[fic; 30emo] Sadame no Ito :: Sayonara
Title: Sadame no Ito :: Sayonara
Chapter: #11 of The Long Chain Cycle
Author: Cross (xmachina_writes)
Band/Pairing: DBSK
30emotions Prompt: #13: Fear
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: mild AUness
Word Count: 3203
Summary: Forces that threaten to tear them apart, forces that could bind them together stronger than before.
Rewind: Long Chain - Fanboy - Encounter in Kyoto - Returning - Horizon - Grey Sky Morning - Rebound
Sadame no Ito :: Snapping Threads - Drop Spindle - Tapestry
Comments: I was all set to hold this longer, but Yujji has been bugging me for ... a really long time to get this posted, so... XD;; This fic is also partner to her sidebar Rage.
~*~*~
They never told management about Changmin's threat - there was no point. Besides, the suits were too busy screaming at them for disappearing for an entire day and a half. At least this time the five of them were able to stand together, present a united front against the wrath of Management. Jaejoong's quiet interruption that screaming at them only wasted more time and the hair and make noonas would already be pressed to get them ready for their photoshoot so could they please be excused now brought an abrupt end to the meeting, but no one believed that was the actual end of things.
Finding Lee Soomin waiting for them when they got home after a long day of shooting only brought back those feelings of dread. The founder might not have been actively running the company anymore, but seeing him in their living room, knowing he'd come all the way to Tokyo just to see them ... it couldn't be for anything good. And Changmin could taste their collected fear on the back of his tongue.
“Before any of you leap to the wrong conclusion, SM isn't letting you quit. However, you do have to pack your things and find a smaller apartment. Avex has spent the last two days screaming at my people about you being in breach of contract and they refuse to keep you any longer. We're looking into alternate labels already, but until we have a solid contract, we can't afford to pay both rents. I'm sorry, I can see the five of you have settled here quite thoroughly.”
Murmurs of acceptance like a sigh of relief. If moving was the worst they had to face, then so be it.
Except no one had realized just what moving was going to mean.
“This is impossible! We couldn't even get a storage unit on that kind of budget!” Yoochun declared, throwing down yet another unhelpful realty paper.
“Maybe this is their unsubtle suggestion that we start paying a portion of the rent ourselves?” Junsu suggested. “We could do that, right? I mean, it's not like any of us are exactly poor these days....”
“Su-yah, have you even looked at the Tokyo listings? Rent here is ridiculous, what SM is offering won't even cover half the rent of a three-bedroom apartment unless we get something way out in the suburbs or something so tiny we wouldn't have the room to breathe.”
“What if we got a two-bedroom apartment?” Changmin suggested.
“Wouldn't really save any money that way,” Yoochun sighed, giving up to flop in disgust on the other end of the couch. “Besides, we need at least a three bedroom place, maybe even more. No offense, but I'm kinda sick of sharing a room with you two.”
“But do we really?” Changmin persisted. “I mean, it's not like we really spend much time at home anymore. Too busy doing everything else.”
Indeed, it had felt entirely strange and wrong to be spending so much time in their apartment the last few days. SM was grudgingly footing the bill for some photoshoots, but Avex had yanked all of Tohoshinki's studio times. And without a Japanese label already lined up as a distibutor, Sm's accountants were reluctant to spend any more money than necessary. Yunho had resorted to going to the neighborhood gym to get his daily fix of dance practice while the rest of them hunted fruitlessly for a place to live.
“You know, maybe we just shouldn't worry about it. Soon as we get a new distribution contract, the new label will chip in for a new apartment, right? And if that doesn't happen before the end of the month, well, SM'll just be sending us home anyway, right?” Junsu suggested, an almost criminal amount of hope in his eyes.
“Um ... even if whatever new label goes for that - and, you know, aside from JE, they don't really do that so much over here anymore - they're probably still going to expect us to have found someplace. It's not like we're doing much else at the moment,” Changmin countered, stifling another sigh.
“Ah, good, the rest of you are still here.”
The words might have been innocent enough, but the tone of their manager's voice suggested that the man was bringing them yet more bad news.
“You are to pack what you need to go back to Korea. Movers will be here tomorrow to take care of the rest. You will be flying back to Seoul in the morning, to continue work there until the situation here can be resolved.”
“But ... the tour!”
“Has been cancelled,” their manager said and there was a darkness to his voice that none of them had heard before in all the years they had been working together. “SM will be focusing your professional attentions on Korea and the rest of Asia for ... the foreseeable future.”
Something had gone very wrong, it was the only explanation for their manager's words and tone, and Changmin felt fear crawling up his spine once more. The way he spoke, as if SM was pulling them from the Japanese market entirely. Or worse. But that tight-lipped look said very plainly that this was not something open to discussion. Changmin knew throwing a tantrum wouldn't do any good, but oh how he was tempted to do just that. It wasn't fair, Avex was completely overreacting over nothing. Yes, they'd disappeared for a day, but that had completely been in response to Avex's chewing them out for a relationship that hadn't existed for almost a month!
“Manager-sshi! Jaejoong-sshi! Manager-sshi!!”
A breathless page burst into their apartment, red-faced and panting as if from some sort of long and hard run. The noise drew Yoochun into the living room like a magnet, and Junsu actually stopped his game, putting aside the controller and even turning around completely. Changmin could feel the dread in his stomach twisting even tighter as Yoochun tossed the boy his bottle of water, scolded him to drink and breathe. But while the boy was obviously grateful to gulp down half the bottle, he didn't take any longer a pause than that.
“Manager-sshi, you have to come quickly. Jung-sshi is in the hospital!”
“What?? Ridiculous! Why weren't we called?!”
“I tried it myself, but I couldn't get through.”
“Ridiculous!” their manager scoffed again, pulling his cellphone from his pocket. And then a look of pure mortification passed over his face - either the phone was off or their manager had set it to silent earlier and forgotten to change it.
“Fine, whatever, why wasn't I called?” Jaejoong insisted, almost pouting, and Changmin was curious to hear the logic behind that one.
“I'm sorry, Jaejoong-sshi, but it was agreed that Manager-sshi needed to be told first. But please, we hurry now? They need his family information.”
Jaejoong stomped over to the closet, muttering about stupid people even as he started tossing jackets at them. It wasn't until Junsu's jacket smacked him in the face that the situation seemed to actually sink in with the rest of them, and then the lounge became a flurry of activity, of grabbing for jackets and scrambling into shoes before rushing out the door. Even as they hurried across town, Changmin couldn't help wondering how much worse things could get.
~*~*~
Changmin listened intently as the doctor explained what had happened, knowing he'd have to clarify for the others later. Scary enough to have Yunho in a hospital at all, hearing words like 'fractured vertebrae' didn't make things any better. And this time the doctor was putting her foot down, refusing to even hear of Yunho doing anything but what she allowed. And she most certainly wasn't going to let him out of her hospital until she was satisfied that he was healing properly.
“You can't do this. He has -.”
“I already know who he is and what sort of commitments and lifestyle he has. And I cannot put things any more plainly than this. If he is allowed to leave this hospital against my advice, the next time he injures himself, he may very well be paralyzed for life. When he was first brought into the hospital, he had lost all feeling in his legs. There was a point where we seriously doubted he would even walk again. This is a very serious situation and I will not allow you people to bully my patient into signing a release just so you can put him to work again sooner.”
Changmin could tell their manager was itching to continue arguing, to try browbeating the woman into complying with his demands. They hadn't even been allowed in to see Yunho yet and with none of them being blood relations ... they didn't need to be antagonizing the doctor to the point that she forbid them access.
“Manager-sshi, she has a point. Maybe ... maybe we should listen and let the doctors take care of him.”
Their manager muttered something about needing to call Yunho's parents anyway, leaving the four of them to share a knowing look. This wasn't over, their manager was just pulling back until he could find another avenue that might lead to him getting his way.
“Please keep being stubborn, Shima-sensei,” Changmin murmured with a respectful bow. “The five of us definitely support you.”
Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu all echoed his comment and for a moment she actually looked almost embarrassed by their sincerity. Or perhaps merely overwhelmed and pleased.
“Thank you. He should be awake now if you want to go see him.”
They all offered words of thanks and appreciation before making their way up to Yunho's room. Yunho was looking especially grouchy and that was probably the only thing that kept Jaejoong from smacking him.
“Manager-sshi's not with you?”
“He's calling your parents,” Jaejoong replied, taking the solitary seat at Yunho's bedside without contest. “How do you feel?”
“... how the hell do you think I feel?” Yunho grouched, his expression darkening. Right, right, stupid question. But it was Jaejoong, what did Yunho expect?
“Well, I should hope that you'd feel pretty fucking stupid for doing this to yourself yet again,” Jaejoong shot back.
“Bastard,” Yunho muttered, plucking at the blankets spread over his lap. He wasn't looking at any of them anymore. More, Changmin could almost read the riotous emotions flickering over their leader's face. Anger, frustration, pain ... fear? Hmm, yes, fear. Understandable; Shima-sensei would have told him how lucky he was not to be paralyzed for life, he was sure. And then there was the matter of surgery ... if Yunho even knew about it yet.
“Shima-sensei says you'll be here in the hospital for at least a week. We were supposed to go back to Seoul in the morning, but that's obviously not happening now. Um, actually, maybe we should be getting a hotel somewhere? You know, so Manager-sshi doesn't have to worry about it?” Jaejoong asked, twisting around to look up at the rest of them.
“Sounds like a plan. Come on, we'll do that while you two talk,” Yoochun said, dragging Junsu and Changmin both out of the room. Even after they were out in the hall, even when Yoochun let go of Junsu, the elder still kept a hold on Changmin, even going so far as to sling an arm around his shoulders.
“Er, Yoochun-hyung....”
“If we're going to get a hotel for the week, you're going to have to do the talking, Changmin-ah. I think one room should be enough for the four of us.”
The way he said that sounded almost ominous. The way Yoochun was smiling at him wasn't really any better.
“Which do you think would be better? Two doubles or a king and a roll away?”
“Yoochun-hyung....”
“Unless you have a better idea?”
“We should wait for Manager-sshi. Unless you mean for us to pay for this all by ourselves?”
“Hmm, security could be a problem,” Yoochun said, nodding in something like agreement.
“He's right, Chunnie. I mean, it was a good idea to say what you did, give umma and appa some space, but we really should wait for Manager-sshi before doing anything about a hotel. You know what our fangirls can be like....”
“All right, fine,” Yoochun relented, although he was still latched onto Changmin. “But you're still staying with us, Minnie-yah. You're not wiggling out of it, using your insane connections - nice work on those, by the way - to hide away in someone's closet or something in the supposed name of saving us some won or yen or whatever.”
“I ... I would never.... I know how much you all worry, I wouldn't just disappear like that. Not on purpose, anyway,” Changmin protested, though he couldn't help adding the qualifier, since he had disappeared on them a couple times. It was how he knew how much all four of his bandmates could turn into worrying, tutting mother hens. Not that he'd done it on purpose, of course, and after the second time he had decided that he would have to be out of his mind to try to purposefully disappear on his bandmates. Jaejoong was scary when he'd been worried sick for the last two hours. And violent. Really violent.
“And where do you three think you're going now??”
“Nowhere, Manager-sshi. Just waiting for you so we can set up a hotel booking for the week. We figured one room would be enough, especially since Jae-hyung will probably be trying to stay here at the hospital as much as possible.”
“Yes, well ... good. I'll go take care of that and you three ... don't go anywhere.”
“I need to go outside to make a couple phone calls,” Changmin said, hurrying to add, “but Junsu-hyung and Yoochun-hyung will be right there with me.”
“Right outside that door, no wandering off. If the fans find out you're here....”
All three nodded, knowing quite well what could happen ... what would happen when the fans found out they were at this hospital.
“He's not going to let us stay all week,” Changmin murmured, waiting for the other end to pick up.
“How do you know?” Junsu asked, shuffling closer even as he kept a wary eye out for fangirls.
“His boss won't let some doctor mess up Sm's plans for us. They're going to figure out something to get him out of the hospital before the end of the week.”
“You've reached ... Ogata Ryuichi. Please leave a message after the tone or press pound for additional options.”
Changmin swore softly; he hated voicemail.
“Ryu, it's Min. We're at St. Michelle's in Ginza. Call me when you get this.”
Hanging up, he considered his options before sighing and dailing the next number on his list.
~*~*~
It had taken Keita physically picking Jaejoong up and carrying him (loudly protesting) out of the hospital, but the six of them were now sitting in a back booth at a small noodle shop while, a couple tables over, their manager held an earnest conversation with whatever suit-type it was that Keita and Ryuichi had brought with them. At least it gave them a few moments of relative privacy to figure out what they were going to do about the situation.
Changmin had, unfortunately, been right. No one really believed their manager was happy with the situation, but Yoochun, Junsu, and Changmin were supposed to be flying back to Seoul in the morning, with Jaejoong and Yunho following in another three or four days. SM already had plans for getting them back to work, new songs for them to record for a new album to be released before the end of the year. Not entirely unreasonable ... or at least it wouldn't have been if Yunho were well, but inasmuch as their leader had just been through back surgery and his doctors were adamant that he not do anything even resembling work for the next three weeks.... Of course it wouldn't be the first time that SM - and Yunho himself - ignored medical advice in the name of getting their cash cow back to work sooner.
“They're just going to keep doing this as long as we keep letting them,” Jaejoong grumbled, stabbing at his noodles with his chopsticks. “They won't stop until he really is paralyzed!”
“It's not like there's anything we can do about it,” Junsu sighed. “They kinda own our souls right now.”
“There has to be something we can do!”
“If we refuse to cooperate, they can cite us for being in breach of contract. We're already being sued once, you realize,” Changmin huffed, poking at his own food. He just wasn't hungry. Something about watching their dreams swirling 'round the drain made him lose his appetite. And so help him if any of them even breathed a word about this being his fault, he was going to start stabbing out eyes with his chopsticks.
“Wait ... we are? Since when?” Junsu asked, startled.
“That's, ah, yeah, usual procedure for breach of contract,” Ryuichi said, offering them a sympathetic smile. “I'm sure your label's handling all the details. Which I guess makes for another reason to play nice and do as they say.”
“Yunho's health is the most important thing,” Jaejoong insisted with a dark look. “I think we all can agree to that, yes? We can't be Tohoshinki without Yunho and if they don't let him heal, then that's what's going to happen.”
“Jae....”
Their eldest member was probably right, but it really was out of their hands. If the doctor could win her fight to keep Yunho in the hospital, then they would all be grateful ... from Korea. Because barring some act of divine intervention, Changmin didn't see any way they'd be allowed to stay in Japan. He hated the thought of how much of a disappointment this entire situation was going to be for their fans, but such things happened sometimes.
“At least you get to stay here with him,” Junsu sighed, half-heartedly tossing a wadded napkin at Jaejoong.
“For now, at least,” Jaejoong harrumphed. “Who knows how long that'll last.”
“Well ... if they send you back to Korea before he gets out of the hospital, Ryu and I can visit him. Ryo-kun, too. So even if you can't all be together, at least he won't ever have to be here alone.”
Such a borderline sickeningly sweet sentiment ... and yet it was so perfectly Keita. Jaejoong would be miserable and nigh on impossible to live with if he got sent home before Yunho was released from the hospital, but maybe knowing their leadersshi wasn't completely alone would help make him more liveable.
~*~*~
Normally, Changmin would demand the window seat and watch the ground fall away beneath them as their plane rose up into the air. This time he'd asked for the aisle, buried himself in his mp3 player's collection of tunes and a book he'd been meaning to read for months. He didn't want to watch Japan dropping away from them, didn't want to think about who they were leaving behind and why.
Didn't want to think about the note tucked into his bag in the airplane's hold. Thinking wasn't going to make anything better. At least there would be plenty of work in which to lose himself when they were back in Seoul.
Chapter: #11 of The Long Chain Cycle
Author: Cross (xmachina_writes)
Band/Pairing: DBSK
30emotions Prompt: #13: Fear
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: mild AUness
Word Count: 3203
Summary: Forces that threaten to tear them apart, forces that could bind them together stronger than before.
Rewind: Long Chain - Fanboy - Encounter in Kyoto - Returning - Horizon - Grey Sky Morning - Rebound
Sadame no Ito :: Snapping Threads - Drop Spindle - Tapestry
Comments: I was all set to hold this longer, but Yujji has been bugging me for ... a really long time to get this posted, so... XD;; This fic is also partner to her sidebar Rage.
~*~*~
They never told management about Changmin's threat - there was no point. Besides, the suits were too busy screaming at them for disappearing for an entire day and a half. At least this time the five of them were able to stand together, present a united front against the wrath of Management. Jaejoong's quiet interruption that screaming at them only wasted more time and the hair and make noonas would already be pressed to get them ready for their photoshoot so could they please be excused now brought an abrupt end to the meeting, but no one believed that was the actual end of things.
Finding Lee Soomin waiting for them when they got home after a long day of shooting only brought back those feelings of dread. The founder might not have been actively running the company anymore, but seeing him in their living room, knowing he'd come all the way to Tokyo just to see them ... it couldn't be for anything good. And Changmin could taste their collected fear on the back of his tongue.
“Before any of you leap to the wrong conclusion, SM isn't letting you quit. However, you do have to pack your things and find a smaller apartment. Avex has spent the last two days screaming at my people about you being in breach of contract and they refuse to keep you any longer. We're looking into alternate labels already, but until we have a solid contract, we can't afford to pay both rents. I'm sorry, I can see the five of you have settled here quite thoroughly.”
Murmurs of acceptance like a sigh of relief. If moving was the worst they had to face, then so be it.
Except no one had realized just what moving was going to mean.
“This is impossible! We couldn't even get a storage unit on that kind of budget!” Yoochun declared, throwing down yet another unhelpful realty paper.
“Maybe this is their unsubtle suggestion that we start paying a portion of the rent ourselves?” Junsu suggested. “We could do that, right? I mean, it's not like any of us are exactly poor these days....”
“Su-yah, have you even looked at the Tokyo listings? Rent here is ridiculous, what SM is offering won't even cover half the rent of a three-bedroom apartment unless we get something way out in the suburbs or something so tiny we wouldn't have the room to breathe.”
“What if we got a two-bedroom apartment?” Changmin suggested.
“Wouldn't really save any money that way,” Yoochun sighed, giving up to flop in disgust on the other end of the couch. “Besides, we need at least a three bedroom place, maybe even more. No offense, but I'm kinda sick of sharing a room with you two.”
“But do we really?” Changmin persisted. “I mean, it's not like we really spend much time at home anymore. Too busy doing everything else.”
Indeed, it had felt entirely strange and wrong to be spending so much time in their apartment the last few days. SM was grudgingly footing the bill for some photoshoots, but Avex had yanked all of Tohoshinki's studio times. And without a Japanese label already lined up as a distibutor, Sm's accountants were reluctant to spend any more money than necessary. Yunho had resorted to going to the neighborhood gym to get his daily fix of dance practice while the rest of them hunted fruitlessly for a place to live.
“You know, maybe we just shouldn't worry about it. Soon as we get a new distribution contract, the new label will chip in for a new apartment, right? And if that doesn't happen before the end of the month, well, SM'll just be sending us home anyway, right?” Junsu suggested, an almost criminal amount of hope in his eyes.
“Um ... even if whatever new label goes for that - and, you know, aside from JE, they don't really do that so much over here anymore - they're probably still going to expect us to have found someplace. It's not like we're doing much else at the moment,” Changmin countered, stifling another sigh.
“Ah, good, the rest of you are still here.”
The words might have been innocent enough, but the tone of their manager's voice suggested that the man was bringing them yet more bad news.
“You are to pack what you need to go back to Korea. Movers will be here tomorrow to take care of the rest. You will be flying back to Seoul in the morning, to continue work there until the situation here can be resolved.”
“But ... the tour!”
“Has been cancelled,” their manager said and there was a darkness to his voice that none of them had heard before in all the years they had been working together. “SM will be focusing your professional attentions on Korea and the rest of Asia for ... the foreseeable future.”
Something had gone very wrong, it was the only explanation for their manager's words and tone, and Changmin felt fear crawling up his spine once more. The way he spoke, as if SM was pulling them from the Japanese market entirely. Or worse. But that tight-lipped look said very plainly that this was not something open to discussion. Changmin knew throwing a tantrum wouldn't do any good, but oh how he was tempted to do just that. It wasn't fair, Avex was completely overreacting over nothing. Yes, they'd disappeared for a day, but that had completely been in response to Avex's chewing them out for a relationship that hadn't existed for almost a month!
“Manager-sshi! Jaejoong-sshi! Manager-sshi!!”
A breathless page burst into their apartment, red-faced and panting as if from some sort of long and hard run. The noise drew Yoochun into the living room like a magnet, and Junsu actually stopped his game, putting aside the controller and even turning around completely. Changmin could feel the dread in his stomach twisting even tighter as Yoochun tossed the boy his bottle of water, scolded him to drink and breathe. But while the boy was obviously grateful to gulp down half the bottle, he didn't take any longer a pause than that.
“Manager-sshi, you have to come quickly. Jung-sshi is in the hospital!”
“What?? Ridiculous! Why weren't we called?!”
“I tried it myself, but I couldn't get through.”
“Ridiculous!” their manager scoffed again, pulling his cellphone from his pocket. And then a look of pure mortification passed over his face - either the phone was off or their manager had set it to silent earlier and forgotten to change it.
“Fine, whatever, why wasn't I called?” Jaejoong insisted, almost pouting, and Changmin was curious to hear the logic behind that one.
“I'm sorry, Jaejoong-sshi, but it was agreed that Manager-sshi needed to be told first. But please, we hurry now? They need his family information.”
Jaejoong stomped over to the closet, muttering about stupid people even as he started tossing jackets at them. It wasn't until Junsu's jacket smacked him in the face that the situation seemed to actually sink in with the rest of them, and then the lounge became a flurry of activity, of grabbing for jackets and scrambling into shoes before rushing out the door. Even as they hurried across town, Changmin couldn't help wondering how much worse things could get.
~*~*~
Changmin listened intently as the doctor explained what had happened, knowing he'd have to clarify for the others later. Scary enough to have Yunho in a hospital at all, hearing words like 'fractured vertebrae' didn't make things any better. And this time the doctor was putting her foot down, refusing to even hear of Yunho doing anything but what she allowed. And she most certainly wasn't going to let him out of her hospital until she was satisfied that he was healing properly.
“You can't do this. He has -.”
“I already know who he is and what sort of commitments and lifestyle he has. And I cannot put things any more plainly than this. If he is allowed to leave this hospital against my advice, the next time he injures himself, he may very well be paralyzed for life. When he was first brought into the hospital, he had lost all feeling in his legs. There was a point where we seriously doubted he would even walk again. This is a very serious situation and I will not allow you people to bully my patient into signing a release just so you can put him to work again sooner.”
Changmin could tell their manager was itching to continue arguing, to try browbeating the woman into complying with his demands. They hadn't even been allowed in to see Yunho yet and with none of them being blood relations ... they didn't need to be antagonizing the doctor to the point that she forbid them access.
“Manager-sshi, she has a point. Maybe ... maybe we should listen and let the doctors take care of him.”
Their manager muttered something about needing to call Yunho's parents anyway, leaving the four of them to share a knowing look. This wasn't over, their manager was just pulling back until he could find another avenue that might lead to him getting his way.
“Please keep being stubborn, Shima-sensei,” Changmin murmured with a respectful bow. “The five of us definitely support you.”
Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu all echoed his comment and for a moment she actually looked almost embarrassed by their sincerity. Or perhaps merely overwhelmed and pleased.
“Thank you. He should be awake now if you want to go see him.”
They all offered words of thanks and appreciation before making their way up to Yunho's room. Yunho was looking especially grouchy and that was probably the only thing that kept Jaejoong from smacking him.
“Manager-sshi's not with you?”
“He's calling your parents,” Jaejoong replied, taking the solitary seat at Yunho's bedside without contest. “How do you feel?”
“... how the hell do you think I feel?” Yunho grouched, his expression darkening. Right, right, stupid question. But it was Jaejoong, what did Yunho expect?
“Well, I should hope that you'd feel pretty fucking stupid for doing this to yourself yet again,” Jaejoong shot back.
“Bastard,” Yunho muttered, plucking at the blankets spread over his lap. He wasn't looking at any of them anymore. More, Changmin could almost read the riotous emotions flickering over their leader's face. Anger, frustration, pain ... fear? Hmm, yes, fear. Understandable; Shima-sensei would have told him how lucky he was not to be paralyzed for life, he was sure. And then there was the matter of surgery ... if Yunho even knew about it yet.
“Shima-sensei says you'll be here in the hospital for at least a week. We were supposed to go back to Seoul in the morning, but that's obviously not happening now. Um, actually, maybe we should be getting a hotel somewhere? You know, so Manager-sshi doesn't have to worry about it?” Jaejoong asked, twisting around to look up at the rest of them.
“Sounds like a plan. Come on, we'll do that while you two talk,” Yoochun said, dragging Junsu and Changmin both out of the room. Even after they were out in the hall, even when Yoochun let go of Junsu, the elder still kept a hold on Changmin, even going so far as to sling an arm around his shoulders.
“Er, Yoochun-hyung....”
“If we're going to get a hotel for the week, you're going to have to do the talking, Changmin-ah. I think one room should be enough for the four of us.”
The way he said that sounded almost ominous. The way Yoochun was smiling at him wasn't really any better.
“Which do you think would be better? Two doubles or a king and a roll away?”
“Yoochun-hyung....”
“Unless you have a better idea?”
“We should wait for Manager-sshi. Unless you mean for us to pay for this all by ourselves?”
“Hmm, security could be a problem,” Yoochun said, nodding in something like agreement.
“He's right, Chunnie. I mean, it was a good idea to say what you did, give umma and appa some space, but we really should wait for Manager-sshi before doing anything about a hotel. You know what our fangirls can be like....”
“All right, fine,” Yoochun relented, although he was still latched onto Changmin. “But you're still staying with us, Minnie-yah. You're not wiggling out of it, using your insane connections - nice work on those, by the way - to hide away in someone's closet or something in the supposed name of saving us some won or yen or whatever.”
“I ... I would never.... I know how much you all worry, I wouldn't just disappear like that. Not on purpose, anyway,” Changmin protested, though he couldn't help adding the qualifier, since he had disappeared on them a couple times. It was how he knew how much all four of his bandmates could turn into worrying, tutting mother hens. Not that he'd done it on purpose, of course, and after the second time he had decided that he would have to be out of his mind to try to purposefully disappear on his bandmates. Jaejoong was scary when he'd been worried sick for the last two hours. And violent. Really violent.
“And where do you three think you're going now??”
“Nowhere, Manager-sshi. Just waiting for you so we can set up a hotel booking for the week. We figured one room would be enough, especially since Jae-hyung will probably be trying to stay here at the hospital as much as possible.”
“Yes, well ... good. I'll go take care of that and you three ... don't go anywhere.”
“I need to go outside to make a couple phone calls,” Changmin said, hurrying to add, “but Junsu-hyung and Yoochun-hyung will be right there with me.”
“Right outside that door, no wandering off. If the fans find out you're here....”
All three nodded, knowing quite well what could happen ... what would happen when the fans found out they were at this hospital.
“He's not going to let us stay all week,” Changmin murmured, waiting for the other end to pick up.
“How do you know?” Junsu asked, shuffling closer even as he kept a wary eye out for fangirls.
“His boss won't let some doctor mess up Sm's plans for us. They're going to figure out something to get him out of the hospital before the end of the week.”
“You've reached ... Ogata Ryuichi. Please leave a message after the tone or press pound for additional options.”
Changmin swore softly; he hated voicemail.
“Ryu, it's Min. We're at St. Michelle's in Ginza. Call me when you get this.”
Hanging up, he considered his options before sighing and dailing the next number on his list.
~*~*~
It had taken Keita physically picking Jaejoong up and carrying him (loudly protesting) out of the hospital, but the six of them were now sitting in a back booth at a small noodle shop while, a couple tables over, their manager held an earnest conversation with whatever suit-type it was that Keita and Ryuichi had brought with them. At least it gave them a few moments of relative privacy to figure out what they were going to do about the situation.
Changmin had, unfortunately, been right. No one really believed their manager was happy with the situation, but Yoochun, Junsu, and Changmin were supposed to be flying back to Seoul in the morning, with Jaejoong and Yunho following in another three or four days. SM already had plans for getting them back to work, new songs for them to record for a new album to be released before the end of the year. Not entirely unreasonable ... or at least it wouldn't have been if Yunho were well, but inasmuch as their leader had just been through back surgery and his doctors were adamant that he not do anything even resembling work for the next three weeks.... Of course it wouldn't be the first time that SM - and Yunho himself - ignored medical advice in the name of getting their cash cow back to work sooner.
“They're just going to keep doing this as long as we keep letting them,” Jaejoong grumbled, stabbing at his noodles with his chopsticks. “They won't stop until he really is paralyzed!”
“It's not like there's anything we can do about it,” Junsu sighed. “They kinda own our souls right now.”
“There has to be something we can do!”
“If we refuse to cooperate, they can cite us for being in breach of contract. We're already being sued once, you realize,” Changmin huffed, poking at his own food. He just wasn't hungry. Something about watching their dreams swirling 'round the drain made him lose his appetite. And so help him if any of them even breathed a word about this being his fault, he was going to start stabbing out eyes with his chopsticks.
“Wait ... we are? Since when?” Junsu asked, startled.
“That's, ah, yeah, usual procedure for breach of contract,” Ryuichi said, offering them a sympathetic smile. “I'm sure your label's handling all the details. Which I guess makes for another reason to play nice and do as they say.”
“Yunho's health is the most important thing,” Jaejoong insisted with a dark look. “I think we all can agree to that, yes? We can't be Tohoshinki without Yunho and if they don't let him heal, then that's what's going to happen.”
“Jae....”
Their eldest member was probably right, but it really was out of their hands. If the doctor could win her fight to keep Yunho in the hospital, then they would all be grateful ... from Korea. Because barring some act of divine intervention, Changmin didn't see any way they'd be allowed to stay in Japan. He hated the thought of how much of a disappointment this entire situation was going to be for their fans, but such things happened sometimes.
“At least you get to stay here with him,” Junsu sighed, half-heartedly tossing a wadded napkin at Jaejoong.
“For now, at least,” Jaejoong harrumphed. “Who knows how long that'll last.”
“Well ... if they send you back to Korea before he gets out of the hospital, Ryu and I can visit him. Ryo-kun, too. So even if you can't all be together, at least he won't ever have to be here alone.”
Such a borderline sickeningly sweet sentiment ... and yet it was so perfectly Keita. Jaejoong would be miserable and nigh on impossible to live with if he got sent home before Yunho was released from the hospital, but maybe knowing their leadersshi wasn't completely alone would help make him more liveable.
~*~*~
Normally, Changmin would demand the window seat and watch the ground fall away beneath them as their plane rose up into the air. This time he'd asked for the aisle, buried himself in his mp3 player's collection of tunes and a book he'd been meaning to read for months. He didn't want to watch Japan dropping away from them, didn't want to think about who they were leaving behind and why.
Didn't want to think about the note tucked into his bag in the airplane's hold. Thinking wasn't going to make anything better. At least there would be plenty of work in which to lose himself when they were back in Seoul.