While The Sky Burns, for alectrona19 (2/2)
They set off early morning, with Mino offering to take the wheel. He isn’t familiar with the route they’re taking to Daegu since they’re trying to avoid the main highways, and with the car having no GPS system, Seunghoon had promised to stay awake for as long as Mino is driving so he can help navigate.
In an hour, Seunghoon manages to smoke several sticks and tell Mino all about the past few months he and Seungyoon had, details on how Seunghoon helped Seungyoon escape from the agency that kept him captive and how the younger boy owes Seunghoon his life. Seungyoon is in the backseat with eyes closed and arms crossed, giving the impression that he’s asleep, but he’s interjected in Seunghoon’s story a few times already to correct factual errors. Of course.
“What did they do to you there?” Mino asks cautiously, the first time he’s directing a question at Seungyoon. Mino knows it could be a sensitive topic, but maybe it’ll help all of them if he were to understand Seungyoon just a little more.
From the rear view mirror, Mino could see Seungyoon blink slowly until his eyes are wide open, his attention absorbed by the view outside the window. Seunghoon doesn’t say anything and focuses on the road ahead, lighting another stick, giving him and Seungyoon some space to converse.
“Terrible things,” Seungyoon says quietly, keeping his eyes out the window. “Mostly experiments. Felt like an animal. I realized when your limits are tested, you tend to find out your threshold for pain. Physical, psychological, emotional. All of it.”
Mino doesn’t press further, sneaking a glance at Seunghoon who’s become quiet, wearing a shattered expression on his face. Mino can’t begin to imagine what kind of hell Seungyoon had to go through, but he knows quite well how little empathy humans have for their kind to understand everything they’ve done must have been inhumane. Suddenly he no longer wonders why Seungyoon is callous and unfeeling.
By hour two, the awkwardness from their conversation had dissipated and Seunghoon is already singing along to his own playlist from a worn-out looking mp3 player that looks like it should have been phased out a decade ago. When the girl group songs start playing, Seungyoon uses his mind to skip them all - much to Seunghoon’s chagrin - but the guy is relentless and switches them back. It takes only minutes before Seunghoon gives up completely, handing over control of the music to Seungyoon, who Mino finds out has a preference for rock.
It’s lunchtime when they arrive at Daegu, and Seunghoon excitedly insists that they have steamed ribs and tripe while they’re there, dramatically emphasizing that this could very well be their last meal. Mino doesn’t need much convincing, but they had to let Seungyoon cite every single possible thing that could go wrong by going into a very public restaurant before he relents eventually.
“Aren’t we going to pay?” Mino asks, wallet on hand when they finally stand up from their seats to leave. Seunghoon and Seungyoon make no move to ask for the bill.
Seunghoon just laughs and turns to Seungyoon, gesturing for him to explain while he reaches for his glass to take another sip.
“I haven’t paid for anything since I was ten,” Seungyoon tells Mino then walks to the front of the restaurant to talk to the woman on the cash register. Mino tries not to look too tense when Seunghoon stands next to him and throws an arm over his shoulder.
“I love telekinetics,” he says as they both watch Seungyoon convince the woman that they’ve paid for everything and even gave them a sizeable tip.
Mino is suddenly hyper aware of Seunghoon’s nearness but he tilts his head to look at him anyway. It’s been nagging at the back of his head since the beginning of the trip but he never felt comfortable enough to ask until they’ve developed some sort of camaraderie.
“Are you and Seungyoon...” Mino trails off, uncertain how to finish. Perhaps it’s still too impolite. They’ve been travelling less than two days together.
“Are me and Seungyoon what?” Seunghoon raises a brow.
“Neverv mind.” Mino mentally kicks himself. He shouldn’t be curious about things that don’t concern him and frankly he doesn’t even need to know.
Seunghoon smiles and reaches for the box of cigarettes tucked in his pocket, popping one into his mouth. “Moments like this I wish I were a telepath,” he says, the stick dangling at the side of his lips before walking away to join Seungyoon.
“So we’re headed for Masan now?” Mino brings up when they head off after a quick trip to the convenience store to replenish their supplies. Seunghoon is behind the wheel again, with Mino in the passenger seat and Seungyoon at the back, already making himself comfortable for sleep.
“Actually, we’re stopping by Busan,” Seunghoon replies quietly, keeping his eyes on the road.
Mino frowns. If their destination is Masan, it doesn’t make any sense to pass through Busan. It’ll only delay them by an hour and Seungyoon had already made it very clear that the sooner they arrive at the Auxillium, the lesser danger they’d be in. And just because they don’t sense any imminent hazard now doesn’t mean they’re out of harm’s way.
“What are we going to do in Busan?”
There’s a long stretch of silence until Seunghoon takes a deep breath. “Just... stuff.”
Mino looks over to the backseat, finding that Seungyoon is looking down at his hands instead of sleeping. His lips are pursed in a way that makes him look more his age, or younger, but Mino knows he’s deep in thought. Mino wonders how many unfathomable levels Seungyoon has in that brain of his, like an endless maze, and if he chooses sleep instead of getting lost in them.
Sensing Mino watching, Seungyoon lifts his chin and returns Mino’s stare. Mino waits for an objection to Seunghoon’s plan but it doesn’t come. Clearly there must be something important in Busan that they’re not telling him. That they prefer not to tell him.
Mino finds himself growing somewhat annoyed at that, sinking back into his seat instead of prodding further. He knows that Seunghoon and Seungyoon have their secrets but Mino had hoped that after their conversations, they’d finally let him in and not just treat him like a stray they’d picked up on the way. Mino leans to the side to catch some sleep, (or maybe create a distance between him and the two) but not before catching Seunghoon with an uncharacteristically serious expression from the corner of his eyes.
Mino wakes up to absolute stillness and he nearly leaps from his seat in surprise. His surroundings are unfamiliar and the car is empty - and he feels dread rise to his throat, until he sees a figure from a few meters away approaching him. Mino unbuckles his seatbelt and steps out, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes with the back of his hand before squinting.
It’s Seunghoon. And he’s bringing two cups.
Mino breathes out a sigh of relief as he leans back against the car. For a second there he thought he’d been abandoned.
“You look pale,” Seunghoon remarks with just a shadow of a smile, handing one of the cups to Mino.
“I just-“ Mino pauses, looking over Seunghoon’s shoulder, then around the car. They’re parked at what looks to be a residential area, with a few older adults milling about. “Where’s Seungyoon?”
“He has some things to do. That’s why we’re here.”
Mino scans the surroundings once more, he can’t possibly predict what Seungyoon might need to do here, then again it might have something to do with his family which Mino knows nothing about.
“Is he from Busan?”
“We both are,” Seunghoon replies, taking a sip from his cup. It takes Mino by surprise and once more he’s itching to ask just how deep Seunghoon and Seungyoon’s relationship is. But he doesn’t.
“So we just wait then? Until he’s done with whatever he needs to do?”
Seunghoon nods, walking closer until he falls beside Mino against the car, leaning back in a similar fashion. They both stay quiet for a while, nursing their coffees and just observing the people they see. There’s really nothing out of the ordinary here, or interesting in the least, but Mino is comforted in the silence, with Seunghoon right beside him.
“When did you discover that you were a healer?” Seunghoon asks out of the blue, but with just enough curiosity in the lilt of his voice that means he isn’t just asking for the sake of filling the silence, but is genuinely interested.
“When I was ten years old, my Mom and I got hurt pretty badly,” Mino starts to say, his eyes following the cracks in the pavement, unable to look at Seunghoon. He doesn’t know why he’s nervous but he’s never really told this story to anyone, and recalling it now is bringing him back to where it all started. The fear of being different.
“The driver of the cab we were on was just finishing an 18 hour shift, we didn’t know he was already falling asleep on the wheel until another car crashed against us at an intersection. My Mom was sitting right at the spot where the collision was most severe,” Mino balks at the memory. Beside him he notices Seunghoon shift so he’s looking right at him, but Mino keeps his eyes on the ground.
“All I could see was blood - in her dress, her arms, her hands. I didn’t even notice I was bleeding, too, all I saw was her. The cab driver was already out of the car, and I could sense people starting to freak out outside I was already crying but my Mom was just telling me it’ll be okay even if she was in so much pain. Then I just felt this warm rush inside me, and I didn’t know why I did it but I lifted my hands and just held them up and willed for her pain to go away. I don’t remember much of what happened next because some men were already helping us out of the cab, and next thing I knew we were at the hospital. My Mom was beside me and she looked… fine. Her wounds were gone, like she didn’t even get hurt. Then she pulled me aside and told me we had to leave.”
Mino downs the last of his coffee and glances up to see that Seunghoon is still listening intently. Mino manages a smile before he looks away. “After that my Mom did all the research and helped me figure out what I was.”
“Where is she now?”
Mino sucks in his cheeks as he shakes his head. “The next time she got badly hurt, I wasn’t there. I couldn’t get to her in time.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” Mino lets out a dry chuckle, still feeling the residual pang of what had happened eight years ago. “The irony of my powers. I couldn’t even heal the only person I cared about.”
There was another quiet pause, until Mino feels a hand enclose his, fingers sliding easily against his palm. Mino’s breath hitches at the contact, but Seunghoon feels warm and comforting, even for someone who was only a stranger a couple of days ago.
Mino has managed to tell him all of his secrets, those that he kept from the world for fear that they wouldn’t understand. It feels liberating to say them out loud, it feels like validation that he exists - the Mino who had an extraordinary gift, and not the scared mutant who hid himself among those he feared.
They stay like that for a while, neither of them saying another word.
“When I was six, I accidentally burned down the dining table,” Seunghoon offers. Mino’s eyes grow wide. Seunghoon doesn’t let go of his hand though, and Mino tries not to think too much about that. “Then it kept happening again and again until my parents had enough, I suppose. I had two sisters, I was dangerous. I didn’t get it then but now I understand why they had to give me up.”
Mino studies Seunghoon’s face, devoid of any real trace of resentment. Mino can imagine how difficult it must have been to grow up without his family.
“For a while I hated myself though,” Seunghoon continues. “But bouncing from orphanage to orphanage, I met other mutants with similar experiences and realized in the long run that it’s not really our fault. So either we let our powers cripple us or we let them be our strength. I chose the latter.”
Mino clears his throat, pulling his hand from Seunghoon’s grip. “And I chose the first.”
“I don’t blame you,” Seunghoon says, looking down at Mino’s hand with something that resembles longing before meeting his eyes. “If the world just accepted us, maybe I’d be someone who has a job, too. But as you see, humans are unforgiving and cruel. You may have neglected your gift before but you can choose to embrace it now.”
Mino gives him a grateful smile. Seunghoon doesn’t have to comfort him, nor does he need to be polite about it, but he makes Mino feel better anyway.
“I have a confession to make,” Seunghoon suddenly brings up. “Meeting you at the alley wasn’t a random encounter. I’ve - we’ve been following you for a while. Needed to make sure you were okay. You know, because we protect our kind.”
Mino shrugs, suppressing another smile. “Yeah I kind of figured that out.”
Seunghoon beams once more before reaching out to hold Mino’s hand again. Mino nearly draws back in surprise, but Seunghoon’s grip is firm. “Just let me. It feels nice,” he declares like it’s the most natural thing to say. Mino swallows down what would have been a bumbling response, keeps his heart steady, and eases into the touch. Seunghoon hums a tune - a girl group song Seungyoon probably hates - and Mino finds himself humming along.
“Did he say where he was gonna go?”
Seunghoon shakes his head. “Didn’t have to. But I thought he’d be back by now.”
They’d been driving around the Haeundae Beach area where Seungyoon said he’d be for almost half an hour now, but he hasn’t turned up yet.
“Does he have a phone we can call?” Mino suggests, but catches himself. “Oh right. No hackable gadgets,” he mutters mostly to himself as he peers out the window, on the lookout for Seungyoon.
It’s late in the afternoon now and the city is abuzz with activity, as if nothing has changed at all for these people. It’s unsettling.
“I think I know where he is,” Seunghoon says after a few more minutes and Mino just nods, wondering if someone like Seungyoon broke his own rules, too. Mino has pegged him for someone so straitlaced, even with himself. If he isn’t where he said he’s supposed to be, then there must be a good reason for it.
Not even ten minutes later and Seunghoon maneuvers Haute to a stop in front of a commercial building at a considerably bare street, unlike the crowded Haeundae. Mino looks around for any sign of Seungyoon but he’s nowhere to be seen. Seunghoon nudges him and juts his chin towards the direction of a small bakery near the intersection, just visible enough from where they’re parked.
“Seungyoon’s mom,” Seunghoon says as soon as Mino sees the woman inside the shop cleaning the register counter. “Seungyoon comes back every three months to check up on her, even send her money.”
“But where is he?”
“Right there,” he points to the building just across from it, where Mino spots Seungyoon behind a pillar, staring right at the bakery.
“He ran away from home,” Seunghoon answers Mino’s unspoken question. “Thought it would make his mother safer after people started to chase after him. Unlike our parents, his mom didn’t know anything about his abilities. It was simply easier to leave her out of it.”
Mino purses his lips, feeling a wave of apology towards Seungyoon for thinking all this time that he’s just a callous, unfeeling guy. There’s a reason why Seungyoon is the way he is, but it’s nice to know there’s some humanity in the most rigid of mutants Mino has ever encountered.
It breaks Mino’s heart to watch Seungyoon pine after his mother like this, when he could just waltz right into that store and hug her. Mino would do anything to hug his mom again. But he also understands Seungyoon’s need to protect her from their world. She’s better off without Seungyoon, even if that’s a fact hard to swallow.
They leave Seungyoon be for a while, and quietly waits. After a few more minutes, Seungyoon turns to walk towards the car, as if he’d known all along that they followed him there. Mino notices for the first time a guitar case slung over Seungyoon’s shoulder.
“Is that-“ Seunghoon pauses with furrowed brows as soon as Seungyoon enters the car.
“Yeah. It’s the one he left behind.”
“What is?” Mino asks, turning to Seungyoon.
“The guitar. It’s a memory,” Seungyoon answers, setting the case on his lap.
“I didn’t think you were the sentimental type,” Mino remarks, to which Seungyoon smiles a little. Just a barely there twitch of the lips but a smile nonetheless. And it’s pretty spectacular, his features lighting up in the afternoon sun. Mino tries not to be too excited about it just in case it makes Seungyoon uncomfortable.
“This might be the end,” Seungyoon adds after a while, his face returning to its default impassiveness. “After we reach the Auxillium, we could be on an all out war. It’s not practical but it’s nice trying to remember the good things. Fleeting, but good.”
Mino finds himself grinning now at witnessing this side of Seungyoon, and when he looks ahead he realizes Seunghoon is doing the same.
The drive to Masan is an hour that flies by quickly, Mino fidgeting nearly the entire time from both nerves and exhilaration. Who knows what’s going to welcome them at the Auxillium, and Mino is unprepared for this, having been blindsided by this trip. He doesn’t know just yet how to coexist with mutants, and if they do end up fighting a war against the government, then Mino isn’t sure how he can be of use. There are many uncertainties, but if there’s one thing Mino is sure of, he’s excited. Maybe it’s because he found kindred spirits in Seunghoon and Seungyoon. And because he can start his life over.
Mino should have known everything’s been too easy. Of course the last obstacle would be right at the cusp of success, just before the finish line. It’s sadistically cruel, but such is the life of a mutant.
Seunghoon spots them first - the black vans lined against the backdrop of the mountains. The sky is a rupture of orange and yellow, as if it’s been lit on fire by the setting sun. Mino grips the edges of his seat as Seunghoon rams a foot on the break, the car skidding to a halt a good distance away from them.
Pain rams through Mino’s chest as his body is thrown against the dashboard. But it’s no match for the spike of distress that shoots up his spine when he lifts his head up and sees suited men come out of those vans.
“Is anyone hurt?” Mino asks first, bringing a hand to his chest to chase the pain that persists. It’s gone in seconds.
“I’m okay,” Seunghoon answers, turning towards the backseat to check on Seungyoon. “You alright there?”
“Stay in the car,” Seungyoon says instead. “Remember the plan. If anything happens, run.”
“No, you’re not doing this!”
“I’m the only one who can stop him.”
“Seungyoon. He’s not the same person anymore,” Seunghoon pleads, worry in his voice.
“Can someone tell me who we’re dealing with?” Mino asks, trying to make sense of their conversation.
“The telepath,” Seungyoon answers. “The one with the masterlist.”
Even in the middle of danger Mino could detect tenderness in Seungyoon’s usually detached voice, one that is typically reserved for a friend rather than an enemy.
“Seunghoon. You know where the entrance is. Make sure you and Mino get there, Jinwoo will be waiting.”
“No,” Seunghoon shakes his head vigorously, his eyes turning burning gold to match the skies. It’s the first time Mino is seeing composure leave Seunghoon. “This is not what we talked about!”
Seungyoon reaches for Seunghoon’s shoulder and gives it a steadfast squeeze. “You know I’ve been waiting for this. This is my battle to face.”
There’s not much Seunghoon could say to that and they both hold their breaths when Seungyoon alights from the car. From a distance, one of the vans’ doors opens, and a man comes out as well. Mino instantaneously feels the energy emanating from him. There’s no mistaking it. This is the powerful telepath Seunghoon had told him about.
“Nam Taehyun,” Seunghoon whispers to himself.
The telepath is young, too young, maybe even younger than all of them. His eyes remind Mino a lot of Seungyoon’s, like they’ve been drained of any type of emotion. Mino doesn’t know why anybody would ever work for the government to capture mutants.
“Who is he, exactly?”
“He and Seungyoon practically grew up in the streets together, they were also both captured by the government. They went through hell there. I was able to rescue Seungyoon but it was too late for Taehyun,” Seunghoon answers, his face drained of all colour.
Almost instantly, Mino could sense Seungyoon’s own inner force shoot up after walking towards Taehyun. Mino doesn’t know why and how he’s sensing all of this - this is an unexplored part of his ability.
“Give up.”
The voice is loud and clear in Mino’s head - unfamiliar and abrasive, before an ear-splitting scream rings in his ears. He and Seunghoon both recoil instantly, hands flying up to their heads. Mino concentrates to will the pain away, but Taehyun’s power is too much for him to handle.
“Fight it!” Mino hears Seunghoon scream through the throbbing.
Mino tries again but he could already sense his consciousness falling into a bottomless chasm. He’s never come across this kind of intrusion to his body before, even when Seungyoon froze his limbs the night they met. Mino is powerless against the telepath and it’s futile to resist.
The last thing Mino sees is Seungyoon inching closer towards Taehyun, unfazed by whatever it is he’s doing to them. In his hands is the guitar he’d gotten when they were in Busan.
It’s a memory, Seungyoon’s words replay in Mino’s head, bizarrely sounding like the telepath’s voice.
A second later, Mino sees, hears, feels nothing.
The story changes a lot. It’s hard to keep up when you have about a hundred mutants telling and retelling the story over and over, tweaking details here and there to make it more interesting. Less frightening. A cautionary tale. A love story. Mino doesn’t bother to correct them anymore and just lets them believe what they want to believe.
Perhaps he and Seunghoon are the two people closest to the truth, and even then that’s not saying much.
One thing is for sure - what happened at Masan that afternoon stalled the imminent war, giving them time to locate the mutants who haven’t been captured yet. Most of them aren’t soldiers, and like Mino, they’d been forced to conceal their gifts in order to blend in with the rest of humanity. But under the tutelage of the alpha mutants at the Auxillium, they can be greater.
A month in and Mino has already begun to tap into an untouched ability that allows his power to be destructive. If he can heal, he can also destroy, in the sense that if he can accelerate cell regeneration to close a wound, he can also make bones grow out of someone’s body, manipulate blood, and the like. It’s morbid but he’s been told it’s necessary.
However, if Mino is being honest, he’s content to heal injured mutants in the war.
Mino shuts his eyes and breathes in the fresh air, it’s still so mesmerizing up here. It’s like being in a different planet altogether.
“I heard the craziest theory today,” a voice says from behind him and Mino turns around to find Seunghoon in his training gear, perhaps just coming out of the gym. He’s still wearing the special sunglasses the lab created to enhance his heat beams, but Seunghoon removes it as soon as he sits next to Mino. “Always pretty at sunset,” he remarks, looking up at the fire-like sky.
Mino has developed the habit of coming up the observatory at around this time. Nostalgia, he supposes. He can appreciate the peace up here. The silence. But if there’s one person who’s always welcome to join him, it’s Seunghoon.
“Tell me about this theory,” he nudges Seunghoon’s elbow, smiling.
“Amber thinks that Seungyoon and Taehyun’s powers colliding elevated them beyond omega levels,” Seunghoon recounts, with just a twinge of incredulity in his tone. “And the concentrated power created a wormhole so now she’s convinced they’re in another universe entirely.”
Mino snorts. “Well that’s creative.”
“Best one I heard in a while, actually,” Seunghoon chuckles, fading into silence after a while.
It took a few days to get used to it but they’ve settled into life at the Auxillium. It’s hectic and unusual, but it’s becoming home. And if Mino’s being honest the best part about it is Seunghoon. Mino has lived a lonely life all this time. It feels good to have someone who has his back and fully accepts him for who he is. As long as he’s with Seunghoon then even the worst things don’t seem so bad.
“Wanna hear a crazier theory?” Mino asks.
Seunghoon turns to him, a hint of mischief in the crinkle of his eyes.
“I think Seungyoon and Taehyun just… ran away. Left all of this madness to build a house on the beach. They’re still two of the most powerful mutants alive. Whether or not they’re in this war, they’re gonna survive anyway, so why not live a little?”
Seunghoon tilts his head as he considers this. “Not a bad theory. Seungyoon is much too in love with Taehyun not to go for it if he asks.”
Mino smiles, imagining Seungyoon and Taehyun in their teens, finding solace in each other before being viciously torn apart by the corrupt institutions who only wanted to exploit them. “It’s tragic, what happened. But if they are alive and they are together, then I hope no one ever finds them.”
“Yeah,” Seunghoon hums.
In the silence, Mino reaches for Seunghoon’s hand and laces their fingers together. Seunghoon scoots closer and places a kiss at the back of Mino’s palm, languidly dropping his head on Mino’s shoulder. They draw comfort in the beauty and warmth of the remaining rays of the sun before darkness takes over.
Yeah. As long as Mino is with Seunghoon, even a war doesn’t seem so bad.
the entire earth is fighting
all the world is at its end
just in case an atom bomb
comes falling on my lawn,
I should say and you should hear
I’ve loved
I’ve loved the good times here
In an hour, Seunghoon manages to smoke several sticks and tell Mino all about the past few months he and Seungyoon had, details on how Seunghoon helped Seungyoon escape from the agency that kept him captive and how the younger boy owes Seunghoon his life. Seungyoon is in the backseat with eyes closed and arms crossed, giving the impression that he’s asleep, but he’s interjected in Seunghoon’s story a few times already to correct factual errors. Of course.
“What did they do to you there?” Mino asks cautiously, the first time he’s directing a question at Seungyoon. Mino knows it could be a sensitive topic, but maybe it’ll help all of them if he were to understand Seungyoon just a little more.
From the rear view mirror, Mino could see Seungyoon blink slowly until his eyes are wide open, his attention absorbed by the view outside the window. Seunghoon doesn’t say anything and focuses on the road ahead, lighting another stick, giving him and Seungyoon some space to converse.
“Terrible things,” Seungyoon says quietly, keeping his eyes out the window. “Mostly experiments. Felt like an animal. I realized when your limits are tested, you tend to find out your threshold for pain. Physical, psychological, emotional. All of it.”
Mino doesn’t press further, sneaking a glance at Seunghoon who’s become quiet, wearing a shattered expression on his face. Mino can’t begin to imagine what kind of hell Seungyoon had to go through, but he knows quite well how little empathy humans have for their kind to understand everything they’ve done must have been inhumane. Suddenly he no longer wonders why Seungyoon is callous and unfeeling.
By hour two, the awkwardness from their conversation had dissipated and Seunghoon is already singing along to his own playlist from a worn-out looking mp3 player that looks like it should have been phased out a decade ago. When the girl group songs start playing, Seungyoon uses his mind to skip them all - much to Seunghoon’s chagrin - but the guy is relentless and switches them back. It takes only minutes before Seunghoon gives up completely, handing over control of the music to Seungyoon, who Mino finds out has a preference for rock.
It’s lunchtime when they arrive at Daegu, and Seunghoon excitedly insists that they have steamed ribs and tripe while they’re there, dramatically emphasizing that this could very well be their last meal. Mino doesn’t need much convincing, but they had to let Seungyoon cite every single possible thing that could go wrong by going into a very public restaurant before he relents eventually.
“Aren’t we going to pay?” Mino asks, wallet on hand when they finally stand up from their seats to leave. Seunghoon and Seungyoon make no move to ask for the bill.
Seunghoon just laughs and turns to Seungyoon, gesturing for him to explain while he reaches for his glass to take another sip.
“I haven’t paid for anything since I was ten,” Seungyoon tells Mino then walks to the front of the restaurant to talk to the woman on the cash register. Mino tries not to look too tense when Seunghoon stands next to him and throws an arm over his shoulder.
“I love telekinetics,” he says as they both watch Seungyoon convince the woman that they’ve paid for everything and even gave them a sizeable tip.
Mino is suddenly hyper aware of Seunghoon’s nearness but he tilts his head to look at him anyway. It’s been nagging at the back of his head since the beginning of the trip but he never felt comfortable enough to ask until they’ve developed some sort of camaraderie.
“Are you and Seungyoon...” Mino trails off, uncertain how to finish. Perhaps it’s still too impolite. They’ve been travelling less than two days together.
“Are me and Seungyoon what?” Seunghoon raises a brow.
“Neverv mind.” Mino mentally kicks himself. He shouldn’t be curious about things that don’t concern him and frankly he doesn’t even need to know.
Seunghoon smiles and reaches for the box of cigarettes tucked in his pocket, popping one into his mouth. “Moments like this I wish I were a telepath,” he says, the stick dangling at the side of his lips before walking away to join Seungyoon.
“So we’re headed for Masan now?” Mino brings up when they head off after a quick trip to the convenience store to replenish their supplies. Seunghoon is behind the wheel again, with Mino in the passenger seat and Seungyoon at the back, already making himself comfortable for sleep.
“Actually, we’re stopping by Busan,” Seunghoon replies quietly, keeping his eyes on the road.
Mino frowns. If their destination is Masan, it doesn’t make any sense to pass through Busan. It’ll only delay them by an hour and Seungyoon had already made it very clear that the sooner they arrive at the Auxillium, the lesser danger they’d be in. And just because they don’t sense any imminent hazard now doesn’t mean they’re out of harm’s way.
“What are we going to do in Busan?”
There’s a long stretch of silence until Seunghoon takes a deep breath. “Just... stuff.”
Mino looks over to the backseat, finding that Seungyoon is looking down at his hands instead of sleeping. His lips are pursed in a way that makes him look more his age, or younger, but Mino knows he’s deep in thought. Mino wonders how many unfathomable levels Seungyoon has in that brain of his, like an endless maze, and if he chooses sleep instead of getting lost in them.
Sensing Mino watching, Seungyoon lifts his chin and returns Mino’s stare. Mino waits for an objection to Seunghoon’s plan but it doesn’t come. Clearly there must be something important in Busan that they’re not telling him. That they prefer not to tell him.
Mino finds himself growing somewhat annoyed at that, sinking back into his seat instead of prodding further. He knows that Seunghoon and Seungyoon have their secrets but Mino had hoped that after their conversations, they’d finally let him in and not just treat him like a stray they’d picked up on the way. Mino leans to the side to catch some sleep, (or maybe create a distance between him and the two) but not before catching Seunghoon with an uncharacteristically serious expression from the corner of his eyes.
Mino wakes up to absolute stillness and he nearly leaps from his seat in surprise. His surroundings are unfamiliar and the car is empty - and he feels dread rise to his throat, until he sees a figure from a few meters away approaching him. Mino unbuckles his seatbelt and steps out, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes with the back of his hand before squinting.
It’s Seunghoon. And he’s bringing two cups.
Mino breathes out a sigh of relief as he leans back against the car. For a second there he thought he’d been abandoned.
“You look pale,” Seunghoon remarks with just a shadow of a smile, handing one of the cups to Mino.
“I just-“ Mino pauses, looking over Seunghoon’s shoulder, then around the car. They’re parked at what looks to be a residential area, with a few older adults milling about. “Where’s Seungyoon?”
“He has some things to do. That’s why we’re here.”
Mino scans the surroundings once more, he can’t possibly predict what Seungyoon might need to do here, then again it might have something to do with his family which Mino knows nothing about.
“Is he from Busan?”
“We both are,” Seunghoon replies, taking a sip from his cup. It takes Mino by surprise and once more he’s itching to ask just how deep Seunghoon and Seungyoon’s relationship is. But he doesn’t.
“So we just wait then? Until he’s done with whatever he needs to do?”
Seunghoon nods, walking closer until he falls beside Mino against the car, leaning back in a similar fashion. They both stay quiet for a while, nursing their coffees and just observing the people they see. There’s really nothing out of the ordinary here, or interesting in the least, but Mino is comforted in the silence, with Seunghoon right beside him.
“When did you discover that you were a healer?” Seunghoon asks out of the blue, but with just enough curiosity in the lilt of his voice that means he isn’t just asking for the sake of filling the silence, but is genuinely interested.
“When I was ten years old, my Mom and I got hurt pretty badly,” Mino starts to say, his eyes following the cracks in the pavement, unable to look at Seunghoon. He doesn’t know why he’s nervous but he’s never really told this story to anyone, and recalling it now is bringing him back to where it all started. The fear of being different.
“The driver of the cab we were on was just finishing an 18 hour shift, we didn’t know he was already falling asleep on the wheel until another car crashed against us at an intersection. My Mom was sitting right at the spot where the collision was most severe,” Mino balks at the memory. Beside him he notices Seunghoon shift so he’s looking right at him, but Mino keeps his eyes on the ground.
“All I could see was blood - in her dress, her arms, her hands. I didn’t even notice I was bleeding, too, all I saw was her. The cab driver was already out of the car, and I could sense people starting to freak out outside I was already crying but my Mom was just telling me it’ll be okay even if she was in so much pain. Then I just felt this warm rush inside me, and I didn’t know why I did it but I lifted my hands and just held them up and willed for her pain to go away. I don’t remember much of what happened next because some men were already helping us out of the cab, and next thing I knew we were at the hospital. My Mom was beside me and she looked… fine. Her wounds were gone, like she didn’t even get hurt. Then she pulled me aside and told me we had to leave.”
Mino downs the last of his coffee and glances up to see that Seunghoon is still listening intently. Mino manages a smile before he looks away. “After that my Mom did all the research and helped me figure out what I was.”
“Where is she now?”
Mino sucks in his cheeks as he shakes his head. “The next time she got badly hurt, I wasn’t there. I couldn’t get to her in time.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” Mino lets out a dry chuckle, still feeling the residual pang of what had happened eight years ago. “The irony of my powers. I couldn’t even heal the only person I cared about.”
There was another quiet pause, until Mino feels a hand enclose his, fingers sliding easily against his palm. Mino’s breath hitches at the contact, but Seunghoon feels warm and comforting, even for someone who was only a stranger a couple of days ago.
Mino has managed to tell him all of his secrets, those that he kept from the world for fear that they wouldn’t understand. It feels liberating to say them out loud, it feels like validation that he exists - the Mino who had an extraordinary gift, and not the scared mutant who hid himself among those he feared.
They stay like that for a while, neither of them saying another word.
“When I was six, I accidentally burned down the dining table,” Seunghoon offers. Mino’s eyes grow wide. Seunghoon doesn’t let go of his hand though, and Mino tries not to think too much about that. “Then it kept happening again and again until my parents had enough, I suppose. I had two sisters, I was dangerous. I didn’t get it then but now I understand why they had to give me up.”
Mino studies Seunghoon’s face, devoid of any real trace of resentment. Mino can imagine how difficult it must have been to grow up without his family.
“For a while I hated myself though,” Seunghoon continues. “But bouncing from orphanage to orphanage, I met other mutants with similar experiences and realized in the long run that it’s not really our fault. So either we let our powers cripple us or we let them be our strength. I chose the latter.”
Mino clears his throat, pulling his hand from Seunghoon’s grip. “And I chose the first.”
“I don’t blame you,” Seunghoon says, looking down at Mino’s hand with something that resembles longing before meeting his eyes. “If the world just accepted us, maybe I’d be someone who has a job, too. But as you see, humans are unforgiving and cruel. You may have neglected your gift before but you can choose to embrace it now.”
Mino gives him a grateful smile. Seunghoon doesn’t have to comfort him, nor does he need to be polite about it, but he makes Mino feel better anyway.
“I have a confession to make,” Seunghoon suddenly brings up. “Meeting you at the alley wasn’t a random encounter. I’ve - we’ve been following you for a while. Needed to make sure you were okay. You know, because we protect our kind.”
Mino shrugs, suppressing another smile. “Yeah I kind of figured that out.”
Seunghoon beams once more before reaching out to hold Mino’s hand again. Mino nearly draws back in surprise, but Seunghoon’s grip is firm. “Just let me. It feels nice,” he declares like it’s the most natural thing to say. Mino swallows down what would have been a bumbling response, keeps his heart steady, and eases into the touch. Seunghoon hums a tune - a girl group song Seungyoon probably hates - and Mino finds himself humming along.
“Did he say where he was gonna go?”
Seunghoon shakes his head. “Didn’t have to. But I thought he’d be back by now.”
They’d been driving around the Haeundae Beach area where Seungyoon said he’d be for almost half an hour now, but he hasn’t turned up yet.
“Does he have a phone we can call?” Mino suggests, but catches himself. “Oh right. No hackable gadgets,” he mutters mostly to himself as he peers out the window, on the lookout for Seungyoon.
It’s late in the afternoon now and the city is abuzz with activity, as if nothing has changed at all for these people. It’s unsettling.
“I think I know where he is,” Seunghoon says after a few more minutes and Mino just nods, wondering if someone like Seungyoon broke his own rules, too. Mino has pegged him for someone so straitlaced, even with himself. If he isn’t where he said he’s supposed to be, then there must be a good reason for it.
Not even ten minutes later and Seunghoon maneuvers Haute to a stop in front of a commercial building at a considerably bare street, unlike the crowded Haeundae. Mino looks around for any sign of Seungyoon but he’s nowhere to be seen. Seunghoon nudges him and juts his chin towards the direction of a small bakery near the intersection, just visible enough from where they’re parked.
“Seungyoon’s mom,” Seunghoon says as soon as Mino sees the woman inside the shop cleaning the register counter. “Seungyoon comes back every three months to check up on her, even send her money.”
“But where is he?”
“Right there,” he points to the building just across from it, where Mino spots Seungyoon behind a pillar, staring right at the bakery.
“He ran away from home,” Seunghoon answers Mino’s unspoken question. “Thought it would make his mother safer after people started to chase after him. Unlike our parents, his mom didn’t know anything about his abilities. It was simply easier to leave her out of it.”
Mino purses his lips, feeling a wave of apology towards Seungyoon for thinking all this time that he’s just a callous, unfeeling guy. There’s a reason why Seungyoon is the way he is, but it’s nice to know there’s some humanity in the most rigid of mutants Mino has ever encountered.
It breaks Mino’s heart to watch Seungyoon pine after his mother like this, when he could just waltz right into that store and hug her. Mino would do anything to hug his mom again. But he also understands Seungyoon’s need to protect her from their world. She’s better off without Seungyoon, even if that’s a fact hard to swallow.
They leave Seungyoon be for a while, and quietly waits. After a few more minutes, Seungyoon turns to walk towards the car, as if he’d known all along that they followed him there. Mino notices for the first time a guitar case slung over Seungyoon’s shoulder.
“Is that-“ Seunghoon pauses with furrowed brows as soon as Seungyoon enters the car.
“Yeah. It’s the one he left behind.”
“What is?” Mino asks, turning to Seungyoon.
“The guitar. It’s a memory,” Seungyoon answers, setting the case on his lap.
“I didn’t think you were the sentimental type,” Mino remarks, to which Seungyoon smiles a little. Just a barely there twitch of the lips but a smile nonetheless. And it’s pretty spectacular, his features lighting up in the afternoon sun. Mino tries not to be too excited about it just in case it makes Seungyoon uncomfortable.
“This might be the end,” Seungyoon adds after a while, his face returning to its default impassiveness. “After we reach the Auxillium, we could be on an all out war. It’s not practical but it’s nice trying to remember the good things. Fleeting, but good.”
Mino finds himself grinning now at witnessing this side of Seungyoon, and when he looks ahead he realizes Seunghoon is doing the same.
The drive to Masan is an hour that flies by quickly, Mino fidgeting nearly the entire time from both nerves and exhilaration. Who knows what’s going to welcome them at the Auxillium, and Mino is unprepared for this, having been blindsided by this trip. He doesn’t know just yet how to coexist with mutants, and if they do end up fighting a war against the government, then Mino isn’t sure how he can be of use. There are many uncertainties, but if there’s one thing Mino is sure of, he’s excited. Maybe it’s because he found kindred spirits in Seunghoon and Seungyoon. And because he can start his life over.
Mino should have known everything’s been too easy. Of course the last obstacle would be right at the cusp of success, just before the finish line. It’s sadistically cruel, but such is the life of a mutant.
Seunghoon spots them first - the black vans lined against the backdrop of the mountains. The sky is a rupture of orange and yellow, as if it’s been lit on fire by the setting sun. Mino grips the edges of his seat as Seunghoon rams a foot on the break, the car skidding to a halt a good distance away from them.
Pain rams through Mino’s chest as his body is thrown against the dashboard. But it’s no match for the spike of distress that shoots up his spine when he lifts his head up and sees suited men come out of those vans.
“Is anyone hurt?” Mino asks first, bringing a hand to his chest to chase the pain that persists. It’s gone in seconds.
“I’m okay,” Seunghoon answers, turning towards the backseat to check on Seungyoon. “You alright there?”
“Stay in the car,” Seungyoon says instead. “Remember the plan. If anything happens, run.”
“No, you’re not doing this!”
“I’m the only one who can stop him.”
“Seungyoon. He’s not the same person anymore,” Seunghoon pleads, worry in his voice.
“Can someone tell me who we’re dealing with?” Mino asks, trying to make sense of their conversation.
“The telepath,” Seungyoon answers. “The one with the masterlist.”
Even in the middle of danger Mino could detect tenderness in Seungyoon’s usually detached voice, one that is typically reserved for a friend rather than an enemy.
“Seunghoon. You know where the entrance is. Make sure you and Mino get there, Jinwoo will be waiting.”
“No,” Seunghoon shakes his head vigorously, his eyes turning burning gold to match the skies. It’s the first time Mino is seeing composure leave Seunghoon. “This is not what we talked about!”
Seungyoon reaches for Seunghoon’s shoulder and gives it a steadfast squeeze. “You know I’ve been waiting for this. This is my battle to face.”
There’s not much Seunghoon could say to that and they both hold their breaths when Seungyoon alights from the car. From a distance, one of the vans’ doors opens, and a man comes out as well. Mino instantaneously feels the energy emanating from him. There’s no mistaking it. This is the powerful telepath Seunghoon had told him about.
“Nam Taehyun,” Seunghoon whispers to himself.
The telepath is young, too young, maybe even younger than all of them. His eyes remind Mino a lot of Seungyoon’s, like they’ve been drained of any type of emotion. Mino doesn’t know why anybody would ever work for the government to capture mutants.
“Who is he, exactly?”
“He and Seungyoon practically grew up in the streets together, they were also both captured by the government. They went through hell there. I was able to rescue Seungyoon but it was too late for Taehyun,” Seunghoon answers, his face drained of all colour.
Almost instantly, Mino could sense Seungyoon’s own inner force shoot up after walking towards Taehyun. Mino doesn’t know why and how he’s sensing all of this - this is an unexplored part of his ability.
“Give up.”
The voice is loud and clear in Mino’s head - unfamiliar and abrasive, before an ear-splitting scream rings in his ears. He and Seunghoon both recoil instantly, hands flying up to their heads. Mino concentrates to will the pain away, but Taehyun’s power is too much for him to handle.
“Fight it!” Mino hears Seunghoon scream through the throbbing.
Mino tries again but he could already sense his consciousness falling into a bottomless chasm. He’s never come across this kind of intrusion to his body before, even when Seungyoon froze his limbs the night they met. Mino is powerless against the telepath and it’s futile to resist.
The last thing Mino sees is Seungyoon inching closer towards Taehyun, unfazed by whatever it is he’s doing to them. In his hands is the guitar he’d gotten when they were in Busan.
It’s a memory, Seungyoon’s words replay in Mino’s head, bizarrely sounding like the telepath’s voice.
A second later, Mino sees, hears, feels nothing.
The story changes a lot. It’s hard to keep up when you have about a hundred mutants telling and retelling the story over and over, tweaking details here and there to make it more interesting. Less frightening. A cautionary tale. A love story. Mino doesn’t bother to correct them anymore and just lets them believe what they want to believe.
Perhaps he and Seunghoon are the two people closest to the truth, and even then that’s not saying much.
One thing is for sure - what happened at Masan that afternoon stalled the imminent war, giving them time to locate the mutants who haven’t been captured yet. Most of them aren’t soldiers, and like Mino, they’d been forced to conceal their gifts in order to blend in with the rest of humanity. But under the tutelage of the alpha mutants at the Auxillium, they can be greater.
A month in and Mino has already begun to tap into an untouched ability that allows his power to be destructive. If he can heal, he can also destroy, in the sense that if he can accelerate cell regeneration to close a wound, he can also make bones grow out of someone’s body, manipulate blood, and the like. It’s morbid but he’s been told it’s necessary.
However, if Mino is being honest, he’s content to heal injured mutants in the war.
Mino shuts his eyes and breathes in the fresh air, it’s still so mesmerizing up here. It’s like being in a different planet altogether.
“I heard the craziest theory today,” a voice says from behind him and Mino turns around to find Seunghoon in his training gear, perhaps just coming out of the gym. He’s still wearing the special sunglasses the lab created to enhance his heat beams, but Seunghoon removes it as soon as he sits next to Mino. “Always pretty at sunset,” he remarks, looking up at the fire-like sky.
Mino has developed the habit of coming up the observatory at around this time. Nostalgia, he supposes. He can appreciate the peace up here. The silence. But if there’s one person who’s always welcome to join him, it’s Seunghoon.
“Tell me about this theory,” he nudges Seunghoon’s elbow, smiling.
“Amber thinks that Seungyoon and Taehyun’s powers colliding elevated them beyond omega levels,” Seunghoon recounts, with just a twinge of incredulity in his tone. “And the concentrated power created a wormhole so now she’s convinced they’re in another universe entirely.”
Mino snorts. “Well that’s creative.”
“Best one I heard in a while, actually,” Seunghoon chuckles, fading into silence after a while.
It took a few days to get used to it but they’ve settled into life at the Auxillium. It’s hectic and unusual, but it’s becoming home. And if Mino’s being honest the best part about it is Seunghoon. Mino has lived a lonely life all this time. It feels good to have someone who has his back and fully accepts him for who he is. As long as he’s with Seunghoon then even the worst things don’t seem so bad.
“Wanna hear a crazier theory?” Mino asks.
Seunghoon turns to him, a hint of mischief in the crinkle of his eyes.
“I think Seungyoon and Taehyun just… ran away. Left all of this madness to build a house on the beach. They’re still two of the most powerful mutants alive. Whether or not they’re in this war, they’re gonna survive anyway, so why not live a little?”
Seunghoon tilts his head as he considers this. “Not a bad theory. Seungyoon is much too in love with Taehyun not to go for it if he asks.”
Mino smiles, imagining Seungyoon and Taehyun in their teens, finding solace in each other before being viciously torn apart by the corrupt institutions who only wanted to exploit them. “It’s tragic, what happened. But if they are alive and they are together, then I hope no one ever finds them.”
“Yeah,” Seunghoon hums.
In the silence, Mino reaches for Seunghoon’s hand and laces their fingers together. Seunghoon scoots closer and places a kiss at the back of Mino’s palm, languidly dropping his head on Mino’s shoulder. They draw comfort in the beauty and warmth of the remaining rays of the sun before darkness takes over.
Yeah. As long as Mino is with Seunghoon, even a war doesn’t seem so bad.
the entire earth is fighting
all the world is at its end
just in case an atom bomb
comes falling on my lawn,
I should say and you should hear
I’ve loved
I’ve loved the good times here