Half of your clothes were thrown across your bed as you were trying to think of what you would wear. And you still had ten minutes before you had to leave. That is, if you wanted to arrive on time.

You were nervous. The previous night you had promised Donghae to treat him to lunch. It was your chance to finally go out with the person you’d liked for so long. The two of you decided to meet at a small, cozy restaurant not far from where you lived.

You sat down on your bed and put your head on your hands. What kind of outfit would he like? Did it matter after all? He had seen you the way you usually looked, you didn’t want to look like you were trying too hard. Not that there was anything wrong with paying attention to your attire, you just didn’t want to look too formal or too casual. What if he showed up in just a T-shirt and jeans combination while you looked like you were about to go to court?

As you were imagining 500 different scenarios of what could go wrong, your best friend called you. You were glad to have her call you, as she always managed to help you. As a result, you were able to get dressed in time.

You grabbed you bag, stepped outside and even remembered to lock your door, despite being in a hurry. You didn’t want to arrive after Donghae, since you were treating him, and being late was not something you appreciated anyway.

Once you got closer to the restaurant you looked at your watch and started panicking. You ended up being a few minutes late, so you started running. When you entered the restaurant’s terrace you looked left and right as your breath quickened. Your eyes got thrice wider when you saw Donghae at the table. He was dressed  in a plaid, blue shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of tight, white jeans matched with running shoes. When he saw you, he raised his and motioned for you to go sit at the table. Yet, he was not alone.

Your smile turned into a slight frown as you walked to the table. You thought it was going to be just you and Donghae. You didn’t recall inviting Hyukjae as well. You could feel the sun almost burning the back of your head. Donghae took his sunglasses off and ran a hand through his hair. Hyukjae smirked and asked opened his mouth.

 ‘How are you?’ he asked, giving you a gummy smile, squinting with one eye.

 ‘I’m fine…’ you replied.

You were as fine as someone who budged a wasp nest thinking it was inhabited by bees. You didn’t have anything against Hyukjae, quite on the contrary – you were glad he was there when you bumped into Donghae, because he managed to ameliorate the situation. This time, however, you expected to be just with Donghae.

‘Are you sure you’re fine? You’re fidgeting. Is it because you’re in the presence of such fine men?’ said Hyukjae with amusement.

Donghae looked at his friend and gave him a small smile. You felt like you wanted to grab the chair you were sitting on and smack Hyukjae with it.

‘I’m perfectly alright.’ You frowned at him, despite not wanting to show any emotion. ‘How are you two?’

‘We’re great. We can’t wait to eat.’ Said Hyukjae.

You felt the same. Just like you felt his presence was unnecessary. You turned your attention to Donghae.

‘Would you like to order?’ he asked you, rubbing his hands together.

Just how excited was he to eat?!

‘I haven’t even seen the men-‘ you said, but were interrupted by Donghae shoving the menu in your hands.

‘Decide then. I’m famished!’ he exclaimed.

From the corner of you eye you could see Hyukjae smile. You turned your attention to the menu and decided on beef bourguignon. You knew it might take a while until you received your food, but you’d wanted to have some for weeks. You looked up to the menu and announced you had decided.

Upon hearing that, Donghae raised his arm and waved at a waiter. Soon enough, you were waiting for him to bring you your drinks. Donghae and Hyukjae seemed to have a less refined taste in food, as Donghae opted for a taco and Hyukjae chose stuffed chicken . Hyukjae was amused by your option, though.

 ‘Are you sure you want to wait an hour for some braised beef?’ he questioned.

 ‘It might come quicker.’ You retorted.

Truth to be told, the chances of your food arriving earlier than an hour were slim. You hoped Hyukjae would get bored and leave before your food came.

‘I don’t even know how to pronounce it.’ Said Donghae, pouting at his friend.

You rolled your eyes as Donghae placed his head on Hyukjae’s shoulder. Hyukjae cooed and brushed Donghae’s hair from his forehead. You looked away from them and lowered your head, hoping others would ignore your presence and not focus on the embarrassing sight. Who knew a piece of meat could cause such distress to your crush.

Hyukjae tried to start a conversation, but you wound up mumbling something just so he would stop talking to you. He realised your discussion wasn’t going anywhere, so he excused himself and went to the bathroom. Now was your time to seduce Donghae. You turned your gaze from where Hyukjae was going to Donghae. He was always such a happy, positive person. Donghae supported his head on his hand and grinned at you.

‘Have I been in your thoughts lately?’ he asked, leaning forward.

You glanced sideways and tightened your lips, doing your best not to pull any odd faces and have him notice he flustered you. He was in your thoughts constantly.

‘Uh, yeah…’ you said quietly, and reached for your drink.

Donghae’s eyes twinkled. That was the answer he was expecting.

‘And what was I doing in your thoughts?’ he batted his eyelashes at you.

You choked on your soda and started coughing, causing Donghae’s eyes to widen. It was then when Hyukjae returned to the table, staring at the two of you as he sat down in his chair. Hyukjae cast his friend a suspicious look.

‘What happened?’ he asked.

‘Nothing.’ Replied Donghae quickly, as he winked at you.

A few tables behind you were Heechu. It was only natural for him to spy on you, for Heechul needed to see his efforts did not go to waste. He was donning a ridiculous ensemble – a large, dark red hat, black sunglasses, an over-sized black T-shirt and skinny jeans. This was his way of going undercover.

Heechul scoffed when he saw that Hyukjae had returned after such a short while. He crinkled his nose and turned to your friend.

‘Ah…’ he clicked his tongue ‘What does he think he’s doing?!’

Heechul grabbed his phone and dialled Hyukjae’s number. Soon after, the sound of Hyukjae’s ringtone was heard.

 ‘Hey…’ said Hyukjae.

You turned your attention to Hyukjae and Donghae raised an eyebrow.

‘Monkey, as I speak to you, I have a very intense expression of distaste on my face.’ Growled Heechul.

‘Excuse me?!’ said Hyukjae, frowning. ‘I have the same expression when I’m around you too!’

‘Couldn’t you have spent more time in the bathroom?’

With that, Heechul ended the call. Donghae looked at his friend and mouthed ‘What was that all about?’. Hyukjae brushed him off and moved his glass in order to enable the waiter to place the food.

As confused as you were, you made a mental note to hint at it later. Right now, you had your beef to tend to.

‘Did we really wait an hour for such a small piece of meat?’ noted Hyukjae, pointing at your plate.

Your eyes narrowed, but you decided to say nothing. Donghae, on the other hand, turned his head sideways, resembling a lost puppy. This was your chance.

‘Donghae… Have I seen you before on a milk bottle?’ you asked.

Hyukjae shook with laughter, but Donghae furrowed his eyebrows.

‘What do you mean?’ he questioned.

‘Uh… nothing… It doesn’t matter.’ You said quickly.

Donghae shrugged, and turned to his food. Next to him, Hyukjae was doing his best not to burst into laughter.

Donghae looked at his food, then at his friend, and then at you.

 ‘You know what I think?’ he said, excited. ‘All food should have like, a creamy center. And a colorful shell!’

That was it – Hyukjae was reduced to hysterical laughter, while you looked at Donghae with your mouth open. You didn’t think he was that… idiotic.

 Heechul and your friend stood up from their table. Grabbing a chair from a table opposite from you, Heechul sat down next to ‘that stupid monkey’. He was not happy.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Heechul asked Hyukjae. ‘I didn’t wake up so early for nothing. You ruined the plan. I didn’t even get breakfast!’

‘I’ll get you breakfast tomorrow, okay?’ said Hyukjae in a quiet voice.

 Heechul always managed to intimidate. You were less intimated and more surprised. That morning you thought it would’ve been a meeting between you and Donghae, but it turned out to be lunch with three more Beetleborgs.

There was nothing that you could do at this point, so you all ended up finishing your food.

 Heechul was playing with his sunglasses when he looked at you and said,

 ‘Do you kids want to do anything before 14:30?’

 ‘Yeah!’ exclaimed Donghae ‘I want to go to the circus!’

 ‘Anything else you want to do?’ he rolled his eyes.

 ‘Yeah!  Go to a bath house!’

 ‘You guys . Okay, it’s 14:30.’ Said Heechul abruptly, putting his glasses back and leaving the table.

 ‘Well, that was fun!’ said Donghae ‘We should get together again!’

 ‘Uh, yeah…’ You laughed nervously and blushed.

 ‘You should come to the dance studio tomorrow and see me and Hyukkie.’ Said Donghae.

 You agreed to do so. After having lunch with Donghae and Hyukjae, you felt like you knew them better and were more relaxed around them. You made sure to ask Heechul if he wanted to join you at the studio.