Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Nine

Minho looked up from his phone just as the door opened. He barely shifted from his spot on the couch as Felix walked in, stifling a yawn. He returned his attention to his Instagram feed for but a moment; he nearly jumped when his eyes landed on Jisung coming in after Felix.

He hadn't been expecting Felix to bring anyone back; he was wearing oversized, stained, grey sweatpants and an oversized shirt that nearly hung off his shoulders. Jisung met his eyes, and they soon became transfixed; a shiver crept up his spine, and goosebumps appeared on his skin as he stayed underneath that stare,

He leaned forward slightly, unable to tear his gaze away; he could've sworn there were flecks of gold in his warm eyes if he looked closely enough, if the light reflected off of them well enough. He broke out of his stupor, and even Jisung startled back, blinking dazedly, almost as though he couldn't wrap his mind around what had just happened, either.

Felix scrutinized them, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. Just then, Changbin walked into the room, and Minho looked over at them, grinning sheepishly. He walked over towards Felix and Jisung, holding his hand out.

Jisung's eyes widened slightly and his nose twitched, but he smiled regardless, shaking the boy's outstretched hand. "I'm Han Jisung." Han Jisung. So that was his full name. Minho turned to stare out the window, a sudden calmness washing over him. Han Jisung.

The three others settled down on the couch, and Felix, taking the seat next to Changbin, left no choice but for Jisung to sit beside Minho. His cheeks coloured slightly, and he cursed his bad attire, but it wasn't like he could just get up and change now. That'd be too obvious.

He wished Felix would've told him he was inviting the boy over; at least, that way, he could've made himself presentable for the boy he was interested in only a little bit.

Awkward silence plagued the air around them, and Minho shifted, looking around the room, at anything but Jisung. Eventually, after several moments of the tense quiet, his eyes landed back on the other male; he couldn't help it. It was almost as if he were drawn to something, but as he took in the boy's appearance, he couldn't tell what it was that intrigued him so much.

He forced himself not to look away when he found that Jisung was already looking at him; even Felix and Changbin were uncharacteristically silent. He cleared his throat. "I... um, Felix told me you were... attacked?" Jisung's eyes widened and he cast a look at his friend from across the room. "By an animal. How... how are you?" He cursed his stutter now, too.

"O-Oh..." Jisung laughed, but even Minho could tell it sounded a little forced, as though he wasn't expecting that question. "Much better. It wasn't as bad as he said it was, I'm sure." He leaned forward, a playful smile doting on his lips. "He's a bit of a drama queen." He winked, and Minho snickered, nodding his agreement.

Felix pouted from across the room; maybe Jisung hadn't spoken all that quietly if he'd still heard him. "Let's watch a movie?" he said at last, and everyone nodded their agreement; at least, that was better than the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon them.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Jisung yawned; they were half-way through their second movie, and already night had fallen, coating the world in its dark glow. Moving to his left caught his eye, and he turned his head ever-so-slightly, just about making out Minho's form, curled up under a blanket, in the dim screen light.

Changbin and Felix were muttering amongst themselves on the couch beside him, but they were more background noise now, and so was the movie, the action sequences flashing by, unregistered by his mind, the explosions ringing out and fading quickly.

Lightning struck outside, and he jumped, tearing his eyes away from Minho. Through the window leading onto a small, weathered balcony, his eyes widened as they landed on something. Or rather... someone.

The lightning illuminated it just enough for him to see the dark figure peering at them through the curtain-less window, a black, opaque cloak wrapped around him, the hood pulled up to shield his face. Yet what struck him as odd, was that the wind of the newborn storm outside did not seem to affect the cloak; it did not move, or sway, or billow.

He swallowed thickly, and as the small light the storm provided faded, he sat in tense silence. Moments later lightning struck again, but the balcony was empty, not a single trace that anyone could have been there moments before.

He raised his nose in the air, sniffing, but he was met with no strange scent lurking about; no scent at all, apart from Minho's, and Changbin's, and Felix's, and his own... His eyebrows furrowed; he couldn't even smell the gas seeping through car exhaust's on the busy street below, or the stench of trash that undoubtedly lurked in the alleyways around them.

No city smell. Not a single scent of rain.

He leapt to his feet, startling the other three boys in the room as he walked towards the balcony. He distantly heard Felix ask him what he was doing, but it barely registered at all. His heartbeat grew louder and louder in his ears. Something coiled in his stomach the closer he got to the balcony's glass door. His hand wrapped around the knob and the door clicked open.

When he stepped out, the smells hit him full force again; he wrinkled his nose, gagging at the sudden assault on his nostrils. He approached the metal railing, dotted with little spots of rust. Wind and rain beat down on him, and he squinted against the torrents, turning in a slow circle.

Then his eyes landed on what he'd indirectly been searching for.

Words in a language he could not understand, though he could tell by the script that it was ancient, and magical, glimmered dully, faint to his wolf's eye. To any human, it would have been completely invisible. He advanced towards the line of text, wrapping around the length of Felix's apartment and disappearing within the walls, his steps slow and heavy.

He crouched down, tracing a finger over the well-concealed marks. If he hadn't been searching for them, he doubted he'd have found them. He realized with sinking dread that whoever had placed these there had known there were wolves inside... and hadn't wanted them to find out they were there.

A/N: So volunteering today was fun. I think I made a friend, too; she invited me to be the singer in a new funk band she's starting ;) wink wonk I'm kinda excited (and she gave me sushiiii)

Q: What's the most annoying noise?

A: Chewing; especially when I'm annoyed with the person. It gets 100x worse when I'm annoyed at them.

Lots of love,

~Junnie