cloak-and-dagger → ateez (spy school au)

5 → Changes

"Joo Ha! You made it!"

Wooyoung pushed past a group of students before wrapping his arms around me. My mood was instantly lifted as we had to fly to another city for our school's ski training. It was my first ever plane ride, so I was quite exhausted.

"How long have you been here?" I said.

"Over an hour already," Wooyoung reported, "Your bus was the last to get here. We better get you to your room before all the good ones are taken."

"No need."

Yeosang jumped out from behind me, making me startled by the sudden pressure of his arms on my shoulders. The boys erupted with laughter at the sight of me before continuing the conversation.

"We're in the same room!" Yeosang exclaimed.

"What? That's unfair! I have to share a room with some kid named Seojun, and I don't even know him." Wooyoung protested, stomping on the snow.

"Well, one could say that being a resident adviser has some of its perks..." Yeosang murmured, "But that's besides the point, Joo Ha is shy and is too new here so I thought it'd be a good idea to let her room with us. You, on the other hand, are a social butterfly and can definitely handle that guy for the next week or so."

Wooyoung uttered an almost inaudible "fine" and rolled his eyes, wrapping his arm around me as a breeze passed by.

"It's not that big of a deal Wooyoung, our whole unit literally stays on the same floor."

I let out a chuckle. "I thought he was placed in a completely different building or something from the way he was reacting, gosh, Wooyoung." I flicked him on the forehead as he snuggled closer onto my shoulder, hiding away the embarrassment on his face.

The snow started to thicken under my feet, sending shivers up my spine. I hoisted my luggage out of the bus and proceeded to the hotel with the guys. Just then, Jongho stepped out of the building's door.

"You just got here?" he asked me.

"A few minutes ago." I replied, "We're on the way to our floor."

"Then that's perfect, let me give you a hand."

Jongho lifted my suitcase off the ground like it was a feather and casually slung it over his shoulder. I was taken aback and informed him about the wheels under the suitcase, but he insisted on carrying it all the way up anyway, as it was his form of "exercise" for the day.

As we passed by Jongho's room, I caught a glimpse of Yunho setting his duffel bag on the bed. Looks like the two Ho's were rooming together.

Yunho turned out to also be one of the best future spies of the school as I got to know more about the rest of ATEEZ. He was an exceptionally diligent student, being incredibly smart and a great athlete at the same time (Jongho and Yunho combined were strong enough to defeat 20 other students at any game of sports). When the ski trip was announced, he was beyond excited, since he described himself as "a freak of nature". His face was topped with golden blonde hair and adorned with flawless features.

It was an understatement to say that Yunho was the most good-looking man I had ever met.

"Get back here and unpack quickly, Joo Ha!" I heard a voice shouting from down the hallway, "Jongho wants to host a karaoke session in his room in 15 minutes!"

There was no way.

Him? It couldn't be. And here? How could he possibly be here?

The owner of the voice bolted down to where I stood, removing the black bucket hat he was wearing. Time slowed down as I took in his facial features, an overwhelming feeling taking over my body.

This just couldn't be. I slapped my face lightly and the pain shooted up my head. I wasn't dreaming, and he was real.

An ugly cry reverberated across the walls as I clung onto him, part of me still fearing that if I had let go, he would disappear. I buried my face into his chest, tears threatening to spill from my eyes while I consumed his familiar warmth in the middle of the icy weather.

"I'm sorry, Joo Ha." was all he said, his voice as warm as a cup of hot chocolate and blankets on a cold day of winter.

"Song Mingi, I missed you." I responded, and I could feel a smile forming on his lips the moment I managed to say his name again.

Before he left, "Song Mingi" was the only name that could make me keep going and deal with life head-on. We were best friends since childhood, and he was the one who helped me through hard times in place of my parents who were never there. This only ended when he supposedly "transferred" to a prestigious culinary school in America, in which I had become very upset.

Maybe joining this espionage academy was destiny after all.

"How did you manage to hide from me all this time when I've been glued to the hip with your friends?" I bursted out, face still red from all the crying.

"At first, I freaked out, I didn't know how to face you after all the time that had passed... I'm a treasurer so I don't take the same classes as you do anyway, so I just avoided you for the longest time." Mingi replied, eyes narrowing sadly. "But now that you've basically integrated into my unit, I decided to man up. Plus, I missed your presence so much it was eating me up alive."

"I knew no cooking school would accept you with those skills of yours, let alone give you a full scholarship." I pouted, staring back at him with red puffy eyes.

"...Really? Because I remember having to lend someone a shoulder to cry on for 3 days straight, sure it wasn't you?" Mingi whispered, the hint of sarcasm bringing a smile to my face. "Now that's better, you look better when you're happy, Joo Ha."

"I forgive you, no need for any more apologies. Makes sense though, you're smart, sporty, and pretty much good at everything, very spy-material." I released him from my suffocating embrace and wiped the tears off my face. "But please don't leave me like that again, life was very hard without you."

"I promise, I promise I'll never leave your sight again." Mingi declared, holding out a pinky finger.

Just like that, everything in the world felt right to me again.

♥︎ ------------------------------- ♥︎

Mingi 🥰🥰🥰

That's it, that's all I gotta say.