Title: Dans Le Ciel

Pairing: Yesung/Kyuhyun.

Theme: Park Benches.

Rating: G

Word count: without epilouge: 2064

with epilougue: 2330

Summary: “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody.”

 

What are your impressions of Saturdays? To me, Saturdays are the only day I have to myself, to unwind from the week. I would usually stay in the dormitory of my college and rent a few movies but it never actually gave him a chance to relax and reflect. This week, I chose to go to the nearby park instead. I strategically left my cell phone in my dorm before leaving.

 

It was late-autumn, the air was refreshing but not too cold. I used the foot path and walked around the park; once, twice. Looking at all the fallen leaves and enjoying the crunching sounds upon stepping on them, to me it was soothing. Soon, I was panting, my body, that wasn't used to exercise, was craving for a rest. I looked left and right and saw a bench.

 

On the bench, sat a bespectacled guy, looking slightly younger than me, he was wearing a grey turtleneck with jeans. His hair was rusty blond and in a messy bowl cut. He was slightly pale with dark eye rings. In his hands, were heaps of letters.

 

“May I take a seat?” I asked.

 

The guy looked shock for a moment than moved to the rear end of the bench. I brushed his reaction off and sat beside him.

 

I could hear the lull dull traffic from afar. I could see the miniscule snow fleas flitting in the air; I fidgeted. A crow cawed. My fingers strayed across the surface of the wood; pine or cedar. I heard a tearing sound and looked back at the guy.

 

What is he doing? From where does he get so many letters from?

 

“I send letters to heaven,” he said simply. I wiped the back of my neck embarrassed that he caught me staring.

 

“Are you an angel?” I asked, bewildered, rubbing my eyes, “Can you fly?”

 

“Who says angels need to fly?” he countered without looking at me once.

 

I blinked, once, twice. “Really, where do you get those letters from?”

 

He nodded to his front. Beside a tall tree was a letter box. I hadn't seen it there before. A teenage boy inserted a letter into it and placed a lunch box onto the floor beside it.

 

After the boy left, the guy stood up, he left his stack of letters on the bench and approached the mail box. He picked up the lunch box and unlocked the mail box to retrieve the letter. After doing so, he returned to the bench.

 

“Who is it for?” I asked, curious.

 

The guy opened the letter, “It's for his girlfriend. She used to like homemade sandwiches but he often neglected her. She died recently,”

 

“Do you want one?” he opened the lunch box revealing two sandwiches.

 

“Y-you can't do that! It's not yours!” I protested.

 

“If it rots, I'll feel bad about it. It'll go to waste,” the guy said as he took out one sandwich and handed it to me.

 

I took it from him. It's ham and cheese.

 

“By the way, what's your name?” I asked.

 

“Kyuhyun,”

 

“I'm Jong Woon,”

 

 

Kyuhyun, that's a pretty name.

 

Kyuhyun tore open a letter revealing a note and several small pebble-like items.

 

“What are those?” I asked pointing to the small red pebbles in his hands.

 

“Disambiguations, most people says it's a representation of love,” he smiled placing several in my palm.

 

Pick them up

as many as you can

as if gathering thoughts and memories of those you love.

 

 

It's become a habit, a routine, to come here every Saturday. Somehow, Kyuhyun is able to make me relax. We'd usually sit there in the silence, him reading his letters while I reflected about the week. Usually, it was me who spoke up, the occasional once or twice he did, he was talking about the letters.

 

As usual this week, I left my cell phone in the dormitory and left for the park. However, I decided to go to the park an hour earlier, I wanted to spend some time alone.

 

It is slightly colder this week, winter was beginning. The trees were stripped of their leaves, the crows disappeared as well. Kyuhyun wasn't there yet. The atmosphere was slightly different.

 

An elderly man approached me, “May I have a seat?”

 

I nodded and I moved towards the rear of the bench making way for the man. He propped a book on his lap and flipped it open. He started sketching, the mailbox before him. He sketched the mailbox, bit by bit. With the occasional shading and smooth he brought the mailbox in 3-dimension. Just like that, half an hour flew past as I looked at him sketching. Surprisingly, he didn't catch me staring.

 

After he was done, he scribbled something at the corner of the paper and tore it out. I noticed that all the pages of his sketchbook were also torn out. He made his way to the mail box and inserted the ripped paper. At that moment, there was a strong wind and the man coughed a bit, his white hair was in a mess.

 

He looked at me, I looked away immediately. He smiled, it was a half moon eye smile, crows feet around them, wrinkles on his forehead revealing how much he worried. He had caught me red-handed, I smiled to avoid the awkwardness. He approached and once again, sat down beside me. He somehow looked familiar.

 

“That was for my grandson, he passed away 11 months ago due to leukemia. We used to come here every week to take photographs of the flowers and leaves. He always wanted everything to be perfect, he would spend hours positioning his camera, editing those photos,” he sighed.

 

“T-than why do you send his drawings instead of photos?” Curiosity took over.

 

“Why do you think?” he answered.

 

His phone beeped, “I'll have to go now. See you,” he left before I could say anything.

 

Kyuhyun came soon after wards.

 

“Why were you talking to him?” he seemed a bit authoritative, not even bothering to sit.

 

“N-nothing,” I didn't know how to react, I've never seen Kyuhyun act in such a manner before.

 

He sighed then relaxed, “I'm sorry,” he mumbled, walked to the mailbox, took the letters(and the drawing) and placed it into his duffel bag then proceeded to sit down on the bench in silence.

 

It's Saturday again. It was starting to snow these days yet I knew, they; both of them would still come.

 

There was something about that ajjusshi, comforting, familiar. So once again, I came early.

 

As I approached the bench, I saw that he was already there, white-haired, with the same sketchbook propped against his lap, the hand that held the pencil roaming the page.

 

“Oh, so you came again,” he muttered as I stopped in front the bench and shifted to his left to make some space for me. I smiled as I sat down.

 

“Curiosity kills,” his eyes still on the paper.

 

“Eh?” I tensed.

 

He chuckled, “I was just kidding. Go ahead, ask.” he knew that I was curious.

 

I hesitated, “What's his name?”

 

“Kyuhyun...” he continued speaking but I was busy thinking about something else.

 

Kyuhyun? That explains everything, why he reacted that way last week. I-it can't be that Kyuhyun, he's alive and kicking, unless...

 

I don't want to believe it. Kyuhyun.

 

“Are you okay? You've gone pale,” the ajjusshi patted my shoulder.

 

I nodded and smiled slightly.

 

He tore the finished sketch out and dropped it into the mailbox.

 

“I'll see you next week then?” he asked. I nodded, my mind still faraway.

 

Kyuhyun... The voice kept repeating in my head as I stared into never-land.

 

“I guess you know now,” he appeared out of nowhere and sat where the ajjusshi had sat.

 

The pieces suddenly fit together. Angel, sending letters to heaven, leukemia, his pale skin, dark eye rings, the same concise behavior. That ajjusshi is his... Grandfather.

 

“I-is he able to see you?” I don't really believe him. It wasn't logically possible.

 

He shook his head, “So far, only you can.”

 

“T-then, why am i able to see you and not others?”

 

“I guess, it's the thing we call destiny,” he had a faraway look.

 

Do you believe in destiny?

 

“It's getting late Kyuhyun,” he sat on the bench waiting patiently for his grandson to finish taking photos at the nearby bush. His fingers strayed across the bench as he felt the imprints.

 

There was no answer, the usual when he was not ready to leave, engrossed with photographing. He positioned his camera at different angles clicking the button for a long period as he slowly moved the camera so he could find the best angle.

 

“Okay, let's go” he capped on the lens cover and walked over to his grandfather.

 

He wanted perfection too much.

 

The wind was chilling, I put on my thermal wear and left for the park. The park was white, other than the blades of grass poking out of the snow and the occasional one or two evergreen trees. The footpath was littered with a thin layer of snow. It was quiet, not even the lull dull of the traffic was heard.

 

“Ajjushi,” I greeted as I sat beside him.

 

He looked up from his sketchbook than back down. He was sketching, hands without gloves despite the cold weather.

 

“Aren't you cold?”

 

“No,” he knew what I meant.

 

“I won't be coming next week,” he continued sketching, not bothering to look at me.

 

“Than when will you be back? It's good that you'll be staying indoors in this weather,” I misunderstood what he meant.

 

“I'll not be coming back. It's been one year,” he paused, “One year since... Kyuhyun. I'm letting go,” he smiled a small smile, a serene one.

 

There was silence between us, a long one. Than, he suddenly tore the sketch, stood up and dropped it into the mailbox.

 

“Goodbye,” he waved and walked off.

 

Just than, Kyuhyun appeared beside me.

 

“He has let go, of you,” I whispered too afraid to hear my voice in the silence.

 

“I know,” he whispered back, wind brushed against my cheeks.

 

“D-don't tell me,” I had a hunch.

 

“I'm not coming back next week,” he read my thoughts, exactly. A tear welled up in my eye.

 

“Can you not leave?” I asked.

 

He shook his head.

 

“I don't want you to leave,” I didn't what mess I had gotten myself into. My feelings for him weren't as simple as i thought they were. I reached out and held out his hand.

 

Don't go.

 

“I'm sorry,”

 

The next Saturday came after all, it was winter solstice. I lied to myself, lied to myself that he would be at the bench next week.

 

I took my time to change into my thermal wear and walked slowly to the park. It was snowing, this time, the layer of snow on the foot path was swept aside.

 

The realization hit me; the bench was empty. Somehow, I imagined Kyuhyun to be sitting there like every week, reading one of the stack of letters that was placed upon his lap. Or maybe his grandfather, on the bench, sketching something new.

 

No, Kyuhyun will come. I went ahead to sit down, waiting patiently for him.

 

I dug something out of my pockets, the disambuigations he gave me that time. Red, shiny seeds. There was a dull ache upon my heart.

 

Kyuhyun.

 

I knew now, why the ajjusshi decided to draw. Kyuhyun, he always wanted his world to be perfect. He edited all the imperfections. He never thought about how it'll never be the same. He wanted his world to be perfect, he was afraid, afraid of death after he knew his disease, knew how his life is no longer how it wanted it. Than he realized, if everything is perfect, is anything actually perfect?

 

It was getting dark, Kyuhyun isn't coming, he's never coming. I pressed my fingers upon the bench, the familiar pine, the scent of Kyuhyun flooded me.

Our bench.

 

 

Epilogue

 

Friendship isn't a big thing- it's a million little things.

 

A boy, in the forest clearing, collecting little red seeds that were scattered across the lush green grass. He placed his find in a tiny glass container. Exhausted and muddy, he laid down on a nearby bench, hands behind his head. He sang a song that his mother just thought him.

 

Dogs, dinosaurs and spaceships.

 

The clouds drifted past.

 

“Hey! Can I borrow those?” he was pissed, who had the guts to disturb him when he was singing. He looked up, it was another boy, slightly younger. Somehow, he didn't feel that angry anymore. He sat up and looked at the other boy, he was holding a book and was pointing at the jars of saga seeds.

 

“Sure. How do you even know about this place? You don't look like you're from here,” he was curious, nobody even found him here. It was where he sought solace. He sat up making space for the other boy.

 

“I'm from Seoul, I just moved over. So I was just wondering around,” he placed the half-filled jar on the bench and sat down on the floor so that the jar is at eye level. He placed his notebook on the bench, opened it and started sketching.

 

The older boy leaned in, and ruffled the dongsaeng's hair.

 

“Merong!” he smirked and ran off.

 

“Yah!” the younger boy sprinted after him.

 

“Friends?” the older boy asked as the younger boy caught up with him.

 

“Friends,” he answered,

 

“Forever,” he added under his breath. 

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A/N: Annyeong! I'm back. After 2 month ish if i am not wrong. I took a while to write this due to my lazy behaviour. But it did take some effort though ^^ COMMENT :) Thank you if you're still here to read!! LOL <3 you all.

dedicated to my bestie :) say rawr.