“Ah, I lost again!” Jaehwan said in a cute childlike voice, pouting after doing so. “How many times should I lose to you, Hyukkie?” He asked Sanghyuk. The two of them were at their hangout, playing their favorite ‘Catch the Mouse’ game. Except for their loud voices, other sources of noise pollution could not be heard from the hangout. Taekwoon was staring at them as if they had lost their minds while Hakyeon was watching with a motherly smile on his face. Meanwhile, Wonshik and Hongbin decided to stay inside the ward—hoping that Sanghyuk or Jaehwan would finally notice that they had been sulking for almost a week which clearly did not happen.

“We kept on playing and you kept on losing.” Sanghyuk laughed wholeheartedly. He did not know that finding his long-lost childhood friend—adding the bizarre fact that they met in a mental hospital—would be so much fun. It was almost as fun as being evil.

“If Wonshikkie is playing with you, he would have lost. That guy loses all the time. He’s a game’s black hole.” Hakyeon chuckled, shaking his head. Upon the mention of Wonshik’s name, he paused because he had remembered something. “By the way, where are Hongbin and Wonshik? It’s been a while since I last saw them with you.”

Sanghyuk and Jaehwan looked taken aback for a moment. It was like they did not notice that fact until Hakyeon pointed it out for them. No one could blame them—Jaehwan was naturally dumb slow while Sanghyuk was not very sensible when it came to other people. It would actually be more surprising if they noticed the changes in Hongbin’s and Wonshik’s behaviors right away.

“You haven’t been talking to them, have you?” Hakyeon asked. His tone made him seem like a mother who was ready to reprimand her children for not being obedient enough. “Kennie, Wonshik is really close to you. He gives up his sleep for—well, sometimes—but still! He sometimes gives up his sleeep for you. How can you not notice that he is drifting away from you already?” He reprimanded Wonshik who bowed his head in regret.

“Why are you scolding him?” Taekwoon asked Hakyeon, his voice was still soft yet full of cconcern.

“I’m not scolding him. I am disciplining him.” Hakyeon replied before turning to Sanghyuk. “And you, Sanghyuk, Hongbin and you are inseparable. He even stopped staring at his own reflection and talking to his mirrors. Do you know how hard it was for him to stop? Yet he stopped so that he could be your own friend.” He stated, hitting his own chest with his fist to emphasize his point. He was tearing up, even. “And now, what are you doing? You neglected him. You—” He started crying out loud. “What have you done, Sanghyuk?”

Jaehwan stared at Hakyeon in confusion. “B-b-but that sounds like something that I would say! You stole my monologue, not fair! Arf!” He howled and barked like a dog while Hakyeon cried.

Sanghyuk stared at the two weird people in front of him. Once again, he recalled that he was in a mental hospital and the evidence was right in front of his eyes. “What are the two of you doing now?” He asked even though he knew that the question would remain unanswered and that the question would not be explained or elaborated. He might not know the answer even until he turned to a hundred-year-old grandfather of two-hundred-children.

Taekwoon sighed, turning to Sanghyuk while Jaehwan and Hakyeon continued barking and crying respectively. “Don’t mind them.” Taekwoon murmured but he made sure that Sanghyuk would hear his words clearly. He was tired of dealing with Hakyeon and he certainly did not need a Lee Jaehwan to cause more headaches and problems.

“Even if he’s weird, I think that what Hakyeon hyung said made sense.” Sanghyuk sighed as well.

“I agree.” Taekwoon nodded his head. “Go and talk to Hongbin then make Jaehwan talk to Wonshik.” He commanded but it was more like a father giving an advice to his son. “It’s weird… you not talking to each other. Much weirder than Hakyeon and his cockroach.” He added.

“Hyung, do you think that Hongbin hyung and I really drifted away from each other these past few days?” Sanghyuk asked Taekwoon, his usual playful tone was not present anymore. For once, he did not seem like an evil kid. It seemed like he was not the kid who tried to leave both Taekwoon and Hakyeon behind just because he wanted them to rot in the mental hospital together.

Taekwoon was a bit surprised to hear Sanghyuk speaking like that. He thought that it was his chance to make the younger male pay for all his sins. But Taekwoon was nicer than he looked. He could not manage to break the heart of an already broken child. He nodded his head. “Yes. So, talk to him.” He said, sounding a bit like a father who was encouraging his son to do something nice.

Sanghyuk nodded his head. For a moment, he was distracted because of Hakyeon’s endless cries and Jaehwan’s loud barks but he decided to ignore the two idiots. At least Taekwoon was normal—or at least he seemed like it. Not wanting to think about those things anymore, Sanghyuk stood up (after crawling out of the cardboard, of course). “I will go and talk to Hongbin hyung first.” He informed Taekwoon who nodded and stood up as well, causing the cardboard to tear apart in the process.

“Taekwoon!” Hakyeon exclaimed. His dramatic cries were cut off. “I would have to fix this hangout again! Do you know how many times a week I fix this because of you?” He asked, looking like a frustrated mother or wife—he would be fine with any of the two.

Taekwoon glared at Hakyeon. “Is it my fault that the cardboard is worthless? Go and use a wood.” He said before walking away to go back to the ward that he shared with Hakyeon and Sanghyuk. Sanghyuk quietly left after him to escape Hakyeon’s incoming wrath or cry or whatever that guy would do.

“Did you just hear what he said?” Hakyeon turned to Jaehwan who nodded his head. “He did not appreciate the time and effort! Why does it always have to be like this? Why do I have to be the only one who puts an effort to everything?” He sobbed.

Jaehwan started crying with Hakyeon. “I feel you, bro. I feel you.” Together, the two idiots cried—Hakyeon had successfully replaced Wonshik in being the other dumb one. Come to think of it, he was the original anyway. Nothing could beat Hakyeon—Jaehwan came close behind.

“H-hongbin hyung…” Sanghyuk stuttered, knocking on the door of the ward softly. He received no reply so he tried again. “Hongbin hyung, it’s Sanghyuk.” He introduced himself despite fully knowing that Hongbin knew him so much—the guy could probably even know that it was Sanghyuk the moment the latter take a breath. Creepy yet it was kind of cute.

“The handsome Hongbin is not here, only an ugly abandoned one is inside this ward that is full of Wonshik’s germs.” Sanghyuk heard Hongbin reply in a monotone.

“Hyung, that voice is obviously owned by the handsome Hongbin hyung.” Sanghyuk sighed, turning the doorknob in attempt to open the door—which he successfully did. He found a dead-like Wonshik sleeping on the floor beside a dirty pile of laundry and then a Lee Hongbin who was staring blankly at a mirror while lying down on his bed. His eyebags were obvious. He was not acting like the usual Hongbin everyone knew. He was not the Lee Hongbin who was more concerned of his looks more than anything. Sadness and depression could really change a person. “Hyung, how are you?” Sanghyuk asked, walking closer towards Hongbin.

Hongbin glanced at Sanghyuk for a second before looking away to look at his mirror once again. “Not fine. Why are here?” The former asked the latter. “Aren’t you enjoying your time with Lee Jaehwan? Weren’t the two of you some long-lost childhood friends or something?” He sulkily added.

Sanghyuk blinked for a few times. Out of the other five patients, he least expected Hongbin to act that way. If it was Hakyeon or Jaehwan, Sanghyuk would not even bat an eye because he would not be surprised at all. “Hyung, why are you being like that? Are you upset with me?”

“What right do I have to be upset? I’m just an ugly Hongbin who was abandoned by his close friend.” Hongbin replied, dramatically.

“Look, hyung, I’m sorry.” Sanghyuk sincerely apologized. He was surprised too, hearing it from his own mouth—hearing such sincerity. Since he was little, he had an evil mind. So, when he heard himself apologizing that sincere, it was surprising for him. “I don’t know what I have been thinking. I do not want us to drift away from each other. Jaehwan hyung might be my long-lost childhood friend but you are my closest friend—the best out of everyone. I won’t abandon you like that. So, I’m sorry if it felt like I had left you when I really did not.” He blurted out his real feelings with tears forming in his eyes.

It could have had been a dramatic event if only they did not have Wonshik’s loud snores as their background music—if it was a drama, they would have had to pay the male a huge amount of royalty payment because they usually used his snores as background music.

Hongbin’s eyes were teary too. He put down his mirror and sat up, the weird background music did not ruin the atmosphere for him. “I am not angry, silly.” He managed to say while tearing up. “To be honest, I am not that happy because I thought that you don’t like me as your best hyung anymore. I also thought that now, you like Jaehwan more. You spent a lot of time with him, you know?”

Sanghyuk nodded his head. “Yes and that is the reason why I am sorry. I feel like I have neglected you. Don’t worry. From now on, I won’t forget you anymore. If I and Jaehwan hyung would hangout and talk about the old times, I promise to include you and probably Wonshik hyung too.”

Hongbin smiled, pleased with Sanghyuk’s idea. “Sure. You have to promise me.” He said, sticking out his pinky so that Sanghyuk could do the traditional pinky promise.

Sanghyuk interlaced his pinky finger with his friend. “I promise, hyung!” He grinned. They did not notice the fact that the background music already stopped playing and the fact that Wonshik was already sitting on the floor and staring their heartwarming confrontation.

“Are you done?” Wonshik asked, surprising the two boys and making Sanghyuk squeal like a girl. Wonshik then threw a look at Sanghyuk. “Why are you squealing?” He asked, confused. He probably had not known that his voice was a really deep one that could scare anyone anytime. “Anyway, since you guys are on good terms now, does that mean that I can play with Jaehwan hyung again? I’m getting bored here. There are piles of clothes everywhere because Hongbin does not clean anymore.”

“Is it my fault that you throw your clothes everywhere?” Hongbin asked Wonshik in disbelief. “They stink for your information.” To emphasize his point, he even covered his nose.

Wonshik shrugged his shoulders. “You are in-charge of cleaning though.” He replied.

All of a sudden, they heard loud noises that were coming from the hallway—it sounded as if someone was throwing big pieces of woods everywhere. The three of them decided to shrug it off but Sanghyuk remembered the fact that he left Jaehwan with Hakyeon—without anyone to take care of them! That meant things were not going to be fine. It was like letting two monkeys play in a highway.

“This is not good. I left Hakyeon hyung and Jaehwan hyung there.” Sanghyuk informed the other two guys. Worry and concern were written all over his face. Soon, Hongbin and Wonshik had the same expression. “We have to see if they did something wrong.” Sanghyuk said before dashing out of the room. The two other guys followed the suit. Upon leaving the room, they saw Taekwoon who had almost the same expression as them.

“What are they doing now?” Taekwoon sighed, sounding more annoyed rather than worried.

“We also have no idea but they are probably up to no good.” Hongbin replied.

“Why am I not surprised?” Taekwoon murmured, frowning. He was the first one to walk towards the hangout and the rest followed. The four of them did not know if they should still be surprised when they saw a lot of pieces of woods and ply woods everywhere. Hakyeon was busying himself by cutting them while Jaehwan was inspecting the woods as if he was helping even if he really was not.

“Hongbin!” Hakyeon exclaimed upon seeing Hongbin and the others. The thing was the flower boy had always been strict when it came to his looks. Seeing him with an eyebag was like seeing a Jaehwan who was normal and a Taekwoon who was not scary. To put it simply, it was nearer to impossible than not.

“What on Earth are you doing?” Wonshik was the one who asked.

Hakyeon turned to look at Wonshik to reply to the latter’s question. “We’re creating a new hangout.” He simply replied as if it was a normal thing. “Woonie just gave me a good idea of recreating our hangout since our hangout always falls apart because of him. Are his shoulders made of bricks or something? Is that what coffee does to our body?” He wondered out loud.

Wonshik threw Hakyeon a confused look. “So, the idea is to make a new one that is made of wood?”

Hakyeon nodded his head. “Uh-huh, creative, huh? Woonie suggested that!”

Wonshik was about to say ‘no’ but was forced to nod when Jaehwan showed him a big proud smile. Who could say ‘no’ to a person like that? Wonshik surely could not do so. It was like telling a kid that Santa was not real—Wonshik was not Sanghyuk so he would not do the cruel thing.

“Where did you get all those woods from?” It was Hongbin’s turn to ask. “So dirty… it causes pimple! Also, we are not supposed to order things from the outside world.” He added, speaking like a prison. He was copying the thing that Wonshik used weeks ago.

Hakyeon grinned at Jaehwan before turning back to Hongbin with a grin still on his face. “I used the same method as Jaehwan did, of course!”

Hongbin raised an eyebrow. Hakyeon’s answer was not something that really answered Hongbin’s question. “I asked you ‘where’ not ‘what’, hyung.” His sassiness was coming out once again—Lee Hongbin was already back, no more depressed and lonely Lee Hongbin.

“It’s a secret!” Jaehwan winked at Hongbin and then at Wonshik. “I won’t tell you~” He sing-sang childishly. Wonshik stared at him, a betrayed look was all over his face. He could not believe that Jaehwan would keep a secret from him.

“Wouldn’t the nurses get angry?” Sanghyuk asked, partly because he was curious but mainly because he did not want to see any bromance—as if he and Hongbin were not too used to do such thing. Also, he could not see any reason why the nurses would let some supposedly crazy people play with saw and hammer. It was as good as setting the patients free.

Hakyeon shrugged. “I used your name, of course. Your name is powerful because you are rich. Your name value is really something.” He gave the youngest a thumbs up.

Sanghyuk was startled to hear such thing. In his life, he was the one who had been using people. It was the first time—well, probably the second because Hakyeon used him before—that he was used instead. He realized that the mental hospital was really like an alternate universe. But then, that was not even the case! His name was once again used! Sanghyuk could get in trouble because of that. “They let a patient bring in possible weapons just because of my name?” He asked.

Hakyeon nodded his head. “You’re that useful, you know?” He chuckled evilly and Jaehwan followed the suit—he was slowly turning into Hakyeon’s underling.

Wonshik was clearly the one who was not happy. He just got his Jaehwan hyung from Sanghyuk but before he could even claim his precious hyung, Hakyeon beat him to it. Wonshik frowned. “I’m going back to sleep inside the ward.” He announced, feeling sleepy once again. He was about to walk away and Taekwoon was also about to do so but Hakyeon blocked their way.

“Nuh-uh…” Hakyeon wagged his index finger at the two guys. “Since all six of us are here, all of us should help out in making our own hangout! Get a hammer and a saw, each one of you.” He commanded. “We should be able to finish this today so that we can start hanging out tomorrow here!”

“Count me out.” Wonshik lazily replied.

Jaehwan pouted. “But why? It’s going to be really fun!”

“Fine…” Wonshik muttered in defeat.

“I’m not going to do that. Those things can cause pimples.” Hongbin pointed out.

“I have a really good skincare products, Hongbin. I know where to steal gopchang from, Sanghyuk. I know where we can get coffee, Taekwoon.” Hakyeon did the ‘all-kill’ thing but stating the weaknesses of the other three. The three visibly gulped. They did not want to help in building that random hangout spot in the middle of the hallway of a mental hospital but Hakyeon’s words had an impact.

They just had to help.

Author's Note: (Next Update Schedule)

Time check: 9:37 pm (GMT+8), technically, still a Friday lol. I updated again because I am thankful for the poster and because I was not able to update last week.

My next update may or may not come next week but it's probably the latter. It's the finals for the first semester. The vacation is fast approaching but so are the deadlines lol. I hope that you enjoyed reading the chapter anyway!

Special thanks to all those who commented and for those who are still reading this weird story.. And to those who upvoted, marlia91, LeeJi98, Karenkitty1092, Taotic, Sweatervest_Suho, hongbeann, love_kris, Hala-bear, Zhuchu, and Lola20 thank you so much! It means a lot to me.