Seeking Light - Chapter 12 D
Title: Seeking Light
Pairings: Kyuwook, Minwook, Eunhae, Kangteuk, Sihanchul, Heeteuk!friendship ( a lot more later, i promise)
Rating: PG13 maybe ( i'm not sure anymore)
Summary: Kyuhyun was born and raised as a member of the Dark Society, an organization where death and killing were inevitable and violence was part of life. Not even as he left the organization has he left that part of his life. Then comes Ryeowook, a young man who has absolutely little-to-no idea about the dark and violent reality of society. Can he shed light to Kyuhyun's darkness? Or will he fall prey to the Dark Society?
Chapter 12
Part A here
Part B here
Part C here
Part D
"Your one hour is up, little waiter." Kyuhyun said. "Are you going to apologize for wasting my time now?"
The words startled Ryeowook and his eyes immediately darted down to the watch on his wrists. 7:15. Exactly one hour after he made that deal with Kyuhyun just so he could make the other man stay a little bit longer.
"You didn't enjoy your time with us even just a little bit?" Ryeowook asked.
Avoiding the hurt in Ryeowook's eyes, Kyuhyun looked away and said, "Do I look like I've enjoyed at all?" Well, he did actually enjoyed a few times but he was already getting sick and tired of Sungmin butting in every time the rare sense of enjoyment came to him.
Ryeowook bit his lower lip at the harsh response. No, he definitely didn't look like we was having fun. For a moment, Ryeowook felt a bit guilty for enjoying himself while Kyuhyun was probably feeling bored of everything. And while he really wanted to ask the taller male to stay, he knew that the other would leave anyway.
Ryeowook was about to open his mouth to say what Kyuhyun wanted to hear but Sungmin was quicker. "No. Don't apologize to him. He's the one who's wasting our time. He shouldn't have come here in the first place if he's only gonna be such a party pooper. The one who should apologize is him."
"Really now?" Kyuhyun said acidly, looking from Sungmin then to Ryeowook. "You think so, too?". But even before Ryeowook could respond, he said, "You know what, forget it. I'm wasting more of my time waiting for you to start answering me. I'm leaving."
Kyuhyun turned on his heels and was about to walk away when suddenly, Ryeowook spoke to him, "Mianhe. I only wanted to see something close to a smile on that impassive face of yours. I didn't think I'd be boring you too much with all this so, mianhe for that."
Ryeowook paused for a while and Kyuhyun thought that he was done speaking but then, he continued," But I don't think you're wasting my time at all. In fact, I did enjoy your company one way or another. It makes me glad that you came here with us today, so for that I thank you. I hope that, if ever there will be a chance of a next time, we'll both get to enjoy it."
Kyuhyun couldn't help but look sideways at Ryeowook. The little waiter was smiling sincerely at him. His heart was beating faster again. And despite himself, Kyuhyun also began to hope for a next time. But instead of admitting that, Kyuhyun said, "Whatever." and walked away.
Ryeowook's eyes just followed Kyuhyun as he disappeared through the crowd and he felt himself sigh. Looks like it will be just him and Sungmin then (as the Eunhae couple were still probably enjoying their night together).
Sungmin probably thought the same thing he did because he was wearing a rather wide grin on his face as he turned to as the younger male, "So, now that we're alone together, what do you say about going to some rides again?"
Even though he was still feeling rather disappointed that Kyuhyun just had to leave, Ryeowook knew that he shouldn't drag Sungmin's mood down with him so he put up his best smile and said, "Sure, hyung. Where to?"
Sungmin thought for a while. Where he wanted to go with Ryeowook would be easy to answer. The Ferris Wheel. With only just the two of them. Climbing up, seeing everything around them surrounded in beautiful lights. Seeing the moon in its brightest. Who knows, maybe in the peak of the ride, he can slip his arm around the little male's shoulders, steal a small kiss or two. Maybe even a real passionate one. And then----
"Hyung? Hello?! Sungmin-hyung!" Ryeowook called, waving his hand in front of Sungmin's face.
"He looks like he's daydreaming. Or night dreaming." another voice said from behind Ryeowook.
"Oooh! Maybe aliens are communicating with him through his mind." a highly excited voice said.
It was the highly excited voice that brought Sungmin out of his fantasy world. "Huh? What?!" he asked blankly. Then his eyes went to the two figures behind Ryeowook -- Eunhyuk and Donghae. "When the hell did you get here? And what the hell is that?" Sungmin demanded pointing at the fishbowl in Donghae's arms.
“Probably around the time you were zoning out.” Eunhyuk answered. He was about to say something more, but Donghae doesn't seem to know that.
“Hyung, look at my little fishy! Hyukie won me a little fishy!” said a very hyperactive Donghae, nearly shoving the fishbowl in Sungmin's face in excitement. “He was so awesome. He kept loosing many times but he managed to win one in the end!”
Sungmin looked at the little goldfish in the bowl before staring at Eunhyuk. Smirking, he asked. “Oh? And how many times exactly?”
Blood rushed to Eunhyuk's face and he stared the other way to hide his embarrassment. "Ehehe...not so much. Maybe around 2 or 3 times?" he said, meekly.
"Really?" Sungmin said with a sneer.
Eunhyuk's face blushed redder. "S-so, hyung, where are we riding now?" he asked to change the subject.
Sungmin frowned at the question. "What do you mean 'where are we riding'? Who said anything about you coming with us?"
"Ryeowook." both Eunhyuk and Donghae answered.
Sungmin looked at Ryeowook almost pleadingly that he DIDN'T just offer the other two to come with them. But then, Ryeowook wasn't quick on the uptake and said, "Well, you said we are going on the rides and they said they wanted to go to the rides so I thought maybe they can come with us. The more the merrier, right?"
And there goes Sungmin's fantasy, shattering into a million pieces inside his head at what Ryeowook had said. Is it too much to ask for even just a few minutes alone with Ryeowook?, Sungmin wanted to just shout.
"Of course." Sungmin said with a smile that made him look like he was having a toothache. "The more, the merrier."
Well, Sungmin would definitely have preferred that it would only be him and Ryeowook but being with the Eunhae couple wasn't pretty bad at all. And with Kyuhyun gone, they rode nearly every thrilling and dizzying rides they chanced upon, depleting whatever little money they had in their pockets and totally ignoring the fact that they might go hungry for the rest of the week.
"That was fun." Eunhyuk said as his world continued to spin after riding the Hurricane ride.
"Let's go again." Donghae said before tripping on his own feet.
"Maybe as soon as the world stops spinning, hyung." Ryeowook said s he tried to pull Donghae back up from the ground. He was also pretty dizzy from the ride. And he was ready to bet that Sungmin wasn't stable at all as he leaned coolly against the fence that enclosed the ride. Deep inside, he was probably struggling not to puke.
Donghae giggled as he stood up and nearly fell down again. “But that was awesome. I can’t wait to tell my little fishy about it.” Donghae said.
“What do you mean ‘tell my little fishy’? You’re the Fishy here.” Eunhyuk said.
“No. Not ME ‘fishy’. The other fishy.” Donghae said.
“Probably that goldfish you were carrying earlier.” Sungmin said, finally recovering from the ride. Then he frowned as he looked at Eunhyuk. “Where is that annoying fish anyway?”
Eunhyuk looked surprised. “Hae-ah, didn’t you have it?”
“I gave it to you, didn’t I?” he said, and then he looked suspiciously at his boyfriend. “Wait a minute. You lost my fishy?!” he nearly screeched.
“Ah…n-no. I’m pretty sure it’s…um…m-maybe it’s in…uh. Oh, please don’t cry, Hae. I’ll find him, I swear. Or maybe, I can win you one again.” Eunhyuk stuttered as tears began to form in Donghae’s eyes. He really is quite an emotional boyfriend
“Uh-oh.” Ryeowook murmured, sensing trouble.
“Someone’s in a lot of trouble now.” Sungmin commented.
“You didn’t care about our baby fishy! What if someone ate him? What if a cat got him? What if he drowns.” Donghae said, sobbing.
“Well, technically, fish don’t drown.” Eunhyuk said, matter-of-factly.
Donghae looked as if Eunhyuk had just slapped him. “That’s it! I hate you!” he yelled before running off.
“HAE!! I’m sorry!” Eunhyuk called before running after Donghae.
“Yah! What did I tell you about running off! Yah!” Sungmin called running after the two.
Seeing that he was the only one left behind, Ryeowook also went to chase the rest of his companions. It may seem comical, but they weren’t the only ones running.
“Oooff!” Ryeowook groaned as he collided with someone who was also running, which made both of them fall to the ground. The one who collided with Ryeowook only muttered a short “sorry” before standing up and speeding off again. Somebody was probably chasing him as well.
Ryeowook resisted the urge to use a few of the curse words he often heard from Sungmin (the older male had quite an extensive vocabulary for such things despite his looks) as he stood up and brushed himself. His right shoulder was slightly aching and he had the vague idea that he will have a bruise forming there by this time. The stranger really had hit him hard.
After bending over to pick up the bunny stuffed toy that Sungmin won for him, Ryeowook looked through the crowd to find Sungmin and the others.
Oh, there he is., Ryeowook thought when he saw a familiar pink shirt walking away from him.
“Sungmin-hyung!” Ryeowook called as he made his way through the crowd. Strangely, Sungmin didn’t seem to hear him and just continued to move away. “Yah! Sungmin-hyung!”
When Ryeowook was near enough, he tugged at Sungmin’s shirt. “Hyung.”
Sungmin turned to look at him. No. It wasn’t Sungmin at all. Sure, he was wearing the same shirt and his hair was the exact copy of Sungmin’s but it definitely wasn’t him. “Yes? Can I help you?” the stranger asked.
“Ah, mianhe. I thought you were someone I know. I’m so sorry.” Ryeowook said, bowing to the man. The older male just shrugged and walked away.
Ryeowook was now beginning to feel a slight bit of panic. He can’t see anyone he knew at all. And there were so many people around. How was he going to look for his companions in this lot? He didn’t even have the slightest idea where they were heading to. Kim Ryeowook, you are sooo damn lost., he said to himself as he tried to tiptoe to have a better look around the crowd. Maybe he can catch a glimpse of any of the three one way or another.
“Let me guess, you’re lost, aren’t you?” someone said from behind him.
When Kyuhyun walked away from Ryeowook and Sungmin, he didn’t exactly walk out of the amusement park. True, he hardly understood the entire place but then again, maybe that’s the exact reason why he stayed there anyway.
It was really weird. How come there are so many smiles in this place. There hardly were any smiles where he used to live. Just smirks and evil laughter. And while this was a noisy place, it wasn’t chaotic at all. Even the screaming people in the rides didn’t scream out of terror but out of excitement. Are people really just this happy?
For more than an hour, he just sat there on the bench watching people go by. It really felt weird being among them. And he felt weirder when he saw happy children being held or carried by their parents. But he felt the weirdest when he suddenly saw a familiar lithe creature walking like a lost child among the crowd. A frown appeared on his face as he watched the troubled expression Ryeowook had on his face. And Sungmin wasn’t around at all.
Probably out of a whim, he stood up from the bench and walked towards the lost little waiter.
“Let me guess, you’re lost, aren’t you?” he asked when he was right behind Ryeowook.
Ryeowook nearly jumped out of his skin out of surprise. Turning around, he said, “Kyuhyun-sshi.”
“I know that’s my name. You didn’t answer my question. You’re lost, aren’t you?” Kyuhyun asked again. “A bit too old for that, aren’t we?”
Ryeowook’s surprise was immediately replaced by mild annoyance. “You’re wrong. I’m not lost. Sungmin-hyung just left for a while.” He lied while pouting.
“Oh, really? Well, since you’re obviously not lost, then I guess that means I can go leave you here then.” Kyuhyun said, walking away.
Ryeowook looked offended when Kyuhyun immediately walked away. Then, looking around, he knew he had no choice. He was better off with someone he knows rather than staying there all alone, right? “Yah, Kyuhyun-sshi!” he called, following Kyuhyun.
“So, I guess I was right?” Kyuhyun said, mockingly.
“Shut up.” Ryeowook muttered as he tried to catch up with Kyuhyun. “You’re gonna help me look for Sungmin-hyung, right?”
“What do you think I am? A freaking compass?” Kyuhyun said, unconsciously slowing down on his pace to let Ryeowook catch up to him.
“Hey. We’re friends, aren’t we? You should help me.” Ryeowook said with a pout.
“Friends?” The word itself felt foreign to Kyuhyun’s tongue. “Since when?”
“Fine. As a fellow human being then. You’re not gonna argue with that, are you?” Ryeowook said. “And you owe me, too. Do you think carrying you all the way to the apartment to get you treated was a walk in the park? You were hell so freaking heavy.”
Kyuhyun frowned at Ryeowook as the other started blabbing about that particular night. But it wasn’t the annoyed type of frown. It was more like a cross between amusement and curiosity. It almost seemed that the time he walked away earlier never even happened.
After maybe 10 minutes of futile effort to search for Sungmin and the other two, Ryeowook felt too tired to continue walking. “Argh, just how big is this place?” he asked to no one in particular as he placed both palms on his knees.
“You’ve got no stamina.” Kyuhyun commented. He had barely even broken a sweat. “ Are you sure you’re still on your 20s?
“Well, excuse me, Mr. Superman. Not all of us are gifted with the same stamina as you.” Ryeowook shot back. Once again, the bickering just can’t be avoided when the two of them are left alone. “Sigh, I think I have to sit down for a while.”
Ryeowook was about to sit down on the very first bench he found when he noticed a small figure sitting on the ground just behind another bench. One could have easily mistaken it as a kid playing hide-and-seek but Ryeowook could distinctly hear the sobs coming from the boy. And his shoulders were visibly shaking as he cried for his Umma and Appa in a small voice.
“What are you looking at?” Kyuhyun asked when he noticed the little waiter peer at something. He didn’t need an answer though. It wasn’t that hard to figure out what the little waiter had noticed. “Huh. Look’s like you’re not the only one who’s lost.” he commented.
Ryeowook just glared at him sideways before he started to approach the little boy. He even ignored the taller male when he called him.
“Must you always go into other people’s business?” Kyuhyun asked as he followed Ryeowook.
“But he might be in need of help. It’s not like we can ignore him.” Ryeowook said.
“Sure we can. All you really have to do is look the other way and just keep walking.” Kyuhyun said flatly. Ryeowook stopped walking and frowned at what Kyuhyun had said. The taller male also stopped walking and narrowed his eyebrows confusedly at the smaller man’s reaction. “What?”
“You know, sometimes I can’t help but wonder if that thing beating inside there is really a heart or a black hole.” Ryeowook said, shaking his head before continuing to walk.
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Kyuhyun asked as he followed Ryeowook again.
The child barely even moved an inch from his position earlier. From up close, it became clear that the little boy was only around 6 or 7 years old.
“Hey.” Ryeowook said gently, crouching down right beside the sobbing boy. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
The little boy didn’t answer and just continued to cry for his Umma and Appa. “Did you get lost?” Ryeowook asked again. And once again, he was not given an answer.
“Hey, you are being asked a question.” Kyuhyun said coldly which made the little kid flinch.
“You’re not being quite helpful, Kyuhyun-sshi.” Ryeowook said.
“Well, you were asking for an answer. It’s not like we have all night to wait for it.” Kyuhyun said.
Ryeowook just sighed. Deciding to just ignore Kyuhyun, he turned back to the sobbing boy. “Don’t mind him. He’s always this harsh. Probably an inborn defect.” he said before he gave a small laugh when Kyuhyun protested. The little boy, probably curious about why he was laughing, removed one hand from his eyes to look at Ryeowook.
Ryeowook smiled upon seeing the boy looking at him curiously. He was still probably feeling wary of him. Not really surprising because he was a stranger. “Hey, what’s your name?” he asked. The kid sniffled but didn’t answer so Ryeowook continued talking. “Me? I’m Kim Ryeowook. You can call me Wookie-hyung if you want. That annoying one there is Kyuhyun-sshi. So, how about you? What’s your name?”
For a while, it didn’t seem that the kid was going to answer but then a small, “Kim In Sook.” was heard from him.
“In Sook. That’s a nice name.” Ryeowook said with a smile. The kid smiled at him as well. “Since we both know each other’s names, so that means we’re friends now, right?” And the kid nodded eagerly.
Kyuhyun just watched as Ryeowook made friends with the kid. Deep inside, he was impressed at Ryeowook’s ability to gain someone’s complete trust and friendship. And then he realized, he too trusted Ryeowook easily. They had just met some 2 weeks ago and he’s actually staying here with him without feeling cautious of him. But then, maybe it had something to do with Ryeowook’s gentle nature that made him trustworthy.
“So, you got scared of the clown and ran away huh?” Ryeowook said, after In Sook told him about why he was lost. “You’re parents must be getting worried. You want us to help you look for them?”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Kyuhyun said, upon hearing what Ryeowook had suggested. “Who said anything about us helping him look for his parents?”
“It’s not like we can leave him here by himself, you know. “ Ryeowook said, helping In Sook stand up. “His parents might be looking for him, too. So let’s go find them.”
“How do you know that they haven’t got tired looking for him yet and just left him here?” Kyuhyun asked. It wasn’t really out of harshness that he said that. He was just aware about how many children are abandoned from time to time. He knows a lot of children like that. He trained with a lot of them when he was younger.
“Because they’re his parents. And no parent will willingly abandon their children unless they’ve got no other choice.” Ryeowook said, firmly. There was something in Ryeowook’s voice that Kyuhyun could not explain.
Seeing that he had no other choice, Kyuhyun just followed. Ryeowook would probably drag him along if he didn’t follow, anyway. If there’s one thing he’s really certain about the little waiter’s personality, it was the natural stubbornness.
The search was uneventful; at least to Kyuhyun, anyway. Ryeowook and In Sook were probably having the time of their lives. The kid really seemed to be rather comfortable with Ryeowook. It almost didn’t seem like the two were actually looking for In Sook’s parents. In fact, it almost appeared like Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were the parents of In Sook.
“Look, Wookie-hyung! Cotton candy!” In Sook said out loud, pointing at the fluffy cloud of candy being made in a particular stall.
“Look’s tasty. You want one?” Ryeowook asked. He didn’t wait for In Sook to reply. He went to the stall to buy one. “Here you go.” Ryeowook said, handing In Sook a stick of blue colored cotton candy.
As much as he actually enjoyed looking at the two, acting like mother and child, Kyuhyun just had to remind them of the matters at hand. Clearing his throat, he said, “I don’t want to be a…what did that annoying chef call that?...party-pooper, but aren’t we supposed to be looking for your companions.”
Both Ryeowook and the kid’s eyebrows shot up as if they just realized that. “Oh…right. We have to go looking for them.” Ryeowook said. In Sook just smiled sheepishly.
After a while of walking, however, In Sook began tearing up again.
“What are you crying about now?” Kyuhyun asked, annoyed. “We have no time for that. You want your parents to leave you or what?”
In Sook began to sniffle because of the harshness of Kyuhyun’s voice. “But I’m tired. My feet are hurting. I don’t want to walk anymore.” He said in between sobs.
“But we can’t stop here right now.” Ryeowook said. When In Sook just continued to cry, Ryeowook sighed. “Oh dear, what do we do now?”
Kyuhyun sighed and rolled his eyes. Just how long was this night going to be? Taking a look at Ryeowook’s worried eyes, Kyuhyun mentally cursed himself for being so affected by them.
All of a sudden, Kyuhyun picked In Sook up and carried him in his arms. Both the kid and Ryeowook were visibly startled by it. But after a while, Ryeowook smiled at Kyuhyun which in turn startled the taller male. “What? He said he doesn’t want to walk anymore. And it’s not like we can find anyone just by standing here. Let’s just get going already.” Kyuhyun said immediately.
“You do know you look like a real Appa like that, don’t you?” Ryeowook said his smile wide. “Ah, I should have brought a camera. You look adorable with a kid.”
Kyuhyun felt blood rush up to his face. “Shut up.” Kyuhyun muttered, trying not to look too embarrassed. And Ryeowook just kept giggling cutely at him.
“Ah, don’t be so angry. You’ll get a lot more wrinkles that way.” Ryeowook joked.
“I don’t have wrinkles.” Kyuhyun said. But then, he raised one hand to feel his face to which Ryeowook just face palmed.
“I was a joke, you know.” Ryeowook said, shaking his head at Kyuhyun’s lack of humor. “Anyway, we better get moving.”
“I don’t know if you noticed it but we’re just going around in circles in this place. And with the size of this place and the number of people in it, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Kyuhyun pointed out.
Ryeowook pondered on the idea for a while before saying, “Hm, you’ve got a point. But how are we going to find them? By sitting around?”
“We’ve got to go to a higher place so that we can see everything.” Kyuhyun said. The answer just came out automatically as soon as the question was given. After all, he was trained to track down his targets all throughout his childhood.
“A higher place?” Ryeowook mused. Then the idea suddenly popped out from his mind.
“Oh god…” Ryeowook mumbled as he watched from the window of the Ferris wheel while they slowly rose from the ground. Beside him on the compartment were an almost bored Kyuhyun and a highly anxious In Sook. “Did it really have to be this ride?”
Kyuhyun frowned at what he said. “You’re the one who thought about this.”
“Well, yeah, but…” Ryeowook replied.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” Kyuhyun asked.
“O-Of course not.” Ryeowook responded. He really meant to sound tougher but his body was unmistakably going stiffer as their distance from the ground increased. Seeing that Kyuhyun was about to make a remark about him, he turned to In Sook who was looking outside and asked, “Hey, do you see them?”
In Sook bit his lips and shook his head. “I can’t see Umma and Appa.” he said, his voice shaking.
“See? I told you they’ve abandoned him already.” Kyuhyun said tactlessly.
Ryeowook glared at Kyuhyun as the tears started to well up in In Sook’s eyes again. “Sshh, don’t cry. Don’t listen to him. I’m sure your parents are still out there. Just keep looking. You’ll find them.” He said encouragingly.
And then all of a sudden, In Sook’s eyes widened. “Umma! Appa!” he yelled which filled the entire compartment they were in. His eyes were fixed upon a couple who were walking frantically in the crowd not too far away from the Ferris wheel. At first, they were heading towards the Ferris wheel, but all of a sudden, they went the opposite way. “UMMA!!”
“They can’t hear him. We need to get down.” Ryeowook said immediately to Kyuhyun while In Sook continued to call out to his parents.
“We can’t. We’re at the top right now. It’s not like we can jump off from here.” Kyuhyun said.
“Ahh…damn. Why did I choose the Ferris wheel?! Argh, stupid idea!” Ryeowook said frustrated at the turn of events. Then, all of a sudden, he leaned out of the window to shout at the operators below. “Yah! We need to get down!”
Kyuhyun, alarmed at Ryeowook’s dangerous stunt, grabbed the little waiter by the back of his shirt and pulled him inside. “What the hell?! You want to die or something? I thought you were terrified of heights.” Kyuhyun said in a slightly high-pitched voice. He had never been frightened like that in his life. EVER. And he wasn’t terrified for himself either but at someone who was almost a stranger to him. Really, what was it with Ryeowook that could pull out every alien emotion that Kyuhyun never even knew he had?
“But we need to get down before we totally lose sight of them.” Ryeowook insisted.
“Yeah. But hanging by the window isn’t going to help. Your voice may sound a lot like an elephant’s siren but there’s no way that any of them below heard you. We’re too far up. We need to get low enough first before we can demand to be let off the ride.” Kyuhyun reasoned out, keeping a firm grip of Ryeowook’s arm just in case the little waiter decides to go holler from the windows again. “Geez, you’re really gonna give me a heart attack with all those antics of yours.”
Ryeowook only nit his lips and in a very low voice, he said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
And once again, the happy heart beats began to bloom inside Kyuhyun’s heart and his face started to have a faint shade of pink. “Who says I’m worried about you? I just don’t want you to fall and make people think that I threw you off. I haven’t got any money for a lawyer.” He said, looking away.
Ryeowook chuckled slightly before he went to comfort the crying In Sook. “Sshh…Don’t worry. We’ll find them as soon as we get down. Keep your eyes on them, arasseo?” he said gently, stroking In Sook’s hair.
As soon as they got down, In Sook immediately dashed off to where he had last seen his parents with Ryeowook and Kyuhyun speeding up behind him.
“Umma?! Appa!” In Sook kept calling as he ran around, passing by a lot of people and bumping a lot of them in his hurry. But before long, it became clear. His parents were no longer there. They must have gone to another area already.
Tired and miserable, In Sook curled himself on the ground and cried again. “They’re not here anymore. They left me already.” he said in between sobs.
“Don’t say that. They’re your parents. They won’t give you up so easily.” Ryeowook said.
Kyuhyun wasn’t so sure about what Ryeowook had said because in his case, his parents barely even gave a damn about him. But when he saw the miserable eyes of Ryeowook, he decided not to say something about it.
Without saying anything, Kyuhyun scooped In Sook up into his arms again before saying to In Sook, “If they really care for you, they will find you. No matter where you are or how long you’ve been gone, they’ll find you.” Then, looking at Ryeowook, he said, “Let’s find a place where we can sit down. If his parents really are here, they have a greater chance of finding him if we don’t keep moving around the place.”
Ryeowook nodded weakly.
They placed the sobbing boy on the fountain. He was just sobbing there quietly that almost broke Ryeowook’s heart. Kyuhyun, cold as he was, also found his sobs to be emotionally disturbing.
Then, as if to break the nasty silence around him, Ryeowook stood up and said, “You know, when I was younger, Sungmin-hyung used to sing me a song. It’s a nursery song but it used to cheer me up a lot when I’m crying. I’m sure at least one of you knows it. It goes like this.”
Ryeowook stood right in front of In Sook and Kyuhyun before he started singing.
kom sema-ri-ga
han chi-be-yi-so
appa gom
umma gom
ae-gi gom
Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rose at the song which Ryeowook even danced to. In Sook’s sobs seemed to have hitched. The people that were passing by also raised their eyebrows at him, but Ryeowook didn’t seem to mind them at all.
appa gommun tung-tung-hae
umma gommun nal-shin-hae
In Sook peeked at Ryeowook. Seeing that, Ryeowook smiled wider and sang louder.
ae-gi gommun na bul-gwi-yo-wo
hishuk hishuk cha-rhan-da
Kyuhyun’s lips had unconsciously quirked up. And In Sook had also stopped crying but he was only smiling slightly, which wasn’t good enough in Ryeowook’s opinion.
“Yah. It’s lonely singing here by myself.” Ryeowook said, suddenly grabbing Kyuhyun by the arm and dragging him up front.
“What the--?” Kyuhyun protested.
“Please.” Ryeowook said with puppy dog eyes. “It will make him feel better.”
“What the heck am I supposed to do?” Kyuhyun hissed.
“Just follow me.” Ryeowook said with a smile. “Okay? Start.”
kom sema-ri-ga
han chi-be-yi-so
appa gom
umma gom
ae-gi gom
appa gommun tung-tung-hae
umma gommun nal-shin-hae
ae-gi gommun na bul-gwi-yo-wo
hishuk hishuk cha-rhan-da
This was probably the most awkward moment yet in the history of Kyuhyun’s life. Never (emphasis on ‘Never’) had he tried this in his entire existence. But despite that, he tried to match Ryeowook’s song and movements. And the results were comical. In Sook was even laughing by the end of it.
“You actually made him laugh. I didn’t know you can be funny, Kyuhyun-sshi.” Ryeowook said, grinning.
“Shut up.” Kyuhyun muttered. His face was so red that he almost looked like a tomato. “Never, and I repeat, NEVER am I gonna do that again for as long as I live.”
“Aww, but you were adorable.” Ryeowook commented, resisting the strong urge to pinch Kyuhyun’s reddening cheeks.
In Sook was still giggling as Kyuhyun slumped back on the fountain. “There? Happy now?” Kyuhyun said, a little harshly on In Sook who just continued giggling at him. Somehow, he wasn’t furious about being laughed at in any way at all. Probably because that was the point he did that - to make In Sook laugh.
“Wanna see him dance again?” Ryeowook asked In Sook as he sat down beside the boy.
“Oh, hell no!” Kyuhyun said in exasperation which only caused the other two to giggle harder.
“In Sook!” a voice of a lady called out from a distance. It was then followed by a male voice calling for the same name.
Both the smiles of Ryeowook and In Sook disappeared and their heads peerked up upon hearing the call. “Umma?! Appa?!” In Sook called out.
Then, suddenly, a woman and a man appeared from a corner. The woman looked as pale as a ghost and her eyes were puffy like she had been crying for a long time. Her husband was even supporting her because she seemed so close to fainting.
“In Sook?” The lady almost choked at the words as fresh tears sprung from her eyes. “Baby?”
“Umma!” In Sook cried, quickly sliding off the fountain he was sitting on and dashing into his mother’s arms. She immediately hugged him like she hasn’t seen him in decades. The father also crouched down and engulfed his wife and son in a hug. Tears were visibly glistening in his eyes.
“I thought I’d never find you. We’ve looked everywhere. If I lost you…” the mother said in between sobs. Pain, relief and extreme joy painted her face as she kissed and hugged her little boy.
A peculiar feeling came over Kyuhyun as he watched the family. Was it jealousy? Maybe it is. But there was something more. Loneliness.
His life had been nothing but a series of darkness. He could only barely remember his mother. She had died years ago. Probably before he even turned 6 years old. And even before she died, Kyuhyun had hardly met her. He was kept in strict training the moment he learned to walk and talk, and so he only saw his mother like 5 times before she died. But he could remember her smile. She was always smiling when Kyuhyun saw her, and she was always singing. Her voice has been more prominent in his memories compared to her face, as that voice was his source of comfort when he was a child.
It was a different thing with his father, though. He saw his father practically every waking moment of his life, and yet he felt nothing for the old man. He was never anything to him other than a mentor, anyway. And he was barely even treated as a son, too. Kyuhyun might have been hoping for more than just training from his father before but he learned better than to hope later on. That’s just the way it was.
As if to avoid the emotions assaulting Kyuhyun as of the moment, he turned to look at the little waiter beside him. Ryeowook was visibly happy and relieved that In Sook was finally with his family. But there was also something in his eyes that Kyuhyun could not describe.
Kyuhyun’s reverie was interrupted when he heard In Sook’s voice. “They helped me come here, Umma.” It was then that he noticed that the two parents were looking right at him and Ryeowook.
“Really?” the mother asked.
The father slowly stood up and walked to them. At first, Kyuhyun stiffened. He had the idea that the man was going to hit them, as the usual case he was accustomed to when he was in the Dark Society. But the idea was automatically dispersed when the man suddenly hugged them both.
“Thank you.” He said, his voice cracking. While Kyuhyun couldn’t see his face, he knew that the older man was crying. Were parents really supposed to be this happy? “He’s the only one we have. If we lost him, I don’t know what we’d do. Thank you. If there’s anything, anything at all - “
“Please, sir. We were glad to help. You don’t have to reward us at all.” Ryeowook said, patting the old man’s back.
The old man was just about nearly breaking down in front of them because of extreme happiness and relief. And the series of “thank you” never seemed to end.
Finally, the man gained enough composure to decide that it was time for him to bring his family home. Which was definitely the best thing for him to do as all of them had looked rather exhausted both physically and emotionally. And with a final hug, and a kiss from In Sook’s mother to each of them, the family had finally left.
Kyuhyun and Ryeowook just sat back on the bench, watching the now complete family moving away from them. Kyuhyun definitely felt relieved. He wasn’t really used to hugs and kisses and happy reunions.
“Must be nice to have a family.” Ryeowook suddenly said in a low voice as he watched In Sook and his family disappear into the crowd. He seemed to be talking to himself, but Kyuhyun heard him all the same.
Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Kyuhyun said, “You’re talking as if you don’t have one.” Then, noting the lack of response, Kyuhyun’s eyebrows furrowed further. Turning his head to look at Ryeowook, he asked, “You don’t?”
“Not really.” Ryeowook said, then seeing Kyuhyun’s expression, he immediately added, “I mean, I DO have a family. Who doesn’t? It’s just that…I don’t remember them at all.”
“What do you mean?” Kyuhyun asked.
Ryeowook sighed deeply before he began. “Twelve years ago, my family was slaughtered. My father, my mother, along with my unborn sister, they all died. Someone, they say it was a gang of some sort, broke into our vacation house on that night and killed everyone in the house before setting it on fire.”
Kyuhyun, utterly surprised at the revelation, listened closely as the little waiter continued. “I was supposed to die that night, too. I was…assaulted before I was shot on the chest. And then, maybe just for the fun of it, they threw my supposed to be dead body down the seaside cliff near the vacation house. I was found on the shore the next morning, probably washed in by the tides. Miraculously, I survived all that.” Then, Ryeowook chuckled sadly. “Turns out my heart was in the right side of my chest and so the bullet missed it. But due to my fall in the cliff I suffered a severe concussion that wiped out my memory entirely and I couldn’t recognize anyone at all. The doctors said it was most likely to be permanent, which was rather disappointing considering that I’m the only witness.”
“When I was released from the hospital, I came to live in an orphanage. I found it weird at first that none of my relatives took me in after I became an orphan. I didn’t have to wonder about it too long, though. They were frank when they said that I was the son of my father and his mistress. All my relatives were ashamed to have me so where else were they going to put me?” Once again, Ryeowook chuckled but it was still without humor. “Oh, dear. I have been blabbing too much again, huh? Sorry for troubling you with these things. I tend to keep talking when I’m not interrupted.”Ryeowook smiled at Kyuhyun apologetically.
Upon hearing Ryeowook’s story, Sungmin’s words once again echoed in Kyuhyun’s head. He’s been through a lot already. He doesn’t need the added trouble you are taking with you. So this is what Sungmin meant.
Ryeowook’s life was (Kyuhyun doesn’t know the exact words to describe it) tragic. And here he is, smiling like he never had any problems at all. His personality seemed pure and untarnished by anything.
“Why are you still smiling like that?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Like what?” Ryeowook said, looking startled at the sudden question.
“Like you never have any problem in life at all. Why are you so…normal, after all that?” Kyuhyun asked, confused.
Ryeowook found himself pondering on the question. “I don’t know what you mean by normal because as far as I know, having your heart in the wrong place isn’t normal. In fact, it’s pretty weird.” he said, thoughtfully. “But about me smiling, I think I’ll have to answer you with a question. What will I get if I continued to sulk about the past?”
Kyuhyun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He didn’t know the answer.
“The past remains the past even if we continue sulking about them. Crying and cursing your past isn’t going to change it. All you can really do is to move on and live in the present. I smile because I am presently happy.” he said, and then he stood up and walked on the platform, using his arms to balance himself. “I may have lost my family in the past, but I have Sungmin-hyung, Eunhyuk-hyung, and Donghae-hyung now. They’re my new family. And I know that when I’m sad, they’ll be sad too so I try to keep myself happy.” Ryeowook explained. Then, he looked directly into Kyuhyun’s eyes and said, “I don’t know anything about your past, Kyuhyun-sshi, or why your smiles have been almost nonexistent, but I do know that you kept reliving that past. That’s why you can’t smile. If you could just move on from it, and live with what you are now, then maybe, you’ll find a bit more color in your life.”
Kyuhyun was at loss of anything to say. He can’t really argue with what Ryeowook said. He had been living in the past. His everyday life was dictated by everything his mentor taught him. And even when he got away, he still felt like he was still under the watchful eye of the organization.
He never realized this. He had been termed a genius and he never realized it at all. Ryeowook did. And they barely even knew each other.
He’s…special, Kyuhyun mused.
“Whoa!” Ryeowook suddenly said in a startled voice. Kyuhyun looked up just in time to see Ryeowook look like he was falling towards the water.
“Ryeowook!” Kyuhyun said in alarm, reaching out to grab hold of Ryeowook.
But then, the next thing he knew, Ryeowook was laughing. More than that, he was laughing at HIM. "Oh, man. That was epic! You should have seen the look on your face, Kyuhyun-sshi! Ah, priceless." Ryeowook said in between giggles. He wasn't about to fall down to the water at all. He was just playing with him.
"Yah! What's the big idea?!" Kyuhyun demanded, annoyed at being fooled.
Ryeowook chuckled some more. "Well, you were looking so weird. I just thought that maybe I can lighten up your mood a little." he admitted.
"Wow. Good job. Look at me, I'm laughing my head off." Kyuhyun said with sarcasm, not really finding what Ryeowook did as funny.
"Aww...some humor over there, please." Ryeowook said. When Kyuhyun didn't reply, he said, "Gah, why do I even try? And I was so glad that you finally, after such a long time, called me by my name."
Silence went between them again for a while before Kyuhyun decided to break it. "What do you mean you were glad that I finally called you by your name?"
"Well, you always called me 'Little Waiter' when you talk to me. I was starting to believe that you never even bothered to remember my name at all. It's quite nice to finally know that you remembered my name. It proves the actual point that you and I are friends."Ryeowook said before adding in a stern voice, "And don't you try to deny that or I'll shove you straight into this fountain."
Kyuhyun's mouth was open. He was just about to say something when Ryeowook said something about them being friends but was immediately silenced when the little waiter told him not to deny it. So, instead, he just stared at Ryeowook like he was an interesting new breed of person saying, "You really are something else, aren't you?"
Ryeowook's eyebrows raised at what Kyuhyun said. Then, suddenly, he gave Kyuhyun a sharp slap in the arm. "Yah! What do you mean by that? That I'm weird or something?! I'll have you know that I'm just as, if not more normal, as you are." he said indignantly.
Kyuhyun jerked at the sudden slap. "Hey, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just saying that in a flock of crows, you'll be the white one." Kyuhyun justified.
"Okay, now that's just rude. You're actually implying that I'm an abnormal crow." Ryeowook said, crossing his arms and glaring at Kyuhyun.
"No that's not --" Kyuhyun just ended up shaking his head in amusement. "Sigh* Never mind.You still won't get it anyway."
Ryeowook pouted once more. "That's it, I'm not talking to you ever again." And he turned his back at Kyuhyun, causing the taller male to actually chuckle at the cute and childish action.
"Don't sulk like that. You look like an overgrown child." Kyuhyun said.
"I'm not talking to you." Ryeowook said, still with his back to Kyuhyun.
"You just did." Kyuhyun said, smirking. Evidently, Ryeowook took that as a point and actually stopped talking. "I'm not sure who's more like a child this time. In Sook or you." Kyuhyun said, shaking his head again. But an idea came to his mind almost as soon after.
Ryeowook was determinedly ignoring Kyuhyun, his eyes fixed on the water jetting out from the statue in the middle of the fountain. Then suddenly, a floating white something invaded his vision. A cute little bunny holding a heart with the words Special One was being dangled in front of him by Kyuhyun’s hand. “Are you gonna stop sulking or what?” Kyuhyun asked from behind Ryeowook.
“Waah~ So cute!” Ryeowook squealed before reaching up to grab the bunny but it was immediately pulled away by Kyuhyun. “Yah!”
“I thought you’re not talking to me.” Kyuhyun said, smirking. The bunny was still in his hand.
“Aww, give it.” Ryeowook said, standing up to reach for the bunny, which Kyuhyun automatically placed out of reach. “You’re so unfair. Give it.”
“I’m not being unfair. You’re just too short.” Kyuhyun teased as Ryeowook stood on tiptoes just to reach the bunny.
“And I’m the one who’s being a child now?” Ryeowook muttered. His face was so close to Kyuhyun’s that their lips were only inches apart, not that any of them noticed anyways. But someone definitely noticed it.
“Ryeowook!” a loud voice suddenly called, surprising both Ryeowook and Kyuhyun. It was Sungmin. And right behind him were Eunhyuk and Donghae. The latter was holding a very familiar fishbowl with a very familiar fish inside.
Jealousy was painted on Sungmin’s face but Ryeowook didn’t notice it at all as he yelled, “Sungmin-hyung.”, dashing off to hug the older male who immediately welcomed his hug.
“Shit, Ryeowook. Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you for ages.” Sungmin said, in a mixture of relief and slight annoyance. He hugged Ryeowook back but his eyes were fixed on Kyuhyun, glaring. “Well, well, well. So much for leaving, eh, Kyuhyun-sshi?” he said in an acidic tone.
Kyuhyun did not say anything but he did return the glare. Once again, Sungmin was there to ruin his steadily improving mood.
Ryeowook released Sungmin and said, “It’s actually quite fortunate that Kyuhyun-sshi was still around. When you disappeared, he agreed to help me look for you.”
“Agreed? More like forced to agree.” Kyuhyun said, and Ryeowook just stuck out his tongue at him, which made him smirk lightly, which in turn made Sungmin’s glare increase in intensity.
“Hey, Ryeowook. Guess what? We found Little Fishy.” Donghae said excitedly, almost shoving the fishbowl in Ryeowook’s face.
Ryeowook looked questioningly at Eunhyuk, who just shrugged and said, “Turns out Donghae left it to one of the personnel managing the rides and forgot all about it.” Shaking his head, he added, “And he was the one with the nerve to break up with me because he was so convinced that I left the fish.”
Donghae pouted at Eunhyuk. “I said I was sorry.” he said in a low voice.
While Ryeowook was preoccupied by the two having their ‘Lover’s Quarrel’, Sungmin and Kyuhyun were practically trying to burn each other down with their glares.
“Had a good time with him?” Sungmin asked testily.
“If you call having to walk around bickering with him ‘FUN’, then yes, I was having the time of my life.” Kyuhyun replied.
Kyuhyun’s face was impassive once again that Sungmin could not read if Kyuhyun was being sarcastic or not. But still he said, “I told you to keep away. He doesn’t need someone like you to keep ruining his life. He’s already been through enough so just leave him the fuck alone.”
Kyuhyun frowned. “You think you’re being overprotective over him because of the things about his past but you still managed to let him wander off and get lost.”
Sungmin was dumbfounded by what Kyuhyun said. “He told you about that?” When Kyuhyun did not reply to confirm it, he assumed the answer. “I don’t know how you managed to get him to trust you enough to let you know about that part of his life, but since you know that already, then you should probably know why you, or anyone like you, is not allowed near him.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Just look at him, will you?” Sungmin growled. Kyuhyun looked sideways at Ryeowook who was laughing lightly at the Eunhae couple. “Did you know how long it took before he could laugh like that again? Before he could even smile like he usually does?”
“You’re a dangerous person, Kyuhyun-sshi. I wouldn’t be surprised to know if anyone is already planning for your murder even as we speak right now given how infamous you are. Just being near you is dangerous enough. So I beg you, if ever you still have any pity left in that empty heart of yours, don’t drag Ryeowook into your world. Because the longer you are together, the closer the danger comes to him.” Sungmin said. His voice wasn’t of anger and jealousy this time. He was just stating a fact.
“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.” Kyuhyun said in a low voice. He wasn’t really convinced of what Sungmin was saying. What did the chef know about him anyway?
“Hey. What are you talking about?” Ryeowook said, suddenly appearing.
“Nothing. I was just thanking Kyuhyun-sshi for accompanying you here.” Sungmin said. He was a pretty good liar, Kyuhyun noticed. “He was just about to leave, actually.” he added, ignoring the glare Kyuhyun was sending his way.
“Oh, that’s right.” Ryeowook said suddenly. Then he bowed low to Kyuhyun. “Thank you for coming with me, Kyuhyun-sshi. And sorry for dragging you along. I don’t know if you enjoyed anything but still, I’m glad you still came with me this time around.”
Kyuhyun just looked at Ryeowook, noting how much sincerity was in the little waiter’s voice as he thanked him. Then, after a moment, Kyuhyun lightly pushed his head down saying, “Enough of that, will you? You’re embarrassing the both of us.”
Ryeowook straightened up, pouting as he massaged his head. Of course, it wasn’t painful at all. The action was just to show Kyuhyun that what he did wasn’t nice at all. “Yah, I was just being formal with you.” He said.
“Well don’t be. It’s embarrassing. ” Kyuhyun scoffed before grabbing Ryeowook’s hand and made it so the palm was facing up. “Here. You wanted this, didn’t you?” He placed the little bunny phone accessory in Ryeowook’s palm.
“You don’t want it anymore, Kyuhyun-sshi?” Ryeowook asked, confused.
“Me? As if. I’m not as childish as you, you know. And drop the ‘sshi’, won’t you? You’re making me sound like a business man, worse, an older man. And I’m prepared to bet that despite your height, you’ll be older than me.” Kyuhyun said.
“Hey, no need to be so rude in denying it, you know.” Ryeowook said, pouting. But deep inside, he was happy. Not just because of the bunny but also because he was actually given permission now to drop the honorifics. A sign that he’s finally getting closer with the taller male. “Thanks. I’ll make sure not to loose it.” he said.
“You better not loose it.” Kyuhyun said with emphasis. He was probably still thinking of something else to say but Sungmin cleared his throat rather loudly which made him roll his eyes. “And since someone is trying to throw me out rather unceremoniously, I guess that means I’m leaving.”
Without so much ado, Kyuhyun turned on his heels and walked away.
“Hey, Kyuhyun. Are you going to the restaurant tomorrow?” Ryeowook asked but Kyuhyun only responded with a short wave of goodbye and just walked on.
“Finally.” Sungmin said when Kyuhyun finally left. “Now then, where do you want to go?”
“We’re still going to some rides?” Eunhyuk asked, he was visibly tired already. “But we’re tired already.”
“Well, you can just go home by yourselves. Wookie and I are still going for some rides, right, Wookie?”
“I think we should go home already, hyung. It’s getting rather late. And we all still have work tomorrow.” Ryeowook said.
And with that final blow to his chance to enjoy his moment with Ryeowook, it took all of Sungmin’s strength, determination and will to stop the stream of curses from different languages from exploding out of his lips. Why can’t he ever win?
Not having any choice left, Sungmin reluctantly just agreed to take them home.
None of them were aware of a couple of persons looking at them from a distance away.
“Ah, so that’s the one they were talking about. Jaejoong wasn’t kidding when he said that kid was rather cute." Heechul said, licking at his ice cream cone slowly as he sat in the bench.
The one he was with, Henry, didn't respond to what he said and instead he just kept looking at Ryeowook who was smiling at that time. Heechul, noticing how he was staring at the young man who was shorter even than Henry, smirked.
"See something you like?" he asked.
Again, Henry didn't respond.
"Well, then. Whatever my baby wants, he shall get, right?" Heechul said, with an evil smile. "Oh, I just can't wait to see what that Angel's reaction would be."
(a/n: To anyone who still read up until this time...hehe...i guess a sorry wouldn't suffice...it took me just TOO long. Almost a month since my last update perhaps? hehe...that was very bad of me and i don't even have a good enough excuse to use right now...Well, i guess this is the longest chapter i've ever written yet. I've written, rewritten and then totally revised the entire thing and i still don't know if it's good enough...but here it is...i'm done with the fluff experimentation...i want to get back to the real mafia part...which i can do, hopefully, soon...
oh, to anyone who wasn't familiar with the nursery song i placed here, it's the Three Bears Song...i got the idea from when i saw Ryeowook-oppa dancing to this song...
i hope it wasn't too boring especially in the last part...i was so excited to finish that i couldn't concentrate on the last part...comments are still loved:) Hopeful smile*
Pairings: Kyuwook, Minwook, Eunhae, Kangteuk, Sihanchul, Heeteuk!friendship ( a lot more later, i promise)
Rating: PG13 maybe ( i'm not sure anymore)
Summary: Kyuhyun was born and raised as a member of the Dark Society, an organization where death and killing were inevitable and violence was part of life. Not even as he left the organization has he left that part of his life. Then comes Ryeowook, a young man who has absolutely little-to-no idea about the dark and violent reality of society. Can he shed light to Kyuhyun's darkness? Or will he fall prey to the Dark Society?
Chapter 12
Part A here
Part B here
Part C here
Part D
"Your one hour is up, little waiter." Kyuhyun said. "Are you going to apologize for wasting my time now?"
The words startled Ryeowook and his eyes immediately darted down to the watch on his wrists. 7:15. Exactly one hour after he made that deal with Kyuhyun just so he could make the other man stay a little bit longer.
"You didn't enjoy your time with us even just a little bit?" Ryeowook asked.
Avoiding the hurt in Ryeowook's eyes, Kyuhyun looked away and said, "Do I look like I've enjoyed at all?" Well, he did actually enjoyed a few times but he was already getting sick and tired of Sungmin butting in every time the rare sense of enjoyment came to him.
Ryeowook bit his lower lip at the harsh response. No, he definitely didn't look like we was having fun. For a moment, Ryeowook felt a bit guilty for enjoying himself while Kyuhyun was probably feeling bored of everything. And while he really wanted to ask the taller male to stay, he knew that the other would leave anyway.
Ryeowook was about to open his mouth to say what Kyuhyun wanted to hear but Sungmin was quicker. "No. Don't apologize to him. He's the one who's wasting our time. He shouldn't have come here in the first place if he's only gonna be such a party pooper. The one who should apologize is him."
"Really now?" Kyuhyun said acidly, looking from Sungmin then to Ryeowook. "You think so, too?". But even before Ryeowook could respond, he said, "You know what, forget it. I'm wasting more of my time waiting for you to start answering me. I'm leaving."
Kyuhyun turned on his heels and was about to walk away when suddenly, Ryeowook spoke to him, "Mianhe. I only wanted to see something close to a smile on that impassive face of yours. I didn't think I'd be boring you too much with all this so, mianhe for that."
Ryeowook paused for a while and Kyuhyun thought that he was done speaking but then, he continued," But I don't think you're wasting my time at all. In fact, I did enjoy your company one way or another. It makes me glad that you came here with us today, so for that I thank you. I hope that, if ever there will be a chance of a next time, we'll both get to enjoy it."
Kyuhyun couldn't help but look sideways at Ryeowook. The little waiter was smiling sincerely at him. His heart was beating faster again. And despite himself, Kyuhyun also began to hope for a next time. But instead of admitting that, Kyuhyun said, "Whatever." and walked away.
Ryeowook's eyes just followed Kyuhyun as he disappeared through the crowd and he felt himself sigh. Looks like it will be just him and Sungmin then (as the Eunhae couple were still probably enjoying their night together).
Sungmin probably thought the same thing he did because he was wearing a rather wide grin on his face as he turned to as the younger male, "So, now that we're alone together, what do you say about going to some rides again?"
Even though he was still feeling rather disappointed that Kyuhyun just had to leave, Ryeowook knew that he shouldn't drag Sungmin's mood down with him so he put up his best smile and said, "Sure, hyung. Where to?"
Sungmin thought for a while. Where he wanted to go with Ryeowook would be easy to answer. The Ferris Wheel. With only just the two of them. Climbing up, seeing everything around them surrounded in beautiful lights. Seeing the moon in its brightest. Who knows, maybe in the peak of the ride, he can slip his arm around the little male's shoulders, steal a small kiss or two. Maybe even a real passionate one. And then----
"Hyung? Hello?! Sungmin-hyung!" Ryeowook called, waving his hand in front of Sungmin's face.
"He looks like he's daydreaming. Or night dreaming." another voice said from behind Ryeowook.
"Oooh! Maybe aliens are communicating with him through his mind." a highly excited voice said.
It was the highly excited voice that brought Sungmin out of his fantasy world. "Huh? What?!" he asked blankly. Then his eyes went to the two figures behind Ryeowook -- Eunhyuk and Donghae. "When the hell did you get here? And what the hell is that?" Sungmin demanded pointing at the fishbowl in Donghae's arms.
“Probably around the time you were zoning out.” Eunhyuk answered. He was about to say something more, but Donghae doesn't seem to know that.
“Hyung, look at my little fishy! Hyukie won me a little fishy!” said a very hyperactive Donghae, nearly shoving the fishbowl in Sungmin's face in excitement. “He was so awesome. He kept loosing many times but he managed to win one in the end!”
Sungmin looked at the little goldfish in the bowl before staring at Eunhyuk. Smirking, he asked. “Oh? And how many times exactly?”
Blood rushed to Eunhyuk's face and he stared the other way to hide his embarrassment. "Ehehe...not so much. Maybe around 2 or 3 times?" he said, meekly.
"Really?" Sungmin said with a sneer.
Eunhyuk's face blushed redder. "S-so, hyung, where are we riding now?" he asked to change the subject.
Sungmin frowned at the question. "What do you mean 'where are we riding'? Who said anything about you coming with us?"
"Ryeowook." both Eunhyuk and Donghae answered.
Sungmin looked at Ryeowook almost pleadingly that he DIDN'T just offer the other two to come with them. But then, Ryeowook wasn't quick on the uptake and said, "Well, you said we are going on the rides and they said they wanted to go to the rides so I thought maybe they can come with us. The more the merrier, right?"
And there goes Sungmin's fantasy, shattering into a million pieces inside his head at what Ryeowook had said. Is it too much to ask for even just a few minutes alone with Ryeowook?, Sungmin wanted to just shout.
"Of course." Sungmin said with a smile that made him look like he was having a toothache. "The more, the merrier."
Well, Sungmin would definitely have preferred that it would only be him and Ryeowook but being with the Eunhae couple wasn't pretty bad at all. And with Kyuhyun gone, they rode nearly every thrilling and dizzying rides they chanced upon, depleting whatever little money they had in their pockets and totally ignoring the fact that they might go hungry for the rest of the week.
"That was fun." Eunhyuk said as his world continued to spin after riding the Hurricane ride.
"Let's go again." Donghae said before tripping on his own feet.
"Maybe as soon as the world stops spinning, hyung." Ryeowook said s he tried to pull Donghae back up from the ground. He was also pretty dizzy from the ride. And he was ready to bet that Sungmin wasn't stable at all as he leaned coolly against the fence that enclosed the ride. Deep inside, he was probably struggling not to puke.
Donghae giggled as he stood up and nearly fell down again. “But that was awesome. I can’t wait to tell my little fishy about it.” Donghae said.
“What do you mean ‘tell my little fishy’? You’re the Fishy here.” Eunhyuk said.
“No. Not ME ‘fishy’. The other fishy.” Donghae said.
“Probably that goldfish you were carrying earlier.” Sungmin said, finally recovering from the ride. Then he frowned as he looked at Eunhyuk. “Where is that annoying fish anyway?”
Eunhyuk looked surprised. “Hae-ah, didn’t you have it?”
“I gave it to you, didn’t I?” he said, and then he looked suspiciously at his boyfriend. “Wait a minute. You lost my fishy?!” he nearly screeched.
“Ah…n-no. I’m pretty sure it’s…um…m-maybe it’s in…uh. Oh, please don’t cry, Hae. I’ll find him, I swear. Or maybe, I can win you one again.” Eunhyuk stuttered as tears began to form in Donghae’s eyes. He really is quite an emotional boyfriend
“Uh-oh.” Ryeowook murmured, sensing trouble.
“Someone’s in a lot of trouble now.” Sungmin commented.
“You didn’t care about our baby fishy! What if someone ate him? What if a cat got him? What if he drowns.” Donghae said, sobbing.
“Well, technically, fish don’t drown.” Eunhyuk said, matter-of-factly.
Donghae looked as if Eunhyuk had just slapped him. “That’s it! I hate you!” he yelled before running off.
“HAE!! I’m sorry!” Eunhyuk called before running after Donghae.
“Yah! What did I tell you about running off! Yah!” Sungmin called running after the two.
Seeing that he was the only one left behind, Ryeowook also went to chase the rest of his companions. It may seem comical, but they weren’t the only ones running.
“Oooff!” Ryeowook groaned as he collided with someone who was also running, which made both of them fall to the ground. The one who collided with Ryeowook only muttered a short “sorry” before standing up and speeding off again. Somebody was probably chasing him as well.
Ryeowook resisted the urge to use a few of the curse words he often heard from Sungmin (the older male had quite an extensive vocabulary for such things despite his looks) as he stood up and brushed himself. His right shoulder was slightly aching and he had the vague idea that he will have a bruise forming there by this time. The stranger really had hit him hard.
After bending over to pick up the bunny stuffed toy that Sungmin won for him, Ryeowook looked through the crowd to find Sungmin and the others.
Oh, there he is., Ryeowook thought when he saw a familiar pink shirt walking away from him.
“Sungmin-hyung!” Ryeowook called as he made his way through the crowd. Strangely, Sungmin didn’t seem to hear him and just continued to move away. “Yah! Sungmin-hyung!”
When Ryeowook was near enough, he tugged at Sungmin’s shirt. “Hyung.”
Sungmin turned to look at him. No. It wasn’t Sungmin at all. Sure, he was wearing the same shirt and his hair was the exact copy of Sungmin’s but it definitely wasn’t him. “Yes? Can I help you?” the stranger asked.
“Ah, mianhe. I thought you were someone I know. I’m so sorry.” Ryeowook said, bowing to the man. The older male just shrugged and walked away.
Ryeowook was now beginning to feel a slight bit of panic. He can’t see anyone he knew at all. And there were so many people around. How was he going to look for his companions in this lot? He didn’t even have the slightest idea where they were heading to. Kim Ryeowook, you are sooo damn lost., he said to himself as he tried to tiptoe to have a better look around the crowd. Maybe he can catch a glimpse of any of the three one way or another.
“Let me guess, you’re lost, aren’t you?” someone said from behind him.
When Kyuhyun walked away from Ryeowook and Sungmin, he didn’t exactly walk out of the amusement park. True, he hardly understood the entire place but then again, maybe that’s the exact reason why he stayed there anyway.
It was really weird. How come there are so many smiles in this place. There hardly were any smiles where he used to live. Just smirks and evil laughter. And while this was a noisy place, it wasn’t chaotic at all. Even the screaming people in the rides didn’t scream out of terror but out of excitement. Are people really just this happy?
For more than an hour, he just sat there on the bench watching people go by. It really felt weird being among them. And he felt weirder when he saw happy children being held or carried by their parents. But he felt the weirdest when he suddenly saw a familiar lithe creature walking like a lost child among the crowd. A frown appeared on his face as he watched the troubled expression Ryeowook had on his face. And Sungmin wasn’t around at all.
Probably out of a whim, he stood up from the bench and walked towards the lost little waiter.
“Let me guess, you’re lost, aren’t you?” he asked when he was right behind Ryeowook.
Ryeowook nearly jumped out of his skin out of surprise. Turning around, he said, “Kyuhyun-sshi.”
“I know that’s my name. You didn’t answer my question. You’re lost, aren’t you?” Kyuhyun asked again. “A bit too old for that, aren’t we?”
Ryeowook’s surprise was immediately replaced by mild annoyance. “You’re wrong. I’m not lost. Sungmin-hyung just left for a while.” He lied while pouting.
“Oh, really? Well, since you’re obviously not lost, then I guess that means I can go leave you here then.” Kyuhyun said, walking away.
Ryeowook looked offended when Kyuhyun immediately walked away. Then, looking around, he knew he had no choice. He was better off with someone he knows rather than staying there all alone, right? “Yah, Kyuhyun-sshi!” he called, following Kyuhyun.
“So, I guess I was right?” Kyuhyun said, mockingly.
“Shut up.” Ryeowook muttered as he tried to catch up with Kyuhyun. “You’re gonna help me look for Sungmin-hyung, right?”
“What do you think I am? A freaking compass?” Kyuhyun said, unconsciously slowing down on his pace to let Ryeowook catch up to him.
“Hey. We’re friends, aren’t we? You should help me.” Ryeowook said with a pout.
“Friends?” The word itself felt foreign to Kyuhyun’s tongue. “Since when?”
“Fine. As a fellow human being then. You’re not gonna argue with that, are you?” Ryeowook said. “And you owe me, too. Do you think carrying you all the way to the apartment to get you treated was a walk in the park? You were hell so freaking heavy.”
Kyuhyun frowned at Ryeowook as the other started blabbing about that particular night. But it wasn’t the annoyed type of frown. It was more like a cross between amusement and curiosity. It almost seemed that the time he walked away earlier never even happened.
After maybe 10 minutes of futile effort to search for Sungmin and the other two, Ryeowook felt too tired to continue walking. “Argh, just how big is this place?” he asked to no one in particular as he placed both palms on his knees.
“You’ve got no stamina.” Kyuhyun commented. He had barely even broken a sweat. “ Are you sure you’re still on your 20s?
“Well, excuse me, Mr. Superman. Not all of us are gifted with the same stamina as you.” Ryeowook shot back. Once again, the bickering just can’t be avoided when the two of them are left alone. “Sigh, I think I have to sit down for a while.”
Ryeowook was about to sit down on the very first bench he found when he noticed a small figure sitting on the ground just behind another bench. One could have easily mistaken it as a kid playing hide-and-seek but Ryeowook could distinctly hear the sobs coming from the boy. And his shoulders were visibly shaking as he cried for his Umma and Appa in a small voice.
“What are you looking at?” Kyuhyun asked when he noticed the little waiter peer at something. He didn’t need an answer though. It wasn’t that hard to figure out what the little waiter had noticed. “Huh. Look’s like you’re not the only one who’s lost.” he commented.
Ryeowook just glared at him sideways before he started to approach the little boy. He even ignored the taller male when he called him.
“Must you always go into other people’s business?” Kyuhyun asked as he followed Ryeowook.
“But he might be in need of help. It’s not like we can ignore him.” Ryeowook said.
“Sure we can. All you really have to do is look the other way and just keep walking.” Kyuhyun said flatly. Ryeowook stopped walking and frowned at what Kyuhyun had said. The taller male also stopped walking and narrowed his eyebrows confusedly at the smaller man’s reaction. “What?”
“You know, sometimes I can’t help but wonder if that thing beating inside there is really a heart or a black hole.” Ryeowook said, shaking his head before continuing to walk.
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Kyuhyun asked as he followed Ryeowook again.
The child barely even moved an inch from his position earlier. From up close, it became clear that the little boy was only around 6 or 7 years old.
“Hey.” Ryeowook said gently, crouching down right beside the sobbing boy. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
The little boy didn’t answer and just continued to cry for his Umma and Appa. “Did you get lost?” Ryeowook asked again. And once again, he was not given an answer.
“Hey, you are being asked a question.” Kyuhyun said coldly which made the little kid flinch.
“You’re not being quite helpful, Kyuhyun-sshi.” Ryeowook said.
“Well, you were asking for an answer. It’s not like we have all night to wait for it.” Kyuhyun said.
Ryeowook just sighed. Deciding to just ignore Kyuhyun, he turned back to the sobbing boy. “Don’t mind him. He’s always this harsh. Probably an inborn defect.” he said before he gave a small laugh when Kyuhyun protested. The little boy, probably curious about why he was laughing, removed one hand from his eyes to look at Ryeowook.
Ryeowook smiled upon seeing the boy looking at him curiously. He was still probably feeling wary of him. Not really surprising because he was a stranger. “Hey, what’s your name?” he asked. The kid sniffled but didn’t answer so Ryeowook continued talking. “Me? I’m Kim Ryeowook. You can call me Wookie-hyung if you want. That annoying one there is Kyuhyun-sshi. So, how about you? What’s your name?”
For a while, it didn’t seem that the kid was going to answer but then a small, “Kim In Sook.” was heard from him.
“In Sook. That’s a nice name.” Ryeowook said with a smile. The kid smiled at him as well. “Since we both know each other’s names, so that means we’re friends now, right?” And the kid nodded eagerly.
Kyuhyun just watched as Ryeowook made friends with the kid. Deep inside, he was impressed at Ryeowook’s ability to gain someone’s complete trust and friendship. And then he realized, he too trusted Ryeowook easily. They had just met some 2 weeks ago and he’s actually staying here with him without feeling cautious of him. But then, maybe it had something to do with Ryeowook’s gentle nature that made him trustworthy.
“So, you got scared of the clown and ran away huh?” Ryeowook said, after In Sook told him about why he was lost. “You’re parents must be getting worried. You want us to help you look for them?”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Kyuhyun said, upon hearing what Ryeowook had suggested. “Who said anything about us helping him look for his parents?”
“It’s not like we can leave him here by himself, you know. “ Ryeowook said, helping In Sook stand up. “His parents might be looking for him, too. So let’s go find them.”
“How do you know that they haven’t got tired looking for him yet and just left him here?” Kyuhyun asked. It wasn’t really out of harshness that he said that. He was just aware about how many children are abandoned from time to time. He knows a lot of children like that. He trained with a lot of them when he was younger.
“Because they’re his parents. And no parent will willingly abandon their children unless they’ve got no other choice.” Ryeowook said, firmly. There was something in Ryeowook’s voice that Kyuhyun could not explain.
Seeing that he had no other choice, Kyuhyun just followed. Ryeowook would probably drag him along if he didn’t follow, anyway. If there’s one thing he’s really certain about the little waiter’s personality, it was the natural stubbornness.
The search was uneventful; at least to Kyuhyun, anyway. Ryeowook and In Sook were probably having the time of their lives. The kid really seemed to be rather comfortable with Ryeowook. It almost didn’t seem like the two were actually looking for In Sook’s parents. In fact, it almost appeared like Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were the parents of In Sook.
“Look, Wookie-hyung! Cotton candy!” In Sook said out loud, pointing at the fluffy cloud of candy being made in a particular stall.
“Look’s tasty. You want one?” Ryeowook asked. He didn’t wait for In Sook to reply. He went to the stall to buy one. “Here you go.” Ryeowook said, handing In Sook a stick of blue colored cotton candy.
As much as he actually enjoyed looking at the two, acting like mother and child, Kyuhyun just had to remind them of the matters at hand. Clearing his throat, he said, “I don’t want to be a…what did that annoying chef call that?...party-pooper, but aren’t we supposed to be looking for your companions.”
Both Ryeowook and the kid’s eyebrows shot up as if they just realized that. “Oh…right. We have to go looking for them.” Ryeowook said. In Sook just smiled sheepishly.
After a while of walking, however, In Sook began tearing up again.
“What are you crying about now?” Kyuhyun asked, annoyed. “We have no time for that. You want your parents to leave you or what?”
In Sook began to sniffle because of the harshness of Kyuhyun’s voice. “But I’m tired. My feet are hurting. I don’t want to walk anymore.” He said in between sobs.
“But we can’t stop here right now.” Ryeowook said. When In Sook just continued to cry, Ryeowook sighed. “Oh dear, what do we do now?”
Kyuhyun sighed and rolled his eyes. Just how long was this night going to be? Taking a look at Ryeowook’s worried eyes, Kyuhyun mentally cursed himself for being so affected by them.
All of a sudden, Kyuhyun picked In Sook up and carried him in his arms. Both the kid and Ryeowook were visibly startled by it. But after a while, Ryeowook smiled at Kyuhyun which in turn startled the taller male. “What? He said he doesn’t want to walk anymore. And it’s not like we can find anyone just by standing here. Let’s just get going already.” Kyuhyun said immediately.
“You do know you look like a real Appa like that, don’t you?” Ryeowook said his smile wide. “Ah, I should have brought a camera. You look adorable with a kid.”
Kyuhyun felt blood rush up to his face. “Shut up.” Kyuhyun muttered, trying not to look too embarrassed. And Ryeowook just kept giggling cutely at him.
“Ah, don’t be so angry. You’ll get a lot more wrinkles that way.” Ryeowook joked.
“I don’t have wrinkles.” Kyuhyun said. But then, he raised one hand to feel his face to which Ryeowook just face palmed.
“I was a joke, you know.” Ryeowook said, shaking his head at Kyuhyun’s lack of humor. “Anyway, we better get moving.”
“I don’t know if you noticed it but we’re just going around in circles in this place. And with the size of this place and the number of people in it, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Kyuhyun pointed out.
Ryeowook pondered on the idea for a while before saying, “Hm, you’ve got a point. But how are we going to find them? By sitting around?”
“We’ve got to go to a higher place so that we can see everything.” Kyuhyun said. The answer just came out automatically as soon as the question was given. After all, he was trained to track down his targets all throughout his childhood.
“A higher place?” Ryeowook mused. Then the idea suddenly popped out from his mind.
“Oh god…” Ryeowook mumbled as he watched from the window of the Ferris wheel while they slowly rose from the ground. Beside him on the compartment were an almost bored Kyuhyun and a highly anxious In Sook. “Did it really have to be this ride?”
Kyuhyun frowned at what he said. “You’re the one who thought about this.”
“Well, yeah, but…” Ryeowook replied.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” Kyuhyun asked.
“O-Of course not.” Ryeowook responded. He really meant to sound tougher but his body was unmistakably going stiffer as their distance from the ground increased. Seeing that Kyuhyun was about to make a remark about him, he turned to In Sook who was looking outside and asked, “Hey, do you see them?”
In Sook bit his lips and shook his head. “I can’t see Umma and Appa.” he said, his voice shaking.
“See? I told you they’ve abandoned him already.” Kyuhyun said tactlessly.
Ryeowook glared at Kyuhyun as the tears started to well up in In Sook’s eyes again. “Sshh, don’t cry. Don’t listen to him. I’m sure your parents are still out there. Just keep looking. You’ll find them.” He said encouragingly.
And then all of a sudden, In Sook’s eyes widened. “Umma! Appa!” he yelled which filled the entire compartment they were in. His eyes were fixed upon a couple who were walking frantically in the crowd not too far away from the Ferris wheel. At first, they were heading towards the Ferris wheel, but all of a sudden, they went the opposite way. “UMMA!!”
“They can’t hear him. We need to get down.” Ryeowook said immediately to Kyuhyun while In Sook continued to call out to his parents.
“We can’t. We’re at the top right now. It’s not like we can jump off from here.” Kyuhyun said.
“Ahh…damn. Why did I choose the Ferris wheel?! Argh, stupid idea!” Ryeowook said frustrated at the turn of events. Then, all of a sudden, he leaned out of the window to shout at the operators below. “Yah! We need to get down!”
Kyuhyun, alarmed at Ryeowook’s dangerous stunt, grabbed the little waiter by the back of his shirt and pulled him inside. “What the hell?! You want to die or something? I thought you were terrified of heights.” Kyuhyun said in a slightly high-pitched voice. He had never been frightened like that in his life. EVER. And he wasn’t terrified for himself either but at someone who was almost a stranger to him. Really, what was it with Ryeowook that could pull out every alien emotion that Kyuhyun never even knew he had?
“But we need to get down before we totally lose sight of them.” Ryeowook insisted.
“Yeah. But hanging by the window isn’t going to help. Your voice may sound a lot like an elephant’s siren but there’s no way that any of them below heard you. We’re too far up. We need to get low enough first before we can demand to be let off the ride.” Kyuhyun reasoned out, keeping a firm grip of Ryeowook’s arm just in case the little waiter decides to go holler from the windows again. “Geez, you’re really gonna give me a heart attack with all those antics of yours.”
Ryeowook only nit his lips and in a very low voice, he said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
And once again, the happy heart beats began to bloom inside Kyuhyun’s heart and his face started to have a faint shade of pink. “Who says I’m worried about you? I just don’t want you to fall and make people think that I threw you off. I haven’t got any money for a lawyer.” He said, looking away.
Ryeowook chuckled slightly before he went to comfort the crying In Sook. “Sshh…Don’t worry. We’ll find them as soon as we get down. Keep your eyes on them, arasseo?” he said gently, stroking In Sook’s hair.
As soon as they got down, In Sook immediately dashed off to where he had last seen his parents with Ryeowook and Kyuhyun speeding up behind him.
“Umma?! Appa!” In Sook kept calling as he ran around, passing by a lot of people and bumping a lot of them in his hurry. But before long, it became clear. His parents were no longer there. They must have gone to another area already.
Tired and miserable, In Sook curled himself on the ground and cried again. “They’re not here anymore. They left me already.” he said in between sobs.
“Don’t say that. They’re your parents. They won’t give you up so easily.” Ryeowook said.
Kyuhyun wasn’t so sure about what Ryeowook had said because in his case, his parents barely even gave a damn about him. But when he saw the miserable eyes of Ryeowook, he decided not to say something about it.
Without saying anything, Kyuhyun scooped In Sook up into his arms again before saying to In Sook, “If they really care for you, they will find you. No matter where you are or how long you’ve been gone, they’ll find you.” Then, looking at Ryeowook, he said, “Let’s find a place where we can sit down. If his parents really are here, they have a greater chance of finding him if we don’t keep moving around the place.”
Ryeowook nodded weakly.
They placed the sobbing boy on the fountain. He was just sobbing there quietly that almost broke Ryeowook’s heart. Kyuhyun, cold as he was, also found his sobs to be emotionally disturbing.
Then, as if to break the nasty silence around him, Ryeowook stood up and said, “You know, when I was younger, Sungmin-hyung used to sing me a song. It’s a nursery song but it used to cheer me up a lot when I’m crying. I’m sure at least one of you knows it. It goes like this.”
Ryeowook stood right in front of In Sook and Kyuhyun before he started singing.
kom sema-ri-ga
han chi-be-yi-so
appa gom
umma gom
ae-gi gom
Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rose at the song which Ryeowook even danced to. In Sook’s sobs seemed to have hitched. The people that were passing by also raised their eyebrows at him, but Ryeowook didn’t seem to mind them at all.
appa gommun tung-tung-hae
umma gommun nal-shin-hae
In Sook peeked at Ryeowook. Seeing that, Ryeowook smiled wider and sang louder.
ae-gi gommun na bul-gwi-yo-wo
hishuk hishuk cha-rhan-da
Kyuhyun’s lips had unconsciously quirked up. And In Sook had also stopped crying but he was only smiling slightly, which wasn’t good enough in Ryeowook’s opinion.
“Yah. It’s lonely singing here by myself.” Ryeowook said, suddenly grabbing Kyuhyun by the arm and dragging him up front.
“What the--?” Kyuhyun protested.
“Please.” Ryeowook said with puppy dog eyes. “It will make him feel better.”
“What the heck am I supposed to do?” Kyuhyun hissed.
“Just follow me.” Ryeowook said with a smile. “Okay? Start.”
kom sema-ri-ga
han chi-be-yi-so
appa gom
umma gom
ae-gi gom
appa gommun tung-tung-hae
umma gommun nal-shin-hae
ae-gi gommun na bul-gwi-yo-wo
hishuk hishuk cha-rhan-da
This was probably the most awkward moment yet in the history of Kyuhyun’s life. Never (emphasis on ‘Never’) had he tried this in his entire existence. But despite that, he tried to match Ryeowook’s song and movements. And the results were comical. In Sook was even laughing by the end of it.
“You actually made him laugh. I didn’t know you can be funny, Kyuhyun-sshi.” Ryeowook said, grinning.
“Shut up.” Kyuhyun muttered. His face was so red that he almost looked like a tomato. “Never, and I repeat, NEVER am I gonna do that again for as long as I live.”
“Aww, but you were adorable.” Ryeowook commented, resisting the strong urge to pinch Kyuhyun’s reddening cheeks.
In Sook was still giggling as Kyuhyun slumped back on the fountain. “There? Happy now?” Kyuhyun said, a little harshly on In Sook who just continued giggling at him. Somehow, he wasn’t furious about being laughed at in any way at all. Probably because that was the point he did that - to make In Sook laugh.
“Wanna see him dance again?” Ryeowook asked In Sook as he sat down beside the boy.
“Oh, hell no!” Kyuhyun said in exasperation which only caused the other two to giggle harder.
“In Sook!” a voice of a lady called out from a distance. It was then followed by a male voice calling for the same name.
Both the smiles of Ryeowook and In Sook disappeared and their heads peerked up upon hearing the call. “Umma?! Appa?!” In Sook called out.
Then, suddenly, a woman and a man appeared from a corner. The woman looked as pale as a ghost and her eyes were puffy like she had been crying for a long time. Her husband was even supporting her because she seemed so close to fainting.
“In Sook?” The lady almost choked at the words as fresh tears sprung from her eyes. “Baby?”
“Umma!” In Sook cried, quickly sliding off the fountain he was sitting on and dashing into his mother’s arms. She immediately hugged him like she hasn’t seen him in decades. The father also crouched down and engulfed his wife and son in a hug. Tears were visibly glistening in his eyes.
“I thought I’d never find you. We’ve looked everywhere. If I lost you…” the mother said in between sobs. Pain, relief and extreme joy painted her face as she kissed and hugged her little boy.
A peculiar feeling came over Kyuhyun as he watched the family. Was it jealousy? Maybe it is. But there was something more. Loneliness.
His life had been nothing but a series of darkness. He could only barely remember his mother. She had died years ago. Probably before he even turned 6 years old. And even before she died, Kyuhyun had hardly met her. He was kept in strict training the moment he learned to walk and talk, and so he only saw his mother like 5 times before she died. But he could remember her smile. She was always smiling when Kyuhyun saw her, and she was always singing. Her voice has been more prominent in his memories compared to her face, as that voice was his source of comfort when he was a child.
It was a different thing with his father, though. He saw his father practically every waking moment of his life, and yet he felt nothing for the old man. He was never anything to him other than a mentor, anyway. And he was barely even treated as a son, too. Kyuhyun might have been hoping for more than just training from his father before but he learned better than to hope later on. That’s just the way it was.
As if to avoid the emotions assaulting Kyuhyun as of the moment, he turned to look at the little waiter beside him. Ryeowook was visibly happy and relieved that In Sook was finally with his family. But there was also something in his eyes that Kyuhyun could not describe.
Kyuhyun’s reverie was interrupted when he heard In Sook’s voice. “They helped me come here, Umma.” It was then that he noticed that the two parents were looking right at him and Ryeowook.
“Really?” the mother asked.
The father slowly stood up and walked to them. At first, Kyuhyun stiffened. He had the idea that the man was going to hit them, as the usual case he was accustomed to when he was in the Dark Society. But the idea was automatically dispersed when the man suddenly hugged them both.
“Thank you.” He said, his voice cracking. While Kyuhyun couldn’t see his face, he knew that the older man was crying. Were parents really supposed to be this happy? “He’s the only one we have. If we lost him, I don’t know what we’d do. Thank you. If there’s anything, anything at all - “
“Please, sir. We were glad to help. You don’t have to reward us at all.” Ryeowook said, patting the old man’s back.
The old man was just about nearly breaking down in front of them because of extreme happiness and relief. And the series of “thank you” never seemed to end.
Finally, the man gained enough composure to decide that it was time for him to bring his family home. Which was definitely the best thing for him to do as all of them had looked rather exhausted both physically and emotionally. And with a final hug, and a kiss from In Sook’s mother to each of them, the family had finally left.
Kyuhyun and Ryeowook just sat back on the bench, watching the now complete family moving away from them. Kyuhyun definitely felt relieved. He wasn’t really used to hugs and kisses and happy reunions.
“Must be nice to have a family.” Ryeowook suddenly said in a low voice as he watched In Sook and his family disappear into the crowd. He seemed to be talking to himself, but Kyuhyun heard him all the same.
Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Kyuhyun said, “You’re talking as if you don’t have one.” Then, noting the lack of response, Kyuhyun’s eyebrows furrowed further. Turning his head to look at Ryeowook, he asked, “You don’t?”
“Not really.” Ryeowook said, then seeing Kyuhyun’s expression, he immediately added, “I mean, I DO have a family. Who doesn’t? It’s just that…I don’t remember them at all.”
“What do you mean?” Kyuhyun asked.
Ryeowook sighed deeply before he began. “Twelve years ago, my family was slaughtered. My father, my mother, along with my unborn sister, they all died. Someone, they say it was a gang of some sort, broke into our vacation house on that night and killed everyone in the house before setting it on fire.”
Kyuhyun, utterly surprised at the revelation, listened closely as the little waiter continued. “I was supposed to die that night, too. I was…assaulted before I was shot on the chest. And then, maybe just for the fun of it, they threw my supposed to be dead body down the seaside cliff near the vacation house. I was found on the shore the next morning, probably washed in by the tides. Miraculously, I survived all that.” Then, Ryeowook chuckled sadly. “Turns out my heart was in the right side of my chest and so the bullet missed it. But due to my fall in the cliff I suffered a severe concussion that wiped out my memory entirely and I couldn’t recognize anyone at all. The doctors said it was most likely to be permanent, which was rather disappointing considering that I’m the only witness.”
“When I was released from the hospital, I came to live in an orphanage. I found it weird at first that none of my relatives took me in after I became an orphan. I didn’t have to wonder about it too long, though. They were frank when they said that I was the son of my father and his mistress. All my relatives were ashamed to have me so where else were they going to put me?” Once again, Ryeowook chuckled but it was still without humor. “Oh, dear. I have been blabbing too much again, huh? Sorry for troubling you with these things. I tend to keep talking when I’m not interrupted.”Ryeowook smiled at Kyuhyun apologetically.
Upon hearing Ryeowook’s story, Sungmin’s words once again echoed in Kyuhyun’s head. He’s been through a lot already. He doesn’t need the added trouble you are taking with you. So this is what Sungmin meant.
Ryeowook’s life was (Kyuhyun doesn’t know the exact words to describe it) tragic. And here he is, smiling like he never had any problems at all. His personality seemed pure and untarnished by anything.
“Why are you still smiling like that?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Like what?” Ryeowook said, looking startled at the sudden question.
“Like you never have any problem in life at all. Why are you so…normal, after all that?” Kyuhyun asked, confused.
Ryeowook found himself pondering on the question. “I don’t know what you mean by normal because as far as I know, having your heart in the wrong place isn’t normal. In fact, it’s pretty weird.” he said, thoughtfully. “But about me smiling, I think I’ll have to answer you with a question. What will I get if I continued to sulk about the past?”
Kyuhyun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He didn’t know the answer.
“The past remains the past even if we continue sulking about them. Crying and cursing your past isn’t going to change it. All you can really do is to move on and live in the present. I smile because I am presently happy.” he said, and then he stood up and walked on the platform, using his arms to balance himself. “I may have lost my family in the past, but I have Sungmin-hyung, Eunhyuk-hyung, and Donghae-hyung now. They’re my new family. And I know that when I’m sad, they’ll be sad too so I try to keep myself happy.” Ryeowook explained. Then, he looked directly into Kyuhyun’s eyes and said, “I don’t know anything about your past, Kyuhyun-sshi, or why your smiles have been almost nonexistent, but I do know that you kept reliving that past. That’s why you can’t smile. If you could just move on from it, and live with what you are now, then maybe, you’ll find a bit more color in your life.”
Kyuhyun was at loss of anything to say. He can’t really argue with what Ryeowook said. He had been living in the past. His everyday life was dictated by everything his mentor taught him. And even when he got away, he still felt like he was still under the watchful eye of the organization.
He never realized this. He had been termed a genius and he never realized it at all. Ryeowook did. And they barely even knew each other.
He’s…special, Kyuhyun mused.
“Whoa!” Ryeowook suddenly said in a startled voice. Kyuhyun looked up just in time to see Ryeowook look like he was falling towards the water.
“Ryeowook!” Kyuhyun said in alarm, reaching out to grab hold of Ryeowook.
But then, the next thing he knew, Ryeowook was laughing. More than that, he was laughing at HIM. "Oh, man. That was epic! You should have seen the look on your face, Kyuhyun-sshi! Ah, priceless." Ryeowook said in between giggles. He wasn't about to fall down to the water at all. He was just playing with him.
"Yah! What's the big idea?!" Kyuhyun demanded, annoyed at being fooled.
Ryeowook chuckled some more. "Well, you were looking so weird. I just thought that maybe I can lighten up your mood a little." he admitted.
"Wow. Good job. Look at me, I'm laughing my head off." Kyuhyun said with sarcasm, not really finding what Ryeowook did as funny.
"Aww...some humor over there, please." Ryeowook said. When Kyuhyun didn't reply, he said, "Gah, why do I even try? And I was so glad that you finally, after such a long time, called me by my name."
Silence went between them again for a while before Kyuhyun decided to break it. "What do you mean you were glad that I finally called you by your name?"
"Well, you always called me 'Little Waiter' when you talk to me. I was starting to believe that you never even bothered to remember my name at all. It's quite nice to finally know that you remembered my name. It proves the actual point that you and I are friends."Ryeowook said before adding in a stern voice, "And don't you try to deny that or I'll shove you straight into this fountain."
Kyuhyun's mouth was open. He was just about to say something when Ryeowook said something about them being friends but was immediately silenced when the little waiter told him not to deny it. So, instead, he just stared at Ryeowook like he was an interesting new breed of person saying, "You really are something else, aren't you?"
Ryeowook's eyebrows raised at what Kyuhyun said. Then, suddenly, he gave Kyuhyun a sharp slap in the arm. "Yah! What do you mean by that? That I'm weird or something?! I'll have you know that I'm just as, if not more normal, as you are." he said indignantly.
Kyuhyun jerked at the sudden slap. "Hey, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just saying that in a flock of crows, you'll be the white one." Kyuhyun justified.
"Okay, now that's just rude. You're actually implying that I'm an abnormal crow." Ryeowook said, crossing his arms and glaring at Kyuhyun.
"No that's not --" Kyuhyun just ended up shaking his head in amusement. "Sigh* Never mind.You still won't get it anyway."
Ryeowook pouted once more. "That's it, I'm not talking to you ever again." And he turned his back at Kyuhyun, causing the taller male to actually chuckle at the cute and childish action.
"Don't sulk like that. You look like an overgrown child." Kyuhyun said.
"I'm not talking to you." Ryeowook said, still with his back to Kyuhyun.
"You just did." Kyuhyun said, smirking. Evidently, Ryeowook took that as a point and actually stopped talking. "I'm not sure who's more like a child this time. In Sook or you." Kyuhyun said, shaking his head again. But an idea came to his mind almost as soon after.
Ryeowook was determinedly ignoring Kyuhyun, his eyes fixed on the water jetting out from the statue in the middle of the fountain. Then suddenly, a floating white something invaded his vision. A cute little bunny holding a heart with the words Special One was being dangled in front of him by Kyuhyun’s hand. “Are you gonna stop sulking or what?” Kyuhyun asked from behind Ryeowook.
“Waah~ So cute!” Ryeowook squealed before reaching up to grab the bunny but it was immediately pulled away by Kyuhyun. “Yah!”
“I thought you’re not talking to me.” Kyuhyun said, smirking. The bunny was still in his hand.
“Aww, give it.” Ryeowook said, standing up to reach for the bunny, which Kyuhyun automatically placed out of reach. “You’re so unfair. Give it.”
“I’m not being unfair. You’re just too short.” Kyuhyun teased as Ryeowook stood on tiptoes just to reach the bunny.
“And I’m the one who’s being a child now?” Ryeowook muttered. His face was so close to Kyuhyun’s that their lips were only inches apart, not that any of them noticed anyways. But someone definitely noticed it.
“Ryeowook!” a loud voice suddenly called, surprising both Ryeowook and Kyuhyun. It was Sungmin. And right behind him were Eunhyuk and Donghae. The latter was holding a very familiar fishbowl with a very familiar fish inside.
Jealousy was painted on Sungmin’s face but Ryeowook didn’t notice it at all as he yelled, “Sungmin-hyung.”, dashing off to hug the older male who immediately welcomed his hug.
“Shit, Ryeowook. Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you for ages.” Sungmin said, in a mixture of relief and slight annoyance. He hugged Ryeowook back but his eyes were fixed on Kyuhyun, glaring. “Well, well, well. So much for leaving, eh, Kyuhyun-sshi?” he said in an acidic tone.
Kyuhyun did not say anything but he did return the glare. Once again, Sungmin was there to ruin his steadily improving mood.
Ryeowook released Sungmin and said, “It’s actually quite fortunate that Kyuhyun-sshi was still around. When you disappeared, he agreed to help me look for you.”
“Agreed? More like forced to agree.” Kyuhyun said, and Ryeowook just stuck out his tongue at him, which made him smirk lightly, which in turn made Sungmin’s glare increase in intensity.
“Hey, Ryeowook. Guess what? We found Little Fishy.” Donghae said excitedly, almost shoving the fishbowl in Ryeowook’s face.
Ryeowook looked questioningly at Eunhyuk, who just shrugged and said, “Turns out Donghae left it to one of the personnel managing the rides and forgot all about it.” Shaking his head, he added, “And he was the one with the nerve to break up with me because he was so convinced that I left the fish.”
Donghae pouted at Eunhyuk. “I said I was sorry.” he said in a low voice.
While Ryeowook was preoccupied by the two having their ‘Lover’s Quarrel’, Sungmin and Kyuhyun were practically trying to burn each other down with their glares.
“Had a good time with him?” Sungmin asked testily.
“If you call having to walk around bickering with him ‘FUN’, then yes, I was having the time of my life.” Kyuhyun replied.
Kyuhyun’s face was impassive once again that Sungmin could not read if Kyuhyun was being sarcastic or not. But still he said, “I told you to keep away. He doesn’t need someone like you to keep ruining his life. He’s already been through enough so just leave him the fuck alone.”
Kyuhyun frowned. “You think you’re being overprotective over him because of the things about his past but you still managed to let him wander off and get lost.”
Sungmin was dumbfounded by what Kyuhyun said. “He told you about that?” When Kyuhyun did not reply to confirm it, he assumed the answer. “I don’t know how you managed to get him to trust you enough to let you know about that part of his life, but since you know that already, then you should probably know why you, or anyone like you, is not allowed near him.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Just look at him, will you?” Sungmin growled. Kyuhyun looked sideways at Ryeowook who was laughing lightly at the Eunhae couple. “Did you know how long it took before he could laugh like that again? Before he could even smile like he usually does?”
“You’re a dangerous person, Kyuhyun-sshi. I wouldn’t be surprised to know if anyone is already planning for your murder even as we speak right now given how infamous you are. Just being near you is dangerous enough. So I beg you, if ever you still have any pity left in that empty heart of yours, don’t drag Ryeowook into your world. Because the longer you are together, the closer the danger comes to him.” Sungmin said. His voice wasn’t of anger and jealousy this time. He was just stating a fact.
“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.” Kyuhyun said in a low voice. He wasn’t really convinced of what Sungmin was saying. What did the chef know about him anyway?
“Hey. What are you talking about?” Ryeowook said, suddenly appearing.
“Nothing. I was just thanking Kyuhyun-sshi for accompanying you here.” Sungmin said. He was a pretty good liar, Kyuhyun noticed. “He was just about to leave, actually.” he added, ignoring the glare Kyuhyun was sending his way.
“Oh, that’s right.” Ryeowook said suddenly. Then he bowed low to Kyuhyun. “Thank you for coming with me, Kyuhyun-sshi. And sorry for dragging you along. I don’t know if you enjoyed anything but still, I’m glad you still came with me this time around.”
Kyuhyun just looked at Ryeowook, noting how much sincerity was in the little waiter’s voice as he thanked him. Then, after a moment, Kyuhyun lightly pushed his head down saying, “Enough of that, will you? You’re embarrassing the both of us.”
Ryeowook straightened up, pouting as he massaged his head. Of course, it wasn’t painful at all. The action was just to show Kyuhyun that what he did wasn’t nice at all. “Yah, I was just being formal with you.” He said.
“Well don’t be. It’s embarrassing. ” Kyuhyun scoffed before grabbing Ryeowook’s hand and made it so the palm was facing up. “Here. You wanted this, didn’t you?” He placed the little bunny phone accessory in Ryeowook’s palm.
“You don’t want it anymore, Kyuhyun-sshi?” Ryeowook asked, confused.
“Me? As if. I’m not as childish as you, you know. And drop the ‘sshi’, won’t you? You’re making me sound like a business man, worse, an older man. And I’m prepared to bet that despite your height, you’ll be older than me.” Kyuhyun said.
“Hey, no need to be so rude in denying it, you know.” Ryeowook said, pouting. But deep inside, he was happy. Not just because of the bunny but also because he was actually given permission now to drop the honorifics. A sign that he’s finally getting closer with the taller male. “Thanks. I’ll make sure not to loose it.” he said.
“You better not loose it.” Kyuhyun said with emphasis. He was probably still thinking of something else to say but Sungmin cleared his throat rather loudly which made him roll his eyes. “And since someone is trying to throw me out rather unceremoniously, I guess that means I’m leaving.”
Without so much ado, Kyuhyun turned on his heels and walked away.
“Hey, Kyuhyun. Are you going to the restaurant tomorrow?” Ryeowook asked but Kyuhyun only responded with a short wave of goodbye and just walked on.
“Finally.” Sungmin said when Kyuhyun finally left. “Now then, where do you want to go?”
“We’re still going to some rides?” Eunhyuk asked, he was visibly tired already. “But we’re tired already.”
“Well, you can just go home by yourselves. Wookie and I are still going for some rides, right, Wookie?”
“I think we should go home already, hyung. It’s getting rather late. And we all still have work tomorrow.” Ryeowook said.
And with that final blow to his chance to enjoy his moment with Ryeowook, it took all of Sungmin’s strength, determination and will to stop the stream of curses from different languages from exploding out of his lips. Why can’t he ever win?
Not having any choice left, Sungmin reluctantly just agreed to take them home.
None of them were aware of a couple of persons looking at them from a distance away.
“Ah, so that’s the one they were talking about. Jaejoong wasn’t kidding when he said that kid was rather cute." Heechul said, licking at his ice cream cone slowly as he sat in the bench.
The one he was with, Henry, didn't respond to what he said and instead he just kept looking at Ryeowook who was smiling at that time. Heechul, noticing how he was staring at the young man who was shorter even than Henry, smirked.
"See something you like?" he asked.
Again, Henry didn't respond.
"Well, then. Whatever my baby wants, he shall get, right?" Heechul said, with an evil smile. "Oh, I just can't wait to see what that Angel's reaction would be."
(a/n: To anyone who still read up until this time...hehe...i guess a sorry wouldn't suffice...it took me just TOO long. Almost a month since my last update perhaps? hehe...that was very bad of me and i don't even have a good enough excuse to use right now...Well, i guess this is the longest chapter i've ever written yet. I've written, rewritten and then totally revised the entire thing and i still don't know if it's good enough...but here it is...i'm done with the fluff experimentation...i want to get back to the real mafia part...which i can do, hopefully, soon...
oh, to anyone who wasn't familiar with the nursery song i placed here, it's the Three Bears Song...i got the idea from when i saw Ryeowook-oppa dancing to this song...
i hope it wasn't too boring especially in the last part...i was so excited to finish that i couldn't concentrate on the last part...comments are still loved:) Hopeful smile*