08 — YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN
hyeongjun runs away after exposing his power, now's the trio and eunsang's all that left.

who's gonna be the next target?

—

"i mean, you were kinda harsh on him.."

"seungwoo hyung, you're such a hypocrite! you said you agreed with me for plan c!" wooseok was in a bad mood because seungyoun still doesn't want to extract the pain he got from his burnt hand. seungyoun believes that wooseok doesn't deserve his help, and then wooseok blames seungwoo for it. that's why the atmosphere was made somehow uncomfortable, and eunsang has to witness all of it.

"yes, i did say i agree with the plan, but you said you were just gonna do really basic things!"

"those were really basic things! those water balls, they won't even do anything to you! they're just as harmless as usual nerf guns!" wooseok snaps, defending himself. "what he did however, was not basic. i bet he did that on purpose, hiding his powers until the last minute."

"i personally think that he was underpressure, and that was his power kickstarting a defense method for him." eunsang says.

"the kid didn't know about the power, i'm sure of that." seungyoun points out. "he was surprised himself that he could run like that. he's gonna be in quite a great shock for a while, but he's gonna recover fast, so i look forward for that. redhead, make sure to tell him our intentions if you see him again, and tell him we really mean no harm and that we're sorry."

eunsang nods. "alright."

"for now, excluding eunsang, i already got 2 subjects in mind. i was planning to get over them quickly today but i guess after what happened... it'll be better for us to delay it 'til tomorrow."

"one's dongpyo.. who's the other one?" eunsang asks.

seungyoun eyes to his right, gesturing at the kid who's walking down the hallway. "kang minhee, 11th grader. air manipulation. if he tries enough, i think he can fly."

"wow, flying?"

"that sounds cool man, i wish i could fly." wooseok mumbles.

"well, you're an exceptional swimmer, so i think you've earned your skills well enough." seungwoo replies.

"so.. what should i do now?" eunsang asks.

"tomorrow we're gonna come here again around 12, so please be available by then. we have a couple errands to do in the morning, that's why we're coming a bit late. and if you could please ask hyeongjun to come with you, we can start developing his light skills from now on." seungwoo explains thoroughly. "maybe after that we could lure other x1 individuals, besides the two seungyoun just mentioned."

eunsang nods. "alright." he's quite disappointed that all he needs to do now is wait until tomorrow, but perhaps maybe it's best for him to take a break after all that had happened, especially after the whole hyeongjun fiasco. he's gonna need the time to digest the fact that this is all really happening and it is not a scenario happening inside his head. this is real.

"oh, and can you please give me your kakaotalk id? i wanna invite you to our group." seungyoun says, handing him his phone.

"invite me?"

".. yes, we gotta discuss about our future plans. we're a team now, remember?"

eunsang couldn't help but smile giddily. "i'm sorry, i gotta check my id first— i forgot."

"is this the first time you get invited into a group chat, kid?" wooseok asks though in a playful tone.

"this is the first time in any chats," eunsang admits. "well, at least other than my family group chat, this is all i have in the moment."

"well," seungwoo pats him by the back. "you're now apart of us too, kid. welcome to the group."

eunsang receives a notification on his phone.

you have been invited to 'x1 buddies🤩'

he grins.

—

"eunsang-ah!"

eunsang was sitting in the garden's bench by himself, reminiscing everything that had happened earlier when he heard someone calling him. he turns around to see junho waving his hand, walking towards him. eunsang smiles.

"hey, junho."

"you suddenly disappeared after lunch break and i didn't see you in any of our classes, where have you been?" the latter sits beside him, though he keeps his distance as he doesn't feel like they're that close yet.

"i had something to do," eunsang says.

"well, you gotta catch up fast, then. the subjects were horrid after you had gone. we're studying weird capital E things for mathematics, history's a mess, the physics teacher says that we're gonna have a test in the next meeting—"

"junho-yah, i'm fine really. you don't have to recap to me what happened."

junho stops. "i'm starting to doubt it."

"doubt what?"

"about you having studying as a hobby,"

eunsang grins. "i study as a hobby, not as an obligation."

"well, at least you enjoy doing it i guess. unlike me, who has to do it for the sake of living."

eunsang glances at him. "junho-yah, i don't think you should see me as a rival."

"i don't see you as a rival."

"you must be thinking that i also strive for snu."

he pauses, and eunsang smiles. "but i'm here to assure you that i'm not. so you don't have to worry about me, because no matter how much effort i put on my studies, my scores won't affect you. so let's put aside academic purposes for a moment, okay?"

junho nods. "what are you planning to do anyway? after you graduate here?"

eunsang shrugs. "i don't think i'll end up graduating here at all, considering my track record of transferring schools."

"yah, don't think like that!" junho hits him lightly in the elbow. "promise me, that lee eunsang and cha junho will graduate together."

eunsang sneers. "this is ridiculous—"

"please?" junho leans closer to him, wanting to hear it with his own ears.

eunsang looks at him then nods. "i promise."

for once eunsang felt like someone deeply cares for him.

—

nothing really grand happened in this chapter but i hope you enjoyed soft!eunsang:)) after years of rejection he finally gets friends he feels comfortable with aw i am happy for him🥰

again, 20 votes for new chapter!!