blind star // txt taegyu

gloomy star

"Humans fear Schers because they have been replaced as the top of the food chain. For millennia, humans had no natural predators and had nothing to fear — until the rapid breeding of the Scher race."

Beomgyu and Taehyun were quiet as they listened to Lee Minseon talking. Her expression was as flat as ever, the only people drawing emotion from her being the two buff men that always seemed to accompany her. They were silent, the principal of the school sitting at his desk.

"In the same way, the Schers got replaced by a stronger force," she continued, "and that's exactly what Kang Taehyun is. He's a Herrscher — a project created by Aenix Labs six years after the first Scher attack outbreak in 1986. An accumulation of the strongest Scher souls. The first Herrscher was quite weak compared to the recents, but it was strong nonetheless."

Taehyun got the indication that he should continue the explanation. "I told this to Beomgyu already, but… I was human before this. My mother gave me up as a test subject because she was promised money at the time. We weren't doing well financially back then, so we thought nothing could go wrong. I was fourteen years old at the time, and… I was made the Seventh Herrscher."

"Isn't he particularly dangerous, then?" the principal asked, his voice slightly shaky as he stuttered. "H-he should be locked away with the other Schers you have taken away…!"

"That's not necessary," the woman replied immediately. "Taehyun over here has proved to be the greatest ally we have right now. He's extremely powerful, and is right at the root of the problem. An estimated 45 Schers wander your school grounds right now and they've evolved to hiding their aura. Beomgyu has my personal contact, and I'll know right away that there's an attack when he notifies me. These two are practically part of the SCPU."

"B-but they're just students," the principal said with a panicked tone. "There's now way these two boys—"

"It's my judgement, not yours," she snapped, glaring at him. "Kang Taehyun is the Herrscher of the Void — the most dangerous one yet. He can manipulate time and space. To have him on our side is an incredible feat. I look forward to working beside you, Seventh Herrscher."

"I'm not fond of that title," Taehyun muttered, "so please… just call me Taehyun."

"Of course," she nodded. "Your duty, for now, is to protect the humans of this school. You're just kids, so your role won't be too big. Beomgyu is in charge of notifying me, while Taehyun is charge of holding them up until the SCPU arrives. Mr Yang, I hope you become more fond of these two, as they'll be here more often."

The principal sighed before nodding. "I'll do so."

"Excellent," she smiled, standing up. "I'd prefer that they work in secret until things become apparent. Let things happen naturally. Of course, Taehyun will be known as a Scher because of today's attack, but if questions arise, simply inform the school that Taehyun works for the SCPU. Beomgyu needs to be kept secret, since he's our informant."

The man nodded and Minseon bowed before leaving the room. Beomgyu and Taehyun followed, bowing towards the principal before leaving the office. The entire school had been dismissed due to the attack, so Beomgyu and Taehyun had to retrieve their backpacks before leaving.

"So you're a Herrscher," Beomgyu hummed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Those sound… pretty dangerous. I thought you were just some Scher. The fact that your mother just sold you to an experiment, though…"

"I'm still close with her, don't worry," Taehyun laughed. "In fact, I love her even more these days. She's my mother, and… she deserves the world."

Beomgyu hummed, a smile forming on his lips. "I'm glad you could forgive her. You're really such a good guy."

Taehyun looked down at his hands, his expression growing dim. He envied Beomgyu's constant positive outlook at the negative. He wondered if he could ever grow that positive. "No matter what, though, I'll always be a monster…"

"Not to me," Beomgyu smiled at him. "You'll always be my lovely Taehyun. The amazing one that laughed at me when we first met. The adorable one that plays rock-paper-scissors to decide who buys lunch. You'll always be a good guy to me, Kang Taehyun."

Taehyun looked at him with reddened cheeks and the taller looked at him with a bright smile. "Yeah. I guess so. I guess I can be a good guy if you want me to be."

Beomgyu grinned, resting his head against Taehyun's. "Come on, we need to relax after all that. Let's go to a cafe."

•

Heeseung's hands were shaking as he closed his bedroom door. Jay had been taken away, and he knew that once he came back, he'd definitely take him away. He didn't think Taehyun would actually be a Scher — after all, he had recommended Taehyun to Jay.

That all backfired, of course.

"Heeseung, are you okay?" His mother knocked on the door, her tone filled with worry. "You're home so early, too. Was everyone dismissed due to the attack today? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'll be down when I take my uniform off," Heeseung answered, tossing his bag beside his desk. "I was in class when the attack happened so I'm a little shaky."

"Well, that's fine, I guess," his mother sighed. "I'll prepare lunch, and you can do the dishes afterward."

"Yes, Mom."

She shuffled off, and Heeseung returned to panicking. He felt responsible for Jay's downfall. Had he known Taehyun was a Scher, it wouldnt have happened. He would've taken Beomgyu, and life would've been a little easier. Instead, he nearly got killed, fell off two storeys, and got taken away by the Containment Unit.

"What if other Scher come for me…?" Heeseung muttered, biting his thumb nail nervously. He sighed, trying to calm down, but he knew once Jay returned, his life would be over.