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“Jesus Christ, where is he?” asked Changbin, hands on his hips, not really expecting an answer. Wooyoung gave him one anyway.
“He did say that he would be a little late.”
“It’s been a half hour! That is arguably more than a little .”
Wooyoung sighed. “Look, I don’t know. He’s probably just busy. I do know that he wouldn’t bail on us. It’s been almost a year since we got to do this.”
They were standing underneath a tree in a city park. It was where the trio had a lot of their meetups. The area was wide-open and quiet enough that they were unlikely to encounter anyone who would disrupt them. On this particular Saturday morning (almost afternoon), there were only a few more people there. Most of them were older and simply didn’t care enough to pay any particular amount of attention to the two of them.
At that moment, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind them, and then a male voice saying, “Hey, are you two Ateez’s Wooyoung and Stray Kids’s Changbin?”
The two froze. They hadn’t been expecting to be recognized, at least not that fast. If it was only one person it would probably end up being fine, maybe just giving their autographs and a photo. They looked at eachother. The person hadn’t seen their faces yet but when they turned around he definitely would. Masks were covering a majority of their features, but still. Changbin shrugged. Wooyoung took that as the okay to turn around. He opened his mouth to say that it was, in fact, them, but was met with a familiar face.
“Yeonjun?”
Said man laughed and opened his arms. Wooyoung dived in for a hug, Changbin following not long after.
“Where have you been?” wondered Changbin.
“Schedules, you know how it is.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I am sorry I’m late, if it helps.”
The other two looked at each other. Wooyoung rolled his eyes, and Changbin tilted his head in acknowledgement. They made a series of facial expressions at each other as Yeonjun watched on in bemusement, not privy to their conversation. Finally, after carrying this on for much longer than should be possible or socially acceptable, Changbin sighed and turned to Yeonjun. He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well, after a lengthy discussion with my associate here-” he gestured to Wooyoung “-it is with a heavy heart that I must say that we don’t think we can continue our friendship with you.” Wooyoung nodded seriously.
Yeonjun looked between them with his eyebrows raised and the corners of his mouth curled upward in amusement. The two across from him were very clearly struggling not to laugh; Changbin was biting his lip and Wooyoung resorted to covering his mouth with his hand whose elbow was resting on Changbin’s shoulder.
It didn’t last very long. Wooyoung was the first to break, his laugh piercing the air surrounding them and attracting the attention of some passerby. Hearing the dolphin-like screeching coming from their friend quickly wore down the other two. Each one broke into their own fits of laughter.
“That wasn’t even that funny,” Yeonjun gasped. One of his hands was resting on his knee, the other wiping the tears from his eyes.
“No, it wasn't,” agreed Changbin. “But we haven’t seen each other in so long that it might as well have been.”
Wooyoung was still basically catatonic. He had stumbled over to lean on Yeonjun instead and was still there, still attempting to make a recovery. You would think that would concern his friends, even just slightly, but it didn’t. They had seen him in a worse state anyway. What did alarm them, though, was how much curiosity he was attracting from the other park goers. Yeonjun slapped a hand over his mouth.
“Shh!” He bowed politely to an old couple passing them. “Woo, calm down. You’re bothering the people around us.”
Wooyoung closed his eyes and brought his fingers together in front of his face, gathering himself. He nodded.
“Are you sure you’re done?” asked Changbin. He nodded again.
“Really sure?” came from Yeonjun this time. Wooyoung rolled his eyes. He knew that Yeonjun only said that to tease him. Then his eyes thinned, glinting mischievously.
Yeonjun’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare-!” It was too late. Wooyoung licked his tongue right across Yeonjun’s hand. The hand dropped off his mouth, its owner staring at it. Changbin couldn’t help cackling even more at the pure, unadulterated disgust written over his face. Yeonjun looked at him.
“Why are you laughing?”
Changbin shrugged, mirth clear in his gaze. Yeonjun lunged at him, wiping the slobbery hand all over Changbin’s shirt. He jumped back, batting his assailant away.
“What was that for?” he exclaimed.
“Payback.”
After the park they made their way to the same café they always went to on occasions like this one. Even though the windows were facing out to the streets, the entrance was down a narrow alleyway to the side. There were never many people inside; Changbin thought that it was a shame. It was such a nice and welcoming place, and it certainly deserved more business than it got. But then again, not many people meant less chance of being recognized, and that was a win in his books.
The place had been around for ages. Longer than any of them had been alive, at least. Since the opening, it had been owned by the same little old lady. When she first started out she was doing it all by herself: baking, cleaning, serving, accounting - the whole gig. As time went on and she got older, she was forced to hire some help. One thing that never changed, though, was that she was the only one who baked. Changbin had asked her why once.
“I want to keep all of my recipes to myself, of course,” she chuckled, as if it was the most simple thing in the world. “It’s a bit selfish of me, I suppose, but as long as I’m alive I want to be the only one who can make things the way I do. It makes an old hag like me feel useful.” She licked her lips. Business was slower than usual that day, and Changbin was the only one in the shop, so they had time to talk. “Of course, I won’t be around forever. A few more years, I hope, but that’s the most I’m asking for. I’ve had a good life; if I dropped dead right now I would be satisfied with what I’ve done.”
Changbin opened his mouth to protest, to tell her not to talk like that. A small, wrinkly finger, with callused knuckles, wagged in his face. “It’s the truth, Changbin, no matter how bitter it is. I’ve accepted it, you should too. It’ll make it easier once the time comes,” she interrupted him.
“Now, I’m not an idiot. I’m smart enough to know that once I’m gone this place probably won’t stay up and running. But that means that it’s no use giving my recipe book to anyone who works here. So, I want to give it to you. You can use it yourself, and finally take up a hobby other than the singing that you do, or you can give it to one of your friends. I’ve heard you talk about how the one called Felix likes baking; maybe he’d be able to make use of my recipes.”
He gaped. “I- are you sure?”
The lady nodded. “You know that I never had any children. I have no one else to give it to.” She smiled suddenly. “Besides, I would rather it be you that gets it than anyone else. Wooyoung and Yeonjun are nice boys, just like you, but I’ve known you the longest. I’ll go in and update my will later this month, and I’ll put in that you are to get my recipe book. It would mean a lot to me if someone got some use out of it.”
“Well, then, I’d be honored.” He bowed his head. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Changbin. I’m just glad it’s not going to be forgotten.”
Back to present day, the three of them walked into the little shop. You would never think that in order to get to such a sweet place you’d need to walk down such a dank alley. Their shoes splashed into puddles that hadn’t quite dried up from the storm a few days prior. If it was your first time wandering down the alley, you’d be (understandably) rather confused as to where the faint smell of cinnamon was coming from.
In order to fit they needed to walk single file. Wooyoung, at the head of the line, held open the door for the two behind him. As soon as he opened it, the smell of cinnamon hit him full in the face, smothering any other scent that may have been present. The first time he was here he had to take a step back, the smell was so strong. Now, though, all three of them had been there so often it barely fazed them. All four walls were made of brick that had been eroded over the decades. There was only one room; the only thing separating the seating area from the kitchen was a countertop, which was used as both the check-out area and a space to bake. On one end of the counter was a cash register. She had stubbornly refused to switch to cards, insisting that as long as she lived she would only deal in cash.
As usual, the trio were the only ones other than the owner who were there. They took a table in the corner instead of in front of the window, just on the off chance that someone passing by on the busy street outside might recognize any of their faces. She didn’t seem to hear the bell signalling their arrival. They looked at each other.
“She must’ve forgotten to put in her hearing aids,” said Changbin. He was the one to suggest she get them in the first place. After months of asking and even offering to help her shop himself, she finally agreed once Yeonjun and Wooyoung also started on it. Still, that didn’t mean she was good at actually using them. Time and time again, she would take them out for one reason or another (she asserted that the aids made everything else outside too loud), and forget to put them back.
“Eun Dohee!” called Yeonjun. She jumped and turned around, reaching into her apron pocket to grab the hearing aids and finally equip them.
“Boys! You shouldn’t scare me like that. I’m an old lady, you know. Anything could give me a heart attack.”
Changbin chuckled. “Is no one else working today?”
“There’s only two employees, both of them have today off.” Dohee set her hands on her hips. “Is there anything you boys want?”
“We’ll just get what we always have- or do you not remember what that is?” teased Wooyoung.
Dohee scoffed and hit him upside the head. Even so, there was a faint smile on her face. “I’ll have you know that I still have the memory of an elephant.” And with that she started off to the kitchen. “The cinnamon rolls will be out of the oven in five minutes,” she yelled over her shoulder.
They sat around a circle table, Yeonjun in the middle. He rested his head on his fist. “So, have you guys been up to anything lately?”
“Just comeback prep, you know how it is,” said Changbin. The two nodded in understanding. “Speaking of comebacks-” he turned to look at Yeonjun “-yours was really good!”
Wooyoung perked up, nodding rapidly. “Yeah! I really loved all of the songs on the album. All of you really shined. Still couldn’t let go of the over-the-top titles, though.”
“Hueningkai did really well with Dear Sputnik, especially considering it’s his first time producing,” Changbin cut back in.
Yeonjun smiled wide. “Aw, thanks, you two. It really does mean a lot. I’ll tell Kai that you said that, Changbin,” he added. “He’ll be so excited. That really is a big compliment coming from you. I’m sure that you guys will sound great, as always.”
This time Changbin and Yeonjun focused their attention on the third member of their trio. “Any plans for Ateez?”
“We hope so,” he replied.
Dohee arrived at their table, carrying three small plates and one large one. She placed that one in the center of the table. It was piled high with at least ten cinnamon rolls. The steam was rising from them.
“Now, I don’t expect you to eat all of those. In fact, I would be kind of concerned if you did,” Dohee told them.
Wooyoung stared with wide eyes. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” he reassured, never removing his gaze from the sweets.
“Call me if you need anything.” She trotted off to bake even more. Muffins this time, by the look of it.
Safe to say, it took no time for each of them to finish their first roll. They glanced at each other, icing on the corners of their mouths, as if to ask should we?
Yeonjun made up his mind first. He reached his hand out and grabbed one from the top of the pile. “It can’t hurt. Besides, we all deserve it.”
Changbin and Wooyoung exchanged an eyebrow raise and a shrug. Both also grabbed another. Yeonjun was right; what harm could it do?
“So, what do you guys want to do after this?” asked Wooyoung, wiping his mouth off on the napkin. They still had around five hours before they would each have to head back to their dorms. It was only around 1:30 p.m., after all. As much as they all wanted to stay out later, it wouldn’t be practical. The ride back to the dorm was at least an hour for all of them.
Changbin shrugged. “I’m good with anything. Maybe we can just walk around the city?”
The other two had no qualms with this. They sat in the café for half an hour longer before they decided they should better get going. Dohee gave each of them some of the muffins she was baking, practically forcing the boxes into their hands.
“I never thought you boys would be so ungrateful,” she humphed when they tried to protest. “It’s not like we’re getting much business today anyway, so just take them. If you really don’t want to eat them that badly, give them to some of the other boys you live with. God knows that there’s plenty of them.”
They each thanked her for the muffins, hugging her goodbye and giving her a kiss on the cheek. They set out down the street, masks pulled up, boxes of muffins in hand. Changbin only made it to the next crossing before he started playfully whining about having to carry the box around for the rest of the day.
“What, you can’t handle a little manual labor?” Wooyoung taunted, grinning smugly. That grin only widened when Changbin stuck out his tongue in return.
“Children, settle down, please!” Yeonjun stepped between them, placing a hand on both of their chests like he was trying to push them apart. “Luckily for you, I just so happen to have a bag for you.” He pulled a plastic Walmart bag out of the smallest pocket in his backpack. “What would you two do without me?”
“Why do you have that with you?”
“You never know!” He defended. “You can use it as long as we can put ours in there too.”
“Oh! And you have to carry it,” interrupted Wooyoung.
“That’s not fair! It defeats the whole purpose if I have to carry it.”
He was met with what-can-you-do looks. Not make me carry it, that’s what you can do.
Nevertheless, he grumbled and took the bag with the boxes in it. During that event, they’d forgotten that they were stopped in the middle of a sidewalk. Most people had walked around them, annoyed but not enough to make a big deal of it. Someone cleared their throat. They looked behind them and saw a man, fifty at most, glaring. “You three are being very disruptive.”
“...Sorry?”
He just glared even harder. Yeonjun stepped in front.
“I’m truly sorry, sir. My friends here were just being very… immature.”
Said friends looked at him incredulously. “Way to throw us under the bus.”
Wooyoung moved in front of Yeonjun. “Let me apologize for them, sir. We’re all really, very sorry.”
“For us?” splutter Yeonjun under his breath.
Then Changbin took his place at the front. “No, I’m sorry, sir. My companions just don’t know when to stop.”
The man didn’t seem any less displeased. “You… are quite the trio.” He maneuvered around them, muttering something about the youth of today.
“Wonder why he couldn’t just do that in the beginning,” said Yeonjun. Then the man’s words caught up with him. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” he yelled after the man. There was no response; the man was lost in the crowd.
After wandering the city for hours, stopping at vendors, going into shops that looked interesting to them, taking pictures with the several occasional fans who realized who they were, they found themselves at the beach, staring out at the infinite sea. It looked like there was no end to it, like you could walk into it and never emerge on the other side. You would either have to turn back or never be seen again. Or maybe you would find one of the others who dared to venture out into the vastness.
Their bags had been abandoned in the sand shortly after they arrived, just after Wooyoung made his first attempt to toss Changbin into the water. They all figured it was better safe than sorry and left them sitting there right next to their shoes that they had also removed. They didn’t stray very far and always kept an eye on them. The consequences if someone took any one of their belongings would not be pretty.
Reds and oranges and purples started reflecting across the water. It had become much later much faster than they expected it to. They took a vote (which turned out to be unanimous anyway) and made the executive decision to stay out a while longer than they first planned. Long enough to watch the sunset on the beach, at least. They all called one of their members to notify them of their late arrival back to the dorms.
They settled down next to their bags. Yeonjun buried his toes in the cool sand. Changbin and Wooyoung leaned their heads on his shoulders. Wooyoung yawned.
“I’m glad we got to do this today,” he said. None of them looked at each other, fixated on the sun slowly sinking below the horizon into infinity. Except the sun was able to come back. It always turned up again sooner or later.
“It’s a shame we can’t do it more often,” Changbin responded quietly, afraid to break the atmosphere that had somehow surrounded them.
No more words were spoken for a while. Eventually the only light came from the moon and the stars, reflecting across the water like the sun had before them and would again after them. The city behind them was busy as always, the nighttime doing little to nothing to halt or even just soften the comings and goings of the citizens. Vehicles still drove, still honked, perpetually going somewhere to do something. Unrelenting movement.
The breeze picked up. Yeonjun started shivering, and he took that as his cue to wrap things up. He slowly stood up, nudging the two off of him. He brushed the sand off of his pants and feet, slipping back into his shoes and socks. He took one last look at the sea before facing his companions, holding out a hand to each of them.
“Shall we?”
They let themselves be helped up. The remaining two also cleaned themselves off. They gathered up their things and walked down the beach to the stairs leading up onto the parking lot. Each reserved their own Uber, making promises to text the group chat when they got back to the dorms safely, to ease each other’s minds.
They stood under a street lamp, waiting for their transportation. Abruptly, Changbin looked up from his phone to stare at Yeonjun.
“Did you really have to be so dramatic back there?”
“What are you talking about?”
Wooyoung nodded, squinting. “I never thought I’d be saying this, but Changbin’s right. ‘Shall we’? Who says that?”
“Not everything needs to be a cinematic moment.”
Yeonjun pounced, knocking them both on the shoulder. “Why are you two ganging up on me all of a sudden?” he groused.
“Well the victim can’t always be Changbin.”
“And why aren’t you a candidate for that spot?”
Wooyoung scoffed. “That’s an easy question. There’s so much more to pick on you guys for than there is for me.”
Changbin poked Yeonjun to get his attention. Then he pointed at Wooyoung. “Let’s get him,” he mouthed. Wooyoung was oblivious.
But that made him the perfect prey. They attacked, taking him to the ground easily. They both sat on him, Changbin on his legs and Yeonjun on his torso. It was alright for the first three or so minutes, but after that it became strained.
“Come on guys, get up.”
“Nuh uh. You know what we want to hear.”
He crossed his arms as well as he could in his current position. After a while it became clear that the two above him had no problems with sitting there until he gave in or the Uber arrived. He thought that he might be able to stick it out until then. And then he started getting bored. He couldn’t very well use his phone, and they refused to talk to him unless it was to hear him say what they wanted. If there was one feeling that Wooyoung hated more than any other it was boredom. He sighed, preparing to lose some of his pride. Never let it be said that being petty will get you nowhere, he thought.
“I am just as easy to make fun of as you guys, you’re just too nice to do it. I’m sorry for insinuating that I’m better than you.”
They stood up and gave him self-satisifed smiles. He was not as happy as they were.
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
“You really don’t,” Changbin chimed.
Wooyoung rolled his eyes and reached his hands into the air. “No, I don’t. Now help me up.”
If anyone had happened to witness that, they would probably think that it was a strange thing. Unless, of course, they were lucky enough to have some friends like that themselves.
Then they would understand.