Chapter 1: Prelude of a Returning Past
Capriccio of a Distorted Tune
The shrill ringing of the phone startled Lee Sungyeol as he tried - keyword is 'tried'- to study his script for his new drama. He had been stucked with that part since he woke up in the morning and that was 4 hours ago. Without anyone to assist him or a cup of coffee to motivate him, he was sure that he was ready to pull out his hair from his scalp anytime that moment. Well, being bald is much better than being butchered by your director, right? Groaning with frustration, he stood up from his spot and grabbed the whining phone.
"Hyung, hello...it's me."
A voice came through the slight crackling of the telephone. Sungyeol pinched his cheeks... was he dreaming?
"Sungjongie? Yah! Lee Sungjong... it's been so long... why don't you ever call me? Yah! You evil maknae!" Sungyeol babbled a little excitedly. Seven years have passed since he has heard the voice of their maknae again.
"Yeollie-hyung, I'm coming back to Seoul. Maybe... ten days from the twenty-second." There was a slight pause as though Sungjong was hiding something from him... more likely... he was battling with some kind of emotion. "Hyung... Nynia is dead... in an accident.... I was thinking that Seoul will be good for the both of us. I'm bringing Sean with me. Please be at the airport, hyung."
"You can count on me Jjong. How is Sean taking it?" Sungyeol grimaced, apart from Myungsoo, Nynia was the only person their maknae had ever loved, and he must be devastated.
"He's not doing too good right now hyung, but he'll hold up pretty well... I think... Sean's a strong kid. He keeps crying for his mother... I'm scared hyung... he is all I have." Sunvyeol could sense the thickening in the maknae's voice. It seems that a sob will crept out from Sungjong's mouth.
"Uhmm... he's awake now I think, I need to go. I'll call before flying back there." Sungyeol stared at receiver...Sungjong was always like that... hiding all his emotions to himself. It was like he was reacquainted with the Lee Sungjong that he knew after the fall-off and before he immigrated to England. Sungyeol wondered if the old Lee Sungjong would ever returned. The mature Sungjong is good, but he missed the Sungjong that was never the one for holding back. He missed the Sungjong that would cry if he wanted to... the one that would smile over small things. The one that was his partner in all his crimes and mischief. Sungyeol wondered how their maknae would be and in how many ways he would have changed.
---
Sungjong slowly sat down beside the little boy that was sleeping soundly on his bed. He gently caressed the cheeks of the kid, his little son, his little bunny. How ironic it was, that he was the one in INFINITE to have a wife and a son first. He almost laughed at that thought, him being the maknae --ex-maknae of INFINITE-- was the first one to settle down in life. He wondered how the other members were doing at that time. It has been 7 years since the last time he contacted them, him, and even if he denied it, he missed all those dorks. He lay down beside his son, gently wrapping his hands around the kids little waist. The little kid adjusted his position, succumbing to the heat his father emitted, at the same time holding tightly to his father's wrapped arms around him. Sungjong looked ahead to the sky, it was so clear, cloudless, the sky was so bleak. He wondered if he could really do it, for the sake of himself and his son.
When he left him, INFINITE, INSPIRITS and left South Korea, it was hard. It was the hardest time of his life. But there was Nynia to help him and to make him smile. There was Nynia to brighten his day and to help him to start over again. But Nynia was now gone, bringingtheir second child, he had no one to turn to. It was the two of them that had leftSean and him. True, there was his family and friends to support him but it was different. He needed his wife, but his wife was forever gone. He needed to be strong for Sean, for the both of them. He needed to be there for his son to turn to when he need him. He was the only one Sean's got left.
Few minutes later, a knock awakened him from his musings.
"Son," It was his father-in-law, Nynia's father. The man that accepted him wholeheartedly despite of his history of being gay. It was the very man that supported him in his time of weeping. The man, being a widow at an early age, knew how hard it was to lose the person that you were tied to, the person that you promise to spend your lifetime with.
"Is everything okay?" He asked, sitting down beside Sungjong and putting a supportive hand on the younger man's shoulder.
"Yes... everything's okay... Everything will be okay... I'll be okay." Sungjong murmured, sobbing. He couldn't help it. He acted to be strong but that moment, he really couldn't. Everything reminded him of his wife.
"No... I won't be okay... I'm not okay... I don't know if I'll be okay again." Hearing this, the man engulfed Sungjong in a fatherly hug.
"Jong, whatever your decisions will, remember ... I'll always be here for you and Sean. Nynia might be gone now, but you are still my son and Sean will always be my grandson." The man slowly rose, ruffling Sungjong's hair. "I hope Seoul will be good for the two you... don't forget to contact me kid."
Before the man went out of the room, he kissed his grandson on his forehead and gave Sungjong another supportive pat.
When Sungjong was left alone with his son, he wondered what would happen to them in Seoul. His mind flew back to his ex-lover; definitely they would be seeing each other again. After all they have the same set of friends. They have work with the same company. They would be facing each other again. But would Sungjong deal with this fact. How would he cope up with the thought of them seeing each other again?
"Nynia, why do you have to leave me?" Sungjong silently asked the air.
---
Sungyeol waited with so much anticipation at the arrival's gate of Incheon Airport. Today was the day that his dongsaeng and godson was suppose to arrive. Sungyeol felt so jittery with just the thought that they would be arriving any minute from now, slash that, they had already arrived since the flight from England landed several minutes ago. Then he saw them, his favorite dongsaeng walking gracefully while lugging their luggage behind him since some of their stuffs were sent to Seoul a week before their arrival and Sungyeol was the one that took care of it. Of course, Sungjong would be graceful as usual, graceful but manly. Behind him was a little kid no older than four, walking while nibbling one of the ears of the stuffed bear he was carrying.
"Oi, Sungjongie! Over here!" Sungyeol shouted while jogging towards Sungjong and his son, at the same time grabbing the large suitcase from the out of breath man. He set the suitcase down and engulfed Sungjong in a bear hug.
"It's nice to see you again, Jjongie!" Years have been good for the both of them, they retain the looks that they possessed since their debut but this time streaks of maturity could be seen in their features. The moment Sungjong left South Korea, the media was hot on his heels and their company. Many questions were asked and many false accusations were formed. After a few years, everything went back to normal, making Sungjong only a part of the history in the industry.
"It's nice to see you too, hyung. Sean, come here." Sungjong called the young boy to come to him. "This is my son, Sean." Sungjong slowly pushed the little kid to Sungyeol. "Sean, this is your godfather, Lee Sungyeol."
"Hi there, little buddy, how are you?" Sungyeol crouched down to the kid's eye level. It amazed him that the little kid looked exactly like his father, aside from the brunette hair and the amber eyes that looked almost green with the lights. He stuck out his hand to shake the kid's small one. At first the kid refused, looking at his father a little fearfully.
"It's okay, kiddo." Sungjong smiled reassuringly while ruffling his son's hair. Sean took Sungyeol's hand with a pout, making Sungyeol chuckled with the boy's action.
"Hyung, can we go know? I already have enough of airports."
The three of them headed into Sungyeol's car. Sungjong buckled up his son on the back while he sat beside Sungyeol. The temperature inside the car was freezing, but thanks to the heater they were given temporary escape from the cold even if only for a while. Winter in Seoul was freezing unlike in London.
On the way, Sungyeol tried to make a conversation with his dongsaeng about the thing that bothered him the most.
"Jjong, I have gotten you an apartment, but it's near his apartment. I hope it is okay with you?" Sungyeol inquired seriousness evident in his voice.
"It's just like what you what for the two of you. Hyoan-hyung even helped me scout for it."
"It's okay hyung. I got over him a long time ago." That lie came out pretty easy nowadays. True, he had moved on from him but when his wife died everything came back to him full force. The house can do for now, he will find a new house when his son would get use in his new life in Seoul.
He liked the place that his hyung got for him. The room of his son was painted blue with Pororo pictures attached on the wall. A little bed was situated in the middle and there was a dresser and shelves that would be stuffed with the kid's belongings later.
"Father, I like it." Sean said to his father, smiling because he really liked his new room. Sungjong smiled back and give his son a loving pat.
"So, what do you want to do now, kiddo? Yeollie-hyung went out to get us some food, do you want to go to bed now or watch some TV?"
Sean looked to his father hopefully, "Maybe a little TV? Please, Father, just one show. We'll going to watch it together. I liked watching TV with mother."
Sungjong felt his sob bubbling on his throat at the same time blinking the forming tears in his eyes. "Okay, let's do that." He tried to return to his happy self. His son didn’t need to see him in that pathetic stage. He picked the kid and cuddled him as they watch some rerun of 'Pororo', the little penguin. Sungyeol arrived later with foods and after their dinner, Sungyeol bade his goodbye, saying that Sungjong and Sean needed to have their rest.
Sungjong cuddled with Sean and immediately fell asleep the moment they hit his bed. He was more tired than he thought.
---
L glared at the packet of lemon candy that he was holding. WooGyu's adopted daughter was craving for something sweet and this time, it was lemon candy. Being given the task to watch over that little brat while her parents had their scheduled to fulfill, L has no option but to give the girl what she wanted or else she would throw a tantrum that would give L a nasty headache. The said candy was a bitter reminder to him of their maknae. Everything about that packet of sweets reminded him of their lemon candy boy before -- before he went halfway through the globe. Before he could put the candy on the basket, a little boy ran up to him.
"Please sir... do you really need that lemon candy?" The kid asked with an accented Korean, sounding verry old for his age, from what L saw, the boy was around four.
L directed his glare to the kid but he remained unfazed to it. "I do. They're for my niece," he added not wanting the little boy to think that he would be the one eating the treat.
"Do you think sir that you can give that to me just this once? My father really loves lemon candy and he's happy when he's eating it. Please sir?" The kid looked up to meet his gaze slightly pleading.
The child reminded him of someone that he wanted to forget --to run away from. Every feature of the kid reminded him of that person. His hair and eye color may be different but it looked like the two of them were carbon copies of each other. He wondered why would a little boy was wandering around in the grocery store without any supervision from his parents. "Where's your mother kid. What are you doing here alone?"
"My mother's gone to heaven, sir, together with my little sister! Daddy misses the two of them very much. That's why I want that lemon candy, to keep my father happy."
Tears already started to form on the kid's eyes.
L gave him the packet of lemon candy, while wiping the tears away from the kid's eyes. "Here kid, it looks like that you need this more than my bratty niece does."
"Sean, I've been looking all over the place for you..." a new voice entered the scene but it immediately trailed off the moment the owner of the voice saw the man his son was talking to.
"Father...look, father…that nice man give me the last packet of lemon candy. You can be happy now father!" Sean ran to his father, brandishing the last packet of lemon candy in his face.
"Sungjong.." L muttered as blood drain out from his face. He stood there for a few minutes wondering what his next step would be, before he could manage to give a small smile, which looked like a cross between a smile and a smirk. "Hope you enjoy your lemon candy.
L immediately wheeled out around and almost ran to the counter. The kid was Sungjong's son! His wife was dead. L wondered if he was dreaming. Seven years had past and seeing his ex-lover still hurted him like hell. L, get a hold of yourself, you're losing it. Get a grip.
He turned to pick up the packages and saw those fox-like eyes still staring at him.
---
Sungjong felt that all his breath has been knocked out of him. He didn't expected to see L this soon. Of course, they lived near each other and they would be using the same grocery. He tried to catch L's eyes but the man was out of the store like whirlwind. Sungjong wondered at the back of his Sungjong-like-mind (the part of his brain that tends to focus on unimportant things instead of the matter at hand) why L was buying lemon candy. And since when did he start giving that weird smile.
"Father!!!" Sungjong looked down at the kid that was tugging his pants. "Can we go and have some lemon candy party?"
Sungjong nodded mutely, paying for the things and carting away with his son.
Can I deal with L again? Do I still love him...or...actually did I ever stop loving him?
Will be updated after i have cleared my mind from my research work... So please bear with me. . Thank You!
Comments