Sounds of ragged breaths and annoyed groaning permeated the semi-darkness. The only break from the monochromatic surroundings were their flashlight beams roaming around the ground, trying to keep their feet within the path.

It was 10 minutes before 5am, and they were climbing a mountain.

“How is this an epic idea?!” complained Kyuhyun, one hand trying to steady his beam while the other pressed against the stitch on his side.

“I thought you liked hiking?” Zhou Mi said.

“I do, but not when I have pounds and pounds of grilled pork and noodles slushing around in my stomach. Ugh. I think I’m gonna throw up.”

“I second that thought!” Heechul assented, leaning against the stone wall, breathing hard. “What in the world are we doing anyway? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND CLIMBS A MOUNTAIN AT DAWN?!”

“We’re here to see the sunrise!” Jungsoo reiterated for the 57th time.

“It’s not even new years!”

“Let’s just take another fiver,” Henry suggested calmly, handing Heechul a bottle of water. “We still have enough time to reach Baegundae before it’s light, right?”

“Well, yeah, but I think we’re cutting it close,” Jungsoo replied after checking his watch. “This is supposed to be an hour and a half-long hike. We’ve already been climbing for over two hours with all the breaks we’re taking.”

Heechul shot him an irritated look.

“Where’s Jongwoon hyung?” Ryeowook asked from somewhere in the back.

Everyone looked around them, flashlight beams crisscrossing each others’, but Jongwoon wasn’t in sight.

A little panicked, Jungsoo ordered, “Donghae, go with Siwon back down and look for Jongwoon.”

He was met with silence.

“Uh… I don’t see Donghae hyung around either,” Ryeowook pointed out.

“Well this is epic indeed. Let’s tell this story on our 20th anniversary, if we ever survive to see it!” Heechul scoffed.

“Come on, hyung, that’s not helping…” Hyukjae tried to appease his friend. Heechul looked at him with pissed off eyes, but he patted his hyung’s shoulder comfortingly nonetheless.

“Fine, I’ll go-” Jungsoo began to say, but was cut off when Youngwoon announced, “I found him!”

All flashlight beams were shifted to him, creating a sort of spotlight. He stepped aside to reveal Jongwoon, who was retying his shoelace.

“Where were you?!” Ryeowook demanded. “You gave us a fright!”

“I tripped ‘cause my shoelace came untied a few meters back,” Jongwoon explained. “When I looked up, you guys were gone!”

“Thank goodness you’re back. Now we gotta look for-”

“Hyung, we’re almost there!” Donghae called out.

“Where have you been?” Hyukjae questioned, relief and frustration in his voice.

Donghae was stopped by the questioning looks his friends gave him. “I-I went ahead to check how much further we had to go… To estimate how many more breaks we need.”

Jungsoo put an arm around his friend and hit him playfully. “Never disappear on us again, okay?”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Donghae replied meekly.

“Alright, is everyone fine now? Shall we go on up?” Asked Siwon.

They again walked on in silence, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, hoping that the next step they took would get them to the peak they were seeking since hours ago.

“Guys, look!” Henry exclaimed.

The men turned their heads almost in unison. They were too busy climbing to notice the sliver of blue-yellow light that sliced the darkness in half. Before their eyes, what looked like a long, horizontal crack grew larger, painting the sky blue and the ground yellow, until they can see the world in technicolor once again.

“And we’re here,” Donghae announced. “Baegundae peak.”

They spotted a wider expanse of flat surface to their left and gave each other a hand over the guide ropes. They watched as the big, orange-yellow ball of fire peeked over the horizon, slowly rising until it joined the fluffy white summer clouds above.

Birds started to sing, and the cool morning air relaxed their tired bodies. Wordlessly, they sat together, breathed together, looked out to the new day together.

They were together.

The distant look in their eyes told of satisfaction and yearning, gratitute for the past and present, and hopes for tomorrow. Each thought, each memory, like now, had each other. Not one of them imagined it any other way.

Heechul leaned back to see the trail that they climbed in the dark. He never did like exercising, and he knew that he wouldn’t have made it up here if these guys weren’t around to pull him, push him, and even carry him up.

Jungsoo noticed him looking back. “That was one long trail, right?”

“Yeah it was,” Heechul agreed. “We’ve come a long way.”

“I’m sorry for making you do this. I know how much you hate physical activity.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m glad I made the climb with you guys. You know very well that I’d never do it alone.”

“I wish Donghee and Sungmin were here,” Jongwoon spoke up. “Hankyung and Kibum as well. It would make for an epic Super Junior picture.”

“Just Super Junior?” Henry asked, disappointment in his voice.

Siwon, who sat beside him, pulled him close. He signaled Kyuhyun, who sat to his left and was beside Zhou Mi, to do the same, and the four of them sqeezed together like they don’t have any plans of letting go.

“You two, Zhou Mi and Henry, are part of Super Junior,” Siwon said as Henry playfully struggled to get free. “I mean, it’s in the name! Super Junior M! There’s Super Junior in it! You’ve bled with us, you’ve suffered with us. You’ve even suffered because of us. You guys are our brothers always, and no additional letter can ever make that untrue.”

“Yeah what he said,” Kyuhyun agreed, “with all the cheese and everything.”

The boys burst out laughing. Siwon hit Kyuhyun lightly on the head. Donghae reached over to mess up Henry’s hair, and Ryeowook tapped Zhou Mi reassuringly on the shoulder.

“So… 10 years. What next?” Youngwoon wondered out loud.

“I don’t know,” Jungsoo admitted. “But that’s a problem for tomorrow. For now, let’s just enjoy the view.”

People who scale mountains tend to shout in triumph to let the world know they've reached the top, but for a group that was never meant to make it together in the first place, they chose to sit down quietly, dust each other off, and admire the trail they've hiked, noting each rock that made them stumble, and thanking those because if they hadn't been there, helping hands wouldn't have been lent, and the brotherly bond that pushed them to get here wouldn't have been forged.

The days ahead are hazy at best. They’ve been treading a single path for so long together, losing some to the forks on the road. It wasn’t a perfect journey, but it was beautiful, and there’s still some ways to go. More twists and turns will face them, dark alleys and sharp cliffs will challenge them. It has never been easy, nor will it ever be, but knowing that they have each other by their sides, people who will pull them to safety, made the trip seem much less scary.

No one really noticed how long they’ve been sitting there. They were brought back to reality by the sound of an approaching crowd. Jungsoo stood up and looked down the trail to see a few groups of people making their way to the peak. He didn’t move from his spot though. He wanted to savor the last few peaceful moments with the boys. He had to go back to being Leeteuk in a few hours - he wasn’t ready just yet. He sat back down.

"You guys... at some point, you know we'd have to get off this spot, right?" Donghae said after a few minutes.

"Yeah, a lot of people are waiting to come up here,” observed Siwon.

With a resigned sigh, Jungsoo said goodbye to the quiet time with the boys. It was awesome while it lasted. He stood back up and, dusting his shorts off, said, "Alright. Let's help some of them up; they seem to be struggling a lot over there."

"Okay... but can't we stay for five more minutes? It took so long to get here. I even got a lot of scratches during the hike. I'm willing to share the spot,” Hyukjae bargained.

"You know this rock can only fit 1 group at a time. Come on, let's help them up before going down,” Jungsoo maintained, extending a hand to help him get up. Hyukjae grudgingly took it, as hesitant as he was to leave the peace behind.

Kyuhyun craned his neck to check out the way down. Unlike earlier that day, they now had to squeeze against people along the narrow trail. "Agh. How are we supposed to go through all that again, hyung? And with all those people around."

Jungsoo smiled at their second youngest and replied, "Like how we got up here, of course.”

“Together."

Nodding, everyone slowly got up, stretched, and dusted themselves off. Greeting the upcomers with welcoming smiles, they lent out their hands and helped them over the guide ropes onto the rock.

“Oh, right, Siwon,” Heechul called out as he assisted a petite young lady. “Since our after party’s been cancelled, you’re supposed to throw us one next week. The managers and the staff told me to pass on their thanks.”

“WHAT?!” Siwon cried, eyes bulging in surprise. Some things don’t change even after 10 years.

--END--

So that's it!^^And just in time before Day 1 of SS6 Encore! Haha! I hope you guys liked this. :)

Thank you so very much to people who subscribed, read, and commented, even upvoted! Wow it's an honor, really. :) You all make writing enjoyable, truly. And more than that, I'm really happy to see ELF still here. Our boys are 10 years old! Lol. They are the source of my inspirations for writing, so I also have them to thank for my being able to come up with these stories.

But of course, if no one read my stories, writing would be too sad, right? So thank YOU, dear readers.

If you guys liked this, maybe you'd like to check out my other stories? :)

Again, I can't say this enough, thank you everyone. You made this journey worthwhile.^^

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM HEECHUL!