Treasure tales

Short 9: So Junghwan

The three boys practised for a rather long while. I got tired of watching the same thing for so long, even though it was exciting at first. I thought it would be awkward to ask for permission to leave while they were still fighting, so I retired to a corner and started scrolling through the Twitter app on my phone.

I scrolled through some posts. My feed was mostly filled with anime-related posts. Being a certified anime-obsessed individual(I might be joking about that) I soon became oblivious to the outside world. So one moment I sat there, typing quickly away at my phone, the next moment I heard thunder, and then I had ascended into the air.

I coughed. Everywhere was pitch black. I couldn't see a thing. I could feel shards of debris scratching against my skin, and there I stayed, in the air, alone and confused. This certainly wasn't what I had in mind all those times I begged the sky to turn me into a bird so that I could fly.

Then I felt a pair of warm hands encircle me, a little longer, a little leaner than Hyunsuk's. The next moment, we had landed on another roof I had never seen before. Treasure seemed to have a strange affinity with roofs. The boy who had saved me was Junghwan.

"Shhh," he whispered. He seemed to have lost all the nervousness he had shown before. Junghwan set me down, and walked to the roof's edge. 

"What's going on?" I asked him. Junghwan did not answer. I raised an eyebrow.

"I might have to leave you here for a bit," Junghwan said, as he placed his two hands into his jean pockets. "I'll come fetch you later." Without looking back, he jumped off the building. He summoned a whirlpool of water, which ferried him across the sky.

I watched, stunned, not knowing what to say. After that I heard some crashing sounds, and some explosions. Then Junghwan returned to my field of view, standing atop a pool of fiery flames, staring cockily at whatever was below him. He licked his lips, and moved his hand. I heard a scream in the distance.

Junghwan rejoined me on the roof shortly after. "I'm done," he said. He had gone back to being red, and refused to meet my eyes. "Sorry for the wait. The danger is over."

"What's that?" I pressured him curiously. "I got caught in this mess, right? I at least have the right to know what's happening to me."

Junghwan sighed. Still not meeting my eyes, he sat down, and allowed his legs to dangle over the rooftop. "I don't know how safe it is to tell you," he admitted. "You know Rin, the twelve Treasure boys...we did not get our powers by chance. We got it because something happened a very long time ago. I don't know how much I can divulge to you without putting your life in danger."

Despite how he had been acting, my heart felt like it was growing warmer after I heard his words. So he was trying to protect me. My instincts screamed that I did not need protection, but the truth was, I had no idea what I was up against. For one, I alone would never win against any of the twelve Treasure boys because they had their powers on their side. I did not want to make rash decisions and find myself stuck in some unescapable situation.

"By the way, if you want to know, the reason why those explosions and fire never get reported..." Junghwan said. "Well they either do, or Doyoung and Yedam work hard to erase memories. Jeongwoo gets the structures fixed. It's pretty great to have a team with so many superpowers. The three of them usually don't get to sleep for a while though."

What was Jeongwoo's power? I realised I had never asked. I should, if I ever see him again.

"Don't you want to see my hyungs fight?" Junghwan asked, turning around to look at me. "They're so cool."

"The fighting is not over?" I asked him.

"No, it almost is. I've done my share. They're just cleaning up. That is, applying the finishing move," Junghwan said. Curiously I walked over, but then I remembered my bungee jump experience. Subconsciously I took a few steps back.

"Scared of heights?" Junghwan asked me. He raised his hands. A circle of water surrounded me. "Trust me," he assured me, lifting me into the air, and bringing Yedam and Haruto into my field of view. I felt terrified, but at the same time, I felt like I could trust Junghwan to not send me plunging to my death. Not that I would mind, but fear was still crippling me up on the inside.

Below, something had been nearly entirely wrapped up in poison ivy. It struggled abit, and then it went limp. Yedam and Haruto withdrew the poison ivy, and where there should have been something, was now just empty air.

"What...is that supposed to be?" I asked.

"Shhh," I turned around, to see Junghwan hold a finger to his lips. "You will know if you have to. I would recommend you don't needlessly endanger yourself."

He set me back onto the rooftop. I hopped back, slightly relieved to be back on hard ground. I looked around me. The scenery was terrifying, but from the rooftop it looked like an entire different world from the one I knew.

"What's...out there?" I muttered. "Junghwan, do you know?"

"I wish I did," came his brusque reply. "Then perhaps I don't have to fear so much. No matter how terrifying reality is, you see, it will never be worse than your imagination."

I looked over at him. His hair fluffed up slightly in the wind as he stared quietly into the distance.

"We...the twelve Treasure boys may have to face our past...singular, because it's a common past that we all share, soon," Junghwan continued. "And you might become a mere bystander who gets herself unnecessarily entangled with it. Are you really willing to risk it?"

I looked at him, but he refused to look at me. He stared adamantly into the distance, looking at anything that isn't me. I wondered if he was really talking to me, or maybe someone out there I couldn't see. I did not answer his question.

"Well," Junghwan pushed himself up. "We should get back to the others. I hope you can make up your mind about whether you really want to join us or not." He raised his hand, and a whirlpool of water enveloped the both of us.

So he was talking to me.

"I..." I exclaimed. We paused, suspended unmovingly in the air. He met eyes with me for a second, turned red and looked away.

"Part of me thinks I should leave. That part of me was skeptical from the start, even now," I admitted. "I'm no protagonist at all. If I were in a story, I'll either be the incredibly cynical character who struggles with many mental burdens, or I'll be a bystander without a role in any story in the first place."

Junghwan remained quiet.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I wish I could be the noble protagonist who is always strong and optimistic. I wish I could be the type of person who can give strength to others simply by being myself. Then I could perhaps bring a good ending to your story."

"So you're leaving," Junghwan said quietly.

"Do you want me to?"

"It's up to you."

"But...I find it impossible to leave," I continued. "Everyday I ask myself, is this the right thing to do? Will I just make their situation worse? But for some reason, time and time again I turn up, and I subconsciously look out for of the twelve of you everywhere I go. Do you think I'm crazy?"

"A little," Junghwan admitted.

"Those times, when Hyunsuk looked so scared, and Doyoung looked so sad, and Jaehyuk has that bitter smile on his face, and Junkyu looked so lonely...and now you too...I couldn't live with myself if I left just like that, even though I know full well how naive and silly that statement is."

"Kindness will invariably bring your downfall."

"And that's okay. As long as people are happy--" I murmured.

"Junghwan! Sorry we're late, we were scouring the area to make sure that thing left nothing weird behind," Yedam said as he materialised onto the building. He went over and playfully hugged Junghwan. A short while later Haruto appeared. He had climbed here using his vines.

An innocent smile appeared on Junghwan's face. I blinked, surprised at his sudden change in personality.

"We did good, hyung!" He cheered happily. Haruto and Yedam began to playfully poke fun at him. I watched them silently, not knowing what to say, wondering if I had perhaps said too much again.