Just One Day
Title: Just One Day
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Yesung, KyuSung, YeKyu
Genre: Fluff, Humour, Romance, Friendship
Warnings: AU, slight coarse language
Rating: PG-13, to be safe
Summary: Anything can happen in just one day.
Notes: My entry for this year's KyuSung Fest. Written for amalious' prompt: "We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day." _ Gayle Forman, Just One day.
I'm still not sure what to think of this fic, but I hope my dear readers will enjoy it. ^^
JUST ONE DAY
Of everything Kyuhyun has ever done without thinking in his life, the one thing he comes to regret most is admitting to his best friend that he believes in destiny and soul mates. That is exactly the sort of thing you just do not reveal to anyone, especially if you are a grown man having just graduated college and about to pursue a career.
But there goes his tongue, revealing this huge secret of his (including the fact that, since the age of twelve, he has been convinced that he will bump into his “soul mate” on the subway), and there is Donghae gaping at him as if Kyuhyun has just sprouted antennae on his head, and Kyuhyun can just see the rest of his life sealing itself.
That is how Kyuhyun ends up positively dreading to take the subway in the following years. Now he not only has a soul mate he is afraid of bumping into, but also an irritating best friend in tow who has taken it upon himself to actually point out potential soul mates for Kyuhyun.
It is actually kind of amusing how Donghae’s initial reaction of dude-you-are-a-computer-game-obsessed-socially-retarded-life-lacking-nerd-and-you-actually-believe-in-destiny-what-the-hell changed so fast to this wannabe matchmaker of sorts - but not when you were the victim, of course.
‘Hey, how about that one in the corner? She totally looks your type!’
‘Hyung!’ hisses Kyuhyun, facing away from the direction Donghae is pointing at. He hopes that other people in their compartment are not looking. ‘Could you just not?’ After a pause, he adds emphatically, ‘It’s rude to point.’
It has been a few years since Kyuhyun spilled his secret, but this same routine is still ongoing whenever Kyuhyun ends up riding the subway with Donghae - which is twice every week day since they take the same line back and forth to their workplaces.
His best friend smiles hugely and says, fortunately in a lower voice this time, ‘If you don’t like her, the guy next to her is totally hot though. Could be your sexy soul mate.’
Kyuhyun rolls his eyes, tightening his grip on his briefcase. After all this time, he knows Donghae insists on playing this spot-the-soul-mate game just to piss him off. After all, Donghae gets to eyeball every decent looking man and woman surrounding them and receives a bonus of Kyuhyun squirming in embarrassment for his efforts; first class subway entertainment.
‘You’re just going to pick every single person here anyway, like always.’
‘It’s not my fault you swing both ways,’ exclaims Donghae with mock hurt. ‘It’s hard to narrow down your soul mate candidates.’
‘Shut up.’
Donghae sniggers and - finally! - does just that. Kyuhyun heaves a silent sigh of relief, but remains standing rigid, still facing away from where Donghae had pointed at. Though he does not take his friend all that seriously anymore, the thought is still there at the back of his mind:
What if...
What if the one Kyuhyun is fated to be with is really here, right behind him? Or what if he has already let them slip past him?
These niggling thoughts are what break his resolve every time on the subway, what make him take a secret peek at whoever Donghae indicates, because what if ... what if...
Today is no different. When the train makes its next stop and a quarter of the people in the compartment make to get out, Kyuhyun discreetly turns around and cautiously looks at the girl in the corner that Donghae recommended.
He gets only a two second glimpse for she is one of the people rushing out, but then all thoughts of her fly out his mind when he notices the man she had been standing next to.
Too much black, is Kyuhyun’s first thought. Tight black jeans, long-sleeved baggy black shirt, black messenger bag, messy black hair ... but all that is rather irrelevant next to his second thought, which is a cross between Donghae’s earlier words of totally hot, and why is he staring at me? Because he is, a little too intensely, and Kyuhyun gets the feeling the man has been looking his way for quite some time.
Kyuhyun meets his stare for a few more moments, expecting the man to look away now that he has been caught, but several seconds later, it is Kyuhyun who finally drops his gaze, discomfited and - it has to be admitted - a little shy. He does not know what to make of the man, but inadvertently thinks to himself that he is rather attractive. That dark hair, all mussed up like he has just -
Kyuhyun catches himself in time, hot around the collar, and, as if to defy the rather unwholesome thoughts the man has put in his mind, looks up boldly at the stranger again. It unnerves him that the man is still looking his way and Kyuhyun has half a mind to march right up to him and demand what his problem is, but then he sees the smile on his face.
That is the moment Kyuhyun mentally stamps an Officially Creepy sign onto the man’s forehead. Attractive he may be, but there is no way Kyuhyun is about to even consider interacting with that guy -
His furious thoughts come to a standstill when the man shifts his eyes suddenly ... and Kyuhyun realises he is now looking at Donghae. And then he is back to gazing at Kyuhyun, and his smile becomes more prominent, amused ... knowing.
The mortifying realisation slaps Kyuhyun in the face in the same moment Donghae hisses in his ear, ‘Yeah, I told you he’s totally hot, didn’t I?’
And Kyuhyun fights down the urge to strangle Donghae because no way, there is just no way that man could have overheard what Donghae was (loudly) saying earlier about him being Kyuhyun’s potential soul mate.
The stranger smiles - smirks - at him again when they get off together at the next stop, before walking away in the opposite direction to Kyuhyun.
~***~
Kyuhyun decides that Fate is having a lovely joke at his expense when he sees a flash of black passing by the door of his little office cubicle an hour later. His fingers pause on the keyboard of his computer and he sits frozen for the first several seconds, trying to convince himself that he must be imagining things. But the pull of curiosity is too strong and Kyuhyun peeks out of his cubicle, half afraid to look.
The pit of his stomach feels like it has fallen off as he sees a familiar black clad figure walking down the aisle towards the office of their department’s head. Kyuhyun tries to calm down; he is only seeing the person from behind. It may not be the same man he saw on the subway earlier, he reasons to himself.
He is just about to go back to work with that half-hearted reassurance when their department head, Kim Heechul, comes out of his office to greet the stranger.
‘Jongwoon,’ Kyuhyun hears him say. But then Heechul notices Kyuhyun’s head poking out of his cubicle and he frowns at his subordinate, drawling,
‘Is there a problem, Cho?’
Panicking, Kyuhyun quickly shakes his head and is just scrambling to get back inside when ‘Jongwoon’ looks around to see who Heechul is talking to. It takes barely a second, but he catches sight of Kyuhyun right before Kyuhyun disappears back inside his cubicle, and recognition flashes across his face.
A face that Kyuhyun recognises in turn.
Kyuhyun leans back in his chair, fingers gripping the armrests so hard his knuckles turn white. Meanwhile, he can feel his face growing redder with heightening embarrassment.
Today is just so not his day.
~***~
There is no way Kyuhyun is going to suffer this bad day all by himself, of course, especially not when the cause of it all is only a phone call away. As soon as lunch break begins, he makes a run for the elevator and calls up Donghae to let loose all the obscenities he currently has in mind for him.
‘Whoa, man, slow down,’ Donghae half-laughs cheerfully over the phone. ‘I have no idea what you’re screeching about.’
‘Let me just sum it up for you then: the next time I see you, you will die a slow, bloody and painful death,’ Kyuhyun hisses into his phone and snaps it shut before Donghae can say another word. He paces the empty elevator impatiently, already visualising the sweet pastries he is going to buy from the bakery four blocks away for lunch. Pastries always turn a bad day around, always.
At least, that is what he thinks all the way down to the ground floor until the elevator doors open and he comes face to face with the last person he wants to run into at the moment.
The stranger - Jongwoon, was it? - raises his eyebrows in mild surprise upon seeing Kyuhyun. The latter feels his heart sink a little; yeah, there is no doubt about it: this guy has definitely recognised Kyuhyun from earlier that morning.
There again is that twinkle of amusement in his eyes, that knowing look which puts Kyuhyun on edge, but the smile he shoots at Kyuhyun is polite enough as he enters the elevator. Kyuhyun awkwardly shuffles to one side though it is only the two of them in the elevator, and after a weird drawn-out silent minute, the stranger presses the button to Kyuhyun’s floor and up they go again.
It is a good fifteen seconds later that Kyuhyun abruptly realises what just happened.
‘Wait, we’re - we’re going up ...’ he sputters loudly without thinking, ‘I was actually...’ He trails off in humiliation.
‘You were actually ... supposed to get off on the ground floor?’ supplies his companion, in a surprisingly husky baritone voice that most definitely does not suit his young almost boy-ish looking face. He chuckles amusedly. ‘I was wondering when you were going to realise it.’
Kyuhyun looks up, unable to mask his irritation. ‘It would’ve been nice if you had, well ... reminded me to get off earlier.’ His words sound embarrassing to his own ears, but Kyuhyun continues for the sake of his pride, ‘I’m losing so much time right now.’
‘Well, it’s not exactly my fault that you were so mesmerized with your “soul mate” that you forgot to get off.’
A heavy silence envelops them. Kyuhyun drops his gaze, his cheeks burning. If he could evaporate on the spot, he thinks he would have paid any amount of money in that moment to do so.
The other man clears his throat awkwardly. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says at last in a lower voice, now solemn. ‘That was really rude. I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry...’
Kyuhyun looks away. ‘So you did overhear us in the subway...’
‘Yes, I did, but ... I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I shouldn’t have said it.’
The elevator dings and the doors open to their floor. The man steps out, but then hesitates. Turning around, he stops the doors closing with a hand and looks earnestly at Kyuhyun.
‘Um, look, we just totally got off on the wrong foot here and I feel really bad about that -’
‘Look, mister, why don’t we just drop this now instead of making it more awkward?’
‘No, I was in the wrong and I really feel guilty. Let me make it up to you,’ the stranger insists, gazing intently at Kyuhyun. ‘Please?’
Kyuhyun exhales slowly. ‘OK ... how?’
He bites his lower lip. ‘I’ll treat you to lunch for starters? Today, now?’
Kyuhyun ponders over the offer. Despite his earlier irritation at the man and his little slip of rudeness, this Jongwoon guy does seem pretty sincere now. He does not even feel like a person with bad intentions and Kyuhyun considers himself a quite good judge of character.
Besides, if those brown eyes of his got any bigger, Jongwoon will be giving puppies all over the world a run for their bones.
‘OK. I was on my way to the bakery anyway,’ Kyuhyun finally says and Jongwoon’s face splits into a smile.
‘Great! Let’s start over. I’m Kim Jongwoon.’ The man sticks his hand out and Kyuhyun takes it, growing somewhat amused at his small child-like fingers. Cute. His grip, though, was no joke.
‘I’m Cho Kyuhyun. It’s nice to meet you.’
‘Same. Let’s go down together then. Just give me one minute; I left my bag at Heebongie’s office.’
Kyuhyun gapes after Jongwoon as he strides off towards Kim Heechul’s room. ‘...Heebongie?’
Well damn him if that is not the first man he has ever seen calling Heechul a name like that and actually getting away with his life intact.
~***~
Five minutes later, Kyuhyun and Jongwoon are on their way to the bakery, walking along the busy pavement. Traffic is heavy and pedestrians jostle by them, and Kyuhyun almost falls into his usual habit of briskly walking along just like them to reach the bakery as soon as possible. He is used to a fast-paced life. Jongwoon, however, puts a stop to that. His steps are easygoing and leisurely, and Kyuhyun has to make an effort to slow down to keep abreast with him.
They are silent at first and Kyuhyun avoids looking at him, feeling rather self-conscious, but eventually, Jongwoon politely strikes up a conversation, asking what Kyuhyun’s job is at Han Textiles. The other is glad for the ice breaker and briefly describes his work in I.T. and their talk goes on from there.
Kyuhyun soon finds out that Jongwoon works as an electrical lighting technician, and is his senior by four years, which surprises him a little since the man definitely looks to be at least around Kyuhyun’s age or younger. Though they have just barely met properly, he cannot help but tease Jongwoon a little, making a few playful remarks about his roundish cheeks, at which Jongwoon frowns and grumbles about how he has never heard the end of these jokes.
‘I swear everyone in my life - including you now - are all just jealous ’cause you don’t look perpetually young like me,’ he says haughtily - almost childishly - and Kyuhyun begins to laugh softly at him.
‘All right, then, if that’s what you want to believe,’ he replies with a smirk.
‘Honorific. If you don’t call me hyung, I’ll start calling you a brat.’
‘Sure, sure,’ chuckles Kyuhyun amused.
‘You asked for it, brat,’ Jongwoon retorts, quite loudly, and a passerby looks around in surprise at the duo.
Kyuhyun, suddenly hit by the embarrassment of being publicly called a brat, quickly hisses, ‘You’re not serious?’
‘Yep, kiddo, I am very serious,’ replies Jongwoon cheerfully and a couple more people eye them as they walk past.
‘OK, OK, fine, Jongwoon hyung! Jeez.’
Jongwoon grins toothily at him, his eyes crinkling a little at the corners. ‘Much better.’
Kyuhyun rolls his eyes at him, but underneath, he cannot deny that he is also rather amused by this quirky individual. And that odd little conversation has definitely made them more relaxed and comfortable with each other.
As they walk along the last block towards the bakery, Kyuhyun curiously asks Jongwoon why he came to Han Textiles today for he cannot ever remember seeing Jongwoon having come there before.
The older man smiles wryly. ‘Termite infestation at my apartment block. All the tenants got kicked out with only one day’s prior notice.’
‘What, permanently?’ asks Kyuhyun incredulously.
‘No, just for a few weeks at the most. Apparently the infestation is the most severe in the apartment directly below mine, but the couple living there didn’t report it until the last minute, so the landlord is not taking any chances. The termites might have spread around a lot, they’re saying.’ He sighs irritably. ‘So here I am, homeless for the foreseeable future until they declare the building is spick and span and harmless enough for human dwelling again.’
‘I see ... and this relates to why you came to see Mr Kim today ... how?’
‘Heebongie was my sunbae in high school and all through college,’ Jongwoon explains with a bright smile. ‘He’s an asshole -’
Kyuhyun snorts. ‘That he is.’
‘- but a good hyung. He took care of me a lot, so I just came to ask if he’d let me bunk over for some time until I can go home again. He’s the only one I know around this area that I’m close enough with to ask favours of.’
Kyuhyun’s expression clears in understanding. ‘Ah, I see,’ he murmurs. They have reached the bakery and Jongwoon grandly holds the door open for Kyuhyun with a grin, allowing the smell of freshly baked bread to waft out. The younger man shakes his head slightly (and fights down the urge to make a sarcastic comment, ‘Why, thank you, good sir’) but enters with a smile, Jongwoon following.
‘Pick whatever you like, however much you like, since I’m treating.’
‘I’m not a huge glutton, so I won’t make your wallet lose too much weight, hyung,’ replies Kyuhyun laughingly. As they walk over to the displays of colourful pastries and buns, Kyuhyun asks absentmindedly,
‘So, how did it go with Mr Kim? Did he agree to let you stay?’
Jongwoon frowns. ‘Nope. I even offered to pay half the rent, but Heebongie said he’s living with his lover now, so...’ He sighs heavily. ‘So much for “brohs before holes” eh?’
Kyuhyun has to bite down on his lips at Jongwoon’s English pronunciation. ‘I do believe the phrase goes like “bros before hoes”, hyung...’
‘Ah, right...’ Jongwoon ducks his head in embarrassment, cheeks flushing. Kyuhyun chokes down a laugh at the cute gesture.
The rest of their time in the bakery passes quickly with Kyuhyun self-consciously choosing the least expensive pastries, and Jongwoon, upon noticing this, pushing him to pick something better and tastier (‘I’m not a broke beggar, Kyuhyun. I can afford it and I meant it when I said I wanted to make it up to you properly, you know’). A few minutes later, they step out into the bright sunshine, both clutching brown paper bags that smell heavenly.
‘So,’ Jongwoon looks around. ‘Where do you wanna eat? We could go back inside or ...?’
‘There’s a little park around the corner. I often eat my lunch there.’
‘Great.’
Jongwoon falls completely silent during the actual eating process, after they have reached the park and settled down on either end of a bench. Kyuhyun glances at him every once in a while as they eat. There is something weirdly fascinating about the way Jongwoon completely devotes himself to the food. Everything from his eyes to his fingers pay their undivided attention to the piece of meringue he is holding, and Kyuhyun can tell that he is savouring every single bite he takes. Bits of cream cling to the corners of his mouth and he wipes away every drop with his fingers methodically before licking them clean.
Halfway through, Jongwoon grows aware of Kyuhyun’s heavy stare and looks up. His face flushes a little. ‘I’m sorry, was I lacking manners just now?’
Kyuhyun quickly shakes his head, flustered at having been caught. ‘No, no. Just ...’ He smiles a little. ‘You don’t talk much when you eat, do you?’
Jongwoon looks a little sheepish. ‘You’re not the first one to comment about that,’ he admits. ‘But,’ he continues more obnoxiously, ‘as my dongsaengs, Hyukjae and Donghee like to say, “What is life without food? Everything else in the world pales into insignificance next to food.” And I stand by that. Though, come to think of it, those two are freaking gluttons - even worse than me - of course they’d come out with something like that...’
Kyuhyun just shakes his head and laughs. ‘Well, each to their own. I’m not much of a foodie, but what you just said kind of reminds me of my friend, Donghae. I think he’d agree with you. He’s the guy that was with me on the subway -’ He abruptly stops, realising in what direction he has taken their harmless conversation.
Jongwoon catches onto it as well and the friendly atmosphere between them turns immediately weird. For several seconds, both of them avoid the other’s eyes.
‘Look ...’ Jongwoon finally mutters, crumpling up his empty brown paper bag. ‘I really do apologise for that soul mate comment I made earlier. And ... well, we just ate lunch. I made it up to you. So, let’s just forget it happened and part on good terms?’
Kyuhyun coughs a little, fiddling with his half-finished glazed donut. ‘It’s ... it’s humiliating, you know.’
‘Yeah and I’m so sorry about that -’
‘No, not that. I mean, I was embarrassed by that too, but I do accept your apology and it’s all in the past now, but ...’ Kyuhyun looks away, sighing. ‘It’s just kind of humiliating that you overheard Donghae. I know he doesn’t have bad intentions and he’s just playful, but ... it’s humiliating to think that people actually realises what he’s doing. I mean, you definitely realised.’
Jongwoon twines his fingers together uncertainly. ‘If it makes you feel better, I’d say most people don’t. Your friend wasn’t particularly loud. I just noticed he was looking at me really hard for a minute there, so I paid attention and just barely overheard him saying I could be your soul mate. I doubt other people did though, unless they were actually trying to eavesdrop - like me...’
Kyuhyun frowns. ‘But I don’t want anyone to know what Donghae is up to. I feel like such a laughingstock.’
There is silence for a moment, except the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves of the oak above them, and the distant chatter of people in the park. Kyuhyun hesitantly looks up at Jongwoon at last, only to see the older man staring calculatingly at him.
‘...what?’
‘It wasn’t just a joke, was it? Your friend trying to find your “soul mate”? It was real?’
Kyuhyun feels his face burning up with embarrassment. He knows well enough what most people will think of him - childish, a dreamer, someone living in a fantasy world - and it is both mortifying and hurtful that Jongwoon may now be seeing him the same way. He may be a stranger, but in such a short time, their acquaintanceship has grown and, in all honesty, Kyuhyun rather likes him. It does not make a whole lot of sense, but the last thing he wants is for Jongwoon to think he’s just a child, a joke.
After a pause, Jongwoon scoots a little closer to Kyuhyun on the bench, leaving only a couple of feet between them.
‘I don’t want you to be embarrassed,’ he finally says, his tone careful. ‘I’ll admit that I found the whole thing kind of funny on the subway. I mean, I’d just overheard one guy saying to another guy that I was, um ... “totally hot”’ - his lips twitch and a pretty blush dusts his cheeks - ‘and a “sexy soul mate”. You don’t hear that about yourself on the subway every day.’
‘I’ll kill Donghae,’ Kyuhyun mutters under his breath, aware of his own reddening face, but listens.
‘I thought it was a joke, which is why I made that admittedly rude comment to you when we finally met face-to-face, and I feel even more awful about it now that I know it wasn’t a joke.’
‘Look, hyung -’
‘Let me finish, Kyuhyun. I feel bad, but above all, I don’t want you to feel embarrassed that I know about this, OK?’
‘...You don’t think it’s stupid? Or childish of me?’
‘Just because I don’t believe in soul mates doesn’t necessarily mean the concept is not real. You have every right to believe in it. And I don’t find that stupid or think it’s something you should feel ashamed of.’
Jongwoon smiles sincerely at him and, a few seconds later, Kyuhyun smiles back, still blushing a little. ‘Thanks, Jongwoon hyung.’
‘So, we’re OK?’
Kyuhyun exhales. ‘Yeah, we’re OK.’
‘Alright then. Great. Good we got that cleared up ’cause, this is just a shot in the dark, but aren’t you late for work now? We’ve been here a while...’
Jongwoon bursts out laughing as Kyuhyun takes one look at his wristwatch and leaps up from the bench as if it electrocuted him.
‘Shit, I’m late, Kim Heechul will skin me alive!’
‘You should run,’ Jongwoon tells him amusedly as he, too, gets to his feet. Grasping Kyuhyun’s palm in a brief handshake, he says, ‘It was nice meeting you today, Kyuhyun-ssi, and that too three times. Despite the little bumps along the way, I’m glad we’re parting on good terms now. Good luck with everything and I’ll pray that Heebongie lets you off the hook with your life intact.’
Kyuhyun grins back and is saying his own farewell when it suddenly strikes him that this is, indeed, goodbye. He will not meet Kim Jongwoon again; there is no reason for them to meet. And, somehow, he does not like that thought.
He cannot quite put his finger on it, but there is something about Jongwoon that makes Kyuhyun wish that he can see him again. By all logic, it does not make any sense. He is just a stranger that Kyuhyun has met only today - a total of three times, technically, but it has only been less than a day still - and he does not even know him all that well, and yet...
Maybe it is the sincerity that Jongwoon has shown him, his unconditional friendliness, the odd but warm conversations, how he treated Kyuhyun like they actually know each other, how he showed himself to be an understanding and accepting person, or the way he ate that meringue just so focussed...
And maybe the things that Donghae had earlier pointed out also play a little role in it. Like how, in that moment, with the light afternoon breeze blowing through his messy black hair and his brown eyes curved up in a smile while the sunshine dances off his pale round cheeks perfectly ... Jongwoon is pretty darn attractive. (Or “totally hot” in Donghae’s straightforward words)
Whatever it is, the last thing Kyuhyun wants to do right then is let go of his small hand.
What finally does him in, though, is the way Jongwoon smiles at him as he steps away and says, his voice playful but his eyes surprisingly serious,
‘For what it’s worth, I totally wouldn’t have any complaints if I really were your soul mate, Kyuhyun-ssi.’
And then he is walking away and Kyuhyun just stands and stares at his retreating figure before his senses come rushing back to him and - ignoring the fact that he is later than he has ever been in his life and that a humanoid grim reaper called Kim Heechul is waiting for him back at the office - he runs after Jongwoon.
He cannot let him go just like that. Not now.
Which is why, against all reason and logic, Kyuhyun ends up breathlessly offering to share his apartment with the temporarily homeless Kim Jongwoon for the next few weeks.
Jongwoon stares at him with a mixture of surprise and hope. ‘What, seriously? You don’t mind?’
‘No,’ Kyuhyun shakes his head emphatically. ‘I don’t have a roommate and I could do with some company.’
Jongwoon thinks it over. ‘But ... you don’t even know me...’
‘Well then ... this is as good an opportunity as we can get to start that, wouldn’t you say, hyung?’
The older man looks at him in that calculating way of his. Something dawns in his eyes, but before Kyuhyun can tell what it is, it disappears and is replaced with a smile. ‘OK, then. If you’re fine with it, I’m fine with it. When do you get off work?’
Later, Kyuhyun is far too happy to care much about the telling off he publicly gets from Heechul when he arrives at the office almost an hour later than he should have arrived. He nods demurely at everything Heechul yells at him, bows and apologises formally, and then finally goes back to his cubicle where he spends the next several hours supposedly working, but mostly just dreamily looking at the clock, willing the time away.
~***~
Donghae is most shocked when he enters the subway station that evening only to see Kyuhyun and Jongwoon already there, standing side by side, Kyuhyun with his briefcase and Jongwoon with an oversized rucksack on his back. Kyuhyun, though he has not forgotten his murderous threat to Donghae earlier - or lost any intention of carrying it out - finds himself with the job of carrying out introductions.
Jongwoon greets the shorter man in a friendly manner, but the moment Kyuhyun reluctantly explains the whole roommate part, Donghae blurts out thoughtlessly,
‘Moving in with you already? Damn, Kyuhyun, you move fast!’
Kyuhyun makes a strangled noise at the back of his throat and glares ferociously at his best friend, who quickly apologises sheepishly. Jongwoon just bursts out laughing. And somehow - by some twisted work of fate - that is the trick that breaks all the ice between them and Jongwoon and Donghae spend the entire subway ride chatting enthusiastically.
And making fun of Kyuhyun.
‘So ... I hear you find me “totally hot”.’
‘Haha, most definitely. But you’re not fated for me. Pity, really.’
‘Oh, no?’
‘Nope. I’m afraid your destiny, Jongwoon hyung, lies with another. A rather uptight, socially awkward -’
‘Donghae hyung...’
‘- and romantically inept geek is your soul mate, I believe.’
‘Lee Donghae, I’m warning you...’
‘Is that so? And why do I qualify as his “sexy” significant other, may I ask?’
‘Well, frankly speaking, hyung, aren’t you just sexy?’
‘...Why, yes. Yes, I am.’
‘Ugh, you’ve got to be kidding me!’
‘Oh, but Kyuhyun-ssi, aren’t you just lucky that someone as sexy as me was predestined for you?’
‘Ahahahahahahaha!’
‘I swear I’m kicking you out of my apartment, hyung.’
‘Wow, Jongwoon hyung’s not even moved in yet and you’re already having domestic fights with him, Kyu? Nice. True love, I see it, yo.’
‘... I seriously need to re-evaluate my life choices.’
‘Pfft.’
~***~
‘Your friend is very nice,’ Jongwoon remarks with a grin as they take the elevator to the floor Kyuhyun lives at in his apartment block.
Kyuhyun scoffs as they step out into the hallway and he fishes his keys out.
‘Sure. The both of you get along just famously. Wonderful, isn’t it?’
‘Your sarcasm is not lost on me, rest assured,’ Jongwoon chuckles as he follows the younger man to his door. His eyes widen appreciatively as Kyuhyun shows him inside.
‘Nice place you got here,’ he remarks, taking in the small apartment. The joint kitchen-dining area, small sitting room and the half open door to the one bedroom all show signs of a bachelor living there. The place is not spotlessly clean or organised, but it is not entirely messy either. It is, for Kyuhyun at least, simply comfortable and just homely enough.
However, seeing the way Jongwoon is looking around makes him grow rather self-conscious and discomfited about his living arrangements.
‘Um, it’s not much,’ says Kyuhyun nervously. ‘It’s not very big since, you know, it’s meant for one person and I’ve been living here alone, and there is only one bedroom too, but I’ll do something about that. Lay out a futon maybe, but you know, you don’t always have to sleep on the futon; we can rotate the bed and the futon between us, like equally. And yeah, we could come up with a bathroom schedule too, since there is only one so that we don’t inconvenience each other. And the kitchen is kind of tiny, but I don’t cook that much, though it’s usable enough if you’d rather eat something homemade -’
‘Kyuhyun.’
‘...Yeah?’
‘Shut up.’ Jongwoon shoots him a brilliant smile. ‘It’s perfect, OK?’
Kyuhyun feels his face heating up at the simple words. Still grinning, Jongwoon drops his rucksack onto the floor and moves to the doors that open out into the tiny balcony.
‘And seriously though? How can this view not make up for any shortcomings this place has?’
Kyuhyun has to smile at that. He moves to join Jongwoon outside and they lean against the railing, side by side. It is dark now and from their vantage point, they can see much of Seoul and her tall buildings spreading away across from them, the thousands of pinpricks of light twinkling cheerfully at them through the darkness. In the distance, they can see the flash of cars speeding along the winding highways and roads.
‘Yeah,’ Kyuhyun sighs contentedly. ‘The view from here is what really sold me. I like coming home to this after stressful days at work. It calms me.’
‘And really puts things into perspective,’ adds Jongwoon wonderingly. ‘Just imagine, every single lit window and car over there indicates at least one person. Just how many thousands can we see only from here even? That’s a lot to take in when you think about it.’
Kyuhyun chuckles. ‘True. Even more so if you try to apply this on a global scale.’
‘Oh, let’s not go there.’
They laugh softly before falling silent, just simply staring out over the railing. A cool wind blows and Kyuhyun thinks he can see some stars twinkling through all the urban lighting.
‘I’d stay here forever if I can have this view every day and night...’
The quiet comment startles Kyuhyun and he looks around at his new roommate. There is a warm glow on Jongwoon’s face from the city lights shining below, and his brown eyes gleam golden. His expression is soft and blissful, utterly relaxed, and Kyuhyun thinks he looks beautiful in that moment.
He then thinks that he would really like to know Jongwoon better. He’s gotten a glimpse of Jongwoon’s complex character that lies underneath that beauty today ... and he definitely wants to see more of it.
Quietly, voice hardly above a murmur, Kyuhyun says, ‘Maybe you could. Stay here, I mean...’
Jongwoon blinks, and then looks around at Kyuhyun. They are standing close together on the cramped balcony and Kyuhyun can feel his heart suddenly starting to speed up, his face heating up and a rush of adrenaline going through his body. Jongwoon’s lidded stare is heavy and unreadable, but he does not break eye contact.
Swallowing, Kyuhyun asks, ‘Did you mean what you said earlier, that you don’t have any problems with being my soul mate?’
Jongwoon’s eyes widen and understanding dawns on him, but he does not pull away. Instead, the colour on his cheeks darkens and, for a moment, he looks shy.
‘...Yeah. But ...’ Jongwoon draws in a breath when Kyuhyun leans towards him at his answer. ‘But wait, Kyuhyun ... isn’t this a bit too fast?’
‘Perhaps. But so many things have happened today between us anyway. We noticed each other, we met each other, you embarrassed me, you treated me, we talked, I spilled my secret, you accepted my secret, you became my roommate, you ganged up with Donghae - I don’t know, a lot of things happened pretty damn fast today, hyung.’
‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ mutters Jongwoon, still staring at Kyuhyun who is leaning towards him.
‘So many things,’ murmurs Kyuhyun. ‘We met in one day and we became friends in one day and ...’ He pauses before boldly continuing, ‘you made me like you in one day ... and maybe hyung likes me also...?’
Jongwoon breathes out slowly, his eyes dark. ‘...Yes. I do like you. But,’ he adds, stopping Kyuhyun with a hand on his shoulder when the younger man tentatively leans closer to him again, ‘not everything needs to happen in one day, Kyuhyun. We can, er, go slow.’
‘Slow,’ Kyuhyun repeats. Perhaps it is due to the rush of this one fateful day in his life, but he rather likes the sound of that word. He smiles slowly. ‘Yeah, I like that...’
Jongwoon looks intently at him and then his eyes gleam. ‘But ... I suppose there is no harm in doing one more thing in one day...’
He moves the hand he left on Kyuhyun’s shoulder to behind his neck and pulls his head forward. Catching onto the hint, Kyuhyun smiles and gives in, allowing their lips to tentatively touch, and immediately setting off jolts of electricity shooting through his nerves.
Kim Jongwoon is right. A lot of things have happened in one day, but not necessarily everything needs to happen right then. Some things can wait. And perhaps that’s what makes that moment so perfect for Kyuhyun, because as they wrap their arms around each other and deepen the kiss, he can feel all the things this new venture in his life has in store for him in the future, and the anticipation of those things is the sweetest, most exhilarating feeling he has ever known.
Kyuhyun breathes contentedly as Jongwoon finally pulls away. The other man smiles gently at him, a smile that Kyuhyun returns, and they fall back into silence, just holding each other comfortably while the radiance of Seoul envelopes them.
In those moments, Kyuhyun finally allows himself to indulge in the sweet hope that, in the future, this beautiful view he has had to himself all this time will finally be shared between two people from now on.
(And one day, he will thank Donghae too, that ass.)
END
A/N: So ... yeah. Whatcha guys think? ^^;
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Yesung, KyuSung, YeKyu
Genre: Fluff, Humour, Romance, Friendship
Warnings: AU, slight coarse language
Rating: PG-13, to be safe
Summary: Anything can happen in just one day.
Notes: My entry for this year's KyuSung Fest. Written for amalious' prompt: "We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day." _ Gayle Forman, Just One day.
I'm still not sure what to think of this fic, but I hope my dear readers will enjoy it. ^^
JUST ONE DAY
Of everything Kyuhyun has ever done without thinking in his life, the one thing he comes to regret most is admitting to his best friend that he believes in destiny and soul mates. That is exactly the sort of thing you just do not reveal to anyone, especially if you are a grown man having just graduated college and about to pursue a career.
But there goes his tongue, revealing this huge secret of his (including the fact that, since the age of twelve, he has been convinced that he will bump into his “soul mate” on the subway), and there is Donghae gaping at him as if Kyuhyun has just sprouted antennae on his head, and Kyuhyun can just see the rest of his life sealing itself.
That is how Kyuhyun ends up positively dreading to take the subway in the following years. Now he not only has a soul mate he is afraid of bumping into, but also an irritating best friend in tow who has taken it upon himself to actually point out potential soul mates for Kyuhyun.
It is actually kind of amusing how Donghae’s initial reaction of dude-you-are-a-computer-game-obsessed-socially-retarded-life-lacking-nerd-and-you-actually-believe-in-destiny-what-the-hell changed so fast to this wannabe matchmaker of sorts - but not when you were the victim, of course.
‘Hey, how about that one in the corner? She totally looks your type!’
‘Hyung!’ hisses Kyuhyun, facing away from the direction Donghae is pointing at. He hopes that other people in their compartment are not looking. ‘Could you just not?’ After a pause, he adds emphatically, ‘It’s rude to point.’
It has been a few years since Kyuhyun spilled his secret, but this same routine is still ongoing whenever Kyuhyun ends up riding the subway with Donghae - which is twice every week day since they take the same line back and forth to their workplaces.
His best friend smiles hugely and says, fortunately in a lower voice this time, ‘If you don’t like her, the guy next to her is totally hot though. Could be your sexy soul mate.’
Kyuhyun rolls his eyes, tightening his grip on his briefcase. After all this time, he knows Donghae insists on playing this spot-the-soul-mate game just to piss him off. After all, Donghae gets to eyeball every decent looking man and woman surrounding them and receives a bonus of Kyuhyun squirming in embarrassment for his efforts; first class subway entertainment.
‘You’re just going to pick every single person here anyway, like always.’
‘It’s not my fault you swing both ways,’ exclaims Donghae with mock hurt. ‘It’s hard to narrow down your soul mate candidates.’
‘Shut up.’
Donghae sniggers and - finally! - does just that. Kyuhyun heaves a silent sigh of relief, but remains standing rigid, still facing away from where Donghae had pointed at. Though he does not take his friend all that seriously anymore, the thought is still there at the back of his mind:
What if...
What if the one Kyuhyun is fated to be with is really here, right behind him? Or what if he has already let them slip past him?
These niggling thoughts are what break his resolve every time on the subway, what make him take a secret peek at whoever Donghae indicates, because what if ... what if...
Today is no different. When the train makes its next stop and a quarter of the people in the compartment make to get out, Kyuhyun discreetly turns around and cautiously looks at the girl in the corner that Donghae recommended.
He gets only a two second glimpse for she is one of the people rushing out, but then all thoughts of her fly out his mind when he notices the man she had been standing next to.
Too much black, is Kyuhyun’s first thought. Tight black jeans, long-sleeved baggy black shirt, black messenger bag, messy black hair ... but all that is rather irrelevant next to his second thought, which is a cross between Donghae’s earlier words of totally hot, and why is he staring at me? Because he is, a little too intensely, and Kyuhyun gets the feeling the man has been looking his way for quite some time.
Kyuhyun meets his stare for a few more moments, expecting the man to look away now that he has been caught, but several seconds later, it is Kyuhyun who finally drops his gaze, discomfited and - it has to be admitted - a little shy. He does not know what to make of the man, but inadvertently thinks to himself that he is rather attractive. That dark hair, all mussed up like he has just -
Kyuhyun catches himself in time, hot around the collar, and, as if to defy the rather unwholesome thoughts the man has put in his mind, looks up boldly at the stranger again. It unnerves him that the man is still looking his way and Kyuhyun has half a mind to march right up to him and demand what his problem is, but then he sees the smile on his face.
That is the moment Kyuhyun mentally stamps an Officially Creepy sign onto the man’s forehead. Attractive he may be, but there is no way Kyuhyun is about to even consider interacting with that guy -
His furious thoughts come to a standstill when the man shifts his eyes suddenly ... and Kyuhyun realises he is now looking at Donghae. And then he is back to gazing at Kyuhyun, and his smile becomes more prominent, amused ... knowing.
The mortifying realisation slaps Kyuhyun in the face in the same moment Donghae hisses in his ear, ‘Yeah, I told you he’s totally hot, didn’t I?’
And Kyuhyun fights down the urge to strangle Donghae because no way, there is just no way that man could have overheard what Donghae was (loudly) saying earlier about him being Kyuhyun’s potential soul mate.
The stranger smiles - smirks - at him again when they get off together at the next stop, before walking away in the opposite direction to Kyuhyun.
~***~
Kyuhyun decides that Fate is having a lovely joke at his expense when he sees a flash of black passing by the door of his little office cubicle an hour later. His fingers pause on the keyboard of his computer and he sits frozen for the first several seconds, trying to convince himself that he must be imagining things. But the pull of curiosity is too strong and Kyuhyun peeks out of his cubicle, half afraid to look.
The pit of his stomach feels like it has fallen off as he sees a familiar black clad figure walking down the aisle towards the office of their department’s head. Kyuhyun tries to calm down; he is only seeing the person from behind. It may not be the same man he saw on the subway earlier, he reasons to himself.
He is just about to go back to work with that half-hearted reassurance when their department head, Kim Heechul, comes out of his office to greet the stranger.
‘Jongwoon,’ Kyuhyun hears him say. But then Heechul notices Kyuhyun’s head poking out of his cubicle and he frowns at his subordinate, drawling,
‘Is there a problem, Cho?’
Panicking, Kyuhyun quickly shakes his head and is just scrambling to get back inside when ‘Jongwoon’ looks around to see who Heechul is talking to. It takes barely a second, but he catches sight of Kyuhyun right before Kyuhyun disappears back inside his cubicle, and recognition flashes across his face.
A face that Kyuhyun recognises in turn.
Kyuhyun leans back in his chair, fingers gripping the armrests so hard his knuckles turn white. Meanwhile, he can feel his face growing redder with heightening embarrassment.
Today is just so not his day.
~***~
There is no way Kyuhyun is going to suffer this bad day all by himself, of course, especially not when the cause of it all is only a phone call away. As soon as lunch break begins, he makes a run for the elevator and calls up Donghae to let loose all the obscenities he currently has in mind for him.
‘Whoa, man, slow down,’ Donghae half-laughs cheerfully over the phone. ‘I have no idea what you’re screeching about.’
‘Let me just sum it up for you then: the next time I see you, you will die a slow, bloody and painful death,’ Kyuhyun hisses into his phone and snaps it shut before Donghae can say another word. He paces the empty elevator impatiently, already visualising the sweet pastries he is going to buy from the bakery four blocks away for lunch. Pastries always turn a bad day around, always.
At least, that is what he thinks all the way down to the ground floor until the elevator doors open and he comes face to face with the last person he wants to run into at the moment.
The stranger - Jongwoon, was it? - raises his eyebrows in mild surprise upon seeing Kyuhyun. The latter feels his heart sink a little; yeah, there is no doubt about it: this guy has definitely recognised Kyuhyun from earlier that morning.
There again is that twinkle of amusement in his eyes, that knowing look which puts Kyuhyun on edge, but the smile he shoots at Kyuhyun is polite enough as he enters the elevator. Kyuhyun awkwardly shuffles to one side though it is only the two of them in the elevator, and after a weird drawn-out silent minute, the stranger presses the button to Kyuhyun’s floor and up they go again.
It is a good fifteen seconds later that Kyuhyun abruptly realises what just happened.
‘Wait, we’re - we’re going up ...’ he sputters loudly without thinking, ‘I was actually...’ He trails off in humiliation.
‘You were actually ... supposed to get off on the ground floor?’ supplies his companion, in a surprisingly husky baritone voice that most definitely does not suit his young almost boy-ish looking face. He chuckles amusedly. ‘I was wondering when you were going to realise it.’
Kyuhyun looks up, unable to mask his irritation. ‘It would’ve been nice if you had, well ... reminded me to get off earlier.’ His words sound embarrassing to his own ears, but Kyuhyun continues for the sake of his pride, ‘I’m losing so much time right now.’
‘Well, it’s not exactly my fault that you were so mesmerized with your “soul mate” that you forgot to get off.’
A heavy silence envelops them. Kyuhyun drops his gaze, his cheeks burning. If he could evaporate on the spot, he thinks he would have paid any amount of money in that moment to do so.
The other man clears his throat awkwardly. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says at last in a lower voice, now solemn. ‘That was really rude. I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry...’
Kyuhyun looks away. ‘So you did overhear us in the subway...’
‘Yes, I did, but ... I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I shouldn’t have said it.’
The elevator dings and the doors open to their floor. The man steps out, but then hesitates. Turning around, he stops the doors closing with a hand and looks earnestly at Kyuhyun.
‘Um, look, we just totally got off on the wrong foot here and I feel really bad about that -’
‘Look, mister, why don’t we just drop this now instead of making it more awkward?’
‘No, I was in the wrong and I really feel guilty. Let me make it up to you,’ the stranger insists, gazing intently at Kyuhyun. ‘Please?’
Kyuhyun exhales slowly. ‘OK ... how?’
He bites his lower lip. ‘I’ll treat you to lunch for starters? Today, now?’
Kyuhyun ponders over the offer. Despite his earlier irritation at the man and his little slip of rudeness, this Jongwoon guy does seem pretty sincere now. He does not even feel like a person with bad intentions and Kyuhyun considers himself a quite good judge of character.
Besides, if those brown eyes of his got any bigger, Jongwoon will be giving puppies all over the world a run for their bones.
‘OK. I was on my way to the bakery anyway,’ Kyuhyun finally says and Jongwoon’s face splits into a smile.
‘Great! Let’s start over. I’m Kim Jongwoon.’ The man sticks his hand out and Kyuhyun takes it, growing somewhat amused at his small child-like fingers. Cute. His grip, though, was no joke.
‘I’m Cho Kyuhyun. It’s nice to meet you.’
‘Same. Let’s go down together then. Just give me one minute; I left my bag at Heebongie’s office.’
Kyuhyun gapes after Jongwoon as he strides off towards Kim Heechul’s room. ‘...Heebongie?’
Well damn him if that is not the first man he has ever seen calling Heechul a name like that and actually getting away with his life intact.
~***~
Five minutes later, Kyuhyun and Jongwoon are on their way to the bakery, walking along the busy pavement. Traffic is heavy and pedestrians jostle by them, and Kyuhyun almost falls into his usual habit of briskly walking along just like them to reach the bakery as soon as possible. He is used to a fast-paced life. Jongwoon, however, puts a stop to that. His steps are easygoing and leisurely, and Kyuhyun has to make an effort to slow down to keep abreast with him.
They are silent at first and Kyuhyun avoids looking at him, feeling rather self-conscious, but eventually, Jongwoon politely strikes up a conversation, asking what Kyuhyun’s job is at Han Textiles. The other is glad for the ice breaker and briefly describes his work in I.T. and their talk goes on from there.
Kyuhyun soon finds out that Jongwoon works as an electrical lighting technician, and is his senior by four years, which surprises him a little since the man definitely looks to be at least around Kyuhyun’s age or younger. Though they have just barely met properly, he cannot help but tease Jongwoon a little, making a few playful remarks about his roundish cheeks, at which Jongwoon frowns and grumbles about how he has never heard the end of these jokes.
‘I swear everyone in my life - including you now - are all just jealous ’cause you don’t look perpetually young like me,’ he says haughtily - almost childishly - and Kyuhyun begins to laugh softly at him.
‘All right, then, if that’s what you want to believe,’ he replies with a smirk.
‘Honorific. If you don’t call me hyung, I’ll start calling you a brat.’
‘Sure, sure,’ chuckles Kyuhyun amused.
‘You asked for it, brat,’ Jongwoon retorts, quite loudly, and a passerby looks around in surprise at the duo.
Kyuhyun, suddenly hit by the embarrassment of being publicly called a brat, quickly hisses, ‘You’re not serious?’
‘Yep, kiddo, I am very serious,’ replies Jongwoon cheerfully and a couple more people eye them as they walk past.
‘OK, OK, fine, Jongwoon hyung! Jeez.’
Jongwoon grins toothily at him, his eyes crinkling a little at the corners. ‘Much better.’
Kyuhyun rolls his eyes at him, but underneath, he cannot deny that he is also rather amused by this quirky individual. And that odd little conversation has definitely made them more relaxed and comfortable with each other.
As they walk along the last block towards the bakery, Kyuhyun curiously asks Jongwoon why he came to Han Textiles today for he cannot ever remember seeing Jongwoon having come there before.
The older man smiles wryly. ‘Termite infestation at my apartment block. All the tenants got kicked out with only one day’s prior notice.’
‘What, permanently?’ asks Kyuhyun incredulously.
‘No, just for a few weeks at the most. Apparently the infestation is the most severe in the apartment directly below mine, but the couple living there didn’t report it until the last minute, so the landlord is not taking any chances. The termites might have spread around a lot, they’re saying.’ He sighs irritably. ‘So here I am, homeless for the foreseeable future until they declare the building is spick and span and harmless enough for human dwelling again.’
‘I see ... and this relates to why you came to see Mr Kim today ... how?’
‘Heebongie was my sunbae in high school and all through college,’ Jongwoon explains with a bright smile. ‘He’s an asshole -’
Kyuhyun snorts. ‘That he is.’
‘- but a good hyung. He took care of me a lot, so I just came to ask if he’d let me bunk over for some time until I can go home again. He’s the only one I know around this area that I’m close enough with to ask favours of.’
Kyuhyun’s expression clears in understanding. ‘Ah, I see,’ he murmurs. They have reached the bakery and Jongwoon grandly holds the door open for Kyuhyun with a grin, allowing the smell of freshly baked bread to waft out. The younger man shakes his head slightly (and fights down the urge to make a sarcastic comment, ‘Why, thank you, good sir’) but enters with a smile, Jongwoon following.
‘Pick whatever you like, however much you like, since I’m treating.’
‘I’m not a huge glutton, so I won’t make your wallet lose too much weight, hyung,’ replies Kyuhyun laughingly. As they walk over to the displays of colourful pastries and buns, Kyuhyun asks absentmindedly,
‘So, how did it go with Mr Kim? Did he agree to let you stay?’
Jongwoon frowns. ‘Nope. I even offered to pay half the rent, but Heebongie said he’s living with his lover now, so...’ He sighs heavily. ‘So much for “brohs before holes” eh?’
Kyuhyun has to bite down on his lips at Jongwoon’s English pronunciation. ‘I do believe the phrase goes like “bros before hoes”, hyung...’
‘Ah, right...’ Jongwoon ducks his head in embarrassment, cheeks flushing. Kyuhyun chokes down a laugh at the cute gesture.
The rest of their time in the bakery passes quickly with Kyuhyun self-consciously choosing the least expensive pastries, and Jongwoon, upon noticing this, pushing him to pick something better and tastier (‘I’m not a broke beggar, Kyuhyun. I can afford it and I meant it when I said I wanted to make it up to you properly, you know’). A few minutes later, they step out into the bright sunshine, both clutching brown paper bags that smell heavenly.
‘So,’ Jongwoon looks around. ‘Where do you wanna eat? We could go back inside or ...?’
‘There’s a little park around the corner. I often eat my lunch there.’
‘Great.’
Jongwoon falls completely silent during the actual eating process, after they have reached the park and settled down on either end of a bench. Kyuhyun glances at him every once in a while as they eat. There is something weirdly fascinating about the way Jongwoon completely devotes himself to the food. Everything from his eyes to his fingers pay their undivided attention to the piece of meringue he is holding, and Kyuhyun can tell that he is savouring every single bite he takes. Bits of cream cling to the corners of his mouth and he wipes away every drop with his fingers methodically before licking them clean.
Halfway through, Jongwoon grows aware of Kyuhyun’s heavy stare and looks up. His face flushes a little. ‘I’m sorry, was I lacking manners just now?’
Kyuhyun quickly shakes his head, flustered at having been caught. ‘No, no. Just ...’ He smiles a little. ‘You don’t talk much when you eat, do you?’
Jongwoon looks a little sheepish. ‘You’re not the first one to comment about that,’ he admits. ‘But,’ he continues more obnoxiously, ‘as my dongsaengs, Hyukjae and Donghee like to say, “What is life without food? Everything else in the world pales into insignificance next to food.” And I stand by that. Though, come to think of it, those two are freaking gluttons - even worse than me - of course they’d come out with something like that...’
Kyuhyun just shakes his head and laughs. ‘Well, each to their own. I’m not much of a foodie, but what you just said kind of reminds me of my friend, Donghae. I think he’d agree with you. He’s the guy that was with me on the subway -’ He abruptly stops, realising in what direction he has taken their harmless conversation.
Jongwoon catches onto it as well and the friendly atmosphere between them turns immediately weird. For several seconds, both of them avoid the other’s eyes.
‘Look ...’ Jongwoon finally mutters, crumpling up his empty brown paper bag. ‘I really do apologise for that soul mate comment I made earlier. And ... well, we just ate lunch. I made it up to you. So, let’s just forget it happened and part on good terms?’
Kyuhyun coughs a little, fiddling with his half-finished glazed donut. ‘It’s ... it’s humiliating, you know.’
‘Yeah and I’m so sorry about that -’
‘No, not that. I mean, I was embarrassed by that too, but I do accept your apology and it’s all in the past now, but ...’ Kyuhyun looks away, sighing. ‘It’s just kind of humiliating that you overheard Donghae. I know he doesn’t have bad intentions and he’s just playful, but ... it’s humiliating to think that people actually realises what he’s doing. I mean, you definitely realised.’
Jongwoon twines his fingers together uncertainly. ‘If it makes you feel better, I’d say most people don’t. Your friend wasn’t particularly loud. I just noticed he was looking at me really hard for a minute there, so I paid attention and just barely overheard him saying I could be your soul mate. I doubt other people did though, unless they were actually trying to eavesdrop - like me...’
Kyuhyun frowns. ‘But I don’t want anyone to know what Donghae is up to. I feel like such a laughingstock.’
There is silence for a moment, except the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves of the oak above them, and the distant chatter of people in the park. Kyuhyun hesitantly looks up at Jongwoon at last, only to see the older man staring calculatingly at him.
‘...what?’
‘It wasn’t just a joke, was it? Your friend trying to find your “soul mate”? It was real?’
Kyuhyun feels his face burning up with embarrassment. He knows well enough what most people will think of him - childish, a dreamer, someone living in a fantasy world - and it is both mortifying and hurtful that Jongwoon may now be seeing him the same way. He may be a stranger, but in such a short time, their acquaintanceship has grown and, in all honesty, Kyuhyun rather likes him. It does not make a whole lot of sense, but the last thing he wants is for Jongwoon to think he’s just a child, a joke.
After a pause, Jongwoon scoots a little closer to Kyuhyun on the bench, leaving only a couple of feet between them.
‘I don’t want you to be embarrassed,’ he finally says, his tone careful. ‘I’ll admit that I found the whole thing kind of funny on the subway. I mean, I’d just overheard one guy saying to another guy that I was, um ... “totally hot”’ - his lips twitch and a pretty blush dusts his cheeks - ‘and a “sexy soul mate”. You don’t hear that about yourself on the subway every day.’
‘I’ll kill Donghae,’ Kyuhyun mutters under his breath, aware of his own reddening face, but listens.
‘I thought it was a joke, which is why I made that admittedly rude comment to you when we finally met face-to-face, and I feel even more awful about it now that I know it wasn’t a joke.’
‘Look, hyung -’
‘Let me finish, Kyuhyun. I feel bad, but above all, I don’t want you to feel embarrassed that I know about this, OK?’
‘...You don’t think it’s stupid? Or childish of me?’
‘Just because I don’t believe in soul mates doesn’t necessarily mean the concept is not real. You have every right to believe in it. And I don’t find that stupid or think it’s something you should feel ashamed of.’
Jongwoon smiles sincerely at him and, a few seconds later, Kyuhyun smiles back, still blushing a little. ‘Thanks, Jongwoon hyung.’
‘So, we’re OK?’
Kyuhyun exhales. ‘Yeah, we’re OK.’
‘Alright then. Great. Good we got that cleared up ’cause, this is just a shot in the dark, but aren’t you late for work now? We’ve been here a while...’
Jongwoon bursts out laughing as Kyuhyun takes one look at his wristwatch and leaps up from the bench as if it electrocuted him.
‘Shit, I’m late, Kim Heechul will skin me alive!’
‘You should run,’ Jongwoon tells him amusedly as he, too, gets to his feet. Grasping Kyuhyun’s palm in a brief handshake, he says, ‘It was nice meeting you today, Kyuhyun-ssi, and that too three times. Despite the little bumps along the way, I’m glad we’re parting on good terms now. Good luck with everything and I’ll pray that Heebongie lets you off the hook with your life intact.’
Kyuhyun grins back and is saying his own farewell when it suddenly strikes him that this is, indeed, goodbye. He will not meet Kim Jongwoon again; there is no reason for them to meet. And, somehow, he does not like that thought.
He cannot quite put his finger on it, but there is something about Jongwoon that makes Kyuhyun wish that he can see him again. By all logic, it does not make any sense. He is just a stranger that Kyuhyun has met only today - a total of three times, technically, but it has only been less than a day still - and he does not even know him all that well, and yet...
Maybe it is the sincerity that Jongwoon has shown him, his unconditional friendliness, the odd but warm conversations, how he treated Kyuhyun like they actually know each other, how he showed himself to be an understanding and accepting person, or the way he ate that meringue just so focussed...
And maybe the things that Donghae had earlier pointed out also play a little role in it. Like how, in that moment, with the light afternoon breeze blowing through his messy black hair and his brown eyes curved up in a smile while the sunshine dances off his pale round cheeks perfectly ... Jongwoon is pretty darn attractive. (Or “totally hot” in Donghae’s straightforward words)
Whatever it is, the last thing Kyuhyun wants to do right then is let go of his small hand.
What finally does him in, though, is the way Jongwoon smiles at him as he steps away and says, his voice playful but his eyes surprisingly serious,
‘For what it’s worth, I totally wouldn’t have any complaints if I really were your soul mate, Kyuhyun-ssi.’
And then he is walking away and Kyuhyun just stands and stares at his retreating figure before his senses come rushing back to him and - ignoring the fact that he is later than he has ever been in his life and that a humanoid grim reaper called Kim Heechul is waiting for him back at the office - he runs after Jongwoon.
He cannot let him go just like that. Not now.
Which is why, against all reason and logic, Kyuhyun ends up breathlessly offering to share his apartment with the temporarily homeless Kim Jongwoon for the next few weeks.
Jongwoon stares at him with a mixture of surprise and hope. ‘What, seriously? You don’t mind?’
‘No,’ Kyuhyun shakes his head emphatically. ‘I don’t have a roommate and I could do with some company.’
Jongwoon thinks it over. ‘But ... you don’t even know me...’
‘Well then ... this is as good an opportunity as we can get to start that, wouldn’t you say, hyung?’
The older man looks at him in that calculating way of his. Something dawns in his eyes, but before Kyuhyun can tell what it is, it disappears and is replaced with a smile. ‘OK, then. If you’re fine with it, I’m fine with it. When do you get off work?’
Later, Kyuhyun is far too happy to care much about the telling off he publicly gets from Heechul when he arrives at the office almost an hour later than he should have arrived. He nods demurely at everything Heechul yells at him, bows and apologises formally, and then finally goes back to his cubicle where he spends the next several hours supposedly working, but mostly just dreamily looking at the clock, willing the time away.
~***~
Donghae is most shocked when he enters the subway station that evening only to see Kyuhyun and Jongwoon already there, standing side by side, Kyuhyun with his briefcase and Jongwoon with an oversized rucksack on his back. Kyuhyun, though he has not forgotten his murderous threat to Donghae earlier - or lost any intention of carrying it out - finds himself with the job of carrying out introductions.
Jongwoon greets the shorter man in a friendly manner, but the moment Kyuhyun reluctantly explains the whole roommate part, Donghae blurts out thoughtlessly,
‘Moving in with you already? Damn, Kyuhyun, you move fast!’
Kyuhyun makes a strangled noise at the back of his throat and glares ferociously at his best friend, who quickly apologises sheepishly. Jongwoon just bursts out laughing. And somehow - by some twisted work of fate - that is the trick that breaks all the ice between them and Jongwoon and Donghae spend the entire subway ride chatting enthusiastically.
And making fun of Kyuhyun.
‘So ... I hear you find me “totally hot”.’
‘Haha, most definitely. But you’re not fated for me. Pity, really.’
‘Oh, no?’
‘Nope. I’m afraid your destiny, Jongwoon hyung, lies with another. A rather uptight, socially awkward -’
‘Donghae hyung...’
‘- and romantically inept geek is your soul mate, I believe.’
‘Lee Donghae, I’m warning you...’
‘Is that so? And why do I qualify as his “sexy” significant other, may I ask?’
‘Well, frankly speaking, hyung, aren’t you just sexy?’
‘...Why, yes. Yes, I am.’
‘Ugh, you’ve got to be kidding me!’
‘Oh, but Kyuhyun-ssi, aren’t you just lucky that someone as sexy as me was predestined for you?’
‘Ahahahahahahaha!’
‘I swear I’m kicking you out of my apartment, hyung.’
‘Wow, Jongwoon hyung’s not even moved in yet and you’re already having domestic fights with him, Kyu? Nice. True love, I see it, yo.’
‘... I seriously need to re-evaluate my life choices.’
‘Pfft.’
~***~
‘Your friend is very nice,’ Jongwoon remarks with a grin as they take the elevator to the floor Kyuhyun lives at in his apartment block.
Kyuhyun scoffs as they step out into the hallway and he fishes his keys out.
‘Sure. The both of you get along just famously. Wonderful, isn’t it?’
‘Your sarcasm is not lost on me, rest assured,’ Jongwoon chuckles as he follows the younger man to his door. His eyes widen appreciatively as Kyuhyun shows him inside.
‘Nice place you got here,’ he remarks, taking in the small apartment. The joint kitchen-dining area, small sitting room and the half open door to the one bedroom all show signs of a bachelor living there. The place is not spotlessly clean or organised, but it is not entirely messy either. It is, for Kyuhyun at least, simply comfortable and just homely enough.
However, seeing the way Jongwoon is looking around makes him grow rather self-conscious and discomfited about his living arrangements.
‘Um, it’s not much,’ says Kyuhyun nervously. ‘It’s not very big since, you know, it’s meant for one person and I’ve been living here alone, and there is only one bedroom too, but I’ll do something about that. Lay out a futon maybe, but you know, you don’t always have to sleep on the futon; we can rotate the bed and the futon between us, like equally. And yeah, we could come up with a bathroom schedule too, since there is only one so that we don’t inconvenience each other. And the kitchen is kind of tiny, but I don’t cook that much, though it’s usable enough if you’d rather eat something homemade -’
‘Kyuhyun.’
‘...Yeah?’
‘Shut up.’ Jongwoon shoots him a brilliant smile. ‘It’s perfect, OK?’
Kyuhyun feels his face heating up at the simple words. Still grinning, Jongwoon drops his rucksack onto the floor and moves to the doors that open out into the tiny balcony.
‘And seriously though? How can this view not make up for any shortcomings this place has?’
Kyuhyun has to smile at that. He moves to join Jongwoon outside and they lean against the railing, side by side. It is dark now and from their vantage point, they can see much of Seoul and her tall buildings spreading away across from them, the thousands of pinpricks of light twinkling cheerfully at them through the darkness. In the distance, they can see the flash of cars speeding along the winding highways and roads.
‘Yeah,’ Kyuhyun sighs contentedly. ‘The view from here is what really sold me. I like coming home to this after stressful days at work. It calms me.’
‘And really puts things into perspective,’ adds Jongwoon wonderingly. ‘Just imagine, every single lit window and car over there indicates at least one person. Just how many thousands can we see only from here even? That’s a lot to take in when you think about it.’
Kyuhyun chuckles. ‘True. Even more so if you try to apply this on a global scale.’
‘Oh, let’s not go there.’
They laugh softly before falling silent, just simply staring out over the railing. A cool wind blows and Kyuhyun thinks he can see some stars twinkling through all the urban lighting.
‘I’d stay here forever if I can have this view every day and night...’
The quiet comment startles Kyuhyun and he looks around at his new roommate. There is a warm glow on Jongwoon’s face from the city lights shining below, and his brown eyes gleam golden. His expression is soft and blissful, utterly relaxed, and Kyuhyun thinks he looks beautiful in that moment.
He then thinks that he would really like to know Jongwoon better. He’s gotten a glimpse of Jongwoon’s complex character that lies underneath that beauty today ... and he definitely wants to see more of it.
Quietly, voice hardly above a murmur, Kyuhyun says, ‘Maybe you could. Stay here, I mean...’
Jongwoon blinks, and then looks around at Kyuhyun. They are standing close together on the cramped balcony and Kyuhyun can feel his heart suddenly starting to speed up, his face heating up and a rush of adrenaline going through his body. Jongwoon’s lidded stare is heavy and unreadable, but he does not break eye contact.
Swallowing, Kyuhyun asks, ‘Did you mean what you said earlier, that you don’t have any problems with being my soul mate?’
Jongwoon’s eyes widen and understanding dawns on him, but he does not pull away. Instead, the colour on his cheeks darkens and, for a moment, he looks shy.
‘...Yeah. But ...’ Jongwoon draws in a breath when Kyuhyun leans towards him at his answer. ‘But wait, Kyuhyun ... isn’t this a bit too fast?’
‘Perhaps. But so many things have happened today between us anyway. We noticed each other, we met each other, you embarrassed me, you treated me, we talked, I spilled my secret, you accepted my secret, you became my roommate, you ganged up with Donghae - I don’t know, a lot of things happened pretty damn fast today, hyung.’
‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ mutters Jongwoon, still staring at Kyuhyun who is leaning towards him.
‘So many things,’ murmurs Kyuhyun. ‘We met in one day and we became friends in one day and ...’ He pauses before boldly continuing, ‘you made me like you in one day ... and maybe hyung likes me also...?’
Jongwoon breathes out slowly, his eyes dark. ‘...Yes. I do like you. But,’ he adds, stopping Kyuhyun with a hand on his shoulder when the younger man tentatively leans closer to him again, ‘not everything needs to happen in one day, Kyuhyun. We can, er, go slow.’
‘Slow,’ Kyuhyun repeats. Perhaps it is due to the rush of this one fateful day in his life, but he rather likes the sound of that word. He smiles slowly. ‘Yeah, I like that...’
Jongwoon looks intently at him and then his eyes gleam. ‘But ... I suppose there is no harm in doing one more thing in one day...’
He moves the hand he left on Kyuhyun’s shoulder to behind his neck and pulls his head forward. Catching onto the hint, Kyuhyun smiles and gives in, allowing their lips to tentatively touch, and immediately setting off jolts of electricity shooting through his nerves.
Kim Jongwoon is right. A lot of things have happened in one day, but not necessarily everything needs to happen right then. Some things can wait. And perhaps that’s what makes that moment so perfect for Kyuhyun, because as they wrap their arms around each other and deepen the kiss, he can feel all the things this new venture in his life has in store for him in the future, and the anticipation of those things is the sweetest, most exhilarating feeling he has ever known.
Kyuhyun breathes contentedly as Jongwoon finally pulls away. The other man smiles gently at him, a smile that Kyuhyun returns, and they fall back into silence, just holding each other comfortably while the radiance of Seoul envelopes them.
In those moments, Kyuhyun finally allows himself to indulge in the sweet hope that, in the future, this beautiful view he has had to himself all this time will finally be shared between two people from now on.
(And one day, he will thank Donghae too, that ass.)
END
A/N: So ... yeah. Whatcha guys think? ^^;