--------------------------------------------------------------

LIBRARY, GROUND LEVEL, CENTER TOWER.

Meanwhile,

“X-Gene?” You mumbled, as you read the word on the book.

“Yea, a genetic trait we have in our body that allows us to develop extraordinary abilities. In short, it’s the DNA complex responsible for our powers. It’s existence in our body differs us from normal humans.”

“Ow.. Hey, come to think of it, all six of you Boyfriend have x-genes in your bodies right..? (Youngmin raises his eyebrows) … How about changing the name into… X-Boyfriend?”

“X(ex)-boyfriend? … (performs boyfriend’s greeting) I’m your eX-Boyfriend…!”

He frowned, “Gah, sounds weird, uncreative, and so uninviting…”

--Author’s POV: Gee, thanks a lot, Youngmin-ah! T.T

“Tsk… geez……… (you then continue reading the book again) ….. Mutants are born with the genetic potential, but the mutations occur at puberty.”

“Just mostly, not every mutants. I and Kwangmin found our powers when we were six.”

You nodded, and continued, “The mutation leads to extraordinary abilities, and may cause physical change, such as wings, horns, skin color change, tails, etc. … Whoa, you Boyfriend are lucky, not having physical changes..”

“Yep, Thank God for that..”

“Well, anyway…. I’ve never seen any mutants with physical changes at school..”

“Never noticed, not never seen. There are lots of them in the school,” he said with a yawn.

……………………………….

--------------------------------------------------------------

 CANTEEN, GROUND FLOOR.

No class, and Kwangmin didn’t feel like doing anything today. So he just sat at the canteen alone.

He can’t stop his mind from thinking. He still remember how it felt. He didn’t feel it anymore, but the thoughts of it’s still bothering him.

His thoughts wander..

…………………………………

……………………………………………………………………

This morning.

Kwangmin woke up with a strange and annoying feeling on his chest. He wiped his neck. He felt his flesh creep.

And he felt that his room’s a bit colder. What…..

Kwangmin startled. He saw his bed was so messy, and almost covered with glossy ice shards.

So he had unconsciously frozen his bed last night.

He put his hands on his head, ruffled his hair, and thought, ‘What’s wrong with me?’

Suddenly Youngmin’s face flashed on his mind.

Kwangmin shook his head. He looked around. Youngmin has already left the room. Perhaps he has already gone to the school--too early, Kwangmin thought.

He jumped off his bed, faced it and lifted his right hand. As he moved his hand, the ice began to defreeze into drops of cold water drooling to the floor.

“Sigh…. I wish I can control water too.. I have to clean this up…”

He held his chest. He suddenly felt his body shivers. What is this feeling? He thought.

……………………………

……………………………

Kwangmin walked through the school gate alone.

That feeling’s already calmed a bit, but he still felt something’s annoying in his heart.

He passed his own classroom door, decided to visit Youngmin’s first. He took a peek on Youngmin’s classroom window, and Youngmin wasn’t there yet.

He sighed, and walked back to his classroom.

……………………………

……………………………

He tried so hard to concentrate on the lesson, but he couldn’t. He grabbed his pen, and anxiously--started tapping it on his table.

The annoying feeling just won’t stop swarming his skinny body. And he couldn’t stop thinking about Youngmin.

“Is something wrong with him?” He thought, as he rolled his eyes everywhere, and stopped at his hand—which was holding the pen.

He widened his eyes, the pen was covered with ice. He unconsciously froze something again.

“Indeed, something’s wrong with me… … ……… or Youngmin?”

He decided to excuse himself out of the class to visit Youngmin’s class again.

……………………………

……………………………

He took a peek on Youngmin’s classroom window again, and there, he saw Youngmin. He felt a small relief wave passing through.

“Whoa, Kwangmin? What are you doing here?”

He’s a bit surprised, but then he answered, “I.. I’m worried..”.

“Huh?”

“Is Youngmin okay?”

…………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………

…………………………………

“Hiya Kwangmin-ah…” a voice, vanished Kwangmin’s thoughts.

Kwangmin looked up, “Oh, hey.. Hyunseong-hyung..”

………………………………………………………………

--------------------------------------------------------------

LIBRARY, GROUND LEVEL, CENTER TOWER.

 “Three types of mutants, based on how they gain the abilities.”

“Fundamental Mutants, Staged Mutants, and Re-mutated Mutants.” You mentioned.

“What are they.?” Youngmin tested.

“Fundamental mutants, have single focused fundamental type of ability and mostly they gain all of their complete abilities since they first discovered their mutations... perhaps like you-fire, and Kwangmin-ice?”

“Hmm, perhaps… but that’s a good analysis of yours. Next.”

“Staged Mutants. Their mutations are partial, so they get their abilities partially, first stage, second stage, third stage. In other words, they get new powers in addition to their first stage. (Youngmin nods) …Most staged mutants are second staged... The difference of staged mutants and fundamental mutants are.. uh, staged mutants’ abilities differ each stage.”

“Yea differ each stage but still in line with the ability concept. (You brought your eyebrows together, confused.) Here, for example… uh.. if someday I find out that I can create lasers, I’m a staged. Or.. if Kwangmin someday finds out that he can control water.. he’s a staged.”

“Oh… why should the next stage power be the same with the previous one?”

“Not the same, different, but in-line with the concept. For example, uhh.. Minwoo can mimic muscular movements. If he’s a staged, maybe someday he can… uhh.. change appearance, mimicking someone’s face accurately?” He seemed unsure with the example he made, but you understood what he’s trying to explain, and you nodded.

He continued, “..It’s because our X-Gene had a constant typical mutation. It’s not possible that my X-Gene had fire and ice type at the same time. (you nod) Ok, next.”

“Re-mutated mutants. Their X-Gene are re-mutated, and—somehow re-arranged, and in effect, their power changes. (Youngmin nods) Like.. if you someday stop creating fire and start creating water, then you’re a re-mutated.”

“Good one. The book says; in ratio, from ten mutants, six are fundamentals, three are stageds and one is a re-mutant. But there’s no research until now, which find re-mutated mutants’ cases yet. I bet re-mutants’ are just myths..”

--------------------------------------------------------------

 CANTEEN, GROUND FLOOR.

Hyunseong sat in front of Kwangmin. He then tapped his finger on the table, and suddenly a bud grew. It kept growing bigger, the tip ballooned and split open, showing a big juicy-looked orange fruit inside. Hyunseong picked it and gave it to Kwangmin.

“Here. Rich of vitamin C, and definitely will help you feel better.”

“Huh?”

“Come on, anybody can tell that you had something in your mind.”

“Uh… ah anieyo.. “ Kwangmin denied.

“Your expression says otherwise.”

Kwangmin sighed, smiled at Hyunseong as a ‘thank you’, took the orange and started peeling it.

“Speak up Kwangmin-ah.. It helps lightening your burden if you share them to people…”

Kwangmin remained silent for a moment. Hyunseong patiently waited for him to be ready.

“I’m… worried about Youngmin…” Kwangmin finally spoke.

Hyunseong smiled wide, “Ah, brothers…”

Yah, why does everybody smile whenever I say I’m worried about my twinbrother?!—Kwangmin confusedly thought.

-------------------------------------------------------------

LIBRARY, GROUND LEVEL, CENTER TOWER.

Youngmin yawned. Again. You then noticed that he's been yawning couple of times. You noticed his watery eyes. At first you thought that he was just bored.

But then you realized that he's not bored, he's tired.

His eyes seemed to be so heavy now, and he nearly couldn't take it.

You looked at him, he noticed this, and spoke, "Mianhae."

"Huh?"

"Uh sorry.. pardon, I mean sorry, yea sorry.."

"You're.. rambling..? ...... Did you sleep well last night?"

He shook his head.

"Don't tell me you haven't even slept for the night."

He kept silent. You considered that it's a 'yes'.

"Just go back to the dorm then. I'll continue this alone."

You said it, though you really don't want to study just by yourself.

He shook his head, "Nah, I'll just take a short nap here."

"............"

"I want to make sure you study well. I don't want to be a failed tutor."

"It's up to you then." you said, hiding your small happiness for what he just said.

Youngmin leaned on the table, closed his eyes, and instantly fell asleep.

……………………………

--------------------------------------------------------------

MANSION’S OUTER WALL, FIRST FLOOR, OUTSIDE.

Minwoo his own lips. Sweats slowly go drooling down over his face.

He’s climbing the outer wall of the mansion’s first floor, near the teachers’ office rooms. He had no problem doing it, for he had watched Jackie Chan and Spiderman did it in the movies (*hahah).

He inspected every window he passed, making sure he took the right ‘path’ and nobody’s noticing him.

He stopped at a window, and with all his might, he lifted the window door open, and he sneaked in through.

The window has never been locked, since it’s Donghyun’s private office room, and Donghyun knows that Minwoo likes to sneak in through it.

Yeah, Donghyun is one of those X-Men members who become teachers.

Naughty little Minwoo, he used to sneak in Donghyun’s office often, meeting him just to have chit-chats, snacks or lunch together, play games in Donghyun’s computer, or any fun stuffs they can do together.

Yupp, they’re very close. Minwoo and Donghyun see each other as brothers.

--*or... father and son?

...................

“Annyeong~~, Donghyun-hyung!” he cheerfully greeted as usual.

No answer.

Minwoo frowned as he saw a handwritten note on the table that says:

Minwoo-ah,

If you see this, it means I’m currently out for a mission. Snacks are in the drawer, sodas are in the fridge. Feel free. Mianhae for not telling you earlier, bye!

 Donghyun

“Geez, what do I do now?” he complained.

He sat on Donghyun’s chair and leaned on the table. His eyes suddenly caught a heap of some photos lying on the table.

Minwoo’s innocent curiousness aroused, so he took some of the photos and started checking them one by one.

Those photos he took, are photos of some people. Some boys and girls, Minwoo had never seen before.

“Whoa, they’re good looking………but kinda... weird,” he commented.

He then put the photos beside his right hand. He took the rests of the photos, and checked them too.

Minwoo brought his eyebrows together. The rests are photos of human-like creatures, probably mutants. A guy with big horns on his head, a woman with red skin, an undefined blue person, etc. All monstrous. Minwoo felt his neck shivering.

“What’s with these photos? What’s Donghyun-hyung doing with these?”

He then shook his head, repressing his curiousness, and then put all of the photos back to the position they were before, as he mumbled to himself, “Come on Minwoo, it has nothing to do with you, anyways.”

--------------------------------------------------------------

SUB-LEVEL. RESTRICTED.

Yea, they are indeed trespassers. Uninvited, intruders. He’s sure of it now.

“Whoever they are, I can’t let them break into the Cerebra Chamber..” Jeongmin whispered to himself.

Suddenly Jeongmin felt someone held his shoulders. He was about to yell in surprise, but that ‘someone’ quickly covered his mouth, and pulled him roughly towards the wall.

……………………………………

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Inhales.... exhales....*

Pheeeewwwww!

My examweek passed, and I finally managed to update! :)

Ok !

Keep in touch, you! :)

Ah 1 more thing, did my new style of scene-change confuse you? If it did, I'm sorry, I'll just go back to my usual scene style.

Thanks! :)

--------------------------------------------------------------