Yunho sprawled out on the hard floor, his toned chest heaving up and down. Changmin was furiously gulping down the remainder of the water from his extra-large water bottle. Neither of them had ever been in such an intense dance session before, even in their 5-membered days. Soo Man was really going all-out with them this time.

“Hyung,” Changmin called.

Yunho slightly turned his head, barely getting a peak of Changmin’s sitting figure. “Yeah?”

“How do you think Jae, Chun, and Su hyungs are doing?”

Yunho was taken off-guard by this statement, but sat up nonetheless. He shrugged and got into a comfortable sitting position. “They’re probably sleeping right now.”

Changmin sighed, pouting and puffing out his cheeks. Yunho smiled weakly at the familiarity of Changmin’s face. Whenever he was frustrated or worried, he’d make a baby face by puffing his cheeks out, pouting, or crying. In this case, Yunho remembered when Jaejoong got sick and Changmin stayed with him all the time to make sure his umma got better safely. Yunho was sure Changmin’s expression would stay in an eternal pout after the whole weekend, but miraculously, he was smiling again the day they had to make their comeback—also the day Jaejoong felt better.

Changmin childishly crawled over to Yunho. Yunho opened his arms and hugged Changmin. He knew what this action meant: Changmin was ready to give up. He’d had plenty of those moments in the past, especially when Soo Man threatened to throw them out on the streets with nothing to support them. When JYJ left, Changmin stayed in his room for a whole week without food or water. Yunho finally busted down the door. He found Changmin unconscious on the floor. His lips were chapped and his cheeks looked too hollow. Yunho had to rush him to the emergency room. They got Changmin healthy again in a week’s time, but Yunho had to keep a close eye on him. Changmin did remarkably well, yet Yunho saw something inside of his eyes that kept him on edge.

Changmin stared blankly at the mirrored wall in front of him and his hyung. Yunho was rocking him back and forth, humming a comforting tune. He had no idea how the two of them had gotten to this point in their lives, and the thought of never going back to the way they were—as a family with all five of them—made him shiver, his hair standing on end. He wanted to best for his hyungs, and he knew he would get it that way again, even if it meant giving everything up for them.

That was one of the remarkable traits about Changmin: most fans say he’s cold-hearted and “evil,” but on the inside, he’s one of the most loving members of them all. He’d take a bullet, drink poison, stab somebody, choke the Pope, or even give everything up just for one of them. What he’d do for all of them combined was unimaginable, but if you could think it up, Changmin would do it for them.

A few minutes later, the dad-son duo stood up and went back to their practice when Soo Man walked in to check on their progress. He almost yelled at them for sitting down, but decided he’d be merciful this time when he saw how much they’d progressed in the dance in just a matter of four hours. By the day’s end, they had it nearly perfected, and that’s what pleased Soo Man the most. Little did he know, the two men were dying on the inside for some food, for they hadn’t had any at all the whole day. Yunho was on the verge of passing out, and Changmin was slumping against the wall, breathing heavily. Without even a glance at their health, Soo Man walked out of the room and went on to check out the soon-to-debut rookies, EXO.

“Hyung…” Changmin rasped, slowly falling to the floor.

Yunho looked over at him and pursed his lips, knowing he had to do something. With the depression spreading over him, he knew that Changmin hadn’t eaten anything in nearly two days, unlike himself, who had got some take-out the night before, so he had to hurry and get some food.

Yunho gathered his energy after telling Changmin he’d be right back and dashed out the door, immediately running towards the cafeteria. There was a line, so he decided to pack the plate full of Changmin’s favorites, appearing in front of the register with a packed plate just as the last person paid for their food. Yunho quickly gave the cashier 8,000 won and hurried back to the dance room. When he got inside, he did a double-take.

Changmin was leaning against the wall, sitting up and smiling, stuffing his face with kimchi and bibimbap. “Min, what—”

He was silenced when Changmin pointed behind him with the chopsticks. Yunho spun around, almost spilling the food, and saw a small figure in a dark jacket and jeans leaning against the wall, his head down so his face wouldn’t be seen. Either way, Yunho couldn’t help but smile and approach the figure. “Is that you…?”

The person looked up with a smile on his face, surprising Yunho. “Hi, Yunnie.”

“BooJae!” Yunho cheered, setting the food down and quickly rushing over to squeeze Jaejoong in a tight hug. The beautiful male giggled, hugging his boyfriend back happily. Ever since he and Yunho had reunited, he’d been smiling a lot more, gained some weight, and the color in his cheeks had returned. It was a miracle, to be honest. With his attitude improvement, everyone was happier.

And Changmin was fuller.

“You need to eat, Yunnie,” Jaejoong stated after pulling away, pouting.

Yunho pecked his cute boyfriend’s lips and nodded. “I will if you join me. I got enough to fill Changmin, and I can’t exactly eat as much as an elephant.”

“Yah!” Changmin protested with a full mouth.

Yunho and Jaejoong laughed together, holding hands and sitting in front of the plate of food. Yunho grabbed the chopsticks and picked up a piece of chicken, holding it to Jaejoong’s lips, but Jaejoong pouted and pushed it away.

“No, you have to eat. I already had my dinner.”

Yunho chuckled and stuck it in his mouth, chewing happily. He needed the food, and as he looked over at Changmin, he realized how much food there was around him. “Did you make all of that, Jaejoong?” he asked, amazed at the amount.

Jaejoong nodded, smiling brightly. “I figured I might as well come and visit you guys. I haven’t cooked for anyone in a while, and I should do it one more time before I have to start working again…” He bit his lip, wondering if Yunho got the message.

Sadly, the oblivious man didn’t understand and nodded. “You could come work for me and be my manager.” He smirked, feeling Jaejoong’s body tense up, knowing he was blushing. “Just kidding, Boo.”

Jaejoong didn’t realize, but Changmin understood perfectly well.

“Hyung, do you mean… you’ll be in a different group?” the maknae asked, astonished.

Jaejoong nodded sadly, Yunho’s grip on his hand suddenly becoming looser and looser. Both pairs of chopsticks from the men returned to the plates, appetites magically gone.

“Jae, are you gonna be in another group…?”

“N-no, but yes.”

“What do you mean?” Yunho asked, removing his hand completely out of Jaejoong’s and facing him fully.

“I mean, Yoochun, Junsu, and I are going to be making a comeback as a trio in C-JeS Entertainment… as a trio.” Jaejoong felt insecure now, wanting to make a mad dash out the door and away from the upcoming problems in his life.

Yunho didn’t meet Jaejoong’s gaze again, and instead looked over at Changmin, seeing him with his head down. He knew they were feeling the same thing: remorse.

“Jaejoong, why?”

“We want to, Yunho. Please, understand. We love music just as much as we used to, and this is our choice. We didn’t want to give up our careers and decided to continue in this company. They have a better contract, too. I…” Jaejoong bit his lip to keep from going further, his selfish side appearing.

“You what, hyung?” Changmin threw in.

Jaejoong shook his head, starting to stand up. Yunho didn’t bother stopping him.

“I-I have to go.” With that, Jaejoong darted out the door, a miniature gust of wind following the slamming door. The remaining members of TVXQ looked at each other with sad eyes. How could their three former members do this?

~~~

A/N: I feel so bad for not updating in ten months... ;A; Will you forgive me? 3