Junsu looked at Yunho, and then at Yoochun as he rose to follow Jaejoong. It was as if he wanted to ask them if he should follow. Yoochun reached out and gently tugged on Junsu’s arm, pulling him back down so that he could sit again.

“Let them talk,” Yoochun said, in a comforting way. It took Junsu a second or two to remember that Changmin had been hiding away so well in the kitchen.

Yoochun cleared his throat before another awkward silence ensued, and began to attempt to divert the direction in which Junsu and Yunho’s relationship was headed, which he feared was turning alarmingly sour by the minute.  

“Yunho,” he started, taking a short moment to recompose himself. He felt without a glass of soju to accompany him for the speech he was about to make.

 “Spending days stuck here must have been exhausting, I understand that. But please remember that this isn’t directly Junsu’s fault. Jongkook wasn't giving Junsu any information. It does look bad..." He turned to Junsu quickly. "And I wish you'd told us about this before, Junsu, but I understand that you wanted it to be a surprise. Please understand that, too, Yunho.”

His sentences weren’t well constructed; half sounded formal, and the other informal - he was unsure whether to consider Yunho as the friend he once was, or only the acquaintance he seemed to be now. He felt sorrow and guilt in his heart; had their friendship through all the years truly meant so little?

Just as Yoochun was about to continue, Yunho held up his hand. Then he gave Yoochun an understanding smile, which allowed Yoochun to feel more at ease.

“It’s okay,” Yunho said. He took a deep breath, and then calmly asked Junsu some questions.

“When did you last hear from Jongkook?”

“Earlier…not long before we arrived here.” Junsu continued. “He didn’t say much…I don’t understand, why would he avoid any question I asked him?”

Junsu’s phone, which had been placed on the coffee table at some point during their chat, started to vibrate and slowly edge across the table. Reluctantly, Junsu picked up the phone and swiped it to answer it. “Hello?”

At first, nobody answered him. Yoochun chewed his lip anxiously, and Yunho sat perfectly still with his eyes fixated on Junsu’s expression. Junsu’s expression suddenly tensed even more so, and Yoochun and Yunho listened intently - only able to hear Junsu’s responses.They heard a few yeses and nos, even a “what?” and a “no way” somewhere in between before Junsu finally hung up. The room fell quiet, and Yunho watched as Junsu’s eyes softened. Were they holding back tears? But suddenly, they became fierce, and he chewed on his thumb nail frustratedly. 

Yoochun decided to be brave and ask the question he knew Yunho also wanted to ask. “What’s wrong?” 

It took Junsu a short while to surface from his brooding and respond. It was as if the words were choking him as he spoke them. “Junho…they have him.”

“What?” Yoochun raised an eyebrow, and then frowned as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on.

“Jongkook called…he said that a gang took them both, but he managed to escape and is still running away from them.”

Junsu wiped his eye before a tear could escape through. “He said they still have Junho.”

“What? Why?” Yunho gasped, bewildered by this news just as much as Junsu and Yoochun were.

“I don’t know…Jongkook had to hang up again,” said Junsu. He felt anger burning inside his chest, but also an intense sensation of worry that made him feel short of breath.

-----

25/02/15

Author Note: 

Dear wonderful subscribers,

Hello once again! I'd like to thank you all again for your continued and expanding support. I also feel that I need to apologise for the inconsistent way in which I update this fan-fic. I hope that you like this update, although I'm sorry to say it's yet another cliffhanger for now. It must be the influence of Voldemin... ψ(｀∇´)ψ

I'll start writing the next part now, and will bring it to you all as soon as I can. 

Be happy and healthy! (⌒▽⌒)♡