Ryeowook twitched a little in his bed, but he turned his back on Leeteuk.

As Leeteuk hesitated, I walked over to Ryeowook's bed. "Ryeowook," I said quietly in his ear.

Ryeowook opened his eyes a slit, then seeing my face, he turned away from me, too. I was about to shake him awake when closed his eyes again, but before I could he opened his eyes all the way; he'd clearly just realized that I was here.

"Hey," I said with a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked hoarsely, then he saw Leeteuk and me looking at him, side-by-side. He then blinked confusedly a few times. "I think I'm still dreaming," he said, shaking his head a tiny bit. Leeteuk and I caught each other's eyes and smiled. I looked back at Ryeowook.

"You're not dreaming," I said quietly. "Hey, I'm going to go home. Can you write something for my parents?"

There was a short silence while Ryeowook processed my words.

"Now?" he finally asked groggily.

"Yeah. Before the manager hyung finds out," I said, hoping Ryeowook got the hint and spoke a bit more quietly, but Ryeowook had different intentions.

"What?" asked Ryeowook, rubbing his eyes. "I think I really am dreaming. Kyuhyun, we're three days away from promotions."

I hesitated. If even Ryeowook was unwilling to let me go, I wasn't sure whether the other members would let me. As I just stood there, Leeteuk nodded.

"I know. That's why he has to do it in secret, okay?"

There was small pause.

"Okay," said Ryeowook, then he took the pen and the CD from me.

"On your own picture, Ryeowook," said Leeteuk, but I was a bit more flustered than Leeteuk.

"Ryeowook, you - you do realize what the manager hyung might do when - "

"And all I have to do is not tell anyone?" said Ryeowook, cutting me off. I stared at him, convinced that he wasn't fully awake yet.

"He's going to beat us," I said, making sure that he fully knew the consequences.

Ryeowook lifted the pen away from the CD for a split second, then he looked at me. "I know, Kyuhyun, I'm not stupid."

What?

"So why are you letting me go?" I asked, astounded.

"I'm sure you're going for a reason," said Ryeowook, then he signed the album with a flourish. I stared at him for a few seconds, then I smiled with appreciation.

"You trust me too much," I said, fully knowing that I'd made far too many mistakes to deserve so much trust, but Ryeowook just shook his head.

"Good luck, and be back a few minutes before K.R.Y. practice tonight so that we can start on time after the beating," said Ryeowook, then he pulled his blanket up to his chin and closed his eyes again.

I was hesitating in front of the manager hyung's door. Miraculously, I'd gotten permission from all of the other hyungs – although some of them needed more persuasion than others – and had each of them write on the album, but I wasn't sure what to do about Heechul. At the same time that he wasn't a part of the group beatings, I still wanted him to sign the album for my parents although I wasn't expecting him to write anything, and I still wanted to get his permission. On the other hand, he was still sleeping in the managers' room, and I didn't think he would let me even after screaming at me, no less without waking up the managers in the room. But deciding that I still needed to get his permission, I turned the lights out in the hallway, waited until my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and turned the doorknob as quietly as I possibly could.

I heard several light snores, and upon further examination, I saw two figures on the bed, and one on the floor; I guessed Seunghwan hyung was sleeping on the floor to make room on a bed for Heechul.

I stepped over the dark figure of Seunghwan hyung, and crept up beside Heechul's bed with the page that I wanted him to sign open. I lifted my hand to tap him awake, but then remembered the Malaysia trip. God, if I just woke him, he'd no doubt just start screaming at me, waking everyone up. I then decided that I needed to play safe; if I didn't go today, I wouldn't be able to go until after promotions, which was probably another two months. I contemplated for a few seconds, then fully knowing how downright wrong it was, I put my hand over Heechul's mouth and clamped it shut.

Heechul's eyes opened so fast that I was startled, then he sat up on the bed, panicked. He then instinctively started pulling my arm away from his mouth, but I held firm and kept my hand over his mouth, and with difficulty, pulled my face closer to Heechul's.

"Hyung, it's Kyuhyun, please relax. I'm so, so, so sorry," I whispered in his ear. He stopped struggling a little and I loosened my grip a tiny bit. "Please, please don't say anything, hyung, please. This is just for my parents, hyung. I'm going home for the first time since I moved in here. I just have to make sure the manager hyungs don't find out. Please, please, hyung, please."

I took a deep breath, then took my hand away from Heechul's mouth slowly. Please, please don't wake them up, please.

I don't know whether or not it was because he was still in shock or because he really wanted to let me go, but whichever it was Heechul didn't say anything. I breathed a sigh of relief, and in the darkness, I held out the page and the pen for Heechul to take.

"Hyung, all you have to do is sign it. Please. It's for my parents. Please," I whispered.

Heechul just stared at me for a few seconds. I thought he might start screaming at me, but he silently just took the album from me and signed half-heartedly. As soon as he finished, I took the album from him, almost tearing up with the gratitude.

"I'll take all the beating you want to give me later tonight, hyung. Thank you so, so much," I whispered, then I bowed for longer than I ever had for anyone I ever had before stepping over Seunghwan hyung's figure on the floor and leaving the room again.

I walked back into my room for my bag, then with everything ready and the album in my hand, I took one last visit to Leeteuk's room.

"Sunbaenim, I'm - you know," I said quietly.

Leeteuk looked at me. "You'll keep your phone off, right?"

I nodded. "I don't want my parents to know that I'm there when I'm not allowed to be."

Leeteuk smiled a little. "Just make sure you check your phone at least every other hour or so, though, just in case."

"Yes, sunbaenim. Thank you," I said with a bow, then I smiled and left the room.

It was around 5am when I left the dorm in total silence, and I felt my chest tighten with fear of what might happen once the manager hyung awakened and saw that I was missing. He would probably be in pure panic, then start interrogating the other members. I just hoped no one would tell.

The subway had just started running for the day, and consequently, I was one of the only people in the car. I fiddled with the CD in my hand, then I realized that I hadn't read what any of them had written. In curiosity and in genuine interest, I opened the jacket to what Leeteuk had written.

Hello, this is Super Junior's leader Jungsu.

I've had the privilege of working with Kyuhyun for almost seven months now, and I'm so glad to say that he's one of the most hard-working, most talented, and most thoughtful people I've ever met. Even though I'm a hyung, I've learned a lot from Kyuhyun, in a lot of ways, and I have the utmost respect for you. Thank you, and I do hope I get to meet you soon.

Leeteuk

I bit my lip for a second. I wasn't sure if what he had written was genuine; the world knew he was harsh and unwilling to forgive whenever I made mistakes, and I wasn't sure on what basis Leeteuk was writing this. I shook my head and moved on to Ryeowook's message.

Kyuhyun's mom and dad! That makes you my parents as well, since Kyuhyun and I are brothers! ^^

I admire Kyuhyun so much, in so many ways! He's so manly, and I could only ever wish to be as talented as he is. And he's one of the best friends I've ever had. He does so much for me, and I'm so thankful.

I'd love to see the parents who raised him to be this way, so please visit the dorm soon!

*^^* Ryeowook *^^*

I laughed a little. God, this was so Ryeowook. I felt gratitude expand in my chest as I scanned over all of the other paragraphs. All of them basically said the same thing, as if none of them had ever put me through hard times. I wasn't sure how to feel. At the same time that I was disappointed that they didn't acknowledge that they had made it so hard for me that I almost quit the team, I was still grateful that they made it out like they had always welcomed me; this way, I had the option to tell my parents about the hard times or not.

I got off the subway at my stop, then walked up the almost-deserted steps up to wait for the bus. It was getting so chilly that I could see my breaths. I blew on my cold hands a bit, then I sighed and tightened the scarf around my neck. I really hoped my doing this wouldn't damage my voice in any way for the K.R.Y. debut, and I really hoped that the manager hyung wouldn't be too angry about me doing this. The only thing that kept me going was the need to go home.

As I got closer and closer to home, though, I kept on forgetting why I was here, and remembering why I shouldn't. There was just - too much wrong with me being here, and when I reached the door, I sighed and closed my eyes.

"I'm proud of myself," I said under my breath. "I deserve to be here. I'm proud of myself."

Clutching the CD with one hand, I clenched my fist with the other and put it against the door. I hesitated, then taking a deep breath, confidently knocked on the door. For a second, I considered leaving the CD at the doorway and running downstairs again, fearing that they would see me at the door and close it in my face, but stopped myself. I'd just sneaked out of the dorm for this, getting the whole team in trouble. They probably were in a massive amount of trouble right now. And if only for their efforts, I had to make things right with my parents today.

I heard footsteps get closer to the door, then I took a deep breath. The door clicked open, and I saw my mom on the other side of the door.

"Kyuhyun!" she said with total surprise, then within the second, I saw my dad appear from behind my mom. Seeing their faces for the first time in seven months, though, tears welled up in my eyes right away. God, I'd missed them so, so much.

"Mom," I whispered. "Dad."

I swallowed and looked into both of their perplexed eyes in turn, then I forced a smile through my tears.

"Will you take me back yet?"

I never would have thought that my parents would have reacted the way they did, welcomed me the way they did. I started sobbing, embraced in their hugs, just listening to their quiet, "It's okay. We were waiting for you to come. It's okay," repeating over and over. I didn't know why I was crying, but I was. And I cried so, so hard.

Maybe it was just because of the fact that I hadn't seen them in so long and just coming home overcame me, or maybe they were tears of happiness of finally being home and feeling at home, and of feeling like I really, truly belonged, for the first time in almost a year. Or maybe I just felt so relieved to be at a place I knew and loved after spending such a long time under so much pressure and so much hardship. I wasn't sure, but I was just crying, and it felt good to cry and let everything out.

I told my parents absolutely everything that day. From the hard time the members gave me, to them opening up finally, from the tedious recording process, and the excitement of being on stage. From the manager hyung being an absolute rock, to Leeteuk finally becoming the leader that I could trust, from working until I couldn’t move, to studying until I could fall asleep with a close of my eyes.

And in return, they told me everything, too. From regretting not congratulating me on my debut, to deciding not to call me until they felt I was ready. From wondering whether I was still studying hard, to making sure that they were recording every single performance and appearance I had on TV and radio. They had pre-ordered the new K.R.Y. soundtrack, and were extremely proud that I had a solo song.

 I finally had home-cooked breakfast at home, and although Ryeowook was a good cook, having my mom’s food again felt so much better than I thought it ever could. My dad didn’t go to the academy that he ran and followed me with my mom as I went into my room.

"Oh, and I have no bed. I sleep on the floor in Donghae and Sungmin hyungs' room," I said, lying in my own bed at home. To my surprise, the bed had been kept clean for the last seven months I wasn't here.

"It's because you're the maknae, isn't it?" asked my dad.

My parents looked troubled, but I smiled. "It's okay, though. The manager hyung said he'd somehow get me a bed soon."

They nodded, then I looked at them again. "By - by the way, have you been taking the money I left for you?"

My dad nodded. "Sure. But we've put all the money you gave us in a fund for you. It's supposed to help for when you get a house."

I looked at them in surprise. "Why? I meant for you to use it!"

My mom smiled. "How could we use your hard-earned money on ourselves?"

I smiled with appreciation while my dad turned over the U CD that I'd given him in his hand.

"We bought so many of these, Kyuhyun," he said with a small smile. I widened my eyes.

"Really? I didn't think - " I started, but stopped. Why was I surprised, after a few hours of finding out that they had supported my career all along? "But the team wrote on it. It's special," I said, embarrassed. My dad looked through the messages with a smile on his face the whole time, then he looked at me.

"Heechul didn't write anything," my dad remarked.

I laughed a little. "I'm having a hard time getting close to him. He's a bit strict with me."

My parents sighed. "I wish you'd have called more when you were having a hard time, then we would have been able to help."

I smiled. "It's okay. The manager hyung - "

I stopped, then I remembered that it had been a few hours, and I hadn't checked my phone like Leeteuk had told me to. I took my phone out of my pocket and powered it on.

I was expecting a few texts and a few missed calls from the manager hyung, but there were texts and calls from almost everyone on the team. I frowned a little and opened a text from Ryeowook from about two hours ago.

Kyuhyun, we just got a new song, and the managers absolutely lost it because you weren't here. Please come. It's a disaster.

What? A new song? I swallowed and looked at the next text, this one from Donghae about half an hour ago.

We still haven't told them where you are, but I suggest getting out of your house on your own feet rather than being dragged out of it by the manager hyung.

I felt my heart drop, and I sat up. God, if the manager hyung got here and started yelling at me in front of my parents -

"Um, I think they need me at the office," I said, then I stood up and hurriedly started packing up my bag again.

"Kyuhyun, you were only here for - "

I looked at my parents apologetically. "I'll come back in a few weeks," I said, although I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep this promise. However, I was already at the front door and putting on my shoes before I knew it. After I'd put them on, though, I found myself looking at my parents with a smile.

"I'll call this time around."

"Kyuhyun, if you're in a rush, I can drive you to the office," said my dad, but I shook my head.

"No, you should go to work, everyone's probably waiting for you. I can get to the office on my own," I said, then without even saying good-bye, I ran out of the apartment building to catch a cab to the office.