Long Journey || ATEEZ

Dreamers

San felt a little empty without his Dark Energy.

According to Juyeong, he wouldn't be able to use it properly for quite a while; as he had only managed to put San's Dark Energy channels together, they still needed time to heal. Hence, any strenuous use of his Dark Energy was prohibited.

It felt weird, to not have that familiar buzz of his Dark Energy taking up a small corner of his mind. Though it had once been a curse, as San learnt to wield it and work with it, it became more like a blessing. A companion that had been by his side through thick and thin.

And now that companion was gone, even if it was only temporarily.

San couldn't help feeling a little jealous every time he saw Hongjoongie-hyung or Seonghwa-hyung using their own Dark Energy, even if it was for trivial purposes.

He raised his hand, concentrated, tried to feel the flow of his Dark Energy inside his fingers. There was a spark, a sudden splutter of pink, but it disappeared, leaving behind only a sullen emptiness.

San sighed as he dropped his hand.

"Watch out!" came Seonghwa-hyung's voice, and San felt some Dark Energy brush against his skin.

"What was it, hyung?" San asked as the older demon joined his side at the edge of the deck, overlooking the sea.

"A mosquito," Seonghwa replied.

"Holy Eterna, there's been a load of those recently."

"I know," Seonghwa said, bristling in irritation as he resisted the urge to itch one of his bites (with not much success). "They're so annoying."

"Agreed," came Jongho's voice as he joined the pair. "I fucking hate bugs."

"Seonghwa-hyung, do you have a pair of tweezers on you?" Mingi asked as he joined the trio but on the other side to Jongho.

"No, why?"

"Reasons," Mingi shrugged.

"I have some," San said, feeling around in his pockets, before producing a pair of tweezers, and handing them over to Mingi.

"Why do you have tweezers on-hand?" Jongho commented.

San shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Because—HOLY SHIT!" the maknae suddenly yelled, jumping backwards a foot or so.

Mingi glanced up from whatever he was doing with the tweezers, puzzled.

"What's wrong, Jongho?" Seonghwa asked in concern.

"WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE A MOSQUITO IN YOUR HAND??!?" Jongho screeched hysterically, pointing shakily at Mingi's hand, where a giant mosquito – one of the many that had been bothering the ATINY and her crew all week – thrashed and flailed its flimsy limbs uselessly in-between the fairy's thumb and forefinger. "AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO IT??!?"

San sniggered a little. The fact that their maknae, the most powerful of the crew who could even harness the power of the gods, was afraid of bugs was amusing.

"I'm removing its needle," Mingi said simply, nonplussed, and went back to removing the mosquito's needle with San's tweezers. "There you go," he said once he'd finished, placing the mosquito gently onto the railing. "Now don't bother me and my friends, alright?"

"Why didn't you just kill it?" San asked. "That would have taken a lot less effort."

"Oh come on San, it's mean to just kill them."

"What you're doing to them is the same as killing them," Seonghwa pointed out.

"What? No no no," Mingi said. "That's up to them. I've already done my part."