I let go of the incident and forgave him in my mind even before the red handprint disappeared from my face, and I proceeded to make tea for the manager hyung every night. He never drank it and I didn't expect him to drink it, but I kept on making it anyway - just to show that I still cared, and that I was sorry.

I also continued to balance studying and work, as did Ryeowook, and throughout the week, we became increasingly stressed to the point that both of us almost looked ghostly. "Overworked" was an understatement. We had both turned pasty, and I got tired just looking at my own reflection in the mirror. At the same time, promotions went ahead. "Smile" had become more popular than we'd ever planned it to be, and I had requests to sing it live on radio and festivals almost every day for the week. And as a result, I was working extra hard for the whole week, as well as studying as much as I could.

The night before the exam, I promised myself that I would go to bed early and was walking into my room when the manager hyung called me into the living room.

"There are going to be cameras there in the morning," said the manager hyung, still without looking at me.

"Okay."

I didn't really care about cameras anymore. I had gotten incredibly used to cameras since I first started with this profession. I was at the point where I'd gotten several warnings from the managers to be careful, and never to feel too comfortable with cameras, reminding me that a single mistake could ruin us. But in any case, it wasn't like I was doing an interview. It would just be a few bows and maybe a few sentences wishing everyone else luck and thanking the fans for support.

As we held the awkward silence, there was a knock at the front door, and we both looked to it.

"Go to your room," he said, then as I took quick steps down the hallway while the manager hyung answered the door.

I straightened the corners of my blanket on the floor to get ready for bed when I heard the front door finally close, and I finally walked into the living room again.

"What is it, hyung?" I asked.

"There are girls downstairs and they want us to quiet them down," said the manager hyung with a sigh.

I frowned.

"Wait," I said, then I walked across the living room and walked out into the balcony, and as soon as I did so, I heard the seven or eight girls shout my name.

And to my horror, I could recognize them, even from this far away.

After a brief wave at the girls, I walked back to the front door where the manager hyung was.

"Hyung, I'll take care of it. I've seen those girls here before," I said hastily. "They're Heechul hyung's fans, I don't know why they're here again. I told them not to come."

The manager hyung shook his head. "This is my job. I'm going downstairs."

"Hyung, I swear, they're okay," I said. "Please stay. I can - "

"Cho Kyuhyun, you just don't listen, do you?" he asked with a frown.

I stopped talking and just looked up at him. And then I looked at my feet. "Sorry, sir," I murmured. "Thank you."

He stared at me for a few seconds, then he put on his jacket and left the suite.

I just went back into my room and laid down over my blankets with a sigh, disappointed at myself for doing something wrong at such a critical time, but  the manager hyung opened the door to my room in a few minutes.

"Hyung!" I yelled, smiling my widest at him.

The corners of his mouth twitched a little as if he were going to smile back at me, but he didn't, and held out a few bags.

"They were here for you. They were wishing you luck on your entrance exam tomorrow."

I looked up, surprised. "What? But they're Heechul hyung's fans!"

He shrugged as I took the bags from him. "I don't know. They just asked me to give those to you. They also asked me to thank you for what you did for them last time, whatever it is that you did."

I laughed a little and opened one of the bags.

They were just little things, like candies and caramels, a stuffed animal, and a few cards. Then I saw an envelope with words on it.

Here's the taxi fare you gave us last time.

Thank you so much, Kyuhyun oppa! We did get home safely, thanks to you!! ^^

We love you, and good luck on your exams!!

I laughed a little. I couldn't believe I got that money back.

"Thank you so much," I said out loud, looking at the manager hyung.

He frowned, as if to say, for what? then he left the room.

I lied down, feeling so, so, so thankful for the fans, when I realized that I hadn't made tea for the manager hyung today.

I got up from the floor right away. I was tired, but I dragged myself into the kitchen and made the tea. When I finished, I poured out three mugs of it, put it on a tray, and carried it to the manager hyung's room.

I didn't even bother knocking. I just turned the doorknob and walked inside. I was greeted with the sight of the manager hyung on the floor, going through more papers, while Heechul was doing a rehab exercise for his leg on the bed.

Heechul frowned as soon as he saw me, Jinsoo hyung looked perplexed, and the manager hyung ignored me.

"Hi," I said awkwardly. "Um - I brought tea for everyone."

Jinsoo hyung looked somewhat surprised, but he smiled and took it from me. I held out the second mug for Heechul to take, but he wasn't impressed. "You should give it to the manager hyungs first," he said. "You still haven't learned proper respect after almost a year of being here. We've clearly taught you nothing."

I suppressed a large sigh. I'd done it because I knew that the manager hyung was going to take a bit more convincing and I'd thought that I would have a better chance if I tried convincing him later, but Heechul obviously wasn't going to let that happen. I turned to the manager hyung.

"Um - sir," I said quietly. The manager hyung still had his back to me.

"No, thanks," he said coldly.

I put the mug back down on the tray. "I know," I muttered, then I turned to Heechul. There was nothing more I wanted to do than to glare at him, to snap at him, to ask him if he was happy now, but I suppressed my urge. Heechul was probably healthy enough to beat me if he wanted to, and it was always my rash words that got me into trouble.

"Here's your tea, sunbaenim," I said, holding it out. Heechul took it with a frown.

Wishing he'd at least thanked me, I set the last mug of tea on the floor within the manager hyung's reach, then smiled. "Here it is if you change your mind," I said.

I left the room, but just as I was going back into my room, I heard the manager hyung walk out of his own and into the kitchen. A few seconds later, there was a splash and a clang as the manager hyung drained the tea into the sink again and dropped the mug inside it.

Promising myself that I'd try again tomorrow, I opened the door to my room when the manager hyung stopped me.

"Kyuhyun," he said. When I turned my head to look at him, he was shaking his head. "Stop wasting tea bags. Those cost money, and I know this is a foreign concept to you, but we do have a budget. And it's tight."

I laughed. "Hyung, they're tea bags," I said.

"Tea bags cost money. Water costs money. Just stop it."

"You could just drink it, hyung," I said.

"I don’t want it, damn it!" shouted the manager hyung.

I looked into his eyes for a few seconds and took a step closer to him.

"It doesn't mean anything. I just want to do something nice to you for - for being so horrible before."

Then I took him by his arm and got down on my knees.

"I know. It's all my fault that we can't be like we used to. It's my fault, and I'm so sorry," I said quietly. "I know it's my fault. I'm sorry."

As he just stared at me, I looked up into his eyes again.

"All I want is for us not to hurt each other anymore," I whispered. "Please."

"Kyuhyun, go to bed," he said, then he went into his room and slammed the door.

I had so many dreams that night, and every single one involved me writing the test. I'd gone into the test without a pencil in one, and in another, a company representative had burst into the testing centre, ripped the test paper that I was writing in front of my eyes and ordered me to go to a performance that I'd cancelled to write the test.

I woke up the next morning in what seemed like chaos. Unlike every other morning, which was quiet, this was crazy. I think at least six or seven hyungs were in the room.

"Kyuhyun! Today's your big day!" yelled Yesung, then as I opened my eyes, he lifted his hand and touched my upper lip again, making me shout in horror and sit up.

"That's the best way to wake anyone up," muttered Kangin, taking Yesung by the back of his shirt and throwing him backwards, for which I was very thankful.

"Kyuhyun, come to the kitchen after you're dressed, okay?" said Siwon, then all of them left the room, leaving me dazed.

A few minutes later, I went into the kitchen as I was told, and was surprised to see the kitchen table set with breakfast for two.

"What's going on?" I asked, and as I was just standing there in surprise, Ryeowook sprinted out of his room.

"I'm so sorry, my alarm didn't go off and I didn't wake up in time to make - "

Ryeowook stopped dead in his tracks and he jaw dropped open as he saw the table.

"Who made breakfast?" asked Ryeowook.

"All of us," said Sungmin, looking satisfied.

"And - " said Ryeowook, looking at the breakfast.

"For the two of you," said Donghae.

My mouth dropped open.

The hyungs actually made breakfast for us maknaes?

We sat down at the table and picked up the chopsticks, with all the hyungs watching. Ryeowook and I watched each other for a few seconds, then I dropped my chopsticks, covered my eyes and started laughing, feeling possibly more awkward than when I first joined the team.

"Cho Kyuhyun," said Sungmin, putting his hand on the back of my neck threateningly, probably assuming that I was laughing at his breakfast.

"Okay, okay," I said, then I stopped laughing and ignoring everyone, and I started eating, as did Ryeowook.

It was really quite good, but also somewhat crude compared to Ryeowook’s cooking. I took a few more bites, then looked at Ryeowook, who was also eating.

"Ryeowook, you actually kind of cook better," I said.

"This punk!" said Kangin, pushing me by the shoulders from the side.

"I'm just kidding, it's really good," I said with a laugh.

The hyungs actually watched the two of us eat the entire time, and I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to get everything down because of how uncomfortable I felt, but they didn't seem to care and just kept watching. But at least I wasn't nervous.

Just as I finished eating, forcing myself to finish in order not to hurt the hyungs by leaving anything uneaten, Yesung left the side of the table and came back with two thermoses in his hands.

"And we made tuna porridge for the two of you, so you can take it to your exams," said Yesung, then he held out the thermoses.

"You did all this for us?" asked Ryeowook, his eyes wide.

"Our maknaes are writing the biggest test of their lives, you don't think the hyungs can do this much?" said Kangin.

I laughed and took a thermos in my hands. "Thank you," I said in gratitude.

I started to open the lid to look at the contents, but everyone gave a loud shout of disapproval. I looked up in confusion.

"Don't open it! You'll cool it down!" yelled Eunhyuk, twisting the lid shut again.

I squinted at all of them, then looked at Eunhyuk. "You're doing this because it doesn't look like food, aren't you?" I asked in informal speech.

"No, it actually - um - smells really good," said Donghae.

"What if you didn't cook it right and we get food poisoning over lunch?" I asked uncertainly.

"Why, you little - " said Kangin, raising a fist over my head, but then laughed and patted my cheek. I winced and drew my face away, being reminded of Yesung's attack that morning. "Then you can repeat the year. No big deal, right?"

As my mouth dropped open, Donghae smiled. "I'm sure we cooked it better than you ever could."

I laughed. "Thank you. Really."

"If you get even one question wrong, we're going to kick you off the team," threatened Kangin.

As my expression stiffened, Sungmin snorted. "Youngwoon hyung, you didn't even write this exam."

As everyone laughed, the manager hyung came out into the kitchen and looked at me and Ryeowook.

"Are you guys ready?" he asked.

Ryeowook nodded and I sighed. I guessed I was ready. I had to be.

"You guys are in different testing centres, so I'll drive Kyuhyun and Jinsoo will drive Ryeowook."

I nodded, finally feeling my stomach tighten up in a knot, and regretted eating so much.

As the manager hyung drove me to the testing centre, he was silent again and we didn't talk. I had hoped that he'd set aside his new persona just for today, and acknowledged all the hard work that I'd done for today, but apparently, that wasn't going to happen. I was reading through my last-minute notes for half the drive there, then I looked at the manager hyung.

"Hyung, are you going to wish me luck?" I asked with a small smile.

The manager hyung ignored me and continued driving, and I sighed and looked back at my notes.

The silence stayed until we pulled up to the testing centre, the road lined with the hoobaes from my school, cheering all of us on.

I looked at the manager hyung one last time, and I smiled.

"I'll do well," I promised.

The manager hyung bit his lip, then he put his hand on my shoulder. "Good luck," he said.

Then he immediately took his hand off my shoulder and faced front again, his icy stare back, but I smiled back.

"Thank you," I said, then I stepped out of the van into the cold winter air. I bowed to the cameras before heading into the testing centre, the thermos still in my hand, and I said a good-luck message to everyone who would be writing the test today before bowing again and making my way through the gates.

As I walked, I heard a very loud, "Kyuhyun oppa!" being called from the side and a fervent wave. I smiled through my nervousness, and bowed to her when she suddenly started running towards me. Surprised, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Oppa! I brought you all of my lucky charms! Keep them on you for the exam," she said, holding out an assortment of small objects.

I opened my eyes as wide as I could and stared at her. "You should keep these for your own exams! I might not be able to get them back to you!" I said with surprise.

"It's okay, just do well, oppa!" she said, then with another giggle, she ran back to her group of friends.

I blushed with embarrassment, then I bowed.

"Thank you!" I yelled after her, clutching her precious charms in my hands. She gave a tiny bow with her hand over in glee, and with a smile, I turned around and walked into the testing centre, steadying my breaths.

It was impossible not to be nervous. I’d been preparing for so long, and it was the source of so much of my stress for so long that I almost felt myself shaking as I finally sat in the room with the identical desks arranged row on row. Maybe it was because I didn’t feel as prepared as I thought I should be, or maybe it was with the realization that it was too late to change anything now. Either way, I was visibly distressed as I wrote the exam.

The effects of the pressure were clear. The test took place over the entire day, from 8am to 5:30pm, and having been so overworked throughout the whole week, and maybe even the last year, I didn't know how I was supposed to be able to keep awake. But I did somehow, and I was so focused throughout the whole thing that I felt my face growing hot as the day persisted. And when the test was finally over after hours and hours of stressful, laborious work, knowing that a single mistake could mean the difference between the school ranked first and a school ranked 20th, I didn't know how well I did. But I almost didn't care; it was over. And now, whatever the result, I could start to focus on work without having to worry about losing hours and hours of sleep each night to studying. I would finally be able to breathe, with so much of the pressure being lifted up from my shoulders.

After a collective cheer of happiness from everyone who was writing the exam, I made my way back to the rear gates, where the manager hyung would be waiting for me. I got out of the building and through the gates okay, but as soon as I saw the manager hyung standing by the gates, I felt all the tension leave my body. The test had been more draining than anything I’d done in my life.

My sight was starting to cloud up as I approached the manager hyung, and it took all my willpower and grit to drag my body closer to him.

When I did, the manager hyung was barely looking at me, but I smiled at him with all the affection I had.

"Hyung, I did it," I managed.

Then I lost all strength in every part of my body and collapsed, barely aware of the manager hyung's arms closing around me as I fell.