[June 15th: Seoul, South Korea]

 

“You can’t be serious Jaejoong!” argued President Beak incredulously. “The album drops in two days!”

 

“Pull it!” fired back Jaejoong angrily.

 

“Why?” screamed the President.

 

“I will not put my name on like this!” growled Jaejoong. “I don’t know what the hell you were thinking when you thought this album compilation was a good ing idea! Six of those damn songs were originally scrapped for a ing reason!”

 

“You need this album Jaejoong!” fired back the president. “JYJ’s tour dates and promotions are already ing set.”

 

“Un-set them, then!” growled Jaejoong as he slung the demo CD in his hand across the room. “I will not step on one ing stage promoting this garbage.”

 

“Damn it, Jaejoong!” yelled President Baek as he stood up from his desk and slammed his hands down on the unforgiving wood. “The money!”

 

“I don’t give a about the money!” interrupted Jaejoong furiously. “This is my ing life, my goddamn career. I will not put out these ing songs for all the money in the world and I WILL NOT make Su and Chunnie do it either!”

 

“Scrap it and start again!” ordered Jaejoong angrily before turning around and storming out of the President’s office –slamming the door out of spite for good measure.

 

“What the hell’s gotten into him?” questioned the President with a deep and frustrated sigh.

 

 

 

[June 20th:  Seoul, South Korea]

 

“So…” prompted Nikki as she motioned for Junsu to take a seat and she settled into her chair nestled in the corner of her workroom. “Are you going to tell me why Jaejoong scrapped the album?”

 

“I guess we owe you an explanation,” sighed Junsu with a disappointed shake of the head. “After all the work you put into it.”

 

“Yeah…I’d say so.” Nikki breathed out softly as the thought of all those beautiful outfits going to waste crossed her mind. “But, I am sure Jaejoong had a reason. He never does anything without a reason.”

 

“Yeah,” acknowledge Junsu with a frown.

 

“So, what happened?” prompted Nikki lovingly.

 

“President Beak ed up,” answered Junsu, derisively.

 

“How so?” questioned Nikki, slightly confused, as she frowned at Junsu’s choice of language.

 

“When he pulled the tracks, for the album, off the database,” hesitated Junsu as he reached up and rubbed his temple, trying to fight back his tenth headache in the last four days. “He pulled from the wrong folder.”

 

“And submitted a total of ten tracks to the distributors,” added Junsu. “Six of which Jaejoong wrote a long damn time ago. They weren’t even supposed to see the light of day.”

 

“How long ago?” questioned Nikki as the memory of Jaejoong’s piss-off face, that day, flashed across her mind.

 

“ing 2010,” grumbled Junsu.

 

“Jesus,” whispered Nikki as she reached up and covered her lips in shock. “How’s Jaejoong?”

 

“Bitter and angry as hell.” sighed Junsu worriedly.

 

 

 

[June 25th: Tokyo, Japan]

 

“Will this affect our timeline?” questioned Director Choi into the phone as he leaned back in his office chair.

 

“No,” answered Lady N. “We still have plenty of time.”

 

“How are things going on the company’s end?” she questioned with a sigh.

 

“All the contracts for the venue, the promoters, media outlets, technical companies, sound technicians, television stations, internet marketing companies, online streaming sites, transportation companies, caterers, translators, electricians, security companies, airlines, and sponsors have all be signed and confirmed,” replied Director Choi.

 

“And the performers?” she questioned .“How are their contracts coming along?”

 

“Six have signed and confirmed.” answered the Director with a smile. “We are in the process of finalizing the other three…And the negotiations with the final act’s entertainment company are going smoothly at the moment.”

 

“Will they agree to our offer?” she questioned.

 

“They did counter our initial offer but with the results that Nini has managed to obtain in such a short period, of time,” he answered, his smile growing bigger and bigger by the second. “I have absolute confidence that their company will agree to our offer without much fuss.”

 

“Wonderful.” laughed Lady N.

 

“How goes your personal project?” questioned Director Choi with a mischievous smirk. “Going well?”

 

“We’ve had a small hiccup, but I have confidence that I will get everything settled soon,” she answered confidently.

 

 

 

[June 30th: Seoul, South Korea]

 

“Noona,” called out Yoochun from down the hall. “Can you come here?”

 

Climbing out of the plush chair, tucked in the corner of Jaejoong’s living room, Nikki nodded at Junsu knowingly and headed towards Yoochun’s calling voice.

 

“What’s wrong?” questioned Nikki softly.

 

“He won’t talk to me, Noona.” sighed Yoochun as he glanced at Jaejoong’s locked bedroom door. “Maybe you should try to get through to him.”

 

“Maybe we should just let him sulk by himself for a little while longer,” she replied. “He has to deal with this sooner or later. The more he keeps his feelings bottled the more he will continue to blow up at all of us.”

 

“Please try,” begged Yoochun.

 

“The last time he got this bad,” he admitted softly. “We had to pull him off the roof.”

 

“All…alright.” stammered Nikki as the thought of Jaejoong flinging himself from the rooftop made her shiver all over.

 

“Jae…love,” she called out as she stepped up to the door and knocked. “It’s, Noona.”

 

“Can I come in?” she questioned lovingly.

 

No answer came for a few quiet moments, causing Nikki to sigh in disappointment.

 

“Come on, Jaejoong,” she begged. “Please.”

 

Another few quiet moments passed until the sound of the door unlocking suddenly echoed through the quiet hallway. As she reached out and grabbed the door handle, Yoochun whispered softly.

 

“Thank you, Noona.”

 

 

 

[July 6th: Seoul, South Korea]

 

“Hey, Noona?” questioned Changmin as he glanced over his plate of food.

 

“Yeah?” questioned Nini with a smile as she picked up her water glass.

 

“How did you know that I love pasta?” he asked with a smile, glancing around the beautifully quiet Italian restaurant.

 

“A little birdie told me,” she smiled.

 

“Yunho?” he prompted.

 

“Perhaps,” she laughed.

 

“Does it really matter who told me?” she questioned.

 

“Not really,” smirked Changmin as he spun his fork into the delicious noodle dish before him.“I was just wondering.”

 

 

 

[July 8th: Seoul, South Korea]

 

“I really owe you one, Noona,” whispered Jaejoong softly as he draped his arm over Nikki’s shoulders and smiled at her under the warm sunlight beaming down on his apartment’s private balcony.

 

“It’s what I do,” she laughed gently.

 

“That it is,” replied Jaejoong as he pulled her close and hugged her. “Thank you.”

 

“Anything for my favorite little brother,” she smiled and hugged back. “I will always take care of you.”

 

“I really don’t deserve you,” sighed Jaejoong as he hugged her tighter.

 

“True…but I love you nonetheless,” she chuckled mischievously.

 

 

 

 [July 18th: Seoul, South Korea]

 

“Hey, Noona?” questioned Yunho as he glanced up from the studio’s massive soundboard and smiled. “When’s your birthday?”

 

“Huh?” questioned Nini as she looked over her notes.

 

“Your birthday, when is it?” he reiterated again.

 

“It doesn’t matter,” she answered nonchalantly before she pointed at the soundboard in front of him. “You should focus on your work.”

 

“I want to know,” replied Yunho with a perplexed look. “I mean you know our birthdays and even our family’s birthdays. So, how come you won’t tell us when yours is?”

 

“Honestly?” she prompted.

 

“Yeah, honestly,” nodded Yunho.

 

“Because I am no idiot, Jung Yunho,” she chuckled in disbelief. “The second you find out when my birthday is, you will drop everything and throw a huge party for me and I don’t want one.”

 

“Aww, come on Noona,” uncharacteristically whined Yunho. “Tell me.”

 

“Nope,” she smirked childishly before she averted her eyes back to her notes. “Now get back to work.”

 

“Meany,” pouted Yunho childishly.

 

 

 

[July 22nd: Seoul, South Korea]

 

“Happy?” questioned Nikki as she looked over the lunchroom table at Junsu and Yoochun raiding the company’s snack machines.

 

“Yeah,” answered Yoochun boisterously.

 

“And, why are you so happy today?” she chuckled suspiciously.

 

“The album’s done.” beamed Junsu as he looked up at his favorite Noona and smiled.

 

“Really?” prompted Nikki with an expectant smile.

 

“Yup! All done,” replied Yoochun as he pulled out a chair from the table, flung his leg over it and sat down across from her.

 

“And…” added Junsu with a smile as he sat down beside her. “We managed to convince President Beak to keep your last concept. So, all those outfits you made months ago will get used.”

 

“Really?” she smiled unbelievingly.

 

“Yeah,” answered Yoochun. “Thanks to Junsu’s incessant nagging, the Prez agreed to keep the old concept.”

 

“He really went to bat for you,” he added as he cracked open his bottle of water and smiled.

 

Nikki, completely surprised, turned her face towards Junsu and questioned him with her eyes.

 

“Why?” she asked.

 

“You worked so hard on them,” answered Junsu with a smile as he reached out and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “And they deserved to be seen.”

 

“Plus,” snickered Yoochun. “Junsu is just in love with those designs.”

 

“Well…” smiled Junsu as he titled his head playfully. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

 

“Thank you,” replied Nikki softly, yet appreciatively.

 

“Anything for our best girl.” smiled Junsu.

 

 

 

 [August 5th: Seoul, South Korea, 11:03 AM]

 

“Are you really going to do this Noona?” questioned Changmin as he looked at Nini as she placed a small wrapped present on the coffee table in the middle of Yunho’s living room.

 

“I promised you that I wouldn’t keep Yunho in the dark, didn’t I?” she prompted with a smirk.

 

“Yeah, but,” replied Changmin worriedly. “You think it’s a good idea to give that to him?”

 

“We have to start somewhere,” she answered as she glanced down at the small, CD-shaped gift. “This way it’s his choice if he wants to know or not.”

 

“But,” sighed Changmin before he questioned. “Have you listened to their new album already?”

 

“As soon as it was released,” she sighed somberly.

 

“And you still want to give it to him?” he questioned incredulously.

 

“Yeah,” she answered as she turned to the couch and retrieved two green bottles of Soju and a paper cup from a small grocery bag and placed them on the glass top coffee table beside the gift.

 

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” sighed Changmin as he reached up and rubbed his forehead.

 

“So do I…” she whispered softly. “So do I…”

 

 

 

[August 5th: Seoul, South Korea, 10:44 PM]

 

“Noona,” breathed out Changmin shakily as he held his phone to his ear. “Where are you?”

 

"Still at the branch office,” she answered. “Is something wrong? You sound worried.”

 

“Yeah…” sighed Changmin, a tinge of heartbreak in his voice. “Can you come over right now?”

 

“Come over where?” she questioned as she glanced up at her secretary.

 

“Yunho's,” breathed out Changmin slowly.

 

“He listened to it,” he added with a sniffle.

 

“I’m on my way,” she answered immediately. “I’ll be there in ten.”

 

“Ok…Noona…” acknowledge Changmin as he glanced down the hallway towards Yunho’s closed bedroom door. “Hurry.”

 

Exactly ten minutes later, Changmin looked up at the door just seconds before the doorbell rang throughout the luxury apartment. Clamoring to his feet, he quickly made his way to the door and opened it.

 

“Where is he?” Nini questioned immediately.

 

“In his room,” replied Changmin as he watched her kick off her shoes and step into the foyer.

 

“Has he said anything?” questioned Nini worriedly.

 

“Only that he wanted to see you,” answered Changmin with a deep sigh.

 

“Me? Why me?” she instantly questioned.

 

“I don’t know,” replied Changmin worriedly.

 

“Did he seem angry with me when he asked for me?” she questioned as she places her handbag on the dining room table with a deep sigh of her own.

 

“No,” answered Changmin “He seemed…more…I don’t know…off, I guess.”

 

“Off?” questioned Nini in her mind.

 

“Alright,” she replied. “I’ll go talk to him.”

 

Steeling her will, Nini took in a cleansing breath and slowly made her way towards Yunho’s bedroom at the end of the hall. Stopping in front of the door a few seconds later, she reached up and hesitantly knocked on the door with the back of her knuckle.

 

“Yunnie,” she probed gently. “It’s me. Can I come in?”

 

“Yeah,” came Yunho’s saddened reply.

 

Opening the door slowly, Nini stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Peering across the room and spotting Yunho sitting on the edge of his bed; wrapped up in a light blue duvet; she sighed heavily and tried to force a reassuring smile.

 

This was not going to go well. 

 

“You sent for me?” she prompted carefully.

 

“Yeah,” answered Yunho as he reached out at patted the mattress beside him. “Come here.”

 

Walking the expanse of his large bedroom, Nini stopped at the edge of the bed and instantly noticed that Yunho was holding their CD in his hand.

 

“Sit,” requested Yunho softly, his voice ever quiet and ever distant.

 

“Alright,” she answered worriedly as she sat down and pulled her knees up close.

 

“You did this, didn’t you?” questioned Yunho softly as he gently shook the CD in his hand.

 

“Yes,” she answered honestly.

 

“Why…” he questioned as he looked up her, his eyes mirroring a deep sorrow.

 

“You’ve been hiding for far too long, Yunnie,” she answered. “It was time.”

 

“Did you ever stop and think that maybe what I wanted was to stay hidden forever?” he questioned, sadly.

 

“Many times,” she admitted with a gentle nod.

 

“And yet you did it anyway,” scoffed Yunho disbelievingly

 

“Knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to resist it...if given the chance,” he added softly.

 

“It was time,” she reiterated.

 

“And how do you know that?” he replied as he reached up and wiped away a tear before it could fall.

 

“No matter how hard you try to hide it, Yunho, I know you and what you really want,” she answered knowingly. “I see it in your face every single day.”

 

“You may have the company fooled, and the fans,” she continued. “But you will never be able to fool yourself or me. You are a better window than a mirror, Yunho. What you try to reflect, I can see right through it.”

 

“You miss him and them,” she stated knowingly with a confirming nod. “And instead of telling the company which cliff they can wholeheartedly jump off of, you just sit there and suffer needlessly.”

 

“I don’t have a choice,” defended Yunho softly.

 

“Bull,” she breathed out disbelievingly. “Don’t lie to me.”

 

"You've always had a choice. You've just refused to make it."

 

“All you have to do is pick up the damn phone,” she added with a shake of the head.

 

“I can’t,” sighed Yunho heartbrokenly.

 

“Why not?” she prompted as she looked up at Yunho’s saddened face.

 

“They would never take my call,” he answered.

 

“And how do you know that?” she replied immediately. “Have you ever tried?”

 

“Noona…” whined Yunho derisively.

 

“Don’t Noona me,” she countered. “Have you ever, in all these damn years, even tried to contact them?”

 

“No…” he sighed.

 

“Then how the hell would you even know?” she asked incredulously.

 

“Look, Yunho,” she said reassuringly. “I won’t pretend that I know everything that happened between the five of you back then. Only you guys know that. But, I do know that what happened back then should have never happened in the first place.”

 

“And after everything that’s happened since,” she added. “Don’t you think that you five need to bury the hatchet and start over?”

 

“I’ve always been willing to start over…even if we have to start at the very beginning,” admitted Yunho as he stared down at the CD in his hands. “But…”

 

“But…” she prompted.

 

“There is just so much lingering pain on both sides,” he answered. “I don’t think we can ever go back.”

 

“Or if they even want to,” he sighed.

 

“You mean if He wants to. Not they.” she corrected knowingly.

 

“Min told you?” he questioned without even bringing his eyes up from the CD in his hands.

 

“Not everything,” she answered with a sigh. “Just enough for me to partially understand what went on back then. I figured the rest out on my own.”

 

“Your relationship with him, well,” she admitted. “Didn’t really surprise me. I had always had the feeling that there was something more to you two than what the public saw and I knew that, when everything went down the way it did, that a lot of it had to do with the two of you.”

 

“Jaejoong, he was just too heartbroken and angry back then,” she sighed. “And you, well…you went from one of the most affectionate in the group to cold and distant in a flash.”

 

“There had to be more to the story than just contract disputes,” she concluded knowingly. “And I knew it even then.”

 

“It was my fault.” sniffled Yunho admittedly. “He left because of me. I…”

 

“I don’t want to know.” she interrupted immediately

.

“Why not?” he questioned as he finally looked up her again slightly confused.

 

“It’s hard enough as a fan and a friend to see the five the way you are right now,” she answered. “And if I find out that it was something completely stupid that started all of this in the first place, I won’t be able to work with you two anymore. The company: be damned.”

 

“Why?” he asked, completely startled by her answer.

 

“I made it perfectly clear, the first time we really talked about your history all those months ago, where my heart really lies –and always has,” she replied as she bit back a harsh remark. “I was completely honest with you, so you know how I really feel about all of that. And if you tell me that all of that devastation left in the split’s wake was caused by something silly like a dumb argument or a simple misunderstanding, I will seriously just walk away from you two, them, and the fandom altogether –even though I have loved all of you from the very beginning.”

 

“I spent the first two years after 2009 trying to keep the peace. You know this,” she added. “That was probably the second worse moment in my life, having to deal with my dearest friends shredding each other over all of it. So, please, just don’t. I don’t want to find out that we went through all of that for absolutely no reason.”

 

“I’m sorry,” apologized Yunho softly.

.

“Damn it! What the hell is wrong with you two!?” huffed Nini angrily, her eyes instantly watering. “Why do you two always ing apologize to me for it? Min did the same thing.”

 

“Because we really are sorry for what we did to everyone,” justified Yunho regretfully. “Especially the fans."

 

"We weren't oblivious," admitted Yunho. "We knew what they were going through. We just couldn't do anything about it."

 

"They were so shattered, so broken by what was happening and so lost. They needed us....and we did nothing to comfort them," sighed Yunho heavily. "They were suffering and we just stood there and let it happen. And, said nothing."

 

"You have no idea," he sighed mournfully. "How much I regret that."

 

“But, feeling guilty and apologizing to me for it…makes me feel even worse!” she countered as a tear snuck down her cheek and he gently shook her head trying to fight back the falling of more. “Don’t you two know anything about me at all?”

 

“I don’t want your damn apology.” she scoffed softly.

 

“Then what do you want?” he prompted.

 

“What the hell do you think?” she retorted with a gentle scoff, her anger dissolving in a second and smile replacing it instantaneously. “The same thing everyone else wants.”

 

“Why?” he prompted.

 

“Let me tell you a story.” she smiled as she glanced down at her left hand.

 

 

 

[August 10th: Busan, South Korea]

 

Amongst the hustle and bustle of backstage, Jaejoong and Yoochun stood quietly to one side chatting away while waiting on the last of their trio to return from their dressing room. It had been just over a week since their tour began and everything was going well. Their new album was still number one, garnering a lot of love from all around the world, and their eighteen city tour had completely sold out in just days. Their newest release had ended up being an even bigger hit than they had even imagined. For the first time, in a long time, it truly felt as if the world had finally recognized them as a viable and popular group and when, two days ago, they were offered an exclusive contract with a well-known media company headquartered in Japan; and the U.S.; their world finally felt some sense of normalcy. Their careers were finally solid. Everything was going so well, Jaejoong truly thought he was dreaming.

 

“I really can’t believe it,” smiled Jaejoong as he looked up at Yoochun’s happy face.

 

“I know,” agreed Yoochun. “It feels like a dream.”

 

“If this is a dream, I really don’t want to wake up,” nodded Jaejoong. “Like ever.”

 

“I’m just glad nothing happened, this time,” admitted Yoochun. “That they have finally decided to leave us alone.”

 

“Agreed,” nodded Jaejoong as he spotted Junsu and Nikki walk out of the dressing room together and head to the craft services table.

 

“So, do you think this Japanese company’s completely on the level?” questioned Yoochun nonchalantly.

 

“I’m still not sure, but it’s definitely very promising,” answered Jaejoong as he frowned in Junsu and Nikki’s direction.

 

“Do you see that?” questioned Yoochun as he caught Junsu wrapping his arm around Nikki’s shoulder, whispering something in her ear, and her giggling gently.

 

“It’s getting rather obvious isn’t it?” scoffed Jaejoong knowingly.

 

“You think he’s really that serious about it?” questioned Yoochun softly. “You know he’s normally nice to everyone anyway.”

 

“He passed just nice two months ago,” scoffed Jaejoong derisively. “Whether he really does or not, or if he’s even aware of it, I am still not sure. But it definitely looks like it from where I am standing.”

 

“Nikki still seems oblivious though,” Yoochun sighed.

 

“Thankfully,” nodded Jaejoong. “If she ever figures out what has been most likely floating around in that pretty little head of his, for the last few months, she will probably quit.”

 

“Quit? You really think she would go that far?” questioned Yoochun as he looked back at his big brother.

 

“You really don’t spend enough time with her, do you Chunnie?” scoffed Jaejoong disappointingly.

 

“Well,” stammered Yoochun as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

 

“She will definitely quit if any of us ever tell her we have real feelings for her,” stated Jaejoong knowingly.

 

“Even Su?” questioned Yoochun disbelievingly. “After all, he’s…”

 

“Yeah, even Su,”  Jaejoong interrupted. “She will never compromise our harmony for her own wants and needs.”

 

“How do you know that?” questioned Yoochun curiously.

 

“You should really ask her about the first boy group she ever worked with,” advised Jaejoong with a sad smile.

 

“That bad, huh?” asked Yoochun with a deep sigh.

 

“Worse,” frowned Jaejoong knowingly. “She almost quit the business completely because of it.”

 

“Damn…” muttered Yoochun.

 

“Don’t you think we should at least talk to him before he oversteps his bounds?” questioned Yoochun worriedly. “I mean, if he’s just nursing a crush, shouldn’t we do something about before it gets too far gone?”

 

“I don’t know,” sighed Jaejoong. “After all, neither of us has a very good track record with lovers.”

 

“Yeah, but still…do you really want to stand idly by and watch him get hurt,” Yoochun prompted, worriedly. “Or, Noona leave?”

 

“No,” answered Jaejoong with a deep sigh.

 

“You’re right. We better nip this in the bud while we still have a chance,” nodded Jaejoong a moment later. “I’ll talk to him after we get back home tomorrow.”

 

“Do you want me,” offered Yoochun.

 

“No,” interrupted Jaejoong with a dismissive shake of the head. “I think it’s something I need to do.”

 

“It’s the least I can do,” he added as he looked up to see Junsu and Nikki head in their direction and he forced a smile. “I owe him that much.”