()(())() 2 years before
They had met when Jongin had spotted Minseok losing his temper in a bar. Jongin isn’t going to lie to himself and say that he had been following the gifted youngster in the hopes that his carefully formed suspicions would be confirmed through some freak incident. What actually happened was that Jongin was in the right place at the right time. It just so happens that part of Jongin’s gift means that he needs to be able to feel where the right place is and when the right time is. This time it meant that he was in the right place at the right time for Minseok.
So in the end, Jongin doesn’t think it’s important how it came to be, so much as that it did. Although there is an alternative view point that it had already happened or that it was always going to happen and so it did happen or it always was going to happen. But all of that is for another time.
This is how this universe’s version of Jongin remembers their meeting.
A drunk bumped into Minseok and spilled his drink. The man shoved him, slurred a curse and left Minseok with beer down his jacket and on his boots. Let’s suppose that Minseok had been drinking in that bar because he had not had the best day. This little meeting had topped it all off and Minseok’s last nerve had snapped.
The drunken man stumbled off and Minseok was left to close his eyes and inhale; hot anger filling him and taking over. The air around him was robbed of its kinetic energy as he clenched his fists and dropped his chin. He stared off; boring a hole in the wall as if he could shoot lasers from his eyes rather than just violate the laws of thermodynamics. It felt to Minseok as if the heat from his surroundings was drawn into him and energised him. It’s then a simple matter to unleash the energy for destruction.
Jongin decided that moment was the time to intervene. He stepped up with a laugh, careful not to touch the young man while his hand hovered over his shoulder and he inclined his head into Minseok’s line of sight.
“Let me buy you a drink, Friend!” Jongin interrupted cheerfully.
“I don’t want a drink,” Minseok brushed him off with the statement pushed out through clenched teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead with the effort of holding all that energy in check. It’s his body’s natural response to his energised state and its attempt to lower his rising body temperature.
“Look, Friend. I’d like to buy you a drink. Please let me do that, okay?” Jongin repeated himself and smiled softly. His face and posture were relaxed and open but he was actually prepared for this interaction to go bad very quickly. He had a secluded alley just outside the bar in mind that he could teleport to as a contingency.
Minseok looked at Jongin for the first time. His intense focus evaporated leaving behind confusion. The foggy rage departed from his mind with each passing breath inhaled and exhaled.
Did this guy just speak to me in Korean?
It had been his native Korean rather than the German he hears all the time here in Berlin. It made him blink. What he saw was the older man’s smiling eyes. Jongin raised his eyebrows and pushed his luck. The drunkard had become someone else’s problem. The poor soul would never know how close he came to disaster.
“I can’t celebrate alone, can I?” Jongin continued. Minseok forgot the cold rage and broke off the flow of energy draining from his surroundings.
“What’s the occasion?” Minseok asked. He felt the energy in his body burning up the alcohol and his mouth twisted at the thought of having to begin the work of getting drunk all over again. He looked the other man over and decided that he looked well off enough to afford to pay.
Jongin felt the air returning to normal; or rather he felt the cold air settle and the regular air replace it. He allowed his hand to fall onto the boy’s shoulder and guide him to the nearest bar stool.
“Well, it looks like I found a friend. I don’t know about you but that’s a celebration worthy occasion in my book,” Jongin began as he took a seat and attracted the attention of the bar tender.
“Who’s this friend,” Minseok shots back despite taking up a seat next to Jongin and making himself comfortable. “And, if they’re so great, why aren’t you drinking with them?”
“I am. It’s you,” Jongin said. Minseok didn’t think it could be possible but the man’s smile remained fixed and sincere. Normally something like that would creep him out but none of his instincts were tripped. He felt strangely safe with this man.
In spite of this he felt the need to reply with something contrary purely out of habit.
“Look, I don’t know what you want old guy,” he paused to take a breath and Jongin’s smile only got bigger, “or what you are into? But I’m sure that I can’t help you out.” This guy wouldn’t be the first to have taken a fancy to Minseok in a bar and think that money could buy him whatever he wanted.
“Oh I wouldn’t be so sure. You might look a bit cold on the outside but I think you’ll warm to me when you find out more about me.” This was enough to get Minseok’s attention. This guy didn’t choose those words by chance. He must know something. Maybe not everything, but enough.
Minseok accepted whatever drink the bartender handed him and sipped it. He was glad because it’s some really nice beer. It would be rude not to drink it all. Maybe this man wasn’t cruising for young guys. “Okay Ajusshi, tell me why I’m your friend.”
Then Jongin told him everything. He guessed a great deal and got most of it right. Minseok reluctantly admitted that this guy probably wasn’t interested in his body and that he most likely knew what he was talking about.
Jongin trained him in meditation. The way he controls his power is applicable to the way Minseok could control his. It turned out that with careful focus, Minseok could drain powers as well as heat. The story of how the pair discovered that is something Jongin doesn’t care to dwell on and it’s something Minseok still has mixed feelings about.
()(())()
Minseok walks past some road works. The concrete is slippery with thawing slush and the traffic moves slowly. The footpath is marked off with barriers and he has to squeeze past the people coming from the other direction. A pretty girl with blonde hair tucked into her beanie catches his eye and flicks him a cute smile. His head turns to follow her and she blushes. Even in the cold he can catch the scent of her perfume. As quickly as he encountered her she is swallowed by the crowd behind him. He sighs before making his way up the street again. It’s just another five second romance. Wait a minute. Something is different. One of the bright orange traffic cones looks different to the others; it’s blurry somehow. Minseok stares hard at where a traffic cone used to be. Now it’s a few centimetres to the left. Just as quickly as it moved, it’s back again. Something is rotten in the state of Berlin.
This isn’t the first time Minseok has come across some things that are plainly out of order. Lately it’s just as likely that the walls in his apartment will be mint green as lemon. Once he could have sworn that they were musk pink but that could have been a trick of the light. These ‘glitches’ have been appearing and he doesn’t know what to make of them. Jongin might know. The older man seems like he knows a great many things that other people don’t care to.
And Minseok would ask but he’s afraid. He’s afraid that Jongin might not know the answer. He’s afraid that Jongin will know the answer. He’s afraid that Jongin will know why the world is screwy and how to fix it. Minseok is afraid that fixing it might be dangerous; that it might be him who has to fix it. That hero stuff isn’t Minseok’s thing. He is only at the level of trying not to destroy things around him. He’s not ready to actively do good yet. The last thing he’s afraid of is that it might be Jongin that has to be in danger.
This is why he pulls up his hood when he walks past scrolling signs with messages seemingly just for him. It’s why he turns his headphones up when he hears something calling his name. It’s why he doesn’t ask people to repeat what they said when he hears them utter strange things. It’s always different, always normal the second time around.
The weird things keep happening. The weirdest was when he had an entire conversation with someone who felt like his housemate over breakfast.
It’s the new normal, these glitches, and Minseok doesn’t like it.
()(())()
Minseok’s eyes droop as he slouches on the couch with the television on. There’s some late night/early morning infomercial playing and the flashing yellow writing on the screen urges him to “CALL NOW!!”. Each lazy breath in and out presses him deeper into the couch and he slides closer to unconsciousness. He absently strokes the corduroy cushion he’s cuddling. One more exhale and he’ll be asleep. One last blink and… there is a knock at the door. He inhales sharply and blinks in confusion as he rises. The cushion falls to the floor and he listens for another knock. Maybe there wasn’t a knock; maybe he just imagined it. What he definitely isn’t imagining now is the way the infomercial is flashing “CALL JONGIN NOW!!”
Minseok blinks a few times before the television returns to normal. There is no way he’s going back to sleep now. That’s the last straw. Minseok starts packing immediately and dials Jongin’s number. It’s time to get help.
()(())()
Minseok sits in Jongin’s kitchen. It’s small because Jongin lives alone. His little wooden cabin is situated in the woods just outside a little village surprisingly close to the famous Sherwood Forest in England. Minseok had asked him why he lived in such a strangely famous place and the man had just shrugged and said that it was from when he was a kid. He was obsessed with Robin Hood and because he was a teleporter, he could live anywhere. Why not live in the place of your dreams when transportation wasn’t an issue? Minseok saw the strange logic in it. It’s kind of why he chose to live in a cold place himself. With less heat energy around, it was less of a temptation to suck it all up. It was also less obvious when he did lose control.
Jongin has been pacing back and forward in the small space the whole time Minseok had been explaining what had been happening. His long legs barely make three full strides before he is forced to turn around and repeat the whole movement. His arms are crossed and he hasn’t tried to interrupt at all. It makes Minseok nervous and he just spills the whole story out until there are just the dribbles of him repeating himself. When he says it out loud, it kind of sounds a bit crazy to him but the way that Jongin’s brows meet in deep concentration tells Minseok that he is anything but crazy. This is Very Real and Jongin is Most Concerned.
“How long has this been going on?” Jongin asks. He’s trying not to look like this is too important but the strain is showing at the corners of his eyes and the tense set of his shoulders.
“Maybe two, three months,” Minseok replies. “Did I wait too long to come?” he says quickly. He opens his mouth again to apologise but Jongin’s down turned palm and a small shake of his head cuts him off.
“No, it’s okay, Minseok.” Jongin runs a hand through his hair and lets out a long sigh.
The kitchen is silent except for the rumble and whistle of the kettle boiling. Jongin makes the tea quietly as Minseok hides his hands in his sweater and looks out the window. They don’t speak until Jongin pushes a small plate of biscuits between them and Minseok takes one.
“I think it means the ways are opening,” Jongin begins quietly. He rolls the mug between his palms and stares into it. “But that’s impossible because they closed years ago. It’s lucky that they did in my opinion because I think I’d be pretty messed up if they hadn’t. No one was meant to travel between dimensions. That is way too much to deal with; I don’t care what juice you’ve got, you shouldn’t be able to meet yourself.”
Minseok says nothing. It looks to him like Jongin is speaking with some authority on the subject. He has the faraway look of someone delving into the past. It also looks like he didn’t really want to talk about it. Minseok enjoys his biscuit and tea and crashes on Jongin’s couch.
The next day, Minseok wakes to Jongin moving quickly about the cabin. He’s looking through the shelves for something. If Jongin owns very little of anything else, he makes up for it with books. He’s a bit blurry and the place crackles with his power. Jongin must be anxious to be recklessly using his power like that.
“Good morning!” he bellows.
Minseok blinks with just one eye and briefly considers just pulling the blanket back up but damn he’s too curious. He sits up and rubs one hand through his hair.
“What’s going on Jongin?” Maybe he shouldn’t ask. Maybe he doesn’t want to know but it’s too late now. Minseok rests his chin on the back of the couch and follows the elder around the room with his eyes.
“I had an idea last night,” Jongin says during one pass. “The ways opening should be impossible.” He goes to the bookshelf and selects a book from near the end of the shelf before returning. “But then I thought: What if someone was doing it on purpose?”
Jongin pops from one side of the room to the other and plonks himself down on the couch, almost sitting on Minseok’s legs as he does. Minseok pulls his knees up to his chest to make some room and looks at the illustration Jongin is pointing at. It looks like a bunch of esoteric Yoga mumbo jumbo to him
“I haven’t been able to access other dimensions for years,” Jongin says. “It was difficult before but I could do it. But after the ways were closed, all I managed was a decent headache.”
Minseok still doesn’t know what to say. To tell the truth, it’s beyond him. The only parts of the esoteric crap Jongin had been able to get Minseok to remember was the techniques of focus that helped him control his power. Anything else had been forgotten.
“So can you dimension jump right now?” Minseok asks simply. Jongin inhales sharply as if Minseok had said something out loud that he hadn’t even allowed himself to think. When he looks up from the book there is genuine fear there.
“What if I can?” Jongin asks quietly. His shoulders curve in and he closes the book gently. Minseok watches as he looks at the wall and rubs a thumb over the stubble at his chin.
Minseok stays quiet and chews on his lip. He studies the knitted blanket as if it might have the solution if he could only decipher it.
“Well,” Jongin begins and rises from the couch. “Things always look better on the other side of a cup of tea,” he says. And with that he not only makes tea but prepares breakfast as well. Toast and eggs fill Minseok’s belly and he still feels awkward, like he’s one person too many in the cabin. It can’t be helped. Jongin is just too used to living alone and so is Minseok. They are each too self-contained to be comfortable in another’s space.
The burning topic isn’t addressed again that day as Minseok silently does as he is told and helps with the chores. It’s not until there is another cup of tea in his hands that evening that Jongin speaks on it again.
“Leave it with me,” is all Jongin says with a thoughtful sigh. There is uncertainty but also resolve in his manner. “There are a few things I can check before I can say anything for sure; just leave it with me.”
Minseok sleeps on the couch again that night and wakes to the cold morning sun and a crick in his neck. He is only a little worried about Jongin’s absence. Often the older man can be found dawdling over his dawn yoga routine. Minseok makes his own breakfast and eats it in silence.
It’s not until the sun is high in the sky that Minseok begins to listen to the uneasy feeling sitting low in his gut. He tries not to panic as he searches the property for any sign of Jongin.
What if he’s bailed? Minseok wonders before disregarding the thought. There is no way that Jongin would abandon him to figure this out on his own, especially since he said to leave it to him. No. There has to be something else going on.
It’s then that Minseok returns to the kitchen. He leans on the counter and sighs. His mind is chasing its own tail around and around with the same unanswered worry. He pinches the bridge of his nose and rubs to soothe the age starting up between his eyes. When he opens them he spots a note held to the fridge by a magnet. It’s easy to miss because Jongin has all kinds of crap stuck to his fridge like planting schedules for his vegetable garden and little postcards he picks up on his jaunts.
This note is different because it looks like the paper is new. Another thing that gives it away is that “Minseok” is scrawled on it in marker. Minseok falls on it and rips it off the fridge. He doesn’t care that the magnet clatters on the floor as he reads.
All the note says is “Wait for me, Jongin.”
Is that it? Minseok asks out loud to no one in particular.
That was a week ago. Jongin is still not back. Minseok has stayed for lack of anything else to do. It’s a comfortable state of paralysis. He eats, he sleeps, he shops for food. He even cleans. He has taken to sleeping in Jongin’s bed because sleeping on the couch became too much even for his young body. Minseok has nowhere else to be. So he stays.
Jongin has a mobile with the solar system hanging from the ceiling above his bedroom window and it's the last thing Minseok remembers before falling asleep one night.
()(())()
Jongin has a comfortable bed. Minseok wakes on the eighth morning after Jongin disappeared to the same comfortably worn sheets and soft bed and he is becoming used to it. He takes a deep breath in and makes to roll over into a new comfortable position and fall asleep again for a little while.
This was the plan, except there is a heavy weight on his shoulder and he can’t move. He moves a hand over to check and he’s surprised when he feels lots of long silky hair under his fingers. Dream? he wonders.
It’s not a dream as it turns out. It’s a woman. Minseok wonders briefly about how this woman came to be curled up against him in bed when her eyes open and he ceases to care.
She takes a big breath in and stretches against him before settling back against his shoulder. The way she sighs cutely and rubs her feet on the sheets to fall back asleep has Minseok’s heart melting. Strange things have been happening to him for far too long for him to be questioning a strange beauty turning up in his arms. He figures he might as well get some benefit from the screwy situation.
He lays there with her clinging to him until she wakes. She certainly doesn’t seem to be worried about waking up in a stranger’s bed. She even rests her chin on his chest and studies him with large tilted eyes. A small smile pushes up her cheeks and she moves closer to him, gauging his reaction as she presses her lips to his in a kiss. She doesn’t close her eyes and neither does he and when she retreats, her smile shines even brighter. It’s gummy and dazzling and Minseok doesn’t want it to stop.
“Aren’t you hungry?” she asks, breaking the quiet. She asks as if she isn’t talking about food.
Minseok doesn’t reply immediately. He just watches her as she rises from the bed. It’s lonely now without her and he tries to think quickly for something to say or do that will make her come back to bed.
“Are you cooking?” is all he can manage. His stomach growls just to embarrass him.
“Sure,” she says lightly and leaves the bedroom as she ties her long hair into a bun.
Minseok follows her. His curiosity is too strong to ignore. He follows the noises into the kitchen where she’s investigating draws and cupboards to find what she needs.
“Do you need some help?” he asks. She turns to him and he smile almost makes his knees weak.
“No thanks,” she replies. “I’ve got everything.” And with that she proceeds to cook them breakfast.
“Can I at least make the tea?” Minseok asks. He’s feeling pretty off balance and more than a little useless.
“Thank you,” is all he gets by way of direction so he proceeds to make the tea while stealing glances at her while she is occupied. It’s not until they sit down that he manages to get a really good look at her.
Her hair is long and straight. It’s fine and all the same length except for some whispy bits that escape her bun and frame her face. Faint freckles dust the bridge of her small nose and her mouth is small but full. When she smiles her cheeks bunch making her eyes crescents. She has small hands and the rest of her is small too. But Minseok wouldn’t describe her as dainty, it’s more that she is compact. There is no trace of her being fragile. Probably the strongest thing about her is her eyes. They remind Minseok of his own eyes.
It’s then that Minseok realizes that she had been speaking to him in Korean. He had gotten used to it while Jongin was here and since he had gone, there was no one to speak to anyway. All he had was his thoughts and those where almost always in Korean.
“You’re Korean,” he remarks. He has a mouthful of eggs and she just smiles. She takes a sip of tea and replaces the mug on the table.
“Of course,” she says, as if Minseok wanting to discuss it means that he has missed something obvious. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah?” he answers, uncertainty colouring his tone. She just smiles back at him with her unreadable smile.
It makes Minseok reluctant to ask any more questions but eventually his curiosity is unbearable and he must know.
“What’s your name?” he begins. “You never said…”
“Minseon,” she answers simply. Minseok thinks it’s a pretty name. He feels her watching him intently but he doesn’t know what she expects so he keeps going.
“How old are you?” he asks next. He can’t help it. What if he had been speaking formally to someone younger or missing an opportunity to impress a pretty Noona?
“Same as you, I think,” she answers obliquely.
“What? You’re 24?” he asks and she nods.
“When’s your birthday?” he follows up.
“The 26th,” she says.
“What? Of March?!” he asks. That’s his birthday. He had totally forgotten that it was fast approaching with all that was going on.
“Yeah,” she says. She seems amused by this line of questioning and also by Minseok’s excitement. “How could I not be born on that day?” She asks this as if it is obvious.
“Wait, what?” Minseok splutters. “You could have been born on any day. How should I have known that we had the same birthday?” His breakfast sits mostly eaten yet forgotten in front of him while her expression changes from amused to confused to concerned.
“You don’t know who I am. Do you?” She sits very still across the table from him and the whole room seems suddenly very still and quiet as well.
“No,” Minseok begins. “We only just met today, which by the way, I haven’t even asked about yet and here you are interrogating me-”
“I’m you, dummy,” she states with a soft snort.
“Er, no. I’m me and you are you.” This is really starting to get weird.
“Did your Teleporter leave suddenly?” she asks.
“Yes, how would you…” he trails off. How could she know that Jongin is gone?
“This is their house?” she continues, gesturing around them.
“Yes, but-”
“A man? Older than you?” she guesses. Again with the rapid fire questions.
“Jongin is a man, yes, and he’s older,” Minseok can only answer her questions. His instinct is to help, not to conceal. “What does this have to do with you, though?”
She muses for a moment ignoring him as she casts her eye over the kitchen.
“Both of us…” she thinks to herself. “Maybe not everyone but two might be more than a coincidence.”
“Are you going to tell me what is happening?” Minseok is starting to get frustrated. He only just met this girl and she is already bossing him around like she owns him.
“Can’t you see? I already told you,” she says and her chair scrapes along the kitchen floor as she rises. She circles the table and takes him by the hand. Minseok is pulled up by the wrist to stand before her and she moves his hand up to her chest to rest over her heart. He’s quiet and he can feel her heart beating under his palm.
“Don’t you feel it?” she asks. Her eyes search his and her brow is furrowed. “We are the same.”
By way of explanation she extends her other hand to touch his half finished coffee. He looks on as the coffee solidifies and she tips out the frozen contents onto his plate.
“How did you-?” he stammers.
“The same way you do,” she replies.
“Where did you come from?” he finally asks. Questions jostle in his mind and he takes a deep breath to clear his head. He sits down and stares that the frozen lump of coffee in front of him.
“Through the ways. I think that this is our fault, I think that we did this.” She doesn’t let go of his hand and she sits next to him. Minseok is glad because holding her hand makes him calmer.
“Who’s ‘we’?”
It’s the first of many questions. Some that Minseok asks and Minseon answers. Some that she asks and he answers. There are some that they ask and neither of them could begin to explain. What they do know is that the ways well and truly have opened and Jongin is travelling them in the hope of finding an answer.
It had been an experiment of Jeong ah’s that had opened the ways. She had a theory that a computer program modeled on her opened chakras could unlock what had been locked up. Minseon dismissed the finer details with a wave of her hand. She really had never been into that stuff and Minseok found that he was grateful. He wasn’t interested in that mystic stuff like Jongin was either.
The Quantum Chakra Emulator was only meant to be a computer simulation. It was only intended to model what could be possible and test her theory. Not only had the theory proven viable but the simulation had actually opened the ways. In addition, it had the unforeseen consequence of causing a disturbance in the very fabric of reality. These were the echoes Minseok had been experiencing. It was safe to assume that anyone in any universe with a power had been experiencing the same unhinged visions. The device had also been acting like a beacon of sorts. In their universe, these with power had been flocking to Jeong ah and Minseok’s facility. They were called by the device and unable to resist. The same vibrations had allowed Jongin to track them otherwise finding the correct universe would have been like finding a proverbial needle.
It seems that alternative versions of individuals meeting was somewhat of a special event. The tale of the pair of teleporters meeting had been something that made Minseon blush and Minseok couldn’t get her to elaborate. It was a longshot but the pair had hatched a plan to close the ways.
Jongin and Jeong ah couldn’t bear to be parted. The longer they spent in each other’s company, the stronger the need they felt to remain close, touching if possible. So while it would have been simpler for Jongin to return to warn Minseok, logistically it made more sense to send Minseon while the other two continued to work to shut down the experiment that had caused the calamity in the first place.
“Why must your experiment be shut down?” Minseok asks.
“It’s breaking reality. If it continues to run, the echoes will continue to disturb the ways. Eventually we think it will cause the catastrophic collapse of all alternative universes into one single universe.”
“Is that bad? Doesn’t it mean we can all be together?” Minseok wonders. He never did have a head for this stuff. Jongin had tried to explain but Minseok’s power over entropy didn’t require him to keep multiple realities separate in his mind. He was adept at visualising energy, not reality.
“No! there isn’t enough room for everything,” she sighs in exasperation. “There are infinite alternative universes that all coexist to make up space-time. We can comprehend four dimensions but if space-time collapses then we will suffer infinite pain and suffering for eternity.”
“Wait, that sounds like the bible description of Hell,” Minseok comments. “Won’t we just cease to exist?”
“Yes, but from our point of view every point in space will become a singularity. The moment of collapse will feel infinitely long.”
“That’s bad,” he concludes.
“The worst,” she agrees.
“So how are we stopping this?” Minseok asks hopefully.
“Basically they are dismantling the computer piece by piece to reach the core. It’s kind of like defusing a bomb that could end everything for anything that has, does or could ever exist.”
“Damn,” he sighs and squeezes her hand.
“Yeah,” she agrees and gives in to the sudden need to be close to Minseok by dragging him to the couch and curling up in his lap.
“Is there anything we can do here?” Minseok wonders as he strokes over her hair gently.
“Not really, no.”
“There’s nothing?”
“Nope.”
Minseon wriggles a little to find a more comfortable position and the need they feel for each other grows. She sits up, breathing hard with her hand on her heart.
“Oh,” she says. She realises that this must be what Jeong ah felt when her alternative self turned up. The longing is incredible. The need to be close and touch. It’s like his skin is magnetic and drawing her in. It’s an effort to fight it.
“Seok?” she breathes, too scared to turn to face him. It’s almost a moan and it shames her to hear such need in her own voice.
“Yeah?” he replies. His voice is breathy and light too. She hears him run his hand through his hair and she is increasingly aware of his energy. It’s like a pot of sweet honey that she could dip her hands in and consume.
“C-can you feel that?” she asks about the energy. It’s starting to vibrate, a low wub wub deep inside her.
“Yeah, it’s throbbing,” he sighs.
The next thing she knows he has gathered her into his arms and is carrying her to the bedroom. He groans and squeezes her waist as he bumps against the door frame. He pushes her up against it to kiss her passionately. She follows where he leads her, stumbling on her toes after him.
The pair continues to make their way across the room room until they run into the bed. He sits down on the edge of the bed and pulls her into his lap to resume their kiss. There's no way he'll let her go now he has her so close. His hands wander up and down her thighs and she gets more and more wound up. The need to be skin to skin is burning in them both. She needs to pull away to catch her breath. He complies by focusing his attention on her neck. It's almost too much and she whines before giggling and shivering.
“This is unbearable!” she cries and Minseok groans in response. She can feel his smile against her skin, his bunched cheeks rubbing before he returns his attention to the sweet spot at her neck.
She's grinding on him in until his fingers slip up beneath her underwear, teasing along the fullest part of her ass before dipping lower. He hums in approval when he reaches his goal and finds that she's wet enough to have soaked her underwear.
“Do you need me like I need you?” he asks. She shakes and pushes down on him harder, pulling his hair and panting against his cheek. He works his hand further into her underwear from behind and feels her gush just a little more. She arches her back to give him better access and he rubs her clit in slow circles. Her hips rock down as she tries to encourage him to push into her but he ignores her signals. He continues to hold her in place with one arm around her while his fingers work faster. She's grabbing at his shirt and whining softly.
“Do you really want me or is it the stupid universe?" he asks, knowing he’s being absurd.
“Please!” she begs. “I need… Please push inside.”
“Like this?” he asks as he slides two fingers in to the second knuckle. He watches with satisfaction as she sighs and melts into him. The angle is a little awkward but the way her eyes flutter shut and her hands tighten makes him ignore the ache in his wrist temporarily. Her airy sighs and small hitching breaths fill his ears and he does whatever he can to keep them coming. He pushes his face into her chest and bites at her nipples through the thin fabric of her dress and bra. Each time he manages to catch flesh between his teeth he hears a surprised groan and her hips stutter. It's not hard enough to hurt but it's definitely surprising. Soon, her rhythm slows and she starts to shake.
She pleads with him. This time even calling his name until she can only make quiet, desperate noises. She’s close but her thighs are tiring. He hasn't even gotten her clothes off yet, let alone his, and she is already clawing at his back and pulling his hair, begging just to get closer. Her eyes go wide and unfocussed. Her lips still and her breath comes in short gasps before she groans low in the back of her throat. Her orgasm leaves her limp and she leans against him to catch her breath. It's nice; the way she clings to him, shivering as her breathing evens out. He rolls her to the left and onto her back. She keeps him close but her hands are weak.
He looks at her beneath him. Her eyes are closed and her tongue comes out to wet her lips as she recovers. There's nothing he wants more in that moment than to claim her completely. He starts with her mouth, kissing gently. Slowly, she responds kissing back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Do you want more?” he asks at her ear. He knows she does. They won’t be satisfied until they are as close as possible.
“Uh huh,” she agrees. He lets her go just long enough for her to squirm out of her clothes.
Pants, shirt and dress are all discarded until there is nothing left. He covers her with his body and she welcomes him. He hooks her legs around him and eases himself in slowly. Sweet kisses turn hungry again when he chases his want all the way down. He works his hips smoothly and she cries out when he speeds his pace. She's breathless once again.
“Are you close again?” he asks.
“Don't worry about me,” she groans with a smile. “I'm happy with this for as long as you want.”
She pulls him down for a kiss and he feels it starting. With nothing to hold him back, he lets himself take as much as he wants. One of her hands rests on his bicep and the fingers of her other hand push into his hair as she tries to hold on to him. It's not long before the stimulation is too much for her and she unravels around him. He follows soon enough.
They spend every minute with each other. They have nothing to do but talk and make love.
It eases their wait. She takes over because she can. Minseok doesn't have to make the decisions. One night they play games. There really isn’t much to do at Jongin’s cottage out in the English countryside. They do a word association game and get the same answers. Every time they play rock paper scissors they tie no matter how many times they play. It’s funny but disturbing too. They stop playing those sorts of guessing games altogether.
()(())()
Eight nights after Jongin disappeared, he and a woman that Minseok assumes is Jeong ah arrive with news. They arrive outside in the rain and Jongin announces them with an uncharacteristically loud voice. Minseok and Minseon rush outside to find Jeong ah collapsed against Jongin in the wet grass. He cradles her in his arms and smooths her hair back. The look on his face is tired and stricken. Minseon fusses over the woman as Jongin carries her inside. They wrap her in blankets and Minseok makes tea full of honey for the shock.
No one sleeps that night. The storm continues outside and there is work to be done inside.
Minseok notices the way they sit next to each other, the way they hold hands and how Jongin, who always seemed a complete person before, now appears more complete with Jeong ah by his side. He wonders if that’s how he looks now with Minseon.
Minseok sees Jongin’s eyes flick down to where he is holding hands with Minseon and the look of recognition that passes across his face. He must look the same. They share a smile before Joengah starts talking.
“First I want to apologise for my reckless experiments,” she says, voice weary with shock and the exertion of the journey. “I never knew that… If I had even the slightest idea that my creation could have caused such a catastrophe I never would have even tried.”
“You weren’t to know,” says Jongin. He looks like they have had this particular conversation before. “And it can’t be helped now. We just have to finish fixing things.” Jongin addresses Minseok then. “I’m sorry I left you without an explanation, I saw a chance and I took it. There was a gap and an echo large enough for me to slip through and ride it to the source. I had to take it.”
Minseok nods. He had felt lost for a moment but he was used to being on his own. “I get it. You gotta do…” he waves his free hand to finish off the unspoken phrase.
“So the plan? Is it working?” Minseon interrupts. She’s bouncing in her seat and her ponytail sways with the movement. Her skin is warm and Minseok knows that she’s not keeping her power in check. He squeezes her had to remind her and she shoots him a sheepish grin which he returns.
And I thought I was the loose cannon here! he thinks.
“It is; in a way,” Jeong ah answers. “But dismantling the device on our side was just the first step. The next part is risky.” Jongin and Jeong ah share an unreadable look.
“How risky?” Minseok asks. “Eternal hellfire risky or just blow up a few universes risky?”
“You told him about the collapse?” Jeong ah asks Minseon and the younger woman shrugs.
“How much could you keep back from him?” she replies, indicating to Jongin with a nod. Jeong ah acknowledges the remark with a grimace and settles back against Jongin to sip her tea.
“We dismantled the device on our side. It wasn’t easy but we did it. I couldn’t have done it alone, and not without another teleporter. I’m glad you showed up. There isn’t any more damage being done from there. All that’s left is to monitor the echoes. We don’t know if it’s too late.” Jeong ah seems exhausted from talking at length and Jongin takes over.
“We’ve constructed dampeners; devices that should blanket the echoes and moderate the effects of the main device. Admittedly I just provided some theoretical input. Jeong ah was the one who actually built them. Our next move is to distribute them,” Jongin explains. He looks down at the woman in his arms and sees that she has fallen asleep. The mug of tea in her hands drained and tilted to the side. He takes it from her and puts it on the table.
Minseok knows that there is something Jongin isn’t saying. Something difficult.
“When do we start?” he asks.
Fear and tension bleeds into the older man’s eyes and the smile on his face is more a grimace than the reassurance its meant as.
“Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” Jongin says quietly. “There’s time.”
Minseok doesn’t know what the future holds but it all seems less important now that he has her: The piece of him he didn’t know he was missing. |
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Date: 2016-03-29 11:55 am (UTC)All four of them is trying to save the universe or something?
Thank you for writing this! ♡ ♡ ♡