au: blind!wook

It was Sungmin who first introduced Jongwoon to Ryeowook. Sungmin had been best friends with the younger man for as long as he could remember and they were rooming together in an apartment in the middle of the city (Ryeowook said that he liked the sounds of the hustle and bustle around him and refused to live anywhere else). One day, Sungmin came bursting in through the door early – he normally didn’t get off of his job at a local bakery until a little after six – and he was dragging a confused-looking Jongwoon with him.

Ryeowook was sitting at their piano, staring straight ahead as his fingers danced over the keys, filling the air around him with a passionate song that had a hint of melancholy laced between the notes. Sungmin glanced over at Jongwoon and shook his head slightly.

“I’ll let him finish first, then introduce you. He doesn’t really play much anymore, so I don’t like interrupting him when he does,” he whispered, then dashed off to the kitchen, mumbling something about setting out dinner for the three of them.

Jongwoon was left to stand awkwardly in the doorway, his eyes floating around the room, trying to find something to land on. Rather unconsciously, he found himself staring at the figure at the piano.

Ryeowook was small. He wasn’t very tall and he was thin and he was wearing an oversized, fluffy, white sweater that only made him look thinner. He had these ridiculously skinny wrists and long pianist fingers that seemed to float just slightly above the keys of the piano, never staying still for very long. His dark red hair was messy like he had just gotten out of bed but in a flattering way and it seemed to frame his face perfectly (Jongwoon smiled a little at the color, knowing that Sungmin must have talked him into dying it; the aegyo prince had talked him into dying his hair blonde a couple weeks earlier.). His jawline was striking and his cheekbones were so pronounced and there was even, he noticed with a soft noise of fascination, a small freckle on the left side of his top lip.

Ryeowook stopped playing mid-note.

“Sungmin hyung?”

Jongwoon felt his eyes widen in surprise when he heard that voice; he hadn’t been expecting it to be so clear and relaxing, but he immediately found himself wanting to hear it again.

“Sungmin hyung?” Ryeowook repeated, slowly pushing the piano bench back and standing up, reaching out for the edge of the couch as he took a couple steps forward.

The man in question dashed into the room when he heard his name. “I’m here, Wook! Sorry, I came home a little early because I brought someone to meet you! His name’s Jongwoon! He just started working at the bakery with me last week! I’ve told you about him, remember?” Sungmin grabbed his hyung’s arm, pulling him further into the room.

“Oh. It’s nice to meet you, Jongwoon. I’m Ryeowook!” The younger man smiled brightly and held out his hand; Jongwoon blinked in surprise when he found that Ryeowook was not facing him, but moved to gently take his hand, shaking it anyway.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he responded, his voice soft. “Um, you’re a really good pianist and…” He trailed off when he finally had the courage to meet Ryeowook’s steady gaze and found himself staring into two cloudy brown eyes.

“Sungmin hyung, is dinner ready?” Ryeowook asked suddenly, letting go of Jongwoon’s hand and turning slightly to his left.

“Yeah, I was just about to come get you!”

Ryeowook quickly corrected himself, turning to the right instead when he heard Sungmin’s voice, and began to walk toward his hyung. “Sweet and sour chicken?”

“Uh-huh! I picked some up on the way home!” Sungmin grabbed Ryeowook’s arm, waving at Jongwoon to follow them. “I didn’t want to cook today.”

Jongwoon trailed after the pair slowly, feeling something tug at his heart; he couldn’t get those eyes out of his mind.

---

The first time they kissed was sloppy and shy.

Sungmin had been bringing Jongwoon over several nights a week for dinner after work for a while; Ryeowook had quickly become friends with him and enjoyed the days that he came the most. This night, Sungmin decided that they needed something good for dessert and left them alone, saying he’d be back as soon as he’d bought some ice cream from the store down the street.

Ryeowook was sitting next to Jongwoon on the couch, playing with his fingers, his head bent. “Um, hyung…”

Jongwoon smiled softly, gently sliding his hand over to rest on Ryeowook’s knee; he felt the younger man tense up and suddenly wondered if he was doing the wrong thing. He paused for a second to gather a bit of courage, then put his hand under his dongsaeng’s chin, turning it slowly so that he could see those perfect, sharp features. Both started to lean forward at the same time and their noses bumped against each other and Ryeowook ended up with his lips pressed against the very corner of Jongwoon’s. He blushed furiously and pulled backwards, embarrassed and rather convinced that they would not be trying that again, thank you very much. But Jongwoon just laughed softly, patiently cupping Ryeowook’s cheeks in his hands and holding him still as he tilted his head and pressed their lips together, letting them move together, slowly and hesitantly but full of raw emotion.

When they parted, Ryeowook mumbled something about being sorry and Jongwoon ruffled that red hair that he liked so much, smiling. “Don’t worry about it. It was a perfect first kiss.”

Ryeowook turned the color of his hair but smiled when Jongwoon’s deep laugh filled his ears.

---

Sungmin was the first to find out they were dating.

They told him one night when Jongwoon had come over for dinner, and had both been surprised at the way Sungmin started giggling.

“That’s why I introduced Jongwoon hyung to you in the first place, Wook!” he sputtered out around his laughter. “I thought you two would be perfect together!”

Ryeowook had blushed and his boyfriend had smiled, holding his hand gently.

Later that night, after Sungmin had gone out for wine with a good friend of his, the pair sat on Ryeowook’s bed facing each other. The younger slowly reached out until his fingertips bumped against Jongwoon’s chest, then he ran his fingers up to the older man’s face. He traced the outline of Jongwoon’s nose and lips and eyes and cheekbones and hairline and even his ears before he crawled into his boyfriend’s lap.

Jongwoon carefully wrapped his arms around his dongsaeng, resting his cheek on top of his mess of red hair. “What was that?”

“I was memorizing your face,” Ryeowook muttered, his cheeks tinged red in embarrassment. “Since I can’t see it, I want to know it by touch.”

It was the first time Jongwoon had ever heard Ryeowook acknowledge what he’d noticed the first day they met and it made his heart clench up a little. He brought his hand up, beginning to run his fingers over the younger man’s features slowly, squeezing his eyes shut.

“What are you doing?” Ryeowook’s voice was full of surprise and confusion.

“I want to know you by touch too,” Jongwoon replied softly, and suddenly he felt a tear hit his finger. “Ryeowook?”

“You’re the only one that’s ever…ever…”

Jongwoon held the small figure close, rubbing his hand up and down his back as he cried, and he wondered how many times Ryeowook had had his heart broken and made up his mind to never let anyone ever hurt him ever again.

---

Sungmin smiled when he found the pair curled up together after he got home early the next morning. “I knew he’d be the one for Wook,” he said softly to himself, smiling. “After all these years, I knew he’d be the one to look past the cloudy eyes.”