For His Family

He couldn’t take it anymore. The fights, the silence, the tension, it was getting to be too much. He had to fix it somehow, but he couldn’t figure out how.

Ever since Hankyung sued SM, Kangin went into the army, and Kibum left for acting, Super Junior hasn’t been the same, and Kyuhyun saw it. Yeah, everybody saw Kyuhyun as the evil maknae of the group, always exposing everyone in some way, making their lives difficult. But, that was the adorable maknae that Super Junior (and their fans) loved. That’s what made Kyuhyun...Kyuhyun.

But now, things were different. Kyuhyun being his usual witty self wasn’t enough to make the members laugh anymore. Leeteuk was depressed, Heechul was always cranky, Yesung was silent, Shindong wasn’t eating as much, Sungmin was sleeping a lot, Eunhyuk didn’t want to dance, Donghae was sulky, Siwon was lazy, and Ryeowook was no longer fun. The members were always fighting and never on good terms. You try to make Leeteuk laugh, you’re told to leave him alone. Talk to Heechul about anything, and he yells that he’s busy. Try to wake up Sungmin, yelled at for bothering him. Nobody would cooperate, and it was breaking Kyuhyun’s heart.

He knew that someday, the group would break up. He knew, Super Junior couldn’t last forever. However, he also knew that it was too early for Super Junior to end. And if they were going to end, it would be on good terms. If they were going to end, they would end properly...with everyone together.

And that is why Kyuhyun needed to do this. He needed to get everyone back together again for an album, possibly their last. He hoped it wasn’t their last, but if it was, it would be with everyone together and happy. All fifteen of them. Yes, fifteen, because Henry and Zhou Mi were part of Super Junior as well. They were family.

So, Kyuhyun started his day normally, waking up, eating breakfast, schedule, eat lunch, schedule, and then return home around 4 to relax for an hour before their Music Bank performance, which was at 7 PM. Once he got home, Kyuhyun began making arrangements on the computer. He had his Starcraft game on pause on another screen, that way he could switch if anyone entered the room. However, he wasn’t playing Starcraft. No, he was looking at flights to Beijing, China.

Hankyung would not be his first target, but Kibum would. However, Kibum was only a few hour drive away, so as soon as he talked to Kibum, Kyuhyun planned to get on a flight to China and speak with Hankyung and Zhou Mi. After he spoke with them, he would head to Canada to see Henry, and then, finally, he would go to Kangin’s army base and talk to him. Kyuhyun knew it was risky, but he would do it. For Super Junior, for his brothers.

“Yah!” someone called, and Kyuhyun quickly switched the screens on his computer. Kyuhyun turned around and saw Sungmin walking into the living room.

“What’s up, hyung?” Kyuhyun asked. Sungmin narrowed his eyes. Kyuhyun knew that Sungmin was suspicious of him, but what could he do? Stop his plans? Sungmin could catch him and throw him out of Super Junior before he stopped trying to bring the group back together as one.

“What’s with the sudden respect?” Sungmin asked. Kyuhyun wasn’t one for formal speech with his hyungs. They were used to it, since it was his way of showing affection towards them. Kyuhyun just smiled.

“You don’t want me to be respectful?” Kyuhyun asked, “Ok, I’ll stop Sungmin-ah.”

Sungmin sighed, “Whatever. What are you doing?”

“Playing Starcraft. What else?”

“Well, get off,” Sungmin demanded, “I need to look online for something.”

“Don’t you have a laptop?”

“Neh.”

“Is it broken?”

“Aniyo.”

“Then why don’t you use it?”

Sungmin sighed again, “Just give me the computer.”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, “Fine. Just give me a second.” Kyuhyun quickly closed out of the flight reservation page and then turned off his Starcraft game. He then stood up and gestured for Sungmin to sit.

“Here you are, your majesty.”

“Stop being so smart, Kyu,” Sungmin retorted. Kyuhyun just rolled his eyes. Everyone had been snippy lately. Ever since the group started splitting, everyone had been on edge. Kyuhyun moved to the couch and turned the television on. The door opened then and Leeteuk, Heechul, and Eunhyuk walked in. Shindong followed behind them with Yesung.

“Hey, hyungs,” Kyuhyun called, “Where were you?”

“Schedule,” Heechul replied, plopping himself down on the couch next to Kyuhyun and snatching the remote away, “Why?”

“Just wondering,” Kyuhyun said, pulling his PSP out. He started playing a game, and after a few minutes, Heechul snatched it away from him.

“Yah!” Kyuhyun exclaimed, “I was playing that! You’re going to make me lose!”

“It was too loud,” Heechul complained, “I would like to hear the television when it’s on.” Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes and puffed air out of his nose.

“Well then I’ll turn the volume down,” Kyuhyun said through gritted teeth. Heechul threw the PSP at him and Kyuhyun barely caught it.

“How about you just go play in your own room?” Heechul suggested. Kyuhyun let out a breath of tension and stood up.

“Heechul-ah,” Leeteuk said, rubbing his eyes, “Don’t be mean to Kyuhyun-ah.”

“He was annoying me,” Heechul said.

“That still doesn’t give you the right to-“

“It’s alright,” Kyuhyun interrupted Leeteuk, standing up, “I need to prepare for Music Bank tonight anyway.” He then left the room. However, he never saw Sungmin staring at him, suspiciously. He entered the room he shared with Sungmin and sat down on his bed. He pulled his cell phone out and texted Kibum.

‘Hey Hyung, how are you?’ He sent the text and received an answer within a few minutes.

‘Pretty good. How about you? How are the Super Junior hyungs?’ Kyuhyun sighed.

‘Horrible. Everything is wrong. We miss you and Kangin and Hankyung. We need you back. Quit acting and come back!’ Kyuhyun had written the message, but he erased the entire thing and typed something else.

‘Fine. How’s acting?’ Kyuhyun threw his phone aside and pulled his hair. Why did it end up this way? How could everything have turned out so wrong? This wasn’t Super Junior anymore. His phone vibrated and he picked it up to see Kibum’s latest answer.

‘It’s great! We’re almost done with the movie. It’s going to be awesome! ^_^ I miss you guys though. How’re the ‘Bonamana’ promotions going?’ Kyuhyun frowned and closed his phone, not even answering. How could he pull Kibum away from his acting career when he loved it so much? But, it wasn’t forever. Just for one more album. One more album together as SUPER JUNIOR, not “Super Junior without three members and two who are not even accepted by many E.L.Fs”. It was times like when Super Junior-M performed in Korea and the fans screamed “Only 13” that he really hated E.L.Fs. Zhou Mi and Henry are Super Junior. Super Junior will always be 15. What did they say in the West...Prom15e to 13elieve. And that was why Kyuhyun fought to bring a world tour to America and Canada. The E.L.Fs there truly believed in Super Junior.

“Kyuhyun!” Sungmin called, opening the door, “We’re leaving now. You ready?” Kyuhyun sat up and nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he said, tiredly. He walked past Sungmin who followed him. They went to Music Bank and performed their Goodbye Stage of “Bonamana”. It was just another performance. Kyuhyun could feel the tension on stage, and he wondered what went through their fans’ heads that they didn’t see it either. When Heechul discretely slapped Shindong's back for moving in front of him instead of behind like in practice, or when Sungmin tripped over Ryeowook’s foot and then got back at him by having him run into his back. Of course, everything was so discreet, it wasn’t even noticeable. Why didn’t anyone see how unhappy they were? Why was he in this position?

So that night, everyone went back to the dorm except for Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, and Shindong, who went to the radio studio to do their separate radio programs. Heechul was in charge, and Kyuhyun was grateful. All Heechul did was yell and scream over the littlest things. He wouldn’t even realize it if Kyuhyun snuck out. Leeteuk would notice when he got back, but he, Eunhyuk, and Shindong wouldn’t get back until 3 in the morning. Kyuhyun would already be to Kibum by then, and they would have no idea where he went. He felt sorry that he would be skipping the “No Other” promotions, but he had to do this. He had to get the family back together again.

Kyuhyun packed the necessities up in a backpack and threw it over his shoulder. When he opened the door to his room, he saw Sungmin standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, frowning.

“And where are you going this late at night?” he asked, pushing Kyuhyun back into the room and shutting the door.

“Uh, just going to get some food,” Kyuhyun lied, “I’m craving chocolate.”

“And you need an entire backpack full of things to go get chocolate?” Sungmin asked, gesturing to his backpack, “Besides, we have chocolate in the fridge. No need to go anywhere.”

“Oh, thanks, Hyung,” Kyuhyun said, dropping his backpack and going to the fridge. He figured he’d have some chocolate anyway.

“Or do you find the chocolate in Beijing better?” Sungmin asked as Kyuhyun opened the door. The maknae froze, stunned.

“W-what are you talking about, Hyung?” Kyuhyun asked, hoping it was just a coincidence.

“I’m not stupid, Kyuhyun-ah,” Sungmin said, “I know how to check the history on the computer.” Kyuhyun closed his eyes and wished it to go away. Like a dream. But he realized the cold hard truth...he had been caught red-handed.

Kyuhyun shut the door and turned to face Sungmin. Sungmin was still staring at him with his arms crossed.

“Why were you looking for flights to Beijing, Kyuhyun-ah?” he asked, straightforward. Kyuhyun just looked down and thought. Should he tell him? No, he would just yell that everything was fine. Just like Leeteuk always did...and Heechul. And Shindong. They were all deluded.

Kyuhyun just walked past Sungmin to get his backpack and pushed him out of the way.

“I don’t need to explain anything to you,” he snapped, opening the door. Sungmin, however, was quicker. He ran over and shut the door before Kyuhyun could walk out.

“You will answer your hyung now,” Sungmin demanded. Kyuhyun stepped back and glared at him.

“Why? You’ll just try to stop me anyway!” Kyuhyun shouted.

“Are you leaving the group?” Sungmin asked, suddenly, “Is that why you’re leaving? Going to China?”

“If you paid more attention, you would have realized that my flight isn’t until four days from now,” Kyuhyun retorted, “And why on Earth would I ever leave the group?”

Sungmin was silent, and Kyuhyun could see the answer in his eyes. Sungmin knew how fragile the group was...and how easily another member could just decide to leave like the others.

“Sungmin,” Kyuhyun murmured, moving to the door, “Let me go. I promise to return.”

“Where are you going?” Sungmin asked through gritted teeth. Kyuhyun sighed. He had to tell him. He had to say something.

“Gangneung, Gangwon-do,” Kyuhyun replied, “And then Beijing. And then Toronto, Ontario. And finally, Incheon.”

Sungmin was confused, “Why would you go there? And leave the group? It makes no sense!”

Kyuhyun frowned and pushed Sungmin aside, “Of course you wouldn’t understand. Nobody knows anything about us anymore.”

“What are you babbling about, Kyu?” Sungmin asked as Kyuhyun opened the door. Kyuhyun hesitated.

“You should already know,” Kyuhyun said, “Think about what is in each of my destinations. There’s something important there. I need to go.” Kyuhyun took one step forward before glancing back.

“And Hyung,” he said, and Sungmin jerked his head up, “Don’t tell anyone. I’ll be back before you know it.” And with that, Kyuhyun left the room. He went out into the living room and saw Heechul in the living room.

“I’m going out, Hyung,” Kyuhyun said, slipping his shoes on.

“Yeah yeah, just be quiet,” Heechul snapped. Kyuhyun just sighed and left. He went down to the parking garage and got in his car. He was happy he bought this car just last month, for now he really does need to use it. Normally, their manager just drives them where they need to go, but Yesung had advised him to get a car so he could go out with his friends (mainly since the members didn’t want to do anything with him). Best advice he had been given.

He started it up and saw there was a full tank of gas. He smirked and pulled out of the garage. He to the road and smiled. He would be driving all night, but he didn’t care. He was so hyped up on the adrenaline that he didn’t feel tired at all. He rolled the windows down so that the cold air could keep him awake, just in case. He could always pull over if it got too bad. But it was only four hours, he could last through it. He would make it...for the sake of Super Junior. For his family.