Donghae took a deep breath as he surveyed the view from the back veranda of the Choi family’s guest house. Although he had been here more times than he can remember over the years, this was the first time that he had really studied the spectacular panorama that unfolded before his eyes. Dawn was still a few hours away, and the oppressive heat of an urban jungle summer day had given way to a mild metropolitan night, with the gentlest of breezes flowing across the lawn from the mountains north of the city. He couldn’t help but smile as he thought back at the party that had just ended. It had been just a week since his discharge from the military, and the engagement party was the perfect way for friends and family to welcome him back to civilian life. He was ecstatic that all but one of his Super Junior brothers were on hand to celebrate his official engagement to Jiwon. The presence of Henry, Zhoumi, and Hangeng more than made up for Kibum’s decision to continue to stay away from the rest of the group. And thanks to General Im and Mr. Choi, Yoona and Siwon ended up at the receiving end of most of the ribbing for the night. Yesung and Heechul were not going to let the young couple get away with hiding their relationship for 3 whole years from everyone.

He felt a pair of silky arms looped his neck, and he smiled, reaching around and pulling Jiwon to sit next to him on the chaise lounge, enveloping her in a bear hug and kissing the top of her head as she snuggled closer to him. He had not thought that it was possible to be this happy again, and yet he was so, so happy.

“What would your brother think if he saw us right now?” Donghae whispered as he tightened his embrace of his fiancée.

“He’d tell us we’re crazy to be sitting out here in the middle of the night. And then he’s tell us to scoot over so he can get in on the hug,” Jiwon giggled. Her answer set off a fit of laughter from Donghae as well.

“That’s so true! For a guy who has such a manly image and reputation, Siwon sure does like to be touchy feely all the time!” Donghae stated as they settled back into a comfortable silence. The far-off sounds of the metropolis around them provided a melodic symphony to their ears even as the stars and full moon above provide gentle lighting for their eyes.

“Jiwon, I want to ask you something,” Donghae finally said after a long intermission. “And you don’t have to give me an answer right away. Just think about it.”

At this, Jiwon lifted her head and looked at her fiancé. The baby face that she had fallen in love with was now marked with more wrinkles, more worry, but the shining twinkle in his eyes was still there. “What is it?”

“What if…what if I…I step away…from the guys…from Super Junior.” Donghae started. “What if we get married sooner? I want to start our lives together.”

Jiwon didn’t answer at first, but instead gently touched Donghae’s cheek and pulled him into a kiss. She knew what it took for him to come to this point, to this decision, but she wasn’t going to let him do it.

“No, no, and no.” Jiwon replied, causing Donghae to stare at her in confusion. This was not the answer he had expected.

“You love singing, you love the group. Yes, you will need to take it easy with the dancing for awhile, but we can manage that. You’re not going to walk away from your dream…your father’s dream.” Jiwon elaborated. “You are going to beat this thing…and then you are going to continue being crazy and wacky and sensational with Super Junior.”

“What if…what if Super Junior is not that important to me anymore?” Donghae tried to argue. “You’re my focus now. I want…I want….”

“Liar.” Jiwon smiled. She knew him, just like she knew Siwon and Leeteuk and Yesung and all the others, too well. “Super Junior is in your blood…it IS your blood…you need it as much as you need air to live. You would be miserable if you can’t do what you love the most, which is singing and writing songs and performing.”

“Why does everyone keep saying I’m going to be fine, as if this is just a little cold or something,” Donghae tried to sound gentle, but his voice betrayed his frustration. “It’s not like good hearts are readily available and I can just walk into SNUH and order one tomorrow. I…I want to be realistic about all of this. There is a chance…there is a chance that things will not work out the way we want them to. And I want to spend as much time as I can with you if that’s the case.”

Jiwon didn’t reply at first, instead she laid her head on Donghae’s chest, pulling him close so that she can hear his heartbeat. “I am not letting you go, Siwon is not letting you go, your mom is not letting you go. We are going to get through this, and then we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. And how do I know this will turn out okay? Because I have faith. And faith has never let me down before.”

“This is not happening,” Kangin blurted out in anger. “How…how is this even possible. That crazy tried to kill us…KILL US…and she almost succeeded 10 years ago. Kyuhyun almost died. Heechul still can’t dance properly. And now you’re letting her out!?!”

The prosecutor and police detective looked to Lee Soo-man for help in trying to calm Kangin down, but instead they got an icy glare that was even more dangerous than Kangin’s rage.

“The…the psychiatric hospital where she’s been confined has reported that she’s made great progress. They think she’s ‘cured’ of her mental difficulties from back then. The psychiatrists think that she can be re-integrated into society slowly.”

“Oh hell no,” Hangeng spoke up. He had been in Shanghai the night before for a concert. When he got back to his hotel room, he found Lee Soo-man’s assistant waiting for him. SM Entertainment had sent a private jet to pick him up for this meeting in Seoul. Despite their many conflicts over the years, the one thing that forever bound the 2 men together was their love for Super Junior. And only Kangin, Hangeng, and Lee Soo-man knew the truth, the real truth, of what happened to the group 10 years ago, when a series of car accidents almost killed half of them. They weren’t accidents at all. A crazy and overzealous fan, a stalker, a sasaeng, had been tried to kill them. Their cars had been sabotaged, chased off the roads, and deliberately rammed. “Youngwoon is right. She’s going to come after us, after Super Junior, if she is released.”

“We will provide discreet police protection, of course,” The police detective tried to calm their fears.

“We had protection a decade ago,” Kangin interjected. “She got through all of that. She almost succeeded in killing Hyukjae as he slept in our dorm!”

“We will keep her under constant surveillance. She will never get anywhere near you. If she violates a single letter in her release terms, we will put her right back in the mental institution.” Came the reply from the prosecutor, which was unconvincing to everyone in the room. “We promise you…no harm will come to any of you.”

“You’re going to have our blood on your hands if you release her.” Kangin said grimly before stalking out.