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It's dark outside. Light poles illuminate streets and alleys. Stars burn bright in the sky and the moon glows like a sphere of silver and white over the skyscrapers. It's the lull before the storm a little further outside the city centre.

Because a few seconds later, the barking of dogs and the honking of cars echo through the streets. A loud screech—a cat— somewhere near, accompanied by more barking. It's closely followed by loud, ear-splitting, grumbly barks originating from a red furry bundle.

After being chased through alleys upon alleys, it has grown exhausted. There's no tree to climb and no time to hide somewhere else with the dogs chasing hot on its heels. Against dogs, it's outmatched in terms of speed so it can only use its small height and quick movements to its advantage.

The red fluff ball—a red panda—finds itself running along the same dark and mysterious alleys it always tries to avoid. Its feet hurt from running over the hard concrete, not being used to the rigidity of the road or this extent of movement. It has been running long enough to lose orientation and not know where it is anymore. The red panda needs to find an exact escape route if it doesn't want to end up being torn to pieces by the dogs. It feels itself running out of breath.

Fortunately or not, the red panda ends up in a dim-lit alley with big wheelie bins, eyes searching for something that it can use as its escape. Once more it tries to run faster as it feels the dogs catching up. Their claws scratch against the dark concrete and create a hollow echo. The sound makes its hair at the nape of its neck stand on end. Tongue swiping over its mouth as it gets close to the end of the alley, it sees a man, dressed in dark clothes smoking before he lets it fall to the ground and puts it out with his shoe.

The red panda speeds up as the man turns around and walks through a door with a bright sign on top of it. It doesn't care where it leads to as long as it's safe there. The animal takes a deep breath and squishes through the already-about-to-close opening. There it enters into a storage room before it contemplates whether it is still in danger or not. It takes a moment to contemplate whether it should find a safer place to hide in.

The decision falls when a human enters the room, and the red panda scurries into a corner where it cannot be seen and curls its tail around its body. As soon as the human leaves, the animal scrunches its nose and explores where it is. Creeping along the corridor and being careful not to be seen, the red panda is taken aback by sudden loud yelling and singing. It feels irritated by it and tries to walk somewhere quieter.

The empty room in which it finds is some sort of make-up or styling room with three mirrors and furniture. There's a jacket thrown over a chair before a make-up table and another one over the black leather couch in the corner. Just looking at the room it's clear that the furniture must be expensive, even the food that's presented on the table near the cream-coloured wall.

The red panda can't hold itself back to climb onto the table and grab some fruits, having been hours since it has last eaten. Escaping from the dogs has made him even hungrier, reason why the red panda eats with relish when outside of the room the music starts again. Rap is being played in the venue as the crowd goes wild.

Must be some sort of concert.

This goes on for some time until the music stops for a longer time than it has before. The animal panics when it hears the echo of footsteps in the hallway by not one person but more. In a rush, the red panda looks around, trying to find a place to hide. Their eyes eventually land on an abandoned-looking gym bag in a corner and slightly hidden from furniture. Climbing down from the table, the cute animal glimpses at the door and then runs straight to the gym bag, where it hides and silently prays not to be found.

Just a few seconds later the door opens again, four men and a woman enter the room. The first one to speak up is someone older and with a deep voice. The red panda can't see anything from how deep it dug to hide in the gym bag but as long as no one would come to open it, it would be fine.

"Great show, boys! The crowd went wild!"

"Thanks, Manager. I can only agree." A tall man with blond hair nods and crosses his arms over his chest, displaying the glistening sweat on his skin and muscles as he wears nothing over the black top. Strands of his blond hair fall into his face while giving the other men in the room a bro hug, something that became a routine after playing a concert. "Especially when Minsu played his guitar solo," he says.

"I swear to God some people looked at me as if they grew a second head." Minsu laughs and throws his head back, his hand reaching out to the table of food that had been prepared for them. He stops when he notices something doesn't look quite right... As if someone had been eating from the fruits. Minsu gets rid of the ridiculous thought when the blond—Youngjin—throws an arm over his shoulder. It was probably their manager anyway.

"Of course they did! You are talented, otherwise, you wouldn't be with us in a rock band," Youngjin snorts and shakes his head as he throws some sweets into his mouth. "Many of them even looked at you with...hmm..."

"With their heart eyes." The fourth man with black hair —Jeongguk— speaks up. His tattooed arms reach out to the black leather jacket that he threw over the sofa earlier. The woman who entered the room together with them walks to the man with black hair and hands him a pile of clothes to change into, earning a soft thanks.

"They probably fell in love at first sight," Jeongguk adds, snorting and scrunching his nose at his own words. Amusement makes him bump into Minsu's shoulder, enjoying teasing him from time to time. It's what makes being in a band more fun.

"Ha...ha...ha." Minsu looks at him with narrow eyes and heaves out an exaggerated sigh. There's a sound of a click and his fingers grab a packet of ramen, before he pours the hot water from the electric kettle over them, watching them get soaked by the water. "As if they don't look at you the same way when you play the drums or at Youngjin when he raps. Besides, it wasn't our first concert."

"No, it wasn't but it definitely wasn't our last," Youngjin says and stretches himself next to Minsu, hands moving above his head when he moves his upper body from right to left and from left to right. "Gosh, I'm exhausted, but it was a great night! Let's just fill our bodies with some more food and then head home."

"I totally agree. I feel ready to hit the hay and feel like I could sleep for a whole day." Minsu nods and throws his head on the back of the couch and his legs spread out on the sofa. "Don't get me wrong, as much as I love our fans and the music, all the rehearsing and concerts wear you out. I feel like I haven't slept properly in a while. Glad that's over with for now."

"Me too, but what are you talking about sleeping all day when you're the one who's going to be the first one of us to get up anyway." Youngjin laughs and nudges Jeongguk from the side, who hums in agreement and continues to eat his toast in silence. In the group, Jeongguk is often a bright person when they are among themselves, although there are days when Jeongguk feels less like talking and both Youngjin and Minsu respect that. Just like it seems to be today.

Still, they try to include him in conversations so he doesn't feel left out and he appreciates them for that. Jeongguk wouldn't otherwise call them his closest friends, of which he doesn't have many anyway as he is not outgoing in that respect. Another thing he appreciates about his friends is that they take certain things lightly and always improve the atmosphere with jokes.

"Let me feed you," Youngjin says after sliding onto the other sofa and pushing Minsu's feet off the sofa. With chopsticks between his fingers, Youngjin holds out a hand of ramen to Minsu. "Say ahhh."

Youngjin holds the chopsticks closer to Minsu, opening his mouth himself as if to feed himself. Jeongguk can't help but chuckle at the view. "You guys are such idiots."

"Yah, let me feed my little baby. You can see how tired he is," Youngjin rants and receives a slap on his arm from Minsu. "Who are you calling baby?"

Sometimes Jeongguk wonders if he's really in a rock band when they're both clowning around. A few seconds later, however, he would admit that there is no one he would rather be in a band with. Thanks to the two of them, there are also enough amusing scenes and memories. Not that they are a couple or anything like that, they just love to tease each other, which gives Jeongguk enough entertainment.

"You, now eat."

"Very well, daddy," Minsu replies with an innocent fluttering of eyelashes, causing Jeongguk to choke on the drink and almost spit it on both of them. As he mentioned, both are serious in situations where seriousness is required, but both love cracking jokes and keeping Jeongguk's life interesting with such things.

"Bless you, JK." Youngjin gives him a serious look and then turns back to Minsu with a smile. The existing duality of him is genuinely intangible in Jeongguk's eyes. "One more bite so you can grow big and strong."

Jeongguk shakes his head in disbelief and continues eating until he finally has enough and goes to change. He puts the clothes he has been wearing in a bag and puts them next to the couch as he throws on his jacket. He wishes the boys a good night who had finished changing. Jeongguk reaches for his bag, taken aback by the sudden weight it has. He doesn't have time to think about it as one of his bodyguards grabs the bag and Jeongguk runs behind him to the tinted car.

After the black SUV stops in front of his front door to his apartment block and Jeongguk gets out, the driver steps out as well to give him the bag from the boot. He too seems a little confused by the weight of the big sports bag. Jeongguk's eyebrows draw together thoughtfully. What exactly is in the bag that makes it heavier than he remembers packing it? Did the boys play a trick on him and pack a rock? Or did one of the stuffers accidentally pack something and mistake it for her bag?

Jeongguk politely thanks the driver and makes his way to his penthouse. Again and again, his gaze drifts down to the large bag in the lift as if he is waiting for something to happen. But everything remains quiet until he reaches the front door of his and carefully sets his bag down in the middle of his living room. From there he goes to the kitchen and pours himself a glass of water without taking his eyes off the bag with a serious expression on his face.

Something... must be wrong with it.

Jeongguk places the glass on the kitchen island next to him and resolutely approaches the bag. He squats in front of it and examines it again before moving his fingers along the zip, slowly pulling it open while feeling his heart pounding in his chest with anticipation.

His heart stops, a loud gasp escapes him, recoiling. Jeongguk stiffens and his eyes linger on red fur as he takes a step back, peeking out of his open bag. Thoughts are racing as he tries to make sense of whatever he's seeing. Why is fur in his bag? Is this a sick joke someone pulls on him?

Jeongguk flinches. The red fur suddenly moves in the bag and makes sounds. It catches Jeongguk off guard and he doesn't know how to react or act. Light-headedness comes over him and he starts to feel dizzy as the ball of fur starts making soft noises. Almost like... a mixture of squeals and huff quacks.

Turns out what he brought home is not a stone, not some dead animal but a very alive red panda, which climbs out of the bag and stands on two feet, smelling the surroundings. Panic arises in Jeongguk as their eyes meet. The red panda curiously eyes him and then dares to decrease the distance between them with each step. Jeongguk feels like he's being pushed against the wall, feeling helplessness settle in his stomach. So many questions form in his mind, thoughts racing through his mind and so he thinks of the only solution that makes sense at this very moment.

He has to leave. Not him but the red panda.

The first thing that comes to his mind is yelling at it that it should go. "Don't you fucking dare come any closer to me! Go away!"

He yells like it's his defence mechanism, something he doesn't want to admit. Jeongguk feels constricted as he backs away in quick jerky steps. However, this seems to have the opposite effect as the red panda suddenly hides under one of his sofas in quick and panicked movements, cowering in fear.

Just great...

The animal's behaviour lets him hesitate for a moment, staring at the dark corner the red panda went to hide under the sofa. Jeongguk admits yelling at it was not the smartest thing, because now they're probably both panicking. But as far as Jeongguk knows this animal could be anything or have any contagious illness.

Jeongguk sighs and contemplates what to do next. Swallowing hard and trying to bite the bullet, Jeongguk leans his head against the wall behind him and runs his hand through his black hair, exposing his forehead.

"Sorry for shouting," he mumbles quietly into the spacious room as if hoping the animal could miraculously understand him, but it remains quiet. "I didn't want to scare you but I don't want to call animal control on you. I don't know where you come from or what you're doing here. Please leave!"

Walking back to the entrance of his penthouse, Jeongguk opens the door and signals with his pointer finger to the hallway outside his penthouse. His face morphs into a mix of determination and uncertainty, patiently waiting for the red panda to crawl out from under the sofa.

Jeongguk has to swallow hard again as he sees the muzzle emerge and the little animal crawls out shyly and slightly apprehensive. It does not avert its eyes from him, huff quacking as he strides reluctantly towards him. The way it looks now, it looks cuddly, fluffy and cute—

Jeongguk, get a grip on yourself! That's a wild animal in your penthouse.

Hesitant and slightly intimidated, it stops a few metres in front of Jeongguk and flips its ears from side to side. Its red tail remains on the ground as it stands on two legs and continues to look at Jeongguk. Jeongguk, to his amazement, persists and makes another hand gesture towards the front door. What the hell else does he have to do to get this animal out of his penthouse?

The last thing he wants to do is call animal control.

"Please go," Jeongguk presses out, emphasising the last word. His posture is still tense and a part of him feels terrible that he's doing this, but Jeongguk has never been good with animals, which has triggered some of his panic. He just doesn't know how to act when they stare at him.

Jeongguk feels a bit like he's having a little staring contest when the red panda suddenly stands on four feet and bolts out of the penthouse, having felt very unwelcomed. It lets Jeongguk sigh and lean against his white wall in relief.

Of course, the question of how the red panda got in there remains unanswered but he doubts he would have gotten an answer from the small animal.