Mi-young beamed excitedly as she pressed her face against the window of the large van, her eyes absorbing everything that they could. Upon the decision that they would be traveling to the mall, she and the twelve boys had somehow piled into the massive vehicle, a twelve-seater van perfect for such a large band. Mi-young, being the new addition to the dysfunctional family, had nowhere to sit despite its size, and they had been delayed for a time arguing over whose lap she would sit in. After a fierce rock-paper-scissors competition, Xiumin had been the one to win the honor of being the mermaid’s throne, and Baekhyun snorted as hearts and sparkles seemed to dance around his head as he gazed dreamily at the beautiful woman perched on his lap. Mi-young was paying no mind, however, too fascinated with the world above the waves.

They were traveling in the opposite direction of the beach, so there was a menagerie of new sights and sounds. The business district was bustling with activity, as the afternoon hours were the busiest of the day. The concrete sidewalks were crammed with all manners of people, from business professionals in suits and ties chattering on their phones as they made their way to their offices to young mothers toting their toddlers for an afternoon grocery run. Young punks laughed mockingly as they parted the crowds dashing about on their skateboards while old-timers angrily shook their canes at the hooligans before stopping to catch their breath. A group of teenage girls, their slim arms laden with shopping bags, paused every minute to take a chain of pictures of themselves on their smartphones. Dogs plodded obediently by their masters, or barked incessantly at strangers while being dragged by the young boys and girls that owned them. As he gazed out the window, Baekhyun wondered if there was a large variety of mermaids just as there was a large variety of human beings.

The storefronts garnered more of Mi-young’s attention. There were all kinds, blocky stone buildings that looked hundreds of years old and giant glass towers that shone with a thousand windows. There were little shops, like the one blooming with multicolored flowers and trailing vines and vegetable plants and the colorful one with spinning lollipop signs that children ran in and out of, their faces smeared with candy. There were larger ones, too- a bridal gown shop with elegant white dresses in the display window, an electronics store where fifteen televisions played all different channels, and a designer clothing store, complete with stylish mannequins. Questions streamed from the mermaid’s mouth so fast that the twelve boys struggled to keep up, answering in turns as the mermaid’s curious gaze danced across the street. By the time they finished the thirty-minute drive to the massive mall, they were exhausted already.

“Oh, my! It’s ginormous!” Mi-young exclaimed as she hastily unbuckled herself and wrenched the car door open, eager to get a closer look at the mall. She hopped out of Xiumin’s lap, much to his disappointment, and landed on the rough black tar of the parking lot. She shielded her eyes from the bright sun as she regarded the giant structure. It took her breath away. “How many shops are in there?”

“At least a hundred,” Kai remarked as he hopped out beside her. He looked very pleased that she was so impressed. One by one the boys piled out of the van, and Mi-young could hardly be restrained from taking off in a sprint as they made their way to the mall entrance.

“Oh, my gosh! There are so many! I can’t decide where I want to go first!” she whined as they walked into the entryway. Bright signs indicated different shops built into the structure, and on this hallway alone there were at least thirty. Her blue gaze darted between them, and she stared hopelessly as she struggled to come to a conclusion.

“Why don’t I choose, then? I won’t steer you wrong, Mi-young,” Kai mused as he slid an arm around her shoulder. Baekhyun’s eye twitched in annoyance, and he hoped if he stared hard enough Kai would spontaneously combust. At least he wouldn’t be all over the mermaid then.

“Hey, uh, guys? Can you take me out of these handcuffs now?” Chanyeol whined. He was still wearing the dunce cap too, garnering quite a bit of attention from passersby. Baekhyun had quite forgotten, actually, and it was rather amusing. Just think, that could have been me too.

“Nope! It’s your punishment!” Sehun giggled with a high-five to Suho. Chanyeol released a long, wheedling whine as Mi-young nodded eagerly to Kai and they set off on the path to his chosen store. When they arrived, Baekhyun was the one who felt the urge to whine; it was the most expensive store in the entire mall, a famous brand-name clothesline for the rich and fashionable- neither of which he was. Kai, however, strode right in, eager to get to work on his new model.

“Now, let’s get to work!” Kai cried suddenly and clapped his hands together. “Our mission is to make Mi-young as beautiful and fashionable as possible! We’ll split into teams of two- except Baekhyun. He comes with me because he has poor fashion choices,” Kai announced with a smirk.

“Hey!” Baekhyun protested, but his housemate merely held up a hand for silence. He begrudgingly obeyed, crossing his arms and mumbling unflattering remarks under his breath.

“Now, we meet at the dressing rooms in one hour so Mi-young can try everything on, and we’ll vote on the best outfits. Now, break!” he cried, and the boys took off in various directions, on the hunt to claim the optimum outfits for the mermaid. Baekhyun trudged along after Kai, who tugged Mi-young along by the arm as he flitted through the various racks and chattered on about fabric types and clothing styles and other things Baekhyun didn’t particularly care about. Mi-young, however, was listening intently, nodding along as Kai explained everything and anything to her about human fashion. A smile creeped onto his face as he watched her; it was adorable, how interested she was in everything, and he was at least pleased she was enjoying the adventure. I suppose she should get the most of her experience up here, even if it is annoying and inconvenient for me and my wallet, he thought. He felt slightly guilty for being so selfish. Lost in his own self-loathing, he didn’t realize that he had wandered away from Kai and Mi-young until he found himself alone. He glanced around, frowning slightly, but all the aisles around him were empty.

“Where did they get off to?” he muttered in annoyance, stalking between the clothing racks. He froze when he spotted a flash of white fabric; something about it attracted him, and as he slowly pulled it off the rack to see just what it was, he blinked. It was a sun dress, with silky fabric that faded into a summery yellow skirt with ruffles. It was sleeveless, and as he imagined the cute mermaid in it, a faint blush rose to his cheeks. He hurriedly ripped it from the hanger and folded it as neatly as he could, stuffing it into his jacket. Kai would immediately bark at him to put it back if he saw, and he absolutely had to see Mi-young in it. His only option was to sneak it to her in the dressing rooms while no one was looking. He could almost hear the Mission Impossible theme song playing in his head as he made his way back to the main causeway and headed for the dressing rooms.

By the time he arrived, all the other boys were there, their arms laden with clothes and shoes. Did they pick out the entire store? he thought with a small groan, his gaze sweeping over the impossible amount of clothing. Kai was sorting through them all, matching clothes with accessories and shoes as he mumbled under his breath, deep in concentration. Baekhyun eased closer, eyeing a pair of white flats, before his hand snapped them from their place on the bench. He stuffed them into his jacket pockets right before Kai glanced at the place they had just been; he seemed not to notice and went right on to the next pair. Baekhyun breathed a sigh of relief and continued hunting for anything else that would complement the dress. He managed to pilfer a pair of yellow flower earrings and a white headband before Kai finished his work, and he stood in the back, hoping no one noticed his stuffed jacket. Mi-young, meanwhile, was herded into the nearest dressing room.

“All right, Mi-young! I’ll hand you the outfits over the door, and you try them on for us, okay?” Kai called happily as he tossed the first outfit over. Baekhyun heard Mi-young exclaim in surprise, and he hoped that she had mastered the art of human dressing. There was an unsettling silence, one so long that Baekhyun was fidgeting impossibly before the door finally opened and the mermaid stepped out bashfully. He had to admit that Kai was skillful at the art of fashion, for as he regarded her, he could find no fault. It was a simple outfit, a pair of skinny jeans with a pair of boots and a cardigan over a tank top. The boys clapped in approval and deliberated over the rating, coming out at a solid 8. It went on like this, outfit after outfit, and Baekhyun slowly edged his way away from the group to the stall next to Mi-young. Finally, he managed to duck inside and lock the door, and he hastily removed the clothing articles from his jacket. He ducked down to the floor next to the small gap between the stalls.

“Mi-young?” he hissed.

“Baekhyun? Is that you?” came the surprised reply, and her bare feet appeared in his line of sight. “What are you doing in there?” Blushing madly, he handed the dress under the gap.

“Try this on for me, please?” he asked brusquely. Suddenly he felt insanely embarrassed, and fidgeting anxiously as he awaited her reply.

“Okay!” she answered happily and plucked the dress and its accents from his hands, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He then stood and edged back out of the stall, his companions seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had vanished in the first place. His fingers twitched as he counted the milliseconds it took for her to slip into the dress, and he was nearly beside himself with anticipation by the time the dressing room door creeped open. Mi-young stepped out, blushing the tiniest bit as she revealed herself to be judged. Silence fell over the group. “What is it?” she asked in confusion.

“Oh my God,” Lay whispered.

She was absolutely breathtaking. Baekhyun felt all air leave him as he gazed at her, and his heart stopped for so long he thought he would die. He knew she would look good, but he never imagined she would look like an angel, a goddess.

“I didn’t pick that out,” Kai murmured.

“Who cares? She’s drop-dead gorgeous!” Luhan cried.

“That is a one hundred out of ten,” D.O. agreed with an approving nod.

“No, seriously, where did you get that?” Kai insisted. Mi-young caught Baekhyun’s eye for a brief moment, and then she giggled.

“Silly Kai! You picked it out for me! Maybe there were just so many outfits you forgot!” she teased and waved a hand at him dismissively. She hummed as she twirled the skirt, swishing the ruffles back and forth. Kai frowned, unsure of himself, but did not push the issue any further. Mi-young tried on the last few outfits after that, but none compared to the summery sundress. Of all the outfits they kept, the boys were the staunchest on buying that one. Baekhyun felt quite pleased with himself as they exited the store, carrying a few bags and chattering about Mi-young’s various looks.

They perused a few more clothing stores after that, and by the time a few hours had passed, the mermaid had acquired quite the tasteful wardrobe. The boys all split the cost, thankfully for Baekhyun and his wallet. As they wandered the mall one final time, Mi-young caught a whiff of something delicious, and she beelined into the food court. Baekhyun’s own stomach began to growl.

“I say we break for dinner, guys,” he suggested. The boys nodded in agreement and nearly stampeded each other trying to get into various lines, leaving poor Baekhyun all alone to haul the bags to an appropriate table. Mi-young followed him closely, her pretty lashes fluttering as she blinked and looked around.

“Do they have mac n’ cheese? Or chips?” she inquired hopefully as Baekhyun perused the options.

“No,” he chuckled and gently took her hand to lead her over to a line. “I think you’ll like this, though,” he added with a slight smirk. Mi-young watched with wide eyes as the man behind the store counter threw a flat circle of dough high into the air, rolling it quickly to flatten it out more. Various other doughs, covered in various toppings, sizzled on the counter behind steaming glass.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s called pizza,” Baekhyun replied before taking out his wallet and ordering slices for the both of them. Mi-young took her plate of pizza, poking at it experimentally as she dutifully followed Baekhyun back to the table. The other boys were already there, with an assortment of different foods and causing a ruckus.

“How am I supposed to eat when I’m handcuffed?” Chanyeol was whining, staring longingly at the plate of food in front of him. His eyes sparkled as the mermaid approached. “I know! Mi-young, will you feed me?” he asked innocently. Before Baekhyun could rebuke, the mermaid agreed and plopped down beside the redhead. She picked up a fork and spooned a bit of the food onto it, holding it up to Chanyeol’s mouth with a beaming smile.

“Here you go!” she chirped, but before Chanyeol could lean forward, a hand smacked onto the top of his head and pushed his face onto the table. Tao’s teeth clamped down on the fork, and his eyes, sparkling with amusement, stared back into the mermaid’s.

“Thanks,” he grinned as he retreated and wiped his mouth. Mi-young simply sat in shock, not sure what to do, while the other boys began clamoring over each other, each insistent that Mi-young feed them next.

“That’s it!” Baekhyun shouted as he snatched the handcuff keys out of Xiumin’s back pocket and jammed them into the lock, twisting it hard. The handcuffs sprung loose, and Chanyeol exclaimed happily as he held his free hands above his head. He then ripped off the dunce cap and tossed it into the nearby garbage can.

“I’m free!” he cheered before stuffing his face with food. Baekhyun huffed and plopped down in the chair, angrily taking a bite of his pizza. I can’t believe them… Morons! He thought with a snort as he chewed bitterly. Disappointed, the other boys returned to their meals, and Mi-young shrugged as she picked up the oily pizza slice and sniffed it. watered at the scent, and with a squeal she buried her teeth into the soft cheesy substance. Tomato sauce smeared on her cheeks as she devoured it, making the rest of the boys stop what they were doing and stare intensely at her. Even D.O., civilized as he was, simply froze with a noodle hanging out of his mouth. When she was finished, her hands covered in oil and covered in sauce, she was confused at all the eyes on her.

“What?” she asked, and the group burst into laughter.

“Mi-young, you’re a messy eater,” Kris teased as he held his sides.

“Look at you! It’s so funny, and so cute!” Sehun giggled as he pointed. A smile crept onto her face, and soon she was laughing with the rest of them. Chuckling, Baekhyun plucked a napkin from the holder and leaned across the table to wipe her face. Mi-young squirmed under his relentless cleaning, still giggling.

“Stop, Baekhyun, that tickles!” she protested as she swatted at him.

“Well, don’t make such a mess,” he responded teasingly, but backed off. He had finished anyway. Smiling happily, Mi-young followed suit in throwing her plate away like the rest of the boys. Now, the food court was becoming impossibly crowded, and they had to shove their way through the throng of shoppers in an attempt to reach the causeway. The boys chattered on about which store to visit next as Mi-young attempted to stick close to Baekhyun. She cried out as she tripped and landed on her hands and knees in the crowd, but thankfully, a kind hand reached out to help her. Expecting it to be Baekhyun’s, she beamed up and prepared to thank him, but her words died in . It was a stranger. She looked around wildly to see that he was not there- none of them were. The boys had vanished into the crowd.

“Miss? Are you all right?” the stranger man asked. Mi-young scrambled to her feet, her heart pounding wildly.

“Baekhyun! Baekhyun, where are you?” she called fearfully, shoving her way through the masses of people. They cried out in protest as she pushed them aside, but she didn’t care; she had to find him. She finally reached the edge of the crowd, only to find that she had ended up on the opposite side of the mall; she glanced behind her, swallowing nervously. There was no way she could brave the crowd again. She looked around miserably, unsure just what to do. She was lost.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the mall, Baekhyun was experiencing what he could only describe as a mental breakdown.