Exception

X. Deal

A few hours after Daehyun left, Minhyuk woke from his coma. The left side of his waist was sore from bumping the table by accident when he fainted earlier. His memory was fuzzy, but it was hard to forget what happened.

Jooheon's proposal. An argument, a thunderstorm. And the knife.

It had been so long since he last used his powers, and even then he never tried to control two powers at once. He knew he overreacted.

He was about to sit up properly when the bedroom door opened, and Jooheon came in with a cup of water and some snacks. "Hyung! You're awake!" He put down the tray on the bedside table and slipped a pillow behind Minhyuk's back.

"Jooheon... you haven't left?" He found it hard to believe that even after being so unreasonable and even threatening to hurt Daehyun, Jooheon would still stay and take care of him.

"I couldn't just leave you here. You had a really bad fever, you know? Plus, I think you have some explaining to do."

Minhyuk looked away, his face growing hot with shame. "Is... is Daehyun...?"

"I told him to leave." Jooheon brought an armchair closer to the bed and sat down. "Now tell me everything." He passed Minhyuk the cup of water, who drained it in one go.

"Yes, I do have superpowers. I don't know why, but unlike you guys, I can't use the powers for more than a minute before I start feeling tired and sick. I either faint or get a headache or... you get the idea." He toyed around with the empty cup in his hands. "What happened earlier... are you..."

"I'm not changing my mind. And I know you know it's wrong to continue, so why were you so repulsed by my proposal?"

Minhyuk dropped his head. Now that he was faced with the question directly, he felt that his answer was stupid. "Because... because I was afraid if we stopped doing this, then you wouldn't find a use for me anymore, and I don't want you to leave me..."

Jooheon didn't say anything for a while. The room was so quiet, Minhyuk thought Jooheon had left, so he lifted his head, only to see him grinning. "Are you serious? You're even more naive than me!" Minhyuk blinked in surprise. "Back then, you were my only friend. You helped me go through the hardest part of my life, and thanks to you I don't have to feel sorry about myself anymore. It doesn't mean I'm going to ditch you like you're some outdated instruction manual, hyung."

"Really?" Minhyuk looked genuinely astonished. "So you forgive me?"

"Well, no, not really." Jooheon tore open a pack of Pocky. "You hid your powers from me for more than ten years, and you looked like you wanted to murder Daehyun-hyung just now, how could anyone forgive that so easily?"

Minhyuk pushed his bottom lip out and played with his fingers like a child. "Then... what can I do to make you both forgive me?"

Jooheon pretended to think hard, as if there really wasn't anything that Minhyuk could do to make up to his actions. In truth—obviously—he already had a deal in mind.

"Accept my proposal, and let's end this. That's my request," said Jooheon, looking solemn. "If you do that, what we've done for the past year remains a secret, and I'll make sure Daehyun-hyung keeps his mouth shut. We'll find a job and make money the correct way, and live on like ordinary people. And, I'll never leave your side."

That did sound like a good deal, and anyone would had to be stupid to refuse. Unfortunately, stupid was exactly what Minhyuk was. "No, we can't just give up on our superhero titles!"

"Wake up, hyung! They see us as criminals—no one acknowledges us as heroes." Jooheon exclaimed, trying hard to put some logic into Minhyuk's mind. But Minhyuk only looked even more upset. "...No one will know you're the mastermind behind all of this, hyung. Except for me. No matter what, I still think you're my hero."

"Jooheon..." Minhyuk's eyes were shiny. "I'm sorry for everything. But I just can't give up yet."

All the while, Jooheon had been patient and understanding, but Minhyuk's capriciousness was getting on his nerves. "Don't be stubborn! Please wake up from your dream, hyung..."

Minhyuk threw his blankets off and stood from the bed. "Hey, where are you going?" Jooheon scrambled to follow him. "You haven't fully recovered—"

"I just—I just need some fresh air." Before Minhyuk could walk out the door, a light bulb on the ceiling bursted, causing glass shards to fly everywhere, startling him. Blue electric sparks were still dancing in the air when Jooheon approached Minhyuk and stood in front of him, blocking his path. The teal blue in his eyes slowly faded.

"Don't avoid me. This shouldn't go on for any longer. So what's your final decision?"

Minhyuk didn't seem fazed by the mini explosion, but he stayed where he was and pursed his lips. Standing face to face with his childhood friend, he realized Jooheon had grown a lot and was now almost the same height as him.

After what seemed like ages, Minhyuk said, "Fine, I accept your conditions. But it wouldn't be a fair deal if I didn't propose my requests." Jooheon gestured for him to continue. "I want us to at least finish this mission. It's this coming Thursday, barely four days from now. For the sake of me, let's complete it."

Jooheon pondered for a while, but there was no way he wasn't going to refuse. He nodded. "Alright, I'll tell Daehyun-hyung." Minhyuk smiled a smile Jooheon hadn't seen for a long time—bright, cheerful and full of energy—and then started towards the door again.

"By the way," Jooheon shouted, "I recorded everything we just said, so don't even think about breaking your promise!"

Minhyuk laughed. "I've never even thought about that, Jooheonie. You have no idea how much it means to me, when you agreed to do what I wanted." He paused. "I'm going to clean the glass up. Shall we order pizza for tonight?"

"Wait." Jooheon caught up and grabbed Minhyuk's arm. "I... I have something else to ask." Minhyuk stopped, waiting. Joheon let go of his arm and looked straight into Minhyuk's eyes. "After this is all over... um, do, do you want... to go out with me?"

Minhyuk's eyes widened. "I—where is this coming from—"

"I know how you feel about me, and I've been wanting to tell you that I... I like you, too. I like you a lot." Jooheon's cheeks reddened, and he avoided Minhyuk's eyes. "I was waiting for you all along, but I started to think, maybe I was just thinking too much. Maybe you only cared for me like you would to a real sibling and nothing else—"

But he never got to finish his sentence because Minhyuk had already pulled him into an embrace and sealed the space between them with a sweet, sweet kiss.