Donghae sighed more times than he cared to count ever since he and his friends all gathered in their usual hangout bar near their homes. Scanning over his friends scattered all over the place, he couldn’t help not notice the absence of one tall brunette… the same spunky and witty shikshin of their group who recently became very distant towards them. Why? No one knew. They all did their best to reach out to their friend but it seemed that she wanted to push them away everytime they tried, lying through her teeth about how she was okay and there was nothing to worry about.

“The point of holding a cue stick is for you to use it to play billiards.”

“I was intending to use it for a modeling stint.” He replied without missing a beat, rolling his eyes.

Leeteuk smiled wryly. “I know what you’re thinking of, Hae. And I’m with you there. I wish I could do a damn thing to get Soo to open up.”

“She wouldn’t normally do this when she has problems.” The younger man could only sigh once again. It had become a habit of his it seemed. “What is it that she can’t tell us?”

“That’s what I’ve been wondering too.” Hyoyeon joined the conversation, ditching Eunhyuk temporarily because she knew that the two men were talking about the leggy brunette. “I’m one of her best friends. She should at least tell me.”

“Everyone’s worried about Soo. Hell, I’m as clueless as ever even if I call myself her brother.” Siwon appeared beside Donghae, holding his and Tiffany’s drinks. “But for now, let’s just try to enjoy. We can get answers from her tomorrow. I’ll even strangle her if she doesn’t tell me.”

"So much for diplomacy, Wonnie."

                And with that, the mini gathering dispersed. Hyoyeon went back to her boyfriend’s side, Siwon handed Tiffany her drink, Leeteuk went back to playing pool while Donghae ditched his cue stick and retreated to the bar stools near the pool table. The brown haired man still couldn’t calm himself about the whole Sooyoung issue. There was something wrong; he was damn sure of it. But he just couldn’t figure out what.

                It took Donghae a good half hour to finally make up his mind on what to do. Grabbing his jacket from the nearby stool and mumbling a vague ‘I’ll go ahead’ to his friends, he rushed out of the bar and into his car, intending to head to Sooyoung’s house as fast as the traffic rules would allow him. He really couldn’t wait until the next day. It was far too long. He was worrying about Sooyoung and he wanted answers now.

                Donghae had just gotten out of the door when he reached her home when he heard a loud, piercing scream from somewhere around him. His eyes widened, knowing that it was Sooyoung who was screaming. Another scream confirmed that she was indeed inside the house. Running up to the front door, he searched the bottom of every pot in the area knowing that she kept one of her spare keys there. Finally finding it after lifting what seemed to be the fifteenth pot, a loud scream came from the house as Donghae inserted the key into the hole, entering the house as soon as he could. He rushed up to the room that he knew was her bedroom. Much to his horror, he found her in bed with her eyes squeez