(for fairyminseok) Into Your Gravity
For: fairyminseok
Title: Into Your Gravity
Pairing: endgame!Jongin/Sehun, unrequited!Jongin/D.O, side!Baekhyun/Chanyeol, side!Kris/Suho
Word Count: ~7,000 words
Rating: PG
Warnings: Kris and Luhan are in this fic. Non-major character death.
Summary: mama!au, university!au. Sehun can’t help but think that even if all the girls want Jongin, he wants Jongin too.
Author's Note: To my recipient, I hope you like the twist I put on your prompt. This was a real challenge, but I had fun. A million thank you's to you for giving me the opportunity to write this~!
It’s too early, Jongin thinks. He is still lying on his side with his eyes closed while he tries to turn off his phone alarm, located on the night stand. He does so but lets his arm hang off the side of his bed while he continues to lay sprawled on his bed. The sunlight streams through his window to warm his tan skin, and that ultimately wakes him up. Jongin wants to stay in bed and sleep in, but his body’s going to hate him later if he doesn’t get up and stretch now. He literally rolls out of bed and thanks the heavens that he doesn’t have a roommate to see his unkempt self in the mornings.
It’s been a few weeks since he began university, and he still can’t get used to the fact that he has 9AM classes. He hopes he can choose later classes in the future. It was tempting to dorm for his first year, to have a roommate he could hang out with, but his apartment is close enough to campus that he could commute. He does think it’s lonely having this large apartment all to himself, but he believes it’s safer this way.
His phone sounds off with a ping!, indicating a new message, so Jongin gets up from his attempted backbend to check it.
From: Junmyeonnie Hyung
Good morning! Just reminding you to expect all of us at your place later. We’ll bring food!
Jongin chuckles. Junmyeon would be awake already. He is a family friend, and Jongin regards him as his older brother. It comforts Jongin knowing that he entered university knowing at least one person. It reminds him that he’s not totally alone.
The meeting was nothing like Jongin expected. It’s been about a week since then, and he’s still not sure if he dreamt it all. He’s laying on his tummy in the middle of his favorite practice room and staring at himself in the mirror. His tired eyes look back at him, and he thinks back to what he recently found out.
Junmyeon had prepped him for a couple of months before his power manifested, so he was mentally and physically prepared for the warm thrum that radiated throughout his body on his 18th birthday. He was literally stripped down to his boxers for the process so he and Junmyeon could look for his symbol. His hyung’s symbol, water, glowed on his right collarbone whenever he used his powers, but Jongin’s ended up being on the sole of his right foot. He was hoping for something useful, like healing, since he injures himself way too often during his dance classes, but neither he nor Junmyeon knew what an eye in a triangle meant. They had to consult with the historians at headquarters to find out what he could do.
“You can teleport?!” Baekhyun, a junior who could manipulate light, exclaimed while he was chewing on food during dinner. His surprise showed when the lights momentarily flickered.
Jongin just nodded, still wrapping his mind around the fact that there were people around his age that had powers too. It turned out that Baekhyun, as well as Chanyeol (“I can control fire!”) and Jongdae (he electrocuted Jongin when they high-fived earlier), had not known of Jongin until recently.
“That’s very rare, Jongin-ah,” Kyungsoo, the one with strength, finally said after Baekhyun restored light to the apartment again. “There hasn’t been another teleporter in the last century.”
I know, the one who teleports thought. Zitao, the one who controls time, patted his back to comfort him. Jongin was pretty sure that was the first time he’s met this Kyungsoo, a sophomore, but the older boy already called on him so comfortably. He made a note to ask Junmyeon about this later.
Jongin stands up off the floor to move in time to the music he let play for the last hour as he thought about his predicament. Other than meeting the rest of the members (“who are in the country at the time,” Junmyeon had said), including Yixing, the one who heals, and Minseok, the one with the frost, he found out that these people made up the team headquarters had been training. They were called EXO, and they were helping fulfill the prophecy, “Twelve will come together to change history.” The problem was, they were still missing one member, the one with the wind.
This was the last obstacle they had to face before continuing with the plan. They were brought together to finally end ENDO’s reign of killing people with powers as they experimented on them. If Jongin had any say in this, he wouldn’t be part of this at all, but Junmyeon told him that his parents were two of the thousands of people who had worked to try and stop them.
“Oh, Junmyeon,” Yixing had said. He had a Chinese accent. “Is he the boy from the funeral?”
All chatter had stopped at that moment. Jongin suddenly had tunnel vision. He could remember that day, his 8-year-old self being given condolences by strangers. He wished he couldn’t.
Junmyeon cleared his throat. “Uh, he is.”
Yixing looked embarrassed, with a flush having risen on his cheeks, and profusely apologized for his lack of tact.
If this is what Jongin could do to make his late parents proud, he would do it. He would have to find a way to embrace his powers and hone them even more to keep accidents from happening, again.
He stares at himself fiercely in the mirror as he goes through routine after routine. After a few hours, Jongin was too exhausted to stand up. Junmyeon had told him not to teleport in public, except in case of emergecies, but honestly, he was too tired to care right now. Sadly, Jongin had to report to training at headquarters this evening. He glances at the clock on the wall, seeing that he has fifteen minutes until it starts, and soon he packs up his things, turns off the light in the room, and puts his earphones on. He walks to the end of the dark hallway, closes his eyes, and opens them again to see the familiar brightly lit training room at headquarters.
Sehun has gotten used to university life. He had visited this same university when his hyung attended, and he was excited when he got accepted here. His parents wanted him to take up business, like his hyung, but all Sehun really wanted to do was dance. They let him have his way when they realized that their youngest son really did not have a knack for business and hoped that he could use his dancing for something worthwhile.
The only classes he was interested in were his dance ones, and he became fast friends with the people in it.
“Did you see Kim Jongin today?!” he heard the girls squeal in the corner. They were packing up after their introductory dance class, and Sehun could already imagine how their conversation would turn out. He’s heard about this mysterious and elusive Kim Jongin. It was so rare for anyone to speak to him or even see him that it’s as if he doesn’t even exist. Rumor has it that all the girls want him. And maybe some boys too.
Sehun catches himself rolling his eyes and admits that the only reason why he’s interested in Kim Jongin was because of his phenomenal dance skills. As much as the freshman doesn’t like involving himself in the latest gossip, his curiosity got the best of him, and he saw fancams of this dance prodigy, courtesy of the self-named KJI Fanclub. They were from the talent show on the third day of Freshman Orientation, but Sehun wasn’t there since he was vacationing in Busan with his family at the time. Sehun does wish he was there to see his performances live because, wow, can this boy dance. It’s as if Kim Jongin gives his soul up to the dancing gods when he hears music.
“Wait, if he’s a freshman too, why isn’t he in this class with us?” someone asks.
“He got bumped up to the intermediate level!” one of the girls answers. Apparently, she and some of the other girls try to catch him after their dance classes, which end at the same time, but to no avail. Sehun keeps that piece of information in the back of his head. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to befriend him, right? he thinks. He must be the only freshman in that level. He could be lonely.
He waves goodbye to everyone once the conversation turns to what they’re going to have for dinner. It’s still a few hours until then, so he’d rather take a shower and get a catnap in. Walking to his dorm, he thinks about something from a few nights ago, when he thought he saw a ghost in the hallway of the dance practice rooms. Realizing he was scaring himself, he walks a little faster to the safety of his dorm. He convinces himself again that he must have been imagining things.
“Yes sir. We’re working on it,” Junmyeon says into the receiver of his phone. “I will call immediately when we’ve found him.”
The raven-haired Student Government president ends the call and falls into his seat. It’s hard enough that he holds such a high position at university, but he also holds the position of leader in EXO. He keeps on thinking about that prophecy about him and his team and just wishes the one with the wind would let himself be found so that the next stage of the plan could be executed.
Junmyeon conjures up some water in the empty glass on his desk and sends out two text messages, one to Lu Han and one to Yifan. Lu Han and Yifan, along with Minseok, had graduated from the university the year before, and they were part of the team. Since then, Minseok had gone on to the graduate program for Business Administration in the same university, and Lu Han and Yifan returned to their native China for acting opportunities. It was Lu Ge, as Junmyeon affectionately calls him, that foresaw that the twelve would somehow meet at this very university, which is why the one who controls water ended up attending this institution rather than his number one choice. He sighs, thinking about that again, but remembers his duty to the team.
The leader should have sent the two Chinese members the same message, but he ends up erasing the one to Yifan and rewording it. He stares at Yifan’s display picture on his messaging screen a little longer and presses send.
A half hour later, Junmyeon has a nose stuck in his Strategic Management notes and hears a ping! from his phone.
From: Lu Ge
Aw, I wish I was there to help you guys too! If only Jongin were strong enough to teleport two people at the same time already~ On a more serious note, I’ve caught random conversations here in Beijing about ENDO. Their members have been trained well to keep their minds from being read, but a few have slipped and revealed one of their hideouts. Boss is getting a team to stake them out!
Junmyeon wishes that Jongin hadn’t been sheltered from this life for so long. If Jongin, at a very young age, knew about how he would eventually manifest powers, like Junmyeon did, the younger would be able to teleport more than two people at the same time (and maybe across countries) by now, but even Junmyeon knew that was out of his control. He was ready to formulate a response, but his phone went off again.
From: Lu Ge
And Joonie? Please try not to be too hung up on Yifan. He’ll come back to us.
The leader of EXO sometimes forgets how powerful Lu Han’s powers are. Of course he knew that Junmyeon tried contacting Yifan too, but Lu Han’s reply didn’t make him feel any better. Junmyeon tells his dear hyung to take care of himself while working on his current movie and continues to hope that Yifan will reply to him one day.
Jongin thinks that training is getting more difficult each session. Either that, or he’s getting weaker. He has to learn about the history of their organization during each session too, but that’s at the end of it, when his mind is too tired after an exhausting amount of drills. He thinks it’s hard enough getting away from his fanclub during the day, since he shouldn’t be teleporting in broad daylight.
This is why the freshman is currently in his apartment, laying on the couch, waiting for Junmyeon and Kyungsoo to arrive. Junmyeon realized early on that Jongin wasn’t understanding the history of their organization as he should, so he asked Kyungsoo to help him with it, twice a week. This started maybe a week or two ago, Jongin really doesn’t remember, but Junmyeon texted him earlier saying that he’d be there for dinner with them.
Jongin secretly smiles to himself knowing that he would be fed well this evening, since Kyungsoo brings him the most delicious food whenever he comes over. He remembers wondering why Kyungsoo was being so informal with him the first time they met, and Junmyeon answered that Kyungsoo used to be Jongin’s favorite hyung before the freshman moved to Junmyeon’s house after his parents’ death. (The younger moved back to his current apartment when he started high school, to his hyung’s displeasure.) Jongin makes sure to be extra polite to Kyungsoo since he can’t recall anything before that time. Even so, Kyungsoo looks at him with such adoring eyes, telling him not to worry about it.
Junmyeon really does only stay for dinner, telling Jongin that he hasn’t seen him in so long and wanted to check up on him. Jongin hears the unsaid words his hyung longs to say, but he already knows. His hyung and his family had taken him in at such a devastating time of his life, and he’s thankful. Junmyeon still thinks he hasn’t done enough for the younger. He leaves the two to their tutoring session but not before giving Jongin a hug. Jongin doesn’t like it when people touch him, but his hyung has always been an exception.
It’s right to business as soon as Kyungsoo finishes drying the dishes. (Junmyeon was nice enough to use his powers to wash the dishes for them before he left.)
The two sit across each other at the kitchen counter, and Jongin munches on the fruit Kyungsoo set out.
“We’re going to talk about prophecies today,” Kyungsoo says. Jongin notes that his eyes look a little tired today but doesn’t comment on it. “Tell me about the ones you know.”
Jongin finishes chewing on a strawberry before he answers. “I only know about the one about all of us - the prophecy of twelve.”
“Good. That’s the most important one..”
“What about it, hyung?” It’s as if Jongin had said the magic word, and Kyungsoo looks more relaxed.
“The twelve powers we have, they work together. If two people with compatible powers are in sync with each other, they’re more powerful.”
The one who teleports thinks about Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He seldom sees one without the other. “Like light and fire?”
Kyungsoo nods his head. Jongin speaks again before the older one can. “So, are those two dating, or something?”
The one with the strength facepalms. “You really aren’t able to concentrate during the history lessons at headquarters, can you?” Jongin shakes his head, a blush rising on his tan cheeks.
“If I have to answer that question,” Kyungsoo says. “The answer is yes. They are dating, and they train together the most, too. That duo is the strongest we have right now.”
“So, if I find someone who can increase the strength of my powers, I’ll finally be able to teleport two people at a time? And more?” Jongin asks eagerly. This is the most interested he’s been during history lessons.
“Yes,” the older says softly.
“But..?” Jongin could already hear it. It makes sense that he’s had at least one of the members from the team with him during his training sessions recently. He was in awe as he saw them use their powers, with Chanyeol creating a fireball in the coldest of rooms and Zitao stopping time when projectiles were being aimed at him. Nonetheless, he still hasn’t been able to teleport his training partner and himself across the room, though Zitao stopped time long enough for them to run a few feet away and resumed it as if they did teleport. Their training instructor was not amused, but Jongin thought that was the most fun he had during training.
“We haven’t found that person for you, yet,” Kyungsoo continued. “We don’t have to be dating” - the older blushed - “I mean, the two don’t have to be dating for their powers to become stronger when working together, but it’s ideal. The emotional bond between those that are just more than friends have been proven to be the most powerful factor.”
“You’re blushing, hyung!” Jongin teases. “Is there someone from the team--”
Kyungsoo stands up abruptly from the counter, collecting the dried dishes he brought dinner in earlier. “I think that’s enough for tonight, Jongin.”
It’s barely been fifteen minutes since the lesson started when Jongin looks at the clock in the kitchen, but it doesn’t look like his hyung has any intention of staying longer.
Jongin still walks his hyung to the door when he’s ready to leave, but the apology at the tip of his tongue is stopped when Kyungsoo addresses him again. “Don’t apologize, okay? Just.. think about our lesson this evening, alright?” The younger nods, and the older turns around to walk down the hallway.
The younger lays in bed later that evening, waiting for Kyungsoo to reach out to him. He always gets messages from him even after he leaves his apartment and especially when they don’t see each other during the day. Jongin wonders why this history lesson feels so personal.
Sehun rubs his tummy after a filling dinner. He spent it with his dance class friends since Zitao, his roommate, said he had something to attend to. Honestly, Zitao was one of the purest people he’s ever met. He remembers waking up one day to see what seemed like a ninja assassin standing on the other side of the room. Sehun squeaked a “Hello!” when they made eye contact, and Zitao proceeded to ask him if he was too noisy while moving around the room and that he was sorry he interrupted the younger’s sleep. After that, Zitao even introduced him to some of his own friends.
Sehun has met all of them except one, the mysterious Kim Jongin. How Zitao even became friends with the dance prodigy, he doesn’t even know, but his roommate always says that once they meet, they’ll get along the best since they’re both freshman dance majors.
“He’s so busy though!” Tao exclaims one evening before bed. “But I’m sure you’ll meet him soon!”
As Sehun turns the corner to his dorm room, he sees someone in a black hoodie walk out of it and walk past him. The hood was up, and the boy’s hands are deep in his pants’ pockets. A text alert stops Sehun in his tracks, so he takes out his phone. He turns around to check if he’s blocking the hallway but instead sees the hooded figure vanish into thin air. Sehun’s eyes almost drop out of their sockets, then he’s running to his dorm room.
“Zitao!” he exclaims.
“Sehun!” his roommate answers, playing along. “What’s wrong?” He sees the younger breathing very quickly, bent over with his hands on his knees.
“Who-” Sehun breathes. “Who left our dorm just now?”
“Oh! That was Jongin! I told him that you were on your way back from dinner and asked if he wanted to stay. He couldn’t though. Did you get to say hi?”
Instead, the younger passes out. He hears Zitao calling his name, but all he could think about was Kim Jongin.
It’s so cold, Jongin thinks. I should have worn a thicker sweater. He had just teleported to the town square from headquarters, since Kyungsoo suggested having dinner at a cafe tonight. It’s been about two weeks since their last lesson, and Jongin was relieved that they were meeting up again. He was waiting at the fountain for fifteen minutes already, so he decided to call his hyung.
Jongin was waiting for the line to connect when three men in black suits came up to him. He eyed them suspiciously before asking, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, you can,” the tallest one answered. The one to his right was a little shorter than him and had sunglasses on while the one to his left, the shortest, put gloves on.
Jongin was warned about something like this. Agents from ENDO had been kidnapping people with powers, but he didn’t think they would do it at such a crowded area. He backed away slowly from the fountain and breathed a sigh of relief when the call connected.
“Jongin-ah,” Kyungsoo asked. “Why are you calling?”
The younger was indeed confused, but then the man with the sunglasses started laughing obnoxiously. “You’d do anything your little hyung would ask of you, wouldn’t you?”
“Jongin-ah, Jongin-ah” was all Jongin heard before he hung up. The three men were still moving toward him slowly. They all knew they didn’t want to bring attention to themselves.
“Come, little teleporter,” the shortest one said. “If you come with us willingly, we won’t have a problem.”
Jongin realizes that this is why they were in a crowded area, so he couldn’t teleport without witnesses around. So, he did the next best thing - he ran.
The night sky was clear, and Sehun was in the best mood. He put the blackout incident from a few nights ago at the back of his mind, so he could meet his friends at the cafe at the town square with a smile.
Before Sehun could push the door open, he saw a disturbance by the fountain. The music from the live band had been playing as he walked down the street, but it was replaced by screaming and things breaking.
He saw someone running from a group of people, and Sehun swore he had seen the back of that head before. Kim Jongin, he realized. But why would anyone be chasing him? Fangirls, maybe? But then he saw the suited men. As everyone was running away rather than helping him, he ran in their direction.
Sehun enters a shop near the fountain where he saw Jongin last. He could see him hiding in the shadows behind a fallen cart while the suited men split up to look for him.
When Jongin thought the coast was clear, he ran into the dark alleyway next to the shop Sehun was in, but he heard one of the men scream, “There he is!” The boy felt himself bump into someone and thought he was done for. He felt so weak. Were one of the men draining him of water? Jongin thought. He remembered having a session with Junmyeon where Junmyeon used his control on water on him, and he never wanted to feel that way ever again.
“Kim Jongin! Kim Jongin!” someone whispered to. When Jongin opened his eyes and attempted to speak, the boy in front of him clamped his mouth with his hand. “Don’t speak! I’m here to help you.”
Jongin nodded, and for some reason, he felt stronger being held by this guy. Oh Sehun, he remembers, having heard so much of him from Zitao and having seen the selcas that hyung took with him.
“This is gonna sound crazy, but I need you to teleport yourself while I distract those.. thugs,” Sehun says frantically.
The one who teleports wants to ask so many questions, like How does he know I can teleport?! and Why are you trying to save me?, but Sehun’s hand is still covering his mouth and hears muffled sounds instead.
“Well, look at what we have here,” the tall man says. They must have found them while they stayed in one spot in the alleyway for too long.
Sehun pushes Jongin away from himself and screams, “Go!” The men were inching closer and closer, and he could slowly see Sehun dehydrating. I can’t just leave him here, he thinks. So he runs forward to grab him, and they vanish out of sight.
One moment, Sehun feels like the water is being drained out of him, and the next, he’s feeling better, sitting on an unfamiliar couch. He coughs since his throat’s so dry, then realizes that Jongin is sprawled unconscious on his lap.
Oh my God, Sehun thinks. I’m living every fangirl’s dream, right now! But he snaps out of it when he realizes that this is a life or death situation. He careful digs around in Jongin’s pockets to find his phone. Instead of him calling Zitao from his phone, it would be more believable if he called from Jongin’s phone, he decides.
He unlocks the phone (Sehun thanks the heavens that he doesn’t have a passcode) and checks the call history. He dials the first number he sees.
“I’m really sorry you got involved in this, Sehun-ssi,” Junmyeon keeps saying.
“Just.. Sehun is fine.. hyung,” the younger says. He doesn’t know why, but Junmyeon, Jongin’s self-proclaimed older brother, feels so comfortable to be with.
Junmyeon smiles a little and relaxes. “Okay, Sehun-ah.”
When Sehun described that he felt a little dehydrated, Junmyeon was by him in seconds. He checked his pulse points and his lips first, then the older man asked him to sit still, as he held his hands for a few moments. Sehun felt as he did before, but when he opened his eyes, Junmyeon looked really worried. So this is how they got to this point.
Junmyeon was, again, apologizing for Sehun’s accidental involvement in this. He still wondered why Sehun decided to interrupt in the the first place, but the younger had no definite answer. He’ll ask Jongin when Kyungsoo finishes tending to him in Jongin’s room. Yixing would have been here, but it was going to take him a while to arrive since he was across town.
In simplest terms, Junmyeon had to explain why their group of friends had powers. Since Sehun had already met all of them, there was no use hiding it. The younger even swore himself to secrecy because even though he should’ve been terrified, he was oddly curious. Junmyeon would never admit, though, that he had a background check done on the younger when he first started associating himself with them. Just in case, Junmyeon would repeat to himself.
“Hyung.” This didn’t come from Sehun but from Jongin, who was being supported by Kyungsoo to the living room couch where Junmyeon and Sehun were. They rearranged themselves so that Kyungsoo and Jongin were on the couch, Sehun was on the single sofa, while Junmyeon stood. He couldn’t continue sitting after seeing Jongin like this, after knowing that ENDO had come after him, and that he didn’t know anything about it.
“Hyung,” Jongin says again. Sehun looks from his lap to look at Jongin, but he couldn’t ignore Kyungsoo’s hand clasped with Jongin’s.
“Jongin-ah,” the leader replies. “Yixing will be here soon. He’ll heal your injuries.”
The younger nods. “But hyung, did Sehun tell you? I teleported the both of us here..”
Leave it to Jongin to be proud of his powers when he’s injured like this, Junmyeon thinks.
“Yes, he did,” he answers, looking at Sehun. “No wonder you’re so drained of energy. You weren’t able to do that before, right?”
“He wasn’t?” Sehun asks. “But we got here so quickly!”
“I know, right?” Jongin chuckles. He went into deep thought soon afterward. “Sehun, even though we literally just met, I need you to hold my hand.”
The three other boys simultaneously scream, “What?!”
After startling Jongin, he says, “Just trust me.”
Sehun looks to Junmyeon for assurance, but all he gets from Kyungsoo was a glare. It always felt like Kyungsoo didn’t like him too much. He barely grazes Jongin’s fingers when he hears him gasp.
“It’s him,” Jongin gasps. “The one with the wind.
Headquarters was thrown into a frenzy once Junmyeon called in saying that they found the one with the wind. Or should he say, Oh Sehun. When deciding how to break the news to his parents, they actually came out themselves to reveal that they had been working undercover this whole time. Since only his mother had a power, they weren’t sure if Sehun would manifest a power - his older brother didn’t.
Sehun was sent into training immediately, and even though he had no prepping for this life, he had very good control of his power. His parents claimed that they brought him up in a good environment. He was their little boy, who seldom cried when he was a baby and talked to his parents about all of his problems growing up. He had no problem expressing himself, and his understanding and control of his emotions surely helped with controlling his power.
“Happy Birthday,” his mother says before leaving him at headquarters, kissing him on the cheek. She didn’t forget to bring enough cakes to share with all his friends. Sehun wasn’t even mad at his parents for hiding this from him - he was ecstatic that he found such a nice group of people to grow up with and a goal to work towards.
Jongin wasn’t jealous. Okay, maybe he was. Sure, Sehun saved his life, but why was Sehun having it so easy with his power? The one who teleports still struggles with his drills sometimes. His training instructor repeats that it has to do with his emotions, but he was so sick of hearing that. All the mind exercises gave him a headache. He especially hated it when he had to put up a wall to protect his most precious memories, and that wall always fell.
He was watching Sehun’s training today. It would have been easier to find out how Sehun manages to keep his emotions in check enough to create a typhoon in the large training area by asking him, but Jongin’s too stubborn for that. The younger boy only had a singlet and sweats on, and Jongin can see the sweat pouring down his face. They were already working him hard. He could see the flex of every muscle in his arm as he used them to direct a gust of wind towards projectiles. Sehun was usually move covered up during their dance practices. Until now, Jongin had never stopped to just admire Sehun, since he was so caught up in his own thoughts. He was taller than him by a few centimeters and had broad shoulders. He had pale, pale skin, a straight nose, and small pink lips, but he could never forget his eyes, from the first time they made eye contact in that dark alleyway.
Those same eyes were looking at him right now, in half-moons, conveying how pleased he was to see Jongin watching him. Sehun waved at him from where he was in the training area, and Jongin managed to wave back before leaving the viewing area to calm his racing heart.
Sehun had yet to be paired up with Jongin for training, and he was nervous thinking about it. The two actually spent a lot of time together, finally getting to talk about dance and even choreographing something on the side, just for fun.
The first time, Jongin helped him with the routine Sehun’s introductory class was working on that week. It amazed the one with the wind that Jongin remembered a routine from months ago. (Jongin had also confirmed that, yes, he was bumped up to the intermediate level since he took the introductory one in his last year of high school.)
The second time, Sehun suggested that they team up for their finals. Each level had a final at the end of the semester, but they were allowed to collaborate with students from any level. Even if they had to learn two separate routines, their practices went well, with Sehun smoothing out Jongin’s rough edges and Jongin toning down Sehun’s unlimited energy.
During their last dance practice, Sehun challenged Jongin to a dance battle. It started with some upbeat songs, then girl group dances just because, then some slow jams. Sehun thought it was so sinful how Jongin could be moving his hips seductively now when just a few moments ago, he was doing some girls group’s leg dance. It seems like the younger was staring because, all of a sudden, Jongin was right up against him, still moving to the music. He gulped at how close they were and closed his eyes. When he thought Jongin was moving closer, he hears his muffled laughter. They ended up playing tag in the dance practice room until it was time for them to head to training, and this time, Jongin was fully aware that he was teleporting the both of them.
So Sehun dances with the mysterious Kim Jongin. Only now, he’s just Jongin. He laughs as powerfully as he dances, and it’s a sight to see. He shouldn’t have considered those rumors. Sehun can’t help but think that even if all the girls want Jongin, he wants Jongin too.
Kyungsoo has been hot and cold to Jongin since the incident on Sehun’s birthday. Jongin notices that his hyung seldom leaves his side whenever they go to the town square together or even if they’re in the comfort of Jongin’s own apartment, but whenever Sehun is around, he’s nowhere to be seen.
“I can’t believe they used me to get to you!” Kyungsoo wails again today. He still feels guilty for that evening, even when everyone knows it’s not his fault. He doesn’t see it that way. If he had not ignored Jongin back then, the younger wouldn’t have been so eager to meet up when he thought it was Kyungsoo inviting him out.
The one with the strength even changed his phone number, with the suggestion of headquarters. ENDO had somehow found out about Jongin, and eventually, his relationship with Kyungsoo. He wasn’t even satisfied with what kind of relationship they had, seeing that they could never happen.
Right now, Kyungsoo is crying in Jongin’s arms, and all the younger can do is hold him. He’s not sure where all this emotion is coming from, but he swears he can feel the ground moving.
When his hyung calms down and the ground stops moving (“I can cause earthquakes too,” he had said through sniffles), he manages to get a good look at his face. Kyungsoo looks paler, his eyes bloodshot.
“Hyung..”
“No, Jongin,” Kyungsoo answers. “I’m not alright.”
The younger says nothing since he knows he’s going to get cut off anyway.
“Do you remember our lesson on prophecies?” Jongin nods. “I see the way Sehun looks at you. You must be blind or in denial if you don’t see it too. You work so well with him.”
The two let the silence wash over them. Kyungsoo keeps his head on Jongin’s shoulder while Jongin holds him. All they hear is each other’s breathing.
Jongin breaks the silence first. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He feels his hyung nod his head.
The one with the strength takes a deep breath. “I’ve been in love with you for so long, but fate has its own plans. I was hoping that even if Sehun was the one who helps with your power, that you would fall in love with me anyway.”
“I.. didn’t know you felt that way about me,” Jongin replies. He really just thought his hyung was taking care of him, not anything more.
“I really used to be your favorite hyung, Jongin-ah. Before your parents passed away, we were always brought to headquarters to play with each other. I always gave you food, and you would use my lap as a pillow when you were sleepy. Even when you lost your memories and moved in with Junmyeon hyung and his family, he would tell me about you.”
When he didn’t say anymore, Jongin realizes that Kyungsoo tired himself out and fell asleep. An hour later, they were still in the same position, and Kyungsoo jumped out of his hold when he woke up.
At the door, Kyungsoo quickly reached up to place a kiss on Jongin’s cheek and ran down the hallway. Jongin was shocked at the moment, but that was the least he could give his hyung.
Sehun confessed first, by mistake, actually. He and Jongin had their training session together and that meant doing mind exercises. Their training instructor suggested that they try reading each other’s minds.
The younger only had a couple of days of training for this, compared to Jongin’s few months. Sehun felt like he built up a strong enough wall, and he signaled to Jongin that he could start.
Sehun’s thoughts had been scattered for the past couple of days. It was the common worries of a university student, like studying for finals and practicing for evaluations, which meant that he spent a huge amount of time with Jongin.
I’m in love with you, Jongin, he thought, and his eyes suddenly opened. Jongin had a blush on his face, and their instructor excused himself, who most likely heard the confession as well.
They stared at each other for a few moments before Jongin was suddenly on him, hugging him. Sehun thought it was only him who felt this attraction. He fell into his gravity even before they met.
Later that day, while having dinner at Jongin’s apartment, Jongin asks why he didn’t say anything sooner.
“I thought you were with Kyungsoo hyung!” Sehun replies after swallowing his food. “Then why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
“..I thought you had a crush on Zitao hyung,” Jongin mumbles.
They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Prophecy or not, the two were attracted to each other all along.
The plan is set to continue at the end of the semester, and it comes too soon. Junmyeon decides to throw a party to celebrate, at Jongin’s apartment, of course. (“Why does it always have to be at my place?” Jongin asks. His hyung only replies that his place is the most private.)
Headquarters deems Sehun adequate enough to partake in the mission, having acknowledged his relationship with Jongin as well. Kyungsoo comes over to Jongin’s place by himself less frequently, and Junmyeon still waits for Yifan to contact him. The rest wait with bated breath for final instructions and also for the conclusion of the real-life drama unfolding before them.
“Why does it feel like we’re in a k-drama?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol. They’re messing with the lights in the apartment and the fire of the candles in Jongin’s kitchen, again. Junmyeon is talking to Kyungsoo in hushed whispers, and Jongin and Sehun are walking out of the living room into the hall.
“Yah! We can’t see!” Jongdae screams from the living room, and the two feel jolts of electricity on their hands.
Yixing momentarily passes by to heal the burns left by the one with the lightning. They give him grateful smiles, and Yixing replies with a dimpled one of his own.
The front door opens, and all of a sudden there’s a stampede to greet whoever’s there.
“Minseok hyung! Lu Ge!”
“We weren’t gonna miss this party!” Lu Han replies, as he’s walking around to give bonecrushing hugs to his dongsaengs.
Minseok just smiles as he makes his way to Junmyeon and Kyungsoo. It’ll take a while until he can talk to the kids in the living room.
“It’s almost time, right?” Minseok asks, and Junmyeon nods. “You’ve done a great job keeping the team together.”
The leader gives a tight-lipped smile. But Yifan’s not here.
“Now where are the two youngest?” he asks. “They’re supposed to be out here to greet their hyungs!”
In the hall, Zitao is outside Jongin’s room, where Jongin and Sehun are talking. With a wave of his hand, the second hand of the clock in Jongin’s room stops moving, and he walks away until he feels it’s necessary to resume their time.
“Are you scared, Sehun-ah?” Jongin asks. They’re on Jongin’s bed, facing each other, with a few inches between them.
Jongin is glad that he found Sehun, not just because he was the last one the prophecy foretold of, but he feels that Sehun completes him. Being with Sehun, he feels he has a better hold on his emotions. He knew trusting Kyungsoo was the right thing to do. Sehun wore his emotions on his sleeve, and Jongin wishes he were brave enough to do that too. There was some force that brought him to easily let Sehun into his life, and Jongin feels the attraction grow more each day.
“No,” Sehun answers, his eyes closed.
Somehow, Jongin knows how Sehun is actually feeling. “Liar,” he counters and kisses Sehun, just a touch of the lips, to stop him from trembling.
Jongin pulls back, and Sehun is staring at him. “Is.. this okay?” Sehun sounds scared. They’ve done nothing more than hold hands and cuddle. He tentatively curls his arms around Jongin’s waist and pulls him closer so that Jongin’s head is in the crook of his neck.
“Yeah,” Jongin replies. He’s been wanting to do that for a while now, but the rest of the team seldom leave them alone together.
Jongin hears someone at his bedroom door, but he registers it as his mind playing tricks on him. He’s so comfortable right now, and he has to cherish this moment.
Zitao had just resumed time in Jongin’s room, and soon, Baekhyun slams the door open while Jongin and Sehun were about to join the rest in the living room.
“Guys! You have to see this!” Baekhyun comes in, then grins at them, seeing the blush on both of their cheeks.
Standing at the front door is possibly the tallest person the two have ever seen, and Junmyeon looks almost ready to cry.
“Yifan Ge!” Tao exclaims. “You’re back.”
“I am, Taozi,” he replies as he steps inside. He looks at the leader a couple of feet away from him. “I bring news from headquarters.”
Junmyeon takes that as his cue to meet him in the middle. This must be what the boss meant by waiting for the special envoy. He’s about to ask how he wants to set up the meeting, but then he’s engulfed in strong familiar arms.
“Fan--” Junmyeon tries to say.
“Still putting business first, huh?” Yifan says, arms still full of Junmyeon. “Can’t I get a hug first?”
The leader finally pushes himself away. His face is red, and tears have started to form again. “You don’t keep in contact, and you expect me to welcome you back so warmly?!”
The room has gotten quiet at this point. Sehun just wants to push them back together to hug again.
Yifan runs his hand through his hair and sighs. “I was under strict surveillance in China, Jun-- everyone.” He clears his throat before beginning again.
“I only just got back with the information we need to go forward.” He looks Junmyeon straight in the eyes. “I wanted to keep everyone safe by not having outside contact.” I wanted to keep you safe.
A few beats later, Junmyeon is throwing himself onto Yifan, and everyone cheers. Jongin looks around to see the whole team here, his team. Sehun moves closer to hold his hand. Their spirits have raised now that they’re whole again. A prophecy may have brought them together, but the love they have for each other keeps them together.
Title: Into Your Gravity
Pairing: endgame!Jongin/Sehun, unrequited!Jongin/D.O, side!Baekhyun/Chanyeol, side!Kris/Suho
Word Count: ~7,000 words
Rating: PG
Warnings: Kris and Luhan are in this fic. Non-major character death.
Summary: mama!au, university!au. Sehun can’t help but think that even if all the girls want Jongin, he wants Jongin too.
Author's Note: To my recipient, I hope you like the twist I put on your prompt. This was a real challenge, but I had fun. A million thank you's to you for giving me the opportunity to write this~!
It’s too early, Jongin thinks. He is still lying on his side with his eyes closed while he tries to turn off his phone alarm, located on the night stand. He does so but lets his arm hang off the side of his bed while he continues to lay sprawled on his bed. The sunlight streams through his window to warm his tan skin, and that ultimately wakes him up. Jongin wants to stay in bed and sleep in, but his body’s going to hate him later if he doesn’t get up and stretch now. He literally rolls out of bed and thanks the heavens that he doesn’t have a roommate to see his unkempt self in the mornings.
It’s been a few weeks since he began university, and he still can’t get used to the fact that he has 9AM classes. He hopes he can choose later classes in the future. It was tempting to dorm for his first year, to have a roommate he could hang out with, but his apartment is close enough to campus that he could commute. He does think it’s lonely having this large apartment all to himself, but he believes it’s safer this way.
His phone sounds off with a ping!, indicating a new message, so Jongin gets up from his attempted backbend to check it.
From: Junmyeonnie Hyung
Good morning! Just reminding you to expect all of us at your place later. We’ll bring food!
Jongin chuckles. Junmyeon would be awake already. He is a family friend, and Jongin regards him as his older brother. It comforts Jongin knowing that he entered university knowing at least one person. It reminds him that he’s not totally alone.
The meeting was nothing like Jongin expected. It’s been about a week since then, and he’s still not sure if he dreamt it all. He’s laying on his tummy in the middle of his favorite practice room and staring at himself in the mirror. His tired eyes look back at him, and he thinks back to what he recently found out.
Junmyeon had prepped him for a couple of months before his power manifested, so he was mentally and physically prepared for the warm thrum that radiated throughout his body on his 18th birthday. He was literally stripped down to his boxers for the process so he and Junmyeon could look for his symbol. His hyung’s symbol, water, glowed on his right collarbone whenever he used his powers, but Jongin’s ended up being on the sole of his right foot. He was hoping for something useful, like healing, since he injures himself way too often during his dance classes, but neither he nor Junmyeon knew what an eye in a triangle meant. They had to consult with the historians at headquarters to find out what he could do.
“You can teleport?!” Baekhyun, a junior who could manipulate light, exclaimed while he was chewing on food during dinner. His surprise showed when the lights momentarily flickered.
Jongin just nodded, still wrapping his mind around the fact that there were people around his age that had powers too. It turned out that Baekhyun, as well as Chanyeol (“I can control fire!”) and Jongdae (he electrocuted Jongin when they high-fived earlier), had not known of Jongin until recently.
“That’s very rare, Jongin-ah,” Kyungsoo, the one with strength, finally said after Baekhyun restored light to the apartment again. “There hasn’t been another teleporter in the last century.”
I know, the one who teleports thought. Zitao, the one who controls time, patted his back to comfort him. Jongin was pretty sure that was the first time he’s met this Kyungsoo, a sophomore, but the older boy already called on him so comfortably. He made a note to ask Junmyeon about this later.
Jongin stands up off the floor to move in time to the music he let play for the last hour as he thought about his predicament. Other than meeting the rest of the members (“who are in the country at the time,” Junmyeon had said), including Yixing, the one who heals, and Minseok, the one with the frost, he found out that these people made up the team headquarters had been training. They were called EXO, and they were helping fulfill the prophecy, “Twelve will come together to change history.” The problem was, they were still missing one member, the one with the wind.
This was the last obstacle they had to face before continuing with the plan. They were brought together to finally end ENDO’s reign of killing people with powers as they experimented on them. If Jongin had any say in this, he wouldn’t be part of this at all, but Junmyeon told him that his parents were two of the thousands of people who had worked to try and stop them.
“Oh, Junmyeon,” Yixing had said. He had a Chinese accent. “Is he the boy from the funeral?”
All chatter had stopped at that moment. Jongin suddenly had tunnel vision. He could remember that day, his 8-year-old self being given condolences by strangers. He wished he couldn’t.
Junmyeon cleared his throat. “Uh, he is.”
Yixing looked embarrassed, with a flush having risen on his cheeks, and profusely apologized for his lack of tact.
If this is what Jongin could do to make his late parents proud, he would do it. He would have to find a way to embrace his powers and hone them even more to keep accidents from happening, again.
He stares at himself fiercely in the mirror as he goes through routine after routine. After a few hours, Jongin was too exhausted to stand up. Junmyeon had told him not to teleport in public, except in case of emergecies, but honestly, he was too tired to care right now. Sadly, Jongin had to report to training at headquarters this evening. He glances at the clock on the wall, seeing that he has fifteen minutes until it starts, and soon he packs up his things, turns off the light in the room, and puts his earphones on. He walks to the end of the dark hallway, closes his eyes, and opens them again to see the familiar brightly lit training room at headquarters.
Sehun has gotten used to university life. He had visited this same university when his hyung attended, and he was excited when he got accepted here. His parents wanted him to take up business, like his hyung, but all Sehun really wanted to do was dance. They let him have his way when they realized that their youngest son really did not have a knack for business and hoped that he could use his dancing for something worthwhile.
The only classes he was interested in were his dance ones, and he became fast friends with the people in it.
“Did you see Kim Jongin today?!” he heard the girls squeal in the corner. They were packing up after their introductory dance class, and Sehun could already imagine how their conversation would turn out. He’s heard about this mysterious and elusive Kim Jongin. It was so rare for anyone to speak to him or even see him that it’s as if he doesn’t even exist. Rumor has it that all the girls want him. And maybe some boys too.
Sehun catches himself rolling his eyes and admits that the only reason why he’s interested in Kim Jongin was because of his phenomenal dance skills. As much as the freshman doesn’t like involving himself in the latest gossip, his curiosity got the best of him, and he saw fancams of this dance prodigy, courtesy of the self-named KJI Fanclub. They were from the talent show on the third day of Freshman Orientation, but Sehun wasn’t there since he was vacationing in Busan with his family at the time. Sehun does wish he was there to see his performances live because, wow, can this boy dance. It’s as if Kim Jongin gives his soul up to the dancing gods when he hears music.
“Wait, if he’s a freshman too, why isn’t he in this class with us?” someone asks.
“He got bumped up to the intermediate level!” one of the girls answers. Apparently, she and some of the other girls try to catch him after their dance classes, which end at the same time, but to no avail. Sehun keeps that piece of information in the back of his head. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to befriend him, right? he thinks. He must be the only freshman in that level. He could be lonely.
He waves goodbye to everyone once the conversation turns to what they’re going to have for dinner. It’s still a few hours until then, so he’d rather take a shower and get a catnap in. Walking to his dorm, he thinks about something from a few nights ago, when he thought he saw a ghost in the hallway of the dance practice rooms. Realizing he was scaring himself, he walks a little faster to the safety of his dorm. He convinces himself again that he must have been imagining things.
“Yes sir. We’re working on it,” Junmyeon says into the receiver of his phone. “I will call immediately when we’ve found him.”
The raven-haired Student Government president ends the call and falls into his seat. It’s hard enough that he holds such a high position at university, but he also holds the position of leader in EXO. He keeps on thinking about that prophecy about him and his team and just wishes the one with the wind would let himself be found so that the next stage of the plan could be executed.
Junmyeon conjures up some water in the empty glass on his desk and sends out two text messages, one to Lu Han and one to Yifan. Lu Han and Yifan, along with Minseok, had graduated from the university the year before, and they were part of the team. Since then, Minseok had gone on to the graduate program for Business Administration in the same university, and Lu Han and Yifan returned to their native China for acting opportunities. It was Lu Ge, as Junmyeon affectionately calls him, that foresaw that the twelve would somehow meet at this very university, which is why the one who controls water ended up attending this institution rather than his number one choice. He sighs, thinking about that again, but remembers his duty to the team.
The leader should have sent the two Chinese members the same message, but he ends up erasing the one to Yifan and rewording it. He stares at Yifan’s display picture on his messaging screen a little longer and presses send.
A half hour later, Junmyeon has a nose stuck in his Strategic Management notes and hears a ping! from his phone.
From: Lu Ge
Aw, I wish I was there to help you guys too! If only Jongin were strong enough to teleport two people at the same time already~ On a more serious note, I’ve caught random conversations here in Beijing about ENDO. Their members have been trained well to keep their minds from being read, but a few have slipped and revealed one of their hideouts. Boss is getting a team to stake them out!
Junmyeon wishes that Jongin hadn’t been sheltered from this life for so long. If Jongin, at a very young age, knew about how he would eventually manifest powers, like Junmyeon did, the younger would be able to teleport more than two people at the same time (and maybe across countries) by now, but even Junmyeon knew that was out of his control. He was ready to formulate a response, but his phone went off again.
From: Lu Ge
And Joonie? Please try not to be too hung up on Yifan. He’ll come back to us.
The leader of EXO sometimes forgets how powerful Lu Han’s powers are. Of course he knew that Junmyeon tried contacting Yifan too, but Lu Han’s reply didn’t make him feel any better. Junmyeon tells his dear hyung to take care of himself while working on his current movie and continues to hope that Yifan will reply to him one day.
Jongin thinks that training is getting more difficult each session. Either that, or he’s getting weaker. He has to learn about the history of their organization during each session too, but that’s at the end of it, when his mind is too tired after an exhausting amount of drills. He thinks it’s hard enough getting away from his fanclub during the day, since he shouldn’t be teleporting in broad daylight.
This is why the freshman is currently in his apartment, laying on the couch, waiting for Junmyeon and Kyungsoo to arrive. Junmyeon realized early on that Jongin wasn’t understanding the history of their organization as he should, so he asked Kyungsoo to help him with it, twice a week. This started maybe a week or two ago, Jongin really doesn’t remember, but Junmyeon texted him earlier saying that he’d be there for dinner with them.
Jongin secretly smiles to himself knowing that he would be fed well this evening, since Kyungsoo brings him the most delicious food whenever he comes over. He remembers wondering why Kyungsoo was being so informal with him the first time they met, and Junmyeon answered that Kyungsoo used to be Jongin’s favorite hyung before the freshman moved to Junmyeon’s house after his parents’ death. (The younger moved back to his current apartment when he started high school, to his hyung’s displeasure.) Jongin makes sure to be extra polite to Kyungsoo since he can’t recall anything before that time. Even so, Kyungsoo looks at him with such adoring eyes, telling him not to worry about it.
Junmyeon really does only stay for dinner, telling Jongin that he hasn’t seen him in so long and wanted to check up on him. Jongin hears the unsaid words his hyung longs to say, but he already knows. His hyung and his family had taken him in at such a devastating time of his life, and he’s thankful. Junmyeon still thinks he hasn’t done enough for the younger. He leaves the two to their tutoring session but not before giving Jongin a hug. Jongin doesn’t like it when people touch him, but his hyung has always been an exception.
It’s right to business as soon as Kyungsoo finishes drying the dishes. (Junmyeon was nice enough to use his powers to wash the dishes for them before he left.)
The two sit across each other at the kitchen counter, and Jongin munches on the fruit Kyungsoo set out.
“We’re going to talk about prophecies today,” Kyungsoo says. Jongin notes that his eyes look a little tired today but doesn’t comment on it. “Tell me about the ones you know.”
Jongin finishes chewing on a strawberry before he answers. “I only know about the one about all of us - the prophecy of twelve.”
“Good. That’s the most important one..”
“What about it, hyung?” It’s as if Jongin had said the magic word, and Kyungsoo looks more relaxed.
“The twelve powers we have, they work together. If two people with compatible powers are in sync with each other, they’re more powerful.”
The one who teleports thinks about Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He seldom sees one without the other. “Like light and fire?”
Kyungsoo nods his head. Jongin speaks again before the older one can. “So, are those two dating, or something?”
The one with the strength facepalms. “You really aren’t able to concentrate during the history lessons at headquarters, can you?” Jongin shakes his head, a blush rising on his tan cheeks.
“If I have to answer that question,” Kyungsoo says. “The answer is yes. They are dating, and they train together the most, too. That duo is the strongest we have right now.”
“So, if I find someone who can increase the strength of my powers, I’ll finally be able to teleport two people at a time? And more?” Jongin asks eagerly. This is the most interested he’s been during history lessons.
“Yes,” the older says softly.
“But..?” Jongin could already hear it. It makes sense that he’s had at least one of the members from the team with him during his training sessions recently. He was in awe as he saw them use their powers, with Chanyeol creating a fireball in the coldest of rooms and Zitao stopping time when projectiles were being aimed at him. Nonetheless, he still hasn’t been able to teleport his training partner and himself across the room, though Zitao stopped time long enough for them to run a few feet away and resumed it as if they did teleport. Their training instructor was not amused, but Jongin thought that was the most fun he had during training.
“We haven’t found that person for you, yet,” Kyungsoo continued. “We don’t have to be dating” - the older blushed - “I mean, the two don’t have to be dating for their powers to become stronger when working together, but it’s ideal. The emotional bond between those that are just more than friends have been proven to be the most powerful factor.”
“You’re blushing, hyung!” Jongin teases. “Is there someone from the team--”
Kyungsoo stands up abruptly from the counter, collecting the dried dishes he brought dinner in earlier. “I think that’s enough for tonight, Jongin.”
It’s barely been fifteen minutes since the lesson started when Jongin looks at the clock in the kitchen, but it doesn’t look like his hyung has any intention of staying longer.
Jongin still walks his hyung to the door when he’s ready to leave, but the apology at the tip of his tongue is stopped when Kyungsoo addresses him again. “Don’t apologize, okay? Just.. think about our lesson this evening, alright?” The younger nods, and the older turns around to walk down the hallway.
The younger lays in bed later that evening, waiting for Kyungsoo to reach out to him. He always gets messages from him even after he leaves his apartment and especially when they don’t see each other during the day. Jongin wonders why this history lesson feels so personal.
Sehun rubs his tummy after a filling dinner. He spent it with his dance class friends since Zitao, his roommate, said he had something to attend to. Honestly, Zitao was one of the purest people he’s ever met. He remembers waking up one day to see what seemed like a ninja assassin standing on the other side of the room. Sehun squeaked a “Hello!” when they made eye contact, and Zitao proceeded to ask him if he was too noisy while moving around the room and that he was sorry he interrupted the younger’s sleep. After that, Zitao even introduced him to some of his own friends.
Sehun has met all of them except one, the mysterious Kim Jongin. How Zitao even became friends with the dance prodigy, he doesn’t even know, but his roommate always says that once they meet, they’ll get along the best since they’re both freshman dance majors.
“He’s so busy though!” Tao exclaims one evening before bed. “But I’m sure you’ll meet him soon!”
As Sehun turns the corner to his dorm room, he sees someone in a black hoodie walk out of it and walk past him. The hood was up, and the boy’s hands are deep in his pants’ pockets. A text alert stops Sehun in his tracks, so he takes out his phone. He turns around to check if he’s blocking the hallway but instead sees the hooded figure vanish into thin air. Sehun’s eyes almost drop out of their sockets, then he’s running to his dorm room.
“Zitao!” he exclaims.
“Sehun!” his roommate answers, playing along. “What’s wrong?” He sees the younger breathing very quickly, bent over with his hands on his knees.
“Who-” Sehun breathes. “Who left our dorm just now?”
“Oh! That was Jongin! I told him that you were on your way back from dinner and asked if he wanted to stay. He couldn’t though. Did you get to say hi?”
Instead, the younger passes out. He hears Zitao calling his name, but all he could think about was Kim Jongin.
It’s so cold, Jongin thinks. I should have worn a thicker sweater. He had just teleported to the town square from headquarters, since Kyungsoo suggested having dinner at a cafe tonight. It’s been about two weeks since their last lesson, and Jongin was relieved that they were meeting up again. He was waiting at the fountain for fifteen minutes already, so he decided to call his hyung.
Jongin was waiting for the line to connect when three men in black suits came up to him. He eyed them suspiciously before asking, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, you can,” the tallest one answered. The one to his right was a little shorter than him and had sunglasses on while the one to his left, the shortest, put gloves on.
Jongin was warned about something like this. Agents from ENDO had been kidnapping people with powers, but he didn’t think they would do it at such a crowded area. He backed away slowly from the fountain and breathed a sigh of relief when the call connected.
“Jongin-ah,” Kyungsoo asked. “Why are you calling?”
The younger was indeed confused, but then the man with the sunglasses started laughing obnoxiously. “You’d do anything your little hyung would ask of you, wouldn’t you?”
“Jongin-ah, Jongin-ah” was all Jongin heard before he hung up. The three men were still moving toward him slowly. They all knew they didn’t want to bring attention to themselves.
“Come, little teleporter,” the shortest one said. “If you come with us willingly, we won’t have a problem.”
Jongin realizes that this is why they were in a crowded area, so he couldn’t teleport without witnesses around. So, he did the next best thing - he ran.
The night sky was clear, and Sehun was in the best mood. He put the blackout incident from a few nights ago at the back of his mind, so he could meet his friends at the cafe at the town square with a smile.
Before Sehun could push the door open, he saw a disturbance by the fountain. The music from the live band had been playing as he walked down the street, but it was replaced by screaming and things breaking.
He saw someone running from a group of people, and Sehun swore he had seen the back of that head before. Kim Jongin, he realized. But why would anyone be chasing him? Fangirls, maybe? But then he saw the suited men. As everyone was running away rather than helping him, he ran in their direction.
Sehun enters a shop near the fountain where he saw Jongin last. He could see him hiding in the shadows behind a fallen cart while the suited men split up to look for him.
When Jongin thought the coast was clear, he ran into the dark alleyway next to the shop Sehun was in, but he heard one of the men scream, “There he is!” The boy felt himself bump into someone and thought he was done for. He felt so weak. Were one of the men draining him of water? Jongin thought. He remembered having a session with Junmyeon where Junmyeon used his control on water on him, and he never wanted to feel that way ever again.
“Kim Jongin! Kim Jongin!” someone whispered to. When Jongin opened his eyes and attempted to speak, the boy in front of him clamped his mouth with his hand. “Don’t speak! I’m here to help you.”
Jongin nodded, and for some reason, he felt stronger being held by this guy. Oh Sehun, he remembers, having heard so much of him from Zitao and having seen the selcas that hyung took with him.
“This is gonna sound crazy, but I need you to teleport yourself while I distract those.. thugs,” Sehun says frantically.
The one who teleports wants to ask so many questions, like How does he know I can teleport?! and Why are you trying to save me?, but Sehun’s hand is still covering his mouth and hears muffled sounds instead.
“Well, look at what we have here,” the tall man says. They must have found them while they stayed in one spot in the alleyway for too long.
Sehun pushes Jongin away from himself and screams, “Go!” The men were inching closer and closer, and he could slowly see Sehun dehydrating. I can’t just leave him here, he thinks. So he runs forward to grab him, and they vanish out of sight.
One moment, Sehun feels like the water is being drained out of him, and the next, he’s feeling better, sitting on an unfamiliar couch. He coughs since his throat’s so dry, then realizes that Jongin is sprawled unconscious on his lap.
Oh my God, Sehun thinks. I’m living every fangirl’s dream, right now! But he snaps out of it when he realizes that this is a life or death situation. He careful digs around in Jongin’s pockets to find his phone. Instead of him calling Zitao from his phone, it would be more believable if he called from Jongin’s phone, he decides.
He unlocks the phone (Sehun thanks the heavens that he doesn’t have a passcode) and checks the call history. He dials the first number he sees.
“I’m really sorry you got involved in this, Sehun-ssi,” Junmyeon keeps saying.
“Just.. Sehun is fine.. hyung,” the younger says. He doesn’t know why, but Junmyeon, Jongin’s self-proclaimed older brother, feels so comfortable to be with.
Junmyeon smiles a little and relaxes. “Okay, Sehun-ah.”
When Sehun described that he felt a little dehydrated, Junmyeon was by him in seconds. He checked his pulse points and his lips first, then the older man asked him to sit still, as he held his hands for a few moments. Sehun felt as he did before, but when he opened his eyes, Junmyeon looked really worried. So this is how they got to this point.
Junmyeon was, again, apologizing for Sehun’s accidental involvement in this. He still wondered why Sehun decided to interrupt in the the first place, but the younger had no definite answer. He’ll ask Jongin when Kyungsoo finishes tending to him in Jongin’s room. Yixing would have been here, but it was going to take him a while to arrive since he was across town.
In simplest terms, Junmyeon had to explain why their group of friends had powers. Since Sehun had already met all of them, there was no use hiding it. The younger even swore himself to secrecy because even though he should’ve been terrified, he was oddly curious. Junmyeon would never admit, though, that he had a background check done on the younger when he first started associating himself with them. Just in case, Junmyeon would repeat to himself.
“Hyung.” This didn’t come from Sehun but from Jongin, who was being supported by Kyungsoo to the living room couch where Junmyeon and Sehun were. They rearranged themselves so that Kyungsoo and Jongin were on the couch, Sehun was on the single sofa, while Junmyeon stood. He couldn’t continue sitting after seeing Jongin like this, after knowing that ENDO had come after him, and that he didn’t know anything about it.
“Hyung,” Jongin says again. Sehun looks from his lap to look at Jongin, but he couldn’t ignore Kyungsoo’s hand clasped with Jongin’s.
“Jongin-ah,” the leader replies. “Yixing will be here soon. He’ll heal your injuries.”
The younger nods. “But hyung, did Sehun tell you? I teleported the both of us here..”
Leave it to Jongin to be proud of his powers when he’s injured like this, Junmyeon thinks.
“Yes, he did,” he answers, looking at Sehun. “No wonder you’re so drained of energy. You weren’t able to do that before, right?”
“He wasn’t?” Sehun asks. “But we got here so quickly!”
“I know, right?” Jongin chuckles. He went into deep thought soon afterward. “Sehun, even though we literally just met, I need you to hold my hand.”
The three other boys simultaneously scream, “What?!”
After startling Jongin, he says, “Just trust me.”
Sehun looks to Junmyeon for assurance, but all he gets from Kyungsoo was a glare. It always felt like Kyungsoo didn’t like him too much. He barely grazes Jongin’s fingers when he hears him gasp.
“It’s him,” Jongin gasps. “The one with the wind.
Headquarters was thrown into a frenzy once Junmyeon called in saying that they found the one with the wind. Or should he say, Oh Sehun. When deciding how to break the news to his parents, they actually came out themselves to reveal that they had been working undercover this whole time. Since only his mother had a power, they weren’t sure if Sehun would manifest a power - his older brother didn’t.
Sehun was sent into training immediately, and even though he had no prepping for this life, he had very good control of his power. His parents claimed that they brought him up in a good environment. He was their little boy, who seldom cried when he was a baby and talked to his parents about all of his problems growing up. He had no problem expressing himself, and his understanding and control of his emotions surely helped with controlling his power.
“Happy Birthday,” his mother says before leaving him at headquarters, kissing him on the cheek. She didn’t forget to bring enough cakes to share with all his friends. Sehun wasn’t even mad at his parents for hiding this from him - he was ecstatic that he found such a nice group of people to grow up with and a goal to work towards.
Jongin wasn’t jealous. Okay, maybe he was. Sure, Sehun saved his life, but why was Sehun having it so easy with his power? The one who teleports still struggles with his drills sometimes. His training instructor repeats that it has to do with his emotions, but he was so sick of hearing that. All the mind exercises gave him a headache. He especially hated it when he had to put up a wall to protect his most precious memories, and that wall always fell.
He was watching Sehun’s training today. It would have been easier to find out how Sehun manages to keep his emotions in check enough to create a typhoon in the large training area by asking him, but Jongin’s too stubborn for that. The younger boy only had a singlet and sweats on, and Jongin can see the sweat pouring down his face. They were already working him hard. He could see the flex of every muscle in his arm as he used them to direct a gust of wind towards projectiles. Sehun was usually move covered up during their dance practices. Until now, Jongin had never stopped to just admire Sehun, since he was so caught up in his own thoughts. He was taller than him by a few centimeters and had broad shoulders. He had pale, pale skin, a straight nose, and small pink lips, but he could never forget his eyes, from the first time they made eye contact in that dark alleyway.
Those same eyes were looking at him right now, in half-moons, conveying how pleased he was to see Jongin watching him. Sehun waved at him from where he was in the training area, and Jongin managed to wave back before leaving the viewing area to calm his racing heart.
Sehun had yet to be paired up with Jongin for training, and he was nervous thinking about it. The two actually spent a lot of time together, finally getting to talk about dance and even choreographing something on the side, just for fun.
The first time, Jongin helped him with the routine Sehun’s introductory class was working on that week. It amazed the one with the wind that Jongin remembered a routine from months ago. (Jongin had also confirmed that, yes, he was bumped up to the intermediate level since he took the introductory one in his last year of high school.)
The second time, Sehun suggested that they team up for their finals. Each level had a final at the end of the semester, but they were allowed to collaborate with students from any level. Even if they had to learn two separate routines, their practices went well, with Sehun smoothing out Jongin’s rough edges and Jongin toning down Sehun’s unlimited energy.
During their last dance practice, Sehun challenged Jongin to a dance battle. It started with some upbeat songs, then girl group dances just because, then some slow jams. Sehun thought it was so sinful how Jongin could be moving his hips seductively now when just a few moments ago, he was doing some girls group’s leg dance. It seems like the younger was staring because, all of a sudden, Jongin was right up against him, still moving to the music. He gulped at how close they were and closed his eyes. When he thought Jongin was moving closer, he hears his muffled laughter. They ended up playing tag in the dance practice room until it was time for them to head to training, and this time, Jongin was fully aware that he was teleporting the both of them.
So Sehun dances with the mysterious Kim Jongin. Only now, he’s just Jongin. He laughs as powerfully as he dances, and it’s a sight to see. He shouldn’t have considered those rumors. Sehun can’t help but think that even if all the girls want Jongin, he wants Jongin too.
Kyungsoo has been hot and cold to Jongin since the incident on Sehun’s birthday. Jongin notices that his hyung seldom leaves his side whenever they go to the town square together or even if they’re in the comfort of Jongin’s own apartment, but whenever Sehun is around, he’s nowhere to be seen.
“I can’t believe they used me to get to you!” Kyungsoo wails again today. He still feels guilty for that evening, even when everyone knows it’s not his fault. He doesn’t see it that way. If he had not ignored Jongin back then, the younger wouldn’t have been so eager to meet up when he thought it was Kyungsoo inviting him out.
The one with the strength even changed his phone number, with the suggestion of headquarters. ENDO had somehow found out about Jongin, and eventually, his relationship with Kyungsoo. He wasn’t even satisfied with what kind of relationship they had, seeing that they could never happen.
Right now, Kyungsoo is crying in Jongin’s arms, and all the younger can do is hold him. He’s not sure where all this emotion is coming from, but he swears he can feel the ground moving.
When his hyung calms down and the ground stops moving (“I can cause earthquakes too,” he had said through sniffles), he manages to get a good look at his face. Kyungsoo looks paler, his eyes bloodshot.
“Hyung..”
“No, Jongin,” Kyungsoo answers. “I’m not alright.”
The younger says nothing since he knows he’s going to get cut off anyway.
“Do you remember our lesson on prophecies?” Jongin nods. “I see the way Sehun looks at you. You must be blind or in denial if you don’t see it too. You work so well with him.”
The two let the silence wash over them. Kyungsoo keeps his head on Jongin’s shoulder while Jongin holds him. All they hear is each other’s breathing.
Jongin breaks the silence first. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He feels his hyung nod his head.
The one with the strength takes a deep breath. “I’ve been in love with you for so long, but fate has its own plans. I was hoping that even if Sehun was the one who helps with your power, that you would fall in love with me anyway.”
“I.. didn’t know you felt that way about me,” Jongin replies. He really just thought his hyung was taking care of him, not anything more.
“I really used to be your favorite hyung, Jongin-ah. Before your parents passed away, we were always brought to headquarters to play with each other. I always gave you food, and you would use my lap as a pillow when you were sleepy. Even when you lost your memories and moved in with Junmyeon hyung and his family, he would tell me about you.”
When he didn’t say anymore, Jongin realizes that Kyungsoo tired himself out and fell asleep. An hour later, they were still in the same position, and Kyungsoo jumped out of his hold when he woke up.
At the door, Kyungsoo quickly reached up to place a kiss on Jongin’s cheek and ran down the hallway. Jongin was shocked at the moment, but that was the least he could give his hyung.
Sehun confessed first, by mistake, actually. He and Jongin had their training session together and that meant doing mind exercises. Their training instructor suggested that they try reading each other’s minds.
The younger only had a couple of days of training for this, compared to Jongin’s few months. Sehun felt like he built up a strong enough wall, and he signaled to Jongin that he could start.
Sehun’s thoughts had been scattered for the past couple of days. It was the common worries of a university student, like studying for finals and practicing for evaluations, which meant that he spent a huge amount of time with Jongin.
I’m in love with you, Jongin, he thought, and his eyes suddenly opened. Jongin had a blush on his face, and their instructor excused himself, who most likely heard the confession as well.
They stared at each other for a few moments before Jongin was suddenly on him, hugging him. Sehun thought it was only him who felt this attraction. He fell into his gravity even before they met.
Later that day, while having dinner at Jongin’s apartment, Jongin asks why he didn’t say anything sooner.
“I thought you were with Kyungsoo hyung!” Sehun replies after swallowing his food. “Then why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
“..I thought you had a crush on Zitao hyung,” Jongin mumbles.
They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Prophecy or not, the two were attracted to each other all along.
The plan is set to continue at the end of the semester, and it comes too soon. Junmyeon decides to throw a party to celebrate, at Jongin’s apartment, of course. (“Why does it always have to be at my place?” Jongin asks. His hyung only replies that his place is the most private.)
Headquarters deems Sehun adequate enough to partake in the mission, having acknowledged his relationship with Jongin as well. Kyungsoo comes over to Jongin’s place by himself less frequently, and Junmyeon still waits for Yifan to contact him. The rest wait with bated breath for final instructions and also for the conclusion of the real-life drama unfolding before them.
“Why does it feel like we’re in a k-drama?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol. They’re messing with the lights in the apartment and the fire of the candles in Jongin’s kitchen, again. Junmyeon is talking to Kyungsoo in hushed whispers, and Jongin and Sehun are walking out of the living room into the hall.
“Yah! We can’t see!” Jongdae screams from the living room, and the two feel jolts of electricity on their hands.
Yixing momentarily passes by to heal the burns left by the one with the lightning. They give him grateful smiles, and Yixing replies with a dimpled one of his own.
The front door opens, and all of a sudden there’s a stampede to greet whoever’s there.
“Minseok hyung! Lu Ge!”
“We weren’t gonna miss this party!” Lu Han replies, as he’s walking around to give bonecrushing hugs to his dongsaengs.
Minseok just smiles as he makes his way to Junmyeon and Kyungsoo. It’ll take a while until he can talk to the kids in the living room.
“It’s almost time, right?” Minseok asks, and Junmyeon nods. “You’ve done a great job keeping the team together.”
The leader gives a tight-lipped smile. But Yifan’s not here.
“Now where are the two youngest?” he asks. “They’re supposed to be out here to greet their hyungs!”
In the hall, Zitao is outside Jongin’s room, where Jongin and Sehun are talking. With a wave of his hand, the second hand of the clock in Jongin’s room stops moving, and he walks away until he feels it’s necessary to resume their time.
“Are you scared, Sehun-ah?” Jongin asks. They’re on Jongin’s bed, facing each other, with a few inches between them.
Jongin is glad that he found Sehun, not just because he was the last one the prophecy foretold of, but he feels that Sehun completes him. Being with Sehun, he feels he has a better hold on his emotions. He knew trusting Kyungsoo was the right thing to do. Sehun wore his emotions on his sleeve, and Jongin wishes he were brave enough to do that too. There was some force that brought him to easily let Sehun into his life, and Jongin feels the attraction grow more each day.
“No,” Sehun answers, his eyes closed.
Somehow, Jongin knows how Sehun is actually feeling. “Liar,” he counters and kisses Sehun, just a touch of the lips, to stop him from trembling.
Jongin pulls back, and Sehun is staring at him. “Is.. this okay?” Sehun sounds scared. They’ve done nothing more than hold hands and cuddle. He tentatively curls his arms around Jongin’s waist and pulls him closer so that Jongin’s head is in the crook of his neck.
“Yeah,” Jongin replies. He’s been wanting to do that for a while now, but the rest of the team seldom leave them alone together.
Jongin hears someone at his bedroom door, but he registers it as his mind playing tricks on him. He’s so comfortable right now, and he has to cherish this moment.
Zitao had just resumed time in Jongin’s room, and soon, Baekhyun slams the door open while Jongin and Sehun were about to join the rest in the living room.
“Guys! You have to see this!” Baekhyun comes in, then grins at them, seeing the blush on both of their cheeks.
Standing at the front door is possibly the tallest person the two have ever seen, and Junmyeon looks almost ready to cry.
“Yifan Ge!” Tao exclaims. “You’re back.”
“I am, Taozi,” he replies as he steps inside. He looks at the leader a couple of feet away from him. “I bring news from headquarters.”
Junmyeon takes that as his cue to meet him in the middle. This must be what the boss meant by waiting for the special envoy. He’s about to ask how he wants to set up the meeting, but then he’s engulfed in strong familiar arms.
“Fan--” Junmyeon tries to say.
“Still putting business first, huh?” Yifan says, arms still full of Junmyeon. “Can’t I get a hug first?”
The leader finally pushes himself away. His face is red, and tears have started to form again. “You don’t keep in contact, and you expect me to welcome you back so warmly?!”
The room has gotten quiet at this point. Sehun just wants to push them back together to hug again.
Yifan runs his hand through his hair and sighs. “I was under strict surveillance in China, Jun-- everyone.” He clears his throat before beginning again.
“I only just got back with the information we need to go forward.” He looks Junmyeon straight in the eyes. “I wanted to keep everyone safe by not having outside contact.” I wanted to keep you safe.
A few beats later, Junmyeon is throwing himself onto Yifan, and everyone cheers. Jongin looks around to see the whole team here, his team. Sehun moves closer to hold his hand. Their spirits have raised now that they’re whole again. A prophecy may have brought them together, but the love they have for each other keeps them together.