Away (3/?)
Title: Away ; chapter 3
Fandom/Pairing: Super Junior, f(x) ; Heechul/Hankyung
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Heechul's gotten himself into something tangled, he just knows it. Life away from former expectations was supposed to be easier, but so far things are still just complicated.
Note: i enjoyed the cute 'family' interactions in this chapter :)
Word count: 3116
Chapter 3;
Almost
-
At the second motel of their trip, Heechul was on the verge of dying to know where they heck they were headed in the first place. He leaned against the outside railing of the balcony, not really smiling when the middle-aged couple lugged their suitcases past him.
Inside their room, Hankyung was taking a shower, and that seemed like a good time for him to slip out of the room and just be alone for a while. The kids didn't seem to care, either.
Yet for some reason, Heechul found, Hankyung showered fast. Or maybe he was just big on saving the hot water for everyone. That could've been the case. Because it wasn't that long before Heechul's solitude was suddenly interrupted by the opening and closing of their room door.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Heechul turned around, and there was Hankyung, dressed in the same clothes as before, only clinging to his body a tad more. And his hair was still damp, but Hankyung was working on fixing that with the smaller towel he took from around his neck. "I'm fine. Why?"
"You just seem, I don't know, kinda pensive," Hankyung stood next to him, and leaned on the railing as well. "Is there anything you-"
"I've already said too much."
"If you say so."
"I do."
"Okay."
"Ugh, just drop it."
"Drop what?"
"You're being annoying, you know that?"
Hankyung burst into a new round of giggles, sounding like he was proud of himself for being a temporary nuisance to Heechul. Well, he probably was.
"We are going to drive each other crazy," Heechul almost laughed with him. "I just know it."
Hankyung shrugged and turned around, instead resting his his back against the railing and watching Heechul sideways. "At least we'll be crazy together."
"Yeah."
"It's better to be branded insane with someone, no?" Hankyung nudged him.
"True."
"So at least we'll be better off. Once we're crazy together."
"That could be any day now."
"It could."
"As long as I'm still here."
Hankyung chuckled. "As long as you don't run away from us, either."
Heechul narrows his eyes and then rolled them a few seconds after staring at Hankyung's endless grin. "I should've never told you that."
"You would've told me eventually."
"But how do you know that?" Heechul shot back. "You don't. For all you know, I could be some maniac out to kill any kind passersby. Any Good Samaritans who open their nice Hyundai doors open for me to enter. And then I kill the family in their sleep."
"You've had plenty of chances to kill us, Heechul."
"So?"
"You're too attached to finish the job. Especially when it comes to Sulli," Hankyung grinned, and for a second, Heechul almost forgot that they were kidding around. It was probably just something about Hankyung's way of communicating, not fully reaching Heechul's comprehensive mode. At least he understood Hankyung at all.
"There's something I want to ask you."
"Shoot."
"I thought you already figured out I'm too attached to kill you," Heechul stared at him, poker-faced and all, and Hankyung started up a new string of laughter already. "Anyway, I want to be serious for a second."
"Go ahead," Hankyung nodded, standing up straight now. As if to brace himself, perhaps.
"Who is Krystal?"
There was no immediate response. Hankyung seemed puzzled at first, but let it go once he let yesterday's events process through his head once more. No longer confused, Hankyung held in a sigh and faced forward again, the same direction as Heechul.
"Krystal is the other girl in our family."
"Okay. And this is a big deal because?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Hankyung-"
"No, Heechul. Not right now," the air between them suddenly shifted and felt thicker. Like they'd been breathing too much and all the hot air they recycled from each other was starting to suffocate them. Hankyung drew closer to the room. "It's just not something you tell someone you met this recently, you know."
"Alright."
"We should go to sleep. I kind of want to leave somewhat early. That okay?"
Heechul hesitated. "Sure."
Once they were inside again, Hankyung kept insisting that Heechul sleep on one of the beds, and he could sleep on the floor. He didn't mind. Heechul did mind, though, he thought it was dumb that Hankyung kept being like this. They'd had a shorter argument at the last motel, with Heechul reigning champion from that one. But sleeping had been crowded, and Heechul didn't exactly like having Kyuhyun's elbow in his face the whole night and Hankyung's foot accidentally shoving his feet off the side at one point in the evening. It'd been interesting.
"I'm sleeping on the floor," Hankyung said, as if it were the final statement of the 'argument.'
Heechul was not happy, and it took him an extra moment to come up from his irritation. Losing arguments would never be something he could be fond of, not ever. And part of him wanted to sleep on the floor just to piss off Hankyung. Nevertheless, he laid down next to Donghae, who perhaps was slowly starting to warm up to him, and as Hankyung curled up on the floor in between the two beds, Heechul suddenly felt uneasy. It didn't feel right, seeing him like this, no matter how short of a time he'd known Hankyung.
It was hard for Heechul to sleep that night, and he couldn't pick out any sort of reason. He squirmed every now and then, and Donghae was either a light sleeper or a copycat. Heechul didn't like facing Donghae, but the other direction meant possibly having Hankyung in at least his peripheral vision. This was starting to get to be too much, and even with this small task of sleeping. The sheets weren't all that uncomfortable, and Donghae had an even amount of body heat, and there was just barely enough space to fit-not entirely unsatisfactory, albeit Heechul wasn't pleased about it.
Finally, when the clock read 3:56am, Heechul half-rolled off the bed, not even wanting to know what his hair looked like, and crouched down next to Hankyung, who was still fast asleep. His mouth was open slightly.
Idiot, Heechul thought as stretched out at Hankyung's side, fitting in the space between him and the bed Heechul had crawled out of. The floor was much less comfortable than the bed, as Heechul had figured, but the lack of comfort for Heechul suddenly subsided when he rested his head against his elbow. He could close his eyes for what was left of the night.
-
"What are you doing?"
Heechul opened his eyes, staring upwards at the groggy blur in his direct line of vision. Seconds later, the blur revealed itself as Hankyung, peering curiously down at him. Heechul watched him blink a few more times before he opened his mouth. "What do you mean?"
"You're on the floor," Hankyung blinked again. "I said you should sleep on the bed."
"I couldn't sleep there."
Hankyung seemed confused. Very. "And the floor was better?"
"I was sleeping, wasn't I?"
Still confused, or at least somewhat annoyed that Heechul hadn't done what he'd asked. Then again, they were mere strangers a few days ago, and obedience wasn't something you just gain after two nights of sleeping in the same room. Or at all.
"Oppa, are we almost there?" Sulli curled herself over the side of the bed, arms dangling towards the floor. "I'm tired of being in the car all day."
"We are," Hankyung touched her hand. "We're almost there. I promise, just a few more hours."
"Okay."
"This is the last motel we're staying in, okay?"
"Okay," she said again.
"Alright, kiddo, time to get up," he rose to his feet, putting his hands under Sulli's arms and lifting her out of bed. She clung to him like a baby bear, and he gave a fake grunt. "You're getting so heavy. Stop growing."
Heechul's bones ached as he stood up as well, back and knees cracking one after the other. Donghae was there, all alone in the bed, appearing to have opened his eyes that second they were at the same eye level. Hankyung was busy waking up the other boys, while Sulli slid out of his arms and bounded into the bathroom before Heechul could claim it. Heechul sighed and went over to dig the hairbrush out of his bag.
As he sat on the edge of the bed and began to untangle his hair he was supposed to share with Donghae, he saw Hankyung's face turn gentler as he put his hand to Kyuhyun's shoulder and sat at his side. Henry nearly fell out of the bed, contrasting with the way something wet and small strode down Kyuhyun's cheek.
Hankyung appeared to be attempting to soothe him, rubbing circles along his back. "It's okay, it's okay."
"Hyung, we left her."
"Kyuhyun-"
"We left her behind, we left her there, hyung, it's not okay, it could never be okay," Kyuhyun croaked out, even as Hankyung tried to shush him and hold him closer. But Kyuhyun wasn't having it, and he pushed Hankyung's arms away. Part of Heechul wanted to stand up and snap at the boy not to do such, but he stayed put. Even though he felt as if he shouldn't be watching them like this.
"Kyuhyun, let's not talk about this now. Krystal will be fine," Hankyung put his other hand underneath Kyuhyun's chin. "What's happening is only for now."
He began to cling to Hankyung's shirt, one hand at the sleeve, another almost at his collar. But Kyuhyun's voice was not angry, it was nothing but 100% worried, and something desperate. "Hyung, you need to promise me we aren't ditching her."
Hankyung's face turned forlorn. "I couldn't do that to her. I promise, Kyuhyun, I'm going back for her. Just wait. Just wait a little longer," and this time, the younger boy accepted his hyung's arms. Heechul felt like a voyeur of what seemed to be such a private conversation. So he pretended to be absorbed in his task of hairbrushing, and Donghae seemed to be half ready to fall back asleep.
Hankyung tapped Heechul's knee with his fot before he crouched down. "Sorry about that," he whispered.
Heechul feigned ignorance. "About what?" he paused for a few seconds. "Oh. No, it's none of my business, no need to apologize," he waved his hand, very blasé as he wished to come off as.
"Alright," Hankyung clicked his tongue. "Well, when Sulli's done in the bathroom, we'll head out. It should only take a short while before we're there, though."
"Where are we going, anyway?"
"Just a small town, a friend of mine lives there," Hankyung stood up again to change his shirt, it seemed, since he was taking off the one he slept in. "It's a nice place, and it's been a while since I've seen her."
"Any decent places to shop around there?"
"You should talk to her about that. When we get there," he said, slipping on his new shirt. Gray. Heechul thought it looked nice on him as he put away his brush and started to change some clothes as well. It was awkward of course, changing in a room full of people he barely knew, but all he had to do was think about high school. Changing in the locker rooms. Heechul decided he preferred his current situation to that, though.
Sulli came back out of the bathroom, fresh-faced and more awake than before as she reattached herself to Hankyung.
"Everyone ready to go?" he asked. "Donghae, come on, time to get up, you too Kyuhyun. Even Henry's already awake! Come on, out of bed," Hankyung laughed, Sulli dragging herself along with him as he trudged over to each boy and pretty much pulled the covers away and the bodies out of their half-scratchy motel beds. Kyuhyun grunted and flopped onto the floor, forcing Henry and Donghae into a fit of sheer amusement that had even Heechul smiling to himself. But he soon put the grin away and pulled his bag onto his shoulder.
It took a little extra time for the younger boys to be fully ready, and even when everyone was at the door, about to go out, none of them were fully awake except for Hankyung and Sulli. And Heechul assumed an awake enough state.
"So how much longer?" asked Heechul.
"An hour, I think. Sorry, I never mentioned that I've been taking the long way-this trip usually isn't so long."
"All the more reason to hate you," Heechul rolled his eyes and walked out as Hankyung opened the door, his mouth in a partial smirk.
"Actually it was more like a winding trail, therefore way longer than it could have been even if we took the long way."
"Now you're just being cruel."
"It's the truth," Hankyung turned off the room's lights and shut the door.
"Couldn't you tell me this after we'd reached our destination?"
Hankyung shrugged. "It wouldn't have been as much fun if I waited to do that."
It wasn't long before all of them piled into the car again. Again, Kyuhyun assumed the same place in the passenger's seat and Heechul was in the same spot as before, Sulli in his lap again. Hankyung did an unnecessary headcount-there were only six people including him, it shouldn't be that hard to keep track in a car that seats five-and started up the car again.
Donghae turned to face Heechul. "Hyung, do you have any siblings?"
Heechul stared blankly at the kid. "You're talking to me."
"Yeah, I am," Donghae chuckled lightly. "Why wouldn't I?"
"You're confusing."
"Hyung, you're funny."
"Yah, I wasn't trying to be funny."
"Oppa, I want to know, too," Sulli chimed in.
Heechul pulled his neck back a little to get a better look at her face; it didn't work out that well. "Know what?"
"If you have siblings," Donghae repeated. The teen was smiling at him now, Heechul didn't understand at all. There'd been such little time for Hankyung to have talked to him about the aspects of being friendly towards Heechul without Heechul being present to hear it. It was something akin to mind-boggling to him.
"Yeah, I do," Heechul said. "A sister."
"Is she pretty?" Sulli asked.
Heechul resisted saying she was as pretty as he was-that was a joke reserved for people who actually knew his family, not half-strangers. They weren't really strangers anymore. "She is."
"Where is she?" Sulli's fascination continued. Donghae watched with intent, and Henry was facing the window. He was possibly passed out or close to falling asleep again.
"Manhattan."
"Manwhat?" Donghae furrowed his eyebrows.
Kyuhyun turned around in his seat. "It's a place in America, hyung." Kind of like he was saying Even I knew that and Donghae stuck his tongue out at the younger boy.
"Why is she there?" Donghae continued.
Heechul squirmed slightly, he may have loved the spotlight at any other time, but family was not something he was completely comfortable with. Especially at a time like this, especially when he was being reminded that he should probably give Heejin a call. His sister, even when far away, was probably concerned. A concerned Kim Heejin was something Heechul didn't want strutting around the streets of New York City. "She just wanted to go," he said, his only good answer right now. "So Mom and Dad let her go."
Hankyung glanced at him as he came to a stoplight. "Yet they wouldn't let you go."
Pausing, Heechul flared his nostrils and wished that Hankyung didn't have to be so randomly observant. "No. No, they wouldn't."
"But I'm glad Oppa ran away," Sulli wrapped her arms around him as best she could with the seat being in her way. "Because now you're with us."
Honestly, Heechul couldn't help it, not when she was so cute. He always liked cute things, and even though he was never into girls, cute children would always be a favorite of his. So he hugged her back, as discreetly to the others as he could. Nonchalant was the way to go.
"We're almost there," Hankyung piped up from the driver's seat.
Heechul looked out the window. The town was nice, it was quaint but didn't seem like the type of place in the movies that would leave you brainwashed into domesticity the second you turned your back. There were a few nice places to eat-nice by appearance, at least-and when Heechul peered a little further into the distance, he spotted what seemed to be some kind of mall. From afar, it was his best guess, and he hoped it was right. They passed a gas station where a couple of young boys started waving at the car. Did they even know who was in it, or was it just that kind of friendly place?
Hankyung turned a few more times until finally he seemed to be slowing down into a parking space. There was a grocery store right nearby. Convenient, thought Heechul, as Hankyung took the keys from the ignition. Heechul unbuckled himself and Sulli, and she opened the door, hopping out onto the pavement. Somehow, Heechul ended up with a hand on her shoulder, as a constant presence perhaps, from the time they went from the side of the car to the door a small house. It was only two floors, but it was bigger than any apartment Heechul could have afforded, had he chosen to be on his own.
When they all stood at the front, Hankyung knocked on the door a few times, not bothering to ring the doorbell. Heechul gave him a confused look right before the door swung open. And there stood a girl, a teenage girl, a very pretty teenage girl. Who immediately flung her arms around Hankyung and started going off in fast Chinese. Heechul felt like he'd been caught in a whirlwind, and the kids obviously felt the same as Hankyung replied back at the same speed, laughing all the while.
"Guys," Hankyung was still smiling when he let go of the girl. "This is Victoria."
"Hi," she said, waving.
The kids all said hello of course, waving. And Heechul, as awkward as he felt, tried to smile. Victoria smiled as if she never noticed the discomfort in Heechul's stance. There was something infectious about it, and something oddly familiar about the way she greeted Heechul with a one-armed hug.
Hankyung took in the way Heechul smiled back at her and thought it to be beautiful. He closed the door, once everyone was in, and Sulli was holding onto his hand, the way he was used to.
Bringing them here was something he had to feel good about-safe about.
--
i accompanied the end of this chapter with this picture:
cuteness ahoy!
Fandom/Pairing: Super Junior, f(x) ; Heechul/Hankyung
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Heechul's gotten himself into something tangled, he just knows it. Life away from former expectations was supposed to be easier, but so far things are still just complicated.
Note: i enjoyed the cute 'family' interactions in this chapter :)
Word count: 3116
Chapter 3;
Almost
-
At the second motel of their trip, Heechul was on the verge of dying to know where they heck they were headed in the first place. He leaned against the outside railing of the balcony, not really smiling when the middle-aged couple lugged their suitcases past him.
Inside their room, Hankyung was taking a shower, and that seemed like a good time for him to slip out of the room and just be alone for a while. The kids didn't seem to care, either.
Yet for some reason, Heechul found, Hankyung showered fast. Or maybe he was just big on saving the hot water for everyone. That could've been the case. Because it wasn't that long before Heechul's solitude was suddenly interrupted by the opening and closing of their room door.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Heechul turned around, and there was Hankyung, dressed in the same clothes as before, only clinging to his body a tad more. And his hair was still damp, but Hankyung was working on fixing that with the smaller towel he took from around his neck. "I'm fine. Why?"
"You just seem, I don't know, kinda pensive," Hankyung stood next to him, and leaned on the railing as well. "Is there anything you-"
"I've already said too much."
"If you say so."
"I do."
"Okay."
"Ugh, just drop it."
"Drop what?"
"You're being annoying, you know that?"
Hankyung burst into a new round of giggles, sounding like he was proud of himself for being a temporary nuisance to Heechul. Well, he probably was.
"We are going to drive each other crazy," Heechul almost laughed with him. "I just know it."
Hankyung shrugged and turned around, instead resting his his back against the railing and watching Heechul sideways. "At least we'll be crazy together."
"Yeah."
"It's better to be branded insane with someone, no?" Hankyung nudged him.
"True."
"So at least we'll be better off. Once we're crazy together."
"That could be any day now."
"It could."
"As long as I'm still here."
Hankyung chuckled. "As long as you don't run away from us, either."
Heechul narrows his eyes and then rolled them a few seconds after staring at Hankyung's endless grin. "I should've never told you that."
"You would've told me eventually."
"But how do you know that?" Heechul shot back. "You don't. For all you know, I could be some maniac out to kill any kind passersby. Any Good Samaritans who open their nice Hyundai doors open for me to enter. And then I kill the family in their sleep."
"You've had plenty of chances to kill us, Heechul."
"So?"
"You're too attached to finish the job. Especially when it comes to Sulli," Hankyung grinned, and for a second, Heechul almost forgot that they were kidding around. It was probably just something about Hankyung's way of communicating, not fully reaching Heechul's comprehensive mode. At least he understood Hankyung at all.
"There's something I want to ask you."
"Shoot."
"I thought you already figured out I'm too attached to kill you," Heechul stared at him, poker-faced and all, and Hankyung started up a new string of laughter already. "Anyway, I want to be serious for a second."
"Go ahead," Hankyung nodded, standing up straight now. As if to brace himself, perhaps.
"Who is Krystal?"
There was no immediate response. Hankyung seemed puzzled at first, but let it go once he let yesterday's events process through his head once more. No longer confused, Hankyung held in a sigh and faced forward again, the same direction as Heechul.
"Krystal is the other girl in our family."
"Okay. And this is a big deal because?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Hankyung-"
"No, Heechul. Not right now," the air between them suddenly shifted and felt thicker. Like they'd been breathing too much and all the hot air they recycled from each other was starting to suffocate them. Hankyung drew closer to the room. "It's just not something you tell someone you met this recently, you know."
"Alright."
"We should go to sleep. I kind of want to leave somewhat early. That okay?"
Heechul hesitated. "Sure."
Once they were inside again, Hankyung kept insisting that Heechul sleep on one of the beds, and he could sleep on the floor. He didn't mind. Heechul did mind, though, he thought it was dumb that Hankyung kept being like this. They'd had a shorter argument at the last motel, with Heechul reigning champion from that one. But sleeping had been crowded, and Heechul didn't exactly like having Kyuhyun's elbow in his face the whole night and Hankyung's foot accidentally shoving his feet off the side at one point in the evening. It'd been interesting.
"I'm sleeping on the floor," Hankyung said, as if it were the final statement of the 'argument.'
Heechul was not happy, and it took him an extra moment to come up from his irritation. Losing arguments would never be something he could be fond of, not ever. And part of him wanted to sleep on the floor just to piss off Hankyung. Nevertheless, he laid down next to Donghae, who perhaps was slowly starting to warm up to him, and as Hankyung curled up on the floor in between the two beds, Heechul suddenly felt uneasy. It didn't feel right, seeing him like this, no matter how short of a time he'd known Hankyung.
It was hard for Heechul to sleep that night, and he couldn't pick out any sort of reason. He squirmed every now and then, and Donghae was either a light sleeper or a copycat. Heechul didn't like facing Donghae, but the other direction meant possibly having Hankyung in at least his peripheral vision. This was starting to get to be too much, and even with this small task of sleeping. The sheets weren't all that uncomfortable, and Donghae had an even amount of body heat, and there was just barely enough space to fit-not entirely unsatisfactory, albeit Heechul wasn't pleased about it.
Finally, when the clock read 3:56am, Heechul half-rolled off the bed, not even wanting to know what his hair looked like, and crouched down next to Hankyung, who was still fast asleep. His mouth was open slightly.
Idiot, Heechul thought as stretched out at Hankyung's side, fitting in the space between him and the bed Heechul had crawled out of. The floor was much less comfortable than the bed, as Heechul had figured, but the lack of comfort for Heechul suddenly subsided when he rested his head against his elbow. He could close his eyes for what was left of the night.
-
"What are you doing?"
Heechul opened his eyes, staring upwards at the groggy blur in his direct line of vision. Seconds later, the blur revealed itself as Hankyung, peering curiously down at him. Heechul watched him blink a few more times before he opened his mouth. "What do you mean?"
"You're on the floor," Hankyung blinked again. "I said you should sleep on the bed."
"I couldn't sleep there."
Hankyung seemed confused. Very. "And the floor was better?"
"I was sleeping, wasn't I?"
Still confused, or at least somewhat annoyed that Heechul hadn't done what he'd asked. Then again, they were mere strangers a few days ago, and obedience wasn't something you just gain after two nights of sleeping in the same room. Or at all.
"Oppa, are we almost there?" Sulli curled herself over the side of the bed, arms dangling towards the floor. "I'm tired of being in the car all day."
"We are," Hankyung touched her hand. "We're almost there. I promise, just a few more hours."
"Okay."
"This is the last motel we're staying in, okay?"
"Okay," she said again.
"Alright, kiddo, time to get up," he rose to his feet, putting his hands under Sulli's arms and lifting her out of bed. She clung to him like a baby bear, and he gave a fake grunt. "You're getting so heavy. Stop growing."
Heechul's bones ached as he stood up as well, back and knees cracking one after the other. Donghae was there, all alone in the bed, appearing to have opened his eyes that second they were at the same eye level. Hankyung was busy waking up the other boys, while Sulli slid out of his arms and bounded into the bathroom before Heechul could claim it. Heechul sighed and went over to dig the hairbrush out of his bag.
As he sat on the edge of the bed and began to untangle his hair he was supposed to share with Donghae, he saw Hankyung's face turn gentler as he put his hand to Kyuhyun's shoulder and sat at his side. Henry nearly fell out of the bed, contrasting with the way something wet and small strode down Kyuhyun's cheek.
Hankyung appeared to be attempting to soothe him, rubbing circles along his back. "It's okay, it's okay."
"Hyung, we left her."
"Kyuhyun-"
"We left her behind, we left her there, hyung, it's not okay, it could never be okay," Kyuhyun croaked out, even as Hankyung tried to shush him and hold him closer. But Kyuhyun wasn't having it, and he pushed Hankyung's arms away. Part of Heechul wanted to stand up and snap at the boy not to do such, but he stayed put. Even though he felt as if he shouldn't be watching them like this.
"Kyuhyun, let's not talk about this now. Krystal will be fine," Hankyung put his other hand underneath Kyuhyun's chin. "What's happening is only for now."
He began to cling to Hankyung's shirt, one hand at the sleeve, another almost at his collar. But Kyuhyun's voice was not angry, it was nothing but 100% worried, and something desperate. "Hyung, you need to promise me we aren't ditching her."
Hankyung's face turned forlorn. "I couldn't do that to her. I promise, Kyuhyun, I'm going back for her. Just wait. Just wait a little longer," and this time, the younger boy accepted his hyung's arms. Heechul felt like a voyeur of what seemed to be such a private conversation. So he pretended to be absorbed in his task of hairbrushing, and Donghae seemed to be half ready to fall back asleep.
Hankyung tapped Heechul's knee with his fot before he crouched down. "Sorry about that," he whispered.
Heechul feigned ignorance. "About what?" he paused for a few seconds. "Oh. No, it's none of my business, no need to apologize," he waved his hand, very blasé as he wished to come off as.
"Alright," Hankyung clicked his tongue. "Well, when Sulli's done in the bathroom, we'll head out. It should only take a short while before we're there, though."
"Where are we going, anyway?"
"Just a small town, a friend of mine lives there," Hankyung stood up again to change his shirt, it seemed, since he was taking off the one he slept in. "It's a nice place, and it's been a while since I've seen her."
"Any decent places to shop around there?"
"You should talk to her about that. When we get there," he said, slipping on his new shirt. Gray. Heechul thought it looked nice on him as he put away his brush and started to change some clothes as well. It was awkward of course, changing in a room full of people he barely knew, but all he had to do was think about high school. Changing in the locker rooms. Heechul decided he preferred his current situation to that, though.
Sulli came back out of the bathroom, fresh-faced and more awake than before as she reattached herself to Hankyung.
"Everyone ready to go?" he asked. "Donghae, come on, time to get up, you too Kyuhyun. Even Henry's already awake! Come on, out of bed," Hankyung laughed, Sulli dragging herself along with him as he trudged over to each boy and pretty much pulled the covers away and the bodies out of their half-scratchy motel beds. Kyuhyun grunted and flopped onto the floor, forcing Henry and Donghae into a fit of sheer amusement that had even Heechul smiling to himself. But he soon put the grin away and pulled his bag onto his shoulder.
It took a little extra time for the younger boys to be fully ready, and even when everyone was at the door, about to go out, none of them were fully awake except for Hankyung and Sulli. And Heechul assumed an awake enough state.
"So how much longer?" asked Heechul.
"An hour, I think. Sorry, I never mentioned that I've been taking the long way-this trip usually isn't so long."
"All the more reason to hate you," Heechul rolled his eyes and walked out as Hankyung opened the door, his mouth in a partial smirk.
"Actually it was more like a winding trail, therefore way longer than it could have been even if we took the long way."
"Now you're just being cruel."
"It's the truth," Hankyung turned off the room's lights and shut the door.
"Couldn't you tell me this after we'd reached our destination?"
Hankyung shrugged. "It wouldn't have been as much fun if I waited to do that."
It wasn't long before all of them piled into the car again. Again, Kyuhyun assumed the same place in the passenger's seat and Heechul was in the same spot as before, Sulli in his lap again. Hankyung did an unnecessary headcount-there were only six people including him, it shouldn't be that hard to keep track in a car that seats five-and started up the car again.
Donghae turned to face Heechul. "Hyung, do you have any siblings?"
Heechul stared blankly at the kid. "You're talking to me."
"Yeah, I am," Donghae chuckled lightly. "Why wouldn't I?"
"You're confusing."
"Hyung, you're funny."
"Yah, I wasn't trying to be funny."
"Oppa, I want to know, too," Sulli chimed in.
Heechul pulled his neck back a little to get a better look at her face; it didn't work out that well. "Know what?"
"If you have siblings," Donghae repeated. The teen was smiling at him now, Heechul didn't understand at all. There'd been such little time for Hankyung to have talked to him about the aspects of being friendly towards Heechul without Heechul being present to hear it. It was something akin to mind-boggling to him.
"Yeah, I do," Heechul said. "A sister."
"Is she pretty?" Sulli asked.
Heechul resisted saying she was as pretty as he was-that was a joke reserved for people who actually knew his family, not half-strangers. They weren't really strangers anymore. "She is."
"Where is she?" Sulli's fascination continued. Donghae watched with intent, and Henry was facing the window. He was possibly passed out or close to falling asleep again.
"Manhattan."
"Manwhat?" Donghae furrowed his eyebrows.
Kyuhyun turned around in his seat. "It's a place in America, hyung." Kind of like he was saying Even I knew that and Donghae stuck his tongue out at the younger boy.
"Why is she there?" Donghae continued.
Heechul squirmed slightly, he may have loved the spotlight at any other time, but family was not something he was completely comfortable with. Especially at a time like this, especially when he was being reminded that he should probably give Heejin a call. His sister, even when far away, was probably concerned. A concerned Kim Heejin was something Heechul didn't want strutting around the streets of New York City. "She just wanted to go," he said, his only good answer right now. "So Mom and Dad let her go."
Hankyung glanced at him as he came to a stoplight. "Yet they wouldn't let you go."
Pausing, Heechul flared his nostrils and wished that Hankyung didn't have to be so randomly observant. "No. No, they wouldn't."
"But I'm glad Oppa ran away," Sulli wrapped her arms around him as best she could with the seat being in her way. "Because now you're with us."
Honestly, Heechul couldn't help it, not when she was so cute. He always liked cute things, and even though he was never into girls, cute children would always be a favorite of his. So he hugged her back, as discreetly to the others as he could. Nonchalant was the way to go.
"We're almost there," Hankyung piped up from the driver's seat.
Heechul looked out the window. The town was nice, it was quaint but didn't seem like the type of place in the movies that would leave you brainwashed into domesticity the second you turned your back. There were a few nice places to eat-nice by appearance, at least-and when Heechul peered a little further into the distance, he spotted what seemed to be some kind of mall. From afar, it was his best guess, and he hoped it was right. They passed a gas station where a couple of young boys started waving at the car. Did they even know who was in it, or was it just that kind of friendly place?
Hankyung turned a few more times until finally he seemed to be slowing down into a parking space. There was a grocery store right nearby. Convenient, thought Heechul, as Hankyung took the keys from the ignition. Heechul unbuckled himself and Sulli, and she opened the door, hopping out onto the pavement. Somehow, Heechul ended up with a hand on her shoulder, as a constant presence perhaps, from the time they went from the side of the car to the door a small house. It was only two floors, but it was bigger than any apartment Heechul could have afforded, had he chosen to be on his own.
When they all stood at the front, Hankyung knocked on the door a few times, not bothering to ring the doorbell. Heechul gave him a confused look right before the door swung open. And there stood a girl, a teenage girl, a very pretty teenage girl. Who immediately flung her arms around Hankyung and started going off in fast Chinese. Heechul felt like he'd been caught in a whirlwind, and the kids obviously felt the same as Hankyung replied back at the same speed, laughing all the while.
"Guys," Hankyung was still smiling when he let go of the girl. "This is Victoria."
"Hi," she said, waving.
The kids all said hello of course, waving. And Heechul, as awkward as he felt, tried to smile. Victoria smiled as if she never noticed the discomfort in Heechul's stance. There was something infectious about it, and something oddly familiar about the way she greeted Heechul with a one-armed hug.
Hankyung took in the way Heechul smiled back at her and thought it to be beautiful. He closed the door, once everyone was in, and Sulli was holding onto his hand, the way he was used to.
Bringing them here was something he had to feel good about-safe about.
--
i accompanied the end of this chapter with this picture:
cuteness ahoy!