“Anybody know any jokes?” Wonwoo said as he undid Mingyu’s knot and re-did it properly as he had done with all the others before.

“Your face,” S.Coups said.

 “Your mum,” Mingyu said.

 “My life,” Vernon said.

Wonwoo didn’t look up. “F*** you, Soup. F*** you, Bimbo. Sorry to hear that, Vernie. I feel you.”

“Aww,” Vernon made and poked Wonwoo’s ribs gently. “I feel you, too.”

“I should hope not,” S.Coups said. “You’re is still underage, maknae. The only thing you should feel is Joshua’s influence.”

“Romance under starlight,” Mingyu said.

Wonwoo poked Mingyu in the ribs hard enough to make the tall boy cough. The low tone rapper let the strip of mattress flick between his hands like cracking a whip. “Always wondered how much strength it takes to choke a man. …Anyway, hand me the next bunch of strips. I’m all out.”

“Uh,” Vernon looked around. “I think we did all of them.”

The four hip hoppers looked up from their work and tried to spot any loose ends.

“They’re all connected,” S.Coups remarked. “But why do we have five end pieces?”

Standing up from the concrete, the boys stretched their work across the roof. Somehow they had tied multiple strips together and created something akin to a star drawn by a blind toddler on his fifth cup of espresso. It took some untangling, interrupted only by mutual blame distribution.

Miraculously they untangled the shape into a continuous line in a matter of minutes.

“Get ready,” S.Coups ordered. “Make sure you have your bags, because we’re not coming back. Vernon goes first because he’s lightest. Mingyu goes last because… well.”

The tall rapper put his hands on his hips. “Are we talking about my again? Because I remember a certain somebody here – not naming any names, S.Coups – who insisted on having the biggest thighs.”

“Fine, I’ll go last,” the leader said with an eye roll. “It doesn’t matter. We did the knots well, so the rope won’t tear.”

They stepped closer to the edge while S.Coups fixed a spare shoe from his bag to the rope as weight, so it wouldn’t sway wildly before they climbed down.

“Actually,” Wonwoo said, “Isn’t the one going first in the most danger? If it’s going to tear, it’ll be as soon as it’s used, no?”

“Not going first,” Vernon said.

The leader grunted. “Ugh, fine we’ll do rock-paper-scissor. I only want to get us all down there you dumb, nagging children. Now… Here goes nothing.”

He threw the shoe over the edge and watched the rope fly after it. More and more followed. Soon it would reach the bottom and-

S.Coups realized his mistake when the other end sailed past him and dropped over the edge. He hadn’t tied it to anything. There went their rope. And with it their chance for escape.

“Ah, I realize your mistake,” Mingyu said. “You didn’t tie it to anything.”

“I know.”

“There went our rope.”

“I know, Mingyu.”

“And with it our chance for e-“

“I know! I literally just had an internal monologue about this.”

“Guys?” Vernon pointed to the side of the building. The rope had been blow away by the stiff night breeze and gotten caught in the fire escape ladder spiraling down the side of the building.

A fire escape ladder. Leading down. They could’ve just used it. How had they not seen that one?

“It’s a fire escape ladder,” Vernon said. “It’s leading down.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” S.Coups waved at the boy dismissively.

“We could’ve just used it. How did we not see-“

“Can y’all stop repeating my internal monologues? Let’s go.”