“Ice cream,” Sungjongie whispered into my ear as the corners of his lips quirked up into a devilish smirk. I turned to give him an admonishing glare. We had already snuck out for ice cream once this week. He met my expression with an adorable pout and then proceeded to quietly repeat, “ice cream, ice cream, ice cream.”

            I continuously shook my head no as he chanted on; then he found my weakness.

            “Please noona,” he whined. There was something about being called noona by Sungjong that melted my heart. Sungjong had said in an interview that he thought of me as his real noona and that it wasn’t just a title he used because I was older. To him I was his older sister.

            “Alright,” I sighed. I felt instant gratification for giving in to his pleas as his face lit up like it was Christmas morning. He firmly hoisted me up off the ground by my arms and threw my coat at me. I hid a smile as I watched him bustle around looking for my shoes and my white winter hat he bought me for my birthday a month before. He placed the thick wool hat on my head with a cheeky grin that nearly split his face in two.

            It was almost 11 PM as we snuck silently out the front door of our small living space. Luckily the boys were all in their rooms preparing for sleep. We had an early schedule in the morning, which was one of many reasons that I should have said no to our little ice cream retreat. Manager Jungryl was spending the evening with his family which meant this was one of the only times we could go on one of our late night snack adventures. Sharing a room with your manager made it hard to be rebellious.

            As soon as we were out of the house Sungjong started bouncing with excitement. I wasn’t sure if it was the ice cream that he was so excited about or if it was the thrill of sneaking out and being mischievous. Either way I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as Sungjong excitedly told me a story while he expertly walked backwards down the sidewalk. This way he could grab my full attention as he babbled a mile a minute. He was so animated when he told a story; talking with big hand gestures and acting out facial expressions. He had me laughing in no time.

            The ice cream place was only four blocks from our dorm and we were already approaching the market across from the soju tent. This marked the halfway point. I was wishing the ice cream place was further away so these adventures would last a little longer, when I noticed an older man stumble out of the soju tent. I eyed the ahjussi to see which way he was going so that we could avoid him if need be. He started off in the opposite direction and I relaxed looking back to Sungjong as he was imitating one of the trainee girls snob faces. I threw my head back laughing; not noticing that the ahjussi had changed courses and was heading towards us.

            I brought my view back to the front only in time to helplessly watch as Sungjong accidently backed his way right into the man. The ahjussi flew back on his uneven feet and landed unceremoniously on the pavement.

            “Omo, mianhae!” Sungjongie cried as he rushed to help the man up, but the man roughly slapped Sungjong's hands away from him. Sungjong held his hands in shock as he backed up to where I stood. We watched as the man struggled his way to his feet.

            “No respect,” he drunkenly yelled in Sungjong’s face as he staggered forward.

            “Yah!” I yelled up at him. I was fuming after the man had slapped Sungjong’s hands. “You back away from him.”

            The man’s eyes flashed down at me with anger as he noticed me there for the first time. I met his angry eyes with a cold stare of my own.

            “Noona, let’s just go,” Sungjong fervently whispered into my ear.

            I allowed Sungjong to pull me past the stranger, but the man apparently was not done with me. I gasped as he grabbed me by my shoulders and threw me against the wall of the nearest building. Despite all of the strength and endurance I had built up from nearly two years of training, I flew into the wall like I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

            I heard a loud thwack and my vision suddenly blurred. All of the air in my lungs made one giant exodus; leaving me to gasp and choke in pain. I could just barely see the man in front of me as he started to scream in my face. I could hear his words, but I couldn’t make any sense out of them. The world slowly turned black. I thought I could hear Sungjong screaming “noona” but it sounded as if he was under water for some reason. Maybe I was underwater. Was I drowning?

            My legs had gone limp and the only thing keeping me up was the man’s death grip on my upper arms. It felt like my bones would snap under the pressure and I couldn’t stop myself from whimpering in pain. Sungjong yelled something and I heard a heavy thud as the man’s arms vanished and I was allowed to fall deeper into the darkness.

            It had taken all of Sungjong’s strength to push that man off of his noona. The man dwarfed them both by at least half of their body sizes. The image of that large ahjussi holding noona up like a limp ragdoll was the scariest thing he had ever seen. The painful sound she made as he squeezed her arms nearly made him lose his mind. Sungjong could hear the sound playing over and over again in his head

            And all of this is my fault.

            He was able to catch noona before she hit the sidewalk in front of the store front. He supported her head with his hands and screamed for her to wake up, but her eyes were rolling back into her skull. She was no longer making strangled choking sounds, but her breathing was shallow. Sungjong wasn’t sure which was worse.

            He turned to watch as the man lurched back to his feet and headed for them with his arm held up to hit noona. He yelled out as he covered her body with his own, but a hit never fell.

            A younger man that was walking down the street ran over and struggled with the ahjussi; pinning his arms behind his back. The ahjussi stopped struggling quickly as he realized he was trapped by the larger, stronger man.

            “Is she okay?” their rescuer asked.

            “No, I don’t think so,” Sungjong sniveled as he tried to control his tears for noona’s sake.

            “Kyung Soon call 119,” the new guy yelled to a woman that Sungjong hadn’t noticed was standing behind them.

            “Do you have any family you should call?” he said, loosening his grip a little on the now limp ahjussi.

            Sungjong retrieved his phone from his pocket with shaky hands. It took him three attempts to dial Sunggyu’s number correctly.

            “Hello?” Sunggyu answered sounding tired and confused. “Sungjong, why are you calling me from your room?”

            “Noona’s hurt,” Sungjong wailed into the phone; not caring who heard him.

            “What did you just say?” Sunggyu’s pitch raised in alarm. Through the phone, Sungjong could hear the slamming of doors as Sunggyu searched for them only to find that they weren’t there. “Where are you?”

            Hearing Sunggyu’s voice was comforting, but for some reason, it only worsened Sungjong’s deteriorating mental state.

            “We.. were.. going to get… ice cream,” Sungjong stuttered out through chest wrenching sobs.

            “Don’t move! We’re coming.” He heard Sunggyu say in a tight voice before the phone went dead. He dropped it to the ground and went back to holding his unresponsive noona.

            When he went to wipe the tears and snot from his face he became paralyzed with fear. His hand was stained red with warm blood from the back of noona’s head.

            Woohyun put his shoes on faster than ever before after Sunggyu came bursting into the room in a panicked frenzy. He told him something bad had happened to Sungjong and Julia and then he left the room without another word. There was no time to ask questions as he struggled to keep up with Sunggyu; who was heading for the door without a second thought for the other members. Dongwoo attempted to ask questions anyway as all 6 members ran out of the house and down the street, but no one had any answers for him.

            They were only running for less than a minute when he saw a crowd of figures on the sidewalk ahead. There was a young man holding an unconscious ahjussi while a woman stood next to him with a worried expression on her face. He followed her gaze to see Sungjongie on the ground holding someone that could only be Julia. He could hear Sungjong’s terrifying wails as he made futile attempts to wake her up.

            Woohyun’s feet faltered a little and he staggered to a stop in front of the scene, but Sunggyu kept running until he collapsed on his knees in front of Sungjong and noona. Woohyun slowly approached the three of them; leaving the other boys where they stood in shocked silence at what they were witnessing. Woohyun would’ve hung back with them, but he wanted to stay close to his hyung.

            “Isn’t her h-hat supposed to be w-white,” Sungyeol stammered behind him.

            Woohyun saw that he was right. The white wool cap that Sungjong had bought noona for her birthday was partially red now with what could only be blood. Nausea hit his stomach like a fist. What happened to her?

            Sunggyu was cradling her head and lightly slapping her cheeks as Woohyun came up behind him. He cringed as Sungjong began making terrible choked sob sounds as he sat shaking on the sidewalk. Woohyun hated feeling so useless so he came up behind Sungjong and hugged him tightly around his back. He quietly pulled him away from the other two and held him as he sobbed. At least he could do this.

            He heard a scuffle and saw that Hoya had found the attacker and was giving him a piece of his mind. Hoya’s Busan temper was unleashed as he screamed in the unconscious man’s face. Dongwoo and Myungsoo grabbed Hoya’s arms and kept him from striking out at the man as he raged.

            Woohyun turned his attention back to Sunggyu and noona. Sunggyu’s quiet attempts at waking her were not working. An idea came to him.

            “Sing to her,” he suggested.

            “What?” Sunggyu’s head whipped around and the unrestrained fear in his eyes scared Woohyun more than anything.

            “Try singing to her.”

            Sunggyu took a deep breath before he turned back to noona and started to sing. Woohyun recognized the song immediately; “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles. It was the first song they had ever heard noona sing. That night they had all fallen in love with her after hearing her pure voice. Sunggyu had downloaded the song and had been listening to it since then when he thought no one was looking; but Woohyun knew.

            Sunggyu’s tears fell onto noona’s face as he closed his eyes and gently leaned his forehead against hers. Everyone became silent as he got to the chorus and sang louder. Even the wind held its breath as Sunggyu’s voice traveled into the chilly night air.

            Woohyun heard Sungyeol gasp behind him and he looked over to see why. Sungyeol pointed as noona’s hand started moving. Her hand found its way weakly to Sunggyu’s chest and rested right over his heart. Her fingers loosely clung to his shirt in an attempt to keep her arm aloft.

            Tears of relief came to Woohyun’s eyes as he heard the most beautiful sound. She started to sing. Her eyes were still closed, but he watched in shock as her lips moved. Her hushed singing broke in and out like an old radio but there was no denying that she was singing along.

            Sunggyu quieted as her heavy eyelids began to flutter. She struggled to keep them open. Woohyun moved in closer to get a good look at her and he didn’t like what he saw. Her eyes that were normally so clear and bright were dull and glossy. Woohyun held Sungjong’s head against his shoulder so he wouldn’t see. Sunggyu visibly held back a sob as her eyes rolled around.          Finally, her eyes seemed to clear a little as she located Sunggyu’s face. Her hand left his chest to rest heavily on his cheek. Sunggyu brought his hand to rest on top of hers.

            Her eyes fixed themselves on Sunggyu’s and she started to mumble. Their leader quickly brought his ear to and looked up at Woohyun as he tried to discern her words. Woohyun watched in awe as a smile broke across his hyung’s face. Sunggyu faced her again and Woohyun saw that she now had a sloppy smile on her drowsy face.

            “What’d she say?”

            “She said it would’ve been easier to find me if I opened my eyes more,” he answered; his eyes never leaving hers. Woohyun couldn’t help but smile. Even Hoya who was still seething, smirked at the wise crack.

            Her fingers lightly traced the shape of Sunggyu’s lips as he beamed down at her. She was clearly in a daze. She never showed any signs of  affection for Sunggyu in front of them, but her sudden fondness did not come as a surprise to Woohyun. She normally gave affection to everyone except for Sunggyu. The other members thought it was because she didn’t get along with their tough leader, but Woohyun knew the truth. He knew that she was harboring secret feelings for the man she constantly fought with. Woohyun was more perceptive than anyone gave him credit for. Of course, no one knew what he knew. He didn’t want to know what would happen if Woolim Entertainment knew about their feelings for each other.

            Sunggyu was able to keep her focused until the ambulance arrived. He had to move back and stand beside Woohyun and Sungjong as they got her onto a stretcher. She attempted to keep her eyes locked on Gyu’s, but she was beginning to drift off again. The paramedics flashed lights in her eyes and started asking her questions as they rolled her into the ambulance.

            “One of you should come with us to help keep her awake,” the paramedic said from the back of the ambulance. Sunggyu jumped in the back of the vehicle without hesitation. “Woohyun call Jungryl,” he yelled over his shoulder.

            “We’ll meet you there,” Woohyun yelled back as the ambulance doors slammed shut and they took off into the night.

            The ride over to the hospital with Manager Jungryl was not in any way enjoyable. Jungryl was yelling half the time about how irresponsible they were to sneak out at night. He was mad at Sungjong because any idiot could tell he was the main perpetrator of the ice cream adventure. They all knew noona had a soft spot in her heart for Sungjong. Jongie was still crying in the back of the van. He no longer was accepting comfort from his band mates as he most likely felt he was to blame for the whole situation. The manager yelled on about how foolish she was to give in to the maknae’s childish ideas. Everyone wore expressionless masks as they tuned him out.

            It felt like hours had passed by the time they pulled up to the hospital. Woohyun was out of the van and into the building first; looking around wildly for Sunggyu. He found him as he approached one of the emergency care corridors. Sunggyu was madly pacing across the small width of the hall; wringing his hands together. When he spotted Woohyun he stopped pacing and hung his head with an expression of pure misery on his face. Woohyun rushed towards him and gathered him into a hug. He held the back of his head down so that it was buried in his shoulder as he muttered comforting nothings in his ear.

            Once they were found by everyone else Sunggyu backed away, rubbing his puffy eyes as he did.

            “And you!” manager Jungryl yelled a little too loudly for their new setting. “You are supposed to be in charge of the members while I am gone. How is it that the two of them are running about the city at night, alone?”

            Sunggyu silently bowed his head in apology and said, “I will take full responsibility for their actions. It’s my fault. I wasn’t keeping a close enough eye on them. I should be punished for my carelessness.”

            Jungryl just stared at him; his anger dissipating a little. “I’m going to go find a doctor and make some calls. The media will be all over this if they find out. Just be good while I’m gone.”

            Sunggyu stayed with his head down and stared at the floor. He was there physically, but mentally he was a million miles away; wrapped up in his own anxiety and guilt. This was one of those instances where Woohyun had to take over leadership duties.

            “You guys should go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. It might be awhile before there is any word.”

            The other members reluctantly went to the cafeteria after Woohyun promised that he would text them if the doctor came out. As soon as they were alone Sunggyu slumped to the ground and Woohyun was glad to join him. He held his leader’s hand as they waited in silence.

            Woohyun’s mind raced with different worries as he rested his head on the wall. All of them loved noona and most likely everyone had developed a little crush on her at some point in time, but they were able to let it go. She certainly wasn’t having it. She was serious about the contract and keeping them one happy family. She never wanted to be treated differently than any other member and for the most part she wasn’t, but Sunggyu was a whole different story.

            Woohyun was the only one who saw it. He wasn’t even sure if noona was aware of Sunggyu’s feelings for her. He knew Sunggyu better than anyone and he knew that if Sunggyu was anything; it was stubborn. When he decided he wanted something he would fight for it. In this situation Sunggyu couldn’t go after her, but Woohyun could see how much he wanted too. He knew on their first night together as a group that Sunggyu was acting differently. At first Woohyun thought it was because he was trying to assert himself as a leader, but it quickly became clear to him that Julia had something to do with it. He had picked up on little things ever since.

            It was the night of their debut that Woohyun realized just how serious Sunggyu’s feelings were. Noona and Sungjong had fallen asleep slumped over each other in the back seat. Everyone else piled out and went to bed leaving the sleeping members to Sunggyu and Woohyun to deal with them. Woohyun had pulled Sungjong out first and started walking him towards the house, but Sungjong had woken and refused his help; insisting he could walk on his own. Woohyun let him go and decided to go back to the van to see if  Sunggyu needed help. When he got to the van though, he stopped. He approached the back window and watched  as Sunggyu stared down at Julia with a small smile as she slept. He reached out once to touch her face but resisted with visible difficulty.

            Instead of trying to wake her up, Sunggyu had slowly scooped her into his arms. He awkwardly got out of the van as he tried not to jostle her in his arms, but Woohyun heard her grumble in her sleep. Sunggyu stopped dead as she woke up a little but she only snuggled her head into his chest and fell back asleep. Woohyun hid behind the van and watched as Sunggyu just stood there for a minute looking lovingly at his burden. After a moment he sighed and brought her into the house, leaving Woohyun outside without ever noticing him there.

            Since that night he had watched them both closely, but now he didn’t have to look closely in order to feel the anguish Sunggyu was going through. He loved her. That was clear to Woohyun now whether his friend was aware of his own feelings or not. She was the only one Sunggyu looked at. And now she was lying in a hospital bed.

            As time drew on at the hospital, Sunggyu gave in to his tears again and leaned his head on Woohyun’s shoulder. Woohyun rested his cheek on the top of his leader’s head and let out a tired sigh.

            He held back his own tears for the sake of his leader that had always been there for him. He was worried about noona too, but in some ways he was more worried about Sunggyu and what this was doing to him. Julia and Sunggyu were the strongest people he knew. They were the people he looked up to the most in this world and with them both in such disastrous states he had no choice but to be the strong one. As he sat there holding his leaders trembling hand he held all of his own pain and fear inside. He didn’t spill a single tear.

            Eventually, the other boys made their way back to Woohyun and Sunggyu as they continuously waited for word on noona’s condition. Once again Sunggyu separated himself from Woohyun as the members got closer.

            Only moments after the member’s silent arrival, the doctor emerged from the doors and approached Sunggyu. He had bolted to his feet as soon as the door moved. They all held their breath as they waited for the news.

            “She’s awake,” the pretty female doctor said with a smile. “We are confident that she is going to be alright. She has a concussion, a lot of bruising, and she lost a bit of blood from her head wound, but luckily there was no damage to her skull or brain. I was told by paramedics that she had been wearing a winter hat at the time of the incident and I believe it may have helped to cushion the blow to her head. She will need to stay in the hospital for observation and when she does go home she should rest often. Too much movement can disorient her the first few days, but she should be just fine.”

            They all let out sighs of relief. Sungjong took up crying again and Sungyeol couldn’t stop himself from clapping with joy. They all bowed and thanked the doctor profusely for her efforts.

            “Can we see her?” Sunggyu asked.

            “I’m afraid if we don’t let you see her she will get out of the bed and come find you herself,” the doctor said with a laugh. “She’s a fiery one.”

            They all chuckled knowingly as the doctor led them to her.

            When they all piled into the room they found a very happy and smiley noona sitting up in her bed. She had a bandage wrapped around her head that came down right above her eyes; almost covering her eyebrows. Her long brown hair flowed down underneath it. Even in her tired and injured state she still looked beautiful to Woohyun.

            Sungjong was a tear stained mess as he ran to her bedside. She opened her arms weakly so he could give her a hug. He immediately became a blubbering mess as she pulled him into the hospital bed with her. He snuggled under her chin as she waved at everyone else to come over.

            Woohyun stood with Sunggyu by the door and observed as the rest of the guys surrounded her and asked her questions left and right. She smiled brightly and tried her best to answer them all. They were all excited that she was okay and felt the need to do something for her. Hoya insisted on rubbing her feet. Dongwoo felt like he had to do something too so they both sat at the foot of the bed; each rubbing one of her feet even as she insisted that they don’t.

            Sungyeol sat in the chair on noona’s right side and asked her if she wanted to hear a story. She exclaimed “yes” and sat up higher so she could intently watch his face as he told a ridiculous story about a lonely girl carrot falling in love with a flower boy cucumber. Woohyun had no idea where Sungyeol came up with this stuff.

            Myungsoo sat in the chair on her other side and periodically forced her to drink water; which Woohyun knew Sunggyu must be appreciating. Every once in awhile Myungsoo would touch her long hair and swirl it around the pillow with his delicate fingers as he softly smiled; which Sunggyu probably wasn’t appreciating, Woohyun mused with a smirk.

            As Sungyeol’s story progressed, Sungjong drifted off to sleep still in noona’s arms. It had been a long night for the young maknae. Dongwoo eventually decided he would make his own additions to Sungyeol's story, causing very loud and very ridiculous arguments. This of course sent her into laughing hysterics that visibly hurt her. Her fit woke Sungjong who grumbled and clutched reflexively at her bruised arm in his sleepy state. She winced in pain at the contact at first, but then she smiled adoringly at him as he drifted off again.

            Sunggyu moved to go yell at the guys as soon as he saw her face contorting in pain, but Woohyun grabbed his arm to stop him.

            “Look at her,” Woohyun said mesmerized.

            Sunggyu looked and saw what Woohyun saw; that she was genuinely happy. Her eyes which were so lifeless before were sparkling with humor and love for her band mates. Sunggyu smiled a little to himself and leaned back as he finally relaxed.

            I slept surrounded by my favorite people in the world for an hour before a nurse came in to wake me up and ask me my name and the date. She explained that they had to check on me regularly because of my concussion. When she was satisfied with my condition she told me I could go back to sleep for another hour.  

            She left quietly; trying not to disturb the seven boys I had sleeping in my little hospital room. I slowly observed all the boys in their sleeping states. Sungjongie was still snuggled in the crook of my neck. His lips moved against my skin every once in awhile as he mumbled in his sleep. The pressure of his weight hurt my achy body, but it felt right having him there. I felt like I could breathe when they were around me.

            The rappers were passed out slumped over my feet. I chuckled to myself as I saw that Dongwoo was drooling on the blanket; dangerously close to Hoya’s peaceful face. Sungyeol was asleep in his chair with his long legs resting on the bed beside me. His toes were curled up under my thigh close to my behind, but I didn’t mind.

            Myungsoo was still in the chair to my left wrapped up in his coat. His sleeping face was nuzzled against my pillow; just inches from me. I couldn’t resist reaching out and running my finger down the bridge of his nose. I smiled to myself because I knew that he was one of the hardest people to wake up. I resisted the impulse to amuse myself by playing with his cheeks.

            Across the room I spied Sunggyu and Woohyun. Sunggyu was sleeping sitting up with his back against the wall. His arms rested on an unconscious Woohyun, who was sprawled across the floor with his head in his leader’s lap. I couldn’t help but worry that he might be cold lying on the ground like that.

            I was sad as I saw that Sunggyu’s chin was resting on his chest; effectively hiding his face from my view. I could only see the top of his head. There was nothing I wanted more at this point than to see his eyes smiling. I needed to see him.

            As if he heard my thoughts he woke up. He surveyed the room slowly as he stretched his arms above his head with an adorable yawn that made his eyes disappear. When he discovered me watching him his eyes widened in surprise. He mouthed the word “hi” and I mouthed it back to him with a little wave. We just stared at each other for a few minutes; wrapped up in our own thoughts.

            The moment ended with Sunggyu pointing at me and signing for me to sleep. He put his hands together like a pillow and rubbed his own sleepy face against it. I pouted and shook my head back and forth slowly in response. His shoulders shook as he laughed without making a sound. He bent his head down to try to keep me from seeing his silly grin, but he couldn’t get it past me. When he looked back up his face was stern and he signed for me to sleep with more force. The pillow no longer seemed so soft. I laughed as quietly as possible at his attempt at silent leadership.

            My hushed outburst jostled Sungjong again and he mumbled “noona noona” in his sleep. I nodded my head in response to Sunggyu’s request and I laid my cheek on the top of Sungjongie's head as I slowly rubbed his back in a circular motion.

            I peeked at Sunggyu with one eye a couple times, but he was still watching me with a serious face to make sure I went to sleep. I couldn’t help but doze off with a stupid smile plastered on my face.