Roomies (1)

In the cramped dorm room they sat with white boards in their hands and markers. 

The speakers feedback beat against ears, "Contestants, with these boards, arrange yourselves i a circle." A robot voice instructed. 

The four made confused expressions, "With what room?" Jaesang joked, as the room's free ground could fit maybe two Joon-woo's let alone one Hyun-Ok. 

Still, the speaker continued, "In this circle, each person must write their name on their board."

The four slowly shifted into a circle. Joon-woo sat on the floor, Jaesang across from him, with Hyun and Hyun-Ok sitting on the bottom bunks. They followed the announcements suit and waited for further instructions. 

"Pass the board to your right." The instructions continued. 

Jaesang, in the midst of his confusion, passed left, and caused Hyun to break out into sudden laughter. Hyun-Ok and Joon-woo exchanged glances as Hyun-Ok handed Joon-woo his board. Joon-woo handed his board off to Hyun. 

"And take a good look at the person who's board you have." The instructions continued and Hyun suddenly looked to Joon-woo per instruction. Joon-woo looked away and instead looked to Hyun-Ok. "What animal are they?" 

"Ehh?" Jaesang exclaimed, "Animal?"

Joon-woo internally cringed at the instruction. Typical, he thought. Even Cheerleader had their designated animals and their company had released plushies and stationary merch of it. Ha-rin was, fan-assigned, a kitten. Not even a full-grown cat, a little ever-aging kitten. 

He winced at the memories in relation to the image. The kitty-ear headbands, the editing of her and a kitten side-by-side, and the PJ's she would have to wear for variety shows that were always decorated in kittens. The plushies were always cute, though. 

He pursed his lips, examining Hyun-Ok with red cheeks. His euro-pointy nose, his soft low-cheek smile. What animal was in resemblance to such features? Quiet, almost secretive, yet confident… Hyun-Ok ruffled at his hair and it was then Joon-woo got it. 

He wrote an animal down, nodding his head confidently. Hyun-Ok, long noticing Joon-woo's stare. 

"Ohh, Joon-woo what have you put me down as?" Hyun-Ok asked, trying to peek over. 

Joon-woo shook his head and shuffled backwards with the whiteboard pinned to his chest. "No cheating…" He replied, shaking his head at Hyun-Ok as he peered at Joon-woo too curious for comfort. 

Suddenly, Joon-woo caught an eye-contact agreement between Hyun and Hyun-Ok. As if they had come to a mental agreement, "What?" Joon-woo asked, the secretive-ness getting a bit on his nerves. He looked to Hyun-Ok and to Hyun who just looked away from each other. 

Hyun shrugged, "Nothing, nothing…" And he wrote something down on his board. 

Joon-woo eyes Hyun suspiciously, but ultimately let it go. The instructions had to continue after all. "Now, pass your board again to the right." The instructions continued and the boys followed suit. 

They looked upon the boards with the animal and name listed upon it. Jaesang, who now had Joon-woo's original board, looked at Hyun amused. "Really?" Jaesang asked, chuckling at the animal that now, only Joon-woo didn't know. 

Joon-woo narrowed his eyes, and looked upon Jaesang's board that Hyun-Ok had handed to him. A ferret. That's what Hyun-Ok had written for Jaesang's animal. Joon-woo looked at Jaesang and imagined a ferret by his side. Joon-woo nodded, seeing Hyun-Ok's vision. Jaesang's energy compared to his size, his short attention span. Yeah, it made sense.

"Now with a new board, draw the animal." The instructions continued. 

Hyun looked left and right and buried his head in his hands, "Aish– I can't draw. I want to become an idol, not an artist." He joked. 

Jaesang lightly hit him in the shoulder, "No, no! Just do your best… None of us are artists."

Joon-woo shrugged, a bit excited by the prompt. As Ha-rin, he had loved to draw the concept photos for their comebacks they usually had no say in. Ha-rin had a sketchbook of different ideas that she'd drawn up for fun. She knew better than to suggest them for actual use, as the company was the one that decided concepts, through and through. 

His hand shook in anticipation, as he began to imagine a ferret in his head. This was gonna be fun, he thought. 

–+–

After a round of instructions, they all had their original boards. The boards were faced away so they only saw each other rather than their own. Still, Joon-woo was quite curious and his leg shook in anticipation. 

Joon-woo read at the others' assigned animals, drawing, and emoji curiously. Jaesang was a ferret with Joon-woo's drawing accompanying it. The emoji was written, rather than drawn, and it was the smile-y with a tongue stuck out. Joon-woo found it fitting.

Hyun's assigned animal was a brown bear. Hyun-Ok was incharge of drawing it and drew, more or less, a cheaply drawn bear. Joon-woo judged the lines, as they were a bit shaky and drew up a barely recognizable bear. And even the assigned emoji, was the bear head emoji. Joon-woo thought it a bit lazy, even though he himself was the one to assign it. But what else could Hyun be?

Hyun had muscles and was leaning on the taller side. Hyun was both mysterious and silly, switching so fast Joon-woo barely caught it. Joon-woo hoped Hyun wouldn't mind…

A leopard. That's what Joon-woo had assigned for Hyun-Ok's animal. He found it as fitting as could be, however, the drawing spoke otherwise. Hyun was responsible for it, and he had been honest about his drawing talents because his 'leopard' looked as if a grade schooler had drawn it. 

The emoji however, assigned by Jaesang, was the sparkle emoji. Joon-woo found it the most fitting yet. 

However, the attention seemed to be directed towards his board, and it made Joon-woo a bit uneasy. Hyun wore an amused, sly smile, and Jaesang couldn't contain his giggles as he looked upon Joon-woo's board. What on it was so funny?

"The oldest member in the dorm, flip your board and see for yourself. Then the other members explain your choice of animal and emoji." The instructions chimed.

They looked left and right, before Hyun ashamedly flipped his board, being 23. His face softened at the reveal. 

"A bear?" He questioned, looking at Jaesang, "Why a bear?"

Jaesang shrugged and slightly leaned back. "You're… muscl-y, like a bear." He dryly explained. "You just radiate it, bear energy…"

Hyun raised an eyebrow, clearly a bit unsure at the answer, but he still nodded. He looked to Joon-woo. "Creative emoji choice, Joon-woo." He joked. 

Joon-woo narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, "You're a bear…" He quietly replied.

Hyun looked to Joon-woo's board then to him, "Okay, Joon-woo." He said, amused.

Then the attention was shifted to Jaesang, at his age of 21. 

"Ehh– Joon-woo you drew this?" Jaesang asked, examining Joon-woo's drawing with an excited smile. "You're like an idol AND an artist…" He admired. 

Hyun-Ok cooed at the drawing, "I didn't think, when I wrote ferret, that it would be drawn well…" He said.

Jaesang nodded, "But why?"

Hyun-Ok tapped at his chin, "You have a lot of energy… Like a ferret." he simply explained, "And your reactions, very exaggerated…"

Jaesang shrunk a bit at the descriptions, "The emoji, though. Hyun, why?" 

Hyun wrapped his arm around Jaesang, "You're a silly guy." He shrugged. 

Jaesang shook his head, "Alright, alright…" He said, excepting the animal and emoji with a frown.

Then, the attention shifted to Hyun-Ok. Who turned his board with a blank face. 

"Ooh, a leopard?" He asked, his face dropping as his eyes trailed down the board, "Is this– is this supposed to be a leopard drawing?" He asked, showing Hyun his grade-school level drawing. 

Hyun shrunk, "I told you guys I don't draw…" He quietly replied, Jaesang poking fun at him. 

"But Joon-woo, why a leopard?" Hyun-Ok asked. 

Joon-woo pursed his lips, "I think– Uh, that you're very humble but also confident… And I think that you are very good-looking and popular, so…" He tried to find the words to explain, but he couldn't maintain eye contact. 

Hyun-Ok nodded, satisfied.

"Why didn't you put that much thought into mine?" Hyun asked Jaesang, pouting as if five.

Jaesang waved him off and looked to Hyun-Ok. "What about your emoji? Do you think it's good?" He asked, the want for validation clear on his face. 

Hyun-Ok tilted his head, "But what is the meaning behind it?" He asked. 

Joon-woo, Hyun, and Jaesang exchanged glances, did this guy really not know? 

"Your face glows…" Jaesang explained, "You're like an angel…" He spoke slowly, as if imagining the white wings upon Hyun-Ok's back.

Hyun-Ok chuckled at the description, "In that case, I think it's fitting." He complimented the assignment.

And then, all attention fell onto Joon-woo, who uncomfortably shifted and brought his crossed legs closer to himself. He spun his board with a look of concentration.