폭풍
"ITS YOU?"
Jungkook's raw voice rang in Mina's ears as she stared back at him in bewilderment, her brain going absolutely blank. It can't be, she repeated. No, no, no.
"Jungkook..." her voice came out in nearly a whisper, her entire body from head to toe overwhelmed from shock and weakness. The exhaustion she felt reminded her of the situation they were in, in Shadow's fingertips, their identities just revealed to the city and to each other. Not to mention, the true identity of her partner was revealed to be the love of her life, who she had fought alongside for months. He was right there, always, right under her nose and she never knew. This is a nightmare.
"M-Mina, what do we do?" Jungkook asked, his arm leaning on the glass frame as he blinked heavily, barely able to process the situation in his mind. The pod was draining his power, and it was almost as if he was floating in and out of consciousness.
"We... We have to get out of here," she breathed out, stepping back and trying her best to muster enough energy to look around her pod, looking for a way out once again. A small lightbulb clicked in her head as she saw the rod sticking out, her now useless bracelet hanging off of the magnet, almost taunting her.
She grunted as she planted her hands on it, clenching her fists before pulling on it. She concentrated just enough, her entire body screaming for help, pleading her to stop but she kept pulling, and pulling until it broke off. She heaved, shoving it into the small crack between the glass and the pod, wedging it in and leaning her entire body onto it, grunting loudly. Jungkook watched her through heavy eyelids, his legs officially having given out as he fell to his knees.
The glass door of Mina's pod popped open, and a sigh of relief fell out of her mouth as she collapsed onto the floor, taking deep breaths. The draining feeling was gone; but she still felt utterly weak, her body slowing itself down. She then realized that the cameras were still on, broadcasting this live for the entire city to see. Weakly looking toward the camera, she rose her hand, wincing from the difficulty until suddenly, a weak string of energy flew from her fingertips, awkwardly transmitting through the air until it hit the camera, breaking it and sending it toppling onto the ground.
A knock on Jungkook's glass door brought her back into her head, and she crawled across the cement floor, grabbing onto the latch and pulling it open. Jungkook immediately fell out of it, landing in Mina's lap as he heaved for air, his lungs working slower and his mind almost turned to mush.
Mina coughed as she helped Jungkook up onto his feet, grabbing his arm and wrapping it around her shoulder as she stumbled on her own feet.
"It's been you this entire time," Jungkook panted, turning his head to her and watching her shake her head as she tried to catch her breath.
"We don't have time to talk about this now," Mina told him. "We have to go."
Mina stepped toward the door, practically keeping Jungkook on his feet as she turned the knob. They were in a warehouse, empty and dark, a few hanging ceilings lights barely enough the light up the large space. It reeked of cement and gas, a combination that made her head ache, especially considering the thundering storm outside.
"This is where Shadow's been working," Mina widened her eyes in realization.
"So where the hell is he?" Jungkook coughed as he fixed his arm around her shoulder, his feet dragging on the ground.
"I don't know. We have to retreat, we're too vulnerable," she said before they walked toward the open garage door, seeing the rain harshly pour outside.
They walked out and into the rain, and they looked out, seeing a place they didn't recognize. Mina blinked through the water dripping from her eyelashes, feeling her hair become drenched.
"I might have enough energy to fly us away from here," she said, taking Jungkook's arm off of her shoulder before quickly wrapping it around her waist. "Hold on," she said, her voice laced with uncertainty before she put her hands out, trying to conjure the last of her energy in her body, sighing of relief when her hands begin to glow purple, except it was weaker than normal.
They unsurely lifted off of the ground, and Mina took a deep breath before flying away, Jungkook holding on tightly as they flew through the rain.
From up there, Mina could see the mall, and their school in the short distance. Marina City was a quite small city, but Mina was hoping that it was smaller as she tried to keep herself and Jungkook in the air.
Passing the streets below, the sounds of a few citizens shouting up at them caught their attention.
"It's Lee Mina!"
The sound of her name had her faltering, and before she knew it, she began to feel extremely weak, as if her power level had finally reached zero, and her hands ceased to glow mid-air.
They began to free fall downward, aiming toward the rooftop parking lot of the mall, empty and wide. Jungkook's grip around her waist loosened, and within a second, he detached from her. Mina looked at him in panic, reaching for his hand but just barely touching it, and they began to fall apart from one another, the heavy rain splattering on their skin.
They harshly landed on the concrete of the rooftop mall, sliding across the puddles as they shouted out in pain.
The storm rained on them as they laid on the ground, panting from their harsh landing.
Mina's eyes fluttered closed, her mind still awake as her body grew weaker, almost unable to move as she laid on her side. She was exhausted, having spent the last of her energy that wasn't drained from the pod, given her escape. She felt the raindrops break on her skin, the sound of it echoing in her ears as she breathed heavily.
"Mina," Jungkook's scratchy voice meshed with the sound of the rain, hearing his unsteady footsteps in the puddles around her. "Mina, are you okay?"
Mina's eyes remained closed, even when she felt her body get picked up, and put into what it felt like Jungkook's lap.
Jungkook scanned her face in horror, seeing the large cut on her forehead and her bleeding lip that she had gotten from the impact, almost mirroring the deep cut on his own cheek. His entire body was in pain, but he couldn't even care about it as he held her tightly.
"Mina, please, wake up," he whispered as he placed his shaky hand on her cheek, feeling the coldness of her skin as he trembled. "Please."
The rain continued to fall.
-
The familiar smell of green tea was the first thing she noticed when Mina awoke, her eyelids slowly opening. The ceiling was tinted with orange, most likely from a lamp in the room she was in. Pots were clanging and clattering somewhere, and from the overall familiar feeling of this room, she knew exactly where she was.
"Mina, you're awake," a voice filled her ears as she saw Jungkook hover over her, previously sitting beside her. She was laying on a futon in Master's living room, the curtains drawn and creating a darkness in the room that was somehow calming.
She blinked at the sight of Jungkook, her eyes adjusting to the boy, two Hello Kitty bandaids on his cheek. Furrowing her eyebrows, she immediately felt the discomfort in her body, especially in her head as the memories flooded her mind.
Realizing the situation, her body shot up, startling Jungkook as he fell onto his bottom, watching her rise on her feet and nearly stumble into Master's furniture.
"Master!" she called out, heading toward the kitchen where she heard the pots clattering. "Master," she breathed out when she found him in front of the sink, washing his dishes.
"Mina, you are awake," he hummed calmly, cleaning the rest of the dishes and wiping his hands. "Are you feeling okay?"
Jungkook had joined them in the kitchen, standing a few feet away from Mina as he watched her carefully.
"Master, our identities were revealed to the city. To each other, I mean, w-what are we going to do?" she said frantically, running a hand through her hair that was still a bit wet. She was in the same wet clothes, slightly drier but still a bit uncomfortable from the way they stuck to her skin.
"I know, I saw the broadcast and Jungkook explained everything to me," Master said with a sigh. "This isn't good. Jungkook was right to bring you here, where you can stay low for the rest of today. I have to go down to my storage locker and find something that might help us."
Mina nodded, her head low as Master walked out of the kitchen, and she stayed there until she heard the front door close. She buried her head in her hands, feeling the bandaid on her forehead from the cut she had gotten.
"Mina, everything's going to be okay," Jungkook hesitantly spoke up, hoping to calm her a bit. She swiftly turned to him, giving him an incredulous look.
"Everything's going to be okay? Our secret identities were just revealed to the whole city, and Shadow, and now we're never going to be safe, and nothing will ever be the same!" Mina cried out before walking back to the living room. Jungkook persistently followed, his eyebrows furrowed.
"This is what Shadow wants, to weaken us and attack us, but we have to stay strong," Jungkook said firmly, immediately receiving a scoff from her.
"Jungkook, look at us! He's already weakened us! We can barely use our powers, he knows who we are, along with our friends and families. How are you so unbothered by this?" Mina raised her eyebrows at him, almost offensively.
"Trust me, I'm definitely not unbothered!" Jungkook exclaimed. "I know damn well that our friends and our families are very much in danger, and it's because of us!"
Mina grew quiet with a sigh, shutting her eyes. She did not have the energy to argue with him further.
"Did you tell anybody?" Jungkook asked quietly, just in case. Because there was no way she told anyone, right?
"Only Bitna."
It was Jungkook's turn to be offended.
"What? Bitna knew and I, your partner, didn't? Don't you think I would have been more important to tell? Hell, weren't you the one who was so keen on hiding our secret identities?" Jungkook widened his eyes at her, watching as she looked away shamefully.
"I had to tell her to get out of a situation. When her mother became a villain and I was stuck in a bathroom with Bitna," she muttered before she suddenly turned to look at him. "Actually, to think about it, I had to tell her because you never showed up."
"I was being dangled on a chain!"
"This isn't important," Mina quickly cut him off before the room could get more heated. "We shouldn't be arguing."
"It all makes sense," Jungkook said, staring at an empty space, his voice softer. "Why Raven didn't show up at the fashion show after a while, or when Jimin became evil. You were already there."
Mina let her own mind wander to the number of times she wondered where Firedrake was while Jungkook was right there with her during a villain situation. The day of the soccer game, Jungkook's birthday party...
She shook the memories out of her head, looking up at Jungkook who still seemed deep in thought. "Listen, we have to pretend everything is normal at school. Even if people go up to you at school, act normal. This is just something we're going to have to deal with," she told him, her voice shaky and fragile. Jungkook looked up at the tone of her voice, his face softening at her conflicted expression.
"Mina..."
"Go home to your family. They're probably worried sick," Mina told him before walking toward the door. Jungkook's eyes widened as stepped forward, trying to follow her.
"What about you? Where are you going? What about Master?" Jungkook asked, and Mina's hand paused on the doorknob, letting out a sigh.
"I need to be alone."
With that, she left the small apartment, leaving a despondent Jungkook alone as he stood in the warm room. But still, it felt cold without her.
-
It was deep in the night when Mina walked up to her house gates, her feet dragging on the pavement as the moon shined through the calmed thin clouds. When she had left Master's house, it was barely sunset, and if she had flown home, she would've been there within five minutes. However, she had absolutely no energy, and her powers were barely able to be used.
Flying was quick; walking was another story, one that Mina was able to learn. It was especially difficult while trying to avoid anyone finding her walking on the streets, consistently taking back and hidden roads.
Weakly, she rose her arm, pressing the pad of her finger into the buzzer, hearing it chime until the intercom was turned on.
"Mina? Oh my goodness!" Yeojeong worriedly cried through the intercom, right before the gates began to open. Mina sluggishly walked in, glancing up at her mansion and internally bracing herself for the storm that was heading her way within those walls.
Before she could make it to the front door, it opened, revealing a concerned Yeojeong. She was quick to climb down the steps, her heels clacking on the concrete before she made it to Mina, helping her inside as quickly as she could. "Oh, Mina," she sighed as they walked through the door.
Mina blinked heavily, her head hung low as if she had come home after curfew and she was about to be grounded. Except this was much worse, being an exposed superhero under the most strict man in the entire city; her father.
"You have some explaining to do," a deep voice faintly rang in her ears and she hesitantly looked up to see her father standing at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer, arms crossed expectantly. He nodded Yeojeong off, giving her the hint to walk away, which she did uncertainly.
Mina furrowed her eyebrows slightly, her mind in a haze and unwilling to put up with her father after this hellish day. She swallowed, her throat scratchy before mumbling. "What's there to explain, father?" she asked as she stepped toward the stairs, boldly passing her father and making his eyebrows furrow in frustration.
"Everything," his loud and impatient voice echoed in the wide foyer as he watched her walk up the stairs. "Don't push me away," he said firmly.
Mina's feet stopped on the steps, her shoulders heaving from already being physically exhausted. The words registered in her head, making her clench her jaw, the lump in her throat growing as a thick tension cut through the room.
"Don't push me away?" Mina lowly chuckled, turning her head slightly and making eye contact with her father. "That's rich coming from you."
"What are you talking about?" Sungyun furrowed his eyebrows deeply.
Mina almost laughed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't even try to pretend you don't," she scoffed before continuing up the stairs, until Sungyun's frustrated voice filled the room.
"Everything I do is to protect you!" he shouted. "You're my daughter."
"Oh, am I?" Mina exclaimed radically, turning her body around, her hand landing on the handrail to keep her on her feet. "Where was that attitude when Mother died?"
Sungyun's face softened, and for the first time, he was left speechless. "Mina..."
"You weren't there when I needed you the most," Mina's voice cracked, her emotions no longer being able to be held back, the tears pricking in her dark eyes. "Don't talk about trying to protect me, because you and I both know it's bullshit," she spat before turning around, hurrying up the stairs, not letting her father could see the tears sliding down her cheeks.
She stomped into her room, slamming the door shut, hearing it thunder through the house. Except the storm wasn't over yet.