You'll do great! His parents told him. Lee Hongbin was a little self conscious about himself. People always give him a blank stare when he tells them this. Why the hell would you be self conscious? Look at your muscles, your face, your dimples, your everything! That's all it ever was for Hongbin. His face, his borned good looks. Most of the time, Hongbin felt his "good looks" were more a curse, and something that held him back than anything. No matter what he was doing, they had to compare it to his looks, whether he's singing, playing a sport, photography, acting or doing what he loves to most, magic and combat.

Being a SWORD Agent meant everything for Hongbin. SWORD was an acronym that stood for Special Weapons Operatives for Rapid Deployment. What South Korea had on North Korea was that there was an influx of people with natural magical prowess without the necessity of Etherdrives, implants that were governmentally engineered to force the abilities naturally granted by regular users the ability to harness magic. As such, there has been much call for young opportunists who were especially skilled in magic and combat to enlist in the academy for training.

He's good looking, but... God... Hongbin hated to hear that. He hated being patronized that his looks were the one thing that got him through life, and he hated hearing that especially the first time he enlisted to get into Oceanside Academy. He could recall it vividly. He displayed his prowess in fire magic along with his honed technique with twin daggers. He was confident and eager as any prospecting student would be, but of course, he choked like any prospecting student would be. He remembered hearing the admissions lady's comments. 'He's good looking, but his skills needs some work' And that crushed him.

Somehow however, despite that horrid experience, he received an email the following year, saying that his declination was rescinded. Talk about a double negative. Basically, the school decided to accept Hongbin after all. He didn't know whether he should be happy or suspicious. The admissions lady seemed to be adamant with her decision to crush Hongbin's dreams right then and there but his parents, being the lovable and supportive parents as they always were said the same things to him. You'll do great! It's a sign! Go for it hun! You can do it! Make us proud!

It was easy for them to be so supportive of him when he was the youngest of three sons, his older brothers were both successful in different fields. His eldest brother, Lee Donghae was a extremely successful neuroradiologist who made bank with his advanced skill in healing magic while his other brother Lee Minhyuk was a couple years older than him instead used his magical abilities to become a successful professional dancer who used their magic to add flashiness to their performances. Hongbin felt that the only way he could surpass the two of them was by becoming a SWORD Agent at the Oceanside Academy, only there would he learn how to advance the growth of his abilities and use them for the greater good. Cheesy sounding sure, but it was his ambition nonetheless.

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Hongbin was snapped from his thoughts when his face collided with the seat in front of him. He let out a small yelp of pain as he rubbed the bridge of his nose before he realized that they had arrived. His brown hues dilated almost as he plastered himself against the omni-bus' window, his eyes glazing over the entire layout of the school. It was honestly, breathtaking. He couldn't believe how extravagant everything was from the beautiful yet streamlined architecture to the school's proud and joy, the beachside front that was literally meters away from the front of the campus. Oceanside was a very appropriate name for this gorgeous campus and Hongbin couldn't help but to feel that the sight of such beauty made him almost forget that there was a war raging on. It was beauty like this though that he knew he had to protect.

Hongbin was dressed in a black blazer over a white T-shirt and dark jeans. Casual wear that he soon had to give up once the school year started and every boy was required to wear the school's uniform clothing unless they had to wear different clothes for certain specific classes or what not. He sat through "freshman" orientation. Hongbin added quotation marks because technically he wasn't accepted in the first place and was transferred in. Essentially he was a year behind but it didn't matter; he couldn't think about the negatives when he finally made it, he could only think positively and try his best.

Students were advised to have a "codename" of some sort upon entry to the academy, probably to help them with the agent experience. Hongbin decided to be normal and just simply call himself, Hongbin. He was very aware that many people liked to shorten their name or come up with random crazy names that had no relation to their original name at all, but if Hongbin ever decided to change it, he would, but at the moment, he was proud of his name. It was a name that he was going to make for himself.

After the orientation presentations, announcements and other such updates, each student was given directions to their designated rooms. Students were assigned to a suite housing six people consisting of three bedrooms for two students each and a common room in the suite that was essentially a living room of sorts. All Hongbin knew about his specific roommate was his name. "Han... Sanghyuk..." He repeated as he looked at the email carefully. His codename was listed as simply Hyuk. No other info was released to him so he simply shrugged and went on his way.

When he arrived at the suite it seemed that nobody else had arrived just yet. The door to his room however,  was ajar; he could hear some music on the other side. His roommate obviously had arrived first. Hongbin took a deep breath and fixed his light colored brown bangs and made sure that he gave a good first impression. He pulled his suitcase along and tapped at the door, forcing it to creak open as his eyes laid upon on his room, glancing over it quickly.

It was modestly sized, enough for two people obviously with two twin beds lying across from each other, desks lined up at the end of the beds and near the door there were two large mirrors that were also slide-out closets that had room for clothes to be hung up along with more room for shelves. It was cozy and roomy. He was immediately caught off guard from his trance-like observation as he heard a deeper toned yet childish sounding voice poke through his thoughts. "You're my roommate?" The voice asked, almost a little shyly. Hongbin's gaze diverted to the figure that was laying on his bed to the right. Seems like he already claimed his side, not that Hongbin minded.

First impression of Han Sanghyuk, he was... cute, to say the least. Just from looking at him laying down it was fairly obvious that he was a couple of inches taller than Hongbin himself yet despite that his face had this boyish innocent charm to it that contrasted with the rest of his manly and masculine features. His hair was dyed a pale blonde but it looked really good on him. "Yeah! Hi I'm Lee Hongbin." He answered, he didn't know what else to do but to set his suitcase aside as Hyuk hopped off his bed, now standing fully as he strode over to Hongbin, giving out his hand for Hongbin to shake.

"Nice to meet you hyung, I'm Han Sanghyuk, but you can just call me Hyuk." He said with a smile. Hongbin couldn't help but to be a little enamoured by his eyes, he didn't know why but they seemed to be one of the prettiest parts about Hyuk's already endearing face. He also couldn't help to notice the peculiar necklace that hung around the boy's neck, it was marvelous and obviously storebought but he couldn't help but to feel as though there was some sentiment behind the necklace. Hongbin shook his head, he seriously needed to stop being so overly analytical. He gave off his signature genial smile, his dimpled face exposed as it seemed that he elicited some sort of shocking reaction from Hyuk.

"So what are you skilled at?" Hyuk asked. It was a general question that any student would ask the other Hongbin guessed.

"Oh, I'm pretty good at fire magic but I'm more skilled with my knives than anything." Hongbin answered confidently, "How about you?"

Hyuk stammered a little bit. He was acting a little nervous and Hongbin couldn't tell why, but eventually he elicited an answer, "I'm pretty awesome with a longsword, been training since I was a kid! Well a younger kid anyway. My magic isn't too good but I know a lot of techniques to mix my ice magic with my blade."

Weapon augmentation. There were two types of users in the world. Augmenters and Casters. Augmenters didn't have the natural aptitude to cast flurries of learned spells but were however very skilled in applying their natural elemental magery into their weapons. If you can't cast them, smash them, as many would say. Hongbin would consider himself somewhere along the middle of the two, another reason why many people underestimate his fighting abilities. Usually you could only be one or the other; if you tried to do both you'd just fail in both.

"I wonder if we'll be staying with a bunch of upperclassmen, hopefully they're awesome." Hyuk flashed a cheery smile that was literally infectous. That boy was literally too innocent for words.

Hongbin started to unpack his belongings from his suitcase. He hung up all of his casual clothes that he would wear very rarely and also hung up the supplied uniform clothing that the school provided. He set up everything to his liking pretty much from his computer and placed his photography equipment where it was safe and convenient. It was then that Hyuk noticed the equipment and asked a question that caught Hongbin off guard. "You like to take pictures?"

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Hongbin chuckled before continuing, "I took a course in photography in high school and I've been hooked since then. It's one of my many hobbies other than singing and sports." He picked up his prized camera and aimed it at Hyuk who's eyes widened, but he quickly and expertly posed in a rather handsome yet adorable fashion that accentuated his facial features. He snapped the picture and let out a noise of praise as he lowered the camera. "Hey that came out pretty good!" Hongbin noted as he walked over to Hyuk and turned around so that the younger boy could see. 

Hyuk whistled amused as he leaned in close behind Hongbin, causing him to tense up slightly as he tried to calm himself. "Wow you're good! Then again maybe I'm just a good model." The boy uttered cockily, causing Hongbin to scoff as he rubbed his elbow into Hyuk's chest. It was strange how quickly the two became comfortable around each other despite the brief awkward instant meeting they were faced with, but Hongbin was glad to easily make a quick friend. 

"I never woulda expected a handsome guy like you hyung to like taking pics of people. Seems like people should be taking pictures of you." Hongbin smiled genially and sighed. 
 

"That's what everyone tells me." Not that he was annoyed with Hyuk at all, just that it was a common conception that people like to force on Hongbin. "How about you Hyuk? What do you like to do?" 

The blonde taller baby faced boy placed a finger on his chin to ponder. "I like to eat pizza? Does that count?" Hyuk responded with a cheeky grin. Hongbin rolled his eyes as he chortled in response. "But seriously, I like to watch anime and read manga, stupid I know but it's pretty cool. One of these days I want to be a hero like the cartoon ones." Hyuk proclaimed proudly. Hongbin at first thought he was joking again, but it became apparent that Hyuk was serious. How cute. 

"Oh shoot! Sorry hold on for a second." Hongbin remembered as he took a moment to set his camera down on his desk and pull out his holo-phone, clicking on the main button to bring up the holographic interface. He touched another button that was holographic and called his mom; who he promised to call immediately after he settled in.

"Mom?" Hongbin called out as the video window appeared in a separate holographic interface. His mother was a gorgeous woman who had a lot of spunk not only in her appearance but in her soul.

"Hongbinnie!? Is this your room? It looks absolutely nice! You've settled in quite nicely haven't you? Have you got your classes yet? Is your roommate that handsome young man over there? Has anyone bullied you? Tell me if you need anything honey!" All sputtered in the duration of about three or four seconds. He loved his mom, he really did, but she could be... much at times. He swear he could hear Hyuk stifling a chuckle in the background, causing Hongbin to force an awkward yet genial smile as he laughed nervously.

"I'll update you later mom, I'm kinda busy at the moment, just wanted to let you know that I'm settled and safe. I'll let you know how my first day went later okay? Bye!" Before his mom could retort, Hongbin immediately ended the call. He looked over at Hyuk and smiled again, it was his go-to gesture to cover up his embarrassment. "Moms, am I right?"

Hyuk chuckled and sighed almost blissfully. "Yeah. You're very lucky." Hyuk responded. It was at that moment that Hongbin felt something eerie climbing up his throat, as though he was walking on thin ice. He didn't press on it any further.

Today they had the rest of the day off, probably to familiarize new students to the new campus. "Hey Hyuk I'm gonna go have a look around, do you wanna come with?" Hongbin asked as the younger boy waved his hand at Hongbin.

"Don't worry about it hyung, I've arrived a few days ago so I'm good, plus I gotta handle some stuff, I'll catch you later though!" Hyuk responded as brightly as ever. Hongbin frowned. It was that he was nervous to go out all on his own, okay maybe he was, but he couldn't help but to be curious about the young man that was his roommate. Plus he looked a little lonely, but maybe that was just Hongbin's over-active imagination.

"Alrighty, well, if you need anything, just contact me okay?" Hongbin added as he walked over to Hyuk, holding out his square square shaped holo-phone. Hyuk nodded with a smile as he pulled out his own holo-phone and tapped it against Hongbin's, which immediately shares data and contact info between them.

"Will do hyung, try not to get lost. It's a big campus." Hyuk said as he climbed back onto his bed.

"Don't worry about me. I'm gonna enjoy myself." Hongbin responded as he grabbed his daggers and kept them in their sheathes around his belt and turned around and left the dorm, the suite and the residential area altogether. He couldn't help but to feel fantastic. Excitement ran through his veins but he needed to calm down. He checked out the directory and wondered where he should go next. He decided to go scout out the training area, yeah that sounded like a good idea. After all, he should scope out where he was going to be spending a lot of his time in.

A/N: Sorry if it's boring so far! I just like to take time to introduce ideas and concepts especially when the setting is something more along the lines of Fantasy/SciFi I shall update soon! Feel free to let me know what you guys think so far and I'm all up for constructive criticism. I can't wait to write more of this story! Also I totally didn't make Hongbin related to Donghae of SJ and B-BOmb from BB or anything just because they have the same family name and they're all my biases, nope, totally did not