The trio of men arrive back at their large apartment, which they share with seven others: Tao, Lay, Chanyeol, Kai, Xiumin, Suho, and D.O. They have lived here since they graduated from school. It is still early in the morning, around ten o'clock. So, when Sehun unlocks the door and allows his friends to go in before him, there is no one to greet them at the door.

The inside of the apartment is beautiful. It is simple with its clean, white walls, but also has an air of sophistication. There is a living room where the guys hang out and a kitchen that is only sometimes used. Usually, they go out to eat.

Inside a tall arched hallway are all of the bedrooms that the guys sleep in. There are now two vacant rooms. Two friends, Kris and Luhan, left to find places of their own and to start their own lives. This saddened to rest of the group, but in the end, it was their decision, and there wasn't much they could do to convince them to stay.

A glossy black grand piano sits by the window. One thing that allows the group of young men to get along so well is their shared love for music; they like to write music and sing together in their free-time. Most are even gifted dancers. They dream of becoming famous one day, but that have yet to make themselves known to the world.

"Guys!" Chen calls. No one answers. They are all still asleep.

Baekhyun takes the liberty of plopping his body onto the couch. Chen and Sehun follow him and lay down on either side of him.

"That was so weird. Did she just wash up from the water?" Chen blows out a breath. He has had his dose of excitement for the day.

His friends both nod in agreement.

Baekhyun raises his eyebrows, mouth open. "Where did she come from? Why was she just..."

"Lying there?" Sehun finishes.

"Yeah."

They are all shell-shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened. She obviously was not from around here. She didn't respond to Chen when he spoke to her in Korean. Maybe she doesn't speak Korean at all. But, why is she here? It all is a mystery to them.

Loud, obnoxious bangs on the door startle the young men. All three of them sigh. It's an unpleasantly familiar sound.

"Who wants to get it this time?" Baekhyun grumbles.

No one says a word until there are more bangs on the door, this time more persistent.

"Humph. I will, I guess," Chen makes a face. He gets up from his very comfortable position on the couch to greet the devil at the door.

He unlocks it with a click and swings it open slowly.

"What takes you lazy s so long to answer the door every time?" a tall, robust man exclaims angrily, his arms flailing expressively. He walks into their apartment uninvited.

"Sorry, sir. We were asleep," Sehun says in polite, but clipped, tone.

Both Baekhyun and Sehun had hurriedly stood up from the couch. Now, they stood behind with their hands hidden behind their backs, like perfect angels. The three wore identical solemn expressions. The landlord does not like smiley people. They had learned that and used that information to their advantage.

"Asleep. Tch," he scolds them with a look of disgust, "you're all a bunch of lazy kids, that's what you are."

The landlord stares at each of them individually. They stand still, their eyes diverted. He then begins to inspect the room for any signs of rowdiness or disorderly conduct that he would be able to kick them out for. Finding nothing, he is disappointed. It's been a while since he has had the pleasure of kicking a tenant out of his building.

"Rent is due at the end of the month. If you're late, I add another hundred."

He narrows his eyes and leaves, slamming the door behind him.

Chen, Baekhyn, and Sehun let out their breaths.

I really hate him," Sehun sneers.

"Don't we all?" Chen clicks his tongue.

A toilet flushes. A few seconds later, a sleepy, messy-haired guy walks out from a bedroom.

"Morning," he greets, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes half-closed with sleep, "sounds like I just missed the landlord. Got lucky."

"Yeah, he's a real winner," Baekhyun rolls his eyes. Then he remembers. "Kai! You'll never guess-"

This triggers the others' memories.

"There was this girl-"

"It was strange!"

Kai trudges over and plops onto the couch as well. "Wait. What happened?"

"We went to the beach - remember, we told you yesterday we were going - but when we got there, there was this girl. She was lying on the beach like she was dead, you know? She had this huge bruise on her head. And-" Chen says, spitting words out a mile a minute.

"So we called the hospital, and they came and picked her up. I hope she's okay," Baekhyun interrupts.

Kai groans and passes a hand over his face. "I just woke up. This is hard for me to process."

"We're going to go to the hospital later to see if she's okay. I feel, like, responsible for her. Or something." Chen states, slightly embarrassed.

Kai sighs tiredly but frowns. "That is weird. Can I go with you later, to the hospital?"

"Yeah, if you want," Chen says.

Sehun had gotten up and is now in the kitchen preparing something to eat.

"Hey, maknae, make something for me," Baekhyun calls from his lazy position on the couch. Sehun grumbles back.

Soon, six more hyungs join the party. Tao, Lay, and D.O. come sauntering out from their rooms, followed by Xiumin, Suho, and Chanyeol. They all sit down at the large kitchen table and look expectantly at Sehun.

"Oh, alright," he rolls his eyes playfully, "I guess I'm cooking for everyone here."

No one protests.

~

"What do you wanna do?" comes a voice from the kitchen of a fairly cramped apartment.

Though it is cramped, it is cozy and inviting. A young man sits casually on the couch in the living room, an inch of skin above the waistband of his pants showing. 

"I don't know, Luhan. It's your house," he replies lazily, thens corrects himself, "or apartment, or whatever."

Luhan shuffles out of the kitchen with a bowl of snacks. "Well, Kris, I know this sounds weird, but I actually wanted to talk."

Kris huffs, but he doesn't object.

Luhan takes a seat next to his friend on the couch and passes the bowl to him. They both take a small handful of food, eating slowly.

His mouth still half-full, Luhan speaks. "Moving was...well...it was the best thing that we could have done for ourselves. I don't regret it, do you?"

Kris chews his food, then swallows. He takes a few moments to answer.

"No," he replies thoughtfully, his eyebrows knitted.

"Yeah, neither do I," Luhan repeats, "but is it crazy to say that I'm not really happy? I mean, sure, I'm happy. I guess a better word would be lonely. I feel lonely. Don't you?"

He fidgets with his fingers and twists a couple of bracelets around his wrists. Then, he looks at Kris, searching his face for an answer.

Again, Kris takes a few moments to answer. When he does, Luhan is surprised by his straight-forwardness, but it makes him feel glad that he is not the only one feeling the way he does.

"I miss them, too."