Ignis 7/?
Title: Ignis /Chapter 7 - "Antiques"
Author: kaybee38
Rating: PG
Pairings: Minho/Onew, Taemin/Sulli, JongKey, broken!Minho/Yuri
Genre: fantasy, sci-fi, character death
Disclaimer: SHinee is owned by SM Entertainment only
Summary: Teneo are humans that live among us that have a genetic mutation that gives them the ability to live on indefinitely. They each have unique abilities and they don't physically age past 25. They all lead double lives since their "gifts" are a secret, some not even realizing that there are others like them. But someone has found a way to kill them. Jonghyun, with the help of a covert society has been secretly trying to warn and protect as many of his kind as he can before it's too late. Onew, Minho, Taemin and Sulli all end up joining forces with him to try to track down the killer before they can strike again. The bonds that grow between them along with their powers might be enough to save them, but the killer is closer to them than they realize.
A/N: Minho likes old books, Onew likes old watches...and well, chicken.
Prologue [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Chap. 7 - "Antiques"
Minho loved books. He used to spend hours in his grandfather’s bookstore looking at all of the books of different shapes, sizes, colors and languages. The store was very successful back then, before email and the internet, before Amazon and Kindle. Everyone from university professors to housewives and their children used to come to visit his grandfather’s little shop in the alley, marveling at the books from all over the world. His grandfather was so successful that he was able to buy the store and eventually the whole building from the owner, which included the small apartment which Minho was currently leaving for the day. He popped two aspirin and swallowed them after taking a swig from his travel mug of coffee as he locked the apartment door and headed down the wooden stairs to the store. He was opening up the bookstore later than usual today after waking up late, disoriented, hung over and stiff...
In the bathtub.
As Minho raised the security gate he winced at the piercing pain that shot through his head as the metal door screeched and rolled up like a window shade. It felt like iron nails on a chalkboard. He unlocked the door and spun the sign around to read “Open” and looking around, decided that he would busy himself with inventory. Maybe even come up with a new display for the window. No one really came into the out of the way store anymore, but Alley Books had many loyal online customers from all over the world and Minho was able to capitalize on his ability to locate rare, used and out-of-print books. Many times first editions.The solitude suited him just fine though.
It was just too hard to be around too many people with his...condition.
It became overwhelming when too many people got too close. That’s why he always drove when travelling. The first and last time he attempted to travel by rail, he didn’t even make it onto the train before had to be carried out on a stretcher. That was over 50 years ago though and he was definitely better at discerning the feelings and ailments of others now.
His days weren't totally solitary as he always spent some part of his day at the little diner down the street. Observing, listening. It was good training actually. He glanced at the back room at a small leather trunk that protected his favorite books, they were hand sewn leather bound treasures including the first-editions of both T.S. Elliot's, Poems 1909-1925 and George Orwell's 1984. Although worth thousands, Minho had met both authors personally and he vowed never to sell them. The books served as reminders of his past. A past that he couldn't talk about, couldn't reminice over with friends or family because most of whom were long gone now. Minho had filled the trunk with tomes written by people he'd met, or full of subjects he loved. He smiled a bit and touched the edge of the worn leather thoughtfully as he put his coffee down on the desk next to his computer and got to work.
The trunk and it's contents were the only proof, only record at all of his existence.
------
Once a week Onew and Jonghyun worked a mandatory 12 hour shift at the ambulance corp and then the next 24 hours they always had off to rest. Onew was making the most of it as he sat in an old faded concert t-shirt and ripped jeans in his tiny apartment continuing the painstaking process of restoring an antique watch. He had one leg bent up underneath him, his knee almost fully poking out of the worn leg of the jeans save for a few lose strands of denim. His elbow was resting on his coffee table as he held the watch to the light. The 1947 nine carat gold Longines manual was a highly sought-after antique, although priceless to him, as it was the last birthday present he ever received from his father before he passed away. Onew loved opening up old watches and clocks, seeing what made them tick. It was one of his favorite hobbies.
The timepieces transported him back to a simpler time when people actually took the analog devices more seriously and there was something organic about the mechanisms involved that just couldn’t be compared to the uninspiring blinking digital readouts on cell phone displays nowadays.
He had all of the pieces laid out in front of him on a piece of velvet on the coffee table. He leaned towards the light of the adjustable arm lamp clamped to the table as he tilted the magnifying loupe attached to his glasses down a little. He was admiring the craftsmanship of the dial and pillar plate when a loud banging at his door made him jump and with a shriek, he dropped the watch face, thankfully catching it before it smashed into the hardwood floor.
“Shit.” Onew sighed, closing his eyes and placing his hand over his heart for a moment. Returning the watch parts safely to the table and giving them a once over, he took a deep breath and stumbled to the door. Practically falling into it as his foot had fallen asleep from sitting on his leg for so long.
“Who is it?”
“New! It’s me! Hurry up I gotta pee!”
Onew opened the door to reveal Jonghyun hopping up and down like a Jack Russell terrier and dashing right under his arm holding the door open across the apartment and into the bathroom. Onew sighed again as he closed the door.
“Is there something wrong with the bathroom at your place?”
“What? No….Aaaaaaah.” It was Jonghyun’s turn to sigh as he relieved himself. “I was just in the neighborhood...”
Onew hissed a bit and shook his head as he walked towards the bathroom shaking his foot every few steps trying to get rid of the pins and needles he felt like he was stepping on.
“Nice try Jjong, You live clear across town and you hate my apartment.” Onew crossed his arms as he stood in the bathroom doorway.
“So..what do you want?”
“Hey!”
Jonghyun jumped, suddenly embarrassed and turned away from the door trying to zip his pants. Onew rolled his eyes.
“Oh please, we see tons of little things like that every day. And you’re the one who left the door wide open.”
Jonghyun thought for a moment as he washed his hands.
“I guess you’re right. Wait...” Jonghyun walked out of the bathroom drying his hands on his ink-black skinny jeans looking at Onew with curiosity as he resumed his original position on the couch.
“What do you mean little?” Onew chuckled at Jonghyun’s delayed reaction.
“What are you doing here Jjong?”
“I can’t come pay my friend a visit on a day off?” Jonghyun made himself comfortable on the arm of the couch.
“Nope.”
Onew didn’t even look up from his work as he reached for a black leather pouch and pulled out the tiniest screwdriver Jonghyun had ever seen.
“Which one is it now?”
“A ‘47 Longines manual.” Onew picked up the uncovered face of the watch that had just previously almost been destroyed showing it to Jonghyun who peered at it with curiosity.
“It was a gift.”
“Really? From who?” Jonghyun reached for the watch but Onew was quicker and jerked his hand away.
“No touching....my dad gave it too me.”
“It looks really old. Family heirloom?” Onew blinked and looked across the room as he thought for a moment.
“Um..yeah. Something like that. He gave it to me on my birthday.”
“Really? what year?”
Tired of the questions Onew ignored Jonghyun and resumed his work once again, throwing his hair out of his face only to have it fall right back into his way again. He knew that was going to happen, and what Jonghyun was going to say next.
“I know why you’re here, and I’m not going.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t ask you to go anywhere.” Jonghyun looked a little confused. Onew looked up as if he was trying to remember a grocery list.
“Yeah but you’re going to and the answers are ‘Nope’. ‘Not interested’ and ‘find him yourself.” Jonghyun kicked the side of the couch like a little kid.
“Aww, come on New.” The shorter man hopped off the couch and crouched down in front of the coffee table facing his partner trying to get his attention.
“Aren’t you the LEAST bit curious how a semi-conscious man with severe smoke inhalation and 3rd degree burns just jumped right out of an ambulance parked in front of an ER without an anybody noticing? Including the EMT that was in the ambulance?
“Nope.”
“Liar. Come on. Let’s just go back to the block where the fire was and see if he lives in the building or something.”
“Not interested.”
“I can’t do this without you. Come on!”
“Find him yourself.” Jonghyun sat straight up and tipped his head to the side, eyes narrowing, once again resembling a small canine as he realized that Onew had correctly predicted the entire exchange.
“How do you DO that?”
“Do what?”
“Forget it. Forget I even said anything.”
Onew was only half lying really. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to find him, he did. In fact he couldn’t shake the image of the mysterious tall young man’s face since the evening he ended up in his ambulance. Onew just didn’t want to find him with Jonghyun tagging along. His EMT partner always seemed to complicate things and embarrass him. The sadness in the young man’s beautiful eyes was something that Onew couldn’t get out of his head though and he found himself wondering what had happened to him quite often. He’d even thought of using a few methods of his own to find him, but thought better of it.
Jonghyun was now standing in front of the coffee table facing him, brows furrowed, muscular arms crossed within his weathered chestnut brown leather jacket, almost identical to his hair color, , thinking. Suddenly he had a brilliant idea.
“New?...Wanna take a break and go get some chicken?”
--------------
A/N: I know, kinda fluffy, but I wanted to round out their characters a bit before things started going haywire. which.they.will.
Here's the watch that Jinki was working on if you're interested. Thanks for reading. Comment are always loved. (Yes lurkers, that means you). Will post more tomorrow.Toodles!
Author: kaybee38
Rating: PG
Pairings: Minho/Onew, Taemin/Sulli, JongKey, broken!Minho/Yuri
Genre: fantasy, sci-fi, character death
Disclaimer: SHinee is owned by SM Entertainment only
Summary: Teneo are humans that live among us that have a genetic mutation that gives them the ability to live on indefinitely. They each have unique abilities and they don't physically age past 25. They all lead double lives since their "gifts" are a secret, some not even realizing that there are others like them. But someone has found a way to kill them. Jonghyun, with the help of a covert society has been secretly trying to warn and protect as many of his kind as he can before it's too late. Onew, Minho, Taemin and Sulli all end up joining forces with him to try to track down the killer before they can strike again. The bonds that grow between them along with their powers might be enough to save them, but the killer is closer to them than they realize.
A/N: Minho likes old books, Onew likes old watches...and well, chicken.
Prologue [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Chap. 7 - "Antiques"
Minho loved books. He used to spend hours in his grandfather’s bookstore looking at all of the books of different shapes, sizes, colors and languages. The store was very successful back then, before email and the internet, before Amazon and Kindle. Everyone from university professors to housewives and their children used to come to visit his grandfather’s little shop in the alley, marveling at the books from all over the world. His grandfather was so successful that he was able to buy the store and eventually the whole building from the owner, which included the small apartment which Minho was currently leaving for the day. He popped two aspirin and swallowed them after taking a swig from his travel mug of coffee as he locked the apartment door and headed down the wooden stairs to the store. He was opening up the bookstore later than usual today after waking up late, disoriented, hung over and stiff...
In the bathtub.
As Minho raised the security gate he winced at the piercing pain that shot through his head as the metal door screeched and rolled up like a window shade. It felt like iron nails on a chalkboard. He unlocked the door and spun the sign around to read “Open” and looking around, decided that he would busy himself with inventory. Maybe even come up with a new display for the window. No one really came into the out of the way store anymore, but Alley Books had many loyal online customers from all over the world and Minho was able to capitalize on his ability to locate rare, used and out-of-print books. Many times first editions.The solitude suited him just fine though.
It was just too hard to be around too many people with his...condition.
It became overwhelming when too many people got too close. That’s why he always drove when travelling. The first and last time he attempted to travel by rail, he didn’t even make it onto the train before had to be carried out on a stretcher. That was over 50 years ago though and he was definitely better at discerning the feelings and ailments of others now.
His days weren't totally solitary as he always spent some part of his day at the little diner down the street. Observing, listening. It was good training actually. He glanced at the back room at a small leather trunk that protected his favorite books, they were hand sewn leather bound treasures including the first-editions of both T.S. Elliot's, Poems 1909-1925 and George Orwell's 1984. Although worth thousands, Minho had met both authors personally and he vowed never to sell them. The books served as reminders of his past. A past that he couldn't talk about, couldn't reminice over with friends or family because most of whom were long gone now. Minho had filled the trunk with tomes written by people he'd met, or full of subjects he loved. He smiled a bit and touched the edge of the worn leather thoughtfully as he put his coffee down on the desk next to his computer and got to work.
The trunk and it's contents were the only proof, only record at all of his existence.
------
Once a week Onew and Jonghyun worked a mandatory 12 hour shift at the ambulance corp and then the next 24 hours they always had off to rest. Onew was making the most of it as he sat in an old faded concert t-shirt and ripped jeans in his tiny apartment continuing the painstaking process of restoring an antique watch. He had one leg bent up underneath him, his knee almost fully poking out of the worn leg of the jeans save for a few lose strands of denim. His elbow was resting on his coffee table as he held the watch to the light. The 1947 nine carat gold Longines manual was a highly sought-after antique, although priceless to him, as it was the last birthday present he ever received from his father before he passed away. Onew loved opening up old watches and clocks, seeing what made them tick. It was one of his favorite hobbies.
The timepieces transported him back to a simpler time when people actually took the analog devices more seriously and there was something organic about the mechanisms involved that just couldn’t be compared to the uninspiring blinking digital readouts on cell phone displays nowadays.
He had all of the pieces laid out in front of him on a piece of velvet on the coffee table. He leaned towards the light of the adjustable arm lamp clamped to the table as he tilted the magnifying loupe attached to his glasses down a little. He was admiring the craftsmanship of the dial and pillar plate when a loud banging at his door made him jump and with a shriek, he dropped the watch face, thankfully catching it before it smashed into the hardwood floor.
“Shit.” Onew sighed, closing his eyes and placing his hand over his heart for a moment. Returning the watch parts safely to the table and giving them a once over, he took a deep breath and stumbled to the door. Practically falling into it as his foot had fallen asleep from sitting on his leg for so long.
“Who is it?”
“New! It’s me! Hurry up I gotta pee!”
Onew opened the door to reveal Jonghyun hopping up and down like a Jack Russell terrier and dashing right under his arm holding the door open across the apartment and into the bathroom. Onew sighed again as he closed the door.
“Is there something wrong with the bathroom at your place?”
“What? No….Aaaaaaah.” It was Jonghyun’s turn to sigh as he relieved himself. “I was just in the neighborhood...”
Onew hissed a bit and shook his head as he walked towards the bathroom shaking his foot every few steps trying to get rid of the pins and needles he felt like he was stepping on.
“Nice try Jjong, You live clear across town and you hate my apartment.” Onew crossed his arms as he stood in the bathroom doorway.
“So..what do you want?”
“Hey!”
Jonghyun jumped, suddenly embarrassed and turned away from the door trying to zip his pants. Onew rolled his eyes.
“Oh please, we see tons of little things like that every day. And you’re the one who left the door wide open.”
Jonghyun thought for a moment as he washed his hands.
“I guess you’re right. Wait...” Jonghyun walked out of the bathroom drying his hands on his ink-black skinny jeans looking at Onew with curiosity as he resumed his original position on the couch.
“What do you mean little?” Onew chuckled at Jonghyun’s delayed reaction.
“What are you doing here Jjong?”
“I can’t come pay my friend a visit on a day off?” Jonghyun made himself comfortable on the arm of the couch.
“Nope.”
Onew didn’t even look up from his work as he reached for a black leather pouch and pulled out the tiniest screwdriver Jonghyun had ever seen.
“Which one is it now?”
“A ‘47 Longines manual.” Onew picked up the uncovered face of the watch that had just previously almost been destroyed showing it to Jonghyun who peered at it with curiosity.
“It was a gift.”
“Really? From who?” Jonghyun reached for the watch but Onew was quicker and jerked his hand away.
“No touching....my dad gave it too me.”
“It looks really old. Family heirloom?” Onew blinked and looked across the room as he thought for a moment.
“Um..yeah. Something like that. He gave it to me on my birthday.”
“Really? what year?”
Tired of the questions Onew ignored Jonghyun and resumed his work once again, throwing his hair out of his face only to have it fall right back into his way again. He knew that was going to happen, and what Jonghyun was going to say next.
“I know why you’re here, and I’m not going.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t ask you to go anywhere.” Jonghyun looked a little confused. Onew looked up as if he was trying to remember a grocery list.
“Yeah but you’re going to and the answers are ‘Nope’. ‘Not interested’ and ‘find him yourself.” Jonghyun kicked the side of the couch like a little kid.
“Aww, come on New.” The shorter man hopped off the couch and crouched down in front of the coffee table facing his partner trying to get his attention.
“Aren’t you the LEAST bit curious how a semi-conscious man with severe smoke inhalation and 3rd degree burns just jumped right out of an ambulance parked in front of an ER without an anybody noticing? Including the EMT that was in the ambulance?
“Nope.”
“Liar. Come on. Let’s just go back to the block where the fire was and see if he lives in the building or something.”
“Not interested.”
“I can’t do this without you. Come on!”
“Find him yourself.” Jonghyun sat straight up and tipped his head to the side, eyes narrowing, once again resembling a small canine as he realized that Onew had correctly predicted the entire exchange.
“How do you DO that?”
“Do what?”
“Forget it. Forget I even said anything.”
Onew was only half lying really. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to find him, he did. In fact he couldn’t shake the image of the mysterious tall young man’s face since the evening he ended up in his ambulance. Onew just didn’t want to find him with Jonghyun tagging along. His EMT partner always seemed to complicate things and embarrass him. The sadness in the young man’s beautiful eyes was something that Onew couldn’t get out of his head though and he found himself wondering what had happened to him quite often. He’d even thought of using a few methods of his own to find him, but thought better of it.
Jonghyun was now standing in front of the coffee table facing him, brows furrowed, muscular arms crossed within his weathered chestnut brown leather jacket, almost identical to his hair color, , thinking. Suddenly he had a brilliant idea.
“New?...Wanna take a break and go get some chicken?”
--------------
A/N: I know, kinda fluffy, but I wanted to round out their characters a bit before things started going haywire. which.they.will.
Here's the watch that Jinki was working on if you're interested. Thanks for reading. Comment are always loved. (Yes lurkers, that means you). Will post more tomorrow.Toodles!