When I heard the key turn in the door, I got up from the bed. I took a deep breath and walked out of the room with the bag slung over my shoulder. I walked past the living room where everyone else still was to the door. The manager hyung was still at the doorway when he spotted me.

"Oh god," he said with widened eyes. "What happened?"

I was confused for a split second, and then I realized that he was talking about my bandaged eyebrow.

"I'm so, so sorry," I said, dropping my head.

"What, running out to get drunk at night wasn't enough for you? You went out and got hurt? On your face?" he said, furious.

"I... I'm..." I said, shaking my head. I really wanted to apologize, but I was sure that apologizing wasn't going to get us anywhere.

"Let's see it," he said, beckoning me towards him. I hesitated and walked to him, taking the bandage off my eyebrow carefully. I was afraid of what his reaction might be, but he was rather calm about it.

"We can get around this," he said. He glanced at my hair. "Your hair already covers most of it. And the makeup will cover the bruise, obviously," he said.

"I'm so sorry," I repeated. I couldn't help but notice that I must have sounded like a broken record to everyone else.

"How did you hurt it?" he asked. I looked up.

"I... can't remember," I said lamely. Then, feeling the need to give more of an explanation, I improvised. "I must have walked into a pole or something."

"Let me remind you," said the manager hyung. "You're a professional now. And to deal with a situation, whatever it might have been, the way you did last night was unacceptable. Do you agree?"

I shifted my weight uncomfortably. At the same time that I thought I was justified in how I reacted, I also knew that he was totally right. "Yes, sir," I said. I hadn't called him 'sir' in a while, but these honorific terms came so naturally whenever I was in trouble.

The manager hyung looked into my eyes, and I lowered my gaze quickly. He then looked at the cut again. "Follow me," he said. And he walked out the door. I didn't get a chance to even agree; I was slipping on my shoes when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Ryeowook.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking into my eyes. I wasn't sure why he was apologizing now for what happened last night, but I didn't really care. On the second thought, maybe he was just sorry that I was probably getting punished after a difficult night.

"Okay," I said, and I hurried out the door as not to lose sight of the manager hyung. However, by the time I got to the end of the hallway, I already had.

Unsure of where I was supposed to be, I stood there, confused, for a moment. However, I was sure he was on the rooftop; that was where he normally took the members to scold. I took a few steps upstairs, but then I heard his voice.

"Down here," he said. I looked down between the railings, and he really was down the stairs. What was going on?

I followed the sound of his footsteps all the way downstairs, and out the building. He was still a few feet in front of me, and to my surprise, he got into the van.

I looked around, confused. I wondered whether he was retrieving something from the van, but he didn't seem to be moving at all. I hesitated for a second, then I got in the passenger seat on the van. When I closed the door shut, the manager hyung turn his head to look at me. I looked down into my lap. Why we were sitting in the car instead of in a space where he could swing a stick was beyond me.

"Who was it?" he asked. I looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I thought I knew what he was asking, but I also thought I had just told him I walked into a pole.

"Who punched you?" he asked. I felt all of the blood drain out of my face.

"No one," I said, regaining my composure. I glanced at his expression. "I got really drunk so I can't remember what happened, but -"

"Please don't lie to me, Kyuhyun," he said with a sigh. "The cut wouldn't look like that if you walked into a pole."

I didn't say anything.

"I know you want to tell me," he said.

"I really don't," I said in frustration, shifting in my seat. And then I remembered that I wasn't in the position to be frustrated. "Sir," I added hastily.

"This is important," he said with a venomous frown. "It's not worth protecting someone on the team who's not mature, not professional enough to be able to control their emotions."

"I just... don't want to get in any more trouble," I said, my eyes downcast. "I'm doing this for myself, not for him. I hoped you'd understand."

"Don't make me hit you," he said, through clenched teeth. I knew he was frustrated with me, and was at the tipping point. And I understood why - I had just gone through a night of unacceptable behaviour that could have jeopardized the entire team's career, and I still wasn't doing everything he was asking me to. But, at the same time...

"Sir, I'd rather get hit by you now than get a hard time from them later," I said quietly. To my dismay, I felt my eyes tearing up slightly.

The manager hyung sighed and ran his hand around his face. I continued looking into my lap and never met his gaze.

"Okay," he said finally. I looked up into his eyes, but I wasn't sure what he meant. Did he mean that he was going to let it go, or that he was going to beat it out of me? I hoped with all my heart that he wouldn't order me out of the van and upstairs. "Get your seatbelt on," he said, putting on his own.

I suppressed a huge sigh of relief as I put the seatbelt on. I wiped my slightly-watery eyes on the cuff of my sleeves as the manager hyung started the van.

He drove the van out of the parking lot and onto the road in silence, and I just stared aimlessly out the windshield. A few minutes later, the manager hyung finally spoke.

"You're supposed to be in school just for a check-in today, is that right?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I said.

"Call me if something difficult happens," he said. "I don't want to take any chances."

"Yes, sir," I said again.

"After this, I'm taking you to the makeup artists who are doing your makeup on Saturday, so that they know what they're dealing with," he said.

"Okay."

He didn't speak to me for the rest of the drive to school, and I didn't speak to him either. We drove onto the school grounds in silence, but then something caught my eye.

"What - " I said, and being so surprised, my words stopped. "What is that?" I managed.

The manager hyung was goggling at it as well. "Is that -"

"Oh god," I said in horror.

"The school made - the school made you a banner?" he asked incredulously.

"They didn't ask me about it!" I said, not able to take my eyes off the banner. Sure enough, it was a blue banner with white letters, strung across the entire school entrance, stretching over several classrooms.

Congratulations Cho Kyuhyun, 13th Member of Super Junior

"Does your school do this often?" asked manager hyung, completely bewildered.

"I've been on a banner just once before," I said. "And that was when I won that math competition thing two years ago. It was much smaller than this one though... And it was white," I added.

"I..." he said, staring with his eyes completely round. "I think it might be best for you not to go to school today."

"I agree," I said wholeheartedly. "I'm sure my teacher will understand. I'll call the classroom sometime in the afternoon."

"That sounds good," he said uncertainly. "Your school really likes to make a big deal about things, doesn't it?"

I shook my head in disbelief. I guessed it was okay for now, but what if the fans that didn't want me in Super Junior gathered here and tried to attack me on my way to school? I felt a chill down my spine as I pictured that scene in my head.

"Um, well, am I going tomorrow though?" I asked, uncertain.

"I'll drive you very early in the morning, an hour before school is supposed to start," he said. "Hopefully, you'll be able to beat the traffic."

"How did they even know that the Super Junior colour was blue?" I said, burying my face in my hands.

"I'm guessing there's a fan in administration," he said. He looked at me. "I'll bet you she can take care of attendance issues for you so that you can stop checking into class."

"But how would I know who it was?" I said, uncertain.

"Easy. Just walk into the office, and it's the one that's crying with her hand over ," he said. I smiled. I was just glad that he was able to joke with me.

"Hyung," I said seriously. "I'm really, genuinely sorry about last night."

He was silent, and the smile slid off his face.

"You saw the comments too, right?" I asked. He nodded, not looking at me. "I just freaked out."

"It's still no excuse," he said.

"I know," I said. "That's why I'm apologizing."

"Kyuhyun," he said. And he looked at me. "You're not in school anymore, where everything is solved by apology. You're in society now. You have to think about the consequences, not just to you, but to those around you. Because they're real consequences now, of real success and real failure."

"Yes, sir," I said, and I hung my head again. "I'll do my best."

"Good," he said. He looked away. "We might as well go to that makeup thing now," he said, and when I nodded to show my agreement, he stepped on the gas.

*Author's note: Apparently today is my 1-month anniversary! xD