Finally done, which means this story is offically over! They're pretty short, and the last one is semi-crackish I guess, but they're finally done! Sorry for the ridiculously long wait, but school is killer and I've been swamped with assingments. Once again, thank you all so much for reading!!

Jooheon Joins the Betting Pool

“So…”

There was an uneasiness present in the air around them that they could all clearly feel. It had been ten minutes since anyone had said anything, and fifteen minutes since their leader had entered the Safe House and then proceeded to climb up the scaffolding outside in order to be alone and ‘think’. The fact that he had come back alone after having gone to pick up Wonho from prison, without said troublesome male or the female he had taken with him on the errand, did not go unnoticed by any of them. However, when they had tried to ask, the only response they received from Shownu was that they were both ‘out’ and would be back later- hopefully. When later was, he didn’t say, and they had the sneaking suspicion that even he didn’t know when they would return.

“Wonho’s missing. Daeun-ah’s missing.”

“What are you trying to get at now, Hyung?” the Maknae heaved a loud sigh. Sometimes, he swore that he was, ironically enough, the only mature one in their group, aside from Shownu, of course, and sometimes Kihyun. And then other times, he’d just shake his head as even Kihyun joined in on the childish antics of the others. Like right now, for example.

“I’m just saying, it’s suspicious is all,” Hyungwon shrugs. The innocent expression on his face doesn’t fool anybody though; Hyungwon couldn’t fake innocence to save his life. “Be prepared to pay up,” he taunts.

“They’ll be such a cute couple,” Kihyun grins, nearly fangirling. If the others hadn’t already accepted the fact that he was hopeless romantic that often went into bouts of dreamy admiration like this, it would have been weird. Unfortunately, Jooheon wasn’t yet aware of this fact, still being new and all, and so he shot the dark-haired boy strange looks from his spot sprawled out on the couch, which he was restricted to until he recovered enough to move around without being in any major pain.

“What the hell are you guys talking about?” he grunted with his signature scowl on his face.

“They want to set Daeunnie up with Wonho,” Minhyuk muttered from his own spot laying on the floor, pouting childishly. “Even though Shownu Hyung already Marked her,” he grumbled. “And Daeunnie’s too good for that jerk anyway.”

“Well, I don’t disagree with you there,” Jooheon flashed an arrogant grin, “but I don’t think Shownu really has much of a chance either.”

“That makes three against two,” Hyungwon commented smugly.

“I’m still not sure that we should be betting on Noona’s love life,” I.M frowned, causing Hyungwon to roll his eyes.

“Stop being such a kiss up,” he scoffed. “You already placed your bet; there’s no take-backs.” Then he turned to Jooheon with one brow raised expectantly. “How much?”

“Oh, I’m not betting,” Jooheon denied nonchalantly, a sly smirk spreading across his face. “However, I will be getting paid. That is, if you don’t want me to sink your ship before it ever really sets sail.”

“Excuse me?” Hyungwon was not impressed. At that moment, all eyes were on the injured boy that had joined their group late, anticipating his answer and explanation. It was amazing how far he had come so quickly, opening up to them when he had been so closed off and defensive before.

“Personally,” Jooheon shrugged, wincing a little afterwards, though he kept his expression carefully blank and faintly smug, “I think Nam and I make a much better match, but I’m willing to overlook this fact if you give me a little incentive to. If not, well, then I might just end up stealing her away.”

Silence.

He couldn’t be serious, right?

“How much?” Hyungwon repeated with a heavy sigh, defeated. He wasn’t willing to call the other boy’s bluff- and for good reason too, because it wasn’t a bluff at all. Not completely. Jooheon did like Daeun- a lot. But even if he didn’t like Wonho, he could still see how perfect the two were for each other. They were his saviors after all, a pair, and so he would leave them be; however, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t profit off of his feelings on the side or that he wouldn’t be waiting for the stupid bastard to make a mistake one day- he was sure that Daeun would be more than willing to cheer him on as he beat the older boy’s should that ever be the case.

“Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully, a devious smile on his face. “Why don’t you tell me how much you think this is worth, huh, Ice Sickle?”

And that was how their newest member came to join their preexisting betting pool. Kind of. In the end, he was the one that made the most money off the affair.

Ä

Tagging with Boyfriend

“I don’t know why, but for some reason, I thought this’d be more fun.”

“Wow. Thanks for just completely dismissing my entire livelihood. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind the next time I go for a morning jog and think of your sorry excuse for a career,” Minwoo groused, mumbling lowly underneath his breath. Daeun smacked him lightly in response, frowning as he made fun of her lifestyle as a Runner. However, after her comment, she guessed that she did deserve it a little. It’s just that when he had invited her to go tagging with him and his friends, finally giving her a chance to meet the rest of his Crew outside of the twins, she had pictured something a lot more exciting and a little more rebellious than hiding underneath a bridge and listening to them debate which children’s book fairytale would make a better mural on the concrete walls in the pathetically small tunnel the bridge created. As riveting as the conversation was, she felt like she was going to lose it if she had to hear the Jeongmin and Hyunseong continue bickering about whether Alice in Wonderland or Little Red Riding Hood had more depth as a story and better artistic merit. And of course, how could she forget the gentle leader of the group, Donghyun, that was silently pouting in the corner because he wanted to paint Peter Pan and nobody else agreed with him? It was like they were all children- and that was saying something considering the people she usually hung out with and the Flight she belonged to.

Overall though, she liked them. The twins were, well, the twins, and they were just the same troublemaking, adorable friends she remembered from high school. Jeongmin had to be one of the cutest people she had ever seen, but his sass was unbelievable, which meant that she instantly got along with him. He was headstrong though, and a bit of a diva, but it wasn’t really any different than dealing with a cuter, tamer version of Hyungwon, so she liked him. Donghyun reminded her of Shownu a lot too. He was the oldest, responsible, gentle, a tad bit awkward, and said the occasional wise piece of advice. It was clear that he obviously loved s and looked after his dogsaengs well. It was also clear that he shared Shownu’s tendency to stay quiet for the most part, make bad old-school dad jokes, and occasionally pout in rare moments of immaturity when upset. Then there was Shim Hyunseong.

“Um, this is really awkward -don’t get me wrong! I’m flattered and all- but, I’ve never met you before, so why is my name on your wrist?”

Bless the poor, shy, awkward soul. The irony of the coincidence was not lost on any of them, and Daeun was just thankful that Wonho hadn’t tagged along on their ‘best friend bonding experience’ like he had originally insisted, or else the, admittedly very fit and attractive, older graffiti Artist might not be around anymore. Of course, Daeun found the situation amusing, but she knew that this was not a story that she was going to be telling her boyfriend later. He already got weird enough when she was hanging out with just Minwoo, let alone Minwoo and five other guys, one of which just so happened to have the same initials as him. It sparked an odd friendship between her and the other boy almost immediately and set the tone for the rest of their interactions. Despite the fact that the misunderstanding had already been cleared up, Daeun took a liking to playfully teasing and flirting with the quieter boy just to see his embarrassing reactions. Of course, that backfired once he became more comfortable with her throughout the day and he started messing with her back. Seriously, Wonho was never to find out about any of this; she would take it to the grave with her.

“What do you think, Daeunnie?” Jeongmin suddenly whirled around, taking a break from his argument that was going nowhere in order to ask for her opinion. The question effectively broke the girl from her musings and she froze with everyone’s eyes on her. The fluffy haired brunette bounced over to her side, tugging lightly on her arm much as Minhyuk usually did, giving her the same adorable puppy dog eyes as her hyperactive group mate would have as well in an attempt to appeal to her. “You think that Alice in Wonderland is a better concept too, right?”

“Hey,” Hyunseong protested lightly, blinking, “hands of my fangirl. Obviously, she’s going to side with me.” He frowned faintly at the older but shorter male attached to her side. ‘Fangirl’ had be