(no subject)
Title: "True Blue"
Pairing: HanChul
Rating: PG-13 ; swearing
Word Count: 2593
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own these guys~ agirlcandreamthough
Summary: Heechul is the latest patient at the Everlasting Friends Day Clinic, a day clinic for people with mental disorders. Hangeng is the quiet introvert who is assigned as Heechul’s ’guide’ who has to help him settle in, even as Heechul demands that he is normal. [Based on the movie Poppy Shakespeare]
A/N; There are a couple of quotes from the movie in here to help keep things going - it’s all in Hangeng’s point of view.
Also; I apologise if there’s faults with each person not fitting their disorders.
And I’m sorry the summary sucks :C
Looking back…I can say I fucked some things up. Maybe a lot of things…It’s not my fault what happened with me and him. I’m no saint but, I didn’t do anything wrong. Takes two to tango anyway. He came into our lives like a butterfly caught in a whirlwind, lost and fragile. No one accepted him at first, no one in our group. I call us the ‘Dribblers Group’ - we all met every afternoon at the Everlasting Friends Day Clinic. There was seven of us in the group once he joined. The youngest being Ryeowook. A cute little guy, never spoke though and refused to remove his earphones from his head, he said it stopped the whispering. He didn’t used to be the youngest but, well, we don’t talk about what happened to Kibum anymore. Most of it is just rumours anyway. There’s Sungmin, we’re not quite sure what’s wrong with him, I recon he’s autistic or something. He’s obsessed with pink as well, it’s a little weird but, no one questions him - we’re all weird, right? Then there’s Yesung, he’s convinced the government is spying on him and watching his every move. He sits in the far corner of the room and listens to everyone’s conversations, shouting out random things from time to time, which don’t make sense. Kangin is the resident tough guy, mainly because he has anger issues and is an alcoholic - god only knows why he‘s classed as a dribbler. Leeteuk is the overly emotional guy, he has an eating disorder and the day clinic is the only place anyone can get him to eat. And then, of course there’s me. Hangeng. No one’s really explained to me what’s wrong, I don’t understand it either…I have night terrors sometimes and once tried killing myself. I used to be a self-harmer, I guess that’s why I’m here. Every day was the same, turn up, sign in, sit around for a few hours and be assessed once a month. Routine, always the same. Until Heechul came along. Storming into the room in his designer shoes, red skinny-fit jeans and some over sized shirt. That’s when things started changing.
~
Walking through the front doors, the head nurse eyed all of us inside the room suspiciously, she hated being in the place. But it was pay. Her name was SuMi - we all thought she was a spy from America but she always assured everyone she was full Korean.
“Good Morning everyone!” She called out cheerfully, heavily made-up eyes looking down at the clipboard in her arms before moving through to the next room.
“Oh fuck right off.” Shouted Kangin, stomping out his cigarette with the heel of his boot before standing up and moving away from the door she‘d just gone through.
“Language!” Kyuhyun hissed, the male nurse was always in the room with us in case something broke out. He always liked to keep close eyes on everyone, but we all know it’s cause he secretly is screwing Sungmin. It’s against the rules for staff to sleep with the patients but no one cared, he kept Sungmin calm and that’s what mattered to anyone who paid attention. I took my seat in between him and Ryeowook, looking up as Sungmin ran in, giving a shy smile at Kyuhyun before looking at me. He stuck his lower lip out in an attempt to make a cute pout so he could have his usual seat back. I rolled my eyes and stood up, moving into a new seat. Leeteuk perched on the window ledge behind me, thin fingers gripping his phone in his hand as though he was waiting for the most important phone call of his life. It was just his nervous reaction, to cling to the nearest object in his pocket. Once it had been his house keys and managed to accidentally cut his palm open, making Sungmin cry because he thought Leeteuk wanted to die and leave us all behind. The usual chaos of chatter and conversations about what had happened around where everyone else lived. Yesung giving his usual statement that he thinks there’s tracking devices in his cereal, Kangin chain-smoking in one corner of the room, flicking bits of rolled up paper at Ryeowook to try and get a noise out of him. Same shit, different day. A few moments later, SuMi strolled back inside.
“Hangeng, Zhou Mi wants to see you in the interview room. It won’t take a moment.” She flashed a fake smile as I stood up, hugging my backpack to my chest. I hated it when we got called into the interview room, they’d ask us questions about the weeks and how we were feeling. Stupid stuff I felt really were unnecessary really. I walked into the interview room and sat on the usual seat, letting my bag drop onto the floor near my feet. It was always cold in the interview as well, a shiver running through me - as if my fingers weren’t cold enough.
“So…how are you?” Came the usual Chinese into my ears. I had to speak Korean on a daily basis so it was actually nice to hear my native tongue again. I shrugged, avoiding Zhou Mi’s gaze on my face.
“Fine.” I shot back, looking away. Zhou Mi sighed softly and shook his head.
“Well there’s no need to beat around this, I want you to do a little job for me.” I looked up, wondering what he could want from me. “There’s a new guy joining, Kim Heechul. We want you to keep an eye on him, hep him out and show him around.” I stared for a moment.
“Nah…I’m not up to it Zhou Mi.” I mumbled, shaking my head. “Doesn’t SuMi usually do that sort of thing anyway? What you asking me for, I don’t know anything…”
“Yes you do. And we think it might help you. You need to…connect with people.”
“I don’t trust anyone though do I…” I was getting tired of this conversation already, this new guy would probably be just like everyone else, hang around for a few weeks then slip off into his own world and only talk when someone else spoke to him.
So he eventually talked me into it. No one else knew the place better than I did, he said. Well after being there for ten years, you start to know the places. I figured he wasn’t going to let me leave the room until I agreed to show this ‘Heechul’ around and help him settle in.
Anyway, in case you don’t know, the Everlasting Friends Clinic is just one floor in a huge hospital. Like, the madder you are the higher up you go. We’re on the seventh floor in the building. They say if you go any higher, you don’t come back. You just disappeared like dust up the hose of a vacuum cleaner. So the idea is as you get better they move you down a floor at a time. Then they move you to the Everlasting Friends and you get your own apartment in the nearby dorms, come in every day from nine till four. See we‘ve got the best of both worlds. All the help and meds you need and you can still do whatever you want. So anyway, this Monday was the day Heechul joined us. I wont lie, I was nervous as hell to meet him. I don’t like meeting new people, makes me nervous as hell. I just sat hugging my backpack until it was time for him to join us…
~
Sitting on the overstuffed chair, a smoothed down a ‘Welcome’ leaflet over my thigh, staring at the creases in the print. He was already late, he’d probably throw some lame story at me and expect me to hold his hand around everywhere. I leaned over to look at the magazines on the table beside me when I heard shouting coming up the hallway, lifting my head to look I saw a security guard walking with a feminine looking man, long brown hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and, as I described before, the red jeans and an over-sized black t-shirt. With how thin his arms and legs were, I could have sworn he was a food dodger like Leeteuk. Once he spun around, I swear my throat got tighter at the sight. He was stunning. Now, I said earlier, I don’t trust anyone. I also don’t like anyone. But there was something about him, his wide-eyes showed a swirling mixture of anger and confusion, maybe with a hint of fear at being in the hospital. His slender fingers curled into fists as he threatened to smack the security guard if he touched him again. He was brash, loud and oh-so-unconventional but, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I guessed by how loud he was and the brief description Zhou Mi had given me that this, was Kim Heechul.
“I’M NORMAL YOU ASSHOLE!” He screeched at the security guard, who simply ignored him and moved to take a pass from Shindong behind the desk. The male, stared from the guard to Heechul.
“A new nurse?”
“Patient.” The guard replied, Heechul snorting in disgust at him.
“He doesn’t look like a psychiatric patient.” Shindong mused.
“Thank you!” Heechul said, grabbing one of Shindongs hands in appreciation. “Now if you’d kindly explain that to this asshole, I can go home again and finish my writing!”
“Name?” Shindong asked as though he didn’t hear the males words.
“Kim Heechul.” He spat, snatching the pass before being shoved over towards me. I stood up, nervously holding the leaflet in my hands, waiting for him to notice me finally. I walked over instead, his dark orbs snapping around to stare at me.
“I wo-…I’ve been aske-…I got you this.” His glare was making it hard for me to talk so I thrust the leaflet at him. He snarled a little, snatching it from my hands.
“Oh forget it! I’m not staying.” He spat, eyeing me up before looking back at Shindong who just chuckled and went back to his DS Game. This one was going to be damn difficult…
“I want to see the manager! Get this sorted!! I have a career to follow!” He shouted, looking from me to Shindong then back at me again. I gave a weak smile.
“Right, follow me.” I didn’t intend on taking him to see the manager, since I had no idea who the head manager was. I’d just take him to Zhou Mi and let him handle it. So that’s what I did, lead him up to the seventh floor and up to Zhou Mi’s office. He huffed and stormed in, demanding to know what was happening and why he’d been sent to this place since he was normal. I’d seen this a number of times, Kangin had put him the same fight - if not more. And Sungmin had cried for hours until Ryeowook had silently put an arm around him and let him calm down. Everyone has their own ways of coping with the fact that society stamps them as crazy. I’d seen it coming to be honest but, I still didn’t settle in very easily.
“Who are you anyway?” He asked, perking one thin eyebrow at me.
“I’m Hangeng. Zhou Mi appointed me as your guide. Show you around and whatever, he said it’ll do me good.” Heechul’s face softened a little and he nodded.
“Oh, right. I thought you were staff.” I have to admit, I was a little flattered that he thought that. That I seemed normal to him and a nurse like Kyuhyun. I grinned and shook my head, leading him into the Zhou Mi‘s office. I explained about who was who in the group, and that he should keep it quiet that he thought he wasn’t mad, otherwise they’d bump him up a floor or worse. We seemed to get on well, and I have to admit I looked forward to spending more and more time with him. I could see why Zhou Mi chose me to be his guide though, he really did have a lot to learn about this place. I wandered into the common room, bombarded with questions about who he was and what he was like. Kangin cursing that he didn’t want anyone else to come in and change the balance of things. I just smiled to myself, confused at the feeling in my stomach and chest but I couldn’t wait for him to join us.
“He’s alright…” I mused, Yesung babbling away to himself about knowing someone by the same name and how they’d tried to put devices in his brain. I ignored him, content at keeping the image of him in my mind as it was. Just then there was yelling in the hall and Heechul was shoved into the room, that angry look on his face again as Shindong forced him into his seat beside me. Everything fell eerily quiet, all eyes on Heechul as he looked around nervously.
“You okay?” I asked softly, he just nodded, scowling when Kangin gave a low wolf-whistle, staring at Heechul as though he was a new toy.
“How often do they asses us?” Heechul asked, looking up at me.
“Once a year really…we have interviews from time to time though.” Sungmin mumbled, running his fingers through the plushy’s fur in his hands.
“Tell them about the mirror!” Leeteuk piped in, nodding as Yesung climbed to his feet, eyes fixed on Heechul.
“In the interview room, there’s this mirror. But it’s not a mirror, see. They stand on the other side and watch us.” He nodded, Leeteuk twisting his fingers together as he agreed.
“I saw them selling tickets at the tube station last week…All these young doctors and such. I heard them saying it‘s the funniest thing in town!”
“You get free drinks and everything.” Heechul gave me a worried glance before he tugged his phone from his pocket, flipping it open and closed a few times as though he was expecting someone to call and rescue him.
Well, things went on like that for a few weeks. People constantly asking Heechul questions and he kept determined in his thoughts that he was ‘normal’ and should get out of there. Don’t get me wrong, we all wanted out. No one wanted to be classed as a dribbler for life really. But the housing and money we got wasn’t a bad thing right? As I said though, no one wanted to be there for the rest of their days. Me and him spent more and more time together, Yesung kept insisting that there was people watching us behind the mirror. A few months later, Zhou Mi came in and announced that assessments were to be made monthly instead of yearly now - this caused a ruckus, Yesung yelling that they were selling the tickets too fast and needed to do it more often to keep business going. We all just ignored him. Heechul settled in slowly, sat with me for lunch and slowly opened up to me. Anyone would think we’d been friends for years, not just a matter of months. But, nothing was perfect for long. Heechul started acting weird. It was like we’d switched bodies. I was more open and he was more introvert, we stayed together though. I guess that should have been the first sign that things would be getting worse…I was too wrapped up in playing the popular Chinese guy to notice Heechul was spiralling downward…
Part Two
Pairing: HanChul
Rating: PG-13 ; swearing
Word Count: 2593
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own these guys~ agirlcandreamthough
Summary: Heechul is the latest patient at the Everlasting Friends Day Clinic, a day clinic for people with mental disorders. Hangeng is the quiet introvert who is assigned as Heechul’s ’guide’ who has to help him settle in, even as Heechul demands that he is normal. [Based on the movie Poppy Shakespeare]
A/N; There are a couple of quotes from the movie in here to help keep things going - it’s all in Hangeng’s point of view.
Also; I apologise if there’s faults with each person not fitting their disorders.
And I’m sorry the summary sucks :C
Looking back…I can say I fucked some things up. Maybe a lot of things…It’s not my fault what happened with me and him. I’m no saint but, I didn’t do anything wrong. Takes two to tango anyway. He came into our lives like a butterfly caught in a whirlwind, lost and fragile. No one accepted him at first, no one in our group. I call us the ‘Dribblers Group’ - we all met every afternoon at the Everlasting Friends Day Clinic. There was seven of us in the group once he joined. The youngest being Ryeowook. A cute little guy, never spoke though and refused to remove his earphones from his head, he said it stopped the whispering. He didn’t used to be the youngest but, well, we don’t talk about what happened to Kibum anymore. Most of it is just rumours anyway. There’s Sungmin, we’re not quite sure what’s wrong with him, I recon he’s autistic or something. He’s obsessed with pink as well, it’s a little weird but, no one questions him - we’re all weird, right? Then there’s Yesung, he’s convinced the government is spying on him and watching his every move. He sits in the far corner of the room and listens to everyone’s conversations, shouting out random things from time to time, which don’t make sense. Kangin is the resident tough guy, mainly because he has anger issues and is an alcoholic - god only knows why he‘s classed as a dribbler. Leeteuk is the overly emotional guy, he has an eating disorder and the day clinic is the only place anyone can get him to eat. And then, of course there’s me. Hangeng. No one’s really explained to me what’s wrong, I don’t understand it either…I have night terrors sometimes and once tried killing myself. I used to be a self-harmer, I guess that’s why I’m here. Every day was the same, turn up, sign in, sit around for a few hours and be assessed once a month. Routine, always the same. Until Heechul came along. Storming into the room in his designer shoes, red skinny-fit jeans and some over sized shirt. That’s when things started changing.
~
Walking through the front doors, the head nurse eyed all of us inside the room suspiciously, she hated being in the place. But it was pay. Her name was SuMi - we all thought she was a spy from America but she always assured everyone she was full Korean.
“Good Morning everyone!” She called out cheerfully, heavily made-up eyes looking down at the clipboard in her arms before moving through to the next room.
“Oh fuck right off.” Shouted Kangin, stomping out his cigarette with the heel of his boot before standing up and moving away from the door she‘d just gone through.
“Language!” Kyuhyun hissed, the male nurse was always in the room with us in case something broke out. He always liked to keep close eyes on everyone, but we all know it’s cause he secretly is screwing Sungmin. It’s against the rules for staff to sleep with the patients but no one cared, he kept Sungmin calm and that’s what mattered to anyone who paid attention. I took my seat in between him and Ryeowook, looking up as Sungmin ran in, giving a shy smile at Kyuhyun before looking at me. He stuck his lower lip out in an attempt to make a cute pout so he could have his usual seat back. I rolled my eyes and stood up, moving into a new seat. Leeteuk perched on the window ledge behind me, thin fingers gripping his phone in his hand as though he was waiting for the most important phone call of his life. It was just his nervous reaction, to cling to the nearest object in his pocket. Once it had been his house keys and managed to accidentally cut his palm open, making Sungmin cry because he thought Leeteuk wanted to die and leave us all behind. The usual chaos of chatter and conversations about what had happened around where everyone else lived. Yesung giving his usual statement that he thinks there’s tracking devices in his cereal, Kangin chain-smoking in one corner of the room, flicking bits of rolled up paper at Ryeowook to try and get a noise out of him. Same shit, different day. A few moments later, SuMi strolled back inside.
“Hangeng, Zhou Mi wants to see you in the interview room. It won’t take a moment.” She flashed a fake smile as I stood up, hugging my backpack to my chest. I hated it when we got called into the interview room, they’d ask us questions about the weeks and how we were feeling. Stupid stuff I felt really were unnecessary really. I walked into the interview room and sat on the usual seat, letting my bag drop onto the floor near my feet. It was always cold in the interview as well, a shiver running through me - as if my fingers weren’t cold enough.
“So…how are you?” Came the usual Chinese into my ears. I had to speak Korean on a daily basis so it was actually nice to hear my native tongue again. I shrugged, avoiding Zhou Mi’s gaze on my face.
“Fine.” I shot back, looking away. Zhou Mi sighed softly and shook his head.
“Well there’s no need to beat around this, I want you to do a little job for me.” I looked up, wondering what he could want from me. “There’s a new guy joining, Kim Heechul. We want you to keep an eye on him, hep him out and show him around.” I stared for a moment.
“Nah…I’m not up to it Zhou Mi.” I mumbled, shaking my head. “Doesn’t SuMi usually do that sort of thing anyway? What you asking me for, I don’t know anything…”
“Yes you do. And we think it might help you. You need to…connect with people.”
“I don’t trust anyone though do I…” I was getting tired of this conversation already, this new guy would probably be just like everyone else, hang around for a few weeks then slip off into his own world and only talk when someone else spoke to him.
So he eventually talked me into it. No one else knew the place better than I did, he said. Well after being there for ten years, you start to know the places. I figured he wasn’t going to let me leave the room until I agreed to show this ‘Heechul’ around and help him settle in.
Anyway, in case you don’t know, the Everlasting Friends Clinic is just one floor in a huge hospital. Like, the madder you are the higher up you go. We’re on the seventh floor in the building. They say if you go any higher, you don’t come back. You just disappeared like dust up the hose of a vacuum cleaner. So the idea is as you get better they move you down a floor at a time. Then they move you to the Everlasting Friends and you get your own apartment in the nearby dorms, come in every day from nine till four. See we‘ve got the best of both worlds. All the help and meds you need and you can still do whatever you want. So anyway, this Monday was the day Heechul joined us. I wont lie, I was nervous as hell to meet him. I don’t like meeting new people, makes me nervous as hell. I just sat hugging my backpack until it was time for him to join us…
~
Sitting on the overstuffed chair, a smoothed down a ‘Welcome’ leaflet over my thigh, staring at the creases in the print. He was already late, he’d probably throw some lame story at me and expect me to hold his hand around everywhere. I leaned over to look at the magazines on the table beside me when I heard shouting coming up the hallway, lifting my head to look I saw a security guard walking with a feminine looking man, long brown hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and, as I described before, the red jeans and an over-sized black t-shirt. With how thin his arms and legs were, I could have sworn he was a food dodger like Leeteuk. Once he spun around, I swear my throat got tighter at the sight. He was stunning. Now, I said earlier, I don’t trust anyone. I also don’t like anyone. But there was something about him, his wide-eyes showed a swirling mixture of anger and confusion, maybe with a hint of fear at being in the hospital. His slender fingers curled into fists as he threatened to smack the security guard if he touched him again. He was brash, loud and oh-so-unconventional but, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I guessed by how loud he was and the brief description Zhou Mi had given me that this, was Kim Heechul.
“I’M NORMAL YOU ASSHOLE!” He screeched at the security guard, who simply ignored him and moved to take a pass from Shindong behind the desk. The male, stared from the guard to Heechul.
“A new nurse?”
“Patient.” The guard replied, Heechul snorting in disgust at him.
“He doesn’t look like a psychiatric patient.” Shindong mused.
“Thank you!” Heechul said, grabbing one of Shindongs hands in appreciation. “Now if you’d kindly explain that to this asshole, I can go home again and finish my writing!”
“Name?” Shindong asked as though he didn’t hear the males words.
“Kim Heechul.” He spat, snatching the pass before being shoved over towards me. I stood up, nervously holding the leaflet in my hands, waiting for him to notice me finally. I walked over instead, his dark orbs snapping around to stare at me.
“I wo-…I’ve been aske-…I got you this.” His glare was making it hard for me to talk so I thrust the leaflet at him. He snarled a little, snatching it from my hands.
“Oh forget it! I’m not staying.” He spat, eyeing me up before looking back at Shindong who just chuckled and went back to his DS Game. This one was going to be damn difficult…
“I want to see the manager! Get this sorted!! I have a career to follow!” He shouted, looking from me to Shindong then back at me again. I gave a weak smile.
“Right, follow me.” I didn’t intend on taking him to see the manager, since I had no idea who the head manager was. I’d just take him to Zhou Mi and let him handle it. So that’s what I did, lead him up to the seventh floor and up to Zhou Mi’s office. He huffed and stormed in, demanding to know what was happening and why he’d been sent to this place since he was normal. I’d seen this a number of times, Kangin had put him the same fight - if not more. And Sungmin had cried for hours until Ryeowook had silently put an arm around him and let him calm down. Everyone has their own ways of coping with the fact that society stamps them as crazy. I’d seen it coming to be honest but, I still didn’t settle in very easily.
“Who are you anyway?” He asked, perking one thin eyebrow at me.
“I’m Hangeng. Zhou Mi appointed me as your guide. Show you around and whatever, he said it’ll do me good.” Heechul’s face softened a little and he nodded.
“Oh, right. I thought you were staff.” I have to admit, I was a little flattered that he thought that. That I seemed normal to him and a nurse like Kyuhyun. I grinned and shook my head, leading him into the Zhou Mi‘s office. I explained about who was who in the group, and that he should keep it quiet that he thought he wasn’t mad, otherwise they’d bump him up a floor or worse. We seemed to get on well, and I have to admit I looked forward to spending more and more time with him. I could see why Zhou Mi chose me to be his guide though, he really did have a lot to learn about this place. I wandered into the common room, bombarded with questions about who he was and what he was like. Kangin cursing that he didn’t want anyone else to come in and change the balance of things. I just smiled to myself, confused at the feeling in my stomach and chest but I couldn’t wait for him to join us.
“He’s alright…” I mused, Yesung babbling away to himself about knowing someone by the same name and how they’d tried to put devices in his brain. I ignored him, content at keeping the image of him in my mind as it was. Just then there was yelling in the hall and Heechul was shoved into the room, that angry look on his face again as Shindong forced him into his seat beside me. Everything fell eerily quiet, all eyes on Heechul as he looked around nervously.
“You okay?” I asked softly, he just nodded, scowling when Kangin gave a low wolf-whistle, staring at Heechul as though he was a new toy.
“How often do they asses us?” Heechul asked, looking up at me.
“Once a year really…we have interviews from time to time though.” Sungmin mumbled, running his fingers through the plushy’s fur in his hands.
“Tell them about the mirror!” Leeteuk piped in, nodding as Yesung climbed to his feet, eyes fixed on Heechul.
“In the interview room, there’s this mirror. But it’s not a mirror, see. They stand on the other side and watch us.” He nodded, Leeteuk twisting his fingers together as he agreed.
“I saw them selling tickets at the tube station last week…All these young doctors and such. I heard them saying it‘s the funniest thing in town!”
“You get free drinks and everything.” Heechul gave me a worried glance before he tugged his phone from his pocket, flipping it open and closed a few times as though he was expecting someone to call and rescue him.
Well, things went on like that for a few weeks. People constantly asking Heechul questions and he kept determined in his thoughts that he was ‘normal’ and should get out of there. Don’t get me wrong, we all wanted out. No one wanted to be classed as a dribbler for life really. But the housing and money we got wasn’t a bad thing right? As I said though, no one wanted to be there for the rest of their days. Me and him spent more and more time together, Yesung kept insisting that there was people watching us behind the mirror. A few months later, Zhou Mi came in and announced that assessments were to be made monthly instead of yearly now - this caused a ruckus, Yesung yelling that they were selling the tickets too fast and needed to do it more often to keep business going. We all just ignored him. Heechul settled in slowly, sat with me for lunch and slowly opened up to me. Anyone would think we’d been friends for years, not just a matter of months. But, nothing was perfect for long. Heechul started acting weird. It was like we’d switched bodies. I was more open and he was more introvert, we stayed together though. I guess that should have been the first sign that things would be getting worse…I was too wrapped up in playing the popular Chinese guy to notice Heechul was spiralling downward…
Part Two