Between the Lines
Title: Between the Lines
Fandom: Super Junior
Pairing: Kyuhyun x Yesung (Kyusung/YeKyu)
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot :)
Summary: What happens when Kyuhyun suddenly finds himself in the world he’s been longing to be a part of? When fiction becomes reality, and longings seem to come true.
A/N: Kyuhyun-centric
Kyuhyun loves reading.
He was always teased in his school years for always carrying a book around with him regardless of where he went. He was known as the nerd who excelled at math and read books for fun. It wasn’t Kyuhyun’s favorite period of time - he didn’t make very many friends - but it was bearable because he could always curl up at home and read.
Sometimes, books would carry Kyuhyun away. At times he would be at Hogwarts, reading his future from tealeaves in divination classes. At other times, he would be Legolas, shooting down orcs during his competition with Gimli. Or he would be a detective, trying to hunt down Rachel Verinder’s moonstone.
Kyuhyun reads anything he can get his hands on. He loves a good plot and amazing characters. He loves everything about the written word - the way that simple letters are grouped together to take him away. The way metaphors and similes can paint a setting so vividly even though he’s never laid his eyes on a particular landscape.
But even though he becomes absorbed by words easily, the last thing he had expected was to fall in love with someone from the fictional realm, someone who wasn’t real.
Then again - who is to tell us who or what we’re not to love? Kyuhyun knew it was irrational and that it probably ruined his life to some degree, but he couldn’t help himself from falling.
.:--:.
It all started when Kyuhyun found the book. He was walking around his school library when he noticed it on the desk. He was about to hand it back to the librarian as it was out of place when he noticed that it didn’t actually belong to their school.
Kyuhyun swears that his heart was pounding when he first flicked through the pages, but the truth was he didn’t feel anything at all. There wasn’t a magic pull, or instrumental music in the background that made him realize that it was his destiny to meet Yesung. But there was something about the book that intrigued him. Kyuhyun couldn’t put it down, so he slipped it into his bag. He started to flick through it only when he was at home - it somehow felt wrong to be reading something he essentially stole from someone at school without the privacy of his own room.
Perhaps it was the rush of adrenaline that Kyuhyun felt knowing that the book didn’t truly belong to him that caused him to become more invested in the plotlines. Or perhaps Yesung was just waiting for Kyuhyun to come along and breathe life into him. Either way, it was a pretty dull start to something that turned out to become quite the love story (or so Kyuhyun claims).
.:--:.
It isn’t clear when the love started developing. At first, Kyuhyun wasn’t too fond of Yesung’s character - he would inadvertently make mean comments to people as a joke, he had weird habits and he was just strange. He was one of those characters that Kyuhyun couldn’t really figure out. The author had described him with weird habits, a slight obsession with turtles and constant mood swings. It didn’t help that the book was written in a perspective that wasn’t Yesung’s, so Kyuhyun had soon made a game out of trying to guess what was going on in his head.
The plotline of the novel was simple enough: it described the process of attaining your dreams. The author had created a parallel universe to the one Kyuhyun lives in: the planet, a round shaped thing that people lived on, was called Earth and there were things called “countries” that separated people by area. Society was modeled on the one Kyuhyun lived in, but it was fascinating reading about a world that was so alike to his own yet so different. The events in the book occurred in a place called Korea, and the language they spoke was exactly the same as Kyuhyun’s language - the one difference was that the author called it “Korean”.
The main characters were Leeteuk, Donghae, Yesung, Siwon, Eunhyuk, Shindong, Sungmin, Ryeowook, Heechul, Han Geng, Kibum and Kangin, who were all trainees at a company called SM. They all had the ambition to become famous. Some of them wanted to sing, some wanted to act. But they all had to work hard in order to attain their dreams.
And since Yesung was the character that Kyuhyun spent the most time trying to understand, it goes without saying that Kyuhyun started to become obsessed with the idea of Yesung. He would create interludes in the story where he would meet Yesung on something called the subway. Or that Yesung would fall in love with him, and serenade him with a deep husky voice. Or that he would visit his parents’ restaurant one day and meet him there.
For Kyuhyun, Yesung seemed perfect in every way.
.:--:.
Kyuhyun is picky about literature, but for some reason this book with no title captivated him. He finished the book in a day, but he found himself still stuck in the plot. Even though there were no more chapters, he found himself making stories up. Did the trainees finally survive as the band called “Super Junior,” or were they eventually dropped from the company? Would Leeteuk and Kangin finally confess their love for each other? Would Heechul’s distaste for religion interfere with the group dynamics given that many of them were Christian? It was strange how alive the characters were for Kyuhyun. It drove him a little crazy knowing that he wasn’t part of their world, and he wondered how he grew to love the characters so much that he wanted to be.
He was infatuated with the book to the point where he wished he was in the book instead of the world he lived in.
.:--:.
It had been 41 days since he first found the book and read it for the first time. He was in his room closely examining certain chapters to see if he had missed anything during his initial read when suddenly he was hit by a burst of light. Kyuhyun squeezed his eyes shut and cringed at the exposure. When he slowly opened his eyes again, he looked around his room to figure out what had caused the light. Later, Kyuhyun would realize the subtle differences: he has different books on his bookshelf, a photo on the table that he doesn’t remember taking and CDs of bands that he’s never heard of. But instead, what captivates his attention immediately is the book in his hands. The text no longer exists and he finds himself holding a book full of blank pages. He traced letters onto the blank pages, and frowned whilst wondering how the story had disappeared.
But his musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. He heard the sound of his sister’s voice muffled from behind the door.
“Kyu, that idol group you’ve been interested in is on TV. They just made their debut.”
Kyuhyun frowned, as he didn’t remember following any idol groups. He hides the empty book under his pillow, and quickly gets up. He thinks his heart was pounding fast as he approached the living room, realizing that there were things that weren’t right. He was pretty sure that the walls in the corridors were never covered in pale green wallpaper, or that the wood that the floor was made up of wasn’t oak. He approached the living room where his sister is, and he plopped himself on the couch.
“Life couldn’t get better”
Kyuhyun froze at the song; his eyes widened as each member of the idol group came on and sang their parts. When the song ended and the MCs thanked the group Super Junior for performing, Kyuhyun passed out.
.:--:.
When Kyuhyun woke up, he found himself looking into his mother’s worried eyes.
“Kyuhyun-ah, are they overworking you at SM? You know your Dad would love to pull you out from that path of being a singer - after all, you definitely have what it takes to become a businessman, or a doctor…”
He doesn’t remember the rest in detail, but he apparently asked his mother enough questions that she thought it was necessary to have a physical examination at the hospital the next day. But Kyuhyun could care less - he somehow found himself in the world that he had been dreaming of. He was in Korea, speaking Korean, and the best part was that he was already a trainee at SM Entertainment.
It was strange that this world was so similar to his own, yet so different. All the people he knew before were still there. They had the same names and the same faces, but they were all thrown into a different context. Kyuhyun wondered if this was all just a figment of his imagination, but he then decided he didn’t care. He would wake up when the time comes, but in the meantime, he would just enjoy the opportunity to live a life that he wanted.
.:--:.
It had been two weeks since Kyuhyun first started his new life when he first met Yesung. He was roaming around the building looking for Changmin when suddenly he bumped into someone he hadn’t met. He looked up into those eyes, and something inside him felt restless. He knew for certain that this was Yesung, the one with the art-like voice. But the other man just frowned at him, and Kyuhyun suddenly realized that he hadn’t introduced himself yet.
“Yesung, right? I’m very sorry that I bumped into you.”
It might’ve been the sincerity that was radiating off Kyuhyun, or the puppy dog eyes that he tried to give Yesung. But Yesung’s frown visibly softened.
“You know me? I don’t believe we’ve met before. You are…?”
“Kyuhyun. Cho Kyuhyun. I’m a trainee. Don’t forget me anytime soon.”
With a pounding heart, Kyuhyun got up and grabbed Yesung’s face, firmly placing a kiss on his lips.
What do I have to lose anyway? I’m in a fictional realm. Might as well.
Kyuhyun smirks as Yesung looks lost and confused, and he walks off humming a song he doesn’t know the name of.
.:--:.
It had been nearly half a year, and Kyuhyun was still living the life in Korea. He had friends, he was singing, and he was close to Yesung. Although at times he would wonder what had happened and why it had happened, he didn’t linger on the subject for too long. He was happy, happier than he had ever been back where he came from, so he didn’t care. It didn’t matter. His family was here, and Yesung was here. That’s all that mattered.
The kiss would always come back and haunt him. He didn’t have a chance to meet Yesung again, but the rare glimpses he caught of the singer would send his heart into frenzy. He believed that Yesung forgot about him, forgot about their encounter, but he would be proven wrong when he is told to join Super Junior. He brought his luggage to the dorm, and was directed by Leeteuk to a room on the end of the hallway.
He knocked, and nearly died of anticipation to find out who he would be sharing a room with. Truth be told, he wanted to be Ryeowook’s roommate - he had talked to him several times at the company, and he found Ryeowook’s company comforting and enjoyable. But when he found himself face to face with Yesung, he thought that this particular arrangement wasn’t too bad either.
“I didn’t realize that you’re my new roommate, Cho Kyuhyun. And yes, I didn’t forget you. Next time, I’d rather you give me some notice in advance when you want a kiss.”
.:--:.
Week turned to months, and months into years. Kyuhyun had almost forgotten about his previous life, the one he spent reading about characters that were so alike to people that he lived with. Super Junior was doing well, and his relationship with Yesung couldn’t get better. It had taken some time for him to ask Yesung out, but Yesung had grabbed his face and proceeded to kiss him so deeply that his answer to Kyuhyun’s “Will you be my boyfriend?” couldn’t be any clearer.
It had taken time for their friends, band mates and families to accept the relationship, but life seemed perfect. Other than the impending dreaded military service that Yesung is about to enlist in, Kyuhyun couldn’t think of anything else that his life was missing. It was the night before Yesung was about to leave, and the two of them were hanging around in Kyuhyun’s room. Yesung had become sleepy thanks to a long schedule, and was dozing off on the bed when Kyuhyun finds the book again. He strokes the cover gently, and opens it. The pages still remain blank, but Kyuhyun traced letters with his finger on each page. He knew that the book was meant for him, and it was destiny for him to meet Yesung. But he no longer knew what was real and what wasn’t. Was he real? Or was he the one that was the fictional character in this world that somehow magically accommodated him?
As he flipped the second to last page, he felt a chilling wind envelop him and his vision became fuzzy.
.:--:.
He wakes, and he is disoriented. He sees the face of his sister, and he wonders what had happened. The last thing he remembers is cuddling with Yesung in a bed, and he suddenly sits up as he remembers that Yesung is enlisting. He sees the white that surrounds him, and realizes that somehow he is lying in a hospital room. His mother has swollen eyes, and he wonders who made her cry so much.
He is about to get out of the bed when suddenly he sees Yesung in the doorway. But he takes in the clothes that Yesung is wearing, and realizes that something is wrong. He reaches for the necklace that Yesung gave him, and realizes that it isn’t hanging around his neck. And as he notices Yesung’s bare neck, suddenly everything makes sense. He’s back in his world, and Yesung, Super Junior, and all his other friends are lost to him forever. A tear rolls down his face, and he wonders what had happened to him.
“Kyuhyun-ah, please lie down. You’ve been in a coma for nearly a week now, and you need to rest.”
The man who looks like Yesung comes over, and gives him a fruit basket. His sister smiles slightly.
“This is Jongwoon. He found you unconscious outside the school on your way home.”
Kyuhyun can’t stop the tears from falling down his face as he looks at Jongwoon. He’s the exactly the same as Yesung, and it hurts to know that he doesn’t remember the same things. The man called Jongwoon leans over and gently wipes a tear off Kyuhyun’s face. Kyuhyun leans towards Jongwoon, and Jongwoon supports Kyuhyun as he mourns for what he has lost.
But the warmth is oddly familiar, and Kyuhyun realizes that perhaps not all is lost as he looks into Jongwoon’s eyes.
-fin-
A/N;; My first YeKyu fic in a long, long time. Half of this was actually written quite a few months ago (during my summer holidays, I believe), and I just got around to finishing it. Not sure what to make of it actually...it's a little different. I don't know if I should classify this as AU or not -- it's a bit of a mix of the both AU and canon-verse. It was interesting trying to make canon-verse the AU. I do know that some people might not like it as the plot is somewhat...strange. But yeah, let me know what you make of it!
The ending was a little rushed...I really didn't know what else to do. The idea is a little like Inception where one can spend a bajillion years in limbo, yet not spend all that much time in reality. Idk what's going on half of the time. It's been a while.
Comments and love please! I need some encouragement to write moar :)