There were no lights in the corridor yet the walls were visible and they could see the end but it felt endless. Doors covered majority of the wall-space to either side. Wasting no time, Hyunwoo pushed open one closest to him with the trust Lu would be able to check the other rooms quicker than him but when he looked back, Hyunwoo's brows quickly furrowed.
Why is he just standing there?
Lu was staring down at his hands before he looked at Hyunwoo, confusion all over his face as if he'd lost something important. "I can't use my ability.."
"What?"
Hyunwoo straightened up and activated capillary perception on Lu. Nothing. He couldn't see anything. Anywhere. His head spun around in all direction impatiently as his eyes moved with it until he was dizzy. His ability didn't work either.
They both turned to face the hallway once again. It really was endless if it meant they had to check every single room. What if it was too late when they find him?
Unsurprisingly, every room they had checked for the past 30 minutes was empty. Despite having no signs of usage, they all looked relatively new and whether it was in a room or in the hallway, they couldn't use their ability. As the dread began to grow in Hyunwoo, in the corner of his eyes, there was a door a few steps away that looked like an illusion. Before, every entrance was spaced apart perfectly symmetrical, but this one was sandwiched between two others almost forcibly. It's appearance to the naked eye was really like a hallucination. It's frame moved like waves and was hardly visible but as soon as Hyunwoo touched the handle, it set in place.
BAAM!
Following the loud noise, to the left side of the room suddenly appeared a steel door, forced open. But something was strange. It really hadn't been there. No matter how anxious Seojun should've been feeling, there's no way he just didn't see it earlier. In his peripheral vision, he could see a blurred version of Hyunwoo. The rush of blood made Seojun feel light headed, even though there was now a chance of escape, a distraction, he couldn't move, not with the needle that close.
The researcher looked at them yet his hand remained unmoved. With his short fuse, he got annoyed immediately.
"Looks like we have some uninvited guests-- ugh!"
By the next second, Seojun was faced by Lu's back as he heard the hushed sound of the syringe hitting the ground. The white coat flapped as the researcher lunged for the dropped possession before jumping back, widening the distance between them with a tense expression on his face.
Hyunwoo raised a handgun at him as he cautiously walked over to Seojun. The pair of hands raised up but the person whom they belonged to did not seem scared, not at all. A grin formed on his face as he slowly descended his hand into a pocket and took something out, "well, since my lovely party was interrupted, I guess it's time to go. See you soon."
Hyunwoo's hand trembled as his finger pressed against the trigger, his aim lining up with the red spot in his visual field. Before he could fire, a bomb-like object was thrown in the air, engulfing the figure as it disappeared in the smoke. It made no sound whatsoever and quickly erased all traces that it or anyone had used anything. If an assassin had such a convenient tool, their career would last forever.
The gun made a sound as it dropped on the concrete floor, echoing louder than it should have. Hyunwoo let out a deep breath, uneasy. He crouched down and quickly loosened the restraint on Seojun's wrists and whispered something. But it was too quiet and Seojun couldn't hear what he said. Hyunwoo stayed still for a few seconds and so did Lu. They both seemed to be in a trance, either staring at the ground or at their hands. Confusion overtaking their judgement.
"Hyun--"
Seojun felt a force on his back pushing him forward. It was so sudden and aggressive that it should've hurt when it hit an obstacle but when his shoulders clashed with Hyunwoo's, there was no pain, only warmth radiating on to him.
Does he just act like this with everyone?
He slowly lifted his arms and embraced Hyunwoo back, closing his eyes to bury his head into his chest. Hyunwoo hung his head low, head nuzzling against him. Kang Seojun felt something slide down the side of his neck and didn't have to think long before realising it was tears.
Kim Hyunwoo was crying.
He quickly realised what he had whispered earlier. 'Sorry'.
"Hyunwoo.."
"...Yeah?"
Actually… I don't really want to know.
Not right now.
"Let's get out of here first."
I think this is fine.
For now.
It seemed to be noon by the time they got back to the headquarters with the sun in the utmost centre of the sky. Right as they entered the building, Kei who was holding a bloody tissue up to his nose turned to them and ran towards Seojun. Before he could take another step, Seojun felt an exaggerated force of gravity as Kei pulled him into a hug. He hugged him back briefly but seeing he wasn't letting go, Seojun looked to Hyunwoo for help but he simply smiled at him, hinting to just let it be for a bit.
Eventually, Kei pulled away. Despite not much of a change from the usual mischievous look on his face, Seojun could tell something felt different and reassured him.
"I'm okay."
By now, Lu had brought Haneul down and they were talking with each other. After a small debrief of what happened, she dismissed him and walked over.
"I'm sure Hyunwoo was more scared than I was," Seojun said in a light tone.
Haneul and Kei exchanged a glance before she looked at Hyunwoo.
"I know," he mouthed.
"Well, I'm glad you're safe Seojun. Go home for now, you can come back whenever you're ready, no rush." She paused for a moment, "and I'm sorry, it looks like you got dragged into this."
Seojun shrugged, "you don't need to apologise. I knew there was a risk of something like this happening if I joined anyway."
Haneul's mouth parted but she didn't say anything more. There was a small silence and Seojun felt someone grab his hand. Hyunwoo waved the other two goodbye and proposed to take him home as they started walking backwards. After a nod of approval from the boss, they turned their backs completely and headed to the car.
The drive felt quick. No, it was more like whatever happened all happened too quickly before Seojun could grasp the extremities. Maybe that's why Hyunwoo was a little worried for him. Waiting at a red light, his finger began to tap on the steering wheel as he continuously glanced over to the passenger's seat.
"Seojun."
"Hm?"
"About what you said earlier, I don't want you to downplay your emotions and how you felt then. But if you need to believe in that to deal with what happened, I can be what you need me to be, for as long as you want. You just need to let me know."
He looked at Hyunwoo then looked away, staring at the queue in front of them. Kang Seojun bit the inner part of his bottom lip as the car fell quiet. He clenched his fist slightly as they took off again. By the time the car had stopped in front of his house, his nails had dug so far into his palm it left a few marks. Even then, that wasn't enough time for him to decide if he should ask the question. The thing that had been haunting him. But now didn't seem like the right time for that.
Kang Seojun received his first confession at the start of middle school; from a stranger. A girl who wasn't even in the same class as him and only knew him through a mutual friend, pulled him aside one day after school and told him she liked him. He quickly rejected her and offered for them to become friends instead. Then the same thing happened two more times before high school; where it would repeat another time. Each confession of 'love' was met with a clear refusal, and each time, Kang Seojun had offered the other person to become friends; because no one that told him they liked him, even knew him. They simply liked the idea of him. After getting to know him, each one moved on quickly, as if disappointed their fantasy was different to reality. No one ever voiced out the reason, but he knew. A bit of him began to think maybe he himself wasn't lovable.
Maybe he was meant to be someone you liked in passing but never loved. Someone that existed but no one really paid special attention to. Someone you can amend to your pleasing. And that was fine. He didn't mind it. He can't. That was true.
But this time he felt conflicted.
Downplay my emotions? But I wasn't. I just acted and thought in a way a normal person would. I couldn't feel the fear even when you did.
And let you know?
No. I don't want to.
…I don't want you to be disappointed.
He felt a hand peeling his nails away from his palm and rubbing the areas with visible short red lines. Hyunwoo spread open his fingers and raised his hand up against his face, pressing it against his cheek.
As his cold touch warmed up, Seojun finally decided. "Hyunwoo."
"What is it? Are you hurting somewhere?"
Seojun shook his head.
"Have you… met me before?"
"Huh?"
"... Kei said you saw me at an airport in the past."
"Is that all he told you?"
He nodded.
Hyunwoo released Seojun's hand and pressed his head against the steering wheel, tightening his grasp on it as his ears turned red. But the feeling he was going through wasn't shared by the other. He peered at him with a flushed look on his face and quickly realised something was wrong. Why was there a look of despair on Kang Seojun's face?
"Hey, what's wrong?"
I should just ask him… There's no point backing out if I made the decision to find out in the first place.
He could feel the sound of his heart thumping in his ears. "Do you like me?" It wasn't a question he wanted an answer to nor was it a question he could receive an answer for in the moment but he wasn't done. "Or do you just like the idea of me?" Just as quick as he was to decide, Seojun took back the words as soon as they left his mouth, "never mind, forget I said anything."
He hurriedly opened the car door and climbed out. Afraid to turn back, his hands retreated into his pockets as he felt Hyunwoo's reach for them.
"Kang Seojun, wait--"
The car door slammed shut behind him. The brief walk to the front door was a period filled with numbness. He knew he should've felt something; about what happened, about what he said, about Hyunwoo. But he couldn't.
Maybe somewhere in his lost soul there was a flame, but it was weak. Too weak to call fear, anxiety, trauma, anger, expectation, love.
Yet his heart felt heavy.
It ached.
A pain he was unfamiliar with, a pain he didn't recognise.