Chapter 7: A Flashback To The Past

"Donghae.." Sungmin wailed into his cell phone.

"Do you have any idea just how awkward having lunch with Kyuhyun was?!"





Donghae giggled, "But Sungmin, I've never known you even as remotely awkward. So is it just with Kyuhyun-shi? "

Sungmin chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully, "I dont know, Donghae.. But why the hell is he any different!"





Donghae answered teasingly, "That's because he's your soulmate.."


                                    
"Soul ma... you. I hate you." Sungmin huffed irritatingly.


 

"Im sorry. Im sorry! Calm down." Donghae mumbled hurriedly.


"The entire Cho family is coming over for dinner and just how am I gonna handle all of them?!"




Donghae cooed softly, "You'll be fine Sungminnie.  Just feed them some of your pastries and muffins. They'll love you!"

 

"Hyung! It's been ten minutes. " Sungjin called out from the couch.


Sungmin covered the mouth piece of the phone and yelled back,"Got it Jin-ah.."

"Donghae, I need to go. The blueberry pie is gonna burn. I’ll see you tomorrow,alright?” Sungmin mumbled hastily.




Donghae agreed,”Just get me a piece of that pie!”




After bidding Donghae goodbye, Sungmin rushed into the kitchen and tugged on his mittens. He gently brought the scrumptious pie from the oven and placed it onto the kitchen counter for it to cool down.
 

Sungjin automatically popped out of practically nowhere and chirped,”Hi hyung! You know I love you,right Sungminnie hyung?”



Sungmin rolled his eyes knowing exactly what his baby brother wanted.

That greedy.

“No Jinnie-ah. This is strictly for the dinner tonight. You’re not getting any tidbits now.”




Sungjin pouted childishly and hit his elder brother’s back with his fingers curled into fists.


“Hyung!”He whined.



Sungmin chuckled and put out his tongue teasingly.

“If you’ll finish your english homework, I shall give you the biggest piece at dinner.”




Sungjin mumbled something under his breath before rushing to his backpack and taking out his assignments.


Just like that.

So easy to convince Sungjin to do his homework. A little bit of coaxing and bribing and that’s all.



“Sungmin honey,are you done?”Sunhee called out from the laundry room while adding detergent into the washing machine along with the soiled clothes.


“Yes,Mom. I just have a tiny part left.”Sungmin answered while spreading some fresh blueberries and powdered sugar.



“As soon as you’re done, let me know. I have to start cooking for tonight,Sungmin-ah.”

 

~~~~~~~

 

“Umma. Donghae said that he got a stomach ache. I have to go.”Sungmin tried while looking at the clock glued to the wall.


Sunhee simply brushed him away,”Donghae has Hyukjae to take care of him,Sungmin. You arent going anywhere. The Cho’s will be here soon.”
 

Sungmin sighed miserably and glared at Sungjin who giggled at his crestfallen appearance,”What are you laughing at,brat?! No blueberry pie for you,Sungjin.”



The amused grin on Sungjin’s face disappeared in a flash only to be replaced by pure panic, much to Sungmin’s delight.

“Hyung.”He whined while launching himself over Sungmin’s broad shoulders.




Sunhee scolded,”Now you two. Behave and stop fighting..”

 

She smacked both of her boy’s back and sent them scuttling upstairs to change into suitable clothes while she set down the porcelain plates and cutlery.

 

Sunhee hoped to goodness that this dinner meeting would turn out to be perfect. And she wanted to see the progress between Sungmin and Kyuhyun.

She had been skeptical when Sungmin had told her about his meeting up with Kyuhyun. She knew her son was too smart for his own good. Sunhee wanted to interrogate Sungmin but Hannah had prevented her from doing so.

Let them be as they are.I know they are just pretending to get along well and maybe who knows? They might just end up falling in love with each other all by themselves. We just need to give them little pushes here and there.

And Sunhee had readily agreed to her Unnie’s words. If they interfered, they might just loose all chances of seeing their babies together and in love. So let time take its own course, they decided.
 

Cutting her thoughts,the bell rang. Sunhee dusted the blue dress she was wearing from invisible dirt and rushed to the door while pressing her hair behind her ear neatly.



“Hannah! You’re here.” She cried delightfully welcoming Hannah with a warm embrace.


“Come in. Come in.” Chunhwa ushered in the guests with a bright smile.





Kyuhyun stepped into the house and glanced curiously around the interiors.


Sunhee asked him teasingly,”Are you looking for my son, Kyuhyun-ah?”




Kyuhyun’s eyes widened and he spluttered with frown,”What?! I was..”


Ahra wacked her baby brother’s shoulder with her purse and hissed,”Behave Kyubaby.”



Kyuhyun mumbled helplessly,”What did I do?”



“Hyung-nim come out from the bathroom..Hurry up, Sungmin hyung! I need to go too..” Sungjin’s loud voice could be heard from upstairs.




Sunhee laughed embarrassingly, and glanced at her husband. Chunhwa smiled and immediately asked,”YoungHwan-shi, long time no see!”


“You kids can go upstairs and call my boys down,okay?”Sunhee beamed at Kyuhyun and Ahra who looked at each other in hesitation.








“Come on, dont be shy! Ahra darling. Go on ahead and take your brother with you.”Hannah assured her two children. She winked secretly at Ahra who immediately smirked.


“Come on Kyubaby. Stop gawking at me like that!” With that Ahra tugged Kyuhyun upstairs with her fingers enclosing around her baby brother’s wrist tightly.






“Ahra Noona. No need to drag me.”Kyuhyun protested trying to loosen Ahra’s grip.


“Hush, Kyubaby.” Ahra put out her tongue cheekily before climbing up the stairs.





Ahra stopped abruptly and gaped at the picture of a forest glimmering in its greenery. That was a massive piece of perfection. Amazing capture.


She squeaked in surprise as someone rushed past her and banged on the door of the bathroom loudly,”Sungmin hyung.. Come on hyung. I need to go.”






Ahra eyed the kid skeptically and exclaimed,”You must be Sungjin..?”



Sungjin’s eyes widened at the sight of the two strangers and he screamed,”Who are you?!”



Kyuhyun mumbled,”Here we go.”




Ahra chirped,”You can call me Ahra Noona and this brat here is my darling brother,Kyuhyun.”



Sungjin’s eyes narrowed into a glare and he muttered,”Kyuhyun,huh?”



Much to Ahra’s amusement, Sungjin immediately raised his fingers to an I-have-my-eyes-on-you motion.



“Hyung!”



The door of the bathroom swung open and Sungmin’s form poked out, he exclaimed gently,”What’s with all the screaming,Jinnie-ah?”




Sungjin simply pushed his brother aside forcefully and scuttled into the bathroom. And Sungmin flew straight into Kyuhyun’s form,his nose colliding against the taller man’s chest.



Kyuhyun wound his arms around Sungmin’s waist preventing the man from falling and mumbled awkwardly.



”Umm... Hi?”




Sungmin widened his eyes in embarrassment and immediately pushed Kyuhyun’s arms away as though the touch burned him and stood beside Kyuhyun stiffly.



Ahra giggled in delight,”You must be Sungmin?”
 

Sungmin cleared his throat softly after nodding slightly and blurted out with hues of pink dusting across his cheeks,”Let’s just go downstairs.”



With that Sungmin proceeded to march downstairs mechanically followed closely by the Cho siblings.
 

“There they are!”, Sunhee exclaimed fondly seeing Sungmin and Kyuhyun standing together.

She had dreamt of the day when her baby would grow up and finally get along with her best friend’s son...only the fact remains they were still awkward and stiff in each other’s presence but it wasnt something that couldnt be fixed. Right?
 

“Good evening,Mr. and Mrs. Cho” Sungmin wished softly with a small polite bow.
 

“No need to be so formal,Sungmin-ah. I’ve practically seen you when you were in your diapers.”Hannah assured Sungmin while clapping her hand over Sungmin’s shoulders gently.



Kyuhyun’s eyes widened in surprise. Umma had seen Sungmin before? But how did he not remember him at all? Sungmin’s name seemed so unfamiliar to his ears until a few weeks ago.
 

“Kyuhyun?”
 

“What are you thinking about,Kyubaby?”Ahra hissed into Kyuhyun’s ears successfully breaking his train of thoughts.


“I umm.. I’m sorry what was that?” Kyuhyun asked sheepishly.



“Son. I asked you about going to the dining hall?” Younghwan explained patiently much to Ahra’s amusement. Kyubaby seemed so out of it today.







“Another helping of chicken curry, Hannah?” Sunhee smiled warmly while coaxing her best friend to eat more.



“Oh no, I can’t Sunhee.” Hannah chuckled while patting her lips with the napkin.




“How about you, Younghwan?”



“No more. No more.” Younghwan pleaded much to the delight of Sungjin who giggled at the elder.



Sungmin pinched Sungjin’s arm softly and shook his head in disbelief.



Putting down her fork, Sunhee smiled,”I cant believe its been almost twenty years since we’ve sat all together for a meal.”

 

Sungmin and Kyuhyun glanced at each other curiously. What was Sunhee talking about? Unless both of them were missing something..


The two men were seated across from each other, with Sungmin sitting beside Sungjin and his father and Kyuhyun sitting in between Ahra and his mother, Hannah.

 

Younghwa guffawed,”Kyuhyun was a cute boy back then.”



“Appa.” Kyuhyun protested.



“Although Sungmin-ah looks no different from then.” Hannah added in sweetly glancing at Sungmin who was feeling really very confused right now.



Sungmin started hesitatingly,”Umma..when?”



Chunhwa widened his eyes in disbelief,”You dont remember,Ming-ah?”




“Wait a second... You dont remember Kyuhyun?” Hannah asked Sungmin softly.



“Remember me?” Kyuhyun glanced at Sungmin confusedly.




Sunhee exclaimed,”Oh my.. They really dont remember.”





....Twenty years ago.....
 

Sunhee and Hannah sat on the bench near the playground as they chatted animatedly with each other while keeping a close eye on their children. Noone could be trusted with the erts and kidnappers lurking about after all.



Hannah started softly,”Did you dye your hair Sunhee? It looks so pretty!”


Sunhee smiled, her dimples in,”You really think so Unnie?”
 

“It really suits you, dear.” Hannah replied lightly.



The two had run into each other that evening as both the women had brought their children to the playground. It was such an unexpected though a very delightful surprise.Meeting each other four years. A very pleasant surprise indeed.




Hannah gasped as her eyes fell on her daughter, she sat up straight while beckoning Ahra to come closer. Ahra had tripped on her feet while playing with her dolls and the ten-year old girl was trying her hardest to keep her tears from tumbling down her cheeks.



“Omo. Is my baby doll hurt?”Hannah cooed softly while placing Ahra on her lap and removing the small twigs from her daughter’s hair.



“U-umma. Ahra is okay. It doesnt hurt.” Ahra exhaled shakily while clenching her palms into fists. She didnt want to cry for a little fall. She had to be a good role model to her five-year old baby brother after all.

 

“That’s my brave girl.” Sunhee exclaimed warmly as Hannah pecked both of Ahra’s cheeks before settling her daughter on the bench beside herself.
 

“Where is Kyuhyunnie,Ahra?” Hannah asked before glancing around the playground.



“Baby Kyu.. I d-dont know U-umma.” Ahra stammered.





“Oww!” Kyuhyun cried as he stumbled into something and fell down with his face landing first on the sand.

The little boy had been playing with his toy car, completely immersed into his small game and had completely overlooked the sandpit, resulting in him falling right down to the sand as he failed to see the small depression in the playground.




Kyuhyun sniffled as he lifted his head from the ground, with sand grains sticking to his chubby face and hair.



He was extremely surprised when a figure, a very cute figure glowered down at him.

 

“Look what you did!” The cute boy cried.





With tears pooling around the corner of his doe shaped eyes,a five-year old Sungmin sobbed while pointing to his ruined sandcastle,”You ruined it!”



“You mean stupid boy! You ruined Sungminnie’s sandcastle!” He exclaimed at the top of his lungs.




Kyuhyun scrambled to his feet in haste and then gasped as the other boy pushed him back, making him land on his squishy .



“Say sorry to Sungminnie.” Sungmin demanded while mourning at his destroyed sand castle that made a very sad sight with half of the towers knocked down and an imprint of a face on the sand.

Kyuhyun’s face to be precise.
 

Kyuhyun stuttered,”Y-yah. Calm d-down.. I’m sorr..”



Sungmin scrunched up his nose in distaste and screamed,”That aint gonna bring back my sandcastle now, will it?! And Sungminnie spent so many hours building it!”

 

Kyuhyun blinked innocently. What did the little boy want him to do? He did try saying sorry after all.


Sungmin flicked sand to the dazed boy’s legs, like the childish baby he was, much to Kyuhyun’s dislike.




Kyuhyun did not like people putting sand over his legs. Not even cute small boys who seemed to be really angry at him right now.



He lifted himself up and dusted off the sand from his shorts furiously. Kyuhyun raised his fists towards Sungmin and screamed,”You’re the mean boy!”




Sungmin gasped.



“Carrots! Carrots! Carrots!” Kyuhyun yelled while pointing to Sungmin’s orange hair.



Sungmin whimpered slightly while clutching his bright orange hair with his chubby fingers and protested,”Y-yah! I’m not a c-carrot.”



Kyuhyun hopped on on feet to another while yelling Carrots all the time, deaf to Sungmin’s words.



“Carrots! Carrots! Carrots!” Kyuhyun chanted while pointing his finger at Sungmin childishly,




Sungmin pouted, and before pursing his bow-shaped lips in irritation, he yelled,”Poodle!”



“Poodle! Poodle! Poodle!” Sungmin screamed.




“Huh?” Little Kyuhyun stopped chanting and gazed at the boy in front of him in surprise.



“You’re a poodle!” Sungmin cried with a proud look on his face. The little boy reminded him of a poodle, with the mop of brown curls on his head.




“I’m not a poodle, carrot boy!” Kyuhyun protested immediately.



“I’m not a carrot boy, you poodle!” Sungmin counter attacked.





“Carrots! Carrots! Carrots!” Kyuhyun screamed.

 

Here we go again.


 

“Poodle! Poodle! Poodle!”



And some more.

 

“Carrots!”




And more...



“Poodle!”

 

After having a screaming match of nearly fifteen minutes, full of carrots and poodles both the little boys were exhausted. Sungmin gave up first and plopped onto the sand.




Kyuhyun simply scratched his head softly deciding whether he should go sit next to the carrot boy. He decided to just go for it when his tiny chubby feet started to hurt.

‘Sungminnie is tired. U-umma..” Sungmin cried while leaning against the wall of the sandbox pitifully.
 

Kyuhyun scooted closer to the little boy and brought his knees closer to his chest.


“Huhuhuu.. Kyunnie is tired too.” He mumbled softly while pressing himself to Sungmin’s right side.


 

“Sungminnie!” Sunhee called out her eyes wandering around the playground in worry.


“Kyuuu, where are you baby? Come to mommy!”



 

Ahra daintily nibbled onto the chocolate cookie as her mother and the very nice lady searched for their baby boys.


Her eyes fell on two small figures huddled into a corner of the sandbox.

She squeaked in surprise,”Umma, Cookie lady!”
 

Sunhee turned to Ahra smiling in amusement despite the nervousness that clawed her heart at her baby son being gone.



“Baby kyu, is over there Umma!” Ahra screeched while pointing to the direction of Sungmin and Kyuhyun who were cuddling together, deep in slumber.




With a joyful cry, Sunhee scrambled down to the sandbox followed closely by Hannah. Both the women crouched down to their baby sons' sleeping form and tried to lift them up into their arms.




Sungmin whined in protest as his Umma scooped him up into his arms. He did not want to be separated from the comfortable source of heat.


“Baby Sungminnie~” Sunhee cooed as she placed soft kisses over Sungmin’s chubby cheeks.




Hannah was patting Kyuhyun’s back lovingly while perching up the little boy to her waist.

“Is he your son,Sunhee?” Hannah smiled while wiping the trickle of drool that escaped little Kyuhyun’s lips.





Sunhee smiled warmly in response,”Hannah, meet my baby son, Sungmin.”






It had been four years since Hannah had seen Sungmin after all. They had meant to keep contact but they couldnt after being wrapped up in their own webs of activities.



“Our babies seem to have found each other all by themselves,Sunhee.” Hannah giggled as they walked towards Ahra perched on the bench while holding their sleeping sons protectively into their arms.




~~~~~~
 

Sungmin spluttered,”Poodle?!”

“Carrots?!”



Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin in disbelief. So Sungmin was...his precious carrot boy?

 

~tbc

....(A/N)

Comments? :)))

So now you know about their childhood meeting~ And now what's next?

No more awkwardness? Hmm.. >:D

An extra long chapter just for my lovelies~<3 

Do remember to comment and upvote~^^ I love you all :)))

~95anichan <33