No Matter What (Chapter Two)
TITLE: No Matter What
SUMMARY: What if you've found the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with? And then your love, your soul mate suddenly turns tail and runs?
Sungmin trudged up the small flight of stairs leading to his brother's apartment. They had indeed finish the photo shoot in record time and he had left as soon as he had promised Kyuhyun he would call him as soon as he was sure that his brother was fine.
He opened the door with the spare key his brother had given him.
The apartment was dark and Sungmin immediately headed for his brother's room.
He pushed the door open quietly. "Hyukjae, hyung's here."
Lee Hyukjae groaned as he felt cold hands on his forehead, then on his cheeks before settling on his hands. He opened his eyes and squinted into the darkness.
"Hyung?"
The lamp by his bedside was lit and the room was suddenly bathed in warm golden light. In such light, he was able to discern the features of his brother.
"Sungmin-hyung, when did you get here?"
The other smiled. "Just now. How are you feeling?"
Hyukjae stretched and sat, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Fine, although my foot really hurts. I'll be fine, hyung."
"Hmm." Sungmin once again placed the back of his hand against the younger man's forehead. "It seems like you're running a slight fever, Hyuk."
Hyukjae frowned. "Really? But I feel perfectly fine."
Sungmin nodded. "Alright, I'll go cook dinner first then we'll eat and then you need to rest, okay?"
At the younger man's nod, Sungmin left the room and proceeded to prepare dinner.
---
As they were eating an hour later, Sungmin related to Hyukjae about their boss' updates.
"They've rescheduled the photo shoot for next month. Apparently, that's the only time your assignment is available again. The next issue of Style will be featuring Cho Kyuhyun instead of him."
The younger man sighed and pouted. "I feel like I've disappointed Sora-noona this time...and she had so much trust in me too! And what about the person I'm supposed to take pictures of? I'm sure he already has this image of me being a clumsy, irresponsible person! I mean, how are we ever going to be able to work together next month?!"
Sungmin smiled. "He's very nice and although, in my personal perspective, he loves his work too much, I still believe that he wouldn't think of you that way just because you had a slight accident." The temptation to tease his younger sibling was too great. "And besides, you are a clumsy person."
"Aish! Hyung, you're supposed to make me feel better! You're making me feel worse!"
Sungmin laughed and patted Hyukjae's cheek gently. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. But seriously, stop worrying."
Hyukjae breathed in deeply before nodding. They finished the rest of their dinner in silence, with Hyukjae occasionally taking (stealing) Sungmin's food.
---
"Hyung! Ow! That hurts---!"
Sungmin rolled his eyes and glared at his brother. "Stop squirming, Hyuk! How can I massage your foot properly if you keep on twisting your body?!"
"But Hyung! It---ow!---HURTS!" Each of the young man's word was punctuated with a yelp of pain.
Sungmin sighed. "I know it hurts, okay? But if we leave it at that, it might get worse. You understand right?"
Hyukjae nodded. "Fine. Then distract me or something. Maybe I won't feel the pain as much."
"Alright." Sungmin started to massage the slightly inflamed ankle once again. "How'd you get home?"
Hyukjae winced as the pressure increased but he tried to concentrate on answering his hyung's question. "Uh, after I sprained my ankle I kind of stood in the, uh, middle of the sidewalk---ouch! Then, this guy came barreling into me and I fell--- Sungmin-hyung, not too hard! And then, he helped me stand and I asked him to---OW!---I asked him to help me hail a taxi. He was able to do so after a few minutes and then I got in and thanked him and that's how I got ho---Hyung, enough! You've massaged it enough!"
Sungmin grinned and wrapped Hyukjae's ankle and foot carefully with a bandage. "There you go. All done. Easy as pie wasn't it?"
"Easy for you to say! You weren't the one who'd had to endure having your injured body part get massacred by the person you call your brother!"
"So dramatic as always, Hyuk." Sungmin ruffled the younger man's hair. "Be good and go to sleep. I need to borrow your darkroom for a while."
Hyukjae pursed his lips before he asked, "Developing your pictures already?"
"Yes. I need to show them tomorrow to Sora-noona. Go to sleep."
Hyukjae yawned. "Okay. Night, hyung."
"Goodnight, Hyukjae-ah. I'll see you in the morning."
---
Hyukjae woke up the next morning to the sounds of plates clanging and pans banging. Eyes scrunched up, he limped toward the door and headed straight to the kitchen.
What greeted him was the sight of his brother being molested ---hugged---by someone.
"Yah! Cho Kyuhyun! Get your dirty hands off my brother!"
The pair glanced at his direction but Kyuhyun refused to relinquish his hold on his boyfriend's waist. Instead, he tightened his hold and smirked.
"Well, well, good morning to you, too, Sleeping Beauty...or should I say... Grumpy?"
"Why you---! What are you doing here, Cho Kyuhyun?"
"Visiting of course." Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be calling me 'hyung'?"
Hyukjae limped over to a chair and sat on it, all the while glaring at the arm around Sungmin's waist. "Why should I? You're like, what? Six months older than me?"
"Min is only three months older than you and yet you call him hyung!"
"Of course I call him hyung! He's my brother! You, on the other hand, are a good-for-nothing evil businessman who is slowly beginning to corrupt my innocent older brother!"
Kyuhyun's eyes widened but soon he was able to come up with a suitable comeback. "At least I'm not the person who calls himself a dancer aside from calling himself a photographer, and a professional dancer at that, and then suddenly manages to hurt himself by spraining his foot. I mean, how can a dancer be so clumsy?"
If Hyukjae could have stood up, he would have. But because he couldn't, he settled on pointing an accusing finger to the older man. "At least I'm not a person who has no social life to speak of aside from virtual game buddies who are probably half his age!"
"Why you little---!"
Before Kyuhyun could even attempt to lunge at Hyukjae, Sungmin, who had been amusedly watching their banter, raised his hands as a placating gesture.
"Stop it both of you. Hyuk, stop teasing Kyu and eat. Kyu, you know he just likes teasing you, please don't mind his words too much."
Hyukjae smirked triumphantly at Kyuhyun's unamused expression. No matter what, he knew that his brother would always side with him.
He ate breakfast in glee, not minding the death glares emanating from a very, very pissed off Cho Kyuhyun.
---
Lee Donghae grinned as he pored over the latest issue of Style Magazine. The interview was, in a word, boring. It contained the usual "What is the secret to your success?" and similar other questions.
There were no juicy tidbits from Cho Kyuhyun's private life.
One thing had caught his attention though: among the pictures spread all over the interview was a shot of Kyuhyun smiling widely and genuinely at the camera.
He had known Kyuhyun for a good three years, a result of them having done some business deals together, and within that time, he had only seen Kyuhyun smile that way whenever he had won some game in one of his numerous video games or had closed a business deal without encountering any problems.
He shook his head. Lee Sungmin was indeed one of a kind.
He picked up the phone and dialled the number of Kyuhyun's private secretary. After the phone was answered, he identified himself and had requested to speak to their CEO.
Kyuhyun's deep voice was on after a few minutes. "Good morning, Donghae-ah."
"Good morning, Kyu. I'm currently staring at a picture of you from the newest issue of Style."
Donghae could swear that Kyuhyun was smirking just from the tone of his voice. "It turned out pretty well, didn't it?"
"Yes, indeed it did. Lee Sungmin-ssi is really good. Who knew he could get you to smile like the day you managed to close a multi-million dollar deal within just three days?"
Kyuhyun laughed. "That's true."
As much as he wanted to praise his boyfriend's skills, he knew he needed to steer clear of the topic about Sungmin. It wasn't that he didn't want his friend and longtime business partner to know about the love of his life but then again, he didn't want Donghae to know just yet. "So, what about your photo shoot? Weren't you supposed to have it yesterday?"
Donghae grimaced. "About that, I had Sora-noona move it to next week again. I'm really busy these days."
"You're always busy," Kyuhyun deadpanned.
"I'm busier than ever, especially now that Heechul-hyung isn't here."
"Huh? Wasn't he supposed to be back since two weeks ago from his business trip in China?"
Donghae sighed. "Yes. Well, apparently, he met someone...and so...he left me with all the work until after he came back."
Kyuhyun laughed. "Trust Heechul-hyung to turn something as boring as a business trip into a love mission."
"Well, yeah. For someone like him, the impossible becomes possible." Donghae glanced at the magazine in his hand once again. "I hope the photographer would be as good as Sungmin-ssi."
"Don't worry. He's one of the best. A little stubborn and pig-headed but he knows his job and he does it well." Kyuhyun shook his head, remembering Hyukjae's attitude. "Actually, he's Sungmin's brother."
"I thought Sungmin was an only child?"
"Stepbrother, I should say. But they've grown up together and they treat each other like true siblings. Their parents died five years ago and they're closer than they have ever been."
Donghae nodded understandingly and then pointed out a fact he had noticed. "You really seem to know a lot about Sungmin-ssi's family background. Is there something I should know?"
Kyuhyun bit his lip. He had said too much, too soon. "Oh well, look at the time, Hae-ah! So many things to do! I'll call you soon. Bye!"
Donghae glanced at the phone as the person on the other end disconnected without waiting for his reply. He sighed and shook his head. His friend was hiding something, he could feel it. But for the moment, he decided to let it pass.
---
Hyukjae adjusted the camera hanging from his neck. Excitement and nervousness were apparent in his restless movements. This was it. After numerous delays and rescheduling, he would finally be able to meet Lee Donghae in person and would finally be able to do the actual photoshoot.
He knocked on the wide door twice after the nice secretary from the front desk told him to go in. After a voice called out, "Come in."
He entered and bowed low. "Good morning, I'm Lee Hyukjae I will be your photographer for this morning."
As he straightened up to look at his assignment, the smile painted on his face turned into an expression of shock. Sitting behind a polished desk was no other than the stranger who had helped him a month ago.
----
A/N: Oh wow. This is turning out to be much longer than I had originally intended...Oh, well.
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Tell me what you think.
The rest of the story: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
SUMMARY: What if you've found the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with? And then your love, your soul mate suddenly turns tail and runs?
Sungmin trudged up the small flight of stairs leading to his brother's apartment. They had indeed finish the photo shoot in record time and he had left as soon as he had promised Kyuhyun he would call him as soon as he was sure that his brother was fine.
He opened the door with the spare key his brother had given him.
The apartment was dark and Sungmin immediately headed for his brother's room.
He pushed the door open quietly. "Hyukjae, hyung's here."
Lee Hyukjae groaned as he felt cold hands on his forehead, then on his cheeks before settling on his hands. He opened his eyes and squinted into the darkness.
"Hyung?"
The lamp by his bedside was lit and the room was suddenly bathed in warm golden light. In such light, he was able to discern the features of his brother.
"Sungmin-hyung, when did you get here?"
The other smiled. "Just now. How are you feeling?"
Hyukjae stretched and sat, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Fine, although my foot really hurts. I'll be fine, hyung."
"Hmm." Sungmin once again placed the back of his hand against the younger man's forehead. "It seems like you're running a slight fever, Hyuk."
Hyukjae frowned. "Really? But I feel perfectly fine."
Sungmin nodded. "Alright, I'll go cook dinner first then we'll eat and then you need to rest, okay?"
At the younger man's nod, Sungmin left the room and proceeded to prepare dinner.
---
As they were eating an hour later, Sungmin related to Hyukjae about their boss' updates.
"They've rescheduled the photo shoot for next month. Apparently, that's the only time your assignment is available again. The next issue of Style will be featuring Cho Kyuhyun instead of him."
The younger man sighed and pouted. "I feel like I've disappointed Sora-noona this time...and she had so much trust in me too! And what about the person I'm supposed to take pictures of? I'm sure he already has this image of me being a clumsy, irresponsible person! I mean, how are we ever going to be able to work together next month?!"
Sungmin smiled. "He's very nice and although, in my personal perspective, he loves his work too much, I still believe that he wouldn't think of you that way just because you had a slight accident." The temptation to tease his younger sibling was too great. "And besides, you are a clumsy person."
"Aish! Hyung, you're supposed to make me feel better! You're making me feel worse!"
Sungmin laughed and patted Hyukjae's cheek gently. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. But seriously, stop worrying."
Hyukjae breathed in deeply before nodding. They finished the rest of their dinner in silence, with Hyukjae occasionally taking (stealing) Sungmin's food.
---
"Hyung! Ow! That hurts---!"
Sungmin rolled his eyes and glared at his brother. "Stop squirming, Hyuk! How can I massage your foot properly if you keep on twisting your body?!"
"But Hyung! It---ow!---HURTS!" Each of the young man's word was punctuated with a yelp of pain.
Sungmin sighed. "I know it hurts, okay? But if we leave it at that, it might get worse. You understand right?"
Hyukjae nodded. "Fine. Then distract me or something. Maybe I won't feel the pain as much."
"Alright." Sungmin started to massage the slightly inflamed ankle once again. "How'd you get home?"
Hyukjae winced as the pressure increased but he tried to concentrate on answering his hyung's question. "Uh, after I sprained my ankle I kind of stood in the, uh, middle of the sidewalk---ouch! Then, this guy came barreling into me and I fell--- Sungmin-hyung, not too hard! And then, he helped me stand and I asked him to---OW!---I asked him to help me hail a taxi. He was able to do so after a few minutes and then I got in and thanked him and that's how I got ho---Hyung, enough! You've massaged it enough!"
Sungmin grinned and wrapped Hyukjae's ankle and foot carefully with a bandage. "There you go. All done. Easy as pie wasn't it?"
"Easy for you to say! You weren't the one who'd had to endure having your injured body part get massacred by the person you call your brother!"
"So dramatic as always, Hyuk." Sungmin ruffled the younger man's hair. "Be good and go to sleep. I need to borrow your darkroom for a while."
Hyukjae pursed his lips before he asked, "Developing your pictures already?"
"Yes. I need to show them tomorrow to Sora-noona. Go to sleep."
Hyukjae yawned. "Okay. Night, hyung."
"Goodnight, Hyukjae-ah. I'll see you in the morning."
---
Hyukjae woke up the next morning to the sounds of plates clanging and pans banging. Eyes scrunched up, he limped toward the door and headed straight to the kitchen.
What greeted him was the sight of his brother being molested ---hugged---by someone.
"Yah! Cho Kyuhyun! Get your dirty hands off my brother!"
The pair glanced at his direction but Kyuhyun refused to relinquish his hold on his boyfriend's waist. Instead, he tightened his hold and smirked.
"Well, well, good morning to you, too, Sleeping Beauty...or should I say... Grumpy?"
"Why you---! What are you doing here, Cho Kyuhyun?"
"Visiting of course." Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be calling me 'hyung'?"
Hyukjae limped over to a chair and sat on it, all the while glaring at the arm around Sungmin's waist. "Why should I? You're like, what? Six months older than me?"
"Min is only three months older than you and yet you call him hyung!"
"Of course I call him hyung! He's my brother! You, on the other hand, are a good-for-nothing evil businessman who is slowly beginning to corrupt my innocent older brother!"
Kyuhyun's eyes widened but soon he was able to come up with a suitable comeback. "At least I'm not the person who calls himself a dancer aside from calling himself a photographer, and a professional dancer at that, and then suddenly manages to hurt himself by spraining his foot. I mean, how can a dancer be so clumsy?"
If Hyukjae could have stood up, he would have. But because he couldn't, he settled on pointing an accusing finger to the older man. "At least I'm not a person who has no social life to speak of aside from virtual game buddies who are probably half his age!"
"Why you little---!"
Before Kyuhyun could even attempt to lunge at Hyukjae, Sungmin, who had been amusedly watching their banter, raised his hands as a placating gesture.
"Stop it both of you. Hyuk, stop teasing Kyu and eat. Kyu, you know he just likes teasing you, please don't mind his words too much."
Hyukjae smirked triumphantly at Kyuhyun's unamused expression. No matter what, he knew that his brother would always side with him.
He ate breakfast in glee, not minding the death glares emanating from a very, very pissed off Cho Kyuhyun.
---
Lee Donghae grinned as he pored over the latest issue of Style Magazine. The interview was, in a word, boring. It contained the usual "What is the secret to your success?" and similar other questions.
There were no juicy tidbits from Cho Kyuhyun's private life.
One thing had caught his attention though: among the pictures spread all over the interview was a shot of Kyuhyun smiling widely and genuinely at the camera.
He had known Kyuhyun for a good three years, a result of them having done some business deals together, and within that time, he had only seen Kyuhyun smile that way whenever he had won some game in one of his numerous video games or had closed a business deal without encountering any problems.
He shook his head. Lee Sungmin was indeed one of a kind.
He picked up the phone and dialled the number of Kyuhyun's private secretary. After the phone was answered, he identified himself and had requested to speak to their CEO.
Kyuhyun's deep voice was on after a few minutes. "Good morning, Donghae-ah."
"Good morning, Kyu. I'm currently staring at a picture of you from the newest issue of Style."
Donghae could swear that Kyuhyun was smirking just from the tone of his voice. "It turned out pretty well, didn't it?"
"Yes, indeed it did. Lee Sungmin-ssi is really good. Who knew he could get you to smile like the day you managed to close a multi-million dollar deal within just three days?"
Kyuhyun laughed. "That's true."
As much as he wanted to praise his boyfriend's skills, he knew he needed to steer clear of the topic about Sungmin. It wasn't that he didn't want his friend and longtime business partner to know about the love of his life but then again, he didn't want Donghae to know just yet. "So, what about your photo shoot? Weren't you supposed to have it yesterday?"
Donghae grimaced. "About that, I had Sora-noona move it to next week again. I'm really busy these days."
"You're always busy," Kyuhyun deadpanned.
"I'm busier than ever, especially now that Heechul-hyung isn't here."
"Huh? Wasn't he supposed to be back since two weeks ago from his business trip in China?"
Donghae sighed. "Yes. Well, apparently, he met someone...and so...he left me with all the work until after he came back."
Kyuhyun laughed. "Trust Heechul-hyung to turn something as boring as a business trip into a love mission."
"Well, yeah. For someone like him, the impossible becomes possible." Donghae glanced at the magazine in his hand once again. "I hope the photographer would be as good as Sungmin-ssi."
"Don't worry. He's one of the best. A little stubborn and pig-headed but he knows his job and he does it well." Kyuhyun shook his head, remembering Hyukjae's attitude. "Actually, he's Sungmin's brother."
"I thought Sungmin was an only child?"
"Stepbrother, I should say. But they've grown up together and they treat each other like true siblings. Their parents died five years ago and they're closer than they have ever been."
Donghae nodded understandingly and then pointed out a fact he had noticed. "You really seem to know a lot about Sungmin-ssi's family background. Is there something I should know?"
Kyuhyun bit his lip. He had said too much, too soon. "Oh well, look at the time, Hae-ah! So many things to do! I'll call you soon. Bye!"
Donghae glanced at the phone as the person on the other end disconnected without waiting for his reply. He sighed and shook his head. His friend was hiding something, he could feel it. But for the moment, he decided to let it pass.
---
Hyukjae adjusted the camera hanging from his neck. Excitement and nervousness were apparent in his restless movements. This was it. After numerous delays and rescheduling, he would finally be able to meet Lee Donghae in person and would finally be able to do the actual photoshoot.
He knocked on the wide door twice after the nice secretary from the front desk told him to go in. After a voice called out, "Come in."
He entered and bowed low. "Good morning, I'm Lee Hyukjae I will be your photographer for this morning."
As he straightened up to look at his assignment, the smile painted on his face turned into an expression of shock. Sitting behind a polished desk was no other than the stranger who had helped him a month ago.
----
A/N: Oh wow. This is turning out to be much longer than I had originally intended...Oh, well.
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Tell me what you think.
The rest of the story: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07