Title: Neorago
Author: Aplisia Scoville
Genre: Romance
Warnings: None
Rating: General
Pairings/Characters: Hankyung/Heechul
Synopsis: "Hangeng could be funny, yet shy. He was focused and hardworking and his grammar mistakes always made Heechul laugh. It was only natural for him to watch over that boy."
Disclaimer: Sadly, Heechul and Hangeng are not mine ;_; (nor am I SM's CEO to make money out of them ¬¬)
There was nothing special about any of the kids Heechul trained with every day, and so, everyday was boring; or so it would seem to somebody who didn't know this little boy very well. And nobody did, as Heechul never let anyone get too close. It was not because he was shy nor was he afraid. It was just that no one seemed interesting enough to make him go through the trouble of making a friend. So people would say he was a difficult child, that he had problems to get along with the other kids. Truth is, it was much more enjoyable to play by himself, his own world was full of wonder and fun and he did not need any of those small adults to bother him and waste his time. They were boring and had nothing to give him. One gets tired if one is always on the giving side, and Heechul was not someone who would give his all to receive nothing back. Things in life should be fair, you give something, you receive something back. Friendship is not charity, you should not go and take it if you are not willing to care for the other part; and Heechul did not care about any of those kids.
However, as life likes to play tricks, it's wise to pay close attention to everything in case something fated to be big is still tiny or about to be born. It is, indeed, very curious how people seldom realize how important something is at the moment it happens, and then, when they try to remember how everything started, they are always lost in no matching memories.
Thanks to himself , that was not Heechul's case. He remembers quite clear that one specific morning, which was supposed to be like any other morning, but was not. That day, a new kid was introduced to the group. He came from another country, all by himself. His name was Hangeng, and he did not speak the language, nor had a place of his own to stay. He was pursuing a dream, and that alone seemed enough to him. In Heechul's eyes, he looked like a stray cat and Heechul always loved cats.
Every single thing about that kid was different from the others. It was the first time Heechul felt like making a friend; as he had already counted all the many things he could gain through this friendship. Only when he was about to introduce himself, a thought hit him. "What if all the things he could give were not what the other kid wanted to gain?" This was also a new feeling to him. One could say he was afraid of being rejected and if he was to be sincere, he wouldn't be able to deny. Luckily, the other side was very open to new friends and did not seem to be aware of the give-and-take matters Heechul went on about. As time passed, though, that advantage started to piss him off. How could all those people around Hangeng give him so little in exchange when he felt like no matter what he did, it would never be enough? Ever since Hangeng arrived, he had made Heechul's life so more fun. Every single day would be different from the other. Hangeng could be funny, yet shy. He was focused and hardworking and his grammar mistakes always made Heechul laugh. It was only natural for him to watch over that boy.
And thus came the day in which he realized his feelings towards Hangeng were no more something he could explain. He felt stupid and as stupid people do, he tried to hide the reason for his stupidity. It was only then that he also realized those feelings were not under his control anymore, and so he felt exposed. In his eyes, Hangeng was now beautiful, and so were his feeling for him. Any wise man would know how ephemeral beauty is and would advise you not to cherish it too much, as it could disappear at any moment. For Heechul, though, that was precisely the reason why beauty should be cherished and treasured the most. There was no point in taking good care of something with a defined and unchanging expiration date, as no matter what you might do, the thing itself wouldn't last any longer.
Inevitably, as it always happens to anything that has been born, that feeling also started to grow. And things which were very easily done before, strangely became very difficult now. When every day challenges were so tough one could do nothing but cry, Heechul found himself no longer able to reach Hangeng, the land his friend's tears inhabited slowly grew farther from him. On the outside, they were not little kids anymore, and much to his sadness, Heechul was afraid Hangeng was no longer one on the inside either.
Without any prior notice, life decided it was time for Hangeng to go back, and so he did. The day Heechul said farewell to his friend sorrow made its way through him and when both cried, it felt unbearably painful, yet strangely close. And only then Heechul understood that the path to one's land of tears is very clear when both cry for the same reason.
Comments are love and keep the writer motivated~