[super junior] going, going, gone.
FINALLY, THAT QMIMIN SUPERMODEL AU. What is this I don't even. This thing ate my soul over the weekend. /sobs
going, going, gone.
super junior, zhou mi/kyuhyun/sungmin, R, ~6000w
[model AU] in which Zhou Mi and Cho Kyuhyun are world-class models, Sungmin is more than just a make-up artist, and they fall in love with bright lights big cities like the fabulous jetsetters they are (or not).
going, going, gone.
-
gloria,
we lied, we can't go on
- wine red (the hush sound)
It was in Milan that they met for the first time, and Kyuhyun would often sneer at this because it was "too much of a cliché", but the sky was golden shade of sunshine in that mid-summer afternoon. It was three hours before the opening of Salvatore Ferragamo's Menswear Spring collection, and even the pre-show rush around him was somewhat endearing. Zhou Mi could see Massimilliano Giornetti himself fluttering about, smiling and sliding little pinstripe jackets and leather belts in place for the representatives of his vision.
Someone was grabbing his chin with a soft and steady hand as deft fingers expertly brushed the first layer of foundation along his jawline. Zhou Mi was just closing his eyes as the brush went over to the corner of his eye when the hand abruptly jerked away from his face. Zhou Mi's eyes immediately flew open to see delicate pale fingers wrap tightly around the wrist of his make-up artist.
"Do me first." The voice was deep and smooth like dark silk charmeuse, and it took Zhou Mi a few seconds to recognize the words as Korean.
"What?" His make-up artist barked, and it was only then that Zhou Mi had a good look at the person who had been manhandling his face. Asian- Korean, apparently. The man's face was rounded, the curves soft and youthful, lips forming an adorable pout. The frown in his eyes clearly spelled out his annoyance however.
"You're supposed to do me first, Sungmin hyung." It only took him a few seconds to recognize the interruption was indeed another model in the show - the only Korean one, actually. It was only his second season in Europe, but the number of Asian models walking was small enough for him to remember their faces around the place. He had never had time to learn their names though.
"Kyuhyun, he's supposed to go up before you."
Right, Kyuhyun then. Somehow the name sounded familiar to him.
"I don't care. I'm tired, do mine first so I could go find a corner to take a nap until showtime." The voice was almost petulant, and Zhou Mi couldn't even find it in him to be annoyed about the guy's haughty obnoxious attitude. He had always had a weak spot for beautiful voices apparently. That, and a look at this Kyuhyun's dark circles under the eyes had he wince in sympathy.
"It's okay, I can wait." He said this with a smile on his lips, and both of them jerked back to stare at him. He was starting to get uncomfortable under their scrutiny when both of them opened their mouths.
"Your name is Chinese." Sungmin's eyes flickered to the name scribbled in his task list.
"You look Chinese."
The way Kyuhyun said it sounded almost like an accusation. Zhou Mi couldn't help but laugh a little.
"I spent a few years in Korea." The Korean words felt heavy and a little unfamiliar on his tongue, and it really had been too long, but he would say it was not that much different from the way Cantonese would roll off his tongue.
Kyuhyun opened his mouth then closed it, and his frown deepened as he tugged at Sungmin's wrist again. "Well then, go with me."
Sungmin looked like he would protest, but the man didn't actually say anything as Kyuhyun dragged them to a nearby chair and settled himself in. It was hard for Zhou Mi not to stare in fascination as the annoyed frown on Sungmin's face slowly softened into something that almost looked like affection as he traced the lines and curves of the other model's face.
When the lights went out and the music came up, Kyuhyun looked like the memory of a perfect summer afternoon in Southern France, expressionless and ephemeral. It was only by the end of the show that Zhou Mi remembered - the model was Cho Kyuhyun, the youngest South Korean male model to ever walk Paris Fashion Week, and he was in the same agency with Zhou Mi.
-
The second time they met was only the next day, and this time Zhou Mi took notice of the one who grabbed his face. There was a soft smile in the corner of Sungmin's lips, and when he spoke it was in Korean, not accented English like last time.
"I'm sorry about last time. He came in late."
Zhou Mi automatically glanced around the room, and sure enough, there was Kyuhyun in a corner, already all powdered and glittered up, seeming completely absorbed in something that looked like... a hand-held game console?
"It's fine, really. I didn't mind." Zhou Mi had to tear his eyes away from the other model as Sungmin started applying the base.
"You must be new around here. I haven't seen you around much." Zhou Mi thought the smile on Sungmin's lips was almost amused then.
"It's my second season. I didn't walk a lot last time either." Zhou Mi smiled back under brushes and sponges, trying not to steal glances at the graceful arch of a certain model's neck and the way his eyelashes glittered in the far corner of the room.
-
-
People always said that if there was anything Zhou Mi was good at other than being a pretty face on the runway, it would be socializing and trading backroom gossips. Zhou Mi would argue that he was only trying to practice his English with fellow colleagues, but there was no point in arguing that he wasn't interested. Still, it took him a week to share his observation with what he had come to call The Gossip Table.
"So, Sungmin? The Korean make-up guy? Is it just me who thinks it's weird or is it just a coincidence that he seems to be there every time Kyuhyun has a show?"
All of them turned to look at the short man who was fussing over the Korean model. Allen, a British red-head, grinned and gave a small whistle.
"Oh, Sungmin. He's a doll."
Zhou Mi fought the urge to correct his pronunciation of the Korean name.
"He's real cute, for sure." The coordinator girl smirked as she threw a cashmere scarf over Allen.
"Those two, yeah."
"It's like that." Kurt on his left shrugged.
"Wait, what? They are... together?" Zhou Mi winced as the hairstylist jerked the hair on top of his head.
"Who knows? No one knows really. But the doll has strings to pull, apparently. He does get many of the shows his Korean boy shows up for. He's good. I've seen him around for awhile." The woman spoke over the top of his head.
"At this rate, boy might as well hire Sungmin as his personal stylist." Allen rolled his eyes, looking mildly disgusted and vaguely envious.
Zhou Mi was too busy staring at the soft upward curve of Cho Kyuhyun's bruised lips to really listen. There should have been nothing sensuous about protruding bones and too sharp angles, but as Kyuhyun stripped down to a pair of simple black boxer briefs, just standing there for a moment staring at his outfit, the line of his back and the slightest curve on the back of his thighs got Zhou Mi feeling like the world had tilted a little off its axis.
-
He wasn't really thinking at the time, but looking back on their track records, it probably took him a lot of courage to sit down next to Kyuhyun in their next show together. The Korean model was flicking through some battered-looking paperback and barely spared Zhou Mi a glance. As Zhou Mi was just contemplating what to say, Kyuhyun opened his mouth first to his utter surprise.
"You're the new Chinese representative for SM."
It wasn't a question. Zhou Mi was actually amazed that Kyuhyun had bothered to figure out they were from the same agency.
"Not that new, I'd think. I was here last season too." He knew what Kyuhyun meant though. You were just another nameless face not worth counting if you were just there for a season and disappeared in the next. No one had bothered to learn his name last January.
Kyuhyun snorted. "I stand corrected." He still didn't look up from his paperback. "Did you know Han Geng?"
The name startled him. Zhou Mi hesitated as he remembered bruised shadows under red-rimmed eyes, gaunt cheekbones, and an exhausted quirk of the lips. "Yes I did. We were... We walked a few shows together in China."
Han Geng had been the previous Chinese goldmine of SM before he completely dropped off the fashion scene with rumours of severe depression and hospital visits. There were even talks of lawsuits and contract violations, but Zhou Mi had never been one to fancy paying attention to the politics behind the scene. Zhou Mi was the one to take over Han Geng's spot in New York, Paris, Milan, and London. "You knew Han Geng ge?"
"We walked a few shows together." Kyuhyun's voice was clipped and cold. It signaled the end of the conversation, and Zhou Mi found himself staring at Kyuhyun's frail wrists, reminded of images he would rather forget behind all the glitter and silk.
-
Their fourth show together, Kyuhyun pressed flush against his back just ten minutes before they had to go out. The hallway was dark and chaotic with the rush of last-minute fix-ups and the thickening buzz of the audience outside, yet somehow it was not all that difficult to catch every single word Kyuhyun was whispering into his ears from behind.
"Aren't we beautiful."
It wasn't stated as a question, and Zhou Mi was unsure how to respond.
"Why did you start walking the shows, Zhou Mi ge?" The way his name rolled off Kyuhyun's tongue sent a shiver down his spine. "We are just clothing racks to showcase expensive fabrics and intellectual bullshit, did you know? All made up and beautiful, just the way the world wants us to be. Sungmin could go on and on about the aesthetic values, but the truth is we are all out here to sell crap."
He could smell the alcohol on Kyuhyun in every puff of his breath. "Are you drinking on the job?"
"Everyone has their poison." He caught Kyuhyun's smirk from the corner of his eyes as the younger model stepped back and disappeared into the line of steampunk Victorian rent boys they were playing for the night.
-
Kyuhyun snarled and snapped at everyone the next week Zhou Mi saw him in Paris. It was the Spring show for Alexis Mabille at the Oratoire du Louvre, and the church was calm and bright in the brilliant heat of the summer. Sungmin was there, almost as a given, and Zhou Mi found it inexplicably comforting in the expected familiarity. Sungmin did his make-up almost exclusively now if he was there. Zhou Mi tried not to meet Kyuhyun's glares from across the room every single time.
"Is he always like this?" Zhou Mi asked as Sungmin traced kohl over his eyelids. He couldn't really remember a time when Kyuhyun smiled in the last couple of weeks they had seen each other on and off.
"He's on a diet." He could feel the shrug in Sungmin's tone.
"I'm on a diet. Everyone is on a diet." He tried not to frown because it would ruin his make-up and Sungmin would nag at him.
"When I say diet I actually mean purely surviving on alcohol and painkillers five days a week."
"What about the other two days?" Zhou Mi felt cold, and it probably wasn't because someone had just opened a window.
"I try to shove a few slices of apple and some bread down his throat in the hope that something would stay in his digestive system before he throws everything up. He's in an okay mood if you see him on a Monday. Try doing that." Sungmin smudged a plum shade of red over his bottom lip.
"Why?" Zhou Mi tried to mumble under Sungmin's fingers on his lips.
"He thinks your Korean is nice."
They fell into silence after that, and it wasn't until after the show that Zhou Mi realized Sungmin had confirmed how the relationship between the two of them was anything but merely professional.
-
-
After Sungmin's words, it was hard not to notice the dark shadows behind Kyuhyun's sunglasses when he shuffled in backstage for a show, the way he swayed sluggishly when he thought no one was looking, and the way he slid down a chair or a flat surface as if gravity was playing it up ten-fold on him alone. It wasn't a rare sight around the scene. After all they were the poster children of skin and bones, the ultimate dream of straight lines and sharp angles. Zhou Mi had seen his fair share, even back in China. He had seen diet pills and white-dusted noses and toothbrushes down the back of slender throats. Yet somehow on Kyuhyun the familiar sight of protruding bones and paper thin wrists looked a little heart-breaking.
-
When Zhou Mi was sixteen, a girl in his training class taught him how to map out the important bones in the body. Her bony fingers glided over his skin, pressing down with every word.
These were your zygomatic bones.
This was your inferior maxillary bone.
These were your clavicles.
This was the head of your ulna.
This was your pisiform.
This was the greater trochanter of your femur.
"We're here to sell these, Zhou Mimi. What we're selling is not another pretty face. They can send you out with your face in a paper bag. We're in the business of selling bone structures, because beauty is bones deep."
-
"Do you know what our unique selling points are, Zhou Mi ge?"
Kyuhyun had better not make this into a habit, Zhou Mi thought as he shuddered against the light press of the younger model's angles. He could see the buying director of Galeries Lafayette walking around, scrutinizing the models in their costumes, her eyes never quite reaching their faces.
"Delicate little Asian flowers, that's what our portfolios say to sell us to our prospective clients. We're here to give them a taste of something dark and mysterious, Oriental and exotic. That's what you and I are selling right here, right now." Kyuhyun's voice sounded hoarse and unsteady, and Zhou Mi could see the way his hands were shaking under long Egyptian cotton sleeves.
"Is that why you try to make your bones look like they might break upon a single touch?" Zhou Mi whispered back harshly.
Kyuhyun titled his head to look up at him with a wry smirk, his long fingers grasping Zhou Mi's wrists. "You're learning, Zhou Mi ge, but all bones are meant to break."
When they passed each other before they went on, Kyuhyun looked back at him, and there was no sign of any dark shadows beneath the countless layers of concealer, foundation, and mineral powder. He looked like perfection, and Zhou Mi had to pause to take a deep breath.
-
-
"I'm not doing Celine in September." Sungmin frowned, looking at his Blackberry with great intensity as Kyuhyun sniggered, leaning against his shoulder languidly. Zhou Mi tried not to stare. Somehow they were squished together in the after-party of the Yohji Yamamoto show. It was two in the morning, and the crowd showed no sign of dropping yet.
"Why not?" He asked, but his eyes were drawn to Kyuhyun knocking back what was likely his fifth drink of the night. Sungmin wasn't kidding about the man living on alcohol.
"I don't like Bernard Arnault. I also don't like the way management has been breathing down the necks of the creative teams lately. Last time some big shot burst in to change the lipstick shade to appeal to 'the younger cosmopolitan crowd' I thought I was going to kick someone in the face."
"I'm surprised you didn't." Kyuhyun laughed, and Zhou Mi stared because drunk Kyuhyun was apparently pretty damn generous about showing his emotions.
"Word's on the street that Loewe is going to be sold off soon." Sungmin's frown deepened, and that unconscious pout was also pretty hard not to stare at.
Kyuhyun grinned, looking up at him from under his eyelashes. He had never thought about how Kyuhyun's eyes could be so bright instead of the usual glassy disinterested look. "This is Lee Sungmin - the future CEO of Hyundai Group. He knows his politics."
There was most likely a lot more to that statement, but Zhou Mi was probably a little too distracted to figure it out as Kyuhyun's long slender fingers came to rest on his thigh, the weight of them burning through the fabric of his pants.
Kyuhyun leaned heavily against Zhou Mi, already too drunk to care about personal space, appropriate etiquettes or decency. Zhou Mi let his hand subtly rest on the other's thigh, and it felt wonderfully warm beneath his fingers. It was not long before he realized he had been unconsciously inching it higher and higher. He was drunk enough not to care. The fabric of Kyuhyun’s pants bunched beneath his fingers, and Kyuhyun leaned closer, practically nuzzling against Zhou Mi's shoulder.
Going on to the next hour, it was easy to realize that Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi were the only two who were still chugging down alcohol like water. Kyuhyun seemed to have pretty much given up on conversations now, and he was content enough with leaning against Zhou Mi and listening to whatever fancy tales Sungmin was spinning with the occasional drunken chuckle. Sungmin had barely touched his glass, too busy socializing and typing furiously in his Blackberry at the same time. Zhou Mi barely noticed anything as suddenly Kyuhyun shifted and his arm was around Zhou Mi's waist from behind, warm and discreet because no one else could see but he could feel it. He moved closer to the touch, something warm pooling in his gut in anticipation. His back felt over-sensitive all of sudden. He could bring himself to care less about the outside world then. Kyuhyun smelled good. The man smelled like the glittered hair gel they had been using, fresh cotton linen, and the slow burn of a woodfire.
One more round of drinks and Kyuhyun had effectively passed out against him. Zhou Mi pulled Kyuhyun's slack hand against his and his eyes automatically went over the way his wrist compared to the younger model's. Sungmin stretched out, rubbing at his eyes, smiling tiredly at Zhou Mi.
"It's okay, he's done for the week. Done for the whole season actually."
"Me too." Zhou Mi smiled back. He blinked as Sungmin reached out to brush Kyuhyun's hair from Zhou Mi's cheekbone, the familiar fingers sending tingling warmth over his skin.
"What are you doing after this week?"
"Going home, probably. Sleeping for five days straight." Zhou Mi tangled his own fingers in Kyuhyun's dark hair, brushing against Sungmin's.
"Where's home?"
"Beijing. I stop by Seoul now and then though. Where are you going?"
"I thought you looked like a Milan kind of guy." Sungmin laughed, hesitancy clear in his voice. "We have an apartment in Tokyo." Their eyes flickered to the sleeping man. Zhou Mi slowly untangled his hand from Sungmin's grasp.
"Oh."
"You could still come and visit. Tokyo is nice."
"It's over-crowded and over-polluted." Kyuhyun mumbled from somewhere behind the edge of Zhou Mi's shoulder, startling both of them. When he turned to look, it looked like Kyuhyun had passed out again. Zhou Mi chuckled.
"The same could be said about Beijing."
"I guess we are the poster children of big cities, all in love with bright neon lights and looming skyscrapers." Sungmin's smile was just a half-turned curve of the lips, and Zhou Mi didn't protest when Sungmin carefully pried Kyuhyun off him, the young model melting against him with a certain sense of familiarity. He hadn't seen it before, but Sungmin and Kyuhyun fit against each other like perfection.
Paris' summer night sky made him stumble with dizziness when he stood up.
"I still have two last shows tomorrow." Sungmin said, his eyes almost apologetic, and Zhou Mi waved them goodbye as Sungmin wrestled Kyuhyun's slump form into the small taxi.
He might have fallen a little in love with summer.
-
Zhou Mi kept telling himself, summer love was only for the summer, but summer in Beijing seemed to drag on forever just to spite him. He hung out with his actor friends on drama sets, picked up some MC gigs in Chinese variety shows, went on shopping sprees and ate dumplings to his heart's content, yet Tokyo still haunted his thoughts. He spent a large part of his time on the internet, looking up package tours and itineraries, possible accommodation and popular tourist spots. As he browsed through the bazillion websites, he caught himself wondering more than once where Sungmin and Kyuhyun would be staying among the bustling districts of the city, what kind of apartment it was, and what they were doing right then. He never went through with anything though, because it would be crazy and ridiculous and stalkerish, and neither Sungmin nor Kyuhyun had even given him their contact number.
It would take a lot of prodding, but Zhou Mi would also grudgingly admit to looking up Sungmin and Kyuhyun on the internet, but just once. Or maybe twice. There wasn't even much to find really, or at least not what he wanted to know. There were runway pictures of Kyuhyun from the previous seasons, editorials, a brief biography on the agency's home website. There was Sungmin's online CV, just the basic rundown of his education and working experiences. Zhou Mi logged onto his weibo to pester his friends instead.
-
Zhou Mi ended up in Seoul three weeks into August. The brightest star of Korea's fashion world Andre Kim had just passed away, and a group of the industry's top designers were pulling up a huge tribute show to celebrate his life-long achievements. Zhou Mi had walked for Andre Kim once back when he had still been stationed in Korea. The agency office called him in Beijing and before he knew it, he had already booked himself a seven o'clock flight.
Seoul was good. Seoul was familiar the way Hong Kong was familiar - just a couple of hours apart, no language barrier, all neon lights and skyscrapers. He had friends, close ones even. Yet all he could think about during the flight was two certain Koreans he had met in Europe over the summer. Then he landed at Incheon international airport, grabbed his luggage, turned his head, and saw Lee Sungmin's unmistakeable pink suitcase down baggage belt number four. Sungmin was nowhere in sight, and it would have been less obvious if a certain Cho Kyuhyun hadn't been slouching right there with his game console.
Naturally, Zhou Mi rushed over before his brain could catch up.
When he called out Kyuhyun's name, he had fully expected to be greeted with the familiar scowl, but when Kyuhyun looked up to see who was calling him, the lines on his face smoothed into a surprised smile and Zhou Mi - Zhou Mi was struck frozen.
"Zhou Mi ge!" Kyuhyun's tone was light and cheerful, and Zhou Mi frantically searched for any trace of sarcasm or trickery in Kyuhyun's eyes, but it was rather hard since the younger model had his sunglasses on. Still, the smile was nothing but genuine and pleased. Zhou Mi blanched, unconsciously taking a step back - Had he gotten the wrong person?
"Zhou Mimi! Why are you here!" Sungmin's familiar voice confirmed that he was indeed with the right person, yet Zhou Mi was anything but reassured. He rushed over to give Sungmin a hug anyway. Sungmin had cut his hair, but everything else was practically the same, down to the way he felt warm and solid in his arms. He had missed the way Sungmin's fingers lingered on his back.
Zhou Mi wished he could say the same about Sungmin's companion. He hadn't thought about it earlier, but Kyuhyun would look almost like a stranger if he hadn't spent the last month obsessing over the model's entire portfolio on the internet. There was a different glow about him. His eyes flickered to Kyuhyun's wrists. The bones didn't seem to be prominent all that much anymore. Now that he looked more closely, the way Kyuhyun was holding himself was different. He was slouching but his back was straight, not the exhausted, weighed down slouch he had seen backstage in Paris. Zhou Mi allowed himself a bright grin in the direction of the other model.
"Andre Kim's tribute show. Don't tell me you are..."
"We definitely are." Kyuhyun's smile had morphed into a smirk, and Zhou Mi would be lying if he said he didn't stare.
"You're a week early though." Sungmin skillfully maneuvered his suitcase and led them towards the gates.
"I have friends here. Thought I would fly over early to hang out with them."
"Well, same goes for us." Sungmin smiled, and god did he miss that smile as well. "Where are you staying?"
"A friend's place. You?"
Sungmin gave him a wry smile and Zhou Mi knew the answer before Kyuhyun opened his mouth.
"We have an apartment in Seoul."
-
A friend's place meant Kim Heechul's abandoned mess of an apartment. Zhou Mi winced as he trudged his way through the living room, hitting his toes and knees against various household objects no less than eleven times. No one was in, just as expected. He put away his things in the guest bedroom, and then left the apartment to make his way to the studio, where he knew Heechul had made his new home. He had just peaked his head in the room when a cat jumped on his face.
"YAH, SEASONING! DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO CALL WHEN YOU LANDED?"
Zhou Mi struggled to get Baengshin off his face as Heechul laughed like a hyena.
They ended up having tea in the studio because Heechul could not afford to part with his work. The fittings would start into two days, he said.
"I'm doing only fifteen fucking outfits for the tribute show, no more no less. Lady HeeHee needs his beauty sleep." Heechul grumbled, slicing a neat line down a yard of turquoise-green silk doupion with his chalk. "I don't even know how I got robbed into being part of this fucking freak show."
"Just don't put me in a red cheongsam out of misplaced spite like last time, Heechul hyung." Zhou Mi chuckled, flicking through the designer's fabric scrapbooks, the hot herbal tea sitting warm and comforting at the back of his throat.
"And you know what's worse? Working with fucking celebrities as models because oh, of course, it's supposed to be an Andre Kim tribute show! Fittings are gonna be hell with their measurements all over the fucking place. With my luck I'm gonna end up with someone from some ridiculous K-pop boybands, like fucking Super Junior or something."
"Hey, Choi Siwon is all right." Zhou Mi frowned.
Heechul paused. "Well, okay, Choi Siwon is all right." The designer looked contemplative for five seconds, and then he was back to frantically rummaging around his fabric stash. "I'd better get f(x)'s Sulli. Or at least the Wonder Girls."
Zhou Mi smiled into his mug of tea. He told Heechul about meeting Korean supermodel Cho Kyuhyun in Europe over the summer, and Heechul laughed.
"That kid, he doesn't know shit, can't even tell his silk georgette apart from his silk chiffon. Good thing is he doesn't even pretend to care. Pretty damn brilliant at Starcraft though."
Zhou Mi took comfort in the fact that Heechul didn't mention Han Geng even once in the entire afternoon.
-
Kyuhyun clapped him on the back when they first met up with each other at a bar that evening. Zhou Mi turned to stare wide-eyed at Sungmin, whispering furiously when Kyuhyun was out of hearing distance.
"What did Tokyo do to him?"
Sungmin grinned. "I told you in Paris, he was just on a diet."
"The diet made him pissed at the world?"
"How would you feel about the world if it told you to starve yourself and drink the hunger away?"
Kyuhyun seemed oblivious to Zhou Mi's bewilderment, judging by the way he laughed carelessly and groped Zhou Mi in the dark every chance he got. Still, his good mood didn't change the way the young man downed his whiskey like mineral water. Kyuhyun's jawline looked less than razor sharp though, and Zhou Mi took comfort in that. This time he helped Sungmin wrestle Kyuhyun into the taxi and up to their shared apartment.
Seoul's summer night was humid and overheated. He had barely dropped an unconscious Kyuhyun on the couch before Sungmin slammed him against the wall, all pouty wet lips and perfect sinful curves, solid and warm in every undulating roll of the hips. Zhou Mi bit down on the plump bottom lip, and Sungmin gasped into the kiss.
The crook of Sungmin's neck smelled like ginger honey tea and exotic spices when Zhou Mi buried his teeth in the soft skin. As Sungmin arched in his lap, tight and hot and delicious around him, images of sharp collar bones and biting smirks kept flashing in his mind. Zhou Mi came hard as Sungmin whispered "Zhou Mi ge" in his ear, his voice hoarse and several octaves lower.
Zhou Mi collapsed on the bed, feeling even more drunk than when he had started.
"Cho Kyuhyun is a goddamn tease."
Sungmin huffed out a laugh into his shoulder.
"Tell me about it."
At least there was no awkward morning after because both Sungmin and Kyuhyun were still passed out when he left their apartment in the early afternoon.
He did meet up with Sungmin a few times after that, but not once did they ever mention the younger model. Sungmin still thought it was a good idea to call him "Zhou Mi ge" in bed, and Zhou Mi never told him not to.
-
The next time Zhou Mi met Cho Kyuhyun again, it was the night of Andre Kim's tribute show, and Kyuhyun was throwing up bile and vodka in a bathroom stall. Kyuhyun laughed between hacking coughs, and it was a punch in the guts to realize the familiar glassy look was back in his eyes.
"Zhou Mi ge," the real thing made Zhou Mi shudder, "I know you can't wait to see me on my knees, but you should have knocked first." The words were slow and carefully enunciated, but it still felt like another blow to the guts as Zhou Mi realized Kyuhyun had just spoken to him in perfect Mandarin. Anger rose in him unbidden, and Zhou Mi jerked Kyuhyun up by the arm. The younger model flailed, hitting him in the head.
"I thought you got better."
Kyuhyun moved like he wanted to jerk away from his grasp, but his hands held on to Zhou Mi's arms. "You like me better this way, don't lie." He had switched back to Korean now. "I'm so boring otherwise that you have to go and fuck Sungmin."
His knuckles were white from the tight clench of his fists. Zhou Mi took a slow deep breath and tugged Kyuhyun out on shaky legs.
"Heechul hyung is calling, you don't want him to get mad. Now we have to fix your make-up."
The harsh fluorescent light dulled the bronze glitter in his eyeshadow, and Zhou Mi couldn't see past Cho Kyuhyun's perfect bone structure anymore.
-
The show was an extravaganza. Idol groups performed, actors and singers walked the runway, Super Junior's new summer hit "Bonamana" was the soundtrack, the media crowd went crazy with the strobe lighting, young Canadian-Taiwanese violin genius Henry Lau was invited, Heechul shouted at everyone, and world-renowned Korean supermodel Cho Kyuhyun was nothing short of perfection in flashes of shimmering silk doupion and dark velvet.
It wasn't like Zhou Mi didn't know what he had gotten himself into. It wasn't like he didn't know the way this worked. This was all glamour and putting on a show and selling your best kept secrets. He could kiss Cho Kyuhyun, but he was afraid of the idea losing its lustre once they came down to it, the same way Kyuhyun thought he lost the magic without all the chemicals. There was no 'getting better' because it wasn't even about 'getting worse' in the first place. The truth was just glittered up when the lights went on and the music started.
Zhou Mi reached the end of the runway, paused for precisely five seconds, and calmly watched the world erupting in bright flashes.
-
-
He did end up at Sungmin and Kyuhyun's Seoul apartment one week after the show. Kyuhyun looked calm and bright, just the way he had looked when Zhou Mi had seen him at Incheon aiport. His smile looked tense, though no less genuine. Zhou Mi didn't know what to make of this.
Sungmin was still the perfect picture of calmness and sanity. He brought out a French Merlot, Saint-Émilion AOC 2004, and poured them three glasses.
"When are you going back to Tokyo?" Zhou Mi asked, as no one else seemed inclined to say a word yet.
"I'm going on Sunday."
"The end of the year, maybe." Kyuhyun shrugged and leaned back against the couch, making no move towards the wine glass. Zhou Mi stared blankly.
"Why?"
"I have classes."
"You have... classes?" Zhou Mi didn't want to be a parrot, but it was pretty hard right then for his brain to function.
Sungmin chuckled, taking sympathy on Zhou Mi's flabbergasted expression. "He goes to Kyunghee University in Seoul. His major is Modern Music, in case you wanted to know."
"Looking pretty doesn't make for a life-long career." Kyuhyun looked mildly offended at the shock on Zhou Mi's face.
"But... you two live in Tokyo?"
"Okay, I might have misled you a little there. I live in Tokyo. This is Kyuhyun's apartment. I stay here during the school year inbetween jobs and Kyuhyun comes to my place during the holidays though. I have some editorial gigs in Tokyo next week, so I'm leaving."
"What about your meetings with Shisei for talks about setting up the new studio?" Kyuhyun turned to Sungmin, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Oh yeah, those too. So I won't be back until the middle of next month." Sungmin pulled out his Blackberry, eyebrows furrowed. "You two, behave?"
"Me? Wait. What?"
"Zhou Mi ge, you wouldn't be here right now if you thought you would say no and walk out of that door today."
"I've been looking forward to being able to say 'we have an apartment in Beijing' in particular." Sungmin smiled, charming and seemingly innocent. Kyuhyun leaned in, and the press of soft lips against his own made Zhou Mi suck in a long shivery breath. Kyuhyun smelled like late summer afternoons by the shore of the Mediterranean sea.
"This is a mistake, and we want you to make it." Kyuhyun smiled against his lips, and the threat sounded like a promise.
-
fin.
Author's Note:
1. Photos used, in order of appearance:
- Oratoire du Louvre, Paris
- Backstage at John Galliano Menswear Spring 2011, photo by Tommy Ton
- Zhou Mi's selca of his wrist
- Lanvin Menswear Spring 2011, photo by Tommy Ton
- Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring 2011, photo by Tommy Ton
- Beijing, China
2. Perfumes used, in order of appearance:
- Fire From Heaven by CB I Hate Perfume
- Five O'Clock Au Gingembre by Serge Lutens
- Un Jardin en Méditerranée by Hermès
3. I listened to Bonamana way too many times while writing this. Kyuhyun wanted to strangle whoever chose the theme song by the end of the second rehearsal.