to look at Taehyung who was blinking owlishly at me.

"Are you alright?" He cleared his throat nervously while scratching the back of his head.

"I am," I lied foolishly. Grief was too evident on my face.

"Is my house that dirty that it's making you cry?" He questioned sheepishly.

I let out a faint smile, realising how watery my eyes were before I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. "No, it's nothing like that. Everything's fine," I said, "But do remember to keep the bathroom clean, gosh."

He chuckled, somehow nervously, "Have you eaten?"

I looked over to the plate of sandwiches on the dining table behind him. "You actually made food," I walked slowly towards the table after him.

"Nothing much," he sat down before me, holding up his sandwich then taking a bite.

I smiled, pleased at how considerate he was. "Thanks," I simply said, then I ate the sandwich served on my plate, which surprisingly tasted good.

However, we somehow fell into dead silence. The whole time I made sure I didn't make any sound while chewing and I dare not look anywhere else but down on my plate.

The silence between us was so loud I could almost hear my heartbeat.

Until minutes later, I finally mustered enough courage to look up at him, realising that he had been staring at me the whole time. He shifted his gaze away from me almost instantly when our eyes met.

"Why were you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"N-Nothing," he said, flustered. "I just wonder what's bothering you so much."

I slightly smiled, touched at how concerned he was. "I'm alright, I promise," I said, "I need to leave to somewhere in an hour, though."

"Where to?"
"To visit my sister."
"You have a sister?" His eyes widened, "Where does she live?"

"The hospital," I replied, and he was about to respond in return but he paused for awhile, confused, puzzled and perplexed all at the same time.

"Ah, I'm sorry," he looked into my eyes with so much sympathy. His gaze was so warm, it touched me in such a way that could almost heal my wounded heart. "If you don't mind sharing what happened, I'd listen."

"Well," I sighed, my mind going back to the unfortunate occurrence from two years ago.

My younger sister, Jung Eunha, was one who I truly treasure because she was the only biological family member I had. On one night she'd promise to return home after a late-night study session with her friends in school.