While The Sky Burns, for alectrona19 (1/2)
Title: While the Sky Burns
Recipient: alectrona19
Pairing: Mino/Seunghoon, side!Seungyoon/Taehyun
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Mino is forced to leave the city for his safety, and along the way he meets two strangers who become unlikely travelling companions. …Or more concisely: Mutants’ Roadtrip AU
Notes: Thanks to the mods for being very, VERY patient with me and thanks to my recipient for the prompts! I took creative liberties with the one I chose, I hope you don’t mind! *crosses fingers that you’ll enjoy it at least just a little bit*
say hello then say farewell
to the places you know
we are all mortals aren’t we
any moment this could go
He’s not a fugitive, not exactly. Being a fugitive entails breaking the law and as far Mino is concerned, he’s never broken any. Or at least not anything that warrants being hunted down like a criminal on a rampage. Mino would never even hurt a fly.
As a matter of fact, he’d been living a decent if not underwhelming life as a nursing assistant at a little-known clinic in Seoul, and up until two weeks ago, his biggest problem had been a noisy upstairs neighbour who kept him up at night with loud EDM music and a lot of stomping around.
(Considering breaking into her apartment to destroy whatever goddamn satanic speakers she owns that could make that much noise is probably the closest Mino ever got to committing a crime, but even then he’d have done a service for the entire building so.)
But one way or another, Mino has been expecting this. No amount of technological innovation can change traditional beliefs and a warped sense of entitlement. Mino had opted to live a silent, boring life because he knew the dangers of being himself in a world that is irrationally threatened by different. Even his mother’s cautious warnings only served as affirmation to what he knew to be true - that human beings are capable of the worst, and will not hesitate to do the vilest of things to retain control.
And yet despite the odds stacked against him, Mino intented to live a peaceful life, even if it meant ignoring his gifts in order to carve a place for him in this world. In their world.
That’s until the government declared war on his kind and Mino is left with no choice but to face the part of himself he’d kept buried, abandon all of his plans for a slim chance at survival.
Mino is not a fugitive, not exactly, but he’s on the run.
He decides to pack his bags and head north, five days since the Mandate. There’s a farmhouse in the fringes of Chuncheon, at a forgotten village near the Taebaek mountains that could be the perfect burrow. Perhaps he’d be safer there, if only for a while, and maybe distance will draw out the inevitable. The past week has been a continuous nightmare, like he’s walking on thin ice and his every move is being watched. There hasn’t been a minute since the Mandate was passed when he felt secure.
He doesn’t know how long he could run - if he could even run at this point, but anything is better than waiting for them to capture him and do god knows what.
Mino’s shoes squeak against the pavement, blending into the sounds of a fading day that conceal the horrors being committed right at this very moment. They’re at the edge of summer, the cold night breeze a sign of the autumn to come. Seemingly a night like most others, except it’s not. Not for Mino. The war may be a silent one to most of the public who’d much rather overlook what is staring them in the eyes - god forbid they have to be assed to care - but the war exists, and they’re losing.
“You’re fucked, aren’t you?”
Mino grips the straps of his bag tighter, halting his steps as an instinctive curl of dread settles at the pit of his stomach. He turns sharply towards the sound of the voice, only to be met by a pitch black alleyway unlike the lit ones that surround the neighbourhood. He peers up at the brick walls that loom above him for any sign of anyone, but the windows are dark and bare. Then his eyes sweep the streets and a wintry chill runs down his spine when he realizes he’s eerily alone, as if the city stopped in time.
There’s only one thing this could be - they’ve caught up with him and this is how it ends - like the hundreds they’ve captured since the Mandate was released.
It only took a few steps from his apartment; he hadn’t even gotten far enough to reach his car parked just one more block from where he stands. Mino is, like the voice says, in every sense of the word, fucked.
He turns to the alley again and gasps softly when two burning orbs pierce through his vision, luminous like a pair of cat eyes slinking low and edging closer. It’s 1 o’clock in the morning and reason tells Mino to run away and run fast, but his feet are planted firmly in place as though an invisible force is keeping him there.
An ache scratches at the base of his throat and it takes a few seconds until it dawns on him that it’s his own doing. He’s straining to fight against that same invisible force that renders him unable to scream.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” the voice says again and Mino could hear his heart pound against his ears at this point. He no longer has control of the muscles in his body, and it’s useless to struggle. Think, Mino. This paralysis could very well be caused by an anxiety attack, but he could feel and sense that this is something else. Whatever it is keeping him pinned down is way more powerful than a natural physical response to danger.
Mino follows the golden eyes with his own as they emerge from the shadows. They turn a dark shade of brown when the man comes into full view, the yellow light from the lamp post revealing all six feet of him. Mino thinks he’s swathed in smoke until the man lifts a hand to bring a lit cigarette between his fingers to his mouth.
At a closer glance, he’s not much older than Mino. Just a young man like himself, his expression toeing the line between interested and amused.
Mino heaves as the man steps closer and stops in front of him, nerves on edge but still unable to move. The stranger cocks his head to the side as he flicks Mino’s hoodie off, then he appraises him, eyes scanning every inch of Mino’s face with startling intensity, lips pursed in thought.
“Seungyoon,” he says like a command, voice neither deep nor shrill, and not a moment later Mino regains control of his body, starting with his fingers that he belatedly realizes are trembling.
Before Mino could react, another man falls beside the smoking man, definitely younger but aged by the dark circles under his eyes that are stark against his pallid skin. He looks almost haunting under these lights, and clearly he’s the reason for Mino’s temporary immobility.
Mino may not recognize these strangers but he knows exactly what they are. By the looks of it, they’re not the enemy, but they could be dangerous all the same. If not more so. Unfortunately escaping is no longer an option; Mino isn’t only outnumbered, he’s evidently in over his head.
“What do you want from me?”
“Do you think there’s anywhere you can run to where you’ll be safe?” It’s the one with the eyes who asks. He takes another drag from his cigarette and a wisp of smoke escapes his lips. There’s something oddly hypnotizing about the cadence of his movement and Mino isn’t sure if he’s in some sort of induced trance or the man is just, well, distracting.
But it’s not a threat, Mino decides. The man’s tone is amused, yet not wickedly - it’s almost playful. Mino keeps his guard up regardless and tries not to flinch when the man raises a brow and inches in a tad more, breaching Mino’s personal space. They’re barely separated by a foot now and from this proximity, Mino could smell the smoke on him and something else. Mint, maybe.
“What are you talking about?” Mino puts on his best act out of instinct, but he knows these people aren’t easily fooled.
The man looks mildly exasperated as he rolls his eyes. He shares a look with the Seungyoon guy and shakes his head as if he couldn’t believe what he’s hearing.
“A moment ago you lost control of your own body and yet you’re looking at us like we’re just punks about to mug you. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” For a split second the man’s eyes turn a bright gold color again, to which Mino barely reacts, thereby proving the man’s point.
Mino takes a moment to deliberate his next move and figures that if they’re as powerful as he thinks, they’d have done more damage by now had their intention been to hurt him. He relaxes his stance, breathes deeply and pushes out the remaining nerves out of his system.
“How did you-?”
“My friend over here is more perceptive than most,” he throws an arm over Seungyoon’s shoulder playfully before he gives Mino a slow one over that makes the back of his neck heat up in the cold breeze. His gaze drops to the bag Mino holds. “And just between us, a man who looks like he’s escaping the city after the Mandate is a little telling, don’t you think?”
“Then what do you want from me?” Mino shifts his gaze between the two men, still baffled. “If I’m fucked then you both are, too.”
“We monsters have to stick together,” he replies, the emphasis on the crude word igniting a spark of resentment in Mino, but not at him.
“I believe the politically correct term is mutants.”
“Being politically correct won’t change how they view us.” Another puff, another blow. Mino feels like they’re enshrouded in smoke from the man’s cigarette. “We’re an abomination to mankind, no better than the monsters they’ve created in their heads.”
Mino holds his gaze and he thinks he notices something else other than detached self-deprecation in the man’s eyes. It’s not quite anger, which Mino expects from mutants who’ve been wronged by the twisted perception of society. Maybe fear. But who wouldn’t be afraid when the government is rounding mutants up for slaughter just because they couldn’t stand their existence?
“I still don’t know what you want from me. You don’t even know me or what I’m capable of.”
“I don’t need to know how useful you’d be to understand that there’s strength in numbers. Come with us and we’ll all feel just a little... safer,” he supplies after a pause.
“You just said there’s nowhere we can run to where we’ll be safe,” Mino reminds him, and he agrees. Over the years the government has built a massive network, invested in technology and manpower solely for the purpose of hunting down mutants. The Mandate to capture them may have been passed only a few days ago but it was decades in the making. What are the chances three stray mutants can survive that?
“No, I asked you if you think there’s anywhere you can run to where you’ll be safe, which I know you don’t,” he clarifies, a smug smile playing at the side of his mouth. “But we know a place and we’re headed there.”
“The Auxillium,” the man named Seungyoon says without Mino having to ask, as if he’d read his mind. Maybe he could. “I’m not a telepath,” Seungyoon adds without missing a beat.
“Could have fooled me,” Mino replies, trying to wrap his head around this development. Mino had stayed under the radar but kept himself updated about mutant activity in online communities. Even he knew all about the Auxillium - a supposed mutant haven at the mountains of Masan, right at the tip of the Korean peninsula. Mino also knows that its existence is nothing but fiction.
“The Auxillium is a myth. There’s no such thing.”
“It’s real,” Seungyoon counters. “After the NSA started monitoring mutants online, we had to throw them off the Auxillium’s trail and purported that it’s merely a baseless rumor.”
“We?”
Seungyoon’s jaw suddenly tightens, like Mino had hit a nerve. He wants to ask again but the other man steps in front of Seungyoon, facing Mino instead. “We’ll have time for questions later. Decide now. Are you coming with us or not?”
It’s difficult to ascertain what made Mino say yes to something so ridiculously risky it could cost him his life. It’s complex. Perhaps a combination of desperation and curiosity. If the Auxillium truly exists, then that means the rumours about it could be true as well - how it’s not only a scientific facility to study and advance mutation but is also a weaponized fortress built to protect mutants and prohibit entry to ordinary humans.
And maybe he has better chances against the government if he’s with his kind, and it’s not like his powers are any good when it comes to fights.
Then there’s that part of Mino inexplicably drawn to him. Seunghoon, he’d introduced himself with a hand outstretched and implicit challenge in his cat-like eyes, appraising Mino with open interest. Mino always felt self-conscious in his own skin at Seunghoon’s unabashed stares. Growing up, he exerted effort not to stand out, so no one has ever regarded him with anything more than fleeting curiosity. Until him. And maybe it’s one of the reasons why Mino couldn’t say no.
“Here,” Seungyoon says, snapping Mino out of his head as he hands him a roll of cash. Mino doesn’t even have the heart to count it and just watches helplessly as a burly man climbs into his second-hand Honda and gives them a nod before driving into the warehouse garage. It had taken Mino two years of boring ass jobs to save up just enough to buy it. And now it’s gone.
“It’s for the best,” Seungyoon deadpans beside him, with suspiciously little empathy. “A hackable car makes it less likely for us to arrive at the Auxillium in one piece.”
“Are you sure you’re not a telepath?”
Seungyoon narrows his eyes before he turns around without another word.
“I suppose you have a vehicle that’s more suitable?” Mino calls behind him.
Mino wishes he hadn’t opened his mouth when an old ash Camry rolls out of the same garage, straight out of a tacky 90’s film. It looks like it wouldn’t last two hours on the road, let alone a few days’ drive. There’s duck tape in place of working hinges that keep the right backdoor from falling off completely and Mino is sure that the cracks in the back window is from a bullet hole. These people must be insane.
“Haute is sturdier than he looks,” Seunghoon says when he slows to a stop a few feet away. He’s grinning from ear to ear and nothing about his appearance indicates that he’s about to run for his life. He looks rather pumped up and Mino isn’t sure what to make of it.
“Haute?”
“The car.”
Mino hasn’t known him a day but he isn’t even surprised Seunghoon would name the thing the exact opposite of what it is.
“We’re not going to make it to Daejeon in this.”
“I think you’re forgetting we have someone who can move things with his mind. I think we’ll be fine,” he retorts with a lopsided smile just as Seungyoon reaches for the car door and settles into the backseat. Seungyoon gives Mino a noncommittal shrug and proceeds to recline at the back, leaving Mino to stare at the passenger seat uneasily.
It’s still preposterous that he’s doing this - associating with people he doesn’t know a thing about other than they’re mutants like himself. But he’s here anyway and about to cross that line that he possibly can never come back from.
“I may not look like it, but I’m a good guy,” Seunghoon supplies good-naturedly.
Mino bites down on his bottom lip to keep from smiling. Unlike Seunghoon, he doesn’t think now seems like a very appropriate time for any of that. “And I thought telepathy was a rare mutation.”
“I’m not a telepath either. Just good at people,” Seunghoon lets out a soft chuckle that effectively sets Mino a little more at ease, and then Mino slides inside and hopes he isn’t making a big mistake.
Mino eyes the trees that whip past, a green blur in the rapidly fading sunlight. They’ve been on the road for five hours, choosing the most unconventional route to Daejeon (Seungyoon insisted quite aggressively) where they plan on spending the night. The car needs rest, and Mino figures they should take the opportunity to talk. About a lot of things. There’s something about roads and the soft whirr of the car that encourages deep thought and Mino has been swimming in questions since they’ve set off.
Seungyoon still sleeps, waking up only for a sip of water before closing his eyes again. They’ve all been quiet for most of the trip, but Mino is beginning to think Seungyoon’s silence is disconcerting.
It’s not hard to deduce what Seungyoon is. If he isn’t a telepath then he’s a telekinetic, and a trained one. Most telekinetics who haven’t explored their power can’t have full control of it, which Seungyoon has demonstrated, if the way he manipulated Mino on command is any indication.
But Mino could tell he’s deeply troubled. Mino’s power makes him more sensitive to someone’s physical condition and he suspects Seungyoon isn’t well. Heck, just one look at the guy tells him there’s more to that rigidity than meets the eye.
Seunghoon, on the other hand, is more of a mystery. Mino isn’t sure if Seunghoon’s powers extend beyond eye color manipulation, in which case he could have lived a normal life even with his mutation. But there’s something about him that screams radical, like he’d been born to fight for a greater cause. Contrary to his cool demeanour, there’s a quiet strength Mino senses in Seunghoon that resembles steady embers that could turn into deadly flames when set off.
They enter a small village in the outskirts of Daejeon when the sun sets completely. It’s barely eight o’clock and yet the town is sluggish, not a soul in sight. They stop in front of a house that doesn’t look like the inn Seunghoon was talking about when they were on the road, not by a long shot, but it’s better than nothing. Seunghoon climbs to the backseat to wake Seungyoon up while Mino alights from the car and stretches his limbs with a yawn. He hasn’t slept properly since last night and badly needs a bed.
“I’ll be right back,” Seunghoon says, tossing the car key to Mino which he fumbles to catch. “If anything happens just take the car and run,” he adds with a cautious smile before disappearing through the door.
“What the hell can happen out here?” Mino turns to Seungyoon who’s leaning against the car with hands stuffed inside his pockets, staring up at the night sky. He’s slept throughout the trip but he looks nowhere near rested, or maybe it’s just the perpetual frown etched on his face that’s making him look cranky. For a second Mino wonders if he should just leave him alone and avoid conversation, but Seungyoon looks down and straight at him.
“You really have no idea how much danger we’re in, do you?”
Seungyoon sounds more indifferent than harsh, but it still rubs Mino the wrong way.
“We’ve been running for months,” Seungyoon tells him when Mino doesn’t respond. “We never had the luxury of pretending to live like a normal person. Your whole world may have collapsed on you when the Mandate was passed, but for him and I... everyday is a battle. Who knows where they’re lurking, waiting for us to make a mistake.”
Mino’s hands ball into fists unconsciously. “What are you trying to say?”
“I think you’re a mistake.”
“What?”
“You’re a liability,” Seungyoon says mechanically, without a trace of anger or irritation in his voice. Like he’s merely stating a fact. “You’re more of a human than a mutant, and I’m sure you’d agree. Your presence here doesn’t have an added value, you’ve already slowed us down.”
Seungyoon is calm, almost robotic as he speaks, but that doesn’t stop Mino’s face from heating up in anger. “I didn’t ask to be here. If you didn’t want me to come then why go through the trouble of convincing me to?”
Seungyoon nods. “You’re right, you didn’t ask to come. If it were up to me, I would have left you behind. No offense, just being pragmatic. But Seunghoon did what any decent mutant would do, so to speak. You were their next target. You’ve shut your powers out to live like humans. You wouldn’t have survived if we left you alone.”
Target? Before Mino could ask, Seunghoon emerges from the house, immediately sensing the tension. “We’re all set,” he says distractedly, looking from Mino to Seungyoon. “Anything wrong?”
“Nothing,” Seungyoon answers for both of them, already reaching for his duffel bag and striding past Seunghoon to get into the house. Seunghoon turns to Mino with a raised brow.
“What he said,” Mino says, but he knows his expression betrays him. Before he could take a step towards the house, Seunghoon raises a hand to stop him.
“I’m sure you’ve already noticed that Seungyoon is...” Seunghoon pauses, searching for words. “Difficult. If he said anything offensive at all-”
“More like honest,” Mino corrects. “Offensive or not, I can respect that.”
“But you sound annoyed.”
“I need to know what’s really going on,” he says gruffly, keeping a pointed stare at Seunghoon. “I know where we’re headed but why am I even here? Why bring me with you? Why is Seungyoon implying that I’m someone’s target?”
Seunghoon holds Mino’s stare for a while before he nods in understanding, gesturing to the house.
“We have time. I’ll tell you everything.”
As expected they’re the only guests in the inn, and frankly it looks like the old caretaker hasn’t seen a visitor in months when he gawked at the three of them and led them to their room. At least it’s clean, the space wide enough to accommodate them, with mats and beddings folded neatly in one corner of the room. They’ve gathered what food they could find at the kitchen since it’s too late for any of the village stores to be open at this hour and set them on the small foldable table the caretaker had lent them.
Thirty minutes in and Mino is already suffering a slight headache as he tries to keep up with Seunghoon’s story. He wasn’t prepared to hear it, and he doesn’t quite know what to make of everything. The lack of sleep is doing him no favours and he hasn’t touched any of the food either.
Raising fingers to his temples, Mino shuts his eyes. “You’re saying Seungyoon is a top-tier mutant,” he breathes out, fingertips warm, and opens his eyes when the pain begins to subside. He reaches for a bottle of water and drinks a mouthful.
“Yeah. He hasn’t tapped into all of his powers though, but he’s nearly at omega level.”
Mino frowns. “So why do you need me here? Do you even know what I can do?”
Seunghoon seems to be more amused by Mino’s reaction than anything else, something that doesn’t escape Mino. It’s Seunghoon’s default impression somehow, like he’s enjoying making Mino uncomfortable. Seunghoon takes a bite from an apple and shrugs.
“You’re a healer,” Seunghoon answers casually, ignoring the stunned look on Mino’s face. And Mino is beyond stunned. He’s never spoken about his powers to anyone except his mother. “It’s not a common mutation. You’re the only living healer left in South Korea as far as the record indicates.”
“Record?” Mino exclaims. “I’m in some record? How is that possible?”
“Uhh, well there’s a telepath who can feel mutant energy at a very advanced scale,” Seunghoon starts to say, his expression becoming more guarded at Mino’s question. “He’s a walking masterlist of mutants in existence. He’s also working for the enemy.”
They become quiet as Mino lets that information sink in, at the fact that all their efforts at running away and hiding are practically futile because this telepath could pick them out of a crowd easily.
They both look up when the door creaks open and Seungyoon comes into the room, his gaze instantly directed at Mino. Mino isn’t sure where Seungyoon had been but his breath catches when he sees what the younger man is holding.
Seungyoon’s expression is unreadable as usual, but he stops by the table and kneels in front of Mino. Just when Mino is about to ask what the hell he’s doing with a knife, Seungyoon tugs at his own sleeve, rolls it up just above his elbow and presses the pointed tip against the skin of his arm.
“Seungy-“ Mino winces when Seungyoon puts pressure on the knife, dark blood oozing out, looking almost black in contrast to his skin, then drags the blade until he makes a cut three inches long. Seungyoon’s face contorts in pain, but he holds out his arm for Mino as soon as he’s done.
Mino just stares at him, dumbfounded. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“You’re a healer,” Seungyoon responds, his voice wavering but still determined.
Mino wonders if Seungyoon is truly incapable of emotions or if this is all just a defense mechanism. He certainly isn’t very expressive. He’s fucking bleeding but he’s still got his poker face on.
“You don’t go around cutting yourself just because I can heal you!”
“I’m testing how skilled you are.” The blood continues to drip until there’s an alarming pool of scarlet on the floor that the caretaker would not appreciate. Seungyoon grits his teeth, swallowing down a grunt. “You’re fucking failing right now.”
Mino is about to protest but he catches sight of Seunghoon just coolly placing his chin on a propped hand, looking very interested. Mino shakes his head in disdain, but he closes his eyes nonetheless and finds his composure. The last time he attempted any form of major healing had been a few months ago - when a woman at a nearby office was rushed to the clinic where he works, excessively bleeding. Mino normally doesn’t intervene with medical procedures so as not to raise suspicions but she wouldn’t have survived had Mino been a second too late at closing her head wound.
Mino lifts a hand over Seungyoon’s bleeding cut, lets his palm hover over it, concentrating on imagining it at a microscopic level. He has to exert some effort to let it flow and as soon as he feels a warm rush in his arm, he opens his eyes. The wound closes up steadily from where Seungyoon had punctured himself, following the direction of Mino’s palm, until not even a trace of a scar could be seen.
“Not bad,” Seunghoon pipes after a while, sounding impressed. “What do you think?”
“A level 3 beta at best,” Seungyoon says, peering down at his arm. He stands up to retrieve a towel from his bag and wipes the residual blood casually, like he didn’t just self-mutilate. “Untrained and sloppy. Maybe if he hadn’t suppressed it he’d be more powerful than you. But it’s there.”
“Good,” Seunghoon says, flashing Mino a smile that instantly makes him uneasy. Or excited. Or both.
“You haven’t told me what you are.”
Seunghoon’s smile widens by a fraction. “Any guesses?”
“Your eyes,” Mino starts, chewing at the side of his lip. He’s been trying to figure Seunghoon out all day. “They’re like a cat’s. Some kind of cat man?”
Seunghoon lets out a hearty laugh that rings in the room. Mino flushes. Seungyoon rolls his eyes and moves to fix the beddings, either as a way to get out of the conversation or he’s an omega mutant who needs fifteen hours of sleep a day.
“First of all, I’m not a cat. I’m a fucking lion,” Seunghoon jeers, still grinning. “But I’d look good in a leather bodysuit.”
Mino tries to get the image of that out of his mind, looking away when Seunghoon’s eyes turn a deep shade of gold. Seunghoon takes something out of his pocket - a random supermarket receipt - and crumples it.
“Seungyoon, can you help me out?”
Seungyoon grumbles in annoyance from where he’s already lying down, but no sooner does the crumpled piece of paper levitate from the table. Mino already knows Seungyoon is a telekinetic so this comes as no surprise.
What comes as a surprise, however, is the beam of light that shoots from Seunghoon’s eyes making the floating ball burst into flames. In a second, it’s completely obliterated and black ashes fall on the table. Seunghoon takes another bite of his apple, his golden eyes turning darker until they’re back to warm brown. Fire. How fitting.
Seunghoon gives Mino a playful wink and this time Mino couldn’t hold back a smile.
PART TWO
Recipient: alectrona19
Pairing: Mino/Seunghoon, side!Seungyoon/Taehyun
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Mino is forced to leave the city for his safety, and along the way he meets two strangers who become unlikely travelling companions. …Or more concisely: Mutants’ Roadtrip AU
Notes: Thanks to the mods for being very, VERY patient with me and thanks to my recipient for the prompts! I took creative liberties with the one I chose, I hope you don’t mind! *crosses fingers that you’ll enjoy it at least just a little bit*
say hello then say farewell
to the places you know
we are all mortals aren’t we
any moment this could go
He’s not a fugitive, not exactly. Being a fugitive entails breaking the law and as far Mino is concerned, he’s never broken any. Or at least not anything that warrants being hunted down like a criminal on a rampage. Mino would never even hurt a fly.
As a matter of fact, he’d been living a decent if not underwhelming life as a nursing assistant at a little-known clinic in Seoul, and up until two weeks ago, his biggest problem had been a noisy upstairs neighbour who kept him up at night with loud EDM music and a lot of stomping around.
(Considering breaking into her apartment to destroy whatever goddamn satanic speakers she owns that could make that much noise is probably the closest Mino ever got to committing a crime, but even then he’d have done a service for the entire building so.)
But one way or another, Mino has been expecting this. No amount of technological innovation can change traditional beliefs and a warped sense of entitlement. Mino had opted to live a silent, boring life because he knew the dangers of being himself in a world that is irrationally threatened by different. Even his mother’s cautious warnings only served as affirmation to what he knew to be true - that human beings are capable of the worst, and will not hesitate to do the vilest of things to retain control.
And yet despite the odds stacked against him, Mino intented to live a peaceful life, even if it meant ignoring his gifts in order to carve a place for him in this world. In their world.
That’s until the government declared war on his kind and Mino is left with no choice but to face the part of himself he’d kept buried, abandon all of his plans for a slim chance at survival.
Mino is not a fugitive, not exactly, but he’s on the run.
He decides to pack his bags and head north, five days since the Mandate. There’s a farmhouse in the fringes of Chuncheon, at a forgotten village near the Taebaek mountains that could be the perfect burrow. Perhaps he’d be safer there, if only for a while, and maybe distance will draw out the inevitable. The past week has been a continuous nightmare, like he’s walking on thin ice and his every move is being watched. There hasn’t been a minute since the Mandate was passed when he felt secure.
He doesn’t know how long he could run - if he could even run at this point, but anything is better than waiting for them to capture him and do god knows what.
Mino’s shoes squeak against the pavement, blending into the sounds of a fading day that conceal the horrors being committed right at this very moment. They’re at the edge of summer, the cold night breeze a sign of the autumn to come. Seemingly a night like most others, except it’s not. Not for Mino. The war may be a silent one to most of the public who’d much rather overlook what is staring them in the eyes - god forbid they have to be assed to care - but the war exists, and they’re losing.
“You’re fucked, aren’t you?”
Mino grips the straps of his bag tighter, halting his steps as an instinctive curl of dread settles at the pit of his stomach. He turns sharply towards the sound of the voice, only to be met by a pitch black alleyway unlike the lit ones that surround the neighbourhood. He peers up at the brick walls that loom above him for any sign of anyone, but the windows are dark and bare. Then his eyes sweep the streets and a wintry chill runs down his spine when he realizes he’s eerily alone, as if the city stopped in time.
There’s only one thing this could be - they’ve caught up with him and this is how it ends - like the hundreds they’ve captured since the Mandate was released.
It only took a few steps from his apartment; he hadn’t even gotten far enough to reach his car parked just one more block from where he stands. Mino is, like the voice says, in every sense of the word, fucked.
He turns to the alley again and gasps softly when two burning orbs pierce through his vision, luminous like a pair of cat eyes slinking low and edging closer. It’s 1 o’clock in the morning and reason tells Mino to run away and run fast, but his feet are planted firmly in place as though an invisible force is keeping him there.
An ache scratches at the base of his throat and it takes a few seconds until it dawns on him that it’s his own doing. He’s straining to fight against that same invisible force that renders him unable to scream.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” the voice says again and Mino could hear his heart pound against his ears at this point. He no longer has control of the muscles in his body, and it’s useless to struggle. Think, Mino. This paralysis could very well be caused by an anxiety attack, but he could feel and sense that this is something else. Whatever it is keeping him pinned down is way more powerful than a natural physical response to danger.
Mino follows the golden eyes with his own as they emerge from the shadows. They turn a dark shade of brown when the man comes into full view, the yellow light from the lamp post revealing all six feet of him. Mino thinks he’s swathed in smoke until the man lifts a hand to bring a lit cigarette between his fingers to his mouth.
At a closer glance, he’s not much older than Mino. Just a young man like himself, his expression toeing the line between interested and amused.
Mino heaves as the man steps closer and stops in front of him, nerves on edge but still unable to move. The stranger cocks his head to the side as he flicks Mino’s hoodie off, then he appraises him, eyes scanning every inch of Mino’s face with startling intensity, lips pursed in thought.
“Seungyoon,” he says like a command, voice neither deep nor shrill, and not a moment later Mino regains control of his body, starting with his fingers that he belatedly realizes are trembling.
Before Mino could react, another man falls beside the smoking man, definitely younger but aged by the dark circles under his eyes that are stark against his pallid skin. He looks almost haunting under these lights, and clearly he’s the reason for Mino’s temporary immobility.
Mino may not recognize these strangers but he knows exactly what they are. By the looks of it, they’re not the enemy, but they could be dangerous all the same. If not more so. Unfortunately escaping is no longer an option; Mino isn’t only outnumbered, he’s evidently in over his head.
“What do you want from me?”
“Do you think there’s anywhere you can run to where you’ll be safe?” It’s the one with the eyes who asks. He takes another drag from his cigarette and a wisp of smoke escapes his lips. There’s something oddly hypnotizing about the cadence of his movement and Mino isn’t sure if he’s in some sort of induced trance or the man is just, well, distracting.
But it’s not a threat, Mino decides. The man’s tone is amused, yet not wickedly - it’s almost playful. Mino keeps his guard up regardless and tries not to flinch when the man raises a brow and inches in a tad more, breaching Mino’s personal space. They’re barely separated by a foot now and from this proximity, Mino could smell the smoke on him and something else. Mint, maybe.
“What are you talking about?” Mino puts on his best act out of instinct, but he knows these people aren’t easily fooled.
The man looks mildly exasperated as he rolls his eyes. He shares a look with the Seungyoon guy and shakes his head as if he couldn’t believe what he’s hearing.
“A moment ago you lost control of your own body and yet you’re looking at us like we’re just punks about to mug you. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” For a split second the man’s eyes turn a bright gold color again, to which Mino barely reacts, thereby proving the man’s point.
Mino takes a moment to deliberate his next move and figures that if they’re as powerful as he thinks, they’d have done more damage by now had their intention been to hurt him. He relaxes his stance, breathes deeply and pushes out the remaining nerves out of his system.
“How did you-?”
“My friend over here is more perceptive than most,” he throws an arm over Seungyoon’s shoulder playfully before he gives Mino a slow one over that makes the back of his neck heat up in the cold breeze. His gaze drops to the bag Mino holds. “And just between us, a man who looks like he’s escaping the city after the Mandate is a little telling, don’t you think?”
“Then what do you want from me?” Mino shifts his gaze between the two men, still baffled. “If I’m fucked then you both are, too.”
“We monsters have to stick together,” he replies, the emphasis on the crude word igniting a spark of resentment in Mino, but not at him.
“I believe the politically correct term is mutants.”
“Being politically correct won’t change how they view us.” Another puff, another blow. Mino feels like they’re enshrouded in smoke from the man’s cigarette. “We’re an abomination to mankind, no better than the monsters they’ve created in their heads.”
Mino holds his gaze and he thinks he notices something else other than detached self-deprecation in the man’s eyes. It’s not quite anger, which Mino expects from mutants who’ve been wronged by the twisted perception of society. Maybe fear. But who wouldn’t be afraid when the government is rounding mutants up for slaughter just because they couldn’t stand their existence?
“I still don’t know what you want from me. You don’t even know me or what I’m capable of.”
“I don’t need to know how useful you’d be to understand that there’s strength in numbers. Come with us and we’ll all feel just a little... safer,” he supplies after a pause.
“You just said there’s nowhere we can run to where we’ll be safe,” Mino reminds him, and he agrees. Over the years the government has built a massive network, invested in technology and manpower solely for the purpose of hunting down mutants. The Mandate to capture them may have been passed only a few days ago but it was decades in the making. What are the chances three stray mutants can survive that?
“No, I asked you if you think there’s anywhere you can run to where you’ll be safe, which I know you don’t,” he clarifies, a smug smile playing at the side of his mouth. “But we know a place and we’re headed there.”
“The Auxillium,” the man named Seungyoon says without Mino having to ask, as if he’d read his mind. Maybe he could. “I’m not a telepath,” Seungyoon adds without missing a beat.
“Could have fooled me,” Mino replies, trying to wrap his head around this development. Mino had stayed under the radar but kept himself updated about mutant activity in online communities. Even he knew all about the Auxillium - a supposed mutant haven at the mountains of Masan, right at the tip of the Korean peninsula. Mino also knows that its existence is nothing but fiction.
“The Auxillium is a myth. There’s no such thing.”
“It’s real,” Seungyoon counters. “After the NSA started monitoring mutants online, we had to throw them off the Auxillium’s trail and purported that it’s merely a baseless rumor.”
“We?”
Seungyoon’s jaw suddenly tightens, like Mino had hit a nerve. He wants to ask again but the other man steps in front of Seungyoon, facing Mino instead. “We’ll have time for questions later. Decide now. Are you coming with us or not?”
It’s difficult to ascertain what made Mino say yes to something so ridiculously risky it could cost him his life. It’s complex. Perhaps a combination of desperation and curiosity. If the Auxillium truly exists, then that means the rumours about it could be true as well - how it’s not only a scientific facility to study and advance mutation but is also a weaponized fortress built to protect mutants and prohibit entry to ordinary humans.
And maybe he has better chances against the government if he’s with his kind, and it’s not like his powers are any good when it comes to fights.
Then there’s that part of Mino inexplicably drawn to him. Seunghoon, he’d introduced himself with a hand outstretched and implicit challenge in his cat-like eyes, appraising Mino with open interest. Mino always felt self-conscious in his own skin at Seunghoon’s unabashed stares. Growing up, he exerted effort not to stand out, so no one has ever regarded him with anything more than fleeting curiosity. Until him. And maybe it’s one of the reasons why Mino couldn’t say no.
“Here,” Seungyoon says, snapping Mino out of his head as he hands him a roll of cash. Mino doesn’t even have the heart to count it and just watches helplessly as a burly man climbs into his second-hand Honda and gives them a nod before driving into the warehouse garage. It had taken Mino two years of boring ass jobs to save up just enough to buy it. And now it’s gone.
“It’s for the best,” Seungyoon deadpans beside him, with suspiciously little empathy. “A hackable car makes it less likely for us to arrive at the Auxillium in one piece.”
“Are you sure you’re not a telepath?”
Seungyoon narrows his eyes before he turns around without another word.
“I suppose you have a vehicle that’s more suitable?” Mino calls behind him.
Mino wishes he hadn’t opened his mouth when an old ash Camry rolls out of the same garage, straight out of a tacky 90’s film. It looks like it wouldn’t last two hours on the road, let alone a few days’ drive. There’s duck tape in place of working hinges that keep the right backdoor from falling off completely and Mino is sure that the cracks in the back window is from a bullet hole. These people must be insane.
“Haute is sturdier than he looks,” Seunghoon says when he slows to a stop a few feet away. He’s grinning from ear to ear and nothing about his appearance indicates that he’s about to run for his life. He looks rather pumped up and Mino isn’t sure what to make of it.
“Haute?”
“The car.”
Mino hasn’t known him a day but he isn’t even surprised Seunghoon would name the thing the exact opposite of what it is.
“We’re not going to make it to Daejeon in this.”
“I think you’re forgetting we have someone who can move things with his mind. I think we’ll be fine,” he retorts with a lopsided smile just as Seungyoon reaches for the car door and settles into the backseat. Seungyoon gives Mino a noncommittal shrug and proceeds to recline at the back, leaving Mino to stare at the passenger seat uneasily.
It’s still preposterous that he’s doing this - associating with people he doesn’t know a thing about other than they’re mutants like himself. But he’s here anyway and about to cross that line that he possibly can never come back from.
“I may not look like it, but I’m a good guy,” Seunghoon supplies good-naturedly.
Mino bites down on his bottom lip to keep from smiling. Unlike Seunghoon, he doesn’t think now seems like a very appropriate time for any of that. “And I thought telepathy was a rare mutation.”
“I’m not a telepath either. Just good at people,” Seunghoon lets out a soft chuckle that effectively sets Mino a little more at ease, and then Mino slides inside and hopes he isn’t making a big mistake.
Mino eyes the trees that whip past, a green blur in the rapidly fading sunlight. They’ve been on the road for five hours, choosing the most unconventional route to Daejeon (Seungyoon insisted quite aggressively) where they plan on spending the night. The car needs rest, and Mino figures they should take the opportunity to talk. About a lot of things. There’s something about roads and the soft whirr of the car that encourages deep thought and Mino has been swimming in questions since they’ve set off.
Seungyoon still sleeps, waking up only for a sip of water before closing his eyes again. They’ve all been quiet for most of the trip, but Mino is beginning to think Seungyoon’s silence is disconcerting.
It’s not hard to deduce what Seungyoon is. If he isn’t a telepath then he’s a telekinetic, and a trained one. Most telekinetics who haven’t explored their power can’t have full control of it, which Seungyoon has demonstrated, if the way he manipulated Mino on command is any indication.
But Mino could tell he’s deeply troubled. Mino’s power makes him more sensitive to someone’s physical condition and he suspects Seungyoon isn’t well. Heck, just one look at the guy tells him there’s more to that rigidity than meets the eye.
Seunghoon, on the other hand, is more of a mystery. Mino isn’t sure if Seunghoon’s powers extend beyond eye color manipulation, in which case he could have lived a normal life even with his mutation. But there’s something about him that screams radical, like he’d been born to fight for a greater cause. Contrary to his cool demeanour, there’s a quiet strength Mino senses in Seunghoon that resembles steady embers that could turn into deadly flames when set off.
They enter a small village in the outskirts of Daejeon when the sun sets completely. It’s barely eight o’clock and yet the town is sluggish, not a soul in sight. They stop in front of a house that doesn’t look like the inn Seunghoon was talking about when they were on the road, not by a long shot, but it’s better than nothing. Seunghoon climbs to the backseat to wake Seungyoon up while Mino alights from the car and stretches his limbs with a yawn. He hasn’t slept properly since last night and badly needs a bed.
“I’ll be right back,” Seunghoon says, tossing the car key to Mino which he fumbles to catch. “If anything happens just take the car and run,” he adds with a cautious smile before disappearing through the door.
“What the hell can happen out here?” Mino turns to Seungyoon who’s leaning against the car with hands stuffed inside his pockets, staring up at the night sky. He’s slept throughout the trip but he looks nowhere near rested, or maybe it’s just the perpetual frown etched on his face that’s making him look cranky. For a second Mino wonders if he should just leave him alone and avoid conversation, but Seungyoon looks down and straight at him.
“You really have no idea how much danger we’re in, do you?”
Seungyoon sounds more indifferent than harsh, but it still rubs Mino the wrong way.
“We’ve been running for months,” Seungyoon tells him when Mino doesn’t respond. “We never had the luxury of pretending to live like a normal person. Your whole world may have collapsed on you when the Mandate was passed, but for him and I... everyday is a battle. Who knows where they’re lurking, waiting for us to make a mistake.”
Mino’s hands ball into fists unconsciously. “What are you trying to say?”
“I think you’re a mistake.”
“What?”
“You’re a liability,” Seungyoon says mechanically, without a trace of anger or irritation in his voice. Like he’s merely stating a fact. “You’re more of a human than a mutant, and I’m sure you’d agree. Your presence here doesn’t have an added value, you’ve already slowed us down.”
Seungyoon is calm, almost robotic as he speaks, but that doesn’t stop Mino’s face from heating up in anger. “I didn’t ask to be here. If you didn’t want me to come then why go through the trouble of convincing me to?”
Seungyoon nods. “You’re right, you didn’t ask to come. If it were up to me, I would have left you behind. No offense, just being pragmatic. But Seunghoon did what any decent mutant would do, so to speak. You were their next target. You’ve shut your powers out to live like humans. You wouldn’t have survived if we left you alone.”
Target? Before Mino could ask, Seunghoon emerges from the house, immediately sensing the tension. “We’re all set,” he says distractedly, looking from Mino to Seungyoon. “Anything wrong?”
“Nothing,” Seungyoon answers for both of them, already reaching for his duffel bag and striding past Seunghoon to get into the house. Seunghoon turns to Mino with a raised brow.
“What he said,” Mino says, but he knows his expression betrays him. Before he could take a step towards the house, Seunghoon raises a hand to stop him.
“I’m sure you’ve already noticed that Seungyoon is...” Seunghoon pauses, searching for words. “Difficult. If he said anything offensive at all-”
“More like honest,” Mino corrects. “Offensive or not, I can respect that.”
“But you sound annoyed.”
“I need to know what’s really going on,” he says gruffly, keeping a pointed stare at Seunghoon. “I know where we’re headed but why am I even here? Why bring me with you? Why is Seungyoon implying that I’m someone’s target?”
Seunghoon holds Mino’s stare for a while before he nods in understanding, gesturing to the house.
“We have time. I’ll tell you everything.”
As expected they’re the only guests in the inn, and frankly it looks like the old caretaker hasn’t seen a visitor in months when he gawked at the three of them and led them to their room. At least it’s clean, the space wide enough to accommodate them, with mats and beddings folded neatly in one corner of the room. They’ve gathered what food they could find at the kitchen since it’s too late for any of the village stores to be open at this hour and set them on the small foldable table the caretaker had lent them.
Thirty minutes in and Mino is already suffering a slight headache as he tries to keep up with Seunghoon’s story. He wasn’t prepared to hear it, and he doesn’t quite know what to make of everything. The lack of sleep is doing him no favours and he hasn’t touched any of the food either.
Raising fingers to his temples, Mino shuts his eyes. “You’re saying Seungyoon is a top-tier mutant,” he breathes out, fingertips warm, and opens his eyes when the pain begins to subside. He reaches for a bottle of water and drinks a mouthful.
“Yeah. He hasn’t tapped into all of his powers though, but he’s nearly at omega level.”
Mino frowns. “So why do you need me here? Do you even know what I can do?”
Seunghoon seems to be more amused by Mino’s reaction than anything else, something that doesn’t escape Mino. It’s Seunghoon’s default impression somehow, like he’s enjoying making Mino uncomfortable. Seunghoon takes a bite from an apple and shrugs.
“You’re a healer,” Seunghoon answers casually, ignoring the stunned look on Mino’s face. And Mino is beyond stunned. He’s never spoken about his powers to anyone except his mother. “It’s not a common mutation. You’re the only living healer left in South Korea as far as the record indicates.”
“Record?” Mino exclaims. “I’m in some record? How is that possible?”
“Uhh, well there’s a telepath who can feel mutant energy at a very advanced scale,” Seunghoon starts to say, his expression becoming more guarded at Mino’s question. “He’s a walking masterlist of mutants in existence. He’s also working for the enemy.”
They become quiet as Mino lets that information sink in, at the fact that all their efforts at running away and hiding are practically futile because this telepath could pick them out of a crowd easily.
They both look up when the door creaks open and Seungyoon comes into the room, his gaze instantly directed at Mino. Mino isn’t sure where Seungyoon had been but his breath catches when he sees what the younger man is holding.
Seungyoon’s expression is unreadable as usual, but he stops by the table and kneels in front of Mino. Just when Mino is about to ask what the hell he’s doing with a knife, Seungyoon tugs at his own sleeve, rolls it up just above his elbow and presses the pointed tip against the skin of his arm.
“Seungy-“ Mino winces when Seungyoon puts pressure on the knife, dark blood oozing out, looking almost black in contrast to his skin, then drags the blade until he makes a cut three inches long. Seungyoon’s face contorts in pain, but he holds out his arm for Mino as soon as he’s done.
Mino just stares at him, dumbfounded. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“You’re a healer,” Seungyoon responds, his voice wavering but still determined.
Mino wonders if Seungyoon is truly incapable of emotions or if this is all just a defense mechanism. He certainly isn’t very expressive. He’s fucking bleeding but he’s still got his poker face on.
“You don’t go around cutting yourself just because I can heal you!”
“I’m testing how skilled you are.” The blood continues to drip until there’s an alarming pool of scarlet on the floor that the caretaker would not appreciate. Seungyoon grits his teeth, swallowing down a grunt. “You’re fucking failing right now.”
Mino is about to protest but he catches sight of Seunghoon just coolly placing his chin on a propped hand, looking very interested. Mino shakes his head in disdain, but he closes his eyes nonetheless and finds his composure. The last time he attempted any form of major healing had been a few months ago - when a woman at a nearby office was rushed to the clinic where he works, excessively bleeding. Mino normally doesn’t intervene with medical procedures so as not to raise suspicions but she wouldn’t have survived had Mino been a second too late at closing her head wound.
Mino lifts a hand over Seungyoon’s bleeding cut, lets his palm hover over it, concentrating on imagining it at a microscopic level. He has to exert some effort to let it flow and as soon as he feels a warm rush in his arm, he opens his eyes. The wound closes up steadily from where Seungyoon had punctured himself, following the direction of Mino’s palm, until not even a trace of a scar could be seen.
“Not bad,” Seunghoon pipes after a while, sounding impressed. “What do you think?”
“A level 3 beta at best,” Seungyoon says, peering down at his arm. He stands up to retrieve a towel from his bag and wipes the residual blood casually, like he didn’t just self-mutilate. “Untrained and sloppy. Maybe if he hadn’t suppressed it he’d be more powerful than you. But it’s there.”
“Good,” Seunghoon says, flashing Mino a smile that instantly makes him uneasy. Or excited. Or both.
“You haven’t told me what you are.”
Seunghoon’s smile widens by a fraction. “Any guesses?”
“Your eyes,” Mino starts, chewing at the side of his lip. He’s been trying to figure Seunghoon out all day. “They’re like a cat’s. Some kind of cat man?”
Seunghoon lets out a hearty laugh that rings in the room. Mino flushes. Seungyoon rolls his eyes and moves to fix the beddings, either as a way to get out of the conversation or he’s an omega mutant who needs fifteen hours of sleep a day.
“First of all, I’m not a cat. I’m a fucking lion,” Seunghoon jeers, still grinning. “But I’d look good in a leather bodysuit.”
Mino tries to get the image of that out of his mind, looking away when Seunghoon’s eyes turn a deep shade of gold. Seunghoon takes something out of his pocket - a random supermarket receipt - and crumples it.
“Seungyoon, can you help me out?”
Seungyoon grumbles in annoyance from where he’s already lying down, but no sooner does the crumpled piece of paper levitate from the table. Mino already knows Seungyoon is a telekinetic so this comes as no surprise.
What comes as a surprise, however, is the beam of light that shoots from Seunghoon’s eyes making the floating ball burst into flames. In a second, it’s completely obliterated and black ashes fall on the table. Seunghoon takes another bite of his apple, his golden eyes turning darker until they’re back to warm brown. Fire. How fitting.
Seunghoon gives Mino a playful wink and this time Mino couldn’t hold back a smile.
PART TWO