Jaesun’s POV

“Where are you going?”, Eun Suk asked, as she and Soori entered through our door. They knew our password by now, and simply came and go as they wanted. Of course, they changed their own password so often we boys could never go tramping through their dorms whenever we wanted. Apparently, girls are more entitled to “privacy” than boys are. =.=

“Kyu hyung’s offered to buy me free ice cream if I meet him at Seoul Station. Want to come?”, I asked.

Eun Suk shook her head and groaned, “My trainer just made me run thirty laps and do fifty squats.  I am not going to go walking fifteen blocks to have to lose weight again.”

Soori smiled at Eun Suk and said, “I’ll go with Jaesun, you can stay here with Balam.”

“Where is everyone?”, Eun Suk asked.

“Sky hyung’s at Star Golden Bell shooting, Gongchan’s at musical auditions. JiHyun hyung’s in a meeting with the Presidents, Kyu hyung just finished Running Man, so…”

Eun Suk shrugged and said, “Okay, I’ll go chill with Balam. See you guys later!”

“Bye”, Soori and I waved and left together.

We had a very nice conversation as we walked to the ice cream store; I hadn’t really realized how little time I actually spent one-on-one with my sister ever since our debut, and maybe even our trainee years.

We were stopped several times by fans, asking for signatures, photographs, and hugs.

Laiqa seemed shy, but we both enjoyed it. It was nice to know our music was impacting some people’s lives.

“I’m not a very good swimmer, but your songs always inspired me to practice more”, one girl said. Her arm had been amputated and she was trying to swim with one arm. Laiqa hugged her tightly and I gave her a loud “Fighting!” 

“I was never brave enough to tell people I wanted to sing, but after I watched your concert that one rainy day, I’ve been practicing hard for my auditions”, another boy told us. We asked him his name and memorized it, so we could recognize him and become better friends when he did become a trainee.

And a teenage girl yelled, “JASON OPPA, I LOVE YOU!” I blushed and Laiqa slapped me on the back.

When we got to the ice cream store, there was a small band of fans, made up of kids, young teenagers, and even a few adults following us.

And when Kyu hyung joined us, the band grew exponentially, and the teenage and young girls absolutely overwhelmed the rest of the group.

We decided to leave after getting ice cream because the café was getting too crowded, but as we left, a teenage girl tried to jump onto Kyuhyun. Startled, Kyuhyun backed away reflexively, but accidently knocked into a tall, muscular man, and they both crashed to the ground.

“Hey, what the hell!?”, the guy yelled out, and as Kyuhyun picked himself back up, the guy reached out and shoved Kyuhyun hard.

 “Hyung!”, I shouted when Kyuhyun slammed into the table next to him. The napkin container tumbled off the table and clunked into his back.

“Stop it!”, Soori yelled and stepped in front of the guy, blocking his path to Kyuhyun.

“Or what?”, the man sneered. “You guys think cause your idols you can shove aside whoever you want? Do whatever you want? Well, think again, Princess.”  He grabbed her wrist, but Kyuhyun was back up and seething.

“HEY, GET OFF HER!”, I yelled. No one touches my sister with aggression- NO ONE.

“Get your ing filthy hands off of her or I’ll you up”, Kyuhyun said. His voice was quiet, but you could tell he was suppressing his rage only with a lot of effort.

“Don’t!”, Soori told us, “We’re idols. We can’t get into fights!”

“I don’t care about that right now”, I replied, and started advancing towards the man, but suddenly our fans started to cry out.

“Jason oppa, it’s not worth it!”, a young boy yelled.

“Let them go!”, the fans started yelling.

“You’re just a bully! They didn’t do anything wrong!”, someone else cried out.

“I’m calling the police!”, one of the older fans shouted.

“I’ll let you kids go, but don’t expect star treatment this time”, the man said, and stepped back.

“Let’s go”, Soori said quietly, and she grabbed both my hand and Kyuhyun’s hand and started to drag us outside.

Suddenly, a can of soda came flying from behind us and hit Kyuhyun straight in the head.

Kyuhyun just dropped and Soori screamed.

I turned around and saw fans struggling to contain the man from before, who was obviously the culprit behind this.

“The police are here!”, someone else shouted. I whirled around, and sure enough, there they were.

Soori’s face had gone pale, and she was sitting on the street, trying to wake Kyuhyun up. People were screaming and the police were racing towards us.

It felt like a nightmare.

I felt like I was going to hyperventilate.

I felt like I was going to pass out.

My breathing got shorter… but all I could think was No. Soori and Kyu hyung need me. I have to stay strong. Stay strong.

I remember trying to explain to the police what had happened.

I remember getting into the ambulance.

I remember calling Sky and Gongchan.

I remember calling Eun Suk.

I remember seeing Kyuhyun hyung entering the hospital.

I remember sitting in the waiting area, waiting for the members and for Kyuhyun’s doctor to come out…

My breathing was even shorter…

“Jae sun?”, Soori asked me, but her voice seemed far away…

And then I don’t remember anything else.

JiHyun’s POV

Chan Hee, Sky, and Shim Jang had insisted on the elevator.

I didn’t care.

I could not stay still.

I flew up the stairs to the eighth floor, forgetting that people need to breathe.

I don’t remember whether the elevator was faster or not, but I was in the hospital waiting room before all the others.

Soori was all alone, wringing her hands and looking extremely worried.

I dashed up to her.

She broke down when she saw me and started to cry.

I reached over and hugged her tightly, her hair.

“Soori, it’s okay. I swear, everything’s okay.”

“Kyuhyun oppa hasn’t woken up yet and Jaesun oppa just collapsed.”

“Jaesun?”, I asked, startled. “Was he hurt too?”
“No, but you know how he gets sick often.”

Chan Hee, Sky, and Shim Jang all raced up towards us.

“Shim Jang, will you stay with Soori? I’m going to check up on the boys.”

“We’re coming too”, Sky responded, indicating himself and Chan Hee.

I nodded and wasted no more time.

“How’s Kyuhyun’s condition?”, I asked a nurse, who had just exited the door.

“We’ve just gotten results, actually”, the nurse answered.

“And-?”, Chan Hee cut her off, unable to wait to hear the results.

“Nothing’s severe. Just a minor concussion that will take about two days to get better. He should wake up in about an hour… but he’s sleeping peacefully. His brain is healing itself as we speak.”

“Oh my god, thank goodness”, Chan Hee whispered.

“Chan Hee, you need to sit down”, Sky told her, and guided her to the waiting room outside despite her protests.

I turned to the nurse and asked, “What about the other boy? Jae Sun?”

“He had an asthma attack triggered from claustrophobia and extreme stress. He should also be fine in a few days, although I would suggest taking a week off or so for his dance practice. His vocal chords are fine, just a little sore, I would think. He’s awake, actually.”

“Is he?”, I said. Just like Jae Sun, to be up already. I bet you anything he’s reassuring everyone he’s okay already…

I grabbed the nurse’s arm as she turned to leave and said to her fervently, “Thank you so much.” The nurse smiled at me before she left.

I peeked into Jae Sun’s room, and sure enough, he was chatting away at his entire family. He was laughing at their worries and cracking all kinds of jokes.

His parents, Jessica, Krystal, Laiqa, Gongchan, and Shim Jang were gathered around his bed. Gongchan had packed him his Chu bunny too.

I snuck out to Kyuhyun’s room, where Soo Ri, Eun Suk, Sky, and Chan Hee were gathered. No one was talking.

I sat down next to Chan Hee and said, “The nurse told me he’s just sleeping because he’s exhausted. It’s nothing serious.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

“He’ll be awake in about an hour”, I told them.

And yet, none of us moved. All of us stayed where we were, next to Kyuhyun.

Chan Hee reached out to grab my hand and Sky’s, who reached out to Eun Suk, who reached out to Soo Ri, who gently grasped Kyuhyun’s hand.

And we stayed that way.

No one asked how Kyuhyun was hurt.

It didn’t matter.

He just had to get better.

A little while later, Kyuhyun’s parents arrived.

We all stood up to greet them, but Kyuhyun’s father asked menacingly, “Who’s the leader here?”

Chan Hee and I exchanged glances; we clearly knew he was going to rebuke us.

Both of us raced to take the blame, but I was quicker.

“It’s me, sir”, I responded, turning away from Chan Hee.

“And may I ask where the hell you were when this happened to my son?”, Kyuhyun’s father asked, anger ringing in every syllable.

“Dear, stop-“, Kyuhyun’s mother began, but Kyuhyun’s father went on, “We trusted our son with you, and now he’s in the hospital, not even awake. How did this happen?”

I bowed ninety degrees and replied, “I sincerely apologize. You’re completely right; I should have been near him. I really am sorry.”

“Oppa”, Soo Ri said, shocked at me.

“I’m sorry”, I repeated, still bending over.

“Dear, stop, he knows how you feel. You can stand up, dear”, Kyuhyun’s mother said.

“If anything like this ever happens again!”, Kyuhyun’s father threatened.

“Oh, stop”, a voice croaked from the hospital bed.

“Kyuhyun!”, Chan Hee whisper-shouted.

“I wake up after I’ve been knocked out and what do I find? Arguing! Shush”, Kyuhyun said, his voice slightly groggy.

Kyuhyun’s mother rushed over to him and kissed his forehead and said, “You’re right, we’re sorry, Kyuhyun. We’ll be quiet now!”

“Is there water or anything?”, Kyuhyun asked, propping himself up carefully.

“I’ll go get some. I’ll be right back”, I answered.

“I’ll help”, Sky answered and we left together.

“Hyung”, Sky said, as soon as the door behind us closed. “I’ve never seen you reprimanded like that before. Even the company Presidents bow down to you…”

“Well, what was I supposed to do, Sky?”, I asked, “Show him my cutest aegyo?”

We laughed quietly, but stopped laughing abruptly as Jae Sun’s door opened.

It was Krystal, and she also stopped short at seeing us.

Krystal hesitated and then she said, “Jae Sun’s okay… You don’t have to worry about him.”

“We’re not worried about him, we’re worried about you”, Sky retorted.

“Kyuhyun’s room is that way”, I said, nodding with my head at the door, “Go make up with him and don’t make a fool of yourself- his parents are there.”

Krystal smiled sheepishly but bowed slightly and said, “Neh.”

Soo Ri’s POV

Jae Sun and Kyuhyun were both required to stay one night in the hospital. We’d decided that their parents should stay in one of our dorms and the rest of us would sleep in one dorm- just for the night.

We ended up offering the girls’ dorm, simply because of cleanliness and the rest of girls hiked our way over to the boys’ dorm.

Gongchan, Sky, and JiHyun were going to sleep together- with leader and maknae squished tightly together on one double bed.

Shim Jang, Chan Hee, and Eun Suk were all sharing a room, with Shim Jang sleeping on the “first bed she’d slept on since debut”.  Balam, much to Sky’s jealously, ended up choosing to slept with Eun Suk instead of him.

Which meant Soori and I were going to share the couch. We huddled comfortably together; more comfortable than sisters.

Soori fell asleep within minutes, exhausted by the emotional turmoil of the day…

I tried to close my eyes and do the same, but I could not find peace within my own mind.

Sighing, I gave up on sleep and allowed myself to think of all the things that were bothering me… about… about…

 “And what are you thinking about so late at night?”

I glanced over at Soori, startled, but smiled slightly when I realized she was also wide awake.

“I know something’s wrong… first, I see a photo of you on the web with a particular someone and then you’re not sleeping… spill it.”

“There’s a photo of me on the web?”, my voice rose with anxiety. Oh god, am I in trouble already?

“Sh…”, Soori said, telling me to lower my voice. “There were about five photos of you and Jinwoon oppa online… only your face was covered in all of them… but everyone in our group recognized Kyuhyun’s jacket.”

I groaned at my stupidity, but drudged up the courage to ask, “Have the Presidents of the netizens figured it out yet?” 

“We wanted to talk to you about it first, but I think JiHyun oppa and Chan Hee unni went and talked to the Presidents discreetly… he always does those things when he thinks we’re not looking…”, Soori scoffed. I could tell she was trying to make the mood a little lighter.

“And our fans?”, I asked, still nervous.

“People are mostly guessing it’s SNSD’s Seohyun or f(x)’s Sulli… your name hasn’t even been mentioned yet.”

I relaxed slightly. Thank god!

“But that was you, right?”, Soori asked, wanting to clarify everything.

 “Soori, I’ll be totally honest with you… but you have to tell me if what I did was right or not…”, I told her. She looked straight at me then, and I could see a flicker of nervousness in her eyes, but her affirmative nod was confident enough.

I took a deep breath and started to talk about what had been bothering me for weeks.

“Ever since the Burberry fashion show, I’ve been meeting Jinwoon oppa almost every week and texting or calling him almost every night… We just… I don’t know, it’s so easy to talk to him, Soori! He just… understands…”, I tried to tell her in words what I felt when I was with him…

Soori looked taken aback, and I paused for a second. I guess it was true that I’d never been so straightforward about a boy before… but Jinwoon was… He was special. Was.

“He asked me to… to be his girlfriend two nights ago…”, I admitted quietly.

Soori’s eyes widened, so I rushed my ending before I would lose the nerve to tell her, “And I met with him today to tell him in person that I couldn’t! Soori, I couldn’t! And it’s not that it’s him, it’s just… it’s just… I can’t risk anything for this group. Soori, Universe means so much to me, and I can’t let anyone down… I can’t…. So I told him today that I couldn’t… I refused him. But now I’m wondering- did I do the right thing? Why do I feel so much regret? Why do I feel so much…? Soori-yah, did I do the right thing?”   

And Soori gave me an answer that made me sure of our friendship. She was completely honest with me; she didn’t reassure me or judge me, she simply answered my question.

She said, “I don’t know.”

And although her answer didn’t actually help my problem in a practical sense, her accepting eyes and genuinely concerned manner made me feel relieved, because I knew that at least one person in the world would be my friend no matter what.

“Me either”, I admitted, but surprisingly, I was able to sleep after that.

And Soori’s last words were so sweet.

She said, “I’m sure Universe together can think of something together. Let’s talk about it tomorrow, okay?”

Kyuhyun’s POV

My parents had just left after many kisses and tears and it was just me and Krystal.

“You’re not going, too?”, I asked her, barely glancing at her.

There was silence so uncomfortable that I ended up turning around to look at her.

She was giving me a strange look…. Her eyes were sad, mad, and happy at the same exact time. But mostly, they were intense.

“What?”, I asked her defensively.

“You’re so cold”, Krystal said, and reached out to punch my shoulder. Hard.

“Ow! Can’t you see I’m hurt?”, I yelled.

“What a wuss. Such a wuss”, Krystal said to me, punching me over and over.

“And a stupid babo. Who gets knocked out by a soda can, huh? Not even a fist! Huh? Huh!? Why the hell didn’t you just apologize!”, Krystal’s voice rose to a near-shout as she pounded on my arm.

“You should know! I pay attention to every detail in my life to make sure I don’t ever have to lose pride later. I didn’t do anything wrong, so obviously, I wouldn’t apologize to someone like that. I give my full attention to every moment and you think I’m going to throw away all that effort cause of one stupid guy?! Krys-!”, I started shouting back, but stopped when I realized… she was crying.

“Krystal?”, I asked weakly, puzzled. My poor concussed brain couldn’t handle this right now. First my parents, then my members, then this?

Krystal continued to punch me and then suddenly she shouted, “I THOUGHT YOU WERE SERIOUSLY HURT, YOU STUPID IDIOT!”

She whacked me straight in the chest, knocking the breath out of me.

Totally taken aback, all I could do was blink stupidly and grasp at my chest.

Suddenly, she flung herself on top of me, hugging me.

Trying to make sense of her erratic behavior, I asked her, careful and uncertain of someone else’s reaction for the first time in my life, “So… so do you hate me or do you like me?”

Krystal sat up and said, “Honestly, I really like you, Kyuhyun. But I know I’m going to hate you in about ten seconds.”

“Why?”, I asked her, extremely happy but also confused.

“I don’t know why, but you always do something that makes me mad…”

I grinned and replied, “That’s the only way I have to get you to keep thinking of me…”

A/N: I LOVE YOU GUYS FOR COMMENTING AND REPLYING. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE CHAPTER. AND HERE'S YOUR SCHEDULE. ALSO, I'VE THOUGHT OF SONGS FOR YOUR UPCOMING CHINESE, JAPANESE, KOREAN MINI ALBUMS & SINGLES. :X

so, who hasn't been on in a while? i miss gongchan's author... i think everyone else has contacted me in one way or another? :3

the background picture i took and edited myself. X] <3 press control and - buttons to actually see it, see it.