CHAPTER SEVEN

 Sunset in Taiwan. People bustled about as they made their way home for dinner at the end of another scorching day. The afternoon sky was a mixture of bright orange and blue, blending into a masterpiece of fused colors.

A lone guitarist strummed away on a balcony. He listlessly plucked at the instrument, not really playing a tune, but enjoying the moment anyway.

A cool breeze mercifully blew by and brushed at his fringe for a few seconds. He lifted up his face and smiled into the wind. He had enjoyed himself here, even though his schedule had been full everyday, and he had barely gotten time to sleep over the past month, he realized that he would miss this place. Peace and quiet is what he really treasured. Even if he was exhausted at the end of everyday, if he got some time alone to relax and simply play his guitar, he was happy.

“Sungmin hyung”!

He looked up from his guitar. Henry was calling. He heard scurrying footsteps, and in the next second, Henry was catching his breath at the balcony.

“What is it?” Sungmin asked him in alarm.

“It’s…Donghae”, Henry managed to gasp. “Hurry up hyung! He needs you!” In his panic, Henry didn’t realize that he had been talking in English, but Sungmin had rushed off anyway. He managed to follow him into the lounge, where the rest of the members had gathered, except for Donghae.

Eunhyuk was knocking desperately at Donghae’s door.

“Donghae! Come out! Open the door!”

“NO!

“How long are you going to hide in there?”

“Forever! I’m never leaving!”

“What can you do if she chose someone else? You can’t expect every girl to put up with a life like ours; you knew that since forever, why is it so different now?”

After a few moments, Donghae slowly opened his bedroom door. He had tears in his eyes. “I really liked her Hyukjae…”

Eunhyuk took one look at his best friend’s face and felt his chest swell with emotion. But he couldn’t cry as well, he had to be strong for Donghae.

“You have to let her go Hae, she made her choice.” he said softly. Donghae just nodded. Then he really started crying.

Sungmin, who had been quietly standing to the side also felt sorry for Donghae. “Let him cry if he wants to Hyukjae, he’s been through a lot.” He went over to Donghae and put his arm around him. “Its ok, Donghae-ah, you just need some time, that’s all, it will all be better once we get back home.”

Donghae turned and buried his head into Sungmin’s shoulder. Eunhyuk couldn’t watch anymore. He was so frustrated with the way things had turned out. Why did Donghae always end up hurt? He was the kindest one amongst them. It just wasn’t fair. He clenched his fist and walked away. Sungmin could deal with this.

The best thing Eunhyuk could do for Donghae right now was to get him home. He decided to go and talk to their manager about it. On his way out he met Kyuhyun and Ryeowook who had just arrived at the dorm after spending the weekend in Korea. They were both exhausted, but managed to greet him with a smile.

“Donghae’s upset, go see if you can help”, he said while rushing out. They both looked at each other and realized what must have happened. They had all known that this girl hadn’t been serious about Donghae. It was obvious to everyone but him since the beginning. He had just been too lonely and homesick to notice.

“Ryeowook, can you handle this?” Kyuhyun had gotten sick after the concert, and his voice came out in barely a whisper.

Ryeowook sighed. “Let them know that you’re here and then go sleep Kyuhyun-ah, I’ll see to Donghae hyung”, he said while distractedly patting Kyuhyun’s shoulder.

Kyuhyun nodded and made his way to Donghae’s room. Ryeowook then went to look for the other members. He found Henry and Zhou Mi in the kitchen. He asked them, “Is it bad?”

They both nodded.

“Ah, hyung is too soft, that’s why this always happens”, Ryeowook said while leaning on the counter.

“But that’s what makes him who he is”, said Zhou Mi. He falls in love quickly, and he hurts quickly.”

“I was hoping this wouldn’t happen, because you’ll all be leaving soon, now we can’t send you off happily”, Henry said sadly.

“Don’t talk like that Henry! We’ve been through worse than this. Donghae will be fine. Even though this happened, we all still had a great time together.” Ryeowook said sincerely. They both smiled at him.

Kyuhyun came into the kitchen. “Sungmin is asking for something to make Donghae sleep”, he said.

“There are some pills in my room”, said Zhou Mi. “You take some too Kyu, you don’t look well”. He went off to his room with Kyuhyun, leaving Ryeowook and Henry alone.

“How was the concert?” Henry asked.

“It was perfect. We didn’t make any mistakes at all. Yesung is in top form. I guess he’s been practicing with all the free time he has” Ryeowook replied.

Henry nodded. “So you’ll be leaving at the end of this week?”

Just then Eunhyuk came back in. “No, We’ll be leaving in two days, right after the last fanmeeting”, he said. They both looked at him in shock. “How did you manage that?” they asked.

“I told the managers that Sungmin and Kyuhyun agreed to model for Seoul fashion week”, he said. “And it’s coming up this weekend, so we can all go as soon as we’re done with activities here”.

Ryeowook was impressed. “You’re something else Hyukkie. But will Kyu and Min do it?”

“Its all for Donghae”, he said soflty. “They’ll understand”.

Ryeowook couldn’t help not being excited at the thought of going home for good. “We better start packing then”, he said. He noticed Henry’s gloomy state, and put an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t be sad Henry, we’ll see each other again soon, come and help me pack, there’s nothing else to do now”.

Eunhyuk watched them go, and then made his way to Donghae’s room. Sungmin was sitting crosslegged on the floor. Donghae was fast asleep on his bed, but his face was still stained with tears. Eunhyuk sat down next to Sungmin.

“What will we do now?” Sungmin asked him.

“We’re going home soon”, he replied. Donghae’s been through a lot. He needs to see Leeteuk”. Sungmin nodded. When things like this happened, they all needed to see Leeteuk. Even if one of them was hurting, they all felt it equally. Their groups’s morale was really low at this moment. Eunhyuk noticed how worried Sungmin was.

“Ah, don’t worry, everything will be fine”, he said reassuringly.

Sungmin looked again at Donghae’s sleeping face.

“My poor little brother”, he thought. “Even so, I wish I was also torn in love. To feel even that much pain would be fine with me. At this moment, I still feel nothing.”

 He rested his head against the wall and sighed deeply. “I can’t wait to get back home”, he said.

Eunhyuk rested his head on Sungmin’s shoulder, his eyes still on the sleeping Donghae. “Me too”, he said tiredly.