Jonghyun sighed for the umpteenth time that morning, his foot tapped impatiently against the concrete ground as he waited for his best friend to finish whatever the hell he was doing in the barber shop.  Earlier that morning Key had a mini panic attack, he was screaming about something and Jonghyun could barely make out what the problem was. Apparently the boy’s roots had started to ‘show’ and that was ‘unacceptable’ and needed to be taken care of immediately or Key would ‘rip his balls off and use his blood to dye his stupid dino head red.’

It wasn’t a pleasant image and Jonghyun would rather not think about it again. He was pondering the different ways Key could pull off that plan when his phone sang Nell’s ‘Beautiful Stranger’ obnoxiously loud. He squinted down at the caller I.D. and saw it was an unknown number.

“Yoboseyo?” he asked cautiously. The last time he answered a phone number he didn’t recognized it turned out to be a punk middle schooler attempting to prank call him. Needless to say he had to change his number to get away from the brat.

“Oh thank god, at least you’re picking up. Mind telling what I’m supposed to do?”

Jonghyun frowned, “What? Who is this?”

“Don’t play dumb Taemin. Seriously I’ve been waiting at the airport for half an hour now and no one is here. I thought someone was picking me up.”

“Look, you have the wrong number. I- wait… Onew hyung?”

“Yes! Who else?!”

“Wait hyung, you’re back from the states!? How long ago!?”

“A half hour, didn’t you hear?” a good natured chuckled resonated on the other end, “I called Minho and he said that one of you guys were gonna get me so we could hang out before I head to Seoul.”

“So where are you now?”

“Daegu International Airport.”

Jonghyun frowned, “He didn’t tell us anything about it.”

“What? He said he told you because it’s supposed to be a surprise for Jonghyun and Key, hence why I called. Do you even have your license yet?”

“Onew Hyung… this isn’t Taemin…”

“Oh… Jonghyun?”

The brunette smirked, “A surprise for us, huh?”

“… Can you pretend I didn’t tell you?”

“Yeah, are you still going to call Taemin for a ride or would you rather we just got you?”

“Is Key with you?”

“He’s busy at the moment.”

“Then don’t get me. It’ll at least be a surprise for him.”

“Arraso, but was someone going to tell us about this?”

“Yeah, Taemin should have. Look, I feel bad for ruining the surprise, so can you just play along?”

“I’m better at keeping secrets than Key is. Don’t worry hyung…” Jonghyun trailed off. The door to the barber shop opened and he turned his head to see who had stepped out.

Key’s once dull, over grown blonde hair had been cut shorter and re-dyed. He had added pink to his bangs and wore some horn rimmed glasses the brunette hadn’t seen before. The cut complemented his features and Key seemed to glow as he smiled at Jonghyun.

“Jonghyun? Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, fine… I’ll call you later,” he hung up, eyes never leaving Key.

“Sorry that took so long, Taemin called me in the middle of my appointment and stated that he wanted to meet up with us for dinner. He seemed really happy to hear that we were already in Daegu and… what?”

“Huh?”

“You’re staring,” Key frowned and touched his hair consciously, “Is it my hair? Does it look weird?”

“No, not at all. It looks…”

“Pink? It was spur of the moment, I don’t know if I really like it or-”

“Wonderful,” Jonghyun smiled reassuringly and ruffled his hair, careful not to mess it up too much, “It looks great Kibummie~”

The said boy blushed, “Yah! It was just styled! Stop teasing me too. Taemin gave me an address where we were going to meet. If we leave now we’ll get there at 4, around the time he said he was going to be arriving as well.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Jonghyun slung his arm around the boy’s shoulder and guided him to the car. Key stared at his phone with his eyes narrowed as he reread the address.

“Something’s up, I can feel it,” he mumbled as he got inside the vehicle.

Jonghyun started up the engine and backed out before he replied, “What makes you say that? It’s just Taemin.”

“Yeah, but he sounded too excited… and what the hell is he doing in Daegu anyways?”

“Well his job does require him to travel.”

“A choreographer normally sticks in his own studio and lets the students come to him.”  

Jonghyun sighed, “You’re over thinking things.”

“No, I’m not,” Key pouted and faced the window, “I will figure this out.”

Jonghyun laughed and nodded, stealing glances at his pretty friend as he drove to off. 
--

Needless to say, Key figured out what the surprise was fifteen minutes before they arrived at the restaurant. He had stolen Jonghyun’s phone while the latter was belting out lyrics to the CD he recovered from the piles of empty Starbucks cups. Key went through his call logs, saw the call from Onew, and made the deduction himself.

He smirked as he stepped through the restaurant doors, spotting Taemin talking to another person with their hood up and glasses on. Taemin hadn’t changed in the few months they’ve been separated; his hair was still light brown, short with side swept bangs and he still had his ridiculously skinny figure. Taemin heard the door open and smiled when he saw his two hyungs walk in.

“Key hyung! Jonghyun hyung!” he greeted, rushing over to meet them. Key smiled and opened his arms, bringing the boy in for a tight hug, “You’re early!”

“I told you we were nearby. Where’s Dubu hyung?”

Taemin stepped back, surprised, “W-what do you-”

“Don’t act innocent. Jonghyun spilled the beans.”

The maknae of the group glared at the said male. Jonghyun looked shocked and shook his head furiously, “No! I did not! Look, Onew called me thinking I was you and accidentally told me then. I didn’t say a word to Key; He stole my phone while we were driving and checked my recent calls like the controlling girlfriend he is.”

“Oh jagiya, you’re forgetting something,” Key cooed, grabbing him by the scarf and pulling him close, “Girlfriends don’t have .”

“No, but boyfriends do and you won’t be getting any if you throw me under the bus.”

Key slapped the back of his head, effectively ending their little game and turned towards the person Taemin was talking to before, “Yah! Minho! I have a bone to pick with you-”

“Not! So loud…” Minho hissed, lunging forward to cover his mouth before they could draw any more attention. Key frowned and shoved his hands way, pulling the celebrity’s glasses off so he could look him in the eye.

“You, my friend, do not know romance at all! Protecting Sulli’s character from getting hit by a water puddle is not romantic, it’s lame!”

“Key, I don’t write the script-”

“You should be able to make them change it, or improvise!”

As Key continued to chew Minho out about how sickly cheesy his drama is, Taemin chuckled and turned to Jonghyun, noticing how his eyes lingered on their fired up friend, “So… pink hair?”

“He said it was spur of the moment,” Jonghyun smiled back, “I like it.”

“You like anything he does.”

“Because whatever he does is perfect.”

“Ah huh” Taemin nodded his head slowly, “So what brings you to Daegu? Key wouldn’t really give me details.”

“We’re on a road trip. He asked if we could stop by and visit his parents, so that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“How fun!” he nodded enthusiastically, “Have you been to Jeju Island yet?”

“Nah, I was gonna surprise him with that later.”

“Perfect, and while you’re at it you can do something about your ‘more than like’ liking for Key.”

“Yeah- wait what?”

“Onew! It’s about time!” Key yelled, drawing their attention to their older friend. Onew grinned, his happiness was infectious and got the other’s smiling as he hugged and greeted every single one of them. Jonghyun made sure to hug him extra tight when it was his turn. Onew had been his close friend since middle school; they had a strong ‘hyung’ bond, being the oldest among their group of friends.

“It’s good to see you,” Onew sighed, patting his shoulder, “How long has it been?”

“Too long. How was America?”

“That, I’ll save for dinner. Hey Minho!” the celebrity groaned, not liking how loud they were shouting his name, “I thought you had connections, what happened?”

“You seriously think my reputation has influence in Daegu? Which is god knows how many miles away from Seoul?”

“Mr. Choi?” a red haired waitress with a nametag that labeled her as ‘Bom’ asked for the customer. Minho raised his hand hesitantly and she smiled, “Right this way, we got you and your party a table out of the public eye for privacy.”

“Oh, thank you,” he bowed slightly. She returned the gesture and led the group of boys through the restaurant. Minho’s disguise got a few curious looks and some squeals from those who actually recognized him. Key and Jonghyun shared a look of amusement and chuckled under their breath; this, however, didn’t go unnoticed.

“We consider this our V.I.P area since it’s cut off from the normal restaurant floor. Feel free to get comfortable.”

“Thank goodness,” Minho stripped off his jacket and tossed his unnecessary shades on the table. The waitress laughed lightly and left with their orders of drinks.  Minho sat beside Taemin on one side of the table while Key and Jonghyun occupied the other. Onew sat at the end between Minho and Jonghyun, smirking as he straightened his posture and eyed them all.

“I feel like the leader again! Ah, how good it feels to have everything back in their natural order,” Onew sighed contently.

“This isn’t high school hyung. We’re not in a cafeteria throwing spoon-fulls of gunk at each other,” Key sighed.

“Well… that can change,” Jonghyun mumbled, eyeing the utensils beside him. Key gripped his leg under the table and gave him a warning look. The elder sighed and grabbed his claws digging into his skin; he rubbed the top of his hand with his thumb as silent reassurance that he would behave, “So hyung, how was your trip?”

“It was… interesting, needless to say. I have never been around such touchy people. They rival your skills of skinship.”

“How dare they, guess I’ll have to step up my game,” he laughed scooting closer to him to prove his point.

“Why aren’t you tan though hyung?” Taemin frowned, “California is supposed to be the sunshine state.”

“Oh my silly little Dongsaeng… I don’t tan, I burn. Do you know how many sunburns I got while I was there? After my… 6^th one and 5^th visit to the doctor’s office, I decided to just stay inside and study.”

“Remind me again, why were you in the US in the first place if all you were gonna do was study?” Minho sighed, “I would kill for a vacation. You have no idea how many strings I had to pull with my manager to even be here today.”

“Oh Minho, you live such a hard life,” Key sympathized sarcastically.

“I was there for the language,” Onew answered, “My English has improved significantly since then.”

“Cool! Say something to me in English,” Taemin encouraged him on with curious eyes.

“Umm, what should I say?”

“Sing with me,” the blonde smirked, “The first time I fell in love was long ago~”

“I didn’t know how to give my love… at all~” The latter finished. The group applauded for the two until the waitress returned with their drinks and appetizers.

“So, are you ready to order?” Bom smiled, pen and paper ready in hand.

“Uh, crap, we didn’t look at the menu,” Taemin frowned, “… and I gotta pee.”

“I’ll order for us, I’ve been here before anyways,” Minho smiled.

Key stood and the same time as Taemin and smiled as well, “I’ll go too. But Minho, if you order something like pig guts then I’ll force feed it to you and make sure it’s lathered in wasabi.”

“This isn’t a Japanese restaurant.”

“I’ll find some,” Key glared. His hand grazing Jonghyun’s shoulder as he stepped around the table to join Taemin, his touch sent chills through the brunette’s body. Too distracted by the feeling, the elder hadn’t realized Onew was trying to get his attention until he felt something pinch his side.

“Dude, close your mouth! We wouldn’t want your jaw to fall off. I don’t think Kibum would be happy to hear how that happened anyways,” he laughed.

Jonghyun frowned, “My mouth wasn’t open.”

“Ah, it speaks,” he reached for his water and took a sip, savoring the cool refreshment before he continued, “So… You and Key are on a road trip… How’s that going?”

“Fine. Great actually. We have some pretty interesting stories to tell you once everyone gets back. You wouldn’t believe the we’ve been through.”

“Given the bandages on your hand and the brace on Key’s, I’d say you’ve got the proof for your wacky adventures,” He laughed.

Jonghyun was slightly confused and looked down at his arm. He had almost forgotten about the car accident, but they were fast healers. Pretty soon it would be like it never happened, “Promise me you won’t get mad when I get to this part of our tale.”

“As long as it wasn’t life threatening, then we’ll be fine,” Jonghyun laughed nervously, causing Onew to nearly drop his drink, “You’re kidding me. Kim Jonghyun-”

“You don’t know what happened! You can’t get mad!”

Onew sighed ad rubbed his eyes, “Never mind, so how far have you gotten with Key.”

“Well we started our adventure in Seoul and-”

“I don’t mean like that. I mean has anything… I don’t know, changed in your relationship since I’ve been gone?”

Jonghyun stared at him dumb struck. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His eyes flickered over to Minho, who was still in a deep conversation with the waitress over what kind of dishes were good or not, before he leaned forward and studied his hyung carefully, “What are you getting at?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“Hyung, you can’t possibly think that I’m… that we’re… it’s just, it shouldn’t seem that way at all.”

“Taemin told me what happened when you two walked in. Still playing those couple games, huh?” Onew chuckled, “Old habits die hard.”

“It’s just a little bit of fun. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“But that’s a lie, isn’t it?” the elder his lips and checked to see if Minho was still preoccupied before he continued, “Look, even the closest of friend’s don’t take jokes like that as far as you two have. Have you even thought about you two… together?”

“Hyung, you honestly think I swing that way?”

“Key does.”

“Key is different. I’m different. I still like girls.”

“Oh yeah? How does Sekyung feel about this trip then?”

Jonghyun looked away and took a swig of his drink. He stared at his cup, avoiding Onew’s probing look before he continued, “We broke up a while ago.”

“How long ago?”

“A week before Key and I left for our trip,” he glared, “Happy?”

“Why?”

“Because the connection wasn’t there anymore. Because we acted more like friends than lovers, it just…”

“It wasn’t meant to be?” Onew finished for him. Jonghyun nodded and scratched the back of his head.

“She said I changed,” he spoke softly, “She said I wasn’t the same person she fell in love with. She loves me, but she’s not in love with me. You know what the sad thing is? I let her walk away and I didn’t do anything to get her back because I agreed with her…”

“So if you’ve changed… have your feelings for him changed?”

Jonghyun ran his fingers through his hair, “Please, I don’t want to talk about this.”

“We’re back!” Taemin announced, noticing the waitress was still there, “Dude, Minho. How much food are you ordering?”

“Hey, I was just talking about the different dishes,” he frowned and turned to Bom, “I guess that’ll be all.”

“Alright, I’ll be back shortly with your order,” she smiled, eyes turning into crescents as she turned and left.

Key took his spot beside Jonghyun and huffed a sigh, “Taemin got cornered by a creep. They tried to make a move because they thought he was a girl that had wandered into the wrong stall. All’s good though… Jonghyun? You okay? You look a little tense.”

Jonghyun shook his head and placed his hand on Key’s knee; he met his eyes and forced a smiled, “I’m fine. Just hungry.”

Onew noticed the gesture and smirked, “There’s nothing to be nervous about Jonghyun-ah... unless it’s those pesky little butterflies in your stomach.”

“I’m done talking about this Jinki, drop it.”

The elder was slightly surprised with the use of his real name and held his hand up in surrender, “I’m just trying to help Jonghyun. I’m here for you when you need me.”

Jonghyun rolled his eyes and turned back to his drink. Key watched the interaction with concern and touched his shoulder lightly, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah… just peachy.”

Onew isn't trying to be mean... he's just tired of watching dense people beat around the bush. I have my college orientation next week... aigoo, San Jose here i come
again, i reread it twice, but if there are any mistakes then i do apologize

aigo you cutie