Under invisible boundary - Part 9
Title: Under invisible boundary
Pairing: KyuHyun/RyeoWook, HyungSik [ZE:A]/RyeoWook
Rating: PG-13
Genre: romance, angst
Summary: Find a way to love and to be loved again.
Warning: Incest and the rating might go higher
A/n: Why being a high school senior is so hard????? *rolling helplessly on the floor* I’m tired now, I need some rest. This part was supposed to be longer with more KyuWook, but then now it turns out like this *cry* I'm really sorry :(( The upcoming festival of our school, along with tons of homework is really killing me now. Okay, anyway, thank you and love you :((((
IX. Doctor Kim YoungWoon. On the Han River bank.
The mid-autumn came at the end of September, bringing along slight cold breezes, beautiful flowers in full bloom and faint scent of moon cakes tugging around the thin air. Everybody was busy preparing for one of the greatest festival of the year, going around the shopping mall and buying too many unnecessary things for their own good. Those days were time for families to reunite and the souls wandering out there to be again mourned by relative people still alive in this world… Remembering about the death, inattentively RyeoWook couldn’t help but give a small sigh while sitting at the back of his family’s car, looking at the surrounding through glassy window.
The Chuseok festival finally came.
His family was now on their way to his grandmother’s mansion on the outskirts of Seoul. It was an 18th century country mansion for family reunion, with large areas and being preserved in good condition. As far as the brunette still remembered, along with their relatives, RyeoWook’s family only needed to back to the mansion when the mid-autumn festival and New Year’s Eve came. It was just one of the traditions among the people in the clan. RyeoWook’s lineage was one of famous, plus ancient lineages in Korea, and even in the darkest period of the lineage, the Kim still kept all the traditions strictly, never losing the right track. Thus, people in that large family were all learned and had gained many highly important social statuses.
And RyeoWook was the beginning of the next generation of the Kim.
Out of the corner of his eyes, the brunette could see that HyungSik was sitting next to their mother while listening to her speech of etiquette, obviously paying no attention to it. The younger boy was paying attention to something else in the car, and RyeoWook knew clearly what that was, because there was no other than him being that very “something”. Yes, HyungSik was staring intensely at his back, while RyeoWook was still trying to look comfortable as much as possible, feigning innocent as if he knew nothing behind.
It had been already 4 days since the incident in the club and they hadn’t talked to each other. Or rather, it was RyeoWook who turned off his phone and ignored all the calls.
Truth be told, RyeoWook wasn’t angry anymore at the younger boy. He admitted that he was a bit depressed at first, but the talk with EunHyuk did lighten up the mood and finally at the end of the last Friday, the brunette had come to conclusion that there was nothing to worry about. HyungSik was just drunk and it was an unfortunate accident, no one wanted it to happen. But still, his brother needed to learn a lesson there. RyeoWook wasn’t sure much, but in his opinion, definitely drinking then losing control over your own body wasn’t something HyungSik should experiment again, even only one more time. It was too risky. Being strict a bit that time was just a way of RyeoWook to ensure that the younger would remember and never dare do it again. HyungSik always obeyed him, so the brunette guessed that things would be easy.
Yes, things would definitely be easy, because he could see HyungSik looked kind of deadly desperate to talk to him.
“Mr. Kim, we arrive”
The driver’s voice talking to his father pulled RyeoWook back to the reality and the brunette looked outside just to find that he had been in front of the iron gates of the mansion. Someone opened the door car for them and he had to spend some seconds to remember who that person was, as the boy was still kind of lost in his day dreaming.
How could he forget his grandmother’s personal secretary?
“Where’s my mother?”
“Ma’am is in the living room Sir. She’s waiting for you.”
“I know.”
His father answered casually as he passed by the other to approach the iron gates. RyeoWook, along with his mother and brother, followed suit, not forgetting to give the secretary a slight bow and a small smile. They went on a small patch which rows of red rose bushes were planted alongside. RyeoWook was taken aback lightly at the change, as in his mind, there used to be lilies plant there. Anyway, the patch still looked attractively beautiful, and all of a sudden the brunette felt as if he had come back to the ever first time he walked on it, when he was just barely 5 while HyungSik was 1.
Talking about HyungSik, RyeoWook could feel a burning hole behind his back as the other still continued staring at him.
The Kim passed by a small maze and somehow it reminded RyeoWook the time when he was 7 and got lost in it. He still remembered clearly the feeling when he was in it, scared and panicky, because all the hedges just looked too high and giant, plus he was still too small to find the way out by himself. Since then the boy had hardly wandered near the maze, in case he was being clumsy and got lost again.
But at the moment, when the 23-year-old boy looked back, he realized that the hedges were just in the same height with him. The boy couldn’t help but smile lightly at the fact. How funny, yet ridiculous it was when comparing with the old memory.
It had been too long. Like, 16 years?
Exactly 16 years since the last time he played in the maze and 7 years since the last time he came here, the boy reminded himself.
Time flew too fast.
“You are here.”
His grandmother sitting on the couch greeted them, a hint of happiness drawn gracefully on her face. RyeoWook noticed that even in the most depressed mood, HyungSik was still (as usual) the person running to her first and enveloped the old woman in a hug, pecking her cheeks lovingly:
“Grandma!!!”
And she would just smile at him endearingly while patting his head.
RyeoWook approached her slowly after giving his brother enough his showtime. The brunette could feel the gazes from other people since the moment he stepped into the living room, but never before had he felt them more obviously than right now. Today, there weren’t only his relatives coming to the family reunion this year but also some acquaintances. And they definitely wanted to see the face of the Kim’s oldest grandson. The tension was too uncomfortable, but RyeoWook was fine with it.
Because, he had already been used to it after many years of being watched by other people.
“Grandma, I’m home.”
He said in a calm tone, compared to the squeal of his brother. His grandmother looked at him for a while, the warm-hearted smile never left her face as she pulled him closer to have a better view.
“You are really tall now Wookie. And even so handsome.”
“How can I not be taller grandma?”
He chuckled lightly while hugging the other back. Inattentively the boy blinked at the sting of tears in his eyes as the familiar scent of their grandmother tugged on his sense. No more word was said, but they still knew how much the old woman had missed him, and so did RyeoWook.
***
“…He looked really like them.”
Even when the reunion was kind of crowed and busy, RyeoWook could still hear from some corners of the living room people murmuring things. They should stop staring, he thought, if they still wanted to hide the fact that they were gossiping about him.
“…But I remembered the eyes are bigger…”
“…The nose is exactly the same. And also the shape of mouth…”
They continued talking, obviously didn’t notice that RyeoWook had observed them for a while. He was just bored, okay?
Anyway, the remarks did confuse him a bit and all of a sudden he found himself staring at his father who was talking to his grandmother.
Yep, he admitted that he looked kind of like his father, but not that very much as those people had said. The brunette whipped head and turned to his mother who was chatting with his aunts and some middle-aged women out there. Her long hair was worn in a bun, revealing the back of her delicate neck. His mother’s nose was quite small, so he guessed that it looked a bit like his. And also the shape of mouths seemed to be resembled, or at least RyeoWook hoped that they did. But still, in general, he had to say that there was nothing on his face resembled hers. It’s strange, as sons usually looked like their mothers. Just look at HyungSik. See, he bore a great resemblance to their mother. No, RyeoWook didn’t want to sound dramatic here, because at least he still looked a bit like his father and he was totally fine with his appearance.
But only God knew how much he used to be miserable with all the appearance thingy.
“Wookie ah, why are you crying?”
His mother asked while picking him up. The said boy was sniffling behind a bush, obviously trying to hide away from his parents. His tiny hands cover his face and the woman gently held them down, only to find that RyeoWook’s face was covered with dirt and watercolor and even mud. It was too unusual because RyeoWook always looked clean and he loved clean.
And he hated mud.
“What’s wrong dear?”
She asked, patting his head lovingly. The act somehow just urged the little boy to cry more, because he started sobbing harder than ever, hiding his face on the crook of her neck.
“M-my my friend, th-they said that I-I-I don’t look like-like you and dad.”
“Is that all?”
He nodded and his mother couldn’t help but give a small sigh. She pecked his forehead lightly then leading the small boy to the tap in their garden. After having his face washed and cleaned again, the young woman brought him into their house. She climbed upstairs to the bed room of RyeoWook’s parents. There was a big mirror in it.
“Look at our reflection Wookie.”
The boy obeyed his mother’s words as he stared deeply at his and her reflection.
There was no resemblance between them.
“Can you see our resemblance?”
“No, mommy.”
He answered in disappointment. But Mrs. Kim only smiled warmly as she traced a line at their reflection on the mirror by her finger:
“See, we both have a pair of black eyes, small nose, heart-shaped lips, right? Our skins are both pale, and the hairs are both jet black.”
“Yeah… And the fingers are also the same.”
RyeoWook chirped soundly at his own remark and his mother giggled softly, pulling him closer to her:
“We have many common things, right? Remember, Wookie, we look the same. Whatever other people said, you’re still my son. Your face is my face, so don’t be down with all your friends’ words. Next time if they say the same thing again, just tell them what I have told you. Okay?”
“Nae mommy.”
The little 5-year-old boy nodded shyly, raising his tiny pinky to make a promise with his mother.
Okay, now he didn’t need to cover his face with mud anymore. But seriously, could they just shut up?
All of a sudden his grandmother called him, saying something about who had just come. RyeoWook was startled a bit, but as soon as he heard the news, the small frown on his forehead gradually faded away.
“Wookie ah, Doctor Kim’s family has just come.”
His ears pricked up in amusement at the mention of Doctor Kim’s family. And just in time, he heard someone greeting his grandmother. The voice was familiar, and he quickly looked up to find the doctor of his family, along with his wife and sons, was in front of his eyes. He casted his eyes over them and quickly realized the person he was looking for. The other seemed to notice him too, because he also looked back at the brunette, right hand waved lightly.
***
“It’s been long since the last time we met.”
YoungWoon said as they were standing next to each other in the buffet. RyeoWook just shrugged lightly while tasting the food on the table nearby.
“What are you doing now hyung?”
“Doctor, what else? It’s family tradition.”
“You said as if you really enjoyed it. The last time we talked you were bitching about it.”
Apart from his family, YoungWoon was the only person RyeoWook kept in touch with during the time he was in America. They had been pretty close since their childhood.
“Actually, I really like it now Wook.”
The answer took RyeoWook aback and he stared at the other, who was wearing a blank expression on his face.
“Responsibility of the oldest son?”
“Kind of. Besides, there are something else… I will tell you later.”
His face twitched lightly and a hint of hesitation was showed. But even when RyeoWook was curious to death, he still nodded his head understandingly and waited for the other.
“RyeoWook, you finally came back.”
YoungWoon’s mother greeted him happily and the brunette quickly bowed at her.
“I’ve heard that you are a teaching at Seoul University now. It’s really great, you’re on the right track Wookie. Not like my son who decided to be a mental doctor.”
“He did?”
RyeoWook asked and turned to YoungWoon, who was feigning innocent looking at anywhere but his own mother’s face.
“Yeah. He has to be a doctor, but I can’t understand why he needed to choose the mental major. Working with the insane is definitely not something good.”
“Mom…”
YoungWoon muttered under his breath something incoherently. He surely didn’t like the fact that his mother was talking to his work like that. Next to him RyeoWook just gave a slight smile while holding the middle-aged woman’s hand:
“I think it’s awesome being a mental doctor aunt. At least YoungWoon hyung can save people’s lives, right? I believe that he’ll make a good doctor.”
“Yeah, maybe… Anyway, how about HyungSik’s asthma? He hasn’t gone to the clinic and checked for 2 months.”
“I heard my parents say that he’s kind of okay with it now. He’s trying to… you know, stop using too often the medicines.”
“Oh I see. But tell him to be careful okay? The asthma can back at any time.”
“Nae.”
If anyone was curious, then sort things out, YoungWoon’s father, who was known as Doctor Kim, was the Kim’s personal doctor. He took care of everybody in RyeoWook’s family, especially his brother, as HyungSik had really been weak since he was small. Not to mention the asthma he had to suffer from. The doctor used to drop by the bungalow of RyeoWook’s family to check on HyungSik and give him the medicine. YoungWoon used to go along with him to their house, and that’s how RyeoWook met him. The other was just older than him by 3 years, so it didn’t take long for the two to become good friends.
As YoungWoon’s mother, after her long speech, had gone to another direction of the party, the older boy just heaved out a loud sigh while rubbing his temple.
“I have no idea why she’s so against my decision of becoming a mental doctor.”
“Worry?”
“Too much worry here.”
“Every mom is like that, I tell you.”
RyeoWook rolled eyes while taking a small sip from his drink. YoungWoon nudged him on his ribcage and asked out of the blue:
“HyungSik doesn’t stick with you today?”
“Kind of.”
The brunette said. His eyes turned to look at the boy standing not far much from him, talking awkwardly to one of their cousin. The other boy was also looking at him, so it was kind of fun seeing his face flushed for being caught at the middle of the act.
“Truth be told you two have never been close to your cousins. So I’m wondering whether both of you are having any problem.”
“We’re not your patients YoungWoon.”
The younger boy said, flinching a bit at the words. YoungWoon just narrowed his not-so-big eyes and muttered something like “whatever” or “I don’t care”. All of a sudden YoungWoon’s cell phone went off and the boy quickly whipped opened it:
“Yeah it’s me, Doctor Kim YoungWoon… What…? He’s like that again…? Okay okay I understand. I will come to the hospital now… Yeah… Okay…”
The other line went death and YoungWoon hanged up his phone. His teeth grazed his lips idly and the older thought for a while before turning to RyeoWook:
“I need to go now RyeoWook, my patient’s having some problem. Send my apology to your grandma ‘kay?”
“No problem hyung. But what about your parents?”
“They won’t care.”
YoungWoon said, already turning his heels and started making his way out of the crowd.
***
Seoul.
RyeoWook stepped slowly on the narrow sidewalk along the bank of Han River with many people passing by him. The weather of an autumn afternoon couldn’t be better, he concluded, shoving his hands deeper down his pant pockets. He had just come back from the reunion of his grandmother, and thankfully the boy didn’t drink much. HyungSik even didn’t drink anything, RyeoWook guessed that the younger boy had enough of his lesson. So when they arrived in front of his parents’ house, before bidding them goodbye and went home, RyeoWook had placed his hand on HyungSik’s shoulder as a way to reconcile. The younger boy couldn’t look more surprised, he guessed. But then HyungSik was smiling in relief and while RyeoWook was on his way back to his apartment, the cell phone buzzed informing there was a new message:
“From HyungSik:
Hyung ah, I’m really sorry.”
“From RyeoWook:
We’ll talk later about that. But don’t do that again, ‘kay?”
“From HyungSik:
I promise. Thanks a lot hyung, I love you :x”
At least things finally had been settled down again (or RyeoWook hoped that).
The boy wandered around the bank, watching as some family came here for picnics, some couples were walking together, hand in hand happily. Children were running everywhere and at somewhere nearby, he could see the olds were doing the exercises or stretching out… Life was just too peaceful and quiet, no matter how much noisy the surroundings were. To RyeoWook, it’s quiet, because it’s normal and typical.
He kept on his steady pace for a while, walking without looking up from his foot. For a while he didn’t notice where he was going, until the moment the brunette looked up just to find that he was standing near the area of artists coming here for painting and photographers to capture and take pictures. He watched them in awe as they were sketching or snapping picture, completely obviously idolizing the way their hands moved, their eyes observed things and the way they let the reality step into their works. In photography, it was through the objects and background while in art, it was through shapes and colors.
The boy took some more steps and all of a sudden his eyes caught someone familiar sitting not far much ahead. RyeoWook stepped closer, ignoring the weirdly sudden fast beating pace of his own heart. The other was painting a small portrait for a girl, around 4 or 5 years old, sitting on a bench nearby. He said something, definitely coaxing her to sit still and the girl’s giggling softly with him.
From the behind of the other’s back, RyeoWook witnessed in silence the way the pencil moved up and down, revealing the sketch gradually. The other boy was completely in his concentration, didn’t even pay a single attention to any other people around. He was just too absorbed to his own work.
It took the young boy about 15 minutes to completely finish his picture. The parents of the girl were rather satisfied with the work as they kept on praising him. As they were about to leave, the small little girl pointed at behind his back saying:
“There’s someone who just looking at you.”
RyeoWook was startled at her remarks and just wanted to turn and run away, but then there was nowhere for him to run because the other had turned around to see who exactly was staring at him. His eyes fixed on him and they stood like that for some seconds, before KyuHyun’s lips curved up into a light smile:
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
RyeoWook said, somehow feeling a bit relieved.
“So… You’re working here every Sunday afternoon?”
RyeoWook asked while sipping on his coffee and KyuHyun just nodded. They were sitting in a café nearby Han River bank.
“Yeah. There’s also Thursday night.”
“You draw pictures for everyone passing by?”
“Only anyone feeling interested.”
KyuHyun chuckled lightly, voice warm and RyeoWook just wanted to clutch his heart tight, but at the same time he knew he couldn’t do it because it would just be super weird. He tried to distract himself from staring at the other by looking around the café. His face crunched a bit at the bad taste of music and decoration here.
This café was definite not as good as the café where KyuHyun worked.
The brunette gave mental note to himself and turned back to his coffee. His face flushed lightly as he realized that now it was KyuHyun’s time to stare at him. He fumbled with his cup and unfortunately spilled all the liquid on the table surface.
“Uh oh.”
Now RyeoWook’s face looked like a ripe tomato for his clumsiness. While he was still panicky with what to do, KyuHyun had already pulled out some tissues to wipe all the mess on the table away.
“It’s okay, I can do it.”
The brunette said, trying to take the damp tissues from the other’s hand. But KyuHyun only shook his head lightly and continued wiping. RyeoWook thought KyuHyun would be frowning, but when the boy tilted his head a bit, the older boy realized that he wasn’t frowning at all. Truth be told, he actually was smiling. It didn’t look like the other small smiles he used to wear on his face, so for some seconds RyeoWook was taken aback with it. And, even barely at the back of his mind, he started wondering whether he should spill something else the next time they met.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because of your face.”
He said simply and RyeoWook pouted. The act just made KyuHyun smile even wider.
“You seem to be clumsy.”
“My parents always tell me that.”RyeoWook huffed. “Anyway, I don’t think my face is something that funny.”
“I don’t say that your face look funny.”
“You said that you smile because of it.”
“Just because I want to.”
KyuHyun said after thinking for a while and RyeoWook betted that it wasn’t the right answer. But still, he bought it anyway.
Pairing: KyuHyun/RyeoWook, HyungSik [ZE:A]/RyeoWook
Rating: PG-13
Genre: romance, angst
Summary: Find a way to love and to be loved again.
Warning: Incest and the rating might go higher
A/n: Why being a high school senior is so hard????? *rolling helplessly on the floor* I’m tired now, I need some rest. This part was supposed to be longer with more KyuWook, but then now it turns out like this *cry* I'm really sorry :(( The upcoming festival of our school, along with tons of homework is really killing me now. Okay, anyway, thank you and love you :((((
IX. Doctor Kim YoungWoon. On the Han River bank.
The mid-autumn came at the end of September, bringing along slight cold breezes, beautiful flowers in full bloom and faint scent of moon cakes tugging around the thin air. Everybody was busy preparing for one of the greatest festival of the year, going around the shopping mall and buying too many unnecessary things for their own good. Those days were time for families to reunite and the souls wandering out there to be again mourned by relative people still alive in this world… Remembering about the death, inattentively RyeoWook couldn’t help but give a small sigh while sitting at the back of his family’s car, looking at the surrounding through glassy window.
The Chuseok festival finally came.
His family was now on their way to his grandmother’s mansion on the outskirts of Seoul. It was an 18th century country mansion for family reunion, with large areas and being preserved in good condition. As far as the brunette still remembered, along with their relatives, RyeoWook’s family only needed to back to the mansion when the mid-autumn festival and New Year’s Eve came. It was just one of the traditions among the people in the clan. RyeoWook’s lineage was one of famous, plus ancient lineages in Korea, and even in the darkest period of the lineage, the Kim still kept all the traditions strictly, never losing the right track. Thus, people in that large family were all learned and had gained many highly important social statuses.
And RyeoWook was the beginning of the next generation of the Kim.
Out of the corner of his eyes, the brunette could see that HyungSik was sitting next to their mother while listening to her speech of etiquette, obviously paying no attention to it. The younger boy was paying attention to something else in the car, and RyeoWook knew clearly what that was, because there was no other than him being that very “something”. Yes, HyungSik was staring intensely at his back, while RyeoWook was still trying to look comfortable as much as possible, feigning innocent as if he knew nothing behind.
It had been already 4 days since the incident in the club and they hadn’t talked to each other. Or rather, it was RyeoWook who turned off his phone and ignored all the calls.
Truth be told, RyeoWook wasn’t angry anymore at the younger boy. He admitted that he was a bit depressed at first, but the talk with EunHyuk did lighten up the mood and finally at the end of the last Friday, the brunette had come to conclusion that there was nothing to worry about. HyungSik was just drunk and it was an unfortunate accident, no one wanted it to happen. But still, his brother needed to learn a lesson there. RyeoWook wasn’t sure much, but in his opinion, definitely drinking then losing control over your own body wasn’t something HyungSik should experiment again, even only one more time. It was too risky. Being strict a bit that time was just a way of RyeoWook to ensure that the younger would remember and never dare do it again. HyungSik always obeyed him, so the brunette guessed that things would be easy.
Yes, things would definitely be easy, because he could see HyungSik looked kind of deadly desperate to talk to him.
“Mr. Kim, we arrive”
The driver’s voice talking to his father pulled RyeoWook back to the reality and the brunette looked outside just to find that he had been in front of the iron gates of the mansion. Someone opened the door car for them and he had to spend some seconds to remember who that person was, as the boy was still kind of lost in his day dreaming.
How could he forget his grandmother’s personal secretary?
“Where’s my mother?”
“Ma’am is in the living room Sir. She’s waiting for you.”
“I know.”
His father answered casually as he passed by the other to approach the iron gates. RyeoWook, along with his mother and brother, followed suit, not forgetting to give the secretary a slight bow and a small smile. They went on a small patch which rows of red rose bushes were planted alongside. RyeoWook was taken aback lightly at the change, as in his mind, there used to be lilies plant there. Anyway, the patch still looked attractively beautiful, and all of a sudden the brunette felt as if he had come back to the ever first time he walked on it, when he was just barely 5 while HyungSik was 1.
Talking about HyungSik, RyeoWook could feel a burning hole behind his back as the other still continued staring at him.
The Kim passed by a small maze and somehow it reminded RyeoWook the time when he was 7 and got lost in it. He still remembered clearly the feeling when he was in it, scared and panicky, because all the hedges just looked too high and giant, plus he was still too small to find the way out by himself. Since then the boy had hardly wandered near the maze, in case he was being clumsy and got lost again.
But at the moment, when the 23-year-old boy looked back, he realized that the hedges were just in the same height with him. The boy couldn’t help but smile lightly at the fact. How funny, yet ridiculous it was when comparing with the old memory.
It had been too long. Like, 16 years?
Exactly 16 years since the last time he played in the maze and 7 years since the last time he came here, the boy reminded himself.
Time flew too fast.
“You are here.”
His grandmother sitting on the couch greeted them, a hint of happiness drawn gracefully on her face. RyeoWook noticed that even in the most depressed mood, HyungSik was still (as usual) the person running to her first and enveloped the old woman in a hug, pecking her cheeks lovingly:
“Grandma!!!”
And she would just smile at him endearingly while patting his head.
RyeoWook approached her slowly after giving his brother enough his showtime. The brunette could feel the gazes from other people since the moment he stepped into the living room, but never before had he felt them more obviously than right now. Today, there weren’t only his relatives coming to the family reunion this year but also some acquaintances. And they definitely wanted to see the face of the Kim’s oldest grandson. The tension was too uncomfortable, but RyeoWook was fine with it.
Because, he had already been used to it after many years of being watched by other people.
“Grandma, I’m home.”
He said in a calm tone, compared to the squeal of his brother. His grandmother looked at him for a while, the warm-hearted smile never left her face as she pulled him closer to have a better view.
“You are really tall now Wookie. And even so handsome.”
“How can I not be taller grandma?”
He chuckled lightly while hugging the other back. Inattentively the boy blinked at the sting of tears in his eyes as the familiar scent of their grandmother tugged on his sense. No more word was said, but they still knew how much the old woman had missed him, and so did RyeoWook.
***
“…He looked really like them.”
Even when the reunion was kind of crowed and busy, RyeoWook could still hear from some corners of the living room people murmuring things. They should stop staring, he thought, if they still wanted to hide the fact that they were gossiping about him.
“…But I remembered the eyes are bigger…”
“…The nose is exactly the same. And also the shape of mouth…”
They continued talking, obviously didn’t notice that RyeoWook had observed them for a while. He was just bored, okay?
Anyway, the remarks did confuse him a bit and all of a sudden he found himself staring at his father who was talking to his grandmother.
Yep, he admitted that he looked kind of like his father, but not that very much as those people had said. The brunette whipped head and turned to his mother who was chatting with his aunts and some middle-aged women out there. Her long hair was worn in a bun, revealing the back of her delicate neck. His mother’s nose was quite small, so he guessed that it looked a bit like his. And also the shape of mouths seemed to be resembled, or at least RyeoWook hoped that they did. But still, in general, he had to say that there was nothing on his face resembled hers. It’s strange, as sons usually looked like their mothers. Just look at HyungSik. See, he bore a great resemblance to their mother. No, RyeoWook didn’t want to sound dramatic here, because at least he still looked a bit like his father and he was totally fine with his appearance.
But only God knew how much he used to be miserable with all the appearance thingy.
“Wookie ah, why are you crying?”
His mother asked while picking him up. The said boy was sniffling behind a bush, obviously trying to hide away from his parents. His tiny hands cover his face and the woman gently held them down, only to find that RyeoWook’s face was covered with dirt and watercolor and even mud. It was too unusual because RyeoWook always looked clean and he loved clean.
And he hated mud.
“What’s wrong dear?”
She asked, patting his head lovingly. The act somehow just urged the little boy to cry more, because he started sobbing harder than ever, hiding his face on the crook of her neck.
“M-my my friend, th-they said that I-I-I don’t look like-like you and dad.”
“Is that all?”
He nodded and his mother couldn’t help but give a small sigh. She pecked his forehead lightly then leading the small boy to the tap in their garden. After having his face washed and cleaned again, the young woman brought him into their house. She climbed upstairs to the bed room of RyeoWook’s parents. There was a big mirror in it.
“Look at our reflection Wookie.”
The boy obeyed his mother’s words as he stared deeply at his and her reflection.
There was no resemblance between them.
“Can you see our resemblance?”
“No, mommy.”
He answered in disappointment. But Mrs. Kim only smiled warmly as she traced a line at their reflection on the mirror by her finger:
“See, we both have a pair of black eyes, small nose, heart-shaped lips, right? Our skins are both pale, and the hairs are both jet black.”
“Yeah… And the fingers are also the same.”
RyeoWook chirped soundly at his own remark and his mother giggled softly, pulling him closer to her:
“We have many common things, right? Remember, Wookie, we look the same. Whatever other people said, you’re still my son. Your face is my face, so don’t be down with all your friends’ words. Next time if they say the same thing again, just tell them what I have told you. Okay?”
“Nae mommy.”
The little 5-year-old boy nodded shyly, raising his tiny pinky to make a promise with his mother.
Okay, now he didn’t need to cover his face with mud anymore. But seriously, could they just shut up?
All of a sudden his grandmother called him, saying something about who had just come. RyeoWook was startled a bit, but as soon as he heard the news, the small frown on his forehead gradually faded away.
“Wookie ah, Doctor Kim’s family has just come.”
His ears pricked up in amusement at the mention of Doctor Kim’s family. And just in time, he heard someone greeting his grandmother. The voice was familiar, and he quickly looked up to find the doctor of his family, along with his wife and sons, was in front of his eyes. He casted his eyes over them and quickly realized the person he was looking for. The other seemed to notice him too, because he also looked back at the brunette, right hand waved lightly.
***
“It’s been long since the last time we met.”
YoungWoon said as they were standing next to each other in the buffet. RyeoWook just shrugged lightly while tasting the food on the table nearby.
“What are you doing now hyung?”
“Doctor, what else? It’s family tradition.”
“You said as if you really enjoyed it. The last time we talked you were bitching about it.”
Apart from his family, YoungWoon was the only person RyeoWook kept in touch with during the time he was in America. They had been pretty close since their childhood.
“Actually, I really like it now Wook.”
The answer took RyeoWook aback and he stared at the other, who was wearing a blank expression on his face.
“Responsibility of the oldest son?”
“Kind of. Besides, there are something else… I will tell you later.”
His face twitched lightly and a hint of hesitation was showed. But even when RyeoWook was curious to death, he still nodded his head understandingly and waited for the other.
“RyeoWook, you finally came back.”
YoungWoon’s mother greeted him happily and the brunette quickly bowed at her.
“I’ve heard that you are a teaching at Seoul University now. It’s really great, you’re on the right track Wookie. Not like my son who decided to be a mental doctor.”
“He did?”
RyeoWook asked and turned to YoungWoon, who was feigning innocent looking at anywhere but his own mother’s face.
“Yeah. He has to be a doctor, but I can’t understand why he needed to choose the mental major. Working with the insane is definitely not something good.”
“Mom…”
YoungWoon muttered under his breath something incoherently. He surely didn’t like the fact that his mother was talking to his work like that. Next to him RyeoWook just gave a slight smile while holding the middle-aged woman’s hand:
“I think it’s awesome being a mental doctor aunt. At least YoungWoon hyung can save people’s lives, right? I believe that he’ll make a good doctor.”
“Yeah, maybe… Anyway, how about HyungSik’s asthma? He hasn’t gone to the clinic and checked for 2 months.”
“I heard my parents say that he’s kind of okay with it now. He’s trying to… you know, stop using too often the medicines.”
“Oh I see. But tell him to be careful okay? The asthma can back at any time.”
“Nae.”
If anyone was curious, then sort things out, YoungWoon’s father, who was known as Doctor Kim, was the Kim’s personal doctor. He took care of everybody in RyeoWook’s family, especially his brother, as HyungSik had really been weak since he was small. Not to mention the asthma he had to suffer from. The doctor used to drop by the bungalow of RyeoWook’s family to check on HyungSik and give him the medicine. YoungWoon used to go along with him to their house, and that’s how RyeoWook met him. The other was just older than him by 3 years, so it didn’t take long for the two to become good friends.
As YoungWoon’s mother, after her long speech, had gone to another direction of the party, the older boy just heaved out a loud sigh while rubbing his temple.
“I have no idea why she’s so against my decision of becoming a mental doctor.”
“Worry?”
“Too much worry here.”
“Every mom is like that, I tell you.”
RyeoWook rolled eyes while taking a small sip from his drink. YoungWoon nudged him on his ribcage and asked out of the blue:
“HyungSik doesn’t stick with you today?”
“Kind of.”
The brunette said. His eyes turned to look at the boy standing not far much from him, talking awkwardly to one of their cousin. The other boy was also looking at him, so it was kind of fun seeing his face flushed for being caught at the middle of the act.
“Truth be told you two have never been close to your cousins. So I’m wondering whether both of you are having any problem.”
“We’re not your patients YoungWoon.”
The younger boy said, flinching a bit at the words. YoungWoon just narrowed his not-so-big eyes and muttered something like “whatever” or “I don’t care”. All of a sudden YoungWoon’s cell phone went off and the boy quickly whipped opened it:
“Yeah it’s me, Doctor Kim YoungWoon… What…? He’s like that again…? Okay okay I understand. I will come to the hospital now… Yeah… Okay…”
The other line went death and YoungWoon hanged up his phone. His teeth grazed his lips idly and the older thought for a while before turning to RyeoWook:
“I need to go now RyeoWook, my patient’s having some problem. Send my apology to your grandma ‘kay?”
“No problem hyung. But what about your parents?”
“They won’t care.”
YoungWoon said, already turning his heels and started making his way out of the crowd.
***
Seoul.
RyeoWook stepped slowly on the narrow sidewalk along the bank of Han River with many people passing by him. The weather of an autumn afternoon couldn’t be better, he concluded, shoving his hands deeper down his pant pockets. He had just come back from the reunion of his grandmother, and thankfully the boy didn’t drink much. HyungSik even didn’t drink anything, RyeoWook guessed that the younger boy had enough of his lesson. So when they arrived in front of his parents’ house, before bidding them goodbye and went home, RyeoWook had placed his hand on HyungSik’s shoulder as a way to reconcile. The younger boy couldn’t look more surprised, he guessed. But then HyungSik was smiling in relief and while RyeoWook was on his way back to his apartment, the cell phone buzzed informing there was a new message:
“From HyungSik:
Hyung ah, I’m really sorry.”
“From RyeoWook:
We’ll talk later about that. But don’t do that again, ‘kay?”
“From HyungSik:
I promise. Thanks a lot hyung, I love you :x”
At least things finally had been settled down again (or RyeoWook hoped that).
The boy wandered around the bank, watching as some family came here for picnics, some couples were walking together, hand in hand happily. Children were running everywhere and at somewhere nearby, he could see the olds were doing the exercises or stretching out… Life was just too peaceful and quiet, no matter how much noisy the surroundings were. To RyeoWook, it’s quiet, because it’s normal and typical.
He kept on his steady pace for a while, walking without looking up from his foot. For a while he didn’t notice where he was going, until the moment the brunette looked up just to find that he was standing near the area of artists coming here for painting and photographers to capture and take pictures. He watched them in awe as they were sketching or snapping picture, completely obviously idolizing the way their hands moved, their eyes observed things and the way they let the reality step into their works. In photography, it was through the objects and background while in art, it was through shapes and colors.
The boy took some more steps and all of a sudden his eyes caught someone familiar sitting not far much ahead. RyeoWook stepped closer, ignoring the weirdly sudden fast beating pace of his own heart. The other was painting a small portrait for a girl, around 4 or 5 years old, sitting on a bench nearby. He said something, definitely coaxing her to sit still and the girl’s giggling softly with him.
From the behind of the other’s back, RyeoWook witnessed in silence the way the pencil moved up and down, revealing the sketch gradually. The other boy was completely in his concentration, didn’t even pay a single attention to any other people around. He was just too absorbed to his own work.
It took the young boy about 15 minutes to completely finish his picture. The parents of the girl were rather satisfied with the work as they kept on praising him. As they were about to leave, the small little girl pointed at behind his back saying:
“There’s someone who just looking at you.”
RyeoWook was startled at her remarks and just wanted to turn and run away, but then there was nowhere for him to run because the other had turned around to see who exactly was staring at him. His eyes fixed on him and they stood like that for some seconds, before KyuHyun’s lips curved up into a light smile:
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
RyeoWook said, somehow feeling a bit relieved.
“So… You’re working here every Sunday afternoon?”
RyeoWook asked while sipping on his coffee and KyuHyun just nodded. They were sitting in a café nearby Han River bank.
“Yeah. There’s also Thursday night.”
“You draw pictures for everyone passing by?”
“Only anyone feeling interested.”
KyuHyun chuckled lightly, voice warm and RyeoWook just wanted to clutch his heart tight, but at the same time he knew he couldn’t do it because it would just be super weird. He tried to distract himself from staring at the other by looking around the café. His face crunched a bit at the bad taste of music and decoration here.
This café was definite not as good as the café where KyuHyun worked.
The brunette gave mental note to himself and turned back to his coffee. His face flushed lightly as he realized that now it was KyuHyun’s time to stare at him. He fumbled with his cup and unfortunately spilled all the liquid on the table surface.
“Uh oh.”
Now RyeoWook’s face looked like a ripe tomato for his clumsiness. While he was still panicky with what to do, KyuHyun had already pulled out some tissues to wipe all the mess on the table away.
“It’s okay, I can do it.”
The brunette said, trying to take the damp tissues from the other’s hand. But KyuHyun only shook his head lightly and continued wiping. RyeoWook thought KyuHyun would be frowning, but when the boy tilted his head a bit, the older boy realized that he wasn’t frowning at all. Truth be told, he actually was smiling. It didn’t look like the other small smiles he used to wear on his face, so for some seconds RyeoWook was taken aback with it. And, even barely at the back of his mind, he started wondering whether he should spill something else the next time they met.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because of your face.”
He said simply and RyeoWook pouted. The act just made KyuHyun smile even wider.
“You seem to be clumsy.”
“My parents always tell me that.”RyeoWook huffed. “Anyway, I don’t think my face is something that funny.”
“I don’t say that your face look funny.”
“You said that you smile because of it.”
“Just because I want to.”
KyuHyun said after thinking for a while and RyeoWook betted that it wasn’t the right answer. But still, he bought it anyway.