Jaejoong froze momentarily at those words, before hugging Changmin back.

"I'm not going anywhere, Min. I'm not going anywhere."

Slowly, Changmin let go of him. Dried blood stuck to Jaejoong's shirt, but he took no notice of it. Gently, he took off Changmin's sweater and gasped as he saw the extent of injuries on Changmin's body. Purple marks riddled the boy's chest and back.  Without meaning to, Jaejoong began to cry as well. Kissing Changmin on the forehead, he wrapped him in a mother's embrace.

"Changmin..." he whispered gently, as he rubbed slow lazy circles all over the boy's back.

They sat on the cold tile floor for a while, until Jaejoong let go.

"Let's finish your bath then shall we?"

Slowly, Jaejoong sat Changmin on the lid of the toilet seat. Setting the shower to it's lowest setting so that it wouldn't aggravate the injuries, Jaejoong washed the boy down. He tried very hard not to look as the water changed colour to a reddish brown when it was washed down Changmin's body. The white tiles of the bathroom seemed to scream at him to look at them. To look at the extent of the boy's injuries. To look at what had been done to him.

Changmin was biting the inside of his cheeks in an effort to calm the pain that came with the water, but visibly tensed up when Jaejoong started shampooing his hair.

Very very gently, Jaejoong started lathering the shampoo into a foam. And watched, to his horror, the pure white foam turn into a blood red colour as he shampooed the boy's hair.

Changmin bathed with his black skinnies on, but Jaejoong still saw the slight jerking of his legs everytime he hit a part which caused Changmin some pain. Finally, Jaejoong wrapped the towel around Changmin's body. He dared not towel the boy down, or dry his hair, for fear of causing further pain.

Yoochun soon came to check on them. When he saw Changmin shivering in the cold, he carried the boy with the towel still wrapped around his shoulders, bridal style to Changmin's bedroom.

 Carefully, he placed Changmin on the bed and began to gently towel the Maknae down. He turned around to face the wall to let him change, after Changmin momentarily freaked out when Yoochun said he would leave Changmin alone to let him dress.

It was 15 minutes later when the four of them sat in the hall on the sofa, surrounded by meaningful silence and tense faces. Jaejoong had a sleeping Changmin on his lap and was hunched over the boy protectively, occasionally running a hand through Changmin's damp hair. Yoochun had just taken a blanket and wrapped it around the sleeping boy. Junsu was deep in thought.

"We have to get him out of here," he suddenly declared, making the older two look up at him, "Yunho is too much of a danger to him. I'll get a restraining order from court if i have to."

Yoochun nodded in agreement. "I won't let him stay alone with Yunho if this is what happens. No way. Jae we're taking him with us. I will not allow for this to happen again."

Jaejoong stayed quiet, contemplating what to say. Out of all the members, he had always been the most level-headed, the one who could think with his head, not his heart, the one who could stall any problem before they had the chance to rise.

Jaejoong finally looked up at them and nodded. "I know we all have Changmin's safety in mind, but running away with him right now is not an option. We can't just take him away like that. Besides..." he said, hesitant to actually say it, before doing it anyway, "What happened is partially our fault. Maybe if we hadn't left... This wouldn't have happened."

Jaejoong immediately stopped talking when Junsu suddenly stood up, rage evident in his eyes.

"Bull," he hissed ferociously at the eldest, trying his best to keep his voice down, "I wasn't the one who beat him to near death."

Jaejoong nodded, trying to calm him. "I know, Junsu, I know. But what if Yunho was just too stressed by it all. What used to be a load for five became a load for two. And knowing Yunho, he probably took that load all by himself. Come on guys," he pleaded, "You know Yunho isn't like this at al"

Yoochun gave him a devil's glare. "Exactly. We thought we knew him. But look at what he's become. He's a danger to Changmin, hyung. And I am not letting anyone harm another hair on this boy's head."

"He's right, hyung," added Junsu, "You know his family never lays a hand on him. And look at him. His first beating is actually this bad! It's traumatic, hyung. Not only does he need protection against Yunho, he needs a doctor as well! I mean, just look at his injuries!."

Jaejoong's eyes glazed over jus thinking about it. Finally, he relented. "Alright. But we need to discuss this with Lee Soo Man first. Changmin and Yunho are preparing for their Japanese comeback. Taking him away now will only mean trouble."

Jaejoong looked down at the sleeping boy whom he had not seen for over three years. It was the first time since then that he had seen Changmin with a peaceful expression on his face.

No, he thought to himself, he was going to protect him this this time.

"Min?"

Someone was entering from the backdoor.

The three of them tensed up, and Changmin, hearing Yunho's voice, woke up with a violent jolt. Already the three of them could see the fear creeping back into Changmin's eyes. Yoochun clenched his fists, trying to contain his anger.

"Min? Are you awake? I'm sorry I left you alone. I went to buy some medical supplies. Min? Where are you? You're not in your room."

Finally, Yunho entered the living room. He froze for an instant, dropping the plastic bag he was carrying, and looked at all of them.

Was this a dream? Had the voices in his head finally grow into visual hallucination?

Yunho blinked, uncertain of himself, before realising that this was in fact, very real.

"Yoochun? Junsu? Jaejoong? What...are you guys doing here...?"

Yunho thought he should have expressed it in a happier way, but it came out of his mouth sounding dead. Monotonous.

Before anyone could stop him, Yoochun had pounced up and punched Yunho straight in the face. Yunho staggered back, clutching his jaw.

"Yoochun!" Jaejoong had gasped.

"How dare you," Yoochun growled towards Yunho, ignoring Jaejoong's warning, "How DARE you lay a finger on him! Do you know how much blood was on him?! He could've DIED, Yunho!"

Yunho stayed rooted on the spot. "I know," he said, "It's my fault. I lost my temper with him. I know i promised to keep him safe, but i just... lost it. I don't know what came over me."

In Yunho's head, the voices laughed at him.

What are you talking about Yunho?

You knew far well what was going on!!

You're such a liar... No wonder they left you

Yunho shook his head, ridding himself of the voices.

"What happened to you?" Jaejoong whispered, "You used to be the most reliable person I know. Now, I don't even know you."

Yunho looked up at him. "No. It's not what you think."

Yoochun interrupted. "Not what we think? Well why not explain it to us, Yunho! We entrust Changmin to you and in only two years you've managed to destroy him. We came to this house to see him half dead with bruises inflicted by you, he started screaming and crying the minute anyone left the room without him, he isn't even eating food Jaejoong prepared for him, and you know what? The only thing he's said since we came here is HYUNG PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME. So why not be  perfect gentleman, Yunho hyung, and explain to me what happened during the past two years!!"

Yunho had hung his head down, but at those words, he was ready to fight back.

"You know what?" Yunho started to yell, "You have no idea of what I've been through since you guys left. I've suffered day and night in order to keep the name TVXQ alive! And for your information, Changmin was like this ever since you guys LEFT. If you had someone constantly latching on to you, you'd have a breaking point too! You know what I was angry at him about?! We were recording for our Japanese album when I disappeared for about an hour to get a costume fitting. And you know what?! He freaked out! Changmin trashed the whole studio just because he couldn't find me! You don't KNOW what I've been through with him!"

This time, Junsu got up and landed a punch on Yunho. "HOW DARE YOU," he yelled, "HOW DARE YOU BLAME CHANGMIN FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED. NOTHING IS HIS FAULT YOU HEAR ME?! NOTHING. THE ONES WHO CHOSE TO LEAVE WAS US, AND THE ONE WHO CHOSE TO BEAT HIM SENSELESS WAS YOU!! SO DON'T YOU DARE POINT A FINGER AT HIM!!"

Everyone was stunned into silence. Junsu had never lost his temper before, and to think that he even came and punched his leader. This was a whole different side of him. The silence that hung in the air was beyond awkward, and was only broken by a sob from Changmin.

"Sorry," he sobbed, "Sorry, Yunho hyung. Sorry."

Yunho backtracked. "No, Min. I didn't mean that... It was... it was a moment of anger. I'm not mad at you..."

"Oh wow," sneered Yoochun, "Congratulations hyung, for another epic fail."

"Stop," pleaded Changmin, "Don't fight. Please don't fight..."

"Hey, hey..." said Yoochun, as he came closer and wrapped his arms around Changmin, "It's alright, it's alright... Yunho hyung's just being a dickhead."

Changmin shook his head. "I'm sorry hyung. I'm sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault."

Yoochun shushed him by pulling him tighter, and soon the boy slept.

"I didn't... mean..." started Yunho, when he was met with angry glares from both Junsu and Yoochun.

"Save it, Yunho," they both growled at the same time.

"We're taking him from you," announced Yoochun.

"What?"

"You heard me. You're too much of a danger for us to freely let you be around him. We're not letting you hurt him again," he explained coldly.

"You can't do that!" Yunho yelled in return, his heartbeat starting to speed up.

"Actually, Yunho, we can, and we will," replied Yoochun.

Yunho's breathing became labored. No. He was not letting them take Changmin away from him. He was not letting them take the one person who chose to stay by his side.

"Jaejoong!" Yunho yelled, turning to him in desperation, "Please help me out here! You can't let them take Changmin away from me!"

Jaejoong, who had stayed quiet all this while, looked up at him, eyes glistening with tears. "I'm sorry, Yunho, but I can't. I trusted Changmin with you once, and look what happened to him. I trusted you. And you broke that trust. I can't let Changmin be around you alone. I just can't."

Yunho stood there, frozen to the spot. Not only had he lost the respect of two of s, but now his lover was threatening to take the one person who chose to stay by his side away from him.

"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE CHANGMIN AWAY FROM ME!! he exploded. He knew he had no right to say this, after what he did to Changmin, but he couldn't be alone in this world. He couldn't.

Jaejoong looked up at him, his eyes soft, but his expression ice cold. "Then prove it to me. If you can win back Changmin's love for you, and our trust in you to take care of Changmin, then he's all yours. But until that time comes, I'm afraid it will be too much for me to bear to be able to take the idea of Changmin being so open to you."

With that, Jaejoong got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Yunho yelled as he turned around to face him. Jaejoong could hear the desparation laced in his anger.

"To meet with Lee Soo Man. I think he'll be able to work something out." Jaejoong answered, without turning to look at Yunho. "Yoochun, stay here with Changmin. Junsu, you're free to choose whether you want to follow me, or stay here with Yoochun."

Junsu looked up at Yunho with cold eyes. "I'll stay here. It seems I have three years of catching up on to do."

Jaejoong nodded and stepped outside, silently thankful for having the chance to escape the house. The tension in there was so thick it was choking him.

He looked up at the midnight sky, praying for something good to come out of this reunion, and walked towards his car.