Black Thunder (Markson AU)

Chapter 10: You Never Know

Jaebum yawned and rubbed his eyes as he lingered by the airport, waiting for Jackson and Mark to emerge from the plane. His brain was still half-asleep from the nap he'd taken on the plane, and his back was sore from the uncomfortable plane seats. He leaned on his luggage as he opened up his phone. It was a text from one of the officials at Black Thunder, Ok Taecyeon.

OT: Have you guys arrived yet?

IJ: Yes, we've arrived safely. We'll be making our way towards headquarters shortly.

OT: Thank you, Jaebum.

"JB! Is that you?"

Instantly he whirled around to see Mark and Jackson standing side by side by the gate. Jaebum motioned for them to come over as he put his phone away. As the two of them approached him, Jaebum turned to Jackson. "Taecyeon texted me. They're expecting us."

Jackson nodded slowly, not making eye contact with him. "Thanks. We should get a taxi or something."

Mark frowned at the idea. "Are you sure?" he asked, tilting his head. He gazed around at the enormous amount of people who were shuffling around the airport. "Isn't that a little risky?"

"Mark's right," Jaebum said, grabbing his luggage by the handle. "We're going to take the bus."

Jackson nodded again, silently. "Alright, let's go. I forgot where the bus stop is, though. I haven't been here in awhile." He let out a single laugh and looked around the airport. "Ah," he sighed, shaking his head. "It's good to be back."

Jaebum noticed his odd tone of voice. It was slight, of course, as it almost always was. He wanted to say something, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. Mark rubbed Jackson's back to comfort him, which earned him a small smile. What the heck happened between them when I was asleep?! He thought to himself. Instead he sighed and checked his watch. "The bus leaves in about ten minutes. Let's go."

During the bus ride, Jackson and Mark had small conversations here and there, conversations that Jaebum couldn't eavesdrop since the bus was so loud from everyone else's chattering. Soon enough, Jaebum pulled the rope, signaling that he wanted to get off. He made eye contact with Jackson to tell him that they were at their destination. He shuffled around with his suitcase for a second before tugging Mark's shirt and relaying the message to him also. The bus screeched to a stop, and the three of them hopped off the bus and into the sunny outside.

"This way," Jaebum said, nudging his head to the right as the bus chugged away. "It's a bit of a long walk."

"He's lying," Jackson snorted, looking at Mark. "It's a really long walk."

Jaebum rolled his eyes, but couldn't resist laughing at Mark's petrified face. "Stop exaggerating, Jackson. Come on."

Jackson wasn't exaggerating. It seemed like they'd been going on for hours, just trudging through the streets of Hong Kong. They'd alternated through sun, shade, city streets, and dirt roads. Mark was panting, Jackson was whining, and Jaebum's forehead was shiny with sweat.

"Are you sure you remember the way?" Jackson panted, stopping for a moment to breathe.

"Yes, I'm sure," Jaebum spat out, wiping his forehead. "It's far away for safety reasons. Let's take a couple minutes, we're almost there anyways."

He couldn't have said it a minute too soon. The three of them plopped down at a bench to take a minute and catch their breaths.

"Where are we?" Mark asked around deep breaths. He looked around at the unfamiliar place. They'd exited the main city about twenty minutes ago and veered onto a dirt road, and now the land was covered in green grass and dirt.