008. Locket [100 SuJu Fic Challenge]
Title: I’m Beautiful
Theme: Locket
Pairing: Heechul x Sungmin
There’s been something that’s bothering Heechul to the point of insanity. Usually, he respects Sungmin’s love for stuffed animals and the fact that he has a knack for collecting them. Recently though, he’s been driving Heechul up the wall with his silly shenanigans: carelessly leaving his plush bunnies and what-not strewn across the corridor; hanging the toys on strings and tying them to front of his door so that he would be greeted by the smiling face of a pink pig when he opened it; and stashing them in random places such as the bathtub (Why? Don’t ask).
Heechul tries hard, really hard, to ignore the creepy, vacant stares of the inanimate critters that he comes face-to-face with each day. One day, when he finds a single pink tuft of fur resting on his favorite mirror, he decides he’s had enough. He just has to teach the little ball of pink fluffiness a lesson.
“Hyung hyung hyung!” the voice chimed, ringing in his ears. As expected, Heechul turned to find a bright face, grinning stretched from ear to ear. “I got a new toy!” Usually, Sungmin would go and show off his latest possession to someone who actually cared, or at least pretended to care, but unfortunately, no one was home. He pressed the white-as-snow-furred bunny into his face - or at least within his line of sight.
Heechul only made a grunt of acknowledgment. His indifference wasn’t registered into Sungmin’s brain, especially in his hyper, oh-are-you-burning-to-death-in-the-fireplace-Santa-Claus?-I-could-care-less-since-I-have-better-things-to-worry-about state. “This is now my favorite!” he chipped, undeterred as Heechul turned to staring at his complexion in the full-length mirror.
It was a pretty bunny. Heechul had to give the younger points for that. It was similar to that pig-rabbit thing he had seen in a drama once... I’m Beautiful or something like that - minus the pig nose. “Oh, yea? That’s nice,” the narcissist managed, absentmindedly nodding his head.
Sungmin then pranced off, clutching the bunny to his chest with a “I don’t know what I would ever do if I lost you.”
You could practically see the light-bulb shining above Heechul’s head.
“What are you looking at?” Heechul hissed as he entered Sungmin’s room. The pig-rabbit look-a-like stared at him from its position on the shelf, as if saying, You better not touch me; I’m way too cute to risk having fingerprints on me.
Ignoring the bunny’s silent plea, he snatched it before holding it up, observing it. A shiny object caught his eye. “What’s this?”
A silver heart on a matching strand of silver. A locket?
Whatever it was, the sun reflecting off of it was blinding him. He removed it hastily, placing it down where the bunny had previously sat.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Heechul hyung!” Heechul expected to find his dongsaeng in tears, blubbering about the fact that he couldn’t find his favorite bunny. It was far from that. “I see you like to play with bunnies too?” He gestured toward the poorly hidden doll behind his pillow, ears sticking out.
Heechul managed a sheepish grin, weakly agreeing. He made a mental note to himself: next time, stuff it in the back of the closet.
Sungmin pressed on, “Oh, that’s okay. I don’t mind if you play with it without my permission. I’m perfectly fine with that. Just don’t and I mean do not mess around with this locket, okay?” He held up the glittering object. “I’m glad you didn’t take it.”
Heechul stared at it.
“You know why that’s my favorite bunny? It helps me protect this locket. It’s very special because it contains the special person of special-ness. You want to see what’s in it?” Sungmin didn’t wait for a reply.
He shoved the small heart at Heechul so he could view its contents - a photo - inside.
Heechul smiled; an authentic one this time. “It’s me!”