It’s late in the night and the small restaurant in the busiest side of the city is pretty much empty, save for a group of three in one corner and a very quiet man on the other. The owner comes out from behind the doors that lead to the kitchen area and heads towards the group, chatting monotonously. He asks them if they need anything, they shake their head, no. The owner then heads towards the unaccompanied man seated by the windows. As he gets closer, he notices that the man is awfully still as he gazes out to the view of the busy street, eyes unblinking.

“Sumimasen, would you like anything else, sir? The kitchen is about to close and I’d be happy to get you anything you need.”

The request manages to get the customer’s attention as he watches the other turn his head away from the window and meet his eyes. Although the seated man’s face shows no emotion, his eyes give him away and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that something terrible had happened to him. The man’s eyes are so beautiful, the owner’s breath hitches, but the turmoil he can sense the other going through nearly breaks his own delicate heart. Without realizing, he sits himself down and leans forward.

In a hushed and calm voice, he asks – “Hey, is everything alright?” The owner doesn’t want to scare the man away and he realizes that his sudden intrusion might be unwelcomed but he can’t help but want to soothe the hurt away he sees in the eyes of the man sitting opposite him.

He nearly misses the flash of alarm as the other’s eyes widen a smidgen and he is quick to give a warm smile which apparently helps the other relax a little bit. However, before he can get an answer, there’s a loud commotion as the entrance door opens and two drunk men stumble their way in.

“Get off me, you pig! I need to use the restroom.” One of them says to the other, as he makes his way to the back of the restaurant. The other man just laughs and barely makes it to one of the tables to sit down.

The owner sees the two men and simply rolls his eyes. He’s used to them frequently barging their way in and although, it initially irritated him when they used the facilities without ever buying anything, he has gotten pretty used to it by now.

It isn’t long before the one using the restroom comes out and is about to go his now dozing friend before noticing the two men seated by the window. He instantly recognizes one of them as the owner of the place and the other man, he doesn’t. Making his way over to the other end, he gives the owner a quick wave.

“SuSu, what’s up?” he drawls out in his drunken state.

Junsu, the owner, smiles at the informal greeting and shifts his chair a little to the left to make room for the new company who grabs a chair from one of the other tables.

“Same as usual, you know. How have you been, Jaejoong? Haven’t seen you all this week, made me think you’d quit drinking or something and wouldn’t be stopping by anymore on your way from one party to another” Of course he knows that’s a long shot from happening because in the last two years he’s been letting Jaejoong come by, he’s never seen him sober.

As expected, Jaejoong huffs. “Is that your idea of a sneaky way to tell me you missed seeing me?” Junsu makes a face no one can ever express in words at that statement and kicks Jaejoong lightly under the table. “Oww! What the hell was that for?” He grumbles, as he rubs his leg, exaggerating the pain. His attention is then diverted towards the third man he hasn’t heard a word from.

Junsu realizes he had forgotten about the man he’d come to talk to in the first place and suddenly feels bad when he sees the man once again gazing out the window.

Jaejoong doesn’t miss the two bags placed behind the man’s chair while Junsu had. He is quick to decipher the situation much like Junsu had, though.

“Hey man, I am Jaejoong. And you would be?” He asks the quiet man, successfully getting him to look at him.

However, much like with Junsu, the man does not answer back. It is then a thought crosses Jaejoong’s mind which, he thinks, might help him with this situation. Could it be?

“Do you not know Japanese?” Jaejoong asks in Japanese and Junsu can’t help but chuckle at the other’s fail. But it gets him following the drunken man’s train of thoughts quickly as he realizes what might be going on.

Junsu tries his luck in the only other language he knows. “Hanguk saram?” He asks and has to stop himself from pumping his fist in the air to celebrate his intelligence as the other’s eyes widen like saucer plates upon hearing his mother tongue.

Jaejoong too notices and shifts closer.

“So, you are Korean!” He states the obvious.

It takes a moment but the man finally gives a sign of acknowledgment as he nods his head and mouths – “Yes, I am.”

“Cool, I am too and so is Junsu, here.” Jaejoong points to the owner. “Let me try this again. Hi, I am Jaejoong. And you would be?” This time, he repeats in Korean.

"I am Changmin." If either of Jaejoong or Junsu are expecting anything more than that, they are going to be disappointed because the man ends it at that. Junsu excuses himself for a few minutes as he sees the group of three in the other corner getting up, leaving the two men alone.

Jaejoong, however, is not one to back down so he continues probing. "So tell us something Changmin, are you new in the city?"

He only gets a nod in return.

Now, Jaejoong frowns. He has such a serious expression on his face now, you'd never be able to guess he was ever drunk. He is deep in thought as to what might be going on in other's life. His mother-hen nature kick starts itself in full gear right that moment. But, before he can think of or do much else, he is rendered speechless as he witnesses a lone tear make its way down Changmin's left cheek. The other wipes it as quickly as it came but it is enough to give his vulnerability away. 

Although it momentarily freezes Jaejoong to his spot, he quickly gathers himself and scoots closer to the very upset man. He pulls Changmin in his arms and plants soft kisses on the top of his head, encouraging him to let go.

And Changmin does just that. He lets go of everything he'd been trying to hold in for the past few hours: Yunho's words, the betrayal, the pain. Everything. He himself doesn't know how or why but all he knows is that if he doesn't, he'd break apart into a million pieces. Jaejoong's touch is very soothing and does his body, wonders, as he suddenly finds himself extremely tired and exhausted. The events of the day are taking a toll on him and he knows he needs to sleep over it tonight and think about the future starting tomorrow.

He stays in Jaejoong's arms for a few more moments before drawing away and giving the other man, a small smile and a thank you, Jaejoong-ssi. Jaejoong doesn't say anything but simply squeezes his shoulders.

Changmin begins to collect his belongings and is about to get up because he doesn't know where is going to stay the night and he needs to find a hotel or something but Jaejoong stops him. "Do you have a place to stay, Changmin?"

Changmin looks at Jaejoong and although he wants to say - Yes, I do - he doesn't. Instead, he stays quiet and his actions only confirm Jaejoong's suspicions. 

"Look, come with me. I live by myself and you can share the apartment with me."

This time, Changmin does speak up. "I appreciate it, Jaejoong-ssi, but no, thank you. I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"Cut it out. There's not going to be such a thing, believe me. At least stay for the night. It's almost midnight and you won't be able to find accommodation by yourself at this hour." Jaejoong pushes, much to his own surprise because hey, since when did he start caring about strangers in restaurants so much?

Changmin is hesitant but the request sounds really good right now and what Jaejoong said is true. He is going to have a lot harder time trying to find a hotel in the unfamiliar city. He can figure things out in the morning, right?

Junsu comes up from behind the two men, having heard the last part of the conversation, and urges Changmin to listen to Jaejoong. He doesn't know what the two talked about earlier but he figures he can ask Jaejoong some other time.

"You should go with Jaejoong, Changmin. Get some sleep and do whatever you must do, tomorrow."

Jaejoong doesn't let Changmin think about this anymore as he goes behind the unsuspecting man and lightly pushes him forward, turning to grab one of the bags while Junsu gets the other.

Changmin says nothing more because he feels it would be overwhelming for him to usher anything out of his mouth at this point so he lets himself be pushed outside the restaurant. A cab pulls over to them within a minute and Jaejoong quickly gets in. Changmin turns around and thanks Junsu before he too, gets inside.

The cab pulls off the curb and Junsu stands there for a second before making his way back inside. He comes back out as quick as lightening though and shouts -

"Hey, you forgot the pig!!!"

A/N: Okay, so I did change their first meeting scene from the movie itself and there is no role of Junsu either but I needed him to fit in somewhere xP Anyway, not a lot has happened here but yet quite a bit. I hope you guys enjoy the update and readers please let me know how this is going so far^^ See ya next time :D