Chapter 8 - The Two Leaders

Noh Hongchul’s Joyful Radio with DBSK (2006.10.28)

Host: What were you in your previous life?

Jaejoong: Someone who walked the ropes or made the King laugh (like in the film ‘King and the Clown’)

Host: What would you have done to make the King laugh?

Jaejoong: I would have taken the lady (Xiah), the mermaid (Micky), and the pig (Changmin). I would’ve gone looking for the King. The King would’ve been Yunho. As I was about to make him laugh, he tries to seduce me.

Host: How?

Jaejoong: The King would say, “You’re pretty.”

Yunho: He would say, “You don’t have to make me laugh, Let’s just raise the pig and the mermaid.”

Jaejoong just finished rehearsals for their concert, Return of the King. Yoochun and Junsu were getting something to drink while he was going to his bags. He wiped the sweat off his face with the towel on his shoulder, sat down and took his phone. It was time to check with his dear Yunho.

"Done with rehearsals~" He sent, along with a selca. The picture was Jaejoong's face with a little pout and his hair was sticking to his forehead due to the sweat.

Usually, Yunho would ask how it went or comment on his picture and say, "You're so handsome Jiji." But now, he wasn't replying.

After a while, Yoochun and Junsu came back and gave Jaejoong a bottled water which he drank immediately.

Yoochun said, "Let's go," and motioned for Jaejoong to stand up.

They're all tired and wanted to rest. It was a long day and the next day would be even longer.

"Where should we eat?" Junsu asked. Yoochun took his shoulder and gave him some options as they walked away.

JYJ's leader stood up and took his bags before following the two. Before putting his phone in his pocket, he messaged Yunho a second time. "What are you doing?" He asked.

He used to be so easily annoyed when Yunho wouldn't reply quickly. It had become a well-known issue from their Couple Talk session. But it didn't bother Jaejoong as much now. They've gone through worse times and this was no big deal. Maybe Yunho was just busy.

But Yunho didn't reply that day.

Or the next day.

Jaejoong's calls wouldn't even go through. He made a few calls over two days - if 18 calls would still be considered few.

He's in their dressing room now and he has an hour before their concert starts, so he rang Yunho's number again. This time, TVXQ's leader answered.

"Hello?"

"Yunho-ya!" Jaejoong shouted with a mix of annoyance and gladness.

"Jaejoongie.." said the voice on the other line. He sounded solemn.

"What happened to you? I called a lot of times." Jaejoong said with worry.

"Sorry, Joongie." Yunho said. "The shooting went on until 3 am yesterday. I'm still in the middle of a shoot now."

Jaejoong sighed with relief upon knowing it was just Yunho's usual work schedule. "Are you still eating properly, huh? Don't forget to drink. It's okay to leave the set." He told Yunho. It worried Jaejoong because Yunho was so attentive to others that he forgets to take care of himself. He needed to be reminded constantly to consider it.

"Alright, I will.." Yunho said. "I gotta go, okay?"

It made Jaejoong sad that he couldn't talk to Yunho much longer. "Okay. Bye. I miss you,” He said sweetly.

"Bye. Talk to you soon." Yunho said before ending the call.

It wasn't that great of a conversation, but at least Jaejoong was able to get hold of him. It's just sad that Yunho seemed to forget they had a concert that day and didn't wish him well or show support.

Jaejoong sighed before going out of the dressing room and joined the rest of the team to work on the preparations.

There wasn’t much improvement over the next few days. While JYJ was occupied in giving it their all in concerts, there was still a box in the back of Jaejoong's mind that contained his worries on the person most important to him. He knew something was wrong.

His chance came when both Yunho and him were scheduled to meet one day. They set this up weeks beforehand, after listi