The next few days passed quickly with everyone focused on Kangin. He stayed home more often, moping around sadly, and drinking Kyuhyun's wine. Kyuhyun didn't mind him though. Ryeowook made him sandwiches late at night. He and Leeteuk spent hours talking in the kitchen. And even Heechul was treating him a little nicer.

Everyone was acting weird. I didn't know why.. Until the day came.

The moving van rocked us back and forth as we drove through the bumpy road. I sat next to Zhou Mi, who was fiddling around with the Mario hat charm on his phone.  He wasn't in his best mood, but he looked good enough to brighten up the atmosphere a little.

Zhou Mi and I had some bonding time while everyone was busy being distressed. I visited his room often and he visited mine, since he and Henry didn't have anything on their schedule for a while. From what I saw in his videos, I've always thought he was just glamorous and gentleman-like. But in reality, he's really fun and dorky. Which makes him even more amazing!

The van came to a sudden stop and carefully to a gravel road. We moved slowly, but the trees became thicker as we kept going.

"Zhou Mi," I nudged him.

"Hmm?" he turned to me with a faint smile.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

He looked at me with saddened eyes for a moment before finally answering.

"We're sending Kangin off into the army."

*                          *                          *

I watched as the members stepped out of the other van, one by one. Last was Kangin. It wasn't long before the fan's screams became audible from inside.

There was a specially prepared stage in the middle of the concrete ground. Tents shrouded the sweating fans from the sun. Several reporters were also waiting for the members to step on stage. Leeteuk went first, waving at the fans, who were cheering loudly as ever.

"I didn't realize there was gonna be this many people," Henry murmured.

When they all stood on the platform, we hopped out. Following Zhou Mi's lead, we stood behind the crowd. Surprisingly, everyone's eyes were focused on Kangin, so no one noticed us.

"Thank you all for coming to my... departure," Kangin started. "As you know, all Korean men have to serve in the military for 2 years. And now is my time."

"I didn't know we were gonna doing this publicly," Henry said.

"CEO wanted Kangin to. He said it'd be easier to leave seeing us all at once, rather than saying good bye one by one," Zhou Mi puffed his cheeks.

"Why aren't you guys up there?" I asked curiously.

"We're..." he paused to glanced at Henry. "We're only in Super Junior M."

"Why does that matter?" I questioned again.

"Well... I don't think the fans would want us up there," he replied.

"Why not?" I looked at him, confused.

"Aish, you ask too many questions," he laughed, ruffling my hair.

Why wouldn't the fans want Zhou Mi and Henry up there? Zhou Mi is fabulous! And Henry is adorable! As curious as I was, I continued to watch Kangin deliver his speech.

"I hope you will keep supporting the Super Junior members even when I am not here," Kangin said. "I'm sure they'll keep working hard to perfect their performances for you guys."

"You are an eternal superstar! We will be here waiting! We love you, Kim Youngwoon!" the fans chanted. I'm assuming Kangin's real name is Youngwoon...

Suddeny, Kangin got down on his knees and bowed to his fans.

"Thank you for all your support over these past few years. I promise I will come back a better person."

At this point, I heard the fans sniffing and wailing. The girls in front of us were furiously waving their giant sign in the air. I tip-toed, trying to see over the sign. I pouted and turned to Zhou Mi, who didn't have a problem with looking over the sign. I envy his long legs...

"I will try to become a mature person on the inside and out," Kangin continued, getting off of the ground. "I will come back as a man who is worthy of being a member of Super Junior."

Tear-filled, he did another 90 degree bow. Leeteuk nudged him and turned to whisper. He must be telling him to cheer up...

"He's bald!" Leeteuk yelled out of the blue, trying to lighten up the mood.

The fans started laughing and shouting for him to take off his cap. A little embarrassed, he removed it and rubbed his head. His faux-hawk was gone, replaced by a buzz cut. He saluted and put his cap back on. Leeteuk, looking a little too cheery threw his arm around Kangin, while Siwon patted his back.

"Thank you for coming."

*                            *                            *

Although Leeteuk seemed the happiest at the ceremony, he came home crying his eyes out.

"He locked himself in his room," Eunhyuk said, hanging outside of Leeteuk's door.

"Hyung," Donghae called.

"Go away," we heard a faint muffle from inside.

"Hyung, we can talk about it," Eunhyuk put his face to the door.

"I don't wanna talk about it; go away," Leeteuk responded.

"It's no use..." Donghae frowned. "Mina, you try! He won't say no to you," he suggested.

"I-I don't know, Donghae," I replied, nervously. "Maybe we should leave him alone for a little. And we can try again later," I told him. "Come on, I'll make you guys some lunch," I pulled them into the kitchen before they could argue.

Sungmin joined for some ramen at the kitchen table. He wasn't all aegyo as he would usually be, but his face remained cute.

"I haven't seen Teuk hyung like this since..." Sungmin paused to think. "Since forever."

"I know... Imagine how the KangTeuk shippers feel," Eunhyuk added.

"KangTeuk?" I blurted out.

"Yeah, Kangin and Leeteuk. Like Eunhae! Eunhyuk and Donghae~" Donghae put an arm around Eunhyuk, grinning widely.

Eunhyuk squirmed around, whispering loudly, "Not in front of Mina!"

"So they were really close?" I asked.

"Yeah. Leeteuk's the one that's hurting most right now," Sungmin said. "I don't think he's coming out of his room anytime soon."

"He'll have to come out and eat eventually," Eunhyuk said.

"Well... If he doesn't wanna come out, then let him be. I could just bring food into his room for him," I shrugged.

"That's a perfect idea!" Donghae exclaimed.

"Huh?" Eunhyuk and Sungmin stared at him, eager to know what he's thinking.

"If Mina delievers food to him, he'll have to unlock his door to get it!" Donghae announced. "Then we'll choose the perfect time to sneak in," he smiled mischievously.

"Hmm... That might work," Eunhyuk agreed.

"Leeteuk likes ddeokbokki, right?" I remembered when we learned about each other on the first day he was off.

"Yes, yes," Sungmin said. "Make him ddeokbokki! He likes the rice cakes sliced thinner than usual," he added.

"Alright, I'll try my best," I told them, heading over to the fridge.

Grabbing onions, rice cakes, red pepper paste, and a few carrots, I began the dish.

. . .

"How does it look?" I held the plate towards Sungmin.

"Perfect! It smells really good... You should make some for dinner," he suggested.

"Alright, be sure to call him oppa. He likes it when girls call him oppa," Eunhyuk snickered. "He's getting too old for this," he and Donghae started cracking up.

"Shhh!" Sungmin hushed them. "Okay, let's go hide in Hyuk's room."

They tip-toed down the hall and into Eunhyuk's room, giving me a thumbs up.

Knock knock...

"Didn't I tell you to go away?" an annoyed voice mumbled.

"I-it's Mina," I stuttered, taken aback by his tone.

The guys poked their head out of Eunhyuk's door and mouthed "OPPA".

"Umm... Oppa," I unintentionally emphasized the word. "I brought some food for you."

"I'm not hungry," he responded, sounding less frightening.

"It's ddeokbokki, oppa," I told him.

A few seconds later, I heard footsteps and the sound of his door unlocking. He cracked his door open, looking left and right to see if anyone else was out in the hall. Fortunately, the guys stuck their heads back into Eunhyuk's room.

"Come in," he invited me. He sat back down on his bed and took the plate of ddeobokki from me. "Thanks. It smells delicious," he said, taking a bite. "And tastes delicious too."

"I personally made it for you, oppa~" I smiled.

"And it's even sliced thin." I saw a faint smile form on his lips. "Wow, you really know how to make me feel better, don't you?"

I smiled in reply, watching him eat. His mood seemed to have lightened a little. Until he finished his food...

"Nothing's gonna be the same anymore," he sighed. "It feels empty without Kangin here."

"There's the other members to keep you company," I said.

"But they're not Kangin," he frowned. Sighing again, he muttered, "I'm a really bad leader."

"What? Don't say that! You're a great leader, Leeteuk!"

"I'm the oldest. I was supposed to enlist first. But Kangin volunteered in my place... He thought that he should go instead because of his last two scandals."

"Oh.. What did he do?" I asked.

"He was charged for DUI and a hit-and-run... Then he got into a fight at a bar," he explained. "It's only been a few hours... and I miss him already," he started tearing up again.

Unsure of what to do, I fidgeted around before finally deciding to sit next to him on the bed. I tried comforting him with a gentle voice.

"It's okay, oppa. He didn't want to cause anymore trouble here. Just imagine... Every day, you're one day closer to seeing him come home."

He sniffed. "You're right... I told him to cheer up instead of shedding tears and feeling sad. So I should do the same." Wiping his eyes, he put on a weak smile. "Can you get me a glass of water, Mina?"

"Alright," I said, taking his empty plate. "I'll be right back."

I left his door cracked open so I could get back in later. Sungmin, Donghae, and Eunhyuk rushed up to me asking how it went.

"The door is unlocked," I told them.

"Thanks," Donghae whispered, gesturing for the others to break into Leeteuk's room.

Hearing the door slam, I suppose they made it in... I continued to the fridge and poured a cold glass of water.

Wow. Kangin's not around anymore. I've only known him for a week or so... But the dorm seems a bit glum. He was a vocalist, wasn't he...? So what happens when they perform and it's Kangin's line?

"Meow," I heard. The grey cat rubbed itself on Leeteuk's door.

"Hi, Heebum," I said. "Do you want to go in?"

Heebum started scratching the door. I knocked. And almost immediately, the door opened wide enough for Heebum to squeeze through. A familiar face stared at me, expressionless. But it wasn't Leeteuk.

"Heechul," I blinked. "Err... Can I come in?" I asked, holding up Leeteuk's water.

Without a word, he left the door and sat back down on Leeteuk's bed. Then that means Sungmin, Eunhyuk, and Donghae never made it in here...? I handed Leeteuk his glass of water and stood next to his bed awkwardly.

"Thanks," he said, taking a sip. "That ddeokbokki was spicy," he laughed.

"Make me some ddeokbokki..." Heechul told me.

I pouted at his demand. He always has something for me to do when I see him... "How about you wait until dinner, and I'll make ddeokbokki for everyone?"

"Fine," he agreed.

Heechul and Leeteuk started talking about their own thing as I stood like a statue. Heechul his cat as he talked, reminding me of how much of an evil mastermind he seemed. Pfft, who am I kidding. He IS an evil mastermind. Their little conversation ended in awkward silence.

"So... Why are you still standing there?" Heechul questioned me. "Get out."

To think he got just a LITTLE nicer today...

"Hey, don't be like that, Heechul," Leeteuk told him. "Come on, sit next to oppa," he said, patting the space on his bed.

"Oppa?" Heechul scoffed.

"Yeah, she calls me oppa. Right, Mina?" he grinned.

"Right, oppa..." I replied.

"That's cute... Now go sweep the floor or something," Heechul glared at me.

"Heechul, quit bossing her around," Leeteuk defended.

"Isn't this what she's here for? Cleaning, cooking, waking us up? She should be doing her job."

"Well since she's taking care of us, you should treat her better..."

"No one asked her to be here," Heechul muttered.

"Yah, Manager hyung did. What's wrong with you...?" Leeteuk furrowed his eyebrows. "Mina, has Heechul been bullying you?"

I looked from him to Heechul's aggrivated face. Pouting, I stayed silent.

"Does that mean yes?" Leeteuk raised a brow. "Kim Heechul, wait until I get my hands on you later..." he glared at Heechul.

"Whatever," Heechul turned away.

"...Mina, why do you have all those bandages on your leg?" he asked, poking one of them.

I jerked in surprise as he poked another one. Again, I glared at Heechul without a word.

"What did you do, Heechul...? You two have problems don't you? Omo, I can't imagine what might've happened on that day you were off," he said to Heechul.

"Nothing happened!" he exclaimed. "Besides, Yesung took care of that," he refered to my leg.

"Yah! What do you mean, 'nothing happened'?" I interjected.

"So something DID happen," Leeteuk looked at Heechul suspiciously.

"He used me to clean the house all day! And he made me clean his room after making powder and styrofoam fly everywhere!" I whined.

"Hey, I needed my room cleaned!" Heechul argued.

"If you wanted it cleaned, you coulda just asked! You didn't have to make a bigger mess!"

"I had to make sure it was spotless!"

"Stop yelling!" Leeteuk jumped in. "Heechul, don't do ridiculous things like that. Apologize to Mina," he demanded.

"What, why? She was doing her job," he said.

"Ridiculous. Apol-"

He was cut off by three figures bursting in through the door. Of course, it was Sungmin, Donghae, and Eunhyuk. They jumped on the bed and rolled around.

"Hyungggg~!" they sang.

Donghae had a duck plushie, while Eunhyuk had a yellow duck blanket. Sungmin, on the other hand, had a hand puppet, and started blabbering in an aegyo voice.

Assuming he had better company now, I left the room.

*                            *                            *

It was time for dinner and I was prepared to make more ddeokbokki. After taking the same ingredients out of the fridge, I headed over to the sink to wash my hands. I pumped soap out of the dispenser, noticing it was blue. Since when did we get blue soap...?

I made sure I washed my hands well, rubbing them together. I rinsed the blue tinted suds off... But for some reason the blue stayed on my hands. Hmm... Should I use more soap to wash it off?

I put more soap in my hand, washing it thoroughly. I rinsed the suds off again. MY HANDS WERE EVEN BLUER.

"Kyaaa, what is this??" I panicked, drying my hands off with a towel.

"What's wrong, Honey?" Zhou Mi stepped beside me.

"Look! It won't come off!" I showed him my blue hands.

He looked almost as confused as I did. "How'd this happen?"

"I don't know! I was washing my hands, and the new soap made my hands blue!"

"New soap?" he raised an eyebrow. He blinked at the soap dispenser before reaching over to squirt some of the blue concoction in his palm.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Getting my hands blue with you," he laughed. Rinsing his hands off, they were only lightly tinted blue. He repeated the process.

"Wait, WHY?" I cocked an eyebrow. "Should I be stopping you?"

"Haha, no. Someone put food coloring in here... Any idea who did this?" he questioned.

It was obviously Heechul. He knew I had to wash my hands to make dinner sooner or later.

"Kim Heechul," I pouted. "It's gotta be him," I stated.

"Are you sure?" Zhou Mi asked.

"Positive," I assured him.

"Then let's go find him."

Before I could ask why, he pulled me up to Heechul's door and knocked. A bored-looking Heechul opened the door with a "What do you want?"

"Explain." Zhou Mi held out his blue hands.

Heechul blinked for a second before he could register what just happened. "Why didn't you just wash your hands in the bathroom over there?" he pointed across the hall.

"So what if I wanted to wash my hands in the kitchen?" he glowered. "You should say sorry."

Heechul sighed, almost amused.

"I know it was for Mina, Heechul," Zhou mi held my hand out, showing him my tinted blue skin. "You should say sorry," he repeated.

Heechul smirked, turning away. "No," he said, bluntly. "I'll see you at the dinner table," he added, closing his door.

"Yah, stop being mean! Why won't you apologize?" Zhou Mi shouted at the door.

"Because no," I heard Heechul chuckle.

Giving up, Zhou Mi led me into the bathroom to wash our hands off with regular soap. It took about four rinses to finally get our hands clean again.

I returned to the kitchen to see Ryeowook already boiling the rice cakes. Working together, we quickly made enough ddeokbokki to serve everyone.

At the dinner table, Zhou Mi wouldn't quit bugging Heechul about what had happened earlier. Leeteuk joined in, bringing up the topic of my bandages again. They teamed up on him, telling him to apologize, while everyone listened, not knowing what was going on.

The whole time, the only thing I could think about was how cute Yesung looked eating ddeokbokki. And they'd never know what was going through my mind.

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Chapter 13 Preview:
"Yah, this is kidnap if you don't tell me!" I yelled.
"It's not kidnap if you agreed to come with me," Heechul smirked.

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Helloooo~!

I didn't think I'd finish this before I go to sleep... But here it is!

The y Free & Single repackage is gonna be released on Aug 6th! They're calling it "SPY." I feel like the A-CHA should've been called SPY... Y'know, the all-black outfits with the cameras. It'd be perfect.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please vote, comment, and fan!
I love you all~! <3