Chapter Text
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It was midnight when Hongjoong got the call. He was ordered to come to his superior’s office right this instant and that usually only happened when there was an emergency of some kind. He’d experienced something like this just once before and that had been about one of their supply facilities blowing up. A part of him was almost hoping that it would be a similar case this time - regardless of how unfortunate it remained of course -, but his gut feeling told him something else. There’d been rumors floating around their base about a missing unit for nearly a week now and he was eighty percent convinced that this emergency order would be connected to it.
He sped through the silent hallways of the base, everyone else asleep. He was glad the call hadn’t woken him up, as he tended to be one of the rare people to stay up really long. He was also used to nightly expeditions, so neither the absolute quiet nor the sound of nothing but his own footsteps scared him anymore.
Maybe it was owed to his telekinetic powers as well that he never felt completely defenseless, as long as he wasn’t locked in an empty room. That had happened just once during his time in the restoration force when he was still a rookie who wasn’t in tune with his freshly awakened abilities and loved messing around a little too much. The following punishment had taught him the hard way to work it out and ever since then he’d taken huge steps in his career, climbing up to become the respected leader of his own squad.
Such a high position brought lots of responsibilities with it though, so it was no wonder that he was the one being called upon whenever things took a turn for the worse. Hongjoong wasn’t afraid of what he might be told in a bit, but there was always a pinch of anxiety at the back of his mind as long as he wasn’t fully informed about what his next task would entail.
He sighed, wishing the trek from his quarters to the office section of the base wouldn’t be as endless. He could sense all the things around him - furniture, plants, electric devices -, things that would all move to his will if he so much as lifted a single finger. Knowing he possessed this extraordinary power normally sufficed in mending any fears he might’ve had. Because as long as he had his abilities, he had nothing to fear.
When he finally reached his destination, he knocked on the door of his superior’s office for politeness’ sake, not even waiting for a response before entering. To his surprise, there was already someone else there too, sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the wide desk. Hongjoong had never met him before, but for some reason he still looked somewhat familiar.
“Hongjoong,” his superior addressed him, taking his attention away from the stranger, “Take a seat.” Hongjoong merely nodded, doing as he was told and continuing to listen. “Let me introduce you to Park Seonghwa. He’s from another division that has been working with us on numerous occasions.”
When Hongjoong turned to look at said person again, he already found the other’s gaze on him. It was sharp yet curious and Hongjoong was momentarily struck by how handsome he was. Despite the late hour he didn’t look rumpled or tired in the slightest, perfectly put together.
“Kim Hongjoong, is that right?” he asked and apparently his voice was just as pleasant as his face. Not that Hongjoong should be thinking about that right now, quickly clearing his throat and holding out his hand.
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”
Seonghwa slowly took his hand without breaking eye-contact. “Likewise.” Only when he let go did Hongjoong realize he’d stopped breathing for a moment. I wonder what his power is, he thought, rather intrigued.
“There’s a reason I’ve summoned both of you here this late. It’s a delicate and confidential matter,” their superior spoke up once more. “To make it short, both your squads will be sent on a mission that cannot wait any longer. You’ll be departing from here in seven hours, heading towards 9024.”
Hongjoong perked up at that. The city numbering system had been used as long as he could think, making it easier to identify and categorize them after all their original records had been lost in the apocalypse. This code belonged to a city quite far away from their current location. It was huge - at least what was left of it - and had only been observed from the air so far with the help of drones. And it was also the city another team from this base had been sent to explore roughly a week ago. Hongjoong’s assumption had been correct, his superior further confirming it with his next words.
“Something has happened in this city, but we can’t figure out what it is from a distance. We lost contact to the first surveillance team for unknown reasons and we can’t wait to hear from them anymore. That’s why we need our strongest units to check the situation now and report back to base on what went down.”
Hongjoong swallowed. He told himself he didn’t have to be scared, but knowing one of their teams got lost with nobody knowing what happened to them was definitely unsettling. There could be all kinds of dangers lurking in 9024 and although he was confident in his abilities and those of his team, something like this would still be different from any other mission they’d been sent on so far. They’d never had to possibly rescue another squad before.
“Did the lost team manage to send any data before they disappeared?” Seonghwa inquired calmly, but their superior shook his head.
“Nothing really useful, if that’s what you’re asking. You’ll have to go in mostly blind, but their final report contained a vague mention of something they’d described as the Void.”
Hongjoong’s heart dropped. His one weakness. Just great.
“We’ll do our best,” he pressed out nevertheless, glancing at Seonghwa. “Won’t we?”
“Most certainly,” the other agreed and they both got up.
“I knew I could count on you. Prepare your teams and be ready to leave at the assigned time. The vans with all the supplies you’ll need will be waiting for you.”
They stepped out of the office, the hallway outside just as eerily quiet as when Hongjoong had arrived. He had a very bad feeling about this mission, but he tried to cheer himself up with the fact that his team would be supported by another alleged elite squad this time. “By the way, what’s your power?” he asked Seonghwa for that reason, distracting from the relatively dire mood having settled over them.
“Teleportation,” he replied and Hongjoong promptly remembered where he knew the other from. His squad was famous and renowned - just like Hongjoong’s -, even if it wasn’t one of their own but from their neighboring base. Their leader was admired for his extremely rare ability and Hongjoong had fleetingly seen pictures of him before. He couldn’t quite believe they’d be working together now.
“No way,” he gasped. “That’s an amazing gift.”
“Well, yours isn’t bad either if you ask me,” Seonghwa gave back with a hint of a smile and Hongjoong was taken off-guard.
“You know what I can do?”
“I think everyone has heard of your chaotic yet astonishing way of accomplishing any task you’re given with ease.”
Hongjoong wasn’t sure whether to be offended or flattered. “Speak for yourself. People are talking a lot about your achievements too whenever news of them reaches this base.”
Seonghwa raised an immaculate eyebrow at him. “And what do they say about me and my unit?”
“Only good things,” Hongjoong answered truthfully and after a little pause he added, “I think we’ll make a good team.”
Seonghwa seemed to share the sentiment. “We should. I’m curious about the rest of your team as well - two elementals and a physical, correct?”
There were three classes of powers people could hold within themselves, the elemental one being the most common. It allowed their users to manipulate or generate the likes of fire, water or air. Second was the physical class, providing its users with several kinds of bodily advantages or enhancing their senses. And third was the psychic class, the rarest of all - a class both Hongjoong and Seonghwa were part of with their mind-focused abilities.
Seonghwa seriously must’ve conducted some research on Hongjoong beforehand and it made him wonder if he’d been informed about their collaboration earlier too. Now Hongjoong was mildly embarrassed because he had no idea about what kinds of powers Seonghwa’s teammates possessed. Praising his own ones would have to do. “Correct,” he said simply. “They’re all very strong, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
It wasn’t a lie. Wooyoung and San were a formidable duo of fire and ice users, both masters of their elements and their fourth member Jongho had the unique ability of foresight, his eyes being incredibly advanced and even allowing him to see glimpses of the immediate future sometimes. Hongjoong loved his squad and he knew he could always rely on them.
“We’ll see about that,” Seonghwa said and Hongjoong noticed an edge of doubt in his voice, effectively awakening his competitive streak.
“We’ll also see how good your team truly is.”
This time Seonghwa gave him a full smile that made Hongjoong’s heart skip a beat against his will. “I’m sure we will.”
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“Why did we have to get up so early again?”
“Because this mission is top priority and we can’t afford to waste another second.”
“But shouldn’t we be at peak performance level to take care of this?”
“You mean you aren’t?”
“I would be if I slept some more.”
Yeosang was distantly listening to his teammates’ idle conversation, Mingi complaining about having to get up at such an ungodly hour and Yunho playing along. Next to him Seonghwa was absorbed in his PDA, checking some final intel about their impending expedition. They were all waiting at the assigned meeting point by the vans that would deliver them to 9024, the sky dark and cloudy with the faintest rays of sunlight peeking over the horizon. The morning air was crisp and clean and Yeosang thought that this kind of peace was probably one of the very few nice things about their current situation.
And not just theirs - the situation the entirety of humanity had been in for more than a century at this point. It was solely owed to the miracle of supernatural powers starting to manifest among the remaining population after the world as their past generations had known it had collapsed. Nobody knew exactly what went down at that time, any records of it being awfully sparse and those that could be restored didn’t contain much meaningful history.
What made up for the severely lacking historical records, were those of technology. Who knew where they’d all be or if they even would exist anymore if the leftover people hadn’t managed to salvage them and reconstruct many things as they had - presumably - also been used in the past. Sadly it didn’t change how they would never get back what had been consumed by the terrible destruction though. Yeosang, just like anyone else around him, was pretty much clueless about what human civilization pre-apocalypse had been like. It was a fact though that they’d reached some milestones in restoring many ruined towns or even bigger cities, making progress in repopulating them and turning the world into a place worth living in once again.
Because what else should they be doing, having been dealt a grim fate like this? Yeosang wanted to cling to his hope for a brighter future.
He pulled up his hood, feeling cold. If only this other unit accompanying them would hurry and make their appearance already. Then again, Yeosang was conflicted on whether he actually wanted to face them - or rather, one person in particular.
He hadn’t seen Wooyoung in years, much less spoken to him. They’d grown up together in the base Wooyoung called his home to this day, but Yeosang had abandoned it long ago. He couldn’t imagine that Wooyoung had forgiven him for leaving him behind back then after what had gone down between them, which made the prospect of meeting him now infinitely more troublesome. And they should be working as a team.
Yeosang was out of luck these days, the bandage around his left palm a remnant of the small training accident he’d had yesterday upon Seonghwa notifying him and the others about their upcoming expedition and who’d be joining them for it. He’d let loose on his balance for a millisecond, leading to the electricity flow in his hands being interrupted rather painfully. Sometimes - read: near always - his powers were more of a curse than a blessing. It was almost ironic how being confronted with Wooyoung of all people would serve as a reminder of that just as much. Yeosang didn’t enjoy thinking about it. Not at all.
“I heard the other squad has a fire elemental too.”
He was torn out of his inner musings by Mingi’s voice, his gaze wandering to where he and Yunho were sitting together just like Seonghwa and him. There was a tiny flame dancing along his fingertips, reacting accordingly to each of his movements.
And what a fire elemental they have, Yeosang thought with dismay. Why did it have to be this team?
“They do, as well as an ice one. They’ll combine excellently with your additional fire and Yeosang’s electricity,” Seonghwa stated without looking up from his PDA screen. “Yunho’s strength will be of advantage too.”
There was no question in Yeosang’s mind that it would. Ever since he’d joined Seonghwa’s squad, he’d undertaken countless daunting expeditions, but he’d never regretted being part of them. Everything they’d accomplished so far had granted them their superb reputation among the rest of their comrades and he knew what they were doing was very important. They were the ones who gave people hope in times of pure despair. And perhaps Yeosang loved giving himself that kind of hope as well, choosing to actively work for it instead of leaving it to others.
Seonghwa put down his PDA at long last. “They’re here.”
Yeosang wasn’t sure how their leader had figured out the others’ presence, but their new partners did indeed join them just a second later. They were dressed just like them in the standard attire of the restoration force, their expressions serious. Seonghwa got up to greet their leader and soon it was on the rest of his team to make their introductions as well.
Yeosang consciously forced himself to not let his eyes stray to a certain redhead right away in spite of clearly feeling Wooyoung staring at him. He kept his tone neutral while introducing himself and his powers, patiently committing those of the other team to his memory. He couldn’t avoid looking at Wooyoung any longer when it was his turn, an unforeseen bout of forgotten emotions welling up as their gazes met. Yeosang knew Wooyoung wasn’t directly talking to him, but it still felt that way. He hoped the rest wouldn’t notice what was going on, but unfortunately the guy at Wooyoung’s side - San, the ice elemental - picked up on the weird tension between them.
“Do you two know each other?” he asked innocently when Wooyoung had finished speaking and Yeosang involuntarily tensed.
Wooyoung seemed to be inwardly debating with himself for a moment, eventually deciding to tell the truth. “Yeah. We used to be friends, but we haven’t seen each other in years.”
The way he didn’t mention how Yeosang had left him had to be on purpose and it made a foolish thought go through Yeosang’s head. Does he not resent me too much after all?
“That was in the past,” he said nonetheless, not willing to make himself vulnerable yet again. “It doesn’t matter now and it won’t affect our mission.”
He was admittedly stunned at how well he could still read Wooyoung after so many years, as the brief hurt flickering across his features wouldn’t have been visible to anyone else.
“You’re right. It was a long time ago.”
And then he took San’s hand, walking towards one of the vans while pulling the other with him. The rest was understandably confused by their little exchange, but they were quick to brush it off.
“Let’s go,” the other squad leader named Hongjoong said, Seonghwa agreeing. They went to their respective vehicles, each choosing their spots. It would take some hours for them to reach 9024, so maybe they could even squeeze in some more sleep until the arrival.
Yeosang tried banning the interaction with Wooyoung from his mind, but it was more difficult than expected. He’d thought he was over his childhood friend, but the way his heart was beating heavily in his chest was proof of the contrary being the case. As if this mission wasn’t risky enough, now he’d have to deal with these stupid, complicated feelings too.
One thing was for sure - the next days would be very interesting.