A/N - Here you guys go.  I hope you enjoy this and sorry if it feels kind of rushed.  I was irritated with my computer earlier because it crashed while I was in the middle of trying to post it and my stupid computer deleted half of the story.  So I've been trying to rewrite it over the past couple weeks.  I just finished today but when I went back to reread it I realized it's kind of all over the place.  I apologize in advance for any gramatical or spelling errors.  Most of this was done late at night so yeah.

"Grandpa!" a six-year-old boy yells as jumps down from the car and runs to the front porch of his grandparents' home.  He was wearing a red Spiderman t-shirt, black shorts, and an over-sized backpack filled with toys and stuffed animals.  He had on the biggest grin for miles around and radiated with the innocence of youth.

"Henry! How are you my boy?" the boy's grandpa replies as he bends down and catches the little ball of energy in his open arms.

His wife, who is standing in the front door with an apron tied around her waist, smiles down at them and laughs as the little boy pulls out of his grandfather's embrace and runs over to her. 

"Hi, Grandma!"  He said excitedly.

"Hi, dear.  How are you?"

"Fine."  The boys hugs his grandma before proceeding to run around the front yard.

"Hey Mom, Dad." The young boy's father said as he grabbed 2 suitcases from the trunk of his car.  He is dressed in black slacks and has on a white dress shirt and tie.  He looked every part the businessman with his square rimmed glasses and Bluetooth in one ear.

"Thanks for watching the kids on such short notice.  It's just this business trip to Seoul was last minute and I can't pull out of it, and Soyoung is going to be out of town until next month. Kyuhyun! Will you please help me with these bags?"

"It's no problem, son.  Your Mom's been dying to see them anyway.  Now she gets to watch them for 2 weeks." The older man chuckled as he walks over to grab one of the bags.

Just then a lanky 16-year-old boy emerged from the other side of the car.  He was tall and thin, but muscular nonetheless.  He was in a Quicksilver t-shirt and plaid shorts and had a small backpack slung over his shoulder.  At the moment his eyes were glued to the screen of his PSP but at the warning looks he knew his father was sending him, he put he game on pause and grabbed a suitcase from his father.

"Hey, Grandpa, Grandma," The young teen, Kyuhyun, said hugging them on his way into the house.

"Hey, Hun.  There are cookies on the table if you want some.  And Jungsoo, can you go get Henry outside after you put those down.  I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself jumping around like that," the boys' grandmother stated worriedly as her eyes stayed trained on the little boy jumping up toward the tree branches.

"Aw he's fine just like that.  Just let him play a little while longer." The boy's grandfather, Jungsoo replied.

"Jungsoo, it won't be fine if he falls down and breaks something."

"Fine, fine.  I'll go get him." Jungsoo relented, leaving the baggage inside the door before turning back outside.  "And Kyuhyun! Save some cookies for your brother."

The said boy looked up guiltily and put back his 10th cookie, attempting to hide the fact that his mouth was stuffed.

"Hahaha, Mom your cookies are as potent as every."

"Ooh!  Grandma made cookies?" Henry screamed running into the house.  They all had a couple more cookies (except for Kyuhyun who was declared to have had enough for a week) and continued to catch up with each other.

"Well I got to run now if I'm going to catch my flight."  The boys' father said after sitting back for a few minutes.  "Thanks, guys for watching the kids and for the cookies."

"Bye, Dad." The two boys said, hugging their father goodbye.

"Be good and listen to your grandparents."

"Okay.  See you later!"

That night . . .

"Henry!  It's time for bed.  Stop running around before you break something."  Kyuhyun yelled as he chased after his little brother.  They were both in their pajamas; Kyuhyun in an old black tank top and basketball shorts, and his brother in long pajama pants and a worn out t-shirt.

"But I'm not tired!" Henry whined, puffing up his chubby cheeks.

"Too bad.  We have to wake up early tomorrow to go to church."

"Fine.  I'll go to bed . . . if you can catch me!"

"Ugh, you little brat.  Come here!"

"Hahaha.  Try catching me, Hyung!" Henry replied sticking out his tongue cutely before running off.

They played chase for another 10 minutes before there was a crash and the sound of glass breaking.

"What was that?"  Jungsoo yelled out with worry.  The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the house as he and his wife ran up the stairs.  When they got upstairs they saw that Henry was being carried by Kyuhyun, who was dancing around, trying to avoid the slivers of broken glass everywhere.  Kyuhyun had his arms wrapped around Henry's middle and the sound of his cries was muffled by Kyuhyun's shoulder. 

"Shh . . . It's okay Henry.  It's okay.  That was just a picture frame.  You're okay now." Kyuhyun said as he bounced around, rubbing soothing circles on his younger brother's back while staring guiltily at the broken picture frame on the floor.

"Oh my!  Don't move!" Their grandma said as she ran back downstairs to get the broom to clean up the glass.  When she returned, she handed the broom and dustpan to her husband, who then proceeded to clean up the mess.

"What happened here, boys?"  Jungsoo asked when he had finished cleaning up and they established that no one was hurt.

"I was trying to get him to go to bed and we . . . accidently ran into the wall . . ." Kyuhyun said, trailing off at the end and offering up a sheepish grin.

"Oh, well in that case . . . Just . . . What?"

By then Kyuhyun had put down Henry (who had gotten over his little mental breakdown quite quickly), and their grandma, who was standing nearby, scooped him up into her arms, running her eyes over him for the nth time to make sure her dear mochi cheeked grandson wasn't harmed in any way.

"We ran into the wall, Grandpa. " Henry said matter-of-factly. "Sorry we ruined the picture."

"You . . . ran into the wall?" Jungsoo asked his voice laced with mirth. 

            "Yeah.  Pretty much."  Kyuhyun replied, one hand behind his neck, his cheeks tinted a bright shade of red.

"Okay then." Jungsoo chuckled. "Just . . . be more careful next time."

After everyone settled down from the excitement of hallway incident and Henry calmed down enough to get in bed, Jungsoo went up to Kyuhyun and Henry's shared room to tuck them in.

"Grandpa, will you tell us a story!" Henry asked as he bounced in his bed. 

"Yeah, will you grandpa?" Kyuhyun sat up in his bed.  Normally he wouldn't have acted so childish but his grandpa told the best stories.

"Okay, if you guys promise to go to sleep after that.  What kind of story do you want?"

"I don't know.  Any kind will be okay."

"Okay.  How about this one . . . "

A long time ago, back home in Korea, there was this boy named Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk, as his friends called him, had a pretty good life.  He came from the higher end of the working class, his dad owning a very successful international company, had nice friends, and went to a great school.  Heck, he even had a gorgeous boyfriend and was decently popular.  If anything, he had the perfect life, and he knew it.  But that didn't stop him from thinking that something was missing.  It wasn't that he was lonely or bored, he just . . . felt that his life was suffocating him, restricting him in some way, and he was missing the one thing that would free him for that tension. 

He couldn't exactly put his finger on it but he knew, for a while now, that he wasn't completely happy.

"Now, do you boys know what fate is?"  Jungsoo asked before starting his story again.

"No.  What is it Papa?" Henry asked.

"Well, fate is a very curious thing.  It's the idea that your life's events are beyond your control.  Kind of like everything has been planned out for you already."

"Oh.  So like everything happens for a reason?" Henry said, his eyes wide with understanding.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"That's kind of cool, don't you think? The possibility that everything that happens in our life is predetermined, always adding up to something bigger. Although it makes you wonder if you are ever in control of anything.  I don't think I'd like the fact that I have no say in my future." Kyuhyun said.

"Good point.  I was just about to get to that."  His grandfather replied.

Like many people, Eunhyuk hardly gave fate a second thought.  He prided himself in knowing that he, and only he, was in charge in his life. But sometimes, no matter how in control we think we are, there are always things beyond us and paths that were meant to cross. 

So whether it was fate, or a subconscious awareness that spurred Eunhyuk to go to the beach one rainy day, one thing was certain.

            His life would never be the same.

            "Wait, Grandpa, what do you mean 'he went to the beach one rainy day'?" Henry interrupted, his brows furrowed as he tried to comprehend the absurdity known as his grandpa's story.

            "Well, I mean just that.  He went to the beach while it was raining.  Now stop interrupting so that I can get on with the story."

            "But he'll get sick.  He can't . . . "

            "Ugh.  Just be quiet already, Henry." Kyuhyun huffed.

So like I was saying, Eunhyuk went to the beach one, rainy day. It was funny really, how he had stumbled upon it.  He had "run away" from home when he was at the ripe young age of 13 and was trying to elude his nurses.  He ran down the then, only road in town, until it stopped.  It had been raining, but once he got to the end of the road the sun had cleared away all traces of cloud from the mid-morning sky. 

He soon found that there was this little patch of grass that was heavily guarded by tall furs and shielded from the elements by the brush.  It was about 10 yards in every direction and was far from the main road.  It was silent there; the only sound was the surf gently lulling his soul into a peaceful slumber.  Time seemed to slow down, almost to the point of stopping, and it was like a little piece of heaven.  From that day on, whenever life got a little too hard or he felt a little too down, he ran away and was able to loose himself in the serenity of it all.

On a normal sunny day the light would shine through the holes in the leaves and give the place a warm, yet comfortable, feeling. He liked to just lay in the grass, staring up into the branches that shielded him from the harsh sunlight, and listen to the steady heartbeat of the earth, the rhythm of his life.  Sometimes he would even dance.  Letting his mind go numb and moving his body to the music in his mind.  There he didn't have to worry about what others though of him. Nor did he have to be anyone except himself, not caring about being accepted by society or not.

That day, however, the only sun visible was hidden behind thick black clouds that were rolling across the horizon like perfectly lined soldiers.  It gave the whole place a sad, sullen look and made it appear like a scene in a black and white movie.  However, it still retained the same quiet impressiveness that had first struck Eunhyuk since that day when he was thirteen.  

He got out of his car and grabbed the umbrella, which was currently sitting in the passenger seat.  He rolled up his slacks and tightened his jacket around him.  He figured that the ground would be too wet to sit down on so he settled for standing next to his parked car.  The smell of rain mixed with the air that was heavy with brine.  Around him, the rain was falling in buckets and he felt like he was watching himself from outside his body.  Before he knew what he was doing, he had moved to take off his shoes and walked toward the pristine coastline.  The sand was soppy and his feet sunk into it as he walked. 

It took more energy than anything to walk around with the sand acting like suction cups but it was relaxing nonetheless.  He didn't know where he was going but he knew when he got there. He found a patch of dry sand under a tree and sat down to watch the rain.  It was funny how something so beautiful could be destructive and restorative at the same time.  He sat and watched as it smoothed out his footprints and restored the sand to its original state of peace.  The water was running down the slope creating rivers that ran down to the sea.  The whole thing caused the sand to form into a smooth plain that was only interrupted in one place.

Eunhyuk jumped up and ran over to a lump that ran in the way of one of the larger rivers.  He had to admit that it was bothering him (because he was slightly OCD) that everything was so smooth and then this thing just stood out like a sore thumb.  He bent down and attempted to smooth it down.  He pushed down on it and his hands were met with something smooth and hard.  Intrigued, he ran his thumb over it to wipe off the sand. 

The rain had gone from a downpour to a light sprinkle when Eunhyuk finally got rid of enough sand to see that the object was a bottle. It was the kind that was made of glass and had a cork stopper.  And inside, as cliché as it seemed, was a note.

"Oh! So he found like a note in a bottle, Grandpa?"

"Yes, Henry, he found a note in a bottle."

"Cool!  Kyuhyun hyung found one of those over the summer when we went to the beach.  Didn't you, Kyu?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't really a note.  More like some random scribbling." Kyuhyun replied.

"Ha! Well this, I assure you, wasn't random scribbling.  This was a full blown letter."

No one really knows for sure what was in that letter, but from that day on, Eunhyuk wrote letters everyday.  He wrote about anything and everything, and sent them out at 2:30 everyday.  The person he wrote to must have lived nearby, or just had a speedy delivery service, because everyday he sent out a letter, a correspondence could be found the next day.  He never let anyone look at the letters and no one knew what they talked about.  But then again, Eunhyuk's friends weren't the type to pry in the first place.

About a month later though, Eunhyuk's grades dropped a little, he broke up with his boyfriend of 2 years, and became "anti-social".  He spent all his time writing and reading and everyone was starting to get worried.

Turns out the letter he got in the bottle was from a boy named Donghae, who was the same age as Eunhyuk. After exchanging a couple letters, they soon became close friends.

It didn't matter that they had never met before or had no idea if the other really was who they said they were. They felt completely at ease with each other, and for the time being, that was good enough for them. They no longer had to worry about their reputations getting in the way and could talk freely without fear of judgment.  And as strange as it seemed, Eunhyuk would later say that even as he was reading the first letter, it felt like he had known Donghae his whole life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually, Eunhyuk got his grades back up and started hanging out with his friends once again.  He even told them why he was never around, something they were kept in the dark about, until then.

Now, this all happened when the boys were both 18.  There were in their senior year of high school and the year after would be going to college.  Despite only knowing each other through letters and phone calls, they decided to meet each other over the summer after they graduated.  Donghae drove down from where he lived and met up with Eunhyuk at a local coffee shop.  They had sent pictures to each other so that they would know what the other looked like but other than that, they had know idea what they would face when they finally met. 

When Eunhyuk told his friends what he was planning to do they became very worried.  They had just got their friend back and they didn't want him to go off again.  What if Eunhyuk found he liked this guy more than his friends, whom he had known practically his whole life?  No one liked the idea of their good friend going off to meet someone who might not even be whom he said he was and they most definitely didn't like the thought of their friend being taken back to the land of the socially avoided.

But Eunhyuk trusted this person, for God knows what reasons, and despite everyone urging him not too, he went to meet Donghae anyway.

"Wait, so his friends just let him go and meet this person?  Just like that? That's stupid," It was Kyuhyun who interrupted now.

"Well, what could they do?  He was a grown man after all.  And this Eunhyuk was dead set on meeting Donghae."

"Still . . . This is like the perfect set up for something bad to happen. I have the feeling someone's going to die or something."

"Hyung, be quiet.  I want Grandpa to finish the story." Henry scolded his older brother.

"Yeah, Kyuhyun.  Be quiet." Their grandfather mimicked. "Okay, boys, do you remember what I said about fate?"

Donghae was the type of person who believed in fate with all his heart.  His mother would always talk about life as if it were a big white room.  She said that everyone was attached to his or her own string and sooner or later, with all the moving around we have to do, people's strings would cross.  Some strings would cross once, maybe twice, and some, not at all.  But she also believed, with all her heart, that there were also those, whose strings would cross so many times that before anyone knew it would be like they had never been apart.  Almost as if they were the same string. 

Donghae's mother also believed that when those two lucky people met, their hearts would be like pieces of a puzzle and it would be like they had always known each other.

She envied those people and called them soulmates.

And if anything, that's what happened to Eunhyuk and Donghae.

It was like one day they were friends communicating through letters and the next they were a billion and one times closer (if that was even possible).  Donghae stayed over at Eunhyuk's place over the summer and the two were nearly inseparable.  You couldn't tell where one started and the other one ended.

 And as cliché as it sounds, they really were like pieces of a puzzle.  They had so much in common it was scary and before they knew it, they were finishing each other's sentences and acting like love-struck teenagers.  Everyone else noticed, except for them of course.  They were so comfortable with each other that those things that people thought of as weird (well between two guys that is), like holding hands for example, they were doing a couple hours after meeting each other.  It felt natural and their hands fit perfectly together.  They were hundred and ten percent compatible and they never ran out of things to say.

They spent so much time together that others were beginning to think that they had known each other long before the first letters were exchanged.  People who didn't know them thought they were brothers and the people that did know them couldn't believe that just two months prior they had no idea the other existed.

As interesting of a story their chance meeting made, Eunhyuk's friends couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.  He had introduced them and whenever Eunhyuk went to go hang out with them he always, ALWAYS brought Donghae along.  Don't get me wrong, Eunhyuk's friends really liked Donghae and eventually learned to ignore the strange bubbly feeling they got in their stomach that said something was off.

Other than that, it didn't take long for the people in Eunhyuk's life to get used to the ever-present Donghae.  In fact, within a week of his arrival, everyone grew to love him.  Well, who wouldn't?  He was kind, courteous, funny, a great dancer, wonderful with kids, and overall an unbelievably perfect person.

He also loved the outdoors and one weekend Eunhyuk took Donghae and his friends to the beach.  Yesung, who had just gotten a new camera the day before, was walking around taking pictures.  He saw Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, and Donghae sitting on rock and took a picture of them with the setting sun in the background.  It had Donghae between Leeteuk and Eunhyuk and the setting sun cast shadows over the trio's faces.  It was an absolutely stunning picture and later he gave one copy to each of the three people.

At first, Eunhyuk's parents were hesitant to let a stranger stay with them for so long, but as soon as she met him, Eunhyuk's mom insisted on letting him stay.  She would often complain to Eunhyuk about why he wasn't as well mannered as his friend and before long thought of Donghae as her own son.

Over the summer, the two boys got jobs at a local store and would often go out for dinner after their shifts were done.  Eunhyuk even brought Donghae to his secret hideaway where he first found Donghae's note in a bottle. 

They had packed some food that day and had a picnic right there in the middle of the field.  They played Frisbee and tag and went swimming in the ocean.  It was there that Eunhyuk first got the strange feeling in his chest.  It was like his heart was b with joy and that day it over flowed.  It was hard to describe and impossibly complex, but at the same time so unbearably simple.

That day he realized that the feelings of friendship and brotherhood he felt for the other boy had changed and morphed into something totally unknown.

It scared him, more than anything, because it was something completely different from anything he ever experienced before, and for once in his "perfect" little life he felt self-conscious.  A person's love and trust wasn't something you could buy with money or win over through your popularity.  You had to earn it, and Eunhyuk wasn't sure if he was worthy enough to even try.

He was hesitant at first, thinking that the feeling he felt toward the younger boy was just because of all the time they spent together and tried reasoning with himself that his mind was just craving affection so much that it was clouding his sense of judgment.  He waited for weeks for the feelings to go away, but if anything they were getting worse.  Anytime someone so much as mentioned his name or if they were in the same room, it felt like his world started to crumble and he would forget how to breathe.  Once it felt like he was going to faint because his heart was in his throat and he was sure that everyone could see him shaking from how hard it was beating.

He didn't remember when exactly it happened or how, all he could remember though was waking up one day, toward the ending of summer, and knowing that the skipping of his heart whenever Donghae was near wasn't just some fling that he'd get over a couple months from then.  It was something he felt deep inside his bones when the other was around and he realized that he wouldn't last a single day if they were ever parted.

That day he realized he was in love.

"Hae, let's move in together," Eunhyuk said. 

There were sitting under a tree and he had laid his head in Donghae's lap. Up until that point in time, Eunhyuk had had his eyes closed, but when the fingers that had previously been running through his hair stopped, Eunhyuk opened his eyes to peer up into a set of warm brown orbs.

"Why?" Donghae asked, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Well, because we're going to be going to the same college and I doubt that you would want to dorm with strangers.  Plus, I need someone to share the rent with and it might as well be you," Eunhyuk said.  He panicked and tried to hide what was really on his mind.

"Oh.  Is that the only reason?"  Donghae asked, his voice laced with sadness and what sounded like disappointment.

"Well . . . umm . . . "

"Yeah?"

"And you kind of need me to keep you from killing yourself. "

"Aish!"  Donghae flicked Eunhyuk's forehead playfully and just rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Hyuk.  Can't you be serious for once in your life?"

Well it's now or never I guess, Eunhyuk thought.

"Actually, Hae, I have something to tell you."

"Shoots, go for it."

"Well, I really like you.  No, I think I love you and the thought of you living somewhere else, far away from me, even though I would still see you at school everyday, makes my heart hurt." By then Eunhyuk had sat up and was sitting about a foot from Donghae.

"  . . . "

Donghae only blinked, as if his brain had shut off for a few seconds.

" . . . "

Eunhyuk didn't speak because he was waiting for Donghae to register what he said.

"Yah! Stop joking around!  This isn't funny, Eunhyuk." Donghae nervously punched his best friend in shoulder.  He pretended to be mad, and in some ways he really was.  Did Eunhyuk really think that playing around like that was funny?

 Aish!  The one time I'm being completely honest you don't believe me. Eunhyuk thought.

"I wasn't joking, Hae." Eunhyuk sighed miserably.

Eunhyuk got up and started walking back to his house.  He forgot that until college started in the fall Donghae would be staying at his house but that was understandable when your heart was breaking.

Ugh, I don't know why people want to be in love.  All that ever happens is you getting hurt, Eunhyuk thought.

He felt like there was a huge whole in his chest and the back of his throat started to sting with unshed tears.  He didn't even notice when crystal droplets of water gathered at the corners of his eyes.  He did, however, notice when he was suddenly pulled into a pair of strong arms and a head was placed into the crook of his neck.

"Why are you crying, Monkey?"  Donghae asked.

" . . ." Eunhyuk couldn't really answer that so he just stayed quiet.  His eyes were open in shock and he couldn't move.

"Were you really being serious back there?  Really?"  Donghae asked.  He pulled back to look into Eunhyuk's eyes.

"Do you honestly think I would joke about something like that, Hae?"

"True. Well, I would love to move in with you.  We should start looking for an apartment right away," Donghae said, turning Eunhyuk around and grabbing his hand.  Poor Eunhyuk was still shocked and confused at how quickly Donghae got over their little "exchange of words".

 And just like that, the awkward atmosphere of earlier dissipated as Donghae swung their arms between their bodies as they walked home.

"Oops, I almost forgot, " Donghae said, stopping in the middle of the road and leaning in to peck at Eunhyuk's cheek.

"I love you too, Hyukkie."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By then they had only known each other for little over 6 months but they couldn't remember their lives without the other. 

College was the same as the summer had been; they were inseparable and even had all the same classes. Normally, Eunhyuk, being the realistic and sensible person he was, would have been more cautious and careful about his love life.  But something about Donghae was so intoxicating and it was like he was under a spell. He was not only falling head over heels for this boy he met by chance, he was stumbling and tripping over himself too. 

When the other was around he felt complete.  He couldn't really describe it with words; it was something you had to experience to fully understand. And whenever they were away, it felt like he couldn't breathe.  He had laughed at his friends when they said that they would do anything for the one they loved but now he understood how it felt.  It was the best feeling in the world, like he could fly or all the bad things had magically disappeared from his life.

 It was different.  It was beautiful.  It was magic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had just finished college and were getting ready for their last summer vacation, before joining the working part of the population.  They were going to stay in Italy and were in the middle of planning their trip when Eunhyuk got a call from his older sister, Sora. 

"Hyukkie!  Where are you?" She asked.

"I'm at the park with Hae.  We're planning the last minute details of our vacation. Why?"

"Can you come home?  Dad was put in the hospital.  I'm on my way back right now!" Sora replied.  She sounded really stressed and Eunhyuk could tell that something was seriously wrong.

"What!" Eunhyuk replied.  His face paled and he felt sick to his stomach.

"I don't know all the details, but Mom wanted us home right away.  Something about this may be our last chance to say goodbye."

"Arasso.  I'll be there as soon as I can.  I'll meet you at the airport." 

Eunhyuk was up and rushing toward his car in an instant.  He was halfway toward the airport when his phone started to ring.  He looked down and sighed.

"Hey, babe.  Sorry I can't really talk right now.  I'll call you back."

"But . . . " Donghae tried but the line was already disconnected.

Ugh!  Why does he keep calling!  I told him I'll call him back, isn't that enough for him?  Eunhyuk thought.

"I'll be right back, Mom.  I have to answer this."  Eunhyuk said, excusing himself from his father's hospital room.

"WHAT!!!" Eunhyuk asked, or more like yelled into his phone when he got outside of the hospital.

"Where are you?!"

" . . . Is that all you had to ask?  I'm at the hospital, Donghae.  My dad is really sick and I have been trying to enjoy my last couple hours with him.  Except this annoying fish has been calling my phone non-stop and has already used up my phone's capacity for text messaging.  Are you really this clingy?  Can't you last one night without me?  God, you are so selfish.  Can't you see that I'm busy?  Huh?  Are you stupid or something?"

" . . . sniff. "

"Are you crying?"

" Sniff . . . No."

"Oh my god. Yes you are!!!!!!! Because of you I am missing vital minutes with my dying father and you're fricking CRYING?!"

". . ."

"Well?  Do you have anything to say for yourself?  If not, I'm hanging up."

"Fine, yes I'm CRYING!  If you had such an inconsiderate jerk face of a boyfriend who asked you out on a date to the park so you guys could discuss VACATION plans and then jumps up and ditches you without any money or means to get back home, and then yells at you and calls you clingy and annoying when you ask him where he is because you’re worried about him and then makes fun of you when you cry and are scared because you're ALL ALONE in the big, dark scary park you would CRY TOO!!!!!" Donghae sobbed on the other end.

" . . . "

"What? Cat got your tongue now?" Donghae spat out.

"Oh, ."

"Yeah. Oh is right.  You left me in the park all by myself and now I'm stuck here because I have no money."

"H-Hae, I'm sorry."

"Yeah.  You're sorry.  Whatever, I gotta go.  I have to find a way to get home.  Thanks for this wonderful date."

"Hae . . . " Eunhyuk tried, but it was too late. 

Aish, nice going Monkey.  He thought to himself.  I mess everything up.

Turns out Eunhyuk's dad had a major heart attack and he ended up dying that night.  When Eunhyuk got home, a red-eyed Donghae who was watching sappy Korean romance dramas and bawling his eyes out over a tub or Dr. Chocolate's Extra-Fudge Milk Chocolate Brownie Sunday with real chunks of Milk Chocolate Ice Cream greeted him (wow that's a mouthful.  Dare you to say that 5 times fast).

He put his stuff down on the table and walked over to where Donghae sat.  He sat beside him and pulled the spoon and tub of ice cream away from his boyfriend and set them on the table.

"Yah! What was that . . . for?"  Donghae stopped mid-sentence when he saw the state his boyfriend was in.  All anger from the earlier fight disappeared when he say the dark circles and begging eyes.

"Hae . . . I'm sorry.  I was such a jerk earlier."  Eunhyuk croaked. 

Normally, Donghae wouldn't have forgiven that easily but the sound of Eunhyuk's voice, all soft and broken and full of raw emotion, was enough for him to know that Eunhyuk really meant it.

"I'm sorry too, Hyukkie."  The words barely left Donghae's mouth before Eunhyuk launched himself at Donghae.  He latched on tightly and buried his nose into the crook of Donghae's neck.  He took deep breaths and tried to calm himself down but only ended up choking on air and crying harder.

"Hyukkie?  Stop, you're scaring me.  What happened?" Donghae asked, gently trying to pry himself away from Eunhyuk's death grip.  This only resulted in Eunhyuk tightening his hold on Donghae and crying harder.

"Hae . . . please don't leave me!  I n-need you right now.  Everyone is leaving me and- and I need you.  You can't le-leave me.  PLEASE!" Eunhyuk sobbed.  He was hysterical and Donghae was beginning to choke.

"Shhh . . . it's okay.  I won't leave you.  It'll be okay.  I'm not leaving, see?"  Donghae said.  He managed to get Eunhyuk to let go of his neck and wrapped him arms around him.  Eunhyuk was sitting on his lap and Donghae had one arm wrapped around Eunhyuk's shoulder and the other on the back of his head.

"Shh . . . I got you.  You're okay now, Hyukkie.  It's okay.  You're okay.  Everything will be fine. I won't leave.  I promise."  Donghae continued to rub soothing circles on the other's back and kept rocking Eunhyuk back and forth until the other fell asleep to the familiar scent of Donghae and the feeling of being safe inside the other's arms.

"Kyuhyun are you crying?" Henry asked incredulously.

"No, I just . . . have something in my eye."

"Whatever, hyung."

"Oh shut up Mochi."

Since Eunhyuk's father was the founder of a successful international company, and Eunhyuk was the only suitable heir, he had no choice but to take over the family business.  It wouldn't have been so bad but most of his father's dealings were in foreign countries and Eunhyuk would have to study in the United States in order to be able to take on the full responsibilities of the company. 

He and Donghae made up after that night and Eunhyuk is now certain, without any doubts whatsoever, that Donghae was made for him. If he could, he would just forget about his family's company and would rather live poor and with Donghae than rich and without him.  However, life isn't that easy and Eunhyuk knows that if he doesn't take over the company, lots of other lives will be affected.

"Donghae, we need to talk." Eunhyuk said one day.

It was a couple weeks after his father's funeral and a few days before he would have to leave for the United States.  Donghae knew that Eunhyuk was going to take over his family's business but didn't know that Eunhyuk would have to go away.

"What is it, Hyukkie?" Donghae asked as he walked into their apartment flat.  It had huge ceiling to floor glass windows and Eunhyuk was currently standing in the middle of their living room watching the setting sun.

"Do you love me?" Eunhyuk asked, not turning around.

"Of course I do.  Why else would I have stuck around so long?" Donghae laughed.  He put down his things and walked up behind Eunhyuk, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on Eunhyuk's shoulder.

"Then . . . will you wait for me?" Eunhyuk asked in a small voice. He turned around so that he was facing Donghae and pulled him into a hug.

"Huh?" Donghae replied, uncertainly looping his arms around Eunhyuk's neck.

"Will you . . . wait for me?"

"What do you mean?" Donghae asked, slightly worried.

"Don't be mad okay?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"Hae, I've known you for about four years but it feels like you've been here my whole life.  I don't know who I would be today if I never found you note and didn't get to meet you. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself.  You know when something's wrong with me, even if I don't, and even if I treat you bad, you never leave my side.  I want you to be mine forever, Hae."

Just then Eunhyuk pulled away from Donghae looked down at the floor.

"You know how I have to take over my dad's company?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, before they hand over the full power to me, I have to go to New York to get acquainted with my dad's most powerful clients and to finish studying for my business degree.  I'll be gone for about 2 years . . ."

Donghae stepped back from Eunhyuk as if he had struck him.

"2 years?  That's a long time Hyuk." Donghae said.  He had mixed emotions and didn't know what to feel.

"I know."

"When are you leaving?"

"Friday."

"This Friday!  That's in three days!"

"I know.  That's why I asked you if you would wait for me."

Eunhyuk reached out for Donghae again, who tentatively stepped back into his arms.  He was still shocked that his boyfriend would be leaving him for so long, so soon.  He felt a flood of emotions and wrapped his arms around Eunhyuk's neck.  He snuggled into the crook of neck and breathed deeply.

"If I would wait for you?" He breathed out shakily after a couple minutes.  Eunhyuk automatically tightened his arms around Donghae turned to give him a kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah.  Because I want you to be with me forever so I figured that once I finished all my studying and built a good fortune, we could get married when I get back from New York."

Donghae froze in Eunhyuk's arms and it took a minute for the words to sink in. When he snapped back into the present, Eunhyuk had let Donghae go and after fishing around in his pocket, pulled out a small black velvet box.  Time seemed to slow down as he got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a simple band of silver nestled in the black velvet.

"Lee Donghae, I love you with all my heart and will promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my life.  Will you marry me?"

For the next three days . . .

            "Wait! Grandpa!"  Henry shouted out all of a sudden.

            "Yes, Henry?"

"Did he say yes?  You didn't tell us what Donghae said yet."

"Well, what do you think he said?"

"Yes?" Henry asked hopefully.

"Of course he said yes." Jungsoo sighed.

For the next three days Donghae wouldn't let Eunhyuk out of his sight, not that Eunhyuk wanted to be away from him.  They went shopping for the clothes that Eunhyuk would wear in New York and also bought two web-cams so that they would be able to video chat while Eunhyuk was gone.  During the day they would run around and have fun and at night they would sleep in each other's arms.  It was the best three days of Eunhyuk's life.

But sadly, time flies when you're having fun and waaaaay before he was ready to, Eunhyuk had to say farewell to Donghae.

            "I'll be back before you know it, Hae." Eunhyuk said as he pulled the other into another hug.  They were at the airport and Eunhyuk's plane was ready for loading.

"I know.  Just . . . don't go finding yourself someone else while you're in New York, okay?" Donghae said. 

He placed his head on Eunhyuk's shoulder and inhaled deeply.

"I don't think anyone in New York would be cool enough for me to want to leave you.  Don't worry."

Donghae just sighed and took another deep breath.

"Umm . . . Hae? What are you doing?"

"I want to remember what you smell like Hyukkie.  I don't want to forget."

"Haha I'm coming back, Donghae.  I'll call you and write you everyday, just like I used to when we were younger.  I have to go now, Hae.  I love you."  Donghae tightened his arms Eunhyuk and despite his best efforts to stop, began to tear up.

"Do you have to leave Hyukkie?  Can't you just study here and have your dad's clients come to you?  You don't have to go."

"Hae . . . " Eunhyuk sighed.

"I know.  I just don't want you to leave me."

"I'll be back.  Remember! You promised to wait for me.  You better be here when I get back or else you're dead."

"Haha as if I would go anywhere.  I'll be here when you get back."

"Bye. Hae.  I love you."

"Goodbye, Eunhyuk."

And that sent shivers up his spine because it was laced with a chilling finality.

At first Eunhyuk kept his promise.  He wrote letters, took pictures, sent emails, made phone calls, and video chatted with Donghae everyday.  It was the first time he had been away from Donghae for so long (besides the 18 years before they met) and everyday the pain in his chest got worse.  When he left on the airplane that morning, every mile he traveled away from the other felt like it was ripping his soul in two.  Almost like he was a rubber band that you kept stretching, farther and farther apart, until it snapped.

It happened slowly at first, around the end of the first year Eunhyuk had spent in New York. 

It started with Donghae replying a few days late.  Then a few weeks.  Then a month.  Then two. 

Eunhyuk only had 6 more months to go when Donghae seemed to stop replying all together. 

He tried calling the other, but all he got was a falsely happy voice saying, "Sorry, this number does not exist." 

He tried e-mailing but all he got was a message saying, "Error: this address is invalid." 

He tried mailing letters but they all returned, "Undeliverable."

Eunhyuk was debating whether or not to file a missing person's case but he decided to call his friends to see if they saw him first.

"Yoboseyo?"

"Hyung! Have you seen Donghae lately?"

"Hahaha . . . Sorry what was that Hyuk?" Leeteuk asked.  Hyukjae could hear Kangin in the background and rolled his eyes as he realized why his hyung was so distracted.

"Have you Donghae?"

"Donghae?  Who’s that?"

"My boyfriend . . . you know the one who stayed over at my place the summer before college started."

"Huh?  You got a new boyfriend after Sungmin?  Since when!  Why wasn't I informed?"

"Aish!  Hyung!  I'm serious.  Have you seen him?  This is VERY important."  Eunhyuk was starting to get seriously worried.

"Sorry, Hyuk.  I honestly don't know who you're talking about.  Maybe you're just tired.  Make sure to get some sleep.  And are you eating well?"

"Okay, Hyung.  I'm gonna go now.  Thanks and don't worry about me. Bye."  As soon as Eunhyuk hung up he pulled himself into a corner of his room and curled up into a ball.  Maybe Leeteuk was just too busy to remember.  His hyung was getting old after all and memory loss was part of old age, right?

Okay Eunhyuk, let's take a deep breath.  That was just one person, there is still all your other friends to ask, Eunhyuk thought.

Three and a half hours later, Eunhyuk had went through all the contacts in his phone but the answer was still the same. 

"Who's that?" "What did you say?" "No, haven't seen him."

Eunhyuk was in the middle of hyperventilating as he racked his memory for something that the other would find offensive. 

Did he write something in his emails?  Did he say something while they were talking?  Did he forget the other's birthday?  Their anniversary? But no matter what Eunhyuk thought he still wasn't sure what was wrong.  He was so worried he felt sick and he began to panic.

What if something serious happened?  He wouldn't be able to stand living with that on his conscious. 

By then he was on a flight back to Korea and was trying to look on the bright side of things. 

Maybe the other had lost his phone, or changed his number because of telemarketers.

By why wouldn't he have told me? Eunhyuk thought.

Maybe there was a typo in the email address.

By I checked it 10 times.

Maybe I wrote the wrong address on the letters.

But I was absolutely sure it was correct.

Eunhyuk had the same mental argument the whole plane ride back but settled his mind down with the prospect of Donghae waiting for him at the airport to explain everything.  Just thinking of the other was enough to put his mind at ease for the rest of the flight and he was able to drift into light nap, dreaming and imagining what it would feel like to hold the other once again.

When his plane landed on the runway strip, he all but pushed everyone out of the way so that he could get out of the terminal as quickly as he could.  He ran to baggage claim and then sprinted out the gates. 

He was expecting to be jumped at by a certain fishy or pulled into a bone-crushing hug at least. 

But what he got was . . .

Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

No hug.

No kiss.

No slow-mo movie scene where the two lovebirds run slowly at each other while romantic music played in the background.

And especially . . .

No Donghae.

Eunhyuk froze.  His mind started reeling and was working double time to come up with a satisfactory excuse of why Donghae wasn't there.

But it couldn't come up with one.

He felt like collapsing and crying his heart out but he was in the middle of a crowded airport and the soon to be CEO of a famous company.  He wasn't allowed to break down in public.

Eunhyuk called Leeteuk to pick him up and take him home.  It helped his aching heart to talk with someone, even if it was just small talk about the weather.

He felt a little better when Leeteuk dropped him off home to his shared apartment flat. 

Well at least I'll get to see him now. Eunhyuk thought.

He pulled out his keys and stepped into the apartment.

And that's when things got weird.

Everything was exactly as he left it.  The curtains weren't fully closed, the door to his room was slightly jarred because of him rushing out to get to the airport, his shoes were still jumbled in the corner of the entryway and that day's newspaper was on the coffee table.

EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY AS IT WAS THE DAY EUNHYUK LEFT.

Everything except half of the stuff that had once filled the apartment was gone.

Everything that belonged to Donghae was gone.

Later, people would say that he just cracked under all the pressure of taking over his family's company.  But to Eunhyuk it was all just a bad dream.  After finding all of his beloved's possessions gone he freaked out and ran all over the place trying to find Donghae.  His heart was in tatters, thinking that Donghae had left him without even saying anything.  He did everything he could to find Donghae and soon found Donghae's address from his hometown and caught the first train there.

He ran up to Donghae's parents' house thinking that maybe he had gone home after leaving.  He just wanted to talk to the other.  Wanted to see the other.  Wanted to touch the other.

"Knock, knock."

"Hello?  What do you need?" A middle age man opened the door.  He had graying hair and wore glasses but he looked exactly like Donghae.  Eunhyuk guessed that he was his father.

"Oh.   Hi, sir.  My name is Eunhyuk.  Are you by any chance, related to Lee Donghae?"  Eenhyuk asked after doing a 90 degree bow.

"Umm . . . yeah.  He's my son.  Why?"

"Is he here right now?  I really need to talk to him."  Eunhyuk asked. 

            "Well . . . I think you might want to come in.  He hasn't been home in a while."

Eunhyuk walked into the home.  It was bright and warm and Eunhyuk could see why Donghae had grown up so happy and carefree.  He could feel the love in the air and it made him feel so safe.

Mr. Lee directed Eunhyuk into what looked like the living room.  There were picture frames on the wall and on the tables.  It was painted light beige with white trim and baseboards and the wooden floors were covered with a small striped rug. The room was decently big and filled comfortably. In the middle of the room was a glass coffee table and in the corner was a recliner next to tall stand up lamp.  Opposite of that was an olive green cloth couch, which was seating a small petite woman. Eunhyuk, soon learned that the lady was Donghae's mom.

"So . . . who are you exactly?"  Donghae's father asked Eunhyuk, who was sitting opposite of Donghae's parents in a matching love seat. 

            "Well . . . I'm guess I'm Donghae's fiancé.  I didn't know he had parents or I would've came earlier and asked for your permission.  I didn't mean to be rude by barging into here without letting you know beforehand."  Eunhyuk had his bed bowed and when he looked up he was met with two sets of identically confused eyes.

"How long have you known him?"  His mother asked.

"Well I've exchanged letters with him since the beginning of 2005 but met him personally 6 years ago when he came down to Seoul for the summer.  He never talked about you guys so I assumed he didn't have parents or just didn't want to talk about them."

"S-Six years ago?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh my."  Donghae's mom then stood up and ran from the room. "I'm sorry.  I just need a moment to collect myself."

"Oh.  I'm sorry. Was it something I said?"  Eunhyuk asked glancing over at Donghae's dad.

"No.  She's just very emotional. Now tell me boy.  What have you been doing with my son?"

"Well nothing really.  He stayed with me and my family over the summer and then we went to the same college.  We'd been living together for about 4 years when I had to go to New York for a business trip.  We were keeping in touch but over the past few months he hadn't been responding.  And then when I came back, all his stuff was gone from my apartment.  I know this is weird coming from a guy, but I really love your son and when that happened I thought maybe he was mad and left.  I came here because I thought maybe he moved back home."

Donghae's dad had a pained expression on his face.

"You said you've known his since 2005 and that he drove down to see you in the summer?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, if I could I would give you my approval to marry my son, Eunhyuk. You seem like a very well off man and I can tell you really love him. But . . ." Donghae's father looked down and it seemed almost like he was crying.

"Yes, sir?  If it's because you don't think I can take care of him, I promise that I'll always try my best.  I'm already the CEO of a company so it's not like he would be marrying a bum off the street."

"Oh no.  That's not it.  It's just . . . my son is dead."

Eunhyuk froze.  It was so silent that it was deafening.  He didn't know what to feel.  First he felt guilt, for ever thinking that Donghae was avoiding him on purpose, then he felt anger, because everything good in his life never turned out right, and then he felt confusion.

"How long has he been dead, sir?"

"6 years.  He died in the summer of 2005."

"What?  But that's when I met him.  He . . . He was . . . He was living with me."

Then Eunhyuk felt it.  It was like a blinding heat was sweeping over his body and when it left he felt ice cold.  His face was drawn and pale and when he looked up he saw an apologetic expression on Donghae's father's face.

"Your son is Lee Donghae right?  He was 18 in 2005 and he loved kids.  He talked about aliens and was always smiling.  He loved the outdoors and had a dog named Choco."

"Yes, that's him . . . Here.  Is this the man you were going to marry?"  Donghae's father stood up and walked over to a nearby table.  He picked up a silver picture frame and handed it to Eunyuk.

He nearly collapsed at what he saw.  There was a split second where he felt fear and was afraid, but then the sadness got him.  His chest ached and he knew that from that moment on he was never going to be complete again.

Because staring up at him was the face of his one and only Donghae.  The one he met in the summer of 2005.  The one who died in the summer of 2005.  The one he fell so irrevocably in love with.  And the one he knew he could never have.

And on his left ring finger was a simple band of silver.

A/N - So yeah.  I don't know what this is.  I personally think it was really bad and I promise to make it up to you, Jess!  Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys thought.  Thanks and I hope everyone had a good New Years!