The fans watched as Changmin's face morphed from worry to determination. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes focused as he pressed the familiar numbers on the keypad once more.

Junsu hyung, running away would not help. I have tried it before. Why would you not pick up my call?

Changmin sighed internally as the phone rang for the nth time.

Junsu hyung, do you really hate me that much?

"Hello? Who is this?"

And now you have got Yoochun hyung to help you.

"It's Changmin, Yoochun hyung, please don't hang up again."

There was a pause of silence before Yoochun replied coldly, "Why are you calling us then?"

Changmin did not know what to say.

"Why call us after so long?" Yoochun continued.

Changmin decided honesty was the best option. Honesty had always worked with Yoochun after all.

".. I have a fan meeting now. One of the events is the friend calling session where the fans chose who we are supposed to call." Changmin confessed.

"And they chose us?"

"Yes."

"Let me get this right, you only called us because of the fanmeeting?" Junsu's voice was heard screaming through the speaker. "I was so happy so elated that you were finally making contact with us that I shattered the coffee I was drinking and you're telling me you're calling because of only a freaking fan event?"

"Junsu hyung," Changmin whispered.

So you still care..

"Don't call me that ever again. Even till the last moment that darn company wants to make use of us huh? Tell them to off then. I'm not putting up with their again. Maybe you can but I can't so you can just right off too you-"

"Shut up!" Changmin bellowed throughout the whole stadium.

"Shut up? Who do you think you are? My hyung? For your information Shim Changmin shii, I am older than you and that makes me your hyung. You don't tell your hyung to shut up. Or don't you know any manners at all? What on Earth has that company taught you?"

"Can't you stop that prejudice against SM? What has it got to do with anything anyway?" Changmin remarked exasperatedly.

"They made you not pick up our calls did they?"

This time, it was Yoochun speaking. Suddenly, Changmin felt that talking to an agitated Junsu would be better. Changmin could hear the dangerous undercurrent beneath Yoochun's false tranquility. It was like the calm before the storm.

That was why whenever one quarrels with Yoochun, one would always lose. He instills fear into the other party through a single glare. How then could you win?

"Yes." Changmin answered. There was no point in lying. Yoochun could read him better than he could read himself. He was always the most sensitive out of them all and was extremely protective of them.

Although now he's protecting Junsu against you, Changmin's mind whispered, you're really screwed aren't you?

"So how has that got nothing to do with SM?" Yoochun retorted.

"I-"

"Why didn't you leave with us?" Yoochun persisted, not giving Changmin a chance to explain himself.

Changmin was rendered speechless for a moment. There it was, a sign that Yoochun still cared. A sign that he had not completely gave up on them. A sign that showed Changmin all was not lost, that there was still a glimmer of hope. He was not only protecting Junsu. More importantly, since the start of the conversation, all he was trying to do was to protect the friendship between Junsu and Changmin and Changmin never did realise it till now.

"Yunho hyung didn't want to leave. I couldn't leave him there alone. Besides, our parents would never have approved anyway."

Yoochun hyung you still care do not you? If not you would not ask for a reason right? You cared too much it hurts.

"Your parents didn't approve you to audition for SM didn't they? Yet you still went for it."

Changmin groaned. He knew Yoochun was going to bring that point up.

"It's different and you know it."

"What's so different? Why don't you tell me? Do you know we cried every single day wondering why you two didn't come with us? Do you know Jaejoong hyung drank every night all because you know who didn't pick up his calls? So enlighten me, what makes you so heartless you can watch your brothers suffer knowing you are the cause of it? Or do you not treat us as brothers anymore?" Yoochun exploded.

Finally, the storm's all out huh? Changmin mused as rage slowly rose within him.

"Don't. Don't speak of us as people who don't care. Don't speak of us as though we didn't suffer. We started everything from the start hyung, how do you think that makes us feel? Do you know how it feels like having to bear the name of DBSK and the weight it carries without even knowing a simple thing such as harmonising Yunho hyung's and my voices together?" Changmin shouted, his face purple with rage. 

"Do you know the doubts that assaulted our mind? How would we even succeed? We often worried. How could we if we couldn't even sing a song and record one successfully? Would we be two members only if you three haven't left? I can't help but think that and blame you for it."

"So it's our fault now huh?" Junsu shrieked, "We suffered as well. We didn't even have a stage to perform. Everywhere we went, people scorned us. They spat in our ing faces and there wasn't even a word we could say to defend ourselves. If we do, they call us ingrates. If we don't, they call us cowards? What were we supposed to do? From being the top Gods of Asia with every show wanting our presence, we became a nobody where even the rookie shows did not want to invite us over, how were we supposed to feel?"

"They called us cowards, traitors, but how is standing up for ones' own rights cowardly or traitrous? Why is it considered a betrayal when we sue them when they did not carry out the terms of the contract themselves?"

"How is it not a betrayal? You abandoned us!" Changmin yelled.

"And you didn't follow us." Yoochun whispered back.

Silence fell on both ends after Yoochun's statement as the anger and hurt slowly drained out of them, leaving empty shells behind.

"I'm sorry."

They uttered in sync, a habit that existed since two years ago. Because they understood one another so well, because they lived with one another for so long, they often thought the same way and spoke the same words. Their manager had laughed at them at that time.

"You all behave like quintu." 

He had joked, his face amused and they all laughed at him. 

So when did it all go so wrong? When did all the misunderstandings occurred? When did they let the world taint their bond? The bond that they swore to maintain forever.

"I'm sorry." 

Changmin repeated once more, fighting back the tears that were in his eyes. Regret flooded his mind as he recalled the past happy memories that they had while they were still a band. He never thought that his first conversation with them would be like this. He had always envisioned that day in his mind to prepare himself for the inevitable but now, he realised that any amount of preparation was useless. He was washed away by the currents of his anger, uttering hurtful words that he did not meant to.

"If your life were to end now, what will be the thing you most regret not doing?"

The emcee's question suddenly flashed across his mind and Changmin knew what he had to do. 

"Yoochun hyung and Junsu hyung, I'm sorry. I didn't listen to you when you wanted me to. I wasn't there for you when you needed me to be. This whole mess is as much my fault as I blamed it on you. Yunho hyung and I kept accusing you of being selfish but now, I've realised that the selfish ones were us."

"We didn't attempt to even understand from your point of view. Out of others, we were the ones who understood you the most. We knew deep down that you would not do that for money. We knew you were not greedy people. Yet, we left you in the lurch and joined others in criticising you. We, your family, who should have stood with you no matter what actually turned against you."

"We knew. It was not your fault. Yet, we blamed you because it was so convenient. It was easier to say that it was your fault then look into ourselves and see who we really are. We understood you, yet we still did what we did. For that, I'm shameful of myself. I'm sorry."

Changmin apologised, tears flowing freely from his eyes. On the other end, he could hear Junsu and Yoochun sniffling before the dam of tears finally broke and they cried as one. Just like how it was in the past, they shed their tears together, bearing one another's sadness and burdens as one.

"We are at fault too Changmin ah. We hyungs are supposed to be more mature yet we..." Yoochun stopped, choking on his tears.

"Sorry Changmin ah." Junsu whispered.

Just like that, years of misunderstandings were cleared. Just like that, years of hurt and pain were dissolved. It was as simple as adding two ones together to solve a simple math equation. It was as simple as that.

Cause love forgives and forgets.

"So how do I end this phone call? I bet Cassiopeia is wondering what's going on now."

Junsu gave Changmin a watery smile although he knew Changmin could not see it.

"Oh they'll love to know." Changmin smirked, "I did yell out loud a couple of times but it has been silent since. They must be climbing out of the walls with curiosity by now."

Junsu chuckled.

"Still the evil maknae as usual huh?"

"So great evil lord Changmin, what do we have to say exactly?" Yoochun teased.

"I love you. They have to hear you say that and I'll have to switch the phone to speaker mode."

"At least you are not telling us to lie. Come on, switch it to speaker mode already. We can't let our fans wait right?"

Changmin grinned as he pressed the speaker button on the phone.

"We love you our very own disgusting little maknae."

Yoochun and Junsu bellowed as one as Cassiopeia screamed and cheered, wild with ecstasy. Changmin smiled.

Maybe this was not so bad after all.

And so, Cassiopeia screamed for the second time as Changmin was caught grinning from ear to ear till his mouth was wide open; the brightest smile that Cassiopeia had seen from Changmin since JYJ filed the lawsuit against SM enterntainment.

"At least you are not telling us to lie."

Changmin beamed with happiness as he recalled what Junsu and Yoochun said. 

Their friendship might not be as strong as it once was but this phone call was definitely a big step in the right direction.