[CONTENTID2]rocks and stars crash into dust[/CONTENTID2][CONTENTID1]Two in the morning. Still dark. With only the headlights for a guide, the small SUV sped pass road-side gas stations and run-down motels. Through the windshield, the five of them could be seen. Wonjun at the wheel, Sungjun playing his video game in the passenger seat, and Dabin, Minsu, and Suwoong snoozing in the back. Five... making up Boys Republic, Universal Music's new and upcoming boyband.

In the middle of an afternoon dance practice session, they had all decided it was time to take a quick break from their intensive training... you know... to go out into the countryside and perhaps discover a better, fresher perspective to work from. The label company was totally chill with it... like totally. So long as the boys find their way back to the studio by six o'clock in the morning the following Monday, it was A.O.K. Hmm... not that they were getting much done back in the studio anyway, with Sungjun and Minsu constantly joking around and pulling harmless pranks on each other. Hopefully, they got all that excess energy out of their system before returning to work. Hopefully...?

"Hyung..." Sungjun took a much deserved break from his video game (because he finally smashed Minsu's hi-score) to stretch out his legs and check up on his favorite leader... uhh, not. "Hyung... you must be dead tired. Let's switch out and I'll drive us the rest of the way back to the studio."

Wonjun's been driving for four hours straight. It would be a surprise if he was not falling asleep at the wheel, and stamina has nothing to do with it. They are music artists in the making... not professional truck drivers. "I'm fine. You should take a nap like the rest of the gang." Wonjun glanced up at the rear mirror to check if they were all still hooking up in dreamland back there. Yep... totally... with Minsu drooling on his seatbelt and Suwoong drooling on Minsu and Dabin... well, with his head back like that... he is probably drooling on himself.

"I took a quick nap back at the campsite. Thought you'd need someone to help you drive since... you know, we need to get back to the recording studio by six, right?" Even though he is the super jokester of the group, able to turn anything and everything into a comedic act, he is still a thoughtful boy. Yeah, always thinking of others and cheering them up. "Hyung... seriously... your pale face is saying you need sleep... like badly."

"!"

Struck by a sudden bright light.

Inside the vehicle, it rained hard... the kind that permanently blinded eyes at first contact. Shards of glistening glass sprinkled down on them. The only liquid was the one that bled from their broken skin. The sky and asphalt thought to entertain by swapping places momentarily, both equally dark and twisted.

Oh, their misshapen humor... not funny. Not funny at all.

Rocks and stars crashed into dust. The stench of spilled oil perfumed the air. The foul sound of screams intertwining with the crushing of metal drowned out their big dreams and destroyed their promising future.

Four doors became three. Three doors became two. After sky and asphalt swap once more, the disfigured SUV came to a screeching halt. They had come to the end. The end of pain. The end of suffering. The end of life...

Or so they had thought.

Would it have been better to end their story here?

Maybe... yeah, just maybe.[/CONTENTID1]