sm scream factory
sm scream factory
gen
5678 words
Lee Jinki is the top scarer of SM Scream Factory, the company which generates power from the screams of children in order to produce electricity for SM Town, a monster-populated city.
monstersinc!AU aka idk what i was thinking ;____;
sm scream factory
Lee Jinki is the top scarer of SM Scream Factory, the company which generates power from the screams of children in order to produce electricity for SM Town, a monster-populated city.
Well, not exactly. But a monster can dream, which is what Jinki is doing. Honestly, though, Jinki is not the least bit scary. Every time he gathers up the vocal power to roar or growl, or even start to raise his hands and arrange his features into a menacing look, he somehow manages to do something stupid like trip over a toy train or slip on the rubber chicken lying on the floor.
Tripping doesn't make a child scream - except scream with laughter, which isn't the kind of scream Jinki was going for -, and this depresses Jinki tremendously. He's a monster, and monsters are supposed to be scary and well, monstrous.
"It's okay," his room-mate, Kibum, says encouragingly when he catches Jinki attempting to look ferocious into the mirror for the tenth time that night. "You'll get there soon."
But Jinki doesn't want to get there soon, Jinki wants to get there now. He sighs, his shoulders drooping dejectedly. "Maybe I'll just quit," he says mournfully, although it's been his dream since he was a monstertot to be a scarer. "I'd be better off bagging jellied eyes and blood-flavored chips in the monstermart."
Kibum flips his fringe out of his eyes. His hair is streaked red, which means he's annoyed. "Stop being a loser," Kibum says. "Nobody eats jellied eyes anymore, anyway."
That wasn't exactly encouragement, but Kibum has always been stingy with praise, and by his standards, this was a truckload of compliments. Jinki smiles. "Thanks, Kibum-ah."
"We're going to be late for work, you idiots," Jonghyun says, barging into the bathroom. "What are the two of you doing inside here?"
Kibum gives Jonghyun a once-over. "I think you shrank," Kibum says, and Jonghyun gasps in horror, thundering towards the height chart pasted on the wall.
"He was just joking," Jinki says helpfully, and Jonghyun sighs, clearly relieved.
"But honestly, though," Kibum says, heading to the door. "You need to grow, minisaur."
Jonghyun huffs in annoyance, following after Kibum. "I'm a dinosaur, mister," he informs Kibum loftily. "With a capital D."
"A capital D doesn't make you any taller," Kibum says, snorting, and Jinki shakes his head as he locks the door behind them. Another typical day in SM Town.
"Good luck, mate," Jonghyun says, patting Jinki's shoulder encouragingly, although he has to tiptoe in order to reach Jinki.
"You too," Jinki responds. "Well, actually, you don't need the luck at all."
Jonghyun beams proudly. He is one of the top scarers of SM Scream Factory, and working his way up to the top everyday. Jinki has no idea how he does it - would a child really be afraid of a short, harmless-looking dinosaur like Jonghyun?
"Jinki, it's your turn," Taemin, Jinki's door-operator, calls. Jinki makes his way over, and Taemin smiles at him. "Ready for the screams?"
Jinki gives him a weak smile in return. "I hope."
Taemin's talon hovers over a big red button. "Good luck," Taemin says, pressing the button. A door comes to a stop above them, then moves slowly towards the ground, landing with a thud. Jinki takes a deep breath, then steps forward and opens the door as quietly as he can.
All is dark, and Jinki can see the silhouette of a child on the bed, probably having nice, sweet dreams. He or she didn't need a monster to disturb the peace and serenity, much less scare them. See, this is the reason why Jinki cannot be a good scarer - he doesn't have the heart to bring little innocent human children to tears. They were human, those harmless, daft people - was it really ethical to scare them?
The door clicks shut behind him. Jinki sighs, creeping slowly towards the bed. When he gets nearer, he sucks in a breath to puff up his chest. I am scary, Jinki thinks. I am the scariest monster.
He opens his mouth to roar as loud as he can, but then his foot steps on something squishy that emits a squawking noise. Not the chicken, Jinki thinks, pained. Anything but the chicken.
Given his luck, it is that annoying rubber chicken that is the bane of his existence. The child stirs as Jinki bends over to disentangle his toes from the squawking object. "Umma?" It's a little girl, probably four or five. Time to scare.
Jinki straightens up, towering over the girl, and gathers up the power to roar again, but then he hears a laugh, tinkling like golden bells. Jinki blinks. The girl points at him, and Jinki peers himself at the mirror, only to discover that there is a pair of underpants hanging from his ears. He winces, extracting the piece of human artifact and tossing it onto the ground. "Bye," he says mournfully to the girl, who is still giggling.
He opens the door again, refusing to meet Taemin's disappointed gaze. "Next time," Taemin says brightly, and Jinki just sighs.
When he was just a monstertot, his grandfather used to tell him stories about being a scarer. "Jinki-yah," his grandfather had said. "Being a scarer is a respectable job. Without scarers, SM Town will be nothing."
And then his grandfather had gone on to describe the thrill that throbbed along his veins whenever he heard the panicked screams of the human children. Jinki hadn't been paying attention, though, he'd been too busy dreaming of a future where he would be the top scarer of the city. His grandfather had died before Jinki had become a scarer, which was why Jinki couldn't ask him for advice.
A scream reverberates throughout the Scare Room, and Jinki glances over to see Jonghyun stepping out smugly, closing the door behind him. He gives Minho, his door-opener, a thumbs-up. Minho grins back at him, removing the scream canister from its hook and trudging off to hand it over to the canister collectors.
Jinki rubs his spotted forehead wearily. Why was he the only one who found it so difficult to scare children? Everyone seemed to find it like a stroll in the park.
A bell rings, signalling break time. Kibum darts over. "Let's go," he says. "Some food will cheer you up."
He hasn't even said anything, and Kibum already knows he's failed for the 1805th time. He'd probably go on failing until the 5081st time, anyway. Jinki shakes his head. "I'm not hungry," he mumbles. "Go with Jonghyun."
Kibum makes a face, then drifts off to look for Jonghyun. When everyone has gone to the monstercafe, Jinki sighs and sits down on the ground, alone in the midst of millions of doors leading to human bedrooms.
Maybe, Jinki thinks idly. Maybe I'll be able to do it this time. Courage, Jinki, courage. Be a monster.
He gets up and walks over to the place Taemin has vacated, then presses the big red button. A door arrives in front of him, and Jinki twists the knob open. He pokes his head inside the dark room. "Hello?"
Nobody responds, and well, Jinki hadn't exactly been expecting a welcome greeting. He steps inside, taking small, quiet steps towards the bed. "Roar!" Jinki says.
Nothing happens. Nobody screams, or even laughs. Jinki peers down at the bed, then pokes the lump of blankets. It is soft, which means there is no child here.
A chance wasted, Jinki thinks sadly, and makes his way back out again. He closes the door behind him, letting it creak back to its original position. Maybe Kibum was right - some chocolate-covered shells would help a lot at this point of time.
He's about to leave when a flash of movement catches his eye. Jinki turns, only to see a little boy standing there staring at him. A little human boy.
Jinki stares back. Nobody's ever taught him what to do in a situation like this - when you accidentally let a human child into the world of monsters. Is he supposed to send him back? Is he supposed to call the authorities?
"Appa," the boy says, tottering over to Jinki. He buries his face into Jinki's fur, and Jinki freezes. Humans are supposed to be contaminating and disgusting and covered with germs, and here was this human pressing his face into Jinki's fur. Seriously, what was he supposed to do?
The bell rings again, which means that break time has come to an end. Jinki grabs the boy, tucking him into the shelter of his arm and running out. "Hey," Kibum says along the way, reaching out to touch Jinki, but Jinki just barrels past him. This is an emergency. This is a national emergency.
Where to go next? Jinki wonders. What to do?
The bathroom seems to be empty, so Jinki ducks inside. Maybe he could take the time to calm down and formulate a plan. He sets the little boy gently down onto the ground.
"Hi," Jinki says. He doesn't think being scary would solve the problem right now - more like the boy would either scream his head off or laugh until he fell down, or something. Which really, wouldn't help one bit. "My name is Jinki."
"Onew," the boy says, blinking up at him. "Onew appa."
Jinki gives him a weird look. Jinki most certainly didn't sound like Onew at all, but well, you never knew with humans. A bit daft in the head, really. "What's your name?"
The boy smiles. "Yoogeun," he says. "Jung Yoogeun."
Jinki nods. "Yoogeun," he tries, and the boy giggles. Yoogeun looks like he's about two or three - Jinki's never gotten the hang of human ages. He does look sort of adorable though, with big eyes and a sunshine smile.
The boy toddles forward, and Jinki takes a step back, paws outstretched. "No," he says, panicking. "No no no no no, Yoogeun, no."
Yoogeun stops, head tilted to the side. His eyes are starting to water and his mouth is opening and his face is crinkled up in concentration. Jinki hurries forward before Yoogeun can cry, scooping him up in his arms. "Okay, okay," Jinki says soothingly. "See? You're touching me. You're happy. Don't cry."
Yoogeun grabs fistfuls of Jinki's fur and smiles, the tears gone. Jinki sighs, hoping he won't shrivel up and die from - shudder - human touch.
The door swings open, and Jinki hurriedly hides Yoogeun behind his back. It is Kibum, his eyes blazing. "What's up with you?" Kibum says suspiciously. "You've been acting really weird."
Jinki offers a hesitant smile. "Nothing," he says. "I'm just here to. You know. Pee."
Kibum takes a step forward, and Jinki shuffles backward. One step forward, another step backward. "Seriously, are you hiding something from me?"
"Nope," Jinki says. "Why would I hide anything from you?"
Kibum darts towards Jinki, and Jinki spins around quickly. "You're hiding something!" Kibum accuses.
And then there is the sound of a hiccup. Kibum narrows his eyes, and Jinki squeezes his eyes shut, weary. "Okay," Jinki says. "Promise me you won't scream."
"I won't," Kibum says.
Jinki reaches behind him and pulls out Yoogeun, who is still hiccuping. Kibum promptly screams, his hair turning green from fear.
"Jonghyunnie appa!"
Jonghyun looks as if he's about to cry as he clambers onto the couch. "Get it away from me!" He says pitifully.
Kibum turns to glare at Jinki. "Look at the mess you've created," he snaps. "Kidnapping a human child - what in Monsus' name were you thinking?"
"I didn't kidnap him," Jinki protests. "He came after me!"
Kibum snorts. "He came after you? You're a monster, in case you forgot."
"Do you mind taking care of him for a while?" Jinki asks. "I have to take a shower."
Kibum looks horrified. Even Jonghyun stops jumping up and down. "I didn't ask to be subjected to this - this human's toxicity!" Kibum says viciously. Jinki just shuffles into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
When he comes out after a warm shower, he's surprised to see Kibum, Jonghyun and Yoogeun all sitting on the floor together. "You like Key appa more, don't you?" Kibum says, beaming happily at Yoogeun.
"No," Jonghyun protests, tugging Yoogeun over. He's gotten rid of all his scuba equipment he'd used to shield himself from Yoogeun. "You like Jonghyunnie appa, right?"
"Onew appa!" Yoogeun says, pointing at Jinki.
"So," Jinki says, after a beat of silence. "I see you guys have become friends?"
Kibum sniffs. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
Yoogeun sits on Kibum's lap, pressing his fingers against Kibum's neck. "Key appa," he says, and Kibum smiles down at him. Jinki and Jonghyun exchange matching looks that say look at him, that idiot, still trying to deny it.
"But still," Jonghyun says, sighing. "We have to send him back to where he belongs."
Kibum shakes his head. "But he loves me," he protests. Yoogeun is sucking his thumb as he presses close to Kibum, seemingly unaffected by his reptile-like skin.
Jonghyun bends down to meet Yoogeun's eyes - he doesn't have to bend much, actually. "Yoogeun-ah," he says. "Do you want to go home?"
Yoogeun sticks out his tongue. "I don't want to."
"See," Kibum says, triumphant. "He doesn't want to!" He whirls around to stare at Jinki. "Right?"
Jinki shrugs. "We can't keep him here." That should have been obvious.
Kibum's face falls. "And I thought you'd be on my side," he says. "You were the one who brought him here, and now you say we can't keep him? What are you thinking?"
"I just want him to go home," Jinki says tiredly. Jonghyun nods in agreement. "Kibum, we'll get into trouble if they find out."
"Trouble," Kibum says. "As if we're not already in big enough trouble. As if you're not already in trouble for kidnapping a human child."
"I said I didn't kidnap him!" Jinki says loudly.
The sudden loud burst from Jinki startles Yoogeun, whose face wrinkles up. "Oh no," Jonghyun says, and Yoogeun promptly bursts into tears.
The light starts to flicker, and music starts to blast as the radio turns on by itself. "Shhhh," Jinki says, bending down to poke Yoogeun. "It's okay."
Yoogeun grabs his claw. "Onew appa!" Cue rainbows and butterflies.
Jonghyun sighs, slumping down onto the couch. "I thought we were going to die."
It's Kibum turn to peer down at Yoogeun. "You don't want to leave Key appa, do you?" He coos, ruffling Yoogeun's hair.
"Don't want to," Yoogeun responds, clambering back onto Kibum's lap and beaming.
Jonghyun shakes his head, exasperated. "I think that's the only phrase he knows," he remarks. "It doesn't mean anything."
Kibum looks offended. "Are you questioning Yoogeun's intelligence?"
"Kibum, you were the one who went around telling everyone how stupid humans were," Jinki reminds. "You made signs and posters and all that."
"Well," Kibum says, curling his arms around Yoogeun, who snuggles closer. "My son's an exception, of course."
Jinki and Jonghyun turn to each other at the same time; Jinki can see the question-marks popping up around Jonghyun's head, and is pretty sure he looks the same too. Then Yoogeun gurgles with laughter, and Kibum is laughing along too, and Jinki tells himself to forget the risk and the danger for a moment, and just admire the beautiful scene.
"One week," Kibum pleads. "Let's keep him just for one week."
Jinki sighs, tired. "Kibum, if we do this any longer, we're going to get caught." He eyes Kibum for a while. "You've already told half the people we know."
"Not exactly," Kibum says. "It was just Minho and Taemin, come on! They're our friends, they deserve to know!"
"Four more days," Jinki says finally.
"Two."
"No bargaining," Jinki says. "Three and that's final."
"Deal," Kibum says, grinning. His hair is streaked yellow and orange, which means that he's both happy and excited.
He dances off, waving his arms in the air and nearly bumping into Chansung, who looks up balefully from his cleaning equipment. "Careful!" Jinki yells after him. The only time Kibum ever falls down is when he gets so excited he basically crashes into everything in sight.
"What's he so hyper about?" Taemin asks curiously.
"You know," Jinki says. "He told you, didn't he?"
Understanding dawns on Taemin's face. "Oh," he says, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. "You mean about the human boy?"
"Shhhh," Jinki hisses. "Don't say it out loud!"
"Say what?" Taemin asks, confused. "Oh, you mean human -"
"Just call him Yoogeun," Jinki says. "Don't mention a thing related to the h-word."
"Okay," Taemin says, smiling. "Oh hey, Minho, did you hear about the hu -"
"Yoogeun." Jinki whispers out of the corner of his mouth.
"Oh yeah, I mean, Yoogeun. Yeah, did you hear about Yoogeun?"
Minho is half-smiling as he makes his way over. He nods, eyes crinkled up. "I did," he says. "When can I see him?"
Jinki blinks. "You mean you're - you're not afraid?"
Minho shrugs, smiling. "Well, if Kibum the human-hater is fine with him, he mustn't be that bad."
He's got a point. Jinki smiles back. "How 'bout tonight?"
Minho takes to Yoogeun immediately, and before long, he and Kibum are having a yelling match over Yoogeun, tugging the human boy around roughly until Yoogeun starts to cry and the lights flicker erratically.
Jonghyun whisks him away, pressing a kiss onto Yoogeun's mouth. "It's okay," he says.
"Well, if you want to compete, then fine!" Kibum is shrieking to Minho across the room. "Let's have an affection test!"
So the five of them end up standing at a corner while Yoogeun runs towards them. "Come to Minho appa," Minho says, beaming.
Yoogeun promptly dives into Kibum's arms. Minho's face falls, and Kibum makes a contented, triumphant noise as he picks Yoogeun up and spins around the room, the two of them laughing together. "I win!" Kibum crows, and Yoogeun giggles in his arms.
Then Jonghyun suggests they go out for dinner. "So what, we just waltz into a restaurant with a human?" Kibum says, rolling his eyes.
"We can disguise him," Taemin says. "He can be my baby brother."
Jinki blinks. "But Taemin-ah, he doesn't look the least bit like a monster." Or a monster that sort of resembles a rabbit, for that matter.
"Are you saying he's ugly?" Kibum accuses. "He's monstrous and beautiful, what are you talking about? He takes after me, after all."
"He's only monstrous when he cries," Jonghyun mutters, and Jinki hides a laugh behind his large furry palm.
They end up constructing an outfit for Yoogeun out of large chunks of material from the couch. Finally, Yoogeun beams up at them, clad in a spotted pink leathery outfit with boggly eyes and bunny ears.
"Look at him," Kibum says proudly, scooping Yoogeun up and dumping him into Taemin's arms. They do look like brothers; Jinki marvels at their designing skills - maybe if he didn't work out as a scarer, he could be a fashion designer.
They go to the restaurant together, and the waitress compliments Taemin for having such a lovely baby brother. "Say thank you, Yoogeun," Taemin says, and Yoogeun waggles his head, eyes shaking around wildly.
Kibum attempts to feed Yoogeun mud pancakes, but Yoogeun spits them all out and Kibum sighs, half-worried, half-frustrated. "I guess he just can't get used to the monster way of life," Kibum says mournfully.
"He doesn't belong here, Kibum." Jinki says.
There is a long period of silence for a while, where Kibum stares at Jinki, all his disappointment and hurt and anger in his large eyes. Then Minho breaks the silence. "Hey," he says. "You guys. Yoogeun's gone."
They discover a note tacked to the entrance of the restaurant. Looking for something? :)
"That's Jaejoong's handwriting," Kibum says, horrified. "Did he take Yoogeun?"
Jinki feels numb. If he hadn't been silent-arguing with Kibum, they'd be eating and talking and laughing happily, with Yoogeun sitting right there. And now Yoogeun was gone. Jinki is slightly surprised to discover that he is worried about Yoogeun, not about the fact that they might be caught for taking care of a human child.
"Let's go," he says.
"Go where?" Jonghyun wants to know. "We don't even know where they are."
"I have a feeling they might be at the company," Minho says. "If Jaejoong is there, Yoochun will be there too."
"But they don't even work there anymore," Taemin points out.
Kibum nods, throwing Minho a grateful look. "Precisely," he says. "They might be taking revenge."
"Revenge?" Jonghyun asks skeptically. "Kibum, this is real life, you know."
"You never know, there are always these lunatics trying to take over the world. Come on, let's hurry up."
Kibum whisks off, Taemin trailing behind him. Jonghyun raises his eyebrows at Jinki and Minho, who simply shrug and follow Kibum.
"Hey! Wait for me! Why are all of you going as crazy as Kibum! Guys? Hello?"
It is ten at night, so nobody is around - the time in SM Town differs from that of the human world's, which means they don't have to do their scares. The lights are off, and Kibum is clutching at Jinki's elbow, his nails cutting into Jinki's skin. "Shhh," Taemin says. "You never know, Chansung might still be around."
Jonghyun pulls a face. "That janitor snail? He's probably off eating somewhere."
"Hurry up, we have to find Yoogeun."
"And the bastards who kidnapped him," Kibum adds, scowling. "Those - those bastards."
"You already said that, by the way."
"Oh, shut up, Jjong."
They split up - Jonghyun, Key and Taemin together, and Jinki and Minho in the second group. "We'll take the upper two levels," Jonghyun suggest, and the three of them disappear, walking further on into the impenetrable darkness.
"Where do we go?"
Minho shrugs. "Let's check out the basement," he says, and Jinki nods. Along the way, he stumbles into something that makes a loud crashing noise, which Jinki presumes is the dustbin. Then someone is reaching out to steady him, and he hears Minho's voice, asking if he is okay.
"Yeah," Jinki says, his voice cracking a little. "Let's move on. We have to get to Yoogeun before... You know, before anything happens to him."
Minho curls his fingers around Jinki's hand tightly. "I'll keep you safe," he promises.
The doors to the basement are locked, and Jinki bangs them, but to no avail. And then he hears it - a heartwrenching wail that shakes the doors and makes the screens flicker and the lights turn back on again. He meets Minho's gaze. "Yoogeun," they both say at the same time.
Then there is a thundering sound that reminds Jinki of a herd of wild monsters, and then Taemin, Jonghyun and Kibum are right in front of them. "Did I hear right? Was it Yoogeun?" Kibum asks anxiously, and Jinki nods.
Jonghyun presses his shoulders against the doors, pushing as hard as he can. "Come on," he says, pointy teeth gritted together.
Yoogeun is silent now, and Jinki doesn't know if that is a good or bad thing. He moves to stand beside Jonghyun, bracing himself against the doors that simply will not budge. The other three come over to join in as well, and together, they push with all their might.
And then a sob pierces through the air and the doors shudder and swing open, and all five of them fall inside, tumbling into a mess of limbs and wings. Kibum coughs. "I think I just ate a bit of your fur," he tells Jinki, wincing.
"I'll go to check things out first," Taemin says, then his wings whir and he is off in the air.
"Be careful!" Kibum yells after Taemin, who does a little loop as if to say yes I know stop worrying about me so much.
Minho pulls them all up onto their feet. "Let's go," he says, and they slip as silently as they can past the beeping machines all around them.
"What is this place," Jonghyun whispers out of the corner of his mouth. "I never even knew this place existed."
"Probably somewhere they did their weird inventions in," Kibum hisses back. "Maybe that's why they got kicked out."
Jinki feels like something is trying to claw its way out of his throat. He swallows. "What if - what if they do something to Yoogeun?"
Three pairs of eyes stare back at him in horror. Kibum looks as if he's about to burst into tears, Jonghyun is gnawing at his lower lip, and Minho's gaze is hollow. "Just pretend I never said anything." Jinki mutters, feeling like the worst monster in the world.
Then Taemin screams, and Kibum really looks like he is on the verge of breaking down. Jonghyun nudges at his elbow, too short to reach his shoulders, and Kibum wipes at the tears shimmering on his scales. His hair is a silvery gray, his fear evident. "Let's go find Taemin," Kibum says, and they quicken their pace.
Then Jinki promptly bangs into thin air. "Seriously, I've always known you were clumsy but can you please not do stuff like that during an emergency?" Kibum snaps, but Jinki cannot answer because something is curling around his neck, strangling him, and Jinki feels like his eyeballs are about to fall out and roll around on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Minho asks, looking all concerned. Jinki gurgles in reply, the grip tightening on his throat, and even Kibum stops walking to stare at him.
"Hello there, my favorite juniors," a familiar voice says. Yoochun materializes into sight, and Jinki can finally see Yoochun's hands curled around his throat.
"Let go of him!" Jonghyun says, as Taemin's scream splits the air once again. Kibum glances from Taemin's direction and back to Jinki again, clearly torn.
"Not until we finish what we came to do," Yoochun says, smiling widely. "But then again, you've seen and heard too much, so we'll probably have to kill all of you off too."
Jonghyun takes a step backwards. Jinki feels like the world is turning into black-and-white, and everything is swirling further and further away from him and out of reach, and then someone is yanking him away and Jinki coughs and coughs and coughs until he can breathe once again.
Yoochun curses, and Jinki shrinks into Minho's arms, although there isn't much he can shrink into since Minho is half his size.
"Don't come here!" Taemin yells suddenly, and Kibum's eyes are wide and watery.
"Fuck," Kibum says out loud, looking lost and helpless. "Fuck you, Park Yoochun."
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in you," Yoochun says, and disappears.
"Fuck," Kibum repeats, squatting on the ground as if waiting for it to open up and swallow him whole. "What the fuck do we do now?"
Jinki staggers out of Minho's arms. "Let's go," he says, offering his hand to Kibum, who glances up at him, his scales shining with tears of frustration. He smiles just the slightest, and the raw panic on Kibum's face dulls a little. Kibum takes his hand, and then they are off, running as fast as they can while Jinki tries his best not to crash into anything.
Taemin is sitting on a chair, his hands and feet bound to it by bent pipes, and a metal helmet attached to his head. He is staring into the machine in front of him, which has a jagged line running across it. Jaejoong is standing in front of him, something that looks like a remote control in his pale hands. "Ready to scream, Taeminnie?" Jaejoong says.
Taemin's wings beat wildly and uselessly, and he closes his eyes and clamps his mouth shut. Jaejoong's grin widens, and he presses a button. Taemin screams, and the line on the screen shoots upwards as something invisible attacks Taemin.
Kibum is a trembling presence next to him, and Jinki grabs at his wrists. "It's dangerous, Kibum-ah."
"I don't give a fuck," Kibum hisses back at him, his hair streaked red and blue and white and green.
"Go ahead, then," Yoochun says out of thin air, and he appears leaning against a pillar, arms wrapped around a limp body.
Jinki sucks in a breath, recognizing the pink outfit and the bunny ears, of which one is left. "What did you do to him!" He yells.
Yoochun's lips curve upwards into a smirk. "None of your business," he retorts. "Since when were you a member of the Human Rights Association?"
Kibum makes a low noise that is a mixture of a growl and a hiss. "I'll get you back for this," he says, and then he wrenches himself out of Jinki's grip and lunges at Yoochun, who vanishes again. Kibum grabs at the pillar to steady himself, eyes still wild.
"Get Taemin first," Minho says quietly. "We can't get Yoogeun while he's still invisible."
"Don't encourage him, Minho," Jinki begins, but it's too late, because now Kibum is darting across the room. Jonghyun gives a muttered curse, and they all follow after Kibum.
Kibum barrels straight into Jaejoong's stomach, and they both fall, rolling around on the ground. The remote slips out of Jaejoong's hands and Jonghyun dives for it, staring at the device in his hands. "How do I make it stop!" He shrieks, running over to stand in front of Taemin, who is deathly pale.
"Maybe you could try pressing the stop button?" Minho suggests, and Jonghyun presses it. Taemin's eyes flutter open weakly, and Jonghyun tugs all the equipment off the younger monster.
"Please tell me you're okay, Taemin-ah," Jonghyun says. "Fuck, help me out here, Jinki, I can't untie these ropes."
"Pipes," Jinki corrects, and he wrenches the metal pipes off Taemin, bending them the other way round. Taemin slithers off from the chair and onto the floor, and Minho immediately catches him before he can crumple.
"Hello, can one of you help me out here?" Kibum says loudly.
Jonghyun's eyes widen in realization. "Oh," he says, and moves over to attempt to pull Jaejoong off Kibum.
"Yoochun!" Jaejoong shrieks at the air, and Yoochun says, "But I'm still holding that boy, I can't help you out here."
Jinki has an idea. He closes his eyes and walks in the direction of Yoochun's voice, hands fumbling around blindly.
"Whoa," Yoochun says, sounding close to where Jinki is. "Are you trying to bang into me or something? Because that could be a big mistake, especially when I'm holding onto your precious -"
"I think you should open your eyes, Jinki," Minho suggests. "You trip even when your eyes are open."
Jinki opens his eyes, blinking at the sudden surge of light in his vision. He stumbles forward, arms stretched out in front of him, and it is purely a coincidence when he bumps into someone invisible, and they all go sprawling onto the floor.
Yoochun yelps, shimmering back into vision, and Minho lunges forward to whisk Yoogeun out of his arms. Jinki, unsure of what else he can do, ends up sitting on Yoochun.
"Yoogeun-ah," Minho says. "Yoogeun? Can you hear me?"
Yoogeun stirs, and his eyes flash open. "Appa," he says, and Minho looks as if he's about to cry as he clutches the human boy to his chest.
When Jinki looks over, he sees Jaejoong sitting by the wall, arms bound by the pipes he'd used on Taemin before. Kibum is supporting Taemin, whose face is ashen.
"I think," Jinki says, swallowing. He glances over at Yoogeun, who is still pale. "I think it's time to send Yoogeun back. To where he belongs."
Minho meets his gaze and nods. "I agree," he says. "This isn't the right place for him."
"Kibum?" Jonghyun asks.
Kibum looks away, mouth tightly drawn. "I guess," he says finally, and Taemin pats his arm comfortingly.
They walk in silence to the Scare Room, even though Jinki hears Kibum's breath hitch when Yoogeun's door slides in front of them. Yoogeun tilts his head at the sight of the door to his room, and smiles when he points at it.
"Come on," Jonghyun says, going over to open the door. Yoogeun struggles out of Minho's hold and runs into his room, looking the same as the last time Jinki had seen it.
"Appa?" Yoogeun says, trotting back to the five of them. He tugs at Kibum's hand, pointing towards his bed.
Kibum is smiling as he bends down to press a kiss onto Yoogeun's forehead. "Appa can't go with you," he says. "Listen to your parents, okay?"
"Key appa?"
Kibum sniffles a little. "Key appa can't go with you," he repeats.
Then the rest of them go over, hugging Yoogeun for one last time and telling him to be obedient and nice. Yoogeun blinks up at them, eyes wide and confused, and Jinki is the last to leave.
"Onew appa," Yoogeun says, and Jinki feels his heart waver for a second. He turns around and waves.
"Bye, Yoogeun-ah," he says, and closes the door.
Lee Jinki is the top singer of SM Entertainment, the company which generates power from the applause of children in order to produce electricity for SM Town, a monster-populated city.
After experiments conducted, they'd discovered that children's applause actually generated thrice as much energy as compared to screams. And Jinki has finally discovered something he is actually good at (besides, even if he tripped and fell, the children still applauded anyway, mostly while howling in laughter).
Jonghyun is one of the top singers as well - lucky monster, he was good at both -, Kibum and Taemin are one of the best dancers, and Minho is one of the top rappers. The CEO ends up grouping them into a group called SHINee, and Jinki wonders if someday, they'll be able to perform for Yoogeun and earn his applause.
It's been five years since they'd last seen Yoogeun - the human boy is probably seven or eight now. Today Jinki cracks the door open, and as usual, feels a twinge of anticipation as he lets himself imagine the possibility of seeing Yoogeun standing there.
"Baby," Jonghyun sings, and a child steps out of the shadows, eyes large and bright.
"Jonghyunnie appa?" He says, and Jinki finds himself grinning.
A/N: no hyungs here because idk it seemed kind of weird in this setting? also, i imagined onew to look mostly like the actual monster in monsters inc (sully, i think he was called?), jonghyun to look like that dinosaur from toy story, key to look a little like a snake, taemin to be an adorable rabbit with wings, and minho to be just really skinny lol. yoochun was supposed to be like randalph (was that his name?) and jaejoong... i didn't really think about it lmao :( thanks for reading this fic of fail :')
gen
5678 words
Lee Jinki is the top scarer of SM Scream Factory, the company which generates power from the screams of children in order to produce electricity for SM Town, a monster-populated city.
monstersinc!AU aka idk what i was thinking ;____;
sm scream factory
Lee Jinki is the top scarer of SM Scream Factory, the company which generates power from the screams of children in order to produce electricity for SM Town, a monster-populated city.
Well, not exactly. But a monster can dream, which is what Jinki is doing. Honestly, though, Jinki is not the least bit scary. Every time he gathers up the vocal power to roar or growl, or even start to raise his hands and arrange his features into a menacing look, he somehow manages to do something stupid like trip over a toy train or slip on the rubber chicken lying on the floor.
Tripping doesn't make a child scream - except scream with laughter, which isn't the kind of scream Jinki was going for -, and this depresses Jinki tremendously. He's a monster, and monsters are supposed to be scary and well, monstrous.
"It's okay," his room-mate, Kibum, says encouragingly when he catches Jinki attempting to look ferocious into the mirror for the tenth time that night. "You'll get there soon."
But Jinki doesn't want to get there soon, Jinki wants to get there now. He sighs, his shoulders drooping dejectedly. "Maybe I'll just quit," he says mournfully, although it's been his dream since he was a monstertot to be a scarer. "I'd be better off bagging jellied eyes and blood-flavored chips in the monstermart."
Kibum flips his fringe out of his eyes. His hair is streaked red, which means he's annoyed. "Stop being a loser," Kibum says. "Nobody eats jellied eyes anymore, anyway."
That wasn't exactly encouragement, but Kibum has always been stingy with praise, and by his standards, this was a truckload of compliments. Jinki smiles. "Thanks, Kibum-ah."
"We're going to be late for work, you idiots," Jonghyun says, barging into the bathroom. "What are the two of you doing inside here?"
Kibum gives Jonghyun a once-over. "I think you shrank," Kibum says, and Jonghyun gasps in horror, thundering towards the height chart pasted on the wall.
"He was just joking," Jinki says helpfully, and Jonghyun sighs, clearly relieved.
"But honestly, though," Kibum says, heading to the door. "You need to grow, minisaur."
Jonghyun huffs in annoyance, following after Kibum. "I'm a dinosaur, mister," he informs Kibum loftily. "With a capital D."
"A capital D doesn't make you any taller," Kibum says, snorting, and Jinki shakes his head as he locks the door behind them. Another typical day in SM Town.
"Good luck, mate," Jonghyun says, patting Jinki's shoulder encouragingly, although he has to tiptoe in order to reach Jinki.
"You too," Jinki responds. "Well, actually, you don't need the luck at all."
Jonghyun beams proudly. He is one of the top scarers of SM Scream Factory, and working his way up to the top everyday. Jinki has no idea how he does it - would a child really be afraid of a short, harmless-looking dinosaur like Jonghyun?
"Jinki, it's your turn," Taemin, Jinki's door-operator, calls. Jinki makes his way over, and Taemin smiles at him. "Ready for the screams?"
Jinki gives him a weak smile in return. "I hope."
Taemin's talon hovers over a big red button. "Good luck," Taemin says, pressing the button. A door comes to a stop above them, then moves slowly towards the ground, landing with a thud. Jinki takes a deep breath, then steps forward and opens the door as quietly as he can.
All is dark, and Jinki can see the silhouette of a child on the bed, probably having nice, sweet dreams. He or she didn't need a monster to disturb the peace and serenity, much less scare them. See, this is the reason why Jinki cannot be a good scarer - he doesn't have the heart to bring little innocent human children to tears. They were human, those harmless, daft people - was it really ethical to scare them?
The door clicks shut behind him. Jinki sighs, creeping slowly towards the bed. When he gets nearer, he sucks in a breath to puff up his chest. I am scary, Jinki thinks. I am the scariest monster.
He opens his mouth to roar as loud as he can, but then his foot steps on something squishy that emits a squawking noise. Not the chicken, Jinki thinks, pained. Anything but the chicken.
Given his luck, it is that annoying rubber chicken that is the bane of his existence. The child stirs as Jinki bends over to disentangle his toes from the squawking object. "Umma?" It's a little girl, probably four or five. Time to scare.
Jinki straightens up, towering over the girl, and gathers up the power to roar again, but then he hears a laugh, tinkling like golden bells. Jinki blinks. The girl points at him, and Jinki peers himself at the mirror, only to discover that there is a pair of underpants hanging from his ears. He winces, extracting the piece of human artifact and tossing it onto the ground. "Bye," he says mournfully to the girl, who is still giggling.
He opens the door again, refusing to meet Taemin's disappointed gaze. "Next time," Taemin says brightly, and Jinki just sighs.
When he was just a monstertot, his grandfather used to tell him stories about being a scarer. "Jinki-yah," his grandfather had said. "Being a scarer is a respectable job. Without scarers, SM Town will be nothing."
And then his grandfather had gone on to describe the thrill that throbbed along his veins whenever he heard the panicked screams of the human children. Jinki hadn't been paying attention, though, he'd been too busy dreaming of a future where he would be the top scarer of the city. His grandfather had died before Jinki had become a scarer, which was why Jinki couldn't ask him for advice.
A scream reverberates throughout the Scare Room, and Jinki glances over to see Jonghyun stepping out smugly, closing the door behind him. He gives Minho, his door-opener, a thumbs-up. Minho grins back at him, removing the scream canister from its hook and trudging off to hand it over to the canister collectors.
Jinki rubs his spotted forehead wearily. Why was he the only one who found it so difficult to scare children? Everyone seemed to find it like a stroll in the park.
A bell rings, signalling break time. Kibum darts over. "Let's go," he says. "Some food will cheer you up."
He hasn't even said anything, and Kibum already knows he's failed for the 1805th time. He'd probably go on failing until the 5081st time, anyway. Jinki shakes his head. "I'm not hungry," he mumbles. "Go with Jonghyun."
Kibum makes a face, then drifts off to look for Jonghyun. When everyone has gone to the monstercafe, Jinki sighs and sits down on the ground, alone in the midst of millions of doors leading to human bedrooms.
Maybe, Jinki thinks idly. Maybe I'll be able to do it this time. Courage, Jinki, courage. Be a monster.
He gets up and walks over to the place Taemin has vacated, then presses the big red button. A door arrives in front of him, and Jinki twists the knob open. He pokes his head inside the dark room. "Hello?"
Nobody responds, and well, Jinki hadn't exactly been expecting a welcome greeting. He steps inside, taking small, quiet steps towards the bed. "Roar!" Jinki says.
Nothing happens. Nobody screams, or even laughs. Jinki peers down at the bed, then pokes the lump of blankets. It is soft, which means there is no child here.
A chance wasted, Jinki thinks sadly, and makes his way back out again. He closes the door behind him, letting it creak back to its original position. Maybe Kibum was right - some chocolate-covered shells would help a lot at this point of time.
He's about to leave when a flash of movement catches his eye. Jinki turns, only to see a little boy standing there staring at him. A little human boy.
Jinki stares back. Nobody's ever taught him what to do in a situation like this - when you accidentally let a human child into the world of monsters. Is he supposed to send him back? Is he supposed to call the authorities?
"Appa," the boy says, tottering over to Jinki. He buries his face into Jinki's fur, and Jinki freezes. Humans are supposed to be contaminating and disgusting and covered with germs, and here was this human pressing his face into Jinki's fur. Seriously, what was he supposed to do?
The bell rings again, which means that break time has come to an end. Jinki grabs the boy, tucking him into the shelter of his arm and running out. "Hey," Kibum says along the way, reaching out to touch Jinki, but Jinki just barrels past him. This is an emergency. This is a national emergency.
Where to go next? Jinki wonders. What to do?
The bathroom seems to be empty, so Jinki ducks inside. Maybe he could take the time to calm down and formulate a plan. He sets the little boy gently down onto the ground.
"Hi," Jinki says. He doesn't think being scary would solve the problem right now - more like the boy would either scream his head off or laugh until he fell down, or something. Which really, wouldn't help one bit. "My name is Jinki."
"Onew," the boy says, blinking up at him. "Onew appa."
Jinki gives him a weird look. Jinki most certainly didn't sound like Onew at all, but well, you never knew with humans. A bit daft in the head, really. "What's your name?"
The boy smiles. "Yoogeun," he says. "Jung Yoogeun."
Jinki nods. "Yoogeun," he tries, and the boy giggles. Yoogeun looks like he's about two or three - Jinki's never gotten the hang of human ages. He does look sort of adorable though, with big eyes and a sunshine smile.
The boy toddles forward, and Jinki takes a step back, paws outstretched. "No," he says, panicking. "No no no no no, Yoogeun, no."
Yoogeun stops, head tilted to the side. His eyes are starting to water and his mouth is opening and his face is crinkled up in concentration. Jinki hurries forward before Yoogeun can cry, scooping him up in his arms. "Okay, okay," Jinki says soothingly. "See? You're touching me. You're happy. Don't cry."
Yoogeun grabs fistfuls of Jinki's fur and smiles, the tears gone. Jinki sighs, hoping he won't shrivel up and die from - shudder - human touch.
The door swings open, and Jinki hurriedly hides Yoogeun behind his back. It is Kibum, his eyes blazing. "What's up with you?" Kibum says suspiciously. "You've been acting really weird."
Jinki offers a hesitant smile. "Nothing," he says. "I'm just here to. You know. Pee."
Kibum takes a step forward, and Jinki shuffles backward. One step forward, another step backward. "Seriously, are you hiding something from me?"
"Nope," Jinki says. "Why would I hide anything from you?"
Kibum darts towards Jinki, and Jinki spins around quickly. "You're hiding something!" Kibum accuses.
And then there is the sound of a hiccup. Kibum narrows his eyes, and Jinki squeezes his eyes shut, weary. "Okay," Jinki says. "Promise me you won't scream."
"I won't," Kibum says.
Jinki reaches behind him and pulls out Yoogeun, who is still hiccuping. Kibum promptly screams, his hair turning green from fear.
"Jonghyunnie appa!"
Jonghyun looks as if he's about to cry as he clambers onto the couch. "Get it away from me!" He says pitifully.
Kibum turns to glare at Jinki. "Look at the mess you've created," he snaps. "Kidnapping a human child - what in Monsus' name were you thinking?"
"I didn't kidnap him," Jinki protests. "He came after me!"
Kibum snorts. "He came after you? You're a monster, in case you forgot."
"Do you mind taking care of him for a while?" Jinki asks. "I have to take a shower."
Kibum looks horrified. Even Jonghyun stops jumping up and down. "I didn't ask to be subjected to this - this human's toxicity!" Kibum says viciously. Jinki just shuffles into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
When he comes out after a warm shower, he's surprised to see Kibum, Jonghyun and Yoogeun all sitting on the floor together. "You like Key appa more, don't you?" Kibum says, beaming happily at Yoogeun.
"No," Jonghyun protests, tugging Yoogeun over. He's gotten rid of all his scuba equipment he'd used to shield himself from Yoogeun. "You like Jonghyunnie appa, right?"
"Onew appa!" Yoogeun says, pointing at Jinki.
"So," Jinki says, after a beat of silence. "I see you guys have become friends?"
Kibum sniffs. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
Yoogeun sits on Kibum's lap, pressing his fingers against Kibum's neck. "Key appa," he says, and Kibum smiles down at him. Jinki and Jonghyun exchange matching looks that say look at him, that idiot, still trying to deny it.
"But still," Jonghyun says, sighing. "We have to send him back to where he belongs."
Kibum shakes his head. "But he loves me," he protests. Yoogeun is sucking his thumb as he presses close to Kibum, seemingly unaffected by his reptile-like skin.
Jonghyun bends down to meet Yoogeun's eyes - he doesn't have to bend much, actually. "Yoogeun-ah," he says. "Do you want to go home?"
Yoogeun sticks out his tongue. "I don't want to."
"See," Kibum says, triumphant. "He doesn't want to!" He whirls around to stare at Jinki. "Right?"
Jinki shrugs. "We can't keep him here." That should have been obvious.
Kibum's face falls. "And I thought you'd be on my side," he says. "You were the one who brought him here, and now you say we can't keep him? What are you thinking?"
"I just want him to go home," Jinki says tiredly. Jonghyun nods in agreement. "Kibum, we'll get into trouble if they find out."
"Trouble," Kibum says. "As if we're not already in big enough trouble. As if you're not already in trouble for kidnapping a human child."
"I said I didn't kidnap him!" Jinki says loudly.
The sudden loud burst from Jinki startles Yoogeun, whose face wrinkles up. "Oh no," Jonghyun says, and Yoogeun promptly bursts into tears.
The light starts to flicker, and music starts to blast as the radio turns on by itself. "Shhhh," Jinki says, bending down to poke Yoogeun. "It's okay."
Yoogeun grabs his claw. "Onew appa!" Cue rainbows and butterflies.
Jonghyun sighs, slumping down onto the couch. "I thought we were going to die."
It's Kibum turn to peer down at Yoogeun. "You don't want to leave Key appa, do you?" He coos, ruffling Yoogeun's hair.
"Don't want to," Yoogeun responds, clambering back onto Kibum's lap and beaming.
Jonghyun shakes his head, exasperated. "I think that's the only phrase he knows," he remarks. "It doesn't mean anything."
Kibum looks offended. "Are you questioning Yoogeun's intelligence?"
"Kibum, you were the one who went around telling everyone how stupid humans were," Jinki reminds. "You made signs and posters and all that."
"Well," Kibum says, curling his arms around Yoogeun, who snuggles closer. "My son's an exception, of course."
Jinki and Jonghyun turn to each other at the same time; Jinki can see the question-marks popping up around Jonghyun's head, and is pretty sure he looks the same too. Then Yoogeun gurgles with laughter, and Kibum is laughing along too, and Jinki tells himself to forget the risk and the danger for a moment, and just admire the beautiful scene.
"One week," Kibum pleads. "Let's keep him just for one week."
Jinki sighs, tired. "Kibum, if we do this any longer, we're going to get caught." He eyes Kibum for a while. "You've already told half the people we know."
"Not exactly," Kibum says. "It was just Minho and Taemin, come on! They're our friends, they deserve to know!"
"Four more days," Jinki says finally.
"Two."
"No bargaining," Jinki says. "Three and that's final."
"Deal," Kibum says, grinning. His hair is streaked yellow and orange, which means that he's both happy and excited.
He dances off, waving his arms in the air and nearly bumping into Chansung, who looks up balefully from his cleaning equipment. "Careful!" Jinki yells after him. The only time Kibum ever falls down is when he gets so excited he basically crashes into everything in sight.
"What's he so hyper about?" Taemin asks curiously.
"You know," Jinki says. "He told you, didn't he?"
Understanding dawns on Taemin's face. "Oh," he says, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. "You mean about the human boy?"
"Shhhh," Jinki hisses. "Don't say it out loud!"
"Say what?" Taemin asks, confused. "Oh, you mean human -"
"Just call him Yoogeun," Jinki says. "Don't mention a thing related to the h-word."
"Okay," Taemin says, smiling. "Oh hey, Minho, did you hear about the hu -"
"Yoogeun." Jinki whispers out of the corner of his mouth.
"Oh yeah, I mean, Yoogeun. Yeah, did you hear about Yoogeun?"
Minho is half-smiling as he makes his way over. He nods, eyes crinkled up. "I did," he says. "When can I see him?"
Jinki blinks. "You mean you're - you're not afraid?"
Minho shrugs, smiling. "Well, if Kibum the human-hater is fine with him, he mustn't be that bad."
He's got a point. Jinki smiles back. "How 'bout tonight?"
Minho takes to Yoogeun immediately, and before long, he and Kibum are having a yelling match over Yoogeun, tugging the human boy around roughly until Yoogeun starts to cry and the lights flicker erratically.
Jonghyun whisks him away, pressing a kiss onto Yoogeun's mouth. "It's okay," he says.
"Well, if you want to compete, then fine!" Kibum is shrieking to Minho across the room. "Let's have an affection test!"
So the five of them end up standing at a corner while Yoogeun runs towards them. "Come to Minho appa," Minho says, beaming.
Yoogeun promptly dives into Kibum's arms. Minho's face falls, and Kibum makes a contented, triumphant noise as he picks Yoogeun up and spins around the room, the two of them laughing together. "I win!" Kibum crows, and Yoogeun giggles in his arms.
Then Jonghyun suggests they go out for dinner. "So what, we just waltz into a restaurant with a human?" Kibum says, rolling his eyes.
"We can disguise him," Taemin says. "He can be my baby brother."
Jinki blinks. "But Taemin-ah, he doesn't look the least bit like a monster." Or a monster that sort of resembles a rabbit, for that matter.
"Are you saying he's ugly?" Kibum accuses. "He's monstrous and beautiful, what are you talking about? He takes after me, after all."
"He's only monstrous when he cries," Jonghyun mutters, and Jinki hides a laugh behind his large furry palm.
They end up constructing an outfit for Yoogeun out of large chunks of material from the couch. Finally, Yoogeun beams up at them, clad in a spotted pink leathery outfit with boggly eyes and bunny ears.
"Look at him," Kibum says proudly, scooping Yoogeun up and dumping him into Taemin's arms. They do look like brothers; Jinki marvels at their designing skills - maybe if he didn't work out as a scarer, he could be a fashion designer.
They go to the restaurant together, and the waitress compliments Taemin for having such a lovely baby brother. "Say thank you, Yoogeun," Taemin says, and Yoogeun waggles his head, eyes shaking around wildly.
Kibum attempts to feed Yoogeun mud pancakes, but Yoogeun spits them all out and Kibum sighs, half-worried, half-frustrated. "I guess he just can't get used to the monster way of life," Kibum says mournfully.
"He doesn't belong here, Kibum." Jinki says.
There is a long period of silence for a while, where Kibum stares at Jinki, all his disappointment and hurt and anger in his large eyes. Then Minho breaks the silence. "Hey," he says. "You guys. Yoogeun's gone."
They discover a note tacked to the entrance of the restaurant. Looking for something? :)
"That's Jaejoong's handwriting," Kibum says, horrified. "Did he take Yoogeun?"
Jinki feels numb. If he hadn't been silent-arguing with Kibum, they'd be eating and talking and laughing happily, with Yoogeun sitting right there. And now Yoogeun was gone. Jinki is slightly surprised to discover that he is worried about Yoogeun, not about the fact that they might be caught for taking care of a human child.
"Let's go," he says.
"Go where?" Jonghyun wants to know. "We don't even know where they are."
"I have a feeling they might be at the company," Minho says. "If Jaejoong is there, Yoochun will be there too."
"But they don't even work there anymore," Taemin points out.
Kibum nods, throwing Minho a grateful look. "Precisely," he says. "They might be taking revenge."
"Revenge?" Jonghyun asks skeptically. "Kibum, this is real life, you know."
"You never know, there are always these lunatics trying to take over the world. Come on, let's hurry up."
Kibum whisks off, Taemin trailing behind him. Jonghyun raises his eyebrows at Jinki and Minho, who simply shrug and follow Kibum.
"Hey! Wait for me! Why are all of you going as crazy as Kibum! Guys? Hello?"
It is ten at night, so nobody is around - the time in SM Town differs from that of the human world's, which means they don't have to do their scares. The lights are off, and Kibum is clutching at Jinki's elbow, his nails cutting into Jinki's skin. "Shhh," Taemin says. "You never know, Chansung might still be around."
Jonghyun pulls a face. "That janitor snail? He's probably off eating somewhere."
"Hurry up, we have to find Yoogeun."
"And the bastards who kidnapped him," Kibum adds, scowling. "Those - those bastards."
"You already said that, by the way."
"Oh, shut up, Jjong."
They split up - Jonghyun, Key and Taemin together, and Jinki and Minho in the second group. "We'll take the upper two levels," Jonghyun suggest, and the three of them disappear, walking further on into the impenetrable darkness.
"Where do we go?"
Minho shrugs. "Let's check out the basement," he says, and Jinki nods. Along the way, he stumbles into something that makes a loud crashing noise, which Jinki presumes is the dustbin. Then someone is reaching out to steady him, and he hears Minho's voice, asking if he is okay.
"Yeah," Jinki says, his voice cracking a little. "Let's move on. We have to get to Yoogeun before... You know, before anything happens to him."
Minho curls his fingers around Jinki's hand tightly. "I'll keep you safe," he promises.
The doors to the basement are locked, and Jinki bangs them, but to no avail. And then he hears it - a heartwrenching wail that shakes the doors and makes the screens flicker and the lights turn back on again. He meets Minho's gaze. "Yoogeun," they both say at the same time.
Then there is a thundering sound that reminds Jinki of a herd of wild monsters, and then Taemin, Jonghyun and Kibum are right in front of them. "Did I hear right? Was it Yoogeun?" Kibum asks anxiously, and Jinki nods.
Jonghyun presses his shoulders against the doors, pushing as hard as he can. "Come on," he says, pointy teeth gritted together.
Yoogeun is silent now, and Jinki doesn't know if that is a good or bad thing. He moves to stand beside Jonghyun, bracing himself against the doors that simply will not budge. The other three come over to join in as well, and together, they push with all their might.
And then a sob pierces through the air and the doors shudder and swing open, and all five of them fall inside, tumbling into a mess of limbs and wings. Kibum coughs. "I think I just ate a bit of your fur," he tells Jinki, wincing.
"I'll go to check things out first," Taemin says, then his wings whir and he is off in the air.
"Be careful!" Kibum yells after Taemin, who does a little loop as if to say yes I know stop worrying about me so much.
Minho pulls them all up onto their feet. "Let's go," he says, and they slip as silently as they can past the beeping machines all around them.
"What is this place," Jonghyun whispers out of the corner of his mouth. "I never even knew this place existed."
"Probably somewhere they did their weird inventions in," Kibum hisses back. "Maybe that's why they got kicked out."
Jinki feels like something is trying to claw its way out of his throat. He swallows. "What if - what if they do something to Yoogeun?"
Three pairs of eyes stare back at him in horror. Kibum looks as if he's about to burst into tears, Jonghyun is gnawing at his lower lip, and Minho's gaze is hollow. "Just pretend I never said anything." Jinki mutters, feeling like the worst monster in the world.
Then Taemin screams, and Kibum really looks like he is on the verge of breaking down. Jonghyun nudges at his elbow, too short to reach his shoulders, and Kibum wipes at the tears shimmering on his scales. His hair is a silvery gray, his fear evident. "Let's go find Taemin," Kibum says, and they quicken their pace.
Then Jinki promptly bangs into thin air. "Seriously, I've always known you were clumsy but can you please not do stuff like that during an emergency?" Kibum snaps, but Jinki cannot answer because something is curling around his neck, strangling him, and Jinki feels like his eyeballs are about to fall out and roll around on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Minho asks, looking all concerned. Jinki gurgles in reply, the grip tightening on his throat, and even Kibum stops walking to stare at him.
"Hello there, my favorite juniors," a familiar voice says. Yoochun materializes into sight, and Jinki can finally see Yoochun's hands curled around his throat.
"Let go of him!" Jonghyun says, as Taemin's scream splits the air once again. Kibum glances from Taemin's direction and back to Jinki again, clearly torn.
"Not until we finish what we came to do," Yoochun says, smiling widely. "But then again, you've seen and heard too much, so we'll probably have to kill all of you off too."
Jonghyun takes a step backwards. Jinki feels like the world is turning into black-and-white, and everything is swirling further and further away from him and out of reach, and then someone is yanking him away and Jinki coughs and coughs and coughs until he can breathe once again.
Yoochun curses, and Jinki shrinks into Minho's arms, although there isn't much he can shrink into since Minho is half his size.
"Don't come here!" Taemin yells suddenly, and Kibum's eyes are wide and watery.
"Fuck," Kibum says out loud, looking lost and helpless. "Fuck you, Park Yoochun."
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in you," Yoochun says, and disappears.
"Fuck," Kibum repeats, squatting on the ground as if waiting for it to open up and swallow him whole. "What the fuck do we do now?"
Jinki staggers out of Minho's arms. "Let's go," he says, offering his hand to Kibum, who glances up at him, his scales shining with tears of frustration. He smiles just the slightest, and the raw panic on Kibum's face dulls a little. Kibum takes his hand, and then they are off, running as fast as they can while Jinki tries his best not to crash into anything.
Taemin is sitting on a chair, his hands and feet bound to it by bent pipes, and a metal helmet attached to his head. He is staring into the machine in front of him, which has a jagged line running across it. Jaejoong is standing in front of him, something that looks like a remote control in his pale hands. "Ready to scream, Taeminnie?" Jaejoong says.
Taemin's wings beat wildly and uselessly, and he closes his eyes and clamps his mouth shut. Jaejoong's grin widens, and he presses a button. Taemin screams, and the line on the screen shoots upwards as something invisible attacks Taemin.
Kibum is a trembling presence next to him, and Jinki grabs at his wrists. "It's dangerous, Kibum-ah."
"I don't give a fuck," Kibum hisses back at him, his hair streaked red and blue and white and green.
"Go ahead, then," Yoochun says out of thin air, and he appears leaning against a pillar, arms wrapped around a limp body.
Jinki sucks in a breath, recognizing the pink outfit and the bunny ears, of which one is left. "What did you do to him!" He yells.
Yoochun's lips curve upwards into a smirk. "None of your business," he retorts. "Since when were you a member of the Human Rights Association?"
Kibum makes a low noise that is a mixture of a growl and a hiss. "I'll get you back for this," he says, and then he wrenches himself out of Jinki's grip and lunges at Yoochun, who vanishes again. Kibum grabs at the pillar to steady himself, eyes still wild.
"Get Taemin first," Minho says quietly. "We can't get Yoogeun while he's still invisible."
"Don't encourage him, Minho," Jinki begins, but it's too late, because now Kibum is darting across the room. Jonghyun gives a muttered curse, and they all follow after Kibum.
Kibum barrels straight into Jaejoong's stomach, and they both fall, rolling around on the ground. The remote slips out of Jaejoong's hands and Jonghyun dives for it, staring at the device in his hands. "How do I make it stop!" He shrieks, running over to stand in front of Taemin, who is deathly pale.
"Maybe you could try pressing the stop button?" Minho suggests, and Jonghyun presses it. Taemin's eyes flutter open weakly, and Jonghyun tugs all the equipment off the younger monster.
"Please tell me you're okay, Taemin-ah," Jonghyun says. "Fuck, help me out here, Jinki, I can't untie these ropes."
"Pipes," Jinki corrects, and he wrenches the metal pipes off Taemin, bending them the other way round. Taemin slithers off from the chair and onto the floor, and Minho immediately catches him before he can crumple.
"Hello, can one of you help me out here?" Kibum says loudly.
Jonghyun's eyes widen in realization. "Oh," he says, and moves over to attempt to pull Jaejoong off Kibum.
"Yoochun!" Jaejoong shrieks at the air, and Yoochun says, "But I'm still holding that boy, I can't help you out here."
Jinki has an idea. He closes his eyes and walks in the direction of Yoochun's voice, hands fumbling around blindly.
"Whoa," Yoochun says, sounding close to where Jinki is. "Are you trying to bang into me or something? Because that could be a big mistake, especially when I'm holding onto your precious -"
"I think you should open your eyes, Jinki," Minho suggests. "You trip even when your eyes are open."
Jinki opens his eyes, blinking at the sudden surge of light in his vision. He stumbles forward, arms stretched out in front of him, and it is purely a coincidence when he bumps into someone invisible, and they all go sprawling onto the floor.
Yoochun yelps, shimmering back into vision, and Minho lunges forward to whisk Yoogeun out of his arms. Jinki, unsure of what else he can do, ends up sitting on Yoochun.
"Yoogeun-ah," Minho says. "Yoogeun? Can you hear me?"
Yoogeun stirs, and his eyes flash open. "Appa," he says, and Minho looks as if he's about to cry as he clutches the human boy to his chest.
When Jinki looks over, he sees Jaejoong sitting by the wall, arms bound by the pipes he'd used on Taemin before. Kibum is supporting Taemin, whose face is ashen.
"I think," Jinki says, swallowing. He glances over at Yoogeun, who is still pale. "I think it's time to send Yoogeun back. To where he belongs."
Minho meets his gaze and nods. "I agree," he says. "This isn't the right place for him."
"Kibum?" Jonghyun asks.
Kibum looks away, mouth tightly drawn. "I guess," he says finally, and Taemin pats his arm comfortingly.
They walk in silence to the Scare Room, even though Jinki hears Kibum's breath hitch when Yoogeun's door slides in front of them. Yoogeun tilts his head at the sight of the door to his room, and smiles when he points at it.
"Come on," Jonghyun says, going over to open the door. Yoogeun struggles out of Minho's hold and runs into his room, looking the same as the last time Jinki had seen it.
"Appa?" Yoogeun says, trotting back to the five of them. He tugs at Kibum's hand, pointing towards his bed.
Kibum is smiling as he bends down to press a kiss onto Yoogeun's forehead. "Appa can't go with you," he says. "Listen to your parents, okay?"
"Key appa?"
Kibum sniffles a little. "Key appa can't go with you," he repeats.
Then the rest of them go over, hugging Yoogeun for one last time and telling him to be obedient and nice. Yoogeun blinks up at them, eyes wide and confused, and Jinki is the last to leave.
"Onew appa," Yoogeun says, and Jinki feels his heart waver for a second. He turns around and waves.
"Bye, Yoogeun-ah," he says, and closes the door.
Lee Jinki is the top singer of SM Entertainment, the company which generates power from the applause of children in order to produce electricity for SM Town, a monster-populated city.
After experiments conducted, they'd discovered that children's applause actually generated thrice as much energy as compared to screams. And Jinki has finally discovered something he is actually good at (besides, even if he tripped and fell, the children still applauded anyway, mostly while howling in laughter).
Jonghyun is one of the top singers as well - lucky monster, he was good at both -, Kibum and Taemin are one of the best dancers, and Minho is one of the top rappers. The CEO ends up grouping them into a group called SHINee, and Jinki wonders if someday, they'll be able to perform for Yoogeun and earn his applause.
It's been five years since they'd last seen Yoogeun - the human boy is probably seven or eight now. Today Jinki cracks the door open, and as usual, feels a twinge of anticipation as he lets himself imagine the possibility of seeing Yoogeun standing there.
"Baby," Jonghyun sings, and a child steps out of the shadows, eyes large and bright.
"Jonghyunnie appa?" He says, and Jinki finds himself grinning.
A/N: no hyungs here because idk it seemed kind of weird in this setting? also, i imagined onew to look mostly like the actual monster in monsters inc (sully, i think he was called?), jonghyun to look like that dinosaur from toy story, key to look a little like a snake, taemin to be an adorable rabbit with wings, and minho to be just really skinny lol. yoochun was supposed to be like randalph (was that his name?) and jaejoong... i didn't really think about it lmao :( thanks for reading this fic of fail :')