asylum°nct dream

two; on the shelf

"Thanks for showing us around," Mei Zhen speaks, sipping on her hot chocolate.

A steamy drink in the chilly cafe, relaxing.

Mark smiles. "No problem."

"So, why did you guys decide to move to our school?" Chenle asks, munching on his muffin.

Lien stabs her fork into one of Xing's rice cakes. "Our grandparents' apartment is nearby."

The boys nod and continue with enjoying their snacks.

A chime releases from Lien's phone and she checks it, only to see a message from their mom. "I think, we should go home soon. Mom's asking where we are."

"We gotta get home fast or she's gonna get all worried again," Xing says, rushing with her food and choking.

Jisung pushes her drink closer to her to which she quickly gulps down- thanking him and the male only smiles.

After a while of eating, the two groups then, separate ways.

-

"How was school?" Their mom asks, using their native tongue when the three sisters return.

Mei Xing shows a gummy smile. "It was great! They were so nice!"

A relieved smile stretches on Tung Mei's face. "That's great to hear. Now, wash up and come back down for dinner."

The three rush up the stairs and to their shared room.

The oldest of the siblings drops her bag beside the bed before flopping on it, drowning herself in the mattress.

Her eyelids become heavy and she's already boarding the sleep train, on her way to dreamland when a notification chime from her phone kicks the train away, sending it flying.

She groans and sleepily takes out her phone- accepting the follow requests from the boys drowsily.

Her light snores then, fill the room in less than 3 seconds- riding the sleep jet.

-

Jeno and Mark enter the great living room. Interior sophisticated yet, simple and cozy at the same time, wealthiness clear to the eyes.

It's not shocking when you're all the adopted sons of the late CEO of many successful and renowned business industries.

But, he died a few years back, making the seven high school students the current owner although, the one managing them all is their family secretary.

"Doll on the shelf?" Jaemin asks, his eyes following the two latecomers.

Mark nods. "Doll on the shelf."

The first and third oldest take off their gloves before tossing them into the nearby bin.

shin_xing

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shin_xing had our first day of school today and not gonna lie, it was actually really fun 🌸
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"Isn't that Mei Xing?" Jaemin asks, staring at the screen of their youngest's phone.

Jisung nods. "It is."

The two pairs of eyes stare at the photo.

"She's like a real doll, isn't she?" Donghyuck comments, gazing at the fresh post that was posted about an hour ago.

Chenle double-taps the image. "She's adorable, beautiful and so, so innocent. She'll adorn the shelf perfectly."

Renjun scoffs. "You and your obsession."

Jeno stares at Xing's post too, judging. "Perfect. Too perfect to be put with the other disgusting dolls. But, she and her sisters will be the perfect queens on our chess board."

"But, there can only be two queens," Jisung interjects.

Mark lets out a long ambiguous sigh.

He twists his head and faces the youngest of his brothers- wearing a devilish smirk. "Who says we're abiding the rules?"

-

Renjun puts away his painting set neatly on his tall shelf inside his room before the door bursts open and in comes a bored Chenle.

The latter catches his brother putting away his colouring set and pouts. "How do you do that?"

Renjun hums. "Do what?"

Chenle flops onto his brother's couch. "Make all the dolls so perfect. Without your skills, they wouldn't look as pretty as they are now."

"Well, all you have to do is think on how you want them to look like," the older one replies, lying on his bed before taking his tablet to draw.

The other groans. "I tried!"

Renjun chuckles. "Alright, I'll tell you how."

He sits up and reaches for the life-sized mannequin head on his shelf, the ends of its black, thick lolita-like wig dangle.

"First, you stare at their faces. Study their details and imagine all those pretty little things they've done to us. Then, you beautify them in any pretty colour you want. From their eyes, nose, cheeks, lips and to their limbs.

If you find something you dislike, you can make a few changes," Renjun teaches. Slowly pointing at every single part of the face he said using the mannequin head. "And tada! You're done!"

Many won't be able to see how his instructions can be useful but, when it comes to the seven brothers, words are sometimes useless.

Chenle bobs his head, intrigued. A question pops into his head. "What if you make a mistake in the adjustments?"

Renjun puts the head back to its spot- dusting it before slowly twisting his head to his brother. "Then, you can sew them back together."