Sungmin watched Ryeowook for a short while before heading his direction.  Sometimes it was fun just to watch him because he was oblivious that his emotions showed so plainly on his face.  But that was also the reason that he had to talk to the eternal maknae.  It just wasn’t healthy to obsess over someone for so long.  Ryeowook would have to give up on him someday or he’d never find happiness.

            Ryeowook watched the other members playing basketball.  He wasn’t that big on playing sports anyway but since he’d twisted his foot during dance rehearsal the other day, he was on strict orders to stay off his feet as much as possible.  So he sat on the bench, watching Hyukjae, Donghae, and Shindong face off against Jongwoon, Kyuhyun, and Siwon.  One would think that the tallest team would do the best at a sport such as this, Sungmin thought, and poor Siwon was very good at it, but when paired with two people as uncoordinated as Jongwoon and Kyuhyun, what hope did they really have?  Especially when you were facing off against the most physical members of Super Junior—the dance group.  There was an embarrassing spread in points already.

            But Sungmin doubted that Ryeowook was even paying attention to the score.  All his focus was on the maknae, who just managed to actually score his first basket of the game, and was busy hollering over to Ryeowook to see if he’d seen it.  Of course he had.  His eyes barely wandered from him.  How often did he have an excuse to watch him so closely without fear of being caught? 

            Ryeowook was clapping and laughing at Kyuhyun, his eyes dancing in the light, focused on the person he’d been in love with for years.  The person who considered him his best friend in the whole world and put above anyone else.  The person who Ryeowook would do anything for and who would do anything for him.  The person who didn’t have a clue that his friend’s feelings for him were romantic. 

            Enough is enough.  Ryeowook would end up alone if he never moved past Kyuhyun and looked for someone else to love. 

            Sungmin sat down next to Ryeowook. 

           “Did you see that?” he asked excitedly.

           “His one basket?” Sungmin questioned.  “Even Jongwoon has sunk two already.”

           Ryeowook stuck out his tongue. 

           “Just saying,” Sungmin said, smiling wide when Jongwoon glanced over at him.  You couldn’t tell when he had sunglasses on but Sungmin knew his boyfriend was looking him up and down.  That was the whole point of taking forty minutes to pick out his outfit that morning.  Jongwoon had gone out of town for a couple days to visit relatives with his parents, so this was the first time they’d seen each other since he left.  He liked to look exceptionally good whenever they returned from being apart.  It made Jongwoon wonder how he made it so long without his boyfriend.

           “Doesn’t he look good today?” Ryeowook sighed, resting his head against Sungmin’s shoulder.

           “He does,” Sungmin honestly admitted.  For so many years, Kyuhyun struggled to stay healthy and was often overtired or weak from illness.  The accident had done a number on him and although the injuries from the wreck itself eventually healed, it took much longer for his immune system to recuperate.  Ryeowook was a big factor in Kyuhyun’s wellbeing.  He obsessively watched over the maknae: cooking to make sure he ate healthy, arguing with the managers when they wanted too much out of him, lifting his spirits when they were down.  Kyuhyun once appeared constantly pale and sleepy, often sick with a cold or infection.  Now you’d never know.

           Sungmin watched as Kyuhyun blocked Hyukjae’s shot, tipping the ball to Jongwoon who instantly had it snatched out of his hands by Donghae.  He was in the peak of physical health, not too bulky but not the little shrimp he once was.  His complexion revealed his vigor for life.  He rarely ever looked sick or tired or unhappy anymore and if he did, it was short-lived.  Even when he was winded from running around and dripping with sweat, he looked energetic. 

           “Jongwoon looks far better, mind you, but Kyuhyun has looked really good lately and the fans have been constantly commenting on it,” he admitted.

           “Tall, auburn, and handsome.”

           “And completely untouchable.”

           Ryeowook broke his gaze away from Kyuhyun finally and looked over at Sungmin.  “What do you mean?”

           “I mean, you keep crushing over someone you can never have.”

           Ryeowook sighed.  “I know I can never have him as I want him but I do have him as my best friend and I’d rather have that than nothing, like some poor people out there who can never get close to the one they love.”

           “You mean, like fangirls that will never have a chance with the idol they worship?”

           “You’re not taking me seriously but I am serious when I say that I’m okay as long as we remain close like we are now.”

           “But that’s a silly wish to have, Wookie.  You know that we won’t live in the dorms forever.  We probably won’t be together in another ten years.  That’s just life.  What are you going to do when Kyuhyun and you aren’t living in the same apartment and he’s found some pretty girl to settle down with and we’re not singing together?  You’ll be all alone and at best, he’ll call you up once every week or two, you might meet up for drinks once a month, and he’ll name one of his munchkins after you.  And that’s all you’ll have left of Kyuhyun.”

           Maybe he’d been a little too harsh.  Ryeowook’s eyes were glazed over with water as he looked from Sungmin to Kyuhyun. 

           “You’ll be lonely,” Sungmin said, his voice lighter as he brushed Ryeowook’s hair out of his eyes a bit.  “I don’t mean to break your heart but if you keep up this crush forever, you’ll not only get hurt but you’ll have no one to love you back.  You really need to put a little space between you and Kyu and open up to the idea of looking for someone else.”

           “I can’t,” Ryeowook whispered.  “He’s the one.  Even if I can’t love him how I want to, I would feel as if I were betraying him if I dated anyone else.”

           Sungmin was ready to continue lecturing his good friend but looked out unto the basketball court and noticed Kyuhyun watching them closely.  He was protective of his best friend and knew when something was upsetting him.  His eyes met Sungmin’s and then he knew that he’d have to save the rest for another day, as Kyuhyun’s eyes began to narrow.  No one was stupid enough to mess with Ryeowook when Kyuhyun was around.  As much as Sungmin loved Kyuhyun, he really was kind of evil at times and had no shame about it.  He felt no guilt.  Once he decided you deserved what you had coming to you, he had no qualms about exacting his revenge.

           When there was a break in the action, Kyuhyun jogged over to them and picked his water bottle up off the ground next to Ryeowook’s feet.  He glanced over at Sungmin as he downed half a bottle of water.  He seemed unsure, as if he didn’t know if Sungmin was the reason Ryeowook appeared uneasy.

           “Is your foot bothering you?”

           Ryeowook shook his head.

           “Liar,” Kyuhyun said, bending down and lightly squeezing his ankle, making Ryeowook wince.  “Sorry.  It’s still swollen.  I should probably bring you home so you can put some ice on it.”

           “That’s okay,” Ryeowook said.  “You guys are having fun and it doesn’t hurt when I’m sitting down.”

           “You’re supposed to have it elevated though,” he argued.

           “It isn’t throbbing like it was yesterday."

           “Quit being a martyr,” Kyuhyun said, motioning to the others to continue without him.  “Besides, Sungmin likes to play games too, he can take my spot.”

           “Well, then Siwon and Jongwoon would have a better chance of not getting annihilated.  I suppose that I could join the game,” Sungmin said, standing up and removing his sweater.

           Kyuhyun handed Ryeowook the water bottle and then turned his back to Ryeowook and crouched down, waving for him to get on his back.  “Come here, I’ll give you a ride back to my car.”

           Even Sungmin smiled at the gesture.  No wonder Ryeowook’s heart was stolen by him.  If only Kyuhyun felt the same way for him, their lives would be damn near perfect.  Ryeowook blushed and refused to do something so silly at first but Kyuhyun eventually got his way, as usual, and carried him away, hollering good-bye to the rest of them as he headed for the parking lot.

           Sungmin walked onto the court and held his hands open for Siwon to pass him the ball.  He bounced it past Donghae and the minute the ball touched his fingers, Sungmin was on the move, shooting around Shindong and jumping up for a lay-up, which he managed with ease.

           Jongwoon looked up at the basket and then back to his boyfriend.  “Is there any sport you’re bad at?”

           Sungmin pinched his cheek.  “Maybe, but I haven’t found it yet.”

           Jongwoon tilted his head towards Kyuhyun’s car.  “What were you two talking about?”

           “I’ll tell you later,” he softly said.

           “Oh, that.”

           “I was hoping to get through to him but he’s as resistant as ever…and when Kyuhyun does cute little things like that, who can blame him.”

           “You want me to give you a piggy back later?” Jongwoon teased.

           “Well, it would be fun if you did,” Sungmin admitted.  “Or at least thought of some goofy way to show how much you care from time to time.”

           “I’m not completely unromantic,” Jongwoon shot back.

           “I didn’t say you weren’t,” Sungmin said.  “But there’s something kind of fun about Kyuhyun’s behavior towards Wookie, as if they were still kids.”

           “You want to play a game when we get home?” he asked, winking at his boyfriend.

           “No,” he said, rolling his eyes.  “Nevermind.”

           Sungmin peeked out the window and watched as Kyuhyun set Ryeowook down in the passenger seat and then closed his door before rounding the car and hopping in.  If only he felt the same, Sungmin lamented again.  His courtly way of handling Ryeowook sometimes made it so convincing that maybe he’d fall for his dearest friend sometime down the line but if it didn’t happen after all this time together, it never would.  Sungmin knew that Ryeowook would never drop Kyuhyun as a friend and he didn’t want to see that happen either.  Kyuhyun needed his friend too.  He just had to pull away enough to let someone else in.