Strangers

...

2007

Unfortunately, the next year there was no sight of Siwon. Kyuhyun stood in the same corner looking out of the window, admiring how the snow fell on the ground and how it got mixed with the other drops, he watched how some people would pass by now and then, wearing coats and scarves and enjoying the beauty of the winter, while he was just sadly envying them for being able to walk through the snowy streets.

Kyunnie waited and waited for hours but Siwon never showed up. His heart broke a little bit and his tears flew down his face.

Maybe he’s sick? Maybe his father didn’t let him go out? Maybe he’s still stuck in the street rush? Questions that were running through Kyuhyun’s head.

…

Christmas of 2007

For the next days, it was still the same thing. Kyuhyun would wait for Siwon by the window, but the latter never came. Kyuhyun was planning on finally seeing Siwon face to face. He was planning on hearing his voice. He was planning on thanking him properly for being his friend. Yet… it didn’t go as planned.

When the last night of the week came to an end, Kyuhyun just curled up as a ball next to the Christmas tree, glancing at the glistening star on top, and wishing Siwon hadn’t forget about him that year. Kyuhyun tightened his grip on the blanket wrapped around his skinny figure as he fought the nagging thoughts running through his head.

…

New Year’s Eve came and went, and still Kyunnie didn't see Siwon. Kyunnie had been extremely sad and having the worst Christmas ever. He was sulking all day, staring outside the window and hoping his awaiting someone would show up.

If Kyuhyun knew the year before was his last Christmas with Siwon, he would’ve made sure to at least hear Siwon’s voice and see him up close. Kyuhyun started to regret denying Siwon’s request, especially when the latter never showed up again, not the next year, or the one after.

…

2008

After the second Christmas, Kyuhyun realized Siwon wouldn’t come back again. The little boy was already sixteen and as much as he liked to pretend to be a mature guy, deep down he missed being pampered by Siwon. He missed talking to him for hours even though it was just through the glass. He missed his Wonnie, but there was nothing he could do about it.

…

2009

After the third Christmas, Kyuhyun’s family moved out to another neighborhood, and as much as Kyuhyun didn’t want to leave that house where Siwon may come back again someday, he had no perfect reason to argue with his parents.

…

2012

Three years later, Kyuhyun’s father got a promotion and was moved to Seoul.  Kyuhyun was twenty years old by then and in his second year of college, so he had to transfer. Yes, his parents finally let him go to college after a lot of pleading from the boy, but he promised he would study from home on the winter.

Luckily, the college was close to where Kyuhyun’s new home was located and so his parents were kind of relieved they get to watch over their son in the big city.

…

It was falll and the weather was just starting to turn a bit chilly, and Kyuhyun liked how the wind was playing with his hair and how the leafs were falling down his shoulders on his way to school.

It was already Kyuhyun’s third week in his new college. He wasn’t very popular in the school he attended in Busan, no surprise in that, and so he wished this time would be different. He knew the winter was coming, which only meant being stuck at home with his parents and missing once again the beauty of it all.

…

Kyuhyun sighed as he finished his morning classes and was heading to the canteen to have lunch. It was pretty much like usual, sitting alone at a table in the corner, munching on his food and minding his own business. It wasn’t like Kyuhyun was a loner, it was just that he wasn’t used on socializing with people. He never learned how to, because he never went to school until college in Busan where he couldn’t, or didn’t, know how to start a conversation with anyone.

“Mind if I join you?”

Kyuhyun was lost in thoughts that he didn’t notice someone standing in front of him. His head shot up and looked at a certain boy who seemed his age, smiling widely at him and waiting for an answer. Kyuhyun only nodded and kept staring at the boy who made himself comfortable and even stole a fry from his plate.

“I’m Donghae. We’re in the same music class”

Kyuhyun nodded again and narrowed his eyes, trying to remember if he saw the boy before. But, since he never looked at anything except his teacher and the board, he couldn’t recognize him.

“And you are?” Donghae added, cutting Kyuhyun’s train of thoughts.

“Sorry, I’m Kyuhyun. Nice to meet you Donghae-ssi”

“What’s with the formality? We’re the same age!”

Kyuhyun smiled at the pout on Donghae’s face and he soon picked another fry and lifted it to the latter’s mouth.

“Can I call you Hae?” Kyuhyun asked sheepishly and Donghae nodded as he smiled again and welcomed the fry presented to him.

Kyuhyun’s face was blushing but he was happy. Someone actually approached him and wanted to get to know him, even though it kind of left him nostalgic thinking about his first friend.

…

So Kyuhyun was finally being accepted by his classmates thanks to Donghae even though they hadn't been friends for too long. Kyuhyun was always cheerful and the smile never left his face because he wasn’t alone anymore. He had already told Donghae about his almost death when he was young, thus his fear of winter. The latter was very sad about it, but it didn’t change anything in their friendship.

…

One day at mid fall, Kyuhyun and Donghae were standing at the college entrance waiting for Donghae’s boyfriend to pick them up. Kyuhyun already met Hyukjae a couple of times and found him very nice and quite perfect for his friend. He thought that they both clicked.

However, as they were waiting, the sky suddenly turned gloomy and it started raining. Kyuhyun started freaking out and rushed back inside, thus startling his friend that had no choice but to run after him. Donghae kept shouting Kyuhyun’s name, but the latter didn’t turn around. He just kept half walking half running until he reached one of the classrooms and dashed inside.

“Yah! Kyu, what’s wrong?” Donghae asked, but when he saw how Kyuhyun curled up in one corner of the classroom, knees brought to his chest and body rocking from one side to the other, he was soon crouching before him and patting his back.

“Hae… It wasn’t supposed to rain today!” Kyuhyun stated and Donghae understood what the boy was talking about. He engulfed him in his arms and comforted him.

“It’s okay, Kyu. Nothing will happen to you”  

Kyuhyun started sobbing as he buried his head in Donghae’s chest. His mind was playing all kinds of scenarios since he never went out in the rain because he might get sick again.

“Hyukkie will drive you home. You’ll be safe”

“I can’t go outside Hae! Not when it’s raining like that. I don’t wanna die”

Kyuhyun’s tears were still running down and Donghae’s heart sank at the view. When Kyuhyun told him about his almost death experience, he never thought it was that serious. He already asked Kyuhyun before if he was certain it would happen again, but the latter didn’t want to think about it. He was scared and he trusted his mother’s intuition.

“Let me call Hyukkie and we’ll figure something out, okay?” Donghae wiped Kyuhyun’s tears with his thumbs before picking up his phone to call his boyfriend.

Once he hanged up, he turned to Kyuhyun and assured him again that everything will be fine.

“He’s on his way. I’m sure it will stop raining soon”

Donghae didn’t know what he should do. It was heavily raining outside, and there might be a storm coming up from the sound of the light thunder. The room was chilly because it was after College hours so the heater was off, and thus Donghae could only comfort his friend and hope Hyukjae would come soon and figure out some solution.

…

Minutes later, Hyukjae arrived and was startled to see Kyuhyun sobbing in his boyfriend’s arms. Donghae had already told him about his friend’s condition and so he had a pretty good idea about the reason behind Kyuhyun’s crying.

“Hey Kyu, I’m gonna take you to my apartment, okay? It’s just around the block”

Kyuhyun abruptly stood up and repeatedly shook his head because he was against the idea of going outside when there was a huge storm.

“I-I can’t!”

“Kyu look at me. The room here is freezing. You can’t stay here all night. My house has a heater and you’ll be okay. Me and Hae will take care of you. You can call your parents from there”

Hyukjae tried to reason with him and Kyuhyun’s eyes shifted between him and Donghae for a couple of seconds before he finally nodded. He was already starting to feel cold in the class and as much as he was afraid of going out, he trusted his friends.

…

Luckily the parking lot was roofed and so they didn’t get wet from the rain. They drove to Hyukjae’s apartment and they quickly led Kyuhyun to one of the rooms and tucked him under the blanket so he wouldn’t get cold. The younger found several missed calls on his phone from his mother and decided to call her back. She was very relieved to know he was safe and told him she would pick him up the next morning.

Kyuhyun was very tired from his earlier sobbing that his eyelids felt heavy and he soon drifted to sleep. Hyukjae and Donghae walked out to the living room after making sure the A/C was working and they slammed their bodies into the couch, sighing for Kyuhyun’s safety for the time being.

Few minutes later, there was a click on the door and a young man stepping inside the room, while rubbing his hands together for warmth.

“What’s with the sad look? Did you guys have a fight?” He exclaimed upon seeing the two sitting calmly on the couch with a sad look on their faces.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with your father?”

“There’s a storm outside. We canceled our plans”

“I thought you won’t be here tonight, I already gave your bed to Hae’s friend”

“What? How come?” The guy asked confused

“He’s going through something hyung. Please let him stay the night here, ha?” Donghae asked with his puppy eyes look that no one could resist.

Hyukjae’s best friend slash roommate slash classmate approached the two boys and sat himself in the middle, before dropping each arm on the boys shoulders.

“Was he dumped or something?”

“Yah! Hyung, can you be any more sensitive?” Donghae snapped back and the guy raised his hands in defeat as he stood up. Clearly his friends were in no mood for joking.

“Okay, okay. I’ll go get my clothes and will sleep on the couch. Happy?”

He didn’t wait for his friends to say anything as he exited the living room and headed to his bedroom. He slowly opened the door and his sight landed on the figure lying on his bed, back facing him and curled up under the blanket in a fetal position. He silently walked to his closet and pulled out his pajama before turning around to leave. However, instead of walking out, he took a step closer to the sleeping boy. Kyuhyun’s face was buried under the blanket and only his forehead and a part of his eyes were showing. The guy’s eyes narrowed as he tried to examine the figure in front of him. His eyes wander to Kyuhyun’s fluffy chocolate hair that was covering his forehead and a sad smile curved on his lips.

It’s like Kyunnie’s hair… It’s a storm outside, so he must be stuck at home right now…

Siwon sighed before leaving his bedroom and walking back to the living room, intending to kick the two love birds so he would get some sleep.

…

Early in the next morning, Kyuhyun woke up with a headache and puffy eyes from all of the crying. He slowly opened his eyes and let them wander across the room, remembering what had happened the night before and where was he. Not until a few seconds that he recalled about the storm and about his friends bringing him to Hyukjae’s house.

He felt his throat sore and so he slowly climbed off the bed to go get a glass of water. When he reached the kitchen, there was a figure standing in front of the fridge which Kyuhyun soon realized, it was neither Donghae's nor Hyukjae's.

When Siwon turned around, he was startled to see Kyuhyun standing at the entrance. His heart started pounding in his chest but he figured it was due to the boy scaring him.

“Oh god, you scared me!”

Kyuhyun bent his head down and nervously fidgeted with his fingers. Siwon was staring at him from head to toe before approaching him and sitting on the kitchen’s counter.

“So you’re the one who stole my bed last night?”

That made Kyuhyun snap his head up and look at Siwon. His face was blushing and his lips were curved into a pout.

“I’m sorry”

That pout…

“Who are you?” Kyuhyun asked as he tilted his head to the side, slightly frowning, trying to figure out who this familiar man was. 

That frown…

“I should be the one asking you that” Siwon replied with a frown as well, trying to figure out why his heartbeat was still racing.

“I’m Donghae’s friend” Kyuhyun introduced himself and turned around to leave the kitchen. However, as he was about to, he was held up by a grip on his wrist.

Those orbs… That look…

“What’s your name?” Siwon asked, making Kyuhyun’s body flinch at the proximity between their faces. His eyes stared at Siwon’s and his heart started pounding in his chest. He narrowed his eyes in focus, trying to remember where had they met before, but his brain wasn’t corroborating.

“Have we met before?” Siwon asked again, cutting Kyuhyun’s train of thought.

“I think so” Kyuhyun raised his index finger to his mouth, tapping his plump lips, trying to recall how he knew the guy in front of him.

Siwon couldn’t help but smile widely at the view in front of him, thinking the boy looked cute like that. Suddenly, Kyuhyun jumped backwards and took a few steps back.

“Dimples!” Kyuhyun shouted before he clamped a hand over his mouth, caussing Siwon to get startle at the scared look in the younger’s eyes. Was he that surprised by my dimples?

Siwon stood up and tried to walk closer to Kyuhyun but the latter took some steps backward until his back hit the wall.

“Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” Siwon asked confused, but Kyuhyun wasn’t saying anything. He was just standing there and shaking his head from one side to the other as a lone tear escaped his eye.

Upon seeing Kyuhyun’s tear, Siwon was soon in front of him, worried that the boy was hurting somewhere. However, what he didn’t see coming, was what Kyuhyun whispered when he lowered the hand that was clasped over his mouth.

“Wonnie?”

Siwon’s eyes bulged out as everything started to click in his head.

Donghae said his friend was going through something, and it unexpectedly rained yesterday, and the things I kept remembering, his hair, his frown, his eyes, his pout… How can I be so blind? It’s…It’s…

 “Kyunnie?”

-Tbc-