The rainy weather on May 26th did nothing to deter the Super Junior members from going for a meal. Even as the cold drizzles lashed down on their hooded heads, all they could talk about was the warmth of Dakhanmari and the bright lights of the alley.

It was two days from the concert, and so Super Junior thought it would be nice to have some fun and have a night out together.

If you asked any of the older members about it, they'd say it was for Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun, who was still acting strange, would have said it was a fun night out for all of them.

They arrived at their designated restaurant and without missing a beat, they entered the small yet cozy place.

"Wow," Leeteuk breathed out. "It smells amazing in here."

All the members present agreed; the smell was simply sensational. They could pick out the delicate smell of ginseng and garlic, and then the full frontal smell of the chicken. It was combined with the crisp and relaxed air in the small place and the general decor that swept them off their feet.

A woman, around the age of 50, came up to them as they entered the restauraunt.

"Welcome to Wonhalmae Sommunan Dakhanmari. Do you have a reservation?"

The leader of the group smiled charmingly at her. "Yes, soyuja-shi. It's under the name 'Park Jungsoo'."

The woman tittered a little bit, before returning to her desk and looking through the reservation list. As she found their listing, her eyes lit up and she smiled.

"This way, Park Jungsoo-shi. You reserved a private booth, so I will take you to it,"

She showed them all to a nice booth with a sliding door. The room had been reserved for privacy reasons, which was a given considering their professions.

As soon as the woman showed them to the room, she left for the kitchen, promising to be back soon to take orders. Leeteuk thanked her, and they all sat down at the low, traditional table, already talking about what they wanted.

"We came to a Dakhanmari and we have to discuss what we want?" Heechul complained. "This place specialises in, well, Dakhanmari. How about getting that?"

The rest of the group present mumbled for a minute before agreeing they should get Dakhanmari.

Heechul could only roll his eyes in bemusement.

The woman returned soon after to take down what they wanted, as well as drinks and other side dishes. They each got their own little things that they each enjoyed, including Dubu Buchim and Juipo. They were each their own person afterall.

As they waited on their food, the large group chatted absentmindedly, laughing and enjoying themselves. Leeteuk and Heechul, however, were in their own corner, observing Kyuhyun who seemed to be in his own little world. The maknae of the group was just looking around at them, smiling, not even taking part in the conversations. He was sitting between Sungmin and Ryeowook, looking more out of place than ever before.

"Heechul," Leeteuk sighed, finally looking away from the maknae. "It's just not me who sees it right?"

Heechul nodded, frowning. "He's a lot skinnier now. Paler, too."

Indeed, Kyuhyun seemed to be both of these things as of late. His frame had been lanky already, but now his clothes hung off him like they were bedsheets. His skin was pale and sickly, as though he had been standing in great gales during the cold season. There were other small things that pointed to the maknae being ill and stressed, such as the dull colouring to his now limp hair and the red bloodshot lines in his usually bright eyes. 

"We should ask him about it," Leeteuk fretted. "It's not healthy, He looks almost like he did after the accident."

"I know... But, let them all have fun tonight. We'll ask him about it in the morning. It's all we can do."

Leeteuk thought for a moment, before nodding his consent, and they both returned to the conversations at hand.

Ten minutes later, the Dakhanmari and side dishes arrived, steaming hot and smelling delicious. Each and every member leant forward and stopped talking as the food entered the room, the serving lady rolling it in on a tray, waiting to be able to tuck in and enjoy themselves. 

The woman left, and each member raised their chopsticks in preparation.

"Jalmukesumneda!" They all said in unison, before tucking into their meal.

---

 

Soon, all the members present were full and could not eat any more. 

"Yah, that was good," Siwon commented, smiling around.

The others nodded and chuckled, setting the table straight after they used it.

"So," Leeteuk began, a sly smile on his dimpled face. "Who's paying?"

Silence rang in the room.

"Hyung," Ryeowook whined. "Don't do this to us-"

"I'll pay."

Each and every head turned towards Kyuhyun in obvious astonishment.

"What?" Leeteuk muttered out, surprised.

Kyuhyun blinked. "I'll pay. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, but Kyuhyun-ah-" Heechul tried to say.

"Good," The maknae said, smiling, before standing up and leaving the room to pay for the meal.

The rest of the members sat around the table in silence for a moment.

"Alright, that's it," Sungmin exclaimed. "There's something obviously wrong."

Everyone agreed.

"Since when does Kyuhyun actually offer, willingly, to pay for all of us?" Donghae questioned.

"Yeah!" Eunhyuk frowned. "It's really strange. The bill usually comes up to thousands of Won."

Everyone agreed again.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," Shindong muttered.

"It's getting out of hand, isn't it?" Heechul mused. "There's something wrong with our maknae."

"We'll talk to him tomorrow," Leeteuk declared, looking around at all of s. "We need to know. Everything is strange, and I get the feeling something is going to happen. I don't know what, but it won't be good."

All the members in the room shuffled in their seats, feeling eerily uncomfortable.

At that moment, Kyuhyun walked back in a grin on his face.

"All paid for!" He exclaimed, looking around happily. "Come on hyungs, we should head back before it gets too cold."

They all nodded, and said "Masegaemugusuyo" before getting up from their seats and leaving the room.

"Yah," Leeteuk pulled Kyuhyun back for a moment before they all left. "How much was it?"

The maknae blinked, before smiling serenely. "Not too much hyung."

The eldest narrowed his eyes, and grabbed onto the maknae's bony shoulder before he was able to leave the room. "How much?"

Kyuhyun stood deadly still for a moment, his eyes wide at the group's leader. Finally, he muttered the amount, and shrugged the hand off his shoulder to rush out of the room.

Leeteuk just stood there in shock.

Since when was the maknae willing to pay 350,000₩ for one of their meals?!

---

 

The morning came earlier than expected. The birds were silent outside, and all that could be heard was the wind rattling against the window.

Everyone in the Super Junior dorms was up.

All except Kyuhyun, who was sleeping in, after being tired out the day before.

"He better wake up soon," Heechul complained, his arm over the back of the sofa he was sitting on. "We do have some schedules today, even if he doesn't."

Everyone else murmured in agreeance, but Ryeowook frowned. 

"If he wants to sleep in, hyung, he should. Have you seen him recently?"

"I think we've all seen him recently Kim Ryeowook," Heechul bit out. "It's a bit hard to not notice him."

Ryeowook lowered his head in apology and stayed quiet.

"I'll go and wake him up if I have to," Heechul continued. "That little brat shouldn't waste our time like this-"

"It's not my fault you all want to talk to the amazingly popular Cho Kyuhyun," A snarky voice said from the doorway leading to the entrance of the dorm.

They all looked towards the doorway, and standing there in a oversized T-shirt and bed-head hair was Kyuhyun, looking anything but pleased.

He also looked anything but healthy.

"You look like death warmed over," Donghae blurted out.

Every one gave him a scathing look, while Kyuhyun looked unimpressed. 

"In that case, I'll go back to bed-"

"No," Leeteuk sternly said. "Sit down Kyuhyun."

The maknae looked uncertain for a moment, like he was debating whether to flee or not. After a moment, he walked towards where his hyungs sat and planted himself in the spot between Siwon and Sungmin.

"What's going on, hyungs?"

"What are you hiding?" Heechul wasted no time in asking, frowning at the surprised face Kyuhyun had.

"Hiding? I'm not-"

"Yes, you are," Leeteuk intervened. "You've been acting strange for three weeks now. What's gotten into you?"

Kyuhyun's sturdy face wavered for a moment. "N - Nothing is wrong, hyung. Why would there be?"

"Don't lie, Kyuhyun-ah," Sungmin muttered.

Kyuhyun was quiet, before sighing.

"I didn't want to tell you," Kyuhyun blinked and sniffled a little bit, automatically making all of the present members tense.

Was he going to cry?

"Didn't want to tell us what, Kyuhyun-ah?" Yesung said softly.

Kyuhyun was quiet again.

"Please," Ryeowook pleaded. "Tell us, so we can help you Kyuhyun."

"I-" Kyuhyun started, but shook his head and tried again. "I know I haven't been very well hyungs, and that I haven't looked very well, but it's all - for a good reason I guess."

The members began to fret, each of them wondering what was going on.

"You know I told you that Sungjun-hyung's girlfriend has influenza?" They all nodded. "It's not. It's something a lot more serious, and - and Joeun-ah is a good childhood friend and we're - we're so worried hyungs. The doctor said -" Kyuhyun cut himself off and put his head into his hands, seemingly unable to face them.

The members all looked at one another, shocked.

This was what Kyuhyun had been worried about? 

It made sense. Kyuhyun was sick with worry... He would be if any friend was so unwell. 

Leeteuk bit his lip.

"Kyuhyun-ah," He murmured. "Go back to bed, try and get some sleep,"

Kyuhyun looked up, his eyes red, and nodded. Sniffling, he left his seat and headed back to his bedroom quietly, only his sniffles breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

As soon as they heard the bedroom door closing, they sighed in unison.

"Poor Kyuhyun-ah," Siwon muttered, his eyes slightly watery.

Leeteuk nodded, uncertain. "It all makes sense now. He's stressed and worried..."

All the members nodded.

"Let's look after him," The leader declared quietly. "We need to look after him. He is our dongsaeng, a dongsaeng we love and treasure. He will be okay soon. Fighting!"

All the members agreed, and muttered "fighting", before dispersing to their individual activities.

---

 

Meanwhile, in his bedroom, a certain maknae was chuckling quietly but evilly, knowing he had fooled his hyungs perfectly.

Everything was going to plan.