Edited; Re-uploaded

            Time continued to fly by inside the compound, with each member of OTP working hard during training sessions and even on their own time. For Kris and his friends, each day was spent becoming more familiar with both themselves and everything around them.

            Over a month had passed since they were first brought to their new mountain home, and now it was Christmas. Everyone was in good spirits, though there were still lingering thoughts in every person's mind about their homes and people they love. Love happened to be one of the things floating through Kris' head, but it wasn't that of a family member like most others. Kris had a plan, and his eyes were set on a certain Chinese male that just so happened to share a room with him.

            Ever since Kris had been able to use his flight, he'd turned into some giddy little dork, and everyone noticed. Kris knew it himself, but he couldn't help it. Things were looking brighter from his point of view, even though they still had the whole problem of war ahead of them. He decided to push most of those thoughts away, though, and focus more on the present rather than the future.

            Siwon was kind and let them all have a break for the holiday, so everyone was wandering around, off doing their own thing. The game rooms were packed full, along with all of the sports and other random entertainment rooms. Kris couldn't even begin to name the variety of places there were, but he knew that there were several music related rooms that were also taken. Siwon was keen on promoting interests and skills of all kinds.

            While his friends were off together doing who-knows-what, Kris declined and stayed back in his room, picturing how he wanted that afternoon to play out. He could perfectly imagine Tao walking into the room to freshen up before the dinner Siwon wanted everyone to take part in, and that's when he wanted to spring his surprise. All he needed was a few materials, and then he'd be able to set everything up, so he then decided to search out Youngjae for help.

            The workshop was the first place that came to mind when Kris thought of Youngjae, as that was where he was most of the time. Kris left to look there first, and he hopped over the railing of the second floor to land softly on the ground below. He had quickly learned that flight had its perks, one being that he could apply his abilities to land falls slower and jump higher. Awesome, right?

            With everyone being on break, the halls were crowded more than usual. Kris never really bothered to ask how many people occupied the space, but there was probably more than he thought. They were usually balanced out within all of the rooms, but now everyone was spilling out into the main hall in search of something to do. It was like the opening to a new store, and Kris felt lucky that he was able to travel in the space above everyone's heads, giving him an easy pathway to Youngjae's workshop.                                                        

            Kris reached the room in only a few measly minutes, but there was no answer when he knocked on the door like there usually was. He tried again, thinking that maybe he wasn't heard over the noise of those conversing in the surrounding area, but there was still no response, so he slowly turned the doorknob and pushed inside.

            "Hello? Youngjae?" Kris called into the room as he peeked inside, but he only saw darkness. No one was there, and Kris closed the door again with his bottom lip pulled up in thought. "Where could he be...?"            

            Kris pondered over any places where the boy might go but nothing really came to mind. Every time Kris had seen him, he was either in this room, in Siwon's office, or in the dining hall, which was off limits for the day until dinner. And on a holiday, Youngjae would surely have no reason to talk to Siwon about any business, so there was really nowhere else that Kris could be sure to look.

            Now that he really thought about it, Kris wasn't even sure of where Youngjae's bedroom was, if he even had one at all. He could see Youngjae and Daehyun sharing one, but it wouldn't be polite to barge into their privacy on their break, so Kris decided to find another way to make his plan work.

            As he wandered the halls among the bustling crowd of people, Kris thought hard of where he could find his needed materials. He didn't really know many people even after living there for so long, and he was sure that those he did know wouldn't have what he was looking for. Then he thought about the idea of a room containing supplies for these kinds of things, but he wasn't sure of where that would be.

            Kris let out a soft groan in frustration as he ruffled the hair on either side of his head. Isn't there some sort of room catalog!?

            "Good afternoon, Kris."

            A voice interrupted the tall teen's thoughts, and he looked over to see Mark standing at his side. His red colored hair was swept up a bit with gel, probably for the occasion, and he gave a small, kind smile.

            "Are you looking for something?"

            Kris was surprised for a moment, but then he realized that he shouldn't be. It hadn't taken any of them long to figure out that Mark had mind reading abilities, and he must've used them to help ease Kris' frustrations, so he gave a nod.

            "I want to surprise Tao, but I need a few things. I was hoping to find a room or two with everything that I need." Kris explained, which led to Mark nodding. He should've thought of talking to Mark before, since he'd heard that he'd been there for quite a while. "I'm looking for art supplies, if you can help."

            "Art supplies?" Mark echoed, his eyebrow raising amusingly. "Are you going to make him a Christmas card or something?"

            Kris rolled his eyes. "No. It's going to be better; more beneficial."

            Mark's smile grew, though he kept his thoughts to himself. "Alright. I didn't take you as the artsy type, but I can help you."

            "Please," Kris scoffed, over exaggerating the word a bit. "I am an amazing artist. I've just never shown anyone my work."

            Again, Mark found his words to be amusing as he started leading the way through the crowd. "I see. I hope you can reveal such works to me sometime."

            Kris pursed his lips as he hummed in thought. "We'll see..."

            A few minutes later, Mark stopped in front of a lone door and pushed it open, peeking inside before giving Kris a nod. "This is it. You should be able to find everything you need in here."

            Kris smiled. "Thanks, Mark. You helped a lot."

            "Call me anytime you need me. Anything to get me away from Jackson." Mark winked, his tongue just barely sticking out between his teeth as he grinned. He then lifted his hand in a wave before he left to his own business.

            Kris chuckled to himself, realizing that Mark was a comfortable person to chat with, then he went on into the room. He was surprised at the extent of the materials that were made available, and he gazed around with large eyes to take everything in. He knew how expensive art supplies could be from a friend who used to constantly complain about it, and the fact that Siwon was generous enough to have such a variety and number of materials was amazing. Kris couldn't even name some of the items, but he began searching for the items he did know and needed.

            The next hour or so, he spent working on his project; the main point of his plan. Everything needed to be perfect, and he worked extra hard to make things look nice. By the time he was done, he was covered in marker and other substances that he couldn't quite name, unsure of how they even got there in the first place, but he just shrugged it off and continued on. All he had left to do was set up their bedroom and wait for the surprise to unfold.

            Tao stretched his arms above his head as he headed down the hall that contained his and his friends' bedrooms. He'd spent the entire day so far messing around with his friends, and now he was tired and hot from all of the fun he had. Even Lay was there, though it wasn’t surprising seeing as he was ordered to stay with them half the time. They'd all gotten quite used to the change, and they soon learned that many things about him were still the same. The only one that was absent was Kris, much to his concern, because lately he'd been the brightest out of them all.

            Tao hoped to voice his concerns to the other in his room, but before he could look forward to that, he hoped Kris was actually in their room. If not, then he could use a shower first...

            Tao reached a hand to open the door to his bedroom, and he was slightly shocked to see that it was already cracked open. All doors were usually kept shut for privacy reasons, so it was weird to find it open.

            At least this tells me that Kris is here.

            Tao pushed the door open all the way, and his eyes bugged out when he flicked on the light. The scene before him was definitely unexpected, and he wasn't sure exactly what it was, if he was being honest.

            Tao walked to the center of the room, gazing around at the things hanging from the ceiling and walls. Rings of green paper were caught together in several clumps to form a mound of who-knows-what, and red paper was attached to the walls in what looked like bows of some sort. There were other things among the room, such as candy canes and stars, and one final piece hung above his head.

            Tao looked up, taking a step back to get a better look at the harshly cut paper hanging by a string. The paper was colored in bright red and green like most of the other decorations, but its shape was odd and unrecognizable. Tao was clueless as to what it was, and he was surprised by a hand on his upper right arm.

            Tao turned with a shocked expression to see Kris, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. The older male wore a crafted paper bowtie around his neck, and his brown hair was sticking up like usual. There was a hint of pink to his cheeks as he gave a shy smile, his eyes darting to the ground.

            "Merry Christmas, Tao."

            Tao could only furrow his eyebrows as Kris lifted a finger to point at the thing hanging above their heads. It was easy to say he was thoroughly confused, and he stepped back as Kris tried to come closer, a hand moving to his chest to halt his movements.

            "What is this?"

            Kris' eyes went wide, his eyebrows lifting on his forehead. "What?"

            Tao ran a hand through his dark hair, then he gestured around the room with that same hand, trying to figure out how to come off nicely. "What is all of this? I can't really tell, sorry. I don't understand what you're trying to do here." He may have sounded kind of harsh, but it was the truth, and there was no other way for him to state it.

            Kris' expression dropped, and a dejected look crossed his face as he let his hands fall to his side. "You... You what?" He couldn't seem to find any words, and Tao sighed as he rubbed his face.

            "I'm sorry, but I can't figure out what all of these things are supposed to be. Did you make them?"

            Kris just stared at Tao, his mouth open, and Tao bit his lip as guilt washed over him. Maybe those weren't the words to use... But a moment later, an fixed expression crossed Kris' face and he shook his head the tiniest bit.

            "No. It's nothing. I didn't make them." Tao watched as Kris walked over to the nearest cluster of red on the wall and tore it down without hesitation. "I don't know what this is. It just appeared." He pulled a collection of green from the ceiling, and Tao winced slightly at the sight.

            "Kris..."

            His call went ignored as Kris continued pulling the colorful decorations from the room, ripping off his bowtie and throwing it on the floor along with the rest of the paper. He kicked the mess on the floor once, then he exited the room, ignoring Tao as he called his name.

            Tao watched Kris march down the hall, then he returned inside the room to look at the mess that was made. The paper was now scattered everywhere, torn apart and useless. Strings and tape were still attached to the ceiling above, and a single piece remained intact on the floor, catching his eye.

            Tao stepped forward and crouched by the paper, picking it up between two thin fingers. As he gazed at the paper for a while, he realized it resembled something. Something that made his heart clench from what he'd said and done. He dropped the paper and covered his mouth, his cheeks heating up and his chest aching for contrasting reasons. He had just made all sorts of terrible mistakes, and he only wished he could go back in time instead of simply stopping it.

            Why? Well now it was all so simple.

            It was a mistletoe.

            Christmas day turned out to be one of the best days Jongdae had in a while. He was glad to get away from all of the training to just hang out with his friends and meet new people. There'd been a lack of fun in his life for quite a while, and though he was still unsure of plenty of things around them, including himself, he spent the day having fun.

            Jongdae had simply decided to let loose instead of worrying about every little thing in his life. He probably acted ridiculous most of the time, but that's how he was. He was goofy and tried just a little too hard to be funny, but it made his friends happy, so he was happy, too. He was just glad they noticed him.

            After the long day, Jongdae was glad to return to his room. It was only a half hour before they were supposed to gather for dinner, but he wanted to get as much rest as possible before he ate. So when he entered his room, he flopped down on his bed with a big, relaxed sigh.

            "Tired?"

            Minseok's voice sounded behind him, coming as a slight surprise, and he rolled over onto his back. When he sat up, his eyes immediately landed on the glorious abs that Minseok had revealed. Seeing the boy shirtless, and then proceeding to stare, was probably the biggest mistake he’d made recently. Jongdae barely managed to answer his question with a soft "Yes" as his eyes glanced over the other's toned body. He never knew such a magnificent build could be hidden behind the simple clothing that they were made to wear, and heat rose to his cheeks at the sight.

            "Y-You work out?" He couldn’t help but ask.

            Minseok's eyes grew slightly in size, then he looked down at his own torso, a smile gracing his lips. "Oh, yeah. It's become a habit in my free time." He let out a soft chuckle that sent heat flowing all throughout Jongdae's body.

            The younger boy had often thought about what Minseok did when he wasn't in the room or training, but working out definitely wasn't one of them. He knew Minseok was strong before, but now he wondered just how much strength he'd gained. That thought alone was enough to make him blush, and he was quick to divert his attention. Looking at another person's abs—Minseok's abs—definitely wasn't something his body could handle, and he needed to find something to distract himself fast.

            "Wow. That's uh, great..." Jongdae mentally slapped himself for giving such a choked up response, and he fell sideways onto the bed. He reached out for a pillow and hugged it to his chest, curling up with his face pressed into the cushion.

            "Are you alright, Chen?"

            Jongdae nodded, his voice muffled as he spoke. "Yup. Just tired."

            "Well, we have to go soon. Siwon wants everyone down at six." Minseok's voice spoke from somewhere around the room, and there was the shuffling of him getting dressed. "We should hurry and meet the others. Who knows what's going to happen."

            Jongdae heaved a deep breath to gather his bearings, then he pulled himself to his feet. Minseok was especially dashing that evening, his auburn hair having been styled a bit to look quite appealing. Jongdae then realized his own appearance probably wasn't all that great, and he hurried to the bathroom to look in the mirror. He ruffled his own honey colored hair, which easily resembled a bird's nest, but he gave up at the thought of getting it to look nice. He didn’t have the time or patience to work with it now.

            "You look fine, Chen. Trust me." Minseok's voice drifted into the bathroom, and Jongdae turned to see him leaning against the open doorframe. He gave a half smile, and Jongdae blushed at his words.

            "Okay. Let's go then."                                                                                        

            Jongdae left the room alongside Minseok, and they were met in the hallway with crowds of people leaving their rooms. There were waves of colors from everyone's shirts and hair, and they all flowed further into the mountain base, where the dining hall was located. The large opening into the room was blocked from floor to ceiling, and Jongdae was really beginning to wonder what the fuss was about.

            "Chen! Xiumin!" Both teens turned as one when their names were called, and they found Baekhyun standing a few feet away, waving to them. They walked over to see that the others were all present, and Jongdae gave a smile.

            "This is quite a commotion, isn't it?"

            "Well, yeah. It's a holiday, and apparently Siwon is treating us!" Baekhyun was growing restless as he spoke, doing a little hop as he shook out his hands. "I'm so excited."

            "I didn't notice." Jongdae said with sarcasm, giving a half smile. Baekhyun rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his face.

            "Attention!" A voice rang out loudly from out of nowhere, causing many people, including Jongdae, to finch away from the sudden noise. Eyes darted around everywhere to search for the voice, but its origin wasn't found. "I hope you're all hungry." The voice went on, and Jongdae recognized it as Siwon's. "Tonight's dinner will consist of a feast for all of the hard work you have gone through. I am proud of how far you have all come, and I wish to show you this. Please, enjoy the meal."

            And with that, the dining hall was revealed. Jongdae couldn't see at first, and had to wait for several taller people to move into the room before he, like many others, could gasp at the transformation. The room looked much different than it had before, almost as if Harry Potter had spit up all over the place, because all of the tables were arranged in long rows, each full of many foods to fit everyone's tastes.

            Jongdae's stomach growled loudly at the sight, and his mouth almost became like a waterfall with how much he was salivating. He had to clamp his lips together tightly, then he hurried with the others to find enough seats for them to all sit together. And it wasn't that hard, because they already had seats saved for them by a few other friends.

            "Taemin!" Lay and Kai both called the name at the same time, greeting one of the boys that had saved their seats. Suho greeted Mark and Jackson with hugs, for they had been friends at their high school beforehand. They had all found it to be humorous when they first found out.

            They all took their seats together at one of the tables, and Jongdae found himself squished between Minseok and Kris. Most of the others happened to be sitting next to their room partners, but Kris and Tao were on opposite sides of the table. Instead, Suho was on Tao's side, while Taemin and a few others like Mark and Jackson were mixed within.

            Jongdae's eyes landed on the food before him as soon as he was seated, and his hands instantly found purchase on the silverware and dishware that sat waiting to be used. His hands were trembling as he fought to choose what he should eat first, and he heard Minseok chuckling to his left. "Calm down, Chen. We have time."

            Jongdae looked up at his friend to see that he was giving him a gentle smile. He gave one in return, then he began to dig in.

            The entire room was filled with the echoing sounds of voices and the clanking of eating utensils. The slurping of soups and drinks, the smacking of lips, the muffled voices of those speaking with mouths full and even the gargled sound of choking. Laughter rose up from several places as well when conversations began and the night was kicked off with high spirits.

            Jongdae mostly ate, but every now and then he put in a word towards the conversations going on around him. Everything was loud, and it wasn't long before it became hard to hear, and he had to strain to listen to Baekhyun talking across from him. Eventually he gave up, and he turned to talk to Minseok, when he noticed the older teen wasn't eating.

            Jongdae's frowned and furrowed his brows. Minseok was just sitting there, staring off into space as his eyes seemed to be focused on an empty plate. His hand rested on the table, surrounding a single small cup of tea, and he didn't respond when his name was spoken.

            "Xiumin." Jongdae tried again a few more times. "Xiumin. Xiumin! Minseok!"

            At the sound of his true name, Minseok perked up with his eyes blinking rapidly. "Wha?"

            Jongdae's frown deepened as he gazed at his friend. "What's wrong with you? Why aren't you eating?" He asked.

            Minseok didn't answer right away, then he gave a small smile. "Oh, I'm not that hungry. It's nothing."

            Jongdae almost laughed, though it would have been humorless if he had. "Yeah, right. You need to eat. There's no way you're not hungry."

            "Jongdae, I'm fine."

            "No, Minseok."

            A stare down started between the two of them. With the use of their names, things were pretty serious. They usually only ever called each other by their false names these days, and whenever they didn't, it was pretty obvious that something was up.

            Jongdae didn't look away as he reached over with his chopsticks to grasp a simple piece of amazingly delicious meat from a center plate. He then brought the food piece over to Minseok's mouth, where the smell would surely travel up his nose.

            "Eat."

            Minseok's expression was straight and emotionless, and Jongdae was almost sure that he wouldn't listen. But after a few long moments, he finally blinked and dipped his head down to bring the meat to his mouth. Jongdae then let out a breath that he wasn't aware he'd been holding, and he turned back forward to resume eating his own food.

            Things went smoothly after that. Minseok continued eating, and Jongdae had soon stuffed himself, but that didn't stop him from continuing to eat. He wouldn't waste this chance for a good meal, though he may regret that later. Especially after dessert arrived.

            A clock on the wall showed that it was getting considerably late, but no one made a move to get up. Everyone remained to sit and talk, and they eventually began munching on food again as they spoke. Jongdae continued to listen in on some conversations, talking in others. He started to chat with Kris because he seemed unusually quiet, but it didn't last that long. Something seemed wrong, but he didn't pry.

            Jongdae decided to keep his tabs on Kris as the night went on, glancing over every now and then to see if anything about him changed. Nothing much happened, but there was one moment where Kris suddenly perked up. His hands landed heavily on the table, and Jongdae jumped at the move. Kris' attention was firmly directed to his right, where a few people they didn't know sat talking.

            "What did you say!?" His question came off loud and demanding, and the random guys looked at him with wide eyes, seeming almost scared at the sudden exclamation.

            "We were just talking about the Black Pearl..." One mumbled as explanation.

            Jongdae's attention was drawn to the name, and he in, too. "Isn't that a boat?"

            The boys all nodded, and another spoke next. "It’s a ship to be exact, but it's also a code name we use around here."

            "Code name?" Chanyeol echoed; apparently he was eavesdropping, too. "I've never heard the name before now."

            "What is it a code name for?" Kris then asked.

            The boys' eyes darted to and fro as they were spoken to. "Don't you know? It's what we're here to protect."

            "Yeah. That and a few of our own." Another added.

            Everything just kept getting more muddled and confusing as the boys went on. "What are you saying, exactly?" Jongdae asked, hoping to get a clearer answer.

            The first boy shuffled in his seat, leaning in and clearing his throat. "There's been rumors going around about the reason we're here on Earth, and why we have people after us." He began. "After everything we've heard was brought together, we've all assumed that there's some sort of weapon that's hidden."

            "Hey! That's what we've been thinking, too!" Baekhyun broke in.

            The boy nodded to him. "Right. It's not hard to figure out, but the thing is that we don't know what it is. The only thing we do know is that it must be powerful enough for someone to come all the way here in search of it, and that's why we code named it the Black Pearl."

            "We've heard that a select few know what it really is, but Siwon swore them to secrecy." Another went on. "We think that's its super powerful, and that's why it's hidden. For someone to want to start a war, it must be legendary and unmatched in strength."

            Jongdae's thoughts were going wild because of what they were told. They'd all had their own thoughts about it, and now others were proved to have the same. It all made sense, too, but one thing that they said stuck out.

            "What was that about protecting our own, or whatever?"

            "Oh, that?" The brows of the boy speaking furrowed slightly. "We aren't sure ourselves, but there have been other rumors of knights sent from our planet along with everyone else. Who they are, none of us know. Siwon may not even know, but apparently, the knights are the ones that are to bring us to victory, and we must protect them at all costs until their purpose is fulfilled."

            "The thought is weird." Another went on to say. "It makes me wonder what type of planet we come from, and if these people stick out among the rest of us."

            "Do you know how many there are?" Chanyeol asked.

            The boys all shook their heads. "That's everything we know about the subject, sorry."

            "It's fine. Thank you." Kris said, giving the boys a slight bow of his head.

            Jongdae turned to look down at the table in front of him, seeing that the conversation was over. So many thoughts swam through his head that it almost hurt. He'd almost forgotten for a moment that there were others like them, and that they weren't the only aliens in hiding. How he managed to forget in the first place, he didn't know, but it brought a sort of relief to come to that realization once again.

            Things were starting to fall into their respective places, and he was slowly forming his own thoughts about everything. Some things were beginning to make sense, while others just became more confusing. And all the while, he could only wonder how much longer they'd have to go through this before things would go back to normal.

            Wait... Jongdae's lip twitched at one corner in the start of a sad smile. Things will never go back to the way they were... Do I even want this to end anymore?