One day, Jaejoong had come home with a child by his side. 

None of them had questioned it; it was Jaejoong after all. It wasn’t a strange occurrence, and it was easy, at the time, for them to assume that Jaejoong was just being his normal kind and giving self. 

Maybe the kid was lost, and Jaejoong was allowing him to stay there until the child’s mother was able to pick him up.

Maybe the kid was a nephew of Jaejoong’s, and he was simply taking care of him for his sister.

Maybe this; maybe that; it really didn’t make a difference.

At that moment, it really had been just a common Jaejoong happening. 

It’s in retrospect, however, that they realize. They realize that at that moment- that moment, they could have made a difference. 
And, that maybe, maybe, if they had done something at that time, that maybe… just maybe… 

Even now, they still aren’t able to finish that sentence. 



(-)


One day, Jaejoong came home with a child by his side.

They didn’t think anything of it and simply shrugged it off.

Jaejoong didn’t say anything, either.



(-)


They started seeing the child around more often. The boy had a chic look about him that resembled Jaejoong to the tee. He followed Jaejoong around like a little baby chick, his hair styled amicably and his eyes covered by branded sunglasses.

He looked like a mini Jaejoong, and the visual of the child jogging behind Jaejoong, his legs too short to keep up with Jaejoong’s long strides was just too adorable. 

They wanted to inquire, but, instead, they thought to themselves, why should they? 

It was all so harmless. 



(-)


It was when they started seeing the child around almost all the time, when they realized that nobody aside from them seemed to even acknowledge the kid’s existence, that they really took a step back and wondered. 

It was Yunho that was the first to ask. 

It was Jaejoong’s look of bewilderment that made a dreaded feeling build in their guts.

And, it was his words that made them pale. 

“What child?” 

None of them were able to sleep that night.



(-)


They could still see the child- only now, it was all the time, and the child’s way of dressing was much more down, more comfortable. Less like the idol Jaejoong they see, and he was more like the Jaejoong they know. 

They realized the child never glanced at them. He only had his eyes on Jaejoong. 

He was also permanently frowning. 



(-)


In retrospect, maybe they were observing the child too much, and not looking at Jaejoong enough.



(-)


It was Yoochun who discovered something strange. 


Well, something strange to add to the already strange and disturbing situation. 


The child followed Jaejoong around everywhere, never leaving him for a second, but, at night, when Jaejoong went to sleep, the child seemed to disappear completely. 



(-)


They realize now why that was so.



(-)


On a particularly bad day for all of them, where scolding seemed to be the only type of acknowledgement, they noticed something new.

Whereas Jaejoong was trying to be positive and bring up the depressed mood, the child was crying. 

He was literally wailing. 

His face was in his hands, his shoulders moving up and down, and his whole body was trembling. 

But, they couldn’t hear anything.

They couldn’t hear the child’s cries.



(-)


It was after that day, that the child became increasingly expressive. 

Whenever something exciting was occurring for them, he was bursting with energy.

Whenever they were praised and recognized for all their hard work, the child was smiling and jumping in place. 

Whenever bad news hit the group, the child would have his head down, and he would cry. 

Whenever something terrifying (be it funny or not) happened, the child was always the first to run. 

He expressed what they all wished they could. 



(-)


Despite it all, they grew used to having the child there- so used to it that they actually felt fear, concern, panicked, when one day, the child wasn’t. 



(-)


Maybe all along they had known who the child was, what it was there for, maybe that was why they reacted so extremely to its disappearance- because, maybe, subconsciously, they knew what that meant. 



(-)


It was the day that they were able to hear the child’s screams that they knew.

They knew. 

They also ran, ran with all they could to the source. 

Because… they knew. 



(-)


The child stood there. His hair was its natural raven black. His clothes childlike. 

His screams of distress bounced around the bathroom. Tears were pouring down his face.

The child stood there, and at his feet, was a vision of a man they knew well, and red.

Too much red. 

The child stood there and slowly began to fade.

Changmin was the first one to the phone. 

Yoochun was on his knees- his cries echoing along with the child’s. 

Junsu was holding Yoochun.

Yunho was frozen.

The child stood there.

But, they knew. 

It wasn’t the child standing there.

It was Jaejoong. 



(-)


One day, Jaejoong had come home with a child.

The child was painted red. 

Jaejoong didn’t say anything though.