Changmin didn’t head back home after Yoochun asked him to. He wasn't ready to meet Junsu. He practically lost any contact with Junsu as he'd lost his phone and he was wandering around Seoul without anyone knowing. He couldn't be found and he didn't want to anyway. He wanted to be alone for now, to absorb all the information that Yoochun gave him and think about what he's about to do and what the future held for him. He went to the Han River and sat on a bench.

The weather was cold, the wind was so strong it made Changmin shivered. Changmin rubbed his palms together and hugged himself. He regretted having worn only thin clothes that made the weather a bit intolerable. He blew hot breathe into his palms and rubbed them together again. He looked around. There were two couples hanging about too, the four of them looked so much in love. Changmin let out a sigh.

Why can't I feel that happiness too? Being flung here didn't do me good. I was dying in other world, and I was barely holding on here.

Changmin cupped his face in both his palms. The scenery here in Han River somehow calmed him a bit. His Jaejoong loved Han River, he always brought Yunho here to have fun and to reflect their life there. He wondered if Jaejoong loved Han River. The couples were kissing and hugging each other until Changmin was embarrassed himself. He looked away and turned his gaze to the river.

He loved Junsu. He didn't ask much but for Junsu to see him as someone special. He didn't need to love him back. He wished to be someone special but who was he to ask for that much. He already made impossible wishes that came true. He didn't want to make things like that again.

He stood up and wandered around. The couples didn't even notice him or acknowledge him. They were in their own world. Both couples didn't aware of each other, so Changmin just felt like a fifth wheels.

He felt this way before. Junsu always tagged along with Yoochun and Jaejoong and Yunho were always together, dotting each other. It was annoying but what could he do? The age difference was too big for him and his hyungs. It was two years.

Changmin had had enough when he yawned. He planned to stay for another night at the cat spa. Even if he wanted so much to avoid Junsu, he couldn't contain his heart from missing him. He missed his face, his touch, his everything.

When he arrived at the cat spa, he saw the lights in the showroom were on. He froze. He was sure he switched everything off except for the cats' dim light at the back.

Crap!

He was afraid but in the same time he didn't want to let anything happen to the cat spa. He worked there and he was responsible for the safety of it. Plus, where would he go tonight if the cat spa was hijacked? He nodded, he had to man up.

At least he would have a place to sleep tonight. He peeked inside the clear window of the showroom and was so astonished by what he saw.

Yunho was back!

Without further ado, Changmin barged in and shocked Yunho. Yunho nearly fell down the couch he was sitting in.

"Yunho-ssi!" Changmin gasped when he saw Yunho's face when he helped the older man back up. His face was swollen and there were a lot of bruises. He was clearly being beaten up when he was in captive. He held Yunho's face and the man winced. "You need to go the hospital."

"No." Yunho shook his head. "They'll find out,"

"But I can't leave you like this. Your cuts could be infected."

"I'll be fine."

"No!" Changmin was stubborn with his opinion. He saw the blood on Yunho's lower half of the pants and he ripped the fabric apart. There was a long cut, and it was still bleeding. Changmin almost vomited when he saw the wound. There was a burnt wound too, and Changmin could clearly see the shape of it. It was like he’s just being branded.

J.

J as in...?

Changmin looked at Yunho who immediately covered back the wound when he saw the change in Changmin's expression.

"I'll be fine. The cats' medicine would help a lot,"

"What?" Changmin shouted. "You can't be serious! That's for them! The topicals' dosage weren't for people! They are for cats, for God sake!" Changmin was frantic. How could Yunho think like that? Did some wires in his head been cut off that he was starting to go insane? "Did you drive here?"

Yunho didn't answer so Changmin rushed outside. Yunho's car was there. "You drive with that leg? Oh my God!"

"Changmin-ssi..."

"Oh my God. I can't believe you're endangering your life just because you don't want to see a doctor!" Changmin nagged. It had become a habit for him in DBSK days to nag his hyungs to do what he wanted them to do. He always pointed out the wrongs without feeling sorry at all. He wanted to have his own way, and now the behaviour had returned when Yunho didn't make an effort to stop him or remind him of where he was.

To his surprise, Yunho chuckled. Changmin turned to him and put both hands on his waist.

"What?"

"It's been a while since people took care of me like that," Yunho still let out a small laugh.

"Don't laugh and where's your car key?" Changmin demanded and without question at all, Yunho pointed the location of the object. Changmin took it and went outside. He started the engine and went back inside to drag Yunho to his car.

"We have to hurry," Changmin said, not caring that Yunho was smiling widely when Changmin pulled him and sat him on the passenger seat. Yunho groaned when his leg hit the seat. "Oh, did I hurt you? Sorry!"

"It's okay..." Yunho shuffled in his seat so the cut on the leg wouldn't hit the dashboard. When he saw Yunho had settled down, Changmin ran to the driver seat and drove to the nearest clinic.

***

"You have to clean the wound every day. Make sure you eat the antibiotics according to the schedules that the doctor had planned for you. Call the doctor if the pain was unbearable and if the wound suddenly collected pus," Changmin nagged as they entered Yunho's apartment.

After they left the clinic, Changmin asked where Yunho's house was and drove him there. He even helped Yunho to ambulate to his own apartment.

Yunho's apartment was as big as Junsu's. However, his had rooms. His house was less decorated and painted in beige. Changmin seated Yunho on the couch at the living room and went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took the water bottle and poured the water for Yunho to drink.

"Thank you..." Yunho accepted it and drank from the glass eagerly. He hadn't notice his body was so drained. He looked at Changmin gratefully as the younger man watched him in wary. Yunho was given painkiller so he was relatively pain free. He noticed Changmin's eyes were glossy, like he was waiting for a cue to cry. Yunho smiled at him. He put down the glass on the table.

"I'm fine, okay? Don't look so worried like that!" he was glad someone was looking over him like that after all that he'd been through lately. Changmin seemed like he was worrying too much for someone he known for only a short time. But he didn't mind at all. He felt safe when Changmin was here with him.

"No...How could you say that to me?" Changmin hit Yunho lightly on his shoulder. "I've been waiting for you anxiously!" Yunho laughed.

"You sound like you're my wife!"

"No! Don't mock me!" Changmin gritted his teeth. His tears were going to fall again. He couldn't tell what type of tears were these, because Yunho suddenly popped out of nowhere. "Do you know how worried I am to think you've been beaten because of me?"

Yunho watched Changmin with disbelief.

How could this stranger felt that much about me?

"So don't tell me to not worry!" Changmin said firmly. Yunho kept his mouth silent. Changmin looked down, he did not want Yunho to see him cry. "Can I...can I hug you? So that...so that I know you're actually here and not my illusion?" Yunho opened his arms wide and without any hesitation Changmin jumped towards him, hugging him tightly. Changmin buried himself in Yunho's shoulder, his heart's burden was lifted when he was sure that it was really Yunho. The broad shoulder defined Yunho, the smell of him, the sense that only Yunho could emit.

Changmin closed his eyes, and so do Yunho. For a brief moment, it felt like an eternity.

***

"Where are you going?" Yunho asked after Changmin went to the bathroom to wash his face. Changmin felt his face was hideous.

"I'm going home," Changmin lied.

"It's late." Yunho looked at the watch. It's already two AM. Changmin dried his face with a clean towel he found in laundry room next to the bathroom. "Why don't you stay here? I have spare room."

"But..." Changmin was wondering why he was thinking of refusing. It's not like he had the rights to use Yunho's car to go to the cat spa late at night like this. The distance from Yunho's house to the cat spa was quite far.

"You can sleep here. I have extra room."

"I can see that."

"I'll provide clothes for you. And money for the bus fee." Yunho tried to lure Changmin in. The truth was he would like Changmin's company for tonight. Changmin looked at Yunho and shrugged. What else could he say?

"Okay."

"Yes!" Yunho punched the air and immediately regretted it due to his injured shoulder. Changmin couldn't help but laughed.

Yunho later showed Changmin the guest room, which was beside the master bedroom. There weren't much furniture inside the room. There was a cupboard on one side and a small table, and there's a futon on the other side of the room.

"My sisters occasionally come here." Yunho said. "And my parents too when they came to Seoul." Changmin stared at Yunho for a while before he averted his gaze away. There was a sentimental note in his tone.

"Do they know what you're doing in Seoul?"

"Yes." But Yunho didn't elaborate more. Changmin didn't dare to ask for explanation. "Come." Changmin followed Yunho into the room. Yunho spread the futon and took out a pillow from the cupboard and put it on the futon. He patted the pillow and looked at Changmin. "Here."

"Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Changmin moved further into the room whilst Yunho got out of it. Yunho was still limping but he would manage inside his own house. Changmin looked at his own outfit, he had been wearing it since yesterday.

"Aish..." he forgot to ask for spare clothes from Yunho but then he thought Yunho would lend him it tomorrow. He couldn't be greedy.

He was just going to settle down when Yunho came and gave him clothes that were more loose-fitting for him to sleep in. He thanked him again and changed. Yunho smiled.

"Did Junsu know you're here?" asked Yunho.

"Uh...no." there's no point in lying. Yunho lifted an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I...I lost my phone. Since that day." there's a truth in that, but there's more. Changmin avoided Yunho's eyes. Yunho was suspecting something, he's a prosecutor by the way, and he should know if people were lying if he's really good at it. Striking someone as powerful as Jin Yihan needed some extra skill and courage too.

"Why don't you buy one? Phones in Korea are cheap," Changmin didn't answer. He didn't have the luxury to spend his money on new phone. He needed what remained of his money for food. He couldn't rely on Junsu again to buy a new one for him even though Junsu was more capable than that. With just one look, he knew Junsu was rich. "How can I contact you then? Do you want me to buy it for you?"

"No, no. You don't need to." Changmin blushed. He couldn't rely on Yunho, too. He felt bad. If it was his Yunho, he would have no problems if his Yunho said he wanted to buy a new phone for him because he liked to bully his hyung like that. But this was not his hyung. "I will find a new phone when I have enough money,"

"You won't get enough money that fast. Someone needs to reach out to you somehow, like Kyuhyun." Yunho reasoned. Changmin pouted.

"I'll find a way. You said yourself that phones are cheap." but I need money for food, Changmin's stomach started to take over his brain.

Yunho finally decided to let go. He sighed silently and watched Changmin retreated into the blanket.

"You have to sleep too." Changmin said. "If you don't, I'll knock you out."

"How come you're so feisty with me? Are you like this with Junsu too?" Yunho laughed lightly. Changmin bit his lip to prevent himself from hitting Yunho again.

"It's because your behaviour is very alike with someone I know really well. In fact, I called him hyung."

"Does that mean you wanted to call me hyung? Remember you called me that when you woke up that day?" Changmin nodded.

"Can I call you that?"

"Yes. Drop the formality. It's better this way."

"Hyung." Changmin whispered and immediately he felt excited that tears started to build behind his eyes. "Hyung." he repeated a bit louder. Yunho only gazed at him. He was amazed by how the younger man was so serious about this. "Hyung."

"I'm here." Yunho took Changmin's hand in his. Changmin closed his eyes, his mouth muttered Yunho's name again.

"Yunho-hyung." Yunho kept quiet as he watched Changmin like he was in a trance. If other people saw how Changmin was right now, they would say Changmin was out of his mind but Yunho couldn't say that about Changmin. In his opinion Changmin was unique. He wished this moment last forever. Somehow suddenly he was taking care of a dongsaeng. A lost boy. He remembered how scared the younger man was when he woke up and screamed for help. He remembered how the body shivered when he was close to him.

I'm sorry for everything that I had made you through. I just made our relationship left out on a rough road.

"Hyung?" suddenly Changmin's voice pierced his ears when he raised it up a notch. He brought himself back from his mind.

"Hm?"

"May I ask you a question?" his eyes were still closed.

"Okay."

"Promise me you'll answer truthfully. And don't get mad at me."

"Such conditions." Yunho teased. Changmin opened his eyes and both of their eyes gazed at each other intensely for a while.

"Please. For me?"

"I promise." Yunho gave in.

"You were the one who sent me to hospital that night, right?" Yunho nodded. "Why didn't you run away?" Changmin tugged on Yunho's hand and the older man felt it was hard to let go of it. "You could have saved yourself."

"It's not me alone, Changmin-ah." his voice was weak. "I couldn't run away. My legs were already chained when they kidnapped me even though I could get away easily."

"But why?"

"If I escape, there would be consequences. It would make them try to find you back and I don't want anything to happen to you. Jin Yihan would do anything to stop me,"

"Why don't you just reveal the story about the smuggling? It will be phenomenal if you do that."

"The evidences aren't enough yet for me to bring the case to court. Even if I see it with my own eyes, I still have to find witnesses, and juries that can't be bought with money."

"So...you're really alone, like you said." Yunho replied with a sigh. "Why do they think I have a relationship with you?" Yunho smiled weakly.

"It might not seem like it that particular time," Yunho squeezed Changmin's hand. "But our relationship had improved now." Changmin was silent for a while. "I never thought I could make friends with someone like you. When I first approached you and Junsu, you're so wary about me even though you're the one who asked for my hug. You're protective and you loved Junsu to the extent you wouldn't reveal anything. Your first impression about me wasn't good, so I didn't expect we could be close."

"People change."

"Love made people change." Yunho added, which made Changmin a bit surprised but he hid it.

"Love? Who changed? You?" Yunho only smiled.

"Someone I know. Love had never been this hard before."

"Please don't talk in riddles."

"Is there any more questions that you wanted to ask me?" Changmin only opened his mouth to ask more. There were a lot of questions but Yunho's face expression was too sad to force him to stay. "I'll be going then. I'll tell you later if you want to know anything," Changmin nodded and slowly he let go of Yunho's hand. "Good night,"

"Night."

***

In fact, Changmin couldn't sleep that night because it wasn't his usual place to sleep. He kept tossing and turning and later on he gave up on sleeping. He got out from his room and found the apartment was already dark. There was only the moonlight that shone through the transparent window of the balcony. Changmin walked towards it and saw there's a telescope. He touched the item and ran his finger on the cold hard surface. The telescope looked expensive. It was dark blue in colour and if you see it closely you could see a name carved on it.

JYH. Jung Yunho.

He smiled to himself. Did Yunho buy this telescope to see the stars in the sky? Changmin looked up into in the sky, and saw his favourite constellation, Cassiopeia.

Once upon a time when he first learned about constellations, he didn't really care about this W shaped constellation. For him, it wasn't legendary enough. It's a constellation depicting a goddess who’s very vain about her own beauty. Its story was nothing like the Orion, or the Ursa Major.

But now every time his hyungs fought, he would go to the balcony and searched for Cassiopeia. Cassies. It calmed him, gave him strength to carry on. He would turn his gaze downwards, there were many Cassies that would support them, love them.

He wanted to go back so badly it hurts.

Why did he make the stupid wishes? How could he be so careless when driving? It's not like him at all. Just one mistake that it took for him and he's here.

Changmin entered the apartment back. He went to Yunho's room and peeked inside. Yunho was lying on his bed, his back on the door. He sighed; he didn't even know what he was hoping. He wanted to close the door but suddenly Yunho turned around making him almost screamed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay..." Yunho's voice was groggy. "Come in. Do you have difficulty to sleep?" Changmin nodded and he walked into the room and sat on the couch across the bed. The room was as big as Junsu's bedroom, but with walls, it looked a bit claustrophobic compared to Junsu's. He had been so used to wall-less apartment. Yunho's room was decorated lightly, just like how his living room was. There wasn't a study table like in Junsu's, only the bed, the couch and a small table beside it. "Why can't you sleep?"

"I was thinking."

"You shouldn't. Only happy thoughts are allowed inside a bedroom." Yunho joked and Changmin laughed. But both of them knew somehow it was true. "It must be serious. About Junsu?"

"Hm. And you too."

"Me?" Changmin nodded. "I don't know if I should be flattered or..."

"Are you still allowing me to ask you questions?" Yunho was silent for a while but then he smiled weakly.

"Okay. At least I'll know that's the least I can do for you."

"What is your relationship with Director Kim Jaejoong?" the question startled Yunho. "I've heard your conversations with him that day. I was so confused. There was something about Director Kim that made you like this, wasn't it?"

Yunho was silent for a while as he contemplating the reply he would give to Changmin.

"That is too personal, the question that you asked." Yunho said finally. Changmin bit the inside of his cheek. Of course, what did he expect? It was too much of information, if anything. Yunho sighed. "But it's not that I won't tell you anything."

"Then?"

"Remember the smuggling case I was investigating?" Changmin nodded. "It's actually because I was following Jaejoong. Remember, I'm a die-hard fan of Junsu. I wanted to know so much about why they didn't talk for a sudden and then I stumbled across this case. It was an accident, and I was stuck to it."

Even in another life, Yunho would always fall in love with me over and over again.

Jaejoong's voice echoed inside his head. Changmin had a hunch that Yunho was exactly that. Yunho was in love with Jaejoong.

But how could he fall in love with such a cruel person? But Yunho actually didn't say a thing about him in love with the mafia leader's boyfriend. He was just assuming things. Jaejoong could be wrong, right?

"So that's how you know him...but you looked so close to him. Was he the one with you when you send me to the hospital?" Yunho opted to not answer that. Changmin chewed on his lower lip. Yunho sighed.

"You have learnt enough. If you think Jaejoong and I was a couple, we're not. Jaejoong is Jin Yihan's boyfriend and he would never leave the mafia," for a split second, Changmin saw the sadness in Yunho's face. "Even though he looks like someone who's playing around, he would never do something to make Yihan upset."

"How did you know this? You investigated him?" Yunho nodded.

"Even before I started with Jin Yihan." Yunho inhaled deeply as if he forgot that he could still breathe. "You have great interest about Jaejoong. But you're mysterious yourself."

"What do you mean?"

Yunho glanced at the digital clock on the small table beside the bed.

"It's getting late. Go to your room and sleep. Tomorrow you have a big day for the cats,"

"But..."

"You need energy if you want to manage those mischievous cats in the spa," Yunho reasoned and yet Changmin couldn't argue. True, managing and keeping them alive and well were tiring and demanding job. Changmin nodded. Lazily he dragged himself out of the room and went to the guest room.

A/N happy birthday uri Jaejoong!!! our ahjussi is 28 this year, so i'm posting this chapter because of him, even though he didn't appear here keke~

thank you for all your questions, i'll try my  best to answer them all. i know this story is quite confusing, but there will be a chapter where the story will be untangled, and that was when the story will end.

btw because of the complexity of the story, it would become a bit longer than i expected. please be patient with me, and kamsahamnida again for your support!