The weekend ends and on Monday morning Luhan finds himself in Kyungsoo’s car heading out of the city. Kai and Sehun both sit quietly in the backseat, but there is still an unbearable tension in the air that even leaves Kyungsoo restless.

Everyone is keeping to their own, but Luhan watches as every now and then Kyungsoo’s eyes avert to the rearview mirror as if looking for answers to the air’s tangible stiffness. The four of them are heading to the only airport within a 50 mile radius. Nessen’s president has arranged a flight for the models, and they’re heading to a city far west, that Luhan has vaguely heard of.

It takes a good hour to reach the edge of the city, the Capital City is huge, and with busy rush hour traffic, what would usually take a good 45-50 minutes to get from District Two to District Five and the edge of the city, takes 85 minutes due to the early morning gridlock.

The airport is located outside of the city, within Caelum’s inspection station, and Luhan finds himself going through the many tests it takes to get into the city once more. No one really uses the airport unless they're government officials or the highest of the elite, thus plane rides were incredibly expensive. Common people rarely leave the city they were born in and the few who do, do it by car. It was a known fact that moving in and out of cities was extremely dangerous, there was nothing to protect you while you were in the middle of traveling, and rebels were hard to map and predict.

 The waiting area is near empty, huge glass windows showcase the small black asphalt runway, and the small commercial planes that Luhan will eventually be boarding.

****

“What’s wrong with them,” Kyungsoo asks in a hushed whisper when the group finally board their small, yet spacious airplane. There are four other people besides their group and the pilots, two are flight attendants, and two are guards.

“Jealous, Manager?” Luhan asks back just as conspiringly. He casts a glance to the boys sitting across from him. Kai has the window seat, and his hand holding tightly onto Sehun’s, while Sehun rests his head onto the older boy’s shoulder. Neither of them are talking. They look like lovers, and the sight bothers Luhan for different reasons than it bothers Kyungsoo.

Kai looks as if he’d fight the world to protect Sehun from all the evil in it, and it makes Luhan wish he could protect the both of them.

“No,” Kyungsoo replies curtly. “They’re just more silent than usual and clinging to each other, shouldn’t they be excited about their first flight. Do you think they had another fight after your party?”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Luhan says. “Speaking of the party. You’d never guess what happened with me.” He pauses as a video of the pilot comes onto the monitor in front of him. He watches as the male, old and greying, tells of safety procedures, time estimates, and other important things that they should know. He remains quiet as the plane begins to move, knowing that he’ll only be calm once he’s in the air, and even then that calmness will be hanging on a loose thread until they touch down in their destination.

“What happened,” Kyungsoo asks. “If you slept with Minseok then spare me the details. I really don’t care about what you get up to in the bedroom.”

“I bet there are rumors about that,” Luhan says distractedly, he’s looking out of the little circular window beside Kyungsoo’s head, and even though it makes him more nervous he can’t turn his gaze. “I bet they say I’m into some really things. There seems to be rumors about everything I do.”

“If they do I wouldn’t know,” Kyungsoo says, “I do my best to avoid talks about the rumors surrounding you. Tell me about the party.”

“It didn’t happen at the party,” Luhan says, “It happened after. I let Minseok stay the night since he had no other way to get home.”

“Taxis run all night,” Kyungsoo says in response.

“Taxis are a small fortune for District Eight residents,” Luhan retorts. “Minseok feels uncomfortable using my money, so he couldn’t take a taxi. Anyway, I let him stay the night, and the very next day he made me breakfast.”

Kyungsoo eyes narrow, and he looks as if he wants to speak but instead he gestures for Luhan to continue on with his tale.

“We were eating breakfast when President Kim entered.” He says the name of Nessen’s founder low so the younger boys won’t hear.

“Did he hurt you,” Kyungsoo asks, turning towards him with wide concerned eyes.

“No,” Luhan says with a shake of head, “he did threaten me with Minseok.”

“I knew it,” Kyungsoo says, “I told you something like this would happen. What did he say to you?”

“He said that if I listened to him he wouldn’t touch Minseok, but if I didn’t, he would make it so that I never see him again. He said Minseok isn’t who I think he is, but that’s the thing. I barely know anything about Minseok other than where he works and where he lives.”

Kyungsoo naturally large eyes seem to overtake his small face, as he gazes at Luhan. “Don’t disobey him Luhan,” Kyungsoo says so softly it comes out like a whisper to himself.

“What,” Luhan asks, leaning closer to Kyungsoo in confusion.

“Don’t disobey him,” Kyungsoo repeats, louder now. “If you disobey him he could ruin Minseok’s life. Do you want to live with that hanging over your head?”

“Why do you care,” Luhan asks, eyes narrowing softly. “Didn’t you say that he could be working with the president anyway? Besides if he gets fired would it really be my fault? President Kim is known for going through secretaries.”

“Luhan,” Kyungsoo says voice still soft and worried, “forget what I said okay? Just for a while, if you care about Minseok even a little bit, try and not go against anything President Kim advises.”

“Why not,” Luhan presses, unintentionally moving in closer to Kyungsoo. “What do you know that I don’t,” he asks.

“Nothing,” Kyungsoo replies. “I know as much as you do, but President Kim’s threat worries me. It doesn’t sound as if he’d just fire him. I don’t want that on your conscience.”

“You think he has that sort of power,” Luhan asks, he doesn’t break his gaze from Kyungsoo, but he does settle back into his seat.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo says without hesitance. “Who would miss a boy from District Eight? Who would think that someone as high up as Nessen’s president would be connected to it?”

Luhan averts his eyes then, focusing his gaze to the front of the plane as he allows Kyungsoo’s words to sink in. He’d fought away the thought in the beginning, blaming such a drastic idea on his very own paranoia, but now here was Kyungsoo suspecting what he had initially feared, and Luhan was feeling sick to his stomach.

He feels a hand cover his own, and drops his gaze to it, as his hand is squeezed in comfort. “Just do what you can to keep him safe for now,” Kyungsoo says. “Until we can think of something else, or until things end with him.”

“We’re not together,” Luhan states, resting his head onto Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “What would Junmyeon and Yixing do in this situation?”

“They’re trained professionals Lu,” Kyungsoo says. “You can’t compare yourself and Minseok to them. If anything just wait until we can see just what he has in plan. If it’s really something big, then we’ll figure out how to work about it.”

Kyungsoo squeezes his hand again and Luhan squeezes back. This was why Luhan tried not to dwell on age, he could play like the older when he needed to, but sometimes he needed comfort. Kris wasn’t there to give it to him, and neither was Yixing, so despite Luhan and Kyungsoo preferring to keep their relationship strictly business-like during times like these, he could still count on the younger male to give him a shoulder to lean on when he really needed it.

“Leave,” Luhan whispers. “You wanted to right? If I were you, I’d leave now and as quickly as possible.”

“I’m not going to leave,” Kyungsoo says simply, “I don’t blame you for wanting to.”

“No,” Luhan says, “After the celebration at the end of the month, I want you to go and visit somewhere. The Capital can tear people down and you’re not immune. Go on vacation, see the places you’ve always wanted to see. I can take over your things, but I just think it’s best for you to go for a while especially if you plan to help me with this thing with Minseok. You’re going to need a clear head.”

Kyungsoo frowns, and looks towards Sehun and Kai. “What about them,” Kyungsoo asks. “I can’t leave with them looking like that.”

“It’s a Monday morning,” Luhan says. “By the end of the week, they’ll be fine and I’ll be here to take care of them. I think it’ll be best if you went away for a while.”

“You’re being really ominous,” Kyungsoo says. Luhan knows he’s being cryptic, but he doesn’t want to tell Kyungsoo everything. How does he tell the younger male, about Kai and Sehun’s involvement with an Imperfect, and Luhan’s truly paralyzing fear of President Kim? The models problems alone will be the thing crushing Kyungsoo and Luhan wants to prolong that as much as possible.

****

They touch down in another airport outside of their destination, but Luhan can see the city in the distance. Phoenix City, a city bordered by a said to be indestructible wall, extends upward and not outward. On the surface it seems smaller than the Capital City, but the population was much larger.

The city and the surrounding area is saturated in a deep white fog, to the point where one can barely figure out what’s the smoke coming from the many factories around the city, and what’s the fog. Even the vast imposing skyscrapers were lost in the opaque white fog. Despite it all, Luhan takes notice of how Sehun and Kai strain to see the war ruins below the bridge they cross as they enter the city.

Phoenix City was given its name because it was built in what was once a hotspot during the war. A city had supposedly stood in the very same spot as Phoenix City only to have been burnt down in the midst of fighting. There were still ruins at the base of the wall, in a place called the wastelands, but now the city was nothing but giant buildings, and a series of factories that outnumbered even the ones in the capital. If Imperfects could barely survive in the Capital’s polluted and hazardous air, then coming to Phoenix City must be like being issued a death sentence.

Once settled in the heart of the city, the group heads off to their first photo shoot of the week. They’re taken to a large studio in one of the high-rise buildings where they get their make-up done professionally and dress in the clothes they’re supposed to promote.

Kai leaves first for his solo shoot, and Kyungsoo follows behind him to monitor things leaving Sehun and Luhan in the room alone. With no one there, the tension is thick, and Luhan struggles with figuring out just how to go about breaking it.

“How’s Tao,” he finds himself asking without much thought. He watches as Sehun stiffens at the mention of the Imperfect, and his features darken.

“Why,” Sehun bites out. “Looking for things to tell that friend of yours?”

Luhan’s shoulders sag at the accusation, he can’t find it in himself to be any angrier than he was the other day. He’s upset, and annoyed, but most of those feelings are directed at the situation and not Sehun. “I would never tell him,” Luhan states. “I would never do anything to get you caught.”

“You just won’t do anything to help us,” Sehun states.

“Do you think that’s fair to me,” Luhan asks, voice masked in a loose desperation. “Do you think it’s fair to Kai? To force people in a situation like this? There are rules.”

“Unfair rules,” Sehun says. “Those rules have killed innocent people.”

“What can I do about it,” Luhan asks. “I don’t have any power to protect you, all I can do is keep quiet and hope you know what you’re doing." If Sehun doesn’t know what he’s doing, then they’re all as good as dead, and Luhan doesn’t want to imagine that situation.

He hears the deep sigh that leaves Sehun’s lips and Luhan frowns, glancing towards the vanity mirrors once more. His hair is gelled down, but there are a few strands that have moved out of place, and so he focuses on fixing that.

He’s staying at my place until we get back,” Sehun speaks up. Luhan frowns, and drops his hands from his head. A quick glance into the mirror in front of him shows him that Sehun hadn’t bothered to turn around and meet his eyes again.

“What made you get involve with him,” Luhan asks next. He turns around first, staring at Sehun’s back, willing him to turn around and meet his eyes. How did they even meet?

“I like him,” Sehun says. “Plus, if I didn’t decide to help him no one would have. They have no rights or laws to protect them. Perfects, have full control of them and can abuse them in any way they want. We treat them as if they aren’t even human.”

“Sehun,” Luhan calls out, and this time he steps forward, closer to the boy until he’s right behind him. He watches as Sehun shifts in his seat, turning so that he can peer up at Luhan. “Would you sacrifice yourself for him?”

Sehun falters at that, his eyes dropping as if he’s truly thinking of the answer and it makes Luhan panic. Luhan instantly regrets his question. Sehun’s nineteen, he’s not supposed to be in situations that can get himself killed, and he’s definitely not supposed to be thinking of sacrificing himself for anyone.

“I want to protect him as best as I can,” Sehun says sullenly. “I won’t let him take all the blame for me helping and protecting him.”

Luhan understands what Sehun’s trying to say. He wants to protect that Imperfect, but he doesn't want to die for him, probably doesn't believe that he can die for him. It makes Luhan relax just slightly, tension leaving his shoulders only a little, he'll be as fine as he can be and if he's caught he's young enough to be rehabilitated. No death. No imprisonment.

Luhan can't express his joy, especially with how upset Sehun looks when realizing how deep his feelings seem to run. Luhan rests a hand on Sehun's shoulder, massaging it roughly. "Don't be upset. You don't have to be ready to take a bullet just because you care about someone."

Sehun frowns up at him eyes shining with confusion. "Weren't you upset about this? Why are you trying to make me feel better?"

Luhan starts to speak, but a knocking at the dressing room’s door, prevents him. The pair both turn their head towards the door, just as a staff member peers inside, calling for Sehun. Luhan watches as he stands to his full height, taller than Luhan and looking older with how his face seems impassive.

"We'll continue to talk about this later okay," Luhan says. "Good luck, kid."

The glare Sehun sends him has Luhan chuckling softly. Luhan still doesn’t approve. He doubts he ever will, but he won’t allow his disapproval and Sehun’s stubbornness to draw a rift in their group dynamic, especially with Kyungsoo becoming suspicious.

I tried to proof this but I've been staring at the same screen since 8am and halfway through I just kind of stopped understanding everything, so I'll probably do a second read through later on.

Anyway Minseok makes a return in the next chapter, which I unofficial call "Meet the Parents" Can you guess what it's about? lol