Ice Skates || Park Sunghoon

~ 9 ~

Sunghoon tentatively approached Bang PD.

His heart was racing, and for some dumb reason, he felt scared to talk to him, though he knew he shouldn't be.

"Sunghoon," Bang PD said, glancing up as he approached. "What's the matter?" He asked, perhaps reading the look on his face.

Be direct, Sunghoon said to himself. Remember than you haven't done anything wrong.

At least not yet.

"Iwantedtoaskaboutthedatingpolicy," Sunghoon blurted out.

Bang PD narrowed his eyes.

Great. Way to keep cool.

"You're a trainee," he said slowly and sternly, though his eyes were also sympathetic. "Dating is banned now, and you know that. It'll be banned for a couple years after you debut too, whenever that happens. And at that time, you should be too focused on your career anyway to be dating."

Sunghoon desperately tried to keep his face from falling. "Okay," he said. "Thank you."

He exited the office, finding Heesung waiting outside.

Without a word, Heesung walked forward, wrapping him in a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be," Sunghoon said quietly. "I knew the rules. This is my fault."

Heesung didn't argue with him on that.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'll have to break up with her."

Heesung leaned back, a small, teasing smile playing on his face. "I thought you two weren't dating."

Sunghoon sniffed, feeling a tear trace his cheek. "We weren't." He looked at Heesung, devastation swimming in the tears in his eyes. "So why do I care so much?" He whispered, his voice breaking. "We barely knew each other," he said, clenching his first angrily. "I shouldn't care."

Heesung stroked Sunghoon's hair in comfort. "But you do care," he said gently, his voice matter of fact and stern. "Because you liked her."

"I can't," he whispered. "I can't like her. What will I tell her?"

"How about the truth?" Heesung suggested, offering another smile. "I think that'll be best in this situation."

Sunghoon nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

******

Seollim sat on her bed, running the brush through her hair again. She pictured Sunghoon's face, the sadness on his, and then the worry on Heesung's.

Work. Practice. A job he couldn't tell her about. One that banned dating.

The lines were starting to connect, and into a seemingly impossible equation.

Of course. Of course the one time she falls in love it's with someone in a totally different stratosphere.

"Seollim!" Her mom called. "Someone's at the door. Can you get it?"

"Okay!" She called, getting up and going to the door.

And there he was.

Sunghoon.

Her heart skipped a beat just seeing him.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" He whispered.

She nodded, stepping into the hallway and closing in the door behind them.

"Seollim," he said softly. "I like you. I like you a lot."

"I like you a lot too," she said gently, looking at him. "But.....?"

"Huh?"

"I like you a lot, but... what's the but?"

He smiled sadly. "You're a smart cookie."

"Thank you."

"I want to be an idol," he admitted, confirming her suspicions. "I can't date you. We should... we should stop hanging out. I'm sorry."

Seollim forced the smile to remain on her face. "Don't be sorry," she told him sternly. "Your career is important."

"You won't forget me, right?"

She scoffed. "I can't seem to stop thinking about you, no matter how hard I try."

Sunghoon laughed, ruffling her hair. "That's a relief. You'll be cheering me on, right?"

"I'll start a fan page for you as soon as I get inside," she teased.

Sunghoon smiled. "That's exactly the type of answer I'd been hoping for."

"I'm going to go," she whispered, her heart shattering.

She turned around, but he grabbed her hand, spinning her back to him and wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her hair.

"I miss you already," he whispered into her hair. "I miss you," he said, again and again.

******

Notes: 

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