A Friend’s Promise

A strong gust of freezing wind blew the black cap off the top of his head as he was walking a sidewalk, chilling his face first with its biting cold air and prickling its way down to his neck to eventually spread down to his covered torso, causing his bones to shiver from within. His body instinctively shook with the cold nipping at his bare face, so he did his best to shield himself by wrapping the scarf he’d draped around his shoulders loosely this morning closer to his face, snuggling his cheeks against the warmth of the wool.

It was technically still fall, but winter was edging its way into the city with temperatures vastly dropping during the beginning of the week. The sun was hidden by grey clouds that threatened to let loose possible snow at any given moment. It was the weekend and he was shopping for a present to gift to a close friend that he had made in the past few months.

Of course, his birthday had recently passed too, which was only a few days ago. His close friends had held a surprise birthday party, presenting him with many gifts and a birthday cake especially designed by them which only made him laugh because of the ludicrous amounts of icing and candy that had been placed on top.

Although it had been his birthday, and he had been honored to have friends that sacrificed their own time to give him a surprise party, rather than enjoy his surprise birthday party, he had spent a majority of his attention focused on a young friend who still seemed down in the dumps without Changsub hanging at his side to make him laugh. The memory surfaced in his mind’s eye as he recalled how Sungjae had clung to him that afternoon after being told that Changsub had resigned his position as a trainee under Cube and left to pursue his dream on his own terms.

The flash of sadness that had reflected in his eyes that day had stayed with Eunkwang since then, leaving him with an urge to get ahold of his friend Changsub and beg him to come back, but he did not, knowing that his best friend needed time to himself to figure things out alone . Before Changsub had left that day, he had advised him to keep an eye out on Sungjae for him, mentioning how Sungjae had become dependent on him recently and was worried how he would takes the news. Eunkwang had never told Sungjae about it though knowing that it would only hurt him more. Being Changsub’s best friend for a better part of his life, he could tell that Changsub held Sungjae close to his heart, specifically because he had told him to take care of him on his behalf. He had never done that before for anyone since he known him, so naturally Eunkwang knew that Sungjae was a special person for Changsub.

Several weeks had pass since then and Eunkwang had kept his promise of watching over Sungjae but it became clearer everyday as the weeks passed by that he was no substitute for Changsub in Sungjae’s eyes. Sungjae invariably hid his pain behind a smiling facade whenever he was around a crowd, but Eunkwang saw his mask slip on numerous occasions when Sungjae was unaware he was being watched.

A massive weight was pushed against his shoulder and Eunkwang blinked back to the present, stumbling back a little in surprise. A young gentleman walked past him, giving a rude stare and muttering under his breath while shaking his head at him.

Eunkwang suddenly became alert that he had been standing in a daze with onlookers walking by, gawking and complaining at him for not moving out of their way, while he’d been busily recalling the sole reason he had come to visit the town he was currently in. Eunkwang bowed several times apologetically for his behavior and finally bent down to retrieve his fallen cap, gingerly placing it on his head to make sure it would not fall again. He glanced around, looking for a particular street he’d been told would lead him to the location he was heading to. He was completely lost in a town he only knew because his friend lived here. Suwon. The hometown to his best friend, Changsub.

He’d come to shop for a gift of course, but that was secondary to what he had purposely came here for. It had been awhile since he had last visited and hoped he wasn’t imposing on his friend and family but he felt it was time to confront his friend with his hasty decision to leave Cube. He’d given Changsub enough time to process his choice and Eunkwang felt it was necessary to voice his objection to his radical decision now.

An hour later, after finding the perfect gift for his new friend, Minhyuk, he arrived at his destination. He rung the bell once and patiently waited for someone to answer the door. A few seconds passed and the door was swung opened by a petite middle-aged woman with short wavy hair and a face that resembled his close friend.

“Hello Eunkwang, what a pleasure to see you here. Are you here to see Changsub?” Changsub’s mom asked politely as she held the door open, inviting him in. Eunkwang nodded his head and walked in while bowing.

“Changsub! Your friend is here to see you! “ she yelled across the living area. “He’s been practising in his room everyday after school and on weekends. He has an audition soon at a prestigious school coming up and he is very nervous about the outcome,” his mother explained. Eunkwang nodded his head again, smiling politely.

Changsub waltz into the living room, his hair unbrushed with his hands placed in the pockets of his sweats. He looked at his mom and then at Eunkwang, who stood beside her with a large smile on his face and his hands held together in front. Upon seeing Eunkwang’s presence, his eyes enlarged at his surprise visit.

“Is everything okay back at the dorms?” he asked Eunkwang nervously.

Eunkwang nodded his head and then looked at Changsub’s mom. Changsub understanding his friend, grabbed Eunkwang by his arm and started leading him back to his room. “Mom, we’ll be in my room if you need anything.”

As Eunkwang entered his room, he noted a mess of paper, probably school work scattered across his desk. His bed was unmade and there was a guitar laying against the headboard. Eunkwang took a seat comfortably at the end of Changsub’s mattress and surveyed the rest of his best friend’s room, observing all the posters of music artists Changsub loved, hanging on his wall. Among the scattered school work, he noticed Changsub had several CD’s laid out on his desk and a modest drum set was positioned at the corner of his room.

“So, why the surprise? You should have called beforehand. We could have gone out to eat or something? Unless something's wrong...Is everyone okay back at the dorm?” Changsub asked Eunkwang, his eyes watching him closely. Eunkwang nodded his head, knowing what Changsub meant even if he didn’t say it out loud.

“He’s doing fine. His dance evaluation is coming up real soon but I think he could use a little more motivation. I think he misses you Changsub…,” Eunkwang let out at the end. His friend smiled and nodded his head but remained silent. Eunkwang decided not to push him any further. Instead, he looked around at his friends room and asked, “Busy, huh?”

“Yeah, the school I’m trying to enter is having an audition and I’ve heard it’s really hard to pass through, so I’m practising my hardest to be the best.” Changsub admitted, shrugging at his messy room while sitting on the chair near his desk.

“Well, I hope everything works out for you,” Eunkwang said and then silence overtook him, not knowing how to broach the subject he had initially came here for. Changsub noticing his friends awkwardness, looked anxious at first but then smiled and waved his hand back and forth giving him permission to ask what he wanted.

“Go ahead. I know you came here for a reason. You have something to say, so go ahead. I’m all ears,” Changsub said, easing Eunkwang’s anxiousness.

“I think you made the wrong decision,” Eunkwang started off. Changsub eyes looked directly at him, becoming very serious but he remained silent, letting Eunkwang continue what he had to say.

“I know you originally wanted to play in a band and that you were very upset when Cube cancelled the band concept, but still. You have friends there who rely on you, and miss you very much and Cube can help you grow as an artist. If you really don’t like the idol industry then let’s change it, huh? You and I, we can do it. I know we can. Remember, we made a promise to sing together. Let do it together,” Eunkwang finished, letting everything he had been holding on to out, in front of his friend to be heard. This would be the only time that he would try to persuade his friend to come back. He knew that once Changsub makes a decision that it is very hard to dissuade him from changing it, but he needed to let his friend know how he felt.

“Don’t worry, Eunkwang. I will keep my promise to sing with you. It’s just that I don’t see that happening in Cube. But I will definitely make that promise happen. You know I keep my promises, right?” Changsub asked Eunkwang, looking at him earnestly. Eunkwang nodded his head. Changsub was right. He always kept his promises so he knew that Changsub would find a way to make it happen even if they weren’t in the same company.

“Sorry about that outburst. I’ve been holding it in since you left. I’ve stopped myself plenty of times from coming over here to drag you back...haha,” Eunkwang admitted, laughing at himself.

“It’s alright. I understand. I would do the same too,” Changsub said.

“By the way, I kind of lied...Sungjae’s not doing as well as I let on. He acts like he’s okay but I can see he isn’t. What kind of relationship do you guys have anyways? I had to comfort him when he found out you left. Seems more than a brotherly love, if you ask me,” Eunkwang asked out of curiosity on how his friend would answer.

“...I don’t know...but he’s still a kid. He’s only fourteen...He has more growing up to do. He’ll understand in a few years,” he answered evasively, not really answering the question outright. Eunkwang nodded his head, understanding that Changsub had put a lot of thought into this. Sungjae was at the age where he was still discovering his identity in life, where everything could be confusing to a young insatiable mind.

The door creaked open at his side and Eunkwang spotted a young girl shyly smiling at him through the opening. Eunkwang smiled back in returned, waving his hand at the uninvited guest. She giggled and then disappeared, running off down the hall, her steps echoing through the opened door. It was Changsub’s younger sister who had a secret crush on him as told by a very unhappy Changsub.

“Aiiishh,” Changsub muttered as he heard his sister giggling and running, getting up to shut the door she’d left open.

“Your sister’s cute,” Eunkwang teased, laughing at his friends face when he made the remark.

“Don’t speak any further, or you’ll pay the repercussions,” Changsub glared. Eunkwang closed his lips, knowing his friend is very protective of his younger sister.

“When are you going to visit? Sungjae really misses you, and I think if he sees you, it could be a sort of motivation for him to pull through,” Eunkwang changed the subject. Changsub sat back down, looking at his friend while biting his bottom lip in deep thought.

“Hmm...I can’t promise anything for now...but if I get through this audition then I will come and visit,” Changsub finally spoke after thinking for a few minutes. Eunkwang nodded and got up from his seat. “Are you leaving? You can stay for dinner.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t want to intrude on your practising. Besides, I need to head back before it starts snowing. I guess I’ll see you when you happen to visit us over at Cube. Until then,” Eunkwang reached over, grabbing his friend’s shoulders and giving him a hug goodbye. Changsub hugged him back and then let go while patting the back of his shoulder.

“Tell Sungjae, ‘Fighting’ for me, okay?” Changsub said while motioning his arm, signifying ‘fighting’.

“Okay,” Eunkwang said, making his way to the front door. He waved at Changsubs mom who was busily preparing dinner at the kitchen counter.

“You’re not staying for dinner?” she asked a bit confused. Eunkwang shook his head.

“No, I have a long ways to go to reach the dorms and it looks like it’s going to snow soon, so I think it’s better for me to leave now. Perhaps next time,” Eunkwang suggested, smiling.

Reaching the front door, Changsub opened it for him and hugged him again. A few minutes passed by and Eunkwang left, waving his hand at his friend who stood by the door watching him as he disappeared around the corner.

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Hello Melodies! I apologize on the late update but I had some life changes. Sorry about that. Lots of changes going on in my life so trying to adjust. :) I will try to update the next chapter as soon as possible. I was originally planning on posting three chapter together but I'm not sure if I can. We'll see. As you can see this is from Eunkwang's point of view so...who do you think will be the next point of view? XD As for the poll on the last chapter, I will post the first chapter up soon. :) Still have to do some editing on the second chapter of it but it will be up. Look forward to it!