Though it took a bit longer than expected, the van eventually shuddered to a halt in the airport’s parking garage.

“Why is it so expensive to park here only for a week?” Zhou Mi grumbled. “I could have bought a new scarf with that money!”

“Never mind that, just hurry!” Leeteuk urged. “We’re running late!”

“It wouldn’t have taken so long if the radiator hadn’t fallen out on the highway,” Siwon reflected.

“And if the rear tire hadn’t exploded,” Eunhyuk added.

“Who cares how crappy the van is? Just open the door already!” Kangin snapped.

Sungmin frowned. “I can’t reach the handle,” he explained. “Someone’s sitting on my hands.”

“Sorry,” Henry muttered.

The passengers of the van then dissolved into a heated shouting match, which mostly comprised of: “OPEN THE DOOR, YOU IDIOTS!”

“BUT IT’S LOCKED!”

“JUST OPEN IT!”

Kibum coolly slid from his seat in the front and walked around the van. In one swift motion, he grabbed the handle and yanked it straight out of the door.

“Huh,” he remarked. “Look like the door’s defective as well.”

“LET US OUT! LET US OUT!” the members demanded.

Kibum raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly am I supposed to do that?” He waved the broken handle at them. “It’s not as easy as it looks,” he remarked coolly.

“We’re going to be late!” the leader wailed again.

Zhou Mi clambered out of his own seat and walked over to join Kibum. He stared at the door contemplatively. “Does anybody have a crowbar?” he called.

“DO WE LOOK LIKE WE HAVE SPARE CROWBARS?!”

“We’re going to miss our flight!”

“Hurry up!”

“We’re trying, okay?” Zhou Mi exclaimed, frustrated.

“What if we break the window?”

Everyone stopped short at Yesung’s suggestion. And then they all began to echo his cry.

“Break the window! Break the window!”

“Sungmin! Siwon! Hangeng! Kangin! Break it!”

Siwon raised a Shibrow skeptically. “How?” he asked. “We’re all wedged together so tightly in here that the best I could do would be to break Wookie’s jaw.”

“Don’t break the window!” Ryeowook shrieked hysterically.

“We’re so late!” Leeteuk wailed.

The van once again filled with the yells and shouts of the frustrated members. Outside, Zhou Mi and Kibum just shook their heads in resignation and leaned against the side of the van.

“They really are idiots, huh?” Kyuhyun asked, sliding right in between the two.

They nodded. “Yeah…” And then everything froze.

“H-HOW DID YOU GET OUT?!”

The maknae’s mouth twitched in the beginnings of a superior smirk. “Crawled over into the front seats and got out through Kibum’s door,” he answered, examining his nails nonchalantly.

The van exploded into frenzied activity as the trapped members raced to the front.

“Get out of my way!”

“Move!”

“We’re late~!”

“EUNHYUK! GET YOUR FOOT AWAY FROM MY FACE!”

Zhou Mi shook his head. “Idiots,” he sighed. “Total idiots.”

In one last great struggle, the twelve aforementioned idiots escaped the confines of the van and lay on the parking garage floor in an exhausted heap.

Leeteuk sat up the quickest. “Hurry! We’re going to be late!” He reminded them shrilly. The members sprang to their feet and rushed to open the trunk of the vehicle. Kangin reached in and began tossing out the luggage haphazardly.

“Careful! That’s my violin!” Henry yelled, deftly catching the instrument before further harm could be done. Kangin ignored the Canadian’s warning and continued chucking suitcases, carry-on bags, and other items out behind him.

CLANG.

“Pot-hyung!” Hangeng wailed in despair, scooping up his beloved and checking it obsessively for injuries.

“Sorry,” Kangin grunted, heaving the last trunk out of the van.

“Grab your things and go, guys!” The leader ordered. “We have to check in now!”

The members bustled among the fallen luggage and collected their possessions.

“Somebody grab Pot-hyung’s suitcase for him,” Hangeng ordered.

“YOU PACKED IT A SUITCASE?!”

Donghae slung a backpack over his own luggage. “Never mind that now. Don’t you think we should catch up to Teukkie-hyung?” He pointed down the garage where a small figure was sprinting towards the elevator.

Shindong nodded. “We better hurry before his gives himself a brain aneurysm,” he added gravely.

The members began their long trek to the elevator, not forgetting to each give the van a savage kick in parting.

When they reached the hyperventilating leader, the elevator doors were just sliding open.

“Perfect timing~” Yesung whistled happily.

But it was then that they realized that there might be another small problem…

“Yah…” Heechul began, staring at the tiny elevator. “How are we all supposed to fit in there?”

Eunhyuk shrugged. “Maybe if we all stand sideways and hold our breath…?”

“That’s not going to work,” Siwon pointed out practically.

“Then what do you think we should do?” The rapper challenged.

The members stared at each other in silence, utterly out of ideas.

There was a collective intake of breath.