Chapter 3
“Aren’t any of you going to get that?” Eunhyuk yelled as someone rang the buzzer, standing up from his comfortable position on the couch of Jin Ri’s (and now Kyuhyun’s as well) apartment. When no one answered, he sat back down.

“I wonder what’s taking those two so long,” Sungmin asked, glancing at the doorway. They had come to pick the two up for the joint belated celebration of Kyuhyun’s and Siwon’s birthdays. They had been waiting for the two to get ready for almost 15 minutes now.

“I don’t really want to think about what they’re possibly doing,” Eunhyuk commented, shuddering. In the short time that the couple had been back in Korea, he’d run into them making out at least twice already. He shuddered once again.

The door buzzer rang again. Eunhyuk and Sungmin glanced at each other then both decided to just answer the door. As they opened it, they were joined by Jin Ri, who was all ready to go, followed by Kyuhyun.

“I’m looking for Mrs. Cho,” the mailman requested, holding up a small, boxed package.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jin Ri spoke before anyone else could. “She doesn’t live here. But we can just take it I guess.” She looked at Kyuhyun for confirmation. She frowned when she saw him giving her an amused look, while Eunhyuk and Sungmin were laughing like crazy hyenas. “What’s so funny?”

The three boys gave her a pointed look. When she still didn’t get it, Sungmin pointed to the name printed on the package: Mrs. Cho Jin Ri.

“You are married to Kyuhyun, you know,” Eunhyuk helpfully enlightened her.

“Oh. Oh!” Jin Ri reacted, glancing sheepishly at the mailman, who was watching the whole exchange interestedly. “That’s me. I’ll take that.”

After the mailman had gone, Kyuhyun got the package from Jin Ri and placed it on the mantle, telling her that they should just open it when they get back. Fans’ reaction to their marriage weren’t pleasant and it brought a lot of them to send a lot of hate mail both at the dorm and at her apartment. This made them more careful with whatever mail they receive. Kyuhyun always made sure that, when Jin Ri does open and read anything sent to them, he was around.

“I’ll just go get my purse,” Jin Ri announced, walking back to the bedroom.

“Hang on a second,” Kyuhyun told his hyungs, who just rolled their eyes and returned to their comfortable position back in the living room.

He followed his wife into the bedroom and watched as she stood in front of the mirror, mumbling something to herself while putting on her earrings. Moving to stand behind her, he placed his hands on her hips and leaned forward to kiss her exposed neck.

“Mrs. Cho,” he said through her skin, making her shiver. When he lifted his head and looked at her through the mirror, there was a smirk on his face.

“Sometimes I still feel like this is all just a dream, that I’m going to wake up and realize that this isn’t real,” she admitted in explanation to the incident earlier, facing him and giggling a little.

“Now that won’t do. Let me show you how real this is, Mrs. Cho,” he said in a low voice. He cupped her face and planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

Jin Ri forgot for a second where she was. She clung onto his waist, her hands the polo shirt he was wearing, and eagerly kissed him back. But when his hands started to lift her skirt up, she still had the presence of mind to stop him.

“Kyu, we should get going,” she reminded him, pushing him away and grabbing her purse. “Eunhyuk oppa and Sungmin oppa didn’t look too happy with all the waiting they’ve done.”

“They’ve already waited,” he mumbled, nuzzling her neck. “What’s a couple more minutes? Besides, I’m on a mission here, remember? I’m making you realize how real we are.”

“Mission accomplished,” she announced with a chuckle, pulling away from him. “Really, Kyu, the others are waiting for us. Besides, do you really want to experience Angie unnie’s and Leeteuk oppa’s wrath? You know how scary they are these days.”

Kyuhyun immediately straightened up, fixing his tie. “You better start thinking of another excuse aside from Angie noona and Teukie hyung. Noona’s going to give birth soon and then they’ll be less scary,” he advised her. “Anyhow, we’ll just carry on where we left off when we get back.”

“You and your brain,” she said, shaking her head.

“You like this brain,” he reminded her, putting an arm around her as they walked out of the bedroom and to the living room. “Because this brain is mine and you like me.”

“One of these days I’m going to karate chop that brain out of that head of yours,” Sungmin in as he overheard this, standing up and pulling Jin Ri to his side.

“What are you doing?” Kyuhyun demanded, immediately feeling the loss of his wife.

“I’m keeping you from harassing her until we get to Teukie hyung’s house,” Sungmin declared, his arm around Jin Ri, who laughed at this.”

Eunhyuk nodded in fierce agreement. “You’re not allowed to sit beside her in the car either,” he added resolutely.

“She’s my wife!” Kyuhyun argued. He turned to her, a frown on his face. “Princess, do something!”

“Can I just talk to him for a second?” she nicely asked Sungmin and Eunhyuk. The two boys looked at each other before nodding.

They watched as Jin Ri pulled Kyuhyun aside and started to whisper something in his ear. His eyes widened and he immediately straightened up, as if on alert. After a minute the two returned with Kyuhyun very much behaved. He even walked ahead to the parking lot, leaving his wife with his hyungs.

“Okay, what did you tell him?” Eunhyuk asked. “It’s eerie, the way he’s acting.”

She smiled. “Oppa, I don’t think you want to know.”

“Oh god, you’ve been corrupted!” Sungmin couldn’t help but remark as Eunhyuk covered his ears.

~ * ~

“Hey!” Angie greeted the new arrivals, waddling towards them, her arms outstretched in front of her.

Sungmin and Eunhyuk rushed towards her and gently gave her a hug, followed by Jin Ri and Kyuhyun. They were having a belated birthday celebration for the two birthday celebrants of February, Kyuhyun and Siwon, in the Park abode.

“How’s the baby?” Sungmin cooed, lightly touching Angie’s tummy. She was due to give birth any day now.

“Heavy,” Angie answered. “What took you guys so long?” Sungmin, Eunhyuk and even Jin Ri all pointed at Kyuhyun. “Why am I not surprised?” she muttered, waving them to come to the backyard. “Wookie’s started grilling the steaks. Siwon and Zhoumi are helping him out.”

The three boys set out for the backyard, followed by Jin Ri so she could greet everyone, while Angie returned to the kitchen.

“Sister-in-law!” Donghae yelled across the garden. He was discussing something with Heechul and Kangin when he saw them arrive. He dashed towards her side, followed by the two other boys in a much slower manner, and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Oppa,” she greeted back, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Why are you guys so late?” Heechul demanded, taking his time to hug her.

“Oh, um,” she started to explain.

“Don’t ask, hyung. You don’t want to know,” Eunhyuk answered for her as he passed by with additional steak on hand.

The three boys gave her a questioning look to which she merely blushed and laughed at. She waved her hand dismissively. “Just… Kyuhyun,” she vaguely explained. But it seemed that the three boys had caught on because they all snickered.

“What’s he doing all the way there?” Kangin wanted to know, nodding towards her husband, who was annoying Ryeowook by the grill.

“Yeah, why isn’t he your tail today?” Heechul questioned. Usually, Kyuhyun would be following Jin Ri like a little chick. He was that attached—or addicted—to his wife.

“He’s behaving,” she commented, smiling a little as she glanced at him. At that moment, he looked up at her, meeting her eyes. He smiled in return then went back to nagging Ryeowook, who looked like he was going to explode. She turned to Donghae, Heechul and Kangin, who were giving her an amused look. “Is Taeyeon here?” she then asked Kangin.

“In the kitchen with Angie noona and Nari,” Kangin swiftly responded.

“Okay then,” Jin Ri told them with a wave. “I’m going to help them out.”

~ * ~

“No, hyung,” Kyuhyun whined as he watched Kibum strategize on how to kill Heechul’s character. “You’re doing it the wrong way.”

Ryeowook had shooed all of the members, except Zhoumi and Siwon, towards the living room, where Leeteuk had set up a gaming station. The boys had gathered around the television, mostly cheering for Heechul just because they wanted to stay on his good side.

“Kyu, stop—I’m the one playing here,” Kibum argued, trying to grab the controller back from their impudent magnae.

“But you’re doing it wrong and you’re going to get killed,” Kyuhyun stubbornly stated, refusing to give the controller back.

“What are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be following your wife everywhere?” Shindong teased.

This caused Kyuhyun to lose concentration and put the controller down, after which Kibum grabbed it happily. “Just so you know, I am not whipped,” Kyuhyun declared.

“Yeah right,” Kangin scoffed.

“If I’m whipped then what do you call Teukie hyung?” Kyuhyun shot back.

“Hey! How did I get in the middle of this?” Leeteuk in, looking defensive. “And I’m not whipped either.” He glared at the members, all of which turned their attention back to the TV screen innocently. They knew better than to cross him, especially at a time when Angie was expecting to give birth any day.

Kyuhyun snickered in triumph. But he knew what they all meant. He loved Jin Ri so much that he really would do anything for her. He wanted her to be happy and he was willing to do anything for that to happen. Even so, he was confident that he was not whipped. He smiled in contentment at this.

“Hey Kyu,” Sungmin suddenly asked. “What were those letters in your apartment?” Kyuhyun snapped around to glare at his hyung.

“What letters?” Kyuhyun asked, confused.

“Those letters that you stash where you put your shoes,” Eunhyuk explained. When they had arrived, they saw a big bag of letters, seemingly unread. “Are they fan letters?”

“Oh just mail,” Kyuhyun vaguely replied.

“What kind of mail, Kyuhyun?” Leeteuk seriously asked, sensing that something was going on. Heechul paused the game, feeling the tension in the room rise.

“The kind of mail we never even bother with,” Kyuhyun finally gave in. “Just your typical anti-fan letters.” The amount of such letters had increased in number when he had confirmed in an interview that he and Jin Ri had gotten married when they were in China.

“Does sister-in-law know about this?” Donghae carefully asked.

“Yes,” Kyuhyun confirmed. “We never read them. We just stash it away. When she does get curious, or when she hopes that there may be some nice letters in the stash, she reads them when I’m around. It’s not a big deal.” When his hyungs merely gave him a look, he insisted, “It’s not! I’m taking care of it.”

“You should have someone look those over to make sure there are no real threats,” Leeteuk seriously advised. “It’s better to be sure.”

There was a silence as they all reflected on this. In the industry that they were in, too much has happened. There were too many close calls with regards to safety, their own as well as people that they know.

“Why is it so quiet?” Nari asked as she came out from the kitchen, followed by Taeyeon and Jin Ri. They were carrying plates of food.

Shindong, Kyuhyun and Kangin immediately scrambled up to help them and to help pretend that nothing was wrong, while Leeteuk stood up to go to his wife who was still in the kitchen.

“We were just all giving Kyuhyun the silent treatment,” Kangin lamely improvised. Kyuhyun glared at him.

“Why?” Jin Ri asked, chuckling and glancing at her husband. “What did he do?”

“Oh you know…” Shindong stammered.

“Perks of being the magnae,” Kyuhyun grumbled, playing along, walking out to the backyard.

~ * ~

Jin Ri laughed as Kyuhyun stumbled. He was down on his knees, palms on the ground. She bent down to help him up, still laughing.

“I thought you said you weren’t drunk,” Jin Ri teased as she made sure he wasn’t hurt.

“I’m not,” Kyuhyun maintained, glancing at the floor. “Damn tile is dislocated.”

“I’m so tired,” she announced as they walked in her apartment, turning the lights on. The party literally lasted all night. Even when Angie had gone to bed, the members still stayed, talking to each other, playing around. It was like they never saw each other.

“We should get you to bed then,” he said, taking her coat off for her. She gave him a wary look. “What? I didn’t mean anything by it,” he continued defensively. “I’m not always greasy, you know.”

“Yes, you are,” she countered.

“Come here,” he demanded, grabbing her and pulling her flush to him. “Besides, you owe me. I behaved so much during the whole party that I deserve an award for it.”

“Uh, rain check?” she offered.

“There are no rain checks for these things!” he adamantly stated, ducking his head to kiss her.

“I’m really tired, Kyu,” she pleaded.

“So I can’t even give my wife a kiss?” he innocently inquired.

“Your kisses always lead to something else,” she shot back.

“Just one kiss,” he pleaded.

“Just one?” She raised an eyebrow.

“One big kiss,” he bargained, making the cutest puppy face he could muster.

Without warning, she stood on tiptoe and gave him a peck on the lips. He didn’t even have the chance to react because she was back on her feet in an instant. He blinked as he stared at her.

“One kiss, right?” she innocently reminded him.

He made a face at her, accepting defeat. “Let’s get you to bed.” He put an arm around her.

“Hey look, the sun is already rising.” She walked towards the window and pulled the curtains aside.

The sky was colored in a beautiful mixture of red, purple and orange. It was a breath-taking sight, like someone water colored the sky as such.

“It’s so beautiful,” she remarked, sighing in contentment, resting her back against Kyuhyun’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her middle. “My mom and dad used to watch the sunrise all the time. It was one of their special things, like a tradition. They would watch the sunrise at least once a week. I think it was a reminder for them on how fleeting things are.”

“Everything is fleeting,” he agreed. “That’s why we should make the most out of each day, each moment, so that when we remember them, it wouldn’t seem like we’d lost anything. So that our memories would always be beautiful.”

“That’s why I love photography,” she responded. “Preserving beautiful things, keeping memories safe.”

“Just like photography,” he agreed, hugging her tighter.

“Did I tell you that I kept an album of all of our photos together?” she quietly asked him.

“I did notice that you had taken your photo wall down,” he shared. When he had first visited her apartment after they had gotten back together, he had seen how bare her bedroom wall was. He wanted to ask her about it, but he saw the stack of photo albums on the wall and he just figured that she decided to keep them there instead.

“I put them all in one album so that I could bring it to Japan with me so I could keep reminding myself of us,” she shared, pausing for a bit. “When we saw each other again after I broke up with you, your kiss, that you wanted to remind me of us…” She shifted a bit so that she could look at him. “It worked.”

“It did?” he asked, remembering what happened then. He looked surprised at this new information. “But you didn’t stay.”

“I didn’t,” she established. “But it gave me hope. I never thought that you would still hope, that you were still holding onto me, that you were still waiting for me to come back even after how I treated you.”

“I never stopped,” he confessed softly, leaning his head forward so his chin was touching her shoulder. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to, even if I said I was going to.”

“I know you thought—everyone did—that I had just given up. I told everyone that it was no use, that I was going to get married to someone else and lose you forever,” she went on. “But secretly, in my heart, I kept on hoping that something would happen, that some miracle would occur that would allow me to end up with you.” She turned around in his arms, facing him. “Like how I’ve wanted to right from the beginning.”

“So… you’ve always wanted to marry me?” he teased, resting his forehead against hers.

She faked a sigh. “I knew this big head of yours was going to be a problem.”

He chuckled and kissed her nose. She turned around in his arms once more and faced the window. The sun had risen and was shining its beautiful rays up in the sky, lighting everything up.

“Let’s make this, watching the sunrise, one of our special things,” he suddenly suggested, “one of our traditions. It’ll be a reminder to you that, while everything is fleeting, know that, as long as the sun rises, I’ll always be yours. I’ll always be with you.”

“CheesyKyu,” she teased, biting back a smile as she lifted her head to look at him.

He moved around her to face her, his back turned against the window. “Cheesy or not, princess, it’s true,” he declared, caressing her cheek and tucking her hair behind her ear. “You’ll always have me.”

She sighed, almost dreamily, and pressed her lips against his in both a sweet and sensuous manner. Clutching the hairs on the back of his head, she pressed herself flush against him. Shortly after, slowly, her hands trailed down to the front of his shirt, undoing the buttons one by one. He hadn’t realized what she was doing, being so focused on kissing her, until he felt her removing his shirt from the confines of his belt and pants. He slightly pulled away, his hands still on her hips and watched as she finished undoing his shirt then pressed her palms on his chest.

“I thought you were tired,” he huskily reminded her, an amused glint in his eyes mixed with the desire he had for her.

“You didn’t expect me to do nothing after giving me that speech about sunrises and always being with me no matter what!” she voiced out. “Sometimes I think you purposefully say these things just so you can have your way with me.”

He looked surprised for a second then smirked. “I didn’t even know about this until you said it just now,” he pointed out. “I always tell you stuff like this. You’ve never done anything before.”

“Yes well, I realize that I have rights now. I’ve only just decided to use them to my advantage,” she stated. “I’m your wife.”

He snickered, almost evilly. “You shouldn’t give me ideas, princess.” He moved his face closer to hers, kissing her. Just as she leaned into his kiss, he pulled away teasingly. “I didn’t know you liked CheesyKyu this much.” He looked down at her hands fumbling to unbuckle his belt.

“Shut up,” she shot back, moving to kiss him again.

“In the end, CheesyKyu wins,” he happily proclaimed, finally meetings his lips with hers once again and happily giving in to his wife’s advances.