“This kid never change. It’s been twenty-four hours and he’s still like that.” If it were any other day, Wonshik would not even budge but it was not any other day so he stirred in his sleep upon hearing a familiar voice he thought he was just dreaming because he was bored (and lonely but he was not going to admit that). “I’m back to this stuffy place.” The voice spoke up again, filled with sassiness in his tone.

Wonshik, though still doubting his ears, opened his eyes then slowly sat up. He looked around and found Hongbin sitting on the other bed. “Lee Hongbin!” Wonshik exclaimed, startled at the sight of the handsome guy. “What on Earth are you doing here?”

“Why? This is also my ward.” Hongbin replied in a sarcastic tone as if he were stating the obvious. “You cannot afford to buy this place. Sanghyuk’s family owns this. Speaking of Sanghyuk, is he still out?”

“What do you expect? All of you were just freed yesterday!” Wonshik pointed out the obvious fact. “Why are you here anyway? Don’t tell me you just got thrown back here.” That was when everything fell into places inside Wonshik’s mind. “No way, did they bring you back here?”

Hongbin let out a loud sigh. “I don’t really know why. I was just taking a morning stroll and when I happened to propose marriage to handsome man, I was captured.” He told Wonshik, his eyebrows furrowed. “Like, is it so wrong to fall for one’s beauty?”

Wonshik deadpanned, as if he had expected it. “And the handsome man is… yourself?”

Hongbin paused but nodded his head a second later. “I was surprised too, you know? That was when I realized that I really am handsome. But now, I’m back in this place and I have to stay here for three months. I should think of my own genius plan to escape. Nurse Park looked like she wants to murder me in my sleep when she saw me earlier. Guess she can’t stand my handsome face.” He complained, sounding so annoyed.

Wonshik could understand why Hongbin was annoyed. If he also wanted to leave and had the chance to do so, he would also be annoyed if someone were to put him back inside. “If you’re back here, does that mean that the others are coming back too? Hakyeon hyung too?” He asked, his eyes widened at the thought. He was still not able to enjoy his time without Hakyeon and that trot singer would come back once again just like that?

“How would I know?” Hongbin snarled. “But I guess so since come to think of it, he’s the most unstable one.” He pointed out, rolling his eyes to show that he was still annoyed due to the fact that he was back in the mental hospital.

A knock on the door was then heard followed by the opening of it. Both Wonshik and Hongbin turned to the door only to see Sanghyuk, looking not-so-happy. “I’m back—” He announced but stopped when he noticed Hongbin’s presence. “Hongbin hyung, you too?!” He exclaimed, running towards Hongbin’s side. “This does not make any sense. Hyung, how can they put us back here when we just escaped?” The youngest whined.

Hongbin let out a sigh and patted Sanghyuk’s head. “I know! I think that they’re the mentally ustable ones.” He pointed out.

Wonshik would have made a comment but he heard a familiar loud voice from the hallway. “I’m back~!” The voice annoyed, sounding like a little kid.

Wonshik did not have to think twice. He sprinted out of his bed and ran out of the room. “Jaehwan hyung!”

Five people gathered inside the cheap hangout. in the middle of the hallway. They were experiencing mixed feelings. Even the always sleepy Wonshik could not bring himself to sleep as he laid flat on his stomach. Jaehwan was doing the same thing beside him except for the fact that he was playing with a poor ant. Sanghyuk, Hongbin, and Taekwoon were also lying down, trying not to hit their own heads. The hangout was still low and uncomfortable—it had not been a day since they managed to leave, what do they expect?

“So, Hongbin got in trouble for talking to the mirror, proposing marriage to his own reflection. Jaehwan hyung was talking and chilling with a mosquito when a concerned citizen decided to call the mental institution. Sanghyuk lost it when his gopchang fell on the ground which he ate after freaking out.” Wonshik summed up, breaking the ice. Then, he turned to the ever-so-quiet Taekwoon.“And then, you, Taekwoon hyung… why are you back here? What did you do this time?”

Taekwoon blinked his eyes, staring back at Wonshik. “...Latte.” He simply replied.

Sanghyuk just shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t think that he’d tell us what happened. He’s like a cockroach, he doesn’t say much.” He reasoned out. “Speaking of cockroaches, where is the cockroach lover? Hakyeon hyung is nowhere to be found.”

“I’m this close to accepting the fact that I was sent back here.” Hongbin heaved a loud sigh. “But why the hell is Hakyeon hyung not here yet?!”

“Same here.” Sanghyuk agreed and Taekwoon nodded along. “If we’re all back here, I supposed, he should be the first one to come back.”

“Oh, oh!” Jaehwan opened his big mouth. “Perhaps, he met Leo and they’re now happy in each other’s arms! And then, maybe, they had forgiven each other. At first, they were insecure, Hakyeon hyung probably thought that Leo might be disappointed in him after getting to know him. But afterwards, they learned to love each other’s flaw. But as we all know, that “happy ever after” things happen only in fairytales. Just like how the seasons, change, love also cools down. They used to be closer as can be then they suddenly became far from each other. But you know what hurts more than falling apart? It’s the fact that they can’t go back to how they were before.” He said his monologue, closing his eyes as he spoke.

It took a lot of Taekwoon’s patience to prevent himself from pulling Jaehwan’s tongue in annoyance because he seriously was not of any help at all. Hongbin could not stop the urge so he rolled his eyes and threw judging glance towards Jaehwan. Sanghyuk, finally used to Jaehwan’s long insane monologues, could only sigh. Wonshik, though yawning due to sleepiness, found Jaehwan cute so he reached out to pinch the older guy’s cheeks.

“What are you even saying, Jaehwan hyung?” Sanghyuk let out another sigh. “Who’s Leo, anyway? I think that I have heard that name somewhere before.”

“I don’t know.” Jaehwan simply replied, grinning sheepishly. Before, Sanghyuk already concluded that maybe, Jaehwan was not crazy, maybe he was just a bit… out of it? Or maybe a bit idiotic? Now that he thought about it again, he would take it back. Jaehwan was definitely out of his mind.

“As much as Jaehwan hyung does not make any sense, the fact that Hakyeon hyung is not here does not make any sense either.” Hongbin pointed out.

“Isn’t it better without Hakyeon hyung?” Wonshik asked. Just imagining Hakyeon’s big mouth and loud voiced could make him wince (as if Jaehwan was not like that and Wonshik was just being biased).

“But that alsso means that there is something wrong with this hospital’s system. I’m going to tell my father about this later. But for now, I think that we should leave right away. I don’t want to stay here for three months more. It’s going to be hell. My professors are probably missing me so much already.” Sanghyuk told the older guys.

“But didn’t you say that your professors detest you?” Jaehwan blurted out.

“No. Who can hate a guy like him? He’s lovable.” Hongbin, as Sanghyuk’s number one ally, spoke up.

“Did someone call my name?” A familiar voice of a certain annoying person startled the five guys. They all turned to the newcomer who crawled into the hangout as fast as he could (Wonshik was watching him with his horrified eyes).

Hongbin shook his head. “No, I said ‘lovable’.”

“Yup, that’s me!” Hakyeon nodded his head, grinning widely. “Did you guys miss me? Because I missed you guys and I missed this precious hangout of ours. It had been a long time since we last gathered here together. I missed our little moments like this.”

“It’s barely been 24 hours.” Sanghyuk scoffed, pointing out the obvious to Hakyeon before turning to the other guys. “And since Hakyeon hyung is here, I can now say that though this hospital may seem a bit twisted, it must be not as bad as we think. They still use common sense after all.”

Hakyeon shrugged his shoulders. “Still. Did you know that I came back here to meet all of you again? I heard that you guys are back here again so I thought, why not join you since I am not yet that busy? And so, I filled up the forms to confine myself here again. Isn’t that sweet?”

“No, no, it’s not.” Wonshik was the one who spoke up. “You could have just left and never appear again. You could have just disappeared from my life for good.”

“Is it just me or Wonshik hyung speaks like Jaehwan hyung?” Sanghyuk asked no one in particular.

Hongbin shook his head. “But that’s not even the problem. Our problem is the fact that Hakyeon hyung is the one who brought himself here. That means, something is wrong with this hospital. How come we  were forced to come back? Let’s escape. Let’s go somewhere far.”

“Why escape? Let’s just stay here.” Hakyeon suggested. “I believe it’s a lot more fun here.”

Taekwoon snorted. “You stay here and we will leave.”

Hakyeon grinned then crawled towards Taekwoon, tackling him with a hug. “No can do, Taekwoon. Don’t worry, I’ll go wherever you go. Wherever and whenever.”

“PDA!” Jaehwan groaned, covering his eyes as he mimicked a little kid before turning to an old lady. “Youngsters these days do not know their limits.”

Sanghyuk groaned. “Anyway, let’s just do my suggestion. You know, the crossdressing one? I really, really believe that we won’t get caught if we stick to that plan. I’m pretty sure that they won’t even think that we’ll come up with such an awesome plan. What do you say?” He asked Hongbin, his eyes were hopeful so the handsome guy could only gulp.

“Well, I think that it’s fine.” Hongbin said after contemplating. He wanted to say no but he could not afford to break Sanghyuk’s poor little heart. “Should we do that?”

“Oh! Oh!” Jaehwan exclaimed, completely forgetting out his roleplay. “If we do that, can we dress like Wonder Girls? I want to be the leader.” He suggested, striking a pose.

“So cute!” Wonshik, as usual, could not help but to coo, pinching Jaehwan’s cheeks.

Hakyeon finally let go of Taekwoon—after the latter’s many failed attempt to push the former off of him—then turned to Sanghyuk. “Then, can I be Sunmi? And can we dance to their song, ‘So Hot’? I can have a solo for Sunmi’s song, ‘24 Hours’. It will be a hot performance.”

“What ‘hot’ are you talking about? It’s disgusting. Disgusting.” Taekwoon retorted but it was a wrong move.

“You’re so sweet, Woonie.” Hakyeon almost squealed before enveloping Taekwoon with a hug.

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes. “But hyungs, we are not going to have a show or a cosplay. We’ll just have to act like girls until we’re out of sight. Let’s pretend that we just visited someone. Our clothes are still in our ward, I guess.”

“One question though, uhm… can someone please let me stay in your house for a day or two? I forgot to pay my electric bills so I guess it will be disconnected today. I won’t have a place to stay at until they fix it…” For the first time in years, Hongbin sounded like a humble person as he asked for the favor.

“You can stay at our—” Sanghyuk paused. “…oh… I also have nowhere to stay at. My parents know that I am still in this rotten place. My father will surely throw me back in here. I guess that I can talk to them but I still have to think of a foolproof plan. I guess we have to push back our escape.”

Taekwoon shook his head, finally able to push Hakyeon away from him. “That can’t be. My team’s next game is in three weeks. I have to leave this place to tell them the new strategy that I came up with. Let’s escape tomorrow and you two can stay in my house while you deal with your problems.”

“Really? We can stay at your house?” Hakyeon sounded eager when he asked.

“Not you.” Taekwoon glared at the cockroach lover. “Only Hongbin and Sanghyuk.”

“But we’re going to wear wigs when we escape tomorrow, right?” Jaehwan asked, voicing out his concern. “And do we get to choose our wigs? If we’re going to disguise ourselves, we should at least be pretty.  I think that I’ll make a good girl. Plus, we get to do the things that we want to as girls.”

“I don’t think that it’s a good idea, Jaehwan hyung.” Wonshik pointed out, cringing at the thought of Jaehwan dressing up as a girl. “I’m pretty sure that they’ll notice that you’re a boy before you can even do something that you want to do as a female.” For once, he said something smart.

“Why can’t I?” Jaehwan pouted.

“Aw… so cute!” Wonshik pinched Jaehwan’s cheeks as he cooed, his smart image came crumbling down just like that and he returned to his idiotic self.

Hongbin rolled his eyes at Wonshik before turning his attention to Sanghyuk. “But the thing is, it will be hard to disguise as girls, right? We have to practice our voices. Can’t we just remain as guys even in our disguises?” He asked, thinking of an excuse just to not dress up as a girl. If anyone would hear about the handsome Hongbin dressing as a female, they might even faint—not because he looked horrible but because he was even more beautiful than some famous actresses and female models.

“Well, yes.” Sanghyuk scratched his head as he thought. “But we don’t have much choice since the clothes and wigs that I and Jaehwan hyung found in the storage room are for females. So, yeah… But since we’re going to escape tomorrow, we have all night to practice speaking as females.”

“...or we can just make Jaehwan speak to them.” Hakyeon suggested. It was a smart suggestion, really, since Jaehwan was good at mimicry. Unfortunately, as smart as Hakyeon’s suggestion, Jaehwan was not very smart. He’d surely end up having his very own monologue in the middle of the conversation.

Jaehwan nodded his head excitedly. “I can do that!” He spoke in a voice of a woman before returning to his normal voice. “I can sacrifice my well-being and I will give up my life for you. I am willing to die for you, guys. Just… live happily. While you live as if nothing happened, you might even forget me. When you think of me very occasionally, I’m doing well so don’t worry.” He said, dramatically with tears in his eyes. “It’s okay even if you think of me sometimes and smile a bit.  I hope that you guys are happy forerver.” He continued, already crying.

Jaehwan was not the only one crying. Hakyeon, too, found himself crying as Jaehwan spoke. “Jaehwanie!” Hakyeon crawled over to Jaehwan and hugged him. “I am so sorry for eveen suggesting that. Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen. We won’t leave you behind. We’ll not sacrifice you.”

Hongbin rolled his eyes, Sanghyuk sighed, and Taekwoon groaned. The three men were not very amused at the scene in front of them. They really had no idea why the two boys were being so dramatic over nothing serious. They might not like him very much but they would not throw Jaehwan under the bus—it was not a good choice, he’d get back to them unconsciously with his big mouth. Plus, using Jaehwan to distract the nurses and guards was not a choice, it was like suicide.

Wonshik, on the other hand, had a different concern. He pushed Hakyeon off of Jaehwan. “Get lost, Hakyeon hyung.” He muttered under his breath but Hakyeon took no notice of it.

“Ah, by the way, I think it’ll be hard for Wonshik to dress up a girl. He should not be a girl.” Hakyeon turned to Sanghyuk but pointed his index finger towards Wonshik.

Hongbin nodded his head after thinking for a second or two. “I agree. He’d be a hindrance to this peaceful society of South Korea.”

“So, can I be the one who’ll dress him up? I have a style in my mind that will really make him seem like a girl despite of his low voice.” Hakyeon happily voiced out.

“I won’t join you in esca—” As usual, Wonshik’s statement was not heard.

“I want to make him wear stockings. He’d look y in it, I swear.” Hakyeon babbled.

“Listen to me first. I—” Wonshik tried again, not wanting to give up just yet.

“I want to join in dressing him up too!” Jaehwan exclaimed, grinning widely. “He’ll look like a pretty girl with the style I had in mind.” He added, cutely.

And so, Wonshik had no choice but to just shut his mouth. Taekwoon, Hongbin, and Sanghyuk, on the other hand, were starting to doubt that the escape would go as planned.

Author's Note: 

A not-so-good update lol. Writer's block is doing a great job ruining this story (if it's not already ruined hahaha...)

Special thanks to all those who commented. And to those who upvoted, marlia91, LeeJi98, Karenkitty1092, Taotic, Sweatervest_Suho, hongbeann, love_kris, Hala-bear, Zhuchu, Lola20, pink_baekbaek, vixxcha, Uvichan1, nam-seok, and bcpfgrg thank you so much! It means a lot to me.