Work Text:
Three days.
Three sold-out nights of Super Show 10’s encore shows. Three nights worth of screaming fans, blinding stadium lights, aching muscles, and pure adrenaline that refused to settle even after hours after stepping off the stage.
And now… silence.
Except it wasn’t all that silent, not particularly for a one Kim Heechul.
Heechul lay sprawled on his bed, one arm flung over his eyes, the distant hum of Seoul barely filtering through the curtains. His body was exhausted, every joint reminding him of his age and the years of effort he had poured into his life as a Super Junior member. However, his mind refused to rest.
It kept circling back to one person.
Specifically, it kept circling back to Park Jungsoo.
Heechul sat up on his bed slowly as his muscles protested, dragging his hands over his face. It wasn’t as if Jungsoo had suddenly changed overnight. If anything, he was still the same man Heechul had known for more than two decades. Jungsoo was still the same overly responsible leader of Super Junior, the same man who checked on the members one by one, the same man who smiled like an idiot when the idea of the two of them performing together during the encore show was brought up, as if completely forgetting that the both of them were the complete opposites of each other.
That smile. That wide smile of Jungsoo’s that could light up an entire room.
Heechul had always liked Jungsoo, even though he hated to admit it to anyone. It was easier for him to pass it off in exaggerated bickering or sarcasm, in the kind of chaos that was expected of him. It was easier for him to pretend that it was nothing more than knowing each other for decades.
But now, the word ‘like’ didn’t seem to fit whatever Heechul was feeling now. It didn’t fit the way his chest tightened whenever Jungsoo laughed, or the way his eyes instinctively searched for Jungsoo on stage.
No… it felt more than the word ‘like’. It felt like Heechul wanted Jungsoo in his life permanently. Not just as a member of Super Junior, not just a same aged friend that he could rely on.
He wanted something more than that.
Heechul didn’t want to admit what he was feeling out loud. If he did, it would make whatever he was feeling about Jungsoo for the past few years of preparing for this 20th anniversary album, tour and encore come true.
“Aish, Kim Heechul, you really do love Park Jungsoo, don’t you?” he asked himself aloud. “You can’t keep denying it forever. What are you going to do about it?”
The question hung in the air, but the obvious answer sat right there, heavy in his chest.
Tell Jungsoo everything.
Confess.
Or go even further, in Kim Heechul fashion.
Without a second thought, Heechul grabbed his phone, frantically opening up his KakaoTalk app.
This called for an emergency meeting.
────
The next day, Heechul found himself at a table in a far quiet corner of Haru Coffee House, reserved especially for the members showing up by Donghae himself. Heechul couldn’t help but faintly smirk at the confused faces of his members as they walked in one by one, occasionally stopping to say hello to some ELFs who were visiting the cafe.
“Okay,” Donghae said, setting down a tray and passing out drinks to everyone. “Everyone seems to be here. Heechul-hyung, what’s this all about?”
Heechul simply crossed his arms, looking at the others with an unusually serious expression.
“I need your help,” he said.
That sentence alone was enough to silence the table.
“...You never ask for help. Who are you and what have you done to Kim Heechul?” Kyuhyun scoffed jokingly, yelping softly when Heechul reached over to flick the younger man’s forehead.
“I’m going to propose,” Heechul announced.
There was a moment of silence.
And then, chaos.
“WHAT?!” half the table shouted at once, causing other patrons in the cafe to look over as Heechul tried to shush all of them.
“Hyung, you can’t just drop something like that out of nowhere!” Ryeowook exclaimed, halfway out of his seat.
“Wait, hold on-” Eunhyuk pointed the fork he was using to eat a pastry with at Heechul. “You’re proposing? To who?!”
The older man stared at him like he had just asked the dumbest question imaginable.
“To Jungsoo, obviously. Who else would I propose to?”
There was another moment of silence before the table erupted once again.
“I KNEW IT!” Donghae yelled, grabbing onto Eunhyuk’s arm and shaking it wildly.
“Finally, about time, hyung!” Ryeowook clapped his hands, his eyes shining.
“Took you about 15 years.” Kyuhyun snorted, though a soft smile was growing on his face.
“Are you all done gawking?” Heechul scowled at the members, running a hand through his hair, suddenly looking a little less confident about the whole situation. “I don’t know how I want to do this, which is why I’m asking for your help.”
That shut the rest of the members up again. Seeing the hesitant look on their hyung’s face, they knew he wasn’t joking.
“I mean it,” Heechul continued. “This isn’t something I can mess up, not when it comes to Jungsoo.”
Donghae leaned forward. “But hyung… what made you decide on this now?”
Heechul huffed a quiet laugh. “Ever since the 20th anniversary preparations started, just watching Jungsoo be Jungsoo. Smiling like that on stage, taking care of all of us like he always does, and I just thought…”
His voice faltered for a moment.
“I don’t want a future where he isn’t there. I want him as mine, not just the group leader or a friend.”
For once, the members were silent. No one joked. No one laughed.
“...Alright,” Eunhyuk finally broke the silence, cracking his knuckles. “If you really want to do this, then we’ll have to plan it properly.”
“Yes! It has to be meaningful!” Ryeowook chimed in, eyes sparkling and hands clasped together, visibily excited.
“And dramatic,” Kyuhyun added.
“Not too dramatic,” Eunhyuk countered. “Leeteuk-hyung might cry too much.”
“They’ll both cry anyway,” the younger member smirked.
Donghae slid into the seat beside Heechul, wrapping an arm around the older member’s shoulder, grinning. “Oh hyung, this is going to be so beautiful!”
“Why did I ask you people to help…” Heechul groaned.
But despite himself, there was a hint of a small smile tugging at his lips.
────
The planning had taken longer than Heechul would have liked. The moment he involved the members, it stopped being his proposal and more of a Super Junior production.
“We need a concept,” Eunhyuk said, standing up like he was about to choreograph an entire concert stage. “Every good moment needs a concept. Something romantic, heartfelt-”
“Or something simple,” Ryeowook cut in calmly. “Heechul-hyung doesn’t do complicated emotions well when there are too many people around.”
“Yah, what’s that supposed to mean?!” Heechul snapped, though it lacked any bite.
“He’s not wrong,” Kyuhyun shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “If you overdo it, you’ll start panicking halfway and make it into a comedy show instead of a proposal.”
Heechul clicked his tongue, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms defensively. “I don’t panic that easily.”
“You absolutely do,” the youngest member said immediately. “You forgot your own line during a ment once because you made eye contact with Teukie-hyung for too long.”
“That was one time!”
“My point still stands!”
Despite the bickering, the tension eased. The truth was, they all understood what was at stake here. This wasn’t just another prank on a member, another performance or another chaotic Super Junior moment in the making. This was Kim Heechul, someone who hid everything real behind sarcasm, trying to lay his heart bare to Park Jungsoo.
And Jungsoo was someone who deserved that honesty more than anyone.
“How about something that’s meaningful to the both of you?” Donghae tilted his head, thinking. “Maybe a small stage set up or the studio? Or the practice rooms!”
Heechul frowned. “The practice rooms?”
“You said it yourself,” Donghae continued. “You started realising your feelings and fell for him all over again during the anniversary preparations, right? Why not propose where everything started for you two?”
There was a pause.
Donghae wasn’t wrong.
The practice rooms weren’t just rooms that they practiced in. It was where they spent years training, where they had fought, laughed, cried, broken down and rebuilt themselves over and over again for twenty years. It was where everything real had happened, not the polished versions of themselves that fans saw on stage, but the raw, unfiltered truth of who they were.
For once, Heechul didn’t shoot the idea down with a sarcastic comment. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes unfocused as memories began to surface one after another. The late nights where Jungsoo would still be there in the practice room long after the members had collapsed somewhere on the floor over formations all over again just to make sure they looked good.
Jungsoo had always been like that. Always putting others before him first.
And somehow, Heechul had never properly told him how much that meant.
“It’s not a bad idea.” he muttered.
“Not bad?” Eunhyuk repeated, his eyes widening. “Heechul-hyung, coming from you, that means its perfect.”
Heechul clicked his tongue, but didn’t argue.
“But if we’re doing it there, how do we even get Teukie-hyung to even show up there without him suspecting anything?” Ryeowook asked.
At that, all eyes turned slowly toward one person.
Donghae blinked. “...Why are you all staring at me like that?”
“Because you’re the best at lying to Teukie-hyung without getting caught,” Kyuhyun said flatly.
“But that’s not something to be proud of!”
“It’s a useful skill,” Eunhyuk smirked.
Donghae groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Alright, fine! I’ll come up with something.”
────
Two days later, everything was ready. Or at least, as ready as it could be.
Heechul stood just outside the practice room, staring at the door like it has personally offended him.
“Hyung, you’re pacing,” Kyuhyun pointed out from where he was leaning against a wall, a small smirk tugging on his lips.
“I’m not pacing,” Heechul snapped.
“You’ve walked past me, like, six times.”
“... I’m warming up.”
“For a proposal? Really, hyung?”
“Yes!”
Kyuhyun snorted but said nothing more, glancing briefly inside the room where the other members were finishing up. The usually plain practice space had been transformed, with soft fairy lights lining the room’s mirrors just enough to cast a warm glow across the space. A few scattered photos had been put up carefully along the room’s wall, a few from their trainee days, backstage at Super Shows, moments that felt almost forgotten until now.
And at the center of it all, there was space.
Simple and open. Waiting.
“Heechul-hyung!”
Heechul turned at the sound of Ryeowook’s voice as the younger man stepped out of the room, grinning.
“Everything in the room is ready. How are you feeling?”
“Nervous. Terrified. I might even throw up,” Heechul huffed a nervous laugh, but before he could second-guess himself, Donghae’s voice echoed down the hallway.
“Leeteuk-hyung is coming!”
Everything inside Heechul’s chest seemed to stop all at once, and for a split second, he genuinely considered running.
“Quick everyone, get into position!” Eunhyuk hissed under his breath, as if he were actually getting into his concert position on stage, immediately shoving Kyuhyun into another vacant practice room to hide. Ryeowook darted in after them, nearly tripping over his own feet in his rush.
“Wait, hold on, what am I even supposed to say?!” Heechul whispered harshly, suddenly grabbing onto Donghae’s sleeve.
“Anything that isn’t weird!”
“That doesn’t help!”
“It’s too late now, hyung!” Donghae laughed, shoving the older man gently into the practice room before quickly pulling the door shut behind him. “Hwaiting!”
And just like that, Kim Heechul was alone.
The practice room felt different, with the soft fairy lights reflected in the mirrors, the familiar space now filled with memories laid out in front of him. For a split second, it hit him all over again - how much of his life had been spent with Jungsoo, how much of them had been built together.
Footsteps approached from outside, and then the door opened.
“Donghae-ah, what is so urgent that you-” Jungsoo stepped in, his voice trailing off mid sentence.
Silence fell.
Jungsoo’s eyes swept across the room slowly, confusion melting into something softer as he took in the lights, the photos, the atmosphere, before finally landing on Heechul, who was stood in the center of the room.
“Heechul?” Jungsoo blinked. “What is all this?”
For once, Heechul had no sarcastic remark ready. He stood there, his hands awkwardly at his sides, staring at the man he had known for over 20 years, and somehow still didn’t have enough time with.
“...Hi.” he said finally.
Jungsoo let out a small, confused laugh. “Heechul-ah, did the other members put you up to this?”
“Jungsoo, if you keep talking, I’m going to lose my nerve.” Heechul huffed, running a hand through his hair.
That made Jungsoo freeze.
“Heechul-ah… what’s going on?” Jungsoo stepped further into the space, his voice softening without him even realising it as the door clicked shut behind him.
“Donghae really took his time coming here, didn’t he?” Heechul muttered, deflecting like he always did.
Jungsoo let out a small breath of disbelief. “Well, he did call me here without explaining anything. I was a little suspicious.”
“Yeah, well, if he did explain why, you wouldn’t have showed up.”
“That’s not true-”
“It is,” Heechul cut in, but there was no bite in it. His own voice was quieter now, more honest. “You would’ve overthought everything or brought a manager with you.”
“... Well, I guess that part is true.” Jungsoo couldn’t help but chuckle as his gaze shifted around the room, taking in the pictures more carefully.
Photos from their debut days.
A silly selfie of him and Heechul together after a music show win.
Multiple photos of Super Junior together.
“Did you do all this?” Jungsoo asked softly.
“I had a bit of help,” Heechul shrugged before letting out a sharp exhale. “Jungsoo, listen to me.”
Jungsoo’s expression shifted instantly.
“I don’t usually do… this.” Heechul gestured vaguely around the room. “I don’t feel things properly, I try to hide them from everyone. I don’t admit anything out loud to anyone, because I’m afraid of looking weak in front of them.”
He stared at Jungsoo for a long second. “But I don’t feel that when I’m around you.”
“Throughout the 20th anniversary, I found myself watching you. In the studio, on stage, even in this practice room, making sure everyone was okay, drinking well, smiling like you always do even when you’re exhausted to the bone, and I thought… when did Park Jungsoo become my favourite person?”
Jungsoo’s expression softened. “Heechul-ah…”
“It made me realise something,” Heechul continued, cutting Jungsoo off, his voice suddenly steady despite the way his hands trembled slightly. “I don’t just want to stand on stage with you.”
He reached into his pocket, and when he pulled his hand out, there was a small velvet box resting in his palm.
“I want everything else too,” Heechul exhaled shakily. “I’ve spent more than half my life with you. I don’t remember what it was like before you anymore, and I don’t want to imagine a life without you either.”
The room seemed to tilt as he fumbled with the velvet box in his hand.
“I don’t do this kind of thing,” Heechul said, his voice more vulnerable than Jungsoo had ever heard it. “You know I hate clichés, and yet here I am. So I’ll just say this.”
He opened the box.
A simple ring, catching the soft glow of the fairy lights.
“I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and I hope you’ll stay with me too.”
A beat.
“Marry me, Park Jungsoo.”
Silence fell between them, a silence full of years, memories, and of everything they have never said aloud to each other.
Jungsoo didn’t answer immediately, and for the first time in a long time, Heechul looked scared.
“Yah, say something,” he muttered. “Even if it’s a no. Actually, don’t say no. Just… don’t say silent.”
And at last, Jungsoo made a noise that was between a laugh and a sob, tears slipping free.
“You took this long to tell me this?” Jungsoo said, wiping a tear away with his finger.
“That’s fast for me!”
“I know, I know.” Jungsoo smiled.
A pause.
“Of course I will, Kim Heechul.”
For a second, Heechul just stared at Jungsoo. “You’re serious?”
Jungsoo nodded. “Trust me, I’ve been waiting longer than you have.”
Heechul let out a shaky laugh, something breaking open in his chest as relief flooded through him as he slipped the ring onto Jungsoo’s finger.
It was a perfect fit.
“This feels weird,” he muttered.
“Why’s that?” Jungsoo laughed quietly.
“Because I’m being sincere,” Heechul said. “It’s uncomfortable.”
Jungsoo smiled. “You’re doing well, Heechul-ah.”
Heechul huffed but didn’t pull away. Instead, he leaned in slowly, pressing a soft, quiet kiss to Jungsoo’s lips. It wasn’t dramatic, it wasn’t showy. It was just… real.
────
Outside the practice room, a group of very impatient Super Junior members were pressed against the door.
“Do you think hyung said it yet?” Donghae whispered.
“Shh! They’ll hear us!” Eunhyuk hissed, pressing his ear closer to the door.
Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. “Statistically speaking, they should be done by now.”
“If Heechul-hyung messed this up, I’m going in,” Ryeowook sighed, but before anyone could stop him, the door opened.
All of them stumbled forward in a pile and froze.
Standing in front of them were their hyungs, their hands intertwined as the ring on Jungsoo’s finger glinting under the lights.
There was a moment of silence.
“HYUNG, YOU DID IT!”
“So he didn’t mess it up!”
“This is so beautiful!”
Heechul groaned immediately. “I regret everything.”
Jungsoo just laughed - bright, warm and happier than he had been in a very long time.
And this time, when Heechul looked at him, he didn’t feel like there wasn’t enough time.
Because now, they had the rest of it.