Title: When Life Repays You
Main Pairing: Kyumin
Side Pairings: Eunhae, Yewook, Hanchul, Kangteuk
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Super Junior...when they go up for sale I'll buy them!
Summary: Sungmin hasn't contacted his friends or family in three years. His abusive boyfriend has kept him under his control and Sungmin no longer has the energy to fight back. When he meets someone who changes his life, is it for the better or for the worse? Will Sungmin break out of the vicious hold of his boyfriend or will the hold break him? Will be friend-locked in five days.
So there was some confusion with the name Jiwon. Just to let all my readers know, Jiwon was a name I picked off the top of my head. If Jiwon bears the same name as another famous actor/actress/singer then it is purely by coincidence and not fault of my won.
When Life Repays You – Chapter 2
Sungmin opened his eyes blearily to see a white ceiling and light blue walls surrounding him. He tried to sit up but the pain was too much for him and he sank back onto the soft pillows. Wait a moment……pillows?Sungmin sat up once more and this time, ignored the pain. His body protested harshly as he got out of bed and stood up. His cuts and bruises had been cleaned and bandaged.
Sungmin looked around the room. He was in a bedroom of some kind. There were pictures everywhere and music sheets covering the small desk in the corner of the room. Sungmin wondered how he had come to be here. This is either a really weird dream or I died and went to heaven.
He tiptoed to the door and opened it a crack. A bright, spacious hallway came into view and at the end he could see a a beautiful green kitchen with large window. Sungmin opened the door and moved into the hallway. He walked unsteadily down the hall and entered the kitchen. There was no one there. He looked around curiously, wondering where on earth he was.
“Hello. I see you’ve gotten up. It looked like you went through hell or something. Are you feeling better?,” a voice said from behind him. Sungmin whirled around and a small cry of pain left his mouth as his body objected to his quick movements.
A man, taller than he was, stood there. His black hair gleamed in the sun and his eyes were curved into smiling crescent moons. Sungmin thought there was something familiar about him but couldn’t place it. His heart sped up as he noticed the stranger’s intense gaze.
“Where am I?” Sungmin had meant to say thank you or something but his voice wouldn’t obey him. The stranger chuckled and lifted an eyebrow as if to say “isn’t it obvious?”
“You’re in my apartment. You fainted last night. You’re lucky that I was walking home from work in the alley you were in or else you might not be here right now. We were in a dangerous part of the city. Do your wounds hurt?
Sungmin shook his head. Instead, he turned away and continued looking at the kitchen.
“Do you want something to eat?” the stranger asked.
“Yes, please,” Sungmin whispered. The stranger nodded and moved about the kitchen. In what seemed like seconds, he had made scrambled eggs quite easily for his guest. Sungmin could only stare at him in awe. Whoever this guy was, he was certainly a very fast cook. Sungmin took a bite and a tiny smile spread over his face. He was also a very good cook.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I’m glad. What’s your name?” The stranger asked.
“S…Sung…Sungmin,” He replied nervously.
“Sungmin? That’s a nice name. I’m Kyuhyun.”
“Kyuhyun……I like that,” Sungmin murmured. His head was bent over his plate so he didn’t see the small smile on Kyuhyun’s face. He focused on eating his eggs. It had been a long time since he had a proper meal.
Jiwon was always asking him to do something, to fix him a meal, clean, do the laundry or whatever really struck his fancy. Because of this, Sungmin was too busy to make himself an actual meal that he could call satisfactory.
As he ate the eggs, he realized just how hungry he was. The plate was only a quarter finished when Sungmin stopped eating. He realized that he must have been eating way less than he should have and as a result, his stomach could no longer hold the amount it once could. Perhaps that explained why he was so skinny.
“Finished already?” Kyuhyun asked. Sungmin nodded; he had no idea why he was feeling so relaxed in the house of a complete stranger of whom he knew only the name. He sat back while Kyuhyun picked up his plate. As soon as he realized what the other was doing, he jumped up and took the plate from him.
“Don’t trouble yourself. I’ll do it,” Sungmin whispered, his head bowing automatically in submission. Kyuhyun gave him a confused look and released his grip on the plate. He watched as Sungmin washed off the plate and put it into his dishwasher in the space of ten seconds.
“Have you done this often?” Kyuhyun asked, slightly amazed at the precision and speed Sungmin used.
“Yes, he likes things to be quick,” Sungmin replied softly, half to himself.
“What?”
“I meant, I like to be quick,” Sungmin said, his eyes widening. Kyuhyun gave him an appraising look. He shrugged when his eyes caught sight of something. He moved forwards quickly, reaching a hand out.
Sungmin saw this and reacted so fast, Kyuhyun was left dazed. He had no idea anyone could move that quickly. Sungmin was now on the other side of the kitchen, trembling and breathing hard.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it,” Sungmin gasped, his chest heaving with barely suppressed sobs. Kyuhyun stared at him. What was he talking about? He began to move forwards but stopped when Sungmin flattened himself against the wall looking terrified.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Sungmin whispered so quietly that Kyuhyun wasn’t even sure if he spoke. The look in his eyes made Kyuhyun realize that Sungmin really was afraid.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Sungmin. Please believe me. I have nothing to gain from trying to hurt you and I swear that I would never do something like that,” Kyuhyun said in soft, soothing tones, trying to lessen Sungmin’s fear.
It seemed to work to some degree when Sungmin lost the fear in his eyes but did not remove himself very much from the wall. He stopped breathing hard and his eyes slowly dimmed and vanished. Sungmin had no way of knowing if Kyuhyun was really a good person or not. He had been fooled before. He would not be fooled again.
“I……don’t know…..know if I can trust you…..” Sungmin mumbled. He kept his eyes on Kyuhyun’s hands in case they moved towards him again.
“You don’t need to trust me. Just know that I won’t hurt you. Ever. I don’t like hurting people,” Kyuhyun said, still speaking in the same soothing tone. Sungmin swallowed and relaxed his stance a little more. Kyuhyun smiled. Although he didn’t show it, he hated that someone had shown such great fear of him.
“I need to go to work now. Will you be okay on your own? After I get my car from the repair shop and come back, I will take you home.”
“Where do you work?” The question was asked so muted Kyuhyun didn’t hear him.
“Pardon?”
“Where do you work?” Sungmin asked, almost desperately as if he were trying to change the subject. Kyuhyun decided it would be better if he kept talking so he could calm Sungmin down.
“I work at the grocery store-” Kyuhyun began. Recognition sparked in Sungmin.
“That’s where I’ve seen you,” he whispered excitedly. “You were stopping that shoplifter!” Kyuhyun nodded.
“Oh yes, I remember you. You were watching as I held him down. Yeah, I work there. It pays enough and it’s close to my home,” Kyuhyun said, watching Sungmin carefully for signs of discomfort.
“It must be nice to live like this,” Sungmin murmured, again half to himself. Kyuhyun wasn’t sure what the matter with Sungmin was but he knew that he didn’t like it. Something was wrong here.
If he were to see Sungmin on the street in passing, he would have assumed him to be a happy, carefree sort of person. That was the way he looked, minus the bruises and cuts. But Sungmin’s behaviour was that of an abused, mistreated person. There was definitely something wrong.
“It is nice to live like this but sometimes it’s lonely,” Kyuhyun answered softly.
“It won’t be like that all the time. You’ll fall in love, get married, live in a large house and have tons of kids. You won’t be lonely anymore,” Sungmin smiled. Kyuhyun felt a dip in his stomach as he listened to Sungmin’s melodic voice paint a perfect vision of his future.
“Maybe. I should go. Will you be fine on your own?” Kyuhyun asked. Sungmin nodded. Kyuhyun smiled at him. He walked out the kitchen door. Sungmin watched him go with a slightly confused look on his face.
“Goodbye, Kyuhyun,” he replied softly. The door shut. For some reason, Sungmin felt hurt at the abrupt closing of the door. Maybe it would have helped if he had spoken a little louder but he wasn’t sure if he could trust Kyuhyun just yet. But something about him just made Sungmin relaxed.
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
He walked back out of the kitchen and into the bright hallway. This house made him feel like he belonged. He walked the length of the hall and counted five doors. He was naturally curious but living with Jiwon had buried that natural inquisitiveness.
But here, in this bright and spacious home, he felt that insatiable curiosity rise up inside of him. He looked through one of the doors to discover a white tiled washroom filled with potted plants, a large bathtub and a sizeable sink. There were flowy, beige curtains hanging over the windows and were fluttering in the breeze that blew from behind the open windows.
Sungmin closed the door and opened the one across the hall from that. It was the room he had been placed in. Now that he got a good look at the room, he realized that it was an office. It was obviously well used.
Sungmin suspected that whenever Kyuhyun was too tired to continue working, he would curl up on the bed that was stuffed in one corner of the room. On the desk there were at least ten pictures and Sungmin walked over to look at them.
The latest one was labelled “Kyuhyun’s 20th Birthday – Love from your umma and appa”. Sungmin smiled at the picture. Kyuhyun had an arm wrapped around each parent and a younger girl who Sungmin supposed was Kyuhyun’s sister posed in front.
Kyuhyun was twenty now, meaning that he was two years younger than Sungmin. This surprised him because Sungmin expected him to be at least two years older than he. Putting down the picture, Sungmin walked back out of the office and went to the last door in the hall.
He pushed it open and gasped softly. This was definitely the best room in the whole apartment. It was a lighter shade of green than the kitchen and was like the inside of an exotic greenhouse. Potted plants and flowers of every colour lined almost every available surface.
The canopy bed was covered with a dark green bedspread and an abundance of assorted pillows spilled all over the bed. There was a balcony through double doors and Sungmin could see a fountain on the spacious balcony. Sungmin crossed the room, feeling as though he were walking through a garden and went onto the balcony.
The balcony was just as pretty as the room he had left. Somehow, Kyuhyun had trained the ivy to grow from its box and curl around the railing. White and pink lilies sprouted from small white boxes hanging from the balcony railing.
As Sungmin drew nearer, he realized that there were fish in the fountain. Large, plump, white and black and white and orange koi fish swam happily in the fountain that somehow managed to grow water lilies.
Sungmin was more than impressed. Kyuhyun must really like nature. To be able to have a garden in his house and his balcony was very extraordinary indeed. Sungmin didn’t know it but a small smile was making its way over his face.
Wanting to somehow thank Kyuhyun for his kindness, Sungmin decided to clean up his apartment for him. He checked the living room and decided that it was satisfactory. Kyuhyun’s room was the messiest so Sungmin decided to start there.
For a good portion of the afternoon, Sungmin dusted and swept. He cleaned up the dried bits of dried plants that had fallen on the ground. He watered the plants and washed the windows of the entire apartment.
Feeling satisfied with the clean state of the apartment, Sungmin decided to relax in the living room. He was just starting to fall asleep and trying to ignore the slight pains in his body when he heard the door open.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them, Kyuhyun was standing there, smiling at him.
“Are you feeling better?” Kyuhyun asked. Sungmin nodded.
“Much better, thank you,” Sungmin murmured. Kyuhyun smiled in satisfaction.
“That’s good. I’ll drop you off at home okay?”
“Okay,” Sungmin whispered. Kyuhyun noticed the slight tremor in Sungmin’s voice and the hesitation he used. Why doesn’t he want to go back home? Kyuhyun wondered. He shook off the thought and motioned for Sungmin to follow him.
Sungmin trailed after Kyuhyun obediently. He could have laughed at himself. After three years of being beaten into submission by Jiwon, he was compliant by habit now. He got into Kyuhyun’s car and sat in silence, motioning for where Kyuhyun had to go.
There was no talking in the car but oddly enough, it wasn’t awkward at all. It was more like he was communicating with Kyuhyun through waves in the air. He felt like they were having a great conversation without saying anything. He had never experienced anything like this with Jiwon. Why was Kyuhyun so different?
About five houses away from Jiwon’s, Sungmin told Kyuhyun to stop. Kyuhyun pulled up to the curb and waited for Sungmin to get out of the car. He noticed that Sungmin took his time getting out, opening the door and then struggling with his seatbelt.
Suddenly, for no particular reason whatsoever, Kyuhyun felt apprehension at letting Sungmin go home. Perhaps it was because of a tiring day at the grocery store but Kyuhyun had always had good instincts. He was about to open his mouth to invite Sungmin to stay one more day but Sungmin spoke first.
“Thank you for helping me. I’m sorry I was such a burden to you.”
“You weren’t a burden at all!” Kyuhyun exclaimed, waving away the ridiculous though. For a second, he thought he saw Sungmin smile. Then it was gone and Sungmin looked almost frightened to be going home. Kyuhyun wanted a way to know if Sungmin would be safe.
"Do you have a cellphone?” Kyuhyun asked.
“No, I don’t,” Sungmin whispered back. He really didn’t want to go back to Jiwon. After all, what could he expect from him? A welcome back punch? A where-have-you-been-I-was-so-worried kick? Probably.
“I’ll give you my cellphone number then. Call me if you ever need my help,” Kyuhyun said, wanting Sungmin to swear that he would. Sungmin only nodded and held Kyuhyun’s number tightly.
“Alright, I’ll be going,” Kyuhyun announced. He really didn’t want to leave Sungmin here. But what could he do? Grab him and bring him back into the car? He would probably have a heart attack. Kyuhyun wanted to hurt those who had hurt this innocent creature.
Still, he was a stranger and Kyuhyun couldn’t think of a calm way to drag him back into the car.
“Thank you,” Sungmin said softly before walking away. Kyuhyun watched him go, his stomach flip-flopping and his heart beating faster than before.
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
When Kyuhyun got home that night and walked into his room, he noticed how neat it was and smiled brightly when he realized that it was Sungmin who had cleaned his room for him.
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
Sungmin walked into his house and smiled in relief at Jiwon’s absence. He walked to his room and settled down on the bed, his mind running in circles and thinking that maybe, there were good people in the world after all.
Then he heard the front door open and he gulped. Jiwon would notice his presence right away.
“Sungminnie? Are you back? I want to apologize for how I treated you. You know I only do it for your own good,” Jiwon said in caring, soothing tones. When Kyuhyun did that, it was cute. When Jiwon did that, he lost all charm.
Sungmin pushed himself up from the bed and walked into the room where he was met by Jiwon. As the older one hugged him, Sungmin felt slightly removed. Even so, as he broke from the hug, Sungmin whispered, “I forgive you.”
~₪~₪~₪~₪~
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