December 04, 2013

Festive seasons, or simply holidays, always brought people knocking on the door. Trick-or-treaters, for example. They got frisky on Halloween and brought strangers in search of candy, which was completely backwards to what people were usually taught, which was not to take candy from strangers. Other times it was the other way around; it forced residents in their homes to run up to the front door and pound their fists into it in frustration, because people were shooting sparkly explosives (and sometimes annoying people) into the sky to watch them blow up.

Christmas brought carollers. People who sang infuriating songs repeated about twenty times in one shop over the speakers, and, once one left that shop, started playing again in the next shop to be entered.

Needless to say, the fourth of December brought proud carollers wanting to spread cheer and joy.

And frustration.

Mostly joy, though.

But sometimes confusion.

The boys were scattered throughout the dorm: Baekhyun, Chen and Lay in one bedroom; Kris, Xiumin and Junmyeon in another (obviously discussing something top secret, but refusing to spill any secrets); Tao and Kyungsoo taking full advantage of the shower; Luhan, Sehun and Kai in Luhan's room talking.

Their manager walked inside and they began readying for a radio appearance they had scheduled. The journey there was quiet; the cars were already heated by the time they got in, but after sitting in it for five minutes, it quickly became stifling. Nobody dared to open the window to let the wind in. It was quiet upon their arrival, and they went straight to the ready rooms.

They were big enough for them all to fit in, but there were only three chairs so they took it in turns. Baekhyun, Sehun and Lay went first.

“Time to get put on face for an audio-only performance,” Chanyeol mused.

“You're too ugly for the microphones,” Xiumin said.

Chanyeol scowled at him. “Excuse me, but you're getting ready as well.”

“They're making me prettier.”

“The only way they can make you pretty is by putting a bag over your head,” Junmyeon said.

They sat down to be crowded by make-up artists. Everything went quiet for a few minutes. Lay made a noise like a hum and a squeak, then a laugh as the brushes flicked along his neck. His shoulders hunched on reflex.

“You don't look happy,” Baekhyun observed. “Is something wrong?” Powder flew up his nose and he sneezed.

Kai's eyes flicked towards the voice. “No, not really.”

“Which means yes and no.” Sehun had to pause as make-up was applied to his mouth. “What's wrong?”

“Our new friend,” Kai said cryptically, giving the group behind him a pointed look. “We left our new friend alone in the dorm.”

There was a collective intake of breath and , we did, didn't we? glances exchanged amongst their ranks.

“If anything's broken or shat on when we get home, we're holding you responsible,” Kris told Tao.

They went into the recording room and put on their headphones, and the host announced their presence. They hadn't seen anyone suspicious-looking when they were preparing so none of them had any idea of what was about to hit the fan next. The door pretty much burst off its hinges, startling even the host. Christmas carollers invaded the room, singing loudly, laughing and scrambling into the midst like a group of drunk monkeys. They were all wrapped in tinsel and baubles and stars -- five of the bastards -- and dressed in suits of different colours.

And by that, they meant SHINee.