HANDinHAND :: a zhou mi/henry fic {chap 01}
HENRY + ZHOU MI FIC. finally. my friend beta'd for me and she got half-way and then... became busy with school and didn't go online much. :( so it's pretty half-assed. too lazy to go back and edit this, so it's just been sitting here for about a month. nonetheless...
fandom: Super Junior M
characters: Liu Xian Hua / Henry Lau, Zhou Mi (including minor characters from Super Junior M)
AU (alternate universe) fic
Childhood, Zhou Mi and Liu Xian Hua were the best of friends: they played sports together, went to school together, ate together, and the greatest of all: they made music together. Although the boys were too young of age to determine what they wanted to do for the rest of their life, they were already set; Zhou Mi goaled to be a famous singer one day, with his best friend Xian Hua as a violin prodigy; the two of them making music together until their hearts gave out.
... They weren't planning on being separated, but to their dismay, that was the case. Xian Hua, at the age of 8, moved away to Canada, being apart from his best friend for the first, and perhaps final time.
Ten years later, Xian Hua, now changed his name to Henry, has come back to China on a scholarship, getting closer and closer away to fulfilling his dream as a professional violin prodigy.
However, once he arrives, he sees posters all over town of a familiar face...
alternate link: http://revolution.kakusei.org/handinhand.php?chapterone
^ to see the italics a lot easier. :)
-------- prologue --------
"Play Xian Hua, play!"
"Hold up Zhou Mi, you know I have to tune before I start playing." The elder of the two boys sat, defeated and impatiently waiting as the younger took his time, adjusting the knobs of his violin slowly, just carefully tightening it enough to avoid breaking the fragile string. He softly plucked the rightmost string, and the vibrating sound was that of a perfectly tuned "A". Content, he traveled sideways, plucking the D, G, and E strings as he went. Finished, he looked up to find Zhou Mi irritatedly staring him down. "Hurry, Xian Hua! Talent is waiting you know."
"Yeah yeah, just wait!" and with that, he began to play.
The melody danced on the breeze, as the boy pushed the bow of his violin back and forth across the strings and moved his fingers on the fingerboard, creating a gentle, yet beautiful piece the two boys created together. It was their first composition, and although it was unfinished, Xian Hua and Zhou Mi worked wonderfully together to get it done. Zhou Mi would think of lyrics on the spot as Xian Hua played the violin, and if it was good enough to be kept, they took a break to write them down.
The young violinist continued to perform the intro, looking back towards Zhou Mi when he knew it was the other's turn to start. Once the two made eye contact, Zhou Mi nodded his head, took a deep breath, and began to sing.
The angel of my dreams has descended
But I am already sure that the one I want is you
Please let me decide for you
The knight that protects you is here now
I cannot imagine not having you by my side
How can I be patient of my own helplessness?
Oh~ My love
You can't take it back after letting it go
He signaled for Xian Hua to stop, and he grinned.
"That was perfect wasn't it. The line 'you can't take back my love after letting it go.' It's perfect! It flows into the song smoothly."
"Yeah, that was good, Zhou Mi."
"I'm such a genius."
"No need to get cocky."
"Says Mr. 'Liu Xian Hua' -- Prodigy violinist."
"Speaking of which, how'd I do? I didn't screw up, right?"
"You made a couple mistakes."
"I'm not perfect. I'm still a little kid! There's plenty of years for improvement."
"Well, of course! If we're this good now, record companies will have to notice us soon! We'll be 'Zhou Mi--' my name first, of course, 'and Xian Hua : Golden Boy and Violin Prodigy.'"
"Together, right?"
"Of course."
-------- chapter ONE :: would you walk to the future with me? --------
there's me and you, in the photographed memories locked in our picture frames.
"Okay honey, you know I'll miss you right? Don't get lost! Don't talk to strangers, don't eat foods that don't look right, don't--"
"Mom, I'm 18. I'm smart enough to wander around town without my mom telling me what to do."
"But this is different, Henry. You'll be moving without me in China! Maybe this isn't such a good idea. Maybe you should just go to a nice college here in Toronto... Canada is a big place for education, you know?"
"Mom, I already made up my mind." He shook his head at his mother, and continued to check around the house for things he might need, anything he might've forgotten. he shook his head at his mother, double checked the bathroom to make sure he didn't forget his toothbrush (he didn't), and patted his pockets for his cellphone and wallet. Wallet? He looked at his mom and smiled sheepishly. On her right hand was the familiar shape of his wallet. He thanked her and she placed a hand over her forehead, obviously stressed for her forgetful boy, sighing as he took his wallet and placed it in his front pocket.
"You know I'm just worried about you. You're my only son, and you've always been here when I needed you. Vice versa."
"I know, I know Mom. I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Oh just give me a hug before you go."
She spread her arms out and grabbed her son into a warm, long embrace. He took a deep breath in through his nose, and he could smell the never changing scent of his mother, a scent that remained the same throughout his childhood, and in a way, he was sad to leave. He wanted to pursue his dream; he wanted to become that professional violinist that he had been dreaming of since he was just a tiny little boy. But he didn't want to leave his friends behind, and his family. He would miss his mom the most.
When she finally let him go, he saw her sadness behind the radiant, wavering smile. And reflected through her water-framed eyes were his own, a world blurring at the edges. He picked up his belongings, and with a final wave goodbye, he left the house.
"Promise me you'll be a good boy and call me often! I'm so proud of you, Liu Xian Hua!"
--------
Donghae was already waiting at the airport when Henry came through the airport doors struggling to carrying his violin case in one hand, and his suitcase in the other, all while waving to his father in the car his final goodbye. Donghae ran to his friend's side, helping him by dragging his suitcase behind him (Henry would never trust Donghae with his precious violin), and wrapped his arm around the shorter.
"Hey, you're late. Mother issues? Your uniform's awfully wrinkled and wet... with tears?"
"By the looks of your own uniform, I'm assuming your mom got you too?"
"Yep!"
They both laughed; mothers could be so ridiculous sometimes. The two were proud of their friendship, but although they had everything in common, they're personalities couldn't be any different. Donghae's more popular, outgoing, and active personality versus Henry's quiet, suave, mysterious attitude; they were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Donghae was the one who made Henry laugh and "let-loose-and-relax-a-bit", and Henry was the one who kept Donghae in shape, especially during school. He lost count on the times he had to wake his friend up while he was sleeping, listening to his iPod, or just plain "not-staying-on-task-like-a-good-student-like-your-friend-Henry."
Yep, the two of them had the best of friendship: together like peanut butter and jelly, as Donghae liked to call them. At least, for two F.O.B.'s anyways.
They hurried to get Henry checked in. Baggage drop off, check. Ticket check in, check. Ticket next to Donghae, check. "Bathroom, Henry?", check. Check check check, time to meet with the rest of the class. They read the signs at the airport, telling them where to turn, which gate was where... Gate 3 was the destination. They headed that way.
Henry checked his watch: one more hour until boarding. Considering they both checked in already, their timing couldn't be any more perfect. Once they reached the gate, many of the chairs that were offered to the guests were already occupied by most of their class. Walking through the giant crowds of people, they decided to seat themselves among the masses... well, if they could, anyways. Donghae whined and tugged on the blue fold of Henry's uniform, not wanting them to get sweaty under the clothes they had to wear for the next 15 or so hours. Henry shrugged him off. He was set: Henry Lau was not going to sit on the flithy ground. He grabbed Donghae's hand, leading him through the aisles of chairs, and Henry took the liberty of patting people who sat near empty chairs asking "Are these seats taken?" a couple times while recieving nods in reply, until an old, kind looking woman smiled at the two boys and replied with a shake of her head. The two of them sat down and high-fived each other and finally loosened the tie on their suits with exhaustion. Donghae took out his iPod, offered Henry an earphone while putting the right one in his ear. If they were going to wait for one more hour, might as well listen to some good music.
"Are the two of you boys here on a field trip?" The old woman asked suddenly, surprising the two boys who were deep in their own little world of Justin Timberlake's "My Love". Donghae clicked the "pause" icon on his click wheel, and allowed Henry to answer for the both of them. Henry glanced at her with a pleasant smile, women always fell for him when he had that "angelic" look, before answering.
"Not exactly. We're here to stay; the two of us, as well as the rest of our class, are on a scholarship to attend school in Beijing."
"Really? Such young boys like you are college students?" She laughed, "Why, I thought you'd be young enough to be my grandchildren!"
"No no, haha, we're 18, though we might not look it."
As their conversation continued, the announcer on the speaker interupted with a cough into the mic before giving commands. "If you are in first class, we've begun to board now. Please get your ticket ready and begin to form a line into the first class section of the gate. Thank you." The old woman looked at the gate and began to get up. She held Henry's shoulder warmly with a smile.
"You two mature and handsome young men. I wish you the best of luck in university. I should be going now though, the line'll get longer if I keep waiting." She said, a goodbye to them, and left to wait in the line. The two boys waved goodbye to her happily, and resumed to listen to their music.
"Henry?" Donghae asked, finally breaking the five minutes of silence.
"Mmm."
"Should we like, I don't know, get in line now?"
"Soon."
"When's soon?"
"Soon enough, Donghae."
"But the line'll get loooooooonger, just like the lady said!" Donghae whined.
"... Do you want to get in line now, Hae?"
"Yes prease."
"Okay, we'll get in line now, sweetie."
"Yay, thanks mommy." Henry just shook his head in shame in reply.
They got into the line before the crowd started to get close and the line becoming longer, and before they knew it, they were already on the plane, bowing to the airline stewardess, greeting them with a "Ni hao*" and walking slowly behind old men and children to their seats. 24-D and 24-E. Donghae slouched back in his seat, sighing with pleasure as he squished the pillow in his arms and threw the navy blue blanket over his body.
"Have I ever mentioned how much I love these TV's behind the chairs, by the way? They're like, my savior for against death by boredom."
"Yes you have. A million times, at school, at my house, everywhere. 'I can't wait to get to China because I love the airplane ride!' I got it, Hae."
"I love these TVs, Henry Lau. I love these TV's so much, I would marry these TVs." Henry shook his head at his poor pathetic friend before draping the blanket over his own body. He lay his head on Donghae's shoulders, closing his eyes in hopes to fall asleep.
"Are you tired, Henry?"
"I just want to be there already. I hate plane rides," he groaned.
"Just close your eyes and sleep. I'll be right here if you need me."
"Thanks buddy."
"That's what friends are for, right?"
"If you mean being a head rest, then by all means, yes."
"I know you love me. Night Henry." Donghae chuckled, patting his friend on the head as if he were his mother.
"Night Donghae."
The stewardess' voice was loud over the intercom, providing the same information that the airlines were required to state trip after trip after trip... Donghae continued to listen to his iPod, blasting the music up to drown out the noise. Henry remained still, the breathing sounds caused his body to move as he kept his eyes closed and head rested on Donghae's shoulder.
"Please keep all your belongings under the seat in front of you, or closed up in the overheads above you. Now, we will demonstrate what we will do in case of an emergency. There are life jackets under all your seats..."
Today was going to be a long day.
--------
He slept a good five or six hours, woke up and ate, slept another four hours, ate yet again, and then decided he couldn't sleep any longer. The remainder of the time was spent staring at the TV on the chair in front of him; his eyes droopy from boredom, exhaustion, and the realization that they still had four hours left on this "godforsan", "goddamn long" airplane ride. He would glance over at Donghae every so often, who would occasionally sleep on the man next to him (who didn't seem to mind because the man was sleeping as well) or wake up whining to Henry, asking repetitively, "Are we there yet?" "Not yet, Donghae." "Aughhhhhhhhhh."
Four hours, seventeen minutes later, they finally arrived: Beijing, China, their destination. The two boys, as like everyone else, rushed to get their belongings from under the seats to scram out the door. Their frustration built up when the people in front of them walked out at a snail's pace, making sure they had all their belongings, even if it meant checking their seats three times. ("Christ, how many times do they have to check, Henry?") Once they arrived at the door of the airplane, they bowed once again to the stewardess with a "Xie xie*" added, and went off, running towards the exit.
From the corner of their eye, they saw a few students with the same uniform the two had been wearing in a small huddle near the desk. After recognizing a couple of their classmates, they walked towards the crowd, safely assuming this was their group.
"Henry Lau." Their professor called out his name, and without thought or effort, Henry responded with an instant "Here." (After twelve years of education, it's just a reflex to say "Here" whenever someone calls out your name, isn't it?)
"Good. Donghae Lee?" He called out once more.
"Here and ready sir!"
"I just needed a 'Here', Mr. Lee." He answered back to Donghae's reply, without lifting his eyes off the role sheet. He continued to announce the names, marking off any students who decided not to "leave-home-and-go-to-college" at the last minute. Once he made sure that he had as many students that came on the plane, he signaled for them with a quick wave of his arm to start walking.
They followed him all the way to immigration, which took a shorter amount of time than they had thought, and then all the way to baggage claim. There was a huge crowd around the circular machine; people here and there grabbing suitcases from under stacks, having so much difficulty that a complete stranger had to help them. Round and round the conveyor belt went, Henry and Donghae both frustrated that their things hadn't come yet. A few moments later, Donghae had pointed out his suitcase and tugged it out with the strength of his arm. When he successfully got it out, he turned to Henry and beamed. "Strong, aren't I?" "You're such a dork, Donghae."
After what seemed like forever, the familiar sight of his violin case attached to his suitcase had come around, and Henry finally sighed with relief. He pulled slightly on his violin case and signaled Donghae to use his "so-called-manly" strength to help him with his luggage. They both pulled together, successfully getting both the violin case and the luggage out without damaging the frailness of the violin.
They met up with the rest of their class outside the airline, glad to get some fresh air after that exhausting fourteen hour flight. They weren't used to the weather, hot with a 90% humidity. That's what they got for deciding to stay in China in the summer, after all. They missed the wintery coldness of Canada, despite complaining day after day about how cold it was everyday; any weather was better compared to this. And yet, they had to get through it. If Henry could live here for nine years, he could get through this weather eventually. Donghae too.
"Okay class, this is where we separate. You can run off and do your own thing now; you're big boys and girls now. All you should know is that our university dorm is located at the address in your handbook, and you should check in there by 6pm tonight. It's... 7am now. Feel free to explore China. Have fun, don't get yourselves killed." Their teacher's words were straightforward; a bit harsh, but they knew not to interpret it as rudeness. The rest of the class screamed with half-joy, half relief from being able to walk again, and ran off to exchange their money from Canadian dollars to Yuan. Those who already did so, including Henry and Donghae, ran off to get a taxi.
The cab driver stopped where the two were and got out of his car, obviously sleepy and tired from this time in the morning, and helped them put their luggage in the trunk. Henry got into the back first, with Donghae following behind him.
The inside of the taxi was heaven after being outside in that weather for that long. The air conditioning was cranked up so high that they started to shiver and complain to each other after a couple minutes, but stopped when the driver started to speak.
"Where do you want to go?" He asked in Mandarin, assuming that at least one of the Asian boys knew how to speak Chinese.
"Can you take us to this university? We... need to get... to the... rooming near the college. The... dorms?" Henry replied, a bit ashamed at the fact that his Chinese was starting to get rusty. Nonetheless, the cab driver nodded, and they left the airport and onto the highway.
Donghae looked excitedly out the window, pointing out the obvious to Henry and admiring everything he saw. Henry smiled: the place brought back a feeling of nostalgia and he really did miss his home in China. He thought about his old school, his old friends, first learning how to play the violins, and especially...
"Henry! Henry! ohmygooood, look, it's like the Justin Timberlake of America, except he's Chinese! Look Henry loooook... looooook at this posterrrrr*." Donghae whined while pulling on Henry, causing him to snap out of his memories, "Look at this guy, commoooooon."
"Fine fine, Donghae, where?"
"There, see?" He pointed, moving his fingers as the car moved past the poster slowly. Indeed, there was a giant poster on the side of a building where Donghae was pointing towards, and Henry glanced. The picture was of a young man, smiling a suave smile and closed eyes with his arm pushing his raven black hair back. Henry read the name carefully, knowing that Donghae would beg him later to tell him what this singer's name so he could check him out. Donghae was always obsessed with music... and his iPod.
"Album release: 07.03.08" He read outloud to Donghae, "... New hit... 'Time'... finally releasing his first album... here is China's new sensational artist..." He froze.
"Zhou Mi?"
-------- to be continued --------
fandom: Super Junior M
characters: Liu Xian Hua / Henry Lau, Zhou Mi (including minor characters from Super Junior M)
AU (alternate universe) fic
Childhood, Zhou Mi and Liu Xian Hua were the best of friends: they played sports together, went to school together, ate together, and the greatest of all: they made music together. Although the boys were too young of age to determine what they wanted to do for the rest of their life, they were already set; Zhou Mi goaled to be a famous singer one day, with his best friend Xian Hua as a violin prodigy; the two of them making music together until their hearts gave out.
... They weren't planning on being separated, but to their dismay, that was the case. Xian Hua, at the age of 8, moved away to Canada, being apart from his best friend for the first, and perhaps final time.
Ten years later, Xian Hua, now changed his name to Henry, has come back to China on a scholarship, getting closer and closer away to fulfilling his dream as a professional violin prodigy.
However, once he arrives, he sees posters all over town of a familiar face...
alternate link: http://revolution.kakusei.org/handinhand.php?chapterone
^ to see the italics a lot easier. :)
-------- prologue --------
"Play Xian Hua, play!"
"Hold up Zhou Mi, you know I have to tune before I start playing." The elder of the two boys sat, defeated and impatiently waiting as the younger took his time, adjusting the knobs of his violin slowly, just carefully tightening it enough to avoid breaking the fragile string. He softly plucked the rightmost string, and the vibrating sound was that of a perfectly tuned "A". Content, he traveled sideways, plucking the D, G, and E strings as he went. Finished, he looked up to find Zhou Mi irritatedly staring him down. "Hurry, Xian Hua! Talent is waiting you know."
"Yeah yeah, just wait!" and with that, he began to play.
The melody danced on the breeze, as the boy pushed the bow of his violin back and forth across the strings and moved his fingers on the fingerboard, creating a gentle, yet beautiful piece the two boys created together. It was their first composition, and although it was unfinished, Xian Hua and Zhou Mi worked wonderfully together to get it done. Zhou Mi would think of lyrics on the spot as Xian Hua played the violin, and if it was good enough to be kept, they took a break to write them down.
The young violinist continued to perform the intro, looking back towards Zhou Mi when he knew it was the other's turn to start. Once the two made eye contact, Zhou Mi nodded his head, took a deep breath, and began to sing.
The angel of my dreams has descended
But I am already sure that the one I want is you
Please let me decide for you
The knight that protects you is here now
I cannot imagine not having you by my side
How can I be patient of my own helplessness?
Oh~ My love
You can't take it back after letting it go
He signaled for Xian Hua to stop, and he grinned.
"That was perfect wasn't it. The line 'you can't take back my love after letting it go.' It's perfect! It flows into the song smoothly."
"Yeah, that was good, Zhou Mi."
"I'm such a genius."
"No need to get cocky."
"Says Mr. 'Liu Xian Hua' -- Prodigy violinist."
"Speaking of which, how'd I do? I didn't screw up, right?"
"You made a couple mistakes."
"I'm not perfect. I'm still a little kid! There's plenty of years for improvement."
"Well, of course! If we're this good now, record companies will have to notice us soon! We'll be 'Zhou Mi--' my name first, of course, 'and Xian Hua : Golden Boy and Violin Prodigy.'"
"Together, right?"
"Of course."
-------- chapter ONE :: would you walk to the future with me? --------
there's me and you, in the photographed memories locked in our picture frames.
"Okay honey, you know I'll miss you right? Don't get lost! Don't talk to strangers, don't eat foods that don't look right, don't--"
"Mom, I'm 18. I'm smart enough to wander around town without my mom telling me what to do."
"But this is different, Henry. You'll be moving without me in China! Maybe this isn't such a good idea. Maybe you should just go to a nice college here in Toronto... Canada is a big place for education, you know?"
"Mom, I already made up my mind." He shook his head at his mother, and continued to check around the house for things he might need, anything he might've forgotten. he shook his head at his mother, double checked the bathroom to make sure he didn't forget his toothbrush (he didn't), and patted his pockets for his cellphone and wallet. Wallet? He looked at his mom and smiled sheepishly. On her right hand was the familiar shape of his wallet. He thanked her and she placed a hand over her forehead, obviously stressed for her forgetful boy, sighing as he took his wallet and placed it in his front pocket.
"You know I'm just worried about you. You're my only son, and you've always been here when I needed you. Vice versa."
"I know, I know Mom. I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Oh just give me a hug before you go."
She spread her arms out and grabbed her son into a warm, long embrace. He took a deep breath in through his nose, and he could smell the never changing scent of his mother, a scent that remained the same throughout his childhood, and in a way, he was sad to leave. He wanted to pursue his dream; he wanted to become that professional violinist that he had been dreaming of since he was just a tiny little boy. But he didn't want to leave his friends behind, and his family. He would miss his mom the most.
When she finally let him go, he saw her sadness behind the radiant, wavering smile. And reflected through her water-framed eyes were his own, a world blurring at the edges. He picked up his belongings, and with a final wave goodbye, he left the house.
"Promise me you'll be a good boy and call me often! I'm so proud of you, Liu Xian Hua!"
--------
Donghae was already waiting at the airport when Henry came through the airport doors struggling to carrying his violin case in one hand, and his suitcase in the other, all while waving to his father in the car his final goodbye. Donghae ran to his friend's side, helping him by dragging his suitcase behind him (Henry would never trust Donghae with his precious violin), and wrapped his arm around the shorter.
"Hey, you're late. Mother issues? Your uniform's awfully wrinkled and wet... with tears?"
"By the looks of your own uniform, I'm assuming your mom got you too?"
"Yep!"
They both laughed; mothers could be so ridiculous sometimes. The two were proud of their friendship, but although they had everything in common, they're personalities couldn't be any different. Donghae's more popular, outgoing, and active personality versus Henry's quiet, suave, mysterious attitude; they were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Donghae was the one who made Henry laugh and "let-loose-and-relax-a-bit", and Henry was the one who kept Donghae in shape, especially during school. He lost count on the times he had to wake his friend up while he was sleeping, listening to his iPod, or just plain "not-staying-on-task-like-a-good-student-like-your-friend-Henry."
Yep, the two of them had the best of friendship: together like peanut butter and jelly, as Donghae liked to call them. At least, for two F.O.B.'s anyways.
They hurried to get Henry checked in. Baggage drop off, check. Ticket check in, check. Ticket next to Donghae, check. "Bathroom, Henry?", check. Check check check, time to meet with the rest of the class. They read the signs at the airport, telling them where to turn, which gate was where... Gate 3 was the destination. They headed that way.
Henry checked his watch: one more hour until boarding. Considering they both checked in already, their timing couldn't be any more perfect. Once they reached the gate, many of the chairs that were offered to the guests were already occupied by most of their class. Walking through the giant crowds of people, they decided to seat themselves among the masses... well, if they could, anyways. Donghae whined and tugged on the blue fold of Henry's uniform, not wanting them to get sweaty under the clothes they had to wear for the next 15 or so hours. Henry shrugged him off. He was set: Henry Lau was not going to sit on the flithy ground. He grabbed Donghae's hand, leading him through the aisles of chairs, and Henry took the liberty of patting people who sat near empty chairs asking "Are these seats taken?" a couple times while recieving nods in reply, until an old, kind looking woman smiled at the two boys and replied with a shake of her head. The two of them sat down and high-fived each other and finally loosened the tie on their suits with exhaustion. Donghae took out his iPod, offered Henry an earphone while putting the right one in his ear. If they were going to wait for one more hour, might as well listen to some good music.
"Are the two of you boys here on a field trip?" The old woman asked suddenly, surprising the two boys who were deep in their own little world of Justin Timberlake's "My Love". Donghae clicked the "pause" icon on his click wheel, and allowed Henry to answer for the both of them. Henry glanced at her with a pleasant smile, women always fell for him when he had that "angelic" look, before answering.
"Not exactly. We're here to stay; the two of us, as well as the rest of our class, are on a scholarship to attend school in Beijing."
"Really? Such young boys like you are college students?" She laughed, "Why, I thought you'd be young enough to be my grandchildren!"
"No no, haha, we're 18, though we might not look it."
As their conversation continued, the announcer on the speaker interupted with a cough into the mic before giving commands. "If you are in first class, we've begun to board now. Please get your ticket ready and begin to form a line into the first class section of the gate. Thank you." The old woman looked at the gate and began to get up. She held Henry's shoulder warmly with a smile.
"You two mature and handsome young men. I wish you the best of luck in university. I should be going now though, the line'll get longer if I keep waiting." She said, a goodbye to them, and left to wait in the line. The two boys waved goodbye to her happily, and resumed to listen to their music.
"Henry?" Donghae asked, finally breaking the five minutes of silence.
"Mmm."
"Should we like, I don't know, get in line now?"
"Soon."
"When's soon?"
"Soon enough, Donghae."
"But the line'll get loooooooonger, just like the lady said!" Donghae whined.
"... Do you want to get in line now, Hae?"
"Yes prease."
"Okay, we'll get in line now, sweetie."
"Yay, thanks mommy." Henry just shook his head in shame in reply.
They got into the line before the crowd started to get close and the line becoming longer, and before they knew it, they were already on the plane, bowing to the airline stewardess, greeting them with a "Ni hao*" and walking slowly behind old men and children to their seats. 24-D and 24-E. Donghae slouched back in his seat, sighing with pleasure as he squished the pillow in his arms and threw the navy blue blanket over his body.
"Have I ever mentioned how much I love these TV's behind the chairs, by the way? They're like, my savior for against death by boredom."
"Yes you have. A million times, at school, at my house, everywhere. 'I can't wait to get to China because I love the airplane ride!' I got it, Hae."
"I love these TVs, Henry Lau. I love these TV's so much, I would marry these TVs." Henry shook his head at his poor pathetic friend before draping the blanket over his own body. He lay his head on Donghae's shoulders, closing his eyes in hopes to fall asleep.
"Are you tired, Henry?"
"I just want to be there already. I hate plane rides," he groaned.
"Just close your eyes and sleep. I'll be right here if you need me."
"Thanks buddy."
"That's what friends are for, right?"
"If you mean being a head rest, then by all means, yes."
"I know you love me. Night Henry." Donghae chuckled, patting his friend on the head as if he were his mother.
"Night Donghae."
The stewardess' voice was loud over the intercom, providing the same information that the airlines were required to state trip after trip after trip... Donghae continued to listen to his iPod, blasting the music up to drown out the noise. Henry remained still, the breathing sounds caused his body to move as he kept his eyes closed and head rested on Donghae's shoulder.
"Please keep all your belongings under the seat in front of you, or closed up in the overheads above you. Now, we will demonstrate what we will do in case of an emergency. There are life jackets under all your seats..."
Today was going to be a long day.
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He slept a good five or six hours, woke up and ate, slept another four hours, ate yet again, and then decided he couldn't sleep any longer. The remainder of the time was spent staring at the TV on the chair in front of him; his eyes droopy from boredom, exhaustion, and the realization that they still had four hours left on this "godforsan", "goddamn long" airplane ride. He would glance over at Donghae every so often, who would occasionally sleep on the man next to him (who didn't seem to mind because the man was sleeping as well) or wake up whining to Henry, asking repetitively, "Are we there yet?" "Not yet, Donghae." "Aughhhhhhhhhh."
Four hours, seventeen minutes later, they finally arrived: Beijing, China, their destination. The two boys, as like everyone else, rushed to get their belongings from under the seats to scram out the door. Their frustration built up when the people in front of them walked out at a snail's pace, making sure they had all their belongings, even if it meant checking their seats three times. ("Christ, how many times do they have to check, Henry?") Once they arrived at the door of the airplane, they bowed once again to the stewardess with a "Xie xie*" added, and went off, running towards the exit.
From the corner of their eye, they saw a few students with the same uniform the two had been wearing in a small huddle near the desk. After recognizing a couple of their classmates, they walked towards the crowd, safely assuming this was their group.
"Henry Lau." Their professor called out his name, and without thought or effort, Henry responded with an instant "Here." (After twelve years of education, it's just a reflex to say "Here" whenever someone calls out your name, isn't it?)
"Good. Donghae Lee?" He called out once more.
"Here and ready sir!"
"I just needed a 'Here', Mr. Lee." He answered back to Donghae's reply, without lifting his eyes off the role sheet. He continued to announce the names, marking off any students who decided not to "leave-home-and-go-to-college" at the last minute. Once he made sure that he had as many students that came on the plane, he signaled for them with a quick wave of his arm to start walking.
They followed him all the way to immigration, which took a shorter amount of time than they had thought, and then all the way to baggage claim. There was a huge crowd around the circular machine; people here and there grabbing suitcases from under stacks, having so much difficulty that a complete stranger had to help them. Round and round the conveyor belt went, Henry and Donghae both frustrated that their things hadn't come yet. A few moments later, Donghae had pointed out his suitcase and tugged it out with the strength of his arm. When he successfully got it out, he turned to Henry and beamed. "Strong, aren't I?" "You're such a dork, Donghae."
After what seemed like forever, the familiar sight of his violin case attached to his suitcase had come around, and Henry finally sighed with relief. He pulled slightly on his violin case and signaled Donghae to use his "so-called-manly" strength to help him with his luggage. They both pulled together, successfully getting both the violin case and the luggage out without damaging the frailness of the violin.
They met up with the rest of their class outside the airline, glad to get some fresh air after that exhausting fourteen hour flight. They weren't used to the weather, hot with a 90% humidity. That's what they got for deciding to stay in China in the summer, after all. They missed the wintery coldness of Canada, despite complaining day after day about how cold it was everyday; any weather was better compared to this. And yet, they had to get through it. If Henry could live here for nine years, he could get through this weather eventually. Donghae too.
"Okay class, this is where we separate. You can run off and do your own thing now; you're big boys and girls now. All you should know is that our university dorm is located at the address in your handbook, and you should check in there by 6pm tonight. It's... 7am now. Feel free to explore China. Have fun, don't get yourselves killed." Their teacher's words were straightforward; a bit harsh, but they knew not to interpret it as rudeness. The rest of the class screamed with half-joy, half relief from being able to walk again, and ran off to exchange their money from Canadian dollars to Yuan. Those who already did so, including Henry and Donghae, ran off to get a taxi.
The cab driver stopped where the two were and got out of his car, obviously sleepy and tired from this time in the morning, and helped them put their luggage in the trunk. Henry got into the back first, with Donghae following behind him.
The inside of the taxi was heaven after being outside in that weather for that long. The air conditioning was cranked up so high that they started to shiver and complain to each other after a couple minutes, but stopped when the driver started to speak.
"Where do you want to go?" He asked in Mandarin, assuming that at least one of the Asian boys knew how to speak Chinese.
"Can you take us to this university? We... need to get... to the... rooming near the college. The... dorms?" Henry replied, a bit ashamed at the fact that his Chinese was starting to get rusty. Nonetheless, the cab driver nodded, and they left the airport and onto the highway.
Donghae looked excitedly out the window, pointing out the obvious to Henry and admiring everything he saw. Henry smiled: the place brought back a feeling of nostalgia and he really did miss his home in China. He thought about his old school, his old friends, first learning how to play the violins, and especially...
"Henry! Henry! ohmygooood, look, it's like the Justin Timberlake of America, except he's Chinese! Look Henry loooook... looooook at this posterrrrr*." Donghae whined while pulling on Henry, causing him to snap out of his memories, "Look at this guy, commoooooon."
"Fine fine, Donghae, where?"
"There, see?" He pointed, moving his fingers as the car moved past the poster slowly. Indeed, there was a giant poster on the side of a building where Donghae was pointing towards, and Henry glanced. The picture was of a young man, smiling a suave smile and closed eyes with his arm pushing his raven black hair back. Henry read the name carefully, knowing that Donghae would beg him later to tell him what this singer's name so he could check him out. Donghae was always obsessed with music... and his iPod.
"Album release: 07.03.08" He read outloud to Donghae, "... New hit... 'Time'... finally releasing his first album... here is China's new sensational artist..." He froze.
"Zhou Mi?"
-------- to be continued --------