When Jongin finally opens his eyes, there's darkness. There's a roaring in his ears like water crashing indefinitely on top of him. When he closes his eyes again - squeezing them shut in an attempt to stay brave - the sound of water subsides into a gentle ebbing. He feels nauseous, almost as if he's spun too fast and too much after drinking too many icy drinks. As he adjusts to his new surroundings, his hearing slowly returns to normal. There's the beeping sound of lab equipment somewhere in front of him. There's a low whooshing sound to his left and periodically, the sound of vapor being released into the atmosphere.

'Ah...' he realizes, 'I'm in the CryoLab.'

Jongin opens his eyes again and instead of waves, he feels something like a frost at the tips of his eyelashes and the tips of his fingers. He stares at his hands for a few minutes, making sure the edges of his body aren't blurring. He wants to stay solid; he doesn't want to teleport again, not without control. He remembers that he was in the training hall just a few minutes ago. A sigh escapes Jongin's lips. The other trainees are probably looking for him.

His body is stiff as he tries to get up - one of the side effects that he's told will go away when he finds his Partner. He fists his hands, then unfists them repeatedly before he tries taking a step forward. It's still dark in the lab because the motion sensors haven't detected his presence yet. He knows the lights will come on if he moves and he's eager to do so. But his joints are slow, so Jongin bears the darkness for a bit longer. He grits his teeth and tells himself that the darkness - the same darkness he's plunged into when he teleports against his will - isn't going to swallow him whole.

It will all be over soon.

###

The studio apartment isn't government issued and it shows. Minseok doesn't know what kind of housing other government officials receive, but the Bound have it pretty good once they're officially graduated from being a trainee. Still, sometimes, Minseok wishes he was back in the training center as a trainee with Junmyeon. They had a simpler time back then and, when Minseok thinks about it, it has only been six years since they'd graduated.

Minseok sighs for the umpteenth time as he undresses from his black suit. Junmyeon's birthday had been quite eventful considering Minseok had been called to Director Kim's office. The memory makes Minseok frown as he hangs up his tie toward the back of his closet. He bangs the closet door shut with frustration when it won't close at the first attempt. And the frown doesn't leave his face until he's in his little kitchen, boiling water for a bowl of instant seaweed soup. The frown slowly dissipates as he focuses on following the instructions on the soup packet. Then he shoves a bowl of instant rice into the microwave. He takes out a little tupperware full of seasoned boiled spinach and puts it on the coffee table unceremoniously.

When the instant items are done, he sets them on the table as well. Taking a spoon and chopsticks, he settles himself in front of the coffee table - his only table - and turns on the television. He on the ends of his chopsticks, flipping through channels. There's a drama on, some romantic plot that Minseok's not into. There's also the news, but he's depressed enough as it is. There's the shopping channel that takes Minseok's attention with a sale on long padded coats, but he flips it again and lands on a music show. There's a girl group performing and Minseok chuckles. It's a girl group that Junmyeon had been a fan of.

Shrugging, Minseok sets the remote down. He takes up his spoon and takes a sip of the seaweed soup.

"Happy birthday Junmyeon" Minseok whispers with his eyes closed.

###

"I'm not taking it again."

Jungwon sneaks a look at Kyungsoo, who remains stoic.

Jungwon sighs, opening his mouth to speak.

"Listen Jongin-ah. It's not just a matter of inconvenience anymore. You're teleporting further and further away. It's less predictable. And without a partner, who knows how your powers will change..."

"I said I wasn't going to do it!" Jongin shouts, a tortured expression on his face.

Jongin cradles his head in his hands. He's still shaking from the cold; his body shivering against his will and his teeth chattering in his skull, even when he tries to hold still. He hates this. He hates not being in control. But there's nothing he can do and he hates feeling this helpless. His mind races with feelings, thoughts, future outcomes - things he doesn't want to think about. But just like his power, his thoughts are uncontrollable. Jongin squeezes his eyes tight. At times like these, he wishes he could just vanish and never appear again.

Kyungsoo's hand covers Jongin's knee. Jongin's head flies up, eyes finding Kyungsoo's large, concerned ones. Kyungsoo's hand is warm and that warmth helps Jongin focus on reality. Jongin breathes a little more freely and Kyungsoo waits patiently before speaking.

"I don't know how hard it is" Kyungsoo says. "I found my Partner rather quickly."

Jongin's face crumples. Jungwon, seeing Jongin's reaction, sharply nudges Kyungsoo with his elbow. This goes ignored as Kyungsoo continues.

"What I'm trying to say is that I can't pretend to understand everything that you're going through when you go through these compatibility exams. But Jongin-ah, let's try again, hm? Just this month alone, you've disappeared over twenty times. Yesterday you went as far as the CryoLab and that's in Building E. You're power is on a downward trend, but it's unpredictability is through the roof. I'm afraid one of these days not every part of you is going to make it to the other side... Do you know what I mean Jongin?"

Being scattered part by part while teleporting doesn't sound too bad to Jongin. But when Jongin looks up, he sees the worry and pain in Kyungsoo's and Jungwon's eyes at the prospect. So Jongin nods his head.

Kyungsoo's lips form a small smile.

"Good" Kyungsoo says, patting Jongin's knee.

"I've got exciting news too" Jungwon adds. "There are three new people who searching for a Partner."

Jongin raises a brow.

"New trainees? I didn't hear about three..."

Jungwon fidgets nervously and the grimace on Jongin's face returns. Kyungsoo coughs into his fist and Jungwon clears his throat before speaking.

"You see... that is... well, Mr. Kim Minseok and Mr. Won Jiho been cleared for new Partners, so..."

Jongin barks a humorless laugh.

"You mean I could end up as a second to an old Bound that has already been into battle?! No way!" Jongin cries. Turning to Kyungsoo, he continues, "Hyung, you don't really expect me to..."

But the words fall short of Jongin's tongue as Kyungsoo puts on a stern face.

"If it's meant to be" Kyungsoo says simply, "then it's meant to be."

###

Minseok finds himself being grateful to whoever invented previews for emails. Even when Director Kim disguises his email addresses, Minseok can identify them and send them straight to Archive. He does the same with any official Specialized Branch looking emails and envelopes in his mailbox. He even takes a break from visiting Junmyeon for a while, letting Yoonju know that he's sorry he won't be able to let Yoonju take her half day breaks for a while. Yoonju, of course, is understanding and tells Minseok not to worry. But worrying is what Minseok does when he's not trying to run away from it all.

He takes walks on the other side of town, holding onto spring and wishing that spring wouldn't fade into fall. He gets his instant meals from a different convenience store that's ten minutes out of his way, just in case. He even looks for another apartment in a different city, but a nightmare about Junmyeon waking up and being unable to find Minseok puts an end to the search after a few days.

As the days go by, Minseok thinks, 'Hey, maybe this is easy.' But his nightmares tell a different story as all the anxiety and stress he feels plague his sleeping hours. He wakes up in a sweat, feeling like he's just been tortured by his worst fears. And though he spends his days doing almost nothing but eating and cleaning, Minseok doesn't feel the peace he's looking for.

It's after a month of not being able to see Junmyeon, not being able to feel his skin, and not being able to be in presence of his Partner, that Minseok finally collapses. He blacks out, trying to take off his shoes, and doesn't wake up until 4 in the morning.

'Maybe this is what it feels like to die' Minseok muses.

But suddenly, realizing that he's not the only one Bound, brings a cold chill to Minseok's chest. Could Junmyeon be suffering too?

The next day, he rushes to Junmyeon's hospital room. Room 522.

Yoonju's eyes are wide with surprise at Minseok's unannounced visit, but Minseok doesn't fail to catch sight of the tears in her eyes.

"Yoonju-ssi?" Minseok asks in confusion.

And Minseok looks around for Junmyeon, but he's not in the bed. There's no way he could be walking around, but Minseok looks in the attached bathroom and rushes out into the hallway to see if Junmyeon is there, waiting to surprise him.

Junmyeon is no where to be found.

"What happened, Yoonju-ssi? Where is Junmyeon?!"

Yoonju starts sobbing into her hands, saying something about declining vitals and being moved into the critical care unit until stabilization. And before Yoonju has finished speaking, Minseok is out the door, running toward the treating rooms for critical cases.

'I've been so stupid!' Minseok thinks. For if Minseok had been so bad as to collapse, how would have Junmyeon fared? He berates himself for being so so selfish as he reaches Junmyeon's room. Minseok's heart stops beating as he sees his Partner hooked up to Energy Lines and life support. He can see beyond the glass wall that Junmyeon's breathing is shallow. A nurse from within, opens the door. Minseok rushes in.

"Sir, you can't...!" shouts the nurse, restraining Minseok's arm.

"I'm his Partner!" Minseok cries, a sob in the back of his throat. "I'm his Partner."

The second the sentence leaves his lips, it feels as if he hasn't said that aloud in a long time. Minseok breathes hard as he approaches a vulnerable looking Junmyeon. He doesn't know where to touch him. There are so many lines and there are needles and sensors hooked up to Junmyeon's body. But, as if on instinct, Minseok's hand makes his way to Junmyeon's cheek. The second their skin makes contact Minseok closes his eyes. The familiar surge of energy is so overwhelming, silent tears fall down Minseok's cheeks.

"I'm so sorry" Minseok whispers. "So sorry..."

Now, both of Minseok's hands take hold of Junmyeon's cheeks and Minseok bends down closer. Ever since Junmyeon had married Yoonju, Minseok had refrained from this kind of intimate contact. But, now, at this moment, Minseok feels the need to be closer to Junmyeon than ever before.

"I'm sorry" Minseok whispers again.

And his lips are millimeters away from Junmyeon when there's crash in one corner of the room. Minseok jerks up, disconnecting some cords in the process. His head whips toward the sound as alarms go off at the disconnected sensors. And there, in the corner of Junmyeon's isolation room is a boy. No, perhaps it's a man? But the boy has overgrown black hair falling over his eyes as well as a thin, unfed appearance. He's wearing a hospital gown too, but the edges of his skin seem enveloped in static, almost blurry. He's crouched in the corner, barely moving, and Minseok gets closer to inspect the intruder. But the boy raises his head, exposing his eyes and they make contact.

Minseok stares into a pair of light brown eyes, fierce and challenge despite the boy's sickly appearance. Minseok's eyes widen in surprise and there flows an odd kind of energy in the minutes that pass. It seems as if time creeps by slowly while they are connected by eye contact. But all at once, time rushes forward. The door bursts open and nurses as well as Yoonju enter the room.

"Are you ok? What happened?!"

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

The boy's mouth forms a hard line, unanswering. But then again, Minseok is at a loss for words as well. And before Minseok knows it, the boy is swept out of the room. Yoonju, after making sure Minseok is ok, steps out of the room too.

"I'm leaving Junmyeon in your hands Minseok-ssi."

Minseok nods and watches as Yoonju's back gets smaller and smaller in the hallway. But the only thing that stays in Minseok's mind is how the boy's eyes had pierced through Minseok's very soul... all the while he was being dragged out of Junmyeon's room. The boy seems... familiar, somehow. And just as Minseok sits down next to Junmyeon, holding his hand, Minseok remembers.

'The disappearing boy from the training center...'