Chapter Text
“Um…is hyung okay? That looks like a serious phone call he’s taking.”
“I think he’s talking to Seong Hwa hyung.”
“Yeah, but he’s usually smiling whenever he talks to him. It’s that stupid lovestruck grin too.”
Jong Ho looked across the table with a raised brow before leaning into the closest person next to him, who just so happened to be San. “Do they always do this?”
“Do what?”
“Whisper and gossip like a bunch of school girls like Hong Joong hyung’s life is a mystery? Yes, they do,” Yeo Sang said, rolling his eyes. “They did this last year before they told us they were dating.”
“Don’t act like you weren’t part of it too, Sangie.” Woo Young said, finally turning to address the other three sitting at the table.
“I was forced to by you. I don’t like eavesdropping.”
“I don’t either,” Jong Ho said, rolling his eyes. “It’s rude.”
“These are the things you have to get used to, Jong Ho. This isn’t the first time and it most certainly won’t be the last,” Yeo Sang sighed, looking up as Hong Joong came and sat back down in his chair. “What was that about, hyung? You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.”
“It was Seong Hwa.” The brunette fluffed out his bangs. “Apparently, his dad showed up on campus to drop something off to him but it was addressed to me.”
“It could be something about your internship,” Yun Ho supplied. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“But it could be. Park Entertainment is a huge company and I’d love to work for Seong Hwa’s dad someday but Hwa said that he normally doesn’t take on interns but if I want to make it in the music industry, I have to try and get my work out now.”
“...He works at the cafe on the first floor of the library, right? You could always just go and get it yourself,” San said with a shrug. “If it’s bothering you that much, you should check it out.”
The brunette sighed. “I mean…technically but-” He sighed again. “Speaking of making it big and stuff, I need you guys' help with something.”
“As long as it’s nothing too complicated, sure,” Jong Ho said with a shrug.
“Well, for you, Jong Ho, I know it won’t be. The rest of you will be fine but I want you to hear me out before you say anything.”
“Wait, does Seong Hwa hyung know about this?” Yeo Sang asked.
“Yep! He’s even agreed to help.”
“Then I guess it can’t be too terrible.”
“I need you guys to help me produce a song.”
The silence that followed was nearly deafening. “And Seong Hwa hyung agreed to his because…?”
“As much as he nags hyung like a mother, he somehow still can’t say no to him,” Woo Young finished, taking a sip of his americano only to find solid coffee grounds at the bottom. “Wha…hyung! Did you take my water?!”
“That’s what you get for making smartass comments like that!"
"Hyung!"
San slid his americano over to the younger without a word. "Anyway, hyung…are you sure you want us to do this?" The brunette began to open his mouth and San quickly continued. "I mean, not saying that we don't want to help you! Of course, if you want our help, we'll do our best but don't you think it would benefit you more to get people who know-"
"San-ah, you're gonna start spiraling if you keep this up." Hong Joong looked around the table with a smile. "I'm not a professional so I can't speak on professionalism from any of you. It's just…the song I wanna do is for my sound booth technology class and my composition class so I want it to be good, but it's just a project at the end of the day. I'd rather it be something I enjoy. You guys won't be judged for your performance, but I want you all to be a part of it." He looked at his phone. “I have to go meet up with Kyung Moon hyung to record the demo later today and I’ll give it to you guys later. You’re all still good to come over, right?”
“Like we had a choice based off of your text,” Yun Ho scoffed, lightheartedly.
“Well, today’s a special day that you don’t wanna miss anyway. So don’t be late, you five.”
He got a salute from everyone at the table, minus Yeo Sang, before he got up and left with a wave.
“You want us to pick you up, Jong Ho? My last class gets out at noon and I think the others are done by one.”
“My last class ends at four, but I don’t mind walking. There’s no need to wait up for me.”
“Nonsense! We can’t let you walk by yourself!”
“It’s fine. Besides, I need to go back to my room anyway and you have to get Seong Hwa hyung too. There won’t be any room left in your car. It’s fine, hyung, really.”
“Fine, but text the group chat when you’re leaving.”
Jong Ho rolled his eyes. “I’m not a child, hyung. But okay. Hopefully, I can get to your guys’ apartment by five at the latest. Worse case, I can just ask Kyung Moon hyung for a ride if he’s still here.”
That seemed to be good enough for the rest of them, who got up after Jong Ho finished. “Sannie and I are gonna go bother Seong Hwa hyung at work if you guys wanna come. I’m also gonna see if I can get a free americano outta him since his boyfriend stole mine.”
Yeo Sang sighed. “Are you two ever going to leave that poor man alone? Min Gi and I have medical terminology then biology so I don’t know if we’ll see you guys until we meet up later.”
“I have class in half an hour but they want us to warm up beforehand so we don’t waste class time.”
“I guess I’ll tag along,” Yun Ho shrugged before turning to the rest of the group. “We’ll catch up later.” He then kissed Min Gi on the cheek, oblivious to the looks he was getting. “See you guys later!”
Yeo Sang, Min Gi, and Jong Ho watched the rest of the group leave before the oldest turned to Jong Ho. “You want us to walk you to class?”
“Isn’t the science building in the complete opposite direction?”
“Yeah, but we have time to kill. Our class doesn’t start for another thirty minutes.”
“I don’t want you guys to be late, it’s fine. I'll catch you guys later.”
The walk to the music building was relatively peaceful. The class itself was also pretty simple since Jong Ho wanted to start his week and mornings off with something more manageable. He was halfway to his class when a girl brushed against his shoulder. He looked up at the girl, suddenly feeling nauseous.
“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Are you okay?”
“...Fine.” He blinked a few times as his vision began to blur.
“You’re in my Intro to Vocal Performance class, right? You sit in the front row.” Jong Ho nodded. “Well, I’m Gu Min.”
“...Choi Jong Ho.”
“To go out with people 'widely'...interesting.” She took a step closer to him. “...Any other names you go by?”
“I-”
“Hey, Jong Ho!”
The ravenette turned, blinking a few times. “Huh?” It took him a while to realize that it was Maddox.
“Why are you just standing in the hallway by yourself?”
“I’m not. I was just talking to…” He turned, only to realize that he was in fact, standing in the middle of the hallway by himself. “Huh, that’s weird. Where’d she go?”
"Who?"
“This girl named Gu Min. I swear she was just here.”
“Well, she’s in your class so she was probably headed to class, same as you.” He then took a good look at the first year. “Are you okay? You look a little shaken.”
“I’m fine, I just…She brushed my shoulder and then I started feeling really weird and tired. I’m fine now but…I don’t know. It was weird. Almost like I was in a trance.”
“It’s too early to be burnt out, Jong Ho,” the older said with a half-hearted smile. “The year’s just begun.”
“That’s not the only thing bothering me, hyung.”
He dropped his smile. “Oh? What’s up?”
“She asked me if I went by any other names other than Jong Ho.”
“Like a nickname?”
“I don’t know. Do you think I’m just overthinking things?”
“With X and his followers getting closer to Seoul each day, I wouldn’t put anything past him. I’ll keep an eye on her, and I think you should tell Hong Joong too. You can stop by later today, the two of us will be together.”
“What time?”
“Right after this class, actually. We can walk together if you have the time.”
The ravenette nodded. “I have a short break between my classes so I won’t be able to stay for long.”
“Hong Joong’ll be laser-focused on his project so he won’t talk much anyway. You can just drop by for a few minutes then be on your way.” He opened the door to their classroom, greeting the few students who were already warming up. “For now, just breathe. Don’t let her know that we’re onto her.”
The first year nodded. “Right.”
Maddox knocked on the door to the studio that Hong Joong usually holed himself up in, not even waiting for a response before he opened the door. “Hong Joong?”
The brunette jumped slightly before taking his headphones off. “Oh, hyung…Jong Ho? What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
The brunette turned in his chair. “Yeah, what’s up?”
Jong Ho waited until Maddox closed the door behind them. “...By chance, do you know where X is now?”
Hong Joong’s face grew grim. “Last I talked to Eden, X was in Gyeonggi-do.”
“So he’s basically in Seoul,” Maddox sighed, crossing his arms. “I knew he would get here eventually but…this group is nearly a year in the making and we’re still not ready.”
“Well, we might want to get ready a little faster.”
“...What do you mean?” Hong Joong looked at the youngest warily.
“On my way to class, I passed this girl. She’s in my class, actually. Her name is Gu Min. But anyway, she brushed against my shoulder, and then I felt like all my energy had pretty much been zapped. I got really tired and dizzy and then she started asking me questions and…I almost answered them all, no hesitation.”
“What’d she ask?”
“She asked me if I went by any other name besides Jong Ho.”
There was a brief silence before Hong Joong spoke again. “...So X and his lackeys are already in Seoul. And it certainly doesn’t help that one’s infiltrated campus already.”
“Hey, we don’t know that she’s with X yet,” Kyung Moon said. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“I’d rather be safe than sorry.” He then sighed. “I’ll let the others know tonight. Please be careful, Jong Ho.”
“I will. My other classes aren’t even in the music building so I shouldn’t see her again until Wednesday.”
“Good. What time do you get out of class?”
“Four. But I have to go back to my dorm.”
“Are you gonna spend the night?”
“If you, Seong Hwa hyung, and Yeo Sang hyung don’t mind. My first class isn’t until the afternoon.”
“That’s fine with me. Hyung, do you mind picking up Jong Ho from the dorms? I don’t want him walking by himself given what happened.”
“I don’t mind. How’s 4:30 work?”
“That’s fine with me.” He then looked at the time. “I have some notes to take before my class starts. I’ll see you guys later.”
Hong Joong waited until Jong Ho left to let out another sigh. “Why did he have to go straight for the school?”
“Probably because he knows teenagers are a bit more reckless than adults would be so if he’s trying to find people with Gifts, it’d be easy to start here.”
“...You don’t think he’s suspicious of this school, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Eden hyung built this school specifically to house Gifted people. Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that he came to KQ first?”
“...I honestly don’t wanna think about if that’s true or not.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, forget recording. Neither of us is in the right state to do it. Let’s go talk to Eden hyung and then if you feel better, we can come back. We have like three hours.”
“...Alright.”
"Alright! Food's been ordered and everyone's here, so let's get to business."
"You can start by telling us this big secret you've been keeping," Yeo Sang said, nonchalantly, grabbing the nearest pillow to hug to his chest.
“You don’t know what it is?” Woo Young asked, genuinely surprised. “You live with him.”
“But his room is off-limits to literally everyone but Seong Hwa hyung and even he hasn’t been allowed in there.”
“If you all stop whining and complaining, you’d find out,” Hong Joong said, walking out of his room with an almost comically large bag, shutting the door behind him. “And because of that, I’ll start with the patient ones.” He picked out a few packages, handing them to Min Gi, Yun Ho, Jong Ho, and San. “It’s been a long time coming but…I hope you guys like them.” He then handed the last two to Woo Young and Yeo Sang.
Min Gi was the first to rip the package open, stopping as he looked at the neatly folded garments inside a box. “Is this…?”
“I told you…we can’t be HALA if people know who we are. Everything is custom-made and hopefully tailored to your guys’ liking.”
“..HALA?” San asked, not looking up from all the fabric and chains he was pulling out.
“‘Hearts Awakened, Live Alive’...Seong Hwa and Maddox helped me come up with it. Think of it as a motto almost.”
“HALA…I like it!” Woo Young said with a smile, looking up at the leader. “And our names? Has everything else been finalized?”
“As long as you guys don’t wanna change anything, then everything’s the same.” The brunette waited until he knew he had everyone’s attention. “Some uniform upkeep…this material is every kind of resistant you can think of but please, please take care of them. The fabric wasn’t cheap and these took me a while to make. That being said, you can try them out with your powers and see how they hold up. Jong Ho, if you’d like to be our model since I know you can’t try anything on in the dorm…”
“Sure.” The ravenette nodded before grabbing all his stuff, walking into the empty room.
Hong Joong waited a little while before he spoke again. “Jong Ho already knows this…but we might have to be ready to do some work a little sooner than we thought.”
“Why? Did something happen?” Seong Hwa asked, speaking for the first time since everyone had arrived.
“...Jong Ho said that he was attacked on his way to class this morning. Well, attacked is too strong of a word but…he said some girl came up to him and he started to feel weird. Almost like his energy was zapped from him. X and his men were in Gyeonggi-do the last time Eden and I talked, but that was a week ago.”
“So there’s a chance that he could be in Seoul now,” Seong Hwa finished.
“It’s likely. And if he is, apparently one of his lackeys already has eyes on Jong Ho.”
“...He’s not as experienced as the rest of us,” Yun Ho mumbled. “He hasn’t even had his powers for that long. I’d hate for him to be caught by himself.”
Hong Joong sighed again. “...I think everyone is due for another dye day.”
“Joong-”
“Let me have this, Hwa. Please. I’d feel better knowing that everyone at least looks slightly different knowing that X and his men are here now. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy different but…”
The oldest came from behind, grabbing Hong Joong by his shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. I understand where you’re coming from.”
“If it makes you feel any better, hyung…my purple is starting to fade so I’m due for a new dye anyway,” Woo Young said, running a hand through his hair. “And if we’re trying to keep everything on the down low, I’d say neutral colors would be best anyway.”
“I like the way you think, Woo Young.”
“Why are we liking the way Woo Young thinks?”
Everyone turned as Jong Ho walked out of the room. Hong Joong couldn’t help but smile. “It looks better than I thought! Does everything fit well?”
“Yeah, everything fits well.”
“Can you see with the mask and the hat?”
“Yep.”
“...You okay, Jong Ho?” Seong Hwa asked, taking a step closer to the younger.
“Um…I think it’s just hitting me now that this is all real. I know I haven’t even been here for two months but I…I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to fight anyway. I’m sorry, hyungs-”
“Don’t apologize for anything, Jong Ho." They all turned to San. "No one asks to be hunted down or attacked. X was bound to come to Seoul eventually."
"And we'll be ready for when he does come," Hong Joong said with a sense of finality. "Keep your jacket and mask in your bags at all times. Train up your Gifts and make sure you all get plenty of rest. If X is coming for us, we're gonna be ready for it."