I finally started consistently finishing the homework and getting in extra studying time for exams when I spent every waking moment either working or studying, and I had reduced my sleeping time from about four hours to two and a half. I only did the chores around the dorm when Heechul was there; Ryeowook did them for me when Heechul was filming his dramas. The other hyungs were feeling much more sympathetic towards my studying and allowed Ryeowook to do my chores for me, much to my pleasant surprise. I was sacrificing so much and was inconveniencing Ryeowook as well, so just hoped that all of this would pay off.

The most frustrating thing during this time was probably that I still had to attend all of the practices when I felt that I knew everything there was to know about the choreography and the song when could spend that time studying. Nevertheless, we were performing a different version of U for a music program with a different stage setup that weekend, and we spent four hours after our scheduled performances to work on the choreography. Heechul still wasn't at any of the practices, which didn't frustrate me or the other members until we returned to the dorm after a late practice to find Heechul lying on the couch and watching TV. A huge screaming match broke out between the hyungs and Heechul while I quietly slipped away to my room to study. Soon, the doorbell rang, which the hyungs either ignored or didn't hear. I hesitated before going out to answer it, remembering what happened the last time I answered the door. I was about to ignore it and go back to my schoolwork when the impatient doorbell rang for the second time. I reluctantly got up and answered the door to find a neighbour there again.

"Do you realize what time it is?" he said angrily.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I'll get them quiet," I said apologetically.

"It's never peaceful around here because of you. We're all waiting for the day that you boys will move away," he said with a frown.

"I don't know what to say. I'm sorry," I said.

"Next time, I'm calling security right away without warning," he said, irritated.

"Yes, sir. I'm so sorry," I repeated with a bow. I closed the door and walked into the living room and caught Leeteuk and Heechul's attention, who were engaged in the biggest shouting match I'd seen them in.

"Sunbaenim, we're too loud. The neighbours are angry," I said timidly. The noise in the living room went down slowly until there was complete silence. I stood there awkwardly as Leeteuk looked at me, then he sighed and looked back at Heechul.

"If you miss practice for no reason one more time, I won't let it go just because you're the same age as I am," said Leeteuk quietly with a glare.

"I don't even make any mistakes! Why the hell do I need to be at practice?" shouted Heechul.

"Lower your voice! And you haven't sung the full version at a live performance of the song since last week," said Leeteuk angrily.

"Get off my back," said Heechul with his teeth clenched. Then he turned his attention to me, to my surprise. "By the way, Cho Kyuhyun, I hope you're not stupid enough to think that I don't know that Ryeowook's still been doing your chores for you."

I opened my mouth to deny it, then closed it. If I were caught lying as well as disobeying him, I wasn't sure what would happen to me. "I'm sorry," I said, flustered, looking into his eyes.

"You're the worst maknae of any group that's ever been," he yelled. He lunged at me and slapped me across the face as hard as he could. Taken by surprise, I lost my balance and fell to the ground. I stared up into Heechul's face in shock. Heechul was red in the face and walked toward me again. I hadn't even had a chance to get back on my feet, but I shuffled backwards.

"I - I'm so sorry," I stuttered, continuing to back away, but my back soon hit the wall and I couldn't back away anymore. I saw Heechul get closer.

"I'm so tired of your behaviour, Cho Kyuhyun!" he shouted, and then he kicked me over on my side. I was so shocked that I just stared up at him, but right away, he started kicking me as I laid there, fallen over. I instinctively curled myself up in a ball, covering my head with my arms. I was kicked three or four times, still not fully aware of what was happening, when I heard a shout from behind Heechul.

"Stop it! Hyung, what are you doing?" said Eunhyuk in horror, pulling Heechul back. I lifted my head a tiny bit from my aching arms to look up at Heechul, who was struggling to get out of Eunhyuk's grip. However, it wasn't even just Eunhyuk's grip anymore. Siwon, Donghae and Sungmin all held onto Heechul tightly until he stopped moving.

"Okay, let go," he said, and the four of them loosened their grips on Heechul. "On your feet," snarled Heechul, glaring at me. I was still in a state of shock when I stood up and faced Heechul. "Bring the broom," ordered Heechul.

I didn't even think about protesting; I had stopped thinking clearly long ago. I made half a move towards the closet when Eunhyuk rushed towards me. He took me by the shoulders and pushed my back into the wall. I was so scared of what was happening that tears started forming in my eyes. "Hyung - " I started, looking into his eyes. Eunhyuk kept my shoulders pushed against the wall.

"Don't. You did nothing wrong," he said, squeezing my shoulders.

"Cho Kyuhyun! Right now!" screamed Heechul. Heechul started towards me again, and I tried to free myself from Eunhyuk's grip to go to the closet, but Eunhyuk held firm. I was so scared when Heechul got close enough to me that I started started sobbing out of nowhere.

"Hyung, let me go," I said through my tears, but Eunhyuk held me still against the wall. I saw Heechul get closer and raise his hand to slap me again, but a hand grabbed Heechul. To add to my state of shock, it was Leeteuk.

"Kim Heechul! Stop it. Stop it right now," said Leeteuk, turning Heechul around so that they were facing each other. "Stop taking it out on the kid. Stop it."

"I'm not taking it out on him, he - "

"You are. He's been your punching bag for long enough. Stop it," said Leeteuk, shaking his shoulders. Heechul was seething in anger, then Leeteuk looked at me. "Go back to your room," he said. Eunhyuk finally let go of my shoulders to let me leave, but I was so shocked and terrified that I felt all the strength drain from my legs. I slid down against the wall and was sitting against the wall, tears streaming down my face.

"Okay, come on, Kyuhyun," said Eunhyuk, taking my arms and attempted to pull me up. Sungmin rushed to my side and took my other arm and they somehow got me back on my feet. They half-supported, half-dragged me into the room, and put me down on the floor next to my schoolwork.

"Are you hurt?" asked Eunhyuk. I calmed myself down and tried focusing on what my body was feeling. A few places on my arms and legs ached and my cheek was still stinging, but definitely nothing that wouldn't go away in a few minutes. I shook my head. "Just surprised?" asked Eunhyuk, kneeling in front of me.

"I - I think so," I said, wiping my tears away. I took a deep breath and looked at Sungmin.

"It's okay. Calm down," said Sungmin, and he also sat down in front of me with his hands on my arms. "It's okay." I nodded and took a few more deep breaths.

"It's a good thing he wasn't wearing shoes," said Eunhyuk, then he glanced at my face. "Is your cheek okay? It's really red."

I nodded. "I'm fine," I said, then I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear my head when Leeteuk and Heechul started screaming at each other in the living room again. "I think they're fighting because of me," I said, then tears started welling up in my eyes again.

"They've been rocky for a while," said Eunhyuk, then he started rubbing my back. "It's okay. Calm down. It'll never be like last time again. We have your back."

I had nodded to Eunhyuk, but just then, I was in so much shock that I hadn't even understood the significance of those words.

Two days later, we were at the music program where we were setting up for the dry run for another U performance. Leeteuk and Heechul were still angry at each other, and this time, Leeteuk didn't bother trying to get Heechul together for the dry run. As a result, Heechul wasn't at the dry run either.

"Does he know the formations?" I asked Eunhyuk.

Eunhyuk looked uneasy. "I explained it to him briefly on the bus, but I don't know."

"He didn't even do the soundcheck," I said, worried.

Eunhyuk sighed. "There's nothing we can do now. Let's just do our best," he said, then he moved in front of a mirror for a final check on his choreography before the live broadcast peformance.

I guess the mistake that Heechul made was bound to happen sooner or later, given that he rarely practiced. He had the second part of the song to sing, but he missed the last note of his part. None of us had missed a note, broadcast or non-broadcast, during a performance before, and although we tried to go on as if nothing happened, all of us were visibly flustered. Everything was a disaster. Not a single person sang his solo in tune, even me, and I also made a few choreography mistakes. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing after all, and didn't pay attention to any detail. I was distracted and worried the entire time, and since the mistake was towards the beginning of the song, finishing the song felt like climbing a tall mountain. When it finally ended, we faced each other, our faces pale.

"Get off the stage, Super Junior. Monitor in the waiting room in three minutes," said the producer through our in-ears, and we reluctantly walked off the stage, disappointed in ourselves and worried about the consequences of such a terrible performance.

"How did that happen?" demanded Leeteuk as we got offstage. "Heechul, that part is supposed to go into falsetto! It's not possible for your voice to crack there! Unless you forgot that it was supposed to be falsetto?"

I looked at Heechul, and he looked more shocked than I had ever seen him; he was so petrified that he wasn't even blinking. I sighed and turned my head away from him, feeling let down by both myself and the team. When we walked into our waiting room, the manager hyung was waiting for us there already.

"DAMN IT!" yelled the manager hyung, furious. "What was that?"

We all looked at our feet. I couldn't even believe that we had it in us to perform that badly since we first started putting singing and dancing together when we were first learning the song. We didn't even apologize; we knew that the manager hyung forgiving us wouldn't solve any problems.

"Every single one of you was terrible," he said, looking into each of our eyes in turn. At that moment, our performance came on the television in the waiting rooms, and everyone looked up to watch, but it was almost as painful to watch as actually performing it. It was silent as tomb as the performance ended for a long time, then the manager hyung spoke in utter disappointment in us.

"I'm embarrassed to have to care for a bunch of amateurs," said the manager hyung. We all hung our heads while he sighed. "Change out of those clothes and get on the bus. We'll deal with this back at the dorm."