Sungmin POV

*****

Donghae kissed me lightly, a sweet, gentle smile playing at the corners of his lips.  The sensation of being so in love and feeling love in return made my heart swell in happiness.

"I love you."  He loved me.

Of course, I had known that for a while.  Ever since the day I twisted my ankle during rehearsal, I wasn't oblivious to the way he always seemed to be there for me.  I always took note of how much he actually cared for me.  An idiot could have figured it out.

"I love you too."  The feeling of heat flooding through my body was blissful.  I felt like at any moment, I would start floating, my pleasure and elatedness acting as a literal buoy.

"I promise you, I will always be right by your side.  Nothing will ruin what we have.  I swear to keep that promise as long as we're together."

I simply smiled and brought his lips back to my own.  His scent hovered over me, sending me tumbling into a state of numbness.  He smelled like home, and comfort, and protection.  He smelled like Hae.

*****

I opened my eyes; eyes that were blinded with tears that refused to cease.  It was just a dream; just a distant memory; just a shadow of what could have been.

He had promised.  He left me.  He was gone.

My grief was so great, I couldn't even form complete thoughts, let alone tell myself to breathe properly.  I heard small ripping sounds, like a small animal was being strangled to death.  I realized those sounds were my sobs as Kyuhyun's arms wrapped around me, his voice soft and comforting, obviously alarmed at the sudden emergence of my tears.

"Hey, hey. sshhh, hey Min, it's okay."  Kyuhyun rocked me back in forth.  I was thankful for that.  His embrace was what kept me from falling apart.  It kept me from losing all self-control and crumbling into pieces.

No, I don't love Donghae.  I'll always remember what I used to feel for him, but Kyuhyun is the one I love now.  Donghae doesn't understand me the way Kyuhyun does.  Otherwise, he wouldn't have said those things.

I took deep breaths, and my shaky sobs gradually quieted to soft sniffles and the occasional gasp for air.

"Sungmin, it's all okay.  You're okay.  I'm here"

Yes, Kyuhyun was there.  He was always there.  Even if I hurt his feelings, even if I acted like an idiot...Kyuhyun was always right there , ready to walk through life with me, proud to say that he loved me.

Everyone always referred to him as "evil," and in a way, he was.  He was evil in the sense that he wouldn't let me forget him.  He had made me fall for him, simply because he was Kyuhyun.

I felt so comfortable and loved, his presence acting as a barrier that blocked out all the painful memories that had taken over even my dreams.

I had always wondered to myself whether I made the right decision in choosing Kyuhyun over Donghae.  Donghae left me, Kyuhyun stayed with me.  Donghae hurt me, Kyuhyun healed me.  The obvious solution was to choose Kyuhyun.  But I couldn't forget the old Donghae.  The Donghae that loved me just as much as Kyuhyun did now.  The Donghae that I knew would protect me and help me through any hardships that could ever possibly occur.

But I knew why I had chosen Kyuhyun.  It was because when I thought of leaving Donghae for Kyu, the sadness was powerful, but I could bear it.  It was because when I thought of leaving Kyu for Donghae, the sadness was overwhelming.  That reflected what my heart truly wanted.

I had calmed down at that point, leaning into Kyuhyun's warm body for support.  His protective, fatherly gaze sent my heart warm tendrils of happiness.  I was at peace with the present, and I had no intention of letting that change.

I heard footsteps coming towards the room.  I looked up lazily, not wanting to be bothered when I was finally feeling somewhat relieved of the worries that had encaged my free will for so long.  I saw the handle of the door turn, and Donghae walked into the room.

Kyuhyun sat up so fast, that I barely had time to register who had just burst our bubble of happiness.

"You have no right to be in here.  Get out."  Kyuhyun's voice was a hiss.  I had never heard him use that tone with anybody, let alone his elder.  The hostility that encompassed his words made me shudder.  I would hate to be on the other end of that evil maknae's anger.

As frightening as Kyuhyun seemed to me, Donghae merely smirked.

"I have every right.  Kyuhyun, I need to talk to you."  His voice was strangely cordial, as though nothing of great importance had occurred between them.  What was he doing?

"I don't want to talk to you."  His voice was matter-of-fact.  He obviously had no intention of doing anything that Donghae asked of him.

"I'm not giving you a choice."

Donghae, why are you doing this?

This whole time, all I could do was sit on the bed, staring in horror as a shouting match unfolded.

"You really think I would want to talk to you, look at you even, after everything you said to Sungmin?"

Donghae snorted.  "Like you give a about what I said to Sungmin.  You've just got your in a bunch because you're scared I'm going to try and steal him back."

Kyuhyun, stay calm.  Please.  Don't lose control now.

Kyuhyun's voice shook with unadulterated anger as he said, "Even if you tried, you wouldn't succeed.  Sungmin may be thick sometimes, but he knows enough how to separate the trash from the decent."

"Oh, and I suppose you're decent?"

"Decent enough to try and protect him from you."

"Who said he needs protecting from anyone?  Possessive, are we?"

"I said.  And yes, I am possessive.  That's what happens when  I have something that another person wants, but will never get."

"He isn't a toy that you can claim as your own.  He's free to choose me whenever he feels like it."

"Only an idiot would choose you."

"I guess that makes Sungmin an idiot."

"You're stupid as hell then, to fall for an idiot."

"Don't with me, you're still in love with him."

"No."

My head snapped to look at Donghae.  He and Kyuhyun were a finger width apart, almost nose to nose.  His face was free of emotion, his eyes flat and empty.  I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

He didn't love me anymore?

I had already decided that I wouldn't turn to Donghae for love anymore.  I decided that it was Kyuhyun I wanted to be with.  So why did it bother me so much when he claimed he didn't love me anymore.

Kyuhyun laughed in exasperation and disbelief.

"Like you expect me to believe that."

Donghae didn't respond.  He simply turned to me and looked me in the eye, while still talking to Kyu.

"If Sungmin were to leave you for me, would you let him?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Because I love him."  Kyuhyun's voice, so venomous before, had turned soft and tender.  The way his voice would smooth over as he said he loved me made me want to cry.  I could never doubt his feelings for me.  Not in a million years.

"Love means nothing.  Not to me.  Not anymore."

 With that, Donghae walked out of the room, leaving Kyuhyun standing there, shuddering in anger.  It was like he was ready to explode.

I got up from the bed and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Kyuhyun.  A-are you alr-?"

Before I could finish my sentence, Kyuhyun shoved me aside and followed Donghae out of the room.  I couldn't even react before I heard the sound of body parts colliding and a grunt of pain.

Terrified of what I would find, I ran out of the room and followed the sound of the continuous pounding of flesh on flesh and scuffling.  Everyone started to emerge from their rooms.  I held back.  I didn't want to know what was going on.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?  BOTH OF YOU CUT IT OUT," Leeteuk all but roared.  His face was flushed bright red and he yelled at the two men who were fighting in the middle of the living room floor.

I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned to see Yesung, Ryeowook, and Shindong hurrying to find the source of the yells and commotion.

"Oh my gosh..."  Ryeowook covered his mouth, his eyes wide.

"What the hell?"  Yesung looked just as shocked as I felt.

Shindong didn't say anything.  He didn't seem to know what to make of the situation.

I looked back towards where Siwon and Leeteuk were trying to pull Kyuhyun and Donghae apart.  Kyuhyun's eye was puffy and swollen, a long scratch running from his temple to his chin, following his jaw line perfectly.  Donghae's lips was split open, a trickle of blood seeping out from the open flesh.

I didn't know how to react.  What was going on?  Why were they fighting?  I wanted to curl up and lose consciousness.  I wanted to disappear from the world and pretend that everything was okay; that everything would be fine.

The injured pair continued to shout obscene insults at each other, trying to break free of their elder's holds on their bodies.  They were just about ready to kill each other.

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!"  A thick vein pulsed in the side Leeteuk's neck.  He was mad...really mad.

Donghae pulled free, his eyes flashing in rage.  Without a word, he went to the door, grabbed his keys off the rack on the wall, pulled on his shoes and unlocked the door.  He ce more to look at me.

"I'm out of here.  Have a good life, Sungmin."  I tried to avoid his gaze, but was unable to escape his hypnotizing glare.  He wrenched open the front door of the dorm and stormed out, slamming it behind him.  Nobody moved.  Unbearable silence filled the room.  He was gone.

No he couldn't be gone.

Without thinking of the consequences, I ran after him.  No one tried to stop me, not even Kyuhyun.  They were in too much shock.

It was raining outside, the drops of rain drenching me instantly as soon as I walked out of the dorm.  I heard the roar of an engine.  Donghae was really leaving.  Where would he go?

"DONGHAE!"  I yelled in desperation.  I yelled his name, over and over again, until my voice gave out.  I followed the sound of the car's engine, stumbling blindly through the rain.  I had to find him.  I had to bring him back.

"Donghae..."  My weak voice broke as my entire body heaved with endless sobs.  "Donghae, come back."

The rain seeped through my clothes, chilling me to the bone.  I didn't notice, however.  The pain that attacked my heart blocked out any other feeling that I could possibly be aware of.  The pain was too much to bear.

I would take getting punched in the face a thousand times and be grateful.

I would take getting my arm broken a thousand times and be grateful.

But this...this ridiculous helplessness against Donghae's power to break my heart...it was too much.  The misery and sadness that overtook everything in my world made me want to cease to exist.  The pain rose from the pit of my stomach and stopped at my throat.  It refused to leave my body, heart, and soul, yet also refused to relent.

I was barely conscious when warm, strong hands grabbed hold of my arms. I hardly noticed when they spoke my name urgently.  I hadn't noticed that I had fallen to the ground and that those unyielding arms lifted me up and carried me to safety.

I was shaking, cold, and in too much misery to know what was going on around me.  Hollow blackness swallowed me whole and I welcomed it.  I would do anything to avoid the feeling of my heart being ripped out of my chest.

Donghae, was my last conscious thought before my mind dissolved into nothingness and I fell back into the capable hands of sleep and exhaustion.

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A/N: Okay, this is a longer chapter in Sungmin's pov to make up for the one that was missing before.  My heart hurts after reading this...

So, I just wrote my first one shot.  It's JongKey and pretty depressing.  I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it...It's called Is This The Reality You Wanted?  Hope you have time to check it out!

I can't believe I went from 28 to 50 subscribers in the course of a day.  You guys are the best people EVER!<3~~ I can't thank you enough for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Huge thank you to kaylalovesworld for this wonderful poster!~~ Be sure to check out her new fic We'll Make It Last!