The main lobby of the mental hospital was decorated with a red carpet and plenty of red roses everywhere. Hakyeon was the first one to appear, sporting his pigtails with a leopard print headband. Like he wanted, he was wearing a black tank top with a leopard print cardigan over it. He paired it with black shorts and black leggings. He was wearing accessories too and his face was decorated with make-up as he posed as if he was part of the Asia’s Next Top Model. Then, he stopped in the middle to do his short cover of ‘24 Hours’, a song by Sunmi.

When Hakyeon moved to his left side in order to give way for the other guys, Wonshik entered. Sporting his leopard print jacket over his black tanktop. He also rocked his pink shorts and skintone stockings (with stars as its design). Let us not forget his kitty headband over his black bob cut fake hair. He was actually very embarrassed because of the thought of being seen wearing such an attire but when the spotlight was turned to his direction—not literally—he nailed it with his catwalk. Posing on Hakyeon’s left side, anyone could tell that he already lost his sanity—who could blame him if he had been with both Hakyeon and Jaehwan for months?

It was Hongbin who came up next. Wearing his black and red skirt, black polka-dots stockings, and leopard print sleeveless outfit, he carefully made his way to wards his designated spot. He was embarrassed so he could not help but to smile widely, showing off his dimples which would make any girl think that she failed as a woman. Because of the embarrassment that he felt, he hid half of his face with his long wavy red hair as he stood just a few step away from Hakyeon on the latter’s right side.

Though he obviously did not like it that much, Sanghyuk was the fourth one to come out of the closet—he literally did because that was where they changed their clothes, don’t ask why. He confidently sported his black shirt with a colorful and youthful pattern, the leopard print skirt, and black leggings. He stood on his spot on Hongbin’s left side, smiling widely.

“Now, for the main event,” Hakyeon announced as if someone actually bothered to watch them when the nurses were only watching because how could they not when the guys were making such a commotion? “Lee Jaehwan! Please give our Jaehwanie a big round of applause.” Hakyeon called out, clapping his hands and the other three guys followed the suit by cheering.

On cue, Jaehwan appeared wearing his sleeveless black top and a leopard print tight pants. His bob cut hair looked so pretty on him. He winked at the nurses then raised his arms, trying to act y while showing his armpit hair. “I’m so hot!” He spoke in a voice of an excited female. “Hello, I’m the group’s leader, Jyanni.” He greeted happily.

“What are they doing?” A nurse asked another nurse who shrugged, dumbfounded.

Taekwoon, who was passing by, saw the commotion and could only hit his own forehead. The nurses turned to his direction, giving him a judging look. “I don’t know them.” Taekwoon coughed, pulling his black cap lower in attempt of hiding his face. Clad in a normal clothing—black long sleeve shirt and black jeans—with his right leg on a cast, his skipped towards the five other boys. “Let’s go.” He muttered when he managed to reach them before passing by them like he did not know them, not wanting to be associated with idiots.

Clearly, Hakyeon did not get Taekwoon’s purpose as he even called out. “Wait for me, Woonie!” With that, he and the other four boys hurried to catch up with the hopping Taekwoon—which was not that hard to be very honest.

Together—much to Taekwoon’s annoyance—the six grown men dressed in weird clothings walked towards the big gate of the hospital. Beside the big gate was Nurse Park, staring at them as if she were judging them. The men unknowingly gulped, not knowing if they should continue move forward or just retreat before Nurse Park could even utter a word.

Being a coward, Hakyeon was stopped walking and took a step back but Taekwoon held him in place. “Walk.” Taekwoon muttered coldly.

“Oh, you sound like a criminal ready to take his hostage!” Jaehwan exclaimed, turrning to Taekwoon. His eyes were bright as if he really liked what was happening. He’s weird—wait, everyone knew that by now!

Hongbin shot Jaehwan a look as if telling him to shut up because everyone’s attention was on the six of them as if they were some freak show. “Oh, keep quiet, Jaehwan hyung. We don’t need to cause anymore commotion.” He reprimanded Jaehwan. “As if what we did earlier is not yet enough…” He muttered under his breath, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. He was starting to get tired of his outfit. Plus, he was damn embarrassed because he was pretty sure that some guy nurses were checking him out and even taking pictures of him.

“Lee Hongbin,” Jaehwan sternly called Hongbin’s name as if they were not trying to hide their identities. “You got quite an amount of admirers, huh?” He teasingly commented, wiggling his eyebrows. He was referring to the male nurses who were staring at Hongbin as if he were the most beautiful woman they had ever seen in their entire life—but they were wrong. Hongbin was probably the most beautiful one but he was not a woman so their guess was wrong.

Annoyed at how the male nurses were obviously checking Hongbin out, Sanghyuk grabbed the older man’s wrist and urged him to move. “Let’s get going, hyungs. We can do this.” The youngest one said.

“How?” Wonshik deadpanned but no one answered his question.

“Sure.” Hakyeon said, winking at the male nurses before continuing to walk.

Nurse Park raised an eyebrow at the six men who were approaching the gates but without questioning anything, she unlocked it to let the six men leave. “Go now, the visiting hours is almost over. If you continue taking your time, I’m going to lock this gate with my big padlock and you would not be able to leave until tomorrow.” She told them, rolling her eyes.

“We’re leaving now! Bye!” The first people to rush to the door were Hongbin and Sanghyuk then followed by Taekwoon—three people who wanted to get rid of the other three as quick as they could.

“Nurse Park is more stupid than I thought!” Jaehwan exclaimed the moment they all managed to step out of the hospital’s area. He did not even care if the terror nurse would hear it or not.

The other five guys turned to Nurse Park who looked angry. Gulping, Wonshik grabbed Jaehwan’s wrist. “We’re leaving. Bye!” And with that said, the six boys ran away, afraid that the scary old nurse might chase them and lock them inside their respective wards.

Rolling her eyes, Nurse Park closed the gate but she did not lock it. “Bunch of idiots.” She hissed under her breath. “Foolproof escape plan my . Fools.”

“Why are you not locking the door?” One of the nurses asked upon noticing that the gate was not locked.

Nurse Park shook her head. “Those idiots are our patients and surely, they would come back later or tomorrow. I doubt that they would even last three days outside this institution.” She deadpanned. Then, she froze, an idea entering her mind. Hastily, she locked the gate with her signature big padlock. “On the second thought, let’s lock this gate so that those fools won’t be able to come back.”

“Where are we going now?” Wonshik asked the other five when they were already several blocks away from the mental hospital. The six of them stopped on the sidewalk, catching their breath when they were sure that they were safe from Nurse Park’s wrath. Among the six of them, it was Wonshik who looked as if he were going to faint—he was a lazy and he could not remember the last time he ran. Jaehwan, being a nice dog he was, lend his shoulder so that Wonshik could lean on him—talk about goals.

Even Sanghyuk raised an eyebrow at the touchy duo. He swore, the bed felt threatened because its ship with Wonshik was slowly sinking.

“Let’s go home.” Taekwoon said, a little bit too happy that they all escaped and that he would not have to see Jaehwan or Hakyeon any longer. But he must have celebrated too soon because Hakyeon and Jaehwan just would not leave people alone.

“Oh! Let’s go to Taekwoon hyung’s house then!” Jaehwan exclaimed, sounding like an excited kid.

Taekwoon glared at the musical actor. “I didn’t mean you. I meant me—” He pointed at himself but he paused when he noticed the pitiful faces that Hongbin and Sanghyuk made being the two people whom Taekwoon agreed to take in for the time being. Taekwoon sighed, he could not afford to let such pitiful kids to wander off the streets even if one of them was a devil in disguise.“—and Sanghyuk and Hongbin.” He added, facing Jaehwan once again.

Hakyeon gasped out loud, turning to Taekwoon. “You’re seriously going to let us stay at your house for the time being?! You don’t know how thankful I am towards you, Jung Taekwoon.” The former even held the hands of the latter who glared at him in response.

“Since when did you change your name to Sanghyuk or Hongbin?” Hongbin, being on Taekwoon’s side for once, retorted sarcastically. “Just go to your house and rot there alone. You have ruined our lives enough, no need for you to ruin something that’s already ruined.”

“But it’s already evening! It’s too dark so it would be very dangerous for me to go back alone. Some bad guys are probably waiting for someone to terrorize this evening.” Hakyeon told Taekwoon who still had his hands on Hakyeon’s iron grip.

Sanghyuk raised an eyebrow, peeking at Taekwoon’s digital wristwatch which clearly showed the time: 6:34 pm. Then, he looked at the sky ad everywhere around him which was dark but it was just fine. “It’s barely even six-forthy in the evening, Hakyeon hyung. And you’re not even a girl! You can go home just fine.” He pointed out the obvious thing that was completely unnoticed by the eldest.

Hakyeon turned to Sanghyuk, finally letting go of Taekwoon’s hands. “That’s ist!” After exclaiming, he turned to Jaehwan who was still being touchy with Wonshik. “Jaehwan, cue!”

Jaehwan nodded his head, grinning before clearing his throat as a sign that he was starting his useless monologue soon. The others with the exception of Hakyeon were already hitting their own foreheads, knowing what was going to come. “That is so ist, Sanghyuk. Gender is not everything. Why? Just because a person is a girl, she cannot stand on a bus? Well, mind you, even guys feel tired. What? Guys can protect themsselves? You think that someone as sissy little Hakyeon hyung could defend himself?” The guys had to chortle at that except for Hakyeon who was still nodding his head as if he were proud of whatever Jaehwan was doing. “Gender is not everything. In the end, we’re still human beings. We have weaknesses and we have to be protected. That is why we should not kill dogs. We should all become vegetarians and not harm the nature any longer. Let’s protect the trees so we need to refrain from making test papers because that is such a waste of trees especially when the students are going to fail anyway.”

“I know that this line is overused already but…” Hongbin trailed off, taking a deep breath. “What on Earth is Jaehwan hyung even talking about?”

Wonshik shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Just let him, he’ll keep quiet eventually.”

“In conclusion, you, Taekwoon hyung,” Jaehwan turned to Taekwoon. “Should let us sleep at your house for the night. Let us rest there.”

“No.” Taekwoon glared at Jaehwan, Hakyeon, and Wonshik who were giving him a hopeful look. There was no way that Taekwoon would give in just because of that. It was like inviting trouble into his house. He would never do that. He would really never—

—Taekwoon could only sigh and glare at the five figures in front of him. They had not bothered to changed their clothes just yet because they all just arrived. But Taekwoon’s annoying cast was long destroyed by him due to his fury.

“Your house is so big!” Hakyeon commented, amazed. He and Jaehwan were even squealing like bunch of girls upon entering Taekwoon’s house.

Taekwoon groaned. What was he thinking? Did he really think that he could get rid of Jaehwan and Hakyeon with one stern words of denial? Well, he was wrong. He was never right when it came to Jaehwan and Hakyeon. Come to think of it, how many times did he say that he would never give in to the two annoying guys? He said it plenty already but he betrayed his own thoughts plenty of times too.

“So, Jaehwan hyung, Hakyeon hyung, and Wonshik hyung would really stay here for the time being?” Sanghyuk walked up to Taekwoon and asked. He was still wearing his female clothes but his wig was nowhere to be found so he looked real weird. He then looked around him and found Wonshik, who was still dressed in his weird outfit but had his wig thrown across the living room, already getting comfortable enough to lie down on the floor to prepare himself to sleep, Jaehwan and Hakyeon were touring the house like crazy with their clothes still intact and so were their wigs, while Hongbin, whose wig was also missing, were watching everyone else with his usual judging face.

“Only for the night.” Taekwoon meekly replied. “It’s not like they had given me a choice. They forced their way here. I’m fine with Wonshik though.”

Hongbin then walked over to Taekwoon and Sanghyuk, looking so confused. “I’m fine with Wonshik too but I’m curious about something…” He trailed off, seemingly unsure of what he was going to say. Because of the tone he used, everyone turned their attention to him—even Wonshik who was almost asleep. “Don’t be offended, Wonshik, but why on Earth did you join us when you weren’t planning to escape in the first place?” Hongbin asked.

As if he just remembered, Wonshik sat up—his eyes were wide as he let out a loud gasp. “Right! Who am I? Where is this place? Why did I escape?” He asked, looking around as if he was lost—he seemed to have lost his mind already. Hongbin could not blame him since he was stuck with Jaehwan most of the time. Poor Wonshik.

“Jaehwan hyung’s stupidity must have rubbed on him already.” Sanghyuk deadpanned then sighed. “I knew Jaehwan hyung’s stupidity has always been contagious.” He then turned to Jaehwan. “We’re childhood friends but please stay away from me.” He murmured.

Jaehwan shook his head. “Don’t worry, Sanghyuk, I would never leave you alone. We’re friends and friends should not leave each other. We’re like coffee and muffin, a perfect combination. We have a red string—we cannot see it but that’s the thing that bind us together.” He said another set of monologue.

“Wonshik hyung, what are you planning to do now though?” Sanghyuk asked Wonshik, ignoring Jaehwan who was still not done with his monologue—Hakyeon was even praising the weird guy. Those weird dudes were really some idiots.

Wonshik scratched his head, clearly not knowing what he was supposed to do. He escaped, now what? His sister would not be proud of him if she were to find out that he escaped from a mental institution—as if having a brother in a mental hospital was something to boast about but Wonshik did not really get that. “I don’t know. Should I return to the mental hospital right now?”

“Wearing those clothes?” Hongbin sarcastically asked, pointing at what Wonshik was wearing.

As if he also just remembered, Wonshik looked at his own clothes then yelped when he saw what he was wearing—black tanktop and leopard print jacket was his top. As if it was necessary for him to hide it, he covered his chest protectively. “What do I do then?”

“You should stay here for the night. It’s already very late. It’s not safe around the neighborhood.” Hakyeon advised, sounding like a mature individual for once.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, hyung, but it’s only seven in the evening and Wonshik hyung is a grown man.” Sanghyuk pointed at the wall clock displayed in Taekwoon’s living room.

“Hey, you can never tell danger!” Jaehwan defended Hakyeon.

“As I was saying, Wonshik,” Hakyeon had his attention all on Wonshik. “You can rest here for the night. Tomorrow, you can go back to the mental hospital using the clothes that Taekwoon would lend you. I think that you are already sleep-deprived right now. It’s been a while since you last slept.”

“He’s awake for barely three hours!” Hongbin pointed out but he was ignored by Hakyeon and Wonshik.

Taekwoon cleared his throat to grab everyone’s attention. If the idiots were to stay at his house for the night, might as well give them some rules—though he was sure that they would never really listen to him—and give them their room assignments. “There are only three bedrooms in this house so I’ll assign each of you to one. Hongbin and Sanghyuk, you can share the first room upstairs. Wonshik and Jaehwan you use the room over there.” He pointed at a door. Then, his eyes landed on Hakyeon.

“Do we share a room, Taekwoon?” Hakyeon excitedly asked, looking like a fan girl.

Taekwoon glared at him. “No, you stay here in the living room.” With that, the soccer coach hastily left. He ran towards his room and locked his door, hoping that Hakyeon would not bother to disturb him.

Sulkingly, Hakyeon sat on the sofa. “He changed.” He sniffed. “He used to treat me as if I was his only one, as if I was special. But he changed like that. He threw me away like I’m an overused clothing. I’m still good looking. So, why?” He cried. Jaehwan cried with him. The other three? They could only shake their heads, tired of Hakyeon’s very own meaningless drama. 

Author's Excuses Note: 

I know, I know, I disappeared for two weeks. Well, for the first week, I was just being lazy lol. For the second one, I really went to a writing workshop, don't believe me? OTL I don't want to disappear anymore. T-T

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.