Assistant Matchmaker

            Kyuhyun and Ryeowook got along well with each other since nearly the first day Kyuhyun arrived.  In fact, Kyuhyun didn’t like to share Ryeowook much with other people—especially with anyone outside the group that he didn’t know—and Ryeowook seemed delighted to have a friend that liked him so well that he got jealous when he spent too much time with other people.  Personally, I would have gotten pissed off if Donghae did that to me, but to each his own.  I think, when it comes to Ryeowook, he has this innate desire to feel needed and Kyuhyun supplies that for him.  But as I said before, Kyuhyun also became rather protective of Ryeowook and if anyone was giving him a hard time and he caught wind of it, it died rather quickly.  The stress that Ryeowook used to feel in trying to please everyone began to diminish because people stopped taking advantage of him.  All in all, their friendship was a positive one and they were very supportive of one another.

            That’s why it seemed so odd when they began to argue over petty little things in the springtime.  They’d get flustered over the smallest details and begin fighting with one another.  Usually, it seemed like they were both just overtired from working too hard.  Ryeowook would about Kyuhyun leaving his socks or jackets lying around the dorm; Kyuhyun would complain that the food was too salty, or bland, or watered down.  Kyuhyun would demand to know who Ryeowook was hanging out with all afternoon and Ryeowook would claim it wasn’t his business.  That’s what caused the last big fight.

            “Reminds me of my ex-girlfriend sometimes,” Kangin said to us as he passed the table Donghae and I were sitting at.  Ryeowook had just stormed off to his bedroom and Kyuhyun was still angrily stewing over the argument on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest, as Heechul lazily flipped through the channels from beside him. 

            Donghae leaned closer to me and whispered into my ear, so no one could hear us.  “You know, don’t you think sometimes that they act like they’re…”

            “That they’re what?” I asked, almost afraid that I knew what he was going to say, although I’d never voiced it myself.

            “You know…in love.”

            “Well, they’re close in age just like we are.”

            “We don’t act like that,” Donghae pointed out.  “Not in seriousness.  We only pretend when the cameras are on us.  And we’re like brothers, but they act more like lovers.”

            We were eating ramen that Hangeng had made for us earlier, since neither Ryeowook nor Sungmin were home at the time to feed us something decent, and I ate some more of my food and thought over what Donghae had said.  I thought back to all I had seen going on between the maknaes.  I had never been in love myself, but I’d already seen a few of my hyungs dating girls and watched them exhibit some goofy behaviors as a consequence, and I couldn’t exactly argue against him.  It was hard to tell at that point, but it wasn’t impossible that the maknaes loved each other in a romantic way. 

            “You think that’s what’s causing all the recent drama?” I finally asked.

            Donghae nodded.

            “I wonder if we should do something about it,” I suggested.

            “Do what?  As soon as the managers find out they’re in love, they might kick them out of the group.  Then we’d be out two members…two of our three best singers, too!”

            “We’d just have to keep it a secret then,” I said, brainstorming.  “They can room together and no one will think it’s weird to stick the youngest members together.”

            “I don’t think it’s a good idea.  I think we ought to discourage it…at least for the time being.  Maybe when they’re older.  They’re too young to be in a serious relationship anyway.  It will probably end badly and then one or both of them will want to leave the group.  I think we should discourage it as much as possible.”

            “I don’t.  Some people find the love of their life when they’re sixteen, some people when they’re forty.  You never know when it’s going to happen.  We don’t know if it’s going to work out or not, but neither of them look happy now and it’s clear they’re not together at the moment.  Why don’t we try to help them get together and see if everything clears up between them then?”

            Donghae gripped my arm tight.  “No, no, no!  Just let them sort it out themselves.  They’ll be fine.  It isn’t right to interfere, Hyuk.”

            Part of me figured he was right, so I did nothing at that point in time.  Ryeowook was clearly upset still, as we heard loud noises coming from his bedroom and Kyuhyun’s face was red as he continued to pout on the couch.  Eventually he disappeared, probably took a walk, and didn’t reappear again until it was time for us to catch a ride to the radio station together for Kiss the Radio, which he was a guest on that night.

            Well, you might guess how that turned out.  That was a fateful night and one I don’t care to remember, but what I will say is this.  I was sitting on the road beside Kyuhyun when he told me he had seen his life flash before his eyes and he was beginning to panic that he was dying.  He didn’t feel deserving of heaven—he felt he was a brat that didn’t deserve to go there—and he asked me to pray with him.  Of course I did, how could I refuse?  But I also wanted him to hold on.  I wasn’t going to pray that God let him into heaven.  If there was a God and he was listening, I wanted him to let Kyuhyun live. 

            The paramedics were more concerned with Leeteuk because he was a bloody mess.  He did look worse, I admit, but I knew there was something very wrong with Kyuhyun and he was losing consciousness.  Even Leeteuk was pleading with them to go to Kyuhyun instead and they finally began to take his condition seriously shortly thereafter.  Before they took care of him, however, I had a moment alone with him.

            “Kyuhyun, stay with me,” I pleaded, my vision blurring from the tears welling up in them.  I was kneeling beside Kyuhyun as he laid on his back, my hand gripping his.  “You have to stay with me.”

            Kyuhyun opened his eyes and tried to look up at me, although his eyes had trouble focusing.  “I feel tired, hyung.”

            “You listen to me right now,” I demanded.  “You’re not allowed to die.  You’re part of Super Junior and we need you.  Your fans would be crushed if anything happened to you.  And you know that Leeteuk would feel responsible for anything that happened, whether or not he had any involvement in it, because that’s just how he is.”

            I could tell this didn’t have the affect I’d hoped for, so I tried again.

            “Your parents and your sister would be devastated.  Their only son and brother.”

            He squeezed my hand and nodded his head, but then he closed his eyes.  I was losing him.

            That’s when I thought of what Donghae said earlier.  “And you know…if something happened to you now, Ryeowook would never forgive himself for your argument earlier.  He would live the rest of his life regretting the last thing he said to you.”

            At this, Kyuhyun’s eyes flew open and he stared up at me, his lips trembling.  “No!” he choked out.  “No, hyung!  You must tell him that I didn’t mean what I said and I know he didn’t mean it either.”

            “Is that going to really count?” I asked, brushing the hair from his face.

            A tear began to roll down Kyuhyun’s face.  “Please, Hyukjae.  Please tell Wookie that I’m sorry for everything.”

            “You need to tell him that yourself, Kyuhyunnie.”