“Let’s go baaaaaaaaaaaack to the timeliiiinnneee~”

“HITCHHIKING BABEH!”

As Jonghyun followed up on Taemin’s chorus, Onew joined the two drunks in their attempt to mimic the dance beat that came after the misplaced lyrics, only to spit everywhere and break out in an intoxicated fit of laughter. Minho and Key stood on the sidelines, the sidewalk to be specific, as they took their performance to a children’s park a few blocks away from the restaurant.

The two were slightly buzzed themselves, but not enough to sing songs from their high school band that all but lasted three weeks before Taemin got bored and Minho joined a real club. Now Key stood besides his actor dongsaeng, filming the three for blackmail.

The two laughed when Onew and Jonghyun clumsily made their way up a jungle gym, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulder as they serenaded Taemin on the ground. The younger boy sat cross legged on the bark and fell back laughing as the two reached a high note.

“You know,” Minho began, turning towards Key. Key kept his phone steady and looked up, waiting for him to continue, “Jonghyun hyung is pretty good at singing, even when he’s faced.”

“Of course, he’s gotta be good at something,” he chuckled.

“So… why hasn’t he talked to me then?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… I’m with SMEnt under an acting contract. I could get my manager to recruit him if he asked me to.”

Key’s brows furrowed together, “You’re kidding right?”

“No?”

He sighed, “Jonghyun’s not one to ride on other people’s coat tails, you know thing Minho.”

“Yes, but a little help wouldn’t hurt.”

“Do you honestly think that won’t hurt him? No offence, but how would you feel if your dongsaeng had to step in and help you find a job? The same dongsaeng that you took care of and taught ‘life lessons’ to back in high school?”

“He didn’t teach me life lessons.”

“You were practically his son though,” Key rolled his eyes, “Jonghyun took care of you during your awkward years and was there when you were stubborn enough to start fights with Changmin.”

“He always had it coming though.”

“Still, he never left you hanging.”

“So shouldn’t I be repaying the favor?”

Key sighed, he isn’t getting it, “Let me approach this a different way Minho-ah, Jonghyun is a strong individual. He tackles obstacles head on, and if he doesn’t accomplish them himself then it really wasn’t an earned victory. When he gets to his final goal, he wants the satisfaction of knowing that he got there himself, that his hard work paid off.”

Minho was momentarily speechless. Key returned his attention to the three fools and laughed when he saw Taemin trying to pants Jonghyun and the latter whining childishly about it (“Taemin noooooooo~! I-I need, I need my pants!”

“Oh come on hyung! I wanna try them on!”

“Taeminnie you have pants!”

“Then let’s trade!”

“… Okay!”)

Oh yeah, this tape is going to be good, Key was pulled from his thoughts when Minho chuckled lightly, “I guess I see it now.”

“See what?”

“Why you like Jonghyun so much...”

--

“I don’t want to live anymore.”

“Yes you do hyung, now wake up.”

Jonghyun shook his head stubbornly and buried his face deeper into whatever heavenly material his head was resting on. The room was too bright; what he wanted, no needed, to cure his headache was complete and total darkness, like Minho’s soul since he wouldn’t let his poor hyung rest.

“Go a-”

“Hey, don’t be bitter because I know limits when it comes to alcohol. How’s that hangover treating you?” Minho smirked as the sound of his voice was amplified ten times its original volume and made Jonghyun want to slam his head against the nearest wall.

The brunette cracked his eyes open and waited for his vision to adjust. He frowned when he realized he didn’t know where he was… and that the pillow he was using had the same pattern as the shirt Key wore last night.

Wait a minute.

Jonghyun lifted his head lazily and stared down at the sleeping blonde beside him. Upon further inspection, he saw the two of them had managed to cram themselves on the small confines of a rather comfortable couch. He also noticed that his own arms were wrapped around Key’s waist to prevent him from falling off. His friend looked so content, so peaceful…

So Jonghyun decided to have him share in his pain and shoved him off the couch. Key landed with a rather painful ‘thud’ and Minho laughed like a psychotic killer.

“I totally saw that coming too! Oh my god!” he wheezed, resting his hand on the loveseat that Taemin was passed out in. The maknae’s limbs stuck out at different angles, it looked like whoever just dumped him there didn’t bother to make him comfortable.

“Owww,” Key groaned, slowly sitting up, “What the was that for?”

“Morning sunshine,” Jonghyun yawned, patting his back, “What happened last night? I remember a certain dubu-hyung challenging me to a drinking competition and then it’s a complete blank.”

From the bed across the room, a mop of brown hair peeked from the muddled covers and let out an unintelligent garble of words. Some shuffling and readjusting of the sheets allowed Onew to actually stick his face out and he repeated his answer, “I recall having won that, so don’t go sprouting insults just yet you light weight.”

“Oh shut up, you were both just as slammed. This just goes to show you shouldn’t drink so much,” Minho chided, “Otherwise you’ll feel like this every the morning.”

“Psh, I’m not that bad of drinker, I bet I can act better drunk than you sober.”

“You really want to go there Jonghyu-”

“Enough of the bickering!” Key tossed a couch pillow at him and had some difficulty standing on his own two feet. He rejected Jonghyun’s silent offer to help and swayed as he made his way to the bathroom.

“Oi, why isn’t the maknae awake?” Onew asked, a grin spreading on his face when he saw his dongsaeng’s awkward sleeping position.

“I don’t know, but I want a picture of that before he wakes up,” Jonghyun patted down his clothes, looking for his cell phone. He found it sitting on the coffee table, but before he could act Minho was already coaxing Taemin out of his sleeping state.

The boy’s brows furrowed in disgust; not wanting to wake up, Taemin pulled his arms and legs close to his body and shifted in the seat so he was curled into a ball. Jonghyun glared and got up, grabbing his shoulder and unceremoniously tossing him off the seat.

“Gah!” Taemin shrieked as his head made contact with the floor.

Onew and Jonghyun both started laughing before the noise rattled their brains and made them groan in pain. Key stepped out of the bathroom, about to ask what they were going to do for breakfast when he saw the three boys clutching their heads and Minho struggling to contain his laughter.

“You guys are all morons.”

“No we’re not, just poor tormented creatures,” Onew rolled over in the bed and looked towards the window. He raised his first and started shaking it angrily at the sunny sky, “Curse you Mother Nature and your wicked temptation of booze and liquor!”

“I’m pretty sure Mother Nature didn’t invent soju,” Taemin commented offhandedly, allowing his body to sluggishly slump to the floor.

“No, but she did provide the necessities to produce it.”

Jonghyun groaned, “Send a man to America for one year and he’ll come back speaking like Shakespeare.”

“Shakespeare was British, my good man.”

“You know what I meant.”

“On the contrary-”

“God I think I like you two better drunk, at least then you didn’t fight as much,” Key scowled and turned to Minho, “So Mr. ‘Super Star’, does this hotel room have room service?”

Short chapter, but i bet you're all pissed at me for leaving Minkey's conversation like that. You'll find out what they discuss, in due time.