The moment Donghae heard the news he’d rushed to the hospital, running through the hallways looking for a familiar figure. There were Ryeowook and Yesung’s younger brother; Jongjin tailing behind, much nervous and fearful alike him. When they’d reached the emergency unit, a kind nurse had informed them of the whereabouts of the person Donghae had been looking for.

They were ushered to the surgery room and there Donghae saw Aunt Kim and a much younger boy sitting together by the waiting chairs. When he approached them, Aunt Kim started to tear up. Donghae had to hold onto her avoiding the frail looking old woman from falling down and hurt herself. The sound of her sobs and stutters were undeniably heartbreaking for anyone to bear.

“The doctor said she might won’t make it.” Aunt Kim sobbed loudly in Donghae’s arms, face contort in thousands agony a mother could portray. “M—My daughter won’t make it. Uri Maaya won’t make it, Donghae…..”

“Imo…” The sole word able to escape Donghae’s mouth was the calling of his dear girlfriend’s mother, each strains of his voice felt like a hammer trudging thunder to the chest of those around them.

The police was here as per to Donghae’s girlfriend’s case turned out to be more complicated than a regular car accident. Few hours ago, Maaya was walking down the stores nearby her apartment for some groceries—although Donghae was pretty certain he had gone to all the length of accompanying her yesterday morning for that. Maaya was ran by an unknown car along a deserted street early in the morning, her body was left behind on the cold ground knocked full with a pool of crimson blood drowning her petite figure. There was no one around, no witnesses, not even a security camera overlooking the streets to which the officers had come to a hypothesis that the hit-and-run incident was planned by somebody.

Her injury was heavy, the impact of the car sending her flying miles away from the spot she was walking had made almost half her vital organs impaled. The surgery wasn’t able to save her.

She was announced dead after 5 hours of unsuccessful surgery.

Donghae wished to scream his lungs out but that wasn’t any option. So he could only bawl his eyes out in his best friend’s arms; crying with incoherent words slipping out of his mouth. The members can hear his deceased girlfriend’s name in between the fishy-resident man’s painful sobs. Everyone was sad, everyone was struck in disbelief over the unexpected incident but no one could be more devastated than Donghae himself.

Throughout the funeral, it was Hyukjae holding him steady. The main dancer of Super Junior had been beside Donghae since the late night he had come after his schedule to the hospital. Right after he had showed up with much surprised Shindong and Leeteuk, Donghae had buried himself in his arms crying and asking Hyukjae why this would happen to the person Donghae had loved with all his heart.

Just right after 3 days ago where Donghae had proposed to her for marriage…..

And now here he was, standing limply in Hyukjae and Ryeowook’s hold. Maaya’s serene face and beautiful smile staring at him behind the glass frame—a remembrance of the lost soul she had become, hopefully in peace.

Because Donghae will never be in peace.

Not until he’d found the bastard that had kill his girlfriend.

“Donghae, let’s go home.”

Hyukjae watched by the sidelines as their leader and oldest; Jungsoo coaxing Donghae from his further moping by the floor, eyes straining as he kept staring at the picture by the stand for hours. He sighed, putting down the glass of water onto the table and walked back to where the two were standing—apparently with the ever concern Siwon and definitely worried looking Jongwoon helping the leader when they saw the older couldn’t get Donghae up.

“Hyung.” Hyukjae called out for attention and within seconds he found three pair of eyes on him. He sighed yet again, “I’ll bring him home soon. All of you can go back first.”

“Are you sure about that? He seems totally out of it.” Jungsoo uttered as he looked down to Donghae who’d acted as if he wasn’t there, wasn’t listening to them talking about him. He kept looking at Maaya’s picture as if the photo was meant to stare back at him. But it couldn’t. Maaya was dead and Donghae just couldn’t accept that yet.

“I can handle him on my own.” Confidently Hyukjae said, not minding it one bit because after all the years they had been living together as members and friends, he had gotten used to babysitting Donghae. It was alike a norm even between the members, of Hyukjae the only one so far able to be on parred with Donghae’s antics.

So what could be so hard handling him in this state? Well, only with Hyukjae possibly not sleeping attending to his crying. But he could live with that.

Anything with Donghae, Hyukjae can live with it.

“If you want it, I can come for the night.” Siwon added.

“Me too.” Jongwoon next. But Hyukjae shook his head as he turned to look at Donghae.

“He needs some space. I’m sure he appreciates it but for now, I can deal with him alone.”

Thus the rests agreed and Hyukjae let Siwon brought him and Donghae back to the latter’s apartment, only after he had passed out 2 hours later from crying.

“Hyukkie! Guess what?!” Overly excited Donghae had come to the dorm that night, crashing onto Hyukjae’s bed whilst the older had barely gotten out of shower from his long day of schedule. Despite the overwhelming fatigue from 6 hours gruesome recording for a show, Hyukjae had no heart to chase the younger out. So he just sat there by the chair beside his bed and listened.

“I’ve proposed to Maaya. We’re getting married!”

Hyukjae wished he wouldn’t have listened to that; the fact that the man you’d been harboring feelings for the past 20 years would be getting married to someone else felt like dying all over again in the most cruelest ways a human could think of.

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