Eunkwang and Minhyuk were totally clueless about what's going on with their dongsaengs lately.  From Changsub's nocturnal activity to Sungjae's sudden outburst. It's time to clear things up as they're trying to connect the dots of what's really happening. The interrogation hasn't even started but Changsub was fidgeting on his seat. He already pondered about what he's going to spill. ‘Be careful and don't get caught, Changsub-ah. This isn't something you need to reveal alone.’ he thought. He's even thinking of calling Daehyun, what if he s up? Then they're both dead.  

“So,” Minhyuk cleared his throat, Changsub jolted upon hearing his voice. “you know why we called you here.”

Changsub nods. ‘here we go.’ He's trying his best to keep a straight face, avoiding Minhyuk's piercing gaze. “Don't worry, everything we're going to talk about in this room stays in this room. It's between the three of us only.” Eunkwang gave him a warm smile, it's like an assurance that everything will be okay.

“We'll go straight to the point, the most obvious question of all. Are you and Daehyun ..” Minhyuk hesitated, looking at Eunkwang as if asking for a push.

“I know what you're thinking hyung, the answer is no.” Changsub answered right away, sensing the hesitation from both of his hyungs. “We're good friends. I know we hang out frequently and it made you wonder why. I have an explanation. We're both trying to write a song. We've been thinking about it during rehearsals back then. I also know that you're wondering why it has be at night. I have an explanation. It's simply serene at night, the streets aren't bustling. We also stay at the noraebang. Sing songs, get inspiration from the songs, and drink occasionally. So, to summarize everything .. I often leave at night to meet Daehyun in the noraebang, as we're trying to write a song.” Changsub had finally finished. He wanted to give himself a pat on the back for a job well done. He didn't stuttered. He didn't lie at all, although he only said partial of what's the truth. There's no way he'll disclose that he and Daehyun spends their time having a heart-to-heart talk about Sungjae and Youngjae.

“Okay .. we got the answer we needed.” Eunkwang muttered. They were enlightened that Changsub gave them too much information. There's nothing to probe about. So their suspicions weren't true at all. They dismissed Changsub out of the room.

Sungjae went inside, he wondered why his hyung's interrogation was quick. He's certain that the question involved a person. They only needed a confirmation, a simple yes or no with a short explanation. That was the scenario he imagined that happened earlier. Did his Changsub hyung happened to say y .. “Yes hyung?” Sungjae snapped back to reality as he heard his name. Minhyuk gestured him to sit down.

Eunkwang sensed that something is off with their maknae again. “Just like what we told, Changsub-ah. Everything we're going to talk about in this room stays in this room. It's between the three of us only.”

Sungjae nods.

“Is everything okay, Sungjae-yah? You seemed really bothered recently. We are your hyungs, you can tell us anything.” Eunkwang said, worry evident in his voice.

I just wanted to know the truth about Changsub hyung “I'm alright hyung. Nothing's wrong.” Sungjae said, shrugging his shoulders.

“But yesterday. You were so agitated that Changsub isn't home yet. I know you did look for him as well.”

“Yes, I did look for him but I mainly went out because I'm craving for coffee. I'm so sorry for scaring you hyung. I’m just trying out something and I guess I might've exaggerated a bit.” Sungjae chuckled. “I'm internalizing some scenarios in my head like I'm a different person to help with my acting. But I guess mine won't work with you guys because you'll just think I'm going crazy.” Sungjae took it as his chance to dodge more questions “But trust me, I'm really fine hyung. I won't do it again. I promise.” he said, raising his hand like he's making a pledge.

Eunkwang was baffled. “So you're saying that it was all just an act? Are you just trying to mess up with me?”

“I didn't mean it that way hyung. It was sort of an experiment,” ‘wow Sungjae, you’re good at making up stories.’ “Therefore, I conclude that my acting is pretty convincing.” he's now grinning at his hyungs who are still skeptical. ‘Aish, they won't lay off anytime sooner. This is getting longer’. “I was actually thinking about getting coffee so I just sat there for a while, until Eunkwang hyung came out. So I took it as my opportunity and used Changsub hyung as an impromptu scenario.”

“You mean to tell us, you left the dorm at 2 in the morning because of coffee?” Minhyuk raised his brow at him.

“Yeah.” Sungjae sounded too casual. “But you know, I'm also worried about Changsub hyung of course, so I looked for him after enjoying my coffee.”

Eunkwang suddenly laughs, can't believe how he got ridiculed again. “You punk! You made a fuss over nothing. You almost gave me a heart attack. I was so worried because you never act that way. You made us worry because of a damn coffee!” he gritted his teeth and grabbed the younger one's ear. Sungjae yelped in pain. “Ouch! I won't do it again Eunkwang hyung! I promise! Minhyuk hyung help me. ” Minhyuk smiled before grabbing his other ear.

They let him go 10 minutes later. Both of his ears did not just reddened, but was also filled with his hyungs scolding as well. Appa Eunkwang and eomma Minhyuk can be harsh sometimes. Sungjae can't believe that all the nonsense he had blurt out was able to convinced them.

× × × × × × ×

Changsub hasn't left the dorm two days after the confrontation from their hyungs. ‘Did a divine intervention happened?’ Sungjae thought, while staring at his hyung who's engrossed while watching a movie.

“Hyung what are you watching?” he plopped down beside his hyung, grabbing handfuls of popcorn from his bowl.

“Yah! Go get your own popcorn, Sungjae.” Changsub scowled at him. They're back to their usual bickering which the younger one enjoyed most. “You've got plenty in your bowl hyung. Stop fussing like a kid.” Sungjae said as he munched the popcorn, he then grabbed another handful from the bowl just to spite his hyung.

“Look at what you've done, I don't know what’s going on with the movie anymore.” Changsub’s face is scrunching as he points an accusing finger at Sungjae, who's thinking that he looks cute when he's sulking. I want to pinch your chubby cheeks. “Stop giving me that look hyung,” you're making me fall for you even harder “are you going to murder me because of popcorn? Geez! You need to chill hyung.” Sungjae stood up, grabbing the bowl from his hyung. “Let me fill this one for you hyung.”

As he was about to fill the bowl, he noticed that Changsub is now preoccupied with his phone. Something occurred in his mind. “Hyung let's just go to the convenient store nearby. My treat.”

“Hmm you know I wouldn't say no to that. Let's go!” Changsub beamed, he instantly get up from the couch.

They both head to the convenient store, it's been a while since the last time they hang out together. “You're not mad at me back there hyung, right?” Sungjae wanted to make sure, although he knows the answer to that already. How silly. Changsub laughs at him “Of course not, Sungjae-yah. Why would I get mad at you?” the older one puts his arm around his shoulders casually. Sungjae tensed up as his eyes widened, ‘ what are you doing hyung’ his breathing becoming unsteady. By the time they reached their destination, Sungjae distanced himself from his hyung as he needs to cool down. He started sweating like crazy ‘What the hell, why now Sungjae. You need to chill.’ He was distracted again, his mind going elsewhere.

When suddenly someone tugged on his shirt. “I'm done picking.” Changsub told him, carrying some snacks.

“Are you sure that's enough hyung? You can get more. You can get whatever you want,” even my heart, no, you already have my heart “but mind you, this is only for a limited time hyung.” I just missed hanging out with you so much

Changsub didn't waste any time taking advantage of the maknae's generosity. He got a basket this time, whistling happily as he looks around the aisle for more food. In no time, the basket was full. Sungjae was already waiting at the cashier, ice cream in hand. He finally saw his hyung, his mouth agape as he saw him carrying a loaded basket.. Changsub really did what he's told seriously. He noticed the looks that the maknae is giving him. “Pabo-yah! I got this much so I can share it to everyone in the dorm. You seriously think that I'm going to eat this by myself?” Changsub said, faking that he's offended.

Sungjae sighed in relief. “How thoughtful of you hyung.” Oh how he badly wanted to give him a hug.

“You only got yourself an ice cream?” the older one asked.

Sungjae nods,  the ice cream. His mind is drifting away again, until he felt a cold sensation on his hand. He cursed abruptly after seeing the mess. With his other hand, he tried searching his pockets for a handkerchief but there was nothing. “Aigoo, our maknae is being sloppy again.” Changsub gave him his handkerchief so he can wipe his messy hand. “Don't return it to me unless it's clean.” the older one added. ‘As if I wanted to return this to you.’ Before they could head back to the dorm Changsub decided to buy fried chicken and jajjangmyeon as his treat this time, but Sungjae insisted that he'll pay for it again. Feeling bad for leaving out his other hyungs.

All eyes were on them as soon as they enter their dorm. “Are we celebrating something?” Ilhoon muttered as he approached the two. Then the other members started crowding them. Changsub told them about what's behind all of it. The hyungs thanked Sungjae for his generosity as Changsub highlighted that it was their maknae's treat. “I’m the one who paid for it, but Changsub hyung is the one who made it possible.” Sungjae thought that his hyung didn't got enough credit. He only wanted to spend time with his hyung and solely treat him. But his hyung on the other hand was also thinking about the other members. It made Sungjae so soft that he wanted to puke flowers, disgusting. ‘Another point for you Lee Changsub.’ he thought.

× × × × × × ×

Sungjae thought that he finally got his hyung back. They spent three days goofing off. Eating then bickering, watching TV then bickering, playing then bickering. Basically bickering whenever they have the time. They're back at their normal state, however, it didn't last long. Changsub decided to stay at his room most of the time. He would just go out whenever it's meal time or he wanted to watch TV.

What made it went wrong? Scratch that, it's not what but who. Sungjae tried eavesdropping on Changsub's room one night. He can faintly hear Changsub laughing, he's on the phone with someone. He stayed for a while, hearing laughter, humming, and more gibberish. Until he heard the name clearly. Daehyun is still not out from the picture.

One time, Changsub left his phone unguarded at the kitchen counter. Their maknae was able to spot it. He's eager to know the truth so he began examining his Hyung’s phone for clues. He felt bad for invading his privacy. Until he saw it. Changsub's last message to Daehyun. It was from the same day when the four of them met at the noraebang. I don't think we can hide this from them any longer. Sungjae tried his best to remain passive. He doesn't want to get jealous over nothing, or doesn't want to cause any fuss again. But he doesn't have the guts to ask for confirmation. He called the only person who can help him ease up and keep his sanity intact. It's none other than Youngjae. He told him what he just saw. ‘How come Youngjae hyung is still calm after this?’ unlike Sungjae who's whining.

“I'll ask him myself. I'm still waiting for the right timing.” Youngjae said on the other line.

Until that right timing turned into a week. Sungjae can't wait any longer. He wanted to spare himself from further heartbreak.

× × × × × × ×

All of them gathered for their usual movie night. They decided to watch a horror movie, just to make fun of their appa Eunkwang. The only one's who were really paying attention to the movie were Peniel, Hyunsik, and Minhyuk. While the rest are taking turns to scare Eunkwang off. His dongsaengs are delighted to see him jolting and screaming his lungs out. He swore that these people are spawn of satan himself. Pillows flying out everywhere, potato chips scattering on the floor, cans of soda rolling out to any direction, hands appearing out of nowhere, and screams from Eunkwang made their movie night bustling. They only saw the aftermath after the movie was finished.

“I'm not going to clean that mess up. I've had enough tonight.” Eunkwang said while wiping his sweat. Peniel, Hyunsik, and Minhyuk quietly made their way to their rooms. The one's left are those who caused chaos. Ilhoon arranged the pillows back to the couch and immediately left. Leaving Changsub and Sungjae to clean up. Changsub collected all the soda cans and disposed it, while Sungjae vacuumed the floor. The older one sat on the couch, flipping through different TV channels. Sungjae joined him. They watched a documentary silently. The silence between them made it hard for Sungjae to concentrate, the low volume of the TV isn't helping either. ‘Hyung say something.’ He swore that the only thing he can hear is their heartbeats. That's it, he can't take it anymore.

He stood up and went to the kitchen. He took two cans of beer from the fridge. “Don't you think it's too late for having that?” Changsub muttered as soon as he saw what Sungjae was holding. “Nah, we should be fine.” the younger one said, while passing one to his hyung. Then again, they both drink in silence. It seemed that both of them are avoiding something. Sungjae took one more swig and he's ready to let it all out “Hyung?”

Changsub hummed, his eyes fixed on the TV.

“Are you” Sungjae mumbled, Changsub wasn't able to hear him. ‘Why is it so hard to say that D word?!’. He cleared his throat. “Hyung are you happy?” he said audibly.

Changsub slowly faced him, baffled. “You're not drunk aren't you?” he studied the face of the younger one and he's slightly flushed. Unsure if the question was meant to be serious, but he answered anyway. “I am happy, Sungjae. How about you?”

I wanted to be “Of course, I am happy.” the younger one answered right away. “Is someone making you happy?” he asked another one. The question he wanted to let out from his chest.

Changsub is certain that he's drunk now. Sungjae is not really into serious stuff unless he's acting or drunk. “Yes, someone is making me happy.” he said without hesitation, staring deeply into Sungjae's eyes. He's now looking at the person who's making him happy, although he has no clue about it.

“I'm glad you're happy hyung.” Sungjae said flatly, chugging the beer down. He felt like he just died inside. Changsub was about to say something when he felt the need to pee. He immediately excused himself and went to the bathroom. By the time he came back, Sungjae is no longer there. He thought that he probably went to his room and sleep.

× × × × × × ×

Changsub woke up at noon time. He hasn't left his room yet, but he can hear murmurs outside the room. “What's going on?” he asked aloud, rubbing his eyes.

“Did you know where Sungjae has gone to?” Eunkwang asked, worry evident all over his face.

“His room?” Changsub answered, perplexed. Why would they ask him such question when the answer is too obvious.

“I wanted to borrow his charger because mine isn't working anymore. When I checked, he's not in his room anymore because the door was unlocked. I thought he just went out to jog or buy something. But he's not back yet, and it's been hours since then. He's not answering our calls.” Eunkwang is becoming antsy as he was explaining the situation to Changsub. He swore that if Sungjae is trying to pull another prank on him, he's going to bury him alive.

Changsub tried calling their maknae, the other line is unattended. “Have you tried calling manager-nim?”

“We did. Sungjae has no schedule for today. We did call his noona and he's not at their home. We called some friends but no one knows where he might be.” Minhyuk said, taking a deep breath.

Changsub got alarmed as he can feel the tension in the room. “Should we call the police?” He knows that Sungjae is not the type of person to cause any worry to everyone intentionally.

“It's too early for that hyung. We can try and look for him ourselves first.” Ilhoon answered. Earning a nod from Hyunsik. “Ilhoon's right. That's the plan anyway.”

They didn't waste any time, dividing themselves into 3 pairs so it would be easier to look for Sungjae's possible whereabouts. Eunkwang with Changsub. Minhyuk with Peniel. Hyunsik and Ilhoon. “Let's keep each other updated okay?” Eunkwang said before they dispersed. From coffee shops to restaurants to bookshops. They checked every establishments that they passed by. But there has been no sign of Sungjae yet. Changsub who hasn't eaten anything doesn't seem to mind. Who would even have the appetite to eat on situations like that.

“We've been looking around for almost 2 hours already. I swear I'm going to skin him alive when we see him.” Eunkwang muttered, gasping for air as he stooped down on his knees. They found a bench nearby and decided to rest for a while. There has been no update from the other members.

“I can feel there's something wrong with him lately, but he's so good at making me believe that it's the contrary. I can't believe he fooled us.” Eunkwang said, shaking his head.

“What do you mean hyung?”

“That day when he looked for you. He looks really agitated because you're not home yet. He asked for Daehyun's number because he wanted to know where you are. I don't have his number so I gave Himchan and Youngjae’s number instead. He immed--” Eunkwang was cut off. “He asked for Youngjae's number?”

“Yes, he did. He called them right away but no one was answering. I told Minhyuk about what happened, Sungjae's already gone by the time he checked. He went out to probably look for you. But he lied to us and told us he's just craving for coffee.”

“Him and Youngjae were together when they found us at the noraebang. Both of them flooded us with messages asking for our whereabouts. He told us they saw each other in the coffee shop. He lied to both of us then.”

‘So Youngjae is in the picture too.’ Eunkwang thought.

“We were able to talk last night. I thought he's drunk. He asked me if I'm happy and if someone is making me happy. I told him yes. By the time I came back from the bathroom he's no longer there.” Changsub said earnestly.

It just dawned Eunkwang. Everything's adding up now. “So he's been missing since last night.” his eyes widened.

“How can you say that hyung?” Changsub was anticipating for his hyung’s answer.

Eunkwang raised a finger. “He asked for Daehyun's number because he knows you're together,” then he raised a second finger. “He's indirectly referring to Daehyun when he asked you if someone is making you happy. It's all making sense right?”

No  sherlock! Changsub was dumbfounded that he can't say anything. How come he's so oblivious about it.

“I've been trying to connect the dots between the three of you, but it turns out that it's actually four. I'm trusting my intuition this time. You're not telling me the whole truth, aren't you Changsub-ah?”

Changsub was about to open his mouth and spill the truth when his phone buzzed. Daehyun's calling him.

“Dae--”

“Hyung! Youngjae is missing.” Daehyun frantically said on the other line.

“What do you mean missing?”

“Jongup saw him going out last night, told him he's just gonna get some fresh air. But he hasn't been back since then.”

“Sungjae is missing as well. I think they're together. Where are you right now? I'll explain everything to you when we meet.”

The call ended shortly. Changsub informed Eunkwang about the call that he got. He told his hyung that he'll meet Daehyun so they can look for the two.

“I know you haven't told me the truth yet, but I can see where this is going,” Eunkwang smiled, foreboding something. “Go get your dongsaengs. Don't forget to smack Sungjae's head for me when you see him.” he said before dismissing Changsub.

× × × × × × ×

Changsub and Daehyun met 20 minutes later. “How do you know that they're together hyung?” Daehyun asked, anxious to know the answers.

“They lied to us back then. They didn't just met at the coffee shop coincidentally. Eunkwang hyung told me how Sungjae was behaving. He stayed up late, waiting for me. He asked for your number but Eunkwang hyung wasn't able to provide it, so he gave out Youngjae's number instead. They were trying to look for us.”

“I don't get what you're saying hyung. Does it have a connection on why the two suddenly disappeared?” Daehyun was bewildered. His mind is foggy because of overwhelming emotions he had at the time. He can't think clearly because of Youngjae's disappearance.

“Last night, Sungjae asked me if I'm happy and I told him I am. Then he asked me if someone makes me happy and I told him yes. I feel so stupid because that would've been my chance to tell him that he’s the reason why I'm happy. All I did was looked at him in the eyes. Then he's gone. I was so confused until Eunkwang hyung said something that made sense.” Changsub then mentioned Eunkwang's verbatim.

Daehyun was out of words. They've been blind and clueless the whole time. If truth was only a person, it could've slapped them hard already.

“I know this is a lot to take in. The four of us are foolishly playing hide and seek all along. Hiding our feelings for each other. None of us wanting to get caught because once the game ends, all of us will lose. So we chose to stray away while we can, to save what we already have.” Changsub expressed his sentiments, tears forming in his eyes. “Aish! What's with this gloomy mood.” Changsub slapped himself. Daehyun laughed bitterly, fighting the tears from his eyes. “Let's go look for our dongsaengs. Let's end this cruel game already.”


× × × × × × ×

If they could only flip the city upside down, they could've done it already just to find the persons they're looking for. Minutes turned to hours, it's already dusk. They have looked everywhere. Some members are already back in the dorms to wait, in case the two finally decides to go home.

Daehyun was having a phone call with his hyungs. Changsub could hear Himchan hollering on the other line. The defeaning phone call lasted for 10 minutes. “Poor Youngjae, I can just imagine earful nagging that he'll get from Himchan.” Changsub jested, he can imagine what Eunkwang can do to Sungjae as well.

“How the tables have turned. We're the ones looking them now.” Daehyun frowned. Both of them wandered on the streets without knowing where to head exactly. So this is how they both felt while they're trying to find us? Is this their way of retaliating? I must say they're doing a great job. They won. Maybe we deserve this, for all those times we made them feel lost.

The cold night breeze gave them chills. Daehyun rubs both of his hands for heat, while Changsub had both of his hands on his jeans pocket. They've been looking since the afternoon but to their dismay, the two is still nowhere to be found. They already went to the places where the two would go, Eunkwang and Minhyuk even checked the noraebang before. But there's still no trace of them. They all agreed on asking for help from the police when 24 hours is over. But they think it wouldn't be necessary, the two are just probably loosening up because of heartbreak a.k.a a big understanding. Yongguk, Himchan, and Minhyuk still has no idea on what's really going on. All they know is the two are missing. Only Eunkwang knows the truth, if his intuition was right, but there's no doubt about it anyway.

It's not really suspicious at all when two men just casually walks around, as if they're looking for someone then left like nothing happened. Especially when both of them wore black from head to toe. Their faces aren't visible because of their hoodies and mask. “We look like mobs who are ready to fight anyone who comes in our way.” Changsub chuckled upon seeing their reflection. They haven't really payed attention to it before that both of them unintentionally had the same get up.

After having a quick dinner, they both decided to head to the noraebang. They wanted to double check even though Eunkwang has been there earlier. But then again, the two persons they're looking for were not in sight. Destiny was being playful at them that night. Half an hour after they left the noraebang, two familiar persons showed up.

× × × × × × ×

Sungjae was holding a mic on his hand and a bottle of soju on his other hand. He was singing to his heart's content, though he's actually screaming most of the time. Youngjae was happily cheering on him while drinking. Both of them had swollen eyes, but it wasn't that worse than it should've been. They didn't spent the entire day bawling their eyes out. Shocker. Considering what Sungjae did before, it won't be a surprise if it'd be much worse this time. But no, they we're actually passive. As if they already saw that one coming. Well, they were wrong.

Songs after songs. Few sips after few sips. The two are starting to get tipsy. No one wanted to let go of the mic. Good thing, no one can hear the screaming noises they're making. Sungjae was so into the song when his voice suddenly cracked. “Aish! This is so Changsub hyung. I've heard his voice cracked many times before and it's so funny.” he giggled like a child, then he tried imitating his hyung’s voice cracking. It was the start of their laugh fest, where they exchanged stories about their hyungs embarrassing moments. Laughter filled the room. Youngjae can't stop himself from laughing until his jaw hurts. Sungjae even fell from the couch from laughing too much. It was a chaotic sight, it's like they haven't laughed for years. “My stomach hurts.” Sungjae held his stomach as he sat back on the couch again. “I think my jaw is dislocated.” Youngjae mumbled while holding his jaw. The combination of alcohol and laughter made them red as a tomato.

After calming themselves, they're back to singing and drinking. Sungjae opened his phone for the first time after his disappearance. He was flooded with messages from the other members, he scrolled down and saw Eunkwang’s messages to him. “Ha ha Eunkwang hyung .. is going to kill me.” he mumbled. But he noticed that most messages are from his Changsub hyung. He frowned while showing the messages to Youngjae. “Hyung, look! Changsub hyung .. is so worried .. why ..” he fell into trance, his mind stopped working. Youngjae waved a bottle in front of him. “Don't think about him .. just drinkkkkkkk.”

× × × × × × ×

24 hours had passed and they haven't found the two yet. Changsub and Daehyun tried their best to stop their hyungs from contacting the police for help.

“Jung Daehyun you better give us an explanation why we shouldn’t worry! It's been 24 hours and they're still missing!” Both Daehyun and Changsub flinched from Himchan’s outburst on the other line. They can even hear Yongguk trying to calm him. “I'll explain everything hyung. Give us more time to look for them.” then the call ended.

They have checked every single places they've been to, but both of them has only one place in their mind. Even though the place was checked twice, something tells them to go back.


So they did.

× × × × × × ×

Empty bottles of soju were all over the table. Both occupants in the room were drunk. Well, you could say one was actually drunk and the other one simply lost his mind. Youngjae was knocked out on the couch, while Sungjae was singing nursery rhymes. “Twinkle twinkle .. ha ha .. little star .. ha ha .. how I wonder .. ” he’s chuckling to himself. It went on until he noticed there's someone tapping on the glass door. He stumbled across the room. It took him a while before he reached the door and came face to face with none other than, his Changsub hyung.

“Game's over, Sungjae. Both of you have been found.” Changsub sighed in relief. He was overjoyed to finally see his dongsaeng.

Daehyun spotted Youngjae’s sleeping figure in the couch. He tried waking him up but he's totally unconscious. “He’s never been this drunk. To the extent that he passed out.” he moved his dongsaeng’s hair away from his face. “I’m sorry, Youngjae. If only I’d known sooner. If only I tried.” he said ruefully.

Sungjae was feeling dizzy, everything around him doesn't make any sense. How did they know they were together? Why are the two of them together again? Why did Daehyun said he's sorry to Youngjae.

“You are reeking in alcohol. Do you know that Sungjae-yah?” Changsub suddenly muttered. “I didn't know you left after our conversation. I thought you went to sleep. We were all worried. Both of you made us worried. I wasn't even able to eat anything when I woke up because we immediately started looking for you. The hyungs badly wanted call the police to ask help in looking for the two of you. Do you have death wish huh? Are you out of your minds? I don't know what you punks were thinking, but this isn't funny!” he nagged at the younger one, thinking he’s not comprehending everything he's saying since he's drunk. “Eunkwang hyung wanted me to smack you in the head once I found you.” Changsub raised his hand and was about to playfully smack Sungjae in the head, when the younger one suddenly grabbed his hand firmly. “I won't let you do that. You've done enough damage to me already.” Sungjae snapped. Changsub was caught off guard. He’s not that drunk to mutter such thing.

“What did I do?” Changsub pretended to be oblivious from the truth. He wanted to hear the truth from Sungjae himself.

Sungjae glared at him then to Daehyun, now back to him. “Does it matter? You're happy anyway.” he said it bitterly.

“I am happy. Well that's the truth. Someone makes me happy. That's also a truth. But you didn't asked if who makes me happy.”

“Why the need to ask that when the answer is pretty obvious. Right, Daehyun hyung?” Sungjae retorted.

Daehyun coughed upon hearing his name. He eyed Changsub who was smirking at him. He knows what to do. “I don't know what you're talking about, Sungjae.” he shrugged. Taking part in their mind game to make Sungjae spill the truth.

“Why are the two of you lying to me?!” Sungjae said aloud. He's frustrated that they're messing with him, his head throbbed with pain isn't helping either. It only made the situation much worse. “Never mind. This is all pointless. I’m going home. Enjoy your night or whatever.” he stumbled to leave the room.

Changsub yanked him back. “You're not going anywhere, Yook Sungjae. You're not leaving again. I'm trying to have a serious conversation here. Maybe if you waited a bit for me to come back from the bathroom, maybe you learned the truth by now.”

“I already know the truth okay? How many times do you have to remind me? You're really cruel, Lee Changsub. Did you expect me to say my congratulations and shower you with flowers?” Sungjae clenched his jaw.

Changsub was getting impatient. He expected him to be like ‘I like you hyung, don't you feel the same way about me?’. But Sungjae won't stop whining. “You're so overdramatic when you didn't even know half of the truth. You're even dragging Daehyun here. I know what you're thinking, that me and him are together. You're definitely wrong. I wanted to hear the truth from you but you kept on whining dramatically. You haven't even heard me mention the person who makes me happy but you went ballistic right away.” He took a deep breath. “We're all tired okay. This has been too much. We had no idea that the feelings were mutual, until both of you suddenly went missing. You have to thank Eunkwang hyung because if it wasn't because of him, I'd still be clueless as . I know what I'm feeling inside. I was just afraid that it'd ruin our friendship because I don't want to lose you. I thought it's much easier to forget the feelings than losing you.” Changsub grimaced at his own words, wow you're so cringey.

At that moment, it feels like they were the only persons in the room. Daehyun was just their spectator, if Youngjae was only awake he'd probably do the same to him. But he'll be less cringey than Changsub.

“So, you like me too?” Sungjae deadpanned.

Changsub was dumbfounded. He could've just tell him that he likes him, period. But he went on being cringey because he wants to. “I said what I said. I'm not repeating anything.” he crossed his arms.

It just dawned Sungjae. ‘Wait, hold up. Changsub hyung likes me too! He likes me tooooo!’ He put his hands on Changsub's shoulders while facing him. “Hyung I --”

“What the hell, Yook Sungjae!” Changsub yelled, his face contorted with disgust. Sungjae puked in front of him, some even got into his shoes.

“You were too romantic that it made him vomit, hyung.” Daehyun chuckled at the scene across him. He then helped Sungjae sat down, while Changsub cleaned up the mess on his shoes. “I didn't signed up for this. I swear I'm going to strangle you, Sungjae.” Changsub complained. After cleaning his shoes which is still a mess, he cleaned up Sungjae. He wiped the remnants of the vomit on Sungjae's face and some on his shirt.

They both called their hyungs because they can't handle the two alone.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Changsub muttered as he noticed that Sungjae kept on staring at him.

“I hope this isn't a dream.” Sungjae murmured. Then he kept on poking Changsub's cheek. “You're real hyung.” he smiled when he realized that he's not dreaming.

“Of course! You even puked on my shoes. Stop mumbling nonsense. Close your eyes and sleep. We're just waiting for hyungs.”

Daehyun was listening to them the whole time, he can't help but to feel jealous. “This sleeping fellow here missed the funny moment. I hope we all can start over in good terms. I'm sorry, Sungjae. I didn't meant to steal your Changsub hyung from you.” All eyes are on him now.

“There's nothing to be sorry for, Daehyun hyung. I understand.” Sungjae gave him a weak, yet reassuring smile.

Few minutes later, Yongguk and Himchan arrived. “What the hell happened here?!” Himchan’s voice boomed. “Can somebody tell us what happened?” he frantically rushed to Youngjae’s side.

“Don't worry hyung, he's fine. He just drank too much. I'll give you the explanation that you needed hyung. But not in here. We need to go home.”

“You better give me a good explanation. You must, Daehyun-ah. Aish! If only Youngjae's awake, I'd beat the crap out of him. What was he even thinking? I swear I won't go easy on him after this, he needs to learn his lesson. We didn't raised him like this! I can really feel my blood pressure risi-” Himchan nagged until Yongguk interrupted him. “You may continue complaining back in the dorm. I don't think it's necessary to do it here. We’re not the only ones in here you know.” he muttered loud enough for Himchan to hear.

That's when Himchan realized that Changsub and Sungjae was also there. He laughed awkwardly. “I'm sorry about that. I didn't made proper greeting. It's good to see the two of you. I was able to call Eunkwang earlier, I guess they're coming as well?”

“Yes. They're actually on their way, Himchan hyung.” Changsub replied.

No further questions were asked. They said their goodbyes. Yongguk who was carrying Youngjae head out first and Himchan followed. “I’ll be going now. Let's all hang out soon. You take of each other, okay?” Daehyun said as he stopped abruptly in front of them.

“Of course! All the best for you and Youngjae. I hope both of you would still be in complete pieces after Himchan hyung's scolding.” Changsub jested. The room was filled with laughter one last time before only two persons were left. It didn't took long when Changsub's phone buzzed, Eunkwang was calling him. He was told that he's waiting for them outside.

“Let's go! It's finally time to go home.” Changsub said as he stretched his body. “What are you still doing? Get up now, Sungjae.”

“Carry me hyung.” the younger one pouted, giving him puppy eyes.

“You're not even that drunk. You can walk just fine.” Changsub brushed him off.

“I'm dizzy hyung. Do you want me to just suddenly collapse? Do you want me to get hurt again? I thought you liked me.”

“Alright! Stop being dramatic. I'll carry you.” by the time he said that, Sungjae immediately jumped on his back. “I swear Yook Sungjae, if you're not that special to me I'd just leave your drunk  here. Are you planning to break my back? Jeez, I'm not getting any younger.” Changsub complained as he adjusted himself so he can comfortably piggyback Sungjae. When all of a sudden, the younger one gave him a peck on his cheek. “There. Feeling better?” Changsub can feel his face reddened, he can't help but to smile widely. “Much better.” he told the younger one.

They made their way out without any problem, but Changsub can feel his back starting to ache. As long as it's not his heart, he should be fine.

“It's good to finally see you, Sungjae-yah. Did you enjoy your one day vacation?” Eunkwang said sarcastically. “I hope you did. I also hope you have prepared your explanation because Minhyuk is mad. The others were totally clueless. Everyone's still awake because they're waiting for you. I am mad, but since I knew the truth it's much lesser. But that doesn't mean I'll let you go easily.”

How did Eunkwang suddenly had a newspaper in his hand? Both of them wondered. It all happened so fast until they heard a thwacking sound. “Hyung! I have migraine. That hurts!” Sungjae cried, while rubbing his head. He hides behind Changsub. Appa Eunkwang can be that violent.

“You better not do it again, Sungjae-yah.” Eunkwang warned, narrowing his eyes at him.

“I won't let him hyung. I got my eyes on him now. Scratch that, I always did.” Changsub grimaced at his own words again, why is he so cringey. Sungjae rests his head on his shoulder. “I know hyung.” he mumbled.

Eunkwang cleared his throat. “I didn't came here to be your third wheel. I think we should all go home before the two of you  flaunts your PDA.”

Their ride home was silent. Sungjae can feel his senses shutting. Before it can happen he took his hyung’s hand and held it tightly. No one stole Changsub hyung away from me, he’s always been mine. And he drifted to sleep.