Kyuhyun felt like his whole world got illuminated by a thousand suns at the same time after that overnight conversation with Siwon. He felt alive and after so many days he felt that he could breathe again. Excerpts from the conversation flashed across his mind especially the part where Siwon had told him that he had wanted to convey something very important to him in person when he came back from his business trip on Monday. He suddenly wondered how he would do with holding onto something as feeble as that piece of information for the whole weekend. Weekend consisted of 2 whole days, 48 hours, 2880 minutes……The more he did his math he began feeling more miserable and impatient. At times like these he loathed being a genius in the said subject.

Nevertheless his heart was at ease. And so was his mind and soul. He immediately slipped into a peaceful dreamless sleep after a long time that night.

~~~~~~

Siwon fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat from across the dinner table. Jessica’s auburn hair was swept to one side leaving the other side bare for anyone to feast upon her healthy glowing complexion and her long slender neck and collarbones. She looked absolutely stunning in her baby pink Dior frock and passersby couldn’t get their eyes off her. She looked every bit the runway model she had once aspired to be, her dreams which took her to the fashion capital of the world, Paris.

Siwon’s gaze finally met hers when the waitress came with two steaming mugs, one of café mocha and the other one of Americano.

“You’re still the same. Americano, black, without sugar.” She said as she took a tentative sip of her mocha.

“Ya I guess..” Siwon responded not showing much interest.

“How did you know I was here in Busan?” he asked.

“Truth is I asked Donghae and he told me you were here. So here I am.” She said emphasising it with a smile.

“And..” she trailed off and Siwon listened in.

“I had come here with Dr.Kim to meet Dr.Connors who had come here from the US. He’s gonna be treating me for a while until I get better.” She said.

“Oh that’s great news!” he said. Even though he admitted that he was not comfortable being anywhere within a 10 metre radius of his ex-girlfriend who had dumped him so heartlessly, he felt sympathetic towards her. After all that had happened he sincerely wished for her to get better.

“So how did it go? The meeting I mean.” She asked.

“It was o..kay. To be honest it was quite boring. And I still have another day to pass by.” He said.

“You have work tomorrow as well. On a Sunday?” she asked with surprise.

“No no no. I am free tomorrow. Thought I could just hang out, buy a couple of souvenirs for mom and dad and then head back home. Boss has reserved business class air tickets to Seoul tomorrow night.” He said.

“Oh I see. Well then mind if I tag along?” she asked innocently.

Now at times specifically like these Siwon wondered if he really had come down with a bad case of the cliché ‘foot in mouth’ disease. Everything and anything he said or did had inadvertently turned back on him for the worse. He needed to think of some excuse and fast.

“Well Jessica…I am heading out with some friends of mine. So don’t you think it’d be awkward to..” Siwon said attempting to sound as convincing as possible.

“Siwon…..even from across the road I can tell you’re lying. You’re so obvious.” She said nodding her head side to side.

“What? N..no ..I..” And Siwon’s steely resolve crumbled into smithereens in the blink of an eye.

Damn! Just when I thought I was almost there!

“You still hate me that much to deny me of a day out with a good friend of mine.” Jessica said, her eyes immediately filled to the brim with tears.

“Jessica…*sigh*..” he said in a meek voice.

“Siwon I am in search of redemption. Please give me a chance atleast to do that!” her voice sounded so helpless that Siwon felt that he’d just been punched in the gut repeatedly.

Suddenly she stood up and was leaving the restaurant. Siwon panicked. He felt like a jerk for hurting her emotionally. All she had asked for was a friendly day out with him and he had just made matters worse by rejecting it outright. He felt terrible and so he did the one thing that he deemed logical. He rushed towards the exit and caught her arm just before she headed out.

“Jessica wait! I am sorry.” he said breathlessly. She turned around and gazed at him, her eyes bloodshot from crying, her cheeks damp with streams of tears that poured down.

“I just…I don’t know what came over me…I’m..I’m sorry. Forgive me” he said. Siwon was a gentleman and he mostly certainly hated being the reason behind anybody’s tears especially those of a girl’s.

“No..I ..I am sorry for…forcing myself on you. I should have known better.” She said as she wiped some of her tears away.

“Please please don’t blame yourself. I..I tell you what you and I will hang out tomorrow. How does that sound?” he asked in hopes of cheering her up.

“You don’t need to pity me Siwon.” She said.

“I’m not! Look I feel terrible for hurting your feelings and I want to make it up to you. So..please…” he said beholding his best apologetic look he could pull at the moment.

“Alright. I am game.” She said and smiled at him.

“Excellent! Where would you like to go?” he asked. For a moment she looked deep in thought.

“I don’t have anything in particular. Lets see….How about sightseeing? We can also pick up some of the stuff you wanted.” She offered her suggestions.

“Not a bad idea. I am up for it!” he said and smiled at her.

“Ok. I’ll come here sharp by 8 in the morning. And I wont tolerate tardiness!” she said in a mock stern tone.

“Alright alright. So….I’ll drop you?” he offered.

“No actually my cab is waiting. I’ll see you tomorrow Siwon.” She said and turned around to leave.

“Jessica…” Siwon called out and she turned around to face him again.

“I am sorry again.” He said. This time Jessica smiled. Siwon had always been a sweetheart. No matter how much she had denied it in the past during her brief ‘relationship’ with him she had always found Siwon charming.

“Apology accepted. Good night Siwon.” She said and was contended that he had greeted her back as well.

 She waved him goodbye before her car sped away. Siwon hoped that he could get things over with as far as Jessica was concerned so that he could really concentrate on his confession to Kyuhyun. It was his priority after all.

~~~~~~

The fateful day had finally arrived for Donghae. But still he needed Kyuhyun’s approval to take him where he had intended to take him. Would he come or would he not, he ought to find out!

Taking his mobile in his hand he glanced at all the magnificent stills of Kyuhyun that he had taken so far and marvelled over them like how a 5 year old would over his toy collection. According to Donghae, Kyuhyun was like Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in that each time when he saw him he discovered varying facets of the young lad, intriguing him to no end.

Thinking about the trip made his whole body tingle with excitement. It would be the first step in taking Kyuhyun on a tour of his entire life. Although in Kyuhyun’s terms, they were still on the beginning stages of their friendship but to him it was as if he had wanted to spend his entire life with him. He revved up his car and rang Kyuhyun immediately as he simply couldn’t handle his nerves.

After three rings his call was answered.

“Hey Kyu!” Donghae said.

“Hi fishy-hyung. ‘Been expecting your call. So where ‘you takin’ me today?” he asked.

“Oh someone’s a little excited! Meet me outside in 10 minutes.” He said and hung up.

And he did arrive in 10 minutes and was waiting for Kyuhyun to get ready. Hankyung had finally convinced Donghae to come inside instead of waiting in the driveway making Victoria scowl in annoyance.

“I still don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such harsh treatment from you Ms.Victoria. Its like you’re taking out a grudge that ran deeper than the Mariana’s trench.” He said defeatedly. Victoria simply huffed at his comment and ran back inside the kitchen to assist her uncle.

Five minutes later Kyuhyun emerged downstairs wearing a pale yellow tank top and faded blue jeans and he looked like spring in the middle of a spell of harsh winter. His outfit did wonders to highlight his pale glowing complexion and the skin tight jeans accentuated the beauty of his long endless legs. It was true enough that Kyuhyun was taller than Donghae by a whopping 6 to 7 centimeters making him look like his dongsaeng despite Kyuhyun being younger to him by 7 years. Donghae had ‘lofty’ issues, pun intended and many a times he had been ridiculed by his close friends in college for his lack of height.

“What do I need to do to be as tall as you?” he asked Kyuhyun who promptly laughed at him for asking such a dumb question.

“Sadly Hae-hyung you aren’t gonna get any taller than this at your age. So save yourself the heartbreak and stop asking stupid questions!” Kyuhyun replied in his signature snarky tone.

“You do realise I can get you into trouble with your seonsangnim for being disrespectful!” Donghae said in a mock-stern tone.

That apparently did the trick and soon Donghae found himself hauled outside by an impatient Kyuhyun waving his mentor and his niece goodbyes. Donghae drove with utmost caution since he had a companion. Usually he drove rashly often getting into trouble for over-speeding with the traffic cops, but this time he was willing to make an exception. He didn’t want to scare Kyuhyun on their very first long ride to Mokpo which would take approximately 4 ½ hours from Seoul.

As soon as the car entered the Seohaean Expressway he sped it up a little and was relieved to see that Kyuhyun was visibly relaxed.

“So why Mokpo?” Kyuhyun asked with curiosity.

“You’ll see.” Was the answer Donghae gave him.

“You’re not kidnapping me for ransom are you?” he asked.

“Ha ha ha. Relax Kyu. I’d be the worst crook in the history of kidnapping if I were one.” He said jokingly and Kyuhyun chuckled.

“So have you ever gone to Mokpo before?” Donghae asked Kyuhyun who was gazing out the window clearly amazed by the view.

“Huh..No…This is my first time. My mom is originally from Mokpo but we haven’t had the chance to go there after I was born.” He said.

“Oh..”

“Come on hyung, you can tell me already. Its not like I am gonna run away. We’re almost half way there!” Kyuhyun pleaded before him.

“Jeez Kyu! You are so not like what you seem to be at all! Have some patience, will you?” Donghae’s nonchalance only annoyed Kyuhyun further as he turned away and continued staring outside the window for the rest of the journey. Within a few minutes he fell asleep as well.

He was woken up by someone tapping his shoulder and calling his name. Squinting his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight, he turned his head left and right and found Donghae standing beside him with the passenger door wide open.

“Wakey wakey sleeping beauty. We’re here!” he said cheerfully.

“Here? Where here?” Kyuhyun was still groggy with sleep.

“My home in Mokpo.” Donghae stated.

Kyuhyun stared at him for a good 2 minutes and said “You could have told me you were taking me to your home!”

“That would have spoiled the surprise Kyu. Now hurry up!” Donghae pulled him out.

Kyuhyun stepped out of the car and stretched to get rid of the hangover. In front of him stood a small and cosy home with a woman seemingly in her early 60’s standing at the doorstep welcoming Donghae in. Donghae practically dragged Kyuhyun with him.

“Mom, meet my dongsaeng Kyuhyun.” Donghae introduced.

“How are you Mrs. Lee?” Kyuhyun bowed.

“Oh my what a lovely boy! Come inside, both of you” she welcomed them in.

“Finally you had the audacity to show up after all, brat!” someone from upstairs called out.

Kyuhyun was met with a tall young man almost as tall as him who looked like the carbon copy of Donghae. He had an intimidating stare and a deep baritone in contrast to Donghae’s nasal tone.

“Meet my twin brother, Donghwa!”

“Its nice to meet you.” Kyuhyun greeted.

“Donghae has mentioned you in his emails. You’re a figure skater aren’t you?” he asked as Kyuhyun nodded.

“Donghwa don’t make them stand there!” Mrs. Lee shouted from inside the kitchen.

“Fine! Donghae always gets the ‘red carpet’ welcome!” he sneered.

“All elder twins are pushovers Kyu. Even if they were born a second earlier!” Donghae commented that earned a firm smack at the back of his head.

“You two look so similar and yet so different. I wish I had a sibling too!” Kyuhyun expressed.

“Wash up people! Lunch is ready” his mother informed.

Kyuhyun was completely blown away by the Lee family’s hospitality and Mrs. Lee’s cooking skills. She had made a traditional Korean lunch from an assortment of meat and vegetables, soup and rice and it was delicious. From Mrs. Lee he learned that Donghae hardly visited them due to his busy schedule. She expressed her anxieties about Donghae when he failed to call her for days together. Donghwa was an aspiring pianist who is currently enrolled as an intern with the Paris Philharmonics in France and hardly had the time to drop by. He also learned that Donghwa had planned to take his mother there once his internship ended in six months.

“So you’re planning to move to Paris altogether?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Yeah. With her second son hardly sparing her a visit once in a while she gets lonely here” Donghwa mocked his brother on a good note but apparently that didn’t go down well with Donghae.

The next second Kyuhyun nearly jumped out of his skin as soon as he heard a loud bang on the dining table. It was the first time he had seen Donghae getting worked up about anything. In a fit of anger he threw the chopsticks away and got up hastily and went outside muttering something under his breath.

Kyuhyun was in a fix. He wanted to run after Donghae and ask him what was wrong and he also didn’t want to offend his elder brother and mother. Both of them looked mortified by his behaviour and somewhat saddened.

“Donghae was….too fond of his father. He died of cancer when Donghae was in his final year of college. He was terminally ill and there was nothing anyone could do. He was writing his final semester exams when he had learned about his father’s condition and he was mentally shattered after his death.”

Mrs. Lee’s voice started quivering and she tried hard to contain her voice from cracking. As she narrated the story, it was as if the floodgates had opened and her tears flowed freely from her eyes.

“Donghae doesn’t visit because this place reminded him of his father a lot. And I couldn’t leave this place because I loved his dad so much. This house has so many memories.” Her frail body shook as she sobbed into Donghwa’s shoulder.

“Please stop crying Mrs. Lee. I’ll…I’ll go and talk to Donghae.” Kyuhyun said and stood up clearly losing his appetite.

Donghae was sitting on the floor of the balcony that overlooked the street in front of the house. As Kyuhyun stood facing his back, he couldn’t help but wonder how much he resembled a petulant young child. Slowly he approached him from behind and sat down beside him.

“Hae…”

“Its not like I don’t like coming here. It becomes too painful sometimes that I…that I go insane!” Donghae’s voice was reduced to a whisper.

“Hyung your brother was only pulling your leg. He understands what you’re going through. Your mom does too.” Kyuhyun placed his hands on Donghae’s shoulder.

He was completely taken by surprise when he was suddenly pulled into a hug. Donghae’s face was buried in the crook of his neck as he continued sobbing mercilessly. Meanwhile Kyuhyun allowed him to cry not bothering that his neck and shirt got wet. Kyuhyun realised that Donghae needed a shoulder to cry on, a friend whom he could rely on and he intended to do just that.

“Its alright hyung. Let it all out!” he said. A few minutes later Donghae had visibly calmed down and his loud sobs earlier got reduced to small sniffs here and there.

“Can we stay like this? Just for a few more minutes?” Donghae asked cautiously so as not to throw Kyuhyun out of balance.

“Sure Hae. Anything you want” Kyuhyun didn’t know why but he found himself agreeing. He knew that invariably Donghae had come to play a much larger part in his life than he had imagined. Donghae hadn’t planned to unleash his emotional side today as he didn’t want to ruin his day with Kyuhyun. But he really couldn’t help it. His mother had requested him to come back home just for a day or two or atleast to have lunch with them and reluctantly he had agreed despite the trauma that it would induce. Nevertheless he was happy that he had Kyuhyun by his side today. And he wanted to show his dad just how wonderful and special he was to him.

Releasing himself from the hug, he looked into Kyuhyun’s brown eyes and said “Come on. I want you to meet my dad.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“’Course I’m sure!” It was as if someone had a light switch. Donghae’s mood was all better in a flash.

And so all four of them visited the cemetery where Donghae’s father was put to rest. Donghae carried a bouquet full of white daisies as they were his dad’s favourite flowers. He had a serene smile painted on his lips as he lowered the bouquet and placed it in front of the headstone.

“Hey dad. Long time no see.” He started.

“I have someone new with me today. I would like you to meet him.” Donghae pulled Kyuhyun by the arm and made him stand beside him in front of the grave.

“Dad this is Cho Kyuhyun. My….um..my dongsaeng. Isnt he a cutie?” Kyuhyun felt a lump in his throat and he didn’t know the reason why. His eyes filled with tears as Donghae animatedly described each and every detail of his life so far not leaving out anything.

It started out as a mild drizzle and steadily progressed to a torrential downpour almost as if Donghae’s father was crying tears of happiness straight from the heavens now that his beloved son was with him.

Crouching down with an umbrella in one hand Kyuhyun said “Hyung they’re closing. Its time to go.”

Reluctantly he stood up and continued walking away from his father’s grave not with a heavy heart but with a contended heart. He finally knew that his father was happy and so was he.

Bidding goodbye to loved ones was the hardest part especially after paying them a visit after a long time. Mrs. Lee was happy that Donghae had come indeed and Donghwa that no matter how much he had aged he would always remain a cry baby.

“Call for Christ’s sake!” he told his brother.

“I will.”

“You created quite a scene today, you brat!” his brother slapped him playfully.

“Ya! I said sorry didn’t I?” Donghae whined.

“I know he can be a handful but please look out for him. I hope we’re not asking too much.” Mrs. Lee asked Kyuhyun.

“Oh! Not at all Mrs. Lee. I promise to look out for him.” He said.

“Take care Donghae-ah. You too Kyuhyun-ah!” Mrs. Lee said as she walked the two of them through the front gates.

“Take care of yourselves too. And thank you for today.” Kyuhyun said.

“Do come again. Have a safe journey!” she said.

The rain had slowed down a bit as they drove back to Seoul. It was 5 p.m and Kyuhyun would be home in time for dinner. A soft melody started playing on the radio when Donghae held his hands out of the blue and said “Thanks for coming Kyu. It really means a lot to me.”

Kyuhyun looked into Donghae’s eyes and they held such love and tenderness towards him. It made him wonder why he deliberately tried to pour every ounce of his feelings onto him when Kyuhyun could never return them. He felt guilty and held himself responsible for all those feelings Donghae had for him.

“It..Its no problem hyung.” Then silence, the kind of awkward silence that would leave goose bumps on one’s skin.

“K..Kyu…I..” Kyuhyun turned his head away and stared straight ahead at the road. Just then Donghae received a call. It was from Siwon.

“Choi Siwon. Whats up dude?”

Kyuhyun’s head turned and he was sure he’d suffer a whiplash the way it turned suddenly. He had no idea that Donghae had known Siwon.

“Me? I am heading back to Seoul from Mokpo.”

Kyuhyun fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably and he wished that Donghae wouldn’t mention that he was with him at the moment.

“You’re with who? She came to see you?”

Kyuhyun’s ears perked up in curiosity at the sudden mention of a female. Was Siwon really in the company of some woman right now?

“Ok. Fine. I’ll call you later.”

“ Who was it?” Kyuhyun asked as if he were totally oblivious to the conversation.

“Its my buddy Siwon. You might have seen him in your neighbourhood, he lives there!” he said.

Of course I’ve seen him. He’s the man I’m in love with!

“He said that he’s with a friend of his in Busan. His ex-girlfriend Jessica. Apparently she has finally found a way to crawl back to him I suppose!” Donghae said it as a matter of fact not knowing the repercussions it would cause. Kyuhyun was utterly dumbstruck. He had hoped that Siwon would confess to him after he came back tomorrow but now having heard of his little rendezvous he wasn’t really sure anymore.

Well here is the update for this week!

I thought of including Donghae’s background here in this chapter and I hope you guys like it as you read it.

From here onwards I am thinking of speeding up the story as some of you might have gotten fed up with all the cliffy chapters I’ve been throwing at you all.

And please take note of this that I have no intentions of making Jessica the villain here. Nobody is the villain in this story!

Now how would Kyuhyun handle things from here, only updates from me would tell! XD

So keep reading and loving my story! Thank you all for the support you’ve showered upon me and this story! Have a nice day! ^^