hydra | svt

CHAPTER THREE.

wonwoo

"alright, is everyone here?" a chorus of 'yes!' rises causing seungcheol to nod and smile.

"you know the drill! one."
"two."
"three."
"four."
"five!"
"six," i say deeply, following junhui.
"seven."
"eight."
"nine."
"ten."
"eleven."
"twelve."
"thirteen!" chan finishes and seungcheol beams before putting his hands out to his sides. jeonghan takes his hand and soon we're all standing in a circle holding hands; everyone turns to me.

"whenever you're ready woo," seungcheol address me softly. i nod and shut my eyes, tight. everyone else does the same and soonyoung gives my hand a squeeze as reassurance and support. i focus on the gate to the mage's house, the image swimming in my mind. suddenly, the familiar floating feeling is back and i smile calmly. yet, everything comes crashing down in a split second: we've arrived.

everyone dusts themselves down, except for junhui who's coughing and spluttering. i laugh quietly and pat him on the back.

"not used to it yet?"

he shakes his head, coughing once more before wincing and standing up straight. jeonghan checks his watch: we're right on time.

a loud creak alerts our attention as the wrought iron gates in front of us begin to open slowly. as they swing inwards, seungcheol crunches through the gravel pathway confidently making his way to the door and everyone scrambles to follow him. i'm almost crying with nerves; the mage is a scary man that i can't imagine with a normal life. does he have a family? children maybe? who knows.

we assemble in front of the modern oak door, a stark contrast to the century-old gates, and mingyu gives me a nudge which pulls me out of my thoughts.

"i wonder what he wants, it's been a while since we were last here," he whispers so only i could here. i hold back a laugh at the fond memories and how we were a little late because jeonghan didn't know what to do with his hair. i think junhui threw up that time, too.

the door opens and a familiar girl ushers us in: the mage's daughter. a young girl of about 20, her thick dark hair flows down her nimble body like a fairy's. the mage's daughter is one of the most powerful people in seoul. she holds the same amount of power as about ten seungcheols: that's a lot.

she's dressed casually today, in a hoodie and jeans, as she welcomes us in. she bows politely to all thirteen of us and she takes one glance at our matching glasses before bowing to me too.

once we're all piled into the grand living room, the silence settles on us like a thick blanket. i admire the mage's house once more, marvelling at the huge chandeliers and the old-fashioned fireplace. it doesn't take long for the mage to appear, making seungcheol jump into jeonghan.

"good morning seventeen, i hope i'm not interrupting anything important." seungcheol shakes his head, speaking for all us.

"before i start, this meeting is strictly confidential. no one outside of this room knows about it so i trust you'll keep your mouths shut," he mutters and we all blink slowly.

"i have another mission for you but it's not like any of the others you've been on. i have complete faith in all thirteen of you so listen up. the oracle has warned us of a terrible beast waking up and shaking our parallel universe, the non-magic one. the prediction is that in one year today, an underground beast will erupt and wipe them all out." our jaws hang open at this proposition, all of us unsure for the future.

"here is my proposal: i will send all thirteen of you to different parts of korea, where you will become a non-magic, ordinary version of yourself. once you are all together again, your powers will return to you, yet they will be much stronger, and you must travel underground to kill a steadily growing unknown force of evil. understood?" we all nodded our heads in a brainwashed manner, not fully comprehending the weight of our situation.

"wonwoo, please stay behind. everyone else, there are refreshments in the kitchen. please help yourself," the mage says softly, but with no emotion. i'm surprised i was called to stay behind and jeonghan mouths fighting to me as he troops past.

the mage motions for me to sit on one of his vast couches and i perch on the very end, trying to touch as little of the leather as possible. i pull my sweater over my hands and fiddle with the sleeves whilst i wait for whatever the mage has in store for me.

"wonwoo, the reason i've singled you out is that you're the only person i've decided to keep their memory. the rest of seventeen will have their memories wiped once they enter the other universe but i have requested that you keep yours. it's your job to find all twelve of them again and regain your powers. understood?" i sit motionless once again, eyes blown wide with anxiety and pressure.

"you start at the capital, seoul. work your way down to jeju if you must but remember that you only have a year. i'll be able to communicate with you if i need to so keep your eyes open." the mage dismisses me and i feel like a student walking out of the principal's office after getting their head chewed off; all eyes are on me as i enter the kitchen and i can even see the maid give me the side eye as they wash up.

"what's up?" jeonghan asks worriedly. i panic and blink my eyes a little before shaking my head.

"it's nothing, don't worry. he just wanted to thank me for the last mission," i say quietly. the others seem to buy it as they continue their chatter and i gladly wolf down a tiny sandwich jihoon hands me. he smirks and passes me a glass of water, which i down with less gusto than my sandwich.

seungcheol beckons us over and we all huddle around him on the kitchen floor.

"are you guys up for this? i don't want to know what it'd be like not being with you guys." he looks tearful and genuine as all of us frown, the news finally setting in. we all stare sorrowfully into our drinks and i swish my water around the glass, wondering if i should tell them.

"it doesn't make sense," jihoon says suddenly. "how does he expect us to fight this monster if we don't have the powers to?" the question raises suspicion and i suddenly feel light headed.

"i'm sure the mage will find a way. he always does," seungkwan offers kindly.

"i suppose. alright, i guess tomorrow is our last day and i don't want to waste it. any idea of what we could do?"

an idea pops into my head but i quickly brush it away. nobody seems to offer though, and i feel bad keeping it to myself.

"how about we go on one last mission? nothing too strenuous like before, but where we can all work as a team one last time."

it sounds cheesy as the words roll off my tongue and i fade my speech at the end.

seungcheol stands up, smirking, and shoves his hands into his pockets.

"i guess we owe the mission board another visit."