[Kris' POV]

                "Hyung...." Suho spoke tenderly. "Hyung...this is our home. It's a lot you're asking from us. Where are we supposed to go?"           

                "We'll find another company," I said simply. "One that'll keep us for long enough until we can sort something out ourselves."

                "You mean until we make our own company?" asked Baekhyun. "That sounds cool but Hyung, we're still the maknaes in the industry! How the heck are we supposed to do that?"

                "Look, I've spoken to some lawyers," I said. "They said we can make a good win. As far as making a company, we'll talk to some other people. Look, I didn't say this was all gonna happen overnight, and I completely understand if you're against this but..."

                "Of course we're against it!" Suho exclaimed angrily. "SM is our home! Are you seriously willing to throw everything we've worked for away for a girl?!"

                "She is not just any girl, and you know it," I sneered, darkly.

                "No, she's not. But I am not going to allow you to crumble us. Not when we've come this far!"

                I didn't expect the members to agree with me straightaway. But I did know that it was going to be a long and brutal rollercoaster ride until the finish.

                "What does Ren say about this?" asked Xiumin.

                "Not much," I admitted. "She said she'd talk with her members first."

                "And that's another thing," Suho spoke again. "They are minors! They have nothing to fight with! I mean, forget about us! We could write novels of our hardships. But we've got nothing to fight with, let alone Crescere!"

                "Oh, really?" I asked, sarcastically.

                "Yes, really!" Suho exclaimed back. "What? Did you suddenly develop a health condition that's worsened?"

                A lump formed in my throat. I hadn't told anyone this; not even Ren. The only person that knew was Ma, and I made her promise not to tell anyone else because I promised her that I wouldn't make it worse.

                Most of the members noticed my frozen expression as I didn't respond immediately.

                "Hyung, what happened?" asked Chen.

                "Myocarditis," I said, bluntly. "Myocarditis happened. It's mild, but if I keep going the way I am, I can get worse. My mother forced me into a check up while I was in China."

                All eleven of them went silent and solemn.

                "Have you told Ren?" asked Suho.

                "Not yet."

                "Well then, tell her!"

                "There is another way for us though," said Xiumin.

                Everyone suddenly turned to him. Although not the leader, Xiumin always managed to uphold his "eldest Hyung" image by silently making statements about all our faults. But this time, he had to speak.

                "All of our contracts expire in three years," said Xiumin. "Whether you marry Ren or not, we'll still be free. By the time you two are married, no one can deny anything. She can fight the company to be with you. And they can't argue because you two will be bound."

                He did have a point. Unlike Ren, none of us settled for the initial 13-year contract. Instead, we argued, and settled for eight. Three years could seem like a long time if I chose to see it that way. But it was useless against the amount of time left for Ren's contract.

                "Her contract doesn't expire for another 11 years," I said, miserably.

                "She actually went for the whole 13 years?" asked Chanyeol. "What was she thinking?!"

                "I'll explain that later," I said.

                "But look, what I'm saying is no matter what happens, no one can deny you two," Xiumin continued. "And thanks to you two, the public will demand for all of us to be together. EXO and Crescere won't be separated for the sake of the company's stocks. There's no need for a lawsuit man; just get married and grit your teeth. If anything, you should love her even more during that time."

*

[Ren's POV]

                "Unnie, you do know you have to acknowledge the fans any time now," said Jaekyung. "Announce your engagement!"

                "Eventually, I will," I said. "But I just can't believe its gonna happen sooner than any of us thought."

                "What's gonna happen to our comeback?" asked Kimi.

                "Nothing," I said firmly. "I'm not doing anything until our next comeback. We can wait 'til after that."

                "But Unnie...we will still be Crescere, won't we?" asked Ruby.

                I looked into Ruby's deep eyes. I envied her innocence. When I was her age, I had lost all innocence.

                "Of course we will," I choked in a stressed tone. "Whether officially or unofficially, we will always be Crescere. And you all will always...be my dongsaengs. I love you guys so much, and I can't believe you guys are still with me in the stupidest of times. But I promise nothing will touch us. I love Kris Oppa, but I will still be your Unnie."

                I wasn't sure if anyone of them knew that I was the only one that signed the 'slave contract'. They all had 6 or 7-year contracts; not even as long as EXO. I figured it was because they were too young and the company had developed some sense of humanity over the years since our seniors debuted.

                But as far as the length of my contract, I had nothing to argue with. I couldn't argue on the grounds of unfair treatment or work because it was part of the contract, and I signed for it with my own hand. Nothing was actually breached. The reason I signed for it in the first place was because I had no intention or purpose to going back to Australia; there was nothing left for me there. And I had grown to love Korea. But SM constantly made it very resentful and it was getting more and more difficult for me to move past it each day.

                "Four or five years doesn't seem that long when you look at it broadly," said Kimi. "But Unnie...is that really a fight you're prepared to go through by yourself?"

                "She's not going to be by herself," Jaekyung said firmly. "We're gonna support her and so are EXO."

                "No," I said. "It's my battle, not yours. I have been selfish. I promised we'd be a strong team, and I have broken that promise. But until your contracts expire, we will still be Crescere, and we are going to fight our way to the top and beyond as Crescere! My battle with the company is nothing to do with it."

                "Unnie, you don't understand," said Jaekyung. "That's what us being in Crescere means; standing together! Unnie, we are already the strongest team I know! How many times have we been scolded by the company? How many times have we dodged bullets with the media and the internet and the anti-fans? How many more times are you going to apologize for everything that you didn't do? I know we still act like kids all the time, but you are our leader for a reason! Forget about us for a minute and just think about you. Don't let yourself down. We're always gonna be here for you."

                Since the day I met Jaekyung, it never ceased to amaze me how much she had grown up. When we first got close, she always followed me around like a little duckling. Now, that little duckling had just grown into a beautiful swan. I sometimes missed that little duckling though.

                "We love you, Unnie," Ruby cried, swinging her arms around me. "Please don't let us burden you. Kris Oppa needs you too!"

                "If you're gonna fight the company..." Kimi started, with a quiver in her voice. "Don't do it before we leave first."

                I looked up at her and deadlocked our eyes.

                "If you fight before we leave, they'll try and bring us down as a group," Kimi continued. "But after we leave, they can't touch us. We won't be bound by contract anymore. That's when we can fight with you. Can you wait for us?"

                "Dangyeonhaji," I said.

                "Then wait for us!" exclaimed Saerom, leaping over Kimi to hug me too.

                "Unnie, you're always gonna be our leader!" cried Hyoim.

                As all five of them struggled to get on top of each other to stick me in the middle of the group hug, I had to let a tear drop. They were young; they didn't deserve this sort of responsibility. It's not in their nature to look after me, and it's not part of their job either. But against the odds of how many people were against me, they still chose to stand with me. I had to cry.

*gasps* finally i got a bit of time off!!
but at the same time, i did have a block
grrrr, i really need to finish this or i'll never be free of it
there's plenty more i want to write but i gotta move past this first
I'll be editting the foreword as time goes and possibly be changing the title as well
But dw, i'll make sure everyone knows the change
please continue to bear with me ><"