⛓️

For a couple prolonged seconds, Seonghwa didn't know how to react. He just sat there, noticing how Miss Suh continued to smile at him as if he was somehow supposed to take this positively.

Hongjoong was the one who spoke next, squeezing Seonghwa's hand to gain his attention. "...You're not okay with it."

"I -- " Seonghwa's free arm wrapped around his bandaged torso, the area still a bit sore to the touch. It was like the entire room was spinning, and his chest felt so tight, his rapid heartbeat ringing loudly in his ears. He quietly winced, and Hongjoong must've heard him because he wasted no time in moving closer and lightly placing a hand on his back. "I don't know what to think."

"I understand this sudden information may be a little difficult to process, Mr Park," Miss Suh began, her round brown eyes boring into Seonghwa's skull. "So that is why I and the rest of the Officials will leave you with sufficient time to think it over."

Seonghwa looked up, the tightness in his chest increasing by a hundredfold. "...Think what over?"

"Joining us."

Seonghwa was once again left speechless, and he found himself watching Hongjoong as if the shorter had all the answers and all the solutions to everything in the world.

The shorter's face was hard, steely gaze directed at the only female in the room. "Not every Variant has to join, you know that. We already talked about this."

He sounded so different, so unlike himself with his clenched jaw and narrowed golden eyes that Seonghwa felt intimidated even when he wasn't the one being looked at.

Hongjoong's harsh stare didn't seem to deter Miss Suh, though. With the casual way she spoke, Seonghwa felt as if she and Hongjoong had had this conversation countless times before. "Yes, we did talk about it. But Mr Park's power is like a rare gem, and once he is able to build up on it and receive training, the extent of what he's capable of will be endless. Especially with his history."

Seonghwa couldn't process any of this. It was almost as if this was nothing but a dream, and maybe it truly was. Nothing that had happened thus far seemed real in the slightest.

"What history?" His voice sounded thin and hoarse like he needed a drink, and he hated it. The more time he spent here, the harder it got to remain focused. Even the bright stars floating across the walls seemed a lot less freeing and surreal. Instead, they appeared to be mocking him as they languidly moved about without a care in the world whilst he felt nothing but caged in this place.

"Park Yiyeon, Seonghwa." Miss Suh answered, and at the mere mention of his mother, Seonghwa felt his surroundings -- his heart, even -- slowing drastically. As if things couldn't get any worse, Miss Suh continued to speak, apparently not noticing the way the dark haired male stiffened. "Your mother, bless her soul, she'd been one of our earlier members. She was also a Natural-born Variant like you are, only she made sure that you nor your father ever got involved with what she did here..."

As she kept talking, her voice entered through one ear and out the other, fizzling out in the process. Seonghwa couldn't help it; his heart was racing, pounding erratically in his chest like it was ready to burst out of his body.

Your mother. Natural-born Variant. Made sure you nor your father ever got involved. Those words replayed over and over in his head, sounding louder and louder each time until Seonghwa felt the overwhelming urge to just block them all out.

Get out, get out, get out! Seonghwa wanted to yell, but he couldn't move. Someone's hands were on him, shaking him, but all Seonghwa could think about was the fact that his mother had been living a double life when she was still alive. She'd been like Hongjoong, Yunho, San and the others, but Seonghwa had never suspected anything. How did he not know all this time?

"Seonghwa." Hongjoong's voice was firm and pleading, finally drawing the older out of his spiralling thoughts. His eyes were like caramel, soft and staring right at Seonghwa with recognizable worry.

Seonghwa pulled his hand away, but Hongjoong didn't look offended. He understood the older probably needed some space to think right now, and he was right. Seonghwa felt so fucking claustrophobic it made him sick.

"I know this may be surprising. Shocking, even," Miss Suh said, her eyes so sympathetic they looked nearly practised. "But, your mother had been -- and still is -- a very loved member of this organisation. We appreciated her optimism and her dedication to helping the world be free of Mons. She was a pillar of strength to us all."

"What does that have to do with me?" Seonghwa spat. It was like he was on autopilot now, just like he always was whenever his mother was mentioned. "I'm not her, and I really don't need this right now."

Miss Suh hardly looked fazed. She still had that amiable smile plastered across her features. "That is why we're giving you some time to think everything through. Pyrokinesis is already a power many Variants do not have, and the fact that you were born with it without any sort of experimentation like the others makes you even more special. That is why we'd love to work with you, Mr Park."

"Ahjin," Hongjoong pressed then, and when Seonghwa looked at him, he was taken aback with how much fire the shorter's gaze alone held. "Enough."

Miss Suh's smile didn't drop, and Seonghwa himself felt his irritation rise at the way she continued to appear unbothered, as if this was something Seonghwa should just accept already. "Hongjoong, the fact that you talk to me a lot more than with most Officials doesn't give you the right to call me by my first name. I'm just telling Mr Park the truth, one which he deserves to hear."

"He's obviously not into it," Hongjoong snapped back.

"Why else were you instructed to befriend him?" Miss Suh remained calm, but her voice had a sternness to it that was hard to miss. "We needed to confirm if he indeed was a Variant like his mother, and we turned out to be correct."

"Can you please not mention that?" Hongjoong's expression darkened, his fists slowly clenching. Seonghwa could clearly that Miss Suh's words affected him more than he'd ever know, so despite how shaken up he was feeling on the inside, he reached out and grasped Hongjoong's smaller palm in his, all while trying to stabilize his heartbeat.

"I also learnt of the time when you went to Flora with Hongjoong and Yunho and that golf ball you had caught on fire. Yeosang had documented everything, and honestly, I don't know why we didn't figure things out sooner," Miss Suh addressed Seonghwa, choosing to totally ignore Hongjoong's previous statement. Her borderline dismissive behaviour rubbed Seonghwa in all the wrong places, and there was nothing more he wanted at that moment than for him to leave.

"I need to go," he spoke, keeping his tone even despite the brief pinches of pain he felt in his middle with every shallow breath he inhaled. "Dad would be worried by now."

He knew Mingi also would be, if not angry or frustrated as well. Seonghwa knew he'd basically bailed on the taller boy tonight and straight up lied to his face about everything that'd happened. The guilt was eating him alive, but he tried his best not to think too much about it now, especially when he needed to get out of here first.

"Alright, Seonghwa," Miss Suh smiled, clicking on her pen. "You should feel all better in the morning. I already wrote out a doctor's note for p.e. tomorrow, and everything will be fine."

At this point, Seonghwa wasn't surprised anymore. It seemed as if everyone here, Hongjoong included, knew a bunch of things about him even without talking to or ever meeting them before.

He just grunted in response as Hongjoong helped him to his feet, his movements as swift and gentle as always. Hongjoong also kept close to Seonghwa as Miss Suh led them out, the cold hall immediately dousing his skin with numerous goosebumps.

Like a basic hospital waiting room, people either sat on the benches provided or loitered around, and Seonghwa had to wonder if they were human or if they were Variants instead. It was hard to tell, and the vibrant lights were making his eyes hurt.

"Are you okay?" Hongjoong softly asked as soon as Miss Suh was finally out of earshot, his hand resting on the small of Seonghwa's back.

"I got nearly killed by a Mon trying to save a classmate, and now I just discovered I'm a 'Natural-born' Variant which apparently my mother had been when she was alive," Seonghwa replied. It was a pathetic attempt at cracking a joke as he sounded rather sarcastic and bitter about the whole thing. "And now a crazy doctor wants me pick up where she left off."

"You don't have to, you know?" Hongjoong said, stopping the taller in his tracks. When their eyes met, Hongjoong's jaw hardened as if he was internally beating himself up over something. "You actually have a choice -- something a number of us didn't get the privilege of having."

The shorter's words rang in Seonghwa's head, and he gulped. "What do you mean by that?"

Hongjoong took Seonghwa by the hand and pulled him close, making the taller almost choke on his words while inhaling his sweet scent. "Sorry," he lowly muttered to some other person, and that was when Seonghwa realized they'd been in someone's way.

Seonghwa tried to fight off his embarrassment, but he was pretty sure his rosy ears gave it away. "H-Hongjoong." He felt like slapping himself in the face at the way he was stammering.

Hongjoong did notice, just like Seonghwa had predicted. He faintly smiled, studying Seonghwa's face for a while before continuing. "...When Miss Suh talked about you being born with your power, unlike the others," his smile disappeared, "she meant Yunho and I. We'd been...experimented on before coming here, and...and that's how we got our powers."

Hongjoong spoke cautiously, slowly, like that would lessen the severity of his words. It was obvious he didn't want to keep talking about it.

"I'm sorry," Seonghwa mumbled, feeling ashamed of himself for acting out and being all entitled about the discovery of his powers when Hongjoong and Yunho were both probably forced to have theirs in the first place. "Crap. I feel like shit now."

Hongjoong shook his head, but his eyes held a heaviness in them that Seonghwa couldn't describe. "Nah, no need to apologize. It's all in the past and can't be changed. What I don't want, though, is for you to feel pressured or whatever into doing this because of what Miss Suh said about your mother. You don't need to agree or do anything, in fact. I think that would be best."

Seonghwa mulled over the shorter's words for a second, until one thing stuck out to him the most. He faced Hongjoong, quickly noticing the latter's eyes on him and him alone. He was just so adoringly attentive at times that it led to the abundance of butterflies in Seonghwa's stomach every single time he did that.

"What?" Hongjoong asked. At that moment, Seonghwa wanted to run his fingers down his brown hair and kiss him. But they were in public, and the idea of kissing at a hospital didn't exactly scream 'romantic'.

So Seonghwa decided to go for the next best thing, which was to tease the shorter to try and lighten the atmosphere. Maybe it was because the dark look in Hongjoong's eyes was as clear as day, or maybe it was because Seonghwa needed something to distract himself from the many thoughts about his mother currently circling his head. Maybe it was both.

"I now know why you don't want me to join. At least, I think I do," Seonghwa hypothesized. "It's 'cause you just can't stand the thought of me getting hurt in any way."

And Hongjoong went right along with it, eager to change the subject. "Oh, really? How'd you figure that out?"

Chills descended Seonghwa's back with the way Hongjoong was now looking at him. His stare alone oozed a heated tenderness, and fuzzy warmth built up in Seonghwa's stomach. He was well aware the shorter knew just what he was doing.

"Just a guess," was Seonghwa's reply, eyes falling on Hongjoong's soft, parted lips. At that moment, he had the insane temptation to hold Hongjoong's face and steal a kiss -- or anything that would satisfy the chaotic thrumming of his heart. But, before he could plan on it or even act it out for that matter, something up ahead caught his attention.

That something was standing still in the center of the hall, swimming in nothing but darkness. Its presence ignited a frightening sense of dread in Seonghwa, and before he could make it known that a Mon had somehow made its way inside the area, the shadow looked up, making him realize that it wasn't a Mon at all.

Seonghwa couldn't even see half of its face due to the wide-brimmed hat and mask it had on, but its narrowed dark eyes pulsated with unmistakable sick amusement that immediately reminded Seonghwa of the figure that'd tried to attack him at that tower in Flora.

The shadow's eyes seemed to twinkle mischievously, as if it was happy Seonghwa remembered it. But that moment of cordiality didn't last long, though. In a second, wicked orange flames shot out of its limbs, slamming against the walls and racing all over the ceiling.

"Seonghwa," Hongjoong's voice entered his head, calling out to him, but it was like Seonghwa's entire body had stuck to one place. He couldn't stop staring at the quickly approaching shadow, the fire and smoke in the air filling his lungs and trapping him in a state of terror.

The shadow continued to walk until it stopped right in front of Seonghwa and Hongjoong, a sea of flames now encircling them. Up close, it's eyes were still as hooded and as dark as ever, and now they were trained on Hongjoong.

"I'll destroy him," it said, voice so familiar yet all distorted like a multitude of people were trying to speak the same thing at the same time. But it still made a deep-rooted fear pierce Seonghwa's heart.

The dark haired male moved in front of Hongjoong, causing the shadow to watch him again. His chest felt excruciatingly tight as if someone had gripped his heart and refused to let it go, and he felt seconds away from toppling over.

The shadow just laughed, low and merciless and infuriating, but Seonghwa could do nothing but watch.

Hongjoong clutched his wrist and called his name once more, and like a switch Seonghwa suddenly became awake. The hall's lights were back to normal, and most importantly, there was no terrifying shadow or fire. Did I just imagine all that? He couldn't help but think.

Hongjoong, however, looked worried. And stressed out. Extremely stressed out.

"Hwa, what the hell just happened there?" He questioned, voice revealing how affected he'd gotten over the whole thing.

Seonghwa inhaled a couple breaths, glad he no longer felt suffocated. "I'm sorry. I just -- it's nothing."

Hongjoong didn't look like he believed him. Instead, his frown only deepened. "You're lying."

"Chill out, dad," Seonghwa aimed for a joke, flashing the shorter boy an award-winning smile in an attempt to divert his attention. "I'm fine, I promise. Now, can you pretty-please take me home before it gets any more late?"

Hongjoong still frowned, but his golden eyes grew a lot more gentle. "Fine, whatever."

Seonghwa beamed even with all the thoughts about tonight plaguing his mind, from saving Mira, to discovering that his mother had been a Variant, to that burning shadow that he had no idea if he'd imagined or not. He (again) had to sort everything out with Mingi, which would lead him to lie about something (again). All in all, he knew he wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep tonight.

⛓️

Mingi should've known Seonghwa had been lying about calling his dad, but yet again he'd given his friend the benefit of the doubt; something he'd been doing far too much these days. He'd done the same thing whenever Seonghwa said he was fine, or when he'd say he needed to do something only for Mingi to catch him with Hongjoong again.

And honestly, it stung. A lot. But Mingi didn't want to seem like the clingy friend or burden Seonghwa with his questions or curiosities. He wanted to pretend as if everything was still okay, as if Seonghwa was still that boy from long ago that would run to him whenever things went wrong, or whenever anything bothered him, really.

And as Mingi sat there in his seat, fiddling absently with his coffee straw, he found himself wishing that things could've gone back to they were in the beginning, even if that sounded extremely selfish of him. Sure, Seonghwa would still remain oblivious to Mingi's feelings for him, but at least he'd be there, not running off at every chance he got.

He couldn't figure out the exact moment Seonghwa began spending more and more time with Hongjoong, but he certainly hadn't expected it. But then again, Hongjoong had this type of charm that drew others in. He wasn't like everyone else, unlike Mingi.

Mingi took out his phone and stared at it for a bit, wondering if it'd be a good decision to call Seonghwa. Maybe the shorter did in fact get caught up in something with his dad, but a thought in the depths of his mind told him that was most likely not the case.

Seonghwa's probably with Hongjoong again, and you know it, he thought with a frown. At that point in time he felt angry, furious that Hongjoong just had to come along and enrapture Seonghwa's total attention in such a short period of time. Hell, it frustrated Mingi even, because he could see the way Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong at times. He knew it all too well. How could he not when he'd spent nearly his whole life staring at his best friend in that same way?

The nightly breeze was cold on Mingi's skin, but it couldn't alleviate the outright painful tugging in his chest. He wanted to go home and hide under the covers of his bed, wallowing in his misery until night passed and he faced Seonghwa at school the next morning with a forced smile on his face that the shorter wouldn't ever suspect.

Maybe Mingi could occupy himself with some ice cream once he returned home, and try not to think about Seonghwa and Hongjoong so much.

Someone then sat inside the chair Seonghwa had previously occupied, but they did it so quietly that it barely gained a reaction out of Mingi who was still stuck inside his thoughts.

"...Hi."

Mingi nearly dropped his empty iced cappuccino, but the container ended up rolling all the way across the table, only for a hand to stop it.

It was then Mingi looked up, shock embedded in his gaze once he recognized that same pair of blue eyes from that store back then. He remembered what had taken place between him and Seonghwa that time, and that excrutiating tug in his chest came back.

"Sorry," the new person was apologizing, his fluffy pink hair swaying a little with the breeze. "I almost made you drop your coffee."

Mingi's neck burned, all of a sudden a bit nervous to look directly at the taller male. "No, uh, it's fine. It's empty anyway."

"Oh. Right." The familiar stranger nodded. Mingi couldn't help but brave a glance his way, noticing his deep blue eyes and the way his long-sleeved lavender sweater made the colour stand out a lot more.

Is that your real eye colour? Mingi was tempted to ask, but he decided against it. After all, he barely knew this guy, and he didn't want to seem rude.

The blue-eyed boy tapped his fingers on the table, appearing to contemplate hard over something. With his soft, longish hair framing his babyish face, as well as his strangely welcoming and far from threatening aura, Mingi thought he resembled a cuddly puppy for whatever reason.

"Are you okay?" The boy finally asked, his unanticipated question causing Mingi to blink.

"What?"

"I mean," the taller rubbed his neck, their gazes now meeting, "you look kind of lonely."

Mingi couldn't stop himself from letting out a disbelieving chuckle. "Wow. It's that obvious, huh."

The other boy looked nothing close to amused, however. He looked...worried for him instead, which didn't fail to catch Mingi off-guard. "Do you wanna talk about anything? I'm here to listen."

A strange feeling welled up inside of Mingi, one he didn't like. "I don't even know you."

"I'm Yunho." 'Yunho' introduced, hardly looking deterred by Mingi's statement.

Mingi bit his lip, feeling a bit better after he learnt Yunho's name. "...My name's Mingi."

Yunho's blue eyes dazzled, reminding Mingi of the deep sea. "I know."

Once again, Mingi was taken aback. "What? How do you know me?"

"It's not as weird as it sounds, trust me," Yunho's grin was just like the rest of him: friendly and meek. "I know your name since I'm friends with Seonghwa."

If this were any other day, Mingi wouldn't have believed Yunho. He would've packed up his stuff and left right then, because the way Yunho looked at him made it seem like he'd known about him for quite some time even when this was only their second time meeting. But with the way tonight was turning out, Mingi didn't doubt anything anymore.

Yunho's eyes were still on him, monitoring his actions. "Are you mad?"

"No." Mingi tried to laugh, but all that left him was a disappointed sounding exhale. "Why would I be mad at him having other friends apart from me? I'm just a little...irritated with the way he keeps hiding stuff from me, that's all." He looked at Yunho, not knowing why he was spilling all this to him. "It sounds dumb, I'm sorry."

Yunho shook his head, leaning over the table. He wasn't doing something out of the ordinary, but Mingi paid more attention to it than he needed. "It's not. I'm sorry it's currently like this, but will it make you feel better if I said he has a reason for keeping those things from you?"

His words piqued Mingi's interest. "A reason?"

"Yep," Yunho quickly replied with a giddy nod. He already seemed so different from Seonghwa with the way he carried himself. Where Seonghwa was composed, usually thinking things over before actually implementing them, Yunho appeared to act out as he wanted. Mingi, once more, had no idea why he was even thinking about that. "It's something I can't really tell you."

Mingi laughed, or at least attempted to, but yet again, it failed to lighten the atmosphere. "Fine, whatever. At least it's not drugs... Right?"

Now it was Yunho's turn to laugh, and his was real. Under this lighting his eyes appeared like ice glaciers, and Mingi had the thought to ask him about them again.

"It's not funny," Mingi said, but Yunho kept chuckling, all cute and childlike. An embarrassed pink spread across Mingi's cheeks. "I'm being genuinely serious, okay? I just need Seonghwa to be safe."

"Don't worry. He's not doing drugs, nor is he doing anything illegal for that matter," Yunho replied, sniggering a bit to himself.

Mingi exhaled a relieved sigh. Though this was only the second time he'd met Yunho, the guy seemed trustworthy enough. Which meant he was trustworthy enough to answer his next question. "Is...Seonghwa with Hongjoong right now?"

Yunho's smile slowly dissipated. He stroked his neck, looking hesitant. "...Yes."

The taller's words shouldn't have hurt this much, yet they did. Truly. But Mingi tried his best not to let it show on his face, biting hard on his lip to distract himself from the way his heart painfully throbbed inside his chest.

He must not have hid it well though, because next thing he knew Yunho was scooting close to him -- but not close enough to invade his personal space.

"Hey," the taller boy sounded sympathetic, "it's okay. Let's talk about something else."

Mingi shut his eyes. He couldn't think, couldn't say anything. The invisible anchor weighing down his body made him feel like he was going to collapse in mere seconds. And the worst part was that he couldn't even get rid of it. It was something he fucking hated.

"We could go somewhere else if you want, and talk about a bunch of things that you like to do. We can talk about you," Yunho was saying, stuck in that awkward phase of wanting to physically comfort Mingi but not wanting to overstep any boundaries.

"I just wanna go home right now," Mingi said.

"I'll walk you." Yunho's statement sounded more like a question.

Mingi stared at the other boy, trying to figure out if he had some sort of ulterior motive. "Why? Did... did Seonghwa ask you to do it?"

If Yunho had picked up on the accusatory undertone in Mingi's voice, he didn't comment on it. He just smiled, staring at Mingi like he understood him. "No, I did. I mean -- I didn't ask myself, I just decided a couple seconds ago to walk with you when you asked me that question. Ah, I'm rambling again. Sorry."

Mingi shook his head as he stood up. "It's okay. I guess it wouldn't hurt to walk home with you. I just hope I won't regret it."

Yunho copied him, before slinging the small bag Mingi had brought along for tonight over his shoulder, to the shorter boy's shock.

"My bag..."

"I'm volunteering to hold it for you," Yunho said. "It's basically weightless, so it's no biggie."

"Uh, thanks." It was so dumb, but Mingi couldn't stop dwelling on the fact that this was one of the rare moments someone had ever offered to carry something for him. He'd done it a lot for others, especially Seonghwa, but others just assumed he didn't need help with anything when in fact at some points, he really fucking did.

"I think carrying your bag means I now get the invitation to lift your burdens," Yunho said as soon as they left the entirety of Starbucks. "Like, I can tell you need someone to vent to, and I won't mind being that person."

Mingi blamed the tightness in his chest on how his emotions had gotten a hold of him earlier tonight. Yeah, that was the reason Yunho's words affected him more than necessary. That was the only reason.

As a way to deflect the somberness in the air, he decided to make a joke out of it. "I dunno, dude. I rant a hell of a lot."

Yunho chuckled. "Oh, my brother's a chatterbox. I think I can handle you just fine."

Mingi shrugged. He guessed there was no harm in confiding in someone that wasn't Seonghwa or San for once. "I guess we have a deal, then."

"Deal." Yunho reached out a slim hand to shake. When Mingi did, he couldn't stop focusing on how the taller's hand felt just as soft and as comfy as it looked, as well as the way his palm almost seemed to totally drown his. Mingi had always thought his hands were big, but Yunho... Yunho's hands proved him wrong.

Mingi wasn't so sure how he should've felt about that.

⛓️

a/n: i got the worst cold ever so i couldn't write any new chapters. luckily i had ones already prewritten 👌🏿

my fave comments from chapter 25 go to
lemonadedispenserXXX, vecafe_latte & sweetteez

thoughts?