Jeongguk didn't particularly like inspection day, mainly because of the itchy hospital gown he was forced to wear, backside chilled from being bare, only wearing his rather embarrassing purple boxer shorts and black socks underneath. Thirty minutes before his mother served dinner, Jeongguk was stood up against the wall of his bathroom to wait for the examiners to arrive at his home so his chip could be scanned. It was a quick process; the microchip embedded in his skull flashed against the screen of the scanner, a jumble of words forming a conclusion, and a gloved officer flashed some sort of special flashlight into the young boy's eyes while a red, long pill was forced down his throat. 

Jeongguk grew up with this weekly routine and learned to let things happen the way they did; rumors of rebellious teens refusing inspection spread like wildfire, and from Jeongguk's extensive knowledge, those kids were punished with batons and tasers. It was easier to follow the rules than to be hurt; his father had raised him to always obey the law even if he didn't agree with it, and so Jeongguk waited silently within the tiled walls of his bathroom. 

From downstairs he could hear a powerful knock at the door, followed by the deep tone of his father's voice. Few words were distributed between the adults before booted feet stalked up the staircase, arms pushing at the door to Jeongguk's bathroom. The examiners were dressed in white coats and face masks, as though there was a disease floating inside of the teenager's home, an expensive briefcase clutched in their gloved fingers. 

Jeongguk bowed deeply to show great respect before straightening his back, eyes locked on the gaze of his father standing silently in the hall as a man with crisply cut, red hair stepped forward with the scanner in his hand. His partner came behind the boy to hold his head still with latex protected palms. Being scanned wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world, something that Jeongguk would never get used to even after seventeen years of doing the task weekly. A soft buzz rung about the otherwise quiet bathroom before a sharp ping struck the side of his head, just a new inches from his temple. 

With the headache he'd already been struggling with that day, the scan was abnormally painful and he struggled to hold in a sharp cry of pain. The feeling was like a thick needle pricking at his brain constantly, but today was far worse. It was his power, in all reality, because knowing too much came at an excruciating price. 

As quickly as the scan had started, it was over and the masked man behind Jeongguk helped him right his footing before letting him go, hard eyes going soft for just a moment with a poor sympathetic feeling. Jeongguk swallowed the dryness from his throat and held his hand out to take the red pill and the sterile cup of clear water that was held out for him, eyes wide open when the red headed man pulled up the flashlight. He knocked down the pill as quickly as he could; the taste was never appealing so he flushed it down with water while the light was spilling into his pupils. 

“All clear,” the man with red hair stated, and his partner nodded sharply as he placed the scanner and pill bottle right back into the suitcase they carried. The former turned toward Jeongguk's father whom stood silently in the dim hallway, his hand reaching out to shake, still gloved with latex. “No signs of abnormal activity, Mr. Jeon. I would suggest getting medicine for the migraines, and a monthly checkup to make sure his power stays under supervised control.” 

Jeongguk's father nodded graciously, offering to show the two inspectors the door, and Jeongguk waited until he heard the booted feet leave his home before undressing out of the thin hospital gown and back into some regular clothes; a black sweatshirt and some jeans. His head was pounding again, and with that he popped an additional few pills to soothe the ache before joining his parents downstairs for a quick dinner. He remembered his plans with Taehyung and the others, and he didn't want to miss out on the conversation just waiting to brew. 

○◘○◘○◘○

Taehyung welcomed Jeongguk with a soft kiss in the parking lot of the diner, long fingers clutching protectively at the younger boy's hips to pull him into the warmth of his body, tongue peeking out to trace each line of the former's mouth. Jeongguk blushed but didn't pull away, trying his hardest to ignore the boring eyes of Min Yoongi who stood a few yards away, next to Hoseok who busied himself by staring up into the cloudless sky. The two didn't pull away until an elder woman walking her dog spewed out angry curse words, but their hands still clasped together tightly with defiance. After one more quick peck on the cheek Taehyung finally turned toward the other two with a sheepish grin and gestured for the double doors of the diner with one eyebrow raised. 

Hoseok ordered two slices of pie, one for him and one for Yoongi who decided he didn't want to talk. His head was down, eyes hard and expressionless save for a tinge of anger flickering within his brown orbs. Jeongguk knew his power was taking over again that evening; sometimes the elder couldn't control what he felt and at that moment he hated everything. 

To keep from setting him off, Jeongguk turned to Hoseok with piqued curiosity, vaguely hearing Taehyung order both of them milkshakes. Jeongguk liked to speak with Hoseok, as he was one of his more mature friends who held a lot of useful knowledge. The guy grew up seeing the terrors of the world, and from that his mind was forced to become an adult while his young body still grew. With Jeongguk's superhuman mind, it was hard to find others who knew things such as what Hoseok knew without sounding a little silly and for that he was glad. 

“Sensed any danger?” Jeongguk questioned, cool fingers absentmindedly toying with Taehyung's open palm, eyes focused on the elder's strained expression. Hoseok held a knack for having a terrible poker face, and his features would contort if something heavy was weighing on his mind. At that moment, his nose was scrunched up with eyes squinted, lips puffed into a soft pout. 

“Yeah, just before inspection,” he began, teeth catching his bottom lip to gnaw at the skin for a moment. “Not bad...Just, someone dangerous is floating around the City. But then again, I can't really sense what the danger is. It's like there is a force field blocking my powers from getting the big picture.” Hoseok paused for a moment when the waitress slid over his slice of pie with a shy smile. When the woman left, he continued. “It's an awful feeling. Like someone leads you on and leaves you standing there like some big idiot.”

Yoongi snorted then and slid his untouched plate of pie to Taehyung instead of eating it. From the look on his face, it wasn't hard to miss the pure anger within his dark pupils. “Someone is ing with the City?” 

Hoseok gave a careful nod, eyes unsure as he watched the eldest boy clench his hands from underneath the table. “I think so.” 

The table fell silent until the livid gaze in Yoongi's eyes fell away, only then did Taehyung pipe up about inspection, lips still at the straw to his milkshake as he spoke, eyes lighting up like the innocent kid he still was. “The examiners told me I was in 'pristine condition'.” He gave a small, knowing smirk and lifted an eyebrow. “Beat that, losers!” 

Hoseok chuckled softly then and reached over the table to flick the younger boy in the head playfully, eyes disappearing with the smile that took over his once serious face. “You have the power of voice manipulation! Don't think you're hot stuff, you little brat!” 

Taehyung's jaw dropped wide, a big open palm slapping at his chest in mock hurt. Jeongguk watched his boyfriend with a soft smile against his face, admiring the way he and Hoseok could lightheartedly fool around and make a serious situation worth being in. 

Taehyung contained the power of sonic screaming and voice manipulation, which enabled him to sound like anything or anyone which in turn got Jeongguk out of school one more than one occasion, when the elder boy would pretend to be his father. The youngest had never heard Taehyung's sonic scream, only for the simple fact that it could kill someone with a cry that overpowered every noise in the world.  It was honestly terrifying, but luckily enough Taehyung was too kindhearted to even try, so he stuck with the manipulation of his vocal chords instead. 

Even if Taehyung could end a man's life with a simple scream, Hoseok liked to anyway. “All you can do is sound like an old grandpa,” Hoseok claimed with a laugh, and Taehyung shimmied under the table until he could kick out and strike the elder's leg. 

“I can sound like anything, jerk!” Taehyung straightened in his seat, tongue peeking out to at his chapped lips. “I can imitate anything, unlike you! You're the cowardly lion of the group! All you do is sense danger!” 

Hoseok made a rather immature face at him before turning back to his pie, shoving a large bit into his mouth to hide the smile lingering there.   

Yay! I finally updated! Sorry for taking so long~ Since I'm currently working on another fic, this one won't be updated as frequently. 

Please understand~

I hope you're enjoying!!