Summary: Tea is an essential part of breakfast.

A man in a pair of skin-tight skinnies was crouching on the floor, half hidden by the chairs and tables of the restaurant. In fact, the skinnies were too torn to be considered jeans, exposing the pale legs sheathed within. But the man was not in the least bit bothered about his bottoms, head twisting here and there frantically to look through the legs of the restaurant furniture. The shades covered almost half of his face, but one could still see the blatant frown on his perfectly trimmed brows. An aged couple was observing the young man from their table.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a girl, honey,” the man whispered conspiratorially at his wife.

The lady placed her teacup back to its saucer, the china clinking delicately.

“That’s a guy! Oh Albert, what should I do with you!” The wife exclaimed, flabbergasted at her husband’s opinion. The man was by far a male, despite the thin frame. The broadness and flatness of his chest told her so.

“Margaret, I’m a man and I know a woman when I see one,” Albert huffed as he took a big bite out of the fluffy croissant on their breakfast table. He then choked spectacularly on the flaky treat, gulping down the English tea to soothe the irritation in his throat.

“Yes, and sixty years living on Earth has rubbed off the primitive instinct,” His wife snorted, a far cry from the elegant charm she exuded from her posture.

Too big an ego to back down, the silver haired man initiated a bet.

“What’s the bet on?”

“No tea for tomorrow’s breakfast.”

The lady gasped, as if the bet was something very grave. Indeed, not abling to drink tea for breakfast is nothing but torture, for the couple at least. She agreed in the end. One would think that the couple, in their golden age, would be mature and wise. But it seemed that forty years into their marriage had brought out nothing but childishness and competitiveness between the couple. The couple continued to observe the man, like a hawk eyeing its prey, each trying to catch a decisive evidence to support their stand.

Just then they saw a figure approaching their gender-confused target. This time though, the couple was quick to ascertain that the newcomer was a male.

“Hah! I told you she’s a girl! Look, there’s her boyfriend!” Albert commented, the obvious I-know-it tone annoying the missus to no ends.

“He can be gay for all you know!” Albert was silenced effectively, face taking a tinge of red.

“Albert….” Margaret raised her tone when she realized what was running through his brain. Her husband smiled sheepishly, at least having enough sense to look contrite

“I’m just wondering how they get… You know…. Intimate…”

Margaret stuffed full with bread pudding, refusing to partake in the conversation anymore.

At the other end of the restaurant, the man in question was painfully ignorant of his surroundings. His pretty head had too many things to worry about and he could not care less about being the topic of the pockets of conversations in the restaurant. He had lost his bracelet and was adamant in finding it back. It was a gift from someone close some time back ago, a farewell gift and it was significant to him. He was not going to leave the place until he found his bracelet, his travel companions be damned.

He continued the search as he waded on his bended legs, past the tables and chairs. Honestly, it was his entire fault since the bracelet catch was faulty and yet he had stubbornly put it on. A shadow was casted on him while he was self-berating.

“Yunho?”

“Jaejoong, quick! We need to leave this place soon! Manager hyung has found us!” Yunho conveyed the newly acquired information to the crouching man, tone hushed despite the urgency behind it.

Doe eyes widened significantly behind the shades at the news. They had only been there for less than 48hours and the manager had managed to track them down.

“Why is Taesoo hyung so efficient? He should learn more from Hyungdae hyung. I bet hyung is just lying on the bed, waiting for my call,” Jaejoong whined under his breath. And if Jaejoong lost interest in the entertainment industry, he should seriously consider being a fortune teller as a career for the manager of JYJ was lazing at home, with his phone within reach. They would call, Hyungdae believed, and started on his Running Man marathon.

Jaejoong quickened his wading, but one can only wade so fast in that crouched position.

“Come on, Jaejoongie. Forget about the bracelet. I’ll just buy one for you,” Yunho persuaded, pulling the wannabe duck up. They had the attention of the diners and he did not like how a man, not far away from them, sized Jaejoong up with his eyes. He could not blame the man though, Jaejoong’s pathetic excuse of a jeans was like a silent invitation even though the man had no such intention.

Jaejoong pulled off his shades in haste and blinked at the leader. Did he hear correctly? The Jung Yunho who is so generous to his friends, but yet so stingy to s because “we earned the same amount of money, so why should I treat you guys?”

Yunho wanted to strangle the lead singer. He was only joking when he whipped up that excuse to avoid buying Yoochun the synthesizer that the birthday boy wanted. And Jaejoong thought he meant it seriously, and had kept it in his heart since then.

“Yes, I’m buying it for you. And no, you did not hear wrongly,” Yunho answered the unvocalised question running in Jaejoong’s brain.

“But…. But…” Jaejoong wanted to say that it was not because he lost the tangible bracelet but the intangible meaning encased within the bracelet.

He pouted heavily as Yunho pulled him out of the restaurant.

Albert and Margaret, who had their eyes trained on the couple, flustered as they approached for the exit out of the restaurant was behind them. They were tempted to stop the slighter man to ask for confirmation, yet they were shy and a little afraid. The man beside him was not scary, but it was without a doubt that he was very protective of the pale man. They had witnessed how the taller man sized up the onlookers, those who regarded the slighter man like a piece of delicacy.

The couple conveyed their conflicting thoughts between them through their eyes, both sporting similar torn expression.

“ ‘Scuse me, young men,” Albert called out as the young couple brushed past them. Yunho and Jaejoong halted their steps and spun around. They were fairly confident that nobody could recognize them and their posture relaxed even further when they realized that it was an old couple who had called out to them. Surely couples of their age would not be interested in KPop, further more they are not Asians…

“Yes?” Yunho answered.

Margaret’s heart sank a little when she caught sight of a pair of doe eyes. More doubts rose as she assessed the slighter man. The silhouette is of a man’s, but the facial features were so soft.

“You are a lady, aren’t you,” Albert blurted out the question.

Twin pairs of horrified eyes landed on him as silence befell the table.

“Do you speak English?” It was Margaret’s turn to ask when Yunho and Jaejoong made no attempt to answer.

Yunho almost snorted at her assumption. Of course they speak English. They may not be very good in the language, but they had improved by leaps and bounds due to the frequent trips to America and Europe for tours in recent years. They understood the question, but they did not know how to reply. Instinctly, Jaejoong wanted to say no, wanting to protect his male pride. But he did register the growing interest of the other diners on them and he might have sported a little recognition in the eyes of the younger diners. Yunho was in a similar state. They were supposed to go incognito for this trip, according to Changmin and by agreeing to the old man, they would have followed the plan perfectly. However, he had no idea what would the lead singer react if he were to agree.

Back up the hotel room, ten levels up, three men paced frantically. Changmin had received a message from his manager hyung, and it was not pretty at all. He frowned. He knew that his manager was a very resourceful man, with many contacts, which was why he purposely wanted to get to the more rural side of France. But apparently even Français cannot deter the man. Yunho went scurrying down when the message came, wanting to get Jaejoong up from the restaurant to discuss their next plan. What kind of escape it was if they were caught in less than two days.

It had been an hour since the leader left, and the two eldest were not back up. Yoochun had taken the initiative to pack the luggages while Junsu and Changmin tried to come up with a plausible escape route. In the end, they all agreed to leave the hotel and proceed to London.

“They won’t recognize us,” Changmin assured although Junsu was highly skeptical. London was afterall the capital of England, with high human traffic.

“I’ve watched SHINee’s One Fine Day. Minho and Key went to London for the program and nobody recognized them even when Key introduced himself as a singer. It’s safe.”

But Junsu and Yoochun were still not convinced.

“The British people will be too busy in celebrating the birth of the new prince to even notice us!”

“That’s true….,” Junsu spoke, “I wonder if they named the baby already. I would name him Xiah if I were his parents. Prince Xiah~”

Junsu squealed before wheeling his luggage out, immersed in his own world.

“Since when did Junsu become this self-absorbed?” Changmin asked, as he looked at squealing man.

Yoochun shrugged.

“May be the kiss with the Caucasian Model in his Incredible MV was more scarring than he let out to be.”

More squabbling ensued as the trio argued over who was going to do the check out. At the back of his mind, Changmin briefly wondered why Lee Sooman put them together when they were constantly bickering. Perhaps it was because their squabbles were more for fun than for real, he smiled, when Yoochun stomped his way towards the check out counter and Junsu sticking his tongue out childishly behind him.

“Come on, let’s see why is Yunho taking so long,” Changmin instructed as he dragged the hyperactive man towards the restaurant.

Standing outside the entrance to the restaurant, Changmin and Junsu soon found their missing travel mates standing in front of a table looking like deers caught in headlights. The maknae nudged the now humming Junsu.

“What.”

“I think they need help,” Changmin stated the obvious.

“And….”

“I think you are the perfect candidate to help them.”

“How am I going to help them if I have no idea what is going on! I may cause even more confusion!” Junsu questioned.

“Exactly!” Changmin exclaimed and pushed Junsu into the restaurant.

Before Junsu could escape out of the establishment, Yunho had spotted him. Left with no other choices, Junsu shuffled his way there with an I-have-no-idea-what-is-going-on-so-I’m-just-going-to-smile smile on his face.

Albert and Margaret were still waiting patiently for the couple’s answer as they sipped on their tea. They knew that Albert’s question may have sounded a little offensive but they had meant no malice behind it. And Yunho knew that. The couple was more curious than being mean. And it seemed that Jaejoong had come upon the same conclusion.

“I’m a-“

“BAMBAYAAAAAA~” The entire restaurant came to a standstill as Junsu’s shrill voice travelled across. Yunho, who had noticed Junsu before, slapped his forehead in despair while Jaejoong stared, slackjawed, at the musical actor. Blocking out his surroundings, Junsu headed straight for the couple and proceeded to push the two stunned man out of the restaurant, not forgetting to bow before the aged couple. Jaejoong turned back and saw that the couple was equally confused at Junsu’s outburst.

Junsu cursed under his breath as he continued to steer Yunho and Jaejoong out of the eatery. What was he thinking when he shouted Bambaya! His mind was at a blank then and the only word he could think of was Bambaya. He blamed Changmin for bestowing such embarrassment upon him and the maknae was going to pay for his demise.

Jaejoong frowned as he caught words like butcher, dice and fry coming out of Junsu. Was Junsu planning to cook dinner tonight? Jaejoong paled at his assumption.

Changmin was in hysterics when he heard Junsu screaming out “BAMBAYAAA”. This was the reason why Changmin had Junsu to rescue the hopeless leader and lead singer. The only way they could get Yunho and Jaejoong out without inviting anymore questions was through confusion. And Junsu was the master of creating confusion with his random words. He straightened visibly as the trio got nearer.

"Due to our awesome manager, we are going to Londo- Hey, where are you going?" Changmin called out when Yunho ran towards the restaurant.

Jaejoong on the other hand, engrossed in his thinking, turned paler and paler and Changmin wondered what was going on in his mind.

“Did we just witnessed some Asian mating cry?” Albert broke the silence at the table as they saw the trio disappeared out of the eatery. Margaret did not reply as she was still out of sorts from Junsu’s unexpected outburst. Picking up her teacup with shaky hands, Margaret drank her tea when Yunho arrived at their table. He bent down and whispered something into the ears of her husband. Margaret tried to infer the contents of Yunho’s whispers but Albert’s pokerface gave away nothing. Yunho bowed politely at the couple before sprinting out of the establishment.

“Albert, what did the young man say!” Margaret could hardly conceal her curiosity.

“Honey, I think I just meet the first ever couple in my life!” Albert whispered, face crinkling into an awed smile instead of frowning in disgust.

The lady rolled her eyes. Trust her husband to twist the words of the handsome man. He most likely had told him that his friend was a guy and Albert, being Albert, must have jumped into conclusion that the trio was gay and are involved with one another. But she let him be for that day because he was going to suffer the next morning anyway. She rubbed her hands in glee. No tea for breakfast! That’s what the old man was going to get for not believing her.