Dogtags
Dogtags
A/N: I promised my friend Brittany a fic as thanks for her writing me one, so here’s a cute KyuHae fic. I think she’ll like the premise, at least. This is also my first K-Pop fanfiction, so it's probably incredibly awful.
I use a lot of American military slang because military life is pretty universal - I’m sure there’s a Korean equivalent for “high-speed death machine” and it is used often. The ROK’s military also uses the same rank structure we do, so I’m sure their organizational structure’s pretty similar, too. If I’m wrong, feel free to correct me.
For years, Kyuhyun will insist that the day that Donghae left for his military service was one of the worst days of his life.
Much like Heechul’s departure, it was quiet and simple. All the hair-pulling and crying had been done over the proceeding week, so there was nothing left to do but get it over with. He reported into the recruiting station with his wavy hair already shorn close to his head (Kyuhyun will always insist that it was the handsomest he had ever looked). He arrived alone with only eager fans there to bid him goodbye. Putting on his best stage smile, he bowed deeply to the emotional crowd and thanked them for all of their years of support before leaving his civilian life behind.
After his basic training, Donghae elected to go into the infantry rather than the civil service – he was always very active and he was sure the other members were happy not having any more dents in the wall from him running about all the time. There were many bets made as to how long he would last until he changed his mind, but they all ate their words as he quickly attained team leader status and shot up through the ranks. When the other members got his letter informing them of the news, everyone sat in silence as they struggled to imagine their five-year-old nuisance actually being a soldier. Eunhyuk was the only one not surprised in the least, making sure to collect the pool (he did promise to give half to Donghae when he returned). As it so happened, only three months in and Corporal Lee was the most well-liked and dependable soldier in the platoon.
The changes surprised him, as well. He thought that he would hate the camouflage fatigues and the heavy combat boots, but they became as familiar to him as any designer suit ever had. Army lingo was his new language and the low ready was his new stance. If his body could’ve handled it, he would’ve slept in the front leaning rest. With the intense training and schedule he endured as an idol, it was only a matter of time before he was at the top of the charts in his physical fitness, as well. Donghae had become a soldier’s soldier – a regular high-speed death machine.
During his tour of duty, he befriended many of his fellow soldiers - Donghae wouldn’t be Donghae if he didn’t make friends with every single person he met. They would share dirty jokes and stories from back home, reminiscing and commisserating during their down time. The younger kids in the platoon would all for being such a pretty boy, swearing that they would have to deny ever meeting him if they wanted to keep their girlfriends. To , they would sing various Super Junior songs during their GI parties as toothbrushes ran across the floor to the beat. Sometimes, when they were given the night off and the barracks were empty save for them, they’d ask him to dance and sing – only if he were up to it, of course. He would always dance for them; for him, an audience, no matter the size, was always welcome.
Every week during mail call, while everyone else only got a love letter or a small care package from home, Donghae got at least ten letters a week and a large box filled with whatever it was that Ryeowook and Leeteuk thought he would need. (He thought it was an awfully sweet gesture, but they did not have to pack his stuffed clown fish.) Siwon’s letters were all full of encouragement and Bible quotes as well as his filming schedules, just in case they ever got a chance to watch one of his dramas. Heechul’s and Kangin’s letters told him to keep doing well, giving him valuable (and sometimes not-so-valuable) advice. Eunhyuk’s letters always made him laugh – the other soldiers looked forward to hearing him read those letters aloud. He would occassionally receive mail from other idols and somehow got a couple of fan letters in the bunch. There was always one letter that he would save for last, which happened to be the longest one he’d get. His buddies would always notice the stupidest grin on his face as he poured over the neat, precise handwriting like he was trying to commit it to memory. Jokes about how he never studied that hard in school aside, they would always wonder just who it was that captured their corporal’s attention so much that he would even turn down a bar run just to read the newest letter. There was a tacit agreement that whatever made their team leader happy was really none of their business and left it alone. Whoever it was must’ve been one hell of a person.
And so it was that after two relatively short years, the members of 1st Platoon completed their service with relatively little incident (Donghae had pulled a muscle during PT and Private Choi was out for a few weeks due to a badly sprained ankle amongst other minor injuries). At the time of his discharge, he was a squad leader with the rank of Sergeant; if he had decided to stay, he could’ve easily made Platoon Sergeant by the end of the year. After many heartfelt goodbyes and pleas for reenlistment, Donghae gathered his things and took off for home. He loved the Army, but he was always a staunch believer in letting go of the things you love.
The day he returned was the best day of Kyuhyun’s life, second only to the day of the last Starcraft expansion pack release. This was also the day that the third wildest party ever thrown at the Super Junior dorms was in full swing, having started the night prior. (The wildest party was Heechul’s homecoming, which included: a livid Siwon chasing no less than twenty-seven strippers out of the house, innumerous hangovers and walks-of-shame, and ten calls to the police from neighbors complaining about the noise levels and the strippers in the street. No one actually remembers the second wildest party.) Nearly all of the idols from SME were in attendance as well as several other friends and family members, ready to welcome Donghae home after shaking off last night’s pregame celebrations.
As much as his band missed him, there was none so excited to see Donghae as Choi Minho. The much taller rapper immediately pounced on him the moment he stepped over the threshold. Two years ago, Donghae would’ve been sprawled out on the floor and unable to move; now with the added weight and muscle, he was able to hold his ground and actually hold Minho off of the ground along with the heavy duffel bag on his back. This did not last for long as others quickly joined in, creating a very awkward and rather hilarious cuddle pile that lasted for a good two minutes. Someone took Donghae’s things upstairs while another handed him a cold beer and declared the party officially started. There was much dancing and celebrating along with many new stories and new people to meet. Jonghyun had even brought his new girlfriend, a gorgeous American girl stationed near Seoul as a translator for the United States Army, and showed her off to everyone that hadn’t already seen her. At the behest of Siwon, there were no strippers present – Key and Heechul kindly offered their services, but no one took them up on said offers. Although there would be no legends spawned from this party, other than Donghae and Siwon getting into a beer can crushing contest, everyone had a fantastic time. The celebration carried on into the night and well into the next day with everyone calling it quits after the booze and Leeteuk’s patience ran out. With everyone gone and the place finally clean, Donghae settled into his bed and slept like the dead.
Kyuhyun would never let Donghae live down the fact that throughout his entire homecoming he had not spent a single moment alone with him. The next morning, in one of his utterly snarky and terrible moods, he went up to Donghae’s room and hit him with a pillow until he woke up. Donghae flew out of bed and snatched the offending pillow out of Kyuhyun’s hands, growling in anger as he threw it back onto the bed. Kyuhyun was still quite taller than Donghae, but with his muscles threatening to pop the seams of his shirt and his hair closely cropped to his scalp, Donghae was far more threatening than the little kid that used to run up and down the halls.
Kyuhyun fought to find the words to get him back into Donghae’s good graces, but his notorious wit left him the moment he saw legitimate anger in Donghae’s eyes. In that moment, all the changes and maturity Donghae earned hit him like a piano dropped from the roof of a building. Kyuhyun could do nothing but stand there utterly dumbfounded as he stared back into Donghae’s glare and wondered what happened to the overgrown man-child he loved so dearly. The Donghae of two years ago would’ve laughed it off and maybe even fought back, but this person that stood in front of him now was so much older and wiser that he was damn near unrecognizable. His eyes dropped down to the dogtags that hung from Donghae’s neck and realized that his silly fish had finally grown into a shark. This was something he just had to accept.
The only thing he could do was softly apologize and pull him close, even though Donghae’s chest was much wider than his thin frame. Kyuhyun nuzzled himself into the crook of his neck, long fingers running over his lover’s fuzzy scalp as he murmured sweet nothings into the other’s sun-kissed skin. They stayed like that for an inordinate amount of time, simply enjoying each other for the first time in two years. Somehow they had ended up on the bed and had both fallen asleep, Kyuhyun curled into Donghae’s chest and arms wrapped around each other while Kyuhyun’s fingers tangled themselves up in the chain of Donghae’s dogtags. Upon discovering them, Ryeowook put the rest of the house under strict orders not to disturb them for the rest of the day.
Over time, Donghae settled back into the daily routine of the dorm and awaited his redebut back into Super Junior. Although he was still a five-year-old at heart, the members all noticed how much more mature he had become. (They also noticed how his abdominal muscles officially rivaled Siwon’s.) He quickly deprogrammed himself of the Army routine and transitioned quite well back into civilian life, going out with Heechul and taking shopping trips with Zhou Mi to get an entirely new wardrobe – he had grown out of nearly everything he owned. His hair long and wavy again and his posture much more relaxed, Sergeant Lee Donghae was ready to be Super Junior’s Donghae once more. He was glad to be back and have his service behind him, but he still wore his dogtags underneath his clothes – only because Kyuhyun liked them so much.
I use a lot of American military slang because military life is pretty universal - I’m sure there’s a Korean equivalent for “high-speed death machine” and it is used often. The ROK’s military also uses the same rank structure we do, so I’m sure their organizational structure’s pretty similar, too. If I’m wrong, feel free to correct me.
For years, Kyuhyun will insist that the day that Donghae left for his military service was one of the worst days of his life.
Much like Heechul’s departure, it was quiet and simple. All the hair-pulling and crying had been done over the proceeding week, so there was nothing left to do but get it over with. He reported into the recruiting station with his wavy hair already shorn close to his head (Kyuhyun will always insist that it was the handsomest he had ever looked). He arrived alone with only eager fans there to bid him goodbye. Putting on his best stage smile, he bowed deeply to the emotional crowd and thanked them for all of their years of support before leaving his civilian life behind.
After his basic training, Donghae elected to go into the infantry rather than the civil service – he was always very active and he was sure the other members were happy not having any more dents in the wall from him running about all the time. There were many bets made as to how long he would last until he changed his mind, but they all ate their words as he quickly attained team leader status and shot up through the ranks. When the other members got his letter informing them of the news, everyone sat in silence as they struggled to imagine their five-year-old nuisance actually being a soldier. Eunhyuk was the only one not surprised in the least, making sure to collect the pool (he did promise to give half to Donghae when he returned). As it so happened, only three months in and Corporal Lee was the most well-liked and dependable soldier in the platoon.
The changes surprised him, as well. He thought that he would hate the camouflage fatigues and the heavy combat boots, but they became as familiar to him as any designer suit ever had. Army lingo was his new language and the low ready was his new stance. If his body could’ve handled it, he would’ve slept in the front leaning rest. With the intense training and schedule he endured as an idol, it was only a matter of time before he was at the top of the charts in his physical fitness, as well. Donghae had become a soldier’s soldier – a regular high-speed death machine.
During his tour of duty, he befriended many of his fellow soldiers - Donghae wouldn’t be Donghae if he didn’t make friends with every single person he met. They would share dirty jokes and stories from back home, reminiscing and commisserating during their down time. The younger kids in the platoon would all for being such a pretty boy, swearing that they would have to deny ever meeting him if they wanted to keep their girlfriends. To , they would sing various Super Junior songs during their GI parties as toothbrushes ran across the floor to the beat. Sometimes, when they were given the night off and the barracks were empty save for them, they’d ask him to dance and sing – only if he were up to it, of course. He would always dance for them; for him, an audience, no matter the size, was always welcome.
Every week during mail call, while everyone else only got a love letter or a small care package from home, Donghae got at least ten letters a week and a large box filled with whatever it was that Ryeowook and Leeteuk thought he would need. (He thought it was an awfully sweet gesture, but they did not have to pack his stuffed clown fish.) Siwon’s letters were all full of encouragement and Bible quotes as well as his filming schedules, just in case they ever got a chance to watch one of his dramas. Heechul’s and Kangin’s letters told him to keep doing well, giving him valuable (and sometimes not-so-valuable) advice. Eunhyuk’s letters always made him laugh – the other soldiers looked forward to hearing him read those letters aloud. He would occassionally receive mail from other idols and somehow got a couple of fan letters in the bunch. There was always one letter that he would save for last, which happened to be the longest one he’d get. His buddies would always notice the stupidest grin on his face as he poured over the neat, precise handwriting like he was trying to commit it to memory. Jokes about how he never studied that hard in school aside, they would always wonder just who it was that captured their corporal’s attention so much that he would even turn down a bar run just to read the newest letter. There was a tacit agreement that whatever made their team leader happy was really none of their business and left it alone. Whoever it was must’ve been one hell of a person.
And so it was that after two relatively short years, the members of 1st Platoon completed their service with relatively little incident (Donghae had pulled a muscle during PT and Private Choi was out for a few weeks due to a badly sprained ankle amongst other minor injuries). At the time of his discharge, he was a squad leader with the rank of Sergeant; if he had decided to stay, he could’ve easily made Platoon Sergeant by the end of the year. After many heartfelt goodbyes and pleas for reenlistment, Donghae gathered his things and took off for home. He loved the Army, but he was always a staunch believer in letting go of the things you love.
The day he returned was the best day of Kyuhyun’s life, second only to the day of the last Starcraft expansion pack release. This was also the day that the third wildest party ever thrown at the Super Junior dorms was in full swing, having started the night prior. (The wildest party was Heechul’s homecoming, which included: a livid Siwon chasing no less than twenty-seven strippers out of the house, innumerous hangovers and walks-of-shame, and ten calls to the police from neighbors complaining about the noise levels and the strippers in the street. No one actually remembers the second wildest party.) Nearly all of the idols from SME were in attendance as well as several other friends and family members, ready to welcome Donghae home after shaking off last night’s pregame celebrations.
As much as his band missed him, there was none so excited to see Donghae as Choi Minho. The much taller rapper immediately pounced on him the moment he stepped over the threshold. Two years ago, Donghae would’ve been sprawled out on the floor and unable to move; now with the added weight and muscle, he was able to hold his ground and actually hold Minho off of the ground along with the heavy duffel bag on his back. This did not last for long as others quickly joined in, creating a very awkward and rather hilarious cuddle pile that lasted for a good two minutes. Someone took Donghae’s things upstairs while another handed him a cold beer and declared the party officially started. There was much dancing and celebrating along with many new stories and new people to meet. Jonghyun had even brought his new girlfriend, a gorgeous American girl stationed near Seoul as a translator for the United States Army, and showed her off to everyone that hadn’t already seen her. At the behest of Siwon, there were no strippers present – Key and Heechul kindly offered their services, but no one took them up on said offers. Although there would be no legends spawned from this party, other than Donghae and Siwon getting into a beer can crushing contest, everyone had a fantastic time. The celebration carried on into the night and well into the next day with everyone calling it quits after the booze and Leeteuk’s patience ran out. With everyone gone and the place finally clean, Donghae settled into his bed and slept like the dead.
Kyuhyun would never let Donghae live down the fact that throughout his entire homecoming he had not spent a single moment alone with him. The next morning, in one of his utterly snarky and terrible moods, he went up to Donghae’s room and hit him with a pillow until he woke up. Donghae flew out of bed and snatched the offending pillow out of Kyuhyun’s hands, growling in anger as he threw it back onto the bed. Kyuhyun was still quite taller than Donghae, but with his muscles threatening to pop the seams of his shirt and his hair closely cropped to his scalp, Donghae was far more threatening than the little kid that used to run up and down the halls.
Kyuhyun fought to find the words to get him back into Donghae’s good graces, but his notorious wit left him the moment he saw legitimate anger in Donghae’s eyes. In that moment, all the changes and maturity Donghae earned hit him like a piano dropped from the roof of a building. Kyuhyun could do nothing but stand there utterly dumbfounded as he stared back into Donghae’s glare and wondered what happened to the overgrown man-child he loved so dearly. The Donghae of two years ago would’ve laughed it off and maybe even fought back, but this person that stood in front of him now was so much older and wiser that he was damn near unrecognizable. His eyes dropped down to the dogtags that hung from Donghae’s neck and realized that his silly fish had finally grown into a shark. This was something he just had to accept.
The only thing he could do was softly apologize and pull him close, even though Donghae’s chest was much wider than his thin frame. Kyuhyun nuzzled himself into the crook of his neck, long fingers running over his lover’s fuzzy scalp as he murmured sweet nothings into the other’s sun-kissed skin. They stayed like that for an inordinate amount of time, simply enjoying each other for the first time in two years. Somehow they had ended up on the bed and had both fallen asleep, Kyuhyun curled into Donghae’s chest and arms wrapped around each other while Kyuhyun’s fingers tangled themselves up in the chain of Donghae’s dogtags. Upon discovering them, Ryeowook put the rest of the house under strict orders not to disturb them for the rest of the day.
Over time, Donghae settled back into the daily routine of the dorm and awaited his redebut back into Super Junior. Although he was still a five-year-old at heart, the members all noticed how much more mature he had become. (They also noticed how his abdominal muscles officially rivaled Siwon’s.) He quickly deprogrammed himself of the Army routine and transitioned quite well back into civilian life, going out with Heechul and taking shopping trips with Zhou Mi to get an entirely new wardrobe – he had grown out of nearly everything he owned. His hair long and wavy again and his posture much more relaxed, Sergeant Lee Donghae was ready to be Super Junior’s Donghae once more. He was glad to be back and have his service behind him, but he still wore his dogtags underneath his clothes – only because Kyuhyun liked them so much.
Comments