Even though the members acted a bit off for the rest of the week Eeteuk decided to brush it off as stress. They were busy with album preparations and schedules and he didn't find it weird if they were stressed out because of this. He himself felt the toll it had taken on him. On top of a packed schedule he started waking up in the middle of the night panting and bathed in sweat as he had nightmares showing different scenes from the explosion that took Youngwoon away and now that he was no longer with Siwon, he woke up to an empty room with no one to comfort him and dry his tears. He tried not to show how much it affected him and keep going like everything was fine. If the members noticed they didn't say anything. Even so he was rarely left alone and he began to feel a bit claustrophobic and crowded. When the members were around him, he wanted to be alone but when he lay in bed at night he would have given almost anything to have someone there. He knew that Heechul would have been there in a second if he just asked but he didn't want to. He felt the need to get over this alone while also feeling guilty for having used Siwon like he had. None of his other dongsaengs should be put through that, he thought.

As the members made their way to the van, Eeteuk suddenly realised he had forgotten his phone in the studio when he reached into his pocket to check the time. His annoyance quickly turned to happiness when he realised that this might be a possibility to finally spend some time alone. God knows he needed it.

"I forgot my phone in the studio. I'll just go get it and the walk home. You don't have to wait for me," he said to Hyukjae.

"Are you sure? We don't mind waiting," he said with a frown. He was still not completely sure Eeteuk was ready to be alone for such an amount of time.

"I'm sure. I need some air Hyukkie," Eeteuk said and Hyukjae sighed before nodding as he entered the van. He understood the underlying message in that statement and even though he was not very happy about it, he decided to respect the leader. He was an adult after all and he needed some space too. Eeteuk waved at them as the van started and made his way back to the studio to pick up his phone. He entered just as the sound technicians exited.

"Are you all done in there?" he asked and received a nod in response. "Can I use the room for a bit?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, just remember to turn off all the equipment when you leave," they said and Eeteuk nodded while giving them a thankful smile. He entered the room and found his phone quite quickly as it was lying on the table in clear view. He put it in his pocket before turning to the instrumental board with a billion buttons on. He made sure al