Hankyung was an artist, to say the least. His moves were legendary and were often laced with an artistic tone that almost instantly captured the hearts of judges and spectators alike. But more than anything else, he was known for having a knack of spotting raw, unadulterated talent. That was how he had first seen Kyuhyun, he had first seen a younger version of himself in Kyuhyun. The dedication, the passion, the unwavering determination to improve, he had seen it all in his young protégé.

And right now he was torn between pulling Kyuhyun out from the preliminaries and letting him participate. He knew that this was what he and Kyuhyun had been preparing for and he knew more than anything that his student was raring to compete. And now that other people had started recognising how Kyuhyun’s talent badly needed to be projected to the rest of the world, Hankyung found himself having conflicting thoughts.

Kyuhyun was sleeping soundly. His temperature was back to normal and so was his breathing. But his face was contorted in displeasure showing signs of unease, inner pain and despair and it literally broke Hankyung’s heart as he saw it. Victoria was seated beside Kyuhyun on the bed and she continued his hair gently.

“He is out for the record. Just sleeping off the effects of the medicine. He will be as good as new once he wakes up tomorrow.” Victoria stated and Hankyung merely nodded and sat at the foot of the bed.

“He sure gave us a scare, didn’t he?” she asked.

“Mmmhhmm..” Hankyung simply agreed wordlessly. Victoria sighed heavily seeing the grim expression that he beheld at the moment.

“I seriously don’t know why you’re hesitating still!” she exclaimed.

“I am scared for him. His illness has relapsed and you heard the doctor loud and clear. The chances of him surviving this time are slim if it worsens. He could…….” Hankyung choked and pursed his lips to prevent himself from mouthing the next word. Victoria, in all her years, had never seen her uncle visibly shaken as he was now. One thing was for sure, that her uncle had become emotionally attached to Kyuhyun, regarded him as his own little brother.

“But at the same time I want him to go for it. Call me crazy for thinking that way but Donghae made me realise something. Something that I had forgotten a long time ago!” he continued.

“And what was it?” Victoria asked curiously.

“That it wasn’t just Kyuhyun’s dream anymore! It was my dream as well! Kyuhyun and I started working together as a team with solely one goal in mind. That’s when I felt how important it was for him to take part in it.” He said and Victoria was glad that her uncle had finally come around.

“I cant see him hurt deeply by the fact that he came so close to his dream and let it slip away from his grasp either because of his illness or because of me.” He reasoned and got back on his feet.

“So I am gonna make sure he wins and makes me proud.” He said decisively.

“What? Really?” Victoria exclaimed and almost jumped up in excitement. She just couldn’t handle her nerves realising that she got to compete against her uncle’s best student on an international platform. Kyuhyun stirred slightly in his sleep and rolled over to a more comfortable position on his bed.

“Shhhh…Be quiet! I’ll let him know once he wakes up in the morning.” Hankyung told in a hush-hush tone.

Both quietly left Kyuhyun’s bedroom and headed downstairs. Ever since they had arrived they had been tending to Kyuhyun and had forgotten about dinner entirely and the need to fill their stomachs was evident once Victoria’s alarmed her of its food deprived state. That didn’t go unheard by her uncle.

“Alright fine. I’ll fix you up with something.” He agreed and Victoria happily nodded.

“I’ll help!”

~~~~~~

Siwon had always wondered if luck evaded him on purpose. He had encountered one too many times in his life where things wouldn’t go as he had planned. A perfect example of such an unfortunate encounter was now. Just when he had planned to confess his heartfelt feelings of love to Kyuhyun at the rink the next day, his boss had called him to inform him about a last minute arrangement to head to Busan where the head office was located, regarding a business trip for the employees. And he had sincerely tried to come up with some sort of an excuse but considering the level of importance his boss had given to this meeting, he rightfully kept his mouth shut. And despite trying Kyuhyun’s number so many times in one day, his phone was either out of reach or the call went unanswered.

And so considering his rotten luck, he plopped down on the living room couch with a sullen expression that worried his mom.

“Whats the matter Siwon-ah?” she asked and sat down beside him.

“I don’t know mom! I….I wonder if all these are signs.” He raked his hair with his fingers in frustration.

“What are you talking about?” his mom was at a loss.

“I had originally planned to confess to Kyuhyun tomorrow when he comes to the rink to practise. Then my boss tells me to go on this trip to Busan. Then there is Kyuhyun who isn’t answering my calls! I..I am starting to think otherwise.” Siwon said defeatedly.

“Nonsense Siwon! Stop thinking like that!” his mom said as she held his arm.

“But..”

“Everything will be fine! Just don’t think too much and go to sleep now.” she said and made him stand up. She accompanied him to his bedroom and forced him to get some shut eye.

“You need to be at your best for that meeting. So don’t be stubborn and rest.” She said and left his bedroom.

Siwon spent a sleepless night alone in his bedroom wondering what Kyuhyun would be doing right now.

The next day at 5 a.m. Siwon was still wide awake. He rose from his bed and examined his pathetic state in the mirror. His bloodshot eyes, dishevelled hair and sagging form screamed back at him that he was anything short of terrible and that he was in no condition to be going to Busan. But he somehow managed to fix himself up. Since he had to catch the train to Busan at 6:30 a.m, he was up and ready to go by 6:00 a.m. His mother prepared his breakfast and kept it waiting on the table till he came downstairs. Siwon didn’t work up an appetite enough to finish his breakfast but still he had to eat enough to sustain for a two-hour journey. Hence without worrying his mother, he had his fill and headed towards the station.

He again tried calling Kyuhyun’s number and the phone rang till the call got disconnected. He still wasn’t answering his calls and that had worried him the most. He had thought of atleast telling him before going but that proved to be futile.

I wont get to see you for three days!

Why aren’t you answering my calls?

That’s when he decided that he would give Kyuhyun some space so that he would find the time to call back.

Maybe he’s stressed out because of practise!

I’ll see if he calls me in a while.

And as he boarded his train at 6:30 a.m he still hoped that Kyuhyun would call him back. But by the time he reached half-way he received a call. He was fast asleep as he didn’t have any last night and jerked awake to his mobile phone vibrating in his pants’ pocket. Exhilarated by the feeling that Kyuhyun was the one calling him, he fished out his phone only to have his hopes dashed to the ground. It was his buddy Donghae calling him.

He groaned audibly before hitting the answer button.

“What do you want Donghae?” he asked irritated.

“Whoa! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!” Donghae’s voice crackled.

“Sorry. I am just a bit cranky due to lack of sleep.” Siwon reasoned.

“Oh! That’s why! Ok Mr. Grumpypants, where are you now?” Donghae asked.

“I am heading to Busan for a three-day business trip my boss had arranged for the employees.” Siwon said.

“Hmm…Busan huh? Cool! When will you be coming back?” Donghae asked.

Featherbrain! Siwon thought of his best friend’s apparent lack of attention.

“Like I said, it’s a three-day business trip. I’ll come back after three days obviously!” Siwon said.

“Oh silly me! I guess I wasn’t paying attention!” Donghae replied.

You think!

“Donghae you sound….I don’t know….lost! Are you ok?” Siwon asked him.

“Well! You could say I am nervous, a bit jumpy, in fact a lot jumpier that I almost literally rammed my car on the one that was parked in front. So you could say that I am lost too. Are you with me so far?” Donghae asked after an apparent state of hysteria that puzzled Siwon even more.

“No you just lost me there!” Siwon said.

“Ok ok fine! I wont beat around the bush anymore. I have worked up enough nerves to confess to the one I love. So I don’t wanna waste it blabbering to my best friend who is so disinterested to cheer me up or give me moral support!” Donghae said.

“Ah! Now I get it! You haven’t had any serious feelings for anyone till now and don’t have any previous experience of being in a serious relationship. So its only normal to be this nervous. So don’t worry!” Siwon said.

“You call this ‘moral support’!? Dude you’re making me feel worse. And whats this about serious relationship crap! You haven’t had any either to tell the difference!” Donghae whined.

“If this is any indirect method of jabbing at my inability to confess to the one I love then Lee Donghae-ssi you’ve picked a wrong timing to do that!” Siwon said in a good-note and Donghae laughed out loud from the other end.

“Alright I’ll leave you to your soliloquy, whatever that word means!” Donghae said.

“Good! Now scram before I show you the forbidden ‘middle finger’” Siwon said.

“Oh! Talkin’ dirty are we Mr.Grumpypants!” Donghae asked.

“Mr. Grumpypants just left the building!” Siwon said and hung up.

In the end, he was smiling. Donghae can be an sometimes but he picked the best time to be an . However uplifting the mood seemed to be for Siwon he still couldn’t bring himself to calm down whenever he thought about Kyuhyun or his apparent state of silence. And he pondered over that fact on the rest of the journey to Busan.

Please Kyuhyun! Give me a sign!

Any sign!

Kyuhyun woke up to a dreamless sleep. His joints were stiff and some cracked the moment he got up. He dragged himself out of his bedroom in a daze and headed downstairs. As he got down, he was reminded of the chain of events that had happened yesterday. And he felt worse in an instant the more he remembered. He tried so hard to be strong enough to give himself a pat on the shoulder and assure himself that everything would be fine.

Its just a simple goddamn visit! Why am I getting so worked up?

Cheer up Kyuhyun…Your health is more important now!

Your dream is more important!

He sat down on one of the chairs at the breakfast table as Hankyung made his way out of the kitchen.

“Good morning Kyuhyun! How are you feeling today?” he asked in a cheerful tone.

“Much better! You don’t have to worry about me seonsangnim!” he said with a half-hearted smile playing at his lips.

“But if you work yourself up into frenzy like last night, I am afraid I am left with no choice but to worry about you! Is there anything that’s been bothering you? You aren’t yourself.” Hankyung enquired and Kyuhyun felt guilty for having put his teacher through so much trouble.

“I am sorry seonsangnim. I am really sorry!” And with that he started crying. And Hankyung immediately took the younger into his arms and continued to soothe him. The sobs racked through the frail body and Hankyung his hair as he buried into his chest and cried his heart out.

“Shhh! Its ok Kyuhyun-ah! Its ok! Everything is fine now. Just calm down” he kept on trying to get to stop him from crying in case his condition worsened.

After about 5 full minutes of crying, Kyuhyun seemed to have calmed down and he removed himself off his teacher’s hold and looked at him with tearful eyes. Hankyung wiped his tears away and cupped his face and said “Kyuhyun-ah you’re a grown up now! You are gonna be graduating from college later this year! You still cant go on like this. You need to be strong physically but most importantly mentally as well! Whatever that’s been bothering you, I hope you find your way out of it but in case you don’t, I am always here to help you through it. And I want you to remember that! Am I making myself clear?” he asked cautiously and was glad that he got a positive response from Kyuhyun as he nodded in agreement.

“Now I have a good news for you! Care to hear me out?” he asked. Kyuhyun sniffed slightly and eyed him in confusion.

“What is it?” he asked hesitantly.

“Here” Hankyung held out in his hands what seemed like air-tickets.

“What are these seonsangnim?” he asked and his voice was still scratchy from all that crying.

“These are what they call ‘air-tickets’ if my memory serves me right!” Hankyung decided to pull his leg.

“Seonsangnim!” Kyuhyun whined and half-laughed at his teacher’s bluntness.

“We’re going to Hokkaido kiddo!” he said excitedly.

“Wah Hokkaido? But why though?” Kyuhyun asked.

“For your prelims duh!” he said.

“Prelims? But you…..I thought you said..” Kyuhyun his lips and tried to form a proper sentence and Hankyung found the gesture too adorable.

“I can always cancel these if you’re having second thoughts though!” he said.

“WHAT! No..I..Its just…I don’t know what to say. You were quite pissed off last night and I thought you weren’t gonna let me participate for good!” he said.

“Well I guess you have to thank two people for knocking some sense into me last night. Otherwise you would have had to wait for 4 more years.” Hankyung said.

“Really? Who?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Victoria and Donghae. But mostly Donghae though! Oh and speaking of Donghae, I almost forgot. I’ll be right back” he said and went upstairs to his room.

Then Kyuhyun saw his teacher coming downstairs with a small gift wrapped box.

“Whats this?” he asked.

“This is a little something for you from Donghae. He told me to give this to you the moment you woke up. Don’t know what it is though and he didn’t tell me either. So I thought it was best to let it be till you woke up.” Hankyung said.

Kyuhyun eyed the box from left to right and found a small sticky note and some writings on it.

I am not good with words so I’ll be direct.

You’re the most amazing person I’ve met.

And I would like to know you better.

Hope this little gift can cheer you up.

Get well soon.

-Lee Donghae

P.S Just a heads up. I’ll be at the rink tomorrow evening.

He then unwrapped the cover and opened the cardboard box. Inside it was nestled in layers of bubble wraps, an elegant figurine of a skater. Kyuhyun was touched by this warm gesture. He had never expected anything of this sort from Donghae.

“So what does it say?” Hankyung asked.

“As if you haven’t had a peek at all!” Kyuhyun had apparently recovered his snarky self as well.

“There’s the Kyuhyun I know! Seems like this guy is head over heels for you as well!” Hankyung said.

“What do you mean by ‘this guy as well’?”

“Well! Obviously there’s already someone else who is holding a torch for you right! Choi Siwon!” Hankyung said as a matter of fact.

“How do you know he is into me? He hasn’t shown any signs” Kyuhyun asked.

“Well its not my problem that you’re dumb enough to not notice them!” Hankyung said.

Kyuhyun was at a loss for words. He didn’t want to get his hopes up but maybe he was missing out on some very fine details as his teacher had said.

“Or so deeply gone into the woods that all you see are his dimples and his muscular build and oh, his handsome face!” Hankyung sing-songed.

That earned a slight push from Kyuhyun and he feigned a hurt expression.

“Are you secretly gay by any chance?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Brat! How dare you!?” Hankyung firmly held him in his hold and rubbed his knuckles on Kyuhyun’s head.

“Explains why you’re still single!” Kyuhyun’s sarcasm didn’t seem to have an end as Hankyung continued playing with him.

“Anyway, try noticing them from next time on. And you are taking a day off from college aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah! I don’t think I am in any condition to be going today. But I am going to the rink though.” Kyuhyun said and got up to head back upstairs.

“Alright! I’ll tell Victoria to come for practise as well.” Hankyung said and got up.

“And I’ll keep breakfast at the table. Eat while its still hot. Trust me I’ll know if you throw it out!” Hankyung added and Kyuhyun blew a raspberry at him in reply.

Kyuhyun was happy that he had people like Hankyung to look after him especially when he needed someone for moral support, someone who could bring his thoughts back on the right track. He was happy that his teacher let him participate in the prelims and he had a renewed hope that maybe Siwon too liked him. He decided that he couldn’t wait any longer. He had to know whether Siwon felt the same way about him. And so he decided to text him to tell him to come to the rink tonight. But when he was about to do that he realised that his phone had no battery charge left and had been completely switched off.

“Goddamned phone!” he mumbled and let it get charged up.

Just then Thomas had woken up and sauntered to where Kyuhyun was standing. He dutifully started to circle around his owner’s leg and continued wagging his tail.

Bending down, Kyuhyun took him in his arms and went out into the balcony hoping that his prayers are answered soon.

Hello readers! Long time no see.

I have successfully finished my exams and was in the mood for some hot update!

Here it is. I know you’ve been waiting a long time for this!

Not much Wonkyu interaction recently, I know but what to do! Situation is like that!

Anyway the trip I was telling you guys about was the trip to Hokkaido. So stay tuned for another update soon this week!