Changbin lay in a hospital bed, an IV attached to his arm supplying blood. His eyes were focused nowhere in particular, and he felt a bit uncomfortable in his hospital clothes. The door to the room opened, and he turned his head to view the doctor who stepped in.
"Hello, are you recovering well?" she smiled at him, fixing her pink hair that was tied into a bun. "I'm alright." Changbin responded, staring up at the ceiling as she took a seat at the desk by his bed. "You remember what brought you here, right?" she asked. "Yeah." he replied.
He was minding his business in the city with his friends, when they were suddenly attacked by a ruffian gang downtown. Thankfully, a Guardian stepped in to help, making quick work of the assailants before handing them over to authorities. She was not there for long, only speaking to them to tell them they were safe, although they sustained major injuries. She was elegant, her hanbok flying in the wind. Her moves were graceful and light as she held her heavy sword, and she injured the gang easily, as if she was merely playing a game. He made out her cerulean hair and tanned skin, along with a velvety voice, before he went blank.
"A Guardian saved me," Changbin told the doctor. "Yes, that's right. Your friends are fine as well, although they've been discharged. Your wounds were more fatal and you need extra attention. I hope you won't mind being here for the next little while." the doctor told him. "How long is a while?" Changbin asked. "A few months." she said. Changbin sighed, but hummed as he accepted his fate. "Alright." He pursed his lips before talking again. "Which Guardian saved me?" he asked her. "Number one did. You should be very thankful." she answered. Number one... "Okay."
The doctor did a few checkups before allowing him to walk around the hospital with his IV still attached. She walked out of the room, and he stayed idle for a moment before standing, wincing as he felt a small amount of pain. He brushed it off and stood, taking his IV with him as he walked out the sliding door. The place was very busy, people walking around and emergency patients being hauled in through the back door.
Changbin huffed with the realization that if he would be here, he would have to get used to all the noise (as he grew older, his tolerance for noise increased thanks to staying here for a while). He walked aimlessly, peeking into random rooms and apologizing as he wandered into the wrong places. He found himself at a balcony, where a lone patient sat. He didn't have an IV with him, but he was sitting on a chair with his hands lazily at his sides.
Changbin saw another chair and sat beside the boy who looked about his age, the boy looking over at him. They made eye contact, and Changbin's heart swelled at how weak the man looked. He had brown hair that was tattered and disheveled, and the eyebags under his eyes were prominent. Despite this, the boy gave him a small smile.
"Hello. Are you new?" he asked. His voice was weak, too. "Yeah. I'll be here for a few months. My injuries were quite fatal." Changbin responded. "I see. I'm here because I have severe asthenia. I've been here for a year now." the boy said. "It must be hard." Changbin frowned. "It's alright. I'll get by." the boy responded. He slowly put out his hand for a handshake.
"Lee Minho." "Seo Changbin."
They shook hands softly, and perhaps that was when their lives changed completely. "So... how old are you?" Changbin asked. "I'm 14, I'll be 15 this year." "I'll be 15 next year." "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "A police officer, probably. I wanna help people." "I wanna do that too." "Like, be a Guardian?"
"No, no. That's too much for someone as weak as me. Even if I allowed it, which I never will, I would miss my old life. It may sound crazy, but being weak makes me feel special in my own way. We can't all just put on an act and pretend we're okay. Someone has to show their weaknesses sometimes." Changbin would later learn in the coming months that Minho had still been concealing information. "I see." It was silent after that, as night settled.
--
Changbin replayed that first meeting in his mind, and as he stood in front of Lee Know, he deduced that no- this was not the same person. They simply looked alike. Their behaviours and names were different, and Minho never wanted to become a Guardian. Lee Know was a Guardian. And therefore, they were not the same.
"It's nice to meet you both. Let's forgo the pleasantries and look for more evidence." Miss Kim told them. "Right, let's get to it." Lee Know was quick to exile himself from the group, walking off into the halls. They followed behind him. "I have to ask, what did you do with the robots?" Changbin asked Jisung. "Ah, that! They get absorbed into my ruby, and I can access their data at any point in time! It's a world of experiments and possibilities that I can pluck out when I want." "So you're a mad scientist?" Changbin asked with a smile, Jisung smiling back playfully. "You could say that."
Jisung said he had to assist the people investigating the homes, so he left Lee Know with them. Miss Kim went into another room, while Changbin and Lee Know arrived in a place where there were still some holo papers intact, but it seems to have suffered the most damage. As they began to examine the damage and look through pages, Lee Know spoke up. "You're glancing at me a lot. Is there something about me that makes you uncomfortable?" Lee Know asked. Changbin stuttered a bit. "N-No, it's just... you look a lot like someone I used to know, is all." Changbin said. Lee Know hummed. "Hm. Did this person make you uncomfortable at all?"
"No, it's just that we didn't end off on good terms and I never saw him again. It's fine though, this was a decade ago. I've moved past it as much as I could." Changbin assured him. "Well, I won't pry. Come here, I think I've found something." Changbin obeyed and looked at the research on the holo page, although it was glitching immensely. "It's research on genetic information, and how it can affect the mind. It seems that this information was targeted, if we can assume that this explosion was deliberate." Lee Know said. The mind...
"Alright. Let's turn this in as evidence and take pictures." Changbin nodded. They sealed the research into a bag and took photos of crime scenes before regrouping with Miss Kim and heading back down to the villages. "Two hours are up, and we've gathered as much evidence as we could. We need to get back to the station!" Miss Kim rounded up all the people in the squad for a moment as she spoke. The flying car then arrived on queue. "Please submit any evidence you may have to number eight and five before returning to the craft." Everyone did so, Changbin turning to the two guardians who were unfazed by how cold it was, despite wearing unprotected layers of clothing, after speaking with Miss Kim.
"I've been ordered by the Captain to assist the Guardian Clan further in the investigation. I'll be heading back with you guys." Changbin told them. "Yup, we got that from HQ as well! I'd love to have you around!!" Jisung smiled and clapped his hands, Changbin smiling under his mask. "Let's not delay then." Lee Know walked off towards where their own craft was. "Is he always this eager to walk off?" Changbin asked Jisung, as they were further back from Lee Know. "He's usually a lone wolf. He is quite cold on the outside but he's caring when you get to know him. However, you guys just met, so he'll keep up that act for some time. Unlike me, who loves to work with others. Me and number four were here to evacuate civilians." Jisung explained.
"I can hear you back there, Han." Lee Know said, Jisung chuckling nervously. "Sorry hyung, you're just a good conversation topic~" Jisung laughed. "Tch. Just get in the car." Lee Know got in the back of the craft, and Changbin shook his head with a smile at their antics. He anticipated meeting other members of the Clan.
◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆ A/N: the plot is thiccening
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