⁺☆ Field

@ˢ song mingi amazed that the other male was so vehement about the spider, hosung closed his eyes to keep from rolling them. when he opened his eyes once again, it was only a matter of a moment before the spider jumped from the seat, and while he had no doubt the spider intended to get away, he thought of mingi's sake first for once. he lifted a hand, and disturbed the path of the spider, altering its trajectory to send it just past the threshold of the shed, and it skittered away a moment after landing on the ground.

"there," hosung said and turned to look at mingi standing behind him. "you're safe now, okay?" stretching out a hand, i slide the door of the shed closed, reaching toward the box of the light switch and flipping on the one light in the shed. the yellow light hits the dust particles that float in the air, diffusing and illuminating the somewhat small space. "see it's cozy, right?"

@⭑ ᴴ park chaeyoung Ryeowook decided to have a stroll in the park that day, when the sun was up high and shining down brightly onto the Earth below it. It wasn’t as if there was anything interesting on the field, aside from grass and green grass and more grass and probably a few weeds or dandelions here and there. Still, Ryeowook walked on the field, no goal on his mind and with the mere thought of just breathing in some fresh air and enjoying the sun on his skin.

Ryeowook stopped walking for a moment, standing straight as he looked around the field, taking in the sight. The school building was some distance away, and there were also other facilities that could be seen around the field. There were not any people on the field- except for one some metres away from him.

Surprised at the presence, but also curious by the existence, Ryeowook started his way towards that person. The woman had her back to her and judging by her hair, Ryeowook knew it was Chaeyoung. With a soft smile, he tapped on the other’s shoulder. “Hey, Chaeyoung.”

@ᴴ kim hosung "it's really big!" mingi whispered roughly, as if the eight legged animal could hear him, and he looked up at hosung with wide eyes. it's not like mingi was afraid of everything, per se, but he most definitely had a fear of bugs. spiders, flies, grasshoppers - it wasn't something he was proud of, but the little things creeped him out. and the spider on the stack chairs in front of the two boys was no exception.

mingi's fingers curled a bit tighter into hosung's clothes. he was hesitant, flicking his gaze toward the stack of chairs where the spider sat. his teeth sank down into his lower tier, and he didn't want to move out from behind hosung until that bug was out of the way. "i don't care, it was gonna get me. even if it's not venomous, it's scary! do you see how big it is?"

@ˢ song mingi the answer wasn't entirely one that hosung expected, and if anything it amused him as the other male seemed to stammer and flush and grow embarrassed either at the question or the answer mingi gave. he raised a hand, dismissive, deciding it was better just to get inside than wait out and risk being caught. though when disappearing inside the shed, mingi at his back, he hardly expected what ensued.

"what are you-" hosung was cut off the moment he heard the yelp. he turned his head, watching mingi scamper behind him, and crouch, losing most of the height that nearly equaled hosung's own. he raised a brow, wondering what could have scared his partner in crime. as he looked toward the stack of chairs, he raised a brow in question, curious, spying the slightly large garden spider, gray legs still, presumably more afraid of the two tall men than one of said men seemed to be. "mingi, it's just a spider. it's not even a venomous one."

@ᴴ kim hosung "what do i think? i mean, it - it's a.. it's a good look? i mean.... you look good." mingi's brows furrowed, clearly not quite getting what was probably meant. giving hosung a thumbs up, his cheeks flushed the softest pink, though he looked away from hosung. he wasn't sure what stirred in him, but for now, he decided to ignore it, whatever it was.

stepping into the shed when urged inside, mingi glanced around. it wasn't the best place, but it wasn't that bad in all honesty. frankly, he was fine until he took a step further into the shed, reaching for the chairs. a skitter of movement and a puff of dust caught mingi's attention, and upon seeing a rather large spider sitting on one of the chairs, mingi let out a yelp. yanking his hands back, he hid behind hosung, crouching down a little while his fingers curled into hosung's clothes. his eyes were wide, filled with genuine, honest fear in the moment. "what... what was that? is it still there?"

@ˢ song mingi "don't worry, we'll try our best not to get caught," hosung said. he turned from mingi toward the front of the shed, no padlock on the chain on the door, and the chain only loosely looped through itself. the heavy links were easy enough to untie from one another and with a rasp of metal against metal, hosung pulled it from between the handles and looped the heavy chain about his neck while turning to mingi with a grin while opening the door to the shed. "what do you think?"

when hosung turned his attention inside, it was clearly dark inside the shed, most of the light filtering in through the open door. he moved to take a step inside without mingi, with mats secured in rolls at one side, various bats and rackets hanging in clusters near the back, a ball catcher locked up toward the back, and a small stack of chairs in the corner, there wasn't too much space to just hang out in, but it was enough for them both to be able to stand, or take chairs from the stack and sit. "alright come on, you don't want to get caught standing outside, do you?"

@ᴴ kim hosung "yeah, she was pretty great. my brother thought he was being treated like a baby, but i liked it." shrugging once more, mingi wondered if he was going to end up boring the older male to death. steeling himself back against continuing the talk about his past, about his mom of all things, mingi offered a small smile. he didn't want to be the boring one, or the one who talked about his mom like he was a toddler. no one wanted to hear about those kinds of things. "pizza it is, then."

mingi was hesitant, that much was clear. however, though he was usually against breaking rules, hosung did have a point. if they had heard anyone coming, he'd find a way to make sure that they could get out of there in time. that, and it would be better to be in a more closed off area while they practiced. with a small nod, mingi agreed, looking toward the shed. "alright, i guess that's true. this is fine, then. let's just try not to get caught, anyway."

@ˢ song mingi "sounds like you had a good mom." hosung made the observation as casually as if he were remarking on the weather, not that it was intended to be some big revelation about mingi. it wasn't as if he didn't care, or wasn't interested, because every little detail was something he could commit to memory, but rather it just seemed so genuinely normal a thing. "maybe we should stick with the pizza. we can always go another day."

he didn't expect the other guy to skid up in front of him like that, didn't expect to be looking at someone very nearly his own height, hell, he didn't expect a lot of things. but then he had to look between him and the equipment shed. it was clear mingi wasn't fond of the idea, and for a brief moment hosung wondered if he had gotten himself in league with a genuine goody two shoes. he snickered. "we won't get caught, mingi. besides, if we see something coming, can't you just slow down time and scamper away? worst case scenario, i'll take the fall."

@ᴴ kim hosung "like what they serve at high school? that stuff's gross, i never ate it. mom always made me and my brother sandwiches and stuff." shrugging a little, mingi found himself genuinely enjoying his time. as it was, he was spilling the most meaningless information to hosung as they walked across the field. who wanted to hear about what his mom used to pack him for lunch when he was in high school. "i mean, i guess that depends on if you want pizza or something else. i think there's mcdonalds..."

trailing off, mingi skid to a stop in front of hosung, lashes fluttering as he was given a look over. he pulled his chin from his collar, breaking into a small smile when he seemed to be approved, of what he didn't know. however, he hesitated when hosung gestured for him to follow, taking his hands from his pockets and taking a few hesitant steps forward. "but won't we get in trouble if we're caught?" mingi tended to follow the rules, especially when he saw what used to happen to his brother when he broke the rules.

@ˢ song mingi "pizza sounds good to me, as long as its not that square crap with the pepperoni cubes that are floating in grease." it was oddly casual talking to mingi, and hosung appreciated that. it was like he had stepped back in time himself a little, back to being a teenager whose biggest worry wasn't being exposed for what he could do because he wasn't concentrating and his powers slipped, or because he scored perfectly on every single standardized test when he was regularly turning in sub-par classwork and everyone was left to scratch their heads. "but i'm always up for going off campus. i mean, if you want?"

he paused when they reached the corner of the field and looked to the other male, his eyes raking along the long legs all the way up to the collar of the sweater that hid half of his face. there was something to him, hosung had to admit that, but hell if he knew what that something was. he looked off, the equipment shed not far just like he thought, and he gestured for mingi to follow. "come on, i think they left it unlocked this time. and if not... we'll pretend they did."

@ᴴ kim hosung "i guess that's true... i didn't really think about that before." truth be told, mingi didn't really think at all. at least, not in regards to his powers. he knew, at least, whenever he turned back time, it didn't effect everyone else around him. that's how he managed to get everything done. for a brief moment, he wondered if there was more to his powers than he knew already, but he figured he'd just have to wait to figure that one out, if that was even possible.

this time, mingi was on top of it. when hosung began to walk, mingi was quick to follow, keeping in step though he kept his gaze down. the bottom half of his face once more retreated into the collar of his sweater as he tucked his hands away once more, though at the suggestion of food, he perked up. "i think today's lunch menu is pizza. i heard they have stuffed crust here, but i haven't checked it out yet." mingi may have been wanting to fill the silence, keeping the conversation going. he liked talking with hosung. for once, he felt wanted. "unless you wanted something different. they say we can go off campus as long as we come back before curfew."

@ˢ song mingi "i mean as a general rule it's a good idea to practice stuff out of the way anyway," hosung said as he lifted a hand, fingers curled into his palm as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing vaguely to someplace beyond them. he had no real idea of where they could go, or even where he wanted to go, but he knew he was curious about the guy in front of him, perhaps more curious than mingi was himself, the older of the two just did a better job at being discreet.

he didn't wait for mingi to agree before he turned again, this time cutting across the field toward the corner, the grass dewy and green beneath his feet save for the fading lines painted onto it for an athletic game he couldn't even pretend to care about. hosung, of course, had never been a jock or one of the cool kids. he had been a loner, a delinquent at best, but he was self-assured and confident now as an adult, rather than a gangling teen. he looked over his shoulder as he walked. "maybe we can grab something to eat after, too."

@ᴴ kim hosung "probably... but it's not like i do anything else, anyway." once more, his shoulders lifted in a shrug. he never said he was an interesting person, and at this point he wondered if hosung was just putting up with him. however, he shoved the thought out of his mind when he was agreed with. maybe, he mused silently to himself, this school would be different than his high school experience, even without his brother keeping an eye out for him.

for a moment, mingi caught himself looking over hosung's features while the other male wasn't looking in his direction. he was drawn to look over hosung's demeanor in general. from the way he stood to the way he carried himself, the cockiness something he was used to. in a sense, he was reminded of his brother, but hosung had another element to him. mingi couldn't quite place it, but he didn't look at hosung as if he was an older brother figure. it was just different. snapping out of his thoughts, mingi's eyes widened a little before he nodded, breaking into a small, gummy smile. "yeah, we can do that. so long as we're not bothering other people."

@ˢ song mingi "just seems like a lot of work to me." hosung was a little dismissive, he knew that much. but he really couldn't wrap his mind around anyone spending any more time in classes than need be. it wasn't until mingi answered the question he had turned back around on him, that hosung continued speaking. "then you have your answer, mingi. the self-deprecation train isn't needed."

he turned his back on mingi this time and glanced ahead, looking toward the end of the field and beyond that, aiming his thoughts back to his dorm room. there was work waiting back there for him in the form of assignments, but he hardly had any desire to work on that when there was a more intriguing puzzle in front of him. "so i had a thought. why don't you give me a little demo of your powers? we can find a little place to ourselves and you can show off this time manipulation of yours and sate my curiosity."

@ᴴ kim hosung "it's not like i need more sleep. i just need to be present in class, and when you can go back in time just enough to get the notes... why not take a nap when you can?" mingi shrugged, unsure if he really made any sense. he got enough sleep most nights, and if not he just gave himself five more minutes in bed. that was one of the few times that he figured he would use his powers for some self-serving reasons. "teachers don't always like it, but they can't get mad at me. i'm still passing my classes so far."

suddenly under what he thought was the scrutiny of hosung, mingi was hesitant to answer. normally he would say that most people thought he was, at least when it came to the questions and his general oblivious personality. but this time, as he looked up to hosung, he didn't feel like he was. pulling his face from his sweater, mingi shook his head, shifting from one foot to the other. "no, not this time around. so i guess i'm making a good impression so far, if i'm not just jumping on the self-deprecation train."

@ˢ song mingi "wouldn't it make more sense just to get enough sleep the night before and then take notes during class?" the suggestion of spending more time on classes was downright abhorrent to hosung. however, he reasoned, not everyone had the ability to commit the board to memory, or the notes of a student seated nearby. either way, the thought of spending more time dealing with a class than necessary seemed absurd and it was just another thing to confused him about the other male.

"huh? annoying?" hosung snickered quietly to himself and drew his hands back out of his pocket, arms coming to fold across his chest. he regarded the other, watching him hide himself within the collar of his sweater. it was a strange gesture, but he had to admit it seemed endearing in a kind of childish way. he shrugged up his shoulders. "you tell me, mingi. do you think you're annoying?"

@ᴴ kim hosung "you're right! i did meet you." mingi chirped happily, even with his deep voice resonating, and broke into a wide grin. the only though in his mind, maybe with something he wouldn't admit just yet, was just how cool hosung was. it was that thought that made him fall behind and nearly tumble down the last few steps of the bleacher stairs. stopping just short of hosung's outstretched hands, mingi flashed a small smile and let out a sheepish laugh, lifting a hand to rub at his nape with a mumbled apology.

lifting the hand at his nape to run his long fingers through his hair, mingi pushed his fringe back from his forehead, gaze flicking around the field. as hosung spoke, his gaze came to rest on his face, upturned a little but nothing too drastic. "i usually nap through classes. then i just make sure i don't get distracted so i can go back and get notes." shrugging a shoulder, mingi dropped his hands by his sides, tucking his index and middle fingers into his belt loops, chin and mouth disappearing under his sweater collar for a moment. "i'm not... annoying, right?"

@ˢ song mingi "well you met me." it wasn't meant to sound as though hosung would follow that up with 'and that should be good enough for you,' but there was a hint of it in his tone. he apologized for that fact by glancing over his shoulder on that first step, a faint smirk lifting the corner of his lips to match that youthful cockiness as he made his way down, unaware that mingi wasn't following.

the stumbled steps behind him were audible enough that when he stepped foot back onto the field, he turned to look up to the younger, and both his hands flew from his pockets, reaching out in preparation to stop the other from colliding into him. "they don't? that doesn't sound very nice," he mused. "and not really, i was just on my way away from the classrooms. i've felt cooped up all day and it makes me want to lash out."

@ᴴ kim hosung "i don't really meet a lot of people, though..." not a lie. mingi always tended to be by himself, on his own, and he was fine with that. but he had to admit, he felt pretty lonely most of the time. so this, meeting someone who was genuinely interested in him and what he could do, made his chest swell with a sort of pride. not to mention, mingi thought hosung was honestly pretty cool, even without knowing much about him. he may have scored a pretty good friend.

lost in his thoughts, mingi quickly realized that hosung was already leaving, making his way down. with a huff, he rushed off to follow after, nearly stumbling down the last couple of stairs to catch up with the older male. for not the first time in his life, mingi was thankful for his long legs. "most people don't answer my questions at all, so this is a treat. oh! uh, is there anything you were doing before? like, before the other guy was bothering you?"

@ˢ song mingi something about mingi's admission struck hosung as being off, but he couldn't put a finger on it. rather than try to discover just what was off-putting, he shrugged it off and offered the other a lazy, lopsided smile in the process. "that's alright, no one gets to be good at everything. if there's something to be bad at, i guess making friends is one of the better options, right? so long as you meet the right people anyway."

his hand returned to the safety of his hoodie pocket after the other male came to his feet, and hosung glanced down toward the field with a soft hum leaving his lips. there were half a dozen things he could think to do, though most of them required effort he wasn't really willing to put in. he took the first step down, expecting mingi to follow him. "we'll figure something out along the way. don't worry about the questions- it's fine. just don't be surprised if i don't answer every single one of them."

@ᴴ kim hosung unaware that hosung noticed anything at all, mingi was a little lost in his thoughts for a moment. he probably had too many questions lingering in his head, ones he didn't feel like asking because he was sure it would drive the one person he managed to talk to away. lifting his gaze, mingi shook his head a little at the question. "i've never been good at making friends." a lie, but he didn't know how to explain his situation.

mingi watched hosung's hand move through the air with wide eyes, and that's when he realized he was probably asking too many questions, probably digging himself into a hole. looking to the hand now offered to him, mingi smiled and slipped his fingers into hosung's hand and pulled himself up to stand. releasing hosung's hand, he brushed his hand over his thigh. "then... what are we going to do? i'm sorry about all the questions..."

@ˢ song mingi hosung lifted a finger, tapping the side of his nose and then gestured toward mingi when he seemed to answer his own question without making him even open his mouth. what was unsettling, however, was how quickly hosung noticed the pink on mingi's face, and he was hardly prepared for that. he glanced away, noticing the little gestures that followed only in his periphery.

"no one at all?" that was all that he needed. he rocked toward his toes and slipped a hand from his pocket, first waving off mingi's questions which never seemed to be sated, then extended that long- hand to the other. "come on, let's do something other than sit on these bench seats all day. my is gonna get sore and i won't be very good to answer those questions of yours then."

@ᴴ kim hosung "well, has anyone ever tossed anything at you to try and get your attention? oh.. wait.. you wouldn't be paying attention..." quickly glancing away while feeling just a little dumb for asking the question, mingi felt heat rise to his face. the soft pink dusted the apples of his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair, puffing his cheeks.

"huh? oh! no. i don't... really know anyone." if anything, mingi really was just acting like he was back in high school. clearly, he wasn't socially awkward, he just didn't know how to make that first step. thank god, because he'd probably flounder through the whole thing. turning his attention back to hosung with the pink still on his cheeks, he scrunched his nose. "am i your connection, then? and what do you mean, a place like this?"

@ˢ song mingi "do you foresee that particular situation happening often? because not once in my life have i encountered that before." hosung answered with a brow raised, genuinely surprised to hear such a question. if anything, the older male was starting to get an idea as to the younger's personality. he rolled his shoulders and bowed his head, scraping the soles of his sneakers against the back edge of the metal seat of the bleacher bench in front of himself.

"time control is pretty cool. but alright, mister sidekick- you got a hero you're working with yet?" he settled once more and this time pushed himself up from the seat. turning toward mingi, hosung pocketed his hands in the front of his hoodie and pursed his lips to blow a puff of air into his hair, pushing his fringe away from his eyes in the process. "one connection is all it takes in a place like this."

@ᴴ kim hosung "i mean, what if someone didn't mean to? like, what if they were tossing something toward the trash, but they missed and it was going to you?" mingi's brows furrowed slightly, shifting a little on his seat. he wasn't sure why he was so curious about these things, but the questions kept coming. looking over to hosung, mingi watched with a small smile, nodding a little. "i guess that's true. i mean, we could do a lot of cool things."

"oh, i'm not a hero! just a sidekick. my powers aren't cool enough to make me a hero." shaking his head, mingi dropped his hands back into his lap, shifting his feet lightly. for the second time, mingi's boots scuffed on the cement with a crunch of gravel. shrugging a shoulder, he looked up once more, hair falling over his eyes, and he gave a little shake to get the dark strands away from his face. "but you're right! you've got at least one connection."

@ˢ song mingi "why would i want it to go anywhere else? somebody decides they want to throw something at me, i want to hit them back with it." hosung was undeterred by the questions, and for the moment he was complacent in answering them. turning his head, he caught mingi's eye, and he gave a small shake of his head, his sleek hair falling over his eyes in the process. "it's alright. if you hadn't done it, i wouldn't know. and hey- your powers seem pretty cool to use with mine, just saying."

the older male caught himself watching the younger play with the zipper of his sweater, and while it was a distraction it was only a mild one that he looked away from soon enough. he arched his back and lifted his arms above his head, stretching out with a little groan. "sounds good enough to me. seems like we're both new to the school though, if you don't know much about your powers. so... good. i can use connections who aren't skilled heroes already."

@ᴴ kim hosung "oh... i guess that makes sense. so you have to be paying attention so you can change where it goes... does it always have to go back toward the person who threw it?" he was sure he was asking too many questions, but mingi's curiosity tended to get the best of him. this, of course, was one of hose times. for a moment, he was distracted enough that he only looked up when hosung snickered. "i'm sorry. if i had known, i probably wouldn't have done that."

mingi hesitated for a moment, wondering if he was being annoying. for once, he felt like he was making progress in making friends - correction, a friend - on his own. while hosung relaxed, mingi reached up to fiddle with the zipper of his sweater, tilting his head in thought for a moment. "well, i... i don't know. i can control when i use it, but sometimes when i'm not focused the time can be fudged. i haven't had any trouble getting my powers to work, though! not yet, at least."

@ˢ song mingi "it doesn't bounce off of me, no. if i'm not paying attention, i'll get beaned just like anybody else would without powers." the older of the two lifted his hands, one thumping against his shoulder, mimicking being hit, while the other came to the front of his hair, fidgeting with the long strands of fringe that framed his face. he looked toward mingi, snickering softly. "i wouldn't say you screwed it up, but that rock didn't end up where i meant for it to go at all."

shifting back on the bleacher seat, he brought his feet up, knees coming toward his chest for a brief instance to sit on the bleacher seat in front rather than on the cement. he leaned back, stretching out a little, lounging about as comfortably as metal bleacher benches would allow. looking at the other, he listened to him lament about his writing speed, or lack thereof, and then glanced back across the field. "it's pretty interesting, especially when your power affects mine, clearly. how much control do you have over it?"

@ᴴ kim hosung "i mean, i meant off of you, but i guess that helps, too. do you have some sort of telepathic ability to change where it's aimed, or does it bounce off of you?" when addressed in the midst of his thoughts, mingi was put off for a moment before looking up, deciding to go on with it anyway. he was always eager to learn, even if he wasn't the brightest out there. his pile of notebooks in his room made sure that he kept track of everything he learned. "i kinda screwed that up, didn't i?"

a sort of lopsided smile rose to mingi's lips as he met hosung's gaze. he was struck for a moment that anyone was paying some sort of attention to him, especially when the person in front of him seemed much more like a cool, popular guy. "i like taking notes, i just don't write fast enough to keep up with what everyone says." mumbling quietly, his voice deep and rumbling as he looked down toward his fingers, mingi fiddled with the hem of his sweater before he looked back up to hosung. "you mean you're interested in that stuff? the time stuff is fun. i mean, my parents hated it after a while of me testing it out, but i'm still getting used to it."

@ˢ song mingi "bounce off of what i'm aiming at? no, it hits at about the same speed and force it was being thrown." though hosung was essentially eavesdropping on the boy as he spoke, he felt the interjection necessary. of course, he mused, that was only in reference to the norm. this moment was not the norm. "usually, anyway, until today."

he curled his hand into a fist, elbow resting against his thigh, and he leaned his cheek against his knuckles. the other boy, he decided, was amusing in a way. he liked listening to him talk, his voice surprisingly deep for someone he guessed to be at the end of his teenage years. his eyes ran over the other boy's features, committing his face to memory while he listened on. "i can see how that would be helpful if you're not great at taking notes. or if you don't already have a photographic memory." shaking his head, hosung opened his fist and drummed the tips of his fingers against his cheek. "but i'm more interested in what i saw already."