A/N: Hello! I decided to post an update to keep my energy going. This one actually took a toll on me, but I hope I made justice of it at least.
Thank you for those who continue to shower this story with their love and support.
Warning for some spoilers, and Rated T for language, thoughts and actions.
Disclaimer: Mystic Messenger belongs to Cheritz. Any known names, ideas, characters, events, products and merchandise that you may encounter belongs to their respective owners. Really, the only thing that is mine here is the storyline. And M.C.'s character maybe.
Chapter 14: In which grocery shopping became two-man a chore
M.C. looked intently at the items arranged along the shelf in front of her.
This one looks beautiful!
But this one looks more challenging…
But all those colors would look really pretty.
Though I guess that would look better in frame…
Oh! This one reminds me of—
She sighed. "I can't pick. Everything looks nice." She turned to the blonde next to her, "What do you think? This is for you anyway."
After M.C. paid for their gadgets, they headed for the bookstore immediately. Within arriving, she told them to browse for whatever they need and just meet up at the cashier in fifteen minutes. She ended up dragging the LOLOL player with her.
Yoosung blinked at the shelf in front of him and shook his head, "I can't decide either." He sighed, "Do you really think this would help?"
M.C. turned to him, "You need another hobby beside LOLOL, a healthier one. And with the game not being here, I think this is the perfect opportunity for you to actually invest your energy in something else!"
The blonde sighed, "Yeah you're right." He rubbed his neck, "You…probably already know that I wasn't like this back then. It's just…Rika's death really took a toll on me, you know? We were really close…And then college came and I feel like I'm stuck in such a whirlpool all of a sudden…" he trailed off.
M.C.'s eyes was turned to the boxes, and they narrowed when he mentioned her name. Rika…You had so much love around you, and yet… "As cute as you are, Yoosung, you're turning into a man now. Being the same age as you, I think I understand pretty well how scary it is. But maturity and being an adult doesn't actually come with age, you know?"
The blonde blinked, "What do you mean?"
"Well…I think how we deal with our problems and issues in life defines how mature we are. And being responsible for our decisions and facing the consequences of them will define how much of an adult we can be." She grabbed one of the items, inspected it for a while, and then returned it back to the shelf. "If you think about it that way…growing up and maturing is a personal progress that we do at our own pace, don't you think?"
While M.C.'s attention was to the merchandise in front of her as she talked, Yoosung was staring at her with awe in his eyes, "Wow...You—that makes so much sense…"
"I hold on to those thoughts whenever I had to face something difficult. Thought I should share it with a fellow struggler, such as yourself." She tapped a random box, and nudged the blonde's shoulder with her own, "You should be flattered, young sir, I don't give life advice to just anybody." she joked.
Yoosung bit his lip to keep him from bursting into a large grin. He is lucky that M.C.'s attention was turned to the items in front of them and not at him, otherwise, she would probably take note of his pink ears. "I am honored, Oh Great and Honorable M.C.! Your advice will truly be treasured!" he chuckled.
M.C. let out a gentle smile before looking at him seriously, "Yoosung, as obvious as it already is, I just need to say it. I'm not Rika, okay?"
The blonde blinked at her, "Uh…well, yeah. I mean, you are M.C. and—"
The girl rolled her eyes, "Yeah. And I am not like her. I want to help you guys too, but it isn't going to be in a way that she will probably do. Just…what I'm trying to say is, I hope you won't go looking for her in me. Because I'll say it now, you will just get disappointed if you do."
Yoosung frowned confusedly, "Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
M.C. shrugged as she looked back at the box, "Rika...played a huge part in all of your lives, most especially yours, Yoosung. Aside from V, you are the most affected since you were her family. Right now, you are still mourning for her, and looking for signs of her in anything…I know it's hard, but you have to let her go eventually." She turned back to him, and grabbed his shoulders firmly, "You need to help yourself, Yoosung. The only person that can pull you out of that pit will be yourself. Only then can I—can we help you out."
The blonde felt like he was being stared down, even if she was shorter than him. The black of her eyes seemed to be looking deep into him, trying to reach out—something he never thought he would experience again. "I—I…"
"Not that you have to do it right away. There are some things that you need to know about what happened to Rika. And it will be a lot to take in. Just remember that the RFA is there for you, okay? You aren't alone in this." M.C. patted his head lightly.
The gamer blushed at the contact and nodded hesitantly, "O-okay…" the prickling feeling at the back of his eyes had him looking away from her eyes and moving from her touch, embarrassed of being seen vulnerable.
M.C. recoiled when he pulled away and clenched her fists to her side, "Oh, uhh…I—I'm sorry. That…I may have crossed the line." Her tone went blank, "You know what? I'll just look for the others and—Sorry, I—"
Yoosung turned when he heard the quieting of her tone, having realized that she probably took it the wrong way and called out, "No, M.C.! That isn't—" he rubbed at the back of his neck, "Thank you…I needed that, really."
"We've just met and I'm already sprouting out nonsense." She sighed. "I'm sorry, it must be strange to hear those things coming from a complete stranger, and from another dimension nonetheless."
"Well, a bit. But I…I see that you aren't a bad person, M.C." he fingered a stray hair that was at her right temple and tucked it behind her ears, his cheeks pink, "Thank you for being frank with me, at least. It is a bit refreshing from the secretive nature of the others, actually."
The girl waved off his hand and slapped his arm good-naturedly, "I'm glad you took it that way, then." They shared a small smile before looking back at the merchandise.
"Hey, I think this one's nice," the blonde reached for a box at the upper right—
Just as M.C. did.
His hand overlapped hers.
How small and soft…
Yet real painful when you get hit.
He looked into her dark eyes and he suddenly felt bare, as if she can read all his thoughts and emotions. I suppose she can do that, in a way… "M.C…thank you." He smiled shyly at her.
The architecture student smiled back before grabbing the box that they held onto, firmly and started inspecting it. Yoosung let his hand trail off from hers and the object, a slight tingling to them.
"What do you think? Will this do?" she held out the item to him.
Yoosung merely grinned, "Yeah…I think this will manage."
M.C. snorted, "You haven't even taken a good look at it! But fine, we've already strayed enough." She dropped the box gently into the mini-cart before reaching for the blonde's shirt sleeve and dragging him to walk, "Let's go look for the others then."
Yoosung grabbed the rail from her and pushed the cart alongside her. He looked at the box. "A thousand-piece puzzle, huh? Not to be negative or anything, but I don't think I will be able to finish this immediately."
The girl shrugged, "It doesn't matter how long it will take, what's important is that you work to get it done." She grabbed a book from the aisle they were on and paused to read its summary, "Besides, it's not like you would do it alone. If you work with that at the living room or the loft, any of the others would no doubt join you at one point or another." She returned the book only to grab another one. "I'll even help you with it from time-to-time, if you want. I haven't had myself an actual puzzle in a long while."
Yoosung smiled, "I would like that, thanks." He paused a bit, "V loves puzzles too. At least…that's what I remember Rika telling me so back then." He sighed, "I'm…worried about him, to be honest. Even if he isn't my favorite person at the moment."
"V is going through a lot, Yoosung. I understand that you're frustrated with him recently, but let's trust him this time, okay?" M.C. bit her lip, "The things that he knows and the secrets that you guys will eventually know…it's a lot to take in too. He is trying so hard to be strong for all of you. I think...you have to make him realize that you are strong enough too."
The blonde smiled at her and poked her cheek, "Don't worry, M.C. RFA is my family. I'll do what I can to be strong for all of us."
"That's good then." The girl slapped his hand away, "Hey, just because I gave you advice doesn't mean you can go touchy-feely now." She sniffed.
Yoosung laughed, "Yes, yes, I get the message!" They reach the science fiction section of the bookstore. He cleared his throat, "M.C., you said we can actually go about outside the house now…"
"Mhmm," M.C. nodded as she browsed through the titles.
"What do you think about me working part-time?"
She blinked, "You want to work?"
He nodded.
"Wow."
He frowned. "Aw, come on M.C.! Not you too!"
The girl chuckled, "Sorry Yoosung, never thought you would actually want to work, especially since you have been given the situation to not to."
Yoosung scratched at his cheek, "Well, I would like to take this opportunity to actually try and get back my good self-discipline habits, you know?" he shrugged, "Though I am still thinking about it." He grabbed a book, read its summary and put it in the basket.
M.C. hummed, "That's not a bad idea actually. When we went to the bank earlier, there's this coffee shop at an office building from across that has a hiring sign posted at its window. Maybe you could try that."
"Alright, I will!" the blonde grinned. They found themselves in the stationery section of the bookstore.
The pair just turned the corner of a shelf when M.C. tripped over something.
And she would have gone home that day with a bump on her head if it weren't for strong arms that easily caught her.
She looked up to find two pairs of ruby red eyes looking right back at her. "Woah, princess! Are you okay?" Zen asked.
M.C. tensed at his hold and pushed him, of course. Only she didn't expect her own strength because she got pushed off backwards herself, the weight of her bag bringing her down.
And she landed on whatever she tripped on earlier.
It groaned. "OW!"
M.C. turned to her side and saw a head of red hair.
V, Jumin and Jaehee came at that moment to see an M.C. lying on her back over a sprawled Seven on his stomach.
"Uhm…"
Surprisingly, M.C. merely lied there. "Do I really want to know the reason why you are laying down here?" she blinked her eyes lazily.
Zen held out his hand to her. The girl clicked her tongue and took his hand to stand up. He almost fell over her strong pull of him but he managed to pull her up successfully. Yoosung helped the hacker get up after, "Geez, Seven. I almost ran you over with the cart!"
Seven rubbed his back, "Oh seriously! Does your bag have bricks in it or something? And you should really lay off on all that chicken." She punched him. "Ow!" he rubbed at his arm this time. "Being run over by the cart may not have been so bad…"
"What were you doing down there?" Zen asked. He suddenly could not forget how black M.C.'s eyes are.
"I was supposed to scare Yoosung, but I kinda flunked the timing." He shrugged it off and turned to M.C., "You okay? Did you hurt your back?" he patted her shoulders.
The girl snorted and waved off his hands, "I'm fine, Seven. Stop touching me."
"You know, for someone who hates being touched, you actually do it a lot."
M.C. blinked at him, "I do?" she brought up a hand to scratch at her temple. Seeing the black and orange sleeve made her look down at herself, realizing she was still wearing his jacket. She shrugged it off, patted it off of dust and handed it to the hacker. "Oh, here. Sorry I forgot to return it earlier."
Seven sighed and took it from her. V smirked, "Disappointed, are we?"
"No!" the ginger said indignantly. He put the jacket inside a paper bag and crossed his arms, "It wasn't her style anyway."
"Then why are your ears so red and—"
"Meh-aaha-gaaaah—hiiiaaaah—baa!"
M.C. smacked him. "What the hell?"
Yoosung and Zen laughed at him. And M.C. smacked them too. "Stop provoking him! Goodness what are you guys, kindergarteners?!"
Jumin poked at her cheek. Once. Twice. Thrice. What the—
"I read somewhere that poking a girl's cheek will get them to immediately shut up."
V snickered, "Well, so does kissing, you know. Jumin, why don't you—"
M.C. smacked them both, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU PEOPLE ARE CRAZY IMPOSSIBLE! YOU KNOW THAT?!"
"Poking her cheek didn't work."
"Why don't you try kissing her then?"
"Great! You only made her angrier!"
"Woah?! WHAT? Nobody's kissing anyone!"
"Why are we suddenly talking about this?"
"OKAY!"
They all turned to a frazzled Jaehee. She dragged a fuming M.C. off, "Let's head on to the cashier to pay, then. We still have to do groceries in order to complete your list, don't we?"
And at that, the beast instantly calmed down. She beamed at Jaehee, "You're right! We must complete all of it!"
The two women headed to the cashier, talking about lists.
The males hesitantly trailed behind.
Zen mumbled, "I never knew girls can be so scary."
Yoosung whispered, "Their moods are scary."
Seven whispered, "Kissing them is scary."
V shrugged, "Your thoughts are scary."
Jumin scoffed, "This conversation is scaring the shit out of me. All of you shut up."
M.C. grabbed the push carts and turned to the RFA, "Okay. It's a Saturday today and already past six in the evening. The line to the cashiers are going to go for miles and so I say we split up and just get this over with. Gather around!"
They certainly look stupid all huddled up like that.
But M.C. just really wanted to go back to the house and eat candy.
"Alright, guys. I have in my hands—"
"List Number 4, isn't it?"
M.C. gave a blank look at Zen.
"You want to take my place as commander, sergeant? Why are you speaking up when I am talking?"
The albino gulped, "Okay! Sorry, I just—"
"Anyway," she dragged out the word as she went back to her list.
Seven clutched his stomach from snickering at Zen's pale face. "Cut it out! That was scary as hell!" the actor fiercely whispered.
M.C. ripped the list into three neat sections and handed the piece to V, Jumin and Jaehee.
When Seven whined about not getting a piece, M.C. looked at him, "What? And have you pick at anything at random? Not gonna happen, bro." she turned to all of them, "I handed the pieces to you guys because you're the eldest, and I expect you people to get it done ASAP—"
"You're seriously bossing us around?"
"You're seriously interrupting me?"
V elbowed Jumin, "Please continue, commander."
M.C. gave them a dirty look before continuing, "—the list is divided into food, hygienic and home necessities. I divided it into three as distributed to you guys and—"
"So who gets to go with who?"
M.C. stared at Yoosung, "Really, sergeant? Again? You want to speak instead?"
"No, ma'am. Sorry…"
She huffed, "Jumin and Zen get the food, Jaehee and Seven get the hygienic stuff, then V and Yoosung get the other home necessities, since—"
"What?"
"No, I can't go with that jerk."
"Yey! I get to bond with the robot!"
"No, please reconsider."
"Seriously?"
"I don't think—"
"OH MY GODS YOU'RE SERIOUSLY INTERRUPTING ME AGAIN?!"
They winced and quieted down. M.C. glared at them before taking a deep breath and saying, "It is so because I am smart enough to figure out that you can do this errand way faster just to get away from your respective partners as soon as possible so see ya in half an hour ya suckers!" she laughed evilly before immediately disappearing among the grocery-shopping crowd.
"What a cunning little beast she is."
V sighed tiredly. "There really is nothing we can do about it you know, we are at her mercy still."
Zen scoffed, "Why do we have to follow what she says?"
"'Because she can cause me physical harm, and that's not good for my health'." Yoosung mocked him in his exaggerated imitating deep voice. The actor scowled at him, giving the blond a smack in the head.
Seven sniggered. "Heed your own words, my man!" he grinned and wrapped an arm around Jaehee's shoulders, "While you men do your thing, the robot and I shall follow through with the commander's instructions!"
Jaehee's brow ticked. "Get your arms of me, Seven."
"And so she speaks! Come my beautiful robot and let's win this errand!" he squealed and dragged a sick-looking Jaehee off.
"This isn't even a competition!" Yoosung called out before he deflated. He grudgingly turned to V, who gave him an apologetic smile. "Well, if Seven and Jaehee can do it, then so can we!" he sniffed haughtily before grabbing the cart from V's hands, "Lead the way, old man."
Zen and Jumin stared at their retreating backs, "I feel the most sorry for the two of them. M.C. is one crazy minx to do that."
"I actually pity Assistant Kang, but it's not like I am any better." The heir gave him an unimpressed head-to-toe look.
Zen cringed, "Oh gods you just checked me out!"
"Don't flatter yourself."
The albino rubbed at his face multiple times before grabbing their own cart, "Whatever. Let's just get this over with!"
Damn. She's right.
A few minutes found the first pair at the personal hygiene section.
Seven was staring at the two packs in his hands with utmost concentration.
Jaehee wished she can just go crawl up in a hole somewhere and die.
Or the ginger can just magically combust at that instant.
Bad thoughts, Jaehee.
She sighed, "Seven—Luciel, please just let it go."
"Hmm…" The hacker ignored her and continued inspecting the two items in his hands.
"For the love of—Seven! You've been staring at those for ten minutes now!" she cleared her throat when a shopper gave them weird looks. "Are you not the least bit embarrassed of what you are doing? Because I am!"
Seven snapped out of his obviously feigned ignorance and turned to her, "Oh? Sorry Jaehee! I didn't hear you!"
"Sure you didn't." the brunette scoffed.
The hacker grinned and held up the packs in front of her, "I'm just so impressed because there's so many kinds and sizes to choose from!" he exclaimed loudly.
Jaehee's ears turned red and she furiously grabbed the packs of feminine napkins from his hold and dumped it into their cart.
Seven laughed at the brunette and the other women in the aisle looked over at him. He merely grinned and gave them a playful wink. "Sorry, sorry! Just helping my big sister with her shopping!" being a few centimeters taller, he easily patted the brunette's head. "She's so embarrassed that I insisted to come with her." He messed up her hair.
The girls giggled back. One middle-aged shopper commented, "How adorable of you to help your sister! Most young men are embarrassed to even go here, you know?"
"Just being the responsible brother that my sister deserves, ma'am!"
The girls chuckled at him. "How cute."
Jaehee snorted. 'Cute' is not a word I would ever associate with this guy.
She groaned into her hands.
Fine, two can play this game.
Jaehee removed her hands from her face, a small smile formed at her lips.
Seven felt shivers run down to his spine.
The brunette grinned bashfully at the women. "I apologize, my brother is quite loud." She turned to him, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face, "I'll make sure mother knows how you helped me with this, little brother!"
Seven has a frozen smile on his face. "N-no need to do that, big sis! This can be our little secret, right?" his voice shakes.
"Oh, come on now. I know how you just crave for mother's affections, I'll make sure she knows how you helped me and made those young girls laugh, too. She will be thrilled!"
Jaehee smiled at the other women before yanking Seven's ear, seemingly playful but actually painful. "Let's go find her then!" she dragged him off, the small laughter and giggles of the women left behind.
When they were two aisles over, Jaehee gave another pull before letting go. Seven grabbed at his reddened ear, "That was evil Jaehee! Pure evil!" he cried.
The brunette crossed her arms, "No, that was pure embarrassment. Utter humiliation."
Seven sniffed, "I can't help it that I was impressed by these," he held a pack of feminine napkins up. Jaehee grabbed at it and shoved it back to the cart. "I was curious! I am bound to ask a lot of questions."
"Well if you are that curious, why don't you ask M.C. then?" she smirked at him.
Seven scowled at her, "That evil look? Doesn't match you at all, noona. Stop scaring me!"
"Stop embarrassing me!" she sighed, "Now those women will think I am related to you. Just fantastic."
The hacker shifted his eyes away from her and to the bottles of shampoo in front of them. "Ouch, Jaehee. You make it sound like it's a bad thing." His voice turned silent. The hacker grabbed at one and inspected its contents.
The chief assistant blinked a few times and looked at him, the change of demeanor surprising her. "Oh. Uhm, no. Just…"
Great Jaehee. Stop being evil when you can't even pull it off.
"I just don't think I am awesomely-awesome enough to be related to your awesomely-awesome self, that's all." She mumbled. I can't believe I just said that. She looked embarrassingly up at him.
It was Seven's turn to blink down at her, wide eyes and mouth slightly open. He then grinned at her, "Is that so then?"
"Yeah. You are that awesome." She snorted.
The ginger laughed, "You are quite fun, Jaehee! We really should hang out more often!" he ruffled her hair.
"Oh gods, please no." she chuckled before clearing her throat, "We should get shampoos and soaps next, as stated in M.C.'s list."
"Alrighty!" then he grinned manically, "Let's get flower-scented shampoos for everyone!"
Jaehee was about to protest before she caught herself and shrugged "You know, what? Whatever. Why not? Let's all smell like flowers for our stay here. Mr. Han can certainly use the feminine touch, that's for sure." She grabbed a few varying high-end floral shampoo bottles and put them on the cart.
Seven positively beamed at her, "You are getting cooler by the minute!" he took in a breath. "Since you have been quite honest about my awesomeness, allow me to share something with you." He pushed the cart towards the body wash and soap section.
"Oh no, you don't have to. Really." The brunette cringed as she took a few boxes of germ-killing soap bars.
Seven added three bottles of body wash to their things, "I have a brother actually."
She blinked, "Oh?" How intelligent, Jaehee.
"Yeah. Oh. Well, he's not as awesome and good-looking as I am, but he was quite adorable as a kid. He's living happily now. So that's that!" he blinked wistfully. Then he turned back to her, "Well that's my mush for the day."
"Is this for the sake of the Eleventh Day Target?"
"Wow, you remember that too!" Seven whistled, "I take the plain robot back, you are one hell of an android!" he scratched at his cheek, "And yeah, maybe. But I don't mind sharing a bit now. Since…I think I'm not on surveillance here or anything."
"Surveillance? Does this have something to do with your job?" she asked as they headed to facial care.
"Yeah, something like that." the hacker got some shaving cream. "Enough about the amazing that is me, your turn big sis."
Jaehee shook her head, "My parents are gone long ago and I spend most of my time working." She gave him a skeptical look, "I'm pretty sure you know about that already."
Seven shrugged his shoulders, "I don't dig for any information unless necessary. I know how important privacy is."
"Well, I don't have any mush on me. So yeah." She gave him a big smile, "Though I am quite stunned that you decided to share something about yourself to me."
"I am a bit surprised too. But I guess this is what M.C. meant by being honest and all that crap." He shrugged, "It may be our way of going home." He laughed shakily, "That was quite hard. Never thought I'd speak about him to you of all people, in a grocery store of another dimension of all places."
Jaehee hesitantly patted him on the back, "You did well, Seven."
"I did pretty awesome, didn't I?"
"Yeah. Sure. Let's get this back to the commander."
The hacker brightened and reached for a bottle in the cart, "Oh! Speaking of our dearest, I got jasmine-scented shampoo for myself since M.C. seems to like that particular smell."
Jaehee gave him funny look, "You like her that much?"
"Maybe if I smell good, she'll hit me less."
"Maybe if you stop messing around, she'll hit you less."
"And stop the awesomeness that is me? Nah. I'd rather take the punch."
Eight aisles away from the pretend-siblings was probably the most awkward pair out of the three.
Yoosung sighed. Isn't this just a tad bit too cruel? He turned back to his companion, who was carefully maneuvering the cart among the people. The blonde called out, "Hey, you want me to do that instead?"
V looked at him and gave a small smile. "Its fine, Yoosung. You are already with the list, I'd be completely useless if even you would be the one to push the cart around."
"Oh. Okay…"
Another awkward silence.
They both cringed.
"So what's next?" V called out.
Yoosung blinked and looked at the paper that M.C. handed to them, "We need dishwashing soaps—the liquid kind, it says—and laundry detergents—the powdered ones in packs—next." He looked at the aisle signs, "It says it's straight ahead."
The photographer nodded and proceeded to push their cart through. M.C. was right. There were now quite the number of people doing their own grocery shopping.
He ended up bumping his cart to another. "Hey! Watch it!" the older man snarled. He ended up dropping a box of whatever it was that he was holding.
V bowed his head, "Oh! I apologize, sir. I wasn't—"
"Pay more attention to where you're pushing that thing!" he sniffed, "Do you mind picking that up? You made me drop it in the first place."
The photographer took a deep breath before nodding, "Of course, sir. I apologize. Let me—"
Someone grabbed at his arm.
V turned to him, "Yoosung—"
The blonde glared at the middle-aged man, "No need to be rude! He already apologized. Twice!" Yoosung pointed to the man's cart. "And it was your cart that was on the way!"
The older man's nostrils flared. Yoosung would have laughed if only he wasn't so riled up. "Why you little bast—"
V shoved the box—it turns out to be baking soda—gently but firmly at the older man's chest. "Here is your box, sir. I apologize for bumping your cart, but please be mindful also of where you are going and what you are saying." He tilted his head to the two small figures behind him, "I am positive that you do not want your children hearing anything unpleasant. And we would very much want to avoid getting in a scene."
He bowed before grabbing the cart. "Let's go." He smiled calmly at the blonde before walking off.
Yoosung gave a small nod at the older man and proceeded to follow the photographer.
They reached the aisle with dishwashing liquid and detergents and slowed down. The blonde student went in front of him and sighed, "How can you handle that so coolly?"
V adjusted his sunglasses and grabbed a bottle from the shelf, "We can't afford to get caught in a scene. M.C. would find out and she would probably cause a bigger scene." He chuckled and handed him the bottle of dishwashing liquid.
"I want to get so mad at you right now." Yoosung clenched his fists. "I want to hit you with this real bad."
"Probably not a good idea, Yoosung. M.C. would—"
"Stop!" the blonde cried out. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I want to hate you."
"…I know."
"But I can't." The student narrowed his eyes at him, "I can get pissed and annoyed but I just can't hate you."
V sighed as he pushed the cart to the next shelf. "What do you want me to do?"
"Answer me! What really happened to Rika? And what—"
"Oh, excuse me, young man. Do you mind handing me that sachet over there?"
V and Yoosung turned to an old woman smiling up at them.
The photographer blinked before smiling at the elderly, "Sure thing, ma'am." He reached for a blue sachet that the old lady was pointing to and handed it to her.
"Oh, thank you so much! Such nice men you are." She chuckled fondly at them before strolling off.
Yoosung blinked. "Right…uh, where was I?"
"Rika cherished you so much. And I know that you love her dearly. But please, Yoosung—"
"No more of that 'Please, Yoosung' crap! I just want to know the truth!"
V pursed his lips, "The truth is that Rika is dead. The Rika that we love is no longer with us."
"But why would she—"
"Does it even matter now, Yoosung?" V asked him tiredly. "Do you want to dirty your remaining happy memories of her just because you can't let her go?"
Yoosung gulped, his eyes glassy. "I just want to know the truth, V. She was my family…she understood me so well, and made a lot of people so happy that she can't just—I can't—" he gasped and wiped furiously at his tears. "I asked…I asked my aunt and uncle. They told me she was—that she—"
V looked at him, eyes wide. "You…"
The blonde had his head down and sobbed, "After she died…the grief was too much. I want—need to feel her presence, and so I asked my aunt and uncle everything about her. They—they would just tell me the things that I already know at first, but I insisted on knowing more until my aunt finally got fed up with me and—and it…sort of slipped out.
"She had been horrified that she let it slip…and then she broke down, and she—she told me how Rika was adopted and that she sometimes would have—have strange moments—and that…that they thought she has some sort of mental condition and she began saying stuff about her that my uncle had to drag her off and send me out...
"I—I didn't understand at first. I—I spent weeks locked up in my room…I didn't want to believe it because she was so—so happy and bright and—"
Yoosung cried as he shuffled through bottles of liquid detergent. He grabbed a rainbow –colored bottle and put it in the cart. Damn rainbows and their stupid colors.
V took a deep shaky breath. "Rika was mentally ill, Yoosung." He bit his lip, "She suffered depression, paranoia and hallucinations."
"I assumed and yet—it just seems so absurd, you know? She had seemed fine, but then again…I mean—why didn't…why didn't she tell me? I thought we were—that we…" The blonde cried harder.
A firm hand on his shoulder made him look up to V's face. He can see tear marks along both sides of his cheeks. V quietly said, "She…wanted to handle it on her own, Yoosung. Please understand that. She loved you. She really did. Please don't think so otherwise." He sighed and gripped the student's shoulder, "Rika…she had another world of her own."
"…How long have you known?"
"A few months after we started dating. Even Jumin does not know yet, but I think he's had his suspicions. Rika wasn't exactly…herself anymore after the second party." V reached into his pocket and handed Yoosung a handkerchief.
The student took it from him and wiped at his tears. "Ugh…I hate crying. Makes me feel like a kid." He snuck a look at V, who removed his sunglasses and was wiping his face with his sleeves. Always the selfless one, this guy. The photographer blinked his red-rimmed eyes.
Yoosung's eyes widened, "V…your eyes, did she—?" he gasped.
The blue-haired man's wince didn't go unnoticed by the blonde. "It wasn't exactly…she was just—"
"She did." Yoosung swallowed hard. "I don't—I don't think it can excuse anything. She—she hurt you then."
The photographer merely bowed his head. "I didn't want you to know this way."
Their youngest chuckled humorlessly, "Yeah, well…nothing ever really goes as planned." He clenched his fists as he pursed his lips. "Thanks…for telling me a few things, at least. I…I really needed that."
V dried his eyes before turning to him, a gratified look on his otherwise worn-out handsome face. "I…I am so proud of you, Yoosung. You took this better than I would have expected. I didn't know how to tell you most of all because…"
"Because I was a baby. And overtly sensitive." Yoosung sniffed. "I think deep down…maybe I had been expecting it. I just…didn't want to acknowledge that there was something wrong. I didn't want to taint her happy and bright memories."
"I'm sorry."
The blonde snorted, "Your apologies can get really tiring now." He rubbed at the back of his neck, "Besides…I sort of talked to M.C. earlier a bit about this, too. I guess that really helped. She…she's really something."
"That's one more thing to thank her for then."
Yoosung pushed the cart this time, "She probably knows all of this, huh?" V only nodded as he went back to checking the shelves out for fabric conditioners. "She probably does." And more. Much more than even what I probably know. "Though I would guess that she doesn't know that you've had a clue about it for a while now. She probably would have talked to you herself if she knew."
"Now that I think about it, you two…you're sort of alike in some aspects."
"I don't remember having slapped you."
Yoosung snorted, "Don't try to be funny, V."
The photographer gave a small grin before squinting at the list.
First aid kit, check.
Insect and rodent repellants, check.
Shoe shine, check.
Floor wax, check.
Sponges, check.
Wash brushes, check.
Scented room spray, check.
Disinfectants, check.
Scented candles, check.
Dishwashing soap, check.
Laundry detergents, che—
V blinked. "You took the wrong bottle."
"Huh?"
"We don't need liquid detergent. I think you mentioned laundry detergent, like the powder kind."
"Oh. Sorry."
…
"Good thing, I guess. Those rainbow colors are giving me a headache. I think your eyesight is getting better!"
"You think so?" V beamed as he sat the bottle back at the shelf and proceeded to push the cart this time.
Yoosung was about to follow him when he felt something hit his head.
"Ow!" he groaned quietly, then glared at the fallen object on the floor.
It was the rainbow-colored bottle of liquid detergent, its contents spilling on the floor.
Oh, V.
Yoosung gulped and immediately dashed off.
And on the other side of the grocery store, the often-arguing duo were found, well—bickering.
"This looks like the good—no, the best kind."
"Just because it's wrapped all nicely, doesn't mean it's the best kind."
"And why not? It is more expensive too."
"Probably because it's wrapped all nicely and not because of the product itself."
"Why afford to wrap a product nicely if it is not guaranteed to be the best?"
"Maybe it's to make clueless jerks like you think it is the best when it really is not!"
"If we both do not know about this product, then doesn't that make the two of us clueless jerks?"
Zen groaned loudly. M.C. dearest, are you really trying to punish me? "You are a businessman, right? Aren't you supposed to know all that crap they do to sell stuff?"
Jumin scoffed. "Business has a huge field. C&R offers the best wrapped in the best. I am different from the frauds that you are probably referring to."
"Whatever. You're all the same anyway, only after money and all that." The albino scowled at him and grabbed for the bottle of soy sauce beside the one they were arguing about. "And M.C. insisted on this brand by the way, so too bad for you."
"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" the heir sighed. "You just wasted my breath on a useless conversation. Again."
Zen glared at him, "Then why do you keep talking? Just shut up!"
"It's because you keep insisting on wrong things that it I feel the need to correct it."
"Wrong? Just because I picked the less expensive kind, that makes it wrong?!"
Jumin looked at him confusedly, "No. Because you keep assuming incorrect things about me."
The musical actor scoffed. "Yeah, right. Let's see…You are an emotionless jerk that lives the rich life and thinks that money can take care of anything. Tell me, is there anything false about you in that statement?"
"You are actually right on that one. I commend you."
Zen growled, "Damn it! You're not even taking me seriously!" he walked off to get tomato sauce next.
Jumin followed him. "I already said you are right. What are you on about now?" he crossed his arms as he kept pace with the albino. "And you can't possibly think of leaving me."
A few women spared them glances. A pair of pretty females passed and looked at them sadly. The two men heard the short-haired one whisper to her companion, "Such a shame, they both are hot though."
"I know, right? Good-looking men have the bigger chance with other good-looking men now more than we do."
The two females gave them one last sad look before going on with their own shopping.
Zen twitched while Jumin blinked confusingly. "Argh! Now they think we're together! This is just—gah!" the albino wiped furiously at his face before glaring at him.
The raven-head tilted his head, "I fail to see how they came to that conclusion."
"You may be smart in the corporate would, but man, you totally suck in the emotional department."
"Emotions do not matter to me. They are a waste of my time."
Zen's glare turned vicious, "Well, they matter a lot to me. They mean everything to my career and what I love to do. So thank you again for belittling that and proving to me how much of a jerk you really are." He passed by the heir and shoved Jumin's shoulder with his own.
That probably did the trick for Jumin, because he made a grab for the actor's shoulder, who turned around with a glare firmly set on his face. Jumin just stared back, "I am not belittling what you do, Zen. I only just stated that those things do not matter to me because I have no use of them. It does not mean that I am mocking that you value it so much."
"Well it should matter!" the albino exclaimed. "Emotions and all that shit matter because that's how you sympathize with a person!"
Jumin only blankly gazed at him. Zen groaned out before shrugging off the raven-head's hand from his shoulder. Before he can say anything else though, the heir spoke, "It seems to me…that you are talking to someone else."
"Yeah, okay, you got me Mr. Know-it-all," Zen gave him a dirty look, "I'm going to say this for the sake of M.C.'s let-us-be-honest-crap and tell you that you remind me—" he took in a sharp breath before looking away. "It's just…you remind me of—someone from the past."
"…Your family?" Jumin asked. He then gestured to the list that Zen was holding.
The actor blinked. Next is flour and baking soda. He walked off, the heir following him. It was when they reached the baking supplies section that he mumbled, "Yeah. My family. My parents. My brother." He grabbed a box of flour from the shelf and placed it on the cart that Jumin was pushing. "Go on, mock me and my emotional attachment to the past. I'm waiting." He crossed his arms.
"I have no intention to do such a thing." Jumin replied as he maneuvered the cart along the aisle, the albino following this time. "You have a different past from mine, so it is only understandable that we are different. But you should know that I do not see that as a bad thing. I only want to help you—you and the other RFA members. It just confuses me as to why you antagonize me all the time." He shrugged his shoulders. "There are times that I think we are merely bickering like what children do, when in reality, you are actually taking what I say too seriously."
The musical actor scoffed, "How can I not? You say things with the same face and tone!" he sighed, "I couldn't tell if you were joking or actually mocking me or something. But…I guess my bias always had me leaning on you antagonizing me." He grabbed a box of baking soda this time and handed it to the heir.
"We have a lot of contrasting qualities Zen, I think it is only normal for the two of us to quarrel all of the time." Jumin looked at him then, "But know that the RFA is very important to me. No matter the problems, issues or differences, I will do what I can to help and provide any form of assistance. You are not merely pawns to me—what we have in the RFA is more valuable than any other material riches out there."
The albino blinked before nodding slowly. "Yeah…okay. Hearing you say that eases me off a bit, I guess." He scoffed, "Well, I've reached my mush-limit for the day. Let's stop here, yeah? Wouldn't want you to self-combust of feelings and emotions now, M.C. would kill me for causing a mess."
Another group of girls passes them by, giving them longing looks. Zen gave a small smile their way. Jumin didn't batt an eyelash.
The girls swooned at them anyway.
Jumin scoffed, "If M.C were here, she would have made a rather unpleasant face at you or something."
"Excuse me?"
They both turned to a beautiful brunette girl, who beamed at them. "Do you mind if I take picture with both of you?" she waved her phone and blushed prettily at them.
"Well—"
"Yes, we do mind."
Zen gave him a small glare before smiling apologetically at the girl, "Sorry about my companion here, cutie. But I'm afraid we can't take a picture right now. You see…our baby sister is a bit upset at us right now, and having to take a picture with a pretty girl like you would probably anger her more." He sighed dramatically. "We love her so much that we would not want to upset her any further so…"
"Oh! I get it! It's completely fine." The girl blinked her eyes at him, "I think it is so sweet for you and your brother. Your sister is so lucky!"
"Our lovely baby sister easily gets jealous. We hope you understand." Jumin says it blankly that it is hardly convincing.
But it's probably because he's tall, dark and handsome that the girl merely chuckles and nodded her head, "Alright, some other time then? I hope we bump into each other soon, oppas!" she blew them a kiss before walking away.
Zen waved until the girl turned the corner. "Girls here are a bit bold here, aren't they?" he sighed, "That one was cute, too."
Jumin merely shook his head at him before gesturing to the list, "Are we quite done on the little sister's list?"
The albino blinked before checking again. He nodded after a short while, "Yeah. I say we find her and get out of each other's hair."
"Yes. This alone time is making me cringe."
Seven and Jaehee passed by eight different groups composed of both girls and guys, who were all mumbling about two hot Korean men together being both a turn-on and an opportunity wasted at the same time.
Jaehee turned pale, Seven looked scandalized. They both looked at each before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. The tension between the two men can be confusing at times.
Yoosung and V passed by the female hygiene section, overhearing a mother scolding her husband and son—she compared them to an adorable red-headed man helping his brunette sister pick out feminine napkins.
V cringed at 'adorable red-head'. Yoosung blinked confusingly at 'brunette sister'. And they both chortled on 'feminine napkins'. They cannot say what impressed them more, the brunette's patience or the ginger's lack of self-preservation.
Zen and Jumin received a menacing glare form an aging man, who bumped to their cart with his.
Jumin merely pushed the cart back. Zen just cooed at the two children behind the old man. They were both too proud to give a damn about how rude he was…or how soapy he smelt like. At least that's one thing they had in common.
Now, where was M.C.?
A/N: Thus, the complicated part. The approach to their problems had me thinking for days, and I only hope the way I wrote it is acceptable. I had a hard time writing it, since the response of the characters actually vary depending on the route taken. But I did my best, and hopefully, the path this story will take can do the characters justice.
Don't know when I get to update again, so I'll see you when that time happens! If there is anything you guys are confused with or curious about, please let me know.
Until next time!
And to:
erunee
Thank you very much! I'm waiting for myself to post an update too. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one as well.
Kurama 2004
Oh really? What do you think of the game then? I actually thought it real unique, as the story had so many twists and drama. The complicated plot was what actually piqued me and my friend's interest on the game. It would have been a lovely idea, though a lot of work would be put into it. But the game is rather interesting and good as it is, since it got a lot of players.
I apologize if I had replied late regarding your geography assignment, I haven't had much time to check my account lately. Did you receive my private message? And how was your report though? Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this update as well.
Mercedes1312
M.C. is rather brash, isn't she? I have a friend who is somehow like that, and I love riling her off because she is actually a softie on the inside. Anyway, I'm glad you think so! Let me know what you think about this one too, if it is not such a bother. Thanks a lot.
BeautifulyCool
Thanks for thinking so! Yeah I get what you mean. The WiFi signal at our dorm sucks so I had to go to my friend's dorm's just to get work done. That's cool, at least you got someone to talk about your interests to. I hope she can read the stories you can recommend for her soon. I guess you are incredibly busy as well, I actually look up to how you manage your classes. I suck at those things since I am not happy with school at the moment. I wish you good luck on your stories and I thank you endlessly for your support!
Salamat po! (Thank you!)