+   +   +  10. He’s (slightly) afraid of hospitals.  + 

Kyuhyun opened the door to see a bloody yeti, a zombie, and boy with spiders coming out of his eyes on his front porch. He greeted them fondly.

“Trick or Treat!” his friends yelled.

Mr. Cho handed each boy a candy while Kyuhyun gathered his pillowcase and bopped out the door for his first Halloween. At sixteen, some people might say they were too old for Halloween. Donghae had prepared silly string for those individuals.

As they walked to their first house, Eunhyuk lifted the arachnids off his eyes and squinted at Kyuhyun. “Dude, we said to get a scary costume. Why are you a doctor?”

Kyuhyun checked himself out. “I’m not a doctor.”

“He’s a patient dying from Ebola!” Donghae piped from inside his hairy mask. “That’s why he has the mask and IV drip.”

Ryeowook tilted his head and a few skin flakes fell off. “I think you need more blood to pull off Ebola.”

“I’m not Ebola either!” Kyuhyun said. “I’m the personification of a hospital.”

The three of them stared at him.

“Ryeowook said he found hospitals scary…so I became the spirit of the hospital.”

“Dude…” Eunhyuk said, “no.”

Ryeowook, though, assured him he was very scary and helped Kyuhyun explain his costume every time someone asked about it that night. Which was basically at every house. 

<> <> <> 11. He has a voice like crystals. <> <> <>

Kyuhyun fell in love with Ryeowook’s voice first. Before he could even comprehend his feelings the latter, he knew Ryeowook’s was the voice he wanted to hear for the rest of his life.

It could cut through damp, overcast mornings with a single, cheerful greeting.

It could send shivers down Kyuhyun’s spine whenever it whispered too close to his ear, even if it carried only a history question.

It could decorate an afternoon conversation with thoughtful questions and personal observations.

It could soothe Kyuhyun’s headache after a long day of lectures.

It could mimic a pig so well it could trick Donghae into thinking the fetal pig they were dissecting had come back to life. Which it did. It was even funnier than they thought.

It could make Kyuhyun flinch from its icy needles of anger, sharpened from his own betrayal, and make him swear never to do it again.

It could burst your eardrums every time he saw a spider or a bug or a large lint ball.

It could silence a stadium of rowdy football fans during the halftime show with the national anthem.

It could amplify a song until it seeped into every crevice of the stage, pushed through the physical barriers of the body, and soaked into your very soul.

It could send your heart into overdrive every time he said your name.

“Kyuhyun?”

“…Sorry, what were you saying?”

It could bring you back to reality, even if that reality was one you couldn’t yet understand.

12. His nickname for Kyuhyun is KyuKyu. (Kyuhyun calls him Ryeong.)

Kyuhyun’s favorite part about himself was his rational mind, but he would crush his rational mind into pulp if it suggested he was jealous one more time.

Ryeowook fluttered around the cafeteria doling out Valentine’s Day chocolates and hugs to everyone he knew and even a few he didn’t which let’s be real, is pretty dangerous.

“Hyukkie! Cute cupid’s outfit,” Ryeowook said as he handed Eunhyuk a banana-shaped box of “Monkey Chocolates.”

“Tell me about,” Eunhyuk said, adjusting his toga. “It’s been getting me all the ladies.”

Donghae or (“HaeFish” as Ryeowook called him) received a box a chocolate covered sardines. Kyuhyun knew the guy liked everything fish related but did he have to hug Ryeowook so tight? And long? And lift him up into the air and spin him around? Seriously, Ryeowook looked like he was suffocating.

The worst though was Sungmin. The senior and Kyuhyun already didn’t get along, a fact especially exasperated by how much Sungmin liked to rub his friendship with Ryeowook in the other's face--as evidenced by the smug look he shot Kyuhyun when, Ryeowook threw his arms around him. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Minnie! I got you a chocolate bunny!”

“Aw, Wookie, you must have gone through so much trouble to find this before Easter,” Sungmin drawled.

 “Nothing less for my oldest friend!” Ryeowook chirped, finally letting the rabbit go.

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes and tried to relax his grip on the fork. He stuffed his face with food as Ryeowook bounced around the rest of the tables. From “Vic” to “Smolberry” to that who tried to kiss him that one time six months ago, it seemed his friend knew everyone in the room.

Irrationally disgruntled, Kyuhyun was just about to leave when a hand pulled him around.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Kyukyu.” Ryeowook held out box of Star Wars chocolates in a Death Star shaped box.

A pressure lifted off Kyuhyun’s chest; just in time too since Ryeowook’s crushing hug was strong enough alone.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ryeong.” Kyuhyun said, petting his best friend’s hair.  

See? What did he even have to be jealous about?

13. Yesung said he was the unluckiest but Donghae said that was impossible because he was so cute.

Kyuhyun caught the coin midair and slapped it into his other palm.

Tails.

Just as he lifted his head to announce the results to the group, his eyes met the eager, earthen-brown eyes of Kim Ryeowook who moments ago had called heads.

Kyuhyun could actually feel himself morph into jelly.

“It’s heads!” he said.

“Yes!” Ryeowook cheered.

“Dammit!” Donghae cried.

Eunhyuk tried to see the coin but Kyuhyun had already dropped it to hug Ryeowook.

14. He loves attending musicals or plays whenever he can. 

Don’t misunderstand; Kyuhyun liked musicals. The singing, the drama: it was all very entertaining. However, sometimes, especially with their small town plays where the quality wasn’t that high in the first place, it all felt a little, well, cheesy. Especially since so many were based on love. Ugh.

And sometimes, when the acting was just too dramatic or the cardboard set looked just too cheap, Kyuhyun could barely watch without cringing. 

Yet, he always went.

Because whenever he felt his cynicism set in, all he had to do was turn to the seat beside him. There, on the edge of his seat, Ryeowook would sit, engrossed in the storyline. His eyes, shiny with wonder, never wandered from the stage. His face, just a flawless profile from where Kyuhyun sat, conveyed an emotional intensity which suggested he was a part of the play. In fact, he wasn’t even watching a play; he was watching a real Cyrano de Bergerac duel words with Viscount Valvert; he sat in the backseat with the actual Jay Gatsby as he sped down New York road, Nick Carroway sitting shotgun. He wasn't watching cardboard sets and cheesy acting. No, for Ryeowook, the theater was better than entertainment; it was magic.

Kyuhyun couldn’t resist seeing that.

So, every other Friday night, their group of friends would flip a coin to decide which play they would attend, purchase tickets if needed with a drink or two, and spend two hours in cramped seats watching the performance.

Eunhyuk and Donghae weren’t huge fans of musicals either—honestly, they’d rather be playing videogames or dancing—but they came along too out of respect for tradition. Plus, Sungmin would’ve gutted them otherwise.

Performance after performance came and went. Eventually, Kyuhyun found himself more engrossed in Ryeowook’s laughter than in the jokes on stage.

It wasn’t until months later when he did something about it.

Shakespeare’s Summer Starter, the annual marathon of Shakespeare plays at the Seattle Candle Theater: Kyuhyun scored tickets for A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream the day they came on sale. After he finished pounding the air with joy, he sent out a group text to Donghae, Eunhyuk, Sungmin, and Ryeowook inviting them to see the highly acclaimed play with him Friday night. Immediately after, he texted Donghae, Eunhyuk, and Sungmin telling them to ignore that other text. 

To Ryeowook’s surprise, he was the only one who met up with Kyuhyun Friday night.

In the lavish performance hall, Ryeowook laughed, cried, and clapped with even more enjoyment than usual. Kyuhyun too but for different reasons. The magic in Ryeowook’s eyes didn’t fade either after the play ended; he glowed with euphoria. Kyuhyun couldn’t keep his eyes off him. Afterwards, they bought ice cream and ate it under the parking lot streetlamp, although Ryeowook talked so much his ice cream melted into a milkshake.

“That was amazing!” Ryeowook gushed for the tenth time as they walked to their cars. “Thank you so much for inviting me.”

Kyuhyun chuckled. “You’re welcome, again. We should...We should do this again.”

“Of course!” Ryeowook said. “Oh, Sungmin’s going to be so bitter he missed out this time.”

Suddenly, Kyuhyun didn’t know what to say. The thespian beside him chattered on about all the other performances their friend group could attend this summer until they reached his car.

“This was great, Kyukyu. We’ll text about the next play.” Ryeowook flashed him another grin before slipping into his car.

Kyuhyun launched himself forward to stop the car door from closing. It still crushed him a bit. “Um, actually, Ryeong, I have something to tell you about that.”

Ryeowook tilted his head at him. “What?”

“Well, um…” Kyuhyun tried to think about words instead of Ryeowook’s close proximity. “You see, I don’t actually like these plays very much. Don’t misunderstand; I like them, but just for fun. Not so seriously. And Shakespeare is, well, really outside of my English abilities. But I bought these tickets anyways. Two tickets. 

“I bought these two tickets and I told the other guys not to come, and the only reason I did all this is because I know you like these plays a lot and I like you a lot and…and…” Kyuhyun stalled. “I think that was my confession.”

Ryeowook said nothing for moment. A really long moment. He simply stared. Then, just as Kyuhyun was about to slam the door shut and run away, Ryeowook kissed him. It was a brief kiss, light but warm. When he pulled away, Kyuhyun had to blink himself back into reality.

“What…was that?” he asked.

“I think that was my confession.” Ryeowook blushed.

Kyuhyun swore to never call a romantic play cheesy again.

A/N: We already know they're dating but these are the facts leading up to that.

Hospital Fact: Hanzo242

Crystal Voice Fact: leunah23

Musical Fact: The way Kyuhyun asked Ryeowook out is actually how John Green asked out his wife for the first time.

We'll be moving into the college years soon so expect to see your facts if you haven't seen them already! Thank you guys for reading!