Next morning, Jang Mi woke up earlier than her mother. She quickly went to the laundry room and opened it to found it just filled with washing machine and dust. She closed it again and started to panic. She opened the door once again but it was still empty. She closed it with loud bang and the red plate fell from the door.

“Oh my God! What have I done? Oh my God…,” she reached for the red plate and glued it back on the door. “What have I done? Where are the boys? Where’s Xiumin? Where’s Capatain Kris? Where’s Baek Hyun and Chan Yeol? Where’s Panda Tao and D.O? Where’s Chen and Suho? Where’s Se Hun and Kai? Where’s Lay Oppa? Where’s… Lu Han Oppa?” her panic grew bigger and bigger. In panic she pressed a button and the red plate turned blinking rapidly with red lights like screaming danger. “What? What? What?!” she looked around looking, shocked and she pushed the same button once again and the red plate stayed red again. She groaned while trying to push another button. The red plate turned transparent and fell down from the door. “NO!” She reached for the plate and put it back on and pushed the same button. It turned red once again and stay glued on the door. “What should I dooo?” she whined desperately.

“What are you doing?” Her Mother’s voice came from behind, making her jumped of shock.

“Omma!” She quickly covered the door with her back, like hiding something precious although she knew there’s nothing inside. “I… I… I was going to wash the rag.”

“Why are you stuttering?” her Mother asked again.

“I… you shocked me, that’s why…,” she turned and get into the laundry room and closed the door behind her.

She stood behind the door and looked around the empty room. With nervous mind, she walked around the room and touched each part of the walls, as if by doing so a secret tunnel will appear out of nowhere. She checked the wall, and even knocked it to find it was a concrete wall standing in front of her and there was no sign of the big white room.

She turned and leaned her back on the wall and fell to the floor. A rush of feelings came to her and she felt her eyes became hot. The thought of the boys missing because of her hit her and she felt guilty. It was her fault. What if she will never see Se Hun’s aegyo again? What if she got hurt and there’s no Lay to magically heal her? What if she suddenly fell out of nowhere and no Captain Kris to catch her and gave her that irking glare again? What if there’s random gangster tried to pick on her and there’s no Tao to give them a few punches then do silly aegyo after? And what if… what if she’ll never be able to see Lu Han again? Who will compliment her eyes? Who will catch her if she fell off the stairs? Who will read her mind and ask know whether she was troubled or not? She started to cry.

Her Mother who heard her sobs came in and found her curling next to the washing machine and cried her heart out. She quickly came into her side and asked worriedly.

“What’s wrong with you? Do you hurt somewhere? Let me see it.”

Jang Mi raised her head and met eyes to eyes with her mother. “Ommaa…,” she cried harder and hugged her Mother.

“Oh? What’s wrong? Ya, Lee Jang Mi… tell me what’s wrong?” she hugged her back and caressed her back.

“They’re gone… and it was my fault,” she sobbed into her Mother’s embrace.

“Who? Who’s gone?”

***

Inside the artificial space

“Stop it, Xiumin! You’re going to kill us!” Kris pulled Xiumin back from the door, that how many times he tried to open would not budge. He tried to crush the door by turning it into a piece of ice and would knock it down but it still stood there and solid. He tried harder and ended up frosting the whole room with his power.

Xiumin cursed in the strange Exo language and kicked the door in frustration. The door let out a loud bang but would not budge. Chan Yeol emerged strong heat from his body, causing the frost all around the room to melt and slowly disappear.

“What the hell is Lee Jang Mi doing out there,” Chan Yeol stomped his feet on the floor and messed up his already messy hair.

Tao sighed and rubbed his face. “I just hope she doesn’t forget that we are stuck here.”

Lu Han shook his head. “She didn’t… I believe she’s trying right now. Don’t forget that only Xiumin knows how the plate works.” The other boys sighed and gave up.

“Let’s just hope, you’re right,” Kris turned and went to his bunk.

Yes. I hope I’m right. Save us, Jang Mi…

***

Jang Mi’s Mother put on her cardigan and prepared herself to leave. She didn’t want to leave as she saw her daughter folded herself and hid her face, looking dreadful on the sofa. Jang Mi had told her the most unbelievable story that of course she did not believe a bit. Jang Mi has always been the girl with wild imagination. She had been telling her about monster on the small forest behind their house when she was little, making her little sister didn’t dare to go into the forest up until now.

But Jang Mi is 20 years old now. Telling a story of twelve alien males that stay inside her laundry room (which is clearly empty and dusty) is entirely a different story. She was a little worried that her daughter was a little different… in mind. But she decided that her daughter might be just dreaming and she thought it was real. She wanted to stay and made her daughter feel better but she had urgency matters at Gangwon-do to finish and that would make her unable to stay with her daughter now. But she believe in her daughter that she is a strong girl, she know that and Jang Mi had proofed to her so many times that she was not a weak girl. She’s Lee Jang Mi. She’s her rose. And a rose has thorns to protect herself.

She sighed when Jang Mi lift up her head, grabbed a tissue and snorted to it. The girl had stopped crying but her eyes were puffy from all the tears she shed over the non-existence boys. Boys. Her daughter that never ever had dating experience said there were twelve boys living with her in under the same roof. If she was not crying like the world had end, she would laughed at her and tell her to date one of the imagination boys. But it was not a laughing matter, seeing how serious her daughter taking these imagination alien boys.

She went to Jang Mi and her cheek. “Now, stop crying there.” Jang Mi nodded and wiped her puffy eyes. She finally noticed something that she thought was off from Jang Mi (except from all those silly alien thing). “Where’s your glasses? Did you lose it again?”

Jang Mi nodded. “I lost it on the beach yesterday.”

“You, clumsy girl. Now have you checked your eyes to doctors already? Your eyesight is really bad and it’s not good for you for not wearing any eyeglasses,” she scolded her right away and tilted her head to left and right as if by doing so she knew how bad her eyesight was.

“My eyesight is normal, Omma. I don’t need any glasses. I’m fine,” she released herself from her Mother and sniffed again. They both walked toward the door.

“How come?” Her Mother looked confused. “How many fingers am I holding? She asked while holding three of her fingers.

“Three,” Her eyes grew big with surprise. Jang Mi would usually answer two or four when she did so. Did her eyes really healed? “Lay Oppa healed my eyes.” Her excited shoulder fell down. It could not be one of the aliens she had been telling her. Her eyesight must have gotten better with her age. This silly alien story has to stop.

“I don’t want to hear about those alien stories anymore, Jang Mi,” she shook her head. “No.” She said again when Jang Mi was going to protest. She picked up her bag and sighed. “I’m going back to Gangwon-do. You be safe here and please get your mind back together.”

Jang Mi nodded. She went to the laundry room’s door once again and looked at the transparent thing that casted bright red light and with nail like writing on it. “This accessory need to be gone when I’m back here next month,” she said while pointing at the red plate and pressing some random buttons with her finger while doing so, without even looking at it. The thing blinked in red and green light and she turned her back on it while Jang Mi gaped at the plate. “I’m going!” She said before closing the door. And the plate turned bright green once again.