“The darkness that you felt, I knew it was meant for you to fix yourself.”

Déjà vu. That was it felt like to Kangin. He had been through this, countless of times while he was back in the military. Drugs. They’re destructive. They give you the best feeling in the world but at the same time, they kill you silently and slowly. Kangin had seen his friends, one by one, admitting that they needed help. He had seen a friend of him brutally overdosed right in front of his eyes. Why do people do this? He just couldn’t understand. He knew life could sometimes, hell he especially knew that. But… Why would someone even consider the thought of doing drugs?

And Ryeowook? What in the world? The little guy was the last person Kangin would have thought. He was living a perfect life. He had a stable job, he was well-liked amongst his peers, he was constantly happy, he had a perfect family, and … he was just Ryeowook, you know. How could someone like him end up doing drugs? It seemed so silly. But Kangin learnt that behind every smile, there is a secret, a story of the harsh truth of someone’s life.

There was a loud scream all of a sudden breaking the awkward silence in the living room. The scream was then followed by a bunch of curse words and Kangin and the other members rushed to where the sound was coming from. In Ryeowook’s room, it was havoc with struggling members trying to hold Ryeowook down as he thrashed his body on the bed. Kangin and Leeteuk joined in the poor younger members and helped to hold his body down.

“Ryeowook! Kim Ryeowook!” Leeteuk ordered. “Stay still!”

Thirty second, it was just thirty second but it felt like forever. Ryeowook thrashed around, high-pitched screams and growls filled the room. When Leeteuk barked at him once more, Ryeowook finally stopped struggling. His screams became quieter and soon, it turned into a sorrow sob. The members started releasing him one by one, their faces looking guilty.

“Ryeowook, please stop crying.” Sungmin pleaded. “Please tell us what is going on.”

Ryeowook sat up in his bed and hugged his legs to his chest, still sobbing. His body shook as he sobbed and he refused t