IT WAS nine in the morning when jeongin finally peeled his eyes open with a groan. there was a throbbing in his temples that he couldn't place and his skin felt like it was sticking to his thin white blanket. he kicked it off sluggishly, groaning at the stagnant air around him that did nothing to erase the layer of sweat that had settled on his body. his torso ached and he tried to massage it only to realize that he was still wearing his harness from the previous night.

last night... what had happened? the last thing jeongin could really remember was storming off into the throng of people on the dance floor. he knew he had drunk liquor (which was probably why his memory was foggy) although he couldn't quite remember anything after that.

i was dancing by myself for a bit and then i came back to the table... um... chan was there and we were talking... i don't know what about, though... and then—

jeongin's half-lidded eyes shot open. why do i remember sitting on chan's lap?

"our princess is finally awake," someone said in a sing-song voice. jeongin turned to see hyunjin and changbin sitting on the floor casually sipping water with devilish grins.

"...what do you want?" jeongin murmured hoarsely. their grins grew wider and a bad feeling crept into jeongin's stomach.

"nothing much," changbin shrugged, taking an obnoxiously loud sip. hyunjin snorted next to him.

jeongin rolled his eyes, tired of their antics. "something's going on between you two. just tell me what it is already."

the pair burst into a fit of giggles, their behavior that of immature schoolchildren. "fine, fine," hyunjin grinned, "but don't lose your shit, okay? some people are still sleeping." jeongin didn't understand what he meant until changbin pulled out his phone and showed him what was on his screen: a picture of jeongin curled up on chan's lap, the surfer in turn fast asleep with his arms wrapped around him.

what the fuck?

"oh my god, he's turning red!" changbin cackled, dodging a poorly aimed swing from jeongin in response. "how cute— ow! what the hell, hyunjin?"

"idiot!" the taller boy hissed. "it's nine in the morning! keep it down before you wake everyone else up!"

"sorry, sorry... anyway, jeongin, would you like to explain yourself? it looks to me like you've got yourself a surfer wrapped around your finger." changbin waggled his eyebrows for added effect, causing hyunjin to hit him again for his cheesiness.

in all honesty, jeongin couldn't remember what brought him to be so bold as to sit on chan's lap. i mean, i did it at the movie theater, but that was only because chan told me to. so did he ask me to do it? or did i just do it myself? god, if i did anything embarrassing, i'm never going outside again! "n-no, it's not what it looks like," he stuttered, even though it was exactly what it looked like. "i got drunk last night and i was probably doing something stupid and ended up in his lap."

changbin and hyunjin shared a knowing look. "i can name something you can do in someone's lap," hyunjin said with a wink. it turned into a grimace when changbin stomped on his foot.

jeongin paled. "i didn't do anything bad, did i?"

changbin shrugged. "the two of us weren't at the table for a while, and when we returned you were passed out all snuggly-wuggly with your prince charming. i'm pretty sure the only one that knows what you did was chan, so you'd have to ask him." he paused. "which you will not be doing because we are not supposed to be interacting with surfers. plus, i think they're the reason minho has been weird lately."

jeongin's ears perked up at this. "you talked to minho?"

"i was the one who drove you home last night." minho stood in the doorway, arms crossed and expression unreadable. "and yes, changbin is correct. i was absent from last night's activities because of the surfers. or rather, one in particular."

jeongin felt his heart sink. "minho, i know you're not a big fan of chan, but—"

"not him. jisung."

everyone's eyes widened. jisung? how could the bubbliest, least problematic person in the group of surfers be the one that was making minho upset? this can't be right, jeongin thought. "what did he do? maybe it wasn't him after all."

minho clicked his tongue. "it turns out he's been following me for a while. sometimes i go to a certain spot in town and i always felt like i was being watched. then, when i'd come back, i'd see that new toys—" he suddenly went quiet.

hyunjin cocked an eyebrow. "'new toys'? what do you mean by that?"

then something happened that jeongin had never seen before: minho blushed. it was merely a dash of pink across his fair skin, but it was enough to signal that he had slipped up. it took all jeongin could to not drop his jaw right then and there because minho had never shown any signs of embarrassment in front of anyone in all the years he'd known them. ever.

minho kept his mouth shut, clearly panicking internally. it was like seeing a robot malfunction. as funny as it was, jeongin was genuinely curious as to what he had meant, so he said gently: "it's okay, minho. you know that we won't judge you, no matter what you have to say. just take your time. we'll listen to you."

minho's gaze flickered over to jeongin before quickly moving to the floor. "...fine," he sighed, "i guess it's time for you all to learn the truth about me. i..."

everyone leaned forward expectantly.

"...have three cats."

there was a bit of silence. "wait, that's it?" changbin asked after a while. "you have three cats? why didn't you tell us that earlier?"

"well, it's not very biker-like to own cats, is it?" minho asked. "bikers are supposed to be tough and masculine, not own little balls of fluff that just want to be loved. i was just afraid that i'd be ridiculed for it, so i decided to keep it hidden."

this was something that jeongin had never expected to come from minho's mouth. the admittance of his inner anxieties made the younger biker feel closer to minho because he had the exact same fears within him. i was less alone than i had thought. i can't believe that someone else is just like me... it makes me feel good, in a weird way.

"understandable," hyunjin nodded. "but what does that have to do with jisung?"

"well, there's an alleyway where my cats stay. i go there to change out their bedding and play with them. but after some time i started noticing little treats being left there that i didn't give them, or brand new toys that i didn't buy. so on the day we went to the supermarket, i decided to wait and see if i could discover who had been following me to my spot all the time. and that's when i found out it was jisung."

jeongin tilted his head to the side. "but why are you so upset about it? it just sounds to me like he's helping out with the cats."

"it's just..." minho clenched his fists. "what he was doing was creepy. why was he following me? why didn't he say anything? i mean, even if he revealed himself to me i would've told him to leave, but still!"

jeongin slapped his forehead. "that's probably why!" he exclaimed. "minho, you are one of the most unapproachable people in the gang because you look like you could kill someone with just a glance. that's probably why jisung never said anything! he was scared of you!"

"do i look like i could kill someone with a glance?" changbin asked excitedly.

"you're too small. now shut up," hyunjin responded.

minho's mouth opened slightly. "oh. you know what? that makes a lot of sense."

jeongin shook his head. sometimes my friends are such buffoons. "plus, it didn't seem like he meant you any harm. you said he would leave the cats treats and toys, right? it sounds to me like he just wanted to help out. if he were looking to mug you or something i'd be concerned, but he never did anything like that, so i'd say he's fine." he thought for a moment. "did you actually ask jisung why he was following you around?"

"i didn't really think of doing that."

hyunjin dragged his hands down his face. "dumbass! that should've been the first thing you did! no wonder jisung was so...subdued last night." he said "subdued" like it was the most horrible thing ever. "i wanted to party hard with him, but he was being such a killjoy until he got wasted!"

minho looked like he was thinking hard for a moment. "i'm gonna go now," he said, and abruptly left.

"jesus!" hyunjin threw his hands in the air. "he appears, spills some tea, and then scurries away like a rat! he better be apologizing to jisung!"

minho poked his head back into the room. "i'm not. i'm going to lay down and ponder life." and with that, he left once again. what a minho answer.

"well, this was enough weirdness for one morning," changbin said, getting up and stretching. "i'm gonna head out. i'm meeting someone today, so you two find your own thing to do."

hyunjin's head whipped around. "you're going on a date?" he screeched, completely forgetting about his earlier order to stay quiet. "and you didn't tell me?"

"because i knew you were gonna react like this," changbin muttered. "and no, it's not a date! i'm just meeting a friend."

"i didn't know you knew how to make friends," jeongin giggled, getting a high five from hyunjin. "where are you guys going?"

changbin eyed them warily. "if i tell you, you won't follow me, right?"

jeongin grinned, his braces shining. "scout's honor!"

changbin sighed. "we're just gonna get some ice cream and look at some video games. there's a new console that got released today that i've been saving up for, so i'm gonna buy it. so long." he flashed them a peace sign before exiting.

the room was quiet. "hyunjin?"

"hm?"

"did you know that i've never been a boy scout before so my promise was invalid?"

hyunjin grinned. "and did you know that i never promised him anything at all?"

the two giggled mischievously. sorry, changbin, jeongin thought, but you should know better than to give us your plans and expect us not to follow. the date crashers are coming your way, and trust us: we're not gonna get caught.

they did end up getting caught, but not by someone they expected.