September 2007

They shaved half of his goddamn hair off. Sungmin pouted looking at himself in the mirror in despair. He looks like an absolute idiot now – he doesn't know why he even let the stylists talk him into this nonsense. What little hair he did have left had been bleached blonde, fringe covering the majority of his face.

At least he could somewhat hide behind the ridiculous fringe... right?

Letting out a loud groan Sungmin got up from the stylists chair, immediately seeking out a secluded corner so he could hide from the rest of the group. It was bad enough just looking at the mess atop his head, he didn't even want to imagine what the likes of Hyukjae and Kyuhyun would say about his new appearance. 

Squeezing himself into a small gap between the wall and the racks of their clothing Sungmin frowned, trying to think of any possible way to fix this mess, short of just shaving the rest of his hair off. As he considered his options, a sudden pressure on his legs followed by a loud shriek brought him out of his thoughts, jumping at the familiar body which was now sprawled along the ground in front of him.

“Teukie hyung!! I'm so sorry oh my god...”

Leeteuk groaned, rubbing the back of his head as he looked up in surprise at his [somewhat] hidden dongsaeng. “Sungminnie what on earth are you doing stuck in the corner like that?”

“...nothing.”

Sighing Leeteuk righted himself, kneeling in front of him as Sungmin curled himself further into a ball.

“Sungmin, something is obviously upsetting you, just talk to me.”

Flicking the blonde locks out of his eyes he glanced at his hyung before sighing, gesturing sadly to the top of his head. “Look at this! I look so stupid people are just going to laugh the moment they get a glimpse at me, let alone the teasing I'm going to get from the rest of the group!”

Pulling the younger boy out of his corner Leeteuk stared at his hair thoughtfully, before he pulled Sungmin into a tight embrace.”You don't look ridiculous Sungminnie trust me, you'll always look amazing no matter what type of hairstyle they give you. And you know what? I know for a fact that only someone as amazing and confident as you could ever pull this off – just go out there and own it!”

Letting his words sink in Sungmin looked up, giving Leeteuk a bright grin before returning the hug with a tight squeeze. “You're right hyung! I can work this, I just have to own it. Thank you.”

He stood up, pulling his hyung along with him before starting to make his way across the salon over to what looked like a panicking Ryeowook yelling at Yesung [“why do I have to be the one to get nine piercings!? Hyuuunnnggg this isn't fair!”] 

“Sungminnie!” 

He turned back around, soft smile now gracing Leeteuk's face. “For what it's worth, I think you look absolutely beautiful.”

Sungmin flushed, giving Leeteuk a shy smile and muttering a quiet thank you, before running quickly over to Ryeowook, who was now visibly struggling in Yesung's arms.

[“Kim Jongwoon you let me go this instant you hear me!! Do you SEE the size of that needle!? The only way its coming anywhere near me is when I use it to stab you to death for not letting me go so help me...”] 

---

[DAY 03]

'I am going to cut my hair this song comes to mind, this song I sang a lot as a child'. Sungmin frowned as the he read the tweet over again, before flicking back to the news article he was checking on his phone. Apparently the biggest news that night was the leaders trip to get his hair cut for enlistment, and it concerned Sungmin. As much as his hyung lived in the limelight, he knew that this was something he wasn't as ready to face the public on, Leeteuk's looks always an extremely sensitive topic.

He continued to flick between the news portals and Leeteuk's twitter when Kyuhyun walked into the room, laptop in hand, looking over his distracted hyung's shoulder in interest.

“Looking for Teuk hyung?”

“GOD Kyuhyun!” Sungmin shouted, jumping in surprise from the sudden presence behind him. “Would you stop doing that! Teukie has gone to get his haircut, army protocols and all.”

Nodding Kyuhyun rounded the couch, flopping down beside him and smirking. “You mean your prince has gone off for such a big day without you?”

Sungmin threw a pillow at the laughing maknae, giving him a harsh glare before settling himself back in his place, arms crossed. “Shut the hell up Kyuhyun! Teukie doesn't need me around him twenty four seven... and I swear to god if Ryeowook tells anyone else I am going to actually murder him.”

“Then why are you so worried about him? This is the first time I've seen you on twitter for months, and over a haircut!”

Sungmin sighed, shaking his head. “It may be 'just a haircut' but I know he's going to worry about how he looks, and its obvious enough I was right from the... tweet?”

“Yes they're called tweets god hyung what are you eighty?”

“I know they're called tweets!!”

“Sure you do...” Kyuhyun mumbled, smiling at the pout that was now on Sungmin's face. “...but hyung is always posting random stuff like that on his twitter to get sympathy and attention from fans all the time. It's probably not too serious, he's just making a big deal of the day.”

Sungmin hesitated, chewing his lip in thought. “But you know how insecure he is about his looks after... after the accident. I can't help but worry about him.”

“Sungmin hyung...”

“Uh oh you're calling me by my name AND hyung – you're about to get serious aren't you?”

Kyuhyun nudged him with his shoulder, small smile on his face before looking at Sungmin. “Leeteuk hyung knows you worry about him, so as insecure as he might feel and no matter what ridiculous things he posts on twitter, he is going to pretend that everything is fine because he thinks that it will stop you from freaking out about him as much. You already care for him more than anyone, all he will need is some reassurance from you and he'll be perfectly fine, trust me.”

Sungmin nodded, taking in Kyuhyun's words before giving an amused snort. “Where on earth has my snarky Cho Kyu gone? He's been replaced with someone who is actually really sappy and sweet!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever” Kyuhyun groaned, rolling his eyes at his giggling hyung. “At least I'd be willing to actually confess to the person I like.”

Getting up Kyuhyun moved to head out of the lounge, a quiet call from behind stopping him.

“Kyuhyun!” 

He turned, eyebrow raised questioningly.

“I just wanted to say thank you and--”

“I know” Kyuhyun smirked “I love you too hyung”

“Ewwwwwww” Sungmin laughed, sticking his tongue out at his retreating dongsaeng, who let out a loud laugh of his own in response.

---

It's not until late the night that Leeteuk returned to the dorms, everyone long gone to bed as he quietly slipped past the door. In his attempt to stay up and greet his hyung Sungmin had fallen asleep on the couch, barely concious as he felt someone move him gently, before there is something on top of him. Jolting awake Sungmin sat up, coming face to face with a shocked Leeteuk staring back at him.

Sungmin rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, mumbling out a tired 'hyung' until he realised Leeteuk was quickly backing away from him. Sungmin lunged forward, grabbing his hyung's upper arm hastily. “No hyung wait, don't leave yet.”

He watched Leeteuk pause before giving a long exhale, turning back to face Sungmin. He released his hyung's arm, patting the spot next to him on the couch, Leeteuk clearly hesitating for a moment before sitting down beside him.

While he settled on the couch Sungmin looked him over, the hat atop his hyungs head catching his attention. Observing his hyung he watched as Leeteuk looked down at his lap, fiddling with his fingers in an attempt to avoid meeting Sungmin's gaze, the bridge of his hat covering most of his face in the darkness of the room. Sungmin leaned forward, placing a hand on Leeteuk's cheek before gently turning his hyung, forcing him to properly look at him. They stared at each other for a moment in complete silence, Sungmin starting to stoke Leeteuk's cheek gently.

“Can I?” Sungmin whispered, carefully motioning towards the hat. A small nod from Leeteuk is all he needed, hand moving from his cheek to the bridge of the hat, slowly removing it as his hyung avoided his gaze once again.

The first thing he noticed how different Leeteuk looked. The only time he'd seen his hyung with short hair was in old high school photos, unflattering and blurry images that, in his opinion, could not do the actual beauty of his hyung any justice. If he was completely honest with himself, seeing such a short haircut on his hyung after all these years was a shock, working to almost completely change his look.

As Sungmin looked at Leeteuk more carefully, he could feel the heat rise to his cheeks, flushing at how handsome his hyung looked. The short styling did wonders for Leeteuk's facial features, helping to define and shape his looks to make his even more attractive to Sungmin, if that was possible. He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat before grabbing his hyungs hand once again.

“You... you look...”

“Ridiculous. I know Min, I saw my reflection. It's why I didn't come home for so long I... I was hoping to avoid you honestly. I didn't want you to see how horrible I looked... god this is why I never had short hair to begin with...”

“What! How can you say that!?”

Leeteuk turned to him, confused. “say what?”

“That you look horrible! Are you insane hyung!?”

“I...uh...huh?” 

Sungmin rolled his eyes, slapping Leeteuk's shoulder lightly. “Hyung you look amazing, how could you ever think you look less than great!? Did you really even see yourself because apparently you and I are not looking at the same person. To me you look absolutely stunning, and don't you let anyone tell you otherwise!!”

Leeteuk looked at him, wide eyed at Sungmin's outburst, before giving him a gentle smile. “You really approve?”

When Sungmin nodded frantically, grin on his face as Leeteuk chuckled at Sungmin's cuteness. “Well then I guess I need to go check out myself again! How could my Sungminnie's opinion ever be anything but accurate?”

Letting out a quiet cheer Sungmin leapt to his feet, pulling his hyung up alongside him with a grin. “You can go check out how amazing you look in the morning. First we should sleep because you made me stay up to wait for you!”

“Okay, okay!” Leeteuk laughed, following Sungmin into the hallway. Just before Sungmin opened his own room Leeteuk ran up behind him, giving him a tight hug. “Thank you Sungminnie” he whispered against the younger man's ear, before moving back to his own door, retreating into the room.

Despite needing to rest, Sungmin couldn't seem to get his heartbeat to calm down for another hour.