What Is Love

Troubled Waters*

The short man let out a hiss as he turned over, fingers blindly reaching for the sheets as they slipped past his legs. Somehow, it was colder than he thought it should be, which could only mean that he had either left the windows open or he had not turned the heater on. Whichever reason it was, his room was freezing. Ironical, he thought, blinking away the sleep to have a better look around. And so, he ignored the rising ache at his temples and tried to make sense of his surrounding.

The sour taste on his tongue and the foul scent in the room were enough to remind him of their antics. Despite his resolutions at the start of the night, he had drunk a lot and maybe he overdid it when he crawled into the mini-bar once back home. He'd get an earful later, for sure... How much had he drunk again? Six? Eight bottles? No doubt he wanted to shut himself away from the light buzz of the awakening city.

"Tom, get down!... No, Garfield! Not my cheesecake!" came a soft whine behind him, urging the thick eyebrowed man to turn around once more. And what a surprise it was to find his best friend snoring softly beside him, one arm resting on his shirtless front. Tiny beads of sweat were scattered over his exposed forehead, a wet trail at the edge of his thin lips while he dreamed about cartoons again. But even more surprising were the black marks on his cheeks, curls and lines brought together in a rather artistic way. Idi-ot, read the room's owner, stifling a laugh behind his fist. He could not quite remember it all but a lot had obviously happened that previous night.

Minseok was half-tempted to kick the main vocalist off his freshly pressed cotton sheets but refrained himself at the last minute. If he was even comfortably tucked in the safety of his room, it was most likely thanks to Jongdae. Still though, if it hadn't been for the loud kid, there would have been no hangover in the first place. And for that, the elder flicked him on the forehead, grinning at the whine he earned in response.

They had indeed left the windows open, realized Minseok as feet stretching. He swept a hand through his currently black locks, hesitating between crawling into Jongdae's side to sleep or speeding to the bathroom to relieve his bladder. The choice was made within seconds, tingles at his toes when he made the mistake of shifting closer to his friend's warm body. No, glaring at Jongdae's hand would not help him in any way; he had to take the path of thorns. And so he did, hissing as his barefoot skipped over the cold floorboards.

To say they were less busy would be an overstatement. Indeed, the idea of surprising their fans and overtaking the charts once more sounded appealing, but their company had other plans for them this year. Minseok himself, who was always juggling with concert days and study breaks, could feel the lack of tension in the air. The subunit was going to release an album, of course, but even he knew that it would not be as hectic as when the entire group would show up. Still, they were doing great! He was doing great! What were a few blank spaces in his daily schedules, anyway? He badly needed the holiday.

He exited the bathroom about half an hour later, water dripping from the ends of his front hair and teeth chattering slightly. His stinky black shirt had been discarded, a tiny pill popped into his mouth on the way out. Minseok was an organized man, always working according to the plan. And so, it was quite easy for him to notice the slight shift of his books on the shelves and the door of his closet left ajar. He would not wear pink rhino slippers either, he also thought when his gaze moved to the door. It instantly clicked into his mind.

"I hope for you that I don't find any misleading photos..."

The words bounced back at him, feeding his doubts for a short moment. Nothing else seemed off to him until someone sneezed, the sound loudly rippling through the air. Got ya!