“Look at the puppy, Hyung!” Hanbin screeched, expressive eyes widened dramatically. Bobby laughed as Hanbin pulled him towards an older woman walking a large German Shepherd. The dog didn’t look particularly friendly upon noticing Bobby, but as usual, it looked fine when Hanbin approached. He cooed quietly at the large creature, hands inches away from its muzzle. The woman walking it smiled at him gently, inclining her head as if to give him permission to pet him. The dog keened when Hanbin finally patted its head, before running his elegant fingers through the dog’s puffy fur. Hanbin squealed happily when the dog nudged him playfully, looking to be petted more. His eyes brimmed with dampness. “I used to have a lot of pets.” He told the woman, somberly. She nodded politely at his forlorn tone, face pinched in sadness at just the use of the past tense. Bobby sighed as he watched Hanbin pet the dog profusely for several more minutes, before he pulled the rapper away, the snacks in his convenience store bag losing their appeal.

“You miss your pets a lot, huh, Hanbin-ah?” Bobby asked, looking at his best friend out the corner of his eyes while walking straight ahead. Hanbin shook his head minutely for a moment, probably clearing his thoughts, before he turned to stare at Bobby.

“Yeah, hyung.” He replied, simply, clutching Bobby’s forearm.

Bobby stayed quiet, already thinking and plotting and planning away. By the time they reached the dorm, the rest of the band was fed up with them taking so long to return from the store. They dug into the snacks and pulled up a movie on Netflix, as Bobby receded into his room. Hanbin went to follow automatically, but Chanwoo pouted at him, patting the couch next to him. Bobby gave Hanbin a thumbs up and retreated hastily into their shared domain. For the next several hours, he laid in bed and plotted, checking his bank account balance, and texting their manager. When Hanbin came in after binge watching three movies with the band, Bobby was already asleep. He frowned. Bobby never slept before him, and the oddness of the situation felt wrong to him.

When Hanbin woke up at 9 the following morning, Bobby’s side of the bed was bereft of the warm boy, and the sheets were cool and crisp, indicating Bobby’s prolonged absence. Hanbin snarled at the empty space, like it was personally to blame for his irritation, and wrapped himself in the blankets. He pulled himself off the bed and to a mostly standing position. Numbly, he exited the bedroom and wandered to the kitchen.

His favorite coffee wafted its distinct scent out, around the dorm, and he found himself pleased that at least Bobby wasn’t mad at him- if he was, he wouldn’t have made Hanbin coffee to drink when he woke up. The tired boy poured himself a mug and plopped down at the table to drink it in the silence.

A half hour later, Jinhwan emerged from his room that he shared with June, and made his way to the small kitchen area. Hanbin gave him a nasty look, finger flexing around the coffee. Jinhwan stopped for a moment, surprised by Hanbin’s hostility post-coffee, until he glanced around and noticed two things.

First, he noticed that Hanbin was still draped in Bobby’s blankets.

Second, he noticed that Bobby was nowhere to be seen.

He glanced around a bit more, trying to see if maybe Bobby was busy in another room of the dorm, but silence filled the place and only Hanbin sat there, looking progressively more furious. Finally, after several moments, Chanwoo entered the kitchen as well, followed by Yunhyeong.

“Will you cook breakfast, hyung?” Chanwoo sweetly asked Yunhyeong, who rolled his eyes but made for the fridge anyways, already pulling out ingredient and setting them on the granite countertop. Hanbin rolled his eyes and stood abruptly, dragging the blanket behind him all the way back to Bobby’s and his’ room. He decided, once he was in the room, that he would drag the boys to practice early. Bobby could join when he returned.

After that resolution, Hanbin dressed quickly and washed up, ready to go in just under an hour. When he emerged, Chanwoo was putting a plate into the sink and Yunhyeong was wrapping up leftovers. Most of the band, sans Bobby and himself, were seated at the counter and chatting. Hanbin entered slowly, and the talking halted as the members noticed their leader. Hanbin glared at the majority of them, snarl pulling up his lip.

Chanwoo’s nervous gaze didn’t soften Hanbin’s glare, making it worse if anything. The tiger leader walked to the table and stood amongst his bandmates.

“We’re practicing early today. I’m leaving now. You all have a half hour to get the the studio.” He intoned, before ignoring their unhappy groans and exiting the dorm.

Back in the dorm, Junhoe looked to Jinhwan for an explanation. The mathyung sighed, wiping his hand down his face.

“Has anyone seen Bobby today?” He asked, instead of speculating. All the members remained silent, waiting for someone to admit to having seen the older rapper. No one did. “Damnit. I think that’s why Hanbin-ah is in a mood. Just keep your heads low, and behave. When Bobby gets back, Hanbin should cool down.” Jinhwan advised, while he finished picking up from breakfast. The rest of the band meandered off, to get ready for dance practice. Jinhwan sighed to himself, pulling out his cellphone and dialing Bobby’s cellphone number. The call went straight to voicemail, and the oldest member felt himself growing irate.

Within the hour, all of the members, sans Bobby, were practicing themselves into exhaustion in the dance studio. Hanbin was directing them, expecting perfection, and getting furious at the stilted moves his band was making. “Junhoe, get it together. You’re a dancer, for Christ’s sake. Chanwoo, again from the top, by yourself. Maybe I wouldn’t make you do it over in front of all of us if you were better. And don’t think I didn’t notice the third time you ed up that simple turn today, Yunhyeong. It’s like Donghyuk and Jinhwan are the only ones listening to me-” His ranting stopped as something caught his eye, behind the rest of them. Except for Chanwoo, who was still redoing the dance, the band turned to find themselves staring at Bobby, walking in the door, looking sheepish.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Hanbin-ah.” He said, smiling at the irate leader. For a moment, the band waited with bated breath to see how Hanbin would react. To their surprise, he cast his eyes towards the ground and bit his lip. “Are you serious?” Bobby asked, suddenly, shocking their bandmates again. “I would never leave and not come back. That’s what you were thinking?” He asked, and Hanbin’s cheeks turned red, as he continued staring at the practice room floor. Bobby approached quickly, eyes set on Hanbin’s face. He immediately took the leader into his arm when he reached him. The arm not wrapped around Hanbin contained a box. Bobby pulled away but Hanbin held on, not releasing him until he let out a quiet laugh. The rest of the band watched on in wonderment as Bobby handed the package over to the blushing rapper. Hanbin took the package and almost went to shake it, before Bobby exclaimed “No!”

Hanbin’s eyes widened dramatically and he almost dropped the package. Bobby laughed nervously, but when he smiled, Hanbin cautiously returned the expression.

“Just open it, Hanbin.” He said, pushing the box more firmly into the younger male’s hands. Hanbin placed the box on the ground while the entire band watched on, silently. When he opened it, tears sprang to his eyes immediately, and he stood up suddenly, launching himself into Bobby’s open arms. The older man lifted him, holding him close and swinging him around. When he put him down, Hanbin moved back towards the box and reached into, sobbing now, and pulled out a small German Shepherd puppy.

The band stared, in awe, as Hanbin pulled the small, furry creature close to his chest. He a hand along it’s back reverently. “I named him Bobbin.” Bobby said, sheepishly glancing around. “But you can change his name if you want.” He said, reaching out to pet the dog. Hanbin gasped, choking on his still flowing tears, and stepped into Bobby’s personal space suddenly. Squishing Bobbin between them, he let Bobby envelope him in another hug. The band clapped dramatically and their leader smiled into the warm chest of his best friend.