As soon as the managers release us, we return to the dorms and some of the members go to sleep, others milling about and talking to others. I sit with Lay and Chen and watch a drama with them for a bit but after getting bored of the stereotypical girl-falling-in-love-with-the-hard-to-reach-hot-as-hell-boy plot, I get up and wander into Kai’s room. Luhan’s fallen asleep on his bed and Kai’s on his bed with his head slumped over, the manga book in his hands fallen flat on his stomach.

I chuckle quietly and take the book from him slowly, careful not to wake him, and slowly pull the blankets over his body, up to his chin. He stirs a little and I quickly hop up the steps to my bed, peeking over to check if he’s awake. His eyes are shut yet they’re twitching, a habit he does when he sleeps, signaling that he’s in a deep slumber.

I lay down on my bed and close my eyes, attempting to fall asleep.

I don’t really want to sleep, but now that I know that I have to wake up extra early for the flight just encourages me to go to sleep early.

But my eyes refuse to shut comfortably, continually opening and staring at the ceiling above me.

I turn onto my side, forcing my eyes shut. I guess it works, because after an hour of being in a state of half-awake and half-asleep, I open my eyes to see the room is darker, the hallway empty of noise.

Frustrated, I sit up and check my phone, groaning when I see that it’s only 11:30 pm.

I don’t feel like sleeping.

More like I can’t sleep, I guess.

It’s kind of unnerving, knowing that I’ll be going to a place I’ve never been to tomorrow. I’m not afraid of flying, but I hate being in unfamiliar areas. I feel vulnerable and scared, like I can get lost at any second.

And that place that we’ll be flying to tomorrow just happens to be an unbelievably populated and huge country. Really doesn’t help me.

I want to go out. I want to walk around, go anywhere where there’s no one around, so me and my thoughts can be by ourselves.

I hate the feeling of being in a room with people, trying to sort your thoughts yet being distracted by the others around you. It’s like you can’t properly think anything through because there’s constantly other things to think about.

It’s kind of like my thoughts don’t feel safe around others. Not that anyone can read minds, but I like being by myself.

I’m going to do something that I haven’t done in a while, since before mom died.

I quietly lower myself down the steps of the ladder, wincing when one of the steps creaks slightly under the pressure of my foot. I continue down and slide through the small space between the door and the wall. No one’s in the living room, everyone probably taking advantage of being able to go to sleep early. The lights are off and I tip toe to the entrance, slipping on my shoes and pulling my hood over my head. I quietly turn the doorknob and slip out, shutting it as softly as possible.

Once I’m in the hallway, I quicken my pace, hurrying to the elevator. I jab the button and even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t wake anyone up, I keep peeking back down the hall in case anyone saw me.

The elevator door opens and I take a step forward, slightly gasping when I realize who’s inside.

“Eunji?” Eunhyuk’s standing off to the side in the elevator, his hands in his pockets. He peers at me when I enter and I bite my lip.

So much for my hood hiding me.

I sigh. “Hey.”

This is probably the only moment I will ever experience where my mood is put down upon seeing my bias in front of me.

“What are you doing out so late?” He asks, almost strict. I jab at the button for the first floor and the lift begins moving.

“I was gonna go walk around.”

He tilts his head slightly. “It’s so late though! You shouldn’t go alone.”

I shrug. “Why are you out late?”

“Same reason as you.” He smirks and then adds, “But Donghae wanted soda so I’m going to the store to get some.” He looks at me, “If you’re going to go walk around, do you want to walk to the store with me?”

I think it through, staring at the floor in front of me. It wouldn’t hurt having some company. And for some odd reason, I feel comfortable around Eunhyuk. Despite the fact that I hoped to be alone on my venture outside.

I nod and the elevator door opens. “Okay… how far is the store?”

He gestures for me to leave first and I do, holding my hands in the pocket of my hoodie to savor my warmth. He opens the door and a gush of air whips through, though it’s not cold and chilling. It’s more of a refreshing feel than cold, making me feel like a gallon of ice water has hit me in the face after a tiring run, waking me up a bit as my eyes attempt to focus on the blackness of the streets.

“About fifteen minutes,” He says, and we walk in silence, the occasional sounds of night time sliding past us.

“How are you enjoying staying with EXO?” He asks.

I shrug, not really knowing how to reply. “Fine, I guess. They’re a lot different than how they look when they’re on TV,” I add as a second thought.

 “Most of us are… idols, I mean. SM gives each of us a label, basically. I’m ‘charisma’’,” He says proudly, and I smile. “Your brother’s supposed to be ‘y.’”

I scoff, and Eunhyuk eyes me. “I can’t imagine my brother as anything but a dork.”

He laughs. “That’s what my sister said, when I told her what SM told me to act like,” He stares at the ground as he walks. It’s dark, but the moon gives enough light for me to see a glimpse of sadness resting on his face.

“What’s your sister like?” I ask, not knowing if it’s touchy or not.

He smiles, looking up at the stars. “She’s really silly. And nice, but she’s sarcastic and dorky and weird,” He chuckles, as if recalling a good memory. He turns his head and eyes me, and I refuse to meet his gaze as I keep my eyes focused on the path in front of me. “You remind me of her, you know.”

I blink. “Really?”

He nods. “Yeah, you’re both kind of silly and different. And you seem confident like her, too.”

I chuckle, and his eyebrows furrow. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing… just, Kris told me the exact same thing, like two days ago.”

He nods. “You’re a good sister.”

I pause, the shock from the utter randomness of that statement sinking in. The way he said it, it’s like he’s known me forever. As if I am his sister.

“Thanks?”

He shrugs. “Like, if you remind me and Kris of our sisters, then you must be a good sister.”

I don’t really recall myself being a good sister. I mean, I don’t beat my brother up or insult him every this way and that but I don’t necessarily hug him and pour my sisterly love on him every second either.

I’m about to come up with a crushing retort about how I’m a horrible sister when I hear a moan that crashes through the silence of the night, and I unintentionally shrink towards Eunhyuk.

“W-What was that?” I murmur, grabbing his arm.

We slow down a bit, listening for another sound. I know I’m shaking slightly but Eunhyuk stands still, both our ears perked up.

He turns his head to me. “I don’t know, but-“

Another moan from down an alley cuts his sentence short, a weary and muffled moan that sends a shiver runs down my spine, igniting all fears that usually hide within me behind my exterior. Hearing moans filled with need and sorrow at such a close distance and so late at night are not going to keep me from trying to be strong.

“Wait here,” He says, and he slowly approaches the alley, his eyes squinted as he tries adjusting to the light. I stand against the corner of one of the buildings, watching as Eunhyuk’s figure slowly disappears into the abyss of darkness that he just walked into.

I listen carefully, hoping to hear no other moans or groans. But instead Eunhyuk’s alarmed voice travels through the darkness, him being nowhere in sight.

“Eunji, come here.”

Rather than obeying, I find myself taking a step backwards. Another groan comes from wherever Eunhyuk headed to, and I shrink back a little more, but stop when his voice comes through stronger. “Seriously, come here Eunji.”

I swear to god, if a killer is down there with a knife hidden behind his back, I’m going to slap myself silly for being stupid enough to come out so late at night.

I hesitantly make my way into the darkness, not seeing the steps I make, one foot slowly lifting and landing on the ground after the other.

As I move forward, I see a light shine further in, illuminating Eunhyuk’s face. He’s crouched down and he’s holding his phone to light himself as a guide for me and I rush forward to be in the comforting presence of a person I know.

“What is it?” I mumble, searching his face for something giving a hint of what the moans were.

He grimaces, before moving the phone light away from his face and moving it to the figure that I had no idea was slouched against the alley wall. The light shines on the face of the source of the moans, and I can’t hold in the gasp that escapes from my mouth, my eyes widening as I stare down at the figure before me.

“S…Sehun?”