Path

“Love is a path to the heart…”

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Had he chosen the right path?

Kyuhyun were to marry a flamboyant Chinese aristocrat by the name of Zhou Mi. He was tall, elegant, and to say the least – charming in every aspect. Kyuhyun, however, did not favor over the sudden decision of an arranged marriage fussed and discussed by his stringent parents. A rebel and an outspoken person, he had tried ways to divert his parents’ verdict into marrying someone of whom he knows nothing of. But alas, with his position in the King’s consort threatened by none other than his stern father, he had hung his head down in shame and continued on pursuing Zhou Mi’s family for his hand in marriage.

The path his parents had prepared for him?

Although bright and cheerful, Zhou Mi seemed to get nothing in return from Kui Xian – the name he ever so lovingly gave to him. He would tug at Kyuhyun’s arm and drag him to places that Kyuhyun secretly loathes – little shops of fine looking garments and gold and silver accessories. Kyuhyun would often try to flash his husband-to-be a smile, but it would always turn to a frown whenever the man would lunge at him. It annoyed him to no end, but with his reputation hanging on the balance of being the King’s most favored musician, he had no other choice left but to deal with his parents’ offer.

Or will he take another route?

Not long after, with only a month and a half away to the much awaited wedding, Kyuhyun’s parents had arranged a 2 week vacation with their neighbor’s son, Lee Sungmin along with his own fiancé; Henry Lau. Thinking that the idea was absurd, Kyuhyun once again voiced out his thoughts in spending 14 days with people he hardly even knew – but one look from his father, and the words, “It will be good for you and Zhou Mi, son. You will get to know each other” from his mother, added with an encouraging smile, Kyuhyun heaved a sigh of defeat before retreating to his room to get his bags packed.

Being taken to the country side with mountain ranges framing the grassy fields, Kyuhyun had meekly disembarked from the carriage he and Zhou Mi had been sitting on for the past 45 minutes. The house being presented to him was a two-story building, made out of entirely wood with dirty white paint being its basic color. The front porch was fenced up to an area where the green grass shone under the bright sun, flowers of every kind decorated the window sills, some placed on the ground as the neon colors swiftly swayed when a strong gush of wind passed by. Kyuhyun frowned, hearing Zhou Mi’s jovial yell right beside his ear.

“It’s beautiful here, Kui Xian!” Zhou Mi chirped, clinging unto Kyuhyun’s numb arm. Kyuhyun rolled his eyes and took off his top hat before brushing his arm off of Zhou Mi’s grip and proceeded to carry his suitcase, his smirk growing wide when he noticed the frown on Zhou Mi’s face.

And once he had reached the second floor of the household, Kyuhyun had stumbled back and landed on his derriere when a rather short male came running past him and collided with his chest. He cursed a long chain of expletives when the man had rubbed his head out of pain, “Watch where you’re going!” Kyuhyun snapped, finding no time to reprimand the small man as he had already stood up and bowed for an apology. Scratching his head, Kyuhyun straightened out his suit, brushed his pants and glided a hand through his jet black hair, frowning once again when Zhou Mi had embraced him from the back.

An hour later, Kyuhyun had been called out to dinner by Henry, who had introduced himself earlier right after Kyuhyun had fully settled his belongings. Fixing his tie and his vest, Kyuhyun marched down to the dining area and hissed when he had almost collided – again – with the same man from earlier. “I’m so sorry I can be very clumsy at times” the slighter male bowed again and bit his lower lip when he straightened back up, making Kyuhyun stare at how perfect his features had look; plump lips, big, doe-like eyes, beautiful lashes, a cute button nose and his porcelain like skin, framed by platinum blonde hair – he had looked absolutely perfect in Kyuhyun’s eyes.

His trance was unfortunately cut short when Henry had looped an arm around the man’s waist and kissed him tenderly on the cheeks. Kyuhyun did not fail in noticing the hesitation on the man’s face. “How rude of me. Mr. Cho this is my fiancé, the very beautiful and humble Lee Sungmin” Henry placed a secured hand on his lover’s waist and introduced him to Zhou Mi as well, on whom the lanky man had lunged forwards to give him an embrace as a sign of welcome.

Kyuhyun had somewhat felt disappointed that Sungmin was already betrothed, and his hairs on the back of his neck stood up from its roots when Sungmin turned to face him; all dimpled smiles and perfect features as he placed a warm handshake on his rather cold hand. He smiled back in recognition, finding himself unable to let go of Sungmin’s hand as soon as they saw their reflections in each other’s eyes. Sungmin parted his lips to speak, but his eyes only widened when Kyuhyun brought him closer with a tug of their entwined hands.

Zhou Mi’s pitchy voice raveled them back to reality and almost immediately, both men had released their grip on their hands – as if fire blazed throughout their system. They avoided each other for the rest of the night after that.

Three days after, however, Kyuhyun had woken up to a sound of joyous laughter - a man, and a group of children. Opening his window, his face broke out to that of a smile when he saw Sungmin running around the lush green field with the shepherd’s children behind him. He knelt down to the ground, laughed as the youngsters took him down to roll on the grassy land and sang a children’s song when a small girl had requested for him to. And as if a man in love, Kyuhyun closed his eyes and let his senses flow at Sungmin’s velvety voice. He hummed along to the tune, eyes forming crescent moons when the rays of the sun warmed his face,

“Kyuhyun!”

And then he paused, looked down to the source and almost blushed in embarrassment when he saw Sungmin looking up at him with his beautiful smile. “Would you like to come down? Henry and Zhou Mi had gone to the market to get us something to eat for breakfast” he called, laughing again when a child came to loop his arms around his waist. Kyuhyun hesitated for a moment, but his conscience had screamed beyond his ears and told him to loosen up a bit – to discover himself and find out whether what he is doing at the moment will make him happy. He scratched his head, put on decent clothes and ran down the stairs to join the buzzing laughter that had been pleasantly blooming inside him.

He ran in circles, played tag with the children and had pulled at Sungmin’s hand when the latter had paused to rest. Sungmin squealed in surprise, but ran along nonetheless when the cheers and laughter of the children floated to his ears. They laughed, sang and held each other’s hands by the time comfort slid through and blurred the lines of uneasiness.

Kyuhyun jumped and chased Sungmin down the hill when their worlds collided; their eyes meeting in the most intimate of ways and their hands constantly brushing past each other’s bodies. Sungmin yelped in surprise when Kyuhyun had charged towards him, but his legs soon gave away and they both rolled down the grass covered ground; with Kyuhyun hovering above Sungmin’s smaller frame.

The slighter male gasped upon the close proximity, and he could not restrain his blush from coloring his cheeks when he noticed how near Kyuhyun’s lips were. Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin’s coal black eyes, too distracted by his soft hair that cascaded down his face as he carefully lifted a hand and caressed his pale cheek, Sungmin flinching upon contact. He smiled softly when Sungmin seemed to relax under his hold, and if that wasn’t enough to make his heart flutter with an unfamiliar beat, Sungmin’s fingers to his lips did prove something.

He was in love. It was wrong, of course, but his heart begged to differ.

The jovial laughs and coos of the children had made them jolt up and move a safe distance away from each other. Kyuhyun risked a glance on Sungmin, surprised to see that the other male had done the same. They smiled each other’s awkwardness away and was about to reach their hands out when a familiar call, followed by familiar footsteps pulled their searching hands away.

They were back. Henry and Zhou Mi were back.

Zhou Mi had immediately run towards Kyuhyun’s kneeling form and Sungmin hesitantly welcomed Henry to his arms. Both men shared lingering glances behind their fiancés’ backs; with Sungmin giving Kyuhyun a pained and longing look, whilst Kyuhyun returned it with a smoldering gaze of his own.

The rest of the week was accompanied by the usual routines in the morning and afternoon, with Henry and Sungmin taking a stroll on the riverbed or entertain themselves by making halos out of flowers – with Kyuhyun watching them with jealousy written all over his face. Zhou Mi had tried to coax Kyuhyun out of his shell by offering him a song of his own, but Kyuhyun would always hear Sungmin’s voice in his ears, and that would always make the long-legged man confused on why Kyuhyun would hum a lullaby instead of the song he had composed.

But all of that would change the minute Kyuhyun and Sungmin had the entire household or a particular area of the room for themselves. Their smoldering glances and intimate touches that were hidden beneath wide smiles would often break out into playful conversation, with a little bit of teasing and feather light kisses in between here and there. And sometimes, their hands would wander off, slithering past their slim forms languidly while keeping their eyes glued to each other’s eyes.

Zhou Mi and Henry had never suspected anything unusual with both of their fiancés, and would always take time on their own to get themselves comfortable around each other’s presence – leaving Kyuhyun and Sungmin alone to entertain to their needs. And by the time both men had left, Sungmin found himself one day cornered at the kitchen, his back pressed on the wall and with Kyuhyun’s tall frame towering over him. He had questioned, laughed nervously when Kyuhyun’s hands glided up and down his back and shut his eyes when Kyuhyun had said nothing further, with his lips smoldering his own in a heated kiss.

He let out a long shameless moan, both of his hands seeking for something to hold on to that he had gripped Kyuhyun’s hair, pressing his body firm to Kyuhyun’s hard one. They whimpered in unison when their s brushed past against each other, and Sungmin had pulled back to breathe as he felt his lungs burn from the lack of oxygen, “Kyuhyun…Kyuhyun this is wrong” he gasped, his mind telling him to push the man away but his arms did the exact opposite, pulling him closer instead with a breathless moan.

“There is nothing wrong in loving you, Sungmin” Kyuhyun whispered, his tongue a trail up Sungmin’s cheek. “I love you. Not Zhou Mi. And I can tell that you love me too”

“What if Henry finds out” Sungmin whimpered, tipping his head back to give Kyuhyun more access. “Don’t think about Henry. Think about me Sungmin” Kyuhyun answered back, his arms constricting around the smaller man’s waist.

“But Kyuhyun…”

“Then let’s run. Let’s leave this place…never turn back” Kyuhyun huffed, pulling away from the flushing Sungmin. Sungmin had only stared at his face with unfocused eyes, cupped his cheeks with trembling hands and kissed him once more before replying with a nod.

They ran away as soon as the clouds had covered the morning sun with its dull and grey color. Rain started to pour, with the two run-aways holding unto each other’s arms as they made a quick escape to the vast field. Sungmin spared a last glance towards the empty house, murmured a soft “I’m sorry” before focusing his attention to their entwined hands. Kyuhyun looked at him, paused when the rain had poured a little harder and thanked the heavens when he had located a small cottage sitting next to a vineyard. Without any word to say, they ran as fast as they could and had shut the door behind their backs as soon as they were sheltered from the rain. Kyuhyun took Sungmin to his arms and the other man had melted almost too quickly.

They arranged the wood to the fireplace and warmed themselves with the wool blankets draped on a single bed. Sungmin cuddled next to Kyuhyun’s side, burying his face to his chest as he faintly heard their heartbeats, soft and in sync with the tempo. And slowly, he lifted his head, stared at Kyuhyun’s eyes and inched his way closer; his heartbeat getting louder as he saw Kyuhyun shift and cup his chin with his fingers.

The kiss was never gentle, very much the same to the one they had earlier as their tongues tangled inside each other’s mouths. Sungmin tilted his head and held unto Kyuhyun’s shoulders for support, almost tumbling back when the taller man had started to dominate, his kisses getting more and more passionate while his hands kept Sungmin pressed to his side. They moaned, the blanket slipping off their seated forms when both of them had moved, with Sungmin taking the liberty in lying down to the wooden floor as Kyuhyun hovered above him.

A tilt to the head, a flick of each button, a stifled moan erupting from their throats and they were both by the time they knew it. Kyuhyun lifted Sungmin up to his arms, carried him to the bed and placed him gently on top of the dusty covers. Sungmin hooked his arms on the back of Kyuhyun’s neck, opened his legs and screamed – the name; sinful and yet, sounding lovely to his ears was a litany, recited and spilled from his very lips.

He had laid there blinking, thoughts swimming on their fiancés they had betrayed while Kyuhyun’s smooth cheek. “Don’t think about them” Kyuhyun said, took Sungmin’s hand and placed a kiss to his knuckles, just like what every other gentleman would.

“I love you” Sungmin breathed, smiling tiredly when Kyuhyun had gathered him inside his arms. “I know. I love you too” Kyuhyun pressed a kiss to Sungmin’s forehead before succumbing to sleep.

The rain was still pouring the morning they had woken up and Sungmin all too excitedly pulled Kyuhyun out of bed to shower themselves with the heavy downpour. Dressed in nothing but his loose dress shirt, Sungmin spun around the field with his arms outstretched, shouted to the dark heavens how much he loved Kyuhyun and took the said man to the middle of the abandoned field, and started to play around with him. Kyuhyun never felt any happier than before; never mind his position at the King’s consort, never mind the thought of having his family disown him, never mind about his fixed marriage with Zhou Mi – all that mattered to him was having Sungmin inside his arms; kiss him without any restraint and love him in any way he could think of. And judging by the way Sungmin had opened his heart, returned his kisses and smiled to him lovingly, it seemed to him that the man was thinking the same. Nothing else mattered. Only their love for each other did.

With a pull to Sungmin’s arms, Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin’s soulful eyes and whispered, “If they ever find us…I won’t listen to them. We will run away…forget about our past and travel our paths together. It’s only you Sungmin. I love you. Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

Sungmin’s expression softened as his eyes searched Kyuhyun’s dark ones. He hummed in response when Kyuhyun cupped his cheeks, his own hands resting on the tall man’s upper arms as he smiled before mouthing, “I will Kyuhyun”

Burning love blazed through Kyuhyun’s veins as soon as he heard the answer. He pressed their foreheads together, fell silent for a moment as he listened to the pitter-patter of the rain against the blades of the grass and smiled once he saw Sungmin’s penetrating gaze. The smaller man tilted his head, slid his eyes shut and basked into the warmth of Kyuhyun’s lips that clasped around his own.

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“…that knows its own way”

-Lamar Cole