Entanglements
Chapter 2: The great advice-giver
"So why did you break off the engagement?"
Siwon tried to hide a wince at the dreaded question. But he was also more than surprised that Donghae knew. Only a very few people knew that it was actually him who ended the engagement, not Kyuhyun. “So he told Donghae the truth,” Siwon thought wryly, “he’s really serious about this then.”
He put on his most cool and composed gentleman manner and calmly replied to the boy beside him with his prepared line, "It was done mutually although I did broach the subject first. Kyuhyun and I both decided it just wouldn’t work and we thought it was best to not go on with the engagement." He silently muttered a prayer, "Please lord, let that be the first and last of that."
Donghae chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully, "I see. So you both decided you were incompatible." He smiled and pointed excitedly to a stuffed toy puppy at a store window. "Do you think he'll like that?"
Siwon inwardly cringed knowing Kyuhyun wasn’t into fluffy things but he couldn’t say that to the openly excited face he saw on the other so he replied, "I believe so”. He had accompanied Donghae around his family’s department store and they had already been walking around for two hours now. He was tired what with the walking and endless questions, not to mention the shopping bags that they were carrying, all of them Donghae's purchases.
Donghae seemed to sense his tiredness and said, "Hey look, there's an ice cream parlor over there. Tell you what, I'll treat you to an iced choco since you've been so good to me. But can you go ahead and reserve us a seat? I'll just go quickly to that store and buy that puppy."
Siwon agreed in relief and went over to find a vacant booth at the parlor. Never mind that he didn't like sweets all that much. At least, he was able to rest. His head was beginning to pound and he felt a headache coming on. Donghae had arrived two days ago and since then, he had always stuck to Siwon's side, asking him questions about his prospective spouse.
He had only met Donghae fleetingly in Taiwan but he was quite struck by how handsome he was even then. That might have been the reason why Kyuhyun decided to pursue him because after all, didn’t Kyuhyun make no secret of the fact that he liked Siwon’s good looks when they first met?
So far, Donghae's questions had all been about Kyuhyun's likes and dislikes, his friends and his relatives, especially Heechul. Siwon had patiently answered them all and was congratulating himself that he had answered the most dreaded question without so much as a stutter, even if he did lie a little. Oh, it was true that he was the one who asked to end the engagement, he just didn’t expect Kyuhyun to actually agree with him. He had foolishly expected something else. And that small matter, he didn’t want anyone else to know. It was all behind him now.
Finally, Donghae came with another shopping bag swinging from his arm. "I've already ordered. Iced choco for you and a strawberry milk shake for me. That fine with you?"
"Of course. Thank you."
Donghae shook his head and smiled widely, "No, I should be the one thanking you."
Siwon just smiled slightly. They were both silent until the waitress arrived with their orders. Siwon made a pretense of drinking his chocolate when Donghae commented, "You know, it's odd."
"Huh? What is?"
"That you're not asking me any questions when I’m your ex-fiance’s fiance," Donghae said plaintively while Siwon lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "For example, aren't you going to ask how Kyuhyun and I met?"
Siwon shrugged, "I know you both met in Taiwan."
Donghae smiled and blushed slightly. "Yes, he was actually watching a performance of my group when I first saw him." Siwon stayed perfectly silent. "I thought then and there that he was the cutest boy I've ever seen."
The black-haired man just silently sipped his drink. I’m sure Kyuhyun thought the same about you. You probably danced really well and he couldn’t take his eyes off you. And no, I’m not jealous. At the last thought, he scowled a little and told himself to snap out of it.
It was now Donghae who stayed silent. Siwon thoughtfully looked at him properly for the first time and wondered how Heechul erroneously made a big deal of Donghae having second thoughts about the engagement. He seemed happy with his decision and Siwon was thankful that he didn't have to list Kyuhyun's good points. Because at that moment, he couldn’t think of any.
"Is Kyuhyun really that… that unaffectionate?" Donghae suddenly demanded.
Siwon almost choked on his drink. "Un-… Unaff- … Unaffectionate?" He kept his voice level so as not to sound nervous, "What do you mean?"
Donghae's happy demeanor suddenly fell and he gave a small, sad shrug, "Oh, I don't know. But he seems… not wholly serious about this engagement."
Siwon plastered a smile on his face. Okay, remember what Heechul told you. "Well, you see…he, um, he's usually seen as cold and aloof but that doesn't mean to say he can't be affectionate," he added hastily and wracked his brains for what to say next.
"He's mischievous and playful and some or actually most would say that he can be quite a bully but he's only that way with people that he really likes or are close to, it’s his way of showing affection. And he's protective, I mean, if he likes you, he won't let anybody say anything bad about you, well even if he does if himself. But anyway, he's also generous and if you ever seriously need help, he will help you. Well, of course, he does have an ulterior motive for doing these nice things but you know, most people are like that anyway so you really can't blame him for that. But when he is annoyed, he has this habit of scrunching his face that’s so cut-…" Siwon realized he was babbling and Donghae was beginning to stare at him. He took a deep breath and tried again.
"But what's really important is that he asked you to marry him…," Siwon found that he had a hard time swallowing when he said that. Must be the iced choco. "And for Kyuhyun, that's a big thing. You can be sure he won't be looking at anyone else anymore." He assured Donghae all the while ignoring the screaming voice in his head that he was the one who proposed and tried so hard to get Kyuhyun to finally accept his proposal. And that was probably why Kyuhyun didn’t bother running after him when he broke it off in the end.
Donghae's eyes were growing in amazement as Siwon said his piece and there was now a worried frown on his forehead. "Really? But…but I never saw Kyuhyun being mischievous or mean."
If Siwon was surprised he didn't show it, "That's a relief… I mean, that's good, isn't it? So you see, he's really serious about you."
Donghae was still frowning however, "Do you know that Kibum and Henry also told me that he's quite a drinker? But he never accepted any of my invitations to go out for drinks when we were in Taiwan."
Siwon's mouth now opened in shock and his eyebrows comically shot upwards.
"When we met again in Japan, he looked happy to see me but when I offered to treat him to dinner, he refused."
"He did?!"
"So I went to his hotel room once, oh you know, to try and interest him in a game of Starcraft and probably after that, something more…," Donghae blushed as his voice trailed off but then he added sadly, "But he never even let me in!"
"HE DIDN’T?!"
"That's why I was really surprised when he suddenly called me one day and asked me out on a date and then suddenly asked me to marry him."
"What?!" Siwon knew his voice was starting to get hysterical but were they talking about the same man here?
"Oh, you might think I was a bit hasty and agreed at once but he's really quite handsome you know, and intelligent, and have you heard him sing? Well of course, you did. Anyway, the way he just demanded that we should marry since we're both single, beautiful and successful was just so romantic."
At Siwon's raised eyebrows, Donghae hastily added, "It was the first time someone proposed to me like that, I mean girls who asked me we’re so unoriginal and generic. Declaring their undying love and all that. Of course that’s good and I thought I would like it, but they get boring after some time. And guys who did ask, we’re just nervous wrecks."
"So there's really no problem, right? About you getting married?" Siwon had a hard time getting the words out of his mouth. Dang! He really shouldn't have drank the cold beverage, he was more used to coffee.
"Well, yes but…" Donghae started to frown again. "At first, he was quite willing to help me with the wedding arrangements then he started getting distant. And do you know he was greatly irritated when I sent that announcement to the papers? I mean, why shouldn't I? It's the proper thing to do right? Well anyway, I also got mad at him and he told me that if I was having second thoughts I should come here and get some advice from you."
Siwon nodded. Yes and he was quite willing to help. Although why he felt miserable about it he ascribed to his lack of a good cup of coffee. He just needed his usual caffeine-fix that's all.
"And there's something else…" Donghae started playing idly with the straw in his glass. "I hope you won't judge me too harshly but you see there's this guy whom I’ve known for a long time."
Uh-oh. Siwon thought.
"His name is Eunhyuk and he’s with the dance group I’m in but he never told me anything. It…it was only when I was preparing to go here that he suddenly came up to me and… and finally confessed his feelings." Donghae looked squarely at him and Siwon knew at once what the silent plea in his eyes was and the real reason for Donghae's cold feet.
No, oh no. Not again. Kyuhyun had a bit of an ego and another broken engagement would really ruin him. There were admittedly a few times in the past when Siwon wondered why no one has yet punched Kyuhyun in the face especially at times when he was quite a brat but this was too much. After they had broken off their engagement, Kyuhyun had never done or said anything unkind to him. He wanted to do something right for Kyuhyun, if only to see him happy because his own feelings didn’t really matter now. It had been his own fault anyway. If Kyuhyun had advised Donghae to come to him for encouragement then by God, he was going to make sure Donghae will be there at the altar on their wedding day.
"You said you liked Kyuhyun's proposal the most," Siwon calmly told him. "You are attracted to him and I did tell you he could be quite affectionate, also kind. I was actually surprised with what you told me about him. To be honest, Kyuhyun's not being his normal naughty self and that's a good thing. You see, he's changing for the better and it's all because of…you," he said in his most persuasive voice even as his voice slightly hitched at the last word. It took all his willpower to force himself to look directly into the other boy's eyes.
Donghae's frown slightly cleared, "I…I suppose so…" then he smiled, "You're right. You're absolutely right. I wanted him, and now I got him, haven't I?"
That wasn't exactly how Siwon would have phrased the situation but at least Donghae was now again slurping his sundae happily. To clinch matters, he resolutely added, "Tell you what, I'll convince Heechul to throw you both an engagement party. You'll both like that, won't you?"
"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Siwon!"
Siwon reddened slightly at Donghae's outburst but he was relieved that at least he had done something right for Kyuhyun and for this child-like boy. Because Kyuhyun will never go after you if you realize you’ve made a mistake and I could tell you that regrets are hell.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Whatever did you say to him?!?!"
Siwon was taken aback at Heechul's agitated question. He had received an early and loud call from Heechul, demanding he come at once since they needed to talk ASAP.
"Him? Donghae?" He asked, a little confused, as he sat down on one of the couches in Heechul's den.
"Yes, Donghae. Do you know what this is?!" Heechul demanded as he held out a paper to Siwon.
"I don't understand and I don't appreciate that tone of voice, Heechul."
Heechul was slightly chastened since Siwon never raised his voice. "Yeah well, sorry. But do you know what that is?"
Siwon shook his head. Really, what was Heechul talking about? It had been three days since he had told him to give an engagement party. The party was to going to be held two days from now. Since that talk at the ice cream parlor, he and Donghae had been meeting and hanging out together regularly although they hadn't talked about Kyuhyun anymore. Speaking of Donghae…
"Where's Donghae?" Siwon asked scanning the room, expecting the boy to come any moment inside the room.
Heechul smiled a little too pleasantly and his voice was silky as he pointed to the paper now in Siwon's hand, "That letter has the answer, my dear friend. Apparently, he is now on an airplane away from here. He is eloping with a certain Eunhyuk."
Siwon sat frozen in his seat, shocked beyond words. When at last he could speak, he croaked out, "Wha-…What? That can't be!" Then he abruptly stood up. "We must get him back before Kyuhyun knows of this."
Heechul laughed with sarcasm, "If you could teleport that would be quite easy since Kyuhyun, I am happy to say, has called me this morning and is coming here today. He'll be arriving in oh, I don't know…" Heechul looked at his watch, "…an hour from now."
Heechul had scarcely finished what he was saying when Siwon bolted out of the room. He watched him leave then shook his head. Great! Now it was left to him to acquaint his cousin of his runaway bride-to-be number two. Well, technically number one since he was sure Kyuhyun was considered the bride when it had been Siwon but anyway, that was neither here nor there. Sheesh! He didn't quite relish the thought of facing Kyuhyun when he tells him that.