“Lay?”

He heard Chanyeol call his name as he entered the on call room. The tall red head closed the door behind him as Lay sat up on the lower bunk bed, back slouched to not hit his head with the upper bunk.

“Xiumin told me you were here and- did you cry?” Chanyeol’s round puffy eyes widened in surprised.

Lay limply shrugged his shoulders in response. He knew his face wore all the signs, even if he had stopped crying an hour ago, so there was no use in trying to deny it.

Chanyeol’s expression contorted into slight discomfort as he lowered his gaze. “I can’t remember ever seeing you cry?” he said rubbing the side of his neck. “I, umm… Are you okay?”

Lay silently patted the side next to him for Chanyeol to sit down with him in the small space. Chanyeol hunched forward uncomfortably to fit on the lower bunk. His lanky arms reached for Lay’s frame to hold him close. Lay appreciated the warmth emanating from the red head’s body as he reciprocated the embrace. His senses quickly caught that Chanyeol’s stress levels from the emotional turmoil were high –too high. Lay stimulated the secretion of endorphins, to ease the pain caused by the cortisol, and serotonin to stabilize his mood. He also granted the release of oxytocin to ease the stress and help Chanyeol feel calm and safe.

“Thank you,” Chanyeol said with a toothy smile as he leaned back to look at him. “Why did Xiumin leave you alone?”

Because he knows I would make him feel worse.

“What are you worried about?” Lay asked instead.

Chanyeol’s face dropped. “I…”

“Is it about the video?”

“No,” Chanyeol shook his head. “We’re running out of tea.”

Lay frowned confused. “You know I need live plants to modify them,” he followed up, “Otherwise the concentration levels won’t be potent enough to make Tao sleep.” He remained silent for a moment as he noticed how distracted Chanyeol looked. “We have enough tea. What’s bothering you?” he bluntly said.

The red head shook his head and slid off the bed. Chanyeol sat on the floor outstretching his back against the bed. The healer extended his left hand forward, letting his fingers touch the juncture between Chanyeol’s neck and shoulder. Chanyeol let out a deep breath, relaxing under Lay’s feathery touch. He leaned his head closer towards the healer’s hand, like a puppy asking to be caressed. Lay chuckled as he petted Chanyeol’s hair.

“Tell me,” he insisted with a soft voice.

Chanyeol fiddled with his fingers. “I’m confused,” he admitted.

“About what?” Lay tilted his head to look at Chanyeol.

“They said it was wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

Chanyeol turned to face him, worry and confusion masked his face. “The agents said that being gay was wrong. It goes against nature, moral and society.”

Lay rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with loving someone of the same and wanting to form a romantic relationship. The only thing wrong is people who are too narrow minded and intolerant for differences, and hide in their controlled little worlds.” Chanyeol looked surprised at his response. “Don’t worry about that, okay?” Lay sighed, “Luhan and Sehun will be fine.”

“I wasn’t worrying about them,” Chanyeol admitted, looking down at his hands again.

Lay furrowed his brows. “Kai and D.O then?”

Chanyeol didn’t reply. Lay leaned forward in an attempt to look at Chanyeol’s face. The red head was nervously nibbling on his lower lip.

“Oh…” Lay rounded his lips as he realized why Chanyeol was so nervous about. “It’s about them?”

“How did you know they are a… a couple?” Chanyeol asked instead.

Lay scratched his head. “I can tell,” he simply said. “I don’t think you should worry about them. As long as we’re together no one will harm them for being different,” Lay said with a proud smile as he patted Chanyeol’s shoulder.

Chanyeol nodded slowly. “Umm… That’s not really what, umm…”

Lay downturned his lips as he wondered what worried his friend so much. “What are you worried about?” he asked again.

“Me,” Chanyeol spoke softly.

“You?” Lay said surprised. “That’s strange. I don’t feel it from you.”

“Feel what?” Chanyeol looked dumbfounded.

“Pheromones, doesn’t matter,” Lay waved off. “Are you sure?”

Chanyeol ruffled his hair. “I don’t know,” he exasperated. “I’m confused.”

“It’s okay,” Lay quickly soothed him. “It takes time I guess. Sehun was quite confused about his emotions at first.”

Chanyeol nodded, as he kept fiddling with his fingers.

“Who? When?”

“What?” Chanyeol looked up at him.

“Who do you like and when did you realize you liked him?” Lay asked straightforwardly.

“That’s the problem,” Chanyeol said dishearten. “It’s D.O.”

“But D.O likes Kai,” Lay said.

Chanyeol gave him a disappointed look. “That’s why it’s a problem,” he sighed.

“Oh…” Lay finally caught up on why he was so worried and mentally chastised himself for being so slow and inconsiderate with his approach. “I’m sorry.”

Chanyeol shook his head and hand simultaneously, silently telling him it was alright.

“When did you realize you liked him?”

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol sounded frustrated. “I just… He’s gone through so much in helping us escape. I just wanted to help him out and be nice to him. So I thought I was close to him. But then I, I…” he took a deep breath. “I walked in on them kissing. And, I can’t explain it. I felt… mad,” he sounded uncertain of himself. “I don’t know why I felt so angry at them, at him. It was like feeling betrayed, but at the same time I know it wasn’t on purpose. I, I, ugh,” he rubbed his face with his hands. “I know Kai had been tagging along with him from the start,” he spoke with his face covered, as if he tried to hide his guilt, “So I know, I understand that it’s possible that they became very close so soon. But, I… I don’t know what I’m feeling Lay.”

Lay slid down off the bed to sit next to Chanyeol. He held onto the red head’s warm hands. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he soothed. “It’s just hormones.”

“What?”

“Oxytocin is a hormone that makes us feel attachment towards others. We all feel it with everyone we’re close to. Lovers just have a stronger release when they’re together,” Lay explained. “And, maybe, when you did your best to take care of D.O, dopamine rush caused a reward effect that made you feel good when you were helping him and being with him.”

“Okay?” Chanyeol was confused. “So you could make it go away? What I feel.”

“What? No,” Lay shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not saying you have to stop liking him. I was just trying to calm you down –which did not work. Umm…” Lay scratched his head. “I was just trying to explain why you feel close to D.O, and um, like him.”

Chanyeol nodded though his eyes didn’t look comforted at all. “Why did it have to be D.O?” he said rubbing his face with his hands while bending his legs towards his chest. “Why does he have to like Kai?”

“Wait. You realized you liked him when he was with Kai?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm,” Lay rubbed his chin.

“I was jealous, wasn’t I?” Chanyeol asked as he rested his arms against his knees.

Lay remained silent for a moment. “No. Jealousy is the fear of losing something you consider yours. You never claimed to like D.O before that. So you were envious. You envied them because you want to have a relationship like the one they have.”

“So I don’t like D.O but I want what he has with Kai?” Chanyeol frowned confused.

“Maybe,” Lay felt at loss as well.

“But I only feel this towards D.O, not Kai. I don’t like Kai that way,” he said nearly offended.

“Okay, then maybe you do like D.O.”

“Ugh, this is so confusing,” Chanyeol ruffled his hair.

“Sorry,” Lay patted his shoulder, feeling that instead of helping his friend out he ended up confusing him even more.

They remained silent for a minute. Chanyeol’s expression grew grimmer.

“I don’t want to be different,” he said so softly that Lay nearly didn’t hear him.

“But we are different.”

“I don’t want to be considered even more different than what I already am,” Chanyeol clarified his worry. “It scares me.”

Lay compressed his lips into a downturned smile. “But-”

The door burst open with a loud bang, startling them both. Wind blew strong towards every direction, creating a messy turmoil inside.

“Make it stop,” Sehun said crying as he rushed into the room. “Lay make it stop, please!” he cried out as he staggered forward falling on top of the healer.

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked concerned as he tried to help them up.

Lay ignored him as his senses quickly picked up the distress inside Sehun’s body. Serotonin had harshly dropped; cortisol highly increased causing a dopamine release, producing norepinephrine; an excruciating anxiety attack was tormenting Sehun. Over stimulation of the vagus nerve, muscle tightness, nausea, pain –so much pain. All symptoms of a heartbreak. The tears in his eyes wetted Lay’s shoulder as he felt the pain erupting in Sehun’s heart.

“Make it stop,” Sehun begged as he tightened his grip on Lay’s shirt.

He did. Lay couldn’t stand seeing Sehun so distressed any longer. He quickly forced the other’s body to revert the hormonal levels and pacified the air bender’s emotions. The wind abruptly stopped. The excess adrenaline and stress wiped clear, easing his muscles and vanishing the pain. He stopped the lacrimal secretion. He made Sehun feel pacified and languid, resting his head against his chest as he held him close while Chanyeol rubbed his back with his warm hands.

They remained silent. Chanyeol closed the door and sat down with them on the floor. Sehun never let go of Lay, he didn’t dare break the contact and Lay didn’t mind. He kept his arms around the skinnier boy and held him comfortably against his chest.

“What happened?” Chanyeol asked cautiously.

“Luhan,” Sehun said with a raspy voice.

“You guys had a fight?” Chanyeol asked again.

Sehun nodded against Lay’s chest.

“Why?”

Sehun hesitated before speaking. “Because of the stupid kiss.”

“Oh, Sehunnie,” Lay caressed Sehun’s head, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Sehun said looking up.

“But I taught you to-”

“It’s not your fault,” Sehun insisted. “I should’ve told him sooner.”

“Why didn’t you?” Lay asked, relaxing his arms to let Sehun sit up straighter.

“I…,” Sehun sighed, moving his hand to hold onto Lay’s. “I was afraid,” he said with a sadden smile. “I never really told him how I felt. I guessed he would just read it from my mind.”

“But, you guys are so close,” Chanyeol said confused. “As in, too close. I thought you were already a thing.”

“I thought so too,” Sehun said looking at him. “I went slow. I gave him time. He didn’t reject me when I got closer. I, I… I thought he liked me back.”

“He does,” Lay confirmed.

“No,” Sehun shook his he stopped leaning on Lay so he could look at him, but he never let go of Lay’s hand. “Not the same way.”

Lay frowned confused. “What did he say to you?”

Sehun’s eyes casted down. “He said he doesn’t like me the same way. That he sees me as a brother.” Sehun bit his lip, “He said he wasn’t gay like me.”

Lay’s gaze caught the hurt in Chanyeol’s eyes as Sehun spoke those last words. If he wasn’t controlling his emotions, he might’ve felt sad for Sehun as well –but right now he felt too soothed and tranquil, he had to; otherwise Sehun’s emotions would erupt again.

Lay shook his head in denial. “No, he does have affection towards you. He’s denying his feelings but I don’t understand why.”

“What? So he does like me?” Sehun looked between surprised, confused and naively hopeful.

Lay sighed and scratched the side of his eyebrow, knowing that to help Sehun understand he would have to reveal a little secret. “You remember I explained the chemistry between people, right?”

“Yeah, attraction.” Sehun replied, “Chemical signals. Pheromones.”

“Pheromones are-”

“Can’t we keep it simple Lay?” Sehun complained tiredly.

Lay chuckled, “Alright.” He looked away embarrassed from the others’ curious gaze, “Sehunnie, I can perceive other people’s pheromones. Do you understand what that means?”

Sehun furrowed his brows and tilted his head. Lay raised his brows in an apologetic way. Sehun’s eyes widened and he looked away, blush covering his cheeks. “You can tell when someone likes somebody else, right?”

“Yes,” he admitted, giving a cautious look towards Chanyeol. The red head looked back at him stupefied; a faint blush surfaced his face. “I know that Luhan has felt attraction towards you.”

“I don’t understand,” Sehun frowned. “Why is he denying it then?”

“I don’t know,” Lay said defeated.

“Maybe he’s scared,” Chanyeol spoke with a melancholic tone. “Maybe he’s terrified of what others might think if he were in a relationship with another man.”

Lay knew he wasn’t making up assumptions but talking from his perspective, from his own fears.

“That’s stupid,” Sehun mumbled.

“Just think about it. We are already considered freaks, monsters even, just because of what we are,” Chanyeol explained. “Imagine being considered a freak under normal circumstances. They said being gay is a deviance from social norms. Love isn’t unconditional, it’s discriminated.” He let out a sad sigh, “We’re already freaks. Why add more reasons for them to hate us?”

“Enough,” Lay said serious.

Sehun looked down embittered. If it wasn’t because of Lay he would be crying again. Chanyeol bit his lip, he looked hurt, frustrated and at loss.

“Sorry,” he stiffly said as he got up and left the room.

Lay waited for the door to close before speaking. “Don’t listen to him Sehunnie,” he said caringly. “Promise me you’ll never doubt yourself for loving someone, no matter what others might think. Promise me.”

“I promise,” Sehun said with a hopeful gaze.

Lay smiled warmly and kissed Sehun’s cheek.

“I’ll speak with Luhan,” he said before dismissing himself from the room.

 

He didn’t knock, he just barged into the on call room Luhan was in. The telepathic didn’t look surprised as he sat up from the upper bunk bed he had been lying on.

“Explain,” Lay said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Go away,” Luhan squinted his eyes as he opened the door with his telekinesis.

Lay huffed, turning around to kick to door shut. He had no intention in leaving. He gave a defying look at the other. “You broke his heart.”

Luhan clenched his jaw. ‘I know.’

“What exactly do you feel towards him?” Lay demanded rather than questioned.

Luhan looked down. Lay could notice the other had cried as well, his eyes were slightly red and swollen.

‘I care about him. I trust him. He’s helped me so much with my self-control. I needed him, I know that,’ Luhan started to blink as tears began to betray him. ‘I just needed his help.’

“You can’t lie to me. I’ve felt how your body reacts to him,” Lay bluntly disclosed, earning a baffled look from the other.

“I can’t control that,” Luhan gritted his teeth.

“So you’ve felt it?”

“Of course I felt it,” Luhan clenched his jaw again. ‘It made me uncomfortable.’

Lay frowned at the confession, not understanding why Luhan would feel that way.

‘Of course I knew he liked me. His mind is too clear,’ he answered Lay’s unspoken question. ‘I didn’t mean to lead him on. I care about him, I really do. I never wanted to hurt him. But I, I don’t –I can’t love him that way.’

“What do you mean you can’t?” Lay kept his emotions stilled, calming the sudden spur of anger he felt.

‘I just can’t,’ Luhan sounded frustrated.

“Why not?” Lay raised his voice.

‘Because I’m not a girl!’ Luhan yelled in his mind. ‘I’m not a freaking girl, okay? I’m a man, and men aren’t supposed to love each other that way. It’s wrong.’

“It’s not wrong,” Lay stressed.

“It is,” Luhan barked back. ‘You have no idea what you’re saying. I read their minds. Even the Chief is against it, but he didn’t want to cause a fight. It’s wrong, it’s wrong and it even was considered a crime.’

“What?”

‘It still is, in some countries people are punished for homoual behavior, sodomy. I heard Agent Bang think that.’ Luhan rubbed his eyes frustrated. ‘People of the same aren’t meant to form a romantic relationship. That’s not how families are formed. It’s not normal.’

“Normal be damned,” Lay cursed. “We’re never going to be normal. And love is unconditional, no matter what society says.” He took a deep breath to calm down, “Love is not a mistake, it’s not immoral. It’s natural and pure and the best feeling you could ever have.” He glared at Luhan, “Don’t lose this chance to be loved.”

Luhan jumped down from the upper bunk. His frown held defiance. “Why the hell do you care so much? Huh? Why are you so defensive?” His brown eyes roamed his face, recognition sparked in his orbs, “You’re gay?”

Lay frowned. “It’s not me who matters, it’s Sehun.”

“Why does he matter so much to you?” Luhan stepped closer. Lay noticed dash of jealousy in Luhan’s eyes.

He stared in disbelief at the other’s behavior. “Everyone matters to me,” Lay answered, “I care about every single one of you guys.”

“Then why don’t you go play match-maker with someone else? Leave me alone,” Luhan pushed him backwards.

Lay finally felt his anger tug inside. “Because I felt his love and I hate that you’re denying it,” he seethed.

“You love him?” Luhan looked angered.

Lay exasperated at the other’s stupidity and grabbed his shoulder with his left hand. “I’ll show you, you idiot,” he said placing his right hand flat against Luhan’s chest.

He remembered how Sehun felt when he talked about Luhan with him. A day that he was finally feeling hopeful that Luhan might reciprocate his feelings, since the telepathic accepted his physical closeness, the small touches, the hugs and holding hands. Lay ignited the chemical sequence to evoke the same emotions Sehun felt.

The warmth, the flutters, the loud beating of the heart. The longing of wanting to hold that loved one close. The need to be together. The slight arousal. The pull of the soul to bind with the loved one.

He felt the emotions so deeply, he almost confused himself being in love with Luhan. But the look in Luhan’s eyes made him realize that something was horribly wrong.

He was distressed, hands holding onto Lay’s arm, trying to push him away. He was freaking out and slowly losing control. The darkness was appearing in his eyes. Lay quickly stopped and let the other go. He watched afraid as Luhan took deep breaths to calm down and return to normality.

Confused was too little a word to explain what he felt. He was completely lost as he stared in shock. Luhan kept his gaze down to hide his guilt.

“What happened?” Lay finally managed to ask.

Luhan bit his lip. ‘I told you. I can’t love.’

“But, why not?”

‘The emotion… Love is too strong, I, I can’t control it,’ tears quickly ran down Luhan’s face. ‘She warned me. I never understood until one day I felt it.’

Lay pacified his body as he felt pain for the other boy.

‘She said don’t let them get in here,’ he touched his chest. ‘It gets messy and confusing, and when it hurts, when what I feel in my heart is too strong, I lose my mind. Do you understand Lay?’

Lay didn’t know how to respond.

‘If I lose my mind, I lose control,’ he sniffled. ‘I can’t love because I can’t control it yet. And I hate that he has been the one to help me gain control, and yet he’s the one who make me lose my mind.’ He let out a sad huff, ‘It’s so messed up. I’m so messed up Lay.’

Lay shook his head disconcerted as he fisted his hands. He couldn’t believe the turn of events. He was left speechless.

‘Can you leave me alone now? I want to be alone,’ Luhan requested as he wiped his tears away with the back of his hand.

Lay weakly nodded, but offered his hand to comfort the other.

‘No, I’ll be fine.’ Luhan turned his back to him.

Lay didn’t know what else to do, so he made his way towards the door.

‘Lay,’ he looked back Luhan upon hearing his name. ‘Please don’t tell him.’

 

Lay walked into the empty living room and let his body fall on top of a couch. He was done. He couldn’t keep being the intermediate. He triggered the correct chemicals to numb himself out and void of emotion. He had felt too much for a day.

Luhan and Sehun’s relationship had been cursed from the very beginning. The only hope left was for Luhan to learn to be able to love.

Lay could only hope.

“What are you doing?”

Lay sighed tiredly. He just wanted some time alone.

“Nothing,” he answered.

Kris stood by the couch, letting his face hover above from a towering height. He squinted his eyes. “You’re gonna get high again if you keep doing that,” he reprimanded. “Scoot over,” he ordered, pulling on his arm to help him sit up.

Lay whined as he was moved, but Kris ignored him. The tall bond wrapped his long arm over Lay’s shoulders and hugged his side. Lay rested his head against Kris’ broad shoulder.

“You keep working too hard,” Kris commented. “You need a break.”

“That’s what I was doing before you showed up.”

Kris glared at him, offended at his comeback. “Doping yourself up isn’t a break. It’s an escape,” he said.

Lay didn't argue back.

“Stop doing this to yourself,” Kris spoke softly.

Lay slightly frowned, though his face remained passive. “I've always avoided feeling. What's so different now?”

“You know why.”

Indeed he did. His body had grown resistant towards repetitive use of natural analgesics. This meant that to feel void he required greater concentrations to produce the wanted effect. And having all those excessive chemicals would cause a natural high, which Kris was against of. Xiumin worried about how bad it could be if he wasn't capable of reversing the effect. Lay knew it would be bad. He could fall into addiction and compromise his sanity.

An insane Lay wouldn’t be helpful for the team.

“What has been worrying you so much?  Is it the video?” Kris asked rubbing his arm in a soothing way.

Lay shook his head.

“I know everyone is emotional because of the tape. You've been helping us out, haven't you?” Lay nodded, Kris sighed.

“It’s not just because of the video,” Lay spoke softly.

“Luhan and Sehun?” the blond asked. Everyone must've known about their fight by now.

“Yeah,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead against Kris’ shoulder. “I don’t know how I ended up being the love counselor. I don't know how to make a relationship work.”

“It’s not your job, Lay,” Kris said.

“I can't turn away when they ask for help,” Lay admitted.

“I know,” Kris hugged him. “I know. But you can't fix everything.” Kris pushed him back to look at his face. His sharp eyes searched for something in Lay's features. “It’s okay to support them, but it's not up to you to make their relationship work. They have to solve that on their own.”

Lay nodded silently.

Kris moved his hands to hold onto the sides of Lay’s neck, making the other look at him. “Thank you, but you worry too much about us. You really need to rest.”

Lay looked up as Kris stood from the couch. The tall boy went to pick up one of their duffel bags they had packed. He swung the strap over his shoulder and turned back to Lay. He helped the latter up and guided him back to the on call room he had been in. Sehun was still inside, leisurely hugging a pillow as he rested on top of the lower bunk bed.

“The bathroom is at the right of the hallway. Here's some clothes to sleep in,” Kris instructed he set the duffel bag on the opposite lower bunk.

Kris searched inside for baggy sweatpants and a simple T shirt, for Sehun, Lay and him.

Even though he didn't feel tired, Lay knew it had been a long and exhausting day. Back in the room, he laid down on the lower bunk and closed his eyes. The bed cover shifted, he scooted to the edge back against the wall, as Sehun made himself comfortable on the narrow bed. Limbs intertwined, for there was no space to lay side by side, Lay hugged Sehun close, fully aware the other sought comfort for the night.

Kris turned off the lights before flying over to the opposite upper bed to rest.

“What did he say?” Sehun spoke against his collarbone. “What did Luhan say?”

Lay took a deep breath, his worry vanishing as soon as it appeared. He kissed the crown of Sehun's head.

“He needs time,” he answered instead.

“But-”

“Shh,” Lay hushed and forced Sehun's brain to shut down and fall into deep slumber.

He didn't want him to worry all night, he needed to rest.

Lay held him more comfortably, one hand free to caress Sehun's soft hair in the dark. Lay felt sorry that he wasn't able to tell Sehun the truth. He really didn't know what he could do to help them out.

“Sorry,” he whispered against Sehun's head.

“Lay,” he heard Kris’ sleepy voice say, “sleep.”

Lay smiled softly closing his eyes.

 

“Before we start,” Chief Park said as they sat down in the conference room the next morning. “Agent Lee has a question.”

All the agents were there, except for Agent Kim. His presence was no longer needed. Agent Max sat on the further left side this time, then Agent Choi to his right, the Chief, Agent Lee and Agent Bang. The boys scattered among the two rows of chairs, nearly the same seats as before, only now Luhan sat at the far left, followed by Chanyeol to his right, Kris, Sehun Tao and Kai.

The tension between Sehun and Luhan during breakfast was palpable. They kept themselves as far away from each other as possible. The rest tried to make things feel less uncomfortable but it wasn’t easy, not at all.

“Boys,” Agent Lee began to speak, “the confession video is more than enough evidence to order an international search and arrest of Lu Mei.”

“We can make her arrest top priority and have our fellow governments help catch her,” Agent Bang supplied.

“I wondered if you boys wanted to make her pay for her crimes. For all that she has made you go through,” Agent Lee explained.

Agent Choi nodded, but Agent Max frowned and shook his head.

“Of course not,” Tao replied. “We can’t mess up our future. We need her.”

Agent Max nodded. “If we arrest her –well, if we ever manage to find her, then they would never have been able to escape,” he said. “If we interfere before they meet her in the future, then the present as we know it would change.”

“Whether we hate her or not,” Xiumin spoke up. “Whether we agree with her methods or we don’t, it doesn’t matter anymore. The truth is we are alive and safe because of her, and there’s no way we will endanger our future because of resentment.”

“So the answer is a unanimous no,” the Chief confirmed.

Agent Lee looked at Agent Bang, the International representative nodded. “It’s the right choice,” he said.

“Very well,” Agent Lee said to them, agreeing with their decision.

“Alright then,” the Chief pushed up the sleeves of his dress shirt. “We will broadcast her death on the evening news, under the pretense that failed human experiments killed her. We will edit the video and keep your identities unknown to the public,” he explained.

“It will be relatively easy to edit, since your attack is invisible and from distance,” Agent Max added.

“Right,” the Chief nodded. “I believe it’s best to keep your true identities secret for your protection.”

No one doubted his decision.

“And speaking of true identities,” the Chief pushed his sunglasses upwards and the crossed his arms over his chest, “I think it’s about time that we tell you who you really are.”

“What?” Chanyeol’s loud voice spoke for them all.

Lay shared a look of surprise and anticipation with Suho and D.O. The knowing gaze of Agent Max silently told him that he should make sure to keep the group calm, but his own expectation kept him distracted from doing so.

“We all know, from the video, that you boys have been cloned from people that were patients at the hospital Lu Mei’s sister worked at,” Agent Choi said. “Asan Medical Center, previously named Seoul Jungang Central Hospital up until 2002,” he looked down at a file.

“We’ve notified our fellow Chinese Intelligence Agency to search for alias Ming Li, as she is a witness and fellow crime suspect to this case,” Agent Bang added. “She had been living in Korea and working as a nurse since 1994 to 2008, under the name Ming Li. But her real name is Xiao Lingmi,” the agent read out from a file. “We don’t know anything about her whereabouts, and she’s probably hiding under a different identity.”

“Agent Maxwell, since he managed to see the video first, has already been able to track down your files from Asan Medical Center,” Agent Max nodded as the Chief spoke. “We already had been briefed your names before our meeting yesterday.”

“Oh,” Lay hummed out, gaining the room’s attention. Even though he realized they were all looking at him it took him a few seconds to react. “You asked if we were using nicknames. Yesterday.”

“Yes, we weren’t aware that you were given different names,” Agent Choi explained.

“Well, most of them,” Agent Max said almost to himself as he looked at the screen of his laptop. “Kim Minseok,” he called out. “Does that name sound familiar?”

Lay knitted his brows together as he looked around. No one seemed to recognize the name, he hadn’t heard it either. The only member who gave a glimpse of recognition was Tao, whose eyes moved towards the left. Luhan half turned in his seat, looking directly at Tao. The two of them seemed to be caught in a telepathic conversation.

“No?” Chief Park asked for confirmation.

“No, it doesn’t sound familiar,” Suho confirmed.

Agent Max pushed his red framed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Xiumin,” he called out.

Said boy looked uncertain upon the call of his name, “Yes?”

“Your real name is Kim Minseok. You were born on March 26^th, 1990. Making you the oldest among the group,” Agent Max read out.

“What? Me?” Xiumin pointed at himself in disbelief. “I’m the oldest?”

Everyone was quite surprised that out of the whole group Xiumin turned out to be the oldest of age. With his height and small body; his big eyes, wide forehead, small nose and lips made him appear to be of the youngest among the group. Lay always swore that Kris or Suho were the oldest.

“I’m… I’m 22 years old?” Xiumin asked.

“Actually 23 in Korean full years,” Agent Lee said.

“23?” Xiumin’s eyes widened surprised.

“You don’t look that old,” Baekhyun commented.

“I can’t be that old,” Xiumin said in denial. “I mean, look at me,” he pointed at himself. “23?”

Chief Park, who had been holding back his laughter, earned a chastising swat on the head by Agent Lee.

“I believe the reason you don’t look your age is because you were admitted into the hospital when you were sixteen,” Agent Max explained. "Actually, I think none of you guys have the body age you're supposed to."

Xiumin went silent for a moment. His initial shock was now replaced by passiveness. “I was sixteen when I died,” he somberly realized.

“Seventeen in Korean full years,” Agent Lee said with a lighter tone, trying to make the news not sound so grim. “Umm, yeah…” he faltered, realizing his comment was no help at all.

Suho reached over to hold onto Xiumin’s shoulder checking if he’d be alright.

Xiumin looked back at Agent Max. “What was my name?” asked as he still seemed rather shocked from all the news.

“Minseok. Kim Minseok,” the agent replied kindly.

Xiumin nodded slowly, accepting his new identity. “Minseok,” he repeated to himself. “Do I… have a family?” he asked cautiously.

Agent Max gave an uncertain look towards Chief Park, the elder agent sat up straighter taking command of the situation.

“We can’t…” he hesitated, searching for the right words as he rubbed the outside of his mouth. “Look kids, we can’t reunite you with your families. It’s best to keep your presence a secret, for your protection and for your family’s protection,” he calmly explained. “I can’t imagine how hard it is for you, but think about for a little bit. Imagine how shocking it would be for your parents to discover that their dead child has a clone with super abilities.” He paused, being cautious with the topic in hand. “It would be bringing back the dead. And, let’s be honest here, you aren’t exactly the same child they raised.”

Lay didn’t feel anything. He didn’t feel disappointment from the harsh truth, because he knew the Chief was right –and well, he was slightly doped. But the look in his friends’ eyes showed the emotions he should be feeling and their eyes were hard to look at. He didn’t want them to feel so down because of their predicament, so he exuded pheromones with analgesic effects to calm the group’s anxiety.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way, but your safety is our top priority –along with the safety of your unknowing families,” Chief Park spoke softly and steadily, letting his words sink. “I hope you can understand that this is the right decision.”

“This ,” Chanyeol muttered as he covered his face with his hands. Kris draped his arm around the other’s shoulders to hold him close.

Lay looked at D.O. The other wore a blank expression.

“Are you okay?” he quietly asked.

D.O’s jaw clenched. Casting his eyes down, he slowly shook his head as he was unable to speak.

Lay sighed. He remembered that D.O had the conviction of having a real family out there –he was even tricked because of it. And now he finally had the confirmation that he did in fact have a family –which should’ve been good news. But nothing ever seems to work out the way they want. Lay reached to hold onto D.O’s hand.

“We can bring you back legally, to some extent,” Agent Choi said.

Agent Lee nodded. “We can give you back your real names, your birth dates and a new citizen registration number. That way you’d keep your identity, while legally being a different person, since the first ones are registered as, well, deceased,” he explained. “We can bring you back to society but we can’t bring you back to your families.”

“Would you guys like adopt your real names and ages?” Chief Park asked hopeful.

Nearly all agreed. All but Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Sehun.

“Alright,” the Chief smiled.

“But,” Luhan spoke up, he didn’t look comfortable. “What’s…” he looked lost.

“You mean what’s your file. Right?” Agent Max said. Luhan nodded. “You don’t have one from the hospital, but I found your sister’s file.”

Luhan quickly looked up alarmed at him –surprised that he knew.

“I’m assuming she’s your sister,” Agent Max clarified. “The resemblance is identical.”

“She’s not my sister,” Luhan said bitterly, looking down to avoid eye contact.

“Oh,” Agent Max said rather confused. He squinted his eyes as he looked back and forth from the computer screen to Luhan.

Lay looked at Luhan confused. From the look on the rest of the group’s faces, only Kris, Xiumin and Kai seemed to know what Luhan was talking about.

“Oh,” Agent Max said in surprise, as he finally pieced two and two together. “You’re her cl-”

“Don’t,” Luhan warned. “Don’t say it,” he slouched his back and hid his face with his arms.

“What’s wrong?” Chief Park asked concerned.

Agent Choi nudged the leader’s side and pointed at his laptop screen. Agent Lee and Agent Bang both moved closer to look over the Chief’s shoulders.

“They’re the same,” Chief Park commented outstand. “How?”

Agent Choi gave an incredulous look, as if the answer were obvious.

“Luhan,” Sehun spoke up from where he sat. “What’s going on?” he asked concerned.

Luhan slowly looked up at the other –face torn with insecurity. Chanyeol and Kris made their best attempt to scoot backwards in their chairs to avoid being part of the conversation –they looked rather awkward.

Baekhyun suddenly jumped in his seat. “Oh,” he said surprised as he realized what was going on. Xiumin gave him a warning look to shut up.

“It’s okay to tell them,” Sehun said calmly, but Luhan furiously shook his head. “Lu, we all are someone’s clone. You’re not the only one.”

“But,” Luhan eyes hesitated. He looked back at Sehun and the latter rolled his eyes.

“No,” Sehun retorted. He rolled his eyes again. “It doesn’t!” Luhan glared at him. “It doesn’t matter,” Sehun argued back. “I say what I want. You’re the one who keeps hiding –oh, well I don’t care if they’re listening. Because –because you can trust us, damn it.”

Their half spoken-half telepathic argument was becoming rather confusing.

“That does not matter. They won’t consider you different because of that,” Sehun huffed as he crossed his arms as Luhan made hand gestures. Sehun looked away, ignoring Luhan.

“Sehun,” Luhan spoke up annoyed.

“It bothers you because she’s her daughter, right?” Sehun said serious.

Luhan bit back a retort, but kept glaring at Sehun.

Sehun waved his hand flippantly. “Okay, Okay. I won’t say anything,” he agreed rather reluctantly.

“Oh,” Suho said in realization, earning a warning glare from Xiumin.

D.O looked at Kai, and the other nodded. Tao frowned and nudged Kai’s side for him to tell him what the heck is going on. Jongdae seemed lost. Chanyeol confused. And Lay knew he wasn’t the fastest at understanding abstruse situations.

But the clues were clear. Luhan was someone’s clone, just like the rest of them. He knew from whom he had been cloned from. He didn’t want to admit who the person is. Agent Max thought someone was his sister, but in fact Luhan must be her clone. Luhan was clone of a girl, and not just any girl. It bothers you because she’s her daughter, Sehun had said. Mama had a daughter who passed away. That meant Luhan was the clone of Mama’s daughter. Which meant Luhan was Mama’s son.

“Oh,” Lay said amazed as he finally pieced the puzzle together.

“Ah,” Chanyeol said clapping his hands as he figured it out.

“No way,” Jongdae said, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Well damn,” Tao crooked a brow as he looked at Luhan.

Xiumin exasperated a sigh. “Might as well admit it already, Luhan.”

“Wait a minute,” Chief Park said with knotted brows as he finally figured out what everyone was thinking. “Her?” he asked Luhan. The telepathic nodded. “You’re the clone of a girl?”

Luhan gave annoyed and bewildered look at the man who just blurted out the secret he was hiding.

“Oh, pardon. My bad,” the Chief quickly apologized.

Luhan shook his head. “Whatever,” he said defeated. “I’m Mama’s daughter’s clone. Alright? That’s it,” he said reluctantly.

“When did you find out?” Sehun asked him.

Luhan let out a breath. “When we escaped the underground,” he answered. “That tape we saw yesterday, when...” he looked away from Sehun. The mention of the tape made things awkward between them again.

“The surveillance camera?” Baekhyun asked, diverting the attention.

“Yeah.” Luhan scratched his arm. “At that time I didn’t know we were clones. So I thought I was the only one and… and I hated that she did that to me,” he explained. “I hated knowing I’m somehow related to her.”

“You don’t have to be,” Agent Bang suddenly said, gaining all their curious attention. “It might be a small thing, but by changing your family name and choosing your own birthday, then, well, then you could pretend to be a different person,” he suggested. “You don’t have to have the world know you’re related to her.”

Luhan bit his lip as he looked a little more relieved. He nodded in agreement. “But I don’t really want to change my name. I wouldn’t know how else to call myself.”

“How about Lu being your family name and Han your name?” Agent Bang suggested. “You’re of Chinese inheritance. I remember this folk character named Lu Dongbin, of the Eight Immortals myth.” He smiled, “Lu could be your surname.”

Luhan smiled lightly. “I like that,” he said.

Jongdae suddenly lifted his hand in the air, gaining the room’s attention. “What’s my real name?” he asked excited.

“Umm,” Agent Max checked on his computer. “Kim Jongdae.”

Jongdae’s smile quickly vanished as Tao laughed out loud.

“I told you your name was Jongdae,” Tao teased.

Jongdae let out a whine as he slouched his body over the conference table. “My name is Chen,” he mumbled in denial.

“Whatever you say Chen Chen,” Tao chuckled.

 

It was during lunch break that they began to grow familiarized to their real names. Chanyeol, Sehun and Baekhyun decided to keep their names. They all felt that they weren’t the same person that had been used for their cloning, so they didn’t want to have the name of someone they weren’t. They did accept the family names though, that way they could still feel as if they came from a family.

Lay’s real name was Zhang Yixing, one of the four Chinese members of the group. He liked his name a lot. He was born on October 7^th 1991; which made him the fifth eldest of the group, right after Suho –now Kim Junmyeon, who shared the same year of birth. Kai –now Kim Jongin, and Sehun –Oh Sehun, turned out to be the younger ones of the group; Sehun being the youngest of them all by a few months of difference. He was quite annoyed learning he was the baby of the group, or maknae which would be the correct term.

Yixing sat on a couch at the living room of the common area, after finishing his meal. He watched amusedly the scene in front.

“Hyung,” Jongdae teased, poking Xiumin –now Kim Minseok.  “Minseok hyung,” he singed.

“Stop calling me hyung,” Minseok complained as he swatted Jongdae's hand away.

“But hyung,” Chanyeol teased, “you’re the ultimate hyung.”

“Why the hell did Agent Maxwell have to teach you that word,” Minseok said annoyed as he plopped on the opposite couch. “Get out of my sight,” Minseok glared coldly at the two clowns.

“Oh no,” Chanyeol exasperated. “We can’t disobey hyung’s order,” he said dramatically.

“We better scram,” Jongdae joked and pulled Chanyeol away towards the kitchen area.

Minseok rubbed his temples with his fingers. “It’s not worth it, it’s not worth it,” he repeated to convince himself.

“What’s not worth it?” Baekhyun asked as he was passing behind the couch.

“Turning those two idiots into human popsicles,” Minseok muttered annoyed.

“Don’t be so sour about it, hyung,” Baekhyun said with a wink.

Minseok turned to glare at the younger.

“Stop bothering him,” Kris –now Wu Yifan, scolded as he entered the living room and sat beside Yixing.

“Okay hyung,” Baekhyun said to the blond.

Yifan’s eye twitched –he wasn’t getting used to the hyung term as easily as he pretended to be. Yixing chuckled.

“Zitao and Tao is not much of a difference,” D.O –actually Do Kyungsoo commented as he entered the living room holding a bowl filled with fruits with the silver haired one in tow.

Tao’s real name wasn’t far from his code name. Huang Zitao, born the same year as Kyungsoo; both were a year older than Jongin and Sehun.

“Zitao is cool,” he said and munched a bite off the apple he was eating. Zitao sat next to Minseok and handed the elder a pear.

“Here, pick one,” Kyungsoo said as he offered the bowl towards Yixing and Yifan.

Yixing picked out a red apple. “Thanks.”

Kyungsoo set the bowl on the coffee table and sat next to him.

“It makes sense now,” Yixing commented. Kyungsoo looked at him confused. “You’re code. D.O-K500 means Do Kyungsoo.”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo smiled pensively as he touched the back of his head. “It was a hint.”

“So you really were the first one,” Minseok said. Kyungsoo nodded.

“So you’re like, ten years old?” Zitao asked.

“No,” Kyungsoo chuckled. “I might be small, but I can’t be that young.”

“She probably made you age as a clone,” Yifan reasoned.

“I think so too,” Kyungsoo agreed as he picked some grapes.

They fell silent, enjoying their dessert until Sehun entered the living room. He sat on top of the armrest of the couch and leaned against Kyungsoo as if the smaller boy was a column to hold him up.

“Feed me,” Sehun ordered.

Kyungsoo chuckled. “Alright,” he plucked a grape. “Just because you’re the baby.”

Sehun frowned as he ate the fruit. “I’m not,” he whined.

“You totally are,” Zitao teased, imitating Sehun’s childish whine.

“Shut up,” Sehun threw a grape at the other.

But in a fraction of a second the grape was in Zitao’s hand –never hitting his face since he manipulated time to safely catch the fruit.

“Thanks,” he said smugly as he plopped the grape in his mouth.

Sehun frowned defeated. “Whatever,” he mumbled and rested his head against Kyungsoo’s. “If Kai –I mean Jongin, Jongdae, Junmyeon and Minseok hyung are all Kim’s. Then could they be related?”

Minseok pressed his lips together as he thought. “Hmm… Maybe, but we don’t look alike.”

“But maybe you could be like, cousins,” Sehun suggested.

“Distant cousins,” Yifan said.

"Very distant cousins," Zitao added.

“But still, they could be… they could be family,” Sehun spoke softly.

Yixing noted the longing in his voice. Kyungsoo noticed as well, and looked down sadly.

“Don’t feel bad, Sehunnie,” Yixing said with a kind smile. “We are your family.”

Sehun looked up innocently as they all nodded at Yixing’s statement. Then he briefly glanced down at Kyungsoo who moved to hug him.

“I know,” Sehun smiled.