Eunhyuk opened his eyes slowly. The sun rays passing through his windows were pricking him consciousness. Eunhyuk seldom needed the alarm clock to wake him up. He would automatically open his eyes when its time to wake up. Its like his body clock knows exactly when to wake up. Its also unlike him to sleep for long hours, each time he sleeps for more than 5 hours, he would feel more tired than rested.

‘Is it morning yet?’ he wondered. He slowly turned himself to his left, and smiled at the sleeping Donghae. He must have sneakily crept into his bed when Eunhyuk had already fallen asleep. Donghae often gave the excuse that Heechul was too noisy or that Heebum, Heechul’s cat would conquer his bed, thus his room is not a good place to sleep in.  He thinks Donghae is just cooking an excuse to snuggle with Eunhyuk on his bed. Even though he would rather have all the space on the single bed to himself, he could not say no to Donghae. What is with his face that makes it difficult to say no to?

‘Aish, this boy, I told him to go back to his room and yet he is here.” Eunhyuk grumbled. He continued staring at his loved one, examining every corner of his perfect face. Donghae was not just good looking by nature; he was also one of the most kind - hearted person he has ever known. Even with fame, money and popularity, the man in in front of him remained humble and child-like. He was the same person as when he first debuted.

Eunhyuk glanced at the clock. It was only 7.30 am. Their schedule for the day will only be at 2 pm today so they had the morning free. He quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed his towel and headed out to the bathroom. The dorm was pretty quiet, he figured everyone else must still be sleeping.

After a quick shower, Eunhyuk headed back to his room quickly. To his surprise, Donghae was still soundly asleep. He was hugging the monkey plushie so tightly as if his life depended on it.

‘He must be so tired sneaking into my bed last night How does he look so cute even when he is sleeping?’’ Eunhyuk laughed to himself. The monkey plushie was a gift from fans. He often wondered why ELF called him ‘monkey’. He knew he was not the best looking in the group, but to be called ‘monkey’ was insulting to him.

But after so many years, he had learned to accept it. Ever since fans called him ‘cute monkey’, he figured there was nothing he could do to stop them.

Eunhyuk put on his t-shirt and pants. He decided to go out for a jog since he was up early. He loved morning runs along. It helps him to clear his mind. He also loved breathing in the fresh air and watching the sun rise makes me feel blissful. He walks over to the bed and sat on it.

‘Should I wake him up and tell him that I am going for a jog?’ Eunhyuk wondered. Donghae tends to panic whenever he wakes up on his bed and could not find Eunhyuk around. Perhaps that is why he likes to trap Eunhyuk in his arms whenever they sleep. Donghae really likes to snuggle.

“I shall let you sleep. Maybe you will still be sleeping when I come home later.” Eunhyuk whispered as he lightly combed Donghae’s hair.

Just as Eunhyuk was about to stand, he felt his left wrist being pulled. He turned around and saw Donghae rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Hyukkie, where are you going?” he uttered like a lost child.

Eunhyuk chuckled. “You are awake now? I was about to go for a jog and I did not want to wake you up. Why are you in my bed again?”

“Oh, Heebum….he….aish….never mind. I just like to sleep here with you ok?” he yawned. He had wanted to give some excuses but his brain was not awake enough to cook up one.

Eunhyuk sighed. “Hae ah, I told you we can’t do this all the time. Sungmin and Kyuhyun are already suspicious why we are always sleeping in the same bed, we do not want the other members to be suspicious too. You know our group members can never keep a secret.”

Donghae sat up on the bed, still hugging the monkey plushie tightly in his arms. “Why bother about what they think?”

Eunhyuk sighed again. They cannot be having this same conversation again and again. “Hae, I am not going to talk about this again. We are in a group, we have to maintain our group’s reputation. We do not want to hurt the members and hurt the fans. They are not ready to know the truth yet.” Eunyuk sounded annoyed.

“But our fans like us being together. You saw all the fanarts right?” Donghae argued.

“Yesssss….but they do not know its real. They may like it but our society is not ready yet.”

Donghae remained silent and stared into space.

“You know, this is the part I hate about being a celebrity. I cannot be myself, I have to keep up and maintain the image that the company wanted us to portray. It was ok for a few years but our lack of privacy nowadays, I am getting sick of this. “ Eunhyuk’s outburst caught the sleepy Donghae by surprise.

Donghae shifted himself next to Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk was clearly upset and a part of Donghae’s heart felt his pain too. Donghae grabbed Eunhyuk’s hands and squeeze it lightly.

“Shall we go see manager hyung together? About taking a short break?” Donghae asked.

Eunhyuk shook his head. “I feel like we should ask one of the hyungs first before going to manager but I am not sure who we can approach since leader is not around.”

“Heechul hyung. He is the best.”

“Why? He is too talkative, the whole world will know about us.” Eunhyuk disagreed.

“He won’t. He didn’t tell on us all this time.”

“What?”

“What?”

Donghae widened his eyes and realized what he just said. “Opps, errr….did I forgot to mention that Heechul hyung knew about us all along?”

“What?!!!” Eunhyuk snarled. He looked like he was about to pounce onto Donghae angrily.

“Hyukkie, ok calm down. He knew way before we got together. He was my listening ear!” Donghae explained.

“How come you have never told me this before Hae?” Eunhyuk stood up and demanded as he had his hands on his waist, showing his disapproval.

“I was going to but you have been depressed for over a month! Heechul hyung was always there with me from the beginning! I go to him whenever I need I feel down or need advice.  I wanted to wait till you are feeling better to tell you! Don’t you realize that its hurting me to see you like this?!” Donghae yelled.

Eunhyuk felt a tear slowly dripping down his cheek. He did not mean to accuse Donghae or letting the cat out of the bag. He also did not mean to make Donghae upset. He did not realize that he has been indirectly hurting Donghae too.

Eunhyuk moved closed to Donghae, who was already in tears and hugged him.

“I am sorry.” Eunhyuk whispered into his ears.

Eunhyuk pulled himself away and glanced at the face before him. With his thumbs, he wiped off Donghae’s wet cheeks.

“Please tell me if something is bothering you, please do not keep it to yourself. I worry about you all the time.” Donghae muttered.

Eunhyuk nodded.

“Please do not be angry at me. I cannot imagine if you are not around in my life.” Donghae choked and started sobbing again.

“Ok, please stop crying. I am not angry with you. I can never be angry with this face.” Eunhyuk pinched Donghae’s cheeks lightly. “I just want to make sure the group’s image is not jeopardized, especially with Teuk hyung away for now.”

Donghae let out a huge breath, “I understand. You are always in my heart, please don’t ever forget that. We are soul mates and are meant to be together.”

“Yeah, you believe in that do you? Oh well, you are always in my heart too, even though you can be annoying at times.” Eunhyuk answered.

They both chuckled.

“Are you still going to go for a jog?” Donghae asked.

“Yeah, it will help me clear my mind.”

“I will go with you.”

“No, you still have yet to shower and you take ages in the bathroom. What do you do in there?”

Donghae pouted. “I need to be thorough in cleaning! Why don’t you come into the bathroom and hurry me up?”

“No, in your dreams.” Eunhyuk laughed. Even after an argument and even before showering, Donghae can still look unbelievable adorable.

“Awww, come on, Heechul hyung already knows and Kanging hyung won’t care.” Donghae persuaded.

Eunhyuk grabbed his ipod and put on the ear plugs. “Bye Hae, go and shower and we can have breakfast together! Go shower now! I am off for my jog. Shoo shoo.” He said as he pushed Donghae out of the room and into the bathroom, much to Donghae’s protest.

Eunhyuk finally succeeded in closing the door to the apartment. He could still hear Donghae whining away. He has been trying to sell that idea for a month now, but Eunhyuk thought it was too early and weird to be doing such things when they live in the same dorm as other members.

‘Finally, some alone time by myself.’

Just him and his music in his ears, with the sound of birds chirping and fresh air as company. There was barely anyone, since it was a cold morning. No one really jogs so early in the morning during winter but it’s the best time to do this there were not many people around.

He ran briskly for a few minutes, just to get his heart rate up. Gradually he increased his speed. The smell of the cold air was fresh in the park. He really likes the fact that the park was deserted. As he continued running, he felt that someone was watching. He stopped running and looked around. There was no one around. Why does he get this weird feeling?

He decided to brush off the feeling and continued running. All the drama from the morning did not do any good to his head. He was already not in the right state of mind.

The trees, the bench, did he not already passed this route? Eunhyuk stopped running and look at his surroundings. He was pretty sure he has passed by the old wooden bench. There was only one wooden bench in the entire park, most of the benches were converted to newer ones. This wooden bench had some carvings that were pretty sentimental so the people in charge left it untouched under the big oak tree.

“Didn’t I passed by here already?”  Eunhyuk said aloud. “Whatever, I will just continue running.”

He told himself to be alert and be aware of the surroundings when he runs. He has been here many times so it was odd that he would lose his way here.

As he ran, he spotted the old wooden bench again. It was the forth time! What was happening? Has he lost his mind? However, this time, it was different.  There was an old man sitting on it. He was smiling warmly at Eunhyuk as Eunhyuk approached closer to him.

“Err..ahjusshi, errr….how long have you been sitting here?” Eunhyuk asked awkwardly. He was hoping the old man would not recognize him as a celebrity.

“Long enough to see you running pass me for the three times. “ he answered, still smiling warmly at Eunhyuk.

“Oh? Really? I did not see you…..and I do not know why I keep running in circles. This is not really my first time here.” Eunhyuk was slightly annoyed at himself. He really did not see the old man before this, how could the old man have seen him ran pass him for three times?

“Sit down here young man.” The old man gestured for Eunhyuk to sit next to him. Eunhyuk was reluctant to do that since he was a complete stranger but out of respect, he decided to simply abide. He was glad that the bench was long enough so he was not sitting too close to the friendly stranger.

“Tell me, do you have a wish?” the old man asked. His face was full of wrinkles and his clothes seemed old but clean. He seemed to be a happy person. He had not stop smiling since they first met.

“Err…yes. Of course. Everyone has wishes.” Eunhyuk scoffed. He thought the old man’s absurd question was an indication that perhaps he was not a sane old man after all.

The old man smiled at him again. “What is your wish young man? Tell me, perhaps I can help you.”

“Are you kidding me?” Eunhyuk answered sarcastically.

“Just tell me, what have you got to lose?”

Eunhyuk sighed. Perhaps it was better to simply answer this old man’s questions and be on his way. Donghae was waiting for him at home and they have a schedule in the afternoon so he really does not have a lot of time to entertain crazy strangers.

“Fine. I wish I am normal ok. I wish I am normal so I can have privacy. I am sick of being this being in the celebrity limelight all the time!” he shouted.

“Young man, are you sure that is what you want? I told you I can help you.”

“Yes! That is what I want now! How can you help me? Aish…never mind. I better get going now.” Eunhyuk answered rudely as he stood up.

Eunhyuk felt his hand bring grabbed by the old man just as he was about to run off.

“Young man, be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.” The old man said in serious tone.

Eunhyuk felt shivers went up his spine. There was something freaky about those words and he really wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He shook his arm to release the old man’s hand.

“Sorry, I have to go.” He announced and ran as fast as he can away from the old man. He simply looked straight ahead and hoped that he will see a different route. He did not dare to turn back at all. He would not want to end up at the wooden bench again. 

‘Gosh, what was that all about? Don’t tell me he is a saesang fan? Or someone who was just trying to freak me out? Don’t tell me there is a hidden camera somewhere because I will be so pissed.’ All these thoughts went through Eunhyuk’s head as he continued running. Thankfully, he saw the main road ahead and he was glad that he was not running in circles anymore. He continued running until his legs hurt and he was out of breath.

As soon as he reached the dorm, he barged in and shocked Donghae and Heechul who were sitting at the dining table having breakfast.

“Hae!! Heechul hyung!!! I am so glad to see you!!” Eunhyuk exclaimed in excitement and he hugged Donghae. He was desperately gasping for air.

“Hyukkie, why are you panting like that? Did a dog chase you home?”

“Or a saesang fan?” Heechul chuckled.

“No no..….aish…long story…I am going to change first.” Eunhyuk left the kitchen and headed to his room leaving Heechul and Donghae looking puzzled.

“What is wrong with your boyfriend? What did you two do last night?” Heechul interrogated Donghae.

“Nothing hyung, I just slept on his bed, the usual.”

“Just sleep? No hanky panky?”

Donghae laughed. “No hyung! I am not a ert like you.”

Heechul continued eating. “Well, that is true, I can be a erted at times.”

“He is just tired and stressed. We talked this morning and he did seem better. No worries hyung.”

“Ok then. I don’t know how long I can keep this secret for you two. You know I have a big mouth right?” Heechul asked.

“You also know I am close to people who also have a big mouth like Teukie and Kangin right?” He asked again.

Donghae nodded. “Yes I know and I also know you love me the most here and you will keep this secret for me and Hyukkie.”

“Aish…. Don’t forget to tell Hyuk about my free bread supplies from TLJ, and free tacos from you at least once a week.” Heechul demanded.

“Ok ok, anything for the hyung I love.”  Donghae smiled gleefully.

“Aish, stop it, you are making me soft.” Heechul uttered and Donghae started laughing at him.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

‘What is wrong with me today? I must be going out of my mind.’ Eunhyuk was finally safe in his room. The previous incident with the old man was too freaky, he was getting goose bumps just thinking about it. He grabbed a dry t-shirt and tossed the current one into the laundry bin. He was about to comb his hair when he realized that it was terribly messy, no wonder his neighbours were giving him weird looks.

‘Aish…why am I feeling sleepy now? I am supposed to have breakfast.’ Eunhyuk glanced at the clock. It was almost 10 am.

‘There is still time, I will just lie down for a few minutes before joining Hae and Heechul hyung. I must be so unfit to be tired after running for a few minutes.’ He yawned.

‘Ah, finally, the whole bed to myself. I better lie on it and catch forty winks before Hae comes in and want to snuggle on the bed again.’

He lied down on the bed and within seconds he was in deep sleep.

He had no idea that his life was about to take a turn for the worse.

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Hello dearies.....ahh...I am sorry for not being able to update twice last week. I was really busy and unwell. I need to healthier from now on! Lol. Some of you are so smart, and can predict the story hehe....perhaps I will be more adventurous lol. 

Guess what is happeing and guess who is that old man?