Dear readers. I am well aware that in South Korea, there are six years of primary, three years of middle, and three years of high school. However, for my own convenience, I made it so that it was five years of primary, three years of middle, and four years of high school, just like in America. I kept the whole, “school starts in spring and ends in winter” thing the same, though. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy reading. 

             "SIWON-HYUNG!!!!"

            Nine-year old Choi Siwon grinned as he spotted the excited, five-year old Cho Kyuhyun scrambling towards him. Everyday, Siwon picked Kyuhyun up from kindergarten after school because Kyuhyun's own parents were often too busy to come. It had been like this for two years after the Chos' company suddenly expanded with an amazingly good business deal.

            Suddenly, Kyuhyun, who had been slushing through the snow as quickly as he could, tripped, and landed face first into the cold ground. Siwon's eyes widened and he quickened his pace to reach the smaller boy. He tucked his hands under Kyuhyun's armpits and held him up. "Kyuhyun!"

            Kyuhyun’s bottom lip started to tremble. "Hy-hyung...." His eyes began to water before he began to sob. "Kyunnie is hurt!”

            Panicking, Siwon hastily wiped the snow from Kyuhyun's face, hair, and clothes. "D-don't cry, Kyunnie! Hyung is here!" He quickly began to place kisses on the crying boy's face. One on the forehead, one on each cheek, one on the nose, and one on top of his head. He wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun and brought him into a tight hug. It was kind of difficult because Kyuhyun was bundled up in his thick winter clothes, but he managed. He hoped he was warm enough.

            Eventually, Kyuhyun stopped crying, and returned Siwon's hug. He sniffled, "I still hurt, hyung."

            Siwon smiled and pulled away to give Kyuhyun more kisses. He used his mitten to wipe away the five-year old's remaining tears. "All better, Kyunnie?"

            When Kyuhyun nodded, Siwon turned around and bent down so that Kyuhyun could get on his back. With a giggle, Kyuhyun latched on and the two began to go home. Siwon always piggy-backed Kyuhyun back home, and Kyuhyun would not have it any other way.

            Kyuhyun practically lived with Siwon since his parents were so busy. Sometimes they would be away for a few days at a time. He slept over a lot, ate with Siwon and his parents a lot, and basically was growing up with another family. He didn’t really mind, though. His parents were not warm and loving like Siwon-hyung’s parents, who Kyuhyun referred to as his aunt and uncle. They didn’t like to smile very much. Also, he loved Siwon-hyung with all his heart. Siwon-hyung was so tall and so strong and so handsome, so living with him made Kyuhyun very happy.

            “My mom will make us hot chocolate when we get home, Kyunnie.” Siwon said as he walked on. He grinned as Kyuhyun squirmed in excitement on his back. Kyuhyun got a little bit heavier everyday, but Siwon didn’t care the slightest. If Kyuhyun wanted to be carried home, he would be carried home.

            As Siwon’s large home came to view, Kyuhyun hopped down from Siwon’s back and ran to the front door, despite Siwon yelling at him from behind to not run. Kyuhyun knocked furiously. “Auntie! Kyunnie and Siwon-hyung are home, auntie!”

            Mrs. Choi rushed to the door as soon as she heard Kyuhyun’s high pitched voice and opened it. She was greeted with Kyuhyun jumping into her arms. She laughed, said hello, and kissed him on the cheek before putting him back down and welcoming home Siwon, as well, who was panting from the running. She thought of Kyuhyun as her own son and often felt bad that the little boy rarely spent time with his own parents.

            Just as Siwon said, the boys were given hot chocolate to warm their shivering bodies. Siwon’s mother had made sure that the drinks cooled just enough to be warm, but not scalding hot. Kyuhyun had the habit of chugging whatever he drank.

            “It’s good! More please!” Kyuhyun exclaimed, holding out his cup with both hands to Siwon’s mother.

            She chuckled and took the cup from Kyuhyun. “Okay, one more. But that’s it, okay? You can’t drink too much hot chocolate in one day. And try to drink this one a little bit more slowly.”

            Kyuhyun nodded and did exactly as he was told with his second cup. Siwon smiled and patted Kyuhyun’s head. He, just like everyone else, thought Kyuhyun was absolutely adorable. He planned on taking the five year old as his wife when they both became grown ups. That way, Kyuhyun will always live with Siwon and he could give as many kisses as he wanted.

            It was in this way that the two boys grew up. Siwon never failed to pick up Kyuhyun from school, and Kyuhyun’s parents were still as busy as always. Whenever Kyuhyun was upset about something and cried (he was quite the crybaby), Siwon would shower him with kisses. It was like this for the next five years. They fell deeper into love, but never really got around to admitting it to one another. There was a kind of instinctive, mutual understanding, though, that one day in the future, they would be together as lovers.

            However, just as Siwon was about to enter high school, his father received a promotion at work and was transferred to New York. When ten-year old Kyuhyun heard the news as he and Siwon walked home as usual one day, he had immediately burst into tears. No amount of kissing could get the tears to stop, because this time, Kyuhyun was crying out of genuine sadness.

            “Kyuhyun! I’ll email you every single day. I promise.” Siwon had said, wrapping his arms around the distraught boy.

            Kyuhyun, however, could not be comforted. He continued to cry loudly while trying to speak. “I.. I’ll.. I’ll be l-lonely, hyung! I’ll be so lonely!”

            Siwon, of course, was also saddened by the situation. If he were just a little bit older, he would have been able to live by himself. However, he was a very mature young man, and knew that crying to his parents would not make anything better. The best he could do for now, was try to solace Kyuhyun.

            He was to leave in two weeks. For those two weeks, Kyuhyun was allowed to stay with Siwon. They were inseparable during this time, which only made goodbye much harder. At the airport, Siwon had to bite the inside of his cheek until it bled so he wouldn’t cry in front of Kyuhyun. Because he had to stay strong as Kyuhyun broke apart in front of him.

            “Y-you’ll call me when you get there right? And you’ll write a lot?” Kyuhyun sniffled before Siwon got in line to go into security. Siwon pulled him into a hug.

            “Of course I will, Kyuhyun.” He answered. “Calling you will be the first thing I do as soon as I get out of the airport. And I’ll write to you about my new school and my new house and I’ll send you pictures and send you presents. I’ll do everything until you get sick of me.”

            Kyuhyun could not stop the tears from streaming down his face. “I c-can never get sick of you, hyung…” His heart broke at the thought of Siwon moving on and making new friends.

            Siwon pulled away and held up his pinky finger. “I promise that I’ll come back to Korea as soon as I get the chance and kiss you the moment I see you again.”

            Kyuhyun blushed, his heart fluttering at Siwon’s promise, and a small smile graced his lips amongst the tears. He hooked his pinky with Siwon’s and said, “You better not forget your promise.

            “I definitely won’t.” Siwon assured the shorter boy. They hugged a final time before Siwon went pass the doors to TSA. The last thing Kyuhyun saw was a single tear slide down his beloved hyung’s face.

            Eight, very long, hard years had passed.

            Siwon and Kyuhyun had kept in touch through phone calls, letters, and emails. However, it just wasn’t enough. Kyuhyun had spent his middle and high school years pretty much a loner. He wasn’t bullied, nor was he hated. He wasn’t invisible to everyone, either. He had a few friends, but none who were very close. His parents were still as busy as ever, and the older Kyuhyun got, the longer they seemed to be away, since he was more capable of taking care of himself.

            He was heartbroken when he learned that Siwon’s parents wanted him to go to college in America. Kyuhyun was sure that Siwon would come back as soon as the older graduated high school. But that wasn’t the case. He would just have to wait four more years.

            Siwon could never visit, either. During either of their breaks, something always seemed to come up. Kyuhyun had had his hopes raised far too many times during the eight years.

            Kyuhyun would graduate high school next week. His parents knew, but would be at Japan for another business trip. Once again, he would be utterly alone. But at the same time, he had been expecting this.

            He would graduate on February 03, his birthday. There would be no celebration for him. He had been invited to a few graduation parties, but decided against going to any of them. He didn’t really know anyone at school too well. He didn't want to be the awkward kid in the corner.

            The graduation ceremony flew by in a blur. However, when he walked to receive his diploma, he couldn’t get but smile. As lonely and depressing these years had been, he was quite proud of himself for finishing strong. He was ranked third in his whole grade (he had promised Siwon to study hard when he entered high school, three years after Siwon left) and had already been accepted to Seoul National University in January. To Kyuhyun, the one good thing that came out of all this was that Siwon was immensely proud of him.

            Siwon would soon graduate college, as well. He would be graduating this May. Kyuhyun couldn’t wait. His parents would allow him to fly over and watch. This was the one thing he had been looking forward to since he received permission a few months ago.

            With the graduation over, Kyuhyun walked on home. Winter was not quite over yet, and it was still snowing. Kyuhyun’s bag contained his graduation robe and diploma. He had to admit that graduating itself was kind of fun, though. Too bad no one was there to see it.

            As he slushed through the snow, someone called out to him.

            “Kyuhyun!”

            He froze. That voice. Kyuhyun slowly turned around. And there, a little bit away from him, was Siwon in all his glory. His luggage was next to him. And god. Siwon had grown taller, he was well built, he was so handsome.

            “H-hyung..”

            Kyuhyun dropped his bag and broke into a run. He was thrilled, no, he was elated. He felt like he could fly now! Siwon was back! When did he get home? How did he find Kyuhyun? What was he—

            The ground was slippery. Kyuhyun skidded, tried to regain his balance, and fell face first. Lucky for him, he landed where the snow was still fresh and not very damaging. Siwon’s eyes widened and he ran over to where Kyuhyun was. In those few moments, Kyuhyun had gotten up on all fours and was wagging his head, unable to believe he had slipped like that.

            “Kyuhyun!”

            Siwon helped Kyuhyun stand up and hastily wiped the snow from Kyuhyun's face, hair, and clothes. Instead of crying, though, Kyuhyun was smiling. The nostalgia and absurdity of the situation made him laugh suddenly. First, he just giggled, but couldn’t help it, and broke out into a loud laugh. Siwon, realizing what was happening, laughed a long with him. Their stomachs hurt from laughing, and their laughter eventually died out.

            “Are you okay?” Siwon grinned. Kyuhyun smiled back and nodded.

            Siwon pulled Kyuhyun into a hug that Kyuhyun immediately returned. Warmth. As Kyuhyun breathed in Siwon’s scent deeply, he couldn’t help but tear up at the sudden emotions that welled up inside him. It was odd. He had been laughing like a lunatic just moments before.

            “I missed you so much.” Siwon whispered, pulling away to wipe away Kyuhyun’s tears.

            Kyuhyun smiled. “I missed you, too, hyung.”

            “You’ve become more beautiful than ever.” Siwon said, the younger’s cheek. Kyuhyun blushed and looked down shyly. How he wanted to return the words, but he couldn’t find it in himself. So he gently took the hand Siwon had on his face and gave it a light squeeze before nuzzling into it.

            “I haven’t forgotten my promise, you know.” He said, pulling Kyuhyun close.

            “I haven’t either.” Kyuhyun answered.

            Siwon grinned, leaned in, and captured Kyuhyun’s lips. Both men felt fireworks within them and couldn’t help but smile as they kissed, especially when Kyuhyun slowly parted his lips. Siwon had one arm s around Kyuhyun’s waist and his free hand Kyuhyun’s hair. Both of Kyuhyun’s hands gripped onto Siwon’s coat for dear life.

            When they pulled away for air, Kyuhyun immediately threw his arms around Siwon’s neck and held him close. “I love you hyung,” he breathed out. “And I have since I was five years old.”

            Kyuhyun felt Siwon’s arms around him tighten. “I’ve loved you since I was nine and never stopped.”

            The two were at Kyuhyun’s home, about to go to bed. Siwon was terribly exhausted from the eighteen hours of flying. Siwon was sitting on the edge of the bed as Kyuhyun walked out of the bathroom. The younger walked over and planted himself in his new boyfriend's lap. Siwon wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun's waist and kissed his temple. "God Kyuhyun. You've grown so much."

           "You did too, you know." Kyuhyun said.

           Siwon nodded. They stayed this way for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence. Siwon decided to speak after a little while. "I remember when the only way to get you to stop crying was to kiss you."

           Blushing, Kyuhyun admitted. "I... I cried on purpose... just to get you to kiss me." He cringed as Siwon laughed loudly.

           "You know what?" Siwon said. "I think deep inside, I kind of knew that. I just really liked kissing you, Kyuhyun." He finished his statement by giving Kyuhyun another kiss. After a while of chatting, Kyuhyun got up to turn off the lights before crawling into bed next to Siwon. He smiled as Siwon wrapped his arms around him. This was just like all those nights when Kyuhyun slept over Siwon's home. He never felt safer than when he was with Siwon. He went over the day's events in his head, incredibly happy with the way everything had turned out. However, a question lingered on his mind.

            “How’d you know where I was, hyung?” Kyuhyun asked. He let out a sigh of content as he felt Siwon’s hand rubbing his back.

            Siwon answered, “I was at your graduation, Kyuhyun.”

            Kyuhyun pulled away, shocked. “What?! You were?!”

            Smiling, the older man nodded before pulling Kyuhyun back into place. “Yup. As soon as I got into a taxi, I went to your school and watched. I was so proud of you when it was your turn. Afterwards, I couldn’t find you with all the people and realized you must have left. So I decided to go to your house, and spotted you on the way. I couldn’t believe my luck.”

           Stunned, Kyuhyun could only say,  “Hyung…Thank you…” So he hadn’t been alone at his graduation, after all.

            “Anything for my Kyuhyun.” Siwon answered. “And I’m sorry I couldn’t get you any flowers. It slipped my mind. I was rushing because I thought I was going to miss your graduation.”

            “It’s alright. Having you here is way better than all the flowers in the world.” Kyuhyun couldn’t believe Siwon was genuinely apologizing for something like that in the first place.

            After a few minutes of talking, Kyuhyun then learned that Siwon was still on winter break, and that he would have to return in two weeks. He would then see Kyuhyun in May, during his own graduation. Then, Siwon would return to Korea to try to get a job.

            “And we can finally be together?” Kyuhyun asked, after Siwon had finished talking.

            “We can finally be together.” Siwon confirmed. He grinned as he felt Kyuhyun squirm in excitement in his arms.

            Kyuhyun finally closed his eyes. “I’m happy.” He whispered.

            Siwon kissed Kyuhyun on the top of his head. “Me too. And I love you.”

            “I love you,” Kyuhyun answered, before drifting off to sleep with a smile on his face.

I feel like the one shots are getting worse. Hm. This seemed so much better in my head, too..

Oh, I changed my username. It used to be k-ross for anyone who cares. When I changed it, I felt like a totally different person. It was weird.

P.S. I hope I don't come off as a rude , but please refrain from sending random friend requests. We can talk first (: and then be friends! I'm nice!