After a few hours, I fell asleep and woke up several times. Once again, I had to check if everything was alright in Jumin's house. Yet once again, everything was fine. I stopped at the window, few lights in the buildings around us were off, but the cars several stories below me were still going strong like it wasn't even two a.m.
"Meow" Elizabeth III brushed against my leg again. I let out a breath and picked her up and laid down on the couch again, only to repeat what had happened last night.
-X- Jumin
Another morning going past as though nothing had happened last night. Several messages on my phone from both my father and other executives of the company. And of course, there was even an invitation from a news channel asking if I would do an interview to talk about what had happened. I'll ask 733 if she can give a more detailed testimony of yesterday.
Grabbing a mug of coffee and heading toward the couch to answer all the messages I got last night, I realized that this normal routine had been suddenly halted. And I couldn't let this go past without taking a picture of it.
Elizabeth III had fallen asleep in the couch with a companion. 733 sleeping on my couch with my cat on her chest. I took a picture that came out rather well with no blur or shake. Elizabeth woke gently and stretched before hopping off her perch.
However, 733 stayed asleep. Well, I can't just leave her here. "733, time to wake up." She shot up, frantically looking around her as though she didn't know where she was. And then her face turned bright red.
"I am so sorry, I thought I would have woken up nearly ten minutes ago." She stood up and kept her eyes on everything accept me.
"Don't worry about it, I'd probably do the same if Elizabeth were sleeping like that." I assured her. "Either way, I'm impressed. She seems to trust you easily."
She nodded. "She's a cat, Jumin. Cats and people are very easy to understand. You'd be surprised how alike all lifeforms are."
"Oh, really? How so?" I asked.
"You want me to tell you how alike cats are to people?"
"I believe that is what I asked." I sat down on the couch and took a sip of my coffee.
"Well… I guess it's all in how you give things. With cats it's as easy as giving food or petting them. With people, usually it's closer to giving services. If you want someone to trust you, make them believe they're getting a service from you that is otherwise rare to get." She explained, pulling a small blade from her thigh holster and sharpening it with a small stone.
"Really? As easy as that, huh?"
Suddenly, she stopped. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You think I didn't notice? Everyone that works for you calls you 'Mr.Han.' Yet for some reason, you've let me address you by your first name, Jumin." She gave me a side glare that was completely smug.
"You think so? Well, I guess I have." I sipped from the mug again, not paying her much attention.
"So why?"
"Pardon?"
"Why do you let me call you by your first name?" She pressed. She slipped the blade back into its holster and turned herself to sit, facing me.
I smirked, and finally made eye contact. "For the same reason you would use that tactic on anyone."
733 reflected the small smile on my face. "You want me to trust you." She concluded. "Wh-"
"Because I completely trust you. Even if you weren't working under me, even if you weren't a member of the RFA, you still have my complete trust. And that's something that very few people have." I explained.
733's eyes scanned my face in something that wouldn't be far from shock or even fear. "I want you to be able to trust me, despite your nature of always looking over your shoulder and always having to second guess everything someone does for you."
"Why would that matter to you?!" She blurted without thought. The room went quiet, because I hadn't really an idea about how to answer that one. "I'm just someone that works for you at CR and someone that works with you at the RFA. Why the hell should my trust in you be such a big deal?"
She wouldn't let it go. I had to admit, not everyone intrigued me like she did. She lived in a job that selfishness was survival, yet she was kind. She was a legend in her line of work, yet she was humble. She appeared flawless, but she admitted that she was ashamed of something. All of that could be answered, but not now. I still have a long way to go before I can unlock everything about her that I want to know.
But that will only lead to the question of Why do I want to know so badly? And I really don't have an answer for that. Luciel was just as mysterious, but I never cared. So why do I want to know so much more about her.
So why does her trust matter so much to me? "Because I want it to matter to you." I answered. She kept studying my face and my words.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" in truth, I had no idea. It just felt more truthful than not giving an answer.
"I'll let you figure that out." She sighed, clearly deciding that she wouldn't get the answers she was looking for out of me.
"Jaehee will be ready at the normal time. I'm going to visit 707 today, make sure you have competent guards with you." She stood and left through the door that separated our apartments.
Well, that could have gone a lot better. But I think both of us will be over it by lunch. Although by noon, 733 hadn't been back at all.
I logged into the chatroom to see if she was there.
Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.
707: oh hey, Jumin!
Me: Is 733 with you?
707: wow, no hello?
707: I have been
707: Attacked!!
Me: Just tell me if she's there.
707: yeah she's still here. I didn't realize she was here until she scared the living daylight out of me.
Me: ?
707: well, she knows how to get past my security system, since she knows how it works and she can speak Arabic.
707: Here she is!
He sent in a picture of 733 sitting on the floor in his house. She studied a group of papers and folders with a lot of redacted information on them shown with black lines. And she looked extremely stressed about it.
707: She's looking through all of the paper files on the Kkangpae while I look through all the ones on the digital files.
Sung has entered the chatroom.
Sung: Hello, Jumin
Sung: Hello, Luciel.
Me: Hello, Sung.
Sung: Oh my. Is Myeong ok?
707: Yeah I noticed she seems kind of out of it. I can't think of anything that could stress her this much.
Me: I have an idea, but I think you should stay out of it until she speaks what she wants to.
Sung: He's right. We shouldn't meddle in things that aren't ours to deal with.
707: B
707: U
707: T
707: She's my coworker, I should know why she's feeling bad.
707: If she doesn't feel good, it could efffect her work performance.
Me: Ask her yourself if you want to know.
Me: On a different note. I did get a wonderful picture today.
I sent the picture of 733 asleep on the couch this morning.
Sung: Is there a reason you have a picture of her sleeping?
707: !!!!!
707: Scandal!!!!
Me: She fell asleep with Elizabeth when she finished doing security checks last night.
Sung: It is a rather cute photo. And surprisingly well taken.
Me: I agree. It is adorable.
707: Whoa! Jumin actually thinking a girl is cute??!? What had the world come to?!
Sung: Luciel, please don't assume anything.
Me: I would not deny that she is above average looks.
707: *Shocked*
Sung: Well, that's not something you hear every day.
Me: Is there something wrong with saying that?
Sung: Nothing wrong, but we've just never heard you sing any praises to a woman before. It's only a little shocking.
Me: Well, she's dependable, efficient, kind, honest and entertaining to be around. What isn't there to appreciate?
707: AND HE DIGS HIMSELF DEEPER!!!
Sung: Don't listen to seven, he watches to many soap operas.
Sung: there are many ways to find out if Jumin is actually romantically interested in Myeong. And none of them are our business.
Now that raised several more questions and answers that could potentially be problematic. 733's question came back to mind. "Why the hell should my trust be such a big deal?"
If the answer was that I was romantically interested in her, then it made sense. But do I even know her well enough to comfortably admit that I could have feelings for her. No, I don't. At worst, she's a business acquaintance, at best, she's a good friend. But I don't even know her name.
Then I should keep trying to gain her trust and her name, and if she gives it to me, then I can work on getting to know her better, which can lead me to the conclusion of if I have any feelings for her.
Me: I don't have any romantic feelings for her. 733 is nothing but a friend.
Sung: See, there's no reason to over exaggerate.
707: I doubt it will end there.
707: you put her in the friend zone then
707: BAM
707: You've fallen for her.
Me: Thank you for the cautionary tale, but I think I can handle myself.
Jumin Han has left the chatroom.
Coming back to work was hard enough. There was a news spot scheduled for tomorrow night to give our perspectives on what happened. And I would need 733 for that.
"Mr. Han" Assistant Kang broke through my thoughts. "Its getting late and we have an early morning meeting with the board of directors tomorrow."
I finally noticed that the window was now dark and the clock now read somewhere close to 9:30 pm. "Yes, I suppose we should get going. Are you going to be staying with 733 tonight?"
"She hasn't contacted me to say otherwise, so yes." She explained. "But there is something I would like to ask about it it's not to intrusive."
"What is it? You know I won't hold it against you."
"Did you and Myeong argue about her calling you by your first name this morning?"
I don't know how she could have possibly known that. "In a way of sorts."
"I feel like that might have been my fault." She admitted, letting her gaze fall to the floor. "I mentioned to her last night that she was the only one you let call you by your first name."
"It's not your fault. I just think the subject was brought up in a bad moment is all. I'm not mad at anyone."
Jaehee breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. I've noticed that you're comfortable around Myeong and I would hate to have ruined that. She's possibly one of the only people that have understood you in such a short amount of time." She elaborated. "I'm happy you have someone to understand you."
"I have a question for you, and I hope it's not too intrusive." She perked her head up as we got into the car. "Why do you think 733 understands me so easily? It's clear she's dealt with men like me, yet I doubt she's ever tried to understand them."
Jaehee though for a second before letting out a small chuckle. "I think it's because she wants you to understand her. Whatever triggered her interest in you is beyond me, but I believe that all she really wants is to be at peace. I think you have a way of calming her down."
733 does have a rather intense lifestyle, and the idea that I am some sort of refuge for her makes me feel somewhat bad for testing her like that this morning. She should come home tonight, since I doubt Luciel will allow her to blow off her nightly checks.
What I didn't expect was for her to be waiting for me sitting crossed legged on my couch with Elizabeth in her lap. A man would either have to be gay or Zen to not appreciate this sight. And even Zen might be willing to overlook the cat for the fact that she was there.
-X- Myeong
I had walked to the remote area of the city where I knew 707's house would be. I found the entrance and knocked on the door.
"Please say 'I love cats' in Arabic" The door said.
I rolled my eyes and spoke into the microphone. "'Ana 'uhibu alqitat."
The door opened and I walked in, closing and locking it behind me. He was in his kitchen, grabbing some chips and a soda. "I kind of knew you ate nothing but junk food."
707 jumped nearly three feet in the air. "How the hell did you get in!!?!!"
"Did you forget that half of the agents are fluent in Arabic?"
"Mary isn't!"
"Mary hasn't done field work in years." I retorted quickly. He let out a relieved breath.
"What are you doing in here, anyway?"
"I know Vanderwood gave you not only the digital copies of the Kkangpae files, but also all of the papers that haven't been put into the system. And since mafia activity is always greatly monitored, I know you'll need some help."
Luciel didn't seem convinced, even after I sat down and started sifting through papers.
"You're hiding from something aren't you?" He guessed. I remained silent, deciding that answering such a stupid question wasn't worth the effort.
"So that's a 'yes.' What did Mr. Trust fund kid do this time?" He asked opening up his phone.
"None of your business, Saeyoung." I bit. He seemed rather shocked that I would pull up his name in a time such as this.
After a bit he spoke up again. "Jumin's looking for you. What did you do?"
"Nothing that should concern you." The snap of Luciel's camera broke through the silence. "What the hell?"
"Jumin asked for proof of life." He reasoned. I ignored him. He tapped through a few responses, laughing every once in a while.
He suddenly gasped. "You might wanna see this one, Myeong." He came over to my seat on the floor to show me something in his phone.
"Why the hell did he take a picture!?" I screeched.
Luciel laughed and tapped out a response
707: Scandal!!!!
"Nothing's going on like that, Luciel! I fell asleep on his couch, doing security checks."
"While you were cuddled up with little Elly!"
I felt my cheeks heat up and hiding it would be futile. "Nothing is going on!"
"Oh! Both the red in your face and Jumin's little note say different."
Jumin Han: It is adorable
"That doesn't mean anything. So what if he thinks the picture is cute?"
"Well, now he's saying you have 'Above average looks.' Is this love I see blossoming?!"
"Saeyoung, log out of the chatroom!" I tried to take the phone out of his hand, but he was in a much better position than me, making it impossible for me to reach the device.
"Why? You worried he'll say something incriminating?" he laughed, keeping the phone away from me. "Wow, that's quite the string of compliments! He really likes you. I see why you didn't want me to stay around for this part."
"What did he say now?"
Luciel showed me the message now that I wasn't trying to take the phone.
Jumin Han: Well, she's dependable, efficient, kind, honest and entertaining to be around. What isn't there to appreciate?
I froze at the sight of it. "Myeong, what's going on?" Luciel said a bit more serious.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Myeong, I'm possibly the only one that will understand." My eyes wouldn't meet him. I'd rather be staring at the ground right now.
"Jumin would." I mumbled. Luciel heard it and let out a sigh.
"But it's clear something is going on right now. Unless you're ready to face Jumin right now, I'm the only one that understands. Please, let me help."
"Jumin wants me to trust him. And I don't know if I'm ready to handle that."
"Has Jumin given you any reason not to trust him?"
"No, but you know it's not that simple, Luciel."
He nodded "Yes, I know. Your default setting is to not trust anyone. Do you remember the agency handbook?"
"I have sections of it memorized."
"Great! Do you remember rule B-24?"
"An agent should never trust anyone but themselves."
"Which is easy to understand. But there is an acceptation to that rule." I didn't know of any acceptation to that rule.
"Where is it written?"
"In the ways to retire from agent work. You know that getting married is one of the ways to leave. And if you aren't allowed to trust your spouse, then they're trying to breed dysfunctional relationships, and we know there's nothing going on like that."
I thought over what leaving the agency entails. Specifically over the marriage option.
"Still don't know? It says 'An agent should trust anyone they hold a deep connection with'"
"Yes, but then it never explains what a 'deep connection' really is, so I ignored it."
Luciel chuckled. "That's because it's different for everyone. If you're an agent, they already trust you to make your own tough decisions. Deciding what that means, is up to you."
"So I need to find out what exactly that entails?"
"Yes. So, what would it mean to have a deep connection with someone. Example, me."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you need an example that isn't Jumin. Just do it, I know what I'm doing." He reasoned.
"Alright, well…." I thought hard about what to say. What would have to change before I could say I had a deep connection to 707?
Part of it would be his willingness to help, so he has that down. Another would be his understanding. While he understands my view in perspective of my work, he doesn't understand why I feel the need to keep it up because of my position. Not only that, but he would need to understand why I stayed with the agency. He would need to be a peaceful presence to be around, 707 is not peaceful in the slightest. He would have to be playful in a simple way. I would prefer someone that can banter every once in a while, but not like he always does.
"Well, a willingness to help. Understanding of my perspective and reasons. Peaceful presence, and we would have to understand each other's humor."
"Alright. So it's clear to you that I don't have all of that." He clarified as I nodded. "Great. Now how much of that do you share with Jumin?"
"Ah-" I cut myself off. I was about to say none of it, but the literal first act he ever did towards me was offering to get me out of a position if I should ever want to. That only lead to another revelation that he also understood what it was like to constantly have to be the best and fulfill the expectations of those around you. Not only that, he understood that I was getting bored and let me interrogate Mr. Teo for no other reason than my own entertainment. Which sent the next domino toppling. Was Jumin a peaceful person to be around? Yes. He really was. He only ever expected me to do as I said I could, and even let me do as I wanted. The last point was hit when I realized that the small playful banter between us was easy and fun, not overbearing or annoying or boring. "A-All of it…"
"So you acknowledge that you have a deep connection with him. Now the only question is if you want to trust him." He explained.
"I-I do want to trust him. But I don't know if I can…" I admitted.
"Then trust him with one thing you don't normally tell people and move onto more serious things from there."
-X- Jumin
"Hi, Jumin." She didn't look up from the cat in her lap.
"Hello." I took off my suit jacked and pet Elizabeth's head.
"Jumin, I-"
"Don't apologize." She didn't appear angry that I interrupted her. "I knew exactly what you were talking about and I pushed you, even though I knew it would have a negative effect on you. And for that, I apologize."
She didn't say anything, only observed my expression, looking for something. "Thank you." She finally answered. "You know, 707 seems to believe in you a lot. And he pointed out a lot of things to me."
Elizabeth had hopped off her lap and allowed her to turn towards me. She kept her eyes down and evened her breath forcefully. "We talked for a while, but he said one thing that caught me off guard." Our eyes met and I didn't flinch. "He made me realize that I want to trust you. And that there's nothing in the way of that accept myself."
"You don't need to force yourself to tell me anything, 733. You can tell me whatever you want when you want, but just know what I'm after." I assured her.
Her brown eyes darted across my face, desperately searching for something. "What do you want to know?" She asked curiously.
"Your real name, for starters. But I want to know you like a close friend." I said. She kept her eyes trained on my face, concentrating on my expression or lack of one.
I allowed her to simply search for as long as she needed to, not moving my face or my eyes from hers. 733 sighed in something akin to defeat, yet not disappointed. She had reached a conclusion. "I will give you my real name so long as you don't use it unless we're alone."
"I agree to those terms."
"My real name is Daeyang Pogpung."
-X- Daeyang
"Hmm. Daeyang." Jumin tested the sound of the name for himself, and despite the fact I knew I literally just told him, it felt weird to have someone else say it after I had kept it secret for so long.
"It suits you well. Is the meaning behind it traditional or literal."
I chuckled lightly. "Yes, my mother literally named me 'Ocean'. But I like it. There were many comparisons made of me to various ocean creatures when I started at the agency. One of them stuck and it's been used as a code word for me if they can't use my agent identification number in a document."
"Is it an eel by any chance?" He asked.
I glared with a puzzled expression. "No, Jumin, it is not an eel. Why?"
"Well" he stated matter-o-factly. "If you turn the numbers 733 upside down it spells out EEL. Much like how if you turn 707 upside down, it reads LOL."
"Well, it's not an eel. It's a specific species of octopus that the Australian organized crime ring started calling me." Jumin seemed intrigued, he listened closely. "It's something called a 'Blue Ringed Octopus'. It appears harmless and rather cute with it's size and yellow and blue ringed colors. But it is an extremely venomous creature."
"Why did that one stick?"
"Well… there are a few reasons. One is that I spent a of time in the far Eastern meridian for work. So places like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and India. All of them have Blue Ringed octopi. But the main reason is that it is known that it has enough venom to kill twenty six full grown men. And the most amount of men I can beat in hand to hand combat at once is twenty six."
Jumin nodded solemnly. "You don't enjoy fighting, do you, Daeyang?"
"No… And before you ask, I won't tell you why I do it, because that's something I don't think I can trust you with yet."
A small smile played at the edge of his lips. "Alright then, Daeyang. Then that's the next thing I'll work to find out. In the mean time," He got up from the couch and held his hand out to me. "I think you should get some sleep. It's getting late and we have another day of work tomorrow."
"You do know that I sleep in small naps that take only fifteen to twenty minutes, right?" I took his hand as he helped me up.
"Why would you do that?"
"Awareness. The agents that take more dangerous jobs are trained to sleep that way so they can wake up instantly."
"That is interesting. Regardless, rest is still vital to work." It suddenly hit me that I hadn't let go of his hand yet. Jumin didn't show any signs of wanting to let go.
"I-I'll try." I said, cursing myself for the stutter. I am an elite sabotage agent that has seduced many men into following my every command, where the hell did a stutter come from?
"But, if you prefer to sleep on my couch with Elizabeth III, I'm ok with that too." And it was clear he noticed the red flush that hit my face and neck like a cannonball, with that awful smug little smirk that toyed with the corner of his lip.
"I-I think I-I'll be h-heading back n-now. Good night!" I rushed past him and to the door, letting go of his hand which he appeared to not notice after that.
Shutting the door, I pressed my back up against it and slid down it, staring up at the white ceiling. God, I am going to regret this, aren't I?
Giving him my name?! I hardly remember a time when my own mother called me by that name. It's been nearly thirteen years since I've let someone get this close. Now I just hope that this doesn't bite me in the ass like everything else did.
Jumin has to be different. Jumin has to he different.
"Myeong?" I pulled a knife from my holster at the sudden jump.
"Jaehee? I am so sorry." I slipped the knife back. "I guess I'm just a bit jumpy."
"You alright? You kind of disappeared for a while today and everyone got worried. You saw the messenger today, right?" I nodded, sitting on the counter. "Did you two work things out?"
"Yes. It's just, I think I've made a horrible mistake and I'm worried I'm not going to be the one paying for it." I briefly elaborated.
Jaehee, however seemed to understand and didn't press for answers. "You know him better than me. So you should know that whatever you've done, Mr. Han won't hold it against you."
"I hope your right. He's putting a lot on the line for curiosity."
Jaehee looked at me quizzically, assessing what exactly that meant. That both me and Jumin could wind up somewhere we really shouldn't be.
"if this goes horribly wrong, he could loose a lot."
"Then don't let it go wrong, Myeong." She stated sternly. "Goodnight." She smiled and headed back to the guest room.
I don't control how things turn out. I can't choose whether or not it goes horribly wrong, because success and failure are objective. Yet there seems to be some truth to her claim.
Tomorrow will be hell. Knowing how popular CR is, he's most likely already allowed a news channel or two do an interview. I've always hated being on TV, but hopefully whatever he has planned, I don't want to poison someone's coffee by lunch.
AN: So, depending on how much I write tomorrow, I may be able to have another chapter or two out by Teusday. I have so much planned for this fic.
I was able to plan a fuck ton last night on the direction I wanted this story to go, and I believe I have a pretty solid story.
Now for y'all people that are here for the long haul, I have a minimum of fifteen chapters planned out, each of them around 5k words with the acception of chapter III.
Sorry for all my fellow multi/billingual people. I am studying a total of nine languages and while Arabic is one of them, I am not yet fluent in it. So if you speak Arabic and I am way off, I apologize. This will also go for French when it is brought up in a later chapter. I am not fluent in either language, so I will most likely fuck it up pretty bad.
Thanks for reading,
-Tobi Palace.