KIM JOONMYEON’S POINT OF VIEW:

I slump down on a bench in the most abandoned corner backstage, it actually isn’t a bench it is some wood that stands around in staples all over the place here.

Having my legs sprawled out I take a big gulp of water from the plastic bottle, the cold liquid runs down my throat and helps to feel refreshed, I close my eyes and wait for the sweat on my forehead to dry.

We just finished the last practice before this evening's performance, it's still some hours before we have to be styled.

As I walked to this store room for wood constructions, after apologizing for the delayed practice, I had to wave and smile, even though I felt like breaking down.

I don't have any strength left in my hurting, exhausted limbs. Today I crashed to the ground again:

I thought we had become professionals after training such a long time and even having our own concert tour.

I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose, now resting my elbows on my knees.

I found Jongdae and Kyungsoo quickly (Jongdae was screaming loudly at a very angry Kyungsoo not to kill Taemin and, strangely enough, not to kill whole Shinee too...)

Sometimes they are unpredictable, but like Manager-nim, Suho, their Guardian, is the only one, who can control them. Unfortunately, I am Kim Joonmyeon, not Suho.

I know the practice was only delayed for a quarter of an hour, however, in this business, where everything is exactly planned and timed, it sets back the whole time table and many other people jobs...

Another much or important point is, that I failed to keep them under control and Jongdae was hurt, even though you can't really consider him as hurt, his pride was hurt nothing more; he will recover quickly by forgetting it too soon.

But what would have happened if it had been much more severe?

And will Jongin-ah or someone else stand up against me or another member and the group will be separated, not able to perform anymore?

Will I fail?

Will everything, we worked bone-crashing hard for, break apart?

 

A cold hand touches my shoulder (I am just wearing training shorts and a wife beater), my eyes snap open and I stare at someone very pretty:

She has long, straight, dark hair, that is parted on the left side of her hear and is falling over her colorful cheerleader-like outfit, the lower half of her hair is dyed a light neon pink for their stage performance.

Two ebony-brown eyes full of concern are watching me out of a familiar white face, her pink lips move:

"Why are you doing here?"

I relax at her presence, so familiar and consoling.

"I don't know."

I answer truthfully, my eyes still fixing Juhyun's (Irene's) small figure. "And you? Why are you here in the most deserted corner?"

"I followed you; I felt like something was off."

"It's nothing. I just want to be left alone."

Juhyun snorts, with one fluid motion she sits down beside me, snatches the water bottle out of my grasp and empties the bottle in two loud gulps.

"I have known you for over six years. You know that I know that you are kidding me and everyone else. You are doing it again- this I-am-a-leader-nothing-can-harm-me-attitude.

Please, Joonmyeon, I am aware it is hard for you to talk openly about such things, though it helps to pour your heart out to Noona.-"

"Oh come on, I am just twenty-four days younger than you!!" I interject annoyed. "You should call me Oppa, I debuted early than you, three WHOLE YEARS!"

She always wants me to call her Noona, though I could never call her that, not only for this obvious reason, that she is actually my Dongsaeng in debuting-hierarchy, but also another one, much more important and emotional one, I don't want to determine.

"You don't have to remind me, that I debuted so much later... You know I hate it..."

Her voice trails off, she stares down onto the floor, her hands are clutching her knees, her knuckles are whiter than a vampire's skin in the darkest darkness of obscurities.

I don't like it when she is sad or only a little down, henceforth; I want to cheer her up, most inconveniently; I don't know how.

After a moment I put my hand on hers and loosen her hand's tight grip on her leg, at first only the one hand then the other one, till my warm hands are cupping her cold ones.

"Sorry..." I press forth.

There is a pause for some minutes, while we are sitting together with fingers intervened, she is the first to break the silence.

Her voice, that sounds magnificent while singing, echoes softly through the storage:

"You don't have to be sorry, it is my own fault and deep inside my heart; I am happy that we debuted just this year, because I and the others weren't ready before that, with you it was always different."

She takes a deep breath before she utters the, to me unbelievingly incredible words, no one has ever said to me before.

"We have been friends for over six years and I admired you from the first second on. You were and are so great in my eyes, when your members are disappointed or you lost, you don't blame them, you help them to stand up again, you support them.

You, as a leader and a friend, protect them and carry all the responsibility on your shoulders, you show them the way and lead them throughout the biggest hardships and worst times.”

She stops to draw breath, her eyes are glistening more intense with every word.

“I cannot say how much I want to be like you. I want to be this strong and cool-headed too. Joonmyeon, you probably don't realize it, but yet you are an awesome leader and Suho, if you want to or not. It's you! You are a Guardian Angel..." Juhyun mumbles the last words and breaks the eye contact with me.

Her eyes were gleaming intensively when she said she had wanted to be like me.

The only thing I can do is sitting there speechless and petrified.

She withdraws her hands from my touch, gets up and before I can d or say anything, Juhyun bows to me.

My, from amazement widened, eyes follow her every movement, as she stands before me with a straight face, only her pinkish cheeks betray her steady voice:

"I hope your performance goes well. Do your best! And greet the others from me. See you."

With that she turns her back at me and leaves me alone in this lonesome part of the backstage, she doesn't even throw one last glance over her shoulder.

I was lucky that I hadn’t noticed how close she was to cracking up when she said the last sentences, that I hadn’t seen tears streaming down her pretty cheeks, if I had I would have felt immensely guilty at that moment.

But now I feel empty, happy and empty at the same time.

Juhyun left me alone...

My feelings are on a roller-coaster:

She called me strong and awesome, she disliked my touch, she said she admired me (from the FIRST second on!!), she left me...

The idea of following her doesn't even come to my mind.

I am sitting there like a marble stature, unmoving, on the other side more feelings than I have ever felt are boiling, bubbling, seething inside of me.

Still having the empty bottle in my hands I walk restlessly around the room.

After about an hour later I leave, I have to stop thinking of her and what she said when my mind is on the verge of bursting.

With long strides I leave the loneliness and doubts behind me.

For the first time I feel that the name Suho suits me. It sounds better and better the more often I repeat it in my mind, though it is her voice saying it, not mine.

PARK MINJAE’S POINT OF VIEW:

“Do you think I look manly enough?”

Luhan looks at me apprehensively through the mirror fidgeting with the Rubik’s cube in his hands.

I have to smile at this question; in my eyes he is even 100% manly wearing a hairband with pink bunny ears attached to it, no, pink antlers are even better.

I mean Luhan => deer…

“Minjae..?”

Luhan’s eyebrows rise as he emphatically says my name (I get the shivers every time the two syllables leave his lips).

I shake my head to get rid of the stupid daydreams and Lu-deer gallops away to another girl’s mind.

Nodding I answer:

“Who wouldn’t after being styled by me?”

Oh damn, that was maybe too arrogant I don’t want him to think I am some conceited fat chick…

“I think you always are manly, even my sister was really astounded by your manliness when you hugged Tao in the last EXO Showtime episode. It expressed your real character as a man.”

“I start to really like your sister!!”

His smile grows broader and broader till it covers his whole (WHOLE!!) face, but it shows only for a second replaced by a too stern expression, like he is forcing himself not to smile at me like that.

It mirrors my feelings; one day I will have to reveal that I have been the one, who liked EXO all along, not my sister.

I will have to tell him that my sister isn’t an EXO fan, but (I don’t even dare to speak it out loud) an Infinite fan…

 

“What’s her name?”

I stare at Luhan confused for a moment. “Your sister’s name…”

“It’s Dahee, Park Dahee. She is now eleven years old. I am proud that she does so well in school. My marks were never the best…”

“I thought you were one of those girls, who were class president and in the school committee.”

He gives a small laughter and his crescent-forming eyes are firmly fixed on me as I answer:

“I actually was class president... for three years… in middle school.”

(That was the time when I beat up my classmates; thus everyone was afraid of me, so they did what I wanted them to… But he doesn’t have to know that too.)

I smile sweetly to cover my little mistake and spray another big amount of hairspray to “fix” (it looks already perfect) hair.

“You are ready.”

I inform him that I am finished with his stage looks.

We are in EXO’s dressing room backstage:

It is a big room chairs, sofas, cloth racks, clothes, make-up utensils and mirrors everywhere. My attention shifts from Luhan to the others:

Baekhyun and Chanyeol sit on opposite sides of Kyungsoo, being styled too, both of them are eyeing the last chocolate bar in Kyungsoo’s hands like famished puppies, while Kyungsoo takes huge bites of it and munches happily. I blink as I mean to see tears in Chanyeol’s eyes as the last bit of chocolate vanishes in Kyungsoo’s mouth.

Tao is sitting next to Jongdae and Yixing on a huge sofa and forces them to take myriad of selcas, after taking like fifty pics Tao would check them if any of the just taken pictures is Instagram/Weibo-worthy, however Jongdae and Yixing are doomed:

It is extremely hard to satisfy Tao. (Regarding selcas and outfits not food...)

On the other side of the room Jongin, Taemin (who isn’t even allowed in this dressing room) and Sehun are practicing dancing. Joonmyeon and Manager-nim are nowhere to be seen.

Ahri just comes running carrying a stack of clothes she breathlessly stops next to us addressing Luhan:

“Jongin-ah” she glares at Jongin, who is totally unaware of the deathly flashes shooting at him, “sent me to ask you if you could join them, because they want to practice some steps for Uni-something-Unit..?”

Luhan nods:

“Yeah, Younique Unit.”

He stands up hesitating for a moment looking at me like he is waiting me to do something.

“Go, it’s alright… You don’t need my permission. But don’t ruin your outfit, Ok?”

He smiles (a smile that sends me on cloud nine) thanking me and runs up to his Hyungs. Ahri having observed the whole situation tilts her head smiling mysteriously at me.

“What are you doing?” I hiss at her.

She just shrugs and continues giving me that I-know-there-was-something-in-the-air-look.

“Just go and make sure that they haven’t got the chance to ruin my perfect creations. Especially Jongin, he overdoes it every time with dancing before the concert even started!!”

I instruct her in a raised voice; Ahri seems frustrated:

“Come on, you can tell me. It’s better if you talk about your feelings than to bury them inside of your heart! And I don’t want to have to deal with that Jerk again!”

I give her a no-chance-girl-look.

“There is nothing to talk about and you better appreciate the fact that I am willing to give you a break. Sehun and Taemin are there too.”

She slouchs her shoulders, after having placed the stack of clothes on the make-up table she makes her way to oversee the boys’ practice.

There is one in this room I haven’t noticed until now, because he just entered together with Joonmyeon: Minseok and to my discontent he is still in his practicing clothes:

My next victim is chosen.

“Minseok-ssi!!”

KIM JONGIN’S POINT OF VIEW:

We stand behind the great stage’s flat screen backstage; everyone is waiting for the time of their performance to come.

People are talking our Super Junior-sunbaes are now performing on stage, eardrum-bursting screams, cheering and loud music indicates that they are performing without any difficulties.

I admire how long they have been successful now, even though their group was never meant to break records. Minjae-ssi and Ahri-ya are buzzing around us fixing last (to me invisible) wrinkles in blazers, trousers and lost strands of hair with hairspray, some other make-up-noonas are bustling about.

“Will your ankle be alright? Are you sure you can dance today?”

Ahri stands on tiptoes as she yells into my ear while pretending to penetrate a stubborn flick of hair.

Smiling amused about her concern I reply with mocking voice:

”Aaw, is the devil’s slave caring for her master? Hate and love are both passions; there is only a thin line between them.”

Her eyes, just so soft and warm a moment ago, turn ablaze.

“My hate will never turn into love for you. And just this morning I thought you were ok, but after you really treated me like a slave all day, I decided to dislike you again!” Ahri explodes.

“Come on, I merely asked you to get some things for me.” I lift my hands in a defending way, before an angry Ahri can tackle me to the ground and try to strangle me, Sehun appears out of nowhere.

He laughs and, much to my (or either Kai the beast’s) discontent, pats her head:

“Calm down, Ahri, he only wants your attention-“

“Wait! Don’t move, there is something on your face.”

“I can-“ Sehun starts, but Ahri slaps his hand away, her eyebrows furrow:

”You will ruin your make-up!”

She carefully picks an eyelash from his cheek and applies some new make-up on that particular spot.

For a second I consider rubbing my eyes so that my whole eye-make-up has to be done anew or push Sehun from her grasp, three seconds later it dawns on me, how childish that would be…

Ahri smiles satisfied puffing her cheeks:

“Now you are all ready to go out there and rock this stadium with I don’t know how many, but certainly many fans!!”

“We will! Please, cheer for us too!” Sehun asks of her with a big smile.

Ahri’s smile is so bright that it is almost hurtful, though what hurts is that she is smiling at him and not me like that. Our sunbaes are coming back from stage, totally sweating, but pleased with themselves.

Most of them are high fiving us, Eunhyuk even winks at me and Sehun: “See you later!”

Ahri opens to say something, she is interrupted by staff giving the signals be ready, some seconds later we are called to go on stage.

Luhan waves at Minjae while he is being dragged away by Yixing and Minseok-ah, Sehun makes gestures to Ahri to keep her fingers crossed for us.

I take one step and my injured ankle pipes up again, luckily, Kai takes over.

Blood and adrenaline are pumping through my veins; my body loves the rush and thrill of anticipation when fans are shouting our names at the tops of their lungs and the music starts.

Unwillingly Kai forces me to look back one last time at Ahri:

She stands next to Minjae, who is jumping excitedly up and down, her hands are clenched to fists, in her eyes flashes a spark of real worry, I blink and it is gone, substituted by an intense stare. Her lips form two words, her expression is full of resolve:

“Fighting, Jerk!”

 

Music, beats, blinding spotlight, the rushing of blood in my ears and the motion of my body are the only things I can perceive.

Kai’s energies make every fiber in my body vibrate with power.

Jongin is long forgotten.

 

I know I haven't updated in a long time, I will now try to update regularly. :)

I know it's a bit sudden, but I hope you will like the Suho/Irene-couple, they are both leaders and yeah... I like them...

Kai's ankle will hurt a lot in the next chapters and the tensions between Kai and Sehun even stronger. 

Hope you like it. Fighting!! ^____^

Younique Unit! With Kai, Luhan, Taemin and Sunmi!!