Kyuhyun nervously tapped on the armrest. Five minutes into the drive and all the adrenaline had worn off leaving him with nothing but anxiety. What he was going to say to the guide? No, not the guide. Ryeowook had said to him days earlier that he wasn’t a tour guide. But Kyuhyun smiled; he was a guide. He had guided Kyuhyun away from a situation he wasn’t happy in to where he was now and with any luck Ryeowook would continue to guide him. Maybe to some form of a romantic relationship.

Kyuhyun scoffed at himself. Yeah, those were the romantic words he’d be dying to hear. That is, if he even wanted to hear anything. He shook the thought out of his head. He could not pysch himself out

“Please stop!”

Kyuhyun jumped a little. The chauffeur was tightly gripping the wheel, teeth clenched and starring daggers at the road. Kyuhyun hastily stopped his tapping.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

The boy just continued to glare and drive at an unsafe speed.

Exhaling nervously, Kyuhyun peered out the passenger window. A long flat beach was whizzing by. The sun was still low in the sky and the waves were lazily rolling onto the sand. Kyuhyun frowned. Despite having seen nearly a dozen beaches during his stay, this view looked eerily familiar. And he knew exactly why.

Kyuhyun gulped. This meant one of two things: he’d gotten majorly tricked or it was just a coincidence. Just off the airplane, half asleep in the car, this had been his first view of the island.

Only now, there was no girlfriend resting on his arm, the chauffeur was dead silent, and they were headed towards the airport.

Once again, Kyuhyun gulped.

They continued racing down the single road, Jonny oblivious to the statue beside him. The taller was trying to limit overactive imagination. There were probably lots of reasons they were going this direction, Kyuhyun reasoned. The island was small; like the size of Seoul. There were probably only so many roads that even existed. Still, when they turned off to a parking lot on the beach, Kyuhyun could feel himself relax just a little.

The second they stopped, the driver leaped out, slamming the door behind him. Kyuhyun quickly followed. The lot was basically deserted aside from them and a dark blue van which he immediately recognized as the hotel’s. Needless to say, they both rushed toward the van.

Jonny started pounding on the driver’s door while Kyuhyun peered in all the windows. Both calling out his name. It didn’t take long for them to realize that Ryeowook was not in the car.

The younger kicked at the tire, yelling furiously. It didn’t take a translator to know what he was saying.

Kyuhyun groaned feeling rather frustrated himself. Ryeowook wasn’t here. Hell, if he wasn’t in his car, he could easily be anywhere. Cabbies weren’t hard to call. This situation was just getting farther and farther out of his comfort zone.

Kyuhyun hurriedly tried all the sites he knew. The plantation, the fortress, the cliff – the cliff. Ryeowook could have gone on the other island for all they knew!

Jonny seemed to be thinking the same thing as he paced around restlessly.

Maybe Ryeowook went to the festival. That wasn’t impossible. He had said yesterday that he was going to perform and his was the opening set. Yeah, it might even be plausible. Just as he was figuring out how to say this to the driver, abruptly, the younger stopped pacing.

Jonny frowned and bent over. On the opposite side of the car, Kyuhyun watched him disappear then come back up with an empty beer can dangling in his fingers. His insides dropped.

“Wookie?” his question barely audible.

The younger just gave him a pointed look.

Kyuhyun swallowed nervously. Ryeowook had been drinking. Had he been the one to drive him there?

Swiftly, the brunette walked towards the edge of the parking lot tossing the can on the way. Kyuhyun hurried after him. Because the road was higher than the beach, there were stone steps which led downwards.

Jonny had stopped at the top and was scanning both ends of the beach. As far as Kyuhyun could tell, it was a whole lot of nothing. There were a couple outcroppings of rock along the wall but definitely no Ryeowook.

“Jonny, Wookie-”

The driver shushed him. He looked both ways again before sprinting down the stairs.

“What- Hey!” Kyuhyun quickly snapped out of his shock and chased after him.

The chauffeur stopped and turned so fast Kyuhyun nearly ran him over. He shouted something in English and then pointed behind him. Kyuhyun turned around half expecting Ryeowook to appear. Only he didn’t. When Kyuhyun turned around again, Jonny was sprinting in the other direction.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going!? Hey, get back here!”

Kyuhyun tore after him. The sand solid felt beneath his feet. The younger turned around, shooting him a perplexed look. He gestured frantically in the other direction.

Kyu gritted his teeth, “Like I’m falling for that again.” The moment the taller caught up, the younger launched into some incomprehensible speech complete with waving arms.

Kyuhyun stared, bewildered. “Huh?”

The younger started again, much slower this time. That didn’t change the fact that the only words he understood were “Wookie,” “go,” and … “Kyu-cumber?” The brunette stared at him expectantly.

Suddenly, it dawned on him.

“You want us to split up?” The younger just kept on staring.

Hesitantly, Kyuhyun took a few steps back. The younger nodded approvingly and gestured for him to go more. Kyuhyun looked backwards and frowned.

“Look, I don’t think-” There was a scuffle of footsteps. By the time he whipped around Jonny was already halfway down the beach again.

 “...Wookie's down there.” Kyuhyun frowned.

Aside from being unsure if he could trust the kid to not ditch him, Kyuhyun was highly doubtful that Ryeowook was even on the beach. One look down the side said that there was nothing but sand to be found. But then again, he wasn’t getting through to his driver anytime soon.

Lost in overthinking, Kyuhyun suddenly felt something bumping against his leg. Without realizing it, Kyuhyun had been rapidly tapping his foot the whole time; a habit he’d developed over the years. And something was in his pant pocket. Slipping his hand into the pocket, he pulled out the small object. A rounded rock with a heart of white imprinted on its center.

Kyuhyun his lips, contemplating his choices. Then he dropped the rock back into his pocket and started sprinting in the other direction.

...

Heavy. Circular. Half-empty. Slowly, Ryeowook rolled the beer can from hand to hand, listening to the liquid slosh inside. He only looked up when the footsteps approached him.

“Hey,” the worker said.

“Hey,” Ryeowook replied, returning his gaze to the can.

He heard Jonny step forward and jostle a few rocks before settling down beside him. The little nest of stone sheltered from prying eyes and burning sunlight. It wasn't the least bit comfortable. Ryeowook could feel an edge digging into his spine, but comfort wasn’t the point. If it were, he wouldn’t have chosen to sit on a pile of rocks.

Aside from a few scrapes of the stone, they were silent. Ryeowook continued sloshing his can. Finally, Jonny spoke up.

“Were you here all night?”

“No.” He offered no explanation.

“Did you sleep in the car?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you call somebody?”

“I don’t know.”

Jonny sighed beside him.

“Did you go and get drunk?”

“No.”

They were silent. Then he shrugged. “I guess I tried to. I didn’t have enough money so I ended up buying some cheap beers,” he stopped rolling the can and held it for a moment, “Barely even got me tipsy.”

Then slowly, Ryeowook held out the can and tipped its contents onto the rocks. The amber liquid spilled over and onto the sand making a little river. When it was all empty, he lowered the arm back to his side. 

Jonny watched this all in silence. When he finally spoke again, it was another question.

“What did that girl say to you?”

And Ryeowook broke.

Tears filled his eyes, blurring the world. He opened his mouth but the words wouldn’t come. So he dipped his head in shame and pulled his knees up to his chest.

A hand patted him on the back as he cried. Ryeowook didn’t know how Jonny found him or why he came looking. He didn’t know if Yoona came with him or if he wanted her here. He didn’t even know why he was so sad. He just didn’t know anything.

“I-I sh-should have listened t-to you a-about Yoona,” his words came out in hiccups and sobs, “I-I b-broke up with her l-last night and I-I-” His voice died off. The younger wrapped his arms around him as the tears ran down his face.

He hated this. The crying, the sadness; it wasn’t fair. She was the one who had been dumped yet he was here… Ryeowook clenched his fists.  Never had he felt so pathetic.

“W-why did she ch-cheat on me?” Ryeowook managed between hiccups.

The other barely hesitated, “Because she thought she was smarter than she really is.”

And Ryeowook almost laughed.

The younger continued holding on to him. His arms were bony and thin but they held on tight. As Ryeowook rode out his weeping, Jonny never let go. The older leaned on the extra weight, .

A whole night of crying hadn’t made his self-control any stronger, but it had drained enough of his energy to make long sobbing periods shorter. Soon, he had cried himself out and his breathing had returned to normal. Wiping at his eyes, Ryeowook looked down at the boy hugging his shoulders.

“Thank you, Jonny. You can let go now.”

He didn’t budge.

“Really, I’m okay.”

The smaller hesitated, but gave him one last squeeze before pulling away. His hand lingered on Ryeowook's shoulder and he was glad his friend was there to support him. Finally, Ryeowook could meet his eyes. Jonny looked on at him with concern as genuine as the boy could be.

“You aren’t okay.”

Ryeowook looked down, “I don’t know why. I dumped her and I didn’t even love her.”

“She wasn’t loyal. You should be angry.”

“But I’m not angry. I feel ugly and dumb.”

“She dragged you down to her level.”

“But if I wasn’t good enough for her-”

“Then she was never right for you,” the younger ended for him. Ryeowook looked at him, completely lost.

Jonny sighed, “You know Wookie, when I tell people my best friend is a twenty-six-year-old Asian man who works here as a waiter six months a year, they tend to look at me kind of weird. Kind of like that,” he gestured to the older’s puzzled face, “But I don’t care, because you are my best friend. Same goes for Kat,” the teenager cocked his head at him, "And Mr. Parker; he would give up the hotel to hear you perform again."

“My point is, even if Yoona hurt you and made you feel unwanted, there are people who want you and will stay loyal to you because you matter that much. Heck, there was a guy who stood outside for two hours begging to talk to you!” he looked Ryeowook in the eye, “Yoona wanting more is her own problem. Don’t let that get to you, Wookie.”

Slowly, Ryeowook could feel his eyes start to tear up again. Before he could finish his speech, he pulled Jonny into the embrace, holding him tight. The younger patted his back understandingly. Sometimes, with a friend, you didn't have to say more than that. And he knew, Jonny was a friend. When he released him, Ryeowook felt a thousand times lighter. Still far from joyful, but much closer to okay.

Jonny exhaled contentedly, “Glad to see you’re feeling better. Now let’s get off these rocks already; they’re hurting my .”

Ryeowook agreed and they picked their way out of the nest of stones. He turned to the shorter.

“Do we have to go back to the hotel now?”

A plane roared overhead. The sound was absolutely deafening. Kyuhyun clasped his hands over his ears, grimacing from the noise. They were closer to the airport than he thought. It took a good ten seconds for the noise to fade yet his ears still rung when he removed his hands.

Great. Just great.

“RYEOWOOK!” he bellowed, desperately hoping for an answer. There was none.

Frustrated, Kyuhyun kept pacing down the beach. Who were they kidding? Ryeowook wasn’t here. Sure, his car was here and apparently he’d had a few drinks but that didn’t mean the guy couldn’t call a cab and leave.

In fact, he was positive Ryeowook was at that festival. He’d said he was performing and unless Kyuhyun had scared him that badly he probably went, right? But it wasn’t like his English was good enough to tell that to the driver and he was stuck here unless he could.

In his frustration, Kyuhyun aimed a kick at the sand. It was too steep and his foot ended up bouncing off the surface. He cursed. Stupid densely packed sand. Before he could try again, a voice interrupted him.

“You know little kids like to do that?”

Kyuhyun tensed before immediately whipping around. A calm, petite man stood there. The sunlight played with his hair and danced in his eyes. He wore the same clothes from last night.

“Ryeowook,” he whispered. Before he knew it, Kyuhyun was directly in front of him, just a step away from pulling Ryeowook into his arms and feeling him pressed against his chest. His eyes were red from crying and there was the faintest scent of alcohol but god, he was still so beautiful. And Kyuhyun was a mess.  “I-I…I” he stuttered mindlessly, at a loss of what to say.

 “Hey, Kyu-cumber,” Ryeowook smiled shyly at him.

Kyuhyun felt his face split into a wide grin, “It’s a vegetable,” he replied.

“Yeah,” the petite man laughed a little and all Kyuhyun could think about was how much he loved that laugh. He could listen to that laugh forever.

Ryeowook ran a hand through his hair, which Kyuhyun knew for a fact, was soft as silk, before peering back up at him, “So, uh… You wanted to talk to me?”

“What?” Kyuhyun blinked. Then he jumped, “Oh, yes! I, uh,” He frowned when he realized that in all his time worrying, he hadn’t prepared anything to say. His mouth didn’t seem to realize that however as it began spewing off the first things that came to mind, “I’m sorry I kissed you last night. I really am. It was too sudden, abrupt, it wasn’t romantic at all. I’m not romantic. You deserved something better than that. I mean, I wasn’t even thinking. That was wrong-”

“So you didn’t mean to kiss me?”

Kyuhyun ducked his head down, feeling his face heat up, “I did want to kiss you.” I still want to kiss you, he thought miserably.

Ryeowook didn’t say anything for a second, “So, you’re… bi?”

Kyuhyun wrinkled his nose. “I don’t really like those labels. You love who you love, you know?”

Ryeowook’s eyes widened at those words and Kyuhyun panicked, realizing his mistake.

“No, no,” he backpedaled, “ I don’t mean I;m in love with you already; I was just saying that to make a point. 'Cause you’re cute and funny and uh, I like you,” he blurted.

At this point Ryeowook was beet red and Kyuhyun was sure that he was too.

He gulped, “This is worse than the kiss isn’t it?”

Ryeowook didn’t say anything so he could take that as a yes. He quickly looked away to the ground, feeling like a fool who’d missed his chance.

“Kyuhyun…”

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the ground. He was stupid to think one talk could fix everything. Even dumber for not planning anything to say. “I get it if it’s weird. You don’t have to let me down easy or anything. I know you have a girlfriend and I’m kind of delusional-”

“Had.”

“What?” He looked up from the ground.

Ryeowook was biting his lip a little in an uncertain way, like he was contemplating something. He met Kyuhyun’s gaze, “Had a girlfriend. I broke up with Yoona last night.”

“Oh,” Kyuhyun blinked, not sure how to interpret that news.

“She was cheating on me.”

“Oh… Oh! Oh my gosh! No way! She - How could she-?” Kyuhyun was floored. Everything else flew from his mind as he tried to wrap his mind around why or how anyone could cheat on Ryeowook. It just didn’t click.

Ryeowook chuckled dryly at his expression, “Let’s not ponder it too much shall we?”

“Oh, right,” he flushed some more, “Sorry, I didn’t- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I never liked her that way anyways.”

Kyuhyun felt his heart flutter despite himself. Just what did he mean by that?

Ryeowook took a deep breath and a step closer to Kyuhyun. “Look Kyuhyun. Yesterday was … confusing. For me too. We held hands and had fun and I was really happy. That kiss was very sudden but I didn’t … dislike it. So I guess – I guess I like you too?”

Kyuhyun dared not move. Ryeowook smiled weakly.

“If someone had told me a week ago that I didn’t love my girlfriend of five years, I would have been so insulted and I would have just stormed out of the room. But now that I’ve spent so much time with you … I realize my attraction to you is much stronger than anything I’ve ever felt before. Including for Yoona,

But at the same time, I don’t think I can handle another relationship for a while. Even if I’m attracted to you,” Ryeowook glanced downwards, “I know you’re leaving tonight and I’ll probably never see you again, but I still want to see where ‘we’ can go. And that sounds like I'm asking you to wait for a complete stranger because it kind of is but...

I hope that doesn’t scare you.”

It was at this point when Kyuhyun realized just how close together they were. Ryeowook's words were barely registering in his mind when all he had to do was lean down closer and their lips would touch. 

But upon Ryeowook’s face were the words he didn’t say. There was still hurt and shock and a lot of uncertainty. Yoona had done a number on him. He knew because not a day earlier had he experienced the same things himself. Regardless of what your feelings were, rejection was a miserable experience. Through cheating, even worse. And Kyuhyun knew that moving on would not happen today. With either of them.

Grasping Ryeowook’s hands, Kyuhyun stepped back to look at him. “Scare me? If anyone had told me last week that my girlfriend would dump me, I would start falling for our tour guide, and that I would be stranded on an island where I can barely speak any of the language, I would’ve run screaming in the other direction!” He laughed a little hysterically while Ryeowook seemed lost as to what to say. So Kyuhyun guided him to the true meaning of his words.

“But I’m not really afraid anymore. Now that I’ve met you."

Ryewook's mouth opened in a little "o" and Kyuhyun felt a grin spread at his adorableness. Squeezing the smaller's hands in his, he sighed,“I know you’re not ready for anything to happen right now. I don’t know if I am either. But now with our feelings out in the open I feel like I could wait for you forever. Because you’re worth all the time and effort I can give.”

And Kyuhyun relaxed, closing his mouth.  Now he knew exactly how he felt and Ryeowook did too, he was done talking. The smaller just stared at him, stunned. Then his eyes started to water and he had to put his hand to his mouth.

Not the end. Am I dragging this out?