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hit me with your psi-blast! ꨄ.. ⠀⠀taesan x f! reader. as part of the xs and os x-men au series!

synopsis: dongmin is your enemy - in every sense of the word. with the intersquad tournament coming up, there's only one thing in your mind - crush han dongmin once and for all, even if it comes with fireworks and explosions. (wc 15.3k) tags: enemies/rivals to lovers, x-men au. a/n: you can read woonhak & sungho's fic set in the same universe here!

WEEK ONE, WEDNESDAY (4PM): X-MANSION LIBRARY

you were going to kill han dongmin, revive him, and kill him again.

“wow, thinking about me like that? you really are obsessed with me,” dongmin smirks from across you, the chess piece still floating in the middle of his palm.

“make your fucking move,” you seethe, staring at the checkerboard.

dongmin places down his piece, “checkmate.”

you resist the urge to lunge across the table and choke him out.

“woah,” dongmin dramatically winces, pulling back in mock hurt as he wraps his arms around himself, “i didn’t know you were into freaky stuff like that.”

“[y/n], no!” chaewon grabs you before you telekinetically flip the table in your anger and wring dongmin’s neck out like a towel, “no killing dongmin!”

“let me at him!” you yell.

“that man is not worth an expulsion to the pit!” yunjin grabs your arms in an attempt to subdue you.

you freeze suddenly, and dongmin blinks innocently at you, a smile curving onto his face.

“you know what? you’re so right, yunjin. he is so not worth being sent to the pit.”

you sit back in your chair and chaewon breathes out a loud sigh of relief.

“i’ll just make sure he’s in the right place at the right time next time we’re playing whack-a-mole in the danger room.”

you crack your knuckles and dongmin smirks.

“yeah? i’d like to see you try.”

WEEK ONE, THURSDAY (9AM): CLASSROOM 530

“alright class, settle down,” professor kwon announces, his tablet glowing as he begins to shakily write words on the chalkboard - fighting with, against, and using telepathy and the likes, the thin piece of chalk too fragile within his claws, “from our last session, what are the three cardinal rules of telepathic combat?”

your hand shoots up immediately, but dongmin’s smug voice echoes in your head before you can speak.

don’t strain yourself, dummy. i’ll handle this one. he drawls as he raises his hand up as well.

i will end you. your mind voice seethes.

“mr han, since you seem so eager, please share with the class.”

dongmin leans back in his chair two rows behind you - you can feel his satisfaction and smugness radiating like heat from a stove, “maintain your shields, never force entry into a guarded mind, and always have an exit strategy.”

“perfect. good job, mr. han.”

you twist around in your seat to glare at him. he wiggles his fingers in a mocking wave. woonhak sweats between the two of you and pretends not to notice your obvious stare by staring down at the table.

“miss [l/n], please face forward,” professor kwon sighs, “it’s been two years, i swear, you two are still the same. you never learn.”

“professor! it’s not my fault he’s an irritating, grade-grubbing, unethic -”

“that was not an invitation to tell us about your personal and interrelational grievances,” professor kwon interrupts, tapping his chalk against his whiteboard. you clench your fists as you deflate in your seat.

beside you, chaewon scribbles furiously in her notebook and slides it over: you’re going to give yourself a mental aneurysm before finals.

yunjin leans over from your other side, whispering, “twenty bucks they make out by the winter ball.”

“what?!” you yelp out loud. your cheeks burn. you hadn’t been thinking about that. not exactly. maybe once - in a nightmare.

the entire classroom turns to stare at you.

professor kwon pulls down his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose, “detention. both of you. next friday after combat training.”

“me?” dongmin points a finger at himself, clueless, “but i didn’t do anything? she was the one who yelled out loud.”

“no, you definitely did something,” professor kwon gives a knowing look and shakes his head, offering no further clarification or information, much to dongmin’s chagrin.

WEEK ONE, THURSDAY (12PM): THE QUAD

“i fucking hate han dongmin,” you fume, aggressively stabbing your pasta, “i can’t believe he got me detention.”

kazuha pats your shoulder sympathetically while eunchae tries not to giggle into her sandwich.

“to be fair,” chaewon says diplomatically, “you both kind of brought this on yourselves.”

“absolutely not” you whip your head around to stare at her, “he started it! he’s always in my mind, always one-upping me in class, always -”

“living rent-free in your head?” yunjin grins like a cat.

you launch a cherry tomato at her with your mind. she squeals and dodges.

across the quad, you can see dongmin’s squad lounging under their usual tree. donghyun is explaining something, the birds perched on his finger animatedly performing what seems like the world’s most dramatic reenactment of romeo and juliet while woonhak laughs so hard he nearly falls off the bench. dongmin, infuriatingly, is already looking directly at you.

he raises his juice box in a mock toast.

enjoy your lunch, partner, his voice purrs through your mental link. next time, don’t get us into detention?

it’s not like i wanted to, you mutter.

i think you just want to spend more one-on-one time with me, dongmin arches an eyebrow at you, tantalising smirk dancing on his face.

you slam your mental shields up.

kazuha shakes her head as you stab your fork through the container of your pasta, the aluminium no match for your rage.

eunchae snorts, “[y/n] so going to murder him by the winter ball.”

“the winter ball is in, like, a month,” chaewon points out.

“exactly.”

WEEK TWO, WEDNESDAY (2PM): DANGER ROOM

“alright, everyone,” sakura claps her hands, “today we’re doing something you all will be quite familiar with. individual assessment in the danger room. whack-a-mole scenario.”

the class groans collectively.

“and for anyone new or somehow forgot over the summer,” sakura continues, “this is a free-for-all simulation. the arena floor will randomly generate blocks that drop from above or shoot up from below. your job is simple: don’t get squished. last person standing wins.”

this is barbaric, kazuha mumbles through your mental link.

tell me about it, yunjin groans.

remember chaewon’s trip and flip? eunchae giggles.

hey! chaewon says indignantly. i thought we promised we weren’t going to bring that up ever again! that block was in my blind spot!

“in the field, threats come from everywhere,” sakura says diplomatically, like she heard your grievances through your telepathy, “you need to maintain constant awareness. use whatever abilities you have. adapt or get eliminated.”

“define eliminated?” woonhak asks nervously, fiddling with his fingers.

“the blocks are simply a simulation. they’ll stop a few centimeters from actual contact and register you as ‘out’. but they’re programmed to feel real, so i suggest not testing them,” sakura smiles mysteriously, “any questions?”

yunjin raises her hand, “are we allowed to sabotage each other?”

“of course,” sakura says, too breezily, “all’s fair in this game. this is about survival and tactics, after all.”

you can’t help but glance across the prep area. dongmin is already looking at you, and his smirk makes you want to put him through a paper shredder until he’s mush.

confident? his voice slides into your mind, smug as ever.

incredibly, you counter. remember when you said you’d like to see me try to get you?

vaguely, dongmin drawls, i don’t really remember such insignificant things.

you grit your teeth. watch yourself, han dongmin. today’s the day i destroy you.

you’re welcome to try. but you might want to worry about your own survival first.

oh, i can multitask.

“everyone, the danger room is open!” sakura calls, “you have a minute to find your starting positions. once the simulation begins, blocks will begin spawning. they will get faster and more frequent as time goes on. good luck!”

the door hisses open. the arena is set up as a wide open space. no cover, nowhere to hide. just a flat expanse where blocks can spawn from any direction without warning.

twenty students fan out across the floor, eyeing each other warily.

you position yourself near the center - for maximum awareness of the space. dongmin, naturally, takes a position directly across from you. even from here, you can feel the subtle prod of his attention focused on you through the permanent mental link you and him somehow have.

you’re staring, you project.

just making sure i know where you are. for when the blocks start dropping, he replies casually.

thoughtful. you know - i’m really going to enjoy watching you get flattened.

“begin!” sakura’s voice echoes through the chamber.

for exactly three seconds, nothing happens.

then the first block drops.

it’s massive, easily two meters across, and it falls from the ceiling with terrifying speed, aimed directly for a student near the east wall. they barely manage to roll away in time as the block slams into the floor with a loud, echoing, metallic clang before disappearing into pixels.

two more blocks shoot up from the floor simultaneously. one student gets clipped and vanishes in a flash of light - eliminated.

“nineteen left!” sakura announces.

the blocks start coming faster. drop from above. shoot from below. sometimes it gets quirky and does both at once. donghyun jogs after a dog that trots across the floor far too leisurely for the situation and gets nicked, disappearing into pixels. you telekinetically nudge a block away from you and scan the space with your mind, simultaneously juggling perspectives from a few select students. woonhak is yelling triumphantly in his mind about how his powers are suddenly in sync with what he needs. eunchae is standing in the corner and actively hacking the simulation with her technology manipulation so none of the blocks even dare touch her. chaewon is repeating don’t trip like a mantra in her mind. you learn to dodge left, sidestep right, and throw up a telekinetic shove if a block or person gets too close.

and out of the corner of your eye, you can always see han dongmin.

his reflexes are good - infuriatingly so. he’s always moving right before a block appears, like he can sense them coming. he hasn’t even broken a sweat.

tired? he projects mockingly, i can feel your mental signal around the entire room.

he dodges three blocks in rapid succession, spinning into another corner.

not even close, you hiss.

well, i could do this all day, he drags out his vowels. really emphasising how much of a walk in the park this is. fucking loser.

ooh, touch a nerve? you can hear his grin through his taunt, scared you’ll lose first?

you elect to ignore his idiotic comments and watch his pattern instead. he favours moving to his right, and he’s cocky enough that he’s not paying attention to the students around him, just the blocks falling from the sky or blooming from below.

i’ve got you, han dongmin.

a block spawns to dongmin’s left. he moves right - exactly as you predicted. you reach out with your telekinesis and give the block a little extra push, changing its trajectory as it falls down. the block trails after him, moving horizontally in his direction.

hey! dongmin’s angry voice fills your mind as he ungracefully swerves and dives forward to avoid getting hit. that’s cheating!

it’s tactics! you shoot back gleefully.

students start to drop like flies.

“ten left!”

the blocks are spawning faster now, more unpredictably. you’re breathing harder now, and there’s less minds to see through. you’re splitting your focus between survival and sabotage - specifically just sabotaging dongmin. every time he dodges, you’re there. every time he telekinetically pushes a block away, you’re there. every time he telepathically tries to reach out, you’re there.

you’re really committed to this.

dongmin’s annoyance is palpable as he barely avoids two block you definitely redirected at him

i said i’d get you!

bad news then! you’re going to have to try harder!

he retaliates by telekinetically shoving you backwards towards a spawning block. you immediately throw up a telekinetic barrier and the block bounces off your shield, nearly hitting kazuha - who disintegrates it into ash just in time.

“sorry!” you yell.

“if you could stop flirting!” kazuha suggests before rolling away.

“i wasn’t -!” you gape, side stepping a block that solidly blocks kazuha from your view, effectively ending your attempt at a debate.

flirting? dongmin’s mental voice is amused, is this what this is? do you talk to your squadmates about us?

i’m going to kill you.

aw, is that our version of i love you?

another three students get eliminated in quick succession. woonhak gets eliminated with a dramatic noooooo as he finds himself stuck between two blocks. eunchae screams as someone bumps into her and distracts her long enough for a block to squarely fall onto the both of them. the arena is getting so crowded with blocks spawning so fast there’s barely room to move.

“seven left!”

you’re starting to tire. maintaining telekinetic control is draining your mental reserves faster than you’d like, even after giving up those telepathic connections. but you’re not stopping here, not when dongmin is still standing. you could come second, but it’s only if han dongmin isn’t first.

students get tagged one by one. chaewon gets shoved into a wall by another student and is immediately shot into the sky by a block and kazuha doesn’t manage to dodge a series of unfortunately timed blocks. meanwhile, dongmin is starting to look panicked too, eyes wide as he flips away from a block in the nick of time.

“three left!”

you. dongmin. yunjin.

you lock eyes with dongmin. he smirks at you. yunjin eyes dart between you two and she sighs in defeat.

“screw this. i hate you two.”

she steps directly into the trajectory of a falling block, eliminating herself from the competition.

“two left!” sakura calls.

looks like it’s just you and me, partner, he teases.

don’t ever call me that. it’s disgusting, you hiss.

a block drops directly above. you sense it fast enough and dodge it - straight into dongmin’s path. you smack into him, hard, and suddenly you’re both scrambling as blocks spawn around you in rapid succession.

move left! he projects urgently.

you move left! you yell back.

the two of you both dodge left in perfect synchronisation, narrowly avoiding two blocks that would’ve eliminated you both. for a moment, dongmin is pressed into your side, surrounded by falling blocks and rising squares.

this is all your fault, he notes.

screw you! you shove him into the trajectory of a falling block as you stand back up straight.

hey, that wasn’t very nice, he tuts as you wrench yourself away from him.

you spot your opening: three blocks about to spawn in sequence, creating a perfect trap if you time it just right. you wait until dongmin has a split moment of nonreaction and telekinetically implant a suggestion of a block spawning behind him -

he jerks forward, right into the path of the actual blocks.

but he realises your trick far too quickly for your liking.

the first one drops, and he rolls smoothly under it.

the second one shoots up from the floor. he jumps, easily hurdling over it.

the third one descends, and he looks like he’s about to clear it until -

you push out a hand, and dongmin’s eyes widen as you telekinetically shove him back, straight into the shadow of the box. then, you feel his telekinesis wrap around you and suddenly you’re being yanked forward, straight into his -

ew, ew, ew! you mentally scream. get your filthy hands off me!

dongmin’s arms only tighten around you as the two of you tumble onto the floor. the block slams down with a force of a thousand suns, and you let out loud oof! as you feel dongmin’s entire weight and more crush down onto you, his arms braced around your head as the block disappears behind his head in a flash of light and the simulation powers down. his breath is warm against your neck. for a second, you didn’t move; for a second, neither did he.

“first place, [y/n] [l/n]. second, han dongmin. third, huh yunjin. good work, everyone,” sakura’s polite and carefully placid voice rings out from the intercom. you can hear yunjin gleefully scream kiss, kiss, kiss! through both your mental link and the background of the intercom. eunchae updates you with a quirk in her voice.

so glad i invested early in the poll. it’s at sixty-three percent now.

what poll? you say a little too quickly and harshly.

whether you and dongmin will get together by the end of the school term? eunchae says innocently.

what?!

i mean - if it helps, twenty one percent think you’ll kill each other, and the rest think somehow both will happen.

i voted for all three, yunjin sounds like she’s crying with how hard she’s laughing. i’m getting a cash out either way!

then there better be a poll on whether our squad will break up, too!

you throw dongmin off of you unceremoniously as you jump to your feet.

“a little thank you would be nice? i got you first place, you know? even though you cheated. which, by the way, is extremely typical for you.”

you look down at dongmin, red hair messy from the exercise as it droops down into his eyes. his chest heaves up and down in exhaustion.

“i didn’t ask for you to do that,” you hiss, “so i’m not going to thank you.”

what use was first place when you didn’t even beat dongmin on your own terms? you have to look into how to stop involuntary movement because of telekinesis after this.

you stomp away, hellbent on shutting down eunchae’s betting pool and getting to the library before dongmin can check out all the books you wanted and not return them for two weeks like he did last time.

see you friday, dongmin’s presence is still in your head, as it always is. detention, remember?

unfortunately.

you tap your foot against the floor as you wait for the danger room’s security protocol to power down so you can open the door and get out of this hell hole.

you love it. you love me.

in your dreams, han dongmin. i hate you.

must be a dream then, he replies far too cheerfully for your liking. because i think i heard you say in your head once how good-looking i -

you cut the connection before he could finish that sentence, cheeks burning, but your head still hums with the echo of his presence - like a song you couldn’t shake. annoying, persistent, ever-present.

WEEK TWO, FRIDAY (5PM): X-MANSION LIBRARY

“since you’re both telekinetics,” sungho raises an eyebrow, “you can start with organising all of these books.”

he points to the whole trolley of books before him. you nod - easy peasy, you’ll get them on the shelves and then get the hell out of here. a second longer spent with han dongmin is a second longer spent in hell.

you more or less snatch the list of books from sungho and gestures for dongmin to take the trolley.

“you push, i sort,” you bark, already scanning the list. someone seems to have taken out the entire history of the mutantkind section of the library.

“i’m not going to take orders from you,” dongmin crosses his arms.

“just do it,” you hiss.

“nope,” he has the gall to turn his head away and pretend he doesn’t hear you.

“han dongmin -!”

you surge forward and yank his collar towards you as he lets out a squeak at the sudden action. sungho’s polite cough stops you from chucking dongmin out the window of the 3rd floor library through sheer will and a little help from telekinesis.

“i would suggest starting soon if you want to be completed before nightfall,” sungho’s eyes shift between you two, “and a word of advice - keep romance out of professional relationships.”

“romance?” you splutter. dongmin’s collar is gripped in your fist as the two of you whip around to look at sungho.

“right, because this -” dongmin points between the two of you, “is the definition of romance.”

“i would rather die than consider dongmin a rom - roman - ugh, i can’t even say it!” you let dongmin fall to the ground as you release your hold on his collar. he lets out a soft ouch! when his bum hits the floor, and you step quickly away like he has the plague.

“besides, you’re one to talk about romance in working relationships,” dongmin raises an eyebrow at sungho, who chokes on air and coughs loudly into his fist.

“that’s different,” he argues weakly.

“you’ve been thinking about her ever since she arrived!” you accuse, “we’ve been listening to sungho: the sad emo playlist this entire week.”

“i’m just worried about her!” sungho defends, before his eyes widen, “stop distracting me! go do your work!”

he stomps away, the most flustered you’ve ever seen him, and settles into the corner of the library, book in hand. when you prod his mind you can hear him muttering about kids these days and touring and leaving -

“and keep out of my head,” sungho warns, mental shields slamming up so hard it gives you physical whiplash, jerking your head backwards. dongmin snickers and you glare at him.

“okay, fine,” you mutter, turning back to read the list - if only dongmin hadn’t pulled it out of your grasp before you can.

“i’m better at memorisation,” dongmin angles his chin up at you, “so i’ll do the list.”

“so does that mean you admit i’m the better telekinetic?” you raise an eyebrow at him.

“not exactly - i still think you suck,” dongmin snipes back, “just that your telekinesis is better than your goldfish memory.”

you snort, “says the person who can’t even remember our conversation from two days ago - hey!”

your conversation is interrupted by dongmin telekinetically shoving the trolley into your knees, you stumble and dongmin doubles over laughs, as if nearly crippling you was the funniest thing in the world.

“oh, come on. it was a light tap, don’t be so dramatic,” dongmin gives one last laugh as you shove the trolley away from you.

“congrats on learning an elementary skill,” you say, irritated.

“just get moving,” dongmin rolls up the list and smacks you on the head with it.

sungho shakes his head and mutters to himself, “kids these days. all they do is bicker.”

he watches you make a book whack dongmin in the back of his head before landing on a shelf.

“why does this damn library have so many shelves?”

you troop through the library, finally complete with the history section.

dongmin raises an eyebrow, “you tired?”

“never,” you say snidely, even though the repetitive telekinetic movements are making you sleepy and the heater blasting doesn’t help.

“i can feel your mental signature going haywire,” dongmin points out, “and you put the last three books in the wrong order.”

you watch as the three books reshuffle themselves on the shelf behind dongmin and you frown.

“must’ve been your fault for reading the list wrong,” you grumble, folding your ankles over each other and leaning against the bookshelf.

“now, no need to lie to cover up your mistakes,” dongmin offers a wry smile, “but for the sake of your dignity, i will accept it as my fault.”

you watch as he scans the list again with his brown eyes.

“can you stop doing that?” you say, your sentence tinged with anger.

dongmin stops and sighs, “what is it?”

“you’re always letting me get away with things,” you count on your fingers, “last semester’s volleyball match, professor kwon’s internship, the whack-a-mole from this week, now.”

you grumble, “stop going easy on me. i want to feel the satisfaction of crushing you fair and square, like the crunch of a bug under my shoe.”

dongmin raises an eyebrow, “and here i thought you cared about me. you’ve picked a very weird thing to be angry about.”

“even if you were the last person on earth, han dongmin, i would not give a flying fuck about you!”

“that’s not what you said when we did the civilian saving simulation,” he raises the pitch of his voice, “you were all like ‘oh my god, dongmin, are you okay? do you need help? stay with me - dongmin!’”

you respond to him with a book to his forehead. the smack echoes between the shelves.

“shut up,” you hiss, cheeks burning, “i was acting - for the grade! you were a civilian - and a very bad one at that! couldn’t stop squirming.”

dongmin peels the book off his face, grinning like a cat that got the cream, “okay, little miss actress, you deserve an award or something. very convincing.”

“i’ll kill you, han dongmin,” you hiss.

“that’s my girl,” dongmin says, almost proudly.

you were going to do it. one day - you were really going to kill him.

WEEK TWO, SATURDAY (12PM): SQUAD HQ

“okay party people!”

all of you jump when chaewon suddenly slaps her ruler against the whiteboard, eunchae squeaks and nearly drops her phone.

“listen up! the intersquad comps are next week and we need to place at least top three,” chaewon bristles.

“but we’re seventh,” kazuha points out, “that’s like, second to last place.”

“i know,” chaewon emphasises, “which is why we need to put our best foot forward and beat everyone.”

“i don’t think we got this,” yunjin shakes her head.

“i had eunchae crunch some numbers, and all we need is to at least get into finals and avoid this,” she points her ruler at the word scribbled at the top of the whiteboard.

“losing?” you supply helpfully.

“exactly,” chaewon affirms with a satisfied nod.

“easier said than done,” yunjin mumbles.

“i had eunchae run a simulation -”

“did you make eunchae do everything?”

“not right now - [y/n],” chaewon glares at you, “what i was going to say - losing is bad. but there’s one thing worse than it.”

she tears away the paper from the whiteboard.

“enhypen?” yunjin gasps, slightly horrified.

“losing enhypen?” kazuha stops, “wait - we’re not killing them, are we?”

“no, no, no,” chaewon slaps her ruler against the whiteboard, “what i meant was - losing to enhypen.”

the marker makes a squeak when she hastily adds on the word.

“should’ve thought of adding that earlier,” eunchae quips.

“okay, let’s never speak of this again,” chaewon says gravely, “point is - enhypen is ranked first in squad rankings right now. if we can beat them, then we’ll gain enough points to at least secure a top five ranking. it’s not ideal, but it’s good.”

“eunchae, pull up the brackets,” chaewon nods at eunchae, who dutifully projects the bracket onto the whiteboard. you track your squad name - if all goes to plan, you would meet enhypen at the semi-finals.

you scan the brackets for team koz - seeded on the opposite side, so that means…

“we’re going to the finals,” you say abruptly, far too quickly and rushed.

“girl, what? do you know how hard - ohhh, you wanna beat dongmin, huh?” yunjin grins.

you cough, “no! yes? what i mean is - we need to get a good score!”

“it doesn’t matter!” chaewon interrupts, “everyone, we all need to be more [y/n]! eyes on prize! understood?”

kazuha parrots a yes while yunjin grins at you from across the circle.

you like him, admit it, she projects into your mind.

yunjin, you’re actually insane.

the people have spoken, eunchae cuts in. the kiss poll is at seventy two percent now. someone said they saw you kissing in the library during detention.

what? you say incredulously, nothing like that happened!

you can keep your secrets from us, yunjin says sagely, but we’ll find out eventually.

there’s nothing to keep secret! you fume.

“okay, people having a telepathic conversation while being in the same room!” chaewon flicks both of you in the forehead with her ruler and you wince, “before we think about crushing dongmin and team koz’s ass, we gotta deal with enhypen first.”

she points at the crude diagram she’s scribbled onto the whiteboard, “from eunchae and i’s analysis, their center is also their leader - heeseung. get rid of him and the rest of the team will crumble.”

“mostly from my analysis!” eunchae chimes.

“ignore her. point is, we need to get rid of him first - and fast.”

chaewon nods at eunchae again, and you watch as the projection flickers to a breakdown of team enhypen.

“he’s a level three telepath. not too strong, but their glue,” chaewon taps on heeseung’s profile and turns to look at you, “thankfully, we have a level five telepath. you’ll be able to take him down, right?”

"i can do that,” you crack your knuckles.

“good! always up for a challenge!” chaewon slaps her ruler against her palm and all if you jump again, "and that’s why [y/n] has the highest combat score out of all of us!”

"okay, question?” kazuha holds up a finger, "they’ve got, like, two whole years of experience on us. how are we supposed to deal with that?”

“it doesn’t matter, we’ll catch up,” chaewon pulls out her phone and your own buzzes, “eunchae and i have collected and analysed their previous plays. you all need to get familiar with them.”

you pull out your phone and -

“this is a five hour long video?” kazuha says, incredulousness and amazement mixed into a question.

“i’ll watch all of it,” you say immediately.

“amazing! that’s why you’re my favourite!” chaewon turns her gaze onto the other members of the team as yunjin lets out a quiet i thought i was your favourite…?

“so here’s the deal, they seem to favour the jjj approach - opening with jake, jay, and jungwon. they’re strong because they work together, and the key to that is heeseung, so its impertinent we take him out first. yunjin, you’re in charge of teleporting [y/n] close enough to heeseung so she can work her magic. eunchae and i will work on breaking through the triple j formation and kazuha - go burn sunghoon to a crisp or something.”

"why does it sound like we’re going to kill them?” kazuha whispers.

"we’ll do whatever we need to win,” chaewon sighs and places a reassuring hand on kazuha’s shoulder, as if losing enhypen was some kind of necessary evil.

"we’re so screwed,” yunjin sighs.

WEEK THREE, TUESDAY (2PM): THE QUAD

you’re glued to the screen of your tablet, your salad drooping from your fork as you watch, for the twentieth time, the five hour compilation of enhypen when chaewon suddenly slams it down.

"hey! i was watching -” you protest, indignant.

it’s them! enhypen! chaewon hisses through your mental link.

speak of the devil, eunchae wryly adds.

you twist and see them saunter onto the quad. all seven of them move with this effortless coordination that’s honestly annoying. heeseung is at the front, saying something that makes sunoo laugh. they all look infuriatingly confident - extremely high and mighty. it makes you want to shove them through a car wash.

stop staring. i know you’ve got a thing for red-haired telepaths but now is not the time, chaewon tuts.

what? i’m analysing.

no, you’re totally glaring, yunjin correct, there’s a difference.

i’m engaging in tactical observation!

you’re doing something, kazuha finally says, ending the conversation effectively.

heeseung must have felt your gaze, because he glances over at you. for a second, your eyes meet, and he has the audacity to smirk and raise his fingers in a mock salute.

you crush kazuha’s fork with your telekinesis.

“i was using that,” kazuha whispers sadly, staring helplessly at her bowl of spaghetti.

you’re staring, dongmin’s voice suddenly appears in your head, and you realise he’s sitting three tables over with the rest of his squad, watching you with something indescribable in his eyes.

why is everyone saying that? you let out a frustrated groan. i’m analysing! observing!

you’ve been obsessing over heeseung this entire weekend. it was like listening to a radio that’s broken and won’t stop repeating.

i am not obsessing! he’s the key to beating enhypen!

sure he is.

what’s that supposed to mean?

nothing. just interesting you’re focusing on him specifically.

you turn around to glare at dongmin. he waves cheerfully, as he always does, but his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“staring at me?”

you nearly jump out of your skin when heeseung’s voice tickles your ear.

“how many times do i have to say it? i wasn’t!” you hiss, pushing yourself back into kazuha’s figure.

“sure, you weren’t,” heeseung straightens up, his red hair flopping into his eyes as he flashes a sweet smile at you, “but i’ve been watching you.”

you narrow your eyes.

“level 5 telepath. you’re good at what you do.”

you don’t like how he sounds genuinely impressed.

“which is good -” jake cuts in, “because we prefer opponents who actually put up a fight. makes it more interesting when we win.”

“when?” you raise an eyebrow, “that’s pretty confident for someone who hasn’t even faced us yet.”

“we’ve faced plenty,” sunghoon snipes, “you’re not special.”

“what?” you stand up and all seven of them take a cautious, coordinated step backwards, “you know what? maybe we will be!”

heeseung leans slightly closer, breaking from formation, and you notice his eyes are actually quite striking up close - sharp and intense.

"what about this? you manage to stand for more than five minutes against us, i’ll save you a dance at the winter ball. call it a consolation prize.”

"resorting to extortion to get a date to the winter ball. no wonder no one wants to go with you!” you ball hands into fists at his smug smile, resisting the urge to fling him into the sun through sheer will and perfectly honed skill. chaewon and yunjin exchange glances from across the table.

should we stop them? you can hear them faintly converse at the back of your head.

nah, this is funny. yunjin replies.

“scared that you wouldn’t make it pass five?” jay raises an eyebrow, "besides, heeseung has plenty of people lining up to take him to the winter ball! he’s just likes -”

heeseung elbows jay in the stomach and shushes him.

“you people are ridiculous,” you sigh loudly and shake your head, “when we win, you all can apologise, right here in the cafeteria during lunch break - loudly - so everyone can hear.”

“deal,” heeseung’s smirk widens, “looking forward to it.”

then enhypen just moves on, leaving in synchronisation as they turn on a heel and stroll away, leaving your entire table staring at you.

you project, and faintly hear their conversation through their mental links.

are we really doing that if we lose though? sunghoon whispers.

we won’t, heeseung sounds as confident as he does when speaking.

heeseung just wants that date, jungwon teases, and you block out the rest of that conversation faster than eunchae can say hippopotamus.

“[y/n]? my darling? do we want to sit down?” chaewon says carefully, as if every word could trigger a landmine.

you sit down forcefully and the entire table shakes. kazuha shakes her head.

“this is what school is made for,” yunjin grins happily, looking between you and heeseung’s departing figure, “what a time to be alive.”

“i hate this school,” you mumble, picking up your fork.

“heeseung just totally bet on your failure and asked you out.” eunchae quips.

"he didn’t ask me out, he made a threat,” you grumble, "underestimated us. thought he could crush us easily. that five minutes was a mercy. i’m going to destroy them.”

“i don’t know - dongmin just exploded his juice box with his mind,” yunjin points a discreet finger over her shoulder.

you glance over at dongmin’s table, and for the first time in a while he’s very deliberately not looking at you. a juice box that looks like it’s been run over ten times by a tank lies abandoned on the table as he talks to donghyun and his pet mouse about something with exaggerated animation.

“what did he do all that for?” you cock your head, and kazuha just sighs and shakes her head.

“hey,” yunjin interrupts cheerfully, “what’s the betting poll at now?”

“seventy eight percent for kiss,” eunchae announces, “and a new category just emerged - [y/n] and heeseung get together. that one has eight percent.”

“eight? everyone really has their thumb on the pulse,” kazuha makes a thoughtful observation, like she’s analysing stock prices instead of your literal fate.

“that’s crazy, i hate this school,” you stand up abruptly, “i hate everyone here. i’m going to the danger room - to train.”

“oooh, perhaps a training session with whomst?” yunjin calls after you. you flip her off without looking back.

“twenty dollars that dongmin runs after her in less than ten minutes?” yunjin suggests.

“make it twenty-five,” eunchae replies.

“done. let’s shake on it.”

all you can do is sigh.

you’ve been in the danger room for at least ten minutes by now. you know there are 2384 tiles on the ceiling and your feet slightly hurt from the massive amount of the pacing you’ve done. you’ve just activated a simulation of enhypen to practice against when you feel dongmin’s familiar presence at the edge of your mind.

you made jungwon too tall. his voice chimes in your head, and you turn around to see him casually standing at the doorway of the danger room, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

i hate you. you say half-heartedly - it might as well be your version of hello.

the insults are a little unenthusiastic today. he notes.

what are you doing here? you hate the danger room. you shoot back, says it’s too quiet yet loud at the same time. whatever that means.

maybe i’m branching out. personal growth and all that.

the door clicks quietly shut behind him as he steps into the danger room.

you scoff, “you can’t lie to me.”

you point to your temple, where dongmin’s thoughts are always a subtle background noise to your life - ever since you two accidentally linked up in the first class of introduction to telepathy.

“you’re here about the heeseung thing, aren’t you?”

“that’s just a concerning sideplot,” he holds up his tablet, littered with notes on his next opponents, “i also wanted to use the danger room.”

you walk towards him, “well. you’ll be glad to hear that there isn’t a heeseung thing.”

“but he asked you out - to the winter ball,” dongmin says flatly.

“he asked to get his ass kicked, that’s what,” you reply humourlessly.

“but you smiled at him,” dongmin falters, “and you never smile at anyone.”

“i did not smile at him! and i smile at a ton of people!”

“you smiled at him!” dongmin insists, “and you only smile at your friends! not at people you’re about to compete against.”

he steps closer, and you don't need telepathy to feel his frustration bleeding through, “why him?”

“dongmin - you’re acting a little insecure now,” you laugh nervously, “why do you even care?”

“because -” he stops and presses his hand over his face in that way he does when he’s stressed or agitated, hiding the way his nose scrunches up, “because you’re supposed to be focused on training. on the competition. not on lee heeseung.”

you fold your hands over your chest, “i was literally just studying his combat style!”

“you’re obsessed with him.”

“i’m not!”

the door rattles in its doorframe behind dongmin’s figure.

“really? because from where i’m standing, you haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. you’ve been mentioning him constantly these few days. you light up when someone says his name -”

“i do not light up!”

“your shields drop,” dongmin says quietly, “every time. like you keep forgetting to maintain them because you’re too busy thinking about him.”

“i -” you sigh loudly, of course you’ve been slipping - chaewon runs 6 am practice like it’s the army and lee heeseung’s name has become your own personal hell. you’ve barely gotten any sleep. all because you needed to beat… him.

“he’s the obstacle between me beating you,” you finally admit, “that’s why i’m focused on him so much. if i want to face you, i have to get rid of him. you’re my end goal.”

dongmin immediately shifts his eyes up to look at you, “i’m your end goal?”

“i want to beat you,” you mumble, “i know - you’re gonna crush the competition on your side. and i - i want to face you properly. not in practice or whatever - but in an actual competition.”

dongmin sniffs, “i don’t like you, [y/n] [l/n].”

“trust me, the feeling’s mutual,” you say bluntly.

“so i’ll beat you at the finals,” he says carefully, “which means you have to beat enhypen first. which means you need to take down heeseung.”

he nods - and then his whole expression shifts, like a lightbulb just went off.

“and does that mean -” he shifts on his feet, “you’ve been thinking about me this whole time?”

“because i’ve been thinking a lot about you too,” he adds quietly.

“i - i’m only thinking about you because i need to beat you!” you stutter through your excuse, cheeks burning up at his admission.

“beating me? we’ll see about that,” dongmin gives you a strained smile, a semblance of the ones he was used to giving you, “and if - if heeseung wants to take you to the winter ball or whatever. that’s fine - whatever, your choice.”

“are you je -”

“and no matter what happens,” he interrupts, growing louder, “i’m not going to go easy on you.”

“i wouldn’t want you to.”

“good,” he starts to pull away, then stops, “and for the record? i think you’re better than heeseung, and you should’ve asked him for something more embarrassing as his punishment. don’t let him get into your head.”

“you talk like we’re going to win.”

“i know you will,” he says wholeheartedly, like he’s seen your victory foretold in a prophecy that came to him in a dream.

“good. you better not mess up, too. if you lose, your punishment is taking me to the winter ball, and i know you’d hate that.”

dongmin shudders as he backs out of the danger room, “i would hate that.”

the door slides shut, and your phone buzzes in your pocket.

yunjin: eunchae owes me 25. he ran after you after nine minutes. i timed.

eunchae: this sucks :( i hate that loverboy

WEEK THREE, WEDNESDAY (3PM): DANGER ROOM

the room crackles with energy as your squad faces off against the first team. they’re new - inexperienced, and don't know each other well enough yet. you’re supposed to be focused on trying out your new formation, but your mind keeps drifting to whatever made you say all that to dongmin.

guys, yunjin chuckles nervously, reminder that our thoughts are still on mic here.

special reminder to [y/n]! chaewon pipes and you scrub every thought of dongmin from your mind.

i’m focused! you insist, dodging a laser beam from the opposing team. you grab a fallen down tree with your telekinesis and throw it in the general direction the shot came from - they go down with a squeak and the log splinters with more force than necessary.

“save the aggro for next monday!” kazuha calls out as she easily turns someone’s weapon into ash.

the rest of the match goes as expected - you down all the other members of the team without losing a single one of your own. chaewon allows approximately 5 seconds of celebration before snapping you all back into formation and running drill after drill. eunchae is analysing enhypen’s strategies frame by frame. kazuha perfects her disintegration timing. yunjin is practising her blinking down to the second. by sunday, you’re exhausted - but ready.

WEEK FOUR, MONDAY (10AM): DANGER ROOM

chaewon had you up bright and early, and that’s how all of you ended up tired, cranky, and ready to beat enhypen’s ass on the danger room floor.

“they brought their breakfast,” eunchae whispers, casting a look to where jake is chowing down on a grilled cheese ten minutes before the match starts, “i’m so freaking hungry, man.”

“guys,” you snap your fingers, “this is psychological warfare. we just need to stay strong and beat their asses - the faster we do it the earlier we break for lunch.”

“lunch? what are we having for lunch?” kazuha mumbles through a hunger-crazed daze.

“stop thinking about lunch!” chaewon slaps kazuha on the back and she startles, “[y/n]’s right - the faster we beat them, the sooner we can eat.”

you take a deep breath in. this was it. the semi-finals. dongmin and the rest of his squad had smashed through their side of the competition like it was as easy as breathing. now - you’re one step away from the finals - one step away from facing dongmin and the rest of team koz in the finals. the thought sent a flutter through your chest that you tried to ignore.

“focus, ladies,” you say as steady as you can. you’re unsure if you’re saying it more to you than the rest of your squad.

“i was born ready,” yunjin jumps to her feet and cracks her knuckles, "let’s show those losers what we’re made of.”

the doors to the arena open as the rest of the students file onto the observation deck. chaewon grabs your shoulder and the five of you huddle for chaewon’s most threatening pep talk yet.

“remember - heeseung first. take out their center and everything falls apart. we all know the formation, alright?”

all of you nod in understanding and chaewon smiles cheekily, “let’s go out there and crush them!”

you all cheer just as enhypen lets out their own - it sounds like a bark that chimes the beginning of your end.

guys, don’t be nervous, kazuha thinly laughs.

you can feel dongmin’s stare even from the danger room floor, his presence pulses softly just outside of your mind’s space. you look up but all you can see behind the tinted glass is sungho, sakura, the professor, and indiscriminate faces.

you turn around and enhypen is already positioned, arranged in their signature jjj formation - as predicted, the three of them are planted up front like a living wall. heeseung stood behind them, calm and collected, a confident smile already in place.

you lock eyes with him across the arena and he tilts his head. you resist the urge to flip him off and have to physically clench your fists.

“welcome to the semi-finals! on the left - team le sserafim! on the right - team enhypen! whoever wins will be moving onto the finals, facing off team koz,” sakura leans into the mic, “fight to the death, last one standing wins for their entire team.”

the environment around you changes into quadrants - a lake, a forest, mountains, and just a plain open field.

sakura’s voice rings through the danger room - “best of luck to both teams! three, two, one - begin!”

all of you spring into action immediately. jungwon speeds past all of you in a flash but chaewon reacts quick enough to throw up a force field and jungwon smacks squarely into it, groaning as he stumbles. chaewon capitalises on it and engages with him in a battle of reaction and speed.

fan out! chaewon yells through the link. eunchae dodges a fireball from jake as kazuha returns her own, singeing the top of sunghoon’s hair just as they duck behind a boulder.

yunjin! you project urgently.

right beside you! she blinks in next to you, grabbing your arm and immediately blinking again. the two of you fall through space and time before suddenly reappearing in heeseung’s bubble. he stumbles back, shocked, but quickly regains his footing.

“hi!” you say cheerfully, you telekinetically pull a sizzling log (courtesy of either jake or kazuha, who knows) towards you and nearly taking out heeseung from behind. he, infuriating, evades and spins like he saw it coming from a mile away, the log smacking uselessly into the side of the arena.

“hey, you,” he replies, smiling as well.

you frown at his laissez faire attitude and direct a psi-blast towards him, which he parries easily with one of his own.

“impressive. dongmin did mention you were good.”

“he said what?” you slow for a second and heeseung uses that opportunity to launch himself into your mind.

you slam your shields up and he is immediately ejected from your head. frantically, you telekinetically send him backwards with a shove. he manages to catch himself before he touches the water, regaining his footing as he directs a psi-blast that hits you squarely in the middle of the temple. in your dizziness, you hear faintly about how sunoo has eunchae stuck on the ceiling; yunjin is laughing about how ni-ki can’t catch her; and chaewon has confined poor jungwon to an invisible box in a corner of the arena so it looks like he’s doing the world’s most realistic pantomime.

“distracted?” heeseung arches an eyebrow as he dusts himself off.

“you wish!” you yell.

"he said you were weak to force,” heeseung narrows his eyes, "let’s see if he was right.”

you feel all of heeseung’s telepathic strength smash into you. for a moment, his mind melds with yours. you can hear the shouted commands between his team - jumbled up with the yells of your own team. his own thoughts invade your own. but he’s predictable - you’ve studied how to break through such an attack easily. you concentrate your thoughts onto a singular thought - heeseung’s thinking about ramen somewhere in his mind, and you slam onto it. the temporary control he has over your mind breaks and the two of you break apart - each clutching at your heads.

"that - that was unprecedented," heeseung picks himself up.

"i’ve got a lot more where that came from,” you wipe your sweat from your face and dodge just in time to evade heeseung’s prod, his speed creating a breeze that flutters against your cheek.

you react quickly, bringing a boot down against his back as you round onto him. he catches it and easily tosses you into the sand. you’ve dealt with this in one of chaewon’s drills - roll and jump, hit them if you can.

you roll away from his approaching feet and jump to your feet, sending a psi-blast at the same time that catches heeseung by surprise and nicks him in the chin.

rock incoming! yunjin projects urgently into your head.

you spin around and duck just in time as jay throws a rock at you with a yell. you telekinetically send it back and jay’s figure disappears behind it with an equally loud scream, landing with a splat against the wall.

“five minutes on the board!” sakura’s voice rings.

heeseung’s expression hardens. he’s moving faster now, more aggressive. you feel his telepathy signal wrap around your’s, searching for weaknesses and trying to worm his way in.

heeseung was strong, but he was also someone you could predict. he moved slower when thinking, overcommitted to his offenses, and relied on the rest of his teammates to feed him information from other perspectives.

maintain your shields, never force entry into a guarded mind, and always have an exit strategy.

heeseung was guarded, but his shields weren’t perfect. you slither in with a pinpointed strike, narrowing your eyes. heeseung startles as your signal suddenly floods in and overrides his own and he feels the world go silent.

you - you closed off my links! you can feel his telepathy trying to push through yours - but you’ve been trialed against dongmin, who has a battering ram in the form of telepathy (so unrefined, you always tutted). heeseung’s pushes feel more like feather kisses than the torment dongmin put you through.

out of the corner of your eye, you see sunghoon look around for heeseung in confusion, hesitant enough for kazuha - wonderful, brilliant kazuha to immediately capitalise on the situation and launch him into the ceiling next to eunchae (still stuck) with a fire bolt.

i got him! kazuha yells triumphantly in your mind.

enhypen links down! you report back, just as heeseung manages to hit you in the jaw.

“hey!” you direct another psi-blast at him and he folds into himself from the pain as it lands against his forehead.

“you really don’t hold back,” he hisses through gritted teeth.

[y/n] - behind! chaewon urgently cuts through and you spin to see jake charging at you with a flaming fist. you jump backwards and immediately project yourself into his mind.

what dur? you hear his mental voice echo inside your brain as you rifle through his thoughts. methodical and precise. one strike and he’s over. you pick through his memories, rearranging the last few minutes in a different order. as you retreat back into your own body you see jake slow in his footsteps and turn around in confusion, his flames puckering out with a sigh.

“wait - what’s happening -?” he gets cut off by yunjin blinking in, delivering a swift punch that knocks him out for good.

heeseung tries to take your feet out from behind you but you see it coming - pivoting and dodging, grabbing him telekinetically and sending him straight into the air. the force sends him sprawling and he lands in the lake with a soft plop and sigh. his hair flops sadly as he emerges in the shallow end and spits out water.

the moment he hits the water, it was over.

“enhypen, eliminated!” sakura’s voice booms, “advancing to finals - squad le sserafim!”

your squad erupts into celebration. chaewon and kazuha grab you and the three of you go down, while yunjin manages to catch eunchae as she is freed from her gravitic prison, blinking to the floor as they join the rest of you in a pile on the floor.

yunjin catches your eye and grins, squeezing your arm, “so, ready to beat dongmin?”

you feel your cheeks warm, “it’s not just him -”

“it’s the rest of team koz too!” chaewon whoops, “and we’ll beat their asses!”

“exactly!”

sakura’s announcement cuts off the next of yunjin’s teasing comments: “the final match will take place friday at 2pm. team le sserafim versus team koz.”

guess i owe you an apology. heeseung’s voice slides into your brain. you catch his eye over kazuha’s shoulder and he smiles at you.

you sure do, you project back, and remember to be loud.

you’ll hear it. he says off-handedly.

nice work - someone else rings inside your head.

you gave heeseung info about me! you accuse. you can see dongmin’s innocent blinking in your head.

he was quite interested in you, dongmin says - a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice. i said i wouldn’t make it easy for you.

and that includes tipping off my enemy?

an enemy of an enemy is a friend. dongmin retorts. but i wouldn’t call him one. i just wanted to make life more difficult for you.

i hate you.

do you?

yes! so you better be ready to take me to the winter ball. you bite.

only if you win. you can hear the smile in his voice.

WEEK FOUR, TUESDAY (1PM): DORM ROOM

you’re taking the best nap of your life after heeseung and crew loudly apologised in the form of a song and dance number when your local angsty soap opera on legs arrives.

i hate being back in this place - you hear her mumble in her head as she quite literally drifts past your door and into the library close by.

not again, you faintly hear dongmin groan through your mental link at the same time and you can’t help but prod further on what’s giving him so much woe.

sungho, you bastard. you can't keep your love life simple or your thoughts to yourself, you hear him tut.

must be in the library too, you think to yourself, settling against your pillows as you try out that new trick you learnt in telepathy class. you literally feel yourself detach from your body and float away, projecting your mind into the library.

“constantly," you manage to hear dongmin pop cheerfully to the singer, “especially -”

he suddenly locks eyes with your corporeal form and scowls.

“someone else is here,” he grumbles in annoyance, suddenly invested his ‘six ways to triumph in telepathy’ book that he’s cradling in his lap.

just because you can read doesn’t mean you can beat me and do this - you tease, and he shoots you a warning look.

at least i know how to use a psi-blast correctly, he snipes back.

popstar - in all her sparkly galore, looks around the library, straight through you.

"what?" she asks, confused. you don’t need telepathy to read her thoughts - it’s just us here.

“another telepath,” dongmin makes a sour face at you, “she can’t stop boasting about how she can project her mind into other spaces. it’s very annoying, because i can’t do that yet.”

you admit it! you say in delight.

oh, shut up. he replies grumpily.

he raises his voice intentionally, "i can feel you listening, you know? it’s very creepy - and annoying."

look at you, meddling in sungho’s love life because you don’t have one.

“no - you nosy little…”

i know donghyun has posters of her on his wall. oh my god, don’t tell me you do too. is this a secret crush?

“she’s not!”

oh, she sure is. does sungho know about this? poor sungho.

“can you stop being so annoying?”

mm, i don’t know. you’re the one who inserted yourself into their drama. i’d say you’re the annoying one here.

“no. you’re definitely the annoying one here -”

for someone who can’t project, you do have a lot of confidence. you say seriously and dongmin throws up his hands in defeat.

tell her to stop being dramatic and commit to something for once in her life.

“she says you need to ‘stop being dramatic and commit to something for once in your life’,” dongmin parrots after a slight pause.

"she said that?" she asks in disbelief.

"her words, not mine," dongmin holds up his hands in surrender as he shoots you a look, "you’re not being exactly subtle, you know?"

"does everyone in this mansion have an opinion on my relationship?" she grumbles.

"woonhak started a betting pool. but sungho busted it and said it was ‘inappropriate’," he grumbles before settling down in his armchair again.

ugh, don’t remind me. you cross your arms, sungho better close down all these betting pools. they have one for whether we’ll get together! gross.

i know, dongmin says, even though we hate each other.

exactly, you agree, i’m going to tell sungho after this.

you should, he says, flipping through the pages of his book. you look between him and the popstar, who - as per usual, is spiraling through a whirlwind of incoherent and melancholic thoughts.

she’s a mess, you shake your head.

no shit, dongmin grumbles.

tell her that being scared of saying something is just being scared of being known.

tell her yourself!

no, you!

fine! you abruptly end your back and forth, maybe i will!

you whip around and stomp back through the walls to your dorm room a few rooms down, settling back in your body. it’s uncomfortable - no matter how many times you do it, it takes a million years to get used to your mind and body behind one again. it starts with a twitch of your fingers, then a numbness that overtakes your arm before a prickling sensation starts - your nerves firing again as you regain control over your limbs and muscles that leaves you slightly sore for a few minutes after.

except, that is what’s supposed to happen, but you suddenly register the power has gone out and an explosion rattles the walls so much it snaps you back into instant reunification and consciousness.

jesus christ - you nearly tip out of bed with the splitting headache you’re nursing as the walls shake again.

the power is out. emergency lights flicker in a sickly red hue. alarms wail somewhere in the distance, muffled by the stone walls of your dorm room.

you wrench open the doors to the hallway and everyone is less panicked than you expected them to be, despite the pyjamas and mismatched shoes shoved on in a rush.

west wing! safe room! you hear someone - sounds like heeseung, ring throughout your head - everyone head there!

“[y/n]!” you hear yunjin call, and you turn to see the rest of your team emerging from their rooms.

“what happened?” you demand to know, falling in step with them.

“not sure,” chaewon shakes her head and replies grimly, “the only info i have is that it’s an attack and we need to get to the safe room - they’ve got a power jammer and came in through the library.”

library. dongmin.

another explosion rocks the mansion - this one is close enough that dust starts to rain from the ceiling. you can hear the faint sound of gunfire and your blood runs cold.

“[y/n],” chaewon warns, “safe room, now.”

“but -”

“no buts,” chaewon cuts you off with the same authoritative tone she uses when calling plays during competitions - the one that means no negotiation.

but you’re already turning on your heel, you can feel something pulling at the edges of your mind - past the current drone of information shared by the telepathic network of the mansion.

dongmin!

without thinking, you reach out through your mental link. the response is almost immediate: a flash of urgency, determination, and something that reads like stay safe.

“[y/n]!” kazuha grabs your arm, but you telekinetically push her back - towards the west wing, and take off running down the hall.

i’ll catch up! you project urgently through your mental link before shutting it down immediately - before you hear chaewon’s screams for you to come back.

you round the corner and bump squarely in professor xavier and his gang of lost mutants.

“miss [l/n],” professor xavier inclines his head, “you should be in the safe room.”

“i have to find dongmin,” you say matter-of-factedly. you hear someone mutter in their thoughts that you’re crazy, and someone else clocks the fact for further proof for the poll.

“ah, mr. han,” the professor nods knowingly, “he is currently in the war room, accompanying sakura.”

“thank you,” you nod - he doesn’t even try to stop you, it’s like he can - well, he can read your thoughts.

professor xavier sighs and points down the corridor, “do try not to get yourself killed. it would be a shame to miss out on the finals tomorrow.”

you’re already moving before he finishes.

you swear you were trying to not get yourself killed.

“hands in the air!”

your arms shoot straight up when two soldiers happen upon you, guns trained to your chest as they draw in closer.

you narrow your eyes and feel around for their mental signal - guarded, but not incredibly so. unimpressive work from a shoddy telepath.

“telepath!” one of them realises as yells just as you charge in, shattering his shields - his grip on the gun falters as you force him to drop it, but the other presses a button on a small device in his hands that immediately ejects you from the soldier’s body.

they’ve got power jammers! you gasp, hoping hearing - anyone, could hear your thoughts through a weak mental link.

the soldier regains his senses and shakes his head - laser unwavering once again.

“i’m not afraid to shoot,” he warns, “now take a step back and locate the popstar for us.”

[y/n]! dongmin’s voice floods your own, sounding more like static and broken up than his usually clear voice - where - you?

“i can’t really use my powers with the jammer you have on,” you say through gritted teeth and the two soldiers exchange glances.

“nice try, but you will do as we say,” the guards approach and your head spins as they near.

the cold barrel of the gun presses against your stomach as one of them nudges his rifle against it.

“hey,” you can’t hide the trembling in your voice as they force you into a wall, “this isn’t very nice.”

[y/n]! dongmin’s voice is barely a whisper in your head now, donghyun - over - help!

your brain is, for the first time since forever, silent, the only thing you can hear is dongmin’s faint pings and signals. you telekinetically reach for a piece of rubble behind the soldier but it barely moves, just vibrates slowly before stilling.

“that jammer of yours,” you try for calm - for prolonging the situation before they blow your guts out, “where d’ya get it?”

“wouldn’t you like to know,” the one holding it smirks and presents it proudly, “we’ve amassed quite the collection of mutants - including one that can put together any machine we ask. this baby? tailor made to react with the x-gene and dampen it.”

the other soldier elbows him in the stomach.

“stop talking, they’re just stalling!” they demand, before turning back to you in fury, pressing the barrel further into your flesh, “use your powers! i know you can! search for them -”

“buddy, i’ve never even met them before -” you interrupt, “how am i supposed to search for them? do you know how many people live in this damn mansion? one hundred and for -”

you’re cut off by a yell, then a dog that sails into your kerfuffle and cleanly bites the hand of the soldier holding the jammer. it clatters to the floor and bounces across the floor, before any of you can react, someone steps on it, heavily, and it cracks and shatters. you immediately feel what feels like thousands of voices flood back into your head as the jammer breaks and you take this split second of hesitation to telekinetically fling the soldier with his gun your stomach out the window.

“wha -” the other soldier wildly swinging his rifle as the dog latches onto it, playing the world’s most dangerous game of tug you’ve ever seen.

“down!” you hear someone yell, and the dog immediately lets go, sending the soldier stumbling with force of his own momentum. you see your saviour grab him by the shoulder, spin him around, and roundhouse kick him into the wall. the soldier crumples to the floor and goes limp, the rifle falling out of his hands.

“[y/n]?”

you can hear the worry lacing donghyun’s voice as he lowers his leg, clutching his fishbowl with a hand covered on top to prevent the dust from falling in and water from splashing.

“donghyun?” you choke out, “wha - what are you doing here?”

“dongmin sent me,” he shuffles on his feet, “are you okay?”

“i’m fine. you should be in the safe room, not listening to dongmin!”

“but - but i had to come to get my fish and my mouse,” he holds his fishbowl up gently and his pet mouse pops a furry snout out from his sleeve. you groan out loud.

“i don’t know who’s worse - you or your girlfriend!” you grumble.

“me, probably,” donghyun mumbles as his dog winds between his legs, urging him down the corridor.

“we should go before the east wing collapses,” he says, straightening up.

“but dongmin -”

[y/n]! dongmin’s voice is clear - and it’s laced with panic and terror, are you there?

i’m here. you confirm, donghyun found me.

good. dongmin sounds relieved.

were you worried about me?

you feel his hesitance over your mental link - … yes.

where are you? you demand.

war room. dongmin finally lets out.

stay there, i’m coming.

you turn to look at donghyun, who blinks at you.

“is something wrong?” he asks gently.

“yes, you,” you grumble.

professor, you tap into his mental signal, i found donghyun. i’m sending him your way.

understood - his reply is immediate, stay safe.

you let donghyun, in tow with his fishbowl and pet mouse and dog, down the corridor towards where you split up with the professor and proceed towards the war room.

the war room is a nest of monitors and flickering screens, most of them dark now that the power’s out. emergency generators hum in the background, casting everything in that same sickly red light. sakura stands at the center, tablet in hand as she surveys the conditions.

and then there’s dongmin, crouched near a monitor, head tilted slightly as he relays information through the mental link to other telepaths within the mansion.

both of them look up when you burst through the door.

“[y/n]?” sakura’s tablet lowers slightly and you can feel surprise flashing through dongmin’s mental connection.

“you should be in the safe room,” he hisses.

“so should you,” you grab him by the shoulders and pull him up - “let me help, dongmin’s a better telekinetic than he is a telepath.”

“i am not -” he stops himself, and sets his mouth into a thin line, “fine.”

“good,” you nod at sakura, “what’s the situation.”

“ten,” sakura taps her tablet, “from what dongmin has detected, three are after sungho - the rest are scattered throughout the mansion. we’ve mobilised teams but they will need backup.”

“understood,” you do a general sweep of the mansion, tagging onto the unfamiliar signals chasing sungho and his little situationship down a corridor. you try searching for the rest in a sea of panicked minds.

dongmin stands with pursed lips beside you, and you can feel the subtle hum of his presence in your shared mental space - a constant background radiation of his attention. you've gotten used to it over the years, though you'll never admit that out loud.

“two detected - east corridor, second floor,” dongmin relays and sakura quickly punches it into her tablet.

you follow his directions and feel a familiar signal pulsing there as well - “heeseung’s there - and his team.”

[y/n]? heeseung immediately responds when he feels your prod, are you okay? are you hurt?

i’m -

do you need support? dongmin butts into your conversation and you shoot him a look.

oh - um, heeseung chuckles awkwardly through the mental link, no. i think we have this under control.

his tone softens, stay safe [y/n].

wow, nothing for me? dongmin delivers dryly before you can respond.

heeseung laughs, and you too, dongmin.

i’m keeping them safe, don’t worry, dongmin says decisively before cutting your connection abruptly.

“the popstar,” he says quickly, before you can address the elephant in the room, “they’re still after her.”

“sungho won’t let them get her,” you say with more confidence than you feel.

“sungho’s in love with her,” dongmin replies flatly, “loves clouds judgment.”

“yeah?” you shoot him a look, “i guess you would have a lot of experience with that, based on how worried you were a few minutes ago.”

“that’s different,” dongmin snaps, his ears red.

“how is it different?”

“just focus on the intruders,” he turns pointedly away from you, pout evident on his face.

it doesn’t last for long as the doors to the war room rattle in their frames and sakura exchanges glances with the two of you - slamming her hand down on a few buttons just in time for two intruders to kick the door down, sending it flying into sakura’s frame. she parries it easily with a wave of her hand and ducks behind a console to evade the spray of bullets. dongmin pulls you down quickly and the two of you huddle behind the island console that usually displays a holographic map.

i’ve sealed the secondary exits! sakura’s voice fills both of minds simultaneously, i will take one, you two neutralise the others.

got it! you watch as sakura raises a hand and mist fills the room. red lasers sweep across the room as you and dongmin crawl closer to the door. one of the gunmen stumbles on his feet, tripping over an exposed wire as the wind around him picks up speed. out of the mist, sakura flies into him with fury, taking him out of the room and into the corridor.

the remaining soldier pivots around to scan the room - still smothered in mist by quickly thinning out. you exchange a glance at dongmin and he nods in understanding.

“hey, over here!” you shoot up to your feet and the rifle’s laser quickly swings in your direction. for a split moment, you freeze at the gun but dongmin acts a second after, using his telekinesis to pull the gun from his hands - it slams against the wall and clatters to the ground.

“you,” the soldier growls, voice distorted.

“who are you? what do you want?” you demand, trying to prod his mind, but he grins and pulls a dagger out from his belt, and you don’t have the time to pick it apart as he suddenly lunges at you - he’s faster than you imagined.

“[y/n] [l/n],” he recites your name slowly as he turns around, “telepath. telekinetic. level five. not bad. your abilities would be greatly appreciated with us.”

“how do you know my name?” you feint right just in time for dongmin to strike the soldier in the back of the temple with a stray piece of debris.

“that -” he cackles, “you don’t need to worry about - and you, han dongmin. yes - i know a lot of about you. you’re quite wanted by a few… investors.”

“oh, great. i hate being wanted,” dongmin grumbles, sidestepping as the soldier jumps at him, knife flashing his hand.

you narrow your eyes and throw out a hand to telekinetically pull the soldier away from him. the soldier stumbles as his body is torn between two directions and you take the moment to slam your entire telepathic power into his mind. the soldier’s grip on the knife loosens but he manages to shake your influence out of his head -

until dongmin’s own signal batters into his head too - his mental shields shatter and suddenly the two of you are sharing control over his body.

get out! dongmin whispers urgently.

you get out! you yell back, but oblige as you slither your way out of his psyche, catching dongmin’s limp body in your arms as he completely takes over the body of the soldier. you slowly lower yourself and him onto your knees as you watch the soldier convulse, drop the dagger, and crumple to the floor.

dongmin’s fingers twitch as he returns, and you smack his arm to help him get the numbness out.

“that hurts,” he whines.

“then it’s working!” you grin at him and he glares at you.

“you’re evil.”

he groans as he sits up from the floor, massaging his limbs as sakura flies back in, looking just as good as this morning - before the explosions, and dangling the soldier in between her hands.

“are you two alright?” she scans the two of you as she deposits the soldier next to his friend.

“fine,” you nod and dongmin echoes it.

sakura tilts her head, as if listening to something from further away, “sungho says all the soldiers have been apprehended. we are safe - for now.”

you let out a sigh of relief, just as dongmin scrambles to his feet and picks his way over to the soldiers.

“okay, but - they knew our names somehow, and our powers,” dongmin frowns.

sakura lands lightly on her feet, “i have observed that too. dongmin, [y/n], can you find out where they are receiving this information from?”

you and dongmin exchange looks.

“i’m bad cop, you’re good cop,” you crouch down beside dongmin as he flips them over so they’re lying on their backs.

“that’s not how it works,” dongmin grumbles as he places a palm on the forehead of a soldier. you do the same to the other and rifle through his memories.

strange, you frown. you go through his memories again. it starts from the corridors outside the war room, the first few explosions, them planning for the strike on the mansion, and then just… stops. there’s nothing beyond - like his memories have been wiped entirely clean.

you open your eyes and rub at them.

“there’s nothing,” you say quietly to sakura.

“what do you mean there’s nothing?” sakura kneels down as well.

“she’s right,” dongmin also pulls away his hand, “i looked - there’s nothing beyond this morning. but that doesn’t make sense, they don’t act like one day old babies - there must be - something must have happened between us taking them down and now.”

“that can’t have been more than five minutes,” you cross your arms, “is that possible?”

“someone professional, no doubt,” sakura places a hand on both your shoulders, “is there anything we can glean from the memories we do have, then?”

“they have a map,” dongmin says quietly, “of the entire mansion.”

you nod, “i saw a list - names, powers, other information. prices.”

“prices,” sakura taps her chin, “understood. we’ll look further into this - perhaps the other soldiers have more information they can provide.”

she stands up, “but for now, i ask for the two of you to pay a visit to the med bay.”

you let dongmin pull you up to your feet, “are we still doing the finals?”

sakura shoots you an incredulous look, “med bay. now.”

WEEK FOUR, TUESDAY (6PM): MED BAY

the aftermath of the attack has been chaotic. two soldiers neutralised in the war room. two more apprehended in the east corridor and one more soldier that woonhak accidentally sent to the arctic with kyujin’s help. the rest had been apprehended by a chaotic danger room command that included disco music and metal claws. sungho’s thoughts have been rattling around every telepath’s mind for the past few hours - worry and love tangled so thoroughly together that even you felt secondhand embarrassment.

the mansion has been secured by the next morning, with things quietening down. minds were wiped clean, soldiers were dropped off, and the danger room was restored, albeit with a few new scuffs on the walls.

professor xavier insisted that the tournament continue: “we cannot let fear disrupted our traditions”, he says. you just think they already wasted too much money on the decorations for the winter ball.

the attack left everyone on edge and more focused. for you and dongmin, the unspoken moment in the war room - the shared panic, the relief, hung between you, unaddressed. there was no time to talk. only to prepare.

WEEK FOUR, FRIDAY (2PM): DANGER ROOM

so the finals proceeded as scheduled, because the x mansion never lets a measly explosion get in the way of anything - including tournament finals and mid-terms. so here you are, standing in the danger room with your squad, just a little exhausted, but overridden with excitement to finally destroy dongmin and team koz once and for all.

dongmin stands directly across from you, and he looks scarily focused. serious. there’s no smirk, no teasing remarks floating through your mental link.

chaewon squeezes your shoulder, “let’s do this,” she says.

“let’s,” yunjin agrees - the three of you to make it fair, because two of team koz’s teammates have decided to take a break.

“begin!” sakura’s voice echoes.

it’s chaos from the first second. yunjin blinks toward woonhak, but he’s already moving, somehow manifesting exactly what he needs to evade her frustrated grabs. chaewon is currently debating the ethicalness of fighting donghyun’s animal friends and decides she can’t do it and instead settles for launching cautious orb force fields at him instead.

and then there’s you and dongmin.

you don’t exchange words. you don’t need to. you lunge, and he throws himself into action already. your telekinesis throws a rock in his direction and it clashes with a perfectly angled stick. it shatters into pieces and splinters fly everywhere. chaewon squeals and throws up an invisible barrier for the two of you, splinters bouncing off and falling to the floor. you keep advancing, gaining on him as you try for a physical strike - a punch aimed at his chest - but he quickly pushes it away and counters it with a low kick.

you leap over it and press down telekinetically, trying to pin him to the ground. he resists, his own power pushing back against yours. it feels like trying to hold back the tide with your bare hands.

“you got better,” he says through gritted teeth.

“so are you,” you admit, shifting your strategy.

you feint left, then right, testing his reflexes. he matches you move for move. it’s frustrating, annoying, and exhilarating. you’ve trained against him dozens of times, but it’s different this time - it’s the finals. this is everything you’ve been working towards.

you feel the moment the tide shifts. your mental link flares with clarity - years of training, of being connected to him, of knowing exactly how he thinks. you easily slip into his mind just slightly, and you feel the tinge of his thoughts. when he moves left, you’re already there. when he tries to telekinetically throw something at you, you’ve already moved the projectile.

dongmin realises quickly what you’re doing and his eyes widen just for a fraction of a second - and then he smiles.

he doesn’t back down. instead, he pushes harder. his telekinesis works faster, whipping up multiple things at once, and you’re forced to dodge everything that’s launching towards you head-on. the two of you stand locked in a battle of pure force, neither willing to give an inch.

around you, your teammates are winning. woonhak gets a stroke of bad luck and is currently begging for mercy from yunjin - unfortunately for him, yunjin is unforgiving. chaewon has cornered donghyun and tags him out in a perfectly timed hit.

team koz is crumbling, but you and dongmin are locked in a stalemate.

you change your approach. you wrap your telekinesis around him and yank dongmin towards you. he stumbles forward and you press your advantage, launching a psi-blast that he barely manages to deflect.

you’re tiring, he points out the mental link, i can feel it.

so are you, you counter.

he smirks - the familiar smirk you’ve come to know so well, “good.”

he suddenly grabs your arm and pulls, and you’re caught off-balance. before you can recover, he’s onto you, his physical strikes fast and precise. you respond in kind and suddenly you’re locked in hand-to-hand combat, movements flowing like a choreographed dance.

he spins and sweeps your legs out from under you.

you fall, and for a moment you think this is it - he’s won. but you manage to roll backward, coming up in a crouch, but dongmin’s already advancing.

the arena is nearly empty now. donghyun has somehow avenged woonhak by tagging yunjin out and he and chaewon are circling around the two of you, ready to jump in whenever needed.

“eliminate one team member, and they are out,” sakura announces, her voice crackling with anticipation.

dongmin launches himself at you one final time. you meet him halfway, and this time - this time you know exactly what to do. you've studied him for years. you know his patterns, his tells, his habits. you know how he breathes before he strikes. you know how his eyes flicker just before he commits to a move.

you dodge his punch and grab his wrist, using his own momentum against him. you telekinetically lift him slightly off the ground, just enough to throw him off-balance, and drive your knee up. he blocks with his other arm, but the impact sends him back.

he lands hard, and you press your advantage. telekinesis converges on him from all sides, but he’s not done yet. his own power erupts outward, a shockwave of force that sends you flying backwards.

you crash into the edge of the arena, the impact knocking the air from your lungs. for a moment, everything spins.

dongmin is getting to his feet, chest heaving. he’s close to his limit too.

you push yourself up on shaky legs and meet him in the center. your final gambit is different - no strategy, no planning. just pure instinct and will. you move. he counters. you adapt. he matches.

and then - there’s an opening.

dongmin’s guard drops just for a fraction of a second, exhaustion catching up with him. you don’t hesitate. you telekinetically shove him backward with everything you have left, putting your entire weight behind it.

he slides backward, toward the edge of the arena.

“shit!” he reaches out, trying to catch himself.

but there’s nothing to grab.

the two of you lock eyes and he scowls, and he crosses the line and disappears in a flash of light.

“team le sserafim wins!” sakura’s voice booms throughout the arena, “our champions, everyone!”

you squad erupts into celebrations behind you, and you let chaewon crush you under her weight as she tackles you to the ground.

“tired,” you groan out as yunjin reappears and eunchae & kazuha run into the room, piling onto you like a weighted blanket.

dongmin reemerges soon after, looking frustrated and tired and handsome and -

he catches your eye and smirks.

you think i’m handsome?

shut up, you turn away pointedly, cheeks heating up. you’re thankful for woonhak’s loud distraction in the form of a wail, but you can still feel the gentle brush of his presence in your mind.

i told you i’d beat you.

he doesn’t respond, but you can feel something that feels like acceptance and pride through your mental link.

WEEK FOUR, SATURDAY (6PM): BALLROOM

“oh, oh my baby,” chaewon’s eyes are strangely misty.

“you look amazing,” kazuha says for the hundredth time, adjusting her earring.

“i feel ridiculous,” you mutter.

“that means you look good,” yunjin grins, already three sips deep into the punch eunchae swear is ‘definitely spiked, probably’.

the ballroom is decorated in silver and blue, with twinkling lights strung across the ceiling like captured stars. the band is playing something slow and romantic, and there are couples scattered across the dance floor.

you wouldn’t mind another explosion right now - anything to get you out of here.

“you’ll survive this,” chaewon says, her grip on your arm growing tighter by the second.

“i hope so too,” you groan, your feet already starting to hurt.

you scan the room and immediately find dongmin. he’s leaning against a wall, talking to donghyun and woonhak. his hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing a suit that looks expensive.

"hey, [y/n].”

you jump at heeseung's soft-spoken greeting.

"heeseung - you scared the shit out of me,” you run a hand through your hair.

"guess you don’t really feel like dancing with me, huh?” heeseung follows your gaze to dongmin, whose own eyes narrow as he straightens up.

"maybe later,” you’re more than distracted to hear heeseung's question properly, that’s for sure.

heeseung laughs, "don’t let dongmin hear that.”

"yeah, i won't - wait. don't let dongmin hear what?"

heeseung just throws you a mysterious wink before sauntering off to join the rest of his six squadmates in a coordinated dance-off.

you look back at dongmin and his eyes meet yours, and your breath stutters.

he brushes off woonhak and starts walking towards you.

“oh my god, he’s walking over here,” yunjin whispers urgently, “is he?”

“shut up,” you hiss. your heart did something extremely traitorous and loud in your chest.

dongmin stops in front of you, and up close, you can see the exhaustion from yesterday’s finals still lingering in his eyes. but he smiles - a small, genuine smile that makes your stomach flip.

“hi,” he says.

“hello,” you reply, suddenly very aware of how dry your mouth is.

“so,” he shifts on his feet, “you won.”

“we won,” you look around to gesture at your team - until you realise they’ve all mysteriously and suddenly vanished.

“right, ‘course,” he nods, then takes a deep breath, “i believe i owe you something.”

“you do,” you say, “don’t be a sore loser, now.”

he pouts but holds out his hand, “dance with me?”

in your mind, you hear eunchae hiss, ninety-five percent. i’m getting so much money.

you ignore her - and yunjin’s barely suppressed giggle, and chaewon’s knowing smile from across the room, and the soft oh shit kazuha lets out.

you take his hand.

dongmin pulls you onto the dance floor with surprising gentleness. his other hand settles at your waist and you realise with a start that you’ve never been this close at him without first threatening to throw him across a room or something at him.

“you fought well,” he says as you begin to move with the music.

“so did you,” you reply.

“i let you win,” he says quietly.

you pull back slightly to look at him incredulously, “what?”

he shrugs non-committedly, “just saying.”

“but you said you weren’t going to go easy on me!” your voice raises slightly.

guys, stop fighting! you need to kiss! not kill each other! eunchae complains loudly in your head and you grit your teeth.

“why did you do that?” you lower down your voice.

“because,” his eyes search yours, “i wanted to see you smile. at me. like how you smile at your squadmates, not the aggressive grin you get before you try to kill me. a real smile.”

you don’t remember smiling after the finals, but apparently you did.

“that’s, like, the most pathetic reason for losing i’ve ever heard,” you say, but your voice is comparably softer.

“probably,” he agrees.

“you’re so stupid,” you tell him.

“maybe - for you,” he replies.

the music swells around you - and suddenly it feels like just you and dongmin, his hand warm on your waist.

“i still hate you,” you say, because that’s what you’ve always said.

“i know,” he says, and he’s smiling that small smile again, “and i still love you.”

your breath catches, “don’t - don’t just say things like that.”

“why not?” he asks, “it’s true. it’s been true for a while. maybe since you threw that table at me in telekinesis class.”

“i did not!”

“you did. i nearly lost my head,” he says, amused with a cat-like smile, “i knew right then that i was in trouble.”

“dongmin -” you don’t know what to say. all your carefully constructed arguments about hating him suddenly feel very flimsy. maybe they were in the first place.

“you’re insufferable,” you settle for.

“i know.”

“and conceited.”

“sure.”

“and you cheat off me in class!”

“guilty,” he admits.

“and i -” you falter, searching for the right words, “i’m probably going to regret this later, but i don’t hate you. i never did. i think - i think i might -”

dongmin closes the distance before you finish, but you react faster, slapping a hand over his lips.

not now! you whisper, they’ll win that stupid bet.

dongmin grins lazily as eunchae’s whine rings again - guys! guys! you’re supposed to kiss! k - i - s - s!

dongmin tilts his head, “you’re right. i need to teach woonhak that he shouldn’t count his chickens before they hatch.”

you laugh, and peck the corner of his mouth instead.

the room instantly explodes.

is that a kiss? that definitely counts as a kiss right? woonhak yells.

LIPS! ON THE LIPS! yunjin yells louder.

you can feel chaewon’s satisfied ‘i told you so’ radiating through the connection like she’s basking in the sun.

guys, should we look away? kazuha’s concern draws a laugh out of you.

“this is so embarrassing,” you mumble, and dongmin’s grip on your waist just tightens.

“you brought this onto yourself,” he says cheerfully.

later that night, the two of you steal away on a balcony, even if it’s barely private with the way half of the student population is pressing their ears against the door and peeking through the gap.

“do you still want to destroy me?” dongmin leans against the railing, breath visualised in the winter air.

“absolutely.”

“good,” he smirks, “keep me on my toes.”

he drops his head onto your shoulder, already comfortable shoving himself into your space despite your earlier squabbles.

“dongmin?” you say after a while.

“yeah?”

“i think i love you too.”

he grins - that smug, infuriating grin that you’ve come to know so well - and kisses you (on the lips this time).

behind you, the ballroom doors rattle as eunchae bounces away, yelling about how ‘everyone owes her money now’.

some things, you think to yourself, are worth being embarrassed about.

you were going to kiss han dongmin, complain about it, and then kiss him again.

i went through like five writer blocks during this and it definitely isn't my favourite work ever... (hate writing e2l), but i hope everyone enjoyed regardless! donghyun's fic is next as the last installment of the series <33

♡ or ↻ if you enjoyed, support your writers, thank you!! what did you think? drop your thoughts in my inbox!

taglist 🏷️ @taestulipss @tsanho @pupillary @leehanaholic @amnellsia @lovehakie @mirouie @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx @jellywichu @hraethy (thank you!)

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