#𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧; 𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗘

九

looking up at the airport with his carrier in hand, taeyong sighed as he thought of having to go back to his busy schedule of constantly flying around the world. he started walking into the building as he felt a hand on his shoulder that startled him so badly that he yelped.

"chill taeyong. you look like you just saw a ghost," the person said next to him while laughing. "it's just me."

taeyong scowled lightly as he pushed the man away. "shut up yuta, you know i get scared easily. and for the record, i'm more scared of you than of ghosts because you sure as hell are creepier than one."

yuta reflected taeyong's scowl at his last statement and swatted taeyong's head before grabbing his suitcase and the other male's hand and starting to walk again. "shove off. anyways, these business meetings have been killing me lately," he said as he frowned while looking down at his perfectly ironed suit. "i have to attend another one in tokyo as soon as i land today."

"well, i can't really help with that, can i? you were the one who chose this job—"

"i did not choose this job, i was forced to take this job."

taeyong continued talking like he was never interrupted. "—and that's why you have to continue with it no matter how busy you are."

"you're literally acting like my wife or some shit. stop. sicheng will punch you." and yuta was aggressively pushed away.

"you bruise my soul."

"hmm, more like bruise your tiddies."

"tiddies?" another voice popped out of nowhere and taeyong looked over to see a black-haired male looking at them questioningly. "why are we talking about tiddies? oooh, can we talk about kun's tiddies—"

"stop popping up out of nowhere, god! and no ten, we will not ever talk about kun's tiddies ever again because that one time you forced us to listen to you was enough," taeyong huffed and walked away from the two men, waving at them with his back turned away. "have a good flight and never contact me again."

yuta pouted and turned to the smaller male.

"ten, he's lying right?"

"i honestly have no clue. now move so that you won't miss your flight idiot."

"i can still fire you! you're still my secretary!"

"yada yada, shut up and get a move on."

✈️

taeyong shoved his bag into the tiny overhead compartment above his little section in the cabin crew rest area and sighed, sitting down on the thin mattress, thoughts drifting off into nothing until he was just blankly staring at the cabinet across from him.

"—yong? taeyong sweetheart?"

a finger poked at his shoulder and he was brought back from the clouds. taeyong looked up to see auntie suh staring at him with a creased forehead.

"what's wrong yongie?"

taeyong just smiled lightly and got up, crouching slightly as to not hit his head on the top of the plane.

"i'm not sure auntie. i'm fine though so don't worry! let's go down?"

narrowing her eyes at him, the lady reached up to pat taeyong's head to which he smiled.

"i know you're lying but i'll ask you in detail later since we're already late."

nodding, taeyong followed auntie suh out of the rest area and down the stairs. she opened the door and taeyong got out, finally able to properly stretch since the resting area had such a low top.

"yong, head to the door to greet the passengers. i'll handle things back here," she said, sending a genuine smile towards that male that made her eyes crinkle at the corners.

bowing towards her, taeyong turned around and walked away, maneuvering himself around the other cabin crew who were busily carrying things around.

reaching his place, taeyong stood still as he waited for the signal to open the door to the plane. the captain of the plane came and stood behind him.

"hey taeyong. how are you?"

shrugging, taeyong let a soft smile grace his features. "i could be better. how about you captain?"

"same as you. slightly tired but it isn't too bad to the point that i cant fly for 2 hours to shanghai."

a beep sounded from outside which let taeyong know that he was good to open the door. he unlocked the latch on the door and spun it around until the door moved inwards and the latch popped back into place. he then reached for the handle and pushed it out to let the door open, making sure to hold onto the handle inside the plane with his other hand so that he doesn't fall. he then signaled to the people working on the ground that it was good to start attaching the passenger boarding bridge.

straightening out his clothes once he was done with the door, he turned back to kun who was observing him with a slight smile on his face.

"why are you smiling like that captain qian?"

"oh for god's sake, stop calling me captain, tae. it's weird and i don't know why you continue to do this after five years of us knowing each other," kun shot him a dirty look that caused taeyong to erupt into giggles.

"but it's fun! and anyways, i probably should pretend that i don't know you here. we do need to maintain a low profile."

"it's not like we're dating."

"duh, i know that. ten would rip me to shreds if we were," taeyong said without filtering his words. he then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth but to no avail because kun had heard him crystal clearly.

"what? why would he do that? wouldn't he be happy that you're no longer single after ten years of being lonely?" ah right, the captain was still quite dense. much denser than a boulder. taeyong still didn't understand why his thai friend liked this man but of course he'd never ask ten that because that's just subjecting himself to a week-long lesson on why qian kun is the epitome of perfection and that was exactly what taeyong wanted to avoid at all costs.

"forget it dumbass."

the passenger boarding bridge extended out from the terminal and taeyong made sure to latch it properly from inside so that the other workers secured it from outside.

"hey no, you don't get to call me that!" kun said indignantly, causing for taeyong to stick his tongue out at him.

"boarding group 1 will be boarding in five minutes. all crew, please be ready."

kun and taeyong turned away from each other, fake smiles appearing on their faces as they got ready to cheerfully greet the passengers.

just another normal day of taeyong pretending that he was fine although he absolutely wasn't.

-

whoever got the hwaiting! reference in this chapter deserves all of my love and affection