Ari- I hope you keep writing songs, hyung. I’m really proud of you.
Jungwoo- (pretends to wipe away a tear) Ari! Please sing at my wedding! Even though you fall asleep halfway through every drama episode I ask you to watch with me!
Ari- (calls out to the ceiling) Nicky-hyung! Please let me skip dance practice tonight! I'm so tired!
Jungwoo- (also yells at the ceiling) Please, hyung! Why is the choreo so hard this time!
Both continue laughing uncontrollably until Max busts through the door with a croissant stuffed in his mouth
Max- You guys are so annoying. Are we doing this or what?
Jungwoo- Wait, wait. Max, what about you? Is your love life also dead?
Max- Gross! Obviously it is! We belong to our fans!
Ari and Jungwoo, in unison- We belong to our fans!
Max- (mouth full of croissant) And anyway, you know, it’s so hard to date because of you people (pointing at the camera) always getting mad about it. Like, what is that? I don’t get mad when you date.
Jungwoo- I get mad. It hurts my soul.
Max- (swatting Jungwoo with printed song lyrics) Everything hurts your dumb soul!
Ari- That’s true. But maybe that’s why Jungwoo’s songs are so good.
Jungwoo- Sunshines! Keep hurting my soul so I can keep writing the songs!
Max- (laughing in spite of himself) Hurry up! I told Jess I’d go to lunch with him! I’m starving!
Jungwoo- Okay, okay. We’re doing it. Let’s go.
Ari picks out the first few notes of Jewell’sSecret Gardenon the keyboard; Jungwoo checks audio equipment; Max starts on his second croissant, which was apparently in the pocket of his hoodie the entire time and will become a meme five minutes after this video posts on YouTube
Jungwoo- (as the scene fades) Ready? This is Apollo’s Jungwoo, Ari, and Max withSecret Gardenby Jewell. This one is for our founders. It’s been a while since the last time we saw you, and we know you’re very busy, but we hope you see this video and think of the good days we’ve had. There are more good days in the future, right?
Ari- (smiling) More good days — that’s right.
Note:Fans have made multiple video compilations of Apollo members jockeying to sing at one another’s weddings. This running joke began in a 2018 episode of the group’s popular reality series(Shine with Apollo)in which the members had to vote for who among them was most likely to get married first. Four of the nine members voted for Ari (Jaehwan famously explained his choice by saying, “It’s always the quiet ones”), Jungwoo voted for himself (one of the fandom’s most enduring memes), and the rest voted for Max just to make him mad (this video goes viral again every few years).
34
Theelevatordoorshadnever shut more slowly in Eunjae’s life. They could hear Nami crying out for them to stop, to wait, and that was definitely Doyoung shouting orders to the building’s security team.
“They’ll be waiting for us at the bottom, now that he’s called for help,” said Jungwoo, punching the button for the fourth floor. That was just one floor below theirs. “I say we get out and take the stairs.”
“Yeah. The emergency exit would take us to the courtyard. We could take that back gate to the street, easy.”
Jungwoo’s phone buzzed with another message. He tapped out a reply as the elevator began its descent. “Kazu was already in the lobby. It’s so early that they don’t have a lot of guards on duty, just the night watchman and one other. He says he saw them go running past the gym a second ago.”
Eunjae reeled after him as soon as the doors opened again. They exited the elevator just as Max, Kei, and Jesse spilled out of their own rooms around the corner, summoned by Jungwoo’s flurry of text messages. He must have been sending them to the group chat the entire time. Eunjae hadn’t received any notifications; his borrowed phone number had never been added.
“This is so fucking funny,” wheezed Max, loping toward the stairwell on his long legs. He was so overcome by mirth that he’d acquired a stitch in his side already. “These people really think they can catch us.”
“We could take them,” Kei said grimly. “They’ve never had to perform four songs in a row at an awards show before. We’re in way better shape.” This only had Max wheezing even harder, and then Jesse started laughing his head off as well.
“Where’s Namgyu?”
“He’s recording for Idol Pop Radio today. Left ages ago already.”
