“Jaehyun is co-leader?” Mark asked when they were dropped the news on Monday. 

 

“Hey, Jeffrey, can we please put on TVXQ now?” Johnny asked. He opened up his backpack and pulled out a portable bluetooth speaker. “You said you hate hearing it alone, now there’s a whole group here.”

 

“Changmin is a god,” Taeil confirmed.

 

“We should put Catch Me, it’s a good song,” Jungwoo said. 

 

Johnny turned to Yuta. “Hey, there’s this korean band you should listen to-”

 

“They literally always come to Japan,” Yuta said, “I’m not stupid. Yunho had some weird cologne last time I saw them-”

 

“YOU MET TVXQ?” Donghyuck screamed. Another meeting where Taeyong wasn’t going to have control. “TELL ME EVERYTHING-”

 

“Can you guys shut up,” Jaehyun said. Maybe Jaehyun would be a better-no, totally would be a better leader. “Taeyong has something planned for today.”

 

With that, Taeyong took out his stack of papers from his folder. “So what I thought would be a good idea today is to-”

 

“Watch TVXQ?” Johnny said, getting a smack from Jaehyun. “, the , why did you SLAP ME?”

 

“I thought we could learn the korean traditional instruments, like the gayageum,” he explained. He heard a lot of them muttering under his breath but pretended not to hear them. “So we are going to the music room today!"

 

“Instruments!” Jungwoo yelled. 

 

“A gayageum?” Yuta looked confused. “What’s that?”

 

“Um, here, hold on.” Taeyong spread apart the papers on the desk, trying to find a specific one. He could feel everyone staring at him. 

 

“Here, it’s the, um, oh, the Japanese have one similar called the koto,” Taeyong explained. 

 

“Ohhhhh, okay,” Yuta nodded in response.

 

Si Cheng turned to look at him. “What is that,” he whispered to Yuta beside him. 

 

“It’s like this long board with strings on it,” Yuta explained. “I can’t really describe it, um, is there a Chinese equivalent?” Yuta asked Taeyong. 

 

“Um, so in Chinese…” Taeyong looked at the paper again. “..... the guzheng,” he said, Si Cheng nodding in understanding.

 

“Wait, you know how to play the gayageum?” Johnny asked Taeyong. “Or are we just going to go in and start playing random strings?”

 

“You can’t even play a recorder,” Mark argued. “Who’s going to let you play random strings?”

 

“Uh, excuse me, American education is centered on playing Hot Cross Buns,” Johnny argued back. “I can totally play a recorder.”

 

“I miss it when Mark played a flute.” Donghyuck sighed. “Really lovely."

 

“Hey, I still know how to play it,” Mark said. “It’s in my room, you can look at it whenever you want-”

 

“Yeah but you don’t play it,” Donghyuck said. “What’s the point?”

 

“Wait, you guys didn’t learn instruments in primary school?” Jungwoo asked. “We got to learn to play the violins.” 

 

“Oh, you can play hot cross buns on the violin too-”

 

“Johnny, why do I get the feeling that your hungry,” Jaehyun asked him. 

 

In the end, it took at least ten minutes for the group to calm down and finally head out to the music room, obviously some of them arguing on their way there. 

 

Taeyong actually does know how to play the gayageum. He had taken six years of lessons back in elementary and middle school but stopped playing it when he sprained his wrist freshman year and never officially went back at it. He still remembers some of the scales and songs, though, and he had stayed up all night Sunday trying to brush up his skills again. 

 

The club had four gayageums that they could use, so Taeyong took one and three of the members, Mark, Taeil and Si Cheng went first to try to learn it, with the others watching. 

 

“Wait a second, you can totally play hot cross buns with this instrument-"

 

“FOR THE LAST ING TIME, JOHNNY-”
 

***

 

Meanwhile, after school Monday, Xiaojun was at his locker trying to get his books to go home. 

 

He almost wanted to cry when he pulled out his thick math textbook and realized he had to stuff it in his backpack. Sure, he could have carried it in his arm like every high schooler who tried to look cool but it would just make his arms hurt. So in the backpack it went. 

 

He got on his knees and took some stuff out, including some notebooks and his beloved fluffy pencil pouch, his most prized school possession. It can easily become a pillow for when class gets too boring. If he ever loses it he will scream. 

 

He took out most of the books, so he settled for now stuffing the monstrosity textbook in the backpack. He could feel something in the bottom, though, that was making it jut out, so he reached his hand in to try to fix it. 

 

“Are you looking for something?” 

 

Xiaojun looked up to see Kun, who was smiling. “How was school today?” Kun asked him.

 

Xiaojun made a face. “You sound like my mom.”

 

“Oh, didn’t know it was a bad thing.”

 

Xiaojun rolled his eyes. “I never said it was.” 

 

He turned his backpack upside down, spilling the contents on the floor. “I know this looks weird,” he told Kun, “but I really need my textbook to fit.”

 

“Oh, I can carry it if you want,” Kun said. 

 

Xiaojun frowned. “Carry it? I’m walking home.”

 

“Oh, well, um, I can walk you home if you want?” Kun corrected himself, “while carrying said book.”

 

“It’s no trouble, I just need to-” he stuff the book in his backpack, only to realize that it took up most of the space. “Dang it. It won’t fit.”

 

He really didn’t want to carry the heavy- book home, but Kun was offering…

 

“I can’t just use you to carry my book home,” Xiaojun said. “I can just carry it myself.”

 

“Okay, then, but here.” Kun bent down and held a stack of Xiaojun’s notebooks. “I’ll help you hand your stuff back.”

 

Xiaojun took it from Kun, eyeing him suspiciously. “You’re being too nice to me.”

 

“I’m not going to frame you for murder if that’s what your thinking,” Kun said. “That came out weird. Um, I promised I’m not murdering anyone, Yangyang made a comment about that earlier, and well, please don’t tell the police.”

 

Xiaojun’s suspicions only continued to grow. “Is that why you offered to come to my house, to murder me?”

 

Kun just sighed. “I botched that introduction, didn’t I?”

 

“Don’t worry, I talk about perfect ways to commit a murder to my mom and she gets tempted to get me a therapist.” Xiaojun packed the rest of his back pack the way it was before, stuffy his fluffy pencil pouch on top before zipping it shut. “Memes really do wonders for you.”

 

“Well, I know nothing about murder, but I’ll remember not to get you angry,” Kun said. 

 

“Thank you.” Xiaojun got up from the floor and slung the back pack on his back. “I can’t believe I have to carry that ugly thing home.”

 

“Yeah, no wonder they charge a lot of money if you lose it,” Kun said. He grabbed the book and also got off the floor, despite Xiaojun’s protests. 

 

“Kun, you’re not my maid, don’t-give me that.” He grabbed the heavy textbook from Kun. “You don’t have to carry things for me.”

 

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Kun stared at the floor for a few seconds before saying, “can I still walk you home, though?”

 

Xiaojun shrugged. “If you have the time to waste walking, sure. I usually take my time."

 

Kun shrugged. “I don’t have anything due tomorrow, so…”

 

“Wait, what?” Xiaojun stared at him. “What do you mean, you have no work? That’s impossible, we were just assigned a packet in Korean lit class! Or did you forget?"

 

Kun shook his head. “I didn’t, it’s just that I already finished it during free time in Calculus today."

 

“How do-how do you have- okay, you’re smart, I get that-wait, did you say calculus?” Xiaojun asked.

 

Kun looked surprised. “Yeah, I’m in calculus, why are you asking?”

 

“I feel bad for you, your math textbook must be thicker than mine,” Xiaojun explained. 

 

“Our textbook is online.”

 

“Of course it is.”

 

***

 

“So I was thinking if you wanted to head over to get milkshakes,” Donghyuck told Mark later after the 127 meeting. “I’m craving something sweet right now.”

 

They had just left the 127 meeting, where Taeyong and Jaehyun stayed behind, probably to talk or whatever. From what Mark has guess, it looks like this Jaehyun has a crush on Taeyong. 

 

Whatever Jaehyun was doing, it was working. Lucas said that he went to the ice cream shop Saturday to buy himself a sundae and saw Jaehyun and Taeyong flirting with each other. The feelings were probably mutual. 

 

He can only hope his feelings for Donghyuck are mutual as well. Mark has been dropping so many hints from what he can remember, but either Donghyuck thinks it’s just Mark being a friend or he doesn’t care. Maybe the former, Donghyuck would call him out of it if he knew. 

 

Mark has been trying to get over Haechan the past few months but he just can’t. It’s so hard when your in love with your best friend. Maybe someone will come along the way and Mark can develop feelings for them instead of Donghyuck, but he doesn’t even know if that was possible, especially not after the club incident last year. 

 

Mark had gotten a letter in his locker from a secret admirer, but him liking Haechan and no one else, he didn’t bother to read it. Donghyuck kept pressuring him to read it, and at one point Mark snapped and insulted Haechan in every way possible. He could never forget the way his best friend burst into tears and ran out of his house, resulting in them not speaking for a week. Mark had skipped a few days of school to stay locked up in his room, and when Johnny offered him to go to a club with him on Friday evening, Mark had reluctantly agreed. 

 

He doesn’t know how it happened. One moment he was taking a sip of what he thought was water (must have been alcohol since it burned his throat and made him choke.) The next moment, he was drunk and dancing to some American song he always heard back in Canada. He remembers seeing someone and doesn’t know what attracted him in the first place; maybe he had the same hair as Haechan. Same height. Same tanned skin. He doesn’t remember. He has no idea of the person that he gave his ity that night, only recollected that he topped someone in some dirty room of the club and fell asleep immediately afterwards. 

 

That’s when Donghyuck then heard of him. Mark had called him crying of what just happened, how he was sorry to Donghyuck and knew Haechan would never forgive him ever again for saying those mean stuff earlier  but just wanted to let him know that he missed him and that he has had the crappiest week of his life without his best friend by his side. 

 

They eventually made up and went back to being the best friends they always were; Donghyuck picked him up from the club and took him to his room, where Mark sat bawling about how he wanted to do it with someone he loved at a special occasion, while Haechan pat his back and ordered pizza for Mark to munch on, eventually staying the night. However, Mark now refuses to touch any type of alcohol, and they don’t talk about that incident in the club. Mark was furious at Johnny too and didn’t speak at him for a while until the other apologized. It wasn’t a memory that Mark liked to bring up.

 

Donghyuck was such a good friend to him that it would be so hard to get over him. 

 

“-and the cookie dough flavor is really good but I don’t get enough of the cookie- Mark, hello?”

 

Mark woke up from his daydream and nodded along to Haechan. “Yeah, that you’re craving something sweet?”

 

Haechan sighed. “What’s wrong?”

 

He knew Donghyuck was going to pick up on his mood. “Nothing, just thinking.”

 

Haechan nodded. “Maybe the milkshake will cheer you up. Hey, look there’s Jaemin!” He waved towards their friend, who was also at his locker getting some stuff. He must have stayed after to work with a tutor. 

 

Jaemin looked over them, startled. “Hey, Haechan, Mark,” he shouted, quickly shutting his locker shut before running to where the other two were. “What are you guys doing here?”

 

“Oh, we had the 127 meeting today,” Haechan explained. “Mark was about to drive us home, do you want to join?”

 

Jaemin shifted his weight from leg to leg. “My mom is already coming, so-”

 

“Oh, that’s okay!” Donghyuck said. “Tomorrow we’re bringing some pancakes to the Dream meeting, hope to see you there!”

 

Jaemin nodded frantically before making his way outside. “Okay, hyung, thank you!” 

 

When Jaemin left, that’s when Mark said to Donghyuck, “maybe we should offer him rides back home instead of making his poor mother walk a long distance.”

 

“I think she has nothing to do,” Donghyuck explained. “Probably has no job. It would be helpful to find her one.”

 

“Well, you know my committee is working on it,” Mark said. “I’m we’ll think of something. We just have to make sure not to trigger anything.”

 

Haechan nodded in agreement. “Hopefully. Hey, he likes those pocky that Chen Le gives him sometimes, can we head to the store after the milkshakes? As I was saying, in order to bridge this weird divide you have with Lucas, try the mint cookie dough, surely you’ll find it delicious.”

 

***

 

The office was going crazy on Monday. 

 

Soonyoung showed them the results that Jihoon had found that weekend, causing the whole section working extra in order to solve the problem. They planned on asking other agencies for help and were going to send people to the giant telescopes in Hawaii and in Chile. Once they figure out what that thing is, they can have a big celebration on confirming the discovery. 

 

Jihoon was working at his desk like normally, sorting out some paperwork regarding calculations. Not one of the most fun jobs, but still a job at NASA, no less. It was cool to take part of a discovery. 

 

One of the bosses came over to where Jihoon was working. 

 

“Wow, Jihoon, looks like your putting a lot of effort into this,” he said in Korean; Jihoon, Sungsoo, and Soonyoung were the only Koreans who worked here. Sungsoo picked up one of the papers that Jihoon had sorted and said, “This wouldn’t have been possible without your keen eye.”

 

Jihoon put down the papers he had in his hand and looked at him. “Thank you, I guess.”

 

“Well, I have a huge favor to ask you,” he said. “Can you work overtime today? We want to focus on this discovery but don’t want to fall behind in the other projects.”

 

Normally, Jihoon would say yes; he always had time to do work, either here or at home. However… “Sorry, sir, not today.”

 

“Why not?” his boss questioned him. “I thought you were a diligent worker, Jihoon, considering how much time you’re putting in.”

 

“Yeah, but I have something scheduled today,” Jihoon said, picking up the stack again. “Maybe tomorrow, but not today.”

 

“I’m-” his boss was interrupted when Soonyoung came by.

 

“Hey, Jihoon, do you remember the meeting we have today later?” he asked. Soonyoung must have realized what Jihoon’s boss, Sungsoo, was trying to do. “Oh, hey, Sungsoo, what were you telling him? Sorry for have interrupted you.”

 

Soonyoung wished that Jihoon would work in his section instead of Sungsoo, not to have power of his friend but to make sure no one treated him like , a quite often occurrence. However, they were placed in different departments when they were hired, and Soonyoung just happened to get a promotion to the boss in his section. 

 

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a meeting with him,” Sungsoo said. “I understand, I’ll ask another worker.” Sungsoo said a quick goodbye to the two of them and left Jihoon’s desk, going to bother someone else. 

 

“He was forcing you to do overtime again, huh?” Soonyoung asked his friend, who threw the stack of papers on his desk and crossed his arms.

 

“I don’t have to notify him of all my therapist appointments,” Jihoon said. “It’s already hard to take medicine without people here being nosy es.”

 

“Yeah, the people here can be hard to work with,” Soonyoung agreed. “However, we’re working in NASA, remember? We just have to get through all the hard work.”

 

Jihoon just shrugged. “Whatever. Easy for you to say.”

 

Soonyoung wanted to argue with him but knew it wouldn’t be good for Jihoon; he was still struggling to accept some stuff. “I’ll do my best to make it easy, and if they don’t give you the credit I will take it to the supreme court.”

 

Jihoon rolled his eyes. “You can’t even find your way to Walmart.”

 

“Well, oops, I can’t buy you those bagel bites you wanted,” Soonyoung said. “I don’t know how to go to Walmart."

 

“Hoshi,” Jihoon said, using the childhood nickname, “you use GPS all the time.”

 

“It’s called google maps, cause apple maps ,” Soonyoung said. “We’ll get them after your therapist appointment, okay? There’s a horror movie that came out that we can rent as well.”

 

Jihoon sighed. “Fine, I’ll go to therapy and get the bagel bites and watch a stupid horror movie. I know your friends already asked you to go out with them later and you said no.”

 

Soonyoung frowned. “We promised that I’ll go with you to all your therapy visits.”

 

“Yeah, and they hate me,” Jihoon said. “They’re going to be more than pissed if they see you leaving with me-”

 

“Jihoon, no one hates you,” Soonyoung said. “Plus I can always hang out with them another day, it’s fine.”

 

Jihoon pouted. “I want the cheese bagel bites,” he said, crossing his arms. 

 

“We’ll get the cheese bagel bites.”

 

“And pepsi.”

 

“Ew, no, , coca cola all the way.”