The bus pulled up to the hotel and the members all grabbed their luggage and headed inside while their manager signed them in and grabbed their card keys.  Ryeowook was talking with Sungmin, so he didn’t immediately notice their manager handing a different key to each one of them until he reached the end of the group and gave cards to Sungmin and him.  He glanced down at the key and then immediately turned around to look for Kyuhyun. 

            On the other side of the group, he spotted Kyuhyun, standing there like a statue, staring down at the card in his open palm.  Finally, he snapped out of his daze and looked over at Ryeowook.  For a moment, their eyes connected, silently acknowledging that they were thinking the same thing.  Kyuhyun headed straight for him, grabbing his wrist and examining the number on the envelope.  414.  Kyuhyun looked back at his again.  408.

            “What’s this?” Kyuhyun demanded, calling out to their manager.

            “Not here, Kyuhyun.  We’ll talk upstairs,” he warned.

            Kyuhyun’s lips pressed together, forming a hard line across his face, and Ryeowook touched his back, urging him to head for the elevator.  Kyuhyun was better about holding in his temper now, but it wouldn’t last forever.  They always roomed together, at home and on the road—unless they were in two different places—and Ryeowook knew this wasn’t going to go over well.

            The whole way in, Kyuhyun had voiced his excitement to be doing Super Junior activities because he knew that Ryeowook and he would be together most of the time.  Kyuhyun was very supportive of him, but Ryeowook knew that Kyuhyun missed having him home more since he’d joined High School Musical.  So, there really wasn’t much of a chance that Kyuhyun would comply with the two room deal…not that Ryeowook really wanted him to.  Secretly, Ryeowook rather loved Kyuhyun’s possessiveness of him. 

            They walked over to the elevators and when the first door opened, Kyuhyun and Ryeowook followed Sungmin and the manager into the elevator and as the doors began to close, Sungmin looked around in confusion, realizing the others had opted to wait in order to avoid the confrontation that would inevitably come.  (This wasn’t the first time this kind of thing had happened, of course, and they all knew better.)  Kyuhyun began to turn towards the manager, but Ryeowook lightly tugged on his shirt and whispered, “Camera.”  Kyuhyun glanced up at the corner and then sighed, leaning his back against the wall, giving the manager death stares which he was ignoring. 

            Sungmin’s looked around the elevator.  “The weather seems nice…I bet the water’s warm.”

            All three of them looked over at Sungmin, but not one of them said a word.  Sungmin pressed his lips together and dug his cellphone out of his pocket.  He faked receiving a text in order to let the awkward moment pass. 

            Ryeowook stood beside Kyuhyun and glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye.  On the outside, you could feel the anger and frustration radiating off of him, but deep down, Ryeowook knew that Kyuhyun was anxious.  He didn’t like being away from Ryeowook and often struggled to sleep when they were apart. 

            Ryeowook shifted his weight from one foot to the other, gently knocking his hand into Kyuhyun’s.  Kyuhyun didn’t look at him—he’d mastered that so well, even without making direct eye contact, he was always aware of Ryeowook’s actions and surroundings—but he pretended to stretch his arms out and bumped Ryeowook’s side by accident.  The faintest hint of a grin formed on Ryeowook’s lips.  How often had they played this little game before, forced to stand next to each other and not betray the feelings they could barely contain for one another?  They’d learned to embrace these moments a bit, taking turns doing subtle things to tease one another, testing how sneaky they could be without getting caught.  As naughty as Kyuhyun professed to be, Ryeowook almost always won.  Kyuhyun typically caved first, unable to contain his desires, and would drag Ryeowook away to some secluded spot to be alone together.

            “Cut it out,” the manager warned, rolling his eyes at the maknaes as he exited the elevator.

            Kyuhyun’s foul mood returned immediately and Ryeowook sighed at his thwarted attempt to lighten the atmosphere.  Kyuhyun caught up to the manager without difficulty, his long legs bypassing Ryeowook and Sungmin naturally. 

            “What the hell is this about?  Why do we have separate rooms?”

            “The hotel offered to give everyone singles because they had an overabundance of them available and they wanted to treat us for always staying with them when we’re here,” he informed them.  “And since we don’t want anyone catching you two sleeping together when no one else is, you’ll have to accept it.”

            “Bull!” he countered loudly.

            “Kyuhyun,” Ryeowook pleaded, trying to pacify him.  “It’s just three days.”

            Kyuhyun whirled around to face him, his eyes cold.  “Are you trying to tell me,” he said, pointing at his own chest, “that you’re okay with this?”

            “I don’t like it,” Ryeowook said, choosing his words carefully, “but I can survive three days.”

            Sungmin snickered, smiling down at the floor in an effort not to add fuel to the fire—which he was doing a miserable job of—and then Kyuhyun stopped suddenly and Sungmin almost walked into him.  Kyuhyun snatched the keycard out of Sungmin’s hand and tossed his own at him.

            “The hell if I’m sleeping down the hall,” Kyuhyun mumbled under his breath. 

            “Kyuhyun!” Ryeowook called after him.

            Kyuhyun was so pissed off that he headed for the door, walked inside, and closed the door behind him.  Ryeowook stood there for a moment, but he’d be damned if he was going to beg to go in.  He instead crossed the hall to his own room to allow his boyfriend time to calm down on his own. 

            Everyone kept their distance from Kyuhyun for the day, even Ryeowook, and once their schedule was done, Ryeowook made sure not to take the same van back as Kyuhyun and hurried to his room once he arrived at the hotel.  He kept his phone safely turned off.  The last thing he wanted was a fight with the manager or Kyuhyun or both of them.  The trouble was, he clearly had a weak spot for Kyuhyun—who wouldn’t for their long-term boyfriend, that’s a given if you really love each other—and he knew that if he gave Kyuhyun the chance to manipulate him, he would weasel his way into Ryeowook’s bedroom. 

            When he heard Donghae and Eunhyuk making excessive noise in the hall like usual, he knew Kyuhyun was back and slipped into the bathroom to take a shower.  That way, he couldn’t hear if he knocked on the door.  Not that you can actually ignore banging that loud, but Ryeowook told himself that he was under no obligation to answer the door when he was dripping wet—who knows if a crazed fan with a camera might be out there—and took his time washing up, letting the warm water relax his tense muscles.  He dried his hair and wrapped his white bathrobe around his slim body before lying down on the bed with a magazine and turning on the television, just to drown out any background noises he might hear from the hallway.  He lay on his stomach, flipping a page here and there, but there were no more knocks on the door. 

            Could Kyuhyun actually be complying for a change?  Ryeowook wasn’t entirely sure if he was happy about that or a little disappointed that Kyuhyun wasn’t trying harder.  Maybe he was tired and had already fallen asleep.  When another uneventful half hour went by, Ryeowook removed his robe and crawled into bed, switching off the light before snuggling up under the covers.  His exhaustion was too hard to fight, even if his thoughts were still on Kyuhyun, and he drifted off to sleep within minutes.

            Ryeowook woke to a quiet thump on his door and glanced at the alarm clock.  2:03. Ryeowook flipped on the light and got up out of bed.  He grabbed the robe, slipping it on and tying the belt around his waist before heading for the door.  He stopped before opening it, hesitant.

            “Ryeowook,” Kyuhyun softly called to him.  “Please open the door.”

            Ryeowook sighed and briefly closed his eyes, his heart falling at Kyuhyun’s pitiful voice calling for him.  Against his better judgment, he turned the knob and opened the door.

            There stood his beloved boyfriend, standing outside his door in his bare feet, his hair gloriously tousled from lying down, his dark brown eyes staring at him.  “I can’t sleep.”

            “Yes, you can,” Ryeowook said, standing in the doorway so Kyuhyun couldn’t slip in.

            Kyuhyun leaned against the doorway, pouting.  “No, I can’t.  Something’s not right about my room.  It feels creepy.”

            Ryeowook rolled his eyes.  “Are you trying to tell me that you’re afraid of ghosts?”

            “Yes,” Kyuhyun said.

            “I admit that you get more creative all the time, but you are not fooling me Cho Kyuhyun.  I’m onto you,” he said, poking his finger against Kyuhyun’s chest.

            “I’m not lying,” he countered, grasping Ryeowook’s hand and pressing it against his chest.  I don’t want to sleep in there alone.  I feel some kind of presence.  Just come in there and you’ll feel it too.  Then you’ll believe me.”

            “I’m not stupid.  If I go to your room or you come in mine that will be the end of it.”

            “I’m dead serious,” he claimed.  “If you want, we can just swap rooms—we don’t even have to share—and then maybe I’ll be able to fall asleep alone.  You might have a little trouble though.”

            Ryeowook was sure that it was still a trick.  Kyuhyun would likely do something to make it seem like the room was haunted so that Ryeowook wouldn’t want to sleep in it either, but he just didn’t know how Kyuhyun would pull it off. 

            “Ryeowook, sleep with me,” he pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper so no one could over hear him.  “I promise that I will work hard to make sure no one sees us rooming together.”

            “Our manager is psychic, you know that he’s always onto us, I’m not going to risk getting on his bad side for the next three days because you’re acting like a baby and can’t handle sleeping alone for a few nights,” he said, backing up a step so he could close the door.

            Kyuhyun quickly grabbed Ryeowook and pulled him out into the hall, letting the door slam shut behind him.  “Kyuhyun!” he cried out, looking over his shoulder at the door.  “My key was still in there!”

            “Guess you’ll have to stay with me now or he’ll assume you were with me.”

            “I’m not an idiot, I gave Sungmin my key instead, but I still have to wake him up.”

            “Better wait until morning so you don’t alert everyone that you broke the rules.”

            “I didn’t break any rules,” he reminded his boyfriend, beginning to head down the hall to Sungmin’s room.

            Before Ryeowook could further object, Kyuhyun lifted him up off his feet, tossing him over his shoulder and walking him back to his own room.  The door was held open by a shoe wedged between the frame and the door and Kyuhyun kicked it out of the way so it would shut once inside.  He then flung Ryeowook onto the bed.

            “Why the hell did you leave your door propped open?  Anyone could just sneak in here when you have your back turned!” Ryeowook lectured him, sitting up in bed.  “Someone could be hiding under your bed at this very moment.”

            “They’re about to get the shock of their lives,” Kyuhyun said, killing the lights.

            “They will,” he agreed.  “I don’t have a of clothing on under this.”

            “I know.”  Kyuhyun smirked before grasping the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head.  “Aside from the sheer terror of sleeping in a haunted room, the thought of you curled up in the blankets was kind of keeping me up.  I was worried you were cold.”

            “You look so frightened now that we’re here,” Ryeowook pointed out, looking around the room.  “I don’t sense anything scary.”

            Kyuhyun removed his sweatpants—he hadn’t even bothered wearing underwear—and Ryeowook laughed as he crawled onto the bed and over to him, lightly pushing Ryeowook back on the mattress.  “All the ghosts are scared of you,” Kyuhyun said, tilting his head to kiss Ryeowook’s neck.

            Ryeowook laughed both because of Kyuhyun’s remark and because he was ticklish where Kyuhyun was nuzzling him.  His arms wrapped around his mischievous boyfriend, holding him tightly against him.  “You’re so naughty!  How did you end up like this when you have such sweet parents?”

            “It’s your fault,” Kyuhyun accused, reaching between their bodies to untie his robe.  “You drive me mad and I’d do anything to be with you.  I can’t stand the idea of being away from you even for one night if I don’t have to.”

            Ryeowook cupped Kyuhyun’s face with the palm of his hands, forcing Kyuhyun to look at him.  “You know, he’s just thinking of us.  He doesn’t want anyone to find out and expose our secret.  Do you have any idea how hard our lives would be if the public knew about our relationship?”

            “I could live through any hardship as long as I could still be with you,” Kyuhyun said.

            Ryeowook melted.  His heart lurched in his chest and he felt his eyes glaze over with water.  Only once in great while did Kyuhyun open his mouth and say something so overtly romantic and it always managed to sway Ryeowook’s resolve.  Instead of insisting on leaving, he drew Kyuhyun’s head down to his and eagerly kissed him.  He drew his legs apart and Kyuhyun settled himself between them, sinking into the bed. 

            Finally, Ryeowook pulled his lips away and locked eyes with his boyfriend.  “Make love to me.”

            “As you wish,” he said, his lips returning to Ryeowook’s heated skin to trail along his jaw. 

            By morning, it was no secret to any of the members that their manager had asked Kyuhyun and Ryeowook to sleep in separate rooms.  They’d all dealt with the tense mood the day before.  And it also wasn’t a secret that the maknaes had yet again disregarded his wishes and slept together anyway, and it quickly became the brunt of their conversation as they sat in a private sitting room of the hotel eating breakfast.

            “I heard some loud in the bedroom next to me in the middle of the night,” Eunhyuk said after taking a sip of his coffee.

            “Isn’t that your room, Kyu?” Shindong asked, unsuccessfully trying to keep the smile off his face.

            “It is,” Kyuhyun admitted.  “My room is haunted.”

            “There aren’t ghosts in your room,” Kangin informed him.  “That’s just the reflection of your pale skin in the mirror.”

            Ryeowook couldn’t help but snicker and Kyuhyun nudged him with his foot.

            Right then, the manager walked into the room and glared across the table at Kyuhyun and Ryeowook.  “Care to explain where we were this morning, Wookie?”

            “What do you mean?” Ryeowook asked, blinking his eyes and giving him a curious look.

            “This morning, when I came to your room and knocked on your door, you never answered.  Where were you?”

            “My room,” Donghae quickly chimed in.  “He locked himself out of the room accidentally and didn’t want to wake Sungmin up for the key, so he came to stay with me.

            “With you?” the manager repeated back in disbelief. 

            Donghae nodded.  “Yeah, I was still up playing music, so he knocked on my door.”

            Their manager looked over at Kyuhyun and Ryeowook.  “And where was Kyuhyun?”

            Kyuhyun stopped eating and looked straight at him, “Where you found me, in my room.”

            Donghae leaned forward, “You forgot your socks in my room.”

            “Oh, sorry,” Ryeowook apologized.  “I’ll grab them when we get back.”

            The manager shook his head and began to eat his food.  “It’s no better if you’re caught sleeping in someone else’s room either, so don’t forget your key tonight.  If anyone else gets locked out, you can come to my room.  You’d better be in your room tomorrow, Wook.”

            Ryeowook wrinkled his nose at him once the manager’s eyes dropped down to his plate and Siwon playfully ruffled his hair, quietly laughing.  Of course, he had every intention of being in his own room the next morning.  With Kyuhyun.  As it so happened, he had a terrible dream in the middle of the night and woke to Kyuhyun repeating his name and shaking him awake.  Although he knew that Kyuhyun had made up the story about ghosts, Ryeowook couldn’t shake the vibe he had and refused to spend another night there.  Kyuhyun moved his belongings to Ryeowook’s room later and the other members covered for them the rest of the stay, eager to avoid their manager’s anger and sympathetic enough of the maknaes’ plight to help them out, as long as they could jest about it in private and joke about haunted hotel rooms. 

            However, the staff members noticed quickly that Kyuhyun’s room required no housekeeping, since no one was staying there, and their manager inadvertently overheard them chatting about it before they checked out of the hotel.  He pulled his two maknaes aside, his features murderous as he spoke with them, telling them that they were going to get caught if they didn’t take care, leaving it at that.  The fact that he didn’t go on and on about it or tried to punish them in some way made them feel even more guilty and they brainstormed about how they could cover themselves, in case the rumors spread.

            Finally, Ryeowook decided to discuss the haunted room on the air as if it were true.  How he managed it without laughing was beyond most of the members, but the truth of the matter was, he hated to be parted from Kyuhyun just as much as his boyfriend did and he never wanted to be separated from him.  This, he took very seriously.  Someday, years from now, perhaps they wouldn’t have to worry so much about people finding out about them sleeping together, but for the time being, he’d do what was needed to keep their relationship a secret.  Even inventing stories…phantoms in the night.