[ONESHOT] Proving Improvement
Title: Proving Improvement
Pairing(s)/Characters: Zhou Mi/Henry, SJM
Rating: PG-13
Genre: crack, fluff, romance
Summary: Henry has a weird hobby, Kyuhyun finds it annoying funny, Zhou Mi wants to prove something. In the end, it's Zhou Mi's birthday.
All eyes were fixed in bewilderment, somewhat along with the look ‘what-the-hell-this-is-awkward-even-cats-can’t-deal-with-this-and-human-kind-will-be-uh’. Only one person didn’t exhibit such expressions. He was all smiles, as usual. A little too giddy to boot with overly cutesy eyes blinking and glued on a certain boy with a teenager’s self-help book in his hands, reading aloud the wise advices that were written on clean, fresh sheets.
“And when you come across the person you like, it’s best to know more about them before you go and do something too extreme like, say, a drive around town. You should-“
“Is it necessary for you to read that damn thing out loud? I’m just so curious.” Kyuhyun had had enough of the odd rambling of words concerning dates and love and that whole marriage blah. He was rather protective of his bachelor status, even if he had a sorta something with Sungmin who was sitting comfortably next to him as he forwardly voiced out his opinion regarding Henry’s weird hobby of borrowing teenage self-help books from a few of his friends and reading them so articulately as if he were dictating army commands. Those don’t even help at the least bit, Kyuhyun thought to himself.
Henry closed the pocket book and left it on the table as he walked back to his room without uttering a word. The eyes that were filled with dumbfoundment and were attached to their youngest shifted to Kyuhyun. This time, they were met with resentful auras that were enough to send uncomfortable chills down a person’s spine and miraculously, Kyuhyun was affected. A little bit if the evil maknae himself would admit.
“It’s good that he gets to do his hobby around us but why do you have to be so obnoxious, Kyu? Geez.” Siwon was the first to get his say in this matter. Why, he was always so delighted with Henry sharing his hobbies with the group that he never thought badly of it. He felt relieved whenever Henry would ask him questions like a little child curious about the world. It was as if he could be a father all over again with his experience from his drama and all.
“We don’t bother you when you play your games here and ignore us. Don’t you think you’re being a little too tactless? You don’t see Henry complaining when you scream all over the place because you died in your game.” Sungmin smacked Kyuhyun’s arm roughly and stood up to go to Siwon’s side. The least affected by the matter at hand were Donghae and Eunhyuk. They gave Kyuhyun the ‘oooh-you-are-so-busted-when-Teukie-umma-hears-about-this’ look and skipped away. Kyuhyun couldn’t even give a damn.
“But the most concerned would probably be-“
“Kui Xian!”
Siwon and Sungmin stopped midway their conversation. Zhou Mi stood up, towered over the maknae on the couch and stomped his feet in frustration. Siwon and Sungmin looked at each other with much amusement. Zhou Mi wasn’t always so hot-tempered.
“Yes?”
Zhou Mi bit his lip upon recognizing Kyuhyun’s aloofness in his voice. It was rather upsetting considering the fact that Siwon and Sungmin had already given their opinions about Kyuhyun’s rude attitude towards their youngest yet their evil maknae didn’t show any signs of remorse for his actions. Zhou Mi couldn’t take that one bit.
“First of all, I’m not bullying you,” Zhou Mi paused as Kyuhyun looked over at the two intrigued figures at the opposite side of where he sat. “I really am not but I think you should go easy on Henli. I mean, I admit that it’s weird for him to read teenagers’ self-help books since, well, he’s not a teenager himself anymore. And it’s creepy but-“
“And there you have it, folks.” Kyuhyun folded his arms across his chest and sighed. Sungmin glared at him while clutching at Siwon’s shoulder, the gentleman scrunching his eyebrows at the pain. Zhou Mi disregarded the interruptions and coughed to gain Kyuhyun’s attention back which was unexpectedly a success.
“Seriously. You should apologize, Kui Xian. I bet he feels really bad right now.”
Kyuhyun pursed his lips, glancing at the tall gentleman in front of him now and then. It wasn’t all that serious. Kyuhyun always teased Henry and the younger boy wouldn’t mind. Plus, when he left the room, he wasn’t hinting at a dramatic ‘I’m-so-hurt-and-offended-I’m-going-to-my-room-and-lock-myself-and-watch-psychiatric-talk-shows-on-the-internet-until-I-cry-and-fall-asleep’ scene. He didn’t say a thing so what? Kyuhyun couldn’t possibly feel bad if it went that way.
“Henry sure isn’t a teenager anymore. Scratch his appearance and don’t get me started on that,” Kyuhyun said as he remembered that he wasn’t the baby-faced maknae that the other members oh so wanted him to be. “He’s a man and he isn’t that sensitive- please don’t get all googley-eyes when I’m wasting my time talking to you guys! Now that’s insulting.”
Siwon blinked before turning to Sungmin beside him and at Zhou Mi. They had those odd smiles on their faces and it was as if their minds were overloaded with baby Henry’s and whatnot. Siwon, deep in thought, was trying to figure out why his two friends were acting so awestricken. Kyuhyun on the other hand was cracking his gamer fingers, the loud snaps failing to usher Sungmin and Zhou Mi back to him from their dreamy Henry Paradise.
“It’s all about Henry, Henry, Henry,” Kyuhyun whined. “Henry this, Henry that. It gets annoying too when all you guys ever talk about is Henry and his wonderfulness. Oh and don’t forget his awesomeness, adorableness, handsomeness- all that whatever. Yeah. The boy is cute and talented. We get that.”
Kyuhyun’s babbling did the trick but even he didn’t notice the way Sungmin and Zhou Mi were looking at him. They looked at the evil maknae as if he was a five-year-old wanting to be picked up and be cradled in their arms. Kyuhyun rarely got jealous.
“Kui Xian,” Zhou Mi mumbled and raised an eyebrow. “Are you, by any chance, jealous?”
Kyuhyun’s reaction was hasty. He waved his hands in front of him frantically, all the while glaring at Zhou Mi and Sungmin, who was at the background with Siwon, who was still deep in thought.
“If only envying yourself was possible then I’d be really jealous,” Kyuhyun expressed rather disappointedly. “But if we’re still talking about Henry then no. I’m not jealous whatsoever.”
The tall Chinese gentleman glanced over his shoulder, catching what seemed to be a wide grin from Sungmin and a knowing look from Siwon. He turned back to Kyuhyun with a carbon copy of Sungmin’s expression and giggled.
“My, my.”
Kyuhyun ignored the teasing tone Zhou Mi spoke in and crossed his legs.
“I am annoyed. Stop it.”
Just then, Ryeowook emerged from the hallway and greeted everyone, oblivious to the mixed auras in the room as he did so. Kyuhyun got to his feet and prepared to leave.
“Plus, I doubt that Henry would learn anything from those self-help books. Teenager or not, that doesn’t matter. It still won’t help him.”
Zhou Mi widened his eyes, perplexed. “Don’t say that! I bet he’ll learn a lot of things! Just you wait!”
Kyuhyun shrugged and left for his room, Siwon following closely behind as he realized he must have offended the gamer with his earlier actions. Ryeowook, Sungmin and Zhou Mi stayed behind and talked. Later, Henry showed up with Donghae and Eunhyuk.
“Where’s Kyu? I found this awesome game when I was-“
Zhou Mi hung his head low while Sungmin hid his disappointment as he looked to his side. Ryeowook was nowhere near those demeanors with that bubbly smile of his. Donghae and Eunhyuk would’ve copied him, only if they weren’t too confused as to why Sungmin and Zhou Mi were acting that way.
“Did something happen?” Henry closely observed his two older band mates, closely in the sense that he walked to where they were and patted their shoulders.
“I have to sit next to him later,” Zhou Mi sadly whispered to Sungmin.
“I have it worse. I have to sleep with him later. Imagine the look on his face when he rubs how right he is in mine. Humiliating.” Sungmin shook his head. Zhou Mi could only take in a deep breath and hold it in.
Henry watched them mumble to each other, the surroundings getting darker and darker with every grumble. Donghae and Eunhyuk thought of telling their youngest but decided against it. It would only bring them shame as well and that, Kyuhyun wouldn’t ever let them forget.
The following day, Zhou Mi was pleasantly sleeping under the covers of the queen-sized bed in his hotel room. Their activities wouldn’t start until after lunch so he used the remaining hours for sleep. But a bothering force poked at his cheek. He tried not to pay any attention to it as he continued to dream about strutting down the streets with those expensive boots he wanted to buy from that Chinese boutique he saw the other day. Yet the disturbing pressure on his face didn’t disappear and he had no choice but to involuntarily wake up.
“Nnn…”
“Mi ge, wake up.”
It was Henry much to Zhou Mi’s surprise. He didn’t open his eyes but he stretched, wondering why Henry was in his room and waking him up. A thought rushed to Zhou Mi’s mind:
Henry needs me! He actually needs me! But for what?
“What? Why?”
Henry tugged at the covers to reveal Zhou Mi’s clasped hands, breaking them apart so he could hold onto one and urge the older to wake up by pulling him.
“Eat breakfast with me.”
I can’t believe Henry woke me up ahead of the others so he could eat breakfast with me!
Zhou Mi kept his position and decided to tease the younger boy.
“Eh? Why don’t you wake up the others instead? I’m tired.”
Then he’s going to pout and say he doesn’t want to because I’m the one he wants to be with~
Zhou Mi began to spazz in his head, too sucked in at the image of Henry pouting with those mochi cheeks of his that he was completely unaware of Henry letting go of his hand.
“I already did but they didn’t want to get up. Even Ryeowook didn’t want to so I figured to go to you. Please please? You’re the last person I can go to!”
The grin on Zhou Mi’s face faltered. Of course he didn’t want Henry to see so he covered his face with a pillow. Henry went on and on about not wanting to start the day alone when another thought crossed Zhou Mi’s mind:
I’m the last person he woke up. Last.
He let out an exasperated breath and sat up. Henry waited for him to finish rubbing the sleep off his eyes and they were on their way to the kitchen. Zhou Mi felt depressed over Henry’s bluntness although the boy only wanted someone to eat with. He got carried away and expected too much. He swore to himself that his inner desires wouldn’t get the best of him next time.
The ‘next time’ came too soon. They were at a studio recording for a certain show. Henry ambled towards Zhou Mi with a paper where the lyrics to their song were printed on. Everyone seemed free but Zhou Mi knew better to not expect anything from this approach.
“Mi ge! Can you help me with this part? I still find it a little difficult.”
Zhou Mi stared at the part Henry was pertaining to and smiled.
Kyuhyun and Ryeowook seem to be having a breeze over there. Why didn’t he go to them instead? This is it!
“Ah-“
“I already went to Kyu and Ryeowook as well as Sungmin hyung but they told me to go to you instead.”
As if he had bionic ears, Kyuhyun looked around to where he heard his name and spotted Zhou Mi and Henry by the snack table that the crew kindly prepared for them. Zhou Mi seemed puzzled judging from the way his eyebrows were slightly knitted. Henry seemed okay.
“What’s wrong?” Donghae followed Kyuhyun’s gaze and saw Zhou Mi and Henry talking. He wondered what was so interesting about the picture until Kyuhyun suddenly chuckled.
“It’s nothing. Just a zero-rated reality show.”
Donghae tilted his head at the weird statement. Kyuhyun didn’t explain further and escorted his dumbfounded friend to the set, occasionally stealing glimpses of the other two behind them.
Okay so I’m the fourth this time. Good progress I guess.
Zhou Mi curled his fingers on the paper that Henry gave him. The younger boy was rapping, attempting to perfect it but his tongue would slip and he’d have to redo it all over again. Zhou Mi was asked on a favor to listen to him until he perfected it. It didn’t take long though.
“Thanks, Mi ge. I’ll go catch up with Eunhyuk hyung now.”
Zhou Mi pondered for a bit as he watched Henry catch up with the others. Henry was practicing his rap and although Zhou Mi had his own experience with rapping, Henry should’ve gone to Donghae or Eunhyuk. Putting that aside, Zhou Mi followed everyone else to the set and sat next to Kyuhyun as he always did. Not that he wanted to or anything. That was how the sitting arrangement always went. Later, as Zhou Mi stared straight at the camera positioned in front of them, Kyuhyun leaned in for a stage whisper.
“Had a good time with Henry earlier?”
Zhou Mi grinned, rather, gritted his teeth to be precise.
“I did. Why did you-“
Kyuhyun chuckled softly in Zhou Mi’s ear, making the hair on the older boy’s neck rise in an unpleasant way.
“I just heard my name. You guys were talking about me?”
“What a joke.”
Kyuhyun smirked. “Jokes are half-meant, Mi.”
Zhou Mi coughed sarcastically. “I’ll have you know that Henry came to me for help. Understand?”
“Help?”
“Just you wait, Kui Xian.”
Kyuhyun backed away from the older boy’s ear and smiled at the camera. “I’m waiting, Mi.”
After their first recording, they immediately went to their next schedule which was to film another episode of a certain talk show. Everyone was stretching as they were to showcase their new song at the opening of the episode. Zhou Mi was drinking water at one side of the studio, turning slightly to see Henry watching him. The younger boy walked up to him and smiled his boyish smile that everyone loved.
“Mi ge~”
Zhou Mi twisted the cap back to his water bottle.
“Can you help me with this part in our dance? I get stuck whenever I finish this turn.”
Zhou Mi blinked.
Okay, don’t expect too much now. So I seem to be the first person that Henry went to for help this time. No big deal right? Right?
The tall Chinese man became giddy secretly as he prepared to maneuver himself to do the step Henry wanted help with. But he stopped his actions to look at the younger boy.
“Why don’t you go to Eunhyuk or Donghae instead?” Zhou Mi’s eyes shone upon seeing a hint of blush on Henry’s cheeks.
“Actually…”
Zhou Mi’s lips closed tight suddenly.
“I saw them in the hallway on my way back here from the bathroom. I asked them if they could help me out but Donghae hyung seemed impatient and Eunhyuk hyung looked really pale then they ran to the bathroom together. What is up with that, right?” Henry finished elaborating his short story with a shake of the head.
The taller boy frowned after hearing EunHae’s raging hormones acting up again. But what disappointed him the most was that he was merely a third this time.
One level higher. Better than nothing, right?
Henry took Zhou Mi’s water bottle and placed it on the table beside them.
“Teach me now, Mi ge~”
And with that, no matter how disappointed Zhou Mi felt, he danced it all off.
The next day, Zhou Mi woke up only to find a note from Eunhyuk saying that he went to the spa downstairs. With his roommate gone, he went to fix himself a cup of coffee. He took his cup to the living room and sat on the leather sofa there, refusing to touch the remote control for he thought nothing would be on TV except for news that early in the morning. As Zhou Mi examined his cup, there was a knock on the door. He was about to stand up only to hear the door crack open, his visitor - Zhou Mi thought it wouldn’t be nice to say intruder - entering the room. It was Donghae dressed only in a plain white shirt and jeans. He sat himself next to Zhou Mi on the sofa and not less than ten minutes had passed, there was a knock again on the door. This time Donghae opened the door and revealed Siwon and Sungmin. They all sat on the sofa and chatted about schedules and plans after their activities for the day. Almost on cue, a knock echoed once more and Ryeowook slipped inside the room as silently as he could so as to not disturb the merriment Zhou Mi and the others were having over coffee that time. What made them stop was a certain physically unfit maknae walking into the room with an arrogant aura as he always carried around with him.
“Hey,” Kyuhyun said and sat on the small but sturdy table in front of the couch where the others sat on. They broke out in various conversations with various topics. Zhou Mi enjoyed himself but silently wondered why a certain chubby-cheeked maknae wasn’t there that moment. But everything seemed fine until…
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Kyuhyun was the first to check his phone then the others followed one by one. Zhou Mi raised an eyebrow at the weird coincidence of all five of his friends’ phones ringing at the same time. He wouldn’t have been curious about it if only his phone rang too - it didn’t. Zhou Mi checked again. It still didn’t.
“Uh… Eunhyuk hyung wants me to fetch him downstairs. Err… Excuse me.” Ryeowook smiled without a hint of nervousness as he most probably would have revealed.
Donghae and Sungmin were the next to stand up.
“Manager hyung wants to talk to us. Later.” Donghae walked to the door with Sungmin tailing behind him and left the room almost instantly. Kyuhyun and Siwon looked at each other momentarily before the gamer pocketed his phone and straightened himself up.
Kyuhyun smirked devilishly at Zhou Mi. “The champagne I ordered just arrived. I’ll go back to my room now. You…” the tall Chinese man narrowed his eyes at Kyuhyun. “Should have fun.”
The door clicked as Kyuhyun left. Siwon counted to five in his head before deciding to follow the rest but Zhou Mi held onto Siwon’s hand weakly.
“What’s happening?”
Siwon smiled that gentle smile of his and patted Zhou Mi’s hand which slipped away a second later.
“Relax. Okay? I’ll be taking my leave now. Happy birthday.” Siwon grinned, dimples forming on his cheeks as he reassured Zhou Mi. But like the others before, Siwon left the room too and it went back to the way it was before when Zhou Mi made himself coffee and lazed around on the leather sofa. He didn’t bother to think if his band mates were going to come rushing back into his hotel room and throw cake at his face the moment he’d close his eyes. Instead, he finished his coffee and prepared to doze off. But even seconds before he could close his eyes, there was a knock on the door. It was a faint knock unlike Donghae’s seemingly loud one. A moment there Zhou Mi thought it was his imagination. He sat up, rubbed his eyes and questioned himself again if he really wasn’t dreaming or imagining or whatever after the blurriness of his vision faded and Henry carrying a huge envelope came into view.
“Hey there, Mi ge.”
Zhou Mi couldn’t help but smile dreamily as Henry positioned the envelope against the wall and walked to his gege in a hesitant - to Zhou Mi it was cute - manner. Like Kyuhyun, Henry sat on the coffee table, his back straight and eyes glued to Zhou Mi’s. The birthday celebrant felt himself blush. Those eyes that stared back at his hazy ones were so beautiful and deep; he loved them so.
“Mi ge? Are you okay?”
Zhou Mi blinked for quite some time and unaware of his actions, nodded slowly at Henry. The younger boy smiled then and clasped his hands together on his lap. He looked so stunning than usual to Zhou Mi right that moment though perhaps it was the coffee’s effect.
“Happy birthday!”
That cheerful voice rang in Zhou Mi’s ears like a bell ready to explode although it was very much like the soothing movement of the wind.
“Thank you,” Zhou Mi said. “But why did you bring a-“
“Oh!” Henry suddenly laughed. “It’s not a game show check signed for a billion dollars or anything. Is that what you were going to say?”
Zhou Mi nodded.
“Well, it isn’t. I hope you’re not disappointed though.”
And as Henry rose to his feet to take the envelope from the corner, Zhou Mi blinked his eyes a couple of more times. It was a strange feeling he felt in his chest. Whether it was excitement or dreadfulness of the possible disappointment that could follow, he didn’t quite know. As if his senses were drained out of him, Zhou Mi didn’t notice Henry tapping his fingers as he held onto the huge envelope before him.
“I read in that self-help book about how to express your affection or fondness to the person you like. One of the examples written there was to write a letter for them; just a small or short letter. But I thought about it and if it meant that I would express my affection for you then a bigger card would be suitable. It shows how much affection I have, I thought.” Henry blushed maddeningly at his words, his hand now on his nape and scratching there a bit.
Henry handed over the envelope to Zhou Mi and turned a red shade darker then continued:
“This is my first time actually - to buy a huge card and filling its spaces as best as I could. But at some point I couldn’t express myself any further with words so I drew instead. My drawing sucks and you probably know that, Mi ge.” Henry laughed while Zhou Mi started to trace his finger under the sealed flap to open the envelope. It didn’t occur to him that his hand was shaking a bit.
“I’ll remember this since, well, you’re the first person I’ve ever gifted with a gift like this. It’s kinda weird isn’t it? I mean to give someone a huge card on their birthday. Isn’t it?” Henry mused as if he was talking to himself. Zhou Mi pealed the envelope off and held the card in front of him.
First? I’m the first person to receive a huge card from Henli? Really? I can’t believe it. I’m finally first! Plus, he learned something from that self-help book! In your face, Cho Kyuhyun!
“Read it.”
Zhou Mi smiled and opened the card. There were drawings and words scattered on both sides of the card. In both bold Korean and Chinese writings were Henry’s messages. Zhou Mi began to read paragraphs then floating sentences and he didn’t forget to scan the funny but simple doodles.
“How is it?”
The celebrant looked up and saw those beautiful eyes peeping over his card. Henry scrunched his eyebrows in a worried manner but Zhou Mi tapped his finger in between and the wrinkled center soon relaxed.
“It’s great. Thank you so much.”
Henry didn’t speak but his eyes glowed with glee. Oh how Zhou Mi loved those eyes! Oh how Zhou Mi loved their mochi maknae! He loved his fellow members too. And as Zhou Mi sat there, Henry still seated on the coffee table pointing out doodles on the greeting card in between them, he watched and wondered how he would boast to Kyuhyun about Henry’s improvement. Somewhere deep inside him, Zhou Mi knew that the others helped out and maybe Kyuhyun - no matter how unlikely that would be - did too. That aside, when Henry pointed out a strip of doodles of how he prepared all this, Zhou Mi stared right into the younger boy’s eyes. They were just so beautiful - just as beautiful as the boy on the other side of Zhou Mi’s very first huge greeting card.
--
A/N: See that jealous Kyuhyun right thar? Harhar! I wrote this around two or three years ago. I think? It's been so long that I can't even remember! Haha. I miss ZhouRy so y'know. Happy Birthday Zhou Mi! ~^^ Comments are very much appreciated! Be it good or bad, anything's welcome!
Pairing(s)/Characters: Zhou Mi/Henry, SJM
Rating: PG-13
Genre: crack, fluff, romance
Summary: Henry has a weird hobby, Kyuhyun finds it annoying funny, Zhou Mi wants to prove something. In the end, it's Zhou Mi's birthday.
All eyes were fixed in bewilderment, somewhat along with the look ‘what-the-hell-this-is-awkward-even-cats-can’t-deal-with-this-and-human-kind-will-be-uh’. Only one person didn’t exhibit such expressions. He was all smiles, as usual. A little too giddy to boot with overly cutesy eyes blinking and glued on a certain boy with a teenager’s self-help book in his hands, reading aloud the wise advices that were written on clean, fresh sheets.
“And when you come across the person you like, it’s best to know more about them before you go and do something too extreme like, say, a drive around town. You should-“
“Is it necessary for you to read that damn thing out loud? I’m just so curious.” Kyuhyun had had enough of the odd rambling of words concerning dates and love and that whole marriage blah. He was rather protective of his bachelor status, even if he had a sorta something with Sungmin who was sitting comfortably next to him as he forwardly voiced out his opinion regarding Henry’s weird hobby of borrowing teenage self-help books from a few of his friends and reading them so articulately as if he were dictating army commands. Those don’t even help at the least bit, Kyuhyun thought to himself.
Henry closed the pocket book and left it on the table as he walked back to his room without uttering a word. The eyes that were filled with dumbfoundment and were attached to their youngest shifted to Kyuhyun. This time, they were met with resentful auras that were enough to send uncomfortable chills down a person’s spine and miraculously, Kyuhyun was affected. A little bit if the evil maknae himself would admit.
“It’s good that he gets to do his hobby around us but why do you have to be so obnoxious, Kyu? Geez.” Siwon was the first to get his say in this matter. Why, he was always so delighted with Henry sharing his hobbies with the group that he never thought badly of it. He felt relieved whenever Henry would ask him questions like a little child curious about the world. It was as if he could be a father all over again with his experience from his drama and all.
“We don’t bother you when you play your games here and ignore us. Don’t you think you’re being a little too tactless? You don’t see Henry complaining when you scream all over the place because you died in your game.” Sungmin smacked Kyuhyun’s arm roughly and stood up to go to Siwon’s side. The least affected by the matter at hand were Donghae and Eunhyuk. They gave Kyuhyun the ‘oooh-you-are-so-busted-when-Teukie-umma-hears-about-this’ look and skipped away. Kyuhyun couldn’t even give a damn.
“But the most concerned would probably be-“
“Kui Xian!”
Siwon and Sungmin stopped midway their conversation. Zhou Mi stood up, towered over the maknae on the couch and stomped his feet in frustration. Siwon and Sungmin looked at each other with much amusement. Zhou Mi wasn’t always so hot-tempered.
“Yes?”
Zhou Mi bit his lip upon recognizing Kyuhyun’s aloofness in his voice. It was rather upsetting considering the fact that Siwon and Sungmin had already given their opinions about Kyuhyun’s rude attitude towards their youngest yet their evil maknae didn’t show any signs of remorse for his actions. Zhou Mi couldn’t take that one bit.
“First of all, I’m not bullying you,” Zhou Mi paused as Kyuhyun looked over at the two intrigued figures at the opposite side of where he sat. “I really am not but I think you should go easy on Henli. I mean, I admit that it’s weird for him to read teenagers’ self-help books since, well, he’s not a teenager himself anymore. And it’s creepy but-“
“And there you have it, folks.” Kyuhyun folded his arms across his chest and sighed. Sungmin glared at him while clutching at Siwon’s shoulder, the gentleman scrunching his eyebrows at the pain. Zhou Mi disregarded the interruptions and coughed to gain Kyuhyun’s attention back which was unexpectedly a success.
“Seriously. You should apologize, Kui Xian. I bet he feels really bad right now.”
Kyuhyun pursed his lips, glancing at the tall gentleman in front of him now and then. It wasn’t all that serious. Kyuhyun always teased Henry and the younger boy wouldn’t mind. Plus, when he left the room, he wasn’t hinting at a dramatic ‘I’m-so-hurt-and-offended-I’m-going-to-my-room-and-lock-myself-and-watch-psychiatric-talk-shows-on-the-internet-until-I-cry-and-fall-asleep’ scene. He didn’t say a thing so what? Kyuhyun couldn’t possibly feel bad if it went that way.
“Henry sure isn’t a teenager anymore. Scratch his appearance and don’t get me started on that,” Kyuhyun said as he remembered that he wasn’t the baby-faced maknae that the other members oh so wanted him to be. “He’s a man and he isn’t that sensitive- please don’t get all googley-eyes when I’m wasting my time talking to you guys! Now that’s insulting.”
Siwon blinked before turning to Sungmin beside him and at Zhou Mi. They had those odd smiles on their faces and it was as if their minds were overloaded with baby Henry’s and whatnot. Siwon, deep in thought, was trying to figure out why his two friends were acting so awestricken. Kyuhyun on the other hand was cracking his gamer fingers, the loud snaps failing to usher Sungmin and Zhou Mi back to him from their dreamy Henry Paradise.
“It’s all about Henry, Henry, Henry,” Kyuhyun whined. “Henry this, Henry that. It gets annoying too when all you guys ever talk about is Henry and his wonderfulness. Oh and don’t forget his awesomeness, adorableness, handsomeness- all that whatever. Yeah. The boy is cute and talented. We get that.”
Kyuhyun’s babbling did the trick but even he didn’t notice the way Sungmin and Zhou Mi were looking at him. They looked at the evil maknae as if he was a five-year-old wanting to be picked up and be cradled in their arms. Kyuhyun rarely got jealous.
“Kui Xian,” Zhou Mi mumbled and raised an eyebrow. “Are you, by any chance, jealous?”
Kyuhyun’s reaction was hasty. He waved his hands in front of him frantically, all the while glaring at Zhou Mi and Sungmin, who was at the background with Siwon, who was still deep in thought.
“If only envying yourself was possible then I’d be really jealous,” Kyuhyun expressed rather disappointedly. “But if we’re still talking about Henry then no. I’m not jealous whatsoever.”
The tall Chinese gentleman glanced over his shoulder, catching what seemed to be a wide grin from Sungmin and a knowing look from Siwon. He turned back to Kyuhyun with a carbon copy of Sungmin’s expression and giggled.
“My, my.”
Kyuhyun ignored the teasing tone Zhou Mi spoke in and crossed his legs.
“I am annoyed. Stop it.”
Just then, Ryeowook emerged from the hallway and greeted everyone, oblivious to the mixed auras in the room as he did so. Kyuhyun got to his feet and prepared to leave.
“Plus, I doubt that Henry would learn anything from those self-help books. Teenager or not, that doesn’t matter. It still won’t help him.”
Zhou Mi widened his eyes, perplexed. “Don’t say that! I bet he’ll learn a lot of things! Just you wait!”
Kyuhyun shrugged and left for his room, Siwon following closely behind as he realized he must have offended the gamer with his earlier actions. Ryeowook, Sungmin and Zhou Mi stayed behind and talked. Later, Henry showed up with Donghae and Eunhyuk.
“Where’s Kyu? I found this awesome game when I was-“
Zhou Mi hung his head low while Sungmin hid his disappointment as he looked to his side. Ryeowook was nowhere near those demeanors with that bubbly smile of his. Donghae and Eunhyuk would’ve copied him, only if they weren’t too confused as to why Sungmin and Zhou Mi were acting that way.
“Did something happen?” Henry closely observed his two older band mates, closely in the sense that he walked to where they were and patted their shoulders.
“I have to sit next to him later,” Zhou Mi sadly whispered to Sungmin.
“I have it worse. I have to sleep with him later. Imagine the look on his face when he rubs how right he is in mine. Humiliating.” Sungmin shook his head. Zhou Mi could only take in a deep breath and hold it in.
Henry watched them mumble to each other, the surroundings getting darker and darker with every grumble. Donghae and Eunhyuk thought of telling their youngest but decided against it. It would only bring them shame as well and that, Kyuhyun wouldn’t ever let them forget.
The following day, Zhou Mi was pleasantly sleeping under the covers of the queen-sized bed in his hotel room. Their activities wouldn’t start until after lunch so he used the remaining hours for sleep. But a bothering force poked at his cheek. He tried not to pay any attention to it as he continued to dream about strutting down the streets with those expensive boots he wanted to buy from that Chinese boutique he saw the other day. Yet the disturbing pressure on his face didn’t disappear and he had no choice but to involuntarily wake up.
“Nnn…”
“Mi ge, wake up.”
It was Henry much to Zhou Mi’s surprise. He didn’t open his eyes but he stretched, wondering why Henry was in his room and waking him up. A thought rushed to Zhou Mi’s mind:
Henry needs me! He actually needs me! But for what?
“What? Why?”
Henry tugged at the covers to reveal Zhou Mi’s clasped hands, breaking them apart so he could hold onto one and urge the older to wake up by pulling him.
“Eat breakfast with me.”
I can’t believe Henry woke me up ahead of the others so he could eat breakfast with me!
Zhou Mi kept his position and decided to tease the younger boy.
“Eh? Why don’t you wake up the others instead? I’m tired.”
Then he’s going to pout and say he doesn’t want to because I’m the one he wants to be with~
Zhou Mi began to spazz in his head, too sucked in at the image of Henry pouting with those mochi cheeks of his that he was completely unaware of Henry letting go of his hand.
“I already did but they didn’t want to get up. Even Ryeowook didn’t want to so I figured to go to you. Please please? You’re the last person I can go to!”
The grin on Zhou Mi’s face faltered. Of course he didn’t want Henry to see so he covered his face with a pillow. Henry went on and on about not wanting to start the day alone when another thought crossed Zhou Mi’s mind:
I’m the last person he woke up. Last.
He let out an exasperated breath and sat up. Henry waited for him to finish rubbing the sleep off his eyes and they were on their way to the kitchen. Zhou Mi felt depressed over Henry’s bluntness although the boy only wanted someone to eat with. He got carried away and expected too much. He swore to himself that his inner desires wouldn’t get the best of him next time.
The ‘next time’ came too soon. They were at a studio recording for a certain show. Henry ambled towards Zhou Mi with a paper where the lyrics to their song were printed on. Everyone seemed free but Zhou Mi knew better to not expect anything from this approach.
“Mi ge! Can you help me with this part? I still find it a little difficult.”
Zhou Mi stared at the part Henry was pertaining to and smiled.
Kyuhyun and Ryeowook seem to be having a breeze over there. Why didn’t he go to them instead? This is it!
“Ah-“
“I already went to Kyu and Ryeowook as well as Sungmin hyung but they told me to go to you instead.”
As if he had bionic ears, Kyuhyun looked around to where he heard his name and spotted Zhou Mi and Henry by the snack table that the crew kindly prepared for them. Zhou Mi seemed puzzled judging from the way his eyebrows were slightly knitted. Henry seemed okay.
“What’s wrong?” Donghae followed Kyuhyun’s gaze and saw Zhou Mi and Henry talking. He wondered what was so interesting about the picture until Kyuhyun suddenly chuckled.
“It’s nothing. Just a zero-rated reality show.”
Donghae tilted his head at the weird statement. Kyuhyun didn’t explain further and escorted his dumbfounded friend to the set, occasionally stealing glimpses of the other two behind them.
Okay so I’m the fourth this time. Good progress I guess.
Zhou Mi curled his fingers on the paper that Henry gave him. The younger boy was rapping, attempting to perfect it but his tongue would slip and he’d have to redo it all over again. Zhou Mi was asked on a favor to listen to him until he perfected it. It didn’t take long though.
“Thanks, Mi ge. I’ll go catch up with Eunhyuk hyung now.”
Zhou Mi pondered for a bit as he watched Henry catch up with the others. Henry was practicing his rap and although Zhou Mi had his own experience with rapping, Henry should’ve gone to Donghae or Eunhyuk. Putting that aside, Zhou Mi followed everyone else to the set and sat next to Kyuhyun as he always did. Not that he wanted to or anything. That was how the sitting arrangement always went. Later, as Zhou Mi stared straight at the camera positioned in front of them, Kyuhyun leaned in for a stage whisper.
“Had a good time with Henry earlier?”
Zhou Mi grinned, rather, gritted his teeth to be precise.
“I did. Why did you-“
Kyuhyun chuckled softly in Zhou Mi’s ear, making the hair on the older boy’s neck rise in an unpleasant way.
“I just heard my name. You guys were talking about me?”
“What a joke.”
Kyuhyun smirked. “Jokes are half-meant, Mi.”
Zhou Mi coughed sarcastically. “I’ll have you know that Henry came to me for help. Understand?”
“Help?”
“Just you wait, Kui Xian.”
Kyuhyun backed away from the older boy’s ear and smiled at the camera. “I’m waiting, Mi.”
After their first recording, they immediately went to their next schedule which was to film another episode of a certain talk show. Everyone was stretching as they were to showcase their new song at the opening of the episode. Zhou Mi was drinking water at one side of the studio, turning slightly to see Henry watching him. The younger boy walked up to him and smiled his boyish smile that everyone loved.
“Mi ge~”
Zhou Mi twisted the cap back to his water bottle.
“Can you help me with this part in our dance? I get stuck whenever I finish this turn.”
Zhou Mi blinked.
Okay, don’t expect too much now. So I seem to be the first person that Henry went to for help this time. No big deal right? Right?
The tall Chinese man became giddy secretly as he prepared to maneuver himself to do the step Henry wanted help with. But he stopped his actions to look at the younger boy.
“Why don’t you go to Eunhyuk or Donghae instead?” Zhou Mi’s eyes shone upon seeing a hint of blush on Henry’s cheeks.
“Actually…”
Zhou Mi’s lips closed tight suddenly.
“I saw them in the hallway on my way back here from the bathroom. I asked them if they could help me out but Donghae hyung seemed impatient and Eunhyuk hyung looked really pale then they ran to the bathroom together. What is up with that, right?” Henry finished elaborating his short story with a shake of the head.
The taller boy frowned after hearing EunHae’s raging hormones acting up again. But what disappointed him the most was that he was merely a third this time.
One level higher. Better than nothing, right?
Henry took Zhou Mi’s water bottle and placed it on the table beside them.
“Teach me now, Mi ge~”
And with that, no matter how disappointed Zhou Mi felt, he danced it all off.
The next day, Zhou Mi woke up only to find a note from Eunhyuk saying that he went to the spa downstairs. With his roommate gone, he went to fix himself a cup of coffee. He took his cup to the living room and sat on the leather sofa there, refusing to touch the remote control for he thought nothing would be on TV except for news that early in the morning. As Zhou Mi examined his cup, there was a knock on the door. He was about to stand up only to hear the door crack open, his visitor - Zhou Mi thought it wouldn’t be nice to say intruder - entering the room. It was Donghae dressed only in a plain white shirt and jeans. He sat himself next to Zhou Mi on the sofa and not less than ten minutes had passed, there was a knock again on the door. This time Donghae opened the door and revealed Siwon and Sungmin. They all sat on the sofa and chatted about schedules and plans after their activities for the day. Almost on cue, a knock echoed once more and Ryeowook slipped inside the room as silently as he could so as to not disturb the merriment Zhou Mi and the others were having over coffee that time. What made them stop was a certain physically unfit maknae walking into the room with an arrogant aura as he always carried around with him.
“Hey,” Kyuhyun said and sat on the small but sturdy table in front of the couch where the others sat on. They broke out in various conversations with various topics. Zhou Mi enjoyed himself but silently wondered why a certain chubby-cheeked maknae wasn’t there that moment. But everything seemed fine until…
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Kyuhyun was the first to check his phone then the others followed one by one. Zhou Mi raised an eyebrow at the weird coincidence of all five of his friends’ phones ringing at the same time. He wouldn’t have been curious about it if only his phone rang too - it didn’t. Zhou Mi checked again. It still didn’t.
“Uh… Eunhyuk hyung wants me to fetch him downstairs. Err… Excuse me.” Ryeowook smiled without a hint of nervousness as he most probably would have revealed.
Donghae and Sungmin were the next to stand up.
“Manager hyung wants to talk to us. Later.” Donghae walked to the door with Sungmin tailing behind him and left the room almost instantly. Kyuhyun and Siwon looked at each other momentarily before the gamer pocketed his phone and straightened himself up.
Kyuhyun smirked devilishly at Zhou Mi. “The champagne I ordered just arrived. I’ll go back to my room now. You…” the tall Chinese man narrowed his eyes at Kyuhyun. “Should have fun.”
The door clicked as Kyuhyun left. Siwon counted to five in his head before deciding to follow the rest but Zhou Mi held onto Siwon’s hand weakly.
“What’s happening?”
Siwon smiled that gentle smile of his and patted Zhou Mi’s hand which slipped away a second later.
“Relax. Okay? I’ll be taking my leave now. Happy birthday.” Siwon grinned, dimples forming on his cheeks as he reassured Zhou Mi. But like the others before, Siwon left the room too and it went back to the way it was before when Zhou Mi made himself coffee and lazed around on the leather sofa. He didn’t bother to think if his band mates were going to come rushing back into his hotel room and throw cake at his face the moment he’d close his eyes. Instead, he finished his coffee and prepared to doze off. But even seconds before he could close his eyes, there was a knock on the door. It was a faint knock unlike Donghae’s seemingly loud one. A moment there Zhou Mi thought it was his imagination. He sat up, rubbed his eyes and questioned himself again if he really wasn’t dreaming or imagining or whatever after the blurriness of his vision faded and Henry carrying a huge envelope came into view.
“Hey there, Mi ge.”
Zhou Mi couldn’t help but smile dreamily as Henry positioned the envelope against the wall and walked to his gege in a hesitant - to Zhou Mi it was cute - manner. Like Kyuhyun, Henry sat on the coffee table, his back straight and eyes glued to Zhou Mi’s. The birthday celebrant felt himself blush. Those eyes that stared back at his hazy ones were so beautiful and deep; he loved them so.
“Mi ge? Are you okay?”
Zhou Mi blinked for quite some time and unaware of his actions, nodded slowly at Henry. The younger boy smiled then and clasped his hands together on his lap. He looked so stunning than usual to Zhou Mi right that moment though perhaps it was the coffee’s effect.
“Happy birthday!”
That cheerful voice rang in Zhou Mi’s ears like a bell ready to explode although it was very much like the soothing movement of the wind.
“Thank you,” Zhou Mi said. “But why did you bring a-“
“Oh!” Henry suddenly laughed. “It’s not a game show check signed for a billion dollars or anything. Is that what you were going to say?”
Zhou Mi nodded.
“Well, it isn’t. I hope you’re not disappointed though.”
And as Henry rose to his feet to take the envelope from the corner, Zhou Mi blinked his eyes a couple of more times. It was a strange feeling he felt in his chest. Whether it was excitement or dreadfulness of the possible disappointment that could follow, he didn’t quite know. As if his senses were drained out of him, Zhou Mi didn’t notice Henry tapping his fingers as he held onto the huge envelope before him.
“I read in that self-help book about how to express your affection or fondness to the person you like. One of the examples written there was to write a letter for them; just a small or short letter. But I thought about it and if it meant that I would express my affection for you then a bigger card would be suitable. It shows how much affection I have, I thought.” Henry blushed maddeningly at his words, his hand now on his nape and scratching there a bit.
Henry handed over the envelope to Zhou Mi and turned a red shade darker then continued:
“This is my first time actually - to buy a huge card and filling its spaces as best as I could. But at some point I couldn’t express myself any further with words so I drew instead. My drawing sucks and you probably know that, Mi ge.” Henry laughed while Zhou Mi started to trace his finger under the sealed flap to open the envelope. It didn’t occur to him that his hand was shaking a bit.
“I’ll remember this since, well, you’re the first person I’ve ever gifted with a gift like this. It’s kinda weird isn’t it? I mean to give someone a huge card on their birthday. Isn’t it?” Henry mused as if he was talking to himself. Zhou Mi pealed the envelope off and held the card in front of him.
First? I’m the first person to receive a huge card from Henli? Really? I can’t believe it. I’m finally first! Plus, he learned something from that self-help book! In your face, Cho Kyuhyun!
“Read it.”
Zhou Mi smiled and opened the card. There were drawings and words scattered on both sides of the card. In both bold Korean and Chinese writings were Henry’s messages. Zhou Mi began to read paragraphs then floating sentences and he didn’t forget to scan the funny but simple doodles.
“How is it?”
The celebrant looked up and saw those beautiful eyes peeping over his card. Henry scrunched his eyebrows in a worried manner but Zhou Mi tapped his finger in between and the wrinkled center soon relaxed.
“It’s great. Thank you so much.”
Henry didn’t speak but his eyes glowed with glee. Oh how Zhou Mi loved those eyes! Oh how Zhou Mi loved their mochi maknae! He loved his fellow members too. And as Zhou Mi sat there, Henry still seated on the coffee table pointing out doodles on the greeting card in between them, he watched and wondered how he would boast to Kyuhyun about Henry’s improvement. Somewhere deep inside him, Zhou Mi knew that the others helped out and maybe Kyuhyun - no matter how unlikely that would be - did too. That aside, when Henry pointed out a strip of doodles of how he prepared all this, Zhou Mi stared right into the younger boy’s eyes. They were just so beautiful - just as beautiful as the boy on the other side of Zhou Mi’s very first huge greeting card.
--
A/N: See that jealous Kyuhyun right thar? Harhar! I wrote this around two or three years ago. I think? It's been so long that I can't even remember! Haha. I miss ZhouRy so y'know. Happy Birthday Zhou Mi! ~^^ Comments are very much appreciated! Be it good or bad, anything's welcome!