1 month later

Heechul's POV

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     This was the day, and I was so excited. The rest of the Super Junior members and I were going to pick up Hankyung at the airport. We got to the terminal, and I waited anxiously for my best friend to arrive.

     The passengers began to file off the plane, and a tall, familiar silohouette comes into view.

"Walk faster, hyung!" Siwon calls.

     "Hold on. Do you know how long that flight was? I'm wiped out!" he calls.

He gets to our waiting point, and I am the first to attack him with a hug. The Eeteuk, Siwon, and Henry pile on, followed by everyone else.

     "Whoa, whoa! One at a time, please. I'm assuming this is the showering of affection we talked about?" he asks.

"Like you should have expected anything else, hyung," Henry says, smiling. 

     "It's okay. I don't mind," Hankyung smiles. He turns to me.

"And wife, have you been behaving yourself?" he asks me.

     I make a devilish cute face. "What? Me behaving? Did the flight make you ill?"

He rolls his eyes. 

     "Alright, before we get swarmed by ELFs, we should go. Our friend looks tired," KyunHyun says.

We all nod and head out to the vans.  As we enter our dorm, we get a surprise welcome.

     "Annyeong (hi)!," the Jump Girls yell while throwing confetti on us.

"We wanted to make sure Korea was just as nice as when you left," Eun Kyung says to Hankyung.

     "I appreciate it, girls. Now, I have yet to meet the other four of you," he says.

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Hankyung's POV (Still the dorm after he arrived)

     "Of course. Where are my manners?" Eun Kyung says to me. She begins with the leader, Mi Sun, and works her way down to Maggie, who they call Miso. I notice a smile come to the young girl's face when she bows, but it quickly dissapears. 

     After a few minutes of taking my things into Heechul's and my room, I come back out where everyone is having refreshments and talking.

"So, how's the album going, hyung?" Ryeowook asks.

     "Oh, it's doing well. The tour is doing great, too, and I've gotten a few awards, too."

"I could only expcet that from you, hyung," he says.

     "Thank you." 

My attention is quickly diverted to the corner, where Maggie is.

     "Ryeowook, is Miso alright?" I ask.

"She's typically quiet, but more cheerful. A cousin of hers that is close to her has cancer, and it has gotten worse over the last month. But that's all she's said," he tells me.

     "Okay. Thanks for telling me. I was just wondering."

"No problem." he says and walks away.

     I find myself moving toward her seat, and I sit next to her.

"Your name was Maggie, right?" I ask.

     "Oh, yes, it was...I-I mean it still is," she laughs nervously.

"That's a nice name," I say.

     "Thank you, oppa."

"I don't mean to pry, but Ryeowook told me about your cousin's condition. How is he doing?" I ask.

     "Steven was doing okay at first, but over the last month, his condition has gotten worse. The doctors think he might pass soon, but he finally proposed to his girlfriend," she tells me, smiling just a bit.

   "Well, I'm sorry to hear that he's sick, but I congradulate him, too."

"I want to go visit him, but the company won't let me, since it's not my indicated vacation week."

     "Really?"

"Yes," she says, and begins to recount what happened...

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Maggie's POV

     A few weeks earlier

     I had gotten a call from Steven that his condition had gotten worse. 

"It's pretty bad," he told me. "I don't mean to alarm you, but they think I only have a few weeks left."

     "Okay. I'm going to try to come see you," I tell him.

"Thanks, Maggie. I don't want to halt your career or anything like that, but I really want to see you before I die," he says.

     "I'll talk to my manager today. Love you. Bye."

I hang up and call my manager.

     "Hello? Sir? Can I please schedule a private meeting with you today? It's urgent."

"Alright. Will this invlove our boss, too?"

     "Probably."

"How about 2:30 this afternoon?"

    "That works. Thank you, sir."

     2:30 p.m.

I arrive at the office of my boss, to speak with him and my manager.

     "Good afternoon, sir," I say, bowing to my boss.

"Hello, Melinda. What do you need to speak to us about today?" he says.

     "Well, sir, I know it's not my designated week, but my close cosuin is dying, and I would like to see him before he passes away. So, I am asking for my week of leave to be switched, if it may happen, sir."

     He looks at me sternly. "These vacation weeks are permanent and cannot be changed. I'm sorry, but I must say no."

"I understand the policy, sir, but he is likely to pass on within the next three weeks, and my vacation isn't for another three months."

     "The policy will stay the same, whether it is life-or-death or not! You accept your vacation week, or get fired. And that is it."

"Sir, please-"

     "Goodbye, Miss Callsworth. I am very busy," he says, shooing me out the door.

A few minutes later, I ask my manager, "Must it really come to such lengths as I'll have to leave my job and the Jump Girls if I want to see my dying cousin?"

   "I'm afraid so. You have to accept it or leave."

"Can you talk to him?" I ask.

     "I can't. If he will deny you, one of the most liked and popular celebrities that this company produces, I know he won't speak with me."

"I understand. Thank you for setting up the meeting. Now, I have a very big decision to make," I tell him.

     He looks up. "Are you really going to leave? I don't mean to sound selfish, but this will affect my job."

"My cousin is like a brother to me, and I can't shove him off just because I'm afraid of losing my job. But still, I've come such a long way, and I can't throw away my career, either."

     "I understand you. The best of luck with your decision, Melinda," he says while leaving.

Back to dorm party

Maggie's POV

    "And I still have yet to sort things out," I tell Hankyung.

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Author's note:

chapter 10..woohoo!!!! Well, it says chapter eleven, but chapter five is a teaser, so this is the real chapter ten. Milestone chapter. Hope you like the plot twist I just threw in.

I hope the time period-shift and the view point switching didn't confuse everyone too much. If you like the story, please comment or leave a suggestion in a comment as to how I can make it better, and if you like it, please feel free to subscribe also. Thanks for reading! :)

~Rachael