There are many things I’ve never seen, and one of them is Ae Ri breaking down. The man had politely taken his leave, while I decided to close the shop for the day. Ae Ri froze in place as everyone slowly inspected her. One by one, they all came towards her and a burst of tears sprang from her eyes. She sobbed hysterically and clutched onto her dress tightly as she sank to the ground.

            Yoochun carefully pulled her up onto the chair, patting her back. Yuri dried her tears with her own sleeve, kneeling on the ground to get a better view of her face. Jaejoong laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed to give her strength. Junsu stood a foot away and stared at her with tears in his own eyes. I went behind the counter and made some tea, something we all needed at the moment.

            With shaking hands, I couldn’t hold the cup straight and ended up splashing hot water all over my hands. But I strangely didn’t feel anything, because nothing could be compared to the pain Ae Ri was going through right now. Wiping my burned hand, I brought the tray to the group.

            I handed a cup to each one of them and set the last cup down. I crouched down to Ae Ri’s level and gently grasped her face with both hands. I slowly pulled her up away from her shielding hands and looked into her sparkling wet eyes.

            “Everything’s going to be okay,” I said sincerely, even though we all knew that it won’t. It won’t ever be the same again without Tae Hyun. Friday night’s drinking will be for despair and not for entertainment. This group of friends will never feel whole again with a missing presence. A missing laugh, a missing joke, a missing smile.

            Ae Ri had gone home with Yuri, not wanting to be alone, and the rest of the men left too besides Jaejoong. He stayed. Nobody, without a doubt, could think straight that day and maybe even for weeks. It was shocking how someone could be so alive and well but within the next hour could be gone. I don’t know how Yoochun, Junsu, and Yuri had deal with work and studies when I could barely listen to a customer’s order. I gave Ae Ri as many days as she wanted off and in remembrance of Tae Hyun, I made all his favorite pasteries, snacks, and drinks as specials. It was the only thing I could do for him.

            Jaejoong lounged around a few days in the shop with me. We barely exchanged any words, too afraid to mention any thing. The only thing I had said to him was to get a change of clothes from home when he stayed in the same outfit for three days. I almost had to kick him off from the stage, which was the only place he truly passed his time on. It was also becoming a little bit of a problem for customers will see him and assume there would be a performance, but noticing his saddened position as he sat balled up in the corner, they end up in confusion, thinking he may need some medical attention. I had to cancel his Friday night performances for the obvious reason that he couldn’t be creative in this mental state.

            Everyone, minus Ae Ri and, of course, Tae Hyun (It took us a while to get used to saying “everyone” without thinking of Tae Hyun involved), visited the shop every day with anxiety. Some found the shop comforting f