~Lollipops & Bubble Gum Drops~

            "That's cheating!" Kihyun screams a string of following profanities when Changkyun's game character, Reaper, manages to corner him and kill his character, Zenyatta, off, "Changkyun!"

            They were already on their sixth round of the game and today just did not seem to be Kihyun's day as Changkyun once again grabs the victory right from his team's obliterated hands.

            "It's not!" The youngest starts to laugh as loud and as menacingly as he could just to goad Kihyun further, "You're just saying I'm cheating because I'm winning! Just accept you just at Overwatch!"

            "I do not! I’m way better than you, noob!" Kihyun looks geared to smack Changkyun upside the head with his laptop but Minhyuk suddenly comes into their shared living room and grabs the back of both their collars momentarily cutting off their oxygen supply and temporarily ceasing their squabbling.

            "Shut! Up!" Minhyuk hisses at them from behind before he releases his hold, "I'm better than the both of you losers! Hyungwon is trying to sleep, so keep it down!"

            Kihyun immediately whips his head around to send a dark glare at the blond because how dare Minhyuk!? But surprisingly Kihyun does keep in mind to keep his voice down, "Hyungwon is always sleeping. What the hell are you talking about?"

            Minhyuk crosses his arms and frowns but there's an obvious crease of concern at the corner of his eyes, "Yeah but he pulled an all-nighter yesterday writing that thesis paper so he actually needs his sleep this time."

            Changkyun raises a brow, "You're usually the one that's always running around the dorm being loud and annoying without any regard to the rest of us. Why do you suddenly care all of a sudden?"

            "I always care!" Minhyuk protests and then winces when he realizes he was being too loud again, he continues with a softer voice, "And Hyungwon gets grumpy when he's woken up without enough sleep. A grumpy Hyungwon isn't a happy Hyungwon. I like a happy Hyungwon."

            Kihyun and Changkyun share knowing glances.

            "So what you're actually saying is that you only care when it's Hyungwon. Nice to know."

            "That's not what I said!"

            "It was implied. Duh." Kihyun and Changkyun hi-five each other before directing their gaze back to their game and ignoring Minhyuk's presence.

            Minhyuk opens his mouth to retaliate but the creak of one of their bedroom doors in the hallway behind the living room stops him mid breath. He let's the air rush past his lips in an exasperated huff, "Good going guys. Hyungwon's awake."

            Kihyun and Changkyun murmur something vaguely close to an apology, or maybe it was an insult, Minhyuk isn't entirely sure since he left the living room to head into the hallway to check on Hyungwon. Minhyuk sees the door to Hyungwon's room left wide open and knows Hyungwon is no longer in there but just as he's about to round back and head to the kitchen to check for the other the bathroom door at the end of the hallway opens. Hyungwon blinks slowly his eyes slightly swollen from sleep, his hair a complete bird's nest with light brown strands curled and poking in every direction, and his movements are noticeably sluggish. Overall, he looks half dead.

            Minhyuk scurries over to the taller quickly, arms slightly outstretched as if to prepare to catch the taller if he suddenly falls over, "Did the others wake you up? I tried to make them quiet down but they're not exactly taking me seriously."

            Hyungwon shakes his head as he rubs at his eyes to settle the ache he feels every time he blinks, his voice raspy from sleep, "Kihyun's foul mouth woke me up and then Changkyun's weird laugh kept me from falling back asleep."

            "They were playing Overwatch," Minhyuk throws the explanation in there but he really doubts Hyungwon even cares what the excuse is for waking him up.

            Hyungwon snorts clearly unamused, "I figured. I'm hiding the gaming laptops again for the next three weeks."

            A whine builds up in the back of Minhyuk's throat but he swallows it back down in order to pout, "But you'll tell me where you're hiding them right? I don't deserved to be punished with them."

            Hyungwon eyes Minhyuk with one of his open eyes for a second while he rubs at the other before he promptly decides he has better things to do, like pass the out again on his bed, than to keep one of Minhyuk's favorite entertainment hobbies away from him. He walks past the blond towards his room again with a muffled yawn of, "Sure."

            Minhyuk grins upon hearing the answer and follows Hyungwon's direction back to the other's room. When they've just about reached the door Kihyun's hushed voice from the living room brings Hyungwon to an abrupt stop causing Minhyuk to run into him.

            "What are you-"

            Hyungwon turns around and covers Minhyuk's mouth with his hand, "Shh. Listen." He feels Minhyuk frown behind his hand but Minhyuk doesn't say another word as he obliges.

            "I can bet you fifty bucks and a week of dishes duty that with the right push Hyungwon and Minhyuk will be dating in two weeks max." Kihyun sounds entirely too confident for his own good.

            Hyungwon and Minhyuk give each other a look which only translates to 'What the ?'

            "No way," Changkyun's whispering voice is lower and Minhyuk has to strain to hear the last of what he says, "They're going to take way longer than that. Fifty bucks and a week of dishes duty that they'll take a month at the least."

            "Deal." There's a definite glee in Kihyun's agreement. It's as though he already knows this is going to be an easy win for him.

            Hyungwon turns to Minhyuk, his sleepiness forgotten as his eyebrows furrowed in obvious confusion. He whispers, "…Minhyuk, did you ever tell everyone that we are dating? For the past three months?"

            Minhyuk mirrors Hyungwon's confusion, he blinks innocently, "…I thought you did."

            Before Hyungwon gets the chance to even in a breath to groan in exasperation the sound of the front door opens not even a second later. There's the general bustle of shoes being taken off and the rustle of bags before the footsteps begin padding into the living room to greet the two occupants on the couch while Hyungwon and Minhyuk continue to listen in.

            "We're back!" Jooheon yells into the open air while he lifts up two questionably stuffed plastic bags, "We got most of the stuff on the grocery list but then we ran out of money so we left out the vegetables and got the dessert instead. Wonho's idea, I just agreed."

            Shownu sighs quietly from the side. He already figured this was going to happen long before any of them bothered to count the cash they had on hand for the groceries.

            "Hey! Don't throw me under the bus!" Wonho whines as he grabs both bags out of Jooheon's hand and pouts at him for outing their decision making process despite still getting the ice cream flavor they specifically wanted.

            Kihyun steps up from the sofa to stop their bickering before it could progress any louder, "Shhh! Hyungwon is sleeping or whatever and Minhyuk just came out threatening our lives if we don't stay quiet."

            Jooheon and Wonho tilt their heads slightly in confusion but neither protest to Kihyun taking the groceries out of their hands. Shownu does ask what the other two are thinking though, "Why?"

            The three notice Kihyun roll his eyes before he walks away from them and Changkyun decides to answer as he follows Kihyun to the kitchen to help put away the groceries, "Because Hyungwon pulled an all-nighter and Minhyuk is trying to get into his pants."

            Having heard this from the hallway, Minhyuk opens his mouth in offense ready to verbally riot but Hyungwon clamps his hand down on Minhyuk's mouth tighter and holds him back from making any sort of ruckus that could give them away.

            Wonho snorts and situates himself at the countertop divider between the kitchen and the living room, "That's not new though. Haven’t they been playing the flirting game with each other ever since we met them?"

            "It's so obvious it's almost painful to watch," Jooheon adds on as he steps into the kitchen with Kihyun and Changkyun so he could pick at the strawberries Changkyun just unpacked near the sink.

            Shownu, on the other hand, joins them and actually lends a helping hand by passing Kihyun the melon bar ice creams to put into the freezer. "Where are they anyways?"

            "I think they're probably cuddling or some weird touchy feely , Minhyuk hasn't comeback to the living room to complain to us since he went to check on Hyungwon like twenty minutes ago. And that game they're playing with each other is about to end real soon though," Kihyun pokes his head out of the freezer to grin at everyone wickedly before he directs a pointed gaze at Changkyun, "More specifically in two weeks."

            The youngest glares back in return, "You wish. More like it's going to be at least a month."

            As the glaring contest starts sparks between Kihyun and Changkyun, Jooheon suddenly intervenes by bringing out his iconic time out sign with his hands, "Hold up, hold up." He shifts his gaze between Kihyun and Changkyun suspiciously, "I sense a bet has been made and bets are not allowed to be made in this dorm unless everyone who wants in gets in on it. So what's the what."

            Changkyun easily reveals the details, "We're betting on when Hyungwon and Minhyuk are going to get together. Fifty bucks each and a week off from dishes duty. Kihyun says two weeks. I say a month."

            Kihyun scans their other roommates' faces, "Who else wants in?"

            "Aw Kihyunnie you misjudged this one for sure," Wonho coos teasingly, "Have you seen Minhyuk following Hyungwon around the last few weeks? He's totally whipped. I want in on the bet, I say a week."

            "I think it's the other way around," Jooheon shakes his head and smirks as though he knows something the others don't, "Hyungwon doesn't tolerate a lot of annoying stuff but Minhyuk seems to be the only exception. Hyungwon is also emotionally constipated, he's gonna need an extra week to stew in his feels for Minhyuk before he admits to anything at all. A month would be overkill. Count me in too but I'm placing my bets on three weeks."

            The four turn towards Shownu in sync waiting for his reply. There's a wrinkle in the oldest's brows as he says, "…I thought they were already together?"

            Wonho shakes his head, "If they were I doubt things would be this quiet in the dorm."

            "Minhyuk hasn't been running around the dorm yelling it into our faces either," Changkyun points out.

            "So are you in or are you out?" Jooheon questions.

            "Count me out," Shownu shrugs nonchalantly, "I never win these things."

            Kihyun nods at Shownu before he turns to the other three, "Alright so that leaves the four of us. Fifty bucks each so that'd be a net gain of a hundred-fifty and three weeks off dish duty to whoever wins. Deal?"

            Wonho, Jooheon, and Changkyun grin in approval, "Deal!"

            Hyungwon and Minhyuk linger in the hallway for a little longer in case they might pick up on anymore details of their friends' bet but when the conversation starts to waver into things about dinner Hyungwon decides to just pull Minhyuk into his room. He closes the door as quietly as possible before he turns his attention back to his boyfriend, a scheming glint already flashing in his eyes, "You're thinking what I’m thinking right?"

            Minhyuk smiles impishly in return, "I believe so. They can't blame us when they're the ones being so nosy."

            Hyungwon hums in agreement, "They brought it upon themselves. If they were quiet in the first place and didn't disturb my sleep then they wouldn't be in this predicament. That hundred-fifty bucks is ours."

            "Ah, I love this sly side of you," Minhyuk's grin widens as he pulls Hyungwon back into the other's bed for, in Kihyun's words, 'cuddling or some weird touchy feely ' until they're called out of the room for dinner. "We’re definitely a perfect match."

            Hyungwon scoffs playfully, "Couldn't agree more."

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            Being the youngest in their circle of friends really isn't that bad because Changkyun can't deny that he isn't the most loved amongst his friends. However, being the most loved does have it's drawbacks like when his friends are always searching for him to do their bidding.

            Changkyun fidgets nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot as both Hyungwon and Minhyuk stare him down. They cornered him while he was leaving from his microbiology class by hooking both their arms into his as he was coming out the door and dragged him to the end of the nearly deserted hallway. Minhyuk looks downright devious and Hyungwon appears more alert than he's ever been, which honestly can't be a good sign for Changkyun on either accounts.

            "Changkyun~" Minhyuk calls his name sweetly. Dangerously.

            The youngest tries to wiggle out of the two's grasp again, "Yeah?"

            "We have a deal for you that you can't refuse," Hyungwon states.

            Changkyun stops struggling for a moment and looks between the two curiously, his interest is piqued. Hyungwon and Minhyuk seem to be smirking now that they have his full attention.

            "What deal?"

            The two finally let Changkyun go now that they're sure he won't make a run from them. Hyungwon throws a casual arm around Changkyun's shoulder, "A much better deal than that crappy one you agreed to with Kihyun, Wonho, and Jooheon."

            Horror flashes across Changkyun's face before he pales, "You both heard-"

            "Of course we did! But that's not the important point right now," waves off Minhyuk, "The important point here is that you all lost the bet."

            "All?!" Changkyun can't hide the shock as his voice goes up in volume. He breaks free from Hyungwon's arm slung across his shoulders and glares disbelievingly at both his friends. This wouldn’t be the first time they've tried to pull something like this either. "You're lying!" he points an accusing finger at the two, "You both were going out all this time and no one noticed!? How would that even be possible!?"

            The only blond of the trio opens his mouth to retaliate but stops abruptly.

            "Minhyuk," Hyungwon calls for his boyfriend's attention and just as expected Minhyuk turns his head towards him immediately. Without hesitation Hyungwon swoops down and easily kisses Minhyuk on the lips and then pulls back to leave another soft kiss on Minhyuk's pinkened cheek. Before he pulls away completely Minhyuk manages to catch his lips one last time in a fleeting peck which makes the both of them grin as they pull away. Hyungwon takes a second to enjoy the appearance of Minhyuk's blushed cheeks before he turns back towards a gaping Changkyun with a smug expression, "Is that enough proof for you? We've been dating for three months already."

            Changkyun closes his mouth, pauses, thinks about a million things he could possibly say and/or yell in this situation, opens it again, decides that whatever he's going to say really isn't worth it anymore, and states monotonously, "I'm gonna go hurl and cry over my loss of fifty bucks. Excuse me."

            "Oh no you don't," Minhyuk easily blocks Changkyun's way by stepping in front of him, "You didn't even hear out our deal yet. No one said anything about you losing your fifty bucks."

            "If anything you're getting a part of the jackpot," clarifies Hyungwon, "We're offering you a get out of the bet free card. You bet the longest amount of time so it'll be easier to make it believable once we reveal ourselves. It'd be too suspicious if we suddenly reveal that we 'got together' only a week in, Wonho isn't that good at convincing others. And three weeks is unfortunately too close to Kihyun's bet so Jooheon wasn't an option either."

            "What about Kihyun?"

            Hyungwon narrowed his eyes, "Over my comatose body would I let him win a bet he started."

            Changkyun doesn't even question the reasoning, he just nods in agreement, "Good point."

            "So here's the plan," explains Minhyuk, "You become our inside man for this bet. Keep an eye out for us and ward off any suspicions anyone has about us being together. We keep this up for about a month, you 'win' the bet and we spilt the money three ways. You have nothing to worry about we'll be as inconspicuous as possible."

            The plan surprisingly seems reasonable but then Changkyun remembers the second part of the bet, "What about the dishes part?"

            "Wonho, Kihyun, and Jooheon will each be taking a week from your dish duty so you'll just do ours instead that way we each get a week off," Hyungwon answers.

            Changkyun takes a moment to process the offer. Really, it's not a bad deal at all. It was actually a pretty decent deal given that Hyungwon and Minhyuk could actually not split the winnings with him at all and expose themselves so everyone could lose the bet. He makes up his mind.

            "Y'all are snakes," Changkyun says flatly.

            Minhyuk arches a brow questioningly, "You want to lose all your money and get no days off of dishes duty?"

            Changkyun shakes his head vigorously and raises his hands up in surrender, "I didn't say I wasn't going to be in on the plan. Snakes of a feather slither together."

            Hyungwon gives the youngest a look, "That's not how that saying goes…"

            "Snakes don't have feathers…" adds on Minhyuk unhelpfully.

            Changkyun stomps his foot defiantly, "You get the gist of what I'm trying to say! I'm in!"

            Hyungwon and Minhyuk share one of their knowing grins with each other before they extend their hands to Changkyun to shake on it. "Perfect. It's a deal."

            In that split moment of agreed camaraderie, Changkyun truly believes he's made one of the best decisions of the semester because anything is better than losing his hard earned money. He's sure their friends won't have any hard feelings leftover so long as they don't find out the truth. It'll be easy.

            When they get back to the dorm that evening after their classes and a bit more scheming, there's only Shownu occupying the living room watching one of the soccer games as he lays back on their long sofa.

            Shownu looks up towards the door and greets the three with a quick, "Welcome back."

            They mutter their own greetings as Changkyun walks past the living room to the kitchen to look for any leftovers Kihyun may have wrapped up from the night before. But upon opening the fridge to nothing but a half drunken bottle of banana milk, the box of gochujang paste, and several stacked unopened containers of soft tofu, Changkyun decides he'll forgo eating until Kihyun returns from class. He shuts the fridge with slight disappointment and turns to head back into the living room. Unfortunately he doesn't get far as he stops and freezes at the sight he sees across their kitchen divider. Hyungwon and Minhyuk decided to join Shownu in watching the game but instead of asking Shownu to sit up so there's more room for one of them to share the sofa with him. Both, Hyungwon and Minhyuk, apparently thought it was a better idea to share their single seat recliner together with Minhyuk shamelessly taking his seat on Hyungwon's lap. The blond was even playing with the back of Hyungwon's hair absentmindedly as they watched and asked for a catch up of the game. They look almost domestically cozy.

            Changkyun chokes on his spit. What the do they think they're doing!? What the hell happened to 'being as inconspicuous as possible'!? Changkyun starts flailing his arms wildly at them in hopes to catch either of their attention before Shownu chances a glance in their direction but luck doesn’t seem to be on his side.

            Shownu shifts on the sofa so that he can sit up and takes notice of the way Hyungwon and Minhyuk are seemingly comfortably seated. He stares at the two on the recliner, his face doesn't betray much emotion but there's a definite curiosity when a commercial break pops up on the screen and he asks straightforwardly, "I'm just curious to know but you guys aren't together-together are you?"

            "Nope," reply Hyungwon and Minhyuk in unison a little too quickly without looking directly at the oldest and then instantaneously adding with pointing fingers at each other, "He's the last person I'd ever consider dating."

            Changkyun has to force himself to swallow back a scream of frustration.

            Shownu looks entirely unconvinced but doesn't push the point any further instead he says a simple, "Right."

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            "Minhyuk is really cute. Super cute. Adorable, really."

            Hyungwon tries his best to ignore Wonho in favor of taking down the last of the psychology notes on the presentation slide. He should have known it was a bad idea to schedule his classes based on whether or not his friends would be with him. But then again when he wants to skip, which is often, Wonho is always a reliable source for what he's missed.

            "Minhyuk is also considerate and kind. Remember that time when we got sick and he just dropped everything to take care of all of us?"

            Except now. Wonho isn't being reliable whatsoever and won't shut up. They're both sitting in the back of the lecture hall but Hyungwon has already seen a few students in the rows ahead of them turn around to shoot them annoyed glares.

            "Because he was the one that got us sick," counters Hyungwon with a hiss. He grimaces as he clearly remembers their last winter break, "Minhyuk was the first to get a cold and then he chose to cuddle with everyone spreading his nasty sickly germs everywhere."

            Wonho's convincing smile falters with a slight twitch. He forgot about that slight important detail. Everyone was bedridden until the new semester started thanks to the blond. "…Minhyuk also brings us snacks and reminds us to eat. That's pretty thoughtful of him."

            "Wonho…" Hyungwon sighs exasperatedly as he glares at the previous sentence he wrote in his notes. The entire line was everything Wonho just said word for word. Listening to your friend while writing anything at the same time is really the worst combination of activities. "Nine out of ten times the snacks Minhyuk brings to 'share' are either your own snacks or someone else's snacks and he just wants some or doesn't want to get yelled at by himself for eating what doesn't belong to him." Hyungwon starts erasing what he wrote and recopies the correct notes, "And when Minhyuk reminds us to go eat that's usually Minhyuk wanting a free meal because he's hungry too."

            There's a short pause where Wonho opens and closes his mouth a few times trying to find a counter for what Hyungwon said but he comes up dry. Which means he's got nothing left to lose, pride and dignity included, other than his money for the bet of course