CHAPTER 01
: SMOKEY SITUATION.
"Wait wait wait." Seungmin stated, accusingly pointing a chip in Jeongin's direction. "You're telling me, some cosplaying weirdo-"
"Spiderman." Hyunjin supplied, not even looking up from his phone.
Seungmin, like most times, ignored him, "Swooped down- literally swooped down- and saved you from muggers?"
"Uh yup." The youngest of the group replied, lazily playing with the hem of his blazer.
Jisung just stared at him in shock, "And you're not even a little traumatised."
"It's not like they were good muggers." Jeongin snorted, receiving a grim look from Seungmin.
"Are you really okay?" He asked, concerned, "It's okay to be scared."
Jeongin gazed up at his friend with a soft look, appreciating the love they had for him. But it was just like what he told his parents, he was genuinely fine. The initial fear he had felt for the muggers all but evaporated as soon as one of them opened their mouths, not to mention as soon as spiderman came to the rescue, it was like some badly directed short film.
He smiled though, "I promise I'm fine. Better question, how was the championship?"
Seungmin, thankfully, gave him a reassuring grin before delving into a story about how the championships were, starting with a surprised sounding 'we actually got in the top 5 this year!'
Not that their swim team was bad, it just...wasn't the best. Especially compared to the other teams in the area. Jeongin had been on the team since he was 10 and was a very promising member, but was technically still in the junior division because he was still in high school. Seungmin, Jisung and Hyunjin on the other hand, were actual members who competed for the very first time this year.
"It's all because of those new kid!" Jisung piped up, "You should have seen him Jeongin, he was practically flying in the water."
Jeongin frowned at that, a petty distaste in his mouth.
He knew the new member, a kid from Sydney. As far as he knew the swimmer, Chan, was already a championship winner, landing a spot on the team as soon as he walked through the door. Jeongin had initially hated him with a fiery passion, but it was really hard to hate someone who was so nice. Chan had offered to buy everyone on the team pizza. Pizza! An actual angel.
Chan's younger brother however, not so much. Given that Jeongin hadn't met him yet, he had to base his assumptions of the shit talk that happens in the lockers. Which isn't fairly often, the team is filled with a bunch of warm hearted kids, who're nothing but respectful.
But sometimes, even they get annoyed.
"I just don't understand!" Minho shouted once a couple weeks ago, looking so distressed he was about to pass out, "How can someone who looks fit, be so slow. He can't even swim in a straight line!"
Jeongin winced internally, "Chan did good I take it?" He asked instead, hoping his smile wasn't too forced.
Hyunjin, finally looking up from his phone, sprung up instantly- nearly knocking Jisung and his box of chicken wings off the table.
"That's the thing!" He shouted hysterically, and Jeongin leaned back a little shaken, "Chan didn't even swim for all his races!"
"What?" Jeongin questioned, "But you won?"
Jisung pouted, "We aren't that bad."
"That's not what I meant you doof." The youngest clarified, no malice in his words, "It's just- wasn't Chan swimming for like...everything?"
"He was supposed to swim for the 100m butterfly, 100m breast stroke and the 100m free style. But guess what?!" Seungmin all but shouted.
Jeongin opened his mouth to guess, but was promptly cut off by Seungmin, "He only swam the butterfly!"
"Then who swam the rest?"
Jisung angrily shoved a chicken wing into his mouth, "Fewix."
"FedEx?" Jeongin asked, only for the actual name to pop into his head only a millisecond later, "Wait- Felix? As in, Chan's younger brother?!"
"I know rwight! Unbewiable!" He shouted around his full mouth, Seungmin looked away in disgust.
Jeongin's frown only grew, "But I thought he was just a back up?!"
"Chan couldn't swim after his freestyle because he heart his ankle, and no one else was even ready to go! So the couch just- kinda pushed him into the pool. We had all assumed we were gonna lose anyway." Hyunjin informed, and Jeongin mouth was about to touch the floor.
"But he's- you know, not exactly..." he stuttered, not wanting to degrade someone on his team, no matter how horrible they were.
"Shit?" Seungmin replied bluntly, "So did we! Until he got in the fucking pool- it was like...he was completely different person!"
"As soon as he dived in he zoomed past all the other teams, it was unreal!"
"I swear he nearly beat the all time championship record- like what the fuck dude?" Hyunjin asked incredulously, "How did he become fucking Michael Phelps or some shit?!"
"He didn't even show up to practise most the time, we just assumed he realised he wasn't cut out for championship- but boy were we wrong. Oh also-" Jisung added in, "He got ripped dude, like he grew abs over night. I swear he didn't have any last month- but now he-"
"Fire! Oh my god!" A lady shouted at the front of the small chicken and chip shop, all the teenagers jumping out of their booth immediately.
Seungmin sucked in a breath, gripping Hyunjin's arm to pull him away, "Holy-"
There was undoubtedly a wave of fire flowing out the kitchen door, black smoke filling the air around them. Jeongin could only watch in horror, Jisung taking in a deep breath of anxiety only to break out into a coughing fit.
"I'll call the fire brigade-" Hyunjin shouted, reaching into his sweat pants pockets to pull out his phone, "You guys need to-"
"Wait! Someone's in there!" The same lady who had noticed the fire shouted, "I think it's the cook! He's still-"
"Fuck fuck fuck- oh my god! Who need to do something!" Jeongin shouted, holding onto Jisung's arm as he coughed from his chest, the smoke getting to him.
"Hey! Hyunnnn- uh- boys!" A deep and familiar voice shouted from he doorway,
"Get that kid out of here- he's got asthma, remember?" They said in a tone that made Jeongin feel guilty to his stomach, completely forgetting about their friend. Immediately, Jeongin pushed Jisung behind him, hoping even the little bit of space would help him. Frantically, Jeongin looked towards the source of the voice.
There, in all his glory, stood spiderman, holding a fire hydrant. He briefly paused and gave the group of shocked boys a glance, before he all but jumped into the kitchen.
"No!" Seungmin screamed, as Jeongin let out a distressed yelp when the flames all but swallowed the hero, and smoke flew out like bees in a hive.
"You heard him!" Hyunjin bellowed, the sound of sirens closing in, "We need to get out!"
It was only after everything had calmed down and the boys were cuddled up in an ambulance under thick grey blankets, did Jisung wonder how spiderman new he was asthmatic.
Jeongin just stared at the up at a nearby building, wondering if it was a man perched at the top or his imagination getting the better of him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
damn, this spiderman
guy- i wonder who he
is 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
and what drugs has the
new kid felix been
taking, now that he
suddenly has abs 🤨🤨🤨
so many hard questions,
i wonder when we'll get
the answers to them 🤷🏽♀️
━━━━━━━━━━━━
―SAKI.
29/05/19