“Is that what you really want?”

Kyuhyun’s eyes flew open and he swung around. There was a young man gazing down at him. A lollipop dangled from the corner of his mouth, little smirk quirking his lips. The grown man stumbled to his feet, falling backwards as the youth snickered. “You’re…”

“You?” he offered simply.

“No…I mean, yes,” Kyuhyun paused, staring at the younger version of himself. “Am I dead?”

“Not exactly,” he shrugged, cocking one hip, “okay, not at all…sort of.” The boy frowned, confused. “Look, sometimes doppelgangers are supposedly omens of death. In this case, it doesn’t mean you’re going to die right away.”

“Just spit it out,” he snapped.

The younger one grimaced. “Am I that bitter when I get older?” Shaking his head, he explained, “Some people are meant to be with certain other people. For us, that person is Ryeowook and you’re already apart from him,” the young man’s eyes flashed angrily, but the emotion was suppressed. “That’s why you’re going to fade away. You’re going to die because you’re already dead on the inside. Get it?”

Kyuhyun made a face. “…no.”

He rolled his eyes. “Lord,” he muttered. “Alright,” he began again, exasperated, “I’m gonna give you a chance because you’re me and you’re incredibly stupid.” The young man leaned forward, poking his older-self in the chest. “Some years ago, you met Ryeowook. A few things were wrong at that time and you, old man, are gonna fix it.” He grinned at Kyuhyun’s annoyance.

“I must’ve gone crazy,” he breathed.

“You haven’t,” the younger one corrected impatiently, “and stop wasting time. There’s only a certain time per day that you can do this stuff.”

“What stuff?”

Young-Kyuhyun smiled widely, voice low. “Of course, it’s time travel.”

Silence.

“For a few hours between just before midnight and into the early hours of the morning, anything can happen,” he explained carefully, suppressed excitement evident, “you can bend the laws of reality. You can resurrect, you can warp, you can ruin. In this case, you have a chance to repair – repair it all.”

“You’re not making enough sense,” he sighed, rubbing his head, “what am I supposed to change? I’ll do it, but I…,” Kyuhyun took a deep breath, “I can’t make any more mistakes. I ing can’t lose him.”

His younger self flopped down on the bed, stretching his arms out carelessly. “Cool it, old man. I wouldn’t lead you the wrong way when it affects me. The night that we saw Ryeowook for the first time was also the night that he met Jongwoon. If you don’t want this horrible future, then you better not let them meet.”

“How do I do that?”

“I don’t know,” he laughed, “figure it out. Just don’t it up.” He sat up, flashed a smirk at his older self, and then vanished with the echoing words: close your eyes and you’ll wake up…

***

There were a few things Ryeowook never wanted to happen to him in college or ever for that matter. One, he never wanted a bee sting. Two, he never wanted to be murdered or – which he thought was fairly normal. And third, he never wanted to be grabbed and kissed by a stranger – something that was only recently added to the list after it happened.  

It was just a normal day, really. He was two months into his first semester as a sophomore in college. The weather was just cool enough for sweaters, scarves, and sipping hot chocolate in the recesses of the library.

But as he was humming down the hallway, drink in hand and books tucked under one arm, the strangest thing happened. Ryeowook was taking the same path he had been taking since freshman year – up the stairs, a left, a right, and down the sunset lit corridor to the reading room at the very end on the right.

His eyes were trained on the hazy dust floating through the orange passage, dancing across stained glass and old wooden wall panels. Through the faint glow, a tall, dark haired, deeply attractive man seemed to emerge from nothingness. He was finely dressed in a tailored grey suit, tousled locks messily arranged around pale skin. In a flash, he strode towards Ryeowook who had slowed in confusion.

The man was clearly in his mid-thirties, stress lines permanently etched beneath his coal black eyes. Ryeowook couldn’t say that the age marks did anything to detract from his handsome features though.

His shoes were silent against the carpet as he came forward without hesitation. The older male grabbed the back of his neck, jerked him forward, and crushed their lips together. Ryeowook made a noise in the back of his throat, struggling to balance his books and drink as a strong arm s around his slender waist, arching him forward.

A talented tongue swept across his parted lips, sliding inside his mouth without a hint of caution. The man gently brushed his fingertips across the soft flesh just behind Ryeowook’s ear, making him practically crumble and moan. A deep chuckle rumbled through the kiss and the student was positive then that he didn’t know what it was like to swoon until that very moment.

Slowly, the lips that had smothered him dragged away, pecking sweetly once, twice, and then once more before fully pulling away.

“You’re beautiful, now and in the future,” the stranger whispered, eyes pained.

“Who are you?” Ryeowook panted, flushed and weak-kneed. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around feeling disgusted yet. “Why did you kiss me?”

The man’s mouth curved up in the sweetest, most alluring smile the student had ever seen. “I saw you and couldn’t help it.”

“Who are you?” he repeated, stronger this time. Ryeowook tried to pull out of the man’s arms, but he refused to release him.

“I’m Kyuhyun,” he stated, “and we’ll be married three years from now.”

“You’re crazy.” He shook his head slowly.

“Trust me, I’m having a hard time understanding too,” Kyuhyun responded calmly, “but you have to believe me.” He paused, seeing the skepticism in Ryeowook’s face, “I don’t know why I’m here, but I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?”

Ryeowook narrowed his eyes.

“Oh that’s too cute,” he murmured, chuckling and pinching the boy’s cheek. “You still do that when you’re old, you know.”

He slapped the hand away. “I’m not listening to a creep. Now release me.”

“Tonight,” Kyuhyun ignored him, “a bit after eleven, you’re going to wake up after falling asleep while studying. I’m going to be in between some bookshelves, watching you meet someone named Jongwoon.”

“What—”

“Ssh,” he shook his head, cradling the student’s cheek gently, “listen to me, Ryeowook. He’s going to tell you that you’re beautiful. Don’t listen. You can’t listen to him.” Kyuhyun nuzzled his throat affectionately, achingly. “Look for me and find me. When you do, tell younger me that you want to go out for coffee, okay? Do you understand?”

“No,” he blurted.

“What was confusing?” he cocked his head.

“Everything,” Ryeowook grouched. He wriggled around, managing to break away from the male. “That’s all crap. I would never do something so bold, especially towards someone who was spying on me.”

Kyuhyun grimaced. “You have to.”

He rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t care. I don’t know where you came from and I don’t wanna know.” Ryeowook pushed the door to the room open.

A hand snatched his wrist, spinning him around. Kyuhyun was staring down at him urgently. “This is important, okay? Tonight is when it all started and why it will end. Don’t let it end.” His voice dropped, catching Ryeowook’s off-guard. “…whatever it is that happened tonight cannot happen again. If it does, we will lose each other forever. I…I don’t want to live without you anymore. That’s why I’m here. Don’t let me make the same mistakes.”

“How would I know what they are?” Ryeowook responded, watching the man.

“Games,” Kyuhyun stated softly, “it’s all a game. Remember that. Don’t let that settle though. Don’t let it all be a game.” He glanced around, feeling himself fading. “Time’s up.” Sighing he leaned down, a feather light kiss enchanting Ryeowook one last time before the hallway was old dust and fading sunlight again.