We're Family Again

~Hankyung POV~

“Kyu, we should get you upstairs,” Leeteuk said, looking at Kyuhyun, “You’re soaked! You’ll catch a cold!”

“I’m fine,” Kyuhyun said, grinning.

“Oh no, mister,” Sungmin said, dragging Kyuhyun, “We’re all going upstairs and getting you into some dry clothes.”

“Yes, Mom,” Kyuhyun muttered. Everyone laughed while we followed them. Heechul continued to keep his arm around my shoulders as we walked. I couldn’t stop the smile on my face even if I tried. I was too happy. These guys...I missed them so much.

“How are you, Hankyung?” Leeteuk asked, walking on my left, “You look good.”

I smiled, “I feel good. Honestly though, I feel better now that I’m with you guys again.”

“You better feel better,” Heechul declared, “If you felt worse I would have kicked your back to China myself.” I laughed.

“I’ll always feel better with you guys,” I told them, “You’re my brothers.” They both grinned as we continued walking. We finally got to the 11^th floor dorm and we all entered.

“It’s crowded here,” Henry mentioned, squeezing onto the couch where Donghae, Eunhyuk, Siwon, and Ryeowook were all trying to sit.

“That’s how it should be,” Leeteuk said, grinning. Everyone grinned as well and I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped my mouth.

“I can’t even tell you guys how happy I am to be back,” I told them.

“Your Korean skills went down though,” Heechul pointed out, “Now I’m going to have to re-teach you everything!”

“I still remember everything you taught me, you idiot!” I exclaimed.

“Hey!” Heechul shouted. We both glared at each other before we started laughing. Everyone around us laughed as well.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy,” Shindong laughed, “It’s so much better with all of us together.”

“We’re not fully together yet,” Kyuhyun said, coming out of his room in dry clothes with a towel drying his hair, “We still need Kangin.”

“What did he say when you saw him?” Eunhyuk asked.

“He said he couldn’t leave just yet,” I answered, “He needs time in the army first. He just joined in July, so he can’t take a leave just yet.”

“Will he ever be able to take a leave?” Siwon asked, “I’ve never heard of it before.”

“The law states you need to complete two years of military service before the age of 35,” Kibum recited, “Kangin’s 25. Besides, it doesn’t state anywhere in the rules that it needs to be two years at one time. He could probably do a few months, take a leave, and then go back to finish his enlistment.”

“Well, if it’s not stated in the law, then why doesn’t he do it?” Ryeowook wondered.

“It isn’t that simple,” Zhou Mi pointed out, “He can’t join in July and then leave in September. He needs to get a certain amount of time done before he can leave...if he can leave at all.”

“Well, if he can’t leave, we just have to wait two years,” Sungmin sighed, “I know it’s a long time, but at least he’ll come back. He just needs time...”

“Speaking of coming back,” Leeteuk said, looking at me, “What are you going to do?”

What? “What are you talking about?” I asked.

“With SM? The lawsuit?” Leeteuk mentioned. Oh...I didn’t think of what to do there...

“Would you like to come back?” Heechul asked me, “If you don’t want to, then don’t come back. If it’s just going to make you miserable again...I’d rather you returned to China.”

I looked down. Did I want to go back to SM? They gave me fame...but they also gave me hardships. I left because of their treatment. Who’s to say that if I go back they’ll treat me better? There’s really no guarantee that I’ll be happy with them. And there’s no guarantee that they’ll take me back anyway.

“If you need time then take it,” Leeteuk declared, “But don’t leave. At least stay with us until you decide.”

I smiled, “Thanks, Leeteuk-hyung. And I do need time...but I’ll let you know as soon as I decide.”

“We understand,” Yesung spoke, “It’s a hard decision.”

“It’s your future,” Donghae added.

“And if you do decide to come back,” Kyuhyun piped up, “You should come back because you want to, not because we want you to, ok?”

I nodded, “Ok.”

“Good,” Heechul said, smiling. I smiled too.

“So...” Sungmin said, smiling innocently, “How was it going solo?” I looked around and saw everyone was looking at me in anticipation. They all seemed eager to know how I’ve been. I just smiled.

“It was great,” I told them, truthfully, “But I like being in a group better.” Everyone laughed.

“Please, he was probably thinking ‘good riddance, those retards!’” Shindong teased, causing everyone to burst out into laughter. I even let out a chuckle.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

~Kyuhyun POV~

Time passed. It is now October. Hankyung decided to enter SM once again, as long as they treated him better and gave him a brand new (not 13-year long) contract. It took a few weeks of negotiations, but they finally came to a compromise and Hankyung’s back in. It was all done secretly, as we all want to surprise our fans with our next album. Only the people within SM know of Hankyung and Kibum’s return, and only Lee Sooman and Kim Youngmin (the new CEO of SM) know of our plan for our next album. Youngmin was against it, but Sooman was all for it. He thought it was a great idea and persuaded Youngmin to allow it. He did, and we’re not working on the album together.

“Donghae-ah, are you writing another song?” I heard Eunhyuk ask him. We were just chillin’ in the 11^th floor dorm for now. Donghae lives on the 12^th floor, but he came down here because he needed some peace and quiet. Not like it’s that much better down here though...

“Yep,” Donghae declared, “It’s about a relationship.”

“Aren’t all of your songs?” I asked him, “’Beautiful’ and then ‘I Wanna Love You’. What’s next?”

“I don’t have a title for it yet,” Donghae said, still scratching his pen across the paper furiously. I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen. I got myself a glass of water, but nearly spilled it because of the hoots and hollers coming from upstairs. Geez, those guys are loud.

“Hey!” I shouted, using the broom in the corner to bang the ceiling, “Keep it down!” Of course, the shouting didn’t even waiver. I sighed and left the kitchen, going back into the living room.

“Hey, we should all go out for dinner tonight,” Sungmin suggested, “We haven’t been out since you all came back.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” I said, taking a sip of my water, “Who’s paying?”

“Teukie-hyung!” Eunhyuk and Donghae shouted in unison. I nodded.

“I’m in.” Well, if Leeteuk is paying, then I’ll go out. Even if he didn’t volunteer...

“I’ll call them upstairs,” Ryeowook said, taking his phone out. He called Heechul and put it on speaker.

“What do you want?!” Heechul shouted. The noises I heard in the kitchen were amplified over the phone.

“Heechul-hyung!” Ryeowook shouted, trying to be louder than the voices, “We’re all going out to dinner tonight! All 14 of us!”

“Who’s paying?” Heechul asked.

“Teukie-hyung.”

“Hey! Jungsoo! You’re paying for a family outing tonight!” Heechul shouted.

“Since when?!” I heard Leeteuk shout.

“Since now!” I shouted, “Come on, Leader! Take care of us!” Everybody laughed.

“Aish, fine! I’ll pay! But just this once!”

“Thanks, Teukie-hyung!” Ryeowook shouted, “See you in a few!” He hung up and we all went into our rooms and the bathroom to get ready. We all put masks on with hats and nice clothes.

We met in the lobby of the apartment complex. Hankyung had his entire face covered with a face mask, sunglasses, and a hat. He was really precautious. After all, all of his fans believed that he was taking an extended vacation in Saipan. Yes, very interesting vacation spot choice, right?

“Where are we going?” Yesung asked as we walked.

“I don’t care, I just want food!” Henry whined, pouting. I couldn’t decide if he was annoying or cute.

“Calm down, Henry,” Zhou Mi said, patting his back, “Where should we go anyway?”

“I know a good restaurant,” Leeteuk declared, “Cheap too.”

“Of course you would pick the cheap one,” Hankyung laughed, making everyone laugh as well.

“If you were paying you’d pick it too,” Leeteuk pouted, making everyone laugh harder.

“I honestly don’t think I’ve laughed so much in a while,” I said suddenly, “I missed it.”

“We all did,” Shindong agreed, putting his arm around my shoulders as we walked.

“But there will be plenty more laughs to come,” Siwon said.

“Of course,” I followed, grinning the whole time. Even as we walked together, keeping our heads low, we found things to laugh and joke about. I could feel that we were together again.

We’re family again.