[One Shot] Mister Sleeping Man
This was originally made and posted for another fandom. But just to be fair… *grins*
Mister Sleeping Man
How many times does a butterfly blink before it learns to fly?
The sky is filled with stars but how many are mine?
How many sighs fill up a lifetime?
When I see you, I can’t breathe
These are things you don’t know about me.
-Wang Lee Hom, “All the things you never knew”
Lee Sungmin first met Cho Kyuhyun in a subway train one late afternoon just before the clock signals the first round of city rush hour.
The train wasn’t fully packed that day, with vacant seats in between every few persons. Sungmin came in from his station together with a handful of other passengers, all looking forward to a relaxing early after work schedule somewhere. He was talking to Yesung on the phone, arguing about puppies and drinking buddies. When he got tired of the silly argument, he rolled his eyes and closed his phone, wrinkling his nose a little at how he missed the last vacant seat.
As Sungmin stands a few feet from the door, he caught sight of a sleeping man, with his head lolling sideways, blocking the train entrance. For a moment, Sungmin watched him with amusement, counting to himself as he waits for the other’s head to loll forward and hit the train door.
It happened a few minutes later as the train stops one station before Sungmin’s. The sudden stop in motion apparently caught the sleeping man by surprise and his frail balance was lost at the same time that the train doors opened. Maybe it was really bad luck on the sleeping man’s part since no one entered the train from such station and no one emerged either. As soon as the train doors came to a close and the sleeping man’s head lolled forward, such head was caught in between the sliding doors.
Maybe it was sadism at its extremes because instead of helping him, Sungmin covered his mouth in a futile effort to stop himself from laughing at the sight of Mr. Sleeping Man screaming in surprise (and probably pain), his arms flailing miserably on both sides.
“Someone save him! Oh my God!” an elderly woman shrieked and Sungmin tried to look innocent, moving further away as he bit the insides of his cheeks to keep himself from laughing. A kind guard came at that time and helped Mister Sleeping Man who kept bowing in apology.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Mister Sleeping Man kept repeating, fingers disappearing beneath his brownish locks as he scratches his head.
Sungmin smirked, looking sideways, catching a glimpse of the man’s face. Maybe he’s as old as Sungmin. The man was definitely taller, more of the willowy type than the buff one. His grin is wide on his face as he apologizes to everyone staring and his voice came out in shy, low tones.
“Sorry,” Mister Sleeping Man said in Sungmin’s direction, his eyes scrunched into tiny half-moons on his face. Blinking, the smaller man looked away. Just because Mister Sleeping Man turned out to be innocent-looking doesn’t mean he should feel guilty for not helping him.
Minutes later, when the train stopped in Sungmin’s station and as he emerges from the train doors, he caught a whiff of something sweet, almost like a cotton-candy and he wrinkled his nose, not fond of sweet things. The scent refused to dissipate in the air and Sungmin was already at the subway exit when he noticed Mister Sleeping Man walking behind him.
“Oh great, we have the same station and I’ll be amused if we live in the same apartment building,” Sungmin thought bemusedly only to stand in the elevators of his apartment building with his mouth hanging open fifteen minutes later when Mister Sleeping Man came in with him. So they really do live in the same building!
And that was when Sungmin realized that they live one floor apart. In spite of such glaring fact, the train incident was the very first time he actually set eyes on Mister Sleeping Man. Life’s really funny like that anyway as the most difficult distance to close is actually the distance that separates strangers from friends. Two people can be born in the same hospital, study in the same school, live in the same neighborhood, work at the same place and even attend the same church without actually realizing that the other exists.
Such would have been the case for Sungmin if it weren’t for that amusing train incident one lazy afternoon that elevated Mister Sleeping Man into someone far from being a friend but one level higher than a stranger nonetheless. Whatever is the name of such a stand would probably be forever lost to Sungmin but as long as it exists, it wouldn’t really bother him. How many things in this world could you really give an accurate name to, anyway?
Hours later, as he sits in his own living room with a book in his hand, Sungmin found his thoughts wandering back to that moment filled with surprised screams and flailing hands and he laughed. How he laughed. Bubbly, short, little sounds escaped from his throat and he allowed himself to dissolve into fits of laughter, thinking about how idiotic Mister Sleeping Man looked.
In that small circumstance… by something as idiotic as falling asleep on the train and sadistic laughter, something called fate probably got interested in creating red strings, connecting two ordinary lives to brew a simple and ordinary yet endearing love story.
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Sungmin saw Mister Sleeping Man again the next day, almost at the same hour but in a different location.
It was a perfect quiet afternoon with pale light glowing from the heavens, shining through the just-bloomed cherry blossom trees. It was a weird combination of yellow and pink, creating sceneries that almost seemed plagiarized from a dream.
Sungmin liked afternoons like these. He liked the quiet comfort it gives of finally ending a tiring day calmly. Stretching as he waits for the bus, he tapped his foot on the concrete pavement, thinking of berating himself for ditching the subway train and risking an afternoon traffic jam. But he is a weird man and he has his weird urges.
When the bus arrived and Sungmin was seated in the front row, he blinked in surprise as a now familiar face hurriedly stepped in.
“Mister Sleeping Man,” Sungmin murmured as the man passes by him. He quickly looked away when the other gave him a curious glance before sitting on the vacant seat across the aisle, opposite Sungmin. He would’ve ignored him if it weren’t for the man’s loud voice as he talks on the phone with someone.
“Mhmm, yes, Wook I’m not sleeping and no, I’m not in the train. I’m ditching trains from now on,” Mister Sleeping Man said and Sungmin snorted. “Oh, so he’s coming back? I don’t think so. I’m a little busy lately.”
Mister Sleeping Man’s voice is low and soothing and Sungmin found himself grinning slightly at the sound of it. Maybe it fits the calm aura surrounding the man and for a moment, Sungmin allowed himself to study such an interesting character. He isn’t really the type to stare at people or care about what people do in their lives but Sungmin always accepts interesting exceptions. Rules are like that anyway. Life would totally be boring if we live by the same rules everyday, playing our cards in the same manner, limiting ourselves to the given. It is life’s exceptions that make living take on a whole new meaning and create what people would so amazingly call a miracle.
There’s a calming aura around Mister Sleeping Man, Sungmin noted. His lips would curl into a soft smile whenever he speaks and his shoulders would shake when he laughs. His brownish locks glow in the sun and his face would look a hundred times more amusing when he seems as if he doesn’t understand what he’s hearing. Snorting to himself, Sungmin was about to look away when Mister Sleeping Man accidentally turned to him, caught him looking and smiled.
Something inside Sungmin paused in that moment. He found himself staring, blinking and before looking away, the very last thought in his mind was: beautiful.
Later that night, when thoughts of Mister Sleeping Man tickle Sungmin’s mind, he felt the beginnings of trouble coming his way. Why in the world is he even thinking about someone whose name he doesn’t even know and why does he feel giddy at the image of some man looking momentarily beautiful in a public bus? And then he remembers the urge to eat a cotton candy when Mister Sleeping Man stood beside him in the elevators again - smelling sweet and all - and Sungmin knew (and felt) that he’ll be in a big trouble.
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Two weeks later, after spending his afternoon rides in the bus staring at Mister Sleeping Man’s back, Sungmin painfully smacked his own self in the head for being addicted to someone who probably doesn’t even know he exists. He’s been acting like a stalker all those time, ditching trains just because he heard Mister Sleeping Man talking about ditching trains too. He stopped wearing flashy underwear just because he heard Mister Sleeping Man talk to this Ryeowook about how he finds sky blue underwear funny and annoying. Sungmin even went as far as getting a haircut just because he freaking heard Mister Sleeping Man say he likes short and clean hairstyles.
Sungmin is so sure he’s gone insane. He lurks near the apartment elevators for no reason and stalks the ninth floor where Mister Sleeping Man lives. He makes sure he goes out of the office at the exact same time and he runs when he’s so sure he’ll miss the bus that Mister Sleeping Man usually takes. He’s acting like a stalker, a love-struck teenager and a psycho. That isn’t quite a good combination.
“What the hell~” Sungmin complained to Yesung one evening as they both share a drink while grilling pork ribs in a small place that offers outside dining.
“What the hell what? It’s normal,” Yesung said, chuckling.
“What is normal about this?” Sungmin demanded, lightly banging his head on the table. “What is so freaking normal about this?”
“It’s normal when you fall in love at first sight… or in your case at second-sight,” Yesung enlightened him and he burst out laughing when Sungmin struck him on the head with the tong. “What do you want me to say anyway, Sungmin? You’re showing the symptoms,” he continued to tease and Sungmin continued to whine.
“How can I be in love with someone who probably doesn’t even know or care that a certain Lee Sungmin exists in this world?”
Yesung gave him a small smile and a whoop.
“Then why are you doing all the things you think he likes even without him knowing?”
A blink, a heartbeat and a sigh later, Sungmin groaned and kicked the legs of the table.
“Because I am so messed up in the head…,” he said. “…and in the heart!”
Yesung laughed loudly and Sungmin felt a little miserable. But sometimes it really takes one to be in love before he can admit to himself that he can fall in love. Because falling in love happens to everyone. Some takes a few years, others take a few months and some can even take as short as a few days but it’s still called love in one way or another. After all, when your feelings are true, the length of time you’ve felt it won’t really make that much of a difference. As long as you can stand tall and admit to yourself that you genuinely love another person, then it could take a minute for the feelings to bloom and you’ll still be happy nonetheless.
“But I don’t even know his name!” Sungmin blurted out.
“That’s easy,” Yesung said, stating the obvious. “Ask for it,” he suggested and if only his feelings could be transferred to his friend, Sungmin would dare Yesung to do it himself and he’ll forever worship him.
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It took two afternoon bus rides before Sungmin summoned all the courage to walk up to Mister Sleeping Man, clear his throat and murmur a small hi.
“Hi,” Mister Sleeping Man said in return and smiled at Sungmin. The smaller man curled his toes a little to stop himself from grinning like an idiot.
“Mind if I take the window seat?” Sungmin asked in one breath, speaking so fast that the other man had to frown a little.
“Eh?”
“The window seat,” Sungmin repeated and Mister Sleeping Man’s face broke into a grin when he realized what Sungmin has been trying to say.
“Oh! Sure,” the man said in his now familiar voice and he scooted aside to give Sungmin space to move. As soon as he was seated, Mister Sleeping Man grinned at him and said, “Nice new haircut by the way,” and Sungmin’s world burst into a thousand flying colors.
He stared at Mister Sleeping Man, blinking and blinking, the colors rising to his cheeks as his hands unconsciously touch his hair. ‘So he noticed! He noticed!’ Some cheesy part of Sungmin’s brain gushed and the weird penguins in his head danced to some strange song that only plays when something extraordinary happens. With those simple words, in the span of a few heartbeats… someone he only knows as Mister Sleeping Man became his world.
“T-thanks… I’m…,” Sungmin stammered and he paused when his seatmate yawned. “I’m sleepy too…,” he finished lamely, feeling disappointed at the lost opportunity to find out what the man’s name is.
Mister Sleeping Man smiled a little at him, his eyes a little half-lidded and before long, his head was once again lolling sideways, the way it did in the train that day. Sungmin was staring outside the window, sulking a little when he felt Mister Sleeping Man’s heavy head on his shoulder. Sungmin turned to look and his heart gave a wild jump when his lips brushed against the sleeping man’s forehead. He bit his tongue painfully and yet the grin that spread across his face that one special sunset is something so full of innocent and unknown feelings… yet… yet, still truthful nonetheless.
“I want to know your name, Mister Sleeping Man,” Sungmin murmured and he looked out the window, knowing full well why the sunset looked twice as gorgeous that day.
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“I’m sorry, I fell asleep on your shoulder,” Mister Sleeping Man said as they ride the elevators together and Sungmin kept on wondering why his companion isn’t surprised by the fact that they live in the same apartment building.
“It’s fine,” Sungmin said, clutching the hem of his shirt. “I don’t mind.”
They stood in silence as the elevator went up and Sungmin kept on stealing side glances at Mister Sleeping Man. Up close, he really does look cute. His features aren’t as striking as any actor or model and he isn’t the most handsome in the world. Maybe Mister Sleeping Man couldn’t be considered as handsome anyway. But for Sungmin… for those times he spent staring at the other man’s back, for those nights that this brewing attraction played havoc with his mind, for that time when he received so much as a simple haircut compliment, for everything that happened until that moment when Sungmin could stand beside him… Mister Sleeping Man will always be the best in the world.
When the doors opened at the ninth floor and Mister Sleeping Man was about to go out, he looked back and grinned.
“It’s Cho Kyuhyun.”
“What?” Sungmin blinked.
“You said you want to know my name. It’s Cho Kyuhyun,” Mister Sleeping Man said, his grin never leaving his face. “It’s nice to finally talk to you, Sungmin-sshi.”
When the elevator doors closed and Sungmin was finally alone, he released all the happiness inside him, giving huge whoops and grinning like an idiot. He totally felt like a teenager and he couldn’t even be bothered with it. It might be a bit mundane or even superficial but as he emerged from the elevators, he felt overjoyed by the fact that Mister Sleeping Man knows his name. And that joy was made triple by the fact that Mister Sleeping Man isn’t Mister Sleeping man anymore.
That afternoon, in a continuation of a series of happy moments, Mister Sleeping Man finally gained a name. Cho Kyuhyun.
“Of course he has a name, Sungmin. He’s a human being. It’s natural for humans to have a name,” Yesung answered Sungmin’s text message that night, showing his idiotic self.
“Can I say screw you for being a party popper?” Sungmin answered back, grinning as he types the message. His balloon couldn’t be popped that night.
“No, you can’t. You’re not my type. Stop being disgusting,” Yesung answered and Sungmin thought his friend’s message is smiling too. “Now ask him out.”
“No way.’
“Yes way.”
“Creep.”
“Stalker.”
The exchange of one-word text messages went on for a few more times before Yesung became serious.
“Seriously, ask him out,” his message said and Sungmin wondered if he can.
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“So after two weeks and some diligent efforts on my part and Yesung’s act to play innocent, you finally got to give your name to that Train Man?” Kim Ryeowook complained to Kyuhyun over the phone that night.
“That Train Man has a name. Lee Sungmin,” Kyuhyun said, sporting a huge grin on his face. Two weeks ago, right after his head got stuck on the train, there was a man laughing silently at him from the sidelines. Kyuhyun wouldn’t have minded if it weren’t for the coincidences that followed their first meeting.
Truthfully, he didn’t really know that a Lee Sungmin exists until he laughed at Kyuhyun in that train ride. Since then, the man seemed to be everywhere Kyuhyun is - in the bus, in the elevator, in the apartment building, in his mind… Kyuhyun laughed. Definitely in his mind.
“Fine, he has a name,” Ryeowook said. “You have Yesung to thank for that because this loverboy of yours apparently kept talking about you too.”
There’s a flick inside Kyuhyun as he heard those words and he toppled over in his chair, landing butt first on the floor. His giggles were loud, indicative of his failure to contain the romantic tingles tickling at his insides. They were the same tingles he felt when his deliberate talk about short hairs, cotton candies and smiling men were heard and Sungmin showed up one day in the bus with a cute new haircut, smelling all sweet and candy-like with a forced smile on his face. It is the same tingle people feel at the thought that in one way or another, somewhere in the world, someone is reciprocating your feelings.
“Really?” He gushed at Ryeowook.
“Uh huh,” Ryeowook answered sarcastically. “Says his best friend. Now get your freaking love story together so Yesung and I can finally rest, idiot.”
Kyuhyun snorted.
“I hate people who are in a relationship. Makes me want to be in one!”
The sigh at the other end of the line told Kyuhyun how Ryeowook must have rolled his eyes.
“You’re on your way to being in one if you stop ogling at the images in your head and ask your loverboy out.”
“Loverboy is kind of messed up.”
“So is your head,” Ryeowook snapped and ended the call without bothering to say goodbye. Kyuhyun sighed and walked over to his window, pushing almost half of his body out in an attempt to see the window above his room. He looked up, wobbled a little and pouted.
“Hey, Sungmin-sshi… when will I get to look beside me… and see you there?”
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It took three more days and a rainy Monday afternoon before Sungmin managed to come up with his pick-up line and for Kyuhyun to actually ask him out for a little coffee time in his friend’s coffee shop.
It has been raining since morning that day and Sungmin waits for the bus in his usual place, staring at the raindrops piercing the ground. Kyuhyun had sat beside him the previous days and Sungmin would like to think that in that short span of time, they had made an unspoken promise of reserving an empty space for the other to sit on. Always.
It’s truly the irony of somehow knowing yet not knowing at the same time that makes the love ride exciting. It is that small moment between courtship and real relationship that creates endearing memories to last a lifetime. It is those confusing moments that make the expected admission sweeter and all the more memorable.
“Sungmin-sshi,” Kyuhyun came running, calling Sungmin right before the other entered the bus.
“Mhmm?”
“Coffee and rain… well… coffee?” Kyuhyun stammered and Sungmin think it’s cute.
“Are you asking me… out for coffee?” Sungmin asked, blocking the doorway to the bus, grinning stupidly at Kyuhyun.
“He is. Now get out of the door of my damn bus and let others enter,” the grumpy driver snapped at him and made a motion for Sungmin to leave. “What?” The driver asked.
“Mind your own business,” Sungmin snapped back and the driver rolled his eyes.
“I am minding my own business. You’re the one hindering it. Now get away from the doorway.”
Sungmin would have snapped back once again if it weren’t for Kyuhyun’s hand on his arm, gently leading him away from the doorway.
“Sungmin-sshi…”
“Sungmin,” Sungmin said, interrupting Kyuhyun’s sentence.
“What?”
The smaller man grinned and bit his lips.
“Call me Sungmin. It sounds better that way.”
When Kyuhyun grinned back at him and said, “Min, let’s get some coffee, shall we?” Sungmin knew all was lost and he’s in love. How many people can actually call him Min and get away with it, with his name still sounding as sweet and as decent as he wants it to be? How many people give you a nickname out of the blue and still make you look at him as if he just said the most amazing thing in the world? How many people can make the sun shine on rainy days and still make it look like it’s the most normal thing ever?
Not many.
And when you find one… you keep him. You keep him forever.
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There’s whipped cream on the sides of Kyuhyun’s mouth after he bit on the waffle. Sungmin stares at it, feeling a little awkward to say something and a bit too embarrassed to actually reach out and wipe it.
“I have a friend and his name’s Wook. He’s really nice,” Kyuhyun said when they talked about friends, apparently still oblivious of the whipped cream. Sungmin frowned a little, knowing that Wook is a nickname that Kyuhyun calls his friend and he wondered if Kyuhyun gives everyone their nicknames. If he does, then him calling Sungmin ‘Min’ isn’t such a big deal after all, is it?
“Do you give everyone a nickname, Kyuhyun-sshi?” Sungmin asked, trying hard not to sound a little too disappointed. Kyuhyun laughed and took a bite of his waffle, completely ignoring the fork. More whipped cream stuck on the sides of his mouth and Sungmin had the crazy urge to either say it or wipe it. The latter sounds more tempting.
“Kyuhyun-sshi…,” Sungmin said, swallowing as he reached for a napkin, held out his hand and almost reached Kyuhyun’s face before the latter got the cue and wiped the whipped cream on his own. “Oh… you’ve noticed,” Sungmin said, his disappointment more apparent now.
Sungmin stirred his black coffee silently after that, running out of any decent topic of conversation. Kyuhyun seems to have experienced the same thing because they stayed silent like that for minutes. The only sounds that could be heard between them were the little ‘ting’ that the cups make when it lands on the saucer.
“Uhm…,” Sungmin says softly and he looks up, blinking as he saw Kyuhyun putting whipped cream on his mouth. “What are you doing?”
The other man grinned.
“Now you have something to wipe,” he said and Sungmin looked a little confused.
“Eh?”
“You… uhm… wanted to do that, right?” Kyuhyun asked, Sungmin blushed, and they shared tiny giggles as the smaller man once again reaches for a napkin and gently wiped the whipped cream on Kyuhyun’s mouth. “Kyuhyun,” he said once again.
“What?” Sungmin looked like a confused idiot again.
“You can call me Kyuhyun, Min. You can remove the -sshi,” Kyuhyun explained. Pulling his hand back, Sungmin bit his lips to stop the slight curving of his mouth that could probably turn into a huge grin. “You’ll do that, wouldn’t you?”
When he couldn’t suppress the grin, Sungmin allowed it to spread across his face as he nods a little, looking outside the window in time to see a half-rainbow gracing the rainy afternoon sky.
“Ah… it’s a rainbow,” he said. The light reflects his features in angelic ways and the wind from the opened windows blew on his hair, messing up the tiny strands a little.
“It’s beautiful.”
Kyuhyun looked at him, smiling and amazed. In a breathtaking moment, while gazing at Sungmin, he managed to gush, “Mhmm… beautiful indeed.”
“I tend to give nicknames to my friends, Min,” Kyuhyun explained when Sungmin looked back at him. He leaned over on the table a little, cutting the distance between them in half.
“Oh…,” Sungmin murmured.
Kyuhyun grinned and he attempted a disgusting wink that made Sungmin laugh a little.
“But, you know…,” he continued, gazing fondly at the other man. “Only those people who are special to me can call me Kyuhyun. Without the -sshi. Just Kyuhyun”
It took several racing heartbeats before Sungmin managed to calm himself and flash Kyuhyun a gorgeous smile. With a lingering voice and an overflowing heart, he pouted a little before fondly saying… “Kyuhyun… hey, Kyuhyun.”
“Hey, Min,” Kyuhyun said back and in that moment, they both knew that they probably wouldn’t let each other go anymore. Not for a moment, not in this lifetime… not in a thousand more lifetimes to come.
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Their shoulders touched each other weeks later as they sit on the bus, gazing at the now bald cherry blossom trees. The sunset is gorgeous in the horizon and the music from Sungmin’s earphones came out in sweet notes as he takes one earpiece out and shares it with Kyuhyun.
Kyuhyun takes it, places it in his ears and smiles.
“It’s in Chinese,” he commented.
“Yeah,” Sungmin simply smiled and they both looked outside. Seconds later, the smile on his face turned into a huge grin when he felt Kyuhyun’s hand sliding across his thigh and finally gripping Sungmin’s hand. “Kyuhyun?”
“I wanna hold your hand, Min,” Kyuhyun said, grinning back at him.
“You’re already doing it,” Sungmin pointed out.
“No, I mean… I wanna hold your hand from now on until…,” he shyly paused, blushing at his statement and Sungmin understood what he meant. He nodded and held Kyuhyun’s hand back, his grip tight and reassuring.
“Let’s hold hands from now on, Kyuhyun,” he murmured and he thought he saw a bit of tears glisten the sides of Kyuhyun’s face. He laughed a little and looked out the window, assured that from now on until who-knows-when, he’ll be holding Kyuhyun’s hand and Kyuhyun will be holding his.
Kyuhyun reached up and wipe his happy tears, his wish finally coming true. At that moment, as the lazy bus rolls on the streets, Kyuhyun thought that somehow… the sunsets he saw before never looked this beautiful.
“I like you so much, Min,” Kyuhyun whispered and he leaned on Sungmin’s shoulder, closing his eyes and dreaming of more beautiful days to come. There’s so much of life ahead to look forward to but for now, in that moment, he’d be contented to look beside him and find Sungmin there .
“Me too, Kyuhyun,” Sungmin whispered back. “So much… so much. Let’s share this lifetime… and the hundred other lifetimes to come… together, shall we?”
There was no answer - only a contended sigh from Kyuhyun. But Sungmin doesn’t mind. He doesn’t need a confirmation. When something so obvious and so positive stares at you right on the face, you wouldn’t really need any confirmation. What matters is that Kyuhyun is there, beside him, holding his hand, smelling as sweet as he did the first time he met him. If there’s something positive that came out of that amusing train incident, it would probably be the opportunity that life gave them to find each other.
And Sungmin would always be thankful for that. Always.
END.
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1. As I’ve said, this was originally made and posted in another fandom. I just needed to satisfy my weird sense of “fairness” because I’ve modified two of my Suju fics and turned them into Arashi fics. So to be “fair”, I thought I should modify one of my Arashi fics and turn it into a Suju one. Ahehehe. The title was also modified to suit the setting of the story. ^_^
2. I’m still not an expert in grammar and well… *sigh* Too many typos and weird English here. Ahehe.
3. I still fail at fluff. T__T
Mister Sleeping Man
How many times does a butterfly blink before it learns to fly?
The sky is filled with stars but how many are mine?
How many sighs fill up a lifetime?
When I see you, I can’t breathe
These are things you don’t know about me.
-Wang Lee Hom, “All the things you never knew”
Lee Sungmin first met Cho Kyuhyun in a subway train one late afternoon just before the clock signals the first round of city rush hour.
The train wasn’t fully packed that day, with vacant seats in between every few persons. Sungmin came in from his station together with a handful of other passengers, all looking forward to a relaxing early after work schedule somewhere. He was talking to Yesung on the phone, arguing about puppies and drinking buddies. When he got tired of the silly argument, he rolled his eyes and closed his phone, wrinkling his nose a little at how he missed the last vacant seat.
As Sungmin stands a few feet from the door, he caught sight of a sleeping man, with his head lolling sideways, blocking the train entrance. For a moment, Sungmin watched him with amusement, counting to himself as he waits for the other’s head to loll forward and hit the train door.
It happened a few minutes later as the train stops one station before Sungmin’s. The sudden stop in motion apparently caught the sleeping man by surprise and his frail balance was lost at the same time that the train doors opened. Maybe it was really bad luck on the sleeping man’s part since no one entered the train from such station and no one emerged either. As soon as the train doors came to a close and the sleeping man’s head lolled forward, such head was caught in between the sliding doors.
Maybe it was sadism at its extremes because instead of helping him, Sungmin covered his mouth in a futile effort to stop himself from laughing at the sight of Mr. Sleeping Man screaming in surprise (and probably pain), his arms flailing miserably on both sides.
“Someone save him! Oh my God!” an elderly woman shrieked and Sungmin tried to look innocent, moving further away as he bit the insides of his cheeks to keep himself from laughing. A kind guard came at that time and helped Mister Sleeping Man who kept bowing in apology.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Mister Sleeping Man kept repeating, fingers disappearing beneath his brownish locks as he scratches his head.
Sungmin smirked, looking sideways, catching a glimpse of the man’s face. Maybe he’s as old as Sungmin. The man was definitely taller, more of the willowy type than the buff one. His grin is wide on his face as he apologizes to everyone staring and his voice came out in shy, low tones.
“Sorry,” Mister Sleeping Man said in Sungmin’s direction, his eyes scrunched into tiny half-moons on his face. Blinking, the smaller man looked away. Just because Mister Sleeping Man turned out to be innocent-looking doesn’t mean he should feel guilty for not helping him.
Minutes later, when the train stopped in Sungmin’s station and as he emerges from the train doors, he caught a whiff of something sweet, almost like a cotton-candy and he wrinkled his nose, not fond of sweet things. The scent refused to dissipate in the air and Sungmin was already at the subway exit when he noticed Mister Sleeping Man walking behind him.
“Oh great, we have the same station and I’ll be amused if we live in the same apartment building,” Sungmin thought bemusedly only to stand in the elevators of his apartment building with his mouth hanging open fifteen minutes later when Mister Sleeping Man came in with him. So they really do live in the same building!
And that was when Sungmin realized that they live one floor apart. In spite of such glaring fact, the train incident was the very first time he actually set eyes on Mister Sleeping Man. Life’s really funny like that anyway as the most difficult distance to close is actually the distance that separates strangers from friends. Two people can be born in the same hospital, study in the same school, live in the same neighborhood, work at the same place and even attend the same church without actually realizing that the other exists.
Such would have been the case for Sungmin if it weren’t for that amusing train incident one lazy afternoon that elevated Mister Sleeping Man into someone far from being a friend but one level higher than a stranger nonetheless. Whatever is the name of such a stand would probably be forever lost to Sungmin but as long as it exists, it wouldn’t really bother him. How many things in this world could you really give an accurate name to, anyway?
Hours later, as he sits in his own living room with a book in his hand, Sungmin found his thoughts wandering back to that moment filled with surprised screams and flailing hands and he laughed. How he laughed. Bubbly, short, little sounds escaped from his throat and he allowed himself to dissolve into fits of laughter, thinking about how idiotic Mister Sleeping Man looked.
In that small circumstance… by something as idiotic as falling asleep on the train and sadistic laughter, something called fate probably got interested in creating red strings, connecting two ordinary lives to brew a simple and ordinary yet endearing love story.
----------------------------
Sungmin saw Mister Sleeping Man again the next day, almost at the same hour but in a different location.
It was a perfect quiet afternoon with pale light glowing from the heavens, shining through the just-bloomed cherry blossom trees. It was a weird combination of yellow and pink, creating sceneries that almost seemed plagiarized from a dream.
Sungmin liked afternoons like these. He liked the quiet comfort it gives of finally ending a tiring day calmly. Stretching as he waits for the bus, he tapped his foot on the concrete pavement, thinking of berating himself for ditching the subway train and risking an afternoon traffic jam. But he is a weird man and he has his weird urges.
When the bus arrived and Sungmin was seated in the front row, he blinked in surprise as a now familiar face hurriedly stepped in.
“Mister Sleeping Man,” Sungmin murmured as the man passes by him. He quickly looked away when the other gave him a curious glance before sitting on the vacant seat across the aisle, opposite Sungmin. He would’ve ignored him if it weren’t for the man’s loud voice as he talks on the phone with someone.
“Mhmm, yes, Wook I’m not sleeping and no, I’m not in the train. I’m ditching trains from now on,” Mister Sleeping Man said and Sungmin snorted. “Oh, so he’s coming back? I don’t think so. I’m a little busy lately.”
Mister Sleeping Man’s voice is low and soothing and Sungmin found himself grinning slightly at the sound of it. Maybe it fits the calm aura surrounding the man and for a moment, Sungmin allowed himself to study such an interesting character. He isn’t really the type to stare at people or care about what people do in their lives but Sungmin always accepts interesting exceptions. Rules are like that anyway. Life would totally be boring if we live by the same rules everyday, playing our cards in the same manner, limiting ourselves to the given. It is life’s exceptions that make living take on a whole new meaning and create what people would so amazingly call a miracle.
There’s a calming aura around Mister Sleeping Man, Sungmin noted. His lips would curl into a soft smile whenever he speaks and his shoulders would shake when he laughs. His brownish locks glow in the sun and his face would look a hundred times more amusing when he seems as if he doesn’t understand what he’s hearing. Snorting to himself, Sungmin was about to look away when Mister Sleeping Man accidentally turned to him, caught him looking and smiled.
Something inside Sungmin paused in that moment. He found himself staring, blinking and before looking away, the very last thought in his mind was: beautiful.
Later that night, when thoughts of Mister Sleeping Man tickle Sungmin’s mind, he felt the beginnings of trouble coming his way. Why in the world is he even thinking about someone whose name he doesn’t even know and why does he feel giddy at the image of some man looking momentarily beautiful in a public bus? And then he remembers the urge to eat a cotton candy when Mister Sleeping Man stood beside him in the elevators again - smelling sweet and all - and Sungmin knew (and felt) that he’ll be in a big trouble.
-------------------------------
Two weeks later, after spending his afternoon rides in the bus staring at Mister Sleeping Man’s back, Sungmin painfully smacked his own self in the head for being addicted to someone who probably doesn’t even know he exists. He’s been acting like a stalker all those time, ditching trains just because he heard Mister Sleeping Man talking about ditching trains too. He stopped wearing flashy underwear just because he heard Mister Sleeping Man talk to this Ryeowook about how he finds sky blue underwear funny and annoying. Sungmin even went as far as getting a haircut just because he freaking heard Mister Sleeping Man say he likes short and clean hairstyles.
Sungmin is so sure he’s gone insane. He lurks near the apartment elevators for no reason and stalks the ninth floor where Mister Sleeping Man lives. He makes sure he goes out of the office at the exact same time and he runs when he’s so sure he’ll miss the bus that Mister Sleeping Man usually takes. He’s acting like a stalker, a love-struck teenager and a psycho. That isn’t quite a good combination.
“What the hell~” Sungmin complained to Yesung one evening as they both share a drink while grilling pork ribs in a small place that offers outside dining.
“What the hell what? It’s normal,” Yesung said, chuckling.
“What is normal about this?” Sungmin demanded, lightly banging his head on the table. “What is so freaking normal about this?”
“It’s normal when you fall in love at first sight… or in your case at second-sight,” Yesung enlightened him and he burst out laughing when Sungmin struck him on the head with the tong. “What do you want me to say anyway, Sungmin? You’re showing the symptoms,” he continued to tease and Sungmin continued to whine.
“How can I be in love with someone who probably doesn’t even know or care that a certain Lee Sungmin exists in this world?”
Yesung gave him a small smile and a whoop.
“Then why are you doing all the things you think he likes even without him knowing?”
A blink, a heartbeat and a sigh later, Sungmin groaned and kicked the legs of the table.
“Because I am so messed up in the head…,” he said. “…and in the heart!”
Yesung laughed loudly and Sungmin felt a little miserable. But sometimes it really takes one to be in love before he can admit to himself that he can fall in love. Because falling in love happens to everyone. Some takes a few years, others take a few months and some can even take as short as a few days but it’s still called love in one way or another. After all, when your feelings are true, the length of time you’ve felt it won’t really make that much of a difference. As long as you can stand tall and admit to yourself that you genuinely love another person, then it could take a minute for the feelings to bloom and you’ll still be happy nonetheless.
“But I don’t even know his name!” Sungmin blurted out.
“That’s easy,” Yesung said, stating the obvious. “Ask for it,” he suggested and if only his feelings could be transferred to his friend, Sungmin would dare Yesung to do it himself and he’ll forever worship him.
----------------------------
It took two afternoon bus rides before Sungmin summoned all the courage to walk up to Mister Sleeping Man, clear his throat and murmur a small hi.
“Hi,” Mister Sleeping Man said in return and smiled at Sungmin. The smaller man curled his toes a little to stop himself from grinning like an idiot.
“Mind if I take the window seat?” Sungmin asked in one breath, speaking so fast that the other man had to frown a little.
“Eh?”
“The window seat,” Sungmin repeated and Mister Sleeping Man’s face broke into a grin when he realized what Sungmin has been trying to say.
“Oh! Sure,” the man said in his now familiar voice and he scooted aside to give Sungmin space to move. As soon as he was seated, Mister Sleeping Man grinned at him and said, “Nice new haircut by the way,” and Sungmin’s world burst into a thousand flying colors.
He stared at Mister Sleeping Man, blinking and blinking, the colors rising to his cheeks as his hands unconsciously touch his hair. ‘So he noticed! He noticed!’ Some cheesy part of Sungmin’s brain gushed and the weird penguins in his head danced to some strange song that only plays when something extraordinary happens. With those simple words, in the span of a few heartbeats… someone he only knows as Mister Sleeping Man became his world.
“T-thanks… I’m…,” Sungmin stammered and he paused when his seatmate yawned. “I’m sleepy too…,” he finished lamely, feeling disappointed at the lost opportunity to find out what the man’s name is.
Mister Sleeping Man smiled a little at him, his eyes a little half-lidded and before long, his head was once again lolling sideways, the way it did in the train that day. Sungmin was staring outside the window, sulking a little when he felt Mister Sleeping Man’s heavy head on his shoulder. Sungmin turned to look and his heart gave a wild jump when his lips brushed against the sleeping man’s forehead. He bit his tongue painfully and yet the grin that spread across his face that one special sunset is something so full of innocent and unknown feelings… yet… yet, still truthful nonetheless.
“I want to know your name, Mister Sleeping Man,” Sungmin murmured and he looked out the window, knowing full well why the sunset looked twice as gorgeous that day.
---------------------------
“I’m sorry, I fell asleep on your shoulder,” Mister Sleeping Man said as they ride the elevators together and Sungmin kept on wondering why his companion isn’t surprised by the fact that they live in the same apartment building.
“It’s fine,” Sungmin said, clutching the hem of his shirt. “I don’t mind.”
They stood in silence as the elevator went up and Sungmin kept on stealing side glances at Mister Sleeping Man. Up close, he really does look cute. His features aren’t as striking as any actor or model and he isn’t the most handsome in the world. Maybe Mister Sleeping Man couldn’t be considered as handsome anyway. But for Sungmin… for those times he spent staring at the other man’s back, for those nights that this brewing attraction played havoc with his mind, for that time when he received so much as a simple haircut compliment, for everything that happened until that moment when Sungmin could stand beside him… Mister Sleeping Man will always be the best in the world.
When the doors opened at the ninth floor and Mister Sleeping Man was about to go out, he looked back and grinned.
“It’s Cho Kyuhyun.”
“What?” Sungmin blinked.
“You said you want to know my name. It’s Cho Kyuhyun,” Mister Sleeping Man said, his grin never leaving his face. “It’s nice to finally talk to you, Sungmin-sshi.”
When the elevator doors closed and Sungmin was finally alone, he released all the happiness inside him, giving huge whoops and grinning like an idiot. He totally felt like a teenager and he couldn’t even be bothered with it. It might be a bit mundane or even superficial but as he emerged from the elevators, he felt overjoyed by the fact that Mister Sleeping Man knows his name. And that joy was made triple by the fact that Mister Sleeping Man isn’t Mister Sleeping man anymore.
That afternoon, in a continuation of a series of happy moments, Mister Sleeping Man finally gained a name. Cho Kyuhyun.
“Of course he has a name, Sungmin. He’s a human being. It’s natural for humans to have a name,” Yesung answered Sungmin’s text message that night, showing his idiotic self.
“Can I say screw you for being a party popper?” Sungmin answered back, grinning as he types the message. His balloon couldn’t be popped that night.
“No, you can’t. You’re not my type. Stop being disgusting,” Yesung answered and Sungmin thought his friend’s message is smiling too. “Now ask him out.”
“No way.’
“Yes way.”
“Creep.”
“Stalker.”
The exchange of one-word text messages went on for a few more times before Yesung became serious.
“Seriously, ask him out,” his message said and Sungmin wondered if he can.
-----------------------------
“So after two weeks and some diligent efforts on my part and Yesung’s act to play innocent, you finally got to give your name to that Train Man?” Kim Ryeowook complained to Kyuhyun over the phone that night.
“That Train Man has a name. Lee Sungmin,” Kyuhyun said, sporting a huge grin on his face. Two weeks ago, right after his head got stuck on the train, there was a man laughing silently at him from the sidelines. Kyuhyun wouldn’t have minded if it weren’t for the coincidences that followed their first meeting.
Truthfully, he didn’t really know that a Lee Sungmin exists until he laughed at Kyuhyun in that train ride. Since then, the man seemed to be everywhere Kyuhyun is - in the bus, in the elevator, in the apartment building, in his mind… Kyuhyun laughed. Definitely in his mind.
“Fine, he has a name,” Ryeowook said. “You have Yesung to thank for that because this loverboy of yours apparently kept talking about you too.”
There’s a flick inside Kyuhyun as he heard those words and he toppled over in his chair, landing butt first on the floor. His giggles were loud, indicative of his failure to contain the romantic tingles tickling at his insides. They were the same tingles he felt when his deliberate talk about short hairs, cotton candies and smiling men were heard and Sungmin showed up one day in the bus with a cute new haircut, smelling all sweet and candy-like with a forced smile on his face. It is the same tingle people feel at the thought that in one way or another, somewhere in the world, someone is reciprocating your feelings.
“Really?” He gushed at Ryeowook.
“Uh huh,” Ryeowook answered sarcastically. “Says his best friend. Now get your freaking love story together so Yesung and I can finally rest, idiot.”
Kyuhyun snorted.
“I hate people who are in a relationship. Makes me want to be in one!”
The sigh at the other end of the line told Kyuhyun how Ryeowook must have rolled his eyes.
“You’re on your way to being in one if you stop ogling at the images in your head and ask your loverboy out.”
“Loverboy is kind of messed up.”
“So is your head,” Ryeowook snapped and ended the call without bothering to say goodbye. Kyuhyun sighed and walked over to his window, pushing almost half of his body out in an attempt to see the window above his room. He looked up, wobbled a little and pouted.
“Hey, Sungmin-sshi… when will I get to look beside me… and see you there?”
------------------------
It took three more days and a rainy Monday afternoon before Sungmin managed to come up with his pick-up line and for Kyuhyun to actually ask him out for a little coffee time in his friend’s coffee shop.
It has been raining since morning that day and Sungmin waits for the bus in his usual place, staring at the raindrops piercing the ground. Kyuhyun had sat beside him the previous days and Sungmin would like to think that in that short span of time, they had made an unspoken promise of reserving an empty space for the other to sit on. Always.
It’s truly the irony of somehow knowing yet not knowing at the same time that makes the love ride exciting. It is that small moment between courtship and real relationship that creates endearing memories to last a lifetime. It is those confusing moments that make the expected admission sweeter and all the more memorable.
“Sungmin-sshi,” Kyuhyun came running, calling Sungmin right before the other entered the bus.
“Mhmm?”
“Coffee and rain… well… coffee?” Kyuhyun stammered and Sungmin think it’s cute.
“Are you asking me… out for coffee?” Sungmin asked, blocking the doorway to the bus, grinning stupidly at Kyuhyun.
“He is. Now get out of the door of my damn bus and let others enter,” the grumpy driver snapped at him and made a motion for Sungmin to leave. “What?” The driver asked.
“Mind your own business,” Sungmin snapped back and the driver rolled his eyes.
“I am minding my own business. You’re the one hindering it. Now get away from the doorway.”
Sungmin would have snapped back once again if it weren’t for Kyuhyun’s hand on his arm, gently leading him away from the doorway.
“Sungmin-sshi…”
“Sungmin,” Sungmin said, interrupting Kyuhyun’s sentence.
“What?”
The smaller man grinned and bit his lips.
“Call me Sungmin. It sounds better that way.”
When Kyuhyun grinned back at him and said, “Min, let’s get some coffee, shall we?” Sungmin knew all was lost and he’s in love. How many people can actually call him Min and get away with it, with his name still sounding as sweet and as decent as he wants it to be? How many people give you a nickname out of the blue and still make you look at him as if he just said the most amazing thing in the world? How many people can make the sun shine on rainy days and still make it look like it’s the most normal thing ever?
Not many.
And when you find one… you keep him. You keep him forever.
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There’s whipped cream on the sides of Kyuhyun’s mouth after he bit on the waffle. Sungmin stares at it, feeling a little awkward to say something and a bit too embarrassed to actually reach out and wipe it.
“I have a friend and his name’s Wook. He’s really nice,” Kyuhyun said when they talked about friends, apparently still oblivious of the whipped cream. Sungmin frowned a little, knowing that Wook is a nickname that Kyuhyun calls his friend and he wondered if Kyuhyun gives everyone their nicknames. If he does, then him calling Sungmin ‘Min’ isn’t such a big deal after all, is it?
“Do you give everyone a nickname, Kyuhyun-sshi?” Sungmin asked, trying hard not to sound a little too disappointed. Kyuhyun laughed and took a bite of his waffle, completely ignoring the fork. More whipped cream stuck on the sides of his mouth and Sungmin had the crazy urge to either say it or wipe it. The latter sounds more tempting.
“Kyuhyun-sshi…,” Sungmin said, swallowing as he reached for a napkin, held out his hand and almost reached Kyuhyun’s face before the latter got the cue and wiped the whipped cream on his own. “Oh… you’ve noticed,” Sungmin said, his disappointment more apparent now.
Sungmin stirred his black coffee silently after that, running out of any decent topic of conversation. Kyuhyun seems to have experienced the same thing because they stayed silent like that for minutes. The only sounds that could be heard between them were the little ‘ting’ that the cups make when it lands on the saucer.
“Uhm…,” Sungmin says softly and he looks up, blinking as he saw Kyuhyun putting whipped cream on his mouth. “What are you doing?”
The other man grinned.
“Now you have something to wipe,” he said and Sungmin looked a little confused.
“Eh?”
“You… uhm… wanted to do that, right?” Kyuhyun asked, Sungmin blushed, and they shared tiny giggles as the smaller man once again reaches for a napkin and gently wiped the whipped cream on Kyuhyun’s mouth. “Kyuhyun,” he said once again.
“What?” Sungmin looked like a confused idiot again.
“You can call me Kyuhyun, Min. You can remove the -sshi,” Kyuhyun explained. Pulling his hand back, Sungmin bit his lips to stop the slight curving of his mouth that could probably turn into a huge grin. “You’ll do that, wouldn’t you?”
When he couldn’t suppress the grin, Sungmin allowed it to spread across his face as he nods a little, looking outside the window in time to see a half-rainbow gracing the rainy afternoon sky.
“Ah… it’s a rainbow,” he said. The light reflects his features in angelic ways and the wind from the opened windows blew on his hair, messing up the tiny strands a little.
“It’s beautiful.”
Kyuhyun looked at him, smiling and amazed. In a breathtaking moment, while gazing at Sungmin, he managed to gush, “Mhmm… beautiful indeed.”
“I tend to give nicknames to my friends, Min,” Kyuhyun explained when Sungmin looked back at him. He leaned over on the table a little, cutting the distance between them in half.
“Oh…,” Sungmin murmured.
Kyuhyun grinned and he attempted a disgusting wink that made Sungmin laugh a little.
“But, you know…,” he continued, gazing fondly at the other man. “Only those people who are special to me can call me Kyuhyun. Without the -sshi. Just Kyuhyun”
It took several racing heartbeats before Sungmin managed to calm himself and flash Kyuhyun a gorgeous smile. With a lingering voice and an overflowing heart, he pouted a little before fondly saying… “Kyuhyun… hey, Kyuhyun.”
“Hey, Min,” Kyuhyun said back and in that moment, they both knew that they probably wouldn’t let each other go anymore. Not for a moment, not in this lifetime… not in a thousand more lifetimes to come.
----------------------------
Their shoulders touched each other weeks later as they sit on the bus, gazing at the now bald cherry blossom trees. The sunset is gorgeous in the horizon and the music from Sungmin’s earphones came out in sweet notes as he takes one earpiece out and shares it with Kyuhyun.
Kyuhyun takes it, places it in his ears and smiles.
“It’s in Chinese,” he commented.
“Yeah,” Sungmin simply smiled and they both looked outside. Seconds later, the smile on his face turned into a huge grin when he felt Kyuhyun’s hand sliding across his thigh and finally gripping Sungmin’s hand. “Kyuhyun?”
“I wanna hold your hand, Min,” Kyuhyun said, grinning back at him.
“You’re already doing it,” Sungmin pointed out.
“No, I mean… I wanna hold your hand from now on until…,” he shyly paused, blushing at his statement and Sungmin understood what he meant. He nodded and held Kyuhyun’s hand back, his grip tight and reassuring.
“Let’s hold hands from now on, Kyuhyun,” he murmured and he thought he saw a bit of tears glisten the sides of Kyuhyun’s face. He laughed a little and looked out the window, assured that from now on until who-knows-when, he’ll be holding Kyuhyun’s hand and Kyuhyun will be holding his.
Kyuhyun reached up and wipe his happy tears, his wish finally coming true. At that moment, as the lazy bus rolls on the streets, Kyuhyun thought that somehow… the sunsets he saw before never looked this beautiful.
“I like you so much, Min,” Kyuhyun whispered and he leaned on Sungmin’s shoulder, closing his eyes and dreaming of more beautiful days to come. There’s so much of life ahead to look forward to but for now, in that moment, he’d be contented to look beside him and find Sungmin there .
“Me too, Kyuhyun,” Sungmin whispered back. “So much… so much. Let’s share this lifetime… and the hundred other lifetimes to come… together, shall we?”
There was no answer - only a contended sigh from Kyuhyun. But Sungmin doesn’t mind. He doesn’t need a confirmation. When something so obvious and so positive stares at you right on the face, you wouldn’t really need any confirmation. What matters is that Kyuhyun is there, beside him, holding his hand, smelling as sweet as he did the first time he met him. If there’s something positive that came out of that amusing train incident, it would probably be the opportunity that life gave them to find each other.
And Sungmin would always be thankful for that. Always.
END.
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1. As I’ve said, this was originally made and posted in another fandom. I just needed to satisfy my weird sense of “fairness” because I’ve modified two of my Suju fics and turned them into Arashi fics. So to be “fair”, I thought I should modify one of my Arashi fics and turn it into a Suju one. Ahehehe. The title was also modified to suit the setting of the story. ^_^
2. I’m still not an expert in grammar and well… *sigh* Too many typos and weird English here. Ahehe.
3. I still fail at fluff. T__T