"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."
Heeseung marched through the dorm with a portable karaoke machine tucked under one arm, chanting monotonously into the mic.
He smiled mischievously, pulling Sunoo's covers off. "Wake up, Sunoo! Wake up, Jake! It's time to wake up!"
Sunoo ignored him, curling up to use his pillow as a blanket instead. Jake dragged himself out of his bed and joined Daniel in Heeseung's.
"Hyung, you know I love you but, please, For the love of God, shut up," Jay groaned, flipping to face the wall.
Heeseung responded by laying on top of the grumpy boy, playfully grabbing his hand for a one-sided arm wrestle.
"I miss the days when you were the last to get up," Ni-ki grumbled, covering his head with a pillow.
Heeseung stood, leaving his karaoke machine on Jay. He approached his next target, grinning.
Jungwon disappeared under his covers. Heeseung gently scooped the bundle up, laughing at his muffled screams. He lightly tossed Jungwon into Sunghoon's bed, crawling in after. Sunghoon lazily pushed him away, eyes still shut.
"It's moving day; we're going to be late." Heeseung wrapped himself around Sunghoon, planting a light kiss on his cheek.
"We have time," Sunghoon murmured, letting Heeseung slip an arm under his head.
Jungwon poked his head out. "Oh my god."
He clambered over the two cuddlers to get out of bed.
***
Heeseung ran around their soon-to-be-empty dorm, making sure everything was packed. He tapped Daniel's head as he passed through the kitchen, urging the boy to eat breakfast faster.
"Alright, people, let's go!"
They made their way out the door, balancing boxes and bags in their arms. Heeseung carefully held the vase that contained Namjoon's flower.
"Where's the moving truck?" Jungwon asked, readjusting his grip.
"Well..." Heeseung hesitated to answer. "Those trucks are expensive, and the new dorm's not that far..."
Everyone groaned.
"Think of it as an arm workout," Heeseung encouraged as they started their trek through the city.
Sunghoon bumped his shoulder. "You know people are staring, right?"
"Course they are. I would, too, if I saw a stranger as hot as you walk down the street."
Sunghoon blushed, hiding his smile behind a bag.
"Wait." He stared off into the distance, confused. "I can't tell if that was a compliment or a confession that you'd cheat on me."
Heeseung laughed, briefly resting his head on Sunghoon's shoulder.
Ni-ki rolled his eyes. "Must they be so lovey-dovey in front of us?"
"You're just mad cause you chickened out of telling Sunoo hyung how you really feel," Jungwon smirked.
Daniel squeezed between them, staring in shock. "You like Sunoo hyung?"
Jungwon covered his mouth, giggling. He had forgotten Daniel was right behind them. Ni-ki desperately shushed him, looking around to make sure no one else heard.
"You talk too much," he told Jungwon, kicking at his legs.
They started a game of cat and mouse, orbiting Daniel while trying to stomp on each other's feet.
"One of you is going to drop something," Jay warned, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Hey, guys?" Jake called. "Is it just me, or has that van been following us for like, three blocks now?"
Heeseung turned, checking the view. A sketchy white van was indeed trailing behind the group. He instructed Jay to take the lead before falling to the back of the pack, where he could keep an eye on all of them. One, two, three, four, five, six heads, he counted. Perfect.
Wait. Six?
Heeseung spun around frantically.
"Sunoo? Sunoo?!"
"Over here, hyung!" The boy happily waved at him from across the street before disappearing behind the van.
"Sunoo, no!" Heeseung dropped everything, charging to the rescue.
He sprinted across the road, blindly swinging around the backside of the vehicle.
"Let him go!"
Heeseung tackled the man holding Sunoo hostage, grabbing the collar of his shirt and straddling him on the ground.
"Yah! Heeseung! What the hell?!"
Heeseung's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeonjun hyung?" He scrambled off the boy, helping him up. "I thought- I thought-"
"Yeah, I know." Yeonjun rolled his eyes, massaging his bruised back.
People gave them strange looks as they walked by.
"Don't worry, we're all good," Yeonjun called after them, waving a dismissive hand. He turned to Heeseung, who groveled apologetically.
Sunoo giggled from inside the trunk.
"Yeonjun hyung borrowed a van to help us move our stuff," he explained as the rest of the boys crossed the street.
"Nice! Thanks, hyung." Jay plopped his boxes in the back, the rest of the boys copying him.
"Thank you!" They chorused, squeezing into the van and taking a seat wherever there was space.
Yeonjun sighed, closing the door behind them. "I'm not getting paid enough for this."
"Sorry again," Heeseung coughed awkwardly.
A hand tapped his shoulder.
"Hyung, your flower."
Daniel handed him the yellow orchid he had abandoned for Sunoo. Its leaves flopped around pathetically.
"I tried to pick up as many glass shards from the vase as possible."
Heeseung smiled gratefully, patting the boy's head. "Thanks, Daniel."
***
"This is it?" Sunoo made a face.
"It's so... bare," Jungwon commented.
They stood in the living room, scanning the new dorm. It was empty, save three sagging beds, an ugly white fridge, and a ratty couch that nearly turned to dust after Jay sat down.
Beomgyu hung his arms over their shoulders, grinning. "Welcome to your new home. Thirteen people, three bedrooms, two baths."
"Don't scare them, Gyu," Soobin threatened from the kitchen.
Taehyun kicked the broken sofa. "It just needs a little cleaning and some real furniture."
The boys spent the rest of the day moving into their new home. They decided to toss the remains of the coach, keeping the cushions as seats. Heeseung chose another vase for his flower, decorating the kitchen counter. Eventually, they gathered in the living room to eat dinner off the floor.
"We have three beds," Heeseung announced. "If we couple up, that's six people taken care of; the rest of us are gonna have to sleep on the floor until we can afford more."
He pointed to the makeshift mattress he and Beomgyu made out of bed covers.
Jay raised his hand. "I'll take the floor," he sacrificed.
"As will I," Heeseung nodded.
Soobin held Yeonjun's arm. "Count us in."
"Me too," Sunghoon said, glancing at Heeseung.
Jungwon conferred with the others for a second before standing up.
"As the younger members, we think we should be on the floor," he publicized.
"Yeonjun hyung, you're getting old; we're afraid your back will hurt," Kai teased.
"Jake, hit him for me, will you?" Yeonjun called from across the circle.
Jake looked around, appalled at the idea of hurting somebody. He gently bopped the back of Kai's head.
"Wait, so who's taking the floor?" Heeseung asked.
They all raised their hands, insisting that each other should sleep in the beds.
***
Heeseung laid on a pile of blankets on the ground, next to all twelve of his members.
"I hope you guys are happy now," he sighed, defeated.
Sunoo's head appeared from behind Taehyun's shoulder. "Isn't this nice? All of us sleeping together on the floor like a real family."
"Sunoo hyung, I don't know any family that sleeps like this," Ni-ki's muffled voice sounded from somewhere under Yeonjun.
"There are still three empty beds if you want to go, Ni-ki."
The room fell silent.
Sunoo made his way across the crowded floor.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, leaning down to hug the younger boy. "That came out harsher than I intended."
"It's okay," Ni-ki whispered, letting him pet his hair.
"I think we're all just a bit stressed. Tomorrow's a big day; let's get some rest, yeah?" Heeseung got up to turn the lights off before returning to his spot.
He nuzzled his head into the crook of Sunghoon's elbow, drifting off into peaceful oblivion.