Guardians

Chapter 18 - Force Field

"Sehun. There's nothing!" Kai said, taking out his frustrations on Sehun from the news he'd just received.

Sehun's face dropped into a frown and put his face closer to his hand.

"What? Oh no! Where did it go?" he spun in half circles searching for the ladybug. He urgently ran back to D.O. who was up ahead minding his own business.

"Kyungsoo did you see Ms. Polkadot? I lost her!"

"Sehun, you dumby! It flew away on your way to Jongin!" D.O. yelled. "Your palm was wide open!"

"I'm not dumb you jerk!" Sehun cried.

"Yes, you are!"

"Am not!"

"Are, too!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Jerk!"

"Dumby!"

"J-j-jerky!"

I couldn't hold it back any longer, I started laughing. The most I had laughed in a long time. I missed being a kid with no true responsibilities. With so much hope. Tears started streaming down my face as I laughed. They weren't happy tears.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked, for the hundredth time today.

"Nope, but I hope I will be." I said, as I wiped away tears.

"I'm friends with Taemin. Hopefully, future Taemin still has the same number?" Kai was trying to make my situation a bit better. "I could mention your name and see if he recognizes you."

"Yeah! That'd be awesome!" I was actually feeling better for the suggestion even if it was a long shot.

"If anything I would guess they are looking for you right now."

"I don't know. I was holding them back with my injury anyways." I said remembering Minho's words back at the hospital. "That's why I lost my grip from Lisa's shoulder."

"Who's Lisa?" Kai said.

"Lisa's this young girl that is able to time travel. So, you really do believe me?"

Kai nodded. "It makes sense. All the things you've said since I met you. Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Why do you keep calling me Kai?"

I paused for a second to pick my words carefully. "Because that's what I know you by back home."

"We know each other?"

"Not really, more like I know of you. We live in totally separate worlds especially, in the future. I'm a nobody and you make it into the entertainment world."

I didn't want to create any mistakes. I doubted that if I told Kai he is a kpop idol that it would ruin things, but I didn't want to mess it up for him. So, I was trying to be extra careful. Kai probably already had a contract with SM and it's no surprise that all the SM kids make it big.

"I get it." Kai stopped in front of me and held out his hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you!" I slowly placed my hand in his. That electricity feeling traveled up my arm again. He shook our hands. "I hope we become close friends so, please call me Jongin."

I stared at him and realized that he is the one person I can count on in this place.

I smiled. "Jongin, call me Stan all my close friends know me by that name."

"Stan. Isn't that a boy's name?" Jongin said arching on of his eyebrows.

I let go of his hand and the electricity faded.

"So?!" I said as I walked off.

"Hey, wait for me!" Jongin ran up to me and then matched my pace. "It's not safe to walk alone in a big city at this time."

"Thanks. For saving my life, I mean. Sorry that I didn't mention it earlier." I glanced up at him and he had his signature half-smile. Huh, I thought, so it wasn't for a publicity thing. He actually smiles like that sometimes.

"It's not a big deal. I did, after all, dump cigarette ashes in your hair and almost got you killed by Krystal."

"Haha!" I shook my head with that memory. "What Krystal did wasn't your fault. That cigarette wasn't yours either was it?" I squinted trying to remember what happened after she dragged me down the bleachers.

"No," Jongin chuckled. "I was holding it for Krystal's friend, you know, the short one. They had gone to the bathroom. I held it while I read my book."

A brief memory came back to me of the pretty girl that I hadn't recognized. I remembered that she asked for her cigarette back when Krystal pushed me up against the wall.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"It's okay, to be honest I knew you were there. I noticed you laying in the middle of the field. Then, you yelled at some girls that were laughing at you. I also saw you vomit into the trash bin."

"What? The whole time?" I blushed. "Then why did you stand behind me with that cigarette above my head?"

"I wanted to take a closer look to see if you were okay. I forgot that I had that cigarette in my hand." Jongin said this time it was his turn to blush.

"Fine, let's just call it even." I still felt like I was the bigger jerk. His was an honest mistake. I on the other hand, to nicely putting it, was being a grump.

"Okay! All is forgotten." Jongin said.

I started thinking again. This was all too bizarre. I still couldn't believe I was having this conversation with someone who supposedly can't speak English.

"Jongin, do you have that chip on the back of your neck?" I asked curiously. "I mean, you're Korean and I'm over here speaking English and don't know a lick of Korean. Taemin had mentioned that you all get a chip placed on the back of your neck."

"Oh, yeah. It's true. We get them placed normally when we become part of the gifted community. There's a whole ceremony and everything in South Korea with the company that hires you. "

Wow. That's so cool! I wish I had one!" I said amazed. "It could've helped back when I was learning French in High school."

"Well, it has it's limits. Like I can't read or write in English. I would have to study it to learn how to spell. The less you practice the less you know how to read or write. Unless the person's actual superpower is being able to understand any language completely and immediately." Jongin explained. 

"Dang, you know a lot about superpowers."

"Ha, well, I like to read...a lot." Jongin scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"How come all of you are kpop idols?" I asked since most of the one people I have met with powers so far were in a singing group. 

"Most of us that have powers get placed into an entertainment company. That's how we are found. A lot of kids want to tryout and most that have powers are selected." Jongin kept explaining. "Also, it's depending on whether you choose to be a pop idol, dancer, and actor/actress or do things behind the scene and become an actual agent to fight crime and not all with superpowers are good people. The entertainers help to bring in a lot of the money that these companies use to buy weapons and other materials we utilize for different experiments and advancements in our equipment."

"This is more complicated than I thought." Entertainment companies were already known to being rigorous, but this was a whole other level of crazy.

I noticed Sehun and D.O. enter the apartments.

"Looks like we're here." I said slightly disappointed. I wanted to talk more to learn about his world and how it worked. I also wanted to know why they picked me. From what I heard in the hospital it wasn't by mistake. Or maybe, what they meant is it was fate that I was the one of all people that saw Jiyeon holding that gun.

"Yeah, we'll talk more about it tomorrow." Jongin said trying to bring my mood up.

"Tomorrow." I repeated. I was slightly nervous for what tomorrow would bring.