warnings for bad language and violence... don't hate me

The first letter arrived on a pretty chaotic morning. Sungmin was late for a rehearsal, cursing at everything that moved or simply stood there – for example, furniture. It was rare to see the singer in such a foul mood, and Kyuhyun knew better than to say anything. Instead he quietly packed the older’s bag, leaving a little note in the lunch box. It said nothing but “Love you”, and although it was horrible cheesy, Kyuhyun knew it would make Sungmin smile later on.

And Kyuhyun would be rewarded with a lot of kissing and probably .

So although Sungmin was grumpy, and Kyuhyun was relieved when his boyfriend was finally on his way to the studios, the morning was okay.

Until Kyuhyun looked through the post. There were some bills, a post card from his aunt who still didn’t believe he actually dated Sungmin and – of course – fan post for Sungmin. All in all nothing unusual, but then Kyuhyun noticed that one of the fan letters (not artfully covered in little hearts and flowers like the others, but plain white) was addressed to him. He frowned checking the name of the receiver again. But he hadn’t read it wrong, this was his name. Curious, he let the other post fall onto their dinner table and sat down to open the envelope. He couldn’t think of any reason for one of Sungmin’s fans to write him a letter.

Inside the envelope there was nothing but a small note. It was a poem, only four verses.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Lee Sungmin is the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met,

He doesn’t deserve being stuck with someone as horrible as you.

It was ridiculous, it was petty, and  it hurt more than anything else. Kyuhyun stared at the four mocking verses, unable to understand why someone would actually sit down, write something as insulting and painful as this, and send it to someone he or she didn’t even know. Because he refused to believe anyone he knew would do something like this.

Kyuhyun didn’t know how long he just sat there, staring at the little note. He tried to calm himself down, tried to think straight. It was completely useless to drown in self pity, just because some teenager wrote too many stories about herself (or himself – the poetry was bad enough to be written by a boy) and Sungmin being a perfect couple. He should just ignore the whole thing. What he shouldn’t do though, although he really wanted to, was simply throwing the envelope and it’s content away. Kyuhyun tried not to think about why he could need it in the future, tried not to think about other letters and going to the police and…

Kyuhyun shook his head and stood up. With confident steps he walked into their living room and took the box with his games from the bookshelf. Sungmin wouldn’t find the letter in here, and Kyuhyun wouldn’t loose it. He knew it was probably stupid to hide it from Sungmin, but he didn’t want to cause the singer any more worries. And he was sure, it wouldn’t happen again.

It happened again.

This time, they both didn’t have any schedule to attend, and Sungmin still slept when the post arrived. The singer was tired from the last dancing practice, and Kyuhyun was glad that he could let his boyfriend sleep as long as the later wanted. Sitting in the kitchen and frowning over the fact that some random kid had actually broke his high score on Starcraft, Kyuhyun looked up and realized it was about time for the post to be delivered, so he opened the door and took the elevator downstairs to the lobby of the building. He frowned as he saw the brightly smiling face of their beloved neighbor, who obviously picked up his post as well.

Couldn’t they sue him for something? Like… for existing? Kyuhyun really wanted to sue away the stupid grin of the other men, as he took the various letters and walked towards the elevator again, not answering to the happy ‘Good morning!’.

Flipping through the envelopes, Kyuhyun froze as he stared at one awfully familiar, plain white envelope. It had only his name on it, written in capital letters. Kyuhyun glanced towards the bedroom, but Sungmin was still sleeping. He sighed as he stepped into their apartment , sitting down and glaring at the envelope. It had been two weeks since the first letter, and he had hoped it had only been a stupid joke. Something he could easily forget, and – more important – something Sungmin would never need to worry about.

He cursed silently as he opened the envelope. He didn’t want to read what was written on the sheet of paper, he didn’t want to be reminded how unrealistic it was that someone like him was together with someone like Sungmin. He was happy, and Sungmin would kick his out of their apartment if he’d feel like they shouldn’t be together anymore.

Which Kyuhyun really didn’t want to think about. But since it didn’t happen yet, Sungmin seemed to be honestly happy as well, right?

Nevertheless, he opened the letter and stared on the paper, reading every single word.

You don’t seem to get it, so here’s a list for you:

REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T DATE LEE SUNGMIN

1. He’s gorgeous, beautiful, handsome. perfect… and you’re really ugly!!

2. He’s really smart. and you didn’t even go to college – it’s pathetic!!!

3. He’s famous and you’re a security guard!!! Did you ever heard about “out of league”????!!! Just go and be happy with some hooker or whatever!!!

4. You’re so stupid if you think this will last. He wants to have kids, and his parents want to have grand-children. You’re ruining his life, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF !!

5. You only want his money anyways and I really hate you for that… just like every other fan of Sungmin hates you!!

6. And of course you want fame. But you’ll just be famous for being such a dirty, lying !!!

7. Even you’re sister went to Europe just so she doesn’t have to see you that often!!

8. YOU DON’T DESERVE HIM AT ALL JUST OFF ALREADY WHAT IS EVEN YOUR PROBLEM HE SHOULDN’T BE TOGETHER WITH ANYONE BUT ME I HATE YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS TO US YOU’RE DESTROYING EVERYTHING YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!!!!

Kyuhyun took a deep breath, but it was shaky, just like his hands. This wasn’t just a prank anymore, this was a threat. And he really, really needed to talk to Sungmin, and then they had to go to the police. He had heard about things like this, fans becoming stalkers and even aggressive.

He tried not to think about what this person wrote. They had discussed all of there points so often, that it didn’t really hurt. But it was something else to see them written out on a paper, knowing there were people in this world who thought exactly like that. Who though Kyuhyun was destroying Sungmin’s life.

Luckily, just as he stood up to wake up Sungmin, the older showed first signs of consciousness. Kyuhyun smiled as he watched his boyfriend stretching like a cat in front of an warm oven – Sungmin was adorable when he had actually time to be all tired and clumsy in the mornings. Kyuhyun really hated the unknown sender for making him break this rare morning peacefulness.

“Hey pumpkin.”, Kyuhyun said softly, pressing a light kiss on Sungmin’s forehead, while the singer just smiled weakly, eyes still closed. “I know it’s awfully early, but I need to talk to you about something, okay?”

Sungmin’s eyes opened and Kyuhyun saw the surprise and the anxiousness in the older’s look. “Kitchen or living room?”

“Living room.” Kyuhyun answered, still talking quietly. “We’ll have to sit down, and the couch is way more comfortable.”

Sungmin nodded and waited three more seconds to gather enough energy to stand up. Once on his feet, the singer tapped towards their living room, a head shaking Kyuhyun following him. The later quickly took the first letter out of his gamer box and joined Sungmin on their couch.

“Okay…” Kyuhyun began hesitantly, “You have to promise me not to get angry until you’ve heard the whole story, okay?”

Sungmin looked at his warily, but nodded nevertheless.

“Well…” Kyuhyun said, “Two weeks ago… or was it three weeks? No, I think only two –anyways, the important thing is that I’ve received a letter. Obviously one written by a mentally not quite stable fan of yours.”

Sungmin tensed and he opened his mouth to say something, but remembered his promise and stayed silent.

“It was stupid, really. Nothing to worry about, just a silly prank – or at least that’s what I thought it was. That’s also why I didn’t talk to you about this immediately, simply because you already have enough to worry about!”

“Kyu, you know you’re way more important to me than all the worries of my company together, right? You can always talk to me!” Sungmin’s voice was almost pleading, trying to get the brunet to understand the singer’s priorities.

Kyuhyun shrugged, a little bit helplessly. “I forgot about it only a day afterwards. It was nothing special… nevertheless did I keep the letter and the envelope, just in case it would happen again. I mean… of course I hoped it wouldn’t happen again, and that’s why I didn’t tell you about it. But I’ve probably seen more spy and/or cop movies, than should be allowed, and I’m not so dumb to destroy important evidence.”

Kyuhyun stopped himself, staring at Sungmin’s face. “So I’d say we go to the police, but of course you don’t have to come with me if that clashes with your schedule. Oh no, wait, we both have a free day, so there’s no schedule.” Kyuhyun groaned, and Sungmin took the younger’s shaking hands in his own, holding them tightly. “I’m sorry for the rambling Min, but I’m actually kind of terrified. I thought it was nothing but  a stupid prank, but there was a threat in the letter which arrived today, an–“

Sungmin’s grip tightened even more. “You should show me the letters, Kyu.”

“Oh, yeah, right, of course…” Kyuhyun mumbled, taking the two envelopes and handing them over to Sungmin. The singer read both – the poem and the list – with a stony face, showing no emotion at all.  The silence around them was suffocating, and the brunet didn’t even realize that he had been holding his breath, until there was suddenly no more oxygen in his lungs. He took a deep breath, and it seemed as if this brought Sungmin back into reality as well.

“Kyuhyun… I need you to…”Sungmin said quietly, his voice sounding almost broken. “You… you know that this isn’t true, right? Please tell me you don’t believe anything which is written here!”

Kyuhyun sighed. It was always so easy, saying that they didn’t care about how different they were, how different their social status was… but truth was, Kyuhyun couldn’t help but think about it. There were just too many people telling him, that he didn’t belong to Sungmin’s side. And even though he didn’t actually have self-esteem issues, he did have a pretty realistic opinion about relationships with celebrities.

But this wasn’t just some celebrity, this was Sungmin. Sungmin, who couldn’t sleep without his stuffed, old rabbit, but could also take out three guys at once with his crazy martial arts skills. Sungmin, who baked the most amazing cakes and cupcakes, but at making ramen. Who couldn’t fall asleep without lights on during a storm, so Kyuhyun stayed awake until the other fell asleep to turn them out. Who loved everything about Japan and dreamed about a small holiday home there. Sungmin, who could put up with Kyuhyun during the latter’s bad days, just sitting there and playing the guitar for him until he had calmed down again.

“No, I don’t believe it.” Kyuhyun said quietly, but with a certain voice. He looked up and smiled reassuringly, wanting nothing more than erase the worry on the older’s face forever. “It’s easy right? I love you, you love me. End.” He took a deep breath. “Now how about we go to the police and make sure this crazy girl or guy won’t bother us anymore?”

****

“Are you sure, you’ll be okay?” Kyuhyun’s mother asked, her worry clearly audible through the speaker of his cellphone.

“Yes mom, don’t worry.” he tried to calm her down. “The police told us that they’re trying their best to track down whoever sent those letters. And they also pretty much forbid me to leave the apartment, as did Sungmin. I’m safe, believe me.”

He could hear her sigh. “Alright, but if it gets worse, I want you to come over and stay at our house until this person is arrested. Who knows what she… or he can do. I mean, obviously this person knows your address –“

“Everyone knows our address, mom.” Kyuhyun interrupted her softly. “At least every fan of Sungmin. It was leaked two weeks after we moved in, remember? But our door is always locked, and you can’t get inside the building with either keys or someone opening the door for you. And it’s been four days since the second letter arrived, and nothing happened yet.”

“I’m your mother Kyu, dear, I will stop worrying when the holy elevator has taken me one floor upstairs.” his mother chuckled.

“I will forgive you, mom, but only if you never say ‘hoy elevator’ ever again.” Kyuhyun deadpanned, smiling as he heard his mother laugh. He didn’t like worrying her, and pretending everything was going to be okay was difficult but worth it.

After he hung up, Kyuhyun sat down on their couch, his laptop on his knees and his smartphone next to him on one of the pillows. Before his mother had called him, he had talked to the police, and what they had told him hadn’t been reassuring at all. Apparently there was no sign that the letters had been delivered by the post. There was no sender, no stamp and – most important – no postmark. So the sender had delivered the post personally, which made it much more difficult to find him. And although the surveillance cameras did film parts of the various mailboxes of the building, there weren’t any unusual activities besides a bunch of teenage girls who looked too young to even think about skipping school just to make sure their idol received their letters. Not really the kind of people they would suspect to be the culprit.

Another worrying fact was, that the person who wrote the letters obviously thought about Sungmin in a quite possessive manner. As one of the police men had explained to them, the fact that the person referred to himself and Sungmin as “us” could mean that she or he thought about them as a couple. In the sender’s point of view, Kyuhyun was the one at fault, the one who had stolen Sungmin and had destroyed their perfect relationship. It didn’t matter if Sungmin had ever even spoken to the person.

Kyuhyun groaned as he closed his laptop after checking it for any new emails. He didn’t need to work today, and just sitting around, doing nothing, was driving him insane. He was almost thankful as he heard the bell of their front door, hoping Sungmin had returned earlier, so they could spent the afternoon together. Even if it was only him playing Starcraft just to annoy Sungmin, who would ask him to finally clean their bedroom (Sungmin always nagged him when he was annoyed), which would let to Kyuhyun playing Starcraft even louder, so it would annoy his lover even more, who would… and so on.

Sometimes days like this ended with a fight and angry .

Sometimes they ended just with .

Either ways, it kept their relationship in a healthy balance.

His excitement quickly turned into disappointment as Kyuhyun opened his door to find no one there. Looking down the hallway the brunet frowned and shook his head. He had been absolutely sure about hearing the bell ringing, but maybe his bored mind had simply messed with him. Already closing the door, he suddenly froze as something white, lying on the floor, caught his eye. Kyuhyun could feel a wave of panic rushing through his body as he picked up the envelope with two fingers, trying not to touch the envelope too much. The police hadn’t been able to find any finger prints beside his own and Sungmin’s, but maybe they had more luck this time.

He called the police immediately, and then Sungmin. The latter arrived at their apartment only half an hour later, arguing with his manager about “giving a about his damn schedule and stupid windows”. The singer embraced Kyuhyun in a tight hug as if he didn’t want to let go ever again.

After the police had opened the envelope and read the content, they asked for their agreement to let an officer stay at their apartment for the night.

The letter didn’t say much, most of the angry rant could be summed up like this:

I hate you

Sungmin is mine

If you don’t go voluntarily then I’ll have to make you go

By now, Sungmin and Kyuhyun were honestly scared. A specialist from the police department had come to the conclusion, that the handwriting was most probably the one of a man. A man who had access to the building and knew exactly where there apartment was. Also, the possibility that the culprit went from writing letters to violent actions were much higher if he was indeed male. And he could have easily attacked Kyuhyun when he delivered the third letter.

It didn’t help that slowly the press started to realize something was going on. A foolish police officer who liked hearing his own voice too much and the police cars in front of the buildings were enough for the reporters to start writing. The police men were worried, because the sudden attention could scare the sender of the letters and rush him into doing something stupid and dangerous.

Two day later, the situation hadn’t changed and Kyuhyun and Sungmin were getting frustrated. Kyuhyun still didn’t leave the apartment and was therefore always in company of a police man, and Sungmin’s schedule had been reduced to the absolute minimum. Their families were worried and the public was curious. They both just wanted this nightmare to end.

It was in the middle of the night that Kyuhyun stood up after trying to fall asleep for a few hours. He nodded silently as he walked by Yoochun, who was watching some late night show. Kyuhyun liked Yoochun, the police man didn’t try to participate in their life but did his job quietly and professionally. The man returned the nod and then focused on the screen again, though Kyuhyun had the impression the other man did know exactly what was going on around him.

He took out a glass and a half empty bottle of red wine. A little bit alcohol would help him to fall asleep, and he was just about to drink as he heard a faint knock on their front door. Immediately, Yoochun was on his feet, his look darting from the door to Kyuhyun and back to the door again. Kyuhyun shivered, feeling scared and relieved at the same time. This was it, finally something happened, and now they could solve this mess.

But then he heard the quiet voice of their neighbor, whispering a careful “Sungmin-ssi? Kyuhyun-sii? Are you awake?”

He waved his hand at Yoochun reassuringly. There was no reason to be scared, although Kyuhyun didn’t mind the idea of this slimy man behind bars. He rolled his eyes and whispered “He’s our annoying neighbor.” towards the police man, but the latter didn’t seem to relax. He stood a few steps behind Kyuhyun, his eyes never leaving the door. Kyuhyun rolled his eyes but didn’t comment on it. Seriously, he was just really, really tired and wanted to go back to bed and back to manly-cuddling with Sungmin.

The brunet unlocked the door and opened the door slowly, scowling at the other man. But he froze as he saw the pure hatred in the neighbor’s eyes, directed at him. All the facts they knew about the sender of the letters crashed down on him, access to the building, knowledge of their apartment number, possessiveness of Sungmin, and good Lord, had they been stupid. Before Kyuhyun could even react, the face of their neighbor crunched into an ugly grimace. It was only luck that Kyuhyun backed away out of instinct, that the baseball bat didn’t hit his head. Instead, a white, hot pain seemed to set his right shoulder into flames. Kyuhyun could feel his knees giving in and as he sank down to the floor, he could see the man gripping the bat tightly, muttering wildly. But before he had a chance to hit Kyuhyun again, Yoochun yanked the door wider open, throwing himself between them. Their neighbor succeeded to hit the police man right into the stomach, bur then Yoochun got a hold onto the baseball bat and yanked it forwards. The attacker stumbled forwards, cursing in surprise. The police man quickly threw the bat on the floor and bent the neighbor’s arms onto the latter’s back.

Kyuhyun couldn’t focus on the fight. The pain in his shoulder was unbearable when he didn’t move, and moving made it even worse. Unable to open his eyes he gasped for air, small sobs leaving his lips. He didn’t even notice that someone was beside him, until they tried to make him stand up. He shook his head, crying out in pain as someone touched his shoulder. Kyuhyun was afraid, hurt and didn’t know where Sungmin was. The singer had definitely woken up because of the fight, but was he one of the people who tried to hold him up, making him walk out of their apartment? Or did he stay in there? Was he hurt as well? Not knowing about Sungmin’s well-being was probably even worse than the pain he was experiencing.

And then there was white light and he was being lied down, biting his lip to not cry out. He felt horrible, a headache pulsating right over his eyes making them hurt as well. He tried to speak, tried to ask about Sungmin, but his mouth felt dry and his tongue felt numb. Tears of frustration run down his cheeks, and they only stopped as suddenly a warm, familiar hand brushed against his face, soothing him. Kyuhyun sighed in relief as he heard Sungmin humming reassuringly, although the singer’s voice was shaken by fear and shock.

Kyuhyun closed his eyes again as someone injected him a dose of what he assumed was some kind of pain killer. Sungmin’s other hand was holding his right hand tightly, and he tried to concentrate on this feeling, on the knowledge that he wasn’t alone.

****

Kyuhyun shook his head disapprovingly as he stared at the food in front of him with a look of fascinated distaste.

“No wonder so many people die in hospitals…” he muttered as he let his chopsticks fall onto the plate.

“Kyu!” Sungmin’s voice sounded scandalized. “You can’t say something like that!”

“No Min, you mean: You can’t eat something like that.” Kyuhyun sighed, leaning back into the white pillows of his hospital bed. “You can’t imagine how much I miss your amazing food, Min.”

Sungmin smiled brightly, leaning down to press a kiss on Kyuhyun’s forehead. “Well, as surprising as it is, I miss your lazy at well, so let’s just be happy that you can go home tomorrow, okay?”

Kyuhyun nodded, his eyes fixed on the small shadows on Sungmin’s cheeks, painted on there by his lashes. He smiled, laughing about himself. The relationship with Sungmin had really turned him into a sappy romantic, but he wasn’t one to complain.

“The police made clear that you’ll leave the hospital tomorrow around noon. So obviously we’ll leave right after breakfast, and we’ll use one of the side entrances. I’m afraid we’ll be spotted by at least two paparazzi anyways, but that’s better than a whole crowd of reporters and fans.” Sungmin sighed, sitting down next to Kyuhyun. “Look Kyu, I’m sorry for this mess, I–“

“Min, no.” Kyuhyun interrupted the older. “Nothing of this is your fault, and we both know it. I knew the risk I took with being in an official relationship with you, and I took it nevertheless. There will always be some sick people who will try to destroy what we have, just because they think it’s disgusting, or because they’re jealous.” Kyuhyun smirked. “Just let them be stupid and ignore them. Life , but at least we can curse it together.”

Sungmin chuckled. “Your sense of romance always makes me speechless.”

Kyuhyun shrugged, hissing as his shoulder protested painfully. He saw the worry in his lover’s eyes and smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay.” he said quickly, but in a certain voice. “This whole mess–“ he made a side gesture with his left arm as if he wanted to present the whole world, “this mess called life is okay. And this–“ he pointed at the two of them. “This is a little bit shaken up at the moment, tensed and sometimes difficult.” Kyuhyun smiled. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect.”

Sungmin cooed, his eyes shining with happiness. “You’re so adorable, Kyubear.”

“Am not.” Kyuhyun protested as he was crushed in a tight embrace. “I’m a snarky know-it-all.”

And if he was honest, this wasn’t something Sungmin could disprove. But he wasn’t the one to complain.

It always looks like so much more when I write it in Word.... :/

Anyways, I'm sorry for the massive delay, but yeah... life happened. Nothing important, but a lot of minor things all at once...

I hope you all liked this chapter although it wasn't fluffy like the last ones. If you want to know who their neighbor is, try to ask the police but I fear they won't be able to answer your questions (confidential information bla bla).

No seriously, I honestly never bothered with imagining who it is. It isn't Siwon or anyone else of SuJu, because I don't want to turn anyone of them into a erted, violent bastard.

Aaaand, I just wanted to say hello to all the new subscribers!!!

Thanks for all your amazing comments which I will all reply to after I posted this chapter^^ You can't imagine how much comments and upvotes make me happy, really *.*