T h e   I n s t i t u t e

Chapter One

The plane burst through the deep, threatening grey clouds it had been gliding through for the last hour or so. Now city lights blinked up from below like an ocean of stars in the blackness of the shadowed buildings. It was Seoul, at night and Hankyung wondered if this was their stop. But the journey didn’t seem to be coming to an end just yet and he looked away from the window to occupy himself with something else.

They got off the plane and were escorted over to the cars by the agents who’d travelled with them and then hopped inside. The windows were tinted which made it near impossible to look out and see where they were going or catch a glimpse of The Institute as they approached. Hankyung pondered on whether this was done on purpose so that they wouldn’t know the location and the thought made him uneasy about who was actually going to be working for.

ZhouMi was still giddy next to him and, though he wouldn’t admit it, the effect did rub off on him a little bit. Despite the mysterious nature of The Institute, Hankyung couldn’t wait to meet the other agents they’d be working with, find out about their ‘talents’ and hopefully be trained properly to use his own. He and ZhouMi had come from a small establishment in Beijing that wasn’t anything to scream about but they did get the work done efficiently. Their boss had been the one to recommend them to The Institute as he felt that their high level skills would be better suited working for the best in the business.

That was how they found themselves flying across the Yellow Sea to an infamous organisation that was apparently highly anticipating their arrival. For all that Hankyung had heard about this place, he did know that they didn’t take on new recruits so easily and despite being a modest man, he couldn’t help but feel a little confident in himself at that knowledge. A small smile worked its way onto his face as the car began to slow down.

The group of arrivals got out of the Jeeps and stepped out on a grand driveway that curved up in front of a very large, robust building. The dark of the night only served to enhance the menacing image by casting great shadows around the bulky architecture. Hankyung and ZhouMi were led down to the right along another stretch of the drive where a row of muscular vehicles were parked and then into an entryway of Romanesque design. There were guards stood outside who opened up the doors for them to pass through and into an elaborately impressive entrance hall.

The room was big and vast with art deco designs cut into the marble covering every square foot, even the pillars that lined the walls on either side. At the far end of the hall was a grand desk where another guard sat and two more stood. The wall behind it was adorned with an enormously long, curtain-like banner which proudly depicted the symbol of The Institute. The group came to a stop in the middle of the hall, save for one of the agents who went to the desk and spoke to the guard sitting there.

Without any warning whatsoever, the floor shook and the square of marble that the group was stood on starting descending into the ground, sending them down into the depths of their new home. Clever, thought Hankyung, now he knew why it was so hard to break into this place. He saw ZhouMi grinning at him again and he smiled back just to prove that, yes, he was excited.

The marble/elevator halted with a jerk in a smaller hall that was considerably fuller of life. There was another sizeable desk in the centre which had people milling around it and there were door and corridors leading off to unknown places. An important looking man came over to greet them; he wore a fine suit instead of the uniform of the agents and the guards. He had a kind face and a warm smile that crinkled up his beard as he did so.

‘We are so pleased to welcome you here.’ He said, addressing Hankyung and ZhouMi in Korean. They were not fazed, their line of work required the use of several languages and Korean was just one of them. ‘I hope you get settled in nicely and that the others play nice.’ He chuckled.

‘We’re honoured to be given a place here.’ ZhouMi spoke up, bowing his head slightly. The man chuckled again.

‘From what I’ve been told, I think you’ll become great assets to the team. Ah! But I haven’t introduced myself! I am Master Gong and I’m the manager of all the regular agents. You’ll meet with Master Chen later I presume who, aha, attempts to organise all of the special agents. He’ll be the one you deal with the most. I am simply here to greet you and show you around.’ Master Gong smiled again and Hankyung found himself smiling back.

‘It’s nice to meet you.’ He said politely.

‘Shall I begin the tour then?’ They nodded. ‘Follow me. This is just the foyer for getting in and out the business entrance of The Institute. Obviously we have plenty of underground tunnels for the cars, vans, submarines, jet…’ Master Gong trailed off his sentence as they strode across the foyer and Hankyung eyes widened considerably at the mention of a jet. ‘Now we’re coming to the meeting point. This is where you’ll gather with the rest of the agents when the alarm goes off for a mission.’

They’d travelled along a short corridor and now emerged into a wide space with other passageways running off it and doors to who knows what. Agents were strolling through it, some flicking through paperwork and others brandishing weapons though there seemed to be no sign of any unusual abilities yet. Hankyung noticed the big red light on the wall that he assumed would flash and howl when they were called out for a mission.

‘Straight ahead is the way to the swimming pool and specialised training facilities. On your right is where you’ll want to go if you’re hungry. We have a café that’s open all hours, quite handy if you’re working late and need a coffee.’ Master Gong chuckled to himself and then started proceeding down the corridor to their left. ‘This’ll take us off to the common room, sleeping quarters and gym. Your new co-workers are more than likely to be in the common room so you can meet them in a minute.’

ZhouMi immediately grinned at the prospect of meeting new people, his happiness inevitably rubbing off and leaving an excited feeling swirling around Hankyung’s stomach. They followed Master Gong down the same passage for some time while he talked enthusiastically about the developments they were making on The Institute until eventually they came to a T-juncture.

‘As I said, sleeping quarters are down to the left. Leeteuk or someone will probably show you them later I expect. Let’s go down to the gym and then we’ll come back up to the common room.’ They turned right and down a few paces before reaching another wider area. Along one wall was a pair of elevators and on the other, an archway leading off to somewhere. Master Gong called up the lift and then got in when it opened almost immediately afterwards.

He pressed the button to go down and they were transported to a few levels below. When the elevator doors reopened, they were in a small room surrounded by glass walls on the inside of the building. Master Gong took them through sliding glass doors and onto a platform. It was a mezzanine level that they walked across and it looked down into the very impressive looking gym. They went down the stairs at the end of the platform and suddenly were surrounded by highly advanced, technological equipment.

‘Oh look! You can meet one of the other special agents already.’ Master Gong announced and went wandering off to the side of the room. There were booths of varying sizes all around the outside of the gym with glass front walls. They were clearly designed for very specific kinds of training. At least that’s what Hankyung gathered as they approached the one Master Gong had scurried over to where a boy in fitness gear was being pummelled from all sides by an onslaught of computer generated blocks.

‘What is he…?’ ZhouMi started to mutter.

‘Siwon-ssi!’ Master Gong called, knocking on the glass. The boy didn’t look up immediately, he seemed lost in concentration. ‘Siwon-ssi, the new agents are here!’ This time he noticed them and flashed a dazzling, supermodel smile. He came over to the glass wall and pressed his hand against an invisible touch pad that glowed blue when he made contact with it. The door slid open and he stepped out.

‘Evening Master Gong.’ He inclined his head in a bow towards them all. ‘You must be our new recruits.’ He exclaimed when he took in the appearance of the two Chinamen stood awkwardly before him. ‘I’m Siwon. It’s good to finally meet you.’ Hankyung and ZhouMi smiled back at him, not able to get a word in before Master Gong started talking again.

‘What are you doing training so late? I thought Master Chen told you to take some time off after the stress of last week. I heard your team got outnumbered without warning. It’s ok to rest for a while Siwon, it’s not usual for trolls to suddenly get together just to take out some agents.’

‘I’m fine, honestly. I’m just trying to work on some things and I can’t let myself get lazy. The hard work will reward itself in the future.’ Siwon explained, grabbing a towel from a rack that was nearby and wiping off his sweat.

‘You really sound like your father sometimes.’ Master Gong furrowed his brows as if he couldn’t quite work out whether what he’d said was a good thing or not. Hankyung figured that Siwon’s father must have been an agent of the Institute before him; the place had been up and running for almost forever, constantly changing to adapt to new technology and greater threats. He didn’t get much time to slip into a daydream about history, however, before Master Gong was clapping his hands together and declaring that it was about time they met the other special agents.

‘I’ll probably see you around later I suspect.’ Siwon said before they departed. ‘Don’t let the others freak you out, they mean well.’ He grinned, leaving both Hankyung and ZhouMi wondering what he meant about the agents. They guessed they’d soon find out.

Master Gong took them on a small trip around the perimeter of the gym, showing off how up to date and top of the range all the equipment was, then it was back into the elevators and up to the level they’d been at before. They crossed to the archway and slipped through it coming to another set of corridors, one leading straight ahead and the other to the left. It was left that they went and not too long a way before they came to a set of double doors, one of which was slightly open so they could hear the sounds of talking and laughter from within.

‘Special agents.’ Master Gong called as they entered the common room. It was a wide open space with a great many areas to sit on comfy armchairs and sofas. On the walls hung portraits and more of the Institute’s banners, the biggest of which being hung perfectly above the mantelpiece of a great, roaring fire along the back wall. In the middle of the room was the biggest and comfiest-looking set of furniture where an assortment of people lounged around. They all looked up when Hankyung and ZhouMi appeared with varying facial expressions.

‘Are these the new agents?’ One of the older looking boys asked with a kind smile and a dimple in his left cheek.

‘Yes, everyone, this is Hankyung and ZhouMi.’ Master Gong introduced and there was a ripple of greetings from the room. ‘Why don’t I leave you to it and you can get to know each other?’ With that, he took off leaving the two newbies feeling a little abandoned and awkward.

‘Come sit down, we won’t bite.’ The same boy spoke again. ‘I’m Leeteuk, precognition psychic. This is Kangin.’ He gestured to the guy sitting at his feet with his back against the armchair.

‘Lycanthrope.’ Kangin said in way of greeting. Hankyung and ZhouMi bowed and smiled at them both, about to introduce themselves properly before someone else started speaking.

‘Me and Kyuhyun have demonic powers.’ Said the girl sat on the sofa. At least she looked like a girl, Hankyung wasn’t entirely convinced. ‘I’m Sungmin.’ She – or he – had long, wavy brown hair and a set of perfectly pouting lips. If Hankyung’s eyes weren’t playing tricks on him then he swore he saw her eyes flash blood red as she blinked at him intensely.

‘No he’s not a girl.’ Hankyung jumped round to the person sat on the armchair next to his. ‘I’m Kibum, telekinetic psychic. Sungmin likes to play dress up.’ The telekinesis would explain how he knew what Hankyung was thinking about. Kibum looked like a quiet, stoic kind of guy and the image was made complete when he buried himself back into a book even when Sungmin started protesting that he was just making a fashion choice to suit his personality. The boy he’d mentioned earlier, Kyuhyun, was slumped next to him and was looking at Sungmin in an amused, appraising way; Hankyung wondered if they were together.

‘No they’re not together.’ Kibum spoke again, not even bothering to stop reading this time.

‘Have you been reading all my thoughts?’ Hankyung enquired, a little unnerved that Kibum could have been delving into his mind, not that he had much to hide.

‘Just the ones that stuck out. I don’t do it all the time, there’s no need to worry.’

‘Sungmin’s sort of going out with Siwon.’ Said one of the boys who had yet to introduce himself.

‘He’s also sort of not.’ The one next to him added.

‘It’s complicated!’ They chanted together at the same time as Sungmin. However, Sungmin wasn’t laughing. Hankyung was briefly reminded of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.

‘Shut up Eunhyuk.’ Sungmin scowled, flicking his hair over his shoulder.

‘Hey it was Donghae as well!’ Eunhyuk protested.

‘Yes but I like Donghae more than you.’ The boy in question lit up like a kid at Christmas and he stuck his tongue out at Eunhyuk for good measure. ZhouMi laughed at their antics and suddenly everybody bristled into a happy mood.

‘Why am I smiling? I’m mad at you.’ Sungmin demanded, glaring at Eunhyuk as if it was his fault.

‘Oh I’m sorry. It’s me. I’m an empathy psychic.’ ZhouMi explained.

‘Another psychic! Welcome to the club.’ Leeteuk grinned at him, feeling happy all on his own.

‘I’m trying to work on not letting my natural emotions interfere with other peoples’. I once made Hankyung start crying because I was in a lot of pain from a mission.’ Hankyung sniggered at the memory.

‘So what do you do then, Hankyung?’ Donghae piped up.

‘I’m a pyrotechnic.’ He didn’t expect there to be oos and aas, but there were.

‘We haven’t had a pyrotechnic round here since I started.’ Leeteuk said. Hankyung merely shrugged and smiled, he wasn’t one for showing off. His attention flicked back to the others and Sungmin was apparently checking him out. He could feel himself going red. Donghae, on the other hand, was bouncing up and down.

‘This is going to be so cool! We can train together. I’m an aquakinetic!’ He cried happily. Eunhyuk put a hand on his knee to get him to calm down but it didn’t do much good.

‘That sounds like it’d be good.’ Hankyung replied to the training suggestion. He actually felt excited too at the prospect of going up against an aquakinetic, they were basically opposites but he bet if they practised at it enough, they could get their powers to work together.

‘What about you?’ ZhouMi interrupted, looking to Eunhyuk who was the last person yet to reveal his special talent.

‘They call me superhuman.’ Eunhyuk replied, putting on a voice as if he were in a superhero movie. ‘I run faster, jump higher, lift heavier stuff… Master Chen thinks I’m just more evolved than humans.’

‘And yet you still look like a monkey.’ Kangin stated, his grin widening crookedly.

‘Oh you want to go? Come on wolf-boy!’ Eunhyuk sprung to his feet with great ease. The others were laughing and rolling their eyes as if this happened all the time which Hankyung had no doubt that it did; a secret hide-out full of specially gifted individuals, they’re bound to get sick of each other. He had the shock of his life, however, when all of sudden, Kangin crouched down on all fours and with a whoosh and a crack, he became a wolf. A very large, slightly wilder looking wolf than the average, but a wolf nevertheless.

‘Sit down Hyukkie.’ Donghae said, exasperatedly and pulled on Eunhyuk’s t-shirt to get him to return to his seat. Kangin, still in wolf form, lay down on the floor letting Leeteuk his grey-brown fur.

‘There are more of us, in case you were wondering.’ Kibum said quietly, turning a page in his book.

‘In case you wanted a bit more of the madness.’ It was the first time Kyuhyun had spoken since they’d entered the room and Hankyung was caught off guard by how menacing his voice sounded though he did recall Sungmin saying something about demonic powers. They never got on to talking about the other agents for they were suddenly interrupted by the blaring noise of a siren going off. Red lights that Hankyung hadn’t noticed before started flashing and over the top of the din came a computerised voice.

‘Threat level 3.’ It spoke and repeated itself a few more times. The agents jumped to their feet.

‘Looks like you’re getting thrown in at the deep end.’ Kangin said, having returned to being a human.

‘Just come with us and we’ll guide you through it. This is probably the best way to show you how we run things.’ Leeteuk added. He was busying himself with opening up disguised wooden crates and tossing weapons to some of the others; they seemed to be ever prepared. Unlike Kyuhyun and Sungmin, the remaining three in the room had stayed where they were.

‘Are you not coming?’ Hankyung asked Kibum.

‘It’s only a level 3, there’s a rota for these. It’s my day off. Same for Hae and Eunhyuk.’ He replied with a reassuring smile. Hankyung shrugged, he’d probably be given information about these sorts of things when he and ZhouMi finally met with Master Chen. The other Chinaman was being handed a set of weaponry that he seemed to get the grips of quickly.

‘I’m guessing you only have a couple of handguns or something.’ Kangin said to Hankyung, already with the guns for him to take.

‘You guessed right.’ Hankyung had never really had a proclivity for shooting or using any other kind of weapon for that matter; he preferred to rely on his own special ability as his best ally in combat. It seemed like the same applied for Kangin who had a long blade sheathed into his boot and another strapped to his forearm which seemed very little in comparison to Leeteuk who now had two rifles strapped to his back, a shotgun in his hand and a whole roll of extra ammo.

‘Come on, we better get going.’ Sungmin said. He’d taken off the hoodie he’d been wearing earlier leaving him in only a bullet proof vest over a wife beater and black combat pants. His weapon of choice was none other than a whip and Hankyung swallowed thickly at the strange Lara Croft-esque image he created, especially since he still looked so much like a girl; it was any gaming nerd’s wet dream. He also happened to notice Kyuhyun looking in any other direction than Sungmin. 

They headed out of the common room, saying goodbye to the three left in there and went out into the corridors to make their way to the meeting point. If Hankyung had learnt anything so far, it was that you had to be up and ready to go at a minute’s notice. They probably had snipers hidden behind paintings or a stash of grenades under a floorboard. He couldn’t even imagine what the armoury looked like. 

When they reached the meeting place, there was already a substantial amount of people grouped there ready to go. Some of them were wearing the same sort of gear as the special agents with their black military-style clothing whereas a group of older men had on pristine suits like they were the FBI. Well, they sort of were. The FBI for supernatural beings maybe.

‘Some hellhounds have gone loose in subway station downtown. It should be a simple job but we need the back up to secure a perimeter in case they give chase. Kyuhyun and Sungmin, you’re going to take the lead on this for obvious reasons.’ Said what appeared to be the leader of the men in suits.

‘Sure thing Master Chen.’ Kyuhyun said with a sarcastic salute. Master Chen rolled his eyes. Hankyung had the moment of thinking ‘so that’s who you are’ before he was being herded off with the other agents to what he presumed would be the garage.

His suspicions were proved correct when, after travelling down a lot more different corridors and a few flights of stairs, they entered a very impressive hangar filled with a drool-worthy selection of vehicles. He knew it was a very slim chance but Hankyung really hoped they were going to use the Ferrari for this mission. He felt a tad disappointed when, instead of a sports car, he was directed into the back of van with out windows.

‘By the time we get there, they’ll have secured the perimeter and got the public out of the way.’ Leeteuk explained to ZhouMi and Hankyung. ‘You just follow us and watch our backs while we find the hellhounds. Once we’ve caught them, the jobs easy enough – take them out.’

‘We’re probably going to manage it by ourselves but we’ll still need you for backup if things go sour.’ Sungmin added, the ‘we’ being him and Kyuhyun. Hankyung found himself feeling quite excited at getting to see what exactly the demons could do. The establishment in China had mainly agents with common powers, despite perhaps himself being excluded from that. Demonic powers were rare and usually possessed by volatile individuals that winded their way up in the special jails the Institute had founded.

Hankyung felt ZhouMi’s nerves as they travelled into the city and he patted his friend on the back, giving him a smile to assure him that they were going to be fine. His eyes then travelled over to Leeteuk who had his eyes shut and looked to be in deep concentration. Kangin was also watching him with an expression of admiration and Hankyung wondered, if not Sungmin and Kyuhyun, that these two were together.

‘The hounds are trying to catch a train eastbound.’ Leeteuk said, suddenly breaking out of the trance he was in. Recalling back to the introductions, Hankyung remembered the elder as being a precognition psychic so he could look into the future. He must have been training for years since the only psychics of a similar nature that Hankyung remembered in China, could only have visions occasionally and randomly. He didn’t get to ask about it because the van then came to a halt.

‘Jesus Christ Henry!!’ He spun around to see Sungmin whacking an unfamiliar boy upside the head who had obviously startled him with his sudden appearance since he definitely hadn’t been there a second ago. Henry laughed despite getting hit.

‘I’ve been here the whole time!’ He cried as if they were supposed to know.

‘Hankyung, ZhouMi, this is Henry. Invisibility, as you may have guessed.’ Leeteuk introduced. They all clambered out of the van and found themselves on a main road next to a subway entrance. Hankyung blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright lights coming from the shops and bars along the street; if the area hadn’t been evacuated, it would have been packed with nightlife.

‘Oh f- Not you as well! Stop jumping up on me!!’ Yet again he swivelled around to the sound of Sungmin screeching though instead of Henry, yet another stranger was getting smacked.

‘That’s Yesung. Teleportation.’ Kangin muttered as he passed him, not needing Kibum to know what Hankyung was wondering. The group moved over to the pavement where Master Chen and some of the regular agents were waiting for them and got their orders. Soon enough they were descending into the subway and following Leeteuk who seemed to know where he was going. When they reached the barriers, he turned to them all.

‘Ok you two go ahead. Kangin and I will stay back here and cover the exits this way in case they get past you.’ He said to Kyuhyun and Sungmin who began adjusting their weapons and preparing for taking on the hellhounds. ‘Yesung, Henry. Now that you’ve showed up, you can work as distractions if those two have trouble taking the hounds head on.’ Sungmin scoffed. ‘ZhouMi, you can stay with me. We’ll probably be training together so it makes sense.’ ZhouMi nodded and moved over to where Kangin and Leeteuk stood. ‘And Hankyung can go as backup with the others. Everybody good?’

‘Let’s gank some hellhounds.’ Kyuhyun declared, cocking the trigger on his shotgun. The two groups moved off in different directions: Leeteuk, Kangin and ZhouMi spreading out around the main floor in front of the barriers whilst Kyuhyun led the rest of them down an escalator and into the depths of the station.

It was surreally quiet for a subway except for the occasional whoosh of a train passing through. None of them were stopping which must have been the work of the regular agents. The group moved stealthily through the underground with guns locked, loaded and raised out in front of them. Henry had disappeared once again though his footsteps could still be heard on the tiled floor. As they got closer to the eastbound platform, they all heard a satanic growl rumbling in the tunnels. They stopped just at the top of the stairs leading down onto the platform and Kyuhyun gestured to them to listen in.

‘Yesung, you go down first and bring them up here. We can catch them off guard once they’re at the top of the stairs.’ He whispered furtively. Yesung nodded and in the blink of an eye, he dematerialised leaving only strings of black smoke in his wake. Sungmin gestured for the rest of them as to where they should station themselves and Hankyung soon had a good idea of what their game plan was.

No sooner had they slunk into position did the growling intensify threefold. Yesung was jeering at the hounds and winding them up. Their roars reverberated all around the subway as if they’d plunged into hell itself. From Hankyung’s position he had a very clear view of the bottom of the stairs and when the hellhounds came into view, he felt a wash of fear flood through his body unpleasantly. There were two of them. The creatures were enormous, as big as lions, with faces like Dobermans and shark’s teeth. Every step they took shot flames up their legs and smoke billowed around them as if they were constantly emerging from shadow.

Yesung flitted in and out of view until he was jumping up and down at the top of the stairs, taunting the hounds as they snarled and barked while steadily stalking up towards him. Kyuhyun and Sungmin seemed to exchange a silent understanding from the opposite sides of the mouth of the stairs. Hankyung let out of a tiny gasp as he watched their eyes grow dark and blood red energy gather in their fists. He let his own fire twirl round his hands, forgoing the guns entirely since he felt like hellhounds wouldn’t have much trouble deflecting a bullet.

All at once, the cursed animals reached the top of the stairs and Kyuhyun was yelling ‘Now!’. He and Sungmin flung themselves into view of the hounds and pummelled them with the red energy spurting from their palms. As it hit them, they seemed to writhe in pain like they’d been hit with a taser. One of them fell to the ground, shaking and shaking. It was having a fit. Hankyung took this as his cue to dart forwards and summon a ball of fire that swirled and cascaded in the air, twisting itself into the shape of his signature dragon before he unleashed it onto the hounds.

There was a brief moment of confusion before, ‘Hankyung run!!!’ Sungmin’s voice came screaming from behind the cloud of smoke he’d arisen from the flames. Hankyung heard the hounds growling again and he didn’t need telling twice. He took off back towards the entrance as fast as his legs could carry him. Note to self: fire pisses off hellhounds. Adrenaline was pulsing in his ears as he legged it through the subway and in his peripheral vision he saw Yesung teleporting to catch up with him and hopefully steer the hounds off his tail. Gunshots were firing in all directions, smashing through tiles and bringing debris crashing down from the ceiling.

‘Bring them back this way!!’ Kyuhyun shouted from behind them. Hankyung only dared to look back when he heard the sound of a whining canine. His eyes widened in shock and fear when he saw Sungmin hovering in the air, red energy swirling around him and streaming down to pulverise the hellhounds into submission. His long hair whipped about his face and his eyes had gone completely black. Kyuhyun looked just as astounded as Hankyung did but he didn’t waste time and when he saw that the hounds were almost dead, called out a specific set of words in Latin.

The ground opened up beneath the creatures, a blazing vortex that led to the netherworlds and beyond. They fell through it easily without the strength to fight back and once they had descended back to the fiery chasm they belonged, the portal sealed and Sungmin dropped to the floor. Hankyung and Kyuhyun leapt forwards to catch him before his head hit the hard ground, Yesung and Henry appearing beside them.

‘Sungmin? Sungmin?!’ Kyuhyun cried in a panic, shaking his friend in an effort to get him to wake up.

‘What did he do just then?’ Hankyung had to know.

‘He… he… we’re not supposed to! He drained the rest of his normal energy just to blast that out!’ Kyuhyun explained in a panic, still trying to get Sungmin to wake up. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard rushing towards them and Leeteuk, Kangin and ZhouMi joined them demanding to know what had happened.

‘Sungmin got the hellhounds.’ Yesung said in a small voice, his was biting on his bottom lip.

‘He did it again, didn’t he?!’ Leeteuk yelled, throwing his arms up in frustration. Kangin immediately went to calm him down but now Hankyung was frowning.

‘He’s done this before?’

As soon as they stepped foot back into the Institute, they knew something was wrong. It was like an instinctual feeling that all of them could relate to but chose not to speak about. They remained silent the whole way back through the corridors and to the meeting point, Sungmin being given a piggy back from Kangin since he didn’t have the energy to walk and stay awake. Master Chen had left them not long after they’d arrived, explaining that he needed to check on something, as did many of the other regular agents. Some agents ran past them through the hallways but on the whole, they were alone.

‘Let’s head to the common room. See if anyone’s still up.’ Yesung suggested and they did just that. The corridors were deserted which seemed unusual despite the fact that most people should have been asleep by now. When they entered the common room they were met with the sight of one very pale face.

‘Chul-ah?’ Leeteuk said quietly. Kangin quickly manoeuvred Sungmin onto an armchair and rushed forwards, taking a hold of the figure with auburn hair who, as soon as they were wrapped tightly in Kangin’s arms, started shaking and choking back sobs. ‘What happened? What’s wrong?’ Leeteuk questioned in a soft voice, going forwards and the crying person’s arm.

Hankyung, after having met Sungmin, couldn’t be sure if it was a girl or a boy. They were wearing a tight skirt but an oversized jumper that hid any indications about gender. He and the others moved further into the room where they could better hear what was going on. Leeteuk kept trying to coax information from his friend but they were trembling badly and soon enough starting hyperventilating.

‘Heechul, calm down.’ Kangin helped Heechul to sit down on the sofa then changed to wolf form so he could sit close and let the latter his fur. It seemed to have a calming effect and Hankyung didn’t question it.

‘Please tell us what happened.’ Leeteuk practically begged, crouching so he could look up into Heechul’s face. When the cries died down to whimpers, Heechul finally managed to get out a few words.

‘B-break in… it was the… the dark… dark elves.’

Hankyung’s blood ran cold.

oOoOo dramatic first chapter

I like to leave you in suspense cause I'm secretly evil ;)

first chapter - what do you think?

remember that feedback really helps motivate me to write and I love hearing what you liked about the story <3

~JC