chapter two;
passenger complications
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It had been around ten minutes of silent driving before the youngest of the group unplugged his earphones and looked around confusedly. The scenery passing them consisted of some sort of backroad, and Jisung hadn't a clue where they were. As he twisted in his seat to look out the back, his heart dropped a whole metre as a realisation dawned on him. "Where's my-"

The loud ringing of a phone boomed throughout the once silent bus, making the six boys in the back leap from fright. The brunette sat back properly and viewed the caller ID, smiling brightly when he found his mother's name. Answering immediately, he held the device to his ear and rushed through his questions. "Mum?! What the hell? I just realised you weren't here, and now I'm shitting myself! You left me on a bus alone with randos in Japan?!"

"Jisung, calm down. I-" she glitched and faded before returning, "Make your way to your-" again she was cut off, and eventually the poor male couldn't even discern what she was trying to say through the static. How was the service over here so bad?

"Mum?! Mum?!" His breath hitched when the line went dead, leaving him stunned to silence. "F-Fuck..."

"What's wrong?" The guy sitting to the other end of the row enquired softly, his legs crossed elegantly and chocolate hair a frizzy mess over his forehead. "Was that your mother?"

Jisung chose not to respond and instead got up and rushed to the front. He leaned over the front seat to keep himself steady as the vehicle jiggled along the road, addressing their youthful driver. "What the hell? How could you leave my mother behind?!"

Jaemin scoffed, picking up his clipboard while keeping one hand on the wheel, "There are six of you, Kiddo. Obviously your mum wasn't supposed to be here."

The young adult was at a loss for words as he glared angrily at the man. "Bullshit! Why would she leave her son alone in a country he's never been to?! That doesn't make sense, and we planned this trip together!"

Meanwhile, as the pair were arguing non-stop at the front, Donghyuck slinked out of his seat and cheerfully dropped down beside the oldest of the passengers, leaning forward and trying to view the man's face as he gazed out the window. "Hello, Mister. What's your name?"

The ravenette tensed up, reluctantly glancing to his side and checking who the hell was approaching him. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?" Hyuck chuckled excitedly now that he had his attention. "I want to get to know you. To know everyone, really."

"What's the point?"

The younger furrowed his brows and tilted his head. Of course he'd want to familiarise himself with these people, it was natural to desire relationships with strangers you'd be spending time with, wasn't it? "I guess..." he hummed, sitting back and relaxing into the seat, "A month is a long time, y'know? We should all be friends if we'll be-"

"Hang on, what?"

"Hm?"

"A month? Why would......Wait, where is this bus going?" He gasped, looking back towards the window and suddenly thinking that the countryside was a little odd when he was planning on staying in the city for three days.

"It's a tour, Silly. A month long excursion through Japan."

The man's jaw went slack as he stared back at the pretty boy and flickered his sights over various points, unable to focus. "I have a meeting in three hours.....this isn't my bus!" As if on queue, his phone vibrated and sang in his pocket, irritating the younger to no end.

Mark stood up in a hurry and dashed to stand beside Jisung who was still yelling frustratedly. "Excuse me?!" He hissed at Jaemin, "I'm on the wrong bus! I need you to turn around and take me back to the city."

The driver clicked his tongue with a sigh and once again checked his clipboard. "Look, these are the names. How were you wrong?"

"For fuck's sake, that says Park Aera! That's a woman's name!"

"That's my mum!" Jisung insisted. He was starting to wring his fingers nervously and panic a bit now that he was alone. "T-Take me back to the city as well! We were going to see my aunt after this trip."

Jaemin seemed all too disinterested as he picked up the speed to tease them. "Chill out, guys. It's not that bad, is it? Just seven dudes on a bro-trip through some country none of us know, vibing with the-"

"Wait," Renjun suddenly shot up from his seat to lean over the one in front of him, "D-Did you say you don't know this country? You don't know Japan?"

"Well, I watch anime. I should be good."

Jeno pulled out his headphones too when he noticed the commotion happening at the front of the bus. He eyed each male individually and wore an anxious expression when standing up to look as though he was interested. What's going on?

"Look, I can't miss this trip," Mark insisted. "This is the difference between buying X Enterprises or losing the deal! Drop. Me. Back."

"I can't speak a word of Japanese," the youngest added. "I don't know how to get back on my own...."

"Speaking of which," the white-haired adult pursed his lips while slowing off as they came to a crossroad, "Can anyone actually read it? I've ignored about five signs so far, so I haven't a clue where we are..."

The sound of someone choking on their saliva resonated through the long vehicle, but it was ignored. Instead, both Donghyuck and Jeno edged out of their seats and trailed on over. "I can read it pretty well," Jeno explained, "I came here to immerse myself in the language."

"Brilliant," Jaemin cheered, "You're officially Nerd Number One, and you," he poked his finger at Donghyuck, "Your name escapes me, but you don't look like a nerd."

"I can speak it better than I can read it," the older shoved up his middle finger, but smiled cutely to portray his inner irritation through prettiness. "Nonetheless, I can be useful. I am a fanatic of all things Japanese."

"Awesome, in which case I won't call you Nerd Number Two, but you can still sit up here please."

"Who's Number Two, then?" Jisung muttered distastefully while sauntering back to his place and attempting to call his mother again. It would all be for naught though, and he had a bad feeling about this situation.

"Wait, if you're Korean and over here," Renjun called from a small distance away, "Doesn't that mean you learned Japanese to do this job? Like, I'm confused as to how laid back you are right now when supposedly guiding us with no knowledge...."

"I'm new," the other deadpanned, turning a corner and causing everyone to slide to the side and hit off other one another, or the windows. "Did I tell you I dropped out of college, Renjunnie?"

"You can remember his name, and not mine...." Hyuck sighed, sitting down to remain safe near the front. "Unbelievable." Jeno perched himself beside the brunette, trying not to come off as awkward with how worried he felt.

Mark picked up his phone again and was, as usual, involved in another external conversation. This time though, everyone sort of listened as he returned to sit alone, giving out about how he'd been essentially kidnapped. Chenle giggled softly at the back and assumed he hadn't been heard, but a certain grumpy boy glanced in his direction and wore such a sour face.

"Why are you laughing? This is a disaster?"

"O-Oh, I mean...." he swallowed harshly, "Never mind."

Renjun sighed and pulled out the brochure of activities they were supposed to be doing this month. The first one up was a traditional Japanese garden, which sounded lovely. "Okay, we need to get to the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. Where are we right now?"

"Hira....." Jeno strained his eyes to look at a sign coming up, "Hirakata in Osaka?"

Donghyuck clapped excitedly, "That's really good! We're only like, forty-five minutes away from Kyoto."

"Does anyone have Google Maps?" Jaemin called as a general question. "I mean, I don't mind relying on road signs read by a guy who's still learning Japanese, but the internet could be helpful."

"The service is atrocious," Jisung yelled back from the end of the bus. "I'd stick to him."

The said ravenette pouted since no one had bothered to learn his name. "I'm Jeno...."

"Oh, I remember I liked that name," the driver grinned. "So Jeno~" he sang it annoyingly, "Tell me where I'm supposed to go."

Mark was still animatedly arguing on the phone until the line suddenly went dead, and the call was cut off. "Ah, shit!"

"Service," Jisung reminded him.

"I have 3G," the oldest complained.

"Very helpful when you don't have service," he reiterated, and everyone held back the urge to roll their eyes. These two were already becoming pains in the asses, and Jaemin wasn't even included in their conversation.

More cars were coming into view now, signifying that they were about to reconnect with more civilisation. Everyone took their seats more comfortably and hoped for the best. Mark couldn't believe how unlucky he had been today, after a long enough flight from America that had been equally as taxing on his body. This was all happening under the horrible summer heat that had their bodies itching and sweat forming rapidly.

"Is there any air conditioning?" Chenle eventually called after peeling off his somewhat weighted shirt and being left in a vest. "It's so hot."

Jeno turned around and answered for Jaemin at the front, "I had a look, and I'm afraid not. The radio doesn't pick up signals either."

"So this bus isn't only ugly, but useless as well?!" Donghyuck whined, pushing his fringe off his forehead. "I'll die before we make it to the hotel tonight."

"Oh shit," Mark hissed. "A hotel?! I don't have any reservations, nor do I intend on hanging around."

"You could share with me," the brunette wriggled his eyebrows, to which the business elite cringed and looked away.

"I'm straight."

"Hello Straight, I'm Pushy."

"Let's go back to being awkward and quiet again," Jisung whispered under his breath.

Renjun sunk down into his seat and pulled his legs up to his chest, leaning his head against the window and staring out towards the traffic starting to flow past. The space suddenly went quiet aside from their guide's obnoxious humming, and for now, he supposed everyone was okay with that.

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Wow, you guys are amazing and funny 😆
The feedback and comments on the profiles and first chapter alone made my day!
Thanks for reading, and I hope my dire humour entertains you somewhat.
-lily