Lonely Star
Lonely Star
Author: flow19
Pairings: Sooyoung/Donghae, Yoona/Donghae
Genre: Romance, General
Rating: G
A/N: This fanfic is dedicated to all SooHae shippers out there… Did ya’ll know that we’ve got a name already? We’re called Shadows :D Wanna know why? Click this link: http://sooyoung-ship.tumblr.com/post/25399682299/sooyoung-ship-a-shadow-is-like-your-best
o-o-o-o-o
The sun was up high and bright in the sky but Im Yoona chose to slip the sunglasses off her beautiful porcelain-like face.
It was stupid really why she chose to take it off, considering how the sunlight made her flinch and close her eyes for a moment. But she really wanted to understand something and maybe if she saw the passing scenery as clear as she could, it would be easier too. All she could see was tree after tree, field after field, animal after animal. It was so far from the buildings, electronic billboards and heavy traffic she saw every day in the metro.
A part of her had this intense urge to just go back to her four-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion and just forget what she tried to do that day. But a bigger part of her was more eager for answers… for the closure she hasn’t had for the past two years. Her forehead furrowed in concern as she considered the possibilities. She didn’t want to attract any attention and create a scene. Sending a silent prayer up to heaven, she could only hope things wouldn’t be as bad as she anticipated them to be.
Her attention snapped towards the front as she felt the car slowly come to a stop. She looked around; her eyes falling on the modest-looking bungalow on the other side of the road. The walls were the shade of brown that looked a lot like grey; the roof sporting a darker, almost black colour. A well-trimmed bush that was home to a few flowers was found beneath the large window and the house had a small but similarly roofed porch beyond the front door.
Yoona didn’t know what to feel. The house certainly did make her feel so homey but she wasn’t sure if she was going to feel good about it or not. Sighing inaudibly, she gave herself one last chance to back out. The curious side of her won yet again and she finally made a move to get her purse, sucking in a sharp breath.
“Heechul oppa, come back for me after half an hour please.”
The man in the passenger seated hesitated for a moment; Kim Heechul being Yoona’s trusted friend for how many years. “Are you sure about this, Yoong?”
“I need to know.”
With no further word from either of them, Yoona stepped out of the car, thankful that no one was out on the streets nearby. Carefully making her way across the street, the wind blew past her; her hand finding its way to hold the skirt of her summer dress closer to her body. Normally, the wind made her feel relaxed and calm. It was the opposite today.
She sucked in another deep breath as she went up the front steps and stopped in front of the door. Her heartbeat accelerated as she raised a hand and pushed the doorbell; a smile absently finding its way to her lips when she realized that the doorbell was in the shape of a teddy bear and she had just pushed its nose.
Nervousness was slowly winning its battle against her as second after second ticked by and no one came to answer the door. Half believing that luck just wasn’t on her side that day, Yoona pressed the doorbell once more, mentally deciding that if no one came to answer the door, then probably no one was home and she should just go home.
“I’m coming!” She suddenly heard footsteps coming from the side of the house up until she was sure the person was behind her. “Yoona?”
Her breath hitched behind her throat. She hadn’t heard that voice for four years.
“Yoona? Im Yoona? Is that you?”
Yoona trembled slightly as she counted silently from one to ten, exhaling a sharp breath as she slowly turned around. A look of a mixture of emotions crossed her face as she finally locked eyes with Lee Donghae. He still looked the same as he did the last time she saw him sans the make-up and hair products that came along with their work. He was still the same guy with the baby face yet striking features. The look on his face mirrored one of complete shock; Yoona taking the time to take note of the green gloves sheltering his hands and the similarly coloured apron he was sporting.
“It is you…” A soft gasp escaped his lips. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you.”
The seriousness in her tone, despite in faltering a little, didn’t go unnoticed by Donghae and he soon smiled. “Follow me.”
With tense silence on her part, Yoona silently followed him to the side of the house where he had passed earlier; the two soon reaching the backyard. An honest look of surprise crossed Yoona’s face this time around as she took in the scene before her, specifically the flowers and the greenery that greeted her. Donghae approached a small patch of bushes, crouching down until he was face to face with the strawberries, carefully picking them soon after.
“I didn’t know…” Yoona shook her head in attempts to snap herself out of the shock. “I didn’t know you like to plant.”
“I didn’t.” He answered with a slight shrug of his shoulder, pausing to pop a small but ripe strawberry into his mouth. “But I do now.”
“Is this why?”
“Why what?”
The brunette shot him a look. “You know what I mean.”
Donghae fell silent, Yoona taking the opportunity to prod him even more. “Why, oppa?”
“You know why.”
“No, I don’t!” She suddenly exclaimed; frustration colouring it all. “You had it all four years ago, Lee Donghae. You were at the top of your game. You had the fame, the money, project after project. Do you remember that we were supposed to film a movie together? You had everything and yet you backed out last minute and disappeared from the industry after. Why?”
He kept his attention on the strawberries he was picking. “The movie went really well without me, right? Congratulations on the best actress award, by the way.”
“That best actor award should’ve been yours.”
“Siwon-ssi won that award because he did well acting alongside you… not because he replaced me.” Donghae smiled slightly.
Yoona moved towards the wall of the house, leaning against it as she heaved a sigh. “Make me understand, oppa. You had it all… yet you walked away.”
He opened his mouth to speak when a piercing, excited scream echoed from the house. Almost instantly, the backdoor of the house was slammed open and Yoona could only blink as a spitfire of a little girl ran past her and into Donghae’s arms. Her jaw fell as she watched Donghae pick up the child and straightened up, gently and affectionately rubbing his nose against the girl’s cheek. The young child almost reminded Yoona of a fat steamed bun that had chocolate coloured pigtails attached to it at first but as she paid closer attention, she saw her resemblance to Donghae.
“Yoong, this is my daughter.” Donghae grinned as if he had read her thoughts. “Lee Hwa Young, this is your appa’s friend, Im Yoona.”
“My appa’s friend. Pretty.” Hwa Young smiled widely, revealing her nearly complete set of teeth.
“She calls me ‘my appa’ and her mom ‘my umma’. Never just appa and umma.” Donghae explained.
Realization sunk in and Yoona fought the urge to gasp. “Did you…”
“She’s just two and a half years old, Yoong.” He shot her a look.
“Oppa?” A new voice chimed in their conversation.
They turned their heads towards the direction of the voice and Yoona found a tall, strikingly beautiful brunette standing on the steps with a curious expression on her face. If Yoona hadn’t known better, she could have sworn that the woman was probably an internationally famous model with the kind of body and the gorgeous face she had. But Yoona had been modelling too and she knew that she had never seen her anywhere.
A certain look crossed the other woman’s eyes and Yoona knew in an instant that she recognized her. But surprisingly, the tall woman, who was probably around her age, smiled so genuinely and bowed in greeting. A hesitant smile made its way to Yoona’s lips as she bowed back, turning to shoot Donghae a questioning look.
“Yoong, meet my wife, Choi Sooyoung.” He grinned, managing to remove his gloves even with Hwa Young in his arms. “Soo, this is Im Yoona. I was supposed to star in a movie with her four years ago. She came by to visit.”
“Hi, Yoona-ssi.” Yoona’s eyes fell on Donghae’s now free hands, finally seeing the wedding ring he was wearing. Sooyoung smiled brilliantly once more, getting her attention. “Would you like something to drink? Coffee, Soda, or something else?”
“Coffee would be nice, thank you.” She replied.
Sooyoung nodded before turning her attention to her husband and daughter; a wink sent their way. “How about we get some of those cupcakes we baked a while ago, Hwa Young? Your Auntie Yoona will like them and I’m sure your appa will too.”
Hwa Young was running as soon as Donghae had set her to the ground, making a side trip to the basket of strawberries on the ground and grabbing as much as a her tiny hands could hold. “Wait, my umma!”
Yoona couldn’t help but chuckle as the mother and daughter pair disappeared inside the house. “She looks like she has quite an appetite.”
“She got that from Sooyoung.” He laughed.
Yoona sighed, finally pushing off the wall. “So are you going to tell me now?”
“I met Sooyoung five years ago when I was filming for another movie.” Donghae began softly, bending down to get the basket of strawberries. “She was filling in for my coordi who was on maternity leave that month and I really don’t know what else to say but… we really did click. We became friends, exchanged numbers, talked until wee hours of the morning. We had to do all of that in secret.”
She nodded in understanding. “Then what?”
“Around the time I got the role for the movie I was supposed to have with you, she told me that she got the internship with one of the famous writers in Europe.” The brown haired man let out a soft chuckle as memories rushed back in. “I remember how I felt like I was going to die. She meant so much to me already at that point and I couldn’t imagine life without her.”
“So you dropped your career so that you can go with her and she can start hers?”
“No.” His face hardened for a moment. “A few days before you and I had to go for our script reading, she lost her entire family in an accident.”
The tall actress gasped. “Oh god…”
“I knew right there and then that I couldn’t leave her on her own… or let her leave on her own. I loved her too much to let her go through life on her own, to let her sacrifice on her own.” He sighed. “So we went to Europe, got married and all that.”
“What happened to her writing career?” She asked.
“You know the author, Summer Choi?” When she nodded, Donghae grinned. “That’s Sooyoung.”
Her jaw dropped in shock for the second time that day. Summer Choi was one of her favourite authors. “But she hasn’t written anything new for almost three years now…”
“Hwa Young is two and a half years old, remember?”
Realization kicked in and Yoona was speechless.
As if on cue, the backdoor swung open again and Sooyoung came out. “Food is ready.”
The three adults made their way inside the house; Sooyoung immediately chatting up and making a friend out of Yoona as they headed for the living room. Almost instantly, Hwa Young ‘attacked’ her father for even more strawberries; three cups of coffee and a tray filled with a tray of red velvet cupcakes on the table. Quite a shikshin herself, Yoona happily bit into her first cupcake, immediately complimenting Sooyoung as soon as she swallowed her food.
“Why didn’t you stay in Europe?”
“We both wanted to go home.” Donghae replied, settling the chubby Hwa Young on his lap and bouncing her on it a little. “But we didn’t want to create a scene and we didn’t want the kind of life in the city so we decided to live in the countryside.”
“Tell me something about yourself, Yoona.” Sooyoung’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Got someone special in your life that Donghae oppa should give a warning speech too?”
The smile on the younger woman’s face disappeared for a split second before laughing a bit uneasily. “No, unnie. I’ve been busy with my career.”
“That’s good.” She smiled and Yoona could almost swear that everything the other woman does was perfect. “I’m sure whoever you’ll end up with is surely one lucky guy.”
As Yoona bade goodbye to the happy, contented family half an hour later, promising Hwa Young that ‘my auntie’ would visit again and would bring a gift, the smile on her face disappeared as soon as she turned and headed for the waiting car. She had gotten her answers; she understood why Donghae did what he did all those years ago. Now that she knew, she couldn’t help but envy them. Before that day, she thought she had everything.
It looks like she didn’t.
And she was happy that Donghae didn’t make the same decisions she did.
o-o-o-o-o
You probably could have had it all,
You could have been that lonely star
- Montreal by the Weeknd .