The Stranger

10 years later – The Stranger

* Sneeze * 'Khun, are you alright? You have been sick for 3 days...' 'I am fine. It's just some common influenza infection. * Cough * I will get well soon.' 'Even you say so, I am going to the pharmacy to get you some medicine.' 'Be a good boy and take some rest, okay? Junho will tag along with me.' Wooyoung leaves the room after comforting Nichkhun with a soft kiss on his forehead. He greets Junho politely who awaited him at the house gate. Nichkhun overlooks Junho and his lover from the balcony, feeling a bit jealous and he protests it by pouting his cheeks. 'Mmm, It must be the fever that makes me to think negatively. Junho is just a close friend of him. I should go and sleep now.' He adjourns to his room and slumps on his bed. He leans against the wall while hugging Wooyoung's Ok cat Doll contentedly. Nichkhun rubs his cheek against the doll and eventually falls asleep with a grin on his face. He always feels safe with the familiar scent of Wooyoung.

 

* Phone rings * 'Its Minjun hyung.' 'Hey hyung.' 'Khun ah~ I heard you are sick, so I brought you some Chinese medicine, come down and open the door for hyung!' Without a hesitation, Nichkhun staggers down and welcomes his hyung. At least there is someone here to accompany him now. 'Here. Drink it.' Minjun passes Nichkhun a bowl of black-colored fluid. 'People says this herbal soup is like a remedy for disease.' 'It's bitter.' Nichkhun complains. He squeezes his cheek and month while drinking the bitter solution reluctantly. '* lub-dup * lup-dup* Nichkhun hears his heart beating vigorously after ingested the soup. He feels excruciating pain in his stomach. He feels dizzy and his vision becomes blurry. 'Hyung...' Nichkhun sees a conspiratorial smile on Minjun's face before he blacks out and falls on the concrete floor.

 

The blazing sunlight penetrates through the translucent window and falls on Nichkhun's face. The boy moves his body lazily as he regains conscious. He feels weak and suffering from some minor headache. The house is empty without the presence of Wooyoung so Nichkhun decided to linger around the street of Seoul to inhale some fresh air. Perhaps he will feel better after basking in the sunlight, he thought.

 

The tree in his front house garden captured Nichkhun's attention as he steps out the doorstep. 'Since when it has grown so tall?.' Surprised but he shrugs his shoulder slightly and proceeds to the city. The main street of Seoul is busy as usual. Pedestrians are walking so fast and the hawkers are busy bargaining with their customers. He sees kids ice-cream delightfully and that makes his day too. He strolls on the street with his hands tucked in his jacket. The street oddly looks unfamiliar to Nichkhun with some new buildings and shoplots. 'Gosh, my sickness has made my senses dull too.' Nichkhun mumbles as he playfully kick the gravel below his feet.

 

Nichkhun hums a soothing melody as he walks happily on the street, but his pace is backed by a cold breeze that hit him head to head. 'Hyung!' 'Oww.' Nichkhun jumped up as astonished by Chansung that patted his shoulder out of nowhere. 'Chansung? Taecyeon?' Nichkhun utters as he observes his friends' lineament, almost unrecognized. 'Chansung ah, since when you have wear spectacle? And Taecyeon, who is that pretty girl beside you?' asks Nichkhun curiously. Chansung and Taecyeon look at each other and blink their eyes in confusion. 'Hyung, you are kidding right? I have wore this spec for the last 3 years and she is Gui Gui, Taecyeon's wife which he married 5 years ago.' says the maknae. 'What?' Nichkhun gasps in shock. 'Wait... Chansung ah, it is year 2013 now right?' 'It's 2023 now!' Chansung and Taecyeon retorted concurrently.

 

At the same time, Minjun joins the conversation. 'What happen?' he says calmly while sipping his beverage. 'Hyung, I have something to ask you.' Nichkhun drags Minjun aside and bombards him with questions. 'What had happen? What's wrong with your herbal soup?' 'What herbal soup?' 'The herbal soup you let me drink ten years ago!' 'I have no idea what you are saying, but I can tell you what have happened in the pass 10 years though.' 'Firstly, you were admitted to hospital due to extraordinary high fever. The doctor says your brain was damaged and you took 2 years for recovery. Wooyoung takes care of you when you were in unconscious state. You then finally awaken but you suffered a memory loss disorder. It was not long after you met a girl called Victoria. You both were in first-sight love and you pursued her to be your girlfriend. Wooyoung cried so badly by then and you told him that you guys were still best friend. Wooyoung waited you for 10 years and he eventually believes that you were no longer the Nichkhun he knows before you had the brain damage. And Junho proposed to him yesterday......' 'Wait..!' Nichkhun yells hysterically. 'Where is Wooyoung? Where is Wooyoung now?' He desperately grasps Minjun's shirt's collar. 'He said he will be in a place that filled with his most precious memory with you before making his decision on Junho's propose.'

 

Nichkhun races on the street almost frenzy. 'What had happen? Wooyoungie... And who the heck is Victoria? No this not true, I must explain everything to Wooyoungie...' Fears, confusions and uncertainties invade his mind. He could not adapt this situation that escalated so quickly. 'Place that filled with memory? It must be Starbucks that we first met!' Nichkhun rushes to the coffee shop with full force. He gasps for a few breath before seeking for his lover in Starbucks. * Let it rain, let it rain--* It is Wooyoung's ringtone! Nichkhun dashes to the source of sound and tapped the familiar figure of the boy. 'Wooyoung I...' 'Yes?' 'Sorry...' It is not Wooyoung, just a young man that uses the same ringtone as the boy.

 

'Where could he be? The soccer field of university perhaps? He runs hastily to the field because Nichkhun recalls that Wooyoung once said he likes the greenish-field scenery so much. The sky is as blue as he could remember. He saw a few hot-blooded college student running on the soccer field enthusiastically and that elicits some good old memories of him with Wooyoung. Despite the careful search within the area by Nichkhun, Wooyoung does not seems to be here.

 

Nichkhun is frantic with fear. He went to Namsan tower, where he and Wooyoung promised to hold each others' hands and get old together. There are a lot of couples at the peak of the tower, each making beautiful promises that never will be fulfilled. The sun sets down elegantly, everyone on the tower is mesmerized by the dusk's loveliness, but it alerts Nichkhun that the night is coming too soon.

 

Nichkhun staggers mindlessly to his home, with some anxiety and disappointment. He is surprised when he reaches his home as the door gate remains open. He walks in to their bedroom, and he saw the silhouette of his beloved. 'Wooyoung...?' Nichkhun mutters as he stretches his hand to the light switch. 'No.. Khun, don't open the light... I don't want you to see me crying...' 'Wooyoung... Don't marry to Junho...' 'Why Khun... You already have Victoria...' 'Because.. because I am the Nichkhun that you know 10 years ago!' 'So let me protect you and not Junho!'

 

Wooyoung wipes his tears and walks to Nichkhun. He caresses his Khunnie's face with his soft hand, to feels the the warmth of his lover. His hand is shivering with mixed emotions. The couple see through each others' eyes and exchanges story and feelings through silence and unspoken words. 'Thank you, Khun, I know you said these because you do not want to hurt me... but seeing you tonight, and with your words, I can finally convince myself to make the decision now.' 'I have already waited you for 10 years, then maybe it does not matter much if I wait you for another 10 years more...' 'No, Wooyoung, you do not need to wait anymore, listen, I lov.....' * lub-dup * lup-dup* Nichkhun's heart clenches painfully and he blacks out before he could finish his words.

 

Nichkhun jolted from his sleep and he find himself hugging the Ok Cat doll tightly. He averts his attention to the clock and it shows exactly 11.30 am. 'Hyung? Are you awake? I just bought you some medicine from the pharmacy.' 'Wooyoung? Wooyoung ah--' Nichkhun embraces Wooyoung with load of happiness. He pinches the younger boy's face to make sure he is real. 'Yahh, Khun.' the latter shouts. 'Wooyoung ah, what year is it now?' Wooyoung is slightly dumbfounded by his question before he responds, 'Babo, of course it is 2013! Are you dreaming?' Nichkhun sighs in relief. 'Yea, a long dream.' He hums. 'What is the dream about?' 'Secret.' 'Yah, is it about me?' 'I won't tell you.' 'Yah! Tell me.' 'Blek' And Nichkhun feigns a mischievous grimace to Wooyoung. The couple starts to tickle and cuddle against each other like they usually do. It was a long dream for Nichkhun.

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jangwooyoung0730
#1
Chapter 1: kkkk just dreaming khunie, don't worry. lol.
youngielover
#2
Chapter 1: I like it. I thought that would be real, well thank goodness it's only a dream. Thank you for sharing this. ^0^