Chapter 33
Winning Hearts
Ryeowook checked the clock on the wall. It was already half past seven and Kyuhyun hadn’t shown up yet. The door clicked open and he sat up straight, looking over to see Changmin coming inside.
“You still here?” he questioned, frowning. “Did Kyuhyun ever show up?”
“No,” Ryeowook responded, leaning back in his chair. “I think I’ll wait for him—”
“—you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Changmin cut off, “no way are you staying here waiting for someone who will never come.”
He was quiet for a long second, and then he was looking up at Changmin. “…That’s silly isn’t it?”
“Very,” he nodded.
“I…see,” Ryeowook said softly, standing up and grabbing his bag, “then should we go?”
“Yup, that’s the plan,” he grinned, holding the door open for Ryeowook to pass through.
They headed down the hallway together, most of the employees having already left for the night. A few rooms were lit up with late night workers, but nothing else. Changmin pushed the door at the end of the corridor open, and they took off as a brisk jog down the staircase.
“Do you take the stairs every day?” Ryeowook asked eyes wide as he tried to keep up.
“Yup!” Changmin called back, laughing as he made it down another flight, “I love exercise; so twenty flights can really get the blood pumping after a long day!”
Gawking, he hurried to catch up, stumbling and sliding to the echoing metal steps. Ryeowook managed a faint smile, feeling air rushing past him as he raced after Changmin. “How often do you work out?” he blurted, one platform behind the other male.
“Every morning,” he responded cheerily, “you wanna join me?”
Ryeowook leaned over the railing breathlessly, seeing the man snickering and jumping down the last three or so steps of a particular flight. “Hey! That’s cheating!” Ryeowook shouted down, chest pounding and heart warm. Pushing off from the railing, he rushed after Changmin’s laughter, unable to help his own grin then.
“It’s not cheating! You can do it too!” he argued, “So? Do you wanna go work out tomorrow morning?”
“I don’t know if I’m healthy enough for that,” Ryeowook stopped at the third to last step, swinging his body forward, landing and fumbling a few steps.
Changmin paused, beaming when he heard and saw the jump. “That’s weird. You go to the gym to get healthy! It’s no big deal.” He waited until Ryeowook was only half a flight away before bounding down the rattling steps again.
They made it to the end, Changmin still grinning and laughing. Ryeowook was breathing hard, holding his chest and trying to return the expression on the other’s face. After a delayed minute to allow the slender male to catch his breath, Changmin nodded towards the door. “C’mon, we don’t want to keep Victoria waiting. That’s her name right?”
“Yes, Victoria,” Ryeowook confirmed, “she’s the person Kyuhyun’s parents want him to marry.”
Changmin’s eyes widened and then he had an excited light in his eyes that seemed so nostalgic. “No way…she’s not his type at all.”
“I noticed,” he responded, chuckling as they headed to a waiting car in front of the building.
“She’s way too bright and…alive,” Changmin scoffed, “Kyuhyun would probably get annoyed in a heartbeat.”
“That sounds about right,” Ryeowook agreed, mouth quirking up on one side.
Soon enough, the pair was walking up the steps to Ryeowook’s apartment. Once inside, they noticed Victoria waiting outside the door. “How long have you been here?” Changmin inquired, awed.
“Not too long,” she assured, seeing the worry on Ryeowook’s face, “I promise. I got here some ten minutes ago.”
“That’s a while,” Ryeowook stated, side stepping her and unlocking his door. “Would you two like something to drink?” He allowed them inside, simultaneously surveying to see if there was any mess.
Obviously, there was not.
Changmin slipped his shoes off and walked into the living room. “This place is pretty nice,” he whistled, “Kyuhyun’s secretary certainly gets a nice paycheck, huh.”
“I just save money,” Ryeowook replied lightly, pouring out three cups of water, “Do you have anything you want to eat?”
Victoria’s face lit up and she came up next to him. “Are you going to cook?”
Changmin popped up over the ledge of the counter, one eyebrow cocked, “Are you a good cook or something?”
“Uhm, I guess I am,” Ryeowook said nervously, “but I meant would you like take-out?”
They both slumped, disappointed, “Yeah, Chinese is fine,” one or both mumbled before slinking off to the living room.
He smiled after them, suppressing a laugh. It was a different sort of atmosphere – one that he had never really known. Friends were…Ryeowook shook his head, grabbing a phone, he had forgotten what friends were really like.
Some minutes later, he came over to the couch, seeing Victoria filling Changmin in on what little information she knew about the situation. Upon Ryeowook’s appearance, they stopped talking, turning to him for more details. “Okay, this chick doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Changmin jabbed a thumb at Victoria, “what happened with you and your ex-husband?”
Victoria slapped him in the arm, pouting.
He rolled his eyes, brushing her off.
Ryeowook pursed his lips, and then decided that maybe it was best to start with one of the hardest memories. Standing up, he walked over to the television and dug through a bin of video tapes. Finding the right one, he set it up and pushed the VHS into the player.
“His name is Hyungsik,” Ryeowook stated, “he and I met when we were children and he died halfway through his senior year of high school.” He pressed “play” and then said, “This is a video from one of his hospital visits.”
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