There was a bar that was just walking distance from the SM dorm buildings. The bar was small and stingy and had a name no one in any of the groups could remember. It was a popular place for all the artists as one they could go in the dead of night to have a drink or too and loosen up. Without the possibility of fans or the media catching wind of it since it was not a well-known place. The bar tender was an older man who had more pounds on his body than was probably healthy. His clothes never fitted him right and there was a pungent smell that he had on his body, a horrid mix of alcohol and smoke. But he was also an honest man and when a good stack of cash appeared on the counter on night from some unknown SM big shot to keep his mouth shut and serve alcohol to the artists he was good on his word. Of course, he knew which artists were 'not' supposed to be drinking because of age and he would rather not lose his license because of them, he would turn those kids away. But any of the other artists he welcomed with a nod and always looked the other way. As long as they didn’t start any problems he wouldn’t either.

This particular night the customers were Leeteuk and Yunho, the two most prominent leaders of their bands in the company. The two older men took a seat at a booth away from the doors and windows and waved down the bar tender for their usual beers. Yunho sighed as he tugged his black cap lower down his eyes. Despite knowing that none of their fans knew of this place or would be caught dead in it he still was cautious of who might be nearby. Leeteuk smiled with his eyes as he tugged his black mask down his face to rest on his chin. When their beers arrived the pair nodded politely to the man before each taking a sip.

"I tell you Yunho, there are some things in life that you just need a beer for." Leeteuk said as he set the bottle down.

"Does yours involve a brat who is your youngest but is also your snarkiest?" Yunho asked with a small grin. "Because I can relate."

"What did Changmin do this time?"

Yunho made a face before chuckling lightly. Despite how troublesome their Lord VoldeMin could be at times, Yunho was always very fond of the maknae of his group. It probably had to do with the fact that no matter how much he teased his four hyungs he was never mean spirited about it. It was always in fun and never to hurt. He was spoiled rotten by Jaejoong the most but he still acted the most mature. Yunho was always worried that the fame of being an idol would be stressful for the youth but he always stood on his own. It probably helped that Kyuhyun was his friend and helped him out at times.

"He just had to 'accidently' reveal the time that Jaejoong crawled into my bed because of the storm and how we were found cuddling the next morning. And that he just 'happened' to have his phone out to capture the photo. Because according to him, moments like that are precious and need to be preserved."

"Precious blackmail material you mean." Leeteuk snorted.

Yunho grinned as he took another swing of his beer. Leeteuk also took a sip and sighed softly.

"My brat maknae decided to place spy cameras inside one of the rooms to record his own blackmail material." Leeteuk admitted.

Yunho's eyes narrowed sharply. "Were these cameras small and black and could easily be overlooked by a quick glance in a room."

"…Yes… how would you know that." Leeteuk said in surprise.
"ing brat." Yunho growled in annoyance. "Because those damn cameras are Changmin's. I told him he had to get rid of them after he kept putting them in Junsu and Yoochun rooms. He told me he did and I never saw them again, didn’t realize the little gave them to Kyuhyun."

Leeteuk chuckled breathlessly at that. Of course the two were working together to get back at their hyungs. When Kyuhyun first came to the group, he was considered a small outcast. The band always remembers the original idea of Super Junior, as a rotational group, and the new addition made every one tense. One in, one out. That is what they all thought. Kyuhyun worked hard to gain their trust and affection but it wasn’t until the fatal car accident of 2007 that really brought the band and the youngest together as one. As much as Leeteuk could wish such pain never befell on the boy, he also knew it was the ice breaker that made his band so tight together. When Kyuhyun found his voice, as a bratty snarky little , he was also beginning to spend a lot of time with Changmin as well. Leeteuk knew the two were trouble together, but he did appreciate the fact that Kyuhyun had someone he could relate too and bond with.  The creation of the Kyu-line was proof of that. But everyone, including Kyuhyun, knew that despite the group being named after Kyuhyun it was Changmin that called the shots.

"Do I dare ask 'which' room he put the cameras in." Yunho broke his thoughts.

"My lead dancers. Donghae and Hyukjae are so naïve that they never notice things like that. I don’t know how long that camera was actually in there or how much video he got because it was Sungmin who noticed it finally. Kyuhyun was lucky. Those two are not the type to hold grudges luckily."

Yunho wanted to stay annoyed but he couldn’t help but chuckle at this. Both were not surprised by this though. Despite the maknae being such brats they were always easily forgiven. Sometimes, the TVXQ leader wondered if they were too lenient on them. Well he knew Jaejoong was too lenient on his maknae, but it wasn’t like the umma of the band would change even if Yunho told him too. Not that Yunho was able to tell Jaejoong what he could do and not do. But that was another story for another night.

Leeteuk watched the emotions play across Yunho's face in amusement. The TVXQ did not realize it, but he was actually very readable when it came to his emotions. They were like an open book. But the person had to be an avid reader to catch them though. And despite what any Cassie may think, the people who could read Yunho best were his band mates, BoA-shi, and a couple people inside Super Junior. Leeteuk being one of them.

"You know, you spoil the kid." Leeteuk said with a small smile.

"Like you don’t." Yunho countered without even trying to defend himself. No point in defending what is truth.

"True, we all spoil Kyuhyun, especially after the accident. But I think it's more being protective towards the kid. What's your excuse?"

"Jaejoong loves to baby and Changmin is one? Or would it be that I just can't say no to Jaejoong when it comes to it?"

"Probably both."

"Probably."

The two sat there in silence for a minute before raising their glasses together.

"To spoiled maknae." Leeteuk said.

"Spoiled Maknae." Yunho echoed as they clicked their glasses together.

They each took a large sip of their beer before placing them down again.

"So what is your upcoming schedules?" Yunho asked in conversation.

"I'm to go see the new group SM wants to release."

"Really. You would think that they would spend more time with us than always throwing another group into the mix."

"Yunho, as much as I love working at SM Entertainment, you and I both know that all they care about is money. They could care less about us as groups. We are established enough to make them money without them needing to display us all the time. Now they need a new group to get new fans to get more money."

Yunho sighed at this and nodded. He finished off his beer and gestured for another from the bar tender. The old man was quick to place a new one on the table as well as another drink for Leeteuk as well. The two leaders nodded again to the man before taking a sip from the new drinks. A few faceless patrons entered the bar and took a seat in the booth next to theirs. The new people barely glanced at the pair as they ordered some hard liquor and chatted easily with each other. However it didn’t stop the two leaders to pause in their actions and pay attention for a few minutes. Once they decided the new people were really just there to get drunk they resumed their own conversation.

"What are the newbie like?" Yunho asked, returning to their earlier conversation.

"Good. There are five of them and they have really good voices. At least two of them are amazing singers and two are amazing dancers and a rapper. SM is creating them to be the next TVXQ apparently."

"Just like those greedy bastards." Yunho practically growled. "I feel for the kids though, they have nothing to do with the politics of SM and they will probably feel the heat once they debut."

"I know, that's why I want to go meet them now. Help them through this first wave and get them grounded first before SM throws them into the lion's den."

Yunho had a gentle look on his face.

"I sometimes think you are a better leader than me." He admitted.

"Never Yunho, you are the best leader out there." Leeteuk quickly defended the man.

"But I never would have thought to see the new trainees like you do. You are a natural leader to everyone in the company. I think even Kangta-hyung and BoA find you to be the leader."

"Nah, hyung is a good leader. I went to him a lot before I debuted. BoA is just her own person. I don’t think she turns to anyone for advice besides you and Jaejoong."

"She doesn’t come to me for advice. She comes to me when she needs someone to bounce ideas off of and then decide they are dumb and still does her own thing. I swear, Changmin probably gets his attitude from all the time we spent with her in Japan. He likes to do the same thing."

"Kid probably thinks he is smarter than all of us anyways."

"No, that’s Kyuhyun. Changmin is more the type to agree with you on something because he knows you're wrong and wants you to take the fall for it when it does come crumbling down."

Leeteuk had to nod at that. That was a pretty accurate assumption of Changmin. Kyuhyun was more the blunt type who had no problem calling his hyungs idiots. The only one he ever listened to was Leeteuk, and the leader felt that was more out of obligation than respect for the eldest. While Kyuhyun never would pull pranks on people Changmin was more mischievous in that sense. But then again with Super Junior being twice the size of TVXQ there were more people to pull pranks on each other. Such as Hyukjae and Donghae.

"Hyung, do you worry about your maknae as much as I worry about mine?" Yunho asked quietly.

"Worry in the sense that he is going to spill some major secret about the band that will create a huge scandal? Or worry that one day all this celebrity life will have a negative effect on such an innocent kid and he will be wrapped in the end?"

"The latter."

"Every single day. Of course, I worry about the other just as much. But yes, I worry about what being a Super Junior member does to Kyuhyun. The kid, as evil as he is, is really still a kid. He is playful and sweet and he can be an at times I know it's because he loves all of us. We are his family and I worry that something will just rip this family apart and the one to suffer from it the most will be him."

"I feel the same way. As mature as Changmin is, he is still just a kid. I feel sometimes I look at him and I get this glimpse of a child that I just want to protect from everything. And I worry the others don’t feel the same way anymore."

"Oh?"

"If something was to happen to us I think it will hurt Changmin the most. And I worry I won't be there for him when he needs me the most."

Leeteuk pushed their two beers away to rest a hand on Yunho clenched fist. Yunho looked at him with an almost vulnerable expression. It reminded Leeteuk of the fact that despite Yunho debuting earlier than him, he was still young and unsure of himself.

"Yunho-ah, you are doing an amazing job. You have taken leadership over a group that has had huge success in both here and Japan. And they are well rounded people. Changmin is doing well for being still a kid, and he looks up to you with respect and love all the time. You have been a big brother and a father figure to him and he knows it. No matter what happens in the future with the band or anyone individually, you will always be there for him. Never doubt yourself."

Yunho sent him a smile that was small but Leeteuk could see how powerful it really was. Yunho always smiled when he was uncomfortable or unsure of himself. It was a defense mechanism he created that duped people into thinking he was a confident man. Leeteuk chuckled and patted the other on the hand.

"Be lucky. You only have four to take care of. And really, its Jaejoong that does the caring."

That made Yunho laugh. It was true. Jaejoong was more of the mothering figure in their band. Yunho was more of a fatherly figure who made sure things stayed in order. And three unruly kids were a lot more to care for and keep in line than the fourteen that Leeteuk was in charge with. And despite what the fans wanted to believe, Kangin was just as much of a kid as the others were. He was not the Appa type to help out.

Yunho had a more relaxed look to his face than he did when he first entered the bar with Leeteuk. He was glad that he made a friend out of the Super Junior leader. He knew that Leeteuk was the leader of Super Junior and the hyung/oppa that all the other SM Town members looked up to for advice, but he was also human. He didn’t have a lot of friends in the music industry and Yunho felt honored that he was considered one of them. Leeteuk proved to be a strong man, and he knew that most of Super Junior's success had to do with his leadership skills. He knew that the new band that SM released with do well if they have someone like him watching out for them.

"Hyung." Yunho said with a soft voice.

"Hmm?" Leeteuk returned as he took a sip.

"I'm glad you debuted with this company and not some other one. I am glad to have met you."

Leeteuk smiled at him. It was a soft and understanding smile as if he knew what Yunho meant by that.

"Me too, Yunho. Me too."

The two finished off their second beers in silence. Leeteuk left the booth then and went to the bar to pay for the two drinks. No one in the bar recognized the man for who he really was so he was able to do it quickly. When he was done he slipped his face mask over his mouth again and joined Yunho at the door. The two of them exchanged nods and left the bar. They went back to reality where their public image was observed every day and had to deal with the daily difficulties of being leaders of famous bands and having to deal with the antics of all their members, especially their maknaes.