T h e   I n s t i t u t e

Chapter Nineteen

Sungmin woke up gasping for air and he propelled himself forward into a sitting position. He was suddenly swamped by nurses who started messing with the needle in his arm and the machines around him. He panted to catch his breath and tried to focus his blown-wide eyes on what was happening. Heechul, Leeteuk and Ryeowook were at the end of his bed, all looking worried and frantic. The nurses kept trying to usher them out of the way but Heechul determinedly pushed his way back, shrieking that he wasn’t leaving.

‘What happened?’ Sungmin rasped.

‘Just lie back Sungmin, no need to panic.’ A nurse gently pressed on his chest to guide him back down but he batted her hand away.

‘Heechul!’ He cried and Heechul shoved an orderly into the wastepaper basket.

‘Are you alright?’ The shapeshifter asked, barging through to the side of the bed. The nurses gave up trying to restrain him.

‘What happened? Why am I here?’ Sungmin demanded. His eyes implored Heechul and he glanced round at Leeteuk and Ryeowook as well for answers.

‘Don’t you remember? You were on a mission at the Troll Market. They said you went into the-’

‘The station!’ Sungmin yelped. His brain flooded with information as his memories returned. He subconsciously grabbed Heechul’s forearm but the latter carefully shifted his hand away from his wrist splint while Sungmin stared into space.

‘You’ve been asleep for almost a full day, Min. The nurses say you’ve healed yourself quite well.’ Leeteuk said softly. It took Sungmin a second but then he realised his demonic energy must have preserved him after the explosion.

…explosion

‘Kyuhyun!!’ Sungmin yelled and threw off the bed covers. He was immediately restrained by the nurse still hovering next to the bed. ‘Kyuhyun!! Where is he?!’ An orderly rushed over to help the nurse and Sungmin’s arms were held as he was coaxed into lying back down but he wasn’t having any of it. ‘Is he ok?!!’ He screeched at Heechul.

‘He’s alright. He’s…’ The shifter went quiet and bit his lip, flicking his eyes to Leeteuk.

‘Heechul tell me he’s ok!!’

‘He’s in a stable condition, that’s what matters.’ Leeteuk said. Sungmin gawped for a moment then the second that the orderly and the nurse relaxed, he got the better of them and launched himself off the bed, ripping the needle out of his arm as he went. He ran out of the room and down the corridor, the floor cold on his bare feet.

‘Kyuhyun! Kyuhyun!!’ He yelled, not entirely sure where he was going. Heechul was running after him and probably Leeteuk and Ryeowook after that. He kept running as fast as he could in his weakened state, not caring about the curious looks he was getting from the medical staff in the area. He turned right down another hallway and nearly tripped over himself when he saw Yesung. ‘Where’s Kyuhyun?!!’

‘Sungmin? What are you doing?! Shouldn’t you still be in bed?’ Yesung asked. ‘Heechul! What’s going on?’ He cried, catching sight of the shifter over Sungmin’s shoulder.

‘Where’s Kyuhyun?!’ Sungmin demanded once again, getting closer to where Yesung stood.

‘He’s… there.’ Yesung tentatively pointed to the glass next to him and when Sungmin finally caught up to him, he turned and looked through the window. In a room very similar to the one he had just fled was Kyuhyun but the demon’s eyes were shut and he was hooked up to a breathing tube. A lot of his body was wrapped in bandages. There were needles in his arms as well and more tubes and more machines making beeping noises. Most noticeably about his appearance was the large gash running down the side of his face from his hairline, right across his right eye and down to the underside of his jaw. Sungmin stared in horror.

‘Kyu…’ He murmured.

‘He’s going to be alright, Minnie.’ Heechul said though he didn’t sound convinced.

‘What happened?’ Sungmin asked and hopefully for the last time that day. He heard Leeteuk breathe slowly behind him and then step closer to the window.

‘When you were trying to get out of the station, Kyuhyun was the closest to the explosion.’ He began steadily. ‘Siwon tried to throw up a force field around you all to protect you from the blast and it worked... but the doctor thinks that Kyuhyun didn’t enter the force field until after detonation. So, he was mostly protected but he got burnt pretty badly.’

Sungmin felt like his throat was closing up and he grabbed hold of the nearest thing which was luckily Heechul’s hand. He tried to maintain his breathing as best he could but the weight of the information was sending his anxiety into overdrive. Kyuhyun had seen the danger before any of them and yet he was the one to get hurt. He saved them but condemned himself in the process. Sungmin recalled all the times that Kyuhyun had sparked derision in the others when they claimed he’d save his own skin a hundred times before he put any of them first. He’d certainly proved them all wrong.  

‘Why is he on a ventilator?’ Sungmin decided to question. He’d feel better knowing all the facts and if he didn’t calm down soon, he’d need a ventilator himself. Heechul squeezed his hand.

‘That’s… why don’t we go back to your room?’ Leeteuk put his hand on Sungmin’s shoulder but the demon immediately brushed him off.

‘Tell me.’ His eyes never wavered from Kyuhyun. There was a pause and he could tell that the people around him were having a silent argument. Then Yesung sighed.

‘Kyu’s demonic energy is trying to heal him just like yours did but it’s… there’s a lot of damage so compensation has to be made and…’ Yesung sighed again and ran a hand over his face. ‘The healing process covers the superficial wounds before anything else; you know that better than I do. But his blood pressure is low so there’s not a lot of oxygen going around his body to the vital organs. If… if he goes into shock-’ Yesung cut himself off when his voice started to waver.

‘It won’t come to that.’ Leeteuk said insistently. Sungmin couldn’t hear him. He felt like he was slowly slipping underwater and waves were bubbling into his ears and the tide was running over his eyes so that they blurred until all he could see was Kyuhyun… broken and bandaged… fighting to stay alive.

He couldn’t recall fainting but all of sudden he was on the floor. Heechul and Yesung were helping him back onto his feet, Ryeowook was running away from them to shout for the nurse and Leeteuk was somewhere beside him in all this, promising him that everything was going to be alright even though they both knew it was a horrible lie. Halfway to standing again, he lurched forward and retched. Vomit splatted onto the shiny white floor. Sungmin felt bile stinging at the back his mouth but it was nothing compared to the stabbing ache in his heart and the migraine that clutched his skull as tears spilled down his cheeks in a never ending waterfall.

‘Physically he’s doing ok.’ Heechul replied. ‘A few scrapes and bruises left but other than that he’s fine.’ Their training was of course being carried out in the chamber Hankyung had come to call his own which meant they were alone, unsupervised and enclosed.

‘Not really what I meant.’ Hankyung snickered but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Heechul gave a wan smile. ‘I know.’ He adjusted the straps on his splint. ‘They’ve been keeping him sedated a lot of the time but every time he wakes up he asks about Kyuhyun and then just… cries.’

‘How’s Kyuhyun?’ Hankyung chose to ask instead. Heechul stopped fiddling with his training gear and focussed on his sparring partner.

‘Alive.’ It was all he could say. Hankyung predictably didn’t probe for any more information. They shifted the topic to why they were down in the chamber in the first place and decided what to work on; eventually agreeing it would be beneficial for Heechul to strengthen his wrist.

For a while, they didn’t speak unless it regarded what they were currently doing. Hankyung provided an opposition for Heechul to combat, pulling every trick he knew out of his shapeshifting arsenal. Hankyung threw fireballs – Heechul became a hummingbird and dodged the onslaught. Walls of fire were shot out in a maze like effect – Heechul shifted to a Black Mamba and slithered stealthily through the scorching labyrinth to creep up on his prey. It was only when the pair decided to take a break that conversation resumed and this time, the redhead had questions.

‘Master Lee said that he was putting us in training so that you could get better but I don’t really understand what that’s supposed to mean.’ He said, picking up a water bottle and taking a long sip. Hankyung ruffled his hair out of his eyes and sat down on the bench.

‘Something to do with losing control.’ He grabbed his own bottle of water.

‘Like in Faust?’ Heechul queried.

‘Like in Faust.’ Hankyung confirmed and gulped down his water. It spilled slightly from his mouth and trickled down the defined contour of his neck.

‘Are you ever going to explain what that was about?’ The shifter opted to sit cross-legged on the grated floor so that he could see the other boy’s face when he answered. If he answered. Hankyung was quiet for some time after the question.

‘When I came out of that prison cell and told everyone that the Dark Elves have been practising necromancy, you ran off and took a bunch of sleeping pills to knock yourself out. Are you going to explain what that was about?’ It was the perfect counter. Heechul should have seen it coming. Hankyung had raised an eyebrow at him, a gesture that suggested they were now playing a game.

‘How about you tell me your story and I’ll tell you mine. Fair?’

‘Fair.’ They returned to their training. Hankyung offered to show Heechul some of his martial arts moves and in return, Heechul provided tips on flexibility and stealth. As they traded their skills, they traded their secrets.

‘In Faust I kind of felt like I was having déjà vu except it wasn’t that. With all the lights and the noise, my senses must have just got nostalgic or something and I felt like I was reliving this horrid memory.’ Hankyung said. ‘But the weird thing is I still don’t know what the memory was.’

‘Your body remembered but your brain isn’t caught up yet.’ Heechul nodded. It wasn’t as much of a revelation as he’d expected or hoped for. …and now he had to explain the sleeping pills. Hankyung helped him with a jumping kick but then it was clear he was expecting Heechul to talk now. ‘All of us have the archetypal backstory.’ He grimaced.

‘I know everyone else’s but not yours.’ Hankyung was wafting his hand about, letting a flame ripple through his dancing fingers. It was distracting. ‘Why is that?’

‘Because no one knows my story.’ Heechul stated. ‘Apart from Kangin.’ Probably Kibum as well. He thought to himself. Hankyung let the fire go out and folded his arms; he was giving Heechul an ambiguous look. ‘What?’

‘No one knows mine.’ He confessed. ‘Not even ZhouMi.’ Heechul’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Do I get to ask about that?’

Crap. Sungmin shouldn’t have thought about that. His eyes stung. They were raw and most likely bloodshot. Every time he’d awoken, he’d remember everything all over again and it was torture. He’d begged the nurses to stop giving him sedatives but once he got worked up, they’d have to tranquilise him and the cycle would continue. He sniffed and tried to shake off the constant feeling of dread that had settled into his nervous system for the past however many hours. It didn’t do much good other than to somehow bring Kangin back into wakefulness.

‘Hey.’ The wolf whispered, his voice raspy.

‘Hey.’ Sungmin repeated. ‘Are you alright?’

‘I’ve been better.’ Kangin smirked. ‘Guess what?’ Sungmin’s stomach lurched, his brain imminently assuming that there was news about Kyuhyun and Kangin saw the look on his face. He gave a pitying smile. ‘They’re discharging you today.’

‘Oh.’ Sungmin inwardly spat at his hopes for rising.

‘Sorry I shouldn’t have said guess what.’ Kangin muttered. ‘Think they’re only discharging you so you’ll be further away.’ He made a frustrated noise and scratched at his jaw.

‘I want to see him before I go anywhere.’ Sungmin said firmly. Kangin nodded.

‘I know. I think the staff are expecting you to anyway.’ He stood up from the chair and stretched, his neck clicking. ‘Let’s get you out of this s&m.’ Sungmin surprised himself when he laughed. Kangin undid the straps that were holding him down on the bed and then helped him up. He indicated the clothes he’d brought down and assured that Heechul had picked them out before courteously leaving the room so that the demon could change. Heechul had chosen jeans and a t-shirt which wasn’t his usual feminine style but it was a mild pick-me-up to be in his own clothes again.

He went through into the small bathroom and pulled the cord that would turn on the light. It flickered overhead before steadily glowing to full beam which filtered the pokey room in iodine orange. Sungmin approached the mirror. He looked awful. The dim light didn’t do him any favours. He looked like he had two black eyes his dark circles were that bad and the eyes themselves were indeed bloodshot as he’d suspected. His lip was split but healing and there were two more patched up wounds above his left eyebrow. He reached up and ran a hand through his unwashed hair and wrinkled his nose – it stank. He smelt terrible in general.

Sungmin quickly went out to Kangin in the hallway to inform him he would be having a shower and the wolf agreed that he would wait near Kyuhyun’s room. Then he darted back into the bathroom and the water. He stripped off the clothes he’d only just put on and took the time to look over his body while he waited for the shower to heat up. A lot of him was bruised. Particularly his left hipbone but Leeteuk had told him at some point that that’s what he’d landed on after he’d been thrown by the explosion. Apparently he’d broken his arm as well but it had already healed and Sungmin wouldn’t have been able to tell if no one had told him. He wished Kyuhyun could heal himself that easily.

‘.’ He hissed and aggressively scrubbed his eyes. He got into the shower cubicle and focussed on making himself smell a whole lot better. The hot water felt like bliss on his aching limbs. When he was sufficiently washed, he stepped back out and grabbed the towel he’d been provided with. It wasn’t luxuriously soft like his own towels but it would have to do. His gaze went back to the mirror.

Now that his hair was wet and sleeked away from his face, Sungmin got a brief glimpse of the boy he was years ago. When he was fifteen, frightened and riddled with self-doubt, just beginning his proper training to become a special agent and not fully in control of his demonic powers. Then half a year later, Kyuhyun had arrived at the Institute and they’d bonded over their shared affliction, almost instantly becoming best friends. As time went by, of course, the insecurities got worse no thanks to his mother and that’s when the refusal to eat started along with the constant need to emulate Heechul by wearing girls’ clothes. They’d thought it was some kind of hero worship but Sungmin knew it was mostly just so he could be anyone but himself.

‘I was eight when the elves destroyed my village. I know Kangin already told you, back in Borneo, about how they ransacked our houses and murdered our families.’

‘He said he got you to shift to a wolf so he could carry you out.’ Hankyung recalled.  Heechul nodded.

‘My father realised what was going on and he told me and my sister to go stay in the dining room while he and my mother fought them off. But there were so many elves that broke in. They were outnumbered and Umma ran down to the dining room and made me hide under the stairs. It was just this small gap that only I could fit into because I was small but I still had a pretty good view.’ He screwed his eyes shut, feeling a migraine coming on.

‘You don’t have to tell me all the details if you don’t want to.’ Hankyung said.

‘No, see, most of what I’ve told you, everyone else knows about. There’s… more.’ He knew he was shaking and fidgeting even more now but tried to ignore it, still refusing to look over at the other boy. ‘So I was under the stairs and watching. Umma was trying to find somewhere for Heejin, my sister, to hide. My father was a shapeshifter so he’d transformed to a tiger but the elves chased him into the dining room and he couldn’t keep up with how many there were. They killed him first. Then Heejin. Then my umma. I couldn’t scream or cry or do anything otherwise they would have found me. I just had to stay hidden and keep as silent as possible. So when they… I just-’

‘What happened?’

Heechul breathed in and out slowly to get the tremble out of his voice. ‘One of the elves took something out of his pocket. A potion. He poured it on my sister and started reciting these words in some horrible dark language. I had no idea what was going on and I could smell this weird musty cinnamon smell.’

‘Cinnamon?’

‘I just couldn’t tear my eyes away from the gap I could see out of. But then Heejin… she started shaking. Like she was having a fit and… a-and then she got up. S-she stood up even though I’d just seen her get stabbed in the gut.’ Heechul furiously tried to control his breathing. ‘The elves… they were happy. They started talking excitedly. But… Heejin’s e-eyes started b-bleeding and her nose and h- and she started sh-sh-shaking aga-again.’

Hankyung ran to him as his legs gave out and caught him before he could fall. He turned in the Chinaman’s grip and clung onto him for dear life. Heechul’s whole body wracked with sobs and he wailed into the crook of Hankyung’s neck, losing control of his sadness so that it just poured out in tears and cries. His hands fisted in the material of Hankyung’s training gear, probably clenching too hard but he could only feel the pain of his past.

‘I’ll be out here.’ The wolf said and gave him a soft pat on the back. Sungmin nodded.

‘Thanks.’ He muttered and pushed open the door to Kyuhyun’s room. The sounds of the machines were louder on this side of the glass, their regular bleeping was the most invasive noise and Sungmin forcefully steered his thoughts away from the fact that Kyuhyun’s heart beat sounded like a ticking clock and every minute fluctuation in the uniformity made his own heart clench.

He stepped carefully over the maze of cords and wires sprawled across the floor, feeling that the short journey from the door to Kyuhyun’s side shouldn’t be disturbed by obstacles. But then he reached him and his breath caught as renewed misery stung in all places not just his eyes. He’d never seen Kyuhyun look so… weak. Defenceless. Vulnerable. He’d been in scrapes before but of course never to this extremity and Sungmin felt that the perfect image of his resilient friend had been shattered. It was agonising.

Sungmin gingerly took hold of Kyuhyun’s hand, avoiding the needle. It was some small comfort that Kyuhyun was warm. He was warm meaning he was still alive. Sungmin sniffed and cast his eyes over the other demon’s face. The laceration that ran down the right side of his face was beginning to heal but it would inevitably scar. He’ll like that, Sungmin chuckled. His eyes were so peacefully closed that it belied the horrible pain he was surely in.

‘You better wake up soon.’ Sungmin knew it was pointless talking to a person who couldn’t hear him but he went on anyway, closing his eyes so that he could pretend Kyuhyun was watching and listening. ‘I can’t believe you managed to get yourself so beaten up. You’re the one who kept telling me that the number one priority of this job was survival. Heh. You’re an idiot.’

He sighed and shook his head. ‘You’re my idiot though. That’s what makes this so… annoying. Who am I supposed to take for granted now? Who am I supposed to have the most ridiculous conversations with at two o’clock in the morning? You know I could really use your opinion on this just-got-out-of-hospital ensemble that Heechul pulled together for me. I need your half-hearted interest in my clothes… and that smile you give me afterwards when you tell me I’m a nightmare. I… I need you to smile for me… so I know you’re going to be alright.’

He didn’t want to start crying again but stopping the tears would have been futile. ‘You’re always the one that tells me I’m going to be fine and that everything’s ok. Why can’t you tell me that now? Tell me you’re ok. Tell me you’re going to get better. I can’t. I can’t do it because… because I don’t know if you will. A-and that’s what s-scares me the most.’ He heaved a sob through his entire body. ‘C-cause I don’t know what I’ll do if you’re suddenly not there anymore. I need you.’

Sungmin realised his grip on Kyuhyun’s hand had gone too tight and he let go out of fear of causing more damage. Instead he leant over and ever so gently rested his head and arms across Kyuhyun’s torso. He could feel the bandages underneath the sheets, wrapped tightly around the wounded body. He wished fiercely that any second now Kyuhyun’s arms would come up and curl around him and hold him close until the tears stopped and it didn’t hurt anymore. But, devastatingly, they did not. Kyuhyun remained still but breathing.

The door opened and Sungmin sprung backwards in surprise. He whipped around with his heart beating wildly and made eye contact with a nurse. She wasn’t one of the nurses that had been assigned to him which he was thankful for as he’d grown increasingly frustrated with them and their incessant nagging. Stay in bed. Go to sleep. Eat your dinner.

‘You must be Sungmin.’ The nurse gave a knowing smile. ‘Doctor Kwon mentioned that you might be here.’

Sungmin nodded and cut to the chase. ‘Is he going to be alright?’

‘Kyuhyun?’ The woman was working her way around the machinery and to the computer on the other side of the bed. ‘He’ll be fine. He’s in very good hands.’

‘Don’t sugar-coat it.’ He nearly growled. The nurse typed a few things into the computer before she turned back around and sighed.

‘The truth of it is that he’s improving steadily. His demonic healing process is working and the support provided for him is helping that as well. It will take a while but he should be ok.’

‘But?’

‘But if anything interferes then he could face life-threatening consequences.’

Sungmin’s mouth watered as if he was about to throw up. He swallowed thickly, ignoring the horrible ache spreading in his gut. He looked away from the nurse as his body stung from cold douses of dread. It was all he could do to maintain his breathing and keep a steady footing in case his legs gave way; they felt like noodles.

‘C… can’t you give him some of my energy? Won’t that heal him?’

‘It was considered but the doctor doesn’t have the proper resources and if Kyuhyun’s body didn’t react well to the added intrusion on top of everything else running through his system right now…’ She broke off, sensing it wasn’t wise to finish that sentence.

‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just unloaded all that on you.’ He muttered. ‘I know it’s not just me that has to deal with.’ He looked back up at the Chinaman and noticed the frown he was getting.

‘What are you talking about? You don’t have to be sorry.’ Hankyung said incredulously.

‘Yeah I know I just… we’ve all had bad stuff happen to us.’

‘Heechul. Listen to me. What happened to you is ridiculous and horrendous and you should never apologise for it. It wasn’t your fault! Everyone’s had a terrible childhood, sure, but nothing even compares to what you had to go through.’ The very idea that he couldn’t be blamed for his past made Heechul’s breathing intensify to the point where he thought he was at the verge of a panic attack.

‘I… I know… um-’ Oxygen. It wasn’t getting in his lungs fast enough. He was having a panic attack. Hankyung grabbed his arms, worry written all over his face. Heechul could only focus on the strenuous task of breathing properly and the unrelenting thought in his head that he didn’t have to feel guilty any more.

‘Look at me! Heechul, look at me!’ Hankyung cried, his hands coming up to keep Heechul’s head in place so that their eyes could meet. ‘Breathe. Slowly.’ The forcefulness of the command helped considerably. Heechul in shaky breaths, at first in quick succession until eventually they calmed down as he concentrated on Hankyung’s eyes. A feeling of weightlessness took over him. He’d never felt more tired in his life. He slumped forwards and Hankyung put his arms back around him, pulling him tightly against his chest.

The serenity of falling into those arms, the echoing quiet of the chamber and the warmth surrounding him made Heechul close his eyes and sigh. He wished it hadn’t taken this long to get rid of that horrid remorse which had hung over him all this time but he was glad that it had finally happened. He didn’t even know how Hankyung had done it. Kangin had told him that it wasn’t his fault about a million and one times yet somehow Hankyung had managed to say it… differently. Perhaps the tone of his voice? His wording? No. It was just because… because it was Hankyung that said it.

‘Are you alright?’ There was a hand up and down his spine.

‘Mostly.’ He mumbled.

‘I can’t believe you kept this bottled up for so long.’

‘There were a lot of times I thought I couldn’t hold it in anymore but I always ended up staying in my room.’ Heechul sighed again. ‘And I didn’t want to talk about the dark elves to anyone in case it brought up bad memories for them.’ A thought occurred to him. ‘Sorry I… I didn’t even realise. Your family-’

‘The dark elves didn’t kill my parents.’ Hankyung stated coolly.

‘Really-’

‘I did.’

The silence was palpable. A drop of water plummeted from a leak in the ceiling and collided with the grated chamber floor. Heechul shouldn’t have held his breath after the panic attack but he was frozen, paralyzed from a mixture of confusion, trepidation and shock. He knew he needed to say something, anything, but no semblance of coherent words came to him. The revelation was alarming in itself but the thing making Heechul twice as uneasy was the fact that he could hear Hankyung’s heart beating from his position against his chest… and it was perfectly, frighteningly calm.

‘It was an accident.’ Hankyung then said. ‘I was the same age as you, eight, couldn’t control my power very well and I don’t really remember what happened. All I know is, the elves were destroying my town and they were chasing me so I ran back home. Back to my parents’ dumpling shop. I was so terrified and there was fire swirling around me in every direction that I couldn’t stop. I ran straight to my parents in the kitchen and of course we had gas ovens so once the flames got worse… the entire place went up in smoke.’ He paused. ‘The only reason I survived is because my own ing fire protected me.’

Heechul processed the information by burying his face into Hankyung’s shoulder. He remembered being told earlier that not even ZhouMi knew this story and that made the magnitude of it even greater. He kept nuzzling against the body in front of him. Hankyung stopped his back and switched to running his fingers through Heechul’s hair. The shifter used his own hands to grab at Hankyung’s waist. To an outside observer, they were both sort of writhing against one another.

And then Heechul, with his eyes heavily lidded, traced his nose up Hankyung’s neck. He found his jawline and he kept going and fumbled for purchase on Hankyung’s mouth. But once he’d acquired the taste of Hankyung’s lips, he pressed further in a desperate rush. Hankyung was fervently kissing back a split second later. Their lips moulded fluidly against each other in a cautious yet determined dance. Heechul’s hands came up to glide through the shorts hairs at the back of Hankyung’s neck as the latter swiftly grabbed Heechul’s hips to pull them closer together. Heechul deftly swiped his tongue along Hankyung’s bottom lip and then tugged on it with his teeth to open up that mouth and explore, enjoying the sweet taste.

Ironically, the alarms started going off. Hankyung tried to pull back but Heechul moaned and kept them locked together. Their lips battled recklessly, not for dominance or possession but for the sadistic sensation. If anything the urgency of the alarms wailing above them only served to drive them on and the hands that grabbed and pulled became frantic. It was only when both of their phones started bleeping message alerts that Hankyung succeeded in ending the kiss.

‘I think we need to go.’ He said breathlessly. Heechul kept his hold on the other’s hair and shook his head.

‘I don’t want to. Stay here.’ He pleaded. Hankyung tried to move away.

‘We’ve got to, Heechul.’ Heechul pulled him back.

‘Why? Wouldn’t you rather do this?’ Hankyung rocked forwards and rested their foreheads together so that their breath mingled and their noses brushed.

‘You don’t know how much I want to.’ He groaned.

‘Then let’s just stay.’

‘It could be important. It could be the elves.’

‘I don’t care.’ Heechul cradled Hankyung’s face with his hands. ‘I don’t want to go out there and have to forget what this feels like.’

‘I’m not going to let that happen.’ Someone’s phone started ringing. ‘Come on princess.’ They grinned at each other and then finally got up from the floor. Hankyung darted across the chamber and grabbed his phone before it rang off. ‘What’s going on?’ Heechul heard Yesung’s voice on the other end.

‘Those bastards let a wraith loose!’

‘. Alright. We’re on our way.’

‘Good. We need Heechul.’

‘How’d you know I was with Heechul?’ Hankyung raised an eyebrow.

‘Well are you?’

‘Err…’ Heechul sniggered. It was loud enough that Yesung heard and laughed as well. ‘We’ll be there in a minute.’ Hankyung rolled his eyes and ended the call. Heechul, still with a smile across his face, watched the pyro slowly pocket his phone and then he looked at Heechul, eyes penetrating through skin and muscle to the thudding organ in the centre. He took his time in crossing the short distance and seizing Heechul’s hipbones. His head leaned in purposefully. With firmness and authority, he connected their lips like a snake striking for the kill. Heechul was sure that he’d been poisoned. 

I think you can understand that I wanted to spend time getting this chapter exactly right

still think it could use a bit more work 

BUT

I really wanted to update so here we are

please definitely please please comment so I know I didn't mess this part up

also, everytime I start a chapter I think oh well it looks like the fic will be wrapped up soon but then I get to the end of the chapter and I realise I've reached my target word count and haven't even got a chance to write about certain things 

who knows when The Insitute will end 

certainly not me

side note - it's the most stupid thing but I'm kind of frustrated that I had to put the Siwon header at the top haha every other chapter managed to get a corresponding header if you've noticed (it's probably only me that notices these things) I was torn between changing it to Heechul but in the end my finicky nature made me follow the same pattern as before. 

ANYWAY

hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

~JC