Ch. [22]

After A Minute

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“You can’t come all the way to Africa without going to an African safari, right?” Kyuhyun asked as he put a fisher hat on Hyukjae’s head, grinning widely.

 

“I am so excited Kyuhyun!” Hyukjae exclaimed happily, putting on the sun block on his arms and face.

 

“Good, that was the intention,” Kyuhyun chuckled, putting on his own hat as well.

 

“Put this on, we’re not risking our skin to melanomas,” Hyukjae smiled and poured some protector over Kyuhyun’s face, spreading it gently all over the exposed skin.

 

Kyuhyun arranged a bag with clean clothes and toothbrushes, making Hyukjae tell him he didn’t have to carry so much because they would get tired of it later. Kyuhyun simply chuckled and hummed.

 

After a few minutes of preparing and the first picture in Africa, they went out, camera in hand. “Oh, there’s out guide,” Kyuhyun pointed a man as soon as they got into the lobby. “Let’s go, he must be waiting for us.”

 

Hyukjae nodded and followed Kyuhyun quickly, grinning widely as the man greeted them. “Hello, my name is Abasi, I’ll be your guide for today,” he was talking in Korean, maybe because Kyuhyun planned it beforehand.

 

“I’m Kyuhyun,” the taller greeted as he held Hyukjae’s hand and pulled him closer. “And this is Hyukjae.”

 

Hyukjae raised his free hand and smiled, waving at the tall man in front of them. “Nice to meet you,” he said softly, grinning widely.

 

“First thing we’ll do today, is going out in a safari, later, we’ll visit the Masaai tribe and stay the night there, if you are not prepared with clean clothes, you can go now and I’ll wait for you right there,” Abasi said as he pointed a jeep outside in the hotel’s entrance.

 

Kyuhyun smiled. “We have clothes already,” he said, turning towards Hyukjae who simply mumbled a low ‘whatever’ and looked away. Kyuhyun couldn’t help himself but smile at the sight of an embarrassed Hyukjae in front of him.

 

They jumped into the jeep and got comfortable against the back seat. There were two males in front of them, one of them was Abasi, who turned around and smiled. “This is Dhambizao, he’ll be our assistant, you can give your camera to him if you wish for him to take pictures, he knows about that a lot.”

 

“Hello, Dhambizao,” Hyukjae greeted happily, snatching the camera from Kyuhyun’s hands and handing it to him. “Please take great picture of us in the entire trip,” he smiled sweetly.

 

Dhambizao laughed softly and nodded, taking the camera and quickly taking a picture of the two of them. Hyukjae came out grinning happily as Kyuhyun glared at his back. “Let me know if you want a special picture anytime,” Dhambizao said and smiled, turning to the front once again as Abasi started the jeep’s engine.

 

They went out from the city and Hyukjae grinned widely, holding Kyuhyun’s hand tightly just to make sure neither of them would fall off the car. “This place is so great!” He exclaimed happily, looking up at Kyuhyun before pointing the structures he found the most fascinating.

 

Kyuhyun smiled, looking at how Hyukjae would smile so brightly and he nodded. “Great, indeed,” he said, holding Hyukjae’s hand firmly.

 

As soon as they were out from the city, they came into an almost deserted area. “This is a natural protected area,” Abasi explained. “You’ll see everything you have to see, and more in this place,” he continued as they made their way forward. “We’ll make some stops to rest, as requested, every hour. The entire trip lasts six.”

 

Hyukjae looked at Kyuhyun and smiled. The taller was doing everything possible for Hyukjae to always have energy and never get exhausted and he couldn’t be more thankful.

 

Some minutes passed and Hyukjae was already pointing the monkeys far away in the trees. “Oh! Right there!” Kyuhyun exclaimed happily, pointing at the new finding as well.

 

“They’re so cute!” Hyukjae squealed, laughing when he saw two monkeys playing with each other.

 

The car was still going on and Hyukjae screamed loudly when he spotted a giraffe far from them. He jumped up and down excited, hitting Kyuhyun’s thigh. “Look at it Kyuhyun! Look!”

 

Kyuhyun laughed softly and nodded, squinting his eyes. “I can barely see it,” he said and pursed his lips. “Maybe we’ll see it closer later,” he said and Hyukjae hummed excitedly.

 

The first stop came closer than they expected and they were handed binoculars so they could see the beautiful landscape. “Kyu! Quickly! Look right there!” Hyukjae exclaimed pointing with his finger as he saw through the binoculars. “I think that’s an elephant!”

 

Kyuhyun laughed and shook his head. “That’s just a rock, Hyukjae,” he said, patting Hyukjae’s head softly. “We’ll see an elephant later, I promise,” he said.

 

“Really?!” Hyukjae exclaimed happily. “I can’t wait! Kyuhyun! This is perfect!”

 

“Not as much as me, of course, but close enough,” Kyuhyun grinned widely, making Hyukjae roll his eyes and hit his shoulder playfully.

 

“Elephants, that is perfect, not you,” Hyukjae said, nodding for himself.

 

“So mean,” Kyuhyun sighed and shook his head.

 

“Still cute, I bet,” Hyukjae grinned widely, jumping up the jeep as soon as they were told the rest was over and they needed to continue.

 

“Really cute,” Kyuhyun chuckled for himself before jumping in as well by Hyukjae’s side.

 

“Look to the right!” Dhambizao exclaimed and both turned towards the pointed direction, gasping in surprise as they saw a group of antelopes running along by their side.

 

“They’re so fast…,” Hyukjae said, blinking at how pretty they were. “And so big…,” he swallowed silently, leaning against Kyuhyun’s body.

 

Kyuhyun laughed softly and nodded. It was actually a beautiful scene. The antelopes were all running along. “Ah ,” Kyuhyun exclaimed as he turned back and realized there were two lionesses behind.

 

Hyukjae looked at Kyuhyun and followed his eyes, gasping loudly as he held onto Kyuhyun’s body tightly. “Kyuhyun, t-they’re so huge…,” he said, eyes wide open as he saw the lionesses approaching way too fast for their liking.

 

“Don’t worry, they don’t attack people,” Abasi laughed softly at their reaction.

 

“They look so…,” Kyuhyun hugged Hyukjae’s body protectively. “Dangerous…”

 

“They are,” Dhambizao said before taking a picture of them, making sure the antelopes and the lionesses were seen in the picture. “But they don’t meddle with people.”

 

Hyukjae let out a loud gasp as he saw a lioness jump on one of the antelopes and he turned around, hiding his face against Kyuhyun’s chest scared.

 

Kyuhyun hugged Hyukjae tightly, chuckling softly. “Hyuk, it’s ok, they need to eat too,” he said softly.

 

“I know,” Hyukjae mumbled, hugging Kyuhyun tighter. “It’s the image of blood that I can’t stand, I hate it…”

 

Kyuhyun hummed and looked at the scene again. “Hey, it’s ok, they’re gone now,” he announced.

 

Hyukjae sighed softly and looked up to look at Kyuhyun, and only when the taller gave him a reassuring smile, he turned up again and looked back, looking at the antelopes running away from them with the lionesses nowhere to be seen. “Did they catch one?” he asked. “I don’t want them to starve, poor girls.”

 

Kyuhyun laughed softly. “Yeah, they caught one,” he smiled. “It wasn’t as bloody as you thought it would be, actually.”

 

“Doesn’t matter,” Hyukjae defended and grinned widely. “Look! Finally! The giraffe!”

 

Kyuhyun grinned widely and nodded, pointing at it. “Look, there’s another one right there!”

 

The next stop came soon and they drank water, taking pictures with the landscape behind them, Kyuhyun holding Hyukjae firmly by the waist as both of them gave wide grins to the camera.

 

“Are you tired?” Kyuhyun asked as Hyukjae shook his head, leaning his head against the taller’s shoulder as he looked at the landscape, nothing particularly interesting crossing their ways. “Should we make a longer stop?”

 

Hyukjae smiled and looked up at Kyuhyun. “No…,” he smiled and took Kyuhyun’s hand. “Believe me, I’m not tired, I’m amazed. This is so great,” he grinned. “I’m having the time of my life.”

 

Kyuhyun smiled and gave Hyukjae’s hand a soft squeeze. “Good, because I’m also having the time of my life,” he said, chuckling softly.

 

Hyukjae grinned widely.

 

After seeing elephants, screaming loudly in excitement and almost shaking Kyuhyun’s brain out of his head, Hyukjae was calmer and he could actually enjoy seeing the smaller and calmer animals.

 

“Is that a crocodile?” Hyukjae asked as he pointed to a swamp not far from them.

 

“It is,” Dhambizao said, nodding. “A small one, there are some that are about three times bigger than those.”

 

Hyukjae gasped. “So big…,” he said as he looked at the crocodile carefully.

 

After a brief explanation of the wild life of Africa and how the cycle of life was clear in that place, Kyuhyun and Hyukjae got down the jeep and walked to the last stop after the safari, where they couldn’t go if not by walking.

 

“Just tell me if you’re tired,” Kyuhyun said, holding Hyukjae’s hand gently to drag him along, walking behind the guides.

 

“I’m a little tired right now…,” Hyukjae sighed out, letting Kyuhyun drag him along.

 

Kyuhyun chuckled and hung his bag on Hyukjae’s shoulders, squatting down in front of the smaller. “Jump on,” he ordered and Hyukjae laughed softly before nodding, wrapping his arms around Kyuhyun’s legs and his arms around Kyuhyun’s waist.

 

Kyuhyun smiled, securing Hyukjae’s thighs around his waist and holding him up firmly, feeling how Hyukjae rested his chin over Kyuhyun’s head.

 

They walked through the savannah, following their guides who were talking about how that place was used as a forced stop to long walkers and tradesmen. Finally stopping, Kyuhyun grinned widely at the sight. “Hyuk, look,” he nudged, already suspecting the smaller man was sleepy.

 

“Woah…,” Hyukjae grinned widely, pointing at the swamp in front of them. “It’s beautiful!” he exclaimed.

 

It couldn’t be called an oasis, but Hyukjae loved how green and tempting the water looked. “It is,” Kyuhyun laughed softly and walked towards some tables and benches.

 

“We’ll eat here before going towards the place we’ll spend the night in,” Abasi explained, signaling them to sit down.

 

Kyuhyun hummed and let go of Hyukjae carefully, making sure the other was on the bench. “I’ll go get you something to eat, alright?” he asked and Hyukjae nodded, taking off the backpack.

 

“Not too spicy,” Hyukjae said.

 

Kyuhyun came back with so many different things that Hyukjae had a hard time deciding what to eat first. Everything looked delicious and unknown to him. At the end, Kyuhyun forced him to eat at least a little of every single plate he bought.

 

They spent a whole hour talking and joking, going through the so many things they had seen that day before Kyuhyun decided to stand up and carry up Hyukjae bridal style. “What-,” Hyukjae gasped softly, quickly wrapping his arms around Kyuhyun’s neck. “What are you doing?”

 

“I decided we were both really hot,” Kyuhyun laughed softly, walking to the swamp. There was a small platform he stood up and Hyukjae shook his head at Kyuhyun.

 

“Don’t you dare, Cho Kyuhyun,” Hyukjae threatened, though Kyuhyun knew there was a glimpse of playfulness in his eyes.

 

“Too bad,” Kyuhyun grinned and held Hyukjae’s body firmly before stepping back slightly and run towards the water, jumping in with Hyukjae in his arms.

 

Hyukjae squealed and laughed at the same time, holding onto Kyuhyun’s body firmly and laughing even louder as they came up again. “You idiot!” He exclaimed, hitting Kyuhyun’s chest as the other finally let go of his body, just to hold his waist firmly under the water. “We didn’t bring so many clothes!”

 

“It’s ok, it’s hot in here, we’ll be dry when we get to our next destination,” Kyuhyun grinned widely, taking a hand up to take away the strands of hair off Hyukjae’s forehead.

 

Hyukjae laughed softly and shook his head. “You’re impossible,” he said tenderly.

 

Kyuhyun smiled and looked at Hyukjae. He looked beautiful. His eyes were alive, his lips were red, his skin pale and reflecting the light because it was soaked. Kyuhyun smiled widely. Hyukjae was the perfect definition of happiness for him. He held the smaller’s waist firmly. “I know I am,” he said before leaning closer to press his lips tenderly against Hyukjae’s forehead.

 

Hyukjae gasped and opened his eyes widely, blushing furiously as he looked at Kyuhyun backing away with a wide grin on his lips. “You-,” he blushed even deeper, thinking on how good it felt and he pouted, throwing water towards Kyuhyun. “Yah!”

 

Kyuhyun laughed loudly and it didn’t take fifteen seconds for them to start a splash war against each other.

 

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Comments

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HelenDamnation #1
Chapter 8: I really loved this story.
sekyuflwr #2
Chapter 43: you don’t know how much I just cried. thank you for this beautiful story.
yvette0912
#3
Chapter 43: Nearly half an year I was reading this masterpiece again. How I miss this gentle Kyu and soft Hyuk, no matter how many times I follow their trips by these words, I always feel so touched and feel like crying even it is a warm moment.
I have so much wanna say but nothing else can say, beautiful story, hope there're more people can come to read.
yvette0912
#4
Chapter 43: Oh my, this is the best Kyuhyuk fic I've ever read . I'm stunned.
This was so sweet and sour in the same time, I just loved how slow, smooth, sweet, beautiful they were. Hyuk was so lovable when he had so much suffer but try to keep smiling to the world, and Kyu was so amazing when he treated Hyuk so gently. Every moment they have just perfect. They're perfect.
I appreciate your sharing. That's really touching.
Kyured #5
Chapter 43: Thank you for making Hyukjae wait longer authornim, thank you for making Kyu catch him before my heart shattered ^^ beautiful story, thanKyu so much for sharing it!
Elizabeth19 #6
Chapter 43: XD!!! Me encanto la historia ya me encontraba llorando pensando que Kyuhyun había muerto después de todo lo que pasaron juntos. Le felicitó x su trabajo!!!!
Korarin #7
Chapter 43: I thought you were going to pull a Fault in Our Stars on me here. I was literally crying so much, I was actually watching my scroll bar too as I was reading and was like there's no way it's going to have a happy ending.

THERE'S NO WAY (since the scroll was so close to its end during kyuhyun's letter). NO FCUKING WAI AND I'LL HAVE TO BE DEPRESSED FOR A WHOLE MONTH. But praise jesus hallelujah there's Kyuhyun. ALIVE. And I cried even harder afterwards. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN THAT I'M JUST DHAKAKKSKA.

I feel like for finding this wonderful story so late. But your story man. It was definately an adventure. I swear to god I thought Hyukjae was going to be one at the verge of dying, but Kyuhyun's illness really gave me a shock. LIKE WOAH THERE. HOW. WHAT. WHY. HELLO?? DID I MISS SOMETHING. /BREATHES HEAVILY/

I'm just so glad it ended how it is. ;A; (wonder what happen to the security guy LOL) I cannot thank you enough for this story! I enjoyed it! Now I'm probably going to binge on your other stories now lol.
JewelSapphire13 #8
Chapter 43: Thanks for the beautiful fic ♥
Wafflesareyummy88
#9
Chapter 43: Omggg! Omg omg he is alive! Thank god he's alive ! i nearly had a panic attack! I mean killing kyu! Oh god the relief !
btw Amazing story ...sweet funny sad ! A perfect combo of everything !
kyuwonfan #10
Chapter 43: u make me laugh at beginning and make me cry at the end....congrats bcoz make me cry in the office....anyway great story...maybe u can make extra shot regarding kyu during surgery and also one shot kyu n hyuk together...pleaseee