Your Villain (Part 3)
“Hey Soo, wanna go grab some takoyaki after the pledge orientation later?” Chanyeol said, shrugging into his jacket.
Kyungsoo looked up from his smart phone. “Can’t,” he said. “Made plans with Jongin to pick out a present for his niece.”
Jongin?
“Who?” Chanyeol said, his leg frozen in mid-motion as he was about to step into his shoes.
“You know,” Kyungsoo said, tucking his phone carefully away inside his jacket pocket. “From the party?”
“You guys are friends now?” Chanyeol said. This was surprising. The party was a full week ago, but this was the first time Kyungsoo had made mention of the boy at the party after Chanyeol saw the two of them leaving the Sigma Mu house. Chanyeol figured that it hadn’t worked out between them and did not pry.
“He’s nice. I like him,” Kyungsoo said. “Why don’t you come with us later?”
“Uh, no thanks Soo,” Chanyeol said. “I’m not into being the third wheel.”
The walk to the Sigma Mu house was a little uncomfortable for Chanyeol. He became hyper aware of every time Kyungsoo pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket to check his messages.
When they got to the meeting, Jongin was already there. He spotted Kyungsoo right away and waved at him. Kyungsoo made his way to where Jongin was sitting, Chanyeol following on his heels.
“I saved you a seat,” Jongin said, giving Kyungsoo a bright smile. There was only one vacant seat next to Jongin.
Of course.
Kyungsoo had the decency to look conflicted, at least.
Chanyeol surveyed the room and failed to see any other vacant seats on the row. “I’ll just stay back over there,” he said, shuffling towards the back of the room, feeling a little dumb.
It was bad enough that Chanyeol was attending the pledge meeting for a second time, but he felt worse having to sit, or rather stand at the back of the room through it alone. Kyungsoo pledging had been Chanyeol’s idea. Kyungsoo wouldn’t even be at SMTown if it weren’t for Chanyeol. So how come he was the one who felt out-of-place?
***
The Sigma Mu brothers had accepted Chanyeol back as a probationary member, owing to his significant contributions to the previous semester’s various activities, the biggest of these being the SMTown Showcase, which broke the fraternity’s record for Most Trending Event of the Year. Chanyeol could barely believe that what he perceived to be the biggest disaster of the year was actually what would help him make it. Chanyeol suspected that the fraternity felt guilty for letting a pledge handle “faulty” props.
As a probationary member, he still needed to go through the entire pledging process with the new pledge class. He was also stripped of the privileges of having a Big Brother. The relief on both Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s faces when this was announced went by unnoticed to everyone except Kyungsoo, who caught himself before he laughed out loud. The next announcement wasn’t as funny - Baekhyun had been assigned as Kyungsoo’s Big.
Chanyeol was already familiar with the pledging process, having gone through it almost to the very end last semester. It was a process that started out easy - pledges running around, going out of their way to be nice to the active members, becoming their personal assistants; until it got progressively more difficult, tedious and stressful - preparing for the SMTown Showcase with only two hours of sleep in between. In the back of Chanyeol’s mind was a tiny speck of doubt that he might once again fail.
Things are different now, Chanyeol thought. I’ve got Kyungsoo. What could go wrong? His eyes landed on Kyungsoo and Jongin with their heads bent close to each other, whispering, and Chanyeol’s stomach did a little flip.
**
“Jongdae’s birthday is on August 21?” Jongin said, the tip of his finger touching the center of his bottom lip. He did this every time he was unsure. Kyungsoo found it very adorable. Chanyeol thought it made him look like a male bimbo.
“September 21,” Kyungsoo and Chanyeol said at the same time. Kyungsoo shot Chanyeol a sharp look because the way Chanyeol answered came out way harsher than Jongin’s question deserved.
“Oops, sorry” Jongin said, brushing off Chanyeol’s tone. Jongin crossed out the information he had in his notepad and wrote in the correct date.
This pabo doesn’t know what he’s getting into, Chanyeol thought, shaking his head to himself. He considered the interview phase of the pledge cycle to be the easiest one, but if Jongin was already struggling with the active members’ birthdates, then how much more would he have trouble with keeping up when Hell Week kicked off?
Chanyeol didn’t want any of these pledges slowing him down and ruining his chances of getting into SMTown. He had already been given a second chance, and he couldn’t afford having anything or anyone getting in his way.
“And he has one older brother?” Jongin said.
There he goes again with that damn finger. “Ya, Jongin-ah,” Chanyeol said. “Maybe you should go and ask Jongdae himself. I mean that is what we’re supposed to be doing for the interviews, isn’t it?”
That earned Chanyeol Kyungsoo’s worst death glare yet. Chanyeol knew not to mess with Kyungoo when he activated his death glares, so this shut him up. At least he was able to get one good remark in.
Jongin put away his notebook inside his bag, sufficiently chastised. He didn’t get why Chanyeol was acting so annoyed with him. “Sorry, hyung,” he said. “You’re right. I’ll look for Jongdae first.”
“I’ll go with you, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, turning to leave with the other boy.
Great.
**
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on with you?” Kyungsoo said, confronting Chanyeol later in the evening.
Chanyeol took his time flossing his teeth before turning towards his roommate, who had been watching him by the bathroom door. Let him wait and watch. That’s his job anyway. “Nope,” Chanyeol said, after pretending to think. “Don’t think so.”
“Well you’re not acting like yourself,” Kyungsoo said.
“Oh, really?” Chanyeol said. “And you would know, right? Because you know everything about me.” Chanyeol strode out of the bathroom, intentionally bumping into Kyungsoo on the way out.
Chanyeol didn’t care to discuss “what was going on” as it was fairly obvious anyway. If Kyungsoo was what he said he was, then he shouldn’t have any problems figuring it out on his own. Besides, Chanyeol hardly had the vocabulary with which to fully articulate what he was feeling, not that he needed a lot of words to convey the jealousy he felt.
Punching his pillow harder than was necessary, Chanyeol chose to ignore his roommate boring holes into his skull. Don’t look at Kyungsoo. Don’t look at Kyungsoo. Don’t look at Kyungsoo. Chanyeol shut off his bedside lamp and turned so that he was facing the wall.
He never asked for help. He never asked for Kyungsoo to appear and flip his life around. Kyungsoo knew everything about Chanyeol, and it didn’t seem fair that Kyungsoo had all these secrets. The Watchers’ Council. The singing. The fact that Kyungsoo was physically stronger than Chanyeol. Jongin.
Jongin.
That last one was really doing Chanyeol’s head in. Why had finding out about Jongin matter so much? Shouldn’t he be happy for his roommate? Shouldn’t he be glad that Kyungsoo had an actual life that went beyond his work?
Chanyeol felt his chest turn to glass. Guess that was really what he was to Kyungsoo at the end of the day.
Work.
***
Chanyeol decided to give Kyungsoo some space while he figured out how to deal. If Kyungsoo needed to come after him because of Watcher duties, he was free to do so. The fact that Kyungsoo stopped pestering him about his grades drove the knife inside Chanyeol’s chest even deeper.
Chanyeol set off to further his magical training without Kyungsoo’s supervision. They still did the regular rounds in the morning, but he didn’t tell his roommate he was devoting extra time to magic on his own. He was determined to summon Santelmo without Kyungsoo’s help.
The first time he had tried to summon Santelmo with paper he had failed. He decided to change tack this time. Unwrapping a bunch of chopsticks to form a small circle around himself, Chanyeol started whispering the incantations.
Usually when Chanyeol was in the zone, he lost track of time, which was why a Watcher was necessary. Sometimes what felt like mere seconds really were minutes, and minutes easily flowed into hours without Chanyeol noticing. He was not sure how long he had been sitting inside his summoning circle, but it didn’t feel like very long when he felt a warm breeze ghost over his face.
When Chanyeol opened his eyes, a blue ball of flame was floating right in front of his face, bouncing in air.
“Holy sheesh,” Chanyeol whispered. Santelmo.
Before he could do more, the flame suddenly surged forward, knocking Chanyeol onto his back on the ground. It ricocheted around his head for a bit before disappearing to a point in the horizon.
It took Chanyeol a few minutes to recover. He stared up at the star-filled sky and laughed. Holy shit. That was wild.
He had done it! He had summoned Santelmo. On his own, no less! He couldn’t wait to tell Kyungsoo.
Oh yeah. I’m mad at Kyungsoo. Never mind. He took a few moments to catch his breath before stepping out of the summoning circle.
It sucked that the only person who would appreciate the accomplishment was someone he wasn’t really speaking to at the moment.
**
Chanyeol had to admit that there was some satisfaction to be had at seeing Kyungsoo suffer at the hands of Byun Baekhyun, and vice versa.
Baekhyun was a bossy bitch, for sure, and he took total advantage of Kyungsoo, who came in especially handy when it came to academic matters. The SMTown member wasted no time in getting Kyungsoo to encode his term papers for him, which Kyungsoo did without complaint.
However, Baekhyun had underestimated that Kyungsoo was also quite capable of exacting his own brand of evil, and that he could away with it, too.
“Master Baek,” Kyungsoo said, approaching Baekhyun holding court over a few SMTown brothers after Monday assembly. “Here is your Soc Sci paper. You had two thousand seven hundred typographical errors, and twenty factual errors.” The active members that were present snickered. Baekhyun shot them all a look, and they pretended to shut up.
“Very good, Pledge Do,” Baekhyun said, with gritted teeth, snatching his term paper from Kyungsoo. “Is there anything else?”
“You also have a bit of lettuce stuck between your teeth,” Kyungsoo said. The active members erupted in laughter.
“Well Kyungsoo is on an Honesty Pledge,” Jongdae said, his eyes crinkling with mirth. He loved seeing Baekhyun get ticked off. It was just so much fun. “You can’t fault a pledge for doing what he’s told.”
“And your shirt is so last season,” Kyungsoo added, his face not changing expression.
“Not to mention a Fashion Police Pledge,” Jongdae said, tears streaming down his cheeks. “That’s your favorite, isn’t it, Baek?”
“It is not!” Baekhyun said in indignation. “Did Kris put you up to this?”
“Hahaha Satansoo got you there!” Jongdae said, wiping his eyes.
Satansoo.
Kyungsoo liked the sound of that.
**
Ugh, could things possibly get any worse?
For the upcoming SMTown Showcase, Chanyeol once again volunteered to compose an original song to be performed. It was decided that Jongdae would sing it, and Jongdae asked Kyungsoo to help him rehearse. Though he tried not to show it, Chanyeol was glad that Kyungsoo was pulling his own weight in SMTown. The active members seemed to like him.
Chanyeol’s happy mood was dampened somewhat when the active members voted Jongin to be in charge of the choreography for Chanyeol’s song. Worse, Jongin was even being considered for the solo stage, being Sehun’s understudy. The thought of Jongin dancing onstage to Chanyeol’s song while Kyungsoo sang it was a little too much for Chanyeol’s poor brain to fathom.
Meanwhile, Kyungsoo noticed that Chanyeol’s concentration was off as of late. Kyungsoo was used to him being unfocused about school matters, but when it came to magic and his SMTown responsibilities, he was always a hundred percent. Midterms were over, and Kyungsoo was feeling confident that Chanyeol would not be getting lower than a passing grade of three.
Being fully aware of Chanyeol’s capacity and tolerance for all things academic, Kyungsoo had resigned himself into accepting that Chanyeol getting a three in his subjects was perfectly well and good, so it was a conscious decision on Kyungoo’s part to stop being on Chanyeol’s case about his grades. In fact, getting all three’s was actually a big improvement, as half the semester was done and Chanyeol had yet to drop a single subject.
However, Chanyeol refused to speak to Kyungsoo outside of their regular magical sessions, and whenever he did, Chanyeol always kept it civil, refusing to look directly at Kyungsoo when they had no choice but to interact. They stopped doing non-magical things together. They even attended Sigma Mu meetings separately, and tried to stay out of each other’s way inside their room.
Kyungsoo didn’t like it. As Chanyeol’s Watcher, he had always strived to keep the nature of their relationship professional, but the detached attitude Chanyeol now displayed towards him didn’t feel good. It didn’t feel right.
Kyungsoo had to admit that he missed Chanyeol. Jongin was lovely, and Kyungsoo was very fond of him, but it was difficult not being able to discuss magic.
Also he missed the times when Chanyeol would start horsing around and playing rough with him like some big, dumb, drooling puppy. Jongin just wasn’t like that with Kyungsoo.
“But I don’t want to hurt you, hyung,” Jongin said, genuinely confused at what Kyungsoo was asking of him.
“I’m not asking you to hurt me, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said. “Sometimes it’s just…”
Jongin leaned his chin on Kyungsoo’s shoulder as he wrapped an arm around Kyungsoo’s waist. Jongin was so pure and ironically, that’s what hurt more.
Kyungsoo turned his head to kiss Jongin on the tip of his nose. “Never mind,” he said.
So while Kyungsoo was happy he was being given a chance to make it to the SMTown Showcase, singing Chanyeol’s original song no less, he was also a little worried about Jongin being pulled into the situation.
Things were bound to get messy, and Kyungsoo had no choice but to see things through because A Good Watcher never looks away.
**
“Welcome to Hell Week, gentlemen,” Baekhyun said, enjoying every bit of his little spiel. He was even holding a damn megaphone. It was 6AM, and the entire SMTown pledge class had found themselves waking up to the clatter and cacophony brought on by the Sigma Mu brothers in the SMTown basement, where it was cold, drafty and dirty from the partying that went on the night before. There were a dozen of them from the current pledge class crammed side by side on the basement floor. “I see this pledge class is all present. Very good.” Here, he made sure to look at Chanyeol, who resisted the urge to flip off the active member.
Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Jongin were among the pledge class that had made it this far. After weeks of countless member interviews, tasks and personal errands run on behalf of the Sigma Mu brothers, the pledges were on the final stretch to becoming members.
Chanyeol had no idea what to expect this time since he slept right through the most critical week of his life last semester. It felt like a lifetime ago. Knowing what he now knew about himself and his abilities, he now understood why it has been relatively easy for him to run around on the least amount of sleep. Chanyeol understood that he could do it again, but also that he needed to be careful, less he combust a second time and overcompensate on rest at the last, and most crucial minute.
He had learned his lesson.
Kris stepped in and took over from Baek to announce the rules of Hell Week. All pledges were to sleep by batches in designated areas inside the Sigma Mu house until the Showcase. The pledges would now be identified by this batch name until the end of Hell Week.
Baekhyun was smiling at him, which meant bad news. Kyungsoo had an awful feeling he knew what it was.
He was right. Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Jongin were put in the same batch and were assigned to sleep in the basement for the rest of the week. Their batch name was the 929394 line.
“You will sleep together, shower together, eat together and rehearse together for one week until the Showcase,” Kris said, his voice loud and clear around the basement. “In between rehearsals, we, the active members reserve the right to make you do anything we want you to do. And I mean anything.” Chanyeol could feel Kris’s eyes on him, but he only looked straight ahead.
“Don’t worry, pledges. If you’re good, we’ll be very, very good,” Jongdae said, his tone deceptively friendly. “But if you’re bad, you can make sure that we will be worse.”
The others were herded back upstairs after everyone was made to surrender their smartphones. “You will be notified should there be an emergency,” Kris said. “All you have to do is trust us and you will be fine.”
“The 929394 line will be in charge of basement cleanup,” Kris said. “We will check on you at the end of the day. If it is up to standard, you will be rewarded with a quick shower and dinner. If not, well, good luck gentlemen.”
Baekhyun started handing out the cleaning implements to the 929394 line. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s eyes met in their shared hatred for the member. This was the first time in weeks they had actually looked at each other.
Baekhyun smirked at both. “Well, now. Don’t say I never did anything for you.”
**
Fucking Byun Baekhyun. Really - fuck that asshole. What the fuck did he know? Now I’m fucking stuck-
“So are you simply not going to talk to me for the rest of the week or what?” Kyungsoo said, after about two hours of being ignored by Chanyeol, who was busy wiping down the greasy basement floor on his hands and knees in a rhythm that was known only to him.
-in here for a week with these two, goddammit. I swear to fuck when I get out of here and I finally become a member, I am gonna-
“We need to settle this,” Kyungsoo said, again, this time, standing directly over him. “Are you listening to me?”
-smash Byun Baekhyun’s smug face in with my fist. Hell, I am gonna set his ass on fire is what I’m gonna do!
“Chanyeol!”
Chanyeol threw down the dirty rag he was using to wipe down the basement floor and stretched up to his full height. “What do you want from me, Kyungsoo?”
Kyungsoo held his ground against the taller boy. “Look, we are stuck here until the end of the week whether you like it or not,” Kyungsoo said, establishing their immediate reality for the next few days. “And I intend to make the best of it. You should too. Ignoring me or Jongin is not going to make our situation any better. We have to work together. That is the whole point of this exercise.”
Jongin was listening from his spot at the opposite end of the basement. He had been clearing away the detritus of the previous night’s party and dumping the trash into garbage bags. He dared not get involved, whatever was going on between the two of them, but he agreed with Kyungsoo. They had to make it work as a team if they wanted to make it to the end of Hell Week. His role was not to take sides and make things worse, but to do whatever was required of him so that they all made it out worthy of becoming members. That was the important thing.
He decided to take it one day at a time.
**
The 929394 line finished cleaning the basement just before midnight. The floor was spotless and shiny, there was not a trace of dirt or dust anywhere, and all storage boxes were sorted and re-organized. All the grime and dirt that covered the basement covered the 929394 line, who stood in a row with their foreheads against the wall as their work was being inspected by the Sigma Mu brothers.
The inspection crew was comprised of Kyungsoo and Jongin’s Bigs - Baekhyun and Taemin, as well as older active members Key and Jonghyun.
“Mediocre work at best, but it’ll do,” Key said in a bored voice.
“These guys have it so easy,” Jonghyun said. He clucked his tongue. “Get cleaned up before dinner, pledges.”
“You will get two hours of rest after dinner. At 0200 hours, you are expected at rehearsal. That will be held at the dance studio on the second floor,” Taemin said. “Rehearsal starts at 0200 sharp. Any pledge that is late will be asked to leave.”
The 929394 line listened for footsteps climbing back up. Then they heard Baekhyun’s voice from the top of the stairs. “You get five minutes total in the first floor shower. Place all your dirty clothes in the laundry bag that will be given to you. Change into the tracksuits provided for you then join your pledge class for dinner in the dining room. Time starts now.”
**
All pledges were assigned use of one bathroom on the first floor, which had a tiny shower stall and no hot water. The only way any batch was going to make the five-minute time limit was if they showered together at the same time. There was no question about it. It was not a time to be shy about doing things. They just needed to get it done.
At least when it came to that, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Jongin were of a single mind.
Wordlessly, and efficiently, they stripped off the filthy clothes they had been wearing since the previous night and stuffed them all in the laundry bag given to them before they entered the bathroom.
Chanyeol turned on the shower, stepped in and made room for the other two. The water was freezing. Chanyeol turned the water on full blast. He spotted a detachable showerhead and thought that might make things go more quickly in terms of water distribution because he was the tallest. As for the water temperature, Chanyeol was confident he could do something about that, too.
When the water hit Kyungsoo’s and Jongin’s skin, it was already a more comfortable temperature. Jongin gave an appreciative groan and allowed himself the small luxury of closing his eyes. Kyungsoo shot Chanyeol a brief grateful smile. Chanyeol returned it with a small, rueful one.
It was a start.
**
After a quick dinner with the entire pledge class, the members distributed empty brown boxes among the pledges to be used as makeshift cots for them to sleep on. The pledges were given two hours of sleep until they had to wake up for rehearsals. They needed to get up and go through the dance numbers included in the SMTown Showcase, regardless of whether they were included in the final dance lineup or not.
The basement floor was freezing cold, but Chanyeol was once again able to make it a more tolerable temperature.
“Don’t over exert yourself,” Kyungsoo told Chanyeol. “We have six more days of this plus rehearsals.”
“I got this,” Chanyeol said. “I’m not even at quarter capacity.”
Even though Jongin had no idea what his batch mates were talking about, he was relieved to hear Kyungsoo and Chanyeol talking to each other.
It was Jongin who woke them up twenty minutes before rehearsals. Chanyeol was naturally pissed because he wanted his twenty minutes more for sleep.
“Hyungs,” Jongin said, ignoring the grumpy giant. “Please. We need to get up and warm up before rehearsals. They won’t give us time to do that when we get to the studio and it’s not good for dance.”
The kid had a very good point. The members wouldn’t care about warm-up when the pledges were specifically told that rehearsal began at 2AM. They were expected to show up and hit the ground running, or more accurately, dancing. On this, they knew that they had to defer to the dancer in their group.
“Okay, Jongin,” Chanyeol said. “You’re in charge.”
**
Jongin’s strategy worked. Among the other batches, the 929394 line was better adjusted to keep up with the dance movements as they were able to warm up properly. They lessened the risk of getting muscle cramps that might slow everybody’s progress down.
Neither Chanyeol nor Kyungsoo were natural dancers, but because Jongin took the time to demonstrate the choreography slowly and repeatedly to both, they were able to understand the movements better. Jongin proved to be a very patient teacher to the two non-dancers.
In between the non-stop rehearsal schedules, the members liked to randomly pull out pledges to recite song lyrics from the SMTown Showcase catalogue. Anybody that messed up the lyrics had to sing the song from the top while doing push-ups.
The days bled into one long, never-ending day, indistinguishable from the last. The pledges were not allowed to change clothes from the tracksuits they were provided from their first communal shower.
Kyungsoo was monitoring Chanyeol, making sure he was conserving energy. He was insistent that Chanyeol regulate his sleep, despite the other’s preternatural endurance. As much as possible, Kyungsoo did not want Chanyeol using magic because they ran the risk of having Chanyeol burn out too soon.
Towards the end of Hell Week, Kyungsoo awoke to the basement awash in a bluish glow. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized that he seeing a rather large flame hovering over Chanyeol’s chest.
Santelmo.
“Chanyeol, wake up!” Kyungsoo said. What was Santelmo doing here? This only meant that at some point Chanyeol was able to summon it by himself. “Get up NOW!”
Chanyeol and Jongin roused from sleep. Jongin audibly gasped. “What…what’s happening?” he sounded very small and scared.
“Oh my god!” Chanyeol said. This was not good.
“What did you do, Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo said.
“Santelmo!” Chanyeol said, not sure what was going on. “But-“
“Did you seal the summoning circle?” Kyungsoo said as they watched the flame start dancing around the room, getting considerably bigger as it moved across the room.
Chanyeol tried to think back to when he summoned Santelmo on his own a few weeks back and whether he finished the spell cleanly or not. Damn it. I did, didn’t I? How could I not have?
“Fuck.” The color drained from Chanyeol’s face, telling Kyungsoo everything he needed to know.
“Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, keeping his voice calm. “Run up to the kitchen and grab me the entire spice rack. Do it now.”
The boy didn’t need to be told twice and ran upstairs to the kitchen.
“Chanyeol, you will need to send Santelmo back,” Kyungsoo said. “The longer it stays here, the more of your energy it will have to feed off on. It will drain you.”
Abashed, Chanyeol realized that Kyungsoo was right. Damn it. How could he have been so irresponsible?
Jongin came back down with the supplies, and Kyungsoo quickly set off to create a summoning circle. After a cursory inspection of the spice rack, Kyungsoo was able to find some crushed sage and some salt. He set those aside. It wasn’t the best option, but it would have to do.
Grabbing one of the box-cots, Kyungsoo started tearing it up. Chanyeol sprung into action to help. Meanwhile, Jongin still didn’t understand what it was they were doing and why, but he jumped in nonetheless to make the task go faster. When they had ripped the box to more manageable shreds, Kyungsoo arranged them in a pile in the center of the room.
“I hope to the gods this is acceptable,” he said.
Next, Kyungsoo started sprinkling crushed sage on the floor, forming crude symbols around the shredded pieces of box. Chanyeol was ready with the salt, which he carefully poured out into a circle surrounding the symbols.
“Do your stuff,” Kyungsoo said to Chanyeol when he finished closing the circle. “Try not to get drained, okay?”
Jongin was going crazy. He could only hide behind Kyungsoo and watch the proceedings. He wasn’t familiar with the type of pledge task whatever this was. Jongin wasn’t sure if this was all a dream or if he and his batch mates had finally lost their minds from Hell Week. But surely it wasn’t his imagination if all three of them were experiencing the same thing? Unless it was some form of mass hysteria. Yes, that had to be it!
It was too scary to watch. After a few minutes of Chanyeol whispering to himself, the blue flame slowed its movement around the room and started approaching the circle. Then, for a terrifying split second, Jongin felt as though the whole room’s air pressure compressed around them. He felt dizzy, as though the room’s dimensions had flipped over. But just as quickly as the feeling had come, it had vanished and the atmosphere in the basement went back to normal.
He looked down towards the circle. The sage had burned into fine white ash, as had the pieces of box. That, along with the circle of salt was all that was left. Jongin had been holding his breath, but something told him it was all over now.
Then Chanyeol fainted.
**
Chanyeol was tearing through a blur of green, his eyes focused on the creature that was dashing through the aisles of books.
Ddori. You’re always a few feet ahead of me, dammit.
Chanyeol kept moving through the maze of books, exiting into a vast empty room without a ceiling. The ferret was nowhere to be found, but he came face to face with Kyungsoo, who was waiting for him in the center of the clearing.
“Did you see it?” Chanyeol said. “It came around here.”
“We’ll find it together,” Kyungsoo said. “You and me.”
Tears sprang into Chanyeol’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Kyungsoo,” he said. He had wanted to say that for a while now. “I’m really, really sorry. Please don’t leave me.”
Kyungsoo reached for his hands and held them tight.
Chanyeol heard a loud rumble over his head. Water rushed down over him, submerging him and Kyungsoo completely. He discovered the force of the water had not separated Kyungsoo from him. Their hands were still clasped together.
Swimming towards each other, and coming together in a kiss felt right. Chanyeol clung tight to Kyungsoo as they steadily made their way to the surface.
Chanyeol felt overwhelmed with calm. The water felt so good, so cool. He felt recharged. He started laughing.
**
Chanyeol shot up, gasping with laughter. Kyungsoo and Jongin were on either side of him, waiting for him to wake up. He saw their faces and suddenly remembered where he was.
He also remembered every tiny detail about the dream he just had.
“What day is it?” he said. “What time is it?”
Kyungsoo was visibly relieved. “You passed out for about a minute,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“Thirsty,” Chanyeol said. Jongin got up to fetch Chanyeol some water. Chanyeol spotted the remnants of the sealed summoning circle in the middle of the basement. “It’s gone, right? We sent it back?”
Kyungsoo nodded. “You damn fool,” he said, though there was no venom in his tone. “What did I tell you about finishing clean?”
“I’m so, so sorry, Soo,” Chanyeol said, lowering his head. “For being so careless.” He hoped Kyungsoo understood that he meant more than just with the spell. He was sorry for being a careless and selfish person in general.
“I need to apologize to you, too,” Kyungsoo said. “I have also been selfish.”
“No-“
“Yes,” Kyungsoo said. “I don’t do people very well, Chanyeol. Arcane matters are easier for me to manage because I know what to expect if I study hard enough. Magic has its rules. Real life is a little more complicated.”
Before Kyungsoo could say more, Chanyeol reached over and pulled Kyungsoo to him, enclosing his lips with his. He needed to make sure the kiss would feel the same in real life. When he felt Kyungsoo kiss him back, he felt his heart burst into flowers.
When they broke apart, Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol a real smile, the heart-shaped one. Chanyeol had never been so glad to see it in his life.
Jongin came back with some water and handed it to Chanyeol. “Are you all right, hyung?” he said, crouching back down to the floor.
“I’m fine, Jongin, thank you,” Chanyeol said. “I’m sorry if I was a dick before.”
Jongin shot Kyungsoo a confused look. Then a smile broke out on his handsome features. “Yay! Does that mean you and Kyungsoo hyung are friends again?”
Jongin really was too pure for this earth.
**
Nobody knew what to expect on the day before the Showcase or how Hell Week was going to end, but on the morning before the Showcase, the pledges were made to shower and change into plain gray robes. Then, they were led into a study room where they found stacks of blank notebooks arranged neatly on the table at the front of the room.
“Throughout this period,” It was one of the older active members, Onew speaking. “We have asked you to get to know us, the active members, the brothers of Sigma Mu. Whether through interviews or just being around us, we hoped that you were able to take note of the information that we have supplied to you.
“Your final test,” he went on. “Would be to write down all the personal information of all active members in alphabetical order in these notebooks. The information you supply will have to be complete and without erasure. We will come back in eight hours to check your answers.” He paused. “Gentlemen, please note that any mistakes made in your final submission will deem you ineligible to continue forward with Sigma Mu.”
A low murmur rumbled through the pledge class. Onew signaled for quiet.
“Work as one,” he said. “That’s all we can tell you.”
**
Kyungsoo took charge of the pledge class, dividing the work into sections. This was the fastest way he could think of to accomplish the task. He assigned A-E to one batch, E-J to the next, and so on until all letters were covered. Kyungsoo’s mind was a database, and he knew there was not a member whose information he did not have. All they had to do as a pledge class was to help each other getting everything down manually.
Kyungsoo directed everyone to take down the information in shifts per batch. As soon as they established the routine, everyone hunkered down to the task.
Eight hours went by in a flick of an eye. The floor of the study became littered with torn out pages from mistakes made.
The pledges finished with five minutes to spare. The notebooks were then passed forward to Kyungsoo, who made one final do-over. When he had verified the contents, he had stacked the notebooks in a neat column on the table at the front.
At the end of the allocated eight hours, the pledges were made to stand up in a row facing the wall. Assigned to check the final submission were Kim Jongdae and Kris Wu.
Minutes passed. Kim Jongdae gave the thumbs-up. Shortly, Kris Wu gave his own thumbs-up.
When the pledges were asked to turn around, they found the active members holding lit candles, casting a soft light around the room. Each and every one of them was smiling. They all looked like angels, even Byun Baekhyun. They started singing the SMTown anthem.
Chanyeol’s heart swelled with pride.
When the singing ended, Kim Junmyeon entered the study.
“Gentlemen,” he said, smiling. “I am pleased to formally welcome our new brothers to Sigma Mu.”
The study erupted in cheers.
**
Article: SMTown Second Semester Showcase
[+972, -2] OMG! Was that the BEST SMTown Showcase ever or what? I’m so glad I was able to get tickets because I missed the show last time. REALLY wonderful new members debuted - look out for Jongin - the one who did the solo on the B stage for the new song, “Baby Don’t Cry”! He broke my bias list!
[+700, -4] My favorite new member is Do Kyungsoo. HIS VOICE. My god! It melted the panties right off me.
[+500, -300] That new member Chanyeol is ugly-cutie, don’t you think?
**
“Congratulations, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol said, as they walked back to their dorm after the Showcase. He was exhausted, but he was still feeling all kinds of high coming from the events of the week. What a week. He didn’t know how they got through it, but they did. And here they were. Official members of Sigma Mu.
“Congratulations, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said.
They bumped fists.
“So, what now, my dear Watcher? What does our day look like tomorrow? New summoning spells? Crystals cleansing? Lay-lines trekking?”
“I say we take the rest of the weekend off to sleep in before the Induction Ball,” Kyungsoo said. “Watcher’s orders.”
Chanyeol draped an arm over Kyungsoo. “Well, then I won’t argue with that.”
“Hyungs!”
Chanyeol and Kyungsoo turned to see Jongin running down the path towards them.
“That Jongin really is too cute, isn’t he?” Chanyeol said.
“The cutest,” Kyungsoo agreed, nodding.
Jongin was breathless by the time he caught up to them. “I was looking for you guys! Were you going to leave me?” He puffed out his lower lip in a slight pout.
“Never,” Chanyeol said, gesturing for Jongin to join them.
**
It seemed surreal to the three that just a few days ago, they had found themselves in a similar situation. When they had stripped off their clothes to shower together, they had done so mechanically, perfunctorily. There was no need and certainly no time to pause and appreciate the skin on each other’s bodies, unlike now, when they had nothing to look forward to for the moment but some well-deserved rest.
Though Chanyeol found it quite scandalous to discover that his quiet, meticulous and disciplined Watcher would be excited by the very real possibility of a threesome, he couldn’t call it unexpected. Somehow it was always the quiet ones, after all.
Chanyeol was a lights-on kind of guy, though.
It was an instant turn-on seeing the faint blush dusting Jongin’s cheeks when Chanyeol flicked the switch on inside their dorm room.
“Um,” Jongin said. “Do you think we could maybe not have the lights open?”
“I can’t believe I was ever pissed at you,” Chanyeol said, obliging Jongin’s request, even though he wanted nothing more than to keep seeing Jongin blushing. “You’re adorable.”
“Told you so,” Kyungsoo said, but it wasn’t clear which of the two he was addressing. “Hold that thought.” He shot off to do some rummaging in the dark.
Kyungsoo, ever the resourceful Watcher produced some candles in record time. Chanyeol shouldn’t even be surprised anymore. Theirs was a magical dorm room, after all. Of course they would have some candles lying around somewhere.
“Excuse me,” Chanyeol said. “I am about to do something very cheesy.”
He snapped his fingers and the candles ignited.
Jongin’s mouth was a perfect O as he watched the room become illuminated with a soft, cocoon-like glow. “How did you-?”
“That was pretty impressive,” Kyungsoo said, coming up behind Jongin and hugging his waist from the back. His arms went around the boy’s stomach and started slowly lifting his shirt, planting soft kisses over the back of his neck. He made sure to catch his roommate’s eye, who in turn was watching the pair in front of him. “Did you learn to do that on your own?”
Kyungsoo’s hands were tracing loose, lazy circles over the soft skin of Jongin’s tummy. The other boy melted in Kyungsoo’s embrace, not doing much except allowing himself to be touched everywhere by his hyung while his roommate watched.
“You see, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, his voice quiet and low. “Chanyeol is magical. And it’s my job to make sure-
Jongin gasped. Kyungsoo had slipped his hand inside Jongin’s pants and found his erection.
“-that he stays a good boy,” Kyungsoo said, punctuating every word with a soft tug.
Chanyeol was getting so hard watching Kyungsoo turn Jongin into putty. Holy shit. He had no idea Kyungsoo was really like this.
Evil. That’s what he was.
“Magic?” Jongin was barely able to form his next words with the way he was being touched by Kyungsoo. “Was that what happened back there at the Sigma Mu house?”
“Mmmhmm,” Kyungsoo said. “He can show you more if you’d like. But first you’d have to do what he says. You can do that, right, Jongin?”
God, Kyungsoo was filthy. Chanyeol was loving it. He had pulled up a chair and had started idly touching the front of his jeans.
“Y-yes,” Jongin said, his answer coming out in a breath.
“I want to see the two of you kiss,” Chanyeol said, unable to stop his voice from trembling.
Kyungso nudged Jongin forward, walking him over closer to where Chanyeol was sitting. Kyungsoo lowered himself to sit on the floor, urging Jongin to join him. Once they were comfortably settled by Chanyeol’s feet, Kyungsoo reached over and touched Jongin’s face, pulling him in closer to kiss him.
Chanyeol leaned forward to watch Jongin’s plush lips being kissed open by Kyungsoo. They kissed slow, languid, as if Chanyeol wasn’t even there. Kyungsoo was murmuring softly to Jongin, making the boy gasp and smile into Kyungsoo’s mouth every so often. Chanyeol didn’t even need to hear what Kyungsoo was telling the other boy.
Chanyeol was tempted to unzip and start touching himself in earnest, but even before the temptation became too much for him not to act upon, Kyungsoo brought a hand up to settle on Chanyeol’s knee. Kyungsoo broke away from kissing Jongin, and leaned in closer to his ear to whisper something to him, making Jongin raise his eyebrows and give Chanyeol a naughty little grin.
Jongin raised up on his haunches. “Kyungsoo hyung wants me to ask you for permission to unzip you,” he said.
Chanyeol wasn’t able to answer with words. Instead, he opened his legs wider in order for Jongin to crawl in between them. Jongin quickly got the message and slid right between Chanyeol’s legs. Kyungsoo sat back watching Jongin, his own legs bent open. It was obvious that he would also need to be unzipped very soon.
Jongin knelt up and reached for Chanyeol’s zipper, but before he could pull it down, Chanyeol leaned forward and tilted Jongin’s face up with his fingers. “Kiss me,” he said.
Jongin didn’t need to be told twice. “Yes, hyung,” he said, meeting Chayeol’s tongue with his own, teasing the tip. Chanyeol let the boy set the pace. Jongin was so eager, yes, but he didn’t rush. Kyungsoo was right about Jongin from the beginning. He was nice, and he tasted so good. Their first kiss was delicious and uninhibited, their bottom lips barely grazing each other as only their tongues lapped over the other for a few drawn-out seconds, circling each other, the wetness of the kiss adding to their heat as their tongues curled over one another.
Kyungsoo wanted to tell them how incredible they looked, but he didn’t want to disturb the moment. Just a few months ago, Chanyeol couldn’t stand to be near Jongin. Now he was letting Jongin suck on the tip of his tongue. It was funny how things had turned out.
Chanyeol had grabbed hold of Jongin’s hands and put them over his bulge. Jongin took this as permission to continue what he set out to do in the first place and Kyungsoo soon heard the faint metallic rip of a zipper coming undone.
Kyungsoo crawled over to Jongin and kneeling behind him, made to lift his shirt off his body. Chanyeol decided to help. Jongin raised his arms over his head so his hyungs could undress him. Chanyeol yanked his own shirt off in a hurry while Kyungsoo removed his.
Kyungsoo joined Jongin in helping Chanyeol tug off his jeans so that Chanyeol was now in just his boxer briefs. His cock was tenting the front of the tight material, stretching the fabric. A patch of wetness stained the front. Kyungsoo could see the tip of his roommate’s cock straining against the band of his boxer briefs. Chanyeol pulled it off halfway down over his hips so that his erection popped out, first springing out and then bouncing back up against his tummy, leaving a patch of wet over his skin.
Jongin gave a pleased little hum, leaning the side of his cheek against Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Kyungsoo gave Jongin’s face a gentle, affectionate pat. Whispering more instructions to Jongin, Kyungsoo snuck in little looks at his roommate, who was well on his way to being totally wrecked, the head of his cock twitching against his belly, begging for attention.
Jongin unzipped himself and tugged off his jeans, Kyungsoo helping him get them off his legs. He was wearing tight white briefs, which Kyungsoo had also yanked right off without preamble. Chanyeol pulled off his boxer briefs completely as Jongin knelt back down to help Kyungsoo remove the rest of his clothing.
He offered both hands to the other two and yanked them both off the floor, pulling them towards his bed, a few short steps away.
They piled on Chanyeol’s bed in a tangle of limbs, arms, teeth and tongues. The three shortly realized that maybe they should not have been in such a hurry to get into bed because now all they wanted to do was curl up against each other and let sleep finally claim them after a long, intense, crazy, fucked up week.
**
The Induction Ball was held two nights after the Showcase, giving enough time for everyone to rest and recover from the previous week’s activities. The event served as a wrap party, welcome party and an end-of-semester party in one. All of SMTown were in attendance, as it was the first formal party to welcome the brand new members after a job well done at the Showcase.
Chanyeol had cleaned up nicely for the evening, taking Kyungsoo’s advice and buying an actual suit. Even his one-time lover and former Big Brother, Kris Wu had been impressed.
“You cut a nice suit there, Chanyeol,” Kris said, as he and Baekhyun passed Chanyeol and Kyungsoo on the dance floor. “Is it bespoke?”
“Thanks, Kris,” Chanyeol said. “Nope. It’s just off the rack.”
Kris pulled a little face that said, “touché.” Baekhyun mouthed, “Call me,” behind his boyfriend’s back.
Chanyeol and Kyungsoo both shivered in revulsion.
“Oh my gosh! Kris actually thought I was wearing couture!” Chanyeol said, when Kris was out of earshot. The thought was hilarious.
Kyungsoo brushed off imaginary lint off Chanyeol’s shoulder as Chanyeol spun him around. “Well you do look good, you know.”
“Aw, shucks,” Chanyeol said. “Likewise. You are the most handsome fake librarian-to-be I have ever met in my life.”
That got him a playful kick to the shin.
Looking at how sharply dressed Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were that night, nobody could have guessed how debauched they were the morning after the Showcase.
The truth was, Chanyeol woke up to a lot of boy in his bed, what with Jongin sleeping soundly, smooshed between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. One of Jongin’s muscular dancer legs was draped over Chanyeol’s.
It was a tight, but not unpleasant way to wake up.
“Do you realize that I actually slept through sex?” Chanyeol said, twirling Kyungsoo.
“I think we all did,” Kyungsoo said. They spotted Jongin off to one side of the ballroom, busy flirting with his Big Brother Taemin. “What did you do to Jongin, Chanyeol? Look at him. He used to be so innocent!”
“Me? What about you?” Chanyeol said. “In fact, where did you hide my roommate?”
“I think he got tired of being in the sidelines,” Kyungsoo said. “Tired of playing sidekick.”
“Whoah,” Chanyeol said. “Hey. You were never my sidekick, Soo. In fact you’re really more like a villain.”
“Damn right,” Kyungsoo said, suddenly manhandling Chanyeol and dipping him low in the middle of the ballroom. “I’m your villain.”
As soon as he let Chanyeol up, Kyungsoo found himself being swept up in a tight embrace, letting his big, dumb, magical boy shower him with kisses. Kyungsoo shut his eyes in gratitude as they kissed, remembering that A good Watcher knows when to close his eyes.
Chanyeol wanted to treasure this moment, by far their most magical one yet, for a very long time.
END.
Part 1 | Part 2