A puff of steam escaped your lips as you shivered. Being winter, the days were short and at four fifty it was close to pitch dark. Normally Jessica would have offered you a ride which you would probably accept due to the cold, but today Jessica was going out to dinner with Wooyoung, who was still conducting interviews in the office today. They weren't having an interview over dinner so you guessed she had most likely asked him out.

Tonight, for once you were greeted with silence. Of course, Hakyeon would wait for you at the entryway, but he was incapable of making any loud noises. The clock read: 4:58. Ah, no wonder. A sudden thought clicked in your head and you scanned the room for a certain bird.

"Wonshik, are you okay with answering my questions from yesterday now?" Taekwoon attentively sat up, eyeing the cockatiel as he flew to your position in the kitchen.

"R-yes! Rrere to start?" You let out a breath of relief. "Could you tell me what's going on?"

Wonshik looked mutely at you, cocking his head. There was a quiet, but firm warning hiss from Taekwoon. You ignored the cat and looked expectantly at the bird. "For example, what really happened when you guys disappeared?"

Your question was left hanging in the air and the cockatiel watched you curiously, looking like an actual parrot now. You noticed that particular twinkle in his eyes that made him look just a bit different from a normal bird was missing. "Wonshik?" 

The strange look in his eyes disappeared and he squawked questioningly, ruffling his feathers. His previously-glazed-over look scared you and you hesitated, "Nevermind--". The frantic pounding of feet interrupted you. Ken burst into the kitchen, a shirt that was inside out sloppily thrown on. "WOOHOO! I CAN DRAW NOW!" 

He fist-pumped the air and practically skipped to you. "Hello supervisor! Ken reporting for duty!" He saluted, "What's my assignment?!"

"Oh yeah, I left it all in the study room. Let's go over there and I'll talk you through it." You paused, "And uh, I may have accidentally made up an alias for you. Tony Chopper."

Ken winked, "That's my favorite character, so I don't mind one bit! I think it's very fitting! Hey, another piece of evidence that says you're a real Starlight! Or at least you kind of know us!"

You left Wonshik in the kitchen and heard scolding yowls from Taekwoon. Shrugging, you followed Ken into the study room. "Okay, here are the characters we currently have in the project and here is the description of the character that the director would like you to design." You pointed to the respective sheets as you talked, "And try to keep with the art style of the previous characters. Our layout artists haven't gotten any final passes done, but I've got a rough pass for you right now."

"And you said the director liked my second character right? Also, what are layouts?"

"Yup! Layouts....are..like the backgrounds and setting of wherever the characters are. It's a visual novel, so it'll be pretty simple. It's not animated or anything of the sort." You paused, "Honestly, most visual novels are kind of like 'dating sim' games. Don't say that near the director though, he hates that term."

Ken laughed and you felt the room brighten. "Well, I'll be making dinner then. I'll call you out when it's ready! By the way, your shirt is inside out."

He looked down and burst out laughing. "What are you talking about? It's the new trend!" However, having said that, he began to pull his arms out of the sleeves.

You left him to change. Humming, you made your way into the kitchen. "It seems like all I do is go to work, come home and cook or eat. Does that sound like a very plain life to you?" You glanced at the betta. "What do you think? Would you prefer that sort of life over being a celebrity?"

Hongbin gave no response or indication that he was listening to you. "Then again, it must have been overwhelming at times. But....Wonshik did seem to feel remorseful about disappearing. I don't really think you guys chose to disappear. Not like that anyway."

Dicing an onion you asked, mostly to yourself. "What is life like as a fish? I wonder if you get really confused when you're suddenly back on your two feet after a week of moving with tails and fins." Hongbin glided expectantly near the surface of the water. "You hungry?"

You dropped a few pellets in and watched as he ate them with vigor. Then you noticed something strange about the betta.

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Knocking on the doorframe of your study room, you waited until Ken looked up from the desk to speak. "Ken, dinner is ready--"

"Look! How am I doing so far? I tried to stay within the style of the other characters but also gave this guys his own...uniqueness style...thing too! I also think he should be able to match the layouts. Well, assuming that the layout artists won't make too many large changes to the rough pass."

"It looks great, don't worry too much about the layout. It's only a meant to give you an idea of the kind of setting your character will be seen in. If needed, I think the layout artists can make changes. The director tends to favor the character design department more and doesn't have us redo designs as often."

Ken's smile shifted to an expression of concern, "Hey, is everything alright? You sound slightly down." He studied your face as you frowned.

"It may be unimportant and just my imagination, but I think there's something different about Hon--"

"Hongbin?" He cut you off, his voice losing its playful tone, "How so?"

"I noticed that you guys all have this glint or light in your eyes that makes you look more...aware? Or intelligent than normal animals. It kind of differentiates you guys from other animals. Recently though, I've noticed it fading a bit. Maybe I'm imagining it. It was a lot less apparent with Hyuk the other day when I took him out. It even disappeared for a second with Wonshik not too long ago."

Hyuk ran into the room and yapped happily at your ankles. He sat down and looked up at you and Ken. The latter patted his head and sent him back into the living room. "And Hongbin?"

"Well, when I was feeding him, I noticed that it wasn't there."

Ken stared at you in silence, pondering. "Jaehwan, he doesn't have it. I-I'm not sure whether it's because he's underwater and it doesn't make sense if there's a glint in his eyes due to the fractured light, but he seems almost like a normal betta. And that scares me."

He stood up immediately and made his way to the kitchen counter. "I don't think we've ever noticed that difference in our eyes. We just kind of knew who we were. Hongbin...is a bit different because of...how he lives." Ken gestured to the tank. "I think he's okay. I hope so."

You nodded grimly and squeaked when your foot bumped into something solid. It was Hakyeon, looking up at the both of you in concern. Ken opened the gerbil ball and pulled the guinea pig out, setting him on the counter next to the tank. The leader immediately made his way closer, staring at Hongbin in concern. The fish cautiously swam closer to the gerbil, quickly darting behind a plant when Hakyeon twitched his whiskers. Then he ignored Hakyeon, swimming in slow circles around the tank. Even when the leader tapped the glass of the tank with a tiny paw, Hongbin continued his ritual of circles as if he hadn't seen or felt the tap.

Hakyeon plopped himself down next to the tank, eyes glued to the betta.

"Hongbin!" Ken called. "Binnie?"

"Hongbong?"

"Hong Kong?"

"Hongbin!"

He shrugged, "Maybe he can't hear us underwater. It's okay, I'm sure he's fine. He's never had any problems anyway, don't worry about him. Let's eat before dinner gets cold. What did you make?"

"I hope so." You pushed your worries to the back of your mind, but couldn't help feeling that something was amiss. "I made onion soup and grilled some ribs."

"That sounds wonderful! So when will you show the director my designs?"

"Will you finish that fast? I mean, I can show him anytime when you're done. But actually, as long as the rest of the character design team think it's alright, then it's a pass."

"Great! I'm going to try and get it done. I can't wait!"

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After dinner, Ken retreated back into the study room. You carefully moved Hakyeon, who had fallen asleep next to the tank onto the living room sofa, in fear that he'd roll around in his sleep and fall off the kitchen counter. Being idle, your thoughts quickly moved back to Hongbin. "Did you guys ever have any doubt that the betta was--"

"Rawk! No!"

You left the subject untouched, the memory of Wonshik's strange expression still fresh in your mind. Taekwoon yawned and stretched, moving to a corner of the sofa to curl up for the night. Deciding that was a good idea, you followed suit and soon was sitting in bed, head filled with concern but ready to call it a night. A gentle knock brought you back to earth. Ken poked his head in through the door, "May I come in?" 

You nodded. He walked in and seated himself at the end of your bed. "Listen, don't worry about anything okay? We'll all be alright. We've looked after each other for quite a while now and everything has been fine. Now's no exception. There's nothing to worry or have concerns over, alright?"

He slid off the bed and pulled your covers up. "Just relax and enjoy the weekend. Worry about work instead! Or don't worry about anything at all." Again, you nodded, vaguely remembering that no one changed on Sunday, meaning that Hongbin would be changing tomorrow. Having so many questions about him, you couldn't wait to meet him. You smiled as Ken tucked you in and placed a brotherly kiss on your forehead, reminding you of your dear brother. A playful yap echoed in your room. He reached down and placed Hyuk on your bed. "I think he wants to stay with you up here, if that's okay."

"That's alright." Smiling, you gently Hyuk's head. He snuggled into your side as Ken left the room, turning off the lights and closing the door behind him.

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I'm back for winter break and so I've got all the time in the world! You guys have any idea what's going on now? Hopefully you've had enough fluff from VIXX (with the exception of Hongbin), because it's time to say goodbye to fluff and hello to the rollercoaster tracks sloping upwards! See you at the end!