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tuberc-leo-fics · 7 years

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Cosmic Music (Chapter 2/6)

Summary: Hongbin woke in his bed, choking on sea water. That was the moment that everything changed.

Rating: T

Words: 2.4k (this chapter)

Previous chapters: Chapter 1

Also on AO3

Chapter 2: Tension

“What happened?” Wonshik murmured to Hongbin several days later, when everyone else had gone to bed. Hongbin was up late, sitting on the couch and trying to do anything to not fall asleep. Wonshik had just come in, his eyes carrying a gaze that didn’t seem to quite focus on anything in the room, until it zoomed in on Hongbin. But that was normal for him. Hongbin had long suspected that there was something wrong with Wonshik’s eyes, but he didn’t dare bring it up with him. Wonshik could avoid that topic quite easily.

“What do you mean?” Hongbin asked back, just as quiet as Wonshik’s question had been. Wonshik’s eyes were wide as they stared into Hongbin’s, his facial expressions concealed, but he exuded a calming presence.

“Something’s changed, between you and the oldest hyungs. But it’s effecting you more,” Hongbin started chewing on his lip at the observation, “and I want to know what it is.”

Hongbin was silent. He and Wonshik had been friends since before debut. Ever since Wonshik joined Jellyfish, they were never separated. They told each other things and talked about things that they didn’t dare bring up with the older members, and wouldn’t even dream of bringing up to Hyuk. They had a bond, and the only secret Hongbin kept from him, was the one Wonshik was asking for.

“I-” Hongbin started after several more moments of silence before cutting himself off. “I can’t tell you. I’m sorry, Wonshik.”

Wonshik’s eyes had glazed over slightly as he seemed to stare at something that wasn’t there. Hongbin had seen this look too many times to count, so he just kept silent, waiting for Wonshik to focus again. When he did, and the far-away look in his eyes returned to normal, he just nodded once and reached over to pat Hongbin on the arm.

“Okay,” he said before standing up, making sure his gaze didn’t leave Hongbin’s face. “But just so you know, something did change between you three, and I might be the only one who noticed, but they’re worried about you. And extremely tense. And you’re frightened of something, and I think they know that. So, just, please talk to them. To ease my mind as well as your own.”

Wonshik was still staring at him, but Hongbin wasn’t staring back, his fists had curled up on his legs, and they didn’t seem to want to unfurl.

“When did you get so perceptive?” Hongbin asked, murmuring toward his fists.

“I’m not,” Wonshik said, his tone firm, and it sounded strange to Hongbin’s ears. He looked up from his hands and saw Wonshik still staring at his face, but his eyes were vacant again, staring at something that wasn’t there. “It’s just… you’re different. And I don’t think you realize that, but the winds have shifted and your tune is changing. I don’t care that you’re keeping secrets, but just… don’t let what you’re keeping inside effect you. You’re stronger than that.”

Wonshik’s speech seemed off to Hongbin, like he was supposed to catch something, focus on a certain phrase or word that would give a hint about what Wonshik knew, or what he could sense, but he just didn’t know what it was. He talked as flowery as ever, working with his words to both explain and calm, as he usually did, and Hongbin couldn’t find any fault in that, anything that was different from the norm.

“I’m sorry,” Hongbin whispered, staring at Wonshik’s still unfocused eyes. But Wonshik just smiled at him and shook his head.

“Don’t be sorry. Some secrets are better kept close, where they can’t hurt anyone.” Hongbin sucked in a quick breath at that, slightly startled by Wonshik’s words. “Besides, I trust you.”

And Hongbin didn’t know what to say to that.

There were two more days of tense smiles and trying to convey emotions with eyes, and by then even Jaehwan and Hyuk had noticed something was off. Jaehwan became a comforting presence to them all, something about just being beside him, sitting with him and playing with his hair, or just playing with him, watching him bounce around was calming, releasing the tension that Hongbin had felt in his shoulders for a week.

Where Jaehwan was comforting in his almost silence, Hyuk was comforting in the way he spoke about anything, bringing up obscure scientific theories and forcing the members to debate on the existence of alternate realities, or the way the stars affect who someone is as a person. It made the members actually talk to each other in a controlled way, avoiding the topic of actual tension.

“I mean, people have always debated the multiverse, whether alternate realities exist or not, and it’s almost impossible to test right now because we can only see 4 dimensions, well, three plus time, and for it to work out we’d need at least 11, which is impossible right now. But, because the universe is constantly expanding, universes expand into other universes which expand into other universes, and these universes could have very different rules and expectations than ours-”

“What are you even talking about?” Hongbin asked, looking at the faces of the others in the room. Everyone was staring at Hyuk with their mouths slightly open, not entirely comprehending what he was saying. Hyuk just glanced at their faces and sighed.

“Do none of you understand the basics behind alternate realities, universes, and string theory?” he asked. They just shrugged. Hakyeon held up his finger and thumb, showing that he understood a little.

“I mean, I read a lot of sci-fi,” Hakyeon said, wiping his palms lightly on his jeans as he looked at everyone. “String theory, as a basic explanation, is that every particle in the world is like a one dimensional string that forms a circle by connecting the ends. They vibrate, and this accounts for gravity. Through movement, the string also has its own dimension within the circle. Something like that, right?”

Taekwoon and Wonshik were shaking their heads, not quite understanding, but Jaehwan seemed to get what Hakyeon was saying and was nodding while he scratched the side of his nose.

“It’s kind of like that,” Hyuk said. “But it’s easier to think of it like bubbles. Each universe is on the skin of a bubble, and many bubbles exist in this thing called hyperspace. When bubbles collide, and then split and reform, this is what’s called a big bang. That’s how our universe was created.”

“Where do you even learn this stuff?” Hongbin asked, looking at Hyuk with wide eyes. “I mean, you’re studying kpop at university. And you’re rarely on the computer except to play games.”

“You’re one to talk about playing games,” Hyuk snarked back before shrugging. “I read a lot about science. I’ve learned some things over the years.”

Taekwoon felt the guilt rolling off of Hyuk as strongly, as if he was slapped in the face. He took a deep breath to calm himself, to get in touch with his own emotions and not be overwhelmed with what Hyuk was feeling. Besides, what Hyuk was feeling didn’t make any sense. He shouldn’t have to feel guilty for knowing a lot about science, for being interested in something.

Wonshik was also looking at Hyuk, but his eyes were once again unfocused, not quite seeing him, instead seeing through something that didn’t seem to be there. “You’ll tell us one day,” Wonshik said as he stood up, dragging a hand slowly through Hyuk’s hair. “Now, I’m going to go lie down. Excuse me.”

Everyone watched Wonshik go. It wasn’t unusual for him to leave when he had something to work on, or when Hakyeon forced him to get some sleep, but his eyes were unfocused and he stumbled slightly as he bumped into a wall on his way out of the room. They sat in silence until the door to his and Hyuk’s room closed.

“Is anyone going to talk to him about what’s wrong?” Jaehwan asked, looking around at everyone, “Because all of you have been strange recently, and I’m not sure if I should trust you to confront him, or if I should do it myself.”

“His blankness has been getting worse,” Hongbin said quietly, half-hoping that no one would hear him, but Jaehwan nodded, scratching slightly at his arm.

“He used to only be like this occasionally, but more often than not nowadays, he’s staring at nothing,” Jaehwan said, making sure to catch everyone’s eyes so that they knew he was serious. “I would think it’s a drug problem, but we are with him constantly and he wouldn’t jeopardize the group like that. What I want to know,” he said, pointing a finger at Hakyeon, “is why you haven’t done anything yet.”

Hakyeon winced slightly, but he sent out a calm wave to those sitting in the room still. Taekwoon felt the change of atmosphere while he watched the tension leak out of Jaehwan’s shoulders. Hongbin glared at Hakyeon when he noticed the change.

“I’ve just been… busy with my own problems recently,” Hakyeon said. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

“No,” Jaehwan said, quieter than it would have been without Hakyeon’s calming effect, but still a little louder than a normal speaking voice. “What you need to do is hash out whatever the fuck is happening between you, Taekwoon-hyung, and Hongbin. Because it’s gone on for way too long and I’m tired of it. Get your shit together, then talk to Wonshik, then hold a group meeting, because we don’t keep secrets. Especially when I can tell it’s something big.”

“Jaehwan-ah,” Hakyeon said softly, giving him a sad smile, “I don’t think I can do that.”

“You can. It’s easy. Now, I’m going to bed, Hyuk is going to make sure Wonshik’s alright, and then this will all be worked out tomorrow. Okay? Come on, Hyukie,” Jaehwan said, holding out a hand. Hyuk glanced at the three still sitting as they walked out of the room, giving them a tight smile.

As soon as they were out of the room, Hakyeon turned to Hongbin and Taekwoon before quickly saying “We can’t tell them.”

Taekwoon flinched slightly at the words, bringing a knee up to his chest and hugging it tightly.

“We have to,” Hongbin said with finality, cutting Hakyeon off as he opened his mouth to speak again. “As Jaehwan-hyung said, we don’t keep secrets.”

“Hongbin, what the hell do we say? Oh, hi you three, yeah, we’ve been hiding the fact that we have powers from you for a while and sorry, but we can’t show you because none of them manifest themselves physically? They would never believe us!” Hakyeon was getting slightly hysterical, which was taking a toll on Taekwoon.

Taekwoon reached out and grabbed Hakyeon’s ankle, silencing him. “You need to calm down, Hakyeon. I can’t think when your emotions are this loud.”

“We need to tell them,” Hongbin said. “I’ve been slowly losing my mind this past week. I literally feel like I’m about to explode, that something is going to happen soon. I just,” he choked back tears, “I can’t hide this… this fear. You guys know, but it isn’t enough. I almost drowned the other night. I almost died, and I can’t just… if something happens, they should at least know the truth,” Hongbin pleaded. “Please.”

Taekwoon took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before making a decision.

“I agree with Hongbin,” he said softly, turning to Hakyeon. “Besides, everyone’s been acting strange recently. If we tell our secrets, hopefully they’ll tell theirs. Hyuk-ie is… hiding something. He felt guilty when he said he likes science. He was overwhelmed with guilt, so much it hurt.”

“Wonshik too,” Hongbin said, meeting Hakyeon’s eyes. “Wonshik’s been acting strange, but I think it’s something important. I had a conversation with him a couple days ago and something he was saying seemed… pivotal. Like he knew too much.”

“You actually think we should do this?” Hakyeon asked them, meeting their eyes, seeing the conviction in them. “You think this is a good idea?”

“Hakyeon,” Taekwoon whispered. “We have to. I’m sick of secrets. Telling you two was like releasing a burden. Think about if we all knew. Don’t you want to be free?” he asked, looking up with pleading eyes.

“Freedom,” Hakyeon said, sliding his eyes to look at the ceiling. “That would be nice.” He took a deep breath through his nose before releasing it, once again staring at the other two. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Later that night, Hakyeon was woken up by someone shaking his shoulder and panicked breathing. He groaned slightly as he opened his eyes, blearily taking in Hongbin’s shaken form.

“Hyung, please, I need help.”

“What’s wrong?” Hakyeon asked as he sat up, squinting through the darkness and trying to see Hongbin clearer. When he finally noticed, he gasped. “Hongbin,” he said as he stood up, gripping his arms tightly as he peered at the blotches on his pajamas. “Hongbin-”

“It’s not my blood,” Hongbin whispered, panicked as he tried to take deep breaths, but kept failing. “It’s not my blood. It’s not my blood.”

“Okay. Okay. Shh,” Hakyeon said as he hugged Hongbin, reaching a hand to his head to comb through his hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re going to be fine.”

“Hyung, I can’t… I can’t-”

“It’s okay, Hongbin. It’s okay. Hyung will fix this.”

They stood hugging for several minutes while Hakyeon sent Hongbin calming waves through his body to help him breathe. When Hongbin was finally able to breathe by himself and wasn’t shaking as much, he let go.

“Why don’t you get in the shower?” Hakyeon asked, rubbing a hand on Hongbin’s back in small circles. “I’m going to wash your clothes. Can you do that for me?”

Hongbin nodded and they walked to the bathroom, Hakyeon waiting until Hongbin passed him his pajamas through the door, then walked back to Hongbin’s bed. Noticing dark stains on the blankets he took those off the bed and brought them, as well as the pajamas, over to the washing machine.

Once he had pre-treated the blood and the laundry was in the washer, he sank down to the floor, his face burrowing into his knees and he cried himself to sleep, lulled by the rumbling of the washing machine against his trembling back.

Chapter 3

#vixx #vixxfic #ot6 #hmmm... what's going on with these boys?#if you have any theories #feel free to talk to me about them

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