For the past week, Sungmin couldn’t shake the feeling that the members were looking down on him. Well—at least at first it was a feeling, but as he sat here eating breakfast with s, Kyuhyun beside him, he could feel their deadly gazes. It didn’t help that Kyuhyun had been basically ignoring him since the Strong Heart episode. At least the others had the decency to make conversation with him.

Sungmin glanced at Heechul, and for a second he swore Heechul was staring into his soul or something demonic like that anyway. Sungmin absolved to finally put his foot down and ask what the hell this was all about. Only after he finished his breakfast though.

He’d been trying all week to pry something out of the members, specifically focusing on the easy targets like Leeteuk. He’d asked them what he did wrong, but they all shook their heads and sighed dramatically. To be honest, it kind of hurt, but he wouldn’t give up easily.

He was going to get to the bottom of this.

After the dishes were piled in the sink and breakfast was all finished, Sungmin straightened his collar and went in search of Leeteuk. But to his surprise, the members were all standing around the kitchen, a box wrapped with a ribbon sitting innocently on the table. The only person missing was Kyuhyun.

Heechul sauntered over to Sungmin and put his hand on his shoulder.

“This is for you.”

Now things were getting really weird. Sungmin scratched the back of his neck and shrugged, approaching the present with apprehension bubbling in his stomach. Somehow this all seemed a bit, well, odd.

Sungmin grabbed the present suspiciously, not at all trusting the way Heechul was giggling under his breath like a mad man. Sungmin tore off the ribbon and stared inside, his face paling at the contents of the formerly innocent box.

“Heechul,” Sungmin said slowly, enunciating his words. “Why would you give me a whip?”

Heechul looked far too devious for his liking. Crossing his arms, Heechul coughed and looked around at the others who were nodding in approval, although Siwon did look a bit sick.  

“I mean, we’ve all noticed that things haven’t been going so well lately, so we thought maybe you needed a bit of an incentive to get back together, so to speak.”

Sungmin stared blankly.

“The whip was my idea,” he added.

To say Sungmin was completely and utterly confused as hell would be a pretty large understatement.

After they’d given Sungmin the whip, (and Heechul had whispered ‘use it well’ in his ear) everyone had claimed they needed to leave and walk the neighbour’s dog. The neighbour didn’t even have a dog.

Well, everyone but Kyuhyun, anyway. Sungmin thought back to Heechul’s words, and he kept making it sound as if he’d fought with someone. The only conclusion Sungmin could make was that it had a very big something to do with a particular Cho Kyuhyun. Sungmin decided he would try to approach Kyuhyun and find out what was going on, but Kyuhyun was so immersed in his game of Star Craft that he didn’t even notice Sungmin walk into the room with a whip. 

Today was not his day.

You really know today’s not your day when all of a sudden the MC of a program you’re attending turns out to be an obsessive shipper.  

“Now you boys just stand in a line over there and I’ll watch from over here, alright?” the MC giggled, her eyes so wide Sungmin actually felt a little concerned about her health, and got comfortable and in position as they tried to figure out how they were going to fit.

Sungmin was immediately terrified of her. Most of the members had come, par a few, and getting nine members to stand in a straight line was a little difficult, especially since the studio wasn’t all that big. Of course, Eunhae were paired up at the end, and since Sungmin was most comfortable around Eunhyuk, he stood to the side of him. Eunhyuk turned to smile at him, but immediately paled.

“U-uh, I think you should stand over there, next to-just next to whoever. It’s just I promised I would stand next to Kangin, right Kangin?”

Kangin looked ridiculously confused at first, as he turned to look, but then understanding washed over his face. “Oh, yes, of course, yeah. Can’t break promises.”

So, Eunhyuk and Kangin has promised they would be kissing partners. Well, okay, Sungmin thought. He shuffled in between Leeteuk and Heechul, but Heechul almost immediately shoved him away and yelled, “Siwon, you take him!”

“Why me?” Siwon whined in complaint.

Sungmin really wasn’t feeling the love today.

He sighed and retreated to the end of the line, standing next to Kyuhyun who was smirking in delight.  Sungmin wondered why everyone was ditching him today. What he didn’t realise, was that Kyuhyun was giving everyone who stood next to Sungmin a death glare that said, ‘if you don’t give him to me, you’re going down’. The members were all either frightened that Sungmin would go all martial arts on them for kissing his Kyuhyun, or that Kyuhyun would snark them to death.

“Okay,” the MC said, sounding far too excited, “now pair up in three’s. They’ll be your team mates for this game.”

Everyone avoided Kyumin like the plague. The MC seemed to notice this and pursed her lips. “Eunhyuk-ssi, come join Kyuhyun and Sungmin.”

Eunhyuk’s jaw went slack and he let out a sound of desperation from his throat.

“You’re in a group of four, and there are only two of them over there.”

Eunhyuk nodded dumbly and joined the two, looking absolutely terrified. Eunhyuk stood on Kyuhyun’s side, just praying that Sungmin wouldn’t murder him later. He put his hands in his pockets and let out a nervous laugh. As long as he didn’t touch Kyuhyun, Eunhyuk thought that it’d all turn out well and that Sungmin would understand it was in the spirit of a game. Hopefully. Eunhyuk had seen firsthand what Sungmin could do with nunchucks.

“Three, two, one, start!”

Sungmin, at the start of the line, the paper and passed it to Kyuhyun. and blow. It was pretty simple, except Kyuhyun kept flinching back every time he tried to pass him to him. Sungmin, having had a bad day and pissed that everyone was constantly ignoring, grabbed the back of Kyuhyun’s head and forced Kyuhyun to take the paper.

Kyuhyun seemed to momentarily panic, and dropped the paper from sheer surprise (and embarrassment). Sungmin could’ve sworn he saw Kyuhyun’s face go a tinge pink. Sungmin grumbled in annoyance and tried again, but this time Kyuhyun was a little more willing to take the paper.

Kyuhyun had to remind himself that this was just a game before he died of humiliation. Kissing his best friend, even through paper, wasn’t exactly something he was all that keen on doing. But in the spirit of the game and high ratings, he pushed on. He turned to Eunhyuk, but he just stared at Kyuhyun with frightened eyes instead of trying  to get the paper from his mouth.

Kyuhyun decided to use the same tactic Sungmin had used on him, and grabbed the back of Eunhyuk’s head, pulling them closer. Eunhyuk started flailing. From the corner of his eye, Eunhyuk could see Sungmin sending him the stare that promised a few broken bones when they got back to the dorms.

Dear lord, have mercy on me, Eunhyuk begged.  

The ride back to the dorm was a little awkward, and Eunhyuk couldn’t stop jumping every time someone called his name or touched him, but other than that things were pretty okay. And by okay, everyone was still ignoring Sungmin. But he had a plan for when he got home, and he would weasel everything out of Leeteuk.

With force.