Fic: Family Arc I (14/21)
Title: Family Arc I (14/21)
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. I apologise for any incorrect portrayal of people mentioned in my story.
Pairing: None at the moment. Eeteuk Hankyung. Heechul. Kibum. Donghae.
Summary: Eeteuk finds out. It is day of shocks for all.
Category: angst.
Rating: NC-16
Archive
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13
Eeteuk woke up, staring at his ceiling. It’s light blue. That was the first thought that came into his head. He groaned, getting up slowly. He noticed that he was sleeping on his own bed. Eeteuk briefly wondered how he got there as the last thing he remembered was laughing at the impromptu play Sungmin and Eunhyuk had put up. He turned to get off the bed and saw Kangin sleeping on the other bed. It must be him who brought me here. Even Siwon is here. Eeteuk walked over to pull the blanket up for both Kangin and Siwon. It was such a familiar action that Eeteuk smiled. I’m really home.
Eeteuk glanced at the clock by Kangin’s bedside.
“Seven fifteen? Why am I up so early?” Eeteuk mumbled to himself, unsure why he was awake at such an ungodly time especially since he was so sleepy the night before. Eeteuk walked quietly out of the room, not wanting to wake any of the sleeping boys. He headed for the kitchen, wanting to make coffee to be more awake. Maybe I can get someone to drive me to see Kyuhyun. Eeteuk was still worried about their youngest.
He heard some noise coming from the kitchen. Who’s awake this early? The voices got louder as he got nearer.
“…What’s wrong with them?” Heechul’s angry voice floated through, loud and clear. Eeteuk was puzzled. Heechul was seldom angry. By then he was already at the door of the kitchen.
“What’s wrong with who? And why is the first aid box here?”
Eeteuk could feel the four in the kitchen tense.
“Oh no.” Kibum whispered out. It was then that Eeteuk realised something huge was going on in the kitchen.
We’re screwed. Hankyung thought, wanting to bury his head into his hands. He didn’t expect to tell anyone about Kyuhyun’s parents and he definitely didn’t anticipate that Eeteuk-hyung - Of all people, why Eeteuk-hyung? - to stumble onto their conversation. He really didn’t feel like repeating himself. Twice was enough.
Donghae wanted badly to escape. He didn’t want to be there when Eeteuk-hyung went into full Umma-mode. Though Eeteuk was usually mild-tempered, he was a totally different person when it came down to the other members of Super Junior. Eeteuk had been upset when he heard that Sungmin had been bullied in school and he had stormed to the school, with Kangin as intimidation, to confront the bullies. It is going to be much much worse.
Kibum almost feared for Kyuhyun’s parent’s lives, almost. But he thought better. There was no point fearing for them. I would like to see them cower when faced with Eeteuk-Umma. Then they will know how a parent should be.
Heechul was almost glad that Eeteuk stumbled in. He would definitely have a partner in revenge. Heechul wanted to find Eeteuk in the first place to question him. He smirked. He came to offer himself. Heechul spoke up.
“Hankyung accidentally hurt himself with broken glass. Donghae was just dressing his wounds.”
Eeteuk’s eyes went wide and zoomed in on Hankyung. He marched up to Hankyung, holding his palm out. Hankyung gulped and timidly raised his hand for Eeteuk to inspect. He braced himself for the impact.
“Does it hurt?” A shake. “Do you need to go to the hospital to get it checked?” Another shake. “Maybe we should. It looks painful. How did you get hurt in the first place? What were you doing? Especially when it’s still so early. We should go to the hospital. Not that I don’t trust you, Donghae. But it’s better safe than sorry. It’ll be better to do so. It might get infected. Anyway, we could also visit Kyuhyun at the same time. He must be lonely by himself. I shouldn’t have left him alone after what the doctor said. I wondered it he slept well last night. He must be scared. The hospital bed is too hard to sleep comfortably. Yes. We should go to the hospital. Let’s go now…” Eeteuk rambled on, his thoughts going from concern for Hankyung and his injury to worries about Kyuhyun and back. He could have gone off endlessly if not for Hankyung.
“Hyung? Hyung!” Eeteuk stopped abruptly, turning to look at Hankyung.
“Hyung, I’m fine. There’s no need to go to the hospital.”
Donghae and Kibum were prepared to tune out Eeteuk as he began to fuss over Hankyung. They all knew that Eeteuk had a tendency to let his thoughts run wild when he was upset. They had all experienced that one time or another. But their attention turned back to Eeteuk when they heard Kyuhyun’s name. After what the doctor said? Both were curious, turning to each other to make sure that they heard the same thing.
Eeteuk didn’t realise but that one sentence about not leaving Kyuhyun alone after what the doctor said caught the attention of all four sitting around the table.
Hankyung’s head snapped upright when he heard it. What didn’t the doctor tell us?
Heechul was waiting for Eeteuk to let slip something. He knew that Eeteuk-hyung was good at keeping secrets - that was why all of them at one point or another confided in Eeteuk. The only way to get Eeteuk to speak was to make him slip up some information by himself. That was why Heechul decided to tell Eeteuk that Hankyung was injured. He pounced at the opportunity.
“What do you mean you shouldn’t have left Kyuhyun alone? What did the doctor say in the room to both of you?” Heechul fired immediately after Hankyung managed to stop Eeteuk’s rumbling.
Eeteuk looked at Heechul in shock. Shit, I didn’t mean to let it slip.
Eeteuk wanted some time to ponder over what the doctor had said before telling anyone. If I was going to tell anyone. Eeteuk wanted to think clearly about Kyuhyun’s reaction to the news. Last night due to the celebration, Eeteuk didn’t have time to think about it. That was why he wanted to go to the hospital to see Kyuhyun. He wanted, no needed, to know how Kyuhyun was feeling.
“Hyung?” Eeteuk realised that he did not answer Heechul’s questions. He had let his thoughts distract him again. Should I tell them? Unknowingly imitating Hankyung, Eeteuk stared into their eyes, trying to discern whether he should tell them. Eeteuk nodded to himself, coming to a decision. Super Junior is a family and we will stand by each other. I alone will not be able to support Kyuhyun. He will need everyone by his side. Another reason why Eeteuk decided to tell these four was that they each had went through their own battles: Hankyung and his language barrier and visa, Heechul and his recovery from the car accident, Kibum and his acting career, and Donghae with the recent tragic in his family. Eeteuk believed that they would be able to support Kyuhyun.
Eeteuk took a deep breath. Anticipation was in the air, but so was fear. They weren’t so sure if they wanted to hear it anymore.
“As you know the doctor came in to do a check-up on Kyuhyun, like they always do to patients. He did the usual things like listening to his heartbeat, taking his temperature, asking if he hurt anywhere. Then he asked Kyu to raise his feet slightly. The side with the fractured rib. Kyu was able to raise it a little, before it hurt too much. The doctor just went ‘Hmmm.’ And then went on with his check-up.”
At that point, Eeteuk began pacing around the room.
“Then the doctor asked Kyu to say ‘Ahh’ as long as he can. Kyu could only manage about 5 seconds before breaking off. It was as if it hurt to stretch it any longer.” The rest were shocked. Kyuhyun should be able to do better than that. Even they could do better. And they were not brilliant at singing.
“After a few moments of more ‘hmmm’s and nods from the doctor, he finally decided to tell us his prognosis. ‘You’re recovering fine. But we have to keep monitoring your progress. I understand that you’re a singer and dancer. I would like to pre-empt you first. Although the wounds are healing rather well, due to the seriousness of your injuries, there is always the possibility that they will not heal completely. The fractured hip is still very tender and I cannot say that it will recover 100%. Even if it does, you may not be able to do certain moves like before and you will be prone to pain from the hip if you dance too much. As for your lungs, one side had collapsed due to the puncture from the broken ribs. We know from our daily check-up that the hole is healing fine. But at the moment, you will keep experiencing shortness of breath and some chest pain. They would most likely sudside after a while. You are expected to recover fully from the lung injury, but we cannot confirm that you will be able to sing as well as before. We will continue to monitor your progress. Don’t be too upset. And don’t force yourself to sing or walk. It will only make them worse.’ With that the doctor left the room.”
Eeteuk trailed off, returning himself to the moment he heard the news.
What? Eeteuk couldn’t believe his ears. Did he just say what I heard? Eeteuk stared at the doctor’s serious expression. He doesn’t look like he’s kidding. Eeteuk turned to Kyuhyun. He had only felt a tightening of the grip Kyuhyun had on his hand. Kyuhyun had closed his eyes tight, as if blocking out what the doctor had said would make it all a dream. None noticed that the doctor had left the room.
“Kyuhyun…” Eeteuk spoke softly, unsure of what he should say as his brain was still trying to process the information.
Kyuhyun shook his head. “Yes Hyung?” He managed to crack a small forced smile at Eeteuk.
“Kyuhyun, are you okay?” The smile hurt Eeteuk even more.
“I’m fine Hyung.” Kyuhyun glanced a little at Eeteuk, before looking back down to his lap.
“Kyuhyun…”
“Hyung. I’m fine. Really.” Kyuhyun cut in, a little harsh. Kyuhyun had looked up at Eeteuk then, and Eeteuk could see faint signs of sadness in his eyes that Kyuhyun didn’t manage to hide. Eeteuk was sure that it was mirrored in his eyes. As Eeteuk opened his mouth to speak, the door opened.
What? The four around the table were shocked. They had not expected that. It was shock after shock this morning. They knew that there was a long way to recovery but to know that even if you fully recover you may not be able to gain back what you originally had was something that none of them had considered.
Silence reigned as none knew how to react. If they were this shocked and upset, how would Kyuhyun feel?
Eeteuk slowly brought himself out of his memories. That was the reason why he wanted to go back to the hospital. Kyuhyun didn’t have much reaction then, but he knew Kyuhyun’s character. Kyuhyun seldom let others know exactly what he was feeling, as if doing so would let others have a chance of hurting him. But this one time, Eeteuk was not going to just let it go. As Eeteuk thought, he suddenly remembered that his questions were still unanswered. He had trepidation that the four were discussing Kyuhyun before he interrupted.
“You all have not answered my questions.” Eeteuk asked, catching the four unaware. Eeteuk wore a serious expression, coupled with worry. It was then that the rest saw the reason why Eeteuk was their leader. It made them to tell Eeteuk about their own discovery. Hankyung looked away, not wanting to hear the story again. He had enough of it. Heechul took it upon himself to repeat it to Eeteuk.
Eeteuk was floored. That was something totally unexpected. Kyuhyun was such a gentle and considerate boy that none would expect such parents. How could there be such parents? Contradictory to what the rest might have thought, Eeteuk did not demand to see Kyuhyun straight away. Eeteuk wanted so much to just get Heechul or Donghae to send him to the hospital straight away and pull Kyuhyun into a hug, never to let him out of his sight. Eeteuk knew that if he went to see Kyuhyun right now with all his emotions swirling around his head, he would only scare and cause more worry to Kyuhyun instead.
Eeteuk was silent for so long that it was beginning to scare the rest. Kibum spoke up. “Eeteuk-hyung?”
Eeteuk shook himself out of his thoughts and was about to speak when they heard the rest slowly waking up.
“Let’s keep this within ourselves first. I don’t want any of them finding out and overwhelm Kyuhyun.” Eeteuk said, staring at each of them, conveying his message. The rest nodded. As soon as they did, Shindong came in together with Sungmin.
“Hankyung-hyung, is there breakfast to eat?”
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. I apologise for any incorrect portrayal of people mentioned in my story.
Pairing: None at the moment. Eeteuk Hankyung. Heechul. Kibum. Donghae.
Summary: Eeteuk finds out. It is day of shocks for all.
Category: angst.
Rating: NC-16
Archive
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13
Eeteuk woke up, staring at his ceiling. It’s light blue. That was the first thought that came into his head. He groaned, getting up slowly. He noticed that he was sleeping on his own bed. Eeteuk briefly wondered how he got there as the last thing he remembered was laughing at the impromptu play Sungmin and Eunhyuk had put up. He turned to get off the bed and saw Kangin sleeping on the other bed. It must be him who brought me here. Even Siwon is here. Eeteuk walked over to pull the blanket up for both Kangin and Siwon. It was such a familiar action that Eeteuk smiled. I’m really home.
Eeteuk glanced at the clock by Kangin’s bedside.
“Seven fifteen? Why am I up so early?” Eeteuk mumbled to himself, unsure why he was awake at such an ungodly time especially since he was so sleepy the night before. Eeteuk walked quietly out of the room, not wanting to wake any of the sleeping boys. He headed for the kitchen, wanting to make coffee to be more awake. Maybe I can get someone to drive me to see Kyuhyun. Eeteuk was still worried about their youngest.
He heard some noise coming from the kitchen. Who’s awake this early? The voices got louder as he got nearer.
“…What’s wrong with them?” Heechul’s angry voice floated through, loud and clear. Eeteuk was puzzled. Heechul was seldom angry. By then he was already at the door of the kitchen.
“What’s wrong with who? And why is the first aid box here?”
Eeteuk could feel the four in the kitchen tense.
“Oh no.” Kibum whispered out. It was then that Eeteuk realised something huge was going on in the kitchen.
We’re screwed. Hankyung thought, wanting to bury his head into his hands. He didn’t expect to tell anyone about Kyuhyun’s parents and he definitely didn’t anticipate that Eeteuk-hyung - Of all people, why Eeteuk-hyung? - to stumble onto their conversation. He really didn’t feel like repeating himself. Twice was enough.
Donghae wanted badly to escape. He didn’t want to be there when Eeteuk-hyung went into full Umma-mode. Though Eeteuk was usually mild-tempered, he was a totally different person when it came down to the other members of Super Junior. Eeteuk had been upset when he heard that Sungmin had been bullied in school and he had stormed to the school, with Kangin as intimidation, to confront the bullies. It is going to be much much worse.
Kibum almost feared for Kyuhyun’s parent’s lives, almost. But he thought better. There was no point fearing for them. I would like to see them cower when faced with Eeteuk-Umma. Then they will know how a parent should be.
Heechul was almost glad that Eeteuk stumbled in. He would definitely have a partner in revenge. Heechul wanted to find Eeteuk in the first place to question him. He smirked. He came to offer himself. Heechul spoke up.
“Hankyung accidentally hurt himself with broken glass. Donghae was just dressing his wounds.”
Eeteuk’s eyes went wide and zoomed in on Hankyung. He marched up to Hankyung, holding his palm out. Hankyung gulped and timidly raised his hand for Eeteuk to inspect. He braced himself for the impact.
“Does it hurt?” A shake. “Do you need to go to the hospital to get it checked?” Another shake. “Maybe we should. It looks painful. How did you get hurt in the first place? What were you doing? Especially when it’s still so early. We should go to the hospital. Not that I don’t trust you, Donghae. But it’s better safe than sorry. It’ll be better to do so. It might get infected. Anyway, we could also visit Kyuhyun at the same time. He must be lonely by himself. I shouldn’t have left him alone after what the doctor said. I wondered it he slept well last night. He must be scared. The hospital bed is too hard to sleep comfortably. Yes. We should go to the hospital. Let’s go now…” Eeteuk rambled on, his thoughts going from concern for Hankyung and his injury to worries about Kyuhyun and back. He could have gone off endlessly if not for Hankyung.
“Hyung? Hyung!” Eeteuk stopped abruptly, turning to look at Hankyung.
“Hyung, I’m fine. There’s no need to go to the hospital.”
Donghae and Kibum were prepared to tune out Eeteuk as he began to fuss over Hankyung. They all knew that Eeteuk had a tendency to let his thoughts run wild when he was upset. They had all experienced that one time or another. But their attention turned back to Eeteuk when they heard Kyuhyun’s name. After what the doctor said? Both were curious, turning to each other to make sure that they heard the same thing.
Eeteuk didn’t realise but that one sentence about not leaving Kyuhyun alone after what the doctor said caught the attention of all four sitting around the table.
Hankyung’s head snapped upright when he heard it. What didn’t the doctor tell us?
Heechul was waiting for Eeteuk to let slip something. He knew that Eeteuk-hyung was good at keeping secrets - that was why all of them at one point or another confided in Eeteuk. The only way to get Eeteuk to speak was to make him slip up some information by himself. That was why Heechul decided to tell Eeteuk that Hankyung was injured. He pounced at the opportunity.
“What do you mean you shouldn’t have left Kyuhyun alone? What did the doctor say in the room to both of you?” Heechul fired immediately after Hankyung managed to stop Eeteuk’s rumbling.
Eeteuk looked at Heechul in shock. Shit, I didn’t mean to let it slip.
Eeteuk wanted some time to ponder over what the doctor had said before telling anyone. If I was going to tell anyone. Eeteuk wanted to think clearly about Kyuhyun’s reaction to the news. Last night due to the celebration, Eeteuk didn’t have time to think about it. That was why he wanted to go to the hospital to see Kyuhyun. He wanted, no needed, to know how Kyuhyun was feeling.
“Hyung?” Eeteuk realised that he did not answer Heechul’s questions. He had let his thoughts distract him again. Should I tell them? Unknowingly imitating Hankyung, Eeteuk stared into their eyes, trying to discern whether he should tell them. Eeteuk nodded to himself, coming to a decision. Super Junior is a family and we will stand by each other. I alone will not be able to support Kyuhyun. He will need everyone by his side. Another reason why Eeteuk decided to tell these four was that they each had went through their own battles: Hankyung and his language barrier and visa, Heechul and his recovery from the car accident, Kibum and his acting career, and Donghae with the recent tragic in his family. Eeteuk believed that they would be able to support Kyuhyun.
Eeteuk took a deep breath. Anticipation was in the air, but so was fear. They weren’t so sure if they wanted to hear it anymore.
“As you know the doctor came in to do a check-up on Kyuhyun, like they always do to patients. He did the usual things like listening to his heartbeat, taking his temperature, asking if he hurt anywhere. Then he asked Kyu to raise his feet slightly. The side with the fractured rib. Kyu was able to raise it a little, before it hurt too much. The doctor just went ‘Hmmm.’ And then went on with his check-up.”
At that point, Eeteuk began pacing around the room.
“Then the doctor asked Kyu to say ‘Ahh’ as long as he can. Kyu could only manage about 5 seconds before breaking off. It was as if it hurt to stretch it any longer.” The rest were shocked. Kyuhyun should be able to do better than that. Even they could do better. And they were not brilliant at singing.
“After a few moments of more ‘hmmm’s and nods from the doctor, he finally decided to tell us his prognosis. ‘You’re recovering fine. But we have to keep monitoring your progress. I understand that you’re a singer and dancer. I would like to pre-empt you first. Although the wounds are healing rather well, due to the seriousness of your injuries, there is always the possibility that they will not heal completely. The fractured hip is still very tender and I cannot say that it will recover 100%. Even if it does, you may not be able to do certain moves like before and you will be prone to pain from the hip if you dance too much. As for your lungs, one side had collapsed due to the puncture from the broken ribs. We know from our daily check-up that the hole is healing fine. But at the moment, you will keep experiencing shortness of breath and some chest pain. They would most likely sudside after a while. You are expected to recover fully from the lung injury, but we cannot confirm that you will be able to sing as well as before. We will continue to monitor your progress. Don’t be too upset. And don’t force yourself to sing or walk. It will only make them worse.’ With that the doctor left the room.”
Eeteuk trailed off, returning himself to the moment he heard the news.
What? Eeteuk couldn’t believe his ears. Did he just say what I heard? Eeteuk stared at the doctor’s serious expression. He doesn’t look like he’s kidding. Eeteuk turned to Kyuhyun. He had only felt a tightening of the grip Kyuhyun had on his hand. Kyuhyun had closed his eyes tight, as if blocking out what the doctor had said would make it all a dream. None noticed that the doctor had left the room.
“Kyuhyun…” Eeteuk spoke softly, unsure of what he should say as his brain was still trying to process the information.
Kyuhyun shook his head. “Yes Hyung?” He managed to crack a small forced smile at Eeteuk.
“Kyuhyun, are you okay?” The smile hurt Eeteuk even more.
“I’m fine Hyung.” Kyuhyun glanced a little at Eeteuk, before looking back down to his lap.
“Kyuhyun…”
“Hyung. I’m fine. Really.” Kyuhyun cut in, a little harsh. Kyuhyun had looked up at Eeteuk then, and Eeteuk could see faint signs of sadness in his eyes that Kyuhyun didn’t manage to hide. Eeteuk was sure that it was mirrored in his eyes. As Eeteuk opened his mouth to speak, the door opened.
What? The four around the table were shocked. They had not expected that. It was shock after shock this morning. They knew that there was a long way to recovery but to know that even if you fully recover you may not be able to gain back what you originally had was something that none of them had considered.
Silence reigned as none knew how to react. If they were this shocked and upset, how would Kyuhyun feel?
Eeteuk slowly brought himself out of his memories. That was the reason why he wanted to go back to the hospital. Kyuhyun didn’t have much reaction then, but he knew Kyuhyun’s character. Kyuhyun seldom let others know exactly what he was feeling, as if doing so would let others have a chance of hurting him. But this one time, Eeteuk was not going to just let it go. As Eeteuk thought, he suddenly remembered that his questions were still unanswered. He had trepidation that the four were discussing Kyuhyun before he interrupted.
“You all have not answered my questions.” Eeteuk asked, catching the four unaware. Eeteuk wore a serious expression, coupled with worry. It was then that the rest saw the reason why Eeteuk was their leader. It made them to tell Eeteuk about their own discovery. Hankyung looked away, not wanting to hear the story again. He had enough of it. Heechul took it upon himself to repeat it to Eeteuk.
Eeteuk was floored. That was something totally unexpected. Kyuhyun was such a gentle and considerate boy that none would expect such parents. How could there be such parents? Contradictory to what the rest might have thought, Eeteuk did not demand to see Kyuhyun straight away. Eeteuk wanted so much to just get Heechul or Donghae to send him to the hospital straight away and pull Kyuhyun into a hug, never to let him out of his sight. Eeteuk knew that if he went to see Kyuhyun right now with all his emotions swirling around his head, he would only scare and cause more worry to Kyuhyun instead.
Eeteuk was silent for so long that it was beginning to scare the rest. Kibum spoke up. “Eeteuk-hyung?”
Eeteuk shook himself out of his thoughts and was about to speak when they heard the rest slowly waking up.
“Let’s keep this within ourselves first. I don’t want any of them finding out and overwhelm Kyuhyun.” Eeteuk said, staring at each of them, conveying his message. The rest nodded. As soon as they did, Shindong came in together with Sungmin.
“Hankyung-hyung, is there breakfast to eat?”