T h e   I n s t i t u t e

Chapter Three

About three days later, after having nothing to do but train and occupy themselves while the investigation into the break in continued, Master Chen woke all the special agents up bright and early for a meeting in one of the tech rooms. His expression was disconcertingly neutral as it always was which gave away nothing as they all filed into the room and spread out around the 3D projection table in the middle. A map had been brought up on it already showing what looked to be a small country containing a lot of forested and mountainous regions.

Kangin was the last to arrive and pressed the switch to make the door close behind him. No sooner had he taken a place around the table did a half-asleep Heechul flop against him and whine that it was the crack of dawn. He would have usually shoved the shifter away but as it did happen to be very early in the morning, he thought it was wise to keep his life intact and not do anything to warrant an attack from Heechul. He flicked his eyes over to Leeteuk who gave him a sympathetic, yet still amused, smile.

‘Good morning everyone.’ Master Chen greeted, gathering the attention of the room. ‘We got a call in late last night about a high level of vampiric activity in the north of Borneo.’ He tapped a few things at the side of the table and the map zoomed in to the area he was talking about. ‘We think it’s likely to be a nest so we’re going to send all of you over to deal with it.’

‘But what about the investigation?’ Leeteuk immediately questioned.

‘The investigation will, of course, continue. At the first sign of anything coming from the Dark Elves, we’ll contact you and decide what the best course of action will be. Hopefully, we shouldn’t have to do that.’ Master Chen replied.

‘What if there’s a high level mission?’ Shindong then asked.

‘Same as before. We’ll assess the threat and contact you as and when. You won’t be gone for more than four days at the most I should think, unless we’ve underestimated the danger with these vampires, you know how tricky they can be.’ They all silently agreed; some with a nod, some with an eye roll. ‘I trust you to know what you’ll need for the trip. The jet’s flight pattern is already programmed and we’ve stocked it with the basic equipment but it’s up to you to organise anything extra.’

‘What kind of base will we have’ said Kyuhyun.

‘It’s a series of disguised wooden shelters in a clearing of the rainforest. Some of them have vantage points within the trees which will be useful and they have been protected against animals so you shouldn’t run into any unwanted visitors. I will warn you that they’re very basic so don’t expect any hot water, not that you’ll want it, or insulation. It’s going to get very cold at night. Also, all the equipment we’ve packed for you is battery powered. That means no electricity bills to run out… Kyuhyun.’ They all laughed and Kyuhyun smirked unashamedly.

‘When are we expected to set off?’ Leeteuk asked.

‘As soon as you’re all ready to. Which is partly why I called you here so early – the quicker you get there and get the job done, the quicker you can return and help get to the bottom of this Elves business.’ Master Chen smiled tightly. ‘I’ll leave you to it. My colleagues will inform me when you’ve departed.’ His tall figure slid out of the room as smoothly as a ninja, something they all suspected he was.

‘It’s like going on holiday isn’t it.’ Donghae said brightly once the door clicked shut. The others groaned exasperatedly but still grinned at his happy face, it was hard to find him annoying when he was just so good-natured and childlike.

‘I suggest we go and pack what we’re individually going to need. Whoever gets down to the jet first can start checking out what they’ve given us and from that, figure out what else we might want.’ Leeteuk promptly switched to leader-mode.

‘Can I take my hair straighteners?’ Heechul inquired, still slumped against Kangin who rolled his eyes.

‘No electricity, remember?’ The latter pointed out. Heechul started fake crying.

They all began to shuffle out of the room and as Hankyung passed he said ‘You’ll be ok.’ He was being jokily condescending but Heechul shot up and smiled at him, going pink around the tips of his ears. Kangin watched on in bemusement and shook his head at Hankyung who had wandered off now. The guy was obviously blind to how charming he could be and how handsome he actually was, not that Kangin was particularly interested – it was more of a fact than a compliment.

‘Is this enough?! We might end up staying longer!’ He cried. ‘I refuse to sacrifice my hair for the sake of a mission.’  Without waiting for an answer to his question, he threw all the dry shampoo into his bright pink suitcase that was sat open on the bed. ‘But don’t worry hun; I’m bringing plenty of hairspray. I have no idea what the humidity is going to do to my hair and frankly, I do not want to find out.’

‘Oh thank Shisus.’ Heechul clasped a hand to his heart and sighed in relief.

‘You know no one, except you, will care what you look like in the jungle, right?’ Sungmin and Heechul jumped together and screamed when Kyuhyun suddenly emerged from under the piles of clothes on the bed.

‘Where the hell did you come from?!’ Sungmin demanded.

‘I’ve been here the whole time! You dragged me here after the meeting so I could help you pack! Then you started throwing clothes at me so I thought I might as well just lie here since I’m obviously not that much use!’

‘How did you forget he was here?’ Heechul questioned incredulously and then added, ‘He smells…’ Kyuhyun gave him a face.

‘I don’t know, I must have got distracted and-’ Sungmin broke off to let out an almighty gasp. He pointed at Kyuhyun and threw a hand over his mouth, looking completely horrified.

‘What?’

‘I GOT CHANGED!!’ Heechul gasped. Kyuhyun smirked.

‘Yeah you did.’ He leered.

‘OH MY GOD YOU !!’

‘Nice lacy underwear by the way.’

‘Hey what was all the shouting?’ Eunhyuk asked, unceremoniously jumping down onto Siwon’s bed.

‘No idea. Probably a hair emergency.’ The latter replied mockingly as he filled up his case with hair products. Eunhyuk rolled his eyes.

‘Are you nearly done? We can head down to the jet.’ He said, bouncing back up to a standing position.

‘Yeah, just about.’ While Siwon finished packing, Eunhyuk entertained himself with seeing which different objects around the room he could chuck at the human shield without him realising. Apparently, even a dumbbell wasn’t enough to catch Siwon’s attention. It was the toilet brush to the face that did it. ‘Let’s go.’ Siwon announced with a very unimpressed expression.

‘Woo!’ Eunhyuk scarpered out of the room. They began heading out of the sleeping quarters and down to the garage. Siwon noticed, as they strode past the windows looking into the hangar bay, that there was a group of agents milling around the exits that the vehicles took when they left the Institute and he pointed it out to Eunhyuk. ‘They’re probably doing some tests to see if there are any traces of the Dark Elves. They’ve been checking all the exits.’

‘I heard Shindong say that he’s been trying to pick up any signs of their whereabouts. They must have covered their tracks pretty well, though, because apparently he got nothing. Even in the library!’

‘It’s really starting to freak me out.’ Eunhyuk shuddered.

‘Starting? I’ve been locking my door every night.’ Siwon exclaimed. ‘The other day I woke up from a bad dream and I’d put up a force field in my sleep.’

‘Kangin told me Heechul’s nightmares have come back.’ They went quiet. ‘I’m glad my super hearing switches off when I’m asleep.’

‘We’re too far away from his room anyway.’ Siwon commented.

‘Henry woke up.’

‘Oh.’ The conversation didn’t continue as they got closer to the jet. There was a set of stairs leading up to a landing strip above the car garage. Its ceiling was surprisingly low but that was mainly because of how the structure was assembled into the mountainside; it was still tall enough to house the Institute’s private jet. Along one entire wall were the sliding doors that would lift up and disappear out of sight to let the sleek metal bird escape.

‘Hey guys!’ Looked like Shindong was the first to arrive.

‘So what have they given us to play with?’ Siwon asked as he and Eunhyuk approached. The luggage hold at the back of the jet was open and there was a large pile of cases next to it that a few agents were steadily loading up.

‘There’s a lot of spying equipment, cameras and stuff. Quite a few weapons, mostly machetes which are good for chopping down branches as well as vampire’s heads off.’ Shindong grinned. ‘Then, of course, all the things we’ll need to survive like sleeping bags and bug repellent. You brought your own sun cream right?’

‘Yeah and if it isn’t enough, Heechul’s probably bringing a separate suitcase just for sun protection.’ Eunhyuk replied and they all laughed. All of a sudden, Yesung and Ryeowook popped into view a little way away with a flourish of smoke. Ryeowook was clinging onto the other boy with a vice-like grip; teleportation wasn’t for everyone.

‘You can let go now.’ Yesung said as he tried to start walking towards the rest of the group.

‘What if I don’t want to?’ Ryeowook replied coyly.

‘Fine.’ They vanished and reappeared next to Eunhyuk in the space of a second. As soon as they materialised again, Ryeowook huffed and pushed Yesung away from him who just laughed.

They agreed to look for someone that they could walk down to the jet with since they still didn’t really know where anything was. It didn’t take them long to come across Heechul who was struggling with a wheeled suitcase, two other large bags and a bright red handbag. If Hankyung thought ZhouMi’s outfit was laughable, he should have been splitting his sides at the fact that Heechul looked like he was ready to walk the runway. As it was, he disregarded the outfit and was about to ask if the other boy needed a hand when Leeteuk and Kangin appeared.

‘We’re only going for four days, Heechul!’ Leeteuk criticised. Heechul stuck his tongue out.

‘Here, give me that.’ Kangin took one of the bags and slipped it over the shoulder that his own luggage wasn’t occupying.

‘Careful with that. It’s got all my sun protection in.’ The Chinamen took that moment to make their presence known and, despite having not yet offered to lend a hand, Hankyung was promptly being distributed with Heechul’s other bag while ZhouMi was being enthusiastically complimented on his hat. Hankyung didn’t appreciate the smug smile he was sent, ZhouMi still looked ridiculous in his opinion.

‘What on earth have you got on your feet?’ Leeteuk questioned disbelievingly. They had set off for the garage and the sound of heels clacking along the floor had begun.

‘Louboutins.’ Heechul replied haughtily with a toss of his auburn hair.

‘Mm well I hope they’re comfortable enough for trekking across the jungle to our base.’

‘Oh don’t be stupid Teukie. If you knew me at all you’d know that I have a change of footwear in my bag like always.’

‘You always carry around extra shoes?’ Hankyung asked doubtfully.

‘Sometimes my feet get tired. Sometimes I fancy a change.’  

‘Like how you switch outfits half way through the day.’ Kangin chimed in.

‘Hey! I only do that sometimes!’ Heechul pretended to be affronted at the accusation but Hankyung saw the smile coming through and dancing about in his eyes. He just about managed to remember to look where he was going and narrowly avoided walking straight into a door frame.

‘Amongst all the clothing I suspect is in those bags, did you bring anything useful? Weapons perhaps?’ Leeteuk went on with his dressing down. Heechul scoffed. They were now walking side by side with a tiger.

Instead of the military feel it used to give with the uncomfortable seats, jet packs hanging on racks and a great big, unnerving trap door in the floor, the jet was now a luxury private charter. Master Chen must have indulged himself with his Christmas bonus. There were curved leather seats along the walls and stylish pod-like tables that almost certainly contained things within. Through curved partitions was an area filled with technology and an enormous flat screen built into the wall. The whole interior was designed in sleek black and white.

‘I’m going to explore.’ Henry announced, his eyes widening at everything they could take in. Donghae followed suit but instead of quietly appreciating everything, he decided to run around the cabin squeaking about the amazing things he’d found.

‘Oh my god, Siwon, there’s a bedroom back here!’ Sungmin called delightedly and Kyuhyun frowned. He flopped down onto the comfy seats and, practically instinctively, reached out to his side where one of the tables was constructed into the suite and pressed down on the touch pad to let an array of alcohol and glasses rise up from within. Unfortunately, Donghae had watched him do so.

‘Oooh! Cool!!’

‘NO! No, Donghae!’ Leeteuk darted towards them and snatched the bottle of vodka out of Donghae’s hands. ‘We talked about this, remember?’

‘I’m not allowed unless it’s a special occasion.’ Donghae recited, a little downtrodden and shuffled his feet.

‘Exactly. Kyuhyun put it away.’ Kyuhyun sighed. As soon as Leeteuk’s back was turned, he snatched as many miniatures as he could and shoved them behind his back to which Donghae broke out into laughter at. Leeteuk flew back around and glared at them both but Kyuhyun just gave him his best innocent smile and casually pressed the touch pad again to make the alcohol disappear. ‘I’m watching you.’ The leader warned, pointing to his eyes and then at Kyuhyun as he backed away.

As the jet prepared for take-off, the demon found himself joined on the sofas by Heechul, the new guys and Eunhyuk though the latter was mostly trying to get Donghae to sit still. He found it quite relaxing to start up a conversation with ZhouMi who had sat beside him. There was a positive, sunshine-y energy that he seemed to exude wherever he went and Kyuhyun didn’t know whether this was due to his psychic abilities or just his natural personality. He reasoned it was probably a combination of both.

His eyes flitted across to the other pair opposite and noticed with amusement that they were sat awkwardly in silence. Heechul had pulled out a book from his bag but looked like he was struggling to concentrate and Hankyung… well Hankyung just looked lost. Then Kangin came and dropped down next to the shifter who immediately brightened at having somebody he knew to talk to. Kyuhyun made up his mind to not try and figure out why Heechul had suddenly learnt how to be shy; he’d end up in a dark place.

‘Was only trying to find the sport channels and then I go and get shouted at.’ Kangin huffed, folding his arms like a petulant child.

The leader shouldn’t have just concentrated on one of them though since they were, more or less, all to blame for the destruction happening around them. Eunhyuk, Shindong and Henry were sat under a table laughing their heads off about something, possibly Henry had convinced them that they were all invisible. Yesung and Kibum were on one of the computers and giggling because they’d hacked into government files and were more than likely doing something illegal. As a result of this, Ryeowook was doing anything he could do to get Yesung to pay attention to him which involved a lot of whining and throwing things.

On the other side of cabin, in the sleeping area, Kangin had searched through the light settings and found the disco option. Now there was swirling, flashing lights and pulsating music and Sungmin and Heechul on the bed doing what they always did when they were drunk – turn into strippers. Kyuhyun and Hankyung were dancing around beside them, making it rain with napkins instead of cash. ZhouMi was also boogying, still with the big floppy hat on but now Sungmin’s bright pink sunglasses as well.

Leeteuk finally chased Donghae into the room and took note of what was going on when Siwon and Kangin started sizing each other up. He looked around at the mess, the cocktail in ZhouMi’s hands, Heechul’s skirt on the floor and his jaw fell open in shock. The others all froze what they were doing and stared back at him in apprehension.

‘I can’t believe you let me take off my clothes.’ Sungmin growled at Kyuhyun. A little while ago he’d yanked Siwon’s jumper off of him and put it on despite the size difference.

‘I let you?’ Kyuhyun retorted indignantly.

‘Yes. You could have told me not to but you didn’t. Now everyone’s seen me in just my pants.’ Sungmin’s eyes were flashing red.

‘They’re very nice pants.’ Siwon slurred, the drunkenness had worn off but that just meant tiredness had hit him like a truck. He’d found himself a nice comfy spot on the carpeted floor to lie down sans sweatshirt.

‘I’m sorry but when did I become your keeper?’ Kyuhyun snarled.

‘Well it’s not like Siwon would ever tell me not to.’ Sungmin snapped back. Heechul and Kangin exchanged worried looks, silently asking each other if they should step in.

‘Oh have you finally caught on?!’ Kyuhyun had stood up from the window seat and was glaring at Sungmin who was huddled against the pillows with Heechul. ‘Have you finally realised he never watches out for you or cares what you’re doing?!’

‘Yes he does! Don’t be stupid!’ It was a good thing Siwon had gone to sleep.

‘No! He doesn’t! He never has! He doesn’t stand up for you, he doesn’t try and protect you and he’s not even your ing boyfriend so why are so hung up on him?!!!’ Kyuhyun’s voice got louder and louder and now he was exhaling heavily, his eyes blazing into Sungmin’s as silence swallowed the room. It was so tense, no one dared to breathe let alone move. Kangin and Heechul glanced at each other again. They thought the horrible pause would never end until Kyuhyun clenched his jaw and stormed off. Sungmin burst into tears.

‘Minnie don’t cry.’ Heechul put his arm around the other boy and pulled him in closer. Kangin hopped up and hurried around to Sungmin’s other side, doing the same as the shifter so that they were all cuddled together. Hankyung shuffled towards them from the end of the bed and, not really knowing what else to do, patted Sungmin’s feet in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Then ZhouMi quietly slipped out of the room mumbling something about him going to find Leeteuk and that his powers were greatly unhelpful in these situations.

‘He’s right though!’ Sungmin cried. ‘Siwon doesn’t really care about me!’

‘That’s not true.’ Kangin protested.

‘Yeah well if he did then maybe he would be my boyfriend.’ Hankyung noticed a box of tissues on the side table and reached across to pick them up. He offered them over and the demon took several to wipe away his running eyeliner.

‘Don’t listen to Kyuhyun.’ Heechul said, absentmindedly Sungmin’s long hair. ‘He’s just bitter because he isn’t getting any.’ Kangin and Hankyung sniggered but Sungmin remained morose. Leeteuk then came flurrying over to them and pouted at the youngest.

‘What happened?’ He asked in his motherly voice, arms already outstretched.

‘Kyuhyun’s being a .’ Sungmin sniffled, burying himself in Leeteuk’s hug and soaking his t-shirt with tears, snot and dribble.

He turned back around and let his eyes snap over to Shindong in the corner who was, essentially, guarding the way through to another section of the cabin. Leeteuk had shoved Eunhyuk down there about fifteen minutes ago. The comedown from his inebriation hadn’t been pleasant and no one had managed to avoid his foul temper. They’d tried to ignore it in the hope that he’d calm down on his own but when he threw an empty bottle at Henry, Leeteuk had stepped in.

Right now their long-suffering leader was trying to figure out how he was going to explain the table that had been ripped off its hinges. Eunhyuk was a hazard when he got in a mood but Heechul knew that they’d experienced much worse so Master Chen could just be glad that the jet had got off lightly. It was completely typical of them all to evade the problem and studiously avoid bringing up words like ‘anger issues’. This was probably why Sungmin still looked like he needed a few decent meals and Heechul at least had the decency to feel guilty.

When the jet had landed, Leeteuk went off to the cockpit to talk to the agents while everyone else gathered their belongings. A door slid open and a metal ramp lowered so that they could step out in the boiling, muggy air. Heechul surveyed the area with his Armani sunglasses already intact. His suspicions had proven to be true; they were in a field. A field surrounded by forest. A forest making a lot of bird and animal noises.

‘Ew.’ He declared.

‘Come on, get a move on.’ Shindong nudged him along and Heechul resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. He scowled at the other boy through his shades and, since he wasn’t looking where he was going, bumped right into whoever was in front of him.

‘Are you that eager to get in the jungle?’ Hankyung smirked as he turned around. They were now all waiting beside the jet next to the luggage hold where an agent had appeared to unload their things. Heechul was going red and it wasn’t the heat.

‘Um…’ He couldn’t even think of a reply. What the hell was wrong with him? Stupid Hankyung. Stupid crooked smile. He would simply have to be sacrificed to a crocodile or whatever formidable creatures were lurking in those trees.

‘You’re going to make me carry your bags again, aren’t you?’ Hankyung complained but he was still smiling. Heechul ducked his head as he felt his own mouth tug at the corners and he began sauntering over to the unloaded cases thinking that if he couldn’t see the stupid Chinaman then he could keep up his confident aura.

‘Maybe.’ He muttered in response and then, of course, picked up a bag and dumped it into Hankyung’s arms. Then Siwon asked him if he wanted any help and he felt himself switching back to normal. ‘Yes, slave. You can carry both of those.’

‘I’m not that strong. Ask Eunhyuk.’ Siwon retorted, picking up a bag anyway.

‘Do you want to ask Eunhyuk?’ Heechul quickly fired back.

‘Hmm maybe not.’

‘I thought as much.’

Once they were all carrying something and there was nothing left, Leeteuk returned with a map and dimpled smile. He told them that the agents – and the jet – would be there until nightfall so that they could rest before the trip back. Master Chen would be sending them back to collect the special agents when they’d completed the mission.

‘The base is about a twenty minute walk in that direction.’ He pointed at a vague position in the trees. ‘We need to get the tech set up as soon as possible so that we can establish a connection to the Institute and report back. Also there’s a fair bit of equipment that we’ll need if we don’t want to get pounced on by vampires in the middle of the night.’

‘I know who I want to pounce on me and it’s not vampires.’ Sungmin leered at Siwon like he was a delicious looking cake. The latter’s eyes widened to an astonishing size. Yesung mimed throwing up but it looked like Kyuhyun didn’t need to pretend.

‘Aaaannnnyyywaaaay….’ Leeteuk cut in. ‘Let’s get moving.’

And so they took off into the rainforest. Kangin led the way with a machete to chop down the branches in their path and occasionally called back to them with a warning about a fallen tree or loose soil. He thought he was being funny when he shouted out that there was an enormous tarantula up ahead and it was funny… for everyone except Ryeowook and ZhouMi who starting screaming at a pitch only dogs could hear and running about like headless chickens. Kangin earned himself a stern look from Leeteuk.

They’d been walking for approximately eleven minutes before Sungmin started whining. Heechul rolled his eyes but he’d been complaining since they entered the jungle and would continue to until this godforsaken trip was over so he really had no room to mock Sungmin. However, the younger boy could be really ing annoying when he was like this. Heechul loved him but at the same time, he really hated him. When es collide, he supposed.

‘Siwoonnnn! Can’t you carry me?’

‘I’m carrying my bag, Heechul’s bag and your jacket. No.’

‘Oh so you’ll carry Heechul’s stuff but not mine? I see how it is.’

‘If you’re going to go off on one again about me liking Chul-ah more than you then you can stop right there.’

‘If you liked me more then you’d be carrying me.’

‘For the love of God Sungmin!’

‘Now there’s someone he definitely likes more than you.’ Heechul cut in and burst out into laughter that some of the others joined in with.

‘Can’t you just give the bags to someone else? I’m a woman in distress, Siwon! Don’t you usually get a kick out of being chivalrous?’ Sungmin went on, ignoring Heechul’s comment.

‘Okay first of all, you may look like a woman to everyone else but I’ve seen what’s between your legs so you can’t fool me. Secondly, I think we’re almost there.’ Siwon wasn’t wrong. Kangin had just broken through into a clearing that they were now all emerging into. It was a wide open space that made room for a large wooden hut in the middle. There were twisting trees slithering up at the sides of it that spread out to make perfect stilts for a few more wooden structures. The group gazed around in wonder.

He unloaded another of the cases from the pile and carried it over to the tree. Heechul, Eunhyuk and Yesung were taking it in turns to relieve him of a piece of equipment and send it up to its designated spot. This time Eunhyuk jumped down and took the case off him. Hankyung had heard the others call him a monkey before but he’d never really got it until now. It was probably a combination of super jumping, super climbing and super balance that allowed Eunhyuk to effortlessly clamber through the branches. All he needed was a tail and the image would be complete.

Hankyung grinned when he noticed there was only one bit of tech left to move. He picked it up and headed back to find a red panda staring at him. He wouldn’t have known it was Heechul until the fuzzy creature gave him as close to a sassy look at it could manage. Hankyung smirked and held up the tech which was almost the same size as the little panda. He bristled and morphed, returning to what he’d been before, a gorilla.

‘That’s the last of it.’ Hankyung said just as Yesung and Eunhyuk reappeared. Heechul the gorilla took the equipment and bounded out of sight.

‘I don’t think Donghae’s concentrating on what he’s supposed to be doing.’ Eunhyuk muttered, mostly to himself. His super hearing must have picked up something from wherever Donghae was lurking and now he was jogging away to find him.

‘I should probably go and help Kangin and Shindong.’ Yesung then said and took off. Hankyung realised he was now alone and he couldn’t spot Leeteuk anywhere to give him his next instruction. He looked around at what the others were doing to see if he could help but it looked like he wasn’t needed. Then Heechul dropped down from the tree and he brightened.

‘You must be sweating under all that fur.’ He remarked at the gorilla that was rapidly changing form.

‘Believe me, it’s worse being human.’ Heechul griped. As if to prove this point, he flapped about his t-shirt to let some air pass through it and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Ryeowook walked past them and Heechul grabbed him. ‘Please do something about this heat! I’m melting!’

‘I’m not being your personal air-con, hyung.’ Ryeowook replied.

‘Pleeeease!’ Heechul cried melodramatically, shaking the smaller boy’s shoulders. Hankyung sniggered.

‘If I try and keep everyone cool, I’ll probably pass out after an hour or two.’ Ryeowook protested, his voice wobbling because of Heechul’s shaking. Then he tried to manhandle the shifter off him and in the process, due to his thoughts getting muddled, blasted Heechul with a small blizzard. Ironically, he then froze, not quite knowing what to do. Heechul had dropped onto his arse from the force of the blast with very wide eyes. Hankyung watched cautiously.

‘Heechul?’ He asked softly. All of a sudden, the older boy was coughing and shivering violently. His skin had gone frighteningly red in some places and Hankyung panicked because he had no idea what the protocol was for this sort of thing. He was saved, however, from making a decision when Heechul abruptly leapt up and starting chasing Ryeowook.

‘I’LL KILL YOU KIM RYEOWOOK!!!!’

‘IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!’ Hankyung couldn’t stop laughing.

That is, until Kangin interfered and grabbed Heechul around the middle to stop him from running. Hankyung knew it wasn’t a hug or even remotely affectionate and he didn’t even know why it made his mood drop; nevertheless he felt a tug of something around his gut as he quickly made his way over to be included in Heechul’s attention again.

He was given another task by Leeteuk much later on when the sun was setting and the temperature dropped. Making a camp fire was an easy enough task but Hankyung decided to show off a little as he still felt like the group thought he was a fire-wielding maniac since the mishap in the training facility. He rejected the offer from Kibum to find some wood and released a contained ball of flame out across the clearing where it stopped in mid-air and hovered. The blaze flared and flickered but never left its shape or lost control. Hankyung was very smug, especially when he caught Kibum’s impressed expression.

‘How are you doing that?!’ Henry asked, amazed.

‘Practise.’ Hankyung shrugged. It was true. He used to train for hours on end back in China just to get his focus finely tuned. Nobody had insisted it upon him but he knew better than anyone how dangerous fire could be, how dangerous he could be and he’d never forgive himself if he ever let the pyrotechnics control him rather than the other way round.

Some more awestruck comments were thrown his way as the special agents starting gathering around the camp fire with an assortment of items to sit on. He didn’t know how he’d managed to end up next to Heechul but he was definitely not complaining about it. He slumped down on the grass, not bothering to go find a box. Then Heechul tutted and spread out his blanket further so that Hankyung could share it with him. They didn’t look at each other or acknowledge the welcoming gesture. They purposefully looked away with pink cheeks that the darkening sky helped to hide.

Hankyung was subsequently distracted by the dinner Leeteuk and Shindong were handing out. Their stores of food were still stowed away somewhere in the shelter but they’d been supplied with a crate of bento boxes that were easily unpacked. It definitely felt like they were camping rather than on a high threat level mission. Hankyung opened up his box when it was passed to him and immediately dug in; he hadn’t realised how hungry he was until now.

‘Why don’t we tell ghost stories?!’ Donghae suggested enthusiastically.

‘No. Last time we did that, you got so scared you peed your pants.’ Kibum responded so neutrally he could have been talking about the weather. The others broke out into snickers and Donghae pouted.

‘I didn’t pee my pants. It was just water.’ He mumbled dejectedly. Only a little sarcastically, Heechul patted his back.

‘Why don’t we tell ZhouMi and Hankyung about that time an ogre farted on Shindong?!’ Eunhyuk cried and they all laughed again, even Shindong. Eunhyuk began regaling the Chinamen with the story but Hankyung steadily tuned out of the conversation when the tense atmosphere to his left became too much of a disturbance.

‘Will you tell him?’ Kyuhyun was intoning harshly to Siwon. Sungmin was sat between the both of them with a blank look on his face though his eyes suggested something like anger was bubbling beneath the surface.

‘I can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to.’ Siwon snapped back in a hushed tone.

‘Well you ing should.’ Kyuhyun’s purposefully quieted growl was getting louder and Hankyung’s eyes darted around to see if anyone else had noticed. No one had though Heechul might have been listening but now was not the time to overanalyse why the shifter had moved closer on the blanket to him.

‘Just leave him alone.’ Siwon’s stern gaze sent out a clear warning for Kyuhyun to back off but it was Kyuhyun so that wasn’t happening.

‘Sungmin, I’m sorry for shouting at you on the jet but if you don’t eat something I’m going to be really mad.’

‘Yeah well I don’t give a what you think.’ Sungmin said tersely. His eyes were resolutely glued to the floor where he was picking at the old cushion he was sat on. Hankyung gulped and waited for what he assumed would happen next. He wasn’t disappointed.

Kyuhyun snarled and threw his food into the camp fire before leaping to his feet. He stalked across the clearing with everyone watching him in confusion and yelled up at the sky. The others yelped and ducked as several birds dropped down in messy tumble of blood and entrails. Then a patch of grass went up in hellfire and Kangin started barking at him to stop. Kyuhyun snapped his head to the group and glared at them all through deathly black eyes. When he took off into the jungle, no one made to go after him.

first of all, I am very very sorry that I haven't updated this chapter very quickly

sorry sorry sorry sorry

life has been a bit hectic but I really tried to write as much as possible

lucky for you though, this chapter is longer which I guess can - hopefully - make up for its lateness

also, I wanted to say that hellfire and normal fire are different (at least in my head) so Kyuhyun isn't a pyrotechnic as well... he's just got a bad temper :P I kind of imagine hellfire to be like fiendfyre in Harry Potter if you know what I'm talking about

one last thing - if you're following The Family series then I promise I'll have the next part soon, I won't lie, I did suffer with a bit of writers block for it but I'm back in the game mother trucker

~JC