Spoilers! Spoilers! SPOILERS! (Especially for the secret endings!)

Changes: Eric and Tol's names have been changed to their real names when referring to them in description sentences. However, some characters will still call them "Eric" and "Tol" in dialogue. If, for some reason, you skipped Chapter 8, I recommend you read it.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 9

RFA Text Messages
February 2nd, 2017
12:00 AM KST

Unknown: Hello, 144~

Unknown: You have 24 hours left before time is up.

Unknown: Remember that if you fail...

Unknown: I get to have a little fun with all of you.

Unknown: Hm? No reply? I see, you must be sleeping.

Unknown: Sleep well, little bird.

Unknown: I'll see you very soon if you don't succeed.

Seochan Road
Seochan Cafe
February 2nd, 2017
11:47 PM KST

A fairly slender person was standing outside of a cafe, her hand wrapped around something in her pocket, and her hair occasionally fluttering because of the slight breeze. Her eyes were looking down at her feet, noticing the little spots of dirt on her black shoes. A cold winter breeze forced her to zip her jacket up and shiver. She was already cold all the time; she didn't need to freeze even more.

That person's name was Art.

Art took out the little object in the pocket and tossed it between two hands, being very careful not to drop it or accidentally hurt herself with it.

She couldn't even feel the object bouncing between her hands. Her hands were numb.

It was a pocketknife, which had a sleek black handle, her agent number written in tiny numbers on the bottom of the handle. In one swift motion, the blade flew out. It was shiny silver, and she could see her own black eyes reflected.

They were wide. Her eyebrows were raised, and her eyes were ridiculously wide, almost as if she was afraid someone was going to attack her. She continued to stare at herself in the blade, willing her eyes to return to their emotionless state, and her eyebrows to return to a more normal position. She sighed, the blade retracting, putting the knife back into her pocket.

Today was it.

Today was the day she would complete her mission.

Today was the day she would complete her mission or Unknown would do something.

She pulled out her phone, opening the RFA chat. Unknown had sent her a few messages as soon as it turned 12, which made her blood go cold and sent a shiver down her spine. A little fun? She wasn't sure what his definition of "fun" was, but she was certain that it probably wasn't going to be fun for ANY, RFA, and her. "Little bird"? Okay, so maybe she was considered short compared to the towering giants whose height was considered "normal" nowadays, but still... "little bird"? What did that mean?

And why did it scare her more than it should have?

Art had sent a reply early this morning, as soon as she saw the messages. She clearly remembered reaching for her phone in bed, seeing those seven messages, before immediately swinging herself off of the bed and standing on her two feet, suddenly being filled with adrenaline. She remembered feeling her fingers moving across the keyboard, her mind filled with thoughts.

What if he hurts them?

Don't you dare touch any of them.

Why is he doing this?

Unknown, I want you to stop. Now.

Is he... sane?

Very well. I'll participate in this little game with you.

She looked at the texts she sent this morning and grimaced, just slightly. She wished Luciel had installed some message deletion option, because she was sure that she wasn't exactly thinking properly this morning. Her messages were all over the place, ranging from being calm to being absolutely angry at Unknown. She still wasn't sure what happened that morning.

Art: I recommend you don't harm any of them.

Art: But why are you doing this?

Art: I politely request an answer.

Art: Why?

Art: What did they ever do to you?

Art: Nothing, right? Nothing?!

Art: So what the hell are you doing?

She had to scroll down to read the last message, but she glanced at the time. 12:02. Luciel was late.

Art: I swear, Unknown, if you touch them, I promise I'll make you regret it.

She continued scrolling down for some reason. It seemed as if Unknown finally responded to her messages, and they weren't messages that relieved Art in any way. No, she read these messages before throwing her phone back into her pocket, trying her best to remain emotionless.

Her eyes were blank. Her eyebrows were in its normal, resting position. Her mouth was almost in a straight line. Her shoulders were relaxed. She was only moving slightly because she was still shivering from the chilly winter air. Otherwise, she looked perfectly normal.

There was a reason why they were all required to learn how to act as soon as they joined the agency.

But if anyone looked closer into her eyes, they would probably see everything. All her worries. All her fears. All her insecurities.

And she hated that.

She looked around, focusing on the empty plot of land across the street. It was covered in tall grass and a sign that said, "Trespassers welcome, but be careful!". She laughed slightly and shook her head because of the sign. There was probably some secret security system underground or something.

There was a tree or two on the land, and Art did notice a little hole behind one of the trees. Maybe it was how people would access the supposed security system, but that was only a possibility. She couldn't be very sure about the idea.

The grass looked damp from where Art was, probably because of the rain.

She turned around, looking at the cafe. There was just a glass door that allowed her to see the inside of the cafe, which was filled with wooden tables and plastic chairs. She let out a breath, watching as it fogged in the air. That was where she was supposed to meet Luciel.

But he wasn't here yet.

Strange.

She turned around to face the plot of land, once more, wondering what could be in that hole. Almost as if some heavenly being wanted to answer her question, she saw a flash of red appear from the hole.

There's no way...

She continued to watch, hoping that maybe something was fake about this. This was just an illusion. Maybe she was hallucinating.

But as soon as he turned around, revealing his striped glasses and his headphones, she started to realize that maybe this was real.

And as soon as he stepped out of the hole, wearing his black and yellow hoodie and his jeans, yelling, "Art! You're here already?", she knew that Luciel was the one living under that plot of land.

Art put on a smile and waved. "Hello Seven!"

Don't lose control this time, Art.

Maintain that act of yours.

She continued to smile as Seven walked closer to her, not even looking both sides before crossing the street.

"Let's cure the Jaehee-talking virus together, okay?" He flashed a cocky grin, his eyes brightening.

Art scoffed just slightly before managing a slight giggle. "Alright!"

She felt as if a spotlight was on her.

As if someone was watching her every move.

She looked behind her shoulder. Nobody was there.

I'm just being paranoid.

She turned around, and walked into the cafe with Seven, who was smiling and talking about something, but she couldn't focus on the words. It seemed as if he was speaking a completely new language he just made up.

She blinked a couple of times and tried to focus on what he was saying, because she couldn't mess up today.

She couldn't mess up. She knew what would happen if she made a mistake.

She shook her head and managed a smile when she glanced up at him.

Don't be suspicious.

Agency of New York Headquarters
Room 662 - Office of Eric Young
February 2nd, 2017
12:02 AM EST

The entire building was fairly quiet. While all the lights were still on outside, Jitae knew that nobody was there.

It was silent too, in his room, except for the sounds of his keyboard. It was also dark, too, unlike the bright, warm lights of the hallway outside. His contacts were back on, and he was back to wearing his plain white shirts. His emerald eyes stared at the screen, both focused and absentmindedly at the same time. It was another normal day in the agency for everyone but him.

Train delays were absolutely insane today, and he arrived to work late. An hour late, which was absolutely unacceptable in the agency, especially to the head of Group 1, which was the head of all heads (as well as the head of his own group, as well). He received even more work, which he thought was alright, until he realized that the due date was tomorrow.

Great.

Next, 192. He was a nightmare in general, almost like the class clown of the agency. His antics today involved an agent from Group 3, a toilet seat, and silly string, which ended up in an absolute mess, blood, and (somehow, he didn't want to know) a shattered toilet seat. He tried to hide it from the head, since he, personally, knew that Group 3's head was infamous for starting drama in the agency, but that didn't work.

Now a rumor was going around saying that 192 was going to be a target for the next mission, and all of Group 3's agents were "requested" to carry a can of silly string to spray at 192 if he was seen.

Jitae was certain that the hallway was still covered in silly string.

Finally, he was worried all day about something. Art and her mission, to be exact, because he wasn't sure what the hell she was doing.

Jiyeon had called him last night, when it was around one o'clock or so. He wasn't asleep at the time, since his work destroyed his sleep schedule, so he picked up, slightly irritated that his brother called him on his agency phone, of all phones to call. He thought that he knew to call him on his personal rather than his agency, since, well, his agency phone calls could be seen by the other heads, which wasn't good, since they all thought that Jiyeon was dead.

"Hello? Bro, are you up?"

"I picked up your call. I hope I'm up," he had replied, sitting, cross-legged, on his bed.

"Alright, great. I have something to say about Art."

And there Jitae was, sitting there, for a full ten minutes as Jiyeon explained everything about RFA and Art's email. He had even sent a text of a screenshot of the email (to his personal phone, which he was glad about), which led Jitae to wonder what Art was really doing in Seoul.

Maybe she was using it as a disguise. When he brought this up to Jiyeon, he agreed, but then he also pointed out something else.

"What if she was caught?"

What if...? There were too many what-ifs, and Jitae was starting to consider them all.

He had told his brother to call him on his personal phone if anything else happened, before hanging up and trying his best to sleep while looking outside at the Hexington Avenue cars as they zoomed by. He wasn't sure what to think at this point.

And now? He still didn't know what to think.

He continued typing, his fingers moving automatically as they typed in the familiar lines of code. He looked up at the screen, scanned the text, and pressed "Enter," hoping for his computer to finish the job. He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

She was like a sister to him.

He couldn't lose her.

Ring... ring...

Someone was calling him. He looked at his desk, where two phones were placed, side by side, one with a white case, the other with a black case. He sat up, leaning forward. The white phone was the one vibrating, not the black one.

Which meant that someone was calling his personal.

Was it Jiyeon? He did ask him to call his personal if there was anything else he found out.

He reached for the phone, his finger pressing the "Answer" button before he could even see who called him. Sighing at his mistake, he quickly put the phone to his ear and faced the computer screen.

"Hello?"

"You picked up! I'm glad... Hello, Eric!"

The familiar, high-pitched, quiet voice seemed to echo in his head. It seemed so abnormally quiet compared to before, but at the same time, it seemed so loud. He closed his eyes tightly, and took a deep breath before replying.

"It's still a work situation. I don't understand why you're calling me that."

There was silence on the other side, although Jitae could hear a piece of paper being crumpled.

"Can we forget about work for once? And just talk like we used to...?" Her voice was even quieter than before, and maybe, just maybe, there was a slight hint of nostalgia in it. He gently rubbed his eye with his other hand before typing a few things on the keyboard.

"Alright. What is it?"

A small sigh. "Remember when I asked you about 356's romance novels?"

Of course. He remembered the scene quite well. "What about it?"

"It's just... you know, I never thought they would come true." He could hear the slight smile in her voice, although he grimaced, just slightly. He didn't know what he was feeling. Joy? Fear? Disgust? Maybe all three, and even more?

"Come true? Art, you're in the middle of a mission."

"No... I'm serious."

His hand froze on the keyboard, before continuing to type. She did sound serious. She sounded determined, and whenever she sounded like that, it usually meant that she was dedicated and unwilling to bend.

No matter what anyone said.

"...What do you mean, then?"

A much, louder sigh followed his question as he pressed "Enter" once more, expecting this to be the last time.

"Am I going to regret telling you?"

"I hope you don't."

"...Alright. I think I like someone."

He sat there, his face still emotionless. A surprise. It's not as if she hinted it in the sentences before this one.

"And? That isn't much of a surprise."

Her voice suddenly dropped. "Not just anyone, though. I think I like the wrong person."

He raised his eyebrows as the screen turned green, indicating a success. "The wrong person? What do you mean by that?"

"Is it safe to tell you his name?"

"I suppose. This is my personal, after all."

"Alright."

There was silence, in his room, and on the phone. That is, until she took a big breath and said, "It's Luciel."

Those two words. It's Luciel. He quickly shut down the computer, afraid that maybe, just maybe, someone was hearing him through his computer mic. He sat in complete darkness, his emerald eyes wide open and staring at the black ceiling. His voice wasn't quiet, just low, as he replied, "What?"

"I-I know. He's the wrong person to like, and I messed-"

"Art, stop."

The phone was dead silent as he took a breath, preparing what to say. What was he supposed to say? He had only fallen in love once before, and that didn't turn out well because of his job. He had only read romance novels before, and that didn't turn out well because 356 loved cheesy stories. He had no experience in this field, whatsoever. The only person he knew that did have experience was, well, Jiyeon.

But he couldn't stop and tell Art to call Jiyeon now.

"I first want to ask you: Are you insane?"

"I can expla-"

"Don't. I have more to say. I'm glad you found someone you like, though."

"You are?"

"I am." He crossed his legs, glancing at his computer, which was off and silent. "Please be careful though."

There was a hint of anger and surprise in her voice. "Why should I?"

"Both of you are agents. Once you take a step out of this agency to stay with Luciel, you're going to have ANY on your tail. Once you give up on this mission, you have the Unknown guy on your tail. If Luciel leaves his agency and moves to the States, you're going to have SPA on your tail."

"Wait... you know the Unknown guy?"

"I thought you read the file. Did I not put a post-it saying that you were hired by a guy named 'Unknown'?"

"It said that I was hired by Unknown. Not a guy named 'Unknown.'"

"My bad. But yes, you were. But speaking about before, just be careful. When is your flight?"

"The fourth."

"The fourth? Are you-"

"I'm not coming back, Eric. If Unknown threatens him and the other members-"

"Of your little charity group?" He heard Art take a sudden breath. "Don't panic. Tol called me."

"I never thought he would have done that."

"We're brothers."

There was a small giggle coming from the as Jitae looked at the door. The lights were still on outside of the hallway, and he was certain that he just heard the sound of something spraying, followed by a slight yelp. 192 was still in the office? Surprising.

"Haha, of course. But I know he is. The reason why he hired us was to eliminate Luciel, who seems to be vital for the protection of the group."

This was new information. He narrowed his eyes as the sound of spraying continued. "Elaborate."

She coughed quietly. "Alright. RFA has a group chat, sort of like our group chat. It's meant to plan parties and stuff, and Luciel is the one in charge of the security of the group chat. He is in charge of confidential information, as well as the protection of the party planner, who is, currently-"

"You."

"Yes, me. I don't know what connections Unknown has towards this group yet, but..."

Jitae smiled, although it was a grim smile. He knew exactly the connections between Unknown and Luciel. Saeran and Saeyoung. But she couldn't tell Art, in fear for her telling the other members of the group, which would lead to suspicions.

And that was never good.

"I see. I'll see how bad it gets."

"Why?"

"If the situation is really bad, I might as well make a stop in Korea before I go to Tokyo."

"Tokyo?! What?"

"I'm visiting Tol."

"You are?!"

"Yes, no need to sound so surprised." He laughed, quietly. "Anyways, please be careful. Don't be careless because of him."

"...Jitae?"

He shivered. Did she really call him by his real name? He ignored the strange feeling and asked, "What is it?"

"You told me that it would all be worth it in the end if I found someone I was willing to sacrifice myself for..."

"Yes?"

"...I think I found him, and I'm certain it'll be worth it. I'll see you soon, Eric. Stay safe."

Click.

Mint Eye Headquarters
Throne of the Savior
February 2nd, 2017
4:49 PM KST

"Savior..."

"What is it?"

Two figures were in the elaborate throne room, decorated with velvet curtains, the Mint Eye logo, and tons of gold; fake or real, they weren't so sure. One person, her blonde hair curled and bouncing up and down as she bobbed her head to the imaginary music, was wearing beautiful white and teal robes as she sat on her throne. The other person was kneeling, not daring to look up into her emerald eyes, his white and pink hair covering his face just slightly. His jacket was half-off as he kneeled.

"We need to activate the plan."

Rika, the Savior, stopped her humming, before managing a slight glare at Unknown. "I did tell you that hiring an agent wouldn't work, didn't I?" She brushed some imaginary dust off of her robes.

"I know, but-" Unknown looked up, his own mint eyes staring back at her green ones.

"Are you arguing with me?" She stood up, looking down at him, her voice raised.

He looked back down, at his shoes. "I-I'm not, Savior. I apologize."

"I accept your apology." She sat back down, smoothing her robes, managing a smile on her face again. "What did you do?" Her voice was as sweet as honey.

"I stalked her, to the cafe where she and Luciel were meeting. She walked out in the middle of it, throwing her one and only weapon onto his plot of hand, muttering something about how she couldn't do it."

"Continue."

"Luciel drove her home, and went back to his house after dropping her off."

Rika smiled grimly. "Of course."

"I hacked into their camera system once again, and then listened. She was talking to someone - her head, I assume - and said something about how she liked Luciel, that traitor." He spat out the last two words, as if they were poison.

"Hm. You cannot trust anybody but me, do you understand? Trusting an outsider to do your job..."

"I understand."

"Very well; I'm glad you have learned. Gather all who have some knowledge of hacking, because the plan will be activated tonight."

Rika stood up as Unknown continued to kneel. She walked towards the door, before turning back and facing Unknown's mint eyes once more.

"And you will finally get your revenge."

Chapter 9 finished!

After the cafe scene, that's where the "Caution! Game branches here. Continue?" thing would be.

But now you know what Chapter 8 was necessary: It needed to lead up to the cafe thing. The past story thing was necessary for the phone call between Jitae and Art. Chapter 8 was a filler chapter, but at the same time, an important filler chapter.

This chapter though... It was easier to write compared to 8.

I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you!

-Teri