Micky walked into the dorm after dance practice. He went straight to the bathroom to wash his hands. He the water, half listening to the conversation he could hear Hero having in the bedroom on his phone.

“Yes, everything’s going pretty well. . . .yes. . . .well, we’re pretty busy. . .”

Micky turned the water back on to wash the soap off his hands. Then he heard something else.

“Enough about JYJ, how’s DBSK doing?” Micky froze, letting the water wash over his hands. He knew who Hero was talking to. And now that he thought about it, he didn’t think Hero was as cheerful as he wanted Yunho to believe.

“I miss you guys too. . .bye.” Micky heard Hero flip his phone shut, and nothing else came from the room. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel.

As he wiped his hands dry, he walked into the bedroom to find Hero. He found him lying on the bed, the phone on the floor next to it. Hero was just staring at the ceiling, a blank look on his face.

“Jaejoong?” Micky asked. “Are you ok?” he got no answer. Hero didn’t even move. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Hero didn’t say anything. He just sat up and walked out of the room, leaving Micky behind.

Hero opened the door of the dorm and walked outside. He could only hear the sound of his shoes crunching the gravel on the sidewalk and his own breathing. He didn’t like that. He didn’t want the silence. Silence gave him too much room to think about how everything had changed.

He paused outside of a local diner. Hamburgers and Fries half price!! proclaimed the sign in the front. He hesitated. It had been drilled into him since his acceptance into SM to avoid those foods, but he didn’t think he cared right now.

He stepped into the diner and sat down at the nearest table.

“How may I help you?” the gum-chewing waitress sidled over to his table. He didn’t look at her.

“One hamburger and fries, please.” he said softly. She took a closer look at his face. Her eyes widened and it seemed she would ask him to sign her order pad, but the look in his face stopped her; it wasn’t opening conversation right this moment.

“One hamburger and fries. Right.” she backed away slowly, seeming unwilling to let him out of her sight lest he disappear. Hero put his face in his hands and didn’t look up when the food arrived in record time. When the waitress’s clacking footsteps faded into the distance, he lifted his head. One hand went to the tray of fries and he picked one up. He twirled it around his fingers, making no move to eat it.

Then he heard steps behind him and glanced around. It was Micky. He put his hand on Hero’s chair and opened his mouth to say something, but Hero didn’t let him. He stood up and walked out. Micky closed his mouth. He called for the waitress to put the food in a box. She looked faint, but did as he asked.

“Junsu will eat it later.” he muttered to himself. She gave a half-smile as she handed the neatly sealed box to him. Micky bowed in thanks, gave her the money to pay for it, and hurried out the door to catch up with Hero.

“Come on, walk with me.” Micky took Hero’s arm and pulled him slightly. Hero followed without a word.

They walked along the street together, not looking at each other or the scenery around them. Micky knew Hero would speak when he was ready.

Without realizing it, they entered a nearby park. It was relatively large, with a jungle gym, swings, slides; everything a little kid would love. They slowed to a stop and gazed into the distance. Hero felt a lump in his throat threatening to spill tears from his eyes. He could see the past in front of him.

The five members of DBSK had been doing a photo shoot behind the park. Xiah had noticed it and wanted to have some fun. He ran off, laughing, telling everyone else to follow him. His laughter was contagious. Max and Micky had leapt onto the monkey bars and swung upside down, laughing at each others red faces. Hero had run up the slides and sat on the top, not expecting the push from behind from Yunho, who collapsed in laughter as Hero went shooting down the slide. Xiah jumped onto the swing and pumped his legs until he got high enough to jump off. He did so, landing right on top of Hero, who had the wind knocked out of him.

Hero could see it right in front of him. He could see Yunho pushing him down the slide, he could see Max hanging from the monkey bars. In the end, the pictures taken from the fun at the park had been used instead of the ones originally planned. They were much more natural and not posed.

Micky took a sideways glance at Hero. He could see the same scene as Hero was seeing. He stepped closer and wiped the tear that had escaped Hero’s eye from his cheek.

“Nothing can change the past, Jaejoong-hyung.” he said quietly. Hero just looked straight ahead, listening to the wind rustling the leaves of the trees.

“I know.” he whispered. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t wish.”

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Comment please and Always Keep The Faith!