The boarding school, usually filled with the boisterous laughter of school kids, was quiet; the spring breeze, which whistled every now and then, welcoming. The boys had left the dormitories to roam the school grounds, which they had for themselves. Memories of their childhood flashed before their eyes as they relived old memories--good ones--back when complicated matters were ones that only involved maths and sciences, back when they used powers only for fun, careful not to use it against anyone unless they wanted to be grounded for eternity, back when being on the run meant Jae had the latest issue of X-Men and the first one to his house gets to read it first, back when they weren't being hunted.

It was fortunate that the headmaster was an acquaintance of Younghyun's mother and also a mutant. He accomodated them, assuring their safety within the premises. He even went to the extent of closing the school down temporarily, disguising the unnatural event as a rat infestation that needed to be addressed.

"I feel like I was the one being lied to," Jae speaks in the silence.

They had settled down by the trees near an open basketball court where they used to play.

"I guess that's how parents instincts are. They make decisions for us thinking it's for the better, even if it may hurt us in the long run." Sungjin says picking the grass.

"Aren't you going to look for him?"

"He needs some space," Jae replies, falling down on the grass, looking up at a blurry image of the blue sky.

Dowoon gets up and walks away from the group. He goes inside the school and by instinct, finds his way to the music room. There he finds Younghyun, sitting infront of the grand piano, pressing the keys softly; the melody, sad and lonely. Dowoon takes a seat beside him and adds to the melody, notes chosen carefully.

Younghyun suddenly stops playing. His tears falling on the keys. 

Dowoon closes his eyes as he surrounds the room with a noise cancelling effect.

"Hyung, you can let it out. No one will hear you.

"I know I'm younger than you and I'm not as mature as Sungjin hyung or Jae hyung yet, so I don't think I'll be able to say the right things, but if there's anything you want to say I'm hear to listen."

No words were exchanged, just silent tears. Younghyun rests his head on the younger's shoulder. Dowoon's assuring hand on his back is more than enough to make him feel safe, comforted.

"Thank you Dowoon. I always envied Sungjin for having a brother like you." 

Younghyun straightens up and messes the younger boy's hair.

"Hyung!" Dowoon whines. "You know it takes forever to do my hair!"

Younghyun laughs.

His eyes look the most alive they had been all day, despite the tears that had dried up around them.

Dowoon smiles brightly at him, thinking the extra hour of re-taming his hair is going to be worth it if it's the only thing that could make his friend smile.

Removing the power he'd cast, he goes to the window calling out, "Sungjin hyung! Jae hyung! Wonpil hyung!"

"Yah! Dowoon! What do you think you're doing?" Younghyun scolds the boy.

"Lunch time!" Dowoon finishes, shooting Younghyun a cheeky grin.

When they were still in school, every lunch time, the boys would race each other to the music room and claim whichever instrument they had wanted to play. It was such a big deal to them that they were so competitive about it. One time, they hid all the extra instruments and left Jae with a triangle--that pissed him off for an entire week.

Younghyun's initial shock turns into amazement at the younger's intentions, and he starts laughing. 

"Tell them to hurry!" he runs to Dowoon's side by the window and peers out into the field. The tiny figures of his friends are running across the field. "Last one gets the triangle!"

"Definitely not me!" Jae shouts, suddenly appearing behind them. 

Younghyun curses, clutching his chest. "Jae you scared me!" 

"Hey Wonpil look, no hands!" Jae shouts below them. He can finally teleport without Dowoon's aid.

Wonpil suddenly stops running. He shuts his eyes, concentrating hard. Sungjin looks behind him when he realizes his friend had lagged behind.

"You wish Wonpil! You're not strong enough to make a portal without Dowoon." He continues running to the building, leaving Wonpil behind.

Sungjin's just about to enter the music room when a portal appears a few inches right infront of him. He's able to keep his balance just enough to avoid stumbling into it, but then Wonpil's arm appears out of it and he pulls Sungjin in as he steps out.

"YAH!!! KIM WONPIL! I WILL KILL YOU! GET YOUR CHEATING  DOWN HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!"

The boys break down in laughter as Sungjin continues throwing a fit from out in the field while Wonpil smugly claims the grand piano for himself. 

++++++

It had turned dark outside when they finished playing. They had gathered on the floor knowing they wouldn't be able to avoid their problems forever. The blissful mood in the room was slowy becoming depressing. It had taken a while for someone to finally speak up.

"So this is how it feels to be lied to." Younghyun forces out a laugh. "I grew up being bullied for being weak. I-I was raised to be weak."

Sungjin and Jae, both feeling guilty, keep their eyes on the floor. 

"I had to learn a portion of the truth from some deluded man who tortured me and wanted me to use my own powers against my friends. Now that I've finally learned the entire truth, my own mother expects me to get rid of the powers I never even knew about. All of them make it sound like everything's so simple." 

No one talks, unsure of how to comfort their friend.

"I don't think we'll be able to go back to our old lives after what happened. We'll always be on the run, hiding from people who want our powers. If we're unlucky, we'll end up l-like m-my f-father," Younghyun breaks down clearly exhausted from everything that has happened. "I didn't want these powers! Mom should have just taken it all from me and made me into a normal human being to begin with. Why did she have to make me go through all this pain?"

"It is exactly because you are also a human being Younghyun, we all are. We may have powers but we're all still rational, thinking creatures, who have the tendency to make stupid choices and make mistakes. Your mother was wrong to lie to you, but it would have been worse if she completely devoided you of an important choice you could have made for yourself. If there's any right in all the wrongs she had committed it's that she  honors your right to choose what to do about your gifts," Sungjin says, finally having the courage to speak up.

"Gifts," Younghyun scoffs. "I don't want any of it. I'm going to find out how to trigger my powers so I can destroy them as soon as possible." He eyes Dowoon. "I'm heading to bed, I'm tired."

"I wish I told him the truth," Jae says, completely disappointed in himself.

"It shouldn't have come from us or anyone else Jae, it should have come from his parents."

"Will he really destroy his powers? I-I don't want to be involved in this hyung," Dowoon worries that his power will trigger Younghyun's power manipulating abilities completely.

"He's going to think things through tonight," Sungjin reassures the boy. "Let's all head back and get some rest. We'll deal with this tomorrow."