Love needs no words - Chapter 17
SECOND TO LAST! I'm so nervous!!! Please cross your fingers for the good process of writing Chapter 18!!!
IF YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS THAT ARE UNANSWERED BY NOW, PLEASE WRITE IN YOUR COMMENTS, SO I MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE ANSWERED IN CHAPTER 18!
Title: Love needs no words
Part: 17 of 18
Pairing: Sihan, QMi, Kangteuk, Yewook
Rating: PG-13 all over, unless mentioned differently
Disclamer: I own no one!
Summary: What happens when the heir of one the most powerful families discovers something he shouldn’t have? Years-long traditions are changed and family secrets are revealed.
« Come on… Geng! You have to wake up! »
Panicked, Siwon kept on gripping his lover’s face, hoping to have a reaction, but Geng’s sweaty body wasn’t responding at all. They just had their most intense moment together… and Geng was out of it even before Siwon could tell him how good it was…
“You have to open your eyes, Geng! Open your eyes!”
He felt like he would throw up, his heart pounding so hard in his chest that it was giving him nausea. He couldn’t have killed his lover because he had been too rough? Geng told him that he was able to take it!
Tears welled up in his eyes as his hands reached for the blanket, hoping it would help the older, but he felt as if only a miracle could do so.
“You can’t do this to me… Don’t leave me like this, Geng… WAKE UP! OPEN YOUR EYES, DO SOMETHING!”
He was screaming by now. His hands gripping Geng’s emotionless face. He barely felt some breath on his skin…
“Big brother?”
Turning around, he saw Jiwon, who was slowly opening the door. Before his mind processed that she was there because of his shouting, she let out an offended scream and hid her eyes with her hands, her foot closing the door as much as she could. Oh, yeah, they were still naked…
“Jiwonnie… Can you go fetch Leeteuk?!”
The little traumatised voice came over, almost too low:
“That’s Mother’s young doctor?”
“Yes… tell him I have an emergency, now!”
As he heard those quick steps running in the mansion, Siwon wondered if she went there in her nightclothes…
It was probably the case, seeing how quickly Leeteuk had arrived. Siwon had managed to calm down enough to think of putting himself in a pyjama, Geng’s naked, unmoving form carefully wrapped in the bed sheets and covers.
“You guys did it?!” asked Leeteuk when he entered the quarters. Rider was on his heels, the puppy yapping in worry when he reached Geng, tongue poking out to lick the still sweaty face. The dog was trying to wake his owner.
“We… did…”
Siwon wanted to cry. Seated on a chair nearby, his head was in his hands, and he felt… dirty… ashamed… he shouldn’t have done that… he shouldn’t have accepted Geng’s demands… Why had they done that? Yes, it had been good, yes it had been hot and intense…
…but was it worth almost killing Geng?
“He spent too much energy…Siwon, he won’t die… but he is incredibly weak… He’s sleeping right now… I only don’t know how long he can do in that state…”
“He won’t recover?”
“I don’t think so…”
Rider’s whimpering got worse and as the Choi heir looked in the doctor’s eyes, he saw the tears well up. He wanted to scream, rip his hair off his head, wanted to kiss Geng, tell him that he was sorry… but he knew that he wouldn’t answer.
However… those beautiful eyes opened slowly, tiredly. Siwon saw how they were fighting to stay open. Rushing to his lover’s side, he took the fragile head in his hands, his thumb caressing a cheek affectionately.
“You’re gonna be okay, Geng… I’m so sorry…”
Don’t be… okay? I loved it…Most… awesome… night ever…
Geng smiled softly before closing his eyes slowly. He wasn’t tired… he was exhausted. Siwon cradled him close, rubbing his back, careful of the head now resting on his shoulder. He was trembling from weakness, which was scaring the Choi heir. At least he was alive for now…
“Siwon… you should sleep”
“No. If something happens to him while I sleep…”
“What would he say if he was conscious right now?”
“He would tell me to sleep… that he will be okay…”
Leeteuk smiled sadly, his own way of saying “well, now you know what to do”.
“I’ll stay here, so if something is happening, we will know…”
“Thanks…”
Careful of the lithe and trembling body next to his, Siwon hid his nose in Geng’s hair while trying to sleep. He couldn’t lose him… he wouldn’t lose him… He was selfish, but if Geng was to stay in this state… he wanted him to stay like that rather than let him slip in the hands of death…
He got woken up the next morning by his father entering the room, Heechul on his heels.
“So that’s it? The ritual is done?”
That’s it?! Siwon, who had developed so much hatred toward his father since Geng came in their lives, was too afraid to leave the side of his lover or he would certainly have jumped at the old man’s throat. Kyuhyun wasn’t there to keep him away for doing it anymore. How dared he say that? It had been done at the cost of Geng’s lifespan!
Heechul looked totally hurt when he saw Geng’s state, then shot a dark look at the lack of compassion on Siwon’s father’s face. Leeteuk was looking elsewhere, the man being way too angelic to dare to interpose himself in such a discussion.
“Congratulations, son, the Choice Tradition is completely done, you’re a man!”
His father neared the bed and, not caring at the fact that Siwon was protecting Geng as ferociously as the puppy who remembered very well the last thing this man made when he managed to. To everyone’s surprise, the father only patted his son’s shoulder in a prideful manner.
“Now, give him to us so we can finish it for real.”
What?! Finish what?! What did he wanted to do to Geng
“No, Mr.Choi, it’s not necessary to kill him!” cried out Heechul from behind.
What…KILLING GENG?! No way! Never! Over his own dead body!
“That’s the tradition, Heechul! Don’t forget what happened to your great-grandfather when he kept his Choice with him even after his wedding!”
Wait… Heechul’s Great-grandfather? How come he had a Choice to do? Heechul wasn’t a member of one of the Three… His family are the Tradition Executors! However, the expression on the face of Siwon’s childhood friend… Siwon was looking at the scene, clutching Geng’s body against his, the man still deeply asleep… he looked in a vegetative state…
Leeteuk tried to interpose himself in the whole debate of Geng’s fate, a hand on Siwon’s free shoulder, showing his support. He too was against the idea of killing the sleeping one.
“Mr. Choi… Geng will die on his own… his state is very bad right now… he doesn’t have long to live… just let things settle on their own…”
“I do know that your profession keeps you from wanting someone’s death, Doctor… but tradition is tradition… that boy has to be killed in the garden.”
“You won’t have him! NEVER!” shouted Siwon, who felt his whole body shake with fear. His mind was filled with horrifying images of Geng sprawled in the garden’s white lilies, throat cut open and the white petals turning red because of the blood… No… No…
“Stop being stupid, Siwon! HAND HIM OVER!” bellowed the father in return, pulling at his son’s arm to make him let go of Geng. Heechul was trying to pull Mr. Choi away while Leeteuk barely managed to catch Rider before the pup went to bite Siwon’s father once more. The growing animal wasn’t healed enough to get another strong kick. Losing Geng and Rider at the same time wasn’t the sanest thing for Siwon.
“STOP IT!” came the shriek from the door frame. Everyone turned to see Mrs. Choi, utterly pissed, and eyes full of tears. She reached for her husband and slapped her with all her strength, surprising everyone who thought of her as a very weak person. Leeteuk had to look away to hide his smile.
“You got hurt so much by this stupid tradition! Why are you making your own son go through it too? I won’t let you make my child suffer! I hid Jiwon as much as I could, but Siwon being the heir, I couldn’t do nothing but watch you act like a real jerk!”
Siwon kept on clutching at Geng as if he was trying to reassure him, but the unconscious man wasn’t the one who needed reassurance, it was himself. But what did his mother meant… his father had been hurt by the tradition? Surely he had a Choice too, but Siwon had never heard of his father’s own experience.
“I’ll NEVER forgive you for choosing my brother! He had such a brilliant future before you came along and stole him from us!”
Her… brother? He had an uncle? He never heard anything about him… If he had been his father’s Choice had he was… dead? So that’s where the rumour of Mr. Choi killing his own brother! Wait… he killed him…himself?
“As if it wasn’t enough, when it got decided that I would marry you in order to fuse the two Choi branch, the rich and the low one… HE HAD TO BE KILLED! No, you never told me that before you asked my hand, no, never! You already knew he was to die! You said NOTHING!”
“How was I supposed to tell you that! Marry me but your brother will die?! My father would have ripped my head off!”
The debate between the two parents got their audience totally frozen, the three of them (plus Geng) seated on the bed, watching with wide eyes. Siwon had always known something had been going on badly between his parents… but such a thing? Never.
“Your father seemed so much of a monster, I’m happy he died!”
“You should be happy he’s not the one…”
Mrs. Choi interrupted with an indignant tone:
“…who killed my dearest brother? No, you took care of it!”
“I MADE SURE HE DIDN’T SUFFER! He asked me to do it!”
“And now look what you are doing… Why don’t you let Siwon decide of his loved one’s fate?”
She had started crying, clutching at her dress so much her knuckles were white. She was shaking furiously in her attempt to protect her son’s heart. Siwon found that he too had tears in his eyes, Heechul stroking his back, trying to keep him calm. He was lucky to have such an amazing best friend…
It was strange to see the so proud Mr. Choi tremble like that, face scrunched in pain at the memory. He really did that? Killing his own Choice? Siwon knew he would never be able to do that… even if Geng asked him to do it… he would never do it.
“I refuse to see Siwon turn into the heartless bastard you’ve become… You were so kind back then! Do you really want to make your son suffer like yourself did? You’ve been hurting him enough already!”
“I wanted him to get tougher so his downfall wouldn’t be as rough as mine!”
“WHAT DOWNFALL?! YOU’RE HIS FATHER!!! YOU SHOULD BE PROTECTING HIM FROM IT!”
“Stop it… I can’t take it anymore…”
Everyone looked like a bomb had fallen on them when they heard Mr. Choi’s voice give up right before he stormed out of Siwon’s quarters. At the same time, Mrs. Choi started crying, rushing to her son’s side, holding both him and Geng close.
“I never told you enough that I love you, Siwonnie…”
“It’s…. It’s okay Mother…”
“Your father won’t come back for Geng… Take care of him, okay?”
“I’m… trying…”
He smiled sadly before his lips reached for Geng’s nearest cheek.
“He’s leaving you, isn’t he?” came the sad whisper of his mother, who was playing in his hair before she showed Leeteuk and Heechul to wait before they went out.
“I fear so…”
“He’s a tough one… Love him just enough and he’ll fight to stay with you…”
She kissed her son’s forehead as she lift herself from the bed, wiping her tears, then turned toward Heechul and Leeteuk who had been in the doorway.
“Heechul, you stay with him… Leeteuk, I have a few questions to ask you…”
Once Mrs. Choi and her doctor left, Heechul sat by his best friend’s side, putting a hand on his muscular hand.
“Guess you want explanation about my great-grandfather, now?”
“I would like that, yeah… but wait…”
Geng was slipping from his grip, and that’s when Siwon realised that, under the covers, the man was still naked. Carefully, he laid him on the bed, replaced the covers with dedication before taking the frail and slightly shaking hand in his. He needed to touch Geng somehow… he was persuaded that the other could feel it in his deep sleep, and that he needed it. He knew he probably needed it more than Geng did, but he had to try.
“Okay. Now, I want explanations, Princess.”
Heechul sighed and passed a hand the part of his ponytail that was resting on his shoulder. He was searching for his words. He was so calm, almost sheepish. Was it that big? A secret that Siwon didn’t know about, while he thought that they knew each other by heart, without a single thing hidden… how could he?
“My family was as high as yours, Wonnie… Back then, they were the Four… The Cho, the Choi, the Kim of the North, which is Yesung’s family… and us, the Kim of the South. We were the second in rank, your family before us, Kyuhyun’s right after. Back then, Yesung’s great-great-grandfather was a lame head, so they weren’t worth much…”
His eyebrows probably shot high without him thinking about it since Heechul snorted and slapped his arm… which was usually what he did when he was exasperated by Siwon’s gestures.
“Yeah… so my great-grandfather… like you, he had a Choice to make. He chose a beautiful young man, who was always by his side, always helping everyone… the whole family loved him dearly…”
Siwon thought of Zhou Mi, the way he had made his way into Kyuhyun’s family…
“My great-grandfather was a very shy man, and he tended to not be able to express himself properly… but his Choice was there, speaking for him when he couldn’t… He was so grateful for that…”
The way Ryeowook’s hand would close around Yesung’s, smiling at him when the heir was mumbling, before the chosen one’s soft voice would speak for the both of them…
“Knowing that the tradition ended with sexual intercourse, they had waited for a long time, wanting the both of them to be ready, to accept the consequences of what they would do… they loved each other very dearly, the idea of being away from each other was unbearable… my father told me that if they had been able to, they would have planned their death together…. To leave this world at the same time…”
And now he thought of himself and Geng… being separated from the other was like dying… Geng couldn’t leave him… he simply couldn’t…
“But then the Death Ritual of the Choice Tradition fell on them… and my great-grandfather refused to let them kill his lover… and since the whole family liked him… no one had the heart to end his life… so they decided to jump over the tradition, and to save him.”
How he wished that his family would do that for Geng… if he survived, that is. Now, he had to think like that. Geng couldn’t die.
“When the other families learned about it… it was chaos. Traditions had to be followed, and doing exceptions wasn’t an option. So your family… since they were so imposing… and they still are… they crushed mine down. Said we weren’t worthy to be a prestigious family like yours was… and to punish us from being disrespectful to traditions, they made us the tradition executors… make sure we would remember that they had to be followed…”
Heechul sighed and got up from the bed, walking around the room. Siwon was shocked… his best friend could have been of the same status as his? Somehow, he was happy to know that he wasn’t the only one who had really fallen for his chosen one… however, Kyuhyun and Yesung…
“Wait! Yesung and Kyuhyun chosen before me!”
“Yeah…so?”
Heechul wasn’t sure to know where Siwon going, but the heir was getting frantic.
“Geng and I waited for a long time before having sex! And… Kyuhyun and Mi! They were going home for a last piece of tradition! The Death Ritual! And Yesung and Ryeowook, they were afraid of something! Had they done it but refused to say it?!”
Heechul smiled in a knowing way before coming back to the bed. He slowly patted Siwon’s shoulder with a reassuring smile before smirking in his “I know everything” way… Siwon didn’t make a case out of it, he was used to it… Heechul always felt superior when he had an advance on his younger friend, but he never meant it in a mean way.
“Yesung and Ryeowook had already done it… and Yesung told his father while they were here… this is why he was mumbling so much all along… and that Ryeowook was clutching his hand so much!”
“Yes… but don’t worry… Ryeowook is alive. Yesung told his father that he wanted to do it on his own, that he wanted to wait for his little darling to sleep and not suspect anything… In the middle of the night, Ryeowook escaped and came to seek protection of my family. Yesung told his father that he had drowned Wookie’s body in the lake where he went to sing”
“and Mi?”
“Kyuhyun told me that Mi sensed it… told Kyuhyun that he had to leave, not to wait for him. In the morning, when Kyuhyun’s family came to end Mi’s life… he was gone. I think that he went back to his motherland. If only I had known, I would have told him to take Geng along…”
Taking Geng away…
“Geng would have liked that… but…”
No. Siwon wouldn’t have been able to accept that. He wanted the man close, so he could care for him by himself. He wanted to be able to hold him at night, to whisper sweet nonsense in his ears. Wanted to make him laugh by chasing Rider away…
“I know Siwon… he would probably want you to take him there… The Empire is quite big, though… they probably don’t come from the same place.”
The Silk Empire… that was where Geng came from? The knew that this place had been hit hard by many civil wars… Somehow he was happy that Geng was here with him… Who could survive a civil war while being ill?
“Heechul… do you mind… leaving me with Geng?”
“Aish, I see… Now that you have the info you need…”
“Oh come on”
“Yeah yeah I know…”
Heechul left in a very theatrical way and for Siwon, it was the signal to take a nap next to his still sleeping lover…
Days passed and Geng wasn’t improving. He hadn’t opened his eyes since he had done so to tell Siwon he had liked their experience together, which was scaring the Choi heir that his lover would never open them again. He could spend days holding Geng, kissing him, hoping he would answer but knowing that it wasn’t possible. Leeteuk had told him that Geng was stable, but that it could change from one moment to another.
One day he woke up and… Geng was having spasms.
Panic flew through him until he realised that his love was fighting to breathe… oxygen didn’t want to enter? Quickly, he linked his mouth to his treasure’s, blowing air in his lungs, helping him to breathe…
“Come on, Geng… you can do it…”
He had expected it to happen… Geng had been breathing less and less… Suddenly it seemed as if his lungs fully expanded as he took a deep breath, which made Siwon sigh with relief.
“Don’t scare me like that, my love…”
He was ready to do anything for Geng to recover… anything.
The following day, he had taken Geng out in the garden. Leeteuk believed that being outside would help because of the pure air. However, the sun was strong and he feared that it would burn Geng’s delicate skin. As he was taking him back in bed, he heard a lots of horses running over. What was going on? They expected no one.
Outside was a full cavalry with a richly dressed man at his head. The man was clearly a foreigner. Siwon’s father was already outside, watching the intruder with angry eyes.
“Who are you?! What are you doing on my lands?!”
The man jumped down his horse. Whoa… he was gracious…
“I am the Silk Emperor”
What?! Why was he here?!
“I heard that in this mansion lives my nephew”
IF YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS THAT ARE UNANSWERED BY NOW, PLEASE WRITE IN YOUR COMMENTS, SO I MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE ANSWERED IN CHAPTER 18!
Title: Love needs no words
Part: 17 of 18
Pairing: Sihan, QMi, Kangteuk, Yewook
Rating: PG-13 all over, unless mentioned differently
Disclamer: I own no one!
Summary: What happens when the heir of one the most powerful families discovers something he shouldn’t have? Years-long traditions are changed and family secrets are revealed.
« Come on… Geng! You have to wake up! »
Panicked, Siwon kept on gripping his lover’s face, hoping to have a reaction, but Geng’s sweaty body wasn’t responding at all. They just had their most intense moment together… and Geng was out of it even before Siwon could tell him how good it was…
“You have to open your eyes, Geng! Open your eyes!”
He felt like he would throw up, his heart pounding so hard in his chest that it was giving him nausea. He couldn’t have killed his lover because he had been too rough? Geng told him that he was able to take it!
Tears welled up in his eyes as his hands reached for the blanket, hoping it would help the older, but he felt as if only a miracle could do so.
“You can’t do this to me… Don’t leave me like this, Geng… WAKE UP! OPEN YOUR EYES, DO SOMETHING!”
He was screaming by now. His hands gripping Geng’s emotionless face. He barely felt some breath on his skin…
“Big brother?”
Turning around, he saw Jiwon, who was slowly opening the door. Before his mind processed that she was there because of his shouting, she let out an offended scream and hid her eyes with her hands, her foot closing the door as much as she could. Oh, yeah, they were still naked…
“Jiwonnie… Can you go fetch Leeteuk?!”
The little traumatised voice came over, almost too low:
“That’s Mother’s young doctor?”
“Yes… tell him I have an emergency, now!”
As he heard those quick steps running in the mansion, Siwon wondered if she went there in her nightclothes…
It was probably the case, seeing how quickly Leeteuk had arrived. Siwon had managed to calm down enough to think of putting himself in a pyjama, Geng’s naked, unmoving form carefully wrapped in the bed sheets and covers.
“You guys did it?!” asked Leeteuk when he entered the quarters. Rider was on his heels, the puppy yapping in worry when he reached Geng, tongue poking out to lick the still sweaty face. The dog was trying to wake his owner.
“We… did…”
Siwon wanted to cry. Seated on a chair nearby, his head was in his hands, and he felt… dirty… ashamed… he shouldn’t have done that… he shouldn’t have accepted Geng’s demands… Why had they done that? Yes, it had been good, yes it had been hot and intense…
…but was it worth almost killing Geng?
“He spent too much energy…Siwon, he won’t die… but he is incredibly weak… He’s sleeping right now… I only don’t know how long he can do in that state…”
“He won’t recover?”
“I don’t think so…”
Rider’s whimpering got worse and as the Choi heir looked in the doctor’s eyes, he saw the tears well up. He wanted to scream, rip his hair off his head, wanted to kiss Geng, tell him that he was sorry… but he knew that he wouldn’t answer.
However… those beautiful eyes opened slowly, tiredly. Siwon saw how they were fighting to stay open. Rushing to his lover’s side, he took the fragile head in his hands, his thumb caressing a cheek affectionately.
“You’re gonna be okay, Geng… I’m so sorry…”
Don’t be… okay? I loved it…Most… awesome… night ever…
Geng smiled softly before closing his eyes slowly. He wasn’t tired… he was exhausted. Siwon cradled him close, rubbing his back, careful of the head now resting on his shoulder. He was trembling from weakness, which was scaring the Choi heir. At least he was alive for now…
“Siwon… you should sleep”
“No. If something happens to him while I sleep…”
“What would he say if he was conscious right now?”
“He would tell me to sleep… that he will be okay…”
Leeteuk smiled sadly, his own way of saying “well, now you know what to do”.
“I’ll stay here, so if something is happening, we will know…”
“Thanks…”
Careful of the lithe and trembling body next to his, Siwon hid his nose in Geng’s hair while trying to sleep. He couldn’t lose him… he wouldn’t lose him… He was selfish, but if Geng was to stay in this state… he wanted him to stay like that rather than let him slip in the hands of death…
He got woken up the next morning by his father entering the room, Heechul on his heels.
“So that’s it? The ritual is done?”
That’s it?! Siwon, who had developed so much hatred toward his father since Geng came in their lives, was too afraid to leave the side of his lover or he would certainly have jumped at the old man’s throat. Kyuhyun wasn’t there to keep him away for doing it anymore. How dared he say that? It had been done at the cost of Geng’s lifespan!
Heechul looked totally hurt when he saw Geng’s state, then shot a dark look at the lack of compassion on Siwon’s father’s face. Leeteuk was looking elsewhere, the man being way too angelic to dare to interpose himself in such a discussion.
“Congratulations, son, the Choice Tradition is completely done, you’re a man!”
His father neared the bed and, not caring at the fact that Siwon was protecting Geng as ferociously as the puppy who remembered very well the last thing this man made when he managed to. To everyone’s surprise, the father only patted his son’s shoulder in a prideful manner.
“Now, give him to us so we can finish it for real.”
What?! Finish what?! What did he wanted to do to Geng
“No, Mr.Choi, it’s not necessary to kill him!” cried out Heechul from behind.
What…KILLING GENG?! No way! Never! Over his own dead body!
“That’s the tradition, Heechul! Don’t forget what happened to your great-grandfather when he kept his Choice with him even after his wedding!”
Wait… Heechul’s Great-grandfather? How come he had a Choice to do? Heechul wasn’t a member of one of the Three… His family are the Tradition Executors! However, the expression on the face of Siwon’s childhood friend… Siwon was looking at the scene, clutching Geng’s body against his, the man still deeply asleep… he looked in a vegetative state…
Leeteuk tried to interpose himself in the whole debate of Geng’s fate, a hand on Siwon’s free shoulder, showing his support. He too was against the idea of killing the sleeping one.
“Mr. Choi… Geng will die on his own… his state is very bad right now… he doesn’t have long to live… just let things settle on their own…”
“I do know that your profession keeps you from wanting someone’s death, Doctor… but tradition is tradition… that boy has to be killed in the garden.”
“You won’t have him! NEVER!” shouted Siwon, who felt his whole body shake with fear. His mind was filled with horrifying images of Geng sprawled in the garden’s white lilies, throat cut open and the white petals turning red because of the blood… No… No…
“Stop being stupid, Siwon! HAND HIM OVER!” bellowed the father in return, pulling at his son’s arm to make him let go of Geng. Heechul was trying to pull Mr. Choi away while Leeteuk barely managed to catch Rider before the pup went to bite Siwon’s father once more. The growing animal wasn’t healed enough to get another strong kick. Losing Geng and Rider at the same time wasn’t the sanest thing for Siwon.
“STOP IT!” came the shriek from the door frame. Everyone turned to see Mrs. Choi, utterly pissed, and eyes full of tears. She reached for her husband and slapped her with all her strength, surprising everyone who thought of her as a very weak person. Leeteuk had to look away to hide his smile.
“You got hurt so much by this stupid tradition! Why are you making your own son go through it too? I won’t let you make my child suffer! I hid Jiwon as much as I could, but Siwon being the heir, I couldn’t do nothing but watch you act like a real jerk!”
Siwon kept on clutching at Geng as if he was trying to reassure him, but the unconscious man wasn’t the one who needed reassurance, it was himself. But what did his mother meant… his father had been hurt by the tradition? Surely he had a Choice too, but Siwon had never heard of his father’s own experience.
“I’ll NEVER forgive you for choosing my brother! He had such a brilliant future before you came along and stole him from us!”
Her… brother? He had an uncle? He never heard anything about him… If he had been his father’s Choice had he was… dead? So that’s where the rumour of Mr. Choi killing his own brother! Wait… he killed him…himself?
“As if it wasn’t enough, when it got decided that I would marry you in order to fuse the two Choi branch, the rich and the low one… HE HAD TO BE KILLED! No, you never told me that before you asked my hand, no, never! You already knew he was to die! You said NOTHING!”
“How was I supposed to tell you that! Marry me but your brother will die?! My father would have ripped my head off!”
The debate between the two parents got their audience totally frozen, the three of them (plus Geng) seated on the bed, watching with wide eyes. Siwon had always known something had been going on badly between his parents… but such a thing? Never.
“Your father seemed so much of a monster, I’m happy he died!”
“You should be happy he’s not the one…”
Mrs. Choi interrupted with an indignant tone:
“…who killed my dearest brother? No, you took care of it!”
“I MADE SURE HE DIDN’T SUFFER! He asked me to do it!”
“And now look what you are doing… Why don’t you let Siwon decide of his loved one’s fate?”
She had started crying, clutching at her dress so much her knuckles were white. She was shaking furiously in her attempt to protect her son’s heart. Siwon found that he too had tears in his eyes, Heechul stroking his back, trying to keep him calm. He was lucky to have such an amazing best friend…
It was strange to see the so proud Mr. Choi tremble like that, face scrunched in pain at the memory. He really did that? Killing his own Choice? Siwon knew he would never be able to do that… even if Geng asked him to do it… he would never do it.
“I refuse to see Siwon turn into the heartless bastard you’ve become… You were so kind back then! Do you really want to make your son suffer like yourself did? You’ve been hurting him enough already!”
“I wanted him to get tougher so his downfall wouldn’t be as rough as mine!”
“WHAT DOWNFALL?! YOU’RE HIS FATHER!!! YOU SHOULD BE PROTECTING HIM FROM IT!”
“Stop it… I can’t take it anymore…”
Everyone looked like a bomb had fallen on them when they heard Mr. Choi’s voice give up right before he stormed out of Siwon’s quarters. At the same time, Mrs. Choi started crying, rushing to her son’s side, holding both him and Geng close.
“I never told you enough that I love you, Siwonnie…”
“It’s…. It’s okay Mother…”
“Your father won’t come back for Geng… Take care of him, okay?”
“I’m… trying…”
He smiled sadly before his lips reached for Geng’s nearest cheek.
“He’s leaving you, isn’t he?” came the sad whisper of his mother, who was playing in his hair before she showed Leeteuk and Heechul to wait before they went out.
“I fear so…”
“He’s a tough one… Love him just enough and he’ll fight to stay with you…”
She kissed her son’s forehead as she lift herself from the bed, wiping her tears, then turned toward Heechul and Leeteuk who had been in the doorway.
“Heechul, you stay with him… Leeteuk, I have a few questions to ask you…”
Once Mrs. Choi and her doctor left, Heechul sat by his best friend’s side, putting a hand on his muscular hand.
“Guess you want explanation about my great-grandfather, now?”
“I would like that, yeah… but wait…”
Geng was slipping from his grip, and that’s when Siwon realised that, under the covers, the man was still naked. Carefully, he laid him on the bed, replaced the covers with dedication before taking the frail and slightly shaking hand in his. He needed to touch Geng somehow… he was persuaded that the other could feel it in his deep sleep, and that he needed it. He knew he probably needed it more than Geng did, but he had to try.
“Okay. Now, I want explanations, Princess.”
Heechul sighed and passed a hand the part of his ponytail that was resting on his shoulder. He was searching for his words. He was so calm, almost sheepish. Was it that big? A secret that Siwon didn’t know about, while he thought that they knew each other by heart, without a single thing hidden… how could he?
“My family was as high as yours, Wonnie… Back then, they were the Four… The Cho, the Choi, the Kim of the North, which is Yesung’s family… and us, the Kim of the South. We were the second in rank, your family before us, Kyuhyun’s right after. Back then, Yesung’s great-great-grandfather was a lame head, so they weren’t worth much…”
His eyebrows probably shot high without him thinking about it since Heechul snorted and slapped his arm… which was usually what he did when he was exasperated by Siwon’s gestures.
“Yeah… so my great-grandfather… like you, he had a Choice to make. He chose a beautiful young man, who was always by his side, always helping everyone… the whole family loved him dearly…”
Siwon thought of Zhou Mi, the way he had made his way into Kyuhyun’s family…
“My great-grandfather was a very shy man, and he tended to not be able to express himself properly… but his Choice was there, speaking for him when he couldn’t… He was so grateful for that…”
The way Ryeowook’s hand would close around Yesung’s, smiling at him when the heir was mumbling, before the chosen one’s soft voice would speak for the both of them…
“Knowing that the tradition ended with sexual intercourse, they had waited for a long time, wanting the both of them to be ready, to accept the consequences of what they would do… they loved each other very dearly, the idea of being away from each other was unbearable… my father told me that if they had been able to, they would have planned their death together…. To leave this world at the same time…”
And now he thought of himself and Geng… being separated from the other was like dying… Geng couldn’t leave him… he simply couldn’t…
“But then the Death Ritual of the Choice Tradition fell on them… and my great-grandfather refused to let them kill his lover… and since the whole family liked him… no one had the heart to end his life… so they decided to jump over the tradition, and to save him.”
How he wished that his family would do that for Geng… if he survived, that is. Now, he had to think like that. Geng couldn’t die.
“When the other families learned about it… it was chaos. Traditions had to be followed, and doing exceptions wasn’t an option. So your family… since they were so imposing… and they still are… they crushed mine down. Said we weren’t worthy to be a prestigious family like yours was… and to punish us from being disrespectful to traditions, they made us the tradition executors… make sure we would remember that they had to be followed…”
Heechul sighed and got up from the bed, walking around the room. Siwon was shocked… his best friend could have been of the same status as his? Somehow, he was happy to know that he wasn’t the only one who had really fallen for his chosen one… however, Kyuhyun and Yesung…
“Wait! Yesung and Kyuhyun chosen before me!”
“Yeah…so?”
Heechul wasn’t sure to know where Siwon going, but the heir was getting frantic.
“Geng and I waited for a long time before having sex! And… Kyuhyun and Mi! They were going home for a last piece of tradition! The Death Ritual! And Yesung and Ryeowook, they were afraid of something! Had they done it but refused to say it?!”
Heechul smiled in a knowing way before coming back to the bed. He slowly patted Siwon’s shoulder with a reassuring smile before smirking in his “I know everything” way… Siwon didn’t make a case out of it, he was used to it… Heechul always felt superior when he had an advance on his younger friend, but he never meant it in a mean way.
“Yesung and Ryeowook had already done it… and Yesung told his father while they were here… this is why he was mumbling so much all along… and that Ryeowook was clutching his hand so much!”
“Yes… but don’t worry… Ryeowook is alive. Yesung told his father that he wanted to do it on his own, that he wanted to wait for his little darling to sleep and not suspect anything… In the middle of the night, Ryeowook escaped and came to seek protection of my family. Yesung told his father that he had drowned Wookie’s body in the lake where he went to sing”
“and Mi?”
“Kyuhyun told me that Mi sensed it… told Kyuhyun that he had to leave, not to wait for him. In the morning, when Kyuhyun’s family came to end Mi’s life… he was gone. I think that he went back to his motherland. If only I had known, I would have told him to take Geng along…”
Taking Geng away…
“Geng would have liked that… but…”
No. Siwon wouldn’t have been able to accept that. He wanted the man close, so he could care for him by himself. He wanted to be able to hold him at night, to whisper sweet nonsense in his ears. Wanted to make him laugh by chasing Rider away…
“I know Siwon… he would probably want you to take him there… The Empire is quite big, though… they probably don’t come from the same place.”
The Silk Empire… that was where Geng came from? The knew that this place had been hit hard by many civil wars… Somehow he was happy that Geng was here with him… Who could survive a civil war while being ill?
“Heechul… do you mind… leaving me with Geng?”
“Aish, I see… Now that you have the info you need…”
“Oh come on”
“Yeah yeah I know…”
Heechul left in a very theatrical way and for Siwon, it was the signal to take a nap next to his still sleeping lover…
Days passed and Geng wasn’t improving. He hadn’t opened his eyes since he had done so to tell Siwon he had liked their experience together, which was scaring the Choi heir that his lover would never open them again. He could spend days holding Geng, kissing him, hoping he would answer but knowing that it wasn’t possible. Leeteuk had told him that Geng was stable, but that it could change from one moment to another.
One day he woke up and… Geng was having spasms.
Panic flew through him until he realised that his love was fighting to breathe… oxygen didn’t want to enter? Quickly, he linked his mouth to his treasure’s, blowing air in his lungs, helping him to breathe…
“Come on, Geng… you can do it…”
He had expected it to happen… Geng had been breathing less and less… Suddenly it seemed as if his lungs fully expanded as he took a deep breath, which made Siwon sigh with relief.
“Don’t scare me like that, my love…”
He was ready to do anything for Geng to recover… anything.
The following day, he had taken Geng out in the garden. Leeteuk believed that being outside would help because of the pure air. However, the sun was strong and he feared that it would burn Geng’s delicate skin. As he was taking him back in bed, he heard a lots of horses running over. What was going on? They expected no one.
Outside was a full cavalry with a richly dressed man at his head. The man was clearly a foreigner. Siwon’s father was already outside, watching the intruder with angry eyes.
“Who are you?! What are you doing on my lands?!”
The man jumped down his horse. Whoa… he was gracious…
“I am the Silk Emperor”
What?! Why was he here?!
“I heard that in this mansion lives my nephew”