pandemonium

At sharply 8 am in the morning as Dojung let himself into Sangjeon's condo with the key he had made secretly, he was humming as he set a few bags of groceries on the kitchen table, knowing he'd need to bribe the sleeping young man if this were to go smoothly. The manager surveyed the apartment with approving eyes, feeling quite proud of how clean it looked (all because of his hard work of course), before making his way up the silver stair case in search of the owner himself. A swift check to his watch told him that it was a little past eight in the morning - a perfectly reasonable time to wake the sleeping monster because any other normal person would be awake, though he couldn't say if Sangjeon was particularly "normal".

Dojung had been debating all morning whether or not he should just let Sangjeon sleep the whole day away. It was, after all, the day that the other trainees would be arriving and knowing the little brat, there were definitely going to be one or two meltdowns throughout the course of the day if he was awake. But he really loved it when the younger male had his cute little temper tantrums, so of course he was going to wake him up for such a momentous day, lest he wake up in the middle of the night when Dojung was gone.

Plus he really wanted to see how everyone worked out their room arrangements as that was actually probably the top on his priority list, just to see how the dynamics of the group would be - the more drama, the more fun! “Sangjeonnie~” he cooed gently past the half-opened door, barely tapping the door as a warning before he let himself in. Sangjeon was hidden somewhere under the gigantic pile of blankets on the bottom bunk of the new bunk bed, hardly a hair visible under the mountain that made the manager only wonder how in the world the boy was even breathing. But with one swift motion, Dojung had ripped the blankets away from the half- young man who was clad only in a pair of red plaid boxers, his hair a mop atop his head.

Sangjeon's eyes instantly snapped open, taking a moment to focus on the grinning Dojung who was evidently taking much pleasure in the vulnerable sight in front of him. Sangjeon groaned then like a zombie and covered his face with one arm, using the other to wave uselessly at Dojung as he moaned out, “Nooooo, go away hyung. I'm still sleepy.”

The manager smiled and walked over the the closet, searching for an outfit for Sangjeon that would be acceptable before he settled on a dark green half-sleeve shirt and black jeans, tossing them onto the foot of the bed. “I bought you a jelly-filled chocolate cherry donut, but if you don't wake up and get down there, I can't guarantee I won't eat it,” he chirped, promptly exiting the room immediately as he knew that'd be enough to have the secret fatty rushing to put on his clothes.

Sure enough, Sangjeon was rushing down the stairs not a moment later, still trying to wriggle into his jeans and get them buttoned up. “Yah hyung, don't touch my donut,” he barked loudly as he caught himself before tripping over his own two feet. Dojung simply grinned behind his folded hands at the sight as he silently chuckled to himself; Sangjeon was too predictable most days. While Sangjeon greedily jammed the donut into his mouth, Dojung checked his watch for probably the billionth time. He just couldn't wait until the other boys started arriving, especially when he was being forced to listen to the only member here currently greedily eat the donut as if he hadn't been fed in years. Dojung tapped his fingers on the island counter, frowning, the anxiety starting to eat at him too. When the hell were people going to be arriving?!

Ding-dong.

Sangjeon's eyebrow cocked as he took another huge bite of his donut, munching contentedly without a care in the world as Dojung practically leapt out of his seat to answer the door, excited to see who would be behind it. And sure enough, Byun Taechul, the extremely attractive young man that he had just met yesterday, smiled brightly as the door opened. “Oh! Hello~ I got the right address!” he greeted the manager with a cheerful voice, though a little flushed and a little out of breath, like he had just gotten back from a run or something. Dojung appraised him, nodding in approval before appreciating the handsome young man at the door as he stepped out of the way to allow him in.

“You sure did,” he said, a little smirk forming on his lips as Taechul slipped past him, carrying a few bags easily balanced on his shoulders while smelling of some strange cologne and just the right amount of sweat. Dojung chuckled as he caught of that, wondering just how much of a heartbreaker this boy would prove to be and if he'd cause any trouble in the future - already, he knew that things were most likely going to be get lively with Taechul around.

Taechul entered the house past the foyer, finally get a feel of what it was really like as he whistled, admiring the openness of the apartment. The large kitchen was only blocked off from the dining room and living room by fancy wooden island counters that were neatly polished and well maintained (currently only actually). The furniture in the apartment was picked out by someone (Sangjeon) who seemed to prefer subdued colors, with mostly white and black furniture complemented by the occasional splash of bright orange brought about by the decorative pillows. There was a silver spiral staircase tucked into the corner next to a hall that seemed to lead to a bathroom and a laundry room, but Taechul couldn't be sure for now from where he was gazing around.

Overall, he was struck with how empty and lonely the apartment looked, cold and hostile even. The loneliness of the apartment was only exacerbated by the stunning view of the city from the floor-to-ceiling window that seemed to take up the entire apartment wall. It was a view that would take away your breath, but it only struck Taechul as alienating. After a few moments of cautionary awe, he then cautiously set his bags down on the floor and turned back, only noticing the skinny boy eating donuts behind the counters after he had already been in there for a few moments. The boy simply stared steadily back with the intensity of a hungry hawk, chewing his food while studying Taechul carefully, giving him a curious once-over. However, completely unfazed, Taechul smiled brightly.

“Hello~,” he said in the same politely cheerful voice that he greeted the manager in as he crossed the room in a few quick steps, holding his hand out for the boy to shake, “I'm Byun Taechul, nice to meet you.” Dojung quietly giggled at Taechul's full name as he plopped himself casually onto one of the white love seats, sticking an orange pillow under his knees as he decided to remain an observer between the two group members. Sangjeon simply stared back at Taechul's large hand as if it was venomous.

“I'm Choi Sangjeon, and this apartment is mine,” he hissed out curtly before sliding off of the stool he had been sitting one, making his way back behind the island counter and pulling a glass out of a cabinet. Taechul blinked at the short response, momentarily stunned and a bit speechless by the bad manners exhibited by the messy-haired boy.

But he regained composure quickly, his surprised frown melting into a grin again as he purred out, “Oh, it's a really nice apartment. You must have spent a lot of time picking out the decoration,” accepting an offered cup of water from Sangjeon, who was at the very least going to attempt to be civil. Taechul sat down on one of the stools and took a sip of the water, inspecting the expensive looking dark wood that formed the cabinets and counters. There wasn't much in the kitchen that made it feel homely, like pictures on the fridge or even silly decorations, nothing to make this house a "home" of sorts.

“Not really,” Sangjeon responded back dryly without even a change in his expression. He has noticed Taechul's curious inspection of his decor, and it was making him feel a little uncomfortable at the very least. Who was this guy to judge his sense in decor? It felt like he was on display for the world to see, and it was a little odd as he'd never had friends over really, besides Dojung, so he'd never felt like his sense in fashion and decoration would be questioned. “I picked it all the day I purchased the apartment.”

Taechul nodded at the seemingly detached answer, setting his glass down. “Well it's very chic and modern, which is the style these days,” he added on, sensing Sangjeon's discomfort - one of his best attributes was being able to read people well. He had assumed, correctly, that the younger man didn't often have people over to see his apartment and he didn't feel comfortable having it so closely inspected. Smoothed out his hair (because it might have been messy, and he hates messy hair), Taechul tried to think of any conversation topics to lessen this hostile (not so much as before since Sangjeon had been pacified with the donut) aura as he watched the younger male scurry around the kitchen. And then his eyes fell upon the box of pastries on the counter top - right as he was about to ask about them, the doorbell rang once again.

Sangjeon glanced up but didn't make a move to answer, so Taechul decided to get up and check who was at the door as there was no movement from Dojung either to get up. When he swung open the heavy black door, he found a fairly short boy behind it, looking more than a little out of breath as he barely managed to hold onto his own bags. “Those stairs are a real pain,” he grumbled good-naturedly, pushing his way past Taechul with a polite nod as the much taller male grinned.

“Yeah but walking up stairs gives you a perfect , you know. Looks like yours are getting there,” Taechul happily advised, nodding at his own solid words of advice. For a moment, Haneul blinked in surprise before he laughed along with the words of the much larger male as he dropped his bags carelessly with a relieved sigh on the pristine white couch next to Dojung. He turned around to say something back to Taechul, liking the hyung already, but a steely voice surprised him from the kitchen. “Get your filthy bags off my couch,” Haneul's head snapped to the side, trying to locate the owner of the dark and seemingly foreboding voice. A frown tugged the corners of his lips as he could see a lankily messy-looking male glowered over at him, his arms crossed over his thin chest. “Now,” he commanded. It had taken Haneul a moment to understand what this apparently grumpy guy was saying but when he did understand, he glared back at Sangjeon.

“Excuse you, but my bags aren't hurting your precious couch,” he retorted sharply back, refusing to remove the bags as he copied Sangjeon's stance and crossed his arms over his chest as well. Glancing in rising concern between the two glaring males, Taechul could only wonder where the sudden tension had come from before he looked desperately over at Dojung, who was pretending to be asleep on the couch and (lamely) hiding his smirk underneath his hand. It was apparent that Dojung would be absolutely no help right now, nor did he want to help out while the drama was about to unfold.

Sangjeon was taken aback that this tiny little midget had the never to argue with him because goddamn it, no one had the nerve to do that before, “Excu-what?” He cocked his head, an angry twitch of his, as he geared up for a fight that seemed more and more evident to happen at any moment. “Excuse me? This is my god damn house, it's my god damn couch, and my god damn rules!” he shouted, stomping a few feet closer to the pugnacious little Haneul who stood his ground fearlessly, jamming out his chin in defiance.

“You're a selfish jerk, you know that? We're here for the same reason, what makes everything yours?” he hissed back bluntly, unknowingly adding fuel to the fire of Sangjeon's time-bomb that was getting ready to erupt at any moment. He literally looked like he was torn between pulling his own hair out and throwing something at Haneul's face, while Taechul was simply speechless at the moment - not knowing if trying to calm them both down would just erupt an even larger fight later on.

Sangjeon sputtered a few times, looking absolutely livid as he searched for the right words (and perhaps the right objects) to throw at Haneul, both of them with nerves frayed already. Right as his eyes settled on a vase and a sinister smile slipped across his lips, the door bell rang again - cutting right in between them and snapping everyone's eyes towards the closed door. Dojung, who had been previously pretending to nap, sat bolt upright with an easy smile.

“Oh, would you look at that,” he purred with amusement, “Another person seems to have arrived.” His suddenly awake state seemed to have diffused the anger between Haneul and Sangjeon, but only on the surface as Sangjeon promptly returned to messing around absently in the kitchen while Haneul stalked over to the island counter and snatched the box of pastries, only to have them snatched right back from him.

Sangjeon smirked at his surprised gawking, Haneul obviously having not expecting for the box just to disappear out of his hands. "None for you, they're mine,” the older male said darkly, then smiled and tapped Haneul's chin before continuing in a sickeningly sweet and kind (but totally fake) voice, “If you keep staring like that, flies will fly into your mouth.” Haneul couldn't help but now seethe, glaring daggers into the hyung's back while Sangjeon pulled out another donut, waved it tauntingly, and then took a large bite with exaggerated sounds of pleasure. Luckily before anything happened between them any more (very closer actually since Haneul seemed very close to just lunging over and choking the life out of Sangjeon), Dojung returned a few seconds later, followed closely by a boy who seemed to be apologizing for being late.

“You're not late, Haeyeonnie,” Dojung's voice was flirtatious and cheerful, dripping with undertones of mischief and anticipation which were only heightened when he spotted Sangjeon's face. If he wouldn't have had more self control, he would have probably burst out laughing in mirth. Sangjeon, mouth stuffed with donut, was staring open mouthed at Haeyeon, his eyes slowly gliding up the older male's body with appreciation evident in his eyes.

Haeyeon on the other hand, more occupied with just being awed at the luxury of the house around him, simply smiled and slowly slipped off his sunglasses, putting them in his back pocket without even noticing just the hunger that was in Sangjeon's eyes. Dojung really felt like he was going to die because oh my god yes, he made instant eye contact with Sangjeon and smiled knowingly, making the other boy almost choke on his donut. As Sangjeon tried to hide the seizure he was having behind the counter (eventually solving it when a grinning Taechul slid him a glass of water and patted him on the back), Haeyeon continued with his slow and methodical process of removing layers, completely unaware of the silent mess of a boy behind the counter.

He started by slowly sliding off the plaid scarf he was wearing, dragging the motion out for a painfully long amount of time while Sangjeon watched, needy eyes glued to the scene. Taechul looked between the two, a light smirk plastered across his perfectly sculpted lips - he knew what was going on so well from experience. Of course, Haeyeon was completely oblivious as he then ped his jacket and slipped it off to hold on one of his built arm, revealing his toned muscles and teasing glimpses of the tattoos that decorated his lightly tanned skin. “Oh, it's really hot,” Sangjeon mumbled absentmindedly, earning a loud laugh from Taechul who couldn't seem to hold it anymore.

Haeyeon glanced up, finally noticing the seemingly faint male behind the counter before he smiled warmly, “Yes, it's a really hot day. Sorry I wore so many layers,” he apologized as he stood awkwardly, holding his bags and jacket without really knowing where to put them - everything really just seemed so perfect that he didn't want to ruin any of it with a careless movement as he looked around.

“I don't mind,” Sangjeon responded quickly as he swallowed down the donut and found his voice, then pointed at the couch, “You can put your stuff down over there.” Haneul stiffened immediately , turning a sharp glare on Sangjeon.

“Wh-WHAT?! Why does he get to put his stuff on the couch?” the smallest male in the room barked, looking like he was going to lose his mind in a minute - which he might if all of this continued on any longer. Sangjeon just glared back viciously, grabbing a newspaper and throwing it in Haneul's general direction.

“Because it's my house. Do you need to get your ears checked or something?” he bit back scathingly, wishing that angry words and glares were enough to actually set people on fire and kill them. Or at least hurt them. At the throw and the words, Haneul huffed as the newspaper sailed harmlessly over his head, grabbed his bags, and practically hurled them onto the couch, causing Sangjeon to jump up from his seat in anger. “YAH! GET YOUR BAGS OFF MY COUCH!”

While the two of them screamed and hollered at each other, bristling with anger every which way, Taechul had made his way next to Haeyeon, who was currently standing very nervously and quietly at the edge of the couch that he had been instructed to sit down with his bags. The taller man smiled charmingly over at the handsome (but awkward) male before he chirped out, “Hi!” and then, to everyone's shock (and varying degrees of horror), he pulled Haeyeon into a bone crushing hug. When they finally parted with a wide-eyed look of shock on the more built male's face, Taechul was simply grinning like nothing had happened before he continued on, “I'm Byun Taechul, it's nice to meet you! It's glad to meet someone who can probably dance with me~” His bold actions had especially caught Sangjeon's eye, stopping him in the middle of a very profane retort to glare over at the two.

“O-Oh, I'm um... My name is... I'm sorry,” Haeyeon stuttered, bowing his head awkwardly before clearing his throat and trying again, “I'm Nam Haeyeon,” he finally managed before ducking his head down again. And as if he had been shot through the heart with a pang of irony, a deep groan worked its way out of Sangjeon's lips. Of course, it was just his luck that the incredibly attractive, nearly god-like guy that just walked in just so happened to be a total awkward duck. He practically sank to his knees in despair, contented to crawl back behind his island counter and pretend that this wasn't really happening - because this couldn't be happening.

“Couldn't have just kept his mouth shut,” Sangjeon mumbled forlornly.

“Is he okay?” Haeyeon asked softly, curiously having watched the male disappear away in the kitchen with a deviously smirking and chuckling Haneul peering down at him from one of the stools, earning a grin and an affectionate pat on the back from Taechul.

“Oh~” the taller male smoothed out his hair again, trying to tone down his huge grin, “I'm sure he'll be fine,” he said, gently nudging Haeyeon down to the couch he had been permitted to sit on. “Now you just sit here while we wait for the last two members to arrive. How about you tell me a little bit about yourself?” he asked kindly, sparking the awkward Haeyeon to begin rambling and stuttering about random life events and whatnot, insisting over and over that his life was boring. Each awkward stumble that came out of his mouth was more despair in Sangjeon, who never knew someone so damn attractive could be so damn weird - because that only happened in his nightmares, not in reality.

After about an hour, in which Sangjeon had disappeared twice to shower and brush his teeth because he just needed to clear his head every time he looked over at Haeyeon and only felt more and more conflicted between the sight and what he was hearing while Haneul made his way over to join the conversation happening with the other members, the doorbell rang again. Dojung, who had actually fallen asleep from sheer boredom since the fighting seemed to have completely flatted out as soon as Haeyeon arrived, hardly stirred and everyone else was too caught up in their conversations to actually notice that someone was frantically ringing the doorbell. After about five minutes, whomever it was had let himself in.

Jung Kyugeum looked around the apartment in wonder, admiring the vastness and the amazing view of the cityscape as he entered, his mouth hanging open in wonder. “Woah, it's so pretty,” he squealed, attracting the attention of the boys huddled on one of the loveseats, who looked up at him curiously, one of them with a wide-eyed look of shock before he glanced back to his two hyungs, "Where the heck did this random guy just come from? And why is he just so... Weird..."

Sangjeon, who had just gotten out of the shower and was drying his hair on the staircase, then arched an eyebrow at the scrawny blond who looked a bit like Alice just stepping into Wonderland. “Yah, who are-” he began, but Kyugeum had started squealing again, holding his hands in little fists next to his face. He looked like a half crazed fan-girl as he sprinted across the living room and plastered himself to the window, his face smooshed into the glass as he gasped audibly and quite loudly.

“This view is so awesome!” he shrieked in a voice that any girl would be envious of, his face leaving a distinct imprint on the glass. Sangjeon's eye literally twitched in irritation; did that kid seriously just put his whole body against the clean glass? Did he have any idea how long that glass took to clean? Was Sangjeon being punished by some god for something, that he'd be stuck with a moron like this after he had gotten an awkward ahjusshi and a midget brat?

And while everyone else was simply trying to process what was just going on with this sudden appearance, Taechul smiled and leapt off the couch in a smooth and graceful motion, grace only a dancer could ever posses. “Hi, you must be one of the new members right? I'm Byun Taechul,” he introduced, tugging Kyugeum into an abrupt but well received hug.

Kyugeum simply beamed back at him, a brilliant grin lighting up his countenance even more than his platinum blonde hair could “I'm Kyugeum, but you can call me Kyutegeum. You know, because I'm cute? Kytegeummieee~” he explained before cooing out his own name to a very amused Taechul, who nodded back at Kyugeum.

“Oh, of course,” he affirmed gently, leading him back to where Haeyeon was smiling in kind amusement and Haneul was still giving him an odd look, “That name really fits someone as cute as you, Kyutegeum,” the tallest male added on, winking at the energetic young man who seemed to have a slight twang of an accent. Said male that was being addressed seemed surprised that Taechul had agreed to call him Kyutegeum so easily, but it only served to make him more energetic and hyper. He then gasped happily and giggled, feeling extremely excited.

“Uh muh gud,” Kyugeum's English was heavily accented, “Who knew I would have such a cool hyung as you, huh?” he asked, intertwining his fingers with Taechul's and a pleasantly surprised Haeyeon's on his other side as if it was completely natural to do that sort of skinship with total strangers. He swung their joined hands like a wrecking ball, earning laughs from Taechul who didn't mind the affection one bit while Haeyeon simply chuckled softly as he basked in the shared happiness, “So what are we all doing today~? I want to be best friends with everyone here! Yay~”

Dojung, who had been finally roused by Kyugeum's energetic shouting, cocked an eyebrow and checked his watch before yawning elegantly like a cat. “Well, for now we're just waiting for the last member to arrive. He was supposed to be here already, so I'm wondering if he got lost?” he mumbled, more to himself, but loud enough for Taechul to hear, “He's American, so it might be hard for him to navigate Korea.”

“Should we go look for him, hyung? It'd be awful if he did get lost, and this part of Seoul is a little hard to navigate since I nearly got lost too,” Taechul asked, feeling a little uneasy about the situation since he could relate exactly to what could be the situation. Nodding in resignation, Dojung looked back down at his watch for a second before sighing and standing up, readjusting his signature coat (today it was actually merely a regular dark blue blazer) and pulling out his car keys. “We should probably go-”

And then the door slammed open, and then a whirl of blue fabric and a large black backpack banged through the doorway with a high screech of a roar, “I FINALLY FOUND IT!” huffing a little from the climb up the stairs and the obviously heavy backpack strapped to him. Taechul was next to the newcomer in an instant, helping him get the huge bag off of himself as he practically fell over in exhaustion.

The others, frozen in various states of shock around the room all with wide eyes, inspected him curiously, wondering if he was in the right place due to his dirty, torn up blue hoodie and the ratty state of his jeans. His skin was pale, and there were slight bags under his eyes as his hair was sticking up in random directions of a bed-head. He was, to be honest, a little scary looking with his ferocious glare that he shot at Taechul and the others, regardless of just how cute he could look. “This god damn place took me ALL FREAKING DAY to find! You know how early I woke up, huh?! 5 am! And it took me this long to find this place! Nearly 5 hours! GAHHH,” he continued to rage in English, so only Taechul and Haneul could really understand what he was saying.

Kyugeum maneuvered himself behind Haeyeon and Haneul, feeling a little intimidated by the crazy foreigner screaming what sounded nearly like nonsense in the living room as he whimpered, clinging on for dear life against Haeyeon's protective back while next to him, Haneul barked out, “Yah, are you on drugs or something? Are you sure you got the right place anyways?"

Jinsung's eyes narrowed marginally as his small fists tightened just barely, something only Taechul was close enough to notice, while Kyugeum attempted to smother Haneul with desperate baby noises that were meant to be quiet for saying something to attract the “scary” guy's attention. Haneul struggled silently, but it was pointless against the cheerful giant as Haeyeon was gently pushing both of them behind him. “No,” Jinsung retorted between clenched teeth, a nerve definitely touched, “I'm not on any drugs. I'm just tired. Shut it.”

Instantly, before the situation could get out of control from what it was already, Taechul smiled and pat his back gently before continuing on in English, “Of course not, he's just a little too...” he trailed off, searching for the right words to describe Haneul.

“Ignorant? Judgmental? Because geez, you guys really need to give me a map or something, okay?! Do you know how hard it was for me to try and run around asking random people where this place was when I barely know any Korean?!” Jinsung supplied in English again as he attempted to lift his backpack again. Tsking quietly, Taechul gently pushed his hands away from the straps and hefted the huge bag up onto his shoulders with more ease, then he grabbed Jinsung's hand firmly (despite the younger's brief protest and the faint blush against his cheeks) and lead him into the apartment.

“Something like that,” Taechul said cheerfully, setting down the backpack next to the others. "What's your name? I'm Byun Taechul, that's Choi Sangjeon over there," waving a hand up to where Sangjeon was still perched on the staircase as he switched back to Korean, "And this is Nam Haeyeon, Jung Kyugeum and Kang Haneul," also motioning to the respective members with their names. "And I'm sure you already know manager Dojung-hyung," earning a knowing smile from the manager who was chilling in one of the stools away from the members.

"... Jang Jinsung," the smaller male grumbled out as he glanced around at all of them with a wary look, shrinking back against him and still trying to tug his tiny hand away from Taechul's elegantly long one.

And with a satisfied grin that all members were safely accounted for, Taechul nodded in approval and pulled the even more indignantly blushing Jinsung into a tight hug, purring happily against the smaller male's ear, “Well then Jinnie, welcome to Pandemonium~!”