Chapter 6
Just a Foreign Exchange StudentI sat up and stretched, yawning. I gazed lazily through half-closed eyes to the sunlight shining through the window. I smiled peacefully and got up slowly, slipping on some comfortable clothes. Today was the day that I could actually slow down and have some breakfast for once. Thinking that, I smelled a fresh aroma in the air. I looked around in confusion, thinking that it was probably just me. Until I saw Ryeowook’s petite figure come right up to me with a plate full of pancakes. I widened my eyes and stepped back, a little surprised.
“Freshly made pancakes, just for you!” I laughed and thanked him, taking the plate. I picked up the fork on the plate and took a bite of the fluffy pancake.
“You’re a good cook, Wook.” I said with a full mouth. He smiled, making his way back outside.
“That’s good, because I invited everybody over here for breakfast! You know I made these specially for us in the kitchen downstairs!” I choked on my pancake, swallowing slowly.
“Everyone?” I asked disbelievingly. He laughed, setting out plates full of steaming hot pancakes.
“Well, just Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Yesung, and Siwon. They should be arriving soon according to the time.” He said, peering at the wall clock. I set my plate down on the table, rushing to my closet.
“You could’ve warned me earlier! They can’t see me in my pajamas!” Ryeowook shrugged, smiling.
“I didn’t think you would care so much.” With my clothes in my hand, a realization hit me. I turned around and scowled at him.
“You know, I wouldn’t have if you didn’t give me so many of those designer clothes.” He smiled bashfully while I went into the bathroom. I heard the door open and close as I slipped on my clothes. I heard a couple of voices too, all of them groggy from sleepiness. I smiled, heading my way back into the room.
“Why is it so early in the morning?” Sungmin said, being pulled in by Eunhyuk. He yawned, rubbing his eyes as Ryeowook pushed a plate of pancakes in Eunhyuk’s hands.
“I love your pancakes, Wookie.” Eunhyuk grinned, digging into the food. A knock was heard on the door, just when Sungmin fell on to my bed, completely wiped out. I laughed, opening the door to welcome the next person. I raised an eyebrow as I saw Siwon slightly hunched over, Donghae sitting on his back with his arms wrapped around his neck.
“Hello…” Donghae smiled with half closed eyes before closing them, leaning on Siwon’s back again. Siwon raised his head with a helpless smile.
“The things I do as a leader.” He sighed. I laughed, motioning him in. He placed him by Sungmin’s feet, both of them fast asleep. Ryeowook pouted, leaning in to both of the sleeping boys.
“You both are just so lazy. It’s already ten in the morning!” He shook his head, passing a plate to Siwon. Siwon chuckled, taking slow bites. At that moment, Yesung and Kyuhyun sauntered in, both of them in good moods.
“Hello, Wookie.” Yesung greeted. Ryeowook smiled, handing a plate to both of them. I sat on Ryeowook’s bed, finishing my plate off. Siwon settled down next to me and smiled.
“Is Ryeowook a good cook or what?” I nodded vigorously, taking a final bite. He laughed, sticking another small piece in his mouth. We sat and talked, laughing over inside jokes.
At around twelve, Sungmin was still fast asleep. Kyuhyun shushed everyone, holding a can of whipped cream. Aside from Eunhyuk and Ryeowook giggling, the room was silent. Sungmin rubbed his nose and fell back asleep again. Kyuhyun smirked, leaning in closer to his face. Amused smiles crossed our faces as Kyuhyun shook the can. Just before he pressed the tip, Sungmin’s arm popped out, his hand wrapped around the can. A look of astonishment washed over his face as Sungmin’s eyes fluttered open.
“One more move and I’ll snap your neck, Kyu. You know I’m advanced in martial arts.” Sungmin took the can and sprayed a little whipped cream in his mouth, smirking at Kyuhyun. Giggles floated around the room just when Ryeowook threw a swimsuit in his face.
“Enough playing around. We’re going to the pool!” Kyuhyun pried it off his face just when Sungmin sat up sleepily.
“The pool? Well, why not?” Kyuhyun stood up and stretched, throwing the swimsuit back at Ryeowook.
“A pool? This school has a pool? Jesus it’s like learning a new thing every day.” I muttered. Siwon laughed beside me, an arm resting on my shoulder.
“Well, the school does have a pool, but it’s so humid and so…full of chlorine. We prefer the lake.” I grinned hearing that. Knowing that we were swimming in a lake already brightened my spirits.
“So much fresher than the indoor pool.” Sungmin added on, nodding. Kyuhyun started pulling Eunhyuk towards the door, waving goodbye to us.
“Alright, we’ll meet you by the lake later.” Ryeowook nodded, waving back to them.
“Same with us. We’re going to change into our swimsuits, and then meet up with you by the lake.” Yesung, Eunhyuk, and Donghae got up and walked out the door, smiling back at us. Siwon, however, didn’t get up from the bed.
“You’re not going to go?” I asked, confused. He shrugged, falling back onto the bed.
“Eh, I’ll get my swimsuit on the way there. I’ll stay here a little longer, if it’s alright with you.” He said, putting his hands behind his head.
“Sure, why not?” I smiled, receiving a grin in return. I got up, going to my closet to look for my swimsuit that I packed.
“So tell me about this girl.” I joked. I could picture Siwon’s surprised face as I rummaged through my cluttered closet.
“Girl? What do you mean?” He asked. I kneeled down, searching the lower part.
“Your soul mate. Or mate. Or partner. Or whatever you guys call your person.” There was a moment of silence as I started sorting out my clothing.
“She’s pretty cool, I guess. Actually one of my best friends, come to think of it.” I raised an eyebrow at how he emphasized “she”, but I didn’t say a word as he continued explaining. I heard him chuckle quietly.
“I never would have expected her out of all people. She’s a new student this year, you know? Completely unexpected.” I smiled amusedly as I straightened up to look at the top shelf.
“Like me?” I questioned. I pictured him nodding slightly.
“Yes. Exactly like you.” He urged. I felt the strange fiery sense building in my chest again. It felt weird, and I still didn’t get what it was. This feeling didn’t exactly hurt, it just felt like…energy. Pent up energy in a strange way. I placed a hand on my chest, reaching my other hand to my swimsuit that I just found.
“Is she special to you?” I asked, determined to put my mind off of this burning feeling. I was still a little confused about this different feeling building up in my chest. I straightened up and closed my closet, forcing a smile as I turned around. I was slightly taken back to see his eyes glazed over, a small smile plastered on his face. He scoffed, but I could tell he meant it as a joke.
“More than I ever thought possible.” His trance seemed to be broken as he looked up at me. I smiled again, trying not to show my confusion on this weird gnawing feeling in my chest. He must really like this girl. I felt happy for him, but while thinking that, the fiery feeling just grew even more.
“So are you close to her?” I strained, sitting on the bed in front of him. He rolled his eyes, but his expression remained joking and soft.
“Closer than you’d think.” He mumbled. I was about to ask him what he meant by that when Ryeowook walked in, smiling.
“Change quickly, Han. We’re leaving soon.” I laughed, carrying my swimsuit to the bathroom.
“Yes, Wookie umma.” I heard a faint chuckle from Siwon as I said this. And right before I went into the bathroom, I felt a pillow being thrown to the back of my head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As soon as Siwon stopped by his room to change into his swimsuit, we were on our way to the lake. I walked in silence as Ryeowook and Siwon chattered on about a topic I tuned out of a while ago. I was more focused on the burning feeling that was still gnawing at my chest. It didn’t hurt, it just felt so unusual. I felt the need to release that energy somehow, I just didn’t know how.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As soon as Siwon stopped by his room to change into his swimsuit, we were on our way to the lake. I walked in silence as Ryeowook and Siwon chattered on about a topic I tuned out of a while ago. I was more focused on the burning feeling that was still gnawing at my chest. It didn’t hurt, it just felt so unusual. I felt the need to release that energy somehow, I just didn’t know how.
“Over here.” Siwon tugged gently on my elbow, leading me to another direction. I frowned in confusion as the familiar pulse suddenly tripled in strength, mixing with the burning feeling in my chest. I was surprised nothing felt painful yet. When I looked up, I saw Siwon staring strangely at my elbow out of the corner of his eye. But before he could say anything, he looked away to a clearing in front of us.
“HA! I beat you Donghae!” I heard a couple of splashes and then a squeal.
“You know, that was totally unfair.”
“Unfair?! I can hold my breath longer than you and you know it.” I rounded a tree, looking at a large, clean lake. I sighed, realizing that Eunhyuk was still wearing those sunglasses, even in the water. I wanted to see his black eyes, merely out of curiosity. Kyuhyun and Sungmin were off to the side, watching them and simply talking.
“Yesung!” Ryeowook shrieked. I turned to my side and laughed at the sight I saw. Yesung had picked up Ryeowook bridal style, running towards the lake. I heard a laugh from Ryeowook as he was thrown into the pool. He came up, wiping his eyes from the water.
“You could’ve at least waited until I took off my shirt!” Yesung dove in, coming up beside him.
“But I wanted to surprise you!” Ryeowook simply rolled his eyes. I smiled to myself, making my way to the tree to sit down. I didn’t want to go into the lake just yet. I squinted into the bright sunshine and sighed in content.
“Today is a good day, isn’t it?” Siwon said as he sat down next to me. I heard the laughter and the chatter radiating from the lake and nodded.
“You’re not going swimming?” He shrugged, staring off into the distance.
“Not yet. But I will.” I nodded, leaning back against the tree. I frowned. It wasn’t Siwon’s tree, but it would do. We sat in peaceful silence, listening to the splashes and the laughter. I was dozing off, my eyes slowly closing, until I felt cold liquid wash over me. My eyes snapped open in surprise and I sat up annoyed, wiping water off my skin.
“Hey! You mind?” I exclaimed. I saw Yesung snicker, hanging over the edge along with Kyuhyun, positioned to splash me again.
“Get up you two lovebirds! You two bask in the sunlight too often.” I made no move to get up. I liked the warmth from the sunlight. But Siwon sighed and got to his feet, a mischievous glint in his eye as he slid off his shirt.
“Hmm…you’re right.” He grinned and looked down to me, giving me a clear view of his evil stare. I raised an eyebrow, and before I knew it, he picked me up and started running for the lake. I widened my eyes, still a little shocked.
“Hey! So not cool! Put me down!” I cried out, laughing. He chuckled, getting nearer to the lake.
“Nah…Yesung was right. You bask in the sunlight too often.” And with that, he threw me in the air, making me land in the lake with a splash. I rose up, sputtering water and coughing. I heard the sound of laughter all around and I scowled at Siwon who was smiling down at me. I crept close to the edge, a false smile on my face.
“I’m not going down without a fight!” I cried out, getting out abruptly to grab his feet, pulling him in with me. When he arose to the surface, wiping the water away from his eyes, he glared at me as I smirked at him.
“Bastard.” He muttered jokingly. I rolled my eyes and peeled off my soaking wet shirt, throwing it to the grass to let it dry. I was surprised as the shirt went farther than I expected. I suddenly realized that the fiery feeling had spread all throughout my body. I felt powerful and energetic. I looked at my arm in curiosity and pulled it back before they started giving me strange looks. I also realized that I felt more powerful in the water. The feeling was a dull thud in my chest as it was out of the water. Without warning, I engulfed myself in the water, the burning feeling spreading across my skin again. A sense of calmness washed over me as I sat on the bottom of the shallow lake, the fiery feeling settling into a pulse. I closed my eyes and felt the cool dirt underneath my hands. Suddenly, I felt a hand thump the back of my head and I gasped, my eyes opening. I coughed, expecting that I swallowed a lot of water. Only to realize that the water I in never went down my throat. I held my breath in confusion, and after a moment of silence, I took a tentative breath, just testing to see if I’d cough and choke like I normally would. I felt the water reach the back of my throat; only to come back out my mouth again as oxygen went down. Oxygen?! How the do you breathe underwater?! I rose up to the surface, completely taken back about what just happened.
“Kyuhyun! You didn’t have to hit the back of his head so hard!” Donghae cried out, immediately coming over to hug me.
“We were timing you to see how long you could hold your breath, hyung.” I nodded numbly, still a little out of it. He frowned, standing in front of me to place his palm on my forehead.
“Are you okay? Your face is so pale.”
“I’m fine.” I said weakly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sungmin raise an eyebrow. Siwon came up to me, peering into my eyes. I backed off a little, feeling the familiar pulse come back to my body.
“Donghae’s right. You do look a little pale.” I shrugged feebly, and I saw Sungmin advance towards me with a curious expression. He gently pushed Siwon away and peered into my eyes. His eyebrows furrowed together.
“Do you trust me?” He grabbed my arm, preventing me to back off. This was the closest Sungmin has ever came to me. Hopefully, he was warming up to me. I snapped out of my thoughts when he shook my arm a little more forcefully.
“Do you trust me?” He repeated with a gentle tone. I widened my eyes at how nice he sounded.
“I…I guess so…” He nodded, pleased but still serious. He placed a hand on my head.
“What are you-” I was cut off when he pushed me down into the water again. I heard Ryeowook’s scream on the surface.
“WHAT THE ARE YOU DOING SUNGMIN?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?!” I heard everyone’s shrieks, warbled and muffled by the water. I was holding my breath, but not fighting back. I knew Sungmin (enough) to know that he meant well. I tuned out their voices and I could feel the energy building up again in my body. I took another tentative breath, feeling the water go in and out of my mouth, the oxygen going down my throat. I heard the sound of Sungmin’s calm voice above the water, his hand firmly on my head. But I didn’t understand the muffled words, because I was still freaking out about my new ability. It was just like breathing in regular air, which worried me a lot. I felt his hand move off of my head, and I hesitantly rose up to the surface. I saw all of them watch my every move in silence.
“Well…you could have told us earlier instead of SCARING us like that.” Donghae mumbled. Sungmin snorted, resorting back to his old self.
“You guys would have thought I was crazy. So I had to prove it to you all that his abilities came.” I shuffled my feet awkwardly in the water as all eyes were on me again. What about my sense of premonition? Was that…just a dream? Hell no, Donghae almost died! I ing saved him! How could that possibly be a dream? The reminder of the falling tree incident got my shoulder hurting again.
“Something’s off about all this…” Eunhyuk muttered. “This power of his is too minor. Too much on the sidelines. Be prepared for anything else.” We all nodded.
“Is it possible to have two powers?” I asked tentatively. Ryeowook shrugged.
“It usually doesn’t matter, it’s just that one power is the most common. It only goes up to two though. Why do you ask?” I chuckled humorlessly.
“How else do you think I could have saved Donghae? Fast reflexes? Oh please.” All was quiet again as I rubbed my wound. I sighed as I saw them gaping at me.
“Will you please stop that? It’s not like I’m any different from you people now.” Kyuhyun laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“Besides Siwon of course.” I saw Siwon’s eyes go wide as we exchanged knowing glances. The laughter died off as they saw our expressions.
“Don’t tell me…” Kyuhyun sighed in exasperation, closing his eyes.
“How ironic…” Sungmin smirked, crossing his arms. Yesung suddenly shrieked and pulled me and Siwon into a big hug.
“Yes! Our leader and our new recruit got their powers!” I could see the red creeping on to Siwon’s face as Yesung hugged him tighter.
“Yesung…do you mind letting go? I can’t breathe!” Siwon cried out in an exaggerating manner. Yesung pulled away smiling. I noticed that his eyes were glazed over, and maybe it was just me…but I could almost tell what those glazed eyes meant. I couldn’t say it…I just recognized it from somewhere. I sighed, knowing that I failed again in trying to figure out what that expression meant.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So when’s your next performance?” I questioned, as soon as we dried off. Eunhyuk looked up from tying his shoe.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So when’s your next performance?” I questioned, as soon as we dried off. Eunhyuk looked up from tying his shoe.
“Tonight.” I coughed on the bottle of water I was drinking.
“Tonight?!” Well that was unexpected. Donghae shrugged.
“You were out for two weeks, of course it’s tonight. You want to come?” I saw Donghae’s eyes sparkle with anticipation and I laughed at his hopefulness.
“Of course, what would you expect?” Ryeowook clapped his hands together in happiness.
“Great, because Siwon planned something special!” I smiled slightly and looked towards Siwon’s astonished expression.
“Hey, it wasn’t all my idea! I just brought it up and then you guys went overboard.” He looked away in embarrassment and made himself busy by picking up his towel. But I still saw the faint red tinge on his cheeks. Ryeowook sighed, picking up his things.
“Swallow your pride Siwon. And stop being so modest! It started from your idea and it’s really sweet!” Ryeowook exclaimed. I covered my mouth with my hand and chuckled as Siwon made a small sound of surprise. The red tinge darkened a little and his towel slipped from his hands.
“Alright, enough of that. We have to go anyways and catch the performance.” Siwon flung the towel over his shoulder and started walking.
“Hey wait up!” Ryeowook and Yesung ran after him as he pulled ahead. Kyuhyun, Donghae, and Eunhyuk started on a heated conversation and followed after them. Sungmin sniffed, but didn’t leave. Instead he looked down towards me and held out a hand to help me up.
“You coming or what?” I looked disbelievingly at his hand but took it anyways. He pulled me up and wiped his hand, which was now covered in dirt, on his pants. I turned around without another word and walked off. I smiled hopefully while catching up to Siwon. Maybe he was warming up to me. But first I need to know about this “surprise” that was waiting for me at the performance. When I caught up to Siwon, he was talking about cooking with everyone but Sungmin.
“That idea won’t work Donghae. You’re the one who can’t cook. Only Ryeowook can do it.” Donghae nodded understandingly.
“And besides, I can’t cook for that many people!” Ryeowook added on. Yesung looked towards me and smiled.
“Nice of you to join the conversation, Han. We’re looking for ideas to raise money for the tree accident. It crashed into a fountain and part of a building. No serious damage, but the school can’t cover it.” I nodded, thinking of ideas. Kyuhyun heaved a great sigh.
“Alright, we went through a million ideas that just don’t work. We have to find some way to fix the damaged property!” I tugged on Siwon’s sleeve, a simple idea coming to me.
“How about a people auction?” They looked at me in curiosity.
“A people auction? What’s that?” Ryeowook asked.
“It’s an auction where students get auctioned off to teachers for odd jobs and such. Only for a week of course.” There was another silence as they stared in curiosity again. Siwon placed an arm around me, careful not to hit my shoulder wound.
“That’s a great idea!” He praised. I heard more agreements with my idea, making me smile.
“Alright, maybe at the next performance. But we have to look forward to this performance tonight!” Ryeowook said, heading into the school. I was lead to the auditorium, which was already filled with students. That same group of girls I saw on my second day of school noticed us and giggled, waving towards us. I singled one blonde girl out of everyone.
“Hankyung oppa!” I smiled at the familiar voice and waved tentatively at Jessica. She smiled and waved back. I heard a couple of chuckles from my friends as we went backstage.
“Someone seems to have a crush on you.” Eunhyuk poked my back suggestively, causing laughter to arise. I sighed.
“What are we, twelve years old? Grow up, Hyuk.” Kyuhyun suddenly came up to Eunhyuk and handed him a remote.
“Alright, all you have to do is press this button right here and it will connect to the television up there.” Kyuhyun pointed to the T.V. that was hanging on top of the stage. I looked curiously at them.
“Once you press this button, the Korean translations will appear on that screen.” I felt a sense of excitement wash over me. I faced Siwon in anticipations.
“Translations?” Siwon nodded and smiled, walking towards an empty hallway.
“During those two weeks that you’ve been sleeping, we wanted to do something for you. So Ryeowook helped us learn a little Mandarin. We’re still not very stable, but it’ll do.” I crossed my arms and smiled, following him.
“And it was your idea to do it for me?” Alright, so maybe I was a little evil in putting it that way, but I wanted to see his reaction. He rubbed his neck and looked away.
“Well…yeah…” His eyes were glazed over again, and I could almost decipher what that meant. Almost.
“Hankyung, I need to tell you something. And it’s kind of important.” He came closer and touched my shoulder gently. I could feel my smile fade when I saw how serious he was. The familiar pulse emanated from my shoulder, creating a calm feeling.
“Si…Siwon…?” I couldn’t find my voice as he stepped closer, trapping me against the wall. I saw him slowly move his head forward, a little hesitantly. I swallowed, only to gulp down air in my dry throat. He moved his other hand to my neck, his head now inches away from mine, his forehead resting against mine. His mouth moved around Chinese words so unfamiliar to him, but so comforting to me.
“Why was it you? You, out of all people.” My mind was coming apart from this sudden closeness. But the fiery feeling was building in my chest again, spreading across my body and mixing with the pulse radiating from Siwon.
“Me…for what…?” I could feel my soft voice faltering, but that didn’t seem to bother him.
“I can't believe you'd be asking me that.” He breathed. I could feel my heart stop and my eyes widen at his words. Why was he doing this without any warning? Did that mean that I was his…his soul mate? His person? That couldn’t be right. Ugh, “soul mate” sounded so fairytale like, but that was the least of my worries here.
“You’re…you’re wrong. There must be some mistake.” I whispered, since I couldn’t find my voice. He chuckled slightly, his brown orbs gazing into mine.
“There must be some reason why you aren’t pulling away.” He smiled wryly. I couldn’t find the strength to snap back at him, but I tried.
“How…how could you make such a snide comment at a time like this? Especially in Chinese?” I hissed. He laughed softly, not showing any signs of moving.
“You just talk too much.” I could feel his breath brushing across my mouth, his face a lot closer than before.
“Siwon! It’s starting soon! Where are you? Aish…that idiot…” I heard Eunhyuk shout, his voice far away. Before I could even blink, a rush of wind passed by, leaving me alone in the empty hallway. I was breathing heavily, my legs trembling. I sank to the ground, still not believing what just happened. I felt light-headed and I felt beads of sweat building on my forehead. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall. I couldn’t even control my breathing, no matter how hard I tried, and my heart kept pounding away, the burning feeling gone. My hands felt numb, and oh my God Siwon, what are you doing to me?!
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