Dawn, the time of early rising, suit clad business people. Doing their one bit for society, they crowd the streets and public transit, commuting to their boring desk jobs in an eco-friendly way. Shoulder to shoulder, these Suits groggily trudge down their familiar paths of daily travels, mentally preparing themselves for the hours of typing and filing. Fatigued and petulant, they push past one another, paying no attention to anything else but their own incessant, work qualms.

            Jae Rin sat on the fountain edge in the midst of the chaos, and watched the Suits walk by. Her eyes wandered around, following any sprits of colour hidden within the sea of black and white fabric. A purple watch, a red tie, a pair of teal pumps, each item grabbed her attention. Her eyes danced around, bouncing from one colour to another like the reaction of a Rube Goldberg contraption. The little game was cut short by the sound of a ringtone. Her ringtone. Rummaging through her bag, she dug her phone up from the bottom and accepted the call.

            “Hello?”

            “It’s me. Where are you now?”

            “I’m at the fountain, as per your request.”

            “Good. I’ll be there in a few.”

            He hung up without waiting for her reply and she couldn’t help but grimace. Who was the one who asked for this meet up? At least have the decency to wait for me to say something. Pocketing her phone, she continued her game. Although it was a childish, and it left her questioning whether her attention span was longer than that of a goldfish, she relished in the peacefulness that came with it. Living in an environment of constant motion and endless tasks, Jae Rin enjoyed times like these. Times where she was allowed to sit down and take a break from the world, to escape from the stress and pressures of her complicated life. These scarce respites were the things she yearned for the most, even more than finding a companion. To be able to clear her mind of all the hardships she had to endure, all those times she had to run away from the unknown, it was only achieved in times of tranquility. Apparently, sitting on the edge of a fountain amongst the pandemonium of commuting workers in the heart of Seoul was her way of entering this peaceful state. Then again, her surroundings do not matter for all she was worried about was finding those little hidden colours and winning her game.

            Is there supposed to be a winner in this game? Or is it never ending? I only want to look for the colours, right? So there shouldn’t be a winner because if there was, there should be a prize. But, there is no prize. Or is there? Maybe there is a winner and a loser. Those who forget their worries achieve peace while those who can’t play the game without thinking of other things, lose. Ironic how one has to lose something in order to win this game. The Suits continued to walk by as she got lost in her thoughts of winners and losers, her own prize slowly slipping out of her grasp the more she pondered the situation. Her game quietly ended as she frowned at her self-imposed questions. If I want peace, I need to lose. So does that mean I must lose against the one who chases me in order to be free? Do I need to die to save myself? That certainly is a release. A permanent one.

            Before she could terrorize herself further, she was shaken back to reality by none other than her summoner, Sunggyu. His curious eyes bore down on her as he repeated his unheard question.

            “I said, did you wait long?” he asked her again. Her eyes were anxious and darted about as she lightly shook her head. Sunggyu frowned at her distracted eyes and looked around too, trying to find what she was so antsy about. The crowd grew thick and Jae Rin hugged her arms, trying to shield herself from the world and herself. She wanted to go back to her game, she wanted peace again. Sunggyu squinted curiously, watching her small, self implosion.

            What are you thinking about? he wondered. Without a word, he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her out of the busy streets. They walked further, away from the central city, away from the people. The hum of the city diminished as they entered a quieter neighbourhood nearby. Large houses and local businesses lined the main roads with parks directly across. Elders sat at the outdoor tables of cafes sipping on some tea, or walked in the park for an early morning exercise.

            Sunggyu rounded a corner and entered a secluded cafe, dragging a silent Jae Rin along. She obediently followed him to a corner table and sat down under his guiding nudge. He said a few words before disappearing towards the front counter, leaving her alone. Her negative thoughts of death threatened to return when a flick to the forehead snapped her out of it.

            “What the hell was that for?” she snapped. He shrugged his shoulders and pushed a plate of cookies towards her. She looked down to find a cup of iced double shot espresso in front of her. “How did you..?”

            “A little blue bird sang.” Although the response was vague, Jae Rin glared out the window, silently cursing her boss.

            “So, what do I have the pleasure of this fine meeting?”

            Sunggyu stirred his drink in thought. He called her out for a reason, for a vision to be exact. But, did he trust her enough to tell her? She’ll be affected as well, so I should, right? He contemplated, weighing the pros and cons of telling her what he knew. If I tell her, we might all survive. If I don’t, well, there’s no guarantee we’ll all still be here after.

            “Like I said, I have something important to tell you. Before I start, I want you to hear me out before you say anything.” He waited for her consent before continuing. She hesitated, wary about his request. “It’s better if you hear everything first. It’ll get too complicated if I have to stop for questions.”

            “I guess...” Jae Rin mumbled with a nod.

            “Anyway, I’m pretty sure it was obvious that we’ve been avoiding you. I know, it , but we had our reasons.”

            “It better have been a damn good one.” Sunggyu ignored her and continued.

            “I’ll just cut to the chase. I know what’s after you. Don’t ask questions just yet, let me explain. Like I said, I know what’s after you. Actually, I know WHO is after you. He is our friend, the traveller. Remember we told you about him at Sungyeol’s party? The one who is also a telekinetic. See, there’s a reason why he’s always travelling. He never said what or who it was, but told us he was after something, after someone. If you put two and two together, looks like he’s the one who is tracking you.” Sunggyu stopped to let the information sink in. And sink in, it did.

            Jae Rin sat frozen and wide eyed, her breaths coming in short. She just found out what was chasing her. After all these years on the run, she had finally discovered the source of her hardships.

            “There’s more. You guys have more in common than just being telekinetic users. Both Woohyun and I can’t read your thoughts or see into your future. Even if we try, we hit a mental wall and get zapped. Also... Dongwoo told us something rather peculiar, but it was the fact that verified our suspicions. He said he saw you one night, fighting off a burglar from the shop. There was a struggle and...and he saw something strange. You have another power, don’t you?”

            She choked on her breath. So I’ve been found out. At this point, she couldn’t hide the facts. Obviously, the guys knew more than she thought they had.

            “Yes, I do have another power,” she mumbled. He raised an eyebrow at her, showing his curiosity. With a sigh, she told him. “It’s Umbrakinesis. I can control shadows and create darkness.” Sunggyu let out and audible gasp. “What? Is that weird?”

            “No, it makes perfect sense now. Our friend, he’s got a second power as well. Lumokinesis. He can control light. Two different people, yet so much alike. And, your powers are at different ends of a single spectrum. You know what this means, right?” Sunggyu eyes were sparkling from their sudden discovery.

            “So what you’re trying to say is...”

            “You guys are linked in some weird way. It’s uncanny how many similarities that you both have, even your powers reflect it.”

            She slumped back in her seat, letting the facts sink in. They were almost the same. Almost exactly the same person. Their only differences were their second abilities. But, in some curious way, their powers were related. They were polar opposites. She ran a hand through her hair, attempting to relax her tense thoughts.

            “There’s something else I have to tell you. Actually, I guess it’s more of a warning. See, there are limitations to my own powers,” Sunggyu said, “I can’t read my own future and can only read another person’s future one month in advance. So, anything that happens later, I can’t read it yet. After I realized the similarities of your powers with his, I kept track of the other boys’ futures. Yesterday, I had a reading. In two week’s time, he’ll be in Seoul. Once he lands, chaos strikes. There’ll be unexplained natural disasters and storms everywhere, all around the world. Seoul will experience earthquakes. And, there will be a battle. A battle to the death.”

            Jae Rin felt her blood run cold. But it’s not time yet. How does he know that I’m here? Did one of the guys tell him? She took deep breaths and tried to calm her frantic mind, but the questions kept flowing. What else is going to happen? Who wins the battle? Was this her end?

            “Who...who survives?” she asked, her voice barely that of a whisper.

            “I honestly don’t know. Woohyun’s future...it doesn’t read that far...Neither do the other boys...”

            She felt her heart drop.  I’m the cause of this. I will be the death of them. Which means...I have to keep them out of this mess. It’s time for me to stop running and man up. Even though I’m scared out of my mind, I can’t spare any more lives for my own sake. No more backing down, Jae Rin. It’s time to fight back. Even if there was still some time, her heart was racing in anticipation. There was no more running away. This time, she was staying. This time, she was going to fight back. This time, it would be the end of the chase.

            “So, he’ll be here in two weeks?” she asked after some time. By then, it was well past noon and the shop was emptier than when they had entered. Sunggyu was on his second plate of cookies and ordered a glass of milk as well. He wiped off some crumbs and nodded his head, swallowing a large dry piece of biscuit.

            “Yes.”

            “Okay, then promise me this. You guys will all escape before he gets here,” she stated, staring him dead in the eyes. She couldn’t go into battle knowing they’ll still be in the country and possibly do something stupid like risking their own lives in a war that wasn’t theirs.

            Sunggyu frowned and shook his head.

            “What do you mean by that? We have to be here to help you!”

            “Help me by getting the heck out of here. I don’t want you guys to throw away your lives for a fight that isn’t yours to begin with.” Her voice wavered. I can’t cry now. I can’t show that I’m weak.

            “But, we can help you! We know his weaknesses!”

            “And I know my own. If you guys are there, I’ll be too worried about you guys and won’t concentrate on the fight. Please, promise me you’ll all leave.”

            “Bu--”

            “Promise me!” She was growing impatient. Lives would be at stake, and she would rather lose her own than take their innocent lives. Sunggyu flinched at her words, bowing his head in defeat.

            “I promise.”

            “I’m sorry, but it’s something I have to do.”

            “I understand. At least...let us help you train?” He looked at her hopefully. How sweet.  He wants to help me train. She let out a small chuckle and shook her head.

            “I’ve been training on my own for almost five years now. I think I can handle myself.”

            “Alright, fine. Be that way.”

            They stood up and left the cafe, heading back to her apartment. Despite her refusals, Sunggyu tagged along just to make sure she got home safely. They boarded a bus and found some seats at the back where they settled in for the half hour ride.

            “Just wondering, what’s your friend’s name? I think it might be useful to know who my opponent is before the actual battle.”

            “His name is Lee Howon, but we all call him Hoya. He doesn’t like it when we call him Howon.”

            “Howon, huh? I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with a smirk.

            “Oh god, please don’t provoke him,” Sunggyu pleaded, hands clasped in front of him.

            “I’ll try not to.”

First order of business....I'M SO SORRY. I know, I disappeared, but I have a legit reason! My boss went on vacation and family visited for three weeks, so I was super busy filling in for shifts and taking the relatives out. You don't know how many times I tried to sit down and write something, but then end up falling asleep at the desk. Sigh...

HOWEVER, the fam is gone and work shifts are back to normal! So I actually have time to write! YAY! 

*Lumokinesis aka Light Manipulation. Users have the ability to control and create light.
-source Superpower Wiki

COMMENT REPLIES

@ JuzzMee91: thanks for reading! Whaddya think will happen next =O?
@ kpop_fan_1998: yeah, doesn't feel like 60+ days eh? The power of time lapse writing, it reads like it's longer, but in reality it's only a couple of months LOL
@ mimi96: Welcome! Thanks for reading and the sub! *implodes from joy* Glad you're enjoying this ^^

I'm just about halfway through chapter 9, so wait a couple of days for that! Most likely on monday/tuesday I'll update.

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-