Despite all the trouble they had had the month before, Super Junior’s Christmas concert was a huge success. It was actually just a small thing, but afterwards, ELF begged them to repeat it next year. The guys could not have been more satisfied.

They had been worried when they waited backstage while the audience came in, and everyone was busy coaxing each other. It was, in a way, quite similar to their usual concerts – but they had all agreed, they wanted the concert to be a special Christmas experience for the visitors, and they were nervous regarding whether or not they would be able to do such a thing.

It turned out they had no need to worry. The concert went perfect; everything clicked, the fans were cheering as loud as ever, and as they walked off the stage afterwards, everyone was grinning from ear to ear.

What they had been the most concerned about, before the start of the concert, was Yesung’s condition. How would the fans handle it? Would they be able to pull off a last minute change like they did? How would Yesung himself react?

But, much to their relief, everything went smoothly. After the first song, where Kyuhyun sung Yesung’s parts, the main vocalist had come forth on stage to explain his issues, briefly, with the new hoarse voice he had. But the fans only cheered him on, cries of “we love you oppa!” and “oppa! Get better soon!” echoing through the large concert hall. The members had been touched by this, but no more than Yesung himself, who looked like he very nearly was about to tear up right then and there.

Yesung was brilliant in his dance parts, and adjusted to the situation more professionally than anyone would have expected as well. It seemed like his spirit was boosted a bit after the warm reception from the audience. Much to Ryeowook’s satisfaction, he also kept himself from singing along, his jaw instead set determinately as he focused on the dance part. In addition, it seemed like he wanted to indulge the fans a bit extra today – he almost frequently tugged on his black shirt to reveal toned abs, as well as other minor gestures to please the cheering crowd. Not to mention, he was a bit more touchy towards Ryeowook than usual…

In the end Kyuhyun had taken the solo song, and ended up singing a Korean version of the classic “Silent Night”, much to the pleasure of the fans. Leeteuk had also been most satisfied with his kind dongsaeng – despite his nickname, the evil maknae could be adorable when he wanted to.

After that, they had continued with a couple more songs before it was time for Eunhyuk and Donghae’s solo dance – and did they dance.

Everyone knew the couple was brilliant dancers, but even the members were still awestruck as they watched the two slither about on stage, not really dancing but more like melting together. And of course, they provided lots of fanservice too. One particular incident had Eunhyuk grind up against Donghae’s hips, a bit closer than needed, far closer than how they had rehearsed it. Not that Donghae complained; and it appeared, neither did the crowd. As a response, he had, at the end of the dance, roughly grabbed Eunhyuk and turned him around, making Donghae face his back. Slowly, and sensually, he had kept a firm hold of Eunhyuk’s hands and dragged his lips gently down the exposed, sweaty neck of his boyfriend.

The fangirls went bonkers.

Although they had saved their trumph card – their song “White Christmas” – to the last, they still had a surprise or two up their sleeves; namely a couple of English Christmas songs as well.

They had not been ready for the request, but accepted the challenge when presented with it. Especially Heechul had seemed eager when he heard of it.

“English songs?” He had inquired curiously at first. “As in, we are singing them in English? How awesome isn’t that! Come on, it’ll be a total blast!”

And somehow, they ended up singing “Last Christmas” and trolling the fans with the American version of “White Christmas” – sung by one Bing Crosby. Heechul had not been as satisfied with this particular song choice, or at least, that was what he said, but went along without any further complaint. Henry and Zhoumi even joined for the last songs (Henry’s pronunciation was by far the best among the fifteen – everyone else could only barely be considered to speak English), as a nice surprise for ELF.

Finally, it was time for their finishing act, “White Christmas” by Super Junior. Henry and Zhoumi had been given parts in this one too, because the entire group had agreed that yes, they wanted the two to join them as a part of the group.

Yesung was the only one who was left out of the singing, but he did not seem to mind, as he happily strolled around the stage like everyone else, occasionally exclaiming semi-loudly into the mic or leaning down to give his hand to a fan.

After two tiresome, but very happy hours, they could finally walk down from the stage, satisfied with a great performance and content fans. But not before Leeteuk had given his thanks to the crowd.

“Thank you all very much for today!” He had said earnestly, bowing down deep, prompting the rest of the group to do the same. As he straightened up again, he continued. “Actually, you wouldn’t know how much trouble we’ve been through because of this concert. Especially with Yesung-ah being like he is – we still love him, though.” Everyone nodded, and Ryeowook and Shindong, who stood next to Yesung, patted him on the shoulder. He smiled shyly, and nodded to the crowd. The fans were shrieking their lungs out.

“Anyways,” Leeteuk started again. “We all have ups and downs, but we’re very grateful to be able to stand before you today after a good performance, we hope you were satisfied! And a special thanks to our Kyuhyun-ah, who accepted the solo a week ago, as well as singing the majority of Yesung-ah’s parts in the songs today, despite being informed of it only a couple of days before today. Thank you very much, Kyuhyun-ah!” Leeteuk turned towards Kyuhyun and bowed again, making the maknae chuckle uncertainly. He smiled at Leeteuk as the older got up again, and turned to face the crowd once more.

“Also, to Henry and Zhoumi,” again, Leeteuk turned towards the people he addressed. “Who came all the way from China to be with us today! Thank you very much, we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with you!” A couple of the members noticed his voice shaking slightly at the last phrase, but the fans only cheered on louder. It appeared Zhoumi and Henry were popular among the crowd.

“Last, but not least,” Leeteuk continued, feeling as if his throat was slowly getting more and more constricted by an unknown force. “We must thank you, ELF, for making this possible for us. Even though things are hard, and we want to give up sometimes, just thinking of you is the best encouragement.” By now, his voice was shaking so hard it was impossible not to notice, and much to the leader’s frustration, he felt tears pooling at the corner of his eyes. Dammit, every time, Leeteuk, every time…

“We know…” He had to take a small pause to calm down. “We know you will support us and love us, and we love you, so we have to get through for you.” Tears were now falling, slowly at first, but increasing in speed all the time. “You are our angels, and we are… Infinitely grateful to you, for making Super Junior possible. Thank you very much!” He bowed down again, but when he tried to stand up and steady himself, he felt a pair of arms around his shoulders. Confused, he looked to his left, where he saw Heechul smiling warmly at him. The diva gently reached out to wipe away a few tears from the leader’s cheek with long, delicate fingers as he turned to face the crowd, still holding a comforting grip around Leeteuk.

“And on behalf of… The rest, of Super Junior,” he started, chuckling slightly at himself. “And you guys, I’m sure. We want to thank Leeteuk-hyung, for being the best leader anyone could ever ask for. Thank you for being so hardworking, hyung, and taking care of us all so much!” Leeteuk looked at Heechul in awe as his fellow 83’er gave him a big hug, causing the crowd to go wild with squeals. As the diva pulled away, he could only smile in return.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, not sure if the mic on his chin caught the silent whisper or not. It did not matter. Heechul heard, and somehow, it was enough.

“Then,” he said, straightening up a bit and quickly wiping away some more moist from his eyes. “Thank you all for a great concert! We are Super Juni – “

“OR!”

“Merry Christmas!”

--------------------------------

Filler chapter is weird. And 1000 words longer than anticipated. I WON'T BE ABLE TO FINISH THIS. DX

Leeteuk, stop crying at every major performance. You're making it hard for me to write, precious<3