CHAPTER 3: PARALLEL DISTURBANCES

“Get your together, Sehun!”                           

Sehun groaned as his back hit the protruding metal handles. Chanyeol had slammed him against the school lockers, creating a loud ringing sound echoing through the empty hallway. It was lunch time, so most of the students were either dispersed throughout the campus grounds or staying at the cafeteria.

“Stop being a brat and start acting like a soldier!” The taller whispered harshly enough for Sehun to hear. He grabbed Sehun’s collar and forced the other to look at him. “I don’t give a damn if you curse all of humanity but don’t blow our cover.”

He challenged Chanyeol’s eyes before looking away, opting to glare at the floor. “Yes, captain.”

Releasing Sehun, Chanyeol breathed in deeply and sighed. He could not really stay angry at his subordinate since he was also his friend even though it did not seem that way. They grew up together and started their training almost at the same time. Sehun was the youngest and the most naïvely idealistic out of the entire top force, but he had always been a quiet individual back in their trainee camps. Ever since they landed on Earth, he became a rebellious troublemaker when Chanyeol expected otherwise. It seemed that the whole environment changed him or brought out his unwanted side at least.

Light footsteps suddenly reverberated down the hall, and a man with a graceful gait could be seen approaching them. Sehun and Chanyeol looked up to see who it was. They instantly recognized him from his serene-looking face and his brown asymmetric side-swept hair.

Chanyeol gave a salute as the person came closer, “X.”

The man greeted back with a dimpled smile. “Chanyeol, I think it’s a lot safer for us if you referred to me as Yixing even if we’re all alone.” He looked at Sehun and waved a little.

The youngest nodded at the newly arrived man while rubbing his back and standing straight from leaning on the lockers. He suddenly winced as he touched a part of his skin that was starting to bruise; an action which did not go unnoticed by Yixing.

At the sight of the scowling captain and a wincing subordinate, Yixing frowned as he put two and two together. He turned to Chanyeol swiftly, a questioning look on his face.

“What did Sehun do?”

“Called someone a pitiful human.” Chanyeol ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. “I hope those two we encountered earlier only thought you were a weirdo, Sehun.” The younger scoffed at this but he remained silent. 

Sighing, Yixing stepped closer to Sehun and turned him around. His hand hovered near the younger’s back and faint sparks of light emitted from his fingertips. “I know you’re not happy to be assigned under the covert ops, but giving your squad a hard time wouldn’t really change that.”

Sehun wanted to complain for being reprimanded like a kid, but he was sensible enough not to when the man doing so was healing his back at the same time. Muttering, he offered a small thanks instead.

After treating Sehun, Yixing turned to Chanyeol and gave the taller a stern look. “And you,” Chanyeol looked a bit startled from his admonishing tone. “Don’t be too rough. You almost caused a vertebra to slide.”

The two visibly paled at the healer’s words. Sehun seemed slightly frightened as he threw an apprehensive and rather accusing glance towards his captain.

“Sorry.” Chanyeol smiled uneasily at Yixing. The man’s gaze and tone reminded Chanyeol that even if he was of higher position than anyone in his four man squad, Yixing’s numerical ranking was at the upper echelon of their military structure, which meant that his abilities were far greater than most.

Yixing nodded before looking around. “Where’s Tao? Aren’t all of us supposed to meet here?”

“He’s running late, I suppose?” Chanyeol answered, also wondering why their final companion was absent.

Being a close friend of the missing man, Sehun gawked at this. “LXVIII? Late? That’s impossible.”

“It’s Tao, Sehun.” The captain spoke austerely, reminding the other to use human names. “And I know that but since we’re in Earth, I don’t know what to expect from the two of you anymore.”

Yixing, displeased, signalled the two to move. “C’mon, let’s just go find Tao”

Right after their class ended, Baekhyun told the new transferees that he wanted to introduce them to some people, his and Jongdae’s two other friends who they mentioned were from the student council. Before Tao and Jongin could even protest, the blonde had taken both their arms and dragged them to the cafeteria. For having a petite body and dainty hands, he was surprisingly strong enough to be able to pull two fully grown men.

When they arrived, Jongin was surprised to find Luhan seated beside a man named Kyungsoo, the first friend Baekhyun mentioned. Jongin called out his friend’s name, but Luhan only gave a small soft greeting back. It made the younger wonder why he seemed down, opposite from his bubbly self earlier that morning.

They all sat down around the long table as Baekhyun and Jongdae started to introduce each one of them. Minseok arrived moments later. Luhan had texted him and Kris of their location, but Kris told them that he was currently being toured by his classmate.

“So,” Jongdae started, “You guys know one another?”

Minseok contemplated his answer before he replied, “That’s right. Luhan, our other friend Kris, and I came from China and Jongin’s… an old friends of ours.”

Jongdae turned to Tao. “Aren’t you from China too?”

“I-I’m not with them,” he answered vaguely, his troubled face looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but his current location.

Baekhyun joined in, eager to know more about the new students. “Why did you all transfer here then?”

It was an innocent question but Luhan, Minseok and Jongin stiffened in dread. They never really thought of an answer for it.

Luckily, Kyungsoo had unknowingly saved them from coming up with a lie. “That’s a stupid question, Baek. Who wouldn’t want to transfer here in Busan U? Our standards here are quite good.”

Baekhyun gave his friend a look, “Oh, I don’t know, maybe a certain someone who kept on whining about not wanting to attend a ‘school for spoiled brats’ back in our freshmen days?”

The younger yelped, seemingly offended. “That was years ago!”

“Correction, that was only two years ago.”

Except for Jongdae, everyone else in the table looked lost as the two bickered in their own bubble.

“Why do you always make fun of me?”

“Oh, Soo, don’t think you’re so special~!”

Jongdae grinned amusedly. “Those two have always been a to each other ever since they met,” he said. “They’re close, but Baekhyun loves to bully Kyungsoo who, in return, fights back.”

“Aren’t you going to stop them?” Minseok asked, concerned when the two began to pinch each other’s cheeks and raise their voices.

“Why should I? It’s free entertainment for me,” he shrugged, giving a lopsided grin as his two friends erupted into a mess of limbs flying at each other.

Raising a ginger eyebrow, Minseok’s eye twitched. “You’re a twisted man, Jongdae-ssi.”

The other laughed, unaffected by the his words. “I’ve heard worse, Minseok-ssi.”

Just before Kyungsoo could take Baekhyun into a headlock, Jongin spotted a certain tall man approaching their direction. He partially stood up from his seat and waved a hand to catch the other's attention.

“Kris-hyung!” he called out, making the man pause from his conversation with the person beside him.

“Oh, that’s Junmyeon-hyung.” Kyungsoo pointed to the smaller man Kris was speaking with.

It was as if a congregation had materialized when Junmyeon and Kris joined in with the former company. As conversations continued, Kris and his group discreetly dodged more questions directed at them. Kris and Minseok mostly answered for their group while Jongin listened in his seat. Still heavily bothered by what had happened in his class earlier, Luhan remained silent throughout the whole thing, only providing words whenever he was directly spoken to. Minseok was aware of Luhan’s unusual behaviour, but given the circumstances, he did not voice it out, opting to tackle the subject later in private.

Kris became guarded when he realized that his group had already prolonged acquainting with Junmyeon and his friends. He gave Minseok a glance, trying to silently tell the older of his thoughts. Noticing the leader's glance on him, Minseok recognized the look and nodded. They both thought the same thing. Having the students as their classmates was enough distance as it was, but staying, and socializing with them further, heightened the risk of them being found out.

The two were about to make up a lie for their leave when, out of the blue, Luhan’s senses spiked, and the wolves noticed it immediately. Jongin, Kris, and Minseok looked at him in alarm; the hairs on their backs rising from the oppressive sensation he was giving out that only they could feel. They found the blonde looking acidly at an approaching figure heading their way.

"Tao!" A familiar pale-faced brunette shouted as he dashed forward with two other students following at a slower pace, but they stopped at a distance from the group.

Said man rose from where he sat as he saw his squad’s approach. Tao breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of them. "Sehun, Yixing-hyung, Chanyeol-hyung."

Recognizing his classmates, Kyungsoo frowned as he recalled how rude one of them was. “You’re the guy Luhan bumped into, the one who called him a pitiful human.”

At this, Sehun glowered but ignored Kyungsoo, knowing that Chanyeol was closely watching his actions. Turning away from the large-eyed man, he suddenly felt an intense gaze going to his direction. He looked up, and at the far end of the long table, he saw Luhan glaring at him again. This time, Sehun was able to observe the blonde from afar and when their gazes met, he was surprised to see just how much animosity Luhan’s eyes held. It was full of mistrust that it made Sehun wonder why he would look at him that way when the barely knew each other.

Does… does he know of what we are? Alarmed at the thought, he grabbed onto Tao and prodded him. Tao eyed him quizzically; curious as to why the younger wanted to leave so fast.

When Chanyeol and his squad were walking away, the captain felt Yixing stop in his tracks and look back at the group Tao was with previously.

“Yixing-hyung, is something wrong?”

Seemingly startled from his thoughts, Yixing quickly turned back to Chanyeol. “Oh, nothing. I thought I just saw something… familiar.” Someone, actually…

Chanyeol did not look convinced but he let it pass. “Alright, then.”

Walking at a fast pace, Kris and his group arrived at a less dense area of the school grounds. Reasoning out that they had matters to fix about their transfers, they had left Junmyeon’s company soon after Tao was dragged by his own companions.

Minseok eyed Luhan pensively. “What was that about?”

He looked away. “It was nothing…”

“Nothing?” Minseok snatched the blonde’s arm in anger. “We felt it, Lu! You’re going hostile again!”

Glaring back at the red head, Luhan drew away from the elder’s hold. “I have everything completely under control.”

“You call that under control? You looked like you were about to pounce the guy!”

Kris stepped forward and grasped Minseok’s shoulder. “Calm down, Minseok-hyung.”

The man gave a sneering sound but he stepped back. “And it’s only the first day…” He muttered unhappily, folding his arms over his chest as he looked away.

Squeezing the elder’s shoulder, Kris turned his attention to Luhan. “Can you suppress it?”

Blinking in surprise, the blonde looked up to Kris. “We’re not going away?”

The oldest and the youngest in the group stared at their leader. “Kris, what are you saying?” Minseok asked in wonder. Given the circumstance that Luhan was in, he had expected Kris to suggest on changing their location again.

“I don’t think it’s wise to leave just as soon as we arrived,” the leader said.

“But it isn’t wise to just let things be! What if he loses it again?” Minseok protested.

“I said I can control it!” Luhan countered, his voice raised as he stomped his foot defiantly, as if emphasizing his point.

“If Luhan-hyung says that he can suppress it, then I’ll trust him and hang on to that.” Kris stood firm like his words were final.

“For once, you’re going blindly into this, Kris. Even if he can, Luhan’s fits could--”

“We have to stay.”

There was a hint of desperation on the taller man’s tone that made Minseok halt from his protests. “Why?”

Kris furrowed his eyebrows and released a deep breath. “Junmyeon showed me some things… equipment that could maybe help us find a cure or find out exactly why we have this power, this curse. They have everything I need.”

At the leader’s words, Minseok’s expression softened but the anxiety on his face was still noticeable. “You’re not even sure if you’re going to find one.”

“But we have more chances of finding one here than anywhere else.”

"That's right, and it's not easy to find another place to move to, hyung." Jongin added.

Minseok sighed as he dropped his arms to his side in defeat. He twiddled his fingers at his side, glancing at Kris warily. “It’s a huge risk, Kris.”

Luhan stepped forward, “Minnie, please, just trust me. If Kris needs to be here, I'll do my best to give him that chance.”

“Sometimes I wonder why you even bother attending school when it’s safer for you not to.”

The blonde gave a small sad smile to the older. “I’ve thought of that, but I can’t let go of the last thing that's giving my life some sense of normalcy.”

Tao and Sehun walked through an area of brushes and trees at the edge of Busan University. Chanyeol had instructed the squad to start one of the tasks assigned to them by the HQ; to place force field wards around the perimeter of the campus. The two youngest of the group paired up for the job while the captain and their healer went on their own ways.

Tao twirled a silver metallic rod in his hand that was the same length as that of a twelve inch ruler. At its middle was a red button that flashed in a steady, rhythmic pattern. Beside him, Sehun held an electronic tablet that projected a map of the school’s coordinates. The two followed a trail that the device set for them, directly to points where the rods were supposed to be placed.

Tossing the ward in the air, Tao almost failed to catch it when he forgot the difference of the gravity on Earth and on their planet. Using his powers of time control, he halted the object in midair and grabbed it easily.

Sehun glanced at Tao reproachfully. “Don’t do that.”

Placing the rod in a sling bag that contained several more of it, Tao turned to Sehun. “I’m bored. Why are you so quiet, Sehunnie?”

The younger grimaced. “Don’t call me that!”

Tao made a face at his irritable companion. “What’s bothering you then, XCIV?”

Sehun stopped in his tracks when the device he held notified them that they were already on a ward point. He crouched on the ground and motioned Tao to plop down one of the rods. The other followed and took one out of the bag. He drove it into the dirt and pressed the red button. When the light stopped blinking, the rod started to drill on its own, stopping when it was completely burrowed in the ground.

“The guy earlier, the one named Luhan,” Sehun started as the two of them stood up and continued their trek.

“The blonde one that looked like a girl?” Tao clarified.

Sehun nodded. “He was glaring at me so intensely back at the cafeteria like… like he knew something.”

“Something?”

“Us, like he was aware that we're different."

Tao raised an eyebrow at Sehun. “How can you be sure of that?"

"I'm not, but I'm going to find out why he looked like he wanted me dead."

They stopped when they reached another ward point and Tao set a rod again. "Shouldn't you tell the captain?"

"I'll tell him after I find out if that Luhan really does know something."

"How would you do that? Humans aren't really honest beings or so our instructors taught us."

"But wild animals are." Sehun smirked."I just have to drive him insane into one."

Sitting in front of a computer screen atop Junmyeon's desk, Kyungsoo stared unblinkingly at the names registered on the list of new transferees. His eyes caught a few names of people he and his friends met earlier like Kim Jongin and Kim Minseok.

“We seem to have a lot of transferees this year,” he pointed out. The school only usually had less than ten whenever a new year starts. Reaching more than fifteen was already a feat.

The president, who was standing behind his secretary, hummed in affirmation. “It’s quite unusual considering the fees, but the more the merrier, right?"

"You're the only one who thinks that way, Junmyeon-hyung," said Baekhyun, who was seated beside Jongdae on the office couch, as he stared intently at his smart phone.

Junmyeon smiled. "You know me, I just want to meet a lot of people. I only hope that the new students don't cause any trouble."

Baekhyun hummed in agreement before turning to Jongdae, noting his quietness. The sharp featured man was also busy fiddling with his laptop and pressing keys at a mad pace. Leaning towards his friend, he tried to catch a glimpse of what Jongdae was working on but the man immediately shut the screen as he sensed the blonde's curiosity.

"Yah, Jongdae, what are you doing?" he asked, eyebrow raised, but nonetheless unperturbed.

 Jongdae grinned widely and wiggled his eyebrows. "Watching maybe~?"

"Yeah, right." Baekhyun snorted, not believing him. He turned back to his phone and sifted through their school's student profiles (from the university's very own social website), unaware that Jongdae was doing the exact same thing.

Dainty fingers gliding through the small glass screen, he scrolled through several profile pictures with a mantra in his head.

Noodle hair, noodle hair, noodle hair...

A/N:

FIRST OF ALL, I REALLY THANK EVERYONE WHO SUBSCRIBED TO THIS STORY AND FOR THE UPVOTES. I'm glad that people find this worthwhile. I know that I lack on the mood and characterization departments but l'll really really try to improve on my writing.

I'm sorry for the very very very late update. I'm really slow when it comes to writing (I tend to overdeliberate the chapters).

The next chapter will finally reveal some background on the aliens XD (I might spill a lot of factual sounding stuff so I hope it won't be a total bore).

Once again, I want to thank alevuy95 for edting this fanfic! Try out her fanfics! (I personally recommend Wish List muehuehuehuehue)