As the waning moonlight cascaded softly through his rose framed stained glass balcony doors, Junsu rested gently across his overly-plush living room sofa and deeply sighed. With his arm poised over his eyes, the last of Junsu’s emotional strength streamed unheeded down his cheeks as the memories of the last nine years flashed through his mind like the timeline of a great story. Belief in the promise of a wonderful and happy life, he had spent his time in this world caring and loving everyone who had crossed his path. From stranger to friend, from anti-fan to die-hard fan, and everyone in between, he believed in the goodness of all people. He cared endlessly and loved openly. From his uncertain and difficult upbringing to his overly strenuous and chaotic adult life, he had never lost his optimism and hope, until now.

In the wake that followed their reunion at the hospital, Junsu, Yoochun, and Changmin’s world had been torn asunder. Their great plan to bring the family back together had turned from a glorious dream to a horrific nightmare.

“I miss them.” cried Junsu softly as he rolled over to face the moonlight.

For Junsu, Changmin, and Yoochun, that night had ended peacefully. They each escaped unheeded from the hospital – from the clutches of the Chairman and his henchman, and made it safely to Junsu’s family home. Secure in the knowledge that they were safe from the long reach of the Chairman, they each eagerly waited for the arrival of Jaejoong and Yunho. As minutes stretched in hours and hours stretched into days, with no word from their precious brothers, the three friends suffered the fear of the unknown and the pain of endless longing.

Are they together? Did they get caught? Did the Chairman do something to them? Are they safe? Are they alive? Where could they be? These heart wrenching questions, and many more, had plagued their minds every minute of every day and robbed them of not only their patience and endurance, but their sanity as well.  After two weeks with absolutely no word, Junsu feared the worst.

“Where are you?” whispered Junsu “Jae… Yunnie…? Please… come home.”

Weeping silently and lost in his own worry and fear, Junsu had no idea he was being watched. Lingering a few feet away, in the stillness of the darkened room, Yoochun looked on with a heavy heart. He had been watching Junsu for over an hour without a word uttered. He watched in agony as his beloved brother suffered in silence. Watching the strongest of them all weep like a small child, shattered Yoochun’s heart and left him speechless. How could he comfort Junsu? What could he say to make everything better? He had no words, no phrase that would ease Junsu’s troubled heart, and he felt helpless because of it. His dearest and most loved brother had finally broken down after weeks of being strong and levelheaded. Without restraint Yoochun’s tears slowly began to flow as he painfully took in the scene playing out before him.

“NO!” screamed Yoochun in his mind “I have to be strong for their sakes.”

“I can’t breakdown now.” whispered Yoochun softly to himself as he reached up and quickly wiped away his tears.

Venturing out from the shadows, Yoochun walked up to the couch where Junsu was laying and gently reached out and touched him on the shoulder. Glancing up to see a smiling Yoochun staring back at him, Junsu reached up and held his hand tightly then flashed a forced smile.

“Chunnie..,” said Junsu in a hoarse but low whisper “I’m alright.”

“No.” whispered Yoochun “No, you’re not.”

Kneeling down on the floor beside Junsu, Yoochun gently rubbed his shoulder for a moment and then reached up to push away Junsu’s hair from his eyes.  Looking at his swollen and red eyes, Yoochun felt a sense of sadness that he rarely let himself feel. He hated to see Junsu in so much pain, to see him so lost, and his heart felt like it was breaking all over again. Trying to force a smile to somehow comfort his heartbroken friend, Yoochun looked at him with endearing love that few would ever see in their lifetime.

“You look exhausted.” moaned Yoochun softly “You should get some rest Su.”

“I’m alright.” retorted Junsu.

“Liar.” teased Yoochun with a forced smile “They will come back, you’ll see.”

“But… It’s been so long.” whined Junsu.

“Always keep the faith and hope till then end, Su.” smiled Yoochun.

“I know.” answered Junsu “But…”

“No buts…” retorted Yoochun “No news is good news, right? We have to stay strong for them and wait.”

“The will come back to us.” added Yoochun.

“What if they…” started Junsu.

“Please Su… They will come back and how heartbroken will they be when they do come home, and see you in such a state?” scolded Yoochun softly “If they saw you like this, how do you think they would feel?”

“Devastated.” answered Junsu softly.

“Exactly, so that’s enough crying.” advised Yoochun as he stood up and gently helped Junsu to his feet.

“It’s three in the morning, go get some sleep.” said Yoochun lovingly as he wiped away Junsu’s tears.

“Alright.” stammered Junsu.

As he slowly disappeared into the lingering darkness toward his bedroom, Yoochun watched attentively. When he lost of sight of him, Yoochun sighed deeply and plopped down onto the nearby sofa chair. Rubbing his eyes, Yoochun’s own feelings of guilt began to creep up on him. What could he do to comfort everyone? Was it his fault that everything turned out this way? Did his plan really cause all of this? Was he to blame? These thoughts invaded his mind and quickly penetrated his heart. He felt so guilty for coming up with the plan to get them all together in one place. It was his fault. Had he just left it alone, maybe the fates would have found a way to get their family back together. But he was impatient. After four long years of pain and separation, he was so desperate to put everything back the way it was, that he never thought that the Chairman would find them out.  “This is all my fault.” thought Yoochun.

“No! I can’t do this!” declared Yoochun in disbelief “I can’t think like that.”

Shaking the thoughts from his mind violently, Yoochun looked around to see that he was still alone and pulled out his cell phone and stared at it for a moment.

“Please…” pleaded Yoochun softly “Please let us know you two are alright.”

Tossing his cell phone on the nearby table in frustration, Yoochun leaned back in his chair, gently rubbed his eyes and wondered what to do next. What could he do? The waiting and the wondering was killing him and watching his brothers suffer so much heartache was tearing him apart. Letting out a deep sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to settle his mind but found it terribly difficult to separate himself from the moment. Suddenly he was startled by the sound of his cellphone vibrating across the surface of the small oak table beside him. Desperately hoping it was good news, he grabbed it instantly and looked at the caller id with confusion

Incoming Call

UNKNOWN CALLER

Blocked Number

“Hello!” answered Yoochun frantically “Hello? Hello?”

Yoochun pleaded with the caller to answer but there was nothing but silence.

“Jae … is that you?” panicked Yoochun “Yunnie?”

Still, the caller remained silent.

“Please?” begged Yoochun “Please answer me. Are you safe? Where are you?”

The caller let out a soft sigh and then a sniffle.

“Jae… is that you?” questioned Yoochun.  “Please answer me!”

“Please come home. Both of you come home please.” pleaded Yoochun “Please…”

“Not yet…” softly whispered the voice on the other line after a seemingly eternal pause and then the line went dead.

“Jae? Hello? Jae???” cried Yoochun. “Hello?”

As Yoochun removed the phone from his ear he quickly busted out into uncontrollable crying. Even though he couldn’t be completely sure that the caller was Jae, his heart overwhelmed his reason. “Was it really Jae? Was he calling to let me know he was ok? Was he worried about us? Was he safe?” thought Yoochun as his tears streamed down his face like a waterfall. After a few moments, Yoochun began to regain his composure and his reason slowly came back to him.

“Let’s think about this logically.” whispered Yoochun. “It had to be them! Maybe they just called to make sure we were ok? That’s right! They were checking on us! That’s why they called.”

“But, why didn’t he talk to me? Maybe he couldn’t or maybe he didn’t to keep us safe?” thought Yoochun.

“Well at least their alive.” said Yoochun “At least they are safe.”

“Who’s safe?” questioned a half-asleep Changmin as he walked into the living room rubbing his eyes.

“Oh? I was just wondering if they were safe.” stammered a startled Yoochun in a low whisper “What are you doing out of bed? It’s late. You should be sleeping.”

“I know. I know.” defended Changmin “I just need a drink of water.”

As Yoochun watched Changmin carefully, he hoped that the little one hadn’t caught on to what had just happened. He knew that if Changmin found out that he received a call like that, there would be no power in the universe to stop him from finding them. His brothers would be hell-bent to search for them, using any means necessary. That couldn’t happen. At that exact moment, Yoochun instantly realized why he received that phone call. They were telling him, without saying a word, that they had a plan to return and that all they needed him, Junsu, and Changmin to do was wait. If Jaejoong and Yunho had only gained one merit in this lifetime, it was the trust and faith of Yoochun. He trusted them with every fiber of his being and knew that what they were doing now was the right path, even if he felt disappointed that he was being left in the dark.

After getting his glass of water, Changmin turned to head back to his room and flashed a smile at Yoochun.

“I’m going back to bed.” said Changmin sleepily “Chunnie you should get some sleep too.”

“I will.” answered Yoochun. “Good night.”

“Night night Chunnie.” giggled Changmin playfully.

As he watched the little one disappear into the darkened hallway, his anxiety and worry about what obstacles they would have to face in the near future began to stream down his face once more. What was their plan? What were they going to do? What is going to happen? Will they all be able to survive it and be able to live a happy life together?

“Please come home.” he thought. Burying his head in the couch cushion, Yoochun cried himself to sleep.