They didn’t get to clarify whatever happened between Lu Han and Kyungsoo, for Agent Choi and two subordinates came dashing into the kitchen from the basement.

“What’s going on here?” Agent Choi asked alarmed as he eyed them with worry, Field Agent Moon was right beside him.

Baekhyun jumped in surprise when the agent spoke, he hadn’t realized when they entered the room. The rest looked just as surprised, for their attention was on Lu Han and Kyungsoo and trying to make sense of the few words spoken during the fight. Kyungsoo had stopped crying for Yixing had healed his wounds and soothed his emotions. Lu Han on the other hand, had immediately separated himself from Sehun’s embrace once the agents appeared. He used the sleeves of his sweater to quickly try to dry his face and force himself to stop crying.

Baekhyun noticed a small strike of sadness in Sehun’s eyes when Lu Han pulled away.

Junior SA. Cha walked towards Kyungsoo, who was still surrounded by Yixing, Jongin, Minseok and Chanyeol.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” the tan man asked concerned as he tried to get a better look at him.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Kyungsoo quickly said as he wiped away any remains of his crying. “Yixing helped me. I’m okay.”

Agent Cha took a step back, looking at Yixing as if he just remembered the other’s abilities. “Oh right,” he said.

“Why were you fighting?” Agent Choi asked as he gave a stern look towards Lu Han.

“I, uh,” Lu Han looked at Kyungsoo for help.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Kyungsoo replied for both of them. “We had, umm, a previous disagreement and this now was just umm…”

“It was my mistake,” Lu Han said stepping away from Sehun and making his way towards Kyungsoo. “I overreacted,” he said -but Baekhyun could tell it sounded a bit forced.

Kyungsoo shook his head as he stood up, pushing away anyone from helping him or trying to protect him from Lu Han. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes spoke for him and they showed he was not angry at all.

“You didn’t,” Kyungsoo said to Lu Han. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Lu Han hugged Kyungsoo tightly. “I’m sorry,” his voice filled with contrition.

Well this is the fastest they’ve ever apologized, Baekhyun thought. He was glad that whatever quarrel they had between them was quickly resolved, but he still was worried and curious about why they fought in the first place. What had possibly been so bad that made Lu Han punch Kyungsoo in the face.

“Well…” Agent Choi seemed at a loss of words as he rubbed his mouth thinking. The poor guy looked awfully confused.

“Are you guys always this dramatic?” Agent Moon asked with sincere curiosity. “Do you always, like, explode and use your abilities to beat the crap out of each other?”

“Language,” Agent Cha warned the younger.

“Sorry,” the paper white skinned and coal black haired man quickly said.

“It’s not that we fight often and we don’t normally beat each other up,” Junmyeon answered a little annoyed.

“Using our skills comes naturally,” Minseok commented and the rest agreed. “We are our abilities.”

Agent Choi nodded reluctantly. “Can you guys promise to not scare us like that again?”

Kyungsoo let out a small chuckle. “I think you’re forgetting something,” he said, making them baffled. “We’re not normal.”

Kyungsoo’s deep tone hit the agents like a wave of realization. They weren’t normal; everything they did was amplified for their bodies were modified. To be able to do the things they were capable of, their body functions couldn’t be anywhere near normal. Everything was better, stronger and faster. And with the elixir’s boost, they were beyond any range of normalcy. Even without Kyungsoo’s strength, his body sure could take a punch or two. Even Baekhyun could take a smack in the face and not be knocked down -well maybe not when being immobilized by a telekinetic grip, in that case he would’ve been pretty much useless like Kyungsoo had been.

What Kyungsoo had implied was that anything that seemed too much for the agents wasn’t out of the ordinary between them. With all the encounters and fights with boggers, they had become resistant to certain levels of physical pain and exertion. They just weren’t normal, they couldn’t ever be.

Agent Choi gave out a long sigh after that moment of silence. “This is not how I wanted to start my Sunday morning,” he commented, then looked up at them. “The Chief will be here at eleven sharp. Please wake the others up and have breakfast before then,” he dismissed, leaving with his subordinates.

As soon as they were alone, Junmyeon spoke up.

“You two,” he pointed at the two troublemakers. “Follow me,” he ordered.

“Can we come too?” Chanyeol asked.

Junmyeon simply nodded as response while leading the group to the right staircase. They met Zitao on the way, he looked really refreshed as if he finally got a good night sleep.

“What happened?” he asked to Sehun. “Why’d you disappear?”

“Long story,” Sehun mumbled as he pulled Zitao’s arm to make him follow the group up the stairs.  

When they reached the third floor, Junmyeon knocked twice before opening the door to Yifan and Jongdae’s shared bedroom.

“What’s going on?” Yifan asked surprised as everyone tried to find a place to sit or stand in the room. He had just dressed and had a towel in his hands, blond hair still damp.

“These two got into a fight,” Junmyeon disclosed as he made them sit in the middle of Jongdae’s bed.

Zitao rolled his eyes, “That’s not new.”

“Lu Han punched him,” Minseok added.

“Oh,” the silver haired one gasped.

“Are you kidding me?” Yifan said annoyed as he looked from under the towel draped over his head.  “What the hell Lu Han?”

“I’m sorry,” Lu Han quickly said. “I overreacted I know.”

“I thought you had more self-control. You can’t keep hurting people whenever you’re hurt,” Yifan scolded. Lu Han frowned, but kept quiet. “What was the fight about?” Yifan asked Junmyeon.

“We don’t know yet,” he said, hands joining his hips. “And the weirdest part is that they already made up.”

“What?” Yifan looked dumbfounded.

“It was a mistake,” Lu Han said looking down at his hands.

“Lu Han you can’t have possibly gotten that angered because of a mistake, that’s bull,” Minseok said sternly.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol backed him up.

“Why did you cry?” Yixing asked.

“Yeah, what was all that crying about?” Baekhyun stepped in. “First, out of ing nowhere, you beat Kyungsoo up and then you were crying in Sehun’s arms. What the hell was that all about?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol supported.

“He cried?” Yifan asked baffled.

Junmyeon nodded with his arms crossed. “It was some seriously weird .”

Yifan shook his head incredulously. “Whatever it was, must have been important. So just tell us already,” Yifan demanded.

Lu Han looked at Kyungsoo, who was looking at Jongin -the latter was silently observing. Kyungsoo looked back at Lu Han, probably because the other was speaking to him in his head.

“It was just something between us. You guys don’t have to worry about it,” Kyungsoo said, Lu Han nodded. “It was from the time Lu Han didn’t trust me because of Lu Mei,” Kyungsoo admitted, staring Yifan right in the eye as if he dared the other to prove him wrong.

Yifan squinted his eyes at him and let out a sigh as he nodded to confirm Kyungsoo was not lying.

“What was it?” Minseok sharply asked.

Kyungsoo’s eyes searched the room, Baekhyun thought he was looking towards him but he noticed it was towards Zitao standing next to him.

“It doesn’t have to do with us now. Let’s not worry about this anymore,” Kyungsoo dismissed. “I don’t want you guys to worry about it.”

“Can we just let this go?” Lu Han asked, looking away with annoyance.

“No,” Junmyeon barked.

Baekhyun felt Zitao shift his weight, as if he was going to step forward but decided against it.

“Hyung, I think we’re worrying too much about these idiots,” Zitao said looking towards Junmyeon, avoiding Yifan’s sight. “They obviously had some unresolved business and Lu Han’s an .”

“Hey,” the telepathic said offended.

Zitao lifted a finger to shut him up. “Whatever it was, was between them. I don’t see why we have to meddle around instead of having breakfast. I need food,” he said with attitude.

“But-”

“It wasn’t some simple fight,” Sehun interrupted. “It was… different.” Sehun looked at Lu Han. “It wasn’t just about them.”

“Sehun, you’re overthinking things,” Zitao exasperated. “These two heads have been at each other’s throats since we got out of the underground. This was bound to happen.”

“You knew this would happen?” Yifan asked.

“Not that I can recall,” he replied. Zitao looked from Yifan to Kyungsoo. “I really don’t see the need for this ,” he said waving his hand through the air, indicating the group meeting inside the room.

Yifan crossed his arms over his chest. “Tao, do you know something we don’t?”

Zitao laughed incredulously. “That’s a stupid question. I always know something you don’t.”

Yifan frowned at him. “You said we’d be safe.”

“We are safe,” Zitao exasperated defensively. “What the hell are you even asking?”

“How long?” Yifan asked raising his tone as he stepped closer.

“How long?” Zitao asked back, raising his eyebrows in a mix of confusion and defiance. “You know I don’t have a ing timeline. What the hell am I supposed to be looking for anyway? Huh? How long what?”

“We’re safe, but for how long?” Yifan clarified, tone indicating he was stone cold serious.

Zitao clenched his jaw, his prominent eyes glossed with a mix of frustration and disappointment. “You’re being paranoid,” he said as he turned away towards the door. “It’s too early for all this bull, especially from you Kris,” his voice sounded hurt.

“Wait, Tao,” Yifan called out but the other had already stormed out of the room.

“What was that all about?” Junmyeon asked Yifan disapprovingly.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I might be wrong but,” he paused as he eyed Lu Han and Kyungsoo once more before turning his attention back to Junmyeon, “I just have an odd feeling, that’s all.” He turned his attention back to Lu Han and Kyungsoo. “This isn’t over,” he warned before leaving after Zitao.

“Can we leave now?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Don’t even think about it,” Minseok said.

“You said you don’t want us to worry but not knowing what’s wrong, not being able to understand why you fought makes us worry even more,” Junmyeon lectured.

“Just tell us already,” Jongdae said impatiently. “We’re not going to judge.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol backed him up. “We’re here for you guys. We care.”

Kyungsoo let out a deep sigh and looked at Lu Han.

“Maybe we are overthinking this,” Jongin spoke up. “It’s gotten a bit out of proportion, hasn’t it hyung?” he asked Junmyeon with a comprehensive voice.

Junmyeon lift up an authoritative hand. “You’re not helping them out of this one,” he sternly said.

Jongin looked like he wanted to keep speaking, but bit his lower lip instead.

“Just tell them already,” Kyungsoo nudged Lu Han’s side.

Lu Han let out an annoyed breath before speaking. “Kyungsoo knew I was Mama’s son,” he said looking away. “That pissed me off. He should’ve told me,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“How?” Kyungsoo looked at him with a sad gaze. “How was I ever supposed to tell you something like that?”

“You could’ve tried,” Lu Han mumbled annoyed.

“Wait, wait,” Minseok shook his hands. “I get that… I get that Lu Han would’ve reacted that way. It makes sense because it triggers him.”

“Right,” Junmyeon nodded in agreement.

“Being triggered doesn’t make him less of a jerk though,” Jongdae mumbled.

“Shouldn’t have punched Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol commented while shaking his head.

“Can we just stop,” Lu Han leaned his elbows against his knees and held his head between his hands, gaze to the floor. “I hate talking about this. I hate talking about her. I know I overreacted, that’s why I apologized.”

“But you said Kyungsoo lied,” Minseok said. “But you didn’t?” he questioned Kyungsoo.

“I, umm,” Kyungsoo adopted the same position as Lu Han, stalling his response. He rested his elbows against his knees but he kept his hands down as well as his sight, lingering his gaze on his fiddling fingers. “I told him I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know at that time, I didn’t lie, Lu Mei never told me he was her daughter’s clone.”

“Then how did you know?” Baekhyun asked suspiciously.

Kyungsoo looked up. “She had a picture of Lu Zi in her office,” he explained.

“It’s true,” Jongin confirmed. “I saw the picture too.”

Kyungsoo nodded before continuing. “The similarity was striking. I...” he paused in thought. “The first time I saw Lu Han up close, I immediately remembered Lu Zi. They’re the same.” Lu Han let out an annoyed grunt. “Not exactly the same,” Kyungsoo quickly retracted. “You’re clearly a man Lu Han.”

“But why…” Sehun looked uncertain. “Why did you apologize to me?”

Lu Han looked up at him with his big doe eyes. “That’s… Can we talk about that privately?”

“No,” Sehun crossed his arms. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it to us all.”

Lu Han rubbed his hands against his thighs, looking terribly uncomfortable. “I, umm…” he gulped as he looked down, not daring to see the member’s observing him. “I know you think I’m beautiful and other things,” he said with difficulty, Sehun’s face flushed embarrassed but he kept a straight face, “and I hate that. I hate that because I’m a man, and men aren’t supposed to be considered beautiful like a girl.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Sehun frowned.

“Am I?” Lu Han snapped. “How can you possibly know? Huh? How could you possibly understand what it’s like to be what I am?” he said frustrated. He took a deep breath as he looked up to the ceiling, “I hate what I am.”

Sehun huffed annoyed, a small gust of wind blew the bangs away from his face. He loudly walked up to Lu Han and held the other’s face between his hands to force Lu Han to look at him.

“I don’t love you as a girl, stupid. I love you as a man,” he said without hesitation, causing Lu Han’s doe eyes to widen and face to furiously blush.

Baekhyun gasped in shock as he watched the blunt confession before him. He looked up at Chanyeol who’s mouth hung wide open in surprise. He looked at Yixing, who smiled content, while Jongdae looked like his eyes would escape his face.

Damn, he thought amazed.

Sehun straightened his back, letting go of Lu Han’s flush-red face. “Why did you apologize?” he asked again.

Lu Han looked away self-consciously, trying to hide his evident blush. “I didn’t want to fight anymore, Sehun,” he spoke softly.

Sehun didn’t respond immediately. Instead he hesitantly outstretched his hand as if he wanted to touch Lu Han’s hair, but he didn’t. He let his hand fall as he stepped aside giving Lu Han some distance.

“Okay,” he said matching Lu Han’s soft tone.

A forced cough interrupted the moment. “I think this is enough,” Minseok suggested.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol and Baekhyun agreed.

Junmyeon let out a tired sigh. “You two can’t be causing trouble like that ever again, understood? We can’t be a nuisance to the agents.”

Both troublemakers nodded understandingly.

“It won’t happen again,” Kyungsoo promised and gave a look at Lu Han.

“It won’t,” the other promised as well.

“Alright,” Junmyeon concluded. “Let’s go get breakfast.”

“Sehun, you should go change,” Jongdae pointed out at the only one still in pajamas.

“Oh, right,” Sehun said looking down at his shirt.

“I’ll save you a plate,” Yixing said as they left the room.

“Well that was pretty ed up,” Baekhyun commented to Chanyeol. “And why did Tao get so worked up?”

“Oh he’s always sensitive about his visions,” Chanyeol said. “That dude has no chill.”

 

At 10:59 sharp, Chief Park waltzed into the living room where they awaited him. This time Agent Maxwell came as well, though the youthful agent had a gloomier look with black circles under his eyes and an overall appearance that screamed exhaustion -he even wore the same clothes he had on yesterday.

“Good morning guys,” the Chief said cheerfully as he accommodated his metal framed sunglasses against the bridge of his nose. “We’ve got a lot to discuss, some good other not so good,” he spoke as he made his way to sit at a chair set in front of the tv set.

Agent Choi and all his Jr. Special. agents where in the living room with them, along with Agent Maxwell. The other field agents were on duty at the surveillance room or around the house.

“Where should I begin?” the Chief asked himself.

“Maybe with what you’ve been up to,” Agent Choi suggested.

“Hmm, yeah. Alright,” Chief Park rested his back against the chair as he gave a moment of thought. “Agent Choi has been my right hand man for a very long time, that is why I have left him in charge of keeping you boys safe. As for me, I have gathered a new team along with Agent Bang, who’s international relationship with other security agencies of ally nations will be of great help. Actually we’re receiving a lot of help from the NSB of China. They believe they should take part of the responsibility since the main headquarters of EX’ACT is in China,” he noted. “As I said before, we are trying our best to track down every unit linked to EX’ACT and any current or former employee, anyone who has anything to do with that wicked place.” The Chief paused as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s going to be harder than we expected.”

“Why’s that?” Junmyeon asked.

“We’re not sure what exactly we’re confronting here,” he admitted. “We have no intel that leads us to believe we’ll be hunting down monsters like those boggers, but we’re talking about a company that’s main focus in human clonation.”

“We suspect that there’s a great chance of encountering clones instead of the real culprits,” Agent Max added.

“You think they’ll pop out clones to use as decoys?” Minseok asked.

“Yeah,” Agent Choi grimaced.

“It does sound possible,” Yifan commented.

“We are prepared to proceed with our mission even if there are clones to face,” Chief Park spoke again. “The problem is that we have no idea how to tell if a person is a clone from far away. It would be ridiculous if we go shaving people’s hair off all the time.” He sighed, “I knew this job wasn’t ever going to be easy, but it just gets more and more difficult.” He gave a look at Agent Max, the subordinate nodded.

“We’ve had a setback,” Agent Max said. “Two days ago we had followed Lu Mei’s orders and handed an edited version of surveillance tape of her alleged death to the major networks for the night news broadcast. We edited it so your identities would remain hidden, but,” Agent Max let out a tired sigh.

“Remember when we met at the highway?” Agent Choi asked. “Well, there were people there who saw you guys, so we followed protocol to keep them silent. But someone had managed to film a bit on their mobile phone.”

“Damn technology,” Chief Park mumbled.

“The person had leaked the video into a blog on the internet and it had spread,” Agent Max explained. “They have made assumptions that maybe you guys are the real experiments that killed Lu Mei, and well, it’s been hell to get rid of all trace of the video. The best IT and hacker team have been tracing back and erasing all records of the video. We even gone to the point of creating statements claiming it to be a hoax and that the video is fake.”

“Thankfully, Agent Maxwell’s team’s dedication and hard work has traced the IP address of the original post, so we’ve caught culprit,” Chief Park informed.

“The only problem is that there might still be someone out there who could’ve downloaded the video and saved it on an external disk. So we still have a lot of work to do,” Agent Max said tiredly.

“What did the video show?” Yifan asked concerned.

“It shows Jongin phasing the woman out of the car, Yixing and Lu Han’s argument with the man, Yixing waking the woman up, all that and up to the point we appear,” Agent Max informed.

“That’s a lot,” Junmyeon said worried.

“Yeah,” Agent Max sighed. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.”

“It’s not like a lot of people know,” the Chief said. “But it’s best to keep a low profile to not get any more unwanted attention. Alright?” The boys nodded. “Inside the house, out on the roof and out in the back yard it’s okay to let loose, we’ve got your surroundings covered. But don't go overboard, alright? Nothing too scandalous.”

“We understand,” Yifan diligently replied.

“Alright, next thing,” Chief Park pushed his sunglasses higher. “I don’t see the point to it, but my superior is interested in making a thorough report of the underground facility, which means we would have to excavate to see whatever remains are there. I believe that would bring unwanted attention and it would result useless from what you boys have told me.”

“There’s really nothing down there,” Kyungsoo said.

“I believe you,” Chief Park said. “I just needed to confirm with you guys that it isn’t necessary to go through all that fuzz.”

‘Why are you always so hard to connect with?’

Lu Han?

‘Obviously.’

‘We should check if your clone is still down there,’ he heard Jongin say in his head.

‘No, it would be worse,’ Zitao said. ‘Amur leopards was already a lame excuse. How the hell would we cover up this time?’

Oh, group meeting, Baekhyun caught on the ongoing discussion.

‘But we need to find out if she lied or not,’ Jongin said.

‘Look, going down there is useless,’ Kyungsoo spoke up, loud and clear. ‘If it was left down there, then it’s either burned or buried or both. There’s no way it could’ve survived. And if she didn’t lie to us, if she really managed to get it out before it was too late, then there’s nothing we can do about it.’

‘But Kyung-’

‘Stop insisting about it Kai. I don’t even want to know if it’s out there, so stop it,’ he sounded annoyed.

‘Kyungsoo, if we tell the agents about your clone, then maybe they can help us find it,’ Junmyeon tried to reason.

‘Hyung I don’t want them to know.’

‘Why not?’ Minseok asked.

You’re being unreasonable, Baekhyun thought.

‘They can help us,’ Chanyeol said.

‘They’ve already got a hell lot to do,’ Lu Han commented. ‘I don’t think it’s wise to give them more to handle. And Kyungsoo’s right. Whether buried or alive, we can’t find it, so bringing up this issue won’t be any good other than a dead end. It’s useless.’

‘But-’

‘It’s my ing clone, so it’s my decision and I say no and that’s final,’ Kyungsoo stubbornly said.

‘Finally,’ Lu Han said, relieved from having to hold up the telepathic projection.

Baekhyun huffed annoyed, stubborn prick, he thought as he frowned at Kyungsoo. He did not agree with the other’s decision at all.

“Are you guys okay?” Agent Cha asked worried.

“Yes, we’re fine,” Junmyeon quickly responded. “Sorry about that, it was just a quick group meeting. And we believe it’s best to not excavate and leave the underground facility hidden. That was what Mama wanted anyway.” He looked at Kyungsoo for a millisecond, “And there’s nothing down there worth digging up. All the clones have been destroyed, the faculty and the boggers were either killed or disintegrated.”

“No one was meant to exist anyway,” Minseok shrugged.

“Right then,” Chief Park agreed. “I’ll make your position clear when I speak with my superior again. We’ll keep away from that place.”

Yixing raised his hand.

“Yes?” Chief Park beckoned him to speak.

“You never excavated or seen the underground dome, correct?” Yixing asked.

“Yes.”

“Then, Agent Max, how come you knew about the flora and fauna down there?” he asked with a hint of suspicion.

Agent Max seemed a little confused at first, probably because of how tired he was. “Oh, right,” he remembered. “There’s a document with general aspects of the underground dome within the archives Lu Mei sent. I completely forgot about that.”

“You didn’t report it?” Chief Park frowned.

“I did. In section 26, page, umm, 350 or something,” he said. “Didn’t you read my report?”

Chief Park and Agent Choi shared a guilty look.

“Your report was kind of long,” Agent Choi excused as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Agent Max shook his head. “Anyway, Lu Mei had a document of general aspects like the diameter of the dome, building’s construction or whatever we would expect to find if we ever went down there. But the details were either scarce or redundant. There’s no information about what was in her labs. No equipment, no chemicals, no staff, nothing scientific. Just the exterior and the building’s general description.” He paused, “I believe it was probably decoy information to keep us from going down there. As in, giving us some intel to keep quiet.”

“Oh,” Yixing nodded.

“Alright, what else do we have to say?” Chief Park asked.

“The ID cards and the keys, sir,” Agent Choi reminded.

“Oh right. Agent Maxwell,” he ordered.

Agent Max opened the messenger bag he was carrying and proceeded to hand everyone their new citizen ID card and key to the safe house. Baekhyun politely received his ID card and key. He inspected it, recognizing his face on the profile picture and the first six digits as his birth date: 920506.

“As of today, April 8th of 2012, you will all be under Senior Special Agent Choi’s watch,” Chief Park informed as he stood up. “You now all are under NIS witness protection program, project code name EXO.”

The group remained silent for a while, letting the words sink. EXO wasn’t a bad name, for they were in fact Evolutionary X-genetics Organisms. It was just that making it official, making their new status official was something strange and unaccustomed, with a promise of hope and a new beginning.

“We will also give you encrypted phones to keep communicated when you leave the house-”

“In groups,” Agent Choi interrupted, making it clear to follow his instructions.

“Right,” Agent Max continued. “They aren’t ready yet, but they’ll be here this evening. Also, I have tinkered with the computers in the house, but I’m sure Agent Choi already told you that.”

“Umm, care to remind them?” Agent Choi said, clearly having forgotten to tell them what Agent Max was implying.

“Very well,” Agent Max sighed. “All computers have encryptions to make them untraceable, the codes will periodically change and a tech team will be in charge of keeping the system updated, they do it from within the agency.” He paused, trying to remember everything that needed to be said. “We are going to keep a certain surveillance on what you guys do. I know you probably don’t know much about using the internet since you’ve been cut off social interactions. But we can’t have you guys entering sites where you create profiles and communicate with other people. We can’t have you guys letting out any information out, understood?”

“Yes,” they agreed.

“So no social media or uploading anything on the web,” he said.

“What’s the web?” Chanyeol asked.

“We’ll teach you about that later,” Jr. Agent Jang said.

And they did. Once dismissed the group went on to venture all the features of the house and experience a normal day of a normal teenager. They quickly learned to use the computers thanks to Agent Maxwell, Jang, Oh and Kwon. They searched the internet, finding fun games online, videos and most importantly music. Something about the universality of music made it so relatable for them all. Within the melody and the lyrics they found expression and thoughts they could relate to and feel represented. Sometimes music was for fun, but most of the time for them it meant connection to a world they had missed out of.

They would watch music videos and parody them, trying to imitate the performer. Baekhyun found out he had quite a pair of lungs and would try his best to sing along the complex vocalizations. Jongdae was pretty great at reaching high notes, though Minseok surprised them all with an unattainable note Baekhyun could only dream of. Junmyeon struggled a lot due to his strengthened diaphragm, one would think that having a strong diaphragm would be helpful for singing but to him it was more difficult to control the air as it was less dense than water. Kyungsoo was more than willing to help him and the rest the few techniques he knew. Otherwise they would search online vocal training videos -there were tutorials for everything. They never needed to lift a book again, everything was on the internet.

They also began to imitate the dances of those music videos. Yixing, Jongin and Minseok turned out to be quiet agile and fast at picking up new dance moves. Zitao, Sehun and Lu Han soon followed. Baekhyun considered himself pretty decent with his moves but nowhere near the others. The rest of them tried. They might not have the best moves but they’ve got style. It’s just a matter of practice.

There were also instruments for them to play with. Jr. SA Lim was skilled with the drums, Agent Jeon played the guitar and the bass and Agent Moon was a pianist. They were kind in encouraging them to try to learn. The easiest instrument to play somewhat decently was the piano, so many including himself tried learning to play it. Yixing and Chanyeol managed to pick up the guitar, while Zitao and Jongdae struggled with the strings -Kyungsoo didn't even give it a try once he realized how difficult it was to stretch his fingers. Chanyeol had the beat for the drums, Yifan tried it too and Baekhyun made a fool of himself but at least he got them to laugh.

Four days had passed since the reconciled fight and their official status under the NIS. It was Sehun’s birthday, the first birthday they ever celebrated. Being the youngest meant to be pampered by his older brothers, and Sehun had a knack at getting what he wanted. In the morning they had cake for breakfast, the first cake they ever ate. Then they were allowed to go out shopping at a huge mall called Times Square and since the place was massive, they were divided into groups accompanied by agents to venture around. They bought clothes of their style of choice and a present for the youngest. And after some persuasion, they convinced Agent Kwon to buy them a video game console.

By late afternoon they were back at the dorm with new clothes, video games and pizza. While Agent Jang helped Chanyeol install their new game console, Baekhyun went upstairs to the music room with Jongdae and Kyungsoo.

“We can’t screw up next time guys,” Baekhyun said determined as he repeated the same section of the song on the piano.

“You mean you can’t screw up next time,” Kyungsoo corrected, sitting on a chair next to him.

“Seriously Baek, how could you screw up the Happy Birthday song? It’s for beginners for crying out loud,” Jongdae exasperated, leaning against the piano.

“If it’s so easy then why don’t you play the piano then? Huh?” he said irritated.

“Because I want to shine during my solo,” Jongdae fanned himself.

“There’s no freaking solo in a birthday song,” Kyungsoo muttered.

“There could be one if you let me,” Jongdae scrunched his nose.

“No.”

“You guys ,” he crossed his arms.

Baekhyun’s fingers slipped, causing the notes to sound off. “Ugh,” he grunted before repeating the same score.

“Don’t worry, you’ve got a week to get it right,” Kyungsoo encouraged.

“When is Lu Han’s birthday?” he asked.

“Next Friday.”

“Crap,” he mumbled while resting his head against the top wooden surface.

“They… I mean Sehun and Lu Han,” Jongdae clarified. “Are they, like, okay again?”

“Would you please elaborate, because they both seem quite okay to me,” Baekhyun turned his head to look at him.

“I mean like, together okay,” he said.

Baekhyun looked at Kyungsoo who shrugged his shoulders.

“They’re in good terms but I wouldn’t say they are dating. They aren’t all lovey dovey with each other like this guy is with Jongin,” Baekhyun answered, earning a shove by an embarrassed Kyungsoo. “Hey! It’s true.”

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo threatened with his characteristic glare.

“Aww, little Kyungie’s embarrassed,” he teased pinching Kyungsoo’s squishy cheek.

“Stop it,” the younger swat his hand away.

“What a temper,” Baekhyun mumbled as he rubbed his hand. “Just admit that you guys are so cute that it’s gross,” he insisted.

“No.”

“I once saw them kissing,” Jongdae admitted.

Kyungsoo’s embarrassed reaction was priceless, round eyes wide face completely red. He covered his face with his hands.

“Really?” Baekhyun laughed.

“Yeah, I wanted to borrow Jongin’s ipod. Bad timing, my poor eyes,” he rubbed his eyes as he shook his head, making Baekhyun laugh even harder.

“Hey! It’s not that bad,” Kyungsoo said defensively.

“Uh, yeah it is,” Jongdae countered. “Have you ever seen two of your friends kiss? No. You have no idea how awkward it is.”

Baekhyun giggled as he watched Kyungsoo try to kick Jongdae without getting up from the chair. His legs couldn’t reach the other, who stuck his tongue out tauntingly.

Baekhyun leaned his elbow against the piano, resting his head against his hand. “Does it feel good?” he asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

“Wh-what?” Kyungsoo nearly choked.

“Does kissing Jongin feel good?”

“What the- I’m not answering that,” he exclaimed embarrassed, turning a deeper shade of red.

“Baekhyun you’re such a weirdo,” Jongdae complained.

“Why? It was just a question,” he defended himself. “Kissing is normal. Aren’t you curious about it?”

Jongdae looked caught off guard. “Well, yeah, I guess so,” he said hesitantly.

A wicked thought crossed his mind as a crooked smile adorned his lips.

Baekhyun abruptly stood up. “Let’s do it then,” he said before puckering his lips and launching over towards Jongdae.

“Oh hell no!” Jongdae quickly reacted and tried to run away, but ended up stumbling on his feet and falling onto the floor. “Get away from me,” he said alarmed as he scurried back to his feet.

Baekhyun burst out laughing. “I’m just messing with you,” he said as between laughter. “You guys are so easy to prank.”

“Idiots,” Kyungsoo muttered and then went to sit on the piano bench.

“I would never kiss you,” Jongdae declared.

“Why? Am I that ugly?” Baekhyun feigned disappointment.

“Yes.”

“Yah!” he smacked the other’s shoulder.

“Are we going to practice or what?” Kyungsoo said as he played the right keys to the song.

“Why don’t you play the song instead?” Jongdae asked as he walked up to stand next to the piano.

“I ,” Kyungsoo said.

“You’re doing good,” Jongdae said.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun confirmed as he made his way to stand next to Jongdae.

Being the playful brat he was, Baekhyun nudged Jongdae’s side to get his attention. When the other looked at him Baekhyun made a suggestive face as he wiggled his brows.

“No,” Jongdae dryly said and moved away to stand at the other side of the piano, but Baekhyun followed. “No, stop. You stay over there. Stop following me,” he began to run in circles.

Kyungsoo laughed at them and then caught Baekhyun’s arm. He made the other sit back at the piano to play the song. Reading the sheets, Baekhyun carefully played each note as Kyungsoo began to sing along. Baekhyun had to admit Kyungsoo had an amazing voice.

“Holy Baekhyun,” Jongdae gasped. “You didn’t mess up.”

“I didn’t?” he blinked confused.

“No, you did. I’m just messing with yeah,” Jongdae laughed.

“Oh you…” he shined light at Jongdae’s eyes, temporarily blinding him from the brightness.

“That’s not fair,” Jongdae complained as he rubbed his eyes.

“And I don’t care,” Baekhyun sang.

Kyungsoo chuckled while shaking his head.  

“Hey Kyungsoo, I got a serious question,” he said.

“Are you kidding?” Kyungsoo raised a brow skeptically.

“No, I’m serious.”

“What?” Kyungsoo asked as he crossed his arms before his chest.

“Well, umm, you remember Mama’s video right? Well, she said that you lived with her since you were three. So, I wonder if it was her who taught you to sing,” he explained.

Kyungsoo kept quiet for a moment, face slowly falling into a serious one and Baekhyun feared he might have said something wrong.

“Kyungsoo?”

“I think you’re right,” he spoke softly. “I don’t think it was possibly for me to learn to sing younger than three right? Especially since I was sick.”

“I guess so,” Baekhyun agreed.

“I know all my memories, our memories,” he corrected, “are about the time I lived with Mama. But I... I don’t know how or why but I still remember my mother.” He smiled softly, “Not through image, but a feeling. I have this feeling I remember her.”

“Maybe you’re connected,” Jongdae suggested as he kept rubbing his right eye. “Like the fuzzy feeling of static inside.”

“You’re the only one with static inside,” Baekhyun countered.

“Mama might have taught me what I know, but,” Kyungsoo smiled, “I know my mother used to sing to me all the time while I was with her. Mama told me that and it’s not just that I believe her, but I have this feeling inside that it’s true,” he said warmly as he placed his hand over his chest. “Music connects the hearts,” he nearly whispered.

“Hey guys,” Chanyeol’s loud voice startled them. “Everything’s ready, we’re going to start playing now,” he said excitedly. “We’ll do rounds and the loser has to do a dare.”

“Awesome.” Baekhyun jumped up from his seat excitedly as the wicked gears of his mind began to twist. “Brilliant, just brilliant. I’ll beat you,” he pointed at Jongdae, “and dare you to kiss me.”

Kyungsoo laughed, Jongdae’s eyes widened and Chanyeol looked between a mixture of confused and disappointed.

“Please someone save me from this ert!” Jongdae cried out as he ran downstairs, away from Baekhyun and his manic laughter.

Baekhyun felt a warm hold on his arm. “You like Jongdae?” Chanyeol asked shocked.

“No, I’m just messing with him,” Baekhyun assured with a chuckle. “Help me win so I can scare the out of him,” his smile turned evil as he dragged Chanyeol all the way to the living room where the rest were at.

Playing video games was a whole new experience for them that they never imagined they would enjoy so much. Amongst all the yelling and cursing, they all had fun competing against each other; even if Lu Han turned out to be an excellent cheater and won every single game. Jongdae was fast at reacting and pressing the buttons, Baekhyun as well, but unfortunately he didn’t manage to beat Jongdae at the game. He was then dared to eat a bread filled wasabi paste -courtesy of Zitao, Sehun and Jongin who were messing around in the kitchen instead of preparing snacks.

Minseok was the happiest at watching them play, cheering along with Yixing and Zitao when the younger had stopped sulking from losing. Yifan managed to beat Junmyeon, but then both got annihilated by Sehun.

“Lu Han stop reading my moves, man!” Chanyeol complained as every hit he wanted to make was stopped by Lu Han.

“Don’t be a sour loser,” Lu Han laughed.

“Then stopped reading our minds,” Jongin said annoyed, while Kyungsoo rubbed his back -the younger had recently lost against the cheater.  

“Alright, alright,” Lu Han said -though he already was in the lead.

Slowly Chanyeol began to catch up with Lu Han, until suddenly his avatar jumped out of the scene.

“What the hell? Did you just TK my joystick?” Chanyeol raised his controller in the air as he couldn’t believe Lu Han just cheated by moving his controller against his will.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lu Han feigned innocence as he made a peace sign with his fingers -tv screen showing his avatar as the winner.

“Chanyeol it’s just a game,” Yifan said. “Don’t take it too serious, especially since we all know Lu Han cheated.”

“You guys just can’t handle my superior skills,” Lu Han sassed as he got up to get something to drink.

“Superior skills my , you just cheated,” Minseok argued.

“Whatever,” Lu Han shrugged.

“What’s the dare going to be?” Zitao asked excited.

“Umm,” Lu Han hummed.

“What? No. I’m not doing the dare, it’s not fair,” Chanyeol complained.

“We all did the dare,” Kyungsoo reminded.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun backed up, remembering all the weird they made him do.

“But he cheated,” Chanyeol accused.

“We still did the dare,” Yixing said.

“Yeah,” Jongin grumbled.

“I’m not doing it,” Chanyeol crossed his arms.

“How about you pick someone to do the dare with you, that way it’s like you receive half a dare,” Junmyeon suggested.

Baekhyun snorted. “That’s stupid, no one would willingly do it.”

“I choose Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said.

“What?” Baekhyun exclaimed. “Why? I don’t want to do anymore dares.”

“Come one roommate, help me out,” Chanyeol pleaded.

“No.”

“Don’t be such a wuss,” Kyungsoo said as he pushed the other forwards with Sehun’s help.

“I don’t even know what he’s supposed to do,” Baekhyun complained as he was dragged to the middle with Chanyeol.

“I’ve got nothing,” Lu Han said. “Anyone has a good idea for a dare?”

“I do,” Jongdae lifted his hand in the air as he stared into Baekhyun’s eyes.

Baekhyun gulped as he felt those the other’s malevolent gaze on him. “Don’t you dare,” he warned lifting his finger at him.

“I dare you two to kiss.”

“Hell no!” Baekhyun complained.

Jongdae laughed. “Payback is a ,” Jongdae snickered.

“I didn’t do anything,” Baekhyun said as he tried to get away, but Sehun kept him in place. “Hey! Sehun let go of me.”

“No,” the younger laughed.

“Don’t worry,” Minseok said calmly as he got up from the sofa and picked up a box. “It’s not going to be a real kiss.”

“It’s not?” both Baekhyun and Jongdae said confused -one relieved and the other disappointed.

“Nope,” Minseok said as he help up the box for them to see.

“Oh,” Baekhyun said relieved as he saw the chocolate covered breadsticks. “Pepero kiss,” he said, recognizing the treat and it’s sinful use in variety shows. He extended his hand to receive the treat.

“You’ll do it?” Jongdae asked surprised.

“It’s just a game,” Baekhyun shrugged and turned to look at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol who hadn’t said a word. Chanyeol whose face was red as a tomato. Chanyeol who looked even more awkward than normal yet unable to move from where he stood.

“You okay?” Baekhyun asked, waving his hand in front of the taller guy.

“Uhh…” he looked around nervously, knowing everyone was looking at them.

“Hey, it’s okay. Just hold the stick and don’t move, okay?” he tried to encourage the other.

Chanyeol didn’t say anything but nodded as he looked at the floor.

Honestly Baekhyun felt nervous too but not much for having to play the dare with Chanyeol -he was his friend after all. He was nervous because everyone was looking at them and he didn’t want to make them look like fools and make Chanyeol feel even worse. Neither of them had done this before, so yeah it was bound to be awkward, but he didn’t want Chanyeol to be so nervous about it.

Kyungsoo signaled Baekhyun to hurry up -the bastard had an evil smile, enjoying the moment a little too much.

Baekhyun cleared his throat softly. “Chanyeol look at me,” he said calmly. Chanyeol’s innocent gaze stared back at him with insecurity. Baekhyun smiled, trying to appear calm and caring despite the nervous beating of his heart. Baekhyun lifted the pocky stick up to Chanyeol’s pink lips. “Hold it and don’t move,” he instructed.

Chanyeol held the treat with his teeth, brows scrunched upwards silently asking if he was doing it right. Baekhyun nodded and took a breath, mentally telling himself that it was nothing more than a stupid game. And with more courage than he thought he had, he held Chanyeol’s face with his hands to lower the taller boy.

“Holy he’s going to do it,” Jongin gasped.

“I can’t look,” Zitao said as he covered his face.

“Don’t be a wuss,” Minseok said, holding onto one of Zitao’s hands.

Ignoring the other’s and looking away from Chanyeol’s gaze, Baekhyun leaned forward and munched off the chocolate treat, turning his head to avoid touching Chanyeol’s nose with his own. He didn’t think, at least he tried to not think about what he was doing. As soon as he felt he was closer to Chanyeol than he wanted to be, he bit the stick and leaned away. Chanyeol’s eyes kept staring at him but not scared anymore, he looked more astounded than nervous.

Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders, playing it off as cool. “See?” he said to the other. “It’s no big deal.”

“Did you get it all?” he heard Kyungsoo ask.

“Yeah,” Sehun snickered as he held up his phone.

“You recorded it!” Baekhyun yelled surprised.

Sehun’s reply came in the form of a cheeky smile and a peace sign.

“Give it to me,” Baekhyun yelled, chasing after the younger boy.

 

Before they knew it, a week had passed and many advances had happened. The whole video leaked into the internet deal was finally solved. All records of it had been destroyed and the participants were held under questioning -later left free under a confidentiality contract. The Colonel Kim Yungjae was convicted of treason and threatening the Nation’s security and was now imprisoned for life. The politician, Kim Chulsoo, was still out of sight. They haven’t heard much about Chief Park’s advances, but they did know that the Chinese National Security Bureau or NSB had been very helpful and on broad with the Chief’s mission.

Each week the visits to the psychiatrist, Dr. Song became shorter. She was convinced that despite all the hardships the boys had encountered they were all strong and mentally well. The only ones who needed a little more time were Lu Han, Zitao and Sehun.

Today was April 20th, which meant it was Lu Han’s birthday. To celebrate they went to the park at the border of Han river during the morning, bought supplies for a barbeque and were back at the house by the afternoon. Agent Cha, FA Kim and Moon were in charge of cooking nearly all the time, so today was no exception. They let the boys participate and learn to grill the meat. Kyungsoo and Agent Cha bonded quite well in the kitchen. While Agent Moon kept being a bit rougher than the rest, never afraid of speaking his mind which Baekhyun liked about him.

Before Lu Han had the chance to suggest what he wanted to do, the group fully refused to play another round of Games and Dares with him. So instead they went outside to play basketball.

As promised, the agents taught them how to play the sport and also soccer. Basketball turned out to be easier for those with height on their advantage, while the shorter ones were much faster at running behind the ball in soccer -especially Jongdae, no one was fast enough against Jongdae.

Since the teams were of 5, Yixing and Kyungsoo stepped out to watch instead of playing. They were content with cheering along with the agents. Team Lu Han consisted of Minseok, Sehun, Chanyeol and Baekhyun. While team Yifan had Junmyeon, Zitao, Jongin and Jongdae.

The game started off well, with Lu Han’s team scoring 8 to 6. Baekhyun had the ball, he quickly dribbled towards the opposite team’s net but once Jongdae ran up to him he passed it towards Chanyeol. But Yifan managed to intercept the ball and ran back down to their hoop. He evaded Lu Han and jumped up so high that he managed to slam dunk against the ring of the hoop.

Baekhyun knew Yifan was a freaking tower but that jump was no normal jump. “Hey! You flew,” he accused.

“Did not,” Yifan waved off and trotted towards his team.

“I swear he did,” Baekhyun complained.

“Yeah, yeah I know,” Lu Han said annoyed.

Once the game resumed, Lu Han mentally told them to make way towards the opposite team and then hand him the ball. Sehun did as told and Lu Han scored a hoop, throwing the ball in the air at an impossible angle.

“He’s cheating,” Jongin complained.

“You’re cheating,” Yifan accused.

“You started it,” Lu Han raised his hands innocently.

“Oh this is so on,” Yifan tilted his head before running off to their net. He jumped from the middle of the court and flew up to the hoop, slamming the ball into the ring as he showed off his skills.

“Oh so we’re playing like this now?” Minseok said with a challenging tone. “Sehun,” he called out as he began to dribble the ball.

Minseok froze his path and slid against the iced asphalt, anyone who tried to follow him would slip. He threw the ball towards Sehun, who propelled his body upwards with wind and managed to slam dunk like Yifan had.

“Stop cheating,” Jongin complained again.

“Nope,” Sehun threw a gust of air towards the tan one, messing up his hair.

Junmyeon had the ball. Lu Han ordered him to flash the other guy with light to steal the ball. Baekhyun ran towards the water bender’s direction and raised his hand up, shinning bright white light to his face, giving Lu Han the chance to swipe the ball out of the other’s hold.

“,” Junmyeon said as he rubbed his eyes.

“Sorry hyung,” Baekhyun teased and trotted away.

“Baek watch out.”

He heard Chanyeol’s warning but he already slipped on the residue ice still on the ground. On instinct he closed he tensed his body and closed his eyes but instead of colliding with the ground Chanyeol managed to catch him.

“That was close,” he said as he held the light boy up.

“Thanks,” he said looking up at Chanyeol’s face.

“No problem,” the other said as he helped him stand.

Baekhyun didn’t want to think much about it -he never did. But this time it was too obvious to not notice. Chanyeol’s hands were on his waist and his smile was warmer than ever, one he had gotten to observe a few times now. Ever since that stupid dare, Baekhyun had noticed how Chanyeol lingered by his side more often than ever -and he wasn’t okay with that. Not at all.

“Let’s go,” Baekhyun plastered a smile as he lightly shoved Chanyeol’s hands away and turned his focus back to the game.

He caught Sehun’s questioning gaze. Baekhyun signaled the little brat to shut up before he even had a chance to ask anything.

He didn’t want to cause any rumors, Chanyeol was his friend, maybe one of the best among the group, though he hated ranking them. Chanyeol was his friend and he knew Chanyeol had feelings for Kyungsoo and he did not want Chanyeol’s attention on him more than anything but friends.

This time Minseok had the ball and Lu Han lifted him up with his telekinesis, letting the other score another slam dunk.

“Stop cheating,” Jongin complained.

“These kids are insane,” he heard Agent Moon say in awe. Baekhyun smirked knowing he was right.

Chanyeol stole the ball from Junmyeon -that dude at this game. He passed to Baekhyun who managed to advance up the court, until he was intercepted by Zitao. The taller boy smirked and in a blink of an eye the ball was gone and Zitao had scored three points.

“ Tao. Stopping time is way out of cheating,” Baekhyun complained.

“Not my problem you can’t do against me,” he sassed as he walked back to his side of the court.

“That’s it,” Jongdae said and then dashed through the court, stealing the ball from Lu Han and throwing a two pointer in less than two seconds.

“Why is everyone cheating?” Jongin mumbled annoyed.

“Stop crying you big baby,” Sehun mocked.

“Oh I’ve had it,” Jongin said angered.

He teleported in front of Minseok and phased the ball out of the other’s hands. He teleported up in the air, throwing the ball into the hoop and then teleporting back to his side of the court.

That was the last drop. Everyone’s competitive side burst to life and soon everyone was using their abilities to win the game. With Zitao and Jongin on their side, Lu Han’s team was in a huge disadvantage. Lu Han tried to manipulate the ball to get more scores, but Jongin kept stealing it. And Zitao would play with time and do whatever the hell he wanted -he even played a prank by taking everyone in Lu Han’s team’s shirt off.

The game continued almost all the afternoon, late spring breeze cool against their sweaty skin. Yifan had the ball, Lu Han stole it, Jongin intercepted and passed to Junmyeon. Chanyeol blocked and caught the ball, Jongdae was running after him. In the desperation to escape, Chanyeol speed up and passed the ball.

“Baekhyun watch out!”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he saw the flames fly towards his direction. Quickly he ducked to the floor, scraping his hands and knees in the process. Lu Han caught the flaming ball with his telekinesis while Junmyeon was quick to use water from a bottle to kill the fire.

“Oh no, Baek,” Chanyeol said dreadfully sorry as he ran up to help him stand. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to flame it.”

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun painfully said. “It’s just a scratch.”

Chanyeol held him close as he helped him walk to the side where Kyungsoo and Yixing were watching.

“That was close,” Kyungsoo commented as the helped him sit on a chair.

“Anything else hurts?” Yixing asked calmly as he healed the scraped skin of his hands.

“No. Just my hands and knees,” he answered as he watched the healer do his job.

Yixing’s ability always amazed him. One second you’re bleeding the next your skin was brand new with no marks -no scars.

“I’m sorry Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said with repentance.

“It’s okay, I forgive you,” he said without glancing up at him.

He didn’t want to deal with Chanyeol’s sad puppy eyes because he knew the other would follow him around all day until his guilt died down. Instead he kept his gaze on Yixing’s magical hands and how soft they felt when they rested against the healed skin of his knees. Yixing’s warm chocolate eyes gazed up at him as he informed he was completely healed -and Baekhyun was sure Yixing lied because he swore he felt his heart stopped beating for a second.

Yixing tilted his head to the side, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and knowing something was up.

“Baekhyun?”

“Thanks,” he quickly covered, briskly pushing Yixing’s hands away to get away. “Let’s go back,” he said to Chanyeol.

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Baekhyun assured again as he trotted up to the court. He looked down at his chest, feeling his heart beat normally again. “Why are you playing games with me?” he whispered at the mute organ. It hadn’t been the first time he felt the telltale sign that something was up with his feelings -or more like someone.

“All good?” Minseok asked as he was back in the court.

“Yeah.”

“Jongin go get a new ball, we can’t use this ,” Jongdae said and he poked the carbonized basketball.

“Why me?” the younger complained.

“Do you really have to ask?” Zitao lifted a brow.

“I hate you guys,” Jongin mumbled annoyed as he teleported away.

 

At night they kept on celebrating but this time only the older members could stay up. Kyungsoo, Zitao, Jongin and Sehun were told to go to their rooms, for the boys of legal age wanted to try something different.

The agents allowed them to try some soju, but under the promise that they would behave and not wreck the house using their abilities -thankfully they had a fire proof system, but no one wanted to have to use it.

They put on party music, took shots and danced like fools. Yixing didn’t like the drink. Yifan and Chanyeol ended up having an arm wrestling match for some reason. The rest danced in the living room. Baekhyun used his light manipulation to recreate strobe lights and make it look like they really were partying out at a club. He called it his light dance.

Jongdae had fun dancing, but his fast metabolism made him feel drunk too soon and the effect ended quickly. He ended up drinking half of the bottles they had. So, because of his mad drinking, the party was cut short. That and because Lu Han felt bad -he wasn’t good at holding his liquor and foolishly tried to keep up with Minseok, who surprisingly turned out to be a good drinker.

Baekhyun knew he had more than he should, but the fuzzy feeling was new and exciting. Everything seemed fun under the effects of alcohol, everything sounded like a good idea. So when he and Chanyeol tried to get back to their room, he didn’t think twice about leaning against the taller boy for support. He laughed as Chanyeol held him by the waist and helped him inside the room. And he didn’t back off when he felt warm lips against his own.

He didn’t realize what they were doing at first, he just knew he was back in his room. But the warmth of the other body reminded him he wasn’t alone. Slowly he began to realize the smooth and wet feeling against his lips. His eyes widened as he realized Chanyeol was kissing him and he knew he had to react fast and push him away -but he felt nothing fluttering inside and that scared him.

There he was, embraced tightly by his best friend and being kissed for the first time -but he felt nothing inside. No fear, no excitement, no attraction, nothing.

Baekhyun cautiously pushed Chanyeol away, being careful and caring to not hurt the other’s feelings.

“Wait,” he said as he registered Chanyeol’s breathing. “What? I…”

“You don’t…” Chanyeol didn’t finish his question as he stepped back to look at him.

“I thought you-” Baekhyun blinked confused.

“I’m sorry I-” Baekhyun raise his hand to shut him up, the last thing he wanted was Chanyeol to regret his actions.

“It’s okay,” he quickly said.

“It is?” Chanyeol said hopefully.

Baekhyun knew that playing along and lying would only be worse. “No, no it’s not okay. I, why me?”

“I just,” Chanyeol scratched his neck. “Like you.”

“I thought you liked Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun said confused. “You told me that. You said you were tired of watching Kyungsoo and Jongin always together, I asked if you were jealous and you admitted you liked him. Yeah I remember,” he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. “You like Kyungsoo.”

“I do,” Chanyeol admitted.

“You do?” he sounded surprised even if he shouldn’t have been. “You still like him?” Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened as if he was caught under the lights. He gulped as he tried to answer back.

“Yeah, okay,” Baekhyun nodded as he realized that his first kiss was with his best friend that wasn’t really into him but rather too drunk driven to stop his impulses. “I need water,” he declared before leaving the room.

Downstairs he made sure he drank enough water to stay awake all night, because there was no way he was going to be able to sleep well without overthinking the whole thing.

He wasn’t mad at Chanyeol, not at all. Disappointed? Maybe a little, because he did not expect the turn of events. He did have an inkling that Chanyeol was acting more clingy than ever, but it never crossed his mind that the other would kiss him. Never. Especially after seeing how frightened the taller boy was with a stupid pepero kiss.

He knew Chanyeol had feelings for Kyungsoo but Kyungsoo was dating Jongin. He was being a good friend comforting Chanyeol and being by his side, but he didn’t want to get involved romantically with him. Chanyeol was his friend, he cared about his yes, but not enough to fall for him. Not enough to kiss him and expect some feeling in return.

His heart had already chosen someone else, yet he never wanted to admit that to himself.

Baekhyun heard soft melody of music at the right tower. Curiously he made his way to the staircase up to the second floor. The gym room was being used but no light was on, only music. Baekhyun crept inside, forgetting for once his hatred towards the dark with the intention of catching whoever was inside. A dim light in the middle of the wooden floored room illuminated just enough to see the silhouette of the person and their dark reflection on the mirrored wall.

Baekhyun stood with his back against the wall as he admired Yixing’s sharp and smooth movements. He had seen him dance before but nothing like this. He didn’t know Yixing was capable of moving his body like that. He didn’t miss a beat, strong graceful movements empowered by the music’s progression. Every step, every turn matching the story being told -even every damn hip . Oh how Baekhyun wish he could tear his eyes away from those sinful hips and bolt out of the room before being caught, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. He stayed there in trance, silently observing Yixing’s body in the dim lighted dance room.

The music stopped, all Baekhyun could hear was Yixing’s labored breathing. He watched the dark silhouette’s chest heave up and down to catch air. He admired Yixing’s body, wide shoulders, straight back, narrow hips and toned thighs. A body structure he wished he could’ve been blessed with.

“Who’s there?” he heard Yixing calm voice ask close by.

“Sorry,” Baekhyun said embarrassed and tried to scram, but Yixing held his arm. Baekhyun gulped as his skin felt hot under Yixing’s touch. An unannounced spark, a feeling much different from Chanyeol’s constant warmth.

“Why are you up?” Yixing asked, tilting his head to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just got thirsty,” Baekhyun said while avoiding his gaze. “I heard music, so…”

“Hmm,” Yixing hummed as he let go.

“Have you, have you been doing this for long?” Baekhyun asked, daring to look up.

“Doing what?”

“Dancing at night, alone.”

“Oh, yeah,” Yixing smiled. “It’s nice and peaceful at night,” he said as he walked up to the stereo. “You can leave now.”

“What?”

“Well, if you’re not going to dance, then leave,” Yixing shrugged his shoulders before playing a new song.

Baekhyun didn’t know if the other was challenging him or not, and he wasn’t with the clearest state of mind either, so instead of walking away, Baekhyun made his way to stand behind Yixing.

“Show me,” Baekhyun said with unfounded courage. His stupid mouth spoke before he could analyze if it was a good idea.

Yixing turned around surprised, gave him one curious look before nodding. He didn’t vocalize his instructions, instead he used his hands to help Baekhyun move to the beat of the music. The song was slower than the one before, so Baekhyun was able to keep up with the beat. Using the mirror in front, Yixing showed him the dance moves. Slow, smooth and graceful.

Baekhyun already admitted he wasn’t that great of a dancer, but at least he managed to keep up. Yixing played the song again, helping Baekhyun get accustomed to the pace and the movements, while Baekhyun struggled to keep his mind from straying away -convincing himself that his rapid heartbeat was caused by the dancing and not the dance instructor.

“You’re hips are too stiff,” Yixing finally spoke.

“What?” he unintelligently said.

Yixing stood behind him, holding Baekhyun’s hips with his hands. “Like this,” he said.

Carefully he pushed Baekhyun’s hips to follow his lead, balancing from side to side smoothly at the same pace as his own skilled movements. Baekhyun gulped hard as he let himself be guided. He watched through the mirror as Yixing diligently tried easing up Baekhyun’s tensed body, never once thinking twice about how close their bodies were or how sensual the dance move was.

Baekhyun felt his heart hammering hard against his chest while his breath seemed to shorten with every beat. He was nervous but felt too thrilled to stop Yixing from what they were doing. Baekhyun couldn’t believe all the things he was feeling from just dancing close to the healer. Other than Yixing’s hands their bodies weren’t touching, just moving side to side. But the mirror showed him what he wanted to see. Distance wasn’t as visible and what he saw were two bodies pressed and moving in the most sensual way he could possibly imagine. He still was drunk, he knew that and he needed to stop this before completely losing his mind.

“Better,” Yixing said as the music died and finally looked up to see their reflection in the mirror.

His calm eyes widened, finally realizing how easy it was to misunderstand his intentions. He moved to the side with a bashful smile gracing his features.

“Do you want to keep dancing?” he asked. Baekhyun wanted to say something, anything, but his throat was closed and his heartbeats were killing him. It was too much, he never felt this before. “Baekhyun?” Yixing asked again, looking concerned this time.

He walked up to him and touched his forehead. Baekhyun dared to look him in the eyes, unsure of how flushed he looked as he stared into Yixing’s knowing gaze. That look, that one look and Baekhyun knew his secret was no secret anymore. Baekhyun’s gaze lingered onto Yixing’s lips. He wanted to know how they felt and if kissing him would be different. Would his heart beat madly if he kissed him now?

“I…” he slowly leaned forward.

“You’re drunk,” Yixing bluntly stated, grabbing him by his arms to push him to walk. “Let’s get you to bed. You need to sleep it off.”

Baekhyun felt like he was about to panic. He didn’t want to go back to his room and confront Chanyeol, but he didn’t want to fight Yixing or try doing something stupid he would later regret. He was drunk he knew that and Yixing was right, he wasn’t feeling good.

“Wait,” he said as they crossed the bridge between the towers. Yixing looked at him instead of replying. “I don’t want to go back to my room,” he explained.

“Something happened with Chanyeol?” Yixing asked. Baekhyun nodded. “Alright, you can sleep in my bed.”

Baekhyun felt his heart summersault.

Quietly they went inside Yixing’s room, Junmyeon was already asleep but Yixing turned the lights on anyway, not caring for Junmyeon’s sleepy complaint. He tucked Baekhyun into his bed.

“You’re not staying?” Baekhyun asked, holding onto Yixing’s hand for the other to stay put.

Yixing smiled softly as he sat on the edge. He brushed Baekhyun’s hair away from his face and caressed his cheek.

“Not this time,” he replied in a soft voice.

Baekhyun closed his eyes, leaning against Yixing’s soft hand before falling into slumber.

 

 

---

 

A/N: 3

Please don’t hate me. I know Chanbaek or Baekyeol is a favorite ship, but it doesn’t go well with the story plot.

And yeah, I still haven’t revealed what the hell happens, and yes, since Yifan left the room while interrogating Kyungsoo and Lu Han, they lied. So there’s still time to figure out what the hell is going to happen. If you read the comments and my replies you’ll manage to get it. Some have already gotten close and guessed part of it, but no one has got it all. Yet. I have faith in you guys that, if you have the time, you can figure it out.

I don’t remember what else I was going to say, apart from the usual about grammar mistakes since I literally typed half of this today, as in right now and haven’t edited it because no way this is too long and I’ll edit later.

Thanks to mikce4, StarSJ, hun008, MayaRose5, richellellyxhearts, grumpygranny (thought you already subscribed, your username sounds familiar :P), SAPPHIRE-LS8899, spexialexo, yrffobd, Ndkaaa, Jsixusjnankl, Sweet_cute_pie, Lovexiu16 and Rorosa for subscribing. There’s many new subs, I hope you all have enjoyed my story so far.

I guess that’s it for now, I hope you all have a great year and that you managed to fulfill any wish or resolution you’ve determined for yourself. Many things are possible if you work hard and keep yourself encouraged to keep going on. Happy 2017 guys! Annyeong!

-Blackie.