T h e   I n s t i t u t e

Epilogue

-Three Months Later-

The private house that the special agents occupied was not even a quarter of the size of the Academy and yet somehow, finding Donghae for a training session was always an unbelievably hard task. Hankyung was beginning to suspect that the aquakinetic was doing it on purpose. He sighed as he finished tying his laces then left his bedroom that looked more and more like an extension of Heechul’s every day. He’d admit to liking the fluffy pink pillows but the cat posters had to go.

Hankyung went straight downstairs to the common room that was so very reminiscent of their old one at the Institute. The fireplace and sofas all felt familiar; the ping-pong table was a new edition. It was currently being used by Eunhyuk and Siwon and at any other time, Hankyung would have stayed to watch the match. With Eunhyuk’s speed and Siwon’s ability to turn his hand into a wooden bat… it made for some quality entertainment. Alas, he could not stay. His first priority still to find Donghae but it looked like he also needed to escape before Ryeowook, Shindong and Henry roped him into their game of twister.

He tried the kitchen next and initially thought it to be deserted until he heard something smash and whipped his head around to the pantry. Hankyung stepped closer, bracing himself in case he found a dangerous intruder – not that it was particularly easy to break into the Academy grounds. When he was near enough, with one hand he gently pushed the pantry door then readied himself in a defensive position. However, as the door swung open, a great big furry tail came into view and Hankyung burst out laughing as Kangin jumped around with cake icing all over his muzzle.

The wolf was looking at Hankyung with an expression that read as “don’t judge me”. Hankyung was still chuckling to himself even as he left the kitchen and Kangin to his guilty treat. He meandered down the ground floor corridors until he stumbled into the library. It wasn’t a typical hangout of Donghae’s but it was worth an investigation – he’d been found in a lot stranger places.

‘He’s not here.’

‘At least let me ask first.’ Kibum looked up from his book and gave Hankyung a smug smile.

‘You should ask Sungmin.’ Leeteuk suggested. ‘He and Donghae were at a briefing earlier.’

‘Thanks.’ Hankyung replied and he left the psychics to their reading. As he navigated his way back through the shelves, he smirked as he caught ZhouMi huddled up in a corner, studying intensely and muttering under his breath.

He realised now he had yet another person to find but it was usually guaranteed that Sungmin was either in his own room or Kyuhyun’s. Hankyung jogged back upstairs and strode quickly over to the first of the demons’ doors he came to which was in fact Sungmin’s. He knocked before entering and poked his head inside to check if anyone was in there.

‘OH MY GOD!!!’

‘O-OH… OH MY GOD!!!’

‘GET OUT!!’

‘I’M SORRY!!! I-I’M REALLY SORRY!!!’

Hankyung sprinted down the stairs, tripped at the bottom, stumbled into the front door, knocked over a plant pot, slipped on the soil and fell onto his arse with a thud.

He would never enter a room without waiting for permission ever… ever… again.

Especially if he wanted to be able to look Kyuhyun and Sungmin in the eyes. It would take some time after this incident before he could.

With sweating palms and cautious steps, Hankyung got up from the hallway floor and wandered off in whatever direction his feet managed to take him, ending up in the tropical house, formally known as the conservatory. No sooner than moving in did Yesung start cultivating the conservatory into his personal reptile room and it came as no surprise to Hankyung that he ran into the teleporter once he had staggered inside.

‘Heechul! I need Heechul!’ Yesung frantically blurted into his face, a tortoise in each hand.

‘Woah, man, I’m not great with sharing.’ Hankyung teased. It helped to recover from his trauma.

‘Urgh, seriously!’

‘Sorry, haven’t seen him since this morning. What do you need him for?’

Yesung suddenly looked shifty, his eyes darting in random directions. ‘Err… I, well, I err… there might not be… a snake on the loose.’

‘Might not be?’

‘Yeah… there might not be.’ Yesung swallowed thickly. ‘…and there might be.’

‘What?!’

‘Don’t panic!! I can find it! Just, if you see Heechul, tell him I need him to shift into a blood python and have a look around for Susan.’ Yesung pleaded.

‘Susan? You named your snake Susa- never mind. I’ll tell him.’ Hankyung laughed despite himself then left the reptile room through the door that led outside.

The grounds and gardens of their stately house were vast and easy to get lost in. Hankyung could narrow down places to look for Donghae and/or Heechul however, since it was a swelteringly hot day at the end of August and anyone outside would covet a shady spot. Despite the heat, he shuddered when his mind flashed back to Sungmin’s bedroom and the horrors he had witnessed. Hankyung mentally and physically shook off the thoughts, hurrying quickly across the grass, focussing on his mission and nothing else.

At the bottom of the lawn there was a row of hedges and a few stone steps that led down to the outdoor swimming pool and at last, Hankyung breathed a sigh of relief. He cursed his own stupidity for not having come here sooner; of course Donghae was in the pool. He wasn’t alone either. Hankyung hopped down the steps and made his way quickly to the paved seating area.

‘Hannie!’ Heechul exclaimed happily.

‘I’ve been looking for you two.’ Hankyung replied after pressing a loving kiss on the redhead’s lips. He then relaxed back into the adjacent sun-lounger.

‘Oh?’

‘Yesung’s lost his snake, he needs your help looking for her.’

‘Susan? She’s in my room.’ Heechul stated offhandedly.

‘What?! You have a python in your room!’

‘Calm down, calm down.’ Heechul snickered. ‘I saw her earlier, slithering about, so I shifted into her species and got her to go into my room. As soon as she found the patch on the carpet where the sun shines all day, she wasn’t going anywhere.’

‘Oh.’ Hankyung dumbly uttered.

‘I locked my door, she’s safe. I was about to go tell Yesung but then Donghae distracted me and, well, here we are.’

The aquakinetic then burst up out of the water with a splash and grinned when he noticed Hankyung.

‘Hey Hankyung!!’

Don’t “hey Hankyung” me. We were supposed to start training half an hour ago.’

‘Uh oh.’ Donghae immediately dipped back underwater and refused to resurface. Hankyung shook his head in exasperation.

‘I give up. It’s too nice a day to train anyway.’ He conceded.

‘Mm I agree.’ Heechul smiled. ‘Hey watch this.’ He said and got up from the deckchair. Hankyung obeyed and watched on fondly as Heechul stepped over to the pool. He looked back over his shoulder at the pyro, winked then leapt into the air. At the height of his jump, his long legs transformed into a magnificent tail that propelled him into the water and up out of it again at the other end of the pool.

Once Heechul was sat up on the edge with his mermaid tail glistening in the sunlight, Hankyung wolf-whistled and applauded his performance. He still found it difficult to comprehend how lucky he was sometimes. His entire life had been cast over with the shadow of the Dark Elves and their malevolent plan for him. Yet now, he was free. He lived in a different country, he had a new family of people he could trust completely and he had Heechul. Heechul, who had been through so much too, who felt the freedom as much as he did. Hankyung couldn’t wish for anything more.

His short time at the Institute was over and although he felt sorry for the loss, especially when such a historic structure had been brought down by his own hand, he was glad for the chance at a fresh start. Master Lee insisted that the Academy was only a temporary base until the new and improved Institute was built but operations were running so smoothly here that Hankyung could sense a more permanent stay being proposed. Since the Academy was a boarding school for Netherworldian teenagers, the fresh talent was coming along in leaps and bounds. There was even talk of the special agents becoming mentors. Hankyung tried to imagine Heechul as a teacher and sniggered to himself.

Whatever may come their way, whatever the next mission was or the next big venture… at least now they had each other completely. Anything the future could throw at them, they could tackle it together. Heechul grinned at Hankyung and the world seemed to slow down around them. It was like the first time they met when Hankyung had tried to make Heechul laugh by setting his hair on fire. He still got the same flutter in his stomach and the warm haze around his brain just from looking at that brilliant smile. It was mesmerising, it made him fall deeper in love every single day, it was home.

The End