Archive of Our Own

Renjun knows from the beginning that Jisung isn’t meant to be a hero.

Finding Jisung wasn’t intentional; he’d been lingering around the corner, watching as Renjun choked someone out. Jisung had seen him take his mask off, and in turn, got himself kidnapped for his troubles.

Renjun’s plan was to wipe Jisung’s mind and then release him. He hadn’t anticipated for Jisung’s brain to resist the technology, retaining all memories he had of that night. He was the way Renjun used to be—an Enhanced being with no understanding of the power he possessed. Gifted, the government would call their kind. Jisung turns out to be a shield, the most rare of the Enhanced, and Renjun decides that maybe he’s worth keeping around for a little while.

Renjun, who had been sixteen at the time, lets Jisung stay with him and fill the hole in his heart. He raises Jisung as his own child, slightly strange because he is only two years older, but neither of them complain about the arrangement.

Jisung gets trained, of course; he becomes skilled in combat with just his hands, and he learns how to project his shield from his mind into his hands. That way, he can shield someone or something from attack just by touching it.

While Jisung stayed at Renjun’s apartment and honed his skills, Renjun went out in the morning and didn’t come back until late. Jisung honestly has no interest in what Renjun is doing until he starts to come back home looking more and more battered as the days went on. He demands to know what’s going on then.

Renjun tells him that he is trying to acquire an item and has been unsuccessful in every attempt. Jisung insists he help, and Renjun is extremely reluctant to put him in any kind of danger. Jisung guilt trips Renjun into letting him go by pulling the ‘I left my home to be with you and if you die I will be all alone’ card, and Renjun finally relents.

As Jisung prepares to go out as a hero for the first time, Renjun bades him sit down while looking nervous.

“The item we are trying to take is called the Umbra. It is extremely powerful, so in the situation you are the one to grab it, be very careful with it.”

Jisung’s ears latch onto something. “Take?”

“I’m not exactly the good guy in this situation here,” Renjun admits, “we are trying to steal a priceless artifact.”

“Okay,” Jisung says, having learned a long time ago not to question Renjun. Besides, Jisung trusts him. If Renjun is doing something illegal, it could only be for good reason.

“These are the big leagues now. The people guarding it are dangerous,” Renjun says.

All the years they’ve been together and Renjun still treats him like a child. Jisung rolls his eyes. “I know. I’ll be careful,” he tells him.

Renjun pats the top of his head. “I know you will. Remember what I taught you—”

Jisung rolls his eyes again, reciting the fundamentals with Renjun, “Do not entertain your opponent. Do not attack first. If you are attacked, fight to the death. Do not show mercy.”

“This one is a special case so,” Renjun says, stepping closer to Jisung to fix his eye mask, “for the love of god, don’t let Jeno get his hands around your neck.”

=

Mark and Jeno are on duty guarding the Umbra when the air begins to smell like honey. Jeno rolls his eyes.

“God, does Renjun ever give up?” he complains, standing up from his folding chair. Mark follows suit, snapping his fingers and the smell disappears from both him and Jeno’s noses.

Renjun’s mist is powerful. It can put the biggest of men in a deep sleep with no indication of when they will rise again. Mark and Jeno sit and wait for Renjun to appear—they can hear the bodies of the soldiers falling to the ground, and they know it’s only a matter of seconds.

Mark and Jeno are considered a last resort, only to be called on when other resources have been exhausted. It’s kind of pointless to keep the other soldiers around, considering that Renjun puts them under each time he comes to take the protected item, but the president refuses to do away with them.

Mark and Jeno apart of the Guard, a group of Enhanced peoples that are used as super soldiers against villains. Villains like Renjun. Renjun, who was once a friend.

The doors open and Renjun storms into the room. He halts a few feet away from them, glowering. He’s not alone this time; there’s a young boy Mark has never seen standing behind Renjun, and he looks absolutely terrified. They’re holding hands, which Mark thinks is kind of cute.

“Give me that Umbra,” Renjun says, voice fierce and loud as it always is. The problem is that Mark stopped being intimidated by him ages ago.

“Hi, Renjun,” Mark greets, completely ignoring his request. He gestures to the boy behind him, clinging onto his hand, “Who’s this?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Renjun replies, voice clipped. Mark sees the way Renjun shifts the other behind him.

“He looks young.”

“Hand over the Umbra, Mark,” Renjun says, voice becoming acidic.

Mark sighs, eyes turning soft as he, for the nth time, silently pleads with Renjun to let it go, “You know I can’t do that.”

Renjun’s eyes harden. “Then I’ll just have to take it.”

“Jeno, the plan,” Mark says. It’s how Renjun always gets defeated—he comes into the location with a meticulously thought out plan, Jeno reads his mind, they block his attack and beat him up, Renjun leaves, repeat. It’s a shame it has to be that way, but Renjun is tenacious and unwilling to give up no matter how many times Jeno and Mark make a fool out of him.

Jeno, who hadn’t yet spoken, murmurs frustratedly, “I’ve been trying. I can’t get into his mind.”

“Is that your power? Are you an empath?” the unnamed boy says, speaking for the first time as well. His voice is deeper than Jeno or Mark anticipated.

Once he gets over his shock, Jeno chuckles. “Something like that.”

Renjun pulls Jisung a little further back away from Mark and Jeno. “How good are you at fighting with one hand?”

Jisung looks at him sideways. “What?”

Renjun looks down at their entwined fingers. “If you let my hand go, Jeno will get in instantly.”

“I, uh,” Jisung starts, scratching his head, “I haven’t really tried before.”

“Well,” Renjun says, shrugging his shoulders and rolling his neck, “we’re gonna try right now. I’ll try to limit hand to hand combat so one of us can get to the Umbra.”

Jisung watches as Renjun raises one of his hands. It only makes it up to his waist before Jisung slaps it down.

Renjun gives him a flat look. “Jisung.”

“How do you even know where the Umbra is?” Jisung hisses at him. He uses his free hand to gesture to the room, “It’s nowhere in sight.”

Looking around the museum, Jisung is right. There’s beautifully carved animal sculptures in each corner of the room, risen from the same white marble as the floor. In the back of the room, there’s a wide staircase that leads up to a circular platform. Jeno and Mark stand on that platform, looking down at them from about twenty feet. There’s no big vault, no locked room, nothing that indicated where the priceless item is.

It’s kind of freaking Jisung out. He hates failure, and there’s no way they are going to succeed if they can’t even locate the object they are trying to steal.

“I can feel where it is,” Renjun says. “You’re just going to have to trust me and whatever entity gave me my powers.”

All of Jisung’s new life is because he trusted and continues to trust Renjun. He trusted Renjun to give him a place to live, to train him and make sure he always has something to eat. He trusts Renjun to come home at night and he trusts Renjun to keep him safe. Jisung figures just one more time, much more insignificant than the others, won’t hurt.

“Fine,” Jisung says, squaring his shoulders in preparation, “Do your thing.”

Renjun raises his hand to the sky, and Jisung steals a quick glance up the staircase. Mark’s eyes are flitting nervously between Jeno and the two of them. “Jeno, the plan,” he urges.

Before Jeno can aggravatedly repeat to Mark that he can’t get into Renjun’s mind, a bolt of lightning cracks through the room. It lands smack dab in the middle of the platform, splitting the ground open. The impact of it sends Jeno and Mark flying to opposite sides of the room.

Jisung has never known lightning to ricochet, but Renjun’s lightning bounces off the surface of the marble and encapsulates Mark and Jeno in their respective places. Renjun tugs at Jisung’s hand and then they’re running towards the stairs while the Guard members are paralyzed.

Amidst shock and pain that comes with being struck by lightning , Mark looks remarkably angry, eyebrows drawn close in a dangerous glower. Just as they reach the bottom of the stairs, Jisung sees Mark swing his arms back behind him and hold them on either side of his hips. He sees Renjun’s lightning drain from Mark’s entire body to his hands and—oh. That can’t be good.

Mark directs the lightning back at the two of them, and Jisung doesn’t even think before leaping in front of Renjun. Jisung’s shield had held up against Jeno’s mental attack, but he’s not entirely sure if the same could be said about a physical attack and he’d rather not take any chances.

The lightning bounces off of Jisung’s chest, and Mark has to tuck and roll to avoid getting hit again. While Jisung heroically put himself in the crossfire, Renjun twirled his index finger, summoning a powerful wind. Once Jisung moves out of the way, Renjun directs that wind in Mark’s direction. It is strong enough to sweep him off his feet and carry him backward, slamming him into the marble wall.

They have almost reached the platform when Jeno reappears, tackling Jisung and ripping his hand away from Renjun’s. Jisung watches in horror as his mentor tumbles down the stairs, hitting his head several times along the way.

Mark, still woozy from the many hits he had taken, still manages to look absolutely furious as he staggers to his feet. He looks at Renjun’s crumpled form, and Jisung swears he sees a bit of tenderness before the features morph into disdain and annoyance.

“We’re using powers now, huh?” Mark taunts. He stands above Renjun, waits until he gets back up on his feet to crouch down. Mark touches his fingertips to the ground, but it all happens too fast and Renjun is unable to summon defense in time.

Jisung, who has been struggling with Jeno’s arms around his waist, stops moving momentarily to take it all in. Translucent, bright orange rods rise from the ground, forming a square around Renjun’s feet. Four more rise from the ground and form a square above his head. The rods just continue to materialize and lines themselves up in an orderly fashion, fitting snugly between the top and bottom square.

It’s a cell. Mark used his powers to create some kind of mini prison to hold Renjun.

“Mark!” Renjun yells, as loud and infuriated as ever. His hands grab the bars and he shakes them roughly, but he jumps back as if he had been scalded not even a few seconds later. Whatever happened must have rattled him physically and emotionally, because Renjun falls to the ground and looks at his hands in despair.

When he speaks, his voice is wobbly and diluted with tears, something else Jisung had never seen or heard, “How dare you use that against me.”  

Mark looks about ready to respond, but Renjun looks past him and cuts him off before he can even start. Renjun locks eyes with Jisung and shouts, “go!”

Jisung is deeply unsettled by tears from the strongest person he’s ever met, but he knows an order when he hears one. Suddenly filled with adrenaline, Jisung throws his head back and hits Jeno’s chin with the crown of his head.

“Ow!” Jeno exclaims, grip loosening. Jisung takes the opportunity to slide from his arms and delivers a strong kick to the point of Jeno’s chin. It sends him flying down the stairs, much like Renjun had gone, and Jisung can’t help but feel a flare of triumph.

That is until he sees Mark readying himself to come up the stairs.

Jisung scrambles up the final two stairs to stand on the circular platform, and immediately finds himself in a dilemma: he’s not Renjun. He doesn’t have some kind of special feel for the Umbra, nor does he know where it is. All he knows is that there’s a big hole in the platform from the lightning strike, which he skirts along carefully.

Jisung hears Mark’s footsteps pounding up the stairs, but more importantly, he hears Renjun’s words from earlier echo in his head. You’re just going to have to trust me and whatever entity gave me my powers.

The placement of Renjun’s lightning strike suddenly makes more sense. Jisung looks over to Mark, halfway up the stairs, and throws himself down the hole in the floor.

His butt hits the ground hard, about as hard one would expect when falling from twenty feet, and he takes a second to collect himself. He doesn’t know what the Umbra looks like, but he can surely spot when things are abnormal. There’s only one light source in the secondary room he has fallen to, and it’s blindingly white and in the corner of the room.

The light is only a little dimmed by the blanket haphazardly thrown on top of it. Jisung pulls the fleece away to reveal a black velvet box, white light shining from the seam. He decides it seems Umbra-ish and gathers it up along with the blanket.

He turns around to escape but comes face to face with Jeno, who cups Jisung’s neck and gingerly places his fingers on his nape. For a brief, heart-stopping moment, Jisung thinks Jeno is going to kiss him, but the room starts dimming and becoming sharper at the edges, and that thought flies out of the window.

Jeno draws his hand back and disappears as soon as Jisung blinks. Jisung doesn’t feel any different; all of his limbs are still working and his facial features are still in the correct place. It seems like maybe Jeno didn’t touch him after all.

There’s something wrong with his eyes though, because the room feels smaller and a lot more boxy than it had been before. He squints at the edges of the room and—is that himself?

“Yes,” Jeno says, materializing in front of him, “That is you, and I am there with you.”

Jisung screams in surprise, scrambling backward so quickly he lands on his still-sore butt. He presses a hand to his heart, “What the fuck is happening? Where am I?”

Jeno smiles prettily at him, ignoring his question. He squats down until he is eye level with Jisung, “I see your powers are inconsequential compared to mine in close proximity.”

“Where am I?” Jisung repeats, frantically looking around the room and trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

“ We,” Jeno emphasizes, “are in the Mirror Realm.”

Jisung blinks, still sitting on the floor. “What the fuck is that?”

The look Jeno gives him would make even an erudite feel stupid. Jisung figures it’s obvious before Jeno even says “It’s the world we live in, but mirrored.”

Jisung belatedly realizes that this is what Renjun meant by not letting Jeno get his hands around his neck. Jisung had been thinking more of a strangling position. He was not expecting to have his neck gently caressed by a person who is distractingly handsome close up. That’s why he had been so nonchalant about it; clearly he didn’t need to be told not to get strangled.

It’s not exactly as stupid a guess as he initially thought, especially now that he sees the bulge of Jeno’s biceps in his t-shirt.

“Thanks for that,” Jisung says sarcastically in response to Jeno’s bare minimum answer. He picks himself up from the floor and dusts off his jeans, “Is the real world still spinning? Where’s Renjun?”

Jeno chuckles as if Jisung’s inquiries were stupid or ridiculous. “Yes, the world is still spinning. This moment is just frozen in time while I search the depths of your brain. Renjun is fine by the way.”

Jisung finds great comfort in the last sentence and decides to focus on the unknown of Jeno’s statement. “Search my brain for what?”

“Malice,” Jeno says simply, “There is not a drop of anything but innocence and love in that brain of yours,” he clasps his hands together and the sound echoes through the realm, “it’s fascinating. I can see that you have no ill intent. We really don’t need to be here much longer.”

If Jisung has learned anything from Renjun, it’s the value, the power of information is unmatched. Jeno seems willing to tell all, and Jisung decides to take advantage of it.

“And what if you had found malice?” he asks.

“Then you would have to be eliminated,” Jeno responds. For the stone cold quality of his voice, his eyes seem very...sad.

Jisung quickly comes to the conclusion that Jeno is a sweet guy who hates his job. He seems reluctant to even mention what happens to truly evil people. That’s a relief, and Jisung can continue his unsubtle questioning without the threat of death looming over him.

“You said reality is frozen. So you can control time and the mind?” Jisung asks, genuinely curious now.

Jeno unfolds his arms from behind his back, holding each of his palms upward. In a fraction of a second, these translucent balls appear, hovering over his hands. The right palm has a pale yellow ball which extends over the edges of Jeno’s hands significantly. Jeno raises his hand a little, “the mind”, he says.

He lifts his left hand, that ball hovering over that hand tiny and sky blue. It’s about the size of a golf ball. “Time,” Jeno announces, like Jisung hadn’t been able to piece that together already.

He clenches his fists and the balls seem to melt into his skin. Jisung noticed that Jeno doesn’t watch the physical manifestation of his power disappear, and he thinks Jeno must really despise them.

“That’s impressive,” Jisung tells Jeno honestly. “And you’re still some kind of sidekick to Mark?”

Jeno blinks at him. “While I am incredibly Gifted, I am nothing when compared to Mark. He is unbelievable. And while he is leagues more powerful than I am,” Jeno furrows his eyebrows in distaste, “I’m not really a sidekick. Mark and I are equal partners like you and Renjun are—oh."

“What?” Jisung says, shoulders beginning to curve in. “‘Oh’ what?”

“I felt guilt creeping into your consciousness just now, when I mentioned Renjun,” Jeno says. He continues on to evaluate Jisung’s feelings, “You feel guilty because you have failed him.”

Suddenly, Jisung’s shoes are the most interesting thing in the world to him. “Yeah,” he mutters, clicking his heels together like it would get him out of there, “thanks for saying it out loud.”

Jeno’s eyes turn soft as he looks at Jisung, suddenly looking small and helpless. “He’s not going to hold it against you. I can feel that,” Jeno reassures him, “he’s worried about you.”

“He’s worried about the Umbra,” Jisung mutters bitterly.

“No, he’s worried for you. Terrified actually, because he knows what I am capable of,” Jeno tells him, not a lick of anything but seriousness in his voice.

He folds his arms over his chest nonchalantly. “There is no reason for either of you to be worried. You’re not tortured like him,” Jeno pauses, flashing Jisung a nice smile, “and I find you really cute. I couldn’t hurt you even if I was ordered to.”

Jisung stares at him, bewildered. “Thanks, I guess.”

They both hear sirens very close, likely in front of the building. “I guess the police are here,” Jeno announces. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Jisung.”

Right before Jisung comes to, he remembers he hadn’t even uttered his name.

When he is brought back to reality, Jisung is forced to his knees by officers. Jeno stands in front of him, Umbra in his deserving hands. He gives Jisung a sad smile as he is loaded into the police car next to Renjun.

Jisung watches Jeno until the car turns the corner and he disappears from sight.

=

“You’re spacing out,” Renjun says. He knocks his knee against Jisung’s, “what’s the matter?”

They’ve been taken to jail, where they wait in a holding cell. Jisung’s never been to jail before, and he doesn’t want to come back. It’s too cold.

“Jisung,” Renjun says again, stern. He snaps his fingers in front of Jisung’s eyes, but he suddenly stops as if he just remembered something, “Jeno showed you something.”

“No,” Jisung replies, voice echoing forlornly in the cell, “he just brought up some stuff about how close we got.”

The tremor in his voice is poorly concealed, and Renjun picks up on it immediately. He heaves a sigh, “Jisung, are you feeling inadequate?”

Jisung wished inadequacy was the word for it. A single tear rolls down his cheek, “I failed you,” he says, barely loud enough for Renjun to hear.

“Jisung.”

“I let him get his hands around my neck,” Jisung whispers to himself.

Renjun reaches out and gathers Jisung in his arms as the younger begins to cry. At first, Renjun is annoyed by the tears, but then he remembers their circumstances. As long as Jisung has been with Renjun, he’s been fairly sheltered. It’s the first time he’s been faced with failure in four years, and it’s taking a toll on him.

It’s Renjun’s fault for keeping him how he is, for not letting him face adversity prior to a mission this large scale. Momentarily, he feels like a terrible role model and an even worse hyung, but the self pity can wait until Jisung is asleep.

Renjun rocks Jisung back and forth like he did when Jisung had nightmares. “You could never disappoint me, Jisung. Jeno is extremely powerful and you can’t blame yourself. I don’t.”

He pats Jisung on the crown of his head. “They’ll just move the Umbra to another location and we will try again. That’s the closest I’ve gotten to having it in a long time.”

As Jisung quiets down, he ponders how long Renjun has been doing this; chasing down these people and their artifact, all to no avail. He also wants to know why this particular artifact is so important to him, but he figures if Renjun wanted him to know then he would tell him.

“We’re in a holding cell. For thievery, Renjun,” Jisung deadpans. “We aren’t going to get another chance.”

“Silly child. You think this is the first time I’ve been to jail?” Renjun rests his chin on Jisung’s head. “I put in a call. We’ll get out.”

True to Renjun’s word, a sweet talking man named Jaemin comes and bails them out. He greets Renjun with a big smile that somehow feels strained as he says, “Wow. You must be really desperate, Injun, to call me after all this time.”

“Hi, Jaemin,” Renjun completely ignores the acrid undertone of the statement and gestures beside him, “This is my friend, Jisung.”

Honestly, Jisung feels a little naive. He must be a little bit of a fool to follow everything Renjun says without asking for an explanation, but trusting him has just become as natural as breathing. Renjun, whenever possible, will protect him, take care of him, and Jisung repays him with obedience and unwavering fidelity.

“Renjun,” Jaemin gasps, “you didn’t tell me you had a baby.”

“Baby?” Jisung squawks back indignantly, smacking away Jaemin’s hands as they go to reach for his cheeks.

Renjun just watches them with folded arms and a small smile. Jisung starts to think about Jaemin’s statement from earlier, calling Renjun desperate, calling him Injun, and he wonders about their relationship . Estranged brother, ex-boyfriend—Jisung can’t put his finger on it, but Renjun seems fond even if their relationship has been strained by time.

They must be close enough, because Renjun asks Jaemin to come along the next time they go to steal the Umbra. It’s kind of a last minute thing and it’s terribly disorganized, so it’s not entirely surprising when Jisung finds himself in the Mirror Realm again. It would be foolish of him to say that he’s kind of excited to see Jeno again—milking him for information was entertaining and Jisung likes to learn.

It is not about wanting to see Jeno’s handsome face again. Absolutely not.

“Hello again, Jisung,” Jeno says to him as they become boxed off from reality. He’s got on tight black t-shirt and a dumb yellow hat and Jisung is standing there, stupidly, not responding for a few seconds.

“Hello?” Jeno repeats, waving a hand in front of Jisung’s seemingly vacant eyes. Jisung startles to attention.

“Hi Jeno,” he says, then furrows his eyebrows at their surroundings, “Mirror Realm again?”

“Mhm.”

“I thought you already checked my brain for malice?” Jisung says. That’s what Jeno had listed as the reason for them being in the mirror realm the first time.

Jeno leans against the desk in the legislative building they are in, “I wanted to see you.”

Jisung startles. “Uh...why?”

When he sees Jeno’s confused expression, he holds his hands up and backtracks. “Not that I’m not flattered. I am! But why would you want to see me ?”

Jisung tries not to let his poor self esteem show, but looking at Jeno’s expression, he doesn’t do that good of a job.

“Am I not allowed to want to see a cute boy who has rarely left my mind since the last time I saw him?” Jeno asks, eyes twinkling and biceps flexing, and Jisung briefly thinks he’s experiencing a heart attack.

“You’ve been thinking about me?” Jisung questions, just to confirm that he’s not hearing things incorrectly.

“Mhm,” Jeno supplies, but then his eyebrows furrow, “I’ve been worried about you.”

“Why?”

The elder sighs, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. “I don’t know what Renjun’s been teaching you. He’s not exactly the best role model.”

That makes Jisung slightly uncomfortable. He can’t exactly come to Renjun’s defense—when they first met, he was literally strangling someone to death—but he can’t badmouth him either. Renjun has treated him with all the love and care in the world, has helped him hone and develop his powers, so he can’t be as awful as Jeno is making him out to be.

What unsettles Jisung more is how much certainty Jeno is speaking with. If he’s only met Renjun on these failed attempts, of course he would only recognize him as a criminal. Jisung’s about to ask how Jeno seems to know so much about the makeup of Renjun’s character, but Jeno gets his mouth open first.

“Did he even tell you what he needs the Umbra for?” Jeno prompts quietly, and the question dampens Jisung’s mood a little bit more because, no, he did not.

“Well, no,” he starts, picking at the holes in his jeans, “But it’s Renjun. He kind of raised me and my trust him.”

The words come out like barbed wire this time. It’s like the more time Jisung spends with Jeno, the more Jeno tells him, the less Jisung starts to trust Renjun. Jisung doesn’t want to stop trusting Renjun. Renjun is kind of all he has, though Jeno is looking rather welcoming with his warm laughter and smiling eyes.

Ignorant to Jisung’s emotional plight, Jeno only coos, reaching out to pet Jisung’s hair. “You are much more innocent than I thought.”

“Thanks,” Jisung mutters, sounding quite bitter as he ducks his head to hide his horrifyingly pink cheeks from Jeno’s curious eyes.

“When the three of you are in your jail cell tonight, ask him who Lee Donghyuck is,” Jeno recommends, sending him a pitying smile. Jisung barely has time to remember the name before he’s coming to, just in time to see Mark subdue Jaemin with a flash of emerald green.

Jaemin’s eyes still reflect the color when the police are handcuffing him. They are wide, unseeing, but he is still able to direct his voice in the direction that Mark is standing. “God, you are such a fucking dick now,” he seethes, and the pure venom in his voice makes Jisung shudder.

For the short amount of time Jisung has known Jaemin, he has spoken in either a soft, neutral tone or with a disgusting amount of aegyo. Seeing him so livid, so incensed lets Jisung know that Mark has wounded Jaemin grievously, another surprise considering he hadn’t known that the two of them were familiar with each other.  

Renjun is in another bright orange mini prison, but it’s suspended in the air this time. Renjun is crumpled against the bars and Jisung fears that he’s injured before he jumps up upon their eye contact. His eyes darken slightly, and the subtle differences in expression make Jisung frown.

“Jeno, get away from him,” Renjun bites out, and Jisung whips his head around to look. Jeno’s chest is so close to him and Jisung fights back a responding blush. It clicks in his brain that Renjun wasn’t frowning at Jisung, but at their proximity.

“Why? Are you scared I’m gonna tell him everything you’ve done?” Jeno asks, scathing in a way Jisung has yet to hear him speak.

“Everything I’ve done?” Renjun echoes, near hysterical with laughter. “You have no idea what I’ve done since I got dismissed.”

Jeno’s brows pull together. “Renjun—”

“You piece of shit ,” Renjun spits out, eyes ablaze, “Don’t act like you know me just because you recognize me.”

“Jisung!” Renjun calls, eyes softening as he shifts his focus. He extends a hand between the bars, “come here.”

Jeno reaches out to grab his elbow, keep him close, but Jisung is too fast. He starts walking over to Renjun, heedless of the several police guns trained on him. Renjun is hurting, desperate, and Jisung wants to help in any way he can.

Mark raises a hand toward Jisung, glowing a brilliant orange to match Renjun’s cell, but Jisung ignores him and keeps walking. Despite knowing that Jisung is immune to literally anything Mark could have done to him, Renjun makes an infuriated, distorted sound of anger. “Mark Lee,” he starts, voice dark, “touch him and I murder you and everyone you love in cold blood.”

Jisung swipes Mark’s arm out of his way so he can get to Renjun. He doesn’t check to see, but Mark is appalled, unused to his power going ignored.

The youngest of them exhales noisily at Renjun’s threat, grabbing his hand through the bars. “It’s not that serious, Renjun. He can’t hurt me. Stop being an asshole.”

“Stop making empty threats,” Jeno interjects from across the room.

Renjun cuts his eyes at him. “They’re not empty. You know they’re not.”

Jisung sighs, turning back to Mark. “Can you get him down so we can go, please?”

Wordlessly, Mark clenches and unclenches his fist. The bars disappear and Renjun falls from the air, and Jisung isn’t agile enough to catch him and keep them both upright. The two of them go crashing to the floor while everyone in the room watches on, not quite sure what to do.

“What is everyone doing standing around?” Renjun asks the motionless police officers. “Come arrest me, get it over with.”

The officers comply, taking the two of them in handcuffs, and right before Jisung gets pushed in the patrol car, he sees Jeno press his finger to his temple as a reminder of his assignment.

=

“Jeno,” Jisung starts, rubbing his sweaty palms against his thighs, “he told me to ask who Lee Donghyuck is.”

They’re in a different cell this time, closer to the front. It’s a little warmer than they were yesterday, but not by much. So much for not going back to jail.

Renjun swears loudly, loud enough that guards come running to see what’s going on. There’s a crack of lightning outside despite there not being a single cloud in the sky and no mention of rain on the forecast.

Jaemin lays a soft hand on Renjun’s forearm. He moves to sit between the two of them, making the decision to explain so Renjun doesn’t have to.

“Donghyuck was Renjun’s boyfriend,” Jaemin explains.

Jisung’s jaw drops. He couldn’t imagine Renjun being romantically involved with anyone, but at the same time, it could explain why he’s so cold and standoffish now.

“Is. He is my boyfriend,” Renjun corrects quietly. Jaemin pats him on the head before turning back to Jisung.

“Donghyuck is Renjun’s boyfriend,” Jaemin repeats. “We all used to be on the Guard together—me, Renjun, Donghyuck, Mark, Jeno and Ch—”

“Not important,” Renjun cuts in.

Jaemin sighs exasperatedly. “Will you just let me tell the damn story? The poor boy deserves to know the history that you withheld from him.”

Renjun goes quiet, digging the toe of his shoe into the concrete ground and hanging his head. “Right. Sorry.”

“Mark was the most powerful, but both Donghyuck and Renjun were close seconds. We were all really close, like a family. But...but Mark found out that Donghyuck was drawing power from the Dark Dimension and got him banished to the Shadow Realm and his powers obliterated. Only the Umbra can bring him back, which is why Renjun is trying to get it,” Jaemin tells him.

“Taken?” Jisung questions. “Aren’t people born Enhanced? Powers just can’t be destroyed.”

“You’re right, they cannot be destroyed. Donghyuck’s powers were forcibly extracted and given away,” Jaemin glances at Renjun out of the corner of his eye, “To Mark.”

Jisung makes a disgusted noise. “That’s fucking terrible.”

“They took my powers too,” Renjun says. “I persisted, put up a fight even after he was gone. They were supposed to kill me, but Mark pleaded for them not to on my behalf. So instead of sticking me in the electric chair, they took my powers and gave them away to Jeno.”

Language escapes Jisung as he struggles to comprehend and process everything that is being told to him.  Renjun holds his palms upward. Above his right palm, there’s an inky, black orb. There’s nothing above his right palm at first glance, but when Jisung peers hard enough, he can make out the faintest sky blue, the same as Jeno’s.

His jaw unhinges. “You controlled time? ”

Jaemin grins broadly at Jisung’s reaction as the power sinks back into Renjun’s skin. “I told you he was powerful.”

Jisung sits back against the wall. “What’s so terrible about the Dark Dimension that made Donghyuck get banished?”

“It’s extremely risky,” Jaemin informs, face once again becoming somber, “he was more powerful, yes, but his soul could have been claimed by evil.”

“But he wasn’t, ” Renjun interjects, voice quiet, “Donghyuck wasn’t evil. Isn’t evil. He loves me.”

“How do you know?” Jisung blurts out, “he’s been gone for years.”

He half expects Renjun to try and grill him to death right here in the cell for even asking, but Renjun only looks sad. He folds his hands in his lap. “Because he told me he would never stop.”

There’s a small, awkward silence before Jaemin sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “How are we going to get out of here?”

Renjun tilts his head to look at Jaemin like he’s crazy. “Jaemin, you are telekinetic. Just open the door with that big head of yours.”

Jaemin swats him on the arm. “There are guards right there, I can’t just open the door. They’ll catch us.”

Sighing, Renjun clenches his right hand into a fist and then lets it go. There’s a small boom in the distance, and one of the guards look towards their cell nervously. His hand hovers above his gun, but Renjun gives him a glare that could melt steel and he drops it.

“What did you do?” Jisung asks as water begins to seep into their cell.

“I just burst every pipe in this entire building,” he shrugs, then raises his voice so that it’s audible to the guards, “they’re going to have to act quickly or this entire bottom floor is going to be completely underwater in about five minutes.”

Everyone on duty that Jisung can see, which is nine people, springs into action, leaving them completely unattended. Jisung admires Renjun’s guts.

Jaemin presses his index and middle fingers to his right temple, and the hinges, glowing pastel pink, creak as the door swings open. “That was too easy,” he comments, giving a carefree laugh.

“Who’s watching the criminals?” Jisung hears from far down the hallway, and he can’t even make himself stop smiling as they make a mad dash for the door.

=

They, meaning Renjun and Jaemin, decide to try for the Umbra once more. They also decide that Jisung doesn’t get to have an opinion when it comes to matters like this. He’s ‘too young.’

If he did get to have a say, he’d quit with this Umbra shit. No matter what kind of front Jisung can put up in front of Jeno and Mark, he’s not entirely sure if his psyche can take another defeat.

Jisung is allergic to failure, although it doesn’t feel like it when they arrive at the lake beach where the Umbra is this time. It’s a public beach at two in the afternoon, but Renjun has conveniently put everyone to sleep with his mist.

Jeno and Mark are laying in the sand, eyes closed and shirtless, and Jisung feels so flustered that he closes his eyes and latches onto the back of Jaemin’s shirt, relying on him to guide him to the appropriate spot.

Renjun looms over them, silent, until Mark notices the change in temperature and cracks an eye open. “How may I help you?”

“The Umbra,” Renjun demands.

“No,” Mark responds back, and Jisung is already so exhausted of this routine and it’s only his third time. He doesn’t know how Renjun consistently takes this kind of rejection.

Renjun steps back until his sandals are in low tide and some of the lake water rushes to surround his feet. “Get up and fight!”

Sensing another fight brewing, Jisung releases his hold on Jaemin and takes a few weary steps away. He circles around everyone until he can hide in the treeline. With all of the true Enhanced and their powers going at each other, Jisung finds it better to just step back and protect from afar.

He can project his shield now. It used to be something another person could only benefit from by touching him, but he’s practiced since losing to Mark and Jeno. Now, instead of requiring the Renjun and Jaemin to hold his hands to protect them, Jisung can project his shield from his body and encase their moving forms in a deep purple outline. It’s kind of outstanding what he can accomplish when motivated by not wanting to be a failure anymore.

“Don’t you think this is a little unfair?” Jisung can hear Mark saying. “Three against two?”

“Jisung isn’t here,” Jaemin lies. Jisung instinctively ducks lower behind a bush.

“You know one of my Enhancements is the ability to feel energy, right? I can feel him,” Mark says, body glowing slightly orange, standing up and brushing sand from his backside.

Renjun lets out an annoyed snarl. “It’s not your Enhancement,” to which Mark just rolls his eyes.

“There are a couple hundred people on this beach, Mark. You’re feeling them, not Jisung,” Jaemin reasons, and Mark seems to buy it. Jisung’s best guess is that his shield makes him indistinguishable from any other sunsoaked body laying in the sand. Jisung is terrified of how persuasive Jaemin is, and wonders if that’s just a byproduct of being able to do amazing things with his mind or if that’s all Jaemin.

“And,” Jaemin continues on, folding his arms, “Don’t you think this is a little unfair?” he points two fingers between himself and Renjun and Mark and Jeno, “Four Enhancements versus two?”

Jeno speaks for the first time this encounter. “You’re aware of that but you’re still here and trying?”

Jaemin shrugs. “I only take orders from Renjun.”

“Hey,” Renjun frowns at him, slapping his bicep lightly, “don’t make me sound like a dictator.”

“Well, did I tell a lie?” Jaemin asks, turning around to face Renjun. That is his first big mistake.

When Jaemin is no longer looking at them, Mark clenches and unclenches his fist. The left one, Jisung notes, the one that’s always orange. The translucent chains spring from the ground quickly, going to encase them and take them down while they are squabbling.

Jisung’s faster, and he shoots his shield out so fast that he momentarily becomes lightheaded. The chains bounce off of Jaemin and Renjun, who snap to attention.

Jisung’s head is spinning as he thinks about it. Mark had become cast in orange light when he mentioned feeling energy. Right afterward, Renjun had mentioned that it wasn’t Mark’s own Enhancement, therefore making the energy Enhancement the one that once belonged to Donghyuck. Jisung starts to feel sick when he thinks about the ratio in which Mark uses his power.

In the cell, Jaemin had mentioned that even before the Enhancement extraction, Mark had been the most powerful Guard member. That green thing he used on Jaemin once seems to be the power he was born with. And despite that one being leagues more powerful than any energy in the world, Mark still uses energy most often.

He has to know that it hurts Renjun, that it weakens him mentally and emotionally, but honestly, that’s probably why Mark uses it so much. Jisung thinks he’s kind of a monster.

Mark narrows his eyes and deepens his voice to mock Jaemin as the glowing chains melt back into the sand. “Jisung isn’t here.”

Hearing his name come out of Mark’s mouth startles Jisung and he loses focus. The shield protecting Renjun and Jaemin flickers and dies, leaving them exposed. Jisung closes his eyes tight and opens them back up, trying to become concentrated. Just when he sees the tendrils of his shield extend from his body, there’s a twig snap from behind him and he knows what’s about to happen before it does.

“Is this the only way you can fucking communicate with me?” Jisung says as soon as he’s in the Mirror Realm.

“You haven’t exactly given me your phone number,” Jeno shoots back, but the heat drains from his tone when he watches Jisung sit on the ground.

“How did you even find me?”

“I can control the mind, Jisung,” Jeno reminds him gently. “I could hear your thoughts the entire time.”

Jisung remembers thinking about how good Jeno looked without a shirt on, and his face goes to fire. He sprawls out on the ground, already tired of this particular expedition.

“Can’t you just give us the Umbra?” Jisung pleads. “He just wants Donghyuck back.”

Jeno gives him a bewildered look. “You want to continue to help him even after what’s happened?”

“How is it Renjun’s fault that Mark is a bitch?” Jisung inquires, a serious question. “Renjun is always so quick to give up on anything, but not this. Anything but this, actually. There must really be some love between the two of them,” Jisung stares at his hands, “I don’t know how many times he’s done it without me. I’m tired of failure and it’s only my third time.”

Jeno seems to listen and absorb everything Jisung is saying. He doesn’t speak for a little while, but then he quietly asks, “is that all he told you?”

Jisung folds his arms over his chest. “I’m beginning to think you get off on telling me things about Renjun’s past.”

Jeno laughs, bright. “It’s my past too. And Mark’s past, and Jaemin’s past.”

The younger makes a vague, come hither motion with his hands. “Well, come on. Out with it.”

“Has he really never told you about Chenle?” Jeno says, small and near silent.

“Nope,” Jisung confirms, rubbing his hands together, “Why don’t you just tell me? Since this Chenle character is in your past too.”

Jeno shakes his head. “I can’t. It feels wrong. Chenle was so much more important to Renjun than he was to me.”

Jisung stands up and shakes the sand off of him. “Well thank you, Bearer of Renjun’s Secrets, but you have to let me out of here now. Even if Renjun is unsuccessful in getting the Umbra, he will still kill Mark if given the opportunity, so.”

Jeno scratches his head. “And how do you know that there’s an opportunity?”

If Jisung were mean he’d laugh at such a stupid question. Instead, he trains his face into blankness, “We’re on a beach, Jeno. There’s a lake right there.”

Jeno still remains confused. “And…?

“Renjun can control storms and all of their elements. Mark is gonna get drowned if you don’t let me out of here,” Jisung informs him, banging his closed fist against the boxy interior of the Realm. To his surprise, it trembles under the amount of force.

“Okay, okay, don’t break it,” Jeno whines. “It’s a mirror, you know.”

When the real world comes back into focus, Renjun has Mark suspended in a tornado made of lake water and Jaemin is lifting the Umbra out of the depths of the sand with his mind. It drops into Renjun’s hands and the object seems to come alive, glowing blinding white from the seams. Renjun breaks focus and lets Mark and all of the water fall back to the earth, and then the three of them are running in the direction of the parking lot.

“We got it!” Jaemin yells, but as soon as he says it, there’s a police car pulling up in front of and behind them.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Renjun bites out, small face compacting into a scowl. They’re surrounded now, with nowhere to run. Jisung grabs onto Jaemin and Renjun’s arms so that it won’t hurt if they are shot, but Renjun just leans down and places the prized possession on the ground. A furious, thoroughly waterboarded Mark breaks through the growing crowd of armed policemen and snatches the Umbra up from the ground with a scowl.

“Do your job better,” Renjun taunts him, and Mark’s footsteps pause briefly before he keeps moving back to the beach.

=

“Who’s Chenle?” Jisung blurts out. They’re in an underground cell now, and the guards are right outside of the bars, making sure they do not escape.

Renjun slaps the wall angrily, and the lights flicker and go out. “I fucking hate Jeno. I hate him.”

The guards turn to look inside, but Jaemin makes frenzied hand motions to get them to turn around before Renjun sees. He breathes a sigh of relief when they listen, leaving just Jaemin and Jisung to deal with him.

“Do you not trust me, Jisung?” is the next thing that comes out of Renjun’s mouth, and the air in the cell goes dangerously stale.

“What?”

“Every time Jeno takes you into that place, you come back with a new question about my past,” Renjun explains, patience wearing thin. “Why is that?”

Jisung’s voice is small, unused to the full force of Renjun’s annoyance and anger. “Because Jeno tells me to ask.”

“Because Jeno tells you to ask,” Renjun laughs bitterly, “and you just do what he says?”

“I—”

“Do you want to be called a good boy too? Do you want belly rubs and a chew toy?”

“ Renjun,” Jaemin scolds, trying to interfere before anyone’s feelings get seriously hurt.

Jisung’s not hurt, just angry, something he’s never felt when it comes to Renjun. “Why are you so defensive about your past? Do you not trust me to stay with you once I hear all about it?”

Renjun deflates as soon as Jisung says the words. “No, Jisung. I don’t. Because you are seventeen years old and have so much life left to live. I fully expect you to just up and leave whenever and however you come to the conclusion that I’m a monster.”

Jisung scrubs a hand over his eyes. “Renjun, you know I...ran away from home right? I’m probably not welcome there anymore.”

It’s a lie—if Jisung knows his parents, they would likely hold a week-long festival if he just mysteriously reappeared, but he doesn’t want to go back. Not when Renjun needs him.

“That’s my fault too,” Renjun whines.

Jisung throws his hands up. “Would you stop throwing this pity party for yourself? I wanted to be around you and so I am. There’s nothing else to it.”

“Even if I tell you about Chenle?” Renjun asks, sounding so hopeful that it makes Jisung’s heart hurt.

“Even if you tell me about Chenle,” Jisung confirms with a nod.   

“Do you want me to…” Jaemin trails off, likely offering to talk about the difficult stuff again so Renjun doesn’t have to.

“No, I got it,” Renjun says, then pats the floor next to him, “come sit down, Jisung.”

When Jisung is as comfortable as one can get on the floor of a jail cell, Renjun makes a fist and unfurls his fingers one by one. Jaemin plugs his nose when the air begins to smell like honey, breathing in through his shirt. As soon as Renjun hears the bodies hit the ground, he starts speaking.

“Chenle was on the Guard with the rest of us—me, Jaemin, Donghyuck, Mark and Jeno,” Renjun begins. “He was slow at picking up the language but the President thought he was essential to have on the team because his Enhancement could make him a serious threat to enemies.”

“Which was…?” Jisung prompts.

“Invisibility,” Renjun sighs, running a hand through his hair, “Chenle was really something special. Watching him use his Enhancement was something special. His whole body would light up red and then he would vanish is a small wave. He was persuasive and good at talking once he became comfortable speaking Korean, and since he spent so much time with me learning the language, he began to spend a lot of time training with me as well. He was my protégé.

“After Donghyuck got banished and my power stripped, it was Chenle’s idea to steal the Umbra from the President’s mansion. He wanted to take it, get Donghyuck out of there and run away. He didn’t really like being on the Guard that much once he realized what we were supposed to do. I can’t really blame him. We were tasked with doing, horrible, evil things in the name of the law. Chenle brought up his plan to everyone but Mark, but there weren’t any other takers but me.

“We stole it and got it away safely, and the plan would have worked but someone,”  Renjun’s eyes flicker over to Jaemin, who is hunched over in cowardice, “had a stupid crush on Mark and told him about the plan.”

“That part was just not important to the story at all,” Jaemin murmurs, cheeks pink.

“Yes it is,” Renjun takes a break from his story to counter. “If you hadn’t been so dead set on having Mark’s approval and dick, Chenle might still be alive.”

Jisung chokes on air. “Chenle’s dead?”

Renjun whips his head around to give Jisung a sad smile. “Yeah. I hadn’t gotten there yet.”

“Well...I’m waiting,” Jisung says.

“This was pretty soon after Donghyuck was gone and Mark was still getting used to using Donghyuck’s powers along with his own. He saw us running away with the Umbra and wanted to use a blast to subdue us like he’d seen Donghyuck do before. He accidentally summoned so much energy that it burned a hole straight through Chenle’s heart. He was dead before he even hit the ground.”

“God, Renjun, I’m so sorry,” Jisung says, rubbing him gently on the shoulder.

“He took away my boyfriend and my best friend, so if you hadn’t noticed I really do not like Mark,” Renjun informs. “In fact, on the night you saw me, Mark was actually the one I was strangling.”

Jaemin looks alarmed at that but says nothing. Renjun continues on, “The first three times after Chenle died, I tried to kill him. But since then I’ve just been trying to take the Umbra so I can get the satisfaction of beating Mister Perfect, Mark Lee.”

“That’s...valid,” Jaemin agrees.

“I remember being told horrible, unfathomable things about our enemies before we went into missions so we maintained that ‘killer’ mindset, and I don’t doubt the President has kept up this same technique all this time. I don’t know what bullshit the President’s been telling them about me, but I can almost guarantee it’s not correct. There’s no reason for them to be as scared of me as they are, especially since they’ve stripped me of my most valuable power,” Renjun says while rolling his eyes.

“How do you know they’re afraid?” Jisung asks, peering at Renjun’s hands. “Can you read minds too?”

“No, but I can see. They shrink away from me whenever I arrive, they’re always super shifty...I can see the signs,” he answers.

“I can see the signs too,” Jaemin says, eyes trained on one of the police guards moving in his sleep. “We need to get out of here before they wake up.”

“There’s like thirty seconds, Jaemin!” Renjun exclaims. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Let me try something,” Jisung says, shifting to stand up. He takes a deep breath, the focuses on expanding his shield.

Instead of focusing on a person this time. Jisung imagines his shield as a bubble, illuminated in dark purple light, going beyond his body. The shield does what he wants it to, pressing against the bars and contorting the metal. It stretches the bars so there’s more space between them, allowing them to escape safely.

Renjun looks at him like he’s grown a second head. “Where did you learn that?” he turns to Jaemin, “I didn’t teach him that.”

“Not important,” Jisung says, maneuvering his long legs through the now much larger space. “Now let’s go before these men wake up.”

=

Another day, another failed attempt, another period of time alone with Jeno in the Mirror Realm.

This time there was a twist. Despite what happened the last time Renjun was around water, the President still decided to put the Umbra in an aquarium. A small, public one, no less. It was almost too easy to find.

Jisung tried his expanding shield bubble technique against Jeno—which, in retrospect, doesn’t make a lot of sense because Jeno’s Enhancements are not really combat related—and it fails miserably. Jeno steps right through the shield, his body opening it up like water.

Jisung sags immediately. “How the fuck did you do that?”

“I can control the mind, Jisung,” Jeno tenderly reminds him, and Jisung is kind of sick of hearing it, “this shield, any of your shields is nothing more than an extension of your mind.”

“Listen to me, Jeno,” Jisung pleads. “This isn’t just about Renjun or the Umbra anymore. You’re sick. The President made you sick.”

“What are you talking about, Jisung?” Jeno asks lightly. His stance has changed, looking more defensive, but his eyes are still unguarded and open.

“Making you read fabricated case files, telling you lies, working you to the bone to create a killing machine…” Jisung trails off, reaching for Jeno’s hand, “You’re just sick.”

Jeno rips his hand away, the warmth on his face draining away. “I’m not a killing machine.”

Jisung can’t imagine what it must feel like to be told that the one thing that’s a constant in your life is based off of manipulation and exploitation. He tries to soften his voice. “No, you’re not. But you have the potential to be. You and Mark, you’re both weapons against the people. You’re brainwashed.”

“Watch it, Jisung,” Jeno warns. That definitely was not a good choice of words. Jeno backs away from Jisung, a first, and leans against the walls of the Realm. His eyebrows are furrowed and it looks like he’s at least considering it, but Jisung needs to get the rest of this out before Jeno closes himself off completely.

“Renjun told me—”

“God, Jisung, how naive can one person be?” Jeno cuts him off, his voice a loud burst of something that sounds close to anger. “Have you not learned anything since I’ve been bringing you in here?”

Jisung frowns. “Jeno—”

“No,” Jeno cuts him off yet again. “Don’t Jeno me. Renjun withheld shit from you for years, he’s hardly a good person to take lessons and advice from.”

Jisung, despite being shocked at hearing Jeno curse for the first time, hides it behind his own darkening expression. “Jeno.”

Jeno plows on, seemingly at his breaking point. “Huang Renjun is  a thief, a liar, and a murderer.”

Jeno may have been at his breaking point, but he’s pushing Jisung to his as well. “Don’t say that about him.”

“Well why not? It’s true! If you knew half the shit he has done you would run for the hills,” Jeno says.

“Renjun’s never killed anyone,” Jisung states, voice measured.

“Oh, is that what he told you?” Jeno laughs cruelly. “It’s really not my business—”

“—It’s not—”

“—because you are not mine and I am not yours, but nothing Renjun says can be trusted. You said I’m being manipulated, but what about you?” Jeno taunts. It’s a different side to him, a side that Jisung hasn’t seen nor does he like.

Jisung’s chest tightens at Jeno’s question. “Tread lightly,” he warns.

“What are you gonna do? Beat me up with your shield?”

“Why are you being an ass all of a sudden?” Jisung bursts out, a lot more hurt at all of this coming from Jeno, who thus far has been nothing but sweet and ever charming.

“Because you don’t listen !” Jeno insists. “Don’t you see, Jisung? Renjun has you wrapped around his finger and indebted to him; that makes him manipulative. Renjun is manipulative, controlling, selfish, dishonest —"

Jisung clenches his fist. “Don’t say that about him.”

As soon as the last word comes out of Jisung’s mouth, there’s a crack in the Realm. He releases the fist and the entire Realm shatters, falling to tiny pieces of glass around them. Jeno is in shock; everyone is. Jisung walks past him, past Renjun and Jaemin, who are suspended in orange illuminated chains, to Mark. Jisung snatches the Umbra from his hands, throwing him off balance. The chains disintegrate and Renjun and Jaemin fall to the ground. They wordlessly follow him out of the door, into the parking lot and the car before Jaemin drives away.

Neither Jeno nor Mark make a move to stop them.

=

They go to the spot where Donghyuck was taken. Jaemin doesn’t even have to cover his nose when Renjun puts the occupants of the President’s house to sleep, and Jisung hands Renjun the Umbra as soon as they hit the ground. It comes to life, humming and shining brightly once it’s back in Renjun’s hands, and for a moment, Jisung thinks it’s kind of romantic how it only responds to Renjun that way.

The main hall is pretty and lavishly decorated, but Jisung can’t even imagine the kind of brainwashing that was done in the very spot he is standing in. This is where Renjun’s character was defamed, where Mark and Jeno were trained to be murderers for a useless cause, where Donghyuck’s individuality was taken away from him. He feels a little bit ill.

Renjun places the Umbra on the ground and is about to open the lid before he hears the pounding of footsteps behind him. He steps in front of Renjun, almost positive that there’s going to be an attack, but to his surprise, Jaemin shoves Jisung behind him and every knife in the room gets encased in pink light and pointed at the two enterers.

Mark and Jeno. Who else?

“What do you want?” Jaemin says, shifting to block Renjun from their eyes. “We are going to go get Donghyuck and there is nothing you can do about it.”

“Jeno told me what you said,” Mark says out loud, and it takes a few seconds for Jisung to realize he’s talking to him. “Is he really...not a bad person?”

Jisung shakes his head. “Morally skewed, maybe. Bad? No.”

“I want to talk to Renjun,” Mark says, pleads.

The knives inch closer. “No,” Jaemin deadpans.

“Renjun,” Mark tries again, speaking directly to the person of interest.

Renjun doesn’t even look up but Jisung can tell he’s rolling his eyes. “What do you want, Mark? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“I’m sorry,” Mark chokes out, vocal chords straining, “For what I did to Chenle. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know,” Renjun hums. His knees crack as he stands up. “What about Donghyuck?”

Mark swallows thickly. “I’m not sorry for telling on him, but I am sorry about his fate. I hate having his powers and the fact that I caused him pain.”

A single tear falls out of one of Renjun’s eyes. Jisung feels like he’s having an out of body experience; he’s never seen Renjun this raw, this vulnerable and it’s kind of freaking him out, but whatever is happening is way bigger than him, so he keeps his mouth shut and absorbs it all.

A pin drop could be heard in the main hall following Mark’s statement. Renjun wipes his tear away and laughs bitterly. “Tell him that yourself.”

“What?”

“You’re going to go get him,” Renjun says simply, like it is common sense.

“Renjun, I can’t,” Mark is back to pleading, voice cracking on the last syllable.

Renjun furrows his eyebrows in disdain. “You can and you will. You deserve to feel that kind of guilt.”

“Why him?” Jeno cuts in. “Why not Jisung or Jaemin?”

Jisung feels a hot flash of annoyance that Jeno is offering him up to go into a place he hadn’t even known existed a week ago. It doesn’t seem to be a problem though; Renjun laughs at his suggestion.

“Mark has to go because he is the reason Hyuck is in there in the first place,” Renjun explains. “That’s just in the handbook of the Umbra. I thought you would know that, considering you’ve been guarding it with your life,” he says, a little bit of acid in his tone.

“Will it prove to you that I’m sorry?” Mark asks, eyes low.

Renjun pretends to ponder for a moment. “Not exactly, but it’s a start.”

“Then I’ll do it,” Mark nods, and Jeno looks at him like he’s sprouted another limb.

“Hyung,” Jeno hisses, tugging at the crease of Mark’s elbow, “you can’t.”

“You’re coming with me,” Mark tells him.

The effect that has on Jeno is almost comical. His eyes widen and his bottom jaw unhinges. “Huh?”

Mark turns his head to look at Renjun, who has taken to leaning against Jaemin. “That’s part of it, right? I get to choose who I want to come with me?”

When Renjun just nods, Mark continues on, “I want Jisung to come too.”

Every eye in the room snaps to him. Jisung’s mouth falls open in shock. “Why me?”

“I don’t know how deeply Donghyuck was banished. We might need your shield,” Mark explains.

Jisung deflates. “Right. Thanks for telling me you don’t want to get to know me and you don’t want to tell me why this Donghyuck character is so important.”

Mark winces. “Sorry.”

Jisung turns pleading eyes onto Renjun. “Do I have to?”

Jaemin shrugs for the both of them. “Rules are rules.”

The youngest of them goes to stand in front of the Umbra. “Let’s just fucking do this then.”

Jaemin drops the knives and Mark and Jeno begin to make their way over. All of a sudden, Renjun tackles Jisung in a tight hug. Once he lets go, he has to extend his arms just to cup Jisung’s face.

“Come back safe.”

It’s not a question or a request; it’s an order, one Jisung would be damned if he didn’t obey.

“Don’t trust them. Don’t get too comfortable. Do not entertain your opponent. Do not attack first. If you are attacked, fight to the death. Do not show mercy,” Renjun reminds him.

“Who’s the enemy this time?” Jisung asks, fearing the answer.

Renjun lets his hands drop from his protege’s face and gives him a smile that speaks of nothing but mourning. “Only time will tell.”  

Mark, Jisung and Jeno make a small circle around the Umbra and hold hands, as per the instruction in the handbook. Renjun opens the artifact, finally, and lets the energy in case the three of them whole.

When they come to on the other side, Jeno’s fingers are still entwined with Jisung’s.