Taemin’s point of view

I lay in my bed staring up at the ceiling as the annoying buzzing sound of my alarm breaks through the comfortable silence. I reach out and slam it off, probably a little harder than necessary.

Some days, though, I can't seem to stop the emotions that devour me. Those days are unbearable and I usually don't leave my bed, but they're few and far between now as I've learned to control where my mind wanders. Other days, most days, I'm able to avoid thinking and feeling altogether. I pretty much function on auto-pilot. Those days are tolerable, but every day is filled with a loss so profound that I struggle to even function. The hole is there whether I choose to acknowledge it or not. Today is no different.

I was not always like this ; I do not know when things changed but they already did and i have no way out. Add the fact that a roommate staring out the window like an emo kid- that is not helping at all. 

“Key! Good morning!” i try to startle him but i failed. He just nods and still won’t look at me. He had been this way since last night, after that party for Onew. I hand him a glass of milk and he accepts it. Then i remember something, 

“Jino told me last night, you passed the test with the covenant! Congratulations!” but my recognition was not helpful. With the mere mention of that, Key froze and became completely uncomfortable. He won’t even drink the milk. 

“is something wrong key?”

“ no. Im fine. Im just thinking.” He finally speaks up and i stare at him questioningly. He gives me a look that tells me to back off and that he is okay. Key dismisses me by walking out and taking his morning shower. 

The milk is untouched and i snatch it up. I look at my phone and Jino is still not calling me up. I need him to come with me, i still don’t fully trust Lina and her offer. 

It had been a surprise when she called me up yesterday with an offer i could not refuse.

“taemin, i found a way to remove taeyeon’s soul from you”

I could not even speak, maybe from the shock or the happiness that her news brought me. 

“i will send you my address, please come tommorrow- alone.”

“ yes. I will.”

I would not go there alone, i need back-up. Ive lived my life knowing that I cannot trust anyone. Waiting on Key is futile as i think that he is trying to drown himself in the shower. I shout a goodbye to him and he did not answer. I make my way to the empty university hallways and i am pissed that Jino is still not calling me. Perhaps he enjoyed the party last night too much that he is stil asleep. After all, its still fairly early. 

“Taemin!” i turn around and see the last person i wanted to see today. Minho. 

“ have you seen Jino?” i immediately ask and he shakes his head with a NO. 

“you are going to see Lina?”

“i think i am, she will help me.” I reply and continue walking.

“are you out of your mind? Aren’t you even the least bit suspicious??” his outburst irked me and i face him. How dare he talk like this?? Im not stupid. 

“what difference does it make then? You are all suspicious! All of you! And out of all of them, You are the one i should be keeping my eye out for- for all I know, you want me to die so you can be with taeyeon once again.” I spat at him and i breathe deeply. Trying to calm myself. The hurt in minho’s eyes are unmistakable but now, all i wanted to do was hurt him. I succeeded. He is rendered speechless and i start leaving him, 

“ if you dont mind, i will be going.”

“ taemin, please take care of yourself. ”

“ofcourse. I will.” I answer and finally leave him. 

//

The address given by Lina is a 30 minute drive from the college town. Its unmistakable. This place looks like the manor in my dreams. Perhaps, this is excatly taeyeon’s memory. The windows and the peeling pain is unmistakable. Like i have been here before. 

The picket fence is a different color though and the roses that was once blooming there are all gone. I made my way to the front door and I am greeted by Lina, a teacup in her hand. Longing in her eyes but a small still- for me. I immediately relax at that. 

“is this place familiar?” she asks and i say yes. 

“i haveve dreamt of this before, its a recurring one. But the roses are gone,”

She looks away at my observation, 

“taeyeon loves roses, i don’t think there is any reason to take care of those if she is no longer with us.”

I only nod at her. I mean, what do i say? She finally breaks the silence and invites me inside. I gather that she lives alone but her place is filled with faceless statues. Her sitting room made me feel at home immediately and as per usual, she fixed me tea. I wonder if they are from england, how much they love their tea. 

“ you really are fond of tea no?” i ask casually and she smiles.

“taeyeon loves to read tea leaves as well. She is really into the whole seer occupation,”

“she has a crystal ball?” i ask dumbly but Lina answers me still, 

“name it, she did it. She is very invested with learning about the future, ”

“whats so good about the future?” i press on, 

“ for people like you- the future is a scary place that you do not want to know. You look forward to it sometimes, but its not constantly in your mind. But Taeyeon is different, everyday, she sees what will happen. She is the covenant’s prized possession. A secret weapon.”

“ i understand that, but why do you want to remove her from me?” i ask point blank. There is no use in waiting for the opportune time to ask her. She must know that im a bit doubting her intentions. 

“at first, she wanted to help- but i think she does not deserve this half-life. Living in limbo and sharing some of your time. ”

“ i just need to be myself again, i want to be taemin again.” I tell her truthfully and i cannot stop it anymore. The next moment, i am telling her what i really felt. “ i don’t want anymore blank moments hen i wake up in an unknown room. I don’t want to stay up late at night and be exhausted the next day because of dreams i don’t even know.”

She puts her hands on my shoulder and squeezed me. 

“its about to end, but tell me- what was the last vision you saw?”

“ a girl, exploding. ” i tell her immediately and i continue to tell it in detail. “well, not really exploding in a gruesome way. More of, she lights up, like fire- and i know that she will explode anytime.”

“destruction.” She whispers and i only nod. 

“is it something important? Should i tell the covenant? I plan on telling them tomorrow.”

“they can wait.” She snaps and she hands me a slice of cake. I quickly gobble it up. 

We spent the time talking, for maybe two hours. I have learned alot and its like a history lesson to what the covenant is. No i understand how hard it is for Key. Onew is an important part of their destiny and Key falling for him is not that easy. 

“ i cannot wait for this to be over,”

“any person in particular the reason??”

“o-o-ofcourse not.” I stutter miserably and she answers, 

“ is it minho?”

I stare at her, wide-eyed and try to look away. This is a moment of monumental awkwardness. I cannot even begin to comprehend. 

“there is no use hiding, i see it in your eyes.”

I blush a deep crimson and she laughs, 

“ Minho is a good person, there is no doubt that someone like you or anyone for that matter can fall for him. ”

I can only nod and i bow my head. After a few minutes i look up at her, 

“so. How do we do this?”

“its similar to what i did with taeyeon the first time, only difference is that i will take her soul out of your body.”

The vision is not appealing to me. Soul splitting seems barbaric but if this is the only way then i will comply. I stand up, as if telling her that i am ready and she smiles slyly at me. 

I am led to a bedroom, a rather lavish one at that. I gather that this is the room where taeyeon stays when she comes here to visit. Her pictures are everywhere and i am fascinated at how alike we are. Could we be related or something? I do not have any dreams of this room but some items are familiar. 

I just hope taeyeon won’t take over right now, this place is full of taeyeon and her memories. Its suffocating me. 

“ lie down,” she commands and i do as told. The bed is comfortable enough and i lay flat. Lina starts to light candles to relax me, its doing fine. I remember those times i did this too, while lying on a hot tub. I can smell incense and it helped alot in relaxing me as well. No doubt. I can feel my happy ending close by. 

Her cool hands trace my palm, as if she is reading it. I still don’t know what Lina’s special power is. We haven’t talked about it. Minho also failed to tell me about it. Her hand travels to my arm and up to my shoulder and she finally settles on my chest. I feel drowsy and i hope that this ritual will end soon. I meet her eyes and i see the look in it. 

“im sorry.”

! 

I try to break free but i can’t. Whats happening? Im not even bound by any rope or cloth for that matter. Then a man comes to my view. I do not recognize him.

“ this is eerie Lina! He really looks like Taeyeon.”

“ shut up minwoo and just do your job!” Lina shouted and the strong grip on my chest is still there.

“ keep him bound, he must not be able to move or this wont work.”
Minwoo frowned, “crazy woman, minho will kill you if he finds out. If only i did not have a debt to you-”

“ofcourse, and you must repay that debt to me.” Lina shot back and motioned for minwoo to get out. Then i felt the pain and the uncomfortable cool feeling inside of me. This is crazy! Her hands are pentrating my chest, no scalpel or blade in hand. Like faith healing that i see in the news. 

“ i need to take it out from you- but-”

“ stop- what are you doing?”

“im sorry kid, but your life is a small price to pay- we need taeyeon”

She continues and this is all so surreal. I see blood pooling outside my chest and my breathing is labored. This is worst than the horrow movies i saw. I feel the blood drain out of me and i began geting dizzy.

“this is usually done on corpses – because of the heavy manipulation.” Lina offered darkly and in that moment i knew that i will die. In that very second, i admitted that Minho was right all along and i should have trusted him from day one. I was so stupid to doubt him! He was always nice to me. Eversince that day he helped me out with my dance auditions.

“ no.” I plead to lina but she won’t stop.

“ i will take you soul out so taeyeon can be fully alive again. And yes, Taemin, this is my power- im like a surgeon without any tools. I can manipulate energy points- chakra- soul ; ”

She continued explaining and i dont hear anything else. 

But then it all stopped. The next thing I know, minwoo was pushed forcefully to the other side of the room. Same with Lina, thrown across the room. I see Jino as he held Minwoo down. I feel a warmth in my chest and the blood is decreasing, like someone is wiping it away but i cannot see it. Then i catch his scent. Its minho. I immediately cry and soon, Minho is infront of me , the looks of anger and worry – evident in his face.

“ YOU ARE CRAZY LINA! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU WILL BE SENT TO THE CAPSULE!” Minho shouts at her and she quickly gets up. 

“you are the one who is crazy, we finally have the chance to take taeyeon back- the covenant lose now, and onew being the immortal. This is destiny!”

“ its not! Taeyeon is supposed to be dead, that is the destiny- you! You changed all that! You used your power for your own reason.”

“ we are only thinking about the future minho, we want to help.”

“we do not need your help,” he replied coldly and two people came in. I recognize their uniform they are palace guards. Minho quickly takes me in his arms. 

“im sorry i did not come early enough.” And with that, I closed my eyes. 
-------------------------------------------

To say that Kim kibum is furious, is the understatement of the century. His friend, Taemin is confined in a hospital and he is now waiting in line for the blood bank clearance. He just needs a damn ticket to be granted and then, he can get the 4 bags of blood for Taemin. But the woman just decided to take her lunch break as soon as Key was in the window. 

“damn” he breathed and closed his eyes. The woman is obviously calm and giddy- happy to finally have her one hour break and relax. And so he put to use what he learned and influence her. Alarm & panic, with a little bit of fear and he looked at her with anger in his eyes. She immediately opened the window and took his pass. 

“ just show this to the station, ”

“ thank you madame” and he smiled at her,

He trudges down the halls and sees Jino with his head down and ice cream in hand. Its key’s favorite ice cream and he knows that this is a form of peace offering but he dismisses it. 

“it will take you a truckload of ice cream for me to forgive you.” Key replies at Jino who smiled a bit but realized that Key was not joking at all. The young man knew that Key will want to kill him and minho for keeping him out of what happened to Taemin. The reason why he agreed to come with Taemin is that, he doubts Lina’s intentions as well. But the party got so out of hand that he did not wake up on time.

It was a good thing they got there just in time. But Taemin is not in a good condition. What Lina did was barbaric- it was done to corpses- not people who are alive and obviously awake. Jino shuddered at the memory at glanced at Key who looked calm as he signed the form for the blood transfusion. He even smiled at the nurse on duty. 

“key look-”

“i don't wanna hear it. I don't- just don't talk. ” he cuts him off and Jino bows his head. He needs to call onew now – its clear as day how much the boy affects the obviously angry key. Perhaps he can help him calm down. But he didn’t have to do any of that, 

“ what happened?” Onew came jogging towards them and Jino wanted to call Minho for backup. But the boy is now in the palace, trying to get Lina jailed. 

“ its Taemin- Lina tricked him – he was told that she will remove taeyeon’s soul from his body but -”

“ she ended up doing the opposite.” Onew supplied and Jino just nodded. 

Seated next to Key, Onew looked at him and saw the worry. He wanted to reach out and tell him that everything will be fine and Taemin is in good hands. But he is afraid of such contact with the boy. With what happened between them, still in the back of his mind. 

The kiss. He closed his eyes as he recollected. It was not unpleasant but it was strange and there is a nagging feeling that it is wrong. He never kissed anyone but Luna before and kissing Key was like those secrets your mom kept from you. He stood up again, acting like he is looking for a doctor or nurse to ask but really, he just needed more air in his lungs. More time to think. More time to make sense out of everything. 

“ i have to go- i am needed to testify at the palace” Jino says and he leaves the two of them alone. For the next minutes, they get by with just looking at people and staring at Taemin. Key decided that Taemin will be on a “no visitor” policy for fear that someone connected to Lina will want to finish what she started. 

“ im sorry i could not protect Taemin-” Onew finally said and Key had the urge to slap him hard, how can he own up to this as well? He knew nothing? But most of all, how come he still turns out to be oh so noble. How can he become the good guy every time. 

“its not your fault, he was too rash- i knew he wanted the problem solved but i didn't know about this plan.” Key explained and they returned to the default silence once again. His stomach grumbled and he gazed at the boy- his brown hair more pronounced right now as the light hit it. No matter what happened next, he won’t regret that he kissed him. Blame it on the strong emotion of survival. Blame it on adrenaline and spur of the moment. But it was one of the best times in his life. 

“dinner?” he sputtered out and Onew looked at him in question, 

“i mean, we should get some dinner. Cause, i plan to be stay here overnight- and-”

“ i will stay too,” he offers,

“no- that's not necessary-”

But Onew insisted, “he is a prime witness to a crime, a case in the palace. So-”

Key almost laughed. Trust onew to make everything the business of the covenant and palace. They bot left the building and settled for a nice restaurant from across the street. One could never go wrong with italian food. It was a good thing the place was busy , they did not need to talk. But as Key looked at Onew who was eating – the thought of making fun of him or saying something to make him laugh was almost unbearable. Maybe, compliment the shirt he as wearing. Or tell him how great the party went. He cannot do this forever. They cannot stay this way forever. 

“ onew, about what happened that night- ”

He quickly stops eating as he hears Key’s voice and looks at him. “im sorry- i got caught up in the moment. And- ”

“ its fine. I understand- ” he simply answers back and Key impatiently fires back again. 

“it cant be JUST FINE Onew, why won’t you get mad at me? Punch me or something like that-”

“why would i do that?”

Key threw his hands up in the air dramatically, trying to make a point. “cause i kissed you and you have a girlfriend. Cause i kissed you when you were just helping me. I took advantage and BECAUSE- I am gay and you are not.”

Finally done with his speech, Onew cocked his head to the other side and reached out for Key’s hand.

“ Look, I have friends who can read minds and fly – i guess- you being gay is in the least of my freak list.”
Key is stunned. So, he is okay about it? He won’t punch him and stuff him inside a locker. 

“ I- ”

“ It was just a kiss right?”

Just a kiss. Key wanted to laugh and cry at the comment. Ofcourse, it was just a kiss for onew. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be kissed right? But that act was everything to him. He was alive, it was that moment that he felt renewed- that he can do anything. The leap of faith he just did turned out to be ‘just a kiss’ for onew.well, he couldn’t blame him. 

“ yes. Just a kiss,” he repeated, with a confident smile in place. 

“now, you can start criticizng my clothes again right?” onew joked and key finally relaxed.

“honestly, i like what you’re wearing today, nice choice.”

“Luna picked it out for me,”

Key almost spilled his drink everywhere with the remark and they proceeded to a comfortable conversation. Key is assigned to go with onew and jonghyun to find ‘nuclear girl’ and they start talking about the place they are going to and how they should approach the girl. She is confined in a nursing home and will probably be weak because of the radioactivity in her body. 

They finished eating and just in time to return and see that Taemin is now conscious. His doctor expected him to wake up one or two days from now but he says that Taemin is unbelievably strong. 

“thats taeyeon-” onew whispered under his breath. Taemin may not be like them, like them who heals quickly and a body that is conditioned to trauma. But taeyeon, he soul is inside him- that helped out. 

“can we see him?” key quickly asked and the doctor nodded,

“but he may be disoriented. He may not even remember what happened to him.”

Onew left Key alone to talk to Taemin. Seeing Taemin in bed and all pale was not Key’s favorite scene. But the boy seemed fine, even offering him a small smile. 

“ how are you feeling?”

“sick. Weak, and i need coffee.” Taemin answered and Key glared at him. 

“ you put yourself in danger- just next time, please tell me everything. Okay? You have to accept the fact that you need me. ” 

“i promise.” Taemin replied and he is looking for someone outside, only to see Onew. 

“ where is minho?”

“ at the palace, getting Lina convicted with what she did to you.” Key answered and Taemin’s head began to ache once more. Too much information right now. He can’t handle it at all. 

“ and you? Are you and onew okay?”

The question catches Key off guard but he acts like its no big deal. 

“yeah, we talked. Wait, how do you know?”

“oh nothing, you just have that dazed look on your face all the time. You don’t talk to me or even make eye contact eversince that party.” Taemin replied sarcastically and key just rolled his eyes. 

“what happened anyway?”

“i kissed him” Key spoke nonchalantly and Taemin’s headache tripled. 

“ YOU WHAT?”

“Sssshhhhh. Keep it down, the doctor told me you will be disoriented but i guess that's not true. ”

“ why? What happened? Why did you kiss him?”

“ its a long story, i got carried away. But he tells me that its okay, we are okay. No harm done.” Key finally said but taemin did not believe a single word.

“no harm, really?”

“yes. Really.” He tells him forcefully.

“what happens now?”

His question made key’s head spin and he regrets wanting to enter this room and talk to taemin. 

“nothing. We go back to normal.”

“ you’re wrong, after a kiss- nothing returns to normal”

Taemin tells him and he has no words left to say. They both just stare at the wall in silence. Nothing will ever be the same again. They will never be the old average students who met at the day of enrollment. Everything changed- for the better or for the worst, they have no choice about it. Its inescapable. In the back of their heads, it rings true. The truth that this is their destiny and as much as they want to be free from it- there is no turning back. 

// 

Two days after. 

Jonghyun loved roadtrips the most. His whole life was filled with endless trainings that told them everything must be in a quick pace. You have to move fast or else, you will die. You have to learn fast to know more and as time goes by- everything seemed like on fast forward. One minute, they were kids running around in the manor. Kids who played tag all day long and sulked about homework. But now, they are treated as adults who traded the play for real battle. Perhaps that is the reason why his power is to stop time. Sometimes, they say that time can heal all or let time fly so your problems will just fade away. But haven’t they thought for one second, that maybe, the problem was time itself? That maybe, we should just throw the sense of time away? 

The wind is blowing on his face and the sound of Key singing on the top of his lungs made him love this trip all the more. Onew is on the wheels and on a good mood as well. No one would think that they are ought to visit a woman that can bring about the destruction of the world.

Its all about perspective, right? 

“ tik tok on the clock!” Key burst into song and Onew joined in, along with jonghyun who threw his head out the window while singing. 

“ hey! Close the door! This is a country side! People arent used to dinosaurs like you!” Onew complained but jonghyun did not care. There are virtually zero people on the road. 

“ don’t be a buzzkill.” Key piped in, trying to defend jonghyun. After all, who says they cant have a bit of fun. 

“ you are NO FUN.” Jonghyun coaxed.

But onew disagreed with the pair, “I know fun! Likewise, im a really fun person.” Key fake gagged and onew glared at him. 

“ then i dare you!” the blonde boy challenged, to which onew quickly said yes. “okay, the dare is- for you to drive at full speed. With eyes closed.”

Key wanted to regret his remarks. Jonghyun was clearly out of his mind. “are you crazy?” he fired back.

“im not. I can stop time sir, so if we ever get into too much danger i can say- stop. Happy now?”

Onew closed his eyes immediately and key held onto his shoulders for dear life- practically clutching it like a life support. He knew that this dare was utterly stupid but something tells him he should do it. He was immmortal after all, wasn’t that the whole point? 

He started stepping on the gas and going on full speed. He could hear jonghyun laughing and urging him to go faster, on the other hand, key is still holding him still. Onew felt uneasy and then he felt it, the calm that overcame him. Everything was washed away and what was left was a serene feeling. This is Key. 

Then he stops and jonghyun is screaming like a mad man. 

“four for you onew! Im impressed! ” and taps his back, on the other hand, key looks sheepishly at him.

“i did not mean to influence you like that, i just thought i could help.” Says but onew decides to keep his eye on the road. They have a long journey to take. 

What greeted them took out all the happiness, the small amount of joy that were in their hearts. The building was old, almost – unliveable. It had the name, the same one in their file. Goodwing Institution. A charity for people who are sick and abandoned. 

“ remind me one day to set up a charity ball for this place,” Onew said under his breath as they parked infront of the building. 

Its no wonder the patients here never get better. The gloom of the place is enough to choose death as a remarkable option. 

“ what brings you fine gentlemen here?” a nun greets them and Key is uncomfortable with the emotions of the people inside. Too much sorrow, anger and hopelessness all at one go. 

Jonghyun gives his best, ‘im-a-good boy-i-just-heard-mass-yesterday’ look and speaks up, “We are here to see someone, we would liek to sponsor her treatment. Her name is, Kim Minah.”

The nun’s eye narrow at the mention of the name. “ im sorry to tell you, but she’s different. She is very, very ill.”

“ how so?” Onew inquired and took a few steps forward inside the lobby, “we would like to see her.”

The nun nodded symphatetically and led them to the farthest room in the hallway. It had a white double door and with a swing, it revealed a woman. She was not “ill”as the nun replied, she was the exact oppositte. Her black hair was healthy when they expected graying hair. And what was more surprising was that, she was playing the piano. Really really well. 

“ i have visitors?” she immediately stops what she is doing and turns to the three of them. 

“ are you sure she’s ill?” jonghyun asks and the nun says yes. 

“ I know she may not seem like it. We thought she was perfectly healthy too, but her tests show otherwise. Her blood levels-”

“ radioactive.” Onew supplied and the Nun agreed. 

“ my name is Key,” he introduces himself and the woman was more than happy to shake his hands. Its been a long time since she was able to do this. Meet people casually. Her eyes travel to the one with brown hair who was talking with the nun and at last, at the blonde boy who was looking curiously at her piano. 

“ you play the piano? ” the blonde boy raises his eyebrow as if to say yes and not so much at the same time. 

“no, i sing.” He replies simply and Minah’s eyes brighten. It was always her problem, she could play the piano with her eyes closed and learn keys jsut from listening. But she could never sing, and here he comes- someone who can actually bring to life the empty keys she played for a long time. Minah gathered that they are like her- special and yet, very dangerous. The one with a brown hair and air of authority in him went out with sister maria for a talk. Key on the other hand followed, leaving Minah and jonghyun. 

“you studied playing the piano??” he asks,

“Sister maria thought me, but for the life of me, i cant sing!” she complains.

“you don’t look sick. We expected you to withered down, like- lying down in bed and paralyzed. Not that- i wished that on you.” He explains innocently and she started pressing some keys to fill the air. 

“i am not sick, but there is something inside me. Something dangerous and if it comes out- it won’t be pretty.”

“ so you know – that you’re different?”

“ yeah. But im not sick- im okay. Im healthy, but when my test results come in. They are all wrong. They say i have terminal cancer.”

Jonghyun started humming and started to copy her movements and try to play as well. “it makes sense, your- your power- its nuclear.”

“someone told me about that, a month ago.”

“professor K. ” he answers back and she nods. 

“so, what can you do?” she pipes up, obviously interested. He quickly answers back with pride, 

“i can stop time.” She gapes at him then opens to say something but fails and shuts it close. Jonghyun just smirks at her and urges her to continue playing. 

“ now that is a special gift,” she murmurs under her breath but he fails to hear it. 

//

Key’s Point of view

I could not sleep and it has nothing to do with the fact that they are staying at a rundown building filled with sick people. Jonghyun has not come back yet, perhaps he is still talking with Minah. He is tossing and turning but still, he could not close his eyes. All the more because Onew is just so close to me- i could still feel his breath. 

Its frustrating that i do not know what he feels. The only person that I cannot feel. Is the same person i really want to understand. I should not have influenced him like that. He seems clearly irritated at what i did and he won’t even speak to me. 

Then i hear him shift, he is already seated in his bed. 

“can’t sleep?” my breath caught as i hear his voice, so i slowly sit up and its pitch black. I cannot see him and that is easier. 

“ no- this place is depressing,” i answer to him and i hear a soft chuckle. 

“i cannot imagine what it feels like for you. Just seeing this place is depressing me, but you- you can feel them all. ”

“tell me about it,” i snap back and we fall back to silence again. I fight the urge to look for him in the darkness and sit close to him. I know it will only take me three strides to be right next to him but i stop myself before i could even take one small step towards him. 

“im sorry, about earlier” i blurt out and once again i am thankful that we cannot see each other. Am a nervous wreck like now.

“ about what?”

“influencing you like that, its just. I wanted you and jonghyun to calm down- and ive been practicing since professor K trained me.” I explained extensively and i did not want to sound defensive but failed miserably. 

“i was surprised you could do that, its such power. ”

He replies and i try to think of a reply, 

“ are you angry then? That i did that? I promise, next time, i won’t meddle too much in your emotions.”

“im not angry,” he says sincerely and conrtibues, “its just that, you made me feel vulnerable. You made me feel strangely human.” He stops short to breathe and speaks up slowly, “don't ever do that to me again.”

“i promise.” I quickly say and added my disagreement to his previous statements, “you are human Onew, why do you think otherwise?”

“I cannot die Key, i guess that pretty much explains it.” He replies bitterly and i stand up, walking over to him. Praying to anyone that i won;t trip or do something stupid. Stretching my hands out, trying to look for him- i suddenly feel his hand take mine. The reality of what i did nights ago came back to me and i freeze up. I promised myself not to be too close to him. 

“i got you,” he tells me and squeezes my hand. He shouldn’t be this kind to me. Its all too much. 

“thank you,” 

And we just stand there, holding hands. I want to pull away but the comfort is too much to let go. Then we hear a door close. Not just a close, more of a violent bang against the walls. Onew quickly pulled me away into the light of the hallways. 

“”jonghyun-” he quickly speaks up,

“i think she came back to Minah’s room, he promised to sing for her or something,” i answer and we walk towards the room. But we are cut short by a figure suddenly infront of us, it was too quick i don’t even know how he came here. I know him. The masked man, he was the one who dropped Onew in my room. 

“ YOU!” I shout at him and i move forward, despite my lack of combat skills, my instinct just went for it and i lunged forward. Hoping to rip that mask off his face, but onew quickly pulls me back. 
“ he’s stronger than us, stand your ground.” He commands and i fold. Then the masked man just hands me a glass case, like the ones that keeps compact discs, 

“what is this?”

I ask , but he walks away and tells us one thing, 

“ just trying to help you.”

Then i try to make him talk to me, i try to read his emotions first to know how i can manipulate him. But i am blindsided, i cannot read him. Like Onew, i cannot read his emotions. 

“what’s wrong?”

“i cannot read him , I don’t- how can that be possible? ”

We stare at each other and down at what he left us. It seems all absurd that a stranger will help us. Did he know onew was immortal even before everyone did? I held the disc in hand and looked at Onew. He simply shrugged and we are left in the dark hall of Goodwill building- grasping for answers. But with Onew standing infront of me and his hands moving me to move forward- i am sure that no matter how gruesome the truth may be- i can handle it. I have Onew for now, what else can go wrong?

I did not know it yet. But everything was about to go terribly wrong.