Hired to love you. Chapter 23
Sungmin was seating at the dining table, slurping his cereal up when he heard the doorbell ring. He didn't remember Ryeowook mention anything about having a visitor over in the morning, but he hurried to open the door anyway. "Annyeong, who are you looking for?" Sungmin asked through the small gap. Sungmin couldn't see the person's face clearly through the small gap he opened, but he could hear. "Um, I'm looking for a friend..I'm not sure if this is the right unit though." Sungmin smiled a little. "May i know your friend's name then? Maybe i could help." Sungmin offered. "Right, I'm looking for a Lee. Lee Sungmin." Sungmin eyes opened wide as he flung the door open. "Hae..?" Donghae stood looking right at Sungmin and soon, the two were in each other's arms, laughing and ruffling each other's hair.
"How did you know that I was staying here, Hae?" Sungmin questioned after Donghae had settled himself down on a dining chair.
Donghae looked up and blushed. "I.. followed you. I saw you and your boyfriend at the mall the other day and i decided to follow you. Well, i followed you guys all the way till the lobby. I didn't want to enter then because your boyfriend was with you. But this morning, i happened to pass by this place and saw your boyfriend leaving the lobby so i walked in. It took me quite some time to find the right unit. I went floor to floor ringing every doorbell. And nearly got hit by a lady clad in just a towel. It was scary. But it's worth it, i guess. I managed to find you, at the very least." Sungmin giggled at the thought of Donghae stalking him but he immediately dismissed that thought as Donghae's stomach grumbled. "You want food? I'll cook for you." Donghae nodded sheepishly and Sungmin hummed in response, heading towards the stove to cook kimchi noodles for Donghae. "I missed you, Min. What have you been up to recently?" Donghae questioned as Sungmin had busied himself with preparing his food. "Uhm, nothing much. Just mostly stay indoors and do stuff. I don't go out much." Donghae nodded in response and got up from his chair to rummage through the kitchen drawers for a fork and a spoon. "Why aren't you staying with Kyuhyun anymore?" Sungmin flinched a little at the mention of Kyuhyun's name, but he quickly regained his composure and pretended that he couldn't care less. "Oh, I broke up with him. Well, not officially. I just kinda ran away." Sungmin explained, shrugging as Donghae frowned at him. "That explains why you were hanging out with that guy. So, he's really your new boyfriend then?" Sungmin shook his head, a little too violently. "No! I mean, i don't know. Well, we're just friends? We were from the same highschool. So he offered to take me in, seeing as i didn't have anywhere to stay after running away from Kyuhyun's home." Sungmin told Donghae, putting a huge amount of emphasis on the word friend, hoping Donghae would get the hint. "Oh, so you like him then?" Sungmin sighed and mentally rolled his eyes. "No, i don't like him. He's just my friend. Nothing more." Donghae smiled as he nodded and let out an "Ah" sound. "Oh, there's something i feel i should tell you. Sungjin isn't staying at Kyu's place anymore either." Sungmin stopped stirring the noodles in the pot and raised a brow at Donghae. "Then, where's he staying?" Sungmin questioned, looking at Donghae more intensely. "Uhm, he's back at the mansion. Your mother told me to go fetch him from Kyuhyun's house the other day." Sungmin frowned. "How did my mother know we were at Kyu's house? We never told her." Donghae pursed his lips. "He called her. And told her he was going home." Sungmin nodded in understanding, hiding the betrayal he felt behind a perfect smile that was played on his lips. "That's good. Sungjin can take care of mother for me." Sungmin turned the fire off and got a bowl to pour the noodles into. "Min, if you don't mind me giving my opinion, your father has changed." Donghae gave Sungmin a hopeful look but Sungmin ignored it and snorted. "Yeah sure. Changed for the worst, i bet." Donghae sighed softly. "Min..give him another chance..?" Sungmin smirked as he walked to the dining table with the bowl of noddles and placed it down. "Your food. And I'll decide if i should give him another chance when i see him for myself." Donghae beamed at Sungmin and slurped up a strand of noodles. "Fair enough. I missed your food, Minnie!" Sungmin smiled and patted Donghae on the head and both of them sat down to finish up their meal.
Sungmin had closed the door after Donghae left and he decided he needed a shower. He grabbed his towel and headed to the bathroom before closing the door, not bothering to lock. He turned the tap on and began scrubbing himself. He closed his eyes and softly hummed a melody while he let the water drip onto his arm and slide its way down his back. He felt exhausted, exhausted from running away from so many people and things in his life. He didn't feel like a real man. His remembered clearly how his father had told him countless times that real man never ran away from their problems, they faced their problems, no matter how tough. He felt sick and tired of running from his life, and he wished that god could just take him away to end his suffering. He was suffering in so many ways, emotionally and physically. Sungmin felt weaker by the day and he didn't feel as though there was anything in his life he needed to hang on for. He had lost his father, mother and possibly Sungjin. And now, Kyuhyun wasn't there anymore. What was life, he really didn't know. Sungmin screamed out loud and slid down to the shower floor, his arms dropping to his sides, splashing some water around.
"Are you sure i should do this?" Kyuhyun whispered under his breath feeling extremely nervous.
"Yes. You need to get him back. Comeon, let's go Kyuhyun." Ryeowook responded, pulling on Kyuhyun's arm.
"I.. I can't do this. I mean, i have other stuff to do and I wouldn't want to give Min a shock and.." Ryeowook turned around to glare at Kyuhyun and rolled his eyes for Kyuhyun to see. "You either do it today or do it another day. You're gonna have to do it at some point, so why not now?" Kyuhyun sighed in defeat and let Ryeowook pull him into the lift lobby.
"I'm back!!!" Ryeowook sang, once he opened the front door. He was expecting Sungmin to run to him and greet him but instead, he was greeted by silence. "You think.. he knew i was coming so he went to hide?" Kyuhyun muttered, playing with his fingers. Ryeowook gave Kyuhyun a reassuring pat on his shoulder as gestured for Kyuhyun to take a seat. "I'll go check on him." Ryeowook walked into Sungmin's room and tilted his head to one side. Noticing Sungmin's towel gone from the rack, he walked back out and headed to the toilet. "MIN! You in there?!" It took about ten seconds before a reply came. "Yeah! I'll be out soon." Ryeowook smiled as he thought of a plan. "Okay, but get dressed to go out. We'll go grab lunch together!" Sungmin shouted his acknowledgement in reply and Ryeowook smirked before walking back into the living room. "Oh Ryeowook? Could i use the bathroom?" Kyuhyun asked Ryeowook once Ryeowook was seated on the sofa beside him. "Yeah sure. It's just up ahead." Ryeowook responded and Kyuhyun immediately got up and ran towards the toilet. Ryeowook smiled to himself as he decided it would be best if he retreated to his room to avoid the commotion which was about to happen within the next minute.
"YAH! Cho Kyuhyun! What the fuck are you trying to do?! OUT! I said GET OUT!" A shout could be heard coming from the toilet and Ryeowook chuckled, knowing that his plan to sabotage Kyuhyun had worked. "No! I mean, I'll get out! But i had no intention of walking in on you! I swear!" Kyuhyun was standing at the door, staring at Sungmin's towel cladded hips. "What are you still standing there for?! Get lost!" Sungmin screamed yet again and this time, Kyuhyun scrambled off towards the front door, his face as red as a tomato. Sungmin stormed out of the bathroom and opened Ryeowook's room door in a hurry. "Wookie! What is he doing here? Why's he here?" Ryeowook approached Sungmin and gently placed his hands at each side of Sungmin. "I asked him along for dinner. I thought maybe I could get to know him better. I'm sorry, min. I should have asked you first." Sungmin puffed his cheeks and looked down at the ground. "It's fine. I guess i'll just ignore him." Ryeowook smiled and ruffled Sungmin's hair. "Go get dressed, Min. If you haven't noticed, you're only wearing a towel around your hips." Sungmin looked down at his hips and blushed. "Heh. Okay." he muttered and walked off to his room, shooting a glare in Kyuhyun's direction before slamming his room door shut and locking it with a huge amount of force, as if hinting to Kyuhyun not to walk in on him again.
Sungmin came out of the room, wearing a tight fitting shirt and faded skinny jeans, carrying a pink bunny backpack. "I'm ready! Let's go, Wookie!" Sungmin ran to Ryeowook and hooked arms with him. "You... look cute." Sungmin blushed and fiddled with his fingers. "Yah, I'm supposed to be manly, wookie." Sungmin mumbled while trying to hit Ryeowook playfully on the arm. Kyuhyun looked at the two and snorted before he rolled his eyes, jealousy filling him. Ryeowook looked at Kyuhyun and looked away, feeling intimidated by the stare that was directed at him. "Um, let's go then! Kyuhyun and Sungmin, you guys go downstairs first, i need to lock the door. Here's the car key. Kyuhyun.. you can drive right?" Kyuhyun nodded once and reached out to take the car key's from Ryeowook. Sungmin got into the lift first and immediatly pressed the close button when Kyuhyun stepped in. "Min.." Kyuhyun started, unsure of how he should continue. Sungmin ignored Kyuhyun and stuck his earpiece into both sides of his ears. Kyuhyun gave up and sighed, willing the lift to go faster so that things weren't so awkward. Kyuhyun opened the driver door and hopped in, patting the seat next to him, signaling for Sungmin to seat beside him. Sungmin hesitated at first but gave into Kyuhyun and slowly opened the passenger door to get in. Sungmin was about to put on his seat belt when Kyuhyun reached out to grab it for him, their faces only centimeters away. Sungmin closed his eyes as he felt Kyuhyun's cool breath on his cheeks. He wasn't sure what Kyuhyun was going to do next, but he prayed hard that Ryeowook would come down soon. He didn't want his emotions to take over him and he needed Kyuhyun to back away. He sighed in relief when he heard the back door open and no longer felt Kyuhyun's breath on his cheeks. "Let's go~" Ryeowook sang,completely oblivious to the scene just before he entered. The whole journey to the restaurant was silent and Sungmin could only wish that time flew by faster. He couldn't stand being around Kyuhyun, each minute felt like an hour. And with each minute that passed, he felt his urge to snuggle into Kyuhyun's embrace getting stronger. He held on tightly to his chair and closed his eyes, completely trusting Kyuhyun at the wheel. He decided that he needed to resist his urge even more and so he put his music to full volume, completely ignoring his surroundings. Very soon, it would be over and he wouldn't have to see Kyuhyun ever again. He could bear with just an hour, he could do it.
To Be Continued.
"How did you know that I was staying here, Hae?" Sungmin questioned after Donghae had settled himself down on a dining chair.
Donghae looked up and blushed. "I.. followed you. I saw you and your boyfriend at the mall the other day and i decided to follow you. Well, i followed you guys all the way till the lobby. I didn't want to enter then because your boyfriend was with you. But this morning, i happened to pass by this place and saw your boyfriend leaving the lobby so i walked in. It took me quite some time to find the right unit. I went floor to floor ringing every doorbell. And nearly got hit by a lady clad in just a towel. It was scary. But it's worth it, i guess. I managed to find you, at the very least." Sungmin giggled at the thought of Donghae stalking him but he immediately dismissed that thought as Donghae's stomach grumbled. "You want food? I'll cook for you." Donghae nodded sheepishly and Sungmin hummed in response, heading towards the stove to cook kimchi noodles for Donghae. "I missed you, Min. What have you been up to recently?" Donghae questioned as Sungmin had busied himself with preparing his food. "Uhm, nothing much. Just mostly stay indoors and do stuff. I don't go out much." Donghae nodded in response and got up from his chair to rummage through the kitchen drawers for a fork and a spoon. "Why aren't you staying with Kyuhyun anymore?" Sungmin flinched a little at the mention of Kyuhyun's name, but he quickly regained his composure and pretended that he couldn't care less. "Oh, I broke up with him. Well, not officially. I just kinda ran away." Sungmin explained, shrugging as Donghae frowned at him. "That explains why you were hanging out with that guy. So, he's really your new boyfriend then?" Sungmin shook his head, a little too violently. "No! I mean, i don't know. Well, we're just friends? We were from the same highschool. So he offered to take me in, seeing as i didn't have anywhere to stay after running away from Kyuhyun's home." Sungmin told Donghae, putting a huge amount of emphasis on the word friend, hoping Donghae would get the hint. "Oh, so you like him then?" Sungmin sighed and mentally rolled his eyes. "No, i don't like him. He's just my friend. Nothing more." Donghae smiled as he nodded and let out an "Ah" sound. "Oh, there's something i feel i should tell you. Sungjin isn't staying at Kyu's place anymore either." Sungmin stopped stirring the noodles in the pot and raised a brow at Donghae. "Then, where's he staying?" Sungmin questioned, looking at Donghae more intensely. "Uhm, he's back at the mansion. Your mother told me to go fetch him from Kyuhyun's house the other day." Sungmin frowned. "How did my mother know we were at Kyu's house? We never told her." Donghae pursed his lips. "He called her. And told her he was going home." Sungmin nodded in understanding, hiding the betrayal he felt behind a perfect smile that was played on his lips. "That's good. Sungjin can take care of mother for me." Sungmin turned the fire off and got a bowl to pour the noodles into. "Min, if you don't mind me giving my opinion, your father has changed." Donghae gave Sungmin a hopeful look but Sungmin ignored it and snorted. "Yeah sure. Changed for the worst, i bet." Donghae sighed softly. "Min..give him another chance..?" Sungmin smirked as he walked to the dining table with the bowl of noddles and placed it down. "Your food. And I'll decide if i should give him another chance when i see him for myself." Donghae beamed at Sungmin and slurped up a strand of noodles. "Fair enough. I missed your food, Minnie!" Sungmin smiled and patted Donghae on the head and both of them sat down to finish up their meal.
Sungmin had closed the door after Donghae left and he decided he needed a shower. He grabbed his towel and headed to the bathroom before closing the door, not bothering to lock. He turned the tap on and began scrubbing himself. He closed his eyes and softly hummed a melody while he let the water drip onto his arm and slide its way down his back. He felt exhausted, exhausted from running away from so many people and things in his life. He didn't feel like a real man. His remembered clearly how his father had told him countless times that real man never ran away from their problems, they faced their problems, no matter how tough. He felt sick and tired of running from his life, and he wished that god could just take him away to end his suffering. He was suffering in so many ways, emotionally and physically. Sungmin felt weaker by the day and he didn't feel as though there was anything in his life he needed to hang on for. He had lost his father, mother and possibly Sungjin. And now, Kyuhyun wasn't there anymore. What was life, he really didn't know. Sungmin screamed out loud and slid down to the shower floor, his arms dropping to his sides, splashing some water around.
"Are you sure i should do this?" Kyuhyun whispered under his breath feeling extremely nervous.
"Yes. You need to get him back. Comeon, let's go Kyuhyun." Ryeowook responded, pulling on Kyuhyun's arm.
"I.. I can't do this. I mean, i have other stuff to do and I wouldn't want to give Min a shock and.." Ryeowook turned around to glare at Kyuhyun and rolled his eyes for Kyuhyun to see. "You either do it today or do it another day. You're gonna have to do it at some point, so why not now?" Kyuhyun sighed in defeat and let Ryeowook pull him into the lift lobby.
"I'm back!!!" Ryeowook sang, once he opened the front door. He was expecting Sungmin to run to him and greet him but instead, he was greeted by silence. "You think.. he knew i was coming so he went to hide?" Kyuhyun muttered, playing with his fingers. Ryeowook gave Kyuhyun a reassuring pat on his shoulder as gestured for Kyuhyun to take a seat. "I'll go check on him." Ryeowook walked into Sungmin's room and tilted his head to one side. Noticing Sungmin's towel gone from the rack, he walked back out and headed to the toilet. "MIN! You in there?!" It took about ten seconds before a reply came. "Yeah! I'll be out soon." Ryeowook smiled as he thought of a plan. "Okay, but get dressed to go out. We'll go grab lunch together!" Sungmin shouted his acknowledgement in reply and Ryeowook smirked before walking back into the living room. "Oh Ryeowook? Could i use the bathroom?" Kyuhyun asked Ryeowook once Ryeowook was seated on the sofa beside him. "Yeah sure. It's just up ahead." Ryeowook responded and Kyuhyun immediately got up and ran towards the toilet. Ryeowook smiled to himself as he decided it would be best if he retreated to his room to avoid the commotion which was about to happen within the next minute.
"YAH! Cho Kyuhyun! What the fuck are you trying to do?! OUT! I said GET OUT!" A shout could be heard coming from the toilet and Ryeowook chuckled, knowing that his plan to sabotage Kyuhyun had worked. "No! I mean, I'll get out! But i had no intention of walking in on you! I swear!" Kyuhyun was standing at the door, staring at Sungmin's towel cladded hips. "What are you still standing there for?! Get lost!" Sungmin screamed yet again and this time, Kyuhyun scrambled off towards the front door, his face as red as a tomato. Sungmin stormed out of the bathroom and opened Ryeowook's room door in a hurry. "Wookie! What is he doing here? Why's he here?" Ryeowook approached Sungmin and gently placed his hands at each side of Sungmin. "I asked him along for dinner. I thought maybe I could get to know him better. I'm sorry, min. I should have asked you first." Sungmin puffed his cheeks and looked down at the ground. "It's fine. I guess i'll just ignore him." Ryeowook smiled and ruffled Sungmin's hair. "Go get dressed, Min. If you haven't noticed, you're only wearing a towel around your hips." Sungmin looked down at his hips and blushed. "Heh. Okay." he muttered and walked off to his room, shooting a glare in Kyuhyun's direction before slamming his room door shut and locking it with a huge amount of force, as if hinting to Kyuhyun not to walk in on him again.
Sungmin came out of the room, wearing a tight fitting shirt and faded skinny jeans, carrying a pink bunny backpack. "I'm ready! Let's go, Wookie!" Sungmin ran to Ryeowook and hooked arms with him. "You... look cute." Sungmin blushed and fiddled with his fingers. "Yah, I'm supposed to be manly, wookie." Sungmin mumbled while trying to hit Ryeowook playfully on the arm. Kyuhyun looked at the two and snorted before he rolled his eyes, jealousy filling him. Ryeowook looked at Kyuhyun and looked away, feeling intimidated by the stare that was directed at him. "Um, let's go then! Kyuhyun and Sungmin, you guys go downstairs first, i need to lock the door. Here's the car key. Kyuhyun.. you can drive right?" Kyuhyun nodded once and reached out to take the car key's from Ryeowook. Sungmin got into the lift first and immediatly pressed the close button when Kyuhyun stepped in. "Min.." Kyuhyun started, unsure of how he should continue. Sungmin ignored Kyuhyun and stuck his earpiece into both sides of his ears. Kyuhyun gave up and sighed, willing the lift to go faster so that things weren't so awkward. Kyuhyun opened the driver door and hopped in, patting the seat next to him, signaling for Sungmin to seat beside him. Sungmin hesitated at first but gave into Kyuhyun and slowly opened the passenger door to get in. Sungmin was about to put on his seat belt when Kyuhyun reached out to grab it for him, their faces only centimeters away. Sungmin closed his eyes as he felt Kyuhyun's cool breath on his cheeks. He wasn't sure what Kyuhyun was going to do next, but he prayed hard that Ryeowook would come down soon. He didn't want his emotions to take over him and he needed Kyuhyun to back away. He sighed in relief when he heard the back door open and no longer felt Kyuhyun's breath on his cheeks. "Let's go~" Ryeowook sang,completely oblivious to the scene just before he entered. The whole journey to the restaurant was silent and Sungmin could only wish that time flew by faster. He couldn't stand being around Kyuhyun, each minute felt like an hour. And with each minute that passed, he felt his urge to snuggle into Kyuhyun's embrace getting stronger. He held on tightly to his chair and closed his eyes, completely trusting Kyuhyun at the wheel. He decided that he needed to resist his urge even more and so he put his music to full volume, completely ignoring his surroundings. Very soon, it would be over and he wouldn't have to see Kyuhyun ever again. He could bear with just an hour, he could do it.
To Be Continued.