Hope 5/?
Title: Hope 5/?
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Ryeowook
Genre: Angst, romance, !Realistic AU
Rating & Warning: R - sexual situations, violence -- psychological and physical torture may appear in later parts, just to be on the safe side...--
FOR THIS CHAPTER: PG-13
Summary: Cho Kyuhyun and Kim Ryeowook try their best to survive in a totalitarian state (DPRK) surrounded by famine, fear and death, all the while gracing their short lives with the precious moments of pure love that they get to share together.
Disclaimer: I do not own Super Junior members - sighs - and have no rights over them, nor do I have any connections with their management.
A/N.: Ah, another chapter finished... This one is very important to me: Ryeowook's and Kyuhyun's story from this point on is actually inspired by the story of a specific defector, who opened up about the fate of some of his family members (of course, some details have been changed, additions made and fiction inserted, out of respect for the said person). Hope you'll enjoy!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 |
Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
_________________________
HOPE --Part 5--
Kyuhyun arrives fairly quickly at his parent's home, and his smile is stuck on his lips. He briefly thinks of an excuse, and he lets himself fantasize about how he would tell the whole world how crazy he is for Ryeowook. It's not for right now, but their time will come...somehow.
He slides open the door to see his parents, both sitting at the table with a stern look on their faces.
"....Hi. How did it go with Kim Bongsoon sshi?"
"Fine! Thanks for the bread! It was really good! Mother, you are the best coo...."
Quite unexpectedly, Kyuhyun's mother gets up, raises her hand and strikes Kyuhyun's face with such force that he actually looses his balance, and looks at his mother with both a cheated and surprised look on his face.
"?! What is that abou..."
"I spoke to Ms. Kim."
Her response silences Kyuhyun immediately.
"They did not have the pleasure to share your company today, it seems. Where were you?"
"....I forgot, again. Sorry."
He makes to move past his mother, but she grabs his arm and brings him back to where he was previously standing.
"I know you are not that stupid. Where were you?"
"....With someone else."
"WHO? You had better not disrespect the Respe..."
"Don't worry, I did not hear anything about those crazy South people, or smoke those deadly imported cigarettes, or ..."
The next blow actually draws blood from Kyuhyun's mouth, and he brings his hand to his lips. He went too far, and he knows.
"Go ahead and mock me, but NEVER EVER DARE MOCK OUR RESPECTFUL COMRADE*, AND HIS BEAUTIFUL NATION."
Kyuhyun remains silent. He wants to shout back, but a reproachful voice inside of him keeps him silent. Kyuhyun's father then gets up from his chair, and calmly addresses his son.
"You can tell me. Where were you? Who were you with?"
"........Father, I don't...enjoy Kim Bongsoo sshi's company."
Taken aback, his mother steps back and sits on her chair.
"Alright. Maybe we can work through this. Do you, perhaps....have someone else...in mind?"
Kyuhyun says nothing, but his mother gets back up, before asking her next question, excitement clear in her voice.
"...Are you in love, my son?"
"I know the younger generation wants to marry for different reasons these days, and I am quite open to work with you on this. So tell me, who is she?"
"Absolutely! Our Respected Leader wants us all to be happy, after all....Who is she?"
And Kyuhyun does not understand what fuels his sudden anger. Maybe it's his father referring to this intense love he feels towards Ryeowook as just "a different reason for marriage", or that his parents might actually consider Ryeowook if he were a woman. Still, he takes a deep breath, and red in the face, he looks at his father.
"A man. And he is much bigger and stronger than I am, and you are, and and even...."
A loud noise echoes in Kyuhyun's head before he even has the time to finish his sentence, and his head hits the ground. He blacks out for a few short minutes, and when he comes to, he immediately figures that his father must have punched him. He sits up rapidly, and his mother reaches for the back of his neck, and places her small cold hand there, as tenderly as any shaken mother would for her son. The pain in his left cheek overwhelms him momentarily before he turns to look at his mother.
"Are...you alright, son?"
Kyuhyun scans the room, and sees that his father left.
"....Where is father?"
"...Don't get up...we should wait, I don't think he.."
But Kyuhyun gets up, and sways dangerously through the door, only to stop at the outline of his father on the very thin paper door leading to outside. He slides the door open, and his father turns around briefly.
"We need to talk."
"No, we do not. You will marry Kim Bongsoo sshi, live to see your grandchildren, and show your appreciation to our Respected Leader for gracing you with a long and healthy life."
"No, I won't."
"You won't what? Marry her?"
"Both father. I will probably die soon, much like anyone else, and I won't marry her."
His father gets up to face his son.
"....Have you lost your mind!?"
"Come on'. Let's be honest. You don't care for my life. You want that security, and you want grandchildren, and.."
His father grabs Kyuhyun's neck, and squeezes it tightly. Out of instinct, Kyuhyun grabs his father's hands, and tries to pry them away quite unsuccessfully. He feels himself gasp for air, but he keeps his ground, and even manages to utter a few words through the strangling.
"...can't....choke him....out...of me..."
And right there, in his father's eyes, Kyuhyun sees the fear, and perhaps the hurt. His father slowly lets go of his neck, but grabs his shoulders, backing him up on the wall. His next sentence is barely audible, whisper of frustration and fear.
"Marry her...lie to her if you want to, and keep seeing your...friend...but you have to marry her."
"Why would I want that life if Ryeowook isn't there to share it with me?!"
It's after the fact that Kyuhyun realizes that he has actually mentioned Ryeowook's name for the first time in front of anyone, and he feels enormously liberated. His father loosens his grip on his shoulders, and steps back to look at him, before crushing his son's body in his, hugging him for the first time since his birth.**
"I also felt this way for a m...someone once. But I followed our Dear Leader's ways***, and I married your mother, and.. you are here..."
Kyuhyun says nothing for many reasons: he doesn't know what to say, and he can't even bring himself to talk.
"It was hard, but I didn't die."
He lets go of Kyuhyun, and whispers:
"And neither will you. We all survive."
But I don't want to survive....I want to live. Kyuhyun wants to say it, but nothing comes out of his bleeding lips.
"And you might tell your son about him one day, and...keep on surviving."
The conversation stops when both men hear Kyuhyun's mother arrive behind them (who apparently is still unaware of the words exchanged). His father sends one last smile (perhaps the world's saddest smile, Kyuhyun guesses) his way as he returns into the house.
"...What did he say? You'll marry her, right?"
Kyuhyun barely hears the rest of his mother's speech, as he tunes her out.
He wants to see Ryeowook.
He wants to hold him, and not make the same mistake his father made. He wants them to make love again, and laugh, and tease each other. Every day and every night.
His mother pulls him back by the arm; curfew's on, and no one should be outside. And the door slides shut with a soft thud.
That night, Kyuhyun continuously wakes up from a series of nightmares, all similar in nature. He dreams that Ryeowook leaves him, and he marries Bongsoo sshi, and as the years go by, he cries more than he smiles, and he starts to forget Ryeowook's face, at which point he wakes up in sweat, screaming. He decides (after the third nightmarish episode this night alone) that he'd much rather die than live without him, and as if the thought of never giving up soothes his fears, the nightmares stop, and he finally falls asleep.
A few blocks away, Kim Ryeowook is in the midst of devising a plan to secure Kyuhyun's future; he can't just up and disappear in the middle of the night; he knows it would shatter Kyuhyun. Besides, he is certain that he would go and look for him. No, it wouldn't do. He'd have to...die. Make him believe he died, and that he is out of reach. This way, there are no regrets, no lingering hope, no crazy life-threatening endeavors to rescue him or find him. And Kyuhyun could forget all about his existence in time, and...move on.
He swallows the lump in his throat, but it won't go away. He just didn't know he was this much in love, he reasons, and he'll just have to get over it. Over him.
_____
When the Megaphones boom at the morning light, Kyuhyun is already awake, and dressed. He steps outside the minute the curfew is over (two hours before he has to go to work), and his destination is quite final. He grabs the family bicycle from the courtyard, and rides it towards Ryeowook. The wind in his face is blissful; the previous night fatigued him to no end, unsatisfying sleep punctuated by frequent nightmares. He doesn't know what he will say to Ryeowook, or how he will say it. And at the moment, he doesn't care. Many people are already walking in the streets, and he zooms by them with surprising accuracy. He thinks of how Ryeowook said that some men love each other across the border, and it's now so clear to him: that's where he will take him. Where he can kiss him everyday, and know he's safe. Where he'll find a job, and work for the both of them, so that Ryeowook never has to worry or struggle again.
He gets to his destination a good 10 minutes faster than expected, and he jumps off the bicycle (the latter falling with a heavy metallic rustling sound behind him). He leans on the door to catch his breath, and the door opens without him even knocking. Ryeowook appears, apparently as exhausted as he is, and the look of surprise on his little features quite apparent.
"...Kyuhyuna? What are you doi..."
"My father. I won't be him. I want to love, I mean live."
Ryeowook's confusion is more than palpable, and Kyuhyun reads it in his facial expression.
"I won't marry her. I'll die soon, but I'll die happy."
"?! What do you mean you'll die?! Who wants to hurt you? Tell me!...I'll..."
And Kyuhyun plants an unexpected kiss on Ryeowook's lips, Ryeowook loosing balance and the initiator of the said kiss catching him in his arms, never letting go of his lips. Both kiss slowly in this slanted position, a very accurate reflection of Kyuhyun's passion. Ryeowook wants this to be a painting, so that it can be featured in history books for all other generations to see. He wants time to stop, and he wants Kyuhyun to tip him over like this, and kiss him, and he wants people to see this in museums. He wants them to admire the man that Cho Kyuhyun is, his perfection, and his heart. They'd all see it, and swallow their hate.
Kyuhyun breaks the kiss and looks at Ryeowook.
"...Kyuhyuna....."
He kicks the door closed with his left leg, and returns to looking at Ryeowook, and the latter is breathless. Kyuhyun looks absolutely handsome, dressed in his work clothes, lips flush, and panting.
"We're leaving together."
"..What?"
"Meet me after work. You know where the University number 1 is?"
Ryeowook's head is spinning.
"No, Kyuhyuna, you.."
"I won't TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. We are leaving together, tonight, and we'll be crossing that border as soon as possible."
"You... you're not thinking clearly...Let's just..think this through, and..."
And Ryeowook feels his frame get squeezed tighter, and he consequently stops talking. Kyuhyun's stare is intense, demanding, and decided.
"We are leaving."
"...But how..."
"I have a lot of money set aside... I've been saving it for years for my eventual wed... For you."
Ryeowook closes his eyes, and lets himself imagine that this is how Kyuhyun would propose to him if they were somewhere else, someplace else.... someone else. He takes a deep breath, and with the calmest tone he can muster, responds to his lover.
"Let's meet tonight to talk some more about this... I'll meet you outside of your home at 7, after your shift."
He then hugs Ryeowook, and the latter is destroyed, because the timing is perfect. What awaits Kyuhyun is the letter he is planning on giving him. The one that explains how he got caught by the army (or some other reason he is yet to think through), and that this letter had been prepared to reach him in case he passed away.**** Kyuhyun kisses Ryeowook's neck, unaware of the other man's plan, babbling incomprehensively about how lucky he is, and how happy they will be, and how Ryeowook just made him the luckiest man alive.
Ryeowook returns each one of his kisses, and when he reaches Kyuhyun's lips, he takes his time; he tastes him, feels him, hears him, and locks everything away in his heart.
"You should go, Kyuhyuna. They'll think it's suspicious if you're late."
And Kyuhyun tilts him further, so much so that Ryeowook's feet don't even touch the floor anymore. And he seductively whispers.
"Just so you know, if there is ever a world like mine out there that lets men marry men, that's where we are headed."
And just like that, Kyuhyun redresses their posture, and lets go of Ryeowook, smile on his lips and confidence in his heart. Ryeowook looks on as he turns around and opens the door, picks up the bicycle, and sends one more proud smile in Ryeowook's direction, before getting on it and leaving the same way he came.
On his way to work, Kyuhyun sees a sign which reads Let's Achieve Great Victory With the Mighty Power of the Good Army, and he thinks he's already achieved the greatest victory he'll ever need to achieve.
_________________________
Notes:
*It has been said that Kim Jong-un was once also called "The Respected Leader" in the past (like his father was also called in the 70s), but he is more and more reffered to as "The Brilliant Comrade" (영명한 동지). He has a few titles, and given that I have used "Respected Leader" since the beginning of the story, I will use it more often, just so that people don't get confused... Also, even if he is almost not refered to as such anymore, I think this title serves good purpose in the story; and I kinda like the weight of the word Respected in there.
**In the North, physical contact, or emotionial demonstrations are generally regarded as a displays of weakness, and not of affection. Affection generally comes from a strict upbringing, and a successful transfer of values.
***Kyuhyun's father refers to the Dear Leader instead of the Respected Leader in his speech because his youth was lived under (the now deceased) Kim Jung-Il, who was known as the Dear General, or the Dear Leader (친애하는 지도자).
****This is actually common practice in the north: some people hire detectives to look for missing loved ones, or news bearers to let their families know of their passing in case they are killed unexpectedly. Face-to-face meet-ups in the latter case are quite rare, and the news is generally transmitted through letters left anonymously at the family's residence.
_________________________
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Ryeowook
Genre: Angst, romance, !Realistic AU
Rating & Warning: R - sexual situations, violence -- psychological and physical torture may appear in later parts, just to be on the safe side...--
FOR THIS CHAPTER: PG-13
Summary: Cho Kyuhyun and Kim Ryeowook try their best to survive in a totalitarian state (DPRK) surrounded by famine, fear and death, all the while gracing their short lives with the precious moments of pure love that they get to share together.
Disclaimer: I do not own Super Junior members - sighs - and have no rights over them, nor do I have any connections with their management.
A/N.: Ah, another chapter finished... This one is very important to me: Ryeowook's and Kyuhyun's story from this point on is actually inspired by the story of a specific defector, who opened up about the fate of some of his family members (of course, some details have been changed, additions made and fiction inserted, out of respect for the said person). Hope you'll enjoy!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 |
Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
_________________________
HOPE --Part 5--
Kyuhyun arrives fairly quickly at his parent's home, and his smile is stuck on his lips. He briefly thinks of an excuse, and he lets himself fantasize about how he would tell the whole world how crazy he is for Ryeowook. It's not for right now, but their time will come...somehow.
He slides open the door to see his parents, both sitting at the table with a stern look on their faces.
"....Hi. How did it go with Kim Bongsoon sshi?"
"Fine! Thanks for the bread! It was really good! Mother, you are the best coo...."
Quite unexpectedly, Kyuhyun's mother gets up, raises her hand and strikes Kyuhyun's face with such force that he actually looses his balance, and looks at his mother with both a cheated and surprised look on his face.
"?! What is that abou..."
"I spoke to Ms. Kim."
Her response silences Kyuhyun immediately.
"They did not have the pleasure to share your company today, it seems. Where were you?"
"....I forgot, again. Sorry."
He makes to move past his mother, but she grabs his arm and brings him back to where he was previously standing.
"I know you are not that stupid. Where were you?"
"....With someone else."
"WHO? You had better not disrespect the Respe..."
"Don't worry, I did not hear anything about those crazy South people, or smoke those deadly imported cigarettes, or ..."
The next blow actually draws blood from Kyuhyun's mouth, and he brings his hand to his lips. He went too far, and he knows.
"Go ahead and mock me, but NEVER EVER DARE MOCK OUR RESPECTFUL COMRADE*, AND HIS BEAUTIFUL NATION."
Kyuhyun remains silent. He wants to shout back, but a reproachful voice inside of him keeps him silent. Kyuhyun's father then gets up from his chair, and calmly addresses his son.
"You can tell me. Where were you? Who were you with?"
"........Father, I don't...enjoy Kim Bongsoo sshi's company."
Taken aback, his mother steps back and sits on her chair.
"Alright. Maybe we can work through this. Do you, perhaps....have someone else...in mind?"
Kyuhyun says nothing, but his mother gets back up, before asking her next question, excitement clear in her voice.
"...Are you in love, my son?"
"I know the younger generation wants to marry for different reasons these days, and I am quite open to work with you on this. So tell me, who is she?"
"Absolutely! Our Respected Leader wants us all to be happy, after all....Who is she?"
And Kyuhyun does not understand what fuels his sudden anger. Maybe it's his father referring to this intense love he feels towards Ryeowook as just "a different reason for marriage", or that his parents might actually consider Ryeowook if he were a woman. Still, he takes a deep breath, and red in the face, he looks at his father.
"A man. And he is much bigger and stronger than I am, and you are, and and even...."
A loud noise echoes in Kyuhyun's head before he even has the time to finish his sentence, and his head hits the ground. He blacks out for a few short minutes, and when he comes to, he immediately figures that his father must have punched him. He sits up rapidly, and his mother reaches for the back of his neck, and places her small cold hand there, as tenderly as any shaken mother would for her son. The pain in his left cheek overwhelms him momentarily before he turns to look at his mother.
"Are...you alright, son?"
Kyuhyun scans the room, and sees that his father left.
"....Where is father?"
"...Don't get up...we should wait, I don't think he.."
But Kyuhyun gets up, and sways dangerously through the door, only to stop at the outline of his father on the very thin paper door leading to outside. He slides the door open, and his father turns around briefly.
"We need to talk."
"No, we do not. You will marry Kim Bongsoo sshi, live to see your grandchildren, and show your appreciation to our Respected Leader for gracing you with a long and healthy life."
"No, I won't."
"You won't what? Marry her?"
"Both father. I will probably die soon, much like anyone else, and I won't marry her."
His father gets up to face his son.
"....Have you lost your mind!?"
"Come on'. Let's be honest. You don't care for my life. You want that security, and you want grandchildren, and.."
His father grabs Kyuhyun's neck, and squeezes it tightly. Out of instinct, Kyuhyun grabs his father's hands, and tries to pry them away quite unsuccessfully. He feels himself gasp for air, but he keeps his ground, and even manages to utter a few words through the strangling.
"...can't....choke him....out...of me..."
And right there, in his father's eyes, Kyuhyun sees the fear, and perhaps the hurt. His father slowly lets go of his neck, but grabs his shoulders, backing him up on the wall. His next sentence is barely audible, whisper of frustration and fear.
"Marry her...lie to her if you want to, and keep seeing your...friend...but you have to marry her."
"Why would I want that life if Ryeowook isn't there to share it with me?!"
It's after the fact that Kyuhyun realizes that he has actually mentioned Ryeowook's name for the first time in front of anyone, and he feels enormously liberated. His father loosens his grip on his shoulders, and steps back to look at him, before crushing his son's body in his, hugging him for the first time since his birth.**
"I also felt this way for a m...someone once. But I followed our Dear Leader's ways***, and I married your mother, and.. you are here..."
Kyuhyun says nothing for many reasons: he doesn't know what to say, and he can't even bring himself to talk.
"It was hard, but I didn't die."
He lets go of Kyuhyun, and whispers:
"And neither will you. We all survive."
But I don't want to survive....I want to live. Kyuhyun wants to say it, but nothing comes out of his bleeding lips.
"And you might tell your son about him one day, and...keep on surviving."
The conversation stops when both men hear Kyuhyun's mother arrive behind them (who apparently is still unaware of the words exchanged). His father sends one last smile (perhaps the world's saddest smile, Kyuhyun guesses) his way as he returns into the house.
"...What did he say? You'll marry her, right?"
Kyuhyun barely hears the rest of his mother's speech, as he tunes her out.
He wants to see Ryeowook.
He wants to hold him, and not make the same mistake his father made. He wants them to make love again, and laugh, and tease each other. Every day and every night.
His mother pulls him back by the arm; curfew's on, and no one should be outside. And the door slides shut with a soft thud.
That night, Kyuhyun continuously wakes up from a series of nightmares, all similar in nature. He dreams that Ryeowook leaves him, and he marries Bongsoo sshi, and as the years go by, he cries more than he smiles, and he starts to forget Ryeowook's face, at which point he wakes up in sweat, screaming. He decides (after the third nightmarish episode this night alone) that he'd much rather die than live without him, and as if the thought of never giving up soothes his fears, the nightmares stop, and he finally falls asleep.
A few blocks away, Kim Ryeowook is in the midst of devising a plan to secure Kyuhyun's future; he can't just up and disappear in the middle of the night; he knows it would shatter Kyuhyun. Besides, he is certain that he would go and look for him. No, it wouldn't do. He'd have to...die. Make him believe he died, and that he is out of reach. This way, there are no regrets, no lingering hope, no crazy life-threatening endeavors to rescue him or find him. And Kyuhyun could forget all about his existence in time, and...move on.
He swallows the lump in his throat, but it won't go away. He just didn't know he was this much in love, he reasons, and he'll just have to get over it. Over him.
_____
When the Megaphones boom at the morning light, Kyuhyun is already awake, and dressed. He steps outside the minute the curfew is over (two hours before he has to go to work), and his destination is quite final. He grabs the family bicycle from the courtyard, and rides it towards Ryeowook. The wind in his face is blissful; the previous night fatigued him to no end, unsatisfying sleep punctuated by frequent nightmares. He doesn't know what he will say to Ryeowook, or how he will say it. And at the moment, he doesn't care. Many people are already walking in the streets, and he zooms by them with surprising accuracy. He thinks of how Ryeowook said that some men love each other across the border, and it's now so clear to him: that's where he will take him. Where he can kiss him everyday, and know he's safe. Where he'll find a job, and work for the both of them, so that Ryeowook never has to worry or struggle again.
He gets to his destination a good 10 minutes faster than expected, and he jumps off the bicycle (the latter falling with a heavy metallic rustling sound behind him). He leans on the door to catch his breath, and the door opens without him even knocking. Ryeowook appears, apparently as exhausted as he is, and the look of surprise on his little features quite apparent.
"...Kyuhyuna? What are you doi..."
"My father. I won't be him. I want to love, I mean live."
Ryeowook's confusion is more than palpable, and Kyuhyun reads it in his facial expression.
"I won't marry her. I'll die soon, but I'll die happy."
"?! What do you mean you'll die?! Who wants to hurt you? Tell me!...I'll..."
And Kyuhyun plants an unexpected kiss on Ryeowook's lips, Ryeowook loosing balance and the initiator of the said kiss catching him in his arms, never letting go of his lips. Both kiss slowly in this slanted position, a very accurate reflection of Kyuhyun's passion. Ryeowook wants this to be a painting, so that it can be featured in history books for all other generations to see. He wants time to stop, and he wants Kyuhyun to tip him over like this, and kiss him, and he wants people to see this in museums. He wants them to admire the man that Cho Kyuhyun is, his perfection, and his heart. They'd all see it, and swallow their hate.
Kyuhyun breaks the kiss and looks at Ryeowook.
"...Kyuhyuna....."
He kicks the door closed with his left leg, and returns to looking at Ryeowook, and the latter is breathless. Kyuhyun looks absolutely handsome, dressed in his work clothes, lips flush, and panting.
"We're leaving together."
"..What?"
"Meet me after work. You know where the University number 1 is?"
Ryeowook's head is spinning.
"No, Kyuhyuna, you.."
"I won't TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. We are leaving together, tonight, and we'll be crossing that border as soon as possible."
"You... you're not thinking clearly...Let's just..think this through, and..."
And Ryeowook feels his frame get squeezed tighter, and he consequently stops talking. Kyuhyun's stare is intense, demanding, and decided.
"We are leaving."
"...But how..."
"I have a lot of money set aside... I've been saving it for years for my eventual wed... For you."
Ryeowook closes his eyes, and lets himself imagine that this is how Kyuhyun would propose to him if they were somewhere else, someplace else.... someone else. He takes a deep breath, and with the calmest tone he can muster, responds to his lover.
"Let's meet tonight to talk some more about this... I'll meet you outside of your home at 7, after your shift."
He then hugs Ryeowook, and the latter is destroyed, because the timing is perfect. What awaits Kyuhyun is the letter he is planning on giving him. The one that explains how he got caught by the army (or some other reason he is yet to think through), and that this letter had been prepared to reach him in case he passed away.**** Kyuhyun kisses Ryeowook's neck, unaware of the other man's plan, babbling incomprehensively about how lucky he is, and how happy they will be, and how Ryeowook just made him the luckiest man alive.
Ryeowook returns each one of his kisses, and when he reaches Kyuhyun's lips, he takes his time; he tastes him, feels him, hears him, and locks everything away in his heart.
"You should go, Kyuhyuna. They'll think it's suspicious if you're late."
And Kyuhyun tilts him further, so much so that Ryeowook's feet don't even touch the floor anymore. And he seductively whispers.
"Just so you know, if there is ever a world like mine out there that lets men marry men, that's where we are headed."
And just like that, Kyuhyun redresses their posture, and lets go of Ryeowook, smile on his lips and confidence in his heart. Ryeowook looks on as he turns around and opens the door, picks up the bicycle, and sends one more proud smile in Ryeowook's direction, before getting on it and leaving the same way he came.
On his way to work, Kyuhyun sees a sign which reads Let's Achieve Great Victory With the Mighty Power of the Good Army, and he thinks he's already achieved the greatest victory he'll ever need to achieve.
_________________________
Notes:
*It has been said that Kim Jong-un was once also called "The Respected Leader" in the past (like his father was also called in the 70s), but he is more and more reffered to as "The Brilliant Comrade" (영명한 동지). He has a few titles, and given that I have used "Respected Leader" since the beginning of the story, I will use it more often, just so that people don't get confused... Also, even if he is almost not refered to as such anymore, I think this title serves good purpose in the story; and I kinda like the weight of the word Respected in there.
**In the North, physical contact, or emotionial demonstrations are generally regarded as a displays of weakness, and not of affection. Affection generally comes from a strict upbringing, and a successful transfer of values.
***Kyuhyun's father refers to the Dear Leader instead of the Respected Leader in his speech because his youth was lived under (the now deceased) Kim Jung-Il, who was known as the Dear General, or the Dear Leader (친애하는 지도자).
****This is actually common practice in the north: some people hire detectives to look for missing loved ones, or news bearers to let their families know of their passing in case they are killed unexpectedly. Face-to-face meet-ups in the latter case are quite rare, and the news is generally transmitted through letters left anonymously at the family's residence.
_________________________