Work Text:
2005
The man is older. Every single person Jungsoo and Heechul date in their trainee days is always older; it's just how it is for them. When they go to clubs, they’re always on the younger side of the crowd, two early 20-somethings fresh in the scene, too broke to date anyone who is also broke. For Heechul, this set-up works, but Jungsoo is the one who seems to really like it. Whereas Heechul spends his dates being a difficult brat, Jungsoo is the one who always seeks out to please, seeks out to be a good younger boyfriend, who would be at the beck and call of his girlfriends and be emotionally affected by it all. Between the two of them, Jungsoo is the only one who uses the word love to refer to any of their youthful romantic endeavors. That's how different they are.
Heechul first sees the guy when he drops Jungsoo off in their dorm. He's been waiting up. They didn't have training today, and everyone was off to do their thing. Heechul chose to sleep the day off after clubbing pretty vigorously last night with the usual suspects. Jungsoo left some time in the afternoon, despite probably being hungover himself.
The car is incredibly nice, with a really dark window tint. Heechul can’t look inside as he watches the car stop in front of their building, but then Jungsoo steps out of the car and waves goodbye to the driver's seat, and Heechul catches a sight of the man through the open door; well built, maybe in his late 20s or early 30s, with a striking face. His hair is coiffed in a rather professional way, and he's got that slight tan that makes him look incredibly masculine.
When Jungsoo greets him by the front door, Heechul can’t help his curiosity.
"Is that your uncle?"
Jungsoo averts his eyes. "Good evening Heechul-ssi. No, he's a friend."
"Huh," Heechul says. "Looks like a rich friend. I didn't know you had those."
"How are you? Feeling better?" Jungsoo tries to steer the conversation.
"Yeah. Where did you guys go?" Heechul doesn’t let him. "Ah, what do rich guys even do?"
"We just ate dinner." Jungsoo says, dismissively.
Heechul frowns. "Dinner? But you're coming back at 2 AM?"
"Heechulie, he's just a friend I haven't seen in a while."
"I bet you went clubbing. Somewhere really nice. What, tired of me as your clubbing friend already? I bet there's a lot of rich noonas in those places." Heechul makes his voice higher. "Jungsoo-ya, have you eaten? Jungsoo-ya do you have money for the cab home? Jungsoo-ya, you're so cute, can I give you a handy?"
Heechul finds himself incredibly amused by his own antics, laughing out loud at his jokes. Jungsoo, not so much.
“Go take a shower, you reek,” he says, heading back to their room. The trainee dorm was so fucking cramped that Heechul and Jungsoo share a bed more often than not.
When Jungsoo finally settles down on the left side of their bed, Heechul is still awake. He has difficulty sleeping these days, despite the rigour of their training as their debut date slowly creeps in. It must be the excitement. Or the anxiety. Most likely both.
They lie there in silence, Heechul facing away from Jungsoo, Jungsoo staring up at the ceiling. Heechul knows his friend is still awake, because Jungsoo always has a low-grade snore going for him every time he sleeps, like a small and gentle motor whirring.
“Heechul-ah,” Jungsoo whispers, cutting through the dead quiet night. “Are you awake?”
“No,” Heechul replies.
“Heechul. Do you ever wonder if this whole thing is for you? Being an idol?”
That alarmed Heechul enough to get him to sit up, turn towards Jungsoo. “What’s going on? Do you?”
“I’ve just been thinking about it… I don’t know if it’s right for me.” Jungsoo says.
“Too late for that now. It’s already happening,” Heechul says. “Besides, you can always go leave and do something after, but we’re already training for it, you’re already leader, are you really planning on leaving now?”
“I… I don’t know.”
Heechul sighs, commits to sitting up. “Listen to me Jungsoo-ya. You’ve been training here longer than I am. You already had a debut line up fall apart before. You’ve already worked so hard and waited for so long. Might as well just do it already, right?”
Jungsoo remains quiet.
“Besides,” Heechul adds. “If you’re leaving the company then you’re leaving me,” he says as if leaving him is the worst thing Jungsoo can do. “You always said we’ll debut together. How could you turn your back on me like that?”
“I won’t,” Jungsoo says, after a while. “Sorry, I guess I’m just tired recently. And this whole thing… I don’t know.”
Heechul looks at him puzzlingly, his eyes adjusted enough for the sparse night in the room that he can see Jungsoo’s slight frown.
“Ya, are you sure you’re okay?” Heechul asks. “Did something happen?”
“It’s okay Heechul-ah. Go to sleep.”
Heechul hesitates, stares at him longer. And then, having made a decision, he scoots over to Jungsoo’s side of the bed.
“Turn over.” Heechul motions at him to move, but Jungsoo hesitates. “Come on!”
Jungsoo concedes. He turns over, letting Heechul sidle his knee right by his, one of Heechul’s feet sandwiched in between Jungsoo’s. Heechul places his arm around Jungsoo’s abdomen, and Jungsoo can feel his breathing by the back of his neck.
“You worry too much. Go to sleep, Jungsoo,” Heechul says.
“You also haven’t been sleeping,” Jungsoo remarks.
“Well,” Heechul says. “I worry too much too. But we’re going to be okay, okay?”
“Okay,” Jungsoo concedes, and as the minutes pass his breathing slows down until that familiar gentle motor whirring-esque snore fills the room. Heechul waits until he can hear it, until Jungsoo is pliant by his side. They do this sometimes, hold each other, when they’re not too tired and the temperature in the room warrants it. It makes Heechul feel useful to Jungsoo, though why he feels the need to be useful is beyond him. The instinct is certainly not present in his other relationships. But his Jungsoo, who works so hard and has so much to deal with, especially now that he is officially responsible for so many damn kids, feels like someone who would need help. Heechul tries his best whenever he can.
When he falls asleep, it’s pleasant. The additional warmth from the physical proximity helps.
Heechul and Jungsoo head out again, and this time it's just the two of them. TVXQ’s schedules have been ramping up, leaving them two by themselves during their nightclub escapades as they await their debut. Going out is kind of slowly starting to lose its charm, Heechul feels. Maybe it's how busy they're getting, how trivial it feels now to go out to drink and flirt with the ladies. It's Jungsoo who insists, though, and thus they’re out tonight, except now Jungsoo is nowhere to be seen. Heechul hasn’t noticed when, but Jungsoo is simply not around. He checks the bathroom, checks the booths, the dancefloor, eyes up every guy in the arms of all the noona’s in the room, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Heechul is slightly pissed about it at first, but the longer he looks, the more the mild anger turns to worry.
Maybe Jungsoo stepped out? He does that occasionally, to smoke, which is an activity he likes better than Heechul does. Heechul steps out of the club, walks over to the dark alley behind the building.
There, he sees the man from the car, unmistakable from his average-height but solid stature. He’s wearing a powder blue button down like a proper after-work office man.
By his left arm he is holding on to the waist of none other than Park Jungsoo. Jungsoo cannot see Heechul, with his head turned away, but Heechul can’t help but notice how they’re standing too close, too fucking close. He starts breathing a bit heavier. He can’t help it; it’s something his body just does.
Carefully, he walks towards what he now undeniably knows is a couple. Jungsoo must have heard his slow footsteps, for he turns around to see who’s coming.
“Heechul-ah,” he says, in a bit of a surprise. He straightens up a bit, stiffening in the man’s arm. The man steadfastly holds on to Jungsoo’s waist, still.
“Where did you go?” Heechul asks Jungsoo, keeping his eyes on his friend and refusing to look over to the man beside him. He knows he seems gloomy and brooding as he says it. He doesn’t care; or rather, he can’t help it.
“Heechul, this is Lee Sanghoon,” Jungsoo says, cordially pointing at his companion. “Sanghoon-hyung, this is Kim Heechul.”
Heechul looks the guy over, but doesn’t bow, doesn't extend the courtesies typically required of him when meeting someone older. Instead, he turns back to Jungsoo, keeps his eyes on him.
“I was looking for you,” Heechul says.
“I just went out to smoke.”
“It’s late.” Heechul motions at his watch. “It’s time to go.”
Jungsoo’s face twitches. Heechul can sense that Jungsoo’s discomfort is starting to turn into irritation, that Heechul is getting a rise out of him.
“You can go ahead,” Jungsoo says. “Go home now. I’ll be home later.”
Heechul stares him down, but Jungsoo simply steels his face in return.
“Fine,” Heechul says. He gives the man in the blue shirt a final, pointed look. He walks away towards the street, on the path towards their dorm.
Before he turns the corner, he hears the man finally say something to Jungsoo.
“Is that your friend?” he asks.
“We train together,” Jungsoo responds.
The whole walk home, Heechul is furious. Furious. The word repeats over and over in his head, riling him up, affirming the emotion. When he gets back in the dorm, he paces around, opens the fridge, closes it, stands by the window, walks to the couch, anything to keep his energy going. He notices Donghae and Hyukjae peeking out of their room to check on him, but they must have noticed Heechul is fuming, because they don't bother him.
He keeps at it, until finally, the door opens, and Jungsoo enters. Jungsoo looks right at him as soon as he steps out of his shoes, and Heechul holds his gaze.
Whatever conversation they ought to have, they cannot have it here in the common area for the entire place to hear. They both know this instinctively. Jungsoo leads the way,
As soon as Heechul closes the door, their whisper-argument starts.
“What the hell were you thinking? What the fuck do you think you're doing, you idiot?” Heechul starts, already fired up.
“Really?” Jungsoo’s voice has a bite to it, a bitter one. “You will judge me for this? You of all people? I didn't expect you to be such a bastard.”
“Oh fuck off.” Heechul replies. “I don't give a shit that you're fucking gay, but we're in a dating ban now, and for a reason.”
“Since when have you been a follower of company policy?”
“If that was a girlfriend, it's fine, but you can't date a man before you've even made a name for yourself, are you crazy?”
Jungsoo starts looking even angrier. “So it is because he's a man?”
“Don't be fucking obtuse, you idiot. And when any pictures come out of you being arm candy for that fucking guy? We won't even have a fighting chance.”
“I’m careful. I know what I’m doing.”
“Oh, do you? Because I think actually that you're showing up about to collapse from sleep deprivation during practice and you’re not performing well. Hell, I have actual official plans more than you do and you're still out of the dorm more.” Heechul pauses, and then, with venom, he adds, “And you didn't even tell me. Because you knew you were being stupid.
Jungsoo laughs exasperatedly. “Oh right, I didn't tell you because I think I’m an idiot and not because of how you're acting right now. With this scene you're making, I’d rather just keep it to myself.”
“Of course!” Heechul’s voice starts rising, but still quiet enough that he isn't too worried about the guys over the other side of the wall hearing him. “Look at me, I’m Super Junior Leader Leeteuk, I can do whatever I want!” He's so angry. “Don't forget you're just nine days older than me you asshole!”
Jungsoo has had enough. He storms over to Heechul and pushes him hard. Gentle, mellow Jungsoo.
Heechul wouldn't say he’s surprised. He grabs at Jungsoo, pushes him down with him to the ground, and they are properly brawling now, properly having a go at maiming each other.
Heechul doesn't stand a chance against Jungsoo. He's feisty, yes, but Jungsoo actually has some muscle mass and isn't a flimsy scrawny fuck. It's only when Jungsoo finally pins him down and Heechul gets a proper look at his face that he realizes something; Jungsoo is crying. Not just crying, but properly sobbing. The shock takes him aback, makes him limp and speechless on the floor.
“Heechul-ah,” Jungsoo says, his words stuttering by the soft sounds of his throat closing up in tears. “Why are you so angry with me?”
The words make Heechul’s blood run cold. He takes his arms out of Jungsoo’s already limp grip, sits up to face the kneeling Jungsoo as he wipes his tears away.
“What is it? Do you hate me?” Jungsoo whispers. “Do you think I’m disgusting?”
“No, no,” Heechul is quick to speak, realizing his mistake. “Fuck, I didn't even consider that. Of course I don't think you're disgusting.”
“Then why are you so angry?”
Heechul feels so damn guilty, so fucking horrible. “I don't know, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about the group.”
“I’m not any different than I was before you knew this of me, you know.”
“I know.”
“And I really do know what I’m doing.”
“...If you say so.”
Heechul just sits there, looking. Jungsoo’s tears abate, somewhat, until he is not breathing in hiccups anymore.
They sit, awkwardly. Heechul doesn't know if he should say anything more. Perhaps he's said enough things already. Well, tact was never really his strong suit anyway.
“You’re my friend, Jungsoo-ya,” Heechul says. “I just want to look out for you.”
Jungsoo lingers for a moment, averting Heechul’s gaze. And then, he pulls himself together, heads out of the room. He slept on the common room floor that night, and Heechul remained uncomfortably awake.
In a month, Heechul will come home from a schedule to Jungsoo drinking a beer on their dining table. He's seen that loverboy go through break ups before, and can recognize one when he sees it. Heechul grabs his own beer from the fridge, takes up the seat in front of Jungsoo.
“Sorry you had to break up with him.” He cracks open the beer and takes a sip.
“Actually,” Jungsoo starts, “he broke up with me.”
“Oh that asshole. It's his loss then.”
Jungsoo chuckles at the quick remark. “I don't know about that.”
“But seriously,” Heechul says, trying to lighten up the mood. “How old was that guy? I mean, I know we date older women, but I think 25 is not that old. But that guy? What were you doing with him, driving his grandkids to school?”
Jungsoo is laughing now, smile bright, as if light is shining on his face for the first time in a while. “Don't be so dramatic, he’s just 29.” And then, a sigh: “He took care of me.”
“Well, it's okay. We can take care of you too.”
They sit, sipping their drinks. There is so much uncertainty in their lives these days. They're bound to debut in two months. Heechul knows, though, of groups whose debuts were cut short just a few days prior, Jungsoo’s previous group being one of them. He’ll believe they're Super Junior the day they officially become Super Junior.
“We're getting our hair done tomorrow,” Heechul brings up.” Ah, I’ve grown out my hair for so long now, do you think they’ll cut it?”
“I’m sure you can ask them not to,” Jungsoo responds. “You're the company favorite, the boss lets you do anything. Besides, your fans already know you for having long hair in your drama. I’m sure the pretty boy thing has its benefits.”
“Ah yes, I really am very pretty aren't I. Do you think I can dye my hair orange?”
2010
Super Junior is the biggest fucking boy group in the world. And they're shedding members like crazy.
No one was surprised when Kibum left. That guy has always been leaving since the beginning, always had something else going on, always had bigger plans. The members were sad but no one was hurt, per se.
Hangeng was the one that stung. Hangeng was when it started to feel like things were falling apart. Jungsoo was not so close to him, but other members were; and they were deeply moved to grief by the whole situation, with Heechul specifically being more distraught than Jungsoo has ever seen. He gets quieter, gets even more withdrawn and focused on his individual activities, acts like a dog baring his teeth in group activities and conversations. Jungsoo didn't mind too much, not in any way more than he can handle, but then Kangin had to leave and Jungsoo started to feel that dread, the anticipation of a slow moving train towards the death of the group.
But Super Junior is the biggest fucking boy group in the world. They have to get it together.
“I’m leaving,” Heechul says, a sentiment he has shared and attempted to act on several times before. He never does actually leave though, that fickle man. Jungsoo wonders if this time he really will do it.
“Stop it. You're not leaving,” Jungsoo replies.
“Why?! Why can't I leave?!” Heechul shouts.
“Because we're a sinking ship.” Jungsoo says. “We need everyone around right now. Even you.”
“Oh fuck right off, you're not the boss of me.”
“The actual boss of you will say the exact same thing.”
“I can leave!” Heechul says angrily. “You can't keep me around! I can do whatever I want!”
Jungsoo knows this is true. He’s painfully aware.
Heechul keeps on going on meetings with the executives. He doesn't disclose the conversations, but he seems pissed off all the time. Jungsoo doesn't have it in him to empathize, not when he so desperately needs Heechul in this damn group.
It's a humid August day when it finally happens. Heechul says something about how their dorm has been so messy these days, and Jungsoo gets so unexpectedly and irrationally angry so quickly that he throws a rampage throughout the backstage waiting rooms right before a performance. Later on, when the memory is a little bit more distant, when the shame of remembering it fades to a gentle, nostalgic squeeze of his heart, they'll figure out a way to tell the story. They'll say Jungsoo kept on saying it's been 10 years (which he remembers very well), that he told Heechul that he was his only friend (which Heechul seems to recall more), and that he was crying the whole time, like a desperate little child. The members will joke about it, Heechul will narrate it as if it’s a friendship strengthening happenstance, and Jungsoo… Jungsoo won't say it out loud but he will remember it as the one and only moment he gave up on Kim Heechul. Kim Heechul, who stopped speaking about leaving, who remained steadfastly on his side, who took up the role of being his enforcer, his attack dog, his right hand man; belligerent and combative Kim Heechul, who turned those traits from something he used towards Jungsoo into something he uses for him, as if Jungsoo didn't throw the first punch, as if Heechul is making it up to him every single day for ever even considering leaving.
2019
The next time Heechul tries to leave, it's a lonelier affair. It feels less like an overflowing of his wild and reckless spirit and more like a defeat that sends him walking home.
“Heechul-ssi, let's talk,” Jungsoo says, a couple months after the last Super Show 7 stop, a few weeks after the newest comeback that Heechul barely participated in. He knows immediately what they will talk about. Heechul started the tour saying he will be performing as Super Junior forever, but he didn't expect how fucking brutal it truly was for his body, how miserable it made him, how much he resented the lights and sounds and songs and people when they all dull in comparison to the overwhelming feeling of not being good enough to stand on stage.
“Donghae told me to talk to you,” Jungsoo starts over their dinner table meeting.
Heechul sighs. “I forgot that kid tells you everything.”
“You’re hurting his feelings. He’s sensitive.”
Heechul stays quiet. He told Donghae he doesn't want to be Super Junior anymore, that he hates it all, that he can make do without it. It's a nasty way to put it, for sure. But not entirely a lie either.
“It’s my choice. It's horrible disappointing the fans.”
“You're not disappointing them. They're happy to see you. They're happy you're here.”
“They're happy to see me miserable?”
Jungsoo hesitates. “Are you? Miserable?”
Heechul wants to answer truthfully, but the truth seems too complicated to lay out with all the food. “Yes,” he says, clipped. “I want to leave now.”
“We can figure out a way to lessen your involvement in group activites. You can just take a break. You don't have to leave.”
“But I don't want to come back.”
Jungsoo inhales sharply. “Heechul. I know you. You love the stage.”
“I loved the stage,” Heechul clarifies. “I’m a different person now.”
“You’ll break the kids’ hearts.”
“They're not children anymore. They’ll manage.”
“I’ll miss you,” Jungsoo says, as if going down a list of reasons.
That gives Heechul a pause. “Really? Your most difficult member? Haven't I given you enough headaches when I run my mouth and get into things?”
“You have. And I’ll miss you.”
“That's unfair!” Heechul says, raising his voice. “You can't say that! You can't make me stay just because… just because of whatever reason!”
“Heechul, don't be so reckless. Don't you think you yourself will miss it? That you’ll want to come back when your health is better? And when you do, everyone will let you back in. So don't officially leave. Don't close that door,” Jungsoo says. “I’m not asking as Super Junior Leeteuk. I’m asking as your friend, Park Jungsoo. Please think about it.”
“Oh fuck right off,” Heechul says. “You always think you know better than me.”
Heechul stands up, collects his things, gets ready to go.
“I’m not Super Junior anymore,” he says. “I’m Kim Heechul, I can do whatever I want.”
He storms out, refusing to look back. When he gets home, he unfollows all the members on Instagram, deletes the app, texts SM to officially announce that he's leaving the group, turns off his phone, and seethes long enough to fall asleep.
When he opens his phone back up in the morning it was to a flood of texts; from managers, from executives, seemingly from everyone in the damn SM hierarchy. Everyone is confirming his decision. Of course, they wouldn't release a statement just like that. Heechul feels a tinge of disappointment that he hasn't woken up to a new day with a new sense of freedom. He is also massively aware of the other feeling, the relief, so huge and so shocking after his decisiveness the night before.
He checks him and Jungsoo’s text thread. The last text is still Jungsoo asking him to grab dinner.
Heechul doesn't end up leaving, but it'll take him a while to make peace with that, a while longer to talk comfortably with Jungsoo again, a good long massive while.
“I guess you're right,” he will say. “I’ve been so foolish. I’ll have to make it up to everyone.”
“No need for that,” Jungsoo will say. “You came back. You already have.”
2026
It was a stunning party, even more so because he didn't have to plan anything whatsoever. He simply opened the door expecting the sound of Shimkoong’s pawsteps on the evening of his birthday, and was greeted with a Surprise! by the almost 20 people crowded into his living room. They’ve blown up balloons, decorated the whole place. All the members were there, his mother and sister, along with some other people Jungsoo has been friends with through the past couple of years. He's proud to say he's really made progress in the whole friend making business in the last four.
It was an incredibly sweet surprise, the first he's had in a while, and definitely the only one at this scale. Birthdays are a weird affair for him. It often feels like more a work event than a personal one, more for the fans than for himself. But today feels like a good old party.
The people have mostly left now, the night progressing into late hours. Jungsoo sits by the kitchen counter with Shimkoong on his lap, while the last remaining visitor patters around, cleaning up the mess of the event.
“Should we leave the balloons up? I think we should,” Kim Heechul says, observing the decorations on the wall. “It’s going to be my birthday in 9 days, maybe I can take my birthday pictures here too.”
“I don't really know if I like having the 43 up there. It makes me feel old,” Jungsoo says.
“Hey! I’m turning 43 too! Who are you calling old?!”
Jungsoo laughs, a light and carefree one. “Oh sir, we are so old now!”
“It's crazy isn't it?” Heechul says. He walks towards the dining table, arranges the stuff that needs washing and goes to the sink to work them out. “We’ve known each other over half our lives, can you believe it?”
“Well,” Jungsoo says. “I think you might be my oldest friend nowadays.”
“I have older friends.” Heechul’s voice is mellow. “So I’ll have to use another superlative adjective for you. Maybe my friend who likes to text in group chat the most?”
“You’ve been messaging a lot in there too! I bet the kids are annoyed with us.”
“How about my friend with the most spoiled dog?”
“Shimkoong missed her Appa a lot when we were touring. And she'll miss me again when the two of us start touring again. I’m allowed to spoil her.”
“Hmm,” Heechul nods. “I guess I’ll have to settle with my most beloved friend.”
Jungsoo laughs. “That makes me feel a bit embarrassed.”
“You know I told the kids, Hey, do something for your Hyung’s birthday! I really thought I would have to plan everything. But Shindong invited all your golf friends, Kyuhyun blew up all the balloons, Hyukjae took care of the food… Hey, those kids really love you, you know.”
Jungsoo tilts his head. “You planned this?”
“Oh?” Heechul says. “Well, yeah. Who else has the door passcode to your place?”
“I thought maybe it's for the YouTube channel. For promotion? For 83z debut.”
Heechul frowns. “We didn't even have anyone filming.”
“I thought I saw Ryeowook with a camera.”
“Really?!” Heechul sounds incredulous. “That bastard really films everything. Well I can tell him to not post it if you like.”
“No, he should post it. It’ll be good for promotions.” Jungsoo affirms. He’s quiet for a while. “Thank you for the surprise. I really like it.”
“It's the least I can do,” Heechul says. “You're letting me drag you around so I can have someone sing my songs with me.”
“I’m really happy we're doing it, Heechulie.”
Heechul nods, and finishes up the dishes in silence. He meticulously wipes his hands on the dishtowel by the counter, taking too long a time wiping those damn fingers.
He walks towards the seat Jungsoo is on, stands right in front of him. He just lingers, opening and closing his mouth as if he has something to say.
“Aish!!!” Heechul dramatically says. “Put that dog down why don't you?!”
Jungsoo, stunned, places Shimkoong down on the floor, where she immediately scuttles off.
“What is it?” he asks.
Heechul takes a deep inhale, and then says, with much conviction. “Park Jungsoo, I’ll take care of you now."
Jungsoo sits, confused.
“I mean, I can't really cook or drive or anything, and I think we make the same amount of money, but hey, I can clean. This place is spotless now.” He looks around into the room. “And I can plan a surprise party too. So I can do some things. Well actually the members really helped out a lot with that, which doesn't really help my case. But whatever. This is my proof of concept.”
“What?” Jungsoo is confused. “Proof of what concept?”
“Oh, you know,” Heechul says, sheepishly. “That we can have a life together.”
“We already have a life together.”
“Well there are other ways to live a life together.”
“Heechulie,” Jungsoo says, firmly. “What are you talking about? Just say it straightforwardly.”
“I think we should get married.”
“Excuse me?”
“Or not married,” Heechul immediately retracts. “Just an equivalent. You know what I mean?”
Jungsoo is quiet. His first instinct is to think Heechul is having some sort of crisis, that this all came out of the blue. But it didn't, not really. Heechul has had an air of sweetness around him for a while now. Heechul, who used to declare himself cold and uncooperative at every turn, has turned soft and affectionate, like an old cat. Especially for Jungsoo, which he has spent the past 3 years declaring to the world. If this is some form of crisis, then he has been having a crisis for a long time.
“People typically kneel for marriage proposals,” Jungsoo says.
“Well, I have a bad leg so this is all you’re gonna get.”
Jungsoo laughs, less at the joke and more at the situation.
“Alright,” he says. “Let's get equivalent-married.”
“Okay,” Heechul says, quietly. “But I’m serious, so you have to take it seriously too.”
“I know.” Jungsoo stands up now, right into Heechul’s space. “I’ll take it seriously.”
The kiss is exceedingly gentle, exceedingly sweet. Jungsoo has seen Heechul make out with people before, way way back in their 20s, and he knows Heechul has always been this type of kisser. That was over two decades ago now. It seems like they have gone through everything that they could go through already, a reverse love story. What a blessing it is to get old.