Minkyung was the first to leave, cooking up an excuse that something bad happened at home and she needed to be there, nothing serious but as she was the one who everyone relied on it was a must for her to be there.

Sehun noticed something was off. Everyone did.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ayoung asked. "Your eyes are red." Ayoung looked to Sehun as if to say, go with her.

Jongin voiced this by adding, "Drop her home."

Sehun left after Minkyung although she'd rather be alone.

She could hear him calling her from behind her. Minkyung didn't answer. He ran up next to her and asked the dreaded question, "What's wrong?"

Sehun was clueless as if he hadn't totally taken advantage of her.

"I need to go home and think this contract over. I don't think I can do this anymore."

"What are you talking about? We just started!"

"And it's not great. I feel bad for lying to your mom and I don't remember giving you permission to kiss me. That wasn't part of the deal. I don't go around kissing guys I'm not in a real relationship with."

"Oh, is that what this is about? Sorry, I was trying to be convincing and got carried away. I didn't think about you. I won't do it again."

"Whatever, just go away. I don't want to see you."

She was really mad at him and there was nothing he could do or say to change that, Sehun sensed it.

"Is everything okay at home?" He inquired.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just made an excuse to get away from Ayoung and Jongin."

"Do you want me to drop you home? I think it might be a good idea for me to do that. I'll get to know where you live and meet your family since you met my mom. Plus I can pick you up for work in the mornings."

Minkyung had had enough. She was positively distraught at being put in a position where she couldn't have protested about the kiss.

They were fake dating. She didn't want anything further than hand holding. She had told him how she felt.

So far he had ignored everything she'd told him. Her fists were clenching and unclenching at her sides.

"Sehun?"

"What?"

"Go to hell!" She punched him square in the face. He hardly had time to register what happened when she run off.

"Crazy woman,"he cried, cradling his nose.

*

A kid had fallen into a gorilla enclosure. The kid had harassed and the gorilla had attacked. The kid was injured. The gorilla (Frodo) was going to be put down. All the animal rights activists were here. Jongin and Ayoung were among them.

Jongin's idea of a date was not the same as Ayoung's idea of a date. He always wanted to do something romantic and steamy, something like Netflix and chill. Ayoung however was not that type of person. She asked him to go to the zoo with her. He should have known what she meant. Protest.

Every time she asked him to attend a protest with her, he was surprised. It was hard to hold hands, kiss and get down when they were standing outside a zoo, fists pumping the air and screaming at the top of their lungs.

Jongin was shirtless. He was embarrassed. Being shirtless in a bedroom with his girlfriend was different to being shirtless outside of a zoo. There were kids around. Kids who liked to gawk, point and whisper loudly. "Mommy that man's not wearing any clothes."

He wasn't just shirtless, he had slogans scribbles around his torso in marker to make a point.

Did no one care for the animals outside of the dangerously wild throng of activists? He was uncomfortable without a shirt, no one seemed to care about him either.

"Animals have rights too!"

"Let him live!"

Jongin was concerned and it wasn't about a gorilla. Ayoung was having a heated argument with some zoo going debaters. He could smell the tension. Slowly he moved over to where she was and slid between the two parties. Apologising to the offended, he lead his hot headed girlfriend away. She screamed profanities over his shoulder and threw the middle finger.

"Ayoung, we're going to get kicked off the premises," Jongin warned.

"They started it! Why are you never on my side?" She pushed him away.

Jongin sighed. He massaged his temples, watching her join in with the other protesters.

Jongin blamed the dumb kid for falling into the gorilla pen. If that kid hadn't gotten hurt, this mess wouldn't be happening and Jongin wouldn't be bare chested.

"Frodo is our brother!"

"Justice for Frodo!"

"Let him live!"

Jongin surveyed the group. Colourful hair, tattoos and very little clothing gathered the attention of spectators.

Again, he moved next to her, mainly because this was a date and also because he didn't like how close the guy next to her was. Jongin didn't want her brushing against shirtless men in sweaty slogans.

Jongin hoped Frodo got his justice. Protesting was hard. It got harder once a band of teenagers came to goad them.

Jongin wished the twerps would get lost. The teens found the whole protest hilarious and made monkey sounds, prancing across the grass and making videos if the shenanigans.

"Those little f**ks!" Ayoung swore.

Jongin agreed. They were pests. However he responded with, "They're only kids."

"Kids? That lot? That's the future of our planet. Can you believe we're minding the earth for punks like them? They'll torch the place."

Jongin had no doubt they would. He didn't trust teenagers. To Ayoung he said, "They'll grow up."

She was unconvinced but she bought his tale. Jongin was glad for that.

Ayoung went back to chanting.

"Justice for Frodo!"

Jongin joined in too. Everything had been peaceful and calm. The fluttering breeze had been on his side too, until-

Those little f**ks.

A band of teenagers thought it was absolutely hilarious to poke fun at Frodo's fate.

"The monkey's gonna die. The monkey screwed up he's f**ked. Just see the fat is gonna get put down," the leader of the pack blasted, sniggering with his pals. The other boys started mimicking apes, squatting down, making ape sounds and flailing arms. Mr. I'm the Leader was the executioner. He used an air sword to slaughter all the monkey boys. They fell in a dramatic heap, a mess of laughing red faces.

Ayoung's blood boiled right up. Jongin felt her stiffen.

"Don't let them get to you," Jongin whispered next to her. "That's what they want."

Ayoung relaxed a little, gave him a pinched smile and pretended she wasn't bothered by the brats.

Jongin was right. Nothing good came from getting involved with teenagers. She knew that, she had been one at some stage in life.

Jongin's advice only helped her, not the mob of protesters.

One woman with more colours in her hair than Jongin could name took a step forward and ran , spewing all of the cuss words existing in the human tongue. She riled up the teenage boys. They spat back at her.

This is how the spark ignited.

Before he could take a second to suss the situation, Jongin was dragged by the gushing herd hauling him into the group of teens. A fight broke out. The activist army was out of control.

Jongin reached out to grasp Ayoung's hand.

She was moving further and further away from him. Her head disappeared into the crowd.

Jongin grit his teeth, bracing himself for the worst. The best thing he could do now was move with the swarm. If he followed the current he wouldn't get trampled, this was advice Ayoung had given him some time ago.

Ayoung, he prayed she would be okay.

Jongin rushed past the bird house. To his utmost horror he saw a rush of colourful birds escape a cage. Then he was carried to the farm animals. Angry activists released the pigs, ponies, donkey, cow, goats, hens and the farm dog. The dog saw this as an opportunity to chase the clucking hens. Hens pooped, flew, screeched and caused general madness. One crafty hen tried flying over Jongin, smacking into the back of his head. He grabbed the bird and hugged it to his chest. Both hearts beat wildly.

The donkey became even more cantankerous, braying at the bleating goats and ill humouring the calm cows.

Hen in hands, Jongin braced himself. The tide was flowing at an alarming speed. He wanted to get out of this rollercoaster. Jongin slinked to the side.

Was it left?

Was it right?

Jongin only knew it as the side. He wanted to squeeze out of the mess before it messed him up.

Cluck, cluck, cluck a noise very far away from his head was counting time. A typhoon of rebels set free everything they could.

Jongin remembered trying to escape. Then there was a blank. Something must have happened to knock him out. The next thing he recalled was being slapped awake by someone with strong fish breath and decayed teeth. Jongin recoiled, his limbs were iron. Slowly he lifted his eyes and stared into the face of an upside down penguin who continued to slap h