CHAPTER 16: THE MAD BUBBLE TEA-PARTY

"What did you say?" Kris asked, his sharp eyes unblinking.

Eun-soo opened to say something. Later, she felt that the best thing to do is to keep quiet. She pursed her lips.

The two of them exchanged perplexed glances. Was she defending him? Nah! Never! Thus, their eye contact broke too soon.

"Of course there's no more room!" the man with owl-like eyes bawled out. "Life is harsh cooking for a witty workmate and a maniac who feeds on nothing else but bubble-teas! And the table! Oh Lord, the table!"

"You should let them enter and see for themselves. This is a full house for empty minds. Enjoy!" the other man smirked. "Remember my name: Chen."

"If we refused to remember?" Baekhyun asked, half-provoking.

"You may as well enjoy a cup of tea." Chen shrugged. "Which is not so civil since not even one of you were invited."

"We are!" Kris shoved their train tickets to Chen's face. "We are instructed to come here!"

"Sheesh! Smells like bloated fishes!" Chen rubbed his nose and pretended to retch. He flipped through the tickets. His eyes grew wider. "It's not so civil of you to shove these to me, but civil enough to provide me some information. Who are you all again?"

"We're the Resistance of Shuffling Decks, except for that round-faced guy over there." Baekhyun bowed. "That young lady is the Key of Fire and this sword-carrying, ticket-shoving jerk is the Dragon Warrior. I'm Baekhyun."

("Yah! I heard that!" Kris shouted from a distance.)

"A decent introduction. I'm Chen, and this is D.O, my workmate. We're stuck here for eternity."

"And why is that?" Lay asked, his hand rubbing his chin, eyes ablaze with curiosity.

"Leave this place for a moment, and madness shall be unleashed. We don't want that to happen, do we? Do enter first. Come." Chen invited his distinguished visitors to his domain. Inside was a hallway lined with clocks of all shapes and sizes. Each concerted 'tick-tock' cut through the air. Can you imagine a swarm of clocks buzzing like bees in a hive? Picture just that.

The end of the first hallway lead to another section-a hallway full of jars. Specimens of animals and plants collected from all over Wonderland from different eras were displayed. They were presents given by the King of Hearts for their excellent scientific research. The display seemed normal until the visitors stopped by the largest jar in the hallway. A two-metre tall foetus of something floated inside, covered with a milky goo. Everyone else was disgusted by such a sight except for Lay who was jotting down some notes.

"In this synthetic womb is an artificial puppy." Chen explained. "We found a fossil under the cactus trees in D.O's garden and tried to make something out of it, but failed. Now, the King is after our heads. He badly wanted an ancient mock-puppy as a pet. He won't accept a semi-robotic version, so, we're in hiding now. We cherish our heads."

Lay jotted more notes. Then, something caught his eyes. "Excuse me, Chen. Why is that door covered with a 'do not enter' sign?"

Beside the largest jar was a larger steel door stretching up to the ceiling. The yellow and black 'do not enter' sign was written in three languages-Korean, Mandarin and English along with the name 'Karl Hirsch' at the bottom. "No, no, no!" Chen blocked the door with his arms. "Madness is contained within! Madness!"

"Let. Them. Enter!" a voice boomed from behind the door. Both Chen and D.O jumped.

"Our wish is your command anyway." Chen replied to the voice. His wrist tightened and he turned the doorknob. The door swung open without a sound. Not even a creak.

Ironically, the dreaded room was decorated with balloons, ribbons, colourful hats and teddy-bears. Inside the room was a long table with twelve arm-chairs, divided into half by a glass wall. At the other side of the glass, at the far end of the table, a man sat, the only sitting being amidst floating things.

"Luhan," Chen hailed.

"Luhen~" Baekhyun mocked Chen's call.

"Yah!" Chen raised a hand to smack Baekhyun, hitting nothing but air.

A teapot flew towards them, but upon hitting the glass it was smashed to pieces and harmed no one.

The man, Luhan, raised his gaze. He had a small, pixieish face, a pair of bright honey-brown eyes and porcelain skin as smooth as a new teacup. He was wearing a tall worn hat where a soot-stained goggle perched. His suit was sharp and elegant though blotched with tea. His legs were bound with a golden chain. He gripped the arms of his chair tighter and all the floating teacups, saucers and Rubik's cubes came crashing down. Was the rude crashing noise signifying something? "Lift the glass!" Luhan ordered the two scientists.

"No, we won't!" said D.O and Chen defiantly.

"I said, lift the glass!" a cup of cold tea was thrown to them, only to hit the glass barrier again. Luhan was about to explode in anger, but he knew how to control himself. "Refrain, Lu, you're a man!" he repeated his mantra and tried to act genial. He exhaled, crossed his legs and tapped the table with his long, white fingers. "So, are you all in for tea?"

"We're in for a mission. Not for a cup of tea." Kai retorted.

Luhan gripped his chair even tighter.

"No-no, if it's bubble tea, it's fine with me!" Tao pushed Kai aside, trying to reduce the damage of the latter's frankness. "I love bubble tea more than you do!"

"But less than the Prince Regent does." Luhan sighed. "The Prince Regent loves bubble tea more than the King of Hearts loves to cut people's heads off."

D.O was about to leave the room when he heard another teacup crashing to the floor. He froze in his steps.

"D.O yah," Luhan called D.O with a sweet voice laced with poison. "Are you trying to leave me again?"

"No, hyung!" D.O shut the steel door back close. "I'm right here."

"Good." Luhan sipped his cup of tea. "Then, cook something for my dear guests. I can hold no tea party without food."

D.O zipped out of the room.

"Chen," Eun-soo whispered. "Why is Luhan contained behind a glass wall?"

"The wall is not made of glass. It's made of something special and secret." Chen whispered back. "It prevents Luhan's mad brain-waves from manipulating too much. We're still researching about the perils of telekinesis."

"He's that powerful?"

"Yes. We both are stationed here to prevent him from escaping. He's detrimental to our people's health. In short, we're both are stranded here forever."

A teacup crashed for the third time.

Luhan uncrossed his legs and pointed at Eun-soo. A sudden chill permeated her insides. Here comes her impending doom: "I want you to sit beside me in this tea party. Do come across."

"M-me?" Eun-soo stammered.

"Yes, you!" Luhan gave Eun-soo a cute eye smile. His cheeks turned pinkish. "Would you like to have some bubble tea with me as I have no one else to share with?"

"No way!" Xiumin, on guard, flung his arms around her. "Stay away from Eun-soo!"

She looked into Xiumin's solemn eyes and fidgeted, flushing deeper than Luhan did.

"No one shall cross this border!" Chen grabbed Eun-soo's shoulder with a warning. "Lady, you'll be very sorry if you do."

She pushed Chen away. "My name is Eun-soo!"

The door was forced open with a bang.

Everyone in the room whirled around.

D.O forced himself a squishy smile while carrying a white tray. "Who wants steamed buns?" he asked.

A/N: Comeback! The rebellion did not end, though. Welcome to the tea party! 'Karl Hirsch' is a German name meaning 'manly deer'. Some would see that coming!