Part 2

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“Look at me!”

Min Ju will looked at Tae Gun with pleading eyes, as if begging the man to let him go, he showed the conflict in his eyes because he shouldn’t feel that way towards his bestfriend, especially when he already have a fiancé, someone who will clearly be accepted by the society. Not him, a gay engineer who happened to just be in the way of their perfect pairing.

“Let me go.”

Min Ju’s voice cracked and surely the impending tears from his eyes were about to fall. The other man realizes it and his annoyed expression softened at the sight.

If someone you love is about to be taken away permanently by someone else, what should you do?

The painful cover up is written all over Min Ju’s eyes. These words are supposed to be conveyed before he leave the other, these feelings needed a rejection so that he can move on.

“I’m in love with you, and I don’t want to be around you, killing myself every single moment I saw you with her. I’m leaving Tae Gun, so please… let me move on.”

But Tae Gun knew this. His expression will show how much he knew about their loathsome situation and his eyes will be filled with adoration for the person who just declared his love and his escape.

“I know, but I won’t let you go-“

And by that Tae Gun will pull Min Ju to their tabooed first kiss.

“CUT!”

Hyukjae let go of Donghae and caringly wiped the tears formed at the side of the other’s eyes.

“, just don’t cry okay…” Hyukjae whispered to Donghae who pouted and snatch the handkerchief away from Hyukjae’s hand. “If you got to act in the role your friend once suffered, I think you too will cry.” Donghae wiped his teary eyes with the handkerchief.

“You two were brilliant really!” The assistant director approached them handing over some bottles of water. “Director Min is so enthusiastic about your performance.”

Hyukjae smiled towards the young woman who’s Sungmin’s right hand at the moment, his eyes wander but he found no sign of the Director.

“Uhm, if you’re looking for Director Min, he left before your scene ended, he said he needed to take a quick break. He’ll come back a little later.” The woman smiled and Hyukjae nodded in affirmation and the assistant director waved at them before commanding everyone to take care of the set for the next scene.

“Hae, I think this movie is really taking toll on him… I’m afraid that as accurately as we deliver the scenes, Sungmin will remember how much he loved Kyuhyun, and then he’ll remember the hurt again.”

Donghae sighed patting Hyukjae’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t worry too much. You cannot un-love a person after all, it just changed its form.”

Hyukjae looked at Donghae a small smile on his lips. “That’s the problem there. Maybe the form didn’t change at all.”

“Hmm, are you somehow seeing this situation on a 3^rd person’s point of view? That’s new, I know you are always biased into supporting Sungmin and I thought you didn’t care about Kyuhyun’s side of the story.”

“It’s not that I’m siding with that man, he is still a downright bastard and a coward but- I just found out something that made me re think things…” Hyukjae stated making a frown appear on Donghae’s forehead.

The actor sighed looking at a distant. “I knew that Kyuhyun followed Sungmin to New York almost a year after he left, Sungmin’s living with Henry back then and is recovering.”

“Really? Then… if he knew where to find Sungmin why didn’t he show up in front of Sungmin by then, he could’ve-“

“I don’t know what his real purpose on going to that much trouble just to take a glimpse on Sungmin if he really wanted to end things with our friend, but what I do know is when he came back from the states, just days after, Kyuhyun was hospitalized for being heavily mauled.”

Hyukjae looked at his lover who seemed to understand his dilemma over the new found information.

“I think that someone else is pulling strings on these twisted coincidences.”

***

Sungmin washed his face with cold water, yet he could not possibly remove the memories of Kyuhyun's pleading. He will be a hypocrite if he say that he's not shaken about the sudden turn of events. He didn't came back to have his revenge to the producer, he came back for closure. To finish this film. Why did these situations have to be so difficult for him?

It's been weeks since the incident on the bar, and Kyuhyun never appeared to the production set ever since, he was worried, he wanted to ask what had happened but he refuses to bring down his pride. Why would he want to know anyway? He wouldn't gain anything by knowing such detail yet inside of him he crave for a single way to figure his questions.

Did Kyuhyun really wanted to break up with him 4 years ago?

The door of the restroom opened and he was startled, yet the person who entered with his round spectacles and small frame didn't appear to be offending.

"Good evening Director Lee." The smaller man greeted him with a bow before proceeding to the other sink.

"Ryeowook-ssi... You're that young writer right?" Sungmin smiled and the bespectacled man confirmed his question with a shy nod.

"I see you're finally having your own script came to life. I heard that you earned a very good reputation, that's really great." Sungmin praised Ryeowook who smiled back at him, yet still deep in argument with himself.

After all, who else knew Kyuhyun's side of the story better than him?

"Um.. Director Lee, I'm-" he stuttered for a while regaining his skipping heart. Sungmin, on the other hand looked up at him.

"Maybe it's wrong for me to pry on someone else's business but I still hope that you won't get mad."

Sungmin stopped what he was doing, his attention caught by thje shy writer.

"I- I happened to be Kyuhyun's friend, well... The only one he's got for quite a while now... And..."

"Where are you going with this, Kim Ryeowook-ssi" the stern voice Sungmin sported made Ryeowook flinch, but he wanted to at least drop a hint, something that would make Sungmin think over the things of the past.

"I just wanted to say that. Kyuhyun also suffered the same way you did, or maybe not the same way but-" he breathed in his courage and look straight at Sungmin's now confused gaze. "He- you don't know his side of the story, so I guess it's not fair of you to act as the only victim of the circumstances."

Sungmin's heart ached at the realization. Is he really being unfair? Is he acting like he's the only victim?

"You don't know what happened to me when Kyuhyun left me, you have no righ-"

"I know." Ryeowook frowned and he gathered all his courage to say a few more words he had been meaning to say. "I know I have no right but... You too don't know what happened when you left him."

At those words Sungmin was left speechless. Ryeowook bowed at him, muttered something before leaving him at his confusion.

***

You were always fixed to the same idea, and nothing will change what you perceive or rather no one would be able to put a hole for reconsidering things you decided to be intact when you, yourself trust on what you think you believed in. The moment you put a room for doubt, that’s when you let other people’s idea to sway yours.

That’s what Lee Sungmin is pondering on right at the moment.

He was supposed to let some orderly or some assistant to bring the week’s filming report to the office of the producer. He, the director didn‘t have to go to that trouble, yet right after the filming he hadn’t been himself, though he wanted to erase the doubts beginning to sink in, he just can’t. A question arose from his mind, something that he had never asked before, ‘What really happened when he left?’

His mind became occupied with this simple question and eventually curiosity begun to arose, he kept on thinking or making ideas to corner the young writer and push him into telling him what he didn’t know, he held on to the debate against himself that he found himself carrying the report, his excuse, towards the floor of the Producer’s office.

He sighed. What was he really doing? Is he really going to brought up something that he himself tried to stay away from? What was he going to ask? Will Kyuhyun tell him this small fact after he had persistently pushed him away?

“Uhm, Director Lee… excuse me?” the assistant approached him cautiously halting him in his train of thoughts.

“You can’t visit the Producer right now, he has an important guest so…”

“I don’t think you know me pretty well miss…” Sungmin looked at the other with the look that can make you intimidated by the director’s presence. “It really doesn’t matter to me who that important guest is.” He said making the poor assistant cringe. He didn’t really mean to be such an but he’s so pissed off with everything else that is happening that he cannot control his temper.

Eventually he walked away, not heeding the assistant’s plea. The producer’s office is located not behind the assistant’s desk, it is still a corridor away so he proceeded towards the grey carpeted floor. The door of the office is open for some reason and the more he came closer the more he can hear loud arguing voices.

“Enough is enough!” An unfamiliar voice shouted and Sungmin’s heart raced feeling that he shouldn’t be hearing this conversation, or rather; he was not supposed to hear the conversation. He avoided the open door and hid himself on the corner leading to a small hallway beside the oak doors.

“I keep doing what you specifically told me to do so, I endured what you have been doing for so long, what more did you want from me.”

“He is not happy Cho, you know, you knew that if you keep messing with that then you’ll be in greater danger than before. He will not hesitate to have you-“

“You don’t need to warn me about something I already experienced. ‘That’ person have me already, he had me wrapped around his fingers for a long time… “

“He wanted you to destroy that , you know pretty well Cho that as long as he is around then it is not possible for that person to continue reigning, he hates competition…”

“He’s really that big of a threat then...” a chuckle from Cho Kyuhyun was heard. “Do you think I would let your original plan take place? Do you really think you could make me do something stupid again? Wasn’t the money I brought you enough? Do you really have to go this far to hurt this person?!!”

Cho Kyuhyun yelled and Sungmin had never heard it before, and he begun to shake in something that is now being played through his ear. Whoever ‘that’ person is trying to destroy, Kyuhyun’s doing all things to protect it. Even if it means he played by ‘that’ person’s rules.

“We will make a move if you do not send him away again. And you know what we are capable of Cho.”

With that, the man begun his footsteps and Sungmin could hear it walking towards the door. He pressed himself and closed his mouth for a while trying to even out his breathing, if he were caught listening then he will surely be in bigger trouble.

The footsteps halted for a while and his heart hammered against his ribs painfully. Holding his breath for a few seconds till he heard it commenced in walking till it was heard no more.

Sungmin sighed, not believing his ears. What was that?

It was then that a loud banging and crashing echoed through the hall making him flinch.

It was still too early to come out from where he is, and he can’t ran towards the room since he didn’t want Kyuhyun to know that he’s there the whole time. He stayed glued to the wall hearing some painful fit of the man inside the room.

“Kyuhyun… what’s going on?” he murmured to himself flinching at the grunts of anger heard clearly through the hall.

***

Kyuhyun held the phone against his ears, at least trying to be strong. He didn’t know if Sungmin would pick up but at least he tried. He lost everything, he had nothing… these times were the times he wanted to let go, he always have done this on the past. When he was tired to the point of giving up, when he misses the other that he thought he could not breathe anymore, this helps him make it through the day and wake up towards another morning, fighting the earth who seemed to mock on his misery. But even though what answers on the other line is a soft beep, telling that the supposed to be receiver of the call is not there anymore, he was happy, at a simple useless phone call he found a small bit of courage to hope that one day, Sungmin will answer the other line.

The ring dragged on and every unanswered tone squeezes his heart to nothingness, extinguishing the hope, extinguishing the love, he still felt for the other.

He’s messed up. He’s tired… he’s very much exhausted.

At the 8^th ring a miracle happened as he heard the ringing stop. At first he thought that Sungmin turned off his phone but even if there’s no one speaking on the other line, he could hear a faint breathing, at this a tear fell.

“Hi… Sungmin.” Kyuhyun chuckled leaning towards the wall of his dark, disheveled office.

There were no response, but the line is still connected. Sungmin’s listening to him, at last, someone answered from the other line.

“I know, this sounds crazy and maybe it’s too late now. But still I’m so glad you pick up…”

“It’s been so long since I last talk to you over the phone, I remember the last time was when I broke up with you…” A bitter chuckle followed by the cracking of Kyuhyun’s voice. “You were happy then; you were hoping to tell me something really important… I guess I never get to hear that important thing you were so happy about.”

The breathing on the other line remained steady, there’s no sign that Sungmin’s going to reply so he continued.  “Do you know that I regretted letting you go?”

The confession of the painful truth made Kyuhyun gasped for the uncontrollable sobs; it was hard to compose himself, to stop himself from crying.

“I’m sorry, I’m just out of options, I-I didn’t know what to do… I can’t remove you from my memories, I can’t remove your smile, your scent, please… tell me how did you move on? Tell me… s-so that I can finally give up on you.”

“I reached to the point that even breathing is filled with so much suffering and waking up each day felt like surviving. Doing those things…” Kyuhyun paused to laugh at his melancholy. “Most of the times… I think that breathing and waking up is harder than dying.”

Silence answered him, but the heavy breath from the other line continued to fill the empty space he was so desperate to fill.

“I know I’m too late…” choking on his own tears, the strength he had garnered all came crashing down at the simple tone of Sungmin’s breathing from the other line. “I’m sorry… Min… I’m really really sorry for making you suffer. I thought that I’ll be okay without you Min, I’m sorry…”