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"Can't believe you lost the teleportation slide. Again." Hongjoong's voice can be heard from a mile away as he marches into the back terrace, hands on his hips whilst glaring daggers at Wooyoung's form in the large pool. "Do you know how long it takes to develop just one of those things?"

Wooyoung folds an arm over his forehead as he floats across the water, squinting at the sun. "It was an accident. It must've fallen off during one of my missions."

"I might have to initiate its self-destruct setting, then," Hongjoong states, and Wooyoung jolts and splashes through the water like some headless chicken.

"No!" Wooyoung yells, the loudness of his voice startling Hongjoong. Control yourself, idiot. "Don't... do that hyung. I'll find it soon, I promise."

"This is a serious matter, Wooyoung. The wrong person can come across it and use it for the nefarious purposes," Hongjoong replies, expression exposing how much he disagrees with Wooyoung's plan of action.

"Hyung, the slide works best when someone with a zia uses it," Wooyoung explains, because it's true. A majority of the gadgets Hongjoong and the other technicians developped were meant for heroes such as him.

You gave the teleportation slide to a villain, the annoying voice at the back of Wooyoung's mind unhelpfully adds right then. Shut the fuck up.

"That's what makes it more dangerous!" Hongjoong yells, not at all having it with Wooyoung's nonchalance.

"I said I'm on it," Wooyoung snaps, wanting the man to just drop it. "I'll find it soon enough and bring it back intact."

At least, Wooyoung hopes he does. But it isn't his first time gifting the masked villain his teleportation slide. Not to mention the man had returned it to him unscathed the last time.

Hongjoong's tense features don't relax, however, lips downturned.

"What?"

"Jeong Yunho, that darned Hero.Sphere news anchor reported earlier that you allegedly let the villain you fought yesterday go," Hongjoong says, teeth gritted. "Made it seem like you were in cahoots with him."

Wooyoung's posture stiffens but he maintains his composure, running his fingers through the chlorinated water.

"Can't believe he's making shit up when Hero.Sphere's primary sponsor has been the Headquarters for as long as everyone can remember."

Wooyoung shuts his eyes, gulps. "It's fine. It's only a rumour."

"Well rumours can damage your reputation."

Wooyoung doesn't want to talk about this anymore. He opens his eyes again and paddles around the pool to keep his anxious mind occupied. "I'm gonna be fine, hyung. Don't worry."

Hongjoong huffs, pushing his rounded glasses up his nose. Sometimes Wooyoung feels the man cares a little too much about his image and gets a little too pushy, but then he remembers the time he was just a trainee and Hongjoong had taken him under his wing, getting him to believe in himself again when he came close to giving up on being a hero.

"I'll be fine," Wooyoung repeats, now positive the older man's just worried about him. And while it feels nice being cared about, he just wants to spend this afternoon in peace and relaxation.

"...Alright." Hongjoong eventually relents and walks back inside.

At this, Wooyoung lets out a drawn out breath, observing the bright sky. With Summer gradually approaching, the weather's gotten clearer than ever. It's the perfect moment to just let loose and live like there's no tomorrow. But Wooyoung can't do that, not when he's a hero who's never truly been free.

He rakes his fingers through his wet dark locks and thinks about the man he met yesterday for the millionth time. Thinks about his almost golden eyes and black, stony mask; the sensual curve of his lips. Wooyoung had been so close to uncovering the guy's identity and why he did what he did, only for the villain to get away again.

For the second time, Wooyoung willingly let him escape.

San's face suddenly pops up in his mind, the similarity between his eyes and the villain's uncanny.

Shaking drops of water off of him, Wooyoung heads for the lounge chair to grab his phone. He checks it in case there are new messages from San awaiting him, but a text about a cocktail party for the superheroes of Utopion metropolis this coming Friday is what he sees.

It doesn't get Wooyoung down, however, as just after Wooyoung had returned home yesterday at nightfall, San had wished him a good night. It had been an unexpected occurrence, but made Wooyoung's heart melt nonetheless.

Just thinking about it again has Wooyoung smiling so wide it nearly splits his mouth in half.

- WOOYOUNG
heyyy san :))

- WOOYOUNG
sorry for texting you at this time
i mean i usually send morning texts, so

Get to the fucking point, Wooyoung berates himself.

- WOOYOUNG
i hope you're having a great day!
the weather was too perfect so i just had to take a swim

Wooyoung angles his phone and snaps a selfie (blurry eyesight and all), his insides alight with excitement. His heart races so quickly he thinks he might get super sick, but like, in a good way.

He puts his glasses back on so he can text properly, and his hands are shaking way too much. God, why are his hands shaking so much? It's just San. Fuck.

- WOOYOUNG

- WOOYOUNG
if youre wondering why i dont have my glasses on, its cause i ate them >:)
just kidding!!
took them off to swim, hopefully the pic doesnt look too bad

Wooyoung tells himself he won't mind if San doesn't immediately reply as he puts his phone down, but then he's checking the device again after a second, shrinking into the lounge chair when there's still no reply.

Wooyoung stares ahead at the pool, legs shaking in impatience. He's such an anxious mess, and the fact that San has such a huge effect on his psyche isn't helping. The chlorinated water is almost as blue as the sky, perfectly motionless save for a few random ripples here and there.

Wooyoung keeps watching, face hot as he waits for San's texts. He misses the way the pool bubbles because his phone chimes right then with a new message.

It's San.

- SAN🤍✨️
woah hyung
didn't know you and san were so close
you look great though

Wooyoung swears his heart almost drops straight down to his ass right then.

- WOOYOUNG
jongho???

- SAN🤍✨️
yes
it is i

- WOOYOUNG
fuck

- WOOYOUNG
wheres san??

- SAN🤍✨️
he went to get me some snacks a couple minutes ago

- SAN🤍✨️
no need to be embarrassed, hyung
and im not gonna pry, i promise

- SAN🤍✨️
its just no one's ever sent my hyung a shirtless pic of themselves before

Wooyoung kinda wants to throw himself off the terrace right now.

- SAN🤍✨️
ok i said i wasnt gonna pry, but are you and san like...👀 👀

- WOOYOUNG
we are just friends

- SAN🤍✨️
hmmmmm

- WOOYOUNG
whats that supposed to mean???

- SAN🤍✨️
gtg hyungs coming

Wooyoung panics so hard he zooms around the terrace in circles. He only stops when bubbles burst out of the pool's surface yet again. Weird.

Wooyoung doesn't want to lose his mind so he reaches for his phone once more. There's a brand new message.

- SAN🤍✨️
????

- WOOYOUNG
my hands slipped i swear

- SAN🤍✨️
alright
whatever you say

- WOOYOUNG
youre so mean
youre supposed to compliment me
thats what friends do

- SAN🤍✨️
okay

- SAN🤍✨️
you're gorgeous

Wooyoung's heart skips a beat.

- SAN🤍✨️
was that ok?

- WOOYOUNG
more than okay
thank you

- SAN🤍✨️
just dont text me in the afternoon anymore
jongho might see

- WOOYOUNG
so u want to keep us a secret huh?? wink wink 😏

- SAN🤍✨️
bye

- WOOYOUNG
can i call you tonight?

Wooyoung doesn't want to come off needy, but he seriously can't help it. As popular as Wooyoung is as a hero, he spends more time alone than not, and while he believed companionship wasn't that important as long as he succeeded at keeping the citizens of Utopion safe, he can admit now that he's craving for some authentic human contact.

The pool bubbles again, and this time it's louder, less subtle. The water ripples a second time, whirring and sizzling like a hot kettle. What the...

Wooyoung slowly gets up, footsteps cautious as he nears the edge of the pool. His reflection stares back at him, mirroring his apprehensive features precicely.

That is until the pool water steams like boiling lava, narrowly blinding Wooyoung. Shocked, he prepares to take a step back, but a hand grabs on his leg right then and yanks him into the water.

Wooyoung crashes in with a muffled scream, scorching hot water filling his lungs --

"Wooyoung."

Wooyoung gasps as he coughs, his chest unimaginably tight. He's trembling, shivering, doesn't know what the hell is happening.

A hand on his shoulder grounds him back to the present. It's Hongjoong, the man's brows knitted in deep concern. "Wooyoung."

"Where -- " Wooyoung coughs again. "Where am I?"

"The terrace," Hongjoong answers, gesturing at the pool behind them. That's when Wooyoung realizes he's on the lounge chair, phone in hand and still shirtless. The sky's a little more orange, so it's obvious some time has passed.

I imagined it all.

"Are you okay?" Hongjoong asks, but Wooyoung isn't listening. "Wooyoung, answer me. Are you alright?"

"I think I'm seeing things," Wooyoung blurts. His body still feels hot, invisible blisters on his skin.

Hongjoong halts, eyes narrowed. "What kinds of things?"

"I don't -- I don't know. I'm just seeing things and fuck, I'm going fucking insane just like he did."

At this, Hongjoong's eyes darken. "Don't say that, Wooyoung. You're nothing like him."

Wooyoung knows he isn't, but at that very moment, he fears his past has finally caught up to him.

"Listen to me, Wooyoung," Hongjoong starts, pleading with him almost. "You're gonna head inside, and then you're gonna take a nice, warm shower. I'll make you some chamomile tea in the meantime, which you're gonna drink. And then you're going to get some rest. Is that okay with you?"

Wooyoung can do nothing but nod, far too spent to argue with the older.

"Awesome. Now let's go."

Despite having the strength zia that allows Wooyoung to withstand even the most ardous and painful of tasks, he's far too shaken at this point in time to get up himself. And Hongjoong understands this completely, hooking an arm under Wooyoung's to help him to his feet.

By now, the peach sky has simmered into a blazing orange, indicative of a sunset gradually approaching. The terrace of the manor displays the dazzling sight in all its glory, the hills and rivers spanning into the center of Utopion an almost amber hue under the slowly descending sun.

Once again, Wooyoung thinks of the villain he gave his teleportation slide, then thinks of San and whether or not the man has even replied to his text. Then, he thinks of the fire he hallucinated engulfing that woman on Friday and the hand that pulled him into the pool earlier, and feels his chest almost cave in.

"Don't think about it," Hongjoong scolds, his voice stern but his dark brown eyes leaden with worry. But Wooyoung can't not think about it, not when he can barely keep his emotions in check yet again, shaking like a leaf even with the summer heat approaching.

Hongjoong sighs, then carries Wooyoung bridal style past the sliding doors and into the main room, because sometimes the hero's thoughts get too overwhelming that he can't move without falling over and thereby needs some assistance. And Hongjoong is used to it.

And it's times like these that Wooyoung feels less and less like a revered superhero that can do no wrong, and more like that little boy that had been too scared and weak to stop his family from dying.

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The darkness around here's overbearingly thick, but it's to be expected as his mission is one that takes place in the wee hours of the night.

Wooyoung, no longer as troubled as he was yesterday due to the rest Hongjoong made sure he got and the fact that San had let him text him right until the early hours of this morning, coasts a hand through his red locks as he inspects the extensive stretch of water holding the metropolis's main reservoir.

A shadow lingers close to him, the person's crimson cape flapping in the breeze, and Wooyoung all but tries to ignore Kang Yeosang as much as he can.

"Psych-timer predicts the culprits may be coming in about three minutes," Yeosang states, his voice this robotic tone he always puts on when he's the Fiery Dagger. Moments later, his daggers unsheath, rippling with artificial blue flames.

The flames are not real (as pyrokinesis is hard to come by and considered hazardous), yet it has Wooyoung on edge. Before he gets the chance to start overthinking again, a large black truck roars into the field leading into the reservoir.

Yeosang jumps in before Wooyoung reacts, colliding into the roof of the truck. Instantly the large vehicle swerves, trying to get Yeosang off. The hero instead tears off the roof and exposes the drivers, tightly grabbing onto the steering wheel to get them to stop.

It's then Wooyoung sees the other masked man hiding in the shadows, in his hands a hose that no doubt holds toxic waste. In an instant, he speeds towards him and slams him to the side, knocking him out in seconds.

Up ahead is Yeosang, the hero having already gathered the three other guys on the field and making them kneel.

"State your plans. Who sent you?" He barks into the criminals' faces, sounding like an agitated parent.

Wooyoung tries so hard not to roll his eyes. "Let's just hand them over to the cops -- "

"Fuck off. They're mine," Yeosang snaps, his ego already getting the best of him. He lands a harsh blow on one of the men soon after, nearly killing him.

What the hell?! Alarmed, Wooyoung prepares to stop Yeosang from inflicting more damage when the guy in front of him trembles like he's experiencing a seizure.

Wooyoung immediately rushes to his side in an attempt to help, but the man starts to cough as if something's stuck in his throat. He continues to wildly shake, and then spits something out onto the grass.

It's bloody, slimy and wet.

Wooyoung's eyes are as wide as saucers as the rest of the men promptly begin to convulse like the last man, simultaneously toppling onto the ground in the process.

Yeosang looks just as baffled as Wooyoung is, and when he seizes one of them, the man vomits blood and guts all over his pristine white suit. "What the fuck!"

Any other day, Wooyoung would've been amused to see Yeosang all worked up and knocked down a notch, but this is fucking serious.

He sprints to the other two men and flips them over so they won't choke on their blood.

"Alert the ambulance!" Wooyoung commands Yeosang, who's still in shock over his decimated suit. He then tears through one of the men's shirts, wanting to perform some sort of CPR when he freezes still, his blood running cold.

Words are etched onto the man's belly with what appears to be a knife, gnarly and dripping through with how deep the wound is.

THE GOLDEN CLOVER KILLED ME

"...What the hell is that?" Yeosang questions over his shoulder, but Wooyoung can't reply, totally dismayed.

It's worse when sirens fill the air right then, the recognizable blue and red lights of an ambulance blasting through the dark.

The last man sputters on his blood, then stops moving like everyone else. Wooyoung has never seen anything like this before, and while he isn't necessarily frightened, he now knows someone is out there, watching him.

And that's the scary part.

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a/n: oooh, trouble. thoughts?