As all six flatmates gather in the living room and crowd around the floor, each of the tiny people gathers in their own little circle on the table like it’s a playgroup.

“Okay, I suppose you’re all wondering why I gathered you here,” Suho pronounces as he directs the little group. Half of them look tired still, their eyes refusing to open completely. Nevertheless, they all nod or put their thumbs up. “I believe I have figured out a way for you all to have your voices heard. Literally.”

“What? How?” Chanyeol asks as the little people get excited looks, Luhan bouncing in his spot. Baekhyun risks a glance over to Chanyeol, them sharing a look that says we already have our own way, thank you very much. Of course they had spent the last ten minutes of free time just conversing small talk, Baekhyun talking directly into Chanyeol’s ear as loud as he can even though it still came out highly pitched.

“Well, I had a little chat with the manager. You know how he announces when the café is closing through the speakers and we’ve wondered how he does that?” Now he addresses the other normal sized humans and they nod, agreeing with him. Their manager will often be walking around the café conversing with the customers when the announcement comes through the speakers that the café is shutting soon, yet he seems to be still talking. It’s different every time, so it can’t be a recording, and it’s definitely his voice.

“I put it down to sorcery,” Jongdae announces without shame. Minseok and Zitao chuckle at him.

“Well it turns out, it’s not. He has a collection of tiny microphones that he conceals at the top of his shirt, practically invisible to create the illusion. It’s controlled by his ear piece, one click turning it on and the same for off. I may have slightly spied on him during our lunch break and watched him putting it on. Apparently because they’re so easily concealed, he loses two a day so he has a massive storage collection of them. That’s why there are so many boxes stacked around the kitchen.”

All five workers seem stunned. Sure, it had always been a mystery how their manager could control how loud his voice went and whether or not it went through speakers he didn’t appear hooked up to, but now it all made sense. Of course, he had a microphone! That still didn’t seem to click into place with how it could relate to the tiny people though.

“Anyway, I hope you’re all free tomorrow night, because you’ll have to be. We’re all going back for overtime at the café without pay.”

“WHAT?!” Chanyeol shouts and falls back on the carpet, Sehun doing the same with a groan of frustration. Jongdae practically slams his head down onto the wooden table and Jongin looks ready to cry.

“The café was booked for a party of thirty and he needed servers, besides when I tell you what we get in return, you won’t mind.”

“Go on then, make it worth it,” Kris sighs. Their work is a misery, and the only upside is the pay. Without that it’s just running around a sweaty café and serving people who don’t even smile with a horrific uniform. Kris’ might be better than the others, but even his chaffed the back of his neck from the collar on his blazer. Each station of worker had a different level of uniform, and it turned out that his included a blazer.

“Okay, I convinced him to give us thirty of the little microphones. Then, in my second break today, I rang up a friend. He agreed to do something for me, despite it sounding weird, and today he dropped these off about five minutes ago.” Suho reaches down near his feet and pulls up a plastic bag, then revealing six dolls. All Ken dolls, aka Barbie’s other half, but each doll was the same. Tight jeans, black t-shirt, fedora and backpack.

“If you’re suggesting what I think you are, that’s genius,” Kris muses and everyone else seems out of it.

Suho goes over to the little cardboard box he has sat in the corner and pulls out a little plastic container. In it there is an ear-piece and a black microphone no bigger than a centimetre each way. Jongin gasps as Suho then puts the microphone into one of the Ken backpacks and detaches it from the doll, holding it up with a proud smirk.

“My proposal is we issue each of you little guys with one of these, and you’ll be heard. Sound good?”

Luhan nods enthusiastically, giggling along with Minseok when he realises they’ll finally be heard 24/7. Their last owner had no interest in hearing them speak, so they kept the talking to when they were just with each other.

Yixing stands up eagerly and runs across the table to Suho, slipping his arms into the straps as Suho holds them out for him. He puts the ear piece in himself, taking a deep breath as he clicks the only button on it and nods to Yixing.

“Umm hi?” Yixing mutters, hearing his voice get projected loud and clear across the room as if he was talking at a normal volume.

“That’s genius,” Sehun mutters, glancing over at Luhan who is fully focused on the new device that meant he could finally talk to the kind people who were being so lovely to them. He would finally be able to thank them.

* *

Once every little person is issued with a microphone and backpack, each roommate of theirs is given the adjoining ear-piece. Only that particular ear-piece could control the attached microphone, so there was as much responsibility on the humans as there was on the little fellows. With everyt