A/N: And... I'm back. I have no idea how long this writing spree will last, but I do hope you enjoy in the meantime. :) This is more dialogue-based than the previous ones, so you'll have to excuse me if you find it a little lacking in action. Still, the plot continues to thicken! As always, I apologize in advance if there are any inaccuracies, and hope for your feedback. Thank you for all your reviews and subscriptions!

Four

When Leeteuk answers the phone, Youngwoon still hasn’t figured out how to break the news to him. And so he ends up saying the first thing on his mind, a phrase that has been nagging at him ever since Donghae and Kyuhyun had retreated to their rooms, leaving only him and Heechul in the living room.

“Hyung, Kyuhyun said he wants to Hyukjae’s brains out!” He bursts out in a panicked voice before he realizes what a huge mistake he’s made and contemplates bashing his head into the nearest wall before he can incriminate himself any further.

“Youngwoon?” Leeteuk’s voice is soft and melodious, and just hearing it calms his nerves a little. “Take a deep breath.” He immediately does as he is told. “Now start from the beginning, okay? I don’t have too much time to talk, and I’ll have to rely on you to explain it to me as briefly and as easy to understand as possible.”

For a moment he closes his eyes, frustrated. Heechul would do a much better job at this than him, given that he knows the whole story and Youngwoon only bits and pieces from the two younger members. “Donghae and Hyukjae, they’re EunHae, right?” He knows he’s stating the obvious, but he has to start somewhere. “And well, I guess somewhere along the way, hell, maybe from the very beginning Donghae fell in love with him.” Leeteuk makes a noise of assent, quietly urging him to continue. “Nobody really cares about that since it doesn’t really change anything, but Kyuhyun’s making it worse by saying he likes Hyukjae too and he said that he ‘wants to Hyukjae’s brains out’ and now Heechul’s gotten this crazy idea that they should just share Hyukjae.” He says it all in one breath and after he finishes he takes a huge gulp of air and waits for the leader’s advice.

Leeteuk lets out a quiet chuckle. “That ‘ Hyukjae’s brains out’ line is really bothering you, isn’t it?” His face reddens, although he knows his expression can’t be seen. It would be stranger if he weren’t bothered, he wants to say. He is minding his own business, intent on quenching his thirst, when he overhears someone speaking, and it takes him a while to recognize that it’s Donghae. Donghae is probably one of their more timid members, but it’s not obvious at first glance because he’s a bouncing ball of energy in the group, especially when Hyukjae is involved. Take Hyukjae away, though, and despite his striking good looks, he becomes the wallflower of the group. Youngwoon can’t count the number of times he’s caught Donghae zoning out, not saying a word during the interview, and occasionally sneaking glances at Hyukjae, who is seated away from him. Aside from the distinctive Mokpo accent, Donghae always sounds like he is on the verge of laughter when he talks, but Youngwoon can’t hear that hint of laughter at all. This Donghae’s voice is cold and smooth and sounds like it could slice through diamonds with its sharpness, and it alarms Youngwoon to realize that he can speak like that.

It alarms him even more when he opens the door and finds out Donghae is talking to Kyuhyun in that voice. Granted, Kyuhyun’s disrespect, while tolerated, grates on all the members’ nerves from time to time (although Hyukjae is most vocal about it), but the maknae has always insisted that he has a good relationship with Donghae, so why? A few minutes later, he gets his answer: Hyukjae. Of course. The only thing that would ruffle Donghae’s feathers is a rival for Hyukjae’s attention.

Youngwoon just never imagined it would be Kyuhyun. It disturbs him, to say the very least, to hear such a blunt and vulgarly-worded declaration from the maknae, who for all intents and purposes had not appeared to be interested in romance.  

 “I-I’m not,” Youngwoon weakly tries to deny the statement, but Leeteuk is already laughing at him. He sighs and gives up. “Okay, it bothers me, all right? Kyuhyun says the most outrageous things, but I have to admit I wasn’t prepared for that one.” He heaves another sigh. “Not to mention I never saw it coming.”

”I wasn’t too sure myself,” Leeteuk admits, voice turning serious. “Donghae yes, I’d known for a while. Kyuhyun… I know he liked to tease our Hyukjae and sometimes had an unreadable expression when he was placed behind EunHae, but I never bothered to look too closely because I’d assumed maybe he was just unhappy about having to do fanservice.” He sounds disheartened at the revelation. “I should have kept a better eye on them so you and Heechul didn’t have to deal with this now.”

Youngwoon hastens to assure him that it isn’t his fault, and he and Heechul have taken on the responsibility of being the eldest and resolving the issue.

“And Heechul suggested that they share Hyukjae?” Leeteuk asks dryly. Youngwoon nods reflexively, then remembers that his leader can’t see him, and grunts the affirmative. He disapproves of the idea; even if Hyukjae is somehow agreeable to the setup, sooner or later insecurities about whether Hyukjae loves them back equally will arise, and the internal conflict could prove to be the undoing of Super Junior. He says as much to Leeteuk, but the older man is surprisingly receptive to Heechul’s hare-brained scheme. “We can’t really afford to lose EunHae at this point,” the older man murmurs thoughtfully, almost to himself, “but this reminds me of that time on a show when Kyuhyun was told to call the person he liked best and if that person picked up, they would become a couple. You know who Kyuhyun called?”

Youngwoon knits his brows. What is Leeteuk getting at, exactly? “No. Who?”

“He called Hyukjae, Youngwoon.” Before he can even react, Leeteuk plunges on. “I told him to stop fooling around, but now I’m beginning to wonder, if maybe, at that time, he was really doing it for himself.”

Youngwoon’s jaw drops. “Are you serious, hyung?” He’s seen first-hand how Donghae stirs up the media in a frenzy by doing disgustingly lovey-dovey things with Hyukjae, but Kyuhyun never struck him as the type.

 “Very serious. Youngwoon, I’m afraid I have to go soon,” Leeteuk says apologetically, “but I’m telling you that ‘sharing’ may be our best bet to protect Super Junior. I have faith in you and Heechul; don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Youngwoon! I love you~!” Click.

Dial tone.

Youngwoon feels his face grow hot, and he buries his head in his hands and groans. Teukie-hyung is unfair, saying that he trusts Youngwoon. There’s no way he can avoid getting into this mess if it’s a direct request from Teukie-hyung, after all. Not when he owes their leader so much, and he has no clue how to even begin paying it back.

Hours later, he is on the phone with the self-proclaimed most beautiful member of Super Junior.

“Hello, Heechul-hyung?” This time he doesn’t forget to tag on the honorific, because that’s one way to appease Heechul: address him respectfully.

“What, this Kangin? Whaddya want?” Heechul is snippy as usual, but Youngwoon’s used to it.

He clears his throat. “Hyung, about the ‘sharing’ thing you mentioned earlier…”