The packed beach was even worse than the stuffy hot air on the inside of the car. Kyuhyun realised that the moment he stepped out of the vehicle, letting a loud groan. He had readied himself to feel better once they'd reach their destination but he was hugely mistaken. And to make things worse, Sungmin standing beside him, was bouncing happily up and down, like a kid who had been offered ice-cream.

Or like a classic example of his hyungs.

"Kyuhyun-ah! Look at the sea! So clear... I can't wait to swim!"

"All I can see is oily bodies in an endless row..." murmured the younger and outstretched his arms to catch a bag that was tossed to him.

Holding only that, he turned to leave. But was stopped.

"Yah, you brat! Won't you help?"

The brunet wiped the sweat off over his eyebrows and bit back something clever. For him anyway...

"Kangin hyung, those are too heavy for me. Only you can lift so many things all at once."

Yes, maknae aegyo was necessary - if not a must - at situations like this. The big man opened his mouth to yell back but he took a deep breath and puffed out his chest instead. Showing off his muscular built while Siwon looked heartbroken upon hearing Kyuhyun's praising words that weren't for him. The older nodded approvingly for his own strength as he grabbed three bags full of useless stuff, as well as one of the portable mini fridges. Siwon didn't want to be left behind at this showcase and he too grabbed whatever he could.

"Stop fooling around" scolded Yesung who had just gotten off the third van, closely followed by Leeteuk.

The two younger men murmured an apology and divided the heavy bags to the younger members. Kyuhyun ended up carrying Shindong's backpack instead of his own which was left in the car.

"The heat will damage my PSP!" he complained but couldn't reach to save it, his hyung blocking the way.

"No one told you to bring it. You fault."

"My sandwiches are in more danger from the heat," the man continued and side-glanced at the younger, checking if he wasn't letting his precious bag touch the sandy ground.

"Walk, Shindong hyung is right," Eunhyuk sounded behind him and poked his back, urging him to move.

Kyuhyun grunted but put one foot in front of the other, since everyone else had already left them behind. Muttering things like how he could have spend the free vacation days they were given leveling up on Starcraft or practicing his MC-ing skills, the young man readjusted the straps of the bags in his hold. He was following Eunhyuk's steps, his eyes casted downwards due to frustration. He didn't want to see any of the bodies laid on the hot sand, still and dazed by the blazing sun above them.

Idiots... - he thought and managed to free one hand in order to pull his cap and cover even more his face.

Now, all he could see was the heels of Eunhyuk's feet, slapping against his flip-flops with every step. And then suddenly, he collided with the man in front of him.

"Ow!" he yelped, his hat falling on the sand and allowing him to look around, searching for the cause of Eunhyuk's halt.

"Hyung! What the hell!" Kyuhyun growled, thankfully still aware of the fact that they were idols and in public.

The man's answer was the lustful stare he was giving to the company of girls sunbathing, wearing tiny pieces of clothing. Eunhyuk and Shindong elbowed each other's sides, wiggling their eyebrows and grinning goofily. Kyuhyun glanced above their shoulders to the rest of the members. Kangin had paused some metres further too, staring at a couple of other girls. Donghae was awkwardly standing behind his hyung, a rosy colour on his face, surely not due to the summer heat.

"Hyung..." he tried attracting the older's attention.

Kangin didn't bother answering. He only gave a shrug and saluted the foreign females. Rolling his eyes, Kyuhyun walked past the older men, huffing and puffing annoyed. He let them ogling the almost girls and grabbed Donghae's arm, pulling him and walking to the other's.

They dropped their bags next to the big umbrellas the others had already placed in the sand and stretched their arms to get blood flowing normally again.

"Those fools..." Yesung murmured, noticing the three missing men still standing and gaping.

"Ryeowook, go tell them to get their butts here..."

The younger eagerly did it, liking the fact that he'd get to scold his hyungs even indirectly. Kangin, Shindong and Eunhyuk let their things near the rest, their faces red and eyes casted down, feeling Yesung's cold stare on them the whole time.

"Did we come here so that you could stare at well shaped asses?" the man growled and motioned with his hand to the pile of stuff.

They bowed their heads and hurried to arrange all of the unopened bags. Yesung stood closely supervising them and muttering threats that didn't let them slack. Leeteuk rubbed the back of his head and glanced awkwardly to their manager. Even in vacation the kids were a handful.

Kyuhyun exhaled loudly when he finally sat down on his carefully sprawled straw-mat, under the rich shade the Coca Cola labeled umbrella was casting. Sunglasses, swimsuit and T-shirt on, he tried to convince himself to make the best out of this small trip since they were here anyway. Luckily enough, they had found a place on the sand where the infection of shiny bodies hadn't spread. He glanced left and right, examining everyone since he hadn't anything better to do. The portable gaming platform being left in the van and all that...

He grunted and lay back, ignoring the calls of Ryeowook and Sungmin for joining them in the sea. He didn't feel like running around,splashing water and racing to prove who was the fastest swimmer.

"You moody brat..." Leeteuk murmured somewhere above him, his tone playful.

He bent down and ruffled Kyuhyun's hair, placing his MP3 player next to his shoulder.

"You better not throw it in the sand..." he warned before following the others in the water.

The younger grinned and gratefully plugged the ear-buds, turning on the volume up so that he wouldn't have to hear the yells of the beach's occupants. Quickly, the young man lost himself in the music, lazily keeping his eyes on the blue-blue sky through his dark lenses, only vaguely sensing his hyungs moving around.

Okay, it's not that bad...

He was about to doze off when drops of cold sea-water suddenly landed on his legs, making him yelp and sit up straight.

"Who the f—"

The curse didn't manage to leave his mouth as a water bottle filled with a little bit of sea was emptied on his head. His not so very adult-like scream turned many heads towards him and...

"LEE DONGHAE!"

The other man was laughing as if there was no tomorrow and Kyuhyun shot up on his feet. He opened his mouth to yell again, only to stand still when realising that TVXQ weren't blasting in his ears anymore.

Oh no... oh ...

His terrified look made Donghae stop his maniac laughter and stare at him questioningly.

"Kyu? What's wrong? It's only water."

"Yeah, only water..." the other replied and pulled the drenched device off his pocket.

Donghae's eyes widened.

"Oh ! I'm sorry!"

He took the black screened gadget in his hands, trying to see if it could still be saved.

"Hey, that's not yours. It's..."

"Teukie hyung's..." both of them said at the same time and they stood frozen for a few seconds.

"No!" yelled Donghae, dropping it on the ground as if it was on fire.

And on top of it being soaked, the MP3 player was now coated with a layer of thin, white sand too. Life couldn't get better...

The older started hypervenlating, inhaling and exhaling deeply as he mumbled incoherent stuff. Kyuhyun stared down on the fallen object, trying to come up with a way to escape Leeteuk's wrath. Knowing how proud the man was of things he'd buy with his own money - be it car or MP3 player - that would be very difficult. He groaned and grabbed the sides of his head. Two hands tightly gripped his arm and he turned to see the older man's face. Donghae was white, as if he had seen one of the ghosts he was so scared of.

"Kyuhyun-ah, what are we going to do?" he whispered and glanced left and right in fear that everything around them had instantly grown ears.

The tall boy chewed the inside of his cheek while deep in thought. But no matter the different approaches he was making, only one was the obvious solution.

"We'll tell him straight and fair."

Donghae tightened his hold and shook his head fervently.

"No, no, no! Are you crazy?!"

He looked with wide eyes at the younger, to Kyuhyun seeming obviously crazier than how he believed their leader would react. Eyeing the brown-haired man, Kyuhyun tore his arm away.

"Let me hear your suggestion then!"

"Suggestion for what?" a third voice was heard and the two young men felt their legs suddenly weakening.

"J-Jungsoo hyung..." Kyuhyun muttered as the blonde approached them, Donghae abruptly turning towards him.

Leeteuk slightly raised an eyebrow at his name being called and narrowed his eyes. Examining the two boys for only a couple of seconds, he could tell something was up. For once, Kyuhyun wouldn't be spending time standing when he had all the mats to himself. Moreover, Donghae's already big eyes were even bigger, his gaze darting here and there without landing on him.

"Hmm... What's the matter?" he asked and took a few steps forwards, Donghae's yell stopping him.

"Nothing!"

Kyuhyun felt like whacking the man's head, trying to discretely elbow him in order to stop kicking sand in his pathetic effort to cover the damaged gadget. Like a puppy when trying to make all evidence of mischief vanish... The blonde's eyes narrowed even more and trailed down, spotting something that resembled awfully much the red wire of his headphones. Half buried under Donghae's foot.

"H-hyung?"

"Don't move."

The brunette froze at the low command. He glanced sideways at Kyuhyun, silently asking for help. The youngest could only watch as Leeteuk bent down and picked what was his. Even though his expression was still calm, the young men saw his nostrils flaring. The leader looked up at them and smiled, his lips tightly pressed together.

"Go sit in a van till it's time for us to leave," he said softly and then turned and marched back in the water, letting the MP3 player land on a bag.

"..." Donghae whimpered.

They released the breaths they had been holding and looked at each other miserably. Sighing, Kyuhyun picked up his sunglasses and a pair of keys and headed to the opening where the cars were parked. Donghae followed closely behind, his gloomy face not matching the light atmosphere of the beach at all. Unlocking, they sighed heavily once again and got in the vehicle.

"We're screwed," Kyuhyun murmured as he settled on the back seat.

The older sat opposite from him and closed the door, starting the engine only to get the windows down. Nodding, he agreed with the boy: they were screwed. Leeteuk wouldn't forget this after returning to Seoul. And what's worse was the fact that his type of anger was the quiet one, the one he looks like every normal day but giving you a hard time for as long as he deemed fit. All the while with a bright smile on his face.

Kyuhyun hid his face in his hands, all faint feelings of joy about going to the beach gone. Hearing movement, he shot a glance at Donghae who had sat beside him.

"What?"

The older didn't answer and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on the boy. His eyes had watered and he was bitting his bit. Kyuhyun sighed in understatement. His hyung didn't like having others being mad at him, especially their leader. It was because he was at fault with someone else that he hadn't burst in tears yet. Otherwise, crying was something like a reflex response to him.

Despite the heat emanating from the dark-coloured van, Kyuhyun wrapped an arm around the young man's shoulders, pulling him closer for comfort. That seemed to be a fixed chain of events: whenever someone of the members would get scolded, Kyuhyun was almost always the one to console them... In his own way... He wouldn't get sentimental and his cool-headed behaviour helped calming them. Donghae was probably the one running to their maknae the most. The younger was finding having him cuddling against him like that normal and actually necessary.

And so, this time wasn't different from others but the fact that they were both blamed. Donghae sniffled and closed his eyes as the younger patted his head softly.

"Thanks..."

Kyuhyun hummed a response and rested his head back, closing his eyes too as the summer sun glowed blinding on the sky.

 

Three hours later, the others finally packed everything and made their way to the vans. Leeteuk, feeling guilty he had left the kids from enjoying their free day, hurried past everyone and reached the cars first. Spotting the one with the open windows, he went closer and peeked inside.

"What are you smiling for?" asked Yesung as he went closer too.

Craning his neck to look as well, he saw the cause of the blonde's affectionate expression. Kyuhyun was laying the wide back seat, Donghae's head resting on his chest. Both were asleep and snoring softly.

"Aww..."

"I shouldn't have punished them like that..." murmured Leeteuk and pulled back from the open window.

Yesung sighed at the leader's miserable look, promising him he could always make up for it when they'd go back to the city.

Sitting next to the manager as they were driving on the highway, the blonde was smiling while wondering how, in the end, he was always the one who had to make up every time the kids were doing something wrong. Somehow, their cuteness would surface when they were being scolded and Leeteuk couldn't help the feeling of parental affection leading his actions. Forgiving them in other words.

He kept smiling as the scenery rushed past them, thinking he wouldn't change them with anyone else even though they were driving him crazy most of the time.

Summer time!!! 8D

whatisthisIdon'teven.....