fabriclies
For: fabriclies
Title: 2191 Rotations Past
Pairing: Heechul/Eunhyuk, hinted YeWook and Shimin
Category: Post!suju AU, Angst, light Romance
Summary: Six years after their disbanding, some things change, while others are forced not to.
Young faces look up at him while he tries to keep a firm face showing. It had only been less than three minutes ago when they were all enjoying themselves at the practice while they had danced along to American hip hop and the occasional dance mix. It's a warm up, to get them up and going. Hyukjae himself remembers waking himself up in a similar fashion, the loud bumps of a bass making their course up the insoles of his shoes and driving the need for movement in him. But this song, this song he hadn’t even finished learning the steps to.
"Quick, change the track."
The track changes suddenly and six pairs of eyes look at him silently, none of them sure what to say to him. "Sonbaenim, are you okay," the youngest asks while the others look at Hyukjae hoping for a response.
Finally, he snaps out of his trance and looks around at the disturbed faces. Well, they're more hurt and apologetic than disturbed though. "I'm fine. Sorry. Let's get back to warming up. Wanna try track six again?"
The trainees choose to ignore the past minute and a half just as he had and begin to complain about the hardest choreography on the mixed disk. It's only a memory, track nine on the unnamed blue cd.
The coffee spill had already begun to drip down onto the carpet, this Heechul realizes from his location in front of the kitchen sink. It had soaked through the worn out copy of his new lines for the upcoming B-rated movie. "Can't I get a break," he asks no one in particular as he looks down at the reddening of his hand. Shutting off the faucet and bringing his hand up to his chest, Heechul sighs as he looks over the severity of the burn. It's nothing in reality; he's had much worse happen.
He’s dabbing some toothpaste onto the injury when he hears his phone go off. Heechul ignores it, the sound of his last drama’s opening track repeating itself as it ends several times because the person on the line refuses to hang up.
Heechul wishes he could say it was most likely an urgent call, someone telling him to hurry up because the make up noonas had to leave soon, someone telling him to quickly find a television or a computer to see a Super Junior M interview, someone telling him to stop being a pain and to bring the rice if he wanted to have breakfast that day, but it’s nothing of the sort.
The toothpaste on his hand does nothing, but it puts his mind at ease. He’s done something similar to taking care of himself he supposes. Another distinct ringtone goes off; one from their fourth and last album to show that he now has a voice message.
‘Would it kill you to pick up the phone? Hankyung is coming back to Korea for the week; we were thinking of maybe getting everyone together and going out for a few drinks. Call me back if you’re going to go.’
The very voice he remembers bossing him around for a good half decade of his life is still adding things to his to-do-list. Heechul quickly messages Jungsu that he’ll make it. It’s barely enough time for Heechul to get some napkins to clean the spilled coffee when his phone alerts him that ‘Eeteuk’ has written back confirming.
He should really change some names on his phone directory. He will, one day.
“Is it just me, or can we afford to eat more now that we’re not actually stars?”
The large group of men breaks off into laughter, each individual sound a type of noise that for some reason seems to blend extremely well despite the odd number. Hyukjae has heard it plenty times before, it’s a soundtrack that he’s kept hidden away in his collection. It’s not yet considered a classic like the actual music they made, the songs that would make grown women smile as they remembered a few years ago when they were young and impressionable and stayed up all night making posters for upcoming concerts; but it’s one that keeps going in and out of his playlist he supposes.
“Well of course we make more money; you’re not sharing your crap pay with a dozen other guys this time are you? Not that the meager salary you’re getting now would be anything divided with anyone,” Kangin (Youngwoon, it’s Youngwoon now) bites back
Over a dozen men litter a long table, an obscene amount of soju bottles spread across the table with more meat than they had ever been able to afford before. There’s talk of Hankyung’s new drama and the host job he’s doing with a pretty Taiwanese girl; they mention Siwon’s son and how his third birthday is coming up (Hyukjae tells Sungmin to remind him about that, he might forget like he did Jungsu hyung’s daughter’s second birthday party). Donghee asks about the new boy band he’s doing some choreography for back at SM and he complains about the lack of talent nowadays because back in their day you had to have someone who could dance in each group.
Hyukjae can’t even remember the names of these trainees. They’ve yet to make an impression on him and at this rate they’ll be pushed aside by other groups debuting. Donghee though, can boast about the two groups he’s managed to help debut in a new company.
“Don’t worry Hyukkie ah, I’m sure Yongsoo will pick up and be the lead dancer he claims he is.” Sungmin smiles as he holds his empty glass and implies he refill it for him. Sungmin is the only person he still keeps informed about his SM dealings. He had been the only one apart from the members of KRY and Henry that had stuck around to renew new contracts even after the first break up.
KRY had dropped the Super Junior from their name and went on to record a successful album. Henry had done many violin accompaniments to other songs just as Sungmin had sang alongside the new solo artists in the company. Very few members had wanted to keep the life of an idol; age was forever hanging over them and dropping weights every so often. It was too much pressure and another few years of it was impossible to even consider.
“Where’s Heechul hyung,” Donghae asks as he chases the words with soju. Some members look around as if they had seen him not too long ago while the still semi-sober ones shrug. Heechul will show up, he said he would anyway.
Conversation stays light for about another hour and a half and while it’s nearing midnight, no one makes move to leave; wives, kids, and tomorrow’s plans long forgotten as they reminisce lives that they almost can’t believe where their own.
“I can’t believe you all waited just to see me.”
Heechul’s entrance is his own as he drops his red leather entire coat and immediately makes hand gestures that have half a dozen men shuffling to the left to make space for him. In between Hankyung and Sungmin is safe Hyukjae supposes, he doesn’t have to stretch himself too thin in avoiding him.
“Did you hear about Yunho’s engagement…?”
Heechul begins to liven up the party despite the room having been all smiles even before his arrival. The mood elevates until Jungsu’s odd laughter almost never ends, until Kibum and Donghae just keep smiling and smiling, until Youngwoon says his face hurts from laughing. And it keeps going on until Hyukjae feels himself falling deeper and deeper into his drink, a drink tossed back for every punch Heechul takes at him, his being happy hurts him at this point.
Heechul finds himself being carried by Youngwoon and gently eased into a cab. It’s something he wishes he could call a beautiful act of friendship, but he hasn’t really kept touch in way to still consider him his good friend. While he can usually hold his liquor well and is usually the one helping another drunk into a taxi after these reunions, this time he was just so tired he ignored his limits entirely.
He needed to be drunk so that he had a reason to let it hurt.
“Jungsu hyung is taking Donghae to his place, Kibum and Youngwoon are going with Siwon, and Sungmin is gonna be dropped off with Hyukjae?”
Ryeowook nods his head as he mentally makes sure that everyone is safe and accounted for. Heechul hears him softly mumble that he and Jongwoon should get back, they have to go work with a few trainees tomorrow. Jongwoon smiles back at him, Heechul can see perfectly through the window of the cab. How come they still seemed perfectly fine after their-
“I’m going home with Donghee actually,” Sungmin pipes out of nowhere. The sober members turn to look at him not entirely sure whether they should let the tipsy man decide for himself. But Donghee agrees, naturally he would, and he half carries Sungmin to his car. They are all paired off and barely aware of it, Heechul dozes off in the still parked cab.
The gradual stop wakes him up. He could have sworn he was already in his bed. “Wake up and let’s go.”
It’s a familiar voice, but the stupor his mind is troubled with can’t reproduce a name or a face. So he lets himself be pulled out of the car and together they walk a rounded line towards the elevator. He’s manhandled for a minute or so before he feels his breathing is labored.
“Roll over. You’re so drunk you could die just because you were too lazy to even do that.”
“Eunhyuk?”
That name hadn’t left his mouth in months. It was the name that only he had kept to himself after so many years. “Eunhyuk?”
“Yes, it’s me hyung.”
Heechul was helped to roll onto his back and then he felt such familiar hands undressing him. With his eyes closed and his mind gone, he can pretend he’s a few years younger and this is all a night he’ll cherish one day when the band is over, his dreams are still intact and he hasn’t even though of love.
But the recollection stops short when he doesn’t feel Eunhyuk lay in his bed and press to his side. Instead, he opens his eyes and there’s Hyukjae, sitting with his back to him, the bed oddly still despite the trembling of his body. Leveling his balance he sits up and pulls the thin arm back forcing him to recline and lay his head on the pillows.
“Hyung, I’m sorry. Even though it’s been so long I can’t-”
He can’t finish. Heechul presses a finger to the edge of Hyukjae’s mouth, motor skills shot to hell and nearly missing his lips completely. His eyes round over the no longer boyish smile, his fingers sense stubble and his eyes finally see the crow’s feet at the edge of his eyes.
His hand return to his own face and he skims his cheeks and eyes, has he changed as well?
“Hyung.”
“Be quiet. Just sleep.”
His all of a sudden weak grip allows him to hold onto Hyukjae while he settles closer and closer to him. Not giving it a second thought, he presses a quick kiss to the other’s lips and settles his head back on his pillows.
“Sleep, Jungsu will wake us up early tomorrow for schedules.”
Eunhyuk smiles though his wet eyes show another feeling altogether. In Heechul’s mind things haven’t changed or gotten complicated. He loves Eunhyuk because they’re both in the prime of their careers and they’ve got years ahead of them to really take their relationship seriously. It’s only for fun now anyways.
“Stop fidgeting. Don’t make me kick you over to the other dorm.”
Eunhyuk falls into a deep sleep; a deep sleep with Heechul’s hand in his own and dreams of choreographies that he has yet to learn for songs that have yet to be produced for their fourth album. He doesn’t have to worry about oversleeping, Teukie hyung will wake up him soon enough.
Title: 2191 Rotations Past
Pairing: Heechul/Eunhyuk, hinted YeWook and Shimin
Category: Post!suju AU, Angst, light Romance
Summary: Six years after their disbanding, some things change, while others are forced not to.
Young faces look up at him while he tries to keep a firm face showing. It had only been less than three minutes ago when they were all enjoying themselves at the practice while they had danced along to American hip hop and the occasional dance mix. It's a warm up, to get them up and going. Hyukjae himself remembers waking himself up in a similar fashion, the loud bumps of a bass making their course up the insoles of his shoes and driving the need for movement in him. But this song, this song he hadn’t even finished learning the steps to.
"Quick, change the track."
The track changes suddenly and six pairs of eyes look at him silently, none of them sure what to say to him. "Sonbaenim, are you okay," the youngest asks while the others look at Hyukjae hoping for a response.
Finally, he snaps out of his trance and looks around at the disturbed faces. Well, they're more hurt and apologetic than disturbed though. "I'm fine. Sorry. Let's get back to warming up. Wanna try track six again?"
The trainees choose to ignore the past minute and a half just as he had and begin to complain about the hardest choreography on the mixed disk. It's only a memory, track nine on the unnamed blue cd.
The coffee spill had already begun to drip down onto the carpet, this Heechul realizes from his location in front of the kitchen sink. It had soaked through the worn out copy of his new lines for the upcoming B-rated movie. "Can't I get a break," he asks no one in particular as he looks down at the reddening of his hand. Shutting off the faucet and bringing his hand up to his chest, Heechul sighs as he looks over the severity of the burn. It's nothing in reality; he's had much worse happen.
He’s dabbing some toothpaste onto the injury when he hears his phone go off. Heechul ignores it, the sound of his last drama’s opening track repeating itself as it ends several times because the person on the line refuses to hang up.
Heechul wishes he could say it was most likely an urgent call, someone telling him to hurry up because the make up noonas had to leave soon, someone telling him to quickly find a television or a computer to see a Super Junior M interview, someone telling him to stop being a pain and to bring the rice if he wanted to have breakfast that day, but it’s nothing of the sort.
The toothpaste on his hand does nothing, but it puts his mind at ease. He’s done something similar to taking care of himself he supposes. Another distinct ringtone goes off; one from their fourth and last album to show that he now has a voice message.
‘Would it kill you to pick up the phone? Hankyung is coming back to Korea for the week; we were thinking of maybe getting everyone together and going out for a few drinks. Call me back if you’re going to go.’
The very voice he remembers bossing him around for a good half decade of his life is still adding things to his to-do-list. Heechul quickly messages Jungsu that he’ll make it. It’s barely enough time for Heechul to get some napkins to clean the spilled coffee when his phone alerts him that ‘Eeteuk’ has written back confirming.
He should really change some names on his phone directory. He will, one day.
“Is it just me, or can we afford to eat more now that we’re not actually stars?”
The large group of men breaks off into laughter, each individual sound a type of noise that for some reason seems to blend extremely well despite the odd number. Hyukjae has heard it plenty times before, it’s a soundtrack that he’s kept hidden away in his collection. It’s not yet considered a classic like the actual music they made, the songs that would make grown women smile as they remembered a few years ago when they were young and impressionable and stayed up all night making posters for upcoming concerts; but it’s one that keeps going in and out of his playlist he supposes.
“Well of course we make more money; you’re not sharing your crap pay with a dozen other guys this time are you? Not that the meager salary you’re getting now would be anything divided with anyone,” Kangin (Youngwoon, it’s Youngwoon now) bites back
Over a dozen men litter a long table, an obscene amount of soju bottles spread across the table with more meat than they had ever been able to afford before. There’s talk of Hankyung’s new drama and the host job he’s doing with a pretty Taiwanese girl; they mention Siwon’s son and how his third birthday is coming up (Hyukjae tells Sungmin to remind him about that, he might forget like he did Jungsu hyung’s daughter’s second birthday party). Donghee asks about the new boy band he’s doing some choreography for back at SM and he complains about the lack of talent nowadays because back in their day you had to have someone who could dance in each group.
Hyukjae can’t even remember the names of these trainees. They’ve yet to make an impression on him and at this rate they’ll be pushed aside by other groups debuting. Donghee though, can boast about the two groups he’s managed to help debut in a new company.
“Don’t worry Hyukkie ah, I’m sure Yongsoo will pick up and be the lead dancer he claims he is.” Sungmin smiles as he holds his empty glass and implies he refill it for him. Sungmin is the only person he still keeps informed about his SM dealings. He had been the only one apart from the members of KRY and Henry that had stuck around to renew new contracts even after the first break up.
KRY had dropped the Super Junior from their name and went on to record a successful album. Henry had done many violin accompaniments to other songs just as Sungmin had sang alongside the new solo artists in the company. Very few members had wanted to keep the life of an idol; age was forever hanging over them and dropping weights every so often. It was too much pressure and another few years of it was impossible to even consider.
“Where’s Heechul hyung,” Donghae asks as he chases the words with soju. Some members look around as if they had seen him not too long ago while the still semi-sober ones shrug. Heechul will show up, he said he would anyway.
Conversation stays light for about another hour and a half and while it’s nearing midnight, no one makes move to leave; wives, kids, and tomorrow’s plans long forgotten as they reminisce lives that they almost can’t believe where their own.
“I can’t believe you all waited just to see me.”
Heechul’s entrance is his own as he drops his red leather entire coat and immediately makes hand gestures that have half a dozen men shuffling to the left to make space for him. In between Hankyung and Sungmin is safe Hyukjae supposes, he doesn’t have to stretch himself too thin in avoiding him.
“Did you hear about Yunho’s engagement…?”
Heechul begins to liven up the party despite the room having been all smiles even before his arrival. The mood elevates until Jungsu’s odd laughter almost never ends, until Kibum and Donghae just keep smiling and smiling, until Youngwoon says his face hurts from laughing. And it keeps going on until Hyukjae feels himself falling deeper and deeper into his drink, a drink tossed back for every punch Heechul takes at him, his being happy hurts him at this point.
Heechul finds himself being carried by Youngwoon and gently eased into a cab. It’s something he wishes he could call a beautiful act of friendship, but he hasn’t really kept touch in way to still consider him his good friend. While he can usually hold his liquor well and is usually the one helping another drunk into a taxi after these reunions, this time he was just so tired he ignored his limits entirely.
He needed to be drunk so that he had a reason to let it hurt.
“Jungsu hyung is taking Donghae to his place, Kibum and Youngwoon are going with Siwon, and Sungmin is gonna be dropped off with Hyukjae?”
Ryeowook nods his head as he mentally makes sure that everyone is safe and accounted for. Heechul hears him softly mumble that he and Jongwoon should get back, they have to go work with a few trainees tomorrow. Jongwoon smiles back at him, Heechul can see perfectly through the window of the cab. How come they still seemed perfectly fine after their-
“I’m going home with Donghee actually,” Sungmin pipes out of nowhere. The sober members turn to look at him not entirely sure whether they should let the tipsy man decide for himself. But Donghee agrees, naturally he would, and he half carries Sungmin to his car. They are all paired off and barely aware of it, Heechul dozes off in the still parked cab.
The gradual stop wakes him up. He could have sworn he was already in his bed. “Wake up and let’s go.”
It’s a familiar voice, but the stupor his mind is troubled with can’t reproduce a name or a face. So he lets himself be pulled out of the car and together they walk a rounded line towards the elevator. He’s manhandled for a minute or so before he feels his breathing is labored.
“Roll over. You’re so drunk you could die just because you were too lazy to even do that.”
“Eunhyuk?”
That name hadn’t left his mouth in months. It was the name that only he had kept to himself after so many years. “Eunhyuk?”
“Yes, it’s me hyung.”
Heechul was helped to roll onto his back and then he felt such familiar hands undressing him. With his eyes closed and his mind gone, he can pretend he’s a few years younger and this is all a night he’ll cherish one day when the band is over, his dreams are still intact and he hasn’t even though of love.
But the recollection stops short when he doesn’t feel Eunhyuk lay in his bed and press to his side. Instead, he opens his eyes and there’s Hyukjae, sitting with his back to him, the bed oddly still despite the trembling of his body. Leveling his balance he sits up and pulls the thin arm back forcing him to recline and lay his head on the pillows.
“Hyung, I’m sorry. Even though it’s been so long I can’t-”
He can’t finish. Heechul presses a finger to the edge of Hyukjae’s mouth, motor skills shot to hell and nearly missing his lips completely. His eyes round over the no longer boyish smile, his fingers sense stubble and his eyes finally see the crow’s feet at the edge of his eyes.
His hand return to his own face and he skims his cheeks and eyes, has he changed as well?
“Hyung.”
“Be quiet. Just sleep.”
His all of a sudden weak grip allows him to hold onto Hyukjae while he settles closer and closer to him. Not giving it a second thought, he presses a quick kiss to the other’s lips and settles his head back on his pillows.
“Sleep, Jungsu will wake us up early tomorrow for schedules.”
Eunhyuk smiles though his wet eyes show another feeling altogether. In Heechul’s mind things haven’t changed or gotten complicated. He loves Eunhyuk because they’re both in the prime of their careers and they’ve got years ahead of them to really take their relationship seriously. It’s only for fun now anyways.
“Stop fidgeting. Don’t make me kick you over to the other dorm.”
Eunhyuk falls into a deep sleep; a deep sleep with Heechul’s hand in his own and dreams of choreographies that he has yet to learn for songs that have yet to be produced for their fourth album. He doesn’t have to worry about oversleeping, Teukie hyung will wake up him soon enough.