The Sandman (2/?)
Title: The Sandman
Pairing: KyuMin
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Romance, Fantasy, slight!angst
Summary: Cho Kyuhyun had a special job to do every night, Lee Sungmin just happens to complicate it all.
If a genie were to come and grant Sungmin one wish and one wish only, he would ask to turn back time to the day he picked a place to live just to choose the bigger apartment with more than one place to hide, or that the wall he was currently attached to would just disappear so he could run for his life. There was a man in his room. A tall, skinny man with black hair and only dressed in dark clothes; a man who did nothing but look at him with an unreadable expression on his face, clearly showing that Sungmin's actual state of shock isn't anything out the ordinary for him. Sungmin, in the other hand, was cringing in fear from his spot on the bed, doing some sort of prayer the other man faintly caught with his ears.
"I'm not the death god or anything of the sort, would you stop praying? I'm not going to kill you," the stranger spoke in a deep voice, it was rich and calm but it hid a hint of annoyance that immediately made Sungmin flinch and resume praying.
"You are not going crazy either," the black haired man impatiently said. He sighed and ruffled his hair with one hand in exasperation, not knowing what to do in this kind of situation for this was a first for him too. "I knew you would be a problem, I should have listened to Heechul and stayed out of it. Why do I have to be so stubborn?" he exclaimed and let his body fall backwards, sitting on a chair that was facing Sungmin's bed. The petite man looked like a scared puppy, he was terrified and at the verge of crying, the other figured he could have given him a heart attack, and that he would need to be gentle to get the shocked man out of his trance. Humans could be so fragile sometimes.
"Hey," the tall man called out in a gentler tone than before, this time trying to sound totally calm and serene, "I'm not going to hurt you." He said standing up and getting closer to the bed with small steps. Sungmin didn't seem to respond to his attempted approach, so he kept going closer until his knees touched the border of the bed. Carefully, he climbed up the bed and kneeled down mere inches away from the shaking man who had his face buried in his hands and his knees to his chest.
"Sungmin," he called out the other's name, slowly reaching a hand to touch him. At the sound of his name, Sungmin jumped in surprise and looked at the stranger in front of him with teary eyes, who immediately withdrew his hand at this action.
"H-how did you know my name?", Sungmin whispered, his voice failing to sound demanding.
"I don't know, I just know it," he answered in the same tone as not to scare the crying man in front of him. He absentmindedly reached out and whipped one of Sungmin's tears with his thumb, regretting his bold action as soon as the other flinched and closed his eyes in fear.
“I said I won’t hurt you,” the dark clothed man repeated his words, taking his hand from Sungmin’s face to give him space; “You could say I’m here to help you.”
“Help me?” Sungmin shot his eyes open, shocked to find the person he was scared of giving him one of the most beautiful smiles he’s ever seen. Only then did he take the time to study said man’s features; perfectly styled yet messy black hair, stunning facial features despite the faint acne scars, eyes that could take you into a trance without you even realizing it, smile that could melt your heart, and his voice, his voice had to be what Sungmin liked the most. He’s never heard anything like it before. It soothed him, calmed his rapidly beating heart. He knew he should be scared of this stranger that barged into his room and observed him while he slept, but one look at his smile was enough to tranquilize him. Suddenly, instead of being scared he was curious.
“Who are you?” Sungmin managed to ask, it was a sound as faint as a whisper but the other heard him anyway.
“I'm Kyuhyun," the guy said searching for something in one of his pockets and showing it to Sungmin, the latter eyeing the familiar paper and gasping in disbelief. He was holding the same piece of paper Ryeowook had given him that afternoon.
"The Sandman" he read out loud and stared at Kyuhyun, the latter staring right back.
-----
Kim Heechul has always been known for his incredibly accurate prediction of things. He knew the future as much as he knew that leopard print combined with polka dots could be considered a first-degree murder for any human being with even the smallest amount of common sense. No, it was not fashion as some may say; it was just the privilege of not having a piece of wood for a brain and knowing how to use it. Heechul was a unique human being, someone you couldn't see every day -or even every million years because someone like Heechul just couldn't be created again. He was something special and he was aware of it, he didn't care if Kyuhyun, his best friend, didn't like to acknowledge it. He was the kind that didn't need anyone's approval anyway.
Heechul had a special gift, just like his friend, he was not entirely human. He could see things normal humans couldn't see, normally presented in the form of dreams. He called it destiny when he met Kyuhyun, the latter coming into his life by surprise one faithful day. Neither of them knows how they got along, since they both had strong personalities, but they became best friends almost instantly.
Heechul was good at reading people, and being with Kyuhyun almost every day for many years was enough for him to be able to read the younger like a book. Kyuhyun was smart, witty and sometimes disrespectful, he had no patience towards people whatsoever, and he didn't like getting close to anyone in particular (Heechul being an exception, of course). Kyuhyun was, more than anything else, a stubborn guy. He was always determined not to change his attitude or decisions, even if it brought him problems in the future -problems that Heechul was forced to fix all the time.
There was one problem he just knew he wouldn't be able to fix, though, when Kyuhyun came up to him wearing a troubled expression, looking as if thousands of thoughts were running through his head all at once. He didn't even need to ask what was wrong; with just looking at Kyuhyun he knew it wasn't good.
“I think I have a problem”
----
Sungmin woke up when the sound of his phone going off under his pillow was too annoying to ignore. He was never one to not pick up, for it could be an emergency when he least expected it, but he was too tired to reason with his brain right now. He wanted to sleep. With his eyes still closed out of exhaustion, he picked up his phone and brought it to his ear, mouthing a groggy 'hello' to the person at the other end of the line.
"Don't you hello me, Lee Sungmin. Do you know what time it is?", Ryeowook's whinny voice greeted him much to his surprise.
"I don't know, six?", he absentmindedly answered, snuggling in his pillow and enjoying the good feeling of his bed in the early morning.
"It's 10 am! Ten! You were supposed to be here more than two hours ago! Where you..." Ryeowook gasped, "Where you sleeping?"
"Hmm, I had the weirdest dream, Wook. There was this man and he was watching me in my sleep, and...", and as if on cue, Sungmin's eyes snapped open, ready to scan his room for any trace of the stranger he thought he imagined last night. He sat up, still holding his phone to his ear with his right hand, and looking around the sunlight lit room with widened eyes. Ryeowook waited patiently for his friend to continue, totally forgetting the original reason why he called in the first place. He was curious as to why had Sungmin had suddenly stopped talking, and even more than that, did he really sleep last night? When he heard Sungmin sigh almost in defeat in the other end, he decided to break the silence.
"Is something wrong?” he asked cautiously, not really sure of what to make out of Sungmin's weird behavior this morning.
"No. I just had a weird dream that's all", Sungmin said slowly, and somehow it sounded as if he was trying his best to convince himself. There was another pregnant pause between them then, and Ryeowook noticed he was starting to feel a little worried. He was ready to take the day off work and run to his friend's apartment to make sure he was okay when the older man spoke up in a hurried tone.
"Oh God, how did it get so late? Wook, you should have called me sooner!" Sungmin whined like a five year old, and Ryeowook could almost imagine his childish expression right now.
"I've been calling you for two consecutive hours now! You should be thankful that I didn't send the FBI to look for you, you brat!", Ryeowook half-screamed indignantly, making Sungmin laugh his signature high-pitched and overly cute laugh.
"Yah! I'm older than you, show some respect", Sungmin said, failing to sound annoyed miserably. Ryeowook didn't answer but started giggling non-stop, finding his friend's current mood rather pleasant to witness. "Cover for me, okay? I'll be there soon", Sungmin added a little more serious this time, and Ryeowook nodded from the other side of the line, remembering after a few seconds that the latter couldn't see him.
"Don't be late", he half-joked, earning another joyful laugh from his best friend. Sungmin hung up then, and placed his phone back to its original place under the pillow. He made a move to stand up from his bed, feeling completely at ease and full of energy for the first time in what seemed like forever. He was about to stretch his stiff limbs and shake away the sleep from his body when he realized he was holding something with his left hand. The small thing securely trapped inside his palm as is he was scared to lose it. Sungmin had to curse under his breath when he opened his palm, eyeing the crumpled piece of paper suspiciously. He stood up and threw it in the trash can with much determination, deciding that it had given him enough weird dreams already, and headed to the bathroom at lightning speed to get ready for work.
In his hurry, Sungmin missed the small "I'll be back tonight" scribbled on the back of the crumpled paper inside the trash can.
-----
“I think I told you to ignore it, Kyuhyun”, Heechul said under his breath as he made his way to the big glass window inside the imperial room. The sun was shining more than ever much to his dislike and he couldn’t stand the brightness anymore. He closed the curtains with brutal force, making it clear that he was annoyed to the man lying on the king sized bed.
“And I think I told you that I couldn’t.” answered the younger of the two, his patience wearing thin by the minute. He wasn’t a morning person, mainly because he never sleeps at night, and Heechul wasn’t either. World War III could erupt any minute now if neither of them watched their words towards the other. Kyuhyun contemplated if throwing a pillow straight to Heechul’s face would cost him one or two permanent teeth.
“Well,” Heechul started from his spot next to the window, “you did what you wanted to do, now stay away before something happens.”
“Something like what, Heechul? I thought it was my job to make people sleep”, Kyuhyun spat, sitting up on the bed and sending a challenging look in his hyung’s direction.
“First of all, it’s hyung for you. Don’t make me teach you a lesson, you insolent brat”, now it was more than clear that Heechul was controlling himself. His fists were clenched at the sides, and Kyuhyun could see the small vein on his forehead palpitating, as if it could pop any minute now. He threw his hands in the air as a sing of peace, after all, he knew better than to mess with Heechul. “Second, you make kids sleep. Kids. Whatever happened to call your attention towards that guy must be a mistake, stay away, Kyuhyun.”
“What if I don’t?” Kyuhyun challenged, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face.
“I’ll tell Leeteuk,” Heechul warned with an identical smirk.
“You wouldn’t”
“Oh hell I would and you know it. If you so want to do what you please, you might as well tell the one in charge”, Heechul shrugged, suddenly making his way to the door to leave the room. He had better things to do anyway. “It’s for your own good, just imagine what would happen if he sees you.”
“He would faint”, Kyuhyun replied seconds after Heechul closed the door behind him, laughing as he remembered the man’s expression last night.
He would definitely see Lee Sungmin tonight.
---
a/n: okay I didn't get lazy, I got busy. I have a midterm in half an hour lol but I had to post the second part. I'm gonna make this a chaptered fic, small tho, but bigger than a one shot because I figured there are a lot of things I want to include :)
Thanks for reading^^<3 make my day guys, you know how to do it :)