When you woke up, you felt unusually cold. In fact, it was freezing. But that sensation was nothing compared to the major pain contained in your brain. As your eyes opened in slits, you became aware of the strange room.

Groaning, you pulled yourself up and there were five guys sprawled on the floor while you got the king size bed to yourself. While blinking your eyes, it became clear that it was still early morning and the AC was on blast. Figuring that it had to do with avoiding overheating involving the bodies on the floor, you let gravity pull you back down on the bed and tried to resume your rest but whoever was lying at the foot of the bed kicked the bed post. That must have been what jerked you from your slumber. It figures, you darkly thought, that you couldn’t end the day peacefully after a good night’s fun.

You sighed before trying to force yourself to ignore it and barely succeeded before he kicked it again. Well fine, if he didn’t want you to sleep then you’ll curse him and his future grandchildren.

Ten minutes later and he was still kicking the bed sporadically at random intervals. Groaning again, you shifted down the end of the bed while rolled into the sheets like a weird squirming worm.

And of course it was Taekwoon. Knowing him, he was probably dreaming of a game or something. You rolled yourself back into your original position and got comfortable enough to be on the cusp of sleep when he abruptly sat up. It wasn’t as if you were eyeing where he was sleeping but the clock was just above the dresser where he was sleeping and the numbers were getting blurry as you were about to leap back into unconsciousness when he did awake.

You were given little choice but to pretend to sleep. You heard some rustling and then a door closing behind him.

He didn’t come back.

When you awoke again after falling asleep from waiting for him, you were not completely positive it was all real. There was now two bodies still on the floor and one of them was on his phone. Eunkwang smiled up at you from his position reclined on the carpeted floor when he noticed your open eyes. “Morning Mikyung.” You gave him a sleepy nod. “Ken and Minhyuk went out to get us something to eat but they should be back any minute. Ken left that for you,” he nodded to two pills and a glass of water waiting for you on the desk next to the bed.

Nodding again, you fought back a yawn just as your phone vibrated once with a message notification. Most likely Jimri replying to a drunken text or something.

You were almost right. You had sent a very blurry and very drunken selfie of yourself and the boys. In fact, there were thirteen missed calls in the past hour alone and the vibrating had played more as an aid in your sleeping than its usual purpose in waking.

Sighing and without a thought to the boys on the floor, you called her. She immediately answered “Choi Mikyung.” That was it. Just your name in that tone.

“Hm?” you answered nonchalantly.

“Don’t you ‘hm’ me, Choi Mikyung. Why the hell did you not tell me you were going to drink last night?” she demanded.

You made sure she heard you sigh. “I didn’t know.”

“Until it was too late?” she finished what you meant to say. “Damn those jerks,” she cursed. “I won’t tell you,” her voice turned muffled since she must have covered the phone as she answered Yoohyuk’s inquiries. “Then, where are you now? You already told me that you weren’t going to tell any of them where you lived so whose place did you crash at? And don’t you say it’s Lee Minhyuk or Lee Jaehwan. Or heaven’s forbid His place.”

Unable to answer her, you frowned. Your eyes met Eunkwang who was just about to leave the room to give you privacy. Since Jimri wasn’t trying to stay quiet, he had heard. He pointed at the prone figure still on the floor before slipping out of the room. “Hakyeon’s.” You answered with a fond smile as you witnessed him let out a huge snore.

“Thank god,” and she really did sound grateful. “When are you leaving? Do you want me to help you home? Tell me the address and I’ll leave right now.”

You closed your eyes, “Don’t know.”

“Mikyungie,” she whined before switching gears. “Why didn’t you send a video or something? I can barely make out anything in the picture.”

“Hmph.”

“What? I know how you get when you’re drunk enough to actually take a picture of something, much less a group selfie. I need to know what happened.”

You scowled but answered, “You’ll have to ask Eunkwangie or the other guy.” You then mumbled the usual obscenities regarding your dreaded enemy Annoying Boy.

“Minhyuk was your DD?!”

“Eunkwangie too.” You thought it best to add him.

“You got Take-A-Group-Selfie-Drunk-Enough with that predator as your DD!?”

With a heavy sigh, you cursed yourself for your carelessness. In fact, you also cursed your sloppiness, vulnerability and inability to say no to the way N and Ken tag teamed you last night. You should have listened to your inner Jimri and made a quick exit as soon as dinner was over even if you had to sneak off. But N and Ken were there and you didn’t want to run off on them like that. You figured you still owed them a whole lot more to spend time with them any chance you got. Knowing you had to answer Jimri, you shrugged even if she couldn’t see you.

“Don’t you shrug this away as if it doesn’t mean anything.” She deadpanned and you made a face. “Mikyungie,” she whined again.

“I don’t know the address,” you gave in.

“Of course you don’t. You were Take-A-Group-Selfie-Enough-Drunk to remember where they lured you.” You had to give her that so you didn’t answer. “You know what? Give the phone to Eunkwangie.” She unexpectedly ordered.

You’d been eyeing the pain relievers and the water the whole time so you actually called out to him so you could finally take the pills. It was only your fear of disobeying or ignoring a Worried Jimri that had prevented you from downing those pills as soon as Eunkwang had pointed them out to you.

With wide eyes, Eunkwang entered the room. “Yes, Mikyungie?” He almost sounded afraid.

You held out your phone to him. “It’s Jimri,” you were polite enough to warn him.

He blinked before cradling the phone in both of his hands. He gave you a tentative look until you nodded as you reached for the alleviator for the pounding in your temples.

“Um, hello?” he started delicately. “Jimri?”

“What the hell happened last night?” you heard her clearly. Eunkwang fought back a smile as he met your eyes. Ashamed, you ducked your head as he pushed the glass of water closer to you. “Why did my Kyungie not call me last night? She knows better than not to call me before she decides to drink.”

You tried to think back but were unable to find the answer. She was the only other person besides your family who knew what happened when you were out of your mind drunk that very first time.

“Actually, we, uh, kind of misplaced her phone at the end of dinner.” Eunkwang admitted. You did your best to remember when they did. The memory came suddenly. You frowned and Eunkwang smiled weakly at you. “That is, Ken kind of stole it and held it hostage until she gave in to a few drinks.”

“A few drinks?! My Kyungie was drunk enough to actually get her phone back and not text me!”

“Uh, there was also N who-,” he was cut off.

“Oh my god,” Jimri used her dramatic tone. “N too? Of course I expected Ken to be related to it but N?”

“It’s nothing like that!” Eunkwang quickly stated. “N was the one who got her phone back to her but Ken had changed the password to unlock her phone and only gave the password after the first few shots.” You downed the rest of the water much like the shots that got you into this state. “And well, to be completely honest,” he sent you a fearful look before quickly muttering, “Mikyungie hadn’t really fought to get her phone back.”

He ignored your look of betrayal.

“What?” Jimri didn’t sound that surprised and you felt the sting of betrayal once again. You had thought she would come to your defense or something.

“Before the drinks started,” Eunkwang was still facing away from you but you could still tell how he felt with the view of his back. “She was rather complacent and went along with everything. She didn’t seem to care about her phone at all. In fact, she was in a happy mood.”

You did remember the phone incident and being more than a little annoyed at not calling for backup in the form of Jimri but everything turned fine as you relaxed and settled in your place in between Ken and N. There was that and your remaining guilty debt you made sure you were paying back even if it was nonexistent to them. For them, you being there was enough, never mind the fact that you made sure you were there in the first place and the effort it took to gather yourself before you faced them. But then again, you didn’t want to show that part of yourself to them so it was on you.

“Yeah, no, she was fine the entire time. I made sure,” here he cleared his throat. “I made sure Minhyuk didn’t influence her in any way. I was the one taking care of her. No, N and Ken still retained the sense to take care of her too.” He laughed. “No, I didn’t take any videos. I don’t know if Minhyuk did. He probably did to blackmail them but mostly Mikyungie.”

You gave his back the stink eye even if he was telling the truth. You should have made some demands before you allowed Minhyuk the privilege of being one of your DD’s. But you were more than grateful Eunkwang was there for you with no motives.

“Nah it’s fine. She was in a good mood all throughout. I was the one to carry her to N’s place since it was the closest to the place we chose to drink at. Minhyuk looked after Leo and Ken. N didn’t drink too much after the first couple of bottles. He knows his limits the best probably among the guys.”

You gathered your nest of a hair as best you could and tied it into a simple ponytail just as you ex walked into the room. You’d been so busy listening to Eunkwang reassuring your best friend that you hadn’t been paying attention to anything beyond the room where you remained on the bed.

Your eyes met instantly but you were the first to break the connection as you gave a big yawn so you were forced to close your eyes and cover your mouth. You blinked away the moisture in your eyes just as Eunkwang held your phone out to you. He gave you a confident smile which you sleepily returned as you accepted your phone from him.

“What?” you asked bluntly as Eunkwang exited the room.

N started to move around too on the floor and the other guy remained at the doorway. Clearly hesitating, he slowly turned around and left the room following Eunkwang.

“Do you want me to come get you?”

“Yes.”

“Now?”

“After a meal.”

“Oh? Who’s cooking?”

“Mmm Ken and…”

“Who? Taekwoon or Minhyuk?”

You scowled, “The annoying one.”

Jimri giggled, “But they’re both annoying to you? Which one do you mean exactly?”

You could not find any amusement in the present conversation. “Bye.”

“Wait, wait, wait Kyungie. I already know who you meant.”

“Whatever.”

“Just make sure you text me the address. If you want, Yoohyuk can drive me there and we’ll pick you up that way. Unless you want to talk about it on a bus with me. Up to you.”

You yawned again but still made your decision. “Yoohyuk.”

“Okay. So just text whenever you get the address and tell me when.”

“Bye.”

“Bye!” In that one word alone, you knew she was already anticipating your side of what happened. Even the blurry bits but she would be extracting everything you could remember.

When the call disconnected, you reviewed the photo. You didn’t remember taking it. Just about everything in the photo was skewed and blurry but one thing stood out prominently. One person that appeared on the very fringe of the photo who you could tell was smiling that smile. You were just about to delete the picture when N’s groaning filled the room followed by that sleepy whine as he stretched out his limbs.

You idly scratched your leg as you were about to recline back into the bed but the front door banged open and hit the wall hard enough to announce the entrance of an attention seeker. “Food! Sustenance! Sate your hunger!” Ken yelled. Right. Ken was there too.

You yawned again as you noticed the pills seemed to have gone into effect as the hammering going on in your head wasn’t as harsh as it was before. Satisfied that the pain relievers were fast acting, you threw the sheets back as you scooted to the edge of the bed.

N had been the one who slept right by the bed and judging from his positioning earlier, Eunkwang had slept next to him. Leo had slept at the foot of the bed and you couldn’t recall where Ken and Annoying Boy slept other than guess from what space was available which wasn’t much. Not like it mattered now since everyone had let you sleep on the huge bed. Given N’s height, it was obvious why such a big bed was necessary in order to accommodate his huge frame.

Sitting up now, N’s smile at you was completely tranquil. “Morning Mikyungie.”

“Morning.” His smile turned even more peaceful at your answering greeting.

“Was the bed okay? It wasn’t too soft or firm?” his eyes now had a twinge of concern which you easily rectified.

“It was fine.”

He nodded since you had verbally answered him which was enough for that happy sparkle in his eyes to reappear. “Good, good.” He stood up at the same time as you as finally got out of the bed just in time for Ken for to come into the room.

“Eat you two! I didn’t walk all the way to the café for nothing!” he announced brightly. You might have believed in his persona had it not been for his red eyes and the general disarray of his hair. That and the grimace that ended his last word. “Rise and shine my baby chicks, I’m more than ready to feed you if I need to.” he threatened as he exited the room once more.

N rolled his eyes down at you and you both shared a weak smile as you followed Ken out.

Minhyuk smiled right at you as soon as you came into his field of vision with a knowing secretive smirk. “Morning Choi Mikyung.” He was not at all deterred at your answering grimace. ”If it isn’t our own version of Sleeping Beauty.” At his wink, you felt the very lightest traces of your dinner regurgitating. “Our vulgar and talkative Sleeping Beauty.”

You outright ignored him as you slumped your way to a chair at the table.

N also didn’t seem in the mood to put up with his annoying friend. “Not now Minhyukie,” he inquired as he cradled his head tenderly.

Ken placed a cup of coffee in front of you both as Eunkwang and Leo both joined the fray. You nursed your cup as best as you could without your mouth being scalded.

Eunkwang placed two pills in front of N who smiled gratefully at him. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Ken scoffed, “I’m the one that brought you food!”

Not in the mood to argue, N smiled weakly at him too. “Thanks Jaehwanie.”

It looked like Ken expected a more fiery reply as he blinked at N. “Right.”

Minhyuk laughed at them both and so breakfast commenced. It was toward the end that one of the morning’s mysteries was answered.

“So how was practice, Leo?” Minhyuk asked him (for you).

You kept your eyes down as you waited for His answer.

“Fine.”

You almost snorted. You should have expected that non-answer.

“Were you late?” N asked next.

“No.”

“Then you were early?” Ken asked and you all sighed.

“No.”

“Then you were on time?” Ken asked unnecessarily once more.

“No.”

Ken frowned. “Then what?”

“No.”

“Fine.”

“No.”

N cut in. “What’d you do at practice, Leo?”

“Nothing.”

Everyone sighed. Except you. Your eyes remained on your empty cup. You knew what was coming.

“Did you do weight training?”

“No.”

“Did you see your PT?”

“No.”

“Did you run through some drills?”

“No.”

“Did you learn any new plays?”

“No.”

“Did you even kick a ball?”

“No.”

“Did you eat something before you did nothing?”

“No.”

“Did you see Son Heung Min?”

“Yes.”

“Really?!”

“No.”

“Have you ever met Son Heung Min?”

“Yes.”

“Really?!”

“No.”

“Did you have fun?”

“No.”

“Did you thi-.”

“No.”

“Did yo-.”

“No.”

“Di-.”

“No.”

It became quiet now that he had reached his level of patience regarding their nonstop questions.

“How abou-.”

“No.”

Ken poked you and you jumped. As everyone else’s eyes were on Leo, they didn’t notice. You glared at Ken as he gave you a pointed glance. None seemed to notice your interaction as they kept up their questioning.

“What did you-.”

“No.”

“Leo.”

“No.”

“Fine then.”

“No.”

“Leo, did you want-.”

“No.”

Ken gave you his puppy look which did not affect you at all.

“LLLLLLEEE-.” “No.” “EEEEOOOOOOOOO.”

“No.”

“Look! There’s a-.”

“No.” Your eyes chanced a glance and he was glaring at the table, clearly beyond annoyed.

“If you’ll just tell us-.”

“No.”

“Then what abou-.”

“No.”

You cleared your throat and that simple gesture drew everyone’s immediate notice. And you mean everyone’s. His laser-like eyes beamed into yours with such intensity, it took Ken’s second poke to bring you out from the daze you were in.

Without a thought, you told Him, “I’m going home.”

“N-.” He didn’t finish.

“What?”

“You’re leaving us?”

“Why Mikyungie!”

“Mikyungie,” Ken whined. “That’s not what I meant.”

His words made you frown. You knew what he meant. And like Leo, you wouldn’t do what they wanted regarding this… this thing between you and their friend.

So after texting Jimri your address, you finally and hours later, made your escape.