“What is it like to be in love?”

“Free. It feels free, like there’s nothing that can stop me, nothing can hold me down.
It feels as if I can do anything because of love and I’m free of the fear of failure because,
even if I can’t do everything, at least at the end of the day,
there’s still me and him. When all else fails, love won’t.”

Reign on Me series

Saturday, June 21, 2008

[075] With Love, Yesung

theme: o75. Wrap.
pair: Yesung/Donghae
rate: G
words: 1780
#: 30/100


It was the day before Christmas when Donghae found him last-minute Christmas shopping with Yesung. The had paraded around the shopping centre for at least two hours, gone into at least every store and yet, Yesung still hadn’t bought anything.

“Is there something in particular you want to buy?” Donghae inquired as he noticed - with horror - that they were entering a store at the beginning of their cycle, marking it their thrice visit in two hours.

“No, not really,” Yesung said nonchalantly was he began a tour around the clothing store.

“Are you going to get anything? This is the third time we’ve been in here,” Donghae commented casually as he avoided the gaze from the cashier who had seen them twice not too long ago,

“Hmm… I don’t think so,” Yesung replied as he headed back out of the store, “I’m really just trying to get an idea.”

Donghae blinked, “So… we’re here on one of the busiest days of the year for a mall and you’re not going to buy anything?

Yesung paused beside a pillar and turned to look at Donghae. He stared at him confusedly, “Why would I buy something? I’m done all my Christmas shopping.”

Donghae ran his hands through his hair with frustration, “…I’m leaving.” And, with that, Yesung watched Donghae walk off for a ten-count before sprinting off after him.

Later that afternoon, Yesung was sitting on his bedroom floor with boxes of different sizes piled around him - all waiting to be wrapped. Before him now was a small rectangular box lying atop wrapping paper that he was trying to cut. Finally had the paper cut and he looked around him for the tape. Whilst searching amongst his mess for the tape dispenser, the door opened and Donghae came in,

“Yesung… what are you doing?” Donghae asked, seeing the various boxes stacked beside Yesung and the rolls of wrapping paper laying on Yesung’s bed.

“Wrapping,” Yesung said simply when he paused and glanced up, “Don’t look in any of the boxes.”

“Why is my present here?” Donghae grinned as he stepped further into the room, plopping down on his own bed which was adjacent to Yesung’s. His eyes scanned over the box pile between their beds,

“No,” Yesung replied as he returned his attention to the box before him.

Slowly - very slowly - he began folding the paper onto the box and taping it in place. He continued doing so, pulling at the paper over and over until it looked just right. He taped using several pieces, but then take off the tape, adjust the wrapping paper and then tape again. When the box finally was wrapped, the paper’s design was almost hard to distinguish from the various creases and crinkles made, along with the tape taking off colour and image when it was taken apart and taped again.

“What do you think?” Yesung asked as he held the box up to his eyes, his eyes dancing with misplaced pride. He turned to look at Donghae, smiling at him expectantly,

“It’s… well I’ve never…” Donghae shook his head as he took the box and sat down on the floor across from Yesung, “I can’t even pretend to think it looks half-way decent. It looks like a kid wrapped this hyung.”

“Don’t say it like I’m already using a walker,” Yesung defended lightly,

“Oh, and the child who wrapped this, can’t see,” Donghae added as he turned the box carefully in his hands, “Really, hyung… you’re twenty-three years old and you can’t wrap a simple gift?”

“At home I got Jongjin to wrap my gifts,” Yesung muttered, his bottom lip beginning to slightly stick out in a small pout, “And when I was a trainee and -some how- was able to buy a gift for someone, I’d get someone else to wrap it.”

“You made your little brother? Geez…what did you do when you had to give a girlfriend a gift for White’s day?” Donghae asked as he placed the box on the floor before him and began to undo the damage Yesung had already done,

Yesung scrunched up his face in thought before finally surmising, “Um… when we were still trainees was when I last had a girlfriend… back then I got JaeJoong or YoungSaeng to wrap my gifts.”

Donghae shook his head as he pulled off the last piece of tape holding the paper to the box. After throwing the paper into the trash, he inspected the white box, “It doesn’t look like the tape did too much… what’s in here?” Yesung attempted to lunge at Donghae, trying to swipe away the box but fell over his own legs and ended up sprawled on the floor between them. He looked up just in time to see Donghae peak in. His lips pulled up into a smile as he placed the lid back down, “Hyung, you romantic guy - heart-shaped chocolates?”

“That one’s not for Christmas,” Yesung argued as he scrambled to sit back up, rubbing his stomach which hurt after his fall,

“Then why are you wrapping it first?” Donghae raised an eyebrow,

“Because it’s the most important,” Yesung explained quietly, his cheeks pinking slightly.

Donghae raised the other eyebrow in surprise before grinning, “Are you in love, hyung?”

“Yes…” Yesung’s eyes widened at the accidental confession, he spoke fast to rectify, “I mean no - that is to say… just wrap it, already.”

Laughter bubbled from Donghae as he shook his head again. Quietly, he cut a new sheet of the red wrapping paper. Yesung watched, mesmerized, as Donghae’s moved with the skill of an artist. He made each fold against the corner once, and, once done, had only used three, two-inch length pieces of tape. Within three minutes, Donghae placed the now red box on the ground and slid it over to Yesung.

Yesung picked it up, turning the box in his hands as his eyes scrutinized the handiwork. Finally, he lowered it and looked up at Donghae, “It’s perfect; I’m pretty sure my mom doesn’t even wrap presents this good.”

Donghae smiled and shrugged, “I’ve always loved Christmas - more than any other day… and I guess growing up I always liked helping my mom wrap the presents. It’s not a talent I proclaim to the world, but it comes in handy from time to time.”

Yesung nodded as he stared at the box, cradled in his hands for a moment longer before saying, “Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome… now, are you going to tell me who the chocolates are for?” Donghae prompted coolly.

Yesung glanced up and knew from his eyes that Donghae had been planning this all along. Help his hyung out and then, as a thank-you, expecting information from said hyung. Indeed, he was sneaky. Finally he cocked his head and regarded Donghae peculiarly before answer, “Someone who I really care about.”

“You said love before,” Donghae teased,

Yesung looked down at the box again and smirked as if being told a happy secret, “Yeah… that’s true.”

“So, this person, you’re going to give them these chocolates on Christmas?” Donghae inquired,

“No… I already said it wasn’t for Christmas,” Yesung said as his expression cleared and he looked up once more, “It’s for when I confess to them.”

“You still haven’t confessed to them and you’ve already bought them chocolates?” Donghae gaped, “You must be serious hyung. What’s so special about this person that has made you fall for them?”

“Hmm…” Yesung considered the question for a moment before answering, “They always know how to make me smile. Comforting me when I’m sad or just sitting beside me when I need them. They’re also one of my closest friends, so we’ve known each other for many years.”

Donghae blinked, “it’s not JaeJoong or YoungSaeng right?” He teased lightly.

Yesung chuckled softly, “No, it’s neither of those jerks.”

“Well, whoever this person is, they’re sure lucky to receive your love, hyung. I hope they reciprocate - they’d be insane not to,” Donghae insisted, raising a fist, “Fighting, hyung!” He got to his feet, “I’m getting hungry, if I cook do you want anything?”

Yesung shook his head as his eyes returned back to the perfectly wrapped present.

“How will you give the chocolates to them?” Donghae asked before leaving,

Yesung looked up at Donghae a moment passing between them where nothing was said, but their gazes interlocked for an eternity. Finally, Yesung raised the present, offering it to Donghae, “These are for you,” he said quietly, steadily, his gaze never wavering and all his emotion exposed in his voice and especially his eyes.

Donghae’s eyes searched Yesung as the silence fell upon them. Finally, his the corners of his mouth tugged upwards in a small smile as his eyes brightened, “That’s perfect hyung. If you do it just like how you demonstrated, there’s no way your feelings won’t be reciprocated.” Donghae raised his fist again, “Fighting, hyung!”

Yesung nodded, his arms dropping to his sides again, the present in his lap. He watched silently as Donghae left the room, the door closing silently behind him. Yesung remained silent, listening to the sounds outside the door. He heard as Donghae released the doorknob and it spun back into place; heard his footsteps as he walked down the hallway; and even heard the distant sounds of pans clanking as Donghae began cooking.

When Yesung stopped listening intently, he realized that tears had been forming in his eyes. Now seeing his vision blurred by the curtain of tears, he felt them sting and as he blinked, they leapt off his lashes and trailed down his paled cheeks. He looked down at the box in his hands, wrapped in shiny red paper by the person he intended to give it to. His hands gripped it tightly until even the box began to crumble beneath his fingers. He tried to steady his staggering breath while he wiped away the tears with the back of his sleeve.

He replayed what had just taken place in his mind until his heart couldn’t take it anymore. “You said yourself that there was no way my feelings couldn’t be returned,” he grounded out, the words almost suffocating him, practically choking him. He gripped the present violently before whipping it against the wall opposite him. It crashed into the wall with a fierce thud before dropping to the floor. He began wondering if what was in the box was still the chocolates or had been replaced by his heart. Before his heart completely shattered, he murmured bitterly, eyes glued to the present lying just feet away from him, broken and unwanted, “Liar.”

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

ouch ;__;

Anonymous said...

aawww....Donghae is so dense >.<
I have a blogger account but totally forgot about it already. XD

-Jishu

Anonymous said...

Ow.
Donghae, how could you be so dense?
;_;

Keep up your good work! <3

Rachel C. said...

I really like your fan fics. ^_^ Good job!

Anonymous said...

T__T Donghae, you bakayaro.

I'm sooo gonna pretend they got over the misunderstanding and loved happily ever after. m'kay? =P