A/N: The computer crisis has been solved peacefully! I had many viruses, but luckily, all my important files were not infected. -phew- I'll be more careful in the future... I think I might die if I ever lost my precious TVXQ folder! 

RIDE ON

The turn-out for their fan sign was much more impressive than the number of people who came to the airport, but they knew they still had a lot of room to improve. When they weren't busy doing interviews and photoshoots, Jaejoong spent most of his time in their little studio, trying out writing new songs in Japanese. It didn't come as naturally to him, but it still made the language easier to learn as he explored the poetry of the words and phrases. They still had their regular language lessons as well, but they were more interesting than when they were in Korea, since they could actually go out into the city and use their skills practically-- to ask for directions, buy food, navigate the train lines, and barter. They all felt pangs of homesickness from time to time, but since they were together, it never got too bad that they couldn't bear it.

“So we've released the Japanese version of Hug,” Changmin said one afternoon following vocal practice in the studio, “and hyung and our songwriters are working on more songs for an album. We can do showcases, but we can't have a concert until we have an album, and we can't have the album until we have more exposure and until the songs are finished. So how long do we have to keep spinning our wheels here until that happens?”

“We're not spinning our wheels,” Yunho said, flicking his forehead. “We've had several variety show appearances and more interviews than I can count already.”

“Yeah, and that's retained us the fans we already had and secured us a few more who think we're funny or attractive, but other than performing Hug over and over again, they haven't really heard us sing.”

“They can order our albums from Korea whenever they want,” Junsu pointed out.

“But things are different in Japan,” Jaejoong said slowly, following Changmin's train of thought. “It's not that they don't want to listen to music in foreign languages... it's just that our group is trying to be a part of the J-Pop market. They're not going to figure out if we can do that or not by listening to our other music. We have to show them that we can do it with new music, created just for them.”

“But we can't do that until we have songs and an album, can we?”

“We have a song. Other than Hug, I mean. Wasurenaide.”

Yunho sat up straighter. “We're planning on saving that song for the album, aren't we? Can we perform it this soon without it being a single?”

“I'm not thinking of performing it on live television. I was thinking about a street performance,” Changmin said.

“A street performance,” Yoochun said slowly. “That could work. It's not like we're in Korea, or anything. We're not going to automatically be mobbed.”

“Plus, it will draw in people outside of our fanbase. It's a good song for that. Adult listeners prefer ballads, but it's still romantic enough for female listeners who haven't heard of us yet.”

“We could follow it up with a dance song, too,” Yunho mused. “Have our songwriters translated The Way U Are yet?”

“Yeah, just recently. I think they want it to be a B-side on our next single.”

“Then maybe we can see about asking for permission for a street performance. I'm for it. Yongsoo hyung said people were waiting to see if we lived up to reputation vocally, so why not show them. If we can get just have one or two people taking fancams, too, then we can start to spread our name more online. I don't see how it could hurt.”

Changmin grabbed Yunho's arm. “Let's go talk to the label personnel, then, and Jaejoong hyung can talk to our songwriters about using Wasurenaide and the new version of The Way U Are.”

“Wow, you're pretty fired up about this.”

“We've all talked about how its difficult to promote ourselves since our company has limited connections here,” Changmin said impatiently. “So the least we can do is promote ourselves. Anyways, do you know how many fans came up to me at the fansign and said that they were going to spend all their free time helping us get new fans? If they're willing to do as much, we should be doing twice that amount of effort. We can't put all that burden on our fans.”

Yunho's eyes watered. “Our Minnie really is growing up.” He reached out to try and hug Changmin, but was quickly fought off.

“Yeah, yeah, let's just see if it's something we're allowed to do or not.”

Their Japanese personnel gave them permission to move forward with their plan provided they worked on it on their own time and didn't let it distract them from their schedules. The five of them immediately got to work on learning the Japanese version of The Way U Are, and they each started leaving subtle hints on their Japanese fanpage about an upcoming special event in the city.

“Ah, I hadn't realized that I missed playing this much,” Yunho said, hugging his guitar close to his chest after one of their practices. “It reminds me of our first summer together. Wasn't this the second song you showed to me?”

Jaejoong nodded. The memory of that time seemed farther away now, but it didn't make him as sad as he thought it would. They were also making beautiful memories now, and that made him just as happy as all his past moments with Yunho. Still, it made him smile to see Yunho playing Wasurenaide on his guitar again, bringing a little piece of their awkward early days back to him.

“Didn't I say something about wanting to be in love to this extent when you first translated it for me?” Yunho asked, squeezing Jaejoong's hand. “Funny how that worked out.”

“You two make me want to vomit, sometimes,” Changmin said, sticking out his tongue. “You were gross then and you're still gross now.”

“Don't be jealous just because you don't have a girlfriend,” Yunho teased. “I bet you're just waiting for the day when Hyunsoo nim announces auditions for a new girl group.”

Changmin rolled his eyes. “And be the subject or gossip page news? No thank you. As if we don't have enough of the already between Jaejoong hyung and Soorin noona and you and Gaeun noona.”

“Gaeun noona,” Jaejoong echoed blankly. “What are you talking about? There haven't been rumors about them since K.Will's music video, and that was before we debuted.”

“Of course you'd think that, since you only read the Yunjae forums. But there's that camp of people who aren't into Yunjae. Remember that one fashion shoot Starkiss and DBSK did together for the his and hers pinstripe blazers? Hyung and noona were both spotted wearing the complimentary clothes the company gave us after the shoot, and some fans latched onto that. They also used to think your ring from the video you did with her was a couple ring with her, until Jaejoong hyung's fans pointed out that he was wearing the other half during the Rising Sun concert.”

Yunho shrugged. “Well, she wants to keep her real relationship private, so it won't hurt to misdirect them.”

“Up until the point where they start bashing her for taking their oppa or Jaejoong hyung's lover. It makes me mad enough that they do it to Soorin noona.”

“They won't have any reason to bash her if the best evidence they can find are blazers everyone knows we did a fashion shoot for.” Yunho ruffled Jaejoong's hair. “Honestly, it makes me more comfortable about all the people who do believe in us to know that there are some people who don't. As I've said before, putting Jaejoongie at risk is not an option.”

“I just don't think it's fair that we've been doing twice as much fanservice work as you two, and you still have more fans,” Junsu said.

“I'm sure if we also kicked the B out of our bromance we could have the same results,” Yoochun said. “Wanna try?”

“I've already exceeded my limit on gross and cuddly hyungs,” Changmin said sourly. “But nice try.”

As soon as they had a schedule-free afternoon, they posted on their fanpage and made their way to downtown Tokyo. There were a few people already assembled by time they got there, but they respectfully kept their distance and followed them only with their cell phones while they set up. A few passersby also stopped when they saw a performance in the making, so when Yunho first started strumming his guitar, they had a considerable audience already attracting attention.

“Hello,” Yunho said bowing. “Many of you probably haven't heard of us, but we are a new group to Japan called Tohoshinki. Though we are originally from South Korea, we want to be able to perform for our Japanese fans, too, and we're working hard to release our debut album soon. Our fans have been working hard to support us, so we wanted to perform a song for them to say 'thank you' until we can have our first real stage in Japan. The song we're going to sing is called Wasurenaide, and was written by our very own vocalist Jaejoong. Jaejoong-kun, would you like to say something about it before we start?”

“Yes, arigatou.” He also bowed to the audience. “Some of our fans may know this, but before we came together as Tohoshinki, the five of us were close friends to each other. All the members except me even grew up in the same town and knew each other for many years. Before I met them... I experienced many lonely times and wondered if it was possible for someone I loved to always stay by my side. This song came from those feelings.” He turned to smile at s. “But now I know that it is possible. My members and fans have shown me that. So now when we sing this time, it's to remember that we don't have to feel those sad moments of saying goodbye again.”

“Jaejoong-san faito!” a handful of girls in the audience called out before ducking and hiding their faces in embarrassment.

Yunho played the beginning of the song, and the five of them began to sing together. Songs like One Kiss were special for him and Yunho especially, but this one was special to all of them. It was the first piece they'd learned to perform together, and the song that had helped both Junsu and Yoochun make it into C&M. It never failed to amaze him how much had changed from when he'd first written it to now. He was a lucky person. There had been difficult times, but he didn't want to take that for granted.

As they sang, more and more people stopped by to watch, pulling out their cell phones to take videos and snap photos. Even a few businessmen on their breaks wandered over to watch, and a handful of older women doing afternoon shopping. Yunho's guitar was their only instrumentation, so they were singing close to their acapella style, the area in which they excelled the most in singing live. He'd always thought it was a kind of music everyone could get into, and judging by the expressions on the audience members' faces, it looked like they were enjoying it.

They were greeted by cheers when they finished, and they bowed in thanks. Yoochun went to set up their portable stereo for The Way U Are, and Junsu waved again to everyone who was watching.

“Tohoshinki enjoys singing ballads, but we can all dance, too,” he said brightly. “Well... some of us are better than others. I'm probably the best-”

“Would you like to get into a dance competition with Yunho to prove?” Changmin asked.

“-I'm probably second best. This song was from our debut album in Korea, and now we will perform it in Japanese for the first time for you. For us, it's all about the way you are, our beloved fans! Please enjoy!”

The reaction this time was different from their ballad, and their younger female fans started screaming for them, drawing in more attention from the people passing by. It probably wasn't as a relatable song to the older people who had stopped by, but their audience still swelled as they performed. It gave Jaejoong a good feeling. He loved doing their variety shows, but he loved performing even more. He hoped they would fall in love with them as people soon, but falling in love with their music would be the best way to start.

When their performance was over, they welcomed the rush of people wanting their autographs and to know when their album would be out and gratefully let the fan club presidents who had come to see them pass out fliers for their BigEast fan sites and special events. Changmin had been right; it did feel good to help their fans push for them. It may have been a small action to take, but it was meaningful nonetheless.

After awhile, it was time to leave for their practices, and their personnel helped them weave their way back to their van, though their fans were good about backing off and saying goodbye properly. Yoochun patted Changmin on the head affectionately. “That was a good idea, Changminnie,” he said. “If we get a boost, I'll know who to thank.”

“You all can thank yourselves,” Changmin muttered in a rare show of sheepishness. “You were all singing, too.”

“But still, thank you,” Yunho said gently. “For thinking of us and our fans.”

“I'm a Tohoshinki member. That's what we do.”

0o0

Their self-promotion wound up doing them plenty of good, aside from the Japanese fans who shared their videos and pictures on their social pages. A reporter had been in their audience, and she'd written up a small piece about them for the entertainment section of the newspaper, which had led them to receive more calls for interviews. Their Japanese label moved ahead with scheduling their next single, and everything seemed to be moving ahead nicely.

“You guys have been working hard, so we're going to give you another break day before we start prepping for the single,” Yongsoo said. “If you had anything you wanted to do--”

“Fukushima United is playing,” Junsu said immediately.

“Do we all have to go?” Changmin asked. “I like soccer and all, but the last game you took us to lasted forever.”

“I'll take him this time,” Yunho offered. “Since I didn't go last time. If you guys want to do something else, you can.”

“I want to go to Nagoya to see the temples and gardens and eat kishimen.”

“I'll take you,” Yoochun offered. “Want to come with us, Jaejoong hyung, or do you want to go watch soccer?”

“Nagoya,” Jaejoong said automatically.

“You could at least wait two seconds before saying that,” Yunho said woundedly.

“Sorry. But I can watch soccer back in Korea. I want to see Nagoya.”

“But can you watch Fukushima United regularly in Korea?” Junsu asked, glaring at him. “Anyways, hyung and I will go sightseeing in Fukushima while we're there. If you three get us something in Nagoya, we'll buy you a souvenir, too!”

“If we have enough money left after eating.”

The next morning, the three of them left on the early train to Nagoya. The temperature was finally beginning to drop, so it was a good day to go out and enjoy the scenery together. The train ride was fairly lengthy, so they all enjoyed the break to sneak in some extra sleep, though no one minded when Yoochun woke them up as they neared their destination and began to point out all the landmarks from the window.

The first thing they did was go out for lunch, which was of course an expensive but satisfying experience. While they ate, Yoochun checked up on the news from South Korea on his phone. “Starkiss's single is doing well, and it looks like Hyunsoo nim is going to be releasing teaser images for the trainees soon. I can't believe they've grown up to that point already.”

“I still remember thinking Haejin and Chaozhi looked like babies when they joined the label,” Jaejoong said fondly. “Do they have their team name yet?”

“According to the C&M page, it's B.P.M. Beats Per Minute.”

“What's that?” Changmin asked, his mouth full of food.

“It's English. For counting heartbeats.”

“So it's a romantic name, then? I thought they were supposed to be more hip-hop.”

“It's more intense, actually. People records beats per minute after a workout, or in a situation where their heart would be racing. I'm sure they'll use that as their story, like we had ours for DBSK.” Yoochun paused. “There are also a few news pieces of Dami here. But I don't want to spoil the good mood.”

“Nevermind that,” Jaejoong said impatiently. “Has she been sentenced yet?”

“In a few days. Apparently she didn't want to get into that deal with us about accepting the charges, but her legal team talked her into it as damage control. She's still trying to go around selling stories about you, Soorin noona, and Yunho hyung, but only crap tabloids have been willing to pay any attention to them. But our fans have turned around and started protesting anyone who prints anything she says, so it looks like it's still going to end favorably for us.” He looked carefully at Jaejoong. “You've been keeping up with your Yunjae fan site, right?”

“Yes,” Jaejoong grumbled. The other members had caught him monitoring the fan club, and they'd asked him to do it regularly to assure they weren't catching them in anything truly implicating.

“And they're monitoring all our Japanese performances, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Have they talked to our Japanese fans about starting their own fan club?”

Jaejoong flushed. “It's inevitable that they will.”

“I hate to sound like Junsu, but be extra careful. I doubt anyone will believe what Dami says, and I know the privacy for idols is protected better here. Just don't get too comfortable, because there's no guarantee that the fans here won't spread things that will give Dami's claims credibility.”

“That's why I'm out with you guys on a date today instead.” Jaejoong said, slinging his arms around their shoulders. “That will throw them off.”

“Maybe Yunsu will become the hot item,” Changmin offered. Yoochun started snickering so much that he almost spit out the sake he was drinking.

With their meal finished, the three of them went to the gardens, then went to see some of the famous shrines in the area. Jaejoong had brought his camera along with them, and they all took several pictures to show Yunho and Changmin when they got back and post later for their fans. A few people stopped them now and then for autographs or to say 'hello,' but on a whole, it was a quiet and enjoyable afternoon away from all their group duties.

Evening hit, and Changmin was just asking about dinner when Jaejoong's phone starting ringing. He checked the screen and saw it was Yongsoo hyung. He considered not answering in case Yongsoo wanted them to come back early, but since there was a chance it could be something important, he gave in and took the call.

“Jaejoong ah,” Yongsoo said, his voice sounding urgent. “Have you been in touch with Junsu and Yunho?”

“Yeah, they've texted a few times. Is something wrong?”

“When was the last time they texted?”

Jaejoong thought about it. “Around 1 pm, I think?”

“And you haven't heard from them since?”

“No.” His heart felt suddenly heavy, and his breath fell short. Why is Yongsoo talking like this? He didn't want to ask or know, but at the same time, he was willing to hear anything that would set his fears aside. “What's wrong, hyung?”

“We just the news, and there was an earthquake in Fukushima. It wasn't as damaging as some of the others they've had there before, but there were some car accidents and train malfunctions in the area. The soccer match was canceled, but Yunho and Junsu haven't gotten in touch to let us know that they're okay.”

Jaejoong felt like his heart would stop, but he tried to keep his breath steady and his mind clear. They're fine, they're fine. They have to be fine. “How many times did you try calling?”

“Three, before we called you. The rest of the personnel are still trying to get in touch with them.”

He closed his eyes, the first impossible question clawing its way up his throat. “There weren't any fatalities reported, were there?” Yoochun and Changmin whirled around, their eyes widening.

“There were only three announced, but they've all been identified. They don't have any tallies of everyone who has been injured, though. That's why we're concerned.”

His body was shaking, and he had to coach himself to be able to speak clearly. “All right. We're going over there.”

“All the way to Fukushima?”

“Yes.”

“I told you, several of the train lines shut down.”

“We'll take a taxi when we reach that point.”

“You're almost four hours away.”

“Hyung, I just can't wait here, not knowing whether they're okay or not. I can't keep calm unless I know I'm doing something to help them.”

Yongsoo fell silent on the other line. “All right. How about this? You start heading back to Tokyo. We'll keep trying to call Junsu over here, and you try dialing Yunho. The moment one of us hears something back, we let each other know. If they're okay, just come back to Tokyo as planned. If we don't hear back or something is wrong, we'll all go to Fukushima as soon as we can. Work for you?”

Jaejoong took a deep breath, swallowing back all the panic in his chest. They're fine. They're fine. They have to be fine. “All right. We'll leave right away.”

“What is it?” Yoochun asked uncertainly as soon as Jaejoong hung up.

“There was an earthquake in Fukushima, and Yongsoo hyung can't get in contact with Yunho and Junsu. We're going back.”

“W-what? A bad earthquake?” Yoochun immediately grabbed Changmin's arm and squeezed it tightly.

“It didn't sound like it, but there were a lot of people injured, so we're not sure something didn't happen. Yongsoo is going to keep calling Junsu ah, and I'll call Yunho.” He flicked the speed dial for Yunho, but was immediately informed that his phone was not in service. “Maybe something happened to the cell phone signals?”

Yoochun his own phone and pulled up the news alert about the earthquake as they hurried back to the train station. “It says here that there were a lot of car accidents in the area where the earthquake hit, but only one has been reported as fatal. They're still cleaning up the area, so they can't account for everyone who was injured yet.”

“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope they were involved in a minor car accident,” Changmin said. “Nothing worse than that.” Jaejoong simply dialed Yunho and listened to the no-service message play. He dialed again. Please, don't make me worry. You of all people can't make me suffer this pain.

As the most clear headed, Changmin took care of their tickets while Jaejoong called Yunho over and over again and Yoochun kept up with the news updates as they came in. “Most of the injured have been taken to hospitals in the area. Treatment is first priority, than contacting family... please wait patiently.”

“I can't wait patiently,” Jaejoong said distractedly. He thought he heard the phone ring once before the no-service message played again, but he was just as convinced that he could have been deluding himself. He tried to dial again, but his hands were shaking too badly to hit the buttons.

Yoochun grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it. “Hyung, if you're not okay, I could take over.”

Jaejoong shook his head. “I'll only feel okay if I'm the one doing it,” he said, trying to keep his voice strong. “If I can't do this... I feel like I'll break. But I can't. He might be hurt, so I need to be strong for him.”

“I understand. But we're here for you.” He closed his eyes, releasing a long sigh. “We should have gone with them. If something happens to Junsu ah... what will I ever say to his family?”

“They're fine,” Jaejoong said firmly. “We have to believe that.”

“I will. I'll just pray that Junsu is somewhere screaming about the soccer match getting canceled.”

Jaejoong tried to smile, but he couldn't. All he could do was dial the number once again and listen to the same old message, try again, and wait for the voice he needed to hear telling him everything was okay and always would be.

Opening the door
Slotting in the key to freedom yeah
Right now, Starting Ignition
I won’t back out until I reach my destination yeah