None of them really remember how it became a tradition. Yet here they are, sitting in the corner booth at Rusty’s Diner, just like they do every Saturday night. Minjung sits on one end, so that her petticoats don’t get deflated too much. Jinki sits next to her, halfway through a double cheeseburger. In the middle is Taemin, math homework spread out as far as the others will let him. Next to him is Gwiboon, working on reapplying her lipstick. On the other end, Jonghyun sits sipping at his sarsaparilla soda. It’s 7 o’clock and other couples are finally starting to file in. Minjung is starting to pick up the pace on eating her cheese fries, seemingly racing Jonghyun.

“You two should be more careful,” Gwiboon scolds. “We can’t have jukebox Saturdays if you two choke.”

Both reluctantly slow and Taemin can’t help but chuckle. It takes another 15 minutes for someone to walk up to the jukebox and start putting in quarters. Minjung pouts as “String of Pearls” begins to play.

“What’s wrong, babydoll?” Jinki says, wiping grease off his chin.

“They’re already playing music but I’m not done eating yet!”

Jinki and Jonghyun softly chuckle. Out of the five of them, Minjung loved dancing the most. 

“Finish up and I’ll dance with you starting at the next song, how about that, babydoll?” Jonghyun offers, finally finishing his soda.

Minjung perks up and rushes to finish. Taemin steals a few fries and though she shoots him a dirty look she doesn’t say anything. She finishes just as the last notes play; they quickly wipe their faces and Jonghyun waits for her to properly refluff her skirt as “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” begins. Beside Jinki, Taemin starts giggling again.

“What’s so funny?” Gwiboon asks, now rearranging her hair.

“I know they’re only a few inches apart but it looks like their height difference is a foot or more! He’s singing the song but really he’s the one at the right height for shoulder resting.”

Gwiboon rolls her eyes and Jinki laughs. Jonghyun and Minjung’s relationship was an amusing one: filled with the utmost sincerity, the most tender support, and no shortage of affectionate joking.

“They look so cliche.” Gwiboon remarks.

“How so?” Taemin asks.

“A greaser and a cheerleader? Bad boy good girl has been a cliche for like a hundred years, kiddo.”

Though all five of them were romantically involved in some capacity, Taemin and Gwiboon’s relationship was the weakest. As he finishes his burger, Jinki amusedly watches them squabble: as cliche as Jonghyun and Minjung may be, the nerd and the popular girl was just as cliche in his opinion. After a few more songs, Jinki stands and makes his way over to where Jonghyun and Minjung are dancing.

“May I cut in?” he asks Jonghyun.

He nods and looks over at the table to wink at Gwiboon. She blushes and makes her way over as Minjung and Jinki start to sway.

“Which do you think is more cliche, you and Jonghyun as good girl bad boy couple or you and I as homecoming king and queen?” Jinki asks as the song changes.

Minjung laughs. “You’ve been spending too much time with Taemin.”

“So have you, if you know that he’s the one who brought it up.”

“I don’t know which is more cliche. All I know is I like riding around on the back of Jonghyun’s motorcycle just as much as I like giving you a good luck kiss before the quarter starts at the football games.”

Jinki smiles and reaches up to kiss her cheek. They continue dancing as someone else starts putting quarters in. Jinki’s foot starts to cramp and as if on cue, he feels a tap on his shoulder. It’s Gwiboon.

“Mind if I cut?” she asks.

Jinki disentagles himself from Minjung’s hold and after winking at Jonghyun, goes to sit down. Taemin’s still sitting, content to watch from afar.

“Why don’t you go dance with Jonghyun?” Jinki suggests as he sits down.

“Me? Oh I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“My mama says I have two left feet.”

“Luckily for you, Jonghyun has two right feet.”

Before Jinki can continue to push, however, Jonghyun comes back to the booth, another sarsaparilla in his hand.

“I got thirsty.” he explains.

“The fact that the girls are dancing has absolutely nothing to do with it?” Jinki asks teasingly.

Jonghyun blushes. “No, not at all.”

“What’s Gwiboon doing?” Taemin asks with confused interest.

Jonghyun and Jinki look and can’t help but laugh.

“Gwiboon is trying to feel Minjung up, but Minjung’s got so many petticoats on that she can’t get a grip on anything.” Jinki explains.

“Oh.”

Gwiboon’s skin tight dress is a sharp contrast to Minjung’s 8 petticoats, yet there’s something complementary in the sight of them dancing. Jonghyun and Taemin start talking about something else, but Jinki only half listens to it. He keeps a careful eye on Minjung and Gwiboon’s dancing; not because he finds it exciting like Jonghyun does but more of a preventative measure. Gwiboon and Minjung can dance all night, but they tend to get a little too handsy. When Minjung starts feeling Gwiboon up, he knows it’s time to intervene. He stands and walks over them, cutting in to dance with Gwiboon while yet a third person dumps quarters in. Minjung sways alone for a moment; Jinki and Gwiboon watch as she tries to persuade Taemin to come dance with her. Almost a whole song goes by before Jonghyun eventually pushes Taemin out of the booth. Though he acted as if dancing was the last thing he wanted to do, his cheeks are soon beaming after just a few minutes in Minjung’s arms.

“Regardless of who’s the most cliche couple out of all of us, they’re definitely the sweetest.” Gwiboon whispers fondly.

They dance two more songs, until the head waiter goes over and turns off the machine, announcing that the restaurant closes in 10 minutes. Gwiboon and Jinki walk back to the table to collect Jonghyun, only to turn around and realize that Minjung and Taemin are still kissing in the middle of the dance floor. Gwiboon laughs as she goes over and pulls them apart.

“Put it on hold, you two. We have to head out.”

Minjung looks disappointed, while Taemin’s dazed look and red cheeks show he probably didn’t hear what Gwiboon said. They all head out into the parking lot, agreeing to meet up at Jinki’s house. Gwiboon rides on the back of Jonghyun’s motorcycle and Minjung and Taemin pile into the backseat of Jinki’s tiny car. The clock in the dashboard reads midnight.

“Three hours of music without spending a dime? Can’t beat that.” Jinki says, pulling out of the spot.