"Enjoy your time together. This might be the last," the guard says as he slams the door shut behind Wonpil.

Wonpil can't get himself to move from his position by the door, eyes b with tears. One step and he feels like his knees will give, out of exhaustion, but mostly out of relief that he's finally together with the rest of his friends.

Jae is unconscious, lying on Sungjin's lap. Dowoon is hunched over in a corner, head pressed to his knees.

"Wonpil," the leader calls his name, worried.

Wonpil can't hold back his tears any longer. He has been wanting someone to comfort him, like how his parents had comforted him when he discovered his powers. He wants someone to tell him everything's going to be alright, that they'd be able to get out of there alive. Sungjin happens to be the closest to a father figure he's had growing up away from his parents. He can't help but want to run to Sungjin and embrace him, be embraced back. But he knows how their leader hates skinship. Wonpil has only ever seen him hug Dowoon, and that's probably an exception because they're brothers.

"Come here Wonpil." Sungjin opens his arms, knowing exactly what the boy needs in that moment. Wonpil runs up to him bursting into tears. "It's going to be alright Wonpil. We'll get out of here alive... Don't be afraid."

"Hyung I'm sorry I couldn't save us," Dowoon joins them. Sungjin wraps an arm over his brother's shoulder. Each of them finding comfort in each other's warmth.

"How is Jae hyung?" Wonpil asks as they settle down. He holds the unconcious boy's hand and squeezes it tight, hoping to get a response.

"They injected him with a sedative. He should wake up soon," the leader replies as they watch Jae's steadily rising and falling chest.

"Y-Younghyun." Jae stirs in his sleep. "Younghyun. No! Not Younghyun!"

Jae wakes up with a start. He forces himself to sit up despite his headache and tries to take in the new environment. When he realizes he's finally with his friends, his face brightens up, tears welling up in his eyes. He gives each one of them a huge hug. Dowoon, Sungjin, Wonpil, then a pause, a realization that they weren't complete.

"Where's Younghyun?" Jae asks, eyes full of hope but his smile slowly fading. The silence that follows scares him. "Younghyun! Where is he? Sungjin y-you can find him right? I-I mean get into his consciousness. Find out if he's okay," he begs the telepath. 

"Jae, my powers can't go past these walls. I've tried. I'm sorry." 

"No..."

"I saw him," Wonpil speaks up. "Just before they brought me here, they brought me to Younghyun hyung. He's alive and I don't think they're planning on harming him... for now."

"What do you mean?" Jae asks.

"It's complicated. Sungjin hyung can you help me?"

Wonpil extends his hand to let Sungjin enter his memory.

"Oh my god," Sungjin gasps as he releases Wonpil's hand. "T-That's why that man made me find those memories. Younghyun's powers. My... He can-"

"He can take people's powers," Jae interjects quietly.

"Hyung! You knew about this?"

"Younghyun's family and mine were very close. Both our families were the only ones who knew that Younghyun could absorb powers. I was constantly reminded by my mom not to stay too close to him, despite that Younghyun's mom was very understanding about it. She also wanted him to grow up without anyone fearing him so she raised him as an emapth, just like her. Even Younghyun doesn't know his real abilities. They made sure he never found out. They did their best to suppress it.

"But I never really cared about his powers. I just wanted to be friends with him. When both our parents saw how close we had become, instead of separating us, they taught me how to make a barrrier to protect Younghyun and prevent him from potentially taking what was not his.

"That's why we're very close. I consider myself his guardian," Jae says, wiping away his tears.

"When he could suddenly heal I knew he had accidentally taken someone else's powers, but his mom just pretended like it was inherent in him and she never taught him how to use it. He learned how to use it all by himself."

The room falls silent as they take their time to digest this new information, everyone feeling pity for their friend.

Sungjin clearly remembers that fight they had. They were about 10 years old and his family had just moved in a few houses away from Younghyun's and Jae's. Even though they had grown up as close friends, that childish fight which had already been buried in their memories, meant to be forgotten, still stirred up guilt in his chest. Now at least he knows he had payed his debt, by the form of his ability being taken from him.

"They're forcing Younghyun hyung to take our powers," Wonpil breaks the silence. "The man said he'll set us free if hyung does it."

"That doesn't make sense! Younghyun hyung then?" Dowoon protests.

"H-He's going to be left behind..." Wonpil chokes out. He shivers at the thought of one of them being left behind.

Jae gets up. "That's not going to happen! I'm going to make sure he's coming home with us! Powers or no powers we're all getting out of this hell hole."

"What's the commotion here?" A guard opens the door to check on them.

Dowoon pulls on Jae's wrist. He's going to be targeted first if he's standing up. I won't let them hurt my friends again.

The guard enters with what seems to be a tranquilizer gun. As the door closes behind him, he aims at Jae, but shoots at nothing. Jae is suddenly behind the guard, Dowoon falling on his from his half standing half sitting position right beside the older boy, just as they were a few seconds ago. The sudden confusion gives Jae leverage to take the gun and shoot the man.

Everyone stares at Jae, their jaws hanging open. 

"Hyung... y-you... you can... teleport?" Dowoon stutters, still holding onto Jae, too shocked to move. 

Jae himself is speechless. "I-I've never been able to do this..." 

"Did they perhaps inject us with superpowers?" Wonpil checks his arm where he was injected a couple of times when they first arrived at the facility. "Maybe I can teleport too!"

"I don't think so... Why would they do that?" Sungjin shoots down the thought. "It's only going to make us stronger and help us escape."

"Hyung do it again!" Dowoon urges Jae, removing his hand so as not to hinder the older boy from teleporting.

Jae pours all of his concentration on a different spot in the room, like he had done earlier. Everyone waits, but nothing happens.

How was I able to do it? What else was there? 

Jae looks down at Dowoon who was staring at him with new admiration. He resembles the kid he's supposed to be, sitting with his legs in a W position, hands on his lap. Sungjin used to scold him for sitting that way and Jae would call Sungjin out for being such an adult, making Dowoon giggle.

Jae crouches down beside Dowoon. "Dowoon... I don't think this isn't going to make any sense to you... It's just a wild guess... But I think you're the reason I was able to teleport." He smiles.

Dowoon blinks innocently back at him.