The Gifted (Txt x Itzy)

六十八

The rolling hills were certainly a sight to behold. Jimin's hair was tousled in the wind, as were all of their hair, as he grinned and pointed ahead, "There you go, it's tucked somewhere there. Probably."

"Great," Yeji shielded her eyes as the harsh sun glared down.

Taehyun silently flipped through the map and studied the route, before leading the way stoically. And they all followed wordlessly.

After a while of walking, Taehyun stopped, his brows creased in confusion, then settled into frustration as he sighed, "We don't have all ten of us. It needs all ten of us to show the destination."
Jimin wrinkled his nose, "Damn. Stupid mechanism Yoongi added. That means-"

"We have to find Jisu," Soobin guessed.

-

Jisu was not having the time of her life.

They could not find their way around, Heesung meekly pointing out that they had walked past that boulder six times already. Hopelessly lost and no exact location to go, Jisu was already incredibly exhausted, and her nerves fraying by the second. But Heesung was gripping her hand so tightly, he was counting on her. She had to get them out.

The trees around them rustled, making the duo tense.

"I really, really don't have time for this," Jisu seethed, "So if you are going to attack me, I suggest you leave!"

And her eyes glowed white as the gravity seemed to drop to zero within a seven-metre radius, even the tiny grains of dirt slowly drifting upwards. From the bushes, twelve men began to rise, grappling at their guns but the heavy metallic objects seemed to be floating up higher and faster than they did. They couldn't control their bodies, and they were flying higher, higher than even the tallest trees, and Jisu felt like she could let them go higher and higher until they hit the atmosphere or something. Then she felt a tiny tug on her arm, and Heesung whispered, "What's happening?"

It all abruptly stopped, the glow fading from her eyes. The men dropped to the ground like heavy rocks, some breaking bones and groaning weakly.
"Let's go," Jisu managed out, pulling Heesung along.
-

Somehow, the intense motivation Jisu had finally led them out of the damn forest. Jisu let out a little laugh, "I am so sick of the forest. Never thought I'd say this but I wish I was in a city with absolutely no greenery except for potted plants."

Heesung looked mildly concerned but kept silent.

"Okay," Jisu sighed, "We're out. What now?"

Then she heard the rushing of water, and at that moment she felt like she was about to break down. She was so tired, all she wanted to do was sit down and cry.

It was as if Heesung read her mind, and said in a really gentle voice, "Do you want to rest for a while?"

Nodding as if she was in a trance, Jisu crossed her stiff legs and heaved a sigh. "What were you doing there?" Jisu asked as Heesung took a seat himself.

"I was running from the humans," He said, "I was separated from the others, and then my gift kicked in, so I swapped to-"

Then he began to shake his head as if there was something on it, and in a mixture of awe and horror, Jisu watched as the tiny child's body expanded into one of a teenager, just like her.

"What just happened?" The boy asked, blinking in confusion.

"You-okay, okay," Jisu looked very startled, "Are...are you still Heesung?"

The boy blinked once more, "That's me?"

"You sound very unsure," Jisu laughed. "I am Heesung!" Heesung said defensively.

"Okay, okay," Jisu said, unable to control her giggles, "Sorry. It's just-wow, what is your gift?"

Heesung sighed, "It's like an age-changing thing, I'll dissociate into a different person every now and then, man, when I lived with humans, they thought I had dissociative identity disorder, but then my body started to grow and shrink...so. Here I am."

"And you have no memory of what happened?"

"Uh, not really. What...what did happen? All I remember is being trapped in a truck, then my thingy must have kicked in."

"Oh. But...you're good now?"

"Oh, absolutely. Who are you again?"