Chapter Text
It wasn't like it was the first time.
Waiting for their manager’s bedroom door to shut, slipping out of bed, catching each other's eyes in the darkness that was illuminated only by Jaejoong’s phone, and tip-toeing through the door, into the hallway.
They shared identical grins as they passed Yunho and Changmin’s room, hearing Changmin murmuring in his sleep and Yunho’s soft sigh as he waited for it to cease.
Junsu was passed out on the couch, controller dangling from one hand, soccer game flashing “YOU LOSE” across the TV screen.
Without a word, they grabbed their shoes and slipped out the front door.
It was a simple ritual. An easy, familiar one. Something they did often and promised never to do again every time they were caught.
“Ramen?” Yoochun asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets, breath white in the cold December air.
Jaejoong shrugged and pulled a cigarette from his inside coat pocket.
Tomorrow was Christmas. And they were in Japan. Away from family and friends, schedule packed, no one but each other to spend it with. It was a bittersweet thing: sharing a cigarette with Yoochun as they walked, each missing the people they loved most while wanting nothing more than to spend the first hours of Christmas together.
Sneaking out had become their routine. A thing that was more exhilarating than standing on stage, no matter how many times they did it. It was their escape. Each trip outside felt like grand adventure despite the ramen shop being a mere five minute walk from their apartment. It was always open late into the night, even on Christmas Eve, as if knowing two young men would shuffle in from the cold, if only for a temporary illusion of freedom.
Halfway through the spiciest ramen he could order, Jaejoong’s phone rang.
‘I know you snuck out.’
“Yunho…” he muttered, slurping another mouthful of ramen and turning his phone to silent.
A sharp knock on the window made them turn in unison, and Yoochun groaned. Yunho stood outside, arms crossed, expression grumpy and sleep-deprived.
“I told you we should have gone to Hokkaido.”
On New Year's Eve, halfway to Osaka, with Yoochun napping on his shoulder, Jaejoong’s phone vibrated.
'Please tell me you're still in Japan.’
Grinning, Jaejoong replied, 'See you tomorrow,' and turned off his phone.
He didn't wake Yoochun until they reached Hiroshima.