ENG - Fractured Fates ʰʸᵘⁿˡᶦˣ

29

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Hyunjin POV

A deafening, shrill noise snapped me out of my reverie. With disheveled hair and sleepy eyes that refused to open, I sat up grumpily and glanced around the room. That's right, I was now forced to live with Felix.
The noise sounded again and I realized by now that it was coming from the front door. I sighed and glanced at the clock. It was only 4 pm. I yawned heartily before pulling myself together and moving towards the door to see who this disturbing person was who dared to wake me from my sleep.

I came across Felix in the hallway, who was just opening his bedroom door but stopped abruptly when he saw me. He hid behind his door a little, as if he was afraid I would hurt him. I rolled my eyes and yanked the door open with an annoyed "What?", expressing my disdain for the situation.
An elderly lady with silver-grey hair stood in front of me, looking at me with a stern expression. She was wearing a flowered blouse that looked as old-fashioned as she was and a long skirt that hid her legs. Her hands were clasped tightly on her handbag, as if she feared I might steal it from her. I let my gaze wander over her briefly and scrutinized her from head to toe. "I'm not buying anything, get lost," I said coolly and slammed the door in her face again.

I was just about to head back towards the living room to continue my sleep when the doorbell rang again. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to calm myself down. With an annoyed shake of my head, I yanked the front door open again and looked down at the little woman angrily. "Who are you? And how dare you open the door like that?" she blurted out immediately, pointing her finger at me. "Put some clothes on and don't open the front door half naked, especially the front door of an apartment that doesn't belong to you," she continued, as if she had the last word in this situation.
I rolled my eyes and leaned against the doorframe, crossed my arms in front of my chest and eyed her waitingly. "I already said, I'm not buying, so pull the cord," I repeated myself, my voice sounding sharp and impatient.

She was outraged by my words, her face contorted into a grimace of anger. Her eyebrows drew together, her lips pressed into a thin line. She pointed her finger at me again, her movement quick and full of anger. Her nail polish was bright red, a contrast to her pale skin. "How are you even talking to me? I'm older than you and therefore deserve respect," she said, her voice sounding offended and reproachful. I raised my eyebrow and took another closer look at her. "You don't have to tell me that you're old, after all, there's no mistaking it," I muttered quietly and full of scorn, my voice dripping with derision as a slight smile played around my lips. "The way you look, your playmates were still the dinosaurs."
Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open in horror. For a moment, she looked as if she couldn't quite grasp the words. "Really," she said indignantly, gasping for breath. "I really don't look that old!"

With an angry snort, she pushed past me into the apartment and called loudly for Felix. I turned in her direction and saw Felix, the blond one, coming out from behind his door.
His eyes widened when he realized who was coming towards him. "Mom, what are you doing here?" he asked and gave her a quick hug. I could see his hands shaking, a clear sign that he was still scared. His face was pale and a nervous twitch ran through his cheek as our eyes met briefly.
With a roll of my eyes, I slammed the door shut again and finally dropped back onto the couch. From here, I had a good view of the two of them still standing in the hallway. "Felix, who is this rude man?" she asked him, her voice sounding sharp and demanding.
Felix looked uncertainly at me, then back at his mother and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "He," he began and paused as he swallowed. "He's a friend and he lives with me now," he finally said, his voice sounding quiet and unsure.

His mother turned to me with a sharp, indignant movement. She took a step in front of me to look down at me from above. I returned her gaze with a mixture of boredom and indifference, but I couldn't stop my face from contorting into an annoyed expression. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Felix walk towards the kitchen and open the fridge.
"So you're a friend of my son's, are you?" she asked me incredulously, her voice sounding suspicious and full of doubt. I could hear her almost contemptuously emphasizing the word 'friend'. "Felix doesn't have such disrespectful people as friends. Who are you really?" Her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest and her lips pressed together into a thin, hard line, as if she was trying to hold back her anger and disappointment.

I yawned again, because I was terribly tired and this confrontation exhausted me even more. Stressed, I held my forehead, which was throbbing with pain, and that shrill, accusatory voice of that old hag didn't make it any more pleasant. "Felix's friend," I replied curtly as I continued to look at her.
She narrowed her eyes skeptically and looked at me even more suspiciously. "My son already told me that. I want to know who you really are and what your relationship is to my son," she continued, her voice becoming sharper and more demanding, as if she was trying to intimidate me, which didn't work at all.

Annoyed, I let my head move down my neck for a moment and felt my muscles tense. I let it crack before lifting it again and leaning forward slightly to give her my full attention.
"You old bag is really getting on my nerves. Are you really too stupid to understand that simple statement?" I said, waving my hand as if I were shooing away an annoying fly. This woman would rob me of every sane nerve in my brain if I had to keep talking to her.
"Old biddy? Now listen to me," she began angrily, but I interrupted her by standing up and leaning down towards her. "No, you listen to me now. You old witch have no business interfering in his life or who he socializes with. So get that in somewhere between your gray brain cells and fuck off," I growled angrily at her.

She seemed completely stunned for a moment, her eyes widened in shock and her mouth was half open as if to scream a protest, but no sound escaped her lips.
But then she gathered all her anger and disappointment and hurled another question at me: "How dare you speak to me like that? After all, I am Felix's mother and I have the right to know who he has as a friend and whether they are a good influence on him. You're nothing but a disrespectful, rude bully."
I rolled my eyes in annoyance and groaned inwardly. I really had to pull myself together to stay calm and not freak out either. I gripped her trembling, old, wrinkled waist and pulled her closer to me while I placed my other hand roughly under her chin and lifted her head in my direction so that she had to look me in the eye. "Now listen to me, you dinosaur tamer. If you-" I began, but was interrupted when Felix started to speak in between, his voice sounding pleading and desperate. "Please stop arguing, I don't want you to. Mom, please leave him alone and you, Hyunjin, please let her go. I don't want a fight." His eyes shone with tears and his lower lip trembled slightly.

My eyes wandered to the blond man who was still standing in the kitchen, clutching a cup tightly in his hand. His eyes were fixed on the floor and he looked as if he wanted to sink into the ground.
Then I looked back at the old witch in front of me, who looked like a raging fury, and shoved her roughly away from me, causing her to stagger back a step. I dropped onto the couch, exhausted, and let out an annoyed sigh.
She turned to her son and walked towards him. Her eyes were still narrowed with anger and her hands were clenched into fists. "Felix, what kind of guy have you got yourself into? You should get rid of him as soon as possible. He's arrogant, has no manners whatsoever as he can't even manage to put his clothes on and is completely disrespectful towards older people. He also touches me. That's not on. I thought when you met someone that he... just not like that," she said as she walked up to her son and grabbed him by the shoulders. Her voice sounded disappointed and angry at the same time, and I could see Felix's body tense under her touch. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "He seems like he's had absolutely no upbringing. He's not going to be good for you, please kick him out," she continued to plead.

A snort of laughter escaped my throat and I licked my dry lips. Looking at this woman, I was more than happy not to have a mother who constricted and controlled me so much.
I stood up again and walked towards her. I grabbed her roughly by the arm while my eyes flashed with anger. "You old hag will leave now, I don't want you here," I said, my voice sounding cold and harsh, already dragging her towards the front door. "Let go of me, please! This is my son's apartment and you can't just throw me out like that," she protested, fidgeting stupidly to get away. Her shoes clacked on the wooden floor and her breathing quickened.

I snorted contemptuously and pushed her roughly outside so that she almost lost her balance. I propped myself up against the doorframe and watched her go with a grim smile. "And how I can do that. I live here now too, so it's my apartment and I can kick out whoever I want. You'd better get lost now, because I'm going to rip Felix's clothes off and fuck him so that he can't do anything but moan my name out loud," I choked out with a grin and then slammed the door in her face.
With a stressed exhalation, I ran my fingers through my hair and went back into the living room. Felix was still standing in the open kitchen, stirring a spoon in a cup, lost in thought. His eyebrows were slightly drawn together, which made his concern even clearer. "Did you really have to say that last sentence?" he asked me quietly.

I looked up at him briefly, but averted my eyes again and reached for my cell phone. "Of course it had to be, otherwise that witch would never have disappeared," I said as I answered Minho, who had sent me a message earlier.
With a low growl, I threw the cell phone on the couch and walked towards Felix. I stopped on the other side of the small kitchen island and leaned against it. He pushed the cup of coffee towards me, which exuded a soothing aroma. But I pushed it back with a dismissive gesture and a disgusted look on my face. I looked at the blond, his eyes seemed dull and tired.
"So that was your mother, was it?" I asked more calmly. He nodded slightly and took the cup again to drink from it himself. His eyes seemed to sink into the dark liquid. "Quite annoying," I muttered, but my words sounded hollow and insignificant.
I walked around the kitchen island and opened the fridge, which was much more stocked compared to Minho's and mine. But I only reached for a bottle of water, as this guy had nothing else to drink.

The time until Minho arrived passed in silence, as neither he nor I started a conversation, which was more than fine with me. When the doorbell finally rang, I went to open it and Minho entered with his usual casual gait, followed by his black-haired appendage. His eyes wandered to Felix and his friend, who immediately threw their arms around each other's necks.
He threw himself down on the couch and dug something out of his jacket pocket. "Here are the tracking sensors," he said and threw them on the glass table. I took one of the things in my hand and pulled it out of the silver package. "Yeonjun even said that they've recently been equipped with an eavesdropping function. So we can eavesdrop on them even when we're not around," he babbled on, continuing to rummage around in his pocket.
He threw a small black box on the table and looked at me. "You do that though, you're more skilled than me," he just rambled on without getting any response from me.
But that was enough for us. We got along without having to talk to each other.

Rolling my eyes, I looked at the other two and sighed. "Come here," I said and sat down on the couch too. Reluctantly, the other two did as I asked and came closer. I grabbed the black-haired man's arm and pushed him between my legs on the floor in front of me so that he was sitting with his back to me.
I unpacked the rest of the clothes and placed them next to me on the couch. Then I reached for the small box that Minho had brought with him. It contained tweezers, a scalpel and something for stitching, which wouldn't be necessary as the incision would only be minimal, and a small tube of disinfectant with wipes.

I grabbed the scalpel and tilted the black-haired boy's head to one side. "Do you really have to do that? We won't give anything away," the boy in front of me mumbled, but fortunately didn't resist. Apparently Minho had already warned him what was about to happen.
Without answering him, I disinfected the spot behind his ear with a cloth. The cool dampness made him flinch slightly, but he remained still. With a steady hand, I applied the scalpel and made a small, precise incision, barely larger than five millimetres. The boy in front of me flinched at the contact and suppressed a soft hiss, but otherwise remained motionless.
I picked up the tiny chip from the sensor with the tweezers and pushed it under the boy's skin. Then I pressed the cloth against the incision and mumbled a quiet: "Hold on."

Minho next to me was busy configuring our cell phones to connect to the sensors. The black-haired boy slowly stood up and made room for Felix, who looked at me expectantly with a queasy feeling in his eyes.
I noticed how he swallowed and hesitated. "It won't hurt," the other boy reassured him reassuringly and gave him an encouraging smile. With an uncertain look and trembling hands, Felix finally stepped forward and sat down in front of me, just as the black-haired boy had done.
I repeated the procedure, tilted his head to the side and brushed his soft, blond hair aside. I disinfected the area behind his ear and made the small incision. I used the tweezers to insert the sensor into his ear too. In contrast to the black-haired boy, who sat calmly in front of me, Felix's whole body trembled.
I pressed the cloth behind his ear, which he immediately held tightly and stood up to move away from me.

After I had pushed everything that was next to me on the couch onto the table, I leaned back and looked over Minho's shoulder. His eyes were fixed on the screens and his fingers kept tapping on the surfaces.
When he was done, he handed me my cell phone. "Everything's working," he said and then looked at the two of them on the floor, who were sitting close together. Even I almost felt sorry for them at the pathetic sight.
"You still think this is a good idea?" I finally asked as he bent down to put everything back together. He looked at me with a confident grin. "Sure, it'll be fun," he said, putting everything he'd brought back into his bag.

"Are we going to be held captive forever now?" asked Felix, his voice trembling but still sounding brave, which actually surprised me.
My best friend next to me waved his hand casually and shook his head. "No, no, don't worry," he said in a voice that sounded so cold and calculating that it sent a shiver down my spine. "With the sensors that Hyunjin implanted in you, you can carry on with your life as you are used to. You can go to work, meet up with friends or go outside. We can now listen in on you at any time and see where you are."
He paused briefly to let his words sink in. "Not much will change for you, except that we'll be staying with you and you'll be monitored. I don't think you're stupid enough to blurt something out, but control is better than trust, as we all know."
He smiled, a thin, humorless smile. "And if you do blab something by writing it down on a piece of paper or something to give us away... Well, let's put it this way: you don't want to find out. So you'd better not betray the trust we have in you," he added, his smile widening and getting creepier. "Besides, we've got our own crap to deal with and no time to play babysitter for you 24/7."

The two boys nodded understandingly and it was quiet again. But it didn't stay that way for long, because the doorbell rang again. Felix got up immediately, as none of us made any effort to move. He looked at me and his eyes asked for permission. I nodded and he went to the door.
I could tell from the shrill voice that it was the old witch from earlier ringing the doorbell again. The blonde came back into the living room with her and looked at me apologetically, as if he could help it.
"Oh Jisung, you're here too?" she asked in surprise when she saw the other boy sitting on the floor. He smiled and immediately stood up to hug the old biddy, whom he obviously knew, in greeting. "That's great," she said with a beaming smile. "I wanted to invite Felix and his... well, whatever he is, to dinner to get to know him better. You're welcome too."

The other boy's eyes widened in surprise, and he turned his gaze to Minho, as if hoping for his approval of what he just heard. "Uhh, that sounds fantastic," my best friend said with a burgeoning enthusiasm in his voice and slowly rose from his seat.
He put his arm around the black-haired boy's shoulders as if they had been best friends for ages and held his hand out to the woman with a polite smile that emphasized his charming manner. "We would be very pleased if we could come over. I'm Minho, Jisung's friend," he introduced himself with a gesture that emphasized his feigned friendliness.

The woman looked quite pleased as she returned Minho's introduction and also introduced herself. "Felix, why didn't you look for a polite and courteous young man like Minho?" his mother admonished him with a slightly reprimanding undertone, but also a hint of admiration for my best friend.
With an angry growl, I stood up and angrily approached the woman, who looked at me with a surprised expression. "You old hag," I snapped at her, but before I could reach her, Felix held me back, standing in front of me and looking at me pleadingly with his big eyes full of fear and worry. "Mom, we'd love to come. Why don't you go ahead, we'll be right behind you. We still have to get ready," he said in a worried voice and then turned to his mother, who fortunately gave in and then disappeared again.

When the woman had gone, Minho burst out laughing and patted me on the shoulder encouragingly. "I told you this would be funny," he said with a big grin on his face. "Fuck off," I growled angrily and shoved him roughly away from me.

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