It wasn't until a few moments later that I realized that I was going to get an extra three hours of study time taken away each day of the next week. I felt the stress level increase, and I almost considered giving up; I could probably take the entrance exams without even studying to get a good enough score to get into a top university if I applied with celebrity status. I sighed, then shook my head. No. The only reason why my parents let me train at SM was because I promised them that I'd never abandon my academics. Then with even more drive than before, I started studying.

A few minutes later, Sungmin came into the room. I didn't look up and wanted him to ignore me, too, but he spoke.

"Oh, you have ice," he said enviously. I barely even registered what he was saying.

"Yeah," I said absent-mindedly. I continued studying for a few more seconds, then realized what he was saying. I looked up and glanced at Sungmin. "Do you want it, hyung?" I asked, although I didn't want to give it away.

"Just for a few minutes," said Sungmin with his hands outstretched. I reluctantly pulled the bag off of myself and threw it to Sungmin. Feeling the sting return, I turned my attention back to my schoolwork as Sungmin powered on his laptop. As he was waiting for it to power on, Sungmin looked at me.

"You must be really busy, having just gone through what we did and still studying," he said. I didn't take my eyes off my work and just nodded, wishing Sungmin would just let me to study.

A few minutes later, Sungmin threw the plastic bag to me again. "Thanks," he said.

I muttered, "You're welcome," and put the bag on top of myself again. I was focused again when Sungmin spoke just a few minutes later.

"Kyuhyun, can I use it again?" asked Sungmin.

I was so annoyed that he wouldn't leave me alone to study that I sighed. "You can have it," I said, then threw it to him again; ignoring the pain was going to be easier than ignoring Sungmin. I was almost focused again when Sungmin said my name.

"What now?" I said tiredly. Sungmin looked at me as if he was contemplating whether or not he should criticize me for being rude, but he shook his head and spoke.

"It's the response," he said uncertainly. I felt my heart skip a beat as I forgot about my schoolwork.

"What's it like?" I said, finally getting up and moving towards Sungmin's bed.

"Not good," said Sungmin, starting to bite his nails. I looked at the screen.

"Super Junior really needs to practice singing live... Is this their real singing ability?"

"I'm disappointed, to say the least... Heechul, what happened??"

"Not their best performance... not by a long shot."

"I always knew none of them could sing. This proves they're not singers because they can sing. They just want the fame."

I bit my lip. "But - but it was just one performance. How can they judge our - our entire - " I was so hurt that I couldn't even continue. Was one slip worth so much more than our weeks and weeks of near-perfect performances?

"And then," said Sungmin, his face pale, "on Heechul hyung's fanboard - "

He opened up a different window, and I started reading.

"Singing isn't his priority anymore. I used to be his biggest fan, but for the sake of Super Junior, he should leave the team."

"I've actually heard that he was leaving Suju because it was getting in the way of his acting... I'm sorry to say this, but that would be better for both him and the team."

"I just saw people bashing Super Junior as a whole, but really, it was all Heechul's fault."

"I guess this is what happens when you don't focus on the right things. He really should stop bringing Super Junior down... Please, Heechul! Leave!"

I was completely dumbfounded. I forgot the pain and the exams altogether, and just stared at the screen. "That - that doesn't make any sense! His fans suddenly hate him because he made one mistake?"

Sungmin sighed. "I've been monitoring everyone for a while, but Heechul's been getting a lot of flack because the fans know that Heechul's been too busy with his dramas. Just because he also missed a lot of performances because of that, the fans were already fed up with him."

"Does he know that?" I asked. Sungmin looked at me.

"He obviously does. That's why he's been in a terrible mood for a few weeks now," said Sungmin. I opened his mouth to answer, but we heard the front door opened and Sungmin looked up.

"I think that's him," he said, looking at me. Before I could even respond, there was shouting in the living room.

"KIM HEECHUL! GET YOUR DAMN HANDS ON THE WALL!" screamed Leeteuk.

"You think you can beat me?" shouted Heechul, clearly furious.

"Yes, and I'm going to," said Leeteuk, annoyed.

There was a brief silence, then I heard Heechul continue in a forced, quiet voice. "Youngjun hyung beat me already, so calm the hell down."

"We all were beaten, Heechul! And it's all because of you!" Leeteuk shouted. To my surprise, I thought I heard Leeteuk starting to cry at the end of his sentence.

"Why is the fact that you all performed badly my responsibility? I'm only responsible for my own mistake, for which the manager hyung punished me already. So just stop," said Heechul. I heard him stomp into the hallway, but there was sudden silence, which I assumed was Leeteuk physically stopping him from walking any further.

"How can you speak to me like that after what just happened?" bellowed Leeteuk.

"GET OFF ME! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" screamed Heechul. Then through the open door to our bedroom, the two of them appeared; after much pushing and pulling, Sungmin and I saw Heechul fall backwards and slide back several feet.

"URGH!" shouted Heechul, then he looked at Leeteuk, who grabbed the front of Heechul's shirt. "I SAID, GET OFF ME!" Heechul ripped Leeteuk's hands off of his shirt, and got to his feet again. There was a silence, and neither moved for a moment. Then Leeteuk turned his back on Heechul with his hand on his forehead.

"God, I don't think I can live with you anymore," said Leeteuk.

"YOU THINK I'M HERE BECAUSE I WANT TO LIVE HERE?" bellowed Heechul, giving Leeteuk the most menacing glare I've ever seen him give to anyone. There was a long silence, then Heechul spoke quietly. "Forget it. I'm moving out."

"If only you could," said Leeteuk with a scoff.

"I'm going to start looking for a place to move into. Expect me to be gone by the end of the week," he said, then he turned around to walking away from Leeteuk.

"Are you kidding? As much as I want that, that would be a logistic nightmare!" shouted Leeteuk.

"Logistics aren't your problem. They're the manager hyungs'. I'll let them know and sort things out," said Heechul, giving Leeteuk half a glance before turning around again.

"Heechul, you're being ridiculous," said Leeteuk, roughly grabbing Heechul by the arm.

"Don't touch me!" snarled Heechul, then after pulling himself out of Leeteuk's grip, he went into his room and slammed the door. There was silence for a second, then Sungmin and I heard Heechul scream out of frustration and then we heard several loud crashes as he started breaking his possessions in his room by throwing them everywhere.

Sungmin and I looked at each other, shocked.

"What just happened?" asked Sungmin, his eyes wide. I stared back at Sungmin for a few seconds, then I regained my senses.

"I - I think we need to call the manager hyung," I said, then I took my phone out of my pocket and started dialing.

Within minutes, both the manager hyung and Youngjun hyung were at the dorm.

"I told you to be professionals, and now you're acting like children?" yelled the manager hyung after he gathered all 13 of us in the living room. He was almost grinding his teeth out of anger. We didn't say anything, then he turned his attention to Heechul. "What is this?" he demanded.

"Hyung, I have to move out," said Heechul without even blinking. "I can't live here anymore. From Jungsu to the maknae - I can't stand it."

The manager hyung just stared at Heechul, then he laughed out of disbelief. "What? Say that again."

"I can't live here. I'm moving out. I don't care what you say. I'm an adult, and I have a right to choose not to live here," said Heechul matter-of-factly, looking straight at the manager hyung.

"Do I really need to beat some sense into you?" shouted the manager hyung.

Heechul looked at him seriously. "If it means I can move out, you can beat me as much as you want."

The manager hyung seemed to have lost his words for a few seconds, then he looked at Heechul. "Are you challenging me? Do you realize that you're not going to win?"

"I just can't live here. And I'll do anything to be able to move out," said Heechul with a straight face.

"Get against the wall," growled the manager hyung through clenched teeth. Then with everyone watching, Heechul walked towards the wall and put his hands on it without hesitation while the manager hyung drew the broom out of the closet. We all watched as the manager hyung started beating Heechul, visibly harder than he had beaten the rest of us. I winced as Heechul started grunting with each blow after five hits, and after ten, he started crying, but he didn't budge. At around twenty, Heechul let out a long cry of pain that lasted over three hits, the manager hyung finally stopped for a second, then he looked at Heechul, who was sobbing. I could see large tears fall on the floor in front of Heechul and I felt my chest tighten with empathy. I begged for Heechul to give up in my head; as much as he treated me absolutely terribly, the pain that he must have been feeling was something I wouldn't wish upon even Heechul.

"I can keep going," said the manager hyung angrily. "It's up to you, Heechul."

Heechul steadied his breath, then spoke. "What - whatever it takes," he said through his tears, then he shifted his weight into a more stable position.

The manager hyung clenched his jaw and started hitting again, and I turned my head away in order not to look; just watching was painful. "Should I keep going?" shouted the manager hyung after he had delivered ten more .

Heechul didn't speak for a few seconds, then opened his mouth again. "Like - like I said," he sobbed, "whatever it t - takes."

The manager hyung stared at him for a few seconds. For a long time, the only thing that could be heard was Heechul's sobbing. Then the manager hyung lowered the broom and looked at Youngjun hyung. He then said something that took all of us by shock with the biggest sigh I'd even seen him breathe.

"I think we'll need to let him move out."