The Man I Love - Part III, 2011
A story of Kyuhyun and Sungmin, through the years.
Pairing(s): Kyumin, bff!Kyuwook, bff!Eunmin, unrequited!Kyumi, ninja!others
Rated: PG-14 for kissing/romance, a car accident, slight language, slight angst. and possibly so much cuteness you might die.
~
Kyuhyun is actually quite angry with Sungmin; he doesn’t talk to him the whole ride back to the hotel and ignores Ryeowook when the eternal maknae tries to get them to make peace.
Okay, so what if Sungmin got a little jealous of Zhou Mi on that show. So what if he decided to sneak off when the camera was focused on Kyuhyun and wave around a fan’s 厉旭 banner as a sort of childish revenge. (In hindsight, he really hopes Yesung won’t kill him for that.)
Even Donghae notices the tension between them, and the fact that Zhou Mi’s gaze is boring holes in Sungmin’s head, his expression as close to a glare as it’s ever been. Donghae drags Eunhyuk out of the elevator after three floors of tense silence, muttering something about stairs being better exercise.
The elevator is completely silent except for the beeps at every floor. Kyuhyun refuses to look at either of them, glaring at the fake-marble floor, and Sungmin feels the beginnings of guilt creeping into him. When the elevator finally reaches the floor they’re staying on, Sungmin is about to go back to his room, but Zhou Mi taps him on the shoulder.
“I need to talk to you in private,” he says quietly. Kyuhyun’s already gone into the room he’s sharing with Zhou Mi, so Sungmin has no choice but to let Zhou Mi into his room, a flutter of anxiety twisting his stomach.
Zhou Mi closes the door behind him and leans against it, folding his arms across his chest. (Sungmin can’t explain the sudden caged feeling he has, and he doesn’t like it.)
“I would hurt you right now if I thought it would make Kuixian feel better,” Zhou Mi says coldly, after a long silence, and Sungmin shivers involuntarily at his words.
“Why don’t you, then?” Sungmin challenges, trying to cover up his sudden fear.
“He loves you too much,” Zhou Mi says with a sigh, suddenly looking small and sad and tired. “He would kill me tomorrow if I so much as touched you.”
Sungmin scoffs, turning away to pace the room. “He doesn’t care if I get hurt. Just go back to your room and do whatever it is you guys do.”
When he turns back to face Zhou Mi, the Chinese man is staring openmouthed at him, so shocked that he can’t even form coherent sentences. “You think Kuixian and I have something going on behind your back?” he manages finally.
Sungmin glares at him.
Zhou Mi mutters something under his breath in Chinese that is probably a swear word. “Sungmin ah, I love him, but when I confessed to him he told me he already had someone else he loves.”
He can tell Sungmin doesn’t believe him, and rolls his eyes, striding forward and grabbing Sungmin’s wrist, shoving him out the door. “Talk to Kuixian,” he says, and shuts the door.
(Many months later, Zhou Mi turns up abruptly at their dorm, bright and bouncy and smiling. “Can I talk to Sungminnie?” he asks when Siwon opens the door. Siwon raises an eyebrow at Zhou Mi’s cheerfulness, so different from how he had been before, and yells for Sungmin to come downstairs.
“Sungmin ah,” Zhou Mi says, pulling Sungmin into an empty practice room and closing the door. “Um, this might be kind of weird, but...I just wanted to let you know that I have a boyfriend,” he finishes, rushing slightly in his nervousness.
Sungmin snickers, lounging against the piano. “I want to meet him, Mimi,” he says playfully. “What’s his name?”
“Hannie,” Zhou Mi says quietly, the smile in his eyes soft and adoring. “Chan Hannie.”
“He better be good enough for you,” Sungmin teases gently, all the while wondering if he looks that wonderstruck, that starry-eyed, when he talks about Kyuhyun.)
~
For the record, Kyuhyun isn’t mad at Sungmin.
He’s just upset. SM wants them to do fanservice, but he obviously can’t let the fans know who he really loves. And a few years back, Hankyung had been forced to warn Zhou Mi not to make it so obvious in public that he was in love with Kyuhyun. He hadn’t said anything directly to Kyuhyun, who had never had trouble hiding his emotions on stage.
Except when, in the middle of answering the MC, he happened to glance over and see Sungmin waving around that banner, his shock overruled his thoughts and he stood there, frozen, until Sungmin had the good grace to pretend he’d just been playing around off-camera, that he couldn’t read the banner anyway, and Kyuhyun had pretended to laugh along with the rest of them.
(He feels a little bad for having ignored Ryeowook in the car; Ryeowook had thought it was his fault Kyuhyun wasn’t talking to Sungmin.)
He’s about to go to bed and hope he can deal with things better in the morning, when someone knocks on the door. Thinking it’s Zhou Mi, he goes to let him in, but is taken by surprise when he finds Sungmin standing on the other side of the door, hand raised to knock again.
Sungmin shifts uncomfortably. “Kyuhyun ah-”
Kyuhyun pulls him into the room before Sungmin can continue, kicking the door closed before he turns and pins Sungmin against the wall, kissing him, hard.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he says, low and hard, against Sungmin’s lips. He feels Sungmin nod helplessly, and releases him.
“I’m sorry,” Sungmin mumbles. “I just...I...never mind.” He looks up into Kyuhyun’s dark eyes. “Um...you know Mimi is, um...”
“In love with me?” Kyuhyun finishes, sounding tired. “Yeah.”
“Um.” Sungmin tries to think of how to say this. “Do you...love him?”
Kyuhyun looks at him sharply. “Sungminnie, why would you ever think that?”
“If you do, that’s...that’s fine,” Sungmin says quietly, absently fingering the buttons on his jacket.
“You’re an idiot,” Kyuhyun replies, but the tenderness in his eyes is unmistakable.
“Are you...are you sure you and Mimi...”
“Shut up,” Kyuhyun interrupts, and kisses him again to make him do just that.
(“Who do you think would be the most perfect boyfriend in Super Junior M?”
Kyuhyun blinks, a little surprised at the MC’s question. “Um...” He laughs nervously when he hears what the fans are shouting, and can’t resist looking over at Sungmin, who’s biting his lip in an effort not to smile. Eunhyuk blocks his line of vision, a gentle reminder to pay attention.
“I think...the most perfect boyfriend...is Sungmin.”)
~
Heechul announces, one day, that he’s planning to go into the army in a month. They’re all sad to let him go, so Leeteuk and Donghae secretly plan a small farewell party for him, something they hadn’t been able to do for Kangin.
Kyuhyun lounges on the couch, drink in hand (he’s lost count of how many he’s had), while his hyungs generally go overboard with the alcohol and the music. He has more than enough amusement watching Ryeowook try to kiss everyone on the cheek and Yesung try to control Ryeowook’s alcohol consumption.
Sungmin stumbles over to him and collapses onto the couch, leaning against Kyuhyun’s shoulder. “Kyunnie, play with me. Wookie’s not paying attention to me and Hyukkie’s busy with Hae...”
Kyuhyun smiles at him, squeezing his hand. “You’ve had too much to drink, Sungminnie,” he says, noting how flushed Sungmin’s cheeks are.
“You haven’t had enough to drink,” Sungmin retorts childishly, as if that’s the root of the problem, and Kyuhyun laughs, downing the rest of his drink in one swallow before placing the glass on the table and pulling Sungmin up to dance.
“You dance better when you’re drunk,” Sungmin says happily, laughing when Kyuhyun spins him around in his arms.
“Thank you,” Kyuhyun says, grinning widely, and feels his heart skip a beat when Sungmin looks at him with shining eyes. (Maybe he’s a little drunk too, but he still thinks Sungmin is the most beautiful person he’s ever seen.)
Afterwards, after Leeteuk more or less demands that everyone get to sleep, Sungmin stubbornly refuses Kyuhyun’s help to get back to their bedroom. “I’m fine,” he insists, but trips and falls and drags Kyuhyun down with him.
Kyuhyun ends up sprawled on top of Sungmin, his dark, dark eyes much too close, and Sungmin feels his heart start racing. “Remember that mini-drama we filmed a long time ago?” he says breathlessly.
Kyuhyun chuckles. “Of course, love,” he murmurs, pressing a line of kisses across Sungmin’s jaw, down his neck.
Sungmin squirms underneath him. “Kyunnie, the floor’s cold.”
In response, Kyuhyun just sweeps Sungmin up into his arms and carries him the rest of the way to their room.
(“Oppa, will you marry me?” an ELF’s post in the UFO community reads.
“You have to get permission from Sungmin oppa first,” Kyuhyun types, smirking to himself, and presses enter.)
~
Sungmin loves New York City.
It’s beautiful, and vibrant; he’s fascinated by the sheer amount of people packed into this one metropolis, all with their own dreams and stories to tell. There’s much more acceptance here, and no one gives him a strange look if he decides to hold Kyuhyun’s hand while they wander through the streets, enjoying the air and the sunlight on their faces.
Their walk takes them to Central Park, a sprawling expanse of fresh green (the only green in this city, really) and clear water and quaint stone footbridges. Kyuhyun sits down in the shade of a large tree drooping over the banks of a small creek, an out-of-the-way place where they can probably avoid any potential fangirls in the area. Sungmin stretches out on the dry grass, lying on his side so he can watch the shadows of leaves dance across Kyuhyun’s eyes.
Kyuhyun notices him staring, and smiles, a soft tender quirk of the lips (and Sungmin has come to realize he’s the only one who ever sees this smile). “Can’t keep your eyes off me?” the younger man teases quietly.
“You’re too perfect,” Sungmin replies, grinning cheekily. He doesn’t dare kiss Kyuhyun right now, where anyone could see them, so he contents himself with taking Kyuhyun’s hand and committing to memory the expression of utter bliss on Kyuhyun’s face.
~
Kyuhyun’s glad to be back in New York City, but with Super Junior missing five members, he’s a little worried about how the fans will react at the concert.
(He thinks he might know a little how Yunho and Changmin must feel all the time.)
Sungmin, apparently, has the same concerns. He tosses and turns next to Kyuhyun for at least an hour, before Kyuhyun rolls over to face him. “Kyominnie.”
“I can’t sleep,” Sungmin whispers, curling up so his head is resting on Kyuhyun’s shoulder, the familiar weight giving Kyuhyun a sense of comfort. “I’m worried about the concert.”
“There’s nothing to be worried about,” Kyuhyun reassures him, even though he’s been thinking the same thing for the past few days. “You should get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow.”
Sungmin pouts at him, moving back over to his side of the bed. “I’m too worried,” he admits quietly.
Kyuhyun props himself up with an elbow. “How can I make you feel better?”
“A song?” Sungmin asks, half-smiling at the reference to their mini-drama. He claps quietly, grinning broadly, when Kyuhyun acquiesces. “A song? Really? Good~”
“Someday I know he’ll come along, the man I love,” Kyuhyun sings quietly, his bright eyes never leaving Sungmin’s face. “And he’ll be big and strong, the man I love...”
Sungmin laughs, covering his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound. While he still doesn’t understand that much English, he knows this song well. (He likes to think of it as their song). He shifts so that he’s curled up against Kyuhyun’s side again, and the younger man lies down so Sungmin can make himself comfortable, Kyuhyun’s heartbeat and the vibrations of his chest as he sings lulling him into a deep, peaceful sleep.
“I don’t know when I’ll meet him, maybe Sunday, maybe Monday, but when I do, I’ll know it’s him...”
By the time Kyuhyun finishes singing, Sungmin’s fast asleep on Kyuhyun’s shoulder, the fabric of the younger man’s shirt fisted in his hands.
Kyuhyun kisses Sungmin’s cheek gently, pulling the covers up over him.
(New York loves them.
The concert is a stunning success, fans from all backgrounds having turned up to see them. Kyuhyun smiles and waves at the audience as he sings and dances, joy rushing through him at being able to do what he loves.
Then he hears the fans at the front of the stage go absolutely crazy, and he turns around to see Sungmin picking up a fan’s pink banner and waving it around, jumping up and down like a little kid.
I ♥규민, the banner reads, and Kyuhyun looks away quickly, trying and failing to hide his smile.)
~
They change quickly into something less flashy in the dressing room backstage after the concert and rush off to board the bus, both of them still exhilarated from the adrenaline rush and happiness for their fans’ support, the fans’ wild cheering still ringing in their ears.
Sungmin sits down in the aisle seat while Kyuhyun lifts their bags up to the overhead rack. “The window seat’s cold,” he says innocently when Kyuhyun raises an eyebrow.
“Move over,” Kyuhyun orders cheekily.
“That’s not how you talk to your hyung,” Sungmin says, trying to sound stern but smiling.
Kyuhyun looks at him. Reconsiders.
“Sungmin hyung.”
Sungmin laughs and moves over, leaning his head on Kyuhyun’s shoulder once the younger man sits down and links their hands together. Outside the window, the lights of New York City flash by as the bus takes them to their next destination.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Sungmin says, quietly so no one else around them can hear.
Kyuhyun smiles. “I will never leave you,” he promises.