Simply put, Kyuhyun’s cursing controversy took a while to blow over.

Shortly after the filming for the interview ended, someone had uploaded a video titled, “Super Junior’s maknae cursing at innocent fan.” The video shook and the lens zoomed out of focus several times, but it was clear enough. Every single detail had been caught on camera, every moment filmed and recorded - from the moment that Shindong nudged and gestured to Kyuhyun, to which he contemptuously rolled his eyes, to the moment where Kyuhyun was seen deliberately massaging the bridge of his nose, eyes screwed shut in frustration, to that final, jaw-dropping moment when Kyuhyun spoke out of turn, interrupting both the MC and Leeteuk to snap at one of the audience members in the coldest voice the public had ever heard him use.

And while Kyuhyun dreamt dreams of makeshift whips and jagged knives that night, the video had circulated around the internet. It spread like a plague. Shares followed shares and reuploads followed reuploads. By the time the next morning came around, all of the news channels had it playing on their own screens, reporters adding in their own input - no, their lies - to the situation, blowing the affair entirely out of proportion.

Fans, netizens, and antis alike rose in a furious uproar. Hate comments were everywhere; they flooded the videos, the fan cafes, and the news websites. Venomous words were thrown all around, harshly, mercilessly, judgingly.

“Geez, is it someone’s time of the month or what?”

“So disrespectful. I don’t know what to say...”

“Evil maknae? … Not an understatement.”

“Never liked Kyuhyun anyway, but after this, I absolutely hate him!”

“Honestly, I’m disappointed. I expected more out of him.”

“I thought Kangin had issues, but it looks like Kyuhyun’s a lot worse.”

“Even if he did have a bad day, is that really how you’re supposed to treat your fans?? Seriously, he’s the rudest idol in the industry!”

“I always knew adding a 13th member would be a bad idea.”

Every comment that Ryeowook read was like a stab to his heart. He couldn’t bear to see all of the hate being directed at his best friend, especially when now they knew that nearly none of it was true. He wanted to scream at the netizens, but he knew that another member mouthing off was the last thing they needed.

He couldn’t imagine how Kyuhyun was taking it himself. The maknae had always put on a strong front, but Ryeowook knew him better than that, and he knew that Kyuhyun was breaking down inside. For those first couple of days, being around Kyuhyun was like walking on glass. The maknae was going to shatter sooner or later, and it put Ryeowook on edge as well, taking it upon himself to be there when Kyuhyun needed him. He had managed an uncaring facade for a couple days, until Kyuhyun glimpsed a comment on their fanpage that someone one directly to him which ripped his heart in two.

“You should have died back when you had the chance.”

Kyuhyun had sobbed for hours after. Ryeowook knew, because Ryeowook had stayed with him and cried with him throughout the whole time. Out of everybody, it was the maknae who least deserved to have that type of thing directed at him. He cursed whoever wrote that comment a thousand times over, and he cursed himself twice as much, because he felt so powerless being unable to do anything except hug his best friend close as Kyuhyun let out wail after heart-breaking wail.

When one of their managers suddenly dropped by, saying that Lee Soo Man requested to see Kyuhyun right away, Ryeowook’s heart dropped to his stomach. At the time, Leeteuk and Shindong had offered to go with them, but the manager shook his head, turning them down. For the rest of the evening, the rest of the members waited anxiously in the living room, some sitting while some paced about the room. They were all on edge. They knew how merciless the CEO could be at times, and they knew that Soo Man was particularly harder on them than his other groups. When Kyuhyun finally returned, they stared at him owlishly, every single one of them fearing for the worst, but to their evident relief, he told them he merely received a pay cut and a harsh scolding.

Soo Man had ordered Kyuhyun to lay low for a while, and so for the next couple of weeks, the maknae hardly ever left the dorm, practically disappearing from the world for a short while. Kyuhyun said that he didn’t mind (“More time for Starcraft, how could I complain?”) but his actions belied his words. For those couple of weeks, he trudged around like a zombie. There was a certain lifelessness to him that killed Ryeowook to witness. Ryeowook had baked him countless batches of cookies and other goodies in an attempt to cheer him up, but somewhere after the seventh plate, Kyuhyun - and everyone else - refused to eat them, sending Ryeowook into a sour mood of his own.

Ryeowook was glad at least that ever since that night, the other members treated Kyuhyun better. They spoiled him like they did a couple of years ago, when he first returned to the dorms after the car accident. Eunhyuk, Donghae, and Shindong performed silly antics around him in an attempt to make their maknae loosen up and smile. Leeteuk, if anything, became more of a mother around him, constantly nagging and mother-henning him (in a loving way). Even Heechul became gentler every time he was around the younger.

As for his nightmares, Kyuhyun didn’t once make another complaint about them. His sleepwalking episodes seemed to have ceased, and he didn’t appear to have any mood swings. The other members assumed that the nightmares stopped completely, until Sungmin informed them that he still woke up in the middle of the night, crying and gasping. It wasn’t until then that they realized that Kyuhyun still looked extremely tired, the bags under his eyes even more evident than before.

Now that three weeks had passed, the uproar had dwindled down to only slight mentions and side comments, and Lee Soo Man deemed it safe to allow Kyuhyun to go out again. Kyuhyun eagerly seized the chance to get back out into the world, and they quickly fell back into their previous routine. There were still the odd hater or two here and there, but it seemed that the majority of Kyuhyun’s fans had forgiven him. For just a moment, all seemed well, but Ryeowook knew better than that.

After all, like they always said, there always came the calm before the storm.