The curtains were drawn. The door was shut. The room was enshrouded in darkness, rather like his heart. Wiping the cold sweat ff his brow, Yoochun scrambled out of bed, kicking his blanket to the floor. He jumped up. Staring warily at the alarm clock that was next to his bed, he extended his hand to shut the blaring clock up only to be met with a surprise himself. His hand wavered before falling by his side, his eyes frozen on the date displayed on the clock. 4 June 2013. It was that date again. He sighed. Turning to the curtains instead, he drew them open, letting light into the room as he gazed at the sunrise faraway, a lone tear trickling down his cheek.

Three years. It had been a total of three years since he last saw them. Their smiles, their laughter and all those memories that they had spent together were engraved in his heart, as though they had just happened yesterday. Closing his eyes, Yoochun was thrown back into the memories of the past as he recalled the last conversation he had with his father.

"Yoochun ah, friendships are not forged easily these days, especially in the industry you're working at, surely you know that? It's a sacred bond formed only when the right people meet and even so, it requires fate to do its bit of magic."

"Appa," Yoochun murmured, "I know."

Laying his hands on his father, Yoochun gently pushed his father back on the bed, propping the white pillows behind him as support. Yoochun's father frowned.

"If you know then why? Why are you not doing anything about it?"

Yoochun pursed his lips tight, letting the question slide by. There was no reply to that question he could give for the answer was something he did not know himself. There were millions of reasons he could have given but Yoochun did not wish to lie to his father. Besides, it was his father. He could probably see through the lie that Yoochun made up. 

"So?"

Yoochun clenched his fists, deliberately ignoring his father's question. He had no answer for that question except for silence. It was the silence that surrounded both parties presently as neither made any attempt to even try and salvage their broken friendships. Their silence might be due to other factors but deep down Yoochun knew the true reason. He was afraid. He was held back by the fear that he would be rejected, that things would never be the same again.

Sensing Yoochun's inner conflict, his father sighed.

"You know Yoochun ah," he spoke, causing Yoochun to turn towards him, "sometimes we can choose to complicate things so much, don't we?"

Yoochun smiled, catching the meaning behind his father's words.

"Just be happy, Yoochun ah." his father whispered, "That's all I ask for."

"Appa," Yoochun spoke as his tear-filled eyes looked to his sole role model, "thank you."

"What are you thinking of?"

Yoochun jumped as he was jostled out of his thoughts. Blinking his eyes, he could make out a large blurry peach-colored shape moving in front of him rapidly, evading his vision every now and then. He reached out his hand, grasping the object in front of him in a single try. Recognizing the familiar contours of the object in his hands, Yoochun's lips curved into a smile as he kissed Junsu's hand, holding it close to his chest.

"How long have you been here?" he questioned Junsu, "Your hands are so cold."

"That's because I've been waving them right in front of you for an hour already. Geez Chun! What are you thinking about?"

Yoochun chuckled, delighted at the sight of his beloved's irate face. Leaning closer to Junsu, Yoochun perked his lips and gave Junsu a slight peck on the cheek, sending him blushing like a red tomato. Parting his lips, he blew a puff of air into Junsu's sensitive ears, making him squirm as he struggled to escape from Yoochun's embrace.

"So," Yoochun whispered into Junsu's ears in his husky voice, "Am I forgiven?"

Junsu's face flushed even more red than before. Pushing Yoochun away, he ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him as he did so. Yoochun chuckled. Pulling onto the string at the side, he drew the curtains close as he gazed at the window one last time before leaving the room and chasing after his love.

-*-

"So birthday boy," Jaejoong smirked, "how many glasses do you think you need to drink this year?"

Catching the evil glint in Jaejoong's eyes, goosebumps appeared on Yoochun's arms as a foreboding feeling struck him, rendering him incapable of answering. Turning to his beloved for help, Yoochun soon realised that Junsu could be of no assistance to him. He had already conked out on the sofa in a drunken stupor and was currently snoring so deeply even he could hear him from this far end of the room.

"Damn," Yoochun cursed as Jaejoong's grin grew wider, "he sure can't hold his liquor well."

Jaejoong laughed, "Come on Yoochun ah, he only drinks alcohol when it's our birthdays, cut him some slack will you?"

Yoochun sighed. Resigning to his fate, he took the 27 glasses of wine before him, gulping each one down as Jaejoong began laughing to himself maniacally, unable to control the sadistic pleasure he gained at making Yoochun drunk.

"You know," Yoochun burped as he finished the last glass of wine, "It's times like this when I wonder if Changmin learned his deviousness from you or you from him."

Instantly, Jaejoong stiffened, his back rigid as he slowly began removing the empty glasses from the table and putting them in the sink, not speaking a word at all. The sound of water running from the tap was the only sound heard as Jaejoong began washing the glasses, stacking them in the dryer once he was done with them.

"Don't you miss them sometimes?" Yoochun persisted despite Jaejoong's silence, "Don't you wanna meet them?"

Once again, Jaejoong ignored him. Standing to his feet, Yoochun grabbed the empty glass from Jaejoong's hands, turning the tap of running water off and spinning Jaejoong towards him.

"Hyung," he asked in slight frustration, "Did you even listen to what I just asked?"

Jaejoong stared blankly at him, his eyes betraying no emotion whatsoever. Yoochun wanted to hurl his hands up in rage. Letting go of his hyung's shoulders, Yoochun watched on as Jaejoong walked back to the sink and picked up the empty glass from before, resuming his washing that was interrupted previously.

"Jaejoong hyung," Yoochun whispered to his back, "Does the reminder of them hurt that much?"

The glass in Jaejoong's hands slipped and hit the sink with a loud thud, scattering glass pieces everywhere. Yoochun heard some shuffling from the living room and he knew then that the sudden noise had startled Junsu awake. It was not long before his beloved walked into the kitchen, gazing at them both in confusion.

"What's going on?" he mumbled, scratching his head as he approached Yoochun, "Are you both alright?"

Silence followed Junsu's question as it enveloped them three, both parties having made no attempt to answer. Bewildered, Junsu made his way to Jaejoong. His foot was already out before the other when his footsteps were abruptly stopped by Yoochun's hands. Turning back to Yoochun in confusion, his protests were silenced when he followed Yoochun's gaze and noticed the figure before him.

Was Jaejoong trembling?

Junsu let out a gasp as he watched Jaejoong's figure quiver like a leaf, his sobs echoing throughout the room as he sank to his knees, his feet giving way beneath him.

"Jaejoong hyung." Junsu shouted as he shrugged off Yoochun's hands, rushing forward and embracing the crying figure before him, "What's wrong?"

Jaejoong spoke nothing, merely clutching Junsu for support as he heaved one sob after another, his shoulders moving up and down.

"Chun, what happened?" Junsu questioned as he laid his head on Jaejoong's shoulders, "Why is Jaejoong hyung crying?"

Yoochun shrugged his shoulders. Leaving Junsu and Jaejoong alone in the kitchen, he returned to his room, shutting the door behind him and locking it with a single click. It had been like this since they had left the company three years back. Their names had been a taboo and any movement on their part was ignored and neglected. It was as though the pair never existed in their lives. It was as though they never knew each other. It was as though they were strangers. It was as though they were never in the same band before.

Yoochun rammed his fist onto the table before him. They were always accusing the pair for diverting away their calls and ignoring them but were they not the ones who started it first? The days before the lawsuit was announced officially to the public, were not Yunho and Changmin the ones who fervently begged them to reconsider their decisions, who called them day and night to beg and plead with them? Yoochun rubbed away a stray tear from his cheek. It took two hands to clap after all. Why would they ignore them for no valid reason? They were not mad at them for suing the company after all. No. They did not ignore them because they were angry with them. They ignored them because they were ignored before, because that was how they treated them before they left SM.

"Maybe Appa's right," Yoochun whispered to himself, "Maybe it's us who make things so complicated."

Taking his fist off the table, his eyes strayed to the object before him and he gave in to his urges for the first time. Grabbing the phone, he punched in those familiar numbers, his mind not stopping to think, not even once.

The dial tone was heard through the speakers as Yoochun's heart began pumping furiously, his hands emitting cold sweat. It took one whole long minute before the line got through but Yoochun never hung up. He persevered on, choosing to trust in the love that he believed was among them all along. Gripping the phone in his hands tight, Yoochun prayed as the dial tone continued, echoing his fears and insecurities.

"Hello?"

Yoochun smiled, the phone almost slipping off his hands. Chuckling to himself like a maniac, he laughed at his idiocy, his heart instantly lightened.

"Yunho hyung? It's Yoochun ah, how are you these days?"

Silence on the other end greeted him and Yoochun's smile faltered as the silence stretched on from seconds to minutes, his heart picking up its pace once more.

A sigh. Yoochun clenched his fists. Was Yunho going to hang up on him after all this while? Were their friendships destined to remain broken forever? Was "W" nothing but an illusion? Were they never going to reunite as brothers? Was this phone call nothing but for naught?

"I'm fine."

Yoochun gripped the phone till his knuckles turned white at the sound of the familiar voice resonating through the speaker, his heart pumping so furiously he could hear it beating in his ears.

"Happy birthday Yoochun ah."

Yoochun's smile widened as he heard Yunho wishing him, all the memories of the past rushing back at once. It was just like before. Years of separation had not changed them as much as he had thought. They were still the same. They were still one. Yunho still remembered his birthday. Yoochun laughed. The date that he once dreaded so much had transformed into one that he would look forward to from now on for what it now signified, and it was all because of a single birthday greeting. Who knew greetings could be that important?

He chuckled as he felt Yunho laughing with him as their laughter echoed around, years of fear let out in that one magical moment. Finally, the silence between the two parties was broken and the wall of ice was cracked. Their hearts were no longer bitter cold but warm like fire as it burned on in wood; a fire of everlasting passion. In that instant, as they let go of all their insecurities and fears in laughter that resonated throughout the whole room, the peace overwhelmed them as both came to a realisation:

The bonds of friendships among them were never broken. They were always there, invisible to the eyes but intangibly existing. For the sacred bond of friendships were never severed by nothing but themselves.

The End.