Area One

33

They didn't hear from Minister Ju during the next days. Instead, Yifan received dozens of other calls daily, usually other politicians asking to cooperate with them. He usually shut them down saying "I haven't learned too much about politics yet, but is it possible that there is going to be an election soon?"

He had actually looked it up and confirmed his suspicion after the third call, but Junmyeon suspected that he enjoyed the awkward silence that followed every time. Yifan also liked listing what other people had offered so far because the callers would always make an effort to vie for their cooperation.

Some guessed correctly that they weren't interested in cooperation and did their best to scare him away from these thoughts. They needed someone to 'guide' them after all, someone to 'protect' them and show them how politics worked since they had 'so much potential to change the world for the better'.

Junmyeon knew they had that potential, and Yifan knew it as well. But having seen what the thoughts of people in power were like, they had decided not to interfere in politics whenever they could avoid it.

They didn't feel bad for turning every single offer down, but the way the calls just didn't stop coming in made them worry. No one had complained publicly about being rejected so far, as the callers were probably thinking it would be seen as a defeat against the people the boys would actually end up working with. But as soon as they realized that every offer had been turned down, the atmosphere would change. They would be seen as uncooperative, arrogant or selfish if they didn't use their powers for 'a good cause.'

These worries were turning bigger and bigger and Junmyeon met with Namjoon, Yifan, Minseok and Luhan at least once per day to discuss what they could do. It was a good thing Yifan had learned so much about politics while trying to establish ties to important people outside of the test area.

"We have actually been receiving calls from organizations as well," said Yifan one day. "Some of them have strong ties to politicians, like Chronos did, but there are a few that are completely independent."

Namjoon didn't look too hopeful. "The power of Chronos caused other environmental organizations to lose a lot of their influence. Wouldn't we completely lose everyone's attention if we did that?"

"I actually think it's quite the contrary," Yifan explained. "We've been receiving so much attention that whichever party we work with will basically become famous overnight. Why do you think we're getting so many offers?"

Junmyeon frowned at his implication. "Do we want to cooperate with someone who wants to gain fame through us?"

Yifan shook his head. "It depends on what you want to use this attention for. I did some research on this and quite a few of these organizations have genuine goals, they just aren't heard by the people." After a short pause, he continued: "In this aspect, they need us more than any politicians do. So even though they won't be able to make big promises in the beginning, they will do everything to give us the conditions we want. We might be a lot freer in our decisions than with any politician."

They considered his idea for a while. Luhan chuckled. "All the politicians would hate us, but they wouldn't be able to say anything if the people like it."

It wouldn't be easy, but Junmyeon had started liking the idea as well. They continued talking about their possibilities for a while. Yifan promised to search for fitting partners right away and left the room, already lifting his phone to his ear.

Namjoon and Minseok shared a look. "I suppose this meeting has ended," said Namjoon and stood up while stretching his arms.

Minseok copied his action and smiled at Junmyeon and Luhan. "See you tomorrow."