FIREFALL, OR IN EXO WONDERLAND ▷ COMPLETE

The Mad Bubble-tea Party

CHAPTER 16: THE MAD BUBBLE-TEA PARTY

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

Eun-soo opened her mouth 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.