Crybaby

3 - Flight

It was pitch dark in the room when the ringing of his phone woke Yunho from a restless sleep. He sat up halfway and blinked. The cold air outside his blanket felt unpleasant. Groggily, he reached for his phone. It was one of their managers, so that he answered immediately, "Yes?"

The response came promptly, "Yunho, pack a few things. Now. We've spontaneously received a request for a photoshoot and an interview from a prestigious Japanese magazine, both online and print. The driver will pick you up in 15 minutes, wake up Yeosang too. See you at the airport!"

The manager had hung up before Yunho fully understood what he had said. His brain had to process whether the phone call had been real or if he had still been dreaming. But since he was already sitting up, he opted for the former. It was real, and he needed to get up. He rubbed his eyes and turned on the light.

Didn't we have other plans for the next few days? No idea...

He was too tired to really think about it. He glanced at his phone again, 01:47... he had probably just fallen asleep. Of all days, when he had managed to fall asleep before three in the morning, something like this had to happen. He sighed and got up quickly. He went over to Yeosang's room to wake him up and quickly explain what was going on. Both freshened up, threw some things into their suitcases, and left the apartment as soon as it rang.

About three-quarters of an hour later, they arrived at the airport and met the others who were already there. Yunho greeted them tiredly and received equally tired responses. He sat down on the bench next to Jongho and sank into his large olive-green jacket. He had put it on specifically to at least feel somewhat cozy while they were out in this cold night. He also wore a black beanie, loose jeans, and Chucks.

Three of their managers and a few other staff members were also present, taking care of tasks like checking in luggage. They waited for their cue before heading to the security checkpoint. They were lucky that it was the middle of the night, and the trip was so spontaneous that even obsessive fans probably hadn't had a chance to follow them. The bad weather added to that...

Yunho looked around and saw their captain in the distance. He was speaking animatedly to the responsible manager. Obviously, he was angry about the last-minute change of plans. Yunho's brain was now working well enough to remember that there was supposed to be another fan meeting the next day. This was probably now postponed. Hongjoong didn't like it when things were decided completely over his head. And above all, he couldn't stand it when such decisions were made at the expense of Atiny.

Yunho glanced down at his shoes. He could understand Hongjoong well, but ultimately, it was their company that had the final say.

Then everything happened quickly, and they passed through security and slowly made their way to the gate. The mood was bad. It had been said that after the promotion, a quiet phase was ahead, and they would also have time for individual activities and days off. That was apparently off the table now. They were all exhausted, and the unpredictability of such things drained even more of their reserves.
That became evident when Wooyoung's circulation apparently didn't handle this spontaneity well today. He struggled with dizziness and nausea.

One of the managers tapped Yunho and handed him a printed ticket. "Yunho, Mingi, you're sitting together," she said and moved on to Seonghwa to assign him his seat. Yunho stared at the paper in his hand and glanced briefly at Mingi. The two hadn't exchanged a word since their altercation yesterday before the fan meeting - or whatever it was. But Yunho was too tired and still too irritated by Mingi's behavior to address him right now.

It is what it is, then we'll just sit next to each other. If he wants to sulk, if he doesn't tell me what his problem is, there's nothing I can do...