First Word - [Oneshot]
Title: First Word
Length: Oneshot (approx 1,800 words)
Author: sayhell
Rating: G
Pairings: Chibi!Kyuwook
Genre: Fluff
Summary: Ryeowook’s first word.(For yukwol)
After reassuring his mother that he would behave for the umpteenth time and bidding her goodbye, four year old Kyuhyun followed Mrs. Kim into the house. They passed the hallway and Kyuhyun felt his jaw drop at how lavishly the walls were decorated with colorful streamers.
Mrs. Kim chuckled and shook her head at the sheer bewilderment on Kyuhyun’s face. “The birthday boy wants it this way. You know him.” Mrs. Kim heaved her shoulders in mock exasperation.
She led him into the living room, which equaled, maybe surpassed, the hallway in terms of birthday decorations. Multiple helium balloons, each emblazoned with their own shiny words, swayed on their weights. Red ribbons flowed from each corner of the ceiling, barely brushing the ground. A huge glittery banner inked with a bold ‘Happy Birthday’ was festooned behind a table filled with plates of snacks and candies.
“I hope the decorations didn’t scare you,” Mrs. Kim said apologetically.
Kyuhyun shook his head, wondering if God would punish him for this little lie. When the shock wore off, he noticed the two figures huddled on the play-mat and the vivid imagery of two mushrooms talking to each other arose in his mind. He recognized the red sparkling mushroom; it was Kim Heechul - the birthday boy.
Kyuhyun scanned the rest of the living room and then looked up, meeting Mrs. Kim’s eyes with his own questioning ones. “Changmin and Minho?”
“They are not here yet,” Mrs. Kim ushered Kyuhyun to the play mat. “Why don’t you play with Heechul and Ryeowook first? Heechul, entertain Kyuhyun.”
Heechul broke away from the conversation and stared at them, annoyance prominent in his large eyes. “I’m not free.”
“Kim Heechul,” Mrs. Kim warned.
“All right all right.” Heechul gave in begrudgingly. “He can watch me teach Ryeowookie his first word.”
“You’re still at it?” Mrs. Kim asked in disbelief. “Whatever you do, I don’t want to see you making Ryeowook bawl again. You get me?”
“It’s my birthday today.” Heechul stuck out his chin defiantly. “And it’s not like I’m bullying him."
“I hope not.” Mrs. Kim turned to Kyuhyun, her elfish features transformed by a smile once again. “Kyuhyun, you can join them. But if they bore you out, you can always play with the toys in the box over there. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen. All right?”
Kyuhyun dropped himself onto the play mat after Mrs. Kim left. He sat in between the mushrooms, his eyes darting to and fro as he followed the wholly one-sided conversation. Eventually he fixed his eyes on the smaller of the two, deciding that the pastel yellow jumpsuit (patterned with innumerable bananas) did not hurt his eyes as much as Heechul’s sequined tracksuit did.
Except for the same bowl-cut, the toddler - Ryeowookie - did not resemble Heechul like a younger brother should. His eyes and lips were smaller, his face was rounder, and his body was chubbier. Just like a little meatball, Kyuhyun thought.
“Ryeowookie, say ‘Chullie Hyung’.” Heechul probed, changing how he wanted Ryeowook to call him for the fourth time since Kyuhyun had joined.
Ryeowook had his entire attention focused on the giraffe plushie he was wrestling with. A giggle or two spilled pass his tiny lips every now and then, and Kyuhyun found himself smiling, entertained.
“Is that too long?” Heechul frowned. “How about ‘Hee Hyung’?”
Ryeowook responded by waving the plushie in the air. He bounced on his diaper-clad butt, his giggles escalating into chuckles. Ryeowook’s actions ignited a spark of adoration in Kyuhyun. Back at the kindergarten, no one had ever dared to not do the stuff Heechul asked them to. Six-year-old senior Heechul was the king, or the queen, as he preferred to be called.
“All right. Let us go simpler with this. Just say ‘Hee’.” Heechul exhibited the best temper Kyuhyun had ever seen him. “Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee. Follow me.”
Chuckling, Ryeowook shoved the giraffe right under Heechul’s nose. Heechul pushed it away. Ryeowook repeated his actions, as if trying to introduce the giraffe to Heechul. And finally, as expected, Heechul exploded.
“Gosh get the stupid giraffe out of my face and do what I say!” Heechul yanked the plushie out of Ryeowook’s hands. The plushie flew across the room and landed on the other side.
Ryeowook stared at his empty hands in shock. Alarms rang in Kyuhyun’s mind when Ryeowook chewed on his lower lip, his face crumpling rapidly into a frown. In less than a moment, shrill wails pervaded the room, propelling Kyuhyun, whose hands were clapped over his ears, to scoot to another corner of the play mat.
Mrs. Kim scurried out of the kitchen, a spatula still in her hand. She looked from Heechul to Kyuhyun, then to Ryeowook, and pressed a hand to her forehead. She threw the spatula on the table, stormed to the play mat, and swept Ryeowook up into an embrace. Hands soothing Ryeowook’s small back, she narrowed her eyes at Heechul.
“What have I told you?”
“This is not my fault!” Heechul threw his hands forward. “He can’t even call his hyung!”
“Stop forcing Ryeowookie to speak,” Mrs. Kim snapped. “He’s only two.”
“You mean he’s already two. I spoke my first word when I was eight months. All he does is to babble and cry.” Heechul scoffed.
“You need to give him time. You shouldn’t be pinning your expectations based on your own standards.” Mrs. Kim pressed a cheek against Ryeowook’s. His wails had dwindled into hiccups and sniffles.
“Speak in a language that a six-year-old can understand.” Heechul got up from the play mat and dusted his pants. “But whatever. My name will still be the first word he says. Well, I shall go check if Hankyung has arrived.” He ran out of sight before Mrs. Kim could say more.
“That kid.” She shook her head and set Ryeowook, who had stopped crying, back onto the play mat. She regarded Kyuhyun, “Sorry you have to witness this.” Kyuhyun shook his head.
She walked over the side where the giraffe had fallen and picked it up. Ryeowook stood up unsteadily, stretching his arms excitedly for the plushie.
“Now, what do you say when you want someone to give you something?” Mrs. Kim held the giraffe out of Ryeowook’s reach. “I have told you that many times.”
Ryeowook began to bounce on the ball of his feet, the excitement on his cherubic face beginning to give way to worry.
“Just say that word and I will give it to you.” Mrs. Kim bargained. “Please just say it. Look, I’ve already told you the answer.”
Ryeowook pursed his lips and began to whimper pleadingly. Somehow, Kyuhyun knew that that was an augury to a fresh bout of tears. He readied himself to cover his ears any time.
“All right I give in.” She passed the giraffe into Ryeowook’s waiting hands. He clutched the giraffe tight to his chest and nuzzled his face into the fur, breaking into peals of giggle once again. Relief flooded Kyuhyun.
Mrs. Kim bent down, ruffling Ryeowook’s thick crop of hair. “Everyone is waiting for you to speak your first word,” she smiled encouragingly, “Hwaiting, all right?” Ryeowook beamed at his mother, as if he understood her words.
Quiet descended into the room when Mrs. Kim returned to the kitchen. Ryeowook was absorbed in his plushie once again. Bored, Kyuhyun rummaged through the toy box and retrieved a set of wooden blocks.
He was building a house when he felt a tug at his sleeve. Somehow, without him noticing, Ryeowook had rolled to his side, a wide smile splitting his face. One of Ryeowook’s tiny hands was still grabbing onto the giraffe.
“What is his name?” Kyuhyun asked when Ryeowook pointed at the giraffe in persistent jabs. Ryeowook only squealed excitedly, his eyes curving into bright little crescents. “My name is Kyuhyun. Your name is Ryeowookie, isn’t it?”
Ryeowook ignored Kyuhyun, focusing once again on the plushie. Kyuhyun was about to return to the wooden blocks when Ryeowook tugged at his sleeve again.
“Kyu!” Ryeowook chirped, smiling sweetly.
“Yes?”
“Kyu Kyu Kyu Kyu Kyu!” Ryeowook waved the giraffe, as though trying to emphasize something.
“You need something?” Kyuhyun was befuddled.
“Kyu!” Ryeowook squealed again, sounding uncannily like a lark during spring. And Kyuhyun smiled along with Ryeowook.
“Cho Kyuhyun, what have you just done?” Heechul’s voice grabbed Kyuhyun’s attention. He looked up to find a pale Heechul standing a few feet away from the play mat, his unseeing eyes wide with disbelief. Behind him was Hankyung. “What did Ryeowookie just say?”
As though Heechul’s question was a cue, Ryeowook piped, “Kyu!”
“Hankyung, tell me that Ryeowookie just said ‘Hee’.”
“No, he said ‘Kyu’.” Hankyung replied honestly in his accented Korean.
Heechul pinned his eyes on Kyuhyun, and Kyuhyun found himself shifting backwards. “Cho Kyuhyun, you’ve ruined my efforts and now you shall pay.” Heechul stepped over. The half-finished house fell apart in a rumble. “Cho Kyuhyun!” Heechul charged forward and pulled at Kyuhyun’s hair. Tears of pain filled Kyuhyun’s eyes.
“What is the commotion about?” Mrs. Kim surfaced from the kitchen once again.
“Kyu!” Ryeowook waved frantically at the two boys knotted in a brawl, his face worried.
“Oh heavens Ryeowookie! Finally you said something! And Heechul, let go of Kyuhyun!” Torn between the desire to pull Ryeowook into a hug and the need to separate the two boys, Mrs. Kim hesitated for a moment. Eventually, she shuffled forward to peel Heechul off Kyuhyun.
“Ryeowookie you have no idea how happy Umma is right now.” She turned to give Ryeowook a tearful smile when her hands dived between the two boys fighting. “Kim Heechul, stop pulling Kyuhyun’s hair before I decide to cancel your party!”
By the time Kyuhyun was rescued from Heechul, his entire scalp was hurting. He sported a few scratches on his cheeks and arms. And he cried like the four year old that he was, regretting that he ever came for that party.
At age four, Kyuhyun did not know the significance of Ryeowook’s first word. He did not know why Mrs. Kim had burst into tears of joy as Ryeowook repeated ‘Kyu’ over and over again. He did not know why Heechul had gone into a rampage for days, badgering Mrs. Kim to change his name to ‘Kim Heekyu’.
And of course, at age four, he also did not know that the first chirp of ‘Kyu’, and the sweet smile that followed after that, paved a foundation on which love would blossom and eternity would flourish.
Like a how a twenty-four year old Kyuhyun would always tell a twenty-two year old Ryeowook:
“This sounds ridiculous but you got me at first word.”
END
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A/N: It has been a long time, hasn’t it? Things have happened but I guess it’s time to return to writing. I did this piece to remind myself that I can still write if I want to, and that I still love to. Maybe my writing has suffered in the four months I wrote nothing but I hope you enjoy reading this (even though this isn’t really Kyuwook).
Lastly, this is for Angeline, whom I have promised a long while back that I’ll write her fluff!Kyuwook. I’m not sure if this fits the bill, but I hope she likes it.
Till next time.
P.S.: I really do think that Heechul is a brat when he was younger.
<3