Kyuhyun slumped to the floor from exhaustion, sweat rolling down the side of his face. They were all working very hard practicing for the concert coming up that week. He took the bottle of water sitting on the floor next to him, opened it, and poured the cool liquid over his head. He sighed in pleasure as the cool sensation ran through his hair, down his face onto his neck, and spilled under his shirt.
Kyuhyun flinched when he felt a soft object hit him in the face with some force. He grabbed at it before it fell to the floor and held it up to notice it was a towel. As Kyuhyun lifted his gaze he saw Eunhyuk smirking at him a few feet away. Kyuhyun smiled and nodded in a gesture of thanks as he began to wipe at the sweat under his shirt.
"Kyuhyun, you're younger then all of us and yet you're the first to sit down," Eunhyuk stated with a smirk. "Getting out of shape?"
"No," Kyuhyun started, "Compared to you old guys, I was using a lot more energy." A small smirk formed on his face as he watched the older man.
"It's 'cause you can't dance as well as us, so you have to put forth more energy to do what little you can," Eunhyuk replied, shoulders moving from the laughter.
Kyuhyun's smirk left his face and he looked to the floor with a pout. He didn't call himself "The Dancing Black Hole" for nothing, but he hated when the members pointed it out. Only he was allowed to get one up on them. He was about to open his mouth to shoot a comment back to Eunhyuk, when he heard someone shout "Dog Pile". Kyuhyun didn't have the time to protest before he felt nine other bodies start to jump on top of him, ruffling his hair and tickling him.
"Ok guys, don't squish him," Leeteuk said as he was the first to get off of the pile and start pulling some of the other members off of Kyuhyun. "It's time we get going back to the hotel so we can get some sleep before our Interview tomorrow."
"Aww hyung, you're no fun," Sungmin pouted, but rolled off of Eunhyuk who was the first to jump onto Kyuhyun.
As Eunhyuk started to pick himself up, Kyuhyun hit him on the arm, still pouting. Eunhyuk just laughed as he went over to their bags and started to gather his things, along with the other members. Kyuhyun finished wiping the sweat off of him, he hated having sweat on him when it was cool out, he didn't like feeling cold. He then tossed the sweat coated cloth at Eunhyuk and laughed to show there were no hard feelings, even though there were never many ill feelings between any of them. Eunhyuk laughed as well, then smelled the towel and acted as if he was about to faint.
The boys made their way down to the front door, bowing to the receptionests as they left through the front door. Luckily it was late, so there were only a handful of fan girls hanging around the building. They excitedly ran up to the group wanting autographs. If any of the singers were annoyed with this, none showed it, at least enough for the girls to notice. Not like they would notice even if we outright said something, Kyuhyun thought to himself as he finished with the last girl. The girls stuck around trying to chat with the band members, even when they started for the two vans that were parked at the side of the building. The ten males smiled and bowed telling them they were sorry but had to leave. The girls pouted and shouted protests as them as they scrambled into the vehicles.
Kyuhyun settled into the back of the van, sighing as he laid his head back. Their schedules had been so hectic lately that there wasn't much time to sleep. He was already exhausted before they had their two hour dance practice. Yes, he needed the practice but sometimes sleeping was needed more. Fans probably never realized how busy they actually were. He sometimes wished for a normal life just so he could have lazy days, maybe even meet a girl and see where it went.
Kyuhyun was jolted from his thoughts from a loud popping noise and the car swerved. His eyes shot open and he grabbed for the nearest thing to him, thinking the car was going to flip like it did last time. Thoughts of the accident he was in a few years ago flew through his head and he started to feel panic rising in his chest. His outstretched had slapped against someone sitting next to him. He shifted his eyes to see Eunhyuk beside him, Eunhyuk also extending an arm toward Kyuhyun trying to keep him safe, panic flashing through the older man's eyes. Kyuhyun gripped Eunhyuk's shirt when he heard Leeteuk panicked voice telling everyone to hold on. Kyuhyun thought for sure the car was going to flip.
To Kyuhyun surprise and most likely the rest in the van, it came to a stop, safely, on the side of the road. The occupants of the vehicle staggered out, all slightly in shock, Kyuhyun felt himself trembling a bit, but tried to shake it off. He watched Eunhyuk hurry around to the other side of the car and quickly followed. As Kyuhyun neared the driver's side of the car he notices it was a flat tire. He was glad that the driver wasn't going very fast, he was sure the van would have crashed.
"I am so sorry guys," the driver stated bowing at the young men a few times. "I'll call for help. You guys should wait over on the hill for safety." The boys nodded and made their way a couple yards from the van.
"Kyuhyun," Leeteuk rested his hand on Kyuhyun's shoulder. "Are you ok?"
Kyuhyun nodded, not sure if his voice would work at that time. Plus seeing Leeteuk nervous and shaken made himself feel worse. Leeteuk looked into Kyuhyun's eyes as if he didn't believe the young boy. Kyuhyun cleared his throat and tried to smile. "I'll be ok."
"If you have any problems please come see me," Leeteuk said and squeezed Kyuhyun's shoulder gently and smiles before turning and heading toward the driver.
And who do you talk to when you need it? Kyuhyun asked himself, knowing their leader tried to do way to much to help them and wished he could do something for him. He turned and walked to were the other three boys had settled on the grass and sat beside Siwon. Eunhyuk glanced at Kyuhyun, shifting his eyes up and down his body as if making sure he was ok. Kyuhyun gave him a small smile and nodded once at him.
The hotel they were at wasn't too far away. Kyuhyun felt that he would rather walk then get back into another vehicle at this time. He was still having trouble pushing the events of the last crash out of his head. He looked around at the other members that had been riding with him until the incident. Yesung and Eunhyuk were sitting next to each other, looking at Yesung's phone, laughing and pushing each other a bit. Leeteuk was waiting by the driver trying to help him find someone that would be up that late to come help them out. Siwon was lying in the grass near Kyuhyun, he was looking up at the night sky and smiling with his arms crossed behind his head.
"I was just thinking," Siwon stated as he noticed Kyuhyun looking at him. "We never really get a chance to just look up at the night sky. I almost forgot how beautiful the stars are."
"I've never thought about it before," Kyuhyun said as he lay back next to Siwon and stared at the stars. "They are really beautiful. It's calming to look at them."
"I noticed how you were when you got out of the van," Siwon said, turning his head to stare at Kyuhyun.
Kyuhyun kept silent and shrugged his shoulders, never taking his eyes off of the stars. He tried not to dwell on what happened, because a lot of good things came out of the whole situation. He felt he became closer to his band mates and his parents after the accident. His father now accepted his dream of singing; before his father used to get on Kyuhyun about becoming a lawyer instead.
"How about we walk back?" Siwon asked, pulling Kyuhyun's attention back to him. "We aren't far from the hotel and it might be nice to be able to just walk for once," Siwon added when he saw Kyuhyun giving him a funny look.
Siwon jumped to his feet and hurried over to Yesung and Eunhyuk pulling them to their feet, telling the two of his idea. They nodded in agreement looking somewhat excited about it. Leeteuk even seemed to be eager for a walk; he probably didn't want to get back in the van any more than Kyuhyun did.
"The driver said it will be at least an hour before anyone will be able to come take a look at the van." Leeteuk stated when he joined the group of four members on the grass. "He suggested we walk as well since it is a nice night and he said it's a safe neighborhood."
"So then what are we waiting for?" Yesung asked looking at them, antsy to get going.
"I was just wondering if you old guys can even make it to the hotel," Kyuhyun stated with a smirk.
"Oh I am sure we will make it there before you do, Kyu," Eunhyuk said and took off running.
The other four boys looked at each and started after him as quick as they could. Yesung quickly pulled away from the Siwon, Kyuhyun and Leeteuk. Kyuhyun wasn't far behind him though, Kyuhyun was a little stiff when he ran but he had quick feet. He didn't think he would catch up to Eunhyuk but he was going to try as hard as he could since he was the youngest he should have more energy then his older band mates. He started to think he would actually catch Eunhyuk when he came head to head with Yesung, but felt himself starting to get mad when Eunhyuk started to slow down. As Kyuhyun came up onto where Eunhyuk had stopped, he smacked the older boy on his arm. Eunhyuk laughed, panting trying to catch his breath. Kyuhyun noticed as the other three neared them, they were all panting. He hadn't noticed how far they had ran in such a short time.
"See," Kyuhyun said trying to hide his panting. "You old guys can't even handle a little run."
"Seems you're having some trouble with it, too," Siwon said and grabbed Kyuhyun around his neck and started to ruffle his hair, laughing. The other three young men followed along and they all started poking and tickling Kyuhyun, as he struggled to get away.
"Hey guys, stop for a second," Yesung said holding up a hand. "Do you hear something?"
The males quieted down and walked to the side of the road. They had stopped on a bridge that over looked an alleyway. The five singers saw several figures standing under a street light, they looked dangerous. There were about eight large men standing around two other men. One of the men looked scared, gesturing his hands as if trying to say he hadn't done anything wrong. The larger man of the two was shouting at the smaller man loudly. Kyuhyun couldn't make out what was being said but he could tell it wasn't good for the smaller man at least.
"I think we need-" Leeteuk was cut off by a loud gun shot. Kyuhyun realized the larger man had pulled a gun out and shot the other in the head. Kyuhyun took a step back not wanting to see a dead man laying on the street, but as he did so, his foot hit a can. It made the loudest noise he had probably ever heard in his life, as it skids across the pavement. Kyuhyun snapped his head back, and to his horror, the men in the alleyway were staring right at the singers. He swore under his breath and grabbed Eunhyuk's arm and started to run, shouting at the others to hurry. It didn't take them long to get their feet working and took off after Kyuhyun. He had no idea if he was going the right way, he was just hoping those men weren't following them. He cursed at himself in his head for having to take that step. If he hadn't hit that can those men would have never known they were there. It would be his fault if anything happened to them, and he wouldn't be able to live with that.
"Kyu!" Eunhyuk shouted and grabbed the younger boy by the shoulder, slowing him as they neared the hotel. All five stopped at the side of the large building, a few leaning against it then others sliding to the ground gasping for breath. Kyuhyun's sides felt like they were on fire as he laid his head back on the cool pavement. His hip had a dull ache run through it every time he felt his heart beat.
"Do you think they recognized us?" Siwon asked, leaning over with his hand on the side of the building, starting to get his breathing under control.
"It's dark," Yesung started. "I don't think they could see us from where they were." He looked a little unsure of what he was saying but tried to convince them and himself at the same time.
"Let's just keep quiet about what we saw, for tonight," Leeteuk said, looking at each of them. "We will call the police in the morning."
"I'm sorry guys," Kyuhyun started but stopped when Leeteuk held up his hand.
"It's not like you meant to hit that can. For all we know they could have already known we were there. It's not like we were that quiet," Leeteuk put his hand on Kyuhyun's shoulder and squeezed gently.
Kyuhyun nodded even though he had a sinking feeling starting to form in his gut. If they did see us, Kyuhyun thought to himself, they will know exactly who we are and how to find us. He could feel the color drain from his face as the last part of that thought crossed his mind. He shook his head and pulled himself to his feet.
"Let's get inside just in case," Kyuhyun said, surveying the parking lot and the road they had just ran down. "Let's get some sleep and maybe think of what we should do tomorrow."
"Oh look at the little one trying to look out for us," Eunhyuk said putting his arm around Kyuhyun's shoulder as they started toward the front of the hotel.
"Well might as well, never know when you old guys will fall over and die," Kyuhyun started to laugh but the reality of what they had just witnessed flashed through his mind again and he lost the amusement in his statement. The other knew he was trying to lighten the mood and the four men tried to smile but the gravity of the situation made them stop. Sleep was not going to come the young men tonight.