Meeting on the Han
Love Rekindled
Siwon sighed and pulled the zipper on his jacket a little higher. It was October and the air was brisk. While the sun was indeed shining, that didn’t make it any warmer. They were getting into the time of year when sun or no sun only made a marginal difference in temperature.
And yet he’d chosen the Han river.
Not one of his finer moments.
Still, hopefully it would keep them from making a big fuss. It was safer than a café or other small restaurant. Nearly anywhere they went in Seoul, they were bound to be noticed, especially now. So the river it was. He’d just have to defrost his when he got home.
Other than the water lapping at the banks, there was little sound. The traffic had slowed into the lull that came just before the daily rush to restaurants or home for dinner. Siwon kept his hands shoved into the lined pockets of his jacket and ducked his head down, cap pulled low both to help disguise him but also in an attempt to block some of the breeze that bit at his skin every so often.
Even with the lack of noise, he didn’t hear the approach until a leaf crunched beneath someone’s shoe ten feet away. Startled, he lifted his head to check and found himself staring into a face he hadn’t seen in person for years.
From beneath both a ball cap and a dark hood, Han looked steadily back at him, face expressionless. “Hello, Siwon.”
---
“Careful, it’s scalding,” Siwon warned as he handed the cup over and blew on his own simultaneously. Steam rose in swirling tendrils before dissipating into nothing several inches above the rim. He held his cup in both hands for a minute, grateful for the warmth to his freezing fingers.
Given the way Han’s face was plastered all over in the media, it had seemed wiser for Siwon to go and retrieve hot drinks for the two of them.
He sat down on a low wall of cement and looked out at the river as it flowed idly by, seemingly unaffected by the fall chill. “Why didn’t you warn me you were coming back?”
“I wasn’t aware I needed to.”
Siwon threw him a look. “We had an agreement. You were supposed to call, hyung. You have only yourself and your family to think of. I have an entire band. One whose leader isn’t here to do damage control.”
“You seem to be doing well on your own. I doubt Leeteuk would have thought to come to the river instead of a cozy café with fans around every corner.” Han said mildly, sipping at his coffee.
“Don’t insult his intelligence,” Siwon snapped.
“I wasn’t. I was merely stating that he would have spoken over the phone or met me somewhere less private. Leeteuk is a brilliant leader and very talented, but even he is not immune to the occasional mistake, Siwon.”
It was a struggle to leash his temper, but Siwon did it, focusing his gaze on the river as he sipped his own coffee in turn. When he felt he could speak calmly, he was quiet and Han had to strain to hear him. “I’m worried he’ll relapse.”
That broke through Han’s attempt at nonchalance, and his eyes darted to the side to look sharply at Siwon. “Who?”
“You know who,” Siwon said firmly. He shifted further backward on the stone wall, eyes remaining fixed on the water almost blankly. “It took him a long time to recover, and a lot of that time was spent away from us in uniform… We weren’t able to be there for him the way we should have been.”
Han seemed at a loss for words at first, but cleared his throat after a time and tapped a finger idly on the outside of his cup. “He seems to be doing well to me.”
“You only see him on television or in photos, with cameras trained on his every move. Of course he looks well to you, hyung,” Siwon scoffed, turning to fix him with a look that said quite clearly Han should know better than to suggest something like that. “Heechul may be strong, but even he is capable of being broken and you know that.”
The older didn’t say anything, and Siwon sighed heavily, shaking his head in disappointment. “What happened to you?”
“I grew up,” Han said after a moment.
“That’s bull.”
“No, what’s bull is the rest of the group cutting me off like a diseased limb when I left. Even you, Siwon. You didn’t contact me until today. Now what is it that you want from me?”
Siwon felt thrown back by the bitterness laced into his former friend’s voice, and all he could do was stare at him.
Han looked at him for a minute, then snorted and looked away with a shake of his head. “You don’t even know, do you? Look, I didn’t intend to run into him yesterday. The first time I saw him was supposed to be on the show tomorrow. I figured by then he’d have fair warning. How was I supposed to know he’d go into that café the same time I did?”
“Don’t hurt him again,” The pleading in Siwon’s voice earned Han’s full attention. Siwon shook his head, lowering his cup to his lap. “You have no idea what we went through… What he went through.. When you left. He didn’t eat, he wouldn’t sleep, wouldn’t get out of bed.. It was like a part of him had died, hyung. The only time he seemed like himself was on stage, and even then… it was more like a shadow of how he’d been.”
“Siwon, I had to leave.”
“I know.”
For several minutes, the two sat without speaking. Traffic had picked up considerably some way off, and now the steady hum of motors could be faintly heard. Finally, Siwon broke the silence.
“So you won’t get close to him?”
“…No.”
The younger of the two nodded, frowning out at the water. He took a slow breath in, and his body seemed to slowly grow tense with it. “It’s for the best…”
Han snorted derisively. “Sure it is.”
---
“…of Super Junior seem to all be meeting up with their former member. After Heechul and Henry yesterday, today looks to be Siwon’s turn. The two were seen meeting for coffee by the river, and spent quite awhile talking. Some fans are raising suspicions about a possible reunion, but representatives from both SM and Han’s agency are vehemently denying all rumors.”
Kangin nearly broke the remote with how hard he punched the power button, and tossed the slim black object onto a nearby sofa. “This is insane. What the hell were you doing down there anyway?”
With Henry sitting between his knees on the floor, Siwon looked up calmly from his place on the sofa, coffee cup in hand. “Given that he’s guesting on one of Heechul’s shows, I thought it might be a wise idea to meet up and make sure his intentions are only the promotion of his album. Should I have asked your permission?”
Kangin scowled. “Don’t be a wiseass. Couldn’t you have met him here or something?”
“Now who’s insane?”
“You should have made sure you weren’t seen!”
“I thought I had! That area is almost always deserted! Very few people wander down that way and there was no one around that I could see at the time! Should I install motion sensors everywhere I go from now on?!”
“Don’t argue with each other,” Henry cut in with a frown. “We should be worried about Heechul-hyung and instead all you two can do is throw barbs at each other like children.”
Both of the older men mumbled an apology and looked effectively chastised. Once they were sure Henry wasn’t looking though, dirty looks were thrown in a silent form of mutiny.
Henry’s cell phone went off suddenly, playing an upbeat jingle that he didn’t hear very often. He looked down at the brightly lit screen for a time, then sighed and got to his feet. When both men looked at him curiously, irritation darkened his boyish features. “Given that Heechul knows, I thought it might be prudent to do damage control. Do you two think you can grow up long enough to help, or should I put you both in time out until this blows over?”
They were hot on his heels when he left the dorm.
chapter "rekindled love" is screwy because I had to post from my phone. sorry for the wall of text!!!
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