Groaning as he felt something poking his feet, the brunette sat on his bed, irritated that he had just been woken up from his short slumber. 

“It’s time to wake up, hyung.” A familiar voice said cheerily. 

  The sleepy teen glanced at the clock on the wall. 5 a.m., it said, even the sun wasn’t up. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way to the washroom, nearly tripping on his feet.

  With the water running, the boy brushed his teeth and splashed water onto his face to wake himself.

  Looking up, the boy saw a reflection that he wasn’t quite sure was his, hair now luscious copper brown, only small traces of baby fat remained and facial features that had matured over the past 2 and half years. The only things that remained were his distinctively small eyes, pointy nose and those full lips. Even with that said, the eye bags and dark circles under those puffy eyes had made them even smaller, eye bags and dark circles that he acquired from the tiring schedules these few days.

   It was the end of the year and his team was required to perform special stages for the bigger music broadcasting stations that held the year end performances each year. Ah… He pressed those tired eyes shut; he and his group would have to perform tonight. Again... Thank God it was the last of the schedules for this year. Since the New Year would allow them to have a short break from their work.

  “Yonggam-ah, I need to use the bathroom” there came a croak from the other side of the door. The so called “old man” opened the door after wiping the water droplets off his face with a towel.

 He stepped out without saying anything and headed for the sofa. The water he had splashed on his face a while ago did not seem to work as he soon found himself drifting off again.

  “Jinki hyung, get changed. “ A soft pat on the shoulder woke him up as a deep baritone voice rang into his ears. He opened his eyes to see that the boys had been waiting for him.

  “…If it weren’t for someone, we wouldn’t have been late.” An irritated voice complained as they got into the van. 

  Their manager who sat in the driver’s seat let out a small sigh. “Jinki-yah, wake up earlier next time, ok?” 

  Jinki nodded as he buckled his seat belt beside the driver who did the same. He and Jonghyun haven’t exactly been in good terms for a while now; their little fight had gone on for two whole months already.

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  “3…..2…..1…. Happy New Year!”

  Everyone on stage applauded as the crowd cheered. Onew wasn’t even with the rest of Shinee as they announced the arrival of 2012. Instead, he was with MBLAQ, with his dear friend, Joon, whose arm was wrapped around his shoulder. He could see the excitement written all over Joon’s face, maybe because his friend anticipated another fruitful year like the last. 

  However, Onew wasn’t feeling anything.

  Yes, a smile was on his lips, but he felt the complete opposite of what he thought Joon felt. A new year meant a whole bunch of tedious schedules which meant performing the same songs over and over again till he got annoyed. Not to mention, they were going to have their long awaited comeback this year. He was feeling a bit forlorn even at the start of the year, with both his career and his friendship with the members, especially with the main vocalist.

  Bowing a good 90 degree bow to the audience, Onew smiled as his hand caught hold of the fringes from Taemin’s vest as the older boy clapped his hands. The youngest looked at the leader and both succumbed to a grin before heading backstage. The maknae of the group was the only one of the 4 boys he had a slightly better relationship with compared to the others, but Onew still felt the need to keep his distance from him when they were off stage.

  The boys had changed out of their stage clothes and headed back to their van. They still had a celebratory “dinner”, or should I say “midnightfeast” to go to before Onew could go back to his bed, his soft, warm bed. He just hated the fact that the “dinner” had to be held so far away, in a province that was a long, long way from the dorm, it was a two hour drive from the broadcast station which meant a whole 4 hours to get back. Well, the producers who were going to pay the bill thought that it would be fun to sleep at the hotel upstairs after the “dinner” and take a “vacation”. So obviously, they just HAD to pick someplace away from the city.

  The upset leader grunted as they sat with other idols, producers and scriptwriters, most were either already drunk or about to be drunk. Onew drank to his heart’s content; hoping that it could help him sleep better later in the car.

  The other members who were already above 20 drank several shots so that they wouldn’t spoil the mood. To be honest, all members of Shinee hadn’t gotten the hang of drinking, especially soju, but they had to drink so as not to disrespect the elders who had offered them one. On the other hand, Taemin, who was still not legal, gorged himself on the different portions of grilled meat and side dishes along with their manager.

  It was around 4 a.m. before all the members of Shinee could successfully exit the restaurant without being dragged back to their seats for more shots of soju. They were the last of the idol groups to escape since they had been so polite, so the crew gave the boys a lot of attention. 

  Taemin sighed; he knew the crew was going to stay at the hotel upstairs, he was mumbling small complaints to himself as to why they didn't just let them go back earlier. Putting those aside, it was finally time to get back to the dorm!

  A really drunk Onew made his way to the front seat and slept immediately after sinking into the seat. The legal members were a bit woozy too, almost stumbling a few times before gracefully climbing onto their respectful seats. 

  Taemin figured that it would be better to have them all cramped in the front row since it would be easier to get them out of the van later. The maknae kindly buckled up their seat belts for them as Key, Jonghyun and Minho had fallen asleep like Onew. After buckling his, Taemin closed his eyes shut and called it a day. 

  Spying the boys through the front mirror, the manager smiled as he buckled his seat belt. He started the engine and slowly drove backwards to exit the outdoor parking lot.  

  The next thing he knew, his body slammed hard against the seat belt and the air bag inflated. The manager suddenly felt so weak while his head rested on the inflated airbag. He barely had enough strength to turn his head to the side.

Nothing.

Only shards of glass on the seat…. And a big gaping hole in the front window.

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How was this chapter? It's a bit depressing, I know. Sorry...

Comments are very much welcomed and appreciated.