Out of the mist of history
He'll come again
Sailing on ships across the sea
To a wounded Nation

The sky is looking its best, a sudden mix of beautiful colours lighting it up as the sun bids us goodnight. Then the world darkens and the ever-smiling happiness of the warm sun is replaced by the cold icy unsmiling moon. The day becomes night and it is almost the time when fathers at the office will go home, back to their kids and mothers start to prepare dinner for the family. In a few hours, everyone will be in bed, basking in the shared love of their family.

Not Hyukjae, though. He sits in the recording studio alone, his eyes fixed on the papers he held in his hand. The words seemed to swim around his head, dancing to Super Junior’s “Sorry Sorry”. That’s when he knew he was not concentrating. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose to help lessen the headache he is having. “Concentrate, Lee Hyukjae. You’ve got to concentrate. This comeback needs to be perfect.” He scolds himself.

Not too soon after, he finds his mind wandering once again to the incident that morning.

“Yah, Lee Hyukjae! Who do you think you are? Don’t you dare order me around!” Donghae screamed at Hyukjae, his eyes wide with fury. Hyukjae glared back at his best friend and sighed before replying calmly to his words.

“Well, Donghae, I am your replacement leader while Leeteuk-hyung is not around. If you have a problem with that, remember that you were the one who wanted me to take his place temporarily. Anyway, I wasn’t ordering you around. I was just telling you to memorise “Hero” by tomorrow. What problem do you have with that?”

“The problem is,” said Ryeowook, stepping in, “that you seem to think you have all the authority around here. Do you think you’re Teukie-hyung? You’re not even the oldest, what makes you capable of being the leader?”

Hyukjae was furious. “HOW WOULD I KNOW? YOU GUYS MADE ME THE LEADER! SO WHY DON’T YOU AT LEAST GIVE ME SOME RESPECT?”

Then, the silent ZhouMi spoke in his rusty Korean. “Well, Hyukjae hyung, if you want respect, then you’ll just have to earn it.”

Hyukjae resists the urge to kill a cat. He sighs for the umpteenth time and he realises, without Leeteuk, Super Junior just isn’t the same. He looks forward to the day that Leeteuk comes back. He remembers how he used to want to be Super Junior’s leader. Now, he knows why that position was given to Leeteuk. It isn’t because he is the oldest. It is because he is perfect.

Signs of a savior
like fire on the water
it’s what we prayed for
one of our own

Leeteuk cries his heart out again as the water from the shower falls onto his face. He knows it’s wrong to be like this, but he can’t help it. It hurt everywhere. His shoulder aches, his legs are weak and some unknown force seems to be beating all other parts of his body. His eyes stung from crying so hard and his dry throat is stinging.

“Park Jungsoo! Are you in there? What is taking you so long?”

There is a sound of someone knocking on the door of his cubicle. He sighs and rubs his eyes, changing quickly before leaving the cubicle. The guy that has been waiting outside shoots daggers at him with his eyes, but Leeteuk pays him no heed and rushes off to dinner.

Leeteuk is restless throughout dinner. All around him fellow servicemen shoot curious looks at him. The fact that he is an idol is hard to miss, especially with that charisma he carries around him. He puts on a smile and joins in the daily banter of the servicemen. He knows very well they feel the same way that he feels, even as they chat about their lives and gossip like ahjummas. He knows they all want to go home soon.

That night when he goes to bed, he can’t help the tears that fall. Hyukjae had called him earlier that day, and now he realises that leaving while Heechul had yet to come back may not have been the best decision.

“Yoboseyo?” He said into the phone in the office. The office people had asked him to come as he had a call from someone. Hyukjae’s voice sounded from the end of the line.

“Teukie-hyung?” Leeteuk was shocked. Hyukjae’s normally cheerful voice sounded choked and shaky, as though he had been crying, or was still crying. “Hyung… Donghae’s mad at me. I don’t know what I did wrong, but they’re all angry with me! Hyung… Please tell me what to do. Ottoke?”

More tears escape the leader’s eyes and he wonders what happened to Super Junior’s strong Angel Leader. He wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was supposed to stay strong and support his fellow members, even if he was not with them.

He wipes away his tears. No one should see him cry.

Just wait
though wide he may roam
always
a hero comes home

“I can’t believe I said that to Hyukjae hyung.” Donghae says to ZhouMi as the both of them sit on the Chinaman’s bed. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” ZhouMi takes his boyfriend’s hand and gives it a tight squeeze.

“I know, Donghai.” He smiles at his lover. “I know why. You’re stressed. We all are.” Donghae rests his head on the taller male’s shoulder. ZhouMi wraps his arm around Donghae and rubs his arm comfortingly.

There’s a silence. The Korean and the Chinese are both deep in thought. Donghae feels tears begin to fall. ZhouMi notices immediately. Without a word, he reaches out and gently wipes them away. Donghae looks into his eyes and knows that the Chinaman understands exactly how he’s feeling, but he voices out his thoughts anyway.

“I miss Teukie-hyung.”

ZhouMi sighed and nodded. “I do too. He’ll be back.”

He goes where no one has gone
but always
a hero comes home

Deep in the heart of darkness sparks
a dream of light
Surrounded by hopelessness
He finds the will to fight

It’s 3 AM, and Leeteuk cannot sleep. The aches and pain in his body make it impossible for him to be comfortable. He wishes again that he was home already. He gets up painfully and cries, hoping he could cry the misery away. Frustration is building up in him. His angry eyes land on a framed picture of 15 smiling men.

It is a picture he had taken with Super Junior when Hangeng was still there and ZhouMi and Henry had just joined Super Junior M. A messy handwriting that he recognises as ZhouMi’s is scrawled across the picture, writing “Forever 15!” Oh, how wrong that is, he thinks to himself. Leeteuk can’t help but smile at the picture.

The hopelessness seems to die away suddenly. It wasn’t as if he was going away forever. He would be going home soon, and together they would be Super Junior again.

There's no surrender
Always remember
It doesn't end here
we’re not alone

And he will come back on the crimson tide
Dead or alive

[Day that Leeteuk returns]

Hyukjae fiddles nervously with the buttons on his jacket. Donghae is running around, exercising the excitement out of his body while ZhouMi laughs and watches him. The rest of the members have their eyes focused on the door. Any time now, that door would burst open and their leader would return at last after two very long years. They all shake with suppressed excitement.

The door opens slowly. A man with short black hair and hard black eyes who is wearing an army uniform walks into the room. There is a long silence.

“Teukie-hyung? Is that you?”

The man raises his dead eyes towards them and gives them a small, stiff smile. “Yes, it’s me. I’m home.”

Super Junior is speechless and the entire dorm is silent for the first time that day. Leeteuk looks at them, heart clenching painfully. He sees the confusion and hurt in those eyes and feels guilty. Youngwoon makes his way over to the leader.

“I missed you so much, Leeteuk hyung.”

And even though we know the bridge has burned
He will return
He will return

[Months later]

“Teukie-hyung, do you want some chicken?” Hyukjae waves the food in front of his hyung’s eyes. The older man shakes his head, his eyes focused on the magazine in his hands. “Are you sure, hyung? Come on, it tastes good!” Hyukjae sighs when the hyung does not reply and starts munching on the chicken that he had gone out to buy specially for Leeteuk.

His eyes meet Sungmin’s black orbs and he shakes his head sadly. A small frown appears on Sungmin’s face and his shoulders droop. Leeteuk is silently watching their little exchange and a pained look comes onto his expressionless face.

That night, Leeteuk lies on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Why is he like this? He is supposed to want to be home. He is with Super Junior, the only thing in his life that makes him happy. Somehow, after he left, they seem to have formed their own relationships and moved on. He feels left behind, unknowing of their lives and he feels like a stranger in their midst. Everything he used to be in charge of is already being taken care of by someone else. He feels useless.

There is a knock on his door, so soft he almost doesn’t hear it. “Yes?” He answers, wondering who it would be at so late in the night. “It’s Hyukjae, Teukie-hyung. Can I talk to you, hyung?” Leeteuk consents readily although he is wondering why.

The door opens and Hyukjae steps in. On seeing Leeteuk Hyukjae smiles and comes over to the bed.

“Hyung… I miss you.” He starts, looking at Leeteuk full in the face. Leeteuk is more confused.

“I’m right here, Hyukkie.  How can you miss me?” Hyukjae scoots closer and rests his head on Leeteuk’s shoulder. “I miss the old you. I miss our Angel Leader.” Leeteuk’s eyes are wide and shocked.

“I still don’t understand.” He says in a choked voice. Hyukjae looks sad.

“Hyung, before you left, you were always smiling. You always looked out for us and you were the happiest person that could be. You always told us how much we meant to you and how you loved us. Maybe you like being this way, all expressionless and moody, but we don’t. And, hyung, the Angel Leader that we used to know isn’t like this. He isn’t happy unless we are. I’m sorry if this is asking too much hyung, but we really need our Angel Leader back right now.”

Someday they'll carve in stone
"The hero comes home"

He goes and comes back alone
but always
a hero comes home

[The next morning]

Donghae twitches in his sleep and slowly opens his eyes. When his eyes get used to the light, the smiling face of his leader is out at him.

“AAARRGHH!!!” He yells. Leeteuk falls back, shocked. Donghae stares at him as though aliens had invaded the earth. Leeteuk gives the younger male 120 seconds to calm down. Donghae calms his breath, and rubs his eyes. He wants to make sure his eyes haven’t been playing tricks on him. When he opens his eyes, Leeteuk is still there.

“Good morning!” Leeteuk chirps at him, that smile still on his face. Donghae stares, speechless. He must be dreaming. There is a long silence, and the grin on Leeteuk’s face is replaced by a small pout.

The silence stretches on before Donghae breaks it.

“What have you done to the real Park Jungsoo?” He demands. Leeteuk is ready with his answer. “He’s always been here, but he was hiding. Last night, Hyukjae went and found him again.”

Donghae frowns. “I don’t get it, hyung. How?”

Leeteuk laughs and replies.

“Well, last night, he came into my room and he was like, come back hyung. And I was like, okay. So I came back and then I came to you and you were like, aaah! And I was like, good morning.” Leeteuk rambles, finishing lamely with “good morning”. Donghae breaks into a relieved smile. Apparently, Leeteuk decided to be normal again.

ZhouMi sings “Me” as he waltzes down the road, heading towards the Super Junior dorm. A bunch of shopping bags dangle from his hands as he walks. Kyuhyun walks with him, gushing all about how awesome star craft was. ZhouMi doesn’t care, he isn’t listening. His mind is fixed on all the clothes that he had purchased that day and how he would lecture Kyuhyun on skincare later.

They reach the Super Junior dorm, and ZhouMi kicks into action. “You know, Gui Xian, you should honestly pay more attention to your skin. This problem is getting atrocious. I found this nice skin lotion. Do you want to try it?”

An annoyed Kyuhyun shakes his head. It isn’t the first time ZhouMi’s done this kind of stuff. “No, I don’t.”

ZhouMi pouts. “But, GuiGui…” Kyuhyun shoots him a glare. Why couldn’t he be normal and call him Kyuhyun or Kyu like everyone else did? Why, why did his nickname have to be GuiGui? ZhouMi continues to speak, oblivious to the younger man’s pissed-off-ish-ness.

“Anyway, your skin isn’t even half as good as mine. Even I use skincare products, so why don’t you? Come on, Gui Xian, I’m quite sure your fans care about your skin!”

Kyuhyun is about to protest, when…

“I agree with Mimi, Kyuhyun. Your skin is horrible.”

ZhouMi and Kyuhyun stare until their eyes nearly pop out from the strain of it. Leeteuk grins at them. “What? I just said I agreed.” Kyuhyun stares, squints, rubs his eyes, squints again, takes out a magnifying glass, looks through it, wipes the magnifying glass, and examines the leader. “Interesting specimen…” He mutters. “It looks exactly like Teukie-hyung.”

ZhouMi comes over with another magnifying glass. He comes even closer and inspects Leeteuk. Then he pulls the elder’s arm up and smells his armpit. “It smells like Teukie-hyung too. The only problem is Teukie-hyung doesn’t smile, not anymore.”

Kyuhyun speaks in reply to the china man while Leeteuk stares at them, completely stupefied. “Yeah, maybe SM got the scientists to make a clone for Teukie-hyung to lead us properly.” ZhouMi nods in agreement. “Yeah, anything would be better than zombie leader.”

Leeteuk decides to speak. “Guys, it’s me. I am Leeteuk.”

Sungmin and Ryeowook come home from grocery shopping, their arms laden with bags. Their backs hunched over with the weight of the bags, they can swear they look like some disfigured camels.

“I… Don’t… Think we… Can carry all this… home.” Ryeowook huffs and falls on his face. Sungmin joins him, SPLAT on the cement soon after. “I… know… we can’t…” Sungmin said, as the bags tumble everywhere, causing passers-by to fall heavily on their buttocks.

“Then, should I help you?”Leeteuk asks, leaning over them and reaching out a hand to help them up. They stare wide-eyed. “Who are you?” Sungmin asks. Before Leeteuk can reply, Ryeowook speaks. “OBVIOUSLY IT’S LEETEUK HYUNG! I TOLD YOU HIS BODY HAD BEEN TAKEN OVER BY A ZOMBIE! I TOLD YOU! NOW HE’S BACK, AND HE CAN TELL YOU AND YOU’LL SEE I WASN’T MAKING UP TALES. RIGHT, TEUKIE-HYUNG?”

Leeteuk laughs and nods. “I guess I was kind of taken over by a zombie…”

Sungmin smiles and takes his hand, getting up to his feet. He jumps on the Angel Leader and envelopes him in a warm embrace.

Super Junior sits at the dinner table, talking and chattering as usual. Hyukjae is silent, though, and his eyes flick from the clock on the wall to the door. As if his eye power caused it to, the door burst open. Leeteuk came in, carrying some grocery bags. Sungmin and Ryeowook follow him. Sungmin’s clothes are covered with a bit of mud and Ryeowook is practically drenched in it, but that’s not why Super Junior is staring at the trio.

Jongwoon points at Leeteuk and says, “I didn’t know SM decided to make a Leeteuk hyung clone. When did he get sent over? So, did they take the real Teukie-hyung away?”  

Leeteuk feels bad. Had he really been that zombie-like? Didn’t they remember the old Leeteuk anymore? He catches Hyukjae’s eyes, and the dancer gives him a reassuring smile. It’s okay, hyung. They’ll get used to you again soon, that smile seems to tell him.

“Could it really be Leeteuk hyung?” ShinDong asks. There is a murmur passing around, one of excitement. After a while the members of the group seem to agree with the comedian’s words. They’re running around with the same excitement they had on the day that he returned from the army. Leeteuk knows why. It’s because now, he really has come home. Donghae’s being carried around by his over-excited boyfriend. Siwon is snogging the bible. Heechul throws Heebum into the air. ZhouMi puts Donghae down and hugs Hyukjae. Hyukjae is so excited, he eats him.

Leeteuk smiles and takes in all the noise. He is home at last.

He goes and comes back alone
but always
a hero comes home

 

SPLAT!

“Meow! Meow!” Leeteuk feels around for the source of the mewling. There is a sudden pain as claws scratch him all over. He realises why.

Heebum has fallen onto his face.

Word count: 2, 932

A/N: Sorry, I don’t do humour. Credits to my sis for the funny (maybe not so funny) parts. Ha-ha.

Anyway, just to let you know, Zhou Mi’s name is not ZhouMi. It’s Zhou Mi. With a space between Zhou and Mi. And I know there’s no such word as “pissed-off-ish-ness”. But when you’re rich and famous like me, you can create words. So there!