Chapter 3 – Good Memory

            I have to admit, although I typically hated drunks, it was near impossible to hate a drunk Sungmin.  Why?  Because he turned into cute mush.  He was on his second bottle of soju when he reached out to try to touch Yesung’s philtrum, a trait that Yesung had showed him earlier when they first arrived.  They had come late after Heechul had yelled at them over the phone for working to late at their company.  When Ryeowook batted away his arms, he pouted and turned to Kangin, who seemed to be having the time of his life watching his boyfriend.

            I couldn’t help but giggle at the scene, causing Sungmin to turn to me.  He had a huge smile on his face and his eyes twinkled, losing all sense of fakeness he had earlier.  “Kyuhyunah,” he whispered, gesturing for me to come closer.

            To appease him, I leaned forward, watching Kangin’s eyes on me as he laughed.  “What is it Sungmin,” I asked, smiling, a little drunk myself.

            Sungmin leaned closer and put his mouth close to my ear, cupping his face so only I could hear him.  I could feel his breath on my ears, causing my hair to stand up.  It took all I had not to flinch at his touch.  “I never thought I would see you again,” he suddenly whispered.

            My eyes widened and I quickly pulled back to look at his giggling face, suddenly becoming sober.  Did he remember me?  “What do you mean,” I asked hesitatingly.

            He put his finger against his lips and made a ‘shushing’ sound before collapsing onto Kangin, wrapping his arms around his arms and snuggling against him.  “Well, that was weird,” Kangin muttered, brushing his fingers through Sungmin’s hair.

            My breathing seemed to have stopped again.  Seriously, what was this?  But, more importantly, what did he mean by that?  I shook my head.  He must have been really drunk, but I’ll ask him tomorrow about it just in case.  I turned my face towards three very, very drunk couples and a smug looking Jungsu.  Heechul was cuddling Hangeng and trying to peck him on the cheeks, to which Hangeng responded with by blocking his face and dodging each and every one of his attempts.  Yesung was now trying to comfort a pouty Ryeowook by rubbing his back and poking his cheeks every once in a while, causing Ryeowook to giggle until he noticed what he was doing and continued on pouting.  Sungmin was still cuddling against Kangin as he continually brushed his fingers through the adorable guy’s hair.  Jungsu could do nothing else but watch the scene along with me, jabbing my ribs every once in a while to distract himself.

            I wonder if they’ll be okay.  I leaned against the wall, trying to get myself together before standing up.  “I think I should get going,” I muttered, trying to find my jacket.  The couples only looked at me, giggling in response.  I looked down at Jungsu.  “Let’s go get a cab.”  I stuck out my hand.

            He slammed down his soju cup before grabbing my hand.  I gently pulled him up and patted his back.  “I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I yelled out, leading Jungsu out of the room.  There was no response, but I managed to get a glimpse of a glaring Sungmin towards my direction.  Not thinking much of it, I closed the door behind me.

            I waved my hand around crazily, trying to flag a cab down.  Luckily, one stopped in front of us.  I placed Jungsu into the cab and got in beside him.  I gave the cab driver his address before settling myself against the chair.  I was only a five minute walk away from his house so it shouldn’t be too bad.  I wasn’t that drunk.

            I turned to face a frowning Jungsu.  “Are you okay,” I asked, tilting my head back against the car window.

            He shook his head slightly but stopped.  “I just didn’t think I would ever see him again,” he muttered, rubbing his hands over his face.  He was talking about Kangin.  “We didn’t exactly end on good terms.”

            “I can tell,” I muttered, rubbing my hand against the back of my head after we hit a bump.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

            There was a comfortable silence that fell before he shook his head.  “The past is the past,” he whispered.  “I shouldn’t mess with it again.”

            “Yeah, but messing with it is the only way you can truly move on,” I shrugged.

            The cab stopped and we stepped out after I paid the fee.  I gently patted Jungsu on the back before giving him a smile.  “Fighting,” I whispered, raising my fist.

            He smiled back before walking to his door, his back slowly slumping as he escalated up the stairs.

            “Good morning Mr. Cho,” Jungsu said, greeting me with a bow as I stepped out of the elevator.

            “Good morning Mr. Park,” I said, noticing the small smile on his face.  “You recover pretty fast.

            He winked as I stepped into my office.  This time, I didn’t squeal when I noticed Sungmin sitting at the side, nursing a small cup of coffee.  “Good morning Mr. Cho,” he said, pointing towards the cup of coffee on my desk.  “It’s still pretty hot so be careful.”

            “Thanks,” I said, hanging up my coat.  I took a seat and started up my computer.  I grabbed the cup of coffee and took a sip.  It was the same as yesterday’s.  How is he getting this right.  “Hey, Mr. Lee.”

            “Just Sungmin,” he said, shooting me a smile.

            “Oh, Sungmin,” I started, trying to get used to the name on my mouth.  “You told me something yesterday while you were drunk…”

            “Oh my god,” he exclaimed, covering his face, but I noticed his very pink ears.  “I’m so sorry.  I tend to talk bluntly and truthfully when I’m drunk.  I swear I didn’t mean it.”

            I started to chuckle at his reaction.  “I’m pretty sure you mean it if you talk bluntly,” I said, teasing him.

            He uncovered his face, revealing very pink cheeks.  “Not like that, I mean,” he said, stumbling through his words.

            I waved my hand to stop him from talking.  “It’s okay,” I muttered.  “You just said something really interesting and I was just a tiny bit curious about what it meant.”

            I watched him tilt his head in curiosity.  “What exactly did I say,” he asked, scrunching his eyebrows.

            “Wouldn’t you like to know,” I said, winking before turning back to my paperworks.

            He didn’t say much more, but I knew he was flustered from the sound of ruffling papers.  I couldn’t help but chuckle as helplessness.

            “What seems to be the problem,” Jungsu asked as he walked into the room, his eyes focused on the clipboard in front of him. 

            “Well, Mr. Cho here is having fun at my cost,” Sungmin said, rolling his eyes, making me laugh even more.

            “Ahh, you really have gotten naughtier Mr. Cho,” Jungsu said, looking at me. 

            I rolled my eyes at the comment while Sungmin looked at Jungsu curiously again, not knowing the whole story.  “Did you need something Mr. Park,” I asked, setting down my papers. 

            “Yes,” he said, setting some papers down in front of me.  “Mr. Choi has asked, yet again, for your company for dinner.”

            “Will that man ever stop,” I complained, reaching for the papers. 

            Jungsu sighed in agreement.  “But, you do realize that, if you accept at least one date with him, he might actually stop,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

            I thought about it for a second.  “Does Mr. Cho have a suitor,” Sungmin teased, his eyes glinting in mischief.

            Jungsu couldn’t help but laugh.  “Yes, he does,” he said.  “And a persistent one at that.  He’s been asking Mr. Cho for a date for a year now.  He’s another one who claims that he became attracted after noticing the change in him.”

            “A really clichéd claim, might I add,” I muttered, running my fingers through my hair before looking Jungsu in the eye.  “Tell him I’ll go to dinner with him tonight.”

            Jungsu’s eyes widened in surprise.  “Really,” he asked.  “I was just teasing you.  I didn’t think you would actually say yes.”

            “Well, I said yes,” I said.  “Though, please try to convince him that I’m not gay.  I thought that I had clarified that multiple times before.”

            “I don’t think you made it clear enough,” he said, winking before turning to Sungmin.  “By the way, how have you gotten his coffee order right?  He hasn’t complained once.”

            Sungmin’s cheeks turned pink.  “Just good memory,” he muttered, turning back to his work.

            What does that mean?  Before I could ask him, Jungsu chuckled before walking out and I lost the opportunity.

            A light knock came on my door.  Sungmin and I looked up from our work before welcoming the visitor in.

            A tall man in a beige suit walked in, a dozen roses covering his face, though his neatly brushed hair gave away who he was.  “Guess who,” the man asked, refusing to put the roses down.

            I sighed in defeat at my dorky best friend.  “Mr. Choi,” I said, chuckling.  “You never cease to amaze me.”

            “Well, it is a best friend’s job,” Siwon said, finally putting down the bouquet.

            “Best friend,” Sungmin suddenly asked, reminding me that we weren’t alone.  “I thought he was your suitor.”

            I continued to laugh as Siwon looked over at Sungmin in surprise.  “Yes, we’re childhood friends,” I said.  “Though he started going after me a couple months ago.”

            “Because this geek suddenly seemed more approachable,” Siwon said, rolling his eyes.  “Took him long enough too.  Sadly, he refuses to bat for my team.”

            I could still remember the first time I met Siwon.  Our parents had put us together seeing as we were both future heirs of our companies.  It had been a bitter start, him stealing my ice cream cone, but we later grew closer.  However, he was completely unaware of the troubles I was facing, especially last year’s troubles.  We had fun and we hung out as friends, but it wasn’t until a couple of months ago when, to my shock, he asked me out and told me to face him as a man.  Which, I honestly didn’t expect as he always seemed to be a goody-two shoed boy who followed the church without a second thought.  Plus, he was always around girls who were potential wives.

            “Said the heavily religious freak,” I muttered, sticking my tongue out.

            Sungmin could only laugh at our conversation and Siwon’s tone lightened.  “Well Kyukyu,” he said, turning his attention towards me.  “Are you ready for dinner?  I made reservations at your favorite restaurant.”

            I stood up from my chair.  “As ready as I’ll ever be for you,” I said, shrugging on my coat.  Siwon gestured for me to take his hand and I shook my head, poking him as he pouted at my refusal. 

            But, as we walked out of the door, I couldn’t help but notice that the bright smile on Sungmin’s face had disappeared.

^^^^^^^^^^

A/N: Hello again!  I hope you enjoyed that update because, you know, a Kyumin story is never complete without our beloved Siwon coming into play.

But, what was that?  A seemingly jealous Sungmin?  What?  No…why would he be jealous in the first place?  And our poor Leeteuk.  Or, perhaps, not so poor Leeteuk in the future?  Hmm…we never know I guess…

By the way, this is so late, but did you guys hear about the 10^th anniversary mini album?!  I’m so, so excited!  Let’s wish them the best of luck…especially with SM’s terrible planning of releasing it at the same time as GG’s comeback.  Oh well, I hope they both do equally well.