The Star Traces [Part 1]
Title: The Star Traces
Rating: G
Pairing: KyuMin,
Genre: Fluff
Summary: Kyuhyun just moved into a new town to forget something behind. But how would he act when everything he's trying to forget only makes him remember even the feeling he doesn't want to encounter again?
Kyuhyun was walking on his way home. As he mindlessly moved along, he suddenly saw someone looking at him at the end of the street. It was a guy familiar to him but his mind made him feel that he didn’t want to encounter that person. His heart took a beat and his body started to sweat. He turned around and started walking to the other direction. Away from the person he saw. His heart kept on beating panicking as he walked fast.
When Kyuhyun looked back, he saw the guy was following him! The faster he ran, the faster the person tried to catch up. He tried to turn to the sudden alleys that he knew, go through the subway to lost the guy in a crowsd, crossed a lot of streets and took a longer route. He looked back and saw the guy wasn’t there anymore and so he stopped for a while near a lamp post to take a breath.
“Hi.”
Kyuhyun’s eyes widened and immediately raised his head. There was the guy, standing in front of him, smiling.
“Why were you running away?”
The guy tilted his head to the side and Kyuhyun can’t deny how endearing the guy looked. Kyuhyun’s body wants to run away again but his mind started to talk.
[I ran because I know this is something, that once I know I said yes to, I’ll never say no again.]
The person in front of him just smiled at him, like he also heard the words Kyuhyun’s mind had said. The more Kyuhyun looked at the eyes of the person in front of him, the more he realized the kind of beat his heart had been doing.
He’s in love.
He feels like he knows this person and he knows the guy likes him back too. It’s just that there’s a reason why they can’t be together and that is because that guy is committed to someone else. His mind whispered: [Used to, Kyuhyun]
“But I don’t know your name.” Kyuhyun said, as he really cannot recall.
“You know it,” the guy said and moved closer to whisper in his ear, “You just have to remember it.”
Then Kyuhyun woke up.
His heart was still pounding. He placed his right hand on his left chest and tried to breathe normally. He was smiling. The aftertaste of the happy feeling he had from his dream still lingered all over his body.
[Why now?] He thought.
He looked at the digital clock on his bedside table and saw it was already past 7. He hurriedly climbed out of bed, took a shower and wore his work clothes. It’s his first day at his new work and he can’t be late. After 1 ½ hours, Kyuhyun was already at the lounging area in front of the human resources office. He fiddled with his lucky charm keychain as he waited for the hr officer that was supposed to guide him.
“Mr. Kyuhyun Cho?”
Kyuhyun perked his head up as he heard the voice. He didn’t hear the door open as the hr officer was already standing close to him. He clutched his satchel and tucked his lucky charm into his pocket as he stood up immediately.
“That’s me.”
“Hello, my name’s Mr. Kim, will you follow me please?”
“Uhm, sure.”
As they walked on the hallway and passed tons of different cubicles , Kyuhyun recognized how monochrome the whole office is. Well, like most offices are. Everyone’s wearing semi formal clothes as required by the company and everybody was busy, working on something or at least trying to act like it.
After riding the elevator and walking past series of another cubicle stations, the HR Officer finally stopped.
“So Mr. Cho, this will be your station. And... Mr. Lee?” Mr Kim looked at the guy who was sitting at the cubicle behind Kyuhyun’s.
“Yes?”
“You will be the one who would train Mr. Cho here. He’s a new analyst for your department. Please guide him well.”
“Alright.”
“So.. if you have any questions,” Mr Kim faced Kyuhyun, “Please refer to your guidebook that was given to you in your orientation and Mr. Lee here will help you on your work.”
“Uh, ok, thanks.” Kyuhyun nodded.
“My pleasure.” Mr Kim smiled and walked away.
Kyuhyun took off his satchel from his shoulder and placed it on his new table. He turned on his computer and sat on his new chair.
“Hey,” the guy from a while ago turned around his office chair and faced Kyuhyun. Then he offered his hand. “I’m Donghae.”
“Oh, I’m Kyuhyun.”
And they shook hands.
“So are you ready to become a corporate slave at this company?” Donghae smiled.
“I guess I am.”
Over lunch, Donghae invited Kyuhyun out to join him. The place they went to was like an old English pub that was popular for it’s beers and nice sandwiches. Kyuhyun was taking a sip of tea from his glass and Donghae was texting from his phone.
“You’ll never be sorry that you joined me here. We really enjoy eating here.” Donghae smiled at Kyuhun after he has sent his text.
“We?” Kyuhyun asked.
Donghae saw someone behind Kyuhyun. “Yup, oh, here he comes.”
Kyuhyun looked at where Donghae was looking and saw this thin, cheeky guy.
“Hyukjae, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Hyukjae.” Donghae introduced them to one another by pointing his finger at them.
“Hi,” Kyuhyun said timidly.
Hyukjae smiled and hugged him which surprised him a lot.
“Haha.. sorry, Hyukjae’s just really affectionate.” Donghae explained after seeing how Kyuhyun froze.
Hyukjae then moved next to Donghae whom he kissed at the temple before he sat down.
Kyuhyun as much as possible tried to stop his brows from rising.
[A couple?!]
“Sorry I’m late. Heechul was being a pain again.” Hyukjae apologized.
“It’s okay, I already ordered for you by the way.” Donghae stated.
Kyuhyun felt a bit envious.
“Who’s Heechul?” he said, to change the topic.
“The HR officer who lead you a while ago.”
“Ah.”
“Hyukjae here is under HR.”
“Heechul actually asked me to arrange your infos like ids and such days ago. You just transferred here?”
“Yes, yes I did.”
“So, why did you choose this city then? For work?” Hyukjae asked.
“Uhm, kind of, yeah.” Kyuhyun lied.
“Well in case there’s anything you need, don’t be so shy to us, we won’t bite you.”
“That’s right, make the guy even more uncomfortable.” Donghae snickered
“I am not! Hey you know, why don’t you come with us this Friday, just to make you familiar with the place? Well more like be familiar with the bar scene... haha”
“I.. guess I can?”
“Good, that’s a deal.”
Friday night.
The party inside the bar was in full swing. It was filled with people who aimed to have a good time after working hours and some were still even in their suits, just like our 3 characters. They have been drinking for a while now and after so many shots, the couple was already a bit tipsy. But Kyuhyun...
.
“You’re like a rock, man!” Hyukjae remarked.
Kyuhyun smiled to himself, feeling a little bit proud.
“You should drink some more!”
After the 6th shot, Kyuhyun let out a breath after gulping the bitter tequila. His skill to outdrink his new found friends had attracted attention and when he downed his 7th shot, everyone near the bar table cheered.
Everything seemed happier. Kyuhyun really felt that it was a good decision to transfer here.
Good company, good co workers, good drinks... he can feel that he was starting to get a bit light headed but what the heck, its Friday. He let his eyes wander around, he even saw some people from work. Then he noticed Donghae. His co worker was talking to someone else. He squinted and tried to look at the other person. It was a bit hard since light’s a bit dim and then there’s the music that keeps you from thinking because it’s too loud (and because Kyuhyun’s already tipsy, of course). For some reason there was something about the guy Donghae was talking to that he can’t quite put his finger on.
“He’s pretty good looking, isn’t he?” Hyukjae remarked, who suddenly showed up beside him. He noticed where his dongsaeng was looking.
“What? No...” Kyuhyun was glad there wasn’t much light at the club cause he felt like he was blushing. But then again he could just use the alcohol as an excuse.
“Hold on, let me introduce you to him... DONGHAEEEEE!” Hyukjae shouted and waved.
“Wait- noooooo you don’t have to do that!” Kyuhyun’s eyes widened when he saw them coming.
“All you have to do is say hi,” Hyukjae said in a-matter-of-factly way.
“Oh come on, what will I do now, I’m not even drunk yet!” Kyuhyun said as he faced the bar and buried his face on his hands.
“Are you sure?” Hyukjae laughed as he teased.
“Hey Kyuhyun, meet our friend.” Donghae suddenly said from behind.
Kyuhyun took a deep breath and turned around smiling like everything’s cool.
“Hello,” he said in such a seductive, baritone voice that made Donghae and Hyukjae raise their brows.
“Hi, I’m Sungmin,” the other guy said and offered his hand.
“Heeeeeyyyy...” Kyuhyun ignored the hand and hugged him instead.
“Okay, he is drunk.” Donghae laughed.
“How many shots did this guy take?” Sungmin asked while Kyuhyun was hugging him.
“Oh, just 7more shots.” Hyukjae smiled.
“Of...?”
“Tequilaaaaa,” Kyuhyun chuckled.
And after a long time, Kyuhyun finally got the buzz that he wanted.
Next morning.
Kyuhyun felt a harsh light shining on his face. He covered his eyes with his hand and tried to open one eye.
[Oh God...] he thought. A sudden attack of migraine hit him. [Hangover?]
He tried to blink and saw that he was in a different bed, in a different room and still wearing the clothes he wore to work yesterday.
“What happened?” he said to no one in a raspy voice.
“Finally, the kid is up.”
Kyuhyun saw Hyukjae walking to him in pajamas and handed him a warm mug. From the wonderful scent, he was able to tell that it was a warm coffee.
“Thank you,” he said as he received the mug and took a sip. After feeling the warmth spread all over his body, he looked up to Hyukjae. “Please tell me we didn’t have sex?” Kyuhyun said out of the blue to break the silence.
“You wish!” Donghae shouted from the other room. He and Hyukjae snickered.
“So...what happened last night?” he asked.
And then, just like on cue, everything came back to him.
“Ohhh shit,” Kyuhyun groaned.
----
“Kyuhyun, could you bring this to the payroll’s office?” Donghae handed him a manila envelope.
“Sure.”
“Give it to Sungmin, okay?”
“W-what?” he stammered.
“Oh come on, you know you want to.”
“But...”
“I’m your senior, now go on, slave.”
“Mean guy, taking advantage of my age...” he whispered loud enough for Donghae to hear.
“WHAT?!”
Kyuhyun hurriedly walked away before Donghae could hit him.
As he walked, memories flashed in his mind: on how he danced the night away, on how he took more tequila shots [I hope I didn’t take a body shot on someone?] and on how he felt so happy then. He had to admit, it was pretty fun but the fact that Sungmin was there made everything so embarrassing.
So much for making a first impression.
[He must think I’m a weirdo.] Kyuhyun sighed.
Ding!
As he saw the elevator doors open, Kyuhyun froze.
“Oh, you’re Donghae’s friend, right? Kyuhyun?” Sungmin said to him, smiling.
“Uh.. uhm, yes.” Kyuhyun gulped. That smile Sungmin was making made Kyuhyun even more nervous.
“So... you in for a lift?” Sungmin asked as he continued to press on the open button of the elevator.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Kyuhyun immediately stepped in.
“What floor?”
“Actually I was just about to hand this to you, I think it’s the files you asked from Donghae.”
“Ah, thank you. So.. that’s all?”
“Yeah, I think I should get back to my station now...” Kyuhyun turned around and...
The elevator door just closed.
[Right.]
“Well if you want, do you want to join me for lunch? I’m on my way to take a bite.”
Kyuhyun seriously felt like he was about to melt but tried to compose himself.
“Okay.” He managed to squeak.
“By the way, I’m not sure if you remember but I’m Sungmin,” the guy offered a hand and Kyuhyun surely hoped his hand wasn’t sweaty when he took it.
“I’m Kyuhyun.”
“Haha.. I thought you were about to hug me again.”
And Kyuhyun laughed [Oh God, why?] he said at the back of his mind.
They ended up going to the office’ main cafeteria for lunch. They took the table near the glass wall and started eating the bentos they ordered.
“I thought there would be far more people here since it’s the lunch hour.” Kyuhyun thought out loud.
“People usually eat out, which I don’t get by the way. Their bentos here rock,” Sungmin answered as he took a whiff of his miso soup, then careful not to get his tongue burnt, slowly took a sip.
“So.. where are you staying?” Sungmin asked.
“Oh, just on the 52nd street.”
“I hope not on the old building?”
“Actually...yeah..” Kyuhyun said as he timidly looked away. He got a little conscious because Sungmin was keeping an eye contact as they talked.
“Really? You should be careful on that one. That place is kind of dangerous. I suggest you find a new place.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah everyone here knows that.”
“Oh. I didn’t know...I just moved here.”
“Ah.” Sungmin then took a bit of his tonkatsu and Kyuhyun grabbed his chance to ask.
“So.. you’ve been here long?”
Sungmin nodded first as he chewed, “Yeah, but just mostly for work. “
Kyuhyun can’t help but observe on how Sungmin eats. The way the person across him uses his chopsticks to pick up his food, on how proper he puts the food near those alluring lips... He can’t help but get more interested.
“So how did you know Donghae and Hyukjae?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Well Donghae is my cousin and since I’ve met them here, I’ve already seen how inseparable they are which I think is pretty amazing.”
“Amazing that they’re close?”
“That you can find someone whom you can jive with when it comes too.. everything?”
“Oh.”
“You must think I’m so weird for saying these stuff, I’m sorry.” Sungmin used his hand to cover his mouth as he laughed softly.
“No, no, no. It’s okay. I just moved here and to be honest it’s kind of hard. Everything’s different in some ways. Still familiarizing myself with the things around here.”
“Well, I’ve been here for a long time now and I still feel lost.”
“Lost?”
“It’s actually funny because.. I can never really call one place, my place. Like, ask me where I was raised and I’ll give you different places. Ask me where I studied and I’ll give you 5 different schools. People around here got friends, people in high school they know, their family... people they’ve known their whole life.“ Kyuhyun looked at how Sungmin bit his lip as he looked out past the glass wall. Then Sungmin suddenly chuckled to himself.
“I can’t help but wish to find a right place to be...” he said and smiled weakly as he looked right back at Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun!”
Kyuhyun’s body jerked when he suddenly heard Donghae’s voice and a tap on his shoulder. He looked around and noticed his surrounding. Donghae was looking at him from the other cubicle.
“What happened to you?”
“Huh?”
“You were spaced out and you didn’t even hear me calling you until now.”
Kyuhyun blinked, trying to think what he was doing before. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you okay? Did anything happen?”
“Oh, no, no. I was just thinking about something. Did you need anything?”
“Yeah, the folder for yesterday’s transaction.”
Kyuhyun took the folder from his drawer and gave it to Donghae.
“Dude, if you want to talk or anything, you can talk to me.”
“Thanks but I’m okay,” Kyuhyun smiled.
It’s been hours since his lunch with Sungmin had ended but he still can’t get over the things that was shared to him. He knew the longing Sungmin was trying to explain. The feeling of being lost. He then took a deep breath in hopes to relax his chest. It’s been feeling tight for a while now and he still doesn’t know how to make things lighter.
----
It was already the end of their workday when Donghae noticed that Kyuhyun hasn’t cheered up. He thought it was just because they needed to do a 2 hour overtime but now that it’s time to go home, it’s stil them same. He got concerned for this guy. He felt it’s really a pain to deal with introverts...just like with his cousin, Sungmin.
[Wait...] he suddenly got an idea.
“Kyuhyun? Do you already have plans for tonight?”
“Not really, why?”
“Maybe you can join and Hyukjae, we’ll be going somewhere.”
Kyuhyun wants to say no cause he doesn’t feel like doing anything but he don’t want to end up moping around his apartment.
“Sure,” he smiled.
Hyukjae was the one who drove, Donghae was on the passenger seat while Kyuhyun was at the backseat. They were certainly going on a place Kyuhyun hasn’t been to before because the streets he’s seeing weren’t familiar.
“So.. are we going to have a drink again? It’s only the middle of the week.”
“No, we’ll be visiting someone,” Donghae replied.
Kyuhyun was so curious to ask who but he knew that even if they said a name, he wouldn’t know it anyway so he stayed quiet. After driving for about 10 more minutes, the car finally stopped.
“Here we are,” Hyukjae announced.
As they all took off their seatbelts, Kyuhyun looked past the car’s window. All he can see is a commercial building. As they stepped down and went in, Kyuhyun got more curious about what they’re going to do. Soon enough, they reached a big gym.
“Uhhh..guys?” Kyuhyun was seriously hoping they won’t be doing a work out.
“Yup?” Hyukjae looked back at him as they were walking. There were gym equipments and people exercising and Kyuhyun felt out of place. I mean come on, they were still wearing suits.
Kyuhyun looked all around and saw they were going to the direction of BJJ classes. At the end of the hall, Donghae opened the door and there he saw Sungmin standing at the middle of the martial arts room. Kids surrounded him as he was saying something about “sweeping” and “submitting”. They went in and Sungmin smiled at them as he continued his discussion.
“Sungmin teaches martial arts?” Kyuhyun asked as they took off their shoes and sat at the farthest wall.
“Yup. You might want to enroll on his class. He also have one for adults but that’s for tomorrow,” Donghae explained.
“Oh.” Kyuhyun can’t help but be amused. Aside from the fact that Sungmin looked really different as he’s wearing a black Gi (a fighter kimono), when he demonstrated a kick, Kyuhyun was in complete awe. No wonder Sungmin had wide shoulders and fit body. No wonder he looks good in everything he wears. As the class happened in front of them and they saw how the kids consistently tried beating Sungmin (which never works, of course) Kyuhyun felt a bit lighter. He can’t believe this was the guy he was talking to a while ago at lunch. The guy who felt he was lost but whenever he talks to other people, he seems so cheery. Was he really lonely? Was he just faking it? But for what?
When the kids saw an opening, they all charged at Sungmin and climbed onto his body.
“Those kids just won’t give up, do they?” Hyukjae laughed.
Kyuhyun watched as to how Sungmin easily brushed them off, one by one off of his body. He was just having a problem with the one on his back and so he bent forward and tried to sway his back so the child’s grip would get loose. Then he faced to his side and met Kyuhyun’s gaze. Kyuhyun suddenly froze and thought of immediately looking away. But he got conscious of the fact that Sungmin might think he has a crush so he stared right back. Sungmin saw how Kyuhyun was making a weird face and so he smiled at him.
Hyukjae looked at Sungmin and then to Kyuhyun. He was right, the two were looking at each other.
“Sensei! I beat you!”
Kyuhyun then chuckled a bit as the kid tried to choke Sungmin.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Sungmin finally caught the body of his student and put him down on the mat.
“So, where do I register?” Kyuhyun asked Donghae.
___
As he was working on his work computer, an email came to Kyuhyun’s inbox.
Hi Kyuhyun!
Lunch time is coming, want to join me again?
Sungmin
Kyuhyun immediately looked at his back to see if Donghae saw his screen but the guy was working seriously on his computer. He clicked reply and sent back a message.
Hi Sungmin,
Sure. Meet you there on the lunch break.
Kyuhyun.
After an hour, Kyuhyun was already on a table, eating lunch with Sungmin.
“I heard you signed up for my class?” Sungmin smiled.
“Ah.. yeah.”
“So have you taken any martial arts before?”
“Not really, I’m just a beginner. Is that okay?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Yeah, of course. It’s never too late to learn something new.”
“Isn’t it hard? To work 2 jobs?” Kyuhyun dared to ask.
“It does, believe me. But I have to do it.”
“How come? You do live alone, right?”
“Yeah, but I’m still paying my student loans and I got nobody to lean on so I have to make money as much as I can. I’m the only one who supports myself.”
----
Kyuhyun was finally in the martial arts room along with the other guy students. Most of them were buffed up unlike him. It was almost like he was the thinnest guy in there. He has started to wonder why he ever signed up for this. They were all sitting at the mat and were all in a Gi. Minutes later, Sungmin finally came in.
“Hey guys, how are you all today?” Sungmin smiled.
Everyone said their own response and smiled back.
“So.. we have a new student today. He’s actually my officemate and friend. Could you introduce yourself to everyone?”
Kyuhyun gulped and stood up.
“Hello, my name is Kyuhyun. Please take care of me?” he bowed and sat right back to where he was standing. It was kind of comforting that everyone smiled to him as well.
“Okay, should we start doing the exercises?”
And boy, did they exercise. By the end of the whole routine, Kyuhyun just want to get home and lie on his bed, for week! But they got back to the center of the mat and it’s time for the real exercise. Sungmin called one student to show everybody how to do a a straight jacket submission. Kyuhyun was surprised on how close the skinship was and how you got to hold on tight just so you could make your enemy submit.
Once they have demonstrated it, Sungmin looked around to pick another student to do it with. Kyuhyun immediatly bowed his head and seriously hoped he won’t be called.
[What did I ever put myself into?!]
“Kyuhyun, would you like to try it out?”
Rating: G
Pairing: KyuMin,
Genre: Fluff
Summary: Kyuhyun just moved into a new town to forget something behind. But how would he act when everything he's trying to forget only makes him remember even the feeling he doesn't want to encounter again?
Kyuhyun was walking on his way home. As he mindlessly moved along, he suddenly saw someone looking at him at the end of the street. It was a guy familiar to him but his mind made him feel that he didn’t want to encounter that person. His heart took a beat and his body started to sweat. He turned around and started walking to the other direction. Away from the person he saw. His heart kept on beating panicking as he walked fast.
When Kyuhyun looked back, he saw the guy was following him! The faster he ran, the faster the person tried to catch up. He tried to turn to the sudden alleys that he knew, go through the subway to lost the guy in a crowsd, crossed a lot of streets and took a longer route. He looked back and saw the guy wasn’t there anymore and so he stopped for a while near a lamp post to take a breath.
“Hi.”
Kyuhyun’s eyes widened and immediately raised his head. There was the guy, standing in front of him, smiling.
“Why were you running away?”
The guy tilted his head to the side and Kyuhyun can’t deny how endearing the guy looked. Kyuhyun’s body wants to run away again but his mind started to talk.
[I ran because I know this is something, that once I know I said yes to, I’ll never say no again.]
The person in front of him just smiled at him, like he also heard the words Kyuhyun’s mind had said. The more Kyuhyun looked at the eyes of the person in front of him, the more he realized the kind of beat his heart had been doing.
He’s in love.
He feels like he knows this person and he knows the guy likes him back too. It’s just that there’s a reason why they can’t be together and that is because that guy is committed to someone else. His mind whispered: [Used to, Kyuhyun]
“But I don’t know your name.” Kyuhyun said, as he really cannot recall.
“You know it,” the guy said and moved closer to whisper in his ear, “You just have to remember it.”
Then Kyuhyun woke up.
His heart was still pounding. He placed his right hand on his left chest and tried to breathe normally. He was smiling. The aftertaste of the happy feeling he had from his dream still lingered all over his body.
[Why now?] He thought.
He looked at the digital clock on his bedside table and saw it was already past 7. He hurriedly climbed out of bed, took a shower and wore his work clothes. It’s his first day at his new work and he can’t be late. After 1 ½ hours, Kyuhyun was already at the lounging area in front of the human resources office. He fiddled with his lucky charm keychain as he waited for the hr officer that was supposed to guide him.
“Mr. Kyuhyun Cho?”
Kyuhyun perked his head up as he heard the voice. He didn’t hear the door open as the hr officer was already standing close to him. He clutched his satchel and tucked his lucky charm into his pocket as he stood up immediately.
“That’s me.”
“Hello, my name’s Mr. Kim, will you follow me please?”
“Uhm, sure.”
As they walked on the hallway and passed tons of different cubicles , Kyuhyun recognized how monochrome the whole office is. Well, like most offices are. Everyone’s wearing semi formal clothes as required by the company and everybody was busy, working on something or at least trying to act like it.
After riding the elevator and walking past series of another cubicle stations, the HR Officer finally stopped.
“So Mr. Cho, this will be your station. And... Mr. Lee?” Mr Kim looked at the guy who was sitting at the cubicle behind Kyuhyun’s.
“Yes?”
“You will be the one who would train Mr. Cho here. He’s a new analyst for your department. Please guide him well.”
“Alright.”
“So.. if you have any questions,” Mr Kim faced Kyuhyun, “Please refer to your guidebook that was given to you in your orientation and Mr. Lee here will help you on your work.”
“Uh, ok, thanks.” Kyuhyun nodded.
“My pleasure.” Mr Kim smiled and walked away.
Kyuhyun took off his satchel from his shoulder and placed it on his new table. He turned on his computer and sat on his new chair.
“Hey,” the guy from a while ago turned around his office chair and faced Kyuhyun. Then he offered his hand. “I’m Donghae.”
“Oh, I’m Kyuhyun.”
And they shook hands.
“So are you ready to become a corporate slave at this company?” Donghae smiled.
“I guess I am.”
Over lunch, Donghae invited Kyuhyun out to join him. The place they went to was like an old English pub that was popular for it’s beers and nice sandwiches. Kyuhyun was taking a sip of tea from his glass and Donghae was texting from his phone.
“You’ll never be sorry that you joined me here. We really enjoy eating here.” Donghae smiled at Kyuhun after he has sent his text.
“We?” Kyuhyun asked.
Donghae saw someone behind Kyuhyun. “Yup, oh, here he comes.”
Kyuhyun looked at where Donghae was looking and saw this thin, cheeky guy.
“Hyukjae, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Hyukjae.” Donghae introduced them to one another by pointing his finger at them.
“Hi,” Kyuhyun said timidly.
Hyukjae smiled and hugged him which surprised him a lot.
“Haha.. sorry, Hyukjae’s just really affectionate.” Donghae explained after seeing how Kyuhyun froze.
Hyukjae then moved next to Donghae whom he kissed at the temple before he sat down.
Kyuhyun as much as possible tried to stop his brows from rising.
[A couple?!]
“Sorry I’m late. Heechul was being a pain again.” Hyukjae apologized.
“It’s okay, I already ordered for you by the way.” Donghae stated.
Kyuhyun felt a bit envious.
“Who’s Heechul?” he said, to change the topic.
“The HR officer who lead you a while ago.”
“Ah.”
“Hyukjae here is under HR.”
“Heechul actually asked me to arrange your infos like ids and such days ago. You just transferred here?”
“Yes, yes I did.”
“So, why did you choose this city then? For work?” Hyukjae asked.
“Uhm, kind of, yeah.” Kyuhyun lied.
“Well in case there’s anything you need, don’t be so shy to us, we won’t bite you.”
“That’s right, make the guy even more uncomfortable.” Donghae snickered
“I am not! Hey you know, why don’t you come with us this Friday, just to make you familiar with the place? Well more like be familiar with the bar scene... haha”
“I.. guess I can?”
“Good, that’s a deal.”
Friday night.
The party inside the bar was in full swing. It was filled with people who aimed to have a good time after working hours and some were still even in their suits, just like our 3 characters. They have been drinking for a while now and after so many shots, the couple was already a bit tipsy. But Kyuhyun...
.
“You’re like a rock, man!” Hyukjae remarked.
Kyuhyun smiled to himself, feeling a little bit proud.
“You should drink some more!”
After the 6th shot, Kyuhyun let out a breath after gulping the bitter tequila. His skill to outdrink his new found friends had attracted attention and when he downed his 7th shot, everyone near the bar table cheered.
Everything seemed happier. Kyuhyun really felt that it was a good decision to transfer here.
Good company, good co workers, good drinks... he can feel that he was starting to get a bit light headed but what the heck, its Friday. He let his eyes wander around, he even saw some people from work. Then he noticed Donghae. His co worker was talking to someone else. He squinted and tried to look at the other person. It was a bit hard since light’s a bit dim and then there’s the music that keeps you from thinking because it’s too loud (and because Kyuhyun’s already tipsy, of course). For some reason there was something about the guy Donghae was talking to that he can’t quite put his finger on.
“He’s pretty good looking, isn’t he?” Hyukjae remarked, who suddenly showed up beside him. He noticed where his dongsaeng was looking.
“What? No...” Kyuhyun was glad there wasn’t much light at the club cause he felt like he was blushing. But then again he could just use the alcohol as an excuse.
“Hold on, let me introduce you to him... DONGHAEEEEE!” Hyukjae shouted and waved.
“Wait- noooooo you don’t have to do that!” Kyuhyun’s eyes widened when he saw them coming.
“All you have to do is say hi,” Hyukjae said in a-matter-of-factly way.
“Oh come on, what will I do now, I’m not even drunk yet!” Kyuhyun said as he faced the bar and buried his face on his hands.
“Are you sure?” Hyukjae laughed as he teased.
“Hey Kyuhyun, meet our friend.” Donghae suddenly said from behind.
Kyuhyun took a deep breath and turned around smiling like everything’s cool.
“Hello,” he said in such a seductive, baritone voice that made Donghae and Hyukjae raise their brows.
“Hi, I’m Sungmin,” the other guy said and offered his hand.
“Heeeeeyyyy...” Kyuhyun ignored the hand and hugged him instead.
“Okay, he is drunk.” Donghae laughed.
“How many shots did this guy take?” Sungmin asked while Kyuhyun was hugging him.
“Oh, just 7more shots.” Hyukjae smiled.
“Of...?”
“Tequilaaaaa,” Kyuhyun chuckled.
And after a long time, Kyuhyun finally got the buzz that he wanted.
Next morning.
Kyuhyun felt a harsh light shining on his face. He covered his eyes with his hand and tried to open one eye.
[Oh God...] he thought. A sudden attack of migraine hit him. [Hangover?]
He tried to blink and saw that he was in a different bed, in a different room and still wearing the clothes he wore to work yesterday.
“What happened?” he said to no one in a raspy voice.
“Finally, the kid is up.”
Kyuhyun saw Hyukjae walking to him in pajamas and handed him a warm mug. From the wonderful scent, he was able to tell that it was a warm coffee.
“Thank you,” he said as he received the mug and took a sip. After feeling the warmth spread all over his body, he looked up to Hyukjae. “Please tell me we didn’t have sex?” Kyuhyun said out of the blue to break the silence.
“You wish!” Donghae shouted from the other room. He and Hyukjae snickered.
“So...what happened last night?” he asked.
And then, just like on cue, everything came back to him.
“Ohhh shit,” Kyuhyun groaned.
----
“Kyuhyun, could you bring this to the payroll’s office?” Donghae handed him a manila envelope.
“Sure.”
“Give it to Sungmin, okay?”
“W-what?” he stammered.
“Oh come on, you know you want to.”
“But...”
“I’m your senior, now go on, slave.”
“Mean guy, taking advantage of my age...” he whispered loud enough for Donghae to hear.
“WHAT?!”
Kyuhyun hurriedly walked away before Donghae could hit him.
As he walked, memories flashed in his mind: on how he danced the night away, on how he took more tequila shots [I hope I didn’t take a body shot on someone?] and on how he felt so happy then. He had to admit, it was pretty fun but the fact that Sungmin was there made everything so embarrassing.
So much for making a first impression.
[He must think I’m a weirdo.] Kyuhyun sighed.
Ding!
As he saw the elevator doors open, Kyuhyun froze.
“Oh, you’re Donghae’s friend, right? Kyuhyun?” Sungmin said to him, smiling.
“Uh.. uhm, yes.” Kyuhyun gulped. That smile Sungmin was making made Kyuhyun even more nervous.
“So... you in for a lift?” Sungmin asked as he continued to press on the open button of the elevator.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Kyuhyun immediately stepped in.
“What floor?”
“Actually I was just about to hand this to you, I think it’s the files you asked from Donghae.”
“Ah, thank you. So.. that’s all?”
“Yeah, I think I should get back to my station now...” Kyuhyun turned around and...
The elevator door just closed.
[Right.]
“Well if you want, do you want to join me for lunch? I’m on my way to take a bite.”
Kyuhyun seriously felt like he was about to melt but tried to compose himself.
“Okay.” He managed to squeak.
“By the way, I’m not sure if you remember but I’m Sungmin,” the guy offered a hand and Kyuhyun surely hoped his hand wasn’t sweaty when he took it.
“I’m Kyuhyun.”
“Haha.. I thought you were about to hug me again.”
And Kyuhyun laughed [Oh God, why?] he said at the back of his mind.
They ended up going to the office’ main cafeteria for lunch. They took the table near the glass wall and started eating the bentos they ordered.
“I thought there would be far more people here since it’s the lunch hour.” Kyuhyun thought out loud.
“People usually eat out, which I don’t get by the way. Their bentos here rock,” Sungmin answered as he took a whiff of his miso soup, then careful not to get his tongue burnt, slowly took a sip.
“So.. where are you staying?” Sungmin asked.
“Oh, just on the 52nd street.”
“I hope not on the old building?”
“Actually...yeah..” Kyuhyun said as he timidly looked away. He got a little conscious because Sungmin was keeping an eye contact as they talked.
“Really? You should be careful on that one. That place is kind of dangerous. I suggest you find a new place.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah everyone here knows that.”
“Oh. I didn’t know...I just moved here.”
“Ah.” Sungmin then took a bit of his tonkatsu and Kyuhyun grabbed his chance to ask.
“So.. you’ve been here long?”
Sungmin nodded first as he chewed, “Yeah, but just mostly for work. “
Kyuhyun can’t help but observe on how Sungmin eats. The way the person across him uses his chopsticks to pick up his food, on how proper he puts the food near those alluring lips... He can’t help but get more interested.
“So how did you know Donghae and Hyukjae?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Well Donghae is my cousin and since I’ve met them here, I’ve already seen how inseparable they are which I think is pretty amazing.”
“Amazing that they’re close?”
“That you can find someone whom you can jive with when it comes too.. everything?”
“Oh.”
“You must think I’m so weird for saying these stuff, I’m sorry.” Sungmin used his hand to cover his mouth as he laughed softly.
“No, no, no. It’s okay. I just moved here and to be honest it’s kind of hard. Everything’s different in some ways. Still familiarizing myself with the things around here.”
“Well, I’ve been here for a long time now and I still feel lost.”
“Lost?”
“It’s actually funny because.. I can never really call one place, my place. Like, ask me where I was raised and I’ll give you different places. Ask me where I studied and I’ll give you 5 different schools. People around here got friends, people in high school they know, their family... people they’ve known their whole life.“ Kyuhyun looked at how Sungmin bit his lip as he looked out past the glass wall. Then Sungmin suddenly chuckled to himself.
“I can’t help but wish to find a right place to be...” he said and smiled weakly as he looked right back at Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun!”
Kyuhyun’s body jerked when he suddenly heard Donghae’s voice and a tap on his shoulder. He looked around and noticed his surrounding. Donghae was looking at him from the other cubicle.
“What happened to you?”
“Huh?”
“You were spaced out and you didn’t even hear me calling you until now.”
Kyuhyun blinked, trying to think what he was doing before. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you okay? Did anything happen?”
“Oh, no, no. I was just thinking about something. Did you need anything?”
“Yeah, the folder for yesterday’s transaction.”
Kyuhyun took the folder from his drawer and gave it to Donghae.
“Dude, if you want to talk or anything, you can talk to me.”
“Thanks but I’m okay,” Kyuhyun smiled.
It’s been hours since his lunch with Sungmin had ended but he still can’t get over the things that was shared to him. He knew the longing Sungmin was trying to explain. The feeling of being lost. He then took a deep breath in hopes to relax his chest. It’s been feeling tight for a while now and he still doesn’t know how to make things lighter.
----
It was already the end of their workday when Donghae noticed that Kyuhyun hasn’t cheered up. He thought it was just because they needed to do a 2 hour overtime but now that it’s time to go home, it’s stil them same. He got concerned for this guy. He felt it’s really a pain to deal with introverts...just like with his cousin, Sungmin.
[Wait...] he suddenly got an idea.
“Kyuhyun? Do you already have plans for tonight?”
“Not really, why?”
“Maybe you can join and Hyukjae, we’ll be going somewhere.”
Kyuhyun wants to say no cause he doesn’t feel like doing anything but he don’t want to end up moping around his apartment.
“Sure,” he smiled.
Hyukjae was the one who drove, Donghae was on the passenger seat while Kyuhyun was at the backseat. They were certainly going on a place Kyuhyun hasn’t been to before because the streets he’s seeing weren’t familiar.
“So.. are we going to have a drink again? It’s only the middle of the week.”
“No, we’ll be visiting someone,” Donghae replied.
Kyuhyun was so curious to ask who but he knew that even if they said a name, he wouldn’t know it anyway so he stayed quiet. After driving for about 10 more minutes, the car finally stopped.
“Here we are,” Hyukjae announced.
As they all took off their seatbelts, Kyuhyun looked past the car’s window. All he can see is a commercial building. As they stepped down and went in, Kyuhyun got more curious about what they’re going to do. Soon enough, they reached a big gym.
“Uhhh..guys?” Kyuhyun was seriously hoping they won’t be doing a work out.
“Yup?” Hyukjae looked back at him as they were walking. There were gym equipments and people exercising and Kyuhyun felt out of place. I mean come on, they were still wearing suits.
Kyuhyun looked all around and saw they were going to the direction of BJJ classes. At the end of the hall, Donghae opened the door and there he saw Sungmin standing at the middle of the martial arts room. Kids surrounded him as he was saying something about “sweeping” and “submitting”. They went in and Sungmin smiled at them as he continued his discussion.
“Sungmin teaches martial arts?” Kyuhyun asked as they took off their shoes and sat at the farthest wall.
“Yup. You might want to enroll on his class. He also have one for adults but that’s for tomorrow,” Donghae explained.
“Oh.” Kyuhyun can’t help but be amused. Aside from the fact that Sungmin looked really different as he’s wearing a black Gi (a fighter kimono), when he demonstrated a kick, Kyuhyun was in complete awe. No wonder Sungmin had wide shoulders and fit body. No wonder he looks good in everything he wears. As the class happened in front of them and they saw how the kids consistently tried beating Sungmin (which never works, of course) Kyuhyun felt a bit lighter. He can’t believe this was the guy he was talking to a while ago at lunch. The guy who felt he was lost but whenever he talks to other people, he seems so cheery. Was he really lonely? Was he just faking it? But for what?
When the kids saw an opening, they all charged at Sungmin and climbed onto his body.
“Those kids just won’t give up, do they?” Hyukjae laughed.
Kyuhyun watched as to how Sungmin easily brushed them off, one by one off of his body. He was just having a problem with the one on his back and so he bent forward and tried to sway his back so the child’s grip would get loose. Then he faced to his side and met Kyuhyun’s gaze. Kyuhyun suddenly froze and thought of immediately looking away. But he got conscious of the fact that Sungmin might think he has a crush so he stared right back. Sungmin saw how Kyuhyun was making a weird face and so he smiled at him.
Hyukjae looked at Sungmin and then to Kyuhyun. He was right, the two were looking at each other.
“Sensei! I beat you!”
Kyuhyun then chuckled a bit as the kid tried to choke Sungmin.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Sungmin finally caught the body of his student and put him down on the mat.
“So, where do I register?” Kyuhyun asked Donghae.
___
As he was working on his work computer, an email came to Kyuhyun’s inbox.
Hi Kyuhyun!
Lunch time is coming, want to join me again?
Sungmin
Kyuhyun immediately looked at his back to see if Donghae saw his screen but the guy was working seriously on his computer. He clicked reply and sent back a message.
Hi Sungmin,
Sure. Meet you there on the lunch break.
Kyuhyun.
After an hour, Kyuhyun was already on a table, eating lunch with Sungmin.
“I heard you signed up for my class?” Sungmin smiled.
“Ah.. yeah.”
“So have you taken any martial arts before?”
“Not really, I’m just a beginner. Is that okay?” Kyuhyun asked.
“Yeah, of course. It’s never too late to learn something new.”
“Isn’t it hard? To work 2 jobs?” Kyuhyun dared to ask.
“It does, believe me. But I have to do it.”
“How come? You do live alone, right?”
“Yeah, but I’m still paying my student loans and I got nobody to lean on so I have to make money as much as I can. I’m the only one who supports myself.”
----
Kyuhyun was finally in the martial arts room along with the other guy students. Most of them were buffed up unlike him. It was almost like he was the thinnest guy in there. He has started to wonder why he ever signed up for this. They were all sitting at the mat and were all in a Gi. Minutes later, Sungmin finally came in.
“Hey guys, how are you all today?” Sungmin smiled.
Everyone said their own response and smiled back.
“So.. we have a new student today. He’s actually my officemate and friend. Could you introduce yourself to everyone?”
Kyuhyun gulped and stood up.
“Hello, my name is Kyuhyun. Please take care of me?” he bowed and sat right back to where he was standing. It was kind of comforting that everyone smiled to him as well.
“Okay, should we start doing the exercises?”
And boy, did they exercise. By the end of the whole routine, Kyuhyun just want to get home and lie on his bed, for week! But they got back to the center of the mat and it’s time for the real exercise. Sungmin called one student to show everybody how to do a a straight jacket submission. Kyuhyun was surprised on how close the skinship was and how you got to hold on tight just so you could make your enemy submit.
Once they have demonstrated it, Sungmin looked around to pick another student to do it with. Kyuhyun immediatly bowed his head and seriously hoped he won’t be called.
[What did I ever put myself into?!]
“Kyuhyun, would you like to try it out?”