15 - THE TRUTH IN YOUR BEHALF

so how am i supposed to explain it all from the beginning?

-

"to be fairly honest with you, i don't think i have anything else to explain anymore. i'm pretty sure you already know everything by now by just simply reading my mind."

eunhee and seungyoun stopped by at a café not far from school, the same café he went to when he met up with daniel. unlike her brother, eunhee is relatively outgoing and more open, but it's probably because to her, it's like talking to an old acquaintance. to seungyoun, she's a whole stranger.

seungyoun shakes his head. "i don't want to just know, i want to remember." he says in disappointment. "it's killing me that i don't even have a single clue of what had happened, not even after everyone gave me all these clues and all. hell, please do explain why your parents always throw a tantrum every time they see my face, especially your mom."

she laughs. "she's just being cautious,"

"does she think that i'll ruin her life the second i lay my eyes on her?"

"in case you don't know, you've done that already in the past, and it has left a lifetime effect for my family," the girl says reluctantly with no interest of offending him.

"what, you guys were salty that i had to stay? y'all had to pay for the extra bedding or somethin'?"
"what affected us so much was when you left," eunhee said in despair. "we didn't know anything, for all we know is that you were involved in a car crash when you were heading home with our dad. you were brought to the hospital, treated by your family, and eventually a few days after, they filed a lawsuit to our dad for 'child kidnapping'." she sighs. "he lost his job.. and his sanity. we were in the verge of poverty, because there were no one to provide for us. we missed you a lot, eunsang and i."

guilt starts to arise from the back of his throat. "why didn't you reach out?"

"please do note that at this point, our parents had restricted us from speaking to you or even about you ever again, completely erasing your short existence in our family. as eunsang was too young to even speak at that time, he eventually forgot about you because... well, time consumed all the memories that we had. out of everyone, it is i who vowed to remember everything."

"and the feeling must've killed you," seungyoun takes a deep breath.

"it was mentally draining, but god knows what'll happen if i ended up searching for you, you don't even remember me." she laughs. "i think 4 year old me rather keep the memories of her childhood pal withoutknowing that the latter has forgotten everything about her."

sometimes sugarcoated lies are better than the bitter truth, to some extent seungyoun assumes that to be somewhat true. "so you've never heard from me ever since?"

"not a single thing," she answers shortly. "you were just like a chapter in my life that should be kept a secret. the miraculous, son of a chaebol with mysterious powers. if i kept myself skeptical, i would think that it's all just a dream."

he nods. "and how did your parentsend up worshipping that guy wherever he goes?"

"hm, what guy-" she turns around to see a blonde man clueless heading towards them.

"cho seungyoun, please do note that i actually attend all my schedules, unlike your unresponsible self, so i may not have that much spare time to be here-" he stops. "uh.. hi."

eunhee smiles. "you know, seungyoun-oppa? though i'm sad that you weren't able to remember me, i'm glad that you've at least remember your bestfriend."

"bestfriend?"

"uh.. what is she doing here again?" daniel is equally as confused as seungyoun.

"i just found out that after i ran away from your dad, i stayed with the lees – hey eunhee-yah, what do you mean as bestfriend?"

"you and him, you guys were like.. the best pals, aren't ya?" she says, recalling a past memory. "at least that's what your 4 year old self told me like, in every conversation we had. don't tell me you forgot about him, too."

daniel is starting to grasp the situation. "ah.. so seungyoun-ssi ended up staying with eunsang's family.. what a small world we live in."

eunhee winces. "... seungyoun-ssi??"

"did you know this guy, too?" seungyoun asks to eunhee.

"i only knew him from your stories. never met him before, so seeing him in the hospital with you made me guess that you guys were still pals even so 'til now."

"man, i just acknowledged his existence in my life roughly two weeks ago," seungyoun grits his teeth.

"he is surely dismissing the 'i used to be bestfriends with my worst enemy' agenda," daniel says with a winning smile.

"well yeah!! because throughout adulthood, the only bestfriends i acknowledged were wooseok and seungwoo-hyung." he turns to eunhee. "which makes me wonder, i actually did- well, almost did an opening speech in the first day of school alongside the the two i mentioned earlier, were you not there at that time?"

"most of the twelfth grade students skipped the show, we were too busy with the upcoming placement test." eunhee answers. "can i at least get an explanation as to what's going on? why are you suddenly taking interest of my unconscious brother? how did you end up getting to know him, anyway? you guys don't even remember each other!"

daniel sits down, ignoring his upcoming 'schedules', because he knows that this is going to be an interesting conversation. seungyoun has been waiting to explain this himself. he moves closer. "so um, have i ever told you when we were young about how i got my powers?"

"nope. you said so yourself that you wanted to find out why."

"well, i did end up finding out, particularly after years of research." he says as he glances at daniel who was simply reminded of his late mother. "it was because of an extra y chromosome in my dna, in which we simply call ourselves as-"

"the jacob syndrome?"

"wait, what?"

"men with extra y chromosomes? isn't that the jacob syndrome you're talking about?" she points out with bright eyes.

daniel glances at her and nods. "that isa popular term used to describe it – or else some people also simply calls it as the xyy syndrome."

seungyoun squints his eyes. "i'm sorry, am i the only one who doesn't know anything you're talking about? even though i'm the one who has the condition myself?"

eunhee shrugs. "i strive to go to medical school, so i've studied some of these genetic conditions."

daniel raises an eyebrow. "and my mom was a medical doctor, so..."

"yeah, yeah. whatever. anyway," seungyoun continues on his story. "so i have the extra y chromosome, and the term i like to use for it is that i am an x1. no, don't ask why i chose that term because that's exactly what your brother had asked the first time he met me."

eunhee was about to comment, but she immediately stops.

"eventually i met up with other x1 individuals, and eventually... i found out that your brother is in fact, also an x1."

eunhee flinches, but wasn't that surprised. "i knew it from the start that he's one weirdass fella,"

"seungwoo-hyung, wooseok and i, we vowed our highschool years to find more x1 individuals in xigma," he continues to explain the origin story. "even after our graduation, we didn't manage to find anyone. however, everything changed when i first made eye contact with eunsang in his first day of school."

"and you instantly remembered him?"

"no, but for a split second he remembered me,"he sighs. "but i was too ignorant to even believe that i'd have my memories erased at that time, so i denied the possibility. thankfully now i've given the luxury to know that i indeed... had history with him."

"hey, at least you guys have now reunited,"

seungyoun nods. "anyway, after my encounter with eunsang, it seemed like it had triggered the powers of the other x1 boys at school, because suddenly we were able to identify seven more boys in just a short amount of time."

"seven?!"

"yes, seven." now that he mentioned it, there sure are a lot of them. "the boys you saw yesterday at the hospital? they were all x1. junho's an x1, too."

"wow, that's so cool!" she squeals. "and i'm guessing he's also one of you guys," she refers to daniel.

seungyoun smirks. "he only wishes to be one of us."

daniel looks at him offended. "yah, cho seungyoun-"

"anyway, we found peace in each other." seungyoun reiterates, cutting daniel off. "it's like a family i never knew i had, interacting with unique people as insane as me... never once i felt so much at home."

"wait, you said that everyone in the hospital are indeed x1," she stops dramatically. "does that mean kim yohan is an x1, too?!"

seungyoun couldn't help but smile at the mention of his name. "yes, he indeed is."

"wow, that's just crazy. someone as talented as him is also born with such superpowers? no one's doing it like him!"

"he's a tough one, i must admit." daniel says with subtle interest. "he was captured by mad scientists working for my father daysbefore knowing his own power. he survived through that phase of hell."

"ah, so there also those kind of bad guys...? inferiors that will never stop poking at super people's business?"

"the worst ones, i presume." seungyoun says without hesitation. "snakes, that's how i'll describe them. imnet's just a group of disturbing, entitled snakes."

"and just right across the street, i could see one of themreaching out for their next prey." daniel says as he stares off the distance.

"hm?" seungyoun turns to around to see who this 'snake' he's referring to. "ah.."

eunhee squints. "who is it?"

"speaking of yohan..."

-

"the whole building itself is a mystery, but the part of it that we should worry about is definitely the basement. that's the main place that you should investigate."

dohyon's voice sounds slightly deeper from the earpieces, especially when he's talking about 'important matters' in a such serious way. "so should we put our main focus at the basement?" yohan asks.

"no, you and dongpyo should just focus on whatever junho's planning with his special course," he affirms, "hyeongjun's area depends on whichever place you cover. he'll take care of the rest."

"yah, it's hyeongjun-hyung!" hyeongjun screams loud enough for everyone to hear, "and anyway, i'm already in the building. i see cameras, should i be worried?"

"i've disabled all the cameras," dohyon points out. "i may not have the access to see what's going there, but at least i got to save us from the trouble of getting caught. bad news is that i can't monitor you, so you should describe your surroundings to me and i might be able to trace in which part of the building you are in."

"describe? hmm..." hyeongjun pauses. "i see a 'receptionist' nameplate,"

"then you must be at the receptionist's." dohyon answers shortly.

"wow, such dashing information, i wouldn't have guessed." dongpyo comments sarcastically.

"ah, times like this makes me think of how it'll be if we do have junho in the group, i could already sense that he's thatpowerful." minhee says with a sigh. "if he were here, he'll be able to disable all the cameras with just a snap of his fingers."

"yah, i'm trying my best too, you know!" dohyon snarls. "don't you dare tell me the things he could and should've done better than me. for all we know, he's a traitor who doesn't deserved to be called an x1 at the first place."

yohan snickers. "boy's still salty, alright."

"so let's just not talk about him again, shall we?" dohyon was still definitely mad about the thing junho did at the day when his mother was murdered, going full-out to the culprit and all. "minhee-hyung, where you at right now?"

"i'm already on top of the building," minhee says with a slightly proud voice. "had to climb up trashbins in order to reach here – but other than that, i'm pretty proud of myself. fortunately for me, the ceiling of this 'highly secretive' building is actually made out of glass."

"perfect, so you can monitor the upper floor from where you at, okay?"

"well, this also concludes as bad news," minhee says as he looks down to what's underneath him. "there's bunch of people at the floor under me. the second they see me dangling around, i'll be dead. i won't have the chance to escape."

"yah, chin up bird guy. isn't flying your specialty or somethin'?" yohan mentions playfully.

"would you like me to be the one who pushes you off the roof again?" hyeongjun giggles.

"oh god, please don't." minhee doesn't want to be remembered by those awful times.

"anyway, i guess we're now settled then," dohyon finishes his statement, "i'll be checking you guys out at all times, just follow the plan, okay?"

"aye captain," yohan answers. he's currently walking towards the entrance with a very rigid dongpyo. "hm, you look taller today."

dongpyo, who has now changed into his 'lai guanlin' figure, scowls. "and you look non-existent."

"excuse me, i for once feel like i particularly look dashing today," yohan says without hesitation.

"well thank god i can't see the expression you gave whilst saying that, for i may experience a seizure by just looking at you-"

"lai guanlin!"

dongpyo turns around as he catches someone calling 'his' name. he frowns. "ah shit,"

yohan giggles. "good luck, kiddo."

junho heads towards him with a concerning, mischievous look. he smiles. "i'm so glad to see you here."

"well, i wouldn't say so myself."

"are you here with dongpyo, your best mate?"

best mate? dongpyo shakes his head. "i'm going solo. dongpyo didn't want to come."

"ah, really?" junho's face dims. "ah, that's disappointing. i thought he enjoys joining these type of conferences."

"for the contrary, i don't think he'll enjoy anything involving you in it." and even when he's portraying as someone else, dongpyo couldn't help but add snarky remarks here and there.

"hm, you got a point..." junho sighs. "he's really thatpetty, is he? very entitled for someone who isn't even that special."

even whilst invisible, dongpyo could know that yohan really enjoyed that comeback thrown back to him. he tries his best to stay in character. you're acting as guanlin, dongpyo, not as yourself. get a grip.

"i don't think he's that bad," dongpyo says with a forced smile. "i feel as his 'best pal', i will not encourage your behavior to backstab him like this."

"hey, i did not mean it that way," junho says as he steps back slowly. "anyway, i'm just happy that you're here. i hope you'll enjoy the course as much as i do." he smiles and then leaves when the atmosphere was starting to feel uneasy.

the moment he's out of sight, dongpyo immediately goes off to express his anger. "who does he think he is?! talking shit about me behind my back as if it's a normal thing for him to do?!"

"well in his defense, we do also talk shit about him behind his back," yohan says lowly. "if that's the case, then this is just a rough start of a toxic relationship." following the other students from their school that has arrived, they eventually went into the building, guided by a friendly pr staff.

minhee was having his well-deserved me time on top of the building, though it may seem that he could be falling asleep in just a matter of time. he was casually staring off the distance when he suddenly notices something weird happening on the floor beneath him. "dohyon-ah, i need you to check on something."

"hm, what is it?" dohyon asks from the other line.

"what's underneath the small space at the far end left corner of the fourth floor?"

"the fourth floor..." dohyon skims through his blueprints. "nothing, there's just a lift from the third floor that heads directly to the basement. why?"

"i may have found something strange..." minhee says as he glances down at what's happening. "i don't know how to describe it, but there's this some sort of a machine thing. it looks odd and scientific, like a knock-off version of something out of star wars."

"go on, i'm listening."

"they're planning on turning it on, but i don't know what it's for." minhee couldn't risk moving closer because he's that close to anyone noticing him. "should i go down and check?"

"are you crazy? don't come down until you find any obvious signs. we don't want to risk anyone getting caught." yohan says a little bit off the grid, feeling a lot more anxious than any of them.

"guys? from what i'm seeing, i'm now at the third floor." hyeongjun says. "this floor seems like it's some sort of a research lab with white coated scientists and all... anyway, i see the lady from the video."

"kang seulgi?" yohan straightens his posture, the image of the woman appearing in his head. though she wasn't entirely brutal at him when he got caught, she surely wasn't that much of a good guy either.

"yeah, she's heading to the lift you were guys talking about, the one at the left?" he whispers cautiously. "wait, let me get the earpiece closer. you guys should listen to what she's saying."

"be careful, hyeongjun-ah." dongpyo says to him in concern.

from hyeongjun's earpiece, they were able to listen to a very informative conversation... exchanged by the one and only kang seulgi alongside one of her co-workers.

"is it ready?" she asks the man beside her.

the man nods. "people in the fourth floor said that they will launch it in two minutes."

"perfect," she smiles. "and the participants?"

"they're currently guiding them to them to the basement."

"make sure that none of them leaves."

"yes, ma'am."

dohyon raises his eyebrow. "wait, did they just say, 'basement'?"

"yup," hyeongjun has now quickly left the scene before getting noticed by everyone. "i think the machine on the fourth floor is used for something related to the basement, considering that the lift specifically only stops there."

"then this is good news: that means that my guesses are correct. there must be something important in the basement, and we need to find that out." dohyon says with certainty.

"is it selfish for me to say that this is bad news for us?" yohan mumbles.

"why?"

"we're with the other students," dongpyo mutters under his breath. "... inside a lift. they're guiding us into the basement."

-

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