Ravi punched the wall so hard he made a dent. “…Are they ing with us? They must be ing with us.”

The employees gathered at N’s house seeing as their bar was no place to be in. They sat in the living room in depressed hunches, only letting out sighs every so often.

"Don't break the wall, Wonshik..." Hongbin murmured, staring drearily at the ceiling.

The janitor let out a frustrated grunt. "I just— give up the deed or be demolished?! Do they even have the authority to do that?!"

"Considering our mayor's last name is Jung," Ken spoke up. "Maybe this Jung Ilhoon has connections?"

"As unlikely as that seems," Hongbin sighed. "Yes, this Jung Ilhoon has connections. It’s the same reason why his month-old bar is literally the most popular nightlife establishment in the city. Jesus."

“Why do you think he’s doing this?”

“Probably just wants to eliminate the competition. We are the only other nightlife business on the block.”

Hyuk suddenly sneezed, startling the rest from their sad trances. "... S-So what do we do?" He blubbered while trying to wipe boogers with a sleeve.

"I'll talk to N," Hongbin stood and strode out to the kitchen, where their boss was busy pacing. The telltale blue letter sat open on the counter. "... What are you going to do, boss?"

N stopped in his tracks and shook his head. "... I-I don't know."

"Are you just going to let them get away with this?" The bartender demanded. "Are you going to let some rich bastards take our bar?"

The longer N remained silent, the more Hongbin realized. There was this look of hesitation on the elder’s face that completely infuriated him. 

Before he could control himself, he grabbed N's collar and threw a punch straight across his face. N fell onto the floor with a thud, causing the others to come in and realize what happened. 

"HONGBIN!" Ravi held the furious brunet back. "What is going on—?”

"YOU ING !" Hongbin screamed, thrashing violently in his hold. "CHA HAKYEON, YOU BASTARD! DID YOU SERIOUSLY THINK—" His words were interrupted when Ravi covered his mouth and began to pull him away.

Even if he didn't finish, N knew what he was going to say. 

"Did you seriously think you could throw us away?" 

His face was so numb from the hit that N wasn't sure if was laughing or not. He found it funny, almost hilarious, that Melody proposed this situation at such a convenient time. 

He was going to close down the bar anyway. How convenient would it be to give them the deed and gain that closure he so desperately needed? The building would still stand and he didn't even have to go to the trouble of finding someone to buy it. 

But at the same time, this was surrendering; the one thing that N absolutely hated with a passion. N was the type of person to die fighting, not with his tail between his legs. He would be giving up his most prized possession, the place he reaffirmed his love for Leo, the place he met Hyuk, the place he got over his fear of the stage, the place he made so many memories in. The overwhelming guilt of losing 24 Hours when he wasn't ready would kill him. He wouldn't just lose the building, but his employees as well. 

As Hongbin tried to express, he would be throwing them away; betraying them.

N desperately wanted to move on. He needed to get away, to be free from all his traumas and start anew. But he wanted to do so on his own accord, not with a threat.

"Hakyeon!" Leo was shaking him now, concerned as ever. N realized he was still on the floor, stiff as a corpse; which was probably why Leo was freaking out so much. "Hakyeon! Are you okay?"

He slowly stood onto his feet, holding onto the redhead for support. Everything was dizzy and muffled, but one thing was clear in his mind.

The boss trudged towards his living room, where Ravi sat comforting an indignant Hongbin. At the sound of his voice, Hongbin looked up and gave him the dirtiest glare. The others looked up at him as well, waiting for his words. 

"... G-Guys," N started, still shaking from being hit and hysterical. Even so, he knew what he had to do. "... Guys, l-let's go home."

--

"... There's a little over 10 hours until the building is scheduled to be demolished," Hongbin announced, taking a sip from his cup of wine. "What do you guys want to do until then?"

Ken raised an ecstatic hand. "Let's sing a song!"

"No."

The blonde chef pouted at Ravi. "Why not?"

"Well, for one..." Ravi started, throwing a pillow at the other. "We're having a sleepover in a building that's going to be torn down. We are going to die. We're going to die, so I kind of don't feel like singing a prissy song."

All of the employees were huddled together in the middle of their destroyed bar. Blankets, pillows, and food were scattered everywhere amongst the dust and glass shards. They sat there with just the light of a candle and their phones, talking.

"We're not going to die!" N sang rather optimistically, sharing covers with Leo. "We're just going to be heavily injured when the ceiling falls on us."

"Realistically speaking," Hyuk coughed. "I don't think Melody would have the heart to kill all six of us while we're in here." 

Ravi let out a grunt while laying his head in Hongbin's lap. "You don't know that."

"If you're so scared of dying, you can leave." N declared, "This is a protest. We're fighting for what's ours just by being here. If you can't respect that and fight with us, just leave." He smiled when the janitor shut up. "Guys, let's make a promise. Let's promise that we'll stay here until Melody gives up. Even when we run out of food or sanity, let's stay here until we win." He stretched a hand to the center of their circle and shortly after, his employees piled their hands on top of his. "24 Hours fighting!" 

"N-hyung? How long was this place open for?" Hyuk asked after blowing his nose with yet another tissue. 

The boss let out a hum. "Around four to five years, I think."

"I think I was hired around that time," Hongbin added, smiling at the memory. "I just graduated and really needed a job, so he came and found me."

"I remember that!" A big grin appeared on N's face as well. "A little while after you started working here, Ravi came in randomly for a drink and saw you. You should've seen the way he practically begged me to let him work here!" 

Ravi's cheeks turned a bright red. "I DID NOT!"

"Did too! You were an art graduate begging to be a janitor, how can I not forget?!" 

Said janitor groaned and hid his face away from his boyfriend's knowing look. Ken raised his hand again, excited for story time. "Tell them about when I was hired!" 

"Oh yes, Ken-Ken came in when news got out that Hongbin poisoned someone with his cooking."

"They blew it out of proportion!" The bartender argued jokingly. "My cooking is not that bad."

Ken made a strangled noise. "When I first walked in, you were putting whipped cream on fries!" 

"I THOUGHT IT WOULD MAKE IT LESS SALTY!"

They all blew up laughing; even Leo turned away to hide his growing smile. It was moments like these that they treasured most. Moments where they could forget that they were co-workers and be close friends, were precious. 

"Leo-hyung was beside you since the beginning, right?" 

"Well yeah, he paid to have this place built." N beamed up at the singer next to him. "Thanks, baby." They shared a tender kiss, prompting the others to let out a series of rowdy boos. 

"While we're at it," Ravi pointed dramatically at them. "Might as well clarify what you two actually are! Aren't you bothered that Leo-hyung keeps calling you a mere acquaintance?!"

The eldest shrugged. "I don't care. Just as long as he's next to me—" 

Leo smacked a hand onto his mouth. "We—" He was blushing hard. "... We're not acquaintances... W-We're really close acquaintances."

A long silence passed by them. 

"... Wow," N finally muttered. "I've leveled up."

Later, after they had spent a good number of their instant noodles and phone batteries, the sun was already in the middle of the sky. The employees were sleeping soundly on the floor, tired from a night of soda and alcohol. 

Ken's eyes blinked open when he heard beeping. He slowly sat up in his sleeping bag, noticing the noise was coming from outside. He stood to glance out the window and immediately panicked.

“GUYS! THEY’RE HERE!”

Within the next minute, they all shot awake and clambered to that window. In the distance, they saw an incoming crane rolling towards them with a daunting steel ball hanging from it.

“Jesus ing Christ,” Ravi breathed out. “They were serious.”

“It’s okay kids,” N started to fan himself. “We’ll just make our presence known. That way, they wouldn’t want to tear the place down and commit murder.”

Ken pulled the window open and started screaming. “HEY YOU DUMB NUGGETS! YOU CAN’T TAKE THIS BUILDING DOWN! WE’RE STILL IN HERE!!!”

Then they heard the screech of a megaphone. “Please don’t tell me you are protesting.” That was Ilhoon’s voice, coming from somewhere near the crane.

“WE’RE PROTESTING!!!”

“This is a very unwise decision. I had clearly stated in the letter that if your side does not hand over the deed, the building is to be torn down. I suggest that you come out for your own safety.”

“NEVER!” They all shouted at once.

“Fine. As soon as one of you set a foot outside this building, I will tear it down. We will wait.”

 Ken closed the window again. “… He can’t wait forever, can he?”

“Of course not, but we will.” Their boss let out a sigh. “We can do this. We just have to stay here until—“

“Hyuk-ah, are you okay?”

They turned to see Hongbin with a hand against the waiter’s forehead and Leo staring in concern. It was only now that they realized just how sickly pale Hyuk looked.

“… I-I’m fine,” he murmured in a hoarse voice, raucous enough to have the others wincing. “I-I’m just a little dizzy…”

“You are not fine,” Hongbin ushered him to lie down on one of their sleeping bags. “You pulled an all-nighter with a fever, plus all you ate was ramyun and soda. ing hell, you’re burning up.”

“He was sick for a while,” Ravi returned from the kitchen with a wet towel. “Obviously it got worse.”

“I’m not gonna die…” Hyuk tried to argue, but he was too tired to say anything. Everything was fuzzy, and he had a hard time processing what was being said to him. Slowly, his eyes started to droop.

Hongbin hitched a breath. “, if he goes to sleep now—“

“HE’S GOING TO DIE!” Ken wailed, earning a deserving smack from Leo. “WHAT DO WE DO?!”

They looked at their boss, who was just standing there with a panicked look on his face. They were silent, waiting for his command.

N didn’t do anything but swallow a lump in his throat. It was his fault. It was his idea to sleep over at the bar; it was his fault that he didn’t keep enough tabs on the boy, his fault that he couldn’t take care of him properly. Now it was going to be his fault if something happened to one of his precious employees.

But Ilhoon was waiting outside. They couldn’t step a foot out the door. They weren’t allowed to leave, or else they would lose the building. As soon as they do, their home would come crumbling down.

Faced with these two choices, N bravely made his decision. It was either losing the place he loved most, or losing a person he loved dearly.

“… Guys, let’s go to the hospital.”

darnit, looks like they're going to lose everything they love :(((( thanks hyuk
so I guess I will be uploading a separate extra+drabbles extension of S.Minor!
I just need some suggestions for the title (no, not Straight Senior or Straight Major shut up guys)
just don't count on me updating as often as I do haha~ 
Neo thooo #MATCHINGBLONDHAIR
#EVENTHOONEISWEARINGAWIG