Ryeowook POV

I wasn't sure where to begin my search and I was so shaky that I was worried that my legs would give out.  Mrs. Cho's story spun around in my head.  This explained so much about Kyuhyun's personality, why he never taked about his family, why he never seemed to care about anyone else, even why he dumped the girl Mimi.  He was just scared of being abandoned and hurt again so he pushed everyone away. 

He wasn't inside the school, but I had a feeling that he hadn't run far.  Behind the school building was a park that lay alongside a forrested area.  I passed through the grassy expanse of the park and made my way into the shaded area of forest.  I shivered as the trees blocked the sun, but continued to walk further.  I had been searching for about an hour and was about to turn back when I saw an old willow tree.  The branches hung low, touching the ground, and the swaying limbs with their leaves created a curtain. 

Something pulled me towards the tree and I approached it silently.  I swept back the veil and stepped under the concealing branches.  As I had expected I found Kyuhyun sitting with his back against the trunk of the tree, his knees against his chest, his face buried in his arms.  He didn't look up when I walked up to him.  Finally I kneeled down beside him and whispered,

"Kyuhyun... are you okay?" his head snapped up and I saw his red puffy eyes.  He quickly looked away from me and I saw him try to compose himself.

"How was your date?" he asked failing in his attempt to smirk at me.  I ignored his attempt to change the subject and just looked at him waiting for him to answer me.  He didn't, his mask fading and I saw he was trying not to cry.  A sharp pain hit my heart as I watched him try to pick up the pieces of his shattered facade. 

When he looked away I saw the tears welling in his eyes, and I unconciously pulled him into a hug.  He flinched trying to pull away, but I just gripped him harder unwilling to let him go.  I felt like if I let him run away, the real Kyuhyun would be lost forever.

"I-i know about your mother." I finally said and i felt him resist me even more.  "Kyuhyun, please... just talk to me."  He finally stopped his struggling and made eye contact for the first time.  I gave him a squeeze of reassurance and he sighed nodding.

"There's not really much to say.  She was an alcoholic.  She beat me.  Then one day she just left.  I wasn't anything special to her, she hated me.  She said I was the reason my dad had died."  He tried to say this without emotion, but his voice cracked and the pain was evident in his eyes.

"But you still loved her right?"

"Yeah" he whispered and he finally let the tears fall.  "I thought if I was good... perfect that maybe one day she would finally love me back.  But she never did.  She just threw me away.  I don't blame her, I would want to get rid of me too.  I've actually tried, but I'm such a screw up that I can't even manage to do that right." he said this last part with a bitter laugh, while he swiped at his tears.

"No.  Don't you ever say that." I said sternly, "It's true that I can't understand how you feel, I've never experienced something like that.  But I've been where you are now, I've felt like the world would be a better place without me.  Let me tell you something, this feeling goes away, but it doesn't just disappear on it's own.  This isn't something you can just ignore, and it's not something you can fix on your own."

"Well then what the hell am I supposed to do then?" he asked.

"You have to let someone in... you need to trust someone enough to let them near you.  You let them share the burden, let them experience the pain.  You won't feel so helpless and alone, it helps when someone is on your side."

"I-i can't" he insisted, "How can I trust anyone?  They just leave, they never stay... besides I wouldn't wish this burden on anyone.  Seriously, I'm just not worth it."

"Cho Kyuhyun!  You listen to me!  You are so worth it!  And I don't care what you say, I'm you're friend and I'm not going to let this define you.  Please, just trust me, please let me help you.  You don't need to do this on your own."  My heart was pounding and I had to hold back my tears, pretending to be brave.

"Why should I trust you?  How do I know you won't just leave me too?" he asked desperatley.

"I won't leave you... I could never leave you."

"Why? Why wouldn't you?  There's nothing stopping you."  That stopped me, and I felt my heart swell and begin racing wildly.  Finally I looked at him,

"Kyu look at me."  He glanced up and I saw the defiance in his eyes, I saw the doubt and fear.  "Kyu I won't leave you... I can't."  He looked at me confusedly, and I took a deep breath and finally let the out the words that I had been holding in since the first time I saw him, "I-i can't leave.  I think I l-love you."

Kyuhyun's POV

I looked at her face for a sign that she was joking.  She wouldn't meet my eyes and a blush was spreading across her face.

"W-what did you say?" I asked disbelievingly.  She looked into my eyes, I saw her vulnerablility, her fear of rejection.  She took a deep breath

"I said that I love you..." she trailed off blushing madly.  I wasn't sure how to react.  My heart felt ready to burst, my head felt like it was going to explode, yet I was loving every minute of it.  Before I could back down I grabbed her and pulled her close.  At first she was a little stiff, but when I hugged her close to my heart I felt her relax and return my embrace.  The tears that now fell where ones of relief, and I felt myself smiling.  For the first time in years I felt a genuine smile reach my lips.  I looked at the girl in my arms and said,

"Okay I'll trust you... Wookie, I think I might kind of love you too..."

A smile spread across her face, but I interrupted it when I brought my lips down on hers.  The kiss was sweet and and slightly salty from both of our tears, but it was perfect.  She pulled away, and hugged me so close that I could feel her heart pounding in her chest.  As we sat in each others arms, our heartbeats began to coincide and beat as one.  I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.  Our second kiss chased away all the fear and doubt,  leaving the hope of love in its place.

thx for reading!

comments loved!

Now the two are together, but can they stay that way?