“Argh!” Taekwoon kept on making alien noises while kicking the dirt and the dusts away from himself for almost an hour. He had to clean one of the empty wards with Hongbin and it was not hard to tell that he was not very happy about it. He was not even cleaning. He was just making noises and kicking the dusts away. He had been doing that since he and Hongbin started ‘cleaning’. It was not helping the two of them. He knew that but he could not stop himself.

“Hyung, calm down. Calm down for a bit.” Hongbin sighed. He was not cleaning as well but at least he was not creating more mess. Plus, he did not like messy places. He was always the one who cleaned everything. He was even the one who was in-charge of washing the clothes of Wonshik and Jaehwan because the two were too lazy. Hongbin could not stand to live in a dirty mental hospital ward—again, he was too handsome for such thing.  “How can we finish if you will keep messing everything up?” He asked Taekwoon. “I like you more than Hakyeon hyung but how can you trash around? Who is going to clean those up? What if Nurse Park comes to check?”

Taekwoon paused for a moment, thinking. “You. You clean.” He mumbled before going to a clean corner and sitting there like a mafia boss. “You can start now.”

Hongbin stared at Taekwoon in disbelief. He wondered how a person could be so shameless—as if he was not very shameless himself and as if he had never dealt with people who were more shameless (ex: Hakyeon). “Why will I clean?” Hongbin asked, annoyed. “How about you? You do not really plan on sitting there while I do all the work, do you?” He asked more questions. He hoped that Taekwoon would laugh and claim that it was a joke—which everyone knew would not happen in their lifetime.

Taekwoon nodded his head. He looked at Hongbin as if the latter had just asked an obvious question. There really was no way that Taekwoon would bother to stand up and start cleaning. Taekwoon was too chic for that just like how Hongbin was too handsome to clean.

“Aish…” Hongbin muttered under his breath. “This hyung is really… aish…” He kept on complaining under his breath. Even if it was loud enough for Taekwoon to hear, the older guy did not even flinch—not even a bat of an eye. Hongbin knew that he could do nothing about the older guy since he was a bit scared. If only Sanghyuk chose him over Jaehwan, he would not have to be with Taekwoon.

“Hongbin!” Wonshik called out, panting. He entered the room with Hakyeon who was still clinging onto his arms. “I am getting tired. Have you seen Hyukkie? This person with me is killing me.” Wonshik complained to Hongbin. “He seems drunk but he is not. He seems high but he is not.” He continued to complain but Hakyeon pretended to hear nothing—as if Wonshik were not referring to him.

Hongbin shook his head. “I did not see Hyukkie. If I did, I would not be here anymore. Look at Taekwoon hyung, he just trashed around and made the handsome me clean everything. Is that fai—” He cut himself off when he felt Taekwoon’s glares. “As I was saying, I am not just a handsome person but also a kind hardworking one so I will clean this whole hospital by myself.” He told Wonshik, awkwardly smiling that caused his deep dimples to show.

Taekwoon nodded his head, not minding the fact that Hongbin was being sarcastic—as long as he did not have to clean, he did not care.

“Guys,” Hakyeon spoke up, finally letting go of Wonshik’s arm (the latter sighed in relief). “I am worried about Ken and Hyukkie. Kennie is my dog and Hyukkie is still a baby. Will they be able to handle each other well? Who will take care of who?” He asked in a tone that was usually heard from mothers then he hooked his arms around Wonshik’s right arm.

“Are you in the position to worry about other people right now?” Wonshik growled in annoyance. “Before you worry about them, worry about me first. My arm will fall off  anytime soon because of you, hyung. Spare me your mercy. I still need my arm, thank you.”

“No, you don’t. You don’t need arms to sleep.” Hongbin sarcastically said, causing Wonshik to glare at him. It was hard to tell whether Hongbin was on Wonshik’s side or if he was on anybody’s side at all. Perhaps, he was only on Sanghyuk’s side—the evil kid was his only real ally.

Taekwoon let out a sigh when Wonshik continued to complain to Hakyeon while Hakyeon kept on saying things that did not make any sense while still clinging onto the poor Wonshik. Hongbin, on the other hand, decided to just stay away from the two boys and continued to clean like a poor Cinderella. Taekwoon stood up, almost too lazily. Without a word, he removed Hakyeon’s hands from Wonshik’s arm. “Stop it.” He told Hakyeon in a soft yet firm voice. Hakyeon stared at Taekwoon like the latter just saved his life when all Taekwoon did was save Wonshik from Hakyeon’s deadly grip.

“What’s this all of a sudden? A Korean drama?” Wonshik asked, dumbfounded due to Taekwoon’s sudden action. “But thanks, hyung. My arm is really about to fall off. Hakyeon hyung should be isolated soon.” He stated, massaging his own arm.

Hakyeon glared at Wonshik. “Hey, my arms are tired too!” He complained even though it was entirely his fault. He turned to Taekwoon and grinned. “As expected, you are the only one who understands me besides Leo.” He said, grinning like a maniac.

Taekwoon groaned, looking at Wonshik. “Please take him back.”

“Hey!” Hakyeon protested.

“Hyung, you can have him.” Wonshik told Taekwoon, smiling. “Anyway, where did Jaehwan hyung and Hyukkie go? How come I cannot see them around? On normal days, I can hear Jaehwan hyung’s voice despite the distance.”

Hakyeon laughed at Wonshik’s comment. “That means that his voice is much louder than mine, right?”

“That must be the case but your voice is more annoying.” Hongbin chimed in. He was being sassy as usual—savage as people called it. “I don’t think that we should worry about Hyukkie and Jaehwan hyung.” Hongbin told Wonshik, quickly changing the topic before Hakyeon could open his mouth to complain. “Hyukkie can take care of Jaehwan hyung. Maybe they already come up with a plan.”

“Or maybe they can be having fun right now and they already became the best of friends?” Hakyeon suggested, making both Wonshik and Hongbin freeze. “What? Why are the two of you like that? Like some stones?” Hakyeon asked, confused. “I did not say anything wrong.”

Hongbin cleared his throat. “No way. I am Hyukkie’s favorite hyung, he told me so.” He denied even though he was nearly tearing up. “Quit making stories up, Hakyeon hyung. If you cannot help me clean then just think of a plan to escape from this place.”

“Ah… it’s so dusty.” Sanghyuk said when he entered the storage room with Jaehwan. It was not the storage room where Hakyeon got tthe handcuffs but a different one—a safer one according to them. “Do you think that we can get something from here, hyung?” Sanghyuk turned to Jaehwan who was supposedly standing behind him but the guy was nowhere to be found.

“Arf!” Jaehwan barked. Sanghyuk turned to where the bark came from and found Jaehwan on all fours while sniffing around. “Hyukkie! I smell something good from this box! Arf!” Jaehwan pointed at the big box that was on the corner. It was dusty and it seemed like it only contained old unneeded stuffs.

“Err…” Sanghyuk hesitated. “I doubt that they will put any important stuff in that box. It looks unneeded and it is dirty.” He pointed out. “We might find a terrible thing again, something like a handcuff or something.” He added, grimacing at the memory of needing to hide from Taekwoon. He did not want to hide  like that once again. It could kill him someday.

“Hyukkie, I am going to tell you something that will help you in this cruel world.” Jaehwan said in a serious voice, standing up. It was the first time that Sanghyuk saw him being serious despite being together for weeks. Jaehwan walked closer to the younger guy. “In this life, you cannot judge a book by its cover.” He informed Sannghyuk as if he was not saying a thing that was very cliché. He even patted the shoulder of the younger one.

Sanghyuk could only give Jaehwan a look of disbelief before sighing as a sign of giving in. “All right, hyung. Let’s check it out but we really cannot tell if those things are useful or not. If it’s not, please stop sniffing around for a bit. The dust might get into your nose, hyung.”

Jaehwan paused to think about it then he scrunched his nose. “Okay, okay.” He nodded his head. “Let’s do that. Deal.” He grinned, confident about his own ability. “Open it now.”

“Ah, so, I will open it.” Sanghyuk nodded  his head. “I thought that you would do it.”

Jaehwan shook his head to deny Sanghyuk’s statement. “Me? Why me? That’s dirty. I don’t like dirty things. Arf!” He barked then stuck his tongue out in a dog-like manner.

“But you like Wonshik hyung and he does not take a shower.” Sanghyuk muttered and Jaehwan heard it but the latter acted dumb as if he did not hear anything. “All right, I will open it.” Sanghyuk walked towards the box and he sneezed a bit because of too much dust around him. “If this is not important, I will seriously… aish…” He mumbled. With his bare hands, he forced the box to open while Jaehwan watched as if Sanghyuk was Hercules.

Jaehwan noticed that something fell out from Sanghyuk’s pocket. It rolled towards the former’s foot. “Oh, something fell out from your pocket.” Jaehwan said, crouching down to pick it up. “A limited edition Chopper ballpen? This came out in the early 2000s, right? There were only a hundred of this in Korea…”

“Huh?” Sanghyuk turned to Jaehwan when he was done opening the box. “Ah, yes.” He nodded his head to confirm Jaehwan’s statement. “A friend gave it to me when I was young. It’s pretty, right? My nickname is even engraved there. See? Chubby nose?” He grinned at the thought.

Jaehwan was quiet for about three seconds before speaking up again. “Chubby nose? Did you get this when you were five? When I was eight?” He sounded so excited so Sanghyuk could only reply with a nod. “Oh, goodness! I am weirdo! Don’t you remember me? I cannot believe this! I knew I have seen that nose somewhere.” He happily said in a kid’s voice. He looked like he just won a lottery.

“Weirdo?” Sanghyuk did not know how to react. He was happy to see his childhood friend after so many years but one thing was bothering his mind. So, Jaehwan knew that Sanghyuk had been referring to him as ‘weirdo’ back then? Anyway, that did not matter. “Weirdo hyung!” Sanghyuk exclaimed, looking very happy as well.  “I knew your nose is really familiar too! I thought that I was just imagining things.”

“I’m so happy I could cry.” Jaehwan said before crying out loud like a baby.

Sanghyuk scratched his head. He could totally see it that moment. How come he did not know since the beginning? Jaehwan did not change at all. He was still the same old weirdo—the neighborhood idiot. It was not hard to notice but perhaps, Sanghyuk did not want to admit it before. “Hyung, don’t be so excited.” He walked towards Jaehwan and patted the shoulder of the older boy. “Before we can have a very heartwarming reunion, we need to get out of this dusty place soon. I will just check what’s inside the box.” He said before walking back towards the corner where the box was.

Jaehwan stopped crying immediately. He grinned widely and followed Sanghyuk. “Okay, if you say so. What’s inside the box?” He asked. The two of them peeked inside the box and saw some clothes and costumes—there were some wigs too! “What are those? Do they have dog clothes?”

Sanghyuk stared at the clothes then he picked up a wig. An idea popped into his mind, causing him to grin. “Hyung, this is it!” He exclaimed, showing Jaehwan the wig.

“The wig? We were looking for a wig?” Jaehwan asked in confusion. “Do you have a bald spot now?”

Sanghyuk shook his head. “No, hyung. We weren’t looking for a wig in the first place. But this wig could be the solution to everything. This could help us get out of this place.”

“I see.” Jaehwan nodded his head. “But why do we need a wig to get out of the storage room when we can just get out of the door like any normal person? Hyukkie, you are becoming weirder and weirder day by day. Is it because you’re forced to share a room with Hakyeon hyung and Taekwoon hyung? Were you that terrified? Poor Hyukkie, it must have been frightening.”

Sanghyuk could only hit his own forehead with his own palm. “That’s not it, hyung. What I mean is that we can use the wig escape from this hospital. You know, something like we should disguise ourselves and pretend that we visited our relatives or friends here? I think we can successfully leave that way.” He clasped his hands together, pleased with his own plan. “What do you think, hyung?”

Jaehwan gave Sanghyuk a thumbs up. “I like your idea, Hyukkie! You are still as smart as before! You’ve grown into such a fine man. I am proud.” He wiped his imaginary tears away. He looked like a proud mother—he was probably imitating Hakyeon.

Sanghyuk could only chuckle. “And you are also the same, hyung.” He shook his head. “Let’s get the costumes and show them to the other hyungs. We should make sure to hide them well so that the nurses would not see. If Nurse Park were to see, it would mean trouble. We might be forced to stay here even longer. Let’s do this as careful as we can, okay? Please don’t bark.”

“I don’t always bark. Arf!” Jaehwan barked in reply. “I also know when to shut my mouth.” He pretended to zip his mouth. “See? I’m very good, right? Arf!”

Sanghyuk nodded his head. “Yes, hyung. You are very good.” He let out a nervous laughter. He knew that it would be hard to trust Jaehwan when it came to being quiet. Instead of just depending on Jaehwan’s tolerance to silence, Sanghyuk decided to just think of a backup plan. “On the second thought, hyung, you distract the nurses while I take care of bringing these to the ward. Use your specialty well.”

“Where are they?” Hongbin kept on walking back and forth. He returned to their hangout with Wonshik, Hakyeon, and Taekwoon. The four of them were hiding from Nurse Park, afraid that the nurse might make them clean more rooms—as if the cardboard in the middle of the hospital’s hallway was a good hiding place. Hongbin’s mind was already full of the negative thoughts about Sanghyuk escaping with Jaehwan alone. “Sanghyuk will not betray me, right? He could not possibly left me here to rot alone!”

Taekwoon frowned. He knew that what Hongbin was thinking was not very far from reality knowing Sanghyuk. But that was really not the reason why he was frowning. The real reason why he was frowning was Hakyeon—it was not something new, Hakyeon was always his reason. Hakyeon kept on clinging onto Taekwoon again, making the latter deeply regret what he did for Wonshik. “I am suffocating. I need space.” Taekwoon told Hakyeon. The two of them were in a corner, so close to one another.

“What?” Hakyeon exclaimed. “Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Are you breaking up with me?” He asked, his eyes were teary.

“What the hell?” Taekwoon frowned even more. “I really want to curse now.” He gritted his teeth.

Wonshik was snoring in the background. But his snores were suddenly replaced with cries. “No! Jaehwan hyung, don’t leave with Hyukkie! I will be a better younger friend now. I will treat you better. From now on, I will just sleep for 18 hours instead of 21 hours a day. So, hyung, don’t leave me here with the annoying Hakyeon hyung, the chic Taekwoon hyung, and the handsome Hongbinie.” He cried in his sleep.

Hongbin stopped walking back and forth to look at Wonshik. “Is he having a nightmare? Shouldn’t we wake him up?” He asked Taekwoon and Hakyeon.

Taekwoon nudged Hakyeon, seeing the situation as an opportunity to get rid of Hakyeon. “He needs you more. Wake him up.” Taekwoon mumbled. As if Wonshik had sensed Taekwoon’s evil plan, he suddenly sat up. Taekwoon stared at Wonshik as if the latter just ruined his whole life—technically, he did.

“But he’s already awake.” Hakyeon pointed out the obvious.

Hongbin sat beside Wonshik and patted the back of the latter. “It’s okay. I trust Sanghyuk. He would not leave me here alone. So, that means, Jaehwan hyung did not leave too.”

As if on cue, both Jaehwan and Sanghyuk entered the room, laughing with one another. “Hyungs! I and Jaehwan hyung found a way to escape from this place safely. As expected, the two of us work with each other well.” He high-fived Jaehwan, not noticing the sad expressions of Wonshik and Hongbin.

“Then, why do you look so happy?” Hongbin asked.

Sanghyuk grinned. “Hyung, I just found out that Jaehwan hyung and I were actually childhood friends! I told you that I had a childhood friend before, right? Weirdo? He is Jaehwan hyung all along!” He stated.

Jaehwan nodded along with Sanghyuk. “We’re both really happy to meet one another again!”

Hongbin frowned, clearly not very happy. “I don’t want to hear it anymore. I am going back to the ward.” He coldly said before standing up and walking away. Wonshik sighed before standing up and following Hongbin. He did not look very happy too.

Sanghyuk watched the two older guys in confusion—so did Jaehwan who was also clueless. “What’s their problem?” He asked Hakyeon and Taekwoon but received no replies.

Author's Note:(Update Schedule)

I am very busy these days. I really want to update every week again but I don't think that I can. So, my updates now will depend on my free time. I might update weekly again. I cannot promise that though.

VIXX is coming back soon! Are you guys prepared already? Have you seen the concept film yet?

Special thanks to all those who commented. And to those who upvoted, marlia91, LeeJi98, Karenkitty1092, Taotic, Sweatervest_Suho, hongbeann, love_kris, Hala-bear and Zhuchu thank you so much! It means a lot to me.