"This stays between us," Taemin whispered, pushing his key into the lock. He turned back, looking at the guy who lived across the hall from him, eyes serious. 

Jonghyun held up his hands, eyes widening as he tried to portray his innocence to the other man. "I won't tell anybody. I just want to know."

"I'm serious," Taemin said, the keys forgotten in the door. "No one can find out. I could get kicked out for this. Pinky swear you won't tell?"

He held out his pinky to Jonghyun, who immediately latched onto it with his own pinky, twisting them slightly to seal the deal. Taemin could feel Jonghyun practically vibrating with excitement, and he nodded in satisfaction before turning back to his door and unlocking it. 

Turning on the light to the small entryway of the apartment, Taemin stepped inside, allowing Jonghyun to follow him. Jonghyun could hear a faint shuffling from inside the apartment, and he looked into the darkness of the rest of the space, curiosity overwhelming him. 

"Stay here," Taemin whispered again. "I'll be right back." 

"Ok," Jonghyun whispered back, and it occurred to him that they probably didn't have to whisper, but this was Taemin's apartment, and if he wanted to whisper, Jonghyun would follow suit. 

Taemin shot down the hallway, socked feet sliding on the wooden floors until Jonghyun couldn't see him anymore and could only hear the shuffling coming from the darkness. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, waiting for Taemin to return, feeling suddenly awkward waiting in the entryway for Taemin to show him the secret thing he kept in his apartment. After hearing Taemin and Minho talking about it in the hallway last week, he had to know. 

Soon enough the slide and shuffle of socked feet returned to Jonghyun, and Taemin appeared out of the darkness, holding a small bundle of what looked like rags. 

Stopping in front of Jonghyun, Taemin grinned at the puzzled look on his neighbor's face. ing the bundle into Jonghyun's arms, Taemin watched puzzlement turn to joy as the puppy popped its head out of the towel to look up at the new person holding it. 

"You snuck a dog in here?" Jonghyun's voice was hushed, full of amazement as he moved his head down to nuzzle into the soft fur. "How?"

"I found her outside the building. And I couldn't just leave her there, so I put her in my dance bag and brought her here."

"Gross. You put her in that smelly thing? She's a princess. She deserves way better than that."

Taemin's mouth turned down. "Hey now. It's not that smelly."

Jonghyun grinned, his attention not leaving the puppy in his arms for a minute. Suddenly, his head shot up. "Can she come to my apartment for visits?"

"I guess this means you won't be telling on me, then?" Taemin laughed. 

"Of course not."

"Oh, good. Because I would have hated to break your pinky for breaking your promise."