Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cautiously Renjun looked down at the tupperware in his hands. It was filled with things Jaemin had cooked as extra during breakfast, and Renjun hadn’t been blind to the worry in the youngest’s eyes but, unlike him, Jaemin and Jeno had seen this happening a few times already.

Chungha had received a new pair of eyes some months ago and after the testing phase, now it had been Jisung’s turn. It did sound kind of wrong, phrasing it like that, but it didn’t make it untrue. With engineered eyeballs and cables instead of nerves, it might sound the most sci-fi out of anything going on in this agency. Nano machines causing mutations at least was something one could morph into the abstract, leave the scientific part out and it was just a mutation among a few. Artificial eyes weren’t the same.

It was just their luck that today was some kind of day off, although not for the reasons Renjun did enjoy. They would head over to that same hotel of six months prior today, set everything up for the mock mission, and then the third day would be for their examination. To say it wrenched his guts and flipped them upside down would be an understatement.

Only that it felt wrong to just go without saying goodbye. A few would accompany them, either members they already knew or some that were still unknown to Renjun like Sooyoung, which was funny, because he was quite certain she did belong to this branch. He had just never seen her around after.

“Ge, I can hear you overthinking even until here,” a voice called from inside the room and it was finally enough to startle Renjun out of his mind. A bit surprised he looked at Chenle, priorly hidden behind the curtains, and took in that he must not have been the only one wanting to look after the operated.

Now it was too late to escape - not like he had wanted to, just, maybe a bit more time to prepare himself? - and he put on his best smile as he entered the room on the ward. Hyoyeon was there, but he had already seen her, busy with checking the machines and he gave her a little bow she just brushed off.

“How are you doing, Jisungie?” He asked, careful not to stand in Hyoyeon’s way as he maneuvered around the room to put the box with food on the little table next to the bed.

“They didn’t manage to make him any smarter despite working on his brain but-” Chenle was quick to shut up when receiving a sharp glare from the doctor. The boy immediately put on a sulking expression that definitely fit him better after. Defying in his own way.

Renjun directed his gaze at Jisung, instead, noting that the boy at least didn’t look worse for wear. Ruddy around from the eyes which was caused by obvious reasons, to pop out an eyeball and replace it with a new one couldn’t possibly be easy on the surrounding skin area. Even when it gave him the rather adorable look of a baby who had just cried itself to sleep.

“It’s not that bad, hyung,” the youngest made an effort to calm his worries. It must be a practiced line at this point, because in a way Renjun could understand. He had said the same to countless people after his spacing outs before, despite never feeling fine. The older he had become the more disturbing his visions could turn out to be, and he still had needed to act nonchalant around strangers.

For that reason Renjun wouldn’t be able to forgive himself in case he missed the signs of distress. Extra attention was put into analyzing all of Jisung’s expression, the innocence of his age, the off mixture of paleness and ruddiness that comes from exhaustion and strain at once, the earnestness in his eyes, of actually meaning these words. It was way more honest than Renjun feels any of his looks at that time had been, so the smile growing on his own face grew along with the acknowledgement of sincerity.

“Don’t keep it to yourself if you’re in pain,” the artist demanded softly, out of care. Letting it go to far and trying to shoulder pain that would and up being too much was by no means comfortable, he’d rather not try the younger to go through that.

Across the bed, he shot Chenle a look, telling him to heed to these words too. If not the other members, he at least knew the other Chinese wouldn’t be coming with them for the examination, part of that reasoning being that these two were most likely to become partners later on too. From what he had been told, at least.

Admittedly, it also made sense. Chenle might be around less and doing his training with Vision, faulted on whatever political reasons Renjun hadn’t paid much of a mind too, but these two had chemistry. Not to mention they might be the last trainees to be left over now, expecting neither Renjun nor Jaemin were kicked from their sort of group project.

“I’ll take care of him.” The foreigner promised and at least in his eyes did Renjun find what he was looking for. Then, with a little frown, he came to another realization. He was familiar with all Specials, to an extent. He had seen Mark grown up under Johnny’s surveillance and had grown familiar with chess patterns thanks to Donghyuck, and Jaemin’s room had once served him as inspiration for a drawing.
Even Dejun he could explain himself, because that guy spent more time sleeping than awake, apparently. But it didn’t explain as to why Chenle felt so closed off to him. It made him frown lightly, just for a moment that was quickly broken by Jisung tugging at his sleeve to call for his attention. “Everything alright, hyung?”

“Yeah, sure, just… nervous, I guess,” Renjun reasoned, apparently well enough if based on the understanding smile Jisung granted him.

“You’ll do well, hyung. I’m sure you can do this with ease.” The youngest spoke up, eyes curving more easily as he smiled now that they were swollen red. It made him look more adorable and at least for the moment Renjun gave up his tension to admire that by pinching those cute cheeks lightly.

“I’ll treat you to a meal when you’re better,” he promised, ignoring the protests from Chenle’s side because he, along with vision, would have to leave soon after this. Renjun just gave his fellow Chinese a thumbs up, not bothering to give in to the complaints. He’d need to leave in a bit anyways, the time he currently had to spend bought for him thanks to his boyfriends having offered to pack his bags. “Do your best.”

The artist paid the two one last sincere smile, and a little wave, yelling his farewell to Hyoyeon as he left the ward. Leaving made him feel bad, even worse with the nervousness piling up with the approaching doomsday all the more. Fingers crossed Jeno and Jaemin packed his clothes well.

Unsurprisingly, they hadn’t been too great at doing just that but Renjun didn’t exactly have it in him to mind when he got to cuddle into Jaemin’s sweater rather than his own late in the evening as it currently was. With everyone being busy preparing for them, it had become easier for them to let loose on their tension, their days feeling more like a prolonged date than the approaching end of their training days. Was this how idols felt before debut? It sure seemed messy.

At the moment he wasn’t even certain whether he welcomed the leisure time or despised it, for the many thoughts running through his mind were not stopped by the task of not losing in a spar despite his slim chances of winning. He’d also much rather chase after Jeno through the woods, more focused on breathing properly and not tripping than his busy mind.

Alas, he was seated at the outside pool, Jaemin’s beloved adidas pants unbuttoned on the sides just so he could lower his legs into the water. Neither outright warm nor cold, it was just soothing to feel the little waves lap against his skin. When the two had told him to wait out here, they hadn’t told him why, had just taken off, and with all this time spent having to wait, Renjun wasn’t certain he wouldn’t throw a chair at either of them upon sight.

Actually, he was even tempted to just cheat by hijacking Jaemin’s sight. The younger wouldn’t even notice but the warning of not doing so earlier still weighed heavily on his conscience. It had him wrinkle his nose in distaste upon being so blatantly ordered around. By someone younger than him. Who wasn’t even around currently.

He already considered maybe just having withdrawal symptoms after the earlier hours spent in his two boyfriends’ company that seemed to be all the more amiss now that he had no reason not to enjoy it. It tired him out, more so than he would want to admit to, and not like he wouldn’t either. Instead, he kicked the water instead of another person, and huffed, “Stupid Jaemin.”

More so than steps, or words, or noise, it was the way the water droplets stayed afloat in the air that notified him of Jaemin’s return. Because why else would water refuse gravity unless Renjun had already given in to insanity and was going crazy due to the tension that anticipation held within.

“Why am I stupid?” The younger whined and the lack of control over his powers, still, was evident by the whole spray of water hitting Renjun rather than a few single droplets. He squeaked in surprise, managing just so to protect his face, and already jumped up to chase after his boyfriend. But Jaemin only laughed and set off first, gaining more distance on him because of the older having to put on his slippers first.

It was a short chase, less than a handful minutes or so could have possibly passed, but with the speed they headed around it was no surprise they were a bit of a distance from the hotel already. Even before Jaemin came to a halt Renjun already slowed down, having caught sight of Jeno ahead, of the little lights illuminating the ground, so he couldn’t help himself. Curiosity and carefulness ruled out the need to slap his love over the back of his head.

What he eventually came to face, though, was one beautiful sight. Little candles had been set up in glasses on the floor, making a vague shape around a blanket spread out. Jeno was already settled there, and Jaemin was just about to, having to wrestle with his shoes first, but had also fallen onto his behind when Renjun eventually arrived.

Breathtaking might just describe it the best, not only the sight of it, but the effort he knew must have been put into this. To get this all set up, to have everyone keep mum about it, to prepare it all without him noticing. It still had him slap Jaemin on the head as he left behind his slippers and crawled onto the blanket too, dropping his head into Jeno’s lap much like the cat he felt like at the moment.

“You’re the best,” Renjun muttered, not feeling like doing much else than hogging Jeno’s warmth at the current moment. One might think he was touch starved when they had even spent this afternoon in bed, cuddling, watching a movie. Rather than maybe doing a short work out as they were likely supposed to.

“Not fair!” The youngest whined, with a pout on his lips Renjun didn’t even need to look for to know it was existent. Yet at the same time, Jaemin moved in to lay behind him, head rested on Jeno’s knee and arm loosely wrapped around the smaller’s middle. “You always only pay attention to Jeno!”

It might sound like it but it wasn’t spoken in bad humor, and they all knew. Because Jaemin got enough attention of his own, too, because Jaemin would get himself the attention he thought he deserved whenever he craved for it, because Jaemin might just be the most content out of the three of them just observing their happiness.

“Ya!” Jeno scolded with faked seriousness, flicking his fingers against Jaemin’s forehead. “Your empty brain weighs heavy on my shin.” Nevertheless, the fighter didn’t push either of them off. Only motivated Renjun to turn onto his back which he, with some grumbled protests, also did. Less comfortable than on his side but okay. He only realized the meaning behind that when Jeno signed upwards, and he was able to see countless little lights above. Put simply, it was mesmerizing.

“Yuta was curious about you,” Jaemin said next to him, silently, as if their moment was suddenly fragile, “I mean, I think it was Sicheng-hyung, but, you know. He stumbled across an older interview with you and it said you liked the stars so here we are.”

There was a fragile line between joy and careful prodding, something that was felt more than heard. Renjun got it, though. They had planned this, had hoped to make him happy, they just weren’t certain it was the perfect idea. To have dates like these, normal dates, it was a rarity for them, given the circumstances. But even without his fascination with the stars and astronomy, he was certain it would be a perfect date.

Jaemin shifted around him, until no longer resting on Jeno’s shin but wrapped around Renjun’s middle, head put on his stomach and with the same ease breathing came with living, the older brushed his fingers through the dyed hair. It took only seconds before Jeno did the same, fingers tracing around his face and his hair, and while the artist was still looking at the stars shining with a clarity he couldn’t expect from the urban area, he couldn’t imagine a moment like this to be any more perfect.

He wasn’t sure whether it made the moment more delicate than it had already been or more steady, something that couldn’t be shattered no matter how sensible it looked. He only knew it was perfect, felt perfect, and it eased his mind of what was to come tomorrow. It made him smile, as he looked up at Jeno who was already gazing at him, and tugged at Jaemin’s hair to call for attention, as he declared, “I love you. No matter what, I love you.”

The younger’s eyes crinkled and fingers pressed into his side as a sign of confirmation. It was the first time Renjun had spoken them with all his senses alert, unlike that dazed morning before, that he acknowledged it consciously and said it out loud like that. The words alone were enough to make his own heart blossom with warmth but as Jeno’s smile softened into a more gentle expression, and his eyes took a serious glint, it felt like the little organ might burst soon. “I love you too, Renjun, Jaemin.”

There was only one thing amiss, yet it wasn’t, because it took a single second for the youngest to crawl upwards, nosing against Renjun’s jaw before pressing a little kiss to the sensitive skin. “Don’t leave me out of this,” Jaemin wailed, which was only met by a protesting and startled sound from the fighter’s side, any possible response cut off as the Special, too, mumbled, “I love you both more than words could ever express.”

Renjun wanted to wrinkle his nose in detest at the cheesy comment that was so utterly fitting for the blond. Only that any reaction died before it could took place when met with Jaemin’s sincere orbs. It was too much, within seconds it became too much, his heart felt like bursting, exploding into a firework of feelings and affection. Too fast, too much, too intense for him, so he couldn’t himself when he pulled the taller down just so he could hide at his neck and get a moment to calm himself down.

The usual sweet scent of strawberries Jaemin’s shower gel held was overlaid by the wooden depth of Jeno’s sweater, for at one point they had just stopped caring about whose clothes they wore. They all were aware of what belonged to whom but homewear and training clothes long since carried little meaning of ownership. It was comforting, in this very special way only home could be. A little piece of sanctuary they could carry everywhere.

“I think we broke him,” Jaemin joked directed at Jeno, words dripping with affection but it was that bit of humor that sufficed for Renjun to pull himself together. He landed a little punch into the younger’s side, aware that the gravitational armoring long since didn’t work on him anymore, a little gesture of trust, subconscious proof. Maybe also just caused by the vulnerability of this situation.

“He’ll suffocate too, if you don’t move,” the fighter pointed out carefully, softly nudging at the youngest’s shoulder who took the hint without complaint. With ease, they returned to their previous positions, and fingers picked up their work again. “We also packed some food, if you want any. Mostly sweets, though, thanks to a certain someone.”

The assault had Renjun smile in amusement, not even surprised by that. At least he could trust in Jeno to get him more than sugar cubes to munch on. “Maybe a bit later,” he offered, and reached his free hand up to intertwine his fingers with another set of heavily calloused ones. Just for the moment, he was content with this.

Within the span of over a year spent within the agency, Renjun had to admit, the dumbest he felt might as well be right now, with a string of dental floss tied around the last knuckle of his pinky. It was loose enough for him to slip it off before it could possibly cut through his flesh or something but there was enough tension on the string overall for him not to notice in case of someone approaching.
In theory, he had a spectacular spot. The same warehouse, nearly the same arrangement, he had found his spot on the second floor on some containers, pressed flat against the metal just so he would not be as easily found. Which was already hard enough in first place, thanks to the angle, but with the floss wrapped around some applications, low on the floor so stepping onto it was likely, he would still be notified of someone approaching no matter how quiet. In best case, it wouldn’t be a necessity.

In worst case… He didn’t actually want to think about it, not when he shuffled his weight one last time before allowing his vision to flicker out. He had been warned not to try cheating because that’s not something he could do on a real job either, when a tiny bit of awareness signaled him he didn’t even have lots of people in the vicinity. Side-effect of this whole localization training with Johnny and Jaemin.

The younger was currently sneaking between the containers, and for a moment Renjun couldn’t help wonder whether the gear felt as heavy for the blond as it did for him. Considering they had the same rules as the previous time, with fighting basically guaranteed and weapons being allowed for usage, since they couldn’t possibly shoot at each other with real bullets, they had resonated to the reflectors and nerve stimulators again. So basically, the war version of lasertag all over again. With the suffocating gear included.

Only the rules had been changed a bit. Or rather, amplified. It was but another version of capture the flag again, only with some extra rules that had Renjun cheering inside because he did not need to be directly involved in any of this. For the beginning, that was, because they couldn’t know whether it would still be two versus one each again or not. And sooner or later the adults, too, would catch on to their plan.

Namely that Jeno only did have the distractory flag - which was actually a dog tag - while the real one was with Renjun currently, strapped around his neck and tugged into his shirt so it wouldn’t be visible immediately. Thing is, the other team wouldn’t know where their real tag was, with whom, and neither did they know about the others. Accordingly, they had settled their strategy.

The most obvious result for their team, too, would be for Jeno to carry the real one. Simply because Jeno, with all his abilities and strength, had the highest possibility of being able to keep it safe. The second best would be Jaemin, merely because of his stronger defense. Renjun highly doubted anyone would suspect him to have it, especially when he was more prone to be the one to look for it, with his slighter frame and higher chance at stealth. Instead, he had turned it around, and now he could only hope it would buy them some time.

His boyfriends had praised the strategy, but he didn’t trust them one hundred percent on this. Not because he thought of it as fake reassurance but because for them, the line between personal and business was blurred. The two could have accepted his suggestion merely for the sake of encouragement too, even when he had asked whether they had any better suggestions in terms of strategy.
According to Renjun’s thinking, and he had trained that a lot thanks to Mark, the opposing strategy would have a lot to with who they were up against. They couldn’t communicate without problems, for one, because it was a challenge in case any of them were preoccupied, and for another, the additional noise would draw too much attention. A hindrance in Jeno’s case but that’s why Jaemin was taking care of the stealth part, allowing Renjun to sneak glances where he shouldn’t, and to guide Jaemin where he thought necessary.

But it did, once again, similar to when Jaemin and Jeno had been the ones to do their mock mission, feel like watching a movie. This time he was involved but he also wasn’t, could only allow his sight to go around as much as Jaemin’s vision field allowed him to, and to pay attention to all the little details the younger might miss. It was like a thriller, the excitement bubbling in his own stomach, the rush of adrenaline as he was waiting for more, increasing by the second, and all he could do was focus on Jaemin anyways. Because, like in a film, he wasn’t given more than what he was allowed to see, less even, lacking the sound aiding him to detect anything more.

On the contrary, he had his ears strained to figure out just when it was Jeno’s turn to run into someone, Jeno who was willingly acting as a bait to lure others out. The thought was nice, the idea well meant, but Renjun felt worry gnaw on his nerves regardless because even to a Superioris taking on two people or possibly more couldn’t possibly be easy in a prolonged fight, and when of equal caliber. What their family of mutants had gained in strength was easily made up by others like Ten in terms of agility, until it was a match of stamina that spoke of easier victory if one side carried more people on them.

Altogether, it did seem like a battle or nerves and wit, the kind that was more stressful to the mind than body, and Renjun personally was not certain it was the sort of game he would manage to play for long. Not without needing some time to vent his pent up stress, after it, at least. A thought that quickly left his mind when he noticed a movement in Jaemin’s field of vision, attention quickly drawn there instead.

“To your right,” he breathed into the little microphone he could carelessly keep close to his mouth, because he was lying on a container without having someone else punch it out of his face. Which sure would add to the looks they were definitely sporting after this anyways.

Jaemin must have noticed too but rather than seeking for attention and going after the other person, there was a light shift in vision but by the effortless withdrawal, Renjun realized with a bit of delay that Jaemin was hovering. Freaking hovering. Which he would have scolded him for usually, to focus on that rather than more important tasks, but currently he admitted it was just about right, a perfect way to escape getting caught. No noise, no sudden moves, no awkwardly stepping onto something.

Certain their enemy in game would no longer notice him, the younger peeked around the corner first, to check for backup, and then after the other person. Renjun couldn’t recognize the person despite their white hair, but Jaemin must have. Before the sniper could even protest, the gravity manipulator had rushed forth and trapped the stranger, albeit that was something that was hard to observe, all the more when he couldn’t feel any of these sensations accompanying it.

What he could see, moments later, was a tied up boy, hands attached to the ankles rather than each other and fingers perfectly trapped to disable wriggling free. Jaemin didn’t even bother asking a question, only stuffed some piece of fabric into stranger boy’s mouth but the actually amusing part, and Renjun nearly laughed at that, was the way the boy started to hover up into the air just to get dumped onto one of the containers. The rattling sound echoed throughout the hall, prompting Jaemin to make a dash for it.

The artist allowed the hijacking to flicker out at that, but his sight immediately zoomed in to where he could see the boy laying on top of the container, vulnerable to sight unlike most that were still circling on the ground. There was only one additional person that caught his attention, and it had the artist nearly grinning in amusement. Lucas really must have taken a liking to sneaking up on people from above.

Before the Superioris could put any of his ideas to action, though, Renjun had already aimed his visor at the older. There was no bullet to be seen, obviously, as it was laser based, but he could hear the grunt the fighter released at the faked pain of a gunshot wound to his abdomen. It would resonate for another quarter hour or so, as it was based on their electronics and not their actual pain defiance, meaning he would have to go for another shot at that time. It only unsettled him that Lucas and the stranger were all of the people he could see out there.

Jaemin had already checked on the other boy for the dog tag, resulting in empty hands. Lucas, too, would not possibly have it. He was too obvious an aim, more so even than Jeno, would show it off rather than guard it well, but Renjun still checked. No green chain around the neck.

“Lucas is out. Two down,” he whispered into the microphone, apparently just in time, for there was noise from Jeno’s corner of the hall. Renjun didn’t need to check, whoever had encountered the fighter would get stalled, and if the necklace was with either of those down there, Jeno would also take care of it. He only mourned the angle that blocked any and all sight there, meaning he couldn’t even figure out who else they were up against.

Logically speaking, Doyoung was out, too busy with the surveillance and recording of their happenings. Taeil too, doing their team mentality assessment. The kids like Yangyang, Chenle, and Jisung wouldn’t be included, and Haechan had broken his arm just a weak prior, meaning he was also out. And still, even like that, there were more possibilities to this than Renjun liked, not to mention what other hidden aces they might pull out of their sleeves.

Silently as possible, he shifted in his position to see whether anyone had made it up to the second floor just yet. They hadn’t been given a blueprint or the likes, but Renjun was quite certain there was only one staircase up and so far he hadn’t noticed anyone there just yet. Which wouldn’t mean much anyways when he spent half his time observing Jaemin anyways. Neither when he wasn’t certain what equipment the other team had chosen for this.

Twelve minutes to go and he’d have to look for Lucas again, and before he let his sight fade out, he focused on Lucas again, finding him in still the same spot, looking a bit drained by now. A bit of a downside of the neuro-stimulators, ways better than a real bullet anyways.

Jaemin was still on the move, silently making his way to where the other team had come from. In theory, nobody would need to carry the dog tag, they might as well have hung them up somewhere, it was merely likelier someone wore it. Guarding it was a facilitated task when it was linked to guarding oneself, whereas leaving it around in the open would definitely mean it could be more easily snatched away. Just another reason as to why influencing gravity was perfect for the job.

It was only too unsettling when nothing much happened for minutes. There was still the noise of Jeno’s fight echoing through his ears, but from the sound alone it was hard to tell what was going on. An off mixture, of seeing what he shouldn’t, hearing what was distant, and feeling nothing but the hard metal digging into his bones.

Anyone else might just think that it couldn’t be possibly that stressful when nothing much was going on but to Renjun that was exactly the part he liked about a good thriller. The peaceful sequences that would lead up to the actual excitement and, this time, he reasoned, it wasn’t too different. Seven minutes to go for Lucas, Jeno still fighting, Jaemin’s field of vision being uncomfortably empty.

It was exactly at the moment he least suspected it that he felt the tug on his pinky that propelled him out of the younger’s sight at the moment he caught on to a movement. Just their luck they encountered someone at the same time, making it harder to strategize right now.

Quietly he rolled onto his back, leaving his rifle standing for the moment in favor of the handgun he had already readied earlier, just in case, there wasn’t much he could do right now. If someone had made it up here, it meant they were up for a similar strategy as Renjun had chosen, meaning also the possibility was high Jaemin was currently facing off with whoever took care of the necklace, too.

His first instinct told him to just take off to Jaemin, to combine the dog tags to find the two same digits they’d have to forward to Doyoung right then. It wouldn’t be a too hard job, he could just jump down from the balcony onto another row of containers and use the same method as Lucas to get around faster, by climbing the metal piles rather than sneaking through them and getting lost.

At the same time, not only would it draw attention but also was there the slightest possibility the tag was actually with whoever had just intruded on him, meaning it was better to hold off for a few moments. Filtering out the noises of the other two’s fights, the resound of bodies hitting metal, was a deliberate effort put into finding out where whoever was out for him was. He nearly missed it, the little clicking sound of a device, but it was all he needed.

Quietly as possible he slid his feet across the metal to get to the edge of it. It was a game of wits, not to get caught first, and a risk he had to take. Luckily, he was not off against some giant again, rather, a petite looking woman. Only he knew better than to underestimate that situation.

His eyes scanned across her neck first, her collar giving away more of it than his, making it easier to see she didn’t carry the green chain he was looking for. So far, he couldn’t see anyone else in the near vicinity, which didn’t mean much just yet. He was still careful as he jumped down the containers, the noise inevitably caused by his weight colliding with the ground alerting her well enough.

In this moment, Renjun really had to thank Johnny for having trained his reactionary speed well enough. The woman was about to go in for the brawl by the time he had already aimed the muzzle at her leg. An obvious outcome, with him standing victorious as she crumbled down.

Nice in theory, it didn’t last in reality. Pain blossomed across his back, nearly enough to make him pass out for a second, vision flickering instead of going black. Fuzzy images of a fist approaching Jaemin’s face but before he could see whether the hit connected, he was back to himself. His body must have acted on instinct, partly turned around in his fall to recognize Mark as the one approaching him and he, too, was void of the necklace.

Not exactly his proudest aim but Renjun did manage to land a shot that would buy them time, and if only by preventing Mark from taking the dog tag from him. “Fuck,” he grunted in pain, rolling onto his stomach to ease the tension put on his back. A few feet away, he could hear Mark giggling, then wincing, fingers clutched around his side.

“Fuck indeed,” the older pressed out, “Why did Johnny teach you to aim so well?”

The woman on Renjun’s side seemed to find it amusing as well, affection seeping into her voice as she pointed out, “We all know Johnny likes to go overboard.” Then, like an afterthought, she added, “Might be the wrong time to introduce myself but I’m Seungwan. Nice to meet you finally.”

“Renjun,” Renjun mumbled, raising his hand in a silent greeting. Considering the circumstances, he still had it better than Lucas who was all alone up there, because he had someone to talk to, now that they were all more or less immobilized. Since he had never gotten shot before, it was hard to draw a semblance to a real wound, so all he knew was that the faked one sure hurt as hell. Amplified only by exactly where Mark had managed to hit him.

It was nearly blindingly awful when he so much as moved a little, and it had stars dancing in his vision as he still reached for the communication device to active it. “Jaemin… Wrap this up quickly. Get the chain and come here, I can’t move.”

Whatever he had said, it must have been quite amusing to Mark who broke into another fit of giggles. Some words in English were only picked up by Seungwan but easily drowned out by the sudden screech of metal against stone or against more metal. It was deafening not in volume but how awful it sounded, like that things teachers would do with the blackboard as they scratched against it with their nails.

They all made a sound of distress at that, and Renjun honestly wished he could rub his ears but that seemed to be a matter of impossibility when it had already been tiring enough to get his words through to the youngest. He couldn’t even check on what Jeno was doing right now, which was all the more bothersome but something he had to deal with for the moment.

At this point, it would become a race against time, between Jaemin getting the necklace and Lucas getting up but, honestly, Renjun only wished for the pain in his back to subside already.

Little candles that had originally floated in the pool, stuck in small glasses, were carefully lined up along the longer side of it, away from their group of people, but even like that, Renjun just knew they wouldn’t last for long. Not with how much the water was sloshing around as Lucas and a guy he had gotten to know as Kunhang were playing wrestling in the water and now amount of whistling and shouting from Kun’s side could stop them.

It was a funny side. It was so utterly peaceful, made them look like just a bunch of friends throwing a party, with Johnny manning the grill and Seungwan giving away more beer than she probably should, with everyone just chattering around. But as soon as someone looked at them in more detail, at the way Kunhang’s back was bruised all over from having been thrown against the containers thanks to Jaemin, or how Kun had to hold his shoulder every once in a while, it kind of ruined the picture of innocence.

Originally, Renjun too, had just wanted to cuddle into bed and sleep the stress of but when one had two stronger boyfriends and one of them - Jaemin - had just thrown him over the shoulder, there really wasn’t much left to protest. He hadn’t even been allowed to change and that he might hold against the younger the most. A grudge he still held even as he was handed another bottle of beer by the culprit, as if that would make up for it. It didn’t.

When Renjun shot him a, albeit faked, glare, the youngest also seemed to change tactics, and whined, “Jeno!” Which wasn’t bad, only the shaking the fighter’s shoulder which, thus, resulted in jostling Renjun trapped in an embrace too and that was honestly uncomfortable.

With a kick against Jaemin’s shin he called for attention and declared, “You’re forgiven. But I’ll take your pajamas tonight!”

The bright smile on that handsome face should be declared a whole offense to the heart, the artist reasoned, but his mind changed as fast as Jaemin’s tactics when the younger’s face morphed into a grin. “Not a problem. I can just sleep naked then!”

Jeno must have senses his wish to go after Jaemin for the grip around Renjun’s middle tightened just in time with the smaller getting ready to jump off the deck chair to chase after that idiot of a boyfriend and possibly push him into the pool. “Calm down, Renjunnie,” the fighter smiled, reassuring in one moment and attacking the other, when he continued, “If anything, all of us would-”

Before Jeno so much as could end the thought, Renjun had already slammed his elbow into his side, cutting him off effectively. Truth or lie, he really didn’t want to have such a conversation out in public, especially not when half that public was toeing on the lines of tipsiness and intoxication, and surely all too ready to jump at any chance of making jokes about them. Not feeding the cannons meant nothing could be fired. It was just fine like that.

In synch, they moved back on the chair a bit so Jaemin could sit down, too, sideways to face them, and his hand easily found Jeno’s and Renjun’s resting on the latter’s stomach, their entanglement of two quickly becoming three. It was so easy, always so easy with these two, and Renjun allowed himself to drown in the momentary peace of it. Simultaneously he lifted his new bottle to his lips and gave their fingers a little squeeze. Moments like these, he really enjoyed them too much.

But surrounded by a good dozen other people, it wasn’t peace that would last them long, as became evident when the blond one Jaemin had tied up during their mock mission was calling for exactly him. Hesitation morphed the youngest’s face as he looked over, and then back at his boyfriends. Renjun decided to make quick of the decision, pressing his heel into the other’s back to push him off the chair. “I got you clinging to my back all night long. Let me enjoy my freedom while I can.”

There was an evident need to protest from Jaemin’s side that was quickly halted when Taeil, with the speed of a flash, was next to them and tugged at Jeno’s arm. “I’m not gonna lose against Jaehyun because you’re being lovey dovey here, Jeno.”

“Guess that’s my call,” the fighter pointed out, pressing a quick kiss to Renjun’s head before allowing himself to be dragged away. So the smaller only shot the younger on the floor a look to question what he was still doing there, on the ground and with him, when Jaemin could already be having fun with others. It was a peck on the cheek this time, and the Special was gone.

It was a header into freedom that Renjun had initiated himself but when he had told Jaemin to go, he hadn’t expected Jeno to leave, too, and now he felt cold all on his own. He allowed his gaze to travel around for a moment, catching Jeno indeed caught in a round of water polo between Taeil, Lucas and him on one side, and Jaehyun, Yuta and Kunhang on the other. Nobody seemed to follow the rules but to the Chinese, it was more interesting to see his mentor seemingly being set on fire in his eagerness to win. Sicheng was caught in the middle of it, sitting on the poolside and counting points which was only made all the more entertaining by the amount of penalty points Yuta got for being a flirt.

Looking at them all like that, it was obvious who had taken the worse of fighting. An ugly little reminder, because Renjun’s pain had subsided after the quarter hour but Kunhang, more so than Jaehyun, might take weeks until all the bruises had faded. Kun would be troubled with his shoulder for a while longer and Renjun was certain he had seen Sicheng limp quite heavily while walking around.

“You’ll get used to it,” a voice called out next to him, beer bottle clinking with another, and Renjun didn’t even look at Mark from where his gaze was still resting on the group of people he now belonged to. “It’s shocking only at first to see how many wounds we can carry. I’m not sure it’s healthy but we all stopped noticing it at one point. Injuries happen every day, we just run a higher risk for them.”

“How many do you have?” Renjun asked, without thinking much of it. The question had been just one that had popped into his mind and regretted the moment he felt Mark’s gaze weighing heavy on his shoulders.

“We don’t always get injured during our line of work.” It was enough of an answer and yet it wasn’t. Mark patted his shoulder compassionately, telling him not to worry about it, but in that moment the artist couldn’t help wonder how much more he didn’t knew about this new family of his. Before, he had thought he had seen Mark grow up to an extent, had him seen pop up in visions more often than should be normal, had never questioned it. Now he did, and the older must sense it, squeezing at his shoulder slightly.

Silence settled between them, until something caught his attention. Johnny, standing behind the grill, was signing him to come over, and Mark must have noticed too for letting go of him. Renjun still made an effort to give him a sincere smile, patting his knee before he left to meet up with his mentor on the outskirts of chaos. Seungwan and Taeyong were there, too, but evidently more focused on beer and meat respectively. Or both.

“You’ll end up like last time if you don’t eat something,” the older pointed out with a shameless smile, awaking a mixed reaction from the teen. For one, he definitely felt embarrassed at the reminder of what all he had forgotten some several weeks prior, of all the awkward mess he might have started, and for another, there was affection blooming inside him, for being looked after like that from someone else than the two he was living with.

Simple as that, and somehow Renjun found himself being fed pieces of meat fresh off the grill and before any other hungry mouths looking to be fed could steal it. With the younger chewing and Johnny checking the food, it was silent between them for a while. The easy kind, between people getting along well and not necessarily feeling the need to talk just yet.

Regardless of that, the taller spoke up again after some minutes, “I’m not supposed to say that but…” Vaguely, he gestured at Taeyong who, to put it blunt, was wasted. He did look like a lightweight, though, so Renjun wasn’t surprised, and Seungwan was still pouring the unit leader more. “You were quite successful today. The three of you put an effort and it’s shown. Your strategy, and you, proved that it worked so even if he sounds a bit cranky tomorrow, you really did well, Renjun. You’ll end up as a good team.”

It was weird, to be complimented so directly, made his stomach feel queasy in all the best ways. He was used to having his paintings complimented, his artistic approach, not himself and his thoughts. It was enough to make him feel awkward for a moment and all the more relieved for the moment Jaemin came crashing into him, shirt wet and dripping, pressed into his side with some overdone smooches incoming. Renjun had long since given up dodging these.

“Who’s my little cutie, who’s-” Being called cute was one thing, the implication he might be small another, so Renjun definitely didn’t regret stomping down on Jaemin’s foot. It didn’t explain why the youngest was behaving so exaggeratedly at the moment, but Johnny nodding into blondie’s direction who held a clear glass bottle might be. And the alcohol lingering in his breath.

“Maybe you should get him into bed,” Johnny recommended with a tender smile. It wasn’t unreasoned, it was pretty late already, they had started this celebration-slash-farewell party when the sun was already setting and enough time had progressed since then.

“Would rather not,” Renjun answered, and contradicted his own words as he wrapped his arm around Jaemin’s waist to support him. For a moment he looked at Jeno, still caught up in the game of waterball and furthermore trapped there by Taeil, than back at his sober mentor. “Will you tell him?”

“Jeno?” Johnny checked, and with the artist nodding, promised, “I will. Now go, off with you.”

“Thank you.” The younger smiled, and he meant it, but not only for that but also for telling him the result and taking that worry off his shoulders, for looking out for him and the others in all of this, for being a reliable pillar he was slowly growing attached to. Johnny must have gotten it without needing to explain further, based on his smile, and shushed them off once more.

Which only started the beginning of Renjun’s draining journey up to their room, with an overly affectionate Jaemin clinging to his side and nearly sending them stumbling more often than just once. Arriving at their quarters was challenge enough but getting the other into the shower was a hassle, and eventually only his threat of not cuddling with someone smelling of chlorine and alcohol was enough to do the trick. At this point, it was all Renjun could do himself to brush his teeth and change into Jaemin’s pajamas, staying true to his earlier words.

The pants were too long on him, which he blamed on absurdly long legs most of all, and he might have fit three times into the shirt he wore now but that was just so Jaemin at the same time, he really didn’t have it in him to mind. Much less when he basically had to coerce the younger to at least put on underwear while Renjun himself already climbed onto the bed, holding his hands out for the towel. “I’ll dry your hair. Get here.”

Leaning against the headboard, Jaemin on his stomach between his legs, chin resting on his thigh, it was easy to ruffle through the wet hair with the cloth until there was no more excess liquid to be absorbed. The dyed strands still felt moist but no longer to the point of risking a cold with the AC on, so Renjun let the younger off. Their posture adjusted only marginally, Jaemin moving further up to rest his head against the smaller’s hip, and Renjun pulled the blanket up higher to keep them warm.

He was already considering to grab Jeno’s book from the nightstand when said one arrived, evidently putting an effort into being silent when entering the room. It was such a tender gesture, Renjun couldn’t help himself when he waved the younger closer and greeted him with a little kiss, having to pull the fighter in since his own position was locked in place by Jaemin’s weight.

“Go shower, I’ll wait,” he whispered and pressed another quick kiss to Jeno’s lips who seemed content with the promise of just that. Then again, Renjun, too, would be obedient if it meant cuddles with his two loves. It just felt easier to do something when there was something to look forward to at the end of it. Especially if it was cuddling each other into sleep.

“Renjun,” Jeno called from the car that was assigned to be theirs, for ever the gentleman he was he had already taken their bags downstairs and put them in the trunk. From what was visible, most others had already left, the parking lot looking quite empty compared to their arrival, with their tech vans gone since the morning after the examination and now also that most of the others had left, too. Mark was still around, waiting to leave with them and currently also throwing his back into the trunk.

The fighter was already moving to the driver’s side, holding the door open there. Which looked, honestly, attractive. Must be the mixture of great looks and an expensive car but it wasn’t like Renjun would be the one to complain about that. Eyes curved from smiling the younger asked, “Do you want to drive?”

The artist nearly choked on air. Despite his recent driving lessons with Yangyang that they had somehow squeezed into his daily schedule recently, he didn’t really feel confident enough to already engage in an actual driving experience that would include things like the highway.

“Good idea,” Mark agreed, basically putting a neon sign of TRAITOR above his head. It was shining quite bright and had Renjun squint his eyes at him.

“You realize I don’t have a driving license, do you?” The Chinese pointed out, and that really didn’t sound like a fun experience in case they might be stopped by the police or get reported by another driver because of his lacking skills. Doyoung’s hacking skills wouldn’t even mean a lot when the damage to his ego had already been executed.

“Then don’t get caught,” Jeno simply smiled, and gestured for Renjun to get into the car.

The last ray of hope was diminished when even Jaemin belatedly commented, “Injunnie driving? Sexy.” The youngest, just like the two others, seemed oddly relaxed about this matter, as if it didn’t mean anything if they got an accident or were held up somewhere. And in theory, Renjun knew peer pressure like this was a bad idea. If they were college students or the likes, it would get him hopelessly smashed at a party, yet all that vanished when meeting Jeno’s hopeful gaze.

“Fine,” he huffed, digging his pointer finger into Jeno’s chest as a warning. “But if something happens, it’s on you and Mark.”

“Wouldn’t it be a scandal for you, though?” Jaemin grinned, and dodged into the backseat of the car just in time to evade Renjun hitting him. His laughter still echoed through the little room, followed by the door falling close twice from where Mark, too, had settled on the backseats.

After a moment of hesitation, the artist finally plopped into the driver’s seat, cursing in his mind whoever had been there before him because of needing to adjust the seat first. Under Jeno’s patient guidance, he checked through the mirrors and settings and as a last bit, the younger added, “If you don’t feel comfortable, just pull over at the best chance. We can still change then.”

“Shut up,” Renjun grumbled, not wanting to admit just how nervous this made him. Driving around the agency’s grounds definitely was different to this, not to mention how Yangyang seemed to have had more fun to let him ride down grass slides on the motocross rather than sitting in a car and getting used to the far away city traffic. Partly justified, but currently not the least reassuring. He wasn’t even sure he knew all the regulations of driving he was supposed to learn prior to this.

As the last member of their little party, Jeno slid into the co-driver’s seat, handling the navigation system while Renjun was already stressing about getting the car out of the parking slot. It didn’t get better when at the same time it did. Within a few minutes, he had figured how to steer the car properly that felt so different to Yangyang’s older model, and there were hardly any other drivers around. Concurrently he was made aware of how little he knew the street signs and directions, needing to rely on Jeno’s and Mark’s guidance more often than not.

According to the navigation system, they were about halfway home when the back grew suspiciously quiet. Through the rearview mirror, Renjun could see Mark having fallen asleep on Jaemin’s shoulder, with the youngest not doing any better. It might be one of his worst looking times, mouth open, little snores coming out every once in a while, and head fallen backwards, it should be anything but attractive. To the artist, it was still adorable, a picture of innocence.

“I’m glad,” Jeno suddenly confessed, seeming about as stressed as the two behind about Renjun’s still somewhat clumsy driving, evident mostly when he had to shift gears or round corners. “That it all worked out. The exam and… you know.”

“I know?” Renjun teased, couldn’t help himself, because sometimes it was just that easy. He knew it took time to warm up to the idea of speaking about one’s feelings openly, he was no better in that aspect, so now that the chance was presented to them, he didn’t want to let it go to waste either.

“When I confessed to you first, I kind of expected you to take your time. I didn’t consider Jaemin getting into the picture back then but now… I’m happy he did.” The younger smiled softly, in a way that made his face seem younger, ridded of all worries and had Renjun’s fingers itching for a pencil to put it down onto paper.

“Did you think about it?” The artist prodded, fingers carefully closing around the steering wheel as he shifted gears, leaving the highway to get on the through road leading them home. “What would happen to Jaemin if I had just accepted you?”

“That he’d just… be there. Like before.” It sounded too carefully phrased, that alone already giving away that it had not been a conscious thought, not something considered. But that’s what made them work, that they were each so different in disposition to complement each other. Randomly, like a sudden spark of thought, Jeno intervened the subject himself by declaring, “You’re doing well with driving.”

Renjun smiled softly although it didn’t erase one other thought from his mind. Voice lightly lilting he corrected, “You made out with Jaemin before. Did you had hopes I’d let you even if you had me?”

From the way Jeno whined, it was obvious he hadn’t. It made the artist snort in amusement. Clearly, that was something that had not been considered. For a moment he had to wonder whether at that time, even if he had accepted Jeno in the spur of the moment, it wouldn’t have ended exactly the way it had now. Jaemin wasn’t a force they could escape, was a part of their life, someone who had nestled into their hearts on his own. Maybe it would have taken them a bit longer but if they were actually meant to be, he was certain it would have worked out either way.

“Jeno?” Renjun asked, after a few seconds of silence, and promptly feeling the younger’s querying eyes on himself. “Since when is the police following us?”

The fighter startled in his seat, checking behind them for any patrol car but, as there was none, it was only Renjun’s turn to laugh in glee. An all too solemn mood didn’t fit them anyways.

With a yawn Renjun bid Jaehyun farewell as they parted ways on the housing floor, going into different directions down the hall and, honestly, at this point he couldn’t be anymore glad than to finally have the older out of his face. It might sound mean - actually, it did - but Renjun had spent a week on a stake out with Jaehyun because of some leaks they had gotten on Hansol’s position, stuck in a hotel room together with not much of a chance to leave. He was tired, and he was tired of always the same sight: the small clinic opposite the hotel and Jaehyun.

It had been his first mission, some super awesome not fancy at all ID not stuck in his wallet, and all he got to do was live off take out while sharing a bed with someone who wasn’t his boyfriends. Somehow he had expected more but at the same time, it had been funny to see the similarities between Jeno and his mentor. Unfortunately, as a side-effect, it had made him miss his two idiots all the more.

At this point, he just wanted to get home, take a shower, drop into bed, and get all the kisses he had missed out on for days now. A plan he was just about to put into action, having already crossed the living room to drop off his bag in his room when, rather than the two familiar beds he was used to, he was met with one giant… pile of pillows? He just stood there, looking at it for another moment in confusion but, honestly, he was too tired to care right now, too exhausted to question where Jaemin’s and his original beds and work spaces consisting of desks and shelves had gone too because there was only this fluffy looking mess and his pictures hung up.

Renjun just stood there, looking at it for another moment or two, before he decided to just give up on even the idea to think of what this meant. Sending his bag flying, stealing a shirt from Jaemin’s side of the closet to wear, and running a hot shower seemed way better. Even if he craved nothing more than to spend a normal evening and night again after a while, he was also aware that it would take a bit for Jeno and Jaemin to return from training according to their updated schedules.

Annoying as it could be at times, without being bothersome for real, he missed Jaemin whining about getting shot at by Johnny whenever Renjun’s slots were aligned differently, and his evenings had seemed awfully dull without this whiny kind of bedtime story. He had missed getting woken up in the morning by Jeno with an apple between his teeth, fingers nudging into his side to get him up as well, just so they could go on their morning run. Missed them being together for breakfast and joking about the possible mishaps of their day ahead of them.

It didn’t feel like it had been such a long time of being with them but already he was far too used to having them around, to falling asleep to neck kisses and being sent off with sweet words at the door. The contrast to being alone with Jaehyun was far too striking and albeit it hadn’t been said out loud, Renjun was certain the older had already been tired of his company too. But before they could officially go on missions as a team, they, too, had to each carry out some missions with more experienced agents first. It made sense but logic couldn’t always rule out the heart’s desires.

All these thoughts and stress he persistently tried to scrub off his skin, and he wished washing his hair would mean getting his brain washed as well, to replace this drained sensation with a more energetic one. Hopelessly so. At least the scent of his usual shower gel soothed his nerves for the time being.

Unfortunately, by the time he was done it was still too early for the both to be back just yet, and this time his heart had to give it up to his physical needs. When he entered his room shared with Jaemin again, he was refreshed enough to take in the changed state a bit better. Beneath the pillows, he found blankets and beneath that, a mattress. A bit delayed he had to realize, somehow while he had been gone these two had gotten the two double beds replaced with a single bigger one, easily fitting the three of them, possibly even if they all starfished on it.

There was also a new closet where once his art supplies had been, and slowly Renjun got the hunch that their previous furniture had been moved to Jeno’s room to serve as some sort of work space there. An assumption he should probably prove right first but he didn’t feel like it.

Instead, by instinct, he reached for the fairy lights hooked to the wall to turn them on in lieu of the ceiling light and decided to just drop into bed. It was lower than any of their previous ones, meaning it was perfect for just that, there was no bothersome frame either, that would only result in bruised shins. Whatever had spurred his boyfriends to make this decison, it had been a good one, and it was cozy, just perfect to cuddle into it.

He must have fallen asleep without noticing for when he woke up, Jeno was sat next to him, ruining his eyes by playing games on a mobile console with too little light on, and a tempting scent wafted over from the kitchen through the open door. Renjun didn’t even have it in him to greet his boyfriend, only grunted and moved close enough to misuse the younger as heated pillow. The barely there sounds of games stopped, and a hand found its way to his hair to play with it.

“Missed you too, grumpy,” the fighter teased quietly, and Renjun had half a mind to bite Jeno’s thigh for that, but forewent it for the sake of easy rest. “Jaemin is warming up some soup for you. Jaehyun-hyung said you might be exhausted, why didn’t you write us about having come back?”

Still too lazy to reply, the artist just grunted once more, cuddling closer. In actuality, he had been too drained of any and all thought at that time to even consider it. Slightly he adjusted his position, pressing his face into the junction of Jeno’s hip and thigh, the citric scent of his recently changed shower gel still lingering around. It was soothing, the scent of home, the scent he could easily fall asleep to again.

Not something he was allowed to consider, and he sleepily whined at the interruption, wanting to curse out his boyfriends for their best friends traits. Because the moment the door was opened even a bit, nudged open by Jaemin’s foot, Jeno had moved in accordance to heave the smaller up, pulling Renjun between his thighs.

“Oh my, how cute you’re looking,” the youngest honest to heavens squealed, repeating it a second or maybe a third time while the Chinese just wished the other was closer to earn the punch he deserved. He had missed this, Jaemin cooing at their every action, the teasing and joking, the little gestures. No matter how annoying it could be at times, he would never want it to change either way because it was just them, so uniquely them, he didn’t want to change a thing.

Rather than saying that out loud, because he was not anywhere close enough to drunk to do so, he glared at his younger boyfriend who currently settled between their tangled legs on the bed. It was a weird fit, too many knees in too little space, and it took some miniscule shifting of them all to make it more comfortable.

“Aren’t you too cute,” Jaemin cooed some more, softer this time, and rubbed along Renjun’s thigh gently. It would be stupid to try to go for more, not with the tray placed across the cook’s lap, soup possibly toppling over and burning them all. Instead, and Renjun felt kind of stupid allowing that, he was fed dinner slowly, Jaemin ever careful not to spill or waste any until the last drop.

The warmth of it lulled the Chinese to sleep once again as much as it gave him energy to be a bit more awake, sinking further into Jeno’s chest as he watched after Jaemin return everything to the kitchen. He felt drowsy and he was sure it showed when he asked, “When did you have the time to do all this?”

“The room?” Jeno asked, and carefully shifted them around until they were laying down, taller still pressed against his back, arm tight around his waist. “It was Jaemin’s idea. He said since we’re always sleeping together anyways we might as well have just one bedroom. Do you like it?”

“Like it,” Renjun agreed, stretching his hand in Jaemin’s direction the moment the younger was back to their newly allocated bedroom. Nothing was better for falling asleep than being bracketed by these two and no amount of stolen sweaters could make up for that. “Missed you two too much.”

“We missed you too, Junnie,” Jaemin readily agreed, pressing their lips together even if all that resulted in was a lazy kiss, the drawn out kind, when affection weighed heavier than greed, when exhaustion and loved mixed together. “I can’t await for all us to go on a mission just so I won’t have to see you off again. And Jeno makes a horrible little spoon.”

“What a charmeur,” Renjun huffed, and fixed Jeno’s arm around his waist, making the fighter tighten his hold, while he curled into Jaemin’s chest. Blinking his eyes felt like trying to move lead with his lashes, he quickly gave up on that. “Won’t miss you the next time around. Only Jeno.”

His words surely were but a slur at the moment, and yet the youngest still managed to understand, based on his whines. But Renjun couldn’t even make out the exact words anymore, mind overcome by sleep, body ridded of all tension now that he was back home. Before, he might have cursed Ji Hansol for these useless experiments that had brought him suffering in his youth. Now, when he finally had made a home for himself, when he had found a family to care for him, had discovered love, had two stable jobs, he didn’t have that in him anymore. He shouldn’t but he felt thankful. Because, finally, he had found his perfect place to stay.