Fixed Star

Fixed Star

Lee HoWon laid in bed and stared up at his skylight. He could see millions of stars in the night sky and as he pondered about his life, a shooting star grazed the night sky.

 

Just for the heck of it, he shut his eyes, and quickly made a wish. He wished for someone who would only pay attention to him. HoWon chuckled to himself when he realized how lonely his wish had sounded. But he really did feel that way ever since his parents passed away. He was their only son and now he lived alone in their five roomed house.

 

He was just about to go to sleep when he suddenly heard a high pitched scream coming from outside his window. Stumbling out of bed, he gazed out his window and to his surprise, he saw a girl in a tree. The tree was a few feet away from his second floor room window, and he could clearly see how scared the girl was because she was hugging a branch, trying not to fall off.

 

HoWon opened his window and asked her, “What are you doing?”

 

The girl jumped a bit when she heard his voice but then she smiled happily and said, “HoWon-ssi! Help me get out of this tree!”

 

“How do you know my name?” HoWon questioned, because he was sure he had never seen the girl around the neighborhood before. “And who are you? Why are you in a tree?”

 

“I'll explain later,” she replied, shifting her position so that she wouldn't slip off. “Just get out here and help me, please!”

 

Confused, HoWon closed his window and went downstairs immediately, and got out of the house. Then he jogged over to the tree to see the girl grinning down at him. Her smile made his heart skip a beat and he couldn't help but to smile back. Her beauty seemed almost celestial; her perfect cheekbones, her sparkling eyes, and her full lips, with her dimples and short black hair. Her hair was so black that it made her fair face glow. HoWon found himself liking the way it curved around her pretty face.

 

“HoWon-ssi, stop gawking and help me!” she urged, no longer smiling as the fear returned.

 

That was when he realized that she was dressed in the same pyjamas he was wearing. It had the same bunny rabbits and carrots on them, only that hers was baby pink instead of baby blue like his. Couple pyjamas?

 

“A-arasseoyo...” he stuttered, blushing at the thought of a pretty girl wearing couple pyjamas with him. “I'll just go get the ladder and – !”

 

“Kyaaaa~!” the girl cried as she fell on top of HoWon and they both collapsed on the grass.

 

“Argh,” HoWon groaned, as he got on his elbows. Then he was greeted by the girl's face, just inches from his, smiling widely at him. “Why did you jump down on me?”

 

“Ehe~” she stuck out her tongue at him and got up quickly, holding out her hand for him. “I just wanted you to catch me. But you're really bad at it.”

 

“You could've warned me,” he responded, taking her hand and then pulled her around into full swing, and then letting her body dangle from his arms.

 

“Owa!” she squealed in delight, and eyes wide open from surprise.

 

He had no idea why he suddenly felt the urge to do that. So he was a bit surprised with himself too.

 

“You may not catch well, but you sure know your dance moves!” the girl said excitedly as he helped her stand properly again. There was an awkward silence before she put her arms around his neck, looking at him with a glint in her eyes, and told him what was on her mind, “HoWon-ssi, teach me how to dance!”

 

He stared at her incredulously as he was reminded by something. “How do you know my name?”

 

“Oh,” she gasped and backed away from him, putting her hands behind her like she was hiding something. “I forgot to tell you my name! My name is HanByul!”

 

“One star?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Ne, I came from the stars to help you believe again!” she shrugged and giggled.

 

“The stars? Believe again?” he questioned, giving her an odd look as he dusted the dirt from his pyjamas. “Believe in what?”

 

“Believe in miracles!” she giggled like a little girl, twirling happily by herself.

 

“Miracles? But wh – ”

 

“You ask too many questions!” HanByul pouted. “Let's go back inside! It's cold out here!”

 

“Yaa, where are y – ” HoWon was ignored as the girl ran out of his sight. He sighed and just followed her into the house. When he stepped inside, she was on the couch, lying down.

 

He neared her and was about to tell her to go home when he saw that she was asleep. Confused, he stretched his hand to wake her up, but as he gazed at her peaceful sleeping face, he let his hand drop to his side. He thought that it was okay to let her stay for one night since she was already sleeping.

 

Then he went into his bedroom and brought out a blanket. He gently placed it on her body and pulled it higher to cover her shoulders. He smiled to himself, seeing how quiet HanByul was compared to before. Yawning, he took one last look at her and then went into his bedroom to get some sleep himself.

 

~~~~~~

 

HoWon took a deep breath and stretched his arms as far as he could. Then he rubbed his sleepy eyes and opened them, only to be surprised by HanByul's excited face just inches from his.

 

“Wah! What are you doing in here?!” he sat up, retreating from the girl who was sitting in front of him.

 

“Good morning to you too, HoWon-ssi!” she giggled and hopped off the bed. “Go wash up, I made breakfast~”

 

Before he could even ask her anything, she ran out of the room and then he heard her quick footsteps on the stairs. He sighed and then got out of bed heading straight towards the bathroom.

 

Fifteen minutes later, he was sitting at his unrecognizable kitchen table that was filled with his favorite dishes. “Wah, you made all these?”

 

HanByul nodded happily and gestured for him to eat. He was more than happy to pick up his chopsticks and put food into his mouth because it had been a long time since he ate a home-made meal. He was so busy with work and school stuff that he never had the time to cook for himself.

 

He munched deliciously on the food and his lips to eat more when he came back to his senses. Putting down his chopsticks, he pointed a finger at HanByul who was wearing his rarely used apron. “Why are you still in my house?”

 

“HoWon-ssi...” she frowned, hurt evident in her expression. “I thought you liked me...”

 

Taken aback by her aegyo, he immediately regretted asking her that question. He couldn't believe how smitten he was by the girl. “I-I don't even know you...how am I supposed to like you? But really, what are you doing here? In my house?”

 

“You invited me in last night, remember?” she pouted, furrowing her eyebrows.

 

As far as HoWon could remember, he never did invite her in, she was the one who invited herself in and slept on his couch. But he let the matter drop and asked, “But why are you really here? How did you end up in the tree? And how do you know my name?”

 

“I told you that last night too,” she puffed up her cheeks, getting more upset by his questions. “I left the stars so that I could be with you. You wished for me, don't you remember? The shooting star last night, that was me!”

 

“Mwo?” he expressed his confusion, his forehead creasing and then smoothed again as he realized what was happening. “So what you mean is that my wish came true??”

 

“Ne~” she smiled from ear to ear, happy to hear those words from his mouth. “I'll pay attention to you only, HoWon-ssi! No one else! I promise!”

 

“You've got to be kidding me!” he scoffed, staring at her incredulously. “I don't believe in 'wishing upon a shooting star and your wish will come true' crap! I was just doing it for fun...there's no way it came true!”

 

HanByul's smile was replaced with a frown. She stared hard at him as tears started to brim her eyes. “How can you say that? Then how do you explain me falling from the sky and ending up in a tree?”

 

“You fell from the sky?? That was how you ended up in the tree?” he chuckled, shaking his head at her made up story. He was about to call her crazy when he saw a single tear slide down her smooth glowing cheek. He sighed and then recalled something. “Okay, tell me who put you up to this. Was it DongWoo? Because I remember telling him I don't believe in miracles and stuff. So did he put you up to this?”

 

Her expression didn't change, she still stared at him as though she couldn't believe how ignorant he was being. She sniffed and then wiped away her tears. “Looks like I have to work really hard to make you believe, HoWon-ssi.”

 

“Fine then, do whatever you want,” he said, feeling a bit guilty because he had never made a girl cry before. Picking up his chopsticks, he tried to change the topic. “But you're still gonna cook me meals, aren't you?”

 

HanByul's face lit up instantly and she nodded vigorously. “Ne! I'm glad you like my cooking, HoWon-ssi! It's my first time actually! Ehe~”

 

HoWon tried to hide his blush after seeing her dazzling smile. He found it weird that she could change her emotions so quickly. But he was glad she wasn't upset with him anymore. “It's your first time cooking?”

 

“Ne!” she answered cheerfully, and then gestured towards a glass filled with orange fluid. “Did you try the orange juice? I just made it, so why don't you try it?”

 

He couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Picking up the glass, he drank a whole mouthful before realizing that the beverage tasted far from what he expected to be orange juice. He spat put all the juice from his mouth and coughed badly from the disgusting taste. “What did you put in this??”

 

“Was it that bad?” she cried, worried. “Maybe I should've put less of this in it.” She pulled out a small bottle from the pocket of the apron. Then she held it up for him to see that it was a saltshaker.

 

~~~~~~

 

“Ahahaha~ that was fun! Again! Again!” HanByul cheered, taking HoWon's hand in hers. And then started to twirl herself around.

 

“That's not how you do it,” he chuckled, finding himself having fun teaching her how to dance. Since dancing was his passion, he just couldn't say no to her request. And the more time he spent with her, it dawned on him how her presence made more and more sense to him.

 

She came out of nowhere, dressed in couple pyjamas, knew his name, knew what he liked...but the one thing that really made him realize was how she shifted moods so quickly whenever he says his thoughts outloud or something nice to her. It was like her whole existence was to please him, to only pay attention to him. Maybe she was telling him the truth. Maybe his wish really did come true...

 

But he pushed those ridiculous thoughts aside and focused on the dance he was trying to teach her. It had always been his dream to be a dance instructor or a choreographer. And then came along HanByul who really wanted to learn how to dance. It was as if she made his dream come true...HoWon shook his head and tried to not think more of it but it still bugged him. It had been bugging him all day. But he still refused to believe it. He had never believed, so why start now?

 

~~~~~~

 

The weekend went by as quickly as it had came. It was Sunday night and HoWon just got out of the shower. He put on his pyjamas and went down to the living room. A smile carved on his face when he saw HanByul dancing in his living room. He became so accustomed to having her around that he never questioned her about why she was there anymore. He allowed her to sleep on his couch and cook him food, that was enough of a payment for him. So he let her do whatever she wanted, and that was dancing.

 

Her movements were graceful and went nicely with the flow of the classical music in the background. She twirled once and then noticed him watching. He blushed when he got caught gawking at her so he turned away.

 

“HoWon-ssi! Look at me! I can do it now!” she called, and he had to look at what she was going to do. “Look!”

 

As the music reached the , she jumped and twirled in the air. When HoWon saw this, he was mesmerized. She seemed like she was sparkling and twinkling like a star in the night sky. If she was to leap higher, he believed that she could reach the sky. She almost seemed inhuman when she bent her body gracefully at the end. It was the perfect ending that made his heart skip a beat just like how he had seen her the first time. Her beauty that was so celestial...

 

“HoWon-ssi! Do you like it?” she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

 

“I didn't teach you ballet...” was all he could say. His thoughts were jumbled now that he remembered how they met, two days ago...that fateful night when he saw her in that tree...

 

“HoWon-ssi?” she waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention. “What's wrong?”

 

“Ah, nothing, it's just that...” I think I have feelings for you, was what he wanted to say but he knew that was impossible because they barely knew each other. He only just met her two days ago, unless it was love at first sight. But he didn't believe in that either, just like miracles. “You know ballet?”

 

“Of course!” she giggled, but she sounded distant for a while, as if she was not there. “I ballet across the sky sometimes, that's why I look like a shooting star!”

 

“A shooting star...” HoWon echoed, suddenly having a weird feeling in his chest. But he ignored it and glanced at HanByul. He did a double-take to make sure that he was really seeing what he saw. Because she really was sparkling, twinkling, just like a star. He couldn't believe his eyes. “HanByul-ah, why are you...?”

 

“Oh!” she gasped, looking at herself glowing. Then she smiled and took his hands. “It's time! The time has come for me to prove you can believe! Come on~”

 

She led him outside, in front of the house where they could clearly see the night sky. Stars dotted the sky more than any night HoWon had ever noticed. The sight was breath-taking, almost impossible to digest.

 

“HoWon-ssi, they're waiting for your answer!” she said excitedly, hopping up and down.

 

“Answer to what?” he asked, not knowing what the whole situation was about.

 

“Do you believe in miracles, HoWon-ssi?” she asked hopefully.

 

“Ani.”

 

She gasped in surprise, her hands covering . “Waeyo...?”

 

“What makes you think I would believe in them now?” he laughed, as though HanByul had just told him a joke.

 

“But I thought I showed you miracles could happen...” she said in a low voice, on the verge of tears. “I told you countless times too...”

 

“What did you ever show me?” he chuckled, finding it funny that she was still telling him these things. She had been telling him how miracles were possible but she never showed him anything. Except for her sparkling figure which he assumed to be glitter.

 

“I-I...” she opened to protest but she couldn't think of anything. She couldn't believe she did nothing to show him that miracles could happen... “Am I not enough?” she finally whispered after a long silence.

 

“You're just a girl. How is that a miracle?” he said in a low voice, almost uncertain. He could clearly see that HanByul was upset again with him being skeptical. “HanByul-ah, I –” he started to apologize but his words wouldn't leave his lips when he saw the girl glow brightly in front of him.

 

Her breath caught in when she noticed what was happening to her too. But she didn't look like the HanByul HoWon knew, because she wasn't wearing her excited smile like she always would when she discovered something new. Apparently her glowing body wasn't new to her, or rather she knew what it meant. And HoWon had a feeling that it wasn't good.

 

“HanByul-ah...what's happening to you?” he asked, trying to grasp her hand but it went right through. She was slowly disappearing...

 

“I have to return to the sky, HoWon-ssi...” she said softly, her teary eyes sad, expressing how much she didn't want to go.

 

“Mwo?? But why??” he asked, even though he knew it didn't make sense for her to say that. He just wanted to know, “Wae?!”

 

“I failed to make you believe...” she smiled a sad smile that made HoWon's heart ache. He had never seen her so sad and broken before.

 

That was when he saw something that made him believe without any doubt. He believed that miracles could happen at that last moment as HanByul's tears flowed down her cheeks. But they weren't real tears, they were little stars that fell from her sad eyes, and when it touched the grass they were standing on, it exploded into millions of tiny stars, just like meteor showers...

 

“HanByul-ah...” he gasped, finally realizing how his denial had cost her to lose hold onto the human world. “Andwae!”

 

But no matter how he tried to take her by his hands, it went through her, as she disintegrated into the night sky. Bit by bit, slowly as though torturing him for his stubborn behavior.

 

“HanByul-ah, don't go!” he cried then, his real feelings taking over. “Don't go! I do believe! I believe now!”

 

“It's too late, HoWon-ssi...” she sobbed, her regret showing more than she should've. “I failed you...”

 

“Andwae! Don't go! A miracle happened to me! From the first time I saw you! It was love at first sight! That's a miracle, right? So don't go!” he desperately tried to grab hold of her again and again, but all he caught was air in his fists. “Saranghae...”

 

“Mianhaeyo, HoWon-ssi...” she bit her lower lip, trying not to sob too hard. “But know that I will always be watching over you...because...nado saranghaeyo (I love you too)...”

 

~~~~~~

 

HoWon lied in his bed and looked up at his skylight, where he could see millions of stars twinkling brightly in the night sky. But he was only looking for that one fixed star which he knew would always be there, shining brighter than the others. Because he knew that one star was there to watch him. He believed that the star would dance across the sky one night, so he could see her again. He believed in that with all his heart.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annyeonghaseyo~

Mianhaeyo, for the super late update! >,<

This is for you, ZENLOVERS!!! I hope you like it...XD

I meant to update last weekend but I have a life and it's really keeping me busy.

So here it is, I got writer's block in the middle so it . I know.

But now that I updated this, I can update INFINITE PARADISE!

Check it out~^^

Kamsahamnida for reading~^^

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Comments

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SpecialGULL
#1
great job!
eatramyeon
#2
Chapter 1: Your story just gave me all the feels~ sequel!!!
primadork
#3
This is so sad...really...just amazing. Please make a sequel!!! TT,TT
pureinfinite
#4
reading your oneshots! love your storylines <3
janale6 #5
so sad. but wonderful
aesyahaem #6
sequel pls~
howonshik
#7
amazing~~~ :DDDD XDDD sequel~ :D
ThePowerChaserToYou #8
Hoya! Pabo yah! U shoul believe her!
fadingmemories
#9
ASDFGHlKJHGFDS HOYAAAAAA, WAE NEVER BELIEVE HER?! ;~;<br />
Sequeeel please *puppy eyes*