Chapter Text
Lee Donghyuck has five things that he considers himself notably good at.
1) Throwing Huang Renjun incredible distances.
If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit that the format of monthly evaluations is a little bit tacky. The trap door opens above his team, and he goes first, pulling up his friends afterwards. As soon as Jeno files out, the door seals behind them, fitting seamlessly into the floor beneath the secluded alcove of the ring they find themselves in. He looks up to the North wall of the training arena and finds a clock counting down from sixty. On the plus side of this tacky endeavor, at least something as stressful as monthly testing becomes much more fun than something more standardized than this.
Capture the flag.
Donghyuck looks around at his team, nodding to everyone as the clock runs down. He meets Renjun’s eyes and elated grin last.
“I’m going to head over to the right side today, Hyuck.”
Donghyuck nods, “Any particular reason?”
He shrugs, “Have a good feeling about it.”
Jeno lays a hand on Renjun’s shoulder, “I’m going across, find me after?”
Renjun nods, and Donghyuck turns to where Chenle and Jisung are conversing, “Got it figured out, dumb and dumber?”
“Who’s dumber?” Chenle asks at the same time Jisung nods.
Donghyuck looks to Jaemin and his wide stance in front of the horizontal pole that holds their flag, “Guard?”
He inclines his head, smug, “Always.”
Donghyuck rolls his eyes, looks back at the clock. Ten seconds left.
The bell tolls to announce the beginning, and Donghyuck braces his legs, cups his hands low. Renjun jumps up in one smooth bound, places his right foot on Donghyuck’s hand, and their joint propulsion shoots him over the wall as the rest of his team sprint for it’s end far to the left of them. Donghyuck follows.
This year there’s enough trainees for ten teams, first to five flags wins. As a group, that is something that they have gotten close to perfecting over the years: winning.
Donghyuck looses his team fast, but it’s not a bad thing. He pushes forward, ducking under one of the structures erected in the ring for this year’s first round of evaluations. Once he’s certain of the silence, he ducks forward and towards the right side of the ring. Ever since the first time Donghyuck and Renjun mastered the throwing maneuver, it’s become an integral part of their early lead. The problem is that Renjun is fast and he already has a head start, while Donghyuck started a step behind.
He begins to hear the tell tale sounds of stomping before he’s remotely close to East side of the ring.
Donghyuck ducks behind the wall of a long corridor, waiting to see if it really is his teammate coming around. Renjun rounds the corner, sprinting with determination and two people on his ass. Donghyuck ducks around and braces himself against the wall. He focuses all his strength and stability to his feet and forearms, meets eyes with Renjun. Without a word, Renjun jumps onto his ready hands and vaults the wall with the extra lift, a flag gripped tightly in his hands.
“Thanks, Hyuck!” he calls as he disappears.
Donghyuck watches as two kids approach with vengeance, “You’d best be sprinting, Huang!”
He can hear his teammate’s elated laugh get further away.
The first girl darts at him without pause, and he jumps up to dodge her. She collides with the wall behind him, and before she turns around Donghyuck dives forward and snatches the lightstick that designates him as in the game from her partner. Then, he turns around.
She’s fast, and belatedly he realizes that he’s going to head with Soyeon and whoever she’s roped into being on her team this year. Great. Renjun really knows how to pick them. The dodge is more half hazard this time, and he rolls to break his stumble. He registers the weight on top of him before he registers her, and he’s kicking up before thinking about either. It knocks the wind out of her, and he’s quick to grab her light as well.
He breathes a sigh of relief as she pounds the ground in anger.
“Oh fuck you, Donghyuck, can’t you ever give anyone a break,” but she’s smiling, kind of.
Donghyuck lets out a tired and mildly terrified laugh, “Not this year, my apologies.”
She rolls her eyes and down the corridor, a trap door opens. Donghyuck quickly walks over, drops the lights in, taking a moment to investigate the underside of the ring, hopefully he won’t be seeing it until the end today.
Quickly he turns around, salutes them, and runs away before he can see them disappear out of the game.
2) Saving Lee Jeno
His game plan is moving across the ring right now. Jeno is already over there and, knowing his luck, so are Jisung and Chenle. Renjun would either be coming soon or staying behind to guard. Regardless, he likes the odds of placing his eggs in the ‘across the ring’ basket. So, he runs mindlessly towards the clock that is now clocking in close to seven minutes.
All of a sudden the walls end, and he stumbles to a stop. For whatever reason, whoever designed the ring this year has stricken a moat of water through the middle of the arena. He stops for a moment to asses. There’s no visible bridges or crossings, nothing that makes this easy. The jump may be feasible if he gets a good start due to his innate strength that comes from being super. However, getting wet means leaving tracks, and that’s the last thing he wants to do right now.
From his left, a splash sounds.
Reflexes force him to stay back, but he peers out with curiosity.
Fuck, he thinks, it’s Jeno.
Then he’s running, because he’s got to.
Jeno’s swimming to the other side of the moat and pulling himself up as another girl sprints out from the area Jeno got his ass kicked from. With practiced elegance, she dives into the water, and fuck, of course it’s Jinsol.
Her teammate, Yerim, walks out with a grin of victory adorning her face. Donghyuck debates taking her out, but sees Jinsol half way across the water and just, jumps.
It’s a rough landing, and he almost falls back into the water. Jeno looks at him, and Donghyuck is pulling him out of the water before he has time to think. They sprint. He hears the tell tale splash of water on concrete that signifies Jinsoul leaving the moat, and he tugs Jeno harder as they disappear into the maze on the other side.
Jinsol is one of the few in their year who has developed a specialty. It’s relatively new, as in the beginning of this training year new, but it matured with a vengeance. She has the ability to hold her breathe for nearly ten minutes now, she can perform most physical tasks completely anaerobic. Jeno and he are pathetic air breathers and they need to plan this well, because she will catch them at this rate.
Jeno is dripping water, which doesn’t bode well for their escape. Donghyuck keeps their path towards the other side of the ring, trying to think of possible solutions to their problem when Jeno suddenly releases his hand.
Donghyuck turns to look at his friend, but he’s already turning off a side path.
“You’ll last longer anyway, Hyuck, I’ll try to lead her somewhere else.”
Donghyuck stomps his foot, because he’s right but it sucks, “Jeno!”
“Go on, it’s the first match and I’m already royally fucked, Jisung will over achieve anyway and grab two.”
That’s not entirely untrue, so Donghyuck turns away from Jeno’s resigned smile and makes sure to stomp the first few steps to further accentuate his frustration.
And then he’s running away from Jeno and his stupid rationality.
3) Getting Screwed by Zhong Chenle
Donghyuck is amazed by how much the class thinning out has eased evaluations.
Once the new training year starts, it’s always weird to realize that some people do drop out. The first evaluation ever had sported twice the people it does now, and Donghyuck remembers being out of breath from how much he had to fend off his classmates, even though most of them were not skilled in any meaningful way at that point.
He jogs for five minutes before hearing any chaos.
Smiling, he runs towards the noise, slowing as he approaches.
They don’t see him in their distraction.
There are at least seven different people throwing down in front of him. Scanning the sparring quickly, he doesn’t see any of his, but that’s prone to change. Most of them think like him anyways.
They’re circling a pole with two flags, and Donghyuck thinks he can swing this if he does it right. He looks over the open space this team has been placed in, and sees an entrance further down as well as an exit parallel of it on the clearing.
He moves back into the maze, going further down before moving towards the fight again. Whoever’s team this is, they’ve really lost the lottery on their placement this round, this large clearing is going to be their downfall. The people guarding are holding their ground well, but opportunity arises when they force their attackers away from the far wall and into the middle of the arena. It keeps them away, but leaves all their backs to his alcove. No one sees him. He waits until one dives forward, snatching a light from an attacker, and then Donghyuck moves.
His weight falls on the balls of his feet first as he sprints, trying to conceal his footfalls. He all but rips the silks from their horizontal presentation, not even pausing to breathe before reaching the other side of the clearing and sprinting back into the maze.
But, of course, they’re following him.
Donghyuck chances a glance over his shoulders, and takes a second to feel guilty for what he’s about to do. Donghyuck reaches a wall, turns quickly to sweep Yangyang’s feet from under him. He pulls the light from his waist and as his team mate rounds the corner, he vaults it in her face. The kid rebounds, grabbing her nose, and Donghyuck is off again.
“Sorry Yangyang!”
When he rounds the next corner he collides with blond hair.
The menace screams.
“Donghyuck!” Chenle grabs his arms, and Donghyuck all but tosses him up a side path when he sees the whole stampede following his teammate.
“Now’s not a great time for reunions, Chenle!”
They take off down the path back to their side of the arena and he catches his friend’s mischievous grin in his peripheral vision, “You’re telling me you’re not happy to see me?”
Donghyuck whips his head to him, “I was aiming for discretion.”
A faux offended gasp, “And I’m not discreet?”
They turn a corner, and run straight into another team.
“They have flags!” God damnit, it’s Jinsol again.
They turn around but the other teams are already too close to double back on. Donghyuck’s stomach drops and his adrenaline floors.
Chenle grumbles, “This doesn’t seem to end well, where’s our backup when we need them?”
Donghyuck looks at Chenle, alone, and finally takes the time to recognize that as odd, “Yeah, where’s Jisung anyway?”
4) Being Park Jisung’s punching bag
Like the demon Donghyuck privately considers him to be, Jisung appears at the call of his name.
He’s no more than a flash of color from the way they arrived from, but he’s there as soon as he’s needed. Donghyuck registers pain as that young monster uses his chest as a spring board to change direction, colliding with Jinsol’s center of mass and tearing her light from her waist. He stops, standing in real time for the first time since he’s entered the fight, and tears the light from a stock still Yerim before turning to Donghyuck with a shit-eating expression and a flag in his hand.
Chenle cheers enthusiastically, Donghyuck just tries to convey silent exasperation and thanks through his empty gaze.
Jisung flashes a thumbs up, then turns into a flash of color before springing past them to turn back to the group of people that has now realized getting closer is not the right move.
Donghyuck is grateful, and very impressed, but it would cost him all his pride and a bit more to admit it. Jinsol was the first person to adopt a specialty at an appropriate time training wise, but Jisung was the first to get one at all. He’s already the youngest in their training year by a mere few months, but he was already a prodigy in all ways that counted. When he developed fumbling super speed late last year, people were surprised, but not too surprised because if anyone was going to develop an insanely enviable superpower at a ridiculously young age, it was going to be Park Jisung.
Chenle and Donghyuck dove in after him, tearing lights off of the people Jisung shoved aside, and watching with tired amusement as Jisung sent a fair few of them running to easier targets.
The chaos dies down and Donghyuck leans up against the wall to catch his breath. Suddenly, Jisung flashes by. He returns to a normal speed for Chenle to grab onto his back. Chenle sticks his tongue out as Jisung salutes with the hand holding the flag.
“See you at base, Hyuck!”
And in a flash of wind and fuzzy color, Jisung is gone.
5) Finding Na Jaemin
Donghyuck wastes no time on his retreat. This is the end game, time is of the essence. He ends up falling on his face after jumping the moat, but he supposes enhanced mobility can only take you so far. Still, with fumbling feet beneath him, he makes it into the maze with a determined speed.
He’s so close to where he believes base is when he hears footsteps join his behind him.
A quick glance over his shoulder makes him cuss under his breath. The girls are really out for blood today. It’s Jungeun, and he just needs to keep going forward. There’s no point in picking a fight when there’s solid odds of losing.
His arms pump as hard as they can and he wills himself forward with all his might. He slides under the overhang he had hid under at the beginning and is tumbling to his feet with Jungeun much closer than she was before. Briefly, he considers yelling for help, but doesn’t want to chance other people finding his base if they ended up with less flags than Donghyuck assumes they do. He finally reaches the wall he had vaulted Renjun over at the beginning of the evaluation, and roughly corners it further along.
The first thing he registers is the three flags hanging on their base, the second is his boyfriend.
“Jaemin!” Donghyuck yells, and chucks the balled up flags at his waiting form.
Jungeun tears his light off, but it doesn’t matter because it comes a mere second after the bell announcing their victory sounds.
Behind him, he hears Jungeun groan in exasperation, but Donghyuck can’t be polite enough to hold back his whoop of exhilaration. He rushes forward and into the arms of his equally excited teammate as the exit doors open in the floor around them.
They did it. They won their first evaluation this year. It’s a great start, a fantastic first step.
Donghyuck lets his beanpole of a significant other spin him around and around, lets himself breathe in the elation of victory.
He reunites with the rest of his team in the training lobby. His other classmates have broken down into their respective teams that they’ve chosen for the first evaluation and are sitting on couches around the large TVs. Some team selections are more more rigid and some flux constantly. Donghyuck has never competed with anyone but the five he did today.
Renjun stands up and smacks him on the back in a way that may look like over enthusiastic congratulations but Donghyuck knows is just well disguised friendly harassment.
His friend laughs at his disgruntled expression and smiles, “We did it, Hyuck, you can finally unclench a little bit!”
He jokingly swings at him, but Renjun is gone as fast as he was there, flopping on the couch beside Jeno.
Jaemin tugs him down beside him, and they sit on the floor around the couch a still dripping Jeno chose for themselves. They look up at the screens, waiting for their mentors to push the results through to them. Donghyuck knows that their team will be at the top due to them winning, but it’s possible some high ranking classmates have wormed their way up into their ranks due to their performance. He knows that’s fine, but he still feels the pit in his stomach at the idea of any of them dropping the slightest amount.
The post examination chatter falls away, and the screens light up.
Chenle immediately starts cackling and Jisung’s eyebrows fly up. Jaemin turns to Jeno with a malicious grin while Donghyuck looks up at his friend with a long suffering sigh.
“You really let Jinsol get you out?” he asks with a sigh.
Ranked first this month is Jisung but considering all the ass he kicked today, it’s not overly surprising. Donghyuck is second, followed by Renjun, Jaemin, Chenle, then Jungeun. And then Jeno, who beside his name has the indicator of someone who was tagged out.
“It wasn’t Jinsol!” Jeno exclaims.
It’s Jaemin’s turn to giggle, and Donghyuck feels his jaw drop, “How does that make it better?”
Jeno is giggling too, and it makes Donghyuck feel slightly better that he isn’t taking it hard at all, “I had actually grabbed a flag I’ll have you know! I got caught by Jungeun on the way back!”
Jaemin playfully hits Jeno’s thigh, “Their team was really on top of it today.”
“They were!” Donghyuck affirms, “I hope they never arrange themselves like that again.”
He makes eye contact with Jaemin and feels a smile come back to face when Jaemin looks at him with mischief and happiness in his eyes.
Chenle gags and Donghyuck turns back to the board, scanning the rest of the placements. He feels a pang of guilt when he sees Yangyang’s lower placement but when he looks over he sees the boy laughing along with his other teammates. He steals himself for a moment, wanting to say something to cross the weird bridge of quasi friendship he has with Yangyang, but before he can get a joke out Jinsol hollers from across the room.
“Looks like dream team has done it again!”
Donghyuck looks over at her, and she has genuine friendliness on her features but the tease comes through clear enough.
“Don’t be mad because we can show you up no matter the team, Jinsol,” Jaemin quips back.
Jungeun leans over the back of her couch, poised to make a comment that Donghyuck can sense is about him, but the low rumble of something unfamiliar and destructive cuts all talk short.
They all look around in confusion, as if one of them would have the answer to the rumbling in the room. Except, suddenly someone does.
“Look!” Yerim calls, “The TS Labs building is collapsing!”
His classmates move together like a chaotic and choppy wave. There aren’t too many people to begin with, but all the trampling feet leave him pushed up against Jaemin’s back in the stampede. It’s not a long moment where he’s left blind to the action, but it feels like forever before Jaemin gently pulls him around him and lets him be right against the floor to ceiling windows
And wow, the carnage looks spectacular from here.
Distantly, he registers the alarms of the Super Management building going off, but no one else seems to pay it any mind either. Instead, their eyes stay glued to where they can see the building falling from between the neighboring buildings. They’re on a relatively low floor of Super Management’s skyscraper, but its still far enough up that the dust and debris off the corporate skyscraper can be seen with ease. It feels like slow motion, watching the sides blow out and fall towards the street. The horror sets in quick, thinking of all the people caught in that, and is cut off quicker by Jisung’s sigh of wonder and Chenle’s excited yell of, “It’s 127!”
Sure enough, it was.
Someone goes flying by the window of their floor, and everyone screams in mindless hero worship. Donghyuck can’t see from here, but he does feel the rush of adrenaline everyone gets when they see superheroes in action. He watches, breathless, as two more soar by with high speed. None of the nine that make up the top defense team can really fly, but seeing them use their hover technology and the grapples their suits have makes it feel like watching Superman.
“Hey kids, back away from the windows! We don’t know what’s going on so let’s move to the center of the building!”
They let out a collective groan of children admonished, and start to back away from the windows. Once he’s less squished, he can see that it was their head teacher who told them off.
“Come on, Mrs. Park, I’m sure we’ll be fine by the window, we can’t see anything inside!” Chenle whines as he passes her and Renjun is quick to put him in a headlock before his teacher can scold him for his behavior.
They file into the hallway that wraps around the training ring. Slowly, they make their way down and towards the stairs that lead into the main lobby of the building.
“I wonder what is going on,” Jeno mumbles.
Renjun is quick to answer, “Experiment gone wrong? They’ve always seen shady to me.”
Donghyuck can picture it in his head, a chemist putting the wrong vial into a mixture and the whole lab going faster than you can say, “Oops,” a new breed of super villain blowing up a tower for vengeance, a genetic abomination of a monster escaping from the bottom floor. At the image of comical destruction, he laughs despite the residual fear that lingers after seeing tragedy.
“Can you imagine that? A whole building going like that because someone screwed up reading the name on a vial?” Donghyuck cackles to the dirty looks his peers give him.
Renjun laughs along, “Sending Team 127 to clean up a chemical spill?”
Him, Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin all silently laugh along but stop as soon as they notice the screens that usually ran announcements are displaying the breaking news.
From the first time Donghyuck had stepped into the lobby of Super Management, he had immediately felt the passion the building held. He had secretly feared the worst up until his first step through the door: that it was a corporation, that it didn’t care for the kids it was raising, that it wasn’t the place to run when you found out you weren’t quite the same as everyone else. Instead, he found a large round lobby with white marble floors and murals spanning the two story walls. All the furniture was decked in ruby red and no matter the time of day it either bustled with trainees or tourists longing to see the next heroes of Neo City or, better yet, the current ones. Donghyuck remembers his first time walking through the large glass doors and seeing the announcements on the screens above the receptionists and the disbelief that he was soon to be a part of that.
The carnage shown doesn’t belong there.
However it was, in some ways, a relief to see it. Something dangerous must have been happening earlier in the day, because the news helicopter footage shows streets hastily cordoned off a good distance from the building. Donghyuck hopes that means that there were less casualties than what a building collapsing would entail, but his mind gets caught on everyone working in the building.
It’s eerily quiet since the screens aren’t equipped with audio. He watches in silence with everyone else as someone from Team 127 swoops in from above, being hastily wheeled in by a grappling hook they shot into the ground of the calming dust. The copter swoops closer, and Donghyuck feels his hair stand on end. The hero is Jaehyun, that’s visible now, and he’s just, standing outside of the rubble. The frustration in the lobby grows palpable, and Donghyuck is sure everyone is just wanting him to dive in and move the rubble. All superhumans, regardless of specialty, have enhanced physical aspects, so Donghyuck knows it’s possible. It makes him want to scream that there’s lives on the line.
But then the rubble moves.
Donghyuck was joking in his head about the monster, but that’s the only way to describe what pushes past the broken building and out into the air. He’s part of the horrified gasp that sweeps the room, but before the abomination of amalgous flesh that rises from the building can run, it’s trapped.
Jung Jaehyun’s specialty is force fields.
A red bubble of fizzy electricity surrounds the animal as soon as it’s completely unearthed, and the relief comes as quickly as the disgust had. Someone else lands, and a rather large cage comes right after. The reaction that follows is localized to his team, but it is as strong and immediate as it is every time they see Lee Mark in action.
With his telekinesis, he hovers the cage around the monster. Jaehyun drops the field as Mark drops the box. As soon as it’s trapped again, Mark uses his power to shove the cage and the beast onto its side, and close the door he had used to let the monster in. The lobby breaks out in cheers, and the footage cuts back to a news commentator.
Donghyuck feels bad for thinking it’s lackluster.
Over the loud speakers, instructions come to head up to the training rooms for further debriefing from the examination, and to proceed as normal with the day. The announcements pop back onto the screens, and slowly life returns to the lobby of Super Management.
His team looks at each other, and they move towards the stairs in a relatively silent mass.
“That’s going to be us one day,” Donghyuck hums to break it.
Jaemin bumps his hip, and they meet eyes with a smile.
“With how our dictator works us to the bone, I would sure hope so.”
Jaemin takes off running just as Donghyuck starts to give chase. He can hear Jeno grumbling about couples in the background, but Donghyuck just lets the happiness of the moment take over.
They are going to be superheroes. He knows the odds are next to impossible, but he swears it’s going to happen. In all the years Super Management has been functioning, they’ve only put out nine super hero teams, and one has been BoA all on her own. When you come to train, it’s a known fact that when they hand you the specialized job you’re guaranteed for training, it’s hardly ever defending the country and the world. Still, Donghyuck has high hopes. He’s done everything to assure their future. He’s kept his team in the top six spots of the rankings every year since the first time they agreed to stick together. Team 127, the premier defense team for Neo City, debuted the day after they were orientated two years ago. They’ve got to finish this year of training and move onto one more, and by then it will be time for another team to come forward. Sure, they won’t be a 127, the group that replaced Girls’ Generation as the top defense team, but they can still kick ass like Red Velvet or SHINee or EXO or any other team that achieves great things in their own way.
He catches Jaemin in the door to the stairs, throwing his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and hauling him backwards with a laugh. Jaemin spins around the moment his feet hit the ground and digs his fingers into Donghyuck’s ribs, forcing pained laughter from him.
Renjun darts up and tickles Jaemin from behind before sprinting away. Jeno’s exasperation in evident, but he still has an easy smile on his damp face. Jisung and Chenle are laughing at them to themselves, and it’s endearing as much as it is obnoxious.
They’re going to do incredible things, and they’re going to do them together.
Donghyuck’s favorite part of evaluations isn’t the elation that comes from coming out on top, though it would be noble to claim it was. Instead, it’s the evening afterwards. Once the adrenaline fades down and the remnants get washed down the shower drain, it’s the warmth and comfort of the tamped down embers of success he looks forward to.
And date night.
It’s an old tradition that begins every evening after at 9:30 at the absolute earliest. Tonight it’s an earlier one, and there’s still a late summer haze of sunset to the air when he takes Jaemin’s hand outside of their door.
Living in the building isn’t required, but it’s provided in training and for the kids who move long distances and the adults that don’t want to pay rent for an apartment near Super Management’s prime real estate, it’s a valid option. There aren’t that many defined rules to living in the building, but the two of them stepping into the elevator past the time explicitly listed on the schedule as “curfew” is certainly frowned upon. But Donghyuck rests his head on Jaemin’s shoulder, and it’s been nearly two years at this point. This is the part that they don’t think about anymore.
The doors open on the empty training floor and they quietly peer around for the rotating night guards, superhumans who’s given job at the end of training was to stay and guard the upcoming generation. Donghyuck’s hand rests on the side of the door, keeping it open, but once the silence remains still they dart out towards the staircase.
The lower floors are the high risk situation, and it’s reflected in the way their hands drop, their footsteps getting lighter and distinctly choreographed. They step out at the bottom of the main stairwell, peer into the lobby. This wait is longer, makes Donghyuck hold longer breaths. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they got caught right now, but it certainly gets more apocalyptic by the step. By the time the security guard near the front door sweeps into the secretaries’ break room, the residual adrenaline from the day is coursing in full force.
Together they push open the door and close it in the same breath. With light feet, they sprint across the now eerie lobby and to the maintenance door on the opposing side of the building. The lock closes silently due to practiced skill and the following sigh of relief is similarly quiet. From beyond the door, the light returns. However, the guard is unbothered and smooth in their motions. The hard part is over.
Donghyuck interlaces his finger’s with Jaemin’s again, and they walk down the plain concrete hallway and the following descending stairs. There, they find the building’s storage and service car bay. They walk up to the exit door of the basement, and Jaemin pulls out the spare key he snatched two years ago and unlocks it easily.
A long time ago Donghyuck was perturbed that there was such an easy way in and out of a secure building, but then remembered that everyone inside the building was enough of a deterrent to keep the most determined criminals away. After that, he felt marginally better about the lax security.
Besides, it gave him nights like this.
Wandering the building after curfew was a slap on the wrist, sneaking out was something significantly more forbidden. Perhaps that’s why it’s the perfect date night activity for them. Whatever. Donghyuck doesn’t care. It’s what he looks forward to every month.
Him and Jaemin race from the underground loading dock and up to street level. They laugh to the night sky and the pleasantly bustling sidewalk and when they turn to a more abandoned and less lit corner, he’s pressed up against night-cold bricks and kissed through a smile.
They get take out from the 24/7 dinner, because Jaemin asks nicely and Donghyuck only likes pretending to antagonize him before 10:00 PM. They eat it on the rooftop of a nearby apartment, because they’ve been partial to rooftops since Donghyuck confessed on one during their first Hero Day celebration as trainees.
Donghyuck’s feet are illuminated by passing cars and he’s warm in his boyfriend’s hoodie, happy.
“Today was a bit closer than I would’ve liked,” Jaemin admits around a large bite of fries.
Donghyuck nods, and grabs some of the same fries in his greasy hands, “I think we’re just rusty, two months off is longer than I remembered.”
He leans his head on Jaemin’s shoulder, and he dips his posture to accommodate the weight. It sends a brief flight of happy nerves through his body and Donghyuck smiles before sticking the fries in his mouth.
Jaemin grabs the last of the fries, and Donghyuck thinks to tease him for a moment but Jeamin tips them backwards the moment the food is gone. Donghyuck lets out a shrill giggle he stopped being shy about months upon months ago, and Jaemin lets out an over exaggerated happy exhale.
Donghyuck looks up at his boyfriend and sees him looking up at the stars. Jaemin is beautiful, and he’s most beautiful when he’s still like this; calm and unbothered to be putting on a show of personality. He loves all the sides of the boy that’s holding him, but he especially appreciates the rarer moments like these.
Jaemin tips his body to him, smiles. He presses his lips to the crown of his head and Donghyuck subconsciously leans into the touch. When he pulls back, his eyes are closed.
“I missed doing this,” Jaemin admits.
“A whole summer of not having to sneak out wasn’t enough for you?”
Jaemin laughs, but keeps his eyes shut, “Nope. Brunch has nothing on midnight snacks.”
Donghyuck must have started grinning at some point, because his smile is starting to hurt, “How funny, I agree with you. I enjoy our dates so much more when I can’t see your face right.”
Jaemin opens his eyes and smacks Donhyuck’s arm playfully. They’re both giggling, and a cold wind blows abrasively over their bodies. Donghyuck shivers, wraps his arms tighter around Jaemin and pulls his legs closer.
“It’s cold,” Jaemin whines, “When do you want to go home?”
Donghyuck pretends to think about it, “When does the building open again?”
“6:00 AM.”
“So, 5:30?”
Donghyuck laughs again as Jaemin raises his eyebrows, “Can I convince you in any way to let me escort you home earlier?”
He hums, taps his fingers along Jaemin’s spine, “Well, I don’t know. Why are you so motivated to cut our date short, Nana?”
A tired smirk runs along his face, “I’m more partial to cuddling you on an actual bed than truly ending our relations here.”
“Oh really? Well than perhaps I can be persuaded to change our venue.”
“Name your price then, sweetheart, I’m willing to do just about anything.”
Donghyuck leans up swiftly, bring his hand up to cup Jaemin’ cheek. He presses a kiss against his lips, slow and sleepy yet still determined. When he pulls away, Jaemin is smiling in the stupidly endearing way he does when no one’s around to see them lovesick.
“Was that all? That didn’t really feel like a hard bargain to me?”
“That was just your down payment, good sir, I’m not done with you quite yet.”
Donghyuck rolls them over and straddles his boyfriend, pressing kisses all over his smiling face before returning to his lips. They sit there in the late summer cold for awhile, trading slow kisses and approaching sleep at a calming pace.
Eventually Jaemin pulls away and tucks a stray piece of hair behind Donghyuck’s ear. Embarrassingly enough, Donghyuck feels his own secret Na Jaemin smile coming out.
“So, are you inclined to carrying out your side of the deal now, babe?” Jaemin asks.
Donghyuck presses one last quick kiss to his flushed lips before pulling away, “Yeah, I’m happy now.”
Jaemin sits up after him, and Donghyuck is the one to help him stand up. They climb down the building’s fire escape and as their feet hit the sidewalk Jaemin grabs Donghyuck’s outstretched hand.
“Hey babe?” he says.
And Donghyuck looks at him, one eyebrow already raised, because nothing good every comes from Jaemin’s mouth when it starts with, “Hey babe?”
“What?”
Jaemin gives him a shit eating grin, “I love you more than anything.”
Donghyuck groans and tries to tug his hand away from his while Jaemin cackles.
“Gross. I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes. I do. I hate you.”
And when Jaemin looks at him, there’s stars in his eyes, which is almost as obnoxiously endearing as what he’s just said. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, but he gets the feeling some galaxies have wormed their way into his too.
They sneak back inside successfully, which does not surprise Donghyuck at all. They sit inside the maintenance door for a good ten minutes before the opportunity arises to sprint across to the stairs. They make it in good time and Donghyuck feels confident in the success of tonight as they climb up the stairs.
That is, until Jaemin stops, tugging Donghyuck back down the step he’s mounted and down to the third floor landing.
Donghyuck whips his head around, because what the fuck does he think he’s doing? Jaemin’s hand flies up in a gesture of restraint, and Donghyuck finds himself staring incredulously at the back of his boyfriend’s head.
“Hey, I love you, but what are we doing?” Donghyuck whispers.
Jaemin points through the porthole window on the landing’s door. Through it, comes a landing that circles the lobby, and the first floor further below it.
“It’s 127.”
Well, that’s a bit confusing. Donghyuck feels his face tense in confusion, they surely shouldn’t be here at half past 1:00 in the morning, not after a rather lackluster encounter with a monster this morning. He finds himself pushing past Jaemin, leaning up to the window himself and peering down to the floor of the lobby where things, admittedly, look a bit tense. Without thinking much, Donghyuck gently presses down on the handle of the door, and eases it open just enough to fit him through. Jaemin follows, and he keeps the doorknob turned as they close the door, allowing it to latch quietly in the doorframe.
Together, they duck down and focus on the superheroes through the posts of the rail.
It’s barely audible. In fact, their conversation is so inaudible it’s meaningless. Honestly, it’s disappointing, and Donghyuck feels a bit pathetic for being so eager to eavesdrop on some strangers’ conversation. It’s still exciting to see people who are essentially celebrities and also his own personal role models, but the shame of being a peeping Tom is very present. Donghyuck grabs Jaemin’s bicep and begins to pull them both up, but Jaemin’s free hand is quicker. Roughly, Donghyuck is pulled back down.
Just as abrasive, Donghyuck pushes his mouth against Jaemin’s ear, “Let’s go asshole, we can’t even hear.”
He turns and lets Jaemin whisper just as small into the shell of his ear, “They’re not all there, look.”
Donghyuck furrows his brow, shakes his head, and holds up nine fingers. He counted briefly in his head when they squatted down, there were all nine for sure.
Jaemin points his head back to 127, leans in again, “One is Mrs. Park. Winwin isn’t there.”
Donghyuck shuffles forward in his squated posture, ignoring the risk of being spotted in favor of curiosity now. He looks with more care and, sure enough, Jaemin’s right. It was hard to see in the thin moonlight, but there is nine figures, not all superheroes.
“Why wouldn’t he be there?” Donghyuck mutters. Beside him, Jaemin shrugs.
Their teacher shakes her head suddenly, and whether it is intentional or not, she speaks in a full voice, “Regardless, the lack of contact and resistance is worrying. It means this has developed into a much more dire situation than we originally anticipated.”
Beside her, Seo Johnny (Seo Johnny, Donghyuck’s mind screams) shakes his head, and responds in a very mild tone of voice. He can’t see from here, but it seems to be nothing calming, everyone’s shoulders hike the smallest bit, Lee Mark rubs his face in a way that isn’t gentle at all. That strange feeling rears up again, that vague familiarity he associates with this particular superhero, but his attention is robbed by the change of body language that comes with Nakamoto Yuta speaking. With the exception of Mrs. Park, a wave of resignation washes over the tired team, and the feeling of voyeurism returns as quick as it was forgotten. Donghyuck turns to Jaemin to suggest retreating now, but a shout disrupts the sentence before it starts.
“Hey! Who’s there!” a deep voice hollers from the floor, and Donghyuck’s heart floors and drops into his stomach when he sees Jung Jaehyun step out towards them.
“Fuck.” Jaemin understates, and they’re gone.
They start sprinting at the same time Jaehyun does below, and the door is much less kind to their retreat than it was to their entrance. They bolt up the stairs, and it seems that the super suits are off because their pursuit comes on foot as opposed to in air. They step out into the training room and run across the floor and into the elevator on the other side, the doors sliding shut as the stairwell opens across from them.
Donghyuck has never been as grateful for the high tech of the building as he is in this moment. The elevator soars at an incredible pace, and when the doors open they sprint through the lobby of the dorms and into their room. Without sparing a beat, they dive into Donghyuck’s bed, breathing heavily. Donghyuck meets Jaemin’s eyes, the same wide fear and exhilaration reflected in them. Jaemin laughs silently, somehow finding humor in the situation while Donghyuck stays stuck on wide eyed disbelief. Jeno throws a pillow at them, mumbling sleepily and tossing over in his bunk. Like that, the tension in his chest breaks, and he takes up laughing as well.
They push their shoes off quickly, and Donghyuck gently pulls Jaemin closer on top of the covers, too hot from adrenaline to climb under his summer sheets. Together they fall asleep, still in street dirty sweatpants and humidity soaked shirts.
Lee Mark, for lack of a better word, is a sore spot with their team.
They were friends for a long formative day, and then he was gone the next.
It goes like this.
Donghyuck walks into Super Management on orientation morning, a band on his wrist from when he put himself into the system the day before. It’s his second time inside, his second day in Neo City, and the first time he starts to get nervous at the prospect of finally joining up, of finally being with his people. His walk to the receptionist is literally short, but figuratively as long as the journey to this exact building was from the countryside. His wrist shakes as he shows her his wrist band, but she’s all gentle smiles as she points him to the elevator behind him.
The ride up to the training floor is long, and he’s crowded in with a bunch of other trainees that look much more happy and much more confident than he does. He takes deep breaths, tries to fake it a little bit, but can feel his front slipping like his mother’s smile when he first jumped to the high branches of the tree in their yard with a single bound.
The doors open, and it’s so alive.
There’s orientation leaders everywhere, holding up signs of colors and hollering with wide smiles. It’s, overwhelming. Very overwhelming. There’s a significantly long moment where the fear rears up and Donghyuck considers the shame of walking back out the door. But. But, he can’t go back. He came so far and he won’t be scared off by the fear of the unknown. He looks down at his wrist and sees his bright green band. Stumbling forward, he makes his way to the kid waving around the color he has, his voice still cracking when he yells too loud.
His approach is slow, and he carefully eyes the five people standing behind his leader and ignores the bright smiles of them when they spot his wrist. Slowly, he walks up and taps the leader on the shoulder. The guy jumps, and the snap of amusement in his chest loosens his nerves.
”Hi, I’m Donghyuck. I think I’m in your group?” he tries to sound confident, but he can feel the cadence of his voice being quieter than what it usually is.
It doesn’t matter, the kids gives him a warm smile all the same.
”Sure looks like it,” and he reaches out to shake Donghyuck’s hand, “Nice to meet you, I’m Mark.”
Donghyuck wakes up to his usual Saturday alarm, which is Jisung and Chenle murmuring in the bunk above his. It’s never Chenle climbing up or Jisung’s whining at being woken, instead it’s the soft conversation of the mid morning.
As soon as consciousness takes hold, adrenaline slams right after.
He takes a few calming breathes, reminding himself that nothing bad has happened yet, that him and Jaemin hadn’t been caught, but he knew deep down that they are in more shit than they have ever been previously.
Donghyuck lays still on his back, Jaemin’s arm still thrown around his waist, and waits for the room to stir awake while his mind pounds away on the consequences of last night. Saturday was the one day of the week there was no schedules, and that was why evaluations were always held on the last Friday of every month. He threads his fingers in Jaemin’s and slips into a sleepy state with his eyes closed.
Some indiscriminate amount of time later, Jaemin shifts closer, squeezes his arm a little tighter. Donghyuck hums lowly, tilting his head more into the crook of his shoulder.
Across the room, he hears sheets shift and a loud yawn, “Good morning,” Jeno says, well aware most of them were awake.
“Good morning, Jeno,” Donghyuck croons, content to finally open his eyes.
“It’s too early, Jeno,” Renjun moans from his bunk, and Jeno slams his foot up to the bottom of his mattress.
Jaemin nuzzles into Donghyuck’s hair, breathes out long.
“Wake up, babe,” Donghyuck whispers, ignoring the room’s typical morning squabbling.
“It’s not too early, it’s nearly 9:30 in the morning!”
“On a Saturday! Can I not sleep in ‘till noon?”
“Renjun, you hate eating lunch as your first meal.”
“I can eat breakfast at any time, Jisung.”
“The cafeteria only does breakfast ‘till 11:00!”
As a pillow goes flying, Jaemin laughs into his hair, and then he sighs again.
“Donghyuck, we’re so screwed,” he whispers, and Donghyuck knows. His heart pounding tells him that he knows.
“I know,” he replies.
“What are we going to do?” Jaemin asks, and Donghyuck is only honed into him, not the quieting of the room.
“Own up if they ask? I’m not sure. I don’t know what the repercussions are, it’s not like we heard anything.”
“Yeah, but we were trying to.”
Jaemin pulls him closer, and that’s when Donghyuck notices the silence. The creak of Renjun’s mattress tells him that he’s shifting, and Donghyuck can’t bring himself to look.
“What did you guys do?” Renjun asks, but it’s not accusatory or exasperated, just genuinely worried.
Renjun is a good friend, and so is Jeno, “Yeah, you guys came bolting inside last night. Did something go wrong?”
Chenle, for once, doesn’t sound teasing, “Got caught?”
After a short pause, Jaemin sits up and Donghyuck pushes himself up right after. Jaemin rubs the sleep out of his eyes, feigning nonchalantness but his lack of eye contact with anyone in the room tells otherwise. It’s okay. Donghyuck gets it. He also doesn’t want to admit that they fucked up.
Jaemin confesses, “So, we saw 127 while we were heading back up.”
“What!” Jisung exclaims, “Where?”
“In the lobby,” Donghyuck answers, “We were on the viewing platform and watched them below. We couldn’t really hear them, but it seems like they were having a really serious talk with Mrs. Park. And they saw us, well, Jung Jaehyun saw us. They didn’t catch us but-“
Donghyuck looks at Jaemin, and he looks similarly downtrodden. Security guards. Cameras. A multibillion dollar skyscraper equipped to protect future super kids. They clearly don’t check it constantly, because they’ve been going worry free for years, but now they will roll back the footage and chase through it for the phantoms in the night. They either know who it was currently, or would know it very soon. No more date nights, no more sneaking out, perhaps real tangible consequences as well. It’s all very frightening.
“They’ll know,” Renjun states simply, and Donghyuck finds himself rubbing his face too.
“Yeah,” and he places his hand on Jaemin’s thigh, “Yeah we know.”
Donghyuck’s nerves peak early in the day, expecting to step out of their room and find President Sooman and a whole flock of guards waiting for him to step into their waiting arms. Instead, it’s normal, so normal it hurts his poor distressed chest. They eat breakfast together, play video games together, draw on Renjun’s face while he takes a nap together. He gets his ass kicked by Jisung in a sparring match, accompanies Jeno to the bookstore down the street, has a really nice day. By the time he settles down with his team and a hand full of other friends to watch a movie, he’s forced the thought of being caught from his mind. If they cared, they would’ve grabbed them by now, right? He rationalizes himself down from the brink of panic as the movie begins to roll, even if his stubborn heart still skips beats out of habit.
The doors to the elevator slide open, and Soyeon pauses the opening scene as Mrs. Park steps into the room alongside another woman Donghyuck has never seen before. Mrs. Park briefly scans their living room lobby, and Jaemin’s hand slips into his.
Her eyes land on his, and she inclines her head slightly, “Donghyuck.”
Fuck.
Spoke too soon.
He stands up calmly, ignoring Jaemin’s fearful glance and the calming hand Jeno runs down his forearm.
“Just Donghyuck?” Jaemin asks with an uneven voice, and Donghyuck wants to slap the self sacrifice right out of him.
Mrs. Park nods, “Yes. Just Donghyuck. Don’t worry, he’ll be back to catch the end of,” She squints at the screen, “Iron Man 2.”
The last thing he hears before the elevator closes is Jisung’s soft voice asking, “Why did that sound judgmental?”
“Shut up Jisung.”
And then the firm quiet.
The unfamiliar woman swipes her ID card, which lights up floors on the elevator that Donghyuck had never seen on before. The panic is creeping back as she hits one of the buttons, and he lets out some of the nervous energy through the tapping of his foot on the floor and the squeezing of his fingers between his hands. The screen displaying the floor number soars up, far higher than any of the trainees have ever been allowed to go. Above the training rooms and the makeshift museum displays. Above the classrooms and medical wards. As far as he knows, above the administrative levels and deluxe penthouses reserved for lobbyists and politicians on extended negotiations. There 83 floors to the Super Management skyscraper, and the elevator finally glides to a stop of floor 71.
The doors pull open, and the floor is only lit by a few emergency lights that hang from scattered spots above empty cubicles. The women step out and start marching across the floor. This whole situation makes Donghyuck feel vaguely like he’s about to die. After a few seconds of watching them walk, his mind finally catches up to his body and he forces himself out of the elevator with inelegant hurry and he sprints up until he’s following just behind them. They turn at the end of the aisle of desks and move towards the Western side of the building. Donghyuck looks out the wide windows and squints against the harsh light of the sunset.
It’s another few silent steps, and then he can’t take it anymore, “Is this about last night?”
Mrs. Park looks at him directly for the first time, and she gives him an expression that feels like smile but much more tired, “No, that incident is circumstantial to why we need you.”
She turns around, and now Donghyuck is more confused, “So Jaemin and I aren’t in trouble?”
This time she doesn’t turn around, “No. Don’t worry about your blatant rule breaking, it’s been stricken from the books.”
Oh my God, what’s happening, “And is the reason for that related to this?”
They reach a door, and the other woman looks back at Mrs. Park. Together, they smile in a way that speaks of knowing more than him.
“Yes, in fact it is,” the other woman says, and pulls open the door.
If Donghyuck hadn’t known something awful was happening earlier, he sure knows now. There’s another person in the room, and it’s President Sooman.
Mrs. Park and the other woman step inside, beckon after him. He steps in, only because he knows that running won’t let him escape. But every part of him screams to not be there, to not enter into this situation. The door closes, and President Sooman ushers him to a seat.
He sits down slowly, prolonging the inevitable, and the President of Super Management sits down across from him. Mrs. Park steps across the room to stand in Donghyuck’s field of view, and so does the unfamiliar woman. Yet as she walks, something isn’t right. It’s as if she’s underwater, her image rippling in the low light of this meeting space. Then, sudden and harsh, her visage falls away like a loose piece of cloth. Donghyuck doesn’t gasp only because his hand comes up to his mouth to conceal his shock. It’s BoA. The original superhero. The chameleon woman who infiltrated the old government and threw the oppressive board of ruler’s from the throne the people wanted torn down. She saved their country from fledgling dictators, a whole era of terror they will never know the horrors of.
This must be serious.
Fuck.
He slowly lowers his hand, ignoring the amusement on BoA’s face, “What’s going on?”
President Sooman shifts forward, “Lee Donghyuck-“
“Yes.”
He laughs, and his cheeks heat in fast embarrassment, “Lee Donghyuck, you are perhaps the most stellar candidate in the whole of our training program, are you aware of that?”
Honestly? No. Not at all. He’s spent so long fighting to be extraordinary that sometimes he forgets that he is. He set the bar for himself at the top, so he’s only ever seen himself just making it or falling severely below. The compliment takes a long moment to sneak past his emotional defenses, and he shakes his head with wide eyes.
“You are,” the president affirms, and this can’t be real, “You have a high level of independence and leadership skills, as well as being highly practiced despite not having shown any signs of a developing a specialty yet. It’s incredible, I can see you holding your own in a fight with some of our best fourth year trainees. I hope you realize that.”
He doesn’t.
“Regardless,” he continues, “that is why we’ve brought you here over anyone else. I would give you more context, but from my understanding, you were one of the two people who were listening in on 127 last night?”
Donghyuck is quick to jump on the defense him and Jaemin have been reciting all day, “We didn’t actually hear anything, we were too far up, we were mostly just caught up in watching people we really respect-“
A laugh cuts him off, and BoA catches her chuckle with her hand. She’s visibly amused, and so is everyone in the room. It feels a bit like being laughed at.
“That’s not what’s important,” Sooman clarifies, “I’m sure you noted their missing member.”
Donghyuck forces himself to relax into the chair and focus on the only person talking, “Yes, Winwin wasn’t there.”
“Indeed. Sicheng has another matter that has required his personal and full attention recently, and for the near future it’s become apparent that he will be taking a brief hiatus from the main defense team.”
It feels shocking, no one has ever taken a hiatus from a team. Left, yes, but an extended term of leave is all but unheard of.
“What’s his mission?” Donghyuck knows he sounds endlessly confused.
“We can’t discuss that with you quite yet.”
Quite yet?
“Any ways,” President Sooman waves the topic away, “The topic of additions to Team 127 has been thrown around since their first mission. They work well together, but agree that they sometimes a bit overwhelmed due to their very specialized skills. Taeyong, Yuta, and Jungwoo are the only ones who can move between battle tasks easily due to their specialties, and because of this they’ve all expressed repeated interest in perhaps adding onto their team.”
Donghyuck freezes, and it feels like the meaning of that information is hitting him square against his forehead and falling to the floor among his feet. He can feel the awareness of its implications around the edges of his mind, but he doesn’t let it get any further, doesn’t want it to mean what it does.
“Now, Sicheng is not available for missions, and we are admittedly coming up on something that may end up resulting in a very large conflict in Neo City, so it only makes sense that now is the time to add on if we ever intend to,” the president stares into his eyes with a steady intensity.
The implications come crashing over him like a cruel wave breaking on his mind.
“Me?” Donghyuck asks, his voice quiet and filled with a special kind of fear that comes from your future taking a firm left turn into someplace completely unknown.
“Yes,” Sooman answers, “You’re incredible, and Mrs. Park and Ms. Kwon here have both assured me that your aspirations were to be a superhero at the end of training, so I’m sure that this news isn’t completely unpleasant to you.”
But it is. Donghyuck looks at BoA, only to find another Mrs. Park standing there, sending him a wink. None of this feels real.
His eyes are stinging a little bit, and he brings forward the problem with this whole situation, “What about my team?”
President Sooman cocks his head in a friendly way that shows that he doesn’t quite understand, “I’m sure they’ll be quite happy for you.”
“No, not that,” Donghyuck rushes out, “I wanted to work with them in the future. We planned on being a team together.”
He sighs, leaning back in his chair, a certain kind of pity in his eyes, “It’s quite possible they will still debut as heroes at the end of training.”
Donghyuck shakes his head, “But is this a permanent gig for me? Could I join them?”
Sooman shakes his head, “This would be your one placement.”
Donghyuck doesn’t answer. Instead, he fights down the scrunching of his face, the cracking of his voice, the panicked voice in his mind that’s telling him this is all wrong. He presses the heels of his palms against his eyes, breathes out slowly. He opens his eyes again, and looks back at the people in front of him. There’s an overall look of pity to everyone, but BoA is the only one who looks truly sad.
“Can I choose to not join and finish my training, would that be okay?” he asks quietly.
President Sooman meets his eyes, “This is what we’re offering you.”
That’s a shot to the heart.
Every trainee knows that sentence, and everyone silently dreads it. You finish four years of hard work and then they lead you into a room after your certificate of completion and tell you what job is best for you, where they would like to place you. That’s the guarantee of training with Super Management, that you will be given a job that pays you above average salary and fits the niche of your specialty. You only get one. No matter if it’s the one you wanted or the one you anticipated, they look you in the eye and tell you, “This is what we’re offering you,” and you either take it or you walk out with nothing but a sheet of paper for your last four years.
This what they’re offering him.
He swipes the tear that starts to creep from his eye, “Can I think about?” because he just wants to delay whatever will follow by a little bit.
Sooman nods, “But we’d like to know by tomorrow morning, we want you training on Monday.”
That soon? But it’s all too soon. Donghyuck nods and stands up. BoA darts forward.
“Here, let me walk you back,” even her voice sounds different than when she was that anonymous woman.
Donghyuck nods, and they are the only ones who leave the room.
Together, they walk quietly to the elevator. Donghyuck keeps his eyes on the floor passing below, the drab grayness of it and how it will be the color he remembers when he thinks of his life changing.
When the elevator closes, it’s more personal than last time. BoA turns towards him, and he’s too exhausted to still be in awe.
“I know this probably isn’t the good news the president thought it would be, I didn’t know you felt that strongly about your team. I sit in on training sometimes, but not enough to see that. I’m very sorry.”
Donghyuck looks up at her, and squeezes his hands harder together, “They’re my family, I don’t really have my first one.”
Most superhumans know what that means, and she nods in understanding, “I just want you to know that this wouldn’t be the end of that. When Mr. Sooman originally proposed the idea of me being some kind of hero like the ones in movies years ago, I had anticipated being on a team with people I considered family in the same way. However, you know what I had to do, it could only be me and me alone.”
Donghyuck nods. She smiles sadly and places a warm hand on his shoulder, “We still talk often. We’re still family. We don’t live together and we don’t see each other constantly, but that’s because I am an adult and I have other responsibilities. Me being apart from them didn’t make them less of my family, it just made me independent. I know that still isn’t what you wanted, but I hope you know that you will still have them even if you are brought apart.”
When Donghyuck meets her eyes, she is Mrs. Park, which is both shocking and not. He nods, and she smiles in a way that seems foreign on his teacher’s face. The elevator doors open, and he steps out into their living space.
The doors close, and Renjun is already on his feet, Jeno and Jaemin look up and move in their own time. His whole team comes up to him, and it becomes much harder to hold back his distress.
“What’s wrong? Do we need to talk?” Renjun asks.
Donghyuck nods, and lets them pull him past prying eyes and into privacy.
He finally lets himself cry as the door shuts.
Donghyuck goes up three floors to the teacher’s offices. He’s still dressed in worn sweatpants and Jaemin’s hoodie, his pajamas from last night. He knocks on Mrs. Park’s door, and lets his eyes rest on the clock that reads 8:23 AM. Her door swings open and he simply nods, she invites him inside.
She tells him then, he’ll be moving out in the evening.
His whole team gets a pardon from the day’s activities, and he walks back down with heavy feet and the time which he will be escorted out of the training dorms for the last time, 7:00 PM. When the elevator lets him back out into the living room, inquisitive eyes follow him into his bedroom. None of them know, and none of them will for awhile.
He looks over his slowly waking team. It’s just them for now.
Jaemin is the only one fully awake, and he makes grabby hands for him from where he sits crisscrossed on their bed. The bed dips as Donghyuck sits, placing his head into the joint of his neck and his shoulder. He ignores the sadness of his boyfriends eyes just like he knows he’ll be avoiding it in everyone’s eyes today. Last night was emotional, to say the least.
Tearful eyes had been rampant when Donghyuck explained what was going on, what it meant for him and them. There was a long silence when he was done. Then there was Renjun.
“Hyuck, you have to do it,” he had said.
Donghyuck remembers shaking his head desperately, but Jeno put an arm around his shoulders and nodded, “Donghyuck, if this is the only way for you to be a hero, you have to do it.”
“You have to,” Renjun had repeated.
Donghyucks gaze had been skittering around the room, and when he saw Jaemin’s calm smile, he had leaned forward and sobbed.
“I don’t want to, I don’t think I’m ready yet,” he got out somewhere along the way.
Jisung was just sniffling, and Chenle rubbed a hand on Hyuck’s back. Jaemin leaned forward, and Donghyuck remembers being glad that Jaemin hadn’t cried yet. His boyfriend stroked a tear from his cheek, and said what Donghyuck has been reminding himself of since then, “BoA was right, we’re always gonna be here for you and in two years, we’re just going to meet you out there. We’ll probably be a lot better than you by then too,” he smiled, “This is what you need to do to get there with us.”
Donghyuck breathes in deeply in the present. He keeps reminding himself that this is right, that it’s unexpected but a gift. It’s just a whirlwind until he settles in, but he will be able to settle in.
He pulls back from Jaemin and frames his hands around his face. Jaemin leans in, and Donghyuck smiles mischievously as he presses his cheeks together instead. Soft laughter escapes Donghyuck when Jaemin just whines as Donghyuck scrunches his face up. He releases him, and then kisses him quickly. Jaemin catches him before he can fully retreat, kissing him again more firmly.
“We’re awake now, stop doing that,” Chenle complains with his morning voice.
Donghyuck pulls back and flips Chenle off on his bunk. Chenle gives it back to him, and it becomes easier to smile.
He looks back to Jaemin, who’s pouting at him. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, smacks Jaemin’s sleep swollen face slightly and ignores his resulting scoff, “Breakfast? And then I need to pack.”
There’s a groan of ascent from the Renjun shaped lump across the room, and Donghyuck fights back the sadness from seeing Jaemin sober in front of him. He still hasn’t cried, but he’s melancholy behind his bright attitude it makes Donghyuck just as down.
Jaemin smiles, but it’s pretty transparent, “Yeah babe, sounds like a plan,” and Chenle gags.
They eat together, dragging a half conscious Jeno behind them the whole way. (“I only function on eight hours of sleep, not six hours of sleep and two hours of emotional turmoil,” he had complained.) When they return to the dorm, everyone’s getting ready to head to the Sunday afternoon training, the small weekend task they are assigned. They walk past and into their rooms, and the attention is getting harder to ignore. Donghyuck hears whispering, sees Yerim and Jungeun in the corner, all the people watching with eager eyes. It’s hard, but he just walks faster.
On his way across the living room, someone’s hand lands on his back and when he turns, he sees Yangyang. He looks painfully reluctant, and Donghyuck stands a little on edge, not really sure how much of the truth he owes someone that is almost a close friend and almost not. He regrets not being able to push their relationship into certain friendship before he leaves.
Yangyang hesitates for a second, visibly rethinking his actions, before meeting Donghyuck’s eyes, “Is everything okay? You all seem a little weird.”
His heart in his chest swells, and he feels so guilty for not trying harder to make a friend, for not trying harder to get to know Yangyang, “Yeah,” he replies, “some weird stuff is happening, but everything’s fine.”
“Okay,” Yangyang swallows, and Donghyuck hates how they’ve both ended up restrained to the awkward fronts they’re putting up as opposed to the boisterous truth he knows they both are, “Um, I know we’re not overly close, but if you do ever need to talk to someone else, I’m a good listener! Even though it doesn’t really seem like it.”
He laughs awkwardly, and Donghyuck smiles genuinely, “Thank you, I hope I get to take you up on that one day.”
And he does, even though he won’t. Yangyang takes a deep breath in and nods, smiling awkwardly. Donghyuck gives him a wave goodbye, and starts to walk away before the emotions can swallow him up again.
Inside his room, Renjun pulls his drawers of clothes out and dumps them all over the floor.
Donghyuck stares at him.
“Thanks.”
Renjun stares back, grinning.
“You’re welcome.”
“Gentlemen, please,” Jeno pleads, dropping two suitcases on the floor.
Renjun and Chenle have both donated a suitcase to Donghyuck’s cause, having an excess of them since they travel home during the breaks between training years. It’s a long journey, but as Renjun pointed out, they have a long time to replace to suitcases while Donghyuck needs some today.
They all plop down on the floor, folding shirts and pants and various articles of clothing that weren’t all too folded to begin with. It’s a nice time of bonding, sitting in a circle talking while filling up bags. Donghyuck places his laptop, his DS, and all of his charging cables in last. Once they zip the bags up they sit on the floor, staring back at the team as hard as they stare to begin with.
Donghyuck sighs, and drops his head onto Jisung’s shoulder, who jumps at the unexpected contact, “I need to put on real clothes, don’t I?”
Chenle snickers and Renjun whacks the back of his head. Donghyuck smiles, grabs the pants and shirt he left out and stands up to get changed. Chenle throws a pillow at his back and groans, but it’s just play, they all get changed in front of each other all the time.
Donghyuck turns back around and unzips one of the suitcases before shoving his balled up sweatpants into the side of them, ignoring Jeno’s affronted noise of protest. He turns and holds up Jaemin’s hoodie to him, but he pushes it back to him.
“What?” Donghyuck asks, shoving it harder, “Take it. It’s yours.”
“Have it,” Jaemin says, smiling, “to remember me.”
Donghyuck presses his lips together into a thin line, “I’m seeing you again, asshole.”
“I know you want it, so keep it.”
He does want it. He really does. So he looks down at it, sighs, and then slips it back over his head. Jaemin smiles up at him, warm and open, and Donghyuck is going to miss them.
It’s 6:40, and at this point Donghyuck realizes why they picked the time they did. Training on Sunday’s starts and ends late, people go directly from training to the cafeteria at 6:50. No one was going to be in the dorm at 7:00.
Donghyuck asks his friends if they’re going to eat, and they all wave him away, which is touching and concerning. The last few minutes are filled with promises to text and to call, that they’ll meet up as soon as Donghyuck’s schedule allows and that he better let them know what superhero life is like every night, including updates tonight. He spends the seconds winding down to the pick up with Renjun’s head in his lap and Jaemin’s arm across his shoulders. Everyone but Jaemin has misty eyes, but Donghyuck is okay with having the sadness in the room. It’s the last time he’ll have to face it.
The door finally sounds with a knock.
They all look up at the door, and he takes a deep breathe in before standing up. He looks down at all his friends, ignores Jisung furiously scrubbing his eyes and his own blurry vision. He grabs his bags.
“See you guys soon.”
And he steps out of the door before them emotion can take his composure. The men on the other side are unfamiliar but unintimidating.
“Mr. Lee?” one asks.
“Um,” he pauses, “Donghyuck is fine.”
The two men smile, and one nods with his head towards to the elevator, “Alright then, let’s be heading up.”
“Up?” Donghyuck asks as they start moving.
“Yes, you’ll be housed in a more secure area of the building for week while you train with your new team,” Donghyuck didn’t like how he phrased that, “Speaking of, can I please have your phone.”
Donghyuck freezes, “No.”
The man steps forward, “Please. It’s a safety precaution. The higher levels of he building aren’t meant to be shared. No one is allowed to have any smart devices or cameras above level 75.”
Donghyuck shakes his head, and the man sighs, “It’s just for the week. We can’t leave until I have it.”
He takes a deep breathe in and a lets it out fast. His phone slides out of his pocket easily, but he doesn’t know how to go without it. He’ll be without his friends and he already promised to update them constantly. They’ll freak if they only get radio silence for a whole week.
“I’ll need to run back and tell my friends something, though,” Donghyuck warns.
The man nods,”That’s fine, just be as quick as you can.”
Reluctantly, Donghyuck sets his old iPhone in the man’s hand, and then sprints back to his room, leaving his bags behind. He pounds on the door, and it’s a long span of time before the door opens again.
And oh, Donghyuck was wrong about Jaemin’s sadness being as bad as his tears. He wasn’t ready for the sight of his boyfriend with red eyes and tear marked cheeks, it send his own tears back up to his eyes and he steps forward into his space,
“Why are you crying?” he demands.
Jaemin wipes as his own face, looking at Donghyuck in confusion, “Why are you back?”
Donghyuck looks back at the room, and there are other tears as well. He won’t dwell on that, can’t dwell on that. “They’re taking my phone for the week. I won’t be able to talk to you for the week.”
“What?” Jisung croaks, and they all start migrating to the door.
“It’s a security issue, but I needed to let you know that you won’t hear from me for awhile,” Donghyuck says, stepping into the small space they’ve made in the room.
“Okay,” Jeno says, “Okay, that’s fine, are you okay with it?”
No, not at all, his voice breaks on his, “Yeah.”
Chenle dives forward and envelops him in a hug, and then everyone else follows. It takes all the self restraint Donghyuck has to not cry with them, and when they pull back it’s the hardest few steps Donghyuck ever takes.
“I love you guys,” Donghyuck says, and closes the door before they have the opportunity to say it back.
He’ll hear it again.
Donghyuck walks back to his escorts, and they have pity all over their features.
“Ready?” one asks, and he nods. That’s all he can do.
When they step into the elevator, one of the men swipes a clearance card on the scanner beside the door, lighting up the levels of the building Donghyuck’s ID doesn’t reach. He figures they’ll be following him all the way. But the doors open on the 74th floor, and Donghyuck is confused when his escorts step out. The man who took his phone presses the button for the 77th floor, and Donghyuck stares up at them with wide eyes. The same man smiles, gives him a small wave.
“Good luck, kid.”
And the doors close again.
The elevator ascends again. Donghyuck doesn’t even know what he’s going up to. At this point, he doesn’t even believe he’s in the same reality as he was five minutes ago. It’s as if the elevator was a door to another dimension that Donghyuck stepped into unknowing. This leg of the trip is much shorter, and Donghyuck waits to know what world awaits him on the other side of this portal.
The doors slide open, and the answer is Team 127.
Donghyuck feels his eyes widen, his pulse race. He’s startled into a step back and that’s when the team turns to look at him from the couch they’re settled on. Strangely, they seem as nervous as he does, which simultaneously makes him feel much less embarrassed and much less at ease. The moment stretches out for a long second, and then Dongyuck steps into the room.
It doesn’t feel real. These are people he has idolized and, if he’s being honest, fangirled over on many occasions. The doors slide shut behind him and he’s standing there in his favorite jeans and his boyfriend’s ratty hoodie. Life is so weird.
“Um,” Donghyuck starts, not sure if he should introduce himself or wait for someone else to start.
Before he can worry about it, Taeyong (LEE TAEYONG, Donghyuck’s caveman mind screams) walks up and proffers his hand. They’re nearly the same height, which destroys Donghyuck’s sense of reality, and when he smiles it seems as generous as it is anxious.
“Hi, I’m Taeyong. Your name is Donghyuck, right?” and Donghyuck starts to ease into the atmosphere as he shakes 127’s leader’s hand.
He nods too fast, tries not to be embarrassed by it, “Yeah, I’m Donghyuck, It’s nice to meet you.”
Taeyong nods, “It’s nice to meet you too.”
From the corner of his eye, he notices Mrs. Park in the corner. Her familiar face does not ease his mind, but she’s an easy location to place his eyes when he doesn’t know where to look.
Out of his peripheral vision, Lee Mark is not eager to meet his eyes. Donghyuck wonders if he’s forgotten. His teacher grabs his attention again, rather quickly stepping forward and reaching for one of his bags.
“Donghyuck, it’s nice to see you,” she greets, “I’d like you to meet your team. We wanted you to use tonight to settle in, but they were insistent on meeting you as soon as possible.”
That surprises him. He didn’t think his arrival would matter so much to them. He was a simple replacement, a necessity to their function. It wasn’t like they knew him.
Doyoung stands up and he can feel his internal memory of Jeno lose its shit. Kim Doyoung is Jeno’s idol.
“It was important,” and Doyoung inclines his head to him, “It’s nice to meet you,” he reaches for Donghyuck’s other bag and his hand flies off it at an inappropriate speed to allow him access.
Mrs. Park’s eyebrows furrow, but she doesn’t say anything. Taeyong nods, Donghyuck meets his eyes and finds them warm, “Yeah, it was important that you got to come home with us and not a bunch of chauffeurs.”
His mind goes spiraling, because that is not what he was told. He was told that he was staying in secure property, not that he wouldn’t want to go to a home but he was escorted up and not down and why did he give up his phone if he was leaving, did he even go with the right people and why would he go to the top of the tower only to come back down-
“Donghyuck is staying in the training suites for the duration of the week, Taeyong,” Mrs. Park clarifies, “We don’t want to make him move all the way out until his placement is finalized.”
Until is placement is finalized?
“His placement is finalized,” Johnny states from the couch, his tone firm and, if Donghyuck were to guess, irritated, “Why can’t he come with us? There’s no one else up here, it’ll be awful.”
“Did they not tell you guys?” Donghyuck quietly wonders aloud, and immediately wishes he hadn’t.
“Oh my gosh, sorry. Was that your request?” Taeyong rushes out.
“No!”
“No, it was a company decision,” Mrs. Park affirms, “and it’s not up for question. He won’t be alone long, you’ll be spending the day together, it’s just the nights.”
“I’m not overly fond of this idea either,” Jaehyun declares from his place in the couch and what the fuck is going on-
“That’s not important,” Mrs. Park states, “You all should be leaving soon. Donghyuck here has had a long day and I want to give him plenty of time to settle him in and walk him through his schedule.”
“Surely we can stay for that,” Doyoung implores, but Mrs. Park shakes her head.
“Leave, boys, it’s not time for you. You’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
Slowly, grumbling, they push their way off the couches. As they pass, they smile at Donhyuck and some of them (namely Nakamoto Yuta) glare at Mrs. Park as they pass. Mark meets his eyes and pauses. He seems to deliberate something for a moment, which makes Donghyuck’s soar in hope, but then he smiles silently and keeps walking. That almost hurts, but for it to Donghyuck would have to admit that he had been anticipating anything.
The room is very quiet once they’re gone, and he is left in his suite alone.
“Come on, Donghyuck,” Mrs. Park beckons with her free hand, “I’ll show you around.”
Johnny was right, it is awful. They review the week’s schedule and his daily expectations in a relatively short amount of time, because Donghyuck has no energy for asking questions. The suite is relatively small, he guesses that floor 75 is the floor where the skyscraper begins to taper to it’s smaller tip. Mrs. Park leaves just after 8:30, and Donghyuck is so tired that he eats the food that was left for him, showers, and hops into his bed as soon as he can.
With all of the lights out and the windows looking out over the Neo City open, he feels disquieted. He turns on the TV to fill the space, but nothing can make a room empty of five breaths feel quite right. Donghyuck tosses and turns for who knows how long, searching for warmth in Jaemin’s hoodie and his too big bed that was for emptier than his twin 70 stories below.
Sleep comes eventually, but the night is already long by the time it does.
He hopes he’ll be a stronger person when he wakes up in the morning.