(03) Masquerade
Title: The Singer Meets The KidPairing: Kyusung, Eunhae, YeHyuk
Genre: drama, tragedy
Summary: Yesung's whole life, he's worn a mask. Will this eventually crumble due to stress or will he finally be free of it as he remove it compliantly? Sequel to The Lost Child
Rating: PG-13 for abuse
Beta: angelye and special thanks to rhenny
In a castle hidden by the trees, a ball was held. Pretty dresses and handsome suits were seen dancing with smiles on their faces. Music from the orchestra surrounded the banquet hall. Curtains were pushed to the side and the dancers were basking under the romantic full moon light. The chandeliers were dimly lit but nobody seemed to mind.
The banquet hall was heavily decorated. The windows were decorated with various lights and on one corner; a buffet table was present though none of the guests have been there. On one end, a stair case was festooned with golden silk draped artistically on the baluster.
Faces were covered with beautiful masks. Some covered their whole face, some held theirs. Most covered the top part of their face while a few covered half of it. It may be fascinating to watch the people dancing and entertaining themselves.
In the far end the banquet hall sat a man on the throne-the host himself. He wore the most exquisite suit and the most extravagant mask among all. Yet he cannot enjoy the ball he hosted himself for he was chained to his seat. In the middle of the hall was a man, staring directly at him. He was wearing a white suit and a white mask-blank. And for the longest time, they kept staring at each other.
Yesung, Hyukjae and Donghae headed to Kyuhyun’s house after a few hours in the salon and eye glass shopping. Hyukjae was very surprised that his new friend was near-sighted and he never did anything about it. He has never worn contact lens either.
Feeling very tired yet happy, Yesung leaned his head on the car window and watched the houses they passed by. He felt nostalgic that there were no fans trying to catch a glimpse of him. His life before stardom came flashing back full force making his heart clench.
“We’re here,” Hyukjae announced, unbuckling his seatbelt and hoping off the car.
Donghae took his time unbuckling his and the moment his boyfriend left the car, he turned and glared at Yesung. “No funny ideas, you got that? You may have Hyuk and Kyu’s trust but I know better than to trust you.”
With those words, Donghae left the car to join his boyfriend at the front door. Yesung followed him with his gaze with one thought in his mind: he just met his second adversary. He sighed as he hopped out of the car.
Because Donghae slammed the door right at his face, Yesung decided to wait outside. It was already one in the afternoon and he has yet to sleep. He sat down on the front porch and leaned his head on the wall and closed his eyes.
He must’ve fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes, a small kid was squatting in front of him. His brown doe-like eyes are staring at him-staring at his soul. Yesung felt drawn by the kid’s eyes and was left speechless when the kid reached out to him and gave him a peck on the lips.
“Come on, mister,” the kid ushered him. Yesung stood up, dusted his pants, and then helped the kid opening the door. The kid took his hand, placing a finger on his lips asking him to keep quiet. When the older male nodded, the kid pulled him towards the stairs.
There were people inside the house; Yesung was positive of that. Reaching the top of the stairs, the kid let go of his hand and opened another door.
“This is my room. You can use my bed so you’ll sleep better,” the kid said with a smile when Yesung entered his room.
“Didn’t your parents warn you not to talk to strangers?” Yesung inquired.
“He did,” Jongwoon answered. “My daddy did.” The kid sat down on his bed, patting the space beside him for the red-haired Singer to occupy. And he did; though reluctantly at first.
“My daddy found me where you were sitting before. I wanted to help you like how daddy helped me,” the kid continued, nostalgia written on his face. Silence crept inside the room making the Singer shift in his seat. After a few minutes, the kid looked up at him just as he was about to yawn.
“You should sleep now, mister.” The kid hopped off the bed then turned towards the older male. “I’ll ask daddy later if you can stay here.”
“You don’t need to do that, kid. I don’t want to impose so I’ll just leave.” The Singer tried to decline but the kid was persistent. He eventually ended up under the covers of the bed, with his eyes closed. Still, the thought of the kid getting in trouble because of him was too much of a burden to him that he couldn’t find himself to fall asleep.
“Sleep well, mister,” the kid whispered before kissing him on the forehead. Yesung’s eyes opened in surprise. He couldn’t remember the last time someone kissed him on the forehead with great affection
but he missed it. Greatly. The kid didn’t stop there though. He raked the older male’s hair with his small hand.
“I forgot to ask your name,” Yesung mumbled after a few minutes of silence.
“Jongwoon. Cho Jongwoon is my name.”
“I see. Nice to meet you, Jongwoon. I’m Kim Yesung,” were his final words before finally falling in a much needed sleep.
“Are you sure it’s really alright to take in a stranger?” Donghae asked. He decided that it’s time to voice out the concern he’s had the first time he’s laid his eyes on the singer. He was hoping that at least one of them would agree with him-hoping Hyuk would agree with him.
“He’s not really a stranger, Hae. He’s a celebrity,” Hyuk reasoned.
“So? I don’t care if he’s a celebrity. I mean, come on you guys. Don’t tell me you’re going to take him in,” Donghae demanded. He was completely flabbergasted that none of the men took his side and doubted the proposition. He’s had a feeling that the singer was hiding something.
“What is wrong with you today? He didn’t do anything wrong to you,” Kyuhyun pointed out.
“I’m just stating my opinion, you know,” Donghae mumbled. He reached for the remote and scanned the channels to find something interesting on. Kyu and Hyuk looked at each other then at Donghae. They were skeptical about the other guy’s attitude and his hostility towards the Singer. Hyukjae decided to let it go but not Kyuhyun.
“Go back to that channel,” Kyuhyun barked.
“This one?” Donghae asked. He didn’t get an answer though because Kyuhyun was captivated by the news-news about the Singer.
“…as of now, we sent him on a hiatus because of health problems. His health is more important to us and to be able to make a full recovery, he needs to be out of the limelight for a while. We are hoping that everyone would understand and wait for his comeback. Expect a newer and a more mature Yesung in a year. Thank you.”
President Shin was seen on the television wearing a gray suit looking stressed. In front of him was a lot of news reporters asking about the singer’s whereabouts but he kept his mouth shut. He knew for himself that he couldn’t jeopardize his best talent’s much needed vacation.
“Woah! So he wasn’t lying about the throat problems,” Donghae exclaimed. Hyukjae gave him a ‘told you so’ look while Kyuhyun looked around the house. “I still don’t trust him.”
“Where is he?” Kyuhyun wondered.
“Who?” Hyukjae asked.
“Yesung.”
Donghae acted like nothing happened as Hyukjae and Kyuhyun stood up from their seats and started searching for the missing Singer. They even went outside with Donghae following behind them who was silently wishing the red-haired Singer was still there.
“Check your car, Hyuk. Maybe he’s still there,” Kyuhyun ordered.
“He’s not here, Kyu. Hae, come with me. Let’s check around the area. Maybe he didn’t go that far.” Hyukjae jogged towards the driver’s door followed by Donghae who hopped in the passenger seat. “Call us when you see him, alright?”
“I will. Take care!” Kyuhyun exclaimed as he watched his friends speed down the road. He ran a hand through his hair. He suddenly felt drained because a lot of things have happened in a span of less than 12 hours. It was already two in the afternoon and he badly needed a shower to ease his mind a bit.
When he went inside, he headed straight towards his room first to check if he left his phone there. He felt the need to have the device near him at all times and he couldn’t understand why. Yesung was just someone he met a year ago. He was someone who never answered the calls or messages and he was someone who was way out of league. But why was he concerned about the man? Was it because the guy is his idol?
He sighed before grabbing the phone and leaving the room. He needed a shower. And fast.
It was already seven in the evening and still no sign of Yesung. Hyukjae called Kyuhyun a couple of times to keep him up to date about their whereabouts and if they have any news of the red-haired Singer.
While the couple was out in the streets, the father and son were watching television in the living room. It was movie night and it was Jongwoon’s turn to pick the movie-Kung fu Panda. When Hyukjae asked why it was his favorite, he answered that he loved pandas so much.
“Daddy,” Jongwoon called. Kyuhyun’s answer was a hum. “I want to confess something.”
Kyuhyun focused on his son who was fiddling his thumbs. It was a habit the kid had whenever he was nervous and the older male knew that it wouldn’t be good. He waited for the kid to speak up and kept his anger at bay in case it was just a misunderstanding. He knew Jongwoon was a good kid and whatever it was that he did, he hoped it wasn’t as bad as the ones playing on his mind.
“Uhm… please don’t hate me, daddy,” Jongwoon mumbled as he stared at him teary eyed.
“Not unless you told me you robbed a bank with a spoon,” Kyuhyun joked which successfully made his son laugh. “What I’m saying is that, I’ll never hate you Jongwoon. You’re my son. Father’s don’t hate their sons and they never will no matter how many times they say it like they mean it.”
“Ok.” Jongwoon took in a deep breath before saying, “I took someone in and he’s currently sleeping in my room.”
“WHAT?!” Kyuhyun exclaimed before dashing off upstairs to check the unidentified male his son took in. Jongwoon followed him not because he was afraid of what his father would do but he was curious if the man was already awake. ‘He must be hungry’, Jongwoon thought.
“Oh God, Yesung! We thought you left!” Kyuhyun launched himself towards the man sitting on the bed and hugged him tightly. “We were so worried. I was so worried.”
“Are you hungry, mister?” Jongwoon asked excitedly. He was happy his father liked the man. Maybe his father would even allow the man to be his second daddy too.
Yesung reached for his sketchpad then scribbled some words albeit with difficulty. Kyuhyun’s hug tightened around him but he didn’t mind, even though it was getting harder for him to breathe.
“GROUP HUG!” Jongwoon exclaimed happily before launching himself to the people on the bed. Yesung eventually dropped his sketch pad and awkwardly hugged the two. And for a moment, just for a moment, he let himself be happy and smile.
“I better call your uncle Hyuk and tell him that we’ve found Yesung. Come on downstairs so I can cook some food for you,” Kyuhyun uttered while dialing on his phone.
When Kyuhyun left the room, Jongwoon turned to the red-haired Singer and gave him a peck on the lips and a hug one more time. “I really like you, mister. I’m happy daddy didn’t throw you out.”
Those words alone were enough for Yesung to finally feel welcome in an unknown place that he’ll call home for a year.
As the festivities continued, the host clenched his fist while the man in the white suit stared at him with a small smirk lingering on his face. It was as if the man was mocking him-mocking him that he was free to do what he wanted while the other was chained.
Will the masquerade ball remain eventless or will the unexpected finally happen?
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Come on people show me some love! :D I need it, really. This is an early update and I was absolutely flabbergasted that I managed to write chapter 4 easily. hihihi. Oh and here's Jongwoon and Yesung interaction. I know it's weird. lol. I don't know when I'll be able to write Chapter 5 sooo... I'll go and be fascinated by pandas now. :) Ciao!
do ask me questions in formsprings.me I promise to answer everyone's questions. :)