Hot-air Balloons
Title: Hot-air Balloons
Pairing: Yesung/Ryeowook
Genre: Fluff, Slice-of-life
Rating: G
Summary: When Ryeowook has a question, he asks Yesung about it. That fact itself is as puzzling as the question he asks.
[A/N: A request from mskatness for her birthday. Idek… lol. This is… kind of weird and pointless. But uh… happy birthday, Kat! I hope you like this… randomness. XD]
Over the course of the years Ryeowook had known him, he’d come to the conclusion that Yesung was a very strange man indeed.
He was like the pinnacle of contradictions. He had a voice of an angel that could crack easily, a slim face which ended up fat on television, a pair of glittering eyes which looked flat and dull on the screen. And he was the most normal looking out of them all, yet he was the strangest person Ryeowook had ever known.
Maybe it was why Ryeowook considered him the go-to man whenever he was stuck with a question he couldn’t answer. Since, after all, you’d ask a fisherman how to fish, so you’d ask a strange man strange questions. Or maybe it was just because Kyuhyun would just ignore him in favour of a round Starcraft and Ryeowook wasn’t exactly that close to the rest that he could shoot random questions without getting funny looks.
As it was, Ryeowook had a question that he needed an answer for. It was a question that, maybe, was a little late, considering his already flourishing career as a singer in a popular boy band, but it was a question nonetheless.
“Why are we so popular?”
Ryeowook nodded, ignoring the thought that was obviously shared by the both of them on the timing of the question. “Well, yeah. I mean, yes, Super Junior is a big group, so there’s something for everyone. Yes, we have several catchy songs that everyone seems to like. Yes, we have so many sub-groups that it’s getting a little ridiculous. Yes, we do so much fanservice sometimes I find it hard to separate truth from set-ups myself. But, I mean, other groups are starting to have that too, and they’re more talented and way younger than we are.”
“Huh.” Yesung tilted his head, considering the question seriously. “I see… well, look over there, Ryeowook-ah.”
Ryeowook squinted in the direction which Yesung was pointing to. “…Why am I looking at the billboard for beer?”
“No, next to the billboard.” Yesung got up, jabbing his finger insistently, and Ryeowook saw what seemed to be a red coloured blob that he’d mistaken for part of the ad. But it’d moved as he continued to look at it.
“…A blimp?” Ryeowook guessed, and when Yesung gave him a look, he tried again. “Hot-air balloon?”
“Correct.” Yesung said it like it explained everything, which it of course, did not.
“We’re extremely popular because of a hot-air balloon?” Even strange as Yesung was, his answer was worse.
“No, no.” Yesung waved his hand like Ryeowook was the crazy one. “It’s because humans are like hot-air balloons.”
“Huh?”
“Well, you do know the expression ‘to be full of hot air’, right?”
“Yes, I do-”
“It’s to be extremely boastful, or arrogant. Egotistic. And that’s what people are - full of hot air. They like it when they’re right, when their opinion is being taken as important, when they can improve something because of their superiority.”
“Aside from the fact that I didn’t need to be told that, yeah, okay. I get it. So people are like hot-air balloons because they’re filled with hot air. But what does this have to do with my question?”
“I’m getting there.” Yesung sighed, like an old master at his impatient young disciple. “Well, the reason why we’re so popular despite that we are the best… is just because of that. We aren’t the best.”
“Oh…” Ryeowook blinked, before his expression turned confused again. “Huh?”
“Well, you see. When something is totally perfect, well, yes, people will like it. But, that’s just the extent of it. You’ll go, ‘oh, it’s so nice!’ and then promptly forget about it, because it’s so perfect, you won’t need to change anything.” Yesung smiled, slapping Ryeowook on the shoulder. “But, let’s say if it’s something that isn’t perfect, it has a flaw in it, then people can imagine that they can change it. The thing will remain in their minds as they think of ways to improve it. The more they think about it, the more it gets stuck there. It provides an illusion that they’re important to the imperfect thing. They’re involved - and that makes them happy.”
“Also, imagine you’re having a discussion about a perfect thing. The conversation would probably go, ‘Oh, it’s so good,’ and then you’ll have nothing else to say. That’s the extent of it. But if it’s something imperfect, you have lots more to talk about. How it’s good, how it’s bad, what you’d improve, what you’d keep. Imperfect things are a lot more interesting to us egotistical, gas-filled hot-air balloons.”
“So… basically.” Ryeowook said slowly, summing his Hyung’s messy explanation up. “We’re popular because of humans’ egotistical nature finds us more interesting with flaws?”
“Yeah… I guess you could say that.” Yesung nodded, looking thoughtful.
“Huh…” Ryeowook rubbed his chin. It did make sense - in an odd twisted way.
“It’s also the perfect explanation as to why I’m not as popular as, let’s say, Kyuhyun, Siwon or Donghae.” Yesung continued, much to Ryeowook’s chagrin. “They’re all imperfect, while I, the person with a God-given voice, am perfect. And as such, I have less fans!”
“…” Ryeowook stared at Yesung a deadened expression in his eyes. “You’re such a hot-air balloon, hyung.”
“Well, I am human.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Ryeowook said wryly, poking Yesung’s cheek.
“Oh… you’re saying I’m egotistical?” Yesung snorted, waving grandly. “Well, I’ll let you know that whatever I said was not a wild boast! After all, you did come to me for my expertise, no?”
“No… that’s not what I meant, hyung.” Ryeowook snorted, walking away. “You did know that, technically, someone who is full of hot air talks a lot of rubbish?”
“…Oh.” Yesung blinked, and Ryeowook shook his head.
It truly was a mystery, why Ryeowook still bothered to ask his strange, fail Hyung such questions in the first place.
~*~
“...Yah! Ryeowook, did you just say that I’m full of rubbish? Yah… YAH! RYEOWOOK COME BACK HERE!”
Pairing: Yesung/Ryeowook
Genre: Fluff, Slice-of-life
Rating: G
Summary: When Ryeowook has a question, he asks Yesung about it. That fact itself is as puzzling as the question he asks.
[A/N: A request from mskatness for her birthday. Idek… lol. This is… kind of weird and pointless. But uh… happy birthday, Kat! I hope you like this… randomness. XD]
Over the course of the years Ryeowook had known him, he’d come to the conclusion that Yesung was a very strange man indeed.
He was like the pinnacle of contradictions. He had a voice of an angel that could crack easily, a slim face which ended up fat on television, a pair of glittering eyes which looked flat and dull on the screen. And he was the most normal looking out of them all, yet he was the strangest person Ryeowook had ever known.
Maybe it was why Ryeowook considered him the go-to man whenever he was stuck with a question he couldn’t answer. Since, after all, you’d ask a fisherman how to fish, so you’d ask a strange man strange questions. Or maybe it was just because Kyuhyun would just ignore him in favour of a round Starcraft and Ryeowook wasn’t exactly that close to the rest that he could shoot random questions without getting funny looks.
As it was, Ryeowook had a question that he needed an answer for. It was a question that, maybe, was a little late, considering his already flourishing career as a singer in a popular boy band, but it was a question nonetheless.
“Why are we so popular?”
Ryeowook nodded, ignoring the thought that was obviously shared by the both of them on the timing of the question. “Well, yeah. I mean, yes, Super Junior is a big group, so there’s something for everyone. Yes, we have several catchy songs that everyone seems to like. Yes, we have so many sub-groups that it’s getting a little ridiculous. Yes, we do so much fanservice sometimes I find it hard to separate truth from set-ups myself. But, I mean, other groups are starting to have that too, and they’re more talented and way younger than we are.”
“Huh.” Yesung tilted his head, considering the question seriously. “I see… well, look over there, Ryeowook-ah.”
Ryeowook squinted in the direction which Yesung was pointing to. “…Why am I looking at the billboard for beer?”
“No, next to the billboard.” Yesung got up, jabbing his finger insistently, and Ryeowook saw what seemed to be a red coloured blob that he’d mistaken for part of the ad. But it’d moved as he continued to look at it.
“…A blimp?” Ryeowook guessed, and when Yesung gave him a look, he tried again. “Hot-air balloon?”
“Correct.” Yesung said it like it explained everything, which it of course, did not.
“We’re extremely popular because of a hot-air balloon?” Even strange as Yesung was, his answer was worse.
“No, no.” Yesung waved his hand like Ryeowook was the crazy one. “It’s because humans are like hot-air balloons.”
“Huh?”
“Well, you do know the expression ‘to be full of hot air’, right?”
“Yes, I do-”
“It’s to be extremely boastful, or arrogant. Egotistic. And that’s what people are - full of hot air. They like it when they’re right, when their opinion is being taken as important, when they can improve something because of their superiority.”
“Aside from the fact that I didn’t need to be told that, yeah, okay. I get it. So people are like hot-air balloons because they’re filled with hot air. But what does this have to do with my question?”
“I’m getting there.” Yesung sighed, like an old master at his impatient young disciple. “Well, the reason why we’re so popular despite that we are the best… is just because of that. We aren’t the best.”
“Oh…” Ryeowook blinked, before his expression turned confused again. “Huh?”
“Well, you see. When something is totally perfect, well, yes, people will like it. But, that’s just the extent of it. You’ll go, ‘oh, it’s so nice!’ and then promptly forget about it, because it’s so perfect, you won’t need to change anything.” Yesung smiled, slapping Ryeowook on the shoulder. “But, let’s say if it’s something that isn’t perfect, it has a flaw in it, then people can imagine that they can change it. The thing will remain in their minds as they think of ways to improve it. The more they think about it, the more it gets stuck there. It provides an illusion that they’re important to the imperfect thing. They’re involved - and that makes them happy.”
“Also, imagine you’re having a discussion about a perfect thing. The conversation would probably go, ‘Oh, it’s so good,’ and then you’ll have nothing else to say. That’s the extent of it. But if it’s something imperfect, you have lots more to talk about. How it’s good, how it’s bad, what you’d improve, what you’d keep. Imperfect things are a lot more interesting to us egotistical, gas-filled hot-air balloons.”
“So… basically.” Ryeowook said slowly, summing his Hyung’s messy explanation up. “We’re popular because of humans’ egotistical nature finds us more interesting with flaws?”
“Yeah… I guess you could say that.” Yesung nodded, looking thoughtful.
“Huh…” Ryeowook rubbed his chin. It did make sense - in an odd twisted way.
“It’s also the perfect explanation as to why I’m not as popular as, let’s say, Kyuhyun, Siwon or Donghae.” Yesung continued, much to Ryeowook’s chagrin. “They’re all imperfect, while I, the person with a God-given voice, am perfect. And as such, I have less fans!”
“…” Ryeowook stared at Yesung a deadened expression in his eyes. “You’re such a hot-air balloon, hyung.”
“Well, I am human.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Ryeowook said wryly, poking Yesung’s cheek.
“Oh… you’re saying I’m egotistical?” Yesung snorted, waving grandly. “Well, I’ll let you know that whatever I said was not a wild boast! After all, you did come to me for my expertise, no?”
“No… that’s not what I meant, hyung.” Ryeowook snorted, walking away. “You did know that, technically, someone who is full of hot air talks a lot of rubbish?”
“…Oh.” Yesung blinked, and Ryeowook shook his head.
It truly was a mystery, why Ryeowook still bothered to ask his strange, fail Hyung such questions in the first place.
~*~
“...Yah! Ryeowook, did you just say that I’m full of rubbish? Yah… YAH! RYEOWOOK COME BACK HERE!”