[PG-13] fast forward to destiny (1/2)
Title: fast forward to destiny
Characters: Kyuhyun/OC
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Comedy
Note: This is some sort of sequel to Slow Motion & Between Sunrise and Sunset
A/N: Back with another one for Kyuhyun and Jinri. I just can't stay away. :)
This is for NewYorkAwakes and kyupepperoo. They never seem to get tired of KyuRi.
Thank you to snowychrys for the beta! :D
/sobs/ This is a one-shot but LJ doesn't want me to post in one go.
fast forward to destiny
This story takes place eight years after Between Sunrise and Sunset.
Kyuhyun stepped out of the van and took a deep breath as he took in the sight before him. The hustle and bustle of Incheon International Airport or any other airport for that matter has never changed. People rushing around everywhere, hugging people they were leaving behind, exchanging hellos to the ones they were meeting again after a long time.
He practically lived in airports. All his life he’d been going in and out of these country gateways for concerts, filming, fan signings and other events. But it had been a while since he had travelled for pure leisure and one that included his family.
“Appa!” a little girl, who had stepped out of the van, pulling her pink suitcase out with much effort, whined. “Why are you just standing there and not helping?”
“Kyuri,” Jinri called her attention in a warning tone.
“Yes, Kyu,” Donghae merely echoed, amused at his niece, as he helped her with her suitcase. “Why are you just standing there and not helping?” He grinned cheekily when Jessica shot him a look. His wife of five years always told him that he indulged Kyuri too much with her snarky attitude (when it was directed at Kyuhyun at least).
Kyuri happily joined the other four kids who had gotten out of the vehicle and were currently playing right beside the van. Hyunjin looked around with a bored expression on his face and pulled out a gaming device from his pocket.
“Can’t an old man have a break?” Kyuhyun remarked as he moved to the back of the van and helped Donghae unload their suitcases.
“Thirty-eight is hardly old,” Jinri interjected, smiling warmly at him as she patted his cheek. She saw Kyuri attempting to carry Donghwa, Donghae and Jessica’s four-year-old, on her back. “Kyuri, be careful,” she warned her. “Hyunjin, please look after your sister.” Hyunjin merely grunted in response, not even looking up from his game. She sighed and shot a look towards her husband. Without a word, Kyuhyun walked up to his son, said a few words and pocketed the game console. He then pushed Hyunjin towards the younger kids around him.
“If you think 38 is old, then what am I?” Donghae growled in response. He was turning 41 later that year.
“A dinosaur!” Kyuri happily piped in. Donghwa stopped trying to get on her back and laughed. His three-year-old sister, Sooyeon, joined in. Hyunjin smirked.
“Come here, you!” Donghae pretended to be upset and scooped up the eight-year-old girl effortlessly.
“Samchoooon,” Kyuri squealed as her uncle tickled her mercilessly.
“Then do you take it back?” Donghae demanded, a glint in his eyes.
“No,” Kyuri immediately quipped. But before Donghae could launch into another tickling tirade, she supplied, “A very handsome dinosaur!”
The adults burst into laughter. Kyuhyun got Kyuri from Donghae and lifted his hand to high five her. Kyuri gladly obliged, her giggling uncontrollable.
“She’s turning out to be exactly like you,” Donghae exclaimed in horror.
“Of course she is,” Kyuhyun proudly declared. “She’s daddy’s little girl. Aren’t you?” He grinned widely when Kyuri nodded her head without hesitation.
Jessica turned to Jinri after picking up Sooyeon. “How do you stand all of them?” she sincerely wanted to know. “It’s like having four Kyuhyun oppas in one house.” She made a face.
“Seunghwan’s like me, though,” Jinri chuckled. “So that’s only three Kyuhyuns.”
“Ya!” Kyuhyun began.
“It’s not like I can change husbands,” Jinri teased, glancing at Kyuhyun. “It’s too late for that now. All the other members are already taken.”
“Hey,” Kyuhyun made a face, but his lip twitched as a sign of his beginning annoyance.
Jinri giggled then turned her attention towards the airport entrance as the flights were announced. “I think we’d better get going,” she told Donghae and Jessica. “Thank you so much for driving us.”
“Of course,” Jessica said dismissively. “We also wanted to take the kids out.” She exchanged a hug with Jinri. “Say bye to sukmo, Sooyeon.”
“Sukmo, bye,” Sooyeon chirped, giving Jinri a wet kiss on the cheek.
“You take care, okay?” Donghae told Jinri as he hugged her goodbye.
“Oppa,” Jinri laughed, “it’s not like we’ll be gone for a long time. It’s just a vacation.”
“Still,” Donghae gestured towards Kyuhyun and their offspring. “Taking care of three children by yourself, I worry about you.”
“What am I, a Cho family statue?” Kyuhyun retorted. “I help out, too, you know.” He made a face at his hyung.
“Sure you do,” Donghae scoffed. He clapped his hands and called Donghwa and Sooyeon to attention. “In the van, kids.”
As Kyuhyun and the kids assembled by the airport entrance and Donghae made his own children get back in the vehicle, Jessica pulled Jinri aside.
“Are you going to tell him?” Jessica gave Jinri a look that made her squirm. Jinri couldn’t help but think that Jessica’s been always good at that.
“I don’t really think telling him on vacation would be the best time,” Jinri hesitated.
“Ri, you have to tell him as soon as possible,” Jessica persisted. “You’ve been putting this off for so long. I don’t even know why.”
“I just…” Jinri let out a breath as she glanced back at her family. “We have quite a lot on our plate already.”
“You’ve always had a lot on your plate, even when you weren’t married,” Jessica reminded her. “Please tell him. You won’t be able to keep it a secret for long, anyway.” She paused. “What’s holding you back? Isn’t this what he wants as well?”
“Just…we have three children… I know he’s already tired,” Jinri stammered.
“You don’t know anything until he actually tells you,” Jessica stopped her thoughts. She held her hands. “This is a good thing. You should be happy about it.” She looked into her eyes. “Tell him.”
Jinri hesitated once again. “I will,” she let out a breath. “I’ll tell him.”
~ * ~
Kyuhyun went to the ticketing and baggage counter to check their suitcases in. He kept on glancing behind him to make sure that all of his three children were all still there and not killing each other (with his genes, it wouldn’t be too far from their minds to do that). He silently willed Jinri to quickly come back from the bathroom. He knew and graciously accepted the fact that she was much better at taking care of their kids.
Shortly after, Jinri did return and relieved Kyuhyun of his daddy duties for a while. But she had the passports and had to assist him with all the ticketing and baggage questions .
“Ommaaaaaa!!! Appaaaaaa!!!” Kyuri suddenly came running towards them.
Kyuhyun and Jinri exchanged a look. Before Jinri could say something, Kyuhyun spoke up, “They’re your children.”
Jinri rolled her eyes and bent down to Kyuri’s level, wiping her daughter’s tears away. “What is it, baby? What happened? Where are oppa and Seunghwan?” She looked behind her daughter and saw that a woman that looked a bit younger than her was scolding Hyunjin. Scooping her daughter up, she walked towards the mini-commotion.
“Are you this boy’s mother?” the woman demanded, pointing a finger at her.
“Is something wrong?” Jinri politely asked.
“Your son pushed my son and he fell to the ground,” the woman announced, enraged. “Is this the kind of manners you teach your son?”
“I apologize for what happened,” Jinri began. “But my son would never intentionally hurt anyone.” She gently tilted Hyunjin’s angry face towards her. “Hyunjin, why would you push him?”
“He was annoying Kyuri,” Hyunjin defended himself, “and he wouldn’t stop.”
The woman looked appalled. “My son would never-.”
“Is everything okay here?” Kyuhyun arrived, putting a protective arm around Jinri and Hyunjin after carrying Seunghwan.
The woman opened her mouth, seemingly to retaliate harshly, when she recognized Kyuhyun. She closed her mouth, suddenly unable to say anything. Jinri raised an eyebrow in amusement.
“Hyunjin was defending Kyuri and pushed her son,” Jinri explained to Kyuhyun. “We’re really very sorry,” she told her, glancing at her son as well.
“If there’s anything we can do-,” Kyuhyun started to say.
“Just…” the woman hesitated. “Can I take a photo with you?”
Once the woman finally got her wish, they went on their way to board the plane.
“Still as popular with the girls as ever,” Jinri couldn’t help but comment.
“Shut up,” Kyuhyun grumbled.
“With that popular face of yours, you can get away with anything,” she mused teasingly. “You could kill people and you would just smile and they’d let you get away with it.”
“I don’t know about killing people and getting away with it,” he responded, looking at her, smirking. “But this face has definitely benefitted me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him in mock suspicion. “What did you do?”
“It got me you, didn’t it?” He put an arm around her and kissed her cheek, which immediately pinked. “And there’s that blush,” he happily remarked, gently poking his wife’s cheek. “After all these years, I can still make you blush.”
“You’re just so…” she trailed away, muttering to herself.
He titled her face towards him. “But you love it,” he decided.
“Mmm,” she gave in, lifting her face to kiss him. “I love you.”
~ * ~
Jinri watched in amusement as Kyuhyun fussed over Hyunjin and Kyuri. The window on the other side of the aisle seated the two kids.
Anyone who’s ever doubted Kyuhyun being a good father was seriously mistaken. Sure, he was childish and loved to tease his kids and showered them with snarky comments, but, other than that, he took care of them really well. She could see it in how he worries about them, fusses over them, making sure they didn’t have any bruises while playing. It was just so evident that he loved their kids to pieces. He even sang all of them so sleep every night no matter how tired he was, no matter whether he was out of town or not.
“What are you smiling about?” Kyuhyun wanted to know as he finally settled into his seat. He smiled as Seunghwan, seated in between him and Jinri, lifted the armrest and snuggled towards him. He lifted his arm and gently squeezed the little boy.
“No one would ever believe you to be the “doting father” type,” Jinri remarked warmly.
“Why not?” he smugly stated. “I’m known as a doting husband, am I not?” He smirked when his wife rolled her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure they know you as a whipped husband,” she corrected him good-humoredly.
He half-shrugged. “I don’t mind that,” he conceded. He reached out and wrapped his hand around hers, lifting it to his lips. “As long as it’s with you, I don’t mind whatever they say about me.”
“Kyuhyun,” she warned. “You’re being cheesy again.”
“After all these years, I still don’t get what’s wrong with that,” he argued.
“You’re practically 40 and still cheesy,” she continued. “It just doesn’t seem right.”
“Forty and still cheesy,” he repeated. A big smile covered his face. “That seems just about right.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Want to have a go at it? The bathroom looks free.”
“The kids are around,” she hissed, glancing at Seunghwan who seemed to have fallen asleep on his father’s lap.
“C’mon, we’ll be discreet,” he wiggled his eyebrows once more. “Won’t that be something to tell our grandchildren? You know, your mom/dad was made in an airplane, high up in the sky…”
“Pervert,” Jinri muttered.
“Only with you,” Kyuhyun chuckled as he kissed her hand again.
~ * ~
“Seunghwan! Kyuri! Don’t run off so far,” Jinri called after them. When Hyunjin started running after his siblings, she called him back. “Hyunjin, not you, too.”
Hyunjin stopped and turned to face her. “Omma, I’m running after them to watch after them,” he declared. “I’m a big boy now. I don’t run around anymore.”
“You’re nine years old,” Kyuhyun retorted.
“I’m turning 10 in July!” Hyunjin rejoined, affronted. “That’s only two months away!”
Kyuhyun snickered but immediately stopped when Jinri elbowed him.
“Okay, Hyunjin,” Jinri acquiesced. “You take care of your sister and brother. Stay nearby.”
Hyunjin nodded resolutely and stalked off towards his sister and brother. Jinri looked on, still anxious about her babies running off. Kyuhyun took her hand in his and squeezed it comfortingly.
“They’ll be fine,” Kyuhyun assured her. “Like what Hyunjin said, he’s a big boy now.” He snickered as he said this and Jinri had to elbow him again. “What? I’m just saying…” He sighed when his wife didn’t say anything. “We’re right here and nothing is going to happen to them.”
Jinri nodded and let out a breath, leaning into him. Kyuhyun put his arm around her and kissed her head.
“I like that we’re out like this,” she shared. “Far away from home, where no one really knows us. No one would bother us or stare at us.”
“You mean, not as much as back home,” he corrected her, smiling a little at two girls who were blatantly staring at them.
Kyuhyun had gone on to pursue his solo career, becoming one of the most sought after balladeers in South Korea. He continued on with his musical theatre career and even starred in some dramas and films. He was pretty much a household name in the country. And so their lives never really got a break from the spotlight, like she thought it would when Super Junior disbanded. As Kyuhyun got more popular, their lives were scrutinized even more.
“But we made it out alive when we first went here,” he reminded her wistfully.
Jinri lifted her face to him and kissed his cheek. “We did,” she agreed, smiling.
~ * ~
“You okay?” Kyuhyun asked Jinri as they stepped into the Italian airport. She was looking around uncertainly.
Jinri looked around, took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” he pressed concernedly. He reached for her hand, but she pulled away just before he managed to.
“Later,” she told him, smiling a little.
“Princess,” he began. “Practically no one knows me here. We’re far away from the prying eyes of fans.” He reached for her hand again.
“Just…later,” she insisted, clasping her hands together, away from him. “When there are less people around.”
~ * ~
They walked around Milan all day, trying to absorb everything since they would be leaving for Verona the next day. Kyuhyun had planned that he and Jinri would have a couple of days to themselves before the rest of the boys would join them. They would then go to Venice, Rome, Naples and Capri. But, for now, Kyuhyun wanted to spend time with his girlfriend, alone.
They were at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Kyuhyun took a lot of pictures, while Jinri window-shopped.
“Princess,” Kyuhyun called her. Jinri turned around and stood at the place he was pointing at. He then raised his camera and pointed it at her.
“You’ve taken so many pictures and it’s only the first day,” she commented teasingly.
“Who knows when we’ll be able to do this again?” he asked her. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get another vacation, much less one that’s with you.”
She smiled affectionately at him. “We see each other all the time back home,” she reminded him. “There’ll be plenty of opportunities for a vacation together.”
“Well, you don’t seem to be having fun,” he pointed out, looking a bit frustrated.
She stared at him, surprised. “What’s making you think that?” she wanted to know.
“Well, you’re always just walking beside me or ahead of me, not with me,” he explained helplessly. “You don’t want me to put my arm around you or even just hold your hand, much less kiss you. You don’t-.”
Jinri leaned up to him and kissed him, eating the next words that wanted to come out of his mouth. After a moment of being stunned, Kyuhyun lifted his arms and wrapped them tightly around her, while she wrapped her arms around his neck.
When she pulled away, her cheeks and lips were pink from kissing. “I am having fun,” she assured him, cupping his cheeks. “I love you.”
“I know,” he sighed contentedly, kissing her again.
~ * ~
“You were pretty much uptight about the whole trip,” Kyuhyun reminisced. “Except for that one shining moment, where you kissed me in the middle of a crowd.”
“I was not,” Jinri stated defensively.
“Yes, you were,” he insisted.
“It’s just… Italy is so…public,” she lamely elaborated. “I didn’t want to create a scandal for you even when we’re a million miles away from Seoul.”
Kyuhyun made sure that Hyunjin, Kyuri and Seunghwan were all safe and having fun by the fountain and not actually drowning in it before he stopped walking and made Jinri face him.
“Is that the reason why you didn’t want to go with me back then?” he inquired. He crossed his arms on his chest. “It wasn’t actually because you felt like you were intruding in on our vacation, wasn’t it?”
“I didn’t lie about that,” she corrected him mildly.
“And yet, you’re not correcting me about the other reason either,” he pointed out.
~ * ~
Ryeowook and Eunhyuk merely stared at Kyuhyun, unmoving, for fear of being smacked hard. Eunhyuk elbowed Ryeowook, as if forcing him to do something, like get them out of harm’s way. Ryeowook elbowed him back, hard, earning an affronted grunt from the older male.
“Hyung,” Ryeowook angrily mouthed to him. “Are you trying to get us in trouble?”
Eunhyuk whined wordlessly. Ryeowook rolled his eyes, shaking his head, wondering who was the hyung between the two of them.
“You two better stop talking before I do something about it,” Kyuhyun murmured, eyes still focused on what he was writing, flipping through some books in the process.
Eunhyuk’s eyes widened. He immediately bowed his head and clasped his hands primly together on his lap. “We’re just wondering if we could help,” he muttered.
Meanwhile, Ryeowook frowned. “Kyuhyun-ah, you really shouldn’t be mean to us. We’re the ones going together on vacation, after all,” he gently chided.
Kyuhyun studiously ignored them and so the two older boys merely sat there and continued to wait as soon as the evil magnae was done with planning their vacation.
It was such a relief when the company allowed them to have a vacation after a long time of not having one. Each one suddenly had plans of going some place else, possibly somewhere far from Seoul, just to get away and actually have some fun with each other.
Heechul, after hearing the news, stood up from his seat and announced that he was going to the US. He didn’t even bother asking if anyone wanted to go with him and no one presented to offer to be in his company. Travelling with Heechul would just be stressful and no one wanted to be stressed on vacation.
Some others decided to just go back to their hometowns, spend time with families and then actually get some much-needed R&R.
Donghae and Leeteuk, meanwhile, exchanged a look right after their manager uttered the word “vacation”. The two had always had this thing for Europe and being able to travel there. So, right after the meeting, they gathered some of the members and asked them if they wanted to go, telling them that there wouldn’t be another chance (or that it would be a long time if they did) to go. The two magnaes and Eunhyuk immediately agreed to come. Kyuhyun offered to plan the trip. Leeteuk immediately reacted to his and discreetly demanded that the two boys (Donghae had innocently slinked away) to make sure that all was planned well.
And here they sat, unable to do anything to actually help out with their vacation. For all they knew, Kyuhyun was planning to send them all to hell with the way he was seriously writing things down. All of a sudden, it wasn’t such a good idea to go on vacation with him. They didn’t even know why the magnae was taking charge. He usually just sat back and let his hyungs do all the dirty work.
Eunhyuk and Ryeowook hopefully looked up from their repression when they heard people entering the dorm. They hoped they someone would help them out. But when they saw that it was Sungmin and Zhoumi, people who were always under Kyuhyun’s power, they deflated in defeat. They were doomed.
“What’s going on?” Sungmin asked. He snickered when he saw what Kyuhyun was doing and when he saw Eunhyuk’s and Ryeowook’s expressions. “I’m out of here,” he then announced, walking in the room he shared with Kyuhyun.
“I think I should go, too,” Zhoumi declared, following Sungmin in the same room.
“What’s going on? Are you guys okay?” a surprising female voice asked.
“Jinri!” Eunhyuk and Ryeowook chorused in pure happiness. Both boys freely and ecstatically jumped up from their seats on the floor and bundled towards her.
“Hi,” Jinri laughed, hugging them both. “What’s going on?”
“He’s being mean again,” Ryeowook stalwartly complained, pointing at Kyuhyun, who had looked up in hearing his girlfriend’s voice. “He’s-.”
“You better stop before I get up,” Kyuhyun warned him as he moved to stand up.
Ryeowook squealed and pulled Eunhyuk away, running into the nearest room and locking it. Kyuhyun merely smirked in response before pulling his girlfriend flush against him, kissing her head.
“Hi,” he greeted her contentedly.
“Hi,” she greeted him back, lifting her face towards him to give him a proper kiss. He gladly obliged. “So what’s the reason you’re scaring your hyungs away this time?”
“Ryeowook’s hardly my hyung,” he snorted.
“Kyu,” she lightly pushed him as they sat down on the couch, snuggling closer to him. “You shouldn’t push the impudent magnae thing too much. They’re still older than you and you should at least try to respect them.”
Kyuhyun sighed instead of grumbling like he really wanted to. “Fine,” he relented. “On one condition.”
Jinri pulled away from him, looking wary. “And what condition might that be?”
He opened his mouth to answer when he noticed that she was inching away from him. “Why do you look so scared? You act like I’m going to attack you,” he pouted, looking greatly offended.
“I’m just being safe,” she defended herself with an innocent smile.
He made a face at her and put an arm around to bring her against him. “Come here,” he directed as he did so.
“So what is it?” she pressed, making herself comfortable in his embrace.
“It’s nothing big,” he assured her.
“You’re stalling,” she told him.
“Come to Italy with me,” he presented in one breath.
“What?” Jinri exclaimed, pulling away from his embrace once more to get a good look at him. He gave her a wary smile in return. “You’re serious,” she remarked, noticing his expression.
“I never joke about travel,” Kyuhyun solemnly stated. “So will you? Come with me to Italy, I mean. We leave in a couple of days and-here.” He grabbed the notebook he had been writing on earlier. He opened the medium-sized, ring-bound notebook with colorful paper as its pages and flipped through it until he reached the place where he’d written down their itinerary. “I’ve decided that we’ll go to-.”
“Kyuhyun, isn’t this supposed to be a vacation with your hyungs?” she interrupted his travel babble. She had known about the vacation as her boyfriend immediately called her to let her know about it as soon as it had been announced. She was happy for them, glad that they would finally be able to get the rest and relaxation that they really needed.
“Yes, they’re coming, Teukie hyung, Donghae hyung, Hyukjae hyung and Wookie,” he listed. “But I want you to come with us! I don’t want to be away from you for so long,” he whined. She could already sense the pout that was about to follow.
“Kyu, it’s just going to be a couple of days,” she chuckled. “And I’m sure we’ll call each other all the time. You should spend time with them.” Sometimes she wondered if she was hogging Kyuhyun too much. This was an opportunity for her to prove that she wasn’t.
He frowned and shook his head. “I’m not making myself clear,” he began to explain. “I want to be with you. I want you to come with me to Italy so we can spend time alone together. The hyungs are not arriving until a couple of days after me. I made it so that we’ll have time alone together.”
“We spend so much time together alone here already,” she pointed out.
“We rarely get to go out because everyone’s following me so much,” he reminded her, the disappointment of her refusal showing on his face. “I just thought that we could do that if we’re away from here. Besides… it’s Italy,” he lamely finished as if that argument was sound enough.
All that he said was true, but there was more to it than he was letting on. He wanted to be alone with her, far from the paparazzi and from the prying eyes of the fans because he wanted to be the kind of boyfriend who would take her to places, bring her on a date to restaurants, walk with her by the lake, hold her hand and kiss her in public. He wanted to be a normal couple and not care about what other people would think. He wanted to get lost with her. Even if it was only for more than a week. He wished he would give her and them a chance to.
She watched as he struggled to keep his disappointment in check but it was right there on his face. She could feel how much it would mean to him if she agreed, but, at the same time, she felt like she was going to intrude on a time meant for them. Before she could respond to him, they heard the dorm door alarm sound off, signaling that some of the members had come home.
“Hey,” Heechul greeted them as he saw them. He bent down and gave Jinri a kiss on the head.
“Hi oppa,” Jinri greeted with a smile.
“What’s going on?” Heechul immediately asked, looking from Kyuhyun to Jinri.
“Nothing,” she immediately answered, while Kyuhyun merely sighed.
“Kyuhyun, manager hyung’s been looking for you,” Yesung said in greeting, giving Jinri a wave. “You should call him.”
Kyuhyun got off the couch to get his phone in his room so he could call their manager. Heechul plopped down on the space that Kyuhyun left as Sungmin and Zhoumi walked back out into the living room, closing the door behind them, giving Kyuhyun some privacy.
“Are you finally done fighting?” Sungmin directly asked as he walked to the kitchen. “I’ve been wanting to go out to get some water, but wasn’t sure when I could!” Zhoumi shot Jinri an apologetic look as Heechul and Yesung whipped their attentions to her.
Before Jinri could say anything, Ryeowook and Eunhyuk came out from one of the rooms, looking around cautiously.
“Are you guys done fighting?” Eunhyuk then asked. Ryeowook was frowning.
“We weren’t fighting,” Jinri told them.
“Ri,” Heechul shot her a look.
“We really weren’t,” she insisted. “We were just…discussing something.”
“Okay,” Yesung gave in. “Then what was the discussion about?”
She sighed, knowing there was no way out of the conversation. All the members were pretty much involved in her relationship with Kyuhyun, although she didn’t really mind. The Super Junior members knew everything that was happening with each other.
“He wants me to come to Italy with him,” she answered helplessly. “With you guys.” She gestured towards Eunhyuk and Ryeowook, who looked delighted at the idea.
“Ah, that’s why he’s so eager to plan everything,” Eunhyuk and Ryeowook practically chorused together. Suddenly everything was clear. It was because he wanted to bring Jinri along.
“So why don’t you?” Sungmin asked, joining in as he came out of the kitchen. He took a seat across from her and Heechul, making Zhoumi scoot over.
“I…It’s your vacation,” she answered, stammering a bit. “I don’t think I should-.”
“Your argument is invalid,” Heechul cut her off, getting off the couch and walking towards the bathroom. “Go to Italy with him.”
“Heechul hyung’s right, you know,” Zhoumi gently agreed, smiling a little at the frown on her face. “It’s a vacation, what does it matter whose it is. He asked you to go with him.”
“And we really don’t mind,” Ryeowook added helpfully. “Teukie hyung and Donghae hyung wouldn’t either.”
“It would be nice if you came along,” Eunhyuk went on. “That way we wouldn’t have to deal with him and, even if we had to, you’d be there to keep him in line.” He grinned gummily.
Jinri laughed at this.
“So it’s settled then,” Yesung wrapped up the conversation, moving to go towards his room. “Jinri’s going to Italy.” He gave her a warm smile. “You should tell him the good news.”
The members dispersed from the living area, leaving her by herself, wondering where in that conversation she agreed to actually go to Italy. With a defeated shrug, she stood up from the couch and walked towards the room that Kyuhyun shared with Sungmin. As she was about to open the door, it opened with Kyuhyun about to step out.
“Hey,” Kyuhyun greeted her quietly. It was obvious that he was still upset with the way their conversation went. “I need to go for a while. I forgot that I have a schedule this evening. I’ll call you after or tomorrow.” He gave her a perfunctory kiss on the head and turned to walk away.
She grabbed his arm, making him stop. When he was facing her again, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his.
“What-?” he began to ask.
“Yes, I’ll go to Italy with you,” she said before he could say anything more.
“Really?” he asked, very much surprised.
“Really,” she promised.
“What made you change your mind?” he asked.
“It’s Italy,” she teasingly echoed his earlier words.
Part 2
Characters: Kyuhyun/OC
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Comedy
Note: This is some sort of sequel to Slow Motion & Between Sunrise and Sunset
A/N: Back with another one for Kyuhyun and Jinri. I just can't stay away. :)
This is for NewYorkAwakes and kyupepperoo. They never seem to get tired of KyuRi.
Thank you to snowychrys for the beta! :D
/sobs/ This is a one-shot but LJ doesn't want me to post in one go.
fast forward to destiny
This story takes place eight years after Between Sunrise and Sunset.
Kyuhyun stepped out of the van and took a deep breath as he took in the sight before him. The hustle and bustle of Incheon International Airport or any other airport for that matter has never changed. People rushing around everywhere, hugging people they were leaving behind, exchanging hellos to the ones they were meeting again after a long time.
He practically lived in airports. All his life he’d been going in and out of these country gateways for concerts, filming, fan signings and other events. But it had been a while since he had travelled for pure leisure and one that included his family.
“Appa!” a little girl, who had stepped out of the van, pulling her pink suitcase out with much effort, whined. “Why are you just standing there and not helping?”
“Kyuri,” Jinri called her attention in a warning tone.
“Yes, Kyu,” Donghae merely echoed, amused at his niece, as he helped her with her suitcase. “Why are you just standing there and not helping?” He grinned cheekily when Jessica shot him a look. His wife of five years always told him that he indulged Kyuri too much with her snarky attitude (when it was directed at Kyuhyun at least).
Kyuri happily joined the other four kids who had gotten out of the vehicle and were currently playing right beside the van. Hyunjin looked around with a bored expression on his face and pulled out a gaming device from his pocket.
“Can’t an old man have a break?” Kyuhyun remarked as he moved to the back of the van and helped Donghae unload their suitcases.
“Thirty-eight is hardly old,” Jinri interjected, smiling warmly at him as she patted his cheek. She saw Kyuri attempting to carry Donghwa, Donghae and Jessica’s four-year-old, on her back. “Kyuri, be careful,” she warned her. “Hyunjin, please look after your sister.” Hyunjin merely grunted in response, not even looking up from his game. She sighed and shot a look towards her husband. Without a word, Kyuhyun walked up to his son, said a few words and pocketed the game console. He then pushed Hyunjin towards the younger kids around him.
“If you think 38 is old, then what am I?” Donghae growled in response. He was turning 41 later that year.
“A dinosaur!” Kyuri happily piped in. Donghwa stopped trying to get on her back and laughed. His three-year-old sister, Sooyeon, joined in. Hyunjin smirked.
“Come here, you!” Donghae pretended to be upset and scooped up the eight-year-old girl effortlessly.
“Samchoooon,” Kyuri squealed as her uncle tickled her mercilessly.
“Then do you take it back?” Donghae demanded, a glint in his eyes.
“No,” Kyuri immediately quipped. But before Donghae could launch into another tickling tirade, she supplied, “A very handsome dinosaur!”
The adults burst into laughter. Kyuhyun got Kyuri from Donghae and lifted his hand to high five her. Kyuri gladly obliged, her giggling uncontrollable.
“She’s turning out to be exactly like you,” Donghae exclaimed in horror.
“Of course she is,” Kyuhyun proudly declared. “She’s daddy’s little girl. Aren’t you?” He grinned widely when Kyuri nodded her head without hesitation.
Jessica turned to Jinri after picking up Sooyeon. “How do you stand all of them?” she sincerely wanted to know. “It’s like having four Kyuhyun oppas in one house.” She made a face.
“Seunghwan’s like me, though,” Jinri chuckled. “So that’s only three Kyuhyuns.”
“Ya!” Kyuhyun began.
“It’s not like I can change husbands,” Jinri teased, glancing at Kyuhyun. “It’s too late for that now. All the other members are already taken.”
“Hey,” Kyuhyun made a face, but his lip twitched as a sign of his beginning annoyance.
Jinri giggled then turned her attention towards the airport entrance as the flights were announced. “I think we’d better get going,” she told Donghae and Jessica. “Thank you so much for driving us.”
“Of course,” Jessica said dismissively. “We also wanted to take the kids out.” She exchanged a hug with Jinri. “Say bye to sukmo, Sooyeon.”
“Sukmo, bye,” Sooyeon chirped, giving Jinri a wet kiss on the cheek.
“You take care, okay?” Donghae told Jinri as he hugged her goodbye.
“Oppa,” Jinri laughed, “it’s not like we’ll be gone for a long time. It’s just a vacation.”
“Still,” Donghae gestured towards Kyuhyun and their offspring. “Taking care of three children by yourself, I worry about you.”
“What am I, a Cho family statue?” Kyuhyun retorted. “I help out, too, you know.” He made a face at his hyung.
“Sure you do,” Donghae scoffed. He clapped his hands and called Donghwa and Sooyeon to attention. “In the van, kids.”
As Kyuhyun and the kids assembled by the airport entrance and Donghae made his own children get back in the vehicle, Jessica pulled Jinri aside.
“Are you going to tell him?” Jessica gave Jinri a look that made her squirm. Jinri couldn’t help but think that Jessica’s been always good at that.
“I don’t really think telling him on vacation would be the best time,” Jinri hesitated.
“Ri, you have to tell him as soon as possible,” Jessica persisted. “You’ve been putting this off for so long. I don’t even know why.”
“I just…” Jinri let out a breath as she glanced back at her family. “We have quite a lot on our plate already.”
“You’ve always had a lot on your plate, even when you weren’t married,” Jessica reminded her. “Please tell him. You won’t be able to keep it a secret for long, anyway.” She paused. “What’s holding you back? Isn’t this what he wants as well?”
“Just…we have three children… I know he’s already tired,” Jinri stammered.
“You don’t know anything until he actually tells you,” Jessica stopped her thoughts. She held her hands. “This is a good thing. You should be happy about it.” She looked into her eyes. “Tell him.”
Jinri hesitated once again. “I will,” she let out a breath. “I’ll tell him.”
~ * ~
Kyuhyun went to the ticketing and baggage counter to check their suitcases in. He kept on glancing behind him to make sure that all of his three children were all still there and not killing each other (with his genes, it wouldn’t be too far from their minds to do that). He silently willed Jinri to quickly come back from the bathroom. He knew and graciously accepted the fact that she was much better at taking care of their kids.
Shortly after, Jinri did return and relieved Kyuhyun of his daddy duties for a while. But she had the passports and had to assist him with all the ticketing and baggage questions .
“Ommaaaaaa!!! Appaaaaaa!!!” Kyuri suddenly came running towards them.
Kyuhyun and Jinri exchanged a look. Before Jinri could say something, Kyuhyun spoke up, “They’re your children.”
Jinri rolled her eyes and bent down to Kyuri’s level, wiping her daughter’s tears away. “What is it, baby? What happened? Where are oppa and Seunghwan?” She looked behind her daughter and saw that a woman that looked a bit younger than her was scolding Hyunjin. Scooping her daughter up, she walked towards the mini-commotion.
“Are you this boy’s mother?” the woman demanded, pointing a finger at her.
“Is something wrong?” Jinri politely asked.
“Your son pushed my son and he fell to the ground,” the woman announced, enraged. “Is this the kind of manners you teach your son?”
“I apologize for what happened,” Jinri began. “But my son would never intentionally hurt anyone.” She gently tilted Hyunjin’s angry face towards her. “Hyunjin, why would you push him?”
“He was annoying Kyuri,” Hyunjin defended himself, “and he wouldn’t stop.”
The woman looked appalled. “My son would never-.”
“Is everything okay here?” Kyuhyun arrived, putting a protective arm around Jinri and Hyunjin after carrying Seunghwan.
The woman opened her mouth, seemingly to retaliate harshly, when she recognized Kyuhyun. She closed her mouth, suddenly unable to say anything. Jinri raised an eyebrow in amusement.
“Hyunjin was defending Kyuri and pushed her son,” Jinri explained to Kyuhyun. “We’re really very sorry,” she told her, glancing at her son as well.
“If there’s anything we can do-,” Kyuhyun started to say.
“Just…” the woman hesitated. “Can I take a photo with you?”
Once the woman finally got her wish, they went on their way to board the plane.
“Still as popular with the girls as ever,” Jinri couldn’t help but comment.
“Shut up,” Kyuhyun grumbled.
“With that popular face of yours, you can get away with anything,” she mused teasingly. “You could kill people and you would just smile and they’d let you get away with it.”
“I don’t know about killing people and getting away with it,” he responded, looking at her, smirking. “But this face has definitely benefitted me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him in mock suspicion. “What did you do?”
“It got me you, didn’t it?” He put an arm around her and kissed her cheek, which immediately pinked. “And there’s that blush,” he happily remarked, gently poking his wife’s cheek. “After all these years, I can still make you blush.”
“You’re just so…” she trailed away, muttering to herself.
He titled her face towards him. “But you love it,” he decided.
“Mmm,” she gave in, lifting her face to kiss him. “I love you.”
~ * ~
Jinri watched in amusement as Kyuhyun fussed over Hyunjin and Kyuri. The window on the other side of the aisle seated the two kids.
Anyone who’s ever doubted Kyuhyun being a good father was seriously mistaken. Sure, he was childish and loved to tease his kids and showered them with snarky comments, but, other than that, he took care of them really well. She could see it in how he worries about them, fusses over them, making sure they didn’t have any bruises while playing. It was just so evident that he loved their kids to pieces. He even sang all of them so sleep every night no matter how tired he was, no matter whether he was out of town or not.
“What are you smiling about?” Kyuhyun wanted to know as he finally settled into his seat. He smiled as Seunghwan, seated in between him and Jinri, lifted the armrest and snuggled towards him. He lifted his arm and gently squeezed the little boy.
“No one would ever believe you to be the “doting father” type,” Jinri remarked warmly.
“Why not?” he smugly stated. “I’m known as a doting husband, am I not?” He smirked when his wife rolled her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure they know you as a whipped husband,” she corrected him good-humoredly.
He half-shrugged. “I don’t mind that,” he conceded. He reached out and wrapped his hand around hers, lifting it to his lips. “As long as it’s with you, I don’t mind whatever they say about me.”
“Kyuhyun,” she warned. “You’re being cheesy again.”
“After all these years, I still don’t get what’s wrong with that,” he argued.
“You’re practically 40 and still cheesy,” she continued. “It just doesn’t seem right.”
“Forty and still cheesy,” he repeated. A big smile covered his face. “That seems just about right.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Want to have a go at it? The bathroom looks free.”
“The kids are around,” she hissed, glancing at Seunghwan who seemed to have fallen asleep on his father’s lap.
“C’mon, we’ll be discreet,” he wiggled his eyebrows once more. “Won’t that be something to tell our grandchildren? You know, your mom/dad was made in an airplane, high up in the sky…”
“Pervert,” Jinri muttered.
“Only with you,” Kyuhyun chuckled as he kissed her hand again.
~ * ~
“Seunghwan! Kyuri! Don’t run off so far,” Jinri called after them. When Hyunjin started running after his siblings, she called him back. “Hyunjin, not you, too.”
Hyunjin stopped and turned to face her. “Omma, I’m running after them to watch after them,” he declared. “I’m a big boy now. I don’t run around anymore.”
“You’re nine years old,” Kyuhyun retorted.
“I’m turning 10 in July!” Hyunjin rejoined, affronted. “That’s only two months away!”
Kyuhyun snickered but immediately stopped when Jinri elbowed him.
“Okay, Hyunjin,” Jinri acquiesced. “You take care of your sister and brother. Stay nearby.”
Hyunjin nodded resolutely and stalked off towards his sister and brother. Jinri looked on, still anxious about her babies running off. Kyuhyun took her hand in his and squeezed it comfortingly.
“They’ll be fine,” Kyuhyun assured her. “Like what Hyunjin said, he’s a big boy now.” He snickered as he said this and Jinri had to elbow him again. “What? I’m just saying…” He sighed when his wife didn’t say anything. “We’re right here and nothing is going to happen to them.”
Jinri nodded and let out a breath, leaning into him. Kyuhyun put his arm around her and kissed her head.
“I like that we’re out like this,” she shared. “Far away from home, where no one really knows us. No one would bother us or stare at us.”
“You mean, not as much as back home,” he corrected her, smiling a little at two girls who were blatantly staring at them.
Kyuhyun had gone on to pursue his solo career, becoming one of the most sought after balladeers in South Korea. He continued on with his musical theatre career and even starred in some dramas and films. He was pretty much a household name in the country. And so their lives never really got a break from the spotlight, like she thought it would when Super Junior disbanded. As Kyuhyun got more popular, their lives were scrutinized even more.
“But we made it out alive when we first went here,” he reminded her wistfully.
Jinri lifted her face to him and kissed his cheek. “We did,” she agreed, smiling.
~ * ~
“You okay?” Kyuhyun asked Jinri as they stepped into the Italian airport. She was looking around uncertainly.
Jinri looked around, took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” he pressed concernedly. He reached for her hand, but she pulled away just before he managed to.
“Later,” she told him, smiling a little.
“Princess,” he began. “Practically no one knows me here. We’re far away from the prying eyes of fans.” He reached for her hand again.
“Just…later,” she insisted, clasping her hands together, away from him. “When there are less people around.”
~ * ~
They walked around Milan all day, trying to absorb everything since they would be leaving for Verona the next day. Kyuhyun had planned that he and Jinri would have a couple of days to themselves before the rest of the boys would join them. They would then go to Venice, Rome, Naples and Capri. But, for now, Kyuhyun wanted to spend time with his girlfriend, alone.
They were at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Kyuhyun took a lot of pictures, while Jinri window-shopped.
“Princess,” Kyuhyun called her. Jinri turned around and stood at the place he was pointing at. He then raised his camera and pointed it at her.
“You’ve taken so many pictures and it’s only the first day,” she commented teasingly.
“Who knows when we’ll be able to do this again?” he asked her. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get another vacation, much less one that’s with you.”
She smiled affectionately at him. “We see each other all the time back home,” she reminded him. “There’ll be plenty of opportunities for a vacation together.”
“Well, you don’t seem to be having fun,” he pointed out, looking a bit frustrated.
She stared at him, surprised. “What’s making you think that?” she wanted to know.
“Well, you’re always just walking beside me or ahead of me, not with me,” he explained helplessly. “You don’t want me to put my arm around you or even just hold your hand, much less kiss you. You don’t-.”
Jinri leaned up to him and kissed him, eating the next words that wanted to come out of his mouth. After a moment of being stunned, Kyuhyun lifted his arms and wrapped them tightly around her, while she wrapped her arms around his neck.
When she pulled away, her cheeks and lips were pink from kissing. “I am having fun,” she assured him, cupping his cheeks. “I love you.”
“I know,” he sighed contentedly, kissing her again.
~ * ~
“You were pretty much uptight about the whole trip,” Kyuhyun reminisced. “Except for that one shining moment, where you kissed me in the middle of a crowd.”
“I was not,” Jinri stated defensively.
“Yes, you were,” he insisted.
“It’s just… Italy is so…public,” she lamely elaborated. “I didn’t want to create a scandal for you even when we’re a million miles away from Seoul.”
Kyuhyun made sure that Hyunjin, Kyuri and Seunghwan were all safe and having fun by the fountain and not actually drowning in it before he stopped walking and made Jinri face him.
“Is that the reason why you didn’t want to go with me back then?” he inquired. He crossed his arms on his chest. “It wasn’t actually because you felt like you were intruding in on our vacation, wasn’t it?”
“I didn’t lie about that,” she corrected him mildly.
“And yet, you’re not correcting me about the other reason either,” he pointed out.
~ * ~
Ryeowook and Eunhyuk merely stared at Kyuhyun, unmoving, for fear of being smacked hard. Eunhyuk elbowed Ryeowook, as if forcing him to do something, like get them out of harm’s way. Ryeowook elbowed him back, hard, earning an affronted grunt from the older male.
“Hyung,” Ryeowook angrily mouthed to him. “Are you trying to get us in trouble?”
Eunhyuk whined wordlessly. Ryeowook rolled his eyes, shaking his head, wondering who was the hyung between the two of them.
“You two better stop talking before I do something about it,” Kyuhyun murmured, eyes still focused on what he was writing, flipping through some books in the process.
Eunhyuk’s eyes widened. He immediately bowed his head and clasped his hands primly together on his lap. “We’re just wondering if we could help,” he muttered.
Meanwhile, Ryeowook frowned. “Kyuhyun-ah, you really shouldn’t be mean to us. We’re the ones going together on vacation, after all,” he gently chided.
Kyuhyun studiously ignored them and so the two older boys merely sat there and continued to wait as soon as the evil magnae was done with planning their vacation.
It was such a relief when the company allowed them to have a vacation after a long time of not having one. Each one suddenly had plans of going some place else, possibly somewhere far from Seoul, just to get away and actually have some fun with each other.
Heechul, after hearing the news, stood up from his seat and announced that he was going to the US. He didn’t even bother asking if anyone wanted to go with him and no one presented to offer to be in his company. Travelling with Heechul would just be stressful and no one wanted to be stressed on vacation.
Some others decided to just go back to their hometowns, spend time with families and then actually get some much-needed R&R.
Donghae and Leeteuk, meanwhile, exchanged a look right after their manager uttered the word “vacation”. The two had always had this thing for Europe and being able to travel there. So, right after the meeting, they gathered some of the members and asked them if they wanted to go, telling them that there wouldn’t be another chance (or that it would be a long time if they did) to go. The two magnaes and Eunhyuk immediately agreed to come. Kyuhyun offered to plan the trip. Leeteuk immediately reacted to his and discreetly demanded that the two boys (Donghae had innocently slinked away) to make sure that all was planned well.
And here they sat, unable to do anything to actually help out with their vacation. For all they knew, Kyuhyun was planning to send them all to hell with the way he was seriously writing things down. All of a sudden, it wasn’t such a good idea to go on vacation with him. They didn’t even know why the magnae was taking charge. He usually just sat back and let his hyungs do all the dirty work.
Eunhyuk and Ryeowook hopefully looked up from their repression when they heard people entering the dorm. They hoped they someone would help them out. But when they saw that it was Sungmin and Zhoumi, people who were always under Kyuhyun’s power, they deflated in defeat. They were doomed.
“What’s going on?” Sungmin asked. He snickered when he saw what Kyuhyun was doing and when he saw Eunhyuk’s and Ryeowook’s expressions. “I’m out of here,” he then announced, walking in the room he shared with Kyuhyun.
“I think I should go, too,” Zhoumi declared, following Sungmin in the same room.
“What’s going on? Are you guys okay?” a surprising female voice asked.
“Jinri!” Eunhyuk and Ryeowook chorused in pure happiness. Both boys freely and ecstatically jumped up from their seats on the floor and bundled towards her.
“Hi,” Jinri laughed, hugging them both. “What’s going on?”
“He’s being mean again,” Ryeowook stalwartly complained, pointing at Kyuhyun, who had looked up in hearing his girlfriend’s voice. “He’s-.”
“You better stop before I get up,” Kyuhyun warned him as he moved to stand up.
Ryeowook squealed and pulled Eunhyuk away, running into the nearest room and locking it. Kyuhyun merely smirked in response before pulling his girlfriend flush against him, kissing her head.
“Hi,” he greeted her contentedly.
“Hi,” she greeted him back, lifting her face towards him to give him a proper kiss. He gladly obliged. “So what’s the reason you’re scaring your hyungs away this time?”
“Ryeowook’s hardly my hyung,” he snorted.
“Kyu,” she lightly pushed him as they sat down on the couch, snuggling closer to him. “You shouldn’t push the impudent magnae thing too much. They’re still older than you and you should at least try to respect them.”
Kyuhyun sighed instead of grumbling like he really wanted to. “Fine,” he relented. “On one condition.”
Jinri pulled away from him, looking wary. “And what condition might that be?”
He opened his mouth to answer when he noticed that she was inching away from him. “Why do you look so scared? You act like I’m going to attack you,” he pouted, looking greatly offended.
“I’m just being safe,” she defended herself with an innocent smile.
He made a face at her and put an arm around to bring her against him. “Come here,” he directed as he did so.
“So what is it?” she pressed, making herself comfortable in his embrace.
“It’s nothing big,” he assured her.
“You’re stalling,” she told him.
“Come to Italy with me,” he presented in one breath.
“What?” Jinri exclaimed, pulling away from his embrace once more to get a good look at him. He gave her a wary smile in return. “You’re serious,” she remarked, noticing his expression.
“I never joke about travel,” Kyuhyun solemnly stated. “So will you? Come with me to Italy, I mean. We leave in a couple of days and-here.” He grabbed the notebook he had been writing on earlier. He opened the medium-sized, ring-bound notebook with colorful paper as its pages and flipped through it until he reached the place where he’d written down their itinerary. “I’ve decided that we’ll go to-.”
“Kyuhyun, isn’t this supposed to be a vacation with your hyungs?” she interrupted his travel babble. She had known about the vacation as her boyfriend immediately called her to let her know about it as soon as it had been announced. She was happy for them, glad that they would finally be able to get the rest and relaxation that they really needed.
“Yes, they’re coming, Teukie hyung, Donghae hyung, Hyukjae hyung and Wookie,” he listed. “But I want you to come with us! I don’t want to be away from you for so long,” he whined. She could already sense the pout that was about to follow.
“Kyu, it’s just going to be a couple of days,” she chuckled. “And I’m sure we’ll call each other all the time. You should spend time with them.” Sometimes she wondered if she was hogging Kyuhyun too much. This was an opportunity for her to prove that she wasn’t.
He frowned and shook his head. “I’m not making myself clear,” he began to explain. “I want to be with you. I want you to come with me to Italy so we can spend time alone together. The hyungs are not arriving until a couple of days after me. I made it so that we’ll have time alone together.”
“We spend so much time together alone here already,” she pointed out.
“We rarely get to go out because everyone’s following me so much,” he reminded her, the disappointment of her refusal showing on his face. “I just thought that we could do that if we’re away from here. Besides… it’s Italy,” he lamely finished as if that argument was sound enough.
All that he said was true, but there was more to it than he was letting on. He wanted to be alone with her, far from the paparazzi and from the prying eyes of the fans because he wanted to be the kind of boyfriend who would take her to places, bring her on a date to restaurants, walk with her by the lake, hold her hand and kiss her in public. He wanted to be a normal couple and not care about what other people would think. He wanted to get lost with her. Even if it was only for more than a week. He wished he would give her and them a chance to.
She watched as he struggled to keep his disappointment in check but it was right there on his face. She could feel how much it would mean to him if she agreed, but, at the same time, she felt like she was going to intrude on a time meant for them. Before she could respond to him, they heard the dorm door alarm sound off, signaling that some of the members had come home.
“Hey,” Heechul greeted them as he saw them. He bent down and gave Jinri a kiss on the head.
“Hi oppa,” Jinri greeted with a smile.
“What’s going on?” Heechul immediately asked, looking from Kyuhyun to Jinri.
“Nothing,” she immediately answered, while Kyuhyun merely sighed.
“Kyuhyun, manager hyung’s been looking for you,” Yesung said in greeting, giving Jinri a wave. “You should call him.”
Kyuhyun got off the couch to get his phone in his room so he could call their manager. Heechul plopped down on the space that Kyuhyun left as Sungmin and Zhoumi walked back out into the living room, closing the door behind them, giving Kyuhyun some privacy.
“Are you finally done fighting?” Sungmin directly asked as he walked to the kitchen. “I’ve been wanting to go out to get some water, but wasn’t sure when I could!” Zhoumi shot Jinri an apologetic look as Heechul and Yesung whipped their attentions to her.
Before Jinri could say anything, Ryeowook and Eunhyuk came out from one of the rooms, looking around cautiously.
“Are you guys done fighting?” Eunhyuk then asked. Ryeowook was frowning.
“We weren’t fighting,” Jinri told them.
“Ri,” Heechul shot her a look.
“We really weren’t,” she insisted. “We were just…discussing something.”
“Okay,” Yesung gave in. “Then what was the discussion about?”
She sighed, knowing there was no way out of the conversation. All the members were pretty much involved in her relationship with Kyuhyun, although she didn’t really mind. The Super Junior members knew everything that was happening with each other.
“He wants me to come to Italy with him,” she answered helplessly. “With you guys.” She gestured towards Eunhyuk and Ryeowook, who looked delighted at the idea.
“Ah, that’s why he’s so eager to plan everything,” Eunhyuk and Ryeowook practically chorused together. Suddenly everything was clear. It was because he wanted to bring Jinri along.
“So why don’t you?” Sungmin asked, joining in as he came out of the kitchen. He took a seat across from her and Heechul, making Zhoumi scoot over.
“I…It’s your vacation,” she answered, stammering a bit. “I don’t think I should-.”
“Your argument is invalid,” Heechul cut her off, getting off the couch and walking towards the bathroom. “Go to Italy with him.”
“Heechul hyung’s right, you know,” Zhoumi gently agreed, smiling a little at the frown on her face. “It’s a vacation, what does it matter whose it is. He asked you to go with him.”
“And we really don’t mind,” Ryeowook added helpfully. “Teukie hyung and Donghae hyung wouldn’t either.”
“It would be nice if you came along,” Eunhyuk went on. “That way we wouldn’t have to deal with him and, even if we had to, you’d be there to keep him in line.” He grinned gummily.
Jinri laughed at this.
“So it’s settled then,” Yesung wrapped up the conversation, moving to go towards his room. “Jinri’s going to Italy.” He gave her a warm smile. “You should tell him the good news.”
The members dispersed from the living area, leaving her by herself, wondering where in that conversation she agreed to actually go to Italy. With a defeated shrug, she stood up from the couch and walked towards the room that Kyuhyun shared with Sungmin. As she was about to open the door, it opened with Kyuhyun about to step out.
“Hey,” Kyuhyun greeted her quietly. It was obvious that he was still upset with the way their conversation went. “I need to go for a while. I forgot that I have a schedule this evening. I’ll call you after or tomorrow.” He gave her a perfunctory kiss on the head and turned to walk away.
She grabbed his arm, making him stop. When he was facing her again, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his.
“What-?” he began to ask.
“Yes, I’ll go to Italy with you,” she said before he could say anything more.
“Really?” he asked, very much surprised.
“Really,” she promised.
“What made you change your mind?” he asked.
“It’s Italy,” she teasingly echoed his earlier words.
Part 2