When Cheol had been sixteen, he’d had all sorts of dumb, crazy ideas were his life was going to go. Then he heard someone else’s thoughts – spoken directly into his head. A simple ::Wow, he’s got cute lips:: right between his ears, but in someone else’s voice.

Discovering his superpower had been exciting, but he’d soon realized he could hear nothing but gay thoughts – literally thoughts about gay things, usually by gay boys. It had been distressing for the wannabe badboy jock who had refused to deal with his own issues for as long as he had been aware of them.

But these days, it was little more than a casual ego boost.

College aged Cheol knew exactly how he looked, because of how other’s thought of him. Depending on how he dressed, random guys’ first mental words ranged from ::D’awww, I wanna hug that:: all the way to ::Oh my god! Fist me, daddy!::.

Today Cheol wore his simple (but effective) boyfriend-look, with reasonably tousled hair, a dark long-sleeve shirt and jeans that hugged his… lower parts. The ensemble somehow brought out his lips, if men’s thoughts were to be trusted.

Five minutes before mentoring for his little Padawan Vernon was set to begin he got a message.

Sorry, Vernon wrote, Will be a little late.

Kay, Cheol texted back. Above those texts were a dozen similar exchanges.

Having already known the boy was going to get stuck in whatever chaos he had currently going on, Cheol entered the coffee shop on his own. Usually, he would drop a student who couldn’t stick to schedules, but he was the best tutor Vernon had ever had.

The boy was fantastic at pretending to pay attention and for some reason Cheol was the only one who could tell exactly when Vernon was drifting off. This reason, of course, was the power to hear when Vernon started to think about the cute, diva-ish kid with the great voice instead of course material.

Yeah, the gay thoughts didn’t have to be about Cheol to become audible to him.

He ordered his usual, dropped into a booth and heard his phone ring.

“Hey Jun,” he said.

“Hey.” Jun sounded like he had just gotten up. Naturally. “Thanks for the email. I’d have forgotten.”

Cheol shook his head. “You’d have forgotten you own boyfriend’s birthday?”

“It’s Haohao’s fault for dating me.”

“Oh yeah?” Cheol chuckled. “Who manipulated him into this relationship, huh?”

“Um. You.”

“That’s… Okay, you got me there, but I’m at best an enabler.”

“Yeah, right.”

Jun was the only person who knew about Cheol’s gift and in some way he regretted telling the sleazebag. Jun had made plenty of use of his friend’s ability to know what went on inside boys’ minds.

Maybe, he shouldn’t have gone so far for the sake of a friend, but Cheol was no angel either. He had never told Jihoon about the whole mindreading thing and when their relationship had found an emotionally charged conclusion the short man had confessed he had never felt more understood by anyone. Like he had never needed to say a word for Cheol to understand. Well, about that…

Too bad their tempers were completely at odds. Maybe he should have confessed he was actually hearing everything Jihoon thought about him. Maybe it would have fixed things.

Their ending had left him feeling evil for a while.

It had been easier with Jeonghan. Perhaps Cheol should only date loud boys who said exactly what they thought. He had even tried to breach the awkward topic of mindreading but Jeonghan hadn’t taken the implication well and so… nothing had come of it in the end.

“Hello~~~o,” Jun sing-sang-ed. “Earth to Captain Idiot.”

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

“About which one of your two old flames?”

“Woah, now who’s the mindreader?”

Jun’s victory smirk was almost perceivable through the phone line. “Sweetheart, you need to get laid.”

“I know.”

“It’s been ages.”

“I know and thanks for reminding me, .”

“Try something a little more casual.”

Cheol sighed. “We’ve been over this… When I’m-”

“Yeah yeah. You hear what your partner is thinking and feel the need to accommodate their every whim like a superpowered paid professional. And that’s why you have to stay celibate forever even though you’re the only person in the world with an infallible gaydar.”

Cheol sighed again, louder and with more emphasis.

Jun sighed right back, though it was more of a grunt. “Be slightly less selfless, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll just change my personality to be like yours. Now please tell me you have a gift for Hao.”

“Ha, he knows perfectly well I am the gift.”

“Jun!”

“Okay, I’ll go out buy something. See you tonight.”

“And don’t be late or I’ll confess my ability to your lover and tell him what his boyfriend’s thoughts are around me.”

“I take care to only think in Chinese when I’m with you, er.”

“You’re not as good at switching as you think.” It was Cheol’s turn to weave a smirk into his voice. “Are you into thighs generally or is it just my‑”

“See you!” Jun shouted and hung up.

Vernon was still nowhere to be seen and Cheol’s beverage had cooled down to drinkable temperature. He leaned back, taking a sip, and listened.

He made eye contact with someone relatively cute on the other side of the room, but no voice spoke into his brain. Not gay then, or just not into him. Moments later a guy with a wooden cross on his necklace walked past the window outside. Cheol caught his eyes dash away.

::Holy hell, he’s hot,:: the boy thought in English. An American? He walked by, turned around, saw Cheol was still looking and whipped forward as if seeing men were illegal. ::. I mean shoot. Oh lord, forgive me.::

Cheol giggled into his cup. Those were the moments where he really liked his gift. The cross baring boy entered the store and Cheol looked away to spare them both the continued embarrassment.

Then he heard the same boy’s thoughts again. ::Sweet Jesus, he’s so hot. It’s not fair.::

Cheol risked a glance. Surprisingly the thoughts had not been directed at him. There was apparently someone else good looking at the checkout line. Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised. It was a little vain to assume he was every gay mans’ dream.

He twisted a bit to catch a glimpse of the “competition”. The guy currently being served was tall. That was pretty much his most striking feature from behind. Or maybe not. He also had… One might say he filled his pants well, although Cheol certainly thought about it in more explicit terms. The clothes seemed quite trashy, though.

Cheol turned back to his table. Not much to see there, really.

Seconds later, the guy finished and walked past Cheol in search of a free table. Now a closer look was possible and the first impression demanded to be revised. The unknown one had a handsome face. No, that didn’t capture it. He had a face to put all other faces to shame.

Tan skin, shiny teeth, eyes like the night sky. Those trashy clothes had a much different feel all of the sudden. That man could have made a cloth sack look like haute couture.

In a pathetic attempt, Cheol tried to force eye contact. No such luck, the guy was focused on his Americano. No gay thoughts were radiating off him.

There were a lot of gay thoughts forming in Cheol’s mind, tough. The pants were not only good at showing off the man’s backside but also, now that he was sitting, his legs. Cheol’s thoughts were pretty much verbatim what he had heard from Jun about his. Without the Chinese friend’s “help” he wouldn’t have had the terminology.

Then the gorgeous stranger leaned on the table surface and… spilled the sugar.

Everything about his reaction screamed “lost puppy”. From the split second of sheer panic, to the despair as if he had accidentally killed someone, to the pout as if he could barely keep himself from publically apologizing to the table.

Cheol’s heart was melting like butter in a nuclear reactor.

After way too short a time, the man had finished his cup and left the table. Once again, Cheol gawked with the intent of making the stranger think something ual. Just for a split second. Just the tiniest bit of confirmation. Just a simple “handsome” that he sometimes even got from straight men.

Nothing.

Then the man quickened his springy steps on the way to the exit, pushed the pull door and slammed his whole body into it.

It looked just painful enough to make Cheol cringe in sympathy. What a dork.

Undeniably, Cheol was smitten. Vernon showed up just in time to keep Cheol from developing major depression at the stranger’s un-achievability, but as soon as Cheol was alone again, he couldn’t think of anything else.

 

X – X – X

 

“Couldn’t you have waited until after?” Cheol said over the music and party noise.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Jun said and thought ::He can barely walk and I’ve never been so proud of myself.::

“Seriously,” Cheol said. “Birthday is supposed to happen after the guests leave not before they arrive.”

“Oh, please. Haohao can handle himself.”

“The poor kid’s mind is a mess. It’s a miracle he can form coherent sentences.”

“Yeah, tell me more.” Jun said. ::Validate me.::

Cheol chuckled. “Not happening. He has to host a party, you should help, not hinder.”

“I am helping.” ::If you think he’s wrecked now you should see him once I’ve‑::

“Anyway!” Cheol said. He didn’t like prying too deep. Sometimes people’s thoughts should be their own. "I saw a super cute guy today. Right after our conversation.”

“What was he thinking of you?”

“Nothing. I don’t know. I didn’t hear anything.”

“Too bad,” Jun said with a shrug. ::Send him to me and I’ll check. But he wouldn’t want to go back to you after.:: “Oops, sorry.”

Cheol waved it off. “Don’t apologize for your thoughts. It’d get too weird.”

::Should have thought it in Chinese.::

“Ha,” Cheol made. “Still haven’t switched.”

Jun cussed him out, mentally. At least Cheol had to assume that’s what the words meant.

“Still,” the mindreader said, “I’ll go back there tomorrow and hope he comes back, too.”

“Really?” Jun said. “You can tell who’s into you better than anyone else ever could and you still pine for the unavailable.” ::Pathetic.::

“Hey now.”

Jun smirked. “You told me not to apologize.” He pushed out his tongue. ::Pa-the-tic, Pa-the-tic, Pa-the-tic.::

“Maybe he just had a bad day and wasn’t feeling it.”

“Sure, Cheol. You’re definitely not delusional.”

“Or maybe he’s homoromantic aual, or just a bit on the girl-loving side of bi, or a two on the Kinsey scale or… um.”

“Pathetic.”

Cheol forced an exaggerate frown. “I’d have gone there to go over my material anyway. Might as well keep a lookout.”

“You wanna know what I think?”

“It’s not like I have a choice. Because you’ll tell me anyway, I mean. Not because of… the hearing thing.”

“I think you go for someone you can’t have to avoid dealing with your issues.”

“…That reminds me. Didn’t your boyfriend want to have a serious talk with you? Did you ever get around to that?”

“Touché.” ::I keep him occupied with my‑::

“Anyway. There’s people here I haven’t talked to in a while. I’ll have a look around.”

Cheol walked past Jun and considered the conversation over.

 

X – X – X

 

For no reason at all, Cheol had chosen a set of clothes he had come to call the “fist me, daddy” outfit. A baggy white t-shirt half tugged so it clung to the outline of his chest and shoulders, making them pop; ripped, black jeans that felt comfy while looking tight; really tousled hair; two silver necklaces matching with a bracelet and his earrings (lobe and helix); and heavy black boots.

[Author’s note: basically his Don’t Wanna Cry outfit aka my cause of death]

The thoughts he had heard on his way to the coffee shop overshot their usual level of creepiness, but that was part of the intention.

The handsome klutz wasn’t there, so Cheol grabbed himself a second breakfast and spread his materials on a table for two.

Might as well get some actual learning done while he was being “pathetic”.

::I want my head between those thighs,:: thought someone.

He hadn’t realized how distracting other men’s inner monologues were when he wanted to focus.

::Dang, I want his head between my legs, right now,:: thought someone else.

Cheol pulled out his headphones. Maybe if he put on some music. That usually did the trick.

::I’m so afraid.:: Wait what? Who thought that? ::They’ll hate me.:: Whose thoughts was he hearing? Cheol had to turn all the way around to get a look. ::I can’t go through with this.::

A young boy – high school senior, at most – was sulking alone over an empty glass in a booth right behind him. He had a torn jacket and a somewhat unfortunate haircut.

If Cheol could hear those thoughts they had to be gay. The kid must have been thinking about coming out.

Now he really regretted dressing as y as possible. He had never been in this situation but he knew he needed to do something. Just what? Sit down next to the clearly terrified boy and say ‘Hey I know everything you’re thinking and I just wanna tell you it’ll be fine.’?

Unlikely to go well.

:: . I should just run away. No, I’m so dumb. I won’t survive ten minutes without mom.::

It was easy to block out all other men’s minds when Cheol had someone to focus on, but he didn’t want to keep listening. He wanted to do something. What advice would he have given his younger self?

::Why can no one help me? No. I just have to say it. Mom, Dad I’m g- .::

Slowly, Cheol got up. If he wanted to do anything he’d have to sit down with the kid.

::I’ll be alone forever. I hate this. I hate everything. Why is this so hard?::

Cheol stepped up to the side of the table. Should he ask if he could sit down or just do it? Well, if the kid panicked and said the seat was already taken, he wouldn’t get a chance to help. Cheol sat down opposite the boy.

“Hey, you look kind of like you could use some company,” he said and felt lame. “I’m Cheol. What’s your name?”

::Chan.:: The boy clutched his glass. “Uh, Dino.”

A fake name? He couldn’t blame the boy for being cautious.

“All right, Dino. Is there something you… I mean.” Obviously the boy wasn’t going to come out to a stranger instantly. “I just want you to know… you’re not alone… with… your troubles? Uh. There are a lot of people who can help – no matter what’s burdening you.”

“…O…Kay?” ::That’s so weird and creepy. But he’s really hot. Please leave, though.::

This was not going as planned, to put it mildly. “You see, it doesn’t have to be you versus the world… um.” He really wanted to say something like ‘you don’t have to feel alone’ but there was no way not to sound like he was coming onto the kid.

Perhaps there was only one option. The truth.

“Listen, the coming out thing...”

::Holy ! How?!::

Okay, maybe a highly edited version of the truth. A certain perspective of truth. “I can kind of tell something is bothering you that I have experience with. I was also gay in high school. I mean I still am. Gay. Not in high school.”

“O…kay?” ::What the ?!::

Fine, this required more of a carefully constructed image, skirting the truth. “I can just tell, okay. It’s a feeling. I have a good gaydar. I’m not here to be anything other than an open ear for you, or if you think this is all too weird I can help you find an lgbt counseling thingy or whatever they’re called.”

::He’s like a guardian angel. A y guardian angel.:: “And.. but… How did you know?”

Cheol tried to smile mysteriously, but it probably wasn’t distinguishable from a regular smile. “A little fairy whispered it to me.”

Chan aka Dino leaned back, not quite relaxed but less like a cornered animal. ::This can’t be real.:: “I’m… You’ll help?”

“Even if it’s just this conversation. I won’t send you to someplace for help unless you want to go there.”

::Wow:: “This is a bit… but… can I have your numb- email address? I really want to talk about the… being…” ::I can’t even say it to anyone. I’ll never make it.::

“Sure,” Cheol said and reached for a napkin. “Here’s my email. You don’t have to talk about being gay, if it’s too hard for starters. One day it’ll feel natural. I promise.”

::Yeah, right. Not for me.::

“Even for you,” Cheol said and kept himself from winking.

“Um, okay. Thanks. You’re gonna be like...” ::A gay uncle.:: “a mentor for… the thing.”

“So it shall be, young Padawan.”

Dino smiled. “Sure.” ::What a ing nerd.:: “I’ve got to get going, but you’ll hear from me.”

“Bye. Good luck if you decide to come out to anyone in the meantime. It’ll be fine.”

Chan left, slightly confused but thinking happy, gay thoughts.

“That was cute,” said a new voice. It wasn’t too deep but had a forceful, slightly smoky quality.

Cheol turned his head up to see the speaker behind him. It was the gorgeous stranger. He wore the same trashy clothes but his hair was immaculately styled. It was actually a fairly boyfriend-look sort of deal.

“Oh… hi,” Cheol said. “You…”

“Yes me,” said the stranger. “I’m Mingyu.”

A name that meant precious gem. The prefect name for a face like that. His puppy face had Cheol’s brain freeze for a second before it returned full force with ideas about what those lips could be used for.

“Hello, Mingyu. I’m Ch‑”

“I know. Cheol. I was listening in. Actually, I was just about to leave for my train.” He raised a coffee to go. “But I get so turned around in that station. Do you know how to get to platform 9?”

“Oh yeah, that’s really confusing. I think they built the first eight without considering they might have to cram one more in.” He remembered why he had come here in the first place and fixed his hair to make sure it fell perfectly. There were no thoughts coming his way, though, so the whole idea was a failure anyway.

Mingyu grinned. “It’s a little much to ask but could you show me? The place is like a labyrinth. I don’t know how I found my way out of it yesterday.”

“Sure. No problem.” Despite the disappointment, it was still worth being in Mingyu’s presence for longer and get to look at that face. And that long body.

Cheol stuffed his belongings into his bag and they exited the café. Mingyu opened the door correctly.

 

X – X – X

 

“Here we are,” Cheol said. “And there’s a train coming. Is this one going in your direction?”

“It is. Thanks a lot. I’ll be back Monday next week. Are you here, too? I can repay your kindness with a cup.”

Cheol’s mind instantly raced through the whole scenario from a friendly chat over coffee to the worn out mattress in his apartment – or the sofa if they couldn’t wait the ten seconds it took to the bedroom. He’d be selfish this time. Very selfish.

But obviously, Mingyu was just being nice and not actually interested. Still Cheol said, “Yeah, I’ll be waiting for a kid I tutor ever so often. See you.”

The train pulled into the station. Mingyu smiled that horribly cute smile. He really looked like the definition of boyfriend material, bishie sparkles and everything. Or maybe that was just the sun. “It was nice to meet you.” He stepped into the train, hit his head on the roof of the door frame, flinched and turned back once again. “Even though you’re a total amateur.”

“What… what do you mean?”

The door closed and Cheol didn’t get an answer. But then Mingyu’s voice was right inside his brain.

::It’s like you’re not even trying to keep your thoughts to yourself. Especially thoughts like those.::

A momentary spike of joy (about finally hearing Mingyu mentally and about meeting another mindreader) was quickly replaced by more embarrassment than Cheol would have believed a single human could ever feel.

“I… I’m sorry?” I wasn’t really. He had meant every dirty word. . Mingyu could probably still hear him.

::Yes, I can,:: Mingyu thought, as the train got into motion. ::You may consider this Jun guy you keep thinking about overly ual, but boy, you should hear yourself think.::

Then Mingyu chuckled. Laughter could pass telepathically?

::Yes it can. Wow, you are a noob. You couldn’t block your thoughts from escaping if you wanted to, huh?::

“I didn’t know that’s possible,” Cheol told the empty platform. “I thought I was the only one.”

::We are a rare breed,:: Mingyu said, sounding farther way. Even the other mindreader was still subjected to a range limit. Their conversation would be over once the train sped up outside the city. ::And it is quite possible to block. That and many other things. You have much to learn, young Padawan, if I may copy the phrase.::

“Like what? What else can you do?” It felt weird to talk to thin air but he didn’t want to have the whole conversation happening in his mind. The idea of having his thoughts read was suddenly so violating. He felt wronged.

::Let me show you. Just raise your arms.::

Cheol reached up, both hands stretched to the ceiling as far as his height let him. He even went to his tip toes. What was the point of… Why had he done that?

“Wait, you can’t even see…”

::But I know you’re doing it. You can’t not do it.::

His arms weren’t coming down. Cheol was frozen in place, unless he wanted to try walking on his tip toes. He just kept stretching without conscious control.

It was terrifying. “P-Please, let me stop.”

Mingyu sent his laughter again and it sounded so innocently amused that Cheol had a hard time staying mad.

::I could let you stop. Or I could make you do much worse things. You should really learn to block.::

“I’m… hey, you can’t leave me like that.”

::And why not? Who’s gonna stop me? Your psychic powers?::

He had a point. “Come on. This isn’t funny anymore. Mingyu. Stop it. M-Mingyu? Are you still there? Mingyu. Please, I beg you.”

Cheol was flooded with so much panic he began to sweat, but there was something else. It was just hot – in a y way. He was used to being in control. Sure, he did whatever the other person in the act desired, but it still meant taking charge and knowing exactly what he caused in the other man. This however…

Not only was he forced to submit to Mingyu’s control, he still couldn’t hear the man’s thoughts except for the one he was allowed to receive. It was exciting.

Even though Cheol struggled against the position, he was glad Mingyu was out of range. At least his thought were now his own, because these ones had to be the more private and embarrassing ones yet.

::Aight,:: the other mindreader thought from far away. ::You can stop with the stretching. Drop’em. See you Monday.::

Mingyu’s laughter faded as the train crossed the border of communication.

 

X – X – X

 

“There are more!” Cheol almost screeched into the phone.

“What?” Jun said.

“More mindreaders. I’m not the only one. There are more. At least one, I mean. Mingyu is a mindreader, too.”

“Who?”

“The guy!”

“Huh?”

Cheol took a deep breath. “The guy I told you about, from the coffee shop. The ridiculously pretty one.”

“The straight one.”

“He’s not st- I mean, he can block. I can’t hear his thoughts unless he lets me. So I don’t know for sure. He can even give commands to overwrite other people will. He’s way more powerful than I am and he made me stand with my arms raised for a while.”

“Good for you?”

“I’ll see him again next week. There’s so much I want to ask.”

“I bet.”

 

X – X – X

 

Jun had to be a much more chill person than it seemed, because ever since Cheol knew mindreading was a thing other people did, he couldn’t stop freaking out.

Monday was finally here, after a torturously, unacceptably long time of not being there yet. Cheol felt like he was running after his first crush. He should not have been so nervous. It didn’t even mean anything. Mingyu was going to buy him a coffee, they’d exchange pleasantries and then possibly never see each other again.

Unless Mingyu decided to teach him stuff. Cheol really, really needed to know how to block.

He was way too early to the café, but late in relation to how much too early he had wanted to be.

What had delayed him was simple. The clothes he wore hadn’t been finalized until the last second. He had refused to put much thought into them or else he’d have, obviously, thought about them during his date (which was totally not actually a date) and Mingyu would know how hard Cheol was trying.

Ripped blue jeans, print shirt, thin black jacket, big glasses, hair slightly spiked and to the side. Yeah, it was a super casual boyfriend style. He looked like he hadn’t thought about it too much. Right? Right?

Maybe he should think about something else, before Mingyu showed up and heard exactly how much Cheol was fussing over clothes and the date-not-date and his stupidly intense crush. Yeah, something other than that.

“You’re early,” Mingyu said and slid into the booth. He had heard everything and Cheol wanted to die.

But not before taking a closer look. Mingyu wore something decidedly less trashy. A blue cardigan over a white shirt. Simple but effective. Cheol wanted to tear it off and see what was underneath. Mingyu cleared his throat.

“Teach me how to block,” Cheol said, not caring how desperate he sounded. He couldn’t control his mind, but he didn’t want to throw all these thoughts at Mingyu.

“That’s a good place to start. I was expecting us to take it slow and start with small talk but I guess this technique is too useful to save for later.”

::Now then,:: Mingyu said in the other conversation mode they had. ::Keeping your thoughts to yourself – and keeping specific people out – is simple once you can resist an intrusion into your mind. I’ll give an order like ‘raise your arms’ and once you can break free, building a barrier will be child’s play.::

“Okay, but please no arm raising in here. That’d be too weird.”

::Don’t worry. I have something else on my mind. And soon on yours.:: Mingyu grinned. There was something devilish in the puppy smile.

“W-wha… Wait, Mingyu. What are you planning?”

::It’ll have to be something that makes you want to break free, real hard.::

“No… wait. This was a bad idea. M-Mingyu. Please, nononono. Please don’t do‑”

Mingyu got up and walked to the counter to get himself coffee. He didn’t look back. ::Strip.::

He couldn’t be serious.

::I’m absolutely serious. Now, strip.::

It was like shivering when it’s cold. You can’t not do it. But instead of random tremors, Cheol’s hands reached down as his feet moved up. He pulled his sneakers off.

Cheol shook with terror. He really liked the place. If he dropped all covers, he couldn’t exactly go back here. Never mind the humiliation.

Mingyu wasn’t even looking. Cheol loudly thought a few unkind things.

Now his hands were grabbing his belt. No. Absolutely not. He couldn’t let his happen. Once the buckle was open, he put all his strength into pulling. He tightened the belt even if it made breathing harder. If he kept pulling he… No, his other hand grabbed the buckle and pulled on it, so he was still widening it. This wasn’t going to hold.

No one would notice of he took off his socks. He redirected his hands under the table and pulled off the left sock. Slowly. Then the right one, even slower.

He was getting somewhere. Presumably.

Mingyu was looking by this point, with a grin like it was Christmas Eve.

With his socks done, Cheol had to find something else. The glasses!

He took them off with both hands, folded them up and put them far away on the other side of the table to gain a second more. There were no simple items left.

Cheol held onto his jacket with both hands. No, he could use them on only the left side, so it would take longer. His stream of angry mental shouting had given way to pleading. How could Mingyu be so cruel? Was this payback for the things Cheol had thought?

::Keep focused.::

Right, his jacket. He was taking off the left side with both hands, slowly sliding it down his shoulder. He pushed. This way the jacket was stuck, between being still worn on the right and being pulled away from his body.

It was like pushing against an invisible weight.

He shifted his preoccupied arms to push down a bit, then up. He wasn’t free by any means but he had wiggle room for the first time. What now? He moved toward his belt without letting go of the jacket. His grip slipped but his hands didn’t let go.

The pressure lessened as his involuntary movement swayed between his torso and pants. Slightly up and down, as if his limbs wanted to be in two places at once and just couldn’t decide.

Cheol let them figure it out. They picked neither.

He had broken the mind command. Kind of. If he didn’t pay attention his hands still reached for the belt, but all he had to do now was give them something else to do. He used his precious freedom to grab his glasses and put them back on. Then he let his involuntary urge take them back off. Two more times and he had dissipated the intrusion.

::Aww,:: Mingyu said. ::You figured it out way too fast.:: He came back with two coffees.

“You… you . I almost destroyed my ability to come back here. I like this place.”

"I’m aware of that,” Mingyu said with a shrug. “You already thought it, remember? Anyway, I needed to make you really want to break free. A bit of stretching wouldn’t have done it. But hey, you’re a natural. That’s the trick. Redirect, confuse the command, dissipate. A Barrier is similar. If you try to hold your thoughts back it does nothing, but you can refocus them, like making a camera blurry so the image contains no information.”

“Okay, I’ll try that next. Did you have to learn it the same way?”

“Yep.”

“How much did you take off before you stopped it?”

Mingyu looked into his cup. “Well… You are a natural and…”

“Are you serious? How much? All of it?”

“I never went back to that place. It wasn’t a coffee shop, though. There’d have been a lot less people in a coffee shop.”

“Not underwear, too, right? He… your mentor wouldn’t have let you go so far. Did he? Are you blushing? Wait, would you have let me go this far?”

“Of course not. I don’t have Wonwoo’s humor. I mean, probably not. I was confident you were, as I said, a natural.”

Cheol put his face into his palms. “Fine. Let me slip back into my shoes and then you can teach me how to keep you from hearing my thoughts. And why you can make me hear yours even if they’re not gay.”

“Maybe take a break first.”

“Why?”

Cheol felt a drop from his nose fall onto the table. It was red. More blood ran over his lip. He hurried to the bathroom.

 

X – X – X

 

Vernon was late, as expected.

But Cheol had a lot to tell his friend so he called the Chinese guy, who had probably just gotten up.

“Hi Cheol, my man. How did that second date go?”

“Ha, you make it sound like a separate occasion. He went home with me and we just kept going through the next day.”

“Yeah, you seemed rather enthused in those ten words I got out of you.”

“Sorry I didn’t text back,” Cheol said, not feeling or sounding sorry. “I was busy.”

“I can tell. You’re practically glowing through the phone. So how was it, not to know what your partner is thinking?”

“Weird. Deeply weird. But I like it.”

“Did he use his mind control on you?”

“Uh… w-well, I’m…”

Jun gasped in an Oscar-worthy display of surprise. “He did. A lot?”

“Well, I needed practice for… I had to try break out of…”

“Did you try, though?”

“Uh…” Cheol toyed with the idea of hanging up.

“Tell me everything!”

“Another time.”

“Spoilsport!”

“Vernon just showed up.”

“Then he’s a spoilsport, too.”

“Bye.”

 

X – X – X

 

Vernon still looked intensely focused on his notes but he was clearly not present anymore.

::I need to step up my game now or Kwannie is never going to look my way again.::

Cheol was about to poke the boy in the head with a pen, but he heard more and stopped.

::Now that Chan’s come out to the whole school like it’s no big deal whatsoever… I’ll look even more like a looser by comparison. Can I just… tell everyone? Is it going to do me any good to let Kwannie know I’m available? Oh no, is Chan competition now?::

Cheol couldn’t help it. He had to chuckle. “Hey, is there something on your mind you want to talk about? We can take a few minutes off to sort out anything personal.”

“Nah, bro. It’s cool.”

“Sure? When I was in high school I could have really used someone who would have tried to understand my problems. For me, in particular, it was crushing on boys I didn’t think I had a chance with. And I think I recently met someone else from your school. Name’s Chan.” He decided to give himself too much credit. “Last I heard he took my advice.”

::Wow, he’s actual competition. Even stealing my tutor.::

“I’m not giving him lessons or anything,” Cheol said nonchalantly, “Just emailing a bit. That said, I haven’t checked my inbox in a few days. So, anything heavy on your mind?”

Vernon stared in awe. “Okay, if the cat’s out of the bag anyway… Um.”

::How can I talk about this? Can I just tell him that I hear thoughts when they’re gay thoughts? It’s been a month and I’m still freaking out about it.::

“Well,” Vernon said. “This sounds a bit weird but…”

::No! He’ll realize I’ve been hearing his gay thought the last two times. Especially last time. About that ‘handsome stranger’, captain sunshine-smile angel-face cushion-booty or whatever else he called him. He’ll be creeped out if I mention that.::

Cheol grinned like mad. He had found another. He wouldn’t force Vernon into a public striptease – because he wasn’t that kind of guy and because Mingyu had refused to teach how to give mental commands.

One thing Cheol already knew by now, however, was how to speak into someone’s mind. And he wasn’t such a goody two-shoes that he didn’t want to give the boy just a tiny bit of a shock.

He started by sending the chuckle he had been keeping in. ::You have much to learn, young Padawan.::

 

 

X – X – X

 

 

Q&A

Why will I take down / have I taken down Life of Slice?

Because I’m trying to get it published for real (strongly reworked) and publishers don’t like their stuff already being online in any form. I hate that I have to do this, but it is what it is :/

Why did I abbreviate Seungcheol’s name?

Because I’m sick of misspelling it T_T

Then why not call him Coups?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Why do GyuCheol look so good together?

They love ruining us.

Have a wonderful day.