Jaejoong began smoothing out Changmin's clothes as he gathered them up. It had been a week since the judge's decision was made and they were now just finally getting everything ready. Looking over to Changmin who gave him a toothy grin, Jaejoong couldn't help but smile as he gathered the little boy up in his arms and burying his face in the little boy's neck, inhaling his baby scent.

"I love you Minnie." Jaejoong whispered as he pulled back and looked at Changmin's face.

"Min!" Changmin said as he plopped his chubby little hands on Jaejoong's face and squeezed making the older one laugh.

"That's right, Minnie." Jaejoong said as he once again cuddled the little boy as tears began to flow down his cheeks. "Always remember that Ma loves you okay?" Jaejoong said.

"Ma. Lub. Minnie." Changmin mumbled as he settled his head on the crook of Jaejoong's neck, then he gave a little puff as he patted Jaejoong's back.

Jaejoong squeezed the boy a little bit tighter as Yunho came into the room and looked at Jae. "Hey." Yunho said.

Jaejoong looked at Yunho. "Is it time?" He asked.

Yunho shook his head and said, "No baby. Not yet."

Jaejoong nodded and buried his face once again in the crook of Changmin's neck. Yunho couldn't help tear up as he watched the two, his heart breaking into a tiny million pieces.

Changmin wanted to get down so Jaejoong put him on the floor and he immediately waddled towards Yunho who picked him up and hugged the little tot. Jaejoong watched the two silently then suddenly asked, "D-Do you think they'll be nice people Yunho?"

"I know they will be Jae." Yunho said comfortingly.

Jaejoong shook his head as he sighed deeply. He couldn't be selfish about this. "I'm going to miss him so much Yun." He said, a whimper escaping his lips.

"I know, love." Yunho whispered. Pulling back so he could look at Changmin, he kissed the little boy's forehead and said, "I love you Minnie. Yunho hyung loves you so much."

Sensing the older boy's sadness, Changmin leaned his head on Yunho's shoulder and began to quietly babble as though trying to comfort him.

"Promise me that you're going to grow up to be tall and strong just like your Yunho hyung okay?" Yunho told the tot, his voice tightening. "You have to be as loving as your Jae-eomma, as kind as your Yoochun hyung and as sweet as your Junsu hyung okay?" He whispered as he swayed the baby boy back and forth.

The little boy suddenly pulled back from Yunho and reached out for Jaejoong. "Ma!" He shouted as Jaejoong reached for him.

"I'll miss you Minnie." Jaejoong whispered as they sat on the floor and he pulled out his music box from the bag he was preparing for Changmin.

Opening the box with the key that he hung on a gold chain around his neck, he began to play it. Changmin didn't seem to react as Jaejoong realized that the box was on his right side. Transferring the box to his left side, the boy grinned at him and looked at the box. One of the few reminders that Changmin's hearing still hasn't come back.

The judge said that since Yoochun is above the age of 7 that he was going to be returned to Yunho's guardianship. However, she also decided to put up Changmin up for adoption.

In all fairness to the judge, she said that her decision was not based on Yunho's uality but rather his true ability to raise such a young child who now has a hearing disability on top of the fact that he also had special needs to be honed considering that Changmin had above average mental ability.

He knew that the judge was right. But it still didn't keep his heart from breaking knowing that as hard as it was going to be for him, it was going to devastate Jaejoong as well. And he was right.

Walking over to the two, he wrapped them in his arms and whispered, "I'm so sorry that I couldn't keep us together."

Suddenly the door to the playroom opened and in stepped Leeteuk who had the social worker with him. "Hey guys, it's time. I'm afraid that Changmin has to go." He said as he watched the two older boys visibly stiffen.

Changmin was still on the floor playing with the box when Jaejoong nodded as he reached over and took the box from Changmin and locked it with the key. Slipping the necklace around the boy's head, Jaejoong kissed the top of Changmin's head as he gave the boy one last hug then kissed him on the forehead whispering, "Wasurenaide," before handing him to Yunho who bravely hugged his younger brother burying his face on Changmin's neck then almost as abruptly handed him over to the social worker.

The action surprised Changmin who suddenlylooked to Jaejoong, his lower lip trembling when he was taken from his hyung. Looking at the two with teary eyes, Changmin looked confused that none of them stepped to take him back.

Big fat tears began to roll down Changmin's cheeks  when the social worker took him. He began to kick and scream as he reached out for Jaejoong screaming, "Ma!!!" Looking to Jae who had to steel himself from running over and stealing him from the social worker.

Yunho reached for Jaejoong as the latter began to tremble and fall to his knees as he watched Changmin kicking and screaming as he tried to get back to his hyungs.

"Pa!!!" Changmin screamed as the social worker struggled but finally was able to get a hold of Changmin and his belongings. The little boy struggled when something dropped to the floor but the social worker took no notice and rushed out of the room and all that was left behind was the sound of Changmin's cries echoing down the hallway.

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A few days later, Junsu and Yoochun were brought back to the apartment. Jaejoong cooked them a special dinner but making sure that he didn't make ddeokbokki, Changmin's favorite.

"Where's Minnie?" Junsu asked as he looked around when he bounced inside their apartment.

Jae looked at Yunho with such sad eyes that Yunho took it upon himself to inform the little boy of what happened. "He won't be living here anymore Su." Yunho said.

"Oh." Junsu answered then asked, "Why not?"

"Well, you see, a nice man and a woman came and said that they can take care of him much better than your Jaejoong hyung and I can." He said gently, refusing to look at Jae.

"Oh." Junsu said pondering on the thought. Then he suddenly walked over to Yunho and climbed onto his lap then said, "I'll bet he misses you though."

Yunho smiled at the comfort that the little boy brought. "I miss him a lot too." He said as he Junsu patted his head before heading over to his Jae hyung and climbed onto his lap and gave him a much needed comfort that only his presence could provide.

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A few days later, Mrs. Yoon, Yoochun's principal called the house and asked that Yunho and Jaejoong come in for a meeting. Jae asked Yunho to make sure that he could make the meeting, after all, Mrs. Yoon helped them so much during the trial.

When the day of the meeting arrived, Yunho and Jae arrived on time and entered Mrs. Yoon's office bringing a basket of goodies. "It's for everything." Jae said not being able to say anymore.

Mrs. Yoon smiled at Jaejoong nodding her head understanding what it meant. Motioning for the two to take a seat, Mrs. Yoon pulled out a brown folder from her drawer and settled on her chair before looking at the two. "How are things?" She asked by way of opening the conversation.

"Things could be better." Yunho said with a small smile.

Mrs. Yoon nodded. "I heard about little Changmin." She said.

Yunho nodded, his throat tightening at the mention of his brother. Clearing it he asked, "Is there a problem with Yoochun?"

Mrs. Yoon smiled at him kindly and said, "No, nothing's wrong with Yoochun. But, something has come up."

Jae looked at Yunho who looked at him in return.

"Yoochun was offered an opporunity to study at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. I sent his tape from the interschool competition and they were quite impressed. He is by no means a protege but he has enough skill for his age that one of the professors at the school thought that it would be such a waste if it were not harnessed." She said.

Jaejoong sat there a bit stunned. It was such a wonderful opportunity for Yoochun. However, he didn't know whether it was a good time for Yunho seeing as how he had just lost Changmin. To lose both his brothers in such a short span of time, Jaejoong didn't know if it was a good idea.

But then suddenly, Yunho spoke and said, "I have no money to send Yoochun there. However, if everything will be paid for him then I will let him go." He said with a voice of finality.

"Yunho." Jae said looking at the other man in surprise.

Yunho didn't like at Jaejoong but instead looked to Mrs. Yoon who said that it was all free. The scholarship covered board, lodging, meals and tuition. Yunho nodded his head and asked if there were forms to sign. Truth was, even Mrs. Yoon was surprised as how easy Yunho responded to the offer. Signing everything he needed to, Yunho then thanked Mrs. Yoon and led Jae out of the office.

Jae was still in some sort of shock because he didn't even realize that Yunho had pulled him into a cab as they headed somewhere in the city. The cab pulled up into a cemetery where Yunho led Jae to his parents' burial mound. Cleaning the area around his parents' tombstone, Yunho motioned for Jae to stand beside him as they paid their respects to the dead.

Yunho then stood and held Jaejoong's hand and said, "Eommoni, Abujji, I want you to meet Kim Jaejoong-shii. He is the man that I love." He said.

Jae looked to Yunho in surprise. Then Yunho continued, "I'm so sorry that I couldn't keep me and my brothers together. But I know that there is a reason for all of this." He said.

"Eommoni, Yoochun was offered a scholarship to Juilliard. Isn't that great?" Yunho asked. "I know that you would have wanted him to go and so I'm letting him go." Yunho said his voice cracking. "I'm going to send him far away so he can achieve something of himself."

Jaejoong looked at Yunho with tears in his eyes. Now it was his time to hold on to the younger man who fell to his knees and broke down crying. Jae didn't know what else to do. Everything seemed like it was falling apart.

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When they got home, Jaejoong led Yunho to bed and said that he needed to rest. He needed to get over to Leeteuk's house where Junsu and Yoochun stayed the afternoon. Leeteuk and Junsu seemed to have developed such a liking for each other that Jaejoong knew that it would soften the blow of Yoochun leaving them.

Jae helped Yunho to bed and was about to leave when suddenly Yunho pulled him back so that Jae stumbled and fell on top of Yunho. "Wha... What are you doing Yunho?" Jaejoong asked.

"Please Jae. I... I don't want to be alone right now." Yunho pleaded.

Jaejoong looked into Yunho's eyes and nodded. Yunho sat up and cupped Jaejoong's cheek and Jae leaned into his touch, his eyes closing as a soft sigh escaped his lips. "You are the most gorgeous thing I have ever laid eyes on." Yunho whispered.

Jae looked at Yunho as he leaned in for a kiss. It was so sweet and gentle. It was healing. Yunho pulled back and rested his forehead on Jaejoong's and whispered, "I love you Jae." He said as tears began to flow down his cheeks.

Jae pulled back to look at Yunho. Cupping the younger man’s face in between his palms, Jaejoong began to wipe away at his tears with his thumbs. Kissing Yunho’s eyelids, Jae made his way to Yunho’s lips as more of Yunho’s tears began to fall. Jae leaned into the kiss, his tongue nudging against Yunho’s lips.

The kiss became searing and demanding and soon they were pulling at each other's clothes. Their coming together was clumsy and messy and so full of love that once they came, Jaejoong couldn't help but cry.

"Did I hurt you too much Jae?" Yunho whispered concern flooding his face.

Jae faced him and shook his head. "No, Yunho. You could never hurt me in this way." He whispered back. "I love you Yunho."

Yunho's eyes clouded for a moment before he pulled on Jaejoong and folded the other in an embrace as they cuddled. "I love you too boo. Sleep my Joongie." He whispered as Jaejoong's eyelids fluttered to sleep.

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In the morning, Jaejoong woke up alone in bed. Searching for Yunho, Jae decided to take a shower when he couldn't find him. Rushing to leave the house so he could get Junsu and Yoochun at Leeteuk's house.

He called the latter after showering, profusely apologizing for not having called the night before. Leeteuk waved off his concerns and said that the kids were currently having breakfast and that he should head their way soon because they needed to talk.

Jaejoong grabbed his bag and left the apartment and made his way to Leeteuk's home. Once he got there, he was welcomed by Leeteuk's wife who introduced herself as Kang Sora.

"I can't believe that we've only met today Jaejoong-shii. I have heard so much about you." Sora said. "My husband won't stop talking about how good you cook. I was beginning to get jealous." She said laughingly.

"He's just being kind, I'm sure, Sora-shii." Jaejoong replied, a tinge of red tainting his cheeks.

Sora just smiled as he led him into the dining room where they found Junsu perched on top Leeteuk's lap as he read through one of Yoochun's manga's, Leeteuk guiding Junsu over words that he was having difficulty to pronounce. Yoochun on the other hand was busy reading through a manga of his own as he shoveled some waffles into his mouth leaving a sticky mess of syrup in its wake.

"Hyungie!!!" Junsu suddenly shouted as he jumped off of Leeteuk's lap and glomped his older brother.

Jaejoong chuckled as his brother jumped into his arms and wrapped his chubby legs along his waist. "Ah, I think you're getting to big to be doing this to hyung anymore Junsie." Jaejoong said teasing his younger brother.

Junsu just giggled as he hopped off of his brother and ducked around to steal a strawberry from Yoochun's plate. The other one yelped as a hand sneaked onto his plate while he was trying to shove another forkful of waffles in his mouth.

"Manners, Yoochun." Jaejoong tutted.

"Sorry, hyung." Yoochun mumbled, his mouth full.

Jaejoong shook his head as Leeteuk stood up and welcomed him to his home. "We have to talk." Leeteuk said in a serious tone.

"Of course, hyung." Jaejoong said as he followed the older man into his study.

Closing the door behind him, Leeteuk motioned for Jae to sit in one of the chairs while he took his customary seat. Clearing his throat, Leeteuk ran his fingers through his hair before saying, "I have an offer for you." Leeteuk said. Jae's eyebrow raised, curious at what the older man had to say.

"A friend of mine is opening a Korean restaurant in Japan. I mentioned him to you and he liked what he heard. He would like to offer you a job." He said.

Jaejoong was surprised. "But hyung, I haven't had formal training in cooking." He answered.

"I know that and he knows that. He is willing to train you in return for your services. Of course the pay wouldn't be as big in the beginning considering that he'll also be taking care of your board and lodging but as far as I am concerned, this is a wonderful opportunity for you Jae." He said.

"I... I don't know what to say about that hyung. Yunho... I don't think I can leave Yunho. Yoochun... he..." Jae trailed off.

"I know about the scholarship. Mrs. Yoon and I discussed it at length." Leeteuk said.

Jae nodded his head. Of course Leeteuk would know. "But that would mean that Yunho would be alone. How can I leave him at a time like this? And not to mention Junsu? I doubt that your friend would allow for me to bring my brother as well." He said.

"Well, that's another thing I wanted to speak with you about. As you can see, Sora and I, we don't have kids of our own. And you can see that Junsu, he... he is quite comfortable with me." Leeteuk said hesitantly. "He and I... we seem to have this connection." He said.

Jaejoong didn't say anything for a while. Indeed there was a strange connection between his brother and the older man.

"Junsu can stay with us while you are in Japan." Leeteuk said.

Jaejoong considered it only for a second before shaking his head. "I can't hyung. I can't leave Yunho alone." He said.

Leeteuk didn't look him in the eye as he touched the front pocket of his shirt. "Jae," He said after clearing his throat. "Yunho dropped by earlier and we had a long talk."

Jaejoong was surprised. "Oh, is he in training now hyung? I was wondering where he went off to so early today." He said.

Leeteuk shook his head as he pulled out the letter in his front pocket. He also pulled out a small envelope along with it. He gave the envelope first to Jaejoong and said, "Changmin dropped this at the center. This letter is from Yunho." He said. "I'll leave you to read it in private, okay?" Leeteuk said gently looking a confused Jaejoong.

Reaching over to take the items, Jae decided to read the letter first as Leeteuk closed the door behind him. Opening the letter, Jaejoong began to read.

"Dear Jaejoong,

       This is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to write in my entire life.

       I have asked Leeteuk hyung to give this to you because I am a coward and

       I know that I will never have the strength to do this in person.

       I need to get away Jae. Losing my parents was a huge blow to me. But to lose

       my brothers because of my selfishness is unforgivable. Last night was the

       most that I have ever felt loved by another. You have given me so much

       and I have not given you anything in return.

When you took me and my brothers on, you took on a whole set of responsibilities

that wasn't yours. But this time, I am gaining the courage to give you something back.

I'm going to give you your freedom.

       Leeteuk hyung has mentioned to me that a friend of his needs workers to train

at a restaurant in Japan. I know that this will be such a wonderful opportunity

for you. But I also know you Jae. You will feel the need to stay with me especially

because Yoochun is about to leave.

But you can't keep postponing your life for me. I know that you have your dreams.

And I want them to happen for you. But they're not going to happen

        if all that you do is to take care of me. That's not fair to you or Junsu.

        And so I have decided to go away. And I know that this is terribly unfair

        because it feels like I am not giving you a choice but baby, this is the only

        way for me to let you go.

       I have said my goodbyes to the boys. Junsu being Junsu just patted me on the

       head and said, 'I'll see you around hyungie.' I still don't understand him

       Joongie but know that I will forever love him for bringing me to you.

       Yoochun and I talked about the scholarship. He is both excited and scared

      but I know that he will do well. He will leave at the end of next week.

      Jae I have no more courage to face you because if I do, I won't ever let go.

      I hope that you can forgive me at some point because I need you to know

      that I will forever love you. You gave me back my life and now I want to give

      you back yours.

      Thank you so much for everything.

      Forever yours,

      Yunho

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OTL