It was quiet, the sky was still dark and no signs of life was anywhere. The children were still in their beds, refusing to leave their comfy nests in order to prepare themselves for school. The house where the future co-ed group Maxstyle's members resided at wasn't any different. The clock showed it was five minutes to six o'clock and the house was dead silent. Then, shuffling was heard from one of the bedrooms.

"Hngh," Haram stretched like a cat as he sat up groggily, bringing his fisted hands up to his eyes and rubbing the sleepiness out of them. He switched off the alarm on his phone before it started to blare and threw the covers off of him. Setting his feet on the floor and shivering at the coldness, Haram stood up slowly, scratching his head. He stood there for a while, strugggling to open his eyes. When he looked behind him, he saw Chanhee sleeping on his side, curled into a ball with his back against Haram. The man stiffled a yawn and pulled the sheets further up Chanhee's asleep figure. Exiting the room and closing the door with a soft click behind him, Haram dragged his feet to where the towels were hung at and pulled his own down from the racks. He the lights in the living room since it was still too dark to see properly and plopped down on the couch, catching up on another five minutes of sleep before truly getting ready for the day. He started to doze off but that's when the creaking sounds of a door reached his ears. Forcing an eye open, he saw Daeseol coming out of her own room. The girl greeted him with a nod and shambled into the bathroom. Haram dropped his head on the back of the couch with a groan before finally getting up, entering the bathroom. When he got out, Daeseol was on the couch and the tv was . She had a bowl of cereal in her hands and cartoon was playing on the tv. Glancing at the clock, Haram saw that it was already six fifteen and decided to make breakfast.

"Wanna help?" He asked but the girl shook her head, pointing at the tv screen with her spoon. He rolled his eyes but smiled in amusement before disappearing into the kitchen. He grabbed a pan and put it on the stove, turning it on to heat the pan. Humming, Haram went over to the fridge and took out several eggs. He touched the pan briefly and poured cooking oil in, cracking the eggs one by one when the oil was hot enough to fry them. As he let the eggs fry, he boiled some water to prepare warm milk and coffee for the others. Haram bounced lightly in his steps as he looked into the cupboards, pulling out a loaf of bread. When the eggs were done, he put them on five empty plates and placed the plates on the table. Daeseol came in with an empty bowl and she dumped it in the sink with a loud clunk.

"Need a hand?" She asked and Haram didn't refuse. She assisted in preparing the coffee and milk, setting up five mugs next to the plates on the dining table. They spread the jam over the toast in comfortable silence, both not really feeling like talking. When they were done, each plate had a fried egg, two pieces of jam and a mug was placed next to it. They covered the food so that it wouldn't get contaminated by who-knows-what.

"It's time they get up," Haram mused, the time now six-forty five. Daeseol agreed and decided to start with her room mate.

She grabbed her phone and climbed half-way up the stairs. Daeseol played B.A.P's No Mercy and cranked it up to the loudest volume, grinning when Mingxue shifted in her sleep. She watched as Mingxue rolled around in her bed, the song now playing at its chorus.

"No, no, no, no mercy!" Daeseol sang along, cocking her head as Mingxue looked at her with the sharpest glare possible. The younger girl rubbed her face with her hands and tried to reach out for the phone. Daeseol smirked and jumped down from the steps, telling Mingxue to get up. Mingxue sat up straight and descended the steps carefully, not wanting to miss a step and ending up falling on her back. She went to wash up, brushing her teeth and washing her face. Daeseol went to the clothes rack where the uniforms were hung up to dry and picked out Mingxue's for her. She placed the uniform on her own bed and informed Mingxue about her uniform's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Haram was as quiet as a mouse when it came to waking up Jinjae. The lower bunk was occupied by Jongin and Haram grinned when Jongin turned around and emitted an adorable sound. Going up the stairs, Haram patted Jinjae's and pulled down the boy's shirt that was riding up his hip.

"Time to wake up for school," Haram whispered into Jinjae's ear. He pinched the boy's cheeks gently and sighed when Jinjae whined, turning his back against him. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and patted Jinjae's waist this time. Jinjae swatted away his hands and buried his head under the pillow.

"You really have to get up soon," Haram tried again, shaking Jinjae. The boy only told him to 'go away' and to leave him alone. Haram groaned and climbed into Jinjae's bed, trapping the boy in between his legs. He was careful with his head, not wanting to hit the ceiling. Jinjae was surprised at this movement and turned to lie on his back, removing the pillow from his head and stared up at Haram with a horrified look.

"H-hyung?" Jinjae gulped.

"Up," was all Haram said before he heaved Jinjae up. He got down from Jinjae's bed and pointed at him.

"Get up or I'll make you," he warned. Jinjae was about to lie back down when Haram pulled at his legs, making him yelp. Jongin whimpered from below so Haram told the boy to be quiet. He dragged Jinjae to the edge of his bed and threw Jinjae's hands around his shoulders. Without a word, he lifted him up and Jinjae slung his legs around Haram's waist. The older man carried Jinjae out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up," Daeseol repeated as she walked into Shinhee and Hinata's room, banging a metal spoon against a plastic bowl. The girl on the lower bunk, Hinata, shot up from bed and casted clouded eyes on Daeseol. She stood up without a word and brushed past Daeseol, mumbling about something along the way.

"Uh... okay?" Daeseol's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline but she shrugged it off. She walked up the stairs and hit the metal spoon against the bowl loudly into Shinhee's ears.

"Wake up, my beloved! It's Monday! Time for school!" Daeseol chirped.

"Unnieee! It's too early for this!" Shinhee yammered, her hand darting out to stop Daeseol from ruining her hearing.

"If you get up, I'll stop," Daeseol told her. She kept hitting the bowl until Shinhee pushed herself up on her elbows, the younger girl shooting daggers at her with her eyes. If looks could kill, Daeseol would be long gone.

"I hate you," Shinhee sniffled, getting out of her bed. Daeseol smirked and ruffled her hair, cooing at the cuteness when Shinhee jumped away from her hand like she was shocked.

"Don't touch me," she grumbled, tugging at her oversized shirt. Daeseol barked in laughter and waltzed out of the room, further annoying Shinhee. She went into Yerin's room, twitching her nose in disdain when she saw Yerin sleeping with wide open. Approaching the girl, she made awful noises with the metal spoon and bowl. Yerin snorted loudly and turned over in her sleep, her hand hitting Daeseol's chin.

"Oh Yerin!" Daeseol yelped, dropping the bowl. This surely woke up Yerin and she opened her eyes at once.

"Should have thrown the bowl at the wall," Daeseol said darkly, bending over to pick up said item. Yerin rolled her eyes and told Daeseol to get out of her room.

"You have school today."

"So?"

"You have to get out of bed to go to school."

"Wow, how long have you been sitting on this piece of information?" Yerin said snarkily. Daeseol grimaced, guessing that Yerin wasn't a morning person. She gave up on the spoon and bowl, determined to drag Yerin out of bed.

"Get up," she said flatly. Yerin stuck her tongue out at her and lied back down, throwing the covers over her head.

"Make me."

"Fine," was all Daeseol said before she pulled off the covers and dragged Yerin out of bed feet first. The girl was too surprised for words and she found herself being dragged along the floor, Daeseol glaring at her.

"I really hate you."

"I know."

They were all at the dining table, already dressed in their uniforms. Yerin, Mingxue, Hinata and Shinhee were dressed in similar uniforms since they attended the same school, Jinjae was the odd one out. Everyone drank milk while Shinhee downed her coffee. The girl was staring at her coffee, the mug held in both of her hands. Yerin and Hinata were sitting back in their chairs, staring at nothing. They looked like lifeless bodies. Jinjae was staring at Haram as he cut into his fried egg. Seriously, were these five always this creepy in the mornings?

"You might want to hurry up," Haram said after clearing his throat.

"How are we going to school?" Yerin sounded half-dead.

"Sanggil hyung will drive you."

"I thought he's still asleep?" Jinjae asked, his tone monotonous.

"If you didn't notice anything, he's walked past you guys at least four times already," Daeseol sighed. It was official. Her dongsaengs were zombies in the early hours.

"I didn't notice..."

"Neither did I," said Shinhee quietly, taking another sip of her coffee.

It took them a while to finish every scraps of their food. They took their bags from their rooms and gathered in the living room. Hinata and Shinhee sat on the couch while the other three sat on the floor. When Sanggil came out of his room dressed from head to toe, they bid Haram and Daeseol good-bye before going out the front door with Sanggil.

"I feel so domesticated," Haram laughed and Daeseol joined in.

"They make me feel really old."

"Tell me about it. They're sixteen and I feel like they're babies and we're old people with wrinkly skin," Haram shuddered and Daeseol gave him a pat on the back.

"One day, they'll grow to become our age. Don't worry."

"Where does that leave us? Forty something?"

The car was unusually quiet since nobody felt like talking. Jinjae sat in the passenger seat ("Ewww! I don't wanna sit with a bunch of girls!" Jinjae exclaimed as he distanced himself) and the girls sat at the back. Mingxue and Yerin were fast asleep, resting their heads against each others'. Hinata and Shinhee stared out the windows, their chins rested on their hands. Sanggil kept glancing  at them through the rear mirror and couldn't help himself but to feel worried.

"Hey, you guys okay?" He asked solemnly, peeking a glance at Jinjae.

"I'm never okay on Mondays," Jinjae groaned, pouting as he flashed puppy-dog eyes at Sanggil, "can we go home?"

"I miss my bed," Hinata complained, hugging her bag closer to her chest.

"I miss my everything that doesn't remind me of school."

"Loosen up a bit. School's... cool," Sanggil finished lamely, not really knowing what to say. This killed the conversation and Sanggil almost wanted to take back what he said. Almost. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and focused on getting the five of them to school on time. Jinjae was dropped off first and he wasn't happy about it.

"Why can't they go first? This isn't fair!"

"It's because I came here first. Now go, you're gonna be late," Sanggil could feel a headache forming but he didn't want to raise his voice at Jinjae.

"You're being unfair," Jinjae scowled as he slung his bag over his shoulders and opened the car door.

"Stop being a baby. You're fourteen already," Sanggil scolded, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. Jinjae's face dropped and he didn't say anything else. He got out of the car and slammed the door behind him, entering the school compound without a second glance. Great, now Jinjae was mad at him. Sanggil sighed and drove away, he was beginning to hate Mondays. They'd been only living together for a day or so and someone was already mad at him. Was this the calm before the storm? He hoped not.

"Oppa, it's fine. He'll get over it. Jinjae just... really hates Mondays," Yerin said quietly. Guess the whole door slamming thing woke her up from her slumber.

"Why?"

"I don't know. He's always been that way," Yerin shrugged with one shoulder since Mingxue's head was rested on the other, "told me he hated them but didn't say anything about the reason."

"Okay."

"He'll be fine later, don't worry about it," Yerin reassured him, giving him a lopsided smile and Sanggil found himself smiling back. He dropped off the girls and was home within the next thirty minutes. Haram was in the living room with a book in his hands. The book looked familiar and Sanggil realized that it was the book Haram bought at the bookstore. Daeseol was watching a movie on DVD, giving verbal reactions like 'oh no, oh no' and something else. He retreated to his room and saw James on his bed, his hands plucking at the sheets.

"Why are you in my room?" Sanggil asked abruptly and James jerked. Turning away to cover up his smile, he heard James coughing awkwardly.

"I was waiting for you to get back?" James tried but Sanggil wasn't fooled.

"Out with it, hyung."

James sighed and got up, stretching his hands as he did. Sanggil didn't say anything as he watched with keen interest.

"I'm bored, okay? Classes don't start until nine and I'm bored," James mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"You could've said so. I have something you might wanna listen to," Sanggil said as he went to turn on his computer. They remained in his room, Sanggil (who was still thinking about the incident earlier) telling James about his songs and James nodding fervently as he listened. Outside, Chanhee had already woken up and he was spending some time with Jongin. The two of them were playing tic-tac-toe and Daeseol was watching. Haram sat cross-legged on the couch and occassionally asked for a selca with the others. Minae was in the kitchen and they could hear the clashing sounds of the metal pots and pans. Eventually, some of them left for their classes while others remained. Minae and Daeseol took the public bus together because they attended the same univeristy. Sanggil gave James and Haram a ride before going to his own classes. The only person who stayed behind was Jongin because he had no classes that day. He had driven Chanhee to his school campus and came back, the clock indicating it was eleven in the morning. Frowning to nobody, Jongin huffed and lied down on the couch, deciding to take a short nap.

At Sunhwa Arts School...

Jinjae listened with mild interest as the teacher walked around the classroom, the thick novel in her hands. He looked outside the window and gazed at the sky longingly, wishing to be free from his annoying teacher. His seatmate kept poking him with a pencil and he shrugged it off.

"Yah, Jinjae. If you don't pay attention, you'll fail the exam," the boy whispered but he knew it was a lie. Jinjae always passed despite not paying attention in class and he was considered an ace in English.

"If you don't stop poking me, I'll make you fail the exam," the boy looked at his seatmate darkly. Minsol, a boy with dark curly hair and freckles dotted along his cheeks, shrugged and chewed at the end of his pencil as he in front. He knew it was an empty threat but he wasn't risking it. Jinjae was in a bad mood and everyone could tell. He didn't smile at all and he kept to himself.

"Jinjae, wanna hang out with me later during recess?"

"Minsol ah."

"Ne?" Minsol gave Jinjae a thousand watt smile but it died when Jinjae pulled at his curls.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go!" Minsol squeaked.

"Un Jinjae! Jung Minsol! Please refrain yourselves from creating a scene in class! If you'd prefer to stand outside than to sit in here, you better stop distracting your fellow classmates," their English teacher was furious. Both of her hands were fixated on her hips and her ears were steaming. The two bowed their heads in apology and kept quiet for the rest of the lesson.

At School of Performing Arts, Seoul...

"Unnie! Over here!" Yerin waved after setting down her tray. Mingxue hopped over to her and enfulged her in a hug, wondering why she didn't notice Yerin at school before they were officially introduced to one another. It was easy to spot Yerin in a crowd now. Shinhee was walking leisurely behind them, Hinata beside her. Before they went to their respective classes, they had promised to meet up together for lunch. The four girls sat at a table and started digging into their food.

"How was class?" The youngest girl asked. Hinata laughed and told her to swallow her food before talking.

"Class was good but I almost fell asleep," sighed Shinhee.

"I was close to pelting eraser bits at my teacher," Mingxue frowned.

"You guys had a wonderful morning," Yerin chuckled, "sooo fun!"

"Don't tease me or I'll throw rice at you," Mingxue groaned. They resumed eating until class started, parting ways to go to their own classrooms.

Jongin was in charge of picking up the kids from school since Sanggil wasn't at home and none of the hyungs and noonas were content with the idea of their 'baby line' taking a public bus home. Haram had objected strongly when Jinjae suggested this and Jongin had no idea why the former kept looking at the girls when he said that. Minae voiced her worry and had asked Sanggil to drive them home at first but he had classes so Jongin volunteered to do so. Right now, he was on his way to pick up the four girls first as he used another route.

"What time is it now?" Mingxue asked, covering a yawn with her hand.

"Time to go home because I'm beat," grumbled Yerin as she rubbed her eyes with fisted hands. It was only three in the afternoon and she was already tired.

"That's not the answer I wanted."

"But that's the answer I'm giving."

"Stop it. I see Jongin oppa already, let's go!" Hinata patted both of the girls' knees and took off. Shinhee followed closely behind, waving good-bye at several of her classmates. Mingxue and Yerin walked like turtles to the car.

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Shinhee yelled as she got in.

"Set fire to her bed?" Yerin suggested and Mingxue nodded.

"Rough day?" Jongin asked as he carefully reto the road. The girls nodded and he smiled. The rest of the drive to Jinjae's school was in comfortable silence. Yerin's eyes were drooping and she leaned against the window, sighing. They reached the gate of Sunhwa Arts School and saw Jinjae standing outside with a pout on his face. He was talking to Minsol so he didn't notice the car. Hinata rolled down the windows and yelled, "Jinjae! Get your stuff and get it!"

"I just went deaf in my left ear," Mingxue complained. Jinjae bid a hasty good-bye before climbing into the passenger seat. He buckled his seatbelt under Jongin's gaze and looked over his shoulder.

"Don't yell next time," Jinjae huffed, his eyes fixed on Hinata's face, "and why do you look so sleepy?

"You really need to get some manners," Hinata snapped at him, "is it a crime to feel sleepy?

Awkward silence ensued. Jinjae's face dropped and he turned to the front while Mingxue rubbed her hand up and down Hinata's shoulder, telling her calm down. Yes, they were stressed out since their training was going to be doubled the toughness until debut and they also had school but Mingxue thought that they should handle this like professionals and not yell about it. When they got home, Jongin opened the front door and Hinata stormed past him. He backed away and cringed when he heard the slamming of a door. Mingxue gave him an apologetic look and Shinhee just shrugged. Yerin was quiet as she scampered into the house and Jinjae was the last to get in. His face was red and he looked like he was about to cry.

"Guys, there's not enough time for you to rest. We have to be at the studio by five," Jongin called after them and frowned when nobody replied. He retreated into the kitchen to make some snacks for the kids as they did whatever they were doing. By the time he was done preparing, everyone had already showered except for Hinata since she was still in her room. Shinhee offered to talk to the girl when Jongin was about to go after her. Letting the girl deal with the matters, he sat the others down and they ate in silence. Yerin was making eyes at Mingxue and Jinjae was ignoring everything but the food. Shinhee came to the table with Hinata in tow moments later, the latter's eyes were red and puffy but nobody said anything. When they were done, Jongin told everyone to get ready and they filed into the car before pulling out onto the road.

"Somebody help me," mumbled Jongin. Jinjae was in the passenger seat, fast asleep with Beanie in his lap. The mashimaro plushie was dressed like this and Jongin thought it's the cutest thing ever. Yerin and Mingxue were talking animatedly between themselves while the other two girls were communicating using their eyes. Hinata's eyes weren't that puffy anymore but Jongin could see they were still bloodshot.

"Oppa," said Yerin all of a sudden.

"What is it?"

"You missed the turn."

Somebody stab me.

"What's taking them so long?" The boy on the floor, Chanhee, whined as he gulped down water. He'd been training with the present members for thirty minutes already and the rest still weren't here. Daeseol rolled her eyes and swatted Chanhee with a towel.

"It takes time to get here and they might be in a traffic jam," Minae said, wiping away her sweat with the back of her hand. She sat down next to Chanhee and took the bottle from him, downing some of the water. In the other side of the studio, Sanggil was sitting alone with his back against the wall when he was joined by Haram.

"Hyung," Haram nudged his knee with a hand and Sanggil raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't think too much. He's probably in a bad mood because it's Monday," Haram tried comforting Sanggil. The older man told him about Jinjae's little fit that morning and he knew that Sanggil was feeling bad for snapping at Jinjae.

"Monday's like how the full moon works for werewolves. Everyone goes nuts and you no longer know who's sane," Haram joked lightly and he beamed when Sanggil chuckled softly.

"Hey!" Chanhee yelped from his side of the room. Sanggil and Haram turned their heads to find James standing over Chanhee, a smirk on his face as he sprayed water at the boy.

▬ ♛ corner of despair;

dundundundundun. school time! o/ well except for jongin. xD i threw in random people for them to interact with lololol. this chapter's focused mainly on the youngest five. c: the high schoolers and the middle schooler hehe. idk what i'm writing about ok i do know and it's the kids being in a bad mood lololol. i love seeing this. i'll throw in the older members more in the next chapter where they have to figure out what in kwangsoo's mind is going on with their babies. xD I THINK THIS CHAPTER DOESN'T FLOW WELL AND I'M SORRY OMG BUT I WAS IN A RUSH TO GET IT DONE BECAUSE SOMEONE FREAKY'S GOING ON WITH MY INTERNET. eue the next chapter will be better ok i promise.

a lot of you gave me awesome suggestions for the official thread and i'm gonna use them ok i'm gonna use them. c':