11.


Kyungsoo’s parents loved and cared for him a lot (putting aside their narrow-mindedness when they moved or their negligence when a deadline came near).  His parents patched up his childhood scraped knees, scolded his preteen wrongdoings and praised his overachieving math scores. They always remembered to celebrate his birthday, pick out items in his favourite colour and cook his favourite food expertly. Whether it was because of the biological attachment or not, Kyungsoo loved and cared for his parents as well.

A soaked, dirtied, and sniffling Kyungsoo arrived home and apologized to his worried parents. They gently accepted the apology and thankfully didn’t ask further questions. Kyungsoo did know they kept their silence not out of disinterest but because they didn’t want to invade Kyungsoo’s privacy. Later that night, Kyungsoo overheard his mother whispering to his father that whatever had happened must have been important if it got Kyungsoo to bolt out of the house like he did.

Neatly folded pajamas awaited Kyungsoo outside his bathroom door when he finished showering like his mother demanded.  Feeling both mentally and physically exhausted, he had no problem resting in bed as his parents’ good intentions dictated.

When he woke up the next morning, he was greeted with a pounding headache and shivers from the chills. His parents quickly gave him some medicine and made him soup for his meals. On Monday, his parents forced him to stay in bed and told him that one more day of rest would be enough to keep all of the illness away. Although he was feeling better, Kyungsoo agreed once more to his parents' wishes.

He didn’t want to go to school anyway. He didn’t want to go back and see the storage room rooftop. He didn’t want to see what was left of his and Kai's boxes. He didn’t even want to see Kai. He knew once his eyes would find Kai, all the memories would rush back and get the best of him again.

However, one day of rest meant one day of rest and he promptly got ready for school the Tuesday morning. He ate his breakfast with his parents, walked to school and sat down in his assigned desk. He focused on the teacher’s words and jotted down information neatly.

School work distracted Kyungsoo well enough. For the first time in a long while, Kyungsoo was dreading the sound of the lunch bell. When it finally rang, Kyungsoo didn’t move from his seat. He stared down at his open notebook, rereading the chemical formulas he had just learned. The letters started to mold and blur together and then, all he could see was paper.

He slapped his notebook shut and stood up quickly, his chair screeching across the floor. He grabbed his lunch and the mystery novel he had borrowed out of the school's library and exited the classroom. His pace was a quick walk as he left through one of the side entrance's and scurried across the school's grounds. His feet slowed the closer he got to the storage room.

Kyungsoo found himself standing in front of the rusting ladder that would usually bring him to his sanctuary. He stared at the corroding metal while his teeth nearly tore through the skin of his bottom lip. Letting out one large sigh, he placed his novel between his lips and slipped his hand through his lunch bag handle. Tings and tangs echoed as he progressed his way up the metal ladder until he reached the top.

His book flew downward and hit the ground below when Kyungsoo’s jaw slackened. He didn’t move. His grip tightened on the ladder and he just looked.

There was a giant box. Big enough to probably fit a large fridge and more. Across the walls of the box were mismatches of cardboard creations like hearts, birds, stars and flowers. A series of pinwheels were taped along the top edge of the box, spinning along with gusts of wind.  Before he could realize it, Kyungsoo had fully gotten himself onto the roof and inched closer to the box.

Soon, he was near enough to see that the roof of the box had a large mural. Swirls of orange and yellow mixed together and formed a blistering majestic sun which contrasted against the almost playful looking black and grey cat laying beneath it.

Kyungsoo gulped down the overwhelming feelings that were clogging up in his throat. He slowly got onto his knees and slid his lunch bag off of his wrist. His fingers reached for the bottom of the box, twitching along its way, and finally lifted up a side. He crawled inside and was met with darkness.

“Kai?” Kyungsoo croaked out, looking around blindly. He didn’t get a reply but he could hear the sounds of steady breathing which weren't his own. He patted his hands around and found something that felt like a leg. The breathing hitched. Kyungsoo’s fingers crept up the calves and up to the thighs. Kyungsoo slipped his body in between the legs as his hands roamed toward the other body’s torso. The breathing quickened and Kyungsoo could feel the body’s pulse race. He slid his hands around the body's waist and squeezed, letting his face meet with the person’s collarbone.

“Thank you,” he muffled into the nape of the person. “Thank you so much.”

Arms wrapped themselves around Kyungsoo and pulled him further up. Kyungsoo readjusted himself and placed his arms around the person’s shoulders. Kyungsoo repeated his thanks again and again between sniffles and gasps for air. 

Kyungsoo was crying. Again. But Kyungsoo felt no shame as the tears flowed out. He had never felt so relieved, so cared for, so grateful and so happy. It looked like the box would have taken hours to complete and with the minor details like the pinwheels and the roof mural; it just hit Kyungsoo hard. Kai gave him such a great present, maybe one of the greatest he’s ever received.

They stayed tangled together the entire lunch period. Kai would occasionally hum some unknown tune while running his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair. When the lunch bell rang, Kyungsoo's grip on Kai tightened. He didn’t want to let go just yet.

Kyungsoo's hand traced its way up to Kai’s face and lightly caressed over the curves of the bone structure. His fingers met with Kai’s lips and felt their plushness. Kyungsoo, in the heat of the moment, stretched his neck up and replaced fingers with lips.

In his opinion, he didn’t understand why he didn’t take the initiative sooner. Kai was always the one who did the swooping and stealing of breaths. It was about time that Kyungsoo was on the giving end instead of receiving. And with the way Kai’s grip on him tightened, with the way he gasped, with the way he groaned, Kyungsoo wanted to separate and be the one to start their kisses over and over again.

Alas, there was something called school and it nagged and nagged in Kyungsoo’s mind until he pulled his lips away. He slowly slid his way off of Kai, finding Kai’s hand in the process and tugging on it. He lifted the box and dragged Kai along with him.

The sun hit Kai and revealed him to look so exhausted with prominent dark under-eye circles. His clothing was covered in a mixture of glue, paint, and bits and pieces of paper and cardboard. His clothing choice was also not of the school's uniform.

Kai sighed and gave Kyungsoo a small smile. “Thanks for the wake up call.”

“How long?” Kyungsoo asked. “How long have you been working on this? How did you even…find this?”

Kai lazily scratched the back of his head while examining the box carefully. “Probably since early Sunday afternoon. Had to get my supplies prepared in the morning and I stopped by my father’s furniture store to grab the box.”

“You didn’t go home?” Kyungsoo asked, but was mostly afraid of the answer.  Kai didn’t need to reply with his smile casually giving away his response. Kyungsoo lightly punched Kai in the shoulder and bit back a smile. “Idiot. You didn’t have to do this.”

“But you like it, right? If you do, then don’t worry about it. It'd be worth it.”

Kyungsoo squeezed Kai’s hand once more before he gently slipped his hand away. He told Kai he had to get to class and that Kai had better walk him home after school. After a small chuckle, Kai agreed.

Kyungsoo was sitting at his desk, spacing out in the middle of third period, when a want overcame him. Kai had done so much for Kyungsoo and asked for nothing in return. He had gently coaxed Kyungsoo out of his protective barrier and shown him what happiness felt like again. Whenever Kyungsoo was beaten down, Kai held true on his promises to make him better and he always went beyond expectations when doing so.

What had Kyungsoo done for Kai?

Nothing.

If anything, he was doing something worse. He was leaving Kai.

Kyungsoo didn’t want to leave without properly repaying his debt. He owed Kai so much. The only problem was how to pay that debt back. Kai had never shown him much of his wants and seemed perfectly content with his life. He never voiced out any desires…except for one thing Kyungsoo realized.

Kai’s father. That was the problem Kyungsoo had to tackle. That was it. It was finalized in Kyungsoo's mind.

Kyungsoo went to work on devising a plan with the entire content of the fourth period’s teachings becoming a blur in the background. He ran through multiple ways to confront Kai’s father and somehow get the message across that his son is brilliantly talented. By the end of fourth period, Kyungsoo had it figured out. It was risky, but it was worth a shot. Kai’s happiness was definitely worth a shot.

The first part of the plan was set into motion when Kai was walking Kyungsoo home.

“I want to see your home.”

Kai looked baffled but agreed to Kyungsoo’s demand. They walked a few streets down from where Kyungsoo lived and soon they were stopped in front of a regular sized home that looked very similar to Kyungsoo's. Kai pulled him inside through their connected hands.

“Is anyone home?”

Kai shook his head.

Second part of the plan was close to complete. Kai led Kyungsoo up the stairs, but Kyungsoo was paying close attention to the backpack hanging from Kai’s shoulders. Once inside Kai’s bedroom, Kai slumped the backpack to the ground next to his bed and plopped down onto the mattress. Kai looked up at him expectantly, probably hoping for an explanation.

“Could I have some water?”

Kai nodded, looking a tad bit nervous. Kyungsoo bet that the nerves whirling around in his stomach were ten times worse. Kai stood up from the bed and let his fingers brush against Kyungsoo’s as he exited the room. Once out of sight, Kyungsoo began the third phase of his scheme. He quickly brought his knees down in front of Kai’s backpack and fiddled to the largest pocket.

His hands rummaged as fast as they could until they found a black sketchbook. Kyungsoo pulled it out immediately and searched through the pages. The pages were covered in numerous sketches and small paintings of random objects and people. Perfect. Kyungsoo shoved the sketchbook into his own backpack and zipped up Kai’s bag. He turned around just in time for the door of Kai’s room to open and reveal Kai holding a glass of water.

“Thanks.”

Kyungsoo stood up and took the offered glass. He swallowed down half of the water in one gulp, hoping his nervousness would go down with it. Kai raised an eyebrow and mentioned that Kyungsoo must have been very thirsty. He was,  just not for the usual reasons.

“Where is the washroom?”

Kai sighed and told him the directions. Phase four started when Kyungsoo exited Kai’s bedroom. He tiptoed in the opposite direction of what Kai told him and headed down the stairs. He was thankful the stairs did not creak like his own. He quietly but swiftly made his way across the first floor, locking his sight on the office he saw when he entered the home.

He slipped past the office door’s opening and walked around the desk near the back of the room. He pulled out the borrowed sketchbook from his bag and placed it right in the middle of the desk’s surface. He found a scrap piece of paper and scribbled a short message.

Your son has an amazing talent.
Please don’t let it go to waste.

He stuck the note between the front cover and first page of the sketchbook. He took some paper scattered about and placed them on top of the sketchbook and hide it from obvious sight. Phase four complete. Kyungsoo bolted out of the office and tiptoed up the stairs. He entered Kai’s bedroom to find Kai lying down on his bed and wrestling with his thumbs.

“When do your parents come home?”

Late, Kai replied. Kyungsoo nodded back and sat down next to Kai. Kai leaned upward and let his hands slide Kyungsoo’s backpack off of Kyungsoo's shoulders. The bag fell to the floor and their lips connected.

Kyungsoo left Kai’s house later that evening, cheeks still red and heart still racing on his walk home. Now, now...what transpired between the two of them is a story for a later time. 

(Chapter revised 14/11)

I can't do replies right now. I'm going away [again] and won't be back until the 12th. I just wanted to get this out ASAP. Do understand I read them all and will reply to them as soon as I can. Before I go, I want to show you guys something amazing. I am so blessed to have such fantastic readers. 

Special thanks for Myakyuji07 for this! She's such a nice person and a good bud of mine here on AFF. Isn't she talented? Gahh, so cute!
That is all, until next time ~~<33