Chapter 7
Kyuhyun jolted up into a sitting position on the lounge. He had been anxiously awaiting Ryeowook's return for a while now, having gotten up fairly early, considering how late he'd stayed up playing Star Craft the previous evening, to greet him. But he was desperate to know what his mother had said. What she had planned. That Ryeowook had been okay without him, facing her.
He had to admit, the place was so quiet, even when both of them were there. But he'd noticed, as he sat on the lounge, waiting for Ryeowook to come home, that it felt empty without Ryeowook there. He couldn't imagine what the place would feel like after he left. It felt hollow, cavernous and unloved when Ryeowook wasn't there with him. A home, when he was there. As though the apartment, wanted him to stay there forever as well. Maybe he could convince his father to give the apartment to Ryeowook when this was all over?
Ryeowook wandered through the apartment, into the living room, surprised to find the boy seated on the lounge, even if he was still in his pyjamas. His eyes partially rolling back into his head, and mouth hanging limply open, as though he were a soulless zombie or something. He couldn't hold in the giggle that bubbled forth at the sight; Kyuhyun just looked so boyish and cute at that moment.
The sound startled him back into consciousness, and he smiled, his usual, charming, awkward smile, embarrassed at having fallen partially asleep like that. If he'd looked attractive a moment earlier, he looked irresistible then, and Ryeowook could not help himself, running the few steps over to jump on the couch beside him, firmly clasping his arms around the younger boy's neck; face pressing into his shoulder.
Kyuhyun wrapped his own arms around Ryeowook's waist, marvelling inwardly at how small it was, for the umpteenth time; he doubted he'd ever stop thinking that, after how long they had been hugging like this, and his having continued to have that same thought. "The dragon lady wasn't that bad, was she?" he enquired gently, probing, dying to know what had happened, yet enquiring carefully in case something had happened Ryeowook didn't want to discuss with him, as much as that idea hurt.
Ryeowook released a breathy laugh, into Kyuhyun's shirt at the question, that having had nothing to do with the thoughts running through his mind. Were he a truly honest man, he would have admitted, Kyuhyun had simply looked so princely, and what with his earlier thoughts he'd realised he wouldn't have that much longer to revel in such behaviour; hugging him had been the only thing he could do to reassure himself, that for the moment at least, he was here, with him. "Nothing I couldn't handle." he replied shakily, unsurprised to find himself already having shed several tears, as the howling ache spread through his body at his thought of losing Kyuhyun once and for all; a hurt that only grew stronger with the knowledge that it would happen, and the day it would was drawing ever nearer.
Kyuhyun seemed to have noticed Ryeowook's tears, if the reassuring squeeze he gave him were any indication, but he said nothing of it. Ryeowook was grateful for the gesture, simple though it was. In a moment the ache subsided, gone for the moment, only to return later on, when a thought struck the right chord, and Ryeowook felt kind of silly for having been sent into tears so easily. He'd always been a crybaby, and teased for it, but Kyuhyun didn't seem to care about that.
When he heard a nervous breath, Kyuhyun knew Ryeowook was ready for a change, something to take the focus off of his tears. "So, aren't you going to tell me all about this lunch meeting?" he prodded gently. Ryeowook smiled, hesitantly, answering "Of course. Just give me a minute, I want to get cleaned up a bit first."
Kyuhyun nodded, releasing Ryeowook from his tight hold, making sure to keep his reluctance to do so to himself. Ryeowook began to run out of the room, but seemed to change his mind, coming to a stop across the other side of the room. Unable to meet his gaze, he remained facing the other direction, too embarrassed by what he had to say, and afraid Kyuhyun, with his perceptive gaze would read more into it than he wished to reveal. "Just happy to be home again." he stated, before continuing on his way.
Kyuhyun knew exactly what Ryeowook had meant by those few words, and relished in his opportunity, to let all his pent up emotions for the older man shine through his gaze, as he answered, softly, "Just as happy you're back." though he knew, Ryeowook had probably missed those words.
Ryeowook returned shortly after, having washed his face, to remove the red blotchiness, and as much of his swollen, puffy eyes as he could. Even if only one tear ever actually fell, his eyes would swell up for hours. He had also changed from his fancy clothes, he'd worn to meet Kyuhyun's mother, into more comfortable, home clothes. Nothing fancy; jeans, socks, shirt and hoodie. The staple, casual wear for the modern, average guy.
He pounced on the lounge, only to see Kyuhyun returning from his own room, clearly having decided to follow Ryeowook's lead, and get dressed. He too wore casual clothes, and though he still retained his good looks, Ryeowook almost couldn't believe he was from such a well-to-do family when he saw him so informally.
"What would your mother say if she saw you wearing commoner clothes like these?" he queried, amused by his own thought, and eager to play with the boy, to lessen the heavy atmosphere from their earlier heartfelt words. One of the benefits of living together, being that whenever you do something intimate you can act as though it didn't happen, resorting to a friendly, jovial mood, to prevent any awkwardness.
Awkwardness would not have been welcome in their relationship. He'd seen the damage it could cause. He remembered how it had broken up a friend and his girlfriend, because they just felt so weird and uncomfortable around one another after they'd had sex. They'd distanced themselves to the point, where they went back to being complete strangers within days.
He shuddered at the thought of something like that happening between him and Kyuhyun. Of course, they wouldn't have to worry about their relationship being destroyed because of sex. Even if the reasons for that being the case, made Ryeowook's mood a little darker, if he allowed himself to put them into words.
Kyuhyun scrunched up his nose in distaste at the reminder of his mother's opinion of his clothes, but answered his friend nonetheless. "It is exactly because of her feelings towards my clothes, that I choose them. I live to disappoint that woman." Before he joined his friend on the lounge, jostling with him slightly as they fought for leg room on the smaller of the two lounges.
Ryeowook giggled heartily, as he decided this was a declaration of war, and proceeded to jam his legs anywhere he could, making sure to shove his feet right under Kyuhyun's nose at every opportunity. Kyuhyun couldn't move his legs, each awkwardly trapped on one side of Ryeowook's legs, and so he gave up his fight, pushing his enemy's feet viciously out of the way.
Ryeowook stuck his tongue out at the other man childishly, to signify his victory, even as he relented and rested his feet back closer to his own body, so as to make Kyuhyun happy. Kyuhyun sighed relieved for a moment, smiling despite himself at his room-mate's childish behaviour, before focusing his sight back on that same boy before him.
So what's her trump card?" he queried, seeming a little nervous to Ryeowook even though his features revealed nothing of his inner thoughts. "According to what she said at the restaurant, it's my job as an escort." Ryeowook replied, his tone calm, his little war with Kyuhyun having released all his earlier tensions. Kyuhyun seemed confused by Ryeowook's answer, clearly as intrigued as Ryeowook had supposed he would be; her plan was far simpler than he had estimated.
"Was that all? There wasn't anything else she was planning on using against us?" he queried disbelievingly, unable to accept the possibility he had overestimated his mother's plans. "That's all she said." Ryeowook replied, shrugging, he didn't know what else he could say to Kyuhyun that would help him work out what was going on. Kyuhyun shook his head, "No, that can't be all there is. That sounds nothing like the woman I know. She's far too intelligent to allow her whole future to rest simply on your profession. I mean it's so simple to explain away." he exclaimed, sounding quite frustrated.
"I thought so too. Particularly since I explained it as best as I could, to the end that you already knew and didn't care, but she said she'd never buy that for a second." Ryeowook stated, even more displeased than he had been at the time, by her leverage, now that Kyuhyun seemed suspicious of it. "Are you sure there was nothing else?" Kyuhyun whined, as though Ryeowook would have a sudden epiphany that she had said something else. Ryeowook narrowed his eyes at the other guy, feeling a little slighted at the implication in Kyuhyun's words that he may have overlooked something completely obvious.
"No, nothing else." he replied evenly, trying to get a hold of his irrational feelings, despite how it may have sounded and how Kyuhyun was going on and on about the idea he'd missed something, he wasn't trying to aggravate him. He kept telling himself that he should cut him some slack. "Are you sure? Did she seem like she was lying when you confronted her with our story?" Kyuhyun persisted, too wrapped up in his thoughts to realise that he was insulting Ryeowook with the way he kept persisting along that vein of thought.
"No. She seemed angry, like she was about to explode because of our story." Ryeowook replied, looking away from Kyuhyun to try and get a better handle on his emotions, like his mother had done when they were in the restaurant. Although he hated the idea of doing anything like her, it had seemed to help her at the time, and he was starting to feel similarly angry despite himself.
Kyuhyun sighed slightly, staring off into space slightly from that answer, as though weighing up the alternatives of what that could mean. "Well, that's not what she usually does when she's lying, and when she's in the midst of one of her tantrums she does tend to be uncharacteristically truthful. But it just sounds so implausible. Tell me the whole story from the start, maybe you missed some sort of obvious indication that she was lying." Kyuhyun rambled on, thoughtlessly.
The embarrassment from the realisation of what recounting everything word for word to Kyuhyun would mean revealing, collided with Ryeowook's already irritable nature from Kyuhyun's words, and before he could stop himself he'd shouted, "Yah! What, you think I'm stupid Kyuhyun? I didn't miss anything!" he instantly regretted his little tantrum, knowing that he really shouldn't have taken his feelings out on Kyuhyun like that. He knew his earlier thoughts about losing Kyuhyun had been hovering, putting him in a bit of a bad mood. Granted, Kyuhyun's words were annoying, but they only hurt his feelings so badly because his moody thoughts made him feel very sensitive towards Kyuhyun's words. When the prospect of having to reveal his emotional, ad-lib tirade to Kyuhyun's mother about his feelings for Kyuhyun was added to that, he couldn't stop himself. But his momentary anger had dissolved back into nothing, and he was filled with remorse.
At Ryeowook's shout, Kyuhyun seemed to come back from where his thoughts had taken him. And he'd focused back on Ryeowook. It was like he was seeing him again for the first time in minutes, and he realised that he must've hurt Ryeowook's feelings. He supposed had someone accused him of screwing something up so many times, he'd be a little irked as well, so it's not like he could really blame him. More than anything, Kyuhyun just felt guilty at having hurt his friends feelings albeit unintentionally.
He noticed Ryeowook not facing him, breathing quickly, and how tense he was, and knew he must've really gotten to the other man before him. "Sorry, Ryeowook. I know you didn't miss anything, I was just, thinking out loud I guess. Just hoping that she'd given us a clue in there somewhere. I didn't mean to insult you." he stated, guilty, leaning forward to be able to wrap his arms around the other man's shoulders, giving him a loose-limbed hug.
Slowly Ryeowook wrapped his own arms around Kyuhyun in return, although it took a moment for Kyuhyun to realise it was because Ryeowook felt silly for having overreacted as opposed to his being reluctant to forgive him. He only really noticed, when he moved back into his old spot, how for a few minutes, Ryeowook was smiling at him rather sheepishly, embarrassed by his own reaction.
"Well, we started off talking politely, back and forth, you know the deal. Then I asked her what it was all about, and she said she wanted me to leave you alone." Ryeowook recounted, his gaze flitting around the room, as he told his story, until Kyuhyun interrupted him there, drawing his eyes back over to the form opposite himself. "Oh, did you hear the way she says the word 'son'? Doesn't it sound weird?" boyishly excited by the random thought. Ryeowook stared back, equally as freaked out by the way she said it, "Yeah I know, right? It's like when your grandparents talk about making CDs." Kyuhyun smiled at the analogy, before making one of his own, "Hmm. I think it's more like, talking to rich snobs about bargain shopping." The two boys laughed at the ideas, before Kyuhyun waved Ryeowook on, shaking his head slightly at their little tangential conversation.
"Right, so she wanted me to leave you alone. Well, of course I gave her that whole, "We're in love, and we'll never leave one another" speech, which she didn't believe for a second. Then she got all angry, saying we know nothing about love. So I made up something on the spot about how we really were and weren't giving up without a fight," Ryeowook continued, his slightly flushed appearance, and sight set on the coffee table not being unnoticed by Kyuhyun "and she went ballistic. She said that you couldn't know I was a prostitute" "escort" interrupted Kyuhyun admonishingly, even as he grinned at Ryeowook's mistake. "She may have said escort, but she clearly meant prostitute." he replied, sounding mortified by the comment he was making. "I mean it Kyuhyun. She said all sorts of stuff that was completely wrong, which I corrected. She got even more aggravated after that. Said even if that were the case, which it was, that she couldn't accept that someone like you would fraternise with someone like me." Ryeowook finished, arms crossed in displeasure at her words.
Kyuhyun smiled to himself, not trusting Ryeowook to react well were he caught doing so. "What things?" he asked, trying as hard as he could to keep from laughing when he spoke. "Eh?" Ryeowook asked, turning his head to look at his friend in his confusion. Taking in the sight of his friend trying as hard as he could to suppress a smile, he narrowed his eyes, striking out and clipping his friend on the arm in retaliation. But all that did was trigger another wave of laughter, which the boy no longer bothered to suppress. Ryeowook huffed loudly, at his friends behaviour, and though he tried to tell himself he was angry, the corners of his lips, kept upturning, fighting to break out in a smile mirroring his friend's.
Recovering slightly, Kyuhyun continued, "You said she got things entirely wrong about your being an escort. What things?" Ryeowook's eyes flashed with understanding at what Kyuhyun had been asking about, and the same self-righteous spark of indignation flowed through him. "She said I sold my body off to the highest bidder on a daily basis, willing to do anything for money. And she called me a filthy, little whore."
At those words, Kyuhyun looked torn between being amazed and disgusted his mother could use such foul language, and amused that she could be so dramatic and inaccurate in her description of Ryeowook's job. He had 5 other friends now, all escorts, who had been sure to inform him on more than one occasion just what their work entailed, and Ryeowook was right to complain he was being misrepresented. With only a small smile, he somehow managed to comment, "How did you guys not get chucked out of this restaurant?" in awe, before he was reduced to another fit of laughter.
Ryeowook rolled his eyes, giving his friend a slight shove, that sent him half off the lounge in his distracted state, childishly whining, "It's not funny Kyuhyun. My personal hygiene is exemplary; I bathe daily, how can she call me dirty?" which did nothing to cease Kyuhyun's giggles. He tried giving his friend another shove, in the hopes that a stiff blow, from his landing on the floor, would be enough to stop his giggles, but found it difficult getting his fingers anywhere he could get the leverage to roll him off the lounge.
Kyuhyun was squirming around so badly, that Ryeowook couldn't manage to hold onto a limb or even his torso, without it moving around uncontrollably, twisting itself out of his grasp a second later. Suddenly he stopped, a thought having occurred to him, which he, thoughtlessly voiced aloud. "Hey, I should sue her!" Well that was it for Kyuhyun. He'd been trying to get his giggles under control but that only enabled him to hear Ryeowook's statement properly, and start him off all over again. He laughed so hard, he sent himself, sailing off of his perch onto the floor, which although dousing his mood slightly, from the light sting in his nose which he banged as he landed, still failed to cease his giggles.
Ryeowook, who now sprawled himself out on the lounge, comfortably, looked down at his friend lying on the floor, in what must have been a highly uncomfortable position, given it's hardness after being on their soft lounge. But at least he could have all the space he liked down there.
Eventually Kyuhyun managed to get himself back under control, having to take several deep breaths after his little fit. His cheeks now hurt from smiling too much, and he was filled with his earlier exhaustion, now that his sides ached. It was as though his body had suddenly recalled how tired it was, and although his little laughing session had been enjoyable, he was starting to regret it for it's after effects.
"You should feel really special." Kyuhyun commented, from his place on the floor, seemingly making no move to relocate to the other lounge, or fight Ryeowook to get his previous spot back. "Oh?" queried Ryeowook, admittedly a little displeased at having been laughed at so much; he may enjoy being the funny guy every now and then, but he hadn't been trying to be funny at that time, even if he had been a little stupid.
Kyuhyun's lazy smile, which Ryeowook could see from his spot on the lounge, quirked slightly at his tone, no doubt indicating Kyuhyun realised he'd hurt the older guy's feelings for the second time in one conversation. "Yup. I never laugh like that." Kyuhyun stated, an arrogant smirk forming when his comment drew all of Ryeowook's attention on him, his earlier miffed tone, having disappeared slightly in his surprise, "Really?" Kyuhyun nodded, albeit with difficulty, "I laugh most when I'm with your friends, but you're something else, Ryeowook. You're really funny, even when you're not trying to be, you know?"
Ryeowook's eyes softened at the compliment, and it was clear to both boys that Kyuhyun had earned his forgiveness, for hurting Ryeowook's feelings, even if it was just his pride that had been hurt. He smiled, shyly, to himself saying nothing, momentarily, just revelling in the moment, before he chose to change topic, to something else. Such heartfelt moments could only get awkward when left uninterrupted for too long.
"So, what do you think about your mother's plan?" he enquired, voice small, half hating himself for having to end such a sweet moment; the closest he was ever going to get to romance no doubt, at least, with Cho Kyuhyun that is.
Kyuhyun tensed slightly at the question, his earlier, completely relaxed pose now lost, with the reminder of the real world he inhabited, and one of his least favourite occupants. Ryeowook cringed slightly when he noticed that, it seemed so cruel to rob Kyuhyun of peace, even if it were only a few seconds worth, with his question. "I think, she's up to something else. She has to be. But who knows really. I guess, we're just going to have to wait and see."
Ryeowook bit his lip slightly at the news. If Kyuhyun thought she was planning something more complex, then that must be the case, but how could she manage not to give any indicators of it away? "If you're mother is so bad at keeping things to herself, then why tell us it's to do with my being an escort? Why no indication what this something else is?" Ryeowook pondered, aloud, noticing for the first time the discrepancy in her portrayal by her son. Kyuhyun shrugged off the question easily enough, "If she gave everything away, she wouldn't be as intimidating as she is. No, she can't resist giving you a titbit of what she knows, just so that you know she knows, you know?" he clarified, albeit oddly. Ryeowook drew his eyebrows together in puzzlement, "So, whatever she knows has to do with my being an escort?" "Exactly." Kyuhyun explained.
"So were there any clients she could be talking about?" Kyuhyun queried, and he noted, a momentary flash of panic in Ryeowook's eyes; clearly there was something he hadn't been told earlier. But with how quickly it disappeared, he figured, Ryeowook must have decided it couldn't be relevant. "I had plenty of clients, I have no idea what she could possibly be expecting to get out of any of them though. Besides, the company doesn't reveal client information to anyone." he explained, although there was a slightly rough edge to what he said. Despite the fact that he was giving no indication as such, Kyuhyun guessed, something about his question must have Ryeowook a little spooked, and he couldn't help fearing that. Ryeowook keeping secrets now, could result in the equivalent of a death sentence for himself, and as much as he trusted his friend, he knew he couldn't feel comfortable until he knew better what was being kept from him.
'Well, we'll just have to be very careful from now on, won't we?" Kyuhyun stated, though his thoughts were, for the moment at least centring on what Ryeowook could possibly be hiding from him. He could only hope it wouldn't spell the end for them, as it did in all the stories.
Ryeowook's stomach grumbled slightly alerting Kyuhyun, to leave his current thoughts, and return to the present. He eyed Ryeowook, suspiciously, not understanding why his stomach would be grumbling when he had returned from his lunch meeting with his mother, only a short time ago. He tuned to the clock, to get a numerical value to that end, surprised to see that it was now 4:00. He gaped openly, not realising they had been talking for so long.
"I guess I'm still hungry." Ryeowook explained feeling more ashamed for having been caught when they both knew he was supposed to have already eaten. If anyone should be hungry, it should be Kyuhyun, who hadn't eaten anything yet. "Why? Didn't my mother feed you?" Kyuhyun probed, looking forward to giving her a good chewing out when next they spoke for her discourteous behaviour if Ryeowook had of said yes. "No, no she did. I just couldn't eat much." Ryeowook explained, becoming a little bit more desirous of becoming invisible with each successive grumble. "Why not? Was the place bad? Too expensive? I knew I should have insisted you take some money before you left." Kyuhyun continued, a little annoyed by his mother, preventing her guest from eating as a way of trying to psyche out her opponent in the then, approaching verbal war.
"No, no, nothing like that. She paid and the food was lovely, it's just... Having your mother glaring at you from across the table, right before some big important discussion, which has the potential to ruin your friend's life, doesn't exactly facilitate eating." Ryeowook explained, exuberantly, getting wrapped up in his own viewpoint on the meal. Kyuhyun nodded slightly at the comment, recalling his last meal with his mother, having yielded similar results. "I know how you feel." before, as though, having heard the fellow stomach calling and responding to it's call, like dogs, his own stomach chose to let loose a loud groan as well.
Unlike his friend, Kyuhyun didn't much care about the fact his stomach had just done that in front of someone else. He'd lived most of his life as a loner, and so the thought of being embarrassed, when he'd long since decided other people's thoughts shouldn't hold sway over him, had no influence over him, thus resulting in his ease with the action. He even smiled slightly, at it, deciding that he should take this as an opportunity that had presented itself to them.
"Hey, when was the last time we went out, just you and me?" he queried of his friend suddenly, excitedly. "Um. I'm not sure, ages ago, why?" Ryeowook replied curiously. "Well, I'm hungry, you're hungry. I figured we could go out and get something to eat, just you and me." Kyuhyun explained, smiling the entire time, obviously very proud of his idea. "Okay." Ryeowook shrugged, allowing himself to be rushed out of the apartment by his friend in their eagerness to find, something to eat, which, knowing them, would have to be quick, easy and probably hideously fattening. But Ryeowook supposed, that if he got to enjoy that same grin on Kyuhyun's face the whole while, it'd be more than worth it.
