SSS 2010: for alicedelusion
For: alicedelusion
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Love, it Transcends.
Pairing: Minho/Jonghyun
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 7,285
Summary: Love, if true, will overcome time and place.
1889, England
His name is Tyler Melbourne. Ty to his family, is the youngest son of the famous architect Lord Albert Melbourne, one of the pioneers for the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture during that time. As the youngest child, the 7th, and probably the accidental, not totally unwanted son, he's often alone, his sister being 6 years older than him, Ty, as unusual as it must be, is not the favorite of his parents, as they were too busy with work and social gatherings to take care of him, so he grows up as a young child raised by nannies. He spends his growing up years inside the music room with his piano instructor as the Melbournes find that their youngest has the gift of music in him.
He watches from the window during break times as his 2 older brothers and 4 older sisters, do their activities by the garden. The second oldest, Young Lord Aiden Melbourne is preparing his engagement to the lovely Young Lady Elizabeth Archibald, to be held 3 nights from now; his oldest brother, Sir Chester Melbourne, who prefers to be called Sir Chase, is accompanied by their twin sisters, Lady Sophia and Lady Victoria, both 22, walking around as ladies should with a man.
"Don’t you want to join them young sir?" His piano instructor, Maestro Vincent Seymour asks, "No, I am fine here, thanks." the then 13-year old young boy tells him, and he walks away from the window, away from the rest of the giggles of his siblings and back to the piano.
"Why do you think Ty does not join us for afternoon tea?" The Young Lady Amber asks as she stops reading her book and listens to the piano emanating from their music room. "Because he's only thirteen and we're all in our twenties." Lady Nicole said as she sits down across her younger sister, "I am nineteen, barely as old as the rest of you are." Young Lady Amber retorts, then followed by a hearty giggle, their eldest brother sits beside her, "We should get him to join us some afternoons."
"And I think we should get you a wife." Young Lord Aiden rests next to Lady Nicole, the twins sit around the table too. "I'm going to get him, it feels lonely when I only see 5 of my dear siblings and our youngest is nowhere to be found." Sir Chase stands up, it is undeniable that the siblings really care for their youngest, however large the age gap must be between the older siblings and the Young Master Ty.
Sir Chase knocks on the music room, the piano's melody stops, signalling for the eldest to come inside, "Maestro Seymour, you may be excused. I am taking my dear brother with me." the Maestro gives his nod to the eldest and faces the young master, "I shall be back in two days, you may get some rest from playing the ivory keys until then."
"Thank you." the youngest Melbourne gets up from his chair and bids goodbye to his instructor, his eldest brother takes his hand, "You should join us more often, young Ty. Your brother Aiden is getting married and he'll move to the Family's estate up north, you wont have time like this with us anymore when we all become adults and marry."
Chase walks with elegance and grace, but doesnt notice a low coffee table on his path and trips over it, he immediately stands, gathering his composure, Ty laughs, "Then I shall be stuck with you older brother, you will never be an adult."
"Ty, you smart bastard. Do not tell anyone of what you saw. Bad for the ladies."
"Of course."
"By the way, young Ty, a new servant came this morning, have you seen him?"
"I... haven't? Should I?"
"It's interesting that he's almost the same age as you, perhaps a year younger, but well, almost."
Young Lord Ty hangs his head low, "It's as if I am allowed to be friends with him, eh?" His eldest brother squeezes his hand and asks, "Sad thing, isn't it?"
"Definitely."
"I will allow it, but do not let father, mother, and your other siblings know. It must be really hard for you to grow up in this estate without someone your age."
"You will?" The youngest Melbourne's eyes glisten with glee, his excitement of knowing someone else around his age is overflowing.
"But it's a secret."
"Yes, older brother. Yes!" He hugs his brother, who hugs him back, Sir Chase really loves the youngest the most, probably the reason he doesnt want to settle down yet, not with a thirteen-year old almost neglected by their parents.
"Speak of the devil, Elias!" Sir Chase calls out to the young boy tending the flowers in the garden, Ty watches him, his long hair pulled back in a ponytail, the servant turns and...
Present Day, Hyupsung High School
Jonghyun jerks awake when he felt someone kick his chair. "It's the end of the morning period, time for lunch." Kibum, his best friend, tells him, "Had a good dream?"
"... yeah."
"Tell me about it." Kibum hooks his arm to his bestfriend, waiting for him to speak up. "It seemed like... I was a young lord for an aristrocratic family in Victorian england."
Kibum raises his eyebrow, "Did you steal my Pride and Prejudice DVD? I've been looking for it for months."
"I dont watch those kinds of films, Key."
"Really?" Key squints his eyes, and then backs off when he finds the look on his bestfriend's face to be serious. "Tell me more." Key unhooks himself from Jonghyun, takes two trays, gives the other to Jonghyun and they fall in line for food.
"It was really detailed. I was named Tyler. Ty, as they called me."
"How do you know it's you?"
"He's got the same hair color as me." Jonghyun refers to his gradient colored hair, a platinum blond in front then turns to brown at the back, "That's you." Key nods as they sit down to an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria. "I always wondered why you have a peculiar yet natural hair."
"And you know i have no answer to that." Jonghyun takes a bite off his apple, then continues telling Key about his dream.
"You know... your crush is in my dream too."
"Specify."
"Onew-hyung."
"WHAT IS MY ONEW-HYUNG DOING IN YOUR DREAM!?!?"
"He was my oldest brother."
"Whew." Key sighs in relief then gestures for Jonghyun to continue with his dream, he tells Key how he has 6 other siblings, that he's neglected by busy parents and how the eldest is allowing him to be friends with the servant, surprisingly.
"Was the servant cute?"
"I didnt see his face."
"And it's a guy!?"
"Chase called him Elias. That's got to be boy's name, right?" Jonghyun rests his chin on his palm, "He's got long hair though, pulled on a ponytail."
"You saw his hair but not his face?" Key's eyes widen with curiosity.
"He's got his back turned against me, he did turn around until some bastard woke me up."
"Oh sorry about that, i didnt know my bestfriend is having a good dream."
Both boys laugh, Jonghyun speaks, "Just forget it, it's not like it's ever really happened in my life anyway."
"That's true." Key agrees, then the bell rang for the afternoon period.
1659, Japan
The samurai Manchiyo walks by the riverside, holding his katana close to him. It's a cold morning, he holds out his hand, a sakura petal lands on his palm, "Winter is coming..."
"Manchiyo-san!" He turns around to the direction of the voice, hand immediately grasping his Katana's tsuka. "It's just me, Manchiyo-san, hold your sword down."
Manchiyo removes his hand from the sheath, and sighs, "You should know better than call out my name so loud, Tamaki."
"I apologize."
"Accepted. You are a young apprentice after all."
Tamaki smiles, he sweeps the sweaty coffee colored bangs off his forehead, "I was just looking for you."
"Is there a problem?"
"You left very early. I was worried."
"Tamaki, you are in training under Master Kohaku, not me. If you follow me around, he'll be enraged."
Tamaki frowns, "But he's mean."
"I am too. Go back to the dojo, and travel safe."
"Travel safe? The dojo is ten houses away from here."
"It doesnt mean that enemy samurais aren't around the area." Manchiyo's voice is firm, and authorative. "A samurai never lets his guard down."
"...You're starting to sound like Master Kohaku-sama. I will see you later." The young apprentice runs off, leaving the samurai in peace.
Manchiyo closes his eyes for a moment and breathes in the cold air, the wind is crisp and the voices of servants girls giggling who's coming from the market can be heard in a not so far off distance can be heard.
He opens his eyes immediately when he heard a twig breaking, he looks up to see a man sitting on his sakura tree.
"You have keen ears, samurai."
Manchiyo looks at the man on top of the tree, he cannot see his face clearly as the shade of the leaves block his view but his air is radical. He has blond hair.
Present Day, Daehyon High School
"Minho - hyung!"
Minho jerks up from his seat, causing all his classmates to look at him and making his professor stop the lessons, "I... I'm sorry." He flashes his smile, the whole classroom goes awww and the professor moves on.
"You've been sleeping alot in class lately hyung." Taemin, Minho's classmate, and closest friend tells him.
"You think, Taemin-ah?"
"Uh-huh."
"You two back there, keep it down." The professor reprimands them, the boys chuckle and starts listening to the class.
The afternoon period ended and the two boys walk out of the academy, which took almost half an hour, them being two of the most popular boys in their school, Choi Minho is the best player in the school's soccer team, while Lee Taemin is the number 1 dancer in the dance club.
"I had a weird dream earlier, Taemin-ah." Minho tells his bestfriend sitting across him in a fast food chain where they decided to eat their dinner together.
"A dream?" Taemin raises his eyebrow, "Tell me about it."
"I was Manchiyo. I appeared to be a samurai. You were there too. Your name's Tamaki and you're an apprentice samurai."
Taemin laughs heartily, "You're watching too much anime, hyung."
"I dont have time to watch anime, silly. But really, it was so detailed. It almost felt real, as if it really happened to me."
"So you mean you're a samurai."
"Yeah. It was rather short though. Just me, Manchiyo, walking along the riverbanks of old Japan, then Tamaki left, as Manchiyo was contemplating, a man sitting on a tree calls out to him."
"How does he look like?"
"I didnt see his face entirely. He's blond, though."
"A blond boy in old Japan?"
"Peculiar, wasnt he?"
"Very peculiar, indeed."
Hyupsung High School
"Do you have plans on Saturday?" Key asks Jonghyun as they walk out of their school, "Me? Well, we have glee club rehearsals."
"After that? Come on, I have Drama club rehearsals too, but it'll only last until 6 in the evening."
"Key... I'm pretty sure I'll be tired after, and you know that I love weekends, that's when i get some more sleep."
Key pouts, "And you just want to dream more about your story which is actually fit for a play."
"Dont sulk. I'll go with you next time."
"Fiiiine." Key hooks his arm around Jonghyun, the older boy sighs, Key's right though, he does want to dream again, if possible, he wants that dream to continue, so he could see Elias' face.
Key suddenly freezes on the spot, the smaller frame of Jonghyun almost gets dragged back, "Kim Kibum!"
"He... He's coming over!" Key squeaks, Jonghyun turns to his front and sees the student body president approaching them, "Ah, Onew - hyung..." Jonghyun greets their senior, Key awkwardly says hi, "Hello, good afternoon, Jonghyun, Key. We need representatives of each club to a camp, and since you two are presidents of your respective ones, we're going to a joint camp with Daehyon High School on Saturday. It's just overnight, we'll inform your parents."
"You're... gonna be there too, hyung?" Key asks, his voice shaking from nervousness.
"Yes. I'll see you then." Onew turns around, nearly tripping and losing composure on his own feet, Jonghyun giggles a little, earning him a hard slap on the back. "DO NOT LAUGH AT MY BELOVED."
"Yeah right. By the way, captain obvious, you were obvious."
"I WASNT."
"Keep denying it wont you?"
"Yah, hyung... Daehyon High's the school two blocks from here, right? Do you know anyone there?"
"Not really. I never bothered to."
"I guess you're right. Come on, i'm hungry. Let's eat."
The both of them walks inside the fast food chain, Jonghyun walking ahead to find good seats while Key heads to the counter to order some food, "Hey!"
"I'm so sorry!"
Taemin immediately gathers Key's books which had fallen to the floor when he crashed onto him, and hands it to the older boy, "We're so sorry." Minho chimes in, he and his bestfriend bows together before walking out of the store, Jonghyun walks up to his bestfriend, "What happened, Key?"
"Nothing, they just bumped into me, no biggie."
Jonghyun looks out the door to see the two male figures waiting by the side of the road to cross the street, he chuckless in silence, the ponytail the taller boy has is almost the same as Elias had in his dream, he shakes his head a little.
This dream is really getting into me.
Minho takes another glance inside the fastfood chain to see the person Taemin bumped into talking to a blond. He's fairly short, and Minho cant see his face clearly. Taemin grabs his attention back when the light turned green and both of them had to cross the street to go home to their shared apartment.
1659, Japan
Juri had spent a lot of time with Manchiyo in the mornings, usually shared by the riverbank, it had been days since he first saw the samurai while he's on top of a tree. Manchiyo called out to him to come down, which he did in an instant, giving just his name, 'Juri', to the samurai, they talked a little, about the town and the people in it, until Manchiyo left immediately; he tells Juri he hopes to meet him again the next day and the same time, if not earlier, in which Juri did, and the days that came after.
They were under the same tree that morning, earlier than the first time they've met. Weird as it may be, but the mornings they meet became earlier than the previous days but ends at the same time, and now the sun has yet to rise but the both of them are already sharing the early breeze together.
"Why do you not let me know more about you, Juri?" Manchiyo asks, keeping his long straight hair that falls upto his waist down, letting it flow slowly with the slight wind.
"Not only do you have keen ears, you are curious as well." Juri answers him, smirking slightly, Manchiyo sighs, "I've spent days with you, it's unlikely for me to trust easily, but i did to you, I think i have some rights to know at least a little about a friend."
Juri turns to him, "THAT is unlike a samurai. You are supposed to be on your guard at all times, am i right?"
"For some reason, I can be a litte less cautious when I am with you." Manchiyo smiles, Juri does the same then looks over the dark horizon.
"I grew up in the mountains, Manchiyo. I come down to towns from time to time to explore, maybe to meet new friends but I couldn't, and I am glad to have finally met one. Thank you, Manchiyo."
"I am happy to be your friend, Juri. If i could only be more than that, then I'll be happier to be so." Manchiyo tells him, resting his head over Juri's shoulder, he holds the shorter man's hand, who did not protest, and they stay quiet for a long time.
If only Manchiyo saw the sadness in Juri's eyes and the tears fighting the urge to fall.
Present Day, Hyupsung High School
"You look good, had a good dream?" Key asks when Jonghyun walks in the classroom. Jonghyun smiles and puts his bag down on his desk, "Actually did."
"Did you see Elias' face?" Key asks, mocking him a little.
"No. I'm with a samurai this time. His name's Manchiyo, he's so handsome. And tall."
"Handsome. Tall. Tell me more." Key sits in front of his bestfriend, eyes hungry for more information.
"It seems my name is Juri and from what I could tell from that dream, me and Manchiyo had just recently became friends, and Manchiyo just wants to learn more about me."
"That's it?"
"Well, fine, you obviously wants to know how he looks like exactly, he had long hair, straight and goes down to his waist, he's got deer-like eyes, they're big and his nose was pointed. He's a little tanned and I told you, he's tall."
"Why do i have a feeling I've seen someone like that before?" Key wonders, "You're a flirt, Kim Kibum, you've seen alot of guys." Jonghyun retorts, "I AM NOT. I cant help it if everybody wants a piece of me."
"Gross."
Jonghyun becomes quiet for a moment, he watches the clouds outside before speaking again, "I felt the melancholy inside Juri's heart."
"Melancholy? So even in dreams you're full of drama."
"Key, it felt as if Juri's holding something from Manchiyo. A big secret."
"I will sound like a total freak here, but... what if, you're dreaming about your past lives?"
"So, reincarnation?" Jonghyun doesn't sound skeptical, Key nods.
"It's a possibility."
"I dont know anyone who looks like Manchiyo."
"If you see Elias' face and he looks like Manchiyo too, we're gonna discuss this more in details."
1894, England
Elias walks around the lake beyond the clearing at the back of the Melbourne's family estate. It's been 5 years since he had started working for the family and befriended the youngest son.
Sir Tyler is different from what he's been told from the first time he came to the mansion.
The older servants told him that the youngest son is the most reserved child of the family. They rarely saw him outside, and from their observations, the youngest was only close to the oldest brother, Sir Chase.
They were introduced by said brother before the Melbourne children enjoyed their afternoon tea. Sir Tyler was peculiar, his hair - a fading blond to brown, and he was fairly short, judging from the stature of his brothers and sisters.
From then on, Sir Ty would sneak out in the mornings or the afternoons and watch him tend to the garden, sometimes his melodious voice would accompany him as Elias watered the flowers. He learned that the youngest Melbourne was a lonely child; Elias was glad that sometimes he'd laugh when around his presence.
Before they knew it; they've grown. Sir Tyler became a piano prodigy, and attention - from men and women - are drawn to the youngest Melbourne. And Elias, he'd stay as a gardener to the estate. But still, they'd sneak out, but not to the gardens anymore.
They have found their private sanctuary in the form of the abandoned lake.
Elias looks up to the sky; It's almost dawn, he thought. And Sir Ty is late.
The gardener squats down to see the flowers that are starting to bloom; he and Sir Ty had planted them a year ago and they've been so happy when the first bud sprouted - as if they just had their firstborn.
"Elias!"
Elias turns to see Sir Ty running up to him and when he reaches him, the young Lord tiptoes and gives him a kiss.
Present Day, Daehyon High School
"Prepared for the camp on Saturday?"
"Huh? What...?"
"Minho - hyung, you've been spacing out since this morning, and if that's unusual enough... you've been giggling and blushing on your own." Taemin tells him as they walk home together.
"I dreamt of someone again."
"Who?"
"Ty. Sir Ty. This time I'm a gardener."
Taemin laughs, "That's a little downgrade from being a samurai, isn't it?"
"I know, but... This Ty... is my master but at the end of the dream, he kissed me."
Taemin raises an eyebrow, "So it's a forbidden love story?"
"Could be. He's dashing, to say the least. His hair is unusual. Blond to brown."
"A blond again? You've been dreaming of a blond alot. It could mean something."
Minho pauses for a moment, Taemin looks back at him. "Taemin, what are you implying?"
"What if you're dreaming about your pasts?"
"I don't know anyone who looks like Ty..."
"Maybe not yet." Taemin gives a knowing smile and then walks on ahead, Minho sighs, and then follows his bestfriend.
-----
Jonghyun sits uncomfortably on the bus - much to Key's annoyance - "Jonghyun - hyung, what is wrong with you?"
"I cant shake this weird feeling off my chest; as if something big will happen..."
"We're going on a camp, it's gonna be boring." Key scoffs.
"Key... I just can't relax."
"My goodness, hyung. The bus hasn't moved yet. We'll be picking up the students from Daehyon High before we even head to the camp... Don't tell me you're car sick already?"
"I'm not car sick. I just..."
Jonghyun's cut off when the bus started moving, and the beating of his heart races against it. He pulls over his cap closer to his face, and hopes to sleep his uneasiness off as they travel. But he couldn't. How could he?
"Key!" Jonghyun almost screams as he shakes his bestfriend awake, Key's always been a fast sleeper, but a grumpy person when awaken.
"This better be good or i'll poke your eyes out." Key tells him.
"Manchiyo..." Jonghyun subtly points to the person standing on the aisle trying to place his bag on the top compartment.
"That's how he looks like?" Key exclaims, "He's the person with the guy who bumped into me last time."
"Oh my god..." Jonghyun whispers, suddenly the world stops and he keeps on staring at 'Manchiyo'.
Minho sits beside Taemin before the bus starts to move, "Taemin-ah... I can't relax for some reason."
"Who would? It's 2 in the morning. It's a six - hour trip. Who can relax? You just lack sleep, hyung." Taemin tells him, with a grudge. The young teenager obviously hates mornings. "I'm gonna sleep, please dont disturb me." And Taemin turns his back from Minho, opting to lie his head against the window.
Minho tries to avoid the feeling but it just wont. From time to time, he'd turn his head to the people on the back of the bus, but all he can always see is someone pulling his cap more to his face, as if hiding from him. When the bus caught traffic, Minho stands up. That person is freaking him out and he might be non-confrontative but this have to stop.
"Excuse me." Minho speaks as he takes the empty seat beside the person.
Jonghyun tries not to look up, "Yes?"
"Were you staring at me...? I can feel you burning holes behind my back..."
"How can I? I can't even see a damn thing..."
Minho - a little annoyed with the attitude - reaches out and removes the cap from the person in front of him, much to his own surprise.
"Sir Ty?!"
"Y... You dreamt about him too?" Were the only words Jonghyun spoke before they just stayed there staring at each other.
They didnt realize how long they've in that position, only until Taemin walks up to Minho and Key shakes Jonghyun awake.
"What's going on Minho - hyung? Do you know this guy?"
"I... I do. But not really." Minho answers, not prying his gaze away from Jonghyun.
"Jonghyun, say something." Key nudges his bestfriend, "H-how can I? This is so surreal..." the blond speaks, still fixated on Minho.
"Well, before anything else, I think you should introduce yourself properly to Manchiyo, Juri." Key tells him with a smile.
"I... I'm not Juri. My name's Kim Jonghyun." He extends a hand, Minho takes it, "Minho. Choi Minho." Their hands grip tighter on each other, and they cant deny the electricity that crept in their veins, and the hearts that suddenly race faster than ever.
Key and Taemin exhange glances, from the hands still holding each other, and as if they've been connected by some sort of magic, both smile meaningfully.
"Stand up and move Jonghyun. You!"
"Lee Taemin."
"Taemin, I'm Kim Kibum. Sit beside me." Key tells the young boy standing and he pushes his bestfriend off the seat, pushing him to Minho and then pulling Taemin beside him.
"Key! What are you doing...?" Jonghyun protests as Minho scoots over to the side to give space to the blond, never mind their hands still intertwined together.
"Just try and know each other more, Minho - hyung and Jonghyun - hyung. You two are now interesting." Taemin chirps in then talks to Key with glee.
Jonghyun sighs then faces Minho, releasing his hand from him, "Uhmn... Sorry about that, Minho."
"It... It's quite okay, Jonghyun."
"So uhmn, what kind of dreams do you dream of them about...?" Jonghyun starts, he's really curious on whether they dream the same dreams.
"The first I dreamt of was me as Manchiyo. A samurai... and someone called me from atop a tree. That was it. How about you?"
"I dreamt I was a thirteen - year old aristocrat looking over his family in the gardens. And I was about to be introduced to Elias... A gardnener."
"I am Elias in my second dream too." Minho tells him, but the blush on his cheeks are too red for Jonghyun not to notice, "What's wrong Minho?"
"I... You. Uhmn, Ty... he... he kissed me in that dream."
"He did?! That thirteen year old whore."
"No. No... he's older. Around 18? I dunno..."
"Well... uhmn... my second dream is Manchiyo with Juri by the same riverbank, just talking and holding hands. They could be lovers, but im not quite sure."
"Why do you think we're dreaming about them...?" Minho asks, Jonghyun shrugs. "I have no idea..."
"Jonghyun"
"Yeah...?" Jonghyun should be feeling awkward, or shy or anything else besides being comfortable with Minho, but the feeling he has for him is like he's known him for the rest of his life.
"Will you let me hold your hand again?" Minho whispers into his ear, and without saying anything, Jonghyun takes the offered hand, locking it with his own. Jonghyun leans his head on Minho's shoulder and dozes off.
"Don't you think they're taking it too fast?" Taemin asks, morning sleep be damned, he just decides to eat the food Key brought along for the camp.
"Fast? I say if they're dreaming of their past lives, they're just continuing what they've started aeons ago..."
1659, Japan
Manchiyo had been called to his Daimyo's estate, "Manchiyo, I need your protection."
"My life, it is yours to use." Manchiyo tells him, the Daimyo smiles.
"Stay on guard tonight, ever since I took the position in the government, eyes are on me. Especially now, with the diet's pending changes."
"No need for explanations. I will protect your life and safety." Minho bows once more and leaves the room to stand guard outside the estate.
Late into the night, Manchiyo scans the area, walking along the gardens, making sure none can pass him, not even a fly. From out of nowhere, shurikens start flying from a direction atop a tree; he dodges it, when he recovers, before him stands a ninja, a pair of Sais in each hand, ready to attack.
"Move out of the way Samurai. I am not here to kill you but your Daimyo." the muffled voice tells Manchiyo.
"You will not get him without me dead." Manchiyo unsheathes his sword, he takes a stance, ready to kill.
"Dont let me kill you, Manchiyo." The ninja tells him in a firm voice, Manchiyo gets wide-eyed. The voice, muffled as it is, is all too familiar to the young samurai. "J - Juri...?"
The ninja removes the mask covering his face, the tears streaming down his cheeks are very evident. "Manchiyo..."
"YOU BETRAYED MY TRUST JURI!!! YOU HAD BEEN DECEIVING ME ALL THIS TIME!"
"At first that was my intention. To make you weak... but Manchiyo, I... I can't kill you. Let me do my job and I will leave you alone."
"I am here to do my job. To protect my Daimyo and to kill whoever wants to take his life. To kill you." Tears are already brimming in his eyes, "I cant let you pass, Juri... Even if I do love you..."
"To the death then, Manchiyo... To the death." Juri tells him, in almost a whisper but loud enough for the samurai's keen ears to hear.
"Manchiyo... We will meet again, and maybe we wont be in this situation anymore, then we can love each other freely."
1896, England
It's the 20th birthday of Sir Tyler Melbourne, and everyone from the Melbourne family gather together to witness the official entrance to manhood of the young pianist.
Elites from all over London gather to the said party, in their extravagant masks and dresses, everyone seems to be enjoying the festivities, except for the celebrant himself.
"Why are you not enjoying the party littlest brother?" Lord Aiden asks as he hands Sir Ty a glass filled with red wine. "Show some interest, even just a little. Our dearest parents are throwing this for you."
"My life will surely be over after tonight." Sir Ty speaks as he gulps down the red wine in one sip.
"And why do you say that?" Lord Chase asks as he walks over to his brother, handing him another glass of wine.
"... Why do you all feign innocence? You do realize that this is not just my birthday party, but also the announcement of my engagement with Lady Aurora Schmidt." Sir Ty spats, "I don't feel any love or even a small affection towards her. She deserves someone who does."
"Marriage is not about being with someone you're in love with." Lord Aiden tells him with a raised eyebrow, "I did not love Lady Elizabeth then, but eventually I have found affection and care towards her. My two lovely daughters are the fruits of that emotion."
"I am in love with someone else. And elite or not, I will never be able to be with that person." Sir Ty walks away from his older brothers. He's thankful that the number of people are vast and they are all busy socializing with each other. It made it very easy for him to slip out of the mansion and walk to the garden.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be inside tending to your guests?" Elias asks when his master comes walking inside his small room by the garden.
"I feel suffocated in there." Sir Ty answers him as the young Lord loosens the buttons of his dress shirt.
"... You are to be married, am I not wrong?" Elias inquires him, the gardener refuses to look at those lovely eyes.
"You are indeed not wrong..." Sir Ty sits on the bed and buries his face on Elias' chest. Elias pats the back of the young master as he continuously cries in fit of anger and defeat.
"I cannot be married. I only want to spend the rest of my lifetime with you, Elias..."
"I know, as it is also my desire. But, we are both aware that such a relationship cannot be." Elias' voice is on the verge of breaking, but he suppresses the urge to join his lover in a chorus of sobs.
"I will not lose you, Elias. I love you."
"And so do I." Elias lifts Sir Ty's face and gives him a passionate kiss, "We will meet again and we wont have to hide in the darkness about our love. I promise, we will find each other."
Present Day
Jonghyun wakes up with a heavy feeling in his chest. He removes his hand from Minho who had fallen asleep as well.
"This is so weird." He touches his lips. In his dreams, he was kissed by a much older Elias. He turns to look at Minho, if Jonghyun is correct, Elias should only be a year or so older than the person beside him is now.
The bus comes to a stop, Jonghyun peeks at the window and sees that they have arrived in camp. "Minho... Wake up." He shakes the person next to him, to no avail.
"That wont work, hyung." Taemin tells him with a knowing grin. "Move aside please." Jonghyun stands up from his seat and takes back his place beside Key. Both him and his bestfriend anticipate what the young boy is planning to do.
"Minho - hyung! Wake up!" Taemin shouts, maybe 10 octaves louder than his usual voice, followed by a strong kick on Minho's calf. The tall boy jerks awake immediately.
"TAEMIN! I told you to stop doing that!" Minho screams, brushing off the dirt from Taemin's shoe away from his pants.
"It's the only thing that works to wake you up. Let's go." Taemin smiles to Minho then bows his head to Jonghyun and Key, then he walks off to their original seats to get their bags from the compartment. Jonghyun averts his eyes away from Minho, who's obviously trying to avoid the older boy's gaze as well.
"What is that all about?!" Key asks, "One minute both of you are almost instant lovers, the next you're bitter and suicidal exes."
"It's a little complicated." Jonghyun stands up and takes his bag from the compartment.
-----
The camp starts as usual with introductions of all 20 people involved. One of the two camp leaders - the coach of Daehyon high's soccer team, tells them that to promote socializing, they will draw names in a box on who will be "tenting" with them.
Key almost faints on the spot when he draws out Onew's name from the box. Taemin dances in victory when he draws a blank paper, thinking he'd be getting the tent alone, only to be laughed at when the camp leader from their school tells him that getting a blank paper means sharing the tent with the camp leader himself. Jonghyun whinces when he draws the name of the person he'll spend the night with.
Choi Minho.
Jonghyun takes the initiative of getting their tent and set it up (in vain, of course) as Minho gets some of the stuff they'll need for the night from the leaders.
The blond is busy reading the manual from hell on how to set up the tent when 3 girls from Daehyon high approaches him, with a stomping of feet and mud flying to his shirt.
"Don't EVEN THINK you can get our Minho-shii just because you're sharing the tent with him, you Hyupsung loser." The girl in the middle threatens Jonghyun, the two other girls just nod behind him.
"What...?" Jonghyun asks in confusion as he brushes the mud off his shirt.
"Choi Minho is ours. No one is allowed to go near him, be it a girl or a boy! Especially not from your school!" The obvious leader speaks again with a slightly louder voice this time.
"Minsu, is something wrong?" Minho asks the leader, the girl suddenly smiles the sweetest fake smile she can and gushes at Minho.
"Oh no, Minho-shii! We were just asking him if he needs anything, so you'd be comfortable in your tent!"
"We're fine. Shouldn't you be tending to your own tents as well?" Minho smiles at the girls, the pack just acts clueless and bid their goodbyes to the tall and handsome boy.
"That's the cheerleading captain of our team." Minho tells Jonghyun as he sets down the flashlights, emergency kits and some other stuffs down next to their personal luggage. "The other two with her are from the archery team and fencing club."
Jonghyun stays quiet, Minho's just obviously making little conversations after the awkward moment at the bus earlier when they woke up.
"Let's just get this over with..." Jonghyun finally says something, Minho chuckles. "You're wasting your time on that manual, Jonghyun."
"Then do it if you think you're so smart." Jonghyun retorts, somehow the awkwardness is being lifted slowly.
"I've been going to camps for as long as i remember. This is a piece of cake." Minho grabs the manual away from Jonghyun and tells him to pick, stab, hold, grab and shake whatever parts the taller boy points at. Eventually the tent is set up in a matter of minutes.
"I'm impressed." Jonghyun nods crossing his arms over his chest. "You should be." Minho grins.
"Let's get our sleeping bags." The taller of the two suggests, the blond nods and walks beside him back to where the sleeping bags are kept.
A few minutes later they're back with a huge surprise.
"What happened here...?" Minho asks to no one in particular, looking for any possible culprit. Jonghyun's bag is a muddy mess, but Minho's perfectly fine. Jonghyun knows exactly who the culprits were but decides not to say anything.
Jonghyun takes off his shirt and starts wiping the mud off the bag, Minho can't help but blush at the sight.
"Seducing Minho already?"
Minho and Jonghyun turns to the direction of the voice to see Key walking up to them with Taemin tailing behind them.
"Ah, no. Just some mishap." Jonghyun tells them with a smile as he continues trying to remove the mud.
"Who did that!?" Key's eyes flare, Taemin steps away a little. Jonghyun just shrugs, Minho sighs. He turns his gaze to the three girls standing a few feet away from them. He gets it.
"Taemin-ah... they did it again." Minho scoffs. Taemin tsks. "Again? It's so hard to be your friend when they're around."
"How about you Key? Didn't faint a thousand times with Onew-hyung?" Jonghyun asks with a smile on his face, ignoring the conversation from the Daehyon high students. Minho smiles to himself as well, he couldnt help but like how Jonghyun can still look fine despite what happened.
"I didnt have time to faint. If I did, nobody would pick him up from falling all over the place. Hyung's a handful, a beautiful handful."
The whistle blows and the hour to set up their tents and settle down's up. Minho rummages his bag and hands Jonghyun a spare shirt. "Wear this for the meantime."
"Thanks..." Jonghyun takes the shirt and immediately wears it. He and Minho then just shoves everything inside their tent without fixing it all up. It will have to wait until later tonight.
The camp officially starts with lots of sports activities, it seems that one's tentmate will have to be his partner for the rest of the camp - much to the glee of most and annoyance to others. From time to time, Jonghyun will trip over when he's running and Minho knew why. Minsu and her band of girls are never subtle about acting like they own Minho anyways. If only Jonghyun will look offended then Minho will do something about it, but Jonghyun will always just brush himself off and get on with the activities with a smile. Minho acting up about it will just cause a lot of commotion and it seems to be what Jonghyun wants, so Minho just lets it all go.
The exhausting activities push the dreams away from Minho and Jonghyun's heads. They havent talked about it yet, but even without the formality, they knew something's wrong earlier.
It's already late into the night and they're all gathered around a bonfire. Some of the campers are showing off their talents or skills to share to all. Taemin proves to everyone why he's the president of the dance club, Key mimics him and dances as well - he adds dancing like girl groups to add more flare. Onew recites poems, Minho raps the poems. Jonghyun sings.
I wanna break every clock, the hands of time could never move again...
We can stay in this moment, for the rest of our lives...
Is it over now? Hey, Is it over now...?
I want to be your last first kiss...
And Minho knows that from that moment on, he'll be living as Manchiyo or Elias all over again - in love with his Juri or Ty, but this time he's in love with his own Jonghyun.
The loud applause breaks Minho's thoughts and the camp leaders tell them to rest for the night. They all spread out and return to their tents, the glares from the girls from Daehyon high doesnt escape Jonghyun's view. The blond lies on one sleeping bag when they enter their shared tent, Minho does on the other.
The small space is enveloped in silence until Minho speaks.
"Jonghyun, are you still awake?"
"Yes..."
"Why... did you turn awkward earlier?"
"Why did you, too?"
Minho sighs, "I dreamt about killing you... well, I'm not sure who killed who, but yeah..."
"I dreamt about getting married and leaving Elias."
Then silence. Short but awkward silence. The kind of silence that even for the typically quiet Minho is suffocating.
"I don't think we're meant to be together..." Jonghyun sighs, keeping his back turned on Minho.
Minho sighs as well, "We're not yet even officially together and you're giving up already..."
"It's not like you're really in love with me. What if the 'attraction' we have is just because we have surreal dreams, and we're caught up in the excitement of it all...?"
Minho inches closer, surprising Jonghyun a little when the taller boy's arm wraps around his waist, "What if the love I've had ages ago never left...?"
"You barely know me."
"We have this whole lifetime to get to know each other."
Jonghyun closes his eyes, and holds Minho's hand, "Somebody's obviously hating on me. My bags, the glares, the shoving... it's just gonna be hard for the both of us..."
"They're just jealous girls. They dont even realize I swing the other way." Minho chuckles, tightening his hold on Jonghyun's waist.
"You study in a different school."
"Jonghyun, what's complicated in our lives right now are too simple for us to not even try this and work this out together. I'll protect you from those girls, I'll pick you up from Hyupsung everyday if I have to. Although, it will be lovely if you'll drop by Daehyon once in awhile to pick me up."
"Minho..."
The taller boy pulls Jonghyun so that the blond will be lying on his back, Minho hovers over him with a smile.
"What do you say, Jonghyun?"
"Just dont kill me if this doesn't work out, Manchiyo..." Jonghyun smiles, Minho grins.
"And dont get married to some random girl, Sir Tyler."
Jonghyun chuckles, Minho suppresses it by capturing the blond's lips with his own. The kiss is sweet and delicate, and filled with love that must have waited a very long time to be together once again. Minho breaks the kiss and smiles sweetly to Jongyun.
"I will be your last first kiss, Jonghyun. Forever and ever."
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Love, it Transcends.
Pairing: Minho/Jonghyun
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 7,285
Summary: Love, if true, will overcome time and place.
1889, England
His name is Tyler Melbourne. Ty to his family, is the youngest son of the famous architect Lord Albert Melbourne, one of the pioneers for the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture during that time. As the youngest child, the 7th, and probably the accidental, not totally unwanted son, he's often alone, his sister being 6 years older than him, Ty, as unusual as it must be, is not the favorite of his parents, as they were too busy with work and social gatherings to take care of him, so he grows up as a young child raised by nannies. He spends his growing up years inside the music room with his piano instructor as the Melbournes find that their youngest has the gift of music in him.
He watches from the window during break times as his 2 older brothers and 4 older sisters, do their activities by the garden. The second oldest, Young Lord Aiden Melbourne is preparing his engagement to the lovely Young Lady Elizabeth Archibald, to be held 3 nights from now; his oldest brother, Sir Chester Melbourne, who prefers to be called Sir Chase, is accompanied by their twin sisters, Lady Sophia and Lady Victoria, both 22, walking around as ladies should with a man.
"Don’t you want to join them young sir?" His piano instructor, Maestro Vincent Seymour asks, "No, I am fine here, thanks." the then 13-year old young boy tells him, and he walks away from the window, away from the rest of the giggles of his siblings and back to the piano.
"Why do you think Ty does not join us for afternoon tea?" The Young Lady Amber asks as she stops reading her book and listens to the piano emanating from their music room. "Because he's only thirteen and we're all in our twenties." Lady Nicole said as she sits down across her younger sister, "I am nineteen, barely as old as the rest of you are." Young Lady Amber retorts, then followed by a hearty giggle, their eldest brother sits beside her, "We should get him to join us some afternoons."
"And I think we should get you a wife." Young Lord Aiden rests next to Lady Nicole, the twins sit around the table too. "I'm going to get him, it feels lonely when I only see 5 of my dear siblings and our youngest is nowhere to be found." Sir Chase stands up, it is undeniable that the siblings really care for their youngest, however large the age gap must be between the older siblings and the Young Master Ty.
Sir Chase knocks on the music room, the piano's melody stops, signalling for the eldest to come inside, "Maestro Seymour, you may be excused. I am taking my dear brother with me." the Maestro gives his nod to the eldest and faces the young master, "I shall be back in two days, you may get some rest from playing the ivory keys until then."
"Thank you." the youngest Melbourne gets up from his chair and bids goodbye to his instructor, his eldest brother takes his hand, "You should join us more often, young Ty. Your brother Aiden is getting married and he'll move to the Family's estate up north, you wont have time like this with us anymore when we all become adults and marry."
Chase walks with elegance and grace, but doesnt notice a low coffee table on his path and trips over it, he immediately stands, gathering his composure, Ty laughs, "Then I shall be stuck with you older brother, you will never be an adult."
"Ty, you smart bastard. Do not tell anyone of what you saw. Bad for the ladies."
"Of course."
"By the way, young Ty, a new servant came this morning, have you seen him?"
"I... haven't? Should I?"
"It's interesting that he's almost the same age as you, perhaps a year younger, but well, almost."
Young Lord Ty hangs his head low, "It's as if I am allowed to be friends with him, eh?" His eldest brother squeezes his hand and asks, "Sad thing, isn't it?"
"Definitely."
"I will allow it, but do not let father, mother, and your other siblings know. It must be really hard for you to grow up in this estate without someone your age."
"You will?" The youngest Melbourne's eyes glisten with glee, his excitement of knowing someone else around his age is overflowing.
"But it's a secret."
"Yes, older brother. Yes!" He hugs his brother, who hugs him back, Sir Chase really loves the youngest the most, probably the reason he doesnt want to settle down yet, not with a thirteen-year old almost neglected by their parents.
"Speak of the devil, Elias!" Sir Chase calls out to the young boy tending the flowers in the garden, Ty watches him, his long hair pulled back in a ponytail, the servant turns and...
Present Day, Hyupsung High School
Jonghyun jerks awake when he felt someone kick his chair. "It's the end of the morning period, time for lunch." Kibum, his best friend, tells him, "Had a good dream?"
"... yeah."
"Tell me about it." Kibum hooks his arm to his bestfriend, waiting for him to speak up. "It seemed like... I was a young lord for an aristrocratic family in Victorian england."
Kibum raises his eyebrow, "Did you steal my Pride and Prejudice DVD? I've been looking for it for months."
"I dont watch those kinds of films, Key."
"Really?" Key squints his eyes, and then backs off when he finds the look on his bestfriend's face to be serious. "Tell me more." Key unhooks himself from Jonghyun, takes two trays, gives the other to Jonghyun and they fall in line for food.
"It was really detailed. I was named Tyler. Ty, as they called me."
"How do you know it's you?"
"He's got the same hair color as me." Jonghyun refers to his gradient colored hair, a platinum blond in front then turns to brown at the back, "That's you." Key nods as they sit down to an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria. "I always wondered why you have a peculiar yet natural hair."
"And you know i have no answer to that." Jonghyun takes a bite off his apple, then continues telling Key about his dream.
"You know... your crush is in my dream too."
"Specify."
"Onew-hyung."
"WHAT IS MY ONEW-HYUNG DOING IN YOUR DREAM!?!?"
"He was my oldest brother."
"Whew." Key sighs in relief then gestures for Jonghyun to continue with his dream, he tells Key how he has 6 other siblings, that he's neglected by busy parents and how the eldest is allowing him to be friends with the servant, surprisingly.
"Was the servant cute?"
"I didnt see his face."
"And it's a guy!?"
"Chase called him Elias. That's got to be boy's name, right?" Jonghyun rests his chin on his palm, "He's got long hair though, pulled on a ponytail."
"You saw his hair but not his face?" Key's eyes widen with curiosity.
"He's got his back turned against me, he did turn around until some bastard woke me up."
"Oh sorry about that, i didnt know my bestfriend is having a good dream."
Both boys laugh, Jonghyun speaks, "Just forget it, it's not like it's ever really happened in my life anyway."
"That's true." Key agrees, then the bell rang for the afternoon period.
1659, Japan
The samurai Manchiyo walks by the riverside, holding his katana close to him. It's a cold morning, he holds out his hand, a sakura petal lands on his palm, "Winter is coming..."
"Manchiyo-san!" He turns around to the direction of the voice, hand immediately grasping his Katana's tsuka. "It's just me, Manchiyo-san, hold your sword down."
Manchiyo removes his hand from the sheath, and sighs, "You should know better than call out my name so loud, Tamaki."
"I apologize."
"Accepted. You are a young apprentice after all."
Tamaki smiles, he sweeps the sweaty coffee colored bangs off his forehead, "I was just looking for you."
"Is there a problem?"
"You left very early. I was worried."
"Tamaki, you are in training under Master Kohaku, not me. If you follow me around, he'll be enraged."
Tamaki frowns, "But he's mean."
"I am too. Go back to the dojo, and travel safe."
"Travel safe? The dojo is ten houses away from here."
"It doesnt mean that enemy samurais aren't around the area." Manchiyo's voice is firm, and authorative. "A samurai never lets his guard down."
"...You're starting to sound like Master Kohaku-sama. I will see you later." The young apprentice runs off, leaving the samurai in peace.
Manchiyo closes his eyes for a moment and breathes in the cold air, the wind is crisp and the voices of servants girls giggling who's coming from the market can be heard in a not so far off distance can be heard.
He opens his eyes immediately when he heard a twig breaking, he looks up to see a man sitting on his sakura tree.
"You have keen ears, samurai."
Manchiyo looks at the man on top of the tree, he cannot see his face clearly as the shade of the leaves block his view but his air is radical. He has blond hair.
Present Day, Daehyon High School
"Minho - hyung!"
Minho jerks up from his seat, causing all his classmates to look at him and making his professor stop the lessons, "I... I'm sorry." He flashes his smile, the whole classroom goes awww and the professor moves on.
"You've been sleeping alot in class lately hyung." Taemin, Minho's classmate, and closest friend tells him.
"You think, Taemin-ah?"
"Uh-huh."
"You two back there, keep it down." The professor reprimands them, the boys chuckle and starts listening to the class.
The afternoon period ended and the two boys walk out of the academy, which took almost half an hour, them being two of the most popular boys in their school, Choi Minho is the best player in the school's soccer team, while Lee Taemin is the number 1 dancer in the dance club.
"I had a weird dream earlier, Taemin-ah." Minho tells his bestfriend sitting across him in a fast food chain where they decided to eat their dinner together.
"A dream?" Taemin raises his eyebrow, "Tell me about it."
"I was Manchiyo. I appeared to be a samurai. You were there too. Your name's Tamaki and you're an apprentice samurai."
Taemin laughs heartily, "You're watching too much anime, hyung."
"I dont have time to watch anime, silly. But really, it was so detailed. It almost felt real, as if it really happened to me."
"So you mean you're a samurai."
"Yeah. It was rather short though. Just me, Manchiyo, walking along the riverbanks of old Japan, then Tamaki left, as Manchiyo was contemplating, a man sitting on a tree calls out to him."
"How does he look like?"
"I didnt see his face entirely. He's blond, though."
"A blond boy in old Japan?"
"Peculiar, wasnt he?"
"Very peculiar, indeed."
Hyupsung High School
"Do you have plans on Saturday?" Key asks Jonghyun as they walk out of their school, "Me? Well, we have glee club rehearsals."
"After that? Come on, I have Drama club rehearsals too, but it'll only last until 6 in the evening."
"Key... I'm pretty sure I'll be tired after, and you know that I love weekends, that's when i get some more sleep."
Key pouts, "And you just want to dream more about your story which is actually fit for a play."
"Dont sulk. I'll go with you next time."
"Fiiiine." Key hooks his arm around Jonghyun, the older boy sighs, Key's right though, he does want to dream again, if possible, he wants that dream to continue, so he could see Elias' face.
Key suddenly freezes on the spot, the smaller frame of Jonghyun almost gets dragged back, "Kim Kibum!"
"He... He's coming over!" Key squeaks, Jonghyun turns to his front and sees the student body president approaching them, "Ah, Onew - hyung..." Jonghyun greets their senior, Key awkwardly says hi, "Hello, good afternoon, Jonghyun, Key. We need representatives of each club to a camp, and since you two are presidents of your respective ones, we're going to a joint camp with Daehyon High School on Saturday. It's just overnight, we'll inform your parents."
"You're... gonna be there too, hyung?" Key asks, his voice shaking from nervousness.
"Yes. I'll see you then." Onew turns around, nearly tripping and losing composure on his own feet, Jonghyun giggles a little, earning him a hard slap on the back. "DO NOT LAUGH AT MY BELOVED."
"Yeah right. By the way, captain obvious, you were obvious."
"I WASNT."
"Keep denying it wont you?"
"Yah, hyung... Daehyon High's the school two blocks from here, right? Do you know anyone there?"
"Not really. I never bothered to."
"I guess you're right. Come on, i'm hungry. Let's eat."
The both of them walks inside the fast food chain, Jonghyun walking ahead to find good seats while Key heads to the counter to order some food, "Hey!"
"I'm so sorry!"
Taemin immediately gathers Key's books which had fallen to the floor when he crashed onto him, and hands it to the older boy, "We're so sorry." Minho chimes in, he and his bestfriend bows together before walking out of the store, Jonghyun walks up to his bestfriend, "What happened, Key?"
"Nothing, they just bumped into me, no biggie."
Jonghyun looks out the door to see the two male figures waiting by the side of the road to cross the street, he chuckless in silence, the ponytail the taller boy has is almost the same as Elias had in his dream, he shakes his head a little.
This dream is really getting into me.
Minho takes another glance inside the fastfood chain to see the person Taemin bumped into talking to a blond. He's fairly short, and Minho cant see his face clearly. Taemin grabs his attention back when the light turned green and both of them had to cross the street to go home to their shared apartment.
1659, Japan
Juri had spent a lot of time with Manchiyo in the mornings, usually shared by the riverbank, it had been days since he first saw the samurai while he's on top of a tree. Manchiyo called out to him to come down, which he did in an instant, giving just his name, 'Juri', to the samurai, they talked a little, about the town and the people in it, until Manchiyo left immediately; he tells Juri he hopes to meet him again the next day and the same time, if not earlier, in which Juri did, and the days that came after.
They were under the same tree that morning, earlier than the first time they've met. Weird as it may be, but the mornings they meet became earlier than the previous days but ends at the same time, and now the sun has yet to rise but the both of them are already sharing the early breeze together.
"Why do you not let me know more about you, Juri?" Manchiyo asks, keeping his long straight hair that falls upto his waist down, letting it flow slowly with the slight wind.
"Not only do you have keen ears, you are curious as well." Juri answers him, smirking slightly, Manchiyo sighs, "I've spent days with you, it's unlikely for me to trust easily, but i did to you, I think i have some rights to know at least a little about a friend."
Juri turns to him, "THAT is unlike a samurai. You are supposed to be on your guard at all times, am i right?"
"For some reason, I can be a litte less cautious when I am with you." Manchiyo smiles, Juri does the same then looks over the dark horizon.
"I grew up in the mountains, Manchiyo. I come down to towns from time to time to explore, maybe to meet new friends but I couldn't, and I am glad to have finally met one. Thank you, Manchiyo."
"I am happy to be your friend, Juri. If i could only be more than that, then I'll be happier to be so." Manchiyo tells him, resting his head over Juri's shoulder, he holds the shorter man's hand, who did not protest, and they stay quiet for a long time.
If only Manchiyo saw the sadness in Juri's eyes and the tears fighting the urge to fall.
Present Day, Hyupsung High School
"You look good, had a good dream?" Key asks when Jonghyun walks in the classroom. Jonghyun smiles and puts his bag down on his desk, "Actually did."
"Did you see Elias' face?" Key asks, mocking him a little.
"No. I'm with a samurai this time. His name's Manchiyo, he's so handsome. And tall."
"Handsome. Tall. Tell me more." Key sits in front of his bestfriend, eyes hungry for more information.
"It seems my name is Juri and from what I could tell from that dream, me and Manchiyo had just recently became friends, and Manchiyo just wants to learn more about me."
"That's it?"
"Well, fine, you obviously wants to know how he looks like exactly, he had long hair, straight and goes down to his waist, he's got deer-like eyes, they're big and his nose was pointed. He's a little tanned and I told you, he's tall."
"Why do i have a feeling I've seen someone like that before?" Key wonders, "You're a flirt, Kim Kibum, you've seen alot of guys." Jonghyun retorts, "I AM NOT. I cant help it if everybody wants a piece of me."
"Gross."
Jonghyun becomes quiet for a moment, he watches the clouds outside before speaking again, "I felt the melancholy inside Juri's heart."
"Melancholy? So even in dreams you're full of drama."
"Key, it felt as if Juri's holding something from Manchiyo. A big secret."
"I will sound like a total freak here, but... what if, you're dreaming about your past lives?"
"So, reincarnation?" Jonghyun doesn't sound skeptical, Key nods.
"It's a possibility."
"I dont know anyone who looks like Manchiyo."
"If you see Elias' face and he looks like Manchiyo too, we're gonna discuss this more in details."
1894, England
Elias walks around the lake beyond the clearing at the back of the Melbourne's family estate. It's been 5 years since he had started working for the family and befriended the youngest son.
Sir Tyler is different from what he's been told from the first time he came to the mansion.
The older servants told him that the youngest son is the most reserved child of the family. They rarely saw him outside, and from their observations, the youngest was only close to the oldest brother, Sir Chase.
They were introduced by said brother before the Melbourne children enjoyed their afternoon tea. Sir Tyler was peculiar, his hair - a fading blond to brown, and he was fairly short, judging from the stature of his brothers and sisters.
From then on, Sir Ty would sneak out in the mornings or the afternoons and watch him tend to the garden, sometimes his melodious voice would accompany him as Elias watered the flowers. He learned that the youngest Melbourne was a lonely child; Elias was glad that sometimes he'd laugh when around his presence.
Before they knew it; they've grown. Sir Tyler became a piano prodigy, and attention - from men and women - are drawn to the youngest Melbourne. And Elias, he'd stay as a gardener to the estate. But still, they'd sneak out, but not to the gardens anymore.
They have found their private sanctuary in the form of the abandoned lake.
Elias looks up to the sky; It's almost dawn, he thought. And Sir Ty is late.
The gardener squats down to see the flowers that are starting to bloom; he and Sir Ty had planted them a year ago and they've been so happy when the first bud sprouted - as if they just had their firstborn.
"Elias!"
Elias turns to see Sir Ty running up to him and when he reaches him, the young Lord tiptoes and gives him a kiss.
Present Day, Daehyon High School
"Prepared for the camp on Saturday?"
"Huh? What...?"
"Minho - hyung, you've been spacing out since this morning, and if that's unusual enough... you've been giggling and blushing on your own." Taemin tells him as they walk home together.
"I dreamt of someone again."
"Who?"
"Ty. Sir Ty. This time I'm a gardener."
Taemin laughs, "That's a little downgrade from being a samurai, isn't it?"
"I know, but... This Ty... is my master but at the end of the dream, he kissed me."
Taemin raises an eyebrow, "So it's a forbidden love story?"
"Could be. He's dashing, to say the least. His hair is unusual. Blond to brown."
"A blond again? You've been dreaming of a blond alot. It could mean something."
Minho pauses for a moment, Taemin looks back at him. "Taemin, what are you implying?"
"What if you're dreaming about your pasts?"
"I don't know anyone who looks like Ty..."
"Maybe not yet." Taemin gives a knowing smile and then walks on ahead, Minho sighs, and then follows his bestfriend.
-----
Jonghyun sits uncomfortably on the bus - much to Key's annoyance - "Jonghyun - hyung, what is wrong with you?"
"I cant shake this weird feeling off my chest; as if something big will happen..."
"We're going on a camp, it's gonna be boring." Key scoffs.
"Key... I just can't relax."
"My goodness, hyung. The bus hasn't moved yet. We'll be picking up the students from Daehyon High before we even head to the camp... Don't tell me you're car sick already?"
"I'm not car sick. I just..."
Jonghyun's cut off when the bus started moving, and the beating of his heart races against it. He pulls over his cap closer to his face, and hopes to sleep his uneasiness off as they travel. But he couldn't. How could he?
"Key!" Jonghyun almost screams as he shakes his bestfriend awake, Key's always been a fast sleeper, but a grumpy person when awaken.
"This better be good or i'll poke your eyes out." Key tells him.
"Manchiyo..." Jonghyun subtly points to the person standing on the aisle trying to place his bag on the top compartment.
"That's how he looks like?" Key exclaims, "He's the person with the guy who bumped into me last time."
"Oh my god..." Jonghyun whispers, suddenly the world stops and he keeps on staring at 'Manchiyo'.
Minho sits beside Taemin before the bus starts to move, "Taemin-ah... I can't relax for some reason."
"Who would? It's 2 in the morning. It's a six - hour trip. Who can relax? You just lack sleep, hyung." Taemin tells him, with a grudge. The young teenager obviously hates mornings. "I'm gonna sleep, please dont disturb me." And Taemin turns his back from Minho, opting to lie his head against the window.
Minho tries to avoid the feeling but it just wont. From time to time, he'd turn his head to the people on the back of the bus, but all he can always see is someone pulling his cap more to his face, as if hiding from him. When the bus caught traffic, Minho stands up. That person is freaking him out and he might be non-confrontative but this have to stop.
"Excuse me." Minho speaks as he takes the empty seat beside the person.
Jonghyun tries not to look up, "Yes?"
"Were you staring at me...? I can feel you burning holes behind my back..."
"How can I? I can't even see a damn thing..."
Minho - a little annoyed with the attitude - reaches out and removes the cap from the person in front of him, much to his own surprise.
"Sir Ty?!"
"Y... You dreamt about him too?" Were the only words Jonghyun spoke before they just stayed there staring at each other.
They didnt realize how long they've in that position, only until Taemin walks up to Minho and Key shakes Jonghyun awake.
"What's going on Minho - hyung? Do you know this guy?"
"I... I do. But not really." Minho answers, not prying his gaze away from Jonghyun.
"Jonghyun, say something." Key nudges his bestfriend, "H-how can I? This is so surreal..." the blond speaks, still fixated on Minho.
"Well, before anything else, I think you should introduce yourself properly to Manchiyo, Juri." Key tells him with a smile.
"I... I'm not Juri. My name's Kim Jonghyun." He extends a hand, Minho takes it, "Minho. Choi Minho." Their hands grip tighter on each other, and they cant deny the electricity that crept in their veins, and the hearts that suddenly race faster than ever.
Key and Taemin exhange glances, from the hands still holding each other, and as if they've been connected by some sort of magic, both smile meaningfully.
"Stand up and move Jonghyun. You!"
"Lee Taemin."
"Taemin, I'm Kim Kibum. Sit beside me." Key tells the young boy standing and he pushes his bestfriend off the seat, pushing him to Minho and then pulling Taemin beside him.
"Key! What are you doing...?" Jonghyun protests as Minho scoots over to the side to give space to the blond, never mind their hands still intertwined together.
"Just try and know each other more, Minho - hyung and Jonghyun - hyung. You two are now interesting." Taemin chirps in then talks to Key with glee.
Jonghyun sighs then faces Minho, releasing his hand from him, "Uhmn... Sorry about that, Minho."
"It... It's quite okay, Jonghyun."
"So uhmn, what kind of dreams do you dream of them about...?" Jonghyun starts, he's really curious on whether they dream the same dreams.
"The first I dreamt of was me as Manchiyo. A samurai... and someone called me from atop a tree. That was it. How about you?"
"I dreamt I was a thirteen - year old aristocrat looking over his family in the gardens. And I was about to be introduced to Elias... A gardnener."
"I am Elias in my second dream too." Minho tells him, but the blush on his cheeks are too red for Jonghyun not to notice, "What's wrong Minho?"
"I... You. Uhmn, Ty... he... he kissed me in that dream."
"He did?! That thirteen year old whore."
"No. No... he's older. Around 18? I dunno..."
"Well... uhmn... my second dream is Manchiyo with Juri by the same riverbank, just talking and holding hands. They could be lovers, but im not quite sure."
"Why do you think we're dreaming about them...?" Minho asks, Jonghyun shrugs. "I have no idea..."
"Jonghyun"
"Yeah...?" Jonghyun should be feeling awkward, or shy or anything else besides being comfortable with Minho, but the feeling he has for him is like he's known him for the rest of his life.
"Will you let me hold your hand again?" Minho whispers into his ear, and without saying anything, Jonghyun takes the offered hand, locking it with his own. Jonghyun leans his head on Minho's shoulder and dozes off.
"Don't you think they're taking it too fast?" Taemin asks, morning sleep be damned, he just decides to eat the food Key brought along for the camp.
"Fast? I say if they're dreaming of their past lives, they're just continuing what they've started aeons ago..."
1659, Japan
Manchiyo had been called to his Daimyo's estate, "Manchiyo, I need your protection."
"My life, it is yours to use." Manchiyo tells him, the Daimyo smiles.
"Stay on guard tonight, ever since I took the position in the government, eyes are on me. Especially now, with the diet's pending changes."
"No need for explanations. I will protect your life and safety." Minho bows once more and leaves the room to stand guard outside the estate.
Late into the night, Manchiyo scans the area, walking along the gardens, making sure none can pass him, not even a fly. From out of nowhere, shurikens start flying from a direction atop a tree; he dodges it, when he recovers, before him stands a ninja, a pair of Sais in each hand, ready to attack.
"Move out of the way Samurai. I am not here to kill you but your Daimyo." the muffled voice tells Manchiyo.
"You will not get him without me dead." Manchiyo unsheathes his sword, he takes a stance, ready to kill.
"Dont let me kill you, Manchiyo." The ninja tells him in a firm voice, Manchiyo gets wide-eyed. The voice, muffled as it is, is all too familiar to the young samurai. "J - Juri...?"
The ninja removes the mask covering his face, the tears streaming down his cheeks are very evident. "Manchiyo..."
"YOU BETRAYED MY TRUST JURI!!! YOU HAD BEEN DECEIVING ME ALL THIS TIME!"
"At first that was my intention. To make you weak... but Manchiyo, I... I can't kill you. Let me do my job and I will leave you alone."
"I am here to do my job. To protect my Daimyo and to kill whoever wants to take his life. To kill you." Tears are already brimming in his eyes, "I cant let you pass, Juri... Even if I do love you..."
"To the death then, Manchiyo... To the death." Juri tells him, in almost a whisper but loud enough for the samurai's keen ears to hear.
"Manchiyo... We will meet again, and maybe we wont be in this situation anymore, then we can love each other freely."
1896, England
It's the 20th birthday of Sir Tyler Melbourne, and everyone from the Melbourne family gather together to witness the official entrance to manhood of the young pianist.
Elites from all over London gather to the said party, in their extravagant masks and dresses, everyone seems to be enjoying the festivities, except for the celebrant himself.
"Why are you not enjoying the party littlest brother?" Lord Aiden asks as he hands Sir Ty a glass filled with red wine. "Show some interest, even just a little. Our dearest parents are throwing this for you."
"My life will surely be over after tonight." Sir Ty speaks as he gulps down the red wine in one sip.
"And why do you say that?" Lord Chase asks as he walks over to his brother, handing him another glass of wine.
"... Why do you all feign innocence? You do realize that this is not just my birthday party, but also the announcement of my engagement with Lady Aurora Schmidt." Sir Ty spats, "I don't feel any love or even a small affection towards her. She deserves someone who does."
"Marriage is not about being with someone you're in love with." Lord Aiden tells him with a raised eyebrow, "I did not love Lady Elizabeth then, but eventually I have found affection and care towards her. My two lovely daughters are the fruits of that emotion."
"I am in love with someone else. And elite or not, I will never be able to be with that person." Sir Ty walks away from his older brothers. He's thankful that the number of people are vast and they are all busy socializing with each other. It made it very easy for him to slip out of the mansion and walk to the garden.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be inside tending to your guests?" Elias asks when his master comes walking inside his small room by the garden.
"I feel suffocated in there." Sir Ty answers him as the young Lord loosens the buttons of his dress shirt.
"... You are to be married, am I not wrong?" Elias inquires him, the gardener refuses to look at those lovely eyes.
"You are indeed not wrong..." Sir Ty sits on the bed and buries his face on Elias' chest. Elias pats the back of the young master as he continuously cries in fit of anger and defeat.
"I cannot be married. I only want to spend the rest of my lifetime with you, Elias..."
"I know, as it is also my desire. But, we are both aware that such a relationship cannot be." Elias' voice is on the verge of breaking, but he suppresses the urge to join his lover in a chorus of sobs.
"I will not lose you, Elias. I love you."
"And so do I." Elias lifts Sir Ty's face and gives him a passionate kiss, "We will meet again and we wont have to hide in the darkness about our love. I promise, we will find each other."
Present Day
Jonghyun wakes up with a heavy feeling in his chest. He removes his hand from Minho who had fallen asleep as well.
"This is so weird." He touches his lips. In his dreams, he was kissed by a much older Elias. He turns to look at Minho, if Jonghyun is correct, Elias should only be a year or so older than the person beside him is now.
The bus comes to a stop, Jonghyun peeks at the window and sees that they have arrived in camp. "Minho... Wake up." He shakes the person next to him, to no avail.
"That wont work, hyung." Taemin tells him with a knowing grin. "Move aside please." Jonghyun stands up from his seat and takes back his place beside Key. Both him and his bestfriend anticipate what the young boy is planning to do.
"Minho - hyung! Wake up!" Taemin shouts, maybe 10 octaves louder than his usual voice, followed by a strong kick on Minho's calf. The tall boy jerks awake immediately.
"TAEMIN! I told you to stop doing that!" Minho screams, brushing off the dirt from Taemin's shoe away from his pants.
"It's the only thing that works to wake you up. Let's go." Taemin smiles to Minho then bows his head to Jonghyun and Key, then he walks off to their original seats to get their bags from the compartment. Jonghyun averts his eyes away from Minho, who's obviously trying to avoid the older boy's gaze as well.
"What is that all about?!" Key asks, "One minute both of you are almost instant lovers, the next you're bitter and suicidal exes."
"It's a little complicated." Jonghyun stands up and takes his bag from the compartment.
-----
The camp starts as usual with introductions of all 20 people involved. One of the two camp leaders - the coach of Daehyon high's soccer team, tells them that to promote socializing, they will draw names in a box on who will be "tenting" with them.
Key almost faints on the spot when he draws out Onew's name from the box. Taemin dances in victory when he draws a blank paper, thinking he'd be getting the tent alone, only to be laughed at when the camp leader from their school tells him that getting a blank paper means sharing the tent with the camp leader himself. Jonghyun whinces when he draws the name of the person he'll spend the night with.
Choi Minho.
Jonghyun takes the initiative of getting their tent and set it up (in vain, of course) as Minho gets some of the stuff they'll need for the night from the leaders.
The blond is busy reading the manual from hell on how to set up the tent when 3 girls from Daehyon high approaches him, with a stomping of feet and mud flying to his shirt.
"Don't EVEN THINK you can get our Minho-shii just because you're sharing the tent with him, you Hyupsung loser." The girl in the middle threatens Jonghyun, the two other girls just nod behind him.
"What...?" Jonghyun asks in confusion as he brushes the mud off his shirt.
"Choi Minho is ours. No one is allowed to go near him, be it a girl or a boy! Especially not from your school!" The obvious leader speaks again with a slightly louder voice this time.
"Minsu, is something wrong?" Minho asks the leader, the girl suddenly smiles the sweetest fake smile she can and gushes at Minho.
"Oh no, Minho-shii! We were just asking him if he needs anything, so you'd be comfortable in your tent!"
"We're fine. Shouldn't you be tending to your own tents as well?" Minho smiles at the girls, the pack just acts clueless and bid their goodbyes to the tall and handsome boy.
"That's the cheerleading captain of our team." Minho tells Jonghyun as he sets down the flashlights, emergency kits and some other stuffs down next to their personal luggage. "The other two with her are from the archery team and fencing club."
Jonghyun stays quiet, Minho's just obviously making little conversations after the awkward moment at the bus earlier when they woke up.
"Let's just get this over with..." Jonghyun finally says something, Minho chuckles. "You're wasting your time on that manual, Jonghyun."
"Then do it if you think you're so smart." Jonghyun retorts, somehow the awkwardness is being lifted slowly.
"I've been going to camps for as long as i remember. This is a piece of cake." Minho grabs the manual away from Jonghyun and tells him to pick, stab, hold, grab and shake whatever parts the taller boy points at. Eventually the tent is set up in a matter of minutes.
"I'm impressed." Jonghyun nods crossing his arms over his chest. "You should be." Minho grins.
"Let's get our sleeping bags." The taller of the two suggests, the blond nods and walks beside him back to where the sleeping bags are kept.
A few minutes later they're back with a huge surprise.
"What happened here...?" Minho asks to no one in particular, looking for any possible culprit. Jonghyun's bag is a muddy mess, but Minho's perfectly fine. Jonghyun knows exactly who the culprits were but decides not to say anything.
Jonghyun takes off his shirt and starts wiping the mud off the bag, Minho can't help but blush at the sight.
"Seducing Minho already?"
Minho and Jonghyun turns to the direction of the voice to see Key walking up to them with Taemin tailing behind them.
"Ah, no. Just some mishap." Jonghyun tells them with a smile as he continues trying to remove the mud.
"Who did that!?" Key's eyes flare, Taemin steps away a little. Jonghyun just shrugs, Minho sighs. He turns his gaze to the three girls standing a few feet away from them. He gets it.
"Taemin-ah... they did it again." Minho scoffs. Taemin tsks. "Again? It's so hard to be your friend when they're around."
"How about you Key? Didn't faint a thousand times with Onew-hyung?" Jonghyun asks with a smile on his face, ignoring the conversation from the Daehyon high students. Minho smiles to himself as well, he couldnt help but like how Jonghyun can still look fine despite what happened.
"I didnt have time to faint. If I did, nobody would pick him up from falling all over the place. Hyung's a handful, a beautiful handful."
The whistle blows and the hour to set up their tents and settle down's up. Minho rummages his bag and hands Jonghyun a spare shirt. "Wear this for the meantime."
"Thanks..." Jonghyun takes the shirt and immediately wears it. He and Minho then just shoves everything inside their tent without fixing it all up. It will have to wait until later tonight.
The camp officially starts with lots of sports activities, it seems that one's tentmate will have to be his partner for the rest of the camp - much to the glee of most and annoyance to others. From time to time, Jonghyun will trip over when he's running and Minho knew why. Minsu and her band of girls are never subtle about acting like they own Minho anyways. If only Jonghyun will look offended then Minho will do something about it, but Jonghyun will always just brush himself off and get on with the activities with a smile. Minho acting up about it will just cause a lot of commotion and it seems to be what Jonghyun wants, so Minho just lets it all go.
The exhausting activities push the dreams away from Minho and Jonghyun's heads. They havent talked about it yet, but even without the formality, they knew something's wrong earlier.
It's already late into the night and they're all gathered around a bonfire. Some of the campers are showing off their talents or skills to share to all. Taemin proves to everyone why he's the president of the dance club, Key mimics him and dances as well - he adds dancing like girl groups to add more flare. Onew recites poems, Minho raps the poems. Jonghyun sings.
I wanna break every clock, the hands of time could never move again...
We can stay in this moment, for the rest of our lives...
Is it over now? Hey, Is it over now...?
I want to be your last first kiss...
And Minho knows that from that moment on, he'll be living as Manchiyo or Elias all over again - in love with his Juri or Ty, but this time he's in love with his own Jonghyun.
The loud applause breaks Minho's thoughts and the camp leaders tell them to rest for the night. They all spread out and return to their tents, the glares from the girls from Daehyon high doesnt escape Jonghyun's view. The blond lies on one sleeping bag when they enter their shared tent, Minho does on the other.
The small space is enveloped in silence until Minho speaks.
"Jonghyun, are you still awake?"
"Yes..."
"Why... did you turn awkward earlier?"
"Why did you, too?"
Minho sighs, "I dreamt about killing you... well, I'm not sure who killed who, but yeah..."
"I dreamt about getting married and leaving Elias."
Then silence. Short but awkward silence. The kind of silence that even for the typically quiet Minho is suffocating.
"I don't think we're meant to be together..." Jonghyun sighs, keeping his back turned on Minho.
Minho sighs as well, "We're not yet even officially together and you're giving up already..."
"It's not like you're really in love with me. What if the 'attraction' we have is just because we have surreal dreams, and we're caught up in the excitement of it all...?"
Minho inches closer, surprising Jonghyun a little when the taller boy's arm wraps around his waist, "What if the love I've had ages ago never left...?"
"You barely know me."
"We have this whole lifetime to get to know each other."
Jonghyun closes his eyes, and holds Minho's hand, "Somebody's obviously hating on me. My bags, the glares, the shoving... it's just gonna be hard for the both of us..."
"They're just jealous girls. They dont even realize I swing the other way." Minho chuckles, tightening his hold on Jonghyun's waist.
"You study in a different school."
"Jonghyun, what's complicated in our lives right now are too simple for us to not even try this and work this out together. I'll protect you from those girls, I'll pick you up from Hyupsung everyday if I have to. Although, it will be lovely if you'll drop by Daehyon once in awhile to pick me up."
"Minho..."
The taller boy pulls Jonghyun so that the blond will be lying on his back, Minho hovers over him with a smile.
"What do you say, Jonghyun?"
"Just dont kill me if this doesn't work out, Manchiyo..." Jonghyun smiles, Minho grins.
"And dont get married to some random girl, Sir Tyler."
Jonghyun chuckles, Minho suppresses it by capturing the blond's lips with his own. The kiss is sweet and delicate, and filled with love that must have waited a very long time to be together once again. Minho breaks the kiss and smiles sweetly to Jongyun.
"I will be your last first kiss, Jonghyun. Forever and ever."