The Waiting Dog (Part Three)

       Choi Siwon’s finger has been pressing the same key over and over again, for the past fifteen minutes. “This is suck, Kyuhyun!” He grunts. “My internet connection is so damn slow, it’s probably just faster to drive to Google headquarters and ask them all kind of shit in person.”

Silent Cho Kyuhyun, is silent.

“You think so? You think I shouldn’t use Firefox?”

Again, of course Kyuhyun is not answering.

       Nurse Yuri, who is fixing the heart monitor, mumbles. “I am in the room too, you know? My mouth can literally produce sounds to answer your question. So why didn’t you tell me your problems?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” Siwon smirks. “Then it must be none of your business.”

Yuri sighs. She finishes her work, but not yet wanting to leave the room. Her eyes wander around, watching at corners. The room is so empty, there’s nothing left but some old cards that being stick on the wall and dried flowers from the last visit. Which probably a week ago. From Siwon’s Secretary whom apparently not knowing Kyuhyun at all and just doing her obligation to send flowers once in a while.

“Siwon-ssi…” Says Yuri. “Your work is important too, you should go home.”

“Kyuhyun won’t let me.”

“Would you just listen to yourself? Kyuhyun-ssi is in a coma!” Yuri then fixes her tone. “It’s a condition where he cannot be awakened by any stimulation, even pain. It could last only a moment, but also for years. So the best way to deal with it, is to do your activities as before. Go to work, meet your colleagues, make progress. You cannot stay here all the time!”

       Siwon stares at Yuri, this is the first time that her words are actually captured his attention. She’s right, maybe. He has to earn more money to pay for Kyuhyun’s medical expenses, and it won’t be possible if he doesn’t go out there to work. “But…” The man glances away, stares back at the paralyzed young man in his rest bed. “How about him?”

Yuri smiles. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have the best staff in this hospital. Some nurses and I always check this room every hour, so you don’t have to worry. Leaving him for just one night, won’t be a loss.”

       Siwon is silent for a while, thinking. He then shuts down his laptop and takes a deep breath. “Yuri-ssi… this might be shocking, but I’m not really Cho Kyuhyun’s biological brother.”

Yuri grins. “I know. I never believe when you said that your original name was Cho Siwon and that the letter ‘i’ in your Choi birthday certificate was accidentally added from a dead African mosquito.”

“And I’m not really a lawyer.”

“Yeah. I figured that out when you said that you work for Old McDonald Had a Farm Eee a Eee a Yo- law firm.”

Siwon exhales heavily. “I’m an original businessman, just a normal one who earns millions of dollars per-month. And the comatose person right over here, has no family relation whatsoever with me. However for me, and maybe for him… our bond is way beyond that.”

Yuri can only smile, realizing that the arrogant Siwon can turn to be someone so soft-hearted when it comes to Kyuhyun. “I know that. And everyone here will do their best to take care of Kyuhyun for you. Don’t worry, just go.”

       “I… will be back tomorrow morning.”

“Yes.”

“I’m leaving you with 10 phone numbers to be called.”

“Of… course.” Yuri awkwardly turns around. “I’ll be in the front desk if you need anything.”

Siwon glances at Kyuhyun. “I’ll be leaving you tonight. If you need anything, just call my name three times from your dysfunctional brain and I’ll be running back, okay? Promise me that while I’m away, you won’t be going anywhere. That you will still be here, waiting for me, like what you’ve always do.”

The man takes Kyuhyun’s hand, slowly gives a light kiss on the skin. Lately, he’s been doing such gesture more often than usual. Maybe because gradually, he feels like owning Kyuhyun.

***

       Life isn’t the same anymore. Whatever he does, where ever he goes, whenever the time is, his mind can only think about Cho Kyuhyun. And even as he is alone at his comfortable and luxurious apartment room, he is not calm. Time is showing exactly 1 AM and he already finished his papers, still… he feels restless.

Choi Siwon, is sitting on the leather couch, drinking a full glass of Vodka. He is counting the ticking clock, hoping that morning can come soon enough so he would finally able to drive back to the hospital.

He wants to be with Kyuhyun. He wants to sit next to the young man, holds his hand, stares at his face, combs his hair, straightens his blanket, and listens to his heart rate from the monitor.

       A quarter past one… now he is a bit sleepy. His eyes are dimming, slowly shut without warning. The sound of nothing, the steadiness of mind, the moderate heart beats, the soft breezing air, everything delivers him into a deep sleep. Tick… tock… tick… tock…

***

       “Yah Choi Siwon, are you sleeping again?” A green-board ruler is smacked on Siwon’s table, fast and hard. “Being a rich school athlete, isn’t gonna make you immune to my ruler! Now you hurry finish your Math essay, before I hit your arrogant head one more time.”

Siwon gasps. Wh… what? where am I? Why am I in a classroom? And wait… some of these teenagers around him, he knew their faces! They’re his old high school classmates! But… how?

Siwon looks around in shock, slowly standing up and staring directly at his teacher. “Ssam…”

Wool Bang, his Math teacher, frowns. “What? Why is your face like that?”

“Where am I? Where are we??!”

“School, where else! Are you drunk or something?”

“What day is this?”

“Last day of school, before Summer holiday. Why?”

“Ssam…” Siwon stutters. “Am I… am I a high school student again??”

       Siwon checks on his own physical appearance, uniform, haircut and body. With a disbelief tone, he shakes his head. “I don’t understand, this is impossible. Did I travel through time? Is this real??”

He takes some moment to think, absorbing the most impossible thing that just happened to him. In panic, he places everything in mind and tries to put his memory all back together. Whether it’s only an imagination or a real one, he still needs to check on one thing. So without further wait; his feet gradually walking away from his desk, reaching the open class door.

“Choi Siwon! Yah you brat, where do you think you’re going?!” Wool Bang is calling his student angrily, knowing that none of his sentence would be heard.

       Siwon is running faster to the lower floor, his mind is reasoning everything in panic. If all of this were real, then it can only mean one thing. Cho Kyuhyun… Kyuhyun is also a high school student! He’s not yet in a coma!

The handsome boy turns into the first corridor, a bit lost here and there for a while before finally remember the direction. He then arrives at a classroom in the corner of second floor, the class where Kyuhyun is. Slowing his own steps, Siwon’s hand is touching the surface of the glass window. From that particular window, he used to watch whatever Kyuhyun is doing inside. Without anybody noticed, Siwon used to frame Kyuhyun’s fragile face in his head from distance.

       Decides not to knock, he opens the door directly. The teacher and all of the students inside are now looking at him in confusion. Their faces, Siwon doesn’t recall at all. “Cho…Kyuhyun. Where’s Cho Kyuhyun?”

The short female teacher gags. “I’m sorry, but we’re in the middle of a class. You can’t just interrupt like that, where’s your manner? Didn’t your pa…”

“Kyuhyun!” Siwon ignores the teacher and instead, directly tries to find the boy among other students. “Cho Kyuhyun!!” Not having a clear consideration, he just directly grabs the nearest student’s collar and forcefully asks. “Where is he?”

The skinny boy seems terrified. “H… He asked permission to go to the Principle office. Bb… but I… I think I saw your teammates brought him to the back yard.”

Teammates? Siwon tries to remember everything in high school. He had four loyal minions from his basketball team; he never calls them friend because they only did his order based on money and fame. And now they’re with Kyuhyun at the back yard… they must be bullying the poor boy now. Ignoring the second yelling teacher, Siwon runs again from the class. This time, his feet go faster like mad. If there were a reason why he came back through time like this, then it must be to change his past. To save Kyuhyun, to fix everything between them.

       He reaches the school back yard, witnesses as four teenage boys are cornering a weak boy who is sitting and holding his bag tightly. They try to take the ugly black leather bag from him, but the boy seems to be very protective of it.

“Give us the bag, faggot!” One of them smacks the boy’s head.

“Why are you so stubborn? Do you wanna die?!”

As the rascals continue to bully him, the boy hugs his bag even tighter.

“What’s inside the bag?” Asks the tallest of them all, Ryeo Chi. “Does it have anything to do with our leader? It’s always about him, isn’t it? I bet your shameless homo mind, only contains of Siwon’s big dick. Do you know how disgusting that is? A dirty fucked up like you don’t deserve to live; you’re a disgrace to the world. You should just rot and die.”

       Without warning, Choi Siwon walks up to Ryeo Chi and punches the boy so hard that he spontaneously falls on to the ground. “Stay…! the fuck away from him!!” He shouts.

“Ss… Siwon-Ah.” Ryeo Chi and the other boys look shock. “What’s wrong with you? Are you defending him?! He… he’s gay and you hated him.”

Siwon is seriously losing temper. Even if it will sound totally strange to his minions at that high school moment, he honestly doesn’t care of anything anymore. Right now, the most important thing is having Kyuhyun back. “Listen to me carefully.” He inhales deeply, while glaring sharply. “From now on… nobody is allowed to come near him. If I ever see any one of you laid a fucking finger to hurt him, I will personally break your arms and kick your ugly ass out of this school.”

Ryeo Chi still cannot believe what he just heard. “Aa… are you serious?”

“Dead serious. What? You wanna try me?”

“No.”

“Good. Now fuck off.”

All of them nod in instant, before fleeing from the area in hurry. The last thing they wanted to do, is to against Siwon’s order. They can only obey and obey, even if it seems very contrary to the usual him.

       Tick… tock… tick… tock… a soft sound of clock that is coming out of nowhere, is humming away as Siwon slowly turning around. His eyes are now focusing at the terrified pale boy who is still sitting on the ground, still hugging his bag. The boy is shaking hard, but he forces his last courage to stare back at Siwon. Those round and innocent eyes, Siwon remembers, those are the eyes that always patiently stares at him as he passes the locker hall.

A heart that gradually beats slower and slower each second, consumed by a cold and uneasy feeling that attacks Siwon with no mercy. A cruel feeling that causes none but pain in his eyes. “Kyu… hyun.” He whispers as he falls on his knees, facing the pale boy. It really is Kyuhyun.

With a navy-blue school uniform, dark ripped old shoes, soft straight hair and amazingly beautiful face that resemble the warmth of Spring… he is exactly the way Siwon remembers him. The same boy whom Siwon always tortured in the school days, and the same boy whom Siwon waited so patiently in the hospital during his comatose weeks. And now he’s really here, breathing and bleeding.

       “Th… this is the first time…” Kyuhyun is finally speaking, using his warm, light yet nervous voice. “The first time you ever talk to me…”

Still trapped in his state, Siwon smiles. “Really?”

“Are you… gonna hit me?”

“Why would I?”

“That’s the only reason why you stopped them, right? So you can hit me all by yourself.” The fragile pale boy is making his own make-sense assumption. “If it’s you, then it’s okay. You can hit me anywhere you want.”

Siwon can only be silent, regretting his stupid teenage mistake. How much suffer did Siwon give Kyuhyun in the past, that the only answer of everything is an abuse? Why did he torture Kyuhyun so much, when all that he wanted to do was to be with the boy?

       He trembles as he lifts one of his fingers to touch Kyuhyun’s bleeding lip. A droplet of blood is obviously seen there, red and fresh. Siwon is slowly wiping it with his thumb. And as if he’s drawn to the situation, he unpredictably moves forward and catches the bleeding bottom lip with his own lips. He binds it tight before sucking it gently. The taste of Kyuhyun’s blood… is heaven.

Kyuhyun is staring in the mixture of shock and disbelief. He can feel how his heart suddenly stops beating and his body stops shaking, it’s like tons of iron are being dropped inside his empty stomach. All at once.

“Yy… you… you kissed me.” Kyuhyun quickly covers his lips.

Siwon smiles. “Yes, I did.”

“W… why?”

“Why? You don’t want me to?”

“Of course I want!” The boy answers so fast. “I… I love you.”

       Three sacred words are slipping out so easily from Kyuhyun’s pretty mouth, probably because he has been keeping them for so long. Siwon knew it from the start, but it still took him by surprise.

Kyuhyun is still at his stiff position. “Is there something wrong? Why aren’t you bullying me? Why are you being so nice? Is… is there a hidden camera somewhere?”

“What?” Siwon laughs. “No, no camera.”

       Sitting comfortably in front of Kyuhyun, Siwon realizes that God might be giving him a second chance. And he intends to use it wisely. “What’s in your bag? Why did you have to protect it like that?”

Kyuhyun hesitantly loosen up his hands. “It has… a letter in it.”

“What letter?”

“Love letter.”

“To whom?”

“From me, to you of course.”

“Really?” Siwon is excited beyond words. “Take it out!”

Kyuhyun quickly hugs his bag again. “Why? Ss… so you could toss it away again? Or show it to your friends and mock me in front of the crowd?”

“No.” Siwon sighs. “So you could read it to me. This time, I wanna hear it.”

       There’s a little bit of doubt in Kyuhyun’s eyes, but the boy has nothing to lose. He already received a kiss anyway, something he could never dare to imagine before. So he pulls the zipper of his black bag and takes out a piece of white plain paper, filled with his handwriting. A bit nervous, he decides to read line by line carefully. “This too shall pass, say people. I’m not sure I want it to pass. My sweet tears, your fake joy, our voiceless bond… let’s not pass.

Stand straight, walk away, laugh loud, be well. Even if one day I have to leave you, even if one day you have to be left alone. Hate me, but forget me not. Because this too shall pass, say them. But deep inside… I never want it to pass.”

The simple letter is folded again, before being put back inside the bag. Kyuhyun is staring at Siwon, who is staring back at him with an admiration smile. The handsome Siwon directly grabs Kyuhyun’s shoulder, just to pull the boy closer and then hug him tightly. Without permission, he hold Kyuhyun with both arms, never knew how fragile the boy can be in his embrace. “You idiot. Don’t you have anything else to do? Why do you keep on writing love letters for me?”

       Having an attack of continual confusion, Kyuhyun cannot react well. He can only startle for a while, breathing the scent of Siwon’s body is truly overwhelming. It’s so nice, nice and warm. “W… why… are you doing this?” Kyuhyun whispers. “Why do you change all of a sudden?”

“Maybe…” Siwon hugs the boy even tighter, enjoying the precious warmth of his living body. “Because I don’t want this to pass either…” 

***

            “Meet me after school, right at the gate. I’ll be waiting for you.”

There is still a bit of doubt inside Cho Kyuhyun’s mind. Although he is undeniably excited with what is happening between them, but the change is too sudden. The tender attention and kindness is somehow too hard to believe. But for what is worth, Kyuhyun can bear any result. Even if Siwon is lying, even if the boy only pretend to be nice, even if it was all just a temporary confusion of Siwon’s heart…

being hit and kicked again, it would be fine. As long as Siwon is happy, then Kyuhyun will be more than glad to endure all.

Because that day, time has successfully stopped. For the first time in his miserable life, Kyuhyun is able to smile. For the first time since ever, both of them have different role to live. Not as a bully, not as a victim, but as two teenagers that share mutual feeling.

       So here is Kyuhyun, running as fast as he can after the bell rings. With his unbuttoned uniform suit, he is quickly heading to the building exit just so he could witness the view of his school gate. There…

Kyuhyun stops running. His breath is panting as he decides to walk instead, approaching someone- whom is apparently keeping his promise. Choi Siwon is there… he is truly waiting at the front gate, with his perfect handsome face and a cheerful wave.

“This is impossible…” Kyuhyun seems amazed. “You waited.”

“I said I would.” Siwon smiles. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

There’s no word that can possibly describe how amazingly relief Kyuhyun is, at that particular moment. Siwon is really magically changing, he doesn’t hate, he doesn’t even avoid.

       Students are walking out of the school, making noises about the weird view of Siwon and Kyuhyun being seen together. But Siwon doesn’t seem to mind, instead, he grabs and holds Kyuhyun’s hand in front of those noisy students.

“Ww… what are you doing?” Kyuhyun looks nervous. “They’re looking at us!”

“Let them.”

“And why are we taking the Forest road?”

“Because it’s further.”

Kyuhyun frowns. “Am I… being executed?”

Siwon glances sharply, extremely annoyed. "Cho Kyuhyun... you can be really dumb sometimes, can't you?"

***

       Little things that the new Siwon did that day, is something bizzarely unexplainable. But as time goes by so steadily, Kyuhyun learns to wipe away his fear and insecurity. Instead, he tries to enjoy every step they both make. Whatever happen later, at least everything seems to be on his side right now.

Entering the old forest filled with dried trees and fallen orange leaves, Kyuhyun realizes that Siwon is still holding his hand. It feels cold, cold and a bit sweaty. It’s weird and doesn’t make sense, but maybe… maybe Siwon is actually more nervous than he looks on the outside.

Walking together, making memorable trace of footsteps… Kyuhyun can finally know the meaning of happiness. Something, he has never sincerely experienced before.   

       But before walking down the bridge that connected the roads after a small green river, Siwon decides to stop. He seriously stares at Kyuhyun, trying to figure the best well to ask. “Your classmate said you were at the Principle office. Did you… by any chance, asking permission to quit school? You are going to move out of town with your family this Summer, am I right?”

Kyuhyun frowns. “Yy… yes, but how did you know? I haven’t told anyone.”

“So it’s true?”

“My Father is on the run. He is being chased by so many people recently, and we need to hide away.”

“Is it about money?” Siwon asks again, curiously. “Because if it is, then I can settle his debt. With one condition, he and the rest of your family can go anywhere safe. But you… you have to stay.”

“But they’re my family.”

“Fuck your family.”

“I can’t… just leave them alone. Especially my sisters.”

Siwon seems more frustrated. “All of your family, even your Goddamn sisters will leave you behind in the future. They will leave you alone! They don’t give a shit about you! So fuck them. I’m the one that matter!”

       There’s a bit of unexplainable tickling sensation when Kyuhyun heard that sentence coming out of Siwon’s mouth. He wishes he could show it better, but right now between the kicking nervousness and anxiety, the only thing he could do is smiling. “You are… matter. You are everything that matters.”

He tries to explain as calm as possible. “But seeing you today, realizing that I can change you into a better person… I will regret nothing. With or without me, you will be fine.”

“No!!” Siwon tosses Kyuhyun’s hand rudely. “I refuse to let you go! I’m gonna kill everyone if you’re not staying with me! You must stay!”

       “Kyuhyun-Ah…” He grabs Kyuhyun’s face and stares intensely. “Kyuhyun-Ah? Listen to me. Don’t worry about your family, don’t worry about school, don’t worry about everything. I’m gonna absorb all of your problems and make them mine.”

Kyuhyun startles, never knew how much Siwon cares about him.

“Say you’ll stay.” Siwon is forcing him. “Say it!”

“But I…”

Not wanting to hear Kyuhyun’s answer, Siwon corners Kyuhyun to the wooden bridge fence behind him and refuse to let him go. With both arms, he blocks Kyuhyun’s way out so that the boy can only stand still and not doing anything but to wait further attack. With that, Siwon lowers his head a bit just so he can reach Kyuhyun’s trembling lips. It’s the second kiss of the day and he doesn’t plan to make it simple. His feeling is way more complicated to be reflected with only a simple kiss.

       So with an open mouth, he torn down his own defense wall, lose whatever control he has left and kisses passionately. He doesn’t even care if Kyuhyun is being passive and irresponsive. He keeps on ravishing Kyuhyun’s lips, though knowing that the boy is too shock to reply. He has to own Kyuhyun now, he has to have and keep the boy for his entire life. Because it’s been a long wait. To finally be able to be together like this, it takes such a long… suffering wait.

***to be continued***