Jongin stared.

“Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.” Kang Joon stared back, cocking his head side to side in a presumed show of amusement.

“Where are we?” Jongin asked slowly. If he had to make a guess, they were in some sort of cave. Firelight danced off of the walls, strange chalk drawings scattered on the rocks.

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” The man, who identified himself as Kang Joon, smiled. His hair was cut short, chestnut in color. His face betrayed his youth, his brown eyes kind and full of mirth, his features youthful and kind – not to mention on the handsome side.  Jongin guessed he was not much older than himself. Kang Joon was seated on a flat rock that jutted out of the ground, his legs crossed, and his hands clasped politely. He was dressed in some sort of overalls, black with dirt smudged all over.

Kyungsoo leaned over and whispered “Yixing and you were unconscious. He found you, and brought us back here.

“What do you want?” Jongin stood, with Kyungsoo grabbing his arm in concern. Kyungsoo wasn’t sure that moving around was good for Jongin at the moment, it was less than two hours ago when Jongin was lying on the ground near death.

“Want?” Kang Joon looked thoughtful. “I need to go back to earth.”

“What?!” Kyungsoo and Jongin asked at the same time, not exactly understanding his answer.

“I need to go back to earth. And I saved you, so you will take me.” Kang Joon answered concisely, insinuating his statement was not a question but fact “I came here just like you, but they left me here. I need to go home.”

“You are from earth?” Yixing asked, walking into the room.

Jongin watched Yixing carefully as he walked into the room, his step tired and weak. Jongdae was supporting him, his arm around Yixing’s waist.

“Mmmm” Kang Joon nodded “And we are going back together.”

“Where are you from?” Kyungsoo asked, every fiber of his being telling him that Kang Joon’s words were suspect, probably a lie.

“To be exact I am from Korea. To be precise I used to live in Kaesong.”

“You are from the North?!” Jongdae and the other three men were well aware that Kaesong, once the capital of Goryo Dynasty, was firmly part of the Northern Korean state.

“I would call it central Korea, but sure.” Kang Joon jumped up suddenly, startling the other men. He clapped his hands together, not unlike what a small child might do when excited “You are from Korea, are you not?!”

“We are.” Yixing answered firmly “But why, if you are from earth, are you living in this cave?”

“Why are you in this cave?” Kang Joon countered.

“He has a point.”  Jongdae blurted out, earning thee scowls.

***

Baekhyun poked his finger forward, hitting Tao square in the middle of his back. Jumping back, Baekhyun began speaking to Chanyeol like nothing had happened.

“Yah! It was you, wasn’t it?” Tao turned around, wagging his own finger in Baekhyun’s face.

“What are you going on about?” Baekhyun looked annoyed at Tao’s outburst.

Tao turned back around, not paying Baekhyun any more mind. Sehun slipped his arm into Tao’s, moving closer “See, told you he is a jerk.”

“Hun-ah, who do you think has the best power?” Tao asked, his expression turning serious.

Sehun looked thoughtful “Probably Luhan.”

“Yah! What about my power?!” Tao was hurt. He had been debating the merits of all of their abilities since they left the training room. He had decided he probably had the best ability of all. Tao just needed a little reassurance to confirm the fact which Sehun was apparently unwilling to give.

“Don’t you think it is just amazing we all have abilities?” Suho edged his way in between Tao and Sehun, breaking up their arm in arm stroll.  “Isn’t that something to consider? Are we not all awesome, in our own way? Who could have imagined this a week – no, a few days ago – that we would be so powerful?”

“You are so positive it makes me sick.” Kris countered Suho’s enthusiasm with his words, but he was still smiling at his friend’s optimism.

“Okay – we should figure this out.” Chanyeol hurried up, jumping into the conversation as they continued to follow Se Ho back to the small house they had stayed at the night before. “Baekhyun can summon light. I have fire, which is amazing and awesome and super cool.”

Sehun rolled his eyes.  Chanyeol continued “Kris can fly, Suho can summon water. Luhan can move objects with his thoughts and Minseok can summon snow and frost. Tao can stop time and Sehun can summon wind.”

“With our powers combined.” Baekhyun muttered, earning a laugh from the group.

“So we are agreeing that I have the best power, right?” Chanyeol said proudly, walking slightly ahead of the group as he spoke.

Before the other seven men could get a word in edgewise Se ho turned around, holding his hands up “I think you should ask Joon Hyung to go into the training room, if you want to see the best power ever that is.”

The eight young men were suddenly very, very curious what power the Doctor possessed.

“Can he turn invisible?” Tao asked, considering how cool the power would be.

“Just ask him.” Se ho turned back around, “You won’t regret it.”

Suddenly the group shared a common goal. What else was Doctor Park hiding?

***

Luhan and Minseok sat down near the small pond, devouring their dinner in silence. Minseok finally spoke.

“What do they want? I mean…what is the point of all of this?”

Luhan exhaled deeply “I have no idea.”

“There is something here, some kind of goal that these people have.” Minseok laughed sadly “I mean, my people.”

“My people too, if Doctor Park is to be believed.” Luhan thought back to the bizarre story of his own genetic makeup – that he was some kind of half alien, half human.

“I wish I understood this.” Minseok felt lost.

“Hey!” A voice, barely above a whisper caught Luhan’s attention. He looked towards the far end of the courtyard, straining his neck to see who was there.

“Hey! Brothers!” The voice called again, still barely above a whisper.

Luhan stood, grabbing Minseok’s hand and pulling the other man to his feet. Ignoring Minseok’s surprise, Luhan led him to the far end of the Courtyard. Doctor Park was there, trying to look inconspicuous.

“Good, I was afraid you wouldn’t hear me.” Doctor Park patted Luhan’s shoulders as he approached “I need you guys to come with me.”

“Dare I ask where?” Minseok cocked an eyebrow, considering what could possibly come next.

“We need to do something. Come on.” Joon Hyung motioned for Luhan and Minseok to follow him. Without another word the two younger men did just that, following Doctor Park through one of the unused rooms of the structure and out the front door. No one noticed, which apparently was the whole point. Approaching the front gate, the guards stepped aside to let them through.

The entire time Luhan kept his hand firmly in Minseok’s, not daring to let his best friend alone. Once the three of them had walked up the deserted path that led from the small house towards the larger buildings of the city, Doctor Park spoke.

“You two seem to have the best control of your powers. I need you to help me rescue some of our brothers. Do you hear me?”

Luhan wanted to laugh at the statement that they were good at controlling their powers – Luhan had almost lifted himself into the ceiling at a deadly pace earlier in the day and Minseok had nearly froze to death after summoning a blizzard in the training room.

“Yo, Ryohei doesn’t know about this, okay. I need you to follow me to the elevator. Don’t give the plan away. Are you with me brothers?” Doctor Park asked as they neared the training complex.

Minseok looked at Luhan. Luhan looked at Minseok. They tried to appear confident, tried to look certain of their decision. It didn’t work.

“You are going to scream as soon as we get to that elevator, huh?” Doctor Park was not stupid. He saw the uncertainty, the fear, in the younger men.

“What are we going to do up there?” Minseok was wary of Doctor Park’s words.

“You will be okay, I wouldn’t do this if I thought you guys would get hurt, okay?” Doctor Park started to tear up “You are like my kids. I wouldn’t put you boys in harm’s way.”

“Tell us why you need us? What is going on? Other than the bad guy , what do you need us to do? Then we will help you.” Luhan was surprised at his own courage, his own bravery towards Doctor Park.

“Are you sure you aren’t in business, brother? You know how to negotiate.” Joon Hyung smiled “Fine, it is a fair deal. Sit down,” Joon Hyung motioned towards a small greenspace to their right, a bench planted along a copse of trees “Let me tell you a story.”

Minseok and Luhan sat down, ready and willing to hear what Doctor Park had to say.

***

Sehun and Tao were lying on the large bed, an epic battle in progress.

“Let go! You are already half wrapped up in the thing!” Sehun pouted, tugging the dark blue comforter to his side.

Tao tugged back, pulling the blanket towards him “Stop trying to hog the blanket!”

A tug of war began, Tao pulling, Sehun pulling, and the struggle resulting in Sehun landing on top of Tao, the blanket cocooning them.

Sehun breathed heavily, annoyed “You should have just let me have it!”

“Yah!” Tao pushed at Sehun’s shoulders, pretending to be in pain from Sehun’s weight.

“I will have you know I weigh less than you!” Sehun pushed himself up with his arms, his lower body still flush with Tao’s.

“How do you know how much you weigh?” Tao was pretty sure Sehun had never been weighed in his life.

“I just..well…”Sehun frowned.

Tao stared up at Sehun. The younger man stared back, making eye contact that was held for a dangerously long period of time. As both of them slowed their breathing, recovering from their play fight, they entered a state of hyper awareness.

Tao was all too aware that Sehun was lying on top of him. He could feel Sehun’s thighs pressed against his own, he could feel Sehun’s legs tangled with his own. And damn did it make it suddenly hard to breathe – much harder than when they were fighting over the blanket.

Sehun’s thoughts were no more innocent. His gaze moved from Tao’s eyes, trailing lower until he was focused on Tao’s lips. Slightly upturned, like a challenge. Sehun didn’t think anymore. He didn’t observe anymore. He did.

Tao gasped as Sehun lowered himself down, his arms bending until he was on his elbows, his lips planted on Tao’s. It was a chaste kiss at first, their lips pressed together as they gauged each other’s reactions. When neither made a move to pull away, their actions became more frantic. Tao parted his lips, Sehun moving his tongue to , to prod Tao’s mouth. Tao reacted, moved. He moaned into the kiss, his hands moving, caressing Sehun’s hair as he pulled the other man deeper into the lip lock.

It wasn’t reason, but instinct, that drove Sehun to push up Tao’s shirt. To move his lips down Tao’s chin, Tao’s neck, leaving red marks as he and his way lower.

Tao bucked up, feeling his pants tighten as his grew hard. Sehun reacted by divesting Tao of his t-shirt, pulling the cotton band shirt off his friend with a swift motion. Sehun bucked forward in turn, feeling his own hardness meet Tao’s. Tao moaned again, grinding up into Sehun.

“HAUNG ZITAO, WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!” Kris stood in the doorway, his face contorted with anger.

Sehun and Tao leapt apart, wiping their mouths furiously as they looked guilty.

“I – we-“ Tao stuttered, not sure what had just happened.

Kris moved fast, grabbing Sehun’s left ear firmly and leading him from the bed.

“Ow, ow, ow” Sehun repeated over and over again as Kris dragged him to the far end of the room, not letting go of his ear.

“Were you taking advantage of my little brother? Huh, you punk?!” Kris had walked into his worst nightmare- his little brother minutes away from having his innocence taken. Even if it was by Sehun, Kris could not fathom seeing his baby brother so compromised without giving his brother and the person who was minutes away from god knows what a stern talking to.

“No!” Tao ran over to Sehun and Kris, slapping Kris’s hand away, trying to get him to let go of Sehun’s ear. “I kissed him first! It was my fault!”

”Put your shirt on.” Kris spat at Tao, letting go of Sehun’s ear, the younger man falling back in relief.

Sehun’s face was bright red, but he remained silent. He wasn’t sure how to react to the furious and fast series of events. To his surprise, Sehun watched as Tao wrapped his arms around him protectively.

“I love him.” Tao stared his older brother down “And you really need to back off.”

Sehun stared at Tao, shocked. Love? Was that it? Was that twenty two years in the making? Sehun gulped, then promptly broke Tao’s hold and ran for the door.

“Guess he doesn’t feel the same.” Kris smiled “Now put your shirt on, you fool.”

Tao felt close to tears. He watched Kris leave the room, Sehun long gone.

***

Minseok and Luhan gasped at the harsh air of the surface. Doctor Park spread his arms wide, as if to welcome the arid place they had stepped into.

“Spill it, now.” Luhan stood firm, Minseok at his side “Or we are not moving.” Doctor Park had explained very little when they were still underground, and Luhan was not about to go along with his plan without a more thorough explanation.

“It’s cool, it’s cool. Fine.” Doctor Park crossed his arms, bracing his shoulders as if to gather his strength before he explained the mystery “You guys are here to train, to unlock your powers and be sent back to earth. Your mission is to fight against the Tae Yang Dal Empire.”

Minseok and Luhan listened patiently.

“And to stand against your own government, who kind of figured some of this red shifting out. So, in my words – earth wants to use this for no good, Tae Yang Dal wants to go to earth and use this to kill everything, including humans and go on their merry way. Oh, and we want to stop this . We are probably the only ones that can.”

“Why are we the only ones? That can stop this, I mean.” Minseok asked, curious.

“Because Tae Yang Dal has killed, destroyed, and charred everyone else that could possibly stand in their way. Yo- we are the only ones left that possess the power to Red Shift and the power to fight them. This planet and earth protected us.”

“Why earth?” Luhan asked.

“These brothers are insane. They have never touched it, even when they shifted and destroyed everything they could find Left it for some kind of sick victory prize or something. Left it like it was the last thing, brothers, that they could do before we all died.”

“So we need to save life, the universe, and everything?” Minseok tried to reiterate what he just heard.

“Pretty much.” Doctor Park looked a bit sad as he continued “It is kind of a heavy load, huh?”

“Y-e-s.” Luhan couldn’t even begin to vocalize how, if this was true, he felt about the situation.

“So who are we saving? Here I mean?” Minseok wanted more facts, especially since Doctor Park had asked them to journey to the surface with a specific purpose in mind.

“The four guys that are going to make the biggest difference.” Doctor Park pointed towards the horizon “The four guys that you can’t lose or this will all go to hell.”

***

“What year did you leave earth?” Kyungsoo asked, trying to keep a level head.

Kang Joon grinned, his constant expression never failing despite the events around him “1897.”

Yixing wasn’t sure how to respond to Kang Joon’s words. He looked purposeful “Who brought you here?”

“My Father.” Kang Joon ran towards the entrance of the cave, once again surprising the other men in the room, who were not sure if he was answering their latest question or indulging in a tangent “I think he might be coming! My Dad!”

“You are 118 years old?” Jongin looked at Kang Joon suspiciously, ignoring his latest outburst “Really?”

“Is that how long it has been?” Kang Joon turned, looking at the four men “Has it been that long?!”

“You mean, you have no idea how long you have been here?” Kyungsoo asked, considering the possibility.

“No..not really.” Kang Joon turned back towards the entrance of the cave. “He is coming!”

“Your Dad?” Yixing stared towards the entrance, the torchlight casting an eerie light on the five of them.

It didn’t take long, a few seconds, before Kang Joon was jumping up and down with excitement “Papa! You came back for me!”

Yixing watched as three figures became clearer as they inched closer. He didn’t recognize two of them, they were completely foreign to him.

“Doctor Park!” Jongdae, Jongin, and Kyungsoo rushed forward in tandem at the new arrival, seeing a familiar face and reacting immediately. Their move towards the Doctor was cut short, however, as Kang Joon pushed them aside, running to the Doctor and throwing his arms around the older man’s middle.

“Dad,” Kang Joon sobbed, holding Doctor Park close.

Park Joon Hyung placed a hand awkwardly on Kang Joon’s back, patting the younger man slowly. “How have you ben Kang Joon? How have the years been treating you?”

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a/n- Hope you liked the update! Doctor Park/Kang Joon family?! Yes please keke. Thanks as always for reading, subbing and commenting. Extra special thanks for up voting. Till next time - LC