Cyndi enters the practice room where her three new friends are waiting. At the sight of her, Yoochun shakes his head. Not because she is late... he does not mind her being slightly off schedule. No. That is not what concerns him. What concerns him is her choice of attire. Is she wearing... is she...? Yes. Yes, she is. She is wearing pajamas. Clearly, she is prepared to be lulled to sleep by the sound of their voices. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Cyndi allows her eyes to drift, looking to each of them in turn, carefully measuring their every breath. So many variables, so little time...

"You finally decide to grace us with your presence? Why don't you just go back to bed, princess?"

Yoochun steals a glance at Junsu, hoping that the word 'bed' does not spark anything out of context.

Cyndi ignores Jaejoong's unnecessary welcome and lifts the writing tablet to her chest. You can do whatever it is you do here. I'll just take a quick nap over there. She points at the couch with her name visibly stamped on it.

"Is she being serious?"

"She looks serious, Junsu." Yoochun's eyes follow her as she plops herself in the comfy looking couch and curls up into a ball. "Was that a rehetorical question?"

"Hyung..." Junsu turns to Jaejoong. "You really need to control your urges. It will make things awkward for all of us if your little dude does things. Noona must still be mad at you. I mean... I would probably be mad at you, too."

Yoochun confirms the madness with a nod. "Look at her with her back turned like that. That's definitely the cold shoulders. She is definitely mad at you."

"What?! What is there to be mad about? I'm the one who should be making a huge fuss. She obviously knew I was in there and yet she still waltzed right in to do her business?"

"You should've locked the door, hyung. Why don't you lock the door? This is why you're always being taken advantage of by the others. They see your pretty face and they want to you and you make it easy for them... by not locking the door."

"I do lock the door! I do! It was just that one time!"

"Sure. Twice."

"I locked the door! You even had to break down the door! The door was locked!"

"Did you check if the door was unlocked before kicking it down?" Junsu turns to Yoochun for an answer.

"No, no I didn't. I didn't check if the door was locked or unlocked. I just kicked it down. We really thought he was in trouble."

"Yeah, hyung, he just kicked down the door without checking. But seriously, why would he check when he could be kicking down the door to save your y , hyung?"

"Junsu... you're doing it again." The word 'bed' must have triggered him. Damn.

"Doing what?" Oblivious.

"You just called his , y."

"I did?" Totally oblivious.

After the trio ends their practice session, Cyndi sits up from her couch and stares at them. Bloodshot eyes. She looks extremely pale... like a sickly ghost. With trembling fingers, she scribbles something on her tablet. Blood curdling sounds. I could hear it echoing through my dream, warping it into a nightmare. It's awful. Just awful. Never again... never again...

And with those extra words of encouragement, she staggers out the door.

"What the ? Who is she to judge? She can't even sing."

Outside the hallway, Cyndi bumps into a group of Martians.

"Oh, look! Look what we have here... isn't this the mute Earthling? Their silence must be better than their sound."

She ignores their rude comments. It will do no good to respond. She has no time to waste. Too many variables that must be eliminated. Too many... The Martians do not take it well... being ignored by the little Earthling woman. "Are you just going to walk away from us like that? Why don't you stick around and play?"

Junsu and Yoochun poke their heads out to see what all the commotion is about. "Hyung... we should really go out there and help her."

"Leave her be. We are better off without her."

"But..."

"Am I still your leader?"

"Yes, hyung... but we... we should really still..."

The Martians cage her in. Her back is against the wall. "Are you going to scream for your mates? Oh... I almost forgot... you got no voice to scream." Relentless laughter ensues.

She looks down at her tablet and scribbles.

"How cute. The mute Earthling's got a little tablet to talk with."

Better watch what you say around me, you little . I've got razor sharp ears.

And much else. It is always best to take her advice on matters such as these.

Unless you want it to be your last.