The rest of the day, Xiumin and Hyun Jae spent there time looking for a song for the showcase. They only had one week to practice it all. Hyun Jae was set on doing a song in Chinese, claiming that they should both practice and that he loved hearing Xiumin’s voice speak the words so fluidly. The pair spent the day huddled over their cell phones in the break room, watching videos of performances by groups under the same company that they were under. They stopped briefly to get some dinner from the canteen, but continued searching after returning to their couch. They finally came across one song in particular that they both liked. It was Super Junior-M’s “Break Down” that had piqued both their interests. The song was catchy and had a great beat. Just listening to it, they found themselves thinking about how they could arrange it for a duet.

          “Xiumin-hyung, we should go to a dance room and try getting the beginning of the choreography,” Hyun Jae suggested.

          “Mm… It’s getting kind of late though,” Xiumin said, glancing at the clock on his phone.

It was already past midnight. Many of the others had opted to travel alone or in pairs back to the dorm, rather than wait for everyone to leave in the vans. The trainee dorm, where Hyun Jae stayed, was much closer to the company building—within walking distance actually.

          “I should check with the other guys to see when they’re planning on heading out. Besides, we have all day tomorrow to start on the choreo,” Xiumin pointed out.

          “… Arasseo, hyung,” Hyun Jae said reluctantly.

          “Do you want to work on it that badly?”

Hyun Jae looked at him and smiled abashedly.

          “It’s not necessarily that… It’s just that I want to spend more time with you,” he said a little nervously.

Xiumin didn’t really realize how serious Hyun Jae had been when he said he was a fan.

          “Oh… Well, we can always do this tomorrow. If I don’t get some sleep, then I’m going to be very grumpy. I’m not sure how much you’ll want to spend time with me when I didn’t get enough sleep,” Xiumin said good-naturedly.

Hyun Jae smiled and looked at his feet.

          “Arasseo,” he said again with an understanding tone.

          “You should rest too; we’ll work hard tomorrow!”

          “Ne,” Hyun Jae said, his eyes returning to Xiumin’s face.

Xiumin smiled and waved as he turned to leave. As he began walking toward the stairs, Chen came bounding up them.

          “Minnie-ah! I was just coming to get you; the last of us are heading out now,” Chen said.

Xiumin’s smile grew as he walked into Chen’s arms. The pair walked toward the stairs, Chen’s arm around Xiumin’s waist. Glancing over his shoulder, Xiumin saw Hyun Jae staring after them. He offered another wave as they turned the corner.

          “Are you excited about the showcase?” Chen asked.

          “Mm. We just found our song, when we decided to call it a night,” Xiumin replied.

          “What are you doing?” Chen asked.

          “We’re going to do Super Junior-M’s “Break Down,” Xiumin said with a smile.

          “I’m sure you’ll do brilliantly,” Chen said, leaning close to Xiumin’s ear.

Xiumin smiled and nodded.

          “And I’m sure you’ll do well with whatever you and your mentee have up your sleeves,” he replied.

The couple split apart as they reached the bottom of the stairs, not wanting to get caught by any of the fans or reporters that were always lurking around the bottom floor of the company building. They headed out to the vans that were waiting in front of the doors. They were met by many fans outside, all holding cameras and papers with the hopes of getting a signature and a picture with the idols. Xiumin and Chen smiled and waved, but didn’t stop moving. Their manager opened the door to the van for them and closed it behind them once they were inside. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were sitting in the very back of the van, and Lay was sitting in the front seat, his eyes closed and headphones on. Chen pulled Xiumin across the seat, so that he sat in the middle of the van and had a clear view of what was in front of him. Once the door was closed and they had buckled their seatbelts, Chen discreetly s his arm around Xiumin’s waist once again. Their manager buckled his seatbelt and began driving the boys back to the dorm. They were the last ones to leave—the others had headed out earlier to eat or return home for the night. Xiumin unbuckled his seatbelt to rest his head on Chen’s shoulder. He was exhausted from their work early that morning and from their long search for a song to perform at the showcase. His eyes drooped as he felt himself slip into sleep. He felt Chen’s shoulder shake as the younger laughed. Xiumin looked up at him to see Chen looking down at him.

          “What?” Xiumin asked confusedly.

          “Nothing… You just laid your head down and were practically out like a light,” Chen replied.

          “Aside from the fact that I didn’t actually fall asleep because of a certain someone,” Xiumin retorted.

Chen stuck his tongue out at the elder and then leaned his head on his shoulder.

          “And now you’re going to sleep on me? Rude,” Xiumin said, but didn’t push the other off.

Chen snuggled further into his shoulder, wrapping his arms around Xiumin’s. Xiumin scoffed, but still didn’t shove him away. He found himself leaning his head on the Chen’s, readjusting to get comfortable. He could hear Baekhyun and Chanyeol behind them, speaking in soft whispers and murmurs. Baekhyun poked the back of Xiumin’s head, causing him to turn to see what the other wanted. Baekhyun leaned forward to speak.

          “So what was up with your mentee today?”
          “What do you mean?”

Baekhyun shot a look at Chanyeol.

          “Well, we saw you at lunch… and, well, your mentee kept glaring at Chen whenever he spoke. Does he not like him or something?” Baekhyun asked.

          “He never mentioned anything like that. He seems to really like all of us, but I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Xiumin replied.

          “Arasseo, hyung. I just wanted to ask, because it seemed a bit weird. Yeollie and I both noticed.”

Chanyeol nodded at this. Xiumin frowned a bit.

          “I didn’t notice. I’ll definitely talk to him then. Thanks, Baek.”

Xiumin turned back toward the front of the van. He looked down at Chen and brushed his fringe out of his closed eyes. Does Hyun Jae really dislike Chen-Chen? Xiumin thought. He looked back up, watching as the city passed by. But as they passed through an intersection, Xiumin could almost feel time slow down. He saw a large, black SUV come flying down the road that they were about to pass. He noticed that, despite the red light the vehicle was approaching, it didn’t slow down. He watched as it raced out and pulled in front of them. Their manager saw the car at the last moment and hit the brakes. Xiumin could hear the screeching of the rubber on the asphalt, but could tell they weren’t slowing down fast enough to avoid the car in front of them. He found himself watching in wonder as the world around him flew past, despite the sudden stopping of the van as it hit the SUV. He found himself flying forward, leaving Chen behind as the younger was pulled back by his seatbelt. The last thing he heard was the shattering of glass as his vision went black from the sudden force of his head breaking through the windshield.

A/N: //hides

Hello everyone! Sorry about the cliffhanger and the late update, but here it is! I guess in this fanfiction I want to address issues in the kpop industry, and many idols have been in car accidents, especially late at night. So this kind of happened I guess.... Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well! Please comment your thoughts, predictions, etc. I love reading comments! This fanfic has also almost reached 100 subscribers O.O I never really imagined this would get so popular, so thank you everyone for your support! <3 When it reaches 100 subbies, I think I'll do a double update or special chapter or I don't know exactly, but yeah! Something special :3 Thank you again to all of your who continue to support this!