Sunlight streamed through the windshield as the morning rain clouds parted. Minho scrunched up his nose as a sneeze threatened to surface. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he fumbled around for his sunglasses. A horn beeped from somewhere behind him, and Minho looked up to find the light had changed. He adjusted his glasses as he accelerated.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

Minho glanced over at his duffle bag in the passenger seat. It was probably just one of the other members texting him about their schedules. Minho sighed. He was glad that he had been able to squeeze in a workout this morning before they started planning their comeback.

Well, he was almost home – he’d check it then.

He clicked on his turn signal and turned off the main road. His condo was in sight now. Once he was parked in the garage, Minho dug around in his duffle bag until he found his phone, tapping his screen to check his messages.

“Oh, Kibummie.”

My lovely Kibum

9:46 am // hey

9:46 am // you forgot your shoes here last night

Minho smirked, grabbing his bag’s handles and closing his car door with his hip, and texted Kibum back with one hand.

9:52 am // oh _(._.)_ sorry about that

He dropped his duffle bag on the floor by the door.

My lovely Kibum

9:53 am // not a problem

9:53 am // have you eaten yet?

9:54 am // doesn’t matter I’m coming over with breakfast

9:54 am // okay thanks. I’m gonna go shower. Just let yourself in with your key

Minho watched his screen for a second, waiting to see if Kibum would reply. When he did not, he pulled off his sweatshirt and tossed it into the hamper in his closet. He hummed to himself as he picked out a fresh change of clothes.

“Rookie, rookie, my super rookie rookie rookie,” he sang quietly as he grabbed his charger and headed to his bathroom. “It’s a Red Velvet kind of day…” he said as he turned the water on. Minho opened his music player and scrolled through his many playlists until he found them. He hit shuffle, and Stupid Cupid started to play.

- - -

“Yeah, can I get a medium iced latte and–”

“What flavor?”

Kibum squinted, glancing over at his phone to see if Minho had texted him back. Not yet. He was probably still showering. “Uh, caramel. And then can I get a mocha macchiato?”

“Iced?”

“No.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Um…” Kibum scanned the Starbucks menu and adjusted his foot on the brake. He knew what he wanted, and Minho would eat anything…well, just about anything. “Two of the sausage and egg sandwiches. Please.” There was a second of static before he added, “That’s all.”

“That will be ₩ 20,000 at the next window.”

“Thanks,” Kibum said, releasing the break and pulling up behind the car ahead of him. He turned up the radio, tuning out the DJ’s rambling as Comme Des leaned forward and nuzzled his hand. Smiling, Kibum scratched behind his ear and glanced over at Garçons. The black poodle was watching what looked like a squirrel climb the tree at the far side of the parking lot.

The brake lights on the car ahead of him went off and he looked up as it pulled away from the window. A soft beat streamed through the speakers, followed by Joy’s sweet voice singing, “The dark night passes and the bright early morning wakes you from your sleep.” He checked his reflection in the mirror, adjusting his sunglasses and face mask before pulling up to the window.

“₩ 20,000?” the cashier said, holding out her hand for his card.

He pushed a curious Garçons’ nose out of his bag as he dug around for his wallet. Once he passed it to her, he sat back in his seat and glanced back at the rearview mirror, arranging the fringe sticking out of his backward snapback. Comme Des yipped when the cashier’s hand reappeared in the car window, returning his card back to him and following it swiftly with his and Minho’s drinks.

“Your food is almost ready, K…sir.”

The window closed with a quiet swish and the cashier pull one of the other employees over to her to whisper in her ear…of course…he’d been recognized. The Kim Kibum on the card plus the fact that he had his puppies with him – they were practically as famous as he was, what with how often they were featured on his Instagram. Kibum sighed, sticking his card back into his wallet, and pet Comme Des when he yipped again.

“Sorry for the wait, sir,” the cashier said in a rush, ing his bag of food toward him. He took it with a smile that he forgot was hidden by his face mask. She then passed him a receipt and a pen. “Um, we need your signature for the card transaction.” Kibum stared at her for a few seconds. “It’s a new policy.”

Kibum almost laughed out loud. Instead, he took the receipt and pen, signing it with his much-practiced autograph. “Have a nice day,” he said before driving off.

Minho’s condo was not far from Starbucks – just two lefts and a right – and he was soon in the driveway, looking around for the garage door opener Minho gave him for emergency purposes. It was clipped to the passenger’s sun visor. Once parked inside, he closed the door before opening his car door and letting the puppies run free. They ran straight for the door leading inside and sat on the top step, their tails wagging. They waited for Kibum to discard his glasses and face mask and gather his and Minho’s breakfast.

“Honey, I’m ho – “ Kibum started to say as he toed off his shoes, but was greeted instead by a loud cry coming from the bathroom. “Min?” He dropped the drinks, food, and his keys onto the kitchen counter and rushed to the closed bathroom door, fully ready to break down the door…until he heard Minho attempting to whistle along to the chorus of Red Velvet’s Zoo.

“Oh…my god.” Kibum covered his mouth to keep from laughing too hard and alerting Minho to his presence. He glanced back at the door, chuckling, “What an idiot.” He returned to the kitchen then, grabbing their drinks and food and heading over to the couch, his puppies on his heels.

Dumb Dumb started playing, muffled by the distance and the closed door. Kibum snorted, staring at the hallway as he listened to Minho sing – and, knowing Minho, dance – along to the song. The dancing was confirmed when Kibum heard what he assumed was a shampoo bottle clatter to the base of the bathtub.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

Kibum chuckled again, reaching for his phone in his pocket. He took a sip as he read the text from Jinki.

Fearless Leader

10:02 am // Change of plans, we’re meeting at Jonghyun’s place.

10:02 am // All right, thanks

10:02 am // I’m at Minho’s right now

10:03 am // He’s still showering, but we’ll be there soon

He tapped his phone on his knee and took a sip of his rapidly cooling coffee, glancing down at the screen when Jinki texted back.

Fearless Leader

10:05 am // No rush. Taemin has yet to respond

Kibum smirked, looking up when the song changed from Dumb Dumb to Happiness.

10:05 am // Lol

10:05 am // Good luck with that

He took a drink of his macchiato before setting it on the coffee table along with his phone. He shuffled back to the bathroom door, knocking on it with a loud, “Hey!”

Something dropped in the shower and the music suddenly stopped. “Kibummie?”

“Yeah. How much longer are you going to be? Jinki just texted me.”

The water turned off and the shower curtain opened. “Are we late?”

“No.” Minho breathed a sigh of relief. “But do hurry. Your food is getting cold.”

“Oh, right. Give me a second.”

- - -

“Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb!”

Minho grinned, bobbing his head along with the music as he adjusted the temperature of the water. Grabbing his bottle of conditioner, he started singing along as he worked it into his hair. “…but I still don’t know what to do with you. Baby baby – ow – “ he winced, his hand hitting the showerhead when he started doing the choreography. “You play me play m – whoops – “ he moved out of the way of the sliding shampoo bottle.

He picked the bottle up and replaced it on the shelf in the tub before going back to massaging the conditioner into his hair. “Hmm hmm crazy crazy crazy crazy crazy!” Humming along, he started washing out the conditioner. Dumb Dumb finished just as he was about to turn off the water…but then…

“Sometimes you’ve got to be bold…just rock the world!”

“Boo-yah!” Minho said along with Red Velvet. He reached for his back scrubber, pretending it was a microphone. “Happiness!”

He really should get out of the shower…Kibum would be there soon and he still had to get ready for practice. But, Minho thought as he sang, “Happy things, great things! The world is full of them,” he liked the way his voice sounded when he sang in the shower. It always sounded richer and fuller in here. Plus, if he did happen to stumble vocally, there was no one around to make fun of him. Which, if he was being honest, was his favorite part about singing in the shower.

“I just do what I want to do. Don’t worry ab – “A knock at the bathroom door surprised him, and he dropped the back scrubber as he stopped singing.

“Hey!”

He scrambled to turn off the music on his phone, glancing toward the door. “Kibummie?” he asked, his voice quieted by the whirring fan.

“Yeah. How much longer are you gonna be? Jinki just texted me.”

Minho dropped his phone back onto the counter and went to the other side of the shower, opening the curtain and grabbing his towel. “Are we late?” He started drying off his hair as he waited for Kibum’s response.

“No.” Minho sighed, toweling his torso dry. “But do hurry. Your food is getting cold.”

“Oh right.” He had forgotten that Kibum was bringing him breakfast. “Give me a second.” Minho finished drying off and glanced around the bathroom for his change of clothes. “Ah…” He left them on his bed. Sighing again, he wrapped the towel around his waist and held it together with one hand before opening the bathroom door.

“Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb!”

Minho blinked in surprise, looking to Kibum who was sitting cross-legged on his couch. He held his phone up and grinned, turning up the volume a little bit more as Dumb Dumb continued to play. Minho covered his reddening face with his free arm, biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing – whether from amusement or embarrassment, he was not sure.

Kibum laughed for him, doubling over when Minho started dancing along as best he could. A series of abrupt snap snap snaps interrupted the song and Minho stopped dancing. His eyes widened. “Don’t post those!”

Kibum stopped playing the song, and lowered his phone to his lap, his eye smile softening a fraction when he looked back at Minho. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Minho huffed with a nod. “I’ll be right back,” he said before heading into his bedroom and swinging the door mostly shut. Garçons found his way inside by the time Minho was pulling on his t-shirt. “Hey, buddy.” He scooped up the poodle, his tail wagging against his arm as he his face. Minho transferred him to his lap when he joined Kibum on the couch.

“So,” Kibum passed Minho his coffee, “I didn’t know that Red Velvet got a new member. Congratulations.”

Minho slapped Kibum’s shoulder, laughing, “Shut up!”

“No, really! It must be an honor to work with a company as…prestigious as SM Entertainment.”

Minho glanced over at Kibum, snorting when he rolled his eyes. “Okay but…how long were you here?”

“Long enough.” Minho pursed his lips before taking a sip of his coffee. Kibum cupped his hands around his mouth and did a loud Tarzan yell. Iced coffee almost came out of Minho’s nose. He sputtered and tried to comfort Garçons who had been startled by the sudden noise. Kibum kept laughed and leaned his head on Minho’s when he buried his face in his shoulder. “It was cute.”

“Please don’t tell the others.” It was embarrassing enough that Kibum heard him, and he was his best friend… “I – “

Kibum lifted his head from Minho’s, his voice smiling when he said, “I promise. I won’t.” Minho sighed and took a deep breath before lifting his head up again. Kibum patted Minho’s leg as he took a drink of his coffee. “We should get going. I’ll drive.”

“Okay.” Minho looked down at Garçons in his lap. “Are we taking the puppies?”

“Yeah, they can play with Roo while we plan.”

“Okay.” He scooped Garçons into his arms, the poodle making himself comfortable by nuzzling into Minho’s neck. He smiled down at the puppy before looking back at Kibum, who was watching the two with a soft smile.

Minho's eyes widened when Kibum cleared his throat and looked away, pocketing his phone. “All right, let’s go.”