The next day Hanbin kicked Jiwon out of their apartment, threatening to make him sleep on the couch if he came back before Hanbin gave him permission. 

“But you’re injured!” Jiwon protested, hanging onto their bedroom door. Hanbin shot him a flat look.

“And whose fault is that?” Jiwon winced, slumping down.

“I want to take care of you though…” He pouted, Hanbin softening reluctantly.

“It’s all part of my plan, Jiwon-ie,” Hanbin revealed to him. “I promise I’ll call you the moment I need you, okay?”

Jiwon sighed, nodding in defeat before trekking out their apartment to hang out with the rest of the group.

Hanbin took out his phone and texted Donghyuk.

 

 

Hanbin: Come over.

Donghyuk: Why?

Hanbin: I’m injured and in need of your care.

Donghyuk: Why can’t Jiwon do it?

Hanbin: He has obligations. Hurry up.

Donghyuk: :/ fine

 

 

Hanbin rolled his eyes. Now, with Donghyuk on the way, he just needed to get Junhoe over as well.

He opened up his chat with Junhoe.

 

 

Hanbin: I’m injured and in need of your care.

Junhoe: No.

Hanbin: Come over.

Junhoe: Not if you were in on it.

Hanbin: I’ve been bedridden since yesterday.

Junhoe: …I’m coming over to tell you so that you can punish the group of idiots.

Hanbin: That sounds fun.

Junhoe: It’s not. Coming now.

 

 

“Heh,” Hanbin smirked, amused at how well his plan was going. “This is why I should’ve done it myself,” he mused out loud.

The doorbell rung and he called out, wincing as his sore throat ached. “Come in!” He heard the door open and Donghyuk’s footsteps echo through the apartment, light and quick.

Donghyuk appeared in Hanbin’s doorway looking concerned. “Your voice sounds terrible,” he commented, walking closer to Hanbin, “what happened?”

“Jiwon happened.” Hanbin answered, watching in amusement as the younger turned white.

“Okay, that’s all I need to hear,” Donghyuk squeaked out before clearing his throat. “What’d you need me to do?”

“I have leftover soup in the fridge, but as you can see,” he gestured towards himself, “I can’t exactly move right now and Bobby left quickly so I haven’t eaten yet.”

Donghyuk looked indignant, “I can’t believe he didn’t feed you first!” Hanbin inwardly apologized to his boyfriend for throwing him under the bus, but nodded at Donghyuk, pouting for show.

“I know, right? I’ve been really hungry, but I can’t manage solid foods right now. Hurts my throat too much.”

“Don’t talk so much,” Donghyuk fretted, “It’ll take longer to heal that way.”

Hanbin hummed and smiled as the younger scurried off to the kitchen to heat up soup.

 

-

 

Donghyuk sat on the bed and watched Hanbin eat every last drop of the soup, nodding in satisfaction and putting the empty bowl on the nightstand.

“Do you need anything else?” He asked earnestly, expression the very face of concern.

Hanbin opened his mouth to reply when the doorbell rang again, interrupting them. Donghyuk was about to get up when Hanbin placed a hand on his arm, tugging him back down.

“Come in!” He called out, grinning sheepishly as Donghyuk glared at him for using his voice so loudly.

Junhoe entered the apartment noisily, complaining as he walked towards Hanbin’s room. “I can’t believe those idiots yesterday,” he was ranting, voice growing louder as he came nearer.

“Did you know what they did? They-,” he stopped abruptly as he stared wide-eyed at Donghyuk. Donghyuk had frozen the moment he heard Junhoe’s voice and Hanbin kept a tight grip on him to keep him from bolting.

“Oh,” Junhoe said, voice small. Then he turned to Hanbin, betrayal in his eyes, “So you did know what they did yesterday!”

“I never said I didn’t,” Hanbin replied calmly, watching Junhoe turn red.

“I’m leaving,” the tallest announced, turning around to run away. He stopped when Hanbin spoke up.

“Jiwon’s coming back at 7 and right now it is,” Hanbin checked the time, “1 in the afternoon. I told him you guys offered to take care of me, and if I accidentally let it slip that you both left me alone for 6 hours, helpless and unable to move…” He let his sentence trail off and the duo flinched.

It was common knowledge in the group that Jiwon was ridiculously strong, being a exercise-freak, and while he usually wouldn’t use his strength, if it was for Hanbin, who he was extremely protective of… Well, let’s just say there would be no hesitation. At all.

Of course, Jiwon was only coming back when Hanbin told him to and he wouldn’t actually do anything to them since he knew it was a part of Hanbin’s plan, but the two didn’t need to know those little facts.

They both slumped, Donghyuk stopping his attempts to tug his arm out of Hanbin’s grip and Junhoe slinking into the room.

“Why’d you want us both here, Hanbin?” Donghyuk asked in defeat, avoiding Junhoe’s eyes as he looked down at the bed.

“To talk about how our group of fools messed up,” Hanbin laid out bluntly.

“Messed up…?” Donghyuk looked confused, which was understandable since he was the only one who still had no clue what was going on.

Junhoe scowled, crossing his arms in annoyance. “Yeah,” he grumbled to Donghyuk, softening when he looked at the older. “Jinhwan and I aren’t dating,” he confessed to Donghyuk, “we’re cousins.”

Donghyuk’s eyes widened and he flushed horribly while remembering his actions yesterday. “Oh,” he squeaked, “I’m so sorry for overreacting and not listening to your explanation!”

Junhoe hurried to reassure him, “No, it’s fine! Really! Jinhwan was the one acting like we were a couple!”

“But why would he do that?” Donghyuk cocked his head and Hanbin watched in amusement as Junhoe started stuttering through excuses.

“H-he just likes messing with people,” Junhoe explained nervously, turning a quick glare towards Hanbin when he snorted.

The shortest in the room nodded, convinced. “Jinan does have that kind of personality,” he agreed softly, letting out a laugh while Junhoe sent him a lovesick glance at the sound.

Hanbin looked up and prayed for patience. He finally settled on a new plan, one they probably should have done in the beginning.

“Okay,” he spoke suddenly, startling the duo, “I’m done with this.”

He pointed at Junhoe and said bluntly, “Junhoe has a big, fat crush on you, Donghyuk, and I’m through with watching him nut whenever you smile at him.”

Junhoe made an aborted motion towards Hanbin, his hands twitching like they wanted to strangle him, only the knowledge of Jiwon’s retribution stopping him. Donghyuk started coughing, a red flush creeping up his neck.

“And Donghyuk,” Hanbin continued, turning his finger towards the younger, “has a huge crush on you, Junhoe, and frankly I’m disturbed watching the sweetheart of the group nut when you look at him.”

“Hanbin!” They both cried out at the same time, reaching for him and begging him to stop.

“Just get together!” Hanbin replied back, slapping away their hands. “Do you not want to date or something?!”

“Of course I want to!” Junhoe shouted unthinkingly, falling silent as Donghyuk stared at him shyly.

“I-I mean, only if you want to,” the tallest mumbled quietly, face as red as a ripe strawberry.

“I do,” Donghyuk replied back just as shyly, the duo awkwardly exchanging flustered stares.

Hanbin stared at them unimpressed and inwardly thanked God him and Jiwon weren’t this much of a mess when they got together.

“Alright, you two,” he interjected, tired of the dense atmosphere of UST, “go on a date and stop suffocating me with your tension.”

They both jerked, having forgotten him. “You want to go to the café?” Junhoe asked Donghyuk.

He nodded, a smile blooming on his face as his eyes crinkled in happiness. Junhoe promptly exploded internally from the cuteness and was snapped back into reality by Hanbin digging his blanket-covered foot into his side.

“Go!” He commanded them, the duo scrambling up from the bed and almost out of the door when they paused, looking back at their bedridden friend.

“But what about you?”

Hanbin snorted, “You really think Jiwon would’ve willingly left me alone without me having to force him to go?”

“You tricked us?!” Junhoe cried out and Hanbin sent him a flat look.

“Just go on your date, damnit. I didn’t send my loving boyfriend away for you guys to be loitering around my apartment!”

They huffed and puffed for a little bit more before finally leaving when it seemed Hanbin was about to throw his very heavy textbook at them, sending him grateful looks as they closed the door.

Blessed silence filled the apartment and Hanbin sighed, relaxing into his bed as he sent Jiwon a text to come home.

“I’m so good at this,” he said to himself smugly.

 

-

 

The next day had everyone gathered at their apartment, again.

Hanbin could finally walk and marched them to the living room, putting the new couple in the center of the couch and making everyone, even Jiwon, sit on the wooden floor as punishment while he joined the couple on the soft, comfortable couch.

“We have news,” Donghyuk announced, looking at Junhoe and smiling while linking their fingers together.

Seungyoon immediately caught the gestured and gasped. He pointed at their hands and the rest of the group caught on, exploding into a flurry of congratulations.

”We’re finally free from Jundong’s unsolved !” Yunhyeong cried out triumphantly, throwing his hands up in the air as Minho copied him.

Seunghoon interrupted their joy with a pointed look, “But first, we have something to apologize for, remember?”

The cheering boys settled down, looking sheepishly guilty. “I’m sorry for taking it too far,” Jinhwan said to the couple, apologetic look paired with his sweet face, making Junhoe and Donghyuk melt.

“It’s fine, Jinan,” Junhoe replied, Donghyuk nodding along. “You guys were just trying to help out in your own way. Though it ended really badly.”

Hanbin cut in, “And ended with me having to fix it, so what do you guys say?”

“Thank you, Hanbin.” They chorused in unison, bowing to him. He huffed in satisfaction and smirked.

“You’re welcome.”

He really should just do plans on his own from now on, Hanbin mused to himself.

Well, at least it all worked out in the end.