The ring of the phone echoes through the dorm. Ren groans and rolls over, “I’m not getting it.”

Baekho quickly gets up and runs out to the living room. He holds up the phone to his ear, “Yeoboseyo.”

“Oh god,” Baekho sighs, “Is he okay?”

“Okay, kamsamnida,” Baekho says solemnly before he puts the phone down.

Aron and Ren are now wide awake, leaning against the door frame of the bedroom. Baekho’s knees give way and he falls to the ground, unable to see from the tears in his eyes. Nothing needs to be said before Aron and Ren realise what has happened.

Ren runs back into the bedroom and pulls the covers off JR’s bed in one quick motion, they fall to the floor. Ren collapsed onto the empty bed, tears well up in his eyes and he begins to cry; mourning the loss of another brother.

Aron stands there in pure shock; Unable to move, unable to breath. After a few minutes he snaps back to reality, walks over to the kitchen counter and in one quick movement knocks everything on the counter to the floor. Glasses and bowls smash onto the floor, sharp shards of glass spread across the kitchen. Aron screams out and drops to the floor, lying on broken glass.

“No, not again,” Aron mutters.

Baekho is the first to compose himself. He stands up and wipes away the trail of tears down his cheek with his sleeve.

“He’s not dead you know,” he says as he stumbles over to Aron.

 Ren reappears in the door way, with a sudden sense of hope, “What do you mean?”

“He was tortured, he had all his fingernails ripped off, 5 toes removed and his face and torso severely burned. He’s in intensive care,” Baekho sniffles.

Aron wretches as the thought.

“So is he going to be okay?” Aron says as he stands up and brushes the shards of glass off himself.

Baekho sighs, “I don’t know. I doubt it.”

“Can we go see him?” Aron questions earnestly.

Baekho shakes his head briskly, “He is under careful watch, and all we would see is a warped body that once resembled him.”

The image in Ren’s mind makes him cringe, “So what do we do?”

“Sit around and wait for any other news I guess,” Baekho mutters as he seats himself on the couch.

Aron sits down beside him, “Whoever is doing this, please stop, enough is enough.”

There is a long silence which is only interrupted when a loud ring echoes through the dorm from the bedroom. They exchange looks for a moment.

“JR’s phone…” Baekho mutters.

Aron groans in annoyance, “Fine, I’ll get it.”

He walks into the bedroom. Baekho and Ren stand there in silence until he re-enters with the phone in his hand.

“Who was it?” Baekho questions.

“The manager, he wants us to go see him,” Aron explains.

“Why?” Baekho says, realising the answer as soon as the words had left his mouth. He stands up and starts walking towards the door.

“Probably about Minhyun and JR,” Aron says as he follows behind Baekho, exiting the dorm.

“Wait for me!” Ren calls as he runs after them.

“Thanks for coming, take a seat,” the manager says as he beckons the three to sit down. There are only two chairs, Aron sits in one, Baekho sits in the other. Ren looks around in search of another chair, Baekho wordlessly offers for Ren to sit on his lap. Ren quickly sits down, as he does he feels Baekho’s arms wrap around his waist.

“So,” Baekho starts, “What did you call us for?”

The manager sighs, “It’s about the recent….issues, that have occurred recently. Some of us have discussed it and we have decided to put NU’EST on hiatus.”

This surprises the three.

“Why can’t we just tell the public what’s happening?” Aron asks angrily.

“Because we don’t want the public involved in the case. It will just make things more complicated. The public will be upset and outraged and I can promise that it won’t end well,” the manager explains.

Aron calms down, understanding the situation more.

“So what are we meant to do now?” Baekho says as he buries his face into Ren’s back.

The manager hesitates for a moment, “Just rest and try not to go into the public too much.”

Nothing is said for a few minutes and in the end the manager speaks up, “You can go now.”

Without anything else said, Aron, Ren and Baekho leave the room and walk back to the dorm. Aron is the last in the door and accidently slams it. Baekho and Ren both turn and look at him angrily.

“Miane,” Aron murmurs.

They all slump down beside each other on the coach, mentally exhausted. 

There is a long awkward silence. It is only broken when there is a rapid knock on the door. For a moment no one moves. The knocking occurs again, more desperate this time.

Ren sighs and trudges over to the door and opens it.

“Is Kang Dong Ho here?” A man dressed in a police uniform says firmly as he pushes himself past Ren into the living room.

“Uhhh yeah, over there,” Ren says hesitantly as he points to Baekho, on the couch.

Baekho stands up slowly as the man approaches him.

“Can I help you?” Baekho questions.

“Ne, can you turn around and put your hands behind your back?” The man asks calmly.

Baekho hesitates but follows the man’s instructions. The man pulls a pair of metal handcuffs from the back of his utility belt and begins to clip them onto Baekho’s wrists, locking them into place.

“Kang Dong Ho, you are under arrest for the suspicion of murdering Hwang Min Hyun and for the kidnapping and torturing Kim Jong Hyun,” The man says as he begins to pull Baekho by cuffs out of the dorm.

“What? There’s been a mistake,” Baekho stutters as he struggles to maintain his balance as he is being dragged away.

“No, no mistake,” the officer replies firmly.

They exit the dorm and the door is shut, leaving Aron and Ren in a state shock.

“But he couldn’t….could he?” Aron murmurs.

“I guess you were right,” Ren says softly as he sits beside him on the couch, where Baekho sat only a moment ago. He lays his head on Aron’s shoulder, “Does that mean this is the end?”

Aron thinks for a moment, “I guess so.”

A single tear falls from Ren’s eyes onto his chest, “Why? Why did he do something like this?”

Aron stands up abruptly. Without Aron to support him, Ren falls onto the couch.

“I don’t even want to think about this right now,” Aron says solemnly before walking into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Ren sits up and hugs his knees. More warm, salty tears begin to form and fall onto the leather exterior of the couch. Eventually the sorrow and pain draw Ren into a deep sleep.