“How many students do you have?” Ryeowook grabbed a piece of lettuce and chicken with his chopsticks, munching happily on his salad as he waited for Yesung’s answer.

“Well…” Jongwoon thought for a moment before responding. “It really depends. Since I’m hired by entertainment companies and individuals, I can end up having a lot of students at once. Right now, for instance, I work with a group of nine trainees for SM Entertainment and I have four individual students who aspire to be singers that I meet at various times throughout the week. Really the number of people I’m helping changes a lot.” He took a sip of his water, smiling. “What about you? What do you spend your time doing?”

“Working,” Ryeowook said honestly, sighing a little. “I work at Coco Bean Monday through Saturday. We’re not open on Sundays, so I always have them off. I go to church then and a lot of the time I go see Kyuhyun and Henry, who are still in University. I like to spend time with Zhou Mi hyung then too, if he’s not busy. A lot of the time, though, my friends are busy so I just find something to do around my apartment. I’ll go shopping or something. I don’t know; my life really isn’t all that interesting, I guess.”

“I could start teaching you on Sundays! I still think you should develop your voice more; it really is gorgeous.” Yesung watched with glee as Ryeowook turned the color of the cranberries in his pork roast.

“Hyungggg!” Ryeowook shook his head fiercely. “I can’t. I can’t have anything to do with the music industry.”

“And why not?”

Ryeowook stared at his salad, biting his lip. “I just can’t.”

Yesung sighed softly, noting that he’d obviously hit a nerve that his friend did not want hit. He began to almost frantically search through his brain for something else they could talk about over dinner. Ryeowook, who wasn’t fond of this uncomfortable, awkward silence, glanced off to the side; his mood almost immediately brightened.

“Hyung! Jongwoon hyung! Look!” He jumped up and ran to the window, his food forgotten at his place. “It’s snowing!”

“Oh?” Yesung’s eyes slid over to the window where small white flakes were swirling through the air, dancing though the sky, little ballerinas caught in an eternal ballet. He left his seat as well, standing next to the younger man, who nearly had his face pressed against the glass.

“I love snow,” Ryeowook murmured, his hot breath on the cold window fogging up his view. “I’ve always loved snow, ever since I was little.”

“Do you want to go out in the snow?”

The speed at which Ryeowook’s head shot around so he could stare at Yesung in anticipation was astounding. “Can we? Can we please?”

“Of course! Are you all done eating?” The almost too-quick nod from Ryeowook made him smile. “Okay, let me pay and then we can go.” He walked back to the table, pulling out his wallet and dropping several bills on the table; that should cover both the cost of their meal and tip. Ryeowook bounced along after him, doing his very best to not look at the amount of money on the table; if he knew exactly how much was there, he’d start feeling guilty and would never go out to eat with Jongwoon again. Yesung led the way out of the restaurant and to the elevators, pressing the button and waiting patiently for the doors to open.

“Did you know that if you hold your breath throughout the entire elevator ride and make a wish as you do, your wish will come true?” Ryeowook asked suddenly. Yesung blinked.

“Where did you hear that?”

“My Girl,” Ryeowook admitted sheepishly. “I love that drama. Technically Yu-Rin was talking about the elevator in the SBS Building, but I personally think it works with any elevator.”

“Have you ever tried it?”

“Well, no, not really. I don’t often go to places where I have to go up to the thirty-third floor or anything like that,” Ryeowook giggled. A soft ding and the mechanical sound of the doors sliding back announced the arrival of the elevator and both got on, standing next to each other. Yesung pushed the ground floor button; Ryeowook started bouncing up and down on his heels, giggling a little, obviously excited about the snow.

A single thought began to swirl around Yesung’s mind and he unconsciously held his breath; I want to be around him forever.

~~~

Stepping out into the cold winter evening, Ryeowook pulled his coat tighter around his thin frame, his smile lighting up the area. This was so much better than sitting at home in front of the television wishing he had something to do. “Hyung!” He spun around to look at Yesung. “Can we go to Namsan Park? The lake there looks gorgeous when it snows and I haven’t been to see it yet this winter.”

Yesung nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment, lest he blurt out the thought that wouldn’t seem to get out of his head, the one that had wormed its way into his consciousness moments before and seemed determined to stay there until it had been realized. He sincerely wished now that Ryeowook hadn’t told him the elevator wish thing. It was screwing with his brain in a major way.

~~~

A bus ride later and Ryeowook was twirling around in the snow, eventually just allowing himself to fall down into a pile of it and laugh. Yesung watched him, grinning, sitting down next to him in the snow after a couple of minutes. They stared out at the lake. Namsan Park looked beyond gorgeous in winter. Delicate branches of towering trees hung with a dusty, powdery layer of snow. Lights skimmed over the perfectly white, unblemished ground, practically making the whole area sparkle. Yesung could only imagine how breathtakingly beautiful it would be at sunset and resolved to come back soon.

“I’m glad we’re friends, hyung,” Ryeowook said suddenly, keeping his eyes on the water of the lake before them; he didn’t want to see Yesung and start blushing again. “You’re really nice.”

“I’m glad we’re friends too, Ryeowook.” Jongwoon’s voice was soft and deep, washing over the smaller man’s body and filling him to the brim. That was one voice he would never get tired of hearing. He began to wonder what that voice would sound like if it was set to music, maybe a haunting ballad about a lost love or about unrequited feelings.

“Jongwoon hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you sing for me?” The question was innocent enough, but the way it was phrased made those thoughts start swirling around Yesung’s head all over again and he coughed nervously.

“Um…yeah, sure.” He shook his head frantically, trying to clear his mind and think of a song—any song—that he could sing. A moment later, his voice began to fill the crisp air around them; Ryeowook closed his eyes, letting the sound consume his mind.

“Words I couldn’t tell you…when I close my eyes, they will emerge again. Stop reminiscing, my memories. My love, I think of you. I regret the days when I wandered with you staying by my side—can’t you listen to my sincere heart? I’ll wait for you until the end of the world. I’ll wait for you until the moment fate forbids it. Now I can give you my everything. Can’t you come to me, my dear love?”

Silence.

The snow still fell around them gently; Ryeowook brushed the flakes from his face. “Hyung…” That voice was everything he’d imagined it would be. It was husky and deep and filled with emotion, conveying the sentiment of the song perfectly. And the only thing that he knew was that, at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to listen to Yesung sing for the rest of his life.

“Hyung, why didn’t you become a singer? Your voice is beyond amazing.” Ryeowook looked over at the older many curiously; Yesung just stared straight ahead with a slight smile on his face.

“I don’t want to be a solo artist,” he said softly. “I was offered the opportunity once, but I turned it down. Being a solo artist is lonely. If I was ever to be an artist, I’d want to be part of a group.”

“Ohhh…” That made perfect sense to Ryeowook. Being in a group would be like having another family, a whole group of people that knew everything about you and would always be there for you when things were rough. People who would know exactly what you were going through and wouldn’t judge you for it.  For a split second, he imagined himself on stage with Yesung and all of his other friends, singing and laughing and having the best time. Before the picture was even completed, he snuffed it out, crushing it almost violently and reminding himself sternly that never, under any circumstances, was he to make his way into the music business. Never.

Ryeowook sat up, shaking the snowflakes from his hair. “Hyung, it’s getting kind of late. I should go home so I can get up early for work tomorrow.”

Yesung nodded in understanding, but his heart fell a little. He’d wanted to spend more time with Ryeowook. “I can take you home if you want.”

“No, that’s okay. I don’t want you to have to go out of your way. You’ll be at Coco Bean tomorrow, right?”

“Right.”

“Café latte?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay! I’ll be ready! See you tomorrow, hyung! Thanks for the dinner and coming with me to Namsan Park!”

Yesung watched as the little figure ran off toward the entrance of the park, sighing and falling back in the snow.

“Ten days,” he murmured, pulling out his phone and staring at the screen where the bright ten oh two was practically glaring back at him. “It’s only been ten days. Why can I already not get him off my mind?”

~~~

At exactly two fifty three, Sungmin bounced though the doors of Coco Bean, bringing a sense of life to the completely dead shop (heck, Ryeowook was even sitting on the floor behind the counter, half asleep. He’d woken up several times during the night due to nightmares and was insanely tired.).

“Ryeowookieeeee! Wookiebear, where are you? Ryeo? No, seriously, where’d you go?” Sungmin looked around the shop, furrowing his brow in confusion. The top of a head popped up over the counter, quickly followed by a face of a boy who was still obviously not completely awake.

“Wookiebear? Since when has anyone ever called me that, hyung?” Ryeowook asked, his words soft and slightly slurred, as he rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up.

“Since now!” Sungmin chirped, dashing to the counter. “Look!”

Ryeowook obediently looked up at his hyung and nearly fell over. “Hyung! You dyed your hair?”

The elder’s hair was a lighter, almost a pumpkin color mixed with brown. He wasn’t quite sure how to explain it; all he knew was that it made his Bunny Hyung look five years younger. Sungmin practically giggled, nodding.

“Yeah, isn’t it great? I decided to be spontaneous and crazy so I got my hair dyed this morning – that’s why I’m late.”

“It looks awesome, hyung! You’re so much braver than I am…” He shuddered, remembering the last time he’d been forcibly dragged to the hair dresser by Sungmin and Zhou Mi; that’s how he’d ended up with his current hair color. He hadn’t even agreed to dye his hair last time—there was no way he would ever do it on his own. Sungmin just rolled his eyes.

“Wookie, seriously, where has all of your self-confidence gone in the last year and a half?” He sighed before glancing around quickly to make sure no one was watching and vaulting himself over the counter to join his friend. “Soooo, what did you and Yesung-shii do last night?”

Ryeowook immediately turned bright, apple red. “Minnie hyunggg!”

“What?”

“You make is sound so…Never mind.” He paused, thinking back to the previous night, and he began to smile. Soon, he was practically gushing, explaining all about the restaurant, how fancy it was, how it had begun to snow, how Yesung had gone with him to Namsan Park where they had just talked and had a good time and where Jongwoon had sung for him.

“…Hyung, he has such a great voice! I mean, a lot of people have nice voices but they don’t sound nice a cappella, but he still sounded amazing without any kind of musical accompaniment. I wonder—”

“Wookie.”

“Uh-huh?”

“You sound like a teenage girl that just went on a date with the guy she’s had a crush on for years.”

“I do not!” Ryeowook was bright red again and he wacked Sungmin—hard—on the shoulder. “Don’t laugh! I do not!”

Sungmin was still giggling when the door opened and the now-familiar figure walked up to the counter.

“Sungmin-shii, did you dye your hair?” Yesung blinked in confusion as Ryeowook automatically set to work making his usual café latte.

“Uh-huh!”

“It looks nice.” Yesung’s eyes slid over to Ryeowook and Sungmin caught him smiling foolishly. “I had a good time last night, Wookie. Next time you have some time off, we should get dinner again or something.”

“Okay, hyung; I’d really love that,” the other responded softly, suddenly shy. He handed Jongwoon his cup of coffee and took the bills from his hand. “Um…I’ll see you later, then?”

“I’ll text you!” Yesung smiled that adorable, heart-melting smile and waved with his little hand as he made his way out of the shop, unaware of the happiness that one phrase had brought to his friend. Ryeowook could have squealed.

Sungmin watched the exchange and nearly exploded from the insanely adorable innocence. Those two…

~~~

“Teukie hyung, what do you think about closing down the shop for a week or two around Christmas?”

Leeteuk looked up from his computer screen, blinking in surprise when he caught sight of the man before him.

“Did you dye your hair, Sungminnie? It looks great!”

“Yes, I dyed my hair,” Sungmin sighed, by now tired of hearing the question. “But what do you think about the shop?”

Eeteuk leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling and calculating in his head. “I think it’d be fine, but we’ll have to run everything by Siwonnie. You know how he gets and I’m not sure he’ll want us to close for too long. What made you think of it?”

“Well, Ryeowookie needs an extended vacation, and you know he’d never ask for it on his own, so this would be a nice little way of kind of forcing him to take one. Besides, then he’d get to spend more time with Yesung-shii and I know that he’d like that. I think that getting to know Yesung-shii could be really good for him too. Who knows; maybe he’ll finally open up about what happened to him in University so that we can help him.” Sungmin had plopped down in an empty chair around the office and was playing with a pencil he’d grabbed off the desk.

 Eeteuk nodded, sighing. “I wish he’d tell us. Whatever happened, it wasn’t good. He shouldn’t keep it bottled up like this…”

“I know! So what do you think? Can we talk to Siwon about it?”

The older man whipped out his cell phone, about to dial the number of his friend and colleague when a voice sounded from the doorway.

“Talk to me about what?”

“Siwonnie!” Sungmin jumped up, running over and hugging his dongsaeng; he hadn’t seen the other man in ages.

“Hi, Sungmin hyung! I just dropped by to check on things. What did you want to talk to me about?”

Sungmin drug Siwon over to the chairs, motioning for him to sit down in one as he explained the story and their ideas. When he was finished, he sat on the edge of his seat in anticipation, biting his lip.

Siwon ran a hand through his short black hair, thinking carefully about the state Coco Bean was in. To be honest, it was one of his most productive shops, though it may not seem like it during those lazy, empty afternoons. He credited its success directly toward the people who worked there, his best friends, the ones he would trust with his life.

“Yes. Absolutely. Since Christmas is on Sunday this year, how about the week before and the week after? We might be able to extend it, depending on how things go, but this shop is doing well enough that you guys can take a well-deserved break,” he said with a grin, his eyes flickering back and forth between the other two.

Leeteuk immediately grabbed his calendar, marking the vacation in bright blue pen. “You can’t change your mind later, Siwonnie!” he chirped, looking forward to maybe getting a legitimate amount of sleep on those nights.

Sungmin practically squealed and clapped his hands in excitement. “Thanks, Siwon! This is awesome! We should all have one big Christmas party too! What do you think, hyung?”

“I like it! Siwonnie, we can have it at your house!”

“What?! My house? But—”

“No buts! Your house is big enough for all of us and besides, I haven’t been there in forever!”

“Wait, Sungmin hyung—”

“C’mon, Teukie hyung, let’s go tell Ryeowookie before he leaves for the night!”

“Coming!”

The two practically bounced out of the room, leaving a poor, confused Siwon to stare at Leeteuk’s abandoned calendar in sudden despair.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

I'd like to take this moment to squeal about how much I love Sungmin's new hair color; UM, WHAT A CUTE KID. <3 <3 <3

Alright, I'm done now. Hope you enjoyed the update~!! ^^

love,

afallingstar