Present 

Kyuhyun hadn’t expected Ryeowook to cooperate, but when they had discussed a second chance, hadn’t he demanded a true second chance? Although Kyuhyun understood he was more than 90% to blame for everything that went sour in their marriage and relationship at large, Ryeowook wasn’t completely innocent. He also had never fully forgiven Kyuhyun for his actions, and that itself created a rift.

“You’re particularly distracted today, aren’t you?” Leeteuk remarked, sipping at his coffee as he watched his younger brother mull over something or other. If he had to take a guess, the issue was with Ryeowook—as always. Sighing, Leeteuk leaned across the cafe table, reaching out to tap his brother’s hand.

Kyuhyun jolted, blinking and refocusing. “What?”
“What are you trying to do?”

The younger man grimaced. “I’m trying to drink coffee. Why?”

Leeteuk swallowed the urge to roll his eyes. “You’re planning something. Possibly—most likely having to do with Ryeowook. What is it?” The glare he received in response could’ve frozen hell over.

“Are you asking so you can foil my plans again?” Kyuhyun shot back dryly, crossing his arms and leaning back. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did.”

Sighing, he set his coffee aside. “Kyuhyun, you can’t be this childish for the rest of your life. I did what needed to be done. Ryeowook is getting married—”

“—he’s not.”

“He is.”

“A week.”

Leeteuk paused. “What?”

Kyuhyun studied his brother for a long moment before repeating, “A week. I have a week to convince Ryeowook not to do it.”

Although they were brothers, it was never easy for Leeteuk to fathom some of Kyuhyun’s actions. Like most everyone, Leeteuk had been reflecting on his sibling’s marriage and the more he thought about it, the clearer it became that divorce was the healthiest option. Ryeowook was clearly unhappy. Kyuhyun was only being spoiled and encouraged to behave outrageously because of Ryeowook’s overly considerate treatment. They weren’t suited for one another. What was urging Kyuhyun to try this hard? Would anything change at the end of the day? The man in front of him was unchanged.

Even if they repaired their relationship, what would come of it? Would Ryeowook return to that cold house? Would he warm a bed alone each night? Would he wait endless hours in restaurants again, just to hope for a glimpse of Kyuhyun? If his little brother won this new game of his, what would happen next?

“Aren’t you tired yet?” Leeteuk asked softly.

Kyuhyun stiffened, jaw tensing.

“Everyone is different,” his brother stated gently, “it’s okay if you are not suited for marriage, Kyuhyun. No one will fault you anymore for what has happened; however, you also need to let it go. Your career is going great, you’re able to date leisurely, and you have family and friends who love you. There’s no reason for you to push yourself or Ryeowook anymore than this to prove something.”

“Is it really impossible for me?”

Leeteuk blinked, unsure what to say.

“Do you think I’ll lose interest again once I get him back?” Kyuhyun uncrossed his arms, watching his brother closely. “Is it impossible for me to take him seriously this time?”

“That’s not for me to say. I’m only proposing the least painful route for everyone which also has the highest success rate for long term happiness,” Leeteuk explained calmly. “I’ve tried many times over the years to help Ryeowook through the hard times, and I...just don’t think I could do it again. He’s a good man, Kyuhyun. He doesn’t deserve anything but happiness for the rest of his life.”

Kyuhyun only hummed in response. Non-committal. Dismissive.

***

Different Place, Different Past

The months had flown by. Days grew darker and colder, but one thing hadn’t changed.

Ryeowook continued to do his best in actively avoiding that man. In fact, they seemed to be doing the same thing. Every time he caught a glimpse of him, Ryeowook would turn directly around and walk away For his part, he very blatantly would stand and leave an area if they caught wind of one another, whether by voice or appearance. It was strange to be so aware of one another and to be so attuned to the other’s presence. However, the reasoning behind it was the furthest thing from romantic.

What bothered Ryeowook the most though was how much he had come to learn about Kyuhyun without meaning to. Trying desperately to stay away from one another often meant being far too informed about their usual hangout spots, class schedules, and club activities. These things had become so second nature that Ryeowook wasn’t thinking about it when he spoke up one evening.

It was just after winter finals, and no one was occupying the library if they could help it. Ryeowook was the same. That’s why he had agreed to have a few drinks with his roommates in celebration and while inviting more friends over, Ryeowook slipped up.

“Man, shouldn’t Kyuhyun’s gaming club be over already? It’s past 8pm,” Sungmin complained, frowning at his phone.

Ryeowook took a sip of his beer, other hand reaching for the bowl of peanuts. “He tutors until 9pm on Fridays,” he muttered absently around a mouthful of food.

A loud clattering from the kitchen was quickly followed by a triumphant shout. Sungmin groaned and Ryeowook could only look at his two roommates in confusion. Heechul rounded the corner from the kitchen, a metal pot in hand and an accusatory finger jabbing at Sungmin. “I told you!”

“Shut up,” Sungmin sighed. “That means nothing.”

“Means nothing my ,” Heechul scoffed, “That totally proves it.”

Ryeowook frowned at them. “What is going on?”

The two students shared a look before turning to Ryeowook as one. “You’re totally into Kyuhyun.”

A flush shot up his face. He tried to scramble together a reasonable response, but couldn’t think of a way to explain that their older selves time traveled and told them not to get together. Well, Ryeowook had a feeling that his older self wouldn’t want to get back together. He couldn’t be sure though. All he knew was that the Older Kyuhyun said something about them going their separate ways, so that couldn’t be good news. If divorce was on the distant horizon, Ryeowook would prefer to stay as far away from that outcome as possible. But, saying all of that was probably among the worst ways to get out of the situation.

Heechul was far from done though. He grinned smugly. “And it’s completely reciprocated. He did the same thing just the other day.” Sungmin made an excited noise of agreement as Heechul went on, “We were trying to figure out where you were because the RA was looking for you, and Kyuhyun just casually mentioned that you volunteer in the library archives on Monday afternoons. So why else would you both know each others’ schedules so well if you’re not trying to get together? We’re your roommates and we don’t even know your schedule that well. Kyuhyun isn’t even your friend as far as we’re aware.”

Ryeowook was dumbstruck. Well now what?

The door to their apartment swung open then, and a very chilly looking Kyuhyun shuffled inside. A thick gray scarf was wrapped around his neck, but other than that, his clothing was thin and totally weather inappropriate. He tossed his book bag down and kicked off his shoes, not noticing the three sets of eyes watching him closely.

Ryeowook had resolved himself to being in Kyuhyun’s presence for the evening given that he agreed to hang out with his roommates. That wasn’t surprising. But after that conversation, how was he supposed to face this man? Looking down, he took another swig of his drink and reached for the peanuts in hopes of having a distraction.

Sungmin snatched them away, and turned back to Kyuhyun. “Hey, what took you so long?”

A frown tugged down the corners of the younger man’s mouth. “What do you mean? I got out early. I usually tutor til 9pm—”

He was cut off by shouts of excitement. Sungmin was laughing hysterically as Heechul banged on the pot—both of them clearly ecstatic at their findings. Ryeowook wanted to dig a hole and bury himself. This is mortifying.

Peeking up, he caught Kyuhyun’s eye. The silent question in that gaze was hardly easy to answer. Ryeowook sighed. “They’re delusional.”

Heechul clicked his tongue. “Oh hush. We’re perfectly normal.”

“Just tell me what the is going on,” Kyuhyun deadpanned, settling down on the couch as far away from Ryeowook as possible.

Sungmin grinned widely. “You and our roommate over there have been eyeing each other for a while now. We’re just excited about it is all.”

The freshman froze. Ryeowook swallowed a sigh. Kyuhyun shot Ryeowook a panicked glare, to which the later only glared back as if to say he wasn’t at fault. Heechul just smirked wider. “So there really is something going on? Y’know, if you guys want some privacy later, Sungmin and I can find somewhere else to stay—”

“—No. Please. That’s not necessary,” Ryeowook cut in immediately, feeling a headache coming on. This couldn’t get worse unless one of their older selves suddenly decided to drop by for a visit. He hadn’t come across the older Ryeowook, but he assumed that if older Kyuhyun was able to interfere, perhaps the older Ryeowook was able to, too.

Kyuhyun burrowed his face into the thick scarf. “Trust me. There’s nothing going on.”

Sungmin snorted. “Yeah okay. I just know my acquaintances weekly schedules down to the hour, too. Gimme a break. If you guys are embarrassed about this, there’s no reason to be. Both of us think you guys would be good for each other.”

Shadows of the future flitted through Kyuhyun’s mind. The desperation. The heartache. The older him. The bitterness. The coldness. No. He didn’t think they were suitable for each other. Clearly, the future was telling them a different story and Kyuhyun was far more inclined to believe divorce was on the horizon if he ever ventured into a marriage, rather than hope for a life of committed happiness. He could barely commit to spending the whole night with a person. Spending a lifetime together was unfathomable.

“Quit it already,” Ryeowook sighed, finishing his beer and standing. “If you guys are just gonna tease us all night, I’m leaving.”

Heechul pouted. “Don’t be such a spoilsport. Fine, we’ll stop. But you guys have got to give us a better explanation. Why do you know each others’ schedules so well?”

Thankfully, Kyuhyun decided to give answering a shot. “We’re both in the music department and were assigned to perform a duet. It’s a level exam so we have no choice but to exchange schedules, so we can set up practice times.”

A beat of silence.

Reluctantly, Sungmin and Heechul dropped the topic, shuffling into the kitchen to start making a late dinner. Ryeowook suppressed a grin, glancing over at Kyuhyun who was smirking with satisfaction. “That was really impressive, actually.”

“Clearly. I wasn’t about to give them a dumb explanation,” he scoffed.

“I can see why things end poorly for us,” Ryeowook muttered.

Kyuhyun shot him a glare. “There is no us. And do you even know what happens?”

“Actually, I don’t know. Future You has only visited me once,” he admitted. “He was pretty desperate. He kept going on about some guy named Jongwoon at the library,” Ryeowook frowned.

Curiosity was quickly getting the better of Kyuhyun. He hadn’t had anyone to talk about this time traveling fiasco with, and unfortunately, the only one who could talk to him about it was part of the problem. “Well, did you meet the guy?”

“Jongwoon?” Ryeowook tilted his head. “No, but not because Future You said not to. I just forgot about it and slept over at a friend’s place since you were hanging around my apartment.”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “I honestly didn’t mean to force you out of your own apartment. If you want me to leave, I can. Your roommates can always come to me instead.”

Ryeowook snorted. “Only an would kick their roommates out of their own home like that. Just because I don’t want to be near you, doesn’t mean I can make my shared apartment a hostile environment.”

Music and the clanking of more pots and pans echoed from the kitchen. Sungmin and Heechul sounded like they were furiously discussing something, but Ryeowook preferred not to know. No matter how good the explanation, he had a feeling those two would keep up their delusions about him and Kyuhyun.

Glancing over at the younger man, Ryeowook parted his lips, “Could you go find a lover or something? Anything to make those two stop fantasizing about us being together?”

“If anyone should go find a lover, it should be you. I don’t do relationships.”

Ryeowook smirked. “Oh. Of course. That’s the main reason we don’t work, right?” He gave Kyuhyun a once over with his eyes, noting the growing irritation in the younger one’s features. “No one told me in so many words, but judging from your expression, I’m not too far off the mark.”

“Everyone keeps saying how you’re so nice, but I hardly see it. A pretty face but a ty personality is much more believable.”

Ryeowook barked out a laugh. “It takes one to know one.”

Kyuhyun didn’t have a chance to retort as Sungmin poked his head out from the kitchen, asking, “How hungry are you guys? We’re trying to decide how many packs of ramen to make.”

“Starving.” Simultaneous.

Sungmin eyed them warily, wondering if they really were hiding an affair. “Got it. Also, can you two go out and buy some more snacks? We decided to invite a few more people and they’ll be over in like ten minutes, so neither of us wanna be out of the apartment when they arrive.”

Ryeowook sighed. “Sure. I can go by myself.”

To be expected, Kyuhyun rose no protest. Sungmin chucked a peanut at the freshman’s head, managing a perfect hit. “Don’t just sit there, you lazy . We’re making you dinner for free. You might as well help us out and buy some stuff.”

Kyuhyun glowered, but stood up. “If I wanted ramen, I could’ve just stayed in my dorm,” he mumbled under his breath as he dragged himself over to the door. Looking around, he noticed Ryeowook was nowhere to be found.

A moment later, the older man emerged from his bedroom with a cream colored sweater in hand. “You’re gonna freeze if you keep wearing such thin clothes.” Ryeowook tossed the garment at Kyuhyun who caught it hesitantly. “Don’t worry, it’s not a declaration of my undying love.” he rolled his eyes, “it’s just regular human concern.”

“...Thanks, I guess.”

Ryeowook smiled a little. “So even brats know how to be polite once in a while.”

Kyuhyun smothered a smirk. “Shut up.”