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Late mornings were considered luxuries in the ASTRO dorms; the members almost working an average of 16-18 hour days during album promotions. They left the apartment before daybreak and returned a few hours after midnight - if they're lucky. But now that a hiatus was looming in the horizon and the fansign events were whittling down, the boys could enjoy more mornings spent tucked in bed until it was time for lunch. That is, if anyone of them could manage to wake up long enough to remember lunch.
So you could imagine the frustration four of the six members felt when they were snatched out of their pleasant dreams by the sound of rhythmic thumping that was coming from the other room. The two person room.
Bin and Eunwoo's room.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Muted but persistent banging that occurred in too regular intervals to be accidental.
Sanha grumbled first. Turning over to bury his face on his pillow, he let out a muffled scream. "Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!" He reached blindly to his right, catching hold of his Jinjin hyung's shirt and giving it a tug that threatened to rip the cotton material. "Hyung, make them stop!"
"What is that?" Myung Jun muttered from the top bunk, shoving off the black Hamtaro eye mask he slid on his face before going to sleep.
"Nnnnggghhh." Jinjin slurred, finally reacting to Sanha's nails digging into his chest. "Wh... What?"
"Jinjin? Do you hear that?" Myung Jun called down, slowly rousing himself into an upright position. Beside him, Rocky was also beginning to stir, muscular thighs shifting within his blanket.
"Hear whaaaaatttt?" The group leader's voice was still thick with drowsiness.
Sanha gave his hyung's chest a hard knock. "Those two in the other room. Go, make them stop!"
"What? Who?" Still disoriented and a bit disgruntled at being forced into consciousness, Jinjin rubbed at his eyes as he sat up. And then he heard it. That pounding that was gaining in strength, making the walls of their room shake with the intensity of a minor earthquake. "What the?"
A foot appeared on the rung a few inches from Sanha's head and then another as Myung Jun made his way down from the top bunk. "What are those two doing in there? It's like 11 in the morning." He was squinting at the wall clock that hung above their door. He suddenly clutched at the bed frame, seeing the clock quiver from its perch from a particularly strong knock. "Whoa!"
"Yes! Yes! Just right there!"
"Earthquake?" Rocky suddenly yelled. "Earthquake! Aww!" He bolted upright so abruptly he hit the top of his head on the low ceiling of their apartment.
"Faster! Please! Oh, please do me harder!"
Myung Jun and Jinjin looked at each other, their mouths hanging open, appalled at what they were hearing. DO. ME. HARDER?
Really?
Have they no shame?
This really shouldn't be a surprise anymore. They've long ago suspected that something more than just close friendship was between Eunwoo and Bin. Observant people have often commented about how unusually tactile the two of them were with each other. But it wasn't just the constant touching. It wasn't even the need to always be where the other one was. It was the looks they exchanged; sickeningly sweet glances that seemed laden with meanings only the two of them could understand. Sanha probably said it best when he claimed that it's like their eyeballs are stuck together with melted toffee.
And then in the group car last night. Those two were whispering...making the usual googly-eyes... Could those sounds be the culmination of -
"Oh my god! Yes! Don't stop! Don't stop!"
Rocky started stripping his blanket away. He was rubbing at the bump on his forehead but he was also concerned. "Why is Eunwoo-hyung screaming like that? Shouldn't we check?"
"Hnnnnggghhh. Oh! Oh!"
He was right. It was certainly Eunwoo; yelling at the top of his lungs in ear-splitting bliss. Myung Jun rolled his eyes in disbelief, unable to fathom why those two in the other room couldn't engage in their personal activities more discretely. More than that. Why hadn't Bin thought about using a gag?
"Harder! There! Again! Harder!"
"Maybe something fell on him because of the earthquake?" Rocky was making his way to the edge of the top bunk. The poor, naive thing. In all likelihood, he misconstrued the loud moaning as pleas for assistance. Well, they were. Sort of. Except Eunwoo probably needed a different sort of assistance.
"There's no earthquake. But something did fall on Eunwoo." Myung Jun mused out loud. "Just not what you think." He added under his breath. "Most likely your Binnie-hyung... over and over and over again."
Sanha's head popped up inevitably hearing snippets of what MJ said, his young mind forming its own conclusions. "Wait? Are they wrestling?" He struggled to get up from under his covers, long limbs flailing to get free. "But that's not allowed. And Binnie-hyung could be killing him in there!"
"Yeah." Jinjin agreed, half-amused and half-annoyed at just how close Sanha's theory was to the actual truth, but still be completely way off the mark. "Binnie is definitely killing him from the sound of things."
Rocky dropped down on to the floor gracefully, landing with a catlike spring in his step. "Bin-hyung doesn't know his own strength sometimes."
"From the sounds Eunwoo's making, he doesn't know too." Myung Jun had to bite at his lower lip to keep himself from laughing. Rocky was looking at him, completely bewildered at his hyung's lack of immediate concern. Why was he finding all of this funny?
"Hang on." Jinjin raised his hands for quiet. The sudden absence of shrieking and thudding made him sigh in relief. Perhaps he wouldn't have to intervene after all. "It stopped. Oh, thank the - FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"
When the banging resumed, it returned with a ferocity that made all of the four members jump in surprise. And then Eunwoo's voice took on a quality of desperation that could only come when one is near the cusp of...
"Oh! Oh! Hnnnnngggg.... So near! So near! I... I..."
Myung Jun looked to the heavens - well, actually the dorm ceiling - hoping that the powers-that-be would stop the frenetic rabbits next door.
"Aaaaaaarrrggghhh!"
Jinjin swallowed hard completely at a loss; unable to string words into a coherent sentence to explain what the penultimate scream meant to Rocky and Sanha who were both looking to him - their hyung and leader - for answers. "Oh. Well, that was -"
The resounding crash that followed, however, was so unexpected that it made them all cringe and gasp collectively in shock.
Was that the bed frame collapsing or a body falling?
"I don't know about the rest of you but I want to find out what - Yaaaahhh, hyung!" Sanha yelped, finding himself being held down forcibly.
Realizing what the two of them might walk into if they did try to help, Jinjin sprang into action without so much as a by your leave. He crawled over Sanha's sprawled form, nearly crushing their group maknae with his full weight in his haste to get out of bed. If the managers found out about how he had neglected his duties to protect the minors in the band from being exposed to anything inappropriate, he would never hear the end of it.
"No! Absolutely not! You two stay right here!"
"But -"
"Don't you dare leave this room!" The group leader commanded, staring down both Sanha and Rocky until he was sure they wouldn't move an inch. He pulled at Myung Jun's arm, dragging the unwilling, eldest member to the door.
"I wanna see!"
"No!"
"Well, I don't want to see so, can't I just stay here too?" Myung Jun countered, desperately hanging on to the doorknob just as Jinjin was about to pull on it. Really, he didn't need to know what Bin and Eunwoo had been up to. Funny as he may have thought of the situation before, witnessing the real thing would scar him for life.
"I need you for back-up." The leader hissed, prying him loose and shoving him out.
Jinjin's short legs made equal short work of the distance between the two rooms, even with Myung Jun playing dead weight. He was knocking his clenched fists against the closed door soon enough. "Oi! Open up! What's going on in there?"
There was silence from the other side. Jinjin and Myung Jun pressed their ears against the wood, straining to hear. The hush within became rustling; then snippets of whispered voices and... oh wow. Was that a giggle? The two nearly fell into the room when the door suddenly opened and Bin stepped out... looking tousled...sexy tousled. His shirt was inside-out. His pajama bottoms twisted. His hair was all over the place. And, there was a sheen of sweat on his skin like he had just done something strenuous.
"Hyungs? What's up?" Bin was blinking at them, wearing that extra bright smile that he usually reserved during album promotions... or if he was caught doing something he shouldn't.
He closed the door behind him which was odd. Now why would he need to do that? Jinjin and Myung Jun exchanged looks. To them, it was as much a confirmation that their suspicions were correct than an actual verbal admission. But they wanted one anyways...
Bin's seemingly innocent question was so at odds with the sounds that they heard coming from the room earlier, Jinjin couldn't keep his left eyebrow from going up. So he was going to play this game with people much older than him? With people who know better? Jinjin decided he was going on interrogator attack mode, crossing his arms over his chest. Beside him, Myung Jun remained silent, preferring to watch the leader unleash himself on the other male rather than get involved...that is, at least, for the moment.
"Where is Eunwoo?"
"Inside?"
"Why?"
"Well, because he sleeps there?"
"Is he sleeping now?"
"Well, no. But - "
"Then why isn't he out here with you?"
"Well, because he's -"
"Why were you two so noisy?"
"Because... Wait? We were noisy?"
Jinjin rolled his eyes while Myung Jun thought it entertaining to watch the volley of questions and answers travel in rapid succession between the two of them. He was well-aware of the other's strategy, firing question after question coupled with that intense eye squint until the person answering slips. Bin was doing surprisingly well under the strain of the group leader's inquiry.
"I'm certainly not here out of curiosity. What the hell was going on in there?"
Bin reached up to comb his fingers quickly through his hair. "Eunwoo just needed help with something."
Myung Jun couldn't hold his disbelief or his mouth any longer. "Really? Did it happen to have anything to do with wrecking the apartment?"
"What? No! Of course, not."
"Or breaking your bunk bed?"
"Our bed is fine. "
"So what was all the racket about?"
"We didn't realize we were making so much noise."
"Clearly." Jinjin muttered in consternation. "You woke us up with all the banging and the screaming."
"Screaming?"
"Yes. Whatever you were supposedly helping Eunwoo with in there, he was agreeing very strongly. We heard all of it." Myung Jun let his words hang meaningfully in the air.
Bin's hand reached up to clutch at the back of his neck, appearing sheepish. "Well, that was -"
The group's apartment intercom chimed, the clear bell indicating that someone from the lobby was requesting access up to their floor. Myung Jun had to step away to press a button at the monitor located by the security door. The round face of their manager filled the screen. Behind him was one of the male staff that usually assisted during fansigns. It seemed they were carrying boxes, probably the fan gifts from their last event that had passed through company inspection for bugs, spycams and listening devices; and were finally being delivered to their rightful recipients.
"We're coming up." He said.
Myung Jun buzzed him, before giving the group leader and Bin a worried glance. "If he starts looking for Eunwoo..."
"Say nothing!" Jinjin hissed.
Bin paled. Jinjin was beginning to count the minutes before he gets demoted from his esteemed position in the group having been unable to prevent this lunacy from happening. His anxiety rose a hundredfold when Rocky and Sanha burst out of their room defying his direct orders for them to stay put. They young ones stood huddled together eyeing Jinjin warily.
"We heard manager-hyung's voice." Rocky said, egged on by Sanha's nudging.
"Whatever." Jinjin replied, turning to face the entry way. "Just shut up and let us do the talking."
The five members heard the beeps of buttons being pressed from the outside; their apartment pin code known to the Fantagio staff who handle ASTRO exclusively. And then, their manager walked in followed by his assistant for the day, each lugging a huge box in their arms. They placed them on the floor in the center of the living room before both men stretched to ease the tension in their backs.
No Taeyoon had seen the members of ASTRO grow and develop; first as their media trainer when they were still in their trainee stage and then as a full-time manager when they debuted as idols. He prided himself in knowing the little quirks and oddities that made each of the members an individual. Therefore, he had a keen sense when something was definitely amiss. They may have hastily groomed themselves before he and his assistant came up but there was something about the way they were lined up shoulder to shoulder appearing as if they were about to face a firing squad rather than plow through fangifts that gave him pause.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he nodded for the assistant to leave before he spoke to his charges, noting the fact that none of them could look him in the eyes. "Alright. What's going on?"
When none of them deigned to give him a reply, he paced the room making a show of slowly inspecting each of the members from head to foot. They didn't seem to have fought with each other. No bruises or scratches, at least in the areas he could see, on any of them. He gave the apartment a cursory glance. Sure, there were some pieces of clothing strewn about; an odd shoe or two left without its pair on the entryway. But all in all, the place was reasonably clean. Well, as reasonably clean as it can get with six males living together. So, why did they all look like they were hiding something?
No Taeyoon did a mental check. He was sure they hadn't forgotten an early schedule. It was only Eunwoo that had something to do that evening. And then...
Wait...
"Where's Eunwoo?"
"Well, you see there's -" Jinjin began.
"He's well... he's -" Bin scratched at his head, trying to think of what to say.
"Asleep. Really tired." Myung Jun declared with an affirming nod.
Rocky and Sanha remained quiet, not really sure what to say; both blinking innocently at their manager and shrugging. None of them missed the warning glance Jinjin threw their way. The manner in which the Leader's lips were curled around his teeth promised dire consequences if any of them snitched.
Well, if he wasn't going to get a straight answer from them, the manager thought it best to go to the source. And the source was five bodies away from him. No Taeyoon pushed past Bin and Jinjin expecting them to give way, but he found resistance instead. Well, this was odd.
"Eunwoo!" He tried calling out to the missing member.
Bin held him back. "Manager-nim, maybe we should just let him sleep. I mean he's -"
No Taeyoon glared at them. "Did something happen to Eunwoo?"
"No! No! Of course not!" Jinjin's voice was high-pitched, his agitation beginning to show.
"He's perfectly alright. Ethereal as always." Myung Jun released a nervous laugh.
"Well, a few minutes ago, he was sc-"
Myung Jun had never flown that fast in that distance in all his life; lunging to clamp a hand over Sanha's runaway mouth. "Sanha was dreaming he heard voices while we were sleeping." He gave the youngest's lips a vicious squeeze, warning him silently to keep his mouth shut.
Their manager had to be fool not to see the members were indeed trying to conceal something. "Move it. I'm going into your room." He shoved at Bin, using his considerable bulk to press forward.
"Hyung, really. Eunwoo is -"
"I'm here!" The person in question finally spoke out in a voice loud and strained. The door opened and Eunwoo peeked out bright-eyed and just as tousled as Bin had been earlier. His face was at level with the knob. He managed to smile at their manager. "Yes, hyung?"
"Could you come out here for a second?"
"Erm..." Eunwoo seemed at odds with the request for a moment before he finally came out. Well, crawled out more like.
Everyone watched in varying degrees of shock and horror as the groups' visual scraped along the floor on his hands and knees, long limbs struggling to draw the rest of him a few more meters until he reached where everyone was standing. The cheerful smile never left his face, still looking like a blessed seraphim, albeit a seraphim clearly in pain. "You were looking for me?"
Jinjin couldn't keep himself from smacking Bin between the shoulder blades, venting his frustration at the person he already assumed caused the trouble they were all going to be in.
No Taeyoon's mouth gaped open, tongue flopping inside like a fish. He stood there watching Fantagio's Golden Boy - the boy with a face that could launch a thousand endorsements with a mere fluttering of his extraordinarily long eyelashes - inch his way across the floor like a supplicant in a bad B-movie. It was surreal.
"What happened to you?" The group manager shrieked, having an on-the-spot anxiety attack at the thought that he would have to explain Eunwoo's absence at the test shoot he was scheduled for tonight if his injury wasn't sorted out immediately. The company higher-ups would not be pleased about this, not to mention his parents... and it would be the group manager's head on the chopping block.
Eunwoo flushed bright pink. "I think my back is shot."
"Aigoo." Myung Jun mumbled, hiding his face in his hands.
"How the hell did that happen?" The manager didn't bother sanitizing his language in front of the minors. He was too busy running his own firing scenarios in his head.
Their manager may have missed it, but the other members saw how Eunwoo glanced briefly in Bin's direction - how their eyes met and held for a few seconds before he answered. "I had a small accident."
"Accident?"
"I fell?"
"You fell?"
"Yeah?"
"Will someone help him up, please? Like right now!" Their manager gesticulated wildly, unable to bear having to look down upon the future of his agency groveling on the floor.
Bin moved first, gently easing Eunwoo on to his side so he could slip his arms around his back and under his knees. With a grunt, he successfully lifted his best friend, wincing as the other male groaned in pain while he carried him to the living room couch. Rocky shadowed them both, ready to assist should Bin falter under Eunwoo's weight. There was no mistaking the unusual tenderness Bin displayed as he plucked out the decorative pillows and placed them underneath Eunwoo in the hopes of making him comfortable. Once the injured member was settled on the sofa, their manager reared on the remaining members.
"Someone tell me how something like this could happen to him or I swear on all that is holy I will take away your phones and remove all your coffee privileges for a month! I mean it!"
"They were noisy." Sanha blurted out suddenly, refusing to wither under the intense gaze Myung Jun and Jinjin were giving him. They could unleash their anger on him later for giving in so easily under their manager's threat, but a month without his phone or his coffee was too much to bear!
"Who was noisy?"
"Binnie and Eunwoo-hyung."
"Noisy?" Their manager prompted. "Noisy how?"
"There was really loud thumping. Like their bed was hitting the side of the wall." Sanha described, eyes wide. "And it was just going on and on and on..."
"I thought there was an earthquake." Rocky piped up, bolstered by Sanha's courage to speak up. "The walls were shaking."
"Shaking?"
"And then Eunwoo-hyung started screaming." Rocky added.
"Screaming?"
"Yes." Rocky and Sanha were nodding vehemently.
"I was worried because I thought they were wrestling and that's not allowed so -"
"Wrestling?"
No Taeyoon was trying his best to make sense of what the youngest members were telling him, still believing in the old adage that the truth comes out of the mouth of babes. Why would the bed be making the sort of banging noise Sanha was insisting on? And why would Eunwoo even be screaming? Had he and Bin been fighting? Wrestling even? He glanced at the couch where the purported best friends seemed oblivious to the fact that they were being discussed. Eunwoo's lips were moving and Bin's head was bent to hear every word. Bin's left hand disappeared somewhere beneath the folds of Eunwoo's shirt, presumably kneading the strained muscles on the other male's back. It was all very sweet really.
So what foolishness were maknaes going on about?
He turned to the oldest members. "Well? Are these two being straight with me?"
Myung Jun licked at his lips. His entire mouth had gone dry. "I... Well... I guess?"
"Jinjin?"
The group leader murmured quietly. "Possibly?"
Sanha pursed his lips, upset that the hyungs were trying to make it seem as if he and Rocky hallucinated the entire thing. "You were in the room with us! You two heard everything we heard too!"
"Well?" The manager prodded the two eldest.
Myung Jun began chewing at his thumb. "There was banging and screaming."
Jinjin pressed his fists over his eyes. "And then we heard something crash."
The oldest members gazed helplessly at each other. Well, so much for not saying anything. Both of them didn't know what they were more ashamed of; the fact that they folded in front of the youngest members or of what they would have to say about the best friends on the couch.
"They weren't fighting." Myung Jun was squirming, scratching at the back of his neck. "At least I don't think so."
The manager was even more bewildered. "Rocky mentioned screaming. If they weren't fighting, then why was Eunwoo screaming?"
There was no way No Taeyoon missed the dirty look Jinjin threw the best friends' way. But instead of answering, the leader took a different tact. "Why do you think he was screaming, hyung? Just look at them."
And so despite his confusion, ASTRO's manager looked - really looked at the two people on the sofa, intent on discovering for himself what Jinjin meant. Bin had his right hand held out, palm facing up. Eunwoo's fingers were fluttering over the palm; sometimes touching, sometimes moving upwards to brush over Bin's wrists. Okay. Nothing seemed out of place. Those two always did that.
And then he saw the way they were contemplating each other. He couldn't be imagining it, could he? There had always been a fondness between Eunwoo and Bin; the two of them sharing a lot of common interests, going to the same school, even rooming together. But what if there was more? Eunwoo was regarding Bin with a smile; not the usual reaction you would expect from someone who had just been injured. And it seemed Bin was the cause why Eunwoo got hurt, at least from what he was able to piece together from the incoherent babbling of the other members. Bin's face held all the remorse he couldn't put into words, but his eyes peered back at Eunwoo with absolute affection like he was completely beholden to him. And Eunwoo was - well, there was no other word for it - practically glowing under his ministrations.
Which would mean...
"Sanha?"
"Yes, manager-hyung?"
No Taeyoon swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. "How... How exactly was your Eunwoo-hyung screaming?"
Jinjin and Myung Jun clutched at each other. Rocky stared at Sanha in anticipation, hoping that their maknae would be able to replicate the screams they heard this morning. When Sanha opened his mouth, what came out sounded like a cross between a constipated cow and a neighing horse, but it got the point across - and had Rocky cracking up his stomach started to cramp. The manager's eyes widened and a hand flew to suppress the gasp that was threatening to burst from his lips.
"I did not sound like that!" Eunwoo yelled indignantly from his spot in the couch, grimacing as he struggled to pull himself up. Bin was immediately ready to assist, allowing the other male to lean on him.
"Stop making things up." Bin muttered at the youngest, already fluffing the pillows on Eunwoo's back.
Sanha was insulted, his pride for his mimicry skills dashed to the ground. "Fine. Maybe I didn't sound like Eunwoo-hyung exactly. But I know I heard him tell you to do him harder - whatever that means."
"You -"
"I'm sorry? Do him harder?" It was the first time since he went through adolescence that No Taeyoon's voice cracked.
"Yes, he did." Rocky readily agreed. "MJ-hyung? What's that mean?"
"Oi."
The sound of a body hitting the floor prevented Bin from going on a verbal rampage. They all turned to see Myung Jun slumped against Jinjin's legs, catatonic while the group leader tried to slap him back to active consciousness.
"I did say that." Eunwoo admitted, mouth opening at the sudden shot of pain that crept along his spine and hip as he shifted.
"Well, that is - " The ASTRO manager was having a hard time stringing anything vaguely resembling a sentence together; all sorts of sodden images wrecking havoc on his thought processes. But he did manage to croak out, "Why?"
It was Bin's turn to be exasperated. "Obviously, because he liked what I was doing to him, I just needed to put my back into it more."
"It did actually feel good." Eunwoo reached out to console Bin with a touch on his arm. The look they gave each other spoke volumes. "Well, at first it didn't...but as it got harder..."
Another body hit the floor. This time it was Jinjin, plopping right next to a still catatonic Myung Jun. The leader was gaping at Eunwoo and Bin as he felt his own body grow cold from shock.
Bin blushed furiously. "I guess I went overboard. I did him too hard he -"
"I fell off the bed." Eunwoo finished for him matter-of-factly.
"Oh."
So, does that mean that they were...
But by their own words they pretty much said that they did...
What other conclusion could there be except for what was right in front of him?
No. NO.
His mind tried to deny all of it. Although the pairing between Eunwoo and Bin had been carefully cultivated and encouraged by the company, none of them could have possibly foreseen the relationship developing into something more.
No Taeyoon felt, more than heard, his own breath leaving his lungs. His substantial chin was propped up by his left hand, his head too heavy with the sudden influx of unwanted information. He just dropped by the dorms to deliver gifts, something that he does on a regular basis. And now he was going to leave with this extra baggage that he only had himself to blame for finding out. If only he left things well alone and didn't pry.
He was left with a predicament. A development like this within the group dynamic ought to be reported to the agency. As manager, it was an integral part of his job. But then again, he could just pretend that he didn't hear anything or see anything. Just leave the apartment bleaching his mind of the things he discovered today. He took a moment to weigh his options and then came up with a decision he thought he could live with.
"I'm going to go now. I'm leaving you to sort this between yourselves." He turned around and headed for the door; all the while nattering to himself about idol's with raging hormones and why... oh why... hadn't he just opted to be the Hello Venus manager. The girls would have been less trouble than the lot he landed with.
"What just happened?" Jinjin pressed against his chest, still dazed that they escaped virtually unscathed. He was expecting their manager to throw a fit, probably aim most of the blame on him for his ineptitude in controlling his fellow members.
Myung Jun came out of his daze beside him. "Are we still alive?"
"That was strange." Rocky commented. "I thought for sure we were in trouble...though I'm still not sure why."
"Why would we be in trouble? What happened was an accident." Eunwoo said, still shifting around the sofa to find a comfortable position. His back was killing him. "I just need to rest and maybe get some liniment on this and I should be okay."
"An accident? Is that what you call it these days?" Jinjin screeched, bolting on to his feet. "If you two had displayed some semblance of control, this fiasco would never have happened!"
"It was my first time to do that to Eunwoo! Give me a break!" Bin shrieked back. "Besides, he wanted it. He was begging me to do it! I was trying to help."
"Help. Accident. Whatever it is you call it. We would have avoided this whole drama if you two reined in your hormones!"
Bin and Eunwoo glanced at each other.
"Huh?"
"Hormones?"
Jinjin rolled his eyes. This was so not the time to play dumb. "Look. We get it. You two have something going on. But could you two be a bit more discrete?"
Bin ran his hand through his hair puzzled by what the group leader was saying. "What is there to be discrete about? We weren't doing anything wrong. It's perfectly normal for two people who care for each other to do what we did. Okay, it could have gone better but I don't understand why it should upset any of you."
Jinjin's mouth opened but no words came out. He was so completely taken aback by what he just heard he couldn't formulate a retort.
Myung Jun sighed. "We have minors in the band. We live in close quarters. You two need to be more careful."
"I still don't get it." Bin replied petulantly.
"I don't get it either. Can someone please explain?" Sanha piped up, hands fisting at his pajama bottoms while he watched the exchange between his hyungs.
The group leader raised his hands in front of him. "Fine. If you two won't admit your fault in this... just next time you feel the need to do something together... GET ANOTHER ROOM!"
Eunwoo's brows furrowed. "Hang on. Why would we need to get another room? Bin was giving me a back rub."
"A what?"
"A back rub." Eunwoo reiterated, although slightly annoyed at having to repeat himself. "My lower back was hurting after our event last night. I was tossing and turning in bed because of the pain. I begged Bin to give me a massage."
Myung Jun gawked at him. "A massage? What was all that business of yelling do me harder?"
"Bin wasn't sure if he was using enough pressure on my back, so I told him to do me harder."
"And the screaming?"
"I was in pain. And then, it started to feel really good."
"What about the bed hitting the wall?" Rocky asked, slowly getting a clear picture of the situation.
Bin helpfully supplied the answer to that one. "I finally got the pressure right but I hadn't realized I was pushing too hard the bed was moving."
"But Eunwoo fell." Jinjin pressed.
"I was trying to get into a comfortable position. You know the lower bunk gets cramped." Eunwoo explained. "I was moving around too much... then BOOM!
"Oh. OH!"
"Okay, that makes sense." Sanha nodded gleefully; satisfied that things seem to be sorted out, all right and proper. "Can we get food now?" He looked hopefully at the oldest members, thinking that they might opt to have something delivered.
Jinjin felt as if the ground was ripped out from under him; his anger and irritation at the two being forced to dissipate. He was far from appeased by their explanations but what choice did he have but to just take things as they were? Maybe, this was something better discussed on another day. From the glimpse he took of the expression on Myung Jun's face, their oldest member was thinking exactly the same thing.
"Fine. Order out. Whatever. I'm going back to sleep."
Sanha yelped happily, grabbing at the menu selections stuck on their refrigerator. Rocky joined him at the kitchen counter, both excited for the chance to plan their meal.
"Jinjin-hyung?"
"Yeah?" The leader turned to find Bin watching him earnestly.
"What exactly did you think Eunwoo and I were doing in our room?"
"I... Well... That is I..." He looked to Myung Jun for help.
MJ brushed past him on the way to their room mumbling in amusement, "Sorry, Leader-shii. You're on your own on this one."