Scared Us to Death

                    April 8, 2007. The hearts of ELFs everywhere broke and made us see just how real the boys were, how fleeting they may be with us. It was a fun episode of Kiss the Radio. How could anything have gone wrong? The baby maknae had just been joking around and laughing with his hyungs. And now all the television news blared the headline of an accident where a van lost control. The driver had been speeding, and lost control as he was switching lanes. Rumor was there were four Super Junior members on it. Eventually word got out that indeed, Super Junior’s Leeteuk, Shindong, Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun were hurt.

                    At first, nobody would believe it. It just could not be. A few moments ago, the four were boisterously joking around on Kiss the Radio. No, it just isn’t possible. ELFs stubbornly refused to believe it. But when photos were released of a crying Leeteuk, clearly injured, reaching for the maknae, crying, “Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun,” the nightmare became a scary reality.

                    The entire community went into an uproar. They had to make sure their boys were alright. ELFs poured in with gifts, Shindong and Eunhyuk were released with minor injuries. However, it was the leader and the maknae who held the fear in our hearts. Leeteuk had glass shards embedded in his back and had to have one hundred seventy stitches on top of his eyes. Kyuhyun was sitting behind the driver and suffered a broken ribs, hip fractures, and severe wounds. For days, he slipped in and out of consciousness, going in and out of the world.

                    Every day the members worried. For years, these members have been a staple part of their lives, shared a fraction of their hearts. The members were out of their minds with worry. Every day they would crowd around the bedsides of the two members, crying and trying to laugh. They got in the way of doctors, they interrupted the nurses, trying to ask them questions regarding their brothers.

                    The pain of the accident haunts them. In their heads, the only question was “what if?” What if they had ended the broadcast earlier? What if they were there, rather than Kyuhyun? What if… what if they lost the maknae forever?

                    They watched over their hyung, urging him to get better, but the only thing on Leeteuk’s mind was the wellbeing of his little brother. In his mind, he replayed the moment when he tried to revive their youngest, only to pass out. He glanced to his side, and prayed for those mischievous eyes to open up. Please, he prayed, just one more time to be a good hyung to him.

                    Yesung snuck up in his room and the recorder. He sat on his bed, and spoke from his heart. “Leeteuk-hyung, Shindong-shi, Eunhyuk-shi, Kyuhyun-shi, please hear this and know that I love you guys. I know you will laugh when you hear this, but it’s okay.” He had to stop in intervals to breathe and collect his thoughts. Tears clogged his throat as he went on to the maknae. “I know I got annoyed at you during our radio show. But I promise, next time it doesn’t matter how much you tease, or joke around. We will tolerate it. Please, Kyuhyun. Just come back, smiling and evil as normal. We will let you be as rude as you like. Just come back. I hope you hear this and know that hyung is praying for you.” After uploading that onto his Cyworld, he crawled into bed to cry himself to sleep.

                    Three weeks after the accident, Leeteuk finally recovered. He was discharged, and Kyuhyun was left. Even when they were going ahead with activities, they thought of Kyuhyun. Siwon led the entire group in prayer every night. They prayed for his speedy recovery and for his wellbeing. They knew that without the maknae, the thirteen whom ELFs had so vehemently protested against, they would not be Super Junior.

                    Heechul waited for his apprentice to once more resume evil lessons from him. Hangeng waited for him to open his eyes and laugh at his accent. Kangin waited for the maknae to smirk at his manliness. Sungmin missed his constant companion, the only one who seemed to tolerate his aegyo. Donghae cried for his favorite dongsaeng. Ryeowook cooked for Kyuhyun, and prayed that he would one day be able to eat it. Kibum sat silently, trying to control his emotions.

                    They waited. They waited for him. When Kyuhyun was finally released two months later, he made a successful comeback.  His immediate rejoining of the group brought great admiration for his strength. In Don’t Don, he sang his lines with power, and tried to dance. It was from this that the amazing few seconds of the Kyuhyun solo in A Man in Love came about.

                    In a recent interview, Kyuhyun revealed a touching incident that forever changed his life. His father never approved of his dream. However, when the doctor said one of the options for helping Kyuhyun survive was to work with his vocal cords, his father refused. “Singing is his life. I can’t take that away from him.” This approval forever made our baby maknae grateful for what he was blessed with.

                    On a lighter note, it is this accident that has forever scarred our little baby, and rendered him too self-conscious to take off his shirt. I hope he realizes that ELFs would love him, scar the size of Asia, or not. Later, Kyuhyun was able to joke about it. He went on Sukira and even performed the “Bed Song” he was known to have composed during his stay in bed.

                    It is this moment of tragedy that allowed ELFs and Super Junior to understand how fleeting their lives may be. This incident made them work harder every day, making them one of the best groups in the Hallyu Wave. And here they are, the last men standing.

                    Kyuhyun, we are proud of you, proud of your perseverance, proud of your strength. Continue to be StrongKyu, and the Evil Maknae. 

It's a new year, it's a new age for me. Seventeen, wow. And 2012 will bring so many changes to my life, and to Super Junior. But we'll always be here, we'll always be ELFs here ♥

Thank you for waiting~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y5FzkJFerw Kyu's Bed Song ^^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtVJrraXl9g Yesung's Message :'(