So Jinho hasn’t actually become a plant yet, but he’s getting there.

He ran around the playground and played tag when he was younger, but like everyone does, but started sitting at desks instead of breathing fresh air and squinting at LED screens instead of sunlight when school started to pick up. Since his interests ran more into music than sports, he spent more time sitting in the Orchestra hall than prancing through the football field.

Things don’t start to get really bad until university, when he barely has time to turn his assignments in on time, let alone remember to venture outside, and he spends most of those four hears holed up in his recording studio and completely unaware of where the sun is. They say habits take three weeks to build, but Jinho has over eight years of mannerisms to live off after he graduates.

Hwitaek doesn’t say anything when Jinho insists on taking an elevator when they head to their room, on the first floor, and even maintains this silence when Jinho uses said elevator to go down, one floor, to do laundry.

Hyojong has gotten used to Jinho having to stop for water every time they go out, the older refusing to bring a water bottle with him because it so goddam heavy why is water so goddam heavy I’d honestly rather be dehydrated.

Everyone bites their lip when they take a day trip to Seoul and end up renting bikes for a scenic river-front experience, only for Jinho to get lost two minutes end and up riding behind Changgu.

They don’t stage an intervention until he’s out grocery shopping with Wooseok and needs to take a pit stop as they’re carrying the bags back from the store to the parking lot.

“Hyung, you can’t be that out of shape!” Wooseok cries, from where he’s perched on top of their sedan and waiting for Jinho to finally make the trek over.

“Round is a shape!” Jinho screams back, sitting on one of the grassy islands in the middle of the parking lot, taking his phone out to check his email while he catches his breath.

“I carried almost all of the bags!” Wooseok whines. “You had like a carton of eggs and two bananas!”

Hwitaek tries to drag him to a local gym that weekend, changing Jinho into some of Hyojong’s sweats and waking him up after he’s been carried to the car.

“I refuse!” Jinho screams, entire arm hooked around the door handle and aching as Hwitaek tries to drag him inside. He wishes, for the first time in his twenty five years of life, that he had gone to the gym earlier, if only to keep Hwitaek from dragging him in now.

“Jinho, you’re embarrassing me!” Hwitaek hisses back, losing his grip on Jinho’s right hand and ends up yanking only Hyojong’s sweater.

“I’m not going to die today!” Jinho chants, shrinking his arm back in when Hwitaek starts to pull the sleeve more taught.

They end up stretching the sleeve not quite far enough to reach the other wall opposite the entrance, but more than far enough to be a public nuisance. A few playful gym-goers end up playing limbo under the stretched sleeve as they leave.

New Balance makes good sweats, Jinho thinks to himself on the way back, flapping his right arm to see just how much they’ve ruined Hyojong’s sweater. It gets tired after ten seconds so he brings his hands back to his lap.

“It’s easier getting Wooseok to go to the doctor’s office.” Hwitaek rants, still worked up. “It’s easier to bring my dog to the doctor’s office. It’s easier to give me dog a bath! It’s easier-”

“Than Hyojong four bottles in?” Jinho interrupts, taking advantage of the fact he’s out of Hwitaek’s arm span.

“You’re a useless .” Hwitaek responds. “I hope you die of a heart attack. At 28. No one will know anythings wrong because you’ll have been in your room, one hand stuck in a bag of prawn crisps, buried under your blankets.”

“That sounds okay.” Jinho decides, after a few moments of contemplation. “If I’m going to die early, I want it to be before I have to enlist.”

“You’re impossible!” Hwitaek shrieks, ripping the air freshener off the rear view mirror and throwing a strong scent of “Brisk Morning Wood” at Jinho’s face.

Jinho chucks it right back, feeling pleased with himself as Hwitaek continues squawking about traffic safety.

Until the next day, when he wakes up and his throwing arm is sore.

Jinho himself doesn’t intervene until he comes home to find Hyojong digging through his underwear drawer, the rest of his room in shambles.

“I was just trying to find a .” Hyojong explains, while Jinho is still frozen. “I’m out.”

“There should be some in the nightstand?” Jinho replies, hoping the Neon Genesis Evangelion Box Set under his bed hasn’t been disturbed.

“I guess you’re out.” Hyojong shrugs, pulling the bedside drawer out until it’s detached from his nightstand and flips it upside down.

Three empty Ramune bottles and a hamster fall out.

“Sorry for the mess.” Hyojong sighs, walking out of the room and brushing Jinho’s shoulder on the way out.

When was the last time I topped? Jinho wonders, still stood at the door. He thinks back to the last few dates he’s been on, the last couple of times they went clubbing, and all he recalls is memories of being simultaneously and too lazy to move.

This has gone too far.

“Are you sure about this?” Yuto can’t help but ask, when he sees Jinho leaving in sweats the next morning. “I mean isn’t this kind of a big step for you?”

“I don’t get why you’re so hung up on this.” Jinho sighs, digging through the kitchen. They’ll have water bottles for purchase at the gym, right? He’s not bringing a bag, and having to carry the bottle in his hands is out of the question. “Haven’t you guys been trying to get me to go to the gym since last year?”

“We’ve been trying to get you to move since last year.” Hyunggu corrects, digging through cupboards for coffee.

“Are you sure you don’t want to start off with something easier?” Yuto presses, genuinely concerned. “Like an evening walk, maybe. Once a week. Once a month?”

“We can get you a cane too, if you throw your back out.”

“A lot of people use walking sticks these days.”

“Or even just sitting in an upright position.” Hyunggu laughs. “Instead of eating ramen laying down in bed. Maybe you should start there.”

“I will show all of you.” Jinho declares. “I refuse to stand for this.”

Hyunggu wakes up the whole house with his guffawing after watch Jinho trip over his slippers and face plants into the doormat.

Despite his confidence in the kitchen, Jinho starts to grow self conscious once they’re in the car, and he’s so consumed by thoughts he doesn’t notice they’ve arrived until Yuto calls his name. Even after, the walk to the entrance is mostly silent.

“Don’t worry, Hongseok is a friend of mine.” Yuto reassures, pushing Jinho through a very familiar set of doors. “He was my personal trainer when I fractured my shin last time, so he’s able to adapt to people like… anyway, don’t worry.”

“Are you sure you can’t just train me? Or why can’t I just use the machines myself?” Jinho starts to curl into himself the closer they get to front desk. “I was an engineering major at one time in my life. I’m sure I can figure this out.”

“It’s good to have a trainer when you start out.” Yuto explains, taking one look at Jinho’s expression and choosing to fill out the membership form for him. “It’s easy to injure yourself or something up when you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“This better be worth my money.” Jinho grumbles, taking his wallet out to pay.

“Don’t worry, like I said, he’s a friend. You’ll like him.” Yuto reassures, shoving the form over so Jinho can double check it.

Jinho’s being given ship card, some maps, and having the monthly rates explained to him after, so he doesn’t notice when Yuto steps over to greet someone until he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“You must be Jinho!” He who must be Hongseok greets, offering a hand and a smile.

Like is an understatement.

Maybe Jinho’s already died, and this angel is here to guide him back to hell. Maybe the fall back at the apartment had killed him, and this has all been a nightmare in the making. Maybe Lee Dongwook is going to hop down from the ceiling and Jinho can finally practice all his pickup lines that he and Hyojong had brainstormed while smashed and in year two.

“Jinho?” Yuto whispers, yanking Jinho out of his thoughts, and he can see a curious grin on Hongseok’s face once his eyes settle back into reality.

“I think Lee Dongwook would be gay on the side.” Jinho replies. “Like he’ll probably marry a woman but he wouldn’t say no to getting his and who isn’t enough of a narcissist to enjoy being hit on?”

Jinho’s brain is a little slow.

“Is that so?” Hongseok replies, smiling even as his eyebrows furrow.

It takes a moment for Jinho to adjust his expectation of Hyojong’s agreement to the actual image of Hongseok in front of him.

“I’m going to head out now.” Yuto decides, patting Jinho and Hongseok on the shoulder once each.

On the bright side, it can only go up from here. Jinho reasons, momentarily relieved from Hongseok’s judging gaze when the latter turns to bid Yuto goodbye.

“You know,” Hongseok starts, once he’s turned back around and sees Jinho trying to bury his face behind his sweat shirt sleeves, “I feel like I’ve seen you before. Weren’t you here last week?”

I stand corrected.

Hongseok is either used to dealing with flighty clients like Jinho, or just naturally reassuring, because his voice is very soothing and Jinho almost starts to think he’ll make it out of this alive even after they’ve arrived at the treadmill.

“We’re just going to do a warm up.” Hongseok repeats, grabbing Jinho’s hand to help him onto the machine when Jinho’s feet