A/N: Lolol if you fall asleep, get bored, stop reading, or a mixture of all three, I don't blame you.

        Jongin knew something was up when his best friend came to visit.

        He woke up to see Sehun sitting cross-legged on the floor trying to unlock his phone, swiping here and there, getting grease on the screen. He watched with half-lidded eyes in amusement, still dazed from sleep. After countless pattern attempts, the intruder sighed and took his own phone out, placing Jongin’s back on the night stand.

        Jongin could feel Jjanggu’s even breathing on his arm. It seemed like the Toy Poodle occupied the empty space on Jongin’s bed last night again along with Jjangah, something they’ve been doing over the past month. From the corner of his eye, he could see Monggu peacefully dozing on his backpack, kicking in his sleep. Sehun has invited himself into Jongin’s apartment so many times that the dogs don’t even bother to bark any more.

        He looked at Sehun once again. After staring at the male’s fingers vigorously typing away on the screen, Jongin figured that maybe he should ask the other what he was doing in his bedroom at – he peered at the neon numbers – seven o’clock on a Sunday morning.

        “You didn’t eat everything in the fridge, did you?” Jongin lifted himself and sat up in his bed, the baby blue sheets that contrasted with his tan skin sliding down to reveal his bare chest. The movement woke Jjanggu up and the dog jumped off the bed and scurried out the open door.

        Sehun glanced up from his phone, face blank and expressionless. “You’re up.” He looked back down, typing a quick response on his phone before putting it in the back pocket of his skinny jeans and standing up, dusting himself off. “And no, I didn’t.”

        Jongin stretched, letting out a yawn before getting out of bed and padding towards his closet, gray sweatpants riding low on his hips. Sehun watched him with a vacant expression.

        “Just most of it.”

        Jongin scrunched the white tee he just grabbed into a ball and chucked it towards Sehun, laughing when it hit the other straight in the face. Sehun broke out into a smile and threw it back, frowning when it landed three feet away from his target. Jongin laughed harder.

        “You can stop now.” Sehun scowled at his friend, waiting for him to finish composing himself. “No, really. I’m happy I could make you laugh this early in the morning. No need to thank me.”

        Jongin took a deep breath before bursting out in a new fit of laughter. “Your face-“ was all he could get out before starting a round of dying whale sounds and seal clapping, eyes turning into crescents, chocolate brown tresses sticking up in all directions.  Monggu cocked his head at the noise, burying his head and whining after.  Jongin was kneeling on the ground when he looked up, meeting Sehun’s glare. But that combined with his earlier reaction and messed up hair is something Jongin couldn’t take.

        “Oh God,” Sehun rolled his eyes and took his phone out, waiting until his buffoon of a best friend calms the down and starts acting sane.

        Jongin knew something was up when he was told to get dressed.

        “Okay, okay, I’m good,” Jongin held his hand up, a few chuckles escaping from his mouth before getting up from the floor, walking towards Sehun and slapping him on the back. “You’re so funny, Sehun!”

        “I know, I know,” Sehun muttered. “Now hurry up and get dressed! We’re going out.”

        “Out?” Jongin was surprised. “Out where?”

        Sehun grumbled and pulled the curtains apart, letting the bright sunlight wash over the room. “Out there,” he jabbed his finger towards the view outside the window. ”Into the real world.”

        Jongin squinted, shielding his eyes from the light. “But I like it here.”

        Sehun looked around Jongin’s bedroom; the Pororo bed sheets, the unorganized closet, the pile of socks, the lava lamp that doesn’t work, the Naruto posters, the stacks of CDs, the unused JanSport backpack, the bowl of popcorn with butter dripping down, the lime green dumbbells, the hibernating laptop, the picture of him and his parents, the calendar a month late, and all the glorious dog hair before turning back to Jongin.

        “Go change,” he ordered.

        “But Sehuuuuuuun,” Jongin whined, acting like a four-year-old child begging his mom for the latest toy. Which is something that actually happened, but that’s another story.

        “If you’re not going to get changed, I’ll strip you and dress you up myself.”

        Jongin could tell the other was really going to do it. The look in his eyes told him so. “Fine,” he sighed, going back towards his closet and taking out a plaid shirt. “But I still don’t like it.”

        “Jongin, its eighty-five degrees outside. Don’t wear black.”

        The male hanged the shirt and took out another one, holding it up for Sehun’s approval.

        “That has a stain on it.”

        Jongin frowned and looked at the shirt to find a brown splotch right on the middle. He threw it to the side when something landed on his head and covered his face. The tan male freaked out for a second, punching and kicking the air before grabbing whatever it was and held it in front of him. It was the white tee he had planned to wear earlier, and it seemed like Sehun’s aim is getting better.

        “Just wear that before you start emptying out your closet,” the younger of the two said dully, eyes glued to his phone. He briefly looked up to see Jongin putting on the shirt before returning his gaze to the screen, reading the new text message. “Now change your pants. No friend of mine is going to go out like they just got out of bed.”

        “But I did.”

        “I can’t hear you.”

        “I’m saying I did just get out of bed!”

        “Do you hear something, Monggu?” Sehun asked the dog next to him.

        Jongin pouted before rummaging some more, pulling out some boxers and a pair of black skinnies. It was a known fact, at least towards him and his dogs, that Jongin doesn’t wear boxers to sleep.  He feels more comfortable that way. Jongin slipped his sweats off, wondering if maybe he should have changed in the bathroom.

        “Oh, and-JESUS CHRIST, JONGIN, YOUR !”

        Jongin knew something was up when his best friend became sentimental out of the blue.

        “I’m sorry you had to see that, Sehun,” Jongin apologized, crouching down next to his best friend.

        “My eyes. I cannot unsee…”

        “If it makes you feel any better, I saw your before too.”

        Sehun stopped rocking back and forth, looking up at Jongin with wide eyes.

        “And trust me, it’s not a pretty sight-ow!”

        “Kim Jongin!” In a flash, Sehun had tackled Jongin to the ground, turning him over and straddling him. “I demand you to erase my from your memory!” Sehun shook the male senseless. “Delete it! Delete it! Delete it! Now!”

        “I can’t, Sehun! Not when it’s the only piece of I’ve seen in the past few years!”

        Sehun suddenly stopped his actions, letting his arms fall to his sides. “Jongin,” he started, voice dead serious. “You really need to get out more.”

        “No, I don’t,” Jongin furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what’s gotten into his best friend. “I’m fine.”

        “Jongin, you’ve been cooped up in here for who knows how long. You only leave your apartment for groceries and other stuff, and even that is rare, considering how there’s barely anything in your fridge except for some apples and vanilla pudding, but I already took care of that.” Sehun paused, taking in the look Jongin was giving him. “What? I was hungry.”

        “Anyways,” Sehun continued. “You hardly interact with anybody and your social life is close to nonexistent. And no,” Sehun held his finger up when Jongin opened his mouth to protest. “Me coming to your house every now and then does not count. Gossiping with Jjangah doesn’t count either. Even they are aware of your situation. There are three dog beds in the living room and yet they go in here to sleep with you. They didn’t use to do that. You didn’t use to be like this. They know you’re lonely, Jongin. I know you’re lonely.”

        Jongin looked at him, eyes wide and mouth agape – an exaggerated reaction. ”Wow, Sehun. That was deep.”  He blinked for a few seconds before smiling wistfully. “What do you want me to do about it?”

        “Stop being a loner and go out and see the world. Things have changed, Jongin. Make new friends, fall in love, get a girlfriend, be a star, heck, maybe even be the president of the United States. I don’t know, Jongin, it’s up to you. Just go out and do something.” Sehun stared at Jongin’s eyes with sincerity, worry and determination showing through. “Please, listen to your best friend just this once.”

        “But I can’t be the president of America – I can’t speak English.”

        “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

        “Well, I guess that answers the question of whether you care or not.” Jongin gave Sehun a bright smile, the other grinning back. “So can you get off me now?”

        “Sure,” Sehun chuckled, rolling off before helping Jongin up.

        “Oh, and one more thing.”

        “Yeah?”

        “Regarding the ‘things have changed’ part.”

        “What about it?”

        “Do you still have a pale ?”

        Jongin knew something was up when he went to eat breakfast.

        “So… about the whole going-out-to-see-the-world thing. Are we actually going to do it?”

        “Yes.”

        “Does it have to be today? I mean, can’t we do it next week?”

        “Yes.”

        “Yes? Yes, we can do it next week? Thanks, Sehun! You’re the best!”

        “I mean, no!”

        “No? No, you’re not the best? Aww, you’re so humble, Sehun.”

        “Jongin!”

        “Jongin? Jongin, you better stop before I stab you with this fake pirate sword? Okay.”

        “Thank you,” Sehun sighed exasperatedly, putting the sword back in its place on Jongin’s desk. “Now, let’s go.” The younger led the way out of the room, followed by Jongin, followed by Monggu, followed by Jjangah. The dogs ran in front of them, almost tripping Sehun as they pounced on a sleeping Jjanggu, initiating a play fight.

        “You don’t mind if I eat breakfast first, do you?” Jongin questioned, heading towards the open kitchen.

        “Nope.” Sehun answered, getting comfortable on the couch and turning on the television. “If you can find anything to eat.”

        The tan male walked up to the cupboard, taking out a box of cereal and pouring its contents into a bowl, the sound gaining attention.

        “What are you eating?” Sehun asked, not looking away from a talk show.

        “Special K,” Jongin plopped down next to the other on the green couch, the coarse linen wrinkling under the weight of two grown men. “Red Berries.”

        “Ah.”

        Loud crunching sounds cold be heard over the laughter on television.

        “No milk, huh?”

        “Nope.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he was handed a leash.

        He had just finished eating breakfast when Monggu, Jjanggu, and Jjangah started to follow him around. Putting more dog food and water in their bowls, Jongin observed his dogs, wondering if what Sehun said earlier was right. With the TV still on, he let the other riffle around his apartment, searching for something Jongin doesn’t know what. A few minutes later, Sehun showed up with a leopard print dog leash on one hand and disposable plastic bags on the other.

        “Ooh, what’s this for?” Jongin pointed at the leash with a fascinated expression. “Did you get this for me, Sehun?”

        “This,” Sehun said, handing over the dog leash. “Is Monggu’s leash. You used to walk him around the park back when you weren’t so antisocial.”

        “Oh.” Jongin stared at the object in his hands. “What do you want me to do with it?”

        Sehun groaned, facepalming. “Walk. The. Dog.” He said through gritted teeth.

        “Why?”

        “To get out, get some fresh air, socialize, get some exercise, have fun, get girls.”

        “Get girls?” Jongin stared at Sehun dumbly.

        “Yeah, he’ll be your wingman, or wingdog.”

        “But why get girls?”

        “Why not? Might as well do it while you’re out there,” Sehun replied nonchalantly. “Your absent love life pains me sometimes.”

        “So that’s the point of this walk – You want me to find a girlfriend so you can get rid of me!”

        “What? No! I want you to find a girlfriend to get rid of your loneliness. Besides, someone has to take care of you.”

        “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

        “Uhuh.”

        “Okay, fine, maybe I need a little assistance, but that’s why you’re here!” Jongin said cheerfully.

        “You expect me to be here every time it rains and snuggle with you?”

        “Yes.”

        “You expect me to cook your favorite dishes?”

        “Yes.”

        “Jongin, you know I can’t cook.”

        “We can order take-out!”

        “You’re impossible,” Sehun grumbled.

        “Thanks!”

        “Now let’s go and walk Monggu.”

        Jongin knew something was up when it was such a nice day outside.

        “Do I really have to?” Jongin whined, trying to act cute and maybe change Sehun’s mind.

        “Yup,” the younger male confirmed, bending down to put his shoes on.

        “I’m holding you responsible for whatever happens out there, Oh Sehun.”

        Sehun waved his hands, brushing off Jongin’s comment.

        With a huff Jongin turned to face the living room. “Monggu!” he waited for several seconds until he saw the Airedale Terrier’s head. “Monggu, come here, boy!” But after a few more calls and whistles, Monggu still wouldn’t come to him, the canine too absorbed in Jjanggu’s face.

        Sehun snickered behind him.

        “Aw, my Monggu won’t come to me,” Jongin cried, hunkering down and burying his face in his hands, moving his shoulders up and down for effect. “My Monggu doesn’t love me anymore.”

        Jongin peeked through his fingers, watching the terrier trot in his direction before stopping and tilting his head, large brown eyes looking up at Jongin as if asking what’s wrong.

        “Aww, so cute!” Jongin threw his arms around the terrier, hugging the dog and letting his face be . “My Monggu came for me! My Monggu loves me!”

        “Yay.” Sehun clapped lifelessly.

        “Does Monggu want to go for a walk? Hmm?” Jongin squealed, getting both himself and the dog hyped up. “Do you, boy?”

         As he attached the leash to Monggu’s collar, Jongin looked up to Sehun with a triumphant smile. “I did it!” he exclaimed.

        “We’re not even out the door yet.”

        Jongin stood up, skipping towards the door where Sehun was waiting. “Bye, Jjangu! Bye, Jjangah!”

        The male froze in his tracks, causing Monggu to run into his leg. “Jjanggu?! Sehun, what about Jjanggu and Jjangah?”

        The younger shrugged his shoulders. “You only had one leash. Besides, Jjangah is a girl. She can’t be a wingman. I think Monggu would attract more women anyways.”

        “B-but Jjanggu…” Jongin trailed off, looking at the toy poodle worriedly.

        “He’ll be fine,” Sehun patted his shoulder. “ They’ll be fine. Monggu, on the other hand, is close to being lethargic like you. He needs this walk.”

        “I really don’t understand your reasoning,” Jongin eyed Sehun suspiciously. “But if you say so.”

        “Okay then, let’s go.”

        “Let’s go!” Jongin cheered. “Bye, Jjanggu! Bye, Jjangah! Bye, internet! I’ll miss you, my babies!”

        As soon as Jongin stepped outside, he immediately covered his face with his arm. “Argh! Sehun, what’s this bright light?”

        “It’s the sun, Jongin. You’ll get used to it.”

        “I don’t remember there being a sun last night.”

        Sehun chose to remain silent.

        “All of this is real, right?” Jongin turned to Sehun after scanning his surroundings. “The government didn’t turn everything into artificial replicas, did they?”

        “Jongin, it’s been months, not centuries. And you’ve been outside before. The world didn’t change that much.”

        “But the sky is so blue, the grass is so green, the flowers are so pretty, the breeze is so cool, the clouds look like s, that girl’s skirt is so short. Why is it so nice outside?”

        “Because today,” Sehun smiled warmly towards Jongin. “You’re going to have a good day.”

        Jongin knew something was up when his best friend invited another person.

        The duo began the two blocks walk to the park, Monggu sniffing at anything and everything they pass by. Jongin was calmly walking with his right hand tightly holding the leash, looking at anything and everything he finds interesting. He’s never been to this part of the neighborhood that much because the stores and laundry mats were in the opposite direction.

        Sehun was texting while walking, something he seems to be really good at as he avoided lamp posts and passersby. After a few minutes of walking in silence, the younger spoke up. “I invited Luhan hyung, by the way. He’s at the park right now.”

        “Who’s Luhan?”

        “Oh my ing-“ Sehun turned to Jongin, face contorted into disbelief. “Do you not remember Lu-“

        “Xiao Luhan. I know, I remember,” Jongin smirked. “Geez, I was just kidding. No need to get all excited.”

        “I wasn’t getting “excited,” I seriously thought you forgot about Luhan.”

        “How could I when I see him at the department store every time there’s a sale?”

        “Seriously?”

        “Yeah, we talk to each other while we wait in line,” Jongin stopped walking when Monggu started peeing on a nearby fire hydrant. “And then after that we roam around the mall to see if there’s any more sales and, maybe if we’re lucky, eat free samples together.”

        “That’s… nice.”

        “I know, right? See, you don’t have to worry about me, Sehun. I’m not some depressed teenager who locks himself up in his room to mourn about his recent break-up.”

        “I can see that.”

        “You should join us sometimes, Luhan hyung and I.”

        “Nah,” Sehun shook his head. “I’ll pass.”

        Jongin shrugged his shoulders. “If you insist.” After Monggu finished his business, they resumed their walk, the two of them becoming silent once again. “So… how are you and Luhan hyung doing?”

        “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

        “You guys are together, aren’t you?”

        “No,” Sehun said with raised eyebrows. “What makes you think that?”

        “From the way Luhan talks about you, it sounds like you guys are going out.”

        “Well, we’re not,” Sehun looked away. “Yet.”

        Jongin grinned. “You’re absent love life pains me sometimes.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he heard his name.

        “Welp, we’re here,” Jongin declared as they arrived at one of the park’s entrances, closing his eyes and stretching as he felt the sun warm his skin before spinning around. “Now let’s go back.”

        “No, Jongin,” Sehun grabbed the other’s arm before he could leave. “We’re staying here.”

        “Do we have to?”

        “Mhmm.”

        “But look at all the strangers,” Jongin gestured towards the people in the park; some with dogs, some with bicycles, some with toddlers. “They’re so strange.”

        “Jongin-“

        “Sehunnieeeeeee!”

        Both Sehun and Jongin jumped at the sound, looking around and spotting a male with honey blonde hair running in their direction. Sehun cracked a smile, holding his hand up but not waving, expectantly waiting. The blonde was clearly headed towards Sehun, but suddenly changed his course five feet away.

        “Jonginnieeeeeee!”

        In no time, the said male was enveloped in a tight, bone-crushing hug. Jongin flailed his hands towards Sehun, but the other’s grim expression wasn’t helping much.

        “I just love it when names end with an N!” The chipper male giggled.

        Still no help from Sehun.

        “Luhannieeeeee!” The blonde exclaimed, yelling out his own name.

        “Sehun,” Jongin chocked out. He and Luhan were bouncing up and down now, gaining attention of the peop – strangers around them. “Help.”

        Still no help from Sehun.

        “Your boyfriend is killing me here,” Jongin wheezed out, vision getting blurry.

        As if snapping out of a trance, Sehun blinked and stepped in between them, dragging the blonde away. “Calm down, hyung. You’re gonna scare him away.”

        “I’m not that scary, am I?” Luhan asked, baring his teeth and shaping his hands to look like claws, striking anything but fear.

         Jongin stifled a laugh when Sehun shielded Luhan away from adoring eyes. The majority of females around the area were cooing at the blonde, and Sehun obviously didn’t like it, glaring at anybody who dared to lay their eyes on not-his-yet-but-will-be-soon Luhan.

        Jongin knew something was up when Sehun’s plan semi-worked.

        After choosing a path to walk, the three men chatted excitedly. Or to be precise, Luhan talked excitedly, Jongin listened excitedly, Sehun stared at Luhan excitedly, and if you look down, Monggu was sniffing excitedly.

        Somewhere in the middle of Luhan explaining how his friend, Yixing, managed to save him from an “ice cream-born ladybug monster who wants my ity” (Sehun’s face was stiff throughout the whole story), two girls appeared in front of them.

        Two very pretty girls, Jongin might add.

        “Omo, omo, omo! It’s a cute doggy!” One with straight hair squealed. “May I?” She asked Jongin.

        “Sure, why not?” Jongin smiled his most charming fake smile. “Go ahead.”

        The girl immediately crouched down, petting Monggu with enthusiasm.  “Come here, Sohyeon! It won’t bite,” she called towards her friend. Out of the corner of his eye, Jongin could see Luhan looking at the girl with something like admiration.

        Sohyeon tentatively went next to the cheerful girl, slowly the top of Monggu’s head before flashing a beautiful smile at Jongin’s direction. Questions about the dog’s name, age, breed, and likes were directed towards Jongin, who tried to answer them as suavely as he could without sounding like a receptionist.

        “Aaah, so cute! Omo you’re really, really, really cute! So cute, Monggu-yah~”

        The terrier was overwhelmed by all the new scents, unable to stay in one place that Jongin had to hold him still just so the girls can gush over him. “He’s a bit nervous,” Jongin lied when the girls ask him why Monggu keeps pulling away. But in reality, it was Jongin who was nervous. He hasn’t been in close proximity with girls in a long time, not to mention these two were really attractive.

        “Can we take a picture with him,” the girl with straight hair, Yoona, asked, pulling out her phone from her pocket.

        “Sure,” was all Jongin could say, backing up to stand next to Sehun and Luhan as they watched Yoona struggle with her phone and pass it to Sohyeon, who didn’t know how she was supposed to take a picture when Monggu kept moving around like that.

        Jongin finally stepped in, unable to watch any longer. He positioned Monggu in front of the two girls, his hand brushed Sohyeon’s and he quickly pulled away, taking Yoona’s phone and stepping back. He crouched down; ready to take a picture, but Monggu stood up and pranced towards him, eagerly sniffing the phone in his hands.

        After many attempts, the picture was finally taken and the girls left with a “see you around,” from Yoona and an “it was nice meeting you,” from Sohyeon.

        Jongin sighed and turned to his friends. Luhan was carrying Monggu and Sehun stood really close to him, scratching the dog behind the ears. “Was it supposed to go like that?”

        “Kind of,” Sehun replied. “Aside from the little photo shoot, you pretty much did what you could. It’s just too bad they didn’t give you their numbers.”

        “Yeah, they seem nice,” Luhan piped up, receiving a frown from Sehun that went unnoticed.

        Jongin knew something was up when he saw a squirrel mocking him.

        Sehun, being the worst-but-the-best best friend that he is, told him some tips to seem more approachable. “Look cool,” he said. “At least try and be good looking. I personally don’t think you’re doing a great job on that, but the looks you’ve been getting says otherwise.”

        “And be nice,” Luhan added. “Girls like it when guys are nice to them.”

        “Monggu is the bait, and all you have to do is reel them in.”

        “Remember to be friendly. Oh, and smile!”

        And that’s how Jongin ended up with one hand very loosely holding Monggu’s leash and the other in his pants pocket. “Look relaxed, casual,” Sehun advised.  A small smile was on his face, but that small smile has been there for five minutes now and his cheeks are starting to hurt. “Smile, I say! SMILE!” was his hyung’s scary order.

        And that’s when Jongin saw the squirrel.

        It looked just like the squirrels in his backyard, but this squirrel had something Jongin couldn’t pinpoint. It was probably the glint in his eyes (those were his eyes, right?) or the way he was perched on the tree branch, but whatever it was, Jongin knew the squirrel was mocking him.

        Jongin dared for the squirrel to come down. He may be high up in that tree, out of his reach, but Jongin knew the squirrel wouldn’t stand a chance once it’s on the ground. As if reading his mind, the squirrel clambered down the tree in a spiral motion. Trying to show off now, huh? Jongin thought.

        As soon as the squirrel landed on the brown mulch surrounding the tree, Jongin stepped forward with a triumphant smirk. But then he kept stepping forward a few more steps until he realized his hand was empty and Monggu was a good six yards away from him.

        “No! Mongguuuuuuuu!” Jongin turned around, giving his friends a pleading look. “Help me, you guys!”

        The soon-to-be couple just looked at each other and back at Jongin.

        “He’s your dog.”

        Jongin stared at them quietly for a few seconds. “Then I guess this is goodbye,” he said, wiping a fake tear before running after his dog. “Baby, come back! You can blame it all on me!”

        The two watched the male disappear behind a group of trees, looking like a maniac on the run. Sehun leaned towards Luhan and whispered something in his ear, warm breath tickling the other’s neck as the blonde giggled in response.

        “He does know he’s going the wrong way, right?”

        Jongin knew something was up when he met an old man.

        The guy had been aimlessly running for a few minutes now, jumping over picnic blankets, ducking under Frisbees, avoiding little kids, looking at girls’ legs. So after a few more useless shouts of “Monggu!” Jongin decided to slow down and start walking again, catching his breath. He headed towards a water fountain near a bench, but instantly stopped when he saw a person sitting on it. It was a man, Jongin could tell. He didn’t know if it was a young man or an old man, but judging by the way he was throwing seeds and bits and pieces of bread on the ground, watching as pigeons and other birds flew down, Jongin guessed it was probably an old man.

        He hesitantly took baby steps towards the water fountain, not wanting to scare the birds and not wanting to be noticed by the old man. But no, the birds just had to fly away and the old man just had to look up. Jongin decided to avoid eye contact no matter what, arriving at the water fountain and taking huge sips of cold water.

        “Hey, boy!” The old man called out and Jongin looked around before pointing at a pigeon.

        “Him?”

        “No, you.”

        “Me?” Jongin asked.

        “Yeah.”

        “Me?” the tan male confirmed.

        “Yes, you!” Jongin carefully walked towards the old man, stopping in front of the bench. “Sorry if I scared you.” The old man apologized, his smooth voice stunning Jongin for a bit.

        “No, it’s okay,” the younger replied, eyes on the ground.

        “Why don’t you sit down,” the old man offered, patting the empty space next to him. “You look tired and I need some help feeding my friends.”

        Jongin decided he liked the nice, albeit creepy, old man. Doing as he was told, he slowly sat down on the green metal bench, still not facing the elder.

        “What’s your name?”

        “Jongin,” Jongin probably shouldn’t have answered that.

        “Here,” the old man held out a brown paper bag full of seeds, smiling as Jongin grabbed a handful and scattered it on the ground. “Now, just sit back and watch.”

        The old man made it sound like watching pigeons peck their food is the most interesting thing in the world. Jongin desperately wanted to look away, but he knew the old man was watching at him. He probably thinks he could teach Jongin the ways, but no, Jongin doesn’t want to be an old man so he finally looked the stranger in the eye and said,

        “Your fly’s open.”

        The old man blushed and stuttered and fumbled like a teenage boy caught having with his girlfriend, hands reaching downwards to zip up his pants and pulling down his sweater for good measure. “Um, thanks,” came the muffled voice, and Jongin looked up to see the face of the old man, hand on his mouth, trying to cover his red cheeks. He was the youngest-looking old man Jongin has ever seen.

        “No problem,” Jongin said with a nod of his head, getting up from the bench. “You can teach me your ways, but not today. I have to find my baby.”

        The old man looked puzzled, but still bowed in his seat, removing his hand from his face. “Then goodbye, Jongin-ssi. Until next time.”

        Jongin bowed back, a ninety-degree bow to show his respect to the elderly. “Goodbye to you too…” Jongin squinted at the paper bag, reading the characters scrawled in black permanent marker.

        “… Junmyeon-ssi.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he saw a red Frisbee.

        He had had been walking for several minutes now, saving his energy instead of wasting it running around the park and tripping on his own feet. He was just minding his own business when a red Frisbee came out of nowhere and hit him smack on the head, causing him to fall on his side.

        “Chanyeol, look what you did!”

        “It’s not my fault you’re so short and couldn’t catch it!”

        “Well, it’s not my fault you’re so tall and couldn’t throw it!”

        “That doesn’t even make sense!”

        “I know!”

        All the yelling was driving Jongin crazy and he sat up a little too quickly, clutching his head and willing the dizziness to go away.

        “Take it easy, sweetie,” a kind voice told him, soft hands letting his head rest on equally soft thighs.

        “Oh, now you’re playing the nice card.”

        “Can it, Chanyeol.”

        Jongin opened his eyes to come face-to-face with pink lips, a cute nose, and lightly applied eyeliner. “Thank God you’re okay,” the person laughed in relief, showing an adorable eye-smile. And then Jongin realized it was a guy.

        The tan male tried to sit up again, but the pretty boy pushed him back down. “Nu-uh. You’re not going anywhere, young man.”

        “Geez, Baekhyun. No need to manhandle the poor guy.” Jongin looked towards the source of the deep voice to find a raven-haired male with weird ears and big eyes.

        Creepily grinning at him.

        “Chanyeol, stop that. You look like you’re going to him.”

        “It’s not fair!” Chanyeol complained, raising his voice. “Why am I always the bad guy?”

        “Because,” Baekhyun replied casually, flipping his hair to the right. ”I’m the y guy.”

        “Oh, yeah? Well you’re not y enough,” Chanyeol stood up, pointing an accusing finger at Baekyun. “The only thing y about you is your eyeliner.”

        Baekhyun tried to get up, but Jongin’s head was kind of in the way. “You don’t mind moving your head, do you?” he asked nicely before shoving said body part off his lap and jumping up. “Now, what were you saying, Park Chanyeol?”

        Jongin crawled towards a nearby tree, leaning his body on the trunk and holding his head like the slightly injured person that he is. As he turned to watch the fight, battle, challenge, whatever, he quickly noticed the height difference between the two males. Baekhyun was oh so short and Chanyeol was oh so tall. Jongin wished he had some popcorn for his head and some ice for the show.

        Hmm, that sounded off.

        Back to the argument at hand, Baekhyun had both hands on his waist, looking very much like a mother scolding her son for staying out late. Chanyeol, on the other hand, well, Chanyeol looked like a giraffe.

        “I have an amazing pelvis,” Baekhyun stated, jutting out his hips and showing the curves of his body. “And baby,” he called out, winking at Chanyeol. “My hips don’t lie.”

        Jongin and Chanyeol cringed at the same time.

        “Well, my voice,” the taller cleared his throat before dropping his voice a few octaves lower. “My voice is pure … iness.”

        Baekhyun scoffed, rolling his eyes at the same time. “So? It’s just your voice.”

        Chanyeol pouted, eyes b with imaginary tears. “But I thought my voice makes me special?”

        “Aww, Channie,” Baekhyun quickly rushed towards the taller male, cupping his cheeks. “We were just playing around. Everything about you makes you special.”

        Chanyeol grinned, momentarily blinding Jongin.

        “Now come on, you big baby. Let’s go play catch.”

        Jongin watched, dumbfounded, as the two people walked away from him, red Frisbee in hand.

        “Oh, and sorry for earlier!” Baekhyun turned around, flashing a smile. “It was actually my fault.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he met more strangers.

        After the little episode with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, Jongin proceeded to search for Monggu, getting more worried with each minute. Where could his baby be? Loud barks were heard somewhere up ahead and Jongin instantly ran up the path. He’d recognize those barks anywhere. Those barks that scared Luhan when he first visited his apartment. Those barks that tell him to shut up when he sings in the shower. Those barks that belong to Monggu.

        “I’m coming for you, baby!” Jongin shouted, running at full speed. He stopped when he reached a crowded area and looked around, standing on his tippy-toes, right hand shielding his eyes from the sun. But alas, there was no Monggu to be found. Jongin spotted a blonde man standing to the side of the path next to another male sitting on a bench. Determining that they looked normal enough, Jongin bravely approached the two.

        “Excuse me,” the two strangers stared at Jongin curiously. From up close, the guy who was standing up was taller than him and resembled an Angry Bird while the dark-haired one sitting down looked like he really, really, really needed some sleep. “Have you seen a brown terrier come through here?”

        “No,” the blonde replied, expression dead serious, and gestured towards the boy on the bench. “But I have a panda.”

        Jongin decided it was best to walk away.

        Deeming the distance between him and the two strangers far enough, Jongin looked around some more, hoping to catch a glimpse of copper brown fur. And when he did he almost screamed and hugged the ajumma next to him, but he didn’t. Because he is Jongin and he has self-control.

        “Uh, young man! What do you think you’re doing?”

        Jongin made sure to bow and apologize before dashing towards the stone marble fountain, keeping his eyes glued on a certain leopard print leash. “Mongguuuu!” the male yelled. After turning a corner, he saw a guy petting a panting Monggu. “My baby,” Jongin exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and running to his dog. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

        “Is this your dog?” the stranger asked, showing Jongin a bright smile.

        “Yes!” Jongin cried.

        “Cool,” the man said before his face darkened. “Now you have to fight me.”

        “Lol whut?”

        “You,” the guy pointed at Jongin and stood up to his full height (which didn’t really help much since Jongin was taller) “I challenge you to a dance battle.”

        Jongin just stared. He stared at the finger pointing at him. He stared at the smug smile. He stared at the gelled hairstyle. And finally, he stared at those fiery eyes. Was this guy for real?

        “I, CHEN, THE DANSHING MASHEEN, CHALLENGE YOU, uh…”

        “What’s your name?” Chen asked quietly.

        “Jongin,” Jongin whispered back.

        “CHALLENGE YOU, JONGOUT, TO A DANCE BATTLE!”

        “Umm.”

        “WINNER GETS TO KEEP THE DOG!”

        “Well, you see, he’s kind of my dog so-“

        “PEOPLE ARE LOOKING! CAN YOU PLEASE GO WITH THE FLOW!”

        “YOU’RE GOING DOWN!”

        “THANK YOU!”

        “YOU’RE WELCOME!”

        Jongin knew something was up when the music started playing.

        It was time to put his dancing skills to good use. Sure he only danced maybe once or twice in elementary school because he had to (“You’d make a perfect tree,” they said), but now that YouTube was one of his best friends, Jongin was confident.

        “Assistant Minseok!” Chen hollered, handing Monggu’s leash to a short chubby guy. “Hold on to Monggu My Baby for us. This might take a while.”

        “Yes, Jongdae,” the guy responded dully, popping his pink chewing gum.

        “It’s Chen the Danshing Masheen. Not no Jongdae.” Chen/Jongdae scowled.

        “Whatever, Jongdae.”

        Chendae sighed. “Assistants these days.” Facing Jongin, he extended his hand. “May the best man win.”

        “I plan to.” Jongin replied, grinning cockily as they shook each other’s hands. And shook some more. And shook some more. And shoo- okay they finally stopped.

        “Well,” Chendae stepped away and bowed, Jongin mirroring his actions. “Let’s get this party started.”

        “Bring it on.”

        “Assistant Minseok!”

        Minseok took his phone out from the pocket of his brown cargo shorts and scrolled for a few seconds, loudly popping his gum before music streamed out from the device.

        “Con los terroristas.”

        Chendae started to swagger, moving back and forth, trying to get the feel of the music.

        “Ta ta ta ta ta ta ta…”

        The male looked like he was about to squat, but stopped halfway, slightly bouncing and flapping his arms like a duck.

        “And do the Harlem Shake.”

        Chendae literally got down to it and started doing the scissors dance, exaggeratingly lifting his elbows, hair flopping on his face.

        “Shake… Ey Shake… Con los terroristas.”

        He then slowly backed away, knees still bent and throwing hip-hop gestures.

        “Ey Shake… Ey Shake…”

        Jongin stepped forward, getting into the groove, chest popping a few times before suddenly shaking his shoulders.

        “Ey Shake… Ey Shake… “

        Chendae joined him and they kept on dancing, staring at each other with straight faces as they shimmied to the Harlem Shake.

        “Ey Shake…”

        Before they knew it, they were surrounded by a group of people dancing along to the music. As the song kept playing from Minseok’s phone (who was doing nothing but just standing to the side) more and more people kept coming in from all directions. Soon the park became a popping, locking, boogying, shaking, freestyling, douging, twerking, spazzing, air humping, arm waving, ssanti dancing mess. There were ahjussis, ajummas, little kids, elderlies, teens, dogs all going crazy to the music and Jongin could’ve sworn he saw Chanyeol somewhere in the crowd.

        When the song ended the crowd quickly dispersed and the park was calm once again as if nothing crazy just happened. Jongin and Chendae were leaning against a tree, breath coming in short pants, fanning their faces with their hands. Minseok handed them two small water bottles and they accepted it graciously, taking large gulps of the slightly warm water.

        “I don’t know what just happened,” Chendae breathed out, taking another sip of water. “But whatever it was, it was awesome.”

        “Yeah,” Jongin agreed, wiping the sweat on his forehead with his arm. “Awesome.”

        “More like freaky,” Minseok uttered from the side.

        “But I think the honor of winning,” Chendae continued, mushing his hand on Minseok’s face to shut him up. “Goes to you.”

        “I think so too, you know? I mean, he is my dog.”

        “Mmm,” Chendae closed his eyes and nodded. “Assistant Minseok!”

        “What?!” Minseok asked irritably, shoving Chendae’s hand of his face.

        “Return Monggu My Baby to Jongout. He may have won this round, but I don’t know about next time.”

        “Thanks, bro.” Jongin smiled.

        After a brofist, a bro shake, and a bro hug, the two pulled apart.

        “Anytime, bro.” Chendae smiled back.

        “Here,” Minseok grunted, holding the leash out to Jongin. The latter was oh so happy, quickly approaching the chubby male. The leash was in Minseok’s hands, then on the ground, then traveling at 15 mph, getting farther and farther away.

        “Oops, my hand slipped.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he met this one guy.

        As Jongin ran and ran, he silently cursed Minseok in his head. But then he cursed Chendae for being so bossy to his assistant, then he cursed the two odd strangers for not helping and causing him to meet Chendae, then he cursed Baekhyun for hurting him, then Chanyeol because he caused Baekhyun to hurt him, then Junmyeon for being an old man who slowed him down, then Luhan for not helping him at all, then finally Sehun because everything was his fault in the first place.

        And then he cursed Yixing because why not.

        “Monggu!” Jongin yelled, keeping his eyes trailed on the Airedale Terrier’s rear end. Said rear end disappeared through a clump of bushes and Jongin groaned in annoyance because when will this end? But no, Jongin will not give up. Not when he almost got his baby back. Jumping over bushes and narrowly missing the petunias, Jongin found himself in one of the park’s isolated areas. “Mongg-“

        And there he was, Monggu, in all his frisky, hyper, catch-me-if-you-can-you-lazy--owner glory…  in the arms of another stranger. The man was halfway on the bench and halfway on the ground, trying to tame an excited terrier who kept on his face, loudly laughing at the dog’s antics. Jongin visibly deflated. Here we go again.

        The stranger looked up from all the noise Jongin made and the latter almost had a heart attack. The guy was hideous! But then again he was a bit far away and Monggu’s tongue was everywhere so he really can’t judge him right now.

        Jongin sauntered towards the two, relieved that he won’t be running for a while. As he got nearer, he could see the male’s facial features clearly. Much clearly.

        “Is this your dog?”

        “No.”

        His eyes are bigger than Chanyeol’s.

        “Oh,” the male looked disappointed. “But I heard you calling his name and I thought you were his owner. His name’s Monggu, right?”

        “Yup, or at least that’s what it says on his collar. I found him wandering around the huge fountain back there,” Jongin pointed at the direction he came from with his thumb. “And I thought I should bring him back to his owner.”

        “Well,” the stranger stood up, dusting himself off as he held tightly to Monggu’s leash. “That’s understandable.”

        He’s shorter than Baekhyun.

        “Maybe,” Jongin swallowed audibly. “Maybe we should look for them together.”

        He could see the male thinking about his offer, biting his bottom lip while staring at the ground.

        “I mean, if you’re not busy or anything,” Jongin quickly added. “He ran away from me, but he seems to really like you a lot.”

        “I guess we can look for his owner together,” the shorter finally replied. “It’s not like I have anything better to do anyways.” He looked up at Jongin with his large brown eyes.

        His eyes are cuter than Monggu’s.

        “I remember seeing a lovely couple walking in the park with a dog that looks exactly like Monggu. I’m sure I’d recognize them if I see them.”

        “Really?” the male asked hopefully. “That helps us a lot!”

        “Well then,” Jongin smiled at him. “Shall we start?”

        “But the park’s huge,” he bit on his bottom lip again. “How will we ever find them?”

        “Don’t worry, we will.”

        He’s adorable.

        Jongin knew something was up when he knew he looked unattractive.

        “So,” the stranger spoke up. They’ve been walking for two or three minutes now in complete silence, Jongin looking at people on the other side of the park while the other kept a strong grip on the dog leash, eyes on the terrier. “What does Monggu’s owners look like?”

        “Hmm,” Jongin put a hand on his chin as if thinking hard. “Well, one has light brown hair swept to one side and I think they were wearing a black and white striped shirt with some skinny jeans. The other guy had on gray… or was it black?  Black basketball shorts and a blue jersey. Kinda like a soccer outfit.”

        “Ah,” his companion nodded, memorizing what was just said. “With a description like that, we’ll find them in no time!”

        “And did I mention they were both male?”

        The guy’s eyebrows shot up, eyes widening (Jongin smiled at that) before returning back to their original-but-still-big size.

        “Oh… well that certainly narrows things down.”

        Jongin nodded his head and they were quiet once again.

        For the next five minutes that passed by, all Jongin could think about was how horrible he must’ve looked; white shirt doused with water, grass-stained jeans, old beat up Converse, hair looking like it went through a hurricane. Jongin really didn’t put much thought on how he dressed this morning and he blamed Sehun for that. What else is there that could make him look more unattractive?

        “Omo! Are you bleeding?”

        Hmm, blood. Good one, God. Good one.

        “You are!” the stranger quickly stepped next to him, stopping both owner and dog in their tracks.

        “Is it bad?” Jongin asked nervously. Exactly how long was he bleeding for?

        “Mmm,” the guy leaned closer towards Jongin, eyeing the side of his head. “You have a scratch here,” he said, pointing at the left side of his own face. “And then you have a bump here,” he pointed to the spot directly above his ear.

        “Do you think I need medical attention?”

        “Do you feel like you need medical attention?”

        “No.”

        “Then there you go.”

        Well then. Jongin reached out to touch his face, but the guy caught his wrists, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It could get more infected.”

        And that’s how Jongin found himself at a water fountain, head sideways as cool water poured down his face. Monggu was tied up to a nearby bench and the stranger was currently keeping his head in place, blowing at whatever dirt was still left on his wound. The closeness of their faces and the position of his head were making Jongin dizzy he was glad when the guy finally pulled him away.

        “Stay still,” he pulled out a sunny yellow handkerchief from his pocket and softly dabbed the scratch. Jongin was intently staring at him the whole time and he must’ve felt awkward because he practically slammed the cloth on Jongin’s cheek and told him to wipe the rest of his face.

        Jongin knew something was up when he had to be a responsible owner.

        They were walking in silence again, but this time the distance between them was shorter and Jongin held a handkerchief in his hand. Jongin stole a sideways glance at his companion. He looked so young he couldn’t possibly be older than twelve. Jongin then wondered why he was hanging around with a pre-teen. Those cutesy animes didn’t turn him into a e, did they? Sure he was into younger girls ( asdfghjkl “oppa”) but last time he checked, he didn’t go for middle school students. And then there’s the fact that the dude’s a guy.

        Wow, Jongin. What an accurate observation you’ve made there.

        But he ignored that for now because they had stopped walking and Monggu was pulling the guy away from the path to a more grassy area. Jongin followed them but stayed a few feet away, still on the path.

        “Aigo, what do you want now, Monggu?” he heard the male ask.

        Jongin looked around, pretending to look for the dog’s “owners” when he saw a group of girls and decided to look at them instead.

        “Oh, Monggu…” the stranger sighed but Jongin dismissed it in favor of concentrating on how great his view was turning out to be when a short-haired girl was bending lower and lower. It took a couple of “uh”s, “umm”s, and even a “yah” before Jongin realized that the guy was trying to get his attention.

        And did he regret turning around.

        There stood the stranger, leash in both hands, stopping Monggu from going near his own poop. Yes, poop, crap, , waste, , chocolate, whatever. It was right there. And Jongin, being Monggu’s actual owner, has to clean it up. But the stranger didn’t know that, now did he. And Jongin wouldn’t want to blow his cover. Besides, it would be weird.

        “Oh, hey! What a fantastic coincidence. I happen to have some crushed poop bags in my pocket.”

        “Le gasp! You do?”

        “Yup! Always come prepared, I often say.”

        “My, how charming of you!”

        Yeaaaah, um, no. Jongin didn’t think so.

        “Hey, so… um, what should we do about this?” the guy gestured towards Monggu’s wonderful gift, still holding the dog back.

        Jongin started looking around again, eyes landing on the same group of girls before forcing himself to look away. Now is definitely not the time. Not when he’s already starting to smell the stinky stink of Monggu’s poop. “Ah, there,” he exclaimed, leaving the two. “I’ll be right back!”

        He could’ve taken the opportunity to run away from the problem at hand, but that would mean ditching the cute stranger his dog and Jongin wouldn’t want that. So passing by the same group of girls (but not before discreetly comparing their chests) he jogged towards the gray litter bag dispenser, grabbing the available blue plastic before going back to the deadly contaminated area.

        “Step away from the poop!” Jongin declared, boldly going towards said waste before swinging around and facing the stranger. “On the other hand, why don’t you do the honor?” he smiled brightly.

        All he got was cold stare.

        Sighing, Jongin slowly inched his way towards the troublesome poop. He never really liked cleaning up after his pets. It was his least favorite duty of being an owner. As he got nearer, he held his breath, praying to God he won’t run out of oxygen. Bending down, Jongin reluctantly grabbed Monggu’s damn poop. It was squishy and hard at the same time but Jongin doesn’t want to go into detail so he hurriedly turns the plastic inside out and ties a knot, holding it away from him before scrambling towards the nearest trash can and dumping it down the dark, smelly abyss.

        “Whoo,” Jongin wiped the invisible sweat on his forhead. “Now that that’s over with, shall we continue on our quest?

        The stranger nodded, flashing Jongin a smile. “I’m sorry you had to do it. I feel bad that I wasn’t even able to help you.”

        Jongin seriously doubted that.

        Jongin knew something was up when it was déjà vu all over again.

        The guy offered Jongin some hand sanitizer as they continued to make their way around the park. Jongin gladly accepted because who knows what germs could be sticking to his body. Thoroughly cleaning his hands, not wanting to remember what Monggu’s poop felt like, Jongin busied himself with vigorously rubbing his fingers, not noticing the amused look the other was giving him. When he did their eyes met each other and both quickly looked away.

        It then occurred to Jongin that he didn’t know the guy’s name and it would be really nice if he did. Just his name. Not his number or address or anything of that sort. No, not at all.

        “I’m Kyungsoo, by the way,” the kind-of-still-a stranger awkwardly announced. Jongin then wanted to know his occupation because being a psychic mind reader was cool but not cool at the same time.

        Kyungsoo grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just thought you should know.”

        Jongin smiled widely, reaching out to shake Kyungsoo’s hand. “I’m Jongin, by the way.”

        They both snorted and giggled at such a late introduction, spending the next eight minutes talking a bit about themselves. The other apparently worked at a 24-hour café across the street and was on his usual forty-minute break. Jongin then had to lie about being a nature-lover who enjoyed taking morning strolls alone at the park. Kyungsoo, as it turns out, was actually a year older than Jongin, not some prepubescent, voice cracking tween (although Jongin did hear the other’s voice break a couple of times). Jongin could not believe this cute guy walking next to him was a hyung. Luhan he accepted easily, but Kyungsoo?

        What kind of anti-aging sorcery is this?

        Somehow, as they chatted and questioned each other, they forgot all about finding Monggu’s owners (Jongin never cared in the first place) and just when Kyungsoo was reciting the descriptions to Jongin, out of nowhere came a very familiar red Frisbee.

        It was déjà vu all over again as it hit Jongin exactly on the same spot, as if the right side of his head had a magnet that’s attracting the Frisbee. And again he was falling, but instead of hitting hard cement Jongin felt something softer. Kyungsoo seemed to have good reflexes, turning his body and attempting to catch Jongin, but he wasn’t strong enough and they both fell down. The shorter male was rubbing his when Jongin got up on his hands and knees, shaking his head from the impact before looking up and finding himself face-to-face with Kyungsoo’s plump lips.

        “Well, well, look who we have here,” came an evil voice. It was actually soft and playful, but Jongin still labeled it as evil. “Fancy meeting you again.”

        “I don’t see what’s fancy about this, Baek.”

        Jongin tried to get up but his and Kyungsoo’s legs were somehow tangled with Monggu’s leash. How did that happen?

        “Oh never mind, just grab the stupid Frisbee.” Baekhyun (ily?) walked up to the fallen pair, holding out his hand for Jongin to take. “I swear it wasn’t my fault this time.”

        “I swear it was his fault,” Chanyeol told Jongin with big eyes, watching the other get up.

        “I swear it wasn’t,” Baekhyun held his hands up while shaking his head. He didn’t notice Kyungsoo until Jongin helped the other up, holding his hand a little bit longer than necessary. “But enough about me. Who’s your cute boyfriend?”

        Before Jongin could respond with something that doesn’t involve Kyungsoo’s name, the latter beat him to it.

        “Oh, me? We’re not together.”

        And for some reason, Jongin wanted to change that.

        Jongin knew something was up when it was déjà vu all over again, again.

        “So why are you together now?” Baekhyun asked, Chanyeol standing up next to him. “I’m pretty sure you weren’t around when he passed by before.”

        “We barely even know each other,” Kyungsoo said. “We’re just looking for Monggu’s owners.”

        “Monggu?” Chanyeol’s deep voice asked. “Who’s Monggu?”

        “Ah, is that who this is?” Baekhyun crouched down, smiling towards the sitting terrier beside Kyungsoo. “Aw, so cute!”

        “Woah. Did not see that.”

        “Chanyeol, you’re not that tall.”

        “But I really didn’t see him. To be honest, if I stand normally, the only person I could see right now is him,” Chanyeol pointed at Jongin.

        “Park Chanyeol, if you do not come down here and say hi to Monggu right now, I will chop your legs off so you can see better, if you know what I mean.”

        Kyungsoo scooted closer to Jongin as the two males cooed over Monggu. “Are they always like that?” he whispered.

        “What? Arguing?” Jongin leaned towards Kyungsoo so he can hear the other better.

        “Yeah, that.”

        “I honestly have no idea because we don’t even know each other or anything,” cue Kyungsoo’s surprised expression. “But I’m guessing they’re always like that.”

        “I see,” the shorter shuffled back to his place three feet away from Jongin. “No wonder he never called you by your name.”

        “Channie, I want a dog!” Baekhyun declared from his seat on the ground because yes, he’s actually sitting cross-legged on the dirty concrete with Monggu on his lap, forever a machine.

        “But I thought you wanted a cat,” Chanyeol whined, also taking a seat. “You said cats were y.”

        “Cute is the new y.”

        “But Monggu isn’t y.”

        “That’s because he’s cute and cute is the new y.”

        “I don’t get what you’re talking about, but Monggu still isn’t y.”

        “Chanyeol, why are you so mean to Monggu?!” Baekhyun faced his friend, hand still petting Monggu’s back.

        “What? I’m not being mean,” Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m just saying Monggu isn’t y. How can a dog even be y?”

        Jongin and Kyungsoo stood side by side, watching the show unraveling in front of them. Monggu had left Baekhyun’s lap and ambled towards Kyungsoo, trying to get away from whatever’s about to start. Jongin looked at the two bickering males and sighed because here we go again.

        “Just because you can’t be y,” the tall male muttered under his breath.

        “I heard that, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun scowled. “And you know what? I can be cute and y at the same time!”

        “Oh yeah? And how are you gonna do that?” Everybody was silent, almost anticipating, as Baekhyun smirked.

        The male crouched on all fours, back arched ally as he crawled towards Chanyeol at a slow pace, never losing eye contact. Stopping when he was inches away from his friend, Baekhyun slightly widened his eyes and cocked his head, raising a balled up fist to his cheek as he his lips. “Like this, meow.”

        And that’s when Jongin and Kyungsoo decided it was about time for them to leave.

        Jongin knew something was up when he saw little kids.

        “I really don’t get those two,” Kyungsoo commented when they were a good distance away from the couple. “Are they together?”

        “If they aren’t, they should,” Jongin remembered the looks people were giving Baekhyun, some not so appropriate. “They’ll be less frustrated that way.”

        “Frustrated?”

        “ually frustrated.”

        “O-Oh.”

        Jongin panicked for a few seconds before remembering that Kyungsoo’s a grown man and not an innocent child who doesn’t know how babies are made. Hopefully.

        “Yeah…”

        It was quiet again and Jongin really hated these silent moments because they’re awkward and it makes Jongin feel awkward and the last thing he wants to look in front of Kyungsoo is awkward. So he coughed.

        “Do you think we should’ve asked them if they saw Monggu’s owners?” the shorter male asked, scanning the park now that their mission was brought up.

        Jongin looked up at the clouds, scrunching his face. “Nah, what are the chances?”

        “I guess you’re right,” the shorter sighed. “But it would really if they did.”

        And now Jongin feels bad because Kyungsoo was right and maybe they should’ve asked. The other was taking the whole let’s-find-Monggu’s-owners-together thing rather seriously and here he was, wasting Kyungsoo’s time when he could be wearing cat ears and crawling towards Jongin instead.

        Jongin probably should avoid Baekhyun and Chanyeol for now.

        Passing by a playground full of screaming kids and worrying mothers, Jongin spotted a little girl leaving a swing and before he knew it he had run across the sandbox, leaped over seesaws, limboed under a bar, jumped over a sandcastle, and sat down on the empty swing, chains creaking at his weight, closing his eyes as he gently swung back and forth. He heard barking and Jongin opened his eyes to find Kyungsoo being dragged by an excited Monggu in his direction. Jongin smiled at Kyungsoo’s confused expression, giggled even, because he felt lightweight and lighthearted and just light in general.

        Come on, he was on a swing.

        He watched Kyungsoo’s figure getting closer and thought that Sehun was right. He was lonely.

        When Monggu had finally brought Kyungsoo to Jongin the male was panting, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Looks like someone isn’t active. “J-Jongin,” he called and Jongin beamed because that was the first time Kyungsoo had called him by his name.

        “Yes, Kyungsoo hyung?”

        The other’s face was pink and his voice cracked when he said “what” before he cleared his throat and stood up straight. “What do you think you’re doing?”

        Jongin looked up at Kyungsoo. “Swinging!” he said cheerfully.

        Kyungsoo just looked at him weirdly and so did the boy on the next swing because he got off and Jongin instructed the older to sit before somebody else does. “Jongin, we should be looking for Monggu’s owners. We don’t have time to play around.”

        The tan male smiled widely again because it was the second time Kyungsoo called his name.

        “Jongin?” Kyungsoo had concern written all over his face.  “Are you all right up there?” he poked Jongin’s head.

        “Ah, hyung!”

        Kyungsoo’s hands immediately flew up to his mouth and his eyes almost popped out of his head and Jongin momentarily forgot about the pain because he doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of Kyungsoo’s wide eyed expressions. “Oh my gosh, Jongin, I’m so sorry, I forgot!” The older tried to get up but Jongin raised his hand, telling him to stay on the swing. “Are you okay?”

        “I’m fine, hyung,” Jongin chuckled, patting Kyungsoo’s head. “Thanks for worrying. I’m okay.”

        “If you say so,” Kyungsoo mumbled, eyes on the ground. They didn’t talk for a few seconds, until Monggu barked at a kid who tripped. “So! Why did you feel like swinging all of a sudden?”

        Jongin shrugged. “I haven’t been on a swing in a really long time.” The younger swayed back and forth, watching his shoes scuff the woodchips and the soil underneath before turning to Kyungsoo. “Wanna see who can go the highest?”

        The shorter smiled but shook his head. “Nah, maybe next time.”

        “Aww,” Jongin pouted. “Pretty please?”

        “No, Jongin.” Kyungsoo said sternly, narrowing his eyes, and Jongin was surprised because the other actually looks pretty scary. “Think about Monggers.”

        “Monggers?”

        “Monggu’s owners.”

        “Ah. Continue.”

        “Think about Monggers,” Kyungsoo reasoned. “They’re probably worried sick about him.”

        “Then they should go to the doctor.”

        “Jongin.”

        “Okay, okay.” Jongin stopped swinging, scattering chips and dust with his feet, standing up to leave the playground. “Let’s go.”

        Kyungsoo stayed on the swing, expectantly staring at Jongin. The younger sighed before smiling.

        “Let’s go, hyung.”

        Jongin knew something was up when they were getting along.

        The two were getting along now. Not that they weren’t getting along before, but now that they called each other’s names and have officially established a hyung-dongsaeng relationship, they were getting along fine. Jongin had showed the older his Kronk imitation and laughed in embarrassment right after because how stupid was he to show something so unattractive. But when he looked up Kyungsoo’s lips were drawed back in a broad grin, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and he was chortling. Chortling at Jongin and the younger quite liked what he was seeing so he did his Squidwart imitation. Kyungsoo had clapped him on the back, telling him that his laugh was the funniest thing he’s ever heard, no offense, and then they laughed some more before calming down and smiling at each other, then looking away.

        Yup, they were getting along pretty good,

        So as they were multitasking with talking and looking for Monggers, Jongin suddenly wondered what it was like to hug Kyungsoo. Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t want to touch or the other in inappropriate places or make him magically fall in love with Jongin or something. It’s just that Kyungsoo’s adorably short and Jongin would like to rest his chin on top of his head and squeeze the other and then maybe snuggle on the couch while watching Spongebob, but maybe he’s getting ahead of himself. Jongin just really finds shorter girls hugging their taller boyfriends somewhat endearing. Maybe because his parents were like that. Now that he thinks about it, he should give them a call sometimes.

        “-in? Jongin? Yah!” Jongin blinked. With all the thinking he was doing he didn’t notice he’s stopped walking and now Kyungsoo’s worried face is really close to his, like, really close to his. “Why did you stop?” Jongin barely heard him ask. He was too busy taking in all of Kyungsoo’s facial features from his slightly thick eyebrows to his big, brown, Monggu-like eyes to his round nose to his full lips to his somewhat sharp chin then back up to his lips that he didn’t notice the other doing the same.  Kyungsoo, who was currently standing on his tippy toes, must’ve seen Jongin staring only at his lips because why else would he push himself away from Jongin unless the other smelled bad (which he probably did).

        “What did you say, hyung?” Jongin basked in how nice Kyungsoo’s face looked when he’s blushing and avoiding eye contact. “Hyung?”

         “Well,” his voice cracked. “I was asking you why’d you stop all of a sudden but now that it’s all good and you’re perfectly fine we should just keep going and find Monggers before this day ends so come on or I’ll leave your behind.” Kyungsoo said in one breath, turning around and walking without waiting for Jongin, Monggu in tow.

        “Aww, hyung, don’t leave me!” Jongin grinned as he jogged towards the two. Kyungsoo’s a really interesting hyung.

        Just as he caught up with the short male, a raven-haired girl with blonde highlights and hipster glasses approached them. Her tiny black tube top can be seen through her pink transparent blouse and her high waisted skinny jeans had rips, showing the turquoise tights she wore underneath. Jongin was a bit jealous because the girl looked eye-catching, if not fashionable, and here he was looking like a hobo.

        “Excuse me,” she said in a sugary voice directed towards Kyungsoo. “Can I pet your dog?”

        “Ah, well actually he isn’t-“

        “Sure,” Jongin smiled. “He likes to people though.”

        The girl giggled. “I don’t mind.”

        “Jongin,” Kyungsoo gritted through his teeth as the girl crouched down and rubbed Monggu’s face, making sure she couldn’t hear him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

        “Letting her pet Monggu?” Jongin replied quietly. “What else?”

        “Why?” Kyungsoo stressed the word.

        Jongin shrugged. “Why not?”

        Jongin knew something was up when there was a piece of paper.

        Kyungsoo just huffed, watching the stranger scratch Monggu behind the ears.

        “What’s his name?” the girl batted her eyelashes at Kyungsoo.

        “Oh, uh, Monggu,” the male managed to reply stiffly.

        “Oh? Monggu~” the girl cooed, petting Monggu’s brown fur. “Monggu~”

        Jongin stood a bit to the side. The stranger was obviously interested in Kyungsoo and only Kyungsoo.

        “Can he do any tricks?” the girl asked again.

        “Um, I-“

        “He should be able to do simple ones,” Jongin cut in. “Monggu, sit.”

        The dog looked up at the tan male for a few seconds before sitting down, causing the girl to clap as she viewed Jongin in a new light. It was flickering and not as bright as Kyungsoo’s but it’s still light.

        “Go on,” Jongin smiled at her. “Try telling him what to do.” Maybe if he smiled more, the girl would be interested in him too.

        “How do you know he can do tricks?” Kyungsoo whispered.

        “Oh, he can,” Jongin replied. “I hope.”

        The next few minutes were filled with “Monggu, down” “Monggu, roll over” “Give me your paw” “Monggu, jump” and “Good boy”s from the squealing and clapping girl who looks up at either Kyungsoo or Jongin every now and then. She was rubbing the dog’s sides when she asked, “So! Anything else? Play dead, maybe?”

        “Hmm, let’s see,” Jongin crouched down next to the girl, paying attention to how she slightly leaned against him. He formed a gun with both his hands, calling Monggu’s name before pointing it at him. “Bang!”

        The terrier immediately dropped down, rolling over before lying on his side. “Aww, so cute!” The girl was clutching Jongin’s arm, but her smile was directed towards Kyungsoo. “I bet he causes a lot of trouble,” she commented as they stood up, finally letting go of Jongin’s arm.

        “You don’t even know,” Jongin said.

        Kyungsoo was looking at him with wide eyes and Jongin remembered that Monggu’s not supposed to be his dog. “I got really lucky” Jongin mouthed when the girl was looking through her purse. Kyungsoo just nodded his head, eyes less wider.

        “Really? Well, in that case,” she pulled out a small piece of paper, grabbing a pen from her purse and scribbling something that took her less than five seconds. “Here,” she trusted the paper in Kyungsoo’s hands. “I babysit dogs. I guess you can call it dogsitting. Call me sometimes,” she giggled before slowly walking backwards and smiling at the two males one last time, winking at Kyungsoo, before walking away, swaying her hips too much.

        “Do girls normally throw themselves at you?” Jongin questioned Kyungsoo once she was out of earshot.

        “Um, no. Not usually.”

        The younger just hummed.

        Kyungsoo glanced at the paper. “Jisun,” he read out loud as Jongin walked up to him. “And then her number.” He flipped the paper over. “Oh, it’s a receipt. Let’s see, for thirty-two thousand won she bought a bottle of vanilla-scented lotion, a pair of furry handcuffs? And a pink waterproof rabbit vibra- oh never mind.”

        Jongin chuckled, taking his phone out of his pocket and grabbing the piece of paper. “Jongin, what are you doing?” Kyungsoo asked.

        “Just in case I need a dogsitter,” he replied, adding Jisun to his contacts. He received a raised eyebrow from Kyungsoo and a shake of the head. “Here, you can have it back.”

        “No, thank you,” Kyungsoo pushed the paper away from him. “Not interested.”

        “But she obviously has a thing for you,” Jongin fussed.

        “Well, I don’t and I never will.”

        Jongin didn't know why he had a sense of relief but he did.

        “Good.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he thought about his best friend.

        “You said Monggu likes to people?” Kyungsoo looked at Jongin briefly before turning back to face the front.

        “He was you, remember? And Bacon. That was his name, right?” Jongin walked next to him.

        “Yeah, but he didn’t the girl.”

        “Strange,” now that Jongin thinks about it, Monggu didn’t Soehyun or Yoona either. “Maybe he just people that he likes?” But that would mean he didn’t like the girls. Jongin shrugged. “I don’t know, man. Monggu is weird.”

        “Does he like you?” Kyungsoo looked at Jongin again. “You said he ran away from you because he didn’t like you.”

        “That’s what I think.”

        “Then here,” Kyungsoo suddenly stopped, handing the leash to Jongin. “I’m sure you guys just haven’t met properly yet or something.”

        “It’s okay, hyung. I don’t mind if Monggu doesn’t like me,” Jongin shook his head. “I’m just bringing him back to his owners.”

        “What hyung’s trying to say is why don’t you be a good dongsaeng and walk the dog because my arms are getting tired.”

        “Oh.”

        Continuing to look for Monggers, the duo headed deeper into the park, Jongin holding Monggu’s leash this time. Kyungsoo had thrown the paper Jisun gave them in a nearby trash can and Jongin smirked at that because hey, at least he saved her number in his phone. Sehun would be proud of him.

        Speaking of that bastard.

        “Hyung, you don’t mind if I call my friend, do you?”

        “No. But do I mind if I hold the leash for you? Yes.”

        Jongin doesn't know what to think about Kyungsoo's sass at the moment. Is it cute or is it y?

        “But it’s kind of important.”

        “God gave you hands. Use them to their fullest.”

        “Aww, hyung, when did you get so mean?”

        “Ever since I got comfortable with you.” Jongin whipped his head towards Kyungsoo, shocked. The older was looking back at him with wide eyes before staring at the ground and biting his bottom lip, cheeks red. It wasn’t really a big deal, but coming from Kyungsoo it just seemed so… something. “Umm, ignore that. It just, uh, just came out of my mouth. Why don’t you go ahead and, uh, call that friend of yours, hmm? Here, I’ll take Monggu.”

        He made a move to grab the leash but Jongin held it away from him. Kyungsoo scratched the back of his head, taking a step back before awkwardly looking around, avoiding Jongin’s gaze.

        “Hyung.” Jongin smiled.

        “Yes?”

        “You’re cute.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he called his best friend.

        The tan male held his phone in his right hand, Monggu’s leash on the other, waiting as he heard the third ring. Why didn’t he think about it? He could’ve just asked Sehun where they were and Jongin could lead Kyungsoo in their direction, “coincidentally” meet them, and bam, problem solved. Monggers have been found. But then he wouldn’t get to spend as much time as he did with his hyung. Fifth ring. If Sehun doesn’t pick up he swears-

        “Yo.”

        “.”

        Kyungsoo, who was walking a little ways ahead to give him privacy, turned around to glare at the younger about his unnecessary use of foul language.

        “I’m sorry, I meant jerk.”

        Kyungsoo nodded before facing forward.

        “What do you want, jerkwad?”

        “Before I go off on how you so-called friends didn’t help me one bit – actually, no – I’ll just do it now. I thought we were best friends, Sehun. Where were you when I needed you the most? God, I can only imagine what it’ll be like once you start dating Luhan hyung- you’ll completely forget about me!”

        “Um, Jongin, can you-“

        “You’ll be too lost in Luhan’s brown doe eyes. Tangled in his honey blonde hair. Wrapped up in his Ni Hao, Kai Lan blankets. Stranded between his milky white thighs. Captured by his luscious pink lips. Tortured-“

        “Jongin!”

        “What?!”

        “I would appreciate it if you stop talking about Luhan hyung and me like that.”

        “It’s ‘Luhan hyung and I,’ Sehunnie.” Jongin faintly heard.

        “Yeah, yeah, thanks, Lu.”

        “Sehun?”

        “Yes?”

        “I’m on speaker, aren’t I?”

        “Uhuh.”

        “Oh. Sorry, dude.”

        “Nothing I can do about it now.” Sehun sighed.

        “Luhan hyung?”

        “Yes, Jonginnie?” Jongin heard louder this time.

        “Forget you heard anything I said, okay?”

        “Okie dokie!” Luhan giggled from the other side.

        “Now, if we’re done here-“

        “Wait, you guys aren’t even gonna ask about me?” Jongin squeaked, flabbergasted. “Like, how I’ve been or if I found Monggu? Aren’t you guys concerned about me at all? I could’ve been , for all you know.”

        “Must’ve been a desperate person.”

        “Sehun!” Jongin heard a smack on the other side before Luhan’s sweet voice filled his ears. “We’re sorry, Jonginnie. Are you okay? Did you find Monggu? Wh-Oh, thank you. Sehunnie, here’s your bubble tea! When are you coming back, Jonginnie?”

        “Okay, first of all, are you guys in a café?”

        “Yes…”

        “Second, what do you mean “when are you coming back, Jonginnie?” I need you two here at the park. As soon as possible. Right Now. Comprende?”

        “Jongin, I don’t understand that word.”

        “Of course you don’t. Just meet me up at the entrance with that big statue of that angel showing his junk, okay? I have- is Sehun there? Is he listening? Okay, good.” Jongin didn’t wait for a reply and kept on talking, making sure Kyungsoo doesn’t hear a word he says. “I have someone with me and I want you guys to pretend that we don’t know each other.”

        “Jongin…” Luhan stayed quiet for a few seconds. “Are you ashamed of us?”

        “What? No, no, no, let me finish. Sehun, you there?”

        “Keep talking.”

        “Okay, as far as he’s concerned, you guys are Monggu’s owners and we’re desperately trying to bring him back to you. Got that? Park. angel. Strangers. Monggu’s owners. I’ll be relying on your acting skills on this one. Just take Monggu, act grateful, then leave the park. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

        “And what do I get from this?” Sehun asked.

        “Free access to my apartment!”

        “I already have that.”

        “Damn you and your spare key.”

        “Since there’s nothing in it for me, count me out.”

        “I’ll let you borrow one of my limited edition DVDs.”

        “Just give up, Jongin.”

        “The one.”

        “Hyung, hurry up! We can drink our bubble tea on the way. Now come on, let’s go.”

        Jongin knew something was up when his hyung wouldn’t smile

        “Hyung, let’s go left,” Jongin said when the path split in two directions.

        “Um, okay.”

        Jongin smiled. All was going according to plan. Soon they’ll find Monggers and Kyungsoo will be happy that they finally found them and then… then what? Then he won’t see Kyungsoo ever again. The tan male frowned. He’s just overreacting. He’ll see Kyungsoo some other time. He’ll make sure of it.

        “Jongin?”

        “Hmm?”

        “Do you still think we’ll be able to find Monggers?”

        There was a sad tone to his voice and Jongin turned to find Kyungsoo looking at Monggu then at the ground with a frown on his handsome face. That frown didn’t belong there. As cheesy as that sounds. Sehun is more cheesier. Anyways. That frown did not suit Kyungsoo’s face at all. It didn’t make him ugly or anything, well actually- no, it didn’t make him unattractive. He just looks so much better when he’s smiling. Like, Jongin would totally kiss that frown away.

        Woah. Hello.

        He needs to stop thinking like that. Sehun and Luhan’s almost-there-hurry-up-and-go-out-already relationship must be getting to him. He needs to respect Kyungsoo and not think about pushing him up against a wall and ravishing his lips or mess up his hair or squeeze his barely-there-but-still-cute . He just needs to calm down and think straight. He needs to- He needs to answer Kyungsoo.

        “Oh, erm, don’t give up, hyung!” Jongin smiled and lifted his index fingers up to his own lips. “Turn that frown upside down!”

        Kyungsoo chuckled before tightly pressing his lips together and shaking his head. Oh, so his hyung wanted to play like that, huh?

        “Come on, hyung,” Jongin pressed. He didn’t care if people were looking. He wants Kyungsoo to smile and he’s going to make him smile. “Show me that beautiful smile of yours.”

        But the other was stubborn, squeezing his eyes and shaking his head no.

        “Then I guess I’ll have to make you,” Jongin grinned evilly, stepping closer to the male as the older opened his eyes and stepped back. Keeping his grip on Monggu’s leash, Jongin took another step forward and caught Kyungsoo, hands going around his waist. “Hyung,” he whispered in the other’s ear. Kyungsoo was stiff and Jongin wondered why he was going this far. “Are you ticklish?”

        A frantic shake of the head and a set of wide eyes were all it took for Jongin to grin madly and start tickling the male, his fingers busy wiggling and poking the other’s sides. Kyungsoo’s eyes formed half crescents and he was biting down on his bottom lip, trying to stifle his laughter as he struggled to push Jongin away. But of course the younger wasn’t going to stop. Not until his hyung cracks a smile.

        As Kyungsoo continued to wriggle in his arms, head on Jongin’s shoulder, the younger decided to end it once and for all. Leaning down, he breathed hot air on Kyungsoo’s exposed neck, lips hovering over the pale skin. The shorter let out a squeak before finally bursting out in a fit of uncontrollable giggles as Jongin continued to tickle him. Then Jongin joined the giggling and people just looked at them strangely. After a few more mirthful seconds of tickling and playing around, Jongin dropped his hands to his sides and decided to have one of his moments where he just looks at Kyungsoo and appreciates the male, specifically his face.

        Face flushed and panting heavily, Kyungsoo still had on a wide smile from Jongin’s tickle attack. His dark brown hair was slightly disheveled and his striped polo shirt was a bit wrinkled. Jongin was sure he was in the same state, just not as attractive. He doesn’t think anyone can be as attractive as Kyungsoo, if not more.

        “Made you smile,” Jongin breathed out, tightly holding the leash when he felt Monggu pull on it.

        Kyungsoo huffed, crossing his arms on his chest and biting his lip as he smiled at the ground before looking up at Jongin. “Yes you did.”

        “Now, let’s go, hyung. I’m sure we’ll find Monggers soon.” Very soon, Jongin smiled to himself.

        “Mmm, I hope so,” Kyungsoo walked next to him, heading towards the perimeter of the park.

        “Oh, and Kyungsoo hyung?” Jongin grinned as the older looked at him.

        “Never stop smiling.”

        Jongin knew something was up when he heard his name again.

        When they reached one of the park’s entrances, Jongin started to casually look around, searching for his friends. There was the statue, now where was the couple? Jongin slowed down in case they walk pass the meeting area. If that happens, he would have to send his friends to a new location. Or maybe he should pretend to be tired and rest on one of those benches over there. Some blonde guy was already sitting on it though, along with another pe-

        Holy crap it’s the couple-but-not-couple couple.

        “Hyung, look! It’s Monggers!”

        Kyungsoo jumped and turned to look at the direction the younger was pointing at. And there indeed sat the two males Jongin described perfectly. One of them was sipping on some kind of drink and leaning his head on his companion’s shoulder while the other just stared at the sky, hands softly combing through his partner’s hair.

        Yup, definitely a couple.

        Just when the older made a move to walk towards the two, Jongin stopped him with a grip on his wrist. “Wait, hyung, how do we approach them?” The reason why Jongin told them he’ll be relying on their acting skills was because he didn’t have any. Or so he thinks.

        “What do you mean? We just go there and give back Monggu. Nothing to be scared about.”

        Jongin nodded before letting go of the other, taking a deep breath before following him to where the couple sat. Luhan was the first to notice them, leaping up at the sight of Jongin. The action startled Sehun and caused him to hit his elbow on the metal bench. Hard.

        The tan male resisted the urge to laugh, snorting at the sight and receiving a nudge accompanied by a glare from Kyungsoo. When Luhan had finished comforting Sehun (which consisted of him patting every part of the younger making sure he was okay) the blonde shook him and pointed at the two people plus one dog headed their way, excitement showing through his face. So far so good.

        “Jonginieeeeee!”

        Eh?

        “Sup, Jongin.”

        Eh?!

        “Jongin?”

        “EH?!”

        Jongin  knew something was up when he had to explain.

        “J-Jongin? Do you know them?” Kyungsoo asked, voice high and eyebrows furrowed.

        “I, uh, I…” Jongin his lips, looking back and forth between Kyungsoo and his friends. “Hyung… I, uh.”

        What the what the what the what the what the who to what the what the should he say?

        “I don’t know,” he said lamely. Really, because- “Wait, let me ask him. Excuse us for a sec.”

        Grabbing Sehun’s arm, Jongin dragged his friend to the side of the statue opposite from the bench where the others couldn’t see them and proceeded to smack him upside the head. He earned an ‘ouch’ and a smack to the head. Right on the bump. And it hurt. Badly.

        “Ouch, Sehun.” Jongin whined. “That hurt you mother ing bastard you didn’t keep the end of your deal what am I supposed to tell Kyungsoo hyung now huh answer me dammit oh my God kimchi this is so embarrassing what if he’s mad at me it’s all your fault yours and Luhan’s and I hope you two are happy because I’m not.”

        After a few more cussing and ranting, Sehun stared at him with raised brows.

        “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself, young man?”

        “I do, actually.” Sehun grabbed his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. “What the heck were you thinking? Lying to an innocent person like that, how low are you? If you wanted to get into his pants I could’ve hooked you up with someone instead of fooling some cute, innocent, pure, wittle bunny rabbit you met in the park.”

        “That’s the thing – I didn’t know what I was thinking,” Jongin ignored the rest of what Sehun said. “I just saw him all chummy with Monggu and when I got a good look of his face I felt like I couldn’t just ignore him, not to mention he was sane. And then the more time I spent with him, the more I didn’t feel like leaving him. It’s kind of hard to explain, actually.”

        “You like him.” Sehun deadpanned. It was more of a statement than a question and Jongin was a bit confused.

        “Well, yeah,” Jongin agreed, not understanding what Sehun really meant by ‘like.’ “He wouldn’t be my hyung if I didn’t like him, ya know?”

        “I- never mind, let’s go back.” Sehun was about to leave, but the other pulled him back.

        “Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wait, how am I supposed to explain this to Kyungsoo hyung?”

        The younger just smirked. “That’s what Luhan’s doing.”

        Jongin peeked behind the marble statue’s to see Luhan talking with exaggerated hand gestures and Kyungsoo looking utterly lost. Maybe he should go and make things clear because Luhan has this cute little habit of causing the most preposterous of misunderstandings.

        “Let’s go,” Sehun clapped him on the back before coolly striding towards the shorter males.

        Jongin followed shortly after, unsure if he could face Kyungsoo. Apparently he didn’t need to because it was Kyungsoo who spun on his heels and faced him with an unreadable expression that made Jongin more nervous than when he was about to confess to his mom that it was him who broke her precious vase, not a little bird that swooped in through the window.

        “Jongin?”

        “Ah, yes, hyung?”

        “Is it true?”

        “Yes…”

        “Aww, Jongin!” Kyungsoo suddenly pulled the taller male into a hug. “Why didn’t you just tell me that I looked like your best friend? I’m sorry to hear about your loss, but you could’ve just asked nicely if I can hang out with you, not pretend to be looking for Monggu’s owners.”

        Jongin looked at Luhan.

        “That’s why you lied to Kyungsoo-ssi, right?” the blonde asked innocently.

        Jongin knew something was up when he totally forgot.

        “Um, hyung, actually that’s not it.”

        “Huh?” Kyungsoo pulled away, looking more confused than ever. “But Luhan-ssi explained it to me. How you’ve been cooped up in your apartment mourning and moping around, barely eating anything at all. And when he finally had enough, he brought you here in hopes of cheering you up but lost you somewhere along the way. I told him what happened and he said that I looked exactly like your best friend that you probably felt the need to be near me, even if I’m not really him.”

        Well, parts of that were somewhat true. All Jongin did was laze around his apartment and it was Sehun who dragged him to the park. It’s not that he got lost but was chasing Monggu because his friends just had to be like that. But the last part, Jongin really did feel like he had to be near Kyungsoo. Now, to clear things up.

        “Ah, let me explain, hyung,” Jongin rubbed the back of his head. “Parts of what Luhan hyung said were somewhat true. Actually, all I did was laze around my apartment and it was Sehun who forced me here, not Luhan. I didn’t get lost, by the way. Monggu chased a squirrel and then I ran around the park trying to find him because these two idiots- ow- wouldn’t help me. I finally caught him when he was with you and for some reason, when you asked me if I was his owner, I said no.” Jongin ended, smiling sheeply. That wasn’t so hard. He just elaborated what he thought earlier.

        “But why?” Kyungsoo was looking at him with the most adorable expression so far.

        Jongin just shrugged. But Kyungsoo didn’t seem to like his answer because he lightly hit Jongin on the head. Right. On. That. Spot. Again. Jesus Christ when will he stop getting hurt.

        “Ah, hyung!”

        “Omo, Jongin I’m so sorry! I forgot again!” Kyungsoo rushed to him and brought Jongin’s head down, looping one of his arms around his neck, hand ghosting over the bump. Jongin was happy that Kyungsoo was close to him again, hand reaching up to pat the other’s head affectionately. He could get used to this. The older slightly leaned back, creating a small space between them and they kind of stared at each other for, like three years. Jongin couldn’t help but think how nice it would be if-

        “Aww, look at you guys being so close to each other!”

        “Whoot.”

        And of course his friends just had to ruin the moment.

        “Ah,” Kyungsoo shoved the tan male away, making Jongin stumble and bump into a random guy. After bowing and apologizing, he quickly turned to pout at his hyung. “Eheh, sorry, Jongin.”

        “Well, now that we all know each other,” Luhan clapped his hand, absolutely delighted for no reason. “How about giving us a discount at the café you work at, huh Kyungsoo-ssi?”

        “Café?” Kyungsoo widened his eyes.

        “Café?” Jongin echoed, mirroring the elder’s actions and panicking. “Oh crap! Hyung, I totally forgot that you were on a break. If you run really really fast I think you can still make it.”

        Kyungsoo looked thoughtful for second, fingers to his chin as the other three anxiously stared at him.

        “Aw, it.”

        A collective gasp was heard as they all gaped at the short male. “Hyung, you,” Jongin stammered. “You cussed!”

        “I thought it just fits the situation.” Kyungsoo shrugged. “I’m beat from everything that happened today,” a glare was thrown at Jongin. “And it’s still morning. Besides, there’s no way I’m going to run. I know I’m not gonna make it so might as well get there all ready for work, not tired and sweaty.”

        Jongin just nodded his head because he couldn’t think of anything to say at the moment. He didn’t expect his hyung to cuss, nor dismiss trying to get to work on time. But then again, it was partly his fault. What can he say? His hyung’s interesting.

        Jongin knew something was up when they had to go.

        “It’s about time we leave, Kyngsoo-ssi,” Sehun bowed towards Kyungsoo, the other doing the same. Then turning to Jongin, he said, “We’ve been out for quite a while now, I think Monggu’s worn out. Jjanggu and Jjangah are probably lonely back home too.”

        Kyungsoo looked up at Jongin with shining eyes. “You have more dogs?”

       “Um, yeah, I-“

       “You should bring them here sometimes! And then maybe we c-“ Kyungsoo abruptly stopped. “Uh, I mean, it’s only fair that they get their share of walking too, right?”

        Jongin chuckled. “You want to meet them, hyung? And then maybe we could walk them together?”

        “Well, yeah, that would be nice, I guess.” Kyungsoo was avoiding Jongin’s eyes but the next thing the latter said made his head jerk up.

        “Then can I have your number?”

        “M-my number?” Jongin nodded. “Oh, uh sure.” Kyungsoo blushed and took the phone Jongin gave him. As the younger waited on Kyungsoo, Jongin checked to see what his friends were up to. He wasn’t surprised to see Luhan babying Monggu with Sehun standing close to him once again, but this time the younger’s hands were around the blonde’s waist. Really, those two.

        “Here,” Kyungsoo handed Jongin his phone back, slightly flinching at the skin contact. The tan male scrolled through his contacts, smiling when he found ‘Kyungsoo’ under K just below the Js. Blinking, Jongin realized something was missing. He didn’t have that many contacts, and he was sure there were two people (himself included) whose name started with a J.

        “Hyung.”

        “Huh?”

        “Where’s Jisun’s number?”

        Kyungsoo had a guilty expression on his face and Jongin doesn’t think he’s ever seen the older this embarrassed throughout the morning. “Uh, I’m sorry, Jongin,” Kyungsoo bit his lip and gazed at the ground, a habit Jongin can’t get enough of. “I might have accidentally deleted it while putting mine in.”

        Jongin smirked. “If you say so, hyung.”

        Kyungsoo just pursed his lips.

        “Then I guess I should go now. I’ll call you soon, hyung,” Jongin slowly started to back away towards were his friends stood near the sidewalk. “Be careful of strangers!”

        “Yah, you’re in no position to say that,” Kyungsoo giggled.

        “But I turned out to be a good stranger,” Jongin heard Kyungsoo giggle again.

        “See ya around, Kyungsoo-ssi!” Luhan yelled, waving Monggu’s paw at the shorter. Sehun just smiled and held his hand up.

        “Bye!” Kyungsoo waved, ready to turn around, when Jongin stopped him.

        “Oh, and hyung!” The tan male shouted, because by now they were five yards away from each other and still moving. “Don’t forget! Swings! We’ll definitely see who can go to highest!”

        Kyungsoo nodded his head and smiled. The most beautiful smile Jongin’s seen. A really bright smile that Jongin would love to see over and over again. He smiled back and before he knew it he was on his way home and Kyungsoo was probably getting scolded by his boss.

        After arriving at his apartment by himself along with Monggu (because apparently the two had other places to go to) Jongin greeted the happy Jjanggu and Jjangah, praising them for being brave and not causing any mess while he was gone. Hanging the leopard print leash, he went to the cabinet dedicated to dog treats and dog food, grabbing three bone-shaped biscuits and calling his babies, giving each dog a treat. When he got to Monggu, the male kneeled down to rub Monggu’s fur.

        “You’ve been a really good boy today,” he cooed. “Who’s a good wingdog, huh? Who’s a good wingdog?”

        The terrier barked, his owner’s face before gobbling his treat.

        “This is probably going to sound weird, but thanks for running away, Monggu-yah,” Jongin stared at his dog before giggling loudly and curling up on the floor, a silly grin on his face. “Today’s a good day.”

        He wants to see Kyungsoo again.

Wow. That was like, 99% longer than I planned it to be. I might write a shorter version in the future.

It started out okay, but it got worse. I planned on writing this like the first part, descriptive and... calm? lol

For those who subscribed, sorry if it's not up to your expectations. And thanks for reading.

And if it's not too much, will you guys tell me your favorite the least ish part?

Thanks again (:

Growl <3 Growl <3 EXO <3 Growl <3 Growl <3