We are the Best Absolute Powers! [2/2]
(part 1)
Jongup spends most of the day flinching away whenever Junhong comes close to touching him, and squeezing his eyes shut every time Junhong makes a cute expression, which is all the time because Junhong’s face does not stay still for a single moment.
When Junhong asks if he is okay, Jongup does not know how to answer. He is not sick, but he still feels like throwing up when Junhong looks at him with his doe eyes and calls him hyung. He can’t slow down his heartbeat when Junhong leans in and whispers little secrets right against his ear. He can’t even breathe sometimes when he looks at Junhong.
So even though Jongup’s not sick, that is what he tells Junhong, because he doesn’t know what’s wrong.
*
Youngjae is Jongup's roommate when he is moved into the Academy's elite training tier at age 14. He is a good roommate, friendly but not overbearing. Youngjae is closer to Jongup's age than the other two hyungs, so Jongup finds their friendship comfortable.
It is a quieter friendship, as most of the times they just keep each other company while they do separate things. There is no pressure to do things together, but Jongup enjoys it whenever they do end up sharing a meal, or watching a movie. Especially watching movies, even though Youngjae reacts with his entire body, he makes them so much more interesting, so Jongup is willing to endure a few slaps and kicks.
Youngjae is really smart, but he's not intimidating at all. When he is laughing way too hard at something that is only mildly funny, Jongup forgets. He is only reminded whenever Youngjae speaks, how every word is filled with tact and thought. If Jongup did not pay attention, he wouldn't even notice. He thinks it's almost like subliminal messaging, or mind manipulation.
Also, Jongup has seen Youngjae's homework, and he would rather climb 99 flights of stairs than try to figure it out. Never mind that it is part of his weekly training routine. It is around this time that Jongup starts questioning his purpose in life, and his purpose at the Academy. Somebody with Youngjae's powers would provide immeasurable help to the world, while all Jongup could do was lift big rocks.
Youngjae has never made him feel out of place, though. He always finds something positive to say about Jongup, and tells him he has a role that is different from others’ roles, but no less important. “A body would be useless if it had 20 brains and nothing else, right?” he would always say. Jongup tries to believe that, but it is a bit harder when he doesn’t know what his role is, unlike Youngjae.
There’s not a lot that Youngjae doesn’t know.
*
Junhong returns to Jongup's room that night, and Jongup can't turn him away. He also knows he won't be able to sleep, so when Junhong falls asleep, Jongup wriggles out, untangling himself from Junhong's long limbs, careful not to wake him. He might just sleep on their sofa tonight.
When he gets to the common room though, he finds Youngjae there, still awake, browsing on his tablet. He glances up from the screen. "Can't sleep?"
"Nope," Jongup says, taking the other end of the couch. He takes the blanket there and wraps it around his shoulders.
"Anything wrong?" Youngjae sounds like he's on autopilot, just asking these things because he’s obligated to. It’s enough for Jongup, though.
"Not really." Jongup thinks about it. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it," Youngjae says from behind the tablet.
Youngjae's smart and levelheaded in most situations, and if anyone were to give Jongup a logical answer, it would be Youngjae. "Hyung, why do you like Daehyun?"
Giving Jongup his full attention now, Youngjae seems surprised. There is a moment's hesitation where it feels like he wants to ask something back. He hides it quickly, though. "That's a good question," Youngjae says, "considering Daehyun eats like a pig, doesn't know when to shut up, can't read the mood of his company, is inconsiderate of other people's sleep habits, has to be the center of all the attention, and I'm only scratching the surface."
Jongup wrinkles his nose. That does not sound very much like love to him.
"But the short answer is that despite knowing everything that's wrong with Daehyun, sometimes even because of it, I'm unable to not like him, and so I just do, it's not really a choice," Youngjae says, his eyes soft, no trace of annoyance in his face whatsoever. So he wasn't complaining about Daehyun. "And he does the same for me."
"What's the long answer?" Jongup doesn't like the sound of not being in control. "Is it more logical?"
"There are logical parts," Youngjae says, smiling so that his cheekbones push up and make his eyes narrow. "Daehyun's fun to be around, I laugh a lot when I'm with him. He has a voice like liquid gold, singing no longer sounds complete unless he's harmonizing with me. You can tell by the way he enjoys food that he appreciates even the simple things of life, and that's what stabilized me when my fluctuations drove me insane.
"But a lot of it's also illogical." Youngjae laughs when Jongup twists his mouth. "Funny, right? Love is one of the most basic human emotions yet it stumps me to no end. I can't explain that feeling that hits me when I just look at Daehyun. It squeezes right here," Youngjae clenches his shirt right over his heart, "so tightly it's painful, but it also makes me tingle all the way to my fingers and toes."
"It makes me want to smile and cry at the same time, because I'm so grateful I have him, and so scared that it won't be that way forever." Youngjae's face has gone serious again, and he looks away from Jongup. "You saw how badly I panicked when his life was in danger."
Jongup nods, he's never seen Youngjae like that before.
“He makes me lose my head," Youngjae continues, "and not even when he's in danger. I still can't think a single coherent thought when we kiss." He glances back up. "Sorry for getting all sentimental on you."
Jongup realizes he's frowning. It's just because he's concentrating. Everything he feels for Junhong makes just a little bit more sense. He lets his forehead relax and he shakes his head. "No, thanks hyung, I feel a lot better now."
Youngjae gives him a quick squeeze on his neck. "Think you can sleep now?"
"Yeah," Jongup says, because it's true. He thinks he can accept his feelings as love, and that keeps his mind from going into overdrive. He picks himself off the sofa and puts the blanket back. "Good night, hyung."
Youngjae leans back against the sofa and picks up his tablet again. “Sleep tight, Jonguppie.”
*
The relentless rain worsens into thunderstorms the next morning, and Jongup is secretly glad he is incapacitated when the SOS alarms wake him up. He feels only slightly guilty that he gets to stay in bed while the others have to get up and go out on a mission. He hasn’t slept that well in a while. Beside him, Junhong groans and shifts a little, but he doesn’t get up. Jongup watches his sleeping face for a while. When Junhong sleeps, he curls up on his side, his mouth opens up just a little bit, his upper lip sticks out, and he looks so innocent he could disarm a war.
Jongup wants to capture this image in his mind forever. He doesn’t want to disturb Junhong from sleep, but the more he stares, the more he wants to touch Junhong, to brush the hair from his eyes, to stroke his cheek, to trace the ridge of his nose, to kiss his parted lips. It feels like one touch will break the spell.
When Jongup can no longer stand it, he carefully draws away and gets up out of bed. He wants to dance, to get rid of all his restless energy. He leaves a note for Junhong and eats a light breakfast, then goes to the practice room.
As Jongup is dancing, he tries to express his feelings through his movements. “Love” is something new to Jongup, and it’s scary and exciting at the same time. It is just like when Jongup does a flip in midair. For a moment, he is free, nothing rooting himself to the ground, stabilizing him. It is terrifying not being sure if he is going to land on his neck or his feet, but exhilarating at the same time.
“Love” is also kind of comfortable, Jongup thinks, once he got used to the movements. Some things like body rolls used to be so difficult for Jongup to grasp, and his body wanted to all move in the same direction at the same time. But after a lot of practice, it’s now easy to isolate parts of his body. Likewise, Jongup’s body, which used to freeze when Junhong brushed his arm by accident, now melts naturally into Junhong’s when they lounge on the couch watching a movie together.
It is also confusing, this thing called “love,” and turns Jongup’s world upside down. Dancing is something that Jongup has always been able to do by himself, and he never realized that dancing could get even better when he was with somebody he enjoyed. Now he wishes Junhong were with him.
Jongup is checking the time-almost an hour since he left Junhong sleeping-when a loud crash comes from the general vicinity of their chambers. And the first thing on his mind is-Junhong.
Without a second thought, Jongup sprints back to his room, frantically praying that nothing would happen to Junhong. He slams open his front door.
Junhong’s gone.
There’s debris all over the floor from the glass pane of his wall, which has been smashed open, letting in the rain and wind. Something gigantic has been inside, and it probably has Junhong. Jongup looks outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of it in the cloak of the storm.
SCREECH. Jongup nearly falls out the opening as the monster swoops up from below. It turns its head so that one giant beady eye is facing him. It’s the bird-dragon monster thing, the last one he had fought. Junhong is nowhere to be seen.
Backing away, Jongup grabs the sheets off his bed and throws them over the threatening head. He needs a rope, any rope, and he needs to get to the ground. He stands no chance midair when his powers are weak. Having their base up in a tower is really not a great design decision, Jongup thinks as he tries to overcome his panic. You have a better chance of saving him if your head is clear, Yongguk’s words replay in his head. He finds the SOS button and hits it.
Now that he has sounded the alarm, he needs to secure Junhong, and since the monster was clearly after Junhong, the only way he can think of doing that is putting down the beast. Taking a deep breath, Jongup takes aim and leaps. He grabs hold of the monster’s long, scaly talon and hangs on for dear life as it writhes, trying to get the bed sheet off its head. It can’t maintain its flight while it struggles, and it lands on the ground ungracefully. Jongup loses his grip and falls off as bird screeches in pain.
Jongup lands on his feet, bruised but mostly unharmed, and the bird shakes the sheet off its head. It sees Jongup and starts coming after him, but it’s limping. Jongup sees its right claw is bent at a weird angle. It must have landed badly, and Jongup is thankful for that. Every little handicap ups his chances of survival. It is still terrifyingly fast, and Jongup dodges between buildings, looking for anything he could use.
He finds an abandoned chain in front of one of the many stores that didn’t have time to lock up, and he picks it up while turning around to face the monster. Quickly stepping aside to dodge the razor-sharp beak that was aimed at him, Jongup swings his legs over the long neck. Holding one end of the chain in either hand, he loops it around the snake-like neck and squeezes.
Jongup uses every last drop of strength to hang on to the chain. It’s difficult when the monster starts stumbling and shaking its head. It slams its back against the brick wall of a building, also slamming Jongup into it as a result, and Jongup hears the crack of his own skull.
Vision swimming, the only things Jongup is aware of as everything fades to black are the blood making its way down his neck, the chain in his hands, and the feeling of falling. He hopes what he did was enough as he passes out. He doesn’t remember hitting the ground.
*
Jongup wakes up to find himself in the same hospital wing he had visited little more than a week ago. He blinks, squinting as the back of his head throbs in protest at the brightness. Wiggling his fingers and toes, he breathes out a sigh of relief to find they still work. Shifting a bit, Jongup feels a weight on his chest and looks down.
Junhong has fallen asleep on him, waiting for him to wake up, he realizes. He reaches up and goes to brush Junhong's hair off of his face when he suddenly notices the dark purple bruises on Junhong's neck.
He traces them out with his finger. With a jolt, he realizes that they go all around Junhong's neck, thick and chain-shaped.
Junhong stirs at his soft touch, and Jongup doesn't understand how his heart can melt so easily as Junhong blinks in recognition and graces him with a blinding smile. "Jonguppie-hyung," he says, finding Jongup's hand and squeezing it.
Jongup can't help returning Junhong's million-watt smile, and it almost makes him forget about the strangulation bruises around Junhong's neck. There's no way, right? Jongup can feel how badly Junhong wants to take more than his hand, and how he's holding back for fear of Jongup's injuries. There's no way Junhong caused those injuries.
"Are you okay?" Junhong looks concerned, and Jongup realizes he must have grimaced.
He nods. "Do you...remember anything?"
Junhong's distress shows clearly on his face. He shakes his head. "I fell asleep and when I woke up everything was a mess and I got these," he says, lifting his chin to show the bruises more clearly. "I don't know how I didn't wake up," he says, not even trying to hide his frustration. "I'm so useless."
"It's okay," Jongup says, moving his fingers up to ruffle Junhong's hair. "I'm glad you're okay."
Junhong props his elbows down by Jongup's chest and rests his chin in his hands. "Me too, he says. He looks down. "How long will you take to heal?"
For the first time since he woke up, Jongup notices the casts on his right leg and the bandages around his chest. He takes a deep breath, and it catches in pain. He estimates about 3 broken ribs, maybe bruised lungs. His toes still move so he is pretty sure his leg is not shattered irreparably. He might not be able to dance for a while. "My cells have super strength too," he reassures Junhong. "It'll be faster than a normal person's."
Jongup feels like he is saying these things for himself more than he is saying them for Junhong. He has never sustained such bad injuries in the first place, and he's not sure if his fluctuations will obstruct his healing. But seeing the relief on Junhong's face makes Jongup feel like he will be fine.
Instead, he worries more about Junhong. He thinks he knows the answer, but he asks anyways. "Is your ankle okay?"
Junhong blinks in surprise. "How did you know?" He lifts his right foot up and shows Jongup the compressor around his ankle. "It's just twisted," he says quickly, taking the disbelieving look on Jongup's face as alarm. "We can be twins," he jokes, the corner of his mouth twitches.
Under normal circumstances, Jongup would be laughing delightedly. Instead he only manages a weak chuckle, his stomach churning unpleasantly. He has all but confirmed that Junhong is the monster they have been fighting. Jongup is severely confused.
"Are you okay?" Junhong asks, worried. Apparently his reaction's not good enough for Junhong. Jongup's a terrible liar.
Shaking his head, Jongup looks up at Junhong's open, earnest face. There is just no way. "I just need some more sleep," he says, apologetic.
"Go to sleep," Junhong says immediately, standing up and arranging the covers more comfortably around Jongup. "I'll still be here if you need me," he says, taking a seat next to Jongup's bed.
Jongup hums an affirmation and closes his eyes, but he can't sleep. His mind is running too wildly.
The more he thinks, he finds more things that make sense, and more things that do not. He remembers when he found Junhong in the middle of the rubble when it did not make sense for any person to be there. He thinks of the unrelenting storms and the unnatural earthquake. Then he thinks about how excited Junhong was to see him dance, and how his eyes crinkle asymmetrically when he smiles too widely.
Jongup feels a light pressure between his eyes. He opens them, and sees Junhong staring intently at him. His eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
"You were frowning," Junhong explains. "Don't frown."
How is Junhong a monster when he says things like this? Jongup frowns some more and earns another poke in the forehead.
Protesting the pokes, he is about to pull the covers over his head when Junhong suddenly swoops down. He pecks Jongup right on his frown wrinkles with those shiny pink lips and sits back down.
Jongup is sure he is turning as bright as a tomato, and by the way his mind empties, somehow manages to forget about his dilemma. He pushes it aside and decides he'll talk to one of the hyungs later.
"Sleep well.” Junhong’s hair tickles the side of Jongup’s face.
Jongup does not have too much trouble falling asleep after that, and if he fell asleep with a smile on his face, only Junhong would be able to say.
*
The problem of Junhong being a monster is still not gone when Jongup gets out of the hospital wing the next morning, a little prematurely due to an emergency team meeting. He should probably tell someone, but he doesn’t know who. Would Junhong still be allowed to stay with them?
There is also the question of whether he should tell Junhong. There is no time to tell him now though, when everybody is gathered in the common room again.
“You all probably figured this meeting is about yesterday’s attack on our base.” Jongup did not actually figure that, and it sets him on edge. Was there a possibility that they found out about Junhong as well? Jongup watches nervously as Yongguk pulls up a report. At the top right corner is a crudely drawn picture of what is still unmistakably the possibly-Junhong monster that he fought yesterday. “The situation with the monster is a lot worse than previously thought. This monster is actually from a legend.”
Junhong scoots closer, his thigh pressing against Jongup’s, and Jongup tenses by reflex. He tries to focus his attention on the report by skimming over a few lines of it as Yongguk start to read them.
" 'Every few hundred years, there is some astral alignment that's associated with the birth of an apocalyptic monster. The monster, given the name Zelo during its previous appearances, has power over the earth, bringing about natural disasters wherever it goes.
" 'If Zelo isn't destroyed, it will bring about the destruction of the world.' " Yongguk looks from the file back at them. "There was actually a documented incident of Zelo that matches the astral data from 15 years ago, but it disappeared as quickly as it came."
"Until now," Youngjae says, as realization dawns.
Yongguk nods. "The world is depending on us to destroy it," he says gravely.
Jongup swallows. The monster they have to destroy is sitting next to him, keeping his side warm, listening intently and watching with wide-eyed admiration. "Do we have to kill it?"
"It says the world will end if we don't," Daehyun says, pointing at the screen.
Jongup frowns. If they kill the monster, what would happen to Junhong? Jongup doesn't even want to entertain the idea. "Can't we negotiate with it or something?"
There is a short pause as everybody stares at him, then Youngjae starts laughing, pulling everybody else in with him. Jongup doesn't usually mind when the others do not take him seriously, he agrees some things he says are out there, but this time, it is hurtful and frustrating.
"I don't think we can talk to Zelo," Himchan says as kindly as possible. That frustrates Jongup even more. He knows for sure that he can, that they all can for that matter.
Jongup doesn't say anything for the rest of their meeting. All he can think about is how to get Junhong out of this situation.
When Yongguk breaks the meeting, Junhong catches Jongup’s hand. “I think your idea is worth a try,” he says into Jongup’s ear.
Despair rips out of Jongup and he smiles sadly at Junhong. “I hope so.”
*
Jongup hates stress. It is against his life policy. Yet he is overflowing with it and can barely concentrate on anything. Not even playing Pokemon with Junhong is helping, and that is the most distracting thing he can think of.
He tries to keep track of the weather, and gauge how close Junhong is to transforming, but there is no noticeable pattern since it rains all the time. He feels like he is fighting against time, which is impossible to grasp, let alone beat. His team is going to be ready for Zelo the next time it appears, and even though Jongup knows it’s possible for Zelo to turn back into Junhong, he has no idea how.
Even if he did know how, he doesn’t know how he is going to do it by himself and discreetly enough that his team won’t notice Zelo is Junhong.
He is interrupted out of his increasingly frantic thoughts by the intercom. It isn’t for a meeting though. It’s for Junhong. Jongup does not want to let Junhong leave his sights, so he goes with Junhong to the common room. He has a bad feeling about this.
Entering the room, his fears are confirmed. On the couch is a government agent, dressed in all black, briefcase besides him. He wants to grab Junhong’s hand and run, but Yongguk is right there, and the agent has already unmistakably seen Junhong. “It’s okay,” Yongguk says, his voice as reassuring as he can make it.
No, it’s not, Jongup thinks, but he stays quiet.
“May I speak to Junhong in private?” the agent says, ignoring Jongup’s poise to strike. Yongguk gives Jongup a look, and Jongup has no choice but to agree. He and Yongguk leave the room, shutting the door behind them, but Jongup sits outside the door, trying to make out bits of the conversation. His only reassurance is that he is standing between Junhong and the exit. If the government tries to take Junhong away, they would have to get through him.
The agent is fast, and Jongup doesn’t have to worry for too long as the door opens again.
“Thanks for your time,” he says, as Yongguk shows him to the exit.
“What was that about?” Jongup asks Junhong as soon as the agent leaves.
Junhong shrugs, looking confused as well. “I can stay,” he says. He opens his fist and reveals a flash drive. “The agent says I can make my own decision after watching this.”
“Don’t watch it,” Jongup says, frowning. He wonders what the government could possibly show Junhong that would make him leave.
“Okay,” Junhong says, pocketing the flash drive, but Jongup catches doubt in his voice. He hopes he is just being paranoid.
In the most untimely way, Jongup is reminded that living with Junhong was only supposed to be temporary. If Junhong survives long enough, he’s going to be taken away anyways.
Jongup wonders if he can blackmail the government by losing his powers. The government depends on the Best Absolute Powers to maintain a peaceful world, and if Jongup does not get bonded, they are going to be taking a bit hit. The government would probably let Junhong stay if his powers depended on it. Bonding with Junhong is not even about keeping his powers anymore. He had not realized when his thinking shifted, but now it’s about keeping Junhong.
The only problem is whether Junhong wants it too. Jongup wishes he didn’t have to think.
*
Daehyun is Youngjae’s best friend. Therefore, meeting Daehyun shortly after meeting Youngjae is inevitable.
Jongup has never seen a friendship like Daehyun and Youngjae’s. It is full of relentless teasing, harassing, and bickering, yet they are so close they seem like one person. If they are apart for too long, it starts to feel like something is missing.
Even though Daehyun and Youngjae have known each other since they both first got to the Academy, actually probably because of that fact, they actually go through the most painful and arduous bonding experience. On average, Refinement takes a year. There are some that happen much more quickly, and then there are those like Daehyun and Youngjae’s that take the entirety of their adolescence. Jongup just remembers a lot of arguments and hurt feelings towards the end. He has never figured out how it ended up happening.
After Yongguk, Himchan, and Youngjae, Daehyun tries too hard to be a big brother to Jongup. Something about him being Youngjae’s roommate instantly attaches Daehyun to Jongup, and Jongup’s not sure if it is a good thing. Daehyun means well, but he is not very helpful. Jongup doesn’t know why he always ends up following Daehyun’s advice when it usually ends with his embarrassment. Maybe because Jongup can tell at the core Daehyun really cares, and he might care the most.
*
"Just kiss him."
Jongup stares blankly at Daehyun while his brain processes the words. "What?"
"Just kiss him," Daehyun repeats, turning his attention away from his burger and looking intently at Jongup.
"Who?" Jongup has a vague sinking feeling that Daehyun has just cornered him with a tactful hamburger bribe. He should’ve known that Daehyun had something up his sleeve when he said he was going to treat Jongup. Daehyun would never part with food under normal circumstances.
"Who else?" Daehyun still has not touched his burger from the time he started talking. That means he is completely serious. "Junhong."
It isn’t like Jongup could not guess that, he wanted to be sure. But-"Why?"
"You like him," Daehyun says matter-of-factly, going back to his burger.
Jongup can't deny that. He looks questioningly up at Daehyun. Thinking about it, he has seen less of Daehyun recently, and that usually happens when Daehyun is exercising his power.
"Before you say anything, no I didn't spy on you," Daehyun says as Jongup opens his mouth. "You've just been too preoccupied with Junhong to notice that everybody else notices."
"Oh." Jongup watches as a third of Daehyun's burger disappears in one bite. He takes a nibble out of his own. "How do I kiss him?" he asks when Daehyun swallows.
"Just kiss him."
Jongup does not think this is very helpful. He just keeps staring as Daehyun lifts his burger up for another bite. Daehyun notices and sighs as he puts his food down for the second time that meal.
"Like this." He stands up, reaches across the table to cup Jongup's face and pull it towards him. Jongup's reflexes beat his surprise and he pulls back as Daehyun's lips attack.
"I don't need you to show me," Jongup says, pushing Daehyun's face away with his hands. "Just...when? Where?” A whole slew of questions fill his mind. Slowly? Quickly? Softly? Forcefully? “What if he doesn't want to?"
Daehyun's eyes narrow as he grins. "So you've been thinking about it."
"I do think, you know." Jongup looks down uncomfortably. "Don't sound so surprised."
"I know," Daehyun says, his voice gentle. "We all know." Jongup looks back up at Daehyun, an unexpected warmth filling his chest. "Anyways, what I just showed you was possibly the worst you could do, and things still worked out with me and Youngjae.
Jongup's eyebrows shoot up involuntarily. He has never really talked to his hyungs about how they bonded. "You did that to Youngjae?"
"Yep, you should've seen the look on his face," Daehyun laughs. Jongup can see Youngjae's flustered face in his mind and joins him.
“And it worked?” Jongup’s laughing so hard he can barely breathe.
Daehyun can’t even talk, so he just nods.
"Thanks, Daehyunnie-hyung," Jongup says when he no longer has to gasp for air. "That was actually helpful."
"What do you mean actually?" Daehyun sniffs. "I'm always helpful."
That is highly doubtful, but Jongup's face settles into his usual smile. The one that's been missing lately.
"There's our Jonguppie," Daehyun says, patting Jongup's cheek. "Now hurry up and eat."
Jongup looks from his nearly untouched burger to the last of Daehyun's, quickly disappearing into that black hole of a mouth. He pinches his burger in half and hands half to Daehyun. "Thanks."
“That’s what family’s for,” Daehyun says, but he takes the burger with a smile anyways.
*
Jongup spends the majority of the day planning it all out in his head. He thinks of a thousand ways this could go wrong, and a thousand ways it could go more than right.
He has probably thought of every single scenario, but none could prepare him for this.
They had already prepared for sleep, and Jongup was on his bed playing on his DS, Junhong snug against his side and smelling clean like shampoo. Junhong was in one of his rare quiet spells, just watching the screen. Jongup had just defeated a gym leader when it happened.
“Jonguppie-hyung, I love you.”
It catches Jongup by surprise, and for once his reflexes do not work. He stares into Junhong’s fiercely determined face and does not do much else, DS left abandoned on his lap.
Junhong lets his eyes drop, but the determination is still burning in them. “It’s ok if you don’t feel the same way, but I want you to know, because I believe in having no regrets, and-”
Jongup’s brain and body are all out of synch, and he doesn’t even know which is lagging behind, maybe both are, but one finally catches up to the other and he does the most sensible thing he can think of. He cuts off Junhong with a kiss.
He closes his eyes, but they stay open just long enough after finding Junhong’s lips to catch Junhong widen his own eyes. It is a chaste kiss, soft and dry, but Jongup lingers before he pulls away. He barely has time to process what he has done when he feels a tickle on his arm. Junhong apparently feels the same thing and squeaks in surprise when a light starts to glow from their left wrists.
Slowly and symmetrically, a shining double helix grows out of each of their wrists, wrapping around their arms and going so far up it disappears into their shirt sleeves. Jongup takes off his shirt, and sees where it ends, curled right over his heart.
Junhong places his hand over the pattern. Jongup’s heart is still beating a million times faster than normal from Junhong’s confession, but he no longer worries about what Junhong would think. Smiling, Junhong takes Jongup’s hand and puts it over his own matching mark. Jongup can feel Junhong’s heartbeat, and it’s going just as fast as his own.
Jongup knows what the mark means. “We’re soulbonded, Junhong,” he says, and he can’t suppress his smile.
“What’s soulbonding?” Junhong asks with his ever-present curiosity.
Jongup’s not too sure either, but he has a general idea. “I guess it means I belong to you and you belong to me.”
Junhong seems to like this idea. He closes his eyes and snuggles closer to Jongup. “So if I get lost or go…far away, you’ll always be able to find me?”
It seems like a weird question to ask, but Jongup knows he’ll do anything to find Junhong if that happens, so even if the soul chains are just markings, he answers, “yes.”
“Good.” Satisfied, Junhong buries his face into his favorite spot between Jongup’s shoulder and neck. “Good night, Jonguppie-hyung.”
Jongup rests his cheek on the top of Junhong’s head. “Good night, Junhong.”
My soulmate, he adds in his head for good measure.
*
For the first time, Junhong’s nowhere to be seen when Jongup wakes up. He is too preoccupied by the memories of the previous night to be worried, though. Not bothering to get out of bed, he raises his left arm above his head, and watches as the intertwining silver strands branded on his arm catches the sunlight. He marvels at how pretty it is, and what it means. First of all it means he is in his final stage of Refinement and then he can finally get back to fighting evil with his team. But that’s secondary to him now when it also means that he and Junhong are bonded.
Jongup lowers his arm and touches his lips. Electricity races up his spine as he recalls how Junhong’s lips felt on top of his. He wants to see Junhong, so badly. He rolls himself out of bed and puts on a long-sleeved shirt, hiding his mark.
Everybody is in the common room when Jongup arrives-except for Junhong.
"Where's Junhong?" he asks. It's an innocent enough question, but the way everybody freezes for a moment causes a nauseating fear to rise up in Jongup's chest. Where is he?" Jongup asks again, trying to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.
"He went home," Youngjae says tentatively. "He called the government agent himself."
Yongguk stands up and picks up a flash drive-the one Junhong got from the government agent-from the table besides him. "He left voluntarily this morning after watching the video on this."
Himchan pulls Yongguk back as he starts to walk it over to Jongup. "Are you sure he should see it?"
"It's up to him," Yongguk says, but Himchan frets anyways. Jongup takes the flash drive from Yongguk and plugs it into the projector.
A surveillance camera feed shows up, and Jongup realizes with a jolt that it's of his room. He knows there are security cameras throughout their facility, but he didn’t realize the government had been tapping into those feeds. On the screen, a figure, fuzzy but unmistakably Junhong, is lying on his bed. It looks like he's asleep.
But that’s wrong. The Junhong on the screen starts writhing and everything starts to shift. Jongup watches in horror as Junhong’s skin stretches and darkens, as black scales and feathers sprout out from all over his body. He wants to look away but can’t turn his eyes from the face that is elongating into a beak. He watches with morbid fascination as Junhong’s arms become the pair of terrifyingly beautiful wings he’s seen up close.
The video feed cuts off as Zelo struggles to get into open space, breaking the glass wall and escaping to the outside. Jongup knows what happens next. It is from the first time he figured out Junhong was the monster. He has known, yet having never seen it with his own eyes. He’s held on to the tiniest shred of hope that he was wrong. He even convinced himself he was wrong when he’d bonded. It was impossible to bond with something inhuman, wasn’t it?
Jongup takes a deep breath to steady himself, and trying his best to not let his voice break, he asks, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Junhong asked us not to tell you,” Yongguk says, stepping in. “He also left this for you.” Yongguk hands Jongup a small, flimsy piece of paper. He takes the note with shaking hands and reads it, over and over.
Jonguppie-hyung, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I don’t want to hurt anybody, but if you told me to stay I wouldn’t have been able to leave. I love you. -Junhong.
“When did he leave?” Jongup asks when he finally forces his eyes away from the three little words that stir up inexplicable emotions inside of him.
“You’re not going after him,” Yongguk says, in the tone that meant no argument.
A tear drops onto the piece of paper in his hands. It blurs the letters, and Jongup folds it up before the rest of his tears ruin it. “Where is he?”
Himchan pulls him against his chest and pats his head. He tries pushing Himchan away, but he is weak right now and it is doing nothing. “Jonguppie,” Himchan says, trying to soothe him.
Jongup feels like he should be ashamed. All of the hyungs knew already, and he is the only one in the dark. He hasn’t cried in front of any of them, except for Yongguk, but that was when he was 5. He’s not normally like this. Normally nothing gets to him, but something about Junhong just shakes him up and he can’t help it. He stops his writhing against Himchan. “Where-”
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The alarms interrupt him. Yongguk hurries to the console and the screen pulls up a map. A red dot flashes in the center, and the intercom comes to life with static. “It’s escaped. Zelo’s escaped,” a panicked voice comes through the intercom.
“JUNHONG!” Jongup has never had need to raise his voice, but the scream that tears out of him sounds less like a human and more like a scared wild animal.
Himchan holds him tighter and muffles his shouts with his shoulder. Jongup considers biting him.
"Bring me with you." Jongup knows he is probably being a disgrace to his team right now, tears still streaming down his face and a little hysterical. He’s being disobedient and disrespectful, but he has to go. He struggles against Himchan's arms fruitlessly. He's just hurting himself.
"Jonguppie." Yongguk's voice is quiet and low. It's his serious voice. "Your powers are completely gone right now, and your emotions will only get in the way."
Jongup takes a deep breath and tries to make his voice stop shaking. "Roll up my left sleeve," he tells Himchan, as calmly as he can.
Himchan first looks apologetically to Jongup, then towards Yongguk for approval. Jongup looks back to Yongguk with pleading eyes. Yongguk is disciplined and stern, but he's not unreasonable. He nods.
Himchan releases Jongup and jerks up his sleeve. The mark from his bonding with Junhong glows silvery-white against the pale skin of his inner forearm and wraps around his bicep as Himchan continues rolling up his sleeve.
Yongguk takes his arm for a closer look. This is clearly not what he was expecting.
"This means he's completely human, doesn't it?" Jongup sees the momentary opening in Yongguk's conviction and seizes his chance. "This is proof, right?"
His eyes still wide and his fingers tracing out the pattern, Yongguk shakes his head. “Not just that.” He rolls up his own left sleeve and holds his forearm against Jongup's. They look the same. Jongup is momentarily confused, but it must be okay if Yongguk's pattern looks the same. "The helix only forms if both partners have powers," Yongguk explains.
Jongup frowns as this new piece of information unravels itself in his head. He’s still trying to stop hyperventilating and his head is spinning.
"Junhong has a super power," Yongguk continues. "But why hasn't it manifested?"
Everything comes rushing up at once. The sleep paralysis, the memory blackouts, the temperamental weather… "It has." Jongup remembers out loud. "Fifteen years ago."
All eyes are on Jongup now.
"I know what his power is." Jongup jumps up onto the airship. "We have to go now."
Yongguk throws out a mental link and Jongup catches it. He breathes in as he clears his mind of any hysteria and focuses on transmitting his newfound knowledge to Yongguk. In a moment, Yongguk nods and beckons everybody else to follow. "Strap in tight.”
“What’s going on?” Himchan catches Yongguk’s eye.
"We're going to save the world."
*
“Brief them, Jonguppie,” Yongguk says before he shuts himself into the cockpit.
“Me?” Jongup asks, but Yongguk has already closed the door. “Um.” He looks at the expectant faces of the others.
“You can do it, Jonguppie,” Daehyun says, nudging him encouragingly.
Jongup has no idea where to start. “Um, well, now that you all know…” Jongup turns his wrist up to reveal his soul chain again. “Junhong’s completely human, even though you saw that video.”
“You said he has a power.” Youngjae’s brow is furrowed in concentration. “That’s related to the video, right?”
“Yeah.” Jongup is grateful for the added input. It takes a lot of the pressure away. “Junhong became an orphan as a baby, around the same time Zelo appeared and disappeared. That’s his power, he sealed Zelo.”
“And the reason Zelo’s reappeared…” Daehyun says as he slowly puts together the pieces.
“…is because of fluctuations,” Youngjae finishes, his voice getting higher with excitement.
Jongup nods. “The thunderstorms and natural disaster stuff is from Zelo, too.”
“Oh no,” Himchan says, his pale face getting even paler. Everybody looks at him. “You guys just bonded.”
Jongup doesn’t understand, but by the glance Youngjae and Daehyun exchange, he bets it’s bad. “That’s when fluctuations are at their worst,” Youngjae says when he sees Jongup’s look of confusion. “Zelo’s going to be at his most powerful.”
“Basically it’s like the final test of your bond,” Daehyun adds. “If you pass, you get stabilization.”
“If I don’t?” Jongup gulps. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to even imagine not passing.
“It normally just means you both lose your powers.” Himchan looks at Jongup and holds his gaze. “But in your case, the world will be destroyed before that happens.”
Jongup laughs weakly. “So I guess I can’t fail then.”
“We’re not going to come up with a back-up plan,” Himchan says, as if there were no other choice. To Jongup, there is no other choice. “You’re getting Junhong back no matter what.”
“We’ll help,” Youngjae says, “but ultimately it’s up to you.”
“Your real power is right here.” Daehyun pats Junhong on his chest. “You’ve got this, Jonguppie.”
Jongup is about ready to break down again. He’s still scared of losing Junhong, but that’s not why. It’s the confidence his hyungs have in him, and it gives him confidence in himself. “Thanks,” is all he can manage. Anything more and he’d actually cry.
Just then, Yongguk probes them with his mind. You ready?
Jongup surprises himself with the calmness with his answer.
It’s now or never.
*
The airship lands and Jongup jumps off the ship, Himchan following. Daehyun is already cloaked, twin swords in his hands, presumably behind them.
Zelo is in sight, a majestic terror against the backdrop of the storm. Suddenly, the ground jerks beneath them. It’s cooling the earth’s core and slowing the earth’s rotation, Youngjae informs them before they ask. If the earth stops rotating, our electromagnetic field and atmosphere are going to be stripped away and humanity’s toast. You have less than 15 minutes.
Oh, good. Fifteen minutes is plenty of time, Jongup tells himself. Let’s go.
Yongguk’s airship takes off, and the three on the ground run towards the monster. When Zelo sights them, it lets out an ear-piercing shriek that cuts through the rain. Immediately, the rain stops, and Jongup has never seen anything so unnatural. The earth starts to rumble and it cracks open, and Jongup nearly falls into a chasm as it opens.
“What are those?” Himchan says, just as Jongup sees them. Out of the scarred ground, red-hot lava seeps out. Jongup stops moving as he watches the lava stand up until it towers over him. Jongup backs up, prepared to tackle it to the ground when Himchan grabs his wrist. “Don’t touch it.”
The lava monster lunges towards Jongup, but before he can dodge aside, its head rolls off and it melts back into the ground. Jongup exchanges a glance with Himchan and they both grin. “Thanks, Daehyunnie-hyung.”
Daehyun responds by sending two more lava heads flying. Jongup watches the lava harden into black rock for a few seconds before Yongguk’s voice is back in his head. Daehyun’s got your back. Himchan, cover his front.
Himchan hums in reply and his skin darkens as he covers himself with his heat-resistant skin armor. It slows him down, but he forges a path between Jongup and Zelo.
Jongup pushes down the desire to help, even when he hears Daehyun hiss in pain as he gets burned by molten rock. His hyungs do their job and keep him unharmed, and soon Jongup’s close enough to Zelo to speak to it. “Junhong, can you hear me?” He feels Yongguk using him as a link to touch the monster’s consciousness. Junhong, are you there?
The inside of the monster’s mind is vast and alien, and the only thing Jongup can feel coming from it is a desire to destroy. Zelo turns an eye on him and sweeps Himchan aside with a wing. Before Jongup can react, Zelo pins him down with a talon. Just as quickly, it jumps back with a screech as a silver ribbon of light shoots up from its chest to the tip of its wing. Jongup’s matching mark glows.
Jongup struggles back up to a standing position, bleeding from the places where his skin rubbed away on the ground. It’s hard for him to keep standing in front of Zelo while he’s being buffeted by the wind and the trembling ground. He grabs a hold of Yongguk’s mental connection to Zelo and probes deeper, looking for a trace of Junhong’s sleeping consciousness. Junhong!
“Junhong!” he shouts out loud at the same time. Zelo staggers backwards a bit before bringing its head closer to Jongup. Taking a shaky breath to suppress his instinct to run away from the beak that could probably cut him in half, Jongup remains as still as he possibly can while it examines him. He can sense Yongguk ready to airlift him out, and he realizes how vulnerable he is. I’m okay, he tells Yongguk.
“Junhong,” he calls again. “Junhong, Junhong-ah.” The eye focused on Jongup dilates and contracts a little every time he says the name. Every fiber of his being wants to run away, but seeing the response roots him there. He holds out the arm with the glowing mark facing up, so that it reflects off the shiny, black eye. “Junhong, do you remember this?”
Zelo brings its head a little closer, so close that Jongup can touch the beak if he reaches out just a little more. He stays still. “Remember what you said when this happened, Junhong? You told me you loved me.” He’s still inside the monster’s mind, searching, and in the midst of the alien mind, he finds something familiar to latch onto.
“I never said it out loud,” Jongup says, staring into the round eye, “but Junhong-ah, I love you too.”
The monster stops freezes, and Jongup feels the familiar consciousness stir. Holding his breath, Jongup feels this is the right time to reach out and place his hand on Zelo’s beak. It jerks back, but Jongup can sense Junhong’s mind jolt awake with his touch. Come on, Junhongie, you can do it, he encourages the faint consciousness.
Zelo screeches again as it shakes its head, stumbling back and forth. It seems to have lost interest in the outside world and turned inside itself to fight an internal battle. Where am I? Junhong’s tiny, scared voice comes through.
“Junhong!” Jongup can’t contain his excitement, even though it might frighten Junhong some more. “Junhong, I need you to trust me, okay?”
Jonguppie-hyung? Junhong sounds marginally less scared.
“Yes, I’m here,” Jongup says, trying to make his voice more reassuring. “This will sound crazy, so you’ve got to trust me on this, but you have a superpower and you’re inside Zelo right now.”
There’s a silence, and Jongup’s afraid he’s lost Junhong to the monster for a moment. Okay, Junhong finally says.
“Okay,” Jongup echoes. “Your superpower is to control it, you’re in control, alright?”
I can’t, Junhong says, panic rising in his voice.
“Junhong.” Jongup isn’t scared anymore. “Remember how quickly you learned how to dance? You’re the best improviser I know.”
Jongup feels immense concentration start to come from the mixed consciousness, and it feels more and more like Junhong’s. Hyung, can you touch me one more time?
Zelo is still thrashing about on the ground, and there seems to be a high chance of getting accidentally stabbed or knocked away in approaching it, but Jongup feels like he can do anything right now. He slips underneath the wings, dodges its feet, and makes a jump for the neck.
Almost as instantly as Jongup touches it, Zelo freezes. I think I got it, Junhong says, and Jongup can practically hear him beaming.
Jongup swings himself over to sit on top of Zelo’s back, and squeezes the monster’s neck in a tight hug. “I knew you could do it,” he says into the scales.
Zelo chokes a bit, and Jongup realizes he’s squeezing too hard; his powers have returned. Before he can be excited about it, Youngjae interrupts them. The core hasn’t stopped cooling, I think you have to reverse it.
How? Junhong seems unsure of even how to walk in Zelo’s body.
Think of something hot? Youngjae says, just as unsure.
Jongup blushes as an image of his body flashes through everybody’s mind. He’s really glad he’s wearing pants in it. Not that kind of hot, Youngjae says, amused to no end.
AHEM. The image fades away as Yongguk sets them back on track.
You know something really hot? Daehyun’s voice comes through, and it sounds like he’s running out of stamina. These lava things.
Yeah, there are too many of them, Himchan adds. He sounds tired too. Jongup had forgotten that they were still fighting.
“Try sending them back,” Jongup says, and Junhong nods the monster’s head. Jongup nearly falls off when the monster screeches again. For a moment, Jongup wonders if Junhong lost control, but the lava start receding back into the cracks in the earth. As they go back, the ground re-seals itself.
Sorry, Junhong says sheepishly. I tried to talk and that’s how it came out.
Don’t be sorry, Youngjae’s voice is in their heads again. It worked.
With the lava monsters gone, and Zelo under control, Yongguk lands the airship. Daehyun materializes from thin air, and Himchan releases his armor. How do I turn back? Junhong asks, quiet and nervous that it’s a dumb question.
“I think you return when Zelo gets knocked out,” Jongup says, remembering the first time they discovered him as well as their last encounter. Junhong makes an unsatisfied noise. “I think you can just put it to sleep though.”
Junhong closes Zelo’s eyes, and thankfully, he starts to shrink, until he’s a boy again. He opens his eyes tentatively, and immediately breaks into a wide grin when he sees Jongup through his normal eyes. He throws his arms around Jongup, and Jongup kisses his smile.
“I did good, didn’t I?” Junhong says when he finally lets go of Jongup.
“You did well,” Yongguk says, correcting Junhong’s grammar. He pauses. “I suppose you did good, too,” he amends, and the corner of his mouth raises, dimpling his cheek.
Junhong grins some more, and then lets out a huge yawn. He rubs at his eyes. “I’m so tired.”
“I guess we have to get you back home, then,” Himchan says, slinging an arm around Junhong’s shoulders.
“Home?” Junhong looks at them with wide eyes, starting to panic.
“Yeah, that’s what we call base,” Youngjae says, taking as much amusement in Junhong’s confusion as he can.
“And seeing as you’re part of the team now, it’s your home too.” Daehyun attempts to hold in his own grin as Junhong processes the information. Suddenly, he doesn’t look so tired anymore.
Junhong jumps up and down all the way up the ramp into the airship, but it turns out he is tired. As soon as he takes a seat, he lays his head down on Jongup’s shoulder and dozes off. Jongup is looking down fondly at the now familiar sleeping face when someone squeezes his shoulder.
You were great. Jongup looks up and Yongguk smiles at him. Jongup’s chest expands, and he thinks about all the trust his hyungs gave him with the job. He thinks about his super strength, how he thought it was boring, and how they taught him it wasn’t. He looks back at Junhong, smiling as he thinks of how Junhong taught him his most important lesson:
Jongup’s true strength is in his heart.
it is DONE, I don't understand how people write so much, I could barely keep track of this thing @_@ this time, thanks to e for helping me nail down this plot that was too big for my brain, and c + j, the best betas without whom this fic would make a lot less sense ♥
THANK YOU FOR READING, here are my inspiration gifs (I had them open the entire time I was writing) ♥
Jongup spends most of the day flinching away whenever Junhong comes close to touching him, and squeezing his eyes shut every time Junhong makes a cute expression, which is all the time because Junhong’s face does not stay still for a single moment.
When Junhong asks if he is okay, Jongup does not know how to answer. He is not sick, but he still feels like throwing up when Junhong looks at him with his doe eyes and calls him hyung. He can’t slow down his heartbeat when Junhong leans in and whispers little secrets right against his ear. He can’t even breathe sometimes when he looks at Junhong.
So even though Jongup’s not sick, that is what he tells Junhong, because he doesn’t know what’s wrong.
*
Youngjae is Jongup's roommate when he is moved into the Academy's elite training tier at age 14. He is a good roommate, friendly but not overbearing. Youngjae is closer to Jongup's age than the other two hyungs, so Jongup finds their friendship comfortable.
It is a quieter friendship, as most of the times they just keep each other company while they do separate things. There is no pressure to do things together, but Jongup enjoys it whenever they do end up sharing a meal, or watching a movie. Especially watching movies, even though Youngjae reacts with his entire body, he makes them so much more interesting, so Jongup is willing to endure a few slaps and kicks.
Youngjae is really smart, but he's not intimidating at all. When he is laughing way too hard at something that is only mildly funny, Jongup forgets. He is only reminded whenever Youngjae speaks, how every word is filled with tact and thought. If Jongup did not pay attention, he wouldn't even notice. He thinks it's almost like subliminal messaging, or mind manipulation.
Also, Jongup has seen Youngjae's homework, and he would rather climb 99 flights of stairs than try to figure it out. Never mind that it is part of his weekly training routine. It is around this time that Jongup starts questioning his purpose in life, and his purpose at the Academy. Somebody with Youngjae's powers would provide immeasurable help to the world, while all Jongup could do was lift big rocks.
Youngjae has never made him feel out of place, though. He always finds something positive to say about Jongup, and tells him he has a role that is different from others’ roles, but no less important. “A body would be useless if it had 20 brains and nothing else, right?” he would always say. Jongup tries to believe that, but it is a bit harder when he doesn’t know what his role is, unlike Youngjae.
There’s not a lot that Youngjae doesn’t know.
*
Junhong returns to Jongup's room that night, and Jongup can't turn him away. He also knows he won't be able to sleep, so when Junhong falls asleep, Jongup wriggles out, untangling himself from Junhong's long limbs, careful not to wake him. He might just sleep on their sofa tonight.
When he gets to the common room though, he finds Youngjae there, still awake, browsing on his tablet. He glances up from the screen. "Can't sleep?"
"Nope," Jongup says, taking the other end of the couch. He takes the blanket there and wraps it around his shoulders.
"Anything wrong?" Youngjae sounds like he's on autopilot, just asking these things because he’s obligated to. It’s enough for Jongup, though.
"Not really." Jongup thinks about it. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it," Youngjae says from behind the tablet.
Youngjae's smart and levelheaded in most situations, and if anyone were to give Jongup a logical answer, it would be Youngjae. "Hyung, why do you like Daehyun?"
Giving Jongup his full attention now, Youngjae seems surprised. There is a moment's hesitation where it feels like he wants to ask something back. He hides it quickly, though. "That's a good question," Youngjae says, "considering Daehyun eats like a pig, doesn't know when to shut up, can't read the mood of his company, is inconsiderate of other people's sleep habits, has to be the center of all the attention, and I'm only scratching the surface."
Jongup wrinkles his nose. That does not sound very much like love to him.
"But the short answer is that despite knowing everything that's wrong with Daehyun, sometimes even because of it, I'm unable to not like him, and so I just do, it's not really a choice," Youngjae says, his eyes soft, no trace of annoyance in his face whatsoever. So he wasn't complaining about Daehyun. "And he does the same for me."
"What's the long answer?" Jongup doesn't like the sound of not being in control. "Is it more logical?"
"There are logical parts," Youngjae says, smiling so that his cheekbones push up and make his eyes narrow. "Daehyun's fun to be around, I laugh a lot when I'm with him. He has a voice like liquid gold, singing no longer sounds complete unless he's harmonizing with me. You can tell by the way he enjoys food that he appreciates even the simple things of life, and that's what stabilized me when my fluctuations drove me insane.
"But a lot of it's also illogical." Youngjae laughs when Jongup twists his mouth. "Funny, right? Love is one of the most basic human emotions yet it stumps me to no end. I can't explain that feeling that hits me when I just look at Daehyun. It squeezes right here," Youngjae clenches his shirt right over his heart, "so tightly it's painful, but it also makes me tingle all the way to my fingers and toes."
"It makes me want to smile and cry at the same time, because I'm so grateful I have him, and so scared that it won't be that way forever." Youngjae's face has gone serious again, and he looks away from Jongup. "You saw how badly I panicked when his life was in danger."
Jongup nods, he's never seen Youngjae like that before.
“He makes me lose my head," Youngjae continues, "and not even when he's in danger. I still can't think a single coherent thought when we kiss." He glances back up. "Sorry for getting all sentimental on you."
Jongup realizes he's frowning. It's just because he's concentrating. Everything he feels for Junhong makes just a little bit more sense. He lets his forehead relax and he shakes his head. "No, thanks hyung, I feel a lot better now."
Youngjae gives him a quick squeeze on his neck. "Think you can sleep now?"
"Yeah," Jongup says, because it's true. He thinks he can accept his feelings as love, and that keeps his mind from going into overdrive. He picks himself off the sofa and puts the blanket back. "Good night, hyung."
Youngjae leans back against the sofa and picks up his tablet again. “Sleep tight, Jonguppie.”
*
The relentless rain worsens into thunderstorms the next morning, and Jongup is secretly glad he is incapacitated when the SOS alarms wake him up. He feels only slightly guilty that he gets to stay in bed while the others have to get up and go out on a mission. He hasn’t slept that well in a while. Beside him, Junhong groans and shifts a little, but he doesn’t get up. Jongup watches his sleeping face for a while. When Junhong sleeps, he curls up on his side, his mouth opens up just a little bit, his upper lip sticks out, and he looks so innocent he could disarm a war.
Jongup wants to capture this image in his mind forever. He doesn’t want to disturb Junhong from sleep, but the more he stares, the more he wants to touch Junhong, to brush the hair from his eyes, to stroke his cheek, to trace the ridge of his nose, to kiss his parted lips. It feels like one touch will break the spell.
When Jongup can no longer stand it, he carefully draws away and gets up out of bed. He wants to dance, to get rid of all his restless energy. He leaves a note for Junhong and eats a light breakfast, then goes to the practice room.
As Jongup is dancing, he tries to express his feelings through his movements. “Love” is something new to Jongup, and it’s scary and exciting at the same time. It is just like when Jongup does a flip in midair. For a moment, he is free, nothing rooting himself to the ground, stabilizing him. It is terrifying not being sure if he is going to land on his neck or his feet, but exhilarating at the same time.
“Love” is also kind of comfortable, Jongup thinks, once he got used to the movements. Some things like body rolls used to be so difficult for Jongup to grasp, and his body wanted to all move in the same direction at the same time. But after a lot of practice, it’s now easy to isolate parts of his body. Likewise, Jongup’s body, which used to freeze when Junhong brushed his arm by accident, now melts naturally into Junhong’s when they lounge on the couch watching a movie together.
It is also confusing, this thing called “love,” and turns Jongup’s world upside down. Dancing is something that Jongup has always been able to do by himself, and he never realized that dancing could get even better when he was with somebody he enjoyed. Now he wishes Junhong were with him.
Jongup is checking the time-almost an hour since he left Junhong sleeping-when a loud crash comes from the general vicinity of their chambers. And the first thing on his mind is-Junhong.
Without a second thought, Jongup sprints back to his room, frantically praying that nothing would happen to Junhong. He slams open his front door.
Junhong’s gone.
There’s debris all over the floor from the glass pane of his wall, which has been smashed open, letting in the rain and wind. Something gigantic has been inside, and it probably has Junhong. Jongup looks outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of it in the cloak of the storm.
SCREECH. Jongup nearly falls out the opening as the monster swoops up from below. It turns its head so that one giant beady eye is facing him. It’s the bird-dragon monster thing, the last one he had fought. Junhong is nowhere to be seen.
Backing away, Jongup grabs the sheets off his bed and throws them over the threatening head. He needs a rope, any rope, and he needs to get to the ground. He stands no chance midair when his powers are weak. Having their base up in a tower is really not a great design decision, Jongup thinks as he tries to overcome his panic. You have a better chance of saving him if your head is clear, Yongguk’s words replay in his head. He finds the SOS button and hits it.
Now that he has sounded the alarm, he needs to secure Junhong, and since the monster was clearly after Junhong, the only way he can think of doing that is putting down the beast. Taking a deep breath, Jongup takes aim and leaps. He grabs hold of the monster’s long, scaly talon and hangs on for dear life as it writhes, trying to get the bed sheet off its head. It can’t maintain its flight while it struggles, and it lands on the ground ungracefully. Jongup loses his grip and falls off as bird screeches in pain.
Jongup lands on his feet, bruised but mostly unharmed, and the bird shakes the sheet off its head. It sees Jongup and starts coming after him, but it’s limping. Jongup sees its right claw is bent at a weird angle. It must have landed badly, and Jongup is thankful for that. Every little handicap ups his chances of survival. It is still terrifyingly fast, and Jongup dodges between buildings, looking for anything he could use.
He finds an abandoned chain in front of one of the many stores that didn’t have time to lock up, and he picks it up while turning around to face the monster. Quickly stepping aside to dodge the razor-sharp beak that was aimed at him, Jongup swings his legs over the long neck. Holding one end of the chain in either hand, he loops it around the snake-like neck and squeezes.
Jongup uses every last drop of strength to hang on to the chain. It’s difficult when the monster starts stumbling and shaking its head. It slams its back against the brick wall of a building, also slamming Jongup into it as a result, and Jongup hears the crack of his own skull.
Vision swimming, the only things Jongup is aware of as everything fades to black are the blood making its way down his neck, the chain in his hands, and the feeling of falling. He hopes what he did was enough as he passes out. He doesn’t remember hitting the ground.
*
Jongup wakes up to find himself in the same hospital wing he had visited little more than a week ago. He blinks, squinting as the back of his head throbs in protest at the brightness. Wiggling his fingers and toes, he breathes out a sigh of relief to find they still work. Shifting a bit, Jongup feels a weight on his chest and looks down.
Junhong has fallen asleep on him, waiting for him to wake up, he realizes. He reaches up and goes to brush Junhong's hair off of his face when he suddenly notices the dark purple bruises on Junhong's neck.
He traces them out with his finger. With a jolt, he realizes that they go all around Junhong's neck, thick and chain-shaped.
Junhong stirs at his soft touch, and Jongup doesn't understand how his heart can melt so easily as Junhong blinks in recognition and graces him with a blinding smile. "Jonguppie-hyung," he says, finding Jongup's hand and squeezing it.
Jongup can't help returning Junhong's million-watt smile, and it almost makes him forget about the strangulation bruises around Junhong's neck. There's no way, right? Jongup can feel how badly Junhong wants to take more than his hand, and how he's holding back for fear of Jongup's injuries. There's no way Junhong caused those injuries.
"Are you okay?" Junhong looks concerned, and Jongup realizes he must have grimaced.
He nods. "Do you...remember anything?"
Junhong's distress shows clearly on his face. He shakes his head. "I fell asleep and when I woke up everything was a mess and I got these," he says, lifting his chin to show the bruises more clearly. "I don't know how I didn't wake up," he says, not even trying to hide his frustration. "I'm so useless."
"It's okay," Jongup says, moving his fingers up to ruffle Junhong's hair. "I'm glad you're okay."
Junhong props his elbows down by Jongup's chest and rests his chin in his hands. "Me too, he says. He looks down. "How long will you take to heal?"
For the first time since he woke up, Jongup notices the casts on his right leg and the bandages around his chest. He takes a deep breath, and it catches in pain. He estimates about 3 broken ribs, maybe bruised lungs. His toes still move so he is pretty sure his leg is not shattered irreparably. He might not be able to dance for a while. "My cells have super strength too," he reassures Junhong. "It'll be faster than a normal person's."
Jongup feels like he is saying these things for himself more than he is saying them for Junhong. He has never sustained such bad injuries in the first place, and he's not sure if his fluctuations will obstruct his healing. But seeing the relief on Junhong's face makes Jongup feel like he will be fine.
Instead, he worries more about Junhong. He thinks he knows the answer, but he asks anyways. "Is your ankle okay?"
Junhong blinks in surprise. "How did you know?" He lifts his right foot up and shows Jongup the compressor around his ankle. "It's just twisted," he says quickly, taking the disbelieving look on Jongup's face as alarm. "We can be twins," he jokes, the corner of his mouth twitches.
Under normal circumstances, Jongup would be laughing delightedly. Instead he only manages a weak chuckle, his stomach churning unpleasantly. He has all but confirmed that Junhong is the monster they have been fighting. Jongup is severely confused.
"Are you okay?" Junhong asks, worried. Apparently his reaction's not good enough for Junhong. Jongup's a terrible liar.
Shaking his head, Jongup looks up at Junhong's open, earnest face. There is just no way. "I just need some more sleep," he says, apologetic.
"Go to sleep," Junhong says immediately, standing up and arranging the covers more comfortably around Jongup. "I'll still be here if you need me," he says, taking a seat next to Jongup's bed.
Jongup hums an affirmation and closes his eyes, but he can't sleep. His mind is running too wildly.
The more he thinks, he finds more things that make sense, and more things that do not. He remembers when he found Junhong in the middle of the rubble when it did not make sense for any person to be there. He thinks of the unrelenting storms and the unnatural earthquake. Then he thinks about how excited Junhong was to see him dance, and how his eyes crinkle asymmetrically when he smiles too widely.
Jongup feels a light pressure between his eyes. He opens them, and sees Junhong staring intently at him. His eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
"You were frowning," Junhong explains. "Don't frown."
How is Junhong a monster when he says things like this? Jongup frowns some more and earns another poke in the forehead.
Protesting the pokes, he is about to pull the covers over his head when Junhong suddenly swoops down. He pecks Jongup right on his frown wrinkles with those shiny pink lips and sits back down.
Jongup is sure he is turning as bright as a tomato, and by the way his mind empties, somehow manages to forget about his dilemma. He pushes it aside and decides he'll talk to one of the hyungs later.
"Sleep well.” Junhong’s hair tickles the side of Jongup’s face.
Jongup does not have too much trouble falling asleep after that, and if he fell asleep with a smile on his face, only Junhong would be able to say.
*
The problem of Junhong being a monster is still not gone when Jongup gets out of the hospital wing the next morning, a little prematurely due to an emergency team meeting. He should probably tell someone, but he doesn’t know who. Would Junhong still be allowed to stay with them?
There is also the question of whether he should tell Junhong. There is no time to tell him now though, when everybody is gathered in the common room again.
“You all probably figured this meeting is about yesterday’s attack on our base.” Jongup did not actually figure that, and it sets him on edge. Was there a possibility that they found out about Junhong as well? Jongup watches nervously as Yongguk pulls up a report. At the top right corner is a crudely drawn picture of what is still unmistakably the possibly-Junhong monster that he fought yesterday. “The situation with the monster is a lot worse than previously thought. This monster is actually from a legend.”
Junhong scoots closer, his thigh pressing against Jongup’s, and Jongup tenses by reflex. He tries to focus his attention on the report by skimming over a few lines of it as Yongguk start to read them.
" 'Every few hundred years, there is some astral alignment that's associated with the birth of an apocalyptic monster. The monster, given the name Zelo during its previous appearances, has power over the earth, bringing about natural disasters wherever it goes.
" 'If Zelo isn't destroyed, it will bring about the destruction of the world.' " Yongguk looks from the file back at them. "There was actually a documented incident of Zelo that matches the astral data from 15 years ago, but it disappeared as quickly as it came."
"Until now," Youngjae says, as realization dawns.
Yongguk nods. "The world is depending on us to destroy it," he says gravely.
Jongup swallows. The monster they have to destroy is sitting next to him, keeping his side warm, listening intently and watching with wide-eyed admiration. "Do we have to kill it?"
"It says the world will end if we don't," Daehyun says, pointing at the screen.
Jongup frowns. If they kill the monster, what would happen to Junhong? Jongup doesn't even want to entertain the idea. "Can't we negotiate with it or something?"
There is a short pause as everybody stares at him, then Youngjae starts laughing, pulling everybody else in with him. Jongup doesn't usually mind when the others do not take him seriously, he agrees some things he says are out there, but this time, it is hurtful and frustrating.
"I don't think we can talk to Zelo," Himchan says as kindly as possible. That frustrates Jongup even more. He knows for sure that he can, that they all can for that matter.
Jongup doesn't say anything for the rest of their meeting. All he can think about is how to get Junhong out of this situation.
When Yongguk breaks the meeting, Junhong catches Jongup’s hand. “I think your idea is worth a try,” he says into Jongup’s ear.
Despair rips out of Jongup and he smiles sadly at Junhong. “I hope so.”
*
Jongup hates stress. It is against his life policy. Yet he is overflowing with it and can barely concentrate on anything. Not even playing Pokemon with Junhong is helping, and that is the most distracting thing he can think of.
He tries to keep track of the weather, and gauge how close Junhong is to transforming, but there is no noticeable pattern since it rains all the time. He feels like he is fighting against time, which is impossible to grasp, let alone beat. His team is going to be ready for Zelo the next time it appears, and even though Jongup knows it’s possible for Zelo to turn back into Junhong, he has no idea how.
Even if he did know how, he doesn’t know how he is going to do it by himself and discreetly enough that his team won’t notice Zelo is Junhong.
He is interrupted out of his increasingly frantic thoughts by the intercom. It isn’t for a meeting though. It’s for Junhong. Jongup does not want to let Junhong leave his sights, so he goes with Junhong to the common room. He has a bad feeling about this.
Entering the room, his fears are confirmed. On the couch is a government agent, dressed in all black, briefcase besides him. He wants to grab Junhong’s hand and run, but Yongguk is right there, and the agent has already unmistakably seen Junhong. “It’s okay,” Yongguk says, his voice as reassuring as he can make it.
No, it’s not, Jongup thinks, but he stays quiet.
“May I speak to Junhong in private?” the agent says, ignoring Jongup’s poise to strike. Yongguk gives Jongup a look, and Jongup has no choice but to agree. He and Yongguk leave the room, shutting the door behind them, but Jongup sits outside the door, trying to make out bits of the conversation. His only reassurance is that he is standing between Junhong and the exit. If the government tries to take Junhong away, they would have to get through him.
The agent is fast, and Jongup doesn’t have to worry for too long as the door opens again.
“Thanks for your time,” he says, as Yongguk shows him to the exit.
“What was that about?” Jongup asks Junhong as soon as the agent leaves.
Junhong shrugs, looking confused as well. “I can stay,” he says. He opens his fist and reveals a flash drive. “The agent says I can make my own decision after watching this.”
“Don’t watch it,” Jongup says, frowning. He wonders what the government could possibly show Junhong that would make him leave.
“Okay,” Junhong says, pocketing the flash drive, but Jongup catches doubt in his voice. He hopes he is just being paranoid.
In the most untimely way, Jongup is reminded that living with Junhong was only supposed to be temporary. If Junhong survives long enough, he’s going to be taken away anyways.
Jongup wonders if he can blackmail the government by losing his powers. The government depends on the Best Absolute Powers to maintain a peaceful world, and if Jongup does not get bonded, they are going to be taking a bit hit. The government would probably let Junhong stay if his powers depended on it. Bonding with Junhong is not even about keeping his powers anymore. He had not realized when his thinking shifted, but now it’s about keeping Junhong.
The only problem is whether Junhong wants it too. Jongup wishes he didn’t have to think.
*
Daehyun is Youngjae’s best friend. Therefore, meeting Daehyun shortly after meeting Youngjae is inevitable.
Jongup has never seen a friendship like Daehyun and Youngjae’s. It is full of relentless teasing, harassing, and bickering, yet they are so close they seem like one person. If they are apart for too long, it starts to feel like something is missing.
Even though Daehyun and Youngjae have known each other since they both first got to the Academy, actually probably because of that fact, they actually go through the most painful and arduous bonding experience. On average, Refinement takes a year. There are some that happen much more quickly, and then there are those like Daehyun and Youngjae’s that take the entirety of their adolescence. Jongup just remembers a lot of arguments and hurt feelings towards the end. He has never figured out how it ended up happening.
After Yongguk, Himchan, and Youngjae, Daehyun tries too hard to be a big brother to Jongup. Something about him being Youngjae’s roommate instantly attaches Daehyun to Jongup, and Jongup’s not sure if it is a good thing. Daehyun means well, but he is not very helpful. Jongup doesn’t know why he always ends up following Daehyun’s advice when it usually ends with his embarrassment. Maybe because Jongup can tell at the core Daehyun really cares, and he might care the most.
*
"Just kiss him."
Jongup stares blankly at Daehyun while his brain processes the words. "What?"
"Just kiss him," Daehyun repeats, turning his attention away from his burger and looking intently at Jongup.
"Who?" Jongup has a vague sinking feeling that Daehyun has just cornered him with a tactful hamburger bribe. He should’ve known that Daehyun had something up his sleeve when he said he was going to treat Jongup. Daehyun would never part with food under normal circumstances.
"Who else?" Daehyun still has not touched his burger from the time he started talking. That means he is completely serious. "Junhong."
It isn’t like Jongup could not guess that, he wanted to be sure. But-"Why?"
"You like him," Daehyun says matter-of-factly, going back to his burger.
Jongup can't deny that. He looks questioningly up at Daehyun. Thinking about it, he has seen less of Daehyun recently, and that usually happens when Daehyun is exercising his power.
"Before you say anything, no I didn't spy on you," Daehyun says as Jongup opens his mouth. "You've just been too preoccupied with Junhong to notice that everybody else notices."
"Oh." Jongup watches as a third of Daehyun's burger disappears in one bite. He takes a nibble out of his own. "How do I kiss him?" he asks when Daehyun swallows.
"Just kiss him."
Jongup does not think this is very helpful. He just keeps staring as Daehyun lifts his burger up for another bite. Daehyun notices and sighs as he puts his food down for the second time that meal.
"Like this." He stands up, reaches across the table to cup Jongup's face and pull it towards him. Jongup's reflexes beat his surprise and he pulls back as Daehyun's lips attack.
"I don't need you to show me," Jongup says, pushing Daehyun's face away with his hands. "Just...when? Where?” A whole slew of questions fill his mind. Slowly? Quickly? Softly? Forcefully? “What if he doesn't want to?"
Daehyun's eyes narrow as he grins. "So you've been thinking about it."
"I do think, you know." Jongup looks down uncomfortably. "Don't sound so surprised."
"I know," Daehyun says, his voice gentle. "We all know." Jongup looks back up at Daehyun, an unexpected warmth filling his chest. "Anyways, what I just showed you was possibly the worst you could do, and things still worked out with me and Youngjae.
Jongup's eyebrows shoot up involuntarily. He has never really talked to his hyungs about how they bonded. "You did that to Youngjae?"
"Yep, you should've seen the look on his face," Daehyun laughs. Jongup can see Youngjae's flustered face in his mind and joins him.
“And it worked?” Jongup’s laughing so hard he can barely breathe.
Daehyun can’t even talk, so he just nods.
"Thanks, Daehyunnie-hyung," Jongup says when he no longer has to gasp for air. "That was actually helpful."
"What do you mean actually?" Daehyun sniffs. "I'm always helpful."
That is highly doubtful, but Jongup's face settles into his usual smile. The one that's been missing lately.
"There's our Jonguppie," Daehyun says, patting Jongup's cheek. "Now hurry up and eat."
Jongup looks from his nearly untouched burger to the last of Daehyun's, quickly disappearing into that black hole of a mouth. He pinches his burger in half and hands half to Daehyun. "Thanks."
“That’s what family’s for,” Daehyun says, but he takes the burger with a smile anyways.
*
Jongup spends the majority of the day planning it all out in his head. He thinks of a thousand ways this could go wrong, and a thousand ways it could go more than right.
He has probably thought of every single scenario, but none could prepare him for this.
They had already prepared for sleep, and Jongup was on his bed playing on his DS, Junhong snug against his side and smelling clean like shampoo. Junhong was in one of his rare quiet spells, just watching the screen. Jongup had just defeated a gym leader when it happened.
“Jonguppie-hyung, I love you.”
It catches Jongup by surprise, and for once his reflexes do not work. He stares into Junhong’s fiercely determined face and does not do much else, DS left abandoned on his lap.
Junhong lets his eyes drop, but the determination is still burning in them. “It’s ok if you don’t feel the same way, but I want you to know, because I believe in having no regrets, and-”
Jongup’s brain and body are all out of synch, and he doesn’t even know which is lagging behind, maybe both are, but one finally catches up to the other and he does the most sensible thing he can think of. He cuts off Junhong with a kiss.
He closes his eyes, but they stay open just long enough after finding Junhong’s lips to catch Junhong widen his own eyes. It is a chaste kiss, soft and dry, but Jongup lingers before he pulls away. He barely has time to process what he has done when he feels a tickle on his arm. Junhong apparently feels the same thing and squeaks in surprise when a light starts to glow from their left wrists.
Slowly and symmetrically, a shining double helix grows out of each of their wrists, wrapping around their arms and going so far up it disappears into their shirt sleeves. Jongup takes off his shirt, and sees where it ends, curled right over his heart.
Junhong places his hand over the pattern. Jongup’s heart is still beating a million times faster than normal from Junhong’s confession, but he no longer worries about what Junhong would think. Smiling, Junhong takes Jongup’s hand and puts it over his own matching mark. Jongup can feel Junhong’s heartbeat, and it’s going just as fast as his own.
Jongup knows what the mark means. “We’re soulbonded, Junhong,” he says, and he can’t suppress his smile.
“What’s soulbonding?” Junhong asks with his ever-present curiosity.
Jongup’s not too sure either, but he has a general idea. “I guess it means I belong to you and you belong to me.”
Junhong seems to like this idea. He closes his eyes and snuggles closer to Jongup. “So if I get lost or go…far away, you’ll always be able to find me?”
It seems like a weird question to ask, but Jongup knows he’ll do anything to find Junhong if that happens, so even if the soul chains are just markings, he answers, “yes.”
“Good.” Satisfied, Junhong buries his face into his favorite spot between Jongup’s shoulder and neck. “Good night, Jonguppie-hyung.”
Jongup rests his cheek on the top of Junhong’s head. “Good night, Junhong.”
My soulmate, he adds in his head for good measure.
*
For the first time, Junhong’s nowhere to be seen when Jongup wakes up. He is too preoccupied by the memories of the previous night to be worried, though. Not bothering to get out of bed, he raises his left arm above his head, and watches as the intertwining silver strands branded on his arm catches the sunlight. He marvels at how pretty it is, and what it means. First of all it means he is in his final stage of Refinement and then he can finally get back to fighting evil with his team. But that’s secondary to him now when it also means that he and Junhong are bonded.
Jongup lowers his arm and touches his lips. Electricity races up his spine as he recalls how Junhong’s lips felt on top of his. He wants to see Junhong, so badly. He rolls himself out of bed and puts on a long-sleeved shirt, hiding his mark.
Everybody is in the common room when Jongup arrives-except for Junhong.
"Where's Junhong?" he asks. It's an innocent enough question, but the way everybody freezes for a moment causes a nauseating fear to rise up in Jongup's chest. Where is he?" Jongup asks again, trying to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.
"He went home," Youngjae says tentatively. "He called the government agent himself."
Yongguk stands up and picks up a flash drive-the one Junhong got from the government agent-from the table besides him. "He left voluntarily this morning after watching the video on this."
Himchan pulls Yongguk back as he starts to walk it over to Jongup. "Are you sure he should see it?"
"It's up to him," Yongguk says, but Himchan frets anyways. Jongup takes the flash drive from Yongguk and plugs it into the projector.
A surveillance camera feed shows up, and Jongup realizes with a jolt that it's of his room. He knows there are security cameras throughout their facility, but he didn’t realize the government had been tapping into those feeds. On the screen, a figure, fuzzy but unmistakably Junhong, is lying on his bed. It looks like he's asleep.
But that’s wrong. The Junhong on the screen starts writhing and everything starts to shift. Jongup watches in horror as Junhong’s skin stretches and darkens, as black scales and feathers sprout out from all over his body. He wants to look away but can’t turn his eyes from the face that is elongating into a beak. He watches with morbid fascination as Junhong’s arms become the pair of terrifyingly beautiful wings he’s seen up close.
The video feed cuts off as Zelo struggles to get into open space, breaking the glass wall and escaping to the outside. Jongup knows what happens next. It is from the first time he figured out Junhong was the monster. He has known, yet having never seen it with his own eyes. He’s held on to the tiniest shred of hope that he was wrong. He even convinced himself he was wrong when he’d bonded. It was impossible to bond with something inhuman, wasn’t it?
Jongup takes a deep breath to steady himself, and trying his best to not let his voice break, he asks, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Junhong asked us not to tell you,” Yongguk says, stepping in. “He also left this for you.” Yongguk hands Jongup a small, flimsy piece of paper. He takes the note with shaking hands and reads it, over and over.
Jonguppie-hyung, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I don’t want to hurt anybody, but if you told me to stay I wouldn’t have been able to leave. I love you. -Junhong.
“When did he leave?” Jongup asks when he finally forces his eyes away from the three little words that stir up inexplicable emotions inside of him.
“You’re not going after him,” Yongguk says, in the tone that meant no argument.
A tear drops onto the piece of paper in his hands. It blurs the letters, and Jongup folds it up before the rest of his tears ruin it. “Where is he?”
Himchan pulls him against his chest and pats his head. He tries pushing Himchan away, but he is weak right now and it is doing nothing. “Jonguppie,” Himchan says, trying to soothe him.
Jongup feels like he should be ashamed. All of the hyungs knew already, and he is the only one in the dark. He hasn’t cried in front of any of them, except for Yongguk, but that was when he was 5. He’s not normally like this. Normally nothing gets to him, but something about Junhong just shakes him up and he can’t help it. He stops his writhing against Himchan. “Where-”
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The alarms interrupt him. Yongguk hurries to the console and the screen pulls up a map. A red dot flashes in the center, and the intercom comes to life with static. “It’s escaped. Zelo’s escaped,” a panicked voice comes through the intercom.
“JUNHONG!” Jongup has never had need to raise his voice, but the scream that tears out of him sounds less like a human and more like a scared wild animal.
Himchan holds him tighter and muffles his shouts with his shoulder. Jongup considers biting him.
"Bring me with you." Jongup knows he is probably being a disgrace to his team right now, tears still streaming down his face and a little hysterical. He’s being disobedient and disrespectful, but he has to go. He struggles against Himchan's arms fruitlessly. He's just hurting himself.
"Jonguppie." Yongguk's voice is quiet and low. It's his serious voice. "Your powers are completely gone right now, and your emotions will only get in the way."
Jongup takes a deep breath and tries to make his voice stop shaking. "Roll up my left sleeve," he tells Himchan, as calmly as he can.
Himchan first looks apologetically to Jongup, then towards Yongguk for approval. Jongup looks back to Yongguk with pleading eyes. Yongguk is disciplined and stern, but he's not unreasonable. He nods.
Himchan releases Jongup and jerks up his sleeve. The mark from his bonding with Junhong glows silvery-white against the pale skin of his inner forearm and wraps around his bicep as Himchan continues rolling up his sleeve.
Yongguk takes his arm for a closer look. This is clearly not what he was expecting.
"This means he's completely human, doesn't it?" Jongup sees the momentary opening in Yongguk's conviction and seizes his chance. "This is proof, right?"
His eyes still wide and his fingers tracing out the pattern, Yongguk shakes his head. “Not just that.” He rolls up his own left sleeve and holds his forearm against Jongup's. They look the same. Jongup is momentarily confused, but it must be okay if Yongguk's pattern looks the same. "The helix only forms if both partners have powers," Yongguk explains.
Jongup frowns as this new piece of information unravels itself in his head. He’s still trying to stop hyperventilating and his head is spinning.
"Junhong has a super power," Yongguk continues. "But why hasn't it manifested?"
Everything comes rushing up at once. The sleep paralysis, the memory blackouts, the temperamental weather… "It has." Jongup remembers out loud. "Fifteen years ago."
All eyes are on Jongup now.
"I know what his power is." Jongup jumps up onto the airship. "We have to go now."
Yongguk throws out a mental link and Jongup catches it. He breathes in as he clears his mind of any hysteria and focuses on transmitting his newfound knowledge to Yongguk. In a moment, Yongguk nods and beckons everybody else to follow. "Strap in tight.”
“What’s going on?” Himchan catches Yongguk’s eye.
"We're going to save the world."
*
“Brief them, Jonguppie,” Yongguk says before he shuts himself into the cockpit.
“Me?” Jongup asks, but Yongguk has already closed the door. “Um.” He looks at the expectant faces of the others.
“You can do it, Jonguppie,” Daehyun says, nudging him encouragingly.
Jongup has no idea where to start. “Um, well, now that you all know…” Jongup turns his wrist up to reveal his soul chain again. “Junhong’s completely human, even though you saw that video.”
“You said he has a power.” Youngjae’s brow is furrowed in concentration. “That’s related to the video, right?”
“Yeah.” Jongup is grateful for the added input. It takes a lot of the pressure away. “Junhong became an orphan as a baby, around the same time Zelo appeared and disappeared. That’s his power, he sealed Zelo.”
“And the reason Zelo’s reappeared…” Daehyun says as he slowly puts together the pieces.
“…is because of fluctuations,” Youngjae finishes, his voice getting higher with excitement.
Jongup nods. “The thunderstorms and natural disaster stuff is from Zelo, too.”
“Oh no,” Himchan says, his pale face getting even paler. Everybody looks at him. “You guys just bonded.”
Jongup doesn’t understand, but by the glance Youngjae and Daehyun exchange, he bets it’s bad. “That’s when fluctuations are at their worst,” Youngjae says when he sees Jongup’s look of confusion. “Zelo’s going to be at his most powerful.”
“Basically it’s like the final test of your bond,” Daehyun adds. “If you pass, you get stabilization.”
“If I don’t?” Jongup gulps. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to even imagine not passing.
“It normally just means you both lose your powers.” Himchan looks at Jongup and holds his gaze. “But in your case, the world will be destroyed before that happens.”
Jongup laughs weakly. “So I guess I can’t fail then.”
“We’re not going to come up with a back-up plan,” Himchan says, as if there were no other choice. To Jongup, there is no other choice. “You’re getting Junhong back no matter what.”
“We’ll help,” Youngjae says, “but ultimately it’s up to you.”
“Your real power is right here.” Daehyun pats Junhong on his chest. “You’ve got this, Jonguppie.”
Jongup is about ready to break down again. He’s still scared of losing Junhong, but that’s not why. It’s the confidence his hyungs have in him, and it gives him confidence in himself. “Thanks,” is all he can manage. Anything more and he’d actually cry.
Just then, Yongguk probes them with his mind. You ready?
Jongup surprises himself with the calmness with his answer.
It’s now or never.
*
The airship lands and Jongup jumps off the ship, Himchan following. Daehyun is already cloaked, twin swords in his hands, presumably behind them.
Zelo is in sight, a majestic terror against the backdrop of the storm. Suddenly, the ground jerks beneath them. It’s cooling the earth’s core and slowing the earth’s rotation, Youngjae informs them before they ask. If the earth stops rotating, our electromagnetic field and atmosphere are going to be stripped away and humanity’s toast. You have less than 15 minutes.
Oh, good. Fifteen minutes is plenty of time, Jongup tells himself. Let’s go.
Yongguk’s airship takes off, and the three on the ground run towards the monster. When Zelo sights them, it lets out an ear-piercing shriek that cuts through the rain. Immediately, the rain stops, and Jongup has never seen anything so unnatural. The earth starts to rumble and it cracks open, and Jongup nearly falls into a chasm as it opens.
“What are those?” Himchan says, just as Jongup sees them. Out of the scarred ground, red-hot lava seeps out. Jongup stops moving as he watches the lava stand up until it towers over him. Jongup backs up, prepared to tackle it to the ground when Himchan grabs his wrist. “Don’t touch it.”
The lava monster lunges towards Jongup, but before he can dodge aside, its head rolls off and it melts back into the ground. Jongup exchanges a glance with Himchan and they both grin. “Thanks, Daehyunnie-hyung.”
Daehyun responds by sending two more lava heads flying. Jongup watches the lava harden into black rock for a few seconds before Yongguk’s voice is back in his head. Daehyun’s got your back. Himchan, cover his front.
Himchan hums in reply and his skin darkens as he covers himself with his heat-resistant skin armor. It slows him down, but he forges a path between Jongup and Zelo.
Jongup pushes down the desire to help, even when he hears Daehyun hiss in pain as he gets burned by molten rock. His hyungs do their job and keep him unharmed, and soon Jongup’s close enough to Zelo to speak to it. “Junhong, can you hear me?” He feels Yongguk using him as a link to touch the monster’s consciousness. Junhong, are you there?
The inside of the monster’s mind is vast and alien, and the only thing Jongup can feel coming from it is a desire to destroy. Zelo turns an eye on him and sweeps Himchan aside with a wing. Before Jongup can react, Zelo pins him down with a talon. Just as quickly, it jumps back with a screech as a silver ribbon of light shoots up from its chest to the tip of its wing. Jongup’s matching mark glows.
Jongup struggles back up to a standing position, bleeding from the places where his skin rubbed away on the ground. It’s hard for him to keep standing in front of Zelo while he’s being buffeted by the wind and the trembling ground. He grabs a hold of Yongguk’s mental connection to Zelo and probes deeper, looking for a trace of Junhong’s sleeping consciousness. Junhong!
“Junhong!” he shouts out loud at the same time. Zelo staggers backwards a bit before bringing its head closer to Jongup. Taking a shaky breath to suppress his instinct to run away from the beak that could probably cut him in half, Jongup remains as still as he possibly can while it examines him. He can sense Yongguk ready to airlift him out, and he realizes how vulnerable he is. I’m okay, he tells Yongguk.
“Junhong,” he calls again. “Junhong, Junhong-ah.” The eye focused on Jongup dilates and contracts a little every time he says the name. Every fiber of his being wants to run away, but seeing the response roots him there. He holds out the arm with the glowing mark facing up, so that it reflects off the shiny, black eye. “Junhong, do you remember this?”
Zelo brings its head a little closer, so close that Jongup can touch the beak if he reaches out just a little more. He stays still. “Remember what you said when this happened, Junhong? You told me you loved me.” He’s still inside the monster’s mind, searching, and in the midst of the alien mind, he finds something familiar to latch onto.
“I never said it out loud,” Jongup says, staring into the round eye, “but Junhong-ah, I love you too.”
The monster stops freezes, and Jongup feels the familiar consciousness stir. Holding his breath, Jongup feels this is the right time to reach out and place his hand on Zelo’s beak. It jerks back, but Jongup can sense Junhong’s mind jolt awake with his touch. Come on, Junhongie, you can do it, he encourages the faint consciousness.
Zelo screeches again as it shakes its head, stumbling back and forth. It seems to have lost interest in the outside world and turned inside itself to fight an internal battle. Where am I? Junhong’s tiny, scared voice comes through.
“Junhong!” Jongup can’t contain his excitement, even though it might frighten Junhong some more. “Junhong, I need you to trust me, okay?”
Jonguppie-hyung? Junhong sounds marginally less scared.
“Yes, I’m here,” Jongup says, trying to make his voice more reassuring. “This will sound crazy, so you’ve got to trust me on this, but you have a superpower and you’re inside Zelo right now.”
There’s a silence, and Jongup’s afraid he’s lost Junhong to the monster for a moment. Okay, Junhong finally says.
“Okay,” Jongup echoes. “Your superpower is to control it, you’re in control, alright?”
I can’t, Junhong says, panic rising in his voice.
“Junhong.” Jongup isn’t scared anymore. “Remember how quickly you learned how to dance? You’re the best improviser I know.”
Jongup feels immense concentration start to come from the mixed consciousness, and it feels more and more like Junhong’s. Hyung, can you touch me one more time?
Zelo is still thrashing about on the ground, and there seems to be a high chance of getting accidentally stabbed or knocked away in approaching it, but Jongup feels like he can do anything right now. He slips underneath the wings, dodges its feet, and makes a jump for the neck.
Almost as instantly as Jongup touches it, Zelo freezes. I think I got it, Junhong says, and Jongup can practically hear him beaming.
Jongup swings himself over to sit on top of Zelo’s back, and squeezes the monster’s neck in a tight hug. “I knew you could do it,” he says into the scales.
Zelo chokes a bit, and Jongup realizes he’s squeezing too hard; his powers have returned. Before he can be excited about it, Youngjae interrupts them. The core hasn’t stopped cooling, I think you have to reverse it.
How? Junhong seems unsure of even how to walk in Zelo’s body.
Think of something hot? Youngjae says, just as unsure.
Jongup blushes as an image of his body flashes through everybody’s mind. He’s really glad he’s wearing pants in it. Not that kind of hot, Youngjae says, amused to no end.
AHEM. The image fades away as Yongguk sets them back on track.
You know something really hot? Daehyun’s voice comes through, and it sounds like he’s running out of stamina. These lava things.
Yeah, there are too many of them, Himchan adds. He sounds tired too. Jongup had forgotten that they were still fighting.
“Try sending them back,” Jongup says, and Junhong nods the monster’s head. Jongup nearly falls off when the monster screeches again. For a moment, Jongup wonders if Junhong lost control, but the lava start receding back into the cracks in the earth. As they go back, the ground re-seals itself.
Sorry, Junhong says sheepishly. I tried to talk and that’s how it came out.
Don’t be sorry, Youngjae’s voice is in their heads again. It worked.
With the lava monsters gone, and Zelo under control, Yongguk lands the airship. Daehyun materializes from thin air, and Himchan releases his armor. How do I turn back? Junhong asks, quiet and nervous that it’s a dumb question.
“I think you return when Zelo gets knocked out,” Jongup says, remembering the first time they discovered him as well as their last encounter. Junhong makes an unsatisfied noise. “I think you can just put it to sleep though.”
Junhong closes Zelo’s eyes, and thankfully, he starts to shrink, until he’s a boy again. He opens his eyes tentatively, and immediately breaks into a wide grin when he sees Jongup through his normal eyes. He throws his arms around Jongup, and Jongup kisses his smile.
“I did good, didn’t I?” Junhong says when he finally lets go of Jongup.
“You did well,” Yongguk says, correcting Junhong’s grammar. He pauses. “I suppose you did good, too,” he amends, and the corner of his mouth raises, dimpling his cheek.
Junhong grins some more, and then lets out a huge yawn. He rubs at his eyes. “I’m so tired.”
“I guess we have to get you back home, then,” Himchan says, slinging an arm around Junhong’s shoulders.
“Home?” Junhong looks at them with wide eyes, starting to panic.
“Yeah, that’s what we call base,” Youngjae says, taking as much amusement in Junhong’s confusion as he can.
“And seeing as you’re part of the team now, it’s your home too.” Daehyun attempts to hold in his own grin as Junhong processes the information. Suddenly, he doesn’t look so tired anymore.
Junhong jumps up and down all the way up the ramp into the airship, but it turns out he is tired. As soon as he takes a seat, he lays his head down on Jongup’s shoulder and dozes off. Jongup is looking down fondly at the now familiar sleeping face when someone squeezes his shoulder.
You were great. Jongup looks up and Yongguk smiles at him. Jongup’s chest expands, and he thinks about all the trust his hyungs gave him with the job. He thinks about his super strength, how he thought it was boring, and how they taught him it wasn’t. He looks back at Junhong, smiling as he thinks of how Junhong taught him his most important lesson:
Jongup’s true strength is in his heart.
it is DONE, I don't understand how people write so much, I could barely keep track of this thing @_@ this time, thanks to e for helping me nail down this plot that was too big for my brain, and c + j, the best betas without whom this fic would make a lot less sense ♥
THANK YOU FOR READING, here are my inspiration gifs (I had them open the entire time I was writing) ♥
