"Hyung! Watch out!"

Sunggyu jumped away of the stream of fire aimed at him, running on the adrenaline coursing through his bloodstream to hastily move out of danger's way.

"Whose great idea was this?" Sungyeol shrieked as he scrambled to hide behind the nearest boulder. "Why are we putting ourselves in such a dangerous situation?"

'This was your idea,' Sungjong deadpanned, opening the mind link between them to speak to his hyungs while he swiftly dodged the oncoming claw of the furious dragon. 'Why do you want to have a dragon's egg again? You were bothering all of us to participate in this ridiculous plan.'

"I don't know! Why didn't any of you stop me?"

A scoff escaped Woohyun's lips, "As if we could. You won't stop annoying us till you get what you want."

Scanning his surroundings in search of an easily moveable object to mildly disable the dragon, Sunggyu couldn't stop himself from grumbling under his breath at the absurdity of their current predicament.

"Why am I even here with you guys.”

Ever since the seven of them enrolled into Woollim Boarding School for the Gifted four years ago, they were assigned to be on the same team by their professors to learn how to work together. Despite initial complaints, they constantly find themselves gravitating towards each other and had eventually stuck together.

"Admit it hyung, you didn't want to be left out," Howon shouted, having heard Sunggyu's grumbling. His quick reflexes kicked in when he noticed the dragon preparing to breathe another bout of flames at them. In a split second, Howon changed the course of his route and speedily ran in the opposite direction, hoping to confuse the creature.

"Yah Jang Dongwoo, do your job! Why aren't you able to pacify the dragon?" Sunggyu gave up his hunt and turned his frustration towards their comrade who was supposed to speak to the beast, ignoring Howon's unwanted input.

"I did! But she became angrier after I spoke to her!"

With an infuriated tone, Sunggyu questioned with contempt lacing his words, "What exactly did you tell her?"

Dongwoo paused for a moment before he mumbled guiltily in a small voice, "...I might have suggested we were here to steal her egg."

Sunggyu was able to feel the level of his displeasure peaking and was about to give Dongwoo a piece of his mind, disregarding the hazardous situation they were in. He was, thankfully, interrupted by Woohyun's exclamation, saving the unfortunate animal whisperer from his rage.

"Aha! Found it! Jong, tell Myungsoo to steal the egg in 30 seconds," Woohyun ordered, sliding behind another boulder next to Howon just in time before the flames could hit them.

Shifting his concentration to the pond of water he had managed to detect a couple feet away, hidden behind rows and rows of towering trees, Woohyun focused on summoning and manipulating the liquid. A sizeable amount of lubricant manifested itself beneath the unsuspecting dragon, causing the massive beast to stumble and fall with an ear-splitting roar.

All six of them cringed at the deafening cry just as Myungsoo appeared beside the dragon's nest. He quickly swooped up the egg and vanished from sight, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

"Let's get out of here now," Sunggyu stated. Murmurs of agreement sounded among them and they scrambled to retreat before the creature was able to gain back its bearings. A strange, unknown force propelled the six of them forward, away from the scene, but the direness of their predicament prevented Sunggyu from thinking too much about it.

Myungsoo materialized beside them, grabbing Sungjong and Dongwoo away to safety first while the rest continued to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the fallen creature – their flight response kicking in, too fearful for their lives to even speak as they focused solely on getting away. A thunderous, enraged roar shook the surrounding forest ground just as Howon and Woohyun disappeared from the scene, and it was only thanks to Myungsoo's efficiency that Sunggyu and Sungyeol managed to escape the impending inferno by a hair's breadth.

Never again was Sunggyu going to participate in any of Sungyeol's preposterous ideas (he did).







"Lee. Sung. Yeol."

Sunggyu exploded once they were in the safety of their dormitory, still high on the adrenaline from their exceptionally near-death escapade. Various random objects within the quarters levitated menacingly due to the spike of chaotic emotions within Sunggyu – specifically the objects nearer to Sungyeol – and he had to use every ounce of his self-control to prevent himself from physically harming the prankster.

"Do not ever suggest anything this risky ever again," he vented his anger at the mastermind, who was sprawled out on the wooden floorboard, trying to catch his breath. "If it weren't for Myungsoo, we will be burnt to a crisp by now."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just thought it will be cute to raise a baby dragon," came the indignant response from the lanky figure struggling to sit up and rest against the sideboard of the single bed closest to him.

"Do you know how dangerous this entire situation was?" The irate ranting continued, uncaring of Sungyeol's apology. "Damnit I should have stopped you as soon as this foolish idea came about. , Sungyeol, had Myungsoo not reach any of us in time, do you understand the consequences your wish to get a dragon's egg would have caused? We may have superpowers, but we are not invulnerable. What if anyone had been injured, or worse, died?"

The tension in the room was palpable. No one dared to interfere especially since they had never seen Sunggyu this enraged before – then again, he never had a reason to be prior to this incident. Glaring hard at the slumped form before him, Sunggyu lets out a long-suffering sigh, finally dropping his hold on the floating objects with a thud echoing throughout the enclosed space. His fury gradually dissipating now that they were no longer at risk of being burnt alive. In its stead, an overwhelming sense of relief washes over him, feeling grateful for the fact that all of them are still in one piece.

"Next time," Sunggyu demanded, softening at the sight of his dongsaeng's guilt-ridden features, "choose a hobby that isn't life threatening."

Remorsefully, Sungyeol nodded in agreement, squeaking out another apology. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, and being unable to stand it any longer, Sungjong decided to use this opportunity to shift the focus in hopes of lightening the sombre mood.

"Now, what are we going to do with this egg?" He voiced out, unconsciously prompting seven pairs of eyes to stare at the egg lying innocuously in the middle.

“We can take turns looking after it till it hatches?” Dongwoo suggested with excitement colouring his tone.

“I suppose we can,” Woohyun shrugged, distracted by the intricate details on its shell. He walked towards the center and picked up the dragon’s egg, intending to examine it, only for it to slip through his lubricant-coated fingers.

Screams and shouts filled the entire room, spurring everyone into a disarray of motions. Extended limbs flew across the room in hopes of catching the egg; a rush of wind in the form of Howon hurried towards the middle; a panicky Woohyun scrambled to reach for the egg, oh oh oh we didn't go through all of the horror only for it to break; an exhausted Myungsoo struggling to get up, and just when he was preparing to teleport, everyone froze for a spilt second when they realized the egg had stopped mere inches to the ground – except for Sunggyu who was watching them in amusement with smugness apparent on his features.

"Nam Woohyun,” Sungyeol yelled once he had recovered from the shock of nearly losing his precious egg, “you are forbidden to touch it ever again!"

Dejectedly, Woohyun plodded back to his corner with a huge pout evident on his lips just as everyone else breathe out a sigh of relief.

“We will need an incubator of some sort for the egg to hatch,” Sunggyu commented when the commotion was over, gently bringing the egg back to rest on the ground. Sparing a glance across the room, he noted the weary features of his teammates, conscious of how exhausted they all were. It was certainly an eventful day after all.

“I'll go get it,” Woohyun grumbly offered when no one else did, still feeling a little upset over the ban they had placed on him, “I need to restock my lubricants too.” Lost in thoughts, he had mumbled the next sentence, unaware of the sneaky glances and quiet snickering the remaining occupants in the room were secretly throwing at each other. “For some reason, it’s being used up much faster than I expected.”







The 'FATE' sign hung ominously above Woohyun as he stood outside their school’s specialty shop – no doubt there was a powerful aura surrounding the area. A gust of wind blew fallen leaves across the seemingly endless staircase behind him and Woohyun felt himself shuddering at the threatening atmosphere. He’d never get used to visiting this place.

“They are friendly, there’s nothing to fear,” Woohyun muttered to himself, and took a deep breath before pushing one side of the Mahogany wooden double doors open. A strong vanilla scent filled his nostrils as soon as he entered, and the contrast between its menacing exterior and pleasant modern interior hits him every time.

“Welcome, Woohyun-sshi,” a sweet and friendly voice greeted Woohyun when he approached the ethereal man behind the counter. “It’s been barely a month, are you here to stock up your lubricants again?”

“Jinwoo-sshi,” Woohyun nodded his greeting. “Yeah, the same amount please. My current stash of lubricants are disappearing faster than I thought it would.”

“Are you sure you and your friends aren’t using it for ~other~ purposes?” A taller man pushed past the black cloth and walked out from the back room with a teasing grin visible on his face.

Jinwoo gently whacked Seunghoon’s arm, ouch hyung, I was only joking, a warning look in his eyes. ‘Stop teasing the poor dude, he’s already embarrassed over having to purchase lubricants frequently.’

“I swear I didn’t, Seunghoonie,” a whine escaped Woohyun’s lips and he knew he was pouting once again, missing the exchange between the shop owners. “I didn’t know I’d use it up so fast. Oh, I need an incubator too. Is there any?”

“We do have a few available,” Jinwoo said after checking the holographic system behind him, “which type are you looking for?”

“For a dragon's egg–”

“You have a dragon’s egg?” An excited voice boomed from the back room and a figure dashed out, followed by a slightly shorter guy with blonde hair. “How did you get one?”

Woohyun sweat-dropped, struggling to think of something to say without spilling that they had actually stolen it. He was saved by the blonde guy cutting in just as he was about to reply.

“No, Mino, we are not getting a dragon’s egg,” Seungyoon shook his head at Mino’s sad face before turning to face Woohyun. “Woohyun-sshi, please don’t tell him where to get one.”

Woohyun gave Mino an apologetic smile, damn we should have done the same to Sungyeol too instead of being persuaded by him. Jars of lubricant and an incubator appeared on the counter top, and Woohyun shifted his focus to examine the items. When his eyes met Jinwoo’s after, he felt a shiver ran down his spine at the mysterious glint evident in his deer-like eyes.

“Thank you for shopping at FATE,” Jinwoo started with a smile even though Woohyun wasn’t able to shake off the unsettled feeling that crept in. “The amount will be deducted from your available credits. We hope to see you again soon.”

“Thank you,” Woohyun smiled, taking the offered bag from Seunghoon. As he was exiting the shop, he thought he had heard a warning ringing in his head, be careful, Woohyun-sshi, be careful.