Sunlight poured over the windowsill into a cream white room. Sliding onto the desk and over crisp still papers. It glided down on the hardwood floor at a tranquil pace. The reflected light cast itself on soft white sheets making them glow a soft orange. And ever so slowly, the strands of morning light crawled over the tangled sheets and bedside drawers before settling on the sleeping couple within.

Kyuhyun could not think of a more unpleasant way to be woken up.

Groaning, Kyuhyun turned himself over only to find that the curtains were far out of his reach. His head throbbed and his eyes ached. Yet the burning light prevented them from closing.

He silently cursed the polished windows and reflectively white room for intensifying the morning light. Then he cursed the clock for letting him know it was five in the morning.

Nobody should wake up at five in the morning.

Reluctantly, the tall man pulled himself up. After blinking hard a few times, Kyuhyun realized that the rest of room was actually still dark. The morning light had been thoughtful enough to reach him first.

Eyes no longer stinging, the man gave up trying to ignore the light. He wasn’t even tired anymore.

“Damn jetlag” Kyuhyun mumbled, planting his feet on the floor.

The tall man stood and stretched with a yawn. Although slightly cranky, he couldn’t help but feel pleased by the window view.  And according to the view it was the crack of dawn. In a way, it highly resembled the car view from last night only now warm sunlight had replaced the slivery glow of the moon.

Silently, Kyuhyun padded over to their carelessly knocked over suitcases and pulled out a simple t-shirt and shorts. He was sick of business attire.

As he pulled on his outfit, the tall man turned back to the bed where his girlfriend slept peacefully. Seohyun was turned away from him, hair in a mess. Her slim figure rose and fell with each breath in a steady pattern.

Kyuhyun walked to face her. Smiling, he bent down and brushed the brown hair back. The light was now hitting Seohyun’s back giving the sweet girl a golden glow. She almost looked like an angel. Much like the figure from last night.

Frowning, Kyuhyun pulled his hand back.

Last night’s encounter, if you could call it that, had been strangely captivating. In fact, he still wasn’t sure what made him so entranced. It could have been the exhaustion, sure. Or the slim figure itself. But maybe it was the music.  Or the passion which it radiated.

Kyuhyun took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Feelings were pouring back from last night’s trigger. Too many for him to handle. He needed air. Now.

Slightly disoriented, the man stood up and grabbed his room card. Leaving behind a quick note in case his girlfriend woke up, he slipped out the front door.

His feet hit the gravel with a crunch. The air was humid but not stuffy yet. When a morning breeze came to whisk away his drowsiness, Kyuhyun gladly breathed it in.

It turned out, the hotel didn’t have adjoining rooms. Rather they had separate cottages for each guest. This had been a less than pleasant discovery last night when they had had to walk an extra five minutes to reach it but now it seemed worth it. Their cottage lay just behind forest on the edge of the beach.

Another breeze brought in the taste of salt as Kyuhyun started to head for the water. The overworked man hadn’t been to a beach in years. As he wandered beside the ocean, Kyuhyun found himself drifting back to last night.

Whoever had been playing loved music. Period. It was their life. They probably wanted to do nothing but play music for the rest of their lives because it was their passion. The one true thing that made them happy. 

And the only thing that made them different was that that piano player had been smart enough to keep his talent to himself.

Kyuhyun stopped in front of the tide.

A feeling of pathetic-ness washed over him. How much did it take for someone to let go? Even after eight years he would still degrade into endless tangles of ‘What ifs?’ All over something that had been plain stupid to begin with.

Cursing himself for slipping into self-pity mode, Kyuhyun kicked at the sand causing it to spray up in clumps. He repeated this several times covering his toes with dirt. Then immediately after he’d finished, another wave rushed onto shore leveling out the beach once again. Call him sadistic but Kyuhyun felt somewhat pleased watching this.

“You know little kids like to do that?”

 Kyuhyun jumped at the voice. He hadn’t heard anyone approaching let alone a smartass.

Quickly recovering, Kyuhyun turned around and shot back. “Obviously you didn’t know grown men like to do it too.” He flinched at his own reply.

The stranger laughed. He actually tilted his head back and laughed. “Nice one.”

Displeased and unbalanced by the kid’s attitude, Kyuhyun shifted uncomfortably but refused to look away. Instead he just glared.

The smaller man raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you’d be more intrigued.”

“Why would I be intrigued by you?” Kyuhyun snapped. Truth be told, he sort of was. Who did this kid think he was?

This just made the man grin.  “A Korean man. Speaking Korean. Conversing with you. Who do you think I am?”

Kyuhyun jaw clenched as he finally realized what he had missed. Crap. This had to be the translator he’d requested. Now he felt sort of stupid.

Covering his insecurity, the taller man scoffed. “Well, this is disappointing.  As a native Korean, you should know better than to disrespect your elders let alone a paying guest.”

The taller man smirked when the stranger’s grin faded. He didn’t actually care about the formalities but if he was going to have to lug around this translator for the rest of the trip, that attitude had to go. Of course, the smaller didn’t seem particularly shamed.

“Sorry?” The stranger shrugged, “I guess I haven’t used formalities in a while. On this island we don’t really use titles. Or pronouns.” He added like an afterthought.

“And anyways, it’s really part of the experience. Guests tend to enjoy the easy-going vibe. People come here to get relaxed and to escape business matters.”

As he spoke, the man steadily drew closer to Kyuhyun, gaze unwavering.

“Plus, you don’t even know how old I am.”

Kyuhyun opened his mouth, unsure about how to respond to that. He did choose the Caribbean to calm pre-proposal nerves and he did hate having to maneuver three sets of formalities every time he went to work. Plus, it wasn’t like he was Mr. Respectful himself.

Pulling back from his own thoughts, Kyuhyun set his attention back on the stranger who was now just a few steps too close to him.

“I don’t need to know how old you are. You’re the worker; I’m the guest. And that also means that I am not part of your happy, hippy community, all right?” Kyuhyun began to back up as he spoke, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going to back to my room, because an annoying kid ruined the beach.”

The employee now had some irritation written on his face. Satisfied, Kyuhyun turned and began marching back up the slope.

The kid’s watery voice called out after him. “Hey! Don’t you need help finding your way back to your room?”

Kyuhyun scoffed. As if he needed help finding a white house 50 meters from the beach.

Yet, the closer he got to the treeline, the more it looked like he needed it.

The several identical paths connecting to the beach all turned to pretty much the same direction. The trees were too thick to really see past and it probably wouldn’t matter anyways because he had no idea how far he had wandered from the original path

Cursing himself for not paying attention earlier, Kyuhyun turned around only to find the petite man practically right behind him.

“Gaah! How do you do that?”

“What? The walking? Kids can be sneaky you know.” The stranger spat at him.

The smaller had attempted an intimidating stance with his arms folded across his chest and a slight scowl on his face. Kyuhyun had to bite back laughter.

“I’m sorry," He explained, "I only said that to anger you.” 

“Um, thanks?”

 “Yeah, you look more like a girl than anything.”

The smaller’s eyes narrowed. “Alright, what’s your cabin name?”

“P15”

“Fourth trail down,” The guide pointed towards the end of the beach. “Here, I’ll walk you to it.”

Without waiting for a response, the smaller man began heading towards the path. Unsure of what else to do, Kyuhyun followed.

Silently catching up to the other man, Kyuhyun gave him a quick once-over. Thankfully the worker wasn’t wearing anything official that he had missed. No, the petite man was wearing basically the same outfit as Kyuhyun except for earbuds dangling out of his running shorts.

Running. Interesting. The thin man didn’t seem like the type to go jogging with his delicate build and fluffy hair. In fact, he looked exactly like those flower boys that plastered every ad in his country. 

Maybe it was since he did look like a girl. The boy’s cheekbones were almost ridiculously high but for some reason they worked. Maybe it was his small chin or polished skin. Other than a mole on his cheek, his face was virtually blemish free. A total baby-face

Kyuhyun took this all in as they strode along the outer path. Their feet crunched in the gravel emphasizing an awkward silence.

“My name’s Cho Kyuhyun by the way,” He said in an attempt to fill the quiet, “I guess since you’re all hippy-dippy here you can just call me Kyuhyun. Or Kyu if you’re lazy. I wouldn’t pull the same stunt with my girlfriend though. Her real name’s Seo Joohyun and people close to her call her Seohyun but since you aren’t close to her you should probably just call her Joohyun.” Kyuhyun clamped his mouth shut suddenly aware that he was rambling.

Sparing a glance to his side he was surprised to see that the other man hadn’t fallen over laughing at him. He was simply giving Kyuhyun an amused look.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” He said nodding slightly, “And my name is Ryeowook. Kim Ryeowook. But if you ever want to ask for me at the front desk they call me Wook or Wookie. Emphasize the ‘w’ and ‘k’.”

“Wookie? That’s an odd nickname.”

“It’s not that bad. Some part-time kids think I have a Chewbaca obsession but other than that-”

Kyuhyun couldn’t help it. He started laughing.

Ryeowook felt an embarrassed blush rush to his cheeks. “Hey! Stop it! People here have trouble pronouncing my name!”

The other man didn’t stop.

“Just wait until one of them tries to address you! Soon you’ll just be known as ‘Kyu…cumber.’” He finished lamely.

Frowning, Kyuhyun gave Ryeowook a look. “Kyu-cumber?”

“It’s a vegetable.” The smaller said indignantly.

Kyuhyun burst out laughing again. No awkward silence could stem from that. Huffing, Ryeowook to a forest trail with Kyuhyun and his hysterical laughter following him.

“Oh my God. A vegetable? Really? That was like the dumbest comeback ever!” Kyuhyun jogged back up to his guide who had significantly increased his pace.

“What!?” Ryeowook gave the taller an incredulous look, “Did you forget yours already? ‘Grown men like to do it to!’ Were you trying to insult yourself?”

Kyuhyun leaned towards the other setting his face into suggestive expression, “Maybe it wasn’t a comeback. Maybe it was come-on.”

Wiggling his eyebrows, Kyuhyun laughed when Wookie shoved him back.

“Ugh!” The shorter man stalked forward in disgust.

Kyuhyun called after him. “Hey! Relax! You know I have a girlfriend!”

“Yeah? That hasn’t stopped our other guests.” Ryeowook spat.

Trailing behind him slightly, the taller one frowned.

“Seriously? What kind of guests do you serve here?”

“The rich kind,” The petite one retorted, “And don’t deny your status either. Only a wealthy couple would fly to the other side of the world just for the hell of it.”

Kyuhyun jaw dropped. “What, you think I’m a cheating ert just because I make more money than you? Insolent much?”

Ryeowook scoffed.

 “That is so presumptuous and!... Hey, get back here!” The smaller just ignored him and continued to stalk forward.

 “Alright! You know, this isn’t just some random trip we took because we could. I was going to propose this week!”

His guide whipped around. “Really? You’re going to propose? That’s so romantic!” He gave a little clap as he said this all traces of hostility vanished.

“Umm…” Kyuhyun felt a loss of words at Ryeowook’s sudden personality switch.

“What day are you asking? Are you going to do it here? At the hotel? Oh, how are you going to ask? What does the ring look like? This is so sweet! I’ve never seen a proposal before. Wow-“

“Whoa! Calm down there! I’m not proposing to you.” Stopping in the path, Kyuhyun grasped the boy’s shoulders to halt his enthusiastic bouncing.

“Sorry,” Ryeowook took a breath, “It’s just, this hotel, you know? It used be overflowing with love and weddings and couples but by the time I started working here it was all gone. No one really comes here to be romantic anymore. Even though this is like the perfect place and-”

Sighing, Ryeowook gave the taller a shy look, “I just think it’s incredibly sweet that you planned whole vacation around your proposal. If you want any help at all from any of the hotel staff, you’ve got it. Alright?” He said, giving a Kyuhyun’s cheek a quick pat.

“Yeah, okay.” Kyuhyun pulled his arms away from the other, a bit abashed by his sudden support.

Truth be told, Kyuhyun felt nowhere as sure as this complete stranger was about his proposal going well. In fact, the other looked more eager about it too. Perhaps if Ryeowook knew about the two other times he had failed he’d be a little more pessimistic. But then again, he and Seohyun had been dating for an extra year now not to mention he did have a pretty extravagant plan this time…

Slowly, Kyuhyun felt his tensions and doubts being covered up by the beaming smile of the boy before him.

“Okay. Okay!” The taller nodded, his voice growing in confidence, “Yeah, so, I was actually planning to see the layout of the islands first and, um, if it’s not too much trouble I was hoping for some less touristy attractions as well. Just so I can find the right place to propose.”

The petite man nodded eagerly at his words. “No problem! As your tour guide I promise to make your trip as romantic as possible leading up to your proposal!” Wow, this kid really wanted to see a proposal.

Well, so did Kyuhyun. A successful one that is.

The two began to talk as they followed the path to a cottage. The prospect of romance had the smaller completely opening up. Turns out, he was pretty sunshiny inside.

Kyuhyun himself started to tell Ryeowook about Seohyun and her likes and dislikes. He was a little surprised at how out of date some of his information was, but the petite man didn’t seem to mind. He took in all the information just the same.

Ryeowook was eager to discuss all the locations for a good anniversary tour and even though Kyuhyun had researched the islands plenty, he was willing to listen to the small man list off his suggestions. In fact, Kyuhyun found himself strangely absorbed in the man’s bubbly recollection of the history of sugarcane.

Immersed in their plans like boys on a secret mission, the path seemed to end far too quickly.

“Well, here’s the cabin.”

Kyuhyun turned and faced Ryeowook. The shorter was now much happier looking. His face had lost its guarded shell from earlier and he was bouncing on his toes with anticipation.

Smiling, Kyuhyun stuck out his hand, “Thanks for helping me back here. And for granting me your unyielding support for this...you know.” He cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure Seohyun wasn’t up yet.

Chuckling, Ryeowook grasped his hand and shook it. “No problem! I love serving a decent guest. And sorry for what I said before about your gross attitude.”

Kyuhyun frowned. “You never said anything like that.”

“Oh,” Ryeowook scrunched his eyebrows, “I guess I just thought it. Well then, sorry for being all mocking before.”

“Yeah, you should be. But, this was actually…interesting.”

“Glad to hear it. Now I gotta go change for work.” Pulling his hand back, the worker gave Kyuhyun an exaggerated bow, “I will see you after breakfast, sir.”

“Very well peasant. I shall see you then.” Kyuhyun mimicked the royal shooing gesture as the small man turned away. Though, Ryeowook did toss one last grin at his temporary boss before jogging away.

This time, it was Kyuhyun who watched until the other was out of sight.

Only then did he realize that his guide had led him to the wrong cabin.

_________________________________________________________________________

‘That was interesting.’ Ryeowook thought to himself while plugging in his earbuds. 

He hadn’t expected their new guest to be up so early considering how late he came in last night. Of course, he hadn’t expected himself to be up so early either. He certainly hadn’t felt like jogging today.

Ryeowook was glad he did though. If not, he would have missed out on a conversation with the very dorky yet arrogant Cho Kyuhyun.

When he saw Kyuhyun playing in the sand, he had had to do a double take to make sure he was a grown man was playing in the sand. It was actually kind of endearing in a childish way. Of course, once he opened his mouth, everything endearing about him was ground into pulp.

He smiled a bit. Maybe the taller man was used to spitting out retorts but this morning he just came off as dorky. Honestly though, Ryeowook preferred that to some demanding businessman.

It had probably just been the lighting last night, but Kyuhyun had seemed a lot more composed in the lobby. At night, he’d looked captivating. Dark eyes entrancing and his lips slightly parted. Definitely a different scene than the groggy, mop-headed guy on the beach.

It was still hard to imagine spending the rest of the week with that guy. The thought of translating all his haughty comments seemed a like little much, (who knew how sharp-tongued he would be when he wasn’t sleep deprived?) but maybe he would behave more maturely around his girlfriend. In fact, he’d better. The man was going to propose for Pete’s sake!

Ryeowook felt the slight embarrassment rise as he recalled his reaction to the news. He couldn’t believe how gushy he’d gotten at the mere mention of romance. He couldn’t help it though; he was severely love deprived right now. And not just mentally.

Pushing those urges aside, Ryeowook slowed down.

Kyuhyun was lucky he could propose. Ryeowook couldn’t even afford a ring and even still his girlfriend was halfway across the world.

Stopping at his front door, the small man took a moment to catch his breath.

Yes. He was going to help Kyuhyun get his girl. Even though he seemed sort of arrogant and self-righteous, the guy seemed genuinely excited, almost bubbly in fact, at the thought of settling down with his one true love. Who wouldn’t be?

Of course, Kyuhyun had to learn the rules just like any other guest. And rule number one: don’t be a jerk. Not that Kyuhyun seemed like one but he was obviously accustomed to jerk-like tendencies.

Ryeowook frowned recalling Kyuhyun’s superior attitude.

Demanding formalities and calling him a kid. And laughing at his nickname! What was with that? Ryeowook had grown rather fond of ‘Wookie’ over the years and it was better than his coworkers constantly butchering his real name. But Kyuhyun had just laughed at him.

So, Ryeowook lead him to the wrong cabin.

‘That’ll teach him to call me a girl.’ Ryeowook smirked pulling out his room key.

Kyuhyun had to learn, this worker did not tolerate guys with an attitude problem.

_______________________________________________________________________

Okay! Finally some Kyuwook! Or, as it is now, Kyuhyun and Ryeowook. =)

As always, thank you guys for reading my ridiculously long scenes and any feedback is loved! (Seriously, I have nothing else to look forward to...)