Two years ago:

Ren wasn’t happy.

T­hat was a general state of affairs these days, but still, he would have expected that he’d be at least happy to develop super powers. Usually, something of the sort would be considered amazing.

Ren was the only person in the world who could sense other people’s emotions – from afar. Even with a wall in between. But much more so, he could sense the emotions outside of people. The ones in between them. The general mood of crowds.

Anyway, he wasn’t happy about it. He was a f***ing empath. That was – clearly – the girliest power ever. He had enough trouble with that. Sure, being so hot that some guys kept thinking he was a girl was a big part of his appeal – he’d certainly not dress down for some sleazy men’s heteroual comfort – but if he had to have a super power he’d rather not get the most feminine one. What use was it anyway?

And he was studying to become a scientist on top of that. Emotions were chemical reactions, why would they even be perceivable as specific concepts outside a person.

Sensing emotion. Really, what nonsense.

One year ago:

Figuratively speaking, an emotion might take on a material quality. Tension could become so ‘thick’ one could cut it with a knife as they say.

It was supposed to be a metaphor. Ren knew better.

Laying on his bed, he lazily spun the little cloud of Apprehension in his hand. The family downstairs had been through one of their failed family dinners and the teens were sulking in their rooms.

Ren could manifest their apprehension as a viscous… something. He had gotten much better at pressing it into a shape, but it was almost like cloud-watching for the most part.

He had spent quite a bit of time cataloging the feelings he could use to create these little ‘clouds’. It was a nice past time. Still useless, though.

Oh, the neighbors were getting it on again. For the third time that day. Newlyweds. Ren began forming their lust into a vague object. Some emotions were easier to turn into shapes than others.

Something to practice.

Four month ago:

He had figured out the object part.

Ren could shape emotions, stretching and squashing them. He formed shields, platforms, rods and other very simple things. They were still pretty nebulous, however, and were hardly of more use than any blunt object.

His apartment didn’t give him enough to work with so he visited concerts, football games and whatever other activities he could find. His objects only lasted as long as the emotions.

Ren shaped anything he could get his hands – or mind – on. Pride, willpower, disappointment, you name it.

Exciting stuff. The science-y part of his brain was tickled.

One week ago:

Nothing had ever gone so horribly right. And his bed had paid the price for this success.

Manifesting the emotions people radiated outward was one thing. An easy exercise in shaping emotions by now.

Ren had acted on a hunch when he tried to reach out and manifest deeper feelings. Emotions from within the people in the apartment complex.

It hadn’t turned into an object. It had become a monster.

Maybe he shouldn’t have used the guy upstairs who had been yelling at his TV all evening.

Seeing the shapeless figure turn into a demonic fog-like beast, raving and raging in total silence, had been terrifying. Even though Ren knew he could have dissolved the emotion-construct any time, his instinct had been to jump onto his bed and hide under the pillows, squealing like the girl he wasn’t. Not a dignified reaction but no one had to know.

Only when the monster began to tear apart the mattress did Ren remember that the creature only stayed as long as he wanted it to.

After that, Ren tried different emotions.

There was no doubt, he could create monsters at will.

Real beings with instincts, a goal and perhaps some measure of intellect. They all had their strengths and weaknesses. Constructs made from impatience got all sorts of tasks accomplished with haste, but sacrificed any semblance of care. Those off pride added a lot of showy gestures and motion to their work and stopped as soon as Ren wasn’t paying attention to them. The lust construct had very particular abilities he had no intentions of exploring in detail.

It was uncanny to watch them work in complete silence, but it let him keep his apartment spotless at no expended effort.

Present:

Ren was pretending to meditate in a park where children played and joggers dashed around. In truth he was practicing to sense emotions of incoherent, random crowds.

A pretty boy dropped down next to Ren and assumed the same vaguely meditative position.

“Hi,” the stranger said.

Ren wasn’t sure if this was an attempt at flirting. The boy sat way to close for a coincidence. Maybe Ren was getting mistaken for a girl again.

“Hey …you.”

“I’m Junior. Go on. Feel my up.”

“What?”

“Check my emotions.”

“Oh, right …What!?”

Junior chuckled. As Ren took a moment to assess the stranger’s emotions a few things became clear.

First, Junior was quite infatuated with him. Second, the boy was calm for the most part but looking a little deeper revealed an anxiety like the one before giving a big presentation.

“So,” Junior said, “you make constructs out of other people’s feelings. Fascinating stuff, that.”

“How do you know that?”

“Don’t be alarmed. We’re only here to make you an offer.”

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“You’ll get to meet the organization in time.” Junior leaned in a bit. “I’m looking for others with powers. You’d fit right in.”

“You’re like me?”

“Yes, we’re the same. Except that I’m completely different. To be less cryptic about it, no, I can’t make …constructs. How do you call them by the way?”

“I dunno? I call them by their specific emotion. Constructed emotions, hrm. Maybe, Conmotes?”

“Good enough for me.”

Ren giggled excitedly to himself. “This is so weird. I didn’t think I’d get to talk about this so openly with someone.”

Junior dropped a card with a phone number in Ren’s lap. The stranger rose and bowed. “Since you’re already aware of what I’m feeling, no doubt, may I just get it over with and ask if you would be interested in dating me?”

“What? No, that’s really creepy.”

Sighing, Junior looked off to the side. “I’m not sure if knowing about the rejection beforehand makes it easier to deal with. In case you’d like to know, there was about a five percent chance you’d say yes. Depends on how I phrase the question. Too bad I can’t know in advance which phrasing works.”

“You’re just getting even creepier now.”

“Meh. I’ll try again when my chances are higher.”

The weird boy from the secret organization apologized, said goodbye and walked away. Ren’s head was spinning. He’d definitely call the number. He only hoped that there were other, perhaps less bizarre people, in that organization.

A/N: Next up is Baekho. There’s gonna be action.