[Super Junior] More Than You Think It Is
More Than You Think It Is
Hangeng, Heechul
1003 words
Summary: Friendship- it’s more than you think it is.
Author’s notes: Un-betated warning. I was writing some Yesung-Ryeowook music school AU when this popped in my head on the way to class and I ended up scribbling it all out on the bus. Happy Birthday Hangeng, we’re all thinking of you.
The night before Super Junior M left for China, Heechul remembered getting drunk. They were sitting in the kitchen of the dorm apartment, bottles and bottles of soju in front of them, and Heechul doesn’t know why he remembered, of all things, the sight of Heebum nesting by Hangeng’s leg and purring.
“You’re a great friend, Heechul,” Hangeng said.
“What? I’m a great plain?” Heechul snorted, but only pretending to misunderstand.
Hangeng laughed. “See, that’s why,” he smiled, reaching out for a bottle so that he could refill Heechul’s glass, dislodging Heebum at the same time and was rewarded with a set of claws sinking into the flesh of his right foot. He yelped in pain. Heechul laughed.
“There’s no pleasing you both,” Hangeng said, finally pouring Heechul a glass before looking mournfully down at Heebum.
“’And you’d better remember that,” Heechul said, before finishing the new glass of soju in one go.
“I will,” Hangeng said. “I won’t forget.”
Surprisingly it was Henry, of all people, who missed Hangeng the most. He came over more often now because Siwon was worried and asked Donghae and Ryeowook to take care of him. Heechul chanced upon him one night in the living room, watching a Jet Li film dubbed in laughable Korean.
Heechul threw himself down to Henry without preamble, causing the younger to jump and turn to him, wide-eyed.
“Yah. I’m hungry.”
Henry blinked, thinking that he had misunderstood. “H… Hyung?” he stammered.
“I’m hungry. Go into the kitchen and find me food.”
Henry stared at Heechul a while longer, and Heechul looked back with his best, most impatient look. A moment later, Henry tottered into the kitchen and Heechul watched as Jet Li kicked some bad guy ass on screen.
What Henry returned with made Heechul laugh. “What… what is this?” he snickered. There was rice, obviously left over, and canned tuna (Heebum’s treat, the kind in water not oil), mixed with someone’s potato chips (probably Shindong’s) and mayonnaise.
When Henry tried to explain, his Korean failed him. In the end, they call Kibum, who listened patiently to Henry before telling Heechul once the phone changed hands, “Hyung, did you scare him?”
“He’s moping,” Heechul said, matter-of-fact. “It’s not allowed in my presence. Thus, I decided that his energy needed to be directed elsewhere.”
Kibum sighed heavily. “It’s something he used to make back when he was living on his own in Canada. According to him, Hankyung-hyung ate a lot of it the last time they were in China. It tastes good with kimchi, but only Hankyung-hyung thought so.”
Heechul said goodbye before turning to Henry and patting him benevolently on the head as the boy looked confused.
Heechul ate every bite of the weird rice, potato chips and tuna concoction, as the younger boy fell asleep next to him.
It wasn’t the food he missed, and frankly speaking, they have not seen each other for such a long period of time even before that Heechul didn’t think it was his presence either. He realised it’s the thought that he was always there, that they were in the same boat together that mattered.
They said they wouldn’t put it there, even promised each other not to, but before they knew it, the wall had appeared between them. Sometimes, Heechul doesn’t know if he’s mad at Hangeng, or at himself for how the situation seemed to have gone . Promises didn’t seem to make any difference when the distance ultimately appeared. The fact was now they were not sure when, or if he will be coming back, and the ocean looked wider than it had ever looked in all the time they had known each other.
Heechul was out with Jungmo and Jay at a local restaurant, waiting for Hongki to arrive when he spotted a poster on the wall advertising a “Chinese Miracle Medicine!!” Heechul can see, plain as day that it was just another advertisement for beer. He laughed and picked up his phone, thinking he should call Hangeng to tell him about it.
But he ended up putting the phone away and telling Jay the joke instead, and they laughed.
It was a really funny joke.
Heechul called China sometime in some morning in February. It wasn’t Hangeng’s cell phone number he called but his home’s land line, and Heechul wasn’t quite sure why, as he’s dialing, that he hoped nobody picked up the phone.
“喂?”
Heechul froze, but the next minute he’s stammering in the odd Chinese that Hangeng had taught him, asking for, “Hankyung, Hankyung.”
“啊,” the voice on the line laughs. “希撤? 你是希撤吧? 韩国打来的呀!”
The lady on the line went on talking, and Heechul doesn’t understand everything, just bits and pieces of the conversation that he tried to be an active part of by going, “Umm” and “Ah” at what he hoped were the appropriate places.
Finally she stopped and there’s yelling in the background, and then a familiar voice on the line, speaking in a familiar accent, “Yoboseyo?”
“Yah!” Heechul yelled before he can think (really, he wanted them to have a normal conversation, the kind that he sees Jungsu have with Youngwoon over the phone, but the words are out of his mouth before he could react). “Your accent, it’s horrible. And what terrible things have you been telling people about me?”
“My aunt,” Hangeng said gently, with a soft laugh. “Was telling you how beautiful she thinks you are.”
“Oh,” Heechul frowned, feeling slightly deflated. It was amazing- all his anger and frustration, if he ever felt any- now gone. He kind of hated himself, for being so fickle. “Well, she’s pretty too.”
“She’ll know you’re lying, but I’ll be sure to tell her,” Hangeng said.
A pause.
“How are you, Heechul?”
Heechul took a deep breath and nodded, even if Hangeng could not see.
“I’m fine. I’m… fine.”
And he realised at that moment, he is.
Translations:
“喂?” “Hello?”
“啊! 希撤? 你是希撤吧? 韩国打来的呀!” “Ah! Heechul. You’re Heechul, right? Calling from Korea!”
Hangeng, Heechul
1003 words
Summary: Friendship- it’s more than you think it is.
Author’s notes: Un-betated warning. I was writing some Yesung-Ryeowook music school AU when this popped in my head on the way to class and I ended up scribbling it all out on the bus. Happy Birthday Hangeng, we’re all thinking of you.
The night before Super Junior M left for China, Heechul remembered getting drunk. They were sitting in the kitchen of the dorm apartment, bottles and bottles of soju in front of them, and Heechul doesn’t know why he remembered, of all things, the sight of Heebum nesting by Hangeng’s leg and purring.
“You’re a great friend, Heechul,” Hangeng said.
“What? I’m a great plain?” Heechul snorted, but only pretending to misunderstand.
Hangeng laughed. “See, that’s why,” he smiled, reaching out for a bottle so that he could refill Heechul’s glass, dislodging Heebum at the same time and was rewarded with a set of claws sinking into the flesh of his right foot. He yelped in pain. Heechul laughed.
“There’s no pleasing you both,” Hangeng said, finally pouring Heechul a glass before looking mournfully down at Heebum.
“’And you’d better remember that,” Heechul said, before finishing the new glass of soju in one go.
“I will,” Hangeng said. “I won’t forget.”
Surprisingly it was Henry, of all people, who missed Hangeng the most. He came over more often now because Siwon was worried and asked Donghae and Ryeowook to take care of him. Heechul chanced upon him one night in the living room, watching a Jet Li film dubbed in laughable Korean.
Heechul threw himself down to Henry without preamble, causing the younger to jump and turn to him, wide-eyed.
“Yah. I’m hungry.”
Henry blinked, thinking that he had misunderstood. “H… Hyung?” he stammered.
“I’m hungry. Go into the kitchen and find me food.”
Henry stared at Heechul a while longer, and Heechul looked back with his best, most impatient look. A moment later, Henry tottered into the kitchen and Heechul watched as Jet Li kicked some bad guy ass on screen.
What Henry returned with made Heechul laugh. “What… what is this?” he snickered. There was rice, obviously left over, and canned tuna (Heebum’s treat, the kind in water not oil), mixed with someone’s potato chips (probably Shindong’s) and mayonnaise.
When Henry tried to explain, his Korean failed him. In the end, they call Kibum, who listened patiently to Henry before telling Heechul once the phone changed hands, “Hyung, did you scare him?”
“He’s moping,” Heechul said, matter-of-fact. “It’s not allowed in my presence. Thus, I decided that his energy needed to be directed elsewhere.”
Kibum sighed heavily. “It’s something he used to make back when he was living on his own in Canada. According to him, Hankyung-hyung ate a lot of it the last time they were in China. It tastes good with kimchi, but only Hankyung-hyung thought so.”
Heechul said goodbye before turning to Henry and patting him benevolently on the head as the boy looked confused.
Heechul ate every bite of the weird rice, potato chips and tuna concoction, as the younger boy fell asleep next to him.
It wasn’t the food he missed, and frankly speaking, they have not seen each other for such a long period of time even before that Heechul didn’t think it was his presence either. He realised it’s the thought that he was always there, that they were in the same boat together that mattered.
They said they wouldn’t put it there, even promised each other not to, but before they knew it, the wall had appeared between them. Sometimes, Heechul doesn’t know if he’s mad at Hangeng, or at himself for how the situation seemed to have gone . Promises didn’t seem to make any difference when the distance ultimately appeared. The fact was now they were not sure when, or if he will be coming back, and the ocean looked wider than it had ever looked in all the time they had known each other.
Heechul was out with Jungmo and Jay at a local restaurant, waiting for Hongki to arrive when he spotted a poster on the wall advertising a “Chinese Miracle Medicine!!” Heechul can see, plain as day that it was just another advertisement for beer. He laughed and picked up his phone, thinking he should call Hangeng to tell him about it.
But he ended up putting the phone away and telling Jay the joke instead, and they laughed.
It was a really funny joke.
Heechul called China sometime in some morning in February. It wasn’t Hangeng’s cell phone number he called but his home’s land line, and Heechul wasn’t quite sure why, as he’s dialing, that he hoped nobody picked up the phone.
“喂?”
Heechul froze, but the next minute he’s stammering in the odd Chinese that Hangeng had taught him, asking for, “Hankyung, Hankyung.”
“啊,” the voice on the line laughs. “希撤? 你是希撤吧? 韩国打来的呀!”
The lady on the line went on talking, and Heechul doesn’t understand everything, just bits and pieces of the conversation that he tried to be an active part of by going, “Umm” and “Ah” at what he hoped were the appropriate places.
Finally she stopped and there’s yelling in the background, and then a familiar voice on the line, speaking in a familiar accent, “Yoboseyo?”
“Yah!” Heechul yelled before he can think (really, he wanted them to have a normal conversation, the kind that he sees Jungsu have with Youngwoon over the phone, but the words are out of his mouth before he could react). “Your accent, it’s horrible. And what terrible things have you been telling people about me?”
“My aunt,” Hangeng said gently, with a soft laugh. “Was telling you how beautiful she thinks you are.”
“Oh,” Heechul frowned, feeling slightly deflated. It was amazing- all his anger and frustration, if he ever felt any- now gone. He kind of hated himself, for being so fickle. “Well, she’s pretty too.”
“She’ll know you’re lying, but I’ll be sure to tell her,” Hangeng said.
A pause.
“How are you, Heechul?”
Heechul took a deep breath and nodded, even if Hangeng could not see.
“I’m fine. I’m… fine.”
And he realised at that moment, he is.
Translations:
“喂?” “Hello?”
“啊! 希撤? 你是希撤吧? 韩国打来的呀!” “Ah! Heechul. You’re Heechul, right? Calling from Korea!”