Soulmates Part B
Turns out Eunhyuk's dad had a major heart attack and he ended up dying that night. When Eunhyuk got home, a red-eyed Donghae who was watching sappy Korean romance dramas and bawling his eyes out over a tub or Dr. Chocolate's Extra-Fudge Milk Chocolate Brownie Sunday with real chunks of Milk Chocolate Ice Cream greeted him (wow that's a mouthful. Dare you to say that 5 times fast).
He put his stuff down on the table and walked over to where Donghae sat. He sat beside him and pulled the spoon and tub of ice cream away from his boyfriend and set them on the table.
"Yah! What was that . . . for?" Donghae stopped mid-sentence when he saw the state his boyfriend was in. All anger from the earlier fight disappeared when he say the dark circles and begging eyes.
"Hae . . . I'm sorry. I was such a jerk earlier." Eunhyuk croaked.
Normally, Donghae wouldn't have forgiven that easily but the sound of Eunhyuk's voice, all soft and broken and full of raw emotion, was enough for him to know that Eunhyuk really meant it.
"I'm sorry too, Hyukkie." The words barely left Donghae's mouth before Eunhyuk launched himself at Donghae. He latched on tightly and buried his nose into the crook of Donghae's neck. He took deep breaths and tried to calm himself down but only ended up choking on air and crying harder.
"Hyukkie? Stop, you're scaring me. What happened?" Donghae asked, gently trying to pry himself away from Eunhyuk's death grip. This only resulted in Eunhyuk tightening his hold on Donghae and crying harder.
"Hae . . . please don't leave me! I n-need you right now. Everyone is leaving me and- and I need you. You can't le-leave me. PLEASE!" Eunhyuk sobbed. He was hysterical and Donghae was beginning to choke.
"Shhh . . . it's okay. I won't leave you. It'll be okay. I'm not leaving, see?" Donghae said. He managed to get Eunhyuk to let go of his neck and wrapped him arms around him. Eunhyuk was sitting on his lap and Donghae had one arm wrapped around Eunhyuk's shoulder and the other on the back of his head.
"Shh . . . I got you. You're okay now, Hyukkie. It's okay. You're okay. Everything will be fine. I won't leave. I promise." Donghae continued to rub soothing circles on the other's back and kept rocking Eunhyuk back and forth until the other fell asleep to the familiar scent of Donghae and the feeling of being safe inside the other's arms.
"Kyuhyun are you crying?" Henry asked incredulously.
"No, I just . . . have something in my eye."
"Whatever, hyung."
"Oh shut up Mochi."
Since Eunhyuk's father was the founder of a successful international company, and Eunhyuk was the only suitable heir, he had no choice but to take over the family business. It wouldn't have been so bad but most of his father's dealings were in foreign countries and Eunhyuk would have to study in the United States in order to be able to take on the full responsibilities of the company.
He and Donghae made up after that night and Eunhyuk is now certain, without any doubts whatsoever, that Donghae was made for him. If he could, he would just forget about his family's company and would rather live poor and with Donghae than rich and without him. However, life isn't that easy and Eunhyuk knows that if he doesn't take over the company, lots of other lives will be affected.
"Donghae, we need to talk." Eunhyuk said one day.
It was a couple weeks after his father's funeral and a few days before he would have to leave for the United States. Donghae knew that Eunhyuk was going to take over his family's business but didn't know that Eunhyuk would have to go away.
"What is it, Hyukkie?" Donghae asked as he walked into their apartment flat. It had huge ceiling to floor glass windows and Eunhyuk was currently standing in the middle of their living room watching the setting sun.
"Do you love me?" Eunhyuk asked, not turning around.
"Of course I do. Why else would I have stuck around so long?" Donghae laughed. He put down his things and walked up behind Eunhyuk, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on Eunhyuk's shoulder.
"Then . . . will you wait for me?" Eunhyuk asked in a small voice. He turned around so that he was facing Donghae and pulled him into a hug.
"Huh?" Donghae replied, uncertainly looping his arms around Eunhyuk's neck.
"Will you . . . wait for me?"
"What do you mean?" Donghae asked, slightly worried.
"Don't be mad okay?"
"Why would I be mad?"
"Hae, I've known you for about four years but it feels like you've been here my whole life. I don't know who I would be today if I never found you note and didn't get to meet you. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself. You know when something's wrong with me, even if I don't, and even if I treat you bad, you never leave my side. I want you to be mine forever, Hae."
Just then Eunhyuk pulled away from Donghae looked down at the floor.
"You know how I have to take over my dad's company?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, before they hand over the full power to me, I have to go to New York to get acquainted with my dad's most powerful clients and to finish studying for my business degree. I'll be gone for about 2 years . . ."
Donghae stepped back from Eunhyuk as if he had struck him.
"2 years? That's a long time Hyuk." Donghae said. He had mixed emotions and didn't know what to feel.
"I know."
"When are you leaving?"
"Friday."
"This Friday! That's in three days!"
"I know. That's why I asked you if you would wait for me."
Eunhyuk reached out for Donghae again, who tentatively stepped back into his arms. He was still shocked that his boyfriend would be leaving him for so long, so soon. He felt a flood of emotions and wrapped his arms around Eunhyuk's neck. He snuggled into the crook of neck and breathed deeply.
"If I would wait for you?" He breathed out shakily after a couple minutes. Eunhyuk automatically tightened his arms around Donghae turned to give him a kiss on the forehead.
"Yeah. Because I want you to be with me forever so I figured that once I finished all my studying and built a good fortune, we could get married when I get back from New York."
Donghae froze in Eunhyuk's arms and it took a minute for the words to sink in. When he snapped back into the present, Eunhyuk had let Donghae go and after fishing around in his pocket, pulled out a small black velvet box. Time seemed to slow down as he got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a simple band of silver nestled in the black velvet.
"Lee Donghae, I love you with all my heart and will promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"
For the next three days . . .
"Wait! Grandpa!" Henry shouted out all of a sudden.
"Yes, Henry?"
"Did he say yes? You didn't tell us what Donghae said yet."
"Well, what do you think he said?"
"Yes?" Henry asked hopefully.
"Of course he said yes." Jungsoo sighed.
For the next three days Donghae wouldn't let Eunhyuk out of his sight, not that Eunhyuk wanted to be away from him. They went shopping for the clothes that Eunhyuk would wear in New York and also bought two web-cams so that they would be able to video chat while Eunhyuk was gone. During the day they would run around and have fun and at night they would sleep in each other's arms. It was the best three days of Eunhyuk's life.
But sadly, time flies when you're having fun and waaaaay before he was ready to, Eunhyuk had to say farewell to Donghae.
"I'll be back before you know it, Hae." Eunhyuk said as he pulled the other into another hug. They were at the airport and Eunhyuk's plane was ready for loading.
"I know. Just . . . don't go finding yourself someone else while you're in New York, okay?" Donghae said.
He placed his head on Eunhyuk's shoulder and inhaled deeply.
"I don't think anyone in New York would be cool enough for me to want to leave you. Don't worry."
Donghae just sighed and took another deep breath.
"Umm . . . Hae? What are you doing?"
"I want to remember what you smell like Hyukkie. I don't want to forget."
"Haha I'm coming back, Donghae. I'll call you and write you everyday, just like I used to when we were younger. I have to go now, Hae. I love you." Donghae tightened his arms Eunhyuk and despite his best efforts to stop, began to tear up.
"Do you have to leave Hyukkie? Can't you just study here and have your dad's clients come to you? You don't have to go."
"Hae . . . " Eunhyuk sighed.
"I know. I just don't want you to leave me."
"I'll be back. Remember! You promised to wait for me. You better be here when I get back or else you're dead."
"Haha as if I would go anywhere. I'll be here when you get back."
"Bye. Hae. I love you."
"Goodbye, Eunhyuk."
And that sent shivers up his spine because it was laced with a chilling finality.
At first Eunhyuk kept his promise. He wrote letters, took pictures, sent emails, made phone calls, and video chatted with Donghae everyday. It was the first time he had been away from Donghae for so long (besides the 18 years before they met) and everyday the pain in his chest got worse. When he left on the airplane that morning, every mile he traveled away from the other felt like it was ripping his soul in two. Almost like he was a rubber band that you kept stretching, farther and farther apart, until it snapped.
It happened slowly at first, around the end of the first year Eunhyuk had spent in New York.
It started with Donghae replying a few days late. Then a few weeks. Then a month. Then two.
Eunhyuk only had 6 more months to go when Donghae seemed to stop replying all together.
He tried calling the other, but all he got was a falsely happy voice saying, "Sorry, this number does not exist."
He tried e-mailing but all he got was a message saying, "Error: this address is invalid."
He tried mailing letters but they all returned, "Undeliverable."
Eunhyuk was debating whether or not to file a missing person's case but he decided to call his friends to see if they saw him first.
"Yoboseyo?"
"Hyung! Have you seen Donghae lately?"
"Hahaha . . . Sorry what was that Hyuk?" Leeteuk asked. Hyukjae could hear Kangin in the background and rolled his eyes as he realized why his hyung was so distracted.
"Have you Donghae?"
"Donghae? Who’s that?"
"My boyfriend . . . you know the one who stayed over at my place the summer before college started."
"Huh? You got a new boyfriend after Sungmin? Since when! Why wasn't I informed?"
"Aish! Hyung! I'm serious. Have you seen him? This is VERY important." Eunhyuk was starting to get seriously worried.
"Sorry, Hyuk. I honestly don't know who you're talking about. Maybe you're just tired. Make sure to get some sleep. And are you eating well?"
"Okay, Hyung. I'm gonna go now. Thanks and don't worry about me. Bye." As soon as Eunhyuk hung up he pulled himself into a corner of his room and curled up into a ball. Maybe Leeteuk was just too busy to remember. His hyung was getting old after all and memory loss was part of old age, right?
Okay Eunhyuk, let's take a deep breath. That was just one person, there is still all your other friends to ask, Eunhyuk thought.
Three and a half hours later, Eunhyuk had went through all the contacts in his phone but the answer was still the same.
"Who's that?" "What did you say?" "No, haven't seen him."
Eunhyuk was in the middle of hyperventilating as he racked his memory for something that the other would find offensive.
Did he write something in his emails? Did he say something while they were talking? Did he forget the other's birthday? Their anniversary? But no matter what Eunhyuk thought he still wasn't sure what was wrong. He was so worried he felt sick and he began to panic.
What if something serious happened? He wouldn't be able to stand living with that on his conscious.
By then he was on a flight back to Korea and was trying to look on the bright side of things.
Maybe the other had lost his phone, or changed his number because of telemarketers.
By why wouldn't he have told me? Eunhyuk thought.
Maybe there was a typo in the email address.
By I checked it 10 times.
Maybe I wrote the wrong address on the letters.
But I was absolutely sure it was correct.
Eunhyuk had the same mental argument the whole plane ride back but settled his mind down with the prospect of Donghae waiting for him at the airport to explain everything. Just thinking of the other was enough to put his mind at ease for the rest of the flight and he was able to drift into light nap, dreaming and imagining what it would feel like to hold the other once again.
When his plane landed on the runway strip, he all but pushed everyone out of the way so that he could get out of the terminal as quickly as he could. He ran to baggage claim and then sprinted out the gates.
He was expecting to be jumped at by a certain fishy or pulled into a bone-crushing hug at least.
But what he got was . . .
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
No hug.
No kiss.
No slow-mo movie scene where the two lovebirds run slowly at each other while romantic music played in the background.
And especially . . .
No Donghae.
Eunhyuk froze. His mind started reeling and was working double time to come up with a satisfactory excuse of why Donghae wasn't there.
But it couldn't come up with one.
He felt like collapsing and crying his heart out but he was in the middle of a crowded airport and the soon to be CEO of a famous company. He wasn't allowed to break down in public.
Eunhyuk called Leeteuk to pick him up and take him home. It helped his aching heart to talk with someone, even if it was just small talk about the weather.
He felt a little better when Leeteuk dropped him off home to his shared apartment flat.
Well at least I'll get to see him now. Eunhyuk thought.
He pulled out his keys and stepped into the apartment.
And that's when things got weird.
Everything was exactly as he left it. The curtains weren't fully closed, the door to his room was slightly jarred because of him rushing out to get to the airport, his shoes were still jumbled in the corner of the entryway and that day's newspaper was on the coffee table.
EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY AS IT WAS THE DAY EUNHYUK LEFT.
Everything except half of the stuff that had once filled the apartment was gone.
Everything that belonged to Donghae was gone.
Later, people would say that he just cracked under all the pressure of taking over his family's company. But to Eunhyuk it was all just a bad dream. After finding all of his beloved's possessions gone he freaked out and ran all over the place trying to find Donghae. His heart was in tatters, thinking that Donghae had left him without even saying anything. He did everything he could to find Donghae and soon found Donghae's address from his hometown and caught the first train there.
He ran up to Donghae's parents' house thinking that maybe he had gone home after leaving. He just wanted to talk to the other. Wanted to see the other. Wanted to touch the other.
"Knock, knock."
"Hello? What do you need?" A middle age man opened the door. He had graying hair and wore glasses but he looked exactly like Donghae. Eunhyuk guessed that he was his father.
"Oh. Hi, sir. My name is Eunhyuk. Are you by any chance, related to Lee Donghae?" Eenhyuk asked after doing a 90 degree bow.
"Umm . . . yeah. He's my son. Why?"
"Is he here right now? I really need to talk to him." Eunhyuk asked.
"Well . . . I think you might want to come in. He hasn't been home in a while."
Eunhyuk walked into the home. It was bright and warm and Eunhyuk could see why Donghae had grown up so happy and carefree. He could feel the love in the air and it made him feel so safe.
Mr. Lee directed Eunhyuk into what looked like the living room. There were picture frames on the wall and on the tables. It was painted light beige with white trim and baseboards and the wooden floors were covered with a small striped rug. The room was decently big and filled comfortably. In the middle of the room was a glass coffee table and in the corner was a recliner next to tall stand up lamp. Opposite of that was an olive green cloth couch, which was seating a small petite woman. Eunhyuk, soon learned that the lady was Donghae's mom.
"So . . . who are you exactly?" Donghae's father asked Eunhyuk, who was sitting opposite of Donghae's parents in a matching love seat.
"Well . . . I'm guess I'm Donghae's fiancé. I didn't know he had parents or I would've came earlier and asked for your permission. I didn't mean to be rude by barging into here without letting you know beforehand." Eunhyuk had his bed bowed and when he looked up he was met with two sets of identically confused eyes.
"How long have you known him?" His mother asked.
"Well I've exchanged letters with him since the beginning of 2005 but met him personally 6 years ago when he came down to Seoul for the summer. He never talked about you guys so I assumed he didn't have parents or just didn't want to talk about them."
"S-Six years ago?"
"Yeah?"
"Oh my." Donghae's mom then stood up and ran from the room. "I'm sorry. I just need a moment to collect myself."
"Oh. I'm sorry. Was it something I said?" Eunhyuk asked glancing over at Donghae's dad.
"No. She's just very emotional. Now tell me boy. What have you been doing with my son?"
"Well nothing really. He stayed with me and my family over the summer and then we went to the same college. We'd been living together for about 4 years when I had to go to New York for a business trip. We were keeping in touch but over the past few months he hadn't been responding. And then when I came back, all his stuff was gone from my apartment. I know this is weird coming from a guy, but I really love your son and when that happened I thought maybe he was mad and left. I came here because I thought maybe he moved back home."
Donghae's dad had a pained expression on his face.
"You said you've known his since 2005 and that he drove down to see you in the summer?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, if I could I would give you my approval to marry my son, Eunhyuk. You seem like a very well off man and I can tell you really love him. But . . ." Donghae's father looked down and it seemed almost like he was crying.
"Yes, sir? If it's because you don't think I can take care of him, I promise that I'll always try my best. I'm already the CEO of a company so it's not like he would be marrying a bum off the street."
"Oh no. That's not it. It's just . . . my son is dead."
Eunhyuk froze. It was so silent that it was deafening. He didn't know what to feel. First he felt guilt, for ever thinking that Donghae was avoiding him on purpose, then he felt anger, because everything good in his life never turned out right, and then he felt confusion.
"How long has he been dead, sir?"
"6 years. He died in the summer of 2005."
"What? But that's when I met him. He . . . He was . . . He was living with me."
Then Eunhyuk felt it. It was like a blinding heat was sweeping over his body and when it left he felt ice cold. His face was drawn and pale and when he looked up he saw an apologetic expression on Donghae's father's face.
"Your son is Lee Donghae right? He was 18 in 2005 and he loved kids. He talked about aliens and was always smiling. He loved the outdoors and had a dog named Choco."
"Yes, that's him . . . Here. Is this the man you were going to marry?" Donghae's father stood up and walked over to a nearby table. He picked up a silver picture frame and handed it to Eunyuk.
He nearly collapsed at what he saw. There was a split second where he felt fear and was afraid, but then the sadness got him. His chest ached and he knew that from that moment on he was never going to be complete again.
Because staring up at him was the face of his one and only Donghae. The one he met in the summer of 2005. The one who died in the summer of 2005. The one he fell so irrevocably in love with. And the one he knew he could never have.
And on his left ring finger was a simple band of silver.
A/N - So how was it? It was bad, right? Definitely not my best. Anyway please comment and tell me what you think.
He put his stuff down on the table and walked over to where Donghae sat. He sat beside him and pulled the spoon and tub of ice cream away from his boyfriend and set them on the table.
"Yah! What was that . . . for?" Donghae stopped mid-sentence when he saw the state his boyfriend was in. All anger from the earlier fight disappeared when he say the dark circles and begging eyes.
"Hae . . . I'm sorry. I was such a jerk earlier." Eunhyuk croaked.
Normally, Donghae wouldn't have forgiven that easily but the sound of Eunhyuk's voice, all soft and broken and full of raw emotion, was enough for him to know that Eunhyuk really meant it.
"I'm sorry too, Hyukkie." The words barely left Donghae's mouth before Eunhyuk launched himself at Donghae. He latched on tightly and buried his nose into the crook of Donghae's neck. He took deep breaths and tried to calm himself down but only ended up choking on air and crying harder.
"Hyukkie? Stop, you're scaring me. What happened?" Donghae asked, gently trying to pry himself away from Eunhyuk's death grip. This only resulted in Eunhyuk tightening his hold on Donghae and crying harder.
"Hae . . . please don't leave me! I n-need you right now. Everyone is leaving me and- and I need you. You can't le-leave me. PLEASE!" Eunhyuk sobbed. He was hysterical and Donghae was beginning to choke.
"Shhh . . . it's okay. I won't leave you. It'll be okay. I'm not leaving, see?" Donghae said. He managed to get Eunhyuk to let go of his neck and wrapped him arms around him. Eunhyuk was sitting on his lap and Donghae had one arm wrapped around Eunhyuk's shoulder and the other on the back of his head.
"Shh . . . I got you. You're okay now, Hyukkie. It's okay. You're okay. Everything will be fine. I won't leave. I promise." Donghae continued to rub soothing circles on the other's back and kept rocking Eunhyuk back and forth until the other fell asleep to the familiar scent of Donghae and the feeling of being safe inside the other's arms.
"Kyuhyun are you crying?" Henry asked incredulously.
"No, I just . . . have something in my eye."
"Whatever, hyung."
"Oh shut up Mochi."
Since Eunhyuk's father was the founder of a successful international company, and Eunhyuk was the only suitable heir, he had no choice but to take over the family business. It wouldn't have been so bad but most of his father's dealings were in foreign countries and Eunhyuk would have to study in the United States in order to be able to take on the full responsibilities of the company.
He and Donghae made up after that night and Eunhyuk is now certain, without any doubts whatsoever, that Donghae was made for him. If he could, he would just forget about his family's company and would rather live poor and with Donghae than rich and without him. However, life isn't that easy and Eunhyuk knows that if he doesn't take over the company, lots of other lives will be affected.
"Donghae, we need to talk." Eunhyuk said one day.
It was a couple weeks after his father's funeral and a few days before he would have to leave for the United States. Donghae knew that Eunhyuk was going to take over his family's business but didn't know that Eunhyuk would have to go away.
"What is it, Hyukkie?" Donghae asked as he walked into their apartment flat. It had huge ceiling to floor glass windows and Eunhyuk was currently standing in the middle of their living room watching the setting sun.
"Do you love me?" Eunhyuk asked, not turning around.
"Of course I do. Why else would I have stuck around so long?" Donghae laughed. He put down his things and walked up behind Eunhyuk, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on Eunhyuk's shoulder.
"Then . . . will you wait for me?" Eunhyuk asked in a small voice. He turned around so that he was facing Donghae and pulled him into a hug.
"Huh?" Donghae replied, uncertainly looping his arms around Eunhyuk's neck.
"Will you . . . wait for me?"
"What do you mean?" Donghae asked, slightly worried.
"Don't be mad okay?"
"Why would I be mad?"
"Hae, I've known you for about four years but it feels like you've been here my whole life. I don't know who I would be today if I never found you note and didn't get to meet you. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself. You know when something's wrong with me, even if I don't, and even if I treat you bad, you never leave my side. I want you to be mine forever, Hae."
Just then Eunhyuk pulled away from Donghae looked down at the floor.
"You know how I have to take over my dad's company?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, before they hand over the full power to me, I have to go to New York to get acquainted with my dad's most powerful clients and to finish studying for my business degree. I'll be gone for about 2 years . . ."
Donghae stepped back from Eunhyuk as if he had struck him.
"2 years? That's a long time Hyuk." Donghae said. He had mixed emotions and didn't know what to feel.
"I know."
"When are you leaving?"
"Friday."
"This Friday! That's in three days!"
"I know. That's why I asked you if you would wait for me."
Eunhyuk reached out for Donghae again, who tentatively stepped back into his arms. He was still shocked that his boyfriend would be leaving him for so long, so soon. He felt a flood of emotions and wrapped his arms around Eunhyuk's neck. He snuggled into the crook of neck and breathed deeply.
"If I would wait for you?" He breathed out shakily after a couple minutes. Eunhyuk automatically tightened his arms around Donghae turned to give him a kiss on the forehead.
"Yeah. Because I want you to be with me forever so I figured that once I finished all my studying and built a good fortune, we could get married when I get back from New York."
Donghae froze in Eunhyuk's arms and it took a minute for the words to sink in. When he snapped back into the present, Eunhyuk had let Donghae go and after fishing around in his pocket, pulled out a small black velvet box. Time seemed to slow down as he got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a simple band of silver nestled in the black velvet.
"Lee Donghae, I love you with all my heart and will promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"
For the next three days . . .
"Wait! Grandpa!" Henry shouted out all of a sudden.
"Yes, Henry?"
"Did he say yes? You didn't tell us what Donghae said yet."
"Well, what do you think he said?"
"Yes?" Henry asked hopefully.
"Of course he said yes." Jungsoo sighed.
For the next three days Donghae wouldn't let Eunhyuk out of his sight, not that Eunhyuk wanted to be away from him. They went shopping for the clothes that Eunhyuk would wear in New York and also bought two web-cams so that they would be able to video chat while Eunhyuk was gone. During the day they would run around and have fun and at night they would sleep in each other's arms. It was the best three days of Eunhyuk's life.
But sadly, time flies when you're having fun and waaaaay before he was ready to, Eunhyuk had to say farewell to Donghae.
"I'll be back before you know it, Hae." Eunhyuk said as he pulled the other into another hug. They were at the airport and Eunhyuk's plane was ready for loading.
"I know. Just . . . don't go finding yourself someone else while you're in New York, okay?" Donghae said.
He placed his head on Eunhyuk's shoulder and inhaled deeply.
"I don't think anyone in New York would be cool enough for me to want to leave you. Don't worry."
Donghae just sighed and took another deep breath.
"Umm . . . Hae? What are you doing?"
"I want to remember what you smell like Hyukkie. I don't want to forget."
"Haha I'm coming back, Donghae. I'll call you and write you everyday, just like I used to when we were younger. I have to go now, Hae. I love you." Donghae tightened his arms Eunhyuk and despite his best efforts to stop, began to tear up.
"Do you have to leave Hyukkie? Can't you just study here and have your dad's clients come to you? You don't have to go."
"Hae . . . " Eunhyuk sighed.
"I know. I just don't want you to leave me."
"I'll be back. Remember! You promised to wait for me. You better be here when I get back or else you're dead."
"Haha as if I would go anywhere. I'll be here when you get back."
"Bye. Hae. I love you."
"Goodbye, Eunhyuk."
And that sent shivers up his spine because it was laced with a chilling finality.
At first Eunhyuk kept his promise. He wrote letters, took pictures, sent emails, made phone calls, and video chatted with Donghae everyday. It was the first time he had been away from Donghae for so long (besides the 18 years before they met) and everyday the pain in his chest got worse. When he left on the airplane that morning, every mile he traveled away from the other felt like it was ripping his soul in two. Almost like he was a rubber band that you kept stretching, farther and farther apart, until it snapped.
It happened slowly at first, around the end of the first year Eunhyuk had spent in New York.
It started with Donghae replying a few days late. Then a few weeks. Then a month. Then two.
Eunhyuk only had 6 more months to go when Donghae seemed to stop replying all together.
He tried calling the other, but all he got was a falsely happy voice saying, "Sorry, this number does not exist."
He tried e-mailing but all he got was a message saying, "Error: this address is invalid."
He tried mailing letters but they all returned, "Undeliverable."
Eunhyuk was debating whether or not to file a missing person's case but he decided to call his friends to see if they saw him first.
"Yoboseyo?"
"Hyung! Have you seen Donghae lately?"
"Hahaha . . . Sorry what was that Hyuk?" Leeteuk asked. Hyukjae could hear Kangin in the background and rolled his eyes as he realized why his hyung was so distracted.
"Have you Donghae?"
"Donghae? Who’s that?"
"My boyfriend . . . you know the one who stayed over at my place the summer before college started."
"Huh? You got a new boyfriend after Sungmin? Since when! Why wasn't I informed?"
"Aish! Hyung! I'm serious. Have you seen him? This is VERY important." Eunhyuk was starting to get seriously worried.
"Sorry, Hyuk. I honestly don't know who you're talking about. Maybe you're just tired. Make sure to get some sleep. And are you eating well?"
"Okay, Hyung. I'm gonna go now. Thanks and don't worry about me. Bye." As soon as Eunhyuk hung up he pulled himself into a corner of his room and curled up into a ball. Maybe Leeteuk was just too busy to remember. His hyung was getting old after all and memory loss was part of old age, right?
Okay Eunhyuk, let's take a deep breath. That was just one person, there is still all your other friends to ask, Eunhyuk thought.
Three and a half hours later, Eunhyuk had went through all the contacts in his phone but the answer was still the same.
"Who's that?" "What did you say?" "No, haven't seen him."
Eunhyuk was in the middle of hyperventilating as he racked his memory for something that the other would find offensive.
Did he write something in his emails? Did he say something while they were talking? Did he forget the other's birthday? Their anniversary? But no matter what Eunhyuk thought he still wasn't sure what was wrong. He was so worried he felt sick and he began to panic.
What if something serious happened? He wouldn't be able to stand living with that on his conscious.
By then he was on a flight back to Korea and was trying to look on the bright side of things.
Maybe the other had lost his phone, or changed his number because of telemarketers.
By why wouldn't he have told me? Eunhyuk thought.
Maybe there was a typo in the email address.
By I checked it 10 times.
Maybe I wrote the wrong address on the letters.
But I was absolutely sure it was correct.
Eunhyuk had the same mental argument the whole plane ride back but settled his mind down with the prospect of Donghae waiting for him at the airport to explain everything. Just thinking of the other was enough to put his mind at ease for the rest of the flight and he was able to drift into light nap, dreaming and imagining what it would feel like to hold the other once again.
When his plane landed on the runway strip, he all but pushed everyone out of the way so that he could get out of the terminal as quickly as he could. He ran to baggage claim and then sprinted out the gates.
He was expecting to be jumped at by a certain fishy or pulled into a bone-crushing hug at least.
But what he got was . . .
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
No hug.
No kiss.
No slow-mo movie scene where the two lovebirds run slowly at each other while romantic music played in the background.
And especially . . .
No Donghae.
Eunhyuk froze. His mind started reeling and was working double time to come up with a satisfactory excuse of why Donghae wasn't there.
But it couldn't come up with one.
He felt like collapsing and crying his heart out but he was in the middle of a crowded airport and the soon to be CEO of a famous company. He wasn't allowed to break down in public.
Eunhyuk called Leeteuk to pick him up and take him home. It helped his aching heart to talk with someone, even if it was just small talk about the weather.
He felt a little better when Leeteuk dropped him off home to his shared apartment flat.
Well at least I'll get to see him now. Eunhyuk thought.
He pulled out his keys and stepped into the apartment.
And that's when things got weird.
Everything was exactly as he left it. The curtains weren't fully closed, the door to his room was slightly jarred because of him rushing out to get to the airport, his shoes were still jumbled in the corner of the entryway and that day's newspaper was on the coffee table.
EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY AS IT WAS THE DAY EUNHYUK LEFT.
Everything except half of the stuff that had once filled the apartment was gone.
Everything that belonged to Donghae was gone.
Later, people would say that he just cracked under all the pressure of taking over his family's company. But to Eunhyuk it was all just a bad dream. After finding all of his beloved's possessions gone he freaked out and ran all over the place trying to find Donghae. His heart was in tatters, thinking that Donghae had left him without even saying anything. He did everything he could to find Donghae and soon found Donghae's address from his hometown and caught the first train there.
He ran up to Donghae's parents' house thinking that maybe he had gone home after leaving. He just wanted to talk to the other. Wanted to see the other. Wanted to touch the other.
"Knock, knock."
"Hello? What do you need?" A middle age man opened the door. He had graying hair and wore glasses but he looked exactly like Donghae. Eunhyuk guessed that he was his father.
"Oh. Hi, sir. My name is Eunhyuk. Are you by any chance, related to Lee Donghae?" Eenhyuk asked after doing a 90 degree bow.
"Umm . . . yeah. He's my son. Why?"
"Is he here right now? I really need to talk to him." Eunhyuk asked.
"Well . . . I think you might want to come in. He hasn't been home in a while."
Eunhyuk walked into the home. It was bright and warm and Eunhyuk could see why Donghae had grown up so happy and carefree. He could feel the love in the air and it made him feel so safe.
Mr. Lee directed Eunhyuk into what looked like the living room. There were picture frames on the wall and on the tables. It was painted light beige with white trim and baseboards and the wooden floors were covered with a small striped rug. The room was decently big and filled comfortably. In the middle of the room was a glass coffee table and in the corner was a recliner next to tall stand up lamp. Opposite of that was an olive green cloth couch, which was seating a small petite woman. Eunhyuk, soon learned that the lady was Donghae's mom.
"So . . . who are you exactly?" Donghae's father asked Eunhyuk, who was sitting opposite of Donghae's parents in a matching love seat.
"Well . . . I'm guess I'm Donghae's fiancé. I didn't know he had parents or I would've came earlier and asked for your permission. I didn't mean to be rude by barging into here without letting you know beforehand." Eunhyuk had his bed bowed and when he looked up he was met with two sets of identically confused eyes.
"How long have you known him?" His mother asked.
"Well I've exchanged letters with him since the beginning of 2005 but met him personally 6 years ago when he came down to Seoul for the summer. He never talked about you guys so I assumed he didn't have parents or just didn't want to talk about them."
"S-Six years ago?"
"Yeah?"
"Oh my." Donghae's mom then stood up and ran from the room. "I'm sorry. I just need a moment to collect myself."
"Oh. I'm sorry. Was it something I said?" Eunhyuk asked glancing over at Donghae's dad.
"No. She's just very emotional. Now tell me boy. What have you been doing with my son?"
"Well nothing really. He stayed with me and my family over the summer and then we went to the same college. We'd been living together for about 4 years when I had to go to New York for a business trip. We were keeping in touch but over the past few months he hadn't been responding. And then when I came back, all his stuff was gone from my apartment. I know this is weird coming from a guy, but I really love your son and when that happened I thought maybe he was mad and left. I came here because I thought maybe he moved back home."
Donghae's dad had a pained expression on his face.
"You said you've known his since 2005 and that he drove down to see you in the summer?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, if I could I would give you my approval to marry my son, Eunhyuk. You seem like a very well off man and I can tell you really love him. But . . ." Donghae's father looked down and it seemed almost like he was crying.
"Yes, sir? If it's because you don't think I can take care of him, I promise that I'll always try my best. I'm already the CEO of a company so it's not like he would be marrying a bum off the street."
"Oh no. That's not it. It's just . . . my son is dead."
Eunhyuk froze. It was so silent that it was deafening. He didn't know what to feel. First he felt guilt, for ever thinking that Donghae was avoiding him on purpose, then he felt anger, because everything good in his life never turned out right, and then he felt confusion.
"How long has he been dead, sir?"
"6 years. He died in the summer of 2005."
"What? But that's when I met him. He . . . He was . . . He was living with me."
Then Eunhyuk felt it. It was like a blinding heat was sweeping over his body and when it left he felt ice cold. His face was drawn and pale and when he looked up he saw an apologetic expression on Donghae's father's face.
"Your son is Lee Donghae right? He was 18 in 2005 and he loved kids. He talked about aliens and was always smiling. He loved the outdoors and had a dog named Choco."
"Yes, that's him . . . Here. Is this the man you were going to marry?" Donghae's father stood up and walked over to a nearby table. He picked up a silver picture frame and handed it to Eunyuk.
He nearly collapsed at what he saw. There was a split second where he felt fear and was afraid, but then the sadness got him. His chest ached and he knew that from that moment on he was never going to be complete again.
Because staring up at him was the face of his one and only Donghae. The one he met in the summer of 2005. The one who died in the summer of 2005. The one he fell so irrevocably in love with. And the one he knew he could never have.
And on his left ring finger was a simple band of silver.
A/N - So how was it? It was bad, right? Definitely not my best. Anyway please comment and tell me what you think.