Caged Lions Always Strike

Chapter 5

Flashes

Jongdae was never one for blindly protecting someone. In fact, that was one of his rules when he got a name in the streets – Chen.

He had always promised that it would always be him and only him because having anyone else was dangerous but things never usually went to plan.

Jongdae was 11 when his parents disappeared (Died. Jongdae’s mind would always remind him).

It was a sticky situation since Jongdae was young enough to not fully understand yet old enough to remember what happened for the rest of his life.

And even after 12 years of living alone and surviving alone, Jongdae still remembered and missed those mornings when his father would wake up early just to cook his breakfast and then mother would arrive home just in time for dinner later into the night.

……….

“Jongdae! Can you make the beds for dad while I cook something for us? Mummy will be coming home soon.” Jongdae could hear his father’s request from his room.

“Sure, dad!” he shouted into the hallway before disappearing into his parents’ rooms to make the bed.

It was only after Jongdae could detect the strong smell of kimchi from his room that his mother finally got home.

He ran to the front door so fast that his tiny legs couldn’t keep up and it resulted in him falling in front of the front door once he finally stopped.

Looking down at his bruised knees, Jongdae’s eyes began to water and he heard a small chuckle from above him.

His mother suddenly crouched in front of him in her formal business clothes and smiled as she ruffled his hair, “I’m home, Jongdae.”

He sniffed and attempted to smile back but his eyes were still watering from the pain. His mother frowned and lifted him into her arms with a small mumble about how heavy he was before she headed to the bathroom.

She made him sit on the closed toilet seat whilst she grabbed the small medicine kit from underneath the sink and Jongdae began to wipe his tears on his sleeves.

When she turned around with a small smile and began to check for cuts and apply some ice, Jongdae began to smile.

The strong smell of kimchi was even stronger now and Jongdae’s stomach growled loudly as he began to wonder what his dad was cooking.

“Miyoung, dinner’s ready!” Jongdae heard his dad call his mum and after she thoroughly checked Jongdae for any more bruises and cuts, she led him to the small dining room next to the living room.

Jongdae’s mouth watered at the sight of the kimchi stew and various meat side dishes that his dad had prepared for the small family.

He hurriedly sat down and prepared to eat but suddenly stopped and waited for his parents to start.

His mother chuckled, “Our Jongdae is so respectful, isn’t he Youngjin?” she exclaimed with glee as they both grabbed some beef from one of the side dishes, allowing Jongdae to begin to pour some of the stew into his small bowl.

As soon as the bowl was full, he couldn’t resist and barely heard his parents’ laughter at his display as he scoffed down the hot soup and drank water every once in a while to ease the burn in his throat; both from the kimchi and the hot soup.

It was a wholesome and filling meal and Jongdae was suddenly full of energy and demanded playtime from his parents.

“Daddy! Show me the lights!” Jongdae shouted loudly as he sat down on the sofa with his dad on his left and his mum changing in the bedroom.

Youngjin laughed loudly and pulled Jongdae into his lap as they both looked at the city through the glass windows of the apartment.

The silhouette of the cityscape could be seen in the night from the streetlights and the outline of buildings was lined by the various apartments with their lights as they prepared for a night.

Youngjin was smiling with an arm around Jongdae’s chest as he raised his hand in the air and then suddenly scrunched it into a fist.

The sky was silent for a few seconds before it erupted into various streaks of bright white lightning strikes that danced around the city followed by the thunder that made Jongdae feel like the ground was growling at the inhabitants of the sleeping city.

The lightning illuminated the entire city for seconds at a time and Jongdae could make out each pedestrian crossing the road as well as each antenna on a skyscraper.

It was nights like these spent with his parents that made Jongdae feel loved.

And then his mother joined in front the entrance of the living room with a finger pointed at the sky, creating a small twister in the sky that distorted the light that reached the buildings.

It was a fearsome sight but Jongdae couldn’t help but be in awe of his parents’ creations.

In that moment, Jongdae promised to himself that he was one day going to be strong enough to be able to create the ‘light shows’ (as his 11-year-old self called them) to amaze his partner and maybe even his own children.

“Daddy, Mummy, when I grow up… I want to have the lightning ability too!” Jongdae exclaimed with open arms and an excited grin.

His parents chuckled and embraced him on the sofa as the lightning began to dwindle and die out.

“One day, we’ll teach you our tricks.” His mother promised in his ear with a small kiss to Jongdae’s temple.

…

Jongdae woke from his sleep from a loud bang and a scream. There were more screams and angry voices coming from the hallway across his closed bedroom door.

Jongdae could hear someone crying and he heard many footsteps followed by glass smashing.

Could there be a robbery?

His parents had always told him to stay in his room if someone ever came into their house and hide himself. They always told him they would protect Jongdae from the bad guys.

So Jongdae swallowed thickly and then got off the bed as quietly as possible to creep to his closet. He opened the sliding doors and felt around in the dark between his clothes until he felt a small ring connected to the wall.

He pulled and a small door came with it and Jongdae walked into the closet and through the door, making sure to close the closet and hidden door behind him and sat down in the small dark space.

He was told by his parents to always wait until his parents came to get him.

So he waited.

And waited.

Until his eyes could bear no more and slipped shut and nothing but soft snores could be heard in that small space.

…

He awoke from his rumbling stomach many hours later and attempted to look around the small space but it was too dark.

Jongdae listened out for a few minutes for any more noises and when he was satisfied that the bad guys had been chased out by his parents, he opened the small door and walked through the clothes in his closet and opened the closet door.

He was greeted by the midday sun shining down on his ransacked room.

His mattress was torn up with claw marks scattered across different surfaces.

Jongdae noticed the tattered remains of his quilt that his parents had made were scattered across his room and his curtains weren’t in better shape.

It was safe to say that his room was destroyed, bearing no resemblance to the room that he had fallen asleep in the night before that his parents meticulously cleaned to keep free of any spiders or bugs since they knew Jongdae was afraid of them.

As tears pricked at his eyes, Jongdae turned to leave the room to find his parents to quell his rising fear.

He wandered through the house with careful steps because of the shards of broken glass and mirrors that lined the floors.

He wandered around the kitchen and walked towards to the fruits basket that had survived in the windowsill of the kitchen and reached for an apple that he ate as he walked down the hallway once more.

Jongdae was beginning to panic as he wandered through the silent apartment that bore nothing but destruction – even the sofa was ripped to shreds.

The sofa which he had sat on with his parents last night as they embraced him and told him the stories of his family.

He stopped in front of the closed door that separated him from his parents’ room.

Something told Jongdae that something was wrong since it was the only door in the entire apartment that had survived unscathed.

Nothing could’ve prepared for the sight that would be engrained into his mind for years to come as Jongdae turned the doorknob and opened the door.

The sight of his parents’ ripped and mangled bodies lying in their own blood made Jongdae retch and he found himself disposing of his stomach’s contents on the carpeted floor of his parents’ bedroom, half-eaten apple left forgotten on the floor near the door.

Every time he glanced up at his parents, another wave of nausea took him and left him shaking and retching until nothing but a clear water-like substance came out and let Jongdae feeling hungry with an extreme lack of appetite.

He tried to stand up but quickly decided that pulling himself up using the doorknob would be a better idea after his various attempts at standing up ended up leaving him weak in the knees – and not in a good way – and let his body hit the floor again.

After the initial disgust faded, Jongdae was left staring at his parents’ lifeless bodies as he kneeled next to his mother and stared at the way her hands began to slowly bruise in his own hands.

He was morbidly fascinated by the way their bodies decomposed ever so slowly and he used his curiosity for the process to distract him from the extreme sadness that sometimes gripped him every time he let his mind entertain the thought that he had lost his parents.

Jongdae remained in the apartment for days, tidying up what he could and eating the pantry’s supply of tinned and canned food.

Until the stench of his parents’ bodies attracted seemingly ever bug in the vicinity and Jongdae could no longer sleep in his mother’s cold embrace and had to close the door to the room so that the maggots wouldn’t spread to his living space.

He knew he would eventually have to leave before the neighbours could alert the authorities of the rotting corpses of his parents and the destroyed home.

But Jongdae wanted to spend the last few days in his parents’ shadows until he was brave enough to face a world without them.

If there was one thing that his father always drilled into his head, was that bad things happen and Jongdae should always be ready to move in.

His parents had always been moving around the country and Jongdae had never really understood why. But during that week as he saw his father’s previously happy face slowly decomposed and become infested by maggots, he realised that he had always known and his parents had always told him – he had just ignored it in his childish innocence.

The signs had always been there.

His parents would sometimes leave for the entire day and come back looking over their shoulders every few seconds.

They would always make sure that Jongdae knew how to defend himself.

They would always be eager in letting Jongdae practise his own electric abilities unlike the other kids at his school who were scared of their abilities.

They’d always reminded Jongdae of the small backpack that was hidden away in the pantry in case there was ever an emergency.

The small backpack that Jongdae now bore on his narrow shoulders as he left the apartment building.

He had noticed the stuff that his parents had always described in the small bag – A small canister for water, a ration of tinned food, even a thin blanket and a torch.

He had hurriedly stuffed a small photograph of his family – the one taken at his school for parents’ evening last year – in the front of his bag and left behind the now blackened bits of flesh that used to be his parents.

And he would learn to survive alone, just as his parents had done. Just like his parents had told him to always be prepared to do.

…………

The engraved memories burned in Jongdae’s mind as he walked through the darkened street in the dark and seedy part of the capital.

The side which nobody ventured in unless they knew what they were doing.

But Jongdae knew what he was doing and he clearly heard the other man’s voice instructing him to do as he was told or one of his friends would disappear.

So Jongdae reminded himself of Minseok’s happy smile as he talked to Luhan in the cafeteria as he burned out the few lights that illuminated the street.

He reminded himself of Tao’s happy and relaxed smile as he sat in Kris’s lap surrounded by his protective arms as he blocked out the screams of the woman he had killed with a raised fist that delivered a high current to her body.

She had screamed before her body shook in violent spasms before hitting the floor with a loud thump.

Jongdae sneered in disgust, not at the smell of burnt flesh but at himself, and he opened the door the woman had previously stood in front of.

He wondered into the smoky room and held back a cough as he eyed the gathering of now-silent men that looked him up and down before they stood up, a weapon in each of their hands, and ran towards him.

There was a thunderstorm that night.

x x x x x x

Minseok had no idea how to talk to Luhan after the other’s outburst.

Minseok didn’t know what he did wrong but he still felt like he had done something wrong. After all, Luhan had entrusted to him what seemed to be his biggest secret yet he had reacted in such a negative way.

Minseok had questioned Luhan, instead of supporting him. He had betrayed Luhan’s trust.

And he had no idea how he was supposed to apologise for that. He just wanted to ask Luhan what that conversation had meant.

What did he mean by ‘dead’? Surely they weren’t actually dead… Right?

Minseok’s parents had always told him that the government was peaceful and had found a way of keeping society in a constantly peaceful environment after the civil wars through the means of classification, as they had called it.

Minseok was in the middle class and that meant that he had lived a good life where he didn’t have to fear anything or count his coins.

Many were unhappy since the classification system meant that certain abilities were less desired than others, like telekinesis for example, but the country was generally peaceful.

There hadn’t been any rebellions since his grandparents’ youth – or so he thought.

Luhan’s words had weaved their way into his brain and Minseok found himself thinking about what he had seen and heard in his sheltered life even as he had practised in the ice ability hut.

Icicles formed around his body in the rink as Luhan’s words echoed in his mind – “Those people aren’t missing, Minseok. They’re either dead or enslaved.” – and Minseok found himself remembering moments of his childhood that he had forgotten.

x x x x x x

“It has just been announced by the local authorities that another citizen is missing – Choi Minho, a light manipulation ability citizen. The police have teamed up with experts to search for the missing man believed to have disappeared last night in his apartment but hope is scarce. The man was known to not have any immediate family and-“

The news report was switched off by the remote held in his mother’s hands.

Minseok looked up and into his mother’s eyes as she moved to hug him after putting the remote on the sofa that Minseok was sitting on.

Minseok had assumed that her shivering was because of the cold temperature – it was winter, after all.

But 15 years in hindsight, he knew it was something else.

The man – Choi Minho – had been his father’s friend and Minseok had met him a few times before.

Minho was a man that boasted a lot of self-confidence and charisma but Minseok had seen him on multiple occasions look over his shoulder if the police were walking down the road or even just a police car.

Minseok’s mother had always told him it was just because Minho was a man with many fears but perhaps Minseok should’ve questioned that after his question of Minho’s ability left Minho in cold sweat and laboured breaths.

Minseok had always chosen to ignore the signs but they had always been there.

Those missing people – the lower classification ones – where never found again.

And if some unfortunate had found them, it was either their broken and lifeless bodies or a half-dead outer-shell of their personality with a bruised and battered body that quickly gave up on life.

Choi Minho had been one of the ones that had turned up dead and in two pieces in the Han River shores just three weeks later.

The night that Minho’s body was found, Minseok was reading his favourite storybook book in the living room when he overheard his parents discussing their abilities.

They were hushed whispers of “Thank the gods we have such a respected ability.” And “I only ask that Minseok inherited the ice ability too.” But Minseok had been too focused on the fairytale of the unicorn that healed an entire village before being allowed to become the leader of the village to fully understand what his parents were talking about.

It was a story of redemption since the unicorn had previously been a man cursed to suffer as an animal after he refused to heal his dying sister.

It was a story that Minseok loved.

It was only when he turned 13 and accidentally froze his entire bedroom that he saw his parents breathe a sigh of relief instead of shouting at him for destroying his bedroom that he began to think back to what his parents had said.

But he had ignored it.

And it had taken another 12 years before Minseok had even entertained the idea that his parents knew after Luhan’s words nestled into his mind.

Just what had he been blind to throughout his entire life?

x x x x x x

The population of the hut around him stood still in shock after Minseok’s ice suddenly spread to envelop the entire glass dome as the sun shone through and refracted into hundreds of tiny rainbows as the ice acted as a prism.

Minseok wasn’t sure what he had done but maybe it was his sudden realisation that had caused his outburst of power.

He flushed a little and ducked his head to look at the floor as embarrassment took over his mind rather than Luhan’s words.

He unclenched his fists as he stood straight again and waved his hand in the air and the ice began to slowly shatter.

Most of the students that were in the dome were watching in silent awe and respect as Minseok displayed his strength but some went back to practising.

After all the ice had been shattered, Minseok had bowed and mumbled an apology before running out of the dome and into the academy halls.

He needed to find Luhan and talk to him.

x x x x x x

Luhan was in the cafeteria with Baekhyun and Tao as they ate their way through an entire gateau au chocolat.

They had decided to cheer themselves up with cake after Luhan had come crying into Tao’s room and Tao had suggested chocolate cake and later bumped into Baekhyun in the hallways.

They knew they would regret it the next day when they would undoubtedly put on a few pounds but at that moment, they couldn’t have cared less since the chocolate sauce was warm and it tasted divine when poured on the chocolate glazing of the cake.

“My mother always told me that chocolate cake heals hearts.” Tao had mumbled in between bites of the rich cake and Luhan and Baekhyun were quick to agree with small grunts as they stuffed more cake into their mouths.

It was only after their plates were empty that they stopped to ask questions.

Or in Luhan’s case, answer questions.

Tao was the first and he sent a gaze so threatening to Luhan in an attempt to tell him that he can’t leave, that Luhan was suddenly frozen in his seat.

Tao lifted a brow and crossed his arms and legs as he leaned back into his seat, “So?”

Luhan rolled his eyes and leaned back as well but with his hands under his thighs to stop his fidgeting and Baekhyun was watching him closely, “So what?” Luhan huffed.

Tao scoffed, “What happened? Did Minseok have a small or what?”

Luhan suddenly started coughing and choking on air and Baekhyun was hitting his back as he help back his giggles with his free hand.

Luhan looked up at Tao and exclaimed, slightly out of breath from his choking fit, “What?” his voice was high pitched and sounded more like a squeal than a man’s voice.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and rested his head on the table and a mumble was heard, “So you two didn’t suddenly decide to sleep with each other after all that time spent eyeing each other since the beginning of the year?”

Luhan scoffed, “No, we didn’t. And how would you know about the beginning of the year anyway? You weren’t there!”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he stood straight once more and pointed at Tao with his thumb, “He has a working mouth, y’know?” he raised his eyebrows and waved his thumb in Tao’s direction across the table.

Luhan rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, “Of course Tao told you…”

“Well? What happened if it wasn’t the size of Minseok’s that made you cry?” Tao questioned teasingly.

Luhan groaned and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Baekhyun, “Those are the noises you probably made as Minseok showed you his treasure, right?” Luhan wasn’t sure if it was Baekhyun’s rising eyebrows or his wink that made Luhan understand the innuendo that little bit faster.

Luhan shook his head, “Guys… Just stop. Nothing happened between Minseok and me other than me losing all my trust in him.” He stated.

Tao and Baekhyun stared for a few seconds before Tao suddenly wolf-whistled and commented quietly, “Wow… What did Minseok do? Forget the condoms that we gave him?”

Luhan slammed his fist on the table, making the other men jump, and he shouted, “Stop joking about stupid things and listen to me!”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “We would listen if you weren’t being so cryptic and just told us the full story instead of leaving us to guess…” he winked.

Tao nodded and laughed, “He’s right, Lu.”

Luhan sighed, “Okay… Where to start.” He paused to think.

Baekhyun teased, “The beginning would be nice!” he was rewarded with a slap to his shoulder by Luhan and Baekhyun began to pout, “Okay! Okay! I’ll wait!” he was laughing.

x x x x x x

“Wait, so what ability are you? Why were you hiding it from us?” Baekhyun questioned after Luhan finished telling the tale, leaving out the bits about Chanyeol and his own ability.

Luhan froze and gulped as he looked down at his clammy hands. He had already told enough and he was beginning to get nervous.

He knew he could trust Tao but he didn’t know Baekhyun well enough.

Baekhyun sighed, as if understanding, “You can tell me since I know how you feel, y’know? I’m light ability, as you already know, and I was kindasorta kidnapped from my own house in the mountain and I don’t know whether my grandma is still alive or not because mine and Yixing’s abilities.”

Baekhyun had a point, but Luhan was scared. He was always scared.

“Then I guess I can share mine and we can help protect each other.” Tao had suddenly stepped back into the conversation after sitting in silence the entire time to hear Luhan’s story.

He stood straight and uncrossed his arms to look between Luhan and Baekhyun with an unusually serious face.

“I have the Chronokinesis ability.” He simply stated and let the other two men process what he had said.

Baekhyun was the first to react with another unusually sombre face, “That’s a really rare ability… And one that requires a lot of hiding, too.”

Tao nodded and sighed, “It’s the reason Kris and me left our old country. They found out so we had to leave. He also has a pretty rare ability but it’s not my story to tell, you’ll have to ask him.”

Baekhyun nodded with lips in a thin line, “Fair enough.”

“So the three of us have some of the most hated abilities out there, huh?” Luhan mumbled.

Baekhyun pouted, “Don’t forget to include Yixing. Poor guy has one of the rarest too.”

Luhan and Tao nodded.

The group lapsed into silence as they all bonded in their feelings of fear.

Luhan broke the silence with a small cough to clear his throat and then he held out his hand, palm facing the table, “Truce. A truce that the four of us, including Yixing,” he looked at Baekhyun and Baekhyun nodded, “will protect each other and hide each other’s abilities.”

Tao nodded and smiled as he put his hand on top of Luhan’s outstretched hand.

Baekhyun smiled slightly too and nodded as he put his hand on top of the others, “I think Yixing would appreciate the support too.”

They left the cafeteria that day feeling closer than ever and perhaps just a little bit prouder of their own abilities.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 

Heya guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter that was even longer than the last! :D I loved writing it, for some reason?? Ahaha xD I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed writing it :) In case you haven’t noticed… I’m a lot better at writing angst than humour >.< Hopefully I’ll get better soon, though!

But ’s going down~~~~~~~

Looking forward to the next chapter? I know I am! :D Let me know what your favourite part or chapter has been so far :)

The official question for this chapter is….:

Tell me your honest opinion about Jongdae and your first impression as well as your current thoughts about his character! :) Were you shocked by what happened in his childhood?

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to subscribe and upvote! :D And please comment… It’s too quiet T.T

Hetacat xoxo