Shifting in the comfort of the soft hospital bed, Kyuhyun woke to the intrusive whispering sounds somewhere nearby. By the time he adjusted to the light and managed to open his eyes properly, his bed was already surrounded by several faces, all of which looked either relieved or surprised, and Kyuhyun couldn’t comprehend why the latter.

“He’s awake!”

“Kyuhyun-ah, you’re finally awake. Thanks goodness.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Does it still hurt anywhere?”

“Why are you so quiet? Say something, Kyuhyun-ah.”

The patient turned slowly from one face to another, confused at the storm of questions thrown at him all at once. And finally when he looked as if he was about to say something, they all quieted down waiting for him to clear all of their worries.

“Who are you people?” And with that, the room was filled with gasps. Faces that were full of relief and anticipation earlier now fell into ones that were full of shock. No one could even utter a word when suddenly the crowd was torn apart by someone who had been quietly standing at the side all this while. He lunged at the confused looking patient and then SMACK!!! He slapped Kyuhyun hard on the forehead causing the latter to whine in pain and the rest to jump in surprise with their eyes wide open.

“Ouch!!!”

“HYUNG!!!” Almost half of the Super Junior members shouted at Heechul in unison, but the latter couldn’t give those fools a damn as he folded his arms to his chest sneering at the whining oversized kid on the bed.

“Who are you trying to fool, huh, kiddo? You suffered from a severe blood loss which leaked from your back. There’s not even the slightest crack in your head, and you’re having amnesia now?” As Heechul seemed to make complete sense, the others suddenly became jaw-dropping fools as they turned to look at the evil magnae who, having been caught too easily, was now rubbing his forehead and grinning sheepishly.

“Hehehehe. Been wanting to try this at least once. You guys looked like you’ve seen a ghost. Hahahahaha.” Some of the hyungs were sighing in relief, and some were laughing along at their own foolishness, while the rest were, well…

“Not yet, no. But we’re about to see one in a few minutes.” Shindong and Eunhyuk narrowed their eyes as they were zeroing on their prey lying on the bed ready to knock some good into the evil embodiment called magnae, but none was as fast as Kangin who, having been pulled out of the circle earlier, sprang back into the scene with a folded newspaper in his hand aiming for the magnae’s head.

WHACK!!!

“Ow!!!”

“This, for the stupid prank.”

WHACK!!!

“Oww!!!”

“This, for all the years I’ve lost having freaked out the whole night.”

WHACK!!!

“Owww!!!”

“And this is from manager hyungs who had to go and think up all those lies to cover up for you cuz you’ve successfully got yourself on the front page.” And when Kangin was about to land another hit, Siwon jumped in to cover Kyuhyun’s head.

“Enough, hyung. Anymore and he’ll get stupider than this.”

“Hyung!!!” The magnae pouted, not very pleased at Siwon’s comment, but still returned the latter’s smile, anyway.

He looked around at the members, and then the tingling feeling of nostalgia suddenly hit him. It has been months since them Super Junior last gathered together like this. Well, at least most of them were here filling the room, although sadly it had to be a hospital room. He smiled at them as a thank you, and they all smiled back as an understanding because they knew their magnae hated to spell it out directly, and without any needs of words they knew he was thankful to see them the moments he opened his eyes. Just like any other time before and in the future, Super Junior members would always come running in each other’s time of needs or troubles, well, especially when it came to Kyuhyun and the hospital because strangely enough, the two terms seemed to attract each other like magnet.

Fighting the stinging pain on his back, Kyuhyun tried to sit up and looked behind the faces of his hyungs hoping to see another familiar face he longed to see so much. He didn’t remember how long he had slept but it felt like ages, and it magnified his feeling of missing her.

“Looking for Hyerin?” Donghae asked seeing how the magnae had been trying to look around as if to find someone.

“Yeah… she’s not here?” He hesitated as a tiny bit of his feeling kept telling him that she may have gone back on her word and grab this opportunity to disappear out of his life, but there’s always this larger part, his dominating instinct that told him to trust her and that she may be out there crying alone somewhere. Thinking that, he just wanted to get to her immediately, but he couldn’t move too well.

“She’s back at her house now. We can’t risk having anyone get a glimpse of her here in Busan, or ugly rumors will spread. So she’d been staying out in the car waiting to hear from you. We only managed to talk her into going back home few hours ago.” Sungmin cleared all the doubts as he sat back on a chair and yawned. He and a few others caught the last flight here to Busan and didn’t really have a good night sleep last night worrying about a certain brat’s well-being.

“I see.” Kyuhyun nodded in understanding and couldn’t help asking, “Was she crying? This whole night?” A part of him was hoping that she wasn’t, but his feelings told him otherwise.

“She was. I’ve never seen her cry like that.And I bet she still is now. So I guess I’ll either give her a call or go her see at home now.” Ryeowook spoke as he was still deciding between the two choices.

“Go. And...wait a sec.” Kyuhyun tried to reach for his bag that he spotted earlier somewhere between their conversations. Someone must have brought it here for him. “Take this iPod here to her. Maybe she’ll feel better listening to that song.”

“What song?”

“She’ll know.”

“Tsk. You guys using secret codes now.” Heechul scoffed before resuming the discussion on who would be going back to their jobs and who would stay to look after the magnae. Having assured his family of his safety, they had to do a good job of taking care of him, too.

………………………………..

Hyerin folded herself into a ball as she sat down onto a deckchair on the front porch of her vacation house, phone held tight in her hand. She had been waiting for news from them, anyone of them, but even until now, there was nothing. It was funny how she had been frustrated all these years for not being able to cry, but now she couldn’t stop crying. Without realizing it, tears kept flowing down as she felt more and more helpless. It’s all my fault. But before she could drown herself into any more negative thoughts, a car pulled over her front yard, and she practically threw herself at whoever it was the moment he stepped out of the car.

Of course, it was no other than Ryeowook who came to deliver the news and a little something else. Hyerin grabbed the lifetime out of Ryeowook's shoulders, her eyes bore into his, seeking for answer to her worries. No words were coming out of , but Ryeowook knew exactly what those teary eyes were asking, so he gave her a gentle smile before answering the unasked question.

“He’s awake.”

“Thank goodness. Thank you.” Only then that she loosened the nervous grip as she let out a sigh of relief and crouched down to the ground burying her face in her knees.

“Hey, it’s alright now. He’s safe.” Ryeokwook bent down beside her and pat her shoulder before lifting her up and led her inside the house. They quietly sat down in the living room as Ryeowook let her calm down.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” The tiny man was surprised at the sudden apology, and he didn’t even know what it was for.

“He said you were upset…that I stopped going up for breakfast.”

“Well, I…actually yes, I was. More sad than upset, though. Everyone was. After all, we were so used to having you around, and you were like a part of our big family, so we couldn’t help feeling sad thinking that maybe you didn’t feel the same way. We were sad because we couldn’t really tell what you were thinking. And we were sad because Kyuhyunnie was even sadder than us.”

“I –”

“But Kyuhyunnie, our Kyuhyunnie, we saw him hurt. So much that it felt like he was hurt for two people. It was only then that we came to realize that he was hurt that you hurt him, and that he was hurt that you hurt yourself. He was bearing pains for the both of you, and we know you were doing the same things, too.” Ryeowook knew he was hitting the bull’s eye because Hyerin remained silent then.

“You both are idiots, if you ask me.” And being the blunt guy that he was, he didn’t plan to stop himself from saying what was on his mind just yet. “Idiots in love. If you love each other so much, then just stand up and fight against whatever it is that’s stopping you already. Even if it means fighting against yourself. I’m not saying this because Kyuhyun’s my friend, but because I’ve seen what he’s like before he met you. He was just that plain guy that couldn’t really find other meanings in life besides singing. But then you came along, and it was a whole new world for him. He’s changed. A lot. In a much better way. We can see it and we like this new him very much. So please, Hyerin-ah, please don’t take that away from him. He’s finally living a life. With you as its core meaning, that is. And I know he means to you the same way. So don’t ever let that go. Please. We care for both of you, and it hurts to see you both get hurt like that.”

Ryeowook said it all in one go before stopping for a breath. He looked at Hyerin and she seemed to be deep in thought. Looked like he’d done what he could, and his job was over. He heaved a sigh before standing up, told Hyerin that he had to go back to the hospital and left.

Hyerin was still hanging her head low, even after Ryeowook was long gone. She was still confused with everything that’s been going on. She didn’t really know what to do. Although she’d promise Kyuhyun that she’d give him a chance, but she was still unsure if it was the right thing to do. She couldn’t decide whether to listen to her heart or her head anymore because she knew it was gonna hurt either way.

After a few moments, she finally looked up and saw that Ryeowook had left behind something on her coffee table. It was her iPod. She lifted it up, and memories brought her back to when she and Kyuhyun were in her car listening to all the songs in it together until it got to that song. That song…that I never got to hear. Thinking that, she turned it on and found the song that he wanted her to listen to. She let herself lost in the song as she listened to it and tried to get the message he wanted to deliver to her.

I put that wish into me now

I’ll hold your hand when it becomes hard for you

I don’t exist in your heart

You believe you’re alone just like how this cruel world wants you to be

So easily, you let go while showing your cold heart

I’ll be your comfort. It is okay.

So that you’re not afraid

Oh love is strong

Don’t be scared, trust me, and one day

A world we can’t even describe will approach you

Even your mornings, which disappear in the pouring rain,

You’ll be okay

Even the distress you’ve fallen into is medicine for your life.

So easily, the path we can’t go back to is far away

Even if you’re scared, we can make it through together

Even if we’re blind

*The dark path you’ve been thrown on

If you find your way through it, little by little

Your life will become different

Even if you fall due to exhaustion

You can always stay

Do you see me standing in front of you?

You do not cry anymore.

In your memories, in your heart, in your dreams

Even if your dreams fell into a maze, you had spread your wings

The pain you experienced and the times you cried

Put them in your heart, just hold them in and you’ll be able to smile someday

I believe that you can do it

It’s a wish I can’t erase

I’ll hold your hand so you can shine brightly.

~Wish – DBSK ft. Cho Kyuhyun & Kim Ryeowook~

I’ll hold your hand so you can shine brightly. It felt as if he was saying it right in front of her. And tears started to fall down as she realized how she had been so foolish all these times. He understood everything, but she never listened to anything he had to say. All along, all he wanted her to know was only that he knew what he was up against, and that he was ready t