Edited; Re-uploaded

                Lay and Luhan remained on the ground at Kyungsoo’s feet, one unconscious, the other told to stay and rest. But of course, when a new set of visitors stopped by, Luhan seemed to think he was fit to stand and almost collapsed when doing so. Kyungsoo barely remembered that it wouldn’t be nice to shove him down, and he left it to Sehun to bring the older teen to the ground again while he faced the blasting winds of the helicopter hovering above them.

                Kyungsoo’s hair whipped about over his face, already messy from the night’s previous events. The only sound in his ears was the whirring of the helicopter blades, but he didn’t need hearing to understand that these oncoming people weren’t friendly. In fact, it only took a split second for the second onslaught to begin.

                In the blink of an eye, Mark was tackled to the ground by a body that flung itself out of the helicopter’s open side. Leo nearly had the same fate, too, but he saw it coming and managed to side step the next attacker. In response to the offense, Sungmin and Joon stepped in to inflict one of their own. The two fighters leaped into a side by side fight with two of those who had dropped down the ladder, and as a team they fought off the third person who tried to team up on them.

                Kyungsoo wasn’t quite sure how many people could fit in such a rotorcraft, but they spilled out over the ground in a number that seemed much too great for such a small space. That is, until he noticed that some were coming from the shadows of trees into the grassy clearing, where Jackson stood before them all, Joon and Sungmin at his side. And despite the skill Kyungsoo knew they had, there just seemed to be too many people at once, and it didn’t take long at all for them to break through and come after the rest of them.

                There were shouts of warning, but it wasn’t like they couldn’t see what was coming. Kyungsoo didn’t know what they were after or who they were, but he stood his ground in front of Lay, Sehun to his left. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyungsoo saw the others forming a staggering line, barricading those who were injured, and he focused the rest of his attention on those advancing towards them.

                There was a bit of distance that had been made between the members of EXO and their opponents. They landed down a good 10 yards away to begin with, and Jackson and the others had met them there before they could push forward. And now, by the time Kyungsoo actually managed to land the first hit on his opponent, everything seemed to stop.

                Kyungsoo didn’t know the exact limits and properties of Tao’s powers, so he thought it was the Chinese male’s doing until he turned and saw equally confused expressions on each of his friends’ faces. They were all perfectly capable of moving, but their attackers seemed to be frozen in time. Then, all of a sudden, they returned uniformly to a straight standing position, their bodies flat as a board, chins tilted down in submission. The movements looked familiar, and it wasn’t until Zelo walked into the clearing that Kyungsoo was sure his suspicion was true.

                At a single flick of Zelo’s finger, each and every one of the men who had emptied out of the helicopter formed a block, creating perfect lines and diagonals. Leo and Mark met the young teen as he came over, and Kyungsoo barely heard Leo ask a soft “What took you so long?” Kyungsoo didn’t even bother listening for Zelo’s response, instead keeping his eyes and ears open for any hidden foes they could’ve missed. After whatever just went on, he wasn’t sure if he should ever consider himself safe again.

                After a tiny minute of discussion between the six boys, Zelo broke off with Mark and Leo, the three of them moving to stand before the man closest to them. He wore a uniform like the others, completely black, but different than the ones the ENTs had been wearing earlier. Something about it seemed familiar in Kyungsoo’s eyes, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen them before.

                It was silent other than the sounds of the wind and nighttime insects, the twelve teens of EXO in a general state of shock. Both Zelo and Mark had their eyes closed as they faced each of the men in turn, and Kyungsoo wondered what they were doing. Leo stood off to the side for a long while, and it seemed like half an hour had passed by the time they joined up again. And when they finally did, Mark and Leo came together until their foreheads were touching, both of their eyes closed.

                Kyungsoo gazed at the teens with interest, and surprisingly, some mild amusement with the way Jackson was looking at them with a mix of a pout and a glare. Clearly, the short teen didn’t agree with whatever they were doing, and Kyungsoo was surprised he could feel anything at that moment. It wasn’t exactly the most proper time to laugh at his friend’s jealousy.

                Another short minute passed, and then Mark and Leo parted. Neither seemed bothered with the closeness that they’d shared, as if it were completely normal, which it might have been. They once again rejoined as a group to discuss something, and this time they were closer, so Kyungsoo caught the majority of their conversation.

                “This group is part of the government.” Mark was saying. “From what I saw, the government is still keeping a lookout for us, and the fight with the ENTs caused a few abnormalities that they felt the need to investigate.”

                “And they were right.” Leo went on quietly. “Both of our enemies nearly reached the main base. The government is starting to become more of an issue now, so we’ll have to keep tabs on both of them.”

                “And what of the mission?” Joon suddenly asked, his eyes flicking in EXO’s direction, surprising Kyungsoo when theirs met. “They still have a lot of training to do and time is only growing shorter. If they send a surprise attack when they find our location, then all of our efforts will be for nothing.”

                “We can’t sit around and wait for them to find us. These kids need to stay safe.” Sungmin jumped in. “That hasn’t gone well so far, I’m disappointed to say, but Siwon must have some sort of plan prepared in advance for something like this, right? He always does.”

                “Guys, can we hurry this up?” Zelo broke in, his higher pitched voice laced with exhaustion. “You might not know, but keeping the minds of over a dozen men at bay isn’t exactly a cakewalk, even for me. Siwon obviously must have seen this coming. As always, he’s constantly prepared for any future outcome to occur. What’s there to worry over and talk about?”

                No one responded to Zelo for a good minute, and then Leo shook his head, the ghost of a smile crossing his lips. “You’ve been hanging around Youngjae too often. You’re starting to pick up on some of his intelligence.”

                “And he’s right.” Sungmin added, showing an expression of pride. “We need to see Siwon immediately, and he’ll want to have Youngjae check their wounds.” As he spoke, a look of sudden remembrance crossed his features, and Sungmin whipped his head around to stare at Suho. Kyungsoo was confused as to why he had such an incredulous expression, until he spoke.

                “What happened to your sword wound?”

                Sword wound!?

                Suho lifted a hand to his abdomen, and for a moment he looked on the verge of puking. It passed quickly, though, and then he was staring down at Lay, who remained unconscious. When he spoke, his voice was only a soft murmur. “Lay remembers.”

                And that’s all that was needed as an explanation. Each and every one of them understood what that meant, and Kyungsoo felt a surge of positive emotion in his chest. He wasn’t sure exactly what kind, but the knowledge of Lay getting his memories back brought light into the darkness that they’d just gone through, and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but crack a smile. 

                After hearing that bit of good news, the large group began the trek back to the base. Kyungsoo easily managed Lay in his arms, and he would’ve offered to carry Baekhyun, too, if he weren’t so small compared to them. Two full grown men in one person’s arms would be difficult to pull off, even with Kyungsoo’s strength. And it seemed that Sehun and Chanyeol didn’t need the help, anyway. Despite their evident exhaustion, both teens shared the weight of their loved ones with renewed strength. As cheesy as it might sound, they gained strength from the intensity of their love.

                And as the thought of love came to mind, Kyungsoo turned his head to look for Kai. He hadn’t seen the younger teen since before the battle-turned exercise had begun, save for a split-second glance later to make sure he was okay. And as it turned out, Kai was walking right by his side, a step back so that he wasn’t seen until Kyungsoo looked over his left shoulder.

                Their eyes met in an instant, and Kai gave a small smile, taking a larger step so that they were directly next to each other. Kyungsoo felt the presence of a hand on his lower back, and his heartbeat stuttered, his chest going warm as Kai spoke.

                “How’s it going?”

                Again, Kyungsoo had to stifle a laugh despite the situation. “Really? You’re going to ask that now?”

                Kai stumbled a bit in the darkness, from what Kyungsoo could see, anyway, but his answer came just as quick. “I was worried about you while we were separated.”

                Immediately, Kyungsoo understood the hidden meaning, and he found himself nodding, all humor abruptly gone. He stared ahead as they walked, the looming silhouette of the mountain growing bigger with each step. “I’m fine. Training has done me good.”

                 Kai didn’t reply straight away. “So, you held back? Or…?”

                “No one came to me.” Kyungsoo explained to him. “Any fighting that I did was alongside Sehun and Luhan. We did what had to be done at the time, and we were later informed that what happened to them should be final. I don’t harbor any feelings for whoever attacked us today.”

                Kyungsoo’s words dispersed into silence once more while he waited for Kai to say something. This was the second time that Kyungsoo had indirectly broke it too him that he’d ended someone’s life, and his heart thumped just as hard as it had the first time. The only difference, is that now he didn’t regret it.

                Kyungsoo didn’t get his response from Kai by the time they reached the base. They’d all trekked quietly through the forest, only the occasional whisper or sob breaking through the night silence. It was odd to be in a relatively soundless area after the ruckus that’d been made while fighting, so Kyungsoo was glad when they finally returned to what they referred to as home.

                However, the base was silent when they arrived. There was no crazy cacophony of sound like there normally was, and there was no crowd bustling around. When Kyungsoo stepped through the doors, everyone was standing in the open, silently awaiting their return. And it seemed like everyone present held their breath as the group stepped through.

                The shining lights of the base made Kyungsoo dizzy since his eyes had been adjusted to the dark for so long, and after a second more, everyone began talking at once. Voices rang in his ears and colors swam before his eyes. He thought he might’ve stumbled a bit, and then a hand was wrapped tight against his side. He recognized Kai’s voice in his ear, and though he was unable to make out exactly what was said, he could hear the worry that was laced within.

                Kyungsoo’s pulse pounded in his skull, making his head ache. He tried to blink away the blurs of color on the edge of his vision, and his eyes came into focus again. His hearing muted for a minute, and then it slowly opened up as his eyes had. Youngjae was standing in front of him, a hand that he hadn’t noticed tapping his cheek. He murmured soft words of encouragement, urging Kyungsoo to pull himself together. Kai’s worried faced appeared in the corner of his eye, and Kyungsoo shook his head lightly to clear it out completely. Youngjae brightened when he saw that he was okay, and then he started ordering for them to follow him.

                Youngjae led them the short way to his workshop. People were throwing questions at them from the crowd, but a few annoyed glares from Sungmin and Joon had them falling silent. Kyungsoo was glad for that, because he’d had enough for the night.

                The large group passed through Youngjae’s workshop single file, and then they all managed to squeeze into the small room that served as Youngjae’s treatment room. Similar to the first time Kyungsoo had seen it, there were multiple bare, metal tables lining two adjacent walls. A rolling cart sat in one corner, and Youngjae tugged it over to the table nearest to him, gesturing for Chanyeol to place Baekhyun there. Kyungsoo and Sehun set their own load on two others, and Youngjae started his work by flipping on a small switch on the edge of each table. His actions were noticeably followed by several eyes, and he began murmuring explanations as he worked, as if he expected their mixed concern and confusion.

                “The tables are heated for patients who can’t use clothing or blankets due to wounds.” He started, only a small portion of his attention on them as he began inspecting Baekhyun’s injuries. The black-haired teen was out cold by then, but alive; the same as Lay. Dried blood covered several parts of his body, and Youngjae’s first order of business was to strip him of his shirt by simply tearing it off and dumping it in a prepared trash bin, leaving Baekhyun’s wounds open and revealed.

                “Now to clean away the blood so that I can check his injuries.” Youngjae muttered next, and Kyungsoo found that he couldn’t look away. It took several rags worth to clean Baekhyun’s skin, and that left bright pink gashes along his otherwise white skin. A pretty audible gasp came from Chanyeol at the sight, and someone split off from the group with a sudden gag, the door swinging shut behind him. Kyungsoo didn’t bother turning to see who it was, despite his own nausea. He had felt sick to his stomach for a while now, and he was sure he’d break by the time morning came.                 

                It remained silent in the room, broken only by Youngjae’s soft explanations every few minutes while he cleaned and patched up Baekhyun’s wounds. Though there were several of them, some quite long, none were still bleeding. Youngjae revealed a bit of relieving news by stating he wouldn’t need to apply many stitches, and the group let out a general sigh. Baekhyun was in the worst shape out of them all, injury-wise, so that automatically dropped the concern of serious wounds. They would all be okay.

                After Baekhyun was stitched and wrapped up with clean bandages across his arms and torso, Youngjae moved on to check Luhan and Lay. Both were unharmed, except for a few minor scratches on Luhan’s arms, that of which weren’t serious at all. Even though Luhan complained about getting a check-up when he felt fine, Youngjae insisted on doing a thorough inspection of his body, only restating the fact that Luhan was simply drained of power in the end.

Now it was the rest of the group’s turns, and Kyungsoo moved himself to the end of the line, seeing as he hardly had a scratch on him. Kai stayed at his side while Jongdae stepped up to get fixed, and they leaned against the wall together as they waited. Exhaustion was beginning to tug at Kyungsoo’s eyelids, but he forced his eyes to stay open, and he was then glad when Kai brought their hands together. It served as a distraction from his sudden weariness, and it was then that the younger spoke again.

“You should get your hands checked.”

Kyungsoo furrowed his brows slightly at Kai’s suggestion. “What’s wrong with my—“ And then he stopped himself as he looked down at his right hand, which Kai held in both of his. His knuckles were red and dried blood was flaking off of his skin. It didn’t hurt, since it was an injury that Kyungsoo had grown used to. He didn’t wear gloves when training, so naturally his hands got a bit rough when he went on for prolonged hours. He wouldn’t have noticed it unless Kai had pointed it out the way he did.

“Oh, you’re right.” Kyungsoo murmured, then following with a shrug. “I can wait a bit longer. The others can go before me.”

And the next few minutes followed just like that. After Jongdae had his injuries checked, he was followed by Minseok, Chanyeol, Sehun and the Kyungsoo. The rest of them were relatively unhurt, so Youngjae let them go after only a small glance. They filed out of the room once more, expecting almost a billion questions, but where met with only one small order.

“Follow me.”

Without question, EXO did as they were told. Tao had been the one to leave the room, and as they met up, Kris put a long arm around his shoulders. They walked close together, and Kyungsoo was vaguely aware of two others who were doing the same.

Chen and Xiumin must’ve made up… Good for them.

Sungmin had been the one to wait up for them outside Youngjae’s workshop, and he was the person they followed around the base. Actually, they didn’t go very far, turning down the first hallway past Youngjae’s room. The hall was long, with few doors compared to other halls, and they walked all the way down before passing through the second to last door on their left. The inside of the room was shocking to them all, resembling a scene from a movie as many things around here did.

Weapons hung everywhere, completely covering each of the four walls. There was a door to the right, but other than that, hooks and tables and shelves were full of weapons of many styles, filling whatever empty space remained. Sungmin led them inside, and he walked straight over to a section of swords. For the first time, Kyungsoo noticed the sword that hung loosely from his fingers. It was the same one that Jackson had used, now clean and sparkling instead of bloody, and Sungmin placed it on an empty space on the far wall, the weapon fitting perfectly into the puzzle of blades.

Naturally, Chanyeol was the first to express his curiosity. “What is this place?”

“Well obviously, it’s an arsenal. At least, part of one.” Sungmin responded. He turned around after placing the sword down, his arms tucked across his chest. “My field of work also covers here.”

                “So, you’re a martial artist and a weapons expert?” Kai asked, and Sungmin answered with a nod.                                                  

                “Relative to Youngjae, you could say this is my workplace. Siwon gave me the task of choosing a selection of weaponry a few years ago, and this is only part of what I had him supply. Each piece is handpicked, some designed and built, by myself. I know everything that takes up this room and each of their capabilities.” Sungmin stared at what seemed like each of them in turn, falling silent for a few seconds. “Including all of you.”

                A shiver ran down Kyungsoo’s spine, a result of the serious, unnerving tone that Sungmin spoke in. The words sent chills through his body, making him feel a sudden vulnerability to the instructor’s watchful gaze. He couldn’t imagine what Sungmin knew about him; if it were something Kyungsoo had directly told him or if he’d just picked it up by observation. It was a scary thing to think about either way.

                “Things have been pushed forward quite a bit because of tonight’s events.” Sungmin went on, tearing his gaze from the group as he walked over to a set of drawers on the far-left wall. “Siwon has ordered me to equip you all properly before you leave.”

                “Leave?” Xiumin repeated, echoing all of their immediate thoughts. “What do you mean by leave?”

                However, Sungmin ignored the eldest member’s question, pulling some sort of thin cylinder from the drawer, instead. And with almost no warning other than a soft mention of Tao’s name, the instructor tossed the object to the tall Chinese male. With quick reflexes, the young teen caught the cylinder, looking down at it with curious eyes as Sungmin spoke again.

                “This’ll suit you very well. It’s strong despite its appearance, and it is retractable for easy transportation.” As the last words left Sungmin’s mouth, the cylinder in Tao’s hand extended to a full staff, clicking into place. Kyungsoo could only stare at the piece of equipment, while Tao stepped forward and gave the staff a test spin. A look of amazement crossed his features when he was done.

                “The weight is perfect, and it’s smooth even though it withdraws into itself…” The teen commented, and Sungmin nodded like it was obvious he’d get that reaction and Tao should’ve already known. It made Kyungsoo just a tad annoyed, and just as he found himself glaring at the floor, his name was spoken.

                “D.O.”

                Looking up, Kyungsoo barely lifted his hands in time to catch what he soon realized were gloves. They were made of a nice, strong leather by the looks of it, and they fit perfectly over his lightly bandaged fingers. When he looked up to Sungmin, he was gestured forward. In his hands, the instructor held fully equipped knife holsters, and he held them out for Kyungsoo to take.

                “There are two types of knives. One for throwing and one for close combat.” Sungmin explained, guiding Kyungsoo through looping the holsters around his waist. “For you, the second should come in handy often, but the first should only be used in emergencies. You won’t always be able to pick it up again after throwing it, depending on the situation, so keep that in mind.”

                After Kyungsoo received his personalized weapons, time didn’t seem to pass by any faster. The others weren’t all given weapons because their abilities acted as them, and like Kyungsoo, Kai also received both clothing and a weapon. Sungmin gave him a light-weight outfit, which was designed to help his speed, and also a pistol for when he was needed for battle. Just by looking, Kyungsoo could tell how hesitant and uneasy Kai felt when holding the weapon. After all, he was still only fourteen, and no normal fourteen-year-old was prepped for battle these days—no normal person in general.

                When each of the EXO members were fully prepared—at least, in Sungmin’s opinion—they were ordered to pass through the door leading into the next room. There, they found a large open area with the kind of gray cement that you’d find in a parking garage or a basement as flooring. Giant beams were seemingly randomly placed from ceiling to floor, and it really seemed to be some sort of parking lot when Kyungsoo spotted several cars of many sizes lining the walls and center. It was assumed this entire time that they didn’t own vehicles for transportation due to the landscape, but apparently, they were wrong. They weren’t even given an explanation as Sungmin went straight into guiding them over to a giant black van, its doors opened wide.

                Before Kyungsoo could even bother to open his mouth, he spotted Youngjae and Joon. The first question that came to mind, was why Youngjae wasn’t with their injured friends, until a face poked out of the van and Kyungsoo recognized Luhan. The older teen was on the verge of passing out last time they’d seen him, and Kyungsoo suddenly grew irritated with the fact that he was moved. And of course, he wasn’t the only one.

                “What’s going on?” Sehun demanded, his voice deep and cold. “Why is Luhan here instead of resting? What are we even doing here?”

                “Sehun, please—“ Youngjae started, but he was ignored and interrupted by Joon.

                “Calm down. Just get in the car and we’ll explain later.”

                “We’re not going anywhere until you explain what’s going on!” Kris shot back, surprisingly defiant. “You haven’t been telling us anything since we got back!”

                “These are orders from Siwon.” Joon went on, giving them all a hard stare. He almost looked angry, and a part of Kyungsoo was frightened by the sight of him. “Get in the van and ask questions later. We don’t have time for this.”

                For a few moments after Joon’s words died out, the group was silent. Then Suho slowly stepped out and headed for the van, his expression resigned. The rest reluctantly followed their leader, and when they all filed into the seemingly giant vehicle, it turned out to be cramped. They all barely managed to fit, and even then, Luhan had to make a seat on Sehun’s lap. Joon refused to split them up into two cars, and Youngjae was the one to apologize profusely as he moved into the driver’s seat. Even though the van was specially made with four rows of three, it was hardly a comfortable fit, and the intelligent teen knew it.

                Lay and Baekhyun had been moved beforehand into the van along with Luhan. Baekhyun sat at the very front with Chanyeol, while Suho and Lay sat together in the back. Both Lay and Baekhyun were still out, so they had placed themselves around the teens, careful to leave them undisturbed. The fact that they were moved in the first place was enough to make Kyungsoo’s blood boil, but it was obviously something that they had to just deal with.

                The car was dark inside, the windows tinted. Youngjae started the vehicle without hesitation once they were all settled, and then they were driving through the room in a hurry, the tires squealing as the sped through. A tunnel opened up at one end of the room, and lights lit the way for a long distance as they drove down it. Kyungsoo was exhausted, on the near verge of passing out when they finally reached the exit. The sky was as dark as it would get that night, and stars sprinkled across the sky. This was the first time Kyungsoo saw them as something other than beautiful.

                “Hey, Soo.”

                Kai’s voice drifted softly into Kyungsoo’s mind, and he turned to get a look at the younger teen in the darkness. He could barely make out the other’s eyes, but that was all that he needed when he felt the gentle touch of the Kai’s hand in his.

                “Don’t you think this is all kind of like a movie?” Kai went on to ask as a way to lighten his mood, and Kyungsoo didn’t need to answer verbally. He simply squeezed the other’s hand and hoped he would notice the nod he gave.

                “I think those people we saw today where the ones who chased you that one time.” Kai said next. “The first time I beat up someone to save you. Remember?”

                The itch of a smile pricked Kyungsoo’s lips. “How could I forget? I still have to say that I didn’t call for you.”

                “I swear I heard your voice.” Kai said with complete honesty. “But by now, I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Zelo just pulled some mind trick on me back then to make me think that.”

                Kyungsoo had to agree with that. He had no memory of making any sound and after what Zelo had already done to them, it would’ve made perfect sense for him to slip one simple false thought into their minds. I mean, how much could it hurt? 

                “Anyway, they had this similar aura around them.” Kai continued on with his original topic. “I just don’t see why the government would go after us. I mean, we’re on their side, after all.”

                “But do you think they know that?” Kyungsoo countered. “If you woke up one day to hear about people with superpowers, would you feel safe?”

                “Well, superheroes have powers, obviously.” Kai said. “And people are usually okay with them in the end.”

                “Things have moved like a movie for a while now, but the movies don’t show everything.” Kyungsoo told him, his voice deep from straining to keep quiet. “Despite what’s occurred so far, there may not be a happy ending for us.”

                Kai didn’t say much in response to that, and Kyungsoo stretched out so that he could look at the glowing clock on the dashboard across two sets of head. The numbers glowed a bright blue, displaying the time as two thirty in the morning. So much more time had passed by than he thought, and the amount of exhaustion he felt suddenly made sense. Leaning back into his seat, Kyungsoo squeezed Kai’s hand and murmured for him to get some sleep.

                They needed it. 

                When Suho opened his eyes, it was because of a pair of warm hands on his face. Opening his way of sight revealed a face that made his heart stutter in his chest, and then he was speaking without thinking about the condition of his morning voice. “Yixing…” He managed hoarsely, then getting thrown on the verge of a serious coughing fit. Apparently Lay noticed it, too, because the other teen let out an adorable little giggle that brought out his dimple.

                “We’re here, Joonmyun.”

                Joonmyun. It’d been so long since he’d heard his own name being spoken, and coming from Lay’s beautiful lips, it was the most fantastic thing in the world. Without even thinking first, Joonmyun threw his arms around Lay’s neck, pulling him in close. A noise of surprise left the boy’s mouth, but Joonmyun was so caught up in nearly crying that he completely ignored it.

                “I’ve missed you so much, Yixing…” He murmured hoarsely, the effect doubled by the rapid tightness of this throat. Hands rubbed his back slowly, and Lay’s voice sounded softly in his ear.   

                “I’m sorry to say this, but there were some perks to losing so much of my memory.”

                Immediately, Joonmyun pulled back to send Lay an incredulous look. His eyebrows rose high when he heard the boy’s words, his mouth dropping open, though he formed no words of his own. However, Lay only looked amused as he leaned in again, his breath brushing feather-light against Joonmyun’s ear.

                “After all, I got to fall in love with you all over again.” 

                The words took a moment to sink in, and then a blush was added to Joonmyun’s expression, making his cheeks burn a dark red. He fumbled for something to say, and in the end, he just continued blushing like an idiot. He covered his red face with his hands, and then Lay’s softer ones were pulling them away, a light tone to his voice as he spoke.

                “Come on. Let’s get up. Youngjae is preparing brunch as an apology-slash-welcoming.”

                Apology? Welcoming?

                It was then that Joonmyun remembered the fight they’d suffered through, and his hand subconsciously rose to his stomach, now completely healed, though the immense pain he’d felt was still fresh in his mind. The smell of night and blood came back to him, and he slowly remembered the events leading up to now. When he looked around, he wasn’t in the van that he last remembered being in. Instead, he was sitting up on a bed, a surprisingly bright orange comforter draped over his lap with Lay leaning over that same spot.

                “How did I get in here?” Joonmyun had to ask, glancing around at the well-furnished room. It looked warm and cozy, about the size of the room they’d shared back at the base. He had no clue where they even were, but he decided that if Lay were as relaxed as he was, it couldn’t be anywhere dangerous. A shy smile fit the boy’s face as Joonmyun looked up at him, twisting to land his feet on the floor.

                “I carried you in when we arrived. I was told I’d been out for a while, and it was just about dawn when we arrived. I wasn’t tired, so I helped to bring everyone to their rooms.”

                For a long moment, Joonmyun was frozen in shock. “You carried me!?”

                Lay smiled, nodding in a cute manner. “I’ve got some muscle on me. Why do you sound so surprised?”

                Why wouldn’t he be surprised? All this time, Joonmyun had seen Lay as fragile and soft. Someone who cared almost too much. Physical strength wasn’t something one would think of right away when looking at his adorable features, especially with such an apparent dimple when he smiled. Joonmyun couldn’t believe it, and he told Lay just that.

                “What do you mean you don’t believe me? I’m telling the truth.” Lay insisted with a pout, and without further ado, he brought the edge of his fresh t-shirt up to reveal his torso, leaving Joonmyun breathless at the sight of a ing eight-pack. On the flesh of his adorable unicorn, there lay such incredible muscles which seemed to be carved by God himself, and Joonmyun couldn’t accept the truth that sat right before him.

                Joonmyun would admit that he initially looked away out of pure jealousy. He’d been attempting to form his own abdominals, but even so, they weren’t nearly as chiseled as Lay’s were. Other than that, he wasn’t sure he could look at another man’s body for so long; one that was so sinful, anyway. He’d surely be damned to hell if he so much as thought about Lay’s body, but now that his thoughts were plagued, there was no going back.

                Though I’d suffer hell for you anytime…

                Damn, he needed to control his mind.

                Deciding that they’d already wasted enough time, Joonmyun led the way out of the room, though that control quickly shifted to Lay, as he had no sense of direction within the foreign house. He’d rather not take forever navigating on his own, so he allowed Lay to step past him and lead him down a hall and some stairs. They passed through another few rooms, and then they arrived at the dining room, which openly connected to the kitchen. From what he’d seen, the house was large and overall fantastic. It felt about the size of Jongin’s old place, but designed much more like an actual house than an inn.  

                Crowded around a large dining room table, Joonmyun was met with the faces of each of his friends. Even Baekhyun was up and about, which was great considering the state he’d last seen the boy in. His eyes were bright when Joonmyun walked up, and it took him a minute to realize that they were glazed with pain. Surely, he was dosed with pain-killers, but the past night had different effects on all of them.

                Joonmyun could hear the underlying exhaustion in each of their voices when they greeted him, and he put up a weak smile in return. He understood their pain perfectly, but there wasn’t much he could say. They were confused all over again, almost as much as they had when they first escaped to the main base. But they knew how smart Siwon was and there wasn’t much they could do other than follow his orders, anyway. Something was going on, and it was about time they found out what. 

                The table in the dining area was perfect for them, providing plenty of space for Youngjae to walk over and slowly transfer his buffet of food from one room to the other. He insisted that he do it alone, and now Joonmyun understood what Lay had meant when he’d mentioned the other teen earlier. Youngjae was frantically trying to gather all of the food together so that they could eat, his eyebrows permanently creasing his forehead. He looked haggard, but that didn’t stop him from tending to their every need, not that they gave him much to do. They were all equally as stubborn to do everything themselves, and Youngjae’s constant need to make things up to them wasn’t helping the pace of things.

                After much struggling, they all gathered around to actually begin eating, but as he gazed down at the food, Joonmyun was no longer hungry. More accurately, he hadn’t felt any pinch of hunger since he’d woken. A feeling of discomfort still rested in his belly, and it seemed that he wasn’t the only one by the looks of the others around the table. After all the fuss that they’d made, no one made a move to eat.

                Youngjae forced a nervous laugh after a few seconds of silence, his voice uncharacteristically bright and reassuring. “It’s okay if you’re not hungry!” He waved it off with a hand, but Joonmyun could see his guilt and worry as plain as day. “It’s completely normal to feel a bit off after something like last night!”

                Look who’s talking, Joonmyun couldn’t help but think.

                No one worded out loud the thoughts that they all shared; that Youngjae should just stop. Joonmyun understood the fact that he felt guilty for not telling them what was up and why they were relocated, and though he didn’t agree with being left out, he just wanted Youngjae to be normal again. His method of trying to fix things is probably the dumbest idea he’s had since they’d met, and it was almost bothersome by the time they managed a few bites of breakfast.

                And even those few bites that Joonmyun had taken were almost thrown back up the moment he saw Joon walking into the room; back straight, expression serious. Though he knew better, Joonmyun couldn’t help but be angry at the older man. The way he’d acted before they left was unusual, and Joonmyun’s anger was thoroughly refreshed when he thought back to the way that they’d been spoken to. Joon was almost always nice, and only stern to an extent, but he’d reached a whole separate level that night. For some reason, Joonmyun couldn’t get past it, and he wasn’t sure how he liked the sound of the man’s first words to begin the day.

                “Now that you children aren’t acting like grumpy little brats, how about you listen up?”