C H A P T E R
F O R T Y - T W O
The street was busy, windows were foggy, and the steam from the baker's oven travelled to my nose. It had an mix of pleasant aroma. Cinnamon and apple pie. Cream and butter.
Ten and I were currently in a bakery. Right after the meeting was dimissed earlier, everyone went home. As for us, we passed by this place first in order to buy a take-out for Taeil. It was always his favorite, especially the bread rolls and the toasts.
I was drinking the cup of espresso that Ten gave to me, while he ordered at the cashier for the take-out. I was leaning over his bike and despite the street being dark, the motor was still shining, like newly-polished shoes.
I hid my medal underneath my coat, in order to conceal its light. A hand was sealed on top of my cup, to refrain snow from falling on my coffee.
There was a cyborg roaming around the street, carrying a brochure with her. The violet and pink glow of her circuits were very visible from my position, bringing a romantic luminescence in the air. She was advertising the Medborg - a unique design indeed. A spherical-shaped head, fingers that looked like screwdrivers, and a chest that had a texture of a pillow - but was way more durable. It had huge, oblate eyes; one that adjust in the darkness. Then, on top of its data sheets, was its price: amounting to a total of 115,000 neons.
I sipped another cup of coffee, before my mind wandered to the lunch from earlier.
I was constantly thinking about what's inside Ten's thoughts. Earlier, he was able to protect my identity. And on top of that, did he and Taeil really placed their cyborg orders? Or was it just an impromptu excuse for me to pass? But, that doesn't make sense. Ten doesn't even know that I'm Chipless. Or maybe that's just what I thought it was. Maybe Ten knew all along...? That I'm not who he thinks I am?
I heard the door from the bakery open, revealing Ten whose hands were full with paper bags that contain the breads.
"You bought way too many for Taeil," I said, finishing the coffee.
Ten smiled. "The others are for the DRM members, Sooji. And maybe Yuta would want some too. You know, the princeling may have missed Capital food."
I smiled for how thoughtful he was. Then he gave me his helmet, telling me that it's getting late and we need to go.
I nodded, still distracted. I wanted to open up to him. To ask him if he knows my secret and how he found it out. I licked my lips, watching the snow fall from the sky. I was about to say it; I had enough of hiding things from him. But some part of me was very terrified to reveal it. What if Sicheng finds out that I screwed it up -
"Sooji," Ten breathed. "It's okay. I already know."
I felt my eyes widen and my stomach churn. I couldn't look at him in the eyes. "How?" I asked softly.
After a long silence, I heard Ten ruffle to his clothes, as if he was searching for something. I squinted, my fingers twitching. Finally, Ten found it. He presented it to me with both of his hands.
"It's your Dectogem. You left it at the party," he said softly. "There was something wrong with it. I couldn't figure out what until I deconstructed it. You," he blinked. "Sooji, you changed its systems, didn't you? How long have you been using this? How long have you been tricking the police, the government? How long have you been tricking me...?"
"Ten."
"Then I went to Phase 13 and I-" he gulped. "I kind of looked through your files. They were so suspicious - almost all of them. They don't match with Sicheng's, and you're supposed to be siblings. I-I thought I was wrong. But at the meeting, when your hands were shaking, I could already tell it."
"Ten, it's... complicated. I was kidnapped from my Grandma's house when I was little. The Dongs took me in, trained me and then educated me. I may have lied to all of you b-but I am not a bad person. I was just so scared to tell the truth to you guys. I may not be a Neon, nor a Dong, but I'm still me."
Ten massaged his temples. "Idiot," he said. "What makes you say that?! Did you really think Taeil and I would judge you?"
"I was scared, okay?! Maybe you guys won't accept someone like me. Maybe you don't want a poor girl from outside as the Champion!"
"Oh god - Sooji - just," then his hand found its way on his hair, scratching it until it was a mess. "Look, no man is an island, haven't you heard of that? You can't keep everything to yourself! I don't care about what your chip is, or your origin, or your.." he bit his lower lip. "Sooji, I'll accept you no matter who you are. So snap out of that 'scared-of-being-accepted' crap. That piece of gem doesn't define a person."
"Ten, you say that but you don't mean it. You won't treat me the same."
His eyes flickered. "Take that back."
"It's the truth, if you knew that I wasn't the rich girl you thought I was, you wouldn't even spare me that kind of attention-!"
Ten cornered me on his bike, until my back hit it. His hand gripped the head of the motor while the other was on the seat's cushion, causing it to tilt a little, until I was entrapped between his body and the engine. He looked at me dead in the eyes and said those words again, this time with a more serious and intimidating tone, "Take. That. Back."
Still consumed by that idea, I whispered, "You won't like the real me."
As if to prove that I was wrong, Ten unhesitantly brought his lips to mine, giving it a firm yet gentle kiss. It was nothing like our first. He was pouring his emotions into this one. And I wasn't expecting to like it. But neither of us let the kiss lingered, since it wasn't an act of affection. It was an act of the sudden rush in the veins. A seal of trust between the two of us.
I heard the cars honking loudly.
Ten instantly moved away, realizing that we're in public, his cheeks a bit flushed. A speck of something flickered in his pale eyes; and then staring at my lips, he backed off. "I-I'm sorry. It was - I - for a moment - I - and - then... "
"I-It's okay," I replied awkwardly, staring at my boots.
After a moment of silence, Ten cleared his throat, dismissing what happened instantly. "Wear the helmet and get in the bike. It's time for you to go back to the woods."
______
It took me a few hours to get back to the DRM's headquarters. I brought the Dectogem along with me, two models, one that was working and the other being the one that I manipulated. Ten said I might use it. He also told me to be extra-careful.
The boys didn't do anything out-of-ordinary today. Mark and Donghyuck were constructing an immitation model of the goggles. They were completely immersed into it.
Jeno and Renjun were scanning the kitchen cabinets to look for something to cook. Chenle and Jisung were on the couch, watching a channel which, coincidentally, was talking about the Medborg. Jungwoo and Yuta were on a table, talking with each other.
"Hey," I greeted. "I brought some food."
"Did someone say food?!" Chenle screamed from the other side of the room.
Then, not more than a minute, everyone gathered around the table. A brush of fondness swept my feelings, slowly growing attached with the boys around.
"Finally, something decent to eat," Donghyuck said.
"Says the one who almost burned this place down," Renjun muttered.
Donghyuck rolled his eyes, but he didn't deny it.
Mark was munching. "Oh my god! I missed this bread so much!"
"There are crumps on the corner of your mouth, Mark Lee," Yuta said as he took a bite.
Jungwoo giggled at that. Before Mark could wipe the crumps away with the sleeve of his clothes, Donghyuck was able to take a photo of him.
Flash.
Mark noticed it, of course. His eyes widen, ears turnung red, as he screamed. "Hey, delete that, you - !"
"So," I interrupted calmly. "No weapon-testing held for today? And Jisung? Is your head feeling better now? I heard you got an accident yesterday."
"Hmhm," he nodded rapidly. "It was nothing, really."
"Be more extra-careful next time," I said.
Jisung just nodded silently and continued munching. Chenle whispered something to him. There's something wrong with them today...
"How is your day?" I asked everyone in general.
"Boring," Donghyuck whined. "We really really reaaally want to go out. We were talking about it the entire day, about the world outside -- "
"No, we don't!" Jeno said. "W-we didn't," then his voice grew so, so soft.
I pursed my lips together. "Are you guys hiding something from me?"
"Nothing!" Mark laughed, but it was a humorless one. "Nothing," he repeated, "right guys?"
I lifted a brow and looked at Yuta. "Yuta? You're the oldest one here. Tell me what's happening."
"As what they said," Yuta replied. "Nothing."
"Jungwoo?" I diverted my attention to the other man.
"Um," he blinked. "Everyone was just watching television and building some stuffs. Nothing worth mentioning."
I couldn't say that I was convinced by their answers, but I believed them.
The next twenty minutes passed by with the boys eating the take-outs and talking about some cool stuffs they saw from TV. All the while, I couldn't wait for the next day to come already. Sicheng. I need to talk to Sicheng.
"Which Phase is the best?" Renjun asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity. It took me a couple of while to process that they were talking about the Capital.
Yuta smirked and answered. "Phase 8."
"What is in there?" Chenle said.
"The greatest and worst moments in your life," Yuta said. "A rollercoaster. Sometimes you feel so high, and then suddenly so down."
"It's a party place," I said. "A place that kids don't belong to. Even I am not so fond of it. Party lights. Holograms. Crazy beverages. Troublesome people. It's tiring."
"Sounds way better than staying in the woods," Donghyuck said.
Mark glared at him, and the younger boy replied with a 'what?'.
"How about you, Sooji?" Chenle asked me with sparkly eyes. "What's your favorite Phase?"
I hummed. "Phase 2, I guess. It's a library of information. There are many interesting stuffs there. You can find any books that you want."
"Boring," muttered Donghyuck.
"Hey, it's not. Books are actually very cool!" Jeno said. "There were some old books in the orphanage back then. Hidden in the attic. Stocked mysteriously like... wow."
"There is?" Jisung said.
Jeno paused for a while before continuing, "Yes. You guys don't know because you never helped clean the orphanage! J-Jaemin, Jeena, and I discovered it when we were dusting the ceiling. There's a secret ladder that leads to the attic!"
"What?! W-With Jeena? And you guys never told me!" Donghyuck said as his cheeks heated up.
"I thought you said books were boring, Donghyuck," Jeno said, almost rolling his eyes.
"H-Hey guys," Renjun muttered silently. "Shouldn't we keep our voice down?"
"Why?!" Jeno and Donghyuck said in unison.
Renjun's shoulders sagged. "Um. Do you remember the last time, when we were at Sooji's birthday party. We were really loud, and Ten said something about 'not arguing'. Because..."
"Because of what?" Mark asked.
"Because of the... spirits? Legends say that bright lights and noises attract them. What if we...?"
"Relax, kid," Yuta said. "It wasn't real."
"But... But... "
"If anyone does barge in a house in the middle of the woods, it would be a wolf." Yuta was supposed to say it as a joke but instead, it frightened the boys even more. They looked like their souls had drained out of their bodies.
Yuta, seeing the results, just smirked. He really enjoys scaring the hell out of people, doesn't he? When he said that fear helps you gain power, he's not supposed to be talking about this kind of fear.
"He burst into the house and ate Grandma, an entirely valid course of action for a carnivore such as himself," Yuta said, quoting that famous excerpt from the book called Red Riding Hood.
Jeno seemed to get the reference, since his body was the one that shivered the most. Jisung and Chenle were literally clutching each other.
Yuta tried to hold back his laughter. "I love that sound," he continued on, now quoting what the wolf said to Red. "I love it when you make that sound."
Then there was it. Two knocks coming from the door. No one expected it, not even Yuta. Everyone's face turned pale. We first thought we were imagining it, not until the next knocks followed: louder and more aggressive than the last.
"What...the...hell..." Jeno said in disbelief. His second experience. Mine too. And it struck the both of us, more than the first.
"IknewitIknewitIknewit," Renjun muttered mindlessly, hands digging into his fluffy dark hair.
I turned to Yuta, "Is this a prank? Because it's not funny!"
"It's not, Soo, I swear-"
Mark stood up from his chair. "I'll go check the cameras outside," he tried to act composed, but his throat seemed very tense. "Don't open the door."
Then he went to his room to check the CCTVs. The ones who were left on the table - us - were just facing each other, not muttering a word.
A while later, we could hear tiny footsteps growing louder, until Mark reappeared on the doorway.
"Shit," he said, panting. "It's a cyborg."
__________
A/n:
Thoughts? :)
How are your ships now? Lol :) Still in tact?
Btw, a minor spoiler, there will be a homosexual couple in this book. 👀 hhhHhmmm. I wonder who... hohoho. so, if you're homophobic or anything then shooshoo 👋
And guyssss Ten wrecked me so bad at their Regular dance practice huhu. And have you seen Hendery and Yangyang's kick? Whoaaah. All of them are main dancers istg. Stan Wayv everyone!! And Winwin got the screeentime that he deserves in their dance practice ✨ ughhhh my boy.<3