Lost And Found (100 SuJu Challenge)
Theme #8: Locket
Title: Lost And Found
Author: thundersquall
Rating: G
Word count: 2,097
Disclaimer: Sungmin belongs to me. Or at least, he will once I get rid of LSM.
Summary: Heechul loses something important to Sungmin, and along with it he may lose Sungmin’s friendship.
Written for jess66six , as part of our fic barter trade thing. I'm sorry, I know this took an eternity.
And also, happy early birthday to Heenim, our dearly beloved Princess!
“Hey,” Heechul said, sliding into a chair opposite Sungmin at the dining table and propping his elbows on it.
Sungmin looked up, startled for a moment, but when he saw who it was his face darkened. He didn’t reply, just carried on eating his toast, acting as if Heechul was invisible. The only signs he gave that showed he knew the other man was there were an almost imperceptible frown between his brows, and a slight tightening of the lips, so subtle that a stranger probably wouldn’t have noticed.
But Heechul wasn’t a stranger. Heechul was one of Sungmin’s best friends, despite all evidence to the contrary, and he certainly caught every one of Sungmin’s little inconspicuous changes of expression. Under ordinary circumstances he’d shriek or throw a tantrum at the silent treatment he was getting. But right now, all he really wanted to do was to try to prevent things from getting any worse and hopefully get his friend back.
So he hitched a smile on his face and leaned over the table. “Sungmin-ah, how about going shopping together after you’re done with breakfast? There’s this sale going on at…”
Sungmin swallowed the last of his toast, and then very slowly and deliberately stood up, pushing his chair back so that the legs dragged loudly over the ceramic floor, and walked out of the room without sparing Heechul a single glance.
Heechul stared after him, stunned, then swore under his breath.
______________________________________________________________________
“Sungmin, can I just talk to you for a second?” Heechul said, walking up to the couch where Sungmin was currently lounging on, watching television with Yesung.
Sungmin looked up at him, anger evident in his eyes. “No,” he said curtly, then turned his attention back to the TV screen. Beside him, Yesung raised a curious eyebrow.
“Please.” Heechul was getting upset.
Sungmin stood up then, so suddenly that Heechul took a step backwards. He eyed Heechul for a few seconds and Heechul found himself holding his breath hopefully.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Sungmin snapped, and strode off into his bedroom. The sound of the door slamming behind him echoed throughout the entire apartment.
“What happened to him?” Yesung asked, staring in disbelief. “Sungmin’s never like that.”
Heechul swallowed. “ I - I sort of made him mad. I’m trying to talk to him, but he… he doesn’t want to speak to me.” He gestured vaguely at the closed door.
“What did you do?”
“I… well, I took his ring from him the other day when he was asleep in the car as a prank, but I… I somehow lost it.”
Yesung’s eyes widened. “His ring? You mean the eternity ring that Kyuhyun gave him last year? The one he never ever takes off?”
Heechul couldn’t speak, just nodded.
“Oh my goodness, hyung, of all things you had to take that? You know how much Sungmin treasures it.”
“I know,” Heechul said miserably. “That’s why I took it. I thought it’d be funnier.”
“Yes, very funny indeed,” Yesung said, frowning. “Seriously, hyung, a prank like that is something Hyukjae or Donghae would pull, and even then they know enough not to touch that ring.”
“I know already!” Heechul wailed. “I meant to give it right back to him, but then I lost it! I can’t remember where I put it, for all I know I could have dropped it somewhere on the streets or left it in the restaurant where we were eating. I’ve looked everywhere!”
Yesung shrugged. “Hyung, I can’t help you here. You have to talk to Sungmin directly and apologise.”
“I tried,” Heechul snarled. “But you saw what he’s like. He just refuses to speak to me.”
Yesung’s eyes were sympathetic as he looked at Heechul. “Just keep trying hyung, Sungmin isn’t really the type to hold grudges. Eventually he’ll listen to you, after he’s cooled down a little.”
Heechul nodded. He would keep trying, he had to. Life without Sungmin to gossip with and shop with and complain to was unbearable.
_________________________________________________________________
A couple of days later, Heechul found himself at the door of Sungmin’s bedroom.
Sungmin was hunched over his laptop, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard and his face scrunched up in concentration. From where he was, Heechul could catch a glimpse of what was on his screen; he seemed to be looking at online brochures for jewellery, mostly rings, and Heechul could guess why, a wave of guilt washing over him at the thought.
He was certain this wouldn’t be the best time to bother Sungmin, at a time when he was looking at rings (or searching for a particular ring, if Heechul’s guess was right). After all, he was the reason why Sungmin was feverishly going through brochures from practically every brand-name jewellery store in Seoul now.
But he had to speak to him, to try to apologise, and make him listen, because for the last few days each time he’d tried to talk to Sungmin he’d been rebuffed coldly, or treated as if he was invisible. Apparently it was taking Sungmin a lot longer to ‘cool down’ than Yesung, or Heechul himself, had expected.
He coughed lightly, and Sungmin turned around, a smile on his lips, but when he saw Heechul the smile died as quickly as if he’d been burned. Heechul felt his gut twist at the sight.
“What do you want, I’m busy. Leave, please,” Sungmin said coldly, then turned back to his laptop.
Heechul, however, walked into the bedroom, closing the door quietly. Sungmin looked over his shoulder at him, irritation distorting his beautiful features.
“I said, leave, I’ll - “
Heechul went over to Sungmin, disregarding his words, and grasped both his hands. “Sungmin, I’m really sorry.”
Sungmin tried to pull his hands out of Heechul’s grip but Heechul held him tightly. “Please, listen to me, Sungmin, I really didn’t mean it. I’m sorry, I’ll find a replacement for you, just forgive me please.”
Sungmin looked straight into Heechul’s eyes then, his eyes swimming with tears. “A replacement? You want to buy me a replacement for that ring?”
“Yes,” Heechul said desperately. “Anything, I’ll try to find it for you. Just - “
Sungmin laughed scornfully, even as tears began to trickle down his cheeks. “Hyung, Kyuhyun got that ring custom-made for me. It’s unique, one of a kind.”
Heechul’s jaw dropped. Shit, but he was really in hot water this time. A custom-made ring of all things? And he had to go and lose it?
“Even if you found a one for me, it wouldn’t be the same,” Sungmin continued relentlessly. “It wouldn’t replace the sentimental value. You could get me one that looks the same, or something even more beautiful, more expensive, but it still wouldn’t be the one Kyuhyun gave me.”
He was crying in earnest now, and he pulled his hands back from Heechul before standing up and pushing him towards the door. “You’ll never know how much it means to me, and now that you’ve lost it, you think simply buying one more will make everything fine and dandy. You never thought of the emotions behind it, did you?”
Heechul couldn’t speak as he staggered backwards under the force of Sungmin’s pushing, until he was outside the bedroom and Sungmin threw him one last furious look as he wiped at his wet cheeks with the back of his hand.
“Sungmin, wait - “ Heechul managed to get this far before the door was shut in his face.
______________________________________________________________________
Heechul sat on the balcony, tendrils of smoke curling around him as he exhaled slowly, the cigarette tip glowing a fierce red in the darkness. It had been a week and the situation with Sungmin had gotten nothing but worse.
He’d never been more upset with himself in his life, and he didn’t know how to get out of this. He was losing Sungmin, and it was no one’s fault but his own.
He heard the balcony door slide open behind him, and a familiar voice said, “Heechul?”
“Mmmm,” he replied, taking another drag of his cigarette.
“What are you doing out here? It’s cold, come back and get some sleep.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Heechul said, turning to see a concerned Hankyung behind him.
“You have to try, we have an early day tomorrow,” Hankyung said gently.
Heechul looked down at his cigarette, burnt down almost to his fingers, and nodded. He took a last drag and then flicked it carelessly aside, where it rolled towards the corner of the balcony, still smouldering.
Hankyung sighed. “Oh Heechul, you shouldn’t do that - the boys always have to pick up after you.”
“I don’t care,” Heechul said, standing up, as Hankyung shook his head in resignation and walked over to pick up the cigarette butt. Heechul watched him as he bent over, but just as his fingertips brushed it he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Heechul said.
Hankyung’s fingers passed over the cigarette and towards something else a little further behind it, something shiny that Heechul couldn’t quite make out and frankly hadn’t noticed. He picked it up carefully.
“Chul-ah…”
“What?” Heechul asked impatiently. “You asked me to go to bed, okay, what the hell are you doing now?”
Hankyung held up what he’d found, and Heechul gasped.
“Looks familiar?” Hankyung asked, smiling.
Heechul almost ran the few steps to him, snatching the item out of his hand. “This - it’s Sungmin’s ring!” he cried, turning the little circlet of platinum over in his palm and noting the inscription on the inside of the band. Forever means nothing without you.
“How did it end up here?” Heechul asked in awe, his eyes bright.
Hankyung shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe you put it in your pocket that day and it fell out and rolled into that corner when you came out here. Does it matter in any case? You’ve found it, that’s what’s important.”
Heechul nodded, his hand closing tightly around the ring. “I’ll return it to Sungmin tomorrow.”
“Why not now? Just go wake him up, he’ll be so glad to have it back he won’t mind. And you can apologise and make up.”
“No, I have a plan.”
“Chul…”
“Don’t worry, it’s a good plan.”
“I really wonder,’ Hankyung muttered. “Please, just don’t lose it again, or play another prank like this.”
“Never ever,” Heechul promised with a shudder, before walking back into the dorm, a spring in his step.
________________________________________________________________________
Sungmin was on his laptop again the next afternoon when Heechul came back to the dorm. This time, he entered without hesitation and plopped himself down unceremoniously on Sungmin’s bed, just behind him. Sungmin turned, scowling, but before he could say or do anything Heechul brandished the ring, grinning broadly.
Sungmin looked at it as though he didn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“I found it,” Heechul announced triumphantly, grabbing Sungmin’s hand and dropping the ring into it. He watched as Sungmin picked it up and looked at it, turning it over and over, and then finally slipped it on to his middle finger. When he looked up at Heechul his eyes were wet again, but this time he had a smile on his face, and Heechul felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off his chest at the sight of that smile.
“Hyung, you found it?” Sungmin whispered.
Heechul shrugged. “Well, technically Hankyung did, by pure accident.”
They sat in silence for a while, Heechul looking at Sungmin while Sungmin looked at his ring, until Heechul spoke up again.
“And I have something else for you.”
Sungmin looked up, surprised, as Heechul handed him a small box.
“I - I went to get this early this morning for you, because, you know, everything… well, I wanted to just give you something, and…”
Heechul trailed off as Sungmin opened the box and slowly lifted up the delicate necklace lying inside. The pendant on it, in the shape of a guitar, swung back and forth, reflecting rays of light across Sungmin’s face.
“It’s a locket, actually,” Heechul said quickly. “Press it at the top.” Sungmin did so, and the locket sprung open to reveal a tiny picture inside.
As Sungmin gazed at it, Heechul took a deep breath and blurted out, “Sungmin-ah, I’m… I’m really sorry, you know. I promise, I won’t do something like that again.”
Sungmin looked up at him then, and Heechul thought he was going to say something, but instead of speaking he leaned forward and enveloped Heechul in a hug.
“Thanks, hyung,” Sungmin whispered, and Heechul smiled and hugged him back.
Title: Lost And Found
Author: thundersquall
Rating: G
Word count: 2,097
Disclaimer: Sungmin belongs to me. Or at least, he will once I get rid of LSM.
Summary: Heechul loses something important to Sungmin, and along with it he may lose Sungmin’s friendship.
Written for jess66six , as part of our fic barter trade thing. I'm sorry, I know this took an eternity.
And also, happy early birthday to Heenim, our dearly beloved Princess!
“Hey,” Heechul said, sliding into a chair opposite Sungmin at the dining table and propping his elbows on it.
Sungmin looked up, startled for a moment, but when he saw who it was his face darkened. He didn’t reply, just carried on eating his toast, acting as if Heechul was invisible. The only signs he gave that showed he knew the other man was there were an almost imperceptible frown between his brows, and a slight tightening of the lips, so subtle that a stranger probably wouldn’t have noticed.
But Heechul wasn’t a stranger. Heechul was one of Sungmin’s best friends, despite all evidence to the contrary, and he certainly caught every one of Sungmin’s little inconspicuous changes of expression. Under ordinary circumstances he’d shriek or throw a tantrum at the silent treatment he was getting. But right now, all he really wanted to do was to try to prevent things from getting any worse and hopefully get his friend back.
So he hitched a smile on his face and leaned over the table. “Sungmin-ah, how about going shopping together after you’re done with breakfast? There’s this sale going on at…”
Sungmin swallowed the last of his toast, and then very slowly and deliberately stood up, pushing his chair back so that the legs dragged loudly over the ceramic floor, and walked out of the room without sparing Heechul a single glance.
Heechul stared after him, stunned, then swore under his breath.
______________________________________________________________________
“Sungmin, can I just talk to you for a second?” Heechul said, walking up to the couch where Sungmin was currently lounging on, watching television with Yesung.
Sungmin looked up at him, anger evident in his eyes. “No,” he said curtly, then turned his attention back to the TV screen. Beside him, Yesung raised a curious eyebrow.
“Please.” Heechul was getting upset.
Sungmin stood up then, so suddenly that Heechul took a step backwards. He eyed Heechul for a few seconds and Heechul found himself holding his breath hopefully.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Sungmin snapped, and strode off into his bedroom. The sound of the door slamming behind him echoed throughout the entire apartment.
“What happened to him?” Yesung asked, staring in disbelief. “Sungmin’s never like that.”
Heechul swallowed. “ I - I sort of made him mad. I’m trying to talk to him, but he… he doesn’t want to speak to me.” He gestured vaguely at the closed door.
“What did you do?”
“I… well, I took his ring from him the other day when he was asleep in the car as a prank, but I… I somehow lost it.”
Yesung’s eyes widened. “His ring? You mean the eternity ring that Kyuhyun gave him last year? The one he never ever takes off?”
Heechul couldn’t speak, just nodded.
“Oh my goodness, hyung, of all things you had to take that? You know how much Sungmin treasures it.”
“I know,” Heechul said miserably. “That’s why I took it. I thought it’d be funnier.”
“Yes, very funny indeed,” Yesung said, frowning. “Seriously, hyung, a prank like that is something Hyukjae or Donghae would pull, and even then they know enough not to touch that ring.”
“I know already!” Heechul wailed. “I meant to give it right back to him, but then I lost it! I can’t remember where I put it, for all I know I could have dropped it somewhere on the streets or left it in the restaurant where we were eating. I’ve looked everywhere!”
Yesung shrugged. “Hyung, I can’t help you here. You have to talk to Sungmin directly and apologise.”
“I tried,” Heechul snarled. “But you saw what he’s like. He just refuses to speak to me.”
Yesung’s eyes were sympathetic as he looked at Heechul. “Just keep trying hyung, Sungmin isn’t really the type to hold grudges. Eventually he’ll listen to you, after he’s cooled down a little.”
Heechul nodded. He would keep trying, he had to. Life without Sungmin to gossip with and shop with and complain to was unbearable.
_________________________________________________________________
A couple of days later, Heechul found himself at the door of Sungmin’s bedroom.
Sungmin was hunched over his laptop, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard and his face scrunched up in concentration. From where he was, Heechul could catch a glimpse of what was on his screen; he seemed to be looking at online brochures for jewellery, mostly rings, and Heechul could guess why, a wave of guilt washing over him at the thought.
He was certain this wouldn’t be the best time to bother Sungmin, at a time when he was looking at rings (or searching for a particular ring, if Heechul’s guess was right). After all, he was the reason why Sungmin was feverishly going through brochures from practically every brand-name jewellery store in Seoul now.
But he had to speak to him, to try to apologise, and make him listen, because for the last few days each time he’d tried to talk to Sungmin he’d been rebuffed coldly, or treated as if he was invisible. Apparently it was taking Sungmin a lot longer to ‘cool down’ than Yesung, or Heechul himself, had expected.
He coughed lightly, and Sungmin turned around, a smile on his lips, but when he saw Heechul the smile died as quickly as if he’d been burned. Heechul felt his gut twist at the sight.
“What do you want, I’m busy. Leave, please,” Sungmin said coldly, then turned back to his laptop.
Heechul, however, walked into the bedroom, closing the door quietly. Sungmin looked over his shoulder at him, irritation distorting his beautiful features.
“I said, leave, I’ll - “
Heechul went over to Sungmin, disregarding his words, and grasped both his hands. “Sungmin, I’m really sorry.”
Sungmin tried to pull his hands out of Heechul’s grip but Heechul held him tightly. “Please, listen to me, Sungmin, I really didn’t mean it. I’m sorry, I’ll find a replacement for you, just forgive me please.”
Sungmin looked straight into Heechul’s eyes then, his eyes swimming with tears. “A replacement? You want to buy me a replacement for that ring?”
“Yes,” Heechul said desperately. “Anything, I’ll try to find it for you. Just - “
Sungmin laughed scornfully, even as tears began to trickle down his cheeks. “Hyung, Kyuhyun got that ring custom-made for me. It’s unique, one of a kind.”
Heechul’s jaw dropped. Shit, but he was really in hot water this time. A custom-made ring of all things? And he had to go and lose it?
“Even if you found a one for me, it wouldn’t be the same,” Sungmin continued relentlessly. “It wouldn’t replace the sentimental value. You could get me one that looks the same, or something even more beautiful, more expensive, but it still wouldn’t be the one Kyuhyun gave me.”
He was crying in earnest now, and he pulled his hands back from Heechul before standing up and pushing him towards the door. “You’ll never know how much it means to me, and now that you’ve lost it, you think simply buying one more will make everything fine and dandy. You never thought of the emotions behind it, did you?”
Heechul couldn’t speak as he staggered backwards under the force of Sungmin’s pushing, until he was outside the bedroom and Sungmin threw him one last furious look as he wiped at his wet cheeks with the back of his hand.
“Sungmin, wait - “ Heechul managed to get this far before the door was shut in his face.
______________________________________________________________________
Heechul sat on the balcony, tendrils of smoke curling around him as he exhaled slowly, the cigarette tip glowing a fierce red in the darkness. It had been a week and the situation with Sungmin had gotten nothing but worse.
He’d never been more upset with himself in his life, and he didn’t know how to get out of this. He was losing Sungmin, and it was no one’s fault but his own.
He heard the balcony door slide open behind him, and a familiar voice said, “Heechul?”
“Mmmm,” he replied, taking another drag of his cigarette.
“What are you doing out here? It’s cold, come back and get some sleep.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Heechul said, turning to see a concerned Hankyung behind him.
“You have to try, we have an early day tomorrow,” Hankyung said gently.
Heechul looked down at his cigarette, burnt down almost to his fingers, and nodded. He took a last drag and then flicked it carelessly aside, where it rolled towards the corner of the balcony, still smouldering.
Hankyung sighed. “Oh Heechul, you shouldn’t do that - the boys always have to pick up after you.”
“I don’t care,” Heechul said, standing up, as Hankyung shook his head in resignation and walked over to pick up the cigarette butt. Heechul watched him as he bent over, but just as his fingertips brushed it he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Heechul said.
Hankyung’s fingers passed over the cigarette and towards something else a little further behind it, something shiny that Heechul couldn’t quite make out and frankly hadn’t noticed. He picked it up carefully.
“Chul-ah…”
“What?” Heechul asked impatiently. “You asked me to go to bed, okay, what the hell are you doing now?”
Hankyung held up what he’d found, and Heechul gasped.
“Looks familiar?” Hankyung asked, smiling.
Heechul almost ran the few steps to him, snatching the item out of his hand. “This - it’s Sungmin’s ring!” he cried, turning the little circlet of platinum over in his palm and noting the inscription on the inside of the band. Forever means nothing without you.
“How did it end up here?” Heechul asked in awe, his eyes bright.
Hankyung shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe you put it in your pocket that day and it fell out and rolled into that corner when you came out here. Does it matter in any case? You’ve found it, that’s what’s important.”
Heechul nodded, his hand closing tightly around the ring. “I’ll return it to Sungmin tomorrow.”
“Why not now? Just go wake him up, he’ll be so glad to have it back he won’t mind. And you can apologise and make up.”
“No, I have a plan.”
“Chul…”
“Don’t worry, it’s a good plan.”
“I really wonder,’ Hankyung muttered. “Please, just don’t lose it again, or play another prank like this.”
“Never ever,” Heechul promised with a shudder, before walking back into the dorm, a spring in his step.
________________________________________________________________________
Sungmin was on his laptop again the next afternoon when Heechul came back to the dorm. This time, he entered without hesitation and plopped himself down unceremoniously on Sungmin’s bed, just behind him. Sungmin turned, scowling, but before he could say or do anything Heechul brandished the ring, grinning broadly.
Sungmin looked at it as though he didn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“I found it,” Heechul announced triumphantly, grabbing Sungmin’s hand and dropping the ring into it. He watched as Sungmin picked it up and looked at it, turning it over and over, and then finally slipped it on to his middle finger. When he looked up at Heechul his eyes were wet again, but this time he had a smile on his face, and Heechul felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off his chest at the sight of that smile.
“Hyung, you found it?” Sungmin whispered.
Heechul shrugged. “Well, technically Hankyung did, by pure accident.”
They sat in silence for a while, Heechul looking at Sungmin while Sungmin looked at his ring, until Heechul spoke up again.
“And I have something else for you.”
Sungmin looked up, surprised, as Heechul handed him a small box.
“I - I went to get this early this morning for you, because, you know, everything… well, I wanted to just give you something, and…”
Heechul trailed off as Sungmin opened the box and slowly lifted up the delicate necklace lying inside. The pendant on it, in the shape of a guitar, swung back and forth, reflecting rays of light across Sungmin’s face.
“It’s a locket, actually,” Heechul said quickly. “Press it at the top.” Sungmin did so, and the locket sprung open to reveal a tiny picture inside.
As Sungmin gazed at it, Heechul took a deep breath and blurted out, “Sungmin-ah, I’m… I’m really sorry, you know. I promise, I won’t do something like that again.”
Sungmin looked up at him then, and Heechul thought he was going to say something, but instead of speaking he leaned forward and enveloped Heechul in a hug.
“Thanks, hyung,” Sungmin whispered, and Heechul smiled and hugged him back.