Archive of Our Own ^beta

   The pepperoni smelled incredible. The aroma of cheese, sausage, and sauce mingled over the box as Jisung climbed the stairs to the third floor of the building. Carefully, of course — he'd already gotten yelled at for denting the pizza several times.

He handed over the pizza and smiled at the girl who confirmed the delivery in the app. There was a smell of alcohol inside, music was playing, and laughter could be heard: apparently, there was a group of students there.

"Come on, Seol-ah, ask about your crush!" came from the apartment. The girl raised an embarrassed look at Jisung and said seriously:

"I'll give you three thousand won if you answer me one question"

Jisung tilted his head with a smile; for an extra three thousand on top of what he earned during his shift, he could get him and Seungmin a couple of ramens, or tteokbokki for the two of them. Considering how hungry Jisung was, it was a decent addition. It was worth it even if a girl tried to hit on him, as that happened.

"Of course, ask."

"Do you know who Lee Minho is?" the girl blushed even more.

Jisung knew. Oh, he knew him well. The whole world probably knew Lee Minho – because even though Bang Chan, Iron Man, a thirty-year-old bachelor married to his job, idol of millions, genius, billionaire, and so on, usually shines in the foreground – there is always an incredibly handsome and always steady bodyguard behind him. Just a couple of years younger than Chan, always in a black suit, always with an attentive, scanning gaze. Lee Minho.

On the way home, Jisung couldn't think of anyone else. Seungmin could tease Jisung endlessly for his insatiable fanaticism of Mr. Bang (completely explained, by the way: when Jisung went to the Bang Expo with his parents at sixteen, it was Iron Man, who had only recently created his suit, who saved him from crazy drones). But what even Seungmin probably doesn't realize is the quiet, unnoticeable crush on the cat-like eyes and the incredible grace of the man from the shadows.

But what his best friend and former roommate didn't know didn't hurt him. There were already too many things Minnie was confident about, and awkward feelings for a man Jisung had only seen on TV and his smartphone screen weren't on the list.

But Kim Seungmin, who graduated from Seoul National University with Jisung and his sworn twin Felix two years ago, did a lot of other things. He programmed a voice assistant for Spider-Man's mask, helped hack the university's servers to access the supercomputer, and then erased any traces of their presence — they couldn't run a simulation of the strength of a web on Jisung's ancient laptop, right? He paid rent when Sung was fired from the coffee shop on the corner due to numerous absences and tardiness...

He received people while Jisung was returning from his part-time job.

Rock music in headphones drowned out any sounds even for Jisung's enhanced hearing as he opened the door with his key and called out to his roommate, "Hello, Minnie."

"Hello, Sung," he heard through Gerard Way's voice. "How was the delivery? Are you tired?"

"It's okay, I got a tip today, so the food is on me", the backpack fell next to the front door. "By the way, there's a cool car in front of the house..."

He turned to face Seungmin, who was sitting on the couch and froze: in front of his nervous neighbor sat Iron Man himself. Young, curly-haired, with dimples on his cheeks, in an insanely expensive suit. With an arc reactor glowing through his shirt.

Damn it.

So, was the hack of the university network really noticed?

Once upon a time (three years ago), when Jisung was still a modest nerd in huge glasses from his third year of chemistry, Felix suggested Sung to ground himself in a special way when he was anxious: name five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

And it mostly worked, it really did. And it was a huge help after the spider bite. Even when Spider-Man first got shot in the gut and crawled through Felix's dorm window, scaring him into hysterics and revealing Sung's identity, he could name everything from the cute little fairy lights on the ceiling to the bitter taste of unbrushed teeth in his mouth. Even when he looked at that electric guy threateningly approaching him on the bridge cable, he was saying something in his head about the cold concrete beneath his feet and the smell of ozone in the air.

But not always.

Five things you can see: a worried Seungmin. A worn-out sofa. A kettle on the table. A TV… Iron Man.

Failed.

"Oh, Han-ssi," Bang Chan grinned, turning his whole body. He had Felix's brownies in his hand — oh god, oh my god, now Felix will be involved in this too, what should I do, oh my god...

"What... Bang-ssi, hello," Jisung laughed nervously, coming closer and removing his headphones. Seungmin immediately winced — he probably heard the guitar riffs from where he was sitting. "I... I'm Jisung."

"Chan", the man... Iron Man, damn it! pointed at himself. "Or Chris, whichever is more convenient. And let's be informal, and you can call me hyung, I'm not that old."

Seungmin chuckled at this, and Jisung gave him a furious, withering look; the last thing he needed was for his best friend to make the situation worse.

"What brought you to us?"

"Oh, this," Chan bowed his head, the grin never leaving his face. "I wanted to see Spidey and his cute friends."

Jisung immediately laughed nervously, exchanging glances with Seungmin. The programmer's eyes widened in horror, and he moved as far away from Iron Man on the couch as he could.

"No, Bang-ssi, you're mistaken, Seungminnie and I, we are just... I'm a pizza delivery guy, and Minnie is a programmer, you've got us confused with someone else…"

"Is that you?" Chan pulled out a smartphone from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and the hologram played the video.

Oh, Jisung remembered that day well. He was late to the coffee shop because he overslept — it was a rough night in Seoul, and the alleys were chaotic. And on the street, he saw a guy trying to break into a car with a ruler. Without thinking twice, Jisung glued both of the criminal's hands to the car with the web and told the voice assistant to call the police to the scene, and then... He just flew to the rooftops, where he could change his clothes in a private place and go down to listen to Manager Kim scream. That was the day he got fired, basically.

" Do you want a car? Then hold it, please ", came a voice from the phone speaker, distorted by the wind, mask and filter, a surprisingly good quality recording for a street surveillance camera. " It’s for about three hours, good luck! "

"Uh, no?" Jisung said... or asked awkwardly. "Why?"

Chan shrugged, swiped, and the footage changed to another one — a video recorded by an eyewitness on a smartphone, where Jisung was catching a car that had lost control. There were many of these on YouTube, the red and blue suit was eye-catching. Seeing the bumper crash into the hero of the video's chest, the guy almost hissed from the phantom pain in his ribs — Felix had to break them again so that they would heal properly.

"You’re strong, the car drove about seventy kilometers," Chan chuckled, putting the phone back in his jacket pocket. "You should have some proper protection, not these pajamas…"

"You're mistaken, Bang-ssi," Seungmin said softly. "Sungie is just a pizza delivery guy..."

"Kim Seungmin," Chang turned to look at him. "My security system should have turned you both over to the police when you broke into the university network, but when I saw what exactly you were doing there... A good encryption system, by the way, F.R.I.D.A.Y barely cracked it before you got out. You could use a few more stages..."

"We don’t… You don’t…" Jisung said breathlessly, backing up against the wall. Seungmin looked just as scared, and the world-famous hero’s gaze softened.

"Guys, I'm not here to arrest you. Minho would be mad at me if I pressed a struggling Spider-Man into his beloved Audi, he doesn't like taking it to the repair shop."

"Then why?" Seungmin’s voice trembled.

"Hire you, obviously," shrugged Chan, a genius and a fucking billionaire . "I like Kim-ssi programming skills. You, Jisung, would work well with my friend, Bruce Banner, and I could use your knowledge of chemistry… I suppose your friend Felix-ssi, with his degree in biochemistry, would be useful in the field of superhuman medicine if every time you, Jisung, get into his window after being wounded."

Seungmin was still cowering in fear on the couch. Jisung covered his face with his hands and slid down the wall. Iron Man hadn't just figured them out, hadn't just been watching him, Spider-Man... He'd figured out his friends, their work, their entire lives.

"I’m only curious, Jisung," Chan stood up from the couch, came closer, and with his enhanced hearing, Jisung heard the soles of his insanely expensive shoes creak — more expensive, probably, than this entire apartment. "Why did you become a hero?"

"I was bitten by an experimental spider in the university lab," the boy grumbled, without removing his hands.

"Don't avoid the question, kid," the man chuckled, then squatted down and stroked the boy's hair, affectionately, tenderly. Jisung didn't have the strength to move away — and why should he? Oddly enough, he didn't feel any threat from this man at all. "Why are you being a hero?"

"Because I'm strong. Because I like to help people. Because I don't want anyone to get hurt while I'm sitting still."

"Okay," Chan rose to his feet and extended his hand. "Then let’s go, I’ll take you and Kim-ssi to the tower, we’ll formalize your employment."

"Holy shit," Seungmin mouthed from the couch. Jisung, of course, heard.

   Standing next to that same cool car, leaning against the driver's door, was that same cool Lee Minho.

He looked like he stepped out of a magazine, his suit impeccably tailored, one hand on the door, his smartphone in the other. He seemed completely absorbed in the screen, but Jisung knew better: the wireless headphones were silent — Spider-Man could tell that — and his eyes, dark and gorgeous and feline, were watching their every move. Predatory, attentive. Deep. A look that made you want to look away — or step closer, to look into them again.

Jisung's knees, which usually easily supported the weight of the car, began to buckle. Damn.

If Minho was beautiful on screen, then in real life he was not just handsome — he was fabulous. Mesmerizing.

Sharp features, lips that looked like they were painted on, eyes that were unbearably alive. He could have been a model, a superstar, a supervillain, anyone — but he stood there, leaning against the car, with the lazy grace of a predator, as if he didn't care about anything.

But he looked. At them. At him.

Five things you can see: Lee Minho's wide shoulders. Lee Minho's strong arms. Lee Minho's curvy hips. Lee Minho's pursed lips. Lee Minho's long eyelashes.

Failed. At the very first stage.

Oh my god. Jisung, stop.

"Min, let's go to the tower," Chan said cheerfully, putting his hand on the bodyguard's shoulder. "And lift the partition for now, I think the boys want privacy."

Minho just nodded, silently, confidently, opening the door first for his boss — who easily jumped into the crossover, and then for Jisung and Seungmin.

Boy felt Lee Minho's gaze with his whole body, goosebumps ran down his spine, and the hair on his arms stood on end — one of the abilities that came with the bite was a sense of observation and danger. Incidentally, it had not worked even once while he jumped onto Felix's windowsill, drenching him with blood, or while he was caught on street cameras. But it was making him tremble intensely now, while Bang Chan's bodyguard held the door for him, without saying a word.

Jisung had never wanted anything more in his life than to hear his voice. Just once. Just to know what he was like. But Lee Minho remained silent.

"I would suggest, of course, that we sit more comfortably," Chan began as the car started moving, the partition hiding the driver from them (thank goodness, otherwise Jisung might have passed out) . Jisung, who sat in the middle, could feel the indecently expensive fabric of the billionaire's suit through his T-shirt with one shoulder, and Seungmin's trembling, which he stubbornly tried to suppress, with the other. "But, first of all, Minho doesn't like it when someone sits next to him — even me. And secondly, I think we can continue our conversation."

By the time they reached Bang Tech Tower , a huge high-rise in the center of Seoul, their nerves had calmed a little. Chan explained the working conditions, responsibilities, even the official salary, which almost made their jaws drop.

"And about housing, I could offer all three of us an apartment closer, where there are no street cameras and curious neighbors," Chan smiled when the bodyguard opened the door for him again. "I would feel calmer if I knew that you, Jisung, are under supervision."

"Sorry, Chan-ssi… Chan-hyung," Jisung immediately corrected himself, noticing the mocking look. He tried to keep his face straight, but the goosebumps still didn’t go away — because Minho was looking at his back again. He just stood there and stared. "I’m twenty-two, I don’t need supervision…"

"I highly doubt it," Chan chuckled. "Talk to your friend and move. Minho will help you."

"What?", Jisung almost broke his neck, turning around abruptly. Minho nodded — still calm and unperturbed. "Chan... hyung, I don't need a nanny! My friends are enough..."

"That's not a question," the elevator doors opened. "Minho will be looking after you as part of your... second job."

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Not only did Bang Chan himself catch him, but his love from the screen will now literally live above his soul. Follow. Watch. Be close.

Jisung glanced sideways at the bodyguard and flinched when he saw a slight mockery in those insanely beautiful, dark eyes.

This will be difficult.

🕸🕷🕸

Having super senses was hard sometimes. Like now, when the roar and crackle of flames came from all directions, drowning out the girl's terrified scream on the fourth floor. The smell was heavy, unnatural for a fire. The building in Itaewon had caught fire suddenly, unexpectedly — like several buildings had in the past week, but this time Jisung had been quick enough to help.

"There will be a staircase to the left, but be careful, the first flight is already ablaze," the slightly mechanical but alarmed voice of the new voice assistant sounded in his ears. "If you want, I'll display a map of the building on the screen..."

"No need, Nayeon," and even though Chan and Minho laughed at his sentimentality, he still immediately gave a name to the voice in the mask as soon as he tried on the new suit. "Is there anyone left besides the girl?"

"There’s a cat locked in a room on the third floor, but it’s dangerous, it’s already on fire there too…"

"Quiet, we’ll pick her up too," Jisung snorted, easily jumping over the railing to the floor above.

It's been two months since the trio got new jobs and moved into a three-room apartment in Seocho-gu (oh my god, when did his life change so much that he got an apartment two minutes away from Gangnam by web?!), and a month since social media was filled with photos of Spider-Man in his new suit. His favorite fan, @jinnie_spidey , has been especially hard at work — he's probably drawn a dozen beautiful pieces of art already.

And in this month Jisung has already managed to do a lot: try out the functions of the new web shooters, study (and maybe hack a little with Seungmin's help) Nayeon, break his limbs twice... But he hasn't yet had time to test the fire resistance of his upgraded suit.

Actually, it was scary. Very scary. The flames below licked his heels, and many thanks to Chan that the material of this version of the suit was more fireproof — he remembered well how much Felix had yelled at him, pulling out scraps of spandex from already healed burns about six months ago.

Five things you can see: the iron railing of the stairs, smoke, hands in red gloves, a spider web caught on the wall, the door to the third floor.

Four things you can feel: the friction of the suit against body, the heat from the fire below, the metal of the door, the goosebumps on neck signaling danger.

It doesn't help. Still scary.

Ignore the fire, Jisung.

Three things you can hear: sirens outside, a cat meowing. Nayeon.

"Jisung, the ambient temperature is critically high," the AI said suddenly. "Initiating call to Lee Minho."

And suddenly he was flooded with a different kind of fear, completely driving out thoughts of the fire around him.

"No, no, don't you dare," the boy groaned, easily knocking down the right door with his shoulder. Smoke immediately poured into the apartment, and he rushed to look for the cat under the beds, nightstands, and cabinets. "He'll kill me."

"High temperature will kill you faster," Nayeon was right, of course, but he was so busy! "The call and your location have been sent."

"Nayeon, I'm turning you off tonight," Jisung growled, pulling the struggling animal out from under the couch and holding it to his chest. His claws immediately began to slide across the reinforced fabric of his suit. "I'm going outside, tell me which window the child is in."

"The floor above, the third window on the left," the AI answered obediently. "Hurry, the fire is rising."

The window broke easily, letting fresh air from the street into the room, and, swinging on his web, Jisung easily jumped onto the wall. He looked around — there was the third window on the left, but it was closed — and no sign of the kid inside. His elbow was also aching now.

"Nayeon, I think I tore my suit," Jisung groaned…

And he froze for a moment. Because the next voice on the speaker was Lee Minho's. Damn the AI and its decisions on how and when to take calls.

"And why am I not surprised?"

What a voice he had... Beautiful, gentle, lovely.

Any other time, Jisung would have been happy to hear that. When bodyguard answered his voicemails late at night. Or when he met him at the tower, listening with amusement (but unfailing attention) to his nervous chatter about patrols and heroics.

No, really. Jisung loved his voice. It was amazing.

But now, Spider-Man was hanging on the wall of the fourth floor, holding onto a brick with one hand and holding onto a wriggling cat with the other.

Yeah, perfect timing, really.

"Huh, hi, Minho-hyung," Jisung stammered, choking either from the smoke rising from below or from the rush of emotion. "Forget you heard that, okay? Can we, like, talk later? Maybe?"

"When?" Minho spoke softly. So damn softly. So softly it made the hair on his neck stand up. "When you are going to get out of the burning building? I see you on TV, you know?"

"Nayeon, disconnect!" Jisung shouted sharply. The call was cut off and the boy smashed the glass with his hand, peering inside.

The girl sat in the corner of the room, crying, and Spider-Man easily jumped inside, handing her the cat.

"Hey, kid, will you hold this cutie for me?" He squatted down in front of the girl. The ringtone, Church , set on Lee Minho's contact, rang in his ears again, and he snapped his fingers, a specially added cancel gesture for Nayeon. "Shall we go downstairs? Your mother is looking for you."

"You're Spider-Man, right?" the girl hugged the animal hesitantly. "Will you save me?"

"Sure. Just don’t look down, close your eyes, okay?" Jisung said confidently, rejecting the call again. He easily picked up the child and held her close, gently but firmly. His other hand was already throwing a web at the wall of the house across the street. "Are you ready?"

The girl nodded, hiding her head on his shoulder, and the wind began to roar in Jisung’s ears. A jump into the wall, a web, another jump — and now the child and the cat are already on the ground, and doctors and the girl's frightened parents are running to them.

Jisung took a step back with a smile, but then a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. He turned around:

"Spider-Man, I am Seo Changbin, lieutenant of the Seoul police," the muscular man standing behind him said seriously. "Please come with me..."

"Oh, no, no", the guy laughed nervously, instantly finding himself ten meters away from the tired policeman. "Sorry, officer! Secret identity clause — I’m sure you get it."

The officer reached somewhere into his belt, and Jisung didn’t wait any longer — the web instantly lifted him about fifteen meters above the ground, and he flew over the streets, hiding from views and pursuit.

The bell rang again, the first notes of the song, and this time Jisung didn't hang up. Nayeon answered the call, and Lee Minho's angry but warm voice filled the speakers:

"What's wrong with the suit, Spidey? And are you okay?"

"It’s already healed," the guy laughed, stopping at the edge of the skyscraper. The blue sky stretched over the city, the sun beautifully illuminating the glass buildings of Gangnam in the distance. "Minho-ssi, seriously, no clue why Nayeon called you..."

…But thank you, because he could listen to that voice forever.

"Apparently, so as not to bother Chan, he's in Canada now," the bodyguard chuckled in response. Pure music to his ears. "Are you sure you're okay, Han?"

"Of course, Minho-hyung," Jisung lay down on the warm concrete roof and looked up at the sky through the lenses of his mask. "I think I'm done with patrol for today. How are you, busy with anything?"

"I'm watching some crazy superhero climb a wall with a cat," the man grumbled in response. "At your age, you should know how not to hold a cat."

Jisung simply snorted in response, closing his eyes and basking in the Seoul summer sun. Later, he would have to get home, change clothes, climb down the fire escape. Get scolded by his favorite twin, who would have to bandage his burns again. Listen to Seungmin grumble as he helped him restore his suit.

But this will all come later.

🕸🕷🕸

   It was a full two weeks before he heard that beautiful voice again: Minho was on the road with Chan, and   responded to Spider-Man's numerous reports only with text in the early morning.

As Jisung was heading out of work, the last of all the interns, the lights in the entire building suddenly went out, leaving him in pitch darkness. Even Spider-Man's hypersensitive eyes could barely see anything in the windowless, reinforced room that was Bang Tech's chemical development department .

The familiar hum of the ventilation died down, replaced by an oppressive silence. Jisung froze. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest, and he found himself hearing every breath he took. Even the click of his eyelashes seemed too loud.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.?" he called anxiously, looking around.

But the AI didn't respond. Jisung's intuition was silent — it probably wasn't dangerous, but... Being locked in? When Chan was still somewhere abroad? In the dark and in the middle of a bunch of dangerous reagents?

Five things you see: absolute darkness all around.

Failed.

Without thinking twice, he reached into his backpack, where the suit was lying under all the notebooks and lunch containers. Pulling on only a mask for now, Jisung was relieved to hear Nayeon's voice:

"Welcome, Jisung," the AI greeted cheerfully. "Is something wrong?"

"Nayeon, give me night vision," Jisung said worriedly, finally looking around: in the green-white light, the lab seemed otherworldly and creepy. "Do you know why there is no light in the tower? Is there a connection with anyone?"

After a short silence, the AI replied:

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s backup server reports a critical failure in the tower's power redistribution system. Work and residential floors, which should not be occupied at this time, have been de-energized and locked down to ensure that critical supply systems operate without interference. F.R.I.D.A.Y. reports that it will take several hours…"

"Okay, okay, Nayeon, I get it," Jisung waved his hand in relief as he sat down by the door. "Send a message to Minnie and Felix that I'll be late."

"Sent. Also, Lee Minho and Bang Chan have been notified of the incident and your difficulties…"

"Why?" Jisung snorted indignantly. "I'm locked up, not on fire."

"It is in my instructions to warn your handlers of any complications," the AI replied as kindly as possible.

At that moment, familiar music sounded in his ears: of course, Minho had already called him, of course.

"Hey, Minho-hyung," Jisung snorted, rubbing his forehead tiredly over his mask. "I didn't tell Nayeon..."

"Hey, Spidey," How did the bodyguard make his voice so calm and so soft at the same time? The tone sent shivers down Jisung's spine. "So, stuck, huh?"

"Can you not laugh at me?", the guy leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. If he was enjoying the opportunity to hear the beautiful and inaccessible Lee Minho — no one would know about it, the cameras weren't working. "I have to hang around here for a few more hours…"

"Break the door," the man answered calmly.

"What? Why?" Jisung sat up straight. "I can't, this is property of..".

"…Bang Tech, yeah", Minho snorted. "And I'm with Sana now, who doesn't mind. And Chan is currently talking to the President of Italy, but if you want his confirmation…"

"Hyung... But I can't…"

"I wouldn’t be pushing this..." the bodyguard chuckled — but there was a sharp tension in his voice now. "But F.R.I.D.A.Y., after tracking the passes, reported that an intern was stuck five floors below, and there should be three autonomous drones on his floor."

"So, what's wrong with drones?" Jisung huffed, already pulling his suit over his boxers.

"Don't you know? They're set up to eliminate any threat, Spidey. In a dark lab that's supposed to be locked down, with no connection to F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s database, that intern — and you, by the way — count as threats. So don't you dare draw their attention."

"Got it," Spider-Man said shortly, grabbing his backpack and easily kicking the door open. He really, really hoped they’d fix it by morning — otherwise the head of the chemistry lab would have a lot of questions.

Minho never hung up, occasionally chatting with Sana, Chan’s not-quite-official girlfriend, who basically ran the company. The bodyguard listened to the short exchanges between Jisung and Nayeon as she led him through the tower's dark corridors to the central ventilation system, and occasionally commented:

"Aren’t spiders supposed to see in the dark?"

"Not in pitch black," laughed Jisung, effortlessly tearing off the grate of a large ventilation duct. It was monstrously dark, even the night vision device in the mask could barely cope. "Although usually, yes, I can."

"Jisung, we’re on the sixty-sixth floor now," Nayeon interrupted him as the boy struggled to cling to the smooth metal walls of the shaft. "Go down to the sixty-first, the grate will be on the right."

"Aren't you scared?" Minho's usually calm voice wavered slightly, and the guy smiled: the fearless and unperturbed man of his dreams was afraid of heights?

"I used to be afraid", his tenacious fingers allowed to barely slip along the ventilation duct. "Not anymore, my hobby is connected with heights, as you can see."

"Sixty-one," the AI reported. "Be careful, there may be drones in the corridors. They most likely operate in silent mode."

Thank you Nayeon, it's not scary at all.

Five things you can see: a black-green-white hallway. A door to a utility room. Ventilation bars. A concrete floor. Pictures on the walls.

Four things you can feel: the fabric of the suit. The weight of the backpack on the shoulder. The roughness of the ceiling beneath gloved fingers. The cold metal of the cable duct.

Three things you can hear: Nayeon's directions. The noise of Minho's call. The silence of the hallways.

Why was it so quiet?

Jisung crept through the dark room, trying not to make a sound: the room he needed was not far from the ventilation shaft, but he didn’t know where the guard drones were. Stopping and carefully descending in front of the right door, he listened — behind the thick wall he could hear a slightly accelerated heartbeat, a light rustling... Yes, the intern was definitely there. But there were no drones around.

One hit and the door flew off its hinges, revealing a room dimly lit by the Seoul night sky: high, floor-to-ceiling windows, desks with computers. It was the same room Seungmin now worked in when he came to the office, only a dozen floors below.

A startled gasp came from the corner and Jisung hurried over, squatting down in front of the cute guy with glasses and fox eyes:

"Hi, I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," he said with a smile, extending his hand to the boy. "Bang-ssi asked me to get you out of here."

"Yang Jeongin," the guy said sheepishly, shaking his hand and turning to the broken door. "And how did you pass by…"

The hairs on the back of Jisung's neck stood up, warning him a millisecond before the shot was fired, and he lunged forward, covering the unlucky intern with his body. The nice, new monitor above their heads shattered into pieces.

"Ji... Spider, are you okay?" Minho's voice was worried in his ears. It was nice, so nice that he was worried — but again, such an inopportune moment!

There was a robot standing in the doorway, looking like a very old version of Chan's suit. How did it get there so silently? Or was it Jisung himself who was concentrating on the sound of Minho's breathing… The drone's head turned towards the humans with a slight, barely audible buzz of its drive, and the hero darted to the side again, pulling the boy along with him as dust and sparks crashed right above his head.

"I'll break the window," Spider-Man said casually to either the trembling Jeongin, or Nayeon, or Minho. "I hope they can't fly."

"They can, but not for long," Minho answered, still tense. "Are you sure…"

"Enough, thanks," Jisung snapped, dodging another shot and picked up the intern, making him wrap his arms and legs around himself like a baby koala. "Jeongin, are you ready to fly?"

"No!" the intern yelped in terror...

When Spider-Man's legs had already broken the glass. Phew, it's a good thing there was a balcony a couple of floors below and a guarded area around the tower — otherwise the shards could have killed someone.

The wind whistled in his ears, and Jisung caught himself first on that same balcony, then on the air conditioner mount a few floors below, then on the neighboring building...

Voices were still coming through the intercom: Minho's tense, choked, Sana’s frightened, Chan's low, worried, and slightly angry voice, coming from somewhere far away. But Jisung tried not to be distracted by them, not to think about the slightly quickened breathing of the handsome bodyguard next to his ear, not to blush with embarrassment — oh my god, Iron Man and the handsome man he was in love with, was worried about him, oh my god! But he really tried to ignore all of it, because behind him he could still hear the faint hum of repulsors and the servos of drones.

They didn't last long, really: just two blocks, and then they slowly turned around and headed back to the tower, and Spider-Man finally lowered his passenger to the ground in an alley.

"Thank you," Jeongin’s hair was disheveled and his glasses were askew, but he looked surprisingly happy and excited. "Can I take a selfie with you? My best friend and I are your fans, and he would be happy… He draws art, by the way, find him, his nickname…"

Jisung laughed as he posed for a selfie, then jumped on a web and disappeared onto the rooftops of Seoul.

"You're going to give Chan and me a heart attack," Minho said flatly as the boy landed on the roof of his house. "I told you not to attract their attention, bug."

It was probably the first time the bodyguard had ever used the pet name — and God, how sweet it sounded in that beautiful voice!

"When you learn how to open doors without making noise, then we'll talk, Minho-hyung," he laughed nervously in response. "It was your request, I would sit in the lab until the morning."

Five things you can see: Seoul at night. The dark Bang Tech tower in the distance. A ventilation shaft. Stars, barely visible in the clear sky due to light pollution. Shaking hands.

Four things you can feel: a shiver, either from emotion or from the adrenaline leaving the body. The weight of the backpack on the shoulder. The cold of the roof beneath the feet. A warm summer breeze.

Three things you can hear: The noise of the city. Sana and Chan talking in the background. Minho.

Failed.

"Silly boy," Jisung almost collapsed onto the cold concrete of the roof at how gentle it sounded. "We’re worried about you. You do know you’re not invincible, right? That it hurts someone to see you put yourself in danger?"

"O-o-of course," the boy muttered hesitantly. "Min… Minho-hyung, I have to go…"

"Goodnight, Spider," Minho chuckled, and the connection was cut off.

Jisung's knees gave out and he sank to the concrete roof, leaning against the ventilation pipe. That voice alone was worth the trouble of dodging deadly drones.

🕸🕷🕸

   That green guy was seriously getting annoying now. There were more arson attacks and explosions in the city, and Jisung wasn't surprised at all when a TV studio caught fire. In which Iron Man himself was giving an interview right now. In which were a lot of people there right now.

It wasn't for nothing that Jisung went out on patrol today, it wasn't for nothing at all. And it wasn't for nothing that he was in Itaewon, from where it was ten minutes by web to the KBS center. So when Nayeon worriedly told him that a strange villain had been spotted nearby, Jisung immediately took off.

He arrived just in time: something exploded on one of the upper floors of the building, showering the street with glass. The hero looked back and winced: onlookers were already gathering to watch the spectacle.

Without thinking twice, he jumped up and climbed up the glass building, trying to reach the burning room. The building was noisy: he could definitely hear the sound of Chan's suit repulsors, the sound of breaking glass, people screaming, the wail of a siren. But he was much less concerned about those who were already getting out of the building than those who might have remained up there.

He had to give the window a quick kick to clear away the remaining shards as he entered the room. A waiting room, apparently: white chairs lined the walls, charred drama posters on the walls. The concrete was cracked from the blast, but there were no people in sight, so Jisung carefully opened the door and headed deeper into the corridors of the media center.

"Spidey, I know you're here," Chan's worried voice came over the speakers. "Don't get into a fight, okay?"

"Okay, hyung," Jisung responded easily. "Anything else? Any casualties?"

"As far as I could see, no. Studio 14-09 on the fourteenth, where I was, is heavily smoked, evacuate the people if you find any more. And also..." Iron Man's voice was nervous, breaking. The sound of repulsor shots could clearly be heard in the background. "I don't know where Min is, his transmitter failed when I had already left the building."

Oh, shit. No, no, Minho can't be in danger, right?

Spider-Man raced up the stairs, jumping whole floors. Fear gripped his lungs with an icy hand, and he began to count as usual, jumping to the fourteenth floor.

Five things you can see: A smoky hallway. Flickering lights. Broken concrete. Posters. Cracks in the walls.

Four things you can feel: The vibration of an alarm. The fabric of the suit. Own trembling. Crumbs under the feet.

Three things you can hear: a painful groan.

Failed.

Lee Minho. It was his voice that Jisung heard behind the door with the sign 14-09. No, no, no, please…

The studio was big. Really big — they used to film a late-night show with idols and stars… Well, they used to. Because it looked like it would take months to restore the place. Blackened, charred walls, equipment scattered in all directions, not a single soul… Well, no. A pile of crumbled wall debris — and someone trapped underneath.

Jisung rushed towards him and carefully, gently lifted the first piece of concrete, revealing Minho's pale, pained face. The earpiece-transmitter lay next to him, crushed.

"Hey, hyung," it didn't matter that his hands were shaking. It didn't matter that he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Minho was in a much worse place right now, and he had to help him. "How are you?"

"It's like a wall fell on me," the man groaned in displeasure, rising as Spider-Man kicked the rest of the debris off him. The bodyguard gingerly checked his ribs, wincing, clenching and unclenching his fists. "But, surprisingly, nothing's broken."

Relief washed over Jisung: Minho was alive, relatively unharmed, aside from a few bruises... He was even joking.

"That’s amazing, but I still have to carry you," Jisung carefully, incredibly carefully, grabbed the man under the knees and shoulders. Minho was so light for him, but so strong – the guy could barely hold him close, the bodyguard’s shoulders were so broad. "There’s an ambulance downstairs, so…"

"Someone else probably needs this," Minho frowned in displeasure and tried to break free. "I’m not a princess, bug…"

"Even the best bodyguard can have internal bleeding," Jisung answered quietly, smoothly descending the stairs. "Nayeon, are there any people left in the building?"

"Not detected," the AI reported. "I've given Bang Chan a report on Lee Minho's condition. Ambulance number 0325 will take him straight to the Tower's medical bay."

"Well done, Nayeon," the guy smiled, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders.

Minho was in his arms. Minho was really in his arms. Oh, my god. The same stoic, unapproachable Lee Minho. Who took the role of "nanny" seriously, scolding Jisung for every careless step. Who, with his instant reactions, protected Chan more than once. Now he was burnt, dusty, with a broken eyebrow — but alive. And lying in his arms.

With each step down, the air became clearer, the heat became weaker, and the fear itself seemed to recede a little. But Jisung's heart was still pounding as if his blood was made up of pure adrenaline.

He looked at Minho again. At the soot smeared across his cheekbone. At the thin streak of blood running down from his brow. At the tense, yet so familiar features. At the slight blush on his cheeks.

It seemed like Jisung was in love. For real.

🕸🕷🕸

   With great strength comes great metabolism, as Felix sometimes jokes, watching the pizza box towers. Bang Chan paid for Jisung's meals — and his friends' too, they were still eating five times less than Spider-Man, exhausted after patrol. But despite his fatigue and a big bruise on his stomach — he had to stop a car flying at the children (again!), it was he who had the "honor" of cleaning up and going to the store this afternoon.

Seungmin was doing something complicated, blah blah blah neural network, blah blah blah autonomous drones, blah blah blah security system. He looked thoroughly worn out after the tower incident — but also proud — finally his tricks as a hacker under the pseudonym Sky were being put to good use.

And he also, without the slightest embarrassment, helped Jisung in his secret investigation: Chan still couldn't find out who was responsible for the power outage in the tower, but Sung’s intuition told the hero that it was somehow connected with the strange arsons in the city and the strange psycho in the green suit, who managed to slip away every now and then. And Spider-Man was used to listening to his intuition — after all, since the bite, it had saved his life more than once. So they talked a lot among themselves about the fact that someone had gained access to the power supply of Iron Man's home, and looked for those involved.

Felix wasn’t as busy, but he fled the pizza-scented (and maybe some-obscure-hero's-blood-smelling) house to hang out with his new friends, the cute intern boy from the sixty-first floor of the tower and his neighbors. How they became friends was a mystery to Jisung, but Felix no longer dragged the hero out to play League until five in the morning.

So after packing up the cardboard boxes, airing out the apartment, and cleaning all the necessary surfaces, Jisung went for a walk. With headphones playing ONE OK ROCK. Without a suit under his oversized clothes, without a mask in his pocket, just walking around. After all, Seocho had the beautiful Yangjae Forest, where he could relax away from the crowds and drink a caramel latte from a stand that always added too much syrup.

But there was someone else standing at this stall. And even before Jisung looked up, he noticed that this someone smelled familiar: incredibly expensive perfume, vanilla and a little spicy, the leather of an expensive car, a barely noticeable fabric softener…

Five things you can see: Lee Minho's gray casual sweater. Lee Minho's heavy combat boots. Lee Minho's completely, utterly, totally indecent jeans — because the way they made the man's thights look was, in Jisung's eyes, close to heaven. Lee Minho's mocking cat eyes. Lee Minho’s full lips curling into that trademark smirk the moment he saw Jisung.

Four things you can feel: The desire to escape the warmth of the sun. The desire to turn and run. The weight of the phone in the pocket. The desire to touch Minho. The soft fabric of the hoodie. The way the heart was pounding. The cold of the headphones hanging around the neck.

Three things you can hear: Minho's quickened heartbeat — nope, we're not going there, Jisung. The screams of children on the playground. Own ragged breath. The barking of a dog in the distance. The way Minho's sweater rubs against his leather belt. The rustling of leaves.

Two things you can smell: Minho's cologne. Minho's fabric softener.

Failed.

Lee Minho. Jisung's (Spiderman's, actually... But for those in the know, who cares?) official bodyguard, Jisung's beautiful crush... Jisung's nanny. Jisung's new friend after that KBS thing three weeks ago.

"Are you following me, Jisung?" the man of his dreams asked mockingly as he walked up to the stall on weak legs — he's not a coward, no, he came here for coffee and he's going to get it! — taking off his headphones. "If so, I should warn you, I have a black belt in taekwondo."

Jisung almost choked: did Minho really think that his martial arts would defeat Spider-Man? On the other hand, those legs… But then he rubbed his nose in embarrassment:

"It sounds dangerous, hyung, but no, I just went out for a walk."

"You. Went out for a walk," the man bowed his head in surprise. |You won't leave the sofa unless necessary."

"Hey, I go out a lot, just for work," Jisung rolled his eyes and turned to the barista, who was watching this conversation with curiosity. "Caramel latte, please..."

"I’ll pay," Minho cut in, his tone casual. "Wanna walk with me?"

Jisung must have died under that car yesterday and gone to heaven.

He nodded too sharply, almost jumping up on the spot, and then immediately caught himself, cleared his throat and tried to feign relaxation.

"Well, since you insist so much…"

Minho chuckled. He picked up two cups of coffee, holding them deftly with one hand, and with the other, he wrapped his arm around Jisung's shoulders, lightly, as if it was the norm.

Spider-Man could carry at least three grown men on his shoulders, he checked, but the feeling of Minho's warm body next to him made him feel like he might just collapse on the spot. And why, why did he imagine that the older man's heartbeat had quickened too? It was just coffee and warm air, nothing more, it had nothing to do with Jisung, don't get your hopes up, why would the gorgeous Lee Minho need an awkward young man with a spider problem...

"By the way, Chan locked himself in the workshop all day today," the bodyguard said casually, handing a cup of a sugar bomb of a latte to Jisung. "He let me go, so I decided to take a day off. Apparently, I'm not the only one."

"I'm supposed to rest too, by the way," Jisung muttered, burying his nose in the caramel steam rising from his cup. The coffee smelled almost as good as Minho's, but not quite. "Though, with my job, rest is an illusion."

Minho chuckled, but didn't comment. He simply removed his hand and stepped toward the secluded alley, Jisung obediently following beside him. The silence between them was strangely comfortable — not oppressive, not strained, but cozy. It smelled faintly of fallen leaves, caramel chemical syrup, lavender from a flowerbed somewhere far away.

"Summer will be over soon," the boy muttered. "It already smells so much like autumn..."

"Hm, it’s not?" Minho turned his head in surprise. "Not at all?"

Jisung felt his whole face heat up. He became embarrassed, rubbed his neck, took a sip of coffee, just to stop the words from spilling out.

"I have a good sense of smell," he muttered. "A side effect of… well, you get the idea."

"Hmm," the bodyguard said with a smirk, leaning in a little closer. Vanilla and spices enveloped Jisung. And no, no, Minho's heart rate was due to the coffee, no, that had nothing to do with it... "Then it must be very intimate, to be able to smell anything so strongly?"

The boy could only squeak in response. What was he supposed to say? Yes, it was intimate? That he knew the scent of every person close to him, like some dog? Would it be weird to say that Seungmin smelled like coffee, lemon, and cinnamon, Felix smelled like pastries, the sea, and something woody, Chan smelled like mint, apples, and machine oil? That he could recognize Minho’s scent from across the city and still think about it hours later, lying in bed and staring longingly at the price tag of those stupidly expensive colognes?

Hypersensitivity was his curse, for sure. Because with this vision, he could see every eyelash on a man's face without even focusing on him. He could hear the creak of heavy army boots and breathing from dozens of meters away. He could feel the warmth of another's body, even despite the late summer sun.

"You're being cute when you're shy, Sungie," Minho said suddenly, pulling away slightly. His cat-like eyes looked curiously at the scarlet that had covered Jisung's skin from his ears to probably his stomach, man’s plump lips slightly curved into a smile. "Don't worry, I won't tease you about this... In front of others."

The guy hid his face in his hands.

🕸🕷🕸

   He didn't have to turn around to know who had just entered the deserted laboratory. The familiar sound of footsteps, the familiar breath, the familiar smell — leather, vanilla, spice... Gasoline.

"Hey, hyung," Jisung said as Minho approached, not looking up from the monitor where the spectral analysis results were appearing one by one. "Wait before kicking me out, I’m almost done."

"So what are you doing today, Hannie?" The voice was almost lazy, but Jisung knew that tone. Minho had found a new pet name. The hero had already learned that if he was embarrassed once, the bodyguard would make it his goal to embarrass him as often as possible. Much to Jisung's horror (and secret pleasure).

"The day before yesterday, Chan fought that weird guy in the green suit again, remember? Felix and Jeongin were there too, I had to drag them away again…" he muttered, swiping everything that didn't fit the analysis off the screen. "This is a piece of concrete from that place, I want to find out what kind of explosives that psycho used. That way we can find out where he got the materials from…"

A chair creaked nearby. Out of the corner of his eye, Jisung noticed Minho sitting down next to him. Dark hair, cat-like squints, eyes focused less on the data and more on him.

"You told me you weren’t there," he said softly, but without a hint of reproach. "Did you lie?"

Oh, shit. Minho was totally going to rat him out to Chan, who asked him to stay out of it...

Damn, damn, damn.

Five things you can see: A monitor. A spectrograph. A frame of protective glasses. A piece of concrete. Lee Minho.

Four things you can feel: The softness of an old t-shirt. The slight ripple of air from a vent. The vibration of a computer running. The sway of Minho shifted in the chair right there.

Three things you hear: the hum from equipment. Starlight in headphones hanging around the neck. The beating of another one’s heart nearby.

Two things you can smell: the cloying aroma of one of the bars. Vanilla cologne.

One thing you can taste: chocolate left on the teeth.

Successful.

"I wasn't in the fight, Chan-hyung did a great job," Jisung exhaled and shrugged. There were only three substances left on the screen, and the guess about the possible combination made him frown. "Chan has hydrogen-based repulsors, right? Can you tell me what he uses for..."

"How should I know?" Minho chuckled. "You're the two geniuses here, kid."

He did it again. Jisung didn't know whether to pray for Minho to stop or to never stop.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., I need a mathematical model of this," he growled, knowing his ears were on fire. "And compare it to the explosives in the rockets Chan uses, okay? But don't tell him yet. Let him rest."

"Of course, Jisung," the AI responded with a mechanically calm intonation. No sympathy.

He turned to Minho:

"That's it, that's it, I'm leaving. Are you satisfied?"

"I actually came to pick you up," the bodyguard raised an eyebrow. "But if you want, you can walk, of course… Maybe I’ll go up to Channie and tell him what you’ve been doing here on the sly…"

Jisung narrowed his eyes:

"It's manipulation, you know."

"Definitely," Minho chuckled softly. "I’m manipulating you into coming home early, getting some sleep, and eating something more filling than chocolate bars."

He stood up, leaned forward a little, and before Jisung could respond, he carefully removed a crumb of a candy bar from his cheek that he hadn’t noticed.

- Let's go, Spidey. I’m buying you tteokbokki on the way.

Jisung's ears were burning again. He followed the bodyguard, not for the sake of tteokbokki, not to avoid being handed over to the older and overprotective hero. It was just that the strongest man in Seoul was insanely weak in front of Lee Minho.

🕸🕷🕸

   Mornings in this apartment never started with coffee. For Seungmin, perhaps, but not for Jisung and Felix, who liked to sleep until lunch. However, today it was the solar twin who decided to wake Spider-Man up — without getting closer, of course, Jisung fought in a half-asleep state with full force.

"Get up, baby!" Felix's cheerful roar came from the door. "Happy Birthday!"

Jisung rolled over tiredly under the covers; the patrol had ended late, early in the morning. Too many  drunk creeps bothering people, too many cats stuck in trees. And now, of course, too much Felix, whose low, loud growl made the glass shake slightly.

"Why are you yelling? I have super hearing, have mercy," Jisung groaned, pulling the blanket up to his nose. "I just fell asleep. I swear I slept for exactly three minutes."

"That’s a lie, you’ve been snoring like a tractor for five hours now, Seungmin timed it, actually," Yongbok said cheerfully. "And if you don’t get off your ass in five minutes, I’ll eat our chocolate cheesecake without you. And I won’t make a new one."

"Traitor," Jisung muttered hoarsely, getting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The suit was lying on the bedside rug, abandoned that morning, and the abrasion on his shoulder from his unfortunate encounter with the wall was still healing. "My own twin."

"Yeah, twin," Felix put the coffee mug on the nightstand, sat on the edge of the bed and nudged his friend with his knee. "Get up and put all your stuff away, Sung. Today we're going to celebrate as if there's no green psycho with explosives in town. And no patrol, do you hear me?"

"You ruined my morning and my illusion of safety," Jisung groaned theatrically, but he had already sat up, rubbing his face with his palms. "How many guests are we having?"

"Not much. Chan-hyung and Minho-hyung said they were coming a week ago, Jeongin is coming to me, so I invited his neighbors, Changbin and Hyunjin. They're cool guys, I swear! Fun!"

"Wait a minute," the hero immediately opened his eyes. "I know Jeongin, I know Hyunjin, I subscribed to his art from the twink acc. But who is Changbin?"

"He's Innie and Jin's roommate," his twin answered cheerfully. "He works in the police, plays Tekken and League amazingly..."

"No, no, no," Jisung rolled out of bed in fear and clutched the nightstand. " Seo Changbin ?!"

"Well, yes, you know him?" Felix tilted his head in surprise. "From where?"

"Damn it, Felix, damn it, damn it, damn it," the hero rushed around the room in panic, trying to hide the suit, the mask, the web shooters, the notebooks with the web formulas. "He's the officer who tried to detain me at the fire a couple of months ago! He will recognize me!"

"Jisung," his friend's voice was soothing, soft. Felix had taught him this, Felix knew what to do. "The five things you see."

"You. The suit. The photo on the table," gradually the breathing returned to normal. "Coffee. The poster of Chan on the wall… Damn, I should take it off…"

Yongbok walked up to the guy who was clinging to the table and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he's seen it more than once when he came here. Go on. Four things you feel?"

"You. The table. The carpet under my feet. The cold," with each word the anxiety curled into a small ball that he could control. "I hear you, hear Seungmin singing in the kitchen, the refrigerator humming. I smell coffee and your cologne. In my mouth… Oh my God, it’s like a cat pooped in my mouth or something."

Felix winced and laughed, letting go of Jisung and sitting back down on the bed.

"Good boy, Sung. Don't worry about Changbinnie hyung, okay? You haven't been seen without your mask, right?" His friend's voice was soft. "Secondly, he mentioned Spider-Man once, of course, but it's unlikely that his job is to detain you. Don't worry about it."

"I don’t care," Jisung moved the table back into place, hiding the secret place, and looked at the indentations left by his fingers on the tabletop in surprise. "I… I just… oh. Okay. Today is my day. Our day. I’m going to smile. I’m going to shine. I’m going to… I’m going to lock myself in my room if they start asking questions."

"That's great!" Felix clapped him on the shoulder. "And wear something cool for Minho, you want to look handsome for him, right?"

"I don’t!" the guy snorted too quickly.

"Yeah, right. And Seungmin and I haven't heard your quiet sighs for him since we moved. And it’s not like you lock yourself in the shower for…"

"Enough," Jisung said quickly, opening the closet. Even his hands seemed to be blushing. "You win, help me with the clothes."

   It was the strangest group that could have gathered in the apartment for Jisung and Felix's birthdays, no doubt about it: the cheerful billionaire superhero, his bodyguard keeping a close eye on the people in the living room. Sunshine Felix trying his best to bring everyone together, and Seungmin neutralizing Jisung's mistakes. The shy intern Innie, who kept throwing scared glances in Chan and Minho's direction.

"Sorry, Bang-ssi," he muttered sheepishly when he caught the billionaire alone in the hallway. Did it count as eavesdropping if Jisung had super hearing? "I know this is a rude question, but… What are you doing here?"

Something inside Jisung tightened. Chan — the incredibly rich, famous, heroic Chan — couldn’t just show up at a three-room apartment in Seocho-gu, all three of them — and Minho, no doubt — had told him that many times. What if he gave something away?

"Oh, Felix didn't tell you?" Chan chuckled in response. "Sungie is my personal intern, so I came to wish happy birthday to this kid. And I'm not so old that I don't go to parties, you know..."

Oh, yes, that's the excuse. Thank goodness Sana came up with a job title and an excuse that easily explained why the young billionaire, accompanied by his bodyguard, periodically showed up at this apartment. Official job and personal intern status, that's all. And everyone believed it, and everything was fine. Right.

When the others arrived, it turned out that Hyunjin was a real fanboy. No, it was known before, he had been drawing Spider-Man art for two years already… But until they met in person, Jisung had no idea how bad it was: he almost choked when he heard the cheerful question addressed to the damn Bang Chan — Iron Man, by the way! — "Bang-ssi, you probably see Spider-Man often, right? He's my favorite hero! And he saved Innie from the Tower…"

The younger boys' eyes widened at such impudence, but Chan only burst out laughing:

"We occasionally cross paths, yes. Do you want an autograph from him?"

"Is it possible?" The artist's eyes lit up, and Jisung turned away with a heavy sigh. He didn't really feel that all this fanaticism... Was deserved.

Changbin was the last to arrive, straight from duty. The officer looked exactly the same as he had at the fire two months ago: short, muscular, with a look that promised trouble. But his personality was completely different: he was terribly, monstrously loud, carefree and cheerful. He continued to win games, communicated completely calmly with Minho and Chan, teased Seungmin, affectionately ruffled Felix and Jisung's hair.

And also, also, damn it, he mentioned Spider-Man.

Jisung sat next to Minho on the couch, barely listening to what the others were saying. He was in his own battle: the bodyguard's thigh was pressed against his thigh, his hand was touching his back discreetly, his eyes were watching the proceedings, but they kept turning to Sung.

And then suddenly Minho tensed up slightly. Jisung listened:

"…I don’t argue that Spider is a good boy, but from the point of view of the law, this is wrong," Changbin chuckled, stuffing his mouth with pizza. "No offense to you, Bang-ssi."

"Binnie, you don't understand, heroes shouldn't show their faces," apparently, this wasn't the first time Hyunjin and Changbin had argued like this, judging by Jeongin's tired face. "Spiderman did for Seoul..."

Relax. You're just Jisung. A normal person.

Five things you see: A paused game on the screen. Four pizza boxes (and four more in the corner, which he’ll eat later when it’s safe to do so). Felix’s watchful, slightly worried eyes. A coffee table with beer and soda. A game controller, thrown down in the heat of an argument.

Four things you can feel: The silver necklace around the neck. The faint vibration of the music. The own racing heartbeat. Minho's hand, soothingly stroking the back.

Three things you can hear: Changbin and Hyunjin arguing. The crackling of the hard drive in the PlayStation. The lead singer's soft voice singing Youngblood through the speakers.

Two things you can smell: Pepperoni pizza nearby. Minho's vanilla cologne.

One thing you can taste: soda that doesn't go down the throat anymore.

Failed.

"Well, let's put it this way," Chan said calmly, glancing at Minho. "Spider-Man has a right to a secret identity after everything that happened."

"Yes! He's amazing!" Hyunjin beamed. "I would give anything to meet him, of course, but since he doesn't want to show his face…"

"Bang-ssi, again, with all due respect — just a few years ago, you were Seoul's only hero, and people always knew who to blame if something went wrong. But what about this guy?"

Felix gasped in fear as Chan sat up angrily. Silence fell. Tight, sticky. Jisung felt like he was going to puke, the knot of fear clenched inside him was so tight… And resentment? Was that how normal people saw him? As a threat?

"He saves lives," Minho said, suddenly calm. The man’s warm hand was still resting on the boy’s lower back, grounding him. His voice was cooler than usual, and Jisung felt him lean forward slightly. "And if he hadn’t done what he does, at least Felix and Jeongin might not be here. And maybe me, too."

"I'm just saying," Changbin shrugged. "When you're wearing a mask, it's easy to think the laws don't apply to you."

Jisung shrank back, catching several worried glances — Chan, Felix, Seungmin. Minho. He could feel the blood draining from his face. Even over the noise of the console, the chatter, the music — he could hear Minho’s pulse quickening, Chan’s knuckles cracking. He knew they were angry. And he knew it was for him.

This is all just... too much.

"Okay, enough, Chan-hyung won't take off this guy's mask anyway. And our pizza is completely cold, and we still have to live until the cheesecake," Seungmin suddenly stood up from his seat and reached for the still unopened boxes. "And Sung, don't you want to lie down? It seems like you only needed a sip of beer again…"

"Of course," Jisung nodded immediately, clutching at a life-saving straw. "Sorry, guys, hyungs, I really drank too much."

   Spider-Man didn't usually cry. Han Jisung might.

It was so offensive that someone — not just someone, but Felix's good friend — perceived his heroic side like this. As a bomb ready to explode. As a psychopath doing good only on a whim.

Jisung pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes and exhaled, wiping away his tears. No, he knew what Seoul Daily was writing about him , he had seen those "exposing" videos on YouTube. But hearing something like that in person, in person, was a completely different matter.

He wasn't angry at Changbin, no — he was right to some extent: anyone could be hiding under the mask.

That electric guy, Electro, who tried to kill Jisung a year ago, always wore a hood. The weird guy called Rhino locked himself in a suit of armor, and no one in the city except Jisung and the police ever knew his name. Even that crazy arsonist with Bang technology was hiding under green armor too.

But it was still painful — when all you do is help people, and they see you... differently.

The room was quiet, dark, but he could still hear every sound in the apartment. Felix, Seungmin, Jeongin, and Changbin playing Mario Kart, Hyunjin cheering them on. Two voices talking quietly in the kitchen. Jisung wasn't trying to eavesdrop, not at all — that was his super hearing…

"...I just want to check. He seems really upset," Minho muttered.

"Yeah," Chan chuckled. "Min, don't play with the boy's heart unless you mean it. He's so in love with you."

Oops. Now it would be a good idea to stop listening. But Jisung held his breath so as not to miss a single word.

"Who told you that this is one-sided?"

Oh. Oh-oh-oh.

All thoughts of Changbin immediately flew out of his head. His whole body shut down from the growing panic. There were no more sounds, his breath was stuck in his chest.

It's a fail that the suit is in a secret place, and he can't quickly put it on and jump out the window.

This isn't a one-sided feeling? So Jisung didn't make up all these touches and looks? No, no, Minho can't...

Oh.

The footsteps came closer and the bodyguard looked into the room.

"Jisung?" he asked quietly, closing the door behind him. The lock clicked. "Are you okay?"

"Y-y-yes, why?" Jisung glanced down and realized he was hanging from the wall near the ceiling, pressed into the corner above the bed. He twitched his arms and fell awkwardly onto the mattress, which creaked pitifully under his weight. "I j-j-just…"

"Ah... You heard, right?" Minho took a step closer. And closer. Hovering over the bed. "Sometimes I forget about your super senses."

"Heard w-what?" the boy said with a nervous laugh, pressing himself against the wall. He didn't dare raise his eyes to the elder. "What are you talking about, I d-d-don't understand..."

The mattress dipped as Minho sat down next to him and pulled Jisung closer to him. The strongest man in Seoul didn't put up the slightest resistance, allowing Minho to easily drag him on his lap and hold him close.

Minho's heart was pounding like crazy. Or was it Jisung's? Or both of them?

"It’s funny," the man’s chest vibrated as he laughed. "I came here to calm you down because of Changbin, and you already forgot about everything because you overheard me and Chan."

"I... I don't…"

"Four days ago, you said in your report that you heard a robbery two blocks away. Don't tell me you didn't heard that I like you too, bug," Minho turned his face to him and looked at him carefully. "And before you get too worried again: not because you're a hero on the streets. I would like you as a normal person, too.

Jisung froze.

His chest felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, his breath was caught in his throat. He felt his shoulders tense, his throat dry.

He took a deep breath. And let it out. And then he sobbed. Almost silently. He didn't know what to do with those words. He didn't know how to react to them. What to feel when suddenly, out of the blue, his incredible love confessed its reciprocity.

"I... Do you really like me?" he whispered, blinking in confusion.

"More than that," Minho said softly, pushing a strand of hair away from Jisung’s forehead with his hand. "And you can hide behind a spider mask, you can not, you can even not use your power at all — I don’t care."

"I'm so... broken, stupid, weak," the guy exhaled and closed his eyes. His eyelashes became wet again. "I have anxiety, I have nightmares, and my hands shake after saving people, and I... I'm crying, damn it. Spider-Man isn't supposed to cry."

"I’m not looking at Spider-Man. I’m looking at Han Jisung," Minho whispered, lifting his face by the chin. "A strong, smart, and brave boy who’s no longer afraid of heights, but is afraid to look me, a mere bodyguard, in the eyes," he smiled. "I need this guy who cries over stupid, mean words, and then still goes to the rooftops of Seoul and saves people from rubble and cats from trees. Do you believe me?"

Jisung never dreamed he would ever hear this. That someone would fall in love with him, not for his cute looks or the power that the mutated cells of his body carry. That someone would love him for himself.

No, not just anyone. Lee Minho. The man on the screen. The man who had been in his dreams for years.

Jisung nodded hesitantly and brought his face close to Minho's, their lips touching.

Five things you can see: the eyelashes. The hair. Minho's eyelashes. The sparkle in Minho's eyes. Minho's hair falling across his forehead.

Four things you can feel: The coolness of drying tears on the cheeks. The silk of Minho's shirt beneath the fingers. Minho's hand on the back of the head, gently guiding a kiss. The softness and gentleness of Minho's lips.

Three things you can hear: The noise of the group outside the door. Own plaintive whine. Minho's contented hum.

Two things you can smell: Minho's cologne. Minho's breath.

One thing you can try: Minho's lips.

Successful.

And if the others glanced at them later: because of the guy's red eyes, because of the bodyguard's crumpled shirt, because Minho held Jisung's hand for the rest of the evening — the hero no longer cared. All his anxiety subsided.

🕸🕷🕸

   Jisung had an unlucky day — Nayeon was glitching and her voice was periodically breaking up right during patrol, some old lady was yelling, outraged that Spider-Man was flying too low over her head, a light rain made him freeze, his headphones disconnected right in the middle of Red. But there were some positives.

The first was that a small group would gather in the evening to play Mario Kart and eat pizza.

Seungmin desperately needed a break — according to him, someone was regularly trying to hack the security system he had created for Bang Tech's servers , and he was forced to change encryption methods literally every day. Sure, F.R.I.D.A.Y. herself was good — but not perfect.

Felix was tired too. He was currently researching superhuman medicine, and Jisung was his test subject — he was given massive doses of painkillers that worked for exactly fifteen minutes due to his fast metabolism, or he was constantly donating blood for his sweet sunshine twin's work. But Bokkie didn't seem to have made much progress: their team was planning to go to the US, where S.H.I.E.L.D. had been doing similar research for a long time, and to try to bring technology from there.

The first addition to their group of friends, Jeongin, was doing something related to Bang Tech holographic systems , and he wasn't pushed around as much. But he had been training hard since the drone incident, and he was already looking almost wider than the three of them put together.

The second addition, Hyunjin, finally found a job as a designer. To Jisung's slight regret, there were now far fewer jinnie_spidey art pieces , but he was still happy for this kind and gentle guy.

The third man, Changbin, was getting worn out at the police station. There had been more arson attacks, as well as more appearances of the weird psycho in the green suit, so he (and Jisung) had more than his share of work. But today was the nice lieutenant's legal day off, so the six were just planning on relaxing.

In fact, Jisung thought Changbin had a clue about his little secret. First of all, he never brought up the idea that Spider-Man could be dangerous again — even at home, according to Innie and Jin. Secondly, he’d given the guy weird looks a couple of times when he’d doubled over too much from a light poke to the ribs (where there was a giant bruise) or when he’d come home in a hoodie and pants, but smelling of smoke. And thirdly, at one of the incidents where Spider-Man was evacuating people, Changbin — in uniform, serious and strict — thanked the hero and handed him a candy bar. Chocolate with almonds, Jisung’s favorite flavor.

So yes, Spider-Man was expected at home today. And not only by the guys.

The second was that he and Minho had the day off tomorrow: Chan planned to spend the day alone with Sana somewhere secluded in Jeju, Jisung just wanted to take a break from work and patrols. So they had a date that was supposed to start the moment Spider-Man slipped into Minho's apartment unnoticed that night.

Two months later, it was still very strange to call the amazing, beautiful and unattainable Lee Minho " mine ". The guy was embarrassed and blushed every time the conversation turned to his relationship, but he was still incredibly happy. Minho loved him, appreciated him, cherished him, and Jisung responded in kind.

The familiar notes of Church rang in his ears and Jisung slowed down, climbing onto one of the rooftops.

"Hey, bug," Minho's soft voice came. "When are you done?"

"Hey, hyung," the guy smiled, jumping onto the roof railing. "Not sure, in an hour?"

"You could have gone home already," the man chuckled. "Don’t you have several meetings to attend at once?"

Jisung blushed at the hint, his hand reflexively scratching his nose through his mask:

"Crime never sleeps, hyung," he snorted sheepishly. "An hour, though."

"Well, okay, kid," the guy could hear Minho’s smile even through the voice communication. "I’ll watch you."

"Wait for some cool videos on YouTube," Jisung joked before hanging up. His cheeks were flushed and it took him a few seconds to exhale.

   Another half hour of patrol passed calmly, and then Nayeon suddenly, and in a slightly less emotional voice than usual, said:

"Jisung, the police are reporting another arson in Jongno-gu. They say there are people in the building."

He looked back: from Dongjak-Gu, where he was now, to Jongno-gu was about ten kilometers. Twelve, taking into account the bridges. That, at his speed, was ten to twelve minutes, another fifteen for rescue… He met the deadline that he had promised to Minho.

Without thinking twice, he shot the web on the next building, then the next. The wind hit his face, roared in his ears, and swung him to the side as Jisung found himself under the Hangang Bridge.

"Nayeon, are the firefighters here? The police?" he asked, slightly out of breath, halfway through.

"They haven’t arrived yet," the AI reported. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end: why, if there were people there…

The assistant led him to a two-story building, stuck between several others of the same kind. Flames were shooting out of the second-floor windows. Onlookers had already gathered, and when they saw the hero, they started taking out their smartphones: after all, videos with Spider-Man were getting a lot of views on YouTube.

Jisung flew through the glass of the first floor and stopped, looking around: something was wrong. This place looked... Abandoned?

But from below, from the slightly open basement door, someone groaned, and he pushed these thoughts aside. The building was burning, at risk of collapsing, and there was someone alive below. This was no time for investigation.

He went down the stairs, felt around with his hand, pressed the switch — the light did not turn on. The door creaked shut behind him under its own weight, and the room became completely dark. A groan was heard closer, somewhere in the room, and Jisung said quietly:

"Nayeon, night vision."

But the AI didn't react. Not with words, not with actions — there was only darkness and the smell of smoke. Another glitch?

Five things you can see: darkness. Pitch black, like someone poured ink on the lenses of the suit.

Anxious.

Four things you can feel: the fabric of the suit, the shelf the foot trips on. The rough concrete beneath the toes. The smooth concrete beneath the feet.

Three things you can hear: own quickened breathing. The sound of flames above. Another groan, closer, from the front.

No sign of Nayeon. No connection, no matter how hard he tried to activate the suit's systems.

"Hey," he called in a gentle voice, trying not to show his own fear. "Follow my voice, let's get out of here! I've come to save you..."

Two things you can smell: basement dampness. Smoke.

The groan came again, much closer, and Jisung headed towards it, knocking some things off the shelves. His instincts screamed about danger, but after all, the building above was on fire and could collapse at any moment, what else could he expect?

"Can you move? Can you talk?" he tried again, reaching out his hand towards the sound. The hand grabbed…

Something metallic.

Speaker.

And then suddenly his instincts screamed at the top of their lungs.

Suddenly there was an incredible rumble and a bright flash blinded him, forcing him to jerk to the side, hitting the wall. The speakers in the mask screeched with ultrasound, not allowing him to even open his eyes from the pain, he fell to the floor, losing his sense of space.

It was a trap, that's what it was.

And then something exploded around him again, and he felt his bones breaking. Concrete dust seeping into his lungs, preventing him from even screaming in pain. His suit tearing with a sickening crack. Blood poured down his face. The damn building collapses, burying him beneath it.

And then there was silence. So dead, as if he had gone deaf.

Second.

Another one.

And in this dead silence — the sound of footsteps.

The concrete slab above him rose easily, but he couldn't see who it was.

Let it be Chan. Please let it be Chan.

"Hello, little Spider," someone laughed in a barely familiar voice. Green flashed before his eyes.

One thing you can taste: blood.

Failed.

His eyes rolled back and Jisung passed out.

🕸🕷🕸

   The first thing he felt when he woke up was pain and fear. A familiar feeling of panic squeezed his lungs, and he tried to move, to look around.

Five things you can see: darkness.

It didn't work: his eyes were covered with some kind of rag, there was a gag in his mouth. The mask... Where is the mask?! Where is his suit?!

He jerked and felt himself sitting on something, tightly bound, barely dressed. The icy metal dug into his body, pressed on his bruises, painfully touched his broken ribs. The bend of his elbow burned like hell, like an injection.

Four things you can feel: pain. Pain. Pain. PAIN!

Jisung groaned helplessly, and in the silence he heard someone move nearby.

"Don't move, boy," the someone said lazily... No, now Jisung recognized the voice. The Green Goblin, as Seoul Daily called him , the psychopath who set the city on fire.

Sung and Seungmin could only think of one person behind Goblin: Song Yunho, a longtime rival of Bang Tech, who was also quite upset that Chan had stopped making and selling weapons. But a genius, because he clearly stole Chan’s technology for his supervillain.

But Chan, after listening to them, said only one thing: don’t interfere.

And Jisung didn't interfere. And he even stopped the investigation.

Until the Goblin came to him himself.

Three things you can hear: a creaking and a banging sound, like something metal was placed next. Own sobs, muffled by the gag. A mocking voice.

"You should know, boy, how long I've wanted to catch you. Iron Man's protégé, so obedient — never interfered when he told you. Apparently, you really are precious to him, bug. "

Jisung twitched and growled through his gag; no bastard had the right to call him that. It wasn't a nickname from Goblin. It wasn't from enemy. It was from Minho whispering "my little bug" into Jisung's hair at dawn, when they lay next to each other. From Minho hugging him after particularly tough patrols, forcing him to eat. From Minho growling angrily over the voice link when Spider-Man put himself in danger.

And now it was desecrated. Stolen. He couldn't forgive it. Whatever Goblin had overheard through the voice link, it was Jisung's life.

Now he understood, the Goblin had been trying to hack Nayeon all day… And he, the idiot, hadn't even paid attention. And why hadn't he had the strength to break the ropes? He had felt that they were ordinary ropes, they weren't made of vibranium, were they?

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you, Jisung?" The mention of the name made him freeze. "Don't worry, the serum will last for another eight hours, even with your metabolism — by the way, I'll have to thank your friend for researching you, the data was useful to me…"

Serum? What the hell did they inject him with?

And friend...

No. No, Felix wouldn't rat on Jisung. He never would. That's…

Oh, shit. This is why someone tried to hack Bang Tech's backup servers , forcing Seungmin to spend the night rewriting the encryption algorithms.

What else did the Goblin know about him, besides his name? About all of them ? Who else was in danger?

Minho?

No. No, he wouldn't let him get to them. Not Lixie, not Minho, not Minnie. Even if he had to die right here.

Panic washed over him again, causing the boy to gasp for air and sink into his bonds.

Two things you can smell: own blood. Antiseptic.

Was he in a lab? Or maybe in some secret lair of the Green Goblin?

"Sit still, bug , we need to do this in one take," a strong hand in armor pulled him by the hair, making him close his eyes and whine in pain. "Ready?"

The villain next to him did something, then grabbed Jisung by the throat, making him choke and twitch in the chair again. It hurt, it hurt so badly — his leg was clearly broken, his ribs, his collarbone. He seemed to have a concussion. And whatever the bastard had injected him with hadn't just taken away his strength — it had stopped his super-regeneration, leaving bruises and scrapes all over his body.

One thing you can taste: a cloth gag.

Failed.

"Hello, Bang," a mocking voice began in his ear.

Suddenly, Jisung's pain-clouded mind kicked into high gear: no, it wasn't Song Yunho's subordinate — it was Song Yunho, damn it. He'd heard that voice on TV so many times, that tone... How could they not understand?

"For now, I'm sending this message only to you, but that's only for now. As you can see, I took something of yours. If you want to get your Sungie back alive, you'll have to give Song-ssi the iron suit plans before the morning. Otherwise…"

He pulled his hair harder and Jisung couldn't help but cry out in pain.

"Otherwise, I'll probably hang the boy on your tower in his funny tights. Do you think his cute friends will hold out long against Spider-Man's enemies?"

The hero twitched desperately, and the Goblin snorted, letting him go:

"Nothing personal, kid."

Jisung heard the whistle of air being cut, a sharp pain in his head… And then he lost consciousness again.

Darkness. And pain. Can't breathe, as if there was an iron ring around the ribs.

Somewhere above him metal was cracking, somewhere concrete was collapsing. Someone was screaming — a scream of rage, wild, inhuman.

Somewhere far away. Or right overhead?

Eyes opened for a second: everything was blurry, red flashes — a fire? A blindfold?

Darkness...

"Jisung, Jisung, look at me... Please... Bug..."

A quiet, scared voice. So familiar, so gentle. Minho?

Fingers tore off the gag, pulled the blindfold down, and quickly cut the ropes. The cold metal clattered to the floor. Jisung tried to take a deep breath, but his lungs felt like they were filled with glass. Through his eyelashes, he saw cat-like eyes — Minho, of course.

"Bring him… bay…" it's not Minho anymore. The sound is like from a speaker. Chan?

He lost consciousness again.

He woke up in pain. Hands lifted him from the floor, gently, but he still screamed — it seemed like his head exploded from the movement.

"Quiet, Jisung, I've got you. Everything's okay. I'm with you, bug."

Minho. Close enough that Jisung could hear the man's heart pounding wildly.

Five things you see: Lee Minho. The white ceiling with cracks. Tears on Lee Minho's face...

"Min, it’s… Song…" he croaked, and felt the hands tighten around him, pressing on his broken ribs. "Run…"

"We know, baby. Don't waste your energy."

From somewhere far away there was an explosion and a furious roar:

"Go ahead and try hitting someone your size, bastard!"

Chan.

Enraged. Murderous.

And then darkness again.

In between, he heard the sound of someone carrying him out — someone running down the stairs with him. Not someone, no, Minho.

How he was laid on the soft seat of the car.

How did another, equally familiar one — not Minho, no — Seungmin? What was he doing here? — hold his hand as he was pressed into the fabric by the speed.

And again darkness.

Still a car. Still going somewhere.

"Minho, breathe, damn you! Name the five things you see! And don't turn around!"

Someone's voices nearby — one, right above the ear. Seungmin?

"I don’t understand how this…"

"I said, name it before you crash into anything!"

"Road. Sign. Steering wheel. Speedometer. Tachometer."

"Well done, now..."

Darkness.

Oxygen mask. Bright light.

Someone's voices — Felix, definitely, only his twin could growl like that:

"He woke up, we need more powerful anesthesia!"

"We can't until we know what it was... the serum... We have to figure out what exactly…"

"The pulse is dropping, we need to…"

He lost consciousness.

Someone was squeezing his hand. Warm, familiar. It smelled like vanilla. Minho.

" Sungie, bug, everything is fine. You are safe…"

But he didn’t hear the rest — the pain was finally going away, leaving only warmth and a whisper:

" You're safe, do you hear me? I'm here."

Jisung fell asleep.

🕸🕷🕸

   Waking up is scary. Jisung remembered too many things that happened. Unfortunately, he felt them with his whole body — although his regeneration must have started again... Or he's on such powerful painkillers that he can't feel the difference anymore.

Somewhere nearby, a TV was on. Or a smartphone? A calm voice, like a news anchor, was coming from there:

"...it has been confirmed that Song Yunho was indeed the Green Goblin who has been terrorizing Seoul for the past six months. Documents found in the destroyed…"

Jisung's eyes snapped open. Documents? His name. Felix's name. Seungmin's. Minho's. Their work, their connection…

He jerked to sit up, and someone's hand roughly pushed him back down:

"Now lie down, Spidey," grumbled... Changbin?.. What the hell is he doing here?! "Minho-hyung is not here yet…"

Changbin. Changbin was here because he knew? Or because everyone knew? No, no…

Five things you can see: Seo Changbin. The white ceiling of the med bay. The heart monitor. The bruises on the arms. The cast on the leg.

Four things you can feel: the IV needle in the hand. A heavy, warm hand on the shoulder. The cold metal of the bed handle. The light sheets covering the body.

Three things you can hear: The rapid beeping of the heart monitor. The ongoing news feed from Changbin's phone. The sound of the ventilation.

Two things you can smell: Antiseptic. Flowers on the nightstand.

Flowers? How long has he been here?

One thing you can taste: something bitter on the lips. Antiseptic?

Failed.

"Hey, Sung, Sung, calm down," Jisung suddenly realized that he had been squeezing the metal handle of the bed so hard that it had flattened. So his strength had returned after all. "It's okay, you're in the Tower..."

"What are you doing here?" the guy asked hoarsely.

"I'm watching you," Changbin shrugged. "Felix is still in the lab, trying to isolate something from your blood, Minho-hyung and Channie-hyung are at a press conference, Seungmin is sleeping, Hyunjin..."

"Does everyone know? Is this why there is a press conference?"

"Know what, Sung? That you're Spider-Man?" The policeman sat closer and shook his head. "No, no one except the five of us knows. It's just that you didn't come home, and then Seungmin hacked something, and then he went to Minho-hyung's, and Chan told Felix to be here... Well, here we are."

Jisung exhaled slowly.

Five? Did Jeongin and Hyunjin find out too?

Do they hate him now? Do they think he's weak? Useless?

"How did you... when did you understand?"

"When Seungmin asked me to take him to Minho with a completely white face," Changbin answered seriously. "Felix went to Chan's Tower... And the news was already about a building collapsing on Spider-Man and the rescuers finding no one... Chan said that Minnie and Minho found your location before the video even arrived."

Video. Damn it, there was a video . Where he is a completely weak, beaten doll in the hands of a monster.

Where his life is valued in suit drawings.

Chan saw him, of course... Did Minho saw?

Jisung clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. No, forget it. Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it...

"Then why is there a press conference? If no one knows?"

"Well, you see, Iron Man was fighting Bang Tech's main rival. Song died, and now Chan is in for a long showdown." Changbin shrugged.

As if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't tried to reveal them...

Stop. Died?

God. Chan killed a man for him.

God.

Something started beeping loudly in his ears, and only after a few moments did Jisung realize: a heart monitor.

"...stock market collapse. Some experts are already accusing Bang Tech of…"

"Jisungie, hush, hush," Changbin's gentle hand stroked his hair. "I know what you're thinking... But Song blew himself up with his own bomb. Chan tried to save him, but..."

Jisung swallowed nervously, leaning back against the pillows.

"Documents... Goblin... Song knew who I am. Who we are."

"Yes," the policeman sighed. "Seungmin said so. Don’t worry, they’ve already erased all traces. No one will know."

"...the building was completely destroyed. A spokesman for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department said there were no casualties, but..."

Jisung began to breathe faster, trying to suppress his fear. This hadn't happened to him in a long time. Almost a year — since Electro tried to throw Spider-Man off the Rainbow Bridge... And threw him. And Jisung, who couldn't swim, almost drowned in the Han River.

For so long, he had been afraid to even look at bridges, even take a bath. They couldn't afford a therapist, so his friends tried to help him cope on his own: Felix took him to a lake outside the city where he held his hand, Seungmin sat outside the bathroom door listening to Jisung's nervous chatter.

But he was still afraid of open water.

What should he fear now? What will be the trigger that will make his shaking hands let go of the web?

Suddenly the door swung open, interrupting his frantic, panicked train of thought, and Hyunjin walked into the room, holding two cups of coffee. He glanced at Jisung, then suddenly froze.

"Sungie, you're awake!" He cried out happily, rushing towards the bed and almost spilling all the coffee on the way. There was the same adoration in his eyes as always when he talked about Spider-Man... But now it was diluted with the worry and tenderness that was always in Hyunjin's eyes when he talked to his friends. With Jisung. "I'm so glad, it's been two days, everyone was so worried..."

"Two days?" the hero frowned. "I slept for two days?"

"Yeah, the hyungs were almost going crazy with worry... And we were too... Chan-hyung kicked Innie out of here to work, otherwise he would have started gnawing on the walls here, and…"

"...Bang Chan’s, aka Iron Man's press conference, didn't answer the big question — what happened to Spider-Man and..."

Jisung wanted to answer. Or at least smile, so it wouldn't look like he was about to jump out from under the blanket and run away. But his voice wouldn't come.

It's like there's cotton wool stuck in his throat.

It was as if he had never woken up at all — he had simply moved from one nightmare to another, where everything was quiet, calm... but in which there was nothing to breathe.

The heart monitor beeped rapidly again.

What happened to Spider-Man?

The beeping sounded bone-chilling, and Jisung squeezed his eyes shut, digging his nails into the sheets — he thought he was hearing not a signal, but the noise of Nayeon's hacked speakers.

Again. Like in the basement.

"Jisung," Hyunjin suddenly fell silent (what had he even said before?), looking at him with concern. "Sung, you're shaking..."

"Hey," Changbin stood up, putting his phone down, and was immediately next to him. "It’s okay, you’re here. Here, you know? With us."

"Shut it off," Hyunjin said quickly, nodding at the phone. "Shut it off, Bin."

"Huh? What?.. Huh. Yeah, shit, I totally forgot", Changbin quickly pressed the power button, and the announcer's voice instantly died down.

"Thank you," Jisung breathed out, barely audible. He almost didn’t realize he’d said it out loud.

He didn't know where the tears came from. Something inside him finally let them out, maybe when the voice on the news disappeared, maybe when Hyunjin touched his hand. He sobbed once, twice, and quickly pressed his hand to his mouth, trying not to cry.

"Hey," Hyunjin took his hand softly, barely touching it. "Cry, Sungie. It’s okay, we’re here…"

He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over slightly, and there was no trace of shock or fear or pity on his face, only tenderness and warm, genuine concern. As if Spider-Man wasn't a hero who got kidnapped, let himself be caught, lost. As if it was just Jisung, who Felix was upset with for burning his toast.

As if he was innocent.

Jisung's head fell onto Hyunjin's shoulder and he allowed himself to burst into tears in his friends' arms.

🕸🕷🕸

   What Chan had called Jisung's "room" in the Tower was an entire apartment: a kitchen, a living room with a huge screen covering the entire wall, a bedroom with a double bed big enough to fit all of them. If F.R.I.D.A.Y. hadn't been overhead, if the whole gang of friends hadn't dropped by every day — even Chan, tired and clearly not getting more than a few hours of sleep a day — it would have been the perfect romantic lair for Jisung.

But no, this was a place to keep an eye on him. To keep Jisung from straining his still-recovering body, to keep to bed rest, to eat properly. But, next to him was his bodyguard, his "nanny"... His beloved person. Minho.

He never left this "room" at all, being there all the time. But there was more to his care than just bodyguard work, there was a genuine expression of love in every movement. In the way Minho cooked soup and beef in quantities sufficient for a football team – everything for Spider-Man’s metabolism. In the way he carried Jisung in his arms from the bed to the couch, even though the broken bone had already healed. In the way he suggested watching Ghibli movies over and over again. In the way he talked a lot — so that there would be no silence, which scared boy so much. In the way he calmly put on a playlist of "music for emos and geeks".

The way he wiped away Jisung's tears and held him in his arms at night when no one else could see their vulnerability.

Minho did everything to bring him back to normal. Familiar, warm, cozy. To keep him from spiraling back to the basement of Song's mansion. And Jisung thanked him, obediently staying on the couch, eating the prepared food to the last crumb, starting to laugh at his man's weird jokes.

But he saw that Minho was also unwell. That he was watching Jisung as if he was afraid he would disappear. That guilt was constantly splashing in the eyes of the bodyguard — an ordinary person. But this was Lee Minho — incomprehensible, amazing. He hid his emotions so deeply that only Sung’s superpowers allowed him to know how hard man’s heart was pounding when Jisung woke up screaming. How his hands twitched when the boy went quiet.

This was the first time that someone had suffered so much psychologically because of Jisung. When Rhino threw a tower crane at him, Spider-Man first lay down on one of the roofs after the fight, and only then made his way to Felix's dorm. When Electro tried to drown him, Jisung didn't tell his friends the whole truth — that he swam only by miracle when a jammed web shooter not only fired, but also web got caught on a bridge.

But now there was Chan, who had seen that damn video and locked himself in the workshop for days. There was Changbin, Jeongin, and Hyunjin, who had seen Jisung unconscious in the Tower's med bay. There was Felix, who pulled him back from the brink of death in the operating room. There was Seungmin, who had tracked down Goblin and saved Jisung's life.

And there was Minho, who saw everything. Who pulled Jisung out of the monster's lair with his own hands. Who drove him, unconscious, breaking all traffic rules — just to make it to the Tower in time.

None of them were to blame. Not even Chan, who kept blaming himself for everything. No one… Except Jisung himself.

But he didn't know how to convince others of this. So the only thing he could do was accept other people's care and affection as if everything was as it should be.

Minho brought them cocoa and covered the sleepy boy with a blanket. It had been dark outside the tower for a long time — the winter evening had covered Seoul, but neither of them had anywhere to rush. On the screen, Soma was preparing a sumire karage roll, and the man, hugging Jisung to himself, chuckled:

"I could do it. Do you want to?"

"You said deep-fried food wasn't healthy," the guy smiled slightly, leaning on his man's shoulder. "Better make me that pork roll."

"As you say, bug."

Bug.

The word hung in the air. Jisung froze.

Everything inside him clenched and snapped. His throat burned, as if from a burn. He couldn't move.

And suddenly he wasn't here. Not in this living room. Not under the blanket. Not with Minho.

"You really are precious to him, bug. "

His hands are tied. His eyes are closed. His mouth is gagged. Pain spreads through his body. Cold penetrates to the bones. He is shaking. But there is no one familiar nearby. Only the sound of a strange voice, with the same word, with the same intonation — but with an evil mockery.

"Sit still, bug. "

Minho is gone. The blanket is gone.

Only darkness and ropes. Silence and horror.

"Jisung," the voice. Not that one, not mechanical, not dead. This one is familiar. Calm. Warm. "Hey, Sungie. You’re here. It’s Minho. Everything’s okay, you hear me? Everything’s okay."

Someone is nearby. Fingers touch his hand — not grabbing, not holding, just touching, as if afraid to scare him away.

"You're in the tower. In the room with me, we watched anime, remember?" — whisper. "Look at me. Take a breath."

But Jisung couldn't. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, he was shaking. His mouth opened, but he couldn't make a sound, only sobs.

"Yongbok said he taught you, Sungie," Minho urged him gently. "Come on, take a breath and try it. Five things you see."

Yes, exactly. Felix. Felix taught him. You have to breathe in, breathe out…

"You," Jisung muttered, his voice shaking. "The blanket. The screen. The mug. The sofa."

"Well done," the man stroked his hand encouragingly, gently, just touching it with his fingertips. "Four things you feel?"

"Your hand. The blanket. The sofa is soft. Warm", he took another deep breath. Gradually the trembling died down. "I hear your… your heart. Ventilation. Cooling of the screen. Smells… Cocoa. And your vanilla shampoo. And I feel the taste of cocoa on my tongue."

"You did it," Minho gently and very, very carefully pulled Jisung closer. Now that he was aware of his surroundings again, he could hear the man was scared, worried, his skin was slightly damp, his heart was beating like crazy. "Is it because of… Because of the pet name?"

"Yes... He overheard it through Nayeon... I…" tears started flowing down his cheeks again, and he didn't even bother to wipe them away. "It's my own fault, I'm stupid... Weak... Useless…"

"No, don't you dare say that," the man's voice broke. "It's not your fault."

"But I…"

"You think Chan doesn’t blame himself?" Minho said quietly. "He’s been working in the workshop so that your new suit can’t be penetrated by the gods of Asgard themselves — you’ll still recover and be back on the rooftops, we all know that. You think Seungmin and Felix don’t blame themselves for not protecting the data enough? You think…" His voice broke again. "You think I don’t blame myself? I thought… I thought I lost you."

"But…" Jisung raised his head in surprise. "But it's not all your fault, it's Goblin…"

"That's right, baby," Minho's gentle lips touched his forehead. "And it's not your fault. Especially not that some bastard overheard our conversation."

Jisung clenched his fists. He didn't know how to say everything that was trying to get out, everything that was hanging like a stone on his soul, he just sobbed again:

"It hurts... It was my favorite... nickname. Yours. Mine. Now... now I'm afraid of it."

Minho pulled him closer, stroking his hair, his back, slowly, carefully.

"Then we’ll take it back," he finally whispered. "Just you and me. Just between us."

He pulled back, just a little, just to look at Jisung's face. There was only tenderness in his cat-like eyes. No pity, no disgust.

"But you have to promise me," he continued quietly. "Talk to a therapist. And… Don’t go out on the streets until you feel like yourself again. I love you… We all love you, we all want you to feel better. Please."

Jisung exhaled and nodded slowly.

He didn't know how to move on. He didn't know how to cope. But Minho did. And as long as Minho could hold his hand, Jisung could get through anything.

🕸🕷🕸

Three months later.

   Jisung had an incredibly successful day: he got to see the cherry blossoms in the park while he was getting a kitten out of the cherry blossoms, posed for a dozen selfies — people loved his new "Iron Spider" suit so much that the internet exploded with every photo. He got a corndog from a nice woman who he had returned her wallet to a week ago, detained a drunk who was pestering people, and now sat on the roof of the renovated KBS Media Center, smiling as he read messages from friends.

Felix was returning from the US today, where he was working with S.H.I.E.L.D., and a small cozy party for eight was expected in the three-room apartment.

Changbin had already taken a day off from the police for this. Jeongin didn't have to ask for much time off — although Chan wasn't technically his boss, F.R.I.D.A.Y. could always let him go. After many updates, Bang Tech's AI had become not only incredibly secure, but also very kind to its creator's friends.

Hyunjin promised to come later, something was wrong with his client. Jisung couldn't help but joke that if Jinnie drew less art with him at night, he would have more time to edit, to which he countered that no other Spider-Man fan artist had literally direct access to their idol.

Seungmin was glad — he was already tired because the Spider-suit AI — Mina (oh, the programmer almost killed him for that) needed some editing, and when they were alone they didn't really clean the apartment. So the appearance of a third neighbor would finally bring сleanliness to the place.

Chan had just returned from a trip to South America with Minho and Sana ( Iron Man's official fiancée, wow, who would have thought it was so unexpected ) yesterday, and had been sleeping all day. But he had promised to show up to the party, since "his favorite biochemist" (don't tell Hulk!) was finally going home.

And Minho, whom Jisung hadn't seen for a week (as Changbin jokingly complained, " They're like chopsticks, I swear! "), was going to come over too. And then take his bug home with him, no matter his friends' giggles or the mess in his apartment.

Gradually, everything around returned to normal. But not all things, of course, remained the same.

Each of Bang Chan's loved ones had a tiny piece of jewelry on them — earrings on Jisung, a bracelet on Minho... Sana's engagement ring, which had so many tracking features built into it that Seungmin almost threw his ring out the window. Only the belief that they could be activated and deactivated, and that Chan would never listen to what Jisung and Minho were doing alone, were able to make the boys leave the jewelry. But overall, everyone understood that after the incident with Goblin, Chan was terrified for them.

Small defense drones appeared in the apartments. Not like the ones in the Tower — with their own database, independent, and set to eliminate any threat to the owners. Chan, Jeongin and Seungmin really killed a lot of time setting them up.

Hyunjin and Jeongin had taken self-defense courses. Of course, in Jisung's opinion, it didn't help against psychos like Electro, but they knew for sure: if you see danger, run as fast as you can.

Felix had nearly exhausted himself extracting Song's serum and creating a universal antidote to such mutation-blocking things. Now several ampoules were sewn into Jisung's new, reinforced suit, and his twin was closely monitoring this presence and condition.

Minho… Well, he and Jisung were really like chopsticks. When he had free time, the only place where the bodyguard wasn’t with Jisung was in the therapist’s office. And even then, he was always sitting outside, armed, ready for anything. Ms. Yeon said that this wasn’t the healthiest behavior… But which of them was? How could even compare the life of an ordinary person to the life of a spider-bitten mutant and his lover, the bodyguard of the most famous billionaire in the world?

And Jisung himself was still afraid of fires. If he had the opportunity not to enter a burning building, if there were no people inside (and animals, to be fair, he could not leave the cats in trouble) — he used it, leaving the work to the firefighters. And let Seoul Daily scold him for this in every new article, saying that because of him someone loses property — he doesn't care.

He was afraid of high-frequency sounds and panicked every time Mina's voice system malfunctioned. Seungmin checked it every time and scolded Jisung for damaging the speakers again... But it was better than having the connection hacked again.

He was still afraid of open water and dark, enclosed spaces. Ms. Yeon said that was normal. That gradually facing his fears would help desensitize him. That grounding himself when faced with a dangerous situation was normal, even for him, a super-powered mutant.

But one thing didn't scare him anymore. No matter what Song Yunho took from him, he couldn't take away Minho's affection and care.

Jisung was swinging on the web between the high rises when the familiar notes of Church rang in his ears and Jisung slowed down, climbing onto one of the rooftops.

"Hey, bug," Minho's soft voice came. Gentle, sweet, beautiful. Jisung could listen to it forever. "Having fun?"

"Hello, jagi," the guy smiled, climbed onto one of the roofs and looked around. The sun was already setting, leaving orange reflections on the skyscrapers. "Are you watching me?"

"No," the man chuckled. "I just guessed. Don’t you want to go home yet?"

"Spider-Man's home is the streets of Seoul, you didn't know?" Jisung snorted cheerfully. "But really, another hour."

"Well, look, insect," the guy could hear Minho’s smile even through the voice communication. "I’ll wait for you."

"Yes, darling," Jisung joked before hanging up. He looked around; everything was calm and quiet. Maybe he could pop into bodyguards' windows early and surprise him.

   Another half hour of patrol passed quietly, and then Mina drew a map in the corner of the lens:

"Jisung, there's a bank robbery in Seocho-gu. Eyewitnesses report that the culprits have strange weapons."

He listened: indeed, an unusual noise was heard somewhere nearby. He instantly jumped up, clinging to the nearest building with his web:

"Inform Iron Man and Minho. Once I arrive, we'll decide whether to call in the drones."

"Of course, Jisung!" the AI reported. "Do you want to activate instant kill mode?"

"What... No! You ask every time," Jisung groaned discontentedly. "We don't kill, we detain."

"As you say, Jisung," Mina's voice somehow sounded cheerful. "Although Lee Minho asked me to tell you that this is nonsense."

"Tell him that these are principles," the hero smiled, stopping on the roof of the building opposite the bank.

The window in the branch was broken, some strange guys in Avengers carnival masks were running back and forth, throwing bills from exploded ATMs into large bags. Around the building… It was burning. The smell of smoke hit his nose, Jisung heard the crackling of flames. For a moment, another fire flashed before his eyes: in a two-story abandoned building, with a groan coming from a speaker hidden in the basement…

Pausing at the edge of the roof, he turned away, took a deep breath, and did his usual grounding.

Five things you can see: The sun setting over Seoul. Beautiful clouds. A plane coming in to land. The roof of the house a few minutes away. The Bang Tech Tower shining in the distance.

He should probably drop by tomorrow and finish the experiment for Chan.

Four things you can feel: the fabric and metal of the suit, clinging to the body. The vibration of the ventilation systems. The roughness of the lips. The coolness of a spring evening.

It's time to finish patrol and go home to Minho.

Three things you can hear: breaking glass somewhere below. The hum of cars. A cat meowing somewhere in the alley.

He wonders if he will have time to feed her after the arrest?

Two things you can smell: polluted city air. Tteokbokki from a stall a block away.

Seungmin and Minho like spicy tteokbokki. He'll have to pick some up on the way.

One thing you can taste: Cherry lip balm stolen from Minho.

They are waiting for him at home. He cannot be delayed.

Succesful.

Spider-Man exhaled, smiled, turned around and shot a web, flying down the floors.