chapter eighteen;
no time for sleep
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"Bye bye, Shota," the boys waved eagerly as they each stepped onto the bus one by one. The young, Japanese boy stood with his parents by the entrance of the adventure centre and returned the smile, probably equally as exhausted as they were. It had been an incredible experience, they'd all admit, but time drew on and they had to part ways.

Once everyone was situated in their seats — where they usually perched — Jaemin performed his duties and fired up the engine, listening to it purr even in such an ugly monstrosity of a vehicle; and somehow, he still felt proud of it. "Time for some dinner, huh?"

"Can we just skip it tonight?" Chenle asked as politely as possible without pulling on his grizzly bear suit and confessing to just how uninterested in that he was. Food sounded like effort at this point in time, and not a one of them were able to move a single limb to perform such tasks.

"Yeah, I guess. I kind of want to see the hot springs before we leave tomorrow though."

"Oh, that was in my plans as well," Donghyuck clapped his hands together. "Apparently it's really good for stress relief."

The youngest Chinese member of the tour couldn't prevent a sly smirk from forming and cheekily leaned in to pluck a headphone from Jisung's ear, whispering; "You know what else is stress relief?"

Having heard absolutely none of the previous conversation for context and being left with such a suggestive tone, the Korean flushed red as far as the tips of his ears and tilted his head to view his new seat mate. "Dude..."

"Take from that what you will," Chenle merely shrugged with a cunning grin and sat back comfortably. He was now officially content with life, having a boy whom he knew was interested in similar things to him and someone he could both tease and relate to, as well as other group members who seemed chill and unbothered by pretty much all aspects of life. Mark had come around at long last, and they had Hyuck to thank for that.

The bus journey back felt shorter than the way up, and Jeno didn't need to navigate it this time — contrarily accidentally falling asleep against Renjun's enticing shoulder. He had his glasses on to read, but since it had gotten pretty dark now, his body simply shut down and told him to take a well-deserved break. The shorter didn't mind at all, and rested his cheek to the black, fluffy hair as well to catch some shut-eye before they arrived. When that time finally came, the seven men were almost tempted to just sleep on the TTN, rather than move themselves to their rooms.

"C'mon~" Jaemin insisted, "Don't make me drag you lot. I'm exhausted too, 'cause I drive. Yeah, that's right, I actually do work. You lot just climbed a few rocks!"

"I'll personally decapitate you when my arms don't feel like jelly," Mark murmured, rubbing his face to clear the blotches of neon colours speckling his vision. Hyuck blinked back to life after feeling the male's shoulder move underneath his head, and he smiled excitedly before leaping up.

"Hell yes, bath time!"

"He has the battery life of an iPhone," Renjun scoffed before nudging his company to awaken as well. "Charges really fast, dies really fast."

"I charge pretty slowly," Jisung confessed as he and Chenle started departing from the bus first. They held their bags and whatnot on their arms and slid down the stairs like zombies before heading towards the entrance without waiting. The others all acted like traumatised seventy-year-olds who'd seen the world end and reform while picking up their bags with way more effort than necessary and getting off as well. Jaemin quickly locked up and assured that nobody would steal this heap of disappointment tonight — which was highly unlikely.

"Who's sharing what room?" Jeno enquired as he walked with Mark and Renjun behind Jaemin and Donghyuck. "Like, is it the same as yesterday since it's the same hotel?"

"I suppose so," the oldest agreed. "Unless..."

"Unless?"

"Didn't Chenle and Jisung volunteer to take it tonight?

"Wow, that's...noble," the Chinese boy chuckled with a wink, "I smell young love."

"That's just Donghyuck."

"Ha ha," he scoffed sarcastically.

They were received by the staff with no issues or questions and wandered straight up to their rooms. Dinner was offered and rejected whilst the group sorted out their belongings and made sure to branch off into the right spaces. As expected, the youngest duo suspiciously headed inside first and the others passed along this 'what have we missed?' look as if it should've been obvious. Perhaps this was the most ironic part though, since none of them had worked out their natural pair and trio yet either.

"Don't get too comfortable," Donghyuck shot his finger in Renjun's direction and disappeared inside his room without another word. Mark furrowed his brows and glanced to the second oldest with a quizzical expression.

"What—?"

"I don't know either. I hope that doesn't mean he's going to wake me up..."

They kept the ominous line in mind while wishing one another 'goodnight', and at long last everyone was able to flop onto their beds and take a breather after a rough yet crazy day. It had been a mixture of fun, terrifying and magic, altogether creating something memorable. In fact, this whole thing had been so far.

Jisung sat back against the headboard of the single bed to the left, absentmindedly folding his legs and playing with a loose thread on his sock while Chenle showered in their bathroom. His had his phone placed by his ear and was far more comfortable now that he and his mother were in contact again. It had been a battle, to say the least.

"Mhm, everything's fine over here. We went to that adventure centre thing, y'know? Hill of something..."

"Hill of Bloom, love. I was actually looking forward to that before. No matter, we can always do all this again in a year or two, and perhaps karma won't bite me."

"It was a huge mistake, Mum. And our driver...I don't know, there's something up."

"You think? I spoke with one of the TTN's driver's when yours took off without me, and he said he was supposed to drive that bus. But then they called the company and it seemed there was a mixup and a miscommunication thing going on. I'm not supposed to worry, and neither should you."

"I'm not. Actually, I've come to grow somewhat fond of these weirdos I'm with. You'd really like them, Mum. They're eccentric."

"Sounds amazing~"

The bathroom door swung open and his temporary roommate emerged with a towel around his neck and baggy pyjamas hanging off his slim frame. He sent Jisung a look, wondering if he needed to leave the room even when he really didn't want to. The youngest shook his head and smiled faintly, leaning his head back and releasing a deep sigh. "I should shower now, okay? Tell Auntie I miss her and can't wait to meet up in less than a month."

"Of course, Ji. Oh, and don't eat too much crap. Don't be antisocial either with that phone of yours and all those weird comics."

"Please drop it. I love you, bye~"

"Mhm, bye bye~"

With that the line went dead, the the two were left in radio silence for all of forty seconds. The older, however, cocked his head to the side and seemed quite confident in something all of a sudden. "Mother?"

"Yup."

"Heh, thought so. I was slightly worried you had someone waiting for you in Korea."

"Someone waiting....like who?" 

Chenle inwardly screamed at his innocence, though wasn't entirely different himself. He liked to feign complete ignorance at the best of times, and his family believed him to be a complete angel...but he did have some secrets — those of which Jisung was aware of. "Like, a partner." He allowed the towel along his neck to drop free and land on the carpeted floor with a gentle thud. Then, his eyes held dead-seriousness as he crawled onto the mattress as well and towards the taller.

"Oh, like a boyfriend?" The brunette chuckled, "No way. I don't talk to people."

"Yet you talk to me?" Chenle pointed out proudly as he got closer and closer, officially as near as they could get without touching completely. "Am I different, then?"

"I..." the boy panicked, hands dropping down to grip at the sheets under him. He had a whole catalogue of scenarios in his head from the books and comics he read that started like this...but ended a little differently. His throat seized as he fished around his mind for an answer, but everything was going blank, and Chenle smelled so fucking good after that shower.

"I must be," the Chinese adult whispered, leaning in a bit and coming off as shy even amidst the raw confidence he radiated. He liked the idea of this paradise being for a little while, and that reality flew elsewhere while they were in Japan. There was no harm in a bit of playing around until the real world tried to claim their lives back, was there?

"Le?" The youngest was about to raise a question, but a harsh knocking against the door sent the older jumping back and landing on his butt across from his hotel-buddy. He was wearing a shocked expression as real as Jisung's, like he too had been through that trance and back.

"Y-Yeah?"

"It's Donghyuck, Man. Open up."

"Fuck..." Chenle groaned, getting up and wandering towards the entrance before ripping it open. "Yeah?"

"You specifically must come with us."

"Us?"

"Renjun and I," the blonde explained, splaying his head towards the said extra and producing an unamused group member. "We're going to the hot springs as a trio, kay?"

"What? Why?" The younger whined, "I'm too tired."

"Sleep in the water. We need a bonding moment together, so come on!"

"Why us specifically though? Like," he blushed cutely and pointed behind him to an intrigued Jisung on the bed. "What about the others?"

"Eh, no. They exude more d-energy and I don't vibe with that in a bath, y'know?" Donghyuck made little to no sense, but Renjun was behind him with a desperate expression, and Chenle didn't want to let the guy down after he helped him out here and there.

"Um...okay? Give me ten minutes—"

"Three," the blonde corrected, and then blew a condescending kiss before skipping back down the halls away from his problems. The oldest raised his hands in surrender like he hadn't a goddamn clue what any of this was about. At least they were in it together.

"See you in three, I guess?"

"Okay. Don't rush yourself."

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finally back! it's been ages, but i'm so happy i have time to write everything now. thanks for your patience guys, and i missed you lots ❤️

stay safe and healthy!
-lily