Hangeng’s POV~

I was feeling nervous riding in the limo to SM, and judging by the looks of the other members’ agitated demeanor, I knew I wasn’t the only one. What was Soo-man planning? Why did he call all of us? I knew it had something to do with the lawsuit, and despite telling Uki and Alex that I could handle myself, I was really wishing that I had some sort of lawyer type person coming with me. I didn’t know too much when it came to handling legal situations, especially one that’s been so blown out of proportion such as this one.

“You feeling okay, hyung?” Ryeowook asked.

I nodded slightly as the other members cast worried glances in my direction. “I-I think I’ll be fine.”

“This just isn’t right,” Siwon said, shaking his head, brows furrowed in frustration or confusion, I couldn’t tell. “He shouldn’t be calling all of us to talk about the lawsuit if we don’t have any lawyers there with us. He knows that, doesn’t he?”

“He’s a smart man,” Leeteuk said, eyes cast to the floor, “and despite the fact that he treats everyone around him so horribly, he knows how to run a company. There’s no way that he doesn’t know that. He’s just planning something.”

“Knowing him, he’s gonna try to manipulate the lawsuit, just watch,” Donghae said, eyes holding a stormy glare. “Whatever you do, don’t answer anything he asks about it. He’s gonna find a way to twist something you say into something that he can use against you in court.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I know. He’s slimier than a fish and it’s hard to pinpoint what his motives are exactly. I don’t feel very comfortable going in there without someone who knows more about this stuff.”

“Uki should’ve come,” Yesung said, his head resting on the back of his seat, eyes closed. “This is what she’s studying after all, and it’s in her area of expertise.”

“Uki’s been under a lot of stress lately,” Kyuhyun said, “I don’t think we should bother her with anything we can’t handle ourselves.”

Siwon sat up straighter and looked at Kyuhyun. “What’re you talking about? Did she say anything to you?”

I sat up as well. I wanted to take my mind off the lawsuit for awhile so I silently thanked Kyuhyun and Yesung for bringing up Uki.

“I ran into her this morning,” Kyuhyun said, “she’d been in the bathroom crying. I think she’s starting to crack under all the stress and whatnot.”

“My poor baby sister,” Siwon said, shaking his head sadly. “Maybe it’s best if she just went ahead and headed back home.”

“No!” Donghae protested. “Look, we all know Uki. She just needs some time to chill out and relax. She always gets like this on every single one of her visits. It used to be worse when she was off getting her masters, remember? But knowing her, she’s just working herself too hard.”

“She’s working herself too hard worrying about us,” Kyuhyun pointed out.

“That’s only because we give her too much to worry about!” Donghae argued. “Every time she comes on her visit, we completely slack on all our responsibilities, always relying on her to do everything for us. And I know that she says she likes cooking for us and I know that she says she doesn’t mind cleaning for us, but we’ve also gotta take into account that she does a lot more for us on the side. She manages our sites, she manages our schedules, she keeps Super Junior on track, she practically manages Super Junior and we always tend to take her for granted. Pretty soon, she’s gonna be off to England to get her PhD, and she probably won’t even have time to come on her yearly visits anymore.”

“Donghae’s right, guys,” Leeteuk said. “I know that we’re all guilty of it. We all rely on her to do too much for us, and I know that she likes doing it and volunteers herself for it, but we seem to forget that all this stress does take a toll on her. She’s only human after all.”

“Let’s do something for her for a change,” Kyuhyun suggested.

“Her birthday’s coming up,” I pitched in, “let’s do a big blowout.”

Siwon smiled to himself. “Uki was never one to like big parties. I think a simple dinner or something would show our appreciation better.”

“I think I’ll take up the cooking position again to give her a break,” Ryeowook said, “I’ve missed being in the kitchen.”

“What about Alex?” Henry asked. “He’s gone to the hospital for us on more than one occasion.”

“Alex is old enough! We should take him out drinking!” Kyuhyun said with an evil wink directed at Donghae.

“Yah! You taint my little brother like that and I’ll kill you!” Donghae threatened.

“Oh, just like how you guys tainted my little sister?” Siwon asked with a laugh.

“Hey now! She drank wayy before she came here,” Kyuhyun said, “so technically, nobody here tainted her.”

“Speaking of drinking, when are you gonna pay up for the bet, eh?” Leeteuk asked, smirking at Kyuhyun.

“Shh~” Kyuhyun shushed. “I’m hoping that if I don’t say anything about it, she’ll forget about it.”

“Whoa! Don’t tell me that fragile little Uki beat Kyuhyun at drinking,” I said incredulously.

Everyone laughed and teased Kyuhyun, who was turning red at this point.

“She not only beat him, she destroyed him,” Eunhyuk said with a laugh. “While this one right here was completely outta his mind drunk, Uki was just beginning to get buzzed.”

I laughed so hard at that. I had been working for years trying to beat the kid at drinking but it could never be done! Now I find out that Uki beat him? I’ma have to take her out drinking one day.

“I have an idea! Do you remember that party we threw for Alex on the roof? Let’s do the same, but for both of them. Not just Uki, but Alex, too, to show just how much we actually appreciate all the both of them had done for us,” Kyuhyun said suddenly. But I personally think it was to get everyone to stop ridiculing him about losing his drinking title to Uki.

“Look at the maknae finally putting his evil mind to use,” Eunhyuk said with a laugh.

“Since I’m so excited about the party, I won’t say anything back, hyung,” Kyuhyun said with a sarcastic smile.

“We’re here,” the driver interrupted as we pulled in front of the SM building.

I think everyone gulped slightly in trepidation as we all filed out and headed in to meet Lee Soo-man, the evil genius behind SM Entertainment.