Chapter 11

Next day, Ruki woke up an hour before the others were up. She stayed beside Youngmin, watching him sleep, and touching his face every now and then. He would gently touch her hand. Eventually, he woke up, and they were both playing with each other. She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Ohayou gozaimasu." she smiled, hugging his arm.

"Ohayou.." Youngmin ruffled her hair smiled sleepily. Deciding to get dressed early, he got out of his bed then turned to Ruki. "Hey, can you wake up the others?"

"Won't they be mad?" she tilted her head.

"Nah, be gentle and they will be fine." he said, picking out his clothes. Ruki nodded and, as soon as Youngmin went into the bathroom, got out of bed, brushed her hair with her fingers and took a deep breath before approaching Hyunseong's bed. She poked him twice gently before climbing up a little.

"Wake up... Hyunseong-appa..." she whispered quietly poking his cheeks repeatedly. He shifted a little and opened his eyes, smiling when he saw her.

"Hello..." he patted her head. Ruki blushed and got off the bed before dashing to the bunk bed, climbing up to Kwangmin's bed.

"Wake up, other Youngmin..." she shook him with a smile, ruffling his dark hair. It took some effort to wake him up but eventually, after he found out that Ruki's threat of pushing him off the bed was true, he woke up to evade any disasters that might have come. "Good other Youngmin..." she smiled. Kwangmin hugged her and ruffled her hair.

"Payback." he laughed. "By the way, it's Kwangmin." he added. Ruki nodded.

"Hai, Kwangmin." she smiled, climbing down. She didn't waste any time rushing into the other bedroom, jumping onto Donghyun's bed, startling the eldest idol. She gasped and clamped her hand on . 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." she apologized. Donghyun rubbed his eyes and sat up, holding the girl with one hand as he did so she wouldn't fall down. "Are you mad at me...?" Donghyun shook his head.

"No...It's fine. I was waking up, anyway." he yawned. Ruki sighed in relief.

"I was worried." She climbed down to give Donghyun some space, and proceeded to wake Minwoo and Jeongmin up. It took a good 5 minutes to get them to finally wake up, and another 10 before she successfully dragged Minwoo out of bed. Now, leaving them to get dressed, and because Ruki was quite shy, she left the room. While exploring around, she was picked up by Youngmin suddenly, who threw her over his shoulders with a laugh while she laughed too.

"How was your sleep?"

"Good." she replied with a smile, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Did I bother you?"

"No." Youngmin put her down. Hyunseong came in and waved at Ruki. Ruki energetically waved back.

"Hello!" she greeted.

"Hyunseong-hyung, this is Ruki." Youngmin patted her head, while she playfully pushed his hand away. Hyunseong sat next to her.

"You really look like him." he mused. Ruki gave him a confused look. "I'll tell ya later. Hungry?" At that question, Ruki nodded frequently and smiled.

"Hai." 

"I'll make some breakfast. Wait here with Youngmin-appa, okay?" she nodded and sat with her hands on her lap, swinging her legs. Soon, the other four were there, and in less than a minute, Ruki has managed to captivate their hearts with her innocence and purity. Minwoo has gotten attached to her almost immediately, and the feeling was mutual.

"Now, Ruki," Jeongmin said, crouching in front of her. "What were their names?" Ruki tapped her chin twice and looked at the twins back and forth. 

"hmm..." She pointed to Kwangmin. "You are.. Kwangmin.. And this one is...Youngmin.." She looked at the two back and forth. 'or the other way around...?" then she pulled at her own hair. "This is not fair! Two minutes ago I knew who was Youngmin-appa!" she puffed her cheeks. Youngmin shook his head.

"I have an idea... I have...Kind of blond hair.. Kwangmin has dark hair." Ruki looked at both of them again. 

'"Okay... It's easier now..." then she mumbled. "I'm sure I knew how to tell them apart a while ago..." 

"Hey, Ruki-chan." Minwoo tapped her shoulder. "Would you like to come with us to work today?" he offered. Ruki blinked then gasped. 

"I can?" she beamed.

""Oh course. We have a surprise for you, anyway." Donghyun smiled, poking her cheek. Ruki giggled and jumped onto him.

"Ruki likes surprises!" she exclaimed. After breakfast, their manager arrived, and their ride to the agency began. Only that day, things were different. Totally different. A nice...'surprise' was waiting for them. Ruki, who has been told she was going to meet up with a person she misses, has been pumped up and couldn't wait till she arrived at the agency. 

"What? He is not here yet?"

"No. I have received a call from him. He said he will not be coming today." their manager replied. "Just focus on your practice. You have a concert tomorrow." with that said, he left. Ruki frowned.

"Don't worry, Ruki." Donghyun said, kneeling beside her. "I'm sure that he will be here soon. Maybe he would change his mind." he reassured her. She nodded weakly then smiled.

"You should practice." she smiled. "I'll just watch you." with that, she retired to the corner of the room and sat there, just watching as practice went by. Time flew by and Ruki had long forgotten about the mysterious person they wanted her to meet. The first practice session was done, and still, Haruka didn't show up.

"Hey..." Jeongmin spoke, while Ruki was busy playing with Youngmin's jacket. "Do you think there is something we haven't been told?"

"What do you mean?" asked the leader.

"From the tone manager-nim spoke with, I suspect he is hiding something... It only occurred to me now..." he explained. 

"You don't mean something happened to Haruka... right?" Minwoo asked in a tone of worry.

"It can be anything... We don't know..."

"I'll try calling Haruka." Hyunseong said, taking out his phone.

"You have his number?"

"Yeah. Forced him to exchange numbers with me while we were on the way home." he said, dialing the number. For three times, there was no answer. Hyunseong, and the others, started to get worried. Well, more worried than before... "...Come on... Pick it up...." he mumbled, smiling when he heard a voice on the other side. But wait. That was not Haruka's voice.

"Hello. Can I help you?" It was.. Simon's voice! Why was Haruka's phone with Simon? One thought passed through the vocalist's head, but he shook it away in horror. Haruka cannot possibly be in hospital, right?...Right?

"Where is Haruka...?" he asked, half afraid, half anticipating. 

"Oh, you haven't heard, then" Simon's serious tone was not helping. "He has gone through a lot, and I'm not sure if he can take it anymore. he's currently-"

"What?! What happened to him?!"

"Car crash." Simon replied shortly. "I have to go now, they need me in the operation room." he hung up quickly.

"Haruka..." Minwoo couldn't believe what he heard. Their manager had some serious explanation to do.

"Minwoo, where are you going?" Donghyun called after him, but Minwoo didn't listen. He just stomped out of the room, heading to their manager's office. They all went after him, even Ruki, who had no clue about anything.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Minwoo asked in a slightly angry tone. Even though he was annoyed, he kept in mind that his manager might have a good reason for all of this. 

"You wouldn't have focused on practice." Okay, he takes those thoughts back. 

"Just that? Haruka is our friend! We-"

"I was told to do that, okay?!" the manager replied in a slightly guilty tone. "I got a call from his manager, and he told me to keep this secret. I don't know anything about it."

"Manager-nim..." Minwoo's sudden rage died down.

"He threatened me." he went on. "I didn't know what to do. I had to obey..." Silence filled the room. Minwoo, after some time, apologized for his outburst.

"Can we go to see him?"

"It's not a valid option right now." The manager replied. "I have called his doctor, and he informed me that Misashi's condition was critical. Visiting him is impossible..." Ruki just gripped onto Youngmin's hand tight, mumbling something to herself. Her small body started quivering as she pulled out a small photo out of her pocket.

"Haru-otou-chan..." she murmured, staring at the photo. "...." 

"Ruki..." Youngmin crouched to her height and grabbed her shoulders. "Don't worry... Haruka will be fine..." he whispered soothingly, fingers running through her hair. She gave a weak nod and put the photo away. 

"What to do now?" Hyunseong asked.

"We will have to carry on with practice." their manager said. "Once I recieve any news, I'll tell you." The seven walked out again with sorrow written on their faces. 

"Let's go back to practice..." Kwangmin said after a while of silence. "Haruka wouldn't want us to slack off, right?"

"Right." Minwoo nodded. "We don't need to worry about him..." he said, not sure of his own words. "...I hope he's okay..." With that, they went back to practice, which was almost lifeless... How could they practice when their best friend was in a critical condition.

Next day, the concert was held.

Time went by, the cheers of their fans. It was perfect. No one suspected anything. Their act went unnoticed, gladly. No news have been heard of Haruka since the day before, which, to some extent, made the six idols, especially Hyunseong, feel relieved. At least it meant he was still alive. 

Their day was long and tiring. They all needed sleep. Ruki was with them too. She was asleep in Youngmin's arms. The van was on it's way to their dorm. Just another day that has ended. If it wasn't for the sudden ring of Hyunseong's phone.

"Yes?" he replied tiredly.

"It's me, Simon." the voice on the other line said.

"Any news?" Hyunseong asked, voice shaking a little in anticipation.

"Yes, Haruka's condition is stable."

"Thank God... Can we see him?"

"He's still unconscious, but yes, you can." 

"Okay. Thank you." he hung up.

"How is Haruka?" Minwoo asked almost immediately. 

'He's still unconscious, but Simon said we can see him." Hyunseong replied.

"Manager-nim, can we please head to the hospital?" Minwoo requested in a slightly begging tone. With a sigh, their manager nodded. "Thank you." Youngmin sighed deeply and held Ruki tight.

'You are going to see your father at last, Ruki...'