“Hurry up, Myung! I can smell food!” Sungyeol cried from Myungsoo’s back, demanding that he move faster.

“Shut up, I’m trying to go as fast as I can!” Myungsoo retorted. “It’s not that easy, you know! You try carrying me on your back!”

“But I’m hungry!” Sungyeol whined, kicking Myungsoo to the best of his ability.

“Aish, calm down, stupid!” Myungsoo yelled as they finally reached the dining hall. “We’re here already.”

Leaping off of Myungsoo’s back in joy, Sungyeol pranced into the dining hall. Myungsoo rolled his eyes, following close behind.

“Sungyeollie~!” Seungyeon cried from one of the tables. “Over here, Yeol!”

Sungyeol grabbed Myungsoo by the shirt and raced over to the table – with Myungsoo yelling at him in disapproval, of course.

“Yah, yah, yah!” Myungsoo shouted as Sungyeol pulled him by the sleeve. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m bringing you to our table,” Sungyeol said indifferently, still dragging him along.

“Why are you dragging me?!”

“You’re too slow, and I’m hungry,” he said simply.

Myungsoo rolled his eyes as he made the effort to catch up with the tall choding. As soon as they made it to the table, they were greeted by Seungyeon, and her friend, Hara.

“Sit with us, Sungyeollie!” Seungyeon squealed excitedly, patting the empty spot next to her. “And Myungsoo can sit next to you, of course.”

“Where are the other guys?” Sungyeol asked as he sat.

Hara answered, “They’re getting their food now. There was a line earlier, so they just went. Sungjong said he’d get food for Sungyeol, and Sunggyu promised to get Myungsoo’s dinner, since you two are late.”

“Oh,” Myungsoo responded.

As if on cue, a group of loud, obnoxious and boisterous boys approached the table.

“There you two are!” Woohyun said as he spotted them. “It took the two of you long enough! I thought maybe you had been kidnapped or something!” he exclaimed as he came running to hug the two of them.

Sunggyu sighed, “Yah, Woohyun – don’t scare the kids.”

Woohyun pouted. “I’m not scaring them! I was only being realistic!”

“I was talking about the hug, smart one.”

“…oh. Hey, that’s mean!” Woohyun whined, pouting once again.

Dongwoo grinned as he took his seat. “It’s good to see that you two made it back okay! In all seriousness, Hoya and Sungjong were starting to get pretty anxious.”

“Well, is it a crime to worry about your favorite hyung?” Sungjong scoffed in his special diva voice. “What if Myungsoo kidnapped him and murdered him or something?”

“Hey, he wouldn’t do that!” Sungyeol defended. “Myungsoo is my friend! If anything, he could probably scare away anyone that would try to kidnap my gorgeous body!”

“Scare people – probably,” Myungsoo spoke. "But gorgeous body? Don’t flatter yourself, Yeol.”

Sungyeol let out a childish ‘hmph’ and smacked Myungsoo’s arm.

“You’re lucky that I didn’t slap you with my volleyball arm,” Sungyeol said.

“You guys played volleyball?” Seungyeon asked as she sipped her water.

“Yep!” Sungjong replied happily. “It was me, Sungyeol and Dongwoo versus Hoya, Myungsoo and Woohyun. We beat them twenty-seven to three!” he squealed excitedly.

“Well, Dongwoo and Sungyeol are on the volleyball team,” Hara said as though it was obvious information. “Did the other team expect to win?”

Hoya huffed, “Yes, actually. I didn’t know that they were that… good.”

“Whoa, that’s a bit insulting,” Songwoo said sarcastically, pretending as if he were offended. “Hoya, I cannot believe you would make such an insensitive remark!”

“Well, I’m sorry,” Hoya replied, snickering.

“Anyways,” Sungjong continued, “the punishment was for the losers to give the winners piggyback rides all the way back to the resort. So they did! Myungsoo must’ve been really tired if he couldn’t carry Sungyeol’s skinny body back before us.”

“In my defense, that volleyball game was unexpectedly tiring!” Myungsoo remarked.

Sungyeol grinned as he flexed his arms. “You’ll never be able to beat these puppies!”

Staring at his stick-skinny arms, Myungsoo poked his bicep.

“You have no muscle.”

…

After everyone had eaten their fill (which was a lot, considering how hungry they were), they all headed out to the resort patio to relax in the brisk evening air.

The patio was a large area on the resort’s roof with a marble-tiled floor. With its excellent view of the beach, it was the ideal spot to go watch sunsets. But if you were too late to watch the sunsets, it was okay, because there were multiple cushioned chairs that surrounded a couple bonfire pits where you could sit and relax, or just stargaze.

“Wah~! The air up here is so fresh!” Sungjong squealed excitedly as they reached the roof.

“What I don’t understand,” Sunggyu wheezed as he trailed behind, “is why the elevator stops at the seventeenth floor! We had to walk up three flights of stairs!”

“Oh, it up, grandpa,” Sungyeol teased as he patted his back.

“I don’t think you understand,” he panted, “I have fragile health remember?!”

“ to , doesn’t it?” Woohyun chuckled.

“Not you, too!” Sunggyu exclaimed, shocked at his own boyfriend.

“Whoa, this has such a great view of the beach!” Hoya exclaimed as he stared at the ocean. “Too bad the sun already set, though. It would’ve have been a really pretty sight.”

Dongwoo, who stood next to Hoya, nodded in agreement. “I really wanted to watch the sunset from here. Oh well – we’ll just light the bonfire instead.”

“Ooh, can I light it?!” Sungyeol asked excitedly.

“Sure,” Woohyun agreed as he sat Sunggyu down on a chair. “Normally, I’d ask Gyu to light it, but he looks like he’s dying, so Yeol can do it instead.”

Excitedly, Sungyeol leapt into the air and began to light the fire.

But being the airhead he was, he grabbed two sticks and rubbed them together, trying to create a spark.

“Yeol, what the hell are you doing?” Myungsoo asked with a face of disbelief.

“I’m starting a fire!” Sungyeol explained. “I’ve always wanted to try this!”

“Lee Sungyeol – you are stupid,” Myungsoo stated.

“What?! That was mean! How else do you expect me to light the fire?”

Rolling his eyes, Myungsoo grabbed the bottle of gasoline, which was placed by the fire, and splattered it all over the bonfire pit’s logs. Finding a match set, which was also by the fire, he struck a match, its red tip catching on fire.

“Stand back,” he warned Sungyeol.

Sungyeol backed away from the fire obediently, watching him in curiosity. Myungsoo pulled a twig off of a log easily and set it on fire first. Then gently and carefully, he lowered the twig onto the other logs. The flames rose up quickly, its bright orange tendrils the air.

“Whoa, so pretty,” Sungjong swooned.

“Where’d you learn how to light a fire?” Sungyeol asked Myungsoo as he took a seat next to him.

Looking away, Myungsoo said quietly, “I-I… used to go camping with my family a lot. And, well, we don’t camp so often anymore, but I would always light the fires.”

“Why didn’t your dad light it or something?” Sungyeol asked curiously.

Looking down at his hands, Myungsoo took a deep breath, and forced a smile.

“Let’s… not talk about that, okay?”

Surprised, Sungyeol only nodded so that he wouldn’t accidentally offend Myungsoo. Luckily, before the atmosphere could get any more tense, Sunggyu spoke up.

“So, what do you guys want to do? Our curfew’s at eleven and it’s only eight thirty. Any ideas?”

“Oh, oh!” Sungjong piped up, “Let’s play truth or dare!”

“Truth or dare is gay,” Woohyun shouted in distaste.

“Well, aren’t we all?!” Sungjong retorted in annoyance. “I want to play truth or dare!”

“No! It’s for losers!” Sungyeol exclaimed, agreeing with Woohyun.

Huffing, Sungjong crossed his arms and legs, pouting as he sat still. Obviously, he was defeated after Sungyeol officially denounced the idea.

“Let’s tell ghost stories, then!” Hoya suggested.

“Yeah!” Woohyun agreed. “I love ghost stories!”

“Might as well,” Myungsoo agreed casually.

“…ghost stories?” Sungyeol and Dongwoo repeated together.

“Yup!” Sungjong replied to the two of them. “Why are you two scared?”

“What?” Sungyeol scoffed with a smile. “I-I’m not… scared, I just… I’m…”

“You’re what?”

“I’m terrified.”

“I’m pretty scared of ghost stories, too,” Dongwoo admitted with a sheepish smile.

“Well, we don’t have to tell ghost stories if you don’t want to,” Hoya said.

“No! The decision has been made,” Woohyun commanded. “We’re telling ghost stories – period.”

Sungyeol gulped visibly as he scooted a bit closer to Myungsoo. Myungsoo just raised an eyebrow at him.

“Just in case real ghosts appear,” Sungyeol explained, “you’ll be able to scare them away.”

“What am I – your bodyguard? What makes you think I’ll be able to scare them away?”

“…I don’t know. You just look… strong, you know? I’m sure you’ll be able to at least shoo them away,” he whispered.

Myungsoo only rolled his eyes as Sungyeol scooted even closer. Soon, Woohyun began telling his story.

“Okay, I’m going first!” he announced. “Once upon a time–”

“Who the hell starts a horror story with ‘once upon a time’?!” Sungjong demanded.

“Shut up!” Woohyun yelled. “I’m telling a story! As I was saying – once upon a time, a very long time ago, when this resort was just built, there was a man.”

“Was he tall?” Dongwoo asked.

“That’s irrelevant! Continuing – the reason this man was at the resort was because his daughter was getting married here.”

“You can do that?” Sungyeol asked curiously.

“Of course you can! There’s a wedding venue a few floors down!”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Well, you know now. Ahem – but there was something different about this marriage. It was an arranged marriage – arranged by the father himself! The daughter hated her fiancé, and begged her father to let her out of the arrangement!”

“Well, did he let her?” Hoya asked.

“I’m getting there, stop interrupting!” Woohyun complained. “Anyways – the father did not let her out of the arrangement. In fact, he just made the wedding sooner than it already was! You see, her father was the owner of a big, successful corporation, and he decided to marry his daughter off to another successful corporation to make more money.”

“That’s a terrible reason to get married!” Sungjong gasped, thoroughly horrified.

“Shush!” Woohyun reprimanded. “Now, the daughter absolutely detested this wedding, not only because she was forced into it, but also because her fiancé was a terrible man! He was the kind of guy who stepped on cats and spit into food that was done being prepared.”

“Ew,” Myungsoo said.

“Be quiet! As I was saying, the daughter hated it! She also had fallen in love with another man already! And that man was just a secretary at the corporation. As it turns out, the man she liked made an appearance at the wedding, and professed his love to her. But unfortunately, she was already married, so there was nothing they could do.”

“Woohyun, this story sounds really sappy,” Sunggyu said.

“Hush, Gyu! I’m not even at the good part yet! Now, since the two wanted to be together so badly, they devised an extremely elaborate plan that was to be executed on the night of the wedding!”

“They were going to be executed on the night of the wedding?” Dongwoo asked.

“No!” Woohyun cried. “No, no, no! Their plan was going to be executed, not them!”

“Oh, sorry.”

“As I was saying – their plan was simple, but had huge benefits for them! So that night, while the bride and groom were in the honeymoon suite, they ordered some room service for dinner. So, a bellboy brought them a big tray with food. What the groom didn’t know was that it was really the secretary that was the bellboy!”

“Wait,” Sungyeol, who was on the edge of his seat, interrupted, “I thought you said that he was a secretary!”

“He is a secretary!”

“But you just said he was a bellboy!”

“Well, yeah, he is the bellboy!”

“But you said he was the secretary!”

Woohyun just closed his mouth, staring at Sungyeol with a pout.

“I don’t want to tell the story anymore,” he pouted, crossing his arms.

“No, I want to hear what happens!” Sungjong pleaded. “Please tell the rest, Woohyunnie-hyung!”

Huffing, Woohyun said, “Fine! But no more interrupting! So, continuing – the secretary was disguised as the bellboy, and poisoned the groom’s food. So that night, the groom was dead! So the bride and the secretary ran off in secret together, but only made as far as the beach, before her father found out. Enraged, the father brought his gun and aimed at the secretary, only to miss and hit his daughter. But then, during the confusion, he fired again and shot the secretary! The two of them died peacefully together on the beach, while the groom died in distress. They say that at night on the beach, you’ll be able to see a happy couple walking on the water together, holding hands. But as for the groom, he will forever haunt his room – the cursed room of 17G!”

Sungyeol shrieked loudly as Woohyun finished.

“17G,” he whispered, “is… my room!”

Woohyun blinked. “Oh really? I just made that whole thing up and added a random room number.”

On the verge of tears, Sungyeol, shouted, “Yah, Nam Woohyun! Ghosts are coming to kill me now!”

“But Yeol,” Myungsoo said, “they don’t exist. Woohyun said that he made it up.”

“That’s a huge relief,” Dongwoo said. “I was actually really scared for a moment.”

“I am scared!” Sungyeol shouted, nearly crying. “What if they the soul out of my body and torture me for eternity?!”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. “Alright guys – obviously, Sungyeol is terrified, so I think we should go to sleep, okay? Let’s meet for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Okay,” they all agreed, slowly dispersing.

But when Sungyeol got into his room, he dived under his covers, because apparently, blankets can protect him from ghosts. Shivering and biting his fingers, he sang to himself in a shaky voice, trying to imagine that he was at home and that Daeyeol was just across the hall.

Sungyeol shrieked as something, or rather someone, yanked the blanket off of him.

“Don’t eat me Mr. Secretary-Bellboy!” Sungyeol cried, hiding his face. “I’m not yummy at all! I’d give you a stomach-ache!”

“Jeez, relax Sungyeol, it’s just me,” Hoya laughed.

Peeking in between his fingers, Sungyeol did find that it was, indeed, Hoya.

“Yah, you scared me!” he whined, kicking at the sheets. “I thought I was going to die at the hands of the Secretary-Bellboy ghost!”

“Sungyeol, he isn’t real. Woohyun made that story up, remember?”

“Still – I’m terrified. Woohyun should’ve known better,” he pouted.

Hoya ruffled his hair. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Sungyeol. I’m here in the room with you, remember?”

Sungyeol sighed. “Fine – I’ll try not to be scared.”

There was a two minute silence where they just looked at each other in the dim lamplight.

“Sungyeol…” Hoya said.

“Yeah?”

“You’re on my bed.”

Sungyeol looked down to where he was sitting, and realized that it was Hoya’s bed and that his bed was on the other end of the room.

“Oh…” he mumbled. “But you can’t expect me to really walk across the room to my bed! What if the ghost gets me! No, I feel safer where I am!”

“But this is my bed.”

“So?! We can switch beds, can’t we?!”

“I thought you said you weren’t scared.”

“I said I would try!” he cried, pulling the blanket over his head.

Hoya laughed again. “Okay, okay – I’ll sleep in your bed.”

As he started to walk away, Sungyeol cried out, “Wait!”

He turned. “Yeah?”

“How are you going to protect me from ghosts if you’re all the way across the room?!”

Hoya glanced at him. “Well, what do you want me to do?”

…

Myungsoo woke up the next morning to the sound of his phone chiming. Reaching onto the nightstand where he left it, he flipped it open.

Yah, wake everyone on your floor up and meet us for breakfast.

Sunggyu

Myungsoo groaned as he stretched his arms wide and yawned. He got out of bed groggily, shuffling to the restroom, where Dongwoo was already standing.

“Good morning,” he yawned.

“…Morning,” Dongwoo replied, his toothbrush in his mouth.

Although they were extremely tired and sleepy, they were both wide awake after they had finished their morning routines. In no time, Myungsoo was walking down the hall, heading to Sungyeol and Hoya’s room. Dongwoo had already gone to the dining hall, promising him to save them seats.

“Lee Sungyeol!” Myungsoo yelled as he barged in, “Wake up–”

He froze as he stared at the scene in front of him. There on the bed was Sungyeol.

And Hoya.

Hoya was back-hugging Sungyeol protectively while Sungyeol had his face buried in a pillow. From the looks of it, they had been like that all night, and both of them looked rather content. Sungyeol wasn’t even snoring.

Myungsoo swallowed difficulty as he stared at the two, his fists clenching involuntarily.

He turned around and left.

When he reached the dining hall, Sunggyu, Woohyun, Sungjong, and Dongwoo were already seated.

“Myungsoo!” Sungjong waved over.

He walked to them rather quickly, a bit of anger in his steps.

“Where’s Sungyeol and Hoya?” Woohyun asked.

“I… think it’s best not to disturb them,” he said quietly as he sat next to Sunggyu.

Sungjong only raised an eyebrow while Sunggyu gave him a pat on the back. Deciding not to ask any more questions, they continued their breakfast in a friendly atmosphere.

But Myungsoo didn’t eat.

There was something sitting in the pit of his stomach that made him lose his appetite. In fact, he felt like puking instead. Dongwoo eyed him in worry, constantly trying to get him to eat something. Myungsoo would only push the food away and stare at the table with an expressionless face.

Half an hour later, Sungyeol and Hoya arrived.

They arrived rather energetically, despite the early morning. To be quite honest, it almost gave Myungsoo a headache. Sungyeol plopped down next to Myungsoo with a pout on his face.

“Yah, why didn’t you wake me up?” he asked, playfully punching his shoulder. “Hoya and I almost missed breakfast because of you!”

Myungsoo took a deep breath and didn’t answer.

“Myungsoo~!” Sungyeol repeated. “You didn’t wake Hoya and I up!”

Without another word, Myungsoo stood up from the table and excused himself. He walked away with his hands in his pockets, not glancing back.

“What’s wrong with him?” Sungyeol asked Woohyun.

Woohyun only shrugged and continued to feed Sunggyu. Sungyeol, who was rather upset now, watched Myungsoo from across the room.

Myungsoo had walked to the other side and was about to enter the restroom when he bumped into someone.

He bumped into IU.

A/N: WOw ! I'm back after a while! Hope I didn't disappoint with his chapter! Are you confused by their feelings?! Good! You should be! I hope you are all mislead.

lol, I'll see you all next time, cause I'm late!

Quinnie - OUT! >8D