"No." Jihoon readjusted his round framed glasses that was perched on his nose as he addressed the president of the dance society.

The student council was currently holding a meeting with all the presidents of the various societies in their university. It was a new academic year, and thus the annual budget would have to be shared amongst the societies. The budget was cut by fifteen percent as compared to last year, which was why, this year, a proposal had to be done up, explaining and written down with great detail as to how much the society would require.

"What?" The red-faced president of the dance society gasped out. Lee Jihoon was picking at the last straws that held onto his sanity.

Jihoon repeated firmly, an edge in his voice. "I said no. You're demanding an unrealistic amount of money for a club that has five people."

"Six people. We are one week into the new academic year. The recruitment process is still ongoing."

"And how many have you recruited successfully thus far?" Jihoon countered.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense. The other presidents sat at the edge of their seats, afraid that Jihoon would slaughter them when it came to their turn to present if they were to say anything. As much as people feared Jihoon, he was well respected as well. The boy always had reasons to justify his actions, which was what made him elected to be the vice-president of the student council, plus, the boy was cute.

Soonyoung gulped. "Five... But there are-"

"So eleven in total then." Jihoon cut Soonyoung off before he could finish, thumbing through the file before him uninterestedly. "My answer is still no. Come back with a proposal that allows me to say yes. Next." With a wave of the hand, the next president stood up and passed two copies of his proposal to Jihoon and to the president of the student council.

Soonyoung clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he was forced back into his seat. His blood boiled in rage. Dance was his life and the dance society was his baby. The society had many seniors who unfortunately graduated with the new year, leaving a pathetic six and although he had said he recruited five people, only one had seem genuinely excited to be part of them. Oh Lee Chan. The light of the world. But now Lee Jihoon was denying them the budget they needed. How were they even going to partake in competitions? This was war.
---
"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Seungcheol questioned as he signed the last proposal that had been accepted. The meeting ended approximately an hour ago, leaving Seungcheol and Jihoon to tie up the loose ends.

"In what sense?" Jihoon replied as he rearranged the files.

"Soonyoung is your roommate for the year."

"And I'm supposed to go soft just because he is my roommate? Then what am I supposed to the others whom I rejected. Sorry, but since you're not my roommate, you get no special treatment?" Jihoon was annoyed. Seungcheol should know him better by now. They were friends for over ten years now.

Seungcheol sighed. "I don't mean it like that Jihoon. Soonyoung's my friend, which is why I sympathize with him. The kid loves his society. You could have rejected him in a nicer manner. You're too hard Ji."

"And you are too soft." Jihoon picked up the files and moved to exit the room. "I'll see you tomorrow Cheol."

The student council president signed and picked up his own bag to leave as well.

---
Jihoon entered his dorm room and shut the door behind him. His hometown was in Busan, far away from Pledis university in Seoul, which was the main reason he was able to snag a room to stay in the dorms on campus. He was about to put his bag on his chair when he realised that his chair was missing. Jihoon turned to the other person in the room, lying on the bed, typing away on his own laptop.

"Real mature Kwon. But you just broke rule number one. Don't touch the other person's stuff." Jihoon stole Soonyoung's chair from the adjacent table and placed his own bag on it.

"Hey! That's mine!" Soonyoung raised his voice as Jihoon took his chair away.

"I'll return it when you return mine." Jihoon shrugged as he took out his laptop and some papers, getting straight into work.

Soonyoung stared angrily at Jihoon's back as the smaller worked on his notes. He cursed under his breath as he fell back onto his bed.

Soonyoung wanted to laugh at the situation he was in. He did not forsee this two weeks ago when he found out he was rooming with Lee Jihoon. They had the same group of friends but he and Jihoon were not close. They never had the same classes in their first year, and even when the whole group gathered, they rarely had to interact alone. So when he learned that he would be sharing a room with Jihoon, Soonyoung was excited. He was thrilled to interact with the younger and grow close, inseparable.

But on the very day the Soonyoung moved in, he found Jihoon's things neatly arranged on a table, an empty table adjacent to it. The beds were placed behind the tables against the wall, with a large walkway in between the tables and the beds and the beds themselves. The wardrobe was on either ends of the room. Jihoon was already unloading his clothes into his own wardrobe.

Soonyoung animatedly approached Jihoon, trying to brighten up the atmosphere when he was immediately shut down by the smaller who handed him a sheet of paper, outlining in neat handwriting, the ground rules they would have to live by for the next year. Soonyoung wanted to rush into their attached bathroom to cry and curse this tragedy, so he did.

---

Jihoon was a workaholic. He got up at seven-thirty almost every morning to walk to campus, the responsibilities of the student council bearing on his shoulders. Despite his love for sleep, he could not shrug off his duties, even if he wanted to sleep and to never wake up. After classes, he would head back to his room or the library to get work done. He had a goal and he was going to have to work hard to achieve it. Student council was also taking up a significant amount of his time. Jihoon essentially had no life. The said male was also financially independent, juggling his part-time job with his academic commitments. Life was tough. He often left before Soonyoung even got up, and got back after Soonyoung slept. Thus the two roommate barely interacted. Their near zero interaction was what allowed the two continue living in the same room. Their group of friends were almost sure they would claw each other's throats out if left together alone. They honestly did not want to find out.

---

The academic year was kicking in, and the workload was starting to pile up. As the stress continued to build up, so did the mutual hate between Soonyoung and Jihoon grow. The blackhead often begged Seokmin to switch rooms with him, but the other would only reply, "Why? Jihoon is actually a big softie under all that bravado. Try getting to know him!"

Jihoon could care less. All he wanted to do was to get by, ace his exams and save up. He did not have the time nor energy to deal with Soonyoung's . And if Soonyoung leaves the room, all the better.

---

"Seokmin, I absolutely refuse."

Seokmin pouted and brought his fisted hands up to his chest. He mustered up his best puppy dog eyes and stared at Soonyoung. "Oh c'mon. It sounds amazing! Besides, Seungkwan has been raving about the place since last month!"

The older crossed his arms across his chest, stepping away from the relentless doof he calls his friend. "I am most definitely not going to travel an hour out of campus to a sleazy club."

Seokmin gasped dramatically, jogging to catch up with Soonyoung's retreating figure. "It's not sleazy. It's a host club. It's fancy and uptown. Besides, it takes fourty minutes, not an hour."

"I'm still not going."

The expression on Seokmin's face turned stone cold. Grabbing Soonyoung's forearm, he hoisted and turned the older to face him. "Go, and I would possibly consider changing rooms with you."

At the statement, Soonyoung's face lit up, the sunlight shining off his brand new piercing. "Deal!"

"You didn't even hesitate."

Soonyoung pulled on his backpack and hooked

it back around his shoulders, "I have my priorities Seok. Lee Jihoon is stifling the life out of me."

___

The three boys stood outside a garage door as Seungkwan whipped out his phone. Above the metal shutters was a bright red neon sign that read Rated. Soonyoung looked around the corner that they had just turned to reach this place and grimaced. "Right, this place is not sleazy as all." Beside him was Seokmin bouncing on his heels, constantly switching his weight between his feet. Soonyoung could not tell if it was nerves he was feeling or the sheer excitement of finally patronizing Rated. Judging by the wide grin on his face that broke out as Seungkwan keyed in the code, it was most probably the latter.

"It's not sleazy. Look! They even have secret codes to get it! It changes every night. They're exclusive as , hyung. There, code accepted!" Seungkwan stated as he punched in the enter key on the keypad that was placed on the wall, connected to the shutters.

The sounds of machines whirled to life and the metal shutters started retracting up.

Soonyoung hummed as bright light peeked from behind as the shutters continued to rise, but stopped short at the level of their hips. "So what's the code for tonight?"

"Pet me." Seungkwan commented as he ducked down under the shutters and disappeared into the light, Seokmin hot on his heels.

Following in the younger's footsteps, Soonyoung brought his head down and slipped in just as the shutters started grinding, indicating its descent. For a moment, stepping into bright light from the dark alleyway was blinding. Soonyoung blinked rapidly, trying to readjust his eyes, but as soon as it did, his breath was snatched from his lips.

"Welcome to Rated, boys." Seungkwan smirked as he headed to the reception counter.

Rated was not a sleazy club. No, it was worlds different. Immediately behind the metal shutters was a carpeted room with a single receptionist table as the sides. Not just any table, mahogany. Fresh from the rainforest. What was even more extravagant was what laid behind this room. The breadth of the room was lined with rich, velvet curtains. Purple, the colour of royalty. One side of the curtains was tied up to the end of the room which then gave Soonyoung a peek into what Rated actually was. It was like a ballroom, with grandeur chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and bright lights that illuminated the place. There was a bar in the centre of the room, and a dance-floor at the corner, which was understandably darker than the rest of the place. The dance-floor didn't seem to be in action tonight. Soonyoung would have definitely torn the floor.

There were clusters of sofas with accompanying glass tables littered around the room, and the occasional smaller clusters, consisting of single cushioned seats, probably to cater for the smaller groups such as themselves tonight.

The man by the reception glanced as the computer screen before him. "Ah, Mr Boo, seats for 3?"

"As reserved." Seungkwan nodded, "So what's the theme for tonight?"

Seokmin nudged Soonyoung in his ribs, obviously excited. "They have themes? Oh my god."

"This way please gentlemen." The man, who was impeccably dressed in the white button up and slacks stepped towards the curtains, signalling the three to follow him to their seats. "You'll be thrilled tonight if you have pets."

Seokmin cried out, slapping Soonyoung in his shoulder. "Soonyoung here used to take care of a chick!"

The older winced as the smack came into contact with his skin. He rubbed his shoulder and kicked Seokmin behind his calf. "Would you just calm your !"

The man from reception laughed at their antics, coming to a halt. "Well, this is you guys. The theme tonight is 'Domesticate me'. I hope you have a good time gentlemen." He handed out three menus to them as they sat down and headed back to his place behind the reception.

Once he managed to settle down, Soonyoung carefully glanced around the room, taking in the sights. All around them were both men and women walking around dressed as animals. Some were weari

ng revealing outfits coupled with the furry headband ears and a tail. Some were dressed more decently, if decently meant not in lingerie. Though, all of them were some sort or animal. Customers were seated on the couches or seats ( just like them) and were eating, drinking or chatting with (read feeling up) some of the 'animals'.

Similar to him, Seokmin was drinking up the place like a man in a desert who just found his oasis. His eyes darting everywhere, jumping from person to person, tongue his lips repeatedly. Seungkwan on the other hand, sat proudly in his seat as he thumbed through his menu.

"They're animals. Amazing!" Seokmin remarked.

"That's called . You're so ing thirsty today man." Soonyoung rolled his eyes as he picked up his menu from the table.

"They're called hosts. This is a host club you know. It's simple really, you just order food and drinks like how you would in a restaurant. The only difference is that they have beautiful men and women to accompany you, at a price of course. But it's worth it." Seungkwan shrugged as he raised his hand, attracting the attention of one of the hosts, Ms Puppy. "Get your orders boys."

Seokmin pointed to the curry rice set in his menu, but his eyes never stopped scanning the place. "Damn, Soonyoung hyung, look at the bunny over there and his creamy thighs. He could bounce on me all night."

Soonyoung raised his sight, trying to find the said host in a bunny getup. He narrowed his eyes after finding a petite figure, back facing them, dressed in an oversized white sweater, which stopped just below his . Below that sweater was extremely small booties that revealed pale, white thighs. Soonyoung swallowed thickly. That figure looked strangely familiar.

"What could I get you guys?" Ms puppy smiled as she sat beside Seungkwan, running her finger below his chin, inching extremely close to his face.

Seungkwan remained nonchalant, "How about a man to do the seduction. I'll have the teriyaki chicken, plus a Bloody Mary."

Soonyoung was deaf to their conversation, his entire attention focused on that one figure. As the bunny bent down to retrieve some empty plates, the man beside him smacked him hard on the . Soonyoung was so sure he heard the sound resonate. The small bunny shot up again and smiled meekly, quickly grabbing the plates to leave. The figure turned around and Soonyoung gasped. "Holy !"

"Holy ? We don't have that on the menu sir... Is that a drink? I could ask the bartender if he could whip one up."

"Dude, what's wrong with you." Seokmin pulled against Soonyoung's arm, willing him back into his seat after his ungraceful exclamation.

The older blubbered, shaking his head, embarrassed. "I'll just have the curry rice. Thanks."

Seokmin and Seungkwan then fell into conversation as they waited for their food, and as several hosts approached them. Soonyoung's mind was reeling. He must have seen that wrongly. There was no absolute way that what he saw was true. He had small eyes, they could have seen wrong. There was no way in hell that that could have been Lee Jihoon. As if the devil could read his mind, the bunny reemerged, making his way to sit beside a customer, bringing his sweater paws up to the customers face, tempting him with a sickeningly sweet smile. Soonyoung's gaze followed the bunny, as his lips turned into a smirk. This new information of the man was amazing. This would be sensational if the whole university found out about perfect little Lee Jihoon in a place like this, dressed like that.

Ten minutes later, their food arrived. Seokmin was animatedly conversing with a host dressed as a cat beside him while Seungkwan joined in the conversation in between mouths of food. He cleared his throat as the bunny (Jihoon) got up from his seat and headed to the far corner of the ballroom. Soonyoung shot up, surprising those around him. "I'm heading to the toilet," leaving the other two before they could protest. He then quickly speed-walked in the direction that Jihoon left for, trying to remain as discrete as possible. He

peered into one of the corridors that Jihoon disappeared behind to see a door labeled 'staff only' close just in time. He took long strides to stand in front of the door, looking around to see if anyone saw him. After ensuring that the coast was clear, he smiled wickedly as he placed his hand on the door knob, twisting it free.

---

Jihoon heaved a sigh of relief as he took the head band with fluffy white bunny ears out of his head. He sunk into the couch and hugged one of the pillows to his chest. Today had been extremely draining. The door clicked open, but Jihoon thought nothing of it. It was most probably another host taking a break.

"Well what do we have here? Isn't it Lee Jihoon?"

Jihoon jumped, alert in his seat, eyes wide in horror as he came face to face with Kwon Soonyoung. The said male shut the door behind him and leaned against it, smirking darkly. Jihoon swallowed the bile that rose up his throat, mind working on overdrive, trying to act as indifferent as possible. "What are you doing here?" The smaller's voice came out surprisingly calmer than in his head that was sounding alarm bells.

"I could say the same for you. What are you doing here." The blackhead crooned.

"You're not authorized to be here. Please leave." Jihoon stood up, pointing to the door.

Soonyoung snorted as he headed towards Jihoon, coming up into the smaller's personal space. Soonyoung knew that the smaller hated that. It made him feel tiny. Ironic really, Jihoon was just tiny. Period. "Right. And you are authorized, because you work here. I wonder how the school would react to this news."

Jihoon's eye twitched. The only way to win Soonyoung was to be indifferent, unfeeling. Nonchalance was the key to driving this idiot up the wall. "There would be no reaction. No one would be interested. You could go tell the world for all I care. They don't bother about such . They will forget all this in a heartbeat. I don't care at all. Not bothered, nope-a-doo. No-sir-ree."

Soonyoung chuckled as he leaned his face down towards Jihoon, a hairs breadth away from his lips before plopping onto the couch before him. "You're rambling Lee. You only ramble when you're nervous."

Jihoon let out a breath that he had not realised he had been holding. "I do not care," he spat out, enunciating every syllable.

"Oh yeah? A little birdie told me that the only reason why a little bunny would work so hard in university was that he was aiming for the presidential scholarship. They only give out five each year, five out of the thousands of students in Pledis University. The competition is cut throat. But I'm sure you're aware of that."

Jihoon's jaw dropped. His legs felt weak as he took unsteady steps back. nonchalance! Kwon Soonyoung just played dirty. "You!"

"Now what would the panel of judges think when they find out about your part time job?"

"It was Seokmin wasn't it? That bastard! I will rip him to shreds!"

Soonyoung wagged his finger at the distraught male in front of him. "Ah ah ah. We are not done bunny. Now, what do we do here."

Jihoon sighed, bringing his palms to his face. He resigned himself to his fate. "What do you want Kwon. I'll do anything. Just, keep your ing mouth shut about this."

Soonyoung clapped, satisfied at the answer he got. "Now we're getting somewhere. I want you to... bark."

What?

"Did you not hear me? I said bark. You're now my dog. A dog that listens to his master. Or in your case, bunny." Soonyoung stood up, running his finger below Jihoon's chin (very much like what Ms puppy did to Seungkwan), ending his administrations with a tap on Jihoon's nose.

The brunette glared. If he could kill someone with his mind, Kwon Soonyoung would be burning on a stake, stabbed fifty times, run over by a car forty-five times and shot maybe twenty times.

Soonyoung made his way towards the door, getting ready to exit. He turned back to the stunned Jihoon, "I wouldn't go back out if I were you. Seungkwan and Seokmin are here. Wouldn't want them to find out about you now would we. I'll see you later bunny." With that,

the blackhead left, almost as quickly and as quietly as he appeared.

Jihoon cried out in anger, hands strangling the air. After imagining strangling Soonyoung for a good five minutes, he fell face first into the couch under him. He turned his body around, feeling an object pressed against his tailbone against the couch. The white poofy bunny tail on his booty shorts seemed like such a mockery in that instance.