Jaejoong stared blankly in return, his mind a state of utter chaos. He had told himself back then, he had repeated those words over and over again. 

"Yunho must have a reason. He must have a reason for doing this."

Like a mantra, he chanted it to himself everyday, willing himself to believe, to be convinced that his love would never do such a thing. Yet, even he could not help the little seeds of doubt growing in his heart. Did Yunho truly love him? Did Yunho truly care for him? No matter how much thought he had given to that matter, he could not simply fathom how Yunho could hurt him so. Time elapsed and soon, seeds of doubt bloomed into flowers, scattering its petals everywhere..

"Yunho has no reason. He has no reason for doing this."

Unknowingly, a mantra of comfort had turned into his worst nightmare. There were no longer doubts in his mind. He had known that it was the truth then; the fact that Yunho simply did not care for him. It was the only way Jaejoong could accept it. It was the only way he could cope, and so, he believed. "Always keep the faith". They used to be words of hope, but those four words had turned into a single determination, and the second part of the sentence was forever forgotten. It had been so firmly set in his mind that he never thought of it otherwise. He thought he loved Yunho. He thought they would be together forever, but it never was. Like two straight parallel lines, they could only see each other from afar. The lines would never meet.

Yet at that very moment, Changmin had blew his act. Like a knife slicing through butter, the mask of protection he had carefully constructed for himself was destroyed in a second, broken into countless pieces. He had none left. No pride. No dignity. Nothing. Like a man without his clothes, he was exposed thoroughly with no corner to hide, and the truth that he desperately denied surfaced, suffocating him with the intensity of it.

It was then that he realised. The mantra that he had chanted to himself everyday was not what he thought it was. He had assumed that he believed in Yunho, believed in their love for each other, yet, he could not help but face the truth. The truth that it was all a lie. Belief came from trust, and he knew, he could not trust Yunho ever since he dumped him unceremoniously without a single word of goodbye.

Still, as the tears welled up in his eyes, he could not help the single ray of hope that bloomed in his heart at Yunho's mother's words. Did his love truly have a reason for leaving? Was his hope all not for naught? His heartbeat stilled. His breaths stopped. He simply stared, all thoughts vanished from his mind.

"Jaejoong hyung?"

He heard a whisper of his name. Blinking, Jaejoong was surprised to see a hand waving in front of him, speckles of red blocking his vision. Wait. Red? Grabbing the hand before him, Jaejoong inspected the wound on Changmin's knuckles, scanning it for signs of infection.

"Jaejoong hyung, I'm alright." Changmin protested as he struggled to get his hand out of Jaejoong's grasp. It was a futile attempt. Jaejoong held on tight, his grip firm yet gentle. Looking up to Changmin's eyes, Jaejoong gently blew a puff of air on Changmin's wound, causing Changmin to scrunch his eyes tight at the tickling sensation.

"Hyung~" Changmin whined as he tried to remove his hand once again, earning more puffs of air as he did so, "Stop that."

"Then let me treat your wound and stop fidgeting about." Jaejoong spoke for the first time since Yunho's mother uttered the fateful question. Minutes passed. Silence hung among the five of them as they watched Jaejoong took the medical supplies from his cabinet, carefully disinfecting Changmin's wound and bandaging it with a plaster he found.

"There, all done." Jaejoong commented offhandedly, a faint smile tugging on his lips. Touching the rough plaster on his knuckles, Changmin could not help the gentle warmth that was spreading through his body as he noticed Jaejoong's smile. His throat felt scratchy and he blinked away the well of water he could feel forming in his eyes, turning away from the hyung in front of him. 

Yunho's mother smiled. They might not have noticed it but standing from the outside and looking in, she could not help but think that they were behaving like one big family, the family that they always were, and always would be.

Picking up a cookie from the plate placed on the coffee table, she nibbled on it, waiting patiently for their attention to return to her. Sure enough, the heavy silence that surrounded them reminded them of her presence in the room and the smile on Jaejoong's face vanished instantly. All four eyes shifted to her as she took her second bite, eyes filled with trepidation.

"I am sure you are wondering why I arranged this meeting with all five of you," she spoke as she placed the half bitten cookie back on the plate, "and curious as to the story that I am going to tell you in a while, but before we can get started on that, I am quite sure you are wondering what am I doing in your house, Jaejoong shii."

Jaejoong's eyes widened as Yunho's mother called his name, his face resembling a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car.

"Oh don't be alarmed," Yunho's mother hurriedly assured, "I just want to explain my reason for coming here."

"You see," she continued as she shifted her gaze away from Jaejoong and stared at the other three members, "I have been wondering if I should even have this conversation in the first place. It is not my story to tell after all and certainly not my secret to share. Still, this story involves the four of you and all four of you have the right to know the truth."

"Do you remember the lot of questions that were asked back then when the chaos first erupted? Why did Dong Bang Shin Ki break up? What happened to the greatest boy band of all times? Was the legend of the Gods of the Rising East going to fade into history? Why did they not sue as one? Were they not brothers? Did they not promise to stick by each other at all times? Why the break up?"

Yunho's mother glanced at Yoochun as she finished her sentence, noting the way his eyes seemed to darkened as she uttered the last question.

"These are all doubts that you undoubtedly still have present in your mind. Seeds of doubt that might have borne fruits in your hearts. That is the exact reason why I am here today. Years of misunderstandings and shifting blames to one another, I think all of that should be put to an end don't you?"

"But why here?" Junsu asked rudely, "why in Jaejoong's hyung's house?"

Yunho's mother chuckled.

"Junsu ah, who was the only person who did not agree to the lawsuit?" she questioned.

Junsu frowned. The memories of those times were faded and the images were blurry. It was impossible to remember what exactly occurred or who agreed or disagreed to what! It was akin to capturing sand with his fingers. No matter how much he tried, he simply could not. They always flitted through the gaps between his fingers. The memories were always evading his grasp.

"Yunho hyung," Yoochun uttered abruptly, breaking the haze of frustration Junsu was in, "it was Yunho hyung."

"Yunho hyung?" Junsu repeated confusedly, "What has it got to do with Yunho hyung?"

A breath escaped from Changmin's lips as the revelation struck him.

"Eomonim, you can't possibly mean that the reason why Yunho did not agree to the lawsuit in the first place was because of Jaejoong hyung?"

All members looked up in shock at Changmin's statement while Yunho's mother simply smiled back.

"Changmin ah, you were always an intelligent child were you?" she remarked, taking the bitten cookie into her hands once more, "No wonder they always called you Tensai Changmin."

Changmin remained silent. For once, he rather forsake his title of being a "Tensai". What good was there in figuring out the reason for others' pain?

"I don't get it." Junsu expressed his confusion, breaking the muse of Changmin's thoughts, "It's not like Jaejoong hyung is objecting to the lawsuit isn't he? Why will Yunho hyung not sue because of him?"

Yoochun chuckled bitterly.

"Su ah, what would you do if you thought that I was happier off without you? Would you let go of me and let me be free or would you hold onto me tightly, binding me in chains?" Yoochun questioned, his serious gaze boring into Junsu's.

"Wh-hat? What kind of question is that?" Junsu squeaked, avoiding Yoochun's gaze, "Why would I ever wanna leave you?"

"Even for my happiness?" 

"Wh-"

Junsu's words died on his lips as he finally got the point that Yoochun was trying to drive at.

"You mean that Yunho hyung did not participate in the lawsuit because he thought Jaejoong hyung would be happier off without him?" Junsu asked incredulously, his brain unable to believe what he just heard.

Yoochun simply nodded, confirming what he said to be true.

"That's ridiculous!" Junsu remarked, eyes shifting to Jaejoong in concern, "Why would Yunho hyung even think that?"

"Because he is an idiot. Because love makes every intelligent soul on Earth blind." Changmin replied, a hint of scorn in his tonality.

"But.." 

Jaejoong looked up, silencing Junsu immediately.

"Yunho must have a reason," he enunciated every word clearly, his voice carrying through the entire room, "Yunho must have a reason for doing this."

"Jaejoong hyung.." 

"He has a reason for doing this!" Jaejoong insisted, his tears b at the corners of his eyes, "Or why else would he think I'm better off without him?"

Tears streamed down from his eyes, and the feeling of desperation loomed over him as he recalled Yunho's message years ago:

Let's break up.

Not a single word of explanation. Not a single reason. Not a single 'anything'. He was abandoned just like that, dumped by his love without even knowing what he had done wrong. There was nothing left. Jaejoong had fell into the pits of despair then, unable to bring himself back up. Did Yunho not love him? Had Yunho forgot about their love? Did those memories mean nothing to him? Why was Yunho being like this?

And why was the reason being told to him now? Why was it not revealed back then when he was screaming for answers so desperately he would even go down on his knees to beg Yunho for one? Why were his wounds being reopened now that they finally got healed? Why was everyone so adamant in making him feel pain? Why?

Why did his heart feel like it was breaking into two?

"Jaejoong shii," Yunho's mother placed her hand over his hand, sensing the inner turmoil brewing in the man, "you love my son still, do you?"

Jaejoong parted his lips. He wanted to deny the truth, he wanted to deny it so badly. All the pain that he had hid away all these years were rushing back now and it was all because of that one man. Why should he suffer in pain? Why should he feel all the hurt? Why should he even continue to love the man or even care about him? 

He was the bane of his existence. He was better off without him. He was happier without Jung Yunho. What right had Jung Yunho had to make him feel this way? What right had Jung Yunho had over his life? Yet, as he struggled to speak his thoughts, his lips quivered as they tried to form the words he knew was a lie. His mouth went dry and the back of his throat started to burn. His hands trembled as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Yet you cannot lie to yourself.."

Changmin's words drifted into his mind.

"You cannot lie to your heart."

Jaejoong trembled, his entire figure shaking.

"I hate him." he whispered brokenly, "yet I love him so much."

"What do I do, Eomonim?"

Yunho's mother crumpled at the sight of her son's love. Without saying a single word, she reached out her arms, holding him tight to her chest just as the tears escaped from Jaejoong's eyes.

"You know," Jaejoong pouted as he ignored Yunho's attempts to make a conversation with him, "you can just say those three words you know? It's not like we aren't a couple already."

Yunho laughed.

"But I'm a man Jaejoongie, men don't say such stuff!"

Jaejoong raised his eyebrow in challenge.

"Are you implying that I'm not a man then since I say it to you everyday?"

Sensing Jaejoong's impeding fury, Yunho raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright fine. I'll say it." Yunho said as he leaned forward to Jaejoong's ears.

"I.."

Jaejoong's breath hitched as he awaited Yunho's confession anxiously....

"HATE YOU."

Yunho finished as he laughed heartily at his boyfriend's face; anticipation morphed into intense fury, the veins bulging out of Jaejoong's forehead.

"YAH! Jung Yunho you-"

"love you more than anything else in the world." Yunho interrupted as he laid a kiss on Jaejoong's forehead, causing the frown on Jaejoong's face to transform into a smile instantly.

"I love you so much booJae," Yunho circled his arms around Jaejoong's neck, hugging him tight to his chest.

"What do I do with all this love I have?"

Jaejoong smiled.

"Give it all to me of course," he demanded, "your love is nobody's but mine and mine only."

Author's Note: FINALLY an update! :DD WEEEEE~ Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) Btw, I just realised that it's been 17 chapters and YJ haven't met yet lol! No wonder you readers have been asking me about it. :X Sorry about that though, but this is going to be some SLOOWWW moving YunJae. Hope you enjoyed it regardless. Thanks for sticking all this while. :D