Retail Therapy: Where Fears Are Forgotten (Part 1)
title: Retail Therapy: Where Fears Are Forgotten (Part 1)
characters: Eeteuk and Sungmin (as our main characters), Yesung, Eunhyuk, Heechul, Shindong, Kangin (mentions of Ryeowook and Kibum =) )
genre: family!suju, waff
pairing/s: the romance in this fic is still minor, but again, there's EunMin and KangTeuk if you look really closely =)
disclaimer: Of course I don't own SuJu. Do you?
quirks (for this part of the chapter): umma!eeteuk, composer!yesung, stressed!manager-hyung (oh yes, he's here alright XD), and heechul's insane halloween prank
Summary: Eeteuk needs to write song lyrics. Problem is, his inspiration and sense of creativity just flew out the window, and it doesn't look like they're coming back anytime soon. How in the world could he deal with all the pressure and writer's block? His Son-Daughter Sungmin helps him find out through another bonding session and a bit of Retail Therapy.
First Installment:
Retail Therapy: Because The World Makes You Weary
please read the first installment if you want to get a clue as to the core of the fic/series and to know why Sungmin is Umma!Eeteuk's son-daughter =)
-----------------------------------
Eeteuk awoke one morning to the sound of piano keys being fingered. He figured that someone was playing the electric keyboard out in the living room.
It was 6:25 in the morning, and the other members in the dorm haven't woken up yet. It was still quiet, except for the music from outside. Eeteuk was curious who was playing the keyboard, but another part of his brain told him to stay put under the covers and wait for his alarm clock to ring at 7 am. He turned to his side and saw Kangin on the other bed, still snug, breathing calmly in his sleep.
Eeteuk was about to close his eyes again, preparing to be lulled back to sleep by the melody, but then he remembered that he was supposed to prepare breakfast.
Oh no, Eeteuk thought to himself. He squinted and looked at the watch on his wrist. 6:30 already? Thirty more minutes until 7. Ah, who cares. The boys could just grab their own cereal boxes for breakfast... at least for this morning. He then decided to snooze a bit more.
It was as if Eeteuk had just closed his eyes before he had to open them again.
"Umma~~...." Sungmin called out. Eeteuk suddenly felt a dead weight plop on the bed and on top of him. He opened his eyes and looked up, only to find Sungmin in his pink bunny pajamas lying on his tummy. "Hey, Umma, you preparing breakfast?" The younger boy asked.
Eeteuk tried to twist in his bed and pull the sheets closer to him. "Nnnngggghhhh" He groaned. "Sungmin, get off, I wanna sleep."
"Morning, Teukie-hyung." Greeted Kangin as he placed a hand on Eeteuk's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.
"Hey, Kangin" Eeteuk replied with a smile, eyes still closed.
"Oi, Sungmin, get off of Hyung." Kangin told Sungmin firmly.
"But, Hyung..."
"Guys, guys, be quiet..." Eeteuk said, groaning in frustration once more.
Kangin left the bedroom to head into the bathroom and Sungmin followed him outside as well.
Eeteuk turned in his bed to lie flat on his back and face the ceiling. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms and yawned. It was another day. He wondered to himself what was in store for him in the next few hours, but then decided that pondering on it was useless. He'll just have to see his daily planner or call up Manger-hyung for the prompt run-down of his schedule.
Eeteuk sat up on his bed. He blearily looked around the room for signs of his fuzzy white slippers, but found none. Before he knew it, all traces of thought escaped him and his eyelids were starting to flutter closed again. He was unconsciously nodding off to sleep as he reveled in the newfound silence.
Ten seconds later, he was brought back to life, startled out of his wits. He jumped out of his bed and quickly ducked behind his bedroom door.
After around twenty more seconds of hiding, and after figuring out that he was actually hiding from nothing, Eeteuk rubbed his eyes again, sighed deeply and whined. He walked out of the room barefoot and went into the living room where some of the members were already watching morning cartoons.
"Good morning, Hyung!" Shindong, Eunhyuk, Yesung, Sungmin, and Heechul altogether greeted Eeteuk with a cheery tone. Sungmin stood up and handed Eeteuk his slippers.
"Sorry, Umma. I wore them by mistake when I went out of your room." Sungmin apologized and then went back to his previous spot on the couch, squeezed between Eunhyuk and Shindong. Eeteuk nodded in reply.
"Okay, okay. Now I'm going to ask you guys something. Could you put the T.V. off for a second?" Eeteuk said, still groggy and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. No one really paid any attention to him. They were too engrossed in watching how Tom the cat chased Jerry the mouse with a pogo stick.
"Hey, turn that thing off!" Kangin shouted as he joined the group, coming out of the kitchen, mug of coffee in hand. Yesung quickly grabbed the remote and nervously fiddled with the on/off button.
Once it was quiet, all eyes were then on Eeteuk. The boy's shirt was wrinkly and his pajamas were hanging low. His hair was messy and his bangs stuck out in odd places. He had his hands on his hips and a serious expression on his face. In a low voice, he asked, "So, who did it? Who changed my alarm tone to the sound of a cat clawing and hissing and screeching like it's about to get run over?"
Everyone just blinked at him.
"I swear to God,” Eeteuk said exasperatedly. Somewhere in China, Siwon itched and sneezed frantically out of the blue. “It's not the best way to wake up in the morning. It drove me into hiding behind the door!"
"Then, wouldn't you consider it an effective way of waking you up, Hyung?" Heechul calmly asked.
"It's also an effective way of getting a heart attack." Eeteuk retorted.
Everyone just blinked again, and silently exchanged looks with each other. Yesung stood up from the couch and started to walk towards the kitchen.
"I'm hungry. I'm going to get some cereal. Hey, Shindong, do we still have milk?" Yesung asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Shindong replied and stood up as well, following Yesung. Eunhyuk, Sungmin, and Heechul all made for the kitchen, too.
"Hey, wait! I'm not yet done! I didn't get an answer yet!" Eeteuk yelled.
As everyone deserted their spot in the living room for a spot in the dining room, Heechul approached Eeteuk and said, "Calm down, Umma. I'm sorry." He smiled wickedly. He leaned in closer to Eeteuk and whispered in his ear, "Happy Halloween!" Heechul chuckled to himself as he walked away, and Eeteuk could do nothing but give out a frustrated sigh and rub his forehead with his fingers.
"Boys will be boys, Hyung." Kangin said as he patted Eeteuk on the shoulder for the second time that morning. Boys will be boys? Kangin thought about his last statement. If it was meant to refer to Heechul, then he wasn’t so sure if the line was applicable. Maybe he should’ve said, Heechul will always be evil, Hyung. That would have been more fitting. Kangin decided to shrug it off instead. He didn't know if he was trying to offer his hyung some kind of reassurance. Perhaps sympathy was more like it. "Come on, Let's go get cereal." And with that Kangin dragged a pouting and huffing Eeteuk into the kitchen.
"Maybe microwaved waffles are more of your thing?" Kangin offered. Then he remembered something and added with a smile, "We've got whipped cream and cherries in a jar! I think it's somewhere in the back of the fridge..."
-------------------------------------------
It was ten o'clock in the morning and Eeteuk just finished dressing up after his bath. He was wearing his usual jeans and a plain shirt. He drifted into the living room and walked across to the sliding glass door that led to the terrace. The air outside was cool, and it beautifully dulled out the searing morning sun. Eeteuk smiled to himself and breathed in a heap of fresh air. Bad idea, though. Eeteuk just ended up choking and coughing a bit. Living in a dorm in the heart of a city was not the best place to get a heap of fresh air after all.
Eeteuk then resigned himself to watching the people walk by on the sidewalks below him, and he observed how the cars would stop and then go as the traffic lights flashed red, yellow, and green. He then remembered what he needed to do. He took out his cellphone from his pocket and pressed a number on his keypad, his speed dial for his Manger-hyung.
“Hello?” A voice hurriedly called out from the other end.
“Manager-hyung! It’s me, Eeteuk.” The said boy greeted with a smile.
“Oh, Eeteuk! So, you at the booth for Sukira yet?”
“N-no, not yet.” Eeteuk stuttered. His manager didn’t leave any room for any niceties sometimes. “I was wondering what e---“
“Good, because you’re not doing the show today.”
“What? Why?” Eeteuk almost shouted on his phone. He was clearly shocked. He usually wouldn’t miss a day at Sukira, unless it was for valid enough reasons. He loved hosting that radio show! And he loved dancing in the booth with Eunhyuk! And he loved messing around with the callers and laughing his head off and the weird voices he had to do!
“Because, you have another thing set up for you, and I bet it’s going to take up your whole day. It might even take longer to finish.”
“Is this a project, Manager-hyung? Another T.V. show? Am I going abroad?” Eeteuk excitedly asked into the phone.
“No, no, wait, have you seen your planner yet?”
“Yeah, but it still has the old schedule in it, with Sukira and this photoshoot I have to be at for this yogurt thing….”
“Darn it, Agnes! Didn’t I tell you to update Eeteuk’s planner?!” Eeteuk’s manager shouted into the distance, but it was obvious that he was still holding the phone to his ear and to his mouth.
“Hyung, it’s okay, you don’t have to blame your secretary. What am I supposed to do today?” Eeteuk replied in a soothing voice, trying to calm his manager’s throbbing veins.
“Well, I don’t exactly remember right now. Try calling Agnes --- oh wait! Yesung has it! Ask Yesung! - Good morning, Mr. Samsoon! This way please. Yes, the conference will be in Room 20A.” Eeteuk’s manager was rambling into his phone.
“Uh, Hyung?” Eeteuk was a bit confused. “We have a conference today? Is that what I’m doing?”
“No, wait, hold on. - Pardon me, I didn’t mean you, Mr. Samsoon. Right this way please. - I meant you Eeteuk - Agnes, please lead Mr. Samsoon’s party to the designated venue. I’m sorry, sir. This will only take a moment.”
“What? Oh, and who’s Mr. Samsoon? Is he scary?” Eeteuk innocently asked.
“No, ok, wait.” And Manager-hyung took a deep silencing breath.
“Sorry, Manager-hyung. I bet you’re really busy ri---“ Eeteuk tried to apologize.
“Eeteuk, Yesung has the materials you have to deal with for today. Go ask him and try to help him with whatever he needs help with. Yeah, I think that’s it. Now, I have to go meet Mr. Samsoon - conference about SuJu’s new advertising campaigns.”
“Oh, alright.” Eeteuk nodded in comprehension.
“I have to go. Text me if you need anything. But, try bothering Agnes if I don’t get to respond quickly, okay?”
“Okay.” Eeteuk replied. “Manager-hyung?”
“What?” The man on the other line was panting. Eeteuk knew why - his Manager-hyung’s hurried steps to get to the conference room could be distinctly heard through the phone.
Eeteuk smiled and hoped that the warmth of his grin could be radiated and transferred through phone speakers. “Take care… Manager-hyung, fighting!”
Eeteuk’s manager smiled and gave out a laugh. “Thanks, Eeteuk. Bye now!” And then he ended the phone call.
Eeteuk returned his phone in his pocket and stepped back into the dorm. As he set foot in the living room, he heard the melody that was playing earlier that morning. Apparently, it was Yesung who was the ultimate culprit of it all. The boy was sitting in front of the electric keyboard, a pencil stuck behind his ear and a music notebook laid out in front of him.
“Hey, Yesung.” Eeteuk softly called out. He took a few steps forward as Yesung turned to face him. “I’m sorry I have to interrupt your music-making session but ---“
“Hyung! It’s alright. In fact, I really needed to see you.” Yesung reassured Eeteuk with a smile. He moved over on the piano bench he was sitting on, and he patted the space next to him, urging Eeteuk to sit beside him. Eeteuk did as he was told.
“What are you doing? It sounds pretty good.” Eeteuk commented, nodding in the direction of the music notebook.
“You think so?” Yesung smiled. “Thanks, Hyung. I made it myself, by the way.” The boy then chuckled.
“Hey, hey, don’t get so full of yourself! Your head’s big enough already!” Eeteuk laughed and playfully ruffled Yesung’s hair. Yesung tried to duck away from Eeteuk’s hand, but to no avail. What’s more, he just ended up laughing until his stomach hurt as well.
“So, Hyung, this is the ballad I arranged some weeks ago.”
“Oh, the one when you went off to the recording studio by yourself?” Eeteuk asked, reminiscing. He picked up the music notebook and started reading the notes, humming the tune in his head.
“Yeah. Well, whatever’s written in this here notebook is the product of all the hours spent slaving over the recording studio’s instruments.”
“I’m proud of you, Yesung.” Eeteuk smiled warmly and affectionately. He was about to give Yesung a hug when the younger one cleared his throat.
“Yeah, so, sorry to interrupt your proud Umma moment, Umma, but getting back to business.”
“Oh, right.”
“We need lyrics.” Yesung bluntly stated.
“Huh?” was Eeteuk’s very intelligent response. He inclined his head towards Yesung with his mouth slightly open and eyes half-lidded. He was still flipping through the note-filled pages, trying to make out the coda of the song.
Yesung gently pushed Eeteuk’s chin up with his hand to close the older boy’s mouth. “Umma, I need you to write lyrics.”
“What? What for?” Eeteuk cluelessly asked.
Yesung rolled his eyes. “For this song, Umma. It’s going to be included in Super Junior’s third album.”
“Really?!” Eeteuk then tore his eyes away from the notebook and looked at Yesung incredulously.
“Manager-hyung said so.” Yesung nodded, his lips pursed.
“But I thought all the songs to be included in the album were already laid out. We just have to sing them. The album’s being released next year!” Eeteuk started to look anxious.
Yesung merely shrugged. “Yeah, but Manager-hyung said that it’d be better to include a bonus track. It’s our way of thanking the fans for being so patient with us. So, he made me write this, and now I’m making you write the lyrics.” Yesung smiled kindly at Eeteuk.
Eeteuk once again flipped over the pages and looked intently at Yesung.
“Please, Umma!” Yesung put his two hands together and pleaded his hyung to write the lyrics. “Two verses, a chorus, then a coda. Simple, right?”
Eeteuk began to look more skeptical by the second. “Why don’t you let Ryeowook do the lyrics? He’s better at this than I am. Besides, I don’t feel inspired right now.”
“But Wookie’s all the way in China! Who’ll be paying for the expensive telephone bills? Manager-hyung’s going to kill me. Wookie and I just can’t brainstorm over the phone! It’ll take ages!”
“And it’ll take centuries for me to actually come up with something right here, too!” Eeteuk insisted. “Let Wookie email you, then!”
“But the song needs to be done by tomorrow.”
“By tomorrow?!” Eeteuk was absolutely loosing his head, only because Yesung lost his first.
“So that the higher-ups could review it. You could ask help from the other members.” Yesung then glanced at his watch, and his eyes grew wide. “Oh no, I’m going to be late! Hyung, I have to go. I still have this photoshoot for this yogurt thing and I -“
“Oh, so you took the yogurt thing?”
“Apparently!” Yesung shouted as he made his way towards the door. As he grabbed his jacket and put on his shoes, he added, “The item just appeared in my itinerary a couple of hours ago! Agnes forwarded it to me. Anyway, see you, Hyung! Won’t come home for lunch, see you at dinner, bye!” And then the main door shut closed.
Eeteuk heaved a deep sigh. Oh. My. God, he thought to himself. He was so very screwed.
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A/N: OMG, I got no sleep. O_O Yey for the second installment! I'm so happy! Thanks for the great reviews in the first Retail Therapy post! The reason why I'm posting this chapter in 2 parts it's because it's so long. As I said, I got no sleep since I was up the whole night writing. I've already reached 13 pages in Word (that's the longest I've ever written) and until now I'm not yet done. OH noes T_T but i'll be posting the second part later on today though. I had so much fun writing~ whee
i'm planning on making more installments, but I don't know how many more I can do with only two more days left in my semestral break. Plus I have homework to do! T__T Oooooh, I'll miss writing and relishing in all the SuJu love!!! *sniff*
Oct 31--- Happy Halloween! ^^
Comments are greatly appreciated =) Thanks for reading!
characters: Eeteuk and Sungmin (as our main characters), Yesung, Eunhyuk, Heechul, Shindong, Kangin (mentions of Ryeowook and Kibum =) )
genre: family!suju, waff
pairing/s: the romance in this fic is still minor, but again, there's EunMin and KangTeuk if you look really closely =)
disclaimer: Of course I don't own SuJu. Do you?
quirks (for this part of the chapter): umma!eeteuk, composer!yesung, stressed!manager-hyung (oh yes, he's here alright XD), and heechul's insane halloween prank
Summary: Eeteuk needs to write song lyrics. Problem is, his inspiration and sense of creativity just flew out the window, and it doesn't look like they're coming back anytime soon. How in the world could he deal with all the pressure and writer's block? His Son-Daughter Sungmin helps him find out through another bonding session and a bit of Retail Therapy.
First Installment:
Retail Therapy: Because The World Makes You Weary
please read the first installment if you want to get a clue as to the core of the fic/series and to know why Sungmin is Umma!Eeteuk's son-daughter =)
-----------------------------------
Eeteuk awoke one morning to the sound of piano keys being fingered. He figured that someone was playing the electric keyboard out in the living room.
It was 6:25 in the morning, and the other members in the dorm haven't woken up yet. It was still quiet, except for the music from outside. Eeteuk was curious who was playing the keyboard, but another part of his brain told him to stay put under the covers and wait for his alarm clock to ring at 7 am. He turned to his side and saw Kangin on the other bed, still snug, breathing calmly in his sleep.
Eeteuk was about to close his eyes again, preparing to be lulled back to sleep by the melody, but then he remembered that he was supposed to prepare breakfast.
Oh no, Eeteuk thought to himself. He squinted and looked at the watch on his wrist. 6:30 already? Thirty more minutes until 7. Ah, who cares. The boys could just grab their own cereal boxes for breakfast... at least for this morning. He then decided to snooze a bit more.
It was as if Eeteuk had just closed his eyes before he had to open them again.
"Umma~~...." Sungmin called out. Eeteuk suddenly felt a dead weight plop on the bed and on top of him. He opened his eyes and looked up, only to find Sungmin in his pink bunny pajamas lying on his tummy. "Hey, Umma, you preparing breakfast?" The younger boy asked.
Eeteuk tried to twist in his bed and pull the sheets closer to him. "Nnnngggghhhh" He groaned. "Sungmin, get off, I wanna sleep."
"Morning, Teukie-hyung." Greeted Kangin as he placed a hand on Eeteuk's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.
"Hey, Kangin" Eeteuk replied with a smile, eyes still closed.
"Oi, Sungmin, get off of Hyung." Kangin told Sungmin firmly.
"But, Hyung..."
"Guys, guys, be quiet..." Eeteuk said, groaning in frustration once more.
Kangin left the bedroom to head into the bathroom and Sungmin followed him outside as well.
Eeteuk turned in his bed to lie flat on his back and face the ceiling. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms and yawned. It was another day. He wondered to himself what was in store for him in the next few hours, but then decided that pondering on it was useless. He'll just have to see his daily planner or call up Manger-hyung for the prompt run-down of his schedule.
Eeteuk sat up on his bed. He blearily looked around the room for signs of his fuzzy white slippers, but found none. Before he knew it, all traces of thought escaped him and his eyelids were starting to flutter closed again. He was unconsciously nodding off to sleep as he reveled in the newfound silence.
Ten seconds later, he was brought back to life, startled out of his wits. He jumped out of his bed and quickly ducked behind his bedroom door.
After around twenty more seconds of hiding, and after figuring out that he was actually hiding from nothing, Eeteuk rubbed his eyes again, sighed deeply and whined. He walked out of the room barefoot and went into the living room where some of the members were already watching morning cartoons.
"Good morning, Hyung!" Shindong, Eunhyuk, Yesung, Sungmin, and Heechul altogether greeted Eeteuk with a cheery tone. Sungmin stood up and handed Eeteuk his slippers.
"Sorry, Umma. I wore them by mistake when I went out of your room." Sungmin apologized and then went back to his previous spot on the couch, squeezed between Eunhyuk and Shindong. Eeteuk nodded in reply.
"Okay, okay. Now I'm going to ask you guys something. Could you put the T.V. off for a second?" Eeteuk said, still groggy and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. No one really paid any attention to him. They were too engrossed in watching how Tom the cat chased Jerry the mouse with a pogo stick.
"Hey, turn that thing off!" Kangin shouted as he joined the group, coming out of the kitchen, mug of coffee in hand. Yesung quickly grabbed the remote and nervously fiddled with the on/off button.
Once it was quiet, all eyes were then on Eeteuk. The boy's shirt was wrinkly and his pajamas were hanging low. His hair was messy and his bangs stuck out in odd places. He had his hands on his hips and a serious expression on his face. In a low voice, he asked, "So, who did it? Who changed my alarm tone to the sound of a cat clawing and hissing and screeching like it's about to get run over?"
Everyone just blinked at him.
"I swear to God,” Eeteuk said exasperatedly. Somewhere in China, Siwon itched and sneezed frantically out of the blue. “It's not the best way to wake up in the morning. It drove me into hiding behind the door!"
"Then, wouldn't you consider it an effective way of waking you up, Hyung?" Heechul calmly asked.
"It's also an effective way of getting a heart attack." Eeteuk retorted.
Everyone just blinked again, and silently exchanged looks with each other. Yesung stood up from the couch and started to walk towards the kitchen.
"I'm hungry. I'm going to get some cereal. Hey, Shindong, do we still have milk?" Yesung asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Shindong replied and stood up as well, following Yesung. Eunhyuk, Sungmin, and Heechul all made for the kitchen, too.
"Hey, wait! I'm not yet done! I didn't get an answer yet!" Eeteuk yelled.
As everyone deserted their spot in the living room for a spot in the dining room, Heechul approached Eeteuk and said, "Calm down, Umma. I'm sorry." He smiled wickedly. He leaned in closer to Eeteuk and whispered in his ear, "Happy Halloween!" Heechul chuckled to himself as he walked away, and Eeteuk could do nothing but give out a frustrated sigh and rub his forehead with his fingers.
"Boys will be boys, Hyung." Kangin said as he patted Eeteuk on the shoulder for the second time that morning. Boys will be boys? Kangin thought about his last statement. If it was meant to refer to Heechul, then he wasn’t so sure if the line was applicable. Maybe he should’ve said, Heechul will always be evil, Hyung. That would have been more fitting. Kangin decided to shrug it off instead. He didn't know if he was trying to offer his hyung some kind of reassurance. Perhaps sympathy was more like it. "Come on, Let's go get cereal." And with that Kangin dragged a pouting and huffing Eeteuk into the kitchen.
"Maybe microwaved waffles are more of your thing?" Kangin offered. Then he remembered something and added with a smile, "We've got whipped cream and cherries in a jar! I think it's somewhere in the back of the fridge..."
-------------------------------------------
It was ten o'clock in the morning and Eeteuk just finished dressing up after his bath. He was wearing his usual jeans and a plain shirt. He drifted into the living room and walked across to the sliding glass door that led to the terrace. The air outside was cool, and it beautifully dulled out the searing morning sun. Eeteuk smiled to himself and breathed in a heap of fresh air. Bad idea, though. Eeteuk just ended up choking and coughing a bit. Living in a dorm in the heart of a city was not the best place to get a heap of fresh air after all.
Eeteuk then resigned himself to watching the people walk by on the sidewalks below him, and he observed how the cars would stop and then go as the traffic lights flashed red, yellow, and green. He then remembered what he needed to do. He took out his cellphone from his pocket and pressed a number on his keypad, his speed dial for his Manger-hyung.
“Hello?” A voice hurriedly called out from the other end.
“Manager-hyung! It’s me, Eeteuk.” The said boy greeted with a smile.
“Oh, Eeteuk! So, you at the booth for Sukira yet?”
“N-no, not yet.” Eeteuk stuttered. His manager didn’t leave any room for any niceties sometimes. “I was wondering what e---“
“Good, because you’re not doing the show today.”
“What? Why?” Eeteuk almost shouted on his phone. He was clearly shocked. He usually wouldn’t miss a day at Sukira, unless it was for valid enough reasons. He loved hosting that radio show! And he loved dancing in the booth with Eunhyuk! And he loved messing around with the callers and laughing his head off and the weird voices he had to do!
“Because, you have another thing set up for you, and I bet it’s going to take up your whole day. It might even take longer to finish.”
“Is this a project, Manager-hyung? Another T.V. show? Am I going abroad?” Eeteuk excitedly asked into the phone.
“No, no, wait, have you seen your planner yet?”
“Yeah, but it still has the old schedule in it, with Sukira and this photoshoot I have to be at for this yogurt thing….”
“Darn it, Agnes! Didn’t I tell you to update Eeteuk’s planner?!” Eeteuk’s manager shouted into the distance, but it was obvious that he was still holding the phone to his ear and to his mouth.
“Hyung, it’s okay, you don’t have to blame your secretary. What am I supposed to do today?” Eeteuk replied in a soothing voice, trying to calm his manager’s throbbing veins.
“Well, I don’t exactly remember right now. Try calling Agnes --- oh wait! Yesung has it! Ask Yesung! - Good morning, Mr. Samsoon! This way please. Yes, the conference will be in Room 20A.” Eeteuk’s manager was rambling into his phone.
“Uh, Hyung?” Eeteuk was a bit confused. “We have a conference today? Is that what I’m doing?”
“No, wait, hold on. - Pardon me, I didn’t mean you, Mr. Samsoon. Right this way please. - I meant you Eeteuk - Agnes, please lead Mr. Samsoon’s party to the designated venue. I’m sorry, sir. This will only take a moment.”
“What? Oh, and who’s Mr. Samsoon? Is he scary?” Eeteuk innocently asked.
“No, ok, wait.” And Manager-hyung took a deep silencing breath.
“Sorry, Manager-hyung. I bet you’re really busy ri---“ Eeteuk tried to apologize.
“Eeteuk, Yesung has the materials you have to deal with for today. Go ask him and try to help him with whatever he needs help with. Yeah, I think that’s it. Now, I have to go meet Mr. Samsoon - conference about SuJu’s new advertising campaigns.”
“Oh, alright.” Eeteuk nodded in comprehension.
“I have to go. Text me if you need anything. But, try bothering Agnes if I don’t get to respond quickly, okay?”
“Okay.” Eeteuk replied. “Manager-hyung?”
“What?” The man on the other line was panting. Eeteuk knew why - his Manager-hyung’s hurried steps to get to the conference room could be distinctly heard through the phone.
Eeteuk smiled and hoped that the warmth of his grin could be radiated and transferred through phone speakers. “Take care… Manager-hyung, fighting!”
Eeteuk’s manager smiled and gave out a laugh. “Thanks, Eeteuk. Bye now!” And then he ended the phone call.
Eeteuk returned his phone in his pocket and stepped back into the dorm. As he set foot in the living room, he heard the melody that was playing earlier that morning. Apparently, it was Yesung who was the ultimate culprit of it all. The boy was sitting in front of the electric keyboard, a pencil stuck behind his ear and a music notebook laid out in front of him.
“Hey, Yesung.” Eeteuk softly called out. He took a few steps forward as Yesung turned to face him. “I’m sorry I have to interrupt your music-making session but ---“
“Hyung! It’s alright. In fact, I really needed to see you.” Yesung reassured Eeteuk with a smile. He moved over on the piano bench he was sitting on, and he patted the space next to him, urging Eeteuk to sit beside him. Eeteuk did as he was told.
“What are you doing? It sounds pretty good.” Eeteuk commented, nodding in the direction of the music notebook.
“You think so?” Yesung smiled. “Thanks, Hyung. I made it myself, by the way.” The boy then chuckled.
“Hey, hey, don’t get so full of yourself! Your head’s big enough already!” Eeteuk laughed and playfully ruffled Yesung’s hair. Yesung tried to duck away from Eeteuk’s hand, but to no avail. What’s more, he just ended up laughing until his stomach hurt as well.
“So, Hyung, this is the ballad I arranged some weeks ago.”
“Oh, the one when you went off to the recording studio by yourself?” Eeteuk asked, reminiscing. He picked up the music notebook and started reading the notes, humming the tune in his head.
“Yeah. Well, whatever’s written in this here notebook is the product of all the hours spent slaving over the recording studio’s instruments.”
“I’m proud of you, Yesung.” Eeteuk smiled warmly and affectionately. He was about to give Yesung a hug when the younger one cleared his throat.
“Yeah, so, sorry to interrupt your proud Umma moment, Umma, but getting back to business.”
“Oh, right.”
“We need lyrics.” Yesung bluntly stated.
“Huh?” was Eeteuk’s very intelligent response. He inclined his head towards Yesung with his mouth slightly open and eyes half-lidded. He was still flipping through the note-filled pages, trying to make out the coda of the song.
Yesung gently pushed Eeteuk’s chin up with his hand to close the older boy’s mouth. “Umma, I need you to write lyrics.”
“What? What for?” Eeteuk cluelessly asked.
Yesung rolled his eyes. “For this song, Umma. It’s going to be included in Super Junior’s third album.”
“Really?!” Eeteuk then tore his eyes away from the notebook and looked at Yesung incredulously.
“Manager-hyung said so.” Yesung nodded, his lips pursed.
“But I thought all the songs to be included in the album were already laid out. We just have to sing them. The album’s being released next year!” Eeteuk started to look anxious.
Yesung merely shrugged. “Yeah, but Manager-hyung said that it’d be better to include a bonus track. It’s our way of thanking the fans for being so patient with us. So, he made me write this, and now I’m making you write the lyrics.” Yesung smiled kindly at Eeteuk.
Eeteuk once again flipped over the pages and looked intently at Yesung.
“Please, Umma!” Yesung put his two hands together and pleaded his hyung to write the lyrics. “Two verses, a chorus, then a coda. Simple, right?”
Eeteuk began to look more skeptical by the second. “Why don’t you let Ryeowook do the lyrics? He’s better at this than I am. Besides, I don’t feel inspired right now.”
“But Wookie’s all the way in China! Who’ll be paying for the expensive telephone bills? Manager-hyung’s going to kill me. Wookie and I just can’t brainstorm over the phone! It’ll take ages!”
“And it’ll take centuries for me to actually come up with something right here, too!” Eeteuk insisted. “Let Wookie email you, then!”
“But the song needs to be done by tomorrow.”
“By tomorrow?!” Eeteuk was absolutely loosing his head, only because Yesung lost his first.
“So that the higher-ups could review it. You could ask help from the other members.” Yesung then glanced at his watch, and his eyes grew wide. “Oh no, I’m going to be late! Hyung, I have to go. I still have this photoshoot for this yogurt thing and I -“
“Oh, so you took the yogurt thing?”
“Apparently!” Yesung shouted as he made his way towards the door. As he grabbed his jacket and put on his shoes, he added, “The item just appeared in my itinerary a couple of hours ago! Agnes forwarded it to me. Anyway, see you, Hyung! Won’t come home for lunch, see you at dinner, bye!” And then the main door shut closed.
Eeteuk heaved a deep sigh. Oh. My. God, he thought to himself. He was so very screwed.
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A/N: OMG, I got no sleep. O_O Yey for the second installment! I'm so happy! Thanks for the great reviews in the first Retail Therapy post! The reason why I'm posting this chapter in 2 parts it's because it's so long. As I said, I got no sleep since I was up the whole night writing. I've already reached 13 pages in Word (that's the longest I've ever written) and until now I'm not yet done. OH noes T_T but i'll be posting the second part later on today though. I had so much fun writing~ whee
i'm planning on making more installments, but I don't know how many more I can do with only two more days left in my semestral break. Plus I have homework to do! T__T Oooooh, I'll miss writing and relishing in all the SuJu love!!! *sniff*
Oct 31--- Happy Halloween! ^^
Comments are greatly appreciated =) Thanks for reading!