Chapter 13

Who could sleep after that?  Well, maybe Changmin could.  He and Yunho had been through a lot of ups and downs and wacky schedules that kept them from seeing each other for days.  Although Yunho’s health was at stake, it was hardly ever necessary to worry about him that way.  As far as Changmin was concerned, Yunho was invincible. This was just another one of those “things” that happened in a moment and was quickly forgotten about as soon as possible.

For the JYJ crew, Yunho’s absence pressed on them like an anvil of doom.  Sure they guy was virtually indestructible, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel pain like the rest of them.  He just chose to ignore it. That often meant he would be injured worse than he let on, and would do his damnedest to pretend like everything was okay.  At least now he was being checked out. 

Jaejoong feared the leader had broken his nose.  There were only two features unmarred by the 2^nd story window plunge.  His nose was unflawed, and Jaejoong hoped it stayed that way.  He tore off his bloodied t-shirt, throwing it away.  He wanted to forget about Yunho’s blood all over the place for a while.

Yoochun and Junsu were affected differently by the event.  It disturbed them more to see the strongest of them go down – and over a chair at that!  They cleaned up the kitchen, then opted to hang out in the living room to chat as not to bother the other two members. 

“Yunho, hyung seems to be…”

“Yeah,” Yoochun admitted scratching his head.  “He was always a bit clumsy, but…”

“Old age.  It has to be old age,” Junsu nodded.

Yoochun found himself agreeing…for a few moments, anyway. “Wait, he’s not that old!”

“He works so hard, though.”

“We all work hard,” Chun reminded him.  “Maybe he hasn’t been sleeping, or…or…”

“Maybe he just tripped over a chair,” Changmin stood behind them, his arms folded over his chest.

Both members yelped as they jumped from their seats.  Fearful eyes rested on the looming figure of Max Changmin.

“Yunho’s alright.  There’s nothing wrong with him.  He’s done worse and been worse, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Yoochun knew arguing with the maknae would be useless.  He looked over to Junsu, whose mouth was poised to respond, and hit his knee while shaking his head negatively.

“Since when did you start taking care of him?”  Junsu wasn’t very good at signals, especially this early in the morning.

“Since you guys left us,” Changmin said flatly, not wanting the fight inside him to spill out.  He simply held his tongue and went back to his room.

“Hmm, what’s with him?”  Junsu looked up at Yoochun for an explanation.

“You need sleep,” Yoochun pointed out.

“No, I can’t sleep.  Too many thoughts running through my head right now.”

“Write them down.  That way, when you ask me in the morning why you couldn’t sleep all night, I’ll have some proof.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to do some writing.  At this rate, we’re all going to be toast tomorrow.  Might as well get something done tonight while we’re up.”

Yunho was tired. He wanted to fall asleep – he actually did doze off a few times but was rudely interrupted by a nurse who insisted he remain awake.  The doctors didn’t want him to move, but wanted him to stay awake.  Hell, he couldn’t even stay still while he was sleeping!  This waiting was driving him nuts.

“Are they done yet,” he mumbled as the manager came into the cubicle where he was being treated.

“Aniyo.  They’re waiting for results.”

“But I feel better.  I just want to get back and go to sleep.”  Yunho sat up, ready to get dressed and make his way out the door.

This must have set off alarms somewhere in the hospital because two big, heavily muscled orderlies came into the room and forced him to lay back down.  One stayed behind, for extra measure.

“Jeeze, you could have just asked me,” he huffed.

“You’ve been told twelve times.  Next time we’ll tie you down to the gurney.”

“You force me to lay down, but you don’t let me sleep.  What kind of place is this?”

“The kind that doesn’t want you to die in your sleep,” the manager said sarcastically.

“What am I supposed to do, then?”  Yunho was beyond impatient.

“Molu guessoyo!  Count the dots on the ceiling or something.”

Yunho did as he was told.  “Il, ee, sam, sah…”

Junsu heeded Chunnie’s idea and quickly went in search of paper and writing implements.  He had ideas, and while Yunho was being tended to, it was best he get his thoughts down to later discuss with the leader.  Especially since what he had in mind would showcase Yunho’s skills best.  By the time he had secured everything he needed, his arms were full to overflowing and he had to walk carefully back toward the kitchen as not to drop anything.  He decided the kitchen table would be the best place to set up a make-shift office.  With every possible light on and all the supplies he could possibly need, he settled down and got to work.

Yoochun decided it was time to express his own ideas as they concerned re-arranging some songs.  Yunho’s unfortunate accident weighed heavily on his mind.  They were all physically ten years older, but the intensity and energy they needed to bring to this reunion concert was like that of their debut days.  What he was intending on proposing was intimidating.  He wasn’t sure any of his brothers would agree, let alone their respective management.

Either way, he couldn’t be deterred.  Getting the members to agree with his plan would be easy. Since they had two common goals for this concert – neither of which included money or fame – they had nothing to lose.  Every note they would sing, every move they would make on that stage would be meant for the souls who looked up into the night sky and saw that ‘W’ glowing.  They did this for Cassiopeias all around the world.

It was nearly dawn when the front door opened.  Yunho followed the manager in, not expecting to find anybody awake at this ungodly hour.  Junsu was deeply involved in something at the table.  The slight distraction prompted him to blink vigorously before rubbing his eyes. It was then he noticed someone had entered.  Yunho took a look at the project – about a dozen pieces of paper had been taped together to create a weird poster-sized diagram.

“Gwenchana?”  Junsu offered the leader a tired smile.

“Neh.  What’s this?”  Yunho showed true interest in the plan.

“I was just trying to put together a segment of the concert.  It was an idea I got, and since I couldn’t sleep – “

“It looks like…lots of movement…” the leader could see the genius behind the set up.  “I love that you haven’t discounted the songs that Changmin and I performed as a duo.”

“Hyung, I’m glad you approve so far.  I am particularly excited about ‘Viva’.  It’s a y song, and it needs to be performed live – with tantalizing moves and amazing vocals.”

Yunho half-smiled, not forgetting to spare his damaged lip.  “I’m tired; you must be tired too. Let’s go catch some sleep.”

“Aw. “ Junsu looked at his work, wondering how to keep it all from getting ruined.

Yunho went to the cupboard to retrieve the largest bowl he could find.  Once procured, he walked over to the table.  With one swoop of his arm, he brushed the loose objects into it. After placing that on the fridge, he went back to the table and carefully peeled back the tape holding down the sketches.  Seconds later it was neatly rolled up and put in a safe location.

“I could have done that,” Junsu was stunned.

“Yet you didn’t.  Somebody had to get it all out of the way before Jaejoong hyung started breakfast and decided to use it as a table cloth.”

Junsu just nodded.

“Go get some rest.  You’re exhausted.”

“Yoochun is probably already passed out somewhere upstairs.”

Yunho was tired too.  He felt like a zombie climbing up the stairs to check on the middle child.  Since the second floor had recently been transformed into mini studios, no doubt Yoochun, like Junsu, had turned his worry into something creative.  Whereas Junsu had a flair for the visually dramatic, Yoochun’s more acoustic nature combined with a clever twist could lead to something exciting – or potentially dangerous – depending on how distracted and abstract his mood got.

At the first door the handle turned easily and the leader thought for sure Chunnie would be in there.  But it was dark except for where the hallway lights glinted off metallic surfaces.  The second door opened to a brightness that clearly illuminated everything in the room – including the line of drool from the corner of Yoochun’s mouth to the forearm where his head rested.

“Yoochun-ah,” Yunho called out gently.  He didn’t want to startle the man.  Waking Chunnie was almost impossible on a good day.  No doubt he’d resist even the most vigorous assault made by the leader. Yunho took off his jacket, placing it around the sleeping man’s shoulders.

 He had two more members to account for.  Yunho was pretty sure Changmin was fast asleep in their room.  That only left Jaejoong – whom he could only assume was in his own bed.  He expected it from Max, but if he found Jaejoong peacefully sleeping…well the thought was a little disappointing.

As quietly as possible he opened Jae’s bedroom door.  It was dark.  The only distinguishable figure was on a bed, swaddled in the bedding.  For the briefest of moments Yunho’s heart sank.  His one and only BooJae went to bed without a care and was now sleeping like a baby.

Oh well, what did I expect? Gone were the days of worrying needlessly about a man who had others to worry about him in Yunho’s absence.  He closed the door a little less quietly, not caring if he disturbed the sleeping figure.

He nearly walked into Junsu crossing the hall to his room.  He could see from the strip of space under the door that the light was on – surprisingly -- however when he opened the door, he discovered Changmin was fast asleep.  For as much as they got on each other’s nerves, the maknae always tried to be considerate.  He knew Yunho wouldn’t turn on the light, so he had left it on.

But the leader really couldn’t complain.  Surely the maknae didn’t want him to fall over again in the dark.  Changmin would be grumpier than ever if he were awoken a second time over something that could have been avoided by leaving a light on.  So, Yunho left it on and crawled into bed.