After eating their fill, Siwon and Kyuhyun went deeper and deeper into the crowd so that they wouldnt miss out any attraction at the festival. As they continued discovering many new and amusing stalls, both stopped at one where they sold goldfishes. Pretty golden orange fishes were swimming about in a large pool and the objective was to net one accurately before it wriggled out of grasp.

Siwon turned to face Kyuhyun and grinned before asking " Should we try?"

"Well look who's the kid now!" Kyuhyun mocked.

"I have an aquarium in the living room and it already has seven goldfishes. Its got room for more than 10 so I just thought it wouldnt hurt to add another one." Siwon stated.

"It wouldnt hurt to try though." Kyuhyun replied and Siwon smiled victoriously.

Both crouched down in front of the rubber pool where the fishes were swimming merrily. Suddenly due to the rapid movement of the fishes, a few droplets of water sprayed onto Kyuhyun's face and Siwon laughed at his startled expression.

"Does this look funny to you? Here! Take this" Kyuhyun immediately collected a handful of water from the pool and sprinkled onto Siwon.

"Hey! Stop!" Siwon bellowed and Kyuhyun laughed his heart out.

The shopkeeper handed them both tiny nets to catch the fish. What they thought would be an easy task was tiring them out big time. The fishes were giving them both a hard time. Just when Siwon thought that he had indeed caught one for good, it flapped its tiny orange tail and wriggled out of the net.

"Damn! Ugh....This...erm...is so hard" Siwon complained. Kyuhyun's situation was no different than Siwon's. He was at the brink of netting a black one when it sprayed water onto his face again.

"Argh! At this rate, I'll be drenched from head to foot!" Kyuhyun exclaimed exasperatedly and wiped his face.

"Try another one if its too difficult" Siwon insisted but Kyuhyun was stubbornly in pursuit of the black one in particular.

A few moments later, Siwon gathered his cool and gently laid the net beneath an unsuspecting goldfish and immediately raised it high up to prevent it from getting away. The shopkeeper took out a transparent plastic bag, filled it with water and transferred the fish into it before giving it to Siwon. As Siwon was paying for it, Kyuhyun yelled victoriously after catching the black one. It was a special kind of goldfish called the "black moor" said to bring luck and prosperity to the owner. But Siwon wasnt aware of all this.

"Ha ha! That'll teach you not to splash me!" Kyuhyun said cutely. After buying the fishes they decided to head home as it was getting late.

On the way back, Siwon said curiously " I've been thinking"

"Hmm. What is it?" asked Kyuhyun.

"Lets trade them." Siwon declared but Kyuhyun couldnt quite understand what Siwon had implied just now.

"The fishes. Lets trade them." Siwon repeated.

"But I caught this for you!" Kyuhyun confessed and Siwon's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"For me? But why? I already have enough." Siwon reasoned.

"But its for good fortune! Havent you heard about Feng-Shui?" Kyuhyun asked as Siwon listened curiously.

"You said you already had 7. And now with another one, you have 8 in total. Adding this black moor as the 9th one is said to bring good luck to whoever owns it. I am surprised you havent heard about it!" Kyuhyun shrugged his shoulders. Siwon was amazed by this sudden piece of information. He then thought whether it was karma that his luck just had to find its way via Kyuhyun since he had been the one who caught it.

Kyuhyun sensed that Siwon was about to refuse but he in before he could actually turn it down. "Now dont even try to refuse it. I didnt get literally bathed for nothing. Just accept this as a gift from me. In return for your friendship." Kyuhyun's warm words pleased Siwon to no ends.

They continued walking till they reached Kyuhyun's house. Both stood facing each other in front of the house. Kyuhyun happily handed the plastic bag containing the black fish to Siwon.

"Take good care of it. I know you will" Kyuhyun smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much. Its a very thoughtful gift" Siwon said. "You're more than welcome. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow!?" Kyuhyun asked.

"Oh sure! Same time. We cant afford to miss Day 2." Siwon exclaimed. During the second day of the festival, the town's people brought with them all old items from their household and burnt them in a large bonfire that was set ablaze in the heart of the town. To them it symbolised a new beginning, that they were burying and burning down all bitter moments in their past life to start afresh. And there were even pretty fireworks to commemorate the closing of the festival.

"I'll see you tomorrow Siwon. Good night" Kyuhyun said before heading inside his house.

"Good night." Siwon seemed to be deep in thought as he carried both bags to his home. He made his way inside his house and untied both bags immediately. He let both fishes swim around with the rest of them in the aquarium and watched them with delight. His dad placed a hand on his shoulder and asked "Did you buy them at the fair?"

"Yes dad. But Kyuhyun bought me this black one. He said its supposed to bring good luck." Siwon stated.

"I see. Well go and freshen up. Dinner's ready!" he said and sat at the table while his mom stood near the aquarium and smiled. Siwon changed into comfortable clothes and joined for dinner soon.

"Are you going tomorrow too Siwon-ah?" his mom asked.

"Yes mom. Do you want me to take any old things to burn?" he asked as he sat down.

"Yes. There's a lot of worn out clothes and stacked up newspapers. I dont know what to do with them. There's so many!" his mom said and he agreed to take them tomorrow.

Meanwhile Kyuhyun trudged upstairs towards his room and found Thomas lounging in his bed. As soon as Thomas noticed his master, he pounced into his arms and nestled comfortably. Kyuhyun reached for the small chew toy that he had bought exclusively for him from his pocket and threw it on the floor. As the toy tumbled Thomas jumped down and started playing with it. He then changed into his loose set of house wear and settled down on his bed. Staring at the ceiling he felt happy that he had indeed asked Siwon out to go with him. Turning to his side he laughed as he watched Thomas running behind the toy as it escaped its grasp. The puppy looked cute playing with it and waddled its tail which meant he was happy with receiving such a gift from his master.

"Well well well.. Look who's back from his "date"" Hankyung said as he stood at the entrance to Kyuhyun's bedroom.

"Seonsangnim. It was just a friendly...." Kyuhyun got interrupted by his mentor.

"I know I know....A friendly outing...blah blah..whatever! So..... out with the details!" he insisted and sat down beside Kyuhyun on his bed.

Out of pure pressure, Kyuhyun narrated the events that had happened during the entire evening and his teacher listened to it with curiosity. "What!? He made you eat street food? And you ate it? What were you thinking?" Hankyung panicked.

"Easy..easy. It was quite good and the shopkeeper was a good friend of Siwon's. He said it was 100% hygienic" Kyuhyun confessed but Hankyung eyed him skeptically.

"Come on. Look at me. Nothing is wrong with me!" Kyuhyun insisted.

"Alright fine. I guess you've had your fill for tonight. Huh?" to which Kyuhyun nodded and said "Cant eat another bite. But you could bring me a glass of warm milk instead!"

"Gotcha' you take rest. Oh and....I assume you're going tomorrow as well with Siwon!" Hankyung assumed to which Kyuhyun blushed profusely.

"I got my answer. Now tone down the blush why dont'cha!" Hankyung teased. "Argh! Just leave me alone!" Kyuhyun said irritatedly as Hankyung snorted loudly before exiting.

Collapsing back onto his mattress, he pulled Thomas up and rested him against his stomach. "You know Thomas. I had so much fun with Siwon tonight!" he said and the pup barked as a reply.

"I love him so much. Do you think he loves me too?" he asked as if out of all people in the world, his fluffy white companion can predict anything about Siwon's feelings. Nevertheless his pet spared him another bark as a reply.

"You think so too? Awwww..I love you too buddy" he beamed and hugged the poor puppy's living daylights out of him. It struggled against his grasp and started reaching for his toy again that lay forgotten on the floor.

"Alright alright. I'll let you go. You can play now" He let the puppy down and it scrambled outside his room with his new fascination.

Cant wait for tomorrow.....I just cant wait...

Getting drowsy from exhaustion, he closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately. When Hankyung came into the room with the glass of warm milk in his hand, he noticed Kyuhyun sound asleep in an awkward position. Keeping the glass on the bedside table he nudged lightly to wake him up.

"Kyu...Kyunnie. wake up and drink the milk." he urged and Kyuhyun rubbed his eyes tiredly and rested his back against the headboard of the bed groggily. Hankyung carefully handed him the glass and watched him drink it fully. But before he could give him his medicine for the night, Kyuhyun curled into a ball again and went back to sleep. Sighing heavily, Hankyung turned off the nightlight and tucked Kyuhyun in snugly within the comforter.

He had been noticing Kyuhyun being increasingly negligent about his health issues lately. Especially after Siwon had started to become a permanent fixture in his life. Of course Kyuhyun had become a lot livelier and happy but that doesnt justify him ignoring his most important responsibility. And Hankyung only wished that the boy would pay more attention without getting distracted that easily.

As usual there were several rounds of practise sessions since it was a Sunday. Kyuhyun felt a bit tired than usual and couldnt continue his practise after a while. He also felt an unusually uncomfortable shortness of breath and coughed intermittently. Sensing his difficulty Hankyung called off practice a bit earlier than usual. He was worried suddenly and decided to ask if Kyuhyun had his medicine today after breakfast.

"Kyu did you forget your medicine again?" he asked sternly as Kyuhyun gulped in nervousness. Turning around, he sheepishly scratched the back of his head and said "Sorry. But its not like I need them now. I am not sick anymore. I am able to breathe normally. See!" He tried convincing his teacher by taking a deep breath and letting it out later. He knew that he was in deep already as soon as he heard the stern voice of Hankyung and hence tried his level best to mask his difficulty to breathe normally before getting busted big time.

"Thats not the case Kyuhyun-ah. Those medicines are not for curing any illness. Its supposed to prevent it from affecting you. You havent been taking care of yourself lately. You've been constantly skipping your pills and giving me lame excuses. What would the doctor think of you? What would he think of me? As your local guardian its my responsibilty! Do you understand?" Hankyung's voice rose steadily and Kyuhyun panicked as this had been the first time he was seeing his teacher this mad.

"And it clearly reflects in your practise. Its not been an hour since we started and you're already tired. It cant go on like this!" Hankyung continued while Kyuhyun hung his head low guiltily and remained silent without retaliating.

"You can very well forget about your dream if you've decided to trivialise your health!" he said and stormed out of the practise room. Kyuhyun couldnt believe what Hankyung had just said. He felt tears pricking the corner of his eyes as he slumped onto the floor and sobbed helplessly.

Seonsangnim is right! I simply cant compete in the Olympics with such weak stamina!

He wiped his eyes and stood up. He dragged his feet towards Hankyung's room where he found him sitting on the couch frustratedly. He tiptoed towards his teacher and sat down beside him.

Seonsangnim has so much faith in me. I shouldnt disappoint him anymore!

"I am...*sniff* I am sorry seonsangnim *sniff*" he said.

Hearing his sobs, Hankyung lifted his gaze and saw his precious student crying. It broke his heart as it reminded him of the first time he had seen the boy cry several years ago. The young boy was only 3 years old when he suddenly wanted to play outside in the rain. His parents condemned and scolded him and had locked him away in his room. Hankyung had been there when the incident had happened. He just couldnt see the little boy crying as it pained him. Of course his parents were mean, but they had done it all to safeguard their only son who had been diagnosed with primary complex.

Lunging forward, he engulfed the thin body within his embrace and said "Promise me. Promise me you would never skip your medicines." he ordered.

"I *sniff* I promise." Kyuhyun reassured.

"Tch. Hush now. Dont cry. I am sorry I had to be harsh on you." his teacher said as he his hair.

After the sobs died down, Hankyung said "Go and wash your face you cry baby! And take rest. You wouldnt want to faint in your prince charming's arms on your date and work up a panic attack!" Kyuhyun guffawed at his mentor's comment and got up to leave the room.

"But then again. It would all be worth it if he gives you a kiss to wake you up! Just like sleeping beauty!" his mentor teased. "GOODBYE SEONSANGNIM!" Kyuhyun gritted his teeth before exiting with a loud bang of the door.

The clock struck 6 and it was nearly the time for Siwon to come. Getting dressed in a midnight blue V-neck and a simple beige baggy shorts, Kyuhyun descended the stairs. But before he could get out Hankyung called out and gave him his bottle of perfume. It was a brilliant scent of lavender. It was sweet but not sickly sweet enough to induce a nasty headache. Spraying himself with the perfume, he thanked his mentor and left the house. Within minutes he saw Siwon approaching him. He was dressed in a grey striped shirt and black jeans and Kyuhyun couldnt tear his eyes away from him. Siwon looked so handsome and charming and the black jeans did wonders to accentuate his long legs.

Oh gosh! If it isnt a "Robert Downey Jr"s worth of a getup, then I dont know what is!

How can an average clerk by day seem so y like a movie star by night!

On the other hand, Siwon himself was lost in his own wonderland. He noticed the dark colour of the V-neck just upped the intensity of Kyuhyun's fair complexion. His lips were full and pink and seemed soft too. He only wondered what it would be like to actually get a taste of it. Gulping loudly he suppressed his flooding emotions and brought himself back to reality.

"Ugh. Erm.....You look ...you look nice tonight!" Hearing this kinda compliment, Kyuhyun mentally facepalmed at Siwon's limited access to pleasantries.

Ugh! This guy! I was expecting something along the lines of 'stunning', 'handsome', 'gorgeous' ....*sigh* And I even sprayed seonsangnim's special perfume! Argh!

" You look handsome and dapper Siwon. And ....what is it that you're carrying?" Kyuhyun noticed a plastic bag hanging from Siwon's arms.

"Oh this!? These are mom and dad's old worn out clothes and some newspapers to be burnt in the bonfire. Havent you brought anything to get rid of tonight?" he asked.

"Um...No I just dont have anything thats old enough to be thrown so...I see you have another small bag. Does it have something to be thrown too?" Kyuhyun asked out of curiosity.

"Uh. No. Actually this is for you!" he handed the small bag over to Kyuhyun who opened it and saw a pair of brand new shiny skate shoes. He was wonderstruck as he himself had been thinking of buying a new one.

"You..you bought this for me? You didnt have to..... OMG its beautiful. And I just love red. Thank you Siwon." Kyuhyun thanked. Seeing Kyuhyun happily accepting his gift made Siwon happy as well. He was willing to spend his eternity trying to make Kyuhyun happy just so he could watch his beautiful face light up everyday. 

"You're welcome. Since you had gifted me something memorable and everlasting yesterday, I wanted to return the favour by gifting you something equally memorable. And I want you to go places wearing these skates. I want to see you glide gracefully on the ice and capture people's hearts and win the Olympics." Siwon said. As usual his simple choice of words to flatter Kyuhyun didnt fail to bring out a beautiful blush on his shy face.

"Lets get going. We dont want to be late!" Siwon said and both started walking towards the venue. There were more stalls today and there were musicians singing songs and playing instruments. There was certainly a much bigger crowd than yesterday too. And everyone of them was carrying big bags full of old things to be thrown into the bonfire. Siwon took things out of his bag and threw it into the fire as it crackled and spluttered. People were having the time of their lives as this was the second and last day of the festival.

"Oh they are about to get the fireworks ready!" exclaimed Kyuhyun.

"I guess you're right. Come on lets go stand with the others" Siwon said and pulled them both deeper into the crowd.

"Ugh. There's too much people here Siwon. We have to get somewhere where we can clearly watch it!" Kyuhyun yelled amongst the ruckus the crowd was making.

"Well then..In that case lets look around." And both negotiated through the crowd and started looking for a less crowded place. But they couldnt find any until Kyuhyun spotted a flight of stairs leading to the terrace of a bakery.

"Here! Come with me" Kyuhyun pulled Siwon along with him and ran up the stairs in time. There was still about 2 minutes left for the fireworks to commence. Both sat on the parapet wall of the terrace and smiled at each other.

"*sigh* So how is my little goldfish doing?" Kyuhyun asked as he swung his legs leisurely.

"Already made new friends. Its happy. And how about Thomas. Did he enjoy his distraction?" Siwon asked.

"Ha ha. 'Course he did. In fact he completely forgot about my shoes. Thank god!" Kyuhyun said and Siwon chuckled in return.

"I am so happy I got to spend these two days with you Siwon. I really enjoyed it." Kyuhyun's words caught Siwon off guard as he looked for subliminal implications but was suddenly distracted after noticing how beautiful Kyuhyun looked. Was it the night in particular? Or was it the fact that they were now sitting in a completely deserted terrace? He had no clue!

Unknowingly he had shifted close towards Kyuhyun and was able to pick up the fresh scent of lavender wafting in the cold air of the night. Kyuhyun's complexion was rendered a milky white smooth texture by the glow of the moon and his eyes sparkled like diamonds and his lips were moist and glistening. Siwon didnt know what had taken over his consciousness as he bravely leaned forward a bit. He could be mistaken but it seemed to him as though Kyuhyun had also shifted closer to him. They closed in on each other as their distance now reduced to a mere couple of inches. They almost felt each other's rapidly accelerating breaths when ....BOOM!

Startled from the sudden explosion, they both separated from each other by a good one arm distance. The fireworks illuminated the darkened night skies beautifully as they both watched it with fascination and awe. Siwon turned his head and watched unknown to Kyuhyun as the latter was entranced by the sight.

A sight worth a million words!

Wah! I simply loved this chapter myself as I began writing it. It filled me with pleasantly warm sensations all over. But this is where it takes a turn guys as Donghae is about to make a re-entry in the next one. So stay tuned to find out what happens to Wonkyu. Also I had done a bit of a research about the goldfish thingy from a website and I really hope its authentic! Tell me what u all think of this update! See you soon...