In pieces | 2Jae

22, Trapped

Jaebum should've known it would happen eventually, he should've known. He had been dealing with all of this for long enough to handle his emotions, at least somewhat, and it was stupid of him to think that especially after all the recent confessions, Youngjae could do the same. Frankly, the photoshoot was just him doing his job but Jaebum can't say there wasn't the tiniest part of him desperately wanting Youngjae to get jealous. Well, mission success. Unfortunately.

Jaebum wants to hit his head against the wall. They obviously should talk about this at some point but frankly, neither of the two is very willing to start it. Jaebum is not and Youngjae is most definitely not. Jaebum straightens and faces the bathroom mirror. Today they're scheduled to sign a bunch of the stuff they're going to be giving away at the fansign and Jaebum hopes that by the end of it, one of the two has gathered the guts to come forth. Jaebum sighs. He'll stress about it later, he needs to leave now or he'll be the last one downstairs, again. Jaebum takes the keycard and his phone as he exits the room heading for the elevators. A few seconds later a door behind him opens and Youngjae steps out. Seeing Jaebum's distancing back he freezes for a moment before picking himself up. He, unfortunately, can't just stand at the door and wait until Jaebum has disappeared. What would that look like? So, Youngjae settles into walking four well-calculated steps behind Jaebum to make sure they're not too close but can't possible be mistaken for being strangers either. Jaebum tries his hardest to keep his pace steady as he refuses to glance behind him, instead focusing on the red carpet and cream colored walls. It looks like every other hotel, really, but it's better than looking behind him. After all, he knows who the person at his heel is.

Right as they arrive at the main hallway, someone exits the elevator and without hesitation Jaebum walks in, presses number 1 and then turns to face Youngjae. Youngjae looks at Jaebum in panic. The other elevator is on this floor as well but seeing how both boys are going to the same place, it would look weird for them to travel in different elevators. Still.. Youngjae decides that's better than being in a confined space with Jaebum, even if it's only for a half a minute. Youngjae turns his head towards the other elevator when a woman presses the doors open and steps in. Youngjae curses. Now there are witnesses, great. The elevator doors close and Jaebum's hand shoots out to stop it.
"Are you coming?" his voice is cold as he calls out. Fuck fuck fuck... Youngjae curses in his head as he succumbs to his fate and steps into the elevator. The door closes and the metal box starts moving. The two occupants stand next to each other inside the elevator, their eyes firmly to the front making sure not as much as their sleeves touch each other. Three stories down the elevator lets out a loud creaking sound followed by clanking as it comes to a stop. Jaebum can feel his heartbeats picking up.
"No no no no!" Youngjae cries as he looks around panicked. Why did the elevator have to break down now of all times?? He moves over to the buttons and soon finds the right one.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me? The elevator got stuck, we're on the... we just passed sixth floor", Youngjae speaks frantically into the speaker. His message is followed by static. Jaebum moves closer to hear better. As the static continues crackling Youngjae is starting to get scared. Right when he's about to turn to Jaebum someone picks up.
"Yes, hello, we have just received a minor malfunction report from elevator 2, help is coming. We can assure you you are not in any danger. The elevator has stopped moving briefly but will remain there until it has been fixed, don't worry", the man in the speaker starts calmly.
"You seem to be currently located directly between the sixth and the fifth floor. Due to your position we can't force the doors open from the outside to let you out. The bottom of the elevator has entered floor five but there is not enough space to fit through. Our repair person is on their way now. We ask you to please remain calm as you wait for help." Youngjae breathes out in relief.
"Thank you." He glances at Jaebum and turns back to the speaker.
"Do you have any idea how long fixing it might take?" Youngjae asks carefully. More static follows before the man on the other side of the line picks up again.
"I'm sorry to say but it's going to take at least an hour", the man starts. Jaebum pushes over Youngjae to speak.
"An hour? Aren't you supposed to have a repairman on call for situations like this?" Jaebum asks agitated. He does not want to spend an hour stuck in an elevator with Youngjae.
"I'm sorry sir, the elevators have had their maintenance done last week and we were not prepared for any problems, we're truly sorry", the man says through the speaker. Jaebum opens his mouth to say something but bites his teeth together. He takes a deep breath. It's not their fault.
"Thank you, please hurry", he says into the microphone before leaning back.
"What is important right now is for you to remain calm, we have-" Jaebums tunes the voice out as he ruffles his hair in frustration. Jaebum doesn't hesitate as he calls their manager. After a quick explanation and reassurance about their well-being, their manager says goodbye with a promise to speak to the people in charge. Much help that will be. After the man has finished explaining the best breathing exercises and assured he's on call at all times, the two men are trapped in silence once again. The music cut off when the elevator stopped to both of their relief. It might be uncomfortable to be in silence at first but Jaebum is sure that listening to elevator music for an hour would be much worse. With a sigh Jaebum sits down to the floor, his back against the cold metal wall. Youngjae looks at him for a while before joining. He sits down carefully next to Jaebum, still making sure they're not toucing. The elevator carpet is dirty but Jaebum is glad to have something soft to sit on. As long as they don't touch it with their hands it shouldn't matter that much. Jaebum takes out his phone to entertain himself with. The time will pass much faster if he finds something to do rather than sit here in silence with Youngjae.