It was exactly 6.30 when Siwon rang the bell on Kyuhyun’s apartment door. Actually he got there around 15 minutes ago, but he decided to wait because he said he would be there at 6.30. He didn’t want to look too eager, nor did he want to be late, so he came at precisely 6.30.

“Oh, Siwon.... Come in.”

It was Kyuhyun’s mom who opened the door. Siwon walked in to the apartment while trying to convince his panic heart that everything would be okay. He was ready to face anything, or so he told himself.

“Kyuhyun is in the shower, here, have a seat.” Kyuhyun’s mom gestured him to sit with her at the dining table.

“Thank you, Mrs. Cho.” He said politely.

“Eeeyy, don’t be such a stranger. Call me Eomma, like all Kyuhyun’s friends do.” She said warmly.

Siwon felt his heart flutter a little bit. Somehow he felt happy to see how Kyuhyun’s mom treated him.

“Okay, Eomma... I will.” He smiled.

Kyuhyun’s mom stared at Siwon, she was frowning as if lost in thoughts. She was assessing him. And Siwon felt nauseous as blood ran away from his system again, causing him to gulp painfully.

“Can I ask you something a little personal, Siwon?” she finally asked.

“Ummm... Sure.” Siwon tried to sound as cool as possible.

“What exactly is your relationship with Kyuhyun?” she dropped the bomb and got Siwon totally shocked he nearly suffocated.

“Hmmm... We’re-uh-I guess we’re good friends.” He replied awkwardly.

Kyuhyun’s mom fell quiet for a while. She didn’t think it would be this difficult. Should she stop right there? Or should she continue?

“I don’t know if I should tell you this, Siwon,” she finally decided to go on since she meant no harm at all, “but our Kyuhyun is – a little bit – different than the usual.”

Siwon didn’t respond, he decided to keep quiet until he was sure of what was being talked about.

“To put it simply, Kyuhyun prefers boys.” She said carefully, “He always said that, and we, Kyuhyun’s dad and I, are fine with it. But no matter how he said he prefers boys, we never saw him with one before. He’s never shown any sign. Until he met you.”

Siwon didn’t know how to react to that. Half of him wanted to jump and shout and smile until his face hurt. The other half wanted to ran away and hide himself under his bed because of how embarrassed he was right then.

“Until he met me?” Siwon decided to take the diplomatic approach.

Kyuhyun’s mom nodded.

“I’ve been watching drastic changes in Kyuhyun. He had always been a happy kid. But I noticed that he was all smiles and blushes every time you are in the topic.” She explained.

“But around a week ago he came home with puffy eyes and had been acting weird ever since.” She continued without giving time for Siwon to speak, not that he had anything to say anyway. “Kyuhyun may hate me because of this, but I’m still going to ask about how you see him. I hope you’re not misleading him.”

“I, ummm.... I’m like Kyuhyun. I just realized that I’m also like Kyuhyun when I realize that I like him.” Siwon said shyly. He knew it probably sounded like he wasn’t making any sense with the sentence at all, but apparently Kyuhyun’s mom understood, because a second later she smiled and gave Siwon a loving pat on the head.

“Ah. Good to know. I trust you will take a good care of him?” she asked.

“If he lets me. I made a huge mistake and I disappoint him. He’s probably angry with me right now.” Siwon answered sadly.

Kyuhyun’s mom got up from her chair and made her way to Siwon’s side. She put a hand on Siwon’s shoulder and rubbed it gently.

“He’ll come around. Love always does. Trust me.”

Siwon blushed. He never thought that love would feel that way, warm, tickles, and a little bit suffocating. Kyuhyun’s mom smiled knowingly. Being the observant mother that she was, she knew exactly what was in Siwon’s mind.

“Now where is that kid?!” She left Siwon and went to knock on a door, which Siwon assumed was Kyuhyun’s room.

The door swung opened, and Siwon’s heart skipped a beat. Kyuhyun came out with an oversized sweatshirt and denim shorts, his hair was damp, wrapped messily with a towel. He was about to nag on his mom when he saw Siwon staring at him.

“I’m going to have a walk, wanna come?” he asked the still stunned Siwon.

“Right now?!” Kyuhyun’s mom threw him a suspicious look, but Siwon nodded.

“We won’t be long. I’ll get back before dinner. Let’s go!” He threw the damp towel on the chair and dashed to the front door. Siwon soon followed behind him like an obedient puppy.

“Come and have dinner with us later, Siwon!” Kyuhyun’s mom shout before the door went closed. Siwon poke his head back inside and nodded with a smile.

So Kyuhyun lead the way to park 5 minutes away from where he lived. They didn’t talk much. Sometimes Siwon would threw glances at Kyuhyun, but the boy never seemed to notice. He just kept walking and walking. And Siwon felt colder and colder by the distance. Who was he kidding? He kept telling his heart that everything’s gonna be okay, but look at them now, they hadn’t even said another word since they left Kyuhyun’s apartment. If he was going to break, that would be the perfect time.

So Siwon stop walking.

He didn’t even have the strength to look at Kyuhyun anymore, even from the back. He wanted to cry. He wanted to run and hug the boy as if nothing had happened between them. But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t even muster a simple apology for hurting the boy he finally admitted to love. So he crouched down so he could hide his face from the world, so he could muffle his cries. He didn’t even notice footsteps coming closer to him.

“Are you okay? Are you tired?”

Siwon lifted up his head. And there he was, the boy that had turned his world upside down. His face was just an inch away from Siwon’s.

“Come one big guy. Let’s get you a seat.” Kyuhyun enveloped Siwon’s bigger and more muscular body with his own skinny frail arms. Siwon let Kyuhyun dragged him to the nearest bench under a tree which Siwon didn’t know the name of, nor did he care.

“Kyu... I’m really sorry for what I did to you the other day.” Siwon finally managed to say what had been troubling him the past few days. But he still didn’t have the courage to look Kyuhyun in the eyes.

“I know.” Kyuhyun muttered, “And I’m sorry, too. I heard you were quite a mess.”

“You heard?”

“Yep.”

“From whom?”

“A couple of birds.”

Siwon finally chuckled. He didn’t need to be a genius to know that his dear cousin must have given Kyuhyun a visit. Honestly, he didn’t know whether to be annoyed or thankful for having a cousin who loved to meddle in people’s business more than he was allowed to.

“I’m sorry if those birds annoy the crap out of you.” He apologized again.

“They didn’t. They were actually helpful in some ways.” Kyuhyun shrugged.

“How were they helpful?”

“They told me that I wasn’t suffering alone.” Kyuhyun blushed.

Siwon finally looked at Kyuhyun, indulged in the younger’s rosy cheeks.

“You were suffering?”

Kyuhyun nodded.

“I miss you.” He blushed again, “but you never talked to me again. Sometimes I regret having walked out on you that day. I should have stayed and kissed you back. But that kind of thoughts are really frustrating, you know. Because at the end of the day you will realize that you can’t do anything to change what was already done.”

And I heard from the birds that you were having a hard time too. So I thought.... Maybe you miss me too.” Kyuhyun turned his face away to hide another blush attack that seemed eager to embarrass him so much.

That’s when he felt Siwon’s warm hands on both side of his cheeks.

“I do miss you, Kyu... I miss you so much!” Siwon whispered, “I love you, Cho Kyuhyun. Please be mine...”

Then he kissed Kyuhyun on the forehead, letting his lips lingered there a little bit longer than he planned. Kyuhyun didn’t struggle. He was enjoying the moment far too much to notice that they were being too intimate in an open space.

They hugged and cuddled for a while, not minding the cold wind that was blowing mercilessly. They kept each other warm. It was heaven to be sitting side by side with the person you love. Siwon and Kyuhyun, being the teenagers that found love for the first time in their lives, wanted to savor each moment they could, none of them had the will to let go.

“Thank you, Kyu....” Siwon whispered again, inhaling the sweet scent from Kyuhyun’s dried soft locks, “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

Kyuhyun giggled.

“You are way too young to be saying something like that.” Kyuhyun teased, “Don’t say that again until you have spent 60 years with me.”

Siwon laughed. How he missed Kyuhyun’s jokes. Now that they’re ‘together’, he wouldn’t know how to live a day without Kyuhyun’s cute and witty jokes. He didn’t want to imagine it anyway. So he kissed Kyuhyun’s temple and hugged the boy tighter.

“Let’s get you home. We promised your mom that we will be home before dinner.”

Kyuhyun jumped up from the bench and offered a hand to Siwon.

“Walk with me?” he smiled.

Siwon took the hand without a single hint of hesitation. They walked back home hand in hand, sometimes the hummed a tune, sometimes they laughed, sometimes they separate, but in the end, their fingers always found a way to one another. And then they would naturally be linked again.

~*~

“Yes, Sir. I have them on my camera. I will be sending it to you right away. I’m afraid it is exactly as you feared, Sir.”

Thank you, Assistant Kim. Keep me updated.

“I will, Sir.”

Then he hung up.

“Why are we following the Young Master?” a guy behind the steering wheel asked the older man on his side who had just done with a phone call.

“The President wants to know every detail about the Young Master’s life.” The older man answered sternly.

“So he sends us to spy on his son instead of just sitting down and have a heart-to-heart chit chat?” The younger guy asked sarcastically.

“Mind your words, boy. If I heard anything like that coming out of your mouth again, you will never be able to speak again for the rest of your life.”

It wasn’t a threat. The younger guy just needed a little reminder on how to deal with their job. The so-called Assistant Kim would hate to lose his junior just because of his loose mouth.

“Now drive. We need to get these printed and deliver it to the President.”

The junior frowned.

“We’re not following Young Master anymore?”

“No. I think it’s enough for tonight. We’ve got what the President sent us to do,” Assistant Kim pointed to his camera, “and honestly, I think Young Master deserves a space.”

The junior suddenly broke into a wide smile, teeth and all. He punched Assistant Kim’s arm playfully and giggled.

“I knew you don’t fully agree to do this spying thingy!”

“I have known the Young Master ever since he was born. My only concern is what is best for him.”

“Geez, old man! You’re gonna make me cry!”

“Stop being stupid and drive, Yesung! Or I swear I will dump you in the Han River.”

And so they drove off, past a boy walking with his 2 dogs, a cat sitting on a trash can, a lady and her daughter in a pink dress, a man with a gray suit and a briefcase in his hand, then past a couple of teenage boys walking hand in hand.

=7=