Eeteuk hadn’t been feeling very well that day. Hell, he hadn’t been feeling well all week. But he had put it in the back of his mind, intent upon making sure that all those under his care were being looked after. It was his duty to make sure that they were all right. He had taken them in and they were his responsibility.
Ryeowook was in the kitchen preparing dinner because he wanted to cook a new recipe that he had learned and Yesung was fixing the television set because it had broken the other day when Eunhyuk had bumped into it and caused it to fall on the floor. The two of them were over again today and Donghae was currently talking about a new aquarium he was thinking of getting.
“-the general depth has to be varying between two to four feet. The width should be at least three feet. When thinking about it, it’s actually a pretty large tank. The general question is the amount of fish that will be put into the tank. I was thinking around ten. What do you think, Teukie-umma?” Donghae asked.
“That sounds like a great idea, Donghae,” Eeteuk agreed warmly. He was glad that his ‘son’ had found something to be passionate about besides feeding children large amounts of sugar. He and Eunhyuk owned a candy store and between the two of them, sold enough candy to feed the whole of South Korea.
Eeteuk winced as his stomach clenched painfully once more. He sincerely hoped he wasn’t getting sick. He had enough problems without being ill right now. He had lost track of Kyuhyun and Sungmin almost three weeks ago and he was worried.
He knew that they were in the care of Jaejoong, Yunho, Yoochun, Junsu and Minwoong. So they should be perfectly safe. They were in a safehouse somewhere in Seoul and very well protected. Or at least Eeteuk hoped so.
He continued listening to Donghae talk about the aquarium he wanted while he subconsciously checked in on everyone else. Eunhyuk was busying himself with the Playstation 3 and was yelling at the screen, asking why a guy in a red hat and blue overalls had to fall down the gap between the land pieces.
Ryeowook was now stirring something in a large pot on the stove while taking special care to add the right amount of salt. Yesung had now joined him, finished with the television that Eunhyuk had taken over. He was helping Ryeowook cook by fetching different ingredients for him to put into the frying pan.
Kangin had just walked into the living room and sat down beside Eeteuk who curled into him, smiling, dimples and all. Donghae hadn’t noticed Kangin walk in and merely continued speaking as if he had been part of the conversation the entire time.
“So, I thought, that instead of having one tank, maybe I would have two smaller ones. We have enough space in our apartment, right Eunhyukkie?” Donghae called.
“Uhh…yeah, sure. We have lots of space,” Eunhyuk called back, too focused on his game to pay much attention to the conversation at hand.
“So that’s what I was thinking. Of course, it could maybe even be three aquariums, but that’s pushing it a little right?” Donghae asked Kangin and Eeteuk.
“Just a little, Hae. You want space for yourself and Eunhyuk as well,” Kangin smiled. Donghae nodded in all seriousness.
“So two tanks and twenty fish. That sounds right doesn’t it?” Donghae asked. Eeteuk was about to respond but Eunhyuk managed to get there first.
“Donghae! Do you wanna play with me? We can have a two person battle!” Eunhyuk called from his space in front of the TV. Donghae eagerly agreed and went to join him.
“How are you feeling today, Teukie-ah?” Kangin asked softly. He was concerned for Eeteuk’s health, ever since he had mentioned he was feeling ill to begin with. The oldest male nodded.
“I’m fine. My stomach hurts a little, that’s all,” Eeteuk reassured the younger man. Kangin, although looking unconvinced, didn’t press the matter further. He knew that Eeteuk would continuously insist that he was fine until he was so sick that it would be impossible for him to deny it or he collapsed.
Either way meant a lot of worry for Kangin and this was something that he would like to avoid. He decided to make a mental note to ask Ryeowook to put some mild antibiotics into Eeteuk’s food so he would have a chance of getting better before he got much, much worse.
“Will you be able to eat dinner?” Kangin asked.
“Yeah, I think I can keep something down. It’s not like last time. That was because I was overworked. I think I just caught a cold or something. It should be gone in a few days,” Eeteuk smiled serenely. Kangin nodded back and wrapped his arms around Eeteuk’s slim frame.
“All right. Whatever Ryeowook is cooking, we’ll fill you up on that,” Kangin smiled, poking Eeteuk lightly on the cheek. Eeteuk laughed lightly, his expression lighting up. He felt better than he had all day. Kangin had that effect on him.
“Dinner is ready!” Ryeowook called from the kitchen. There was a loud slam and then a huge crash and then a scream of “Yesungie! What have you done?!”
Eeteuk wondered if he should get up to investigate what had happened. Deciding that it was his responsibility as the umma to make sure his children were okay. Sighing softly, he got up from the sofa and walked over to the kitchen to see the amount of damage that had been done.
Poking his head through the door, Eeteuk held back a laugh as he took in the scene before him. Yesung was sprawled on the floor, a broken bowl beside him, soup all over the floor and Ryeowook picking the vegetable chunks out of his hair.
Apparently, as Yesung had gone to get bowls, he had failed to notice the small puddle of water. Ryeowook had put a mop beside the pool of water to warn everyone that there was a spill on the floor. However, Yesung hadn’t noticed and as a result, slipped on the way back from getting one bowl, sent the soup pot flying and getting most of it on the floor and the vegetable chunks in his hair.
“Are you all right, Yesung?” Eeteuk asked, stifling his laughter while helping poor Yesung up.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry, Ryeowook,” Yesung apologized, looking sorrowful. Ryeowook was trying to look angry and succeeded somewhat.
“I spent at least half an hour on that soup!” The eternal magnae exploded, staring at Yesung with narrowed eyes.
“I’ll help you cook ramen,” Yesung offered, not wanting to be on the receiving side of Ryeowook’s anger.
“Fine but if it tastes crappy we know who’s fault it is,” Ryeowook sent a small smile in Yesung’s direction before picking up the broken bowl that Yesung had managed to get.
“He loves me,” Yesung smiled dreamily. Kangin rolled his eyes.
“Yes, we know. You love him, he loves you, you love each other and you’ve caused us all enough grief with that!” Kangin pushed Yesung lightly who nearly fell into the wall.
A few minutes later, the six of them were sitting down to dinner. The six of them chattered while eating their ramen which was surprisingly good seeing as how Yesung prepared it. Ryeowook didn’t tell them that all Yesung had done was fetch the water. They were well into their meal, chopsticks clicking away when the doorbell rang. The six of them looked up at each other.
“Were we expecting someone?” Kangin asked, looking at Eeteuk in confusion. The eldest shook his head.
“Not that I know of,” Eeteuk responded. Kangin frowned and stood up. Eeteuk followed him and he was immediately copied by the rest of the people at the table. The door was suddenly knocked out quite loudly. Ryeowook tried to look around Yesung who stood in front of him just in case. There was more insistent knocking on the door.
“Omo, it can’t be!” Ryeowook darted in front of Yesung and swung the door open. Heechul and Hankyung stared in at them.
“It’s about time you opened the door. Was I going to have to break into my own house?” Heechul asked.
“It’s not your house,” Yesung commented.
“Heechul-hyung! Hankyung-hyung! You’re back! How was China?” Ryeowook enclosed his hyungs in large hugs. Hankyung smiled as he hugged the eternal magnae. Heechul looked as though he were struggling to hug Ryeowook and push him away.
“Welcome back, hyungs!” Eunhyuk hugged the two of them. Despite his many words of not missing anyone, Heechul hugged Eunhyuk hard.
“I missed you! If you had stayed any longer, aliens might have captured you!” Donghae was squished in the middle of a Heechul, Hankyung hug.
Yesung came next, “It’s nice to see you back Prince and Cinderella.” He was hit over the head by Heechul and then checked by Hankyung before they hugged.
“Welcome back,” Kangin grinned at the two of them. Hankyung smiled brightly.
“It’s good to be back. I didn’t know how much I missed South Korea,” Hankyung smiled brightly at his family.
“My children are home!” Eeteuk clapped his hands in delight and moved forwards to hug the two. They greeted him like long lost children. Kangin smiled as he watched Eeteuk reunite with his ‘sons’.
He brought the two into the living room to tell them about their second trip to China. Heechul immediately launched into a lengthy synopsis of their trip. The second time, Hankyung’s mother remembered that Heechul wasn’t a girl. His father had prepared a large feast for them when the arrived.
For the month they were there, Heechul was brought around to different monuments and places in China. He learned more of the history of Hankyung’s home. He learned to call Hankyung, “Hangeng”, while they were there and was taught how to make Beijing Fried Rice. Everyone was rather impressed with this.
Eeteuk was about to comment on Heechul’s ability to cook when a gut wrenching pain exploded in his stomach. The eldest gasped in pain and then fell to the ground. He clutched his waist and tried to breathe normally. But it was so hard. There was so much pain.
“Eeteuk!” He heard someone yell. He couldn’t register it. There was too much pain in his stomach. His vision started to swim as someone yelled for a cloth with cold water on it. Eeteuk wanted to tell everybody that he was fine but it appeared his current situation wasn’t exactly ideal to tell everyone this.
He felt himself being picked up by strong arms that he knew belonged to Kangin. He was placed on something soft and warm. Eeteuk’s eyes narrowed in pain as another tremor rolled through his abdomen. A cool cloth was placed on his forehead and this, somehow, brought him back to his senses.
He blinked tiredly as Kangin gently sponged his forehead with the cloth.
“What happened, Teukie?” Kangin asked softly as he wiped the rest of the water droplets off of Eeteuk’s face. The elder male shrugged lightly.
“I don’t know. Maybe I ate something?” Eeteuk smiled weakly. Kangin frowned slightly.
“Anything you ate wouldn’t give you that violent a reaction without affecting the rest of us too,” Kangin pointed out. Eeteuk sighed.
“Maybe I really am sick,” he admitted reluctantly. Kangin stood up.
“Are you hurting anywhere?” Kangin asked.
“My stomach hurt a little while earlier,” Eeteuk confessed.
“I’ll get you some painkillers and cough medicine,” Kangin decided. He squeezed Eeteuk’s hand gently.
“Yah, what will cough medicine do for him? That’s for coughing, not stomachs!” Heechul informed the younger man.
“Well it might help him a little. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Do you need a blanket or something?” Yesung asked, concernedly.
“I’ll make some soothing soup,” Ryeowook decided. He left for the kitchen and Yesung went to fetch a blanket.
“I’ll get you another pillow, umma. That way you’ll be more comfortable,” Donghae leapt up and ran towards the stairs.
“Donghae! Take the feather filled one!” Eunhyuk ran after him. Eeteuk was about to call after them to protest when Hankyung stopped him.
“Don’t strain yourself! I’ve got some Chinese herbs that might make you feel better. I’ll go get them now,” Hankyung nodded in concern and then jumped up and went towards the suitcases that had been left in the front hall.
“Hannie! Those herbs are in my suitcase along with my hair products! Don’t destroy anything!” Heechul yelled after Hankyung. Then he turned and looked at Eeteuk.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack. Five minutes after I come home and you want me to leave?” Heechul shook his head. Then he followed Hankyung into the hall. Eeteuk smiled. He was so lucky to have such nice dongsaengs looking after him.
The pain was there slightly but it was beginning to ebb. He placed a hand on his stomach, wondering what was happening to him. The phone rang and Eeteuk lifted his head. It was on the coffee table beside the couch he was lying on. However, his hand was tied inside the blankets.
Working quickly, he managed to free his hand to reach out for the handset. Ignoring the pain in his abdomen, he caught the phone in his hand and pressed the talk button.
“Yoboseyo?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. How are you? What’s going on?” Eeteuk pressed the phone harder to his ear to hear better.
“What……? He was shot?! How did that happen?!” Eeteuk shouted. His yells brought the rest of the house running. Kangin burst into the room, brandishing the bottles of medication. Eunhyuk and Donghae weren’t far behind. Ryeowook charged into the room, still holding a spoon and Yesung ran in, carrying a large woollen blanket. Hankyung rushed in with Heechul, both of whom were holding a bag of crushed leaves.
They all stared at Eeteuk who had removed his blankets and was now standing up and practically yelling into the phone.
“What? What? How is that possible? I would have known! I would have felt it! But…but….I…I…I did, didn’t I?” Eeteuk looked up at the assembled people. “My umma senses never lie…I felt it…”
“Teukie?” Kangin questioned softly.
“I didn’t realize it!” Eeteuk was now shouting into the phone. “How could I not have realized it? How? When one of my children……Sungmin……no, no, no, no, no. And Kyuhyun?! What is he feeling right now?! Well, I didn’t think he’d be jumping for joy did you?! Not after….Sungmin….” Eeteuk suddenly looked small and afraid.
“History won’t repeat itself, will it? He won’t be coming back….will he? I….I didn’t….either…” Eeteuk dropped the phone. He looked up at Kangin who took a step towards him.
“Eeteuk?” Kangin questioned softly. His heart beat sped up to an impossible rate as Eeteuk collapsed and began sobbing. Kangin caught him and held him close. He felt his own eyes water. Eeteuk was hurting. And if Eeteuk was hurting, so was he.
Yesung darted forwards and picked up the phone. He needed the whole story. The other four were torn between wanting to know and wanting to comfort their umma. Heechul and Donghae remained fixed in one position, listening closely, while Hankyung and Eunhyuk tried to comfort Eeteuk.
“This is Yesung. Tell me everything,” Yesung commanded. He listened for a while, nodding occasionally and making “mhm”, “ah”, “uhuh” noises for most of the time. Ryeowook stayed close to him in case he reacted the same way Eeteuk had did. The eldest was sobbing quietly into Kangin who was holding him tightly, listening to Yesung speak.
“He destroyed a room? After he heard about….? You mean his…is dead…?” Yesung’s voice went soft. Ryeowook pressed nearer to him.
“No…he can’t…he’s always been strong. Kyuhyun wouldn’t destroy a hospital roomafter hearing about the death…Is that him? I can hear him in the background.”
Ryeowook listened carefully.
“No! He’s not dead! He’s not dead! He’s strong, he’s healthy! A bullet wound like that couldn’t cause that much damage! You could have operated! You could have done something!” Kyuhyun’s voice came through the phone so loudly, that Yesung ended up holding it away from his ear.
Ryeowook’s eyes filled with tears, “Is…Sungmin…?”
“They’re calming him down? Why would you tell him such a thing? Don’t you know how much he cares about….Eeteuk? After you told him, Eeteuk is currently crying. But Kyuhyun…….oh god, it’s a repeat of last time. But he’s not returning is he? I didn’t think so either. Goodbye, Yunho.”
Yesung ended the call and then turned to the others. A tear was running down his cheek. Ryeowook supported him, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“I think you should know what happened to Kyuhyun and Sungmin in the last three weeks,” Yesung began. Heechul’s mouth set in a straight line. Hankyung’s eyes went wide. Eeteuk cried louder, Kangin held him tighter. Ryeowook bit his lip to try and stop his own tears. And Yesung stood tall, a lone tear running down his face.
In another part of the city, Kyuhyun was sleeping peacefully, away from the pain the news had brought.
~₴~≠~₴~≠~
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