************

“Has it begun?”

Namjoon nods slightly while continuing to read the book in his hand.

“Look at you interfering. What was your promise again? Ah! It was ‘I will never try to change fate!’ So what changed? Why are you suddenly interested in this whole issue with Lion Heart? I thought you just wanted to sit back and be an observer?” A man with mint green hair who sat on a table in the grand reading room that belonged to Namjoon said in an unhurried tone. His demeanor was casual; he wasn’t accusing Namjoon nor was teasing him. He was genuinely intrigued at the change of heart his friend had had over the past few weeks. Ever since he first met those two members of the Lion Heart faction.

Namjoon sighed after hearing this, closing his book and resting it on his lap. “Because I’m meant to. I agree that I am doing more than I should, but I have an intuition that if I just let things happen this time, the consequences will be worse than they were last time. And frankly, that scares me.” He answered honestly.

“So you are doing this out of guilt! I know that no matter how many times I tell you, you probably won’t change your mind but what happened in 1997 has nothing to do with you. You were only 10! Even if you had understood the meaning of your dreams it wouldn’t change a thing. No one would listen to a child. You said it yourself, remember? Things that are meant to be will be. So if you are doing this just because you feel indebted to them, then stop. Because if things turns ugly, your twisted feelings will only point fingers at you. I don’t want you to feel even more guilty.” The mans face had a stern look but his eyes were full of an unknown sorrow.

Namjoon sighed. Yoongi was right. If he was completely honest with himself then he was blaming himself for what was happening today. He probably wouldn’t have been able to stop it but he had seen countless other incidents happen where, maybe, just maybe, he could’ve intervened. He probably wouldn’t have changed what was going to happen, but maybe made it less painful? He wanted to know if he had the power to change fate. It didn’t make sense to him to have this ability to see the future and yet do nothing about it. Yes, he had been warned not to interfere. His mom was especially strict when he was still learning how to interpret his dreams and strengthen his powers. But he wasn’t princess Cassandra of Troy, even though no one had believed him when he foretold the tragedy of 1997 when he was ten, things were different now. He was not only one of the most revered prophet but, contrary to the past, people would seek him for his advice on the future. In fact after the incident he had shot to fame because of the accuracy of his prediction. But none of that made him happy. If anything, it made him feel worse. It was painful that something so tragic had benefitted him. It was a fact that would always weigh him down; without it he would be nothing and because of it the dominos of tragedies had started to fall one by one. But not anymore! He couldn’t let the tragedies continue and worsen with time. He was tired and angry. He was brought out of his thoughts by the ringing of his phone, indicating an incoming call from Minho. The call he was anxiously waiting for.

“Hello Minho.”

“Hi. I will keep it short. I need you to come to the AB Hospital where Kai and Taemin are admitted. I need you to heal them. I know it’s the second time I’m asking you for a favor but this time the injuries maybe…worse. I am still on my way so I’m not sure.” While Namjoon couldn’t see Minho he could tell the concern in his voice. His voice was a lot calmer than the last time but there was a sense of urgency and pain.

“Okay, but on one condition.” 

“Anything!” Minho replied without a second thought.

“I need you to send Taehyung to Jinki’s house immediately.”

This wasn’t what Minho had expected. he knew Namjoon was experienced and had never once been wrong, but this time his request was simply ridiculous! Taehyung was a healer with no ability to protect himself against someone like Jinki. Jinki, though weak at the moment, would still find it easy to control Taehyung. Namjoon’s request was simply unreasonable. “Anything but that.” It was a short and stern reply.

Namjoon could hear the bewilderment and anger in Minho’s voice. He knew the history between the two and that Minho would rather have Jinki never been born, but what Minho knew was only the tip of the iceberg. Also Jinki had been born, and was already a part of Minho’s life. Even if Minho wished otherwise, there was already a bond between them. Their fates had already been intertwined and nothing could change that. Since Namjoon knew he wouldn’t trust Jinki no matter what, he decided to shed light on what he had seen. 

“Jonghyun might die if you don’t send Taehyung. I can’t tell you everything because we are short on time so I’ll explain things later. Send someone along with him who can protect Taehyung but you need to send him to Jinki’s house immediately if you want Jonghyun to live. I’ll also make my way to the hospital now.” Namjoon ended the call after he had heard a slow and surprised ‘okay’ from Minho. Maybe he had said too much but he had to otherwise Minho would never agree.

Jonghyun

When he eventually woke up he heard a steady beep of the ECG and looked at all the pipes and wires around him. His right leg was plastered and elevated by bandages and a cast that were wound around a wheel attached to the ceiling be a hook. Most of his body was covered in bandages and there was saline and blood being supplied to him. He noticed that someone else was present in the room. Kibum was sleeping on the chair next to his bed hugging a teddy bear. Jonghyun tried to move his arm to reach for this cute sleeping kid but the bandages made it hard to move and the pain made him groan. Though the groan was low it was enough to wake Kibum up.  

Kibum woke up with a start and looked at Jonghyun smiling sheepishly at him. Kibum’s face softened immediately and the rims of his red, swollen eyes started glistening. 

“You are awake.” He said weakly. It was obvious from his voice and demeanor that he had been drained of energy to the point that even relief didn’t show itself easily on his face. Jonghyun could imagine the position he had put Kibum in. After all Taemin’s accident was traumatic enough but for Jonghyun to have met with one on the same day must’ve been more than Kibum could handle. Thinking about Taemin, the smile of Jonghyun’s face disappeared as he tried sitting up only to have pain shoot through his entire body, contorting his face into a live display of Van Gogh’s ‘Scream.’

“Don’t move, you fool! Do you even know how many bones you’ve broken?! Just lie down and be still, idiot.”

“Wh-where is Taemin?” Jonghyun asked recovering from his pain. 

“He is fine. Better than you to say the least. He is in the next room with his friend. They’ve been getting better each day so it looks like he will get discharged before you. In fact, he visited you while you were still asleep!” Kibum spat in mock irritation.

“Oh, then the operation went well? How is he already walking? Shouldn’t he rest a few days after the operation at least?” Jonghyun’s eyebrows creased in confusion.

Kibum’s face slowly spread out and just for a second Jonghyun saw the shock in his eyes. It was gone too quickly, only to be replaced with a calm indifference as he asked, “How long do you think you’ve been here?”

Judging by the bright light entering through window, Jonghyun knew at least a night had gone by. But due to the lack of a digital clock or calendar in his room he could’t exactly tell the date. Initially he had assumed that he merely slept through the night. But now that the question had been posed he was starting to ponder if it had been more than just a day. Before he could collect his thoughts or answer the question, the door to his room opened and Taemin and another guy, who was slightly taller and tanner than him, walked in. They were both in hospital gowns, though Taemin looked absolutely normal the other guy still had bandages on the right cheek of his face and bandages covering most of his right arm. By the warm air between them, he assumed that must be the friend who had also been injured. Upon seeing Jonghyun awake, they both stoped their conversation and a broad smile immediately plagued Taemin’s face.

“Jonghyun-hyung! You are finally awake! How are you? I bet you are still in pain! Do you know how worried I was?” It had been a while since Taemin had spoken so many words to Jonghyun.  Especially words that showed care and concern. Ever since the Minho’s sister, Eunji’s, accident things had been awkward between them only getting worse when Jinki and Taemin had broken up because of him. Ah! Jinki! As the thought of Jinki ’s limp body lying near the door flashed in his mind he couldn’t think of anything else. He wanted to ask about him. Where was he? How was he? Was he okay? Did he crash onto a glass too? He almost thought out loud but forced the words back into his throat before they had a chance to slip out of his tongue. The warmth on Taemin’s face was far too rare and important for Jonghyun to ruin it by bringing up Jinki. So it resulted in a volley of emotions from worry to shock to understanding flashing on his face within the span of a few seconds with his mouth hanging wordlessly open in the end.

“Did something happen to your throat as well? Don’t tell me, you can’