Seven

Kris was the first person to react. In a flash, he had stepped in front of me, pushing me back a few steps into Lu Han, who caught my arm. Chanyeol also advanced forward, fists clenched, and I knew that he was about to set the man on fire if he got any closer.

Min, stop!

That voice…It was definitely my brother.

Min, he’s on our side.

“Stop,” I called, grabbing Kris’ arm. “Wait!”

“What?” Kris snapped, eyes still ahead.

“Min!” This time, Moonkyu was stepping towards me, moving around the man in the lab coat. He took two steps toward before he started running, shoving past a startled Kris to hug me, lifting me into the air.

I couldn’t believe that out of all places, I had found my brother here, in District 1, after being separated for so long. He was safe, unhurt from what I could tell, and we were finally together again.

“I’m so glad to see you,” he breathed, putting me down on my feet carefully. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

“I-me too,” I replied. To my horror, my eyes had started to water, and I was about to cry from relief and just overwhelming emotions.

“It’s okay,” Moonkyu said immediately, sensing some of my emotions. He hugged me again, patting me on the back softly. “I’m fine. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, sniffling and moving back towards the others guys, who had all caught up by now. “These guys, they’ve been taking care of me.”

“Good to see you again,” Joonmyun said, moving forward to shakes hands with Moonkyu. “Kris and I were worried when you just disappeared suddenly. Everyone was so secretive about it at the lab; we had no idea what happened to you.”

“This is Dr. Lee,” Moonkyu explained, gesturing at the man behind him, who waved. “He um...broke into the lab and got me out.”

“Who-?”

“Why don’t we get to a safer place and talk?” Dr. Lee suggested, stepping aside. He glance around furtively, and waves for us all to follow him deeper into the tunnel.

“How about no?” Kris shot back, standing his ground. He was suspicious of anyone in a lab coat, and this man was no exception.

“Min, he’s okay,” Moonkyu repeated. Check for yourself.

I followed Moonkyu’s instructions, and focused in on Dr. Lee’s brain, looking for any signs of danger or traps. I found none; just that he has been taking care of my brother for the past few weeks.

“I think we can trust him,” I said finally, turning to Kris and Joonmyun.

“How?” It was so Jongin to spit out the word venomously.

I silently glared back at him. “You’ll just have to trust me,” I replied through gritted teeth. Without waiting for his irrelevant reply, I glanced at the leaders again. Kris and Joonmyun exchanged looks, and then, Joonmyun nodded.

“Let’s go,” he said. No one dared disobey him.

Dr. Lee turned silently, and started back up the tunnel. Moonkyu moved over to take my arm, and the others fell into place behind us.

Who’s the moody one? Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

I turned and shot my brother a look, but couldn’t help chuckling a little.

He kind of got dumped recently.  Or rather, his girlfriend doesn’t remember him any more.

Moonkyu’s gaze hardened. So they were successful?

I nodded with a sigh. What ever they had taken from Moonkyu’s DNA had worked.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Yixing had moved to walk on my other side, and he stared at Moonkyu was a curious look on his face. Then, he snapped his fingers. “Are you guys having a mental conversation right now?”

Who’s this? Is that a dimple I see?

“This is Yixing,” I explained out loud, moving aside so the two would shake hands. “He can heal things. You’ve already met Joonmyun and Kris, and the others, they’re all like us.”

“Why are we - like us?” Sehun interrupted, biting his lip. A weak gust of wind swept through the tunnel, and Jongdae patted his back gently. Sehun took a deep, calming breath, and the breeze disappeared into nowhere.

“There’s a lot of things to tell you guys,” Moonkyu sighed, picking up his speed. “As soon as we get to the safe house.”

The “safe house” was rather well hidden. Dr. Lee seemed to pause in the middle of nowhere a few minute later, with no visible marker, and a moment later, a piece of the cement flooring in a corner had moved aside.

“We