- Chapter Six - "He's fine."

Not knowing how to word his feelings, Changmin was only looking at the screen of his cell phone biting his lower lip trying not to cry. The young man felt content but sad at the same time when looking at the picture of the smiling man he longed for since his departure.

How could an unknown phone number put him in this state?

Fortunately, he was so exhausted to look at the ID of the caller when his cell phone had rung few minutes ago as he was walking straight in bee line toward his bedroom, too tired to pay attention at Junsu who was calling him from the kitchen since he stepped in the apartment he still shared with his leader for now. The young idol had put the call on, thinking it was his worried mother trying to have some news from him. However, Changmin was surprised to be greeted by an unknown woman's voice. Frowning a bit, the young man recognized that voice. Duchauvel Hana. Now Kim Hana. His Jaejoong hyung's wife.

"Changmin-ah? Are you okay?"

The young man shifted at the touch of Junsu on his back. He side-glanced at the man who was looking at him anxiously. Changmin was standing in the middle of his bedroom looking astray at his cell phone as if the device was something strange to have in his hand. Too preoccupied by the call, he didn't hear the other man walking towards him.

"Are you okay?" Junsu asked again with a crease forming on his forehead.

"I'm..." Changmin was trying to word his feeling at this moment, but failed.

"Did they make you work too much?" Junsu demanded in a concerned tone. "I was calling you since a few minutes. Diner is ready. I know my cooking style isn't good as Jae hyung but you didn't die since you started to eat what I cooked for you, don't you?" The man added with a smile.

Changmin didn't know what to say or to do with his cell phone in his hand. Showing the pictures to his friend? Or never let him know about these photos? Not that he wanted to keep it in secret from the other three men. But... How would they react after looking at those pictures? Would they remain still as Hana-chan had asked him until Jaejoong's return at their sides?

"Hi! Changmin-ah! It's me Ha-chan... It's been awhile, isn't it? Jaejoong oppa doesn't know that I'm calling you at this moment... I... I just want to let you know that he's fine."

"I know you're tired and want to sleep right now. But don't go sleeping without something in your stomach. Yunho hyung is eating right now. And he seems to be starving. Better going now." Junsu added with a smile.

"Jaejoong oppa is adapting very well to his new life. This past year wasn't bad for us... for him. He has some good friends. Oh! I forgot to tell you that he teaches cooking to some folks who want to learn how to cook Asian cuisine. Good right? And he seems to like it a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if he started to write a cuisine book."

"I..."

"What is it?"

"Don't worry too much. He's happy for the time being. Sometimes, he sits on his favorite armchair and looks through the window from our living room with a smile on his lips. And I can say that Jaejoong oppa is daydreaming about you four. Remembering all the years he had spent his best or bad moments with all of you. Yeah! Even if he is far away from all of you, you will always be a part of his life. He misses you all a lot."

"Nothing..." Changmin said slowly, looking down at the screen of his phone. He put it in veil and secured the device in his jeans' pocket.

"Some days, he talks about his trainee days with Yunho oppa. Strange as it is, but he always smiles recalling their memories together. He seems to accept the fact that they will never be a couple like before but only as mere friends who know each other for so long."

Changmin closed his eyes for awhile, remembering his conversation with her.

"Changmin... are you okay?" Junsu inquired with a frown.

"I'm okay." He said slowly.

"You look so tired..."

"It's nothing." The young man smiled. "I do this to protect Jaejoong hyung."

"I'm sorry for borrowing him for awhile. I promise, I will take care of him until the day he will return to all of you. And this time... Changmin-ah... I hope that you will be able to take care of him in turn... He will need you all beside him. Never let him down. Can you promise me that none of you will let him sink into despair when he will return to you all? Changmin-ah? Make sure that Yunho oppa will never leave him. This time... make sure that he won't make any mistakes."

Junsu nodded. "Go to eat."

"I know, it's a tough task I demand from you. But... when that time will come he's going to need him a lot. So, make sure that Yunho oppa will not break him into pieces over again. Because... you will lose him for good..."

"Okay..." Changmin nodded and got out of his room in a slow pace.

Junsu sighed seeing his dongsaeng's tired back. He knew that the young man was tired of their tight schedule. It never changed. But this time it was the only way to keep Jaejoong safe from the anger of all the shareholders of SM Entertainment. Those men knew that they couldn't do anything to the missing man without flaying their reputation in the eyes of all the Korean citizens. So, they demanded that the remaining two members had to cover the shortfall leaving by the impromptu departure of the other member of Dong Bang Shin Ki.

It was the battle to gain.

SM Entertainment recognized Kim Jaejoong as one of their artist again when displaying their conditions. Now, all of them should do everything to make sure that no harm was directed at the missing man.

Even if SM Entertainment had made some efforts by giving a few shares among their best artists last year, Yunho and Changmin had to go through a tight and strict schedule flying around the world with the SM Town while doing their own promotional activities as a group with talk shows, TV music shows, recording new songs and videos clips.

Yoochun and him couldn't do anything because they weren't under SM Entertainment's supervision anymore. But, they always had few words for their missing hyung and supporting words towards their other two members remaining in their former label, showing that the four of them weren't in a bad terms and would always be a family waiting for the return of the child prodigy.

Sometimes, reporters weren't kind to all of them with their curiosity about their hyung's departure. Always a question about the whereabouts of Kim Jaejoong to Yunho and Changmin, being the closed one of the four of them, something assuming by those journalists for being the truth. Even Junsu and Yoochun were entitled to the same question every time they promoted their solo activities.

Kim Jaejoong is on hiatus for the time being. He's happy to have time with his wife. And we all hope that everything will be okay for his family and to see him soon. Was what Yunho always gave as an answer for those curious reporters making them shut their mouth for awhile until the next time.

It's been so long. More than a year that Kim Jaejoong had left everything behind him. And no news of his whereabouts since then. Rumors said that he settled down in the USA or in China, even in Japan. Rumors were only rumors. No real evidences. And they could only hope that everything was alright for the man they longed for.

Was he okay?

Was he happy?

Was he sad?

Did he think of them often?

Did he miss them like they missed him?

So many questions without answers. As everyone said, no news is good news. But in his inner heart, Junsu wanted so badly to know where his hyung was at this same moment. Knowing where Jaejoong was would soothe his worry away.

"What are you doing standing alone in Changmin's room?" Yoochun asked to the spaced out man from the doorway.

"Oh... nothing. Just thinking..." Junsu said slowly turning to look at his friend.

Yoochun chuckled softly and shook his head slightly, knowing to whom the other man was thinking at this moment. "Everything is gonna be alright."

"It's been more than a year... Yoochun…" Junsu breathed out.

"We all know..." The older man patted his friend's shoulder softly. "Let eat. Changmin won't let anything for us if we don't hurry."

Junsu nodded. And the two friends walked toward the kitchen. To their surprise, they saw Changmin spacing out with his chopsticks in his right hand while looking at his bowl of rice with a frown. Yunho was looking at the young man with curiosity since the latter was sitting in front of him.

"Changmin?" Yoochun called him out. No response from the younger man.

"He's like that since he sat at the dining table." Yunho said quietly.

"Is he okay?" Yoochun asked taking place at the dining table in turn.

"He seems so." The older man of the four of them frowned and added, "...well, it was what he said to me this morning."

Junsu and Yoochun nodded not knowing what to say about their maknae's demeanor. Normally, the young man would dig into all the dishes displaying on the dining table without waiting for anyone. Even keeping some only for him.

Yoochun chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, and turned to look at Yunho. "So hyung... what was your day?" He asked trying to distract everyone from the odd behavior of their maknae. It wasn't the first time he saw Changmin daydreaming this past year, knowing that the young man could only think about one person, Kim Jaejoong.

"Nothing much."

"You were filming a talk show for BoA's comeback, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Yunho nodded, munching on his rice.

"Was it easy to pry yourself away from her grip?" Yoochun added with a teasing tone, knowing that that woman couldn't let go of the other man even if the latter was clear of his attention towards her. Jung Yunho had claimed that he would never date her. Only seeing her as a friend or a sister.

Every time some rumors about him having some sort of relationship with a female idol, mostly BoA, which some fans liked to call their partnership YunBoA as the YunRa that some fans paired him up with his labelmate Go Ara after his first drama with the newbie actress, he always refuted their romantic ties. Well, Jung Yunho had always denied some kind of relation with anyone accepted Kim Jaejoong. Only saying that he was feeling awkward looking at the other man after them filming Dangerous Love for a few days. And adding more fires than anything when he uttered that he always felt hot and butterflies in his stomach every time he looked at Jaejoong.

God! He even said in a fan meeting, or was it in a radio broadcast, that since the man had known Jaejoong, the latter had always this kind of face saying to him kiss-me every time Yunho had his eyes on their lead singer.

Was it his way to say to everyone that he was in a relationship with the other man?

But if it was his doing, they all failed to see the truth through his words. Talking about subtlety. That man was always poles apart.

They should have a decoder within their brain for every word of Jung Yunho when it came to Kim Jaejoong. That's why the three of them never knew where to stand since they knew about their romantic relationship.

Yunho was a good man, but sometimes he could be cruel. His actions and words were a contradiction. One day he said Jaejoong and him were only best friend, but the way the man touched the other man said otherwise. Another day he claimed his undying love for the other man, but he stayed away from the latter showing the contrary of his words. His way not to be so obvious to the public view.

"Well, she tries but will always fail." The man said quietly with a grimace.

During the recording, he was sitting next to her at her right while two other girls friends of her from the same label as them, claiming to be her only close friends in the entertainment industry, were sitting at her left, and she was being really touchy. Clapping in his hand while he couldn't do anything only smiling stiffly and letting her borrow his hand and playing with it for awhile. Declaring some ambiguous statements, like choosing him to accompany her if she was to be stuck at a desert island.

It was so obvious. She wanted to show everyone that she was someone really close to him, and eventually someone more than a friend to him. But Yunho always showed a neutral face, denying everything without being rut