𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

32; 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨

"yo, what's up? we can hear your screeches from the seventh floor." soonyoung appears. mingyu was following behind. "i'm sure they're going to go up here sooner, too."

"i get that they're trying to rest at this hour, but you see, we exchanged our abilities accidentally and we don't know what to do." wonwoo says, soonyoung walks up to them, but wonwoo stops him. "no! approaching us is the worst idea. you might get involved."

"aw, but i kinda wanna get involved!" soonyoung makes a run for wonwoo, but the wonwoo he tried to headbutt was an illusion, firing up the latter only more. "woah! you really did exchange abilities! me too!"

"no, soonyoung." joshua replied, voice firm and final. soonyoung turned to look at him but he was busy typing away. "we didn't exactly change abilities, we have each other's dna in us so we have two abilities and we could die, our bodies are too frail to hold the power—"

"hey, don't underestimate yourselves—"

"soonyoung, this is not the time for uplifting messages." two wonwoos appear in front of soonyoung, taunting him. soonyoung sliced his hand through the illusion and sighs. "i thought i can join in on the fun..."

"—it worked!" joshua exclaims. soonyoung turned his head to where joshua stood. wow, soonyoung never knew sands of time can do that. he would've done it if he was given a chance. (he regrets not figuring it out when he and jihoon hunted for it.) "oh, wait, wonwoo! i have something to tell you."

soonyoung tunes in, hoping to hear some important information about sands of time. "yes, hyung?"

though soonyoung was focused, he was quite blown away to hear wonwoo utter an honorific. hey, soonyoung's older than wonwoo and he didn't get a honorific after his name!

"i named it wrong earlier. the nano needles don't actually take your blood—i worded it wrong, silly me. there is no dna in the..."

soonyoung sighed and tuned out, going back to his room. wonwoo was eagerly listening to joshua, with good intent seen in his eyes. unlike soonyoung, who easily became bored when these types of stuff are talked about.

"hyung, you could've simplified the programming so it could be connected to a phone or a smaller gadget, since that would be more convenient. like using java or something like that."

joshua nodded, impressed. "you know, wonwoo? your knowledge could've been put to waste if you stayed in that fukuro orphanage. shame that you didn't get to go to school." at this, wonwoo's expression turns sad.

"i've always wanted to go to school like a normal kid. most of the kids who go to school always don't like the system and the work that they do, as i've seen in books and movies—but i think i would've loved it." said wonwoo. "i have enough money now to enroll myself in a prestigious university, but i have work."

"i have lots of books and notes from university, stuff from research and more. wanna check it out?"

"absolutely." wonwoo's slight smile made joshua feel fulfilled, after helping someone in dire need of something that joshua can offer. actually, it's all in the shelves of joshua's room.

"help yourself." once they arrived at joshua's room, wonwoo immediately went for the science related textbooks and notebooks. joshua chuckled, throwing himself on the bed. he watches wonwoo read amusingly.

the world was unfair, and joshua just helped one of those who recieved injustice. wonwoo was, without a doubt, gifted in the area where joshua plays around, science and technology. meeting the orphan in the supernatural society was so unbelievable, since most of the people who are given abilities only like fighting, or killing, or using it as an advantage to get to the top.

wonwoo didn't seem too interested in this line of work, heck, he didn't even seem like he wanted to have an ability. but, like joshua, who doesn't like being in the battleground, he could still be of good use to the team. maybe making reports, specializing in weaponry, making new technology for the team.

joshua smiled. if he would pick a most favoured kid among seventeen, it would be wonwoo.

remembering the word favor, joshua thought about jeonghan.

"because one: we're teammates. two: we're friends, and three: you're my favorite person!"

why is jeonghan's favorite person joshua, though? because he was 'gorgeous'? or did jeonghan find something admirable in joshua, just like how joshua finds something admirable in wonwoo?

"hey!" joshua's train of thoughts get interrupted when mingyu opens his door. "i made ramen, wanna eat? chan, seokmin and jeonghan are eating, too."

"sure." joshua smiled, signaling wonwoo to come with him. joshua walked out first, while mingyu held the door for wonwoo.

wonwoo walks past mingyu, and he gets a whiff of his scent. he smells like homemade food, overpowering the body mist that he always sprays on.

wonwoo looked back to catch a glimpse of mingyu. that mere second, he saw that mingyu's red apron was sprinkled with flour and some sauce spill stains. wonwoo thought that mingyu only made convinience store ramen, but he actually made ramen.

i don't know about you, but wonwoo thinks that the look and scent that mingyu had reminds wonwoo of home. and though wonwoo wasn't really the one you can ask about home—since he never had a home—he understood what it meant to have a home. wether it be a place, a person, or a thing.

when they were in the dining room, the silent chatters of chan, jeonghan and seokmin were heard. they were chatting about seokmin's sudden marriage, and the girl he married, yuju.

"...was beautiful. absolutely beautiful. i mean, yuju's always beautiful whenever i see her, but this time, it felt like i saw her for the first time again and i fell head over heels for her immediately. i'm glad i married her." seokmin said, dreamily sighing. the background noise of dishes and utensils clanking took over the room after seokmin spoke.

"i feel like that towards joshuji! am i right, joshuji?" jeonghan stood up from his seat and clung to joshua's arm, who was about to have his first bite of mingyu's ramen. "oops, sorry! eat first, joshuji!"

"yeah, i'd like you off my arm, please?" joshua asked politely. chan and mingyu laugh, obviously hearing the hint of annoyance in his voice. seokmin was still drowned in thoughts. wonwoo was busy eating. jeonghan pulls away from joshua

"this tastes good, mingyu-ssi. i must admit that i didn't expect this much from you," wonwoo said, looking up to mingyu. joshua's eyes averted to the man who just spoke, and felt something off.

he's looking at mingyu like how he looks at books. joshua thought. the topic about him being jeonghan's favorite person is brought up again, in joshua's mind. joshua didn't understand the concept of feelings like these.

mingyu beamed. "thank you!" he digs in to the last bowl of his homemade ramen, and wonwoo goes back to eating as well. joshua was still thinking.

soon, the late night dinner ends.

joshua decides to binge an anime tonight instead of doing the usual, playing games or sleeping, or creating a new thing. he needed something to get distracted from the confusing and baffling thoughts he had. minghao joined, but joshua didn't really care.

as long as that person who calls him 'joshuji' doesn't come.

a/n: as you can see most of the recent chapters seem like fiLlers bc it actualLy is loL sryyy :<