Drumming his fingers on his desk, Saeyoung watched his phone vibrate with an incoming call. He watched as the phone, with Jumin Han's face looking up at him from the screen, moved closer and closer to the edge of the desk. Just as it was about to topple over onto the floor, he snatched it up and pressed it to his ear, a deep scowl etched onto his features.
"I did what you asked," he stated. The deep chuckle coming through the speaker cut him off and he snapped his mouth shut, feeling his insides grow cold.
"Luciel, I have some serious and incriminating evidence against you," Jumin informed him in a tone that was all business. "It seems that some of our client's accounts have been hacked into. Nothing was taken from them, but we at C&R International take this breach in security very seriously."
"You bastard," Saeyoung whispered, barely audible.
"After some personal investigating of my own," Jumin continued, "it seems that the hacker was traced back to you. I could have you put away for quite a long time over this, I hope you know."
"So that was your plan?" Saeyoung snapped. "Blackmail me into uselessly hacking into the accounts, catching me in the act, and arresting me?" His anger boiled inside of him. Of course that had been Jumin's intention. It made sense. With Saeyoung in jail Jumin wouldn't have to worry about MC leaving him anymore. She would have no one to run to.
"Not at all," Jumin replied, stopping the rushing train of thoughts and accusations whizzing through Saeyoung's mind.
"Then what?" he asked, dumbfounded. "What do you want from me, after making me do all that? What else could you possibly want?"
"You are going to disappear," Jumin stated simply. "All traces of your very existence will be gone by three o' clock this afternoon. Do you understand? You will remove yourself from the RFA, erase all current emails and phone numbers, and leave this city. I will personally ensure that you have done all of this. You will never see MC again. If you are not off the grid within the time I've allotted you, I will hand in all of my evidence against you to the police."
Saeyoung took a moment to let the demands sink in. Given his past, Jumin's request wouldn't be too hard to complete. But it also meant he had to give up MC alongside his identity. He bit his lip. It's probably for the best anyway, he thought. He had caused her so much pain. This was all happening because of him. She couldn't be happy with him. Not after everything that's happened. The last thing he wanted was to make her more miserable than she already was. It would be painful, but after some time he felt they both would move on. After all, he reminded himself, didn't that old saying say to let go of what you loved?
"Luciel, do we have an understanding?" Jumin asked impatiently.
Saeyoung had been backed into a very tight corner. "Yes," he said, reluctantly, at last. "We have an understanding."
There was a click followed by the monotonous dial tone. Saeyoung stood, stuffing his phone in his pocket, and pushed in his computer chair. He had so much to do and so little time to do it.
Jumin arrived home at exactly five o'clock that evening, as per usual. He entered the dining room and set his briefcase by his chair before going into the bedroom he shared with MC. She was right where he had left her and, frowning, he reached out and placed a hand on her back.
"Join me for dinner," he said. "I must speak to you."
She lifted her head from the pillow, her bleary eyes, devoid of any sparkle of hope, searched his features. Seeing no malicious intent, she rose and silently pulled her terrycloth robe on over her pajamas.
MC followed him sluggishly to the dining room, weak from hunger and exhausted from worry. She saw that the chef had prepared a pasta dish for them and she began to eat as soon as she was seated. The sooner she was finished, the sooner she could go back to bed and escape.
Jumin watched her for a moment, taking in her sunken eyes, pale features, and overall haggard appearance. She was not the same vibrant woman he had married. The past events had turned her unto a shell of her former self, and he shocked her completely when he stated, "You are not happy."
She looked up as if she had been jabbed with something sharp. She studied his face carefully, wondering what kind of game he may be playing, before replying, "No, Jumin. I'm not."
"I understand that I haven't been the perfect husband to you," he mused, meeting her eye. "I have had a tendency to put my work before your needs, and I am at fault for that. However, it doesn't excuse you for what you've done."
She looked down at her nearly empty plate. "I know that."
"Things cannot be the same between us," he continued. "Our marriage has drifted apart and I don't believe it can be salvaged at this point."
She looked up again, her brows wrinkled in confusion as she watched him. "Jumin…"
He reached into his briefcase and removed a sheaf of papers. "I made some calls today. Rika's old apartment is still available. You can go there tonight. I'll have your things taken there tomorrow morning. I will provide you with enough money to live on until you are able to find a job. Given your abilities, I don't expect the process to take long. Yoosung mentioned the pet clinic he works at is looking for a secretary. You can start there.
"If you agree to all of this, you can sign these papers. I had my lawyer draw them up. Feel free to read through it all. I think you'll find everything to be fair."
He pushed the papers and his diamond pen over to her and MC's breath caught in her throat when she saw that they were indeed divorce papers. "I apologize for overreacting," he continued, glancing down. "I was upset. I truly never expected this from you."
"I know," MC replied, swallowing thickly. "I'm sorry. For all of this. But I think…It's for the best." She picked up the pen and leafed through the papers, noticing Jumin's neat signature already on his allotted line.
"I agree," Jumin returned. "I hope you continue your work with the RFA. You've done so much; it would be a waste to leave because of this."
She nodded lightly. "I never wanted to leave the RFA."
He watched her sign her name, stack the papers neatly, and place the pen on top. When she had finished, he stood and removed a small chip from his pocket. "The key to the bracelet," he explained as he knelt down beside her. He took her ankle gently in his hand and inserted the chip. MC sighed with relief as the clunky metal tracking bracelet slid off her ankle and hit the plush carpet with a muted thud.
"Thank you, Jumin," she said, the flood of relief bringing a fresh set of tears to brim at her eyes. "Thank you for understanding."
"I can't say that I'm happy about this situation," he replied simply, taking her cell phone from his briefcase and handing it to her, "but I now understand where we both went wrong."
Morning came, and MC watched the light flood in from the picture window of the apartment she had occupied for a grand total of eleven days. Already it felt like home to her. As she lay in bed, she took her phone from the bedside table. She had not turned it on since Jumin gave it back to her. She had spent the previous evening packing her necessities, travelling to the apartment, and crying sweet, potent tears of relief until she fell into a dreamless and deep sleep.
There was only one person she wanted to contact. She could explain the situation to the rest of the RFA later. She had an inkling they all may have guessed what was going on anyway. It was time for her to move on, to be happy, and there was only one person she wanted to do that with. To love Saeyoung without the guilt, to be able to hold him freely and spend endless nights with him, things she had only daydreamed about until this day, was finally becoming a reality. She couldn't wait to get started.
But, as she opened the messenger app and scrolled through the contacts there, she found that Saeyoung's name had been removed. With a sinking feeling in her chest, she opened up her regular contacts and searched for his personal contact information. Gone.
She opened her email account and scrolled through her contacts there. Nothing.
Suddenly numb, she let the phone fall out of her hand and onto the mattress. It bounced once and then remained still. Jumin would never have let her go so easily, she realized. Not with the way he had reacted when she broke the news. No, he would never let his love go. Not while knowing that she would run right to the arms of her lover. That was why he had given into the divorce so easily, so simply. As if he had been planning it all along. He cut off her contact with Saeyoung, and then he made Saeyoung disappear. Given the power Jumin held at his fingertips, she couldn't imagine what he had done to ensure she would never be able to contact Saeyoung again.
Seething, she picked up her phone, wanting to call Jumin, wanting to scream and yell and force him to tell her what he had done, all while knowing it would be of no use. In a way, they had both gotten what they wanted.
Her phone chimed with an email alert and, reacting on impulse, she opened the app and stared at the single sentence message sent by the unknown sender.
HackerMan707 has sent you a request to download the app "Hide and Seek".
A small smile began to tug at her lips as she clicked on the link provided. A moment later, the new app appeared on her phone. Strangely, it appeared to be nothing but a simple map app, but when she opened it a map with only a single bookmarked location showed up on the screen. A message from within the app popped up and her smile broke into a grin as she read it. Suddenly, she knew that everything would be all right. After all they had been through together; they were both going to get the ending they deserved.
"You're it! Can you find me? I'll be waiting. Muah!"
I have truly enjoyed writing this story. I really appreciate all of the feedback you guys have given me on it. It definitely inspired me to keep pushing through and writing, even when the dreaded Writer's Block took over. Shout out to a good friend of mine, who loves Jumin but helped me out with a lot of brainstorming for this fic despite that. I would say MC and Saeyoung got the good ending they deserved, don't you think?
Thanks so much for reading. You've all been great!
