A/N: Contains SPOILERS for Day 10 of Jaehee's route, and information revealed later in Yoosung's route.
An alternative to the story "Aftereffects: Cowardice" in which Jumin takes a risk.
Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom.
Jaehee Kang: Mr. Han?!
Jaehee Kang: What were you thinking? You could have been seriously injured!
Jaehee Kang: God...
Jaehee Kang: it's a huge relief that only the car was damaged.
Jaehee Kang: First, you should go to the hospital and see a doctor.
Jaehee Kang: No.. I will go to your house directly.
Jaehee Kang: You might suffer from aftereffects following the car accident, which is even more scary.
Jaehee Kang: Regardless of my employment status, I will take you to the hospital even if it's against your will.
Jaehee Kang: Of course, I'll drive.
Jaehee Kang: Or at least...
Jaehee Kang: I should check with my own eyes that he's fine.
Jaehee Kang: It is my duty to know whether he's able to attend the party
Jaehee Kang: since including MC, we all worked hard for it.
Jaehee Kang: It's the day before the party...
Jaehee Kang: There can't be anymore accidents.
Jaehee Kang: I'm on my way there right now.
Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.
Unknown: You- -fail- use-_
Unknown: _?Huh
Unknown: T-ime-?Not-much-left_?
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Jumin carefully lifted Elizabeth from his lap and set her onto the couch cushion beside him before answering the door. One peek through the peephole confirmed his suspicions.
"Mr. Han, are you alright?" she burst out as soon as he opened the door, letting her in. She continued speaking at a rapid pace as he closed the door behind her. "Are you truly well? Because if you're not, then I'm taking you to the hospital this instant whether you like it or not!" As Jumin turned his back to the door, Jaehee stepped closer, peering into his face with avid concern.
"I told you before, I'm perfectly fine. See?" He spread his arms, letting her take in the sight of his young, lean, healthy body, still clad in his work suit with only his tie loosened and the top two buttons undone to show that he was currently in a casual setting.
"I think I should take you anyway. They should check you for a concussion. I'll get your coat!" she added before he could protest, dashing away to the coat closet—she knew his apartment almost as well as he did, she'd been here so many times—and fetching it off the hanger for him.
"Ms. Kang, I am not going to the hospital with you." He calmly followed her to the coat closet, plucking the coat from her hands and setting it back on the hanger before closing the door once more. He turned to face her, still moving with serene certainty as he said, "I do not have a concussion and I do not need a doctor. I'm not hurt, see? You can go home now."
Jaehee blinked once and burst into tears. As she began to sob, hiding her face in her hands, Jumin stiffened, eyes wide in shock. Crap. What had just happened? Both confused and remorseful he awkwardly pat her on the head, barely making any contact.
"You don't need to cry, Ms. Kang, because I'm alright. Everyone's alright. Nobody got hurt." What else could he say? What reason was there for her tears? He'd never seen her cry before, and he'd never been close enough to a woman before to care if she cried—not since his biological mother, that was, and she'd been fine ditching him with his father, who'd only wanted him because he needed an heir.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Han," Jaehee choked out, wiping at her eyes and cheeks, but she was still crying, so it was no use. "I just..."
"It's quite alright." Jumin did his best to cover his awkward reaction, opting to lightly set his hands on her shoulders from behind and guide her to the empty chair opposite the couch. It only took a light amount of pressure for her to take a hint and sit down. "Wait right here." He took the tissue box from the bathroom and brought it back to her, though Jaehee didn't seem closer to ceasing than she'd been before.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Han," she sobbed again, hiding her face in her hands, averting her eyes. "I was just so worried about you... I don't know what's come over me."
"You're... probably just a bit tired," he replied, though he sounded uncertain. She tore more tissues from the box and blew her nose, dabbing at her eyes and cheeks again. She wasn't wearing her glasses, and he was still adjusting to seeing her face this way. She was too pretty without them. That was why he'd wanted her to wear them in the first place: for her own protection.
Besides that, Jumin was determined to be nothing like his father.
"Are you really, truly certain that you're unharmed?" Jaehee looked up at him with red eyes, earning a slight smile from her former employer.
"I think we should both be more concerned about you right now."
His smooth, kind baritone brought a slight blush to her salty cheeks, and Jumin kneeling beside her chair in that moment didn't help it go away.
"I'm sorry to have upset you."
"You should be!" she exclaimed, flustered, sounding irked again. "Your recklessness could have cost you your life, and then where would we be!"
Jumin was pleased that she hadn't lost that spark. It wasn't a spark of rebellion in her that he'd favored and nurtured; it was a spark of motivation and determination. Jaehee had never once failed him in the almost-three years she'd worked for him. She could do literally anything she set her mind to do, and he'd gradually pushed her to her limits over time. True, he'd finally pushed her too far, but would she even know what-all she was capable of if he hadn't pushed her?
"Ms. Kang."
"It's hard enough on me whenever Zen takes his motorcycle out for a drive, or when smokes too much or stocks up his fridge with nothing but beer,"—she was edging into the territory of hysteria now—"but honestly, Mr. Han, I didn't think that I had to look after you too!"
"Ms. Kang."
"You're an adult for crying out loud, not a teenager, so you have no excuse for doing something so unbelievably stupid!"
"Ms. Kang."
"Yes, Mr. Han?" She blinked down at him, now truly embarrassed.
"You can call me Jumin." He smiled, and Jaehee finally understood why so many women swooned over him. "We're equals now, as members of the RFA."
"Jumin." She didn't say his first name very often, and never to his face, so it felt strange to be looking into those silvers eyes while she said it.
"That's right, Jaehee." The smile again, and he adds, "Do you feel better now?"
"A-A bit," she stammered uncharacteristically.
She'd stopped crying, but her delicate face was stained with tears. Almost without thinking, Jumin reached out and gently took her chin between forefinger and thumb, tilting her face slightly as he examined her more closely. She blushed more darkly, but if he noticed, he didn't show it.
"M-Mr. Han—"
"Jumin."
"Ah, Jumin..." She'd been speaking up to protest at his invasion of her personal space, but her voice failed her as those metallic eyes came closer, filling her vision. Even when his lips met hers, her eyes stayed open, too shocked to process what was happen. His eyes had closed, and after a few seconds, Jaehee's eyelids fluttered closed too. She gripped her hands on the edge of the chair as she found herself reacting to his advances, heart pounding, cheeks burning, mind emptying until it contained only these moments and the feel of the kiss and the warmth of his body so near to hers. Jaehee sighed into the kiss, equal parts disappointed and relieved when it ended.
"I'm touched by your concern. I'm glad to know that you care so much." He pulled back a little, Jaehee's lips still tingling from the heat of his kiss.
"Mister—"
"Jumin." He graced her with a slight, superior smile as he corrected her again, then leaned in for another kiss. This time, Jaehee put her arm around his neck, hand landing flat between his shoulder blades as he slipped an arm around her waist. She reached for him as he hauled her up into his arms, never once breaking contact, not until Jaehee opened her eyes and realized whence he'd carried her.
"Jumin..." All she could do was breathe his name, too stunned by the speed with which this was happening to think of anything else to say.
"Jaehee." He smiled again, then careful set her down on her feet in front of him, holding both her small hands in both of his strong ones.
Jaehee felt that she ought to say something, so her brain pushed towards her mouth the first coherent thought she could conceive.
"If you think I'm going to sleep with you, then you're wrong."
Surprise flickered briefly in his expression before he let out a laugh and hugged her closer. Jaehee liked the way she could hear the vibrations of his laughter through his chest.
"That's something I've always liked about you: a strong sense of self-respect."
"Is that the only thing?" she snarked back, embarrassed.
"Not by a long shot." She could feel his hand in her hair, gently petting her head as if she were Elizabeth.
"So if you don't expect me to sleep with you, then why are we in your room?"
"So that we weren't kissing in front of Elizabeth."
Perhaps it was the matter-of-fact tone, or the fact that such an issue was the farthest thing from her mind, but his statement made her burst out laughing.
"I like your laugh, Jaehee. I would like to hear it more often."
Her throat tightened a little at his words, and she was glad that he still kept her head cradled against his shoulder, because it meant that he couldn't see the crimson blush spreading over her face.
"So... this is really happening?" she murmured breathlessly.
"If you want it to," came his respectful answer, his arms settling around her as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.
"I... have a question."
"Yes."
Jaehee straightened up so she could look Jumin in the eye and asked him something she'd be wondering ever since the day she'd met him.
"When I first started working for you, why did you request that I cut my hair and wear glasses?"
He blinked at her, and paused for a moment to consider her question.
"Up until I hired you, I never had a single chief assistant for more than a couple months, at best," he began, her face impassive as she listened intently. "My father had a habit of flirting with all my assistants, taking them out to lunch or golf, which would render them useless to me, hence my need to keep replacing them. Since I know my father's a shallow man who looks only at a woman's appearance, I was hoping that style would deter him from interfering with you."
"Does that you mean that you thought I look unattractive with short hair and glasses?" She arched one eyebrow at him, as if daring him to say yes.
"No, I'd simply never seen my father with any woman who had either short hair or glasses."
"Okay."
Jaehee then surprised them both by taking his face in both of her hands and pulling Jumin down into a kiss. He reacted with an instinctive eagerness she hadn't even known he possessed. She ended the kiss on her own terms, not too long after his hand went to her lower back and tucked her hips in against his own with a muffled groan.
"I'm going to go wash up," she said softly, resting her hands on his chest for a moment before pulling away. "I'll be right back."
He nodded, and Jaehee turned to retreat to the bathroom. He heard the sink faucet turn on and retreated to his sparse kitchen in search of a bottle of wine. He didn't necessarily expect Jaehee to sleep with him if he gave her some alcohol, but she was still wound up from earlier, and, to be fair, he was too. They both needed to relax a little. While in the act of perusing his winerack, his doorbell rang.
Two unexpected visitors in one night?
He checked the peep-hole and stifled a small gasp.
"V?"
Jumin straightened up and opened the door, staring at his friend in surprise.
"Oh... Why didn't you call before coming here?" he asked as he stepped aside to let V in.
"Long time no see." V stepped inside as Jumin closed the door behind him.
"Didn't you say you couldn't come to the party because you were sick?"
"Yes, but the situation has changed," the photographer murmured, still wearing his sunglasses, even though he was indoors and it was late evening. "I heard you got into a car accident. Are you okay?"
"As you can see, I'm fine." Jumin was mildly irritated by his query when his unharmed state was obvious.
"Why did you drive...?" V sounded genuinely perplexed. "You should have taken your driver."
"I had a reason," was Jumin's indifferent response. Then Jaehee's words about his actions speaking of teenage-levels of stupidity popped into his mind, and he had to repress a smile. Besides, there was something more pressing to discuss. "Your eye is still the same." He could tell by the way V's eyes didn't quite focus on his face. "I hope you came here because you changed your mind about the surgery... But did you come because of the hacker?" Jumin had always been able to read V's mind, and the level of understanding was mutual.
"There is no need for me to get the surgery now." His volume had dropped and his gaze fell away as he ceased feigning proper eye contact, deciding to take off his sunglasses.
"What do you mean?" Jumin stepped closer so he could hear him better.
"Jumin." V's voice was laced with anguish. "I need you to take over the RFA for me."
"... What?" Jumin was stunned. This was the last thing he expected to hear from V.
"I... don't think I can live for very long," his friend confessed, Jumin's heart pounding in his throat, making him feel sick. "You must be surprised to hear this out of the blue... But I have terminal liver cancer." V paused, expecting Jumin to say something, but he was too shocked to speak. "Ever since Rika died, I had no desire to live. I had no desire to see... I found out about the cancer two years ago. I'm sorry I never told you." He swallowed nervously, this process clearly difficult for him. "I just wanted to disappear quietly from all of you. Please help me... so I can."
It took several moments for Jumin to recover himself, and when he did, he gave a bitter chuckle.
"I wondered what you'd say, coming here all of a sudden... and that's it." Jumin didn't quite look angry, but he was certainly unhappy.
"I know this must be surprising... but just please do a friend a last favor." V's plea sounded desperate, and if it had fallen on softer ears, he might have elicited a softer response.
"A friend's last favor..." Jumin muttered, turning away so that V couldn't hear the acidity in his voice.
"... I'll leave you all the materials."
"How responsible of you, as always." Jumin's voice was crossing from a growl to a snarl.
"I know you must be angry." That was quite an understatement. "I'm so sorry that things happened this way." V sounded genuinely remorseful, but that did nothing to assuage his friend's growing anger. His apology made Jumin snap, turning on his friend and grabbing him by the front of the shirt, pushing him back against the nearest wall. V's mouth dropped open with a gasp, and for a moment they just stared at each other.
"You must be fully blind not to know where my eyes are." Jumin finally showed his full anger, eyes narrowed. "You can't even see with your left eye now, can you?"
"Jumin..." V was hurt by this as much as Jumin was, or so he believed.
"Everything you're hiding, your secrets, they're all fine," Jumin continued too loudly, his voice strained with the effort of suppressing his feelings. "I'll trust whatever you do and follow you. But please... don't lie to me! At least not you... at least not you...!" Jumin was overwhelmed with the tidal wave of tangled emotions rising within him, and he struggled to express even the basic anger and betrayal that filled his mind. "Don't you feel ashamed to Rika? And to yourself?!" Maybe if he could shock V, he could snap him out of this. "When did you start living with so little dignity? Even my friendship... How dare you treat it like this!"
V didn't have any words. He felt grieved, but he felt no regret. He wouldn't try to justify himself any further.
"You've crossed the line, V... You made a mistake if you thought you could fool me." He clenched his hands more firmly on V's shirt. "Think about all the years we spent together. You can't even count the years? You idiot..." Jumin's eyes watered with tears of anger, but he blinked them away. "Drop the soap opera. Quit with the bullshit that you have cancer."
V turned his face away in shame. "Jumin... I... have to go..."
"Damn it! Where do you have to go? Where at this point?!" Jumin couldn't handle this anymore. It was so obvious that V was lying to him outright, but his best friend didn't seem to care. He didn't deny anything, didn't take anything back, didn't try to explain himself.
"Where Rika is." V's response was too quiet, too apathetic. Jumin didn't understand his true meaning at first.
"Are you crazy?" Jumin yelled, still frustrated.
"I thought about other ways... But the best way to solve this is to go where she is. Everything else can only be temporary solutions."
"What are you talking about, going to Rika?! She's not with us anymore!"
V's silence spoke volumes. Finally, Jumin grasped his true meaning. Eyes wide with horror, he released his friend's shirt and took a few steps back.
"You... you're not..."
"Please, just let me take all the burden... Jumin, please. Those people... aren't just hackers. It's just my karma."
"God." Jumin closed his eyes again as he turned around once more, raking his hand through his already trashed hair. "Just go," he said after a short silence. "Just get out of here." He couldn't handle this right now. He was trying so hard just to not fall apart in front of him. He could do this, he could keep back the tears, he could stand strong.
"I'm sorry, Ju—"
"Don't apologize." Jumin was growling again, his voice thick with emotion. "Just go."
V left without another word, and as the door closed, Jumin felt the floodgates of his anger begin to break. He picked up the wine glass he'd only just removed from the cabinet and hurled it at the wall as hard as he could. The glass shattered, its pieces showering onto the floor as he tasted the satisfaction of destruction.
"Jumin?"
Damn it.
He turned around to see Jaehee standing in the doorway to his bedroom, eyes watery and wide and afraid.
His back straight as a rod and his features as unreadable as he could make them, Jumin asked, "How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough to know that V's going blind."
Jaehee took a tentative step out of the doorway and into the room, though not exactly towards him. Had he scared her when he threw the glass? Possibly. That was a reasonable reaction.
"And that..."
"I'll call Driver Kim to take you home." Jumin crossed the room towards the part of the kitchen counter where his phone was charging.
"Hm?"
"I don't want you using public transportation at this time of night."
"Jumin." Jaehee took a deep breathe and began to approach him from the side, hesitantly walking towards him. "I don't think I should leave you alone right now."
His finger still hovered over the call button, so Jaehee tentatively reached out to pull his hand away from his phone. It softened at her touch, and she interlocked their fingers together. Jaehee looked up and found Jumin's cold eyes on her.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly, but you look like you do."
She nodded slightly and squeezed his hand before she released it.
"I'll make some coffee."
"None for me, thanks."
Jaehee moved to the corner of the kitchen where the expensive, seldom-used coffee machine sat, while Jumin moved over to the liquor cabinet to retrieve a bottle of Belvedere Intense vodka. A hundred proof was exactly what he needed right now.
If he was going to be drinking, then Jaehee needed caffeine. Perhaps Jumin was responsible enough to be trusted to drink alone under normal circumstances, but after news like this, anybody might be tempted to go too far.
He was safer with her here.
As the coffee-maker hummed under Jaehee's fingers, Jumin opened the bottle and poured himself a glass. They served their own drinks in silence, but sat beside each other when both were prepared. Jaehee sat with her hands wrapped her hot mug, shoulders rigid as Jumin downed his first two shots of vodka.
Then the full weight of V's words hit her, like a semi-truck to the face, and Jaehee burst into tears for the second time that night. Damn hormones, she thought sourly, releasing her mug so she could hide her face in her hands. After the initial sobs, she felt something brush against the back of her hand. Peeking through the crack between her fingers revealed to Jaehee that Jumin was offering her his pink silk handkerchief, resting his chin on his other hand as he watched her with inscrutable eyes. She took the handkerchief with a murmured thanks and started dabbing at her puffy eyes with the soft silk. She looked up when his heavy hand rested on the top of her head.
"That's right… I was going to send you home," he murmured, half to himself.
"I'm staying with you, Jumin. I'm not going home." She was tearful, but stubborn. Jumin considered her for a few moments before dropping his hand and starting to stand.
"If you're going to stay over, then you should at least be comfortable."
"Hm?"
"Come, Jaehee."
She did. She followed him to his bedroom closet where she found him extracting a silk pajama set from a neat drawer. He held them out to her.
"Here, wear these. They'll be a bit large, but I'm sure you can manage."
"I-I can't do that." Something inside of Jaehee balked at the notion of wearing her former boss' pajamas, even as something else inside of her wanted nothing more than to wrap herself in the gold silk pajamas, inhale his scent from the fabric, and fall into blissful sleep.
"I insist you either change your clothes, or allow me to send you home with an escort."
"I'll change my clothes." Jaehee hesitated. "And you should too, or else you'll end up staying in that suit all night."
Jaehee changed in the bathroom while Jumin changed in his walk-in closet. The two returned to their previous posts at the kitchen counter. Jaehee sipped her coffee then watched Jumin down another shot.
"Is V really… going blind?"
Jumin sighed and closed his eyes.
"Yes. It started two years ago. I've been pleading with him ever since to seek treatment, since his condition is treatable, but he's always refused."
Another shot down, another sip of coffee.
"What happened to cause this?"
"I don't know, he never explained it in detail." Jumin was already pouring himself another shot, but Jaehee stopped him by resting her hand on his arm. Frustrated, Jumin sighed and said, "All I know is that Rika did it."
"Rika?" May she rest in peace.
"Yes, Rika." Jumin's features twisted into a sneer. "It always comes back to her, doesn't it? The bomb, the hacker, V's blindness, Yoosung's identity crisis, Zen's rise to fame. It's always her fault."
Jaehee didn't know what to say to that, since she'd had little direct contact with the bombshell blond who'd shaken the lives of her closest friends.
"And now V wants to die too, so he can be with her." Disgust dripped the feminine pronoun like honey from a comb. "I never liked her. She wasn't any good for him."
Another pair of shots rapidly swallowed as Jaehee watched anxiously.
"Mr. Han, I really think you should slow down—"
"Jumin. Call me Ju—Oh, nevermind." Jumin's head dropped to the counter as he wrapped his arms around it, face buried in silver silk and black marble.
"Jumin, are you feeling alright?"
"Forget it. Just go."
Jaehee stayed put, posture rigid as her mind stretched in search of the right words that would comfort him.
"Do you really think V lied about having cancer?" Jaehee asked softly, staring into her coffee.
"Yes." Jumin sat up again, reaching for the bottle to pour another shot. "It's too convenient. It's a cop out. He's going to kill himself, sooner or later, so that he can join Rika."
Suicide. The word cut through Jaehee's heart, making the tears begin to flow again.
She choked out a sob and hid her face in her hands. Too much was happening in too little time, and she was overwhelmed.
"V is stubborn." Jumin downed the vodka, then stood to fetch the box of tissues for his former assistant. "I'm not sure if we'd be able to change his mind. Besides that, he wouldn't want us to tell the others." Jumin lightly rested a hand on Jaehee's shoulder, causing her to drop her hands and accept the tissues he was offering her.
"We can't just... do nothing." Jaehee blew her nose, but plucked more tissues to try to dry her tears. "We have to talk to him... Zen would help us... if we asked..."
"V is already on his way to disappearing again... If he came tonight to tell me goodbye, then he won't be at the party tomorrow." Jumin dropped a hand on top of Jaehee's head, softly stroking her hair as he felt the alcohol slowly start to take effect.
"I don't... want to lose... another friend."
Jumin pulled Jaehee up out of her chair and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head against his shoulder as she sobbed. Her shoulders shook, and Jumin rubbed her back intermittently. Jumin let her switch shoulders a few times, her coffee cooling as they stood together and lost track of time. When Jaehee finally regained her composure and pulled away, she looked up and saw that Jumin had cried too.
Of course he'd cried. Jumin and V had been best friends for the past two decades. To think that Jumin wouldn't be grieved by this loss would be absurd. Feeling somewhat entranced by his shadowed silver eyes, Jaehee lifted a hand to Jumin's face, stroking his cheek with her thumb for a moment.
"Are you going to be okay?" she whispered, eyes filled with concern.
Jumin blinked a few times, expression shifting slightly as he tried to answer.
"I don't know." Jumin averted his eyes and murmured, "Maybe, if you stay..."
"Okay."
Jumin looked at her again, those damp amber eyes warming him with their concern and care. Jaehee pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek then hugged him again.
"We're going to be okay, Jumin." He hugged her in return, nuzzling into her hair and closing his eyes as he let her hold him. "You and I... we're going to be okay," Jaehee continued quietly. "And everyone in the RFA... we're going to make it through this. We're going to be okay, we'll just need a little time."
"And will you stay with me?" he whispered into her hair. "Not as an employee, but... as a partner?"
"Yes, Jumin." The slight tinge of agony in his voice told Jaehee that he must be experiencing immense heart-ache right now. It was a good thing that she loved him, or else it'd be painfully difficult to tell him no right now. "I'll stay with you."
Jaehee thought she heard Jumin sob, but he tightened his embrace so she couldn't pull away to see his pain. They continued to hold each other, finding comfort in the embrace of a newly-uncovered loved one.
A/N: I am currently working with some friends on a project that some of y'all may be interested in if you like anything about my fanfics (if you're reading this, you probably like something about them, since you got to the end of the story). We're making a PC otome game with 5 date-able characters, each with a separate story route and multiple endings. It's rating will be congruous with the average rating of my stories here.
A title has been chosen, music is in production, concept art is being drawn, voice actors are being scouted from the YouTube (and hopefully we'll have one from Funimation's bucket of English dub VAs), and dialogue is being written (by yours truly).
As soon as we have a Kickstarter or GoFundMe page up, I will let you know in the next chapter/work I post following that set-up, and I will put a link on my AO3 profile. The mechanics of it all are not quite worked out yet, but I may be able to make a special coupon code for my readers to use when they buy the game so that you all can get an exclusive discount once it's released.
I would not have had the confidence in my own skills to attempt a project like this, even with the aid of my cohorts, if it weren't for the affirmation and positive feedback from my readers.
Thank you all, and lots of love to you.