Rummage - Chapter 1
Title: Rummage
Author: vic_sim
Characters: SJ, SJ-M, DBSK
Category: General, AU
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, and the random people I might decide to introduce into the story if ever.
Summary: AU fic. It is the start of a new school year in university for most. There are the incoming freshmen, the returning students. New people and old friends whose paths will cross. All it takes is one new student for the peaceful life to change, for chaos to reign, for secrets to be dug up.
A/N: This is a re-write of my other fic “ Searching For… …”, hence you will most definitely find similarities between the two as the basic plot is the same.
It is university, the time when teens begin to explore their new found freedom in the time away from the parents. For some, the path has already been planned and decided from the time they were born. For others, a multitude of paths remain in front of them, waiting to be chosen. For a few, fate decides to throw a curve ball. Choose to follow a dictated path, to rebel and draw your own. Rummage for the things that make you whole.
He gaped at the large building in front of him. Is this a house? The man holding his hand chuckled at the question.
“It’s your home from now on.”
He swivelled his eyes from the man back to the house. Mansion. He concluded. As they made their way closer to the front door, he looked up to the sky. It was clear, blue littered with white. Black spots dotted the sky as the birds flew, chirping. It was very much unlike the sky several days ago.
Umma, I miss you.
He was pulled into the house, where the first thing he saw was a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There were two people standing by the door, seemingly waiting for them. He ducked slightly behind the man, wondering who they were. Then he remembered.
It had always been just his mother and him for all eight years of his life. And now, his mother was gone, but he had gained new people in his life. A new family.
Blinking back tears that welled up in his eyes at the thought of his mother, he turned to the tug at his hand.
His young mind was still trying to understand how that happened when he heard his name.
“…Ryeowook!”
Ryeowook groaned as the pounding on his door got louder. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Ryeowook cracked an eye open, the white ceiling above him entering his view.
“What was that about?” He muttered to himself.
The pounding continued.
“Wookie, I’m going to leave you behind if you don’t get up now! It’s almost nine!”
Eyes widening, Ryeowook jumped out of his bed, nearly tripping over his blanket.
“I’m up! Wait for me!” He shouted the words at the door.
Quickly he gathered his clothes and towel, dashing into the bathroom for a quick shower. Luckily for him, he had chosen his clothes and prepared them last night.
In his rush, Ryeowook forgot that it took time for the heater to work. He yelped as the cold water hit him, chasing away the remaining sleepiness. He quickly distanced himself from the cold water, waiting impatiently for the water to turn warm, his thoughts drifting back to the dream.
The strange thing about the whole dream was that it left him with a lingering urge to find out what happened exactly. He was not sure if it was simply a dream or a part of his memories. And if it was his memories, most importantly was why now when he had finally accepted that he had lost the first 13 years of his life.
Shaking his head under the shower, Ryeowook mumbled to himself.
“I should probably stop listening to Donghae-hyung’s talk about aliens. It’s giving me weird thoughts.”
It can’t be my memories. It’s just a weird dream. An after effect of spending too much time with Donghae-hyung.
Exiting the shower, he dried himself and donned on the suit which was prepared specially for his university initiation ceremony. In a span of fifteen minutes since he woke up, Ryeowook was dressed and ready to go. And with his university folder in his hand, Ryeowook dashed down the stairs.
“I’m ready, Hyung. We can go now!”
He froze by the door of the kitchen as he saw his hyung sitting comfortably by the table, spooning porridge into his mouth, not at all concerned about the time. His hyung looked up at him and burst out laughing. Ryeowook looked at him in bewilderment.
“Aren’t we going to be late?”
“Han Geng, I told you not to trick him.” The lady by the stove admonished his hyung.
“Honey, you still have half an hour before you need to leave.”
She directed Ryeowook to the table, placing a bowl in front of him.
Ryeowook gaped, spinning around immediately to the clock hanging by the kitchen door. And there it was, in all its glory in front of him, saying seven-thirty. Ryeowook groaned, placing his folder on the cupboard before walking to the table.
“Hyung! Must you do that every time we start a new year at school?”
That only made Hankyung laugh even louder.
The lady placed a hand on Ryeowook’s shoulder.
“Though you have to admit, the yell was really something.” She giggled as she ruffled his hair, walking back to the sink.
“Not you as well Umma!”
Ryeowook pouted at his porridge, refusing to look up at the mother and son couple who found so much pleasure in tricking him every year. And I wonder why I still get tricked every year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ryeowook, let’s go!” Hankyung called out to his brother, who had disappeared to his room after breakfast even when there was only five minutes before they had to leave the house.
It was the first day of University for Ryeowook and the start of the fourth year for Hankyung.
“Coming, Hyung!” Ryeowook ran down the stairs, bidding his mother goodbye as he dashed out the door, shouting for Hankyung to wait for him.
“Hyung! Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Ryeowook gently hit Hankyung on the shoulders as Hankyung laughed at him as he hopped on one foot, trying to wear his shoe properly.
“If I waited for you, you would not have come out so quickly.”
Ryeowook bit back the urge to hit Hankyung again, reminding himself that he should not bully the old.
They were nearing the university when someone called out for them.
“Wookie!”
A voice shouted from afar as Ryeowook turned around to the voice.
A figure pounced on Ryeowook.
“Hyung!”
His partner finally caught up.
“Hi Hankyung-hyung. Sorry I couldn’t stop him in time. He’s too hyper this morning. Umma fed him cake for breakfast.”
Hankyung turned to the younger guy by his side that looked dashing in his suit, raising an eye at the giggling girls around them.
“So, Kibum, starting a fan club before you officially start university?”
Kibum threw a glance at the crowd, causing the giggles to be louder. “Aren’t some of them for you?”
Hankyung chuckled, ruffling Kibum’s hair. “I’m sure we’ll be hearing about ‘the silent freshman’ in a couple of hours.”
“What’s with Hyungs and their obsession with ruffling their dongsaengs’ hair?” Kibum mumbled as he tried to return his hair back to the original state, refusing to acknowledge Hankyung’s statement.
“Did someone call me?”
Donghae looked up from his embrace of Ryeowook, finally releasing his tight hold, allowing Ryeowook to push Donghae off. Donghae didn’t care that Ryeowook pushed him off because he found someone else to pounce on. “Hannie-hyung!”
Hankyung caught Donghae in his arms as Kibum moved away to avoid being caught in the hug. “Hi Donghae.” Hankyung gasped out as he struggled to breathe from Donghae’s tight hug.
“Hyung, I think you should let go of him now, before he dies from a lack of air.” Kibum said dryly from his side, picking up the books that Hankyung had dropped when Donghae jumped on him.
“He acts like he hasn’t seen us in like, I don’t know, years.” Ryeowook said as he walked over to Kibum, greeting his friend since middle school. Kibum shrugged. Both were already used to Donghae’s antics.
Kibum and Ryeowook exchanged amused looks as Donghae finally released Hankyung and started rambling to him what he did in the past few days. In truth the four of them had met each other just two days before in celebration of Kibum’s and Donghae’s father’s birthday.
“Kyungie! Did you miss me?”
Heechul popped his head into Hankyung’s and Donghae’s conversation.
“I missed you!” Donghae answered, jumping onto Heechul.
“Hyah! I was talking to Kyungie! Not you!” Heechul exclaimed, pushing Donghae off him, but not before hugging his dongsaeng. Donghae smiled cheekily as Heechul turned his attention back to Hankyung, waiting for his answer.
“Well...” Hankyung said, purposely delaying his reply.
“What do you mean by ‘Well...’?” Heechul said, putting his arms on his hips.
“Well...” Hankyung couldn’t help but tease Heechul. “If that’s all you’re going to say, I’m off.” Heechul stomped off.
“Chullie! Wait for me! You know that I’m only joking!” Hankyung shouted after Heechul, hurriedly grabbing his books from Kibum before chasing Heechul.
“I wonder if there’s something wrong here. Shouldn’t we be the younger ones?” Kibum said sarcastically to Ryeowook as the two stared at Hankyung trying to pacify Heechul and Donghae finding a new victim - Eunhyuk to pounce on.
“Bummie, it’s not the first day we know them.” Ryeowook laughed at the sight of his hyung being bossed around by the princess.
“I wonder if I should switch the birth date on my passport with Hae-hyung’s.” Kibum mumbled under his breath.
“Kibummie! Ryeowookie! You two better hurry up or you’ll be late!” Donghae shouted across the road from the entrance of the university.
“Coming Hyung!” Ryeowook answered, waving at Eunhyuk.
“Can I not be associated with them?” Kibum mumbled as he was dragged along by Ryeowook. “Nope you can’t. Cos we can’t help but love them.” Ryeowook answered, smiling and letting go of Kibum.
Kibum felt his lips twitched up a little as he caught up with Ryeowook. They waved goodbye to their hyungs as the two first years head towards the massive auditorium for their first lecture or ceremony of their university lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ryeowook waved goodbye to Kibum as they headed to their own lectures after a long and boring introduction from some guy. Ryeowook could not remember who it was who spoke or what he spoke about. Something about enjoying life in university and study hard.
“Hyung says to meet for lunch. Don’t forget about it.” Kibum nodded at Ryeowook’s statement, before turning to head to his classroom.
Ryeowook sat down near the back of the classroom, waiting for the lecturer to enter. His class was not huge, consisting about twenty people. Ryeowook looked around, seeing some people already joking around with others. He wondered if any of them felt as nervous as he was. Why he was feeling nervous he did not really know. It was not as if they were going to be asked to perform on their first day.
What if they do?! The thought entered his mind, pushing him into a further state of nervousness.
Then a guy with really chubby cheeks sat down next to him, fidgeting nervously with his violin case. Ryeowook was instantly drawn to the classmate who was as tense as he was. “Erm...hi?” Ryeowook asked unsure. The guy looked shocked that someone was actually speaking to him, hands freezing over his violin case. “Hi?” “I’m Ryeowook. Han Ryeowook.”
“I’m Henry Lau. Or should it be Lau Henry?” Henry was slightly confused as to which way round he should say his name. Ah well. “Just call me Henry.”
Before their conversation could continue, the lecturer entered, bringing a stop to all the talking around them as well. But the two timid guys made their first friend in class.
“Would you like to join me for lunch?”
Ryeowook asked after the lecturer dismissed them. It had been a boring lesson with the lecturer telling them what to expect and how they would be assessed. Ryeowook nearly fell asleep in the middle if not for Henry poking him, though Ryeowook gave a huge sigh of relief when he realised that they were not going to perform.
“I’m having lunch with my brother and friends.” Henry looked unsure. “Would I be disturbing you? It would be a little weird for me to join in.” Ryeowook smiled at Henry. “Nope. Hyung would be glad that I finally made a friend.”
Finally? Henry thought it was a bit strange but nodded, picking up his violin case. “Do you play the violin?” Ryeowook asked, seeing how Henry seemed to hug the violin case close to him as they walked through the crowded corridor. Apparently everyone had lunch break at the same time today. Henry nodded. “My mother taught me how to play it when I was younger and I fell in love with it.”
“That’s cool! Maybe we can play together some day. I play the piano.”Henry nodded again, but before he could say anything, Ryeowook called out. “Kibum!” The slightly taller boy turned around to look at who his friend was waving at. The boy looked about the same age as them, with spiky black hair, and looking absolutely handsome in his suit, even with the loosened tie and tucked out shirt. In one word, the boy was cool.
“Hi, Wook. Who’s this?” Kibum asked as he caught up with the pair. “He’s my new friend and classmate, Henry. Henry, this is Kibum. He’s first year law student.” The two smiled and bowed slightly to each other. “Shall we go?”
The trio headed on their way once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Wookie!” A shout called out as Ryeowook and Henry walked onto the lawn. Ryeowook waved as he pulled Henry and Kibum along. “Who’s this?”
“Oh, he’s my classmate. Henry, meet Youngwoon-hyung. Youngwoon-hyung, meet Henry.”
Henry extended his hand, barely remembering to use both hands instead of just one, to Youngwoon. If he was to be frank, Henry was a little scared of Youngwoon, who looked as if he could beat Henry up with just one arm, though he was most probably not going to voice that opinion out to someone he had just met. “I’m Henry. Nice to meet you, Youngwoon-sshi.”
“Don’t need to be so formal kid. Just call me Kangin like the rest.” Kangin reached forward to ruffle Henry’s hair. Kangin? As in Strong Person? Henry did not know if he had translated the name wrongly in his head, but the name seemed to suit Youngwoon. Youngwoon, or Kangin, was not a very tall person, but what he lacked in height, he had in build. Kangin had the body build of someone who did some sort of martial art like Judo or Tae-Kwon-Do in the heavy weight category. He was someone, Henry mentally noted, that you did not want to cross. That thought was backed up by the wince he had to hide from the very strong handshake. He flexed his fingers slightly to make sure that they still had feeling. Maybe I should tell him I need those fingers to play the violin.
“Aish. Don’t scare him, Kangin. Hi, I’m Heechul. You can call me hyung.” Heechul flipped his hair at Kangin, from his position by the tree in the shade. Henry turned towards the voice, still slightly intimidated by Kangin. Then he nearly gaped. If it was not for the fact that the voice was distinctly male, and that Henry was to call him ‘Hyung’, he would have mistaken Heechul for a female with the slight build, and longish hair. Granted, height was not a determining factor for a female, especially since Henry was not that tall - he was pretty sure that Heechul was taller than him - and his mother was taller than him. Still! What’s with the flower pattern on his shirt?
“Yah, aren’t you going to say something?” Henry quickly remembered his manners. “I’m Henry. Pleased to meet you Heechul-hyung.” Henry gave a slight wave from his position, wondering how Heechul’s tone switched so quickly. Instinctively Henry knew that this was someone he was not going to anger even though Heechul was smaller in size than Kangin-hyung.
“Ahhh. He’s so adorable! Don’t you think so Siwonnie?” Heechul turned his attention back to Siwon, the tall lanky guy who sat next to Heechul. Siwon simply smiled at Henry before diverting his attention back to Heechul. Ah, someone who looks normal. “I think you’re the one scaring him.” Kangin mumbled under his breath as he sat down next to another feminine looking guy. Heechul reminded Henry of his mother. Slightly, especially on the mood-changing speed.
The guy patted Kangin on the lap, shushing Kangin. Henry vaguely wondered if Korea was filled with feminine looking guys - not that they were an eyesore. Kibum pulled Henry down to the lawn, disrupting his thoughts. “Don’t be bothered by them. They’re always like that.” Henry nodded, still slightly overwhelmed.
“Here, have some. Han Geng-hyung made them.” Ryeowook handed Henry a plate filled with food. “Thank you.” Henry took the plate from Ryeowook, wondering who Han Geng was. The name sounded foreign, almost like the language his mother tried to teach him when he was younger, but he never had the patience for it, nor the ability to distinguish between the pronunciations. The four different inflexions sounded the same to him, no matter how his mother insisted they were different and she gave up in despair.
“Where’s my brother?” Kibum looked around, while filling his plate with food. There seemed to be missing people. “Or mine?” Ryeowook asked as well, noticing that his hyung was not there. “Not quite sure, maybe the lectures ended late. But I’m sure they’ll turn up at some point. It’s our tradition after all.”
“Why would lectures end late today? It’s only the first day of school.” Kangin injected. “I was just saying. Some lecturers do like to start teaching on the very first day.” The feminine looking guy next to Kangin then turned his attention to Henry. “Oh, I’m Leeteuk -”
“- The unofficial Umma of the group.” Kangin seemed to like interrupting Leeteuk’s speech. “Who’s an Umma? I’ll let you know that I am perfectly male.” Leeteuk huffed. “So says the person who discusses children with Jaejoong-hyung.” Kibum muttered beside Henry. Umma? Children? Henry was beginning to think that he was dragged into a very strange group.
“Sorry we’re late!” The group looked up to see four people dashing towards them. “Lecture ended late. I swear he was not going to stop talking.” One guy said, dropping himself in the empty spot next to Ryeowook.
“Stop being over-dramatic, Yesung-hyung. And that despite the fact that you’re doing Theatre Studies.” Shindong retorted, grabbing a plate for himself.
“Oh, who are you?” Henry turned to the guy who spoke to him. “Hyung, he’s my friend. Henry, meet my hyung. Hyung, meet Henry.”
“I’m Han Geng or Hankyung as they call me.” Hankyung had settled himself next to Heechul. Han Geng or Hankyung and Ryeowook did not look like siblings for Hankyung was quite tall, with well-toned muscles and very Asian looking. You’re in Asia! Of course they’ll look Asian. Henry mentally berated himself. There was something about Hankyung besides the name that set him apart from the rest.
“I’m Sungmin!” The slightly more petite guy next to Hankyung chirped out. Henry nodded, his mind bombarded by names and faces, as well as strange contemplation of the people he was meeting. I’m never going to remember any of them. He resisted dropping his head in despair.
“The guy busy stuffing himself is Shindong. And as you probably already know, the dramatic guy is Yesung.” Sungmin continued with his introduction. All Henry could do was to nod along and pretend that he got all the names and faces. Having not grown up in an Asian country, he had to admit that quite a number of Asians look alike. He supposed it was the same way as how people in Asia viewed the Europeans and Americans - that they all looked alike and were blond.
“Don’t worry if you can’t remember everyone.” Kibum spoke up next to him, before leaning in to whisper. “Just remember those who would hit you if you forget their names.” Henry laughed nervously, with several names popping up in his mind, namely Kangin and Heechul. Luckily those two were distinctive enough that their faces stuck quite well in Henry’s memory.
“Where’s Donghae?” There are more people?
“I have the answer to your question.” Henry swerved round to look at the newcomer. How many friends does Ryeowook have? For someone who said that he finally made a friend, he seems to be doing quite well. Urgh, I’m really not going to remember anyone.
“Eunhyuk! Where have you been?” Shindong exclaimed, as if he had not seen the other guy in ages. “Here and there. Donghae got roped in by his lecturer to bring this new kid.” “Huh? New kid? As in not a freshmen?” Eunhyuk accepted the plate from Leeteuk.
Eunhyuk shrugged. “Not sure, I just bumped into him while he was with his lecturer. Didn’t explain much besides telling me to tell you that he’ll be late.”
“Hmm, I wonder if the kid is the new second year in the dorm.” Henry looked at Leeteuk. Dorm? The question must have appeared on his face for Siwon spoke up. “Leeteuk-hyung is one of the dormitory heads.” “Ah...” Henry nodded. He must be the head of one of the other dormitories.
There were a total of five dormitories in the university, out of which three of them catered for undergraduates, and the other two for graduates and postgraduates. Although the dormitories supposedly catered for undergraduates, only first year students as well as the selected dormitory heads were permitted to stay. The university deemed that after a year, people would have made friends and moved out, at least for those who lived far from the university. The position of dormitory head was usually held by students in their final year of undergraduate studies or graduate students. It was a luxurious job as accommodation was free and they were entitled for allowance from the university, without having too much to do. They just needed to make sure that the students obeyed the rules of the dormitory and also act as counsellors if required.
“Second year in the dorm? I thought only first years were allowed to stay in the dorms?” Sungmin asked while pouring himself a drink. “That’s what most people think. Transfer students get to stay as well, as long as it is their first year in this university.” Leeteuk shook his head as he explained. “I never knew that.”
As each of them filed the new found knowledge away, a familiar voice rang through the lawn, announcing Donghae’s presence. “Kibummie!”
The guy in question immediately moved to the left, dodging with skills accumulated over the years. Henry ended up getting his first taste of Donghae’s hug. Luckily he was not holding anything at that time. “Bummie, how was your first lecture? Interesting? Met any one new?” Donghae fired off question after question, not realising that the person in his arms was not his brother, anxious to know about his dongsaeng’s day.
“Hyung, I’m here.” Kibum tapped Donghae on the shoulder, causing the older guy to look at him. Donghae blinked owlishly. “If you’re here, then who am I hugging?” Donghae turned back to the person in his arms, still not realising his death grip on Henry. “Hyung, you might want to release him first before you ask more questions.” Donghae relaxed his arms.
Immediately, Ryeowook pulled Henry away, checking if his friend was still alive. “I’m sorry. I thought you were Kibum. I’m Donghae by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” Henry could not keep up with the string of statements coming from Donghae. He felt as if he was on a roller coaster ride, zooming around far too fast for him to comprehend anything. He settled for simply introducing himself. “…I’m Henry.”
“Henli!” Henry mentally sighed. No one seemed to be able to pronounce his name properly. It was not a very complex name - only two syllabuses! “It’s nice to see that you have a new friend Kibum!” Kibum did not bother to correct Donghae that Henry was in Music and not Law with him.
Now that Donghae had released Henry from his death hug - as Henry termed it in his mind - Henry was able to observe Donghae. The most obvious different that set the two brothers apart was that Donghae was easily excitable and a likely chatterbox, while Kibum seemed permanently calm and was a man of few words. But Henry could tell that both were likely to be major heartbreakers in the campus with their looks. Come to think of it, all these people are quite exceptional-looking.
Donghae’s eyes swept round the group, seeing all his friends happily eating. Then his eyes landed on the sole guy who was still standing rather awkwardly outside the circle. “I forgot!” He scrambled to his feet towards the taller guy. In his excitement of seeing his brother, Donghae had completely forgot about him.
“Everyone, meet Kyuhyun.” The guy bowed. “I’m Cho Kyuhyun.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun walked through the school grounds, a slip of paper in his hands. Written on it was the direction to where he was supposed to report to on his first day at school. He was first to report to the Student Administrative Department to obtain his schedule and to settle the remaining paper work. Kyuhyun sighed. They were not directions. They were more like “Please head to the Student Administrative Department, Building 4, West Area”. At least they could have given me a map! Glancing around, he found a directory and map of the campus. The only problem was that he was not the only person lost on the first day of university. There was no way he would be able to see anything on the map with the crowd in front of it. And he did not really want to be in the crowd.
“Hello, you look like you need some help.”
Kyuhyun startled. Standing to his left was a guy - at least he thought it was a guy - in a pink shirt and jeans with mid-longish hair - for a guy at least - that was dyed a deep brown.
“Are you a freshman? I swear they make you all taller and taller every year. First Siwon, now you. Gah, everyone’s taller than me. At least Wookie is normal.”
Kyuhyun was pretty sure that he was not to have heard the muttered words after the question.
“So, where are you heading?”
“Oh,” Kyuhyun blinked out of his thoughts of ‘weird seniors’ to raise the paper in his hands. “I’m looking for the Student Administrative Department.”
“Oh, that’s easy. Walk straight, turn left at the third street, then right at the next junction, then you’ll be in the West Area. There should be signs from then on.” Kyuhyun nodded, storing the directions in his mind. This university was definitely much bigger than his old school, though he probably should not judge by that seeing that he had only been to one school.
“Are you a late student? Freshmen usually report to lectures on the first day and not to the S.A.D.” Just then, a bell chimed out. “Oh, there’s the bell. I’ve got to go. Hope to see you around!”
Kyuhyun was about to thank the guy again, but by the time he bowed, the person had already disappeared. Shrugging, he continued his way, glad to have avoided the now panicking group still in front of the map.
Maybe, it’s going to be better than I thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun found the S.A.D quite easily with the directions given. Why couldn’t they have just written those short directions down? Entering the air-conditioned building, Kyuhyun searched the signboard to determine exactly where he was to go, which was simple enough. Walking towards the office, he knocked before entering.
“Hi! How can I help you?” Kyuhyun wordlessly handed the lady his letter. “Oh, you’re that student. Hold on a second.” That student? It looked as if he was already known to people in the university, at least among the administrative staff. Kyuhyun sighed mentally. He was young but he was not stupid. He knew that people always gossip, even when they have better things to do. With the circumstances of his acceptance into the university, not to mention that he was one of the rare students on a full scholarship given by the university, tongues were sure to wag. This made him almost wish that his hyung did not offer him this choice. No, he was glad that his hyung did. He never wanted to go back to that house again.
The sudden dark look that crossed Kyuhyun’s face seemed to have snapped the lady back to her job. “Right, there are some forms which you’ll need to sign.” She opened her drawer, searching for the envelope with Kyuhyun’s name. “Cho…. Ah, here. Cho Kyuhyun.” She handed the envelope to Kyuhyun. “Take a seat there and fill in these forms. You can return them to me when you’re done.”
Kyuhyun nodded, grabbing the envelope. About to make his way to the couch, he remembered. “Shouldn’t I be at lessons?” Kyuhyun thought it was the first day of university. “Oh, you’re excused from them today since you’ve only arrived today. Don’t worry, you won’t miss much.”
That’s quite true. I doubt that they start teaching on the first day. Surely they aren’t that cruel. Sitting down, Kyuhyun started going through the forms. There were a lot of forms.
By the time Kyuhyun was done with all the forms - ranging from acceptance to the university, university rules, dormitory application confirmation to acknowledgement of the scholarship and payment details. Found within the bundle was also his schedule for the week as well as information on his school email address and password codes. Leaving those in the envelope, Kyuhyun stood up to return all the completed forms to the lady. Luckily he had already turned eighteen; otherwise, everything would be even more of a hassle with a guardian required.
“Oh, all done?” The lady hummed under her breath, scanning the forms to make sure that everything was filled in correctly. She nodded to herself, satisfied. “Well, that’s all the forms done. But I’m going to have to ask you to wait here for a while. Professor Joon will be here to see you in a few moments.”
Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow. Professor Joon? He had no clue who Professor Joon was. Shrugging, he sat back down on the couch. He did not have anything else to do that day anyway, with his classes cancelled, though he did want to head to the dorm to get his things sorted. Kyuhyun did not have to wait long. Soon another lady entered the room.
“You must be Cho Kyuhyun.” Kyuhyun stood up, looking down at the professor. “I’m Professor Joon.” The other lady had disappeared somewhere since Professor Joon arrived. “Brian-sshi has told me about you. Because of your situation, it is better for you to have a Medical Proxy while you’re here at the university. I understand that Brian-sshi is listed as your emergency contact, but we thought it might be better if there was someone situated closer to you in case something happens.”
Kyuhyun blinked. “Oh, you’re the friend he was talking about. The one that helped with my application process.” Kyuhyun vaguely remembered Brian mentioning that he had a friend who was a teacher at the university.
“That’s right. Not that I needed to do much. Once they saw your application, it would have taken a bomb to make them change their minds.” Kyuhyun blushed slightly. “Anyways, that’s all I have to say to you. Now, I would like you to meet someone. Donghae-sshi, you can come in now.”
Kyuhyun turned his head towards the door and saw a guy walk in. Donghae was shorter than him, but was definitely stronger than him with the lean muscles on his arms. He had a look on his face that said that he would rather not be here, although it soon turned into curiosity when he noticed Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun-sshi, this is Donghae-sshi. He will show you around the university for the day.”
“I will?” Donghae voiced. He did not know that. “Yes, you will.” The professor fixed a glare on Donghae, who silently eeped. “Of course I will.” Donghae answered, not wanting to know what his professor would do to him if he said no. There were rumours around the university about the young Sociology professor. And Donghae did not want to find out if they were just rumours or not.
“Hi I’m Donghae. Lee Donghae.” Donghae smiled exuberantly at Kyuhyun, shaking Kyuhyun’s hand. Without letting go of Kyuhyun’s hand, Donghae waved goodbye to his professor, dragging the other guy along as he started firing questions at Kyuhyun.
Professor Joon shook his head slightly at the over-excited second year student. Although Donghae was easily excitable, Professor Joon knew that he was a good student and that she had made the right decision to introduce the two. “Oh, Kyuhyun-sshi?” The two students turned around. “Remember to call Brian-sshi.” Kyuhyun nodded, bowing to her. She watched the two walk down the corridor wistfully.
I hope you’ll enjoy your time here, Kyuhyun-sshi. Hopefully they’ll be enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun was slightly taken aback by the energetic second year in front of him. He was pulled along by Donghae who had started asking him questions. “So, you’re new here? Are you a first year? What do you study? Are you living in the dorms? How do you know Professor Joon? Do you do Social Work as well?” Donghae shot off numerous questions without stopping, not allowing Kyuhyun a chance to answer them. He must have realised that as he soon stopped the questions, slowing down slightly in his walking.
“Sorry, I tend to get over-excited too easily. My brother always says that I need to remember to breathe.”
Kyuhyun still had the wide-eyed look on his face when Donghae looked at him sheepishly. “Kyuhyun-sshi?” Donghae waved his hand in front of Kyuhyun.
“Oh, erm… I’m new here. I’m doing Mathematics in my second year.” Before Kyuhyun could answer any more of the questions, Donghae gushed out. “Math? Ohhh, you must meet Kangin-hyung. He’s also doing math although he is in his final year. Second year huh? That’s the same as me! Though I do Social Work. I cannot get my head around those numbers and equations.” Donghae shuddered. “I’m so happy that I’ve left them behind after high school.”
“Anyways, this is the building where we have all the boring admin stuff, like if you want to change your elective. Let’s go to the next building. It’s the language building…” Donghae started to introduce the campus to Kyuhyun, although Kyuhyun was pretty sure that he would not need to venture into the language building and majority of the arts department. Donghae maintained a one-sided conversation, describing the various classrooms and buildings around the campus, causing Kyuhyun to marvel at Donghae’s ability to keep the atmosphere upbeat all by himself.
Kyuhyun’s memories turned to a time where he had been like that as well with another person. Hyung… Shaking himself mentally, Kyuhyun tried to concentrate on what Donghae was saying. Now was not the time to be thinking about his past. Besides, he made a promise to Brian to stop living in the past.
“Ah! I almost forgot about it. Let’s head to the lawn.” “Huh?” Donghae started pulling Kyuhyun towards the exit. “My friends are having a picnic at the lawn today. It’s our tradition. Well, it started only two years ago with Teukie-hyung and Heechul-hyung. But it’s still tradition. We always gather at the start of each term at the lawn by the tree for a lunch picnic.”
“Are you sure it’s alright for me to join?” Kyuhyun asked, unsure. “Of course, the more the merrier! Come on!” Donghae tugged harder at Kyuhyun’s hand, determined to bring the other to the picnic. He started telling Kyuhyun about the group.
As they approached the lawn, Kyuhyun could clearly see the group of people Donghae had been describing, even though there seemed to be some people missing as Kyuhyun mentally counted only twelve people. Suddenly, Kyuhyun found himself abandoned by Donghae as the other raced towards the group.
“Kibummie!”
Kyuhyun slowly made his way to the group, standing awkwardly by the circle. The group seemed quite tight-knit at first glance, and Kyuhyun did not have the best track record of interacting with people. He was not quite sure what he should do, now that Donghae seemed to have forgotten about him. He does have a rather short attention span, though I think his enthusiasm would be quite helpful in his course.
While Kyuhyun was musing to himself and observing the group, Donghae untangled from Henry, who he had mistakenly pounced onto while aiming for his brother. Then he remembered Kyuhyun. “I forgot!” Jumping to his feet, he introduced Kyuhyun.
Without giving Kyuhyun a chance to protest, Donghae dragged the taller boy over to his brother, practically forcing Kyuhyun to join in their large picnic. Donghae always loved crowds even when he was younger. Kibum was always exasperated with Donghae dragging so many people to the playground when they were younger, even if Kibum indulged him in his antics.
Kibum studied the boy next to him, having been one of the first people Donghae introduced. Donghae’s face always lit up brighter when he was talking about Kibum. This was one of the few things that their friends always picked up on. Donghae was more open in his affections, especially in the attention he showered on his beloved dongsaeng. In contrast, Kibum was much calmer. Some people would go to the extent to call him cold as he spoke and expressed little around people who were not within his circle of friends.
Cho Kyuhyun seemed different in Kibum’s opinion. The guy appeared young and was quite silent as well. Maybe he’s overwhelmed by the number of people he’s meeting. Or more likely by Donghae-hyung. Yet Kibum’s instincts told him that the guy was by nature silent, though not silent like how Kibum chose to be. He seems... shy? A little like Ryeowook, but not really. Kibum could not really pinpoint it and it intrigued him a little. Kyuhyun had a certain air of maturity around him, enhanced by the seemingly more childish Donghae who was still speaking at a high speed. Donghae had forgotten in his excitement that people who were not used to him needed more time to digest his words.
Everything seemed to be going fine as Donghae did the introductions. The rest of the group were contented in enjoying the first day of school. It was generally hard to find time to gather like this during the term as their schedules were all different due to the different subjects and years - which was why they chose to meet up on the first day of school. Occasionally they managed to get everyone together during the term and at the end of the term.
Indeed, everything was going fine until Donghae introduced one person. “This is Hannie-hyung’s brother!” Donghae said, patting Ryeowook on the head. “Hyung! I have a name! You always introduce me as ‘Hannie-hyung’s brother’.” Ryeowook complained slightly, only getting a sheepish smile back from Donghae.
“Sorry, old habit.” Ryeowook huffed. It had been a number of years since Donghae had insisted on calling Ryeowook ‘Hannie-hyung’s brother’ until Ryeowook was willing to tell him personally what his name was. Ryeowook did in the end tell him that he was called Ryeowook, but it was in a fit of anger as he got irritated at being called ‘Hannie-hyung’s brother’ despite how much he loved his brother.
Deciding to ignore Donghae, Ryeowook turned to Kyuhyun. “Hi, I’m Ryeowook.” Ryeowook waved at the boy, for he was a few places away from Kyuhyun. His hand started to fall slowly as everything slowed down. He could see the plate starting to tilt as Kyuhyun’s fingers fell slack out of the corner of his eyes. No, his attention was more on Kyuhyun’s face. Kyuhyun had been nodding politely as he listened to Donghae’s introduction. A soft unsure smile had appeared on his face as he greeted everyone around. But when Ryeowook introduced himself, the smile fell, giving way to a mixture of shock and horror, even a tinge of sadness and pain.
“The plate!”
Kibum was not quite sure who shouted, but it jerked him into action. He quickly grabbed hold of the plate that had started to fall from Kyuhyun’s hand, stabilising the plate in Kyuhyun’s hand. Kibum could feel Kyuhyun’s hand trembling. He frowned, looking at Kyuhyun.
The exclamation had attracted everyone’s attention in the group. “Are you alright?” Leeteuk asked from his spot, noticing the paleness. “Kyuhyun-sshi?” Donghae asked from beside Kibum. He too had notice the sudden whiteness. Kyuhyun had gone even paler than he already was. They watched as Kyuhyun blinked a couple of times before answering.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that. Thank you Kibum-sshi.” Kyuhyun turned to Kibum, a forced smile on his face. Kibum reluctantly realised his hold on Kyuhyun, though not removing his stare. Are you sure you’re alright? Placing the plate on the ground, Kyuhyun turned back to the group, ignoring Kibum’s question. “I suddenly remembered that I have to meet someone now.”
Kyuhyun quickly stood up, grabbing his bag. “It was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for lunch.” He bowed before walking off.
Behind him, there was a group of bewildered people left blinking at the figure walking away from them.
“What was that about?” Shindong’s voice broke through the silence that permeated the air. Shindong directed a look at Ryeowook, for he was the one who exclaimed, only to be met by an equally baffled look.
“I only introduced myself, and then he suddenly froze and turned pale.”
“It was as if he was scared of Ryeowook.” Donghae added, remembering the paleness of Kyuhyun’s face before he left.
Donghae’s statement made everyone, including Henry, more perplexed.
“Why would anyone be scared of Ryeowook? I mean look at him, he’s practically harmless!” Sungmin voiced out.
“Hyung! What do you mean by ‘practically harmless’? I can be scary too!” Ryeowook tried to pull off an angry face, but it was more of a pout which sent most of them into giggles, breaking the slight tension that had engulfed the group.
“That was not convincing at all! Scary should look like this!” Eunhyuk tried to pull a scary look as well, only to be put down by Heechul.
“Hyah! It should be like this!”
As the group started to engage in an impromptu competition of pulling scary faces, they gradually placed the odd encounter with Kyuhyun behind their minds. Only one was still staring at the spot Kyuhyun had been sitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author: vic_sim
Characters: SJ, SJ-M, DBSK
Category: General, AU
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, and the random people I might decide to introduce into the story if ever.
Summary: AU fic. It is the start of a new school year in university for most. There are the incoming freshmen, the returning students. New people and old friends whose paths will cross. All it takes is one new student for the peaceful life to change, for chaos to reign, for secrets to be dug up.
A/N: This is a re-write of my other fic “ Searching For… …”, hence you will most definitely find similarities between the two as the basic plot is the same.
It is university, the time when teens begin to explore their new found freedom in the time away from the parents. For some, the path has already been planned and decided from the time they were born. For others, a multitude of paths remain in front of them, waiting to be chosen. For a few, fate decides to throw a curve ball. Choose to follow a dictated path, to rebel and draw your own. Rummage for the things that make you whole.
He gaped at the large building in front of him. Is this a house? The man holding his hand chuckled at the question.
“It’s your home from now on.”
He swivelled his eyes from the man back to the house. Mansion. He concluded. As they made their way closer to the front door, he looked up to the sky. It was clear, blue littered with white. Black spots dotted the sky as the birds flew, chirping. It was very much unlike the sky several days ago.
Umma, I miss you.
He was pulled into the house, where the first thing he saw was a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There were two people standing by the door, seemingly waiting for them. He ducked slightly behind the man, wondering who they were. Then he remembered.
It had always been just his mother and him for all eight years of his life. And now, his mother was gone, but he had gained new people in his life. A new family.
Blinking back tears that welled up in his eyes at the thought of his mother, he turned to the tug at his hand.
His young mind was still trying to understand how that happened when he heard his name.
“…Ryeowook!”
Ryeowook groaned as the pounding on his door got louder. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Ryeowook cracked an eye open, the white ceiling above him entering his view.
“What was that about?” He muttered to himself.
The pounding continued.
“Wookie, I’m going to leave you behind if you don’t get up now! It’s almost nine!”
Eyes widening, Ryeowook jumped out of his bed, nearly tripping over his blanket.
“I’m up! Wait for me!” He shouted the words at the door.
Quickly he gathered his clothes and towel, dashing into the bathroom for a quick shower. Luckily for him, he had chosen his clothes and prepared them last night.
In his rush, Ryeowook forgot that it took time for the heater to work. He yelped as the cold water hit him, chasing away the remaining sleepiness. He quickly distanced himself from the cold water, waiting impatiently for the water to turn warm, his thoughts drifting back to the dream.
The strange thing about the whole dream was that it left him with a lingering urge to find out what happened exactly. He was not sure if it was simply a dream or a part of his memories. And if it was his memories, most importantly was why now when he had finally accepted that he had lost the first 13 years of his life.
Shaking his head under the shower, Ryeowook mumbled to himself.
“I should probably stop listening to Donghae-hyung’s talk about aliens. It’s giving me weird thoughts.”
It can’t be my memories. It’s just a weird dream. An after effect of spending too much time with Donghae-hyung.
Exiting the shower, he dried himself and donned on the suit which was prepared specially for his university initiation ceremony. In a span of fifteen minutes since he woke up, Ryeowook was dressed and ready to go. And with his university folder in his hand, Ryeowook dashed down the stairs.
“I’m ready, Hyung. We can go now!”
He froze by the door of the kitchen as he saw his hyung sitting comfortably by the table, spooning porridge into his mouth, not at all concerned about the time. His hyung looked up at him and burst out laughing. Ryeowook looked at him in bewilderment.
“Aren’t we going to be late?”
“Han Geng, I told you not to trick him.” The lady by the stove admonished his hyung.
“Honey, you still have half an hour before you need to leave.”
She directed Ryeowook to the table, placing a bowl in front of him.
Ryeowook gaped, spinning around immediately to the clock hanging by the kitchen door. And there it was, in all its glory in front of him, saying seven-thirty. Ryeowook groaned, placing his folder on the cupboard before walking to the table.
“Hyung! Must you do that every time we start a new year at school?”
That only made Hankyung laugh even louder.
The lady placed a hand on Ryeowook’s shoulder.
“Though you have to admit, the yell was really something.” She giggled as she ruffled his hair, walking back to the sink.
“Not you as well Umma!”
Ryeowook pouted at his porridge, refusing to look up at the mother and son couple who found so much pleasure in tricking him every year. And I wonder why I still get tricked every year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ryeowook, let’s go!” Hankyung called out to his brother, who had disappeared to his room after breakfast even when there was only five minutes before they had to leave the house.
It was the first day of University for Ryeowook and the start of the fourth year for Hankyung.
“Coming, Hyung!” Ryeowook ran down the stairs, bidding his mother goodbye as he dashed out the door, shouting for Hankyung to wait for him.
“Hyung! Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Ryeowook gently hit Hankyung on the shoulders as Hankyung laughed at him as he hopped on one foot, trying to wear his shoe properly.
“If I waited for you, you would not have come out so quickly.”
Ryeowook bit back the urge to hit Hankyung again, reminding himself that he should not bully the old.
They were nearing the university when someone called out for them.
“Wookie!”
A voice shouted from afar as Ryeowook turned around to the voice.
A figure pounced on Ryeowook.
“Hyung!”
His partner finally caught up.
“Hi Hankyung-hyung. Sorry I couldn’t stop him in time. He’s too hyper this morning. Umma fed him cake for breakfast.”
Hankyung turned to the younger guy by his side that looked dashing in his suit, raising an eye at the giggling girls around them.
“So, Kibum, starting a fan club before you officially start university?”
Kibum threw a glance at the crowd, causing the giggles to be louder. “Aren’t some of them for you?”
Hankyung chuckled, ruffling Kibum’s hair. “I’m sure we’ll be hearing about ‘the silent freshman’ in a couple of hours.”
“What’s with Hyungs and their obsession with ruffling their dongsaengs’ hair?” Kibum mumbled as he tried to return his hair back to the original state, refusing to acknowledge Hankyung’s statement.
“Did someone call me?”
Donghae looked up from his embrace of Ryeowook, finally releasing his tight hold, allowing Ryeowook to push Donghae off. Donghae didn’t care that Ryeowook pushed him off because he found someone else to pounce on. “Hannie-hyung!”
Hankyung caught Donghae in his arms as Kibum moved away to avoid being caught in the hug. “Hi Donghae.” Hankyung gasped out as he struggled to breathe from Donghae’s tight hug.
“Hyung, I think you should let go of him now, before he dies from a lack of air.” Kibum said dryly from his side, picking up the books that Hankyung had dropped when Donghae jumped on him.
“He acts like he hasn’t seen us in like, I don’t know, years.” Ryeowook said as he walked over to Kibum, greeting his friend since middle school. Kibum shrugged. Both were already used to Donghae’s antics.
Kibum and Ryeowook exchanged amused looks as Donghae finally released Hankyung and started rambling to him what he did in the past few days. In truth the four of them had met each other just two days before in celebration of Kibum’s and Donghae’s father’s birthday.
“Kyungie! Did you miss me?”
Heechul popped his head into Hankyung’s and Donghae’s conversation.
“I missed you!” Donghae answered, jumping onto Heechul.
“Hyah! I was talking to Kyungie! Not you!” Heechul exclaimed, pushing Donghae off him, but not before hugging his dongsaeng. Donghae smiled cheekily as Heechul turned his attention back to Hankyung, waiting for his answer.
“Well...” Hankyung said, purposely delaying his reply.
“What do you mean by ‘Well...’?” Heechul said, putting his arms on his hips.
“Well...” Hankyung couldn’t help but tease Heechul. “If that’s all you’re going to say, I’m off.” Heechul stomped off.
“Chullie! Wait for me! You know that I’m only joking!” Hankyung shouted after Heechul, hurriedly grabbing his books from Kibum before chasing Heechul.
“I wonder if there’s something wrong here. Shouldn’t we be the younger ones?” Kibum said sarcastically to Ryeowook as the two stared at Hankyung trying to pacify Heechul and Donghae finding a new victim - Eunhyuk to pounce on.
“Bummie, it’s not the first day we know them.” Ryeowook laughed at the sight of his hyung being bossed around by the princess.
“I wonder if I should switch the birth date on my passport with Hae-hyung’s.” Kibum mumbled under his breath.
“Kibummie! Ryeowookie! You two better hurry up or you’ll be late!” Donghae shouted across the road from the entrance of the university.
“Coming Hyung!” Ryeowook answered, waving at Eunhyuk.
“Can I not be associated with them?” Kibum mumbled as he was dragged along by Ryeowook. “Nope you can’t. Cos we can’t help but love them.” Ryeowook answered, smiling and letting go of Kibum.
Kibum felt his lips twitched up a little as he caught up with Ryeowook. They waved goodbye to their hyungs as the two first years head towards the massive auditorium for their first lecture or ceremony of their university lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ryeowook waved goodbye to Kibum as they headed to their own lectures after a long and boring introduction from some guy. Ryeowook could not remember who it was who spoke or what he spoke about. Something about enjoying life in university and study hard.
“Hyung says to meet for lunch. Don’t forget about it.” Kibum nodded at Ryeowook’s statement, before turning to head to his classroom.
Ryeowook sat down near the back of the classroom, waiting for the lecturer to enter. His class was not huge, consisting about twenty people. Ryeowook looked around, seeing some people already joking around with others. He wondered if any of them felt as nervous as he was. Why he was feeling nervous he did not really know. It was not as if they were going to be asked to perform on their first day.
What if they do?! The thought entered his mind, pushing him into a further state of nervousness.
Then a guy with really chubby cheeks sat down next to him, fidgeting nervously with his violin case. Ryeowook was instantly drawn to the classmate who was as tense as he was. “Erm...hi?” Ryeowook asked unsure. The guy looked shocked that someone was actually speaking to him, hands freezing over his violin case. “Hi?” “I’m Ryeowook. Han Ryeowook.”
“I’m Henry Lau. Or should it be Lau Henry?” Henry was slightly confused as to which way round he should say his name. Ah well. “Just call me Henry.”
Before their conversation could continue, the lecturer entered, bringing a stop to all the talking around them as well. But the two timid guys made their first friend in class.
“Would you like to join me for lunch?”
Ryeowook asked after the lecturer dismissed them. It had been a boring lesson with the lecturer telling them what to expect and how they would be assessed. Ryeowook nearly fell asleep in the middle if not for Henry poking him, though Ryeowook gave a huge sigh of relief when he realised that they were not going to perform.
“I’m having lunch with my brother and friends.” Henry looked unsure. “Would I be disturbing you? It would be a little weird for me to join in.” Ryeowook smiled at Henry. “Nope. Hyung would be glad that I finally made a friend.”
Finally? Henry thought it was a bit strange but nodded, picking up his violin case. “Do you play the violin?” Ryeowook asked, seeing how Henry seemed to hug the violin case close to him as they walked through the crowded corridor. Apparently everyone had lunch break at the same time today. Henry nodded. “My mother taught me how to play it when I was younger and I fell in love with it.”
“That’s cool! Maybe we can play together some day. I play the piano.”Henry nodded again, but before he could say anything, Ryeowook called out. “Kibum!” The slightly taller boy turned around to look at who his friend was waving at. The boy looked about the same age as them, with spiky black hair, and looking absolutely handsome in his suit, even with the loosened tie and tucked out shirt. In one word, the boy was cool.
“Hi, Wook. Who’s this?” Kibum asked as he caught up with the pair. “He’s my new friend and classmate, Henry. Henry, this is Kibum. He’s first year law student.” The two smiled and bowed slightly to each other. “Shall we go?”
The trio headed on their way once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Wookie!” A shout called out as Ryeowook and Henry walked onto the lawn. Ryeowook waved as he pulled Henry and Kibum along. “Who’s this?”
“Oh, he’s my classmate. Henry, meet Youngwoon-hyung. Youngwoon-hyung, meet Henry.”
Henry extended his hand, barely remembering to use both hands instead of just one, to Youngwoon. If he was to be frank, Henry was a little scared of Youngwoon, who looked as if he could beat Henry up with just one arm, though he was most probably not going to voice that opinion out to someone he had just met. “I’m Henry. Nice to meet you, Youngwoon-sshi.”
“Don’t need to be so formal kid. Just call me Kangin like the rest.” Kangin reached forward to ruffle Henry’s hair. Kangin? As in Strong Person? Henry did not know if he had translated the name wrongly in his head, but the name seemed to suit Youngwoon. Youngwoon, or Kangin, was not a very tall person, but what he lacked in height, he had in build. Kangin had the body build of someone who did some sort of martial art like Judo or Tae-Kwon-Do in the heavy weight category. He was someone, Henry mentally noted, that you did not want to cross. That thought was backed up by the wince he had to hide from the very strong handshake. He flexed his fingers slightly to make sure that they still had feeling. Maybe I should tell him I need those fingers to play the violin.
“Aish. Don’t scare him, Kangin. Hi, I’m Heechul. You can call me hyung.” Heechul flipped his hair at Kangin, from his position by the tree in the shade. Henry turned towards the voice, still slightly intimidated by Kangin. Then he nearly gaped. If it was not for the fact that the voice was distinctly male, and that Henry was to call him ‘Hyung’, he would have mistaken Heechul for a female with the slight build, and longish hair. Granted, height was not a determining factor for a female, especially since Henry was not that tall - he was pretty sure that Heechul was taller than him - and his mother was taller than him. Still! What’s with the flower pattern on his shirt?
“Yah, aren’t you going to say something?” Henry quickly remembered his manners. “I’m Henry. Pleased to meet you Heechul-hyung.” Henry gave a slight wave from his position, wondering how Heechul’s tone switched so quickly. Instinctively Henry knew that this was someone he was not going to anger even though Heechul was smaller in size than Kangin-hyung.
“Ahhh. He’s so adorable! Don’t you think so Siwonnie?” Heechul turned his attention back to Siwon, the tall lanky guy who sat next to Heechul. Siwon simply smiled at Henry before diverting his attention back to Heechul. Ah, someone who looks normal. “I think you’re the one scaring him.” Kangin mumbled under his breath as he sat down next to another feminine looking guy. Heechul reminded Henry of his mother. Slightly, especially on the mood-changing speed.
The guy patted Kangin on the lap, shushing Kangin. Henry vaguely wondered if Korea was filled with feminine looking guys - not that they were an eyesore. Kibum pulled Henry down to the lawn, disrupting his thoughts. “Don’t be bothered by them. They’re always like that.” Henry nodded, still slightly overwhelmed.
“Here, have some. Han Geng-hyung made them.” Ryeowook handed Henry a plate filled with food. “Thank you.” Henry took the plate from Ryeowook, wondering who Han Geng was. The name sounded foreign, almost like the language his mother tried to teach him when he was younger, but he never had the patience for it, nor the ability to distinguish between the pronunciations. The four different inflexions sounded the same to him, no matter how his mother insisted they were different and she gave up in despair.
“Where’s my brother?” Kibum looked around, while filling his plate with food. There seemed to be missing people. “Or mine?” Ryeowook asked as well, noticing that his hyung was not there. “Not quite sure, maybe the lectures ended late. But I’m sure they’ll turn up at some point. It’s our tradition after all.”
“Why would lectures end late today? It’s only the first day of school.” Kangin injected. “I was just saying. Some lecturers do like to start teaching on the very first day.” The feminine looking guy next to Kangin then turned his attention to Henry. “Oh, I’m Leeteuk -”
“- The unofficial Umma of the group.” Kangin seemed to like interrupting Leeteuk’s speech. “Who’s an Umma? I’ll let you know that I am perfectly male.” Leeteuk huffed. “So says the person who discusses children with Jaejoong-hyung.” Kibum muttered beside Henry. Umma? Children? Henry was beginning to think that he was dragged into a very strange group.
“Sorry we’re late!” The group looked up to see four people dashing towards them. “Lecture ended late. I swear he was not going to stop talking.” One guy said, dropping himself in the empty spot next to Ryeowook.
“Stop being over-dramatic, Yesung-hyung. And that despite the fact that you’re doing Theatre Studies.” Shindong retorted, grabbing a plate for himself.
“Oh, who are you?” Henry turned to the guy who spoke to him. “Hyung, he’s my friend. Henry, meet my hyung. Hyung, meet Henry.”
“I’m Han Geng or Hankyung as they call me.” Hankyung had settled himself next to Heechul. Han Geng or Hankyung and Ryeowook did not look like siblings for Hankyung was quite tall, with well-toned muscles and very Asian looking. You’re in Asia! Of course they’ll look Asian. Henry mentally berated himself. There was something about Hankyung besides the name that set him apart from the rest.
“I’m Sungmin!” The slightly more petite guy next to Hankyung chirped out. Henry nodded, his mind bombarded by names and faces, as well as strange contemplation of the people he was meeting. I’m never going to remember any of them. He resisted dropping his head in despair.
“The guy busy stuffing himself is Shindong. And as you probably already know, the dramatic guy is Yesung.” Sungmin continued with his introduction. All Henry could do was to nod along and pretend that he got all the names and faces. Having not grown up in an Asian country, he had to admit that quite a number of Asians look alike. He supposed it was the same way as how people in Asia viewed the Europeans and Americans - that they all looked alike and were blond.
“Don’t worry if you can’t remember everyone.” Kibum spoke up next to him, before leaning in to whisper. “Just remember those who would hit you if you forget their names.” Henry laughed nervously, with several names popping up in his mind, namely Kangin and Heechul. Luckily those two were distinctive enough that their faces stuck quite well in Henry’s memory.
“Where’s Donghae?” There are more people?
“I have the answer to your question.” Henry swerved round to look at the newcomer. How many friends does Ryeowook have? For someone who said that he finally made a friend, he seems to be doing quite well. Urgh, I’m really not going to remember anyone.
“Eunhyuk! Where have you been?” Shindong exclaimed, as if he had not seen the other guy in ages. “Here and there. Donghae got roped in by his lecturer to bring this new kid.” “Huh? New kid? As in not a freshmen?” Eunhyuk accepted the plate from Leeteuk.
Eunhyuk shrugged. “Not sure, I just bumped into him while he was with his lecturer. Didn’t explain much besides telling me to tell you that he’ll be late.”
“Hmm, I wonder if the kid is the new second year in the dorm.” Henry looked at Leeteuk. Dorm? The question must have appeared on his face for Siwon spoke up. “Leeteuk-hyung is one of the dormitory heads.” “Ah...” Henry nodded. He must be the head of one of the other dormitories.
There were a total of five dormitories in the university, out of which three of them catered for undergraduates, and the other two for graduates and postgraduates. Although the dormitories supposedly catered for undergraduates, only first year students as well as the selected dormitory heads were permitted to stay. The university deemed that after a year, people would have made friends and moved out, at least for those who lived far from the university. The position of dormitory head was usually held by students in their final year of undergraduate studies or graduate students. It was a luxurious job as accommodation was free and they were entitled for allowance from the university, without having too much to do. They just needed to make sure that the students obeyed the rules of the dormitory and also act as counsellors if required.
“Second year in the dorm? I thought only first years were allowed to stay in the dorms?” Sungmin asked while pouring himself a drink. “That’s what most people think. Transfer students get to stay as well, as long as it is their first year in this university.” Leeteuk shook his head as he explained. “I never knew that.”
As each of them filed the new found knowledge away, a familiar voice rang through the lawn, announcing Donghae’s presence. “Kibummie!”
The guy in question immediately moved to the left, dodging with skills accumulated over the years. Henry ended up getting his first taste of Donghae’s hug. Luckily he was not holding anything at that time. “Bummie, how was your first lecture? Interesting? Met any one new?” Donghae fired off question after question, not realising that the person in his arms was not his brother, anxious to know about his dongsaeng’s day.
“Hyung, I’m here.” Kibum tapped Donghae on the shoulder, causing the older guy to look at him. Donghae blinked owlishly. “If you’re here, then who am I hugging?” Donghae turned back to the person in his arms, still not realising his death grip on Henry. “Hyung, you might want to release him first before you ask more questions.” Donghae relaxed his arms.
Immediately, Ryeowook pulled Henry away, checking if his friend was still alive. “I’m sorry. I thought you were Kibum. I’m Donghae by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” Henry could not keep up with the string of statements coming from Donghae. He felt as if he was on a roller coaster ride, zooming around far too fast for him to comprehend anything. He settled for simply introducing himself. “…I’m Henry.”
“Henli!” Henry mentally sighed. No one seemed to be able to pronounce his name properly. It was not a very complex name - only two syllabuses! “It’s nice to see that you have a new friend Kibum!” Kibum did not bother to correct Donghae that Henry was in Music and not Law with him.
Now that Donghae had released Henry from his death hug - as Henry termed it in his mind - Henry was able to observe Donghae. The most obvious different that set the two brothers apart was that Donghae was easily excitable and a likely chatterbox, while Kibum seemed permanently calm and was a man of few words. But Henry could tell that both were likely to be major heartbreakers in the campus with their looks. Come to think of it, all these people are quite exceptional-looking.
Donghae’s eyes swept round the group, seeing all his friends happily eating. Then his eyes landed on the sole guy who was still standing rather awkwardly outside the circle. “I forgot!” He scrambled to his feet towards the taller guy. In his excitement of seeing his brother, Donghae had completely forgot about him.
“Everyone, meet Kyuhyun.” The guy bowed. “I’m Cho Kyuhyun.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun walked through the school grounds, a slip of paper in his hands. Written on it was the direction to where he was supposed to report to on his first day at school. He was first to report to the Student Administrative Department to obtain his schedule and to settle the remaining paper work. Kyuhyun sighed. They were not directions. They were more like “Please head to the Student Administrative Department, Building 4, West Area”. At least they could have given me a map! Glancing around, he found a directory and map of the campus. The only problem was that he was not the only person lost on the first day of university. There was no way he would be able to see anything on the map with the crowd in front of it. And he did not really want to be in the crowd.
“Hello, you look like you need some help.”
Kyuhyun startled. Standing to his left was a guy - at least he thought it was a guy - in a pink shirt and jeans with mid-longish hair - for a guy at least - that was dyed a deep brown.
“Are you a freshman? I swear they make you all taller and taller every year. First Siwon, now you. Gah, everyone’s taller than me. At least Wookie is normal.”
Kyuhyun was pretty sure that he was not to have heard the muttered words after the question.
“So, where are you heading?”
“Oh,” Kyuhyun blinked out of his thoughts of ‘weird seniors’ to raise the paper in his hands. “I’m looking for the Student Administrative Department.”
“Oh, that’s easy. Walk straight, turn left at the third street, then right at the next junction, then you’ll be in the West Area. There should be signs from then on.” Kyuhyun nodded, storing the directions in his mind. This university was definitely much bigger than his old school, though he probably should not judge by that seeing that he had only been to one school.
“Are you a late student? Freshmen usually report to lectures on the first day and not to the S.A.D.” Just then, a bell chimed out. “Oh, there’s the bell. I’ve got to go. Hope to see you around!”
Kyuhyun was about to thank the guy again, but by the time he bowed, the person had already disappeared. Shrugging, he continued his way, glad to have avoided the now panicking group still in front of the map.
Maybe, it’s going to be better than I thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun found the S.A.D quite easily with the directions given. Why couldn’t they have just written those short directions down? Entering the air-conditioned building, Kyuhyun searched the signboard to determine exactly where he was to go, which was simple enough. Walking towards the office, he knocked before entering.
“Hi! How can I help you?” Kyuhyun wordlessly handed the lady his letter. “Oh, you’re that student. Hold on a second.” That student? It looked as if he was already known to people in the university, at least among the administrative staff. Kyuhyun sighed mentally. He was young but he was not stupid. He knew that people always gossip, even when they have better things to do. With the circumstances of his acceptance into the university, not to mention that he was one of the rare students on a full scholarship given by the university, tongues were sure to wag. This made him almost wish that his hyung did not offer him this choice. No, he was glad that his hyung did. He never wanted to go back to that house again.
The sudden dark look that crossed Kyuhyun’s face seemed to have snapped the lady back to her job. “Right, there are some forms which you’ll need to sign.” She opened her drawer, searching for the envelope with Kyuhyun’s name. “Cho…. Ah, here. Cho Kyuhyun.” She handed the envelope to Kyuhyun. “Take a seat there and fill in these forms. You can return them to me when you’re done.”
Kyuhyun nodded, grabbing the envelope. About to make his way to the couch, he remembered. “Shouldn’t I be at lessons?” Kyuhyun thought it was the first day of university. “Oh, you’re excused from them today since you’ve only arrived today. Don’t worry, you won’t miss much.”
That’s quite true. I doubt that they start teaching on the first day. Surely they aren’t that cruel. Sitting down, Kyuhyun started going through the forms. There were a lot of forms.
By the time Kyuhyun was done with all the forms - ranging from acceptance to the university, university rules, dormitory application confirmation to acknowledgement of the scholarship and payment details. Found within the bundle was also his schedule for the week as well as information on his school email address and password codes. Leaving those in the envelope, Kyuhyun stood up to return all the completed forms to the lady. Luckily he had already turned eighteen; otherwise, everything would be even more of a hassle with a guardian required.
“Oh, all done?” The lady hummed under her breath, scanning the forms to make sure that everything was filled in correctly. She nodded to herself, satisfied. “Well, that’s all the forms done. But I’m going to have to ask you to wait here for a while. Professor Joon will be here to see you in a few moments.”
Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow. Professor Joon? He had no clue who Professor Joon was. Shrugging, he sat back down on the couch. He did not have anything else to do that day anyway, with his classes cancelled, though he did want to head to the dorm to get his things sorted. Kyuhyun did not have to wait long. Soon another lady entered the room.
“You must be Cho Kyuhyun.” Kyuhyun stood up, looking down at the professor. “I’m Professor Joon.” The other lady had disappeared somewhere since Professor Joon arrived. “Brian-sshi has told me about you. Because of your situation, it is better for you to have a Medical Proxy while you’re here at the university. I understand that Brian-sshi is listed as your emergency contact, but we thought it might be better if there was someone situated closer to you in case something happens.”
Kyuhyun blinked. “Oh, you’re the friend he was talking about. The one that helped with my application process.” Kyuhyun vaguely remembered Brian mentioning that he had a friend who was a teacher at the university.
“That’s right. Not that I needed to do much. Once they saw your application, it would have taken a bomb to make them change their minds.” Kyuhyun blushed slightly. “Anyways, that’s all I have to say to you. Now, I would like you to meet someone. Donghae-sshi, you can come in now.”
Kyuhyun turned his head towards the door and saw a guy walk in. Donghae was shorter than him, but was definitely stronger than him with the lean muscles on his arms. He had a look on his face that said that he would rather not be here, although it soon turned into curiosity when he noticed Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun-sshi, this is Donghae-sshi. He will show you around the university for the day.”
“I will?” Donghae voiced. He did not know that. “Yes, you will.” The professor fixed a glare on Donghae, who silently eeped. “Of course I will.” Donghae answered, not wanting to know what his professor would do to him if he said no. There were rumours around the university about the young Sociology professor. And Donghae did not want to find out if they were just rumours or not.
“Hi I’m Donghae. Lee Donghae.” Donghae smiled exuberantly at Kyuhyun, shaking Kyuhyun’s hand. Without letting go of Kyuhyun’s hand, Donghae waved goodbye to his professor, dragging the other guy along as he started firing questions at Kyuhyun.
Professor Joon shook his head slightly at the over-excited second year student. Although Donghae was easily excitable, Professor Joon knew that he was a good student and that she had made the right decision to introduce the two. “Oh, Kyuhyun-sshi?” The two students turned around. “Remember to call Brian-sshi.” Kyuhyun nodded, bowing to her. She watched the two walk down the corridor wistfully.
I hope you’ll enjoy your time here, Kyuhyun-sshi. Hopefully they’ll be enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyuhyun was slightly taken aback by the energetic second year in front of him. He was pulled along by Donghae who had started asking him questions. “So, you’re new here? Are you a first year? What do you study? Are you living in the dorms? How do you know Professor Joon? Do you do Social Work as well?” Donghae shot off numerous questions without stopping, not allowing Kyuhyun a chance to answer them. He must have realised that as he soon stopped the questions, slowing down slightly in his walking.
“Sorry, I tend to get over-excited too easily. My brother always says that I need to remember to breathe.”
Kyuhyun still had the wide-eyed look on his face when Donghae looked at him sheepishly. “Kyuhyun-sshi?” Donghae waved his hand in front of Kyuhyun.
“Oh, erm… I’m new here. I’m doing Mathematics in my second year.” Before Kyuhyun could answer any more of the questions, Donghae gushed out. “Math? Ohhh, you must meet Kangin-hyung. He’s also doing math although he is in his final year. Second year huh? That’s the same as me! Though I do Social Work. I cannot get my head around those numbers and equations.” Donghae shuddered. “I’m so happy that I’ve left them behind after high school.”
“Anyways, this is the building where we have all the boring admin stuff, like if you want to change your elective. Let’s go to the next building. It’s the language building…” Donghae started to introduce the campus to Kyuhyun, although Kyuhyun was pretty sure that he would not need to venture into the language building and majority of the arts department. Donghae maintained a one-sided conversation, describing the various classrooms and buildings around the campus, causing Kyuhyun to marvel at Donghae’s ability to keep the atmosphere upbeat all by himself.
Kyuhyun’s memories turned to a time where he had been like that as well with another person. Hyung… Shaking himself mentally, Kyuhyun tried to concentrate on what Donghae was saying. Now was not the time to be thinking about his past. Besides, he made a promise to Brian to stop living in the past.
“Ah! I almost forgot about it. Let’s head to the lawn.” “Huh?” Donghae started pulling Kyuhyun towards the exit. “My friends are having a picnic at the lawn today. It’s our tradition. Well, it started only two years ago with Teukie-hyung and Heechul-hyung. But it’s still tradition. We always gather at the start of each term at the lawn by the tree for a lunch picnic.”
“Are you sure it’s alright for me to join?” Kyuhyun asked, unsure. “Of course, the more the merrier! Come on!” Donghae tugged harder at Kyuhyun’s hand, determined to bring the other to the picnic. He started telling Kyuhyun about the group.
As they approached the lawn, Kyuhyun could clearly see the group of people Donghae had been describing, even though there seemed to be some people missing as Kyuhyun mentally counted only twelve people. Suddenly, Kyuhyun found himself abandoned by Donghae as the other raced towards the group.
“Kibummie!”
Kyuhyun slowly made his way to the group, standing awkwardly by the circle. The group seemed quite tight-knit at first glance, and Kyuhyun did not have the best track record of interacting with people. He was not quite sure what he should do, now that Donghae seemed to have forgotten about him. He does have a rather short attention span, though I think his enthusiasm would be quite helpful in his course.
While Kyuhyun was musing to himself and observing the group, Donghae untangled from Henry, who he had mistakenly pounced onto while aiming for his brother. Then he remembered Kyuhyun. “I forgot!” Jumping to his feet, he introduced Kyuhyun.
Without giving Kyuhyun a chance to protest, Donghae dragged the taller boy over to his brother, practically forcing Kyuhyun to join in their large picnic. Donghae always loved crowds even when he was younger. Kibum was always exasperated with Donghae dragging so many people to the playground when they were younger, even if Kibum indulged him in his antics.
Kibum studied the boy next to him, having been one of the first people Donghae introduced. Donghae’s face always lit up brighter when he was talking about Kibum. This was one of the few things that their friends always picked up on. Donghae was more open in his affections, especially in the attention he showered on his beloved dongsaeng. In contrast, Kibum was much calmer. Some people would go to the extent to call him cold as he spoke and expressed little around people who were not within his circle of friends.
Cho Kyuhyun seemed different in Kibum’s opinion. The guy appeared young and was quite silent as well. Maybe he’s overwhelmed by the number of people he’s meeting. Or more likely by Donghae-hyung. Yet Kibum’s instincts told him that the guy was by nature silent, though not silent like how Kibum chose to be. He seems... shy? A little like Ryeowook, but not really. Kibum could not really pinpoint it and it intrigued him a little. Kyuhyun had a certain air of maturity around him, enhanced by the seemingly more childish Donghae who was still speaking at a high speed. Donghae had forgotten in his excitement that people who were not used to him needed more time to digest his words.
Everything seemed to be going fine as Donghae did the introductions. The rest of the group were contented in enjoying the first day of school. It was generally hard to find time to gather like this during the term as their schedules were all different due to the different subjects and years - which was why they chose to meet up on the first day of school. Occasionally they managed to get everyone together during the term and at the end of the term.
Indeed, everything was going fine until Donghae introduced one person. “This is Hannie-hyung’s brother!” Donghae said, patting Ryeowook on the head. “Hyung! I have a name! You always introduce me as ‘Hannie-hyung’s brother’.” Ryeowook complained slightly, only getting a sheepish smile back from Donghae.
“Sorry, old habit.” Ryeowook huffed. It had been a number of years since Donghae had insisted on calling Ryeowook ‘Hannie-hyung’s brother’ until Ryeowook was willing to tell him personally what his name was. Ryeowook did in the end tell him that he was called Ryeowook, but it was in a fit of anger as he got irritated at being called ‘Hannie-hyung’s brother’ despite how much he loved his brother.
Deciding to ignore Donghae, Ryeowook turned to Kyuhyun. “Hi, I’m Ryeowook.” Ryeowook waved at the boy, for he was a few places away from Kyuhyun. His hand started to fall slowly as everything slowed down. He could see the plate starting to tilt as Kyuhyun’s fingers fell slack out of the corner of his eyes. No, his attention was more on Kyuhyun’s face. Kyuhyun had been nodding politely as he listened to Donghae’s introduction. A soft unsure smile had appeared on his face as he greeted everyone around. But when Ryeowook introduced himself, the smile fell, giving way to a mixture of shock and horror, even a tinge of sadness and pain.
“The plate!”
Kibum was not quite sure who shouted, but it jerked him into action. He quickly grabbed hold of the plate that had started to fall from Kyuhyun’s hand, stabilising the plate in Kyuhyun’s hand. Kibum could feel Kyuhyun’s hand trembling. He frowned, looking at Kyuhyun.
The exclamation had attracted everyone’s attention in the group. “Are you alright?” Leeteuk asked from his spot, noticing the paleness. “Kyuhyun-sshi?” Donghae asked from beside Kibum. He too had notice the sudden whiteness. Kyuhyun had gone even paler than he already was. They watched as Kyuhyun blinked a couple of times before answering.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that. Thank you Kibum-sshi.” Kyuhyun turned to Kibum, a forced smile on his face. Kibum reluctantly realised his hold on Kyuhyun, though not removing his stare. Are you sure you’re alright? Placing the plate on the ground, Kyuhyun turned back to the group, ignoring Kibum’s question. “I suddenly remembered that I have to meet someone now.”
Kyuhyun quickly stood up, grabbing his bag. “It was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for lunch.” He bowed before walking off.
Behind him, there was a group of bewildered people left blinking at the figure walking away from them.
“What was that about?” Shindong’s voice broke through the silence that permeated the air. Shindong directed a look at Ryeowook, for he was the one who exclaimed, only to be met by an equally baffled look.
“I only introduced myself, and then he suddenly froze and turned pale.”
“It was as if he was scared of Ryeowook.” Donghae added, remembering the paleness of Kyuhyun’s face before he left.
Donghae’s statement made everyone, including Henry, more perplexed.
“Why would anyone be scared of Ryeowook? I mean look at him, he’s practically harmless!” Sungmin voiced out.
“Hyung! What do you mean by ‘practically harmless’? I can be scary too!” Ryeowook tried to pull off an angry face, but it was more of a pout which sent most of them into giggles, breaking the slight tension that had engulfed the group.
“That was not convincing at all! Scary should look like this!” Eunhyuk tried to pull a scary look as well, only to be put down by Heechul.
“Hyah! It should be like this!”
As the group started to engage in an impromptu competition of pulling scary faces, they gradually placed the odd encounter with Kyuhyun behind their minds. Only one was still staring at the spot Kyuhyun had been sitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~