He sighed. A pretty long and tired sigh echoed in front of the high black iron bars of the building's courtyard. 

June 21st. According to the calendar it was officially summer's first day, and of course, it was a quiet and sunny afternoon in that old street of Paris.

Kyuhyun stood still in front of the tall apartment's gate, looking up to its several windows and little terraces, swallowing hard while his heart was showing no sign to slow its beat, racing as if to survive and win a marathon...stupid heart...it was always like that whenever Ryeowook was involved...

He checked once again the info that his detective-like friend Yesung, who was really having great fun into his role as "love consultant" - and sometimes wondered if he had to quit his job in order to set up a little agency, to help either heartbroken people or those who wanted to find their soulmate - had sent to him via email. He had checked everything: from Ryeowook's address, which was given to him, thanks to his personal connections, by Eunhyuk and Donghae's CEO; to those several known articles that were recently spreading the news about the pianist's new job in Paris. Ryeowook, in fact, had just accepted a teaching position in his former conservatory and revealed, through interviews, to be very happy about it, because there was nothing more accomplishing, according to him, than helping new young musical talents.

After having literally skipped his meals during the flight, and collected very few sleep hours, Kyuhyun had arrived to his hotel and stayed there just for taking a quick shower, in order to lessen the fatigue of the 18-hour-long journey. He felt like collapsing under the jetlag effect, but finding Ryeowook was far more important than sleep...he could have slept every time he wanted, while surprising Ryeowook on the day of his 28th birthday wasn't a task he saw everyday on his daily agenda, instead...

However, when he had finally reached his home, Kyuhyun couldn't help but feel anxious and rather scared: what if Ryeowook didn't want to see him anymore? Not even after discovering the truth... Kyuhyun brusquely shook his head and shut eyes, pushing away those fears. He stepped forwards and walked across the huge squared pebbled courtyard, where in the middle stood planted a tall and shadowy oak tree, entoured by some stony benches. He finally pushed the heavy wooden doorway and went in. He smiled when his eyes noticed a quite old granny who worked as a sort of concierge. She stood, in her fresh cotton daisy-patterned sky blue dress and slippers, nearby the mailbox and was checking every tenant's mail, sorting it all and dividing letters, postcards and packages in small piles that were to be finally handed to their respective owners.

She noticed Kyuhyun, who didn't know whether to introduce himself or climb straight up those old-looking stairs, covered by a thick red carpet up to the last floor. The woman showed him a wide smile and began speaking. Her voice sounded really musical and sweet, and he guessed that was how French pronounciation sounded like. He blushed, pretty much embarrassed, and tried to make her understand that he unluckily didn't know a word of French, so he couldn't grasp anything of her speech. He was about to give up, trying to gesture his reason for being there, when a young girl, looking more or less like a high school student, showed up from the little door near the big window-glass that separated the hall from the concierge's small lodge. She halted at once, when spotting Kyuhyun, but soon after she smiled, looking at him from head to toe, drawing pretty attentive conclusions: "Are you one of Ryeowook's friends?" she asked in English, which was a bit stained by her strong French accent, but nevertheless fully understandable.

Kyuhyun nodded: "How..." he wanted to ask her how she managed to guess right, when she replied without even make him finish his sentence: "Are you Asian, right? Ryeowook's Korean. With Zhou Mi, they are the only Asian men who live here among all our tenants...moreover, I have never spotted you before, I guess this is your first time in France, or well...in Paris? Or at least, here in our building!" she cutely giggled.

Kyuhyun immediately felt relieved to have a link, that he could use to try to understand what the old lady was talking about earlier: "Could you...please, I fear I don't know any French to..."

She interrupted him again and lovingly placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, beginning a quick explanation. When she had finished, she turned to Kyuhyun again and added: "She's my granny. We own the building..."

The young man exclaimed in surprise, understanding why the old lady was so focused and attentive in her work.

"She wanted to know how we can help you..." the girl resumed. Kyuhyun walked closer to the two and asked: "I am here to see Ryeowook, can you please tell me which apartment does he live in?"

After a quick translation, to which the old lady immediately brightened up and enthusiastically pointed at the ceiling, the girl answered: "He lives with Zhou Mi on the second floor, but I'm sorry to tell you that there's nobody home. Zhou Mi left a couple of days ago, he's away for work. While Ryeowook..."

"Please...don't tell me I've come here in vain!" Kyuhyun ligtly bit his lower lip and thought, praying hard in order not to be deceived by the girl's words.

She stopped a second and listened to her grandmother's talking: "...he's at the conservatory! He had some extra classes today, I think. Granny told me he saw him pretty nervous this morning, though. I hope he doesn't have a bad day..."

Kyuhyun's day wasn't that bad...at least he thought so. He bowed to the two women, out of habit, and thanked them before rushing out towards the conservatory. Luckily, the place wasn't that far from Ryeowook's house, therefore Kyuhyun just chose to walk there, or better run, and keep looking for him. He broke through the crowd of young students and musicians and reached the main building's info desk, where a young chubby man, with thick brunette beard that framed his puffy cheeks, welcomed him and looked more than willing to help...it was his work, anyway.

"I'm looking for Kim Ryeowook..." that's what all Kyuhyun could manage to say, in between his pants due to the run. He had even started sweating and rolled his eyes, annoyed by that: he didn't want to appear in that condition before Ryeowook. He grimaced a little bit, holding a soothing hand onto his chest, while catching his breath back and waiting for the man's reply: "Uhm, isn't Professor Kim already off for today?" he asked to his colleague, a short blond woman with piercing emerald green eyes and long wavy hair. "Good! He is neither at home nor at work...how am I supposed to find him now?!" Kyuhyun did his best to mask his disappointment. The woman thouroughly looked through a list of names and shook her head, turning the her colleague: "He's still here! He's already finished classes, but said he was heading to the concert hall. In ten minutes Sophie, his student, will start a brief piano performance, so he wanted to check on her before going home..."

Kyuhyun then smiled even wider and thanked them, looking slightly a fool for how much enthusiasm he was showing upon receiving that answer. He ran again towards the direction the woman had just given him, and entered the dark concert hall, where a piano playing could be already heard in the distance. He halted right at the door, scanning with his eyes the seated floor, which was pretty much full for being just a "simple performance". His heart couldn't stop wildly pounding, it pounded so strong and fast to the extent that it hurt to bear inside his chest. Kyuhyun simply gulped then. His eyes found what, or better whom, he was that desperately looking for.

Kim Ryeowook, now "professor", was sitting in a dark corner from the back row seats. Kyuhyun slowly walked towards him, Debussy's "Claire de Lune" as his background music, and noticed that his loved one had closed eyes and couldn't sit still, while enjoying the perfomance. He lightly moved fingers in the air, pretending to be the one playing the musical piece and approvingly nodded from time to time. He was so focused, that he didn't even noticed that Kyuhyun had actually slipped into the empty seat next to his, suffocating his way too much excited chuckles behind a hand. Ryeowook suddenly widened eyes and stopped his fake concert, totally struck in deception as the young female pianist, whom he was checking on, had by mistake pressed the wrong key, ruining the atmosphere and the piece in its whole.

He clicked his tongue once, very disappointed by that error; however, Kyuhyun couldn't tell which of his two faces was funnier: the sad and disappointed one or the shocked one that was almost costing him a heart-attack. Kyuhyun wanted to cheer him up, after that error from his student, and placed a reassuring hand onto the pianist's lap, it gently.

"Wh-what..." Ryeowook blinked several times through the darkness and recognized Kyuhyun's features. How could he ever forget them? "What are you doing here?!" he whispered in between his gritting teeth. "Why must this be your first reaction whenever we meet?!" Kyuhyun smiled and answered, earning a bad stare from a couple of people who sat in front of him, disturbed by the muffled noise. Ryeowook swiftly grabbed his things and stood up, pulling Kyuhyun by the wrist and quickly walking outside the venue, under the broad light. Kyuhyun couldn't help but keep on smiling at that gesture. Ryeowook looked so marvelously cute even when completely culeless and puzzled. His thin black-framed eyeglasses made him look younger and more professor-like under his messy and slightly red-shaded dark hair. He stopped after turning at a near corner, hiding and facing Kyuhyun then, who promptly pulled him into a hug. "Don't do that!" Ryeowook protested and wriggled, pushing him away.

"Why?!" Kyuhyun asked, quite shocked.

"There might be people watching! But first, tell me what the heck are you doing in Paris, you idiot!" Ryeowook rolled his eyes and stretched his arms to keep Kyuhyun away from him.

"Thanks for welcoming me in such a nice way!" Kyuhyun scoffed. Ryeowook averted his eyes, blushing and mubmling some excuses "And by the way, if we are going to keep our conversation set on questions, then let me ask you why you left me alone after that night...our night!" Kyuhyun continued.

"It's none of your concern..." Ryeowook didn't sound that convincing though, and kept on avoiding the other's eyes. They were standing one in front of the other in that high, shadowed and narrow opening between the white walls of two near buildings. It was the first hidden place that occured in Ryeowook's mind, but he was slowly regretting choosing it, as he could stand less than a breath apart from Kyuhyun, feeling terribly uneasy. 

"Yes, it is! I had just suggested that we started anew, but you disappeared without saying anything, Ryeowook! Can't you possibly understand how much I suffered after that?!"

Ryeowook became red all over the face and threw him a light punch on the chest, frowning in anger: "Look who's talking! You left me for ten years, hurting me and blaming me, Kyuhyun! I left you after having ...that's not even comparable! My suffering is the worst!" 

"Hey, it was making love! Let's use the correct words here, if you please..." Kyuhyun sounded so silly over trivial matters. Ryeowook scoffed, much irritated: "Whatever! Does it make a difference with what there's between us...or better, with what there is not...I had my amount of fun that night and left you, that's all! It'd have been different if you really truly loved me, Kyu..." he was interrupted, because Kyuhyun had umpredictably flattened his body against Ryeowook's and now held the other man's chin in his hand, lifting it a little bit so to force him to fall under his piercing eye-contact: "I do love you, Kim Ryeowook, I love you to the point that I cannot possibly live on this planet anymore, if I don't have you by my side! Deal with that, first...then think carefully on how you need to reply me..."

Ryeowook tightened his lips, sealed in another irritated grimace; he was narrowing his eyes and flashed Kyuhyun with a deadly stare, not pleased by the other's behavior: "It's nice to know that you finally discovered your feelings for me after ten years, Cho Kyuhyun! I guess it's better having a late confession than not having one at all!" he strongly pushed him with his hands to the opposite wall and walked away: "Go back to Korea and let me live my life in peace!" he said, not turning once to look at Kyuhyun. He was already a couple of meters away from him, when Kyuhyun, after exiting that hideout, fell on his knees in the school's courtyard, drawing the surrounding students' attention. There were plenty of people whispering and talking about that stranger knelt on the ground, desperately shouting for Ryeowook's name. It only helped to make Ryeowook even more furious. He turned and saw Kyuhyun, almost on the verge of sharing tears, calling his name. 

"Don't leave me like this! I came here all the way from Korea just for you! I...I know everything, Ryeo!" he shouted with all the air gathered in his lungs. Ryeowook halted, shocked by his revelation. He confidently sped up his pace and reached the kneeling Kyuhyun, throwing bad stares at all the students, who were standing there and wanted to understand what was going on between the two Korean men.

Half of his inner self found that scene cruelly amusing: Kyuhyun begging and whining for him. Although he enjoyed witnessing the man's sincere suffering, he looked down on Kyuhyun with a disapproving stare, while trembling and biting lips, still red on the face for having to face the younger man's foolish behavior, and then drew in a quite sharp breath, before striking Kyuhyun's cheek with a soundly slap. 

"The show's ending here. Go away now!" the quiet, sweet and nice piano teacher was now angrily snapping in French at all the gathered students, waving with his hands in the air to signal them to vanish. He then bent forwards and took Kyuhyun's hands in his. The younger one had his head bent in sorrow, his fringe of hair was covering much of his sight and his cheek was now getting fully red and quite swollen from where he had been hit. Ryeowook pulled him up by the hands and, when the younger had straightened and stood before him, he glanced into his eyes: two dark and shining jewels, now trembling and holding some watery tears. "Let's go and have a nice chat somewhere quieter, okay?" Ryeowook shyly smiled, still confused on how to deal with his own swirl of contrasting emotions, and tightened his grip around Kyuhyun's hands, swinging them a little bit, in order to encourage him to follow the suggestion. Kyuhyun sniffed, controlling that light bitterness and nodded. When he began walking by Ryeowook's side, he felt the other man's grip letting him go, and he became even gloomier.

"I...I didn't like what you did..." they had just exited the school's gates and Ryeowook explained in a low hiss "...you kneeling down and begging, I mean. The slap was for that, I'm sorry..." he mumbled.

"I deserved it..." Kyuhyun dryly replied.

"Yes, you did..." Ryeowook awkwardly confirmed that, letting their usual silence fall between them. It seemed that Kyuhyun had suddelny lost all his previous ardent blaze and didn't know how to start a conversation anymore. Ryeowook quickly took a look at him, trying to study his distraught expression, then resumed his focus on the road, blushing and trying to cover his face, so not to look stupid enough in front of him "There's a nice café down the road, would you like to have something there? They sell delicious mini pastries and..." he was still walking, not noticing that Kyuhyun had silently halted and was standing a few steps behind, looking expressionless at Ryeowook's back, who turned and frowned, not understanding why he had stopped. 

"I just want to be with you and talk, in private..." he mumbled, keeping his eyes on Ryeowook, who shyly nodded then: "Okay, let's go to my house..." he agreed and walked past Kyuhyun, in the opposite direction, making way. It was so strange for him keeping on walking and feeling Kyuhyun's presence trailing behind. Kyuhyun had changed so drastically in only ten minutes: going from his now lost enthusiastic sparkles to a considerate silence, in order to carefully choose his words when he would have had to start speaking heart to heart with the pianist. Or maybe, he was still a little bit shocked by Ryeowook's slap...and feared another reaction of that kind.

Without saying much one to the other, Ryeowook arrived in front of his apartment building's gate and pushed it a little bit, walking in and keeping it open so Kyuhyun could reach him inside the courtyard. It was more likely to be a dream that one, because the drowsy surreality that surrounded them at 4pm in the afternoon, when the street had to be at its fullest activity, witnessing people passing by, felt instead so empty and upsetting. Kyuhyun followed Ryeowook under the oak tree's cool shadow and sat on the stony bench, separated from the other one only by the man's bag, which lied right between them on the bench. Ryeowook nervously fixed it at its best, avoiding Kyuhyun's wondering eyes, using the bag as an excuse to build an invisible wall to protect himself from the younger one.

"Can I ask you something?" Ryeowook waited and waited for Kyuhyun to start speaking, evidently irritated by the other's silence "What are you achieving for keeping silent? You said you wanted to talk to me...here you go! I'm giving you this chance, you can't even know how much this costs me, but I'm here trying to bear your stupid silence, and not managing to, so...will you hurry up and speak, that way I can send you back home?"

Kyuhyun had just stopped torturing his hands, and gradually left his thoughts behind. If he had kept silent through all that time, it was because his mind was seriously considering the awful chance to be turned down by Ryeowook. He went all the way there from Korea with the hope of being forgiven once and forever, however, from what he could feel in Ryeowook's behavior and words towards him, the pianist wasn't that collaborative and really wanted to be left alone. Those 18 hours spent on his long journey were slowly becoming a total waste.

He drew in a long deep breath and shook his head, not wanting to collapse under the weight of his stupid delusions. Where did all his confidence go? He reached Paris with the only aim to get back Ryeowook, and he wouldn't have left for any reason, not before being sure of conquering the other's heart again.

"Why do you want me to go back home?" Kyuhyun asked him, finally challening his stare "What if I told you that I came to Paris because I want to stay here?"

Ryeowook wholeheartedly laughed, making fun of him: "You, what? Don't joke around, please..." Kyuhyun wasn't joking though, and pierced Ryeowook's eyes, with a newly-found confidence. Perhaps it was all due to the pianist's pretending arrogance, that he swung between those three states of mind: unusual cheesiness, deceivement and fear of defeat, and finally his blazing confidence to get him back, or well...to try his very best.

"I'm not joking!" Kyuhyun replied, slightly indignated "If this is needed to get you back, then I'm staying in Paris, starting from this very moment! It can take me some weeks, a couple of months...maybe years! But I'll get you back to me, no matter what happens!"

Ryeowook sighed then: "See? This is what I couldn't stand during my brief staying in Korea! You acting all possessive, thinking that I might be your favorite object to toy with! You cannot come here from day to night and tell me that you will definitely get me back to you! It's not like going to the supermarket and shop or do errands! Why can't you understand this, Kyuhyun? I'm a human being, I'm overflowing with struggling feelings and emotions, you cannot show up and try to rule my life this way!" his complaining tone of voice was confusing to the point that Kyuhyun didn't know how to reply.

Kyuhyun lowered his head and began speaking in a low tone of voice, feeling totally apologetic: "Ryeowook...I want to make up for my foolishness, and for my ignorance...I have only recently discovered how much wrong I did to you throughout these years, you need to listen to me before drawing your final conclusions. I need you to know that I cannot forgive myself for having abandoned you after Ahra's death." he was distressedly rubbing his hands' palms and looked on the ground.

"I have lived bearing the guilt of having hurt my sister with my love for you. She was attracted by you as well, you know that! However we...we mutually liked each other a lot and she couldn't understand that what we were building what was meant to be the true sparkle of something that might have lasted for long! I didn't even know that at the time, maybe..." Kyuhyun pulled his head up and slightly increased his voice's tone, waving hands in the air as if to defend himself. It was Ryeowook's turn to keep silent then and just listen to the sincere explanation from his long-lost first love.

Kyuhyun stuttered for a second, feeling the heavy cape of the moment's crucial importance: "I just lived the moment as days went by, enjoying your being close to me, your sweetness, your positiveness...my whole existence was slowly being affected by you! When she died, and I found you next to her, I really thought that you could have been the culprit and blamed you. I fought with myself in order to push away the thought...'Ryeowook couldn't do it!' I simply told myself, trying to convince me of this. But the evidence was so strong that I eventually fell for it and collapsed under a layer of guilt, hatred and sorrow. Moreover, nobody tried to make me realize the truth!"

His eyes were slowly getting full of warm tears, difficulty held on his lashes. His voice was shaking as well, as a tight knot was now tying his dry throat. "When I brutally pushed you away..." he stopped a bit to swallow hard "...and asked my parents what had happened to Ahra's killer, they never told me much about it. I didn't question their strange silences much as well, though, and simply kept blaming you for having lost such a precious person, as Ahra was to me. I hated you a lot!" Kyuhyun finally took the courage to take a look at Ryeowook, while this one was carefully listening, nervously biting his lower lip, and embarassedly blushing when his eyes met Kyuhyun's. "...but in the meanwhile, while I struggled so bad to erase you from my memories, you kept recurring in my head and I couldn't push you out...believe me...I sadistically liked the fact that I kept thinking of you!" Kyuhyun stretched his arms to Ryeowook and held him by the shoulders, lightly shaking him: "You see? I was perfectly aware that my soul was brutally bleeding because you weren't there beside me! This makes no sense, right? Why would I be with a person I'm so insistedly hating with all my might?"

He drew in a sharp breath that contributed to let him feel his chest aching even more, the same known stabbing sensation spread more or less everywhere: "That's the point..." Kyuhyun sighed "I'm sure that there's a very thin limit that divides hate from love. They're two of the strongest emotions human beings can feel within themselves, and one doesn't exist without the other. It's easy to fall on one side, rather than on the other, and that's precisely what happened to me... I loved you." he declared with trembling lips, before putting a hand on his own chest and grasping his t-shirt, while what he really meant to do was pressing his nails in his covered skin "...and I still love you! I'm sure of this: I will never stop loving you, Ryeowook! Even if you keep on avoiding me. I only pushed myself to an apparent hatred towards you, but it was more because I needed to convince myself that I didn't love you and that I could perfectly live without you, which is something I so pathetically failed at, as you can see..." Kyuhyun shyly curved his lips into a half smile, one of those that perfectly expressed his solitude.

Ryeowook couldn't stop looking at him. He wanted so bad to avert his eyes from that fragile Kyuhyun he didn't recognize as his, but something unexplicable just gave him the strength to bear every single momvement of the other man, his every painful words that slowly reached his heart, working on the newly-built ice that surrounded it, trying to make it crumble down.

"I hurt you, because it was easier to materialize that way my inner struggles and relieve myself of that strange and unconceivable guilt I felt towards Ahra... I was so convinced she was truly disappointed in me for loving you. When you first appeared in our lives, I knew that she had a crush on you, and I had promised to help her flirting with you, until I stopped her girlish fancies, we confessed and we became a meaningful part to the other's life. Remember?" Kyuhyun was referring ot the afternoon when Ryeowook took the courage to confess to him, sitting in front of the piano and gently kissing. The memory of it made the pianist shiver a little. They were so young back then...and innocent, and they only truly cared one for the other...how was Ryeowook supposed to forget that afternoon? After all, it was one nice afternoon, just like that June 21st, when Kyuhyun had showed up in his life again...selfishly messing it up. 

"I felt so bad...It was as if I had betrayed her for doing that! I really thought she would have never forgiven me...until the other day." Ryeowook's attention was once again captured by Kyuhyun's words. "We made some researches...actually it was all Yesung's doings, to be honest. He's so stupidly convinced that we can get back together, so he never gave up on looking for the truth, which is something I had to do in the first stance...if only I did it much earlier, we could now avoid all this mess...If only I had discovered about that bastard, that Choi Jihoon, your former rival at school..." Ryeowook gulped then, literally hopping in surprise. His eyes widened as he encountered once again Kyuhyun's gaze. He had collapsed and silently cried, marking his cheeks with wet lines made of salty tears.

The pianist was shaking then, his mind totally out as a surging amount of pain was clenching him tight. Kyuhyun resumed his explanation then: "I discovered what really happened during that unfortunate day. I discovered that he wanted to kill you and that my sister actually protected you, losing her life. It was an accident! However, you cannot even imagine the strong opposing feelings that possessed me after hearing about his twisted mind's plot! If he had been that heartlessly cruel, I could have truly lost you instead! Believe me, if only Yesung didn't pull me back, I might have been able to kill him for good! I just jumped on him and..." Ryeowook suddenly interrupted him "...stop it, Kyu..." his broken voice silenced the younger man, leaving him puzzled in between his tears.

The older one swiftly grabbed his bag and pushed it down from the bench, moving closer to Kyuhyun and diving into his arms. Ryeowook had just lowered his defense wall down, allowing touching contact and maybe destroying his insecurities forever. The pianist put one arm around his chest and the other firmly lingered around his neck, hugging him and hiding his face on the man's t-shirt: "...you can stop, now..." he whispered. Kyuhyun was so taken aback, after receiving constant refusals, that didn't know what to do in that case. It took him a long minute and Ryeowook's permission, before closing his arms around the other man's body. "You can hug me back, Kyu..." Ryeowook let out a little suffocated laugh, in between his sobs.

"I...I can't understand...I still need to tell you a lot of things..." Kyuhyun shockingly replied, stuttering. Ryeowook parted a little bit from that hug and faced Kyuhyun, less than a breath apart: "I don't care...it's enough...I enjoyed looking at you suffering, really! I was truly thinking that you deserve to suffer, to feel even only a tiny bit of what I had to face for so long, in order to understand my feelings...but now it's really enough, I'm fed up..." he slowly placed one hand onto the cheek he had previously slapped and soothingly caressed it "...I cannot handle games anymore...as of today, I just need a quiet life...we both suffered a lot...and from what I can understand by your apology, it all depended on how circumstances worked us apart...I swear, I am honestly scared and I don't think of being strong enough to handle our love...you know, if we don't pay attention and can't work it out, this feeling will most likely bring us destruction, Kyuhyun! You are all messed up as much as me, and I feel empty because I gave up every single emotion I could feel within myself to either hate you or love you...you're constantly in my mind, and dreams, though Kyu...I believe that what you said is right: love and hate cannot exist one without the other...but I'm so truly tired of hating..."

Kyuhyun grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him a little bit further away, widening eyes: "Please, explain things more clearly...I fear that this might be your way to reject me and I cannot understand..."

Ryeowook wiped away his own tears with the back of his hands and then moved closer to Kyuhyun's face again, this time placing his lips on the man's, pecking them twice at first, then slowly moving to prefectly combine theirs: "Do you need to understand this?" Ryeowook asked, after parting from Kyuhyun's lips and opening eyes again. It was like opening eyes to the morning light: Kyuhyun was the most beautiful surprise he could have ever asked for...moreover on his birthday...

"Kyu?" Ryeowook asked, quite unsure, because Kyuhyun was really struck and didn't know how to react. Was he really getting Ryeowook back? It looked so... "Kyuhyun?" Ryeowook shook him a little bit "Wake up? Kyu, you don't love me anymore?" he asked in a low hiss, smiling, waving a hand in front of the other one's eyes as if to get him distracted by his sudden thought. "Fine...I'm going..." Ryeowook announced almost toneless and stood up, grabbing his bag from the ground and walking towards the building's doorway He had just walked a few steps, when a strong hand grasped his wrist and pulled him behind, softly slamming against Kyuhyun's pounding chest, while the taller one hugged him tight and placed a hand on Ryeowook's backhead, to protect him. "Don't walk away from me anymore...please...I am so scared..." he said, earning a little chuckle from Ryeowook. Kyuhyun gently took the other one's chin in his hand and lifted it, he bent a little bit and kissed him again, lingering on his lips and feeling their burning warmth, which was slowly lighting his whole body up. "Let's really forget the past. What's done is done, and I want that neither of us clings onto hurtful memories...let's build new and happier ones from now on...let's do that together..." Ryeowook brightly smiled, clasping both his hands on Kyuhyun's back and flattening his body against the other one's.

"What I said before..." Kyuhyun blushed then "...about me staying in Paris..." Ryeowook interrupted him, frowning a little bit: "Sorry Kyu, I cannot follow you to Korea though, don't ask me this...I have a reputation to defend and I've just taken on teaching, I cannot eat my words back...I promised! I really cannot give up on Paris...I don't wanna make a choice..." he looked away, not considering the fact that their relationship couldn't fly any high if they basically lived at the opposite ends of the world.

Kyuhyun cupped his face and turned it, so they could once again make eyecontact. Kyuhyun's eyes were shining so intensely sweet then, when he opened up into a loving comforting smile, and said: "That would be a really cruel thing for me to do..." he reassured his lover and the man's cheeks with both his thumbs, wiping away the rest of the tears left on his skin, those who were drying due to the hot summer weather "...I don't care about the world, I only care about you. I can give everything up, but I can't give up on you...I've just made my choice, and that's you. I wasn't joking when I said I would have stayed in Paris just for you...I want to catch up on those years spent apart, I want to learn about what you did, I want to know more about your work and your achievements, I want to live you..." he suddenly stopped talking and looked up at the sky.

It had got incredibly grey and overcast, despite the hotness and surrounding humidity. Menacing clouds were still running one after the other coming somewhere from the east side, rumbling. A drop of rain had just fallen on Kyuhyun's forehead and hit it with an unexpected tick. He frowned and listened to the first thunder exploding in the distance, preannouncing a summer rainstorm that caught them off guard. Ryeowook burst into laughter as soon as the pouring rain began drenching them lightly, if not for Kyuhyun's quick movements: he entoured Ryeowook's shoulders with his arm and ran towards the doorway. Ryeowook's joyful laughter echoed in the building's ancient hall and the old lady from before hopped up in surprise. She waved at the pianist and eventually welcomed him back, Kyuhyun couldn't understand much of what they were talking about, but noticed the immense excitement in Ryeowook's eyes as he jovially replied to the woman's questions, and he couldn't help but contagiously smile.

Ryeowook greeted again the lady, and after a couple of minutes he was already guiding Kyuhyun upstairs, running while firmly grasping the younger man's hand and pulling him behind himself. "Slow down!" Kyuhyun laughed, not managing to contain his overflowing joy and simply let him do. They had just reached a white door on the second floor and Ryeowook fiddled with one of his bag's lateral pockets, grabbing his keys. He was still gasping after the run, but he seemed not to care much. After some seconds the door was almost slammed open and Ryeowook dragged Kyuhyun inside, still holding the other one's hand in his, finally shutting the door closed behind himself and throwing his arms at Kyuhyun's neck, overexcited.

"What...what did you say to the old lady?" Kyuhyun asked, too much curious, and smiled, holding Ryeowook tight around the waist and gently pecking his lips.

Ryeowook shrugged: "She just asked me what made me smile like an idiot..." he responded to those light pecks. 

"What did you tell her then?" Kyuhyun kept on asking after the second peck.

"I told her that I was simply happy..." Ryeowook blushed and widened his smile, showing perfect white teeth.

Kyuhyun moved a hand and reached for his half-wet hair, whose locks were already curling and drying with the hot humid weather. He it and lovingly flipped Ryeowook's fringe in order to clear his forehead. His hand lingered a while on the soft skin, until he asked again "Are you? Are you really happy?"

Ryeowook nodded, pouting lips: "I couldn't be happier, if you ask me...Kyu, we are together! We...managed, somehow! I had already lost my hope, truthfully..." he tiptoed and rubbed his nose against Kyuhyun's, who frowned a little bit and said: "Ah! Never give up on us! Never...it's simply no good!" he was pretending to scold him, but instead he squeezed him in his hug and placed some kisses on Ryeowook's jawline. "Oh! I forgot!" the older one moved his hands from Kyuhyun's neck and lowered them until they both rested on the man's chest, touching the wet areas of the t-shirt. He slightly pushed Kyuhyun away and continued: "Welcome to your new home, Kyu Kyu..." he was so embarrassed then, that he had to cover half his face with a hand "Zhou Mi won't be pleased to see you, though..." he giggled.

"Zhou Mi will learn how to deal with it..." Kyuhyun softly whispered and moved Ryeowook's hand away, holding it in his and interwining his fingers with the man's, while kissing him yet again, even more tenderly. "By the way, where is he?" Kyuhyun looked around at the huge living room in which he had just stepped in.

"He's in Belgium for work, he will be back tomorrow, if I'm not wrong...I didn't really pay attention" Ryeowook snorted out, puffing cheeks, and proceeded to tilt his head to one side, to leave Kyuhyun full pass to kiss him on the neck, teasingly biting his skin from time to time. "I'll scold him for having left you alone on your birthday..." he scoffed, however Ryeowook moved away, pretty shocked: "...you...you remembered it!"

Kyuhyun then grinned and nodded: "Of course! You're summer's brightest ray of sunshine, who could ever forget that!" Ryeowook, hearing that, made a funny pleased grimace and umperceptibly pushed Kyuhyun to move some steps back, until he managed to let him lose balance and fall on the creamy beige couch on the right side, where the younger one sat, showing surprise on his face, with arms open a legs slightly the same. Ryeowook sat on his lap and placed his two warm hands on Kyuhyun's neck's sides, towering him and looking down into the other one's eyes. He moved closer, still holding eyecontact with Kyuhyun and gently kissing his forehead under the fringe of light brown hair. His lips trailed down along a cheek and lingered a lot on his jawline, right beside a ear: "I am truly happy that we are together, and that we can finally share our mutual love, but...I'm gonna run away right now, if you keep on talk that cheesy..." he whispered, threatening Kyuhyun, an pinching his other cheek: "...really! You're all grown-up, there is no need to..."

"Ouch!" Kyuhyun grabbed the hand that was torturing his face and closed it in his, pulling it away: "I perfectly know it doesn't suit me!" he scoffed, and moved his hips in order to push Ryeowook down from his body and have him lying onto the couch, blocking him and pinning both his wrists onto the soft seat "See? It's all your fault! It's all because I am blinded by the huge love I bear for you, that you must get along with my cheesiness, because I think I won't stop that easily..." Kyuhyun finally placed his lips against Ryeowook's and dragged him again into a swirl of emotions. He couldn't simply let him go, and loved to death every single moment he could get a taste of his lover's lips, feeling them so sweet and soft, while willingly cooperating with his. He felt the ticklish sensation of Ryeowook's pleased laugh pressed into his kiss and the older one's hands slipping gently on his back, under his t-shirt, swiftly grabbing the hem of it and pulling it up. Kyuhyun moved away just the time to be undressed from that and quickly owned back his place on top of Ryeowook, looking for a way to resume his kiss. He was now his lover's lower lip, it with the tip of his tongue and was about to insert it into the other's mouth, when Ryeowook suddenly, and without notice, placed his hands onto his chest and strongly pushed him back, shrieking in fear and widening eyes, stiffening at the sight of one unexpected guest... 

"I...I...I..." a tall and exceptionally slim man had just appeared from the main door and was stuttering, totally shocked by what he had found. He had also let go of a chocolate box wrapped in a thin golden paper, which fell on the floor with a little thud. 

Zhou Mi stood next to his suitcase, still firmly grabbing the handle. He looked as if he had managed to avoid getting drenched in the rain and that was because he had just put away his umbrella at the entrance. He didn't move, except for his eyelids, which repetitively blinked as if to check that that wasn't possibly a dream...or a nightmare, it depended on the chosen perspective, after all.

"You...are back!" Ryeowook blushed even more and squeaked in his high-pitched tone, totally embarrassed for being caught red-handed. He was about to let himself go to Kyuhyun, finally, and Zhou Mi appeared without notice, wanting to surprise him for his birthday. Mission cleared. What if the Chinese man had appeared slightly later and found them further deeper into their business? Ryeowook covered his face with both hands, but then remembered that Kyuhyun was half and immediately grabbed the t-shirt from the floor, handing it to its owner.

Zhou Mi was still shocked. He couldn't take his eyes off Kyuhyun and looked as if he was trying desperately hard to understand the reason of the man's presence into the house he shared with Ryeowook. Efforts could be easily grasped through his frown and grimaces all over the face, and, though Ryeowook wasn't sure, he could have been probably in the midst of exploiting all his brain gears into working some guesses out.

"I...honestly thought it really strange not to hear you playing the piano at this hour of the day! Aren't you supposed to rehearse lessons for tomorrow?" Zhou Mi finally recovered his ability to speak and referred to the fact that, whenever Ryeowook was at home, his friend immediately dived into work and played the piano, prepared topics to discuss in class and set practices for his students. According to Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun wasn't likely to be there to take lessons from Ryeowook... "I finished my trip earlier than expected and rushed here, in order not to leave you alone for your birthday, but...how is it that...he is here? You are together...?" he pointed to Kyuhyun, then back at Ryeowook and still didn't move.

"Well..." Ryeowook tilted his head to a side, faking a deep effort to think about it. In truth he had better try seriously hard in order to explain how things went that afternoon though, because the story of their lovelife lasted exactly ten years and was finally beginning a brand new chapter on that very same day...

Kyuhyun quietly sat, with his t-shirt back on, smiling so wide and looking more snarky and evil than usual while staring back at Zhou Mi, who evidently didn't like any of it. Ryeowook flashed his lover with a deadly stare, then tried to face Zhou Mi again, but Kyuhyun had already stood up and was walking towards Zhou Mi, holding out a hand: "We never introduced ourselves properly, I fear..." he smiled "I'm Cho Kyuhyun. I'm Ryeowook's..." Zhou Mi stared him pretty bad and interrupted him by saying: "I know who you are! I know everything about you!" he snorted out, pushing away the hand that was supposed to bring peace to that rushing introduction.

Kyuhyun nodded: "Good! If you know everything, then you also know that from today on I'll be living here!" he wholeheartedly laughed, and did that even more when Ryeowook stood up and abruptly pushed him from the back, urgining him to move across the room "Come on, Kyu! You better walk and vanish, while I speak with Mimi!" Kyuhyun was opposing at the beginning, but Ryeowook managed to get him locked in his bedroom. "Ryeo! Ryeonggu!" Ryeowook walked away from his bedroom's door, not paying attention to Kyuhyun's light fists on the wooden surface "Let me out...please!"

"We need to talk!" Zhou Mi pronounced and moved to the kitchen table, where he faced Ryeowook's confession about that day's events, carefully listening to the tale of how, brave and repenting Kyuhyun, had showed up and swore eternal love to him...not leaving any detail behind, especially the harsh slap, which was the part the amused the Chinese man the most. Ryeowook felt so light while telling him that story. It felt incredibly surreal, yet it was true! Kyuhyun was really waiting for him in his bedroom...maybe in every sense...he pushed away the naughty thought and focused on how his heart was pounding so fast at the idea of finally being granted the chance to love and be loved again. His stomach released the usual flurry butterflies and his stupid smile reappeared on his face, affecting Zhou Mi as well, whom, even though still a bit not entirely pleased by Kyuhyun's past choices and sudden appearance, couldn't hide his thrilling happiness for his long-known friend and flatmate. He hugged him and granted Ryeowook the permission to let Kyuhyun live in Paris with them, stating that he would have acted as his bodyguard, or rather heart-guard, to be more correct, swearing to keep him safe and sound if Kyuhyun dared to hurt him ever again...

"...and therefore, the answer to your question is definitely yes...Zhou Mi will more likely kill you by tearing your limbs apart one by one, if you ever even dare to imagine of hurting me again..." Ryeowook's voice echoed in the silence of his dark bedroom. He was comfortably lying in his bed, resting his back on Kyuhyun's chest, while this one held him against his body, his arms slipped under Ryeowook's and rested on his stomach, moving fingers lightly on the man's abs, tracing his bare skin. Their light pleased giggles surrounded them, more or less like their clothes, scattered pretty much everywhere across the room.

Kyuhyun couldn't have wrapped up that day in any other better way than snuggling with his rightful lover under this one's double-bed sheets, comfortably lying onto a pile of featherly smooth pillows, almost chaining Ryeowook next to him, in fear that he might have left him yet again...they had just finally made love, and it was so sweet and caring, so beautiful and good, almost effortless through the way they acted and reacted whenever in each other's safe embrace. More than once Ryeowook had deeply sighed, blessed and completely satisfied by how events turned that day, and Kyuhyun didn't seem too tired to remind him that he was truly by his side, promising that he would have never abandoned his life's most precious treasure. They had just made love and it felt completely different from the first time. If during their first night, they both didn't expect it to happen, despite ardently wanting it, they were daring and explored each other's feelings, pushing limits, stepping lines and not caring about consequences, desperately keeping away regrets...instead, that night they felt as if the world had just pulled strings and reconducted them together. It was like what happened to the moon and the tide, which were magnetically attracted one to the other and despite getting far away, they always managed to get reunited in the end. Destiny joined the game, playing an important role and clearing both men's paths from seemingly insurmountable obstacles, moving checkers on the gameboard towards the right direction. Ryeowook willingly stepped into the fire of Kyuhyun's love for him, not scared of getting hurt this time, sure that Kyuhyun's blaze had a purifying effect on him and could help him healing his wounds and scars. He slowly let go of the fear of pain, strongly linked to his conviction of love and embraced Kyuhyun's soul, giving up his, exchanging it with his lover. They would have both cherished a meaningful part of the other's life within themselves, fighting till the very end to result victorious, if anything bad ever occurred.

"Did he say that? Should I really feel threatened, then?" Kyuhyun suppressed a laugh. Ryeowook nodded, giggling, and his hair tickled Kyuhyun's body. The younger one moved a hand a reached for Ryeowook's chin, lifting it and bending with his neck a little bit forward, so to look into the older man's eyes, smirking "...or is it that you exaggerated things a bit too much?" Ryeowook grinned then and moved on his right, turning hips and brushing his upper half body against Kyuhyun's, while facing him "...well, I might have freely added the 'limb-tearing' part to his original threat..." he dived into Kyuhyun's hug and proceeded to softly kiss the younger one's chest with little pecks of his lips, while Kyuhyun ran his long fingers through his hair with one hand, and with the other traced Ryeowook's spine, lightly pressing his thumb onto the other's smooth skin. "How can you be so evilly mean?" Kyuhyun sighed.

"Did you think of me as a perfect angel, then?" Ryeowook laughed, not wanting to quit his kisses though.

"It's not that..." Kyuhyun spoke, from his comfortable pile of pillows, where he moved a bit to better dive into the fluffiness "...I totally love the fact that you are the only one, who has the guts to stand up to me, really! But...I prefer the angelic you better, if I am granted the chance to speak honestly..." he grinned again, completely driven by his teasing-mode. "I might only disappoint you though..." Ryeowook moved his lips and travelled along Kyuhyun's neckline, grasping the man's hips while leaving marks on the curve of Kyuhyun's left shoulder: "Let me crash your lovely imaginations then...an angel-me couldn't have possibly done all those little sinful things we have just finished to do, Kyu Kyu...unless you didn't like any of them, which I am not pretty sure about, since I was scared that your loud moans could have woken Zhou Mi up!"

Kyuhyun socoffed then, pinching Ryeowook's right hip, to which the older man reacted by jerking a bit to the side, smirking: "Oh, what about yours then? My little devil, don't act all innocent! I am getting confused...I really thought I had just reached heaven!" Kyuhyun explained and wound him again in another hug: "By the way, you're even ier when wearing eyeglasses, you know?" 

"Do you like it?" Ryeowook adjusted himself next to Kyuhyun. He had just reached his cheek and kissed it, slipping a leg between Kyuhyun's, grazing the inner side of one with his toes. Kyuhyun nodded, brushing his fingers on Ryeowook's left upper arm, whose hand was cupping Kyuhyun's face and held it softly pressed against his lips, while pecking the other cheek of the younger man: "You really look like a professor..." he told him, earning another chuckle from Ryeowook, who said: "I am a professor, now...even though I don't know for how long...". Kyuhyun smiled: "...no, I meant...I like the look of authority it gives you..."

"I'm the fair professor, in truth..." he revealed "...neither too good with his students, nor too evil..."

"I think you scared them all with that snap...what was it? I don't know French, but it sounded pretty strong..." Kyuhyun laughed, making Ryeowook sigh: "I was angry, Kyu...If only you didn't kneel like a beggar, maybe..." he briefly rolled eyes and placed his hand on Kyuhyun's shoulder, resting his head under the crook of his neck, lovingly snuggling there.

"Look, the beggar, whom you are so lovingly hugging here, wouldn't have managed to declear his eternal love to you otherwise, I guess it served..." Kyuhyun tightened his comforting hug around Ryeowook's waist "...what if I start attending your classes? School is a good mean to learn daily used French; it's never too late to learn music and, this is my favorite part, I could have you as my teacher, wouldn't that be thrilling? I'd love the idea of dating my teacher! You know, the exciting moment when we have to keep our relationship as a secret in order not to..."

"...not to have me thrown out, because I date one of the students?" Ryeowook interrupted him "Don't get your fantasies too high, it's no use to get turned up that way. It won't ever happen, believe me! That's a place suited for very few gifted people, even if you managed to reach the basic skills, youngsters would probably only make fun of you and..." Ryeowook turned Kyuhyun's face in his direction, so to linger on his lips and kiss him "...you won't end up in my class anyway...I'm a worldwide known pianist, not everybody can manage to apply to my class, I only deal with the top students..." he grinned, rubbing his nose against Kyuhyun's, leaving him a bit disquiet: "Tsk...there's no need to brag that much, though... Fine! I'll content myself with being only the worldwide known pianist's boyfriend..."

"Only?" Ryeowook stressed that word, repeating it, playfully shocked "That's a very great honor! You should feel blessed for being granted that chance!" he laughed, this time finding a little spot on the fluffly pillows and slipping under Kyuhyun, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him over his body, lifting his chin just the right amount to meet Kyuhyun's lips, kissing and slowly increasing the combining moves, before entering the younger one's mouth with his tongue, which eagerly hit the other and every wet warm spots he could reach. Kyuhyun moaned a little bit, closing eyes and hitting back Ryeowook's tongue, placing himself on top of him, pulling up the sheets so to cover both their bodies. He knelt, blocking Ryeowook's waist in between his thighs, flattening his chest against the other's and still through their suffocated kiss, depriving each other of their breath.

Ryeowook pushed him away and panted, smiling, lost into the dark depths of Kyuhyun's eyes, when a thought suddenly struck him. He asked in a low hiss: "Did she have this same effect on you?" he was still short on breath and his chest rose and fell at each bunch of air he could inhale.

"Who?" Kyuhyun responded to the gaze and couldn't take his eyes off him, seemingly wanting to eat him up with each loving glance he lied upon him.

"The girl with whom you used to spend your nights with...your secretary...can it be considered as cheating on me?" Ryeowook stopped another kiss from Kyuhyun and waited for a reply.

"Please! We technically weren't together so it can't be considered as cheating on you, first of all. But, my answer is the following...you gotta be kidding me, Ryeonggu!" Kyuhyun slightly widened eyes "Every single time she came to me, it was because I was so drunk, to the point I couldn't possibly stand on my feet!" 

Kyuhyun received a light punch on the back, to which he whined: "Ouch! What was that for?"

"You're a true idiot...ending up being abused by your secretary while drunk! Good! I'm so proud of you..." he laughed while saying so, though. 

"I know that! I'm an idiot because I ended up with her while I struggled at the thought of wanting to be with you instead, but you know...we were still stuck in that difficult situation where all we wanted to do was kill each other..." Kyuhyun told him, rolling eyes "...I still want to kill you though, in a good way..." he smirked and dived under the crook of Ryeowook's neck, biting it and implying that he was somehow ready for a second round of cuddles, when unexpectedly a phone rang through the silence. Ryeowook pushed him away and looked kinda puzzled when turning head onto the side and noticing the lighted screen of a cellphone on the nearby nightstand: "Is it...yours?" 

Kyuhyun distressedly puffed cheeks and let out a low growl, totally disapproving the bad timing of whoever decided to call him in the middle of the night. He lifted himself from Ryeowook's body and leaned on the side, grabbing the device: "Speaking of the devil..." he said, showing his secretary's number on the screen, whose light annyoingly hit Ryeowook full in the face, to the point that he had to shut his eyes close to avoid being temporarily blinded. Kyuhyun sat on Ryeowook's laps, making the latter one jolt in surprise as he was quietly taking the call, not paying attention to the brushing effect that his crotch was making on Ryeowook's. "Get down!" he hissed, blushing and pushing Kyuhyun onto a side "Are you gonna pick it up like that?!" he wriggled, innerly too much pleased by the contact, but nevertheless ashamed if he had accidentally let out a moan while Kyuhyun spoke about work.

The two hold silent and listened to the worried voice of the girl from the opposite side of the world. Kyuhyun got down and sat again next to Ryeowook, stretching an arm out and entouring the man's shoulders. He drew in a deep breath and cut the girl's voice off, sounding totally pissed off: "Miss Yoon, I know the project for that resort in Jeju is due for next week, don't worry about what will investors say. Shortly you'll be contacted by my lawyer and he'll disclose a quite important news about the company's future, okay?" Ryeowook was sure that Kyuhyun wanted to sound as much reassuring as possible, but he bet pretty much everything in his possession, that the girl couldn't help but feel even more worried about her job and whatever appened within the company. Kyuhyun hang up the line and browsed through the contact list, much focused. 

"Your...lawyer?" Ryeowook asked, blinking in the darkness with his puzzled expression. Kyuhyun nodded: "Yesung..." he quietly replied, shrugging a bit "...don't you mind, right?" he turned to Ryeowook and asked for permission to make another international call. Ryeowook shook his head and smiled, slipping a bit down and placing his head yet again on Kyuhyun's shoulder snuggling against his chest, while this one's arm wound him now across the back, his hand tenderly caressing Ryeowook's hip.

"Kyuhyun!" Yesung's surprised voice echoed in the room and Ryeowook couldn't help but suppress a laugh "How is France? Where are you? How did things with..." he was once again cut off by hasty Kyuhyun: "Yesung, you're hired" he announced in a snap. After a minute full of silence, Yesung, stuttering, asked: "Wh-what? Why? What's wrong?" Kyuhyun sighed and began explaining things about the plans he intended to pursue: "I'm currently dealing with that project you saw me working on the other day, remember?" he waited for Yesung's hum in reply "It'll be my last active project..." he sighed, a bit sad for that sudden decision. Ryeowook stirred a bit in his embrace and lifted his head to look at him, not able to understand what he was talking about. Kyuhyun felt Ryeowook's upset mood, and quickly turned to face him, smiling to reassure him, his in the meanwhile. He resumed his conversation with Yesung then: "...you need to go to my house and grab the usb pen drive plugged in my computer. Go to my office and ask for manager Heo, he's in charge of leading the group of architects and he's the only one I can truly trust at work, since he helped me a lot while establishing the firm. You need to entrust those files to him and tell him that he's promoted to the chief section position, which will give him the responsability to lead the whole office on my behalf throughout future projects."

"Are you...stepping down from your job?" Yesung tentatively asked him, not wanting to believe it, although Kyuhyun was right there at the phone to explain him things clearly.

"I am...but I'm still the CEO, right? I won't take on active projects anymore though, which means that I will set aside my pencil for a while, and only check and approve whatever decision is made at the office while I'm away..." Kyuhyun felt Ryeowook's hand caressing his chest and stopping on his pounding heart, to materially try to touch his heartbeat. "Prepare every needed documents and send them to me via email, I'll print, sign and send them back to you, so you can officially wrap up things for me."

"What does it mean that you'll be away?" Yesung asked again. Kyuhyun tucked a little bit his chin and rested it on Ryeowook's head, while the older one kissed him right above his heart. Kyuhyun was giving up on his work, on his dream from when he was still a young boy...he was literally giving up on the world as he knew it, just for being able to love and live Ryeowook day after day. He needed a fresh start, and that start was supposed to be the man, who was tenderly hugging him and lingered his warm lips all over his chest. "It means that I'm moving on, Yesung...it means that I've found my path, and it's shining brighter than ever, like sunshine..." Ryeowook moved from under Kyuhyun's chin and placed a hand on his neck, lifting his head and planting some soothing pecks there as well, until he whispered a soft "...thank you" in his ear, one that unexpectedly struck Kyuhyun, melting him all.

"Are you aware that you parents will chase me for this and won't ever understand why you are nowhere to be found in Seoul, right? What should I tell them?" 

Kyuhyun's facial expression changed right after hearing Yesung's mention about his parents. He scoffed, annoyed: "Whatever! Tell them that I went to live on a deserted island of the Carribeans, tell them...tell them I died! Whatever! I don't want to deal with them anymore, while I'm living on this planet...I'm so deceived by what they did..." he wanted to close his hand in a fist and unawarily clasped Ryeowook's hip a bit too tight, instead. This one lightly whined, but Kyuhyun promptly whispered his apology, half smiling.

"Fine...let's keep in touch so I can tell you how things are proceeding over here, okay?" Yesung agreed, a bit sad, considering that, that phone call was to mean their goodbye. "Let's keep in touch in any case..." Kyuhyun added, trying to cheer his friend up.

"...I'll miss you Kyu" Yesung said after a minute which lasted so long "...but I'm happy that you finally found happiness! As your friend, I can't do anything but help you and support you, and this time I'm really completely happy for how things turned in the end...congratulations!" the lawyer concluded his phone call in that way and wished his little-brother-like friend a new life full of joy and luck, with Ryeowook by his side. Kyuhyun put away his cellphone and went back to focus on Ryeowook, who was now sitting straight and trying to read his mind: "What was that?" Ryeowook asked him, confused. Kyuhyun couldn't understand and Ryeowook went on: "The thing about your parents...what happened?"

Kyuhyun sighed, tired: "...that's another thing you had to know about Ahra's accident...they accepted bribes from Jihoon's uncle, a scum who comfortably sits at the Parliament and whose conscience is terribly dirtied by who knows how many other wrong doings...he helped Jihoon not to undergo a legit process and end up in jail for what he did! Of course I ignored this as well...how can I possibly face my parents again after this? They willingly shut up and didn't budge, they gave up on seeking for justice for Ahra's death! How can I face...you...?" his voice became a low mumble then. 

Ryeowook drew in a deep breath and cupped Kyuhyun's face, resting his forehead on the younger man's, shushing him: "You'll recover from this, I am sure about it Kyu...just exploit time at its fullest, it works wonders! One thing at a time...we'll slowly do that together...will you trust me?" Ryeowook blushed, forcefully brought back in time to when that very same request wasn't fulfilled. Kyuhyun stared him pretty long and moved forwards, pressing his lips against Ryeowook's sealing that deal with a kiss: "...always" he solemnly decleared, his whisper fading in the silence, turned into the little pecks that were exchanged between the two lover.

"What about you? I remember Eunhyuk saying something about a surgery...it slipped from my mind though, sorry..." Kyuhyun asked, caressing his hair.

Ryeowook bitterly smiled and took Kyuhyun's hand in his, bringing it over his right ear and gently pressing its palm there. He couldn't control well his voice and weavered a bit: "I...I partially lost my hearing ten years ago...when Jihoon's gun blew right next to my ear...it exploded and..." he averted Kyuhyun's eyes, feeling ashamed. "...doctors said I could recuperate some by inserting a micro aid...you cannot see it, it's hidden deep inside and it's one of the latest remedy in the field, I got back half of it, not all...it'd be impossible...but, yeah, that's why I had to leave Korea...and I had to leave you...it cost me dearly, I didn't want to escape like a thief! Believe me..." Kyuhyun took Ryeowook's face in his hand and cupped it, turning it to face him again: "I do..." he whispered "...hey, are you ashamed? What is there to be ashamed of? That a bastard physically hurt you? You can't blame yourself for that!" Kyuhyun frowned, trying to convince Ryeowook with his words "I feel even worse because I didn't know about this...there were plenty of things I didn't know, damn!" he sighed in distress "I can't imagine the struggles you had to bear while...while living on your own for so many years and...it's already a difficult situation to handle for normal people, I can't say how much disturbing it could be for a musician!"

Ryeowook shyly nodded, wanting to cry: his heart's surrounding ice had already melted and it was gaining back its warmth, but, with that, it finally lit up to fire, because Kyuhyun was concerned for his health, he was apologetic for having ignored things about his situation, he was looking at him in high admiration for having coped with such an unusual disparity, which wasn't that severe, but had surely highly affected his initial career, his life and his swinging mood as well.

"It was...difficult, yes, but I'm used to it..." Ryeowook said, and jolted in surprise, when Kyuhyun moved to bend forward and tenderly leave a kiss next to his ear, tracing his jawline after a while and reaching again for his lips. "You've got me now, so just close your eyes and trust me, please...I'll be right there to help...and you know why?" Kyuhyun had just lied down again, this time on his right hip, and Ryeowook did the same, feeling his lover's heartbeat on his smooth back as he lied on his right hip as well, chained to Kyuhyun's body, feeling the warmth of his embrace. He shook head and felt Kyuhyun's left hand slowly caressing his hip and tracing his tensed lower belly under his fingers; the younger's mouth eagerly kissing on the curve of Ryeowook's neck, lightly his skin.

"...because I love you, Ryeowook, and it'll always be like that...happy birthday my eternal sunshine..." Kyuhyun whispered in the night, and rocked his meaningful other to sleep, sure, this time, that when he will have opened eyes the following morning, he would have found him beautifully asleep in his arms, not wanting to run away for any reason in the world, considering those strong arms his rightful place, one that would have sheltered him and cherished his every dream...more or less like what Ryeowook had always meant throughout Kyuhyun's life: a dream finally came true...

A/N...stay tuned, because I've got a little bonus for you all ^^