It had been exactly one month since everything had unfolded.
-flashback-
"This was meant to be a simple mission," Unknown mutters.
To the RFA, this man is Unknown, however to you he is Saeran. He is Rika's right hand and your partner as you rank just below him. However, his tone causes you to tense up and you feel the skin on the back of your neck rise.
"Hurry up now, idiot. We need to go. The security system is down, but the cameras are still working and there's no doubt that lovesick buffoon of yours is on his way."
"Don't talk about him like he's an idiot, he's worried" you snap back. Saeran looks at you strangely and cocks his head slightly to one side.
Good job, Hye-Jin. You blew it. This feeling, it shouldn't exist.
"'Gain their trust, learn more about them, get contact information for the organization, and relay all of it back to HQ,' were those not Rika's orders, Amelie?" he demands in a tone that while soft, is menacing.
"Y-yes. I've done almost all of it. But is this even going to help Mint Eye? Saeran the party isn't meant to promote an agenda, we have no use f-" you can't even finish your timid defense as Saeran cuts you off.
"That isn't something for you to decide. The parties are important because who is invited. These people are in politics, finance, the arts, sciences, and every other subject that you can think of. These people, they give you access and that is what our organization requires," Saeran's voice gets louder and his tone changes to frustration that he's never projected towards you.
"Hye-Jin where are you?!" you hear a familiar voice yell.
It's Seven. You don't know where exactly he's at but you know he's at least inside the house. Your body is trembling as everything you've worked for is going up in flames. Creaking comes from the stairs and you hear loud steps coming towards the room. You and Saeran look at the door and it feels as though time has stopped.
"I can't do it, Saeran," you whisper.
You barely managed to get the words out of your mouth. Saeran sighs and gets closer to you, softly traces the side of your face with his index finger. Suddenly the door slams open and any privacy you and Saeran had is now gone.
"Thank god you're safe, Hye-Jin" Seven says in relief as he runs to you and embraces you, ignoring the now infuriated Saeran.
Your face grows hot as you're thankful he's here and your face suddenly feels wet.
She said that these people were monsters. She said that they were disgusting and incapable of helping anyone, let alone themselves. The worst one was V, 707 being the second to worst one. She lied.
"Hye-Jin? Amelie, you weren't given a code name," Saeran spat in disgust.
"Her birth name is Hye-Jin. Hye-Jin did he hurt you? Are you bleeding? Did he do anything at all to you?" asks Saeyoung.
Meanwhile his hold on you is so tight it feels like he think you'll disappear the moment he lets go.
"He's right. Hye-Jin is my birth name, Amelie was the name Savior had chosen for me," you replied.
"What do you mean chose for you?" a now hesitant Seven asks, a look of genuine confusion replaces the relief he had shown earlier.
"The creator and leader of Mint Eye, our savior who has shown everyone in our community the truth," answers Saeran coolly.
He looks at you cruelly and it's clear that he plans on having fun with this.
"Amelie is working with me. She didn't accidentally find the RFA or get sent by a stranger. Our savior at Mint Eye created this plan, I executed the hacking, while Amelie here served as our spy and updated us on everything about the RFA," says Saeran, smirking after explaining everything to Saeyoung.
"She doesn't know you ! You attacked her and we had her stay at the apartment for security !"
"We know. But have I hurt her ? Has she hurt me ? Before you barged in, she and I were talking about the mission. If I wanted her injured I would have done something by now.
"You're lying!"
End flashback -
"WAKE UP !" you hear someone yell and you feel a sharp jab at your back.
Thank god you woke up in the middle of it. It's been a month but that replays every night in your dreams. You see the betrayal and sadness in Saeyoungs eyes, a stabbing pain in your chest, and the final look on Saeran's face before he sets off a gas bomb that left you and Seven unconscious.
"Pay attention," says the same voice, this time he sounds annoyed and you struggle as the light is blindingly bright and makes it hard for you to see.
After a few seconds the light dims down a bit and you're able to see the two two figures on the opposite side of the table. Jumin Han and Saeyoung.
"Saeyou-"
"I told you not to call me that ! You will refer to me as Seven," an angry Seven replies.
What were you thinking ? You don't deserve to call him by his name. He trusted you and you lied to him. He was vulnerable to you and you took advantage of him.
"Let's start with the basics again. Name, age, and explain your purpose. You don't talk when it's one of my workers and I thought you would be friendlier given familiar faces," begins Jumin.
Except this isn't the Jumin you've grown to know. This is the Jumin you saw as director of C&R. He means only business.
"My name is Amelie Sun, but my birth name is Hye-Jin. I'm 21 years old and graduated from Cal as majoring in art history. I was born in Korea, however went to school in the US. I speak Korean, English, and French fluently. I was informally adopted by Rika under the condition that I would obey her rules and assist her with Mint Eye's work," you said, matter-of-factly.
You explain that before Rika, you were in a shelter after having been abandoned by your mother in fear of the stigma of being unwed with a child. You had met Rika through church, and she had been fascinated with your interest in art and your ability to tell between different types of work and their history despite no formal education. Rika felt like an older sister, almost a mother-like figure and when she had offered to take you in you had just accepted the offer without question. Rika being the only person resembling a family member, the only one that is, until you met Saeyoung Choi.
After four hours of questioning, Jumin and Saeyoung had learned about what Rika had done to you. When you met her she was the kind and loving Rika everyone in the RFA had known and remembered, but just before her disappearance and what followed was her downwards spiral to fanaticism and hurting those who kept her from making a "pain-free world."
Saeyoung and Jumin had seen the burn marks on your arms and the psychological damage that had happened to you. You came across as a cheerful and warm person, however after the truth came out they couldn't trust their past with you. They needed to keep an eye on you and thought that your fear of the dark and small places were nothing interesting. That is until they discovered how Rika would punish you for not fulfilling your duties.
"Jumin, please she can't stay here. This is going to ruin her ! She looks like she hasn't slept and she's visibly scared, " Saeyoung pleads.
"She seemed innocent when we first met her and look what happened. Seven, even if what she says is true she needs to be somewhere where she can be watched," Jimin replies.
"She can stay with me. I have an extra room she could use and there's CCTV throughout the house that I could give you access to. It's confirmed that the information she had while in the RFA was never passed to Mint Eye and-"
"Luciel," Jumin interrupts, "Are you doing this because she deserves a second chance or because the person you thought you knew deserves a second chance?"
"I'm doing this because she deserves a second chance. She's not stupid. She had several opportunities to expose the RFA, but she didn't. She had the chance to leave with Unknown, but she had stayed in the apartment. There are things we still need to find out, but that doesn't mean she can't redeem herself," a now visibly desperate Seven suggests.
"Fine," responded Jumin.
"She's under your watch, but she needs to be open and honest with everyone else. She's allowed back in and you can forgive her, but don't be surprised if the others aren't so willing to take her back"
"I understand. She's different from before, I'm sure of it," suggests Seven.
Once it's over Seven uncuffs you and gives you his jacket.
"Saey-Seven, I mean Seven," you try asking something but stop as you realize your mistake.
He said not to call him Seven. You hurt him. Listen to him. He's helping you, you can't hurt him again.
"Seven . . . are you really okay with this ? I can go somewhere else, please. I can't hurt you again, please," you try reasoning with him.
"Hye-Jin, it's okay. There will just be some ground rules."
Somehow, this is a new chapter of your life. You're no longer in Mint Eye, but you're not necessarily in the RFA, either. Who knows how this will go.