Amor de mi Alma || 2Jae

Chapter 17

Much to Youngjae's relief, everything went well during the concert. Even though Rosy had to run to and fro to get her instruments for Appalachian spring and they had a bit of a delay when Jaebum couldn't find his mallets for the xylophone, and eventually dropping them once he had found them causing the audience to laugh at his clumsiness, to which Youngjae knew for sure that Jaebum would be shaking and blushing and sweating furiously. 

When they finish playing Lightning Field, they are met with a warm applause and then they are shooed off the stage to make space for the Choir kids, while Amber and Baxton Callahan - a saxophone - remain to play the piano and to play a soft bit of drums during the songs of the Choir.

"Jaebum," Youngjae says when most of the band is already walking out the doors for their dinner. Only two flutes and a clarinet remain in a group in the room and the French horns are talking quietly about how they had messed up a certain part in Amor de mi Alma.

Jaebum looks up, face red with embarrassment and hands visibly shaking and glistening with sweat. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Jaebum hesitates, then tears well in his eyes and Youngjae's heart sinks. Of course, the older boy is scared, scared of everyone's opinions of him when he walks out. He'll be known as the mallet-dropping boy to the audience and Youngjae knows that Jaebum doesn't want that.

Youngjae takes initiative and takes Jaebum in his arms, giving the older boy a tight hug, rubbing his hand up an down Jaebum's back to calm him, and it seems to work as Jaebum slumps into Youngjae's hold. 

After a few minutes, Youngjae pulls back and ruffles Jaebum's hair, "Let's go get dinner. I promise you that everything'll be fine, okay? And if anyone even dares to make fun of you they'll get to meet my fists."

Jaebum chuckles and nods and wipes his tears before they walk out of the room, and through the halls until they reach the outside patio, where most of the dining takes place.

They find Jinyoung, Kunpimook, and Yugyeom sitting at a circular, five-seater table in a corner, snacking on pieces of toasted baguette dipped in a sauce, whispering quietly among themselves in worry. Their whispering stops, though, once Jaebum and Youngjae sit down.

"Jaebum, are you okay?" asks Jinyoung, and Youngjae side-glances at Jaebum; the older boy seems like bursting into tears again but he keeps them inside and merely nods.

Jinyoung seems to want to ask more, but a waiter comes by and asks for anything that they want, and after looking at the menu for a bit Youngjae decides on a simple salad. Some quests of the restaurant pass by them when they're eating, complimenting them on their playing, and luckily Jaebum's accident doesn't get mentioned once as the people are rather occupied in asking Youngjae about his injured and still bandaged hand and saying that he played very well despite it.

By the time they've finished dessert, Jaebum wants to go out into the park alone with Youngjae before the firework shows start, which will start at nine. They quickly change out of their performance clothes and back in their normal clothes and then head out.

"Hey Jaebum," Yougnjae says, as they wait in line for Splash Mountain. Jaebum hums in response. "You played very well today for your first concert."

"Thanks," Jaebum reaches out and ruffles Youngjae's hair with his hand. "You played very well, too."

Youngjae grins and takes Jaebum's hand, stopping the older boy from messing up his hair, and his breath catches when he realizes how close he is standing to Jaebum just inches apart, and he feels his cheeks burn when he glances down at the older's lips.

But then the line moves, forcing Youngjae and Jaebum to part, much to Youngjae's displeasure, and they remain in an awkward silence for the rest of the time until they get on the carts. 

"Here," Jaebum reaches into his backpack and takes out a small towel from the hotel, stuffing it in Youngjae's face to dry off the water from when they were on Splash Mountain. He wipes Youngjae's hair aside and once Youngjae's face is clean from water, he uses the towel to dry his own face and hair. 

"Thanks."

"No problem."

It's still awkward. Youngjae doesn't know what to do or say - he and Jaebum had almost kissed in front of thousands of strangers waiting in line to get on the ride, and he is sure that the people behind him and Jaebum were probably wondering what had happened.

But Youngjae doesn't have much time to dwell over whether he should be happy that it didn't turn out to be embarrassing in front of everyone, or to dwell over that he should be sad that he didn't get to kiss Jaebum. He is pulled to the nearest bathrooms Jaebum can find and once inside, Jaebum digs through his backpack and takes out a bandage, a tube of cream, and a gauze.

"Hand."

It's a simple command but Youngjae knows what to do, handing Jaebum his left hand. Even though they changed the bandage just the day before after they had returned from the beach, it is already dirty and when it is taken off the wound, Youngjae sees the yellow stain of the cream Jaebum used.

"I think it should be healing well by now," says Jaebum, as he begins to put the cream over the healing wound again, putting a gauze over it and wrapping the clean bandage around Youngjae's hand tightly. "Maybe not so quick that you can go without the bandages before this trip ends like I said before, but maybe in a week you can go without it."

Youngjae nods and when Jaebum finishes putting the safety pins down, he brings Youngjae's hand to his mouth and presses a kiss to Youngjae's knuckles before letting go to pack his things again. Youngjae stands frozen on his spot. Jaebum just practically flirted with him - they almost kissed, lips-to-lips, and then Jaebum kisses the knuckles on his injured hand.

"Where do you want to go next?"

Youngjae chooses to go to Space Mountain, and the line is painfully long for the ride but that doesn't matter once they are standing, closer than before and not moving away, mainly out of fear that Youngjae taking a step to the side can send the wrong signals to Jaebum and he doesn't want to jeopardize what they had going on (flirting?) today.

They take one of the couches of the ride closest to the back, as Jaebum asks for it, and as one of the staff comes to make sure every safety bar is down properly, Youngjae looks around at the scenery around him, and then he catches the eyes of someone sitting in front of him who turned around at the exact same time, and Youngjae can feel his breath quickening.

In front of him sits the man that nearly kidnapped him twice and was the cause for the cut in Youngjae's palm.

Next chapter shit is going to hit the roof boiis

Prepare yourself. Also, might not update in a while since I'll be on a band trip next week, Tuesday until Tuesday, I think. Ha, build the suspense lmao