Promise - Chapter 1
For the people who still remember this fic…
Warning: This chapter was written at two different times... The first part was written in October, and I just finished the second today (instead of my homework). I hope it's not too obvious.
Title: Promise
Main Pairing: Kyumin (Kyuhyun/Sungmin)
Other Pairings: Eunhae (Eunhyuk/Donghae), Kangteuk (Kangin/Leeteuk), Sibum (Siwon/Kibum)
Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst
Type: Chaptered (around 12 chapters according to my outline)
Disclaimer: I don't own them TT.TT Only the plot.
Summary: Sungmin has an "imaginary" friend; a little boy his age named Kyuhyun. What he doesn't realize is that young Kyuhyun is really a protector; a departed soul whose purpose is to help others get over the deaths of people who are important to them. Overtime, Kyuhyun finds himself falling for Sungmin, but he needs a real body. So he leaves him for fifteen years before returning and meeting Sungmin again, 2 weeks before his wedding.
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Prologue
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~Chapter 1~
“Kyu~! What should we play now?” Kyuhyun smiled at the endearing sight of the young six-year-old. He felt so happy that the blonde boy had come so far in the time that he had known him; going from the gloomy kid he was before to the happy-go-lucky kid in front of him. This job is going to be easier than I thought…
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
Sungmin stopped bouncing around for a second to stop and think, his forehead wrinkling cutely as he concentrated. “Maybe we could-“
“Talking to yourself again?” a new voice sounded out from behind him. Sungmin winced at the familiar voice, his doe-like eyes widening in fear as he recognized who it belonged too. “Kangin,” he whispered barely loud enough for Kyuhyun to hear, his voice shaking with fear of the other. Kyuhyun turned to glare at the intruder, wishing with all his heart that he could reveal himself to the other and chase him away for scaring the young Sungmin like this without breaking his rules.
“Yah! Are you ignoring me?” Kangin’s presumptuous tone turned to anger as he awaited a response.
“N-no.” Sungmin’s voice was shaking, and Kyuhyun immediately put his arms around the other, trying to comfort him, but the latter shrugged him off. “And Kyuhyun’s not nobody!” Sungmin’s voice was slightly stronger now as he turned to glare at the other with hatred. No one was allowed to hate on Kyuhyun like that. But the momentary bravery he had gained slipped away as Kangin glared at him.
“Oh really? How come I can’t see him then?” The haughty tone was back as he saw the other shaking in fear. “Psh, only babies have imaginary friends. How old are you, two?” He laughed as he saw the hurt in Sungmin’s eyes. Sungmin turned away, blinking back tears in a hurry.
“Hey, are you ignoring me?” Kangin walked over to him and roughly grabbed his face, forcing the latter to meet his eyes. Sungmin let out a small whimper as he anticipated the punch that was sure to come. Kyuhyun noticed the other’s reaction and finally realized where the various bruises he had previously noticed on the other’s fragile body had come from. He glared with hatred at Kangin as the latter raised his fist. Without thinking about the consequences, he focused all his energy throughout his body, shuddering as the weird sensation as his spirit solidified to the point that he was fully visible to everyone around. He didn’t know how long this would last; no doubt he couldn’t control it for long, but at the moment he didn’t care. The only thing that was on his mind was Sungmin as he ran over to the bully, and tapped him on the shoulder. Kangin turned around, his fist still raised, to look at him.
“I’d recommend you let him go,” he said, barely keeping his voice from shaking with the rage he felt coursing through his small body.
“Or what?” Kangin’s lips were turned up in a smirk as he looked the slightly smaller boy up and down. “You’ll glare at me?” That, and the arrogant smirk on Kangin’s face, made him loose the little self-restraint he had. He lashed out at the other, punching him in the nose. Sungmin let out a small gasp as the other dropped him and he hit the ground painfully. Kyuhyun turned his head to check if the other was okay before turning his glare back to the bully. He knew he had to do something fast to make the other didn’t touch Sungmin again; he could feel the energy dissipating, and his body slowly turning back to his spirit form.
Kangin’s eyes widened in fear as he saw the unfamiliar boy’s form appear to ripple as Kyuhyun’s energy weakened momentarily. “W-what are you?”
Ignoring his question, Kyuhyun just spat, “Don’t you dare come after Sungmin like that again or you’ll get worse from me. Now leave. If I ever find the smallest bruise on his perfect skin, you’ll be hearing from me.” Kyuhyun could feel himself flickering as he spoke, but he didn’t care. “Well?”
Kangin burst into frightened tears as he stuttered, “O-okay! I w-won’t touch him again! J-just don’t hurt me!” Kyuhyun took a threatening step forward, his form still flickering dangerously. He could feel his strength beginning to fade, and he was fighting just to be heard and keep his voice strong. Kangin turned and ran away yelling something about a ghost. He would never bother Sungmin again.
Kyuhyun smirked triumphantly before turning to Sungmin, his eyes softening. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you anywhere?
“N-no.” said the other. He appeared frozen in shock for a moment before his eyes lit up with happiness. “Wow, you scared him away! You’re amazing Kyu~!” He threw his arms around the other with a smile, and Kyuhyun felt himself smile back. No one was allowed to hurt his Sungmin. Wait, his? Kyuhyun shook his head slightly to clear his head of the foolish thought. Now that the threat was gone, he had a much more worrying thought one his mind: What would the council do to him now? After all he had just broken the most important rule of the protectors. Never show yourself to anyone but the protectee. Kyuhyun hugged the other back tightly. He just hoped that whatever punishment he received, he wouldn’t be forced to leave Sungmin. He didn’t know why, but the thought of leaving the other made his heart clench painfully.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Weeks passed, but Kyuhyun didn’t hear anything from the council. He was beginning grow worried as time went on and he wasn’t even called in for a hearing. But as his eyes wandered to the happily skipping boy next to him, he smiled and decided that for now, it didn’t matter.
“Kyu~?” Sungmin said cutely.
“Yes?”
“Can we go get some ice cream? Please?”
Kyuhyun suppressed the urge to sigh. “But we just did this morning.”
“Pretty please?” Kyuhyun turned to look at him to tell him no, that they shouldn’t eat so much ice cream in a day, but realized his mistake when he saw Sungmin’s expression. The latter was pouting, his large doe-like eyes sparkling cutely as he begged. Kyuhyun sighed in defeat.
“Fine.”
Sungmin smiled happily. “Yay! Let’s go!” Kyuhyun could help but smile too as he saw the happy shine on Sungmin’s face as he skipped next to him. When they reached the ice cream parlor, Sungmin immediately rushed inside and started looking at the all the flavors, his excited face pressed up against the glass as he tried to choose one.
“Which one should I get Kyu?” he asked, his voice muffled by the glass.
“Whichever one you want.”
“But I want strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate!” he said with a pout.
“Then why don’t we get all of them?” Sungmin turned and smiled happily at him.
“Yay! I love you Kyu~”
Sungmin’s mood was infectious, and soon most people in the parlor were smiling at the adorable little boy standing in front of the glass, avidly talking to what appeared to be an imaginary friend. Unaware of the gazes around him, Sungmin waved his arm in the air excitedly, trying to gain the attention of the ice-cream lady at the counter.
“Back again?” she said as soon as she had noticed the small, chubby arm waving at her, just barely reaching above the glass. “You were just here this morning!"
“I know! But I love ice cream! And Kyu here wanted to go too!”
The lady at the counter smiled sadly at the young boy who always entered her shop alone, whose smile was always bubbly, and spoke to her about his imaginary friend. “So what flavor would Kyuhyun like?”
Sungmin turned his head to Kyuhyun for a second, his gaze inquisitive. Kyuhyun just shook his head. “Kyu says he doesn’t want ice cream.”
The lady at the counter just nodded, and scooped out his ice cream, waving off the money he tried to pay her. Holding his ice cream happily, Sungmin skipped out of the parlor, hand in hand with his best friend. But once they left the place, Sungmin’s mood seemed to darken as he stuck out his lower lip in a thoughtful pout, swirling his ice cream without actually eating any of it.
“What’s wrong Min?” he said, his voice laced with concern for the small boy.
Sungmin just shook his head sadly. “They all think you’re imaginary! But you’re a person too! They’re so mean to you!”
Kyuhyun just smiled softly, “That doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is that you know I’m here.”
Sungmin just continued walking silently, still not eating, and Kyuhyun sighed. He hated it when Sungmin was sad. His happiness was infectious, and so was his sadness. He looked around for something to cheer up the pouty boy, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small arcade, with a large grabber machine in the corner, stuffed with plushies of all different colors. He smiled, knowing he’d found just the right thing.
“Minnie~” He said, trying to imitate Sungmin’s cute voice. When the blonde didn’t respond, he tried again, this time poking his cheek.
“Whaaat.” Sungmin said despondently, not really paying him much attention.
Kyuhyun sighed, and put his hands on either side of the other’s cheeks, turning his head to face the arcade. Immediately the blonde’s eyes lit up and he started to squeal excitedly as he spotted the stuffed animals.
“Kyaaa~! Can I have it? Please please? Kyu look at all the plushies! Come on let’s go!” He reached out to grab Kyuhyun’s hand and he pulled him across the street happily as fast as his little feet could carry him.
Sungmin ran to the front of the machine and peered in, searching through all the possible choices of stuffed animals. For a few seconds he just stood there, his brow wrinkling cutely as he tried to pick one. Then, something caught his eye, and he turned his head slightly to look at it.
“OMG! Kyu look at that one! I want it I want it!” Kyuhyun turned to look at what his person was talking about and held back a laugh as he spotted the object of the other’s attention. It was a small, pale pink bunny with a small heart near its tail and a pink bow around its neck. It seemed very fitting for the young pink-lover. Looking to the other, he saw the Sungmin had turned to him with a small pout on his lips, begging silently with his eyes. Biting his lip, Kyuhyun turned to the machine debating how to get the small toy for the other.
“You have a quarter?”
Sungmin’s eyes lit up and he immediately smiled widely as his best friend finally gave in, “Yay! I love you Kyu~!” Not noticing the small blush on the other’s cheeks, he proceeded to dig through his pockets, searching for the quarter he knew he had. After a few moments of digging, his small hand finally clasped around what he had been looking for, and he immediately handed it to Kyuhyun, almost throwing it at him in his haste.
Kyuhyun turned back to the machine, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he grasped the controller and maneuvered it to the small toy. When he was almost certain that he could get the small plushie, he pressed the red button, causing the grabber to fall. It reached down, and Kyuhyun’s brow wrinkles in frustration as it grabbed at a spot next to the plushie, where a stuffed dinosaur lay. When he was certain the other wasn’t really paying much attention to the position of the grabber, he placed his hand against the side of the machine, and using his manipulation abilities, he slightly adjusted the placement of the target bunny, so that the grabber had fallen directly on top of that one instead of the yellow dinosaur. To the happiness of both, the grabber managed to close around the stuffed bunny. One of the few advantages of being a spirit.
“Yay! I knew you could do it Kyu!” Sungmin ran over to his side as Kyuhyun pulled the small toy out of the drop-box down below and handed it to Sungmin. Taking it from the other, Sungmin wrapped his arms around the bunny, hugging it happily. “You’re amazing!”
Kyuhyun smiled fondly at the small boy. As long as the other was happy, he found himself smiling. Then, something that had never happened before happened. When Kyuhyun had been staring at the other boy’s eyes, the other had moved closer to him and placed his lips on his. The kiss only lasted a second, yet it still managed to speed up Kyuhyun’s heat and turn his cheeks a bright red. The blonde was unfazed, and proceeded to grab Kyuhyun’s hand and pull him out of the arcade and back on to the sidewalk. Hand-in-hand with Sungmin, Kyuhyun walked in a small daze, his heart still going a mile-a-minute and the redness of his cheeks not disappearing. Kyuhyun was confused. All of the other children had had this effect on him before, so why was he like this with Sungmin?
What was this new feeling?
A.N.: Haven’t been updating this at all… Sorry I’ve been having a hard time writing fluff… I have a much easier time writing something that reflects my mood, and right now my mood is definitely not happy and fluffy -_- So sorry for this sucky chapter! I hope you can be patient with me! I also hope to get the next chapter out for As the Petals Fall soon too!
Plushie~! It's so cute~!
