6 October 2013

Ryeowook lied on top of his blankets, staring into space. It was just past midnight and he had been dumb enough to wait until then to do his laundry. From somewhere on his desk, the alarm he set blared, jolting him upright.

Aching and dazed, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, shutting off the phone alarm and pushing his furry slipper on. Stretching as he walked, Ryeowook grabbed his laundry basket and headed out into the hallway.

Immediately after he had gotten out of that cow suit – with Kyuhyun’s help – he had gone back to his dorm to find his older brother and Leeteuk waiting for him in the lounge. They had been chatting with Jongwoon all day, apparently. That was odd on many levels, but Ryeowook was still too frazzled from his earlier meeting with his musical soulmate to really take note. He couldn’t describe Kyuhyun in any other way. Music made sense to them and together they were capable of producing a song.

Whether or not he felt anything romantically speaking, there was no denying the attraction from both sides. Being together with him – barely touching at that – sent electricity coursing through his body in a way that left a lingering mark as if they were both grasping opposite ends of a live line. It made him shudder just remembering the sensations.

Crouching down, Ryeowook started pulling his clothes out of the dryer, smiling at the warmth and fluff. Sighing, he reached for the last shirt buried in the back and pulled it out. He paused then, a smile stretching across his face as he saw the blue shirt. It had a music note bouncing down a staircase made of piano keys. Rainbow streamers twirled out of the design.

“Do you have everything you need?”

Ryeowook looked around the room, his sports bag slung over one shoulder. He was still sticky with sweat, but once he got back to the dorm he could take a shower. “Yeah, I think so.” His eyes wandered over the cow suit once more where it lay like a dead skin in the washing bin.

“Wait, what’s that?” Hyungsik asked, picking up a wrinkled blue shirt sitting on the windowsill. “Did that person, Kyuhyun, leave it behind?”

“Oh, yeah, I think so. Can you call Kibum? I’m sure he’s with him. I’ll ask if they want us to return it.”

Kibum picked up almost immediately, asking where they were. “I’m still with Ryeowook, but he says he has to go back and shower first. I’ll come now though. By the way, is Kyuhyun with you?”

“Kyuhyun?” he repeated, “Yeah, hold on.”

There was static and then a deep voice, asking, “Yes?”

Ryeowook took the phone. “Hi, this is Ryeowook. Sorry for calling suddenly. I think I found your shirt. Did you leave one behind?”

It was quiet for a second and then he chuckled. “It’s mine, but it doesn’t fit. It might fit you though. Do you want to keep it?”

He studied the shirt one more time, unable to deny that he thought it was rather cute. “Really? That’s okay?”

Another laugh. “Yeah, keep it.”

“Thanks!” Ryeowook suddenly noticed how wide his smile was, the aching of his cheeks a dead giveaway. Trying to control his facial features, he nodded. “Alright, then I’ll see you later.”

“See you, Ryeowook.”

He dropped his face into the blue shirt, hiding the maddening blush racing across his cheeks. The way he had said his name made his knees weak. How anyone could be attracted to someone else so quickly – so swiftly, was beyond him. It wasn’t because of who Kyuhyun was though. That much Ryeowook was certain of. He didn’t even know him.

However, denying the sense of attraction was absurd. His heart beat faster just imagining Kyuhyun’s face and voice.

Then again, he hadn’t been able to see him again as promised. His brother had whisked him away after his shower. If it wasn’t for Leeteuk at dinner, it probably would’ve looked more like an interrogation than a nice family reunion. After dropping him off back at the dorm, Youngwoon had already declared they would be spending all day together tomorrow. For him, that meant being up by 8 AM and out the door by 8:30 AM.

Standing up, Ryeowook lugged the laundry basket back to his room. Just as he entered the room, his phone vibrated, ringing angrily. Setting down the basket, he pulled it out, checking the caller ID before answering, “Kibum? What’s up?” His roommate has said he was going to a hookah bar that night, so why was he calling?

“Hey, can you help me out?”

***

Kyuhyun ran his hands down the slender male’s shoulders, hips flush with a needy back. The lighting obscured much of the person’s features, casting shadows and stark lights across his tank top covered skin. He let his eyes skim across the lithe muscles, dissatisfied.

The person was attractive, no doubt, but it wasn’t what he was looking for. This one was too thin, arms too long and small. His neck didn’t hold the same allure, the trail of his spine protruding a bit too much as it led the eye lower and lower. Kyuhyun blinked slowly, placing his hands on the stranger’s hips, grimacing at the narrowness.

Ryeowook’s hips were slightly wider. His neck was stronger from singing, his arms more fluid with muscle. A hand pulled down on the back of Kyuhyun’s hair, leading him down to the twisting stranger’s mouth. He spoke against the taller one’s ear, voice soft and breathless but also accented wrong and too broken. “Wanna get out of here?”

Kyuhyun barely registered the question, feeling strangely down. The music was good. His partner was good. Eunhyuk wasn’t making a fuss since he was partying with his long awaited DJ. Looking around, Kyuhyun wasn’t surprised to find his friend chatting with said DJ in the booth. They were disappearing and reappearing with the flickering strobes, but it was obvious everyone was having a good time, including Donghae – wherever he was.

Everything was perfect that night. The skies had been clear. Their entry into the club was speedy and the people were decently attractive all around. Kyuhyun literally could not ask for more. The fact that Eunhyuk was even keeping out of his business for the night was a gift in itself. He hadn’t expected his friend to be understanding, then again, Eunhyuk did have a hands-off policy. Rather than stopping Kyuhyun, he preferred to let him make his own choices, good or bad. After all, it wasn’t his life to control.

“Uhm, sorry, I’m here with some friends, so I can’t go,” Kyuhyun muttered back. He had no idea why he was making up excuses. This person wanted to get in his pants. They were offering themselves for the night. Why not take it? No one would know. Hell, they would never meet again, so what was the big deal?

It’s not the same.

“I hear they have nice bathrooms,” the stranger responded, letting his lips run along Kyuhyun’s jaw.

Well, . Shaking his head softly, he dug his fingers into the male’s hip, pushing him harder against his body. “I’m not that ,” he smirked, grinding softly into the wanting male.

He laughed. “Maybe I can change your mind?” His lips were inching closer to Kyuhyun’s own, hovering hot and tempting near him.

The strobe lights rushed across the male’s face and all the lust drained from Kyuhyun’s body in a way he had never experienced. It wasn’t because he was unattractive. No. He was decent, very decent. But that wasn’t the face he wanted to see. That couldn’t be the right face. It wasn’t the right body either. The voice was completely wrong. The movements were off, the hips awkward in his hands. The frame was too slime, the hair too fluffy. Kyuhyun felt himself getting lightheaded from the rush of wrongness.

The pressed into his crotch suddenly ground back hard, pulling him out of his thoughts. A hand slipped between them, running along Kyuhyun’s zipper, cupping the space between his legs coaxingly. “Are you nervous?” the person teased, squeezing, “Don’t worry, I like innocent tops.”

He needed to get out of there.

Kyuhyun pushed the stranger away. Slipping through the throngs of sweaty clubbers, he found his way to the front door and shoved it open, staggering onto the sidewalk. He ignored the confused looks of the people standing in line, waiting for entry. Instead, Kyuhyun gasped for air, breathing in a lungful after lungful of sweet, sweet oxygen. His mind cleared almost instantly. For some reason, it felt liberating. The open outdoors made him want to grin like an idiot.

Next time….that’s what you said, right?

Checking his watch, Kyuhyun started running. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered in that moment. Sungmin didn’t matter. Neither did Heechul and his preaching, or Eunhyuk, Donghae, Kibum, that guy with Ryeowook.

But Ryeowook did matter. He didn’t understand why.

It was like that damn song. The way it got trapped in his head, strumming a melody so addictive he couldn’t let go of it. Ryeowook was the same way. Kyuhyun had no idea why he wanted to see his face so badly. Maybe it was to put two and two together? Give a face to his favorite song? Whatever it was, it drove him forward.

St. Angela’s wasn’t very far, probably a ten minute walk from that club. Running back cut the time and distance in half. His legs and lungs were burning as he raced up the incline toward the dormitory. There were drunks bumbling around, video recording each other and laughing hysterically as if they had heard the funniest joke. Barely anyone else was out at two in the morning and the ones who were out had no business without anyone but themselves.

Just like Kyuhyun.

He was panting as he rang the doorbell of the locked dormitory. The person at the front desk buzzed him in and he pulled the door open, striding inside as calmly as he could. No one gave him a second glance, figuring probably that he was just a freshman who forgot his key before going to party. That was the likely story.

Taking the steps two at a time, he began grinning to himself, wondering how crazy he must look. His body was pumping with adrenaline. Why was it so important to see him? What created this urgency? He couldn’t understand himself at all.

Kyuhyun slowed to a stop, standing outside of Ryeowook’s room. He stared at the chipping wooden door for a long time, catching his breath. Wiping his hands on his jeans, he knocked.

Nothing.

He knocked again.

Silence.

The next door over creaked open and Jongwoon peeked out. He and Kyuhyun locked gazes for a brief moment before the RA stepped out into the hallway. “Are you looking for Kibum or Ryeowook?” he inquired.

“Uhm, Ryeowook,” he mumbled.

“He told me earlier that he had to go run an errand,” Jongwoon responded, lips pursing, “I thought he would’ve been back by now. He left a little after midnight. Do you want to check their room?” He nodded into his own room, “We share the bathroom after all.”

Kyuhyun thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. “No, it’s alright. It was nothing urgent.”

The RA just smiled. “It’s not urgent but you’re here in the middle of the night? That’s hard to believe.” He chuckled at the embarrassment on the younger one’s face. “Here, let me call him.”

Perking up, Kyuhyun trailed after Jongwoon who went back to his room. Dialing a number in the phone, he put it on speaker. Several tones passed before Ryeowook spoke through the static breathlessly. “Where are you?” the RA asked, softly.

“I’m, uhm, actually I’m sleeping over at Hyungsik’s room tonight.”

“Ah? Okay, there’s someone here looking for you—”

Kyuhyun pressed END on the touch screen, face bright red. “That’s okay. He doesn’t have to know that I’m here.” He internally chastised himself for acting this way. What was he thinking? Why was he getting so flustered? Nothing was even going on.

“Is that really okay?” Jongwoon put the phone down.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m gonna head out. Good night and thank you,” he bowed his head, hurrying out of the room. The last thing he wanted to do was explore the meaning behind the sharp pain tearing at his chest and the petrifying humiliation pinpricking his veins.

***

Ryeowook let the phone fall to the bed, his fingers slowly pressing back into Hyungsik’s shoulders. Hot breath was suffocating him, their mouths barely touching, eyes lidded. The room was locked and dark, speakers blaring noisily from a floor down. Sounds of party people could be heard through the windows and door, but neither of them noticed.

“You’re drunk, I’m supposed to get you home,” Ryeowook whispered, shaking slightly at the strong fingers gripping his hips. They slid underneath his shirt, dragging a gasp from the slender male as nails lightly scraped up his slight waist to his chest.

Hyungsik was smiling lazily though, stealing another kiss. “I know what I’m doing. I didn’t think Kibum would actually call you though. Thank you for coming,” he sighed, capturing Ryeowook’s lips as he dragged their bodies together again. A groan rumbled in the back of the smaller one’s throat, his attempts to break away falling short.

“I don’t want this,” Ryeowook turned his head away. “I don’t want to be a one night stand.”

“You’re not.”

“I will be. You’re not going to remember this.”

“Who says?” He retorted, his gaze pleading, “I will remember, because it’s you and I’ve only just started trying to win you over.”

“Why? We barely know each other,” Ryeowook started pushing away again.

“Then why did you come find me?” Hyungsik spoke clearly, calmly. Despite the slight haziness of his eyes, there was nothing impaired about his appearance. He leaned closer, holding the back of Ryeowook’s neck. “You didn’t have to help Kibum. You didn’t have to come here and look for me. You’re interested in me too. I don’t want to pretend like there isn’t something here.”

“Even if that is true,” he felt his arms growing weak again, body bending to the stronger one holding him so closely, “if I like you, I don’t want to do this right now. It’s because I like you that I don’t want to mess around in a stranger’s bedroom,” Ryeowook smiled wryly, “when I don’t even know your favorite color. That’s kind of ridiculous in my eyes.”

There was a tense moment before Hyungsik slowly loosened his grip. A twinge of discomfort rested in his eyes, but then he smiled a very small smile, standing up with some unsteadiness. Reaching down, he took Ryeowook’s hand, saying softly, “…just so you know, my favorite color is silver.”