The weekend was finally over.

Their intern hours at the company had seemed almost endless for Sungmin, stuck in the stifling office with his –he cringed at the word- father, eating lunch by himself in the office, and worst of all, not seeing Kyuhyun even though they were in the same building.

The young boy didn’t mind the work, no, he almost enjoyed the predictability and regularity his schedule brought him; doing the same tasks every day was almost comforting in a sense to him. T

he lack of Kyuhyun though, as much as he tried to hide it from even himself, was less than pleasant. He didn’t know when he got so used to the presence of the young man in his life. Sungmin hated to admit it, but he really had fallen for the tall brunette. Sungmin missed the feeling of their intertwined fingers during rehearsal breaks and he missed those smiles Kyuhyun would send his way during rests in the concerto. The young teenager missed their music tutoring sessions and their piano playing together.

Blushing a bright apple red, Sungmin ducked his head as he thought about what he missed the most.

Kyuhyun’s kisses.

The way Kyuhyun always treated him like delicate china, carefully wrapping the blonde up in his arms before softly pressing their lips flush together, fingers intertwined like 2 magnets clicking together.

Sungmin hastily shook his head. No, if he couldn’t even admit to himself that he had a crush on the boy, he had no right to be thinking about kisses.

What was he to Kyuhyun anyways?

Sungmin had tried hard to block out the scene with Victoria asking Kyuhyun the same question from his mind as he silently dwelled on his thoughts.

They started out as childish enemies, he supposed, with their pranks and harsh words that belied a youthful disposition. He couldn’t recall when exactly had they become friends.

Had it happen during those endless rehearsals with Heechul being a common nuisance?

Or was “friends” even the right word to describe them?

He remembered Kyuhyun taking him home that day from rehearsal when he had a fever and the subsequent misunderstanding that arose. Sungmin thought back to their first tutoring session together and how that led to their “date”, as Kyuhyun called it.

Were they dating then?

Does going to a concert together mean that they were dating?

Sungmin shook his head, a silent no to his own thoughts.

But what were they then?

His relationship with Kyuhyun was different than the one he had with friends, with Ryeowook and Donghae. They never admitted their feelings to each other either.

So were they really just…classmates? He couldn’t help but remember the words Kyuhyun told Victoria in the staff lounge that day. Classmates.

Was that really the best way to describe them?

“What are you thinking about?”

Kyuhyun’s deep voice brought him back out of his thoughts as he smiled hesitantly up at the taller boy. The cellist had invited Sungmin to his house after rehearsal, asking the blonde to critique his solo performance as well as a duet piece he’d be playing later for the Symphony solo recital. Sungmin had declined, hastily reminding the boy that he was a complete novice at music, but Kyuhyun persisted.

“There are some things that you don’t need to be a musician to understand” the boy had said, pulling Sungmin’s hand and holding it tightly with his own.

Sungmin couldn’t refuse that and had followed the teenager, both walking in companionable silence towards the Kyuhyun’s apartment complex. The cellist had retired to his room to change into more comfortable clothing as Sungmin waited in the music room, eyes lingering over the sheet music scattered across the floor.

The young man’s question had interrupted his thoughts about them enough for Sungmin to gently remind himself that he had a purpose in coming here today. Replying a quick ‘nothing’ to appease Kyuhyun, the blonde quickly gestured for Kyuhyun to play for him. The brunette smiled and patted the piano bench for Sungmin to sit as he reached for his instrument.

“What are you playing for the solo recital?” Sungmin asked out of curiosity as Kyuhyun began setting up his rock stop and stand.

“Ah. It’s a duet piece called Dolci Pianti. Strauss, I believe, is the composer.”

Sungmin blinked his eyes.

“Italian?”

Kyuhyun laughed at the blonde’s unconsciously cute expression. A curious Sungmin was like a newborn bunny, sniffling nose, wide glimmering eyes and all.

“Yes. It means ‘sweet tears’.”

Sungmin nodded in response. Perching comfortably on the piano bench, he looked like a young child watching an admired idol as he looked at Kyuhyun’s figure holding onto the cello.

The young man set his bow on the string and closed his eyes, a slight smile on his face as he steadied his hands. The bow seemed to almost float over the strings as luscious dulcet tones were produced under Kyuhyun’s well-trained fingers, his vibrato hauntingly beautiful and fitting for the bitter sweet piece.

Sungmin too closed his eyes as he listened.

It wasn’t a particularly long piece, the short 4 minutes mere seconds compared to the long hour long concertos Kyuhyun was used to. Nevertheless, the cellist poured every emotion he possessed into the performance, hoping that Sungmin could feel what he’s feeling with every melancholy nuance and loving melody.

Kyuhyun couldn’t bother himself with the technicalities of the piece anymore. No, those things were just inkblots on a page. Those things weren’t music. The performer was the music, the way he put his heart and soul into the instructions the composer gave.

That collaboration was music, and music captured the heart.  

Kyuhyun wondered if Sungmin could now understand why he brought him here today. He had never been good with words, and as a child often ignored, he had quickly learned that sharp biting words were often the best self-defense. He didn’t know how to express how he felt to Sungmin, the words dying on his tongue every time he tried. Kyuhyun wanted to show Sungmin just how much the blonde meant to him, to tell him that he was the only one in his heart. But he didn’t know how to do that.

So he simply prayed that Sungmin would understand his music.

As Kyuhyun lifted his bow from the string in the conclusion of the piece, Sungmin couldn’t help but smile at the young man.

“It was beautiful.”

But truly, it was more than that. Throughout the course of their afterschool rehearsals, Sungmin had heard Kyuhyun play many times. Each time, the boy was technically flawless, without a single note missed, every marked articulation deftly performed, every crescendo skillfully executed. The bow stayed a perfect 90 degrees to the strings and parallel to the bridge, his elbow never drooped, eyes always locked on the music and in occasion, the conductor.

But today, it was different. If his previous performances could be compared to stunning perfection, this time, in the warm afternoon sunlight of his music room, his music was like a gorgeously human artwork. It was raw with emotion and Sungmin felt as if the music wrapped him up in a thick cashmere blanket, the notes cushioning him with love and care that were beyond his belief. The precision no longer mattered.

It was the distinct touch of the boy himself in the music that made it so special.

And it was this music that made Sungmin forget his worries about what they were to each other. It reminded him that sometimes, just staying by Kyuhyun’s side, he could be happy for an eternity.

The Symphony Recital was the biggest venue for fine arts in the country. This yearly concert’s tickets were near impossible to purchase without some sort of connections and competition was harsh for a spot in the line-up. Only the best were allowed to perform on the prestigious stage and as the concert that showcased upcoming young talent, it was an opportunity as well as a tantalizing glimpse to what could be.

Standing on the stage during an early rehearsal, facing the ocean of red velvet seats before them, Donghae and Hyukjae felt small.

They were the featured dance performers for this year’s annual showcase, a hard-won spot to be sure with the entire nation’s dance students competing for the prodigious opportunity.

While they played violin and viola in orchestra respectively, it was to assist them in their dancing, a request made by their own dance teacher when he declared that they didn’t have enough appreciation for the music in order to dance with the meaning of the sound in mind. As they struggled with learning arpeggios and memorized the different characteristics of music periods, the two gradually began to understand just what their instructors meant.

Dance, like orchestra, was an expression.

While the latter used instruments to express the joy, hate, anger, and hurt of life, dance was an expression of the body. With every twist, jump, turn, pirouette, and smile, was a new meaning. With this newfound understanding, their dancing quickly improved.

And now, they found themselves on this stage.

“Hae, we can do this.”

Donghae looked at his best friend, his longest friend. They had known each other since they were in diapers, their mothers close friends and their children even closer as they grew older. They shared their toys with each other, their stories about the first tooth they had lost, and, no matter how much Donghae wanted to write it off as a childish mistake, Hyukjae had been his first kiss.

Donghae had always been a crybaby and while it was normal for babies to cry, crying was no longer cool once they reached kindergarten. Some of the bigger kids had gotten the notion that punching the crying child would be a fun way to pass recess time and Donghae couldn’t fend off their much bigger fists and bodies.

Having gone to the bathroom, Hyukjae returned to find his friend cornered, the small boy’s whimpers making the young toddler angry towards the larger bullies. Hyukjae himself was not tall. He had been a skinny lanky boy even back in his toddler years but despite this obvious physical set back, the young child back then had charged at the aggressors, screaming like a rabid monkey as he shoved past the older kids to grab his Hae. The two had quickly run off before the bullies could even process what had happened.

As they finally reached a quieter isolated section of the playground, Hyukjae had made Donghae sit down on a swing, peering at his friend’s face anxiously to check for signs of damage.

Catching his friend’s hands, Donghae smiled before pecking the surprised boy on the lips.

“I’m okay Hyukkie, thanks to you!”

Unbeknownst to them, both of the now teenage boys were thinking back to that kiss as they stood on the silent stage. With straigtened backs, they faced the empty audience and began their routine, passion evident with every movement and every gaze.

I know you’ll always be there for me.

I’ll always have your back Hae. 

AN: So before I get bricked for not updating in a month x.x yay for happy kyumin and eunhae in this chapter <3 To be honest, my psychology summer school course has been killing me (200 vocab definitionis in a weekend) and the all state violin etudes have not been kind to me either. So updates will be slow :( BUT i will work on the next chapters diligently and hopefully everyone will enjoy. Did you all like the happiness in this chapter? Thoughts and suggestions in the comments please :D Thanks for subscribing, reading, and upvoting everyone :D