A/N: This story has been so much fun to write :') Thank you lolita26 for letting me take part in your competition :D If you guys liked the story please comment here-http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/891328/writing-contest-kyuwook-lolita26-s-heaven-prizes-not-only-for-authors-but-for-readers-too-contest-kyuhyun-kyuwook-ryeowook-writing-karma-advertisment

Warning: Some mild swearing, everything in italics is a flashback.

Winter in Seoul wasn’t particularly bad, but seeing happy couples around him filled Kyuhyun with a sense of bitterness. Christmas in Korea was meant to be celebrated with lovers than with family. But what do you do when you have no one to love?

Everyone was waiting for him in the hall. Excited for his big day, Kyuhyun ran down the stairs and grinned at them. Finally, he rolled up his sleeves and closed his eyes, waiting for someone to tell him the name. Only, all he heard were gasps. Confused, he looked down at his wrists. Blank. Empty. There would be no one in the world meant for him. He didn’t realize he was crying until his mother pulled him into her arms.

“It’s okay, Kyuhyun-ah. You’ll be fine, you’ll get your name one day,” she murmured.

But Kyuhyun knew for a fact that she was wrong. He was never going to get his name and he was going to die alone. He screamed. He screamed until his voice was hoarse; until he passed out. He screamed to forget, but he never would.

 He bundled his scarf tighter around his neck and tried to forget. Christmas was always the hardest part of the year for him. Thirty-two years old and all alone in a sea of lovers. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but the memories came back stronger than ever.

The first day of school after his birthday was the hardest. Everyone knew he had turned sixteen and they wanted to look at his wrist. He wore a sweater to cover his arms and dodged people like bullets. During lunch, a couple of boys from his class cornered him and ripped his sweater apart. Kyuhyun fought as hard as he could with tears in his eyes and curses on his lips. They found out anyway. Their mischievous grins turned to looks of pity. They tried to apologize but he pushed them away. He picked up all his things and ran home. He moved to China the next week.

There was a clear reason why he preferred China to Korea. There were too many people for anyone to pay attention to a faulty defect. That’s what Kyuhyun thought of himself; a mistake, a defect, broken. He scoffed and pushed those thoughts away. He was going to see his parents; he needed to pretend to be happy.

Christmas dinner at his parents’ was a tradition started for him. To make sure he didn’t kill himself over the holiday season. His sister barely showed up, preferring to spend her Christmas with her husband rather than her pathetic little brother.

The dinner was good and conversation bland, like every year. He replied to his parents with one worded answers and they accepted it silently. When it was time for him to leave, his mother handed him a box of food and his father shook his hand stiffly. He couldn’t wait to go back to Taiwan.

In Beijing, no one asked him why his wrist was blank. They were too busy trying to make sense of his terrible Chinese. Slowly, he picked up on the language and made a few good friends along the way. China healed what Korea had broken. Here, there was no judgment, no pity, just acceptance in its purest form.

Zhou Mi came to pick him up at the airport. He was his best friend since their school days and now helped him run the school. His father had started a Korean language school in Taiwan and now, Kyuhyun ran it.

“Kui Xian, merry Christmas!”

“There’s nothing merry about this Christmas, Mimi,” Kyuhyun scoffed.

Zhou Mi frowned and took Kyuhyun’s bags. They started talking as soon as they got into the car.

“Oh, I almost forgot. We hired a new teacher, Kim Ryeowook.”

“Why do we need a new teacher?”

“We need a new teacher because Heechul-ge quit,” explained Zhou Mi patiently.

“Why did hyung quit?”

“Honestly Kui Xian, one would think you don’t do any work. He quit because he fought with one of the students who thought it was appropriate to teachers. The student got a black eye and his parents demanded that Heechul-ge quit.”

Kyuhyun snorted and nodded. His hyung was a spitfire and the only Korean in their all Chinese staff. Well, not anymore.

“How old is Kim Jungwook?”

“Ryeowook, his name is Ryeowook. He’s twenty.”

“That’s too young! How could you hire someone that young without telling me!? Mi, what’s wrong with you?”

 They argued about the pros and cons of hiring a young teacher for the rest of the ride. In the end, Zhou Mi won and Kyuhyun sulked in his seat. It hadn’t even been an hour since he reached Taiwan and he already felt better.

“You want me to do what?” asked Kyuhyun, shocked.

“I want you to run the school, Kyuhyun. You’re old enough, you know the language and we all know you prefer China to Korea.”

“But dad, what if…”

“Kyuhyun,” his father sighed. “If your soul-mate was in Korea, you would have known by now. I’m sorry son, but it’s time to move on.”

The next day, Kyuhyun started his daily rounds as usual. They only gave two days off for Christmas and then it was back to business. He was passing by a classroom when he suddenly heard laughter and squealing. That was a first. Usually, all he heard from the classes were groans and whines.

He opened the door and found an extremely tiny man, hiding his face and standing next one of their tallest students, Kris or something. The pair looked extremely amusing, yet cute. Kyuhyun stared at them for a few more minutes before clearing his throat.

“Care to explain what’s going on here?”

“Kyuhyun seonsaengnim, we were just playing around with the new teacher. He’s so cute,” grinned Kris.

The tiny man blushed and whacked the student on his arm. Gesturing Kris to take his seat, he stepped forward to introduce himself.

“Kyuhyun-ssi, I am so sorry for the chaos. My name is Kim Ryeowook; I’ll be replacing Heechul hyung.”

“Yes, Zhou Mi told me about you. Please meet me in my office after class Ryeowook-ssi.”

Nodding once at the class, Kyuhyun left the room, wondering why Zhou Mi had hired a child.  

At first he didn’t know what to do with the school and then he met Heechul. The older man was the only Korean born teachers. He had come to China to find his soul-mate and he did. Han Geng and Heechul were a perfect fit. Kyuhyun burned with jealousy each time he saw them. He was only twenty and he had to suffer the rest of his life alone. Heechul found him crying in his room one day and talked some sense into him.

“Kid, you can’t give up. Maybe your soul-mate isn’t sixteen yet. Maybe you’re not meant to find them yet. Don’t give up and stop being so bitter about everything. Enjoy the little things in life, they’ll certainly help.”

Two hours later, there was a knock on his door and Kyuhyun looked up from his laptop.

“Come in.”

Ryeowook shuffled in shyly and Kyuhyun was once again struck by how young he was. He looked barely older than seventeen in that oversized sweater and fitting jeans.

“Have a seat Ryeowook-ssi, this won’t take long.”

He waited for the man to sit down before continuing.

“I’ll be frank with you. You’re the youngest teacher here and I have no idea why Zhou Mi hired you. Care to shed some light?”

Ryeowook fidgeted a little before answering.

“My soul-mate, he’s Chinese. I was hoping to find him soon. It’s been four years and I really needed a job. Hyung was nice enough to offer. I speak Chinese really well, please Kyuhyun-ssi don’t fire me. If my work is unsatisfactory then you’re free to do so, but please give me a chance.”

Kyuhyun sighed and looked at the boy in front of him. He felt a pang of sadness because he knew no one would go through such lengths to find him. Squashing down the self-pity, he nodded. Ryeowook beamed and bounced out the room. That kid was going to give him nightmares, Kyuhyun knew it.

After that, every time he passed by the younger man, Ryeowook would give him a smile bright enough to put Zhou Mi to shame. Kyuhyun would smile back awkwardly but end up looking constipated. Soon, he began looking forward to those smiles and made it a point to check in on Ryeow