Part 5: May 28, 2014
28 May 2014, Seoul, 1:15 PM
Perched on the kitchen counter, Junsu's practically bouncing on the spot, singing, "Beach time," on loop to the tune of an old pop song - thankfully, not one of their own. Yunho thinks it might be something by H.O.T, or maybe Fly to the Sky, though he's a little too busy raiding the cupboards for a picnic to really concentrate on figuring it out. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Changmin at the sink washing up the lunch dishes, can hear his laughter as he flicks water at Junsu accidentally on purpose.
"Hey, Yunho-hyung," Changmin says, voice thoughtful, when the splashing stops.
"Yeah?" Yunho doesn't turn around, the top shelf high enough that even he has to tiptoe to reach the back.
"Think Junsu's found the secret of regressing to childhood?"
Junsu makes an indignant noise and lunges at Changmin; Yunho does turn around now, to break up the incipient fight before it creates too much delay. Unfortunately, he just ends up caught in the crossfire, and they all wind up soaked to the skin.
"Change of clothes," Yunho sighs from the bottom of a very damp pile of dongsaengs, and a couple of dogs who joined in just for fun.
Junsu gives a small whine from somewhere above him. "No back-washing, right?"
"No back-washing," Yunho reassures, aiming a pat in the vague direction of Junsu's back. (It locates ass instead; it's probably a good thing Junsu's too trapped under Changmin and Shaki to retaliate.)
Changmin snorts and Yunho attempts a mock-glare, residual Leader-style. He ends up glaring at Harang, instead, who just woofs happily and wriggles, upsetting the precarious heap and making a few of Yunho's ribs creak.
28 May 2014, Gyeongin Expressway, 2:35 PM
Changmin's got the job of driver this time - Yunho still prefers not to drive if he can get away with it, and Junsu's claiming exhaustion. He's been in the studio and the conference rooms a lot in the last week, what with the press conference coming up so soon, and it'd taken no discussion at all for Yunho and Changmin to agree to indulge him. Just for today.
Of course, that doesn't mean he gets to have everything his own way, either; they agreed on that too. Though Changmin seems to be in a fairly good mood today, and has no problem with driving - at least, that's what Yunho garners from the huge grin that spreads across his face when he's asked.
Yunho should have known then something was up. Driver gets to choose the music and Changmin's taste in music leaves something to be desired. At least, at the moment.
"They see me rollin', they hatin'," Changmin says, syllables skewered and even if they weren't, Yunho's not sure he would have understood what Changmin (or the men singing, for that matter) were saying.
"Oh my god, Changmin, I can't nap when you're playing this," Junsu whines from the back seat - Yunho called shotgun while Junsu was still finding his sunglasses.
"That's the point," Changmin replies, grinning at Junsu in the mirror, and then laughing outright when Junsu makes a string of grumpy noises and kicks childishly at the back of Changmin's seat until Yunho leans over and points out that maybe the driver isn't the best person to be assaulting. Junsu gives one more good kick before he stops, taking up ferocious pouting instead that does nothing but make Changmin laugh harder.
Eventually Changmin gives in - or just decides he's tortured them long enough - and switches to one of Yoochun's R'n'B mixes, rescued from the dash. They sing along, Junsu and Changmin bickering over who has to sing the girls' parts until Junsu's voice trails into soft snores. Yunho smiles over at Changmin at the sound; Changmin smiles back and keeps singing.
28 May 2014, Ulwangli Beach, 3:05 PM
It's a weekday, and still early enough that most of the people there are tourists, unlikely to recognize former idol group members. Which is something of a relief, really. Being mobbed would've ruined the outing. Has, before, on more than one occasion. Laying out the blanket and basket is barely a minute's work, then Junsu's grinning and bouncing on his toes, apparently refreshed from his nap, and with the car seat hair to prove it. "Last one to the water's," and he switches to English to say, "a rotten egg!"
He wins the race easily, Yunho and Changmin too busy laughing at him to start running until he's halfway to the waves. Still, neither of them wants to be a rotten egg either, and it ends as a solid tie, none of them quite sure afterwards who tripped who first, since Junsu can't be persuaded - or bribed - to support either of them for long. They both end up sprawled in the water, soaked, clothes and all, for the second time that day, though, and that's the part that really matters.
Yunho watches with a fond smile as Changmin rushes at Junsu, who's laughing at their plight, smiling widely and reminding Yunho of years before as he tackles Junsu into the waves. It's a nice thought, though if the sudden notice by both Changmin and Junsu is anything to go by, he's being sappy again. He barely has time to shout half of a 'yah' before he's being tugged into a three-way hug underwater, mouth closing in self-defence even as his arms close around them both to drag them under with him.
They surface eventually, play something like tag half in and half out of the water, except that chaser and chasees switch places almost entirely at random. There's a lot of shrieking and splashing and yelling of dire threats, all three of them acting about a decade younger than they really are. But then, this is something they very rarely got to do - unless they were Junsu, who always played by special rules. At last, by mutual, unspoken, consent, they drag themselves up the beach, strip down to their swim trunks belatedly, and flop onto the blanket to dry out a bit, assorted limbs overlapping, room enough for two more bodies in the spaces between.
"That was fun," Yunho says, still a little short of breath.
"Better exercise than dance practice," Junsu replies, giggling into his shoulder. Yunho recognizes the signs of leftover adrenalin, would be willing to bet Junsu won't stay put for long, if there was anyone to take it.
From Junsu's other side, Changmin pronounces, "I'm hungry," the oldest of jokes, and they all crack up again.
Junsu stays still just long enough for them to share a pack of chips, strictly not part of Junsu's diet, but it's not as if any of them are going to tell his managers. Yunho enjoys the moment of not being the responsible one until Junsu upends the almost empty packet over his stomach, scattering crumbs all over him and the blanket. "Yah!" Yunho exclaims, brushing at himself. "What was that for?"
"You looked broody, hyung," Junsu says, all innocence. "I was just trying to distract you."
"I was not broody," Yunho whines. "I was being happy that I don't have a diet any more, and if you do something like that again I'll tell your managers on you."
Junsu gasps in a good imitation of shock, while Changmin says, wide-eyed, "How could you!"
Yunho shakes his head, laughing, poking Junsu's cheek to turn his expression into a helpless laugh. "You're terrible," Yunho says, directed at them both.
"But you love us anyway," they chorus. Yunho sighs, and wonders whether they've been rehearsing that. He decides they probably have, but they also have a point.
"Not so sure sometimes," he says anyway, though he's pretty sure they see right through him. Changmin snorts, while Junsu's scrambled up onto his knees and turned around to make a mess out of one of their bags. Yunho hears a triumphant cry and turns his head to find Junsu holding a plastic frisbee in his hand.
"Let's play!" Junsu stands up, not making any effort to curb his enthusiasm. Yunho mentally pays himself 5,000 won while Junsu turns to Changmin with a shameless grin, says, "I'll throw, you chase and bring it back to me!"
"Yah!" Changmin cries, slapping at Junsu, but doesn't quite make contact as Junsu jumps up, cackling in victory at his narrow escape and legs it to a safe distance from Changmin's wrath. "I'll bite you!"
Yunho stands up too, brushing the last few crumbs off himself, and says, "I can't take you anywhere," in his most resigned and leader-like tone.
"Okay, you chase!" Junsu says, grinning and throwing the frisbee vaguely in Yunho's direction.
Yunho gets his hand up just in time to catch it before it hits him in the face, and forgets all thoughts of leaderhood very fast. "Right!" he says, determined. "You're going down, Kim Junsu," as he tosses the frisbee back.
Changmin tries to hide his snicker behind a hand, but Yunho still catches it, scowling when it's followed by a gleeful sports commentator impression. "And Jung-sshi tosses the frisbee back at Kim-sshi, but oh, it looks like his aim was completely off, as we can clearly see by the way it lands three feet away from its intended target. That's gotta hurt Jung-sshi's pride just a bit." His feelings aren't made any better by the way Junsu laughs as he bends to pick up the frisbee.
"I'll hurt you," Yunho grumbles, shaking his wrists out and keeping a sharp eye on Junsu this time.
"I'll throw it slowly this time, hyung," Junsu says, all cheek and shit-eating grin. Yunho reminds himself how much Junsu hates to lose, even if there isn't really a competition. Of course, he hates to lose too, and he's not going to go down without a fight. If he goes down at all.
He grins back. "Don't take it easy on account of my age," he yells back across the stretch of sand between them.
"Don't think it was your age, hyung," Changmin quips from the blanket. "Maybe umma left you some of his fail."
Yunho makes a very loud, very indignant noise, pointing an accusing finger at Changmin without taking his eyes off Junsu. "I am not nearly that bad!" The words trail off into a yelp as the frisbee comes back at him and he dives to catch it.
He tosses it back at Junsu without even bothering to get to his feet first; something about that must throw Junsu off, because the frisbee hits him squarely on the side of the head, and he gives a startled yell.
Yunho gasps and starts to apologise, trotting towards Junsu, while Changmin's too busy laughing to even get out any smartass comments for a minute. Eventually, he gathers enough breath to gasp, "K.O.'d!"
It's clearly too much for Junsu to take, since he takes off running before Yunho reaches him, yelling, "That's it! I'm going to bury this thing so you can't find it and abuse me with it again!" He's clearly okay, and so Yunho feels safe in joining Changmin in helpless laughter at Junsu's offended tone, flopping down onto the blanket again and dropping his head onto Changmin's stomach.
"Why does everyone mistake me for a pillow?" Changmin complains when he calms down a bit, but since he's also petting Yunho's hair lazily, Yunho decides it's safe to ignore the words in favour of humming happily and wriggling into a more comfortable position - at least until Junsu comes back, and ruins the mood by dropping the frisbee on Changmin's head.
28 May 2014, Ulwangli Beach, 3:50 PM
They take turns drawing messages in the sand, taking photos on their phones to send to Jaejoong and Yoochun. They have to prove they're having a good time too, after all. Junsu giggles helplessly as he writes 'Yoochun smells' in English, letters sprawling over the sand; Yunho includes Junsu in the photo, thinking they'll appreciate the sight of his smile. Yunho just draws a heart, big enough that Changmin has to take a couple of steps back to get it all in the frame. Changmin, for reasons only known to himself, draws a circle around a crab. (He explains later: 'It's a plate, hyung, are you blind?')
Yunho attaches a message to the picture files - Hey away team, home team's having a ton of fun without you, hope you're really jealous. Junsu adds, laughing as he steals Yunho's phone, Don't come home too soon! By general consensus, they finish with We love you, we miss you, which kind of ruins the tone but they decide to keep it on account of its being actually true, though Changmin insists on the addition of, Don't do anything stupid to tone down the sap.
Ice cream's needed next, they agree, but Junsu claims he's too tired to move again, and Changmin just refuses point-blank. Which means that Yunho ends up going after giving a long-suffering sigh that they completely ignore, just as they do his disgruntled mutter. He comes back juggling three cones to settle down on the blanket next to them again and wait for a reply while they eat, stealing bites of each others' flavours, with or without permission.
Afterwards, he falls asleep at some point, head pillowed on a bag and Junsu's arm over his stomach, one of Changmin's legs over both of his; wakes up half-buried in sand with a serious cleavage problem and Changmin and Junsu's cackling faces in his direct line of vision. His inarticulate yell is probably enough to disturb every other person on the beach. "Jaejoong-hyung thinks you make a really pretty mermaid," Junsu giggles, making obnoxious smoochy faces.
Yunho wriggles, more like a suppressed flail, trying to get free of the sand weighing him down like his worst manboob nightmare ever. Changmin laughs so hard he almost chokes, which just makes Yunho flail harder and plot terrible, horrible, terminally embarrassing revenge. For the moment, though, he settles for swearing a bit and telling them in no uncertain terms that they're the worst dongsaengs in the history of the world. Maybe the universe.
They dig him out, eventually, though Changmin smartly keeps his distance from Yunho's arms and legs when they're freed. Junsu, however, isn't so lucky. Or smart, perhaps. Either way, as soon as Yunho's upper body is sandless again (mostly; there are a few grains that decide to cling), he catches Junsu and tugs him down, laughing as Junsu shouts in surprise, flailing. Changmin grins like he saw it coming and more than likely, Yunho thinks, he did. Yunho's form of revenge is a well-strategized tug of Junsu's swim trunks and a handful of sand.
Junsu howls in mock-outrage and Changmin doubles over in laughter. "Feel it in your buttcrack yet?" Changmin wheezes, sounding strangely gleeful at the prospect. Yunho doesn't think he wants to know. After Junsu's howling turns to more laughter than indignation, he reconsiders, decides he definitely doesn't want to know.
Junsu's squirming finally wins out and Yunho has no choice but to let go, or risk getting beaned in the head by one of Junsu's hands. Junsu jumps up, laughing and cursing between giggles, shaking and tugging his shorts out. Changmin's still gasping for breath, on the ground now, having given up on trying to stay standing. Yunho uses both Changmin's and Junsu's distractions to dig himself completely free of the sand and stands up, brushing himself off as they calm down.
Changmin pushes himself to his feet, still chuckling weakly, and Junsu glares at them both; Yunho knows from experience that it's half-hearted, at best (and a little petulant, as well). "Yah," Junsu says, hands on his hips. "Know that I'm planning revenge for that. Someday when you least expect it."
Yunho gives an exaggerated shudder and leans over to brush a few grains of sand away from Changmin's shoulder. "I'm quaking in fear," he says, smiling. Changmin reaches over and ruffles Yunho's hair, sending sand flying everywhere, then picks at the leftover that manages to hang on.
"You guys look like those monkey pictures Jaejoongie sent. Only you're grooming each other," Junsu says, shaking his head sadly as he rummages through another bag. "Except you're not eating bugs." He holds up a kite, grinning. "Kite-flying time!"
Changmin rolls his eyes, fingers still idly trailing through Yunho's hair. "Can you even fly a kite?" he asks dryly, though Yunho detects the underlying teasing tone easily. Years of practice, and all.
Yunho expands, smiling, "Can any of us?"
Changmin grins at him, tugging on a few locks. "I flew one once, with my cousin." He turns back to Junsu and the grin stays, growing more smug, if possible. "You get to hold it, Junsu-hyung."
Junsu snorts, handing Changmin the handles. Changmin removes his hand from Yunho's hair and Yunho makes a small sound of disappointment that Changmin doesn't miss, if the wink he gives Yunho before he moves away from the nest of blanket and towels is anything to go by. Yunho watches, interested, as Changmin waves his hand at Junsu to signal him to move back. Junsu does, still looking skeptical, and once he's about ten feet or so away, he gives a thumbs up.
Changmin gives Yunho a cheeky grin and turns back to Junsu, waving his hand again, though more upwards, this time. Yunho watches with barely contained amusement as Changmin takes off running when Junsu lets the kite go... and the kite falls to the ground, dragging sand in its wake. Yunho laughs loudly behind a hand. Junsu doesn't even bother with the hand.
Changmin glares at first the kite, then both of them. Through his laughter, Yunho thinks it looks more petulant than anything, but he's laughing too hard to comment on it. "It's the wind!" Changmin cries, a hand on his hip. That only makes both Yunho and Junsu double over.
"Less thinking, more running!" Junsu shouts a moment later, apparently done rejoicing over Changmin's too-rare humiliation. "Come on! I want to see it fly!" He shakes the kite in his hands like he can't wait. Yunho knows Junsu's always been fond of the idea of flight, has thought in his more contemplative moments about just why that might be, and decided that it's just Junsu being Junsu.
Yunho watches, still chuckling quietly, as Changmin scowls, the expression obvious even from this far away, and starts running again, a slightly different direction this time. And this time, when Junsu tosses the kite up, the wind catches it and it flies, Changmin giving a triumphant yell in response that makes Yunho start laughing again as he watches.
Junsu walks back towards Yunho slowly, standing beside him as they watch Changmin fly the kite. Yunho drapes an arm over Junsu's shoulders after a second, smiling wider when Junsu snugs in, rather than taking off in pursuit of Changmin, which Yunho had half-expected.
"Think Jaejoong-hyung and Yoochun can see it?" Junsu asks suddenly, eyes fixed on the contraption dancing in the sky.
Yunho eyes it, considering. "Would be nice to think so, right?" he asks, can feel a soft smile creeping onto his face at the idea. "Maybe if Changmin can get it higher?"
Junsu nods, grinning. "Hey, Changmin!" he yells, loud enough that Yunho has to shake his head to clear his ears. "Get it higher! We need to send a signal to the away team!"
Changmin doesn't seem to react fast enough for Junsu's liking. "I can get it higher," he says decisively to Yunho, and runs off towards Changmin with a war cry, seemingly intent on stealing - or tackling, at the rate he's going - the handle out of Changmin's hands. Changmin realizes this, of course, and takes off running, as well. He yells, sharp enough that Yunho doesn't need to see the look on his face to know exactly what it is.
"Just send them a picture! It lasts longer!"
"Oh," Junsu says, all belated revelation. "Yeah, a picture!" But he's still running.
Yunho snaps off a photo, a little shaky from how much he's laughing.
28 May 2014, Gyeongin Expressway, 5:30 PM
Junsu falls asleep again on the way home, this time almost the minute he gets into the car, no delays or interruptions. Yunho glances into the back seat and smiles at the soft, open look on Junsu's face, only ever seen when he's sleeping. When he looks up, Changmin's looking at the same thing in the rear view mirror, and they exchange smiles.
"I won't tell if you won't," Changmin says, laughing quietly.
"My reputation's not the one at stake," Yunho replies cheekily, secure in the knowledge that Changmin's a responsible driver, and grins wider at the spluttering that follows.
They banter back and forth a little longer, for no other reason than the pleasure of it, and when the conversation dies down naturally, Yunho reaches to turn up the volume on the stereo and then digs through his bag for his journal. Opening it to the first blank page, he jots down the date and time, then wriggles into a more comfortable position and begins to write, smiling fondly when Changmin only eyes him curiously for a couple of seconds before he turns his attention back to the road, giving Yunho his space and concentrating instead on getting them home safe and sound.
Perched on the kitchen counter, Junsu's practically bouncing on the spot, singing, "Beach time," on loop to the tune of an old pop song - thankfully, not one of their own. Yunho thinks it might be something by H.O.T, or maybe Fly to the Sky, though he's a little too busy raiding the cupboards for a picnic to really concentrate on figuring it out. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Changmin at the sink washing up the lunch dishes, can hear his laughter as he flicks water at Junsu accidentally on purpose.
"Hey, Yunho-hyung," Changmin says, voice thoughtful, when the splashing stops.
"Yeah?" Yunho doesn't turn around, the top shelf high enough that even he has to tiptoe to reach the back.
"Think Junsu's found the secret of regressing to childhood?"
Junsu makes an indignant noise and lunges at Changmin; Yunho does turn around now, to break up the incipient fight before it creates too much delay. Unfortunately, he just ends up caught in the crossfire, and they all wind up soaked to the skin.
"Change of clothes," Yunho sighs from the bottom of a very damp pile of dongsaengs, and a couple of dogs who joined in just for fun.
Junsu gives a small whine from somewhere above him. "No back-washing, right?"
"No back-washing," Yunho reassures, aiming a pat in the vague direction of Junsu's back. (It locates ass instead; it's probably a good thing Junsu's too trapped under Changmin and Shaki to retaliate.)
Changmin snorts and Yunho attempts a mock-glare, residual Leader-style. He ends up glaring at Harang, instead, who just woofs happily and wriggles, upsetting the precarious heap and making a few of Yunho's ribs creak.
28 May 2014, Gyeongin Expressway, 2:35 PM
Changmin's got the job of driver this time - Yunho still prefers not to drive if he can get away with it, and Junsu's claiming exhaustion. He's been in the studio and the conference rooms a lot in the last week, what with the press conference coming up so soon, and it'd taken no discussion at all for Yunho and Changmin to agree to indulge him. Just for today.
Of course, that doesn't mean he gets to have everything his own way, either; they agreed on that too. Though Changmin seems to be in a fairly good mood today, and has no problem with driving - at least, that's what Yunho garners from the huge grin that spreads across his face when he's asked.
Yunho should have known then something was up. Driver gets to choose the music and Changmin's taste in music leaves something to be desired. At least, at the moment.
"They see me rollin', they hatin'," Changmin says, syllables skewered and even if they weren't, Yunho's not sure he would have understood what Changmin (or the men singing, for that matter) were saying.
"Oh my god, Changmin, I can't nap when you're playing this," Junsu whines from the back seat - Yunho called shotgun while Junsu was still finding his sunglasses.
"That's the point," Changmin replies, grinning at Junsu in the mirror, and then laughing outright when Junsu makes a string of grumpy noises and kicks childishly at the back of Changmin's seat until Yunho leans over and points out that maybe the driver isn't the best person to be assaulting. Junsu gives one more good kick before he stops, taking up ferocious pouting instead that does nothing but make Changmin laugh harder.
Eventually Changmin gives in - or just decides he's tortured them long enough - and switches to one of Yoochun's R'n'B mixes, rescued from the dash. They sing along, Junsu and Changmin bickering over who has to sing the girls' parts until Junsu's voice trails into soft snores. Yunho smiles over at Changmin at the sound; Changmin smiles back and keeps singing.
28 May 2014, Ulwangli Beach, 3:05 PM
It's a weekday, and still early enough that most of the people there are tourists, unlikely to recognize former idol group members. Which is something of a relief, really. Being mobbed would've ruined the outing. Has, before, on more than one occasion. Laying out the blanket and basket is barely a minute's work, then Junsu's grinning and bouncing on his toes, apparently refreshed from his nap, and with the car seat hair to prove it. "Last one to the water's," and he switches to English to say, "a rotten egg!"
He wins the race easily, Yunho and Changmin too busy laughing at him to start running until he's halfway to the waves. Still, neither of them wants to be a rotten egg either, and it ends as a solid tie, none of them quite sure afterwards who tripped who first, since Junsu can't be persuaded - or bribed - to support either of them for long. They both end up sprawled in the water, soaked, clothes and all, for the second time that day, though, and that's the part that really matters.
Yunho watches with a fond smile as Changmin rushes at Junsu, who's laughing at their plight, smiling widely and reminding Yunho of years before as he tackles Junsu into the waves. It's a nice thought, though if the sudden notice by both Changmin and Junsu is anything to go by, he's being sappy again. He barely has time to shout half of a 'yah' before he's being tugged into a three-way hug underwater, mouth closing in self-defence even as his arms close around them both to drag them under with him.
They surface eventually, play something like tag half in and half out of the water, except that chaser and chasees switch places almost entirely at random. There's a lot of shrieking and splashing and yelling of dire threats, all three of them acting about a decade younger than they really are. But then, this is something they very rarely got to do - unless they were Junsu, who always played by special rules. At last, by mutual, unspoken, consent, they drag themselves up the beach, strip down to their swim trunks belatedly, and flop onto the blanket to dry out a bit, assorted limbs overlapping, room enough for two more bodies in the spaces between.
"That was fun," Yunho says, still a little short of breath.
"Better exercise than dance practice," Junsu replies, giggling into his shoulder. Yunho recognizes the signs of leftover adrenalin, would be willing to bet Junsu won't stay put for long, if there was anyone to take it.
From Junsu's other side, Changmin pronounces, "I'm hungry," the oldest of jokes, and they all crack up again.
Junsu stays still just long enough for them to share a pack of chips, strictly not part of Junsu's diet, but it's not as if any of them are going to tell his managers. Yunho enjoys the moment of not being the responsible one until Junsu upends the almost empty packet over his stomach, scattering crumbs all over him and the blanket. "Yah!" Yunho exclaims, brushing at himself. "What was that for?"
"You looked broody, hyung," Junsu says, all innocence. "I was just trying to distract you."
"I was not broody," Yunho whines. "I was being happy that I don't have a diet any more, and if you do something like that again I'll tell your managers on you."
Junsu gasps in a good imitation of shock, while Changmin says, wide-eyed, "How could you!"
Yunho shakes his head, laughing, poking Junsu's cheek to turn his expression into a helpless laugh. "You're terrible," Yunho says, directed at them both.
"But you love us anyway," they chorus. Yunho sighs, and wonders whether they've been rehearsing that. He decides they probably have, but they also have a point.
"Not so sure sometimes," he says anyway, though he's pretty sure they see right through him. Changmin snorts, while Junsu's scrambled up onto his knees and turned around to make a mess out of one of their bags. Yunho hears a triumphant cry and turns his head to find Junsu holding a plastic frisbee in his hand.
"Let's play!" Junsu stands up, not making any effort to curb his enthusiasm. Yunho mentally pays himself 5,000 won while Junsu turns to Changmin with a shameless grin, says, "I'll throw, you chase and bring it back to me!"
"Yah!" Changmin cries, slapping at Junsu, but doesn't quite make contact as Junsu jumps up, cackling in victory at his narrow escape and legs it to a safe distance from Changmin's wrath. "I'll bite you!"
Yunho stands up too, brushing the last few crumbs off himself, and says, "I can't take you anywhere," in his most resigned and leader-like tone.
"Okay, you chase!" Junsu says, grinning and throwing the frisbee vaguely in Yunho's direction.
Yunho gets his hand up just in time to catch it before it hits him in the face, and forgets all thoughts of leaderhood very fast. "Right!" he says, determined. "You're going down, Kim Junsu," as he tosses the frisbee back.
Changmin tries to hide his snicker behind a hand, but Yunho still catches it, scowling when it's followed by a gleeful sports commentator impression. "And Jung-sshi tosses the frisbee back at Kim-sshi, but oh, it looks like his aim was completely off, as we can clearly see by the way it lands three feet away from its intended target. That's gotta hurt Jung-sshi's pride just a bit." His feelings aren't made any better by the way Junsu laughs as he bends to pick up the frisbee.
"I'll hurt you," Yunho grumbles, shaking his wrists out and keeping a sharp eye on Junsu this time.
"I'll throw it slowly this time, hyung," Junsu says, all cheek and shit-eating grin. Yunho reminds himself how much Junsu hates to lose, even if there isn't really a competition. Of course, he hates to lose too, and he's not going to go down without a fight. If he goes down at all.
He grins back. "Don't take it easy on account of my age," he yells back across the stretch of sand between them.
"Don't think it was your age, hyung," Changmin quips from the blanket. "Maybe umma left you some of his fail."
Yunho makes a very loud, very indignant noise, pointing an accusing finger at Changmin without taking his eyes off Junsu. "I am not nearly that bad!" The words trail off into a yelp as the frisbee comes back at him and he dives to catch it.
He tosses it back at Junsu without even bothering to get to his feet first; something about that must throw Junsu off, because the frisbee hits him squarely on the side of the head, and he gives a startled yell.
Yunho gasps and starts to apologise, trotting towards Junsu, while Changmin's too busy laughing to even get out any smartass comments for a minute. Eventually, he gathers enough breath to gasp, "K.O.'d!"
It's clearly too much for Junsu to take, since he takes off running before Yunho reaches him, yelling, "That's it! I'm going to bury this thing so you can't find it and abuse me with it again!" He's clearly okay, and so Yunho feels safe in joining Changmin in helpless laughter at Junsu's offended tone, flopping down onto the blanket again and dropping his head onto Changmin's stomach.
"Why does everyone mistake me for a pillow?" Changmin complains when he calms down a bit, but since he's also petting Yunho's hair lazily, Yunho decides it's safe to ignore the words in favour of humming happily and wriggling into a more comfortable position - at least until Junsu comes back, and ruins the mood by dropping the frisbee on Changmin's head.
28 May 2014, Ulwangli Beach, 3:50 PM
They take turns drawing messages in the sand, taking photos on their phones to send to Jaejoong and Yoochun. They have to prove they're having a good time too, after all. Junsu giggles helplessly as he writes 'Yoochun smells' in English, letters sprawling over the sand; Yunho includes Junsu in the photo, thinking they'll appreciate the sight of his smile. Yunho just draws a heart, big enough that Changmin has to take a couple of steps back to get it all in the frame. Changmin, for reasons only known to himself, draws a circle around a crab. (He explains later: 'It's a plate, hyung, are you blind?')
Yunho attaches a message to the picture files - Hey away team, home team's having a ton of fun without you, hope you're really jealous. Junsu adds, laughing as he steals Yunho's phone, Don't come home too soon! By general consensus, they finish with We love you, we miss you, which kind of ruins the tone but they decide to keep it on account of its being actually true, though Changmin insists on the addition of, Don't do anything stupid to tone down the sap.
Ice cream's needed next, they agree, but Junsu claims he's too tired to move again, and Changmin just refuses point-blank. Which means that Yunho ends up going after giving a long-suffering sigh that they completely ignore, just as they do his disgruntled mutter. He comes back juggling three cones to settle down on the blanket next to them again and wait for a reply while they eat, stealing bites of each others' flavours, with or without permission.
Afterwards, he falls asleep at some point, head pillowed on a bag and Junsu's arm over his stomach, one of Changmin's legs over both of his; wakes up half-buried in sand with a serious cleavage problem and Changmin and Junsu's cackling faces in his direct line of vision. His inarticulate yell is probably enough to disturb every other person on the beach. "Jaejoong-hyung thinks you make a really pretty mermaid," Junsu giggles, making obnoxious smoochy faces.
Yunho wriggles, more like a suppressed flail, trying to get free of the sand weighing him down like his worst manboob nightmare ever. Changmin laughs so hard he almost chokes, which just makes Yunho flail harder and plot terrible, horrible, terminally embarrassing revenge. For the moment, though, he settles for swearing a bit and telling them in no uncertain terms that they're the worst dongsaengs in the history of the world. Maybe the universe.
They dig him out, eventually, though Changmin smartly keeps his distance from Yunho's arms and legs when they're freed. Junsu, however, isn't so lucky. Or smart, perhaps. Either way, as soon as Yunho's upper body is sandless again (mostly; there are a few grains that decide to cling), he catches Junsu and tugs him down, laughing as Junsu shouts in surprise, flailing. Changmin grins like he saw it coming and more than likely, Yunho thinks, he did. Yunho's form of revenge is a well-strategized tug of Junsu's swim trunks and a handful of sand.
Junsu howls in mock-outrage and Changmin doubles over in laughter. "Feel it in your buttcrack yet?" Changmin wheezes, sounding strangely gleeful at the prospect. Yunho doesn't think he wants to know. After Junsu's howling turns to more laughter than indignation, he reconsiders, decides he definitely doesn't want to know.
Junsu's squirming finally wins out and Yunho has no choice but to let go, or risk getting beaned in the head by one of Junsu's hands. Junsu jumps up, laughing and cursing between giggles, shaking and tugging his shorts out. Changmin's still gasping for breath, on the ground now, having given up on trying to stay standing. Yunho uses both Changmin's and Junsu's distractions to dig himself completely free of the sand and stands up, brushing himself off as they calm down.
Changmin pushes himself to his feet, still chuckling weakly, and Junsu glares at them both; Yunho knows from experience that it's half-hearted, at best (and a little petulant, as well). "Yah," Junsu says, hands on his hips. "Know that I'm planning revenge for that. Someday when you least expect it."
Yunho gives an exaggerated shudder and leans over to brush a few grains of sand away from Changmin's shoulder. "I'm quaking in fear," he says, smiling. Changmin reaches over and ruffles Yunho's hair, sending sand flying everywhere, then picks at the leftover that manages to hang on.
"You guys look like those monkey pictures Jaejoongie sent. Only you're grooming each other," Junsu says, shaking his head sadly as he rummages through another bag. "Except you're not eating bugs." He holds up a kite, grinning. "Kite-flying time!"
Changmin rolls his eyes, fingers still idly trailing through Yunho's hair. "Can you even fly a kite?" he asks dryly, though Yunho detects the underlying teasing tone easily. Years of practice, and all.
Yunho expands, smiling, "Can any of us?"
Changmin grins at him, tugging on a few locks. "I flew one once, with my cousin." He turns back to Junsu and the grin stays, growing more smug, if possible. "You get to hold it, Junsu-hyung."
Junsu snorts, handing Changmin the handles. Changmin removes his hand from Yunho's hair and Yunho makes a small sound of disappointment that Changmin doesn't miss, if the wink he gives Yunho before he moves away from the nest of blanket and towels is anything to go by. Yunho watches, interested, as Changmin waves his hand at Junsu to signal him to move back. Junsu does, still looking skeptical, and once he's about ten feet or so away, he gives a thumbs up.
Changmin gives Yunho a cheeky grin and turns back to Junsu, waving his hand again, though more upwards, this time. Yunho watches with barely contained amusement as Changmin takes off running when Junsu lets the kite go... and the kite falls to the ground, dragging sand in its wake. Yunho laughs loudly behind a hand. Junsu doesn't even bother with the hand.
Changmin glares at first the kite, then both of them. Through his laughter, Yunho thinks it looks more petulant than anything, but he's laughing too hard to comment on it. "It's the wind!" Changmin cries, a hand on his hip. That only makes both Yunho and Junsu double over.
"Less thinking, more running!" Junsu shouts a moment later, apparently done rejoicing over Changmin's too-rare humiliation. "Come on! I want to see it fly!" He shakes the kite in his hands like he can't wait. Yunho knows Junsu's always been fond of the idea of flight, has thought in his more contemplative moments about just why that might be, and decided that it's just Junsu being Junsu.
Yunho watches, still chuckling quietly, as Changmin scowls, the expression obvious even from this far away, and starts running again, a slightly different direction this time. And this time, when Junsu tosses the kite up, the wind catches it and it flies, Changmin giving a triumphant yell in response that makes Yunho start laughing again as he watches.
Junsu walks back towards Yunho slowly, standing beside him as they watch Changmin fly the kite. Yunho drapes an arm over Junsu's shoulders after a second, smiling wider when Junsu snugs in, rather than taking off in pursuit of Changmin, which Yunho had half-expected.
"Think Jaejoong-hyung and Yoochun can see it?" Junsu asks suddenly, eyes fixed on the contraption dancing in the sky.
Yunho eyes it, considering. "Would be nice to think so, right?" he asks, can feel a soft smile creeping onto his face at the idea. "Maybe if Changmin can get it higher?"
Junsu nods, grinning. "Hey, Changmin!" he yells, loud enough that Yunho has to shake his head to clear his ears. "Get it higher! We need to send a signal to the away team!"
Changmin doesn't seem to react fast enough for Junsu's liking. "I can get it higher," he says decisively to Yunho, and runs off towards Changmin with a war cry, seemingly intent on stealing - or tackling, at the rate he's going - the handle out of Changmin's hands. Changmin realizes this, of course, and takes off running, as well. He yells, sharp enough that Yunho doesn't need to see the look on his face to know exactly what it is.
"Just send them a picture! It lasts longer!"
"Oh," Junsu says, all belated revelation. "Yeah, a picture!" But he's still running.
Yunho snaps off a photo, a little shaky from how much he's laughing.
28 May 2014, Gyeongin Expressway, 5:30 PM
Junsu falls asleep again on the way home, this time almost the minute he gets into the car, no delays or interruptions. Yunho glances into the back seat and smiles at the soft, open look on Junsu's face, only ever seen when he's sleeping. When he looks up, Changmin's looking at the same thing in the rear view mirror, and they exchange smiles.
"I won't tell if you won't," Changmin says, laughing quietly.
"My reputation's not the one at stake," Yunho replies cheekily, secure in the knowledge that Changmin's a responsible driver, and grins wider at the spluttering that follows.
They banter back and forth a little longer, for no other reason than the pleasure of it, and when the conversation dies down naturally, Yunho reaches to turn up the volume on the stereo and then digs through his bag for his journal. Opening it to the first blank page, he jots down the date and time, then wriggles into a more comfortable position and begins to write, smiling fondly when Changmin only eyes him curiously for a couple of seconds before he turns his attention back to the road, giving Yunho his space and concentrating instead on getting them home safe and sound.