Seung's paw meddles with the helium balloons. Luckily they are unhurt.

"You can hold them up for leader Sungjin if you want," suggests Jae with a grin. "Grab them by the string and make sure you don't fly away."

"He won't fly away, we have a ceiling in our apartment," points out Brian.

"Don't ruin the magic," laughs Wonpil.

Anyway, they set to work on decorating the place as quickly as possible in a short time. They purchased a small cake and some desserts. In their hurrying they hardly ate, partly due to the excitement as well. A quick glance at the cell phone tells Dowoon that their beloved leader is coming up in a few minutes.

"Guys, we have to hide now," he hisses urgently, and so they do.

The unlocking of the door, the absent-minded proclamation of being home. The leader is drowned in streamers and a bubbly Seung who runs around with the helium balloons.

"Surprise, leader!" they exclaim proudly.

Yet they realise that he does not react as one usually does when one is caught off-guard. He stares blankly, maybe even a little bleakly.

"Sungjin...?" begins Wonpil slowly.

"Thank you for doing these things but... I can't," he says with a tremble that grew ever so slightly. "Clear it. Clear it all."

As the others are not responding, he snaps.

"Clear it," he says angrily, and goes off to his own room.

"Sungjin..." muses Jae sadly, giving voice to their feelings. "I wonder why...?"

[click here to continue]