Chapter Text
"Try not to die today."
Probably a weird way of saying goodbye in the eyes of others, but it was a phrase Choi Beomgyu heard everyday. Without fail. Perks of having a best friend who knew and accepted the dangers of your job – and made sure to point it out every time Beomgyu left the house. Choi Soobin knew how to get his feelings across with a smile on his face, alright. (All of his feelings, even the bad ones.) (Especially the bad ones.)
"I promise I'll try my best," Beomgyu replied sincerely, the corners of his lips twitching upwards when Soobin didn't even look his way and continued scrolling through his phone. Soobin could pretend to not care but Beomgyu knew that the only reason he heard the phrase everyday was because Soobin cared. A lot. As did Beomgyu, because Soobin was the constant factor in his life. The one person who had stuck around when others had come and gone.
"Text me when you get there," Soobin said, still not looking up, now pretending to be more interested in his coffee. "Or give a missed call. There are more chances of seeing you in the news as the victim rather than the reporter for goodness' sake."
"I like that about my job," Beomgyu offered in amusement, hiking up his bag over his shoulder. "Will text you, don't worry. When have I not?"
"Literally yesterday," Soobin deadpanned, looking up at him for the first time in the past five minutes. "I know I'm not your mom but I'm pretty sure I have spent more time with you than her so you owe me at least this much."
"Yes mom," Beomgyu rolled his eyes before landing them on his watch. "Would you look at the time, I'm going to be late. Bye hyung!"
"You always go half an hour early though," Soobin muttered to himself as the door closed; Beomgyu heard it but couldn't bother to open the door and agree and say, 'I would be late to my early record.' Monday mornings are quite tiresome, even for an early bird like Beomgyu.
Fifteen minutes later, he was standing outside the familiar tall granite and glass building that housed some of the best journalists in the whole of Seoul. The security guard nodded when Beomgyu showed his intern ID and let him pass through the glass doors.
Inside, the receptionist was using her extra hands to write down details from three different people while talking on the phone with someone else. A useful power for a job like hers, Beomgyu supposed, a little bit envious but never letting himself dwell enough on it.
Everyone had some sort of power. Those with really useful powers usually had some drawbacks to them so in a way, Beomgyu was quite happy with what he had. His power wasn't useful or useless. It just sat there as a neutral, not helping him out anywhere. And that was fine. He didn't need any powers to take good photos and write even better articles. He was talented enough for that by himself.
Beomgyu took pride in his work, knew that he had to be really good to be taken in for a part-time job at the biggest newspaper company in South Korea when he was just in his 2nd year of university. It felt nice to be acknowledged for your hard-work and skills and Beomgyu knew he had to prove them for their trust in him.
The elevator to the fifth floor was a slow ride, with people trickling in and out at every floor. When Beomgyu reached it, he stepped out with his eyes set for the familiar occupied chair. The mop of blue hair looked up almost telepathically, as if he knew Beomgyu had stepped on the floor and it always left Beomgyu wondering if it was a side-effect of his power. His senior, however, always dismissed it as his radar for the people he loved. (Beomgyu wasn't complaining about being included in that list.)
"Beomgyu!" Kim Taehyung's voice echoed around the entire floor but it was so normal that nobody batted an eyelash at it. Beomgyu made his way to the table and sat down in the chair opposite Taehyung's, who was grinning at him. "You are four minutes late to being early today. What goes on in Beomgyu ville?"
"Just Soobin-hyung nagging as usual," Beomgyu huffed, dropping his bag in the chair next to his. It's not like anyone will come to meet Taehyung at these early hours anyway. "He's more worried about me than my mom, but what's new in that?"
"Cut him some slack," Taehyung said, flipping through a folder. "He has had to take care of a child since you were both 6."
"Hyung!" Beomgyu whined, pouting at him. "I'm not a child! And I'm not saying he shouldn't worry, I know it's an ingrained routine for him now, just that he needs to tone down the nagging. He doesn't like how I keep putting myself in danger for the job."
"Well, somebody does need to tell him that that's the fun part of being a journalist," Taehyung said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, looking up at Beomgyu. "I know you'll be here only for an hour today so let's get to work quickly. I have some good news! Guess what it is?"
"You got the permission to interview the sidekicks?" Beomgyu guessed from Taehyung's barely restrained excitement.
"Well, not exactly," Taehyung huffed, waving his hand lightly. "I am hoping that we will get the permission today. I sent the proposal to Jin-hyung, and you know he loves us. He will try his best to get it for us, so there's a 90% chance that the job is in our hands already."
"What's their problem with sidekicks anyway," Beomgyu grimaced. "There are like, at least 3 articles on RM everyday. And at least one on The Shard. But shouldn't we also give the same attention to Scavenger, Matryoshka and The Shield?"
RM was South Korea's biggest superhero. He had so many saves under his belt that the country was in debt to him for all the people he had saved and he rightfully had people appreciating him. The Shard was the upcoming superhero, still learning to navigate around his job, a new and young hero, but with promising potential.
Scavenger and Matryoshka were RM's 'sidekicks'. They were the decoys, the distractors, the ones who stalled the time, the ones who fought when RM went down or was busy somewhere else. They were the ones pulling the civilians out of harm while RM was busy fighting the villains. In a world where powers exist, of course there will be those who will misuse what they are born with.
The Shield was The Shard's sidekick. They were a duo, unlike the trio of RM, Scavenger and Matryoshka. 'The Shard & The Shield' was what they were called. It had a nice ring to it, in Beomgyu's opinion. Also a good play of words on their powers– the Shard could make, break and bend ice while the Shield could make all different sorts of shields to protect the civilians or the Shard and himself.
"We should, we should," Taehyung nodded with a determination in his eyes. "They deserve to be appreciated too. I really can't believe the underwhelming amount of articles and interviews they have had, it's almost like people treat them like side-characters or worse, background ones. I hope that our segment on them would be a sort of game-changer, shed some light on who they really are."
Before Beomgyu could respond with just as much enthusiasm, the familiar voice of Kim Seokjin came from behind him, making him jump up and bow down to him.
"Taehyung– Beomgyu, why are you bowing again?" Seokjin frustratedly made him pull up. "Goodness me, I told you that you don't have to bow every time I come across you. Stop doing that please. Now, let me share the good news. I got you the permission to write that segment on Scavenger, Matryoshka and the Shield. Front page bottom half guaranteed."
Taehyung jumped up from his seat, whooping in happiness as he pulled Beomgyu into a hug, the younger boy hugging him back in just as much excitement. Beomgyu knew that Seokjin would get them the permission, but front page? That was huge! Especially for Beomgyu, who wasn't even a full-time employee of the company. He would be writing for a front page article.
He blinked in shock when Taehyung finally let him go. Inside, he felt the pressure and the excitement clash at the prospect and didn't know what kind of face to make on the outside. He settled for a wide smile to satiate Seokjin for now. If he showed his inner turmoil, he was showing that he wasn't mentally prepared. (He really wasn't.) But he will have to fake it until he makes it because Beomgyu wasn't ready to give up on his dream come true.
Seokjin ruffled both their hairs, his own purple hair shining under the floor lights. Beomgyu looked up at him in awe before bowing and thanking him for the opportunity over and over, which made Seokjin whine about how Beomgyu made him feel old with all the bowing. Taehyung burst into a fit of giggles at that.
When Seokjin had finally wished them luck and given them a deadline of 2 weeks, he walked back into his office, leaving the two of them alone. Taehyung made Beomgyu sit and gave him a glass of water.
"Excited?" He asked, looking at the younger with a fond smile. Beomgyu sipped the water before answering.
"And nervous," he added. He could be honest with Taehyung, Taehyung wouldn't judge him at all.
"It's your first time being given such a huge task, of course you will be," Taehyung murmured gently, patting Beomgyu's hand from across the table. "Don't worry, I know you'll do great. Obviously, since you're an intern, your article will go through me first, then Seokjin-hyung then the higher-up editors. And although I want to, I can't entrust you with a lot of the segment because it might only get rejected and crush you. So, I want you to cover the Shield. From the photos to the interview, I'm entrusting everything about him to you. I will tackle Matryoshka. And then, we will do Scavenger together. You can get his photos, I will write the article and the interview. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir," Beomgyu nodded, his seriousness pulled up. He didn't expect much but he was going to have so much involvement that it was more than enough for Beomgyu. He will do well with what he has.
"You know what to do," Taehyung paused, pulling out an empty folder and handing it to Beomgyu. "Do your homework thoroughly. Read up on every article, every interview the Shield has had before this. Make sure your questions aren't repetitive, that they are new and show something new and unique about the Shield. Send them to me so that I can approve them along with Seokjin-hyung. Once you get the approval, make sure you stick out and get the Shield's attention and get him to answer you. And, I know I say that it's the fun part, but try not to get yourself involved in the danger too much, okay? You're young, I don't want you to hurt yourself for your dream."
Beomgyu kept nodding like a bobblehead doll, his attention rapt on every word that Taehyung spoke. He was going to prove his worth, show them that their faith in him was found. The way Taehyung smiled at him, Beomgyu knew that Taehyung was sure he would do exactly that.
✿
"... isn't sure if he should pick this topic but I'm telling him no," Soobin paused in his rant when his watch beeped, a sign that he was called to work. Beomgyu looked at him in question as Soobin got out his phone and frowned at the text messages. "There's trouble downtown, some villain came up. Goodness, why do they need to misuse their powers like this and give me more work?"
"They're fighting now?" Beomgyu asked, intrigued. If the Shield would be there, it's a good time to catch him and get an interview. Beomgyu didn't have any classes right at the moment anyway and he was going to go to his company but this was work so it would be understood.
"Not really," Soobin sighed, pocketing his phone. "The message went to everyone at the same time so that means that the Shard and the Shield must be on their way to the spot as we speak. So the fighting will commence soon. Which means I still have some time, so do you want to grab an ice-cream before I leave?"
"Here," Beomgyu produced a gelato out of thin air and thrust it into Soobin's hand, who looked at him with wide eyes before taking off running. "Thanks for the information hyung!"
That was his power. He could make gelatoes out of thin air, nothing more, nothing less. Not really a super useful power, but at least it guaranteed that Beomgyu would never become a beggar. He could always start an ice-cream shop with his powers. Except, he really liked journalism and he would do anything he could to become one.
Even if it meant running all the way to the bus stop and catching a running bus to downtown Seoul just so he can catch an interview with the Shield. Even if it meant running smack dab in the middle of the fight scene, watching as the villain dodged the Shield's heavy metal shields and Beomgyu watched them break chunks of buildings before they rounded like a boomerang and went back into the Shield's hands.
There weren't many people out on the streets, and those that were, were running away in terror. Beomgyu walked towards the scene, trying to hide himself behind the cars and sticking close to the walls of the buildings. There were people inside the buildings who were shooting the fight on their phones and Beomgyu could see them through the glass.
They were scared and unsure, like they didn't trust the Shield to protect them. Beomgyu guessed that the Shard might be running a bit late because he couldn't see the blue-haired superhero anywhere close by. Also coupled with the fact that nothing seemed to be frozen or iced, which was proof that he really hadn't appeared yet. Which meant that the Shield was stalling until he reached or trying to deck the villain out before the Shard reached.
There was a lot of dust around Beomgyu, evident from the crashing and falling debris. He internally winced at the amount of work Soobin would have to do along with his team. Clearing up the messes that the villains and heroes created was too hectic a job but it was necessary. Beomgyu inhaled sharply as a chunk nearly fell on top of him. He really shouldn't stay around too close, so Beomgyu pulled out the camera from his bag, tiptoeing around the walls to find a spot to take photos from.
This might be the dumbest and most dangerous thing he had ever done but his career lied on this. And he trusted the Shield to protect him if something happened; Beomgyu could scream loud enough for everyone inside the buildings to hear him too. He pushed his camera to his face, hands tightening around it so that it doesn't fall and get smashed into chunks– the company may have given it to him with zero restrictions but he really couldn't afford to break it.
Beomgyu followed the fight, trying to get a photo but both the villain and the Shield were making quick movements. The villain seemed to have the power of telekinesis because he was moving the broken rubble and throwing it at the Shield. The sidekick ducked and dodged them all, sometimes creating a shield when the debris flew close to the glass windows where people were watching from.
Beomgyu clicked photos regardless, hoping that at least some of them might be able to capture the fight clearly. His movement got attention from the villain guy, whose eyes narrowed at the sight of Beomgyu.
Well, shit.
Beomgyu pulled down the camera from his face, grimacing as the villain smirked. He needed to run before the guy caught him. The Shield seemed to realise that the enemy had spotted something and he saw Beomgyu too. Beomgyu couldn't figure out the expression on the Shield's face due to the mask he wore but he was sure it wasn't a happy one.
The villain picked up a large chunk with his powers and before Beomgyu even realised it, it was flying towards him. This was it, the moment Beomgyu either died by crushing under building rubble or the moment he was saved by a hero. (He wanted to be saved at the moment, he wasn't ready to die yet.)
Beomgyu squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the hit that never came. He opened his eyes to find the Shield standing in between, a translucent blue shield surrounding the two of them in a dome. He seemed to be focusing on the side where the debris was gashing against the shield. Beomgyu watched in awe at the sight, his hands picking up his camera subconsciously as he clicked photos from inside.
A large ice cube hit the villain on the side, causing the debris to fall too. The Shard was here. The Shield let up the focus but didn't drop the dome like shield and turned around to face Beomgyu. Before he could say anything, the black-haired boy flashed him a grateful smile.
"Thank you so much for saving me!" He said brightly, jerking his head towards where the Shard and the villain guy were throwing debris and ice cones at each other. "You're really cool. I wanted to know if it's possible for me to interview you after you're done fighting him? I would really appreciate it!"
"Wh…," the Shield seemed to be speechless at his words before he sighed. He ran a hand through his red hair and for a moment, Beomgyu wondered if he was going to pull his own hair out. He wasn't that bad, was he? "I really can't believe you journalists. Is this really worth getting your ass in danger? Do you know how worried we get because there's a chance we can't protect you completely? Stop pulling yourself into such situations. Why can't you ask us normally after the fight, huh? I won't say no if you asked it then!"
And before Beomgyu could process and formulate a response, the shorter hero clicked his fingers to make the dome disappear and ran right back to where the Shard and the villain were. Beomgyu watched him in shock before a car flew to his right, reminding him that he was still very close to the spot where the action was taking place.
"Right," Beomgyu mumbled to himself, running inside the first building he saw. It seemed to be some company because there were people scattered around the lobby, though most of them were hiding behind the reception counter. They looked at Beomgyu in fear until they realised that he was just an ordinary 20 years old and sighed in relief. Beomgyu gave them a small smile before turning his attention to the fight.
After the fight, the Shield said. Well, Beomgyu will ask him for the interview after the fight then. He agreed to say yes then, right?
While the Shard and the Shield took care of the guy, Beomgyu quietly went through the photos he had managed to take. The one from inside the dome shield came out really well and he had also managed to get one that had the Shield throwing a punch to the guy's face. He was satisfied with the photos– now he just needed to get the interview.
Fifteen minutes later, the telekinetic guy was knocked unconscious and the Shard had placed ice handcuffs on him as he dragged him to the police that were waiting for them to be done. Beomgyu ran out of the building, searching for the Shield, who hung back and watched the Shard dump the villain unceremoniously in one of the police cars. Reporters were hounding around the cars, shoving their mics towards the Shard and yelling out questions.
Beomgyu wondered how the Shield expected him to do that. He couldn't imagine ever being in that position– it was obviously so much better to interrupt a fight and ask for permission! He sighed and walked over to the Shield, ready to ask him again but the Shield didn't see him and turned around, looking ready to leave.
It was a sort of reflex action for Beomgyu; he just created a scoop of gelato and threw it at him. It hit the Shield right in the back of his head. The action made him freeze and he turned around. Beomgyu, realizing what he had done, just stared at him with wide eyes for two seconds before–
"You said you'll say yes if I ask you after the fight!" He said with a grin, trying to hide his nervousness about the whole gelato in his hair thing. And of all things, he had made mint chocolate ice-cream. The Shield touched the back of his hair and gently pulled out the glob of ice-cream, looking at it in what Beomgyu hoped was not anger. "Can I get an interview?"
His voice came out small despite his original show of confidence. He couldn't blow this up. It was his one chance at proving himself and he had ruined it by throwing mint chocolate ice-cream at the Shield. (Yeah, his bad luck was definitely way too bad.)
He expected the Shield to be angry but what came was something he would never have thought of.
The Shield started laughing. That momentarily shocked Beomgyu, who had never heard the Shield laugh before. He had watched and read every article available on the Shield, every interview he had ever had and the Shield hadn't laughed in any of them. Beomgyu wasn't sure if this was the first time he had ever laughed in his Shield outfit but it was definitely the first time he had heard him giggle.
And Beomgyu knew that the voice was altered so that he and the other civilians wouldn't be able to recognise him, but there was something really special about the way he laughed and it made relief spread in Beomgyu's chest. It didn't seem to be a mocking laugh, but a genuine one.
"I just have one question," the Shield wheezed before stopping his laugh and clearing his throat. "Do you like mint chocolate?"
"Ew no, I don't like it!!" Beomgyu said automatically before realising that the Shield might actually like mint chocolate. He faltered, "Un- unless you like it? It's okay, um, I didn't mean it badly–"
"I hate it," the Shield snorted. Beomgyu assumed that he must be smiling under the mask because that's what his voice felt like through the mechanised autotune. "Alright, I'll answer your damn interview. Not here though, there's people coming out. Plus Soo– I mean, all this needs to be cleaned up too, so we should go somewhere else. Does the top of that building work for you?"
The Shield pointed to a building to Beomgyu's left. It was ten floors tall and the sturdiest out of them all. Beomgyu also observed that it seemed to be the only one with no damage or falling chunks. Works for him. He nodded at the Shield, just relieved that he had agreed to the interview. Everything felt like a fever dream to him.
"Well, come here then," the Shield beckoned him closer. Beomgyu stepped nearer to him unsurely.
"Why?"
"So that we can go up," the mechanised ‘duh’ tone wasn't missed by Beomgyu but before he could comment on it, the Shield had created a circular shield parallel to the road horizontally. It was dark blue and reminded Beomgyu of a trampoline. "Grab onto me tight, and if you're scared of heights, just close your eyes. It's safe, I promise."
Trampoline shields. Beomgyu had seen the Shield use it before on some of the YouTube videos of his fight scenes. It was basically a really strong stretchy shield that bounced back whatever was thrown at it– and the Shield used it to jump to higher places.
The thought of being able to actually jump on it sent a shiver of excitement down Beomgyu's spine. He looked at the Shield with the brightest beam on his face and said, "I'm not afraid. Let's go!"
He grabbed onto the Shield's left hand but the Shield laughed breathily before gently tugging his arm out of his grasp and instead putting it around his waist. The action made Beomgyu flush, as the Shield's grip tightened and he easily lifted Beomgyu onto the trampoline shield.
Beomgyu was gay. Very, very gay. And the Shield was, well, he was a lot of things. He was rumoured to be around Beomgyu's age. He was well-built (as Beomgyu could confirm for real now, feeling the arm muscles tightened around his back) and he was most probably a good person since he was a hero's aide. So yeah, Beomgyu was just momentarily appreciating the muscles and swooning like a fan about the fact that he was literally in the Shield's arms. Sue him.
He subconsciously reached for the camera hanging around his neck with his left hand, the right one clutching onto the Shield very tightly. They jumped and Beomgyu was flying but he was focused on not letting his camera fall as he took another photo as they ‘flew’. Beomgyu savoured the short but sweet moment as he felt the air whip around his face, letting himself bask in the moment to realise that this is probably the only time in his entire life that he would ever get close to the feeling of flying.
Before he knew it, they landed on the building's empty terrace and the Shield let go of him. A twinge of disappointment flashed through Beomgyu but he chose to simply smile at the Shield and said, "Thank you for the ride. And, I'm sorry about the ice-cream. I didn't mean to do that, it was a reflex action."
"Do you always carry around ice-cream to throw at people?" the Shield said, sounding like he was silently laughing under his mask as he walked over to the empty bench on the terrace. Beomgyu briefly wondered if he should just tell the Shield what his power is but decided that even if the other is a hero's aide, it's still a bit risky considering the nature of Beomgyu's power.
"Sort of," he mumbled, before pulling out the mini-notebook in his pocket and flipping it open to the small list of questions he had jotted down for the slightly shorter man. He eyed the red hair and wondered if the hero was any of the redheads he had come across before but the Shield patted on the space next to him for Beomgyu to sit so Beomgyu paused his thoughts to hurry up and sit down. "Um, anyway, I have a few questions I want you to answer, so we should do that now."
Beomgyu pulled out the pen Taehyung had gifted him on the first day of his internship. It had a button, which when clicked, started recording audio and was useful to quickly get interviews done. Beomgyu pressed the button and looked at the Shield expectantly. The red-haired hero nodded, straightening his shoulders as if Beomgyu was going to video record him.
"If you find any of my questions to be crossing a boundary, just say so and I won't ask you that," Beomgyu smiled gently to let the other know that he wasn't interested in forcing him to say anything outside of what he wants to. "Or you can just answer what you want to answer and I can turn my question around to suit that. Is that okay?"
"Okay with me," the Shield confirmed, looking at him through the black circles on his mask. Beomgyu couldn't see his eyes but he was aware that the other was watching his every move and that made him nervous for some reason. He cleared his throat to himself before plunging into his first question.
"Did you choose to become a sidekick because of your powers or did you have to become one because of them?" Beomgyu asked, hoping that he worded it correctly. It could be confusing and the Shield was quiet for a few seconds which made Beomgyu even more nervous but before he could try to explain his question, the other boy answered.
"Both I suppose," he shrugged, speaking a bit slowly as if he was thinking over his words while speaking them. "Being born with the power to make shields of various materials has of course been useful to me to protect myself. It was also easy to protect those I loved with my powers so growing up, it's something I have learned to be proud of and find happiness in. While being a hero wasn't the first career path I thought of, it certainly made more sense as I started understanding the nature of my own power. I think it's a power made for a sidekick, because it allows me to protect the citizens. As a result, it was the job that fit me perfectly."
"I see," Beomgyu shifted in his seat, wondering if protecting everyone really was worth all this but he didn't voice it out. It was not a question he could ask the Shield directly when he was just new at his job. "What is your relationship with the Shard outside of work? We have noticed the balance between you two and the teamwork with which you handle all the villains."
"We are friends," the Shield said, seemingly smiling again. "It is a friendship in all senses because our lives are quite similar. And while we may have gotten to know each other because of our jobs, it certainly creates a lasting bond when you're trying to not get you and your partner killed."
He laughed towards the end of it, probably finding the situation funny but Beomgyu internally felt empty about having to worry like that for Soobin's life. He couldn't imagine the courage it took to constantly have the lives of his loved ones in danger. Somehow, his respect for heroes doubled in that moment.
"Uh, right!" Beomgyu shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts before asking the next question. "What's the part of your power that you like the most? And the part that you don't like?"
"The part I like?" The Shield placed his right knee on his left before he answered the question. "That I have so much flexibility with the material. You saw the trampoline shield I made; it's a power that can protect and be fun at the same time. It certainly has its perks. As for what I don't like, I don't think there is anything. It doesn't lack anything that I could need and it works so well for me that I wouldn't change it for any other power in the world."
"That must be nice," Beomgyu smiled faintly at that, wondering what it must be like to love your power so much. His own was not really useful and it frustrated him at times but the Shield had a really amazing power that could be used in both defence and offence.
"What's your power… er, I don't know your name?" The Shield admitted, looking at him in question.
"Beomgyu," he replied, looking down at his notepad and wondering if he should tell him. "I… don't have a very useful power but it's something I suppose. I don't love it or hate it."
"I see," the Shield nodded, seemingly thoughtful and Beomgyu wondered if his vague answer was off-putting. It was common to not reveal your powers unless to someone close because people can take advantage of your weaknesses but heroes didn't have that freedom. Their powers were put on display for the entire world to see so if the Shield wanted Beomgyu to be just as honest then it would be sensible from his perspective but Beomgyu was just scared.
"Um, just 2 more questions," Beomgyu said hurriedly as he watched the Shield check his watch. "What are your thoughts on being a sidekick? Have you ever wanted to be the hero or felt underrepresented because of the title?"
It was the most conflicting question Beomgyu had asked yet and he was worried that it might anger the Shield but he simply thought for a few seconds before answering again.
"I like it," he said, a bit more drawn out as if he was cautious of Beomgyu. "I certainly do like being a sidekick. While I can see why you would think that I would want to be the face of the duo or want to be the main, it's simply not in my nature I suppose. I don't like having the attention on me all the time while the Shard is comparatively much better with attention. We fit our roles perfectly in that sense. I suppose sometimes I do feel underrepresented because as the sidekick, I'm not credited as much as I probably should be for the things I do, but it's not something I take to heart. Maybe because I don't really care about the credit but rather that lives were saved and criminals were punished."
It was a better answer than Beomgyu was expecting. It surprised him and he let the other know about how impressed he was through his face. The Shield was young, but he was obviously very mature and thoughtful and Beomgyu liked that quality in people. He knew the power in his words and wasn't afraid or careless with it.
"That's a wonderful way to look at it," he said quietly, smiling shyly at the other. "Lastly, is there anything you want to say to the citizens of Seoul?"
"Yeah," the Shield straightened up again, facing Beomgyu directly this time. "I would like to tell them two things. The first is that, while we are still learning and are new to this, you can trust us to protect you no matter the situation. We will always try our level best to keep you all with your families intact at home and happy. Secondly, I would like to apologize to the few who have lost their loved ones due to the fights with the villains.
"We try our best to minimize the casualties as much as we can but sometimes it's not possible. And we try to save everyone but some lives slip past us. A hard lesson that I have learnt is that you can't save everyone. But you can try and I promise you all that we are trying our best. Our apologies might not make any difference to the lives that we have already lost but I hope that you will find it in you to forgive us for not being able to save them."
The Shield's words crashed on Beomgyu as he realized just how much guilt weighs on the heroes that have to go to any lengths to stop the chaos from happening. He could hear the vulnerability and sincereness in the Shield's voice as he spoke the words and it somehow made something heavy sit in his stomach.
There was silence for a few seconds before the Shield suddenly perked up, as if listening to something. He didn't say anything for the few seconds that Beomgyu watched him curiously before turning to face him again.
"I unfortunately have to cut our chat short here, Beomgyu-ssi," the Shield said, standing up. Beomgyu shook his head as he followed suit and smiled at the red-haired boy. He felt so much more human after a chat like this, almost like the pedestal they gave the heroes doesn't really exist but Beomgyu knew that they deserved that pedestal.
"Thank you for answering all my questions and putting up with me," he said, smiling brightly at the Shield. He put a hand behind his back and asked him, "What's your favourite ice-cream flavour?"
"What?" The Shield seemed amused and bemused at the same time but Beomgyu continued to give a wide-eyed expectant look so he answered unsurely, "Cherry flavour."
"Cute," Beomgyu mumbled, wondering if it had something to do with the fact that the Shield looked like a cherry with his red hair. He made a scoop of it appear in a cup behind his back before presenting it to the Shield, who looked surprised at it. "As an apology and a gift."
"How did you–?" The Shield shut up mid-way and took the cup from his hand. "Is that your…?"
"Maybe," Beomgyu shrugged with a teasing smile. "Or maybe I just know magic."
"So you're pretty and you know magic," the Shield's comment made Beomgyu's ears burn but before he could say anything back the Shield suddenly shouted, "No! Shut up, I swear you're getting a beating when I come back, Peng. Now I look like an idiot talking to thin air."
"Um, no, it's okay," Beomgyu said in slight bewilderment. Maybe he had in-ears or something. "I thought you had to leave?"
Before the Shield could respond, a flash of blue landed next to them on a slide of ice. The Shard ran a hand through his hair as he walked over to the two, clicking his fingers to make the ice disappear.
"Are you done flirting with pretty boy over here?" the Shard grinned as he slung a hand around the Shield's shoulder, who looked down, groaning. "You're late and you will need to write an apology letter. Didn't peg you as the type to break rules for pretty boys but whatever sails your boat. Now come on, let's– is that mint chocolate ice-cream in your hair?"
"Oh."
There was silence for a few seconds as the Shard looked at his hair in amusement.
"It's sort of a long story," the Shield shrugged and pushed him. "I'll tell you later when we're not running late. Come on. Goodbye, Beomgyu-ssi!"
And then the Shield pushed them both off the side of the building, making Beomgyu gasp and run across the terrace to look over the edge and find them surfing across a slide of ice.
Did the Shard and the Shield both call him pretty just now?
✿
Beomgyu couldn't stop thinking about him.
He wasn't ever a fan of any hero before so it was surprising for him but if he had to be a fan of someone, the Shield actually seemed like a good start. While the Shard had accused the Shield of flirting with Beomgyu, it didn't feel like that to him. He had felt mostly comfortable with him, enough to risk exposing his powers to the red-haired sidekick. It meant something to Beomgyu.
When he had returned back to his apartment, he was unexpectedly met with silence. He thought that Soobin would be ready to murder him alive or something but the apartment was void of the taller blue-haired boy. Until he remembered that Soobin was probably at work, and pulled out his phone to see 15 missed calls and 7 messages from him.
Beomgyu made sure to answer every single one of the texts and added an extra text asking him to not worry because Beomgyu is completely fine. Soobin saw the messages but did not reply so Beomgyu thought a little bit before adding that he has a tub of ice-cream ready as an apology for worrying him. That was responded with a smiley face so the black-haired boy relaxed and finally turned to his computer.
He had an article to write, but before that, he had a hero to look up.
For the next hour, Beomgyu scrolled through everything that was there to know about the Shield. It felt like a character study of a weird sort except Beomgyu was just interested in finding out all the tiny details he could find before deciding whether he is a fan or not.
He didn't hear the keys and the door opening and jumped in shock when a cold hand rested on his shoulder. Soobin pushed his damp, sweaty blue hair out of his eyes to look at Beomgyu with raised eyebrows.
"What are you doing?" He asked, his eyes resting on the computer where a YouTube video called ‘The Shield's 10 best fight scenes’ was playing. Beomgyu knew that Soobin knew him better than he knew himself and there wasn't any point in hiding things but he felt that it was too early to tell Soobin about his little celebrity crush on the Shield so he just sent Soobin a dazzling smile.
"Looking up on the Shield before I get down to writing the article," he responded with a half-truth. Soobin seemed to search his face for something before he rolled his eyes and let go of Beomgyu's shoulder.
"You're making dinner tonight for all the stunts you pulled," Soobin said with narrowed eyes. "And don't think that I don't know about what you did to the Shield. Mint chocolate, really?"
"It was an accident!" Beomgyu huffed, pausing the video before pushing himself away from the table to get up. His joints groaned after the sudden movement and Beomgyu mentally noted that he should probably join the gym or something but he knew he wouldn't actually do it. (Gyms are full of muscly people that make you feel inferior about yourself, okay?) "You know I'm used to throwing mint chocolate at you when you irritate me!"
"Thank goodness no one caught it on camera and I just know because I was there when it happened," Soobin ignored his words in favour of reminding the younger boy that he had almost revealed his power to the entire world. "I can't stop stressing how important it is for you to be careful with your powers, you dumbass. What if someone learns and attacks you because you're an easy target?"
"I have my personal 6 foot bodyguard," Beomgyu grinned cheekily as he made his way to the kitchen to make dinner as his punishment. He patted Soobin on the shoulder in a way that was both a ‘sorry’ and a ‘thank you’. "I think I'm doing alright."
Beomgyu wrote the article that night after dinner in one sitting. It took him three hours of slaving over the correct words to describe what he wanted to say and to edit what was already written into something that sounds unbiased and natural. He would have continued to work more if Soobin hadn't forced him to go to bed.
The moment he crashed on the bed, he was out like a light and the sight made Soobin smile to himself. To Soobin, Beomgyu was like his troublesome twin. His other half that ran ahead of everyone but never let go of Soobin's hand while doing so. And Soobin made sure to let him know how much he appreciated that through little things like caring for him.
✿
There was a lump in his throat.
Beomgyu anxiously tapped his foot lightly on the wooden floor of the university library as he tried to highlight the main points in his textbook but the nervousness inside him was making it hard to pay attention to that.
He had submitted his article after a whole day of stewing over where it could be lacking and had made Soobin read through every single one of his rewritten versions. ("Beomgyu, you just changed one line.") ("I know, it's very important, so just tell me how the article feels now.")
And then he kept messaging Soobin all day because Taehyung was going to mail him whether it was good enough or not and that was nerve-wracking. A column on the front page and half a page inside the newspaper for Beomgyu's article? It was beyond anything he could have dreamt of so early in his life.
"You're not allowed to call or text me until you receive the news," Soobin had said before cutting off the phone when Beomgyu had called him before reaching the library.
Currently, it was nearly 2 in the afternoon and Beomgyu hadn't been able to have lunch due to his nerves. He kept looking at his phone every two minutes in anxiousness until the phone pinged and Beomgyu scrambled to open the mail. His eyes ran over the subject and the words with lightning speed.
He did it. His article was approved by both Taehyung and Seokjin. Just a few minor edits and it was ready.
Beomgyu's hands flew over the phone tab and pressed a call to Soobin immediately. His phone was switched off so Beomgyu hurried to pick up his books and stuffed them into his bag before rushing out of the library. He dialled his mom to let her know about the confirmation while trying to frantically run past people without bumping into them.
She picked up and Beomgyu was half-yelling as he excitedly told her about the confirmation, hearing the blood thunder in his ears as he ran faster than ever– until he bumped into someone and nearly fell flat on his face if it wasn't for the stranger's arm catching him.
He looked up to find a red-haired wide-eyed boy looking at him in shock and whispered an apology to his mom before hanging the phone.
"I'm so, so sorry!" Beomgyu said hurriedly, looking over the other guy in concern. "Are you hurt? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you so hard."
"N- no, it's fine," the boy said, snapping out of his own shock when Beomgyu bowed down. "Don't worry, I'm not hurt. Just be careful and don't run like that."
"Thank you," Beomgyu flashed him a wide smile, unable to let even this dampen the excitement running through him at his dream come true. "I really am sorry once again!"
And then he was back to running, but this time slow enough to make sure he doesn't bump into more people. He had to get to Soobin and tell him the good news right away.
✿
"I am going to order everything," Soobin teased him as the two made their way to their usual café near the university. Beomgyu was treating Soobin to a party since his article was approved and Soobin made sure to let him know that he was going to milk out every penny he could out of Beomgyu.
"I haven't turned into a millionaire, hyung, don't make me into a beggar," Beomgyu said, flushed with happiness as they entered the café and immediately went to their usual spot. The café was half-empty so there was just light chatter all around them as they sat down.
"Jokes aside, I'm really proud of you," Soobin flashed him his infamous dimples as he opened the menu to look over the most expensive cakes and pastries they had. Beomgyu grinned in happiness and let Soobin peruse the menu. His eyes ran over the other customers in the small café until they found a head of red hair.
It was the boy he had bumped into an hour or so ago. He was sitting with a tall boy with brown hair and drinking something from his cup. His eyes were sparkling and he was laughing at what the other boy was saying. He looked really cute and Beomgyu wondered idly if he had met the red-haired stranger before.
There was something about the way he had spoken that had felt familiar to Beomgyu and he wondered if this was a case of deja vu or something. The idea of coming across a stranger twice was new in itself but Beomgyu decided that he will extend his hand for friendship only if he comes across him a third time.
After all, once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and thrice is fate, right?