Chapter Text
Chan nervously pushes the door to the lecture hall open. Today is his first day in the JYP Academy for the Gifted – of course he’s going to feel nervous. Upon entering the enormous hall, he notices kids zipping past him, faster than any kid he’s ever seen run before. Bolts of energy were being flung across the room.
Ah, this isn’t helping, he thinks to himself, shaking his head as he makes his way to the very back of the hall, looking for a place to sit and hide.
Chan doesn’t have his powers. And at the ripe, old age of 20, he’s really, really late in the game.
--
“Dear Mr. Bang,
Greetings!
You have been selected to join our community at the JYP Academy for the Gifted.
Our selection process takes into account your genetics, as well as your performance in serving your local community,” Chan reads aloud, so his foster parents can hear. He skims the rest of the letter, looking over at the details of admission and the important dates, before finally settling his eyes on the signature of Mr. Park himself, the official director of the school.
“We are so proud of you, son,” Henry says to Chan, placing a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Right,” Wendy exclaims, giving her foster son a chaste kiss on the top of his head. “We are so, so happy that we raised you well enough to get into the best superschool in the country.”
“Thanks, mom. Dad. For…raising me, and everything,” Chan replies. He knows about the whole adoption thing – they’ve had many, many conversations about it. But he understands, and he loves this set of parents just as much as he would his biological ones, had he met them. He wipes away a budding tear from his eye and flips to the second page of the letter.
The second page reads:
“As per the rules stated by the Department of Honor and Justice, students will be assigned student power levels (SPLs) based on their genetics. SPLs of incoming students are calculated using the parents’ power levels as recorded in the Official Power Registry in the DHJ. You will be assigned into levels from F to A, and your classes and dorm assignments for your first semester will be based on your initial rank.
The SPL for BANG BYUNGCHAN is A*.”
“A*? Mom, do you know what this means?” Chan turns his head to his mother.
“Well,” Wendy says, her expression colder than what it was 5 minutes earlier. “Your aunt Seulgi is an A, and she’s the highest ranked person I know. She got her powers really early. Burned her house down during a tantrum at six. I’m not sure what A* means, but surely this means it’s higher than that?”
Not missing a beat, Henry raises his head. “Kairose,” he says.
“Oh.”
Kairose – one of the greatest superheroes in history. A heroine so powerful, she is referred to by many as The Flower of Time.
She can also be referred to as Chan’s biological mother.
--
Chan spots the perfect seat in a dark corner of the lecture hall. Nobody can find me here, he thinks to himself. The lights in the hall fly off of their bulbs and mix in the very center of the room, the mini-galaxy swirling across the hall and into the stage, slowly materializing into none other than Director Park himself.
“Welcome, students!” he says with a booming voice. Chan straightens his posture from the volume alone. “–to JYP Academy for the Gifted, where we make you the heroes you are destined to be. I am the School Director, Jinyoung Park. You can call me JYP, and I will be watching over you from this point forward.
Today 96 new students will be joining our community. Our study curriculum is not based on age, but on SPLs, so the training you receive will fit your learning style and capabilities the best. I hope you enjoy your time here.”
Chan continues to listen to the Director’s speech, or at least tries to. He gets to the part about the oxygenators in each room when suddenly he feels somebody…hovering above him?
“It’s cold in here isn’t it?” the floating boy asks. “I’m Hyunjin. Nice to meet you.” Hyunjin holds out (down?) his hand. Chan raises his hand to shake it.
“Yeah I guess it is a little chilly in here. I’m guessing you can fly?” Chan asks, with a soft chuckle.
“Oh! How did you know?” Hyunjin feigns surprise by clutching his chest. “But yeah. Class B flight. The faster ones are in A and I want to catch up to them. How about you, hyung?”
Before Chan could answer, the rest of the audience stood up in a thunderous applause. Thank all the gods above, Chan thinks to himself, and quickly stands up, clapping and pretending he understood everything Director Park said. He still doesn’t know how to break it to the class, to the school, that he doesn’t have his powers yet.
A booming voice once again fills the room.
“All incoming students please proceed to their respective dormitories. You will be oriented once you get there. All incoming students to their dormitories, please. Students with asterisks on their SPLs,” Chan feels the voice as if its eyes were piercing through him. “Please proceed to the dorm of your letter class.”
“Well I guess I’ll see you around then, hyung,” Hyunjin says with a polite smile and a nod before zooming off. If Hyunjin really is a Class B flyer like he says he is, Chan is terrified at how fast the Class A kids could go.
He’s even more terrified to meet them.
The walk to the dorms is long, but the cold autumn weather made it bearable. Chan finds his way by following the crowd of students rowdily heading towards their destination, him walking a good thirty paces behind.
A younger boy comes up to him.
“Hi! How are you doing? You seem lost. Are you okay? I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new? Oh my god is the new student orientation today? Shit I missed it I can’t believe I forgot! But you are new here aren’t you? Hi. I’m Jisung! It’s great to meet you, hyung! I can call you hyung right? Your face looks older. I’m 17 but I’ve been here for a whi-“
Distracted by the boy’s questions, Chan finds himself losing the crowd he was following.
“Hi, yeah, sorry, um, Jisung, isn’t it?”
“That’s my name!”
“Well it’s good to meet you too. I’ve been following that crowd over there but now I’m not, so if you would be so kind as to point me to the A dorm-“
“The A dorm! Sweet. That’s on the other side of campus! Thank heavens I caught you there, huh. I’m in Class A too. I’ll show you the way, don’t you worry!” Jisung seems to enjoy Chan’s trouble immensely, and he doesn’t hide it. He puts both hands on Chan’s shoulders, turns him around, and runs.
“Let’s go!” Jisung bounces off the brick road and sparks come out the soles of his shoes.
This kid is gonna be a handful.
Chan sprints to catch up with the electric boy’s pace. When he eventually does, both boys slow down to a calmer stride.
“So, Jisung,” Chan asks. “You’re 17, right? How long have you been here?”
Jisung kicks a can lying on the pavement, sending sparks flying. It lands several meters away, charred. “I got my powers at 15, then I received the admissions letter in July the year after. I’ve been training here ever since,” he says, his smile beaming. “You got your letter a little later, didn’t you, hyung?”
“Yeah,” the older boy says. “The letter came a few days after my 20th birthday.”
“I see. Well, it doesn’t really matter how old you are here. There is no pecking order as far as age is concerned. Sadly though, it’s all about rank in this school. The A’s have it easier – perks everywhere. The best classes. Comfiest beds too! While the F class,” Jisung looks to the road, his easygoing expression now gone. “They’re really, really trying their best.”
Chan notices Jisung’s change in disposition. Oh.
“Jisung.” He stops walking. “Were you in the F class when you came in?”
“Uh-huh. I had a really hard time controlling my powers then. But I worked my butt off and now I can sleep in the softest bed in the whole school! You probably won’t have a hard time though, hyung. You look like you can handle whatever life throws at you!”
“I guess we’ll see,” Chan says, flashing a smile that is totally real and genuine.
The walk continues for several more minutes, and Chan learns more things about his new friend. Jisung’s father works in the DHJ and therefore has no powers, while his mother works as a lab technician and a part-time hero. He has an older brother in A class. When Jisung gained his powers, he got so sick, he was hospitalized for weeks. The doctors had to wheel him out to a special facility because he kept damaging the equipment with high voltage electricity.
“So, it’s your turn, hyung! What’s your family like?”
“Uh, well. I’m adopted—“
“That’s already an awesome hero backstory!” Chan laughs at the younger boy’s sense of wonder.
“I guess it is. My foster parents are amazing, though. My dad is a healer, and my mom is a markswoman. Perfect aim each time. Really bad for you when you need to go home after playing and you don’t want to.” The boys laugh at the thought.
“How about your real parents? Do you know them? Do you know what powers they have? What powers do you have?”
Chan feels a chill down his spine at the questions. Is he going to trust this kid he barely knows with the secret gnawing at him since he got here? He decides not to. Not yet, Chan, he thinks to himself. I can’t trust anyone yet.
His new friend seems to understand.
A few minutes of silent walking later, they see the A dorms come into view. Classic marble pillars decorate the façade of the massive building. Hundreds of steps lead to the main entrance. It looked more like a museum than a dormitory, to be honest. Chan would love to live in a museum. He’s seen the movies.
“Well, we’re here! And just in time too!” Jisung points to the crowd slowly starting to form just outside the main entrance. He bursts into a run up the steps, small sparks at his feet. “Come on, hyung, or you’ll be late for the orientation!”
Chan climbs the steps. His anxiety grows each time his feet move from one step to the next. Suddenly he doesn’t want to live in a museum anymore. What if they discover I don’t have powers? Will they laugh at me? Will they kick me out of the dorm? Will they kick me out of the school?
He shudders at the thoughts. His steps feel heavier, as if his feet were made of lead.
I don’t want to disappoint. I really don’t. I’m sorry, Mom. Dad. Mother?
Winded, he finally reaches the main entrance. The crowd was forming quickly. In front of the crowd is a sharply-dressed young man, about the same age as Chan. Tall, black hair, beautifully tanned skin, and a smile that literally emitted light.
Chan’s heart drops. He’s so hot.