A/N: Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to and commented on this fic! :D

---

There were several reasons why Choi Siwon avoided committed relationships at all cost and this was but one of them.

By all manners of definition, what he had with the boy could not exactly be called a 'relationship'; but there was commitment in it, and it was the word which left Siwon standing with a frown in front of Kyuhyun's bedroom on a particular Saturday night. He had just returned from one of many social functions which cluttered his schedule like files and folders would his desk on a particularly hectic day. His plan for the rest of the night consisted of a good book with a bottle of wine and a bit of jazz to help him unwind.

Or at least that had been his plan before Zhou Mi called on the way home and reminded him, among others, about his next business trip to Tokyo. Ever since, a thought had nestled in his mind and refused to sink into oblivion until it was turned into a concrete action.

Siwon sighed. He hated this part of personal relationships; the efforts needed to nurture and maintain them were simply too troublesome for him. It was why his dates and occasional lays rarely ever lasted more than one night. This one would have met the same fate, except Kyuhyun had suddenly found himself without a home and Siwon was perfectly aware that a large portion of the blame was rightly laid on his door. And he was never one to shrink from responsibility.

The decision to let Kyuhyun live with him, however, had been taken on the spur of the moment. It was so unlike him that even now, Siwon still marvelled at—and often regretted—his extraordinary impulse. When it came to matters of the intimate kind, he liked things to be short-lived. Something beautifully ephemeral and pleasantly transitory suited him much better than a prolonged union with no egress in sight. A fleeting romance would soon fade into golden wisps of what-once-was, and these, with time, would slowly coalesce into a beautiful sketch of memory enshrined in the book of his past, easily tucked away and forgotten when he had no need of it.

There would be no lasting attachment, and therefore no lasting burden. Which might just be as well since it was only too clear that they all wanted the so-called relationship with him mainly for his money.

Ironically enough, the one he had decided to keep in the end was the most obviously mercenary of them all. His abundance of fine attributes notwithstanding, Siwon was not arrogant enough to think that Kyuhyun could possibly harbour some kind of affection toward him. The boy had absolutely no use of him except for his wealth and protection. Siwon knew this, and yet he allowed it to happen all the same.

And next Tuesday would mark the sixteen-week anniversary of their arrangement.

The sudden realisation was disturbing enough that Siwon almost turned around and fled to seek refuge in the safe familiarity of his bedroom. Only a sound coming from behind Kyuhyun’s half-closed door stopped the progress of his retreat.

He halted—surprised, curious, entranced. It was the soft humming of a voice, lightly tracing the rise and fall of a familiar tune. He recognised it as a ballad song from a popular singer Zhou Mi often listened to. That Kyuhyun should have known the same song was not surprising; it was the fact that he was singing which captured Siwon's attention.

And then the voice rose. He stepped closer, caught in silent wonder as the faint notes and indistinct hums bloomed into perfectly rounded words, carried afloat by a beautiful tenor. Kyuhyun's voice had always been one of the qualities he found attractive in the boy, but this was different. This sounded different. There was roughness still, along with a decided lack of pitch control and a distinct style, and yet it arrested him like no other voice had, and Siwon found himself pushing the door open a little wider.

The sight which greeted his eyes was enough to make him stop for the second time.

Kyuhyun was standing in the middle of the room, eyes closed in complete rapture, emotions a whirlwind across his face as he sang to the song coming from the earphones stuck in his ears. His arms were spread, as if he was standing on a stage in front of his adoring fans—and that was what he was doing, Siwon realised all of a sudden. Pretending that he was singing on stage.

But the realisation came too late. Kyuhyun's eyes flew open after a particularly ambitious (and unfortunately not particularly successful) attempt at a high note. The burst of shock, anger, and painful mortification blighting his face at the sight of him further convinced Siwon that this was something he should not have witnessed.

“What are you doing here?” Kyuhyun demanded sharply, tearing his earphones off with one angry yank.

“The door was open,” Siwon explained, the unfamiliar nip of guilt and discomfort slinking into his heart.

“So you just decided to walk in?”

“Yes.”

Kyuhyun opened his mouth, clearly on the verge of delivering a biting retort when something very much like fear dawned on his face. Siwon could easily guess the thoughts shifting in Kyuhyun's head—how he calculated the variables of this particular situation against the parameters of their 'relationship', and in the end decided to favour safety above any desire to punch back.

“I didn't mean–”

“It's alright,” Siwon interrupted him abruptly. For reasons he had yet to identify, he despised every word of apology coming from Kyuhyun's mouth. “I’ve never heard you sing before,” he added after a pause, determined to change the subject. “You have a wonderful voice.”

It was interesting to note how the little compliment made the boy blush like nothing else ever could. “I thought you’d come home later than this,” he mumbled, looking away.

“I’m not in the mood for parties. And to be honest, listening to you sing is much more interesting.”

The colour deepened in Kyuhyun’s cheek and Siwon didn’t miss the glare thrown at his direction. “Fine, just make fun of me.”

“No, really.” He couldn’t help but smile at the childish tone and pout. Siwon would freely admit that he liked it when the boy talked back at him. For the past two weeks, Kyuhyun had been rather reserved, more subdued and careful somehow in both his words and actions. Not surprising, perhaps, considering what had happened with the scholarship and all, but Siwon honestly found this change more than a little disagreeable.

Which was yet another reason why he shouldn’t have attempted to cultivate any sort of extended relationship above the friendship level.

“Yes, really. You’re even smiling now, in case you haven't noticed,” Kyuhyun pointed out with another glare.

“Only because I think you can be a singer with a voice like that.”

Kyuhyun scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Siwon had not gone so far and high in the world without the necessary skills of reading people in one glance and perceiving what lay beneath the crude masks they stubbornly wore. The tension which had suddenly gripped the boy’s posture was telling enough—the idea was far from a stranger to his mind. In fact, Siwon suspected, it must have been a frequent, persistent visitor.

“Would you sing me a song?”

Kyuhyun made a face at him. “No. You’ll just make fun of me again.”

“I promise I won’t.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“If I crack even one smile, you’ll get to ask anything from me.”

That, at least, caught Kyuhyun’s attention. Siwon could see the ongoing battle waged by his tempting offer inside Kyuhyun’s head and had to wonder what the boy would actually ask if he won the bet.

It almost made him want to lose on purpose.

“Alright,” Kyuhyun finally said, sounding like he thoroughly hated himself for giving in. “I'll make you regret it when I win.”

“I have absolutely no intention to lose either,” Siwon returned solemnly, if not entirely truthfully.

Kyuhyun shot him one final glare and then took a deep breath, face set with determination. Crossing his arms, Siwon leaned against the doorframe and schooled his expression into a neutral one, prepared to listen.

The moment Kyuhyun opened his mouth, he knew at once that this would be a joke.

Siwon felt a tinge of annoyance—and no little disappointment—stirring in his chest. He didn't recognise the song, but the provocative lyrics and Kyuhyun’s breathy, sensual voice chased away any lingering doubt as to what the objective of this little performance was. The boy wanted to win; it was the reason why he put on this charade, lashes lowered and a half smirk twisting his mouth as he walked slowly toward him, the song spilling from his lips in a series of sounds more suited for the bedroom than the stage. He only ceased his advance when he had his front a scant millimetre away from Siwon's. His eyes were dark, the colour heavy with promise, but his fingers were not quite steady as he guided them in a climb up Siwon’s dress shirt, past the unravelled bowtie, to lace behind his neck.

Then he stopped.

Siwon waited, perfectly aware of the frown creasing his brow and yet curious enough to stay still. The old Kyuhyun would have proceeded to kiss him, or at least tempt him with wicked smiles and sultry whispers and take one hell of an advantage out of their proximity. The old Kyuhyun, however, was still a scholarship student and wouldn't care much if he was walking a tightrope, as long as there was still a net to catch him underneath.

And the old Kyuhyun was no longer here. No sooner that the boy's hands had settled behind his neck, they let go again, sliding down past Siwon's shoulders back to his sides. Kyuhyun took one step back, expression closed, a short, self-conscious, and utterly mirthless laugh escaping his lips.

“Fine, you win this time,” he said, eyes looking anywhere but at the older man.

Siwon could feel his frown deepen. “You haven't even begun yet,” he stated, catching the boy's arm before he could run away.

Kyuhyun's eyes narrowed as his tone sharpened. “I’ve lost, okay? The game's over. Now let me go.”

Siwon took no heed of the demand and stepped closer instead. “Do you want to be a singer?” he asked point-blank.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Kyuhyun hissed, something resembling panic rising in his eyes.

“Because I think you do.”

“You don't know–”

“Anything about you, true, but I don't have to know to see something so obvious. You want to be a singer. You want to stand on a stage and capture the hearts of your audience with your voice. You want to sing, period.  In fact, you want it so, so badly you couldn't even look me in the eye when you tried to cheapen your dreams like what you did earlier.”

The sudden film of tears glazing over Kyuhyun’s eyes was an answer enough. “Yes,” the boy whispered, hand clutching at his chest as if in pain.

Siwon tightened his grip. “Then do better than this. You can do better than this.”

“I’m scared.”

The painful honesty locked in those two little words made Siwon’s breath catch. He didn't understand the feeling of wanting something—anything—that much, so much that fear ruled every breath and shadowed every turn. Kyuhyun wore this dream almost like shame, because it was something so distant, so impossible and unattainable, and yet he wanted it so much, like a boy yearning to touch the stars.

“Try again,” Siwon broke their silence.

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What– singing? No, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“You know why.”

“I’m afraid not.”

A new hint of redness trickled into Kyuhyun’s cheeks. “How do you expect me to sing after you’ve just made me—not that I cried or anything—but my voice–”

And so Siwon decided to kiss him. It seemed to be the wisest thing to do, with Kyuhyun looking like he was seconds away from either strangling him or bursting from embarrassment. The muffled protest died into shocked silence and Siwon took the opportunity to pull him closer and deepen the kiss.

What he did not expect was the surge of triumph filling up his chest when the boy went from tense to warm and pliant in his arms. Not even scoring one of his phenomenal and tremendously lucrative business deals made him feel like this. (It was certainly a thought worthy of a lengthy perusal later tonight.)

Kyuhyun still looked slightly murderous when they broke apart. “If you think you can change my mind with a kiss…”

“Of course not,” Siwon replied calmly, one of his hands still leisurely Kyuhyun's back. “I don’t think a song from you can be so cheaply bought. My offer is this: instead of one, you’ll get to ask two things from me.”

“There’s no way in hell–”

“Three, then.”

Kyuhyun sputtered into silence. A range of conflicting emotions flitted across his face before greed defeated all else and reigned supreme.

“I really hate you sometimes.”

“Three it is,” Siwon sealed the deal with a smile.

Kyuhyun huffed and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. A few seconds passed in silence, and then he began once more. His voice was deeper this time, but softer and sweeter somehow. Less pretentious, flaunting less trappings—merely a voice flowing from the heart. The faults were still there, but if Siwon had ever been in love before, he might have recognised the symptoms when those faults failed to reduce his admiration even by a fraction.

“I was right, you know,” he said when Kyuhyun had finished, fading echoes of the song still caressing his ears. “You really can be a singer with a voice like that.”

This time, it was purely pleasure which brought colour to Kyuhyun's cheeks.

End

---

Note: WHAT IS THIS FLUFFFY ENDING OMG ;_; I'm really sorry but honestly it just happened that way orz

And yeah, Siwon completely forgot why he came into Kyuhyun’s room in the first place lol That wil be dealt with in the next part xD