gotta catch 'em all

Apartment Block 17
[PLEDIS ENTERTAINMENT]
 
Seokmin collapsed onto the floor, finally being granted a break to eat something after dancing lessons that lasted for the past two hours. He checked his phone to find several messages from Chan and Mingyu.
 
Today 12:44 PM
 
kim meangyu
> seokminn
> wonwoo just told me u stopped by just now
> did u really forget about me???
> bc u were playing pokemon go?!?!
> smh i thought u were better than this :(
> i got lost as well lmao YOU SAID U WOULD SHOW ME AROUND
> i was meant to go to the grocery store but i ended up in a really dodgy part of town ... then i wandered around for like an hour until i made it back to the apartment block somehow :P
> i dont wanna ask wonwoo the way bc he’ll think im stupid or something??
> speaking of wonwoo he’s like mad at me :(
> he was saying something about me forgetting to buy milk bc i was trying to catch pikachu
> i don’t even like pokemon?? what did you tell him seokmin :/
 
Today 2:15 PM
 
me
> its a long story im sorry !! D:
> i was just rlly excited to play it ok
> im at training now so soz i cant stop by yet
> ill meet u another time i pROMISE
 
kim meangyu
> hmmmmmmm
 
me
> not this week bc i have important performances coming up
> NEXT WEEK I SWEAR
 
kim meangyu
> so u dont have time for me but u have time for pokemon?
 
me
> ... u wouldnt understand :/
 
kim meangyu
> pft fine i have wonwoo anyway i dont need u 
 
me
> ;)
 
-------------
 
Today 12:53 PM
 
chanson
> oMG U WONT BELIEVE!!
> I JUST HATCHED A PIKACHU !!!
> IT WA S ONLY A 2KM EGG
> BUT PI KA CHU
 
Today 1:33 PM
 
chanson
> i just rode another 2km
> AND WHAT DO I GET?
> A ZUBAT
> I HAVE LIKE 100 OF THEM ALREADY
> :(
 
Today 2:03 PM
 
chanson
> Bro i’m so tired
> can i skip training
 
Today 2:18 PM
 
me
> apparently the police released a statement this morning
> “i was hunting pokemon” is not a legal excuse for trespassing
 
chanson
> so...?
 
me
> SO POKEMON GO ISNT AN EXCUSE TO SKIP TRAINING YOU NOOT
 
chanson
> damn are you going to make it, bro?
> fine, i’ll be there soon!
> fighting!!!! :D
 
Seokmin wished that he was younger; high school students like Chan didn’t have to train as often as university students, due to their timetables. They had moved to Seoul a year ago, meaning Seokmin had less hours of training last year, as he was still in high school. Even after barely surviving a semester of the university timetable, he felt like he was still far too unfit to keep up. 
 
“Dokyeom! What are you doing, texting over there? Get back to practice!” one of his dance teachers called. ‘Dokyeom’ was his stage name; it literally meant ‘doing things in various aspects’, as his company wanted him to be an all-round entertainer. He was slightly stressed out lately at the expectations that were placed on him. 
 
Sighing, he placed his phone back in his bag and trudged back to the dance studio.
 
-------------
 
[VERY NICE ELECTRONICS]
 
“Welcome to Very Nice, how may I help you?” a bored university-aged worker uttered at the entrance of several more customers. 
 
“Do you have any phone battery packs?” Junhui asked.
 
“Yeah, sure,” the worker led them to the counter and pulled out a box of battery packs, which allowed you to charge your phone on the go without worrying about finding a powerpoint (that is, until the battery pack died).
 
“Make that two more!” a familiar voice said beside Junhui. Junhui whirled around to see the two boys from the park; Seungkwan and Hansol. 
 
“What are you guys doing here?” Junhui growled. Minghao giggled quietly at Junhui’s slightly enraged expression; this game was working him up way too much.
 
“Same as you, buying battery packs! Our phones are dead,” Hansol said, ignoring Junhui’s intimidating gaze.
 
“Battery packs?” a slightly deeper voice hollered from somewhere in between the shelves. Seungcheol stepped out, grinning at the four boys as he held up his phone. “My phone’s dead as well, and I’m too lazy to go charge it.”
 
“So, are all five of you going to buy one?” the worker asked, perking up at the chance of milking five teenage boys of their hard earned cash.
 
“Yeah, I’ll definitely take one,” Seungcheol said, pushing past and slamming cash onto the counter. One by one, each of them pulled out some cash and placed it onto the counter; the worker grinned, gathering together all the cash and handing each boy a battery pack. After receiving their respective change and receipts, the five boys walked to the exit together.
 
“Didn’t expect to see you here, Cheol! And Junhui and Minghao, too,” Hansol smiled. “Guess Pokémon Go really does bring people together.” Minghao smiled back, while Junhui was still staring at them suspiciously.
 
“Seungcheol, which team did you choose?” Seungkwan asked, as they reached the exit.
 
“Team Valor,” Seungcheol grinned. 
 
Seungkwan narrowed his eyes. “Well, we chose Team Instinct. I’m not sure we can be friends anymore.”
 
Minghao laughed. “You’re all taking this game so seriously. It’s fun, that’s for sure, but don’t let it ruin your friendship. That means you too, Jun,” he said calmly. Junhui playfully slapped his shoulder.
 
“Of course it wouldn’t ruin our friendship. Not that I was ever friends with these three in the first place,” Junhui gestured to Seungcheol, Hansol and Seungkwan, who threw back offended looks. He grinned.
 
“Joking. We’ll be on our way then. Good luck to you all!” Junhui said slightly sarcastically, but it was enough to make Minghao satisfied that he wouldn’t try murder them anymore.
 
Seungcheol laughed. “Thanks, much appreciated. But hey, where have you guys been hunting?” he asked before the two could leave.
 
“Around Adore U Park, mostly,” Minghao replied. “But since it’s getting dark, we came here to look around.”
 
“Did you see that our Gym got overtaken? The one at the basketball court?” Hansol said sadly. 
 
“Oh yeah! Some dude called ‘hoshi’ overtook a bunch of Gyms all around the park,” Junhui frowned. “He’s in Team Mystic though,” he grinned, causing Seungkwan to pout slightly in annoyance.
 
“I just went down to the ROCK Dance Studio, which is pretty far, and all the Gyms down there are held by this ‘hoshi’ guy as well. Looks like we all have a common rival,” Seungcheol sighed. “Maybe if he was in Team Valor, I might’ve been be okay with it...”
 
Minghao grinned. “Well, Team Mystic is obviously the best so, good luck to you guys~” he imitated Junhui’s sarcastic tone from before. He then grabbed Junhui’s arm and pulled him away, waving at the three boys cheekily. 
 
“And you said we’re taking this too seriously? Maybe I’m influencing you a little too much,” Junhui smirked. Minghao poked out his tongue in return.
 
“Do you think Jam Jam will have Pokémon around it?” Minghao wondered, as his phone vibrated when they passed NO F.U.N. He paused in order to catch the Rattata that had appeared; it was his 20th one that day.
 
“I hope so. I gotta go to work soon,” Junhui sighed. “Think you could go catch more for me while I’m working?”
 
Minghao rolled his eyes. “It’s not fun going alone. Plus, I’m beat; I think I’ll just sit somewhere and watch you work or something.”
 
“You’re gonna watch me work my shift... for five hours?” Junhui questioned. Minghao smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Junhui felt himself getting flustered; he loved Minghao’s cheekiness. It was rare for him to display it in public, as he was a rather reserved person. Minghao had only been living in Korea for a few months, compared to Junhui’s year and a half, and he still felt uncomfortable with his surroundings though his Korean had improved substantially. Junhui, and occasionally Seokmin, had dragged him out on random excursions in order to expose him to more of the foreign country, and it seemed to be working so far.
 
From around the corner, Junhui grinned when he heard Seungkwan yelling, “Get a room, you two!” followed by loud laughter from Hansol and Seungcheol. Junhui chuckled and smirked at them over his shoulder, as he pulled Minghao closer. Maybe those three aren’t so bad after all.
 
-------------
 
[OMG NIGHTCLUB]
 
It was getting late enough that the streets were beginning to fill with guys dressed like wannabe gangsters and girls with makeup caked unnaturally on their faces; so much that their face was at least three shades lighter than the rest of their body. After Soonyoung had finished teaching his Friday dance class, he had immediately hopped onto a bus, after reading a report of a rare Pokémon sighting in downtown Seoul. He hoped he wouldn’t be too late.
 
Soonyoung wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to let anyone know that he was the person who was dominating all the Gyms in the area, or more commonly known as the guy with the username ‘hoshi’. It was so entertaining; hearing his friends and dance students complaining about it. It brought out his competitive spirit even further. Plus, Soonyoung was sure that if Seungcheol found out he was ‘hoshi’, he would get himself and Jihoon kicked out of the apartment they had worked so hard to secure. Soonyoung knew that Seungcheol was definitely the kind of person who would pull something like that off.
 
So here he was, at 8:30PM outside a dodgy nightclub, trying to catch a Vaporeon that had spawned directly outside. Several others were also there with their phones out, though a majority were club-goers who roughly pushed their way past.
 
Soonyoung finally managed to catch the Vaporeon, and he cheered silently. He wasn’t quite sure what to do now; it was pretty late and he should be getting back home soon. His thoughts were interrupted by messages from Jihoon.
 
Today 8:35 PM
 
woozi:)
> um soonyoung
> it’s really late
> where are you?
 
me
> oh LOL hi jihoonie :D
> I JUST CAUGHT A VAPOREN !!
 
woozi:)
> a vaporeon? cool
> but uh, are you coming home soon?
 
me
> awwww you sound worried !!!
> even after telling me to go get hit by a bus this afternoon:)
 
woozi:)
> ... just please get home soon
 
me
> im getting on a bus now!! :D
> man, i gotta tell u more about everything that happened today :O
 
woozi:)
> did you go to work today?
> and did you remember you had a dance class to teach?
 
me
> yep! dw, i went to both
> i was tempted to ditch to find more pokemons tho
> i managed to take over the gym at my dance studio during break lmao!! :D
> stop worryinggg you sound like my mother :/
 
woozi:)
> i’m just worried about you paying your share of the rent for this month
 
me
> dw jihoonie i’ll alwyas have your back<33
 
woozi:)
> ...right
> also, what’s this i’ve been hearing about some guy named ‘hoshi’ dominating our area?
 
me
> HAHAHAHA SURPRISE IT ME :D
 
woozi:)
> ns, of course i knew it was you... 
> but wow, i didn’t know you could get this good. 
> i went to the tech store to get some batteries a few hours ago and i heard seungcheol talking about it with some other people...
> is everyone playing this goddamn game?? i’m not surprised about seungcheol, but still.
> do they not know that you’re ‘hoshi’?
 
me
> lmaooo you’re the only one who calls me hoshi anyway??
> that’s why i used it as my nickname ;)
> it’ll be our little secret
> so dont tell cheol and the others okkaaay :)
 
woozi:)
> alright, but aren’t you getting a little too obsessed over this game?
> it’s been one day... are you going to do this all the time?
 
me
> oh hey brb bus is stoppin
 
Soonyoung turned off his phone as the bus pulled into the stop right outside Apartment Block 17. Scanning his bus card on the way out, he stepped out into the refreshing night air. As he walked into the building, he spotted two tall boys walking in at the same time, each holding a heavy looking grocery bag. One of them looked slightly familiar; it was that tall guy with Seungcheol from last week.
 
“Hey!” Soonyoung called, catching the attention of the two boys. “Min...hyuk?” 
 
The taller boy smiled. “Mingyu, actually. Soonyoung, was it? Nice meeting you again.”
 
“Oh, right. Too many Min’s around here, to be honest,” Soonyoung grinned. He glanced over at the boy Mingyu was with; dyed brown hair and sharp, fox-like eyes. Soonyoung was about to introduce himself, but the boy turned and walked towards the elevator without glancing at him.
 
He followed the two boys onto the elevator, where they pressed their respective floor buttons. Ignoring the intimidating aura of the unknown boy, Soonyoung grabbed out his phone to check for any last minute Pokémon before he reached home.
 
“Oh, you’re playing Pokémon Go?” Mingyu asked, peeking at Soonyoung’s phone over his shoulder. Soonyoung nodded enthusiastically. 
 
“Are you playing it too?” Soonyoung asked. 
 
“Nah, I’m not a big fan of Pokémon. Plus, I’m too occupied with moving in,” Mingyu said. Soonyoung saw the other boy eye Mingyu suspiciously.
 
“Oh, well you’re missing out! Hope you’ve moved in alright, though!” Soonyoung said. The elevator reached the fourth floor, presumably where the two boys lived. He was about to say goodbye when his phone vibrated with a notification; a new Pokémon was nearby. 
 
“Do you live on this floor too?” Mingyu asked as Soonyoung followed them out into the hallway, furiously sliding his finger over his phone screen. 
 
“Nope! But I just caught another Goldeen,” Soonyoung showed Mingyu his phone proudly.
 
Mingyu’s eyes widened. “Level 11? Wasn’t the game only released this morning?”
 
“I took over a lot of Gyms, I guess,” Soonyoung smiled shyly. Noticing that Mingyu had no idea what he was talking about, he rephrased and said, “I’ve been busy.”
 
Mingyu nodded in understanding and leaned closer to peek at his phone screen. “Hoshi... Is that your username? Doesn’t that mean ‘star’ in Japanese?” he asked. Soonyoung nodded; he figured that letting Mingyu know was okay, since he didn’t play the game anyway.
 
“Yeah, it’s just a nickname my roommate calls me by. He kinda started calling me that when we first met. I think it was when the music and dance students collaborated on a performance in our first year of high school; he said something like my dancing was good, therefore I was a star. So in return, I started calling him ‘Woozi’ because he was sick at the time and looked like he was seriously going to pass out,” Soonyoung said, trying to remember. Now that he thought about it, Jihoon was much nicer when they first met; nowadays, he tended to switch between playful and grumpy quite often.
 
“Oh, that’s cute,” Mingyu smiled. “At least he calls you by a name. Unlike someone,” he looked pointedly at the other boy, who frowned in return.
 
Mingyu,” the boy said, and Soonyoung was surprised at how deep and smooth his voice sounded. “Help me carry the milk, it’s really heavy. It’s the least you could do for me, having to take you out at this time just to show you where the grocery store is,” the boy continued with a bitter tone, but despite the boy’s supposed harshness, Soonyoung could see a playful glint in his deep brown eyes. After knowing Jihoon for many years, he had become experienced in reading other people’s expressions. Mingyu seemed to be quite oblivious though.
 
Mingyu grabbed the bag from the other boy, groaning under the added weight. “Well, I asked if you could show me earlier, but you said you wouldn’t leave until you finished your book,” he pouted. 
 
“Hey, that book was great! It’s your fault you don’t know how to find your own way to a grocery store,” the boy shot back.
 
“You were the one who wanted the milk, though...” Mingyu said, sounding slightly hurt.
 
The boy’s face visibly softened and he sighed, taking the bag back from Mingyu’s hands. “Right, sorry. I just hate going out this late, except for work. You know the way now, don’t you?”
 
Mingyu perked up. “Yeah. Though you’ll owe me more than money for going out grocery shopping for you!” 
 
Soonyoung laughed. These two reminded him a little of how he and Jihoon talked to each other. “Well, it was nice meeting you two, but I’ve gotta run before my roommate reports me missing,” he said, walking back to the elevator. Mingyu smiled and waved with his free hand, while the other boy simply nodded in a respectful manner. After boarding the elevator and pressing his floor button, Soonyoung realised he never got the name of the other boy. Oh well.
 
Upon arriving at his apartment door, he felt his knees buckle; he was exhausted. The door opened with perfect timing, and Jihoon caught him before he fell.
 
“Soonyoung, what the hell?” Jihoon groaned as he struggled to pull Soonyoung into the apartment and shut the door. 
 
“Oh hey, Jihoon-ie,” Soonyoung mumbled. “I’m so tired, honestly. Did you cook dinner?”
 
Jihoon sighed, sat Soonyoung down at the table and put a steaming bowl of ramen in front of him. Soonyoung grinned. “Have I ever told you that you’re the best person ever?” he said, slurping up the contents immediately.
 
“Not nearly as many times as you should,” Jihoon said as he sat down next to him. He wore a tired expression on his face, though Soonyoung was quite used to seeing him like this. 
 
“Soonyoung... how long are you going to do this for?” Jihoon asked quietly.
 
Soonyoung noticed that Jihoon’s expression had changed into one of genuine worry. He gulped down a mouthful of soup before replying. “I really like this game, Jihoon.”
 
“It’s been one day. At least promise me you’ll slow down a bit,” Jihoon said, furrowing his eyebrows. “You’ve been out all day, and you look exhausted. As hyper as you can get, this isn’t normal...”
 
Soonyoung hated seeing Jihoon look so genuinely concerned for him; everything he did was his own fault, and he hated making his roommate worry like that. Jihoon was the kind of person who would blame himself for every little mistake; even when it had nothing to do with him. Soonyoung decided the only way to cheer him up a little and stop worrying so much was to do what he always did when he did stupid things; make a deal.
 
“Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal!” he grinned. Jihoon groaned; he had seen it coming.
 
Soonyoung stopped eating to think. “I heard about this legendary Pokémon that no one seems to be able to find.”
 
Jihoon nodded. “Yeah, there’s a few I think. They’re hard to catch in the original games as well. Which one do you mean?”
 
“This one called Mewtwo. Apparently it hasn’t been spotted anywhere, all around the world,” Soonyoung said. Jihoon didn’t like where this was going. Soonyoung ate more of the ramen before continuing. “So, if I catch a Mewtwo, I’ll stop playing the game for good. Deal?”
 
Jihoon groaned. He knew that nothing else would get him to stop playing, except for him losing interest by himself, which could take months. Soonyoung’s stubbornness and determination were some of the only traits Jihoon also felt that he had in common with him; so he knew that Soonyoung wouldn’t give up so easily. 
 
“It’s going to be impossible, though,” Jihoon warned. “They’re labeled as ‘legendary’ for a reason... I doubt the creators even made it available to catch in the game.”
 
“Do you think that’s going to stop me?” Soonyoung grinned. Jihoon sighed. Praying that a Mewtwo would miraculously show up in Seoul sometime soon, he held out his hand reluctantly, which Soonyoung shook with a grin.
 
Luckily for Jihoon, it turned out that the mysterious Mewtwo wouldn’t remain hidden for very much longer.
 

a/n;
why do i always write so much this arc was meant to be like one chapter long
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hosaki
[190302] wow its been a while

Comments

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JustMe
#1
Chapter 28: Look at this hoe not updating anymore smh
bluequartz_a
#2
Chapter 28: Ok... I knew I shouldn't have started to read this 'cuz it's been like ages since the last update. Yet, here I am hahahaha so happy to read this and so happy to see your love for Seventeen through the years. I'll be here, silently waiting for my Verkwan and SoonHoon resolution.

Thank you for writing this fic <3 hope you can update tho hahahahha
yihshinee17
#3
Chapter 28: I actually clicked on the SHOW MORE .......( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and then realised that i shouldn't click on it
anyway, welcome back~~!!
JustMe
#4
Chapter 28: Look who remembered to uPDATE I WAS WAITING FOR SO LONG
marisajaneweiman
#5
Chapter 27: omg please keep updating this is my favorite seventeen fanfic!
nsy317
#6
Chapter 27: Been a long time ago authornim. Welcome back :)
chocolatemeimei #7
omg hi i'm the same person from wattpad
found u hehe
TheiaP #8
Chapter 26: This is so goooooddddd
Love the ending of the last chapter XD got so confused and went awww until i saw it was a joke XD
The play is good toooooo. Funny funny. Sad that soonhoon didn't get a closure or verkwan really but the meanie made up for it
Lucinda_Serenity
#9
Chapter 26: Asdfghjkl yaaaas!!! Like they all said. FCKING FIN-AL-LY!!!!