About four months and a hundred unsuccessful plans had passed since the most successful attempt to escape. Taekwoon did not succeed in ending the other five’s lives and so, the six of them were still living together in harmony in the mental hospital. It was a normal day in the hospital—the six guys were busy playing inside their hangout place that was made of plywood. While Wonshik was snoring his head off, Jaehwan was playing fetch with Hakyeon. Sanghyuk and Hongbin were gossiping like teenage girls while Taekwoon only stared at the five guys, questioning life all over again. It was a wonder how he managed to live with those weirdos for that long. For a moment, he doubted his own sanity. But then, he knew that if there was any normal person in that hospital, it would be him.

“Why aren’t you talking at all, Woonie?” Hakyeon asked Taekwoon, earning himself a glare that he more than happily ignored. As usual, Hakyeon acted like he was close to everyone and he was making it seem like Taekwoon had actually grew fond of him.

“When did he even talk too much?” Hongbin sassed, rolling his eyes. He swore, his eyes would end up being stuck someday because of rolling it too much but if you were in his shoes, you would know that rolling your eyes once just would not be enough—definitely not when you are around Hakyeon or Jaehwan. See? It wouldn’t just be bad for your brain cells, your eyes would be damaged as well. Bottom line, do not hang around with Hakyeon or Jaehwan. Ever.

“Crazy dudes,” The boys almost shrieked upon hearing Nurse Park’s voice. Of course, they didn’t, real men would never do that. “Fix yourselves because you have to meet Doctor Choi in a few minutes.” Nurse Park announced in a monotonous voice before walking away. She seemed to be very bored of her job already. The boys could not blame her though, she was there watching their insane antics and she was there watching them try to escape yet failing. If you were to witness that every single day, you would get bored of it as if it were a normal occurrence.

Sanghyuk was the first one to react. “Do we have to?” He whined, feeling too lazy to move out of their cheap plywood hangout. In his almost six months of stay in the mental hospital, he already accepted that the doctor never really brought any good news—except for that one time when he finally  decided to set the boys free only for them to be brought back to the hospital in less than a day.

“Don’t be like that, Hyukkie, he might be planning to let us leave already. Arf!” Jaehwan, being the positive thinker of the group, barked in happiness. “He had finally decided that in this situation, we’re the normal ones and he’s the only weird one.” He added.

“Seriously, Jaehwan hyung?” Hongbin sneered. “If that came from Sanghyuk or Taekwoon hyung’s mouth, I might believe it. But coming from you, it is such a big joke.” He continued to be sarcastic.

Because of Hongbin’s sarcasm towards Jaehwan, Wonshik eyes opened almost immediately. “Hey, what are you being so mean to Jaehwan hyung for?! Are you saying that he’s insane, you narcissistic jerk?!” He growled at Hongbin. For the past months, Wonshik had learned to be a bit more courageous.

Upon seeing how roughly Wonshik was treating Hongbin, Sanghyuk decided to chime in. “Why are you being so rude towards Hongbin hyung?” Sanghyuk asked Wonshik, one eyebrow dangerously raised.

Wonshik cleared his throat. Although he did learn to be more courageous, it was still not enough to end Sanghyuk’s reign over the group. In fact, he almost wet his pants when Sanghyuk suddenly spoke. “N-no, of course, I’m not being rude.” He stuttered in reply before turning his attention back to Hongbin. “Forgive me, brother.”

Hongbin smugly smiled, his dimples showing. “Of course I forgive you, brother. Just be careful next time. You do know that even if Jaehwan hyung acts like a dog, even if Taekwoon hyung bites people the most, Sanghyuk’s bites are the deadliest—poisonous, definitely poisonous.”

“Let’s not talk about this because it’s so scary that it’s giving me goosebumps. Arf!” Jaehwan voiced out, not forgetting to bark. “Did you guys know that butterflies can taste with their feet? But isn’t that just gross? Think about it, if they had athlete’s foot or tinea pedis, they get to taste that too. Poor little butterflies. Isn’t it just mind blowing that elephants have a specific alarm call that means ‘human’?”

While Wonshik, Hongbin, Jaehwan, and Sanghyuk conversed about butterflies, skin diseases, and elephants, Taekwoon quietly shuffled out of the hangout, hoping not to get noticed and to have a moment of silence, only for his plan to backfire. Perhaps, Hakyeon really did have a sensor of some sort.

“Where are you going, Woonie?” Hakyeon asked, pulling Taekwoon’s right leg so that the latter would not be able to escape.

“What do you mean by ‘where’? I am going somewhere far from you idiots. That mind illness may be contagious, I have to get away.” Taekwoon replied in his usual soft and monotonous voice like usual.

“So, you’re leaving us again? You’re leaving me and your sons again, you worthless father?! How can you always leave us. This is not what you promised me when we walked down the aisle!” Hakyeon wailed, embracing Taekwoon’s leg. “You promised me that we would build our own paradise.” He cried.

Taekwoon struggled, even hitting his own head on the low ceiling on accident. He then glared at Hakyeon. “What are you even saying? We did not walk down the aisle and I never promised you anything.”

“I watched that in the drama last night, Hakyeon hyung!” Jaehwan exclaimed in happiness. “It’s a great drama.” He spoke like an old woman. “I watched it well with my daughter-in-law.”

Hakyeon grinned, finally letting go of Taekwoon’s leg as he turned towards Jaehwan. “I know! It was so dramatic that even the stony Nurse Park teared up.”

“Where did you get the time to watch a drama?” Hongbin sighed. “And what do you mean Nurse Park teared up?  You mean she actually watches dramas and cries over them like a normal person with emotion?” He gasped in disbelief.

All the other boys, including Taekwoon, looked so curious as they looked at Jaehwan and Hakyeon. They had never really seen Nurse Park show other emotions other than being angry and irritated. Of course, it was such a surprise that she actually cried over a petty drama.

Jaehwan nodded his head several times. “It’s true! She actually needed lots of tissues. Who knew that such an old Nurse would still want to get married? Polar bears have black skin, warmer weather causes more turtles to be born female than male, and honeybees can flap their wings 200 times every second which is just awesome!” He babbled on and on.

Taekwoon furrowed his eyebrows, he really could not tell why Jaehwan was so weird. Without another word, he hurriedly left the hangout. If idiocy were a disease, Jaehwan’s life was in grave danger.

The six boys sat side by side on the cramped black couch in the doctor’s office, boredom was eating them as they waited for the doctor to finish his long monologue about mental health while he paced around the office.

“Is he done yet?” Wonshik nudged the person on his left side, Hongbin. Since he managed to fall asleep and wake up for three times already, he did not feel like sleeping anymore—not when the doctor announced that he was going to tell them something important yet decided to proceed to the unnecessary details first.

“Dr. Choi!” Hakyeon exclaimed. “Please just say what you actually want to say.” He bluntly said.

“Yeah, I agree with him—do not be so surprised, please.” Sanghyuk snorted when everyone else in the room looked at him in surprise. “As I was saying, just say what you want to say, Dr. Choi. You do not need to have such a long- monologue like what Jaehwan hyung and Hakyeon hyung would usually do. I want to rest now. Just go straight to the point.” He demanded.

“Fine.” Dr. Choi sulkingly huffed, finally deciding to sit on his seat. “It’s like this. After months of examining you and testing you, we tried really hard to find out what’s wrong with you but to no avail. After weeks of thinking, we have finally come to a conclusion. Each person is unique with different personalities. We decided that we should all embrace the uniqueness of each one of us, to embrace what makes us different from one another.” He tried to explain as long as he could.

Impatiently, Hongbin clicked his tongue. “…you mean…?” He asked, not really getting what the strange doctor was saying. “Just hurry and explain what you actually meant!” He exclaimed.

“What I mean is that you can leave this place by tomorrow because we cannot see what’s wrong with you.” Dr. Choi summed up his own words.

“I knew it—wait, what?! Are you okay?” Sanghyuk was the first one to react, standing up on his own feet. “There must be something wrong with your findings. Although I am confident that there is nothing wrong with me or my mind, how can you diagnose all of them as ‘normal’? I’m going to tell my father to find more capable doctors.”

“That’s not even what’s important here.” Taekwoon muttered, gritting his teeth. “You decided to embrace our uniqueness? You just decided that after six months?! You should’ve thought of that months ago! My team could’ve won the gold medal for this year if not for you!” He yelled, standing up on his feet, ready to attack the doctor anytime.

Jaehwan scratched his head. “Come to think of it, that makes a lot of sense, Taekwoon hyung. I could have played as the teacup in the latest musical of Beauty and the Beast if I wasn’t here.” He nodded his head in agreement. “You can go ahead and attack the doctor.”

Dr. Choi gulped, scared of Taekwoon’s glaring eyes. He turned to the other boys for help. “Shouldn’t you stop your friend? Or at least pretend that you are putting an effort?!”

“Okay. Taekwoon hyung, don’t beat him up too much. Remember, if he were to die, we would not be able to leave this place and you will forever be stuck with us.” Sanghyuk reminded Taekwoon.

Hongbin nodded his head. “I agree plus he’s not bad looking at all. Do not bash his face… wait a minute, you can do that so that I will remain as the handsomest human being.”

“No! Stop him!” Dr. Choi yelled but his pleas for help were all ignored by Taekwoon who went berserk.

Even if Taekwoon acted like a wild man, the six guys still managed to leave the mental hospital because just like what Dr. Choi said, they wanted to embrace the uniqueness of each individual. The reason was funny yet the boys did not mind as long as they could finally get out of the hospital.

“I can’t believe that this is it.” Hakyeon uttered when the six of them got out of the hospital’s building.

“I can’t believe that it took me six months to get out and reason needed for me to get out is to embrace every individual’s uniqueness.” Taekwoon muttered through gritted teeth. He really was not going to let it slide just like that. “I feel like suing that punk.”

Sanghyuk chuckled. “Hyung, he’ll sue you for beating him up if you try suing him.” He stated the obvious. “Anyway, this is where we part ways. I’m gonna miss this place and you guys.”

Taekwoon gulped, knowing fully that the other boys would surely start being dramatic all of a sudden. He had a hint on where it was going. As quietly and quickly as he could, he shifted away from the rest of the boys. Almost the same thing had occured before so he knew that if he were to hang around and be a bit dramatic, the five others might end up coming after him. Swiftly, Taekwoon left. He was lucky enough to escape without the others noticing.

 "I guess we're going back to our houses, huh?" It was Hongbin who opened up about the topic of separation. He refused to look at the other guys though. "I never really wanted to admit it but you guys had really become a great part of me. Even so, we have to continue living our lives... away from this mental hospital." He said, letting out a bitter chuckle. “Please let me walk away first. Even at the last time, I cannot bear seeing your fading backs."

“Hongbin hyung…” Sanghyuk could only mutter the older man's name, watching the sad back of the latter. He was sad too. In the end, he knew that he could not stand seeing the fading figure of the other guys. Even if he were known to be evil, he still had a heart that he knew would long for his five companions. Deep inside, he hoped that someone would just suggest that crazy idea of living together forever. However, it was real life that he was about to face—each had a future of his own, a dream of  his own.

Taekwoon could not help but to hit his own forehead using his right hand while watching the five guys paced around his house as if it were their own. He hated how predictable his life was—if he really managed to escape from the radar of the five, it would have been a really, really nice plot twist. Even though he managed to leave without the five noticing, they still followed him to his house as if they were actually welcome to come there anytime.

“Can somebody explain first why you have to threaten me to open the damn door?” Taekwoon mustered all his voice to capture the attention of the five guys.

“We don’t really have to threaten you since Hakyeon hyung can just open your door.” Sanghyuk stated the obvious. “But we decided to act like some civilized people and threatened you instead.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Because you wouldn’t bother to let us in if we did not threaten you or force you.”

“Hyung, wouldn’t you be lonely because you wouldn’t be able to see us anymore? We’re just worried about you.” Jaehwan tried to explain but he was not of any help. “That is why the recently discovered bone-house wasp stuffs the walls of its nest with dead ants which is really creepy when you think about it. If a human were to do that, he would be sent to a mental hospital right away. Right, since we’re not in the mental hospital anymore, we would be separated so you would be lonely.”

“Is it just me or Jaehwan is just getting weirder and weirder compared to when we first met him?” Hongbin pointed out.

“He’s not weird. Unique, you mean, not weird.” Wonshik defended Jaehwan.

Hakyeon clasped his hands together in glee. “Anyway, since we already settled everything, all of us can finally start living here together! How wonderful is that, right?”

“What do you mean by ‘settled everything’? Do you think that Jaehwan explained everything clearly?” Taekwoon asked, annoyed. “At least explain why you decided to barge into my house.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. It’s our house now.” Hakyeon chuckled, earning himself a glare from the furious Taekwoon who was supposedly the sole owner of the house. “Fine, it’s like this, let me explain. In the middle of walking away, Hongbin recalled that he still haven’t paid his bills yet. He cannot live in a place without electricity and water—especially without internet connection, that’s the most important thing. Then I remembered, I also haven’t paid my bills. Jaehwan also did not pay. Hotels are expensive, motels are creepy, where else can we stay?” He explained.

“Yeah, it’s like that. So, we decided that they should stay with us. The problem, however, is the fact that I don’t have a house of my own and so does Wonshik hyung. You are the only option, Taekwoon hyung.” Sanghyuk chimed in. “Then, we thought, wouldn’t it be great for us all to live together?”

Taekwoon gritted his teeth. “No, it wouldn’t.” He replied.

“Thank you for letting us stay!” The five boys yelled in unison. That was how their living arrangement became like that all of a sudden.

“No! No! No!” Wonshik’s scream startled everyone else, making them turn to him. That evening, for some reasons, the six guys gathered on the living room to argue about whether they should build a hangout in the living room, or in the kitchen, or in Taekwoon’s room instead. After forgetting the fact that they were arguing, the boys surfed the internet on their own phones to “catch up to the fast modernization of the universe”—Jaehwan’s words—which literally translate to “see what they had missed while they were inside of the mental asylum”.

“What’s wrong with you?” Hongbin asked, his right hand was on his left chest, trying to calm his heart.

“Look!” Wonshik yelped, showing the others the screen of the phone that he was holding.

Hongbin furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the screen. “So? That’s just a picture of a kissing couple, showing off their relationship in Instagram.” He sassed.

“Dude, that’s my baby sister!” Wonshik cried. “She had grown so much and even got a boyfriend yet she told me nothing! Does she not need me anymore? Does she not consider me as her brother anymore?”

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes. “Hyung, you can just contact her and ask her to explain herself then make her introduce her boyfriend to you. Oh, right, why not test him? I think testing if he’s good enough would be fun.” He said that with an evil grin on his lips which Wonshik returned.

That was how their new escapade started—the six boys trying to ruin the life of the poor boyfriend.

THE END...?

Author's Note: One-shot

...And surprise, surprise, this marks the end of the story! Thank you to everyone who supported me all throughout! (Epilogue is on its way to you~)

Sorry for ending this chapter that way. I might consider writing about what the six guys did to the poor boyfriend of Wonshik's sister sooner or later, I hope that you guys would still support me. *sends a lot of love to you*

Source for Jaehwan's random facts: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/36-random-animal-facts-that-may-surprise-you

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, bcpfgrg, wi2nqs, Vixxkittens, and sseulegi thank you so much! It means a lot to me.