[CONTENTID1] The Puppeteer [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] Seven [/CONTENTID2] 

[CONTENTID3] [/CONTENTID3] 

[CONTENTID4] 

Mingyu rewound the video. 
He had already watched it three times, and it still shocked him. Everything in that video or what had happened was new to him. There were facts and files he had never seen before, and his head almost exploded with further information from 1980. 
The door opened, and Mingyu turned around and had to suppress a grin.
"The tired Saver." Mingyu greeted him. 
"The cheeky Reader." replied Wonwoo, annoyed, and sat down. 
Mingyu turned to continue his investigation but was interrupted. 
"Hyung, come here for a minute." muttered Wonwoo, ruffling his hair. It was so strange that a human addressed him as a hyung. Jisoo regularly got angry with Wonwoo, but Mingyu somehow felt good. 
"Am I a stray? It´s not that you call and I follow." 
"I need some advice, okay?" muttered Wonwoo again, staring at the ground. 
"What's wrong?" he asked, rolling his chair toward the Saver with two quick movements of his left leg. 
"There was a reporter outside the department." 
Mingyu froze. "A reporter? Because of the case?" 
"Yes." Wonwoo said.
"Was it your first interview with a reporter?" Mingyu became nervous. 
"Yes..... I wanted advice on what to do better next time." 
Mingyu looked at him. "From me?" 
"Well, I can´t see someone besides you, so I figured I'd ask you!" Wonwoo snapped back, but Mingyu didn't quarrel. Wonwoo seemed genuinely worried. 
"Upload it so I can have a look." 
"Why would I upload it? Just check it, and I can delete it." said Wonwoo, sitting before him. 
"Because you are a Saver and upload stuff all the time?" Mingyu stammered flabbergasted. 
"Well... you are a Mind Reader, so I guess you should read my mind." Wonwoo smirked. 
"But I'll read other things, too." 
"I told you initially that I don't have anything interesting in my head. Please help me. I feel the reporter will come back." 
Mingyu hesitated. He was a Mind Reader and had read thousands of minds. But reading Wonwoo's mind was ... intimate? 
"You're going to be a little dizzy. I try to be fast and not to notice any other things." 
"Okay." 

Wonwoo gritted his teeth. He couldn't explain it but felt it when Mingyu read his thoughts. Suddenly, the feeling disappeared. 
"Okay." He heard Mingyu's voice and looked at him. 
"That's it?" asked Wonwoo in surprise. He had frankly expected something more dramatic.
"For your first time, you did pretty well. I suggest you shake them off a little harder. Don't push the reporters away, but walk a little faster, and don't stop. If you stop, you'll be locked up." Mingyu said, obviously ignoring his initial question.
Wonwoo nodded. "Okay, thanks." 
"I've already seen a video." Mingyu blurted out, and Wonwoo became curious. 
"One of the videos you and Jisoo watched at the library?"
Mingyu nodded but didn't say anything else. Wonwoo looked at the Mind Reader, and Mingyu seemed disturbed by what he had seen. It was still early, and Jisoo and Jeonghan had yet to arrive at the office. As much as he knew that mutants didn't have the same emotional construct as humans, he felt that Mingyu was behaving differently than usual.

"Do you want some company?" Wonwoo asked.
Mingyu looked at him in surprise. "What?"
"Would you like to talk about it? Would you like me to save it so we can talk about it? We can go over it again with the guys later. You don't look like the information is trivial."
And there it was again—that strange way of humans suggesting utterly nonsensical things. There was no point in analyzing the video now; it would be better to do it again later. It was a complete waste of energy for him and Wonwoo to talk about it now, as the information had to be shared.
"I know my suggestion may seem nonsensical, but I don't care if you're a mutant or a human. I treat you like a colleague and maybe even a friend at some point. And I realize that what you have seen has upset you. Humans often feel better when we get things off our chests by telling someone. Mutant or not, you can tell me how you feel. Are you sad? Frustrated?"
Mingyu looked annoyed at Wonwoo. "As I said before, I..."
"Angry? That the information was withheld from you?" Wonwoo interrupted again.
Mingyu smacked his lip angrily and lowered his eyes. "It's annoying."
"How do you feel about the new information? Do you think it will help? Will it complicate the investigation?" 
Mingyu stared at Wonwoo, and the stupid little Saver smiled at him so genuinely that he would have felt almost rude if he had rejected him now.
"I don't know how we should approach this yet. With the new information, everything we initially suspected has just become chaotic again." he muttered.
"Okay... and do you have a strategy so far?" Wonwoo asked.

"It´s a lot of information. We will have to gather again." 
"About the victims or the killer?" Wonwoo slowly pushed his buttons, but Mingyu had to grin against his will. Wonwoo's curiosity was annoying, but he also managed to motivate him. He was angry about the situation, but this curious little Saver motivated him to redo all the work. 
"The whole video is new, and there are five left. I'm pissed. The case seems deeper than we thought." 
"Then we´ll wait for the others to come to the office to watch it together again?" Wonwoo asked. 
Mingyu nodded. "Probably the best idea." 
There was a brief silence. 
"So what are we going to do now?" Wonwoo wobbled with his chair.
"We agreed to wait for the others, right?" 
"Yes, but what are we going to do now? We have to wait another two hours. We have yet to determine when those two will arrive at the office. Let's do something!" 
"Review the old evidence again?" Mingyu sighed. 
"Let's get something to eat or get a coffee at Starbucks! We should get to know each other better." Wonwoo jumped up and strolled to the coat rack to get his jacket. 
Mingyu was stunned. Wonwoo was a human, and Mingyu tried to ignore the offer as best as possible as Wonwoo did not know anything about connection dynamics.
"I'm not going on a date, you ing idiot."
"It's not a date. Just breakfast." Wonwoo smiled again.
Mingyu bit his lip. Jisoo would freak out, and he was on thin ice anyway. And Mingyu had undermined Jisoo's lead urge mechanism with his decision, but even without the connection, Jisoo could get freaking scary when he was pissed.
"You don't have to if you don't want to... I just thought it´s nice to get to know each other better and not just for work." Wonwoo pouted.
Mingyu´s interest increased rapidly at Wonwoo´s remark, Jisoo´s ing or not."But just breakfast." 
"Yep. Just breakfast." replied Wonwoo. 

Jeonghan took a shower. 
It felt good because he was tired. He hadn´t slept in three days, and slowly, his body had to rest. He wasn't used to investigating cases, but he had to admit it was fun. And he was getting used to the team. And that frightened the out of him. Whenever he opened up to mutants or humans, the outcome was negative. So it was better to stay away from any of them.
Mingyu was the quiet type but had a sharp intuition. Jisoo was explosive and didn't care what people thought about him. Surprisingly, Jeonghan sometimes felt that he was watching him. But at the same time, this thought was ridiculous. Wonwoo's curiosity was contagious and annoying, but he kept the team together. 
They had only known each other for a few days, but it felt like it had been longer. 
He got out, threw a towel over his head, and dried his hair. A moment later, he heard his phone ring. 
"Who is that..." he mumbled, stumbling across the living room in some towels to grab it. 
"Yes?" 
"Hi." Jisoo replied.
Jeonghan froze. He needed to figure out how to react. "What do you want?" 
"Do you want me to pick you up?" 
Jeonghan hesitated. His apartment was far from the department. "It's still early. I was planning to go to the office later." 
"We could grab breakfast if you want." 
"What the hell is your problem? Are you stalking me?!" Jeonghan exploded and hung up. 

Jisoo kicked his couch. 
"I'm such an idiot. Why did I call him?" He got annoyed and kicked the couch again. He heard a crack, and the sofa broke on the left side. 
"This is so bloody annoying!" he shouted across the apartment and stomped into the kitchen. Jisoo tried to ignore his body's obvious reaction and his urge. Not once since Mingyu had he felt the interest in a new connection and knew he was on the verge of developing a position as a lead part. If that was the case, he could do nothing except hope that Jeonghan would feel the same way. And the worst part was that he also knew that Jeonghan would be the submissive part, which made things far more complicated. Jeonghan was the quiet, thoughtful type by nature, so he was a walking submissive part, and genes didn't lie. Jisoo knew a connection would end up with him as the lead part.
"Pull yourself together." he muttered to himself and planned to make himself a coffee when his phone rang.
Angry, he slowly walked towards the couch and stared at the display. 
"I am busy now, so I can´t pick you up. You´ll have to get on a bus." he snapped as the person he had called a minute ago called him now.
"I'm hungry." muttered Jeonghan.
Jisoo hung his head. This goddamn Controller made it impossible for him to not give in to his urges. And Jeonghan probably didn't even know what he was trying to say.
But it didn't help, and it was the way it was.
"Shall we have breakfast before we go to work?" muttered Jisoo dejectedly.
"I guess." replied Jeonghan. 
"Do you want me to pick you up?" Jisoo mumbled.
"In twenty minutes." Jeonghan said after a short hesitation.
"Okay." Jisoo hung up and grinned.
It was just a damn breakfast. 
Nothing more. 
But Mingyu would slaughter him.

"What do you want to eat?" Wonwoo asked, and Mingyu regretted it to agree to breakfast immediately. He was way too hyper again. 
"Food." 
"Come on, tell me what you like!" 
"I like food." Mingyu sighed. 
Wonwoo pouted, and Mingyu lowered his eyes in annoyance.
He had figured out an essential fact in the group. Jeonghan and Mingyu were weak against human aegyo. He had to try Jisoo to make things much more manageable. 
"Should I decide where we eat?" he asked. 
"Can't we just go and eat somewhere?!" urged Mingyu, and Wonwoo winced. 
"Trust me!" he laughed, and Mingyu followed him with a scowl.

Jisoo held the steering wheel so tightly that it hurt his fingers, and Jeonghan stared stubbornly out of the window. 
He had picked him up a few minutes ago, and the atmosphere was awkward.
"Where do you want to eat?" Jisoo broke the silence after a while. 
"I don't care." Jeonghan replied, turning his head to the side so that his hair covered at least one of the purple shades around his eyes. 
"How do you do it?" Jisoo was curious. 
"What do you mean?" Jeonghan asked, still looking out of the window. 
"How can you see when you have so much fur on your face?" Jisoo mumbled.
"It's not fur. It's my hair, idiot." Jeonghan mumbled.
Jisoo suppressed a smile.
"Ramyun?" whispered Jeonghan suddenly. 
"Sounds good." said Jisoo, trying to ignore that it was a pretty strange breakfast. However, as he liked ramyun, he didn´t care.
After another silent ten-minute drive, they arrived at a well-known ramyun restaurant.
"It's the department's ramyun spot. It's good; everyone of the officers has lunch or dinner most of the time." 
Jeonghan muttered something and walked behind him. 
Suddenly, Jisoo heard a soft bang. 
"...that hurt." he heard Jeonghan whine a second later as he ran into a streetlight pole.
"I told you, you can't see with all that fur on your face."  Jisoo mocked him.
"That's not fur, it´s ..." Jeonghan grumbled but looked at him and suddenly smiled. 
Jisoo´s heart skipped a beat, and Jeonghan noticed his stare. 
"What?"  
"Nothing." Jisoo mumbled. It was the first time that Jeonghan smiled at him. And it was ing beautiful. 
- Controller, remember? Mingyu will scold the out of you. - his subconscious giggled. 
Jeonghan lowered his head to hide his purple shades as they entered the restaurant. 
"Let's sit here." Jisoo said and ordered. 
For the next half an hour, they didn't talk, escaping the awkward atmosphere by eating the food. 
"The stabilization thing was weird." Jisoo said finally, and Jeonghan nodded. 
"I guess." 
"You're not happy." muttered Jisoo. He had felt it clearly when Jeonghan had stabilized him. For him, the stabilization had only lasted a few seconds, but he had thought in the first few seconds that Jeonghan was carrying an emotional pain more profound than that of other mutants or humans. It was self-evident that Jeonghan had suffered massive trauma and hid it well most of the time. And because of his ing urge towards Jeonghan, it bothered him. 
"I told you last time to mind your own business." Jeonghan snorted and lowered his gaze to hide his eyes again when Jisoo´s brain stopped working for a second. Jisoo's hand slid forward without thinking twice, brushing Jeonghan's hair behind his ear to keep the soup from drenching. 
"Be careful." he snarled, and Jeonghan glared at him.
His eyes were full of surprise and nervousness. The purple shades even darkened, but for the first time, Jisoo wasn't afraid of them. 
"Are you insane?!" Jeonghan hissed at him and slapped his hand away. 

Jeonghan froze.
Firstly, Jisoo touched him seriously, which significantly increased the chance that he would control him. Secondly, Jeonghan immediately had to suppress the impulse to close his eyes.
It had felt pleasant. He had never had a connection before, but it felt instinctual for the first time, not just by accident. Jeonghan almost panicked at the thought that he had enjoyed it. 
But he heard no whispers or disgust. He listened to no accusing voices or felt any discomfort.
"As already mentioned, most of the customers in this restaurant are police officers or special officers. A Controller in the middle of the tables may make some uncomfortable, but no one here will point their finger at you, be afraid, or insult you. I also use my head from time to time. When I say we eat breakfast, we eat breakfast, not me eating, and you have to hide because of your assumption that everyone hates you." Jisoo mumbled, staring at his bowl.
Jeonghan felt an emotion that frightened him to death. It was like a tingling sensation, like a tickle building up in his head.
"I've finished eating, and I'm going to the department." Jeonghan muttered, getting up and leaving the table.
Suddenly, he felt Jisoo's fingers on his wrist. "Please stay."
The moment Jisoo touched him again, those damn feelings started buzzing in his head again, and Jeonghan knew they were a genetic match. And he knew that Jisoo was the lead part slowly developing.
Last but not least, he knew that the thought of a connection was utterly absurd and that this nonsense had to stop immediately.
"No. I'll see you in the office."
 

Mingyu was mindblown. 
Wonwoo was a beast. 
"How... can you eat so much?" 
"It's delicious." He smiled and chewed on his fifth French toast. 
"You're going to die from all that unhealthy stuff." Mingyu muttered and took out his cell phone. 
"Who are you calling?" 
"Jisoo."
Wonwoo just nodded, and Mingyu waited for the call to connect. 
"Yes?" Jisoo answered, and Mingyu noticed his angry attitude. 
"It's me. Are you at the office yet?"  Mingyu asked.
"No, but I'm on my way. Where are you?" Jisoo answered. 
"I'm eating breakfast." 
"Alone?" Jisoo´s voice was threatening.
Mingyu swallowed hard. "No, the Saver dragged me out." 
Jisoo didn´t say anything for a few seconds, and Mingyu heard a voice in the background. 
"Seems like you have company, too." Mingyu whispered.
"I went out to eat with Jeonghan." Jisoo tried to sound confident.
"Fine." Mingyu snorted and tried to hide his anger. 
"I hope it was delicious." Jisoo grumbled and hung up. 
"Idiot." he muttered. 
"Is everything okay?" Wonwoo asked. 
Mingyu looked up and stared into Wonwoo's eyes. With difficulty, he lowered his head again when he saw his sparkling eyes and escaped in a sip of his coffee. 
"Sometimes, we argue a little." He said only, and Wonwoo munched contentedly.
"Why?" the Saver asked again. 
"None of your business." Mingyu snapped, hoping he'd let it go.
"How long have you known each other?"
Mingyu didn't know why, but the question bothered him. "Why do you want to know?" 
"Jisoo said you used to be together." Wonwoo said, shoveling another piece of breakfast into his mouth.
Mingyu tensed up. 
"So, is that a problem?" he snarled, and as usual, Wonwoo could not read the atmosphere. 
"No, I'm just wondering why you guys broke up. Did something happen? Did he cheat on you? Or the other way around?" 
Commonly, Mingyu would have told him briefly that he didn't care and thrown a right jab after it. But one question made him angry because humans kept making such idiotic assumptions. 
"No, he didn't. And neither did I. It's none of your business, but there are more things you should learn before asking stupid questions." 
Wonwoo looked at him in surprise. "Did I say something wrong?" 
But Mingyu was angry now.
"We don't cheat. We don't lie. We don't hide anything or make thi