7.

                “I can’t believe she didn’t pick me as best brother, even after I set up those wonderful outdoor games for everyone,” Siwon grunted loudly to his fellow group members.

                “At least you didn’t get the title of worst brother,” Shindong reasoned. The heads of everyone in the room turned to face Donghae, camped in the corner, sulking. When he realized he was being stared at, he grumpily stood up and launched a barrage of defenses.

                “I didn’t deserve to be worst brother. I should have been best!” He sharply whirled around pointed at Kyuhyun, who was playing on his iPhone. “Did you carry Izzy in after she fell asleep in the car? I don’t think so, Mr. ‘Best Brother’!” The older man made a face, sticking his tongue out and glaring. Kyuhyun just returned the gesture with an evil smirk, and continued to focus on the game he was playing.

                Kangin walked over to his dongsaeng and patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “Calm down, Donghae.”

                Then Heechul stood up. “I know why you weren’t best brother,” he announced. “It’s because when you brought Izzy to her bed, you didn’t hold her properly.” The members stared at him, their eyes glazed, not fully understanding what he meant.

                Just then, Izzy walked in to the room, returning from her afternoon nap. “Thanks, guys, for being so considerate. I just happened to get up on my own, yup. No loud noises or shouting to wake me up,” she mumbled as she rubbed her half-lidded eyes. Her eyes widened as some of the members rushed up to her, demanding explanations for not picking them as ‘best brother’. They widened even more when Heechul pushed through the crowd of men and put his arms around her.

                “Hey, hey!” She tried to protest, but he ignored her obvious discomfort and lifted her, putting her weight on his upper arm. Izzy was now slumped over Heechul’s shoulder, his arms holding onto her legs and her head dangling behind his back. Strands of her fine hair slightly swayed in the air. “I wonder if this is what you do to all the girls you’re close to; They must enjoy feeling like a sack of potatoes,” she commented, the blood rushing to her head.

                “This is how you’re supposed to carry you sister,” Heechul was saying. He swung around to face Donghae and pointed to Izzy’s rear, which was prominently displayed next to his head. Donghae sputtered, unable to come up with a reply. Heechul then pulled Izzy off his shoulder and placed her into Donghae’s arms, instructing, “Now show us how you held her last night.” Izzy wondered what he was talking about.

                 The 26 year old woman found herself being carried bridal-style, one of the Super Junior member’s arms underneath the crook of her knee and the other supporting her back. Afraid of falling, she had put her hands around Donghae’s neck, her fingers gripping his smooth skin, grazing tufts of his dark hair.

                  “Ahem,” Leeteuk cleared his throat. “Why should the way Donghae brought Izzy to her bed affect his ‘brother ranking’?”

                   Heechul grinned, then elaborated on his point, speaking like a college lecturer. “Well, here, you see that this method emanates an entirely different feeling from the way I was previously holding Izzy. I gave off a brotherly-sisterly vibe, while right now our Donghae and Izzy look like a newly married couple.” Even though Heechul seemed to be fooling around, a few of the members nodded and murmured exclamations of agreement and understanding.

                    Izzy listened intently, still not quite understanding the situation. She felt a warm breath brush across her face, and looked up to find the source. Donghae’s face was only a few inches away from hers. His eyes were gazing deep into her own, mesmerized. Her face grew red. It’s probably just from the blood that rushed to my head earlier, when Heechul-oppa was holding me, she made up a feeble excuse, but was unable to even convince herself.  

                    “Hey guys,” Leeteuk called, walking into the room, waving his cellphone around. He startled everyone with his clear leader voice, and Donghae hurriedly dropped Izzy back onto her feet. “I’ve just booked a karaoke place for tonight. We can go have fun after work, and celebrate our recent comeback as a family.” He nodded at Izzy, indicating her inclusion.

                      Upon hearing Leeteuk’s announcement, the Super Junior members cheered and pumped their fists. The diligent idols stood and as a group began to exit through the door, getting ready to leave for work, and chattering excitedly about that night’s later outing.

                     Izzy grinned as she stared at the retreating backs of her “brothers”, in awe at how close and familiar she had grown to the idols. She turned to contain the pleasure on her face, but found herself facing Henry and Zhou Mi, who were still slumped on the couch in the corner of the room. Their bent posture alerted her that possibly they were feeling a little down. “You’re coming tonight, right?” She asked in hopes of raising the two Chinese men’s spirits.

                    “No,” Zhou Mi quietly spoke. “We’re not part of SuJu-K.”

                  The young woman stomped over to the pair and jumped next to them on the couch. “Just because you’re not Korean doesn’t mean you’re not a part of Super Junior. You’re in our family; You belong.” She looked into Henry’s eyes, capturing his attention, and then made eye contact with Zhou Mi too. “Our family would lack something if you guys weren’t here,” she honestly spoke, intending to make the men feel better. Izzy could tell she had succeeded, for smiles were growing across Zhou Mi’s and Henry’s faces, and her own heart felt warm.

                  Later that day, Izzy found herself all alone in the house, save for a couple of camera men and a few members of the television crew. The others were all working or doing errands.

                  Escaping the bright lights and the cameras, Izzy shut herself in her bedroom and flopped onto the bed, sighing. Ever since the show had started filming, Izzy wasn’t allowed to go to work. She missed seeing Jiyoo every morning.

                  To cheer herself up from her depressive mood, Izzy put on some music. SNSD’s “Oh!” came up. It’s catchy tune and strong rhythm instantly filled the young woman’s bones, and she started to dance along to the beat. “Oh, oh, oh, oppareul saranghae,” she sang, a wide smile on her face. Izzy pranced around and sang her heart out until the song ended.

                  She was about to pick another song to play when she heard someone clear their throat from behind her. “Ahem.” Izzy spun on her feet and turned to see Donghae leaning against the doorway to her bedroom, smirk on his face. The young woman crossed her arms tightly, holding them close to her torso. She stood, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet while she glared at him with burning eyes. “What are you doing? Auditioning to be the 10^th member of SNSD?” he commented, the smug look on his face never wavering.

                 Izzy decided to take the teasing in stride. “No, obviously not. I’m auditioning to be in SHINee’s group,” she huffed. But her face was heated, and she strode over to him, poking a finger into his chest. “Please don’t tell anyone, okay?” Her eyes begged him.

                The male idol grinned, and she could tell he was up to something. “I won’t spill your secret,” he began, “if you pick me as best brother next time.”

                Izzy giggled. “Seriously? That’s all you want? Deal,” she agreed, and stuck a hand out. He shook it, his warm fingers enfolding her thin ones. Neither pulled away; the handshake turned into the hands just gripping each other. Izzy kept her hand in his embrace; She liked the way her hand comfortably rested in his.

                The door opened, and Eunhyuk, Sungmin, and Ryeowook came in, a couple of cameramen following. The pair wrenched their hands apart and quickly dropped them at their sides, avoiding eye contact completely, and pretending nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

                “What are you two blushing about?” Sungmin eyed them, smirking.

                Ryeowook pushed him aside and spoke. “Whatever, c’mon! It’s time to go to the karaoke bar. Let’s go party!” He beckoned to them, and everyone shuffled after him.

               The karaoke bar was lively, filled with the 13 Super Junior members, Izzy, and the whole TV crew. Songs were blaring from the speakers, drinks and orders were being served, everyone was chatting animatedly with each other. Izzy was enjoying herself, conversing with her “brothers” about their work, and with the cameramen about trivial things. She was sipping a glass of alcohol when she noticed the maknae of the group.

                Izzy bounded over to Kyuhyun, who was sitting alone at the table, watching the others singing, dancing, laughing. She plopped down onto the seat next to him, and asked, “Why haven’t you got up from this seat all night? You should go sing.” The maknae’s face was more pensive than usual, and Izzy was slightly worried. The fluorescent flashing lights of the karaoke bar shone ahead, splashing circles of color on their faces. She nudged his side with her elbow. “I promise you that you’ll be almost as good as I was,” she joked, trying to cheer him up, without any success. So she directly approached him. “Hey, Cho Kyuhyun. What’s wrong?”

                Kyuhyun was silent for a moment, then leaned in close to whisper into Izzy’s ear. “I feel like Donghae is mad at me.” She looked at the younger man in surprise; she couldn’t imagine an angry Donghae. He was always so cheerful, caring and silly, which is what Izzy had always admired in the man. She stole a glance over at the Super Junior member, who was goofing around with his best friend. His eyes suddenly darted over to where she and Kyuhyun were sitting, and locked onto hers. Donghae said something to Eunhyuk, then walked over to them. He squeezed his body into the space between them, and put his each of his arms around their shoulders in a friendly manner.

                “What are you two plotting?” He asked, the familiar teasing glint in his eye. The older man turned to the younger, and asked, “You’re not letting her talk you into singing SNSD’s Oh, are you?” Donghae glanced back at Izzy and winked, inciting her fury.

                She abruptly stood up and pulled on his arm, dragging him over to an empty area of the karaoke bar. “I’m mad you almost spilled my secret, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about,” she hissed before Donghae could open his mouth in protest. Looking him directly in the eyes, she asked, “Are you mad at Kyuhyun?”

                Donghae stared back, keeping his face devoid of emotions. “Why would I be mad?” he replied with a question.

                Izzy decided to a little bit. “Because poor wittle Donghae is jealous,” she cooed, wagging a finger at him. “You’re jealous of Kyuhyun’s ‘best brother’ title, aren’t you?”

                He narrowed his eyes and pouted. “No, I’m not,” he whined childishly.

                Izzy continued teasing. “Looks like someone’s a sore loser,” she sang.  

                Donghae exclaimed, “I’m not jealous of that, I’m jealous of…” his voice started strong, but it trailed off and didn’t complete his thought.

                “Jealous of what?” She was curious; it had been the first time Donghae didn’t tell what was exactly on his mind.

                He gazed at her peculiarly, seeming to be deep in thought. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it right after. He blinked, exhaled loudly, and waved his hand in dismissal as he began to walk away. “Nothing,” he murmured. “Kyuhyun shouldn’t be worried; I’m not mad at him.”

                As Donghae made his way to the rowdy group of members crowded in front of the karaoke machine, Izzy’s eyes followed him in concern. Her lips pursed; her heart was telling her that something wasn’t right. She grimly wondered why the usually cheerful Donghae seemed to be so down, and what she could do to make him feel better.