your smile makes me crazy
College AU. Yesung never expected to fall for the beautiful boy with the innocent smile.
Pairings: Yewook, slight Hanchul, slight Kyumin
Rated: PG-14 for romance, drama, mentions of violence and alcohol
~
“Come on, Yesung, it’ll be fun,” Heechul said coaxingly, bouncing onto Yesung’s bed as Jonghyun and Key (the inseparable couple who’d been inseparable for forever and probably would stay that way) watched amusedly from the other side of the dorm room.
Yesung hummed noncommittally, scribbling a couple more notes of his song down on a sheet of staff paper. “I know, hyung,” he said without looking up, busy trying to figure out which cadence he should use to lead into the chorus. “But really, I don’t want to go to Leeteuk hyung’s birthday party.”
Heechul sniffed haughtily. “You should be honored that a senior likes you well enough to invite you, a junior, to his birthday party.” When Yesung didn’t respond, he reached over and snatched the music out of Yesung’s lap. “Yah, pay attention when I’m talking to you,” he demanded, but Yesung had been roommates with him long enough (since freshman year) to know that Heechul often threatened but never actually lifted a finger-if he liked you, that was.
Yesung sighed. “Leeteuk hyung always has too much alcohol,” he said honestly, ignoring the snickers that came from the other side of the room. “And it’s such a hassle to clean up after his parties because his friends are too drunk to clean up after themselves.”
Heechul rolled his eyes. “It’s not like the cleanliness of his apartment is your concern, Yesung,” he laughed. “But I think you’re cute for thinking that.”
Yesung wrinkled his nose. He hated being called cute. “Maybe I’ll go.”
Heechul actually grinned. “Cool,” he said lightly, making himself comfortable on Yesung’s bed. “You won’t regret it.”
Yesung maneuvered himself away from Heechul, giving up his bed in the process. “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this,” he muttered under his breath.
~
“Hyung,” Yesung hissed under his breath, elbowing Heechul in the side. “Who’s that boy over there?”
Heechul shrugged, his eyes still fixed on the makeshift dance floor in the middle of Leeteuk’s living room. Yesung followed his gaze and smirked when he saw who Heechul was staring at-Hankyung and Taemin (but mostly Hankyung of course), the two dancers everyone had heard of as the best in the whole of SM University.
Yesung wove his way through the crowd instead of trying to get Heechul’s attention again, looking for the boy who’d caught his eye earlier. Leeteuk fell into step beside him, cheeks flushed with alcohol, grinning at some private joke. “Hey, you looking for someone?”
“Kind of?” Yesung shrugged. “There’s a boy I saw over here earlier, a boy with big brown eyes and high cheekbones...” He trailed off at the grin on Leeteuk’s face.
“Oh, him,” Leeteuk said, laughing. “Good luck, Yesungie,” the senior added lightly, clapping Yesung on the back and winking at him. Before Yesung could say anything, Leeteuk slipped away and struck up a conversation with Kangin. Scowling, Yesung continued searching for the boy, but was soon smiling again when he was accosted briefly by Donghae-and-Hyukjae, who pounced on him as he walked by and playfully demanded candy.
Knowing better than to give them any sort of sugar, he extricated himself with a vague promise of candy later, noticing out of the corner of his eye that the boy he was looking for had gone into the kitchen. He made a face as he walked past Sungmin and Kyuhyun, whose makeout session almost made Yesung wish he were drunk just so he wouldn’t remember seeing it, and stepped into the kitchen.
The boy was leaning against the counter, a glass of soju held loosely in his hand as he listened fondly to the animated chatter of the other boy talking earnestly to him, hands gesturing wildly. For a brief moment, Yesung thought it was Kyuhyun, before remembering that Kyuhyun had a younger twin brother. “Haeko, you’re so cute,” the younger boy laughed when Haeko fell silent, and downed a shot of liquor.
“Are you old enough to be drinking?” Yesung asked before he even realized he’d opened his mouth, and mentally cursed his ineptitude as both boys turned to look at him strangely.
“Not really,” the younger boy replied, a sheepish smile playing around his lips. “Nice of you to care, though. I asked Leeteuk hyung and he said it was okay as long as Haeko made sure I wasn’t doing anything stupid.”
The other boy-Haeko-grinned, patting the younger boy on the head with the familiarity of an old childhood friend. “I always have to babysit him,” he whispered confidentially to Yesung. It was clear from his tone that he really didn’t mind babysitting him, and Yesung felt a little uneasy at the obvious bond between the two boys.
“I can take care of myself, you know,” the younger boy said, pouting slightly. He turned to Yesung, holding out his hand. “I’m Ryeowook, by the way.”
“I’m Yesung,” he replied, shaking Ryeowook’s hand. Ryeowook grinned at him, with a trace of shyness that made Yesung’s heart give a pleased sort of flop in his chest, before he realized he sounded like a teenage girl with her first crush.
“Nice to meet you, Yesung hyung,” Ryeowook said honestly, that sweet innocent smile still on his face. Yesung bit his lip before he could blurt out anything stupid, instead giving Ryeowook’s hand another squeeze before letting it go, and Haeko and Ryeowook returned to the party, leaving Yesung standing alone in the kitchen, trying to calm his fluttering heart.
~
“Awww,” Heechul cooed later that night from the top bunk, after Jonghyun and Key had gone to sleep. “Yesungie, you’re so cute!”
“Shut up,” Yesung muttered, burying his face in his pillow.
“Sweetie, it’s really about time you got a boyfriend,” Heechul continued, either oblivious to or uncaring of the muffled death threats escaping Yesung’s lips. “And from what Leeteuk says, this Ryeowook kid sounds perfect for you...”
Yesung gritted his teeth, rolling over so Heechul could hear him. “And what about you, hyung?” he asked, as innocently as he could. “Don’t you need a boyfriend too?”
Heechul was silent for a few moments, and Yesung smirked into the darkness. Then, “If I wanted a boyfriend, I’d be able to get one easily,” Heechul said flippantly, with his usual arrogance. As the pretty boy of the school, Heechul normally had no shortage of girls or guys throwing themselves at him, hoping for a relationship with ice queen Kim Heechul.
Except for the small problem that the only one Heechul was interested in was Hankyung, ever the shy one, who had never shown any sign of affection towards Heechul or actually even looked him in the eye.
“Then...” Yesung paused to briefly consider the implications of what he was about to say, but his sleep-deprived mind brushed off the consequences. “What if I were to propose a bet?”
“What kind of bet?” Heechul asked eagerly.
Yesung pretended to ponder over it for another minute or two. “Let’s say...whoever gets a boyfriend first wins. The winner gets to reveal the loser’s love interest however he wants.”
Heechul laughed. “Junior, I hope you don’t mind the whole school knowing about you and Ryeowook, because I’m going to win.”
“We’ll see about that,” Yesung replied confidently. “Good night, hyung.”
“Good night.”
~
It just so happened that Ryeowook was majoring in music, the same as Yesung, and the junior was quite pleased when he walked into first period on the first day of classes and, upon checking the roster, found that Ryeowook was in his class.
Ryeowook walked in a few minutes after Yesung sat down, either Haeko or Kyuhyun with him-the whole twin business was getting bothersome, really. Whichever twin it was, he was being remarkably quiet in the current situation, glancing around the classroom full of mostly upperclassmen with the same nervousness as Ryeowook’s.
“Ryeowook,” Yesung called out, waving the two freshmen over to his table. “Ryeowook, you can sit next to me,” he said in a quieter voice when they came closer.
Ryeowook smiled, the same shy smile that had stolen a little of Yesung’s heart at the party a few months before. “I get to sit next to you?” he asked, surprised. “Awesome.” He turned to look at the Cho twin, a look of apology briefly crossing his face. “Sorry, Haeko, guess you’ll have to sit by yourself...”
“It’s okay,” Haeko said cheerfully. “I’ll sit right behind you.”
After the two freshmen had sat down, Yesung turned so that he was facing both Ryeowook and Haeko. “I’m sorry if this is a little awkward, but how am I supposed to tell the difference between Haeko and Kyuhyun?”
Ryeowook muffled a laugh with his hand at the put-out look on Haeko’s face. “Haeko’s going to say that he’s the better-looking one, but obviously, they’re identical.”
Haeko scowled, but there was a glint of laughter in his eye. “My brother’s the one who’s always got Sungmin attached to his hip,” he said, with a sibling’s customary air of disapproval. “Hyung, you know Sungmin, right?”
“We practically grew up together. You mean Lee Sungmin, right, the one who’s majoring in music performance?” Yesung asked, and Haeko nodded.
“Yep, that’s the one. Meanwhile I have to put up with this runt here,” he added teasingly, ruffling Ryeowook’s hair.
Ryeowook looked like he was about to pout, but the professor called the class to order at that moment and the three students quickly turned to face her, eager to at least appear to be good students.
The class was a course in music composition, and Professor Boa believed that the students would work best by teaching themselves. Her first several assignments were group projects, and she reminded them that it was important that they worked together to compose pieces that hopefully showcased their talent. “Learn from your classmates,” she said sternly, looking at all of them. “They’re your future competition.”
Yesung always wanted to work with Ryeowook and Ryeowook always wanted to work with Haeko, so all three ended up in the same group every project and naturally got to know each other well.
~
“Well?” Heechul demanded over winter break, tugging his coat closer around himself as he and Yesung made the quick walk from the practice rooms back to their dorm building, which was mostly empty as most students had gone home for break. “What’s going on with you and Ryeowook?”
“Nothing yet,” Yesung replied neutrally.
Heechul scoffed. “You’re so slow,” he said. “Whoever heard of becoming friends before getting into a relationship?”
Yesung frowned at the senior. “What’s wrong with that?” he wanted to know.
“Nothing, of course,” Heechul said, snorting. “Just, why would you settle for friendship when you could have more?”
Yesung’s frown deepened. “You make it sound like I’m using him as a playtoy,” he said, lowering his voice as they entered the dorms. “I feel guilty even hoping he’d want to be my boyfriend. He seems so young...”
Heechul outright laughed as they climbed the stairs, racing each other to their floor as usual. “I never knew you had a conscience, Yesung,” he teased.
Yesung scowled, purposefully not holding the room door open for Heechul. “Well, what about you?” he asked, hoping to steer the topic away from himself. “How’s Hankyung?”
Heechul sighed dramatically to the empty room, collapsing onto the nearest bed (Key’s; Jonghyun had the top bunk because Key was afraid of heights). “I’m beginning to wonder if he might actually be straight,” he said mournfully.
Yesung forced himself to hold back his laughter, patting Heechul on the back in comfort. “I’m sure he swings your way, hyung,” he assured the senior. “Haven’t you ever heard him fanboy over that Chinese pop star-what’s his name, Zhou Mi or something?”
Heechul perked up at that. “At least he has good taste,” he said, smirking. “Oh, Yesung, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into with this bet...”
~
Yesung hyung, this is Kyuhyun. Sungmin gave me your number. Can you answer something for me? Honestly?
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:33 PM
sure...what is it
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:35 PM
What’s going on with you and Ryeowook?
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:35 PM
nothing
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:41 PM
Oh, then you wouldn’t be interested if I told you that Ryeowook just admitted to my brother that he’s gay?
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:41 PM
...ryeowookie’s in love with haeko isnt he.
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:44 PM
Sorry hyung. I thought you might want to know.
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:44 PM
shit. i knew it.
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:44 PM
Just so you know, Haeko is straight. Our lovely mother made sure of that. *rolls eyes* after I came out to her she went to Haeko and lectured him about how she didn’t want her precious son turning out like me.
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:45 PM
wow. jesus christ, kyuhyun, im so sorry.
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:45 PM
It’s okay, really. At least I can be with Sungmin. ps, Haeko hasn’t actually turned Ryeowook down yet, I think he’s trying not to hurt him too much.
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:46 PM
“At least he’s considerate,” Yesung muttered, thankful that he was alone in the practice room. “Fuck, how am I supposed to explain this to Heechul.”
thanks for telling me. >.<
Sent Friday, March 2, at 2:47 PM
~
The common room was abnormally quiet that evening.
Yesung usually met with Ryeowook and Haeko during the evenings to work on their projects for Professor Boa, and he wasn’t surprised at all when Haeko “couldn’t make it” to the meeting and Ryeowook was distracted and jittery, barely able to focus on whatever harmony line Yesung was suggesting.
Around nine thirty, Yesung gave up. “Ryeowookie,” he said, as gently as he could. “Maybe you should go home and get some sleep.”
Ryeowook shook his head. “I’m fine, hyung, thank you,” he answered dully, but with another sweet smile that ripped Yesung’s heart into pieces.
They tried to work for another half hour, until Kyuhyun turned up in the common room. “Ryeowookie, it’s late,” he said, unusually gently. “You should be asleep.”
Ryeowook sighed, casting a disappointed glance at the almost-blank sheets of staff paper spread across the table. “Okay. Where’s Minnie?”
“He’s already asleep,” Kyuhyun replied, helping Ryeowook gather his papers. “See you tomorrow, Yesung hyung,” he added, and Yesung mumbled an absentminded goodbye, still focused on the music in front of him.
He really didn’t want to go back to his dorm room and face Heechul just yet (the senior knew all the school gossip, and more than likely knew this particular piece already), and was planning to just sleep in the common room, when his cellphone rang.
“Hyung,” Sungmin mumbled, sounding like he’d just woken up. “Are Ryeowook and Kyuhyun with you?”
Yesung felt his stomach drop. “No.”
“Kyuhyun was supposed to be back at least fifteen minutes ago,” Sungmin told him numbly, his voice just a little terrified. “Haeko’s not home either.”
Fuck, Yesung thought. “I’m going to go look for them now,” he assured Sungmin. “Maybe they went to the library or the coffee shop or something.”
“Okay,” Sungmin said shakily. “Call me when you find them.”
Hurriedly picking up his papers, Yesung slung his bag over his shoulder and left the common room, trying to find the way Ryeowook and Kyuhyun would’ve taken back to their dorm. In spite of the bright moonlight, it was cold and dark outside because of the late hour, and Yesung shivered, trying not to think about how Ryeowook was afraid of the dark.
He wasn’t really sure if he was going the right way, but on his second round walking between the two dorm buildings he heard a quiet noise from one of the narrow side streets, sounding almost like a quiet whimper quickly muffled by the rustling of fabric.
“Be quiet,” a vaguely familiar voice hissed from the shadows down the street, and Yesung froze, his heart pounding.
“Please,” another voice cried out. “Stop, please...”
It was Ryeowook.
Yesung broke into a run, sprinting down the street until he was close enough to Ryeowook and his attacker to shove the other boy away from Ryeowook, against the walls of the buildings lining the street. The attacker glanced up at Yesung, briefly, but all Yesung could see was the corner of his mouth before the attacker turned and fled.
Ryeowook was whimpering behind him, curled up on the ground and shivering from terror and cold. He flinched when Yesung reached out to touch him. “Don’t hurt me please,” Ryeowook sobbed, and Yesung recoiled.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Yesung whispered, trying again to reach out to Ryeowook. “I promise, Ryeowookie.”
The younger boy shivered violently in response, wincing with pain as the motion jarred his injuries, and Yesung ignored Ryeowook’s weak protests in favor of picking the younger boy up, carrying him bridal-style. He was more than a little frightened by how small and light Ryeowook was in his arms and how cold Ryeowook’s skin was, and he took his jacket off and wrapped it around Ryeowook, avoiding the bleeding cuts on his face and arms.
Yesung’s dorm was closer, so Yesung rushed Ryeowook back to his building, kicking at the door of his dorm room with his foot as both of his hands were occupied. “Heechul hyung, open up please,” he called quietly, praying that this was one of Heechul’s good mood days.
There were footsteps inside the room and then Key opened the door, scowling. “Heechul hyung’s out with his friends,” he announced brusquely, flicking his hair haughtily. “Yesung, it’s like, ten thirty and-” He broke off abruptly when he caught sight of Ryeowook in Yesung’s arms, almost unmoving, the harsh lights of the hallway clearly illuminating the bruises and blood across his skin. “Oh my God,” Key gasped, his reprimand forgotten.
Yesung pushed past a still-stunned Key and headed for the bathroom to dampen a towel, gently dabbing at Ryeowook’s face. “Ryeowookie darling,” he murmured, the endearment slipping out without him even realizing. “Do you want to take a quick shower before you go to sleep? You can borrow some of my clothes if you want.”
Ryeowook shifted slightly in Yesung’s arms. “Okay,” he whispered weakly. “But...hyung, can you stand outside and...make sure no one can come in and hurt me?”
Yesung wasn’t sure whether to feel elated that Ryeowook trusted him so much or terrified that Ryeowook was so frightened, so he settled for a neutral “of course.”
After finding slightly smaller-sized clothes for Ryeowook to borrow, Yesung stood outside the bathroom door and sent Sungmin a quick text to tell him Ryeowook was with him. Sungmin replied immediately, telling him tersely that Kyuhyun and Haeko had returned home not long before, both with painful bumps on their heads which, from what Haeko said, had been given to them by some guy who had wanted to attack Ryeowook and needed to make sure Kyuhyun and Haeko were out of the way first.
Yesung glared at the text, raw hatred pulsing through him at the thought of some guy daring to think he could attack Ryeowook and get away with it.
“Thank you, hyung,” Ryeowook said tiredly a few minutes later, as Yesung tucked him into bed-Yesung’s bed, because the owner of the bed was having a fit of chivalry and insisted he could just sleep on the floor and let Ryeowook have the bed. (He probably could have slept in Heechul’s bed, but Heechul was the type of person who would be angry if he found out someone had touched his things.)
“You’re very welcome, Ryeowook,” Yesung replied gently. “Sleep well, okay?”
“Hyung,” Ryeowook called out as Yesung turned away to his makeshift bed on the floor at the foot of the bunk. “Um...can you sleep with me?” he said in a tiny voice.
Yesung swore (though he’d never tell anyone) that his heart melted at those words. He climbed carefully into the bed, trying not to jostle Ryeowook too much. The younger boy rolled over slowly to curl up against Yesung, wiggling a little to get comfortable. Yesung felt his cheeks turn pink at the close contact, but awkwardly wrapped his arms around Ryeowook anyway. Ryeowook smelled good, a combination of his own shampoo and Yesung’s soap, and Yesung’s stomach flipped over before he forced the feelings down.
Ryeowook was asleep within minutes, his hair splayed out across the pillow, but Yesung couldn’t force himself to stop staring, the moonlight spilling through the window behind him only serving to highlight the perfect beauty of Ryeowook’s face. Hesitantly, Yesung brought a hand up to touch Ryeowook’s cheek, tracing over the cheekbones that had caught his eye the first time he’d seen Ryeowook, and shifted slowly to press a kiss to the corner of Ryeowook’s mouth.
Ryeowook’s lips tasted of blood and mint and honey, and Yesung immediately pulled back when Ryeowook let out a gentle sigh, shifting again in Yesung’s arms. Smiling, Yesung couldn’t help but sneak another soft kiss, this time on Ryeowook’s hair, and then closed his eyes, concentrating on falling asleep.
~
“Yesung,” Key whispered into his ear the next morning, sounding amused. “Heechul hyung has a message for you.”
Yesung opened one eye to glare at Key, much too comfortable with Ryeowook sleeping peacefully in his arms to even think about moving. Key looked like he was barely reining in his laughter at what Yesung was sure was a comical sight-himself, eyeliner probably smudged, hair messed up, and Ryeowook tucked against his chest and sleeping soundly.
“Heechul hyung probably thinks this message is important,” Key hinted.
Yesung made a face, carefully extricating himself from Ryeowook, and got out of bed, going to the bathroom to wash his face before looking at the video chat Key had already set up on his laptop.
Heechul was nowhere to be seen in the pop-up window, but Minho and Taemin, Hankyung’s roommates, were sitting side by side in what appeared to be the dorm hallway, talking quietly.
“Hey guys,” Yesung said, making an effort not to sound or look so sleepy. “What’s this message Heechul has for me?”
Taemin grinned cheekily, poking Minho and gesturing for him to answer. “Heechul hyung would like to tell you that Hankyung hyung confessed to him yesterday and spent the night with him,” Minho reported dryly.
“About time too,” Taemin added airily.
Minho glanced at him. “You mean you knew about this the whole time and didn’t tell me?” he said incredulously. Taemin smiled innocently, and then yelped when Minho tackled him, tickling him mercilessly.
Yesung smiled fondly as he watched the two friends bicker like the married couple they were. When their faces reappeared on the screen, Yesung wrinkled his nose. “Do I want to know what exactly he means by ‘spent the night’?”
Minho chuckled. “Don’t worry, they were concerned about preserving our innocence. They didn’t do anything too...mature, although I definitely did not need to wake up to see them making out on the bed. Plus they just kicked us out of the room and I don’t even want to think about what they might be doing in there.”
Taemin giggled. “I think it’s kind of cute.”
“Aish, you,” Minho growled playfully.
Key had been lying on his bed texting, but now sat up. “Yesung,” he said, laughing. “Let me talk to them.”-at which Taemin and Minho quickly reassembled their expressions into ones of solemnity and respect-“I think your Ryeowook needs tending to.” Key winked, motioning subtly to Yesung’s bed, where Ryeowook was stirring.
Yesung nodded and relinquished the video chat, letting Key have his motherly lecture with his “daughter” (Taemin) and “son-in-law” (Minho). Ryeowook seemed like he was about to panic when he woke up in someone else’s bed, but it only took a glance at Yesung and a few words from him to calm him down.
“Won’t you go see the school nurse?” Yesung asked worriedly, and Ryeowook shook his head, snuggling farther into the cocoon of blankets.
“At least promise me you’ll stay in bed for a few more hours,” Yesung said gently, kissing Ryeowook’s forehead, and was rewarded by a bright smile from the younger boy as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Yesung didn’t remember until hours later, when Heechul cornered him with a smirk, that he’d lost the bet he’d started.
“I’m feeling quite generous today,” Heechul informed him haughtily, but with a tenderness in his eyes that Yesung was completely unused to. “So I’ll let your punishment slide. For now.”
~
A few days later, Ryeowook and Yesung were taking a day off from school, sitting on Yesung’s bed working through music history homework from Professor Yoochun, as well as their respective foreign language exercises from Professors Kangta and Changmin, when there was a knock at the dorm room door. Yesung looked up, surprised; everyone else was at classes and he had no idea who it could be.
Sungmin was waiting with an armful of clothes and books, with Kyuhyun grim-faced behind him, holding more. “For Ryeowookie,” Sungmin said quietly. “I guess since he’s staying here for now I might as well bring his things over.”
Yesung nodded, stepping back to let them in. “Just put it on Key’s bed,” he said, motioning to the bed nearest the door, and Sungmin quite unceremoniously dumped the clothes onto Key’s bed, motioning for Kyuhyun to do the same. Yesung glanced out into the hallway to make sure there weren’t any patrolling teachers who might get Sungmin and Kyuhyun in trouble, and satisfied, shut the door.
Suddenly, there was a muffled thump behind him and Yesung whirled around to see Ryeowook hurriedly scrambling to his feet between the bed and the wall, backing up until his back hit the wall, staring with wide-eyed terror at-
Yesung pushed past Sungmin and rushed to Ryeowook’s side, holding the younger boy tightly. “Shh, Ryeowookie,” he soothed. “What’s wrong?”
Ryeowook trembled in Yesung’s arms. “Don’t let him hurt me again,” he choked out, fingernails digging shallow crescents through Yesung’s shirt into the skin of his waist.
“Who?” Yesung asked, though he thought he already knew the answer.
Ryeowook exhaled shakily as he buried his face in Yesung’s shoulder, his voice barely audible.
“Kyuhyun.”
Yesung pulled back slightly, tipping Ryeowook’s chin up gently to look him in the eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
Then he stepped back, prying Ryeowook’s hands from his waist, and turned, lunging forward to pin Kyuhyun against the wall with an arm across his throat.
“How dare you,” Yesung hissed, his eyes dark and blazing with fury, frightening despite the fact that Kyuhyun was taller than him. “How dare you hurt Ryeowook.”
Sungmin snapped out of his shock and took a few steps forward. “Hyung, please,” he cried out, trying to pull Yesung away from Kyuhyun. Yesung growled, not even sparing a glance at Sungmin, and shoved him roughly, sending him stumbling to the floor. Kyuhyun’s eyes flashed with a brief spark of anger.
“Don’t touch him,” he snapped, with as much energy as he could muster with Yesung cutting off his oxygen supply.
Yesung pressed harder against Kyuhyun’s throat. “Explain yourself,” he said, low and furious. “Why did you hurt Ryeowook?”
Kyuhyun shook his head frantically, his anger replaced by terror. “It wasn’t...me,” he choked out, and Yesung let up on Kyuhyun’s throat slightly so the younger boy could talk. “It wasn’t me, hyung, please believe me.”
Suspicious, Yesung narrowed his eyes. “If it wasn’t you, who was it?”
Trembling, Kyuhyun closed his eyes, as if praying for strength.
“Haeko.”
Ryeowook, having sat back down on the bed, frowned. “I don’t believe you,” he said quietly. “Haeko would never...”
Yesung shook his head, eyeing Kyuhyun coldly while maintaining a tight grip on the other boy’s collar. “It suddenly seems very convenient that you have a twin, doesn’t it?” he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You can just push all the blame onto him.”
Sungmin had gotten to his feet and was watching the whole scene with disbelief. “Kyuhyunnie, how could you?” he whispered tearfully. “Ryeowook trusted you.”
And Kyuhyun-impudent, callous Kyuhyun-blinked back his tears. “Please believe me, hyung,” he said softly, looking pleadingly at his boyfriend. “Sungminnie...Sungmin ah, Haeko threatened to hurt you if I didn’t do what he told me to do.”
Yesung scoffed. “And what, exactly, did he want you to do?”
“He wanted me to pretend to be him for one night,” Kyuhyun said shakily. “After Ryeowook confessed to him...” He paused, glancing fearfully at Yesung. “He made me promise not to tell anyone this or else he’d hurt Sungminnie.”
“Then we’ll just not tell him,” Yesung said dismissively. “Continue. You told me he was trying not to hurt Ryeowook’s feelings.”
Kyuhyun nodded. “That’s what it seemed like he was doing. But after classes he dragged me into an empty theater dressing room and told me that if I didn’t follow his orders exactly, he’d hurt Sungmin.” Kyuhyun paused to take a breath, the fear fading from his eyes. “He apparently inherited our mother’s opinions on people like me.” His expression twisted with disgust. “And Ryeowook, obviously, ‘disgusted him’, and he wanted to teach him a lesson.
“He called you, Yesung hyung, to tell you he couldn’t meet with you two that night. We switched clothes in the bathroom while Sungminnie was getting ready to go to sleep, and he went out pretending to be me, saying that he was going to get Ryeowook, to take him back home. I was supposed to go to sleep after that, pretending to be him.
“Sungminnie had already fallen asleep when I left the dorm, hoping I could stop Haeko from hurting Ryeowook, but when I found them Haeko hit me and knocked me out. I woke up with Haeko standing over me, angry that I had almost messed up what he’d planned. As a cover-up, he told me to hit him hard enough to leave a bruise that matched mine, so it would look like we’d been attacked by someone who was going after Ryeowook. We switched clothes again because he didn’t want Sungminnie treating him as Kyuhyun.”
Ryeowook had been listening in shock, tears falling silently down his face. “I trusted him,” he murmured brokenly. “I trusted him...”
Yesung felt his heart constrict at the quiet despair in Ryeowook’s voice, and let go of Kyuhyun to sit down next to Ryeowook and hug him tightly, wishing he knew how to take away Ryeowook’s pain.
“Sungmin,” he said softly. “Go with Kyuhyun to find Haeko and bring him back here.”
Sungmin nodded, gripping Kyuhyun’s hand, and left the room.
~
“So you’ve found out, I see,” were the first words out of Haeko’s smirking mouth as Sungmin pushed him into the room and left Yesung to deal with the situation.
Yesung glared at him, unamused, and tightened his arm around Ryeowook’s waist. “Ryeowookie trusted you, Haeko. How could you betray his trust like that?”
Haeko leaned casually against the bedposts, seeming unperturbed by Yesung’s anger. “Didn’t my brother already explain it to you?” he asked, without waiting for an answer. “My mother taught me that it was the right thing to do.”
Yesung growled low in his throat, leaving Ryeowook’s side to stand face-to-face with Haeko. “Your mother’s wrong,” he hissed. “All you did was hurt an innocent boy.”
Haeko shrugged, eyeing Yesung critically. “Why do you care so much?” he sneered. “Are you in love with him, Yesung hyung?”
Ryeowook got to his feet, trembling. “Get out, Haeko.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, you little faggot,” Haeko spat out, turning a cold gaze on Ryeowook. “With your unnatural ways and your love for-”
“He said get out!” Yesung shouted, his fist connecting with Haeko’s cheek with so much force that Haeko stumbled backwards, hitting his head on the corner of the shelf above the desk between the bed and the door.
“Don’t think you’re getting away with this, Haeko,” Yesung warned lowly. “I don’t want to see your face here again, am I understood?”
After Haeko had left without even acknowledging Yesung’s words, Ryeowook came up quietly behind Yesung and wrapped his arms around the older boy’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Hyung, what are you going to do?”
Yesung sighed, already feeling much calmer at Ryeowook’s touch. “I’m going to talk to Professor Yunho and see if he can talk to the dean for me...Haeko should be suspended for this, if not expelled.”
“Jaejoong sunsaengnim’s a nice person, hyung,” Ryeowook murmured, his warm breath tickling Yesung’s neck. “Why don’t you just talk to him yourself?”
Yesung glanced over his shoulder to see Ryeowook blinking innocently at him. “Yunho can get Jaejoong to agree to things a lot faster though,” he said, laughing.
~
March was slowly turning into April, but the increased sunshine and warmer weather was quite at odds with Yesung’s moodiness. Haeko had been expelled after the incident, but Yesung still felt uneasy. Maybe because he kept dwelling on how Ryeowook seemed upset lately, probably because of Haeko.
Yesung scowled at the thought as he left his practice room, stopping by the campus coffee shop to grab a drink for himself and a bag of the walnut-chocolate chip brownies that Ryeowook loved so much, before returning to Ryeowook’s dorm room, which he’d moved into just a few weeks ago.
Ryeowook wasn’t in the room, but Sungmin told Yesung that Ryeowook had probably gone up to the flat roof of the dorm building. “He goes there a lot when he’s upset,” the younger boy explained absently, missing Yesung’s look of surprise as he turned back to his homework.
Yesung climbed carefully up the narrow fire escape, wondering why in the world Ryeowook, more afraid of heights than anyone Yesung knew except Key, would find comfort in lying on his back on the roof and staring up at the perfect puffs of white clouds dotting the sky, which was exactly what Yesung found him doing.
Ryeowook sat up when he heard Yesung’s footsteps approaching, and grinned, his gaze focusing on the bag in Yesung’s hand. “Good afternoon, Yesungie hyung,” he said sweetly, and Yesung almost laughed at how quickly Ryeowook was heading for coaxing Yesung into giving him the brownies-as if Yesung wasn’t already going to, really.
He smiled back, feeling his heart flutter slightly, and dropped the bag in Ryeowook’s lap, sitting down next to the younger boy. “Good afternoon, Wookie.”
Ryeowook hummed slightly in appreciation as he opened the bag, and Yesung contented himself with the look on Ryeowook’s face, one of pure bliss. “Here, hyung,” he said suddenly, holding out a brownie to a startled Yesung. “Want one?”
“Oh, no thanks,” Yesung said quickly. “They’re for you.”
Ryeowook looked at him steadily, and Yesung knew by now that when Ryeowook had that look in his eyes, he always got what he wanted. “I want you to have one,” Ryeowook insisted, his eyes still widened and the picture of innocence.
“All right then,” Yesung sighed, reaching out to take the brownie from Ryeowook’s hand, their fingers brushing in the process. He bit into the soft chocolate, enjoying the comfortable silence that stretched between them as they enjoyed the snack.
After Ryeowook’s fourth brownie, Yesung reached over to pluck the bag out of Ryeowook’s hands. “No more for you today, Wookie,” he teased lightly, smirking, holding the remaining brownies out of the younger boy’s reach. “Save some for later.”
Ryeowook pouted impressively, making another grab for the bag. Yesung lost his balance while keeping the bag out of Ryeowook’s hands, and fell backwards. Ryeowook took advantage of the opportunity to straddle Yesung’s hips, grinning triumphantly at Yesung, whose smirk had all but disappeared.
“You have some crumbs on your mouth,” Ryeowook told him, and Yesung would’ve stopped breathing at the look in those dark eyes if he hadn’t already at the feel of Ryeowook’s weight on his stomach. He felt Ryeowook’s hands grip his shoulders as the younger boy leaned in to press his lips to Yesung’s, his tongue flicking out and swiping up the crumbs.
“It tastes even better off of you,” Ryeowook said innocently when Yesung was too shocked to react and still trying to figure out how to breathe again.
“Ryeowookie,” he finally stammered out. “Ryeowookie, I...I thought...you and Haeko...what...”
His stammering was cut off when Ryeowook pressed a thin finger to his lips. “You thought I was in love with Haeko?” Sheepishly, Yesung nodded.
Ryeowook smirked as he rolled off Yesung’s stomach to lie down pressed close against the older boy. “You have got to be the most oblivious person I’ve ever met,” he said, but Yesung could tell by the smile in his voice that Ryeowook didn’t exactly mind. “I’ve been in love with you for months, and that’s what I told Haeko.”
“Besides, I had to get back at you for that time you kissed me when you thought I was sleeping,” Ryeowook added, still smirking, when Yesung couldn’t think of a response. “That was unfair, hyung.”
Yesung felt his cheeks heat up again. “You mean you weren’t sleeping?”
Ryeowook shook his head, smiling brightly.
Yesung groaned. “Aish, you...”
“You know you love me.”
“...Yes, I do.”
“Then prove it.”