jinwoo
I TURN the hot water off and quickly grab my towel, drying off before throwing an old t-shirt and jeans on. I leave the shower room and move down the deserted hallway.
It's around five in the morning, so most people here are still sleeping. I can't sleep, though, so I decided to shower.
I walk into a small eating area. Minho is sitting at a table, a cup of coffee in front of him.
I sit down across from him, and his eyes gradually move from the coffee cup to my own eyes.
"Are you still worried about Seunghoon?"
Minho nods slowly. He speaks quietly. "There's no way no one saw me. And they probably saw my eyes too. Seunghoon probably already knows it was me and that I'm a Noctura. If he doesn't know now, he will soon. Someone will tell him. He'll figure it out."
I don't respond for a second. Instead, I let the silence thicken in the air around us.
"Is Yoon still talking to others?"
Once again, Minho nods.
As soon as we got to this Alliance base, Yoon got Minho and me rooms. He told us he wanted to check in with the people here and make sure this base is hidden better, so it's not discovered like the sixth sector base.
Mostly, we've just been sitting here.
What are we supposed to do now?
I know I used to be human, but a lab turned me into a Noctura more powerful than regular Nocturas.
The AAN saw us break Yoon out, so they're probably looking for us right now. That means we can't go back to Minho's house.
If the AAN is looking for us, we won't be able to live normal lives anymore. We're both fugitives.
Then, I realize something.
"This is all my fault."
Minho gives me a confused look. "What? What are you talking about?"
"If you hadn't saved me from that warehouse, none of this would've happened," I explain. "You wouldn't have had to risk your friendship to take care of me. You wouldn't have met Yoon or gotten involved in the Alliance. You wouldn't be hiding from the AAN and your best friend because you're a fugitive now. It's all my fault."
Minho doesn't respond for a long moment.
I'm right. He knows I'm right. He agrees.
Suddenly, he speaks up.
"Jinwoo, did you ask to be turned into a Noctura?" He doesn't let me respond. "Was it your choice to be forced into a Noctura fight in a warehouse that would burn down? Did you ask me to save you? This isn't your fault, Jinwoo. It's no one's fault. It's just a situation that we're in and we're trying to figure it out."
"But what about Seunghoon?"
"There was no way I could've gone my entire life without telling Seunghoon I'm a Noctura," Minho answers. "I guess now that he knows, I can see if he stills thinks of me the same way or not. In a way, it just shows me who Seunghoon really is."
"He's your best friend," I say quietly. "But he's also been trained by the AAN to hate and kill Nocturas."
Minho finally takes a sip of his coffee.
"I guess we'll just have to see what happens then," he says, after swallowing his coffee. "I guess there's really no point in worrying. Whatever happens, happens, right?"
Slowly, I nod.
Minho sighs. "I'm sorry, Jinwoo. I wish everything could be normal. But it's not. So, we have to figure out what to do next."
"What are we supposed to do next?"
"Right now, we stay here. Yoon will help us, too."
"Can we not stay here forever? It's a safe house for Nocturas."
"It is," Minho responds. "And I guess we could stay here. But I feel like we have a bigger part in the Alliance now."
I let out a small laugh. "I mean, we did just save the Alliance leader."
Minho lets out a small laugh, too.
I start laughing more, a soft laugh, and Minho joins in.
Despite the situation, it feels good to laugh.
We can't laugh forever, though.
Our laughing fades away and the silence engulfs us once again.
But the silence is quickly interrupted by slow footsteps.
I look over to see Yoon walking into the kitchen area. He's wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and gray sweatpants. He wears regular tennis shoes on his feet.
Yoon makes his way over to the table Minho and I are at. He pulls up a chair and sits on the end of the table.
"How are you two doing?"
Minho gives Yoon a halfhearted smile. "We're glad you're here, safe."
"It's just..." I trail off, glancing at Minho before continuing. "It's just that we think someone saw Minho and probably told Seunghoon and now he knows Minho is a Noctura and he's part of the Alliance."
Yoon nods. "It's very likely. Seunghoon has been raised to believe that all Nocturas are bad and that the species needs to be eradicated entirely. But..."
Minho perks up. "But?"
"But I think there's something inside of him that wants something different," Yoon answers. "I believe people are inherently good. Seunghoon was raised his entire life to believe in something that isn't right, but what he believes is right. But I think if he was taught enough about it, I think he might no longer hate Nocturas. I think he would want to help them."
"Really?" Minho asks. "You see that in him?"
"I do," Yoon responds. "I see it more in the girl, Teagan, but I think she's starting to influence him. Maybe if we influenced her, she could better influence Seunghoon. But don't worry about it, Minho. I may not be right. All you have to know is that if he really is your best friend, he's going to want to remain your best friend, no matter who you are."
"Yeah, well, his beliefs might be more important," Minho mutters.
"And that's for him to decide," Yoon tells Minho, reaching out to gently touch his arm. "You don't have a part in that. So, just try not to think about it too much, okay?"
Minho nods but doesn't respond verbally.
"Did you talk to some people?" I ask.
Yoon looks over at me and nods. "I did. They've shredded all paperwork that has evidence of who is a Noctura staying here and who isn't. We've taken more precautions to make sure this base won't be discovered. The few who got away from the sixth sector base are here, so I stopped by their rooms to make sure they're all doing well. Things seem to be doing fine here."
"That's good," I respond.
"What now?" Minho asks.
Yoon sighs. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. No one has heard word of Nephi running around, so I'm going to have to start searching for him."
"You're going out again?" I question.
"I have to," Yoon answers. "I'm not more wanted than I was before. The AAN has been looking for me ever since I put the Alliance video out. The only difference now is they're looking for you two as well."
"Do you think it's a good idea to go out, though?" Minho shakes his head. "They might be searching for us even more than they were searching for you before."
"Then so be it. I've got to find Nephi."
"He could be anywhere," I muse. "How do you even expect to find him?"
"I'll search until I find him," Yoon replies. "He's out there somewhere. And he's a smart kid. He'll go somewhere safe, if he's not already there."
"What about us?" I ask. "What are Minho and I supposed to do?"
"For right now, you two should stay here," Yoon tells us. "Help out around this base if you'd like, or just act as a guest here. I don't think either of you should be going out into the city at this point. The AAN has your faces and they're looking for you right now. They probably have your identity as well, Minho. Just lay low here until I find Nephi and bring him back here. Sound like a plan?"
Minho lets out a sigh. "Better plan that I could think of. We'll help out around this base. We're part of the Alliance now, Yoon."
Yoon gives us a determined nod. "Lay low here. You're safe here. I'll be back as soon as I find Nephi. If it's been too long, I'll contact you to let you know."
Minho and I both nod back.
Yoon looks into Minho's eyes for a second and then turns to mine. He gives us a small, determined smile before standing up and heading out of the kitchen.
"Maybe we should try to get some sleep," Minho says once Yoon has left. "I know you said you tried and couldn't, but maybe your mind is a little more at ease now. I think mine is."
I nod. "Yeah, we should try to sleep."
We walk out of the kitchen together and down the hallway full of rooms. We stop at my door first and Minho wishes me well and I say the same for him.
I go into my room. It's just a small room with a bed, a dresser, and a small nightstand with a lamp on it. There are no windows, because this base is underneath a disguise building, just like the one in the sixth sector was.
I crawl into bed on top of the sheets, lying on my back and staring up at the ceiling. I don't bother taking my jeans off or anything.
As I'm staring up at the ceiling, everything from yesterday and today starts to weigh on me. The weight is mostly in my eyelids, and they start to close over my eyes.
Eventually, everything goes dark as I let sleep take me.