“Did she fall asleep?”

I peered down at her sleeping face on my shoulder and smiled. “Yeah, she’s exhausted.”

“Then why did you insist on taking her with you tonight?” he reprimanded me.

“Because!” I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Do you know how potentially awkward it could have been?”

“Hyukjae,” he sighed again and I prepared for the lecture, but it never came.

“Aren’t you gonna lecture and nag me for something?”

“Do you want a lecture?”

I kept my mouth shut and gave him a tight-lipped smile, shaking my head.

“Make sure you get some good sleep tonight. We want you well-rested for the show.”

“I’ll be fine,” I dismissed.

I hummed off-key to Y (yes, for all you ELFish; that song Donghae wrote) while drumming my thumbs on my thighs to the beat. It was quiet, with the manager focused solely on driving. And since Hyoyeon was knocked out, I didn’t have anyone to talk to.

I grinned deviously and inched my index finger closer and closer to her face.

“Hyukjae, don’t you dare.” he warned.

“Aw, hyung, I’m bored and I don’t have anyone to talk to!”

“Let her sleep!”

“But I’m bored!”

“You are so selfish,” he groaned, leaving one hand on the wheel and using the other to rub his forehead.

“No, Hyoyeon’s selfish for falling asleep and leaving me.” I rolled my eyes and gave him an um-duh-hyung look.

“Alright, we’re almost there. Want me to bring her in?” he asked, looking at me for a second before concentrating back on the road.

“No!”

“So direct,” he narrowed his eyes at me through the mirror.

I grinned as the car pulled to a slow stop.

“Five minutes, make it quick.” he opened the door for me and motioned me to the door.

I patted Hyoyeon’s cheek. “Hey, Hyoyeon.”

“What?” she mumbled.

“Come on,” I helped Hyoyeon out of the car and supported her with one arm around her.

She was slouching and dragging her feet as she walked, which made my life that much more difficult than it already was. “Where am I?”

I chuckled at her. “You’re home.”

“Oh,” she wearily opened her eyes. “I am.”

“Cute,” I said mainly to myself. “Now come on, let’s get inside.”

I assisted her into the dorm, with her leaning mostly on me rather than using her own strength to walk. I made it to the elevators and pushed the button for her floor.

“Where are we going?”

“Your dorm,” I nudged her head with a fist. “Are you still not awake?”

“Sorry,” she stood up straighter and blinked a lot of times, rubbed her eyes, and directed her stare up to me.

“What?”

“Nothing, I’ll just miss you.” she laughed.

“Hey,” I smiled, fixing her hair part. “Like I said, I’ll be back to bug you soon.”

“Can’t wait,” she replied sarcastically.

I opened my arms for a hug and she obliged, stepping into my embrace.

Don’t go hang out with boys while I’m gone.

You’re not the boss of me!

I don’t approve of those creeps with you.

My guy friends aren’t creeps!

I placed my chin on her shoulder. “Hey, Hyoyeon?”

“Hm?”

“I--”

The elevator made a dinging noise, indicating that the doors had opened.

“Hyoyeon!” a shrill voice screeched.

“Oh, Sooyoung!” she took a big step out of the elevator.

“What was that?” Sooyoung exclaimed, gesticulating to me wildly.

“Hi, Sooyoung!” I winked, grinning.

The doors began closing and the grin left my face.

“Bye, Hyukjae!” Hyoyeon waved to me.

I gathered up the small amount of courage I had because really, I had nothing to lose. “Hyoyeon, wait!”

“What?”

“I’ll call you, okay?” I promised.

“Okay--”

“And one more thing!” the doors had a few inches left separating the closure.

She frowned at me. “Huh?”

“I l--”

The doors had closed. I sighed and stared at the buttons on the panel for a long time.

There was a button I could have pushed to keep the doors open and I only noticed now.

Note to self: Elevator doors can be kept open. Check panel.

What’d you say to me?

Uh, nothing.

Are you sure?

I’m sure.

Positive?

Positive.

Absolutely one-hundred percent, positively sure?

...Yes.

Have fun in Taiwan then! I gotta go, Sooyoung’s annoying me.

‘Night.

I let out a huge breath I had been holding in and flipped my hood over my head as I strode back to the car.

“I said five minutes, Hyukjae, what took you so--”

“Can we just go?” I pleaded miserably.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing, I’m just an idiot.”

“Hyukjae, I could have told you that.”

“Hyung, you’re not making it better!”

-----

I decided to be a good person and not annoy the crap out of Hyoyeon right when I left for the airport, so I kept my phone off and slept through the whole flight.

I woke up to Donghae’s face hovering over mine, saying, “We’re in Taiwan, Hyuk! We’re here!”

I swatted his face away from me with my hand and blinked the sleep out of my eyes. “Already?”

“Yeah, come on!” he yanked on my sleeve.

We went through the airport, which, to no one’s surprise, was packed with Taiwanese ELFs. We smiled and waved at some of them naturally--Donghae winked at one or two, I’m not sure, but I heard some high-pitched squeals. I could only guess.

Once outside, we loaded into the van pretty quickly and sped off to the hotel. Of course, some ELFs were tailing us. Donghae looked out the back window and tried waving to some of them. Kyuhyun smacked his head and rolled his eyes.

In all the commotion and chatter, I pulled out my phone, hit the “1” key, and held it to my ear.

“Who are you calling?” Donghae noticed immediately, sidling up to me.

“Go away!” I whined.

“It’s probably Hyoyeon.” Kyuhyun said absentmindedly.

“Is it?” Donghae asked, now donning a grin.

I didn’t answer and listened to the phone ringing.

“It is,” Kyuhyun confirmed, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“So?”

“Is she picking up?” Donghae continued pestering me.

“Not yet; it’s weird.” I tapped my fingers on my knee impatiently.

“Hello?”

“Hyoyeon? Why does your voice sound muffled?” I pouted.

“Oh, I’m at the airport, it’s really loud here!”

“Wait, airport?”

“They’re going to New York, didn’t you know?” Leeteuk looked at me pointedly.

“No one told me!” I exclaimed, shocked.

“Sorry?” Hyoyeon tried.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded furiously.

“Because I knew you’d freak out!” she sighed deeply.

“Oh.”

“They’re gonna be on some TV shows there and stuff.” Donghae told me with a nudge.

“I gotta go now, Hyukjae!”

“Ah, okay,” I said dejectedly.

“Bye!”

She hung up before I could even say goodbye.

“Aw, don’t be sad.” Donghae tried to console me. “You can call her when she’s in New York.”

“Hyukjae, do you remember your phone bill last month?” Leeteuk gave me a parental look.

I shrugged. “Sorta...”

“Don’t you know how much international calls cost?”

“Well...”

“You’ll live five days without talking to her.” Leeteuk insisted.

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes, handing my phone over to the grabby hands of Donghae.

I didn’t need my phone; I had a brain (somewhat), and with that, I could easily talk to Hyoyeon.

Hyoyeon...

Hyoyeon!

Hyoyeon?

I frowned to myself. Was she ignoring me? I didn’t do anything wrong for the past twenty-four hours, at least, not that I could recall. I thought hard about it and nothing came to mind.

What did I do?

I wanted to call her again--‘cause I didn’t really care what Leeteuk had to say about it--and ask her what was up. But considering I just talked to her practically two minutes ago and she didn’t seem at all mad at me was weird. Something strange was going on.

When the group got to the hotel, I raced for the bed closest to the window and sprawled myself across the soft blankets. Sungmin walked in shortly after me. We roomed two to a room, by age (Leeteuk shared a room with the one of the managers). Sungmin set his bags down on the remaining bed and chuckled at me.

“What are you doing?”

“Me? Just looking through old texts with Hyoyeon,” I said nonchalantly.

 

January 1, 2012

Hyoyeon

Happy New Year! Did you make a resolution?

Pfft, do I ever make resolutions?

I had a little bit of hope that you might’ve made one. Meh, not surprised. :P

What’s your resolution then?

To spend more time with friends!

Like me?

Tcht, I spend more than enough time with you.

More like, not enough.

I’m rolling my eyes.

I’m rolling my eyes back at you.

January 8, 2012

Hyoyeon

OH MY GOSH, HYOYEON!!!

What?!

...Hi.

I should smack you for that.

Hehe. :D

January 19, 2012

Hyoyeon

Are you excited?

For?

To see me tonight! ^^

I see you every day, Hyukjae, there’s no reason to be excited.

Meh.

“Meh” right back atcha. xP

January 20, 2012

Hyoyeon

I hate you...

What...?

Oh, crap, sorry, Hyo. Wrong text!

Wait, who do you hate?

Huh? No one...

Riiiight. Tell me!

No.

Tell me.

No.

Tell me.

No.

Tell me.

Fine.

Ha!

Donghae.

Why?

Because at the Seoul Music Awards, he got in the way of me trying to hug you!

My gosh, you’re such a baby. ^^;;

He did!

You could’ve just hugged me, there wasn’t anyone in the way. =.=

Donghae! :P

When will you grow up?

When you grow three centimeters.

Jerk.

♥

Sending a heart does not make anything okay.

♥♥

Sending two does not make it okay either.

Darn.

 

“When are you gonna ask her out already?” Sungmin interrupted my reading, as he rifled through the items in his suitcase and began to unpack a bit.

“Why would I do that?” I laughed humorlessly.

“Because I know I’m not the only person tired of watching this nonsense from the sidelines,” he had his toiletries in his hands and left for the bathroom.

“What do you mean?” I raised my voice so he would be able to hear me.

“I mean,” he returned, shooting me a toothy grin, “Everyone knows you like her, except her.”

“We’re best friends.” I argued lamely.

“That’s exactly what I used to go around saying about me and Sunny.” the grin didn’t leave his face. “And guess what?”

I didn’t answer since I thought it was a rhetorical question.

“We’re dating now.” Sungmin finished for me. He sat at the edge of his bed and looked at me hopefully. “It’d be better for you to just admit it now.”

“But I--”

“I know plenty of other guys who would love a chance with her.” Sungmin grimaced.

“I tried, Sungmin, I really did.” I purposely hit my head on the wall behind me.

“Tried what?”

“Uh...”

“Well?” Sungmin bit his lip.

“I tried to confess.” I sighed, running a hand over my face.

“You did? How did it go?” Sungmin’s eyes rounded and he pounced on me like a hyperactive bunny--he even looked the part.

“Well, the keyword here is tried,” I sighed again, annoyed at myself, “I was in the middle of saying it, but the elevator doors closed.”

“Where were you?” he questioned curiously.

“The girls’ dorm, I was taking Hyoyeon home. I’m such an idiot.” I muttered helplessly.

“It wasn’t your fault, it was just bad timing.” Sungmin smiled sympathetically.

“What do I do?” I asked, in need of advice from someone who used to be in a situation somewhat close to mine.

“First of all,” he stood up, “I want you to say out loud how you feel about Hyoyeon.”

I gave him an are-you-seriously-kidding-me-right-now look and he merely shook his head. I got off the bed and stood in front of him. He placed his hands on my shoulders.

“Now look me in the eyes and tell me how you feel.” he instructed.

“Do I have to?” I whined.

“Dude!” he shook me. “Come on, say it.”

Staring into Sungmin’s hard, steely eyes and saying how I felt wasn’t easy, at all. I opened my mouth, but hesitated. Wouldn’t Hyoyeon be able to hear all of my thoughts? Wouldn’t she hear what I was about to say?

I was so screwed.

“Say it!” Sungmin snapped at me harshly, in a tone I had never heard him use before.

“I love Hyoyeon,” I blurted.

“Stronger.”

“I love Hyoyeon!” I attempted again.

“Say it like you mean it!” Sungmin pushed down on my shoulders.

“I love Kim Hyoyeon!” I said, even louder.

“Yeah? Well, guess what, so does Doojoon.”

“I love her more!” I protested angrily.

“That’s right!” Sungmin agreed, satisfied. “Now say it again!”

“I love Hyoyeon!”

“What in the name of Starcraft is going on in this room?” Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes at us, standing at the doorway with arms crossed over his chest.

“How did you get in here?” Sungmin inquired dubiously.

“Manager-hyung gave me the master keycard.” Kyuhyun smirked, waving the golden card triumphantly in the air.

“I still don’t know why he trusts you so much.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the truly evil maknae.

“I’m a good guy,” he simpered, sauntering over to us. “Now what’s going on here?”

“I’m helping Hyukjae,” Sungmin patted my left shoulder with his right hand.

“Okay, explain the shouting.” Kyuhyun went on.

“That was part of me helping him.” Sungmin retaliated.

“And Hyoyeon?” Kyuhyun raised both eyebrows.

“Oh, please, Kyuhyun, you knew that as well as the rest of us.” Sungmin seemed like he was bored with the interrogation. “Anything else?”

“Oh, nothing,” Kyuhyun turned his back on us and took his time walking to the door.

“What are you planning?” I barked at him.

“Nothing,” his hand was on the doorknob.

“You sure?” Sungmin wanted to confirm.

“Like I said,” he glanced at us once more, and neither of us could tell his expression. “I’m a good guy.”

With that being said, he left, shutting the door surprisingly quietly.

“He’s definitely planning something.” I whispered.

Sungmin nodded. “Be prepared for anything.”

-----

Around 6:00 that night, Super Junior was backstage at the Taipei Arena. Everything moved in fast motion as we rushed to prepare ourselves for the first concert of five in Taiwan. We switched in and out of dressing rooms as the stylists’ hands moved at rapid-pace and then we randomly performed last-minute soundchecks. I snuck away from it all to the bathroom and dialed the “1” key again.

“Hello?” Hyoyeon answered groggily.

“Oh crap, Hyoyeon, what time is it?” I mentally cursed at myself, not realizing that there was a major time difference between Taiwan and New York City.

“It’s like five in the morning, Hyukjae,” she mumbled.

“Sorry,” I apologized, feeling selfish.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. We were probably supposed to wake up soon anyway.”

“Are you mad at me?” I asked immediately, once she was done speaking.

“Huh? Why would I be mad?”

My eyebrows furrowed. “Then why have you been ignoring me?”

“What do you mean?” she sounded thoroughly confused.

I exhaled deeply. “I was trying to talk to you, you know, in my mind, but you weren’t responding to me.”

“I didn’t hear you.” she said slowly.

“You...you didn’t?” I gaped, surprised.

“No, I haven’t heard any of your thoughts at all.” Hyoyeon sounded just as surprised as me.

“So you didn’t hear anything?” I wanted to confirm; if this was true, then (thank God) she had no knowledge of what Sungmin and I were discussing earlier in the day.

“Nope.”

“Ah,” I pretended to sound disappointed. “That .”

“Do you think this thing maybe...wore off?” she guessed.

“The hearing-each-other’s-thoughts thing?” I unintentionally frowned.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe it did,” I ended up sounding more disappointed than I meant to; for whatever reason, I felt depressed now.

“Are you sad about this?” Hyoyeon laughed in disbelief.

“No!” I denied.

“You are, aren’t you?”

“Well, it was just something special between you and me.” I mumbled under my breath.

But apparently, she had heard. “Don’t be too bummed out by it, okay? You’re still my best friend.”

Best friend--the words rang in my ears. “Yeah, okay.”

“Where are you?”

“Taipei Arena,” I heard the door of the bathroom open.

“Oh, are you about to perform?” Hyoyeon asked.

“Yeah, I better go.” I opened the stall door and met Henry’s unsuspecting eyes.

“Good luck! Don’t trip during a dance or something.” she snickered.

“Bye,” I said hurriedly, stuffing the phone back in my pocket.

“Who were you talking to?” Henry smiled innocently; I always believed his innocence was just an act.

“Who do you think?” I retorted, patting his cheek.

“It was just a question!” he pouted.

“Bye, Henry,” I rolled my eyes.

I was attacked by Donghae the moment I stepped out of the bathroom. He clung to me and asked me why I was in there for such a long time, and I gave him a weird look and questioned him about how long he had been stalking me. That shut him up.

Needless to say, my spirits were deflated. Though on stage I pulled off looking energetic, happy, and incredibly handsome, I felt distressed on the inside. Sharing my thoughts with Hyoyeon and being able to hear hers opened up a whole new level of closeness between us. Hyoyeon and I had always been close friends, since almost forever, but the mind magic business was something different altogether.

Being the strong person I was, I went on for roughly four hours, dancing, singing, laughing, and pulling my usual antics. When the night was over, there was nothing I wanted more than to sleep, for once.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sungmin prodded me in the arm when we were back at the hotel.

I can’t read Hyoyeon’s mind anymore, so I’m sad because I liked messing with her and talking to her in my head.

Yeah, that would make me seem like I was borderline insane. I settled on telling Sungmin half the truth.

“I miss Hyoyeon,” I admitted with a heavy sigh.

“Oh, that’s understandable,” he nodded, deep in thought. “I miss Sunny too, but do you know what I do?”

“Humor me.”

“I just look at pictures of Sunny.” Sungmin smiled dreamily as he browsed through photos of his girlfriend on his phone.

“Uh, I don’t have pictures of Hyoyeon; that’s creepy.” I shuddered.

“Look, here’s a picture of Sunny performing! And here’s one of her...”

I placed my hands over my ears and slipped under the covers, blocking out the unnecessary noise from a very obsessed boyfriend.

---

So the reason why it took me about six days to update is because this chapter was only 2000 words. All the chapters have been at least 3000 words, and I don't post it if it isn't at least that long, so that's why.

I hope you can all understand and trust me, I'm just as excited to write the next part as you all are to read it. :)

Thanks for all the support, guys! <3