Fic: Family Arc II - 12
Title: Family Arc II - 12
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. I apologise for any incorrect portrayal of people or any inaccurate details mentioned in my story.
Pairing: None at the moment.
Category: Angst
Rating: NC-16 (just to be safe)
Summary: More about Kyuhyun's past is revealed.
Arc I Arc II
It was not the first time Kyuhyun was home alone, but it had been a long time from the last time he was home alone. Especially since living at the dorm, where there were constantly people around. The times he was alone were far and few. Kyuhyun could only remember the times he was alone were before his debut, where the rest were promoting Super Junior. Kyuhyun did not like to think of those times.
Suddenly the house felt a lot emptier than before. The absence of Mdm Kim was clearly felt. Kyuhyun wandered into the kitchen, wondering what he should make for dinner. Will Mother be home for dinner?
Kyuhyun didn’t know. He never knew if his mother would be back for dinner.
When he was young, every day without fail, Kyuhyun would make sure that he sat at the dining table, waiting for his mother. More often than not, Kyuhyun had his hopes crushed. His mother was always too busy at work to come home. And never once did she call home to inform Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun ended up having dinner alone at the large dining table. He had no memory of sitting down at the dining table with his parents alone. They were both busy with work, his father as a diplomat and his mother as a business woman. Both were ambitious young people, hoping to reach the top of their career. They had clicked with each other due to their ambitions and intellectual abilities, having graduated from the same top university. They had lived together for months, enjoying their relationship. Never once did marriage come into their conversation, let alone children.
Kyuhyun knew he was an unplanned and unwanted baby. He often wondered why his parents did not have an abortion when they first found out, since they obviously did not want him. It was not as if they could not afford it. Kyuhyun did not know if his mother took care of him as a baby. From the time he remembered anything, Kyuhyun was usually alone in the huge house and taken care by the housekeeper. The housekeeper changed so often when he was young that he did not remember any of them well. Sometimes his parents left him alone in the house even when there was no housekeeper. They always told him that he should be able to take care of himself.
Kyuhyun, when he was younger, had called his parents asking whether they would be back for dinner. However, all he got as a response was to not bother them when they were busy. He wondered briefly if there was a time when they were not busy. The only times when all three were at the dining table together were the times when there were guests around. His parents were brilliant actors. To everyone, their little family was perfect. No one knew the story behind what was portrayed.
He was the source of his parents’ quarrels - or so Kyuhyun believed. Both were not ready for parenthood. Both were aiming high and felt that having a child hindered their progress. Despite that, some of their quarrels also revolved around how Kyuhyun was to be raised. Each had planned out the path which Kyuhyun should take and neither was willing to give in to each other. His father wanted him to be a diplomat while his mother wanted him to be a business man. Kyuhyun was forced to attend many lessons at a young age, his parents claiming to prepare him for adulthood. Kyuhyun gave his best in the lessons but never once did he receive any praise from his parents. Whatever achievements he made were deemed by his parents as things he should be able to do. Most would have given up trying to gain any sort of acceptance from their parents, but Kyuhyun could not give up the strand of hope that one day his parents would be proud of him.
Kyuhyun had never played with any of his cousins from either side of his parents’ family. His paternal family would not recognise him as the heir to the line as they disliked his mother. His grandfather refused to acknowledge that Kyuhyun was his grandson. The only time Kyuhyun saw his grandfather was during the New Year celebration when he was about five. His grandfather took one look at him and had thrown his family out. His mother had grew up in an orphanage. Everything she had today she worked hard for it. It was something Kyuhyun admired in her. But because his mother had never had a family, she did not know how to deal with the fact that she was going to have a child. Even after giving birth to Kyuhyun, she dove almost immediately back to work. She wanted to show the world and the family that abandoned her that they had made a mistake so many years ago. It did not occur to her that she was repeating the actions her family did to her so many years ago on her son.
As a kid, Kyuhyun was already quiet and kept to himself. When he first started school, the teachers paid special attention to him for he was the son of one of the youngest diplomats and successful business woman. Kyuhyun hated the attention from the teachers. It made him the target of the other children who felt that their teachers were biased. Kyuhyun craved for acceptance, but he did not like to make others upset. He would rather that he not receive any than for people to get angry about it. Slowly, the teachers began to overlook him due to his ability to blend into the background. It was something he had learned since young.
Every time his parents got together, they would definitely quarrel especially when there was no other person around - not taking into account the housekeeper and Kyuhyun. They could quarrel at any place in the house. Kyuhyun hated it when they quarrelled. It was usually revolving around him. It was worse if his father spotted him. His father would always start accusing his mother of not taking care of Kyuhyun, of not paying more attention to her son, which would spark an argument regarding whose son Kyuhyun was. Kyuhyun tried to hide from the words and the angry glares. He tried to be as small as possible, sometimes even hiding below the bed in his attempts to block out the noise. But Kyuhyun under no circumstances left the room his parents were quarrelling in. It was contradictory. However, in Kyuhyun’s young mind, those were the only times they could be together alone as a family.
What his parents didn’t know was that it was not the lessons he was sent to that prepared him for adulthood; it was their treatment of him, the portrayal of the happy family to the outside world and the subsequent treatment in his school that provided him the best preparation for adulthood. Kyuhyun learned from young that everything he saw was an act. The only times it was not an act were the times people were alone at home. Sometimes even that statement did not hold. Another lesson Kyuhyun learned was that everyone had their own motives for getting close to another person. The most important thing he learned was that promises meant nothing. His parents had promised so many times to visit his school, to go out as a family one day, to listen to his one and only flute recital, never did they once turn up. His teachers had promised time and time again that his parents would pick him up, that the students would not bully him again. Time and time again, his hopes were lifted then thrown away like dust.
The final event that shattered his trust was the death of his best friend. The one and only friend Kyuhyun had known for all his life was torn away from him that fateful day. Jong Ki failed to keep his promise to be there for Kyuhyun every step of his life. From then on, he never placed faith in any promises made to him.
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Kyuhyun had made a small spread of food for dinner. He wanted to prepare in case his mother decided to come home for dinner. Briefly Kyuhyun thought about his father, wondering if how he was with his new family. Kyuhyun had saw the pictures on newspapers and the internet showing his father and wife. They had a daughter who was about eight years younger than Kyuhyun and a son who was ten years younger. Kyuhyun speculated if the pictures were a façade or real. After comparing the smile his father had on the pictures against those taken with him and his mother, Kyuhyun reached the conclusion that his father was genuinely happy with his new family. The reason must lie with me. Kyuhyun was torn. On one hand, he was upset that his father was never truly happy with him. Yet on the other hand, Kyuhyun was thankful that his father was able to find his own happiness. Kyuhyun was truly grateful for the fact that his younger siblings had grown up in a family filled with love, even if he was a little envious of them.
He was lost in his thoughts until the sound of the door opening startled him. Kyuhyun looked up to see his mother entering the house. He stood up as quickly as he could without falling over to greet his mother. His mother glanced at him and turned to go up the stairs.
“Mother, have you had dinner?” Kyuhyun walked up to her, wanting to help her carry her briefcase.
His mother merely nodded and passed her briefcase to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun was ecstatic. This would be the first time his mother had willingly accepted his help that was not a show for others. But his mother had stopped the portrayal of the perfect family when his father left them to return to his family. The breaking up of his family would have been a sensational news if not for his paternal family covering it up, not wanting such an incident to blemish his father’s reputation.
Kyuhyun followed slowly behind his mother, still unable to climb the stairs quickly. His mother had long disappeared from view. Kyuhyun was concentrating on getting up the stairs safely with the briefcase that he got a shock when he reached the top of the stairs. His mother had collapsed on the floor in the hallway, sprawled out and unmoving. Kyuhyun dropped the briefcase on the top step before rushing to his mother.
“Mother!” Kyuhyun reached his mother, bending down to pat her face, hoping to wake her. Kyuhyun didn’t know what was wrong, but he could feel spikes of fear piercing his heart. He hated seeing people lying unmoving on the ground. It never meant anything good when that happened. Kyuhyun drew his hand back, shocked by the heat that was emitting from his mother’s face. It was then that Kyuhyun noticed the flushed face of his mother. Why didn’t I see it before hand?
Seeing that his mother was not waking up, Kyuhyun placed his arms under her to lift her up. Technically Kyuhyun was not supposed to be carrying any heavy items as his fractured hip was still recovering and could not stand heavy weights, but Kyuhyun was not going to leave his mother lying on the floor when she was sick. Kyuhyun stood up slowly. He could feel his legs trembling from the weight. It hurt to take a step forward, but he bit his lips and continued his way to his mother’s room. Every step brought pain, and with each step the pain worsened. Kyuhyun was sweating with exhaustion when he reached the room. The journey to the bed seemed to take forever for Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun placed his mother on the bed. He pulled the blanket out from below her and covered her with it. Throughout the whole journey, his mother never once reacted. Kyuhyun refused to sit, knowing that if he did, he would not have the strength to get up again. Kyuhyun searched for his mother’s cell phone in her handbag. He took it out and dialled for the doctor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun waited anxiously for the doctor to arrive. He had prepared a basin of water and wet the towel to place on his mother’s forehead. Even without the use of a thermometer, Kyuhyun could tell that the fever was quite high. Kyuhyun didn’t know what to do. He had never taken care of anyone before. There had never been one for him to do so. And no one had done it for him before, until the accident. His hyungs were there when he was delirious with his high fever. But he could not remember what they did. Kyuhyun was panicking. His mother’s condition seemed to be getting worse, yet there was nothing he could do, except keep changing the wet towel, hoping that it would bring the temperature down. Finally the door bell rang. Kyuhyun sprang up from his chair. He gave his mother one last look, before hurrying down the stairs to open the gate. Kyuhyun would have been surprised at the speed he was moving with if he was paying attention. But right now, Kyuhyun’s mind was completely focused on the doctor and his mother.
He opened the door and immediately pointed up the stairs.
“It’s the last room in the hallway.”
The doctor nodded, carrying his bag and rushed off. Kyuhyun rushed back to follow as well, but his speed was considerably slower while climbing the stairs. His legs and hips were already strained from carrying his mother and dashing to the door. They were not used to doing so much sudden exercise after the accident. Kyuhyun walked on determinedly. He wanted to know what was wrong with his mother. He was more concerned about her than his own health. By the time Kyuhyun reached the room, the doctor had already begun his inspection. Kyuhyun hovered around his mother on the other side, waiting anxiously for an answer from the doctor.
At last the doctor kept his stethoscope and spoke.
“Your mother has a rather high fever. She also seems to be having the symptoms of flu. I’ll prescribe some fever medicine and flu medicine. I would advice that she rest for the week or so, depending on her recovery speed.”
The doctor took out some medicine from his bag and passed them to Kyuhyun.
“The instructions are written clearly. Just follow them and your mother will be fine.”
Kyuhyun nodded, taking the medicine. Kyuhyun was about to thank the doctor when Mr Lee’s voice stopped him.
“I’ll show you out, doctor.”
Kyuhyun did not notice that Mr Lee had arrived from the office. Although Mr Lee was his mother’s driver, he also worked at the office, helping his mother as her assistant. Kyuhyun was thankful for his presence though. He didn’t think that he was up for another walk downstairs and up again. When Kyuhyun learned that his mother would recover fine, he felt his whole body relax from its tense mode. Being relieved let the pain in his hip and back drifted into his conscious. It was using all his strength not to collapse on the floor until the doctor left. Kyuhyun immediately collapsed onto the chair when the doctor disappeared from view. His legs were trembling badly for the strain it had gone through. Twinges of pain shot through his back. He would have liked to have his pain killers, but firstly the pain killers were in his room - and he was not up for another walk - and secondly, he didn’t want to become over-reliant on the pain killers. Kyuhyun settled for concentrating his thoughts on other things, such as his mother. It was a tactic he learned when young, when he was trying to distract himself from the pain he felt when he was bullied. The pain drifted to another level, as he focused all his energy on his mother.
Mr Lee came back to the room, wanting to see if there was anything he could do.
“Would you mind taking care of the business for the next week? The doctor said that Mother should rest for about a week. If there are any important documents which you can’t decide, just pass them to me.” Kyuhyun told Mr Lee, not wanting his mother to worry about her business.
Mr Lee wanted to protest, saying that his young master should be resting instead of worrying about the business, especially since he seemed to be in pain. But he saw the determined look on Kyuhyun’s face and knew that he would not be able to convince his young master otherwise. This was something that both mother and son have in common. Mr Lee nodded and left the room.
Kyuhyun sat next to his mother, holding her hand, praying that she would be better soon.
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That night after their performance, everyone was tired. To Eeteuk, it was the perfect opportunity to ambush one of the five to find out what happened between the five of them the previous night. There was a reason why he was the leader, not just because he was the oldest. Eeteuk was an observant person and genuinely cared for everyone he came across. Thus whenever he saw someone hurting, he would usually be the first to act upon it. Furthermore in this case, Eeteuk suspected that there had something to do with their youngest. Eeteuk briefly wondered who he should corner to get an answer. He eyed the five - Heechul, Hankyung, Sungmin, Donghae and Kibum. Then Eeteuk decided. He walked up to Kibum, claiming that he needed to speak to him. Immediately, Hankyung and Heechul snapped their heads towards him. Eeteuk knew that he had caught their attention. They would never abandon the youngest - at the moment - to his questioning, especially when they knew what it was about. However, it also proved to Eeteuk that whatever was going on was serious. Worried lines appeared on Eeteuk’s face. What is going on?
Eeteuk brought Kibum to his room, leaving the door open. He knew that the other four would be arriving soon. Eeteuk and Kibum settled on the bed, and waited. Not disappointing Eeteuk, Hankyung, Heechul, Donghae and Sungmin soon appeared at his door. Eeteuk waved them in. Hankyung, being the last to enter, closed the door. They settled in a circle on the floor.
“Would any of you like to enlighten me as to why I found the five of you sleeping in Hae’s room this morning?”
Donghae and Sungmin fidgeted. They didn’t like to be interrogated by Eeteuk. It made them feel like little kids who did something bad.
“Well…” Kibum began. Eeteuk nodded and waited.
“Well… it is concerning Kyuhyun.” Kibum stopped and prepared himself for an outburst. That never came. Kibum stared at Eeteuk in shock. Eeteuk sighed and nodded, “I’ve already guessed that it was related to Kyu, seeing how you all reacted to Ryeowook’s explanation in the afternoon.”
Kibum looked down. He didn’t want to explain any further. Hankyung looked at the rest of them, before focusing his eyes on Eeteuk.
“It all started when we brought Kyu back to the house after the picnic…” Hankyung explained the events slowly, one by one to Eeteuk. He was waiting for the outburst - they all were.
“What exactly did the brother say?” Eeteuk whispered in a deadly tone.
“That Kyu deserved the things he did to him.” Heechul answered, still angry, but he did not let his emotions consume him this time.
Eeteuk nodded, and fell silent.
The five glanced at each other, and then back to Eeteuk. They all thought that Eeteuk-Umma’s reaction would be the most dramatic, seeing how protective he was over all of them. That Eeteuk would be ranting and raving to see Kyuhyun and to see the idiot who said that to Kyuhyun. But no. Eeteuk sat in silence, the only visible reaction was the darkening of his eyes.
“Hyung?” Sungmin questioned timidly, afraid that he might be the one to trigger the anger.
“We need to plan this nicely if we don’t want Kyu to feel guilty about it. I want that bastard to suffer. Even if what he feels would only be a fragment of what Kyuhyun had grown up with. I will make sure that he never messes with Kyu - or any of us - ever again.” Eeteuk hissed out, his anger seeping through his voice. His voice was deadly quiet. It showed that Eeteuk was really enraged by what the brother had done.
Kibum could feel a shiver go down his back. I never want Teukie-Umma to be angry at me.
The rest nodded to Eeteuk’s suggestion. It was rare that Eeteuk gave them permission to do such a thing. Heechul smirked. He knew that his mind would be able to come up with the most humiliating and devastating punishment to mete out. Sungmin and Hankyung were prepared to use their martial arts background to do something horrendous to the guy. Donghae wanted to land a punch on the guy, with or without Eeteuk’s permission, though it would be better if Eeteuk gave permission.
“Does anyone else know about it?”
“No. It’s just the six of us.” Hankyung answered.
“Should we tell the rest?” Donghae asked. That question had been running around in his mind. He didn’t want to repeat the situation with Eunhyuk again. He hated quarrelling with Eunhyuk.
“Let me think about it first. It is something personal to Kyu, and I don’t think that he would like it if we spread it around, even if it’s just within Super Junior. Right now, let’s just keep it within ourselves. We still have a week of performances to do and I don’t want the rest to be distracted. It would only make Kyuhyun more worried if we’re not performing to the best of our ability.”
The five listened and nodded. They understood the reason behind not telling anyone for the moment, though Donghae wished that he could tell Eunhyuk. “Hyung, can I tell Eunhyuk?” Eeteuk looked at Donghae. “I promised him after the previous time that I would not keep major secrets from him, and this sure does seems like it.”
Eeteuk nodded. “But just Eunhyuk, and try not to let him be too upset.”
Donghae nodded as well, as the rest began to stand up and head for their rooms for bed. After all they had an event the next day.
Only Kibum remained in the room.
“Hyung, can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t want to be alone on my bed.” Kibum asked, not wanting to be left with his thoughts still on an injured Kyuhyun. He would not be able to sleep then. Eeteuk looked worriedly at Kibum. He and Kyuhyun were similar in many ways. Both were very independent. But with that request, it made Eeteuk aware that Kibum was after all about the same age as Kyuhyun. Eeteuk wanted to reassure them that everything would be fine. But he couldn’t. Because he himself also did not know what would happen. Kibum climbed onto the bed and lied next to Eeteuk, losing consciousness slowly but surely.
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It was a long four days for Super Junior. Every day was packed with events and performances. Although they did enjoy themselves during the performances, they could not help but feel drained of their energy. Kibum was worried - not about the performance - but about their missing member. He had yet to receive a call from Kyuhyun while almost everyone else had. It was rather easy to know who received a call from Kyuhyun as they all could not seem to hide their emotions at hearing Kyuhyun. They all wanted so much to visit Kyuhyun, especially since it had been a while since their picnic.
They were all resting in the make-up room after their performances. Today was their last performance before having a break to regain their energy. Kibum reached into his bag and took out his phone.
‘2 missed calls’. Kibum pressed to see the number. It was Kyuhyun’s.
Kibum’s face had such a puzzled and unsure look that made Siwon ask, “What’s wrong?”
Kibum showed his phone to Siwon. “Kyuhyun missed call you?” It was surprising considering how Kyuhyun had memorised their schedule and made sure not to call when they were still setting up. Siwon had a feeling that he too received a call from Kyuhyun. And true enough, Siwon also had a missed call from Kyuhyun. Kibum looked at Siwon, wondering what they should do. Kibum decided to throw caution into the wind and ask everyone to check their phones for missed call.
Everyone was puzzled as to why Kibum was concerned about missed calls. But one look at Kibum’s serious face, they all obliged.
“I have a missed call from Kyuhyun.”
“Me too!”
“Same here!”
The remarks were all similar, as they all came to the same conclusion that Kyuhyun had called all thirteen of them, though none of them were able to answer the phone. Something serious was going on.
“Bummie, try calling his cell.” Eeteuk instructed Kibum.
Kibum nodded and dialled.
“The number you’ve called is not available, please try again later.”
“It’s switched off.”
Now everyone was about to panic. No one knew what happened to Kyuhyun or where he was - although probably at home - and that thought was enough to make even Kangin panic.
Just then, a phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Yes, speaking. May I know who are you?”
“Oh yes. Why?”
“What? You mean he’s alone right now?”
“We’ll be right there to check it.”
“Kyungie, who was that?” Heechul asked, not catching anything with the one-sided conversation.
“Mdm Kim. There’s no time to talk now. We should gather our things and go to Kyuhyun’s house right away.”
“What? Why? What happened?” Eunhyuk exclaimed, standing up from his seat.
“Kyu had been home alone the whole week, ‘cos Mdm Kim went back to her village.”
Everyone stood up at that explanation. What?
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Heechul started pushing the other members out the door of the make-up room, wanting to reach Kyuhyun faster. Everyone rushed out of the room in record time and headed to their van.
As the vans drove towards Kyuhyun’s house the same thought ran through their mind.
Please be safe.
i believe this is one of my longest chapter to date. it has close to 4.500 words. haha. i'm happy. i'm quite pleased with this chapter.hope you all enjoy it - allthough the front may be an overload of information.^^
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. I apologise for any incorrect portrayal of people or any inaccurate details mentioned in my story.
Pairing: None at the moment.
Category: Angst
Rating: NC-16 (just to be safe)
Summary: More about Kyuhyun's past is revealed.
Arc I Arc II
It was not the first time Kyuhyun was home alone, but it had been a long time from the last time he was home alone. Especially since living at the dorm, where there were constantly people around. The times he was alone were far and few. Kyuhyun could only remember the times he was alone were before his debut, where the rest were promoting Super Junior. Kyuhyun did not like to think of those times.
Suddenly the house felt a lot emptier than before. The absence of Mdm Kim was clearly felt. Kyuhyun wandered into the kitchen, wondering what he should make for dinner. Will Mother be home for dinner?
Kyuhyun didn’t know. He never knew if his mother would be back for dinner.
When he was young, every day without fail, Kyuhyun would make sure that he sat at the dining table, waiting for his mother. More often than not, Kyuhyun had his hopes crushed. His mother was always too busy at work to come home. And never once did she call home to inform Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun ended up having dinner alone at the large dining table. He had no memory of sitting down at the dining table with his parents alone. They were both busy with work, his father as a diplomat and his mother as a business woman. Both were ambitious young people, hoping to reach the top of their career. They had clicked with each other due to their ambitions and intellectual abilities, having graduated from the same top university. They had lived together for months, enjoying their relationship. Never once did marriage come into their conversation, let alone children.
Kyuhyun knew he was an unplanned and unwanted baby. He often wondered why his parents did not have an abortion when they first found out, since they obviously did not want him. It was not as if they could not afford it. Kyuhyun did not know if his mother took care of him as a baby. From the time he remembered anything, Kyuhyun was usually alone in the huge house and taken care by the housekeeper. The housekeeper changed so often when he was young that he did not remember any of them well. Sometimes his parents left him alone in the house even when there was no housekeeper. They always told him that he should be able to take care of himself.
Kyuhyun, when he was younger, had called his parents asking whether they would be back for dinner. However, all he got as a response was to not bother them when they were busy. He wondered briefly if there was a time when they were not busy. The only times when all three were at the dining table together were the times when there were guests around. His parents were brilliant actors. To everyone, their little family was perfect. No one knew the story behind what was portrayed.
He was the source of his parents’ quarrels - or so Kyuhyun believed. Both were not ready for parenthood. Both were aiming high and felt that having a child hindered their progress. Despite that, some of their quarrels also revolved around how Kyuhyun was to be raised. Each had planned out the path which Kyuhyun should take and neither was willing to give in to each other. His father wanted him to be a diplomat while his mother wanted him to be a business man. Kyuhyun was forced to attend many lessons at a young age, his parents claiming to prepare him for adulthood. Kyuhyun gave his best in the lessons but never once did he receive any praise from his parents. Whatever achievements he made were deemed by his parents as things he should be able to do. Most would have given up trying to gain any sort of acceptance from their parents, but Kyuhyun could not give up the strand of hope that one day his parents would be proud of him.
Kyuhyun had never played with any of his cousins from either side of his parents’ family. His paternal family would not recognise him as the heir to the line as they disliked his mother. His grandfather refused to acknowledge that Kyuhyun was his grandson. The only time Kyuhyun saw his grandfather was during the New Year celebration when he was about five. His grandfather took one look at him and had thrown his family out. His mother had grew up in an orphanage. Everything she had today she worked hard for it. It was something Kyuhyun admired in her. But because his mother had never had a family, she did not know how to deal with the fact that she was going to have a child. Even after giving birth to Kyuhyun, she dove almost immediately back to work. She wanted to show the world and the family that abandoned her that they had made a mistake so many years ago. It did not occur to her that she was repeating the actions her family did to her so many years ago on her son.
As a kid, Kyuhyun was already quiet and kept to himself. When he first started school, the teachers paid special attention to him for he was the son of one of the youngest diplomats and successful business woman. Kyuhyun hated the attention from the teachers. It made him the target of the other children who felt that their teachers were biased. Kyuhyun craved for acceptance, but he did not like to make others upset. He would rather that he not receive any than for people to get angry about it. Slowly, the teachers began to overlook him due to his ability to blend into the background. It was something he had learned since young.
Every time his parents got together, they would definitely quarrel especially when there was no other person around - not taking into account the housekeeper and Kyuhyun. They could quarrel at any place in the house. Kyuhyun hated it when they quarrelled. It was usually revolving around him. It was worse if his father spotted him. His father would always start accusing his mother of not taking care of Kyuhyun, of not paying more attention to her son, which would spark an argument regarding whose son Kyuhyun was. Kyuhyun tried to hide from the words and the angry glares. He tried to be as small as possible, sometimes even hiding below the bed in his attempts to block out the noise. But Kyuhyun under no circumstances left the room his parents were quarrelling in. It was contradictory. However, in Kyuhyun’s young mind, those were the only times they could be together alone as a family.
What his parents didn’t know was that it was not the lessons he was sent to that prepared him for adulthood; it was their treatment of him, the portrayal of the happy family to the outside world and the subsequent treatment in his school that provided him the best preparation for adulthood. Kyuhyun learned from young that everything he saw was an act. The only times it was not an act were the times people were alone at home. Sometimes even that statement did not hold. Another lesson Kyuhyun learned was that everyone had their own motives for getting close to another person. The most important thing he learned was that promises meant nothing. His parents had promised so many times to visit his school, to go out as a family one day, to listen to his one and only flute recital, never did they once turn up. His teachers had promised time and time again that his parents would pick him up, that the students would not bully him again. Time and time again, his hopes were lifted then thrown away like dust.
The final event that shattered his trust was the death of his best friend. The one and only friend Kyuhyun had known for all his life was torn away from him that fateful day. Jong Ki failed to keep his promise to be there for Kyuhyun every step of his life. From then on, he never placed faith in any promises made to him.
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Kyuhyun had made a small spread of food for dinner. He wanted to prepare in case his mother decided to come home for dinner. Briefly Kyuhyun thought about his father, wondering if how he was with his new family. Kyuhyun had saw the pictures on newspapers and the internet showing his father and wife. They had a daughter who was about eight years younger than Kyuhyun and a son who was ten years younger. Kyuhyun speculated if the pictures were a façade or real. After comparing the smile his father had on the pictures against those taken with him and his mother, Kyuhyun reached the conclusion that his father was genuinely happy with his new family. The reason must lie with me. Kyuhyun was torn. On one hand, he was upset that his father was never truly happy with him. Yet on the other hand, Kyuhyun was thankful that his father was able to find his own happiness. Kyuhyun was truly grateful for the fact that his younger siblings had grown up in a family filled with love, even if he was a little envious of them.
He was lost in his thoughts until the sound of the door opening startled him. Kyuhyun looked up to see his mother entering the house. He stood up as quickly as he could without falling over to greet his mother. His mother glanced at him and turned to go up the stairs.
“Mother, have you had dinner?” Kyuhyun walked up to her, wanting to help her carry her briefcase.
His mother merely nodded and passed her briefcase to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun was ecstatic. This would be the first time his mother had willingly accepted his help that was not a show for others. But his mother had stopped the portrayal of the perfect family when his father left them to return to his family. The breaking up of his family would have been a sensational news if not for his paternal family covering it up, not wanting such an incident to blemish his father’s reputation.
Kyuhyun followed slowly behind his mother, still unable to climb the stairs quickly. His mother had long disappeared from view. Kyuhyun was concentrating on getting up the stairs safely with the briefcase that he got a shock when he reached the top of the stairs. His mother had collapsed on the floor in the hallway, sprawled out and unmoving. Kyuhyun dropped the briefcase on the top step before rushing to his mother.
“Mother!” Kyuhyun reached his mother, bending down to pat her face, hoping to wake her. Kyuhyun didn’t know what was wrong, but he could feel spikes of fear piercing his heart. He hated seeing people lying unmoving on the ground. It never meant anything good when that happened. Kyuhyun drew his hand back, shocked by the heat that was emitting from his mother’s face. It was then that Kyuhyun noticed the flushed face of his mother. Why didn’t I see it before hand?
Seeing that his mother was not waking up, Kyuhyun placed his arms under her to lift her up. Technically Kyuhyun was not supposed to be carrying any heavy items as his fractured hip was still recovering and could not stand heavy weights, but Kyuhyun was not going to leave his mother lying on the floor when she was sick. Kyuhyun stood up slowly. He could feel his legs trembling from the weight. It hurt to take a step forward, but he bit his lips and continued his way to his mother’s room. Every step brought pain, and with each step the pain worsened. Kyuhyun was sweating with exhaustion when he reached the room. The journey to the bed seemed to take forever for Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun placed his mother on the bed. He pulled the blanket out from below her and covered her with it. Throughout the whole journey, his mother never once reacted. Kyuhyun refused to sit, knowing that if he did, he would not have the strength to get up again. Kyuhyun searched for his mother’s cell phone in her handbag. He took it out and dialled for the doctor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun waited anxiously for the doctor to arrive. He had prepared a basin of water and wet the towel to place on his mother’s forehead. Even without the use of a thermometer, Kyuhyun could tell that the fever was quite high. Kyuhyun didn’t know what to do. He had never taken care of anyone before. There had never been one for him to do so. And no one had done it for him before, until the accident. His hyungs were there when he was delirious with his high fever. But he could not remember what they did. Kyuhyun was panicking. His mother’s condition seemed to be getting worse, yet there was nothing he could do, except keep changing the wet towel, hoping that it would bring the temperature down. Finally the door bell rang. Kyuhyun sprang up from his chair. He gave his mother one last look, before hurrying down the stairs to open the gate. Kyuhyun would have been surprised at the speed he was moving with if he was paying attention. But right now, Kyuhyun’s mind was completely focused on the doctor and his mother.
He opened the door and immediately pointed up the stairs.
“It’s the last room in the hallway.”
The doctor nodded, carrying his bag and rushed off. Kyuhyun rushed back to follow as well, but his speed was considerably slower while climbing the stairs. His legs and hips were already strained from carrying his mother and dashing to the door. They were not used to doing so much sudden exercise after the accident. Kyuhyun walked on determinedly. He wanted to know what was wrong with his mother. He was more concerned about her than his own health. By the time Kyuhyun reached the room, the doctor had already begun his inspection. Kyuhyun hovered around his mother on the other side, waiting anxiously for an answer from the doctor.
At last the doctor kept his stethoscope and spoke.
“Your mother has a rather high fever. She also seems to be having the symptoms of flu. I’ll prescribe some fever medicine and flu medicine. I would advice that she rest for the week or so, depending on her recovery speed.”
The doctor took out some medicine from his bag and passed them to Kyuhyun.
“The instructions are written clearly. Just follow them and your mother will be fine.”
Kyuhyun nodded, taking the medicine. Kyuhyun was about to thank the doctor when Mr Lee’s voice stopped him.
“I’ll show you out, doctor.”
Kyuhyun did not notice that Mr Lee had arrived from the office. Although Mr Lee was his mother’s driver, he also worked at the office, helping his mother as her assistant. Kyuhyun was thankful for his presence though. He didn’t think that he was up for another walk downstairs and up again. When Kyuhyun learned that his mother would recover fine, he felt his whole body relax from its tense mode. Being relieved let the pain in his hip and back drifted into his conscious. It was using all his strength not to collapse on the floor until the doctor left. Kyuhyun immediately collapsed onto the chair when the doctor disappeared from view. His legs were trembling badly for the strain it had gone through. Twinges of pain shot through his back. He would have liked to have his pain killers, but firstly the pain killers were in his room - and he was not up for another walk - and secondly, he didn’t want to become over-reliant on the pain killers. Kyuhyun settled for concentrating his thoughts on other things, such as his mother. It was a tactic he learned when young, when he was trying to distract himself from the pain he felt when he was bullied. The pain drifted to another level, as he focused all his energy on his mother.
Mr Lee came back to the room, wanting to see if there was anything he could do.
“Would you mind taking care of the business for the next week? The doctor said that Mother should rest for about a week. If there are any important documents which you can’t decide, just pass them to me.” Kyuhyun told Mr Lee, not wanting his mother to worry about her business.
Mr Lee wanted to protest, saying that his young master should be resting instead of worrying about the business, especially since he seemed to be in pain. But he saw the determined look on Kyuhyun’s face and knew that he would not be able to convince his young master otherwise. This was something that both mother and son have in common. Mr Lee nodded and left the room.
Kyuhyun sat next to his mother, holding her hand, praying that she would be better soon.
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That night after their performance, everyone was tired. To Eeteuk, it was the perfect opportunity to ambush one of the five to find out what happened between the five of them the previous night. There was a reason why he was the leader, not just because he was the oldest. Eeteuk was an observant person and genuinely cared for everyone he came across. Thus whenever he saw someone hurting, he would usually be the first to act upon it. Furthermore in this case, Eeteuk suspected that there had something to do with their youngest. Eeteuk briefly wondered who he should corner to get an answer. He eyed the five - Heechul, Hankyung, Sungmin, Donghae and Kibum. Then Eeteuk decided. He walked up to Kibum, claiming that he needed to speak to him. Immediately, Hankyung and Heechul snapped their heads towards him. Eeteuk knew that he had caught their attention. They would never abandon the youngest - at the moment - to his questioning, especially when they knew what it was about. However, it also proved to Eeteuk that whatever was going on was serious. Worried lines appeared on Eeteuk’s face. What is going on?
Eeteuk brought Kibum to his room, leaving the door open. He knew that the other four would be arriving soon. Eeteuk and Kibum settled on the bed, and waited. Not disappointing Eeteuk, Hankyung, Heechul, Donghae and Sungmin soon appeared at his door. Eeteuk waved them in. Hankyung, being the last to enter, closed the door. They settled in a circle on the floor.
“Would any of you like to enlighten me as to why I found the five of you sleeping in Hae’s room this morning?”
Donghae and Sungmin fidgeted. They didn’t like to be interrogated by Eeteuk. It made them feel like little kids who did something bad.
“Well…” Kibum began. Eeteuk nodded and waited.
“Well… it is concerning Kyuhyun.” Kibum stopped and prepared himself for an outburst. That never came. Kibum stared at Eeteuk in shock. Eeteuk sighed and nodded, “I’ve already guessed that it was related to Kyu, seeing how you all reacted to Ryeowook’s explanation in the afternoon.”
Kibum looked down. He didn’t want to explain any further. Hankyung looked at the rest of them, before focusing his eyes on Eeteuk.
“It all started when we brought Kyu back to the house after the picnic…” Hankyung explained the events slowly, one by one to Eeteuk. He was waiting for the outburst - they all were.
“What exactly did the brother say?” Eeteuk whispered in a deadly tone.
“That Kyu deserved the things he did to him.” Heechul answered, still angry, but he did not let his emotions consume him this time.
Eeteuk nodded, and fell silent.
The five glanced at each other, and then back to Eeteuk. They all thought that Eeteuk-Umma’s reaction would be the most dramatic, seeing how protective he was over all of them. That Eeteuk would be ranting and raving to see Kyuhyun and to see the idiot who said that to Kyuhyun. But no. Eeteuk sat in silence, the only visible reaction was the darkening of his eyes.
“Hyung?” Sungmin questioned timidly, afraid that he might be the one to trigger the anger.
“We need to plan this nicely if we don’t want Kyu to feel guilty about it. I want that bastard to suffer. Even if what he feels would only be a fragment of what Kyuhyun had grown up with. I will make sure that he never messes with Kyu - or any of us - ever again.” Eeteuk hissed out, his anger seeping through his voice. His voice was deadly quiet. It showed that Eeteuk was really enraged by what the brother had done.
Kibum could feel a shiver go down his back. I never want Teukie-Umma to be angry at me.
The rest nodded to Eeteuk’s suggestion. It was rare that Eeteuk gave them permission to do such a thing. Heechul smirked. He knew that his mind would be able to come up with the most humiliating and devastating punishment to mete out. Sungmin and Hankyung were prepared to use their martial arts background to do something horrendous to the guy. Donghae wanted to land a punch on the guy, with or without Eeteuk’s permission, though it would be better if Eeteuk gave permission.
“Does anyone else know about it?”
“No. It’s just the six of us.” Hankyung answered.
“Should we tell the rest?” Donghae asked. That question had been running around in his mind. He didn’t want to repeat the situation with Eunhyuk again. He hated quarrelling with Eunhyuk.
“Let me think about it first. It is something personal to Kyu, and I don’t think that he would like it if we spread it around, even if it’s just within Super Junior. Right now, let’s just keep it within ourselves. We still have a week of performances to do and I don’t want the rest to be distracted. It would only make Kyuhyun more worried if we’re not performing to the best of our ability.”
The five listened and nodded. They understood the reason behind not telling anyone for the moment, though Donghae wished that he could tell Eunhyuk. “Hyung, can I tell Eunhyuk?” Eeteuk looked at Donghae. “I promised him after the previous time that I would not keep major secrets from him, and this sure does seems like it.”
Eeteuk nodded. “But just Eunhyuk, and try not to let him be too upset.”
Donghae nodded as well, as the rest began to stand up and head for their rooms for bed. After all they had an event the next day.
Only Kibum remained in the room.
“Hyung, can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t want to be alone on my bed.” Kibum asked, not wanting to be left with his thoughts still on an injured Kyuhyun. He would not be able to sleep then. Eeteuk looked worriedly at Kibum. He and Kyuhyun were similar in many ways. Both were very independent. But with that request, it made Eeteuk aware that Kibum was after all about the same age as Kyuhyun. Eeteuk wanted to reassure them that everything would be fine. But he couldn’t. Because he himself also did not know what would happen. Kibum climbed onto the bed and lied next to Eeteuk, losing consciousness slowly but surely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a long four days for Super Junior. Every day was packed with events and performances. Although they did enjoy themselves during the performances, they could not help but feel drained of their energy. Kibum was worried - not about the performance - but about their missing member. He had yet to receive a call from Kyuhyun while almost everyone else had. It was rather easy to know who received a call from Kyuhyun as they all could not seem to hide their emotions at hearing Kyuhyun. They all wanted so much to visit Kyuhyun, especially since it had been a while since their picnic.
They were all resting in the make-up room after their performances. Today was their last performance before having a break to regain their energy. Kibum reached into his bag and took out his phone.
‘2 missed calls’. Kibum pressed to see the number. It was Kyuhyun’s.
Kibum’s face had such a puzzled and unsure look that made Siwon ask, “What’s wrong?”
Kibum showed his phone to Siwon. “Kyuhyun missed call you?” It was surprising considering how Kyuhyun had memorised their schedule and made sure not to call when they were still setting up. Siwon had a feeling that he too received a call from Kyuhyun. And true enough, Siwon also had a missed call from Kyuhyun. Kibum looked at Siwon, wondering what they should do. Kibum decided to throw caution into the wind and ask everyone to check their phones for missed call.
Everyone was puzzled as to why Kibum was concerned about missed calls. But one look at Kibum’s serious face, they all obliged.
“I have a missed call from Kyuhyun.”
“Me too!”
“Same here!”
The remarks were all similar, as they all came to the same conclusion that Kyuhyun had called all thirteen of them, though none of them were able to answer the phone. Something serious was going on.
“Bummie, try calling his cell.” Eeteuk instructed Kibum.
Kibum nodded and dialled.
“The number you’ve called is not available, please try again later.”
“It’s switched off.”
Now everyone was about to panic. No one knew what happened to Kyuhyun or where he was - although probably at home - and that thought was enough to make even Kangin panic.
Just then, a phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Yes, speaking. May I know who are you?”
“Oh yes. Why?”
“What? You mean he’s alone right now?”
“We’ll be right there to check it.”
“Kyungie, who was that?” Heechul asked, not catching anything with the one-sided conversation.
“Mdm Kim. There’s no time to talk now. We should gather our things and go to Kyuhyun’s house right away.”
“What? Why? What happened?” Eunhyuk exclaimed, standing up from his seat.
“Kyu had been home alone the whole week, ‘cos Mdm Kim went back to her village.”
Everyone stood up at that explanation. What?
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Heechul started pushing the other members out the door of the make-up room, wanting to reach Kyuhyun faster. Everyone rushed out of the room in record time and headed to their van.
As the vans drove towards Kyuhyun’s house the same thought ran through their mind.
Please be safe.
i believe this is one of my longest chapter to date. it has close to 4.500 words. haha. i'm happy. i'm quite pleased with this chapter.hope you all enjoy it - allthough the front may be an overload of information.^^