“Lele, do you have a one?”

“No, go fish, Chenle.”

“Chen, do you have a six?”

“Nope, go fish, ChenChen.”

“Le, do you have a four?”

“Dang! Why is it always me?”

Ren Jun had been walking into the small room when he froze at the doorstep and frowned at the sight he had encountered. Chenle - Chenles - six of them. At the far back corner of the room. Sitting, crammed, on the floor, playing go fish.

“Oh, hi Ren Jun!” Chenle - one of them - said when they spotted the older who remained frozen at the foot of the door, hand still on the doorknob as he stared at them with disgust.

“Uh, what is this?” Ren Jun said, eyes trailing along each Chenle -- all which smiled back at him with that goofy grin.

“No one would play with him,” Jae Min said, not glancing up from his phone as he remained with his head resting on Jeno’s shoulder in his place on the couch.

“Okay…” Ren Jun trailed off, still staring at the younger boy and his multiple versions.

“Oh should I introduce you?” Chenle asked, a flicker in his eyes. But before the older could refuse, the younger was already introducing all versions of himself. “Ren Jun this is Le, this is Chen, that’s Lele, that’s ChenChen, and this is-”

“Let me guess,” Ren Jun spoke, “LeChen?”

Chenle frowned, looking very confused by Ren Jun’s lame attempt at a joke. He shook his head. “No, this is Stephen Curry.”

Ren Jun pursed his lips. “Of course he is,” he mumbled before he turned around and headed to the other side of the room, as far away as he could get from whatever that was.

“Where are Hae Chan and Mark?” Ren Jun asked once he stood in front of Jeno and Jae Min who were still watching something on the younger’s phone. “I thought they had an announcement to make?”

“Mark said he’s on his way, but I don’t know about Hae Chan,” Jeno spoke without even glancing up.

Ren Jun sighed, ready to take a seat besides Jae Min when the front door opened and in walked Mark. And, not even ten seconds later, Hae Chan flashed into the room without a warning, startling Ren Jun who was standing not far from where he appeared.

“Do you ever knock?” Ren Jun asked the boy who was taking seat at his usual place besides the door.

“Of course not,” Hae Chan responded with a smile before turning to look at Mark who was frowning. “What’s wrong with you?”

Mark didn’t say anything, but instead pulled Hae Chan out of the room and into the hallway that led to the shop owned by Ji Sung’s dad. He glanced back inside the room, eyes landing on Ren Jun who stared at them with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face, before he closed the door behind them. “You invited Ren Jun to the meeting?”

Hae Chan raised an eyebrow, arms remaining crossed while he stayed leaning against the wall. “Is there something wrong with that? He’s part of the team now, isn’t he?”

“I thought we agreed we would keep him at a distance,” Mark responded, sounding more stern that Hae Chan would have expected.

“We can trust him,” the younger responded, “he’s totally cool.”

“Really?” Mark asked with a hint of sarcasm. “Indulge me, when did you two get so close?”

“Since he actually listens to what I have to say.” Hae Chan responded, growing tired with the conversation. All he wanted to do at this point was go back inside and talk to the rest of the team.

Mark’s eyebrows raised, taken back by the younger’s response. Was that supposed to be an attack at him? Was Hae Chan trying to say that he didn’t listen to what he had to say? He couldn’t be serious. But the annoyed look on the other’s face let him know that he was completely genuine about what he had said.

“I listen to you, if that’s what you’re trying to say.”

Hae Chan raised an eyebrow, looking back at the older. “Really? I could argue against this and win, you know?”

Mark sighed, leaning against the door. “Hae Chan, if you have something to say then go ahead and say it now. We’re getting ready to accept Johnny’s offer, but if you’re going to be acting like this then it’s going to be hard.”

Hae Chan’s eyes trailed up once more to scan the older’s face. He sighed. “Let’s talk later, then. Can we just tell the others what we have agreed on already?”

“Alright,” Mark said, turning around and opening the door so the two could walk into the now silent room.

Hae Chan and Mark both stood inside, facing the remaining five who all looked at them expectantly, ready to hear whatever announcement they had to make. Even Jae Min and Jeno, who already knew what this was about, were sitting there curiously, wanting to know more details.

Mark looked around the room, eyes locking with every single one of his friends until he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. When he released, he look around the room once again as he began to speak. “As some of you may already know, Hae Chan and I got an offer the other day from this guy named Johnny. Yes, this is the same guy that helped save us that day that we fought against Doctor Death. And yes, he is insanely rich.”

“What kind of offer?” Ji Sung asked, sounding very alert as he pushed away from his desk to look at the two better.

“He’s making a superhero team,” Hae Chan answered resulting in bulging eyes from Ji Sung and a frown from Ren Jun, “and he wants us in it as a duo.”

“A superhero team?” Ren Jun asked, expression unreadable.

“Yes.”

“Are you guys leaving us?” Chenle asked softly as all versions of him reverted back to one.

“No, of course not,” Mark instantly jumped in when he saw the look on the younger's face, “we would never leave this team. Which is why we are going to talk with Johnny directly so we can come to some sort of agreement.”

“Is it because we’re an underground team?” Ji Sung spoke up, reverting the attention back to him. “I mean, I get we’re not cool and flashy like a superhero team, but-” He looked up at the once again “-isn’t the work we do serious?”

“Of course it is,” Hae Chan was the one to answer this time, “we thought about this a lot. Definitely, a lot. And with you guys we work underground. We cover things that the police can’t even reach to. But Mark said this before and I agree, that Johnny seems to have information that we don’t. And from what we know, his superhero team is going to cover a different area than the one which we cover. So-”

“We want to use our powers as best as we can for everything,” Mark finished off and Hae Chan nodded.

Ji Sung looked down once again as he took in a deep breath. He nodded and pulled himself back to his desk as he responded, “Okay. Then do it.”

“Really?” Mark asked, sending Hae Chan an uncertain glance.

“Yeah, I mean,” Ji Sung sighed, “you two have always been the ones with the more incredible powers. You’re not like us who rely more on thinking and feeling. So, if your powers can reach even farther than ours then that is amazing. After all, we started Dream to be able to help as many people as we can.”

Hae Chan pouted as he looked over at Mark, feeling a sudden wave of emotions. He turned back to Ji Sung once again before launching himself at him and throwing his arms around the younger. “Ji Sung! Our little baby is all grown up!”

Ji Sung groaned as he tried to push the older off to no avail.

“I think this calls for a group hug,” Chenle said before running up to the other two and throwing his arms around both.

Jeno and Jae Min both looked at each other before shrugging and joining in, followed shortly by Mark.

“Ren Jun, you’re part of the team now, you can join,” Jae Min called out to the other when he noticed him standing at the side, giving them all an odd stare.

“No thanks,” Ren Jun responded, looking too disgusted by the suggestion for Jae Min to ask again. “You guys are weird.”

“We may be weird,” Hae Chan started once the all began to pull away, “but we know how to have fun. One day you’ll see.”

Ren Jun rolled his eyes as if he didn’t believe the statement. But truth was, over the past few days he had spent with Hae Chan and the others, perhaps he could see a potential friendship with them. Perhaps. If the world would let it be that way.

It was a lovely day at the Suh household with the bright sun illuminating the living room through the glass walls; Tae Yong was at the balcony watering his plants; Yuta was in the kitchen reading a book at the table; And Jae Hyun was doing his homework at the coffee table in the living room. There was peace in the house and a calm and undisturbed--

“Everyone, clean up your mess! We have kids coming over!” Johnny yelled as soon as he walked into the living and saw the spread out sheets of papers Jae Hyun had in the living room and the dirty laundry that Yuta had left behind.

“Kids?” Yuta asked from the kitchen, sounding slightly disgusted by the thought of kids running around the place.

“Remember the kids Tae Yong and I saved that one time? They’re coming over so I can sign them to Suh Enterprises.”

Yuta rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Those aren’t kids, Johnny, they’re teenagers.”

“Either way, they’re tiny and they’re coming over so pick up your dirty clothes and go down to the training room or something.”

“Why do we always have to hide?” Jae Hyun asked as he began to gather his papers and textbooks.

“Because people can’t know you’re Captain J,” Tae Yong responded as he walked back in from the balcony.

“Can’t we just say we’re like the maids or something?” Yuta asked as he began to stuff all of his dirty clothes into a basket.

“Just do as told and go down to the training room. If we can sign them you won’t have to hide from them again. I want them working as soon as possible,” Johnny said as he rushed around the room, trying to make everything seem neat and organized as if it wasn’t like that all the time.

Yuta and Jae Hyun exchanged a look before shrugging and heading down to the training room as usual. Not even a minute later, the doorbell rang and Johnny was at the door, welcoming the two teenagers and telling them to come in.

“Whoa,” Hae Chan said as he looked around in awe, “you really are rich.”

“Of course I am,” Johnny said, sounding a little too confident, though he didn’t mean to sound narcissistic. “Now, if would follow me this way to my office.”

Hae Chan and Mark followed the tall guy to his office, but not without getting distracted by a bunch of shiny and expensive looking objects here and there and stopping to ask Johnny what different things were and how much they cost.

“What’s this?” Hae Chan asked as came to a halt when he saw a hanging painting in the middle of the hall that looked horribly misplaced.

Johnny stopped and looked back with wide eyes. “Oh, that… uh. It’s just a painting covering a hole in the wall. Don’t ask about it.”

Hae Chan and Mark exchanged a horrified look before they went back to following Johnny to his office that was only two more doors down. The place sure was big.

“The guy over there is my helper Tae Yong,” Johnny said once they walked in and saw the other sitting at a swivel chair, legs resting on the desk as he played with a rubik's cube, before he saw them and raised a hand to wave. Johnny walked over to the desk and sat at the bigger chair besides him while the kids sat across from them.

“Anyways, you kids said you had questions about the contract?” Johnny asked.

Hae Chan and Mark nodded before the older of the two began. “As you know already, we have another team that we have been working with for a while now and-”

“And you don’t want to leave them because you’re like family blah blah, I get it.” Johnny interrupted, putting a hand up in the air to cut the younger off. “Don’t worry. If they are really that important to you, then you are allowed to keep working them. But you have to know, this group is going to be a priority.”

Mark and Hae Chan looked at each other. They weren’t telepaths like Jeno, nor were they empaths like Jae Min. They couldn’t use powers to know what they were thinking or how they were feeling, but they didn’t need that. They both knew what the other wanted in that moment.

So, Hae Chan turned to Johnny and shook his head. “No, this group can’t be a priority. Where we are needed, we will be. Our other team also works hard for the safety of the people, so we will go based on what we think is best for the public. That’s what we want to use our powers for.”

Mark nodded along, sending a small smile to the younger which was returned.

Johnny narrowed his eyes at the two, pursing his lips while his hands remained clasped together in front of him. He glanced over at Tae Yong who didn’t give him much of a reaction, before he turned back to the kids and stared at them once again. There was absolute silence in the room while Johnny thought about what they said.

Neither Mark nor Hae Chan seemed to waver in their offer and they both seemed to 100 percent stand by what was said.

Johnny let out a breath as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, giving the two one last look. There was a moment of anticipation. And then Johnny spoke. “Tae Yong, formulate the new contract.”

And not even fifteen minutes later, Johnny had the new contract in his hands and was going over the new rules for the two teenagers. “You two will be given the choice to decide where your powers are needed most, in condition that the safety of the nation is always in mind. That given, all of your free time will be spent in the training room downstairs where you two will develop your superpowers in a way that is beneficiary to both your safety, and the safety of others. You will also be required to work efficiently with each other, and with the rest of the team. Failure to complete these rules will result in a suspension from the group, or even an expulsion.”

“Sounds intense, but can we sign already?” Hae Chan asked, and Johnny didn’t know if he was too excited or too desperate and annoyed, but he slid the contract over and handed them each a fountain pen.

“Go ahead, and you don’t have to read the contract, I’m not the type to fool you like that.”

Hae Chan nodded and quickly signed before sliding the contract over to Mark who seemed more hesitant, but signed it anyway.

“Now what? Do we get some sort of initiation? An orientation?” Hae Chan asked.

Johnny shook his head. “No, but I can introduce you to the others if you would like.”

“You mean…” Hae Chan trailed off, a small smile appearing on his lips. “...We get to meet Captain J???”

Ren Jun was in the team because of Jae Min, he acknowledged. He was the one who had argued for him to be in the team, he knew that. It wasn’t easy for the others to agree to him joining, he understood. What Ren Jun didn’t understand, was why Jae Min had wanted him to join Dream so bad. Did he see some sort of potential in him? Did he like him? He hoped not. That would be awkward.

“How much longer are you going to keep trailing behind me?” Ren Jun asked as he came to a halt. He titled his head to the side so he could see Jae Min standing not too far from him, looking wide-eyed. “You’re not very subtle, you know.”

Jae Min opened his mouth to say something, but he had already been caught. So, he took a few extra long steps with those legs of his, until he caught up to Ren Jun and they began to walk together.

“So, are you going to tell me why you were following me, or should I just assume you’re a creepy stalker?” Ren Jun spoke up when Jae Min didn’t say anything.

Jae Min’s head turned to look at Ren Jun, and his eyes scanned his face before he faced forward once more. “I wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t know how to go about it, so I just ended up behind you.”

“Well, are you going to tell me what you wanted to talk about?”

“You kind of have an attitude, don’t you?” Jae Min asked, making the other snort.

“I suppose I do,” Ren Jun responded. “But seriously, what do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know.”

Ren Jun sighed, coming to a sudden stop. Jae Min turned to him to question the halt in their walk when he saw the shorter guy turning to the little shop they stopped in front of.

“You like hot pot?” Jae Min asked, staring at the sign to the side of the entryway.

Ren Jun nodded as he walked up to the door and his hand reached for the handle. Jae Min looked back up at the sign before shrugging and deciding to follow the guy inside. When they entered the place, Ren Jun almost immediately headed to the back corner as he greeted the old lady who stood at the counter and welcomed him with his name. By that interaction, Jae Min assumed Ren Jun was a regular customer at the place and probably frequented as much as he and the other two did with Baskin Robbins. And that said something.

“Since you don’t know what to talk about, I guess I’ll start.” Ren Jun was the first to speak after he had ordered his ‘usual’ and gave Jae Min some recommendations. “Why did you insist on having me join the team?”

“I’m not the only one who insisted,” Jae Min spoke as he looked up from the dent in the table he had been playing with, “Jeno asked you to join too and Hae Chan was the deciding factor--”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Ren Jun interrupted.

Jae Min pursed his lips, eyes trailing back down to the dent as he thought about the question. And really, he didn't have to think for long. There wasn't much to think about. He just -- knew. “I don’t know. I just felt like you had to be in our team.”

Ren Jun nodded as he processed the piece of information, eyes trickling down to the same dent on the table before he looked back up at Jae Min. “A power kind of feeling, or a feeling as in human intuition?”

“Intuition,” Jae Min answered almost immediately, eyes flickering back up. “I mean, that day we first met - well, we didn’t really meet, but - I felt something. I know it was the overpowering forces of your apathy, but I don’t think I have ever felt such an overwhelming amount of emotions since--”

Jae Min cut himself off, having sudden flashbacks to the times when he first got his powers and the world became overwhelming and unbearable with the burden of everyone's emotions weighing down on him.

Ren Jun raised an eyebrow, head tilting so he could get a better look at his face. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Jae Min responded, though gaze still didn’t meet Ren Jun’s. He slowly shook his head before he looked back up at him and nodded. “Yeah.”

It was a reassurance to himself, really, and Ren Jun was able to see that. No powers needed. Someone like Jae Min who smiled non-stop with all of his shiny teeth, suddenly not smiling?

“How was it when you first got your powers?” Ren Jun asked, almost as if knowing what had triggered Jae Min’s change in mood.

“Awful,” Jae Min was never to hold back on what he felt, “and frightening.”

“Overwhelming, huh?” Ren Jun asked just as the old lady came back to deliver their food. They both thanked her before they turned back to each other and returned to their conversation.

“Yeah, it was,” Jae Min said, but did not elaborate. Ren Jun figured he wasn’t going to when he saw him dig into his bowl, and it made sense. He remembered when he first got his powers, it was overwhelming. And Jae Min had powers that made him feel what others felt, which would bring him horrible feelings for sure if he didn’t know how to control them. But Jae Min, someone who spoke his mind every chance he got, not elaborating on something was odd.

Still, Ren Jun didn’t push for an answer and began to eat too.

It wasn’t even three minutes into their meal when Jae Min suddenly looked up, a small smile growing on his lips as he watched Ren Jun eat. It wasn’t even seconds later when the other looked up, question eyebrows as he gulped down his mouthful before asking, “What?”

Jae Min's lips remained shut and he hummed as his eyes traced the faint, shimmering orange that outlined Ren Jun's figure. It hadn't been long since he discovered that ability, but seeing how the color of Ren Jun's mood made him shine, even with a mood as faint as this, Jae Min knew it was already his favorite.

But the color shifted the slightest as Ren Jun grew irritated with Jae Min's silence and he was forced to repeat his question. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No." Jae Min shook his head as a smile tugged at his lips. He spoke softly, "You're happy."

Ren Jun’s expression was unreadable, but the way he looked down at his food quickly to cut off the eye contact was enough to let Jae Min know he was bashful. He didn’t even have to use his powers to know that one.

“Shut up and eat your food,” Ren Jun suddenly said and Jae Min did as so, though the smile on his face didn’t leave. “I have emotions too, you know?”

“Yeah, but you use your powers so much, I never get to feel them,” Jae Min spoke. "I guess you must like hotpot."

“I thought I told you to shut up.”

“And down here is where you two will be training. It is the official, one and only, training room of 127,” Johnny spoke as he led the two down the stairs. “Most of your time will be spent here.”

“I don’t mean to brag,” Hae Chan spoke up, “but I’ve done lots of training for all living and breathing, nineteen years of my life. I really doubt I will need--”

Hae Chan went silent as they reached the last steps and his eyes caught sight of the two figures in the room. One, who he would soon learn was Yuta, was inside the smaller room lifting a bunch of objects and tossing them at a series of targets while a giant timer was shown on the screen behind him. But he would completely blur our of his vision when his eyes went to the other, who he would learn to be Jae Hyun, and who was standing at the center of the room kicking a punching dummy that went flying to the other side of the room after only two kicks.

“Oh my gosh,” Hae Chan spoke as his hand went to his mouth, “Is that Captain J?!”

Jae Hyun, who had been picking up the dummy he had kicked to the other side of the room, turned around at the mention of his name and Hae Chan had to hold on to Mark to control himself.

“Kids, this is Jae Hyun, known to the public as--”

“It is an honor to meet you Captain J -- Jae Hyun!” Hae Chan yelled as he pushed Mark to the side - causing the older to almost fall to the floor - and ran past Johnny to introduced himself to his favorite real-life superhero (forget that Jae Hyun was the only real-life superhero). 

Jae Hyun looked down at Hae Chan’s extended hand before he glanced up at Johnny who sighed. “Uh,” He spoke as he reluctantly shook his hand, “nice to meet you, kid.”

“I have been wanting to meet you for so long, you know you’re one of my inspirations for wanting to become a superhero myself. Also, did you know I helped save you that time you almost got killed by Doctor Death? Yeah, I was the one with the arrows and stuff. Oh, Mark was there too, I guess. Anyway, it truly is an honor to be standing in front of you here and--”

“Hae Chan, you’re freaking the guy out.” Mark jumped in as he walked over to the younger’s side and pulled his hand away from Jae Hyun’s when he saw he had been shaking it non-stop for a whole minute already.

“Sorry, I’ve just never met a superhero before,” Hae Chan said sheepishly.

“I thought we were superheroes?” Mark questioned.

“Humble yourself, Mark,” Hae Chan hissed, though his smile remained bright, and his gaze stayed on Jae Hyun, “we’re standing in front of the man who paved the way.”

Mark rolled his eyes and shook his head before fixing his posture and introducing himself. “Hello, I am Mark, and I also go by Spider M, and--”

“He has webs and stuff,” Hae Chan interrupted, causing the older to send him a look.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet the kids that saved my life,” Jae Hyun spoke with a smile and - despite how uncomfortable they were making him - it seemed genuine.

“Okay, kids, I think that’s enough,” Johnny said finally stepping in. “Let my main star breathe, and come meet my greatest potential, Yuta.”

The two kids nodded and followed Johnny over to the door leading to the smaller training room where Yuta was.

It was like the two had finally noticed the presence of the other - since they had been so focused on meeting the Captain J - because as soon as they stood in front of the glass walls, the two gasped at the scene in front of them.

Inside the personalized training room, Yuta - who had spent most of his week training day and night - was lifting a series of objects from all around the room and throwing them at their respective targets as the timer behind him counted down the amount of time he had to beat his last record. Not only that, but some balls began to shoot at him as he tried to reach his goal, and he had to lift up one hand to throw them to the side while he kept turning around the room and tossing things with the other. His blue substance, as always, surrounded his entire body and strung around the entire room until the timer went off and everything dropped and the substance instantly disappeared.

Yuta reached for a towel and began to wipe the sweat off of his forehead as he turned around to walk out the door when he noticed the audience. An eyebrow raised and Johnny signaled for him to walk out.

“Are these the kids we signed today?” Yuta asked as he looked at the two and scanned them from head to toe and back.

“Yeah, that’s Hae Chan - the arrow kid - and that’s Mark--”

“The spider guy?” Yuta asked as he glanced over at Mark. “Big fan, I really like how you swing around.”

“Thank you,” Mark said, getting giddy all of a sudden at a compliment.

“Dude, you’re so cool,” Hae Chan jumped in. “I mean, telekinesis? That’s amazing.”

“There’s more where that came from,” Yuta spoke with a smile as he wrapped the bracelets around his wrists and snapped them into place, “maybe one day I can show you.”

“That would be awesome!” Mark spoke, clasping his hands together.

“Except that Yuta doesn’t like using his powers outside of the training room,” Jae Hyun said as he walked over and placed an arm around the older.

“Why not? Your powers are so cool - I mean, they’re not as cool as mine, of course - but they’re cool,” Hae Chan spoke up, confused as to why someone with telekinesis wouldn’t want to show off.

“Doesn’t matter,” Yuta responded, “but maybe we’ll get to train together later on, if Johnny will allow it.”

Johnny nodded. “Of course. I mean, not soon because first I want you two to work on your dynamic as a duo.”

“Oh no.” Mark accidentally voiced his thoughts.

Hae Chan rolled his eyes and tossed an arm around Mark. “We got it. Mark and I work great together, right?”

“Hmm.”

--

Nae: Do you actually know how to play Go Fish?

Me: ...???

Nae: Because I don't.

Me: ... What??? Of course I do. We grew up together???

Nae: You didn't play with me then :(

Big announcements:

1. So I had the stupid idea of signing up for classes for the summer semester and now I'm literally drowning in work :( But you know, gotta get that degree. Buuut two of the classes I signed up for are only one month and the other one is full term, but online. So, until July, I'm not so sure about updates. Nae might be in charge or something, we'll figure it out.

2. Anyway... The results are in!!! The people have spoken, and the people want Doyoung's backstory. Lucky for you guys, we wanted that too. (Kinda disappointed Yuwin didn't win, I mean, it's not like I have a whole chapter prepared already or anything...)

So.... The next three chapters will be quite a ride. There will big - and I mean big - revelations coming up. A lot of your questions will be answered. And the first arc of the story will come to end... all leading up to Doyoung's special backstory chapter. So, idk. Strap in or something. (Buckle up???? ~Nae)

And yes, we know  a lot of people want to know about Renjun and... hmm... a lot of you are not wrong in your theories, but his story will be revealed in the second arc hehe...

-J

Y'all, I'm scared. J has been singing Prince Ali in slow motion ever since we watched Aladdin. Also  [Nae has been redacted again because she can't shut up].

";-; Oh, I'll never be president" - Private, Madagascar 3

Thank you for voting for Taeil!

~Nae