Kyuhyun hated going camping. He hated the smell of dirt, of mud on his shoes, of strange things in the bushes. He hated that there was nowhere to charge his laptop, and he hated going to shower in the river because he felt like everyone was staring, even though nobody else was there. When his hyungs would play around all day, he would sit on a log and read a book. But that wouldn’t last for long either, because he would get bombarded with flies and other pesky insects. And he hated insects. 

The only thing he enjoyed about camping was stargazing. It wasn’t the most exciting thing, but since you couldn’t see many stars in Seoul, it was a nice change of scenery for him. So here he was, lying on a grassy hill next to Ryeowook, who had so kindly asked to join him for the night.

Above them, the stars, luminous and ethereal, dotted the vast sky like a million pieces of broken glass, twinkling with an air of magic. The moon was full, every crater and sea visible on its surface. Ribbon-like clouds twirled across the sky, and a gentle wind blew around them, just enough to rustle the leaves in the trees and mess up their hair. Everything seemed perfect. And in that moment, Kyuhyun felt like it was just him and Ryeowook, all alone in the universe, and nothing else mattered. 

Speaking of which, Kyuhyun turned his head to sneak a glance at him. The shorter man was resting his head on his hands, his eyes closed. The moonlight shone on his face, illuminating his soft features. He looked like an angel. Kyuhyun sighed inwardly. It was amazing, the effect this innocent man had on him. Changmin was right. He was completely whipped.

“I’ve never actually seen a shooting star, you know,” he admitted suddenly. Ryeowook gasped and opened his eyes. 

“Really?” he said in disbelief. Kyuhyun nodded, although Ryeowook probably didn’t even see it as they were both looking up at the stars. 

“When I was younger, I never went stargazing. I spent my whole life in Seoul, remember? There was no way I could’ve seen a star even if I tried.”

“I’m from Incheon, dummy. You can’t see stars there either. I just went on trips and stuff to the countryside and saw them there.” He paused and glanced at Kyuhyun, who seemed to be lost in thought. “Did you not go on trips or anything like that? Not even school trips?”

Kyuhyun kept his eyes focused on the stars. “No. I don’t really remember much of my school trips and my parents…were always busy.”

“Well, now you can see one, right?”

Kyuhyun shot him an incredulous look. “Wookie, I hate to burst your bubble, but shooting stars don’t always come when you call them.”

Ryeowook shrugged. “I asked for one once, when I went to the countryside by myself. It happened, y’know.”

“Coincidence,” Kyuhyun said simply.

“Maybe,” he answered, “But I consider myself to be quite lucky.”

“Oh?” Kyuhyun suddenly had the impression that he was prying. 

“I wished on a falling star once, a long time ago. It came true, and I was so grateful that it did. Because if it didn’t….” he trailed off, searching the stars as to what to say next. “Well, I don’t know what I would’ve done if it didn’t.”

Kyuhyun stared, unblinking at the pretty view that stretched into the heavens above him. 

“What did you wish for?”

Ryeowook was silent for a minute, and his eyes were closed again. Kyuhyun thought that maybe he had fallen asleep, but he answered.

“I wished that you would be okay after the car crash.” 

Kyuhyun felt his heart stop momentarily. Ryeowook, on the other hand, decided that he needed to just let his emotions get the better of him this time.

“You know, when you were in that coma for four days and the doctors said you only had a 20% chance of surviving, I-I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I was so worried that you weren’t going to make it, and I hated myself for not being able to do anything. Minnie-hyung and Yesung-hyung were constantly attempting to comfort me, but I locked them out of the room most of the time. Not even Heechul-hyung or Teukie-hyung could do anything.”

Kyuhyun kept silent. He had never heard such raw emotion in his words before. 

“We had that argument, remember?” Ryeowook’s voice got quiet. “I was so scared that I would never be able to say sorry to you.”

He took a deep breath, and Kyuhyun swore he heard his voice shaking.

"So I drove myself out to the countryside and sat alone on some grassy hill, kinda like this one. I waited and waited and even prayed, and when I finally saw a shooting star, and I wished really, really, really hard. And then I cried myself to asleep. Sungmin-hyung was so upset when I came back and I told him I spent a cold night out all by myself.” 

Kyuhyun turned his head slightly, and was surprised to see Ryeowook’s eyes welling up with tears.

“Ryeonggu? Crap, don’t cry-"

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you left me, Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun tried to will his heart to stop beating so quickly. 

He moved his arm towards Ryeowook, fumbling a few times before he grasped the older man’s hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m never going to leave you, Ryeowook. I’m here now, aren’t I? And I always will be.” 

“….Promise?”  He held his pinky up. Kyuhyun smiled and linked his own finger around Ryeowook's.

“Promise.”

They lowered their arms and watched the stars. They talked for a bit, about the members, and TV shows, and life in general, until they ran out of things to talk about and lay in a comfortable silence. That is, until Ryeowook broke it.

“What would you wish for?” he asked.

“Huh?” he answered distractedly.

“If you did see a shooting star, what would you wish for?”

Kyuhyun was quiet, caught off-guard by the sudden question. What would he wish for? He’d never thought about it before.

“Wait a second,” he thought aloud, “I thought you aren’t allowed to tell your wish to someone else. Otherwise it won’t come true, right?”

Ryeowook laughed, as if the answer was so obvious. “You’re such a dummy, Kyukyu. That only happens if you make the wish already and then tell someone. Telling someone beforehand won’t do anything,” he said, matter-of-factly.

Kyuhyun tapped his chin. Is that how it worked? He thought long and hard before he finally replied,

“Courage."

He turned to see Ryeowook’s brows furrow together. “Courage? But you have a lot of that, don’t you? I see you perform solo all the time, in front of hundreds of fans.”

Kyuhyun linked his hands together and brought them under his head so that he could rest more comfortably. “Nah. That’s me having confidence. Confidence is being brave when you are sure of the outcome. I can sing in front of a crowd because I trust my singing abilities.”

Ryeowook nodded as he followed his words. “And courage?”

Kyuhyun hummed for a few seconds, deciding how to answer him. “Courage is being brave, despite not knowing what will happen.”

“Oh. That makes a lot of sense.”

There was a twinkle in the ocean of stars, and Kyuhyun couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched a streak of brilliant light appear in the sky. It was there for only a second or two, but it was there nonetheless. Ryeowook pointed up. 

“Oh my gosh, Kyu!” he exclaimed. “It was there! A shooting star!”

Kyuhyun laughed lightly. “Yeah, I know. I saw it too, Ryeonggu.”

Ryeowook shifted over onto his side so that he could face Kyuhyun.  “Did you wish for what you said you would wish for?”

Kyuhyun looked back at him. “Yeah.”

“I hope your wish comes true,” he murmured. Ryeowook lay back, closing his eyes for a moment to make a wish. When he opened his eyes, he got up and dusted the grass from his clothes. “Come on, let’s get back to the hyungs.” He offered a hand to Kyuhyun, who grabbed it and pulled himself up. The walked for a few steps before Kyuhyun spoke. 

“Did you wish to grow taller?” he teased, a playful smirk dancing on his lips. The shorter man shot him a deadly glare.

“Yah!” Ryeowook shouted, smacking Kyuhyun on his forearm. Only he never got to, because Kyuhyun caught his wrist mid-air. Kyuhyun stared at the man’s arm in his hand, surprised at his own action.

“What are you doing?” Ryeowook asked, confused. It was difficult to see in the moonlight, but Kyuhyun could faintly see a dusting of pink on his cheeks. He could feel his own heart beating erratically in his chest for some strange reason. He was suddenly overcome with the urge to kiss him.

“I’m making my wish come true.” He pulled Ryeowook towards him, leaning down to close the space between them. Their lips collided in a messy kiss, and Ryeowook stepped on his foot when his moved forward, but it was a kiss nonetheless. 

Ryeowook pulled back first, shocked. He blinked thrice at Kyuhyun, replaying their conversation in his head. Kyuhyun watched him, afraid that he just ruined their friendship and that Ryeowook was going to storm away at any moment. 

“Ryeon-“ But it was Kyuhyun’s turn to be caught off guard, as the eternal maknae stepped forward again, cupping his chin and bringing their lips together. Kyuhyun, not expecting this reaction, stumbled back but wrapped an arm around Ryeowook’s waist. The momentum sent them falling backwards, and Kyuhyun felt himself hit the grass. The pain only lasted for a second, because all he could concentrate on was Ryeowook, and whatever his lips were doing to his own.

They stopped after a few minutes, with Ryeowook on top of him, hands in Kyuhyun's hair. Ryeowook’s bangs hung slightly, tickling his face, and he giggled, brushing them off the evil maknae, whose hands had somehow found their to the smaller man’s hips.

“I-I didn’t know that you were such a good kisser,” Kyuhyun said breathlessly. His lips felt swollen.

Ryeowook smirked. “I have plenty of tricks up my sleeves, Cho Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun had no idea how one person could be so cute and y at the same time.

“Kim Ryeowook?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

“Then shut up and kiss me."

End.

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