crash landing
summary | jieun tries her best to avoid temptation, which is incredibly difficult when there’s a devil (wooyoung) on her shoulder
date | july 2024
contains | 1.7k words, fluff
note | inspired by the ateez airport departure videos 😭
Flight days were never Jieun’s favourite.
She’d grown accustomed to flying after years of travelling to different countries for schedules, but there was something about airports that never really sat right with her. Maybe it was the stress of making sure her carry-ons were the right weight, or the long wait times. Either way, she couldn’t wait to get on the plane.
The moment she walked through the airport doors, Jieun was greeted by a barrage of cameras and microphones in her face. She closed her eyes as multiple shutters began going off, blinded by all the flashes.
No. This had to be it.
Luckily, it wasn’t long before their bodyguards began motioning for people to back away, creating a path in the middle of the crowd. One of their managers went ahead, leading the way through the sea of people with the members following close behind.
Jieun felt a slight tug on the back of her sweater. Looking over, she noticed Yunho standing right beside her, hand placed on the nape of her neck. His gaze scanned the crowd for a moment before he looked down at her and with a small smile, offered his arm. Although covered by her mask, the corners of her mouth tugged upward as she linked arms with the older man. They made their way through the crowd together, occasionally waving to the fans that called their names from the sidelines.
Although she’d initially rejected his offers, Jieun had become accustomed to linking arms with Yunho whenever they walked through crowded areas. It started a few months after debut, with their growing popularity resulting in heavier crowds as time went on. At some point, Yunho had made it a habit to keep contact with Jieun to ensure her safety, whether it be holding onto her hand, her shirt, or through linking their arms. She wasn’t extremely bothered by crowds, if anything it was just a bit uncomfortable, but it was clear that the small gesture gave Yunho a bit of extra reassurance, so she humoured him.
The swim through the crowd wasn’t long as they quickly made their way to the check-in area. Once out of the crowd, Jieun unlooped her arm from Yunho’s and reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. She opened her text conversation with Sunwoo, sending him a quick message.
Me: good luck at your concert! i’m so sorry i couldn’t attend :(
Sunwoo’s reply came almost instantly.
Sunwoo: it’s ok, you’re here in spirit :) Sunwoo: thanks for the snack basket btw Sunwoo: the members finished everything already 😐
Wooyoung walked up to the girl and rested his head on her shoulder as he looked down at her phone.
“Who ya texting?”
“Sunwoo,” she answered without looking up.
Me: i’ll get a bigger basket next time 😭
“Ah, right. They have a concert tonight, don’t they?”
Jieun nodded, letting out a small sigh. Sunwoo had told her about their concert long before it was announced to the public, surely breaking some rules in the process. She’d been excited initially, but it seemed that luck wasn’t on their side as her flight was scheduled on the same day and there wouldn’t be enough time if she tried taking a later one. The two groups’ tours also overlapped too much, so she wouldn’t even be able to see the concert in a different city later on if she wanted to.
Wooyoung picked up on the way her shoulders seemed to droop after his question, mouth lowering into a frown.
“Sucks that we had to leave today,” he said, to which she nodded. Wooyoung stood up straight and let out a small gasp. She looked over her shoulder to see a grin spreading across the man’s face. “You know what will make you feel better?”
Jieun raised her eyebrows slightly, silently questioning him. Wooyoung reached behind him and grabbed his luggage, holding it out to her with a wide grin. She let out a single chuckle as she looked down at the luggage, shaking her head. Wooyoung had been talking about his new luggage for weeks, bragging about how he’d be able to ride around in style while everyone else would have to walk, in his words, like peasants.
“C’mon, try it out!” Wooyoung exclaimed. “It’s so fun- look.” He pulled up the handle of the luggage before taking a seat. Jieun stepped out of the way as Wooyoung started riding around the waiting area, much to the amusement of the reporters and fansites that began clicking photos.
After a couple laps, Wooyoung rode back to where Jieun was standing and hopped off his luggage. He motioned for her to get on, though the girl shook her head.
“It’s ok, I’m good,” she said, causing Wooyoung to frown.
“Boo, you’re no fun.”
Jieun rolled her eyes lightheartedly and shook her head. She glanced towards a few of the fansites waiting on the sidelines, waving to the few that she recognized.
After a couple minutes of waiting, she felt a buzz in her pocket and reached to grab her phone.
Sunwoo: Wooyoung’s right, you’re no fun
She looked up from her phone to see Wooyoung on his, a smirk settled on his face as he typed away.
“Did you seriously snitch on me to Sunwoo because I didn’t wanna ride the luggage kart?”
Wooyoung glanced up at the girl with a casual expression and lazily shrugged before looking back down at his phone. Her eyes narrowed at the man before she typed out a response.
Me: wtf Sunwoo: 🤷
She glanced over at Wooyoung, his attention turned toward the other members as he tried convincing Yunho to try out the luggage as well. The latter eventually gave in and took a seat on Wooyoung’s luggage. Jieun watched as Wooyoung showed him how to use the controls before Yunho went off to take the luggage for a spin. Yeosang, having bought the same luggage, joined and followed Yunho around.
“Looks fun, right?” Wooyoung said from where he stood beside her. Jieun’s eyes remained forward, purposefully avoiding the man’s eyes. “C’mon, Eun-ah, you know you want to.”
As if on cue, Yunho rode back to where the rest of the members were standing and got off the luggage. He handed it back to Wooyoung, who looked at Jieun with raised eyebrows as he awaited her response.
She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. After a few seconds of contemplation, Jieun let out a long, tired sigh and nodded. A wide smile spread across Wooyoung’s face as he pushed the luggage toward her.
“Ok, ok, sit.”
Unenthusiastically, Jieun took a seat on the luggage and placed her feet on both sides. She watched as Wooyoung showed her each button, how to steer, and which ones to speed up and slow down.
“Got it?” he asked excitedly. Jieun gave a small hum in response. “Ok, let’s go.”
Although hesitant at first, Jieun began slowly moving forward as she got used to the controls. She travelled forward a few metres before taking a U-turn and moving back. Jieun made a lap of the empty area before Yeosang put his own luggage into motion and started following the girl.
Together, the two rode around the waiting area as their members looked on in amusement. Jieun smiled as she made laps, grateful for the mask covering her enthusiasm so she wouldn’t have to admit that Wooyoung had been, at least partially, right. She made a mental note to check out the link that Wooyoung had sent later.
However, as she turned to go back to the rest of the group, Jieun accidentally pressed the acceleration. In a quick attempt to slow herself down, she pressed on the brake, but the sudden halt caught Yeosang off-guard, who had been trailing behind her. He didn’t have enough time to stop, causing the two to crash into each other. Yeosang managed to remain steady and jumped up to avoid falling, but Jieun wasn’t so lucky. The suitcase tipped over, causing Jieun to lose her balance and fall to the ground before she had a chance to catch herself. Gasps echoed throughout the room.
The members, who had been watching the whole time, were split between bursting into laughter and concern as a few of them went to help her up. Jieun stayed on the ground for a second, processing what just happened before she felt Seonghwa’s hand on her arm.
“You ok, Eunnie?” he asked as she took his hand, helping her stand up. Jieun nodded and brushed herself off.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She let out a dry laugh as blood rushed to her face.
“Ah, Jieun, I’m sorry,” Yeosang said with a soft expression. “Are you ok?”
Jieun blinked at the boy as she nodded sheepishly.
“Don’t worry, I’m ok,” she reassured. Jieun reached over and picked the suitcase up off the ground, rolling it over to Wooyoung who was still bent over in laughter. “You can have it back now.”
Wooyoung let out a sigh and stood up straight, wiping a tear away as he took the suitcase back from her.
“Thank you. That was great, really. Thank you for that.”
Jieun closed her eyes, breathing in for four seconds before slowly exhaling to calm herself down. After a couple cycles of this, she shook her head and let out a small chuckle. Maybe she didn’t need a new suitcase after all.
bonus:
A content sigh left Jieun’s lips as she slumped into one of the lounge chairs. They weren’t the most comfortable, but she was just grateful for the chance to sit and relax for a bit after going through customs and security. She put her airpods into her ears, about to close her eyes when the sound of an incoming text caught her attention. Jieun looked down at her phone to see who had messaged her.
Sunwoo: nice crash landing Sunwoo: [view attachment]
Jieun froze at the opened chat, staring down at the video playing on the screen. After a few seconds, her head slowly raised, and she stared at her members with a cold expression.
“Which one of you sent this video to Sunwoo?"
taglist: @teezingsiyeon
