A/N: Hello, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and 2021 isn't too suckish for you so far! Here's another chapter, so I hope you enjoy! 3


Saeyoung hated silence.

It was a deadly thing. It created the unknown, wound around the mind, and fueled unspoken doubts and fears.

Noise, on the other hand, was alive, dispelling the greyness of the world in one form or another.

It was why he blasted music while he worked —or zoomed down empty highways until his car engines roared with the speed. It was why he painted his walls an obnoxiously red and yellow color. And, it was one of the many reasons he fell in love with MC.

Her very presence was like a strain of music in his life, shattering any emptiness threatening to swallow his world in bleakness.

And yet, as they descended a whole flight of stairs, even she barely made a sound.

He supposed a silent treatment was justified. The poor girl was thrust into another potentially dangerous situation with no briefing as to how or why. She was probably furious…and scared.

So, why couldn't he sense it?

Normally, her anger manifested in pointed tones or harsh glares coupled with contradictory affection at the root. But now, he felt nothing. He heard nothing. The vibrant, albeit irritated, energy she held at the gate had fully dissipated, and even her labored breaths barely made a wisp in the air before melding into the void once more.

"You're quiet," he finally commented, unable to bear any more of his increasingly suffocating thoughts.

"Are we supposed to be talkative in this situation?" came Vanderwood's retort from ahead of them.

Saeyoung clenched his jaw, resentment still burning in his chest. He understood the ex-agent's reason behind fetching MC, but he would've preferred if she was untainted by the situation.

He could've protected her in the apartment. The old security system was gone, but that didn't mean he'd left his girlfriend completely defenseless.

"I wasn't talking to you," he snapped, acutely aware of the continued silence behind him.

MC's lack of response—verbal or otherwise—clawed at his already frayed nerves. He reached behind him in search of her reassuring warmth, though he knew he was undeserving of it.

To his relief, her cool palm slid into his overheated one. He squeezed it tightly, pausing his descent so she could catch up.

"I'm fine," she answered, though the vacancy hollowing her voice struck his chest.

"You don't sound it."

"You're one to talk," she snorted.

Saeyoung opened his mouth to retort, but the evidence was stacked against him. Between his rasping throat and borderline wheezing, it was obvious that he certainly wasn't fine. The cramped walls and damp smell of the corridor weren't helping either.

With the lack of oxygen and his declining adrenaline, his throbbing head now resorted to spinning. Logic preached the unhelpful diagnosis of a possible concussion, considering the injuries gathered the night before, but, he was ignoring that little voice right now.

He didn't have time for a concussion.

As if to protest his defiance, his body swayed sideways without his permission right before convincing his brain that the stairs had completely disappeared under his feet. His foot missed the next step—or maybe the next three.

Fortunately, he released MC, sparing her the fall with him. Unfortunately, that left no protection for his head which grazed the very edge of one of the stairs.

His ears rung as pain sprouted from the sore spot above his neck. Vaguely, he heard MC calling his name, but he wasn't sure from where.

" 'm okay," he managed to slur between the pulsating throbs behind his eyes. He tried to shake it off, pushing on his elbows to stand. But, a hand pressed on his shoulder until he stumbled back against the wall.

"Just wait a second," MC said, appearing in front of him and sounding more breathless than he felt.

"We don't have a second," he said, attempting to dismiss the upcoming wave of dizziness.

"Well, make a second," she bit back vehemently. Again, he struggled against his teetering legs, and once again, his body betrayed him with another bout of spinning.

"He's right," Vanderwood interjected from right below them. MC whipped her head around, no doubt a glare imprinted in her features. The older man wilted, nodding in consent. "I'll go ahead. Make sure he didn't hurt himself, but you really don't have time. I'll need all the help I can get…"

Saeyoung swore under his breath. His mouth opened to protest, but his tongue failed miserably at forming actual words. Frustration prickled under his skin as the sound of Vanderwood's footsteps faded.

But, all his efforts to follow were futile. His head insisted on remaining disconnected from his legs, and MC was equally stubborn, kneeling on the stair in front of him and effectively blocking his path. Her hand rested on the base of his neck as her fingers placed light pressure in random spots.

"Did you hit your head?" she asked, her tenacity from seconds before dissolving into worry.

"No," he attempted lying, but fire erupted across his skull when her fingers skimmed over that one tiny spot that had collided with the wall several times last night. With a hiss, he recoiled, yanking away lest her hand continued its prodding. "Maybe…but I can manage."

"But you have a huge bump on your—"

"I know!" he burst, the exertion causing his ears to resume their ringing. He clutched at his hair and snapped his eyes shut until the high-pitched sound subsided.

"Saeyoung," MC called again. His taut muscles loosened under her voice's command and practically lulled the pain away from them. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open. It was still dark, but her irises still glittered like stars in the dim light, bathing him in tender concern.

"Sorry," he stammered, his body slouching against the wall. "I didn't mean to yell. I'm just tense."

Understatement.

She rested a hand against his cheek, and her thumb grazed across his heated skin as she examined him further with her eyes. Saeyoung squirmed under her careful inspection, especially when it drifted close to his neck.

She'd only seen the minor, tangent bruises his sweater didn't manage to hide, but the way worry drowned her countenance, it was as if she was seeing far more.

From the moment her eyes rested on him, it was as if she saw every laceration inside and out. He could've have just easily written it across his skin.

"I was too scared to ask about it before, but…" she began, once again shifting her caresses to his skull. "That accident…Was it really nothing serious? You just seem off right now."

"Well, yeah, I just fell," he quipped, though he was fully aware that he was deflecting the real question.

She noticed too, her mouth curving downwards in disapproval. Saeyoung averted his gaze. Speaking the truth right now would only add to the weight so evidently on her shoulders—and subsequently his own. He had caught her up in so many of his problems already.

A brief reprieve wouldn't hurt…

"I'll tell you everything later," he conceded, repeating his promise from earlier. He did mean it. Now…it just didn't feel right. "But I really am fine."

Mercifully, she didn't scold him for his avoidance. Her hands drifted to his knees, and Saeyoung could feel her fingertips quivering against him. "Okay," she agreed. "One thing at a time."

He groaned at the reminder of the present situation, the action alone resulting in another strain of dizziness. "I'm sorry. There's danger staring us right in the face, and I can't even get my legs working."

She snorted. "How is that your fault?"

It felt like his fault. It felt like his very existence was bad luck to everyone around him.

That's what he wanted to say, but the admonishing glint behind her gaze kept his despondent thoughts from materializing into words.

"I know I've said this before," he said. "But you should be mad at me. I should've double-checked everything to make sure we were safe after Mint Eye. I grew too comfortable."

"You weren't exactly on holiday," she returned. "With your injury, taking care of Saeran, and…everything with that place, how were you supposed to know this would happen?"

A wry chuckle edged up his throat at his girlfriend's unwavering faith. She always thought the best of him, her heart far too easily forgiving of his failings.

That fact alone worsened the guilt grieving at his conscience—because he could see so many of those shortcomings. He should have known this would happen.

People like him didn't just "escape." They were hunted.

"I appreciate your optimism," he said. He lifted her palm to his lips. "But I'm serious. You should be upset."

Her gaze dipped to the ground, and a breath shuddered past her lips. "I was," she admitted. "I am…a little. But being upset isn't going to help anything. Besides, I trust you."

Saeyoung often prided himself in his extraordinarily superior intelligence, and yet the girl in front of him once again struck his vast intellect utterly useless.

Most people had limits to their compassion before they left—or worse, broke. And yet here she was, patient in the middle of another storm, showering him with kindness he didn't deserve. Her soul's endurance seemed limitless—supernatural even.

But, Saeyoung had seen too much to believe that that was true. Since the days she first accepted his broken self, he was terrified of the moment she neared that threshold—when that light shining pouring through her soul, spilling onto those around her, finally reach its end.

If that moment ever came, he would ever forgive himself.

His drifting thoughts were curtailed when a finger suddenly jabbed his forehead. He flinched when MC's hand came into focus, positioned for another attack, though it never came.

"What was that for?" he sulked, absentmindedly rubbing the offending area.

A ghost of a smile crept across her lips, and his stomach flipped in response.

"I know what you're thinking, so stop," she said, her lighthearted voice only drowning him further in remorse. She drew his hands from his face and clasped them tightly. "I told you before, and I'll tell you as many times as I need to. I don't regret being anywhere with you—no matter where it leads us."

Once again, her glittering eyes met his, full of conviction, and had Saeyoung not already been sitting, he might've collapsed.

He wanted to kiss her—right then and there until he could properly express the depth of affection threatening to explode from his ribs. But he feared there would never be an end, and he couldn't trust himself to stop short.

Neither did he trust himself to speak through his current, tumultuous emotions.

Instead, he lifted his own finger to her forehead, tracing the almost imperceptible wrinkle of worry between her brows.

And then, he flicked it.

It was her turn to gape in disbelief. For a blissful moment, the tight knot in his stomach evaporated at her startled features, and Saeyoung laughed. For the first time in weeks, he actually laughed.

"I said something serious just now, and you did that?" she muttered, though her disgruntlement was short-lived at seeing his amusement. A half-hearted chuckle mingled with his tittering, effectively banishing the distress etched in her features.

"Revenge," he crooned, though his throat was in no shape to summon his usual 707 sprightliness.

With a shake of her head, she stood to her feet and extended a hand towards him. "Then you're well enough to keep going?"

Saeyoung's smile faltered at the unsteady waver of her hand in the air. She hadn't stopped shaking since she arrived…

He accepted the help, but attempted to lean more on the wall for support. His vision momentarily swirled, so he shut his eyes. Patient as ever, she waited, her fingers intertwining with his and her thumb gently massaging the tense muscles in his palm.

"I've missed you," he sighed, the sudden confession overflowing from the warmth she induced simply from her presence. "I've really missed you."

When she didn't reply, he peered between half-lidded eyes, only to find himself subject to her intense scrutiny. He had expected a flustered response at the ill-timed sentimentality, but her gaze lacked any traces of embarrassment—or even annoyance. Instead, something akin to sadness dampened the previous brightness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

The statement tumbled off her lips, plummeting heavily into the air and dragging down their momentary mirth with it. Before Saeyoung could even comprehend what she'd said, let alone why, her arms enveloped his waist, and her face was buried in his chest.

"MC, what— "

"I should've been here when all this happened," she went on. Her arms entrapped him so tightly that his bruised ribs ached, but Saeyoung was too worried by her sudden distress to mention it. "And I should've visited sooner. I just—I'm so sorry."

Saeyoung reeled at her apology.

Between taking care of Saeran and prepping for this whole debacle with his father, he had been fully occupied. Besides, it was his fault she was even involved instead of cozily unscathed at the apartment, sorting through old party files—not wondering if her life was in danger. If anything, he should've been apologizing.

Gripping her arms, he pried her from his chest. "And what would you have done if you were here? Hmm? Did you learn to hack all of a sudden? I hope not."

Her eyes remained planted on the ground, and her hair obscured her most of her profile. "No, but—I shouldn't have left you alone for so long," she said finally, her voice small and tremulous. "I could've stopped by. Or called more—or—something!"

Saeyoung clicked his tongue. Gently, he pinched her cheek hoping to summon that previous smile that was far too fleeting. "You could be a thousand miles away, and I'd still feel your support. You were wishing for me, right? I could feel it. Right here."

He patted the area over his heart, but it sunk when she once again didn't reciprocate his humor. Her chest heaved with a deep sigh, and Saeyoung swore her shoulders drooped just a little bit more.

Uneasiness crept through his limbs as he watched that languor seep back into her face.

Her insecurities were always evident, mostly in her off-handed comments of how she didn't feel like her contributions were enough. But recently there was something else present, far more pervading than her self-deprecation. Something far deeper.

Something close to that threshold…

"MC," he began. "Is everything really okay? And please, don't just say it is."

She let out a sharp huff, but even so he felt her hesitance. "I'm sorry," she said again. That was her third unnecessary apology. "This isn't the time for this."

No. He admitted, this was the worst possible time to be loitering in a staircase, asking questions to anyone but maybe Vanderwood. But, his nerves were at the very end of their tether. To see his only anchor in reality dwindling in the face of the same stress…Well, that was his limit.

He needed reassurance…if she was okay, he didn't care what happened to him.

"You didn't answer my question," he pointed out. He rested his hand on her cheek, unnerved by how hollow they'd become. Was she even eating?

She pulled her face away as if reading his thoughts. Still, he waited in the hush of her soft breaths as she formulated an answer.

"I had a rough morning," she said, her voice sounding more stifled. "That's all."

"What happened?" Saeyoung asked, recalling his girlfriend's withdrawn state when he'd called earlier. "Didn't you say you weren't feeling well?"

He pressed his wrist against her forehead. The coolness of her skin barely skimmed his own before she retracted from his touch.

"No," she emphasized, a soft laugh bubbling past her lips. For the first time, it made Saeyoung sick. The beautiful sound, usually so full of life, fell dead in the air. "I'm not sick. I don't have a cold. I'm—"

"Fine?" he finished, unable to keep frustration from lacing his words. She was always "fine." In the face of a bomb—fine. Kidnapped by cult—fine.

Saeyoung sought her hands in the dark. They were still rattling as if the air was frigid instead of muggy and hot. Again, she wrested them away, and he physically winced in response.

"Later, okay?" she said, her lips barely lifting in a strained smile. "We agreed to take things on one at a time, right? So, we should go."

Saeyoung blew sharply through his nose. He didn't appreciate his own words being used against him, but to his chagrin, she was right.

They were in an urgent situation—he didn't even know to what extent yet. But all attempts at logic was futile when it came to her. In fact, his mind barely spared a thought to the most logical action, and instead, all he could think of doing in that moment was to hold her. Hold her until that incandescent glimmer shone bright in her eyes…until she smiled again…laughed again…

He sighed. Vanderwood was going to kill him.

Acting quickly lest she protested, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her into his arms. Her muscles tensed at first, but within seconds of his embrace, she loosened.

"We can go when you stop shaking," he said, surprised by his own unsteady voice.

Weakly, her fingers pressed against his back, and his heart jolted in response.

Saeyoung had held her at the gate, but she had felt like a dream then. Now, he couldn't see well. He couldn't doubt his own eyes. But, he could feel her…warm and trembling against him.

His brain reminded him of his hazy thoughts that previous night. In those gruesome moments, when the air was being siphoned out of his lungs, he didn't think he'd ever see her again. His heart clenched painfully inside his chest, and his arms followed suit, squeezing her a little tighter.

"You keep asking about me," she mumbled into his chest. "But you're shaking just as badly. Is it because you're scared? Of the agency?"

Saeyoung swallowed hard, a thick laugh grating past his closed throat. It wasn't the only reason, but he couldn't decipher his current emotions well enough to voice them.

"Nah, adrenaline," he said dismissively.

"Saeyoung," she said. The insistency behind her voice contradicted the exhaustion rolling off her in waves. He wasn't even sure she was standing on her own, most of her weight shifting against him.

"Yeah, okay," he said. "I'm terrified."

He felt her nod against his shoulder. "Yeah, me too."

"You don't need to be," he said. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you. Besides, Vanderwood was right. This is the safest place you can be right now."

Her hands pushed against his chest, creating enough distance to flay him with a fiery glower.

"I don't care about that," she bit back, though her features softened almost immediately. Her attention shifted to his chest, her fingers fiddling with his cross necklace. "I just…I need you to be okay."

She whispered her words like a plea, and Saeyoung wished he could at least offer her a promise— even if just to free her from her obvious trepidation. But did he even know himself?

"We've been in situations like this before," he said, his hands cupping her face. "At least in this case, I don't think I'll be shot by anyone."

The comment had been a poor attempt to lighten the mood, but she only tensed at the reminder.

He did too, if he was being honest. The past months hadn't been easy, but his old life was out of it. For months, he hadn't spared the Agency a thought. His only focus was conquering family hurdles. With those, he could see a future ahead. A good one.

But with this, every fiber of his body recoiled. All those memories of crawling through tight spaces, nearly starving in boiler rooms, being chased by unseen enemies, the fear instilled from seeing life after life torn apart from slip-up agents….

Now, he was that slip-up.

His thoughts were curtailed when he noticed her shallowing breaths.

"MC, are you—" he began before her fists suddenly wedged them apart. He obliged and let her rest against the opposite wall.

"You know, I think you're right," she said. "I think I'm coming down with something."

"Really?" he jumped. His wrist found her forehead again, but like before, it was anything but warm. "What's wrong?"

A small whimper came from her lips. "I'm just feeling bit…" her voice trailed off into heavy pants. "I think it's just too closed in here."

She wasn't wrong. Air dissipated quickly in the side entrance. Even his own head spun in the midst of the heat, but even so…This wasn't the first this had happened. He remembered her blank stares at the bullet holes in his car—and then her reaction to his injuries at the gate.

Her feet shuffled against the cement before thudding down the next few stairs, snapping Saeyoung from his stupor.

"Ah, wait," he called when she disappeared from his sight. "Let me go first."

"Why?" she asked, though she allowed him to slide past.

Before he could answer, jumbled swears and shouts floated from the foot of the stairs. No doubt, Vanderwood stumbled upon the mess Saeyoung himself had barely navigated unscathed to reach the stairs.

"Saeyoung," MC admonished. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," he said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I didn't tell him on purpose either…"

A soft giggle escaped her mouth at another clang down the stairs, and relief rippled through his body. That light was still there after all.

If they had time, Saeyoung might've really kissed her this time, but as it was, they were late. And every second was precious. Still, he had hoped they could keep the promise they kept to each other months ago in that tiny little apartment.

He hoped, no matter what the next room held—no matter what the future held—they would look at each other and laugh at the end of it all. No, he begged God for that end.

"Ready?" MC asked, her hand slipping into his.

Saeyoung nodded, though the unease enclosing around his chest spoke differently.


A/N: Again, I miss writing with these too, so this chapter was fun. I hope you enjoyed it too!

Thanks for reading and for your continued support3

Also, just as a sidenote, has anyone hopped onto the WannabeChallenge train. It's such a good game, 10/10 recommend if you like mysme. I've been super into the game, and have been writing some fics with a friend of mine. You can see more on my tumblr spacechip707!

Until next update, have a wonderful day, week, month, unspecified amount of time until I post again! LOL! 3