A/N: oh my god so i missed out on another scheduled update bc of school and now im updating on time even though i have class in 4 hours because i cant deal with it anymore idk how to manage risks pls i dont want to talk about it;; also i have no idea what visiting would be like i just know that kyu should have been able to go home more regularly ?? compared to others ?? i dont know and we all have to deal w that

Kyuhyun exited the building wearing plain clothes as opposed to the uniform he had been wearing every weekday for the past couple of months. Today was a weekend so he was supposed to meet up with his sister as per their plan the last time they talked. 

“Kyuhyun-ah!” Before he could turn to walk to the nearest bus stop, he stopped at the sound of his name and turned. Standing up from one of the public benches near the entrance, Heeyoung waved to him. “What took you so long? Ahra unnie said you should have gotten out 30 minutes ago.”

He stared at her for an entire minute, which is definitely too long of a time to stare at someone without any words, before he smiled so widely and ran towards her. She greeted him with open arms and he automatically hugged her, slightly lifting her off the ground. “What are you doing here?” Kyuhyun asked when they let go. “I didn’t know you were back in Korea!”

Heeyoung smiled. “That’s because I didn’t tell you! I told Ahra unnie to make a plan with you so I could use the time to catch up with you.”

“Noona is in on this? I’m not meeting her today?” Kyuhyun asked as Heeyoung started pulling his sleeve lightly in the direction of a familiar black car. “Isn’t this your car?”

“Yes, it is. I wasn’t planning on walking around to places.” She slipped into the driver’s seat with Kyuhyun immediately taking the passenger’s seat. “And yes, unnie knew. She said she wasn’t sure if you’d find it suspicious that she wants to meet with you because she didn’t even give you a proper reason, but apparently you weren’t suspicious at all. She told me to tell you that you’ve gotten weaker and need to work on building up your defenses from pranks and surprises again.”

Kyuhyun stared out of the window as they started to drive away. “I didn’t expect to be attacked this weekend. I thought it was going to be a family day of some sort.” He sighed before looking at Heeyoung. “I should have asked earlier, but do you want me to drive instead? You’re probably tired because of jetlag.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. This is the first time I left the house since I got here yesterday because I was just sleeping the entire time. But since you offered, you can drive later.”

“And where are we going?” He finally asked, failing to guess from the direction they were heading.

Heeyoung grinned at him excitedly for a second before focusing back on the road. “We’re gonna go eat Korean food.”

Kyuhyun blinked. “Alright. I guess your homesickness needs a bit of a cure. Unless you’re staying for good now?” He asked, and they both let his hopeful tone go by unmentioned because they both knew the answer to the question.

“No,” her smile turned a bit sad as she gazed at the streets. “I still have a project to work on. Got casted in something and it seems like a lot of fun. But I’m here for a bit over a month.”

“What do you plan to do?” Kyuhyun asked, amused when he could see her mood turn around as she thought of her answer.

“I actually have no idea.” She replied brightly, making him laugh at how her words contrasted her tone. “All I know is that, right now, I’m hungry and we’re going to go eat authentic Korean food that I didn’t cook myself while here in Korea.”

The rest of the conversation flowed easily between them throughout the drive. 

“You should go try the seafood place around the corner some other time.” Kyuhyun advised as he scooped a serving of the soft tofu stew for Heeyoung before getting one for himself as well. “I went there a few weeks ago with some friends. It’s pretty good.”

“We can just go there next time I come here to see you.” She said with a shrug while passing him the glass of water she just filled for him. “I’ll go do other things instead.”

“Ah, it’s really a shame you get to spend over a month back here but I can’t drag you to places.” Kyuhyun shook his head in disappointment before focusing on serving the food again. 

“What have you been doing during breaks? Didn’t you say you were brushing up on Japanese? Taking up more vocal lessons as well?”

“Yeah, I’ve also been preparing some songs for when I get back out there.” Kyuhyun told her. “Seokmin hyung and I already half came up with one that’s pretty promising, but it’s missing something. We’re still working on it.” He paused in thought, narrowing his eyes at her. “Didn’t you write songs for one of your roles in a movie that you did?”

“Hmm?” Heeyoung raised her eyebrows, a bit distracted by the food she was enjoying. “Oh, yeah. I helped out with two songs.”

Kyuhyun waited until she met his eyes. “Heeyoung-ah, do you want to help me write a song?”

Heeyoung swallowed her food too quickly in surprise, leading to her coughing uncontrollably until Kyuhyun quickly gave her water. “Me? For one of your songs?”

“Yeah! I’m not saying that whatever you write will be used. I have high standards after all.” He smirked before continuing. “But maybe you can help us with this one song — the working title is Aewol-ri because that’s where I came up with it. We’re trying to finish the chorus part, but it’s getting a bit frustrating because the combination of words we try don’t fit in well.”

“Umm, sure? I guess? I’ll try.” She slowly nodded before looking a bit more determined about her acquired task. “I’ll just ask Seokmin oppa for the details about it later.”

“Great! So, what about you? What’s this next project going to be like? And, please, no spoilers.”

“So, how the am I supposed to explain it to you?!”

Heeyoung sat at the corner of a small, otherwise empty coffee shop run by an elderly woman who didn’t seem to recognize her. It was weird how her roles on stage and the small cameos on dramas barely got her recognized back then, but now she would sometimes get stopped in the streets and get asked for an autograph or a picture because they saw her on some of the English movies she’s appeared in and know that she won a Tony Award.

The musical actress was so distracted by what she was doing on her laptop that she didn’t hear the bell at the door ring to announce a new customer, nor did she notice who it was until he was pulling out the chair beside her. “Oh my god, you scared me.”

“What are you working on? You’re so focused.” Kyuhyun asked as he sat down, trying to peek at the screen. She breathed out and adjusted the position of the laptop so he could see it properly.

“Seokmin oppa sent the music to me and I worked on it already, but I’m not sure if it’s okay…” She replied hesitantly, constantly glancing at Kyuhyun to check his reaction.

He only nodded and looked back at her. “Did you write some lyrics? Can I hear it?”

Heeyoung felt a bit nervous and like she would have preferred it if Kyuhyun sat across her instead of directly beside her because she did not have enough space to panic. “Okay, but… you know. Be nice.”

“You already wrote most of the lyrics. I tried to match the mood of it and what you said about the message of the song to make the lyrics and final melody of the chorus. Seokmin oppa said he thinks it’s good already, but it’s your song, so…” She hesitated again before making up her mind. “You know what, just listen to it. Let’s get this over with.” She clicked her keyboard and the familiar instrumental track started playing.

Kyuhyun recognized the part to be the pre-chorus and heard Heeyoung mumbling the lyrics he wrote for the latter part, so he watched her slowly and softly singing the lyrics she wrote.

사랑한다 말하면 보고 싶다 말하면

그리워했다 말하면 넌 점점 달아날 거라고

바람 가득한 날에 나 혼자 남은 사랑은

오늘도 이렇게 조용히 그렇게

If I tell you I love you, if I tell you I miss you

If I tell you I missed you, you’d run away even more

On a windy day, my love that remains alone

Quietly stays again today, like this

The instrumental part kept playing softly, only audible for the both of them. Heeyoung refused to look at Kyuhyun, not knowing what he would say or how he would react. Instead, she breathed out deeply and leaned towards the laptop again. “If we fast forward to the latter part, Seokmin oppa also adjusted it to add a repeat of the chorus with a bit of a difference, so…” She adjusted the music and waited for the last part to start playing before 

혼자 한 가득했던 사랑을

아무도 몰래 삼켰던 가슴 벅찼던 얘기는

사랑한다 말하면 저 멀리 달아 날까 봐

오늘도 이렇게 조용히 그렇게

Love that filled me up alone

The overwhelming stories that I secretly swallowed

If I tell you I love you, I’m afraid you’ll run away

So again today, I’m quietly here like this

The last notes of the piano played before they fell into silence. Heeyoung just stared at the keyboard of her laptop, waiting. For a moment, she’s lost in the memories of her friends in America finding the Korean characters on her laptop to be so interesting and her trying to teach them the sounds. She was dragged back to reality when she heard Kyuhyun speak.

“What?” She asked, looking at him with wide eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

He smiled and leaned back on his seat. Heeyoung suddenly became aware of how close he was sitting to her while listening to the song. “I like it.”

“Really?!”

“It’s good. Let’s use it.”

Heeyoung felt a bit better and leaned back on her chair as well, relaxing a bit. She stared blankly at the laptop. “That’s a relief.” She nodded as if assuring herself.

“I’m going to go order something for myself. You want anything?” Kyuhyun asked as he stood up, a bit too upbeat and happy than he was earlier but Heeyoung didn’t notice.

“Can you get me a slice of the chocolate cheesecake?” She requested and watched as Kyuhyun nodded and left, leaving her at their table with her heart still pounding loudly in her chest.