Chapter Text
“Not late!” Bamby screamed, crashing through the door at 11:59 am. He took in the sight of
Noah and Eunho sat on the couch, and the otherwise empty waiting room. Bamby sensed something was immensely wrong in that instant.
“Wait, where’s Yejun-hyung?! He can’t possibly be late can he…” Bamby clutched his head in confusion.
Noah laughed at him. “You’re smarter than you look, pinkie. You’re right, Yejun isn’t late, he just rearranged the meeting time with dduks to 2pm.” he said, waving his phone at the huffing Bonggu.
“Goddamn it! I thought I was going to be late...” Bamby hollered.
“Is that why you’re still in your pajamas?” Noah stared pointedly at his Minnie Mouse t-shirt, sweat shorts and wet hair.
“…Maybe.” Bamby huffed, squeezing himself onto the couch between the other two. Noah just threw an arm behind Bamby on the couch and smugly grinned at him.
Eunho giggled, “It’s still our fault for not checking the chat!”
“Yeah, but that Yejun has been making way too many last-minute tweaks to the schedule nowadays. I mean, he knows that Bonggu can barely stick to the schedule when we plan it weeks in advance” teased Noah.
“Hyung is just as bad.” Bamby pouted, avoiding Noah’s direct gaze and smile, which was way too handsome for this early, he thought.
“I think we deserve to cause a little chaos ourselves, don’t you think, Eunho?” Said Noah, raising one eyebrow.
Eunho stiffened and put his phone down. “Haha, yeah, maybe hyung. “
Bamby instantly recognised his tone as hiding something. He turned back to Noah with a questioning stare, who simply smiled back. Right, Noah would never give anything away. Bamby turned back to Eunho, who looked away, avoiding eye contact. Eunho’s eyes stopped on a shiny snack packet.
“Hyung, do you want one?” Eunho offered.
“Chestnut! Yes, please.” Eunho passed it to him without a complaint, which was unusual, but Bamby was too distracted by chowing down like a squirrel to answer.
Noah smiled at the adorable sight, confident that he’d thrown Bamby off the scent.
“Bamby-ah, do you know what that thing is?” Noah pointed at a new addition to the prop storage side of the room, which was a glossy, dark wooden contraption.
Bamby shook his head, mouth still chewing and cheeks full.
“It's a medieval tool for tying people down. You put your hands in the holes on either side, and your head in the middle, and get locked in.” Noah explained.
“It's called a pillory!” Eunho added, trying to be helpful.
“I guess dduks are going to make us get in there if we lose a game at some point.” Noah hypothesized.
Bamby frowned around his full mouth and swallowed. “Eurgh, dduks are getting more sadistic every day. Looks uncomfy.” he nonchalantly commented.
Bingo, thought Noah. “No, it’s not that bad, actually. Eunho and I tested it earlier,” he stated, trying to keep his excitement out of his voice, then deciding to try his luck. “You wanna give it a whirl?”
“Uh, no way hyung. I said it looks uncomfy. And I’m comfy here.” Noah fondly thought that yeah, he did look comfortable, despite being squished between himself and Eunho. Bamby had to turn away from his smile and protest, pouting, “I’m gunna win the game anyway, whatever it is.”
“It's not that bad, is it, Eunho? Noah prodded for support.
“Oh yeah, it’s nothing for a cold-blooded wolf king like me. It might be too much for a cowardly squirrel though.”
“You little…!” Bamby grabbed Eunho’s arm and tugged him back and forth but didn’t achieve much movement. It reminded Noah of a squirrel trying to shake a tree to get a chestnut to fall down. “I’m not a coward! I could last a day in that thing!”
“Prove it, then.” Eunho dared smugly. “If you can stay in that thing for 30 minutes, I'll treat you to pyeongnaeng for the rest of this year.”
Noah witnessed the cogs turn in Bamby’s head. His train of thought was obviously ‘Pyeongnaeng is so expensive… so much pyeongnaeg’.
Bamby stood up before he started drooling and sighed, clearly trying to make it look like he thought he had a bad deal. “Hah… fine, since we have time to kill. Noah, you’re my witness if he tries to chicken out of the deal.”
“Sure, Bamby. Hell, I’ll join in on the deal and buy you pyeongnaeng whenever you want for the year as well.”
“Wait, what’s the punishment if I lose?” Bamby inspected the pillory.
Eunho and Noah shared a glance. “I think being stuck in that is punishment enough, don't you, hyung?”
“Yeah, agreed. Are you getting in then?” Noah queried, getting up and walking over..
“Yes hyung, don’t rush me.” Bamby gingerly picked up the top half of the pillory. The hinge on the side creaked quietly, adding to the sudden tension in the room.
He leant over slightly to slot his head into the divot, and Noah quietly came up beside him and took the upper closure’s weight. He had the immense pleasure of watching Bamby’s nervous expression as he rested his hands in the slots, one by one, and then glancing up at him as he steadily, gently, brought the wood down.
The heavy wood around him shut with a resounding thud, that seemed to echo around the room with the finality of a funeral bell.