#(plus more! this isn't all of the creatures I photographed today!)

[robinsceramics]

February 2023 photoshoot: best of!

[image descriptions: photographs of various small ceramic animals. there is a multiple-tailed red fox wearing a black mask, a creature like a wolf with bunny ears, a white pangolin, a yellow rat, a speckled pale-green chinchilla with its paws on a 20-sided die, a frog-like creature with bulgy eyes, a white two-tailed fox looking over its shoulder, and a blue bunny with a white moon on its flank standing up on its hind legs. The animals are displayed on different colors of minky fabric and clear glass.]

[siimjaeyun]

Chapter 1: Beast from Below

Synopsis: When five teens set their hearts on mystery solving, maybe they'll just uncover something that's a lot bigger than fake masks.

Series Masterlist

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"Another mystery solved!" Five palms met at the center before the metal bars behind them clasped shut; once more did they find themselves enclosed at the city jail. 

"Time and time again. Must I remind you kids about not interfering with city affairs." 

The man pinched his nose bridge before giving them a piercing look through the cage. They expected nothing less from Chief Kim: always bossing them around like toddlers and painting them as fools. 

"Just fantastic. Can't wait for another pep talk from my father." Heeseung fell to the ground dramatically as he looked at his four friends. This occurrence of the city jail never fazed them, and at this point, neither did the fear of being punished by his father. 

A couple minutes elapsed before Chief Kim made his way back to the five teens in the cell. With one movement, the door bolted open, allowing them to go home at once. 

"Wow. Only an hour wait. New record." Sunoo mischievously smiled and hung his shoulder over Jungwon, his shorter companion. 

"Beats that time we spent the night." Sunghoon only scoffed at the duo, no longer amazed by the words that came out of their mouths. 

"Heeseung! Y/n! Hurry up won't you!" You and heeseung strutted through the doors of the city building. You knew heeseung would be faced with utter disappointment from his father, head of the city, but you knew he could care less at this point. 

"Park y/n!" You hated the voice trailing in front of you. Your eyes slowly made their way to meet your brothers, a teen boy who's purpose in life was to delight others and be the puppet of any tiger parent. 

"Go away Jay." You shoved him in the opposite direction and tried to make your way into the van. Frankly, he was the last person you wanted to see. 

"Mom and dad asked me to pick you up. Jungwon and Sunoo as well." He eyed the youngsters goofing off in the background, and when they met his gaze, they walked off the van. 

"Catch you guys later okay?" Sunghoon and Heeseung drove off in the mini-van, leaving the four in silence. 

You said nothing and sat in the back seat of the old Honda. The smell of pine was obvious, and the stack of prep books in the back seat didn't faze you either. 

Jay dropped off Sunoo and Jungwon at their home, and later made his way back to your own. 

"It wouldn't hurt to stay out of trouble y'know." He finally broke the silence and looked at you through the car mirror. 

"I could care less about what you think. Plus, city jail visits from mysteries beat being my parent's trophy any day." 

------- 

"You should've seen our parents look. I think they don't bother with grounding us anymore." Jungwon continued to chat about the lack of punishment he and Sunoo received. 

"Mine don't mind at this point. They told me to might as well study forensics if I'm into silly mysteries." Sunghoon laughed a bit and scanned the tension of the van. 

"Better than whatever my father, the head of the city, had to say. He just laughed and insisted I be a role model." Heeseung added to the conversation as he drove the kids in the van. Being designated driver had its perks and its downs.

"I think I win considering Jay fucking perfect Park had to try to give me the 'stay out of trouble' peptalk." You crossed your arms and entertained yourself with the surrounding buildings. Trees, children running, a giant monster coming out the sewer. 

"Heeseung!!" Abruptly, a pile of fog escaped from the sewer, blinding Heeseung who tried his best to stop the van from crashing. 

"Looks like a mystery has arrived." Once Heeseung was safely able to stop the car, the rest of you left the van as well. 

Small droplets of water dancing were heard from the ground below. The five of you climbed down the ladder, stepping with caution of course. 

You trailed off with Sunghoon and let the bright light of your flashlights illuminate the cave. 

"Why are we in a cave?" Confusion struck your minds, there was supposed to be a river of sewage water. Why you had stepped foot on a cave tricked your minds. 

The teens continued to explore the cave, sharp rocks and pools of water were at your feet. As the light continued to roam the black and gray walls of the cave, a golden object shined from afar.

"Sunghoon, look." You picked up the object and your hands met with a locket. The locket opened and revealed a photograph of a young couple, probably of your same age. Before you could ponder more about the couple, a terrified shriek left Sunoo's mouth. 

"What's wrong!??" Heeseung followed Sunoo's fingers and he came face to face with petrified bodies. 

Three workers were frozen in a pile of green goop. 

----- 

"So?" Jungwon asked the officer with signs of intriguement, but he was not interested in the young one's questions. 

"Dad." You turned and saw Mr.Lee make his way to Heeseung, grasping his shoulders once he had arrived. 

"Do us a favor and go to school." He left almost immediately, and you were scared about what would happen next. 

Turns out that 'next event' meant running away with one of the green creatures. 

When you had arrived at school, Sunghoon and Heeseung plopped the green creature onto the table of Professor Kang, the science teacher. 

"You think you can help?" 

Professor Kang placed the stethoscope around his neck and began inspecting the creature. 

"Well, it's alive; I'll tell you that." He continued to pace around the table, hesitant in informing the group about the odd human in front of them. 

"Hey, sorry to bother you Professor Kang, but um...I was hoping to submit my form." A boy stood awkwardly by the door with a thin piece of paper in his hand. His black hair covered most of his forehead, and the only visible part was his shy smile. 

"Come in, you weren't interrupting anything. In the meantime, I suggest you go off with this thing." Professor Kang turned his way to address the newcomer in the room; the boy responded and followed him to his desk.  

"Quickly, quickly, I've got a class to teach!" Professor Kang left the room once attending to the stranger's needs. 

"You heard the man, lift with your legs." You giggled slightly as you saw Sunoo hesitate at touching the green slime. 

"You guys need help?" The voice behind you observed quietly, and almost gasped slightly when seeing what exactly you were trying to carry. 

"It's fine, but thanks." Heeseung threw the body over his shoulders and made his way out the door. 

"You're Jake right?" Sunghoon immediately began a conversation with the young boy, and didn't see his friends waiting by the door. 

"Wanna come?" 

The three of you wanted to kill Sunghoon for inviting a stranger to these sort of things, but it was merely too late and the unknown boy looked too nice to shoo away. 

"Sure, beats sitting through Professor Min's lecture." 

Jake trailed behind the trio as he chatted with Sunghoon. Heeseung through the van spotted the newcomer, and was slightly confused considering no one had ever tagged alonged. 

"We've got a monster to catch, hurry and get in the van!" You opened the door with force and welcomed Jake into the back. 

"This is Jake by the way, he's joining us for today." Sunoo introduced Heeseung to Jake, letting his mouth ramble on about the few details he had already learned. 

"Where to captain?" 

"RM's studio of course." The rhythm of the music played quietly in the background, and they all found comfort in having Jake around, they didn't expect themselves to be given their history. 

"So you guys travel in a van solving mysteries?" 

"Pretty much. We get thrown in the city jail occasionally." Jungwon mentioned the detail nonchalantly and expected Jake's natural surprise. 

------ 

It was late that night when the group gave back the body to Professor Kang. 

The teacher's steps were audible as he trailed back and forth between one table to the next. He became startled at the sudden noise of the janitor mopping in the hallway. He peered outward and went back to his work. 

Before long, and with an audible gasp, his body was now entrapped and enclosed in the similar green goop on the ceiling. 

------

"It's all my fault!" Heeseung banged his head on the table and looked at his friends with a sad expression. 

"Don't say that. After all, besides Jake, we all helped steal the body from the authorities." Sunoo patted his back gently and observed Jake who placed a container of green smush on the table. 

"I managed to collect a sample, maybe it'll help us." 

Jungwon and Sunoo were drawn to the fruity smell, and hunger couldn't stop them from nearing the sample of the monster. 

"Don't eat that!!!" Before they could stop him, Jungwon and Sunoo had already placed the oozing substance into their mouths. 

"This is lime sorbet.." 

"It's Ricky's Rickwracks." Confused, but curious, the other teens dipped their index finger into the mush and tasted it as well. 

"You're right...I think we just got our next clue." Sunghoon smirked at the rest of his friends and grabbed the keys from Heeseung's left pocket. 

------ 

[RICKY'S RICKWRACK] 

"Since Jake, Sunoo and Jungwon are the shortest, they get to shimmy through the air ducts and open the back door." 

"How come y/n isn't coming? We're the same height!" 

"Because I refused." You gave him a bright smile and helped the three unbolt the door. 

The trio crawled their way through the ducts and yelled loudly when they hit the ground after their sudden fall. 

"We didn't mean to crush your body on the first day Jake." 

They opened the door and let the three bodies waiting outside came in. The restaurant was dark, slightly humid, and oddly quiet. 

"Scream if you see anything." Sunghoon and Jake led you through the left corridor and the others headed right. 

There wasn't much to see, but when you had turned your back to face the door, it closed shut. Your six fists banged on the door continuously, but you figured it was useless. 

"Y/n! Sunghoon! Jake!" Heeseung's voice echoed behind the door, and he managed to pry it open. 

"My hero!" You happily hugged him and it didn't surprise him; apart from your hard exterior, you often liked skinship with others. 

"SUNGHOON HYUNG!" the four of you ran back to see Jungwon pointing at a figure, and behold, it was the monster from below. 

His bright green and sticky appearance startled you, but his roar bounced louder causing your feet to quickly flee. 

Jake had become frozen; it was his first encounter of course. You took hold of his hand and ran off with him. 

Constant twists and turns led you through one hall and the next. The six of you managed to head back to the closet that once trapped you. 

"I-i think it's g--ahh!" You fell backwards and pushed a box aside by mistake. It was no mistake however. 

It was a hole and hidden for a good reason. You jumped first and met eyes with a familiar cave. 

The carts and marked arrows in the ground were a good reminder that it was no mistake. 

"Follow the arrows." 

Sunghoon led the way and you found containers of the same green substance from the monster. It startled you at first, but why had there been this in the first place ? 

"Wouldn't this path lead to the bank?" 

"By why would he need a path?" 

"I'm assuming there's another type of dessert old Ricky likes to indulge in." 

"Take those items, let's build ourselves a trap.." 

----- 

They handled the ropes and buckets in every step. 

Sunoo and Jungwon handled leading the creature into the cave,  running in terror like always; they were the bait. 

"Now!" The trap was set off,  a toss here, a toss there, and the cage landed everywhere but on top of the monster. 

It continued to chase them, and they soon found themselves trapped inside the cage. Well, everyone but you and Jake. 

The two of you continued to run and eventually your two pairs of feet met a dead end. 

"I'll help you up." 

Jake mounted you on his back and hoisted you enough to get a hold of the floor from Ricky's Rickwracks. With enough strength, you pulled yourself up and stretched your hand towards Jake to pull him up. The two of you continued to play a game with the monster on your trail.

In the meantime, the four boys played with the bolts of the cage until it managed to come loose. They went back to you and Jake and grabbed the hose of the lime sherbet. 

At the right time, the creature was pushed towards the wall by the force of the blasting sherbet. His body was now too cocooned like his previous victims. 

"What do you think you're doing!?" Chief Kim walked into the store through the front door alongside Heeseung's father, Mayor Lee. 

"Well we caught the monster from below of course! Ricky couldn't fool me." But unknowingly, Ricky walked through the door. 

"I called the police when my alarm went off." 

"Then who?" Jungwon did the honors of pulling off the mask revealing the human within. 

"Professor Kang!" 

"That's right. When I discovered the cave while looking for samples for science class, I knew I had found my ticket out of this place! I used Ricky's sorbet to cocoon people who came too close and used the costume to scare people off. I even did it to myself to throw you people off. I would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" 

"But Mr.Kang, what about this locket?" You held the pendant to an eyes view but his answer let you know it didn't belong to him. 

"I say we celebrate at RM's Studio !" 

------ 

The soft music let you guys know of another job well done. A loud ring broke through the silence and Sunoo went ahead to answer it. 

"Welcome to RM's studio mix, what can we do for you?" 

"You're all doomed!" The seven of you, including RM, closed around the recorder. 

"You should've never taken the locket out of the cave, but now you've done it. You've found a truth that has been hidden...a true mystery behind Seoul City has begun." 

And just like that, the room went silent.