Keep Your Head Up - Chapter 8
Ch. 8
The following week was completely free, for both Kyuhyun and Ryeowook, who instead made plans together.
Mostly, it consisted of meetings at cafés or restaurants, because even being too close to each other was hard, and being alone together was almost scary, filled with too much tension and unbroken eye contact.
So when the weekend came up, the two of them hadn’t even held hands yet, despite a week-old confession.
But the weekend was also the time for a special party; the release of the photo shots would be celebrated by the director of Vogue. Kyuhyun had thought that meant a flight to America, but his manager surprised him at the airport;
“We’re going to China. The director has invested in every part of the world, and this party will be in his suite at Jin Mao Tower. Shanghai, Kyuhyun-shi, the Paris of the East.”
©
The door to their room was opened smoothly and without creaking, the only sound being Ryeowook’s gasp. The smaller boy immediately ran across the big room and stopped at the window. Kyuhyun followed him with his eyes, but was far more patient in entering the room.
He noticed that their bags were already here, and that a bottle of champagne had been put on ice very recently. Most important though, he noticed that instead of a two-single bedroom, they had been placed in a room with a double bed.
He tried to swallow the lump in his throat and only then, he went to Ryeowook’s side, where he was met with a view unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Gently, almost afraid to fall through the hardly visible window, he put a hand against it. “This is really incredible.”
A soothing warmth fell in over him as Ryeowook hugged him close, snuggling his small face against Kyuhyun’s neck. “Have you noticed the bed?” Ryeowook asked, tone not being quite a dare, not completely innocent either.
“At least one of us notice the important things first.” Kyuhyun answered with a smirk on his lips. “Do you want to go 50-something floors down to get another room?”
“No. I like it here.” He said as he clung closer to Kyuhyun, without meeting his stare. When Kyuhyun began to undo the buttons on Ryeowook’s shirt, it quickly changed though; his eyes shot up to meet Kyuhyun’s, then back down at his hands, up again, out the window, down again.
Kyuhyun’s smirk grew even wider, despite being just as nervous as Ryeowook. He felt like he had to keep calm for both of them, even if it meant pretending.
“You’re too cute, Ryeowookie.” He said, a genuine smile on his face, his voice hoarse.
“Well..” Ryeowook began, hands now mirroring Kyuhyun’s, fingers slowly working through the other’s buttons. “I’m trying my best around you.”
By then, Kyuhyun couldn’t stop himself. He placed a hand on each of Ryeowook’s chins and kissed him, softly at first, but the taste of giving himself over was too addicting, like a kick in the guts making his world spin, making his stomach twirl, sending a shock through his spine and erasing everything but the person in front of him from his mind.
That’s why the sweet kiss turned into something lusty, giving Kyuhyun the courage to lift Ryeowook up in his arms and carry him to bed.
He had seen Ryeowook almost naked before, for Christ’s sake, they changed clothes several times a day when working and he had tried not to be too obviously with his peaking, but this was different, this was so different in so many ways.
Ryeowook noticed Kyuhyun’s sudden halt and caringly stroked a lock of hair away from his, for once, make-up free face.
“Kyu… This isn’t your first time, is it?”
A hint of a smile showed on Kyuhyun’s face. “I’ve never had a problem with dating boys, but.. somehow sex with girls always happened easier.”
It was Ryeowook’s turn to smile wickedly as his hand found its way down Kyuhyun’s trousers, closing around his already hardened shaft. “It’s really not that different.”
©
They were woken by Kyuhyun’s phone, playing the winning-tones from the Final Fantasy VII game. Both of the boys were confused at first, but it didn’t take Kyuhyun long to figure that it was his phone ringing.
He was still a bit groggy when he picked it up; “Yeah?”
“The party begins in an hour. Will you make sure to get Ryeowook-shi ready as well? And don’t get lost! It’s just a few floors up, not much to get lost in.”
“yeah, yeah, sure.” Kyuhyun yawned, looking down his naked body, which was only covered by a thin sheet. Was an hour really enough to get rid of all this sweat and getting properly dressed?
“one hour! if you’re late, I’ll kill both of you!” the manager yelled into the phone loud enough for even Ryeowook to hear.
They locked eyes and smiled, happily. Kyuhyun hung up, impolitely, without saying anything, then asked Ryeowook; “wanna take a shower together?”
©
The director’s home was huge, a penthouse with everything included. It seemed more like a modern, sky-reaching castle, really. Kyuhyun had never been to Shanghai before, but it didn’t seem unlikely when Ryeowook whispered in his ear, that you could probably see the entire city from this place.
They had been late even if just a few minutes, but most of the guests were important people trying their hardest to be ‘fashionably late’, not knowing that the main stars of the event had already arrived, not yet ruined by the superciliousness which would often haunt new stars, making them think themselves better than everyone else on the planet.
It didn’t bother any of the two though, who enjoyed walking through the place, eating from the appetizers handed on big silver plates by waiters in designed uniforms, sipping the pale pink champagne handed by waiters in a different, yet still stylish, uniform.
“Who do you think designed those?” Ryeowook asked quietly, standing close to Kyuhyun, yet far enough away for no one to suspect them being intimate.
“Calvin Klein, perhaps. Or it could be YSL or Dolce & Gabanna.”
Ryeowook snorted, still looking intently at the uniforms. “That’s odd guesses, those brands doesn’t look like each other at all.”
“They’re excellent guesses,” Kyuhyun bit back, “they all make suits, they’re all world renowned brands, and they’re all what I would have chosen for formal wear. I would come with a more specific guess if I could, but I can’t, because that thing you’re wearing makes it difficult to look away from you.”
Ryeowook’s head spun around the same way a deer’s does, when it detects the sound of a hunter. “The thing I’m wearing?” he asked, looking down himself. It wasn’t really all that. A pastel blue blazer from Ermanno Scervino’s latest collection and a white-grey striped v-neck shirt from NOERGAARD.
Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, over-acting 100%. “Did you save that shirt for now on purpose? You wore that the first time we met.”
Ryeowook shook his head, smiling. “I can’t believe you remember stuff like that, Kyu. Fashion is really too big a deal to you. I can’t even remember the brand of this thing.”
“What?! You know, you can just look at the name in the neck of it, right?!”
“I tore it out. It bothered me.”
Kyuhyun stared amazed after the other boy as he went to fetch some more champagne.
As soon as his conversation-partner had left though, someone else came to fill up the spot. The two of them had forgotten about being the stars of this event, but somehow got separated when people got less shy about talking to them.
More than a few times, people spoke of having predicted them as upcoming stars even before the Westwood shots. Kyuhyun wasn’t naïve enough to believe it, but he didn’t tell them to stop their flatter either. More like he showered in it, enjoying every moment.
Once in a while he sent a glance in Ryeowook’s direction, who would return it more often than not, and smile reassuring at him.
Less than an hour into the party, the host appeared in glamour, wearing a hand-made, perfectly fitting, Emporio Armani suit, which was surprisingly hard to notice because of the man’s handsome features.
“Friends! Let’s welcome our host, director of Vogue, Choi Siwon.” Someone important-looking introduced.
Everyone’s eyes feel towards the man as soon as he began speaking; “Good evening my beautiful guests! I’ll get straight to the core; what we’re really here for, ladies and gentlemen, are our guests of honor, the best models in our time. Especially two models of this year’s winter collection, who manage to created an atmosphere of friendship so strong than even the threat of death cannot separate them.”
Kyuhyun’s eyes went to Ryeowook, who sent him back a look of ‘isn’t this a bit of exaggeration?’, but Kyuhyun just shrugged with a cocky smile.
“They are Kim Ryeowook and Cho Kyuhyun and I think they deserve a round of applause.” Everyone looked at the two of them, clapping hesitantly, not even having seen the photos yet. They all fell silent when Siwon resumed his speak; “Surely, so does the rest of the models, and not least photographers and make-up artist. This could not have happened without a whole crew of talented people.
And now, we will release the photos on these walls. Please accept them with warm hearts.”
With Siwon’s final words, the digital frames on the walls turned from the previous wall-white color into the Westwood shots. The photos were widely spread in the big place, forcing people to move around while mingling.
Kyuhyun’s present conversation-partners got curious as well and politely left him to go look.
The young boy took a deep breath and emptied the glass in his hand, which was quickly filled by a passing waiter. Kyuhyun didn’t have much time alone before a friend disturbed him;
“Are you tired already?” Donghae’s words were jokingly meant, but his voice showed concern.
“This was exactly what I dreamt of, Hae. It’s a dream come true.” Kyuhyun hugged his best friend closely. “I didn’t know you would be coming.”
“Of course you knew,” Donghae sighed, fought his way out of Kyuhyun’s embrace, and pointed towards Zhoumi who had engaged in a conversation with Siwon. “He made sure I got an invitation. He can’t do anything without me by his side.” The sporty guy rolled his eyes, trying to make it sound like a complaint, but Kyuhyun knew better.
“I take that as your relationship going well?”
Donghae seemed to have an inner fight, having to force his eyes away from Zhoumi, like the two of them had to connected at all times in some way. When he finally looked at Kyuhyun, he had a serious expression; “The work is the problem, Kyu. He doesn’t eat at all, he-”
Donghae stopped, considered his words, and changed them; “you, the both of all, all three of you, models all around the world; you don’t eat, you’re forced to do things you don’t want to do, like jumping into a basin of water even though you can’t swim, or holding a pigeon even though you’re afraid of birds, rolling around in mud or taking on the face of a beat-up housewife, and for who? People you don’t even like. For what reason? To make other people feel ugly enough to buy whatever your bodies are selling, so that they might feel confident enough to keep living long enough until a new product is out and you can force them to buy that as well.”
Kyuhyun was stunned. “Wow. Donghae that’s… not how it is. At all. I’m not even going to comment on that one. How does that even have anything to do with your relationship?”
“Zhoumi being one of the most beautiful things alive has its price, Kyu. People want to be told how to live, and the media wants to answer them, but how do they get the answer? From the paparazzi. I have no private life; there are photos of everything we do together in the magazines, just so people can copy us and might feel a little better about their own relationship.”
Kyuhyun put a hand on Donghae’s shoulder, smiling sweetly at him. “It’ll pass. You can’t keep being news forever, right? And the two of you will last. You’re still here tonight, right?”
“Pfft!” Donghae smiled widely back at Kyuhyun. “of course we’ll last. I love him. I really, really, really do. Honestly, with all of my heart, I love him. That’s the only reason why I’m here tonight, you know how I hate those fake, arrogant, famous people.”
“Hey! I’m one of those now,” Kyuhyun blinked jokingly at his friend, then noticed Siwon and Zhoumi starring intently in their direction. “Should we join them?” he suggested his friend, then sent a gaze in Ryeowook’s direction, seeing him talk with… Kibum?
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[next>will be out before september 28th]
a/n: I'm so sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I've just started university and it's, unlike what I thought, not the preparations for class which take up time, but far more the social activities. I'm really happy right now, my life is on tracks and going in the right direction, but, I haven't had much freetime lately, sorry :| next chapter will come faster, promise!
how did you like this chapter? I want to go full nc-17, but I'm not sure if I can write smut and also, I'm not sure if you guys will appreciate it? Please let me know!