27th July

Jisung sat on the beach and dug his toes in the sand. Chan and Changbin were still running through the water and splashing themselves, but he had been cold.

Happily smiling, he watched the two as he snuggled up in his fluffy towel.

Their time in Australia was almost over, which made him incredibly sad, because it had been just wonderful here.

They hadn't been able to move so freely since they had become idols and they enjoyed being able to walk around the area like simple tourists without being recognized.

To be able to walk hand in hand on the beach in the evening without having to fear meeting any fans.

What was even nicer was getting to know Chan's past. To see where he had grown up and gone to school. To explore together with him what things were still like they used to be and what had changed.

And Jisung was incredibly happy to be able to walk on the beach again. The last six months had been incredibly exhausting. They had worked a lot and even though they had achieved a lot, they had urgently needed the break.

They had only been approved for two weeks, but that was better than nothing. They had even managed to leave Korea unnoticed, which was almost a miracle.

Now they had just two days left before they had to fly back home and Jisung would have liked to stay here.

He couldn't begin to understand how Chan must feel. Australia was so wild and so beautiful and he rarely had the opportunity to come here. His homesickness had to be huge.

Whenever the opportunity arose, Jisung had bought small souvenirs and decided to decorate their dorm with them. He had filled three small, beautiful bottles with sand, sea water and small stones. Bought small cuddly toys. Little koalas and kangaroos. He knew it wasn't the same, but he very much hoped that it would alleviate Chan's homesickness a little.

Yawning, he let himself sink on his towel and closed his eyes.

They had been out for lunch and then decided to spend some time on the beach before they had to get ready for dinner at Chan's parents house.

Which made all three of them quite nervous. Because they didn't know if they should tell Chan's parents the truth or if it would be better if they won't.

Actually, Chan's parents were dear, open people and, as far as Chan knew, had nothing against same-sex relationships. Chan just didn't know what they would think about the fact that all three of them were together.

Just when Jisung had fallen asleep, Chan and Changbin came running to him. Laughing and dripping with water, they let themselves fall on their towels next to him.

"Ey cold...," Jisung muttered, who had woken up from it again.

Grinning, Chan put his hand on the younger's thigh.

Changbin had already wrapped himself in his towel and cuddled up with the younger one, who pulled him to himself.

"We don't have that much time left. Maybe we should go home and get ready?" Chan asked.

"Mhm, good idea. I need a warm shower to get rid of the sand," Jisung murmured tiredly as he gently stroked through Changbin's wet hair.

Smiling, Chan watched the two for a moment and then started packing their things.

Yawning, Jisung finally sat up, pulled his shirt over his naked upper body and helped Chan pack, while Changbin clung to his towel, which Chan wanted to take away from him.

"Come on, Binnie. We could take a shower together if you'll help pack now," Chan said with a grin and finally succeeded.

When they drove back "home" to their holiday apartment late in the evening, Chan was 100% sure that his mother suspected what was going on between him Jisung and Changbin.

She had said nothing and they had all made a crazy effort not to touch each other too often or to be too familiar with each other.

But his mother just noticed everything and he wondered how he had even come up with the idea that he could hide something from her.

But he didn't say anything about it to Jisung and Changbin.

As long as his mother didn't comment on it, it was like she wouldn't mind either.

Smiling, he looked at Changbin who was sleeping in the passenger seat.

A look back showed him that Jisung had fallen asleep too and he was looking forward to being able to cuddle with the two right away.

He tried not to think too much that tomorrow would be their last whole day in Australia, because if he thought too much about it, tears would stream down his face.

The homesickness never completely disappeared, but the longer he was in Korea, the better he could push it aside. But the last two weeks had shown him again how beautiful his home was and he knew how much he would struggle when he was back in Korea.

Sighing, he breathed in the cool sea air as he got out of the car and stopped for a moment before he opened the car door and lifted Jisung out of the car.

A gentle smile appeared on his lips as the younger one snuggled up in his arm.

Jisung and Changbin made the homesickness easier to bear and superimposed it with so much love that it had become easier for him since they were really together.

He had enjoyed the time very much. Even if at the same time a lot of sadness had come up when he saw how much some things had changed. But many things had remained the same and he had finally been able to show them where he had grown up.

Just when he wanted to go back to the car to get Changbin, he sleepily walked towards him.

"Have you locked the door?" Chan asked yawning and pulled the younger one to him.

After Changbin nodded, he pulled him into the bedroom with him and together they cuddled up to Jisung.

The next day already felt far too much like leaving. They had to pack and clean up the apartment and actually they could felt like crying after it.

The last few days, their departure had somehow always been very present and floated over them like a sword of Damocles, but they had still had time to enjoy their vacation.

Now their packed suitcases stood at the front door waiting to be packed into their rental car.

They would have to leave early the next morning to take the rental car away and check in their luggage.

One last time they packed their stuff for the beach, but none of them spoke a word. They were all absorbed in their thoughts.

But instead of laying on the beach, as they had often done in recent days, they left their swimwear in the car and walked along the beach.

The weather seemed to do them a favor, because it was gray and cloudy, which somehow rarely happened here.

But so only a few people were on there and they almost had the beach to themselves.

Only when Changbin complained that he was hungry they finally turn around. And although Chan and Jisung were also hungry, they didn't really feel like going out to eat.

Chan's parents had invited them to some fancy restaurant in the evening and so they decided on sandwiches and then sat down on the beach.

But when the first raindrops fell, they finally drove back to their holiday apartment.

The packed suitcases at the door only made it clear to them once again that their free time was soon over.

Together they snuggled up on the sofa and were finally so late that they had to hurry up to get there on time.

After getting dressed up, they finally sat together in the car and Chan was really looking forward to dinner with his parents.

His parents had chosen one of their favorite restaurants and Chan knew that the food there was amazing.

After the meal, his mother pulled him into her arms and pressed a kiss on his forehead. "I hope you are happy! Then I'm happy too," she said smiling and lovingly ruffled through his hair.

"I love you, Mom," he murmured and it was difficult for him to hold back his tears. Because he knew very well that it would take a long time for him to see his parents again.

"I love you too!"

They said goodbye to Chan's parents, but instead of driving straight home, they decided to go for a walk on the beach.

The clouds were gone and the stars sparkled in the sky above them.

"We absolutely have to come back...," Jisung muttered and grabbed Chan and Changbin's hands.

"Maybe we can perform here at some point," Changbin said with a smile and looked up at the stars.

"Then maybe we should work harder to make this possible," Jisung murmured and kissed Chan gently.

He nodded and even when a gentle smile appeared on his lips, his heart felt incredibly heavy.

Silently, they continued walking until they were so tired that Jisung was sure that he could fall asleep standing up.

Early the next morning they packed their remaining things. Walked through the apartment together again to see if they had packed everything and finally sat in the car on the way to the airport.

Somehow they were incredibly sad that they had to leave, but they had put themselves in their heads to become so successful that they were allowed to perform here. And they really wanted to work on that.

And yet the way home was just exhausting.

When they wanted to hand over the rental car, their system didn't work, so they had to rush insanely to check in their luggage in time.

And after all the hustle and bustle, their departure was delayed by another hour due to some mechanical problems.

Tired and annoyed, they sat in the departure hall and waited to finally be allowed on the plane.

Jisung had spent a little time browsing through the duty-free shop, but the waiting time afterwards seemed endless to him.

Chan sat next to him with his headphones and worked on something, but he didn't want to show him what he was working on.

When they were finally able to fly off about an hour and a half later, they were almost relieved.

When they landed in Seoul in the evening, they were pretty knocked out and just wanted to go home to bed.

It took a while until they got their luggage and their manager met them with three bodyguards.

Somehow the paparazzi and their fans had noticed that they had flown back to Seoul and a huge, screaming pack was waiting for them.

Almost automatically, Chan and Changbin took Jisung in their midst and tried to shield him.

He had pulled his shoulder up and just wanted to get out.

The bodyguards tried their best to keep the fans from getting too close to them, but they were just too few.

And then it happened.

A girl ran directly towards Jisung and before anyone could react, she had crashed into him.

Chan tried to catch him, but Jisung hadn't seen her coming, lost his balance and fell down. Banged on his elbow and remained frozen on the ground for a moment.

Shocked by all the shouting, Changbin turned around and was next to him almost at the same time as Chan.

Tears ran down Jisung's face and he seemed to be incredibly in pain.

They reacted almost immediately and carefully pulled him up and Chan, without thinking, pressed a gentle kiss on his lips.

Only when Changbin stared at him in shock did Chan realize what he had just done, but it was too late.

The damage had already been done.

Chan took a deep breath, grabbed Changbin's hand, supported Jisung carefully and together they went to the exit.

The fans had become silent and parted so that they could walk unhindered to their car.

Their manager followed them, but didn't know how to react himself.

Only when they arrived at the car did their fans start screaming again.

Some insulted them and gave them bitter looks.

Others cheered and loudly demanded another kiss.

But Chan tried to ignore it all. He only was just functioning right now.

He made sure that Jisung first got into the car, then Changbin and finally himself.

"Baby, how are you?" he asked worriedly as soon as the door had closed behind them.

"It fucking hurts," Jisung gasped and wiped the tears from his face with the other hand.

"Do you want to pretend that didn't happen right now, babe?" asks Changbin half amused, half shocked.

"No. But that's not important right now. First we go to the hospital and then we take care about the fact that I'm an idiot. And then we will probably get yelled at by our manager anyway, who has certainly been in a crisis meeting by then," Chan sighed and rummaged for a tissue in his bag.

After he handed Jisung the tissue, he asked their driver to bring them to the hospital, where they spent another eternity waiting.

Fortunately, his arm was only sprained and not broken.

When they were finally on their way home, it was almost midnight.

Their phones vibrated almost continuously, but none of them dared to look at them.

Their manager had already called and ordered them to go to the studio early the next day.

Jisung struggled with tears again and again, because he was insanely afraid that their career was over.

Chan and Changbin also panicked, but they tried to push their feelings aside and just tried to function.

❆ ⟢꧁꧂ ⟣ ❆

Guuuuuuys (つ╥﹏╥)つ
I'm thinking about if I should write another chapter or if I should do like a second part of this story? I would already have a name for it: 24 reasons to hold on to you (๑•́o•̀๑)
What do you think about it?
And would you want a Q and A?

Anyway thank you again so much for loving this story and for staying with me till the end even if it took like forever. When I started to write this story it was just planned as an advent calendar and I haven't expected it to turn into something I'm really proud of even tho I think some parts are poorly written ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ
Thank you so much! I love you! ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა