POV from Yoochun

My boss didn’t seem to be reacting out of the ordinary… sure… he did get a little upset… but nothing more than staring me down and trying to figure me out. I think.

His presence was so overpowering that I kind of wonder is I should have just handed him to kid. I can feel chills running down my spine with every breathe he takes… suffocating me with every step he took towards me. I hardly ever feel so scared of someone… in fact, I dub myself as the fearless guy… but this man just scares me less without doing anything.

Then with a wave of his hands, we were dismissed. Game’s over.

I doubted myself… as to whether I registered the gesture… but there is no mistake. He lumbered right into the main office after whispering to the man beside him.

Meanwhile…

POV from Changmin

I was awakened by my phone ringing beside me after I have slept nearly half the day away. There was the urge to just ignore it while it went on, but still, I managed to force myself to answer the call.

“Chagmin ah! I got a location from a new informant!” I flinched as my friend and gang member, Naul, screamed excitedly into my ear. He is the one who is helping me get whatever information I needed for Jae hyung all this while, and I have a feeling that we are close. After all, both of us have spent so many hours of our free time skimming through the maps and demarcating every area that remains unsearched.

The attack on sector 1 was a mess. It was unplanned, under such unforeseen circumstances… and very rash of us. Sector 3 will be different. Jae hyung’s Suie is most likely inside that facility… so we have to be more systematic. I will scout around first.

Hyung does not know of my “extra-curricular” activities though… and I do take the pains to ensure that he does not get words of it. After all, I just want to lighten the load on the rest of the members… knowing how hard they work just to stay out of range from c0dest, and trying hard to function in isolation… being the definition of “deviance” ourselves.

People might make us out to be a really cool bunch, but all of us have a past that we do not want to bring up or remember. Take Siwon hyung for example, his girlfriend died a terrible death just to help him escape the hunt. He never quite forgot her…

And Jae hyung’s life is equally screwed. Even hyung’s life is… I still remember how hyung and I were a world apart… until umma remarried into his family upon hyung’s biological mother’s passing. And as for me, I never had a appa since he evaporated the moment my umma got knocked up. Hyung’s appa became my appa as well.

Anyhow, since the day I entered the family, me and hyung got together just fine… or rather, we got along really well. Hyung treated me like a real brother, making me feel at home upon our first interaction… also, appa loved me like I was his real son… and umma loved hyung like he was hers… but the “happy family” didn’t last… for hyung at least.

My parents seem to hold an extreme phobia towards our kind… and umma couldn’t wait to get rid of hyung the moment he lit up the barbeque pit with his bare hands. I could see the fear in both parent’s eyes… and then their denial. It’s as if appa, hyung’s REAL appa, couldn’t accept that his son is a… freak. From that… I learnt a precious lesson as well.

Honestly, I was hurt by their rejection as much as hyung did… even though I hadn’t discovered my powers back then.

After a series of unfortunate events, hyung finally escaped, with nothing but the clothes on his back and my piggy bank… with its content of a few coins and notes. I have to admit that I didn’t know how much was inside… and I didn’t want to know either. Nevertheless, I constantly blamed myself for not being able to do anything for him besides giving him a worthless piggybank… but he said that it is the thought that counts.

Then eventually, I found out I was a freak as well… and I freaked out. Not because I am a freak!! … But because I know that I am in equal danger as hyung had been in. My parents never hesitated when playing with the idea of sending hyung off for lock up… And I knew my fate is similar… the moment I sneezed and sat umma’s dress on fire. I lied to her that I discarded it after it was burnt while I was ironing it.

That was all in the past though. I am just thankful that I have a roof over my head and a hyung that takes great care of me now… and also, all the hyungs in the gang treats me like how a maknae should be treated. I feel fortunate… and I will definitely scorch anyone with the guts to call my residence the freak circles.

“Come down to the garage. I am there already!! Let’s go check it out.” Naul claims that he has an idea as to where sector 3 is located… and I am dying to know as well. This will bring some sort of closure for all of us soon. My poor Jae hyung is suffering because of this terrible “fate” thing… and I can’t stand around and watch him break apart any further. “Wait for me. I need to get the maps.”

Sitting out of my bed, I noticed that Jae hyung’s bed is empty as well… and I sort of have an inkling about where hyung might have brought him. I don’t want to pry. Hyung has a thing for Jae hyung… and everyone knows he does. Only he does not know that EVERY single of us does… point aside. Who isn’t fond of Jae hyung? He is such a sweetheart!!

“Min ah. Where are you headed?” I took special care to avoid running into Siwon hyung but was not on guard for Jae hyung… so I jumped upon hearing his sweet airy voice behind me as I struggled into my boots… which were already placed nicely onto the shoe rack.

Spinning around to face him, I saw that the house looked so… different… now that I actually have the time to notice. The house is empty… literally… just Jae hyung with a plastic cup in his hand, leaning onto the kitchen counter. The entire space is cleared of its furniture. “Jae hyung! You scared me!” I whispered as I tightened my shoe laces.

“Hyung ah!? What happened to the house?!” Jae hyung was staring at me so curiously that I had to try changing the topic by shifting the focus onto the walls with holes and broken windows. No one should know about my expedition.

“Oh… don’t worry about that… your hyung is out shopping for repair materials. I screwed up.” He whispered the last three words… still checking out my rugged outfit.

“You guys need help with the repair?” I asked while trying to avoid his burning gaze. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will not require my attendance… and they didn’t.

“It’s alright… I am at fault here.” He said guiltily… then paused and continued. “Kid. Where are you headed? What about your hyung… you might want to wait for him to return first?” Jae hyung managed weakly as he sat down onto the only intact chair in the vicinity.

“He… It’s okay. I am going for an all-boys trip.” I tried to sound sheepish. We all know that I would never leave the house before “checking out” of the “Yunho check point”.

“You are driving? Your hyung has the car… you can use mine.” Jae hyung sighed and said finally, before reaching into his pocket… fishing out his car keys. We hardly ever use his car… since hyung claims that it is too flashy. I am aching for a ride in it… but not today.

“I don’t need it… Naul will be driving… and we will be back in a jiffy. Let hyung do all the work first. I will be back to help.” Jae hyung looked so exhausted that I am starting to get really concerned. He looks to be in terrible shape… a far fetch from the Jae hyung I first met… still an ethereal beauty… but more sunken.

“Go get some sleep. The room will be quiet now that I am not around to snore.” I tried to joke around a little so he won’t be able to tell that I am not keen on interacting any further. I need to look and sound like how I would usually.

“Going out for a joy ride?” Jae hyung chuckled and “wondered” back into the kitchen. “Yeah.” I replied hastily before charging out of the door.

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Running down to the small basement eagerly, Changmin met up with a tall slim man, just a few months younger than him. Both young men were dressed for heavy duty, and Jaejoong had noticed how Changmin was behaving oddly earlier on. Except Changmin does not know that.

“You are late!!” the younger man who is already inside his van, wind own his side of the window and hissed urgently at Changmin, while the other pulled open the sliding door of the van and slipped in. Apologising insincerely, and checking out his map more instead of paying attention to the driver.

“Hurry!! Hyung will be back any minute!” Changmin whacked his friend on the head with a rolled up newspaper beside him and returned to his maps, while the other raved the engine and kicked at the accelerator. They were swerving out of the driveway before the garage door even finished opening up.

What they did not notice, is another car’s headlights starting up, and a red sports car slipping out from the already closing garage door, barely making it through on time. And tailing them from a safe distance.

POV from Jaejoong

I was really worn out by the attack we launched on that facility, but that was the MOST satisfying experience!! A lifetime worth of my anger and hatred was vent and well taken care of. I hate to say that, but I feel so violent doing this. The violent and very angry side of me has finally revealed himself.

However, we are kind of back to square one… and I am still stuck at this point. At least I have a name this time… Park Yoochun. I plan to work on that when the house is fixed.

Yunho had been really kind to me… and even though this side of him creeps me out, I have to admit that he is really cheesy… and I quite like it. I am reminded yet again that having such a strong ally is really not a bad idea at all. I could use more help.

Then after I was done clearing the wreckage made of the shred up furniture, I heard heavy footsteps hurrying down the stairs… rousing my curiosity as I pour myself a cup of water. Leaving the kitchen, I saw Minnie rushing down the stairs… fumbling with his bag packs as he grabbed his shoes and pulled it on. The frown on his face looked really serious as he focuses on leaving.

The face that I never saw before… so serious and determined… that got me really curious. He even jumped ever so visibly when I approached him… trying to brush me off with whatever topic he can come up with. I might be worn out… but I am still as alert. I am always on my guard after all.

Here are the few suspicious actions that caught my eye. Firstly, Minnie never brushes me off when he knows I am concerned. Secondly, he is lying to me… he is dressed to join the army… and he tells me that he is going for a boys night out. He even brought his weapons along.

Lastly, Yunho will be back soon… but he does not bother to wait. He always waits to at least greet his brother before leaving for somewhere. That is the basic “courtesy” Yunho had ingrained into him… heck, that man practically drilled this practice into all of us.

His awkward, guilty moments had kicked off the brotherly instinct within me… and before I could tell myself otherwise, I was tailing him to the garage where the other boy’s van was waiting… and then I saw Minnie pulling out all his maps and scanning through them as he slipped into the van cautiously.

Ignoring the exhausted Jaejoong within me, calling out for a desperate need to rest, I quickly got into my own car and followed them out before the garage door shuts automatically. I don’t think they noticed me.

TBC

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