Chapter Text
"Where are we going?" Hongjoong called out.
The forest opened before them like a living dream, every surface glowing softly under the night. Hongjoong jogged behind the pretty Na’vi, trying to keep up as he moved with effortless speed. As they ran, the ground beneath their feet responded, each step sending ripples of light through the moss, brightening in soft waves of blue and violet. Leaves brushed their arms and flared with color, as if greeting them. Even the vines hanging from the branches pulsed gently when their bodies passed close, reacting to their presence like a heartbeat.
It was like running through a world made of stars.
The Na’vi didn’t look back.
"Come."
Hongjoong slowed for a moment, unable to resist. He reached out and brushed his fingers along a broad leaf. It lit up instantly, a bright streak of neon blue racing across its veins. He laughed softly, amazed, touching another plant, then another, watching each one glow under his fingertips.
He hurried to catch up.
"Hey. What’s your name?" Hongjoong asked.
He didn’t get an answer.
Because suddenly, his feet snapped together.
A rope tightened around his ankles, yanking them out from under him. He hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of him. "What the—"
He looked down and saw the rope. A weighted bolo trap, expertly thrown, wrapped tight around his legs. Before he could react, thunderous footsteps shook the ground.
He looked up.
A group of Na’vi on direhorses* burst through the trees, their mounts snorting and pawing at the glowing earth. The riders were tall, armed, and clearly not happy. Their eyes locked onto Hongjoong with suspicion and hostility. Hongjoong scrambled backward, trying to get up, but more Na’vi appeared behind him, bows drawn, arrows aimed directly at his chest.
With a helpless laugh, he lifted his hands in surrender.
"Mawey, Na'viya! Mawey!" (Calm, people! Calm!) The pretty Na’vi Hongjoong met earlier, leapt in front of him instantly, landing between Hongjoong and the riders. His voice rose sharply in Na’vi, words fast and heated. Hongjoong couldn’t understand a single syllable, but the tone was… protective, urgent.
One of the riders dismounted.
He was slightly shorter than the other but carried himself with fierce authority. His long black hair fell into his eyes, his braid swinging as he strode forward, tail flicked with irritation, and his stare sharp enough to cut. Like a black cat. Hongjoong thought.
"Ma Wooyoung!" Wooyoung, was that the riders name? "Kempe si nga?" (What are you doing?)
"Fayvrrtep fìtsenge lu kxanì!" (These demons are forbidden here!)
The shorter Na’vi, whose name was Wooyoung, spoke to the other in rapid, angry Na’vi, gesturing toward Hongjoong, toward the forest, toward the glowing seeds still drifting in the air. The other argued back, voice low but firm.
"Aungia lolu! Tsahìkur txele lu!" (There has been a sign! This is a matter for the Tsahìk!)
Finally, the rider huffed, muttered something under his breath, and turned away. "Pot zamunge." (Bring him.)
Two Na’vi immediately stepped forward, grabbing Hongjoong by the arms and hauling him upright.
Hongjoong stumbled, confused, still half‑laughing from shock.
"Wait. What’s going on?"
No one answered him. The forest glowed around them as they dragged him deeper into the night.
They dragged Hongjoong through the glowing forest, the Na’vi on either side gripping his arms with unshakable strength. The air grew warmer, thicker, filled with the hum of distant voices.
Then the trees opened. A village rose before him. Woven platforms suspended between massive branches, spiraling walkways, glowing lantern‑pods hanging like stars. Dozens of Na’vi gathered, their tall silhouettes outlined by bioluminescent light. Children peeked from behind roots, warriors stood with bows ready, elders whispered among themselves.
As Hongjoong was marched through the crowd, heads turned. Eyes widened.Voices rose.
Some shouted in alarm. Others murmured in curiosity. A few hissed outright, baring their teeth.
Hongjoong swallowed hard. He couldn’t understand a word, but he understood the tone. He was not welcome.
The Na’vi holding him stopped abruptly as the pretty Na’vi stepped forward, calling out sharply in his language. The crowd parted, and an older Na’vi approached. He was tall, broad‑shouldered, his braids decorated with beads and feathers that marked status. His presence alone quieted the noise. Hongjoong assumed this was their leader.
The pretty Na’vi bowed his head slightly, lifting his hand to his forehead and then outward. A gesture slow, deliberate, respectful.
It was the Na’vi greeting.
The Na’vi’s voice softened.
"Ma sempul, oel ngati kameie." (Father. I see you.)
The chief’s eyes flicked to Hongjoong, narrowing.
"Fìswiräti, ngal pelun molunge fìtseng?" (This creature, why did you bring him here?)
The Na’vi straightened, shoulders tense.
"Oel pot tspìmìyang, tsakrr za'u aungia ta Eywa." (I was going to kill him, but there was a sign from Eywa.)
A ripple of shock moved through the crowd, whispers, gasps, disbelief.
The chief began speaking in low, rumbling Na’vi, his tone heavy with authority. Hongjoong glanced at the Na’vi, confused.
"What is he saying?"
He didn’t look at him. "My father is deciding whether to kill you."
Hongjoong blinked. "Your father? Nice to meet you, sir." He took a step forward, hands raised in what he hoped was a friendly gesture.
The reaction was instant.
Na’vi all around him screamed, hissing, baring their teeth, some raising their bows. A few surged forward as if ready to strike. The air crackled with hostility.
"Kehe!" (No!) Wooyoung hissed at him, angrily.
Hongjoong froze mid‑step, eyes wide.
"I will look at this alien."
The crowd parted as an older Na’vi woman stepped forward. Her presence alone quieted the whispers. Her skin was marked with ceremonial paint, her braids heavy with beads and feathers that shimmered in the bioluminescent light. Her eyes were sharp, ancient, and impossibly perceptive, the kind of gaze that seemed to look straight through flesh and bone.
She lifted her chin.
Hongjoong swallowed, suddenly very aware of every Na’vi eye on him.
The pretty Na’vi leaned closer, voice low but steady. "That is mother. She is Tsahìk. The one who interprets the will of Eywa."
Hongjoong blinked. "Who is Eywa?" The confusion in his voice made a few Na’vi hiss softly.
The Tsahìk ignored them. She stepped closer, circling Hongjoong slowly, studying him with the calm intensity of someone examining a strange animal. Her voice was firm.
"What are you called?"
Hongjoong straightened. "Kim Hongjoong."
She nodded once, continuing her slow circle. "Why did you come to us?"
Hongjoong hesitated for only a moment. "I came to learn."
A murmur rippled through the crowd but the Tsahìk’s expression didn’t change. "We have tried to teach other Sky People. It is hard to fill a cup which is already full."
Hongjoong smirked, shrugging lightly. "My cup is empty, trust me. Ask Jeong Yunho. I’m no scientist."
A few Na’vi exchanged confused glances at the unfamiliar names.
"What are you?" The Tsahik tilted her head.
Hongjoong lifted his chin. "I was a Marine. A warrior, of the... jarhead clan."
A snort cut through the tension. The Na’vi called Wooyoung stepped forward, arms crossed, tail flicking with irritation. His eyes were sharp, almost mocking.
"Warrior my ass."
"Wooyoung." The pretty Na’vi scold.
A few Na’vi chuckled under their breath. Hongjoong shot Wooyoung a long look before the Tsahìk raised a hand, silencing the crowd instantly. Her gaze returned to Hongjoong, unreadable, weighing something far larger than him.
The Tsahìk stepped back, her expression unreadable as she turned toward the chief. The two exchanged a long look, one of those silent conversations that carried far more weight than words. Then they began speaking rapidly in Na’vi, their voices low but intense.
The crowd leaned in, listening.
Hongjoong stood awkwardly between two warriors still gripping his arms, trying to read their faces, their tone, anything. But the language washed over him like a tide, impossible to decipher.
He caught only fragments.
A gesture toward him. A shake of the head. A sigh from the Tsahìk. A frustrated flick of the chief’s tail.
Then the chief spoke clearly, his voice carrying through the entire gathering.
"This is the first warrior dreamwalker we have seen." A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. "We need to learn more about him."
The Tsahìk turned back to English, his gaze settling on the pretty Na’vi.
"My son, you will teach him our way..."
The Na’vi’s entire body stiffened. His ears pulled back, jaw tightening as he muttered something sharp and unhappy in Na’vi language under his breath.
The Tsahìk continued, "...to speak and walk as we do."
He snapped his head up, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Oeru pelun? Ke lu muiä." (Why me? That’s not fair.)
"It is decided."
"Wiya!" (Dammit!) The Na’vi hissed, tail lashing behind him.
The crowd reacted with a mix of amusement and disapproval, some chuckling, others hissing softly at his outburst. Hongjoong just stood there, bewildered, watching the family dynamic unfold like he’d stumbled into the middle of a very intense dinner argument.
"It is decided. You will learn our ways with my son. Learn well, Kim Hongjoong. Then we will see if your insanity can be cured."
Hongjoong noded and broke eye contact. His fate had just been sealed.
Hongjoong followed the Na'vi through the forest, still trying to process everything that had happened. The night glowed around them, the air warm with drifting spores. The pretty Na'vi walked ahead in silence, his posture stiff, clearly annoyed at being assigned as Hongjoong’s teacher.
They stepped through a curtain of hanging roots, and suddenly the forest opened into a wide clearing. A tall, bright fire burned at the center sending sparks spiraling into the night sky. Dozens of Na’vi sat around it, eating, talking, laughing. Drums thumped softly in the background, and the air smelled of roasted fruit and herbs. It looked like a celebration... or a ritual. Hongjoong couldn’t tell.
But the moment he stepped into the light, everything stopped. Every head turned. Every voice fell silent. Every eye fixed on him.
Hongjoong looked around, then forced a smile.
"Good evening." No one replied. “Please don’t get up.” A tiny laugh escaped him.
Still nothing.
He spotted an open space beside a man and a child and sat down carefully, trying not to look threatening. “Hey. How you doing?” The child stared at him with wide, fascinated eyes. The man stared like he was deciding whether Hongjoong was dangerous or just pathetic.
Hongjoong waited, glancing around for the pretty Na'vi. A moment later, he finally approached with a bowl of food, Hongjoong didn't really care to know what it was. He handed it to Hongjoong without a word.
“Thank you.” Hongjoong said, then accidentally locked eyes with Wooyoung across the fire. Wooyoung glared, unimpressed, before looking away with a scoff.
Hongjoong turned back to the Na'vi beside him. “You know, I don’t even know your name.”
The Na'vi mumbled something under his breath, barely audible.
“Park Seonghwa.”
Hongjoong blinked. “Pa...?”
Seonghwa sighed, repeating slower. “Seonghwa. Seong-hwa.”
Hongjoong nodded, trying it out. “Seong-hwa.” He smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Seonghwa.”
Seonghwa didn’t smile back, but his ears twitched, maybe annoyance, maybe something else.
They ate in silence, the fire crackling between them, the Na’vi slowly returning to their conversations though their eyes kept drifting toward Hongjoong.
When the meal ended, Seonghwa stood and motioned for him to follow. They climbed a series of woven walkways spiraling up a massive tree. The higher they went, the more the forest opened beneath them. Finally, they reached a platform lined with woven sleeping nests, hammocks made of interlaced vines and fibers, suspended like cocoons. Seonghwa stepped into one and demonstrated, lying back as it closed gently around him like a protective shell. Then he opened it again and gestured for Hongjoong to try.
Hongjoong climbed in awkwardly, nearly flipping himself over. Seonghwa grabbed the edge to steady him, muttering something in Na’vi that Hongjoong suspected was not a compliment.
After a few tries, Hongjoong managed to settle into the hammock. It wrapped around him, warm and surprisingly comfortable.
Seonghwa climbed into his own nest, the vines closing softly around him. The forest hummed. The fire crackled far below. Hongjoong exhaled, sinking into the strange, glowing night.
For the first time since arriving on Pandora, he felt safe enough to sleep.
"-Joong! Hongjoong!"
"He's coming out."
A bright light flashed directly into his eyes.
The world around him was no longer glowing vines and woven hammocks. It was metal, cold air, and the sharp hum of machinery. His real body lay inside the link unit, heavy and stiff, lungs dragging in a breath that felt too shallow.
Voices echoed in his skull, overlapping with the fading remnants of the forest.
"Come on. There you go."
Hongjoong winced. “Ah— yeah, yeah, I’m here...”
Mingi leaned over him, flashlight in hand, worry etched across his face. His hair was a mess, his shirt half‑tucked, like he’d sprinted straight from bed.
"You scared the hell out of us." Mingi muttered, checking his pulse.
San appeared behind him, arms crossed, trying to look calm but failing miserably. His foot tapped anxiously against the floor.
"You okay?" San asked, voice softer than usual.
Hongjoong let out a breathy laugh and looked around. Yunho was there too. He looked exhausted, but relief washed over his face the moment he saw Hongjoong sitting upright.
"Thank God," Yunho exhaled. "We thought we lost you out there. Is the avatar safe?"
Hongjoong let out a giggle. "Oh, yeah. You are not gonna believe where I am."
"...the last thing we see is this Marine's ass disappearing in the bush with this angry Thanator coming after him."
The cafeteria buzzed with the usual midday noise. The low murmur of exhausted scientists and soldiers grabbing a quick meal. But at Hongjoong’s table, the volume was noticeably louder.
Mingi was in the middle of a dramatic retelling, standing half out of his seat, waving a fork like it was a microphone. The table erupted in laughter. Even a few people from nearby tables turned to listen, grinning.
Hongjoong shook his head, rubbing his face. "It's not something you can teach."
Yunho leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, giving Hongjoong a long, assessing look. "For reasons I cannot fathom the Omaticaya have chosen you."
San stabbed a piece of fruit dramatically. "God help us all."
Laughter echoed through the place, but that happiness didn't last long.
"Kim Hongjoong!" Colonel Eden entered the room, a broad smile on his face. "Come talk to me, son. Privately."
Across the table, Mingi paused mid‑bite, giving them a strange, almost suspicious look like he wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or deeply concerned.
"Jar...head clan...? And it worked?" Colonel Eden asked, laughing as he clapped Hongjoong on the shoulder.
Hongjoong shrugged, trying to look casual. "I'm practically family. They're gonna study me, I have to learn to be one of them."
"That's talking taking initiative, son. I wish I had ten more like you." The colonel nodded approvingly. He leaned in, voice dropping into something more serious. "I need you to find out what the blue monkeys want. Their damn village happens to be resting on the richest Unobtanium deposit. I need that place."
Hongjoong’s expression tightened. "What gets them to move?"
"Guess?" The colonel smirked.
"What if they won't go?" Hongjoong frowned.
"I'm betting that they will. Killing the indigenous looks bad. But there's one thing that shareholders hate more than bad press. And that's a bad quarterly statement. I didn't make up the rules." Eden sighed, folding his arms. "So just find me a carrot that will get them to move, otherwise it's going to have to be all stick. You got three months. That's when the dozers get there."
"Well, we're wasting time."
Eden laughed, clapping him on the back again.
"Ahah, I like you."
But Hongjoong didn’t smile.
Yunho tapped the screen of his sleek, transparent tablet, the holographic images of Na’vi faces shifting with each swipe. Hongjoong rolled closer in his wheelchair, positioning himself between Mingi and San. The hum of the lab equipment echoed softly around them, the link units glowing in stand by mode behind the glass.
"Okay. Let's run through them again." Yunho said, holding the tablet where Hongjoong could see.
Hongjoong leaned forward, wheels squeaking slightly on the polished floor. "Mo'at. That's the chief."
"Yeah. He's their clan leader. Her?"
Hongjoong squinted. "The Tsahìk. Eytuken?"
Yunho sighed. "Eytukan. She's their spiritual leader." Another swipe. "Next?"
Hongjoong frowned at the image and rolled his eyes. "That's Jung Wooyoung."
San, sitting beside him, tilted his head with curiosity, especially at the way Hongjoong said the name.
Yunho nodded. "Yes. And?"
Hongjoong exhaled. "...Park Seonghwa."
"He will be the next chief." Yunho didn’t look up.
Hongjoong nodded. "So, who's this Eywa?"
Mingi groaned dramatically, dropping his head onto the table. "Who's Eywa? Only their Deity. Their Goddess. Everything they know. You'd know this if you had any training whatsover."
"Well, who's got a date with the chief's son?" Hongjoong smirked, spinning his chair slightly.
Mingi rolled his eyes "Oh, come on."
Yunho laughed and smiled softly as he looked at the pictures in his tablet. "Seonghwa was my best student. Him and his younger brothers."
"Younger brothers?" Honjoong asked, confused. He didn't know Seonghwa had brothers.
Yunho looked up. "Well, yeah! Jung Wooyoung and Kang Yeosang."
"Wait, what?" Hongjoong’s hands froze on his wheels. What the fuck? How is Wooyoung Seonghwa's brother?
Hongjoong shook his head, pushing his thoughts away. "Kang Yeosang? I didn't met anyone with that name."
"He died. A few years ago. That's all we know." Hongjoong looked at Yunho with wide eyes, who gave him a sad smile.
"Anyway, let's go." Yunho stood, stretching. "Village life starts early. Don't do anything unusually stupid, yeah?"
"Initiate link."
Yunho was packing up the tablet, sliding it into its charging dock, when he noticed everyone else had already moved toward the link units, but Mingi hadn’t budged.
Yunho sighed softly and walked back.
"Mingi," he said, not unkindly. "You’re doing that thing again."
Mingi didn’t look up. "What thing."
"That thing where you stare at a screen like it personally offended you."
Mingi exhaled through his nose, leaning back in his chair. "I’m just thinking."
"Yeah," Yunho said, pulling up another chair and sitting beside him, "that’s what worries me."
Mingi shot him a sideways look. "You’re hilarious."
"I’m serious." Yunho replied. "You’ve been off. Did something happened?"
Mingi’s jaw tightened. "I’m fine."
Yunho didn’t push. He just tapped the edge of the table lightly with two fingers.
"You know," Yunho said, voice low. "you don’t have to pretend with me."
Mingi’s eyes flicked toward him, surprised by the softness in his tone.
"I’m not pretending." he muttered.
"Sure." Yunho said, standing up again. "But if you ever decide to stop, I’ll still be here."
Mingi blinked, caught between annoyance and something he didn’t want to name as Yunho left toward the link units.
San watched the whole interaction from across the room, with a soft smile on his face.
The direhorse snorted, its six legs shifting restlessly as Hongjoong approached. Its bioluminescent stripes pulsed with slow, wary light. Hongjoong raised both hands in what he hoped was a calming gesture.
"Easy boy."
Seonghwa’s ears twitched. "It's a female."
Hongjoong blinked. "Easy girl."
He climbed onto the direhorse’s back, wobbling slightly as the creature shifted beneath him. The height alone made his stomach flip. He reached for the long neural tendrils at the base of the direhorse’s skull, then lifted his own braid.
Seonghwa stepped closer, voice steady.
"That is Sa'helu. The bond."
Hongjoong pressed the two together.The connection snapped into place like a jolt of electricity.
The direhorse’s breath filled his ears. Its heartbeat thudded against his ribs. Its muscles, its tension, its confusion, all of it flooded into him at once. Hongjoong gasped, nearly losing his balance.
"Feel her," Seonghwa’s voice softened. "feel her heartbeat, her breath, feel her strong legs." Hongjoong closed his eyes. The forest quieted. The heartbeat grew louder, syncing with his own. "You may tell her what to do, inside."
Hongjoong swallowed, nodding.
Seonghwa stepped back. "For now, teel her where to go."
"Forward-"
The direhorse launched into a sprint.
Hongjoong didn’t even have time to scream before he was flung backward, tumbling into the moss with a thud that knocked the air out of him. For a moment, he just lay there, staring at the glowing canopy. Then he heard it. A sound he hadn’t heard from Seonghwa before.
A giggle. Soft, surprised, almost unwilling but real.
Hongjoong sat up, rubbing his back. "Glad I could entertain you."
Before Seonghwa could respond, another direhorse trotted into the clearing. Wooyoung sat atop it, posture sharp, expression sharper.
"You should go away."
Hongjoong looked up and grinned."Nah, you'd miss me."
"Brother" Wooyoung ignored him completely, turning to Seonghwa. "Fìketuwongìl ke nayume ke'ut!" (This alien will learn nothing!) Then he glared at Hongjoong, eyes narrowed. "Nì'ul kame tskxe. Poru tìng nari." (A rock sees more. Look at him.)
Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong with a little smile and turned to his younger brother. "Wooyoung-ah. Kã." (Go.) He tapped his brother's direhorse’s neck, sending it forward.
Wooyoung’s jaw dropped.
"Seonghwa!" he shouted as he rode off, indignation echoing through the trees. Silence settled again.
Seonghwa looked down at Hongjoong, expression returning to its usual calm.
"Again." he instructs.
And that was how Hongjoong’s days had begun to blur together.
Morning: wake up in his human body.
Day: report to Colonel Eden, analyze structures, give intel.
Night: return to Pandora through the link, learn the Na’vi ways, stumble, fall, get up again, try harder.
Two lives. Two loyalties.
He sat across from Colonel Eden now, the holographic scan of Hometree rotating slowly above the table. The structure glowed in shades of blue and gold, its massive roots spiraling like a cathedral built by nature itself.
Hongjoong pointed at the projection, tracing the layers with his finger.
"If you want to hit this thing, it's going to be complicated. Your scan doesn't show the internal structure. There's an outer row of columns, real heavy duty. There's a secondary ring here, and an inner ring. There's a core structure like a spiral"
Colonel Eden leaned forward, squinting.
Hongjoong added quietly, "That's how they move up and down."
The colonel grunted, unimpressed by the complexity. "We're gonna need accurate scans of every column."
Hongjoong nodded, though something in his stomach twisted.
Across the room, unnoticed by either of them, Mingi stood half‑hidden behind a row of equipment. He had come in to check a calibration panel, but froze when he heard Hongjoong’s voice. He watched Hongjoong pointing at the hologram of the Na’vi home, explaining its structure like it was just another target, another obstacle to clear.
His expression darkened. Not anger. Disappointment.
Mingi’s jaw tightened as he stepped back into the shadows, unseen.
When Hongjoong got back to the main lab, he saw his team packing up a few things. "Where are we going?"
"Gettin' out of the Dodge." Yunho replied. "I'm not about to let Colonel Eden managed this thing. There's a mobile link up as site 26 we can use, way up in the moutains."
"The Hallelujah moutains?" San got up, asking excitedly. "Are you serious?" Yunho nodded.
Hongjoong gave him a confused look and San sighed.
"The legendary floating mountains of Pandora. Heard of them?" San jokes and turns around.
The airship rattled as it cut through the thick clouds of Pandora’s upper atmosphere, the rotors humming with a steady vibration that shook the metal floor beneath their boots. Hongjoong sat in the backseat beside Yunho and Mingi, the straps of his harness digging into his shoulders as the aircraft dipped lower.
Yunho leaned forward, peering through the fogged window. "We are getting close."
Up front, Jongho adjusted the controls, eyes flicking between glowing instruments and the swirling blue mist outside.
"Yeah, look at my instruments. We’re in the flux vortex, VFR from here on."
"What’s VFR?" San, sitting beside him, frowned.
Jongho smirked. "Means we got to see where we’re going."
San stared out the window at the wall of fog. "You can’t see anything."
Jongho barked a laugh. "Exactly. Ain’t that a bitch."
The aircraft jolted as they broke through the last layer of cloud. And suddenly the world opened beneath them.
Floating mountains.
Massive stone pillars suspended in midair, wrapped in vines and waterfalls that poured into nothingness. The magnetic fields shimmered around them like heat waves, bending the light in soft ripples.
San’s jaw dropped. "Oh. My. God..."
Hongjoong pressed a hand to the glass, breath catching in his throat. The impossible beauty. The way the mountains drifted like slow, ancient creatures.
Jongho glanced back with a grin.
“Ahah. You should see your faces.”
The airship descended toward a cluster of platforms built into the side of a massive root structure, the temporary camp where they’d be staying. Lights blinked along the landing zone, guiding Jongho in.
The rotors slowed. The ship settled with a soft thud as Jongho flipped the final switch and leaned back in his seat.
“Thank you for flying with Air Pandora.”
The doors slid open, letting in a rush of warm, humid air filled with the scent of moss, earth, and something electric. Hongjoong rolled out first, eyes still fixed on the floating mountains. San wandered off to get a better view of the floating mountains. Yunho was already organizing equipment. Mingi? He wasn’t doing anything he was supposed to.
Later, when the sun dipped behind the floating mountains and the camp lights flickered on, the others were busy settling in but Mingi sat alone on a supply crate, staring at the forest without seeing it. The image of Hongjoong standing beside Colonel Eden, pointing at the hologram of Hometree and explaining its structure like it was just another military target, wouldn’t leave Mingi's mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Hongjoong’s hand tracing the spiral core. Every time he tried to sleep, he heard the colonel’s voice:
"We’re gonna need accurate scans of every column."
Mingi had walked away that day with something heavy in his chest.
Yunho approached quietly, stopping beside him. "You’re pacing," Yunho said, tightening a bolt. "You only pace when you’re about to do something stupid or honest."
Mingi froze mid‑step.
"...I need to tell you something."
Yunho set the tool down, finally turning to face him. His expression was calm and open, the kind of look that made it impossible to hide anything.
Mingi swallowed hard.
"It’s about Hongjoong."
Yunho didn’t react. He just waited.
"I saw him," Mingi said quietly. "With Colonel Eden. He was explaining the structure of Hometree. Like he was helping them figure out how to take it down." The words came out rougher than he meant. He looked away, jaw tight.
"I thought he was just gathering intel. I didn’t think he’d actually-" He stopped, shaking his head. "I don’t know. It felt wrong. And I didn’t know who to tell."
Yunho watched him for a long moment.
Then he smiled small, tired, but not surprised.
"I know."
Mingi blinked. "You...know?"
"I’ve known for a while," Yunho said, leaning back against the table. "Hongjoong’s been torn since the day he made Sa’helu. You can see it in the way he talks about the clan. The way he avoids looking at the scans now."
Mingi stared at him, stunned.
"Why didn’t you say anything?"
"Because it wasn’t my secret to tell," Yunho replied. "And because Hongjoong isn’t choosing sides yet. He’s just stuck between them."
Mingi let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
"So you’re not mad?"
Yunho shook his head. "No. I’m glad you told me. It means you’re paying attention."
Mingi scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought you’d think I was overreacting."
Yunho nudged his shoulder lightly. "You overreact to everything. But this time? You were right to worry."
Mingi’s eyes softened. "So... what do we do?"
Yunho picked up the sensor again, turning it over in his hands.
"We watch him," he said. "We support him. And when the time comes we make sure he doesn’t lose himself."
Mingi nodded slowly. For the first time since he saw Hongjoong in that room, the weight in his chest eased. Yunho glanced at him, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"And Mingi?"
"Yeah?"
"Next time you’re carrying something heavy," Yunho said, "you don’t have to wait this long to tell me."
Mingi looked away, ears turning pink.
"Yeah. Okay."
Yunho didn’t push further.
He didn’t need to.