Hongbin sat in the Web, disgruntled and tired at the same study desk he's always reserved for himself. It'd been a week since they got back from their mission in Wolnae-do, and honestly, much has happened the span of coming home. For one, Hongbin was SWORD now, so was Hyuk and things became different. Their classes remained relatively the same somewhat except for the fact that Hongbin and Hyuk were given leeway when it came to assignments due to their status. Zico made a quick recovery and still taught class the next day albeit filled with bandages and patches. Everything that first week back was chaotic. SWORD Training, which replaced regular combat training was a different sort of course everytime. That first Friday it was hand to hand combat practice to tone up on skills in the event an agent were to be disarmed, and the week after, it was going to be melee weapons training.

Chaotic was an understatement to how quickly his life became. It didn't help that everyone in his suite wanted to ask him to go to the homecoming ball that only SWORD is invited to that weekend and Hongbin hasn't really made a decision. 

Internally, Hongbin didn't know how to feel. He's never been in a real relationship with a boy before, he's never done anything really beyond sloppy makeouts under the bleachers with boys that he doesn't even remember the names of. He was surprised that Oceanside was as open minded as he's heard. And usually when one had five people trying to date him all at once, it would be a theoretical dream come true, but the decisions, the reprecussions. Plus, he didn't know how serious anyone was and some of them, he didn't know too well in general.

There was Ken, who 'proposed' to him when they were kids. He was sweet, kind, endearing and could always make Hongbin laugh. And to be frank, he did have a crush on the guy way back in the day, but that was then, and he wasn't sure if anything serious could ever become of them. Ken was always joking and sometimes Hongbin wasn't sure if he could take Ken seriously, or if Ken would take himself seriously. 

There was Ravi, the eye-candy. Muscles, charm, manly voice, but honestly, while Hongbin appreciated his directness, how serious could he be in a relationship? He looked like the exact kind of guy who would bash it and leave. Yet at the same time, Hongbin realized he didn't know Ravi all that well aside from his outward appearances so maybe there was something to explore there. 

Then there's N, the guy he's looked up to and admires as a superior and a fellow hybrid user. Not many of those to come by. N was caring, sweet, but at the same time he was straight to the point and was a true professional. Hongbin seriously admired him, but he couldn't tell if his admirations might've given N the wrong idea, and if it did, maybe he was actually giving N the right idea. He was handsome and his tanned skin was somewhat exotic in a sense plus a skilled fighter, who wouldn't crush on the famous Cha Hakyeon? 

And of course, there was Leo, the Hurricane Lion. Tall, mysterious, silent and deadly, yet insanely handsome. From his sharp jawline to his gentle yet fierce eyes. Hongbin of course needed to remind himself of that strange dream he had of Leo that was completely random and it was just mentally scarring. He could never look at Leo the same way again. He didn't know what to think about him, he said he was 'interested' but Hongbin didn't know what he meant by that. N and him dated, but for how long, Hongbin didn't know. He was unsure if he should follow N's caveat's or not. In any case, Leo was interesting, a true enigma.

And Finally there was Hyuk, the first boy he met. His roommate and almost effectively one of the most closest friends he's made in such a small amount of time. He'd only known Hyuk for almost a month but he's felt so close to him nonetheless. Finding out how his mother passed away, how he was always so bright and cheery despite the life that Hongbin didn't even know completely. There was a spark about him that made Hongbin genuinely happy to be around. He was just too endearing yet at the same time sincere and pretty mature for his age. Despite being immature for his age at other times as well. 

Dammit, why did he have to have so many choices. He liked high school better when people were too awkward to be so open with their affections.

"You seem disgruntled Private." A voice shot through the silence of of the Web as Hongbin looked around to face Zico. He still looked injured but not as bad as before. Now his hand was no longer in a sling but he still had a bandage wrapped diagonally covering his left eye that was already covered by his platinum hair anyway. 

Oh god, meeting someone in the library, please let this not be another dream Hongbin prayed internally as Zico gave him a look. "You studying for a test Private? Becuase I made sure not to overload you with too much work." Zico said, breaking Hongbin from his erse train of thought.

"Wh-what? No it's just. I needed to be alone. I'm just having a lot of trouble and-" 

"Let me guess, all of your friends are fawning over you and want to invite you to the homecoming ball this weekend. Am I right?" Zico hit the nail right on at the top as Hongbin opened his mouth as to ask how he knew and Zico responded again. "Had a similar problem back when I was still running around with your brother on the block back in the old days."

Hongbin chuckled when Zico sounded so mature saying such things when in reality it was only about seven years ago.

"Have you tried spending time with each suitor? Getting to know them before choosing? You might feel safe and end up going with someone you already know very well but it doesn't hurt to take time in building social links or developing upon established links, don't you think?" Zico said wisely as he turned around and started to leave before Hongbin had a chance to say thanks. 

He quickly left the Web and concocted a plan of sorts that built upon what Zico had suggested. 

Immediately when he returned however, he literally came home to every single one of his suitemates, who were also his permanent squadmates, gathered around the common room. Ken, Ravi and N were sitting on the sofa while Hyuk was lounging around in the kitchen seeming to look something to eat while Leo was characteristically leaning against a wall. 

Hongbin took a deep breath as he walked into his room to gather some supplies and walked back out a couple minutes later back into the common room. "Alright guys. I've decided." And the minute he said that, everyone's heads shot up almost in a comedic fashion sans Leo of course. 

"So, you've come to realize that I was the obvious choice!" Ken shouted in premature victory as Hongbin pouted at him, pulling out a plastic cup. 

"Here, I've written tags folded them up. There are five sticks, one for each day until Saturday. Depending on what stick you get, I will spend time with you on that day, after classes. I've only known a lot of you guys for a couple of weeks and I think it's only fair if I got to know you all better before I... have to make a decision." Hongbin felt kinda sick. He didn't want to lead people on, hell, he didn't even want to be the center of attention and be put in such a position but he felt this was the only fair way. 

"That sounds fair Hongbin, let's give it a go." N said with a smile causing Hongbin to smile suddenly in response. "Alright, draw the sticks and open them on my count." After everyone drew random folded sticks, Hongbin counted to three and everyone unfolded them. 

"Aw hell yeah!" He heard Ravi shout in response. The boys showed their results and they were as follow. 

Ravi - Monday, N - Tuesday, Leo - Wednesday, Ken - Thursday, and Hyuk - Friday. 

"I get to have my chance first, on that Ken." Ravi taunted as Ken rolled his eyes. 

"Unless you got it through your head you bozo, that just means that the impression you'll leave an impression will most likely be forgotton after all the other guys Hongbin will spend time with by the time it's Friday, so HAH!" Ken laughed as he laughed almost crazily before Ravi grabbed Ken and held him in a headlock before unleashing an unforgiving nuggie, thrashing around Ken's nicely done light brown hair. 

Suddenly, Hongbin wasn't sure this was such a bright idea. 

----

Monday

Today was Ravi's day, Hongbin promised to meet up with Ravi at the Quad after classes which they were both conveniently done at the same time. It was mid-day so the sun still seeped through as he saw Ravi sleeping against the giant tree at the center of the Quad where they were supposed to meet. Hongbin snorted in laughter as he drew himself closer. Was he seriously sleeping right there in literally the middle of the school? 

He kept walking closer as he could've sworn that Ravi had a legit snot bubble. He actually looked endearing, asleep like this, much different from his constant smooth, flirtatious and randy like self. "Ravi?" Hongbin asked as he stuck a finger forwards and poked Ravi's slightly tanned cheek, squeezing it gently as he sweetly patted it. "Wake up or else you'll waste your entire day sleeping on me." Hongbin said warmly as Ravi's eyes started to crack open. 

"Aw , Hongbin, I'm sorry uh, what time is it?" Ravi said as he started to get to his feet. 

"Don't worry it's not late at all. I'm just surprised that Ken wasn't kidding about you sleeping anywhere." Hongbin chuckled as Ravi grew flustered and scratched the back of his blue haired head nervously. "I think it's kind of cute actually." Hongbin said suddenly as he swear he heard Ravi choke on his own spit. 

The blue haired brawler cleared his throat and cooly brushed dust off of his shoulders as some sort of gesture to retain his composure. "A-anyway, let's get on with what I had planned today." He said with a smirk as Hongbin rose his right eyebrow, giving Ravi a questionable pout that brought out Hongbin's right dimple. 

"Really now? Is there something I have to be worried about?" Hongbin asked as Ravi chuckled in response. 

"No, nothing to worry about, I just thought we should do something nicer but chilled since you don't really know anything about me. And honestly, I don't know much about you. But I'm willing to try." A layer of seriousness covered the atmosphere Hongbin felt. It's one of the first times he's heard Ravi speak seriously at all. Ravi gestured for Hongbin to follow him as they arrived at the Parking Lot once more. 

"What are we doing exactly?" Hongbin asked curiously. 

"We're gonna hit the town. Light's out isn't for another six hours, plus the town is literally minutes away from the campus, especially with how we're getting there." Hongbin rose his eyebrows curiously. There was a small city like town that was somewhat in between rural yet technological. It would be your average town if it weren't for all the technology that flourished there. Hongbin never got the chance to visit the town, and he almost forgot there was even a town nearby. 

"What are we gonna do?" Hongbin asked again, wanting further clarification as Ravi chuckled, hitting a button on his holo-phone that called for his Vespa. Vespa's were essentially motorcycles that could hover up to ten feet off the ground. They can travel over water and are powered by an engine made from ether. Ravi's vespa in particular was jet black with silver ts and had a very cool yet comfortable design. "Nice." Hongbin uttered as Ravi smirked. 

"We're just gonna hang out, and get to know each other better. Plus it's a beautiful day for us to be riding with the wind." Ravi smirked as he hopped on, inviting Hongbin. 

"We're not gonna wear helmets or anyth-"

"Who wears helmets?" Ravi interrupted, sounding reckless as usual. Still, the recklessness was slightly contagious and Hongbin merely smiled as he found himself climbing onto the back of the Vespa and wrapped arms around Ravi's stomach. "Hold on tight Angel-face." Ravi warned as Hongbin merely rolled his eyes. 

The vespa shot forwards and they were soaring. Wind was blowing through Hongbin's hair causing it to go all over the place as Ravi's spikey hair was being blown all over as well. They soared through the opening and out onto the main grassy roads of Oceanside and quickly zipping over to the town that was really nearby. It was simply exhilarating, and Hongbin couldn't help but to laugh the whole way through.

They stopped finally when they arrived at the town. Ravi parked the Vespa off into a parking dock in the corner. After the two dismounted it Ravi deactivated it using his holo-phone so only his holo-phone could activate it again later. 

Hongbin took a moment to breathe the Oceanside air and smiled when he felt the salty sea-breeze fill his nostril with the scent of the ocean. He noticed total strangers walking by and greeitng Ravi, waving at him, saying hello. The town was very lively and bright in color. There were many people walking in the streets, buildings were tall but not city-like and the town overall had an intimate feel to it that was much more welcoming than an intimidating city like Seoul. "So, where to?" Hongbin asked as Ravi smirked beckoning towards Hongbin to follow him to what appeared to be a shop of some kind.

Upon entry they were instantly greeted by a kind old woman. She had gray hairs and wrinkles along with glasses that covered her eyes. Somehow though, Hongbin felt that when she was younger she was quite the beautiful woman, and with thatmost endearing smile plastered onto her face, she still was.

"Wonsik-ah!" The lady shouted as Ravi held his arms open and the lady hugged Ravi tightly. "And is this the boy you've been talking about? He is very handsome indeed!" She smiled as Hongbin looked back incredulously. Ravi talked about him? 

"Hey, don't go spouting off my secrets you old bag." Ravi smirked as Hongbin's eyes widened at such disrespect, but it was said with such affection that Hongbin knew it must've been some back and forth between them. 

"Don't sass me, I'll have you know I'm only seventy-three and I look great for my age." The older woman laughed as Hongbin's eyes widened. 

"She does look great for her age." Hongbin smiled as the older lady chuckled and squeezed Hongbin's cheek. 

"I love him already." She said affectionately. "Sorry for that dear, don't worry about being polite and respectful near me, just call me Shion."

"Shion?" Hongbin repeated. "You're Japanese?" The woman nodded as Ravi interrupted.

"Yeah, Ms. Uzuki moved here in the olden days, before our parents were even born, don't underestimate her though, she's really smart and pretty badass. She taught me how to fight." Hongbin blinked as he looked at the kind looking lady. She taught Ravi how to fight? It was slightly unbelievable. 

"No I didn't, if I did, not only would I break my neck but yours too if I tried to teach you my style of fighting." Shion chuckled as she circled around the back. 

Ravi quickly explained to Hongbin how Shion Uzuki was a scientist back in the day that was transferred to Korea to research the properties of Ether. Something happened however and now she was an owner of this humble shop. 

"I'm sure you're here to see your friends right Ravi?" Hongbin was about to ask what she had meant by friends but when she followed Ravi to the back and saw all the homey cages, it became apparent what this place was. 

"An animal shelter?" Hongbin asked as he was bombarded by the looks of various animals that looked at him excitedly. Some looked young while others looked older, but all around, they were all adorable in their own way. 

"That's right dear, Ravi here used to work for me, and lived here too with me." Ravi nodded but then quickly shot a look towards Shion as if to silently ask to not implore any further on Ravi's background. Hongbin honestly, was intrigued, he never expected a guy like Ravi to have worked here. Ravi quickly turned around and started to tend to a puppy. 

"Hey there Munch, how've ya been? You been healing well right?" Ravi cooed, it sounded strange to hear such a deep voice sounding so affectionate, but to see it coming from a big guy like Ravi, it was extremely cute. 

Shion neared close to Hongbin and whispered to him. "Ravi found that dog wandering around town last year, he was almost crushed by a vehicle from the school but he save him. He's been taking care of him ever since here. But you know, since pets aren't allowed on campus, i've made sure to take care of Munch for him." She explained as Hongbin turned his head to look at Shion. 

"I had no idea he had such a fluffy side to him." He said with a smile on his face, allowing his dimples to jut out. 

"Ah, your smile, it's just as he described." Shion blurted as Hongbin rose a curious brow as Shion covered . "I've said too much. Ravi, if you'd like to show your friend your room it's upstairs as usual. I have to go attend the front desk alright?" She called out as Ravi waved his hand to her. 

"C'mere Hongbin, I want you to meet someone." Ravi said as Hongbin smiled and walked over to Ravi, kneeling next to him. "This is Munch, say hi to Hongbin munch." The dog was tiny, it wasn't a puppy anymore but was still shiny, he could only describe it as a fluffy shiny little white puffball that had faint black spots from dirt. He was literally a marshmallow. 

"Why do you call him munch?" Hongbin asked as the dog started to Hongbin's finger and then nibble on it endearingly. 

"That's why." Ravi said with a smirk. "No Munch, bad, you'll have to wait your turn." Ravi teased as Hongbin rolled his eyes but chuckled anyway, scratching the side of the dog's face.  "Do you like dogs?" Ravi asked. 

"Hah, dogs are my favorite animals. If I were animal, i'd be a little dog like this one." Hongbin smirked as Ravi pouted. 

"Nah, you'd be much cuter than Munch." And as though the dog understood he started to give Ravi deep lovebites, causing him to chuckle. "I'll be back Munch, but I gotta go hang with Hongbin okay." Ravi smiled as he leaned in and placed a kiss on Munch's head and stood back up. "Let's head to my room, we can chill there, and don't worry, I won't try anything funny. Unless you'd want me to." Ravi winked as Hongbin stood up as well. 

"How quickly you turn back to your old ways." Hongbin chastized as Ravi chuckled, walking ahead.

"Can you blame me?" 

They walked up the stairs and into a residential floor of the store. Most of the buildings in town were like this apparently, where there would be stores and shops on the bottom while the top floors were all living areas. The house was pretty medium sized for a home and had a cozy feel to it. He was guided to another room that was smaller than the others. There was one twin bed, a computer on a desk and right next to it a punching bag (of course) along with a TV and a what appeared to be a gaming console. "Nice room." Hongbin said quietly as Ravi chuckled. 

"I know right?" He said as he sat on the spinny chair to his desk, "Sit anywhere, and welcome to my home." He said as Hongbin frowned slightly as curiosity overtook him. 

"Who are you exactly?" Hongbin asked, and at this point it was a valid question. 

Ravi smiled and nodded. "Well, you should get to know me, that's the whole point of this game of pick and choose of yours right?" Ravi smirked as Hongbin pouted, he already felt bad to having to subjectify everyone to this strange way on who he'd be 'choosing'. 

"You know my public story, I 'graduated' high school early and was taken into the academy due to my skills... well that's kind of true. The real truth is that I dropped out of high school. I couldn't handle the pressure. My parents well, my father died in the war. He was a soldier and he deployed to the North. I was only seven at the time, and my mother on the other hand... she's sick. Stable really. She's at a high class hospital back in Seoul and I visit her sometimes. She thinks I'm a good person, that I'm gonna be the cop and take care of bad guys. But in reality I'm actually going to be just like my father. Something she's always feared."

He took a breath, as he looked off to the side. "So to help pay her bills I moved out to Oceanside, Shion took me in and offered me a job and housing. She saved my life." A smile returned to the blue haired boy's face that was slightly contagious. "Since I didn't go to school I worked a lot around town, making whatever I can. Everybody knows me, they all know my story so they're all sympathetic since I had big bills to pay for my ma. That was before I was enlisted to the academy... Now the academy is paying for her health expenses, and my only requirement is that I attend school and become a soldier. Something my mom would probably punch me in the face if I told her the truth..." Ravi explained as Hongbin's eyes were widened with attention. He never would've guessed that Ravi had been through that and is still going through something else. 

"I had no idea... that's a lot for you to handle." Hongbin said with a frown. 

"Yeah well, I don't usually like talking about myself to people. I don't like it when people feel sorry for me. It makes me feel like a wuss." Ravi chuckled as Hongbin chuckled along with him. 

"I think you're one of the strongest of people that I know." Hongbin smiled as Ravi stared at him for a moment.

"How about you, who are you, Lee Hongbin?" 

Hongbin went on to tell his life story which was a lot less tragic sounding. How his parents are successful, doting and supportive, his older brothers, successful, extremely so, and cast a large shadow over Hongbin's life. How he felt that being SWORD was the only way to prove himself to be just as good as his brothers, but his ambition to be better soon became genuine passion to being a soldier, and using his talents for good. 

"Aren't you just your Grade A Soldier boy." Ravi teased as Hongbin pouted. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" He blinked as Ravi chuckled. 

"Nothing sunshine. How about we play some video games? I got the latest Ultimate Chronicles booted up on my console." He seduced as Hongbin bit his lip. 

"I love video games." 

They began to play together and for the first time, Hongbin had a lot of fun with someone he never thought he'd be able to have this sort of fun with. Shion cooked them dinner when it got later and Hongbin had a wild time sitting at the table and listening in on the back and forth between Ravi and the old woman. They were more like brohter and sister despite their gap in age and the entire scene was very endearing to say the least. Shion would tease Ravi and ask when would Ravi propose to Hongbin, causing the latter to spit out his food on his plate and Hongbin to laugh. It was fun to see the flirtatious devil be the one that was absolutely flustered.

----

Tuesday

Hongbin's 'date' with Ravi yesterday was really enlightening to say the least. He never expected Mr. 'James Dean Cassanova' to be... well a person. Hongbin was always curious whether or not there was an actual personality behind all that talk, glad to know there was one. He was also 'proud' of Ravi of not getting weird or touchy feely when they were alone in his room. He was actually a cool guy which honestly, was a problem becuase now he knew his decision will be even harder by the end of his little social experiment. 

Today however, was N's day and N waited outside of Hongbin's class like he said he was going to. 

"So what do we have planned today Sargeant." Hongbin smirked as N scoffed giving a somewhat sassy expression as he crossed his arms. 

"I want to show you something that not many people know about the school. You could say it's a secret spot. But we'll need to head back the suite to get your camera." Hongbin blinked as N mentioned a secret spot. He didn't know if he should be slightly afraid or extremely excited; or maybe somewhere in between. 

After they retireved Hongbin's camera, N lead him out the front of the campus and now Hongbin was confused. "Where are we going?" Hongbin asked as N waggled his finger. 

"Just follow." He chuckled as Hongbin grew a little confused. N navigated Hongbin around campus and appeared to have been leading him to the literal oceanside shore nearby. 

"We're going to the beach? But we don't even have proper clothes on." Hongbin pointed at their uniforms and N chuckled as he shook his head. 

"No worries, we're not going swimming anyhow, just try to not fall into the water." N warned as they arrived at the beach. It was beautiful, sandy, and gorgeous. There was a long pier outstretched over the waters but nothing at the end of it. "Students come here sometimes during their down time and swim and whatever, but only a few know where we're about to go." N warned and suddenly Hongbin's excitement spiked as they walked off to the side and Hongbin noticed a rock formation and now he was confused again. 

"Let me guess, you're gonna use your fancy earth magic to open the path to some secret tunnel?" Hongbin asked as N clicked his tongue. 

"Why do you have to be so smart?" N responded as Hongbin smiled big. 

"Terra Aperi!" N casted as the rock split open and the two bisected pieces opened up like a sliding door. 

"Cool." Hongbin uttered as N laughed almost mischievously. 

"You haven't even seen it yet." 

Hongbin followed N in and as they progressed, the light got dimmer and the temperature got a lot cooler. The cave seemed to go downwards before finally swerving to the right where Hongbin saw blue light emitting from some opening. When they finally stepped in, Hongbin's eye glowed at the radiant light that enveloped the both of them. 

"Holy..." he drifted off as he watched blue light emitting from stone shimmering across the cavern offering a dim yet magnificent glow that still showcased the shadows of the cavern and lit up areas of light, making the whole thing appear very beautiful. It was a huge clearing with a super high ceiling and wide as can be. It could probably fit an entire small village down here.

"What is this place?" Hongbin asked as he lifted the camera hanging around his neck and started to snap pro pictures at various degrees and angles as he was in absolute awe. 

"It's a subterranean cavern. If you hear the flowing water it's because we're literally under the ocean right now." N chuckled as Hongbin let out an amazed 'woah'. 

"What is this stone?" Hongbin asked as N smirked. 

"Etherite, raw ether. We refine it to help power our Ether engines or even for use to regain ether at a pace, it has many uses but for me, it's best use is it's beauty." N said poetically as Hongbin nodded. 

"You could say that again." Hongbin smiled as he snapped more pictures, turning around to take a pic of N who was looking off at the stones. "So why did you take me here?" Hongbin asked curiously as N smirked and sighed. 

"It's just a pretty place, thought I should share it with a pretty person." N joked, "I bet you've heard that a dozen times." Hongbin chuckled as well, his laughter echoed in the cavern although the statement was sad and true. "I come down here to think when I'm overwhelmed with a lot, and trust me, it's easy for me to get stressed out. Plus I thought you could take some nice pictures down here. i know how much you're into that." Hongbin chuckled as he remembered barely mentioning it once to N one time before, but he still remembered. 

"I've been wondering." Hongbin noted as N cocked his head towards Hongbin. "How much of what they say about you is true? Mr. Ace student, star of Oceanside, gonna be a Vice Marshall before he's twenty-eight." Hongbin teased as N blushed, and chuckled. 

"All of it is true, but some of it's not the whole truth. Like they always skip over the details on how I managed to save everyone on that mission, my first mission. I summoned Terra but we couldn't let that go public." He noted as Hongbin grew even more curious. 

"I'm still confused with all of this evoking business, I've never even heard about it before in my life before... I did it you know." N nodded in response. 

"It's not something we like to be very public with. Students actually learn about the elementals next semester, but fortunately, you got to learn them a lot earlier, like I did." He chuckled before continuing. "I know the Marshall said to not rely on your elemental too much, and trust me, he's right. It's not good to rely on an elemental to do all of your work. But, I highly suggest that you learn how to control him and summon him, so then if anything happens like back at Wolnae-do, you could swoop in to save the day again." He smiled as Hongbin nodded. 

"Maybe you should help me out with that then and then I can help you with your 'augmentation' and whatever." Hongbin chuckled as N laughed as well. "Believe it or not, I do seriously need help in augmenting. I tend to reserve most of my ether primartily for spellcasting so if you have any tips, throw them my way. 

"Will do." Hongbin said as silence overtook them and all that could be heard was the bubbling sound of water that flowed around the walls of the cavern. "If you don't mind me asking N... why are you interested in me? I mean, we barely met and I don't know, I..." 

"I don't know either" N quickly answered. "There's just a quality about you that just screamed out at me and told me that I needed to explore who you were, that you were important in some way. I'm kinda spiritual like that it's strange but I don't know, since I saw you that day at the Web, it was just, curiosity that needed to be sated."

Hongbin raised a curious brow as a smirk appeared on his face. "And what if that curiosity was sated sooner than you'd think? What then?" N chuckled as he waggled a finger at Hongbin. 

"Hasn't been sated yet, in fact, the more I try to sate it, the more curious I get. This could be a problem." N said as Hongbin gave him another piqued look. 

"Really now? Now that's interesting. You sure you're not inrterested in me becuase Leo seems to be?" Hongbin blurted as N gave a slightly disgruntled look. "Oh geeze, I can't believe I just said that, I wasn't thinking-" 

"It's fine." N said with a resigned smirk. "You might be right, to be honest, but at the same time, I wouldn't put so much effort in if I was just jealous for Leo." N smirked as Hongbin chuckled nervously, heat rising to his cheeks.

Suddenly they felt the entire gave shake for a moment, Hongbin almost fell but N grabbed onto his hand and pulled him into his chest for support, Hongbin instinctively grabbed onto N's shoulders. "What's happening?" Hongbin asked as N shrugged in confusion but Hongbin quickly answered his own question with his eyes as the ground shifted and a salamander like creature that was as big as an average limousine that had etherite stone growing from it's back as it was breathing blue flame. 

"What kinda savage is that?" Hongbin asked as N quickly grabbed the chakrams that hung on his hips.

"I've never seen it down here before, but whatever it is, it mutated from the Etherite mine, we'll have to be extra careful." Hongbin nodded as he grabbed at his daggers and readied himself. The savage snarled ferally as it breathed blue flame at them and N quickly covered the both of them with a quickcast.

"Terra Murum!" He casted as quick as he could as the wall made from complete stone formed and protected them from the blue flames. As N lowered the earth shield, Hongbin quickly dove in and closed the space between them and the salamander with nimble footwork. 

"Going in hot and heavy! Ignis Arma!" He shouted as his daggers gathered in flame and he slashed at the Salamander Savage, searing into it's skin but doing little damage due to being of the same element.

"Hongbin, disable your enchants, your daggers will be more effective without them." Hongbin nodded as he discontinued to channeling of ether into his daggers as he heard blades soaring in the air and realized N had thrown his chakrams towards the Salamander. Hongbin jumped back with a couple of backflips as the chakrams soared in and N quickly snapped his fingers. "Terra Arma!" He shouted as his chakrams became encase with blades of earth, sharpened as they sliced around the salamander creating various cuts as the stone launched from the chakrams into more projectiles like a mini-grenade, causing shrapnel of earth to damage the salamander greatly leaving it dazed. 

"Alright let's finish it off Hongbin! Ever done a fusion spell before?" Hongbin nodded remembering the inferno tornado he'd created with Leo. "Good." N said as he smirked, beckoning towards Hongbin to come closer. Hongbin quickly ran to N's side and nodded, holding out his hand 

"Ignis!" Hongbin shouted. 

"Terra!" N added on. 

"Tribum!!" They both shouted in unison as the magic circle appearing on their palms glimmered as their minds connected for a moment as Hongbins flame and N's earth energies mixed together, their circles floating outward and combining into one sigil as one word rang in both of their heads. 

"Magma!" They both shouted at the same time as the sigil shot a a focused torrent like beam of searing lava that sprayed all over Salamander, effectively dispatching him effortlessly as it sizzled and the magma oozed onto the ground. The etherite seemed to evaporate it. 

Hongbin gasped as he took another deep breath. He felt the ether in him rush out but rush back in due to being surrounded by such raw ether, it was an unpleasant experience, like inhaling too much air for your lungs to handle. "Whoa... that was intense..." Hongbin sighed as N chuckled. 

"Not the date you were expecting I'm guessing?" N chuckled as Hongbin shook his head and said only one thing. 

"But it was still fun." 

----

Wednesday

Today was Leo's day and Hongbin was slightly afraid of what he had to expect. All Leo said was to meet him back at the suite after classes which Hongbin did right as he walked out of class. 

He found his way to the suite and his eyes widned at the sight of Leo who was dressed in a tank-top, what appeared to be swimming trunks and flip flops. "Get changed, we're going to the beach." He said silently but in a slightly commanding tone. Hongbin merely blinked as he grabbed his usual beachwear, a tanktop and swimming trunks and flip flops as he felt slightly without his uniform but comfortable nonetheless. He also brought sunscreen just in case. "You know you and N think alike. We also went to the beach yesterday."

Leo rose a brow as he looked back at Hongbin. "So he showed you his secret spot." Hongbin raised both of his eyebrows which seemed to be enough confirmation for Leo. "I see." Leo nodded as he silently left expecting Hongbin to follow, to which he did. 

When the two arrived at the beach this time however, there somethings different, for one, there was a group of kids, about six of them that could've been no older than five or six that seemed to have waited for them along with their parents. "What are we doing here?" Hongbin asked as Leo merely stayed reticent. 

"Hey look it's Taekwoon-hyung!" One of the kids shouted as he jumped up into the air and waved his arms and the other kids shouted for Leo by his real name as the older boy sighed.

"I teach kids how to swim... on Wednesdays..." Hongbin batted his eyes in shock as he wanted to laugh but he didn't want to be rude. 

"I'm sorry I'm late, I brought a friend to help me today." Leo said in his usual quiet manner. Usually he was absolutely terrifying but around these kids he was absolutely adorable as the kids seemed to have dance around him, the same guy who mercilessly killed and can take down a foe in an instant. 

"WOW! Taekwoon-hyung's friend is super pretty!" One of the boy's exclaimed as they all started to run over to Hongbin and looked at him up and down. 

"He's even prettier than me..." One of the girls said in a disappointed tone. 

"You got that right!" one of the other boys added on Hongbin chuckled. 

"Hey now that wasn't very nice. You're plenty pretty now and when you get older, you'll only get prettier, I promise." Hongbin smiled as his dimples jutted out and almost immediately all the kid's exclaimed all in unison. 

"Let's swim." Leo said very inaudible yet somehow the kids heard him and they all ran into the water. Some more eager than others. Leo peeled off his tank-top first and threw it off to the side as Hongbin felt heat rushing to his cheeks. He was pretty muscular yet slender all at once. Particular his pecs were very defined and he had really nice abs. Hongbin felt a little shy for some reason since he constantly compared his body with those around him as he too peeled off his shirt, sighing as he felt the breeze hitting his body giving him a nice cool chill. 

Then Hongbin and Leo spent the next hour or so, teaching kids how to swim, some had a natural knack for it while others were more hesitant. But with Hongbin and Leo helping, the managed to get everyone to do some good progress. Although he thought it was dangerous to teach kids how to swim on the beach it was still fun nonetheless and Leo was a great teacher. 

After an hour or so, the kid's parents took them home and altogether they greeted them a farewell and all went their separate ways. Hongbin smiled as he noticed Leo was still sitting on the shore. His usually spikey hair was draped down, dampened by water as he noticed droplets of water hanging onto his muscles, slowly dripping downwards. Hongbin blushed when he realized he was staring and decided to walk up to Leo and take a seat right next to him in the damp sand. Sea water ushering in and out, tickling his toes with coldness before rushing back into the ocean.

"You're really good with kids." Hongbin said suddenly, breaking the silence. They love you... and you love them." He chuckled as Leo didn't say anything. Hongbin wanted to ask how come, but Leo seemed to have read Hongbin's mind and answered him. 

"I like being around children. Being around anything endearing really. I've never had a younger sibling. I'm actually the youngest of four children, the rest being girls..." Hongbin blinked, in a way they were similar, being the baby of their families. "My sisters, they're very successful," He's heard that way too many times before, "And they're all living good lives. They're all married, happy, my eldest sister has children already so I'm already an uncle..." Hongbin couldn't help but to chortle quietly. The thought of someone greeting Leo with 'Uncle Leo!' was too cute to not imagine.

Leo paused for a moment before he seemed to have gotten to his point. "They give me a reason. They remind me of what i'm fighting for... They're my resolve. I need to protect them, their innocence, and everything that should be cherished... I hope to end the war so that when they grow up, they won't have to fight. Like we do..." A breeze of silence ushered in and Hongbin stared at Leo in awe. That was very touching and very uncharacteristic of the silent shell that tended to beat first and ask questions never. 

"That's pretty admirable of you Leo. I like a guy who's good with kids." Hongbin chuckled as Leo smirked suddenly. 

"He said the same thing." Leo said as Hongbin's eyes widened. He wanted to ask who he meant, but he already knew who he meant. N. 

----

Thursday

It was Ken's day, and Hongbin was simply afraid. Ken was very mischievous, even though he didn't want to admit it, he was. Childish and mischievous were both his middle names and he just said to come back to the suite after classes to hang out, plain and simple, so Hongbin did just that. When he got home however, he didn't exactly expect to see what he was about to see. 

"Don't you remember this picture Mama? Aw he looked so cute just like a girl, I always had to kick those s away from him and protect my little flower prince bean beanie~!" He heard Ken singing out as Hongbin was too afraid to ask when he realized that Ken was in a video chat with Hongbin's own mother; he'd recognize that overaffectionate doting voice from any electronic device. 

"I know, oh, I just hope he's making good friends, thank goodness he has you Jaehwannie" He heard his mother doting, as per usual as Ken chuckled. 

"No worries mama I got him on lock. in fact, we're about to hang out right now so I'll have to talk with you later 'kay? Bye bye!" He said as he ended the call with Hongbin's mother. 

"Any reason why you were looking up old baby pictures with... my mom...?" Hongbin asked, crossing his arms as Ken chuckled nervously. 

"Don't be mad kong, I just wanted to remember how I was the better looking one before my nose got too big and your face got too handsome." Ken teased as he stuck his tongue out causing Hongbin to laugh. God he missed Ken. Even though he's been around him for a month and they've been spending a lot of time together in general, he missed having him so accessible back when they were kids. When Ken went off to Oceanside, well, Hongbin didn't have any other close freinds, and Ken was very limited contactwise and was out of Hongbin's life for two years,two very long years. 

"Anyway, I found this old album on holo-phone, wanna scroll through memory lane?" Ken proposed as Hongbin shrugged.

"Why not." 

Ken took a seat on the common room sofa and Hongbin took another seat next to him as they opened up the virtualbum, touching pictures on the holographic interface to bring up giant pictures of the old days. Hongbin snorting with laughter and embarrassment. 

"Oh geeze." He groaned as he laughed. The picture depicted Hongbin with a flower crown wearing a white gown like outfit that looked like a dress while Ken was dressed with a crown made from branches and had a branch waving it around like a sword as he held onto Hongbin's hand. 

"HAH! I remember this. This was when we became King and Queen of the fifteenth dimension." It was what they called their park in their neighborhood. They were no older than five. 

"i'm so glad this never surfaced anywhere." Hongbin sighed as Ken looked sinister. 

"What if it did~?" 

Hongbin shot Ken a look and poked his side. "No... bad Ken..." Ken pouted as he stared at the holo-phone. 

"Oooo what should I do Oooooo" He chanted in signature old woman voice causing Hongbin to laugh but try to stay adamant towards Ken. "Fine I won't, it'll be our little secret, just like our eventual wedding." Ken smirked as Hongbin rolled his eyes. 

"It doesn't count if we're five." And Ken suddenly gasped dramatically at the statement. 

"Lee Hongbin how could you? After all we've been through, you even stole my first kiss!" Ken shouted as he flailed his arms causing Hongbin to scoff incredulously but laugh anyhow. 

"I'm not sure if you remember that you tricked me into kissing you, when we were, let me repeat, five! You said you'd give me a puppy if i kissed you on your lips, and well, I'm still waiting for my damn puppy." Hongbin responded, sounding faux-angry in a joking manner as he had a big smile on his face. 

"YOU heathen! If you had recalled the whole deal, i said that I'd give you a puppy only if you gave me a monkey, you know how much I love those clever badasses!" Ken shouted dramatically as he screeched like a woman causing Hongbin to burst into a fit of laughter. 

"You're the best you know that." Hongbin laughed as Ken nodded. 

"Well duh, that's why we're getting married, sheeze you're too slow." Ken stuck his tongue out again as Hongbin smirked and simply threw a pillow at him before they went back to the virtualbum and started looking through more pictures. 

----

Friday

Hyuk's day, the final day before he had to choose who he was going to homecoming with. Honestly he didn't know what to expect. Hyuk was pretty unpredictable. They had SWORD training that specialized with melee weapons, something that Hongbin was already a pro at but he learned that he could be quite formidable if given a sword or another weapon of longer length as opposed to his daggers. When they were finally done with training however, Hongbin just had to wait for Hyuk so that they could do whatever he wanted. 

Right as they stepped out of their class however, Hyuk looked to Hongbin and sighed and looked at him seriously. "I have to get a couple things before we do whatever, I'll meet you back in our room okay?" Before Hongbin could either respond or react, Hyuk quickly ran off in some other direction. He was slightly confused but he didn't press any further. 

Hongbin arrived back at the suite and sat on his bed, thinking about things. He wasn't sure if doing this little experiment to see who he had more chemistry with was such a good idea. He didn't like the thought of playing with people's emotions but it seemed to be the only fair way. At least that's how Hongbin saw it. Still, in any case, all this experiment did was make the choice even harder to make. He'd discovered new sides to certain people in the past couple days, rekindled some old feelings and even became curious with a person who felt mutual.

Then there was Hyuk. Hongbin would be lying if he said he wasn't already crushing on the boy the minute he met him. All at once he was endearing, yet dorky, which added to his endearingness and made him quite adorable as a whole but at the same time admirable, serious and passionate. Hongbin sighed as he placed his elbows on his knees and slid his fingers through his hair, grabbing them nervously as he didn't know what he was going to do. Repeating the same words that Ken liked to chant out in his old woman voice. 

The door suddenly opened however, breaking Hongbin from his chain of thoughts and it was Hyuk who was holding something in his hand. A bouquet of flowers. Hongbin's warm brown eyes widened as he stared at Hyuk straight in the face. "Hyuk you really didn't have to-"

"I'm an open book okay?" Hyuk said suddenly as Hongbin was confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked as Hyuk shook his head. 

"You pretty much know everything about me already. I'm just a kid, an immature kid who has no mom and a sister, that's all there is to me, nothing special nothing remarkable, just that. But you, you're great, you're fantastic, you're simply rocking." He sighed as his complements caused Hongbin to blush but at the same time feeling his heart being slightly wrenched. 

"Hyuk is there something wrong?" Hongbin asked as he was genuinely cocerned. Hyuk neared closer and cleared his throat, deepening his voice as he sighed. 

"I'm sorry, that was really childish of me, I'm a man after all." Hongbin wanted to chuckle at the statement but he decided against it. "I just, really like you and you're just so cool. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be where I am now Hongbin. I'd still be a cadet, a trainee. But no, thankfully, I was sent with you, with you I became SWORD, and with you, I got to experience so many things that I never would've thought I would get to experience in my first weeks here. So, I'm not gonna try to woo you, or attack you but... you just have to know that it's really hard for me to sleep next to you every day without embarrassing myself, which I bet I end up doing anyway." Hyuk said with a sad smile as Hongbin shook his head as he neared closer. 

"Okay, you listen to me Hyuk because you're impressive for your age. You have spunk, you have a good disposition which is great to have in a world like this. You say that if it were not for me that you wouldn't be where you are, well guess what Hyuk, it goes both ways. If it weren't for you, someone that I could click with so easily, someone in a matter of seconds I can literally trust with my life, I wouldn't have made SWORD either. I wouldn't have even passed that exam at that fire cave." Hongbin noted as he grabbed Hyuk's shoulders and shook him, trying to shake some sense into him. 

"You hear me?" Hongbin said with a smile as Hyuk returned the smile and nodded, looking back down at Hongbin. 

There was a moment of silence where the two simply stood there until suddenly he felt hands grabbing onto the sides of his face, and then Hyuk's face came in and before he knew it, their lips met and he felt Hyuk's warm breath against his own. Hongbin felt electricity shocking into his nerves almost as he slightly tightened the grip on Hyuk's shoulders as he felt the younger boy deepening the kiss, causing Hongbin to gasp. He slid his hands from his shoulders and onto his broad chest, grabbing onto the fabric of his uniform. And as though Hyuk regained his senses, he quickly broke the kiss and backed away from Hongbin as he looked absolutely terrified and tears were welling in his eyes and Hongbin felt his heart being squeezed in his chest. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I... I didn't mean to-" Hyuk stammered. 

"Hyuk it's okay, you were just-" Hongbin didn't know what to say exactly, he didn't know if he should be happy or glad or angry, or what. 

"I should go, I'll, I'll stay somewhere else for the night. I'm so sorry." Hyuk immediately turned around and left the room as Hongbin just stood there, clenching his fists as his hand moved up to touch his lips. That was something, something amazing, but was it amazing was the question. He was just too confused. 

Hongbin sat back on his bed and laid back down, looking up at the ceiling as he knew that he had to make a choice, a choice of some sort. And he knew that whatever he chose, someone was going to be unhappy.

And that in turn, made Hongbin unhappy. 

A/N: HOLY CRAP THAT WAS A LONG CHAPTER, SHEEZE, anyway sorry for the giant chap, hope you guys still enjoyed it! The truth is, I'm actually moving to college tomorrow morning and I probably won't have free time to work on this story as often as I have been *seriouslyi'vebeenupdatingprettymuchdailysinceipublished* But then again, watch as I'm in the middle of college and I'm still writing up stories anywho hahah. I hope with whatever Hongbin chooses next chapter you won't be mad at him~! And don't worry, whatever he does choose most definitely does not mean that it will be his final or whatever, I plan on squeezing at least a couple tens or more chapters out of this epic so stay tuned for the drama as the ball starts next chapter! Let me know what you guys think! Also, if you got my Xenosaga reference, good for you, you get one huggle! Until next time~