Chapter 7 – Karma

            “Oh, wait,” I said, turning off the engine, stopping Sungmin from opening his door.  He looked at me, confused, as I got out of the car and ran to his side to open his door.  I reached out my hand.

            There was a pause and sweat started to break out at the back of my neck.  Is this weird?  I thought this was only proper.  Wasn’t it?  They always do it in movies.  Suddenly, I felt his warm hands touch mine and I gently helped him out of the car as I breathed out a sigh of relief.  “You’re too much of a gentleman Mr. Cho,” he muttered, turning his head away in an attempt to stop me from seeing his blushing cheeks.

            “Just Kyuhyun,” I said teasingly as I locked the car doors.  We silently walked into the restaurant, Sungmin taking the lead as he had made the reservations.

            It wasn’t as fancy as the restaurant that Siwon had taken me too, but hey, all that matters is the food.  It’s always the food.  We were led to a dimly lit part of the restaurant and seated with our menus.  “I’ll bring you guys some water,” the waitress said as we settled into our seats.  “But would you gentleman care for some wine?”

            “No thank you,” I said, giving her a warm smile.  “I have to drive this gentleman home.”

            “Not for me then either,” Sungmin said, nodding his head as the waitress walked away. He turned his attention to me.  “Please order anything you like.  It’s my treat.”  He gave me one of his classic smiles.

            “But I’m older than you, I should pay,” I insisted, frowning slightly at the thought of him paying for me.

            His musical laughter filled the air.  “Oh, certainly not,” he said, shaking his hand, nearly dropping his menu.  “I’m older than you by two years actually, though it might not seem like it.”

            My eyes widened.  “Really,” I asked, shocked.  “I thought I was older.”

            He shook his head.  “So please,” he continued, “let me pay.  Especially since you’ve taken care of my past two dinners with you.”

            I sighed, giving up and nodding.  He smiled again and turned his attention back to the menu in front of him.  I couldn’t help but watch him flip through the menu as his reactions were something to die for as he read the descriptions.  Every so often he would frown slightly and stick his tongue out when he saw something he didn’t like.  Who would have thought that he was such a picky eater?

            “Have you gentleman chosen your meal yet,” the waitress asked, interrupting my thoughts as she set our water down.

            Sungmin nodded before looking at me as if asking if I was ready.  I suddenly realized that I hadn’t even looked at the menu yet.  In a panic, I quickly looked down and said the first thing my eyes laid on, which was a traditional Japanese dish that I just simply couldn’t pronounce.  I stuttered my way through my order.  Sungmin laughed at my actions and quickly ordered his food before the waitress walked away.  “So I see your Japanese isn’t very good,” he commented, still unable to stop the little laughs that escaped through his lips.

            “And yours is,” I asked, frowning at being teased, but slightly enjoying it.

            “Actually, Japanese is my second language,” he said, sipping his water as he winked.  Goodness.

            “Maybe you could help me out with that then,” I said, giving him a smile as I settled my elbow on the table.  “Would you be interested in giving me private lessons?”

            His cheeks suddenly turned pink.  “S-Sure,” he managed to stutter out as he set one of his palms against his cheek.

            “Great,” I exclaimed happily.  “I’ve been having trouble speaking with my Japanese clients.”  I settled back against my cheek as the smile on his face faltered a little bit as miso soup was placed onto our table.

            We happily began our meal as set after set of food began to appear and disappear.  We bickered every once in a while, discussing things from politics to personal life.  I learned even more than what I learned the other night.  He came from a poor family, as he had explained before, but his parents pushed for him to go through college and to follow his dream of working in the fashion industry.  To get through college, he had to work multiple jobs, day in and day out.  He never really had any free time.  His talents were recognized by Heechul a year ago and took him on as a trainee.  Heechul nurtured his talents and soon gave him bigger and bigger jobs.  After landing himself the perfect job and a stable life, he began to help out with his brother’s dream of becoming a singer and supporting him as he trained for SM Entertainment.  He also helped his parents purchase a new café in Seoul so that they could be closer to him.  Honestly, he must be one of the most caring people that I have ever met.  But, his life was the complete opposite of mine.

            “You’re amazing,” I commented, sipping the tea I had ordered to come with my dessert.  I was truly amazed at his feats, but I had to keep myself controlled or I might let something slip.

            He gave me a smile, which seemed to be different from others as it emitted a seemingly warm glow as well as a sense of accomplishment.  “Thank you,” he whispered, sipping his own cup of tea.

            I watched him as he ate his green tea mocchi as I had already finished mine.  He then looked at his watch.  “Oh my, it’s getting late,” he commented, finishing his cup of tea.  “Shall we get going Kyuhyun?”

            I snapped myself out of my daze.  “Of course,” I said, setting my cup down as Sungmin gestured for the waitress to get the check.

            “You didn’t talk about yourself,” he commented, reaching for his bag.

            “I’ll make sure to do that next time then,” I promised, fixing up the plate in front of me.

            It was the perfect evening, in all honesty.  But, seemingly perfect evenings don’t come without a price.

            A hand suddenly slammed down onto our table, snapping both Sungmin and I up from our focus.  Sungmin looked up and his eyes widened, his lips seemingly quivering, though it seemed to be out of anger, not fear.  I slowly traced the hand up, fearing what I would see.  There stood an angry looking Kangin.  His hair was amess, but he was still well dressed, his suit worn neatly and his lab coat placed on top.  I think he just came from work.  “Is this why you wanted to take a break,” Kangin asked, his stare directed at Sungmin.  “So you could go out with this pretty little heir?  I knew something was going on from that dinner we had with him!”

            “When you told me you wanted a break, I was happy to oblige since I thought you needed space and time to think.  I didn’t think it was so you could go out and date other people.  I trusted you!”

            Sungmin slammed his hands onto the table and stood up.  “Says the guy who never told me about his ex-boyfriend,” he exclaimed.  “Or should I say ex-fiancé?  Do you have any idea how hurt I was when I found out about that?  How could you hide something like that from me?”

            Kangin ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated.  “How many times do I have to tell you that it was nothing,” he half screamed.  “There’s a reason why I’m with you and not with him!”

            “You got engaged to the guy,” Sungmin yelled back.  “How could you possibly call that nothing?”

“I didn’t love him when I went after you Sungmin,” he said desperately, reaching out to touch Sungmin.  I immediately stood up to stop his arms.  He slapped me away.  “Don’t touch me!  This is between me and Sungmin!”

            “Sungmin is having dinner with me,” I said calmly, not dropping my hands.  It was all I could do to keep my cool.  “If you’re going to interrupt us, this has everything to do with me.”

            He glared at me and I watched his hands twitch.  Please God, please don’t let him punch me in the face.  I have a meeting first thing tomorrow morning.  But, he quickly turned his attention back to Sungmin.  “Did you honestly fall for this guy,” he growled.  “Or are you after his money?”

            Sungmin did nothing but glare at him, his fists raised slightly in anger and frustration.  “How could you say that,” he whispered angrily.

            Before anybody could say anything else, a small voice interrupted us from behind.  “It was nothing?”

            I turned around and spotted a red eyed Jungsu, who seemed to be trembling as he clenched his fists on the side.  Kangin’s eyes widened at the sight of him.  “Wait,” Kangin whispered.

            “Wait,” Sungmin asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

            “I could accept that you didn’t love me anymore,” Jungsu whispered.  “But saying that everything we had amounted to nothing?”

            I could only watch as tears started to stroll down Jungsu’s cheeks.  I felt my heart break for him and I quickly wanted to run over, but I couldn’t seem to move away from Sungmin.  “Jungsu,” Kangin whispered again, starting to walk towards him.

            Jungsu shook his head and pushed him away, running out of the restaurant.  Kangin watched him walk out before hesitating and turning back to Sungmin.  “Now I know where your heart has been for the past year,” Sungmin managed to whisper, keeping a straight face.

            “Sungmin,” Kangin said, walking back towards him.

            Sungmin looked away and rolled his eyes.  “Don’t talk to me,” he said, waving his hands.  “Go to him.”

            “I’ll be back Sungmin,” he said, his eyes looking at Sungmin longingly.

            Kangin took one last look at Sungmin before running after Jungsu.  As soon as he was out of sight, Sungmin looked at the door way and slowly took his seat again.  I sat down and stared at him, concerned that there seemed to be no emotion on his face.  He suddenly burst out into laughter.  I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious as I realized that we were still in the restaurant, but it didn’t matter.  This was the opposite of what he should be doing.

            Before I could reach out, the waitress came and I quickly handed her some notes, knowing full well that I overpaid.  I then turned my attention back to Sungmin and stood up from my chair and kneeled in front of him watching as he continued to laugh.  “I was supposed to pay for dinner,” he said between laughs.

            I could only watch as his laughs started to die down and turned into hyper ventilations and I knew full well what he was about to do.  I reached out and grabbed his hands, squeezing it tightly.  I leaned forward.  “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered into his ear.  “Don’t let these people see you cry.”  I felt Sungmin nod and I led him out of the restaurant, supporting his whole body.

            He was quiet as I led him to the car.  Luckily, I remembered where he lived, so I drove him home, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to answer me right now.  He continued to keep silent as I drove him home.  The ride wasn’t long as there was no traffic, but it felt like forever as I didn’t know how to deal with these situations.  When we reached his house, he still hadn’t talked.  I parked in front of his house and led him to his front door, watching as he fumbled through his bag for his keys.  He found it and started to unlock his door when I realized how much he was shaking.  He continued to fumble and I watched as his tears started to hit the floor one by one.

            What am I supposed to do during these situations?

            What do they do on tv?

            Oh.

            I stood behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.  Hug.  You’re supposed to hug to comfort.  I nodded to myself as I felt his left hand reach down to grip my arms for support.  His right hand continued to fumble with the door, but I realized we would never get anywhere as I knew his eyes were probably blinded by his tears at this point.  I released my right hand and put it over his as I steadied it, helping him unlock the door.  The door swung open, revealing a little light inside. 

            We didn’t move.

            I slowly turned him around to face me and moved my arms from his waist and to his face.  His hands moved to my waist and his head faced the floor, his shoulders trembling from crying.  I gently pushed his face up and looked at his now very red and puffy eyes, tears still streaming down.

            What do I do now?

            I placed my right hand on his cheek and gently brushed away the tears.  He continued to cry silently but finally managed to choke out some words.  “Don’t leave me,” he whispered.  I could only nod as he leaned forward to wrap his arms around me for a hug.  I was shocked for a second, but quickly responded, wrapping my arms tightly around him.  As he was shorter, his head rested on my chest as mine rested on top of his head.  His hair smelled like fresh strawberries and I couldn’t help but breathe it in.

            “Let’s get inside,” I whispered, gently pushing him away.

            He let me go and led me into his living room.  I quickly shut the door and took a seat on his couch like he told me too.  I looked up to see him standing at the door way, looking dejected, his gaze on the floor.  “Come here and lie down,” I said, patting my lap.

            Sungmin slowly made his way to the couch and sat far away.  I sighed, this isn’t what’s supposed to happen.  In movies they always made them lie down on their laps to comfort them.  I reached over and gently tugged on him.  Due to his lifeless manner, it was easy enough to knock him down.  He let out a slight gasp as his head ended up on my lap.  “Let me comfort you,” I scolded when he looked up at me.

            He forced out a small smile and nodded before turning on his side.  There was a short silence until he spoke.  “I guess this is karma,” he whispered.

            I was slightly confused and curious, but I didn’t know whether to push him to explain.  “Umm, why,” I asked, setting my hand on top of his hair to gently caress him.

            There was another pause, but it was longer.  I thought he had fallen asleep.  “Because you’re that man from the café,” he whispered out.

            It was an understatement to say that I was shocked.  I could feel my eyes widen and my mouth was probably hanging wide open.  I honestly didn’t know what to say.  I looked down again in attempt to see his reaction, but I noticed that his eyes were now closed.  “You’re finally resting,” I whispered, caressing his hair, the shock earlier disappearing as I saw his innocent face.  I guess I’ll just talk to him tomorrow.

            It was all I could to keep from falling asleep, but soon, exhaustion took over and I found myself unconscious.

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A/N: Whaa…so…a lot of things happened in this chapter.  We get a little Kyumin…we find out more about Kangteuk…and what was that about Kyuhyun being the man at the coffee shop? 

Hehe…so, how’d you guys like it?  Was the fight scene too rushed?  I wanted to add more, but I figured a manager might step in if it dragged on any longer.

Ahh…so…I know I’m behind on my one shot, but I honestly can’t write what I want to write for it.  So, I’m terribly sorry about that.  But this one is going smoothly, I just need to figure out how to end it.  It should go on for a little while longer though.  But!  I do have a horror/suspense type of plot that’s running through my head.  I might write that, so keep a look out for it.

As always, comment, subscribe, and vote!  Huggles!