June 16^th, 3016

When training’s finally finished, everyone’s closer than close – so, so close that it’s a little suffocating at times, times like now when it’s raining outside and everyone is bored and sloth-like.

“Kyungsoo hyuuung,” whines Sehun, flopping his arms about. “Kyungsoo hyuuuung, I wanna go to space. Now.”

Kyungsoo sighs and sits down beside him, smoothing back the younger boy’s hair from his forehead and ignoring the pouty face Sehun’s giving him.

“I know you do, and we’ll go soon, okay?”

Jongdae snorts from the other side of the room. “That’s what they said last week.”

It’s true – the engineers at the firm promised them last week that things would get fired up real soon, that the ship would be ready to go ‘whenever they’re ready’, that they’d be in space within a couple days, but then some things had been forgotten and the ship had to go in for repairs all over again.

If they’d been a normal team, a team of full-grown adults instead of a team of fresh-out-of-university teenagers, maybe they’d have taken the news better, not been as bitter and upset, not thrown as many fits.

“I have a theory,” says Kris darkly, staring out the window at the pouring rain and drumming on the glass with his long fingers – his other arm is wrapped around Tao, who’s curled into his side, half-asleep. “I think they only got us to go on the mission because we’re disposable.”

Kyungsoo shudders at the last word – disposable? As in, easily thrown out, made for one-time use only?

“We’re not disposable, we’re... Well, genii. Are genii disposable?”

Sehun nods, folding his arms across his chest, and Joonmyun sighs from his seat at the dining table. “It makes sense – you know, get some kids with no particular attachment or importance to the scientific world, send them on the mission, and if things go well? Great, victory for the corporation. If things don’t go so well? That’s okay, we weren’t important.”

Tao’s fully awake now, eyes wide and made glassy by what must be tears. Kris tightens his hold on him, giving his arm a comforting squeeze. “Things will go well. We’re,” he gestures around the room, “us. Genii. If something goes wrong we’ll know how to fix it. Okay?”

“Amen.” The taller of Baekhyun and Chanyeol salutes and the shorter one chuckles weakly, curling up into the taller’s side, mimicking Tao and Kris’ position.

But the mood in the room doesn’t lift, no matter how hard Baekhyun and Chanyeol and occasionally Joonmyun try – everyone’s still somber and quiet, the occasional sigh floating through the air now and then.

Then there’s four knocks on the door, and Minseok drags himself off the couch to go answer it (everyone else didn’t feel like moving).

The door swings open, to reveal a pinstriped suit, and-

“You’re leaving the day after tomorrow!” booms Man excitedly, but his face falls when he sees how tired and bored and generally sick his team looks. “... Is everything okay?”

Kris gives an affirmative nod, straightening up. “Yeah. We’re just kinda down today. The weather.”

Luhan makes a quiet, bitter sound and Man raises his eyebrows, closing the door behind him (Minseok’s sat back down), dragging a chair from the dinner table to the middle of the living room and sitting down so he can talk to everyone.

“So tell me. What’s wrong.”

Everyone exchanges unsure glances before Sehun finally speaks up, albeit a little hesitantly.

“We were wondering... Why you’re sending us. Instead of a more experienced team.”

Kyungsoo’s relieved that his choice of wording is acceptable.

Man’s eyebrows almost disappear into his hair line. “You’re saying you don’t want to go?”

Everyone shakes their heads hurriedly with a murmur of “No, no, we wanna go” rising up, and Man nods approvingly. “Then why the question?”

“Just wondering.”

“I wouldn’t know. You would have to talk to the higher ups – I wouldn’t bother, if it’s just a question out of curiosity.” Man shrugs and quickly takes his leave, excusing himself in a fashion that’s not hurried but more eager than anything.

“...He’s lying.” The door’s closed and the footsteps have faded, allowing Kris the security to speak like that. He’s holding Zi Tao tighter than usual, as if protecting him from what he’s about to say.

“How do you kno-“

“Don’t question the PhD.”

Right. Psychology major.

Either way, whether the Man’s lying or not, they’re leaving day after tomorrow – not even the taller one out of Chanyeol and Baekhyun is smiling as they go to pack their things.

--

“You called?” says the man in the white suit, sipping his coffee from a massive, hollowed-out synthetic diamond. “This better be of the greatest importance, or you’re getting demoted.”

Man is nervously fidgeting in the leather backed chair across from him, more worried about the problem than losing his position. “It’s about the team.”

“Yes?”

“I think they’ve figured our reason for sending them.”

The ruby shatters on the titanium-tiled floor and the man’s thin lips curl, staring distastefully at the blooming brown stain on his pant leg.

“We’ll send them anyways – I expected this. They’re genii.”

Man nods and scurried away as fast as he dares. 

--

A/N: Hey! 

So updates will become a little less frequent, due to school & stuff. 

Tell me how it's going so far? ^^