The next morning, Yunho woke up at five and began his hectic schedule. After countless interviews with press affiliates from all over Seoul and a four hour long photo shoot for his next magazine cover, he was thoroughly exhausted when he finally arrived home around seven.  As the rain poured down in waves outside, Yunho slowly stumbled across his apartment and plopped down on his soft living room sofa. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, Yunho relished in the stillness and peacefulness of his empty apartment as he listened to the rain beat down on his private balcony. Today’s schedule had been so busy that he had little time to think about anything other than work. As he began to dose off, the memory of last night flashed through his mind reminding him about the party tonight. Leaning forwards and rubbing his eyes gently, Yunho thought “I can’t go to sleep now. I have to get ready for the party.”

Yunho stood up from the couch and made his way to his bedroom. Shuffling slowly towards his changing room, Yunho wondered what he should wear. “Junsu didn’t say it was a formal occasion.” he muttered as he slowly began to scan his wardrobe “But I better pick out something nice anyway.” After a few moments of searching, Yunho chose a stylish black three-piece Armani suit, a dark red tie, black wingtip shoes, his favorite platinum Cartier watch, and a pair of charming white gold cufflinks.  Laying them all out neatly on the dressing table in the middle of the room, Yunho looked them over and thought “That will work.”

Glancing down at his watch, Yunho noticed the time and immediately sprung into action. He quickly made his way to his bathroom and the shower. As the steam from the showers downpour began to fill the room, Yunho looked up into the bathroom mirror and rubbed his chin. “I’ll need a shave too.” he thought as he looked deeper into the mirror at his reflection. His face was rough and looked very tired. His eyes were puffy and the dark circles from all his sleepless nights grew deeper into his face more and more every day.  He looked old and spent, as if all the life in his once handsome face had been drained away. The life he led was written all over his face and he knew it. Shrugging off that sinking feeling of self pity, Yunho quickly undressed and climbed into the shower.

As the warm water washed over him, he let out a deep sigh and thought about what tonight’s party would bring. Would he have a good time? Would he meet interesting people? Would he get to see Jaejoong again? As the thought of Jaejoong crossed his mind for the hundredth time today, Yunho smiled a reluctant smile. Ever since last night, Jaejoong had been constantly on his mind. “How can someone be so happy and kind, but be so sad and distant at the same time?” Yunho thought as he sunk his head down into the shower’s downpour “What happened to him?”

Twenty minutes later, Yunho emerged from his bathroom wrapped in a large white towel at the waist with his hair still soaking wet. Looking up at the clock on the wall, he realized that he had been in the shower way to long and quickly got dried off, changed, and fixed his hair. As Yunho slipped on his suit jacket and buttoned the last button, he heard the front door chime sound as it opened and then closed.

“Yunnie, where are you?” called Yoochun. “Are you ready yet?”

Walking out from his bedroom, Yunho spotted Yoochun standing in the living room with a bright smile. Dressed in a stylish dark blue suit with a lighter blue tie and dark dress shoes, Yoochun looked as if he was headed to a posh New York gala. Yoochun smiled at Yunho before readjusting his tie and fiddling with his gold square shaped cufflinks.

“How do I look?” questioned Yoochun.

“Very handsome.” smiled Yunho “What about me?”

“Oh the ladies are just going to love you.” laughed Yoochun.

“Shut up.” smirked Yunho.

“Are you ready to go?” questioned Yoochun “We need to leave soon, it’s almost nine.”

“Yeah.” answered Yunho before looked at his balcony window and muttered “At least it stopped raining.”

Leaving Yunho’s apartment, the two friends headed for the parking garage. After finding Yunho’s car they quickly climbed in and made their way to the party. As Yunho drove through the busy streets of Seoul, he was suddenly overcome by a sudden sense of foreboding, as if something bad was going to happen tonight. Unlike most people who would just shrug off that kind of feeling, Yunho had learned to trust it. Yoochun glanced up at Yunho and noticed the concerned look on his face. “Why does he look so worried all of a sudden?” Yoochun thought as he watched his dearest friend for a few more minutes.

“What is it?” asked Yoochun with a heavy sigh “Did you get one of your bad feelings again?”

“Yeah.” sighed Yunho “We better be on our toes tonight.”

Thirty minutes later the two friends arrived at the upscale hotel that was the venue for tonight’s party.  After parking the car in the well lit parking garage across the street, they made their way to the front entrance. As they walked across the large lobby, decorated in an elegant eighteenth century European style, they were immediately stopped by a lovely young lady brandishing a bright and pleasant smile.

“Excuse me.” said the young lady “Are you Mr. Jung Yunho and Mr. Park Yoochun?”

“Yes.” nodded Yunho.

“Please to meet you. I am Managing Director Lee Mi Yun from Midnight Music.” she continued “President Kim asked me to you to the banquet hall personally.”

“If you would, please follow me.” added Ms. Lee as she motioned towards the elevators.

“Alright.” nodded Yunho.

Following the young lady to the elevator, Yunho and Yoochun got in and waited patiently until the doors opened up on the fifteenth floor.

“Right this way.” said Ms. Lee as she exited the elevator.

Yunho and Yoochun followed Ms. Lee down a long hallway until they reached the beautiful double oak doors that led into the banquet hall.

“Here we are.” smiled Ms. Lee brightly.

“Please enjoy the party.” added Ms. Lee as she gave a deep bow and motioned for Yunho and Yoochun to go inside.

As the doors opened before them, their eyes beheld a beautifully decorated ball room, with high vaulted ceilings and elegant crystal chandeliers. The sounds of the intermingling of the banquets quests were intertwined with the soft melodies from a white Baldwin grand piano playing gently from the quaint stage at the front. Banquet tables lined the sides, filled with all manner of foods from all over the world. The smell of sweets, roasted meats, and artisan breads filled the room with their heavenly scent, causing Yunho’s and Yoochun stomachs to growl slightly.

“Woah!” gasped Yoochun “This is amazing.”

“Are you surprised?” laughed Yunho “Junsu always goes all out for parties.”

Yoochun immediately made a beeline for the nearest buffet table, grabbed a plate, and started filling it up. Yunho followed him and simply grabbed a glass of Champaign, as he watched Yoochun fill up his plate like he hadn’t ate in years.

“Yah!” interjected Yunho “Don’t be a pig.”

“What?” asked Yoochun as he popped a grape in his mouth and smiled mischievously.

“Don’t look now, but DaeJung is headed this way.” said Yoochun as he motioned over Yunho shoulder.

Yunho sighed deeply and shook his head just as DaeJung’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Yah, I didn’t think I’d see you here.” said DaeJung in an overly boisterous tone. Yunho instantly cringed at DaeJung’s touch and reluctantly turned around to see him smiling at him with a coy look. If there was one person in this world that Yunho truly felt awkward around, it was definitely DaeJung. As the most popular Korean actor of the time, DaeJung was loved by everyone across the country, but there was something about him that always made Yunho feel uncomfortable. While, everyone saw DaeJung as the suave ladies man that he portrayed in his movies, Yunho knew his real personality.  The flamboyant man didn’t hesitate to speak his mind, and was quite open with his personal relationships and preferences. Every time Yunho was around DaeJung he always felt as if he was being eyed like a piece of meat.

“How have you been cutie?” asked DaeJung cutely.

“Good.” answered Yunho with a soft smirk “What brings you here?”

“Oh, I couldn’t miss such a gathering of all the best cuties in the business.” laughed DaeJung “And now I’m really glad I came.”

“Why?” laughed Yoochun.

“What? You haven’t seen our newest lovely?” questioned DaeJung.

“Where did he go?” muttered DaeJung as he scanned the crowded hall “Ah! There he is!”

“Where?” questioned Yunho.

“Standing beside Junsu.” answered DaeJung as he pointed at Jaejoong. “He’s such a beauty.”

“I feel bad for him though.” mumbled DaeJung before he trailed off.

“What’s wrong?” asked Yunho in a concerned tone.

“Soo Hee has been hovering around him all night.” sighed DaeJung as he pointed to the fashionable young lady clinging tightly to Jaejoong’s arm.  

“So he’s popular with the ladies.” scoffed Yunho “How is that a problem?”

“You seriously don’t know about Soo Hee’s reputation?” questioned DaeJung with a shocked look.

“Her nickname is the career killer.” started DaeJung.

“She’s extremely manipulative. When a guy catches her eye, she will do anything and everything to make him hers.” continued DaeJung “Even to the point of blackmailing and threatening to ruin their careers if they don’t do as she says.”

“She’s very aggressive,” DaeJung added before he took a sip of Champaign “… and quite vicious when scorned.”

“But, as long as that beauty doesn’t reject her, he’ll be fine.” scoffed DaeJung with a wave of his hand.

DaeJung’s words immediate made Yunho feel apprehensive. As he continued to talk about Soo Hee’s many exploits with men and their careers falling to pieces soon after, Yunho’s worry for Jaejoong grew to a near state of panic as he watched the two intently. As DaeJung began to speak again, Yunho was snapped out of his trance.

“If it weren’t for Junsu’s ever watchful eye, she probably would have already stolen that beauty away to some remote spot by now.” chuckled DaeJung “He has been watching them both like a hawk all night.”

“The ever protective Junsu.” mumbled DaeJung before he turned his attention back to Yunho.

 “Oh! The lead actress for my new movie just arrived.” sighed DaeJung as he looked in the direction of the halls main doors “I need to go keep up appearances. So I’ll see you later cutie.”

As DaeJung walked off, Yoochun looked at Yunho and noticed that his concerned look from earlier had returned to his face. The fact that Yunho was even worried about Jaejoong, made Yoochun quite curious. Yunho was never really one to be outwardly concerned about anyone but himself. “What is with him tonight?” he thought as he observed Yunho watching every move Jaejoong made. Trying to get Yunho’s mind off the situation, he quickly motioned for Yunho to follow him. “The head of MG Entertainment is here. Let’s go greet him.”

 Yoochun’s distraction worked well, as Yunho turned his gaze from Jaejoong and started chatting with the other guest. As the night went on, he would occasionally glance around the room looking for Jaejoong, as if to merely keep tabs on him. After a few hours, Yunho looked up and noticed that not only had Jaejoong disappeared from the banquet hall but so had Soo Hee. His heart immediately sank as he frantically scanned the room for any sign of them or Junsu.  After a few moments, Yunho spotted Junsu talking with DaeJung on the other side of the hall. He immediately pushed his way through the crowd to where they were standing and as he arrived at Junsu’s side, he heard something he really didn’t want to hear.

“I don’t know where Jae is.” sighed Junsu “He disappeared about an hour ago with Soo Hee while I was distracted.”

“Are you kidding me?” questioned DaeJung “You shouldn’t have let him out of your sight!”

“I know.” sighed Junsu as he hung his head in shame “I’m really worried for him.”  

“We have to find him.” interjected Yunho catching the attention of both DaeJung and Junsu “Now!”

“I’ll head up to Soo Hee’s room and see if there is any sign of them.” volunteered DaeJung “Yunho, You and Yoochun watch the banquet hall.”

“I’ll talk to the staff.” added Junsu.

Thirty minutes went by before the four men met back up in the banquet hall. With no sign of Soo Hee or Jaejoong to be found anywhere, their concerns were mounting.

“Do you think they left together?” questioned Yoochun.

“No.” answered DaeJung “Soo Hee owns a suite upstairs. If they would have gone anywhere together it would have been there.”

“We’ll keep looking.” said Yoochun as he grabbed Yunho by the arm “Let’s go.”

Moments later, DaeJung suddenly gasped as the thought of where Jaejoong might be crossed his mind. He immediately left Junsu’s side and pushed his way hurriedly through the crowd to the other side of the room. “I can’t believe I forgot this place had a balcony.” he muttered as he made his way to the balcony doors. Reaching the doors in record time, he reached out his hand and as it landed on the door knob he heard the faint sound of crying coming from the other side. Sighing deeply and dropping his eyes to the floor he instantly knew what had happened. Before he could open the doors, Yunho appeared beside him.

“You’re here?” questioned DaeJung with a sigh “Then I’ll let you handle this.”

DaeJung stepped aside and motioned for Yunho to go out on the balcony just as the sound of Jaejoong's crying caught Yunho’s attention. As Yunho began to turn the handle, DaeJung whispered “Don’t worry, I will stand guard.” Yunho opened the door, stepped through, and immediately shut the door behind him. Looking back from the door he saw Jaejoong standing near the balcony’s railing with his back to him. As the sound of Jaejoong’s crying continued, Yunho looked Jaejoong up and down several times before he was suddenly hit with frightening feeling. An object in Jaejoong’s left hand caught his eye as the light from the nearby wall glinted off it, causing Yunho to feel even more worried. Jaejoong’s body language and the fact that he hadn’t even acknowledged Yunho’s presence on the balcony, made him realize that something really bad was about to happen.

As Yunho took a step closer towards him, Jaejoong instantly let go of the hotel room key he had been holding. As the key hit the floor, Jaejoong suddenly stepped up on the small concrete step under the balcony’s railing and began to climb over it.

“Jae, DON’T!” yelled Yunho.