Chapter Text
It’s a Friday night, and the Wishies have just finished their concert in Bangkok. Exhaustion hangs heavily in the air as the members pile into the van, heading toward their hotel.
The soft hum of the engine fills the silence while city lights blur past the windows.
“Okay, guys, we need to pick roommates for our one night stay. What do you want to do?” Sion asks, turning around in his seat to look at the others.
“Hyung, can I room with you?” Riku asks immediately, his eyes sparkling hopefully.
Honestly, everyone already knew Riku and Sion were going to room together anyway, so nobody understood why he even bothered asking.
“Hyung, can I share a room with Sakuya, please? I had to share with Jaehee last time, and I want to be with my best friend instead,” Ryo whines dramatically, staring at Sion with boba-like eyes.
“Yeah, Sionie hyung, I wanna room with my best friend Ryo,” Sakuya adds quickly.
From the corner of the van, Yushi slowly lifts his head. His stomach twists painfully as he glances toward Jaehee.
Because if Ryo and Sakuya shared a room, and Sion and Riku shared one too…that only left him and Jaehee.
Yushi’s throat tightens.
Ever since the tour started, his crush on Jaehee had spiralled completely out of control. Every lingering glance, every casual touch, every soft laugh from the younger boy made his heart pound embarrassingly hard.
But the worst part was that he had no idea how Jaehee felt.
So instead, Yushi spent every day walking on eggshells around him, terrified that one wrong move would ruin everything between them.
“Okay, so Sakuya and Ryo can room together, and Riku and I will obviously share a room,” Sion says with an amused smile. He reaches over and squeezes Riku’s smaller hand affectionately.
Jaehee rolls his eyes at the blatant skinship the Onri is displaying in front of everyone.
“Which means Yushi and Jaehee are roommates. Any problems with that?” Sion asks.
For a split second, Yushi forgets how to breathe.
Jaehee glances toward him before smiling softly.
“No problems, hyung,” he says easily. “Thank youuu.”
It’s now 1 am and the Wishies have finally arrived at the hotel. Exhausted from the concert, everyone quickly grabs their bags and heads to their assigned rooms.
The moment Yushi and Jaehee step into their room, Yushi makes a beeline straight into the shower before Jaehee can even say a word to him.
Warm water pours over his skin as his thoughts begin spiralling again.
Being alone in a hotel room with Jaehee felt dangerous for his heart.
Yushi leans his head against the tiled wall, letting his imagination drift. He pictures himself curled up beside Jaehee in bed, his head resting against Jaehee’s chest while he listens to the slow rhythm of his heartbeat. In his daydream, Jaehee’s arms are wrapped securely around him as they slowly drift to sleep together.
A soft knock suddenly interrupts his thoughts.
“Yushi hyung, are you okay? You’ve been in there for so long. I’m getting worried,” Jaehee says gently from outside the bathroom door.
Yushi quickly snaps out of his thoughts.
“Hyungie is okay! I’ll be out in a minute,” he replies hurriedly.
He quickly finishes showering and changes into comfortable clothes before stepping out of the bathroom.
Jaehee is sitting at the small round table near the window, scrolling through his phone with a soft smile on his face. One glance at him is enough to tell Yushi that he’s been waiting for a while, but Jaehee never lets annoyance show. That was just the kind of person he was, endlessly patient and kind to everyone around him.
“Yushi hyung, you’re okay,” Jaehee says with visible relief.
“Yeah, sorry I took so long in the shower,” Yushi murmurs awkwardly. “I think I’m gonna head to bed now, okay?”
“Bed already?” Jaehee pouts. “Hang out with me for a little first. When I come out of the shower, I promise I won’t take long.”
His large puppy-like eyes sparkle hopefully.
And honestly, how was Yushi supposed to say no to that?
“Okay… but only for forty minutes,” Yushi says quietly.
“Okay, hyung! I’ll be quick!” Jaehee says excitedly before disappearing into the bathroom.
Except Jaehee wasn’t quick at all.
By the time he comes out, steam still clinging to his skin, he finds Yushi asleep on top of the blankets. His phone is still in his hand, quietly playing the TikTok video he fell asleep watching.
Jaehee’s expression softens immediately.
He sits carefully on the edge of the bed, staring at Yushi for a moment longer than he probably should.
“Yushi hyung is so pretty…” he whispers to himself.
Carefully, he brushes the strands of hair away from Yushi’s face.
“My hyung is so beautiful.”
Suddenly Yushi shifts in his sleep.
Jaehee panics and quickly jumps off the bed before Yushi can notice anything.
A few seconds later, Yushi slowly opens his eyes.
“Jaehee you’re still awake?” he mumbles sleepily. “I’m sorry I fell asleep. Hyungie is just really tired…”
“No, it’s okay,” Jaehee says softly. “I took longer than I said I would anyway. You should go back to sleep. It’s already 2 am.”
Jaehee gets up and turns off the lights.
Darkness fills the room.
Both of them lie silently in their separate beds, trying desperately to fall asleep.
But neither of them can.
Yushi keeps tossing and turning beneath the blankets, frustration building in his chest.
Across the room, Jaehee is doing the exact same thing.
Finally, Jaehee breaks the silence.
“Yushi hyung… are you awake?” he whispers into the darkness.
Yushi freezes.
Part of him wants to ignore him completely. He’s terrified of what his feelings for Jaehee are becoming.
So he stays silent, hoping Jaehee will give up.
But then Jaehee calls again, softer this time.
“Hyungie?”
''Jaehee, what’s wrong?” Yushi finally whispers back.
“I can’t sleep.” Jaehee hesitates for a second before speaking again. “Can you come lie next to me… please?”
Yushi’s breath catches.
Why was Jaehee asking that?
Did he ask other members to do this too?
Would he be saying this no matter who he was rooming with?
Yushi says nothing.
“Hyungie, please,” Jaehee pleads quietly. “I sleep better when someone’s next to me.”
The vulnerability in his voice makes Yushi’s chest ache.
''Okay,” Yushi whispers.
Slowly, he gets out of bed and climbs in beside Jaehee.
They don’t touch.
Still, Yushi can feel the warmth radiating from Jaehee’s body.
His heartbeat pounds so loudly in his chest that he’s convinced Jaehee can hear it too.
More than anything, he wants to rest his head against Jaehee’s chest.
But he forces himself to stay still.
Eventually, comforted by Yushi’s presence beside him in a foreign country, Jaehee falls asleep almost instantly.
Yushi, however, stays awake.
He stares blankly at the ceiling while the hours crawl by.
By the time he finally glances at the clock, it’s already 4:30 am, and they have to wake up soon to catch their flight back to South Korea.
Morning arrives quietly.
Birds chirp faintly outside, and soft sunlight filters through the thin hotel curtains.
At some point during the night, the distance between them disappeared completely.
Yushi’s head is resting against Jaehee’s chest while Jaehee’s arm is loosely wrapped around his waist.
A sudden knock at the door jolts them awake.
“Jaehee, Yushi ten minutes. We need to leave,” Sion says as he opens the door slightly.
His eyes widen briefly when he sees the two tangled together in bed, but he says nothing.
The moment the door closes, Yushi quickly pulls himself away from Jaehee.
“S-Sorry, Jaehee I didn’t mean to…”
Before Jaehee can even respond, Yushi rushes into the bathroom and locks the door behind him.
He grips the sink tightly before splashing cold water onto his burning face.
How did they end up tangled together like that?
Yushi stares at himself in the mirror, heart racing uncontrollably.
After hurriedly getting dressed, he leaves the room almost immediately and escapes to Sakuya and Ryo’s room, leaving Jaehee behind.
His thoughts spiral the entire way there.
Nothing is happening between us.
If Jaehee had been assigned to another member, he probably would’ve done the exact same thing.
Jaehee is nice to everyone.
This means nothing.
He repeats those words over and over in his head like a desperate mantra.
“Yushi, what’s wrong?” Sakuya suddenly asks.
“You’ve been staring into space for the last five minutes,” Ryo adds worriedly.
“N-Nothing’s wrong,” Yushi says quickly.
Sakuya and Ryo exchange a quiet glance but decide not to push him any further.