“We’re lost, aren’t we?” Howon piped up, and Myungsoo tried his very best not to whack Howon’s head for stating the obvious. They had decided on the designated driver for the trip to and from the club, and it wasn’t Myungsoo’s fault that Lee Howon lost to him.

“No we’re not. C’mon, Howon. Have a little faith in me.”

“All that faith went out the window as soon as you went the wrong way.” Okay, now Myungsoo had a good reason to give Howon a poke in the rib. Howon doubled over in the passenger’s seat, reaching for his cup of coffee. It was a little close to noon and they weren’t even close to finding the club they were supposed to practice DJ-ing in.

The awkwardness had gotten slightly better between them over the years, but there were still times when they would mostly keep silent, content to just have each other’s company. This was one of those times.

It was Howon who broke the silence a few minutes later, turning to look at Myungsoo. “You never did tell us where your new apartment is.”

“Itaewon.”

“Ah. And I thought Sungyeol was the coffee addict?” Myungsoo laughed at that, shaking his head. “You know very well he can’t drink too much of it anymore.” Howon chuckled, keeping his eyes on the road.

“Yeah… it’s kind of surprising though, considering Sunggyu hyung and Woohyun hyung’s new apartments are pretty close to each other. Why did you choose something so far away?”

Myungsoo kept quiet for a while, turning left at the correct street. He hardly drove, was used to manager hyungs shuttling them back and forth to their schedules and waiting for Sunggyu hyung to tell them what was happening. But then again, he wasn’t eighteen anymore. Manager hyungs weren’t going to be around all the time, there were too many of them to keep track of, especially when they were shooting Showtime individually. Sunggyu hyung wasn’t going to be omniscient about their schedules either; he was growing older, his enlistment date approaching rapidly. Ironically, their days as INFINITE were slowly becoming numbered.

They weren’t teenagers anymore, no longer cramped inside their old dorm and dreaming of debut. They were older, a lot more cautious, and less soft around the edges because softness led to vulnerability and they couldn’t afford to be that at all. Not when every vulnerability would be exploited and twisted into something that could potentially ruin INFINITE.

“It’s only a few rides away.” Myungsoo murmured as they reached the intersection. “You’re all going to visit me and buy soju and we’re going to drink and sing loud, obnoxious pop songs just to annoy Sunggyu hyung.”

Howon cracked a smile at that, the stoplight flashing red. “You sounded pretty old. Are you sure you’re still our Myungsoo?”

Myungsoo grinned, waiting for the light to turn green. “Hey, can’t I sound old? I mean, we’re not exactly getting any younger.”

“I know.” Howon reached out to place one of his hands on top of Myungsoo’s, the touch comforting. “It’s still jarring though, knowing that even you’ve gotten older in a way.”

It was jarring, growing up and realizing that some things weren’t meant to last, but you know, it was a fact of life.

Myungsoo had been foolish to hope that INFINITE would be one of the things meant to last.