He took a sip of tea. It had no taste, being blander than usual. Maybe since he hadn’t had any food in three days, his taste buds weren’t used to the ingredients of the soothing drink. It was lukewarm, just the way he used to like it. But since he wasn’t the one to make it, it tasted different. He was in the hotel’s eat-and-go breakfast room. It had terrible food. Most hotels were the same, though. Still, this one tasted unusually bland. He decided to place the cup back down on the table.

“So,” Jaejoong said. His voice was hoarse. It didn’t sound normal. The tone was gentle, but the quality wasn’t as pleasant as it used to be. He cringed at the way it sounded to himself. He hoped Yunho, sitting across from him with nothing to eat in front of him, didn’t mind the way it sounded.

Yunho peered at Jaejoong closely. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to wrap his mind around how drastically Jaejoong changed. He could’ve done it with how it happened, but that took some explanation from Jaejoong. He actually wanted him to speak more. The way he sounded now was music to his ears. Jaejoong’s voice always had been, but it seemed a little extravagant this time and out-of-this-world. He liked the change.

Yunho put his elbow on the table in front of him and rested his cheek on his hand. “Mind telling me what’s been going through that head of yours, Jae?”

Jaejoong lowered his head. He gazed at his hands that were clamped together with unknown and sudden strength. He tried to speak, but it was as if he had suddenly lost his legendary voice. He tried a few more times, but with every try only brought even more pitiful failures.

Yunho sighed. If Jaejoong thought Yunho couldn’t see the tears building up in his eyes, he was wrong. Yunho felt like walking over and wrapping Jaejoong is a tight, warm hug to tell him that it was all going to be okay and he’d be there whenever he needed him. But he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t risk his job.

What was he doing? Jaejoong was more important than any other thing in this hell he called “the world.” He thought he would do anything for Jaejoong no matter the situation or problem, or what either of them was doing. He would always be there for Jaejoong. So if he was worried about his job, did it show just how little he really cared for Jaejoong, or how brain-washed he was by Soo Man? Yunho almost laughed aloud as he picked the latter immediately in his head.

Unlike Jaejoong, Yunho was able to speak. “Don’t cry, Jae.”

Jaejoong peeked up through his dark fringe. He realized he had tears streaming down his face. He wiped them away as quickly as he could, not wanting Yunho to see any more of his pathetic crying.

Yunho instinctively reached out to grab Jaejoong’s wrist. It made the older jerk away, but Yunho didn’t lose his tight hold. “Get the keycard and we’ll go back up to the hotel room. I’d rather talk in there. At least it’ll be more private.”

Jaejoong had a hard time standing. His legs felt like jelly for no reason at all, and the feeling wasn’t really there. He couldn’t feel it, but he could. It was something simple but complicated to understand. It was new to him to experience, but he could at least comprehend the simple texture of the feeling with ease.

Yunho held Jaejoong’s hand as hard as he could without hurting him. It reassured both men that they were protected and could depend on one another. They hadn’t felt this in such a long time it seemed to overwhelm their hearts. Yunho unknowingly pulled Jaejoong closer, as close as he could get to Yunho’s body. As if on reflex, the corners of Jaejoong’s lips twitched. They wanted to form a smile, but they couldn’t because his features forgot how to look happy. They were idle for so long, he wasn’t used to smiling anymore.

Unbeknownst to them, there was someone hidden inside of the crowd they were leaving behind that caught their connection with the thing that could last a thousand years if handled correctly.

To the left sat Yoochun, and on the right was Junsu. Changmin was sandwiched between his two hyungs happily. He was chatting with them at top speed. At times, Junsu had to ask Changmin to slow down so he could understand him. Changmin didn’t mind, though. As long as he could talk to his hyungs, he was perfectly fine.

“Remember that one time when we were on a radio talk show and we shared our stories about using each other’s underwear?” Yoochun laughed.

Changmin nodded enthusiastically. “Oh! Yes, I remember that! That was one of our funniest times on a talk show. Jaejoong hyung said that whenever he wore Junsu hyungs underwear, he felt uncomfortable because there was too much extra space.”

Junsu reddened and hid his face. Yoochun reached over Changmin to pat Junsu’s back comfortingly. “Don’t feel so bad, Su. Nobody’s perfect. Besides, I like your . It’s y.”

This only got Junsu to turn even redder. Changmin gave his youngest hyung a comforting hug. “It’s okay. We all know you and Yoochun hyung are in love.” He passed Junsu a goofy grin.

Just the way Changmin smiled at him gave Junsu comfort that he wouldn’t leave him any more than he has already been separated from him by force.

But Yoochun felt something different. The atmosphere changed all of a sudden and he became uneven. He did his best to brush this off and enjoy the time he had with his lovable maknae.

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A/N: I'm pretty sure this one :/ Where I am in the USA, it's one o'clock A.M., and I'm -tired, so I'll be heading to bed after my DBSK song is over. Please leave a few comments below! I'd really appreciate it ^^

And my new subscribers, welcome, and thank you <3