"so... what do you think?" the four of them sat in their living room and were munching on cereal. it was quiet. from time to time a bird sang or one of them yawned, but except that, the only sound was coming from their television. a movie from the 50s was playing.

chan had been up the longest; in fact, he was the one who prepared their bowls of food. you know, like he usually does.

that doesn't mean that his curly hair didn't look the exact same as his roommates –like a bird's nest that exploded on his head. and it didn't mean that his sleep-deprived self didn't slump down on the couch like he had no bones.

on a small side table, which they rescued from a second-hand shop, was a brochure placed. "jimmie's", read the title.

"sounds sick," changbin said with a full mouth. the other two nodded in agreement.

chan, with hyunjin's long legs lying on his lap, continued to talk. "i thought it would be a good opportunity to get out of here for tonight..." his hand found the ankle on his lap, caressing it mindlessly. "and it's said to have very good self-brewed beer."

jisung rolled his eyes, not looking away from the screen. hyunjin's head was resting on his thigh. "you are literally the only person that drinks that shit." he stuffed another spoon of cereal into his mouth, milk dripping down his chin.

"can we dress up?" hyunjin asked. the others smiled. "typical you." the shortest poked his side with the end of his spoon. "don't be mean to the baby!" chan held his own spoon up in the air, like a weapon. soft laughter rang through the room.

and just like that, the magic of this house had lit up the temporarily clouded mind of hyunjin. of course grief took longer to process, but energy like that would never posses his thoughts. his friends made sure of it, when he couldn't do it himself.

it had always been this way. the four of them are in this overcrowded apartment. but they found beauty in the way the couch was covered with dozens of pillows and none of them had the same color or pattern. they found peace in the way their bookshelves were bending under the weight of all the cds, mangas, and other books.

and it was normal for the three musicians to baby the male who was draped across all of them. it was their way of showing gratitude for the things he did for them. skin-ship was basically the way they communicated.

— <3 —

two hours prior, on the other side of the walls of their living room.

minho shook his head. "not in a million years."
"come on man, just this once!"

"felix, leave him alone..." seungmin sighed, looking up from the newspaper on the kitchen table.

"but i really wanna go dancing." felix didn't stop what he was doing; instead, he put his whole weight on his friend's arm.

"dancing?" the last of them arrived in the kitchen, a towel hanging over his shoulders.

"yes! please convince minho that we'll go out tonight." felix saw his chance and threw himself at his freshly-showered friend jeongin. "to that new bar, you know?"

"for the love of god, please just say yes. he had been whining since i stood up." seungmin massaged his nose bridge and sighed again, more dramatically this time. then he flipped to the next page of the paper.

"poor you," minho snickered, as he walked back to the counter and could continue drinking his tea. "giving in is a character trait of yours, isn't it?"

"my character trait is kicking your butt if you don't stop being so annoying." seungmin studied the paper. he slid his glasses back in place that had been slowly making their way down his nose.

"i'm in." jeongin interrupted their little fight. the blond beamed and didn't hesitate to crush him in a hug. his freckled face disappeared as he nuzzled in his shoulder. "thank you so much man, i owe you one!"

minho groaned. "of course..." he sent a dark glare to jeongin.

"what are you so scared off? you can dance... and drink." lucky for him that he was the youngest, otherwise minho might have jumped him.

"i don't want to run into the noisy goths," minho gestured with his head in their neighbor's direction.

"didn't you call them hippies the other day?" jeongin asked, sitting down at the table with a sandwich.

"that hwang one, he's the hippie." he crossed his arms in front of his chest. felix rolled his eyes. it was minho's favorite thing to do in the morning (and any other time of the day); to sound off about the people living next door.

"he doesn't have a job, his long hair." they heard this rant about a thousand times before.

"and he probably smokes weed too." seungmin finished for him. "we know how much you hate him, but are you really that much of a pessimist that you think you'll see them every time you go out?"

"if you talk of the devil..." minho mumbled to himself, sitting down as well.

"i'm sure that they won't be there... i mean what's the probability for that?" felix wouldn't let loose.

"you could calculate that." minho drank the rest of his apple tea. the blond let his head hit the table.

"come onnnnn." the blond dragged the last syllable out for way too long. long enough till minho slammed his cup on the wood and agreed.

— <3 —

summer was hyunjin's favorite time of the year. ever since he moved into this town, colunn, he felt like he had found the perfect setting for an indie movie. and he was reminded of that every time he went for a stroll at late in the day. just like tonight.

chan was leading the way out of the center of the city. they were living in a port. so it was no wonder that all the buildings and streets were old-fashioned. the sea close to them brought warm winds and the refreshing scent of salt. hyunjin was slightly skipping and a huge grin spread from one ear to another as he spun around a streetlamp.

the moon was in shining in its entire splendor, lighting up the night sky.

"hold my hand!" jisung balanced on top of a high brick fence. hyunjin climbed up there as well instead.

they made a theme night out of it, inspired by jazz-bars back in the days. and hyunjin being the fashionista he was, wore a pair of white slacks and a black vest and white tank underneath. oh, he was ready to dance. the loafers on his feet were those he had already walked miles in, they fit him like a sock would.

they took way longer to get to the harbor, but there was no one rushing them anyway.the harbor itself functioned as a marketplace on the weekends. the little stands and shops from farmers and others were closed. their colorful roofs formed a playground for them to run around.

"be careful that you don't trip." changbin pushed jisung, the closest one to the edge of a jetty. jisung stumbled, arms flying around in the air as he tried to keep himself from falling. "fuck fuck fuck fuck."

jisung screamed profanities from the top of his lunges before he launched an attack. "come back, you bastard!"

the other two kept walking peacefully and watched as jisung chased the other male around the pier. "they're really something else..." chan laughed. he fixed his suspenders on his broad shoulders.

jisung jumped changbins back and screamed into his ears. his voice echoed around the whole place, not that anyone seemed interested in what they were doing. "they are..."

as the other two came back to them, hyunjin took both their arms and tangled them with his. "i hope you're wearing your dancing shoes." he was back to skipping and dancing as he walked. his skin was buzzing with excitement. "because i ain't gonna stop moving tonight."

a tall sing in red and orange announced they found their destination. jimmie's was situated in a flat wooden building, at the end of the pier. it reached over the edge and the balcony floated on top of the water, held up by old pillars. dark green alga covered them like glittering spider webs.

"are you ready ladies and gentlemen?" chan faked an old accent as he held the door open. "is that even a question dear sir?" jisung answered with the same accent, stepping in first.

they were greeted with warm, stuffy air and the smell of old barrels. the counter, with lots and lots of whiskey and such, lined up on a shelf behind the bartender. there was a little stage in the back where a group played electronic swing and jazz. people danced all around the used wooden flooring. and there were round tables situated in the more calmer corners. all of it made hyunjin think he stepped into a big time capsule.

"this is awesome." changbins jaw met the floor. his eyes were the size of a soccer ball.

"awesome isn't enough to describe this."

"someone write this down in the calendar, the day someone's more dramatic then me!" hyunjin laughed as he walked to the counter. chan followed and dragged the other two behind him.

they ordered their first round of drinks and sat down at a free table from where they could overlook the scene.

a waitress came up to them shortly after. "good evening, my name's cam. if you need anything else just let me know!" everyone their drinks. "enjoy!" she winked and an attractive smile spread across her painted red lips.

"geez..." Changbin muttered under his breath watching her leave. the others shook their heads and laughed it off.  "cheers!" their glasses met in the middle of the table.

— <3 —

hyunjin took a long sip of his piña colada. the taste of coconut spread on his tongue and the sweet alcohol burned his throat as he swallowed.

"so," he put his glass down. "who wants to go dancing first?" before anyone could answer, the front door opened again.

jisung sat his glass down on the beer mat, very slowly. "i think i'm seeing ghosts..."