It's You Chapter 22

The door opened. HyunJae and I turned around from our place on the couch to face him. YunHo stuck his head in. "Ready? They're coming now. They've managed to disengage themselves from their ever-so-adoring fans, haha." His head disappeared. "Okay, guys. There's someone waiting for you inside." I heard him say.
"Ooh, is it a surprise?" I heard RyeoWook say. Even after a year I still recognized his voice. I would have smiled if I wasn't so nervous.
"Wait, is it SooMan hyung?" YeSung asked.
"You wish, JongWoon," I heard someone say. It sounded like EunHyuk, but it might have been SiWon. It was hard to distinguish through the wall. "We all know you'd love to spend some quality time with him." Okay, definitely EunHyuk.
"Shut up, HyukJae," said YeSung, calling EunHyuk by his real name. "As if you don't spend enough time with JunSu... I wonder what you two get up to." Of course he meant Kim JunSu, from DBSK, or better known as Xiah here in Japan. EunHyuk laughed.
"Hey, Hyukkie's mine, so no talking about our pretty little JunSu in front of me," said DongHae. The others laughed but I felt myself stiffen at the sound of his voice so close.
"Maybe this was a bad idea," I said to HyunJae.
"Too late now, isn't it? Back out now and you would've wasted 5 hours of my precious vacation time," she declared. "And I will NOT forgive you for that." I laughed.
"Okay okay, not that there's any way to escape from this room."
"Unless you want to run over them, which would be pretty hard."
While we were laughing, the door opened.
I didn't even hear it.

"Hey, it's not SooMan hyung!" said a voice behind me. I stopped laughing. HyunJae stopped too. We looked at each guiltily. We were completely frozen.
"Unless SooMan hyung grew his hair long and morphed into two girls," said DongHae, laughing. "Hello, you two. You're in our dressing room, if you haven't noticed."
"Actually, they're here on my, uhh, orders," interjected YunHo quickly. "They'll be spending today, tonight and tomorrow with you guys. An unknown competition, but don't worry, it's completely legal."
"Cool!" said SungMin.
"Surprised?" asked YunHo.
HyunJae and I still had our backs to them, breathing hard, watching each other through identical wide eyes. I could see the fear written on my face through her pupils.
"Very," said a new voice. KyuHyun. Oh God, KyuHyun. I'd missed him so much... and I'd promised to keep in touch with him. I felt really bad now. I wanted to get out of here.
"Why don't you turn around so we can see your faces?" suggested SungMin.
A hand - maybe SiWon's or HanKyung's - landed on HyunJae's shoulder and she whirled around in shock, her ponytail hitting me in the face. It took all of my willpower not to laugh or yell at her. Silence settled over us as they stared at HyunJae's face. I glanced at her face. She looked like she'd been caught stealing something. This time I couldn't hold it in.
I burst out laughing, then bent over and put my head on my knees, racked with silent laughter. I was shaking. My hands were over my face, but no one could see it anyway, with my hair hanging all over the place.
The guys gave awkward chuckles, but I could tell that they were still staring at HyunJae. They'd really only seen her once, they probably found her familiar yet unfamiliar. Except, of course, DongHae, EunHyuk and SiWon. Out of the corner of my eye I saw HyunJae turn back around, her face red. I lifted my head, but was still bent over, my side aching.
EunHyuk jumped over the couch and slid down on the ground, so he was in front of HyunJae. DongHae and SiWon seemed frozen, staying behind the couch with the others, who were clearly wondering what the heck was going on.
"HyunJae...?" whispered EunHyuk, his face close to hers. She looked away. He grabbed her hands and made her face him. "Is that really you?" She held his gaze then slowly nodded. She seemed speechless. "What the heck are you doing here?" he said quietly. I knew that I was the only one who could hear him.
HyunJae smiled faintly. "Well, I'm not stalking you, if that's what you think. It was just... a coincidence."
"Well, fate seems to be on our side," he said softly. "You have no idea how much I've missed you." HyunJae seemed dumbfounded. Suddenly EunHyuk leaned forward and kissed her quickly on the lips. I gasped, and so did several of the others. I couldn't help it.
"EunHyuk!" exclaimed LeeTeuk, looking around for anyone who might see. Luckily for them, YunHo had left on some hidden agenda of his own.
But HyunJae was smiling. "What an un-romantic time to give me a kiss, Lee HyukJae," she said.
"Sorry, but I can't hold it in anymore. You're here, I'm here, it's perfect to me."
"What the heck are you two doing?!" yelled HeeChul. "Sorry, but who the heck are you?!" he said, staring at HyunJae with a crazed look on his face. It was kinda scary seeing HeeChul like that in person (I'd seen him act like that on Super Junior Full House) but it was funny as well. Only I didn't feel like laughing.
"HyunJae, what are you doing?!" I exclaimed. I didn't mean to, but I was so extremely surprised that I couldn't keep it in. "You're in public!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw KyuHyun, DongHae and SungMin start at the sound of my voice. A hand landed on my shoulder.
At the same time, the door opened again.
I turned around and found myself staring into KyuHyun's shocked face. Everyone gasped and moved a bit closer to us, trying to catch a glimpse of my face.
"JaeH-!" started SungMin, but SiWon quickly clapped a hand over his mouth as YunHo entered the room. They were all staring at me, and even HeeChul stopped yelling at EunHyuk to turn his alread bulging eyes at me. They looked in danger of falling out.

"Alright guys, you're allowed to leave now!"announced YunHo cheerfully, oblivious to the tense silence. "The crowds have scattered and your manager's waiting for you. JaeHwa sshi and HyunJae sshi, you'll be riding with KyuHyun sshi, SungMin sshi and EunHyuk sshi. Is that fine with you?"
"Of course! We don't mind riding with anyone, really," I replied steadily. We started filing out slowly. SungMin and KyuHyun sandwiched me, KyuHyun glancing at me every now and then as if not believing that I was really there and SungMin squeezing my arm every now and then. I started smiling.
Until we passed DongHae.
My smile fell a bit when I caught sight of him.
Our eyes met for a second, then I glanced away.
I knew that he was still staring after me though.
---
SungMin wouldn't let go of me in the car. "I can't believe you're here, HwaHwa, I've missed you sooo much!" he said, clinging tightly to me.
"Let go, SungMin, you're going to suffocate the poor girl," said KyuHyun, laughing. I couldn't stop smiling. And when I caught sight of KyuHyun staring at me, I gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, just a friendly one.
"I'm so sorry I didn't stay in touch with you," I said, looking away. "It's just that..."
"That's alright JaeHwa, I totally understand," he told me, patting my head. "And by the way, you're perfectly entitled to call us 'oppa' when we're not with strangers. Understand?"
I nodded. "Okay... KyuHyun oppa."
He laughed at that.
"How come KyuHyun gets a kiss and I don't?" complained SungMin, pouting. He was just so adorable...! Something identical to love swelled inside my chest as I laughed. I really loved these guys, I had been so stupid to leave them in silence.
"Aww, I'm so sorry SungMin oppa! Here, I'll give you one now," I said, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled and blushed a little.
"What are you people doing behind there huh?" asked EunHyuk as he was driving. HyunJae was sitting up front with him, and every now and then he squeezed her hand.
"Don't worry about us, we won't disturb your privacy," said KyuHyun teasingly.
"JaeHwa, what are you doing with them huh?" asked HyunJae, turning her head around to face me. I could see that she was a little red, but she looked so ecstatic that I felt happy for her.
"I give them a peck on the cheek and I get hit for it? Hello, EunHyuk's the one who should be getting the most hits," I told her, winking to show that I didn't mean it. "I mean, I'd kiss you EunHyuk, but HyunJae might get jealous and cameras are everywhere."
"I totally understand," said EunHyuk, smiling and glancing at HyunJae. She looked down and toyed with her shirt, but I could see her blushing and smiling.
"You guys are so adorable," remarked KyuHyun. "But she doesn't know what you get up to with DongHae hyung...?" He leaned forward and rested his head on HyunJae's seat, looking at EunHyuk innocently.
EunHyuk turned to KyuHyun, giving him a shut-up-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you-glare and mouthing "Do you wanna die?"
KyuHyun sank back, smiling. He winked at me.
"Take a picture with me!" I said, pulling my camera out of my sling bag. SungMin looked extremely pleased. He loved taking pictures of himself. Well, I couldn't blame him, if I looked as cute as him I would love taking pictures of myself too.
We spent the rest of the car ride back to the hotel taking funny pictures of each other. We even managed to get one of EunHyuk with his sunglasses on while driving, looking like a secret agent. It was fun.
"Here we are...!" announced EunHyuk as we drove up to the ANA InterContinental Tokyo.
"Wow, pretty high class aren't you guys?" I remarked. 'This is like one of the best hotels in Tokyo."
"We don't choose the place," replied SungMin. "The place chooses us. Well, our manager chooses it as well, but yeah." He added after a slight pause. "We just stay here, no fuss, not that any fuss is needed anyway," he concluded cheerfully.
"I totally agree with you on the no-fuss policy," said HyunJae. EunHyuk stopped the car and some attendants opened the door for us. KyuHyun eased his long legs out of the car and helped me out (though I really didn't need it). All of us entered the foyer, where the rest of the group were waiting except for HeeChul and EunHyuk, who were parking the car. Their manager wasn't there either.
"Damn, I hate being out here in public, I can't even give you a hug," said LeeTeuk, sticking out his bottom lip.
"Never mind Teukie hyung, we'll be upstairs soon, then you can hug her all you want," said KangIn, snickering. He cast a look at DongHae. "If DongHae lets you, that is."
Well, he obviously had no idea about what had happened. Sometimes KangIn could be really... oblivious to the world. Sigh. I saw SiWon hit himself on the forehead and YeSung scratching his head while shaking it. RyeoWook hung his head, looking at his feet.
"Don't worry Teukie hyung, you really don't need my permission," said DongHae quietly. I looked up and saw that he was right in front of me. His gaze was boring into mine. "JaeHwa sshi doesn't need permission from me. Not anymore anyway." Then he turned and walked to the lift with their manager and HeeChul, who'd just got back from parking the car.
A silence descended over us again. I stared after DongHae. I didn't know whether to feel angry or not. Why did he keep denying that he still liked me?
We started making our way after them. There were too many of us, so HyunJae, YeSung, EunHyuk, LeeTeuk and I were left to take the only remaining lift.
A hand rested on my shoulder. "Don't worry, he's just feeling overwhelmed right now." I turned and found EunHyuk and YeSung behind me. It was EunHyuk who had spoken and YeSung who had his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I mean, you really gave us a surprise back there, you know?" explained YeSung. "And it was pretty awkward, especially with this dude doing what he did." He raised an eyebrow at EunHyuk, who grinned back sheepishly. "We weren't very sure whether to be surprised at EunHyuk or at you being there. So it's kind of a weird situation right now."
"Hey, I didn't ask you to watch me," protested EunHyuk.
"Yeah, well, you were right in the middle of the room, we couldn't help it," said YeSung. He turned back to me. "Anyway, DongHae was really quiet in the car, so don't be too hard on him, right? He usually voices himself out, so him being quiet is something you have to take seriously, it means he's feeling a lot of different emotions right now."
I nodded. "Yeah, I know... well, I think I do... but why is he...."
"Aww, YeSung hyung, you sound like one of our song lyrics," remarked EunHyuk, grinning. YeSung put a -.-" expression on his face and bent his head, smacking his forehead at the same time.
"He's been a bit down since you left, but you probably don't see that part of him in music videos and our self-cams. We're all like that, there are some parts of us that we don't show to the public," said LeeTeuk, with a slight smile at YeSung's reaction. "You noticed?"
"Umm, actually..." I started, but HyunJae cut in.
"We haven't watched any videos with you hyungs in it apart the one where HyukJae oppa filmed DongHae sleeping," she explained. "We really haven't been, uhh, following you hyungs anymore." She looked slightly embarassed. "Sorry," she added.
EunHyuk draped his arms around her as we entered the lift. "Don't worry, I think I understand why," he told her. She smiled back at him. "And there were some really bad hair days of mine in some of the videos," he added, laughing.
"I remember filming DongHae sleeping," said YeSung suddenly. "He called out your name, JaeHwa. I remember we had to cover up really quickly so the fans wouldn't suspect anything."
"Oh yea," muttered EunHyuk. "What did you do after you watched it?" he asked me.
"We called the radio station, entered a contest and won two tickets to hang out with you," I replied. LeeTeuk scratched his head.
"Well, that sounds like a pretty reasonable reaction... I think," he said. YeSung suddenly started laughing so hard that he fell to the ground. We looked at him, then at each other with quizzical expressions. EunHyuk shrugged, pulling a he's-crazy-face.
"Why do I feel like we're not going anywhere?" asked LeeTeuk, mystified.
"Because... we're.... not...." gasped a voice from the floor. I looked back down at YeSung. Tears were running down his face. Man, that boy could laugh. I started giggling too.
"Oh," said EunHyuk, realisation dawning on his face. He reached out and pressed a button on the panel, then laughed too. "Man, we talk too much sometimes." Soon we were all chuckling over our moment of absent-mindedness.
"Hey YeSung hyung, when they ask why your eyes are red, can I say it's because you've realised that you can't be without KangIn for 5 minutes?" asked EunHyuk. YeSung tilted his head to one side and gave him a blank expression. It looked really creepy, paired with his black emo-ish hair and earring. EunHyuk pulled a scared face. "I guess if I do, you'd haunt me in my dreams, huh?"
YeSung nodded. Slowly. It was starting to give me the creeps.
"YeSung oppa, you're scaring the hell out of me," I said. YeSung reverted back to his normal face, then gave me a light hug
"Don't worry, JaeHwa, that face is reserved especially for EunHyuk, no one else," he said.
"Damn," said EunHyuk. "Gives me the creeps too."
"Well good, don't expect a hug from me."
The lift stopped.
"Right, your home for the next two days!" said LeeTeuk happily, pulling me out of the lift.