C h a p t e r  2

"Are you nervous?"

"Pssh… What are you thinking? I can't remember being more relaxed than right now."

Kyuhyun snickered and with a sigh Eunhyuk shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His heart was racing in his chest and he couldn’t think of anything else than Donghae. They stood in front of the same wall as yesterday, with the same mob of journalists and screaming fans and again he was nervous as hell.      
He hadn’t slept a single second the night before because of the overwhelming worries in his head, but despite that he wasn’t tired at all. His body was producing so much adrenaline that he would be able to party three nights in a row.

"Hyukjae", Leeteuk mumbled beside him, successfully cutting his thoughts. "Please remember to not do anything inconsiderate. Just wait for what Donghae will do and don’t react to it if you have to. Show the press and S.M. what they want to see, okay? You can catch up on your welcoming later when we're back home."

Eunhyuk nodded and felt Kyuhyun's hand squeezing his shoulder only seconds later. "Relax, hyung", he said and patted his back. "You look like a groom waiting for his bride in church."

The raven head rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Kyuhyun."

"Everything's fine, I'm sure he won't let you down." The younger's eyes darted to the base before he smirked and patted Eunhyuk's back again. "I think the carriage is here. Prepare the white doves."

"W-what?"

"There he comes!" someone shouted suddenly.

Eunhyuk was caught off-guard as he stared to the direction Yesung was pointing at and his heart stopped beating for a second when he saw Donghae approaching them. The younger was wearing the same uniform Eunhyuk had worn the day before, the same boots and the same cap that he had pulled so deep into his face that nobody could see his eyes. But it was him – the bright smile on his lips gave it away.

Again it was Leeteuk who stepped forward to pull his returned dongsaeng into a tight hug. Eunhyuk could see how Donghae patted the leader's back, but only allowed him to hug him for a brief moment before he greeted Siwon the same way, laughing loudly.

It was this laughter that confused Eunhyuk. Where was the fear Leeteuk had been talking about, where was the panic? Of course he was glad that Donghae was happy and not scared – but it was kind of strange. Heechul seemed to think the same for he was watching Donghae with a soft frown on his face before he noticed Eunhyuk's gaze and shrugged slightly.

But Donghae didn’t notice any of this. He hugged the members one by one, beaming and laughing like they had never been separated. When it was Eunhyuk's turn, Donghae didn’t hesitate for a second before he wrapped his arms around the other's neck with a cheerful 'Hyukkie' and gave him a brief and hearty hug. Eunhyuk didn’t have the chance to push him away like he was supposed to be as the flashlights were already blinding him and the fans started screaming like crazy. The hug only lasted for a few seconds before Donghae flung his arms around Heechul.

Donghae succeeded in hugging all of the other members in record time and lifted his hand to greet the journalists without even waiting for them. The words left his mouth fast and he bowed a few times while smiling this odd smile all the time. Eunhyuk couldn’t tell why, but it was irritating him. Something wasn’t right.

It seemed like Donghae had received the same letter as Eunhyuk some time ago because he almost said exactly the same things the latter had said the day before. However, they didn’t sound as serious this time because Donghae kept laughing, didn’t finish his sentences or forgot what he wanted to say. Eunhyuk couldn’t tear his eyes away from him and so he noticed how he kept his lips and scratched his arms and neck. He looked like he was nervous, but his movements, his words and gestures told something else. Donghae seemed to feel well, was cheerful and didn’t show any signs of fear or panic.

Only a couple of minutes later they walked back to the two vans that had brought them there; Eunhyuk tried to leave as much space as possible between himself and Donghae who was grinning like a mad man. He climbed into the first van and was just about to fasten his seatbelt as he noticed with horror that Donghae was about to take the seat right beside him.

"Donghae", Siwon called and placed a hand on the other's shoulder to pull him back as he realized what the other was about to do. "I don't think that's the best idea."

"Why do you think that?" Donghae replied with a laugh. Siwon looked over his shoulder; the journalists and fans still had a very good view of what they were doing.

"You know why. You shouldn’t do this", Siwon said quickly and tugged on the other's sleeve. Donghae turned around to face him.

"Why are you so anxious, Siwonnie?" he asked and pinched the other's cheek, still grinning. "Is there a problem?"

Siwon opened his mouth but before even one word could leave his lips, he was interrupted.

"Lee Donghae!" Heechul yelled while leaning out of the other van's window. "Come here and sit beside your favorite hyung!"

This seemed to have an effect because Donghae's grin broadened and within seconds he had left Eunhyuk's field of view and Siwon was sitting beside him. Donghae's laughter was swallowed by the shutting door and silence surrounded them. Minutes passed until Kangin finally said what all of them were thinking.

"He's acting weird."

"Why are you saying this? He's just happy to be back", Ryeowook replied with a frown.

"A little bit too happy if you ask me."

"Everybody's happy after returning! You should be the one knowing best."

"True, but he's acting different."

"And how?"

"He's acting like he forgot why he and Hyukjae were sent to the army", Siwon barged in with a silent voice.

"Just because he hugged him?" Ryeowook asked with disbelief.

"Yeah. He isn’t even trying to keep his distance and he doesn’t seem to mind that countless cameras are targeted at him."

"He didn’t do anything bad, hyung. I bet he's just very happy to see Hyukjae-hyung again, don’t hold it against him."

"I'm not holding it against him. I only say that it's a very dangerous game he plays."

"It's okay", Eunhyuk eventually said. The thoughts were racing in his head and the talking of the others was giving him a headache. "Just like Ryeonggu said: nothing bad happened, right? Everything's fine. I will talk to him when we're back home, let's keep it that way."

It was clear to see that the others wanted to say more, but they granted his wish and kept quiet for the rest of the drive.
Yes, Ryeowook was right: Donghae didn’t do anything except for being happy. But Eunhyuk knew him better than anybody else and he knew that the younger couldn’t hide his true feelings, no matter how well he could act. The panic Leeteuk had been talking about – something like that didn’t disappear overnight. So why was he that freaking happy just like nothing bad had happened when he had been afraid of this day for months?

***

The second van arrived a few minutes lat