Chapter 8
“What do you think of this?” Jin Ri asked. She was seated on the floor, her legs bent to the side as she sorted through the photos she had taken that she recently had printed out. She handed the print to Kyuhyun, who was seated on the couch, flipping through the channels of the television. They had decided to hang out at her apartment after having lunch together.

Kyuhyun put the remote down on the space beside him and took the photo from her. It was a captured black and white moment of a little girl, playing under the rain. She had a big smile on her face and her arms were spread out wide.

“When did you take this?” he inquired, turning his gaze away from the photo and moving them to her. He watched as she bit her lip, thinking about when she had taken the photo.

“A couple of days ago?” she responded uncertainly, scratching her head, making her hair messier than it already was. She then removed her hair tie and began fixing her hair. “So…?”

“She looks like she’s having the time of her life,” was his comment. He picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels again. “Why isn’t anything good on?” he muttered in a rather annoyed tone.

She smiled a little at his annoyance and turned her head to look at the window. She turned her attention back to her photos, but almost immediately looked out of the window again. “Let’s take a walk,” she suddenly blurted out, moving her eyes towards him, smiling hopefully.

“Right now?” he questioned, checking to see if she was kidding or not.

“Why not now?” she shot back.


“Do you ever feel stifled?” Kyuhyun asked as they ate their dinner.

Jin Ri looked up at him from her food. “Stifled?” she repeated. When he didn’t immediately respond, she prodded, “What’s on your mind, Kyu?”

He smiled at hearing his name, which made her roll her eyes and shake her head. He then sighed. “Just… do you sometimes feel like you can’t even breathe?”

She thought about it. “I think there always comes a time where we just need to stop and just be. We’re always so busy, always moving that we forget about ourselves in the process.” She looked curiously at him. “What’s bringing this on?”

“I don’t know,” he answered with a shrug. “It’s just one of those days I guess. I feel suffocated from all of the things that I have do. I think… I think I understand now what you mean by wanting to make time go slower.”

“What would be the first thing you’d do if things were to go your way?” she probed, propping her chin on her hand.

“I’d just breathe,” he answered with a chuckle, but she could tell that he was serious.

“It’s been raining a lot these days,” was her response.

“What?” He looked at her and blinked, feeling confused about the sudden change in topic.

“Nothing,” she mumbled, chuckling.


He looked out of the window then back at her again. “Are you serious?”

Jin Ri stood up and grabbed his hand, tugging it so that he would stand up. “Let’s go.”

Kyuhyun sighed and finally gave in, turning the TV off and standing up. He grabbed their jackets and followed her out of the apartment. He couldn’t help but smile as she grinned happily while in the elevator going down. It was like seeing a little girl about to go ride the rollercoaster. When they finally reached for ground floor, she rushed out and hurried to the main entrance of the building. As she was about to step out, he grabbed her hand. She turned to him curiously.

“Here,” he reminded her, putting her sweater on her and pulling the hood up over her head. “So that you don’t get sick.”

“You’re probably going to get sick, but not me,” she pointed out, but smiled appreciatively at the gesture. “C’mon!” She held on to his hand and pulled him to step out of the building.

As soon as they stepped onto the pavement, drops of rain hit them. Kyuhyun smiled as he heard Jin Ri laugh. She could be such a little girl at times. She looked up at the sky as they began to traipse through the sidewalk, opening her arms wide, just like the little girl in the photo. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

“What made you decide to do this?” Kyuhyun asked after a while. “Was it the photo?” He gazed at her curiously.

“Have you ever walked in the rain before?” Jin Ri wanted to know, looking back at him, a smile on her face.

“Well yeah,” he answered with a half shrug.

“Purposefully,” she corrected.

“No, not purposefully of course,” he told her. “No one does this. Except you maybe.” He smirked.

She chuckled at his comment. “Well what do you feel now that you’re doing it purposefully?”

“Wet,” was his answer, crinkling his nose. “What are you doing?” he asked.

She had stopped walking and had urged him to do the same. “Stand still and close your eyes.” She rolled her eyes at him when he gave her an apprehensive look. “Just do it.” When he finally closed his eyes, she followed and closed hers as well.

A couple of seconds into standing still under the rain with their eyes closed, Kyuhyun’s hand found Jin Ri’s. He clasped it tightly and squeezed it. He understood what she wanted to make him feel. She squeezed his hand back and smiled, lifting her face up to the sky. 

She was making him breathe.

~ * ~

Kyuhyun was hanging out at the dorms with his hyungs. They had just finished eating the dinner that Ryeowook made for them with the help of Sungmin. Currently, everyone was just lounged around in front of the television, chatting and joking with each other. At the moment all the heat was going towards him.

“Are you sure you and Jin Ri are just friends?” Heechul asked in a very straightforward manner, which had everyone laughing.

“Yes,” Kyuhyun answered, smiling at his hyungs’ silliness.

“Really? Coz you guys have been hanging out a lot,” Shindong continued teasingly.

Kyuhyun practically rolled his eyes. “Just because we’re hanging out a lot, doesn’t mean anything is going on. We’re just friends,” he elaborated.

“Do you think you’ll fall for her?” Eunhyuk asked, more seriously than the others. He looked like he was expecting a serious answer, too.

“Hyung,” Kyuhyun whined. But everyone was waiting for his response. “I don’t know.” He merely shrugged. This earned him a disappointed look from Eunhyuk. Before he could even think to analyze it, he felt his mobile phone vibrate in his pocket. Fishing it out and quickly glancing at the caller ID, he smiled and answered. “Hey. We’re just having dinner.”

“Kyuhyun-ssi, it’s Sun Young.”

“Oh hey,” he greeted with a smile. He then felt confused for a second. “Why are you calling me from Jin Ri’s phone?”

“I called to ask a favor,” she started to say. “Jin Ri’s been sick these past few days and I’ve been looking after her, but I have to go somewhere tonight. Could you look after her?”

“Sure,” he told her without hesitation, standing up. “I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” He pocketed his phone. He couldn’t believe he didn’t know about Jin Ri being sick. They hadn’t been able to hang out since then because he’d gotten busy with work.

“Where are you going?” Leeteuk asked, watching the magnae grab his jacket and preparing to leave.

“Just out,” Kyuhyun answered vaguely. “I’ll call later.”

When Kyuhyun reached Jin Ri’s apartment, Sun Young was already preparing to leave. She told him where her medicines are, where the food is, how to heat it and everything else that he needed to know. She then gave him her mobile phone number just in case there was an emergency. When Sun Young had left, he quietly proceeded to Jin Ri’s room, the only room in the house he hadn’t seen.

He found Jin Ri on the bed, lying on her side, buried under the comforter. There were two boxes of tissues on her bedside table, accompanied by a couple of pillboxes and a small basin filled with water and a white cloth soaked in. He sat down on the edge of the bed and felt her forehead. She was starting to burn up. He shook his head and remembered that it was her idea to go walking in the rain as he put the wet cloth on her forehead. He also remembered her saying that she wouldn’t get sick. Smirking, he looked around her room.

It was simply decorated, all in black and white. It had white walls and black furniture. Her different cameras were placed on the table situated in the corner, her DSLRs, digital cameras, a Polaroid camera, and even a Lomography camera. Jin Ri shifted her position on the bed. He was about to turn towards her when he noticed one of the walls. Standing up, he walked over and stood in front of the wall. It was posted with about 50 photos, all using her different cameras. It seemed like photos that she had grown attached to. He saw a photo of her with Sun Young and Il Sung, grinning like three idiots. Surprisingly, there was a photo of them together; the one they took after they walked in the rain the other day. There was also a photo of him during, what seemed like, their test shoot for the Bonamana album. It was when they first met.

There was a sound of shifting on the bed. “I can’t believe Sun Young actually called you,” came Jin Ri’s weak and muffled voice.

Kyuhyun immediately turned around, feeling like he got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do. He walked over to the bed and sat down. “She’s worried about you. I’m worried about you,” he soothingly told her.

There was a moment of silence then, “Go on, say it,” she prodded him.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“I told you so,” she said, reminding him about the comment on getting sick.

He burst out laughing when he realized what she was implying. “When you feel better,” he decided. “But for now, you need to stop talking and rest.”

“Are you saying I talk a lot?” she retorted.

He chuckled. “What would it take for you to rest?”

“You’re going to do anything that I ask?” she asked cutely, smiling and attempting to flutter her lashes.

“Are you using aegyo on me?” he shot back, looking horrified. “Because, let me tell you, aegyo and sniffling do not go together.” She groaned embarrassedly and covered herself with the comforter. He laughed and tried to pull the comforter off of her face. “What do you want me to do to make you feel better?”

She uncovered herself and glared at him. “Never mind.”

“It doesn’t involve cartwheels or anything like that, right?” he ticked off, ignoring her glare and annoyed tone. “C’mon, Jin,” he pushed, smiling warmly at her. “I was just kidding.”

She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. She could never stay mad at him for long, even if it’s just pretend. “I think… how about a song?” she suggested, her eyes twinkling with anticipation. Although she would probably never admit it to his face, she was a big fan of his voice.

He nodded in agreement. “Close your eyes,” he advised soothingly and proceeded to sing the first song that came to mind.

“The heated stage, numerous lights 
The sound of my never tiring heart 
When the rhythm starts 
Everyone comes to love me 
But to me it’s just a dream 
Living in an extraordinary world 
Backstage, there’s nothing different, I’m an ordinary man 
On top of the white keyboard 
The lights shining down on me”

He stopped as she shifted on the bed, a small smile on her face. He smiled, knowing that she was falling asleep, and continued on.

“At the sound of gorgeous music 
I lose myself in it 
Inside my life that isn’t so ordinary 
You come in 
While I’m living 
Meeting you is a likelihood 
In this world I want to be 
The greatest, I want to be your man…”

Kyuhyun trailed away and stopped singing. He held his breath and glanced at Jin Ri. It relieved him to see that she was finally sleeping soundly. He quietly left the room and closed the door behind him. As he settled himself on the black couch of the living room, he stared at the wall and just blinked for a couple of seconds then he brought his phone out to call one of his hyungs.

~ * ~

The next morning, Jin Ri woke up to the sound of clanging pans and the smell of something burning. She stretched her arms and smiled. She felt much, much better this morning and she could sense she could start working properly already. Editing photos with a headache and runny nose wasn’t a pleasant experience. She was thinking of staying in bed for a while longer when she realized that the burning smell could be a sign that Kyuhyun was burning her apartment down. Hurriedly getting off the bed, she picked up her robe, put it on and almost ran towards the kitchen.

“Oh hey, Jin Ri-ssi,” a smiling Ryeowook greeted her, holding up a mug and handing it to her. “It’s not coffee,” he continued when she got the mug from him, speechless. “I noticed you didn’t have any, only hot chocolate, so it’s what I made you. Are you feeling better?” he then asked, getting back to making breakfast.

“I smelled something was burning so I thought Kyu was burning my apartment down or something,” Jin Ri blurted out, still surprised to see Ryeowook instead of Kyuhyun.

Ryeowook chuckled. “I understand only too well how that feels,” he responded. “But that is exactly why I’m here instead of him. He’s afraid he would actually burn this place down and he cares about you too much to risk that.” He laughed.

“Gee, I’m so lucky that Kyuhyun decided to be nice today of all days,” she replied, chuckling as well, as she sat down on one of the chairs. “So what are you making?” she asked, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

“How do you feel about Korean and American breakfast today?” he offered, glancing back at her. 

“Sounds good,” she excitedly answered, grinning.

Once he had laid out all the food on the kitchen counter, they both started eating. Ryeowook watched as Jin Ri seemed to eat everything at once.

“Don’t forget to breathe,” he teased.

“Everything just tastes so good,” she gushed, not stopping to eat like a crazy person. “Thank you, Ryeowook-ssi! Let me know what I can do to make it up to you.”

He chuckled. “Please, enough with the formalities,” he requested. She smiled and nodded. “But there is something you can do for me,” he went on, looking at her, suddenly serious.

“Anything,” she encouraged him, putting her utensils down to pay attention to what he was going to say.

“It’s none of my business and I don’t really know what’s going on, but…” He paused and looked at her in the eye. “I hope you don’t do anything to hurt Kyuhyun. I haven’t seen him as happy before he had you in his life. I don’t know what it is, but please don’t take it away from him.”

Jin Ri felt like she had no choice but to promise. “I’ll do my best,” she assured him. But deep inside, she somehow felt she was going to break that promise one way or another.


***The song title is I Am from their Don't Don album, just in case you didn't know, which I doubt. :))