[Choi Siwon & Park Leeteuk, Supers)

Oh Shin was pissed. The male had been hearing things here and there, his straightened broad back blocking the only view of light that was in his study. You see, Oh Shin had eyes and ears everywhere. It was one of the benefits of being from the Oh family—his lineage having loyal followers from all those scattered around Exodus. Before this, it was all of Exodus. No one has ever threatened him this way.

It was one thing after another for Oh Shin.

He came back from the Seers and boy, did he try to find ways to get that female mage all alone. But, his son’s friends were always around her. Why was she so important? Why did they follow her around like how brownies followed around their masters? He didn’t know if they were uncharmed… The Chanyeol boy seemingly not affected by her. Chanyeol and Taeyong were at his beck and call and the other EXO mages still greeted him with the same respect.

Maybe they just liked her presence. Maybe it was because she was a woman, did that make a difference? Oh Shin knew nothing of friendship, it was always a power play for him and those who surround him. How his son had so many friends was beyond him. To top that off, his one and only son, who he has now decided to kill was ab-so-ing-lutely smitten by her.

Sehun was opposing his orders and the thought was enough to make Oh Shin grit his teeth in frustration. Oh Shin huffed, closing his eyes briefly to collect his thoughts.

He had to move and begin his plan.

A few moments ago, a two men came and visited him, their traveling cloaks pooling as it dragged across the floor. They had always stood beside him and Oh Shin knew they would never betray him. He had turned to see Siwon and Leeteuk, their expressions grim as they entered the room.

Oh, Oh Shin loved them.

They did everything for him and he was convinced that they would never turn their backs against him.

“Royal Headmaster,” Leeteuk greeted, his voice monotonous. Siwon didn’t speak, bowing instead. Siwon was the one who didn’t speak much and he had always preferred to observe.

“Advisor Leeteuk. To what may I owe this welcomed visit?” Oh Shin asked. He was still in a good mood then, but Leeteuk did not share the same feel of the atmosphere. “How is SM doing?”

“SM has been alright, Royal Headmaster,” Leeteuk replied. “The children—they needed a stricter environment. I’m afraid under the guidance of Advisor Kris, Suho, and Lay; they weren’t exposed to much pressure. We have guarded the portal in the courtyard. I have men guarding it for some kids have been trying to leave.”

“Ah.” Oh Shin didn’t want to hear about SM. Now that he had no use for the young mages, their issues don’t bother him anymore. “I see. I trust your decisions for SM, Advisor.”

The young mages before him were the closest things he had as friends, Oh Shin comfortably continuing the conversation as he added sentences explaining what he had going on as if they were catching up on recent events.

“Young Master Chanyeol is in Euren,” he had said to the mages. “Along with Young Master Taeyong. They are doing good in handling the affairs in Euren.”

“I see,” Leeteuk replied simply, his eyes darting back and forth—Oh Shin furrowing his eyebrows. “We’re here for a matter that we have heard, Royal Headmaster. Advisor Siwon has received information that had come to light.”

“What is it?” Oh Shin questioned, bracing himself. It couldn’t be that bad. 

“It has been rumored that there have been rumors traveling between the vigilantes. Something about you starting the war with Euren, Royal Headmaster. Advisor Siwon has heard of it when he went to the Black Market. People are talking.”

Oh Shin’s heart dropped but he composed himself in front of the mages. “Rumors are rumors, Advisors.”

“Yes, Royal Headmaster. But I’m afraid that the rumors are beginning to get out of hand. Somehow, it had spread that you have put The League in the Order. A protest is beginning to brew, not only with the vigilantes but with our citizens.” Leeteuk continued.

“I see.”

People were beginning to get uncharmed. Oh Shin knew this and he had been dreading it for the longest time.

“And who are the people who have started these rumors?” Oh Shin asked, Leeteuk suddenly looking very uncomfortable. “If they are normal citizens, it must be easy to get rid—”

“They aren’t, Royal Headmaster,” Siwon spoke. His eyes dropping to the ground. “The two who have started it, under investigation is the sole heir of the Jung family and his keeper. They have been traveling around with a brownie it seems.”

“Jung? As in Jung Jaehyun?” Oh Shin asked in shock. That was not good. The Jung family was the second richest and influential in Exodus and Oh Shin knew he could not lay a finger on Jaehyun. His charms had limitations and he would now have to tread carefully. “And his keeper? Johnny Seo, the one who lives with giants?”

It seemed like the female mage had gotten to them and Oh Shin hated it. He was responded with a silent nod and after a few murmurs of good luck, they left Oh Shin with a heavy heart. Oh Shin’s eyes changed the moment they left, and he began to feel impatient.

He had a plan for the longest time and now it was time to begin.

One step at a time.

And with that, he began to make plans.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Oh vacation house study room]

Oh Shin walked out of the portal, his long strides taking himself into the vacation mansion that was his brothers. Oh Shun was the younger one, the hot-headed one and he cared for Shin dearly. Shun’s powers were very well developed and Oh Shin had always known that he would be very useful. He knew where Shun would be, his brother always in his study.

Shun had always enjoyed experimenting with his powers and he was where Oh Shin thought he would be.

“Shun,” Oh Shin said, the study opening to show that Shun was with his glasses, his hands glowing.

“Brother. What brings you to our vacation mansion?” Oh Shun asked, standing up in surprise. His brother hardly ever came to the vacation mansion, Oh Shin known to be a workaholic. Oh Shun was blessed with talent and passion for his work so he had always seen it as a hobby. Oh Shun also loved his brother very much, Oh Shin being the one figure he looked up to.

“I need help.” Oh Shin said, drawling deeply and Oh Shun blinked in surprise, but a part of him knew what it was about. “I need you to charm something for me.”

“Of course, Brother. What could it be?” Oh Shun asked and Oh Shin took out a box to show it to Shun, the younger one gasping at the rings in front of him.

“The Rings of Gemini—Brother, you—”

“I got it from Euren,” Oh Shin replied. “I hope you aren’t forgetting why I tried to lead Euren in the first place, Shun. It’s pertinent to always keep a goal in mind.”

“Of course.” Shun blinked. “Walk with me, brother. Let’s talk business.”

Shin nodded, following Shun’s request and the brothers walked down the hallway, passing the statues of the Zodiacs that they had put up in the vacation castle. Shun felt an inkling of suspicion but he had never doubted Oh Shin before, the younger male basking in the silence when Oh Shin began to speak.

“In the start of time, Shun, the Illuminati made the elves,” Oh Shin began and Shun nodded. He knew of this story, but it seemed like his brother liked retelling it. He grew up listening to it as bedtime stories. “The Elves were made before humans and when the Zodiac made humans, they began with a plan for the Elves to rule the humans. In the end, they were of magic blood.”

Shun listened to his brothers rambling. This only happened when Oh Shin needed clarity, and Shun was always a listening ear.

“But Elves were simple-minded—and they had only Light Magic. They were not destructive. They weren’t consumed by greed and power like humans were,” Oh Shin continued. “And over time, humans began to overpopulate the Elves. Tell me Shun, how mages came to be.”

“Mages were humans who were blessed by the zodiacs to aid the Elves in ruling humans,” Shun replied. “But because they were human, they had a mind of their own and most of them began to prefer leading a life of freedom other than slaves of the Elves so they began to live among humans and that is why the Elves made leprechauns. Because leprechauns were simple and loyal.”

“That’s true,” Oh Shin replied. “Now when the worlds just started and the first wave of mankind began to rebel against the power of authority in all of the worlds—What did the Zodiacs do?”

“The Zodiacs who were in charge of their world bestowed their rings to the those they thought needed it,” Oh Shun answered back. He felt like he was in history class, but he knew how Oh Shin’s mind worked. He needed to repeat information, talk it out, and finally make a decision.

“For Earth, it was the ring of Capricorn, Cancer, Libra, and Leo. They gave the ring of Leo to King Authur of Camelot, eliminating his fear as he led his kingdom. For Euren, it was the ring of Virgo, Scorpio, Gemini, and Aries. And for Exodus, the ring of Taurus, Pisces, Aquarius, and Sagittarius were given to the Elves to aid them in ruling the humans,” Oh Shin told Shun.

“And you believe that if you combine all the rings into one, you get power no one has ever gotten,” Shun told Shin who nodded. “That’s why you went for Euren, to overthrow Commander G-dragon and finally get the four rings that are in Euren. Now tell me, brother, how will you find the rings when you get to Earth?”

“We go to Earth first, brother, and then we wipe out those we need to wipe out. We search every nook and cranny. I believe we are capable. We are more than mere Gaians,” Oh Shin said to Shun in confidence. Shun paused.

“The Exodian rings—We have been searching for them for years, brother. We have no idea where they are.”

“The ring of Taurus, Pisces, Aquarius, and Sagittarius seemed to have disappeared along with the Elves,” Oh Shin replied. “They know the wrath and the hunger of power of humans and since they have disappeared, they have never been seen. But I have men all around Exodus searching for them.”

“Brother…” Shun began, stopping by the fountain they had put up in front of the mansion. “You know the myth that there is a thirteenth ring. A ring of Ophiuchus, a ring that brings back people from the dead.”

“A myth is a myth, Shun,” Shin simply said. “You know of the myth of Gemini and Ophiuchus, don’t you?”

Shun knew, it was also something that he had grown up listening to. The deities of the worlds had a list of things they had done. Even deities aren’t perfect and myth after the myth of each deity was what has been taught in history class as to not repeat their mistakes.

“Yes, brother,” Shun responded, turning and they began to walk back the way they came. “It is said that Gemini was once in the same body. They started with one soul, the Illuminati dividing their souls in half so they mirrored each other like siblings. They were named Gemini X and Gemini O. Their rings were made just for communication, the rings glowing when one of them would be dominant.”

Shun continued the story, just like how he remembered it told to him when he was young. “They had two rings, Gemini’s X ring on the left and Gemini O’s ring on the right and both lived in peace and harmony as they tried to manage the people of Euren with the rest of their brothers.”

“But one day, Gemini O, began to get fed up with being in the same body as Gemini X,” Shin continued, a hand going up to be placed on his brothers’ shoulder. “At the same time, Ophiuchus began to doubt his purpose. His power wasn’t like the rest. While they created, he destroyed. He began to question why the Zodiacs weren’t ruling the worlds. His brothers told him their purpose wasn’t to meddle with the humans but to watch things unravel as they would write prophecies to achieve utmost peace.”

“So Ophiuchus then tried to recruit Gemini O, finally succeeding when he promised Gemini O a body of his own,” Shun said softly. “Gemini O then finally got a body and aided Ophiuchus as he began making bad people, greedy people, those who liked chaos and power. He made Grim Reapers, banshees, creatures of darkness when the Illuminati stepped in. They stripped him of his power, and banished him from the Zodiacs into a world of darkness and toxic gas called Eve.”

“They were about to banish Gemini O with Ophiuchus since he helped Ophiuchus in his creation of misery and chaos but Gemini O begged the Illuminati for he didn’t want to apart from his brothers. He then made a proposition.” Shin paused. “He made a proposition to be controlled by Gemini X, his ring bound to Gemini X’s. So, both rings that were originally for communication is now used to control the other.”

They were now back to the study and Oh Shun stopped in front of the table, the ring box in front of him. He grabbed it, both rings showing twins.

“Commander G-dragon had the rings locked up and it is now with us,” Oh Shin said. “Though I do not have use for the rest of the rings.”

“What are you going to use the Gemini rings for?” Oh Shun asked, whispering as he focused on them. They were worn out, but the metal still shone. “What do you need me to do? If it’s about ring size… The rings take the size of the wearer besides… Brother, I hope you know that once the person puts the submissive ring on, it binds with their body. You won’t be able to take it off. The energy of the ring will run through their blood and the body will succumb to the ring.”

“I need you to charm one of them, Shun,” Shin replied, a smile spreading across his face. “I need you to charm one of them to look like an engagement ring.”

In his head, he would plan this very carefully.

Ong Harin would be under his control.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[On the way to Shinee Hideout]

Oh Shin was done with his visit with Oh Shun and he was on his way back to Soul City, the male walking the streets with his hood pulled down as stopped in front of the Echo Post Office. He stepped into the place and headed to the last booth as if he was familiar with the place and has done it many different times. The male that was at the booth, in the end, was sleeping and Oh Shin cleared his throat, the male jumping up suddenly at the sound.

“HELLO! HOW MAY I—” His voice faltered when he realized who it was, Taemin wiping drool off the side of his lip, blinking rapidly before he bowed. His forehead slammed against the table and he yelped, shooting back up to greet the man before him. “Your Royal Headmaster.”

“Taemin,” Oh Shin drawled and Taemin didn’t need to be told twice. The Royal Headmaster had used their services too many times to take precautions. The questions didn’t need to be asked, Taemin opening up the booth so Oh Shin could step through. Oh Shin followed the male down the hall, passing well-kept cows and kidnapped people just to come into face with the rest of Shinee.

“Your Royal Headmaster—” Key greeted, not even bothering to bow. Key was the only one who didn’t show him respect, knowing his services were valuable. Oh Shin didn’t need it from him, their relationship purely transactional. “What brings you here?”

“Let me cut to the chase,” Oh Shin said, pulling the hood away. “I need you to assassinate someone. I want it to seem like an assassination… And I need you to not fail.”

Key scoffed. “Of course. How and when do you want us to do it?” Key motioned lazily to the menu that was at the side. “Take your pick, Royal Headmaster.”

“I want a son of one of the richest men dead,” Oh Shin murmured. “Him and his keeper. I want it done on the day of the engagement of my son, in front of people. Make it seem… theatrical.”

“An assassination?” Key raised an eye. “In front of your people? On the day of your son’s engagement? How theatrical. Now, tell me, Royal Headmaster—Why use our services when you have your own men?”

Oh Shin paused. He was already walking on eggshells. He had his charm, that was true, but he had to be extra careful. People were beginning to become uncharmed, and once they were uncharmed there was no way to charm them again. With the rumors and the word of mouth Jaehyun and Johnny had spread, people were going to talk in no time. He needed his people by him. He needed to make sure they didn’t suspect him of foul play.

And Shinee never asked questions.

They were businessmen.

Also, with Jaehyun’s death in public, it would act as a distraction for what he would do.

“You never asked questions before,” Oh Shin said instead of explaining and Key nodded, leaning back.

“How much are you paying me? For something so public… It’s much more expensive. We can’t get caught and our identity must be kept.” Key replied to him, raising an eyebrow.”

“Name your price,” Oh Shin replied.

“450,000 charms. Per head,” Key said back almost immediately and Oh Shin smirked. It was nothing to him. He nodded and Key smiled for the first time that day at the thought of money.

“For clarification, you want him dead in front of everyone… Do we put off the lights? Any ideas? Minho?” Key asked the tall male that stood beside him, by the wall.

“I don’t care how you do it. But make sure he’s dead. He’ll be surrounded by his mage friends so be discreet. I’ll have my men surrounding the area as well, guards every where in case he tries to escape. His father will be present, so don’t be suspicious about it,” Oh Shin directed and Key nodded. “I’ll pay you in cash when you’re done with the job.”

“Name?”

“Jung Jaehyun and Johnny Seo,” Oh Shin replied. “I hope I don’t have to repeat myself.”

“Of course. Safe travels back to the Royal Castle, Royal Headmaster,” Key replied. Oh Shin nodded. “You know the way out, Taemin won’t have to you.”

Key chuckled when he could see Oh Shin glare at him, making his way out. He had the upper hand with the Royal Headmaster. He knew of all his dirty laundry. He leaned back, happy that they were getting money. They weren’t getting much clients these days and Key’s obsession with money wasn’t doing his mental state well.

“I got the picture of who he wants us to assassinate,” Onew said suddenly, flipping through the book. “I knew his name was familiar.”

The book was laid in front of Key, the picture of Jung Jaehyun, and Johnny spread in front of all of them. Taemin scooted closer, his eyes fixated on the handsome boys that were smiling widely for the camera. Everyone knew the Jung family. Everyone knew of Jaehyun.

“He was the guy that female mage brought with her,” Minho said, his eyes on the picture. “They must be close if she brought him to come to see us.”

Key’s face was unreadable, staring at the photo. He leaned back. Business was business, that was his motto and this—this was an opportunity that he didn’t want to miss. He knew the female mage would pay him the money if he told her about the planned assassination of her friend—she seemed like someone who would. She had… morals.

“Are we telling her?” Onew asked, waiting for Key’s response. Key sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Taemin. It’s time to contact Ong Harin.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sehun was back in the castle, the male in the library reading on every book about Exodus’ political history he could find. Harin was with EXO and his heart was at ease, knowing they wouldn’t leave her alone. It both relieved him and frustrated him—He could not get a single moment alone with her! Sehun shook his head, driving the thoughts away from his mind when he heard footsteps. Looking up, he saw Kyungsoo enter the library. Kyungsoo had been rather distant these days and Sehun guessed it was his way to show his opposition at the idea of him getting engaged to Harin.

Then again, it wasn’t like it would happen.

“Oh Sehun. Royal Headmaster call.” Kyungsoo’s voice clipped and he turned, not saying more. He was even calling Sehun by his first name rather than “Master”, and even if Sehun had told Kyungsoo to call him “Oh Sehun” on so many occasions since he saw Kyungsoo as a friend; this time it just showed how mad Kyungsoo was.

His friend was a weird one.

But now, why was his father calling him? Sehun cleared his throat, following Kyungsoo before exiting the library and going to his father’s study. The number of libraries and studies the castle had was overwhelming but Sehun knew it was because it was a place that held so much history. He entered the study and he saw his father, standing by the window as he always did when he made a final decision.

“Father,” Sehun said, Oh Shin turning to look at his son with the brightest smile on his face. The charmed Sehun would have been prepared to congratulate his father for whatever he had achieved but the Sehun now stood still, his eyes blank.

“Son, finally you’re here. I wanted to break some news to you,” Oh Shin said, motioning his son to sit down. Sehun did, his eyes going to