February 09, 2011

Even before I can unpack, I heard EeTeuk talking to his phone just outside my room. "Omo! I’ll be there in a bit. Keep an eye on him for now, araso?" I opened the door, startling him. "Yah! You scared me!"

"Not my fault that you’re too jumpy." I crossed my arms loosely in front of my chest. "What’s up?" He was kicking his large suitcase to the room across mine.

"Hyuk Jae threw up. I’ll see him first." I really admire EeTeuk’s dedication but I wouldn’t admit it in his face. Not in a million years. I grabbed a random sweater from the backrest of my swivel chair and scooped Hee Bum from her heated cat bed.

"We’ll come with." I said and walked ahead of him to Shin Dong’s room. I found him talking to Na Ri over the phone. "We’ll be at the 11th." I said, balancing the gray cat over my shoulder.

"Na Ri-yah, chakkaman." He covered the mouthpiece. "Andwae?"

"Eun Hyuk fell sick, I guess." I didn’t wait for him to say anything and went straight to the foyer to put on my shoes. EeTeuk and I was surprised to see Dong Hae already waiting impatiently for the lift.

"Guys wait!" Shin Dong called from the inside, locking the door hastily, his cell phone in between his neck and shoulder.

"Let’s take the stairs, shall we?" EeTeuk said and I frowned. Oh how I hate working up some sweat.

"You guys go ahead. I’ll wait for the lift." I said, waving them away but Dong Hae already had his vice-tight grip around me and hauled me towards the fire exit. Hee Bum climbed down from my shoulders and hopped to Shin Dong. That traitor.

"Two flights of stairs won’t kill you, Hyung-ah."

"But I will kill you the very first opportunity I get, Lee Dong Hae! Yah!" But he wouldn’t budge. He’s really stronger that I am. EeTeuk and Shin Dong were chuckling behind us. Before long, we’re already knocking through the 11th floor dorm and Kyu Hyun let us in.

"Where's Hyuk Jae?" EeTeuk inquired without preamble and disappeared to find Eun Hyuk. Ye Sung rolled the suitcases towards each room as Kyu Hyun sat on the couch, busy with his digital camera. Eun Hyuk limped out of the bathroom shortly, EeTeuk and Sung Min behind him.

"You didn't have to call them, Wookie." Eun Hyuk reprimanded gently but the dongsaeng in question just shrugged his shoulders and went to the kitchen. "You guys should be resting. I am okay." He said weakly but his pale face said otherwise. He flopped himself down beside the maknae and closed his eyes.

"You should be taking better care of yourself, Hyukkie." Dong Hae mimicked his tone.

"Right. You didn’t eat anything before we left and on the plane as well. Let me go get something." EeTeuk followed Ryeo Wook to the kitchen. Sung Min disappeared to his room for a moment and got back with his large suitcase, a water bottle and a pill organizer. He sat on the floor at Eun Hyuk’s feet, his suitcase sprawled in front of him. He opened the pill organizer on his lap and nudged Eun Hyuk.

"Hyukkie-ah. Here, take this first." Eun Hyuk sat up slowly and took the pills with no questions and finished the water before putting the bottle down.

"What the hell is that? Are you a doctor?" I was amazed by his collection of medicine. I wonder if he was mixing medication. I laughed at the thought.

"Nope but I keep meds for each of our allergies and common illness. You’ll never know." He shrugged.

"You keep track of our allergies?" Shin Dong scoffed. "That’s a nice hobby." He was done talking to his girlfriend and caught up with the conversation. He went to Sung Min’s and Kyu Hyun’s shared room and got back with Hyaku and Sen. Sung Min had them up for adoption but backed out at the last minute, not able to let go of his precious pets. We left them at a nearby pet hotel during our travel and were delivered just before we turned in.

"Say that again when you come running here for your Montelukast." That silenced Shin Dong effectively and he just played with the cats instead. Sung Min smirked and opened the suitcase in front of him. Majority of the things inside the suitcase were not clothes but random stuff the fans gave us from the concert and the fan meeting.

"Whoa! You really got a lot, yeah?" Dong Hae exclaimed, sittting himself beside Sung Min, looking excited like a little kid. Ye Sung brought Ddjangkkoma and friends out of the terrarium in a corner and played with them.

I turned my attention to Kyu Hyun. "Yah! Stop smiling like an idiot!" He stuck his tongue out at me playfully. "I snatched the digital camera away from him and looked at the photos. It were taken from the fan meeting and most of the pictures were of the same girl we met at the resort and her hyena of a cousin. "Did you get her number?" I asked.

"Did you get Kay-noona’s?" He asked instead and I smacked him on the forehead. "Aww!"

"Yah! You have no respect to your elders!" Now, all the attention was on me. Even if I didn’t pull my trusty pocket mirror out, I knew that my face was red. "And why would I get that witch’s number?" I snorted, feigning disgust. Truth was, I was really afraid she’ll laugh at me and humiliate me. "I’ll go check on dinner." I scurried off to the kitchen to get away.

"What’s for dinner?" I asked tentatively. I wasn’t really interested on what we’re going to eat. I just needed an excuse.

"B-Bulgogi." Ryeo Wook's voice shook a bit and I raised an eyebrow. I then saw EeTeuk spacing out by the stove but I didn’t say anything. Whatever it was that they were talking about, I didn’t give a damn.

"I’ll tell the gang." I said and crept to the living room slowly, restraining my ears if the topic’s changed yet.

"Damn! Where is it? Where is it?" Sung Min chanted as he rummaged into his suitcase. He started throwing things around and some of it hit me when I got back to the living room.

"Yah!" He mumbled an insincere sorry before,

"Found it!" He squealed, holding a wine bottle that looked so dirty. Eeeww.

"You brought trash?" I snorted.

"Trash? Excuse me, Hyung. This costs more than your car." I knew he was exaggerating and I fought the urge to hit him.

"Bwoh?!" Dong Hae, Shin Dong and Ye Sung chorused.

"This is vintage Screaming Eagle. A fan sent it to the hotel. Well, I guess it was a fan because there's no message or anything." Sung Min pouted. "It costs more than a thousand dollars." I snatched the wine bottle from him.

"Let's drink this after dinner. We're having bulgogi tonight." I smirked and caressed Hee Bum who hopped into my arms.

"But Hyung! I'll--" Sung Min puffed some air. "Fine." And I went back to the kitchen to put it in the fridge.

". . .but he thinks Hyung already changed his number." I heard Ryeo Wook say before he sighed deeply. I listened further. "Do you think it’s okay for them to celebrate?" He asked EeTeuk awkwardly. Celebrate what? I thought. "I hope he’s eaten his seaweed soup already and I hope this birthday isn’t lonely."

. It's Han Kyung's birthday. If not for the loud crash (and the loud sream from the living room), I wouldn't know that I dropped Sung Min's vintage wine.

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A/N: If you're an ELF then you must know how I got the inspiration from this. I cried a lot after reading HeeChul's blog about his depression and the supporting articles (and interviews) on how he coped up with the loss. He must have missed Han Kyung a lot.