chapter three;
no turning back
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The concept of 'socialising' still hadn't been reached amidst the members of the tour group. Everyone still sat on their own, conversations had stopped altogether other than the faint murmur of Jeno and Donghyuck translating and guiding Jaemin, and the heat was enough to knock a horse out. Civilisation was all around them now outside, which meant they'd finally reached Kyoto after intense awkward silence.

Renjun had to clip his damp fringe back and snapped an icepack to lay it on his forehead. The sweat was so uncomfortable, but this was better than nothing. Subtly, a few of the others saw his brilliant idea to bring such a thing along and were jealous. But nobody raised a simple question like; do you have a spare? It was immature, really, how childish they were all acting.

"Okay, okay, I think this thing is telling me we're low on petrol," Jaemin suddenly yawned from the front, and everyone furrowed their brows upon his uncertainty.

"Did you say 'I think'?" Donghyuck enquired. "Shouldn't you know what all this technology is trying to tell you?"

"I said I was new, alright? Get off my ass."

"Oh fuck, we have an untrained driver," Mark ran his fingers through his dark, sweaty hair. "I'm going to die. This is the end for me."

"Stop being so melodramatic," Hyuck rolled his eyes. "He hasn't killed us yet, has he?"

"Yet," Jisung reiterated from the very back. "There is a still a chance he could run us off the side of a fucking mountain."

"Let's all calm down," Renjun raised his voice a small piece to have his point heard, sliding the icepack off his forehead and holding it in his hands. "We're all too hot, we're all sweating buckets, and we're all worried about our wellbeing due to a novice bus driver. Haven't any of you taken into account that we're all in the same boat? The same situation?"

"Which leads me to ask why the hell you're so calm?" Mark groaned. "And you," he jabbed his finger in Chenle's direction who looked dead, all flopped out over his seat, "And you," finally to Jeno. "You three don't seem to give a flying shit that we're all in this situation."

The oldest Chinese adult sighed, stretching out his arms and taking no mind of the question. "This could be a fun trip, and unlike you, I don't want to ruin it. Let's just try to give this a chance, yeah?"

"I'm all for that," Jeno smiled softly, catching Renjun's attention. They sort of held a fond eye contact at their mutual understanding, but it was cut off when the bus suddenly stopped. Everyone jolted forward and then back, gazes shifting to the windows to find themselves at a petrol station.

"Okay, people. I'll be like," the blonde at the front shrugged, not really sure at all, "Ten minutes? How long does it take to fill a bus?"

Nobody answered.

"Alrighty then, I hope silence represents uncertainty. I'll be back soon, regardless."

Renjun suddenly stood up and trailed to the exit point as well, following the male, "I'll help you."

"It's just filling the tank..."

"Mhm, I need to get out and stretch my legs anyway. Why not share the company....?"

Jaemin smiled cutely and motioned for the older to come along, both departing together. Jeno wrung his fingers on his lap, sort of stuck because Donghyuck was beside him, but wanting to get out for some air as well. The younger could see this shift in behaviour anyway, and chuckled before getting up. "Guys, I think we all need to walk it off. Someone wake Chenle up and let's go."

Mark pursued them as they stepped down into the Japanese heat and basked in the freedom of being able to move. He pulled his phone out again and tried walking around to find signal once more. Luckily, the station had free WiFi, so he dashed inside much to Donghyuck's disappointment. He'd hoped the 'no service' thing would've brought everyone together.

As Jaemin plugged the tap into the vehicle, Jeno and Renjun stood by his sides and comfortably chatted like the sociable people they were. The atmosphere when onboard was stifling, so this was a relief.

"I'm just here for a break and to listen to authentic Japanese without classroom filtration, y'know?" Jeno hummed, fanning his face with his hand and looking cute with rosy cheeks. None of that took away from his masculine appeal though, and he seemed to have his life sorted out in an attractive way. "I also want independence from my family, as well. They're always kicking me out to try new things."

"That sounds lovely," Renjun beamed. "My family don't really care what I do as long as I visit at least once or twice a year. I finished military training as soon as possible so I could get through college and start my life. But....I sort of think I want to enlist again. Best two years of my life so far."

Jaemin looked over his shoulder after hearing this and smirked. "How admirable. You don't look like a fighter or a resilient person, but I think it's cute that you are. I'll be sure not to mess with you."

"The fact that you would before is a bit concerning."

"I'm joking," the youngest winked, turning back to the pump and dislodging it as the tank was full. "You guys are way more interesting than me. High school was a pain in my ass, and I tried college for like, three months and gave up."

"And now you're here," Jeno chuckled, "Driving the bus."

Donghyuck shivered against the sudden air-conditioning that chilled his perspire-covered shoulders once entering the station's little shop. There were a few people wandering around, talking to each other in a language he was semi-familiar with. His eyes were trained on the man at the back of the store though, chatting to someone on that stupid phone of his. He pouted dejectedly and wandered over to an aisle of drinks to pick up some cold water. While taking one to hand, he paused momentarily and decided to buy seven of them for the sake of everyone else. Chenle had seemed extremely dehydrated back there.

He began juggling all of them in his arms unsteadily, taking one step at a time while making his way to the kiosk. The freezing bottles were sore against his tanned skin, but he sucked it up and waited in the queue of about three people. Come on, please, he begged mentally, feeling one slide in his grip. Shit.

He went to squeeze his hold on the collection more firmly, but sent one squirming from the top towards the edge of his wrist. He was certain it'd fall at this rate and squeezed his eyes shut to wait for the sound.

But it never came.

"Jeez, you actually prove that stereotype, don't you?" Someone sighed, making him open his eyes and glance up to view the man who saved his bottle.

"Mark?"

"Mhm."

Donghyuck had a hundred and one questions for him now, a lot of which came with having his attention again. But he settled his swarming mind and chose just one. "Stereotype?"

"Yeah, the one where pretty people are clumsy. Or is it dumb? I can't remember, but you seem to be living by it."

"Oh, fuck you then," the younger scoffed, looking in front of him again with a grumpy expression. "I'm not dumb...."

"But you're clumsy."

"And what's wrong with that?!"

"Did I state an issue with it?"

The brunette groaned, holding the six waters tightly and burying his face in them. He had no response for such smartassery, so he instead left it alone. Mark couldn't help but smirk all the same, flipping the cold, plastic container in his hand and trying his best to be nice. Honestly, in the industry he worked in, pleasantries weren't useful. He had to be tougher than this.....yet Hyuck wasn't his colleague nor his rival, and had only been kind to him.

"You know....you could've asked for my help. I know you saw me there," he tried, looking to the younger who was childishly staring off into space.

"Hm? Oh, you were on the phone....so I just..."

"I would've come over."

"I didn't know that, did I?"

They fell into silence again, though this time much more comfortable. Mark would've said more, but he didn't know what it was he could've said. Donghyuck wanted to pick the man's brain for stories and relatable experiences - like friends did. But he was too shy for now, and this was the longest civilised conversation he'd gotten from the guy so far.

He didn't want to ruin it.

"Chenle," Jisung sighed, nudging the sluggish boy in his sleepy position. "Chenle, come on. Get some air."

"Mhm," the older hummed, crawling in a dazed, bleary state towards Jisung's blurred figure and resting his head on his lap. "Gimme five more minutes."

"I'm not your mum....."

That didn't receive a response, however, so the young adult whined at the injustice of being stuck here with a stranger and stayed still in contrast. "Chenle, I'm thirsty. My water is all warm and we'll be leaving for the gardens soon. Please, please, please get up."

There were still no words from the Chinese boy, and Jisung started to get a little worried. He knew he should've been more classy, but he felt he had no choice but to root through the guy's bag and see if he could find a drink. He was awestruck to see absolutely no trace of liquid in any way, shape, or form. There was a half-chewed granola bar that could've been hours old, and no drink.

"Chenle, are you serious? Have you had anything to drink since the airport?!"

The same silence returned so the tallest decided that enough was enough. The poor man was dehydrated beyond belief, and he'd surely get sick this way. Lifting him up by his shoulders, Jisung rested him back against the seat again and saw how sickly his skin tone was, along with the intense sweating that hadn't been fought with water. He must've lost his weight in H2O from this amount of perspiration. "Hey, listen to me. I'm gonna go and get you a drink, okay? You're not well."

"Ngh," the older whimpered, throwing his arm at the other, weakly landing on his chest. "No."

"No?"

"Don't wanna go...."

"Chenle, I'm literally going to be five minutes. It's just a bottle of water, it won't take ages-"

"Stay."

This guy, Jisung thought with narrowed eyes, rolling them once he found himself stuck by morals. He didn't have to wallow in self-pity for much longer though, as everyone started to reenter the bus and take their seats. This time though, Renjun sat near the front, and Donghyuck chose to be near Mark again. Were they all bonding out there? He didn't need to know, though.

"Here!" Hyuck called, leaning against his seat and tossing one bottle of water down to Jisung. "I got this for you."

"Oh, thanks. What about Chenle?"

"Here," he repeated with a cheeky grin. "What'd you two get up to while we were gone?"

"Literally nothing," the youngest hissed, turning back to the pale Chinese male and proceeding to help him get some fluids into his system. Since when was I designated babysitter? God, I want my mum back.

"Everyone buckle up," Jaemin yelled, but no one actually did as they were told, too invested in their nice conversations now that they had them.

At least there was progress.

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