"So how long have you guys all been...mutant support-group-ing?" Hakyeon asks, in his patented friendly-curious voice. 

Hongbin looks at Sanghyuk, who gives the older boy a small, approving nod. "It's a long-ish story," he beginsn; Hakyeon puts his hand on Taekwoon's shoulder, almost as if to keep him there. "I started with the astral projection when I was eleven. It was really ing scary at the time - I had no idea what was happening or why I could see my body, yeesh, that was weird. But my parents didn't find out I was a mutant until last year. I was fifteen when they kicked me out and I didn't really...know...what to do, and I was sleeping in shelters and stuff...and then I met Sanghyuk." Hongbin shoots the younger boy a fond grin. 

"And, not to brag, but I basically saved his life," Sanghyuk adds, an arrogant grin crossing his face. "Best part about controllable invisibility is that it makes things super easy to steal, and nobody ever suspects the adorable 14-year-old boy. So I bought Binnie an apartment to impress him -"

"Also so we'd have a place to live," adds Hongbin, lightly slapping Sanghyuk's arm.

"Also so we'd have a place to live," agrees Sanghyuk. "So for a while it was just me and Binnie and then Wonsik showed up, because he knows Binnie from school or whatever. And he heard about why Hongbin got kicked out, for some reason."

"Our parents are friends," Wonsik explains. "So I heard through them. And when I found out the guy I went to middle school with, he always got all these love letters from all the chicks - "

"Whoa, you never told me that part!" Sanghyuk protests. "Oooh, you were popular, Binnie?"

"Shut up and let him talk, Sanghyuk," Hongbin replies, motioning for Wonsik to continue. Sanghyuk pouts.

"He was a mutant. And I'd just realized that about three fourths of pretty much everything I own - I realized I dreamed it up. So I tried to find him, except I didn't have to, since I quite literally ran into Sanghyuk," Wonsik continues. 

"I was invisible," Sanghyuk elaborates. "And I was scared so I turned not invisible and I was about to punch his lights out -"

"'Cept then I explained my situation, and I re-connected with Hongbin after then." Wonsik smiles. "It was also my idea to make this a group - I mean, I'm not...out...to my parents yet. And I can't really live here, and neither can Jaehwan."

"Totally would if I could!" Jaehwan adds. "But yeah, I found the ad online and joined. My parents think I joined a band." As if to prove the complete mudane-ness of his finding of the group, he sticks his index finger in the air; a small firework bursts out and explodes with a pop.

"And then you two came in. So what's your story, morning glory?" Sanghyuk asks, smirking.

"Well," Hakyeon begins, half-realizing that he's never told the story to anyone but Taekwoon. "I figured out I could make fire on the first day of preschool, and I told Taekwoon on the second..."

Taekwoon lets Hakyeon in when he arrives, still sweating from a late night in the studio and carrying two hot chocolates almost as big as his face, and resists the urge to cling to his best friend's shirt and cry.

He has about a million reasons to, anyway. We're the only survivors of a mysterious museum explosion - the only ones so far, anyway. It was on the news. You have an excuse, you're not a human, you can survive stuff, but my name is Jung Taekwoon and I'm a struggling singer-songwriter who makes ty YouTube videos for a living. If anyone should be dead, it's me, but I'm alive and also I can control moonlight, or at least shape it into balls, which is kind of a lame superpower all things considered, but I'm terrified because what is this and I couldn't be alone, he thinks, all at once.

What he says, though, instead, is "You didn't have to bring hot chocolate."

"Yeah I did." Hakyeon puts down his bag, slips past Taekwoon and puts the two hot chocolates down on his desk. "I could tell that you were stressed on the phone so I picked something up - there's this coffee shop next to my studio that you should go to, Taekwoon, we could go see a movie and then grab some coffee. If you wanted."

"Thanks." Taekwoon takes his hot chocolate and holds it in both hands - like it'll escape from him - and takes a long sip before talking. "I - I didn't mean to call you up. I just...decided to take you up on your offer that you made earlier," he lies. 

Hakyeon shakes his head and sits down next to Taekwoon. "It's the news, right? About the explosion. I looked at the updates on my phone and honestly, I probably would've came even if you didn't call."

"You don't have to lie," says Taekwoon, avoiding Hakyeon's concerned gaze. 

"Neither do you," replies Hakyeon. "You were worried so you called me. It's a thing that happens - remember when we were, like, fifteen and that one mutant went rogue and destroyed a school bus?"

Taekwoon shudders. "I was so worried that I couldn't sleep. I was afraid...I thought you'd get found out and that they'd take you away...lock you up, or something," he says, shaking his head. 

"Yeah, yeah. I remember. So what I'm saying is - you've spent every single day since forever worrying about me, Taekwoon, and I think it's high time I started worrying about you too. I mean, if I'd lost you..." Hakyeon pauses, turning his gaze to his own hot chocolate. "I think I wouldn't be able to take it. I've got the rest of the group, but you're...my secret keeper." It's Taekwoon's imagination, maybe, but he says "my secret keeper" like he meant to say something else - something Taekwoon couldn't name, 

And, Taekwoon thinks, as he pushes his worries about being changed to the back of his mind where they can't hurt Hakyeon, if secret keeper is the best thing to Hakyeon he can be, he'll be it with all the strength he can muster.

"I'm going to ing kill him," says Joohyun, and Minseok almost believes it. "He was supposed to get terrigenated, not ing cause an explosion."

Minseok sighs. In all the years he's known Bae Joohyun, she's always been this hot-headed, and it's never not been irritating. (The fact that she can manipulate ice is a cruel, cruel coincidence, in his mind.) "Let's not be too harsh. We can pass this one off as a - as a terrorist attack or something."

"He could've blown our cover - all of our covers. We'd start getting treated like mutants if they found out about us, Minseok - we'd get prosecuted, forced to be soldiers." Minseok decides it's best to point out that most mutants aren't forced to be soldiers - not in most first world countries, anyway. 

"I think Joohyun is right," agrees Namjoo. "Not - not that we should kill Hansol if...when he gets home. But he should be reprimanded a little bit at least."

"I'm not saying that he shouldn't be reprimanded -"

"You're soft on the little 'cause you found him," Joohyun interrupts. "But if it was Namjoo you'd be pissed. I promise."

"Namjoo had already terrigenated when we found her, remember?"

"NOT the point, Minseok."

"No, you're right. Just don't kill him, alright? We never know with you." Minseok sighs and shakes his head before he turns to Namjoo, who sits at her laptop, click-clicking away. Every now and then, she floats up her Coke bottle with a straw and takes a sip - telekinesis perks, he suposes. "What'd you find about the two survivors, anyway, Namjoo?"

The younger girl pushes up her glasses. "One of them is a mutant. Out in broad daylight - must be something you can't see if you just look. And the other one...maybe he just got lucky."

"Or maybe he's another inhuman who just terrigenated," suggests Joohyun. "There's a chance, right?"

"I like the getting lucky idea," Minseok replies. "I mean, what are the chances of two inhumans getting terrigenated in the same explosion, right?"

"I will admit that you're probably right this time." Joohyun sighs. "Sorry. You think we should go out and look for him?"

"Give it a while. He might be practicing or something. And if he's not here by tomorrow night - then I'll go out."

"What, solo?" Joohyun asks, shaking her head. "No ing way, Minseok, you'll get yourself killed -"

"You're talking to the only person with any offensive powers in this room. You require certain tempratures and Namjoo doesn't do this whole killing thing. I can take care of myself and Hansol with ease. Alright?"

He's made a point Joohyun can't argue with. "Fine. But when two dead bodies show up on the news in two nights I'll kill you."

"Despite me being already dead?"

"Shut the  up, Minseok!"

"No, but the point is - it's kinda cradlerobbing, you know? 'Cause Hyukkie is legal now, but he was thirteen or whatever when he met Hongbin. It's like they're brothers. Or something."

Taekwoon laughs. "It's only a two year age difference, though. And they're cute together, anyways."

Hakyeon sighs dreamily. "I know. Hyukkie always comes into class with hearts instead of eyes, I swear. They're adorable." He lies back against the arm of Taekwoon's couch and sighs. "We gotta get significant others, Taekwoon."

Taekwoon thinks over his response carefully before he replies. "I don't really think being in love is all that awesome," he decides, drawing his knees to his chest out of habit. "There's a Romeo and Juliet for every Hongbin and Hyuk."

"Yeah, but - but don't you get lonely? I mean, like, you're an introvert and everything - but don't you want somebody to...hug? Or whatever?" Hakyeon asks.

Taekwoon shrugs. "I - I think some of my subscribers want to marry me. Maybe one of them's cute, huh?"

"I'm serious, Taekwoonie..."

"No you're not. If you want to go off on a tangent about your ideal girl, though, go ahead. Just don't expect me to listen." It comes out with a lot more bite than Taekwoon is expecting, and he regrets the words as soon as they come out of his mouth. "Sorry."

"N-no, it's fine." Hakyeon pauses. "But really...y'think we're ever going to find love?"

Maybe if I ever get over you, Taekwoon thinks. "Who knows? We're in our early twenties, still. That's more than enough time to figure everything out, so if you're that worried about staying single...just wait."

"For the perfect girl, right?"

"Or whatever," agrees Taekwoon, still reeling from the taste of his own words in his mouth. "A-and honestly, Hakyeon, if it's you...you shouldn't even have a problem, if you really try."

Hakyeon looks like a lost puppy. "Y'think that's my problem? I'm just not trying hard enough? Taekwoon, you're being way too nice. And someday, you'll find somebody for you too, and we can go on double dates and...and...are double weddings a thing?"

Taekwoon bursts out laughing, any. "That sounds absolutely terrible. That'd be a mess."

Hakyeon goes home the next night, after taking a completely unnecessary day off, despite Taekwoon's insistence that he didn't need the extra day. He had, however, took the time to cook some dinner, and Hakyeon being Hakyeon, he'd calculated for leftovers.

And as soon as he's gone, Taekwoon sighs and picks up his guitar. He'd meant to do so many things - at least explain to Hakyeon about the whole superpowers thing - and he'd done none of them. He strums angrily, presses into the fingerboard so hard that it hurts - there's no real melody, but it feels almost like it's supposed to. His entire world spins a little faster, because he's just so ashamed of himself - you had one job, Taekwoon, he thinks, and you ed that up too.

He sighs and puts his guitar away - he'll have to record later, still, but for now he can just not. What he does do is step outside, to the side of his apartment building near the trash cans - where the moon shines brightest. He breathes. Maybe the whole "inexplicably being able to shape moonlight into balls" thing was temporary - maybe it'd go away. Maybe it'd already had gone away.

He breathes and reaches his hand out.

The moonlight is light - it's like holding something lighter than water - and even though his hope at normalness sinks into him like somebody drowning, he lets out a laugh. "What the ," he says, amazed, as he takes more of it into his hands and pushes it back - it's so weird and natural. Maybe - maybe it won't be so bad telling Hakyeon about this. Maybe - 

"HANSOL!"

Taekwoon jumps and drops his gathered light at the shout. He doesn't recognize the voice, but it sounds frantic. "U-um, can I help you with something?"

"You're not Hansol, then. ."

"I'm - is there - i-is there anything I can do to help you?" Taekwoon asks, stepping closer to where he can actually see the guy, from under the dim glow of the streetlights.

"What are you, a mutant? No, you can't, I mean. . , Joohyun's going to kill me." He runs a hand through dyed, perfectly quiffed hair, and for a second, Taekwoon is taken aback by the fact that he's very handsome.

"I'm - um, I'm not a mutant," Taekwoon replies. "But seriously, I'll help you, I can try -"

"Wait, you're not?" the man asks, calming down slightly. "I saw you. Menekinesis, I'd recognize it anywhere. You're a mutant. And - , I have to get out of here -"

"No, I'm not a mutant," Taekwoon repeats. "This is new to me. A-and if it's a non-mutant you need to help you...please."

"Then - wait. New to you." The man steps closer to Taekwoon, and reflexively, Taekwoon steps back. "You wouldn't happen to be...were you in that museum when it exploded?"

"Yes?"

The man grabs Taekwoon's wrist. "I'm really sorry about this," he says, and it sounds like he means it. "My name is Kim Minseok and I'm about to take you somewhere where you'll be safe. And you just might be able to help me after all."

a/n: it's 1:00 am but i just exploded this save me

anyways!!! so the non-vixx crew in this story is red velvet's irene, exo's xiumin, a pink's namjoo and seventeen's hansol. tbh i chose randomly but they ended up reminding me of the boxcar children ;u;

anyways i feel like this isn't my best work but ch. 3 will (probably) be better so uh hang in tthere??? this note is short but i am sleepy and hence will be in bed soonly. goodnight everyone laura out ;;;