"This is the kitchen," says Eunhyuk, leading the way. He points to the sink, which is cluttered with dishes. "We usually fill it up to about here." He lifts his hand about a foot above the sink. "Then we do the dishes."

"Eunhyuk? What happened to you? You used to be so organized." You shake your head, teasing him. "Shame."

He grins. "I still am. Just not when it comes to dishes. You should see the DVDs; they're all organized."

"Even on this floor. His room is upstairs," interjects Kangin.

"Wait till you see his clothes," adds Sungmin.

"Why?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.

"He's got a lot," replies Sungmin.

"He's a shopaholic," adds Ryeowook.

"I am not!" denies Eunhyuk.

Kangin rolls his eyes. "Sure."

"Well at least I'm not as bad as Heechul," whispers Eunhyuk in your ear. "Word to the wise, don't borrow Heechul's clothes. You'll regret it." He pulls away from you.

"I'll remember that," you reply with a smirk.

"Yah! What are you whispering in her ear for? You better not be flirting with her, Jewel Boy." Heechul steps over to you and drapes an arm over your shoulder. "That's my job."

You shrug his arm off your shoulder. You glare at him. "Do you not remember what happened the last time you tried to flirt with me?"

He grins. "How could I forget?"

"Then why aren't you protecting yourself?" You continue to glare at him.

His grin gets wider. "Good. The old Jaehwa is still in there somewhere." He gives you a pat on the head, much to your annoyance.

You step away from him, trying not to let it bother you. Again, he said you changed. You didn't change that much... Right?

"Speaking of clothes," continues Eunhyuk, ignoring the exchange between you and Heechul. "This is the laundry room," he says, leading you to the room adjacent to the kitchen. He points to the first of several bins. "This one is all socks. We just tend to share socks as well as training clothes." He gestures to the second bin, filled with 'training clothes'; like sweats, muscle shirts, sweatshirts, etc. Then he grins mischeivously and grabs something out of the next bin. "And these belong to Leeteuk," he says, holding up a pair of white boxers with red hearts all over them. You look down, biting your lower lip to try to stifle a chuckle.

"Yah!" Leeteuk cries in embarrassment, trying to grab it out of Eunhyuk's hand. Eunhyuk runs away from Leeteuk.

"They're the only pair he has!" Eunhyuk tries to say in a serious tone, but cracks a smile.

Leeteuk starts laughing at the obsurdity of the statement. "Yah!"

You shake your head at Eunhyuk, who is waiting eagerly for you to ask the question. You give into the bait. "Then what is he wearing right now?"

"He's not!"

Leeteuk starts laughing so hard that he starts patting his stomach. The others burst out laughing.

"Good to know," you joke, shaking your head and chuckling. They may be older, but they are just as fun as they used to be, if not more so...

****

2005.10.25 (October 25, 2005)

You lean against the wall, trying to catch your breath. You start chugging your water bottle down, sating your thirst. You finish with a sigh of satisfaction and toss the empty water bottle onto your duffel bag. "Shouldn't we do it again?" you ask your band members, who are all sprawled out on the floor in exhaustion. They all groan at your suggestion.

"Aish!" cries Sooyun from the floor. "Jaehwa, you don't ever run out of energy do you?"

You crouch down by her. "Come on Leader-unni! Just one more time." You take off your baseball cap for a moment and wipe the sweat from your brow before putting it back on your head. "We've got to show the world that T.H.E.E.N.D has what it takes. T.H.E.E.N.D Hwaiting!"

"Ugh! Sooyun, don't make us practice again," groans Hy, grumpily from the floor a few feet away. "I can't take any more today." You know that Hy must be tired to sound like that. She usually fits her name with her happy, go-lucky, carefree attitude.

"Please unni, don't make us practice," Okrim bolts up, her ponytail bouncing up with her. "I can't take it any more! I'll kill Jaehwa if we do!"

"Ugh! Just shut up already," says Chansook, her head burried in her arms, muffling her words. "I'm about to die of exhaustion."

"I'm tired too," pouts Yun, sitting up slowing with a groan.

Sooyun looks up at you with a small smile. "Guess you are over ruled. But you can practice some more if you want." She slowly sits up. "Help me up." You get up from your crouching position and stretch out your hand to her. She takes it and you pull her to her feet. "Thanks," she says, yawning.

"No problem, unni."

The other girls get up slowly, gathering their bags and other belongings, groaning from exhaustion. They head to the door. "Bye, Jaehwa," they say, exiting the room.

"Bye!" you call back as the door closes behind them. You walk over to the other side of the room and crouch down to turn on the music player. You adjust the volume first, turning it to a higher level before pressing the 'play' button. You walk over to the middle of the floor, facing the wall with the mirror. The music begins and you start to dance. The music flows through your veins, electrifying the moves that you helped choreograph.

You close your eyes, imagining what it would be like to do this on stage for real in front of hundreds of people, fans. The idea is exhilerating. With your eyes closed you fly across the floor, singing, rapping, and dancing as if the rest of the group was still there.

You love feeling the air rush past you as you execute the steps that you have come to know through rehearsal. You spin and- SMACK!- run right into something...er... someone, making you lose your balance.

Your eyes snap open in surprise as you stumble to regain your footing.

"Whoa!" Donghee [Shindong not Donghae] cries, grabbing your arms to steady you. "Mianhamnida [I am sorry], Jaehwa-ssi."

"That's ok, Donghee-ssi," you begin, gaining some composure. "Mianhe that I didn't know you were there."

You hear a chuckle. You turn and see Jongwoon [Yesung] leaning against the wall by the door. "I never knew anyone who could dance with their eyes closed," he says with a grin.

"Yah! What do you mean Jongwoon-ah?" Donghee says. "Don't you know that I can dance with my eyes closed too?"

You chuckle. "I'd like to see that."

"Me too," adds Jongwoon, pushing himself off the wall. He walks over and stands by you.

"Then you two sit back and watch the show," Donghee says, grinning.

****

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