It has been two months since Heechul moved to China with Hangeng and it seemed like Leeteuk was finally breaking out of his depressed slump. He was beginning to smile more naturally and laugh at things. It was refreshing to the staff who were obviously concerned for their owner. It was even more apparent that Leeteuk was getting better when he began to talk about wedding plans. He and Kangin decided they would get married next year so not to be as close to Shindong and Nari's big day. And they were really wanting a small wedding. Just their close friends and family. But Onew knew that as powerful and important as they were becoming in the business world, they may not be able to have a small wedding. But that was not the time to worry about it. They were all happy that Leeteuk was happy.

On one particular Saturday the café was experiencing a rare quiet day. It allowed the staff to relax and take their time on things and even goof off a little. Onew and Minho were playing cards while Jonghyun was in back flirting with Key. At some point Taemin had gotten bored with them and had ventured into the main room. Onew was watching the younger as he wandered around and decided to call him over.

"Taemin! Come here." He called with a wave of his hand.

The younger came over and sat in one of the chairs.

"How have you been? School going well?" He asked the other curiously.

"It's boring but I'm doing okay."

"The classes boring?"

"Not all of it. It's just so quiet compared to here. I will be so happy when I am done at the end of this year. Graduation will be a dream come true."

The two laughed. They understood the man's feelings. School was so boring at times. But it was so important as well. But to be in your final year and have to make it to the end, well that can be almost impossible to imagine. Onew remembered when he finished school. He was happy to be gone, but sad to lose out on some of the memoires. Hopefully Taemin will come to feel that way too. You only go through High School once.

"Well enjoy it while you still have it, because once you leave you can't go back. And you will miss it. Trust me."

"What do you miss about school Hyung?" Taemin asked curiously.

"I miss gym class." Minho replied with a smirk. "I was very good at it."

"I bet." Onew said sarcastically. "For me it was lunch. Not just for the food, because school food is horrid. But I liked the opportunity to see all of my friends at once and chat with them."

"Like Jonghyun and Key?"

"Yeah we were really good friends in school."

"What about you hyung?" Taemin asked as he looked past the pair. Onew looked over his shoulder to see that Ryeowook had come back from his lunch date with Yesung. The piano player had a distant look on his face but he turned to them with a smile.

"I'm sorry, what's the question?"

"What was your favorite part of school."

"Oh…." The smile slightly dimmed. "I wasn’t a real fan of school to be honest. I was actually a pretty big kid growing up and was kind of bullied in school."

"That's horrible!"
"That's high school." He countered with a shrug. "There was no worry about repercussion or discipline. Kids did whatever they wanted because they got away with it. I didn’t care for it, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. But it was that carefreeness that I do miss at times. Waking up, going to class, doing homework. A sort of set schedule each and every day where you didn’t have to worry about the real world. Paying bills, getting a job, buying food. All of that was already being taken care of."

"I'm sorry hyung." Taemin said with a soft voice.

"It wasn’t your fault Tae-ah." Ryeowook said with a smile. "The past is the past, we can only look forward to the present."

Taemin smiled at this and nodded his head. He said goodbye to the trio before heading to the kitchen area where they all knew Jonghyun and Key were hanging out. Minho also went back to work leaving Onew with Ryeowook. The piano player had a distant look on his face as he sat in front of the instrument and began shuffling the music. Onew had a feeling the distant look had nothing to do with their conversation about high school and went over to make sure he was okay.

"Ryeowook-hyung? Are you okay? You seem…out of it?" He asked politely.

"I'm not surprised you noticed. You have a very good pair of eyes." The man replied with a grin. "I'm okay, I just have something on my mind. Yesung and I had an interesting conversation at lunch today is all."

"A good interesting or a bad interesting?"

Ryeowook's eyes took an odd look. As if he himself was not sure how to answer it.

"I don’t know yet. It was a 'I need to think about it' interesting."

"Well if you ever want to talk about it let me know. You know I'm here to listen." Onew reminded him.

"Thanks Onew, that means a lot." Ryeowook replied with a smile of his own.

Onew gave him a final nod before leaving the pianist alone. He knew that there was something bothering him, but he had to respect the man's privacy. After all, he didn’t know him as well as the others. And it would be wrong to be nosy to something that wasn’t his business. He just hoped that whatever it was doesn't cause the man too much stress.

***

It took Onew a while to notice, but once he did it was rather obvious. It has been three weeks since he had spoken with Ryeowook about something being on his mind. He had noticed the man was a bit quieter than normal but gave him his space. What he didn't realize that he wasn't the only one who was. Because he was just now noticing that Yesung has also been MIA at the café lately. Not wanting to ask Ryeowook in case the two were fighting, he decided to inquire to someone else.

"Leeteuk hyung, are Ryeowook and Yesung hyung okay?"

Leeteuk looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Onew wondered if he wasn't supposed to ask about this and also wondered if his owner was even going to tell him. But then Leeteuk had a small smile on his face.

"Yesung asked something of Ryeowook that the young needs to think about. And he doesn't want to affect the decision by being constantly around. So he is giving him some space. But I have a feeling our Ryeowook is about ready to decide."

Onew nodded showing he understood. Despite the fact he was still really confused. But he decided it was best to just let it go. But all of that meant nothing a few minutes later when a flustered Ryeowook entered the room with a flushed face. When he noticed Leeteuk and Onew he headed straight towards them.

"Leeteuk and Onew, I am glad you are together. There is something I need to talk to you about."

"So you have finally made up your mind?" Leeteuk asked with a small smile.

"Yes hyung." Ryeowook replied with a nod. Turning to Onew he took a deep breath. "You had asked me a few weeks ago if I was all right and I had replied that something was on my mind. And that it wasn't necessarily good or bad, just that I needed to think about it. Well the truth of the matter is, Jongwoon has asked me to work for him officially at SM."

"And you took it right?" Onew asked without pause.

Ryeowook seemed surprised by this but Leeteuk had a pleased smile on his face. Once Ryeowook finally got over his surprise he gave a small nod. Onew grinned at him.

"Good, we all know that is where your dream truly belonged. As much as I hate to see you quick, it is something that needs to be done."

"Do you mean that? I don't want to quit but they have such a demanding contract that forbids it."

"Of course they do. It's one of the best entertainment companies in all of South Korea. They have to be strict to get the most out of you."

Ryeowook looked close to tears and Leeteuk was rather proud. The owner turned to the younger.

"The whole point of you coming here was so Yesung could hear you and offer you a contract. You chose your loyalty here first and we all respected that. But your dream has never changed, and I dare say has included Yesung as well. You can not let that go."

"Yes hyung." A tearful Ryeowook said. They all knew Leeteuk meant more than his dream to be a singer. Leeteuk grinned and ruffled the younger's hair.

"Good, now have you told Yesung your decision yet?" He asked. Seeing Ryeowook shake his head he frowned. "Wookie you need to tell him right away. This is big news for both of you."

"And don't worry about us." Onew added with a grin. "We are all so proud and supportive of you. Just make sure you don't forget little old us when you become a famous singer."

Ryeowook jumped forward and hugged the other tightly.

"I will never forget you guys."

Ryeowook then let him go and quickly left the café to go straight to Yesung work. Once he was gone Leeteuk looked at him.

"I am so proud of the way you handled that. Ryeowook needed the supportive push otherwise he would be feeling guilty for leaving."

"It's his dream. We can take that away from him."

"No we can't but you are a good friend and a good person to help him realize it. And it's not like he is going to be gone forever. He just won't work here anymore."

"We will miss him though."

"Me too."

***

It had been a few weeks since Ryeowook had officially quit the quaint café. The five of them missed him dearly but they all loved hearing the updates that Yesung provided when he visited. Since Ryeowook was a trainee, he wasn't able to visit for a while. So his loving but rather weird boyfriend made sure to stop by often to keep them informed. Onew was glad to hear the man was doing so well. He knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Ryeowook came running in with a CD of his first single. And the café would of course demand a signed copy to proudly display. Because even though he didn't work with them anymore, he was still their friend. And with all the things that the café has done to bring them all together it was only a matter of time that they would be reunited again.