May 2001

“Hyung if you don't keep moving we're going to be late and I am 100% certain that if we are I'm just going to blame it entirely on you.”

Sungmin rolled his eyes, hurrying after the babbling Hyukjae as they made their way quickly through the weaving halls of the SM building. It had been a full week since Sungmin had been accepted as a trainee for SM Entertainment, and he still couldn't really believe that this was his life now. He'd met Hyukjae on his first day, the loud boy pulling him out of the small group of new trainees and assigning himself Sungmin's unofficial guide with a wide smile.

The two had gotten along almost immediately, Hyukjae's extremely loud personality perfectly complementing his introverted nature, and Sungmin was thankful that he'd met someone he could so easily get along with during the long and difficult hours of training. The two of them slid around a corner, continuing along a light jog before Hyukjae came to a sudden stop, waving at someone ahead of them while Sungmin crashed into his now stationary back.

“Jungsoo hyung!!!” he shouted, smiling brightly at the boy who was now making his way over to the two of them. Sungmin stared at the back of Hyukjae's head as he rubbed his forehead, grumbling about the stupidity of his friend that managed to injure him. Hearing a low chuckle come from in front of him Sungmin looked up, glancing over Hyukjae's shoulder to find an obviously older boy standing in front of them, light honey hair covering his thick rimmed glasses as he peered down at the two of them.

“Hyung this is Sungmin, he's one of the new trainees” Hyukjae said, stepping to the side and shoving his bewildered friend so he was stood directly in front of the older boy. Chuckling at their antics the boy gave them a wide smile, dimples showing on his face as Sungmin looked wide-eyed at him. Quickly catching himself Sungmin bowed deeply, muttering a quiet introduction before he found himself being pulled into a tight hug.

“Welcome Sungmin-ah, its very nice to meet you! I'm Jungsoo but you're more than welcome to just call me hyung, everyone else does” 

Leaning back from the boy Sungmin gave him a small smile, thanking him as he awkwardly shuffled himself around in the boys arms, to the obvious amusement of Hyukjae beside them.

“It seems like you'll be joining Hyukjae and myself in our training classes right? How exciting!” Jungsoo exclaimed, releasing the bewildered boy and clapping happily before grabbing Sungmin's hand and dragging him down the hallway, shouting about how they needed to rush so they wouldn't be too late. Hyukjae walked behind them, laughing loudly at his flustered friend as stared wide-eyed at him, having no other choice but to allow Jungsoo to drag him along behind him.

“Hey, at least this means hyung likes you!”

---

[DAY 08]

“Min hyung do you mind passing over the serving dish on the highest shelf?”

Sungmin gave him a small nod, reaching up the shelf for the large plate before placing it on the table in front of Ryeowook who smiled in thanks. Leaning back against the kitchen counter Sungmin observed the boy who was lost in his cooking, letting out a short sigh.

“Why do you actually need me in here Ryeowookie? You've got all of this handled, I'm just standing around.”

“First, I need someone taller than me to grab stuff off the shelf and you're the only one I trust in here to not mess everything up” Ryeowook replied, wincing as he remembered the last time he'd asked Kyuhyun to come and help him in the kitchen [he was never going to get that burn mark off the ceiling...] “and second, we need to talk about you know who leaving soon.”

Ryeowook gave him a glance, watching Sungmin fidget slightly at the mention of the older man leaving.

“What exactly is there to talk about?”

“Hyung” Ryeowook sighed, moving from his place in front of the stove to beside Sungmin “Its eight days until Teuk hyung leaves and you still haven't said anything to him about your feelings.”

Sungmins whipped his head up to look at his dongsaeng who gave him a hard stare. “Th-thats because there is nothing to say to him Ryeowookie”

“Please” Ryeowook snorted, returning the harsh glare that Sungmin was giving him. “We've been in this group for eight years now hyung, its pretty clear how you feel about him. There is no use trying to pretend nothing is going on.”

Sungmin continued to look at Ryeowook, who continued to stare his nervous hyung down before he groaned, breaking eye contact and looking awkwardly back down at his hands.

“Just because I may feel something for Teukie hyung doesn't mean I should say anything to him Ryeowookie. Do you hear yourself? You've obviously been watching one too many dramas because there is no way this whole 'confess before he leaves thing' would turn out the way you think it would – it would just end up in me getting pitifully rejected I just know i– oww!”

As Sungmin rambled on about how unlikely it was for his feelings to result in anything a sharp slap hit his arm, the hurt man looking up to see a disgruntled dongsaeng staring at him.

“Are you serious hyung!?”

“Yes!” Sungmin replied, pouting as Ryeowook slapped him one more time in exasperation. “Would you stop that! Just let me be! I barely have any time left with him, I don't want to ruin it by confessing my undying love for him out of the blue – and if you hit me again I swear to god Ryeowook!” he growled, positioning himself in a mock martial arts stance as Ryeowook raised his hand to hit him again,

Ryeowook looked at his hyung before rolling his eyes, moving back over to the stove and taking the finished meal off the heat and pouring it into the dish, ready to serve. Although he could understand his hyungs nerves, it was painfully obvious that he was panicking over virtually nothing, clear to the rest of the group that their Teuk hying felt at least something for his favourite dongsaeng.

Calling the rest of the members for dinner, Ryeowook gave Sungmin an apologetic hug before moving to grab one of the heavy dishes with a mountain of food on top of it. Making his way towards the door that led to now bustling dining room, Ryeowook paused before turning back to Sungmin, giving him a soft smile. 

“It's not like you haven't been close since you first hyung, just try and give him a chance”