“Scandals,” Leeteuk said, pacing around agitatedly. “Nothing but scandals! This is the last thing I wanted for Super Junior and this is the first thing you two brought to us!”

“Hyung, this picture is not what it looks like! That photographer completely took it out of context!” Sungmin defended pleadingly.

“It doesn’t matter what it doesn’t look like, it matters what the photographer made it look like!” Leeteuk exclaimed, making poor Sungmin jump.

“Aish, oppa, just listen to yourself! You act as if this has never happened to Super Junior before!” I yelled defensively.

Then he rounded on me. “You! We accept you into our house and this is what you do to us?!”

My mouth flew open in shock.

“I put up with a lot of things, Uki, but scandals from an immature little girl are not one of them!” he continued.

“EXCUSE ME?!” I screamed, shooting up out of my seat. “YOU ACT AS IF I JUST LIVE HERE AND DO NOTHING! I COOK, I CLEAN, I KEEP AFTER YOUR SCHEDULES, I MANAGE YOUR SITES, I DO YOUR PR WORK, I’M PRACTICALLY YOUR MANAGER! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME?!”

“MIND WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO!” he screamed, getting into my face.

I pushed him away from me, making him fall into the open arms of Zhou Mi and Henry. “You mind who you’re talking to! Don’t you ever get in my face like that again.”

I turned to walk away, when he grabbed my wrist and twisted me to look at him. “You think this is all fun and games here?! This is affecting everyone in the house and you think you can just walk away from it?!”

“WHO CARES?! I’LL BE THE ONE CLEANING UP THE MESS AS USUAL ANYWAYS, SO WHO CARES?!”I yelled back at him.

“YOU’RE BEING AN IMMATURE LITTLE GIRL, UKI! GROW UP ALREADY! THIS ISN’T JUST ABOUT YOU ANYMORE! THIS AFFECTS ALL OF US! WHY CAN’T YOU JUST GET PAST YOUR IMMATURITY AND JUST GROW. UP?!”

And that was when I slapped him.

Just full out slapped him.

Right across the face.

Everyone went dead silent and Leeteuk had a shocked expression on his face.

It felt as if all the air had been right out of the room.

And, with angry tears building up in my eyes, spilling over the rim, I said quietly, “I’ve grown up more than anybody my age has ever dreamt of doing in their entire liftetime. Who else do you know that’s my age that have already gotten their masters? Who’s gotten accepted into Cambridge and Harvard and Oxford? Who’s part time career is assisting in the management of a fifteen member Korean boy band? Who’s gone through hell and back on more than just one occasion? Who had to give up EVRYTHING just to work toward something that they don’t even wanna do? I’d really like for you to answer that for me, because I’ve yet to meet anybody who fits the bill.”

Then I jerked my wrist from his grasp and walked back to my room, slamming the door shut and locking the door from the person I once knew.

Leeteuk’s POV~

The place that she had slapped me stung for sure, but what she said stung even more. I knew all about what she had gone through as a kid and I still said what I had to her. I guess it was just my anger and worry over the article that kind of encouraged it.

“Um, hyung…Did you even read the article yet?” Henry asked timidly.

“No! And I don’t want to either!” I responded viciously.

“Well then just listen,” Siwon said boldly.

“Super Junior’s Lee Sungmin was out and about last Tuesday, spotted with pretty-faced Choi Uki Seohae, fellow Super Junior member, Choi Siwon’s, younger sister. The two were seen enjoying an intimate dinner at Sushi Hyo on Tuesday, and was caught leaning in toward each other for what? A kiss? This would mean that they are both betraying fellow Super Junior member and mutual friend, Lee Donghae, Uki’s reported boyfriend.

“However, no need to worry. Sources tell us that the two were simply having dinner, just dinner, and that this picture was taken in the middle of an aegyo war between the two. We all know how defensive Sungmin can get over his title of King of Aegyo, and we all know how competitive Uki can get about titles and names, so no one can really blame them for going at it like this.

“As for Uki and Donghae, they’re still not confirmed as a couple, but we know that all of South Korea is rooting for the two sweethearts to finally make it official. It’s about time Donghae finds a girl that’s just right for him and won’t mistreat him.”

Siwon looked up at me after reading this. “I think you owe my little sister an apology.”

I sighed. “I think so, too.”

Alex’s POV~

“He owes her an apology?!” I exclaimed accidentally. Everyone snapped their heads to look at me. Oh well, might as well continue, right? “I think she owes him an apology. She slapped him right across the face!”

Leeteuk sighed. “You don’t know the story behind her words, Alex. Otherwise, you’d understand as to why I should apologize.”

“But you did nothing wrong!” I reasoned.

“You’re right, Alex, he didn’t,” Siwon said, looking irritated, “but he didn’t exactly do right either. Like Leeteuk said, you don’t understand the story that goes behind what she said. Just leave it at that, okay?”

“Oh please. What was so horrible that could have excused her ridiculous behavior?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“Alex—”

“No, please, I wanna know. I wanna know why everyone in this house just accepts and excuses her tendencies to flirt with everyone, her loud mouth, her over exaggerated reactions, her—”

“She’s the reason why any of us stand here today as a part of Super Junior,” Siwon interrupted me. He paused and gave a heavy sigh. “She was forced to give up her position with SM in order to allow us to debut. She gave up all her dreams for us. And what’s worse? Her own sister made it happen.”

I paused as everyone looked to the ground solemnly, as if they were giving a moment of silence to honor Uki. I felt horrible now. I had no IDEA. But all I could say was, “Oh.”