Fic: Cho Kyuhyun on Super Junior & Son Dongwoon
Cho Kyuhyun on Super Junior, Song Writing and Son Dongwoon.
Sitting across from me
is one of the most famous men in South Korea, one member of 14 member boy band
Super Junior (written in Hangul as mso-bidi-font-family:"Malgun Gothic";mso-ansi-language:KO">슈버주니어) and all-round
oddball. Cho Kyuhyun has the voice of an angel and the charisma of a bashful 16
year old boy. He's an intriguing mixture of awkward, witty and handsome, a
combination I'm just dying to get under the surface of.
We sit in a small Disney-themed
cafe in downtown Seoul, watching the world go by outside the windows. He's a
little shy, that much I can tell, but what plays on his mind is a mystery.
"It's
nice out today. I think the weather really effects people's moods, from
business men to school children." He smiles, a wonderful sight.
"Heechul would probably laugh at me for saying something strange like
that, you know."
Considering our brief
introduction and friendly banter when we first met, I feel like I've known Cho
for years. Although a little... shy, I feel like I can talk to him about just
about anything and he would offer me his opinion with no second thoughts. With
this in mind, I take a sip of my latte and ask my first burning question - a
question that's been playing on everybody's minds.
So, Kyuhyun-sshi, why Son
Dongwoon (B2ST)?
"To be honest,
I don't really know (laughs). We never really got to speak all that much
- just a quick few words backstage some places, a tweet or two here or there.
Until we started dating, I never even had his phone number!
"It's funny, looking at
some fansites, especially the international ones. Some fangirls had been
talking about us as a couple in a few of the non-suju pairing threads, about
how his supposedly quiet nature reflected my... how did they put it, 'snarky
maknae tendancies'. If I'm perfectly honest, I think... I think I fell for
him when we performed together at that KBS Special Charity Stage - you know,
the one they held for the mudslide victims and their families? Then.
"There was just...
Something about him, you know? I couldn't believe I'd never seen it before.
Truth be told, I'd actually had a crush on, of all the people in the world,
Shim Changmin from TVXQ, but the moment I spotted Dongwoon in the crowd of
people on stage, I thought to myself 'Cho, if you don't grab him now, he's
going to flit away like a butterfly in a strong wind.' "
So you'd thought about him
before this?
"Oh Gods, no!
Like I said, I only really fell for him that day. I just took one look
at him and I just kind of knew we had chemistry, you know? I remember tapping
Teukie-hyung (Eeteuk, leader-sshi of Super Junior) and being all like 'Hyung,
hyung, I need to go and talk to B2ST! Please, I'll only need a few minutes, I
swear!' (laughs) He never did let me go. Something about inter-band
relationships. That didn't stop us though, did it?"
Let's talk about the fans for
a second, here, if you don't mind. Considering how awkward people can be about
public male-male relationships, your fans took it remarkably well. Thoughts?
"No matter whether the fans
say that we make a good couple or not, I'll continue to do what I do now,
unless of course SM step in. ELFs and B2TIES alike were absolutely wonderful to
us, to the degree that at one point, I started getting fanmail with all the
legal paperwork for us to get married! (laughs)
"Really, though. I'm so
glad that they took it so well. Considering that it was a very
spur-of-the-moment thing to announce it to the public, I was so lucky that
people instantly started squealing and cheering and egging us on with it. I
couldn't ask for more amazing fans, I honestly couldn't. Saranghae yo, ELFs! (laughs)
And what about your bandmates,
your labelmates? Have you had any resentful glares yet?
"Don't be
silly! I remember the first time that Dongwoon came to our dorm to pick me up
for a... date of sorts, Eeteuk and Ryeowook instantly got everyone tidying the
place up, hiding a hoodie here or shoving an old towel into there. Everythign
was dusted, polished, cushions plumped, beds made, furniture neatly arranged. I
think, to be completely honest, Ryeowook just wanted a chance to let his OCD
run wild. He very rarely gets the chance with us lot around!! (laughs)
"Of course, there were
initial... dissaprovals. For instance, I know that Heechul was dead set against
us going public to begin with, being scared for our reputation and everything.
We'd seen what had happened to a lot of stars in yoru average vanilla girl-boy
format and how they'd been shunned for even holding hands in public. I really
had second thoughts about it, when he'd said it all to me. I didn't want to
bring my bandmates, my brothers, down
the drain with me if I went, but I couldn't live in silence. Super Junior have
always been very open with fans, or we've tried to be, and I couldn't bear the
thought of breaking that tradition of sorts. I either kept quiet and betrayed
what we'd been or I risked everything and told everyone. Considering the
reaction we've had, I think it's all gone remarkably well."
What about the B2ST members?
Have they been like the scrutinizing parents or the protective older brothers
to Dongwoon-sshi?
"Oh heck, you
should have seen Doojoon the minute Dongwoon introduced me as his boyfriend. I
was honestly scared for my life. 'Cho,' he said, 'if you dare hurt
our Dongwoon or give him any reason to doubt you, I'll never forgive you. We'll
never forgive you. Just be careful where you tread.'
"That was scary. I already
felt like I was on thin ice, holding Dongwoon's heart and all, but now I'd been
given the formal warning... Well. Little things took on a whole new meaning. I
was almost scared to buy presents or anything incase Doojoon suspected me of
something.
"Yoseob-sshi was a
wonderful help. He told me everything that should and shouldn't be done, what
Doojoon would and wouldn't approve of. I think I essentially owe him my life,
several times over, because some of the things he mentioned to me I would have
instinctively have done, like... Oh, I don't know, he mentioned that Hyunseung
got incredibly motherly and protective over his bandmates and that he hated
Dongwoon being away for quite long periods of time. Me being me, I love being
away from it all for a decent few hours, but after I learned that I could end
up being torn limb from limb if I kept him away for as long as I'd hoped...
Well, let's just say I felt like the senior boy taking the junior girl to
school prom or somethimg, you know? (laughs) It was fun, though. It kept
me on my toes."
So they really were the
protective family. It sounds a lot like you play much of the almost... dominant
role in your relationship?
"Without saying too much, I
suppose I kind of am. I felt that, because I made the first move, I really had
to keep things moving, so a lot of the time I took matters into my own hands
and pushed us along. Since then, it's just kind of been the norm for me to be
the one who's forever protective, fending off anyone who even so much as looks
at my Dongwoon the wrong way, you know?
"Things seem to be a little
bit more equal sometimes, though. If I feel like breaking down and crying,
eyeliner running and foundation dripping, Dongwoon will be there to be my solid
man, if that makes sense. He'll be my shelter in the storm or the port in the
maelstrom. I remember, a few weeks back, we both had a day off from our
schedules, so we instantly thought 'we need to go out'. We went and had
a picnic by the Han river, and he bought me roses. That made me blush, I have
to admit. (laughs) Being presented with two dozen roses and a dashing
young man alongside them was a brilliant thing."
In three words, how would you describe your
romance with Dongwoon-sshi?
"(laughs) I love
reading these bits in your interviews. Uh... Does 'a bit strange' count,
or do you need something more romantic and cheesy like 'meant to be'?"
Do you really consider
yourselves meant to be?
"Well... Without being
overly sweet and adorable and cotton-candy and diabetic, (laughs), I
think... To a degree, it was sheer luck - right place, right time, right
lighting, right special effect, whatever, but at the same time, there had to be
some higher powers up there rooting for the legendary KyuWoon, right?"
Just one last question
Kyuhyun-sshi, and I'll give you back to your bandmates-
"Please, no, don't send me
back there! I'll do anything! (laughs)"
If things had gone
differently, say, the fans hadn't taken it as well as they had, do you think
you and Dongwoon-sshi would still be together?
"Without question. Or, at
least, that's how I feel. Realistically, I suppose it would have caused some
major problems, like I probably wouldn't be snarky maknae Kyuhyun any more.
But... I think, with our fair share of anxiety and arguments, we'd be closer
than ever, I suppose. Stuff like that really is the make or break of a
relationship - if your peers don't approve on the whole, then really, there's
no driving force behind you, a typical us-versus-them scenario. Really, I guess
it's a little bit wishful thinking to say we'd definitely be together, so can I
change my answer to something like 'If he'd still have me after I'd fallen'?
That makes more sense, given the situation."
As Kyuhyun-sshi and I share our
goodbyes and head for our respective cars, I think a lot more questions are
raised. How does Dongwoon-sshi feel about these matters? How do certain
fangroups feel about it? Will this do anything to damage Super Junior or B2ST's
reputation as idols?
Time will tell, I suppose. For
now, though, we should continue to support the pair and I'm sure I'm not the
only person who says that hearts and best wishes go to them.
Interview
by Dai Mitchell of I.K.M.
~~
Uhm. I.K.M: International K-Pop Magazine. Because I couldn't think, it was 4 in the morning XD
I LOVE YOU BB PLEASE DONT KILL ME IF I DID SOMETHING WRONG OR SOME CRAP //SOB
Also, written in half-column form ish for magazine-feel :3