Chapter Three

 If there was something Kyuhyun really enjoyed doing on a Sunday morning, it was jogging. The weather would be warm yet cool enough as for his body to require a tracksuit, and the way sunlight crept through the branches of the trees to break the chilly atmosphere that graced the streets of the city was so relaxing and reinvigorating that it usually provided Kyuhyun the energy he would need for the whole week.

 But that was when he lived abroad.

 While living back in Korea everything has been feeling different so far. The weather was way colder than he has thought and his frozen muscles complained when he attempted to do a short jog around the block. It was like the air held ice daggers within its properties and at each gust of wind Kyuhyun would feel his exposed skin getting pierced by them. Kyuhyun was a believer that jogging in the cold was even better than in sunny weathers because this prevented your pores from transpiring too much, but that was too much itself. Instead of regaining his energy, he was more like wasting the remaining bit of it trying to fight the cold. That wouldn’t do.

 That’s why Kyuhyun ran back home to seek refuge under the comfortable and warm shelter of his apartment in less than ten minutes after having left it in the gelid morning. Stepping out from his running shoes and turning on the heater as soon as he closed the door of his place behind him, Kyuhyun left out a long sigh and decided that maybe he should go for eating cereal and watching TV under his fluffy covers instead of exercising his body today. Korea was making him change his habits already and it hasn’t been even three weeks since he came back. That was worrisome.

 Another worrisome thing Kyuhyun has been thinking about rather often was the fact that he couldn’t get the encounter he had with his cousin, Lee Hyukjae, out of his mind ever since he went visiting his parents’ house nearly two weekends ago. It was strange how he kept mulling over the passages of that night, the moment his cousin arrived in there and first talked to him plus their second time talking under the porch playing on repeat inside his head for some reason.

 At first Kyuhyun thought that he was just puzzled by that reclusive personality the other had and got intrigued by it, thought that would surely explain why he insisted on trying to figure Hyukjae’s standoffish behavior out, what simply exemplified how his curiosity was having the best on him. And that was it, curiosity. However, the more he wondered about that matter, the more he suspected that it wasn’t only about curiosity at all. Kyuhyun sensed that he was yet quite far from discovering what that sudden interest of his towards his cousin was all about, but that didn’t work on stopping his assumptions about the topic. If anything, it simply slowed things a bit.

 Hyukjae was something close to a mystery to Kyuhyun and the latter unhelpfully felt the necessity of solving him out. It didn’t have anything to do with Hyukjae, if he came to convince himself about it. The problem was the sense of unknown and newness that the boy represented with his defensive posture towards their relatives and the way he would make use of sarcasm and rudeness to pry away anyone who tried to approach him. Kyuhyun was a proud person and he knew that his ego wouldn’t stop pushing himself to take measures about that threat to his pride until he succeeded on figuring the intriguing puzzle his cousin was. It was all about his own pride in the end. Not about the restlessness Hyukjae’s crooked smirk has provoked on him that night. Yeah, not at all.

 There was absolutely nothing interesting on TV that freezing morning so Kyuhyun forced himself to watch the News channel while munching on his cereal. His legs were crossed over his bed and the thick blanket that covered them up until his waist worked on warming his recently-exposed-to-a-freaking-cold-weather body just fine. The News reported something about the global crisis the market was facing and how their country was being affected by it, some economists explaining the reasons behind the instable economy and debating idealistic ideas about what they should do to revert the financial disaster most of countries were earthed up in. They believed the events now being seen unfolded would drive the world back into global recession and Kyuhyun caught himself thinking about it for a while as he slipped off the bed to put the now empty bowl of cereal back in the kitchen.

 When Kyuhyun lived abroad he could already get a glimpse of the detrimental situation the world was stuck at when it came to finances and the “growth” economy that hinted its collapse each day more alarmingly. The market was falling apart because of the undeniable new era of bank failures, credit crunches, private defaults and massive layoffs the majority of the countries has buried themselves into, and the imminent increase on the lack of employment it had indirectly caused has become even more worrisome now. There were practically no jobs nowadays and Kyuhyun had felt assured while living abroad since he still had a job he could depend himself on, but now that he was starting a new life in another country he was left to wonder.

 It would be pretty hard to be employed while the ruckus in the global economy kept going strong like it was currently doing. Kyuhyun should consider asking his father for a job in their company if he wanted to keep on supplying himself some basic needs, but the proud side of his persona insisted on hating the idea of indirectly receiving financial stability from his parents again. He wanted to be independent though that proved to be tough sometimes. Well, it wasn’t like he had much choice besides that one, anyway. You cannot make an omelet without breaking the eggs, or so they say. Kyuhyun would have to swallow up his pride this time if he really wanted to keep on bringing some bread to the table, being that situation as shameful as it could be.

 There was a cartoon streaming on TV when Kyuhyun came back from the kitchen and he stared at it for a few minutes before deciding that he didn’t like it at all, his hands searching for the remote control through the cluttered blankets and turning the TV off when they found it. Since his matinal jogging was ruined by the weather and he had this new goal of unwillingly asking his father for a job later, the brunet considered his morning routine as done and slipped back inside the covers to take a short nap before going to visit his parents’ house in the afternoon.

 As he made himself comfortable on the bed, the sudden thought about him possibly meeting his cousin again that afternoon due to the affairs he would be solving with his father awkwardly made a thrill travel up his spine in near excitement, feeling which he forcefully pushed to the back of his mind in a failed attempt of forgetting about it. In the end, Kyuhyun dozed off while helplessly wondering how this new encounter between him and Hyukjae could be.

 The loud, amiable laugh Mr. Cho lunged out filled the room and Kyuhyun forced a tiny smile at that reaction. They were facing each other from across the oak wooden desk that owned almost an entire half of the small office the patriarch held inside one of the rooms his house afforded, Kyuhyun informally seated on one of the twins cushioned armchairs that surrounded the desk while regarding how his father slowly put the newspaper he had in hands aside to openly study him with his arms crossed above the furniture.

 Kyuhyun had just expressed his necessity of finding a job before bringing himself to politely ask for a situation on the company their family owned and the older man laughed. That wasn’t the most of a pleasant reaction but Kyuhyun couldn’t say he hasn’t actually considered this kind of scenario during his ride there. He couldn’t say he hasn’t felt annoyance rise on his system because of that either.

“Son,” Mr. Cho started with a soft voice and gave out a few more chuckles before coming to properly finish his speech. “I can’t give you something that is already yours.”

 For a moment Kyuhyun only allowed his ears to hear the negative form of the sentence and he was already thinking about ways to humiliate himself even more as to try convincing his father that he could do a good job if the latter gave him a chance, but a few fractions of seconds later his brain finally absorbed those words and interpreted them as they should, his brow soon wrinkling in confusion as he thought about that statement. “What do you mean ‘already yours’? The company is obviously yours, dad, it’s not mine.”

“It’s a family company, Kyuhyun, therefore it belongs to the three of us and the subsequent relatives we’re going to have throughout the years. I’m only taking care of it because I’m the most experienced in the area, that’s all.”

“I don’t want to be benefited like that.” The brunet mumbled in a quiet tone while absentmindedly twiddling his fingers above his lap. “I mean, wouldn’t it be already too unfair me earning money by taking advantage of our relationship without even working in there?”

“Who said you won’t need to work in there to receive your salary?”

“You didn’t say it yet, but I know you enough as to deduce how we’d be just going through this way in no time.” The amused and slightly guilty grin that showed on his father’s face was a clear confirmation for his previous assumption so Kyuhyun simply allowed another tiny smile to spread across his lips. “I want to deserve this money, dad, I want to work to earn it.”

“You can work from home,” the elder tried, his tone calm and passive to fight the contradicted pout which slowly rose to Kyuhyun’s rosy lips, “it still counts as working, right? I’ll give you a computer and you can give us some assistance through it. What about that?”

 Kyuhyun wasn’t satisfied with that arrangement. Actually, he hated every part of it because he had just gone past his pride’s limits and asked his father for a job and the man was still politely rejecting it by sending to work from home, just like saying they didn’t need him in the company’s actual properties. That was annoying, Kyuhyun felt like he was useless even though his father was still offering a position for him right now. However, there wasn’t much he could do about that other than swallowing what left from his broken pride and raising his head as though he was considering the offer with sincere care.

 After what probably was like ten seconds or so, Kyuhyun sighed tiredly as the pout he carried on his mouth slowly morphed into a resigned line of pursed lips. “I buy the computer.”

 Mr. Cho chuckled heatedly before nodding his head. “Alright. What kind of job are you interested in applying for, then? Do you perhaps have some kind of background in Engineering?”

“You know I can do math. That first place in Mathematical Olympiad can prove my point.” Kyuhyun bluntly boasted while crossing his legs one above the other, a triumphant smirk plastered on his lips as he remembered both his father and himself from that glorious moment of his life where he was practically proved to be an ascending genius through an Olympiad his old school held. Yeah, in that whole mathematical and logical aspect he was feeling confident; numbers were his and he even had receipts. But it did happen that his father wasn’t having any of it because the look on his face was one that stated how fed up he was with that bragging about Kyuhyun came with, what caused the superior smirk the brunet had to fade away in a blink o eyes.

“Engineering isn’t just math, Kyuhyun. Actually, it’s way too far from being only that.” That wasn’t a real scold but Kyuhyun felt like he was under a serious reprimand, his scrunched lips producing a bigger pout than the one he produced before as he glanced up the way his father was looking at him with such a condescending and comprehensive stare. It was that kind of stare people used to throw at their children during a scold and Kyuhyun didn’t like being treated as such. He hated it.

“I know it isn’t, I know. But since I’m good at math, there must be something for me to help out in there, right? Like helping on calculating something while the engineers do their… Engineering stuff or whatever.”

“Kyuhyun-”

“Just one chance, dad! I’m not even asking for two, it’s just one!” Kyuhyun practically whined and it sounded so humiliating that his ego almost cracked inside. He should be really desperate to go that far, nearly begging a job to his father even though he has been fervourly struggling to be independent for the past six years. That made his hushed departure to another country which aim consisted on upgrading his studies and this way becoming more successful and independent completely inutile. The fact that he couldn’t quite take a hold of his own life even now was frustrating. And shameful, in Kyuhyun’s perspective.

 Mr. Cho pursed his lips lightly as seemingly giving that a deeper thought. The reluctance was still written all over his countenance and Kyuhyun could notice how his father didn’t understand that desire of his of working in their company instead of just taking advantage of the fact that he was able to use as much as he wanted from their family’s bank account. Maybe they hadn’t been together enough as for his father to know that he wasn’t that kind of person. Kyuhyun couldn’t blame him, though. It was him the one who went abroad in such an early age in first place. It was comprehensible that his father assumed such thing about him, Kyuhyun wasn’t disappointed. He was giving his best not to be.

“Alright, ok. If that’s what you want, you can start on Monday.” Mr. Cho at least said, earning a satisfied grin from Kyuhyun right then. “I presume you also want a lower position than the CEO one I was planning to grace you with?”

“Exactly, I don’t want anything like that. A position where I can earn a minimum wage is already enough. Thank you, dad.”

 The older man nodded defeated, a warm smile appearing on his thin lips as he picked up the newspaper from the desk once again to flip through its pages as though assuming that their conversation would be over after that. The brunet smiled to himself. His financial problem was solved and he didn’t need to crack his brain to find a way to deal with the bills of his new arranged apartment anymore. Everything was good when it ended alright.

 Rays of sunlight pecked through the blinds and Kyuhyun stared at them for a while before coming to watch his father immersing himself on those news of the newspaper. There was still a question dancing over his tongue, a question that could actually be considered the main point of his visit there if he weren’t so proud as to confess that to himself. Kyuhyun didn’t want to ask it, he was trying hard not to, but it was like his mouth was running dry as he kept that inside. It was such an unsettling feeling to be felt, that’s why the brunet soon found himself shifting uncomfortably on his seat and clearing his throat as to call his father’s attention once again. As soon as Mr. Cho raised his eyes from the stack of printed papers to lay them on his son, the latter blurted it out in a single huff of breath. “Is Hyukjae still here?”

 Mr. Cho looked dreadful surprised and confused by that sudden change of subject and Kyuhyun silently cursed himself as wondering if he has been too straightforward with that direct question. Maybe he should have asked where his mother is and consequently tried to find a way of linking it with whether Hyukjae was still living with them. Asking about the cousin he barely knows seemed quite suspicious somehow, it’d have been wiser if he had disguised it a bit. All in all, it was already done now and the quizzical look his father was now throwing at him from across the oak desk just stated so.

“Hyukjae? Your cousin?,” after receiving a kind of stiffened nod, Mr. Cho hummed lowly in what could be defined as amusement if Kyuhyun wasn’t too focused on keeping his face impassive to notice, “He is. Just went out with your mother to buy food.”

“I see.” That was the most Kyuhyun managed to answer with before moving on his seat as though ants kept on biting his on the chair. So Hyukjae was still there. Kyuhyun wondered how much time the guy would stay, secretly hoping that it would be about quite a long time even though not being sure of why. Maybe he just wanted to know his cousin better and that’s all. It was probably just that. He shouldn’t think too much about it, anyway.

 Kyuhyun belatedly noticed how his father was curiously observing him from across the desk and cleared his throat rather awkwardly before standing up from his seat and throwing a wry smile towards the elder, an uncomfortable feeling of restlessness taking over his fingertips under the studying gaze he was being dedicated. “Well, I’m… coming back, then. Tell mom I came.”

“I will. Take care, son, and send my greetings to your girlfriend. She’s really sweet, you’re a lucky guy.” Mr. Cho said and drafted a warm smile with his dry lips, to which Kyuhyun quickly answered with a matching one before nodding and turning around to leave the office.

 One simple ‘take care you too, dad.’ was everything Kyuhyun said while briefly standing by the wooden door and then he was gone, the said door closing behind his back as he left with his thoughts running around about when would he have a another chance to meet his cousin instead of smartly thinking about why his father was suddenly bringing Halla to their conversation right after he had expressed his interest regarding Hyukjae’s state.

 Apparently Mrs. Cho had arrived home just an hour after Kyuhyun had left because as soon as he put one foot inside his apartment again, a melodious ringtone played in a loud volume and filled the whole place within a second. Looking at the name displaying on the bright screen of his cell phone as throwing himself over the large leather couch placed on a corner of the living room, Kyuhyun then swept his thumb across the lightened up surface and brought the device close to his ear, answering the incoming call right away. “Hello, mom.”

“Hey, baby, how are you?,” Mrs. Cho’s voice echoed through the line and Kyuhyun smiled softy at the sweet tone she was using to speak with him as though he was a small kid. Maybe he still was one in her eyes, anyway. “I just arrived home and your dad told me you dropped by here earlier?”

“I’m fine and yes I did. I went to talk to him about work.” The still warm and vivid sunlight which covered the whole city was entering the room through the nearest window and it upsettingly hit Kyuhyun’s right eye so he shifted on his spot a little as to avoid being blinded by it any further. There was a brief silence on the other end of the call and that was hint enough as for Kyuhyun to sense his mother was frowning at the new piece of information she got, likely because she still was unaware of his necessity of being employed.

“About work? Are you in need of any help or maybe advices on something? Is that why you went to talk to him about work? To get knowledge of some sort?”

“Kinda.” Kyuhyun agreed as chewing onto his lower lip, not really sure of why he was omitting from her the fact he actually went to beg for a position on their family’s company to his father but opting for doing it even so. He didn’t want her to worry too much nor pamper and shower him with everything she thinks he would need in his actual condition, and that’s exactly what would happen if he just let her know he was in search of a job so he could keep up living by his own, thing that instantly brought an unsettling feeling to Kyuhyun’s chest. He wanted to be independent and receiving that overwhelming care from his mother wouldn’t be the right path to follow in order to achieve it. Therefore, he chose to keep it to himself until the time he’d be forced to spit it all out comes. Or until his father speaks up about it with his mother. Whatever comes first.

There was another pause, this time around on which Kyuhyun heard a faint voice on the background through the line and then his mother’s voice replying something to it, the woman soon redirecting her attention back to the phone with a long sigh. Kyuhyun didn’t pay much attention to it, though. “I see. And did he manage to help you with that?”

“Yes, yes, we already solved it up. Dad was very helpful.”

“Hum, I’m glad, then. Is there something mommy can do to help you as well? Are you eating well? Do you need mommy to cook something delicious for you and send it to you?”

 Kyuhyun released a helpless chuckle before resting his head against the couch backrest and allowing his eyelids to fall shut. “I’m eating well, there’s no need to worry about that, mom. I’m missing your macaroni casserole with cheese, though.”

“Ohhh, then I’ll cook it for you! I’ll cook it tomorrow, for lunch, so you can drop by again and see me! It’s not fair when you only meet your father and leave before meeting me as well. So, tomorrow. Come. I’ll cook.”

 There was another chuckle leaving Kyuhyun’s thin lips as soon as his mother finished beaming towards the idea of both cooking him something and seeing him again the next day, a warm feeling embracing his insides almost instantly because how much he has missed this pampering side of the woman when he was still living abroad, and he only came to slowly release it right now. She had always loved to cook him meals and watch him eating it up with an almost intimidating, embarrassing look of anticipation shining in her eyes, waiting for his reaction regarding the food to come and not really doing something to actually disguise the hope that cornered her dark orbs as she awaited compliments. Kyuhyun wasn’t one to turn that hopeful look down, he was in fact way far away from doing such (mostly because he did love his mother’s cooking after all), so he would often say that she had golden hands and shower the petite elder with a bunch of kudos, what would bring the most beautiful smiles to stretch her dry lips in satisfaction and Kyuhyun simply adored it.

 Kyuhyun guessed it may have been hard on his mother these years he hadn’t been around to appreciate her food as much as he did before, while younger. He could only feel apologetic towards it therefore his heart deeply refused the idea of declining the invite for lunch his mother was throwing at him through the phone, he soon and then finding his own throat nearly automatically humming an affirmative out as he stretched his legs which hang from the edge of the couch forward, feeling his blood circulation reaching all the muscles that had been previously deprived from such thing due to the bending of his legs.

 A not very discreet squeal reverberated through the phone a few seconds after his positive response about the invite to eat in – it hasn’t been discreet at all, actually – and Kyuhyun breathed a laugh once he heard his mother screaming away from the phone to someone Kyuhyun assumed to be standing by a shared room or something as close as that, probably and most likely to his father as to announce that he was dropping by tomorrow, a faint hum in the background being enough for Kyuhyun to confirm his assumptions. A moment later and then Mrs. Cho was directing her attention to the phone for the third time and Kyuhyun could practically hear the smile on her voice as she spoke once again. “I’m so happy! I’ll put my whole effort into it, so you better don’t eat too much tonight to spare his stomach for tomorrow.”

 The brunet smiled softly to the phone before humming again in a not really intended noncommittal way, which got him a few whines from the woman since she grounded him for not being as excited about it as she was. Between the pouty words Mrs. Cho dissertated through the line, Kyuhyun was sure he could hear someone speaking very softly on the background again as though asking her more questions for a while, to which her spared much to none attention as she kept ranting about Kyuhyun caring so little about their encounter. At first, he thought that it was his father again, perhaps asking about what time Kyuhyun was going to arrive in there the day after, but after a few more seconds paying attention to the intruding voice which mixed slightly with his mother’s ones, Kyuhyun noticed it was way soother and less raspy that his father’s one.

“It’s not like I’m not willing to go, mom, you know that,” Kyuhyun sighed after a few more moments seeking gaps on her mother’s rant as to speak up about the matter for once, not entirely forgetting the foreign voice in the back of the call which would keep mumbling questions now and again without being properly answered nor given much attention. “If it was like you’re making it look like, I wouldn’t have even accepted to drop by there tomorrow again. I’m really looking forward to seeing you again, I swear I do. I miss you and you also know that.”

“Aww, my babyyyy, I miss you tooooo,” Mrs. Cho chanted suddenly, his voice all honey and sweet one more time, to which Kyuhyun couldn’t help but scoff playfully at. She just needed some pampering in the end, then. “About tomorrow, are you coming alone or is your girlfriend coming along?”

“How am I supposed to know? You’ve just invited me, mom, it’s not like she’s here beside me so I can ask her right away. I can ask her later if you want her to go along, but I think she’ll be working tomorrow.”

“Oh, yes, yes, alright. Ask her later, just in case. We don’t want to look impolite by not even asking her to drop by before she could decline us first, right? Let’s be polite and invite her in, too.”

“Yeah, because we can’t just let another opportunity of cornering her with the baby-making topic to slip away like that.”

“Right, we can’t.” Mrs. Cho agreed in a light yet playfully tone and both of them laughed shortly, Kyuhyun rolling his eyes even though no one but him could actually see the gesture. There was a louder rustle on the background and then the third voice was heard once more, appearing more insisting this time around since Mrs. Cho finally gave in and turned her attention to answer whatever it was to the other person before coming back with some sort of a breath chuckle leading her words. “… Seriously.”

“What is it?,” Kyuhyun then asked when the scene repeated itself for another time after a really short period of time, unable to hold in his crescent curiosity about whom his mother was talking to anymore. “Who are you talking to besides me? I keep hearing someone in the back asking stuff and you replying to it, I’m getting jealous, you know?”

“Aww, how lovely is my baby,” his mother replied and he found himself rolling his eyes to the nothingness again, a soft smile curving his lips upwards even so. “Ah, it’s just your cousin who keeps bothering me while I’m on the phone, this child.”

 Damn it if Kyuhyun didn’t just struggled to suppress an involuntary gasp to leave his mouth at the mere mention of his cousin, a foreign feeling of anxiety building up in the bottom of his stomach as though he had just hopped in a racing car and was driving through his last lap to win first place. Kyuhyun didn’t know why he got so nervous that suddenly but he surely got angry at himself for feeling that way, too.

“Is he still there? I thought he had already left by then.” Kyuhyun asked nonchalantly as though he hadn’t just asked his father about Hyukjae’s whereabouts and stuff when he had been there in the man’s office a few hours earlier, his voice impressively sounding rather calm through it all and making him congratulate himself silently for that.

“Yes, well, he didn’t tell how much he would be with us, anyways. But I’m glad he’s here, he accompanies me to the supermarket, and teases me and makes me laugh, just as you used to when you were younger. Actually, he kind of reminds me of you.”

 Kyuhyun moved on his spot very subtly, crossing his legs one above the other in order to keep them from swaying around as anxiously as they were doing. “Really? He might be really cool, then.”

“He is. The only difference is that this brat has this habit of walking around after showering. It really disturbs your father, but I find it very funny. He was asking me about his boxers just now, he said that he can’t find it anywhere but I’m sure it is on the washing machine. He is really like a child.”

 Kyuhyun felt a lump form on his throat after hearing such revelation but he schooled his reactions well and the most of a response he gave to his mother at that moment was a weak laugh, only to follow the way she started chortling as though watching something very amusing by her side. It didn’t take much for Kyuhyun to notice that the woman was likely laughing at Hyukjae, who was somewhere near there, because he heard that voice again and, now knowing to whom it belonged, tried to suppress the nervous biting of lips he was sure he would start to do so soon.

 If he actually thought about that with an impartial mind, he would sure find not that awkward to be right now imagining how a Hyukjae searching for his boxers around the house would look like, since it had been his mother to firstly bring up the matter and it was kind of expected from him to imagine it, being it to make fun of the situation along his mother or just to be engrossed by it as much as she said his father would be every time Hyukjae showed himself off like that. Either way, there was no room for thinking about the whole picture of it with the intents of admiring it somehow or like entertaining the idea of actually witnessing it one day; or rather, it shouldn’t there be.

 But the idea seemed so tempting to at least be slight humored that Kyuhyun threw some of his out of the window and pictured a Hyukjae wandering around his parents’ house, his mind strangely (or not very much so) doesn’t having a problem on remembering the lines of those muscles the other’s arms owned, which were exposed by that sleeveless shirt he wore the night they met. Well damn, his mind didn’t have a problem imagining what he couldn’t see from his cousin’s body that night too, but that was another field to adventure himself in; too dangerous lands still. Better keep up with the arms even though the main point of imagining someone’s nudeness in full was about thinking about very different body parts and lower muscles. Whatever. It was better not to be even thinking about his cousin, another man, just so out of a sudden like that. Blame his mindless mother, though.

“Why are you telling people about my privacy, woman?!” A reprehensible voice streamed on the background once more, this time sufficiently loud for Kyuhyun to hear it and the brunet couldn’t help being pulled back from his stray thoughts rather harshly, a gust of breath threatening to leave his lungs as he strangely felt like he was being caught in thinking about things he clearly shouldn’t just by hearing Hyukjae’s voice through the phone. Damn, Kyuhyun didn’t know what was suddenly so wrong with him, there was even a ing headache creeping its way to his brain right now. “Who is it?!”

“Go dress yourself!” Mrs. Cho retorted to the other person in a commanding tone, coming back to talk with her son right after. “So, I’ll wait for you tomorrow for lunch, ok? Take care, son, I’m hanging up now. Oh, and call me more often or else I’ll go there and show all the photos of you as a child to your girlfriend!”

 There was no time for Kyuhyun to express some kind of drained reaction because seconds after his mother finished talking, Hyukjae’s voice made itself heard again, causing the brunet to hold his breath as the words were being pronounced by that person. “Is it Kyu?! Seriously, why are you telling him that I walk around nake-”

 The line went dead and Kyuhyun limited himself on blinking while several beeps were being showered on his ear. He didn’t have the chance to greet goodbye back to his mother through the phone, but that was actually whatever because he wasn’t actually thinking about it at the moment. His thoughts were quite away from that actually. Kyu. He shouldn’t be feeling so uneasily disturbed just because of his cousin’s voice, neither by the nickname the er addressed him with, but there was something on the way the latter said it through the back of the phone call that caused an incessant feel of restlessness on him.

Kyuhyun slowly pressed a button on his cell phone and ended the previous call, resting the object right by his side on the couch. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, his mind working on so many things at the same time that he could only stand there while frowning softly. Kyu. What the actual .

[Author’s Note]

Hiiiii~

Uh, I’m sorry this chapter took so long and came so ty and boring like this. I guess I wasn’t that motivated while writing it, and college started again, and I’ve been busy and moody, sooo yeah. I still wanted to give you all an update, though, so tadammmm. I pinky promise to greet you guys with a more interesting update next time, okay? I’ll try hard~ Ah, I’m also working on some new oneshots/fanfictions meanwhile and I’m really eager to show them to all of you soon, then anticipate :) Thank you for reading.