Stretching his arms above his head, Sungmin blinked his eyes sleepily as he shifted around in his bed. His head felt considerably lighter after he had slept, his entire body feeling more refreshed than it had in ages.

Throwing a hand over his alarm clock, he brought the pink Hello Kitty shaped clock close to his face, eyes squinting as he read the time. To his surprise, he had slept more than 12 hours, the now rising sun filtering through his blinds as he hastily sat up in bed. If he had stayed in bed for just another half hour more, he would’ve been late to school, something Sungmin definitely did not want happening as he probably already had piles of makeup work waiting for him.

He remember how he used to love missing school, spending time doing whatever he liked with just simple coloring activities to work on when he came back. Now missing days of school was just a pain in the , adding extra stress to his already maxed out work load.

Hearing a light chuckle as he ran his hands through his sleep tousled hair, Sungmin turned to his door to find his cousin leaning against the door frame, arms crossed in a very motherly manner.

“Rise and shine sleeping beauty! Did my princess finally decide to wake up now?” Heechul asked the blonde in a sing-song voice, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

He knew that Sungmin hated being called princess, this pet peeve starting since Pre-K when Heechul had dressed up the poor boy as Princess Peach for Halloween after threatening to cut off the boy’s bubble tea supply if he did not comply with the diva’s whims. Little Sungmin had pulled of the costume very well, his cute looks matching perfectly with the pink bouncy dress and blonde pig tails, earning him 3 bucket’s worth  of candy from squealing mothers and noonas alike as he went trick or treating.

However, while the little toddler loved the pink color of the outfit as well as the candy he received, he really didn’t appreciate being called a girl by all those towering adults who ignored his little squeals of “Minnie is a boy!”

Therefore, ever since that incident, Heehchul had used this to his advantage, calling his dongsaeng  a princess whenever he was in a particularly vicious mood to tease the younger.

“Yah hyung! Don’t tease, it’s too early in the morning for this” Sungmin whined, an adorable pout on his face as he faced the now laughing man.

“Oh you’re not getting out of teasing for sure today young man. Now what is this thing you have going on with that Cho brat eh? Never thought he was your type to be honest. Weren’t you more into guys like Yuhno? The manly responsible kind right? When did you start going for arrogant and selfish? I was quite surprised when Cho came barging into my office telling me my little dongsaeng was his boyfriend.”

Sungmin sighed. Kyuhyun again. Why couldn’t he just escape any mentions of that boy for at least a day? He really didn’t want to have to think about the cellist right now, the man having already plagued his mind for longer than what would be considered healthy. Closing his eyes in frustration, he ran his hands through his hair in annoyance, hating how easily he was affected by even the dark haired musician’s name.

“Heechul, not now please. There’s nothing going on between us. He was just messing with you hyung.”

Heechul raised his eyebrows.

“Are you sure Sungmin?”

Yes, Sungmin thought, I know there is nothing. After all, it was nothing but a game to Kyuhyun. It meant nothing to him. It must not, cannot mean anything to me.

“Yes hyung, trust me, I know what I’m saying.”

Heechul eyed his cousin curiously.

On the outside, Sungmin looked better than before, his appearance much healthier after getting his much needed sleep. His pale skin was less sallow and the dark circles under his eyes less severe, his baby looking less like a zombie even if he had been a rather cute little zombie.

However, there was something forced in his reply to Heechul’s question, a tinge of bitterness in his voice when he answered him. After raising Sungmin since the boy was left to him as a baby, Heechul could easily read the boy like the back of his own hand, any pretenses useless against his intuitive eyes. He could tell that his dongsaeng didn’t want to talk about Kyuhyun, the blonde looking wistful and a bit sad whenever the man was mentioned.

Knowing that it is best to leave the two teenagers to solve their problems, whatever it may be, themselves, Heechul didn’t inquire any further, simply reminding Sungmin that they needed to get to school soon. As Sungmin left to gather his things from his room, Heechul let out a long sigh, eyebrows knitting together in worry.

“Kyuhyun, whatever it is you’re doing… please understand that Sungmin has had enough hurt in his life already.”

Lunch came too quickly for Sungmin that day, the boy nervously dreading his tutoring session with Kyuhyun.

Sitting in his chemistry class, his last period before lunch, Sungmin’s mind drifted as the teacher droned on and on about combustion reactions. Usually he would sleep in chemistry, the teacher’s monotone voice and boring lectures lulling him into dreamland, the class easy enough for him that he didn’t really have to pay attention.

However, today he was wide awake, a churning pit in his stomach aggravating all his senses as he chewed on the tip of his pencil.

Would Kyuhyun even come for the tutoring session?

Maybe he had just been joking when he told Kibum he would help Sungmin. His thoughts went back to what had happened yesterday. Would he make fun of Sungmin for believing his kind words and blushing at his touches when he meant none of them? How amused Kyuhyun must have been, leaving those words behind for him to discover.

The cellist must have thought he was a fool.

Sungmin’s mind spun at the possibilities of embarrassment Kyuhyun could have in store for him. Did he want to shame Sungmin in front of the whole school? After all, the musician was the popular one. He could make school life insufferable for the blonde if he wanted to.

If you only just didn’t let your pride get a hold of you that day, Sungmin’s mind berated him as he watched the ticking clock on the class room wall. If you didn’t pull that little prank with the computer in the café that day, none of this would’ve happened.

Nervously holding his cello, Kyuhyun tapped his foot anxiously against the ground as he waited for Sungmin to come to the orchestra room for their scheduled tutoring session.

Not wanting to seem too forward, he didn’t search for the shorter student all morning however much his mind screamed at him to go grab his bunny right then and explain the misunderstanding that was sure to be between them. He paid no attention to any of his morning classes, the teacher’s voice and the assignments all blurring in the back of his mind as he eagerly awaited his lunch period.

Sitting on the lone cello chair set up in the room, Kyuhyun rested his head on the curve of his cello, wondering if Sungmin would even show up. After all, if he was in Sungmin’s position, he wouldn’t bother dealing with someone who’s as much of a jerk as he was. He had really screwed up big this time around and he didn’t know what to do or how to fix it.

Sighing resignedly, Kyuhyun figured that Sungmin was probably avoiding him.

To make matters worse, he couldn’t do anything about it. If he tried to approach Sungmin, he would probably just be accused of lying and playing games with the blonde again. The boy had burst into tears simply because Kyuhyun pushed if off a chair. Lord knows how much he hated Kyuhyun now for supposedly playing around with his feelings. Worst of all, he couldn’t even blame this fiasco on anyone else. Everything, from the start, was all his fault.

It was him who bullied Sungmin first, cruelly messing with the boy the day they first met. It was still him who initiated all the sweet gestures and words, all those things probably making Sungmin hurt even more now that he believed them to be fake and all a joke.

And to top it all off, Kyuhyun was the one who wrote that stupid note, that piece of paper screwing up everything he had done to make the blonde even remotely look at him in a positive light.

Staring at the still empty class room, Kyuhyun decided that he might as well practice some cello while he was here. Sungmin probably wasn’t coming, he had accepted that fact now, and the best he could do at this point was to give the boy some space. Biting his lips in frustration, he gripped his bow tightly and set it on the string, ready to run through the opening passage of the Haydn Concerto.

The piece was very special to him; it was the first piece he had played for a concerto competition, the piece that won him his first medal.

To his 10 year old self, nothing had been better than his parents’ praise that day, his strict parents finally cracking a smile as they watched their son play as the featured soloist in front of hundreds of envious parents and onlookers. Reminiscing that day, Kyuhyun smiled bitterly as he rolled his bow for the first C major chord, the bright major key signature a stark contrast with his dark expression.

That was all he was to his parents, something they could show off. He was no better than a fancy car or a medal of honor.  His parents had no use for him when he wasn’t bringing back family honor, the two of them always ignoring their son since he was born in favor of their more prestigious work as music professors.

How could the hassle of taking care of a child compare to the glamour of music galas and showcases where they could boast of their own success?

As Kyuhyun grew older, they immediately forced a barrage of instruments and lessons on him, starting out with piano and then cello, adding percussion and trumpet as the years went on. Luckily for them, their son had taken after his parents in his music aptitude and picked up the multitude of instruments at an astonishingly fast rate, the proud parents triumphant in their own success. Now they had something of their own creation to boast of, and with that idea in mind, the parents never stopped in their goal of creating the perfect child, not minding whether or not Kyuhyun had actually wanted all of this to be upon him.

Now Kyuhyun was used to it, and on the plus side, his parents were almost never around anymore, having transferred to a more prestigious university the moment the opportunity opened up for them. They never thought about how Kyuhyun would be affected, the young man having to learn how to cook, clean, and fend for himself almost overnight with their departure.

With a weak sigh, Kyuhyun ended the first movement, a bow lift signaling the conclusion of the theme as his arms fell limp to his sides. He could mentally count all the mistakes he had made in his head, a habit long developed since he was a toddler from the times his parents would present him with a list of mistakes after listening to him practice.

Shaking his head, Kyuhyun loosened his bow, ready to stop practice for the day. He wasn’t doing anything conducive to his playing, his mind so far gone that he was consciously playing worse than he was before. The simplest rhythms he was getting wrong, and even his tone sounded off, the oddly somber sound completely unfitting the jubilant tone of the piece. Before he could move though, he heard footsteps by the orchestra entrance, his head snapping to the door as he recognized the tuft of blonde hair peeking out from just beyond the wooden frame.  

With a small nervous smile, Kyuhyun looked at Sungmin, taking in the smaller boy’s petite form as he stood hesitantly just outside the door.

“You came after all.”

“I did. To take a chance.”

AN: Hey guys! Aren't you so proud of Minnie for facing Kyuhyun? His POV of the Kyuhyun half of this chapter will be posted in the next chapter so stay tuned for an explanation on how he came to his decision :) Due to All State orchestra coming up, I might not be able to post as frequently (daily keke) as I have been the past week, but I'll do my best to get my practice time in as well as write :) 
On a side note, honor society social was... amazing <3 it was really nice seeing the cellist again and I think... we're on better terms now after leaving on a bad note when we separated to different schools 2 years ago. He's an all state cellist so I'll get to see him again outside of school in a few weeks :) Thanks for all your encouragements <3