2019

 

"Victoria?!"

 

Kyuhyun gaped at her as she stared him with a puzzled expression on her face.

 

"...How did you know my English name? You're Sulli's husband right? K-K-"

 

Kyuhyun closed his mouth, then shook his head. "I've... uh, heard from Sulli before. My name is Kyuhyun. Come in, it's cold outside."

 

"I'm really sorry, I have never seen you before, so...," Victoria trailed off, bowing respectfully towards him.  

 

Kyuhyun beamed at her. "It's alright. Make yourself comfortable."

 

"Ah, thank you."

 

"Unnie!"

 

The man watched the boy fly towards Victoria and get engulfed in a big hug. Victoria beamed as she rubbed the boy's back, mumbling something in Chinese. To his surprise, the toddler replies back in Chinese as well. 

 

Victoria let go of him and looked at him as he ran into his room. As she straightened up, she tilted her head towards Kyuhyun and blinked. Within a split second,  she realised why he had such a confused expression on his face.

 

"Ah... Sorry," Victoria bowed apologetically. "Sulli requested me to teach Myungdae some basic Chinese, so I normally converse in Chinese with him. She didn't tell you...?"

 

Kyuhyun simply shrugged and smiled. "It's really fine, you don't have to bow to me all the time. I do know a little bit of Chinese myself too."

 

Victoria blushed and nodded, tucking one stray strand of hair behind her ear as she shuffled her way to the kitchen, preparing to heat up the food. Myungdae came out of his room, a thin pad of white paper clutched tightly in his hands. 

 

Unblinking, Kyuhyun gazed at the both of them as they chattered animatedly, sometimes even bickering like siblings even their age difference was quite significant. He started to curl his lips up unknowingly, until Victoria caught his eyes. He flushed and looked away, feeling as if he was caught red-handed doing something he shouldn't be doing.

 

Several minutes later, Kyuhyun looked up from the TV as plates of steaming hot food is placed on the kitchen island. Myungdae started helping himself to it, but ended up choking.

 

"It's too hot!" He wailed, his tears starting to flow.

 

Kyuhyun almost instinctively got up to comfort him, but Victoria beat him to it.

 

"Drink some water," she said in Chinese while handing Myungdae a glass of water. A sudden overwhelming sensation of helplessness washed over Kyuhyun as he watched Victoria comfort the boy, which he still have to remind himself that he was his son.

 

Even though Myungdae wasn't exactly Kyuhyun's own flesh and blood, Kyuhyun felt this urge to be a good father to him.

 

He didn't understand why.

 

After Victoria left, Myungdae went back to his room, which he had been staying in all day since he reached home from school. Kyuhyun walked hesitantly towards the door, slowly lifting his clenched fist to knock on the door when the door swung open to reveal a wide-eyed boy looking up at his tall father.

 

Kyuhyun scratched his head, at a loss of what to say.

 

"Dad, is there anything you want...?" Myungdae spoke up rather timidly.

 

"Oh... Erm, I found this box of video game consoles this morning, would you like to join me?"

 

Myungdae widened his eyes even more. "O-O-kay, but I need to pee now."

 

Kyuhyun nodded and turned to watch Myungdae run towards the bathroom. When the door clicked shut, he jumped and fist-pumped the air. 

 

"Yes!" He silently exclaimed, feeling proud of himself for some odd reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009

 

The young stranger, who was grinning widely, motioned to Kyuhyun to follow her quietly. With wide eyes, he did as he was told, waddling in a squat position behind the garbage container. The retch wad horrendous, but she didn't seem to mind, so it would look dumb to gag at the stench.

 

She rose carefully, peeking around to scan the area. Then in a rapid swinging gesture at the young man, she motioned for him to enter a door in the alley. He hesitated, but with that do-it-or-else gaze shot at him, he could do nothing, except comply.

 

Once inside, the girl shut and locked the door, making Kyuhyun gulp. Why were they in a cramped, dirty, warm room filled with brown boxes, he definitely didn't know. Maybe she knew what was going on.

 

"Sulli? What are we doing here?"

 

twisted into a small pout. "Obviously I'm saving your . Did you think I dragged you here to seduce you?"

 

His lips slowly curls into a soft upturned curve, before his face went back to being static.

 

Sulli swallowed, her face flushing at his slight smile. This was definitely not a good place to be alone with him. They had to get out of here, fast.

 

With that newfound goal, she scrambled for a nearby box, sifting the items inside the brown box.

 

Kyuhyun frowned. "What are you doing?"

 

"Finding you a temporary disguise."

 

He raised his brows. Was his popularity that... serious?

 

As if she had heard his thoughts, she spoke without glancing back at him.

 

"Super Junior members are, after all, like the H.O.T of the 21th century."

 

He crouched down next to the young girl, eyes wide with curiosity.

 

"H.O.T...?"

 

Sulli turned her head, and flinched away from the close proximity of Kyuhyun. Her heart raced and her face started flushing rosy red. She silently thanked heavens and above that the room was rather dim.

 

"They're really popular guys." Sulli said simply, trying to calm herself.

 

"Oh.. By the way, how did you find this," Kyuhyun gestured to the surroundings with a sweep of his arm. "...Place?"

 

"If I answer your question, would you keep quiet and help me find a disguise for yourself?" Sulli spoke without thinking, before she realised she used informal speech and clamped her hand over flusteredly.

 

To her surprise, Kyuhyun simply chuckled and started approaching a box near hers.

 

"Go on," he mumbled without lifting his head.

 

Sulli blew at her fringe and shook her head. Then without much thought, she smiled and began.

 

"It's my friend's parents' storage room. They sort of own this costume store out at the front. They always leave this door unlocked in the day because no one really wanted any costumes anyway. Sunbae, how does this look?"

 

Sulli held up a long haired wig with a grin. Kyuhyun widened his eyes.

 

"No way!"

 

 

 

About half an hour of arguments later, the duo stepped out from the front of the shop. Sulli bowed to the owners respectfully, while Kyuhyun followed. Then they headed back to the apartment blocks. 

 

Sulli found it hard to not look at Kyuhyun, especially with that disguise. The fake glasses he wore gave a scholarly air about him, but the long haired wig he donned along with a flu mask made it too funny for her to not laugh, silently that is. It was better to not attract unwanted attention.

 

They were crossing a busy intersection, and the mass number of people forced them to literally shoulder to shoulder. Kyuhyun seemed to be slightly irritated with that small frown that she had somehow grown to take notice of. There was something queer about the way his brows moved, and she just couldn't help but stare at him. Not to mention his smiles; his strange, duck-like laughter; his intense gaze in screen when he was belting out a catchy pop song. He was determined, motivated, sincere in his actions. He was her senior she had come to admire, and especially so after the recent accident. He had indirectly taught her to preserve, and strive to bring out her best around her fellow trainees and the staff. And maybe in the future, fans.

 

People started shoving their way past the disguised duo, muttering grunts of displeasure. Sulli sighed, before it turned into a soft gasp. She turned towards her left shoulder to see one warm hand placed protectively on it, his grasp on her bony shoulder firm, yet not strong enough to cause discomfort.

 

If that wasn't enough to drive her pulse into overdrive, Kyuhyun swiftly pressed her body to his, her hip pressing into his thighs. She caught her breath. Warmth was seeping into her cheeks rapidly, it was almost as if the blood in her face was boiling. It didn't help that it was early mid-summer. She quickly closed her eyes and faced the ground. It would be awkward if he sees her blu-

 

"Hey, why is your face so red?"

 

He blurted out softly as they continued to waddle their way through the unrelenting river of people. Sulli groaned softly, but their bodies were close enough for Kyuhyun to feel the tingling vibrations from the petite body. Thankfully he didn't press her into answering question, and she was content to let him pretend that it was nothing.

 

But unknown to Sulli, Kyuhyun started to grin behind the mask.