Chapter Text
Seungkwan is not just a graduating senior high school. He intends to pursue Mass Communication in college, since he thinks he is good at it, but that's not the only thing he aims for.
In fact, he will also pursue this.
Seungkwan screams at the top of his lungs, flying above the night sky of Seoul. The cool air brushes against his cheeks, free from the mask that he wears on his face.
Behind him, there is Hansol, also soaring through the sky. The moonlight illuminates his gigantic feathered wings, making him look majestic. Seungkwan is content with just watching him. Hansol always looks ethereal when he shows his true form.
“Tired already, Seungkwan?” Hansol called when he went past the latter.
With a chuckle, Seungkwan went after him, racing back to the roof of their dorm. It was a close call, but Seungkwan managed to arrive first.
“Ha! Beat you again!” Seungkwan marvels, standing tall.
He forgot how much taller Hansol is. “Did you?”
Seungkwan pretends to not see the way Hansol looks at him. Pretends to not hear the teasing tone in his voice. Pretends to not know that Hansol could easily beat him in a race but chooses not to.
“Course I did,” Seungkwan answers, looking away to hide the blush forming in his cheeks. “You never stood a chance with those heavy-ass wings of yours.”
Hansol only chuckles, slowly retracting his wings back in his back. Seungkwan doesn't really understand how Hansol’s bodily autonomy works. How he can just whip out his wings and hide them like they never existed. There are a lot of things that don't make sense in this world—people casually having powers, each unique to their own, takes the top spot.
One thing Seungkwan knows for sure however, is that he likes Hansol. And he's pretty sure that Hansol likes him back, but he pretends he doesn't, simply because it's easier.
Because what if he's wrong? What if he's just assuming that Hansol likes him back? He cannot bear to lose their friendship over a silly crush. Plus, it will probably go away soon. (He’s been telling himself that for eight years.)
Once the pair of them is confined in their small private place, they immediately take off their costumes, hanging them by the dresser. You see, Seungkwan and Hansol are part time heroes. It only makes sense. In a world where having superpowers is the norm, one will surely use it for ill-driven purposes, and so people like Hansol and Seungkwan choose to use it for good.
Some are very public with their identities. Like the dropout-college-student-turned-full-time-superhero, Kim Mingyu. He likes to show off his strength, marvels when he uses it for good, grins his annoyingly white and perfect set of teeth at his swooning fans. People like Mingyu believe that saving lives is their calling in life. People like him won't need a mask.
On the other hand, Seungkwan likes his mask. His orange suit and yellow cape, makes him feel like when he wears it, he gets to leave his personal problems behind. He can just focus on saving people, making their life better. He gets to forget about rent, academic pendings, and college fees. For Hansol, however, he likes to keep his life private.
“Won’t you like to get famous?” Seungkwan once asked when they were making the prototype of their suits.
“If I want to be known, I want to be known for me.”
Seungkwan doesn't really understand his answer, but that's just the type of guy Hansol is. He can be the most blunt person to ever exist, then suddenly he’s speaking in riddles. His words would always ponder in Seungkwan’s head, and by the time he realizes what it means, the moment has passed.
“Goodnight, Boo,” Hansol calls from his loft bed, just opposite Seungkwan’s bed side.
With a solemn look, Seungkwan also greets him goodnight. This is their last night together. Last night of sharing this room, last night of flying, before Hansol moves away to further his studies abroad. Seungkwan will miss him, he already does and he's just a few steps away from him, but does he really have a choice? One way or another, he needs to learn how to let Hansol go. And so with his heart in his throat, Seungkwan forces himself to sleep.
To Sollie:
- the fucker already found your replacement.
From Sollie:
- Who?
- You mean Youngmin?
- Our landlord????
- Hahah
- How is he??
To Sollie:
- he’s annoying
- i hate him already
- i want you back!!!
From Sollie:
- 🤣😭😂😭
- Give him a chance
- He’s been there for like,,, 1-2 hours????
There is no way that Seungkwan will give this guy a chance, Lee Junghan, or whatever his name is. He already stepped on Seungkwan’s nerves when he decided to lay on Hansol’s bed with his outside clothes on.
“So…” Junghan awkwardly tries, poking his head from Hansol’s loft bed. It seems that he doesn't understand that Seungkwan wants him gone right here and now. “What college will you apply to?”
Seungkwan only gives him a look, hoping that's enough sign that he doesn't want to talk. Junghan seems eager though, albeit hesitant, squinting his eyes to make out the papers scribbled on Seungkwan’s bed.
“Oh! PUP!” Junghan happily exclaims. “I applied there too, y’know?”
At that, Seungkwan loses his cool. “What?!”
“Yeah!” Junghan grins, “Already passed everything and all. Just waiting for my acceptance letter.”
“You take that back right now!” says Seungkwan, standing up from his bed, a finger pointing accusingly at Junghan.
Junghan raises both hands defensively. “What did I do! I don't think they accept back-outs!”
“You can't be at the same school as me.”
“But why?!”
With a frustrated groan, Seungkwan decides to just walk out of their room. He needs some air, and being stuck in the same room as Junghan will not do any of them good.
“Ah, fuck,” Seungkwan forgot his suit. Swallowing his pride, he walks back in. He sees Junghan with his hands still raised in the air, eyes defensive yet accusing. With a scowl, Seungkwan takes his duffle bag and slams the door.
Seungkwan finds himself flying in the night once again. He changes his hair color to blond to further protect his identity. In this world, people are usually only given one ability. For some reason, Seungkwan is blessed with two—the power of flight and the ability to change his hair color.
It’s really convenient, especially for someone like him who likes to keep his identity hidden. He can just change his hair without going through the excruciating process of dyeing it.
Which brings back sweet memories to Seungkwan; his first meeting with Hansol.
Seungkwan first saw him when he was just ten years old, back when his powers were just starting to develop. He was just about to go to school when suddenly, his hair turned into a bright shade of blond. He couldn't change it no matter how hard he tried, so off to school he went.
He thought it was a little lame, to be given such mundane power. But others had it worse. He had a classmate whose sole power was to precisely know the temperature of the room. Mundane it may be, but it looked quite cool. Seungkwan will soon learn how to manage this, and he will later find out his ability of flight.
When Seungkwan entered the room, he saw an unfamiliar face. His foreign features were still remarkable even though he kept his head down. He was alone, an outcast, and people were obviously gossiping about him.
The teacher introduced him as Hansol—so he is Korean—even though he doesn't look like one. It doesn't help with the fact that he transferred too late. Everyone had already made their own circles, he was bound to be alienated.
Seungkwan saw him sitting alone by the trash bin during lunch. Driven by empathy, Seungkwan decided to approach him. He didn't know how to converse with him. Hansol didn't look like the type to understand Korean, so Seungkwan tried speaking in English even though it sounded broken and weird.
As stupid as it looked, his attempt earned him a light laugh. Hansol’s smile was dazzling, so dazzling that Seungkwan could hurt anyone who took it away.
“Do they bully you for looking different too?” Hansol asked, eyes fixated on Seungkwan’s hair.
“So you can speak Korean!” Seungkwan beamed, taking a seat next to him on the floor.
“I am Korean after all,” said Hansol. “If you don't mind me asking, is your hair naturally like that?”
“Oh no, not at all. I woke up like this this morning. I guess this is my ability. Very exciting, I know.” Seungkwan said, sarcasm thick by the end of his sentence.
Hansol laughed again. “I think it's really cool. I haven't got mine yet.”
“Is that so?” Seungkwan smiled, already feeling attached to this boy he just met. As if on cue, his hair started to revert back to normal.
“Oh my god, that's so cool!”
Seungkwan stops his flight midair, feeling a little melancholic. He misses Hansol dearly, and the more he misses him, the more his resentment for this new guy grows.
Suddenly, he hears a cry for help from below. Seungkwan doesn't have to think twice, he dives down, following the sound. He sees the night market in chaos: people running around, stalls and products scattered everywhere. And then he sees from whom they're running from.
It’s the same villain he encountered before with Hansol, speakers attached to his body, wires coming out from his back that he uses like tentacles. Back then he was robbing a bank, now he's just wrecking havoc for the fun of it.
“Haven't I beaten you before?” Seungkwan taunts, making his presence known.
The villain whips his neck to face him, his eyes hungry with revenge. “Finally,” he said, “I've been waiting for you.”
One of his wires aimed for Seungkwan, but Seungkwan was quick to dodge. He has beaten this guy before, he wouldn't mind for a second match. When the villain attacked again, Seungkwan took hold of his wire. Last time, he and Hansol had managed to wrap it around him, making him useless against his own self. When Seungkwan attempted to do that move again, the villain shook himself free.
With a yelp, Seungkwan is sent back flying to the ground. The pain on his back is starting to grow all over his body, and to make matters worse, the villain decides to activate his speakers, its full force landing on Seungkwan’s ears.
Seungkwan is writhing in pain. He’s screaming but he doesn't even hear himself. His eyes feel like it will pop out of its sockets anytime soon, his eardrums are probably long gone. Through half lidded eyes, Seungkwan can see the villain eerily smiling at him, taunting, probably saying cruel things.
“What's the point if I can't hear you!” Seungkwan manages to choke out. The villain only laughs.
Then the pain abruptly stops. His ears are still ringing, and his vision is blurry with tears, but he can make out the villain getting hit with a bright force, like an energy blast. Seungkwan can’t tell where or whom it's coming from, but to whoever it is, he owes them his life.
Relief clouds his system. He is too weak to help nor even finish watching their fight, so he succumbs to his pain. Hoping that when he wakes up, his ears would stop ringing.
Seungkwan is awoken by the siren of an ambulance (so he can still hear!) There are paramedics and police men gathered around. The villain is cuffed up inside a police car with his mouth taped (thank god.)
“Steady now,” a woman in a dark blue bodysuit approaches him. “We just need to take a good look at you, and then we'll send you home.”
Send him home? So that means Seungkwan will be sent to a hospital. Meaning they will forcefully remove his costume, meaning his identity will be revealed.
“No, no,” Seungkwan said, forcing himself to stand up despite the pain jolting in his body.
“Sir, you need to lay down,” the woman says, but it fell on deaf ears (quite literally—he’s not deaf but his hearing is surely damaged.)
“I'm sorry,” and with that, Seungkwan takes off.
He almost crashed at their rooftop. He's pretty sure he fell face first on the floor when he finally managed to unlock his door. And then he crawled his way on the mattress, pain writhing all over his body.
The last thing that Seungkwan sees before he loses consciousness is that the loft bed is empty. His roommate is nowhere to be found. With that, everything went black.