Kyuhyun woke to an empty bed but he already knew he’d sleep much later than his boyfriend, who was downstairs making lunch by now.  He climbed out of bed and showered before starting his day and then headed downstairs.  Although he knew Ryeowook to be in the kitchen, someone was playing the piano—a tune he’d never heard before—and he headed into the music room to check it out. 

            Sungmin was stumbling through a piece he clearly didn’t know well and Kyuhyun rolled his eyes but was too curious to leave and walked up to the bench.  “What the hell are you playing?”

            Sungmin looked over his shoulder.  “The song your boyfriend’s been composing.”

            Much more curious now, Kyuhyun took a closer look at it.

            “Actually, this whole pile is his.  They all have his name on them but he told me some of them are old and he’s trying to revamp them.  I thought I’d try playing them to see what they sound like.”

            Kyuhyun walked to the side of the piano and grabbed the small stack, looking through the various pieces and pausing every now and then to hum through a few measures.  Finally, after looking through the stack, he peeked again at the one that Sungmin was playing.  “What’s that one called?”

            “Edge of Rain,” Sungmin only said, trying not to break his concentration.

            Kyuhyun looked over his shoulder at the song for several minutes, softly singing through the lyrics as Sungmin played.  Finally, when Sungmin started from the top again, Kyuhyun began singing the piece.  He didn’t know he’d collected a small audience until the end and he heard clapping behind him.  Yesung, Heechul, and Ahra were standing against the wall. 

            “It would sound good with a little violin accompaniment, don’t you think Minnie?” Ahra asked him, walking over to the piano to discuss the melody.

            “I might know someone interested in that song.  I have a friend who’s involved in the production of an upcoming series called God of War and I know they’re looking for music for their sound track.  I should see if he’d be willing to let me show this to them,” Heechul mentioned, heading for the kitchen to seek out the young composer in question.

            Yesung walked over to Kyuhyun and looked over at Sungmin and he chatted with Ahra and played a few measures here and there.  “Of course, if Heechul does succeed in selling the song, he’ll insist that you sing it.  What will you tell them?”

            “I don’t think I could say no to singing his song,” Kyuhyun admitted.

            “Ah…he sure writes good music.  I’ve probably had the privilege of hearing more of it than anyone else and I know talent when I see it,” he said, patting Kyuhyun’s back.  “Just think how much more accomplished he’d be if he had formal training.”

            Kyuhyun looked over at Yesung, startled by his words.  “You think?”

            Yesung nodded.  “It’s a shame that his mother’s illness forced him to quit chasing his dream.  But he’s young enough still…if he didn’t owe the hospitals so much money, perhaps he’d have the funds eventually to return and finish what he started.”

            “But…if he went back, he’d have to leave me.”

            “But if he really loved you, wouldn’t he come back?  And wouldn’t you wait for him?”

            “So much can change in a few years,” Kyuhyun said, shaking his head.

            “Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.  No amount of years dulled my love for Sungmin,” Yesung pointed out.

            “But he was close to you,” Kyuhyun countered.  “You were never separated from one another.”

            “Time and distance…true love doesn’t disappear, even when you have to be apart for a length of time.  You will never really know if Ryeowook truly loves you unless you let him walk away and he comes back.”

            “We’ve just started dating,” Kyuhyun said, rubbing the back of his head and looking down at the floor.  “That’s too long to be away from someone you just started to go out with.”

            “Seoul is not that far away,” Yesung pointed out.  “And although you claim all these feelings are new between the two of you, they are very intense.  Don’t deny that you’re in love.”

            Kyuhyun sighed.  “I am in love with him.”

            “Do you think he’d tell you no if you told him you wanted to sing and tour again?  He’d let you leave and trust that you’d come back to him,” Yesung pointed out.

            “I’m not ready,” Kyuhyun informed him.  “I’m just not ready to take that risk yet when he almost left me once already.  And we haven’t even been dating a week.”

            Yesung rubbed Kyuhyun’s back, well aware of the emotions his longtime friend was going through.  It had been so long since Kyuhyun had been in a relationship, it was almost like starting over again.  The feelings hit so hard, he was still reeling from them.  “I just threw that out there for something to think about.  Clearly Wookie has many talents but it would be a shame that only those of us in this house knew if them when they could be shared with so many others.  Then again, I think the same way about you and your singing.  Why would God give you such a beautiful voice if no one could ever hear it?  Why was it spared after your accident if you never meant to share it again?  What a waste.”

            Kyuhyun looked over at his butler, who’d never been one to withhold his thoughts, and considered them for a moment.  “You think I should sing again.”

            “Damn right I do.”

            “You might get your wish.”

            Yesung finally turned his eyes directly to Kyuhyun’s face. 

            “I’ve been starting to think about that more.”

            “Maybe you could start small—make an appearance on Minnie’s show or something—and see if that’s really what you want,” he suggested.

            Kyuhyun nodded and headed out of the room, walking down the hall to the kitchen.  When he stepped through the door, neither man seemed to notice his entrance.  They were too animated talking to each other about television and music, for once having some real common ground to discuss.  Heechul was telling Ryeowook about the show itself and Ryeowook stood there, mesmerized and excited, loving the idea that they might want his song for the show.

            “Would you like me to sing the song on a recording so they can hear it?” Kyuhyun finally offered when there was a slight lull in the conversation.

            “Would you?” Ryeowook asked, clasping his hands together.

            “For you?  Of course,” Kyuhyun said, walking over to his boyfriend and wrapping his arms around him from behind, tilting his head to the side and gently kissing Ryeowook’s cheek. 

            “Do you have more music that I could show off?” Heechul asked.

            Ryeowook sighed.  “It’s been so long since I’ve had a piano to practice on regularly and I never bothered to bring my sheet music to the bars that allowed me to play on theirs, so I haven’t had much time to work on music yet.  Maybe in a few m