Believe Again: Game Plan
A/N: 6 months later, an update has arrived.
A more detailed life update is in the A/N at the end of this chapter. For now, here's a recap of what's happened so far:
RECAP:
-Saeran and S/O are on a texting basis now (chapter 19)! Relationship status: Friends? for now?
-Sejun is a minor who was previously a Mint Eye follower. He escaped from a boys' home. (dun dun dunnn)
-Vanderwood and Saeyoung dug into Mint Eye's files and found a connection between Mint Eye and Park Ha Yoon, an accomplished researcher in the field of medicinal drugs.
-Sejun was sighted with Park Ha Yoon, and Sejun received a black bag from the latter.
Sejun headed for Minari, a red-light district where Mint Eye used to do business to collect drugs (that's how they got the ding ding ding elixir! yum) without attracting attention or suspicion.
-Vanderwood went to investigate, following Sejun to one of the parlours. After Sejun left with the bag looking heavier than before, Vanderwood entered and met a prostitute named Eun Mi, who was being coerced into working for Park Ha Yoon and other higher-ups connected to Mint Eye.
Man I just want the plot to wrap up so I can go back to writing mindless fluff with Saeran and S/O...
Anyways, back to the story!
The shower faucet turned off with a few squeaks in protest and then the tired secret agent stepped out of the shower, water dripping from his long brown hair and body. He grabbed a clean towel and briefly dried himself before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out of the bathroom.
Vanderwood had barely managed to open the mini-fridge to reach for a beer can when he heard his laptop making cat purring noises.
Damn it. And here he thought he could take a short break, lounge in bed with a can of beer and continue where he'd left off from "Game of Kings". Saeyoung always knew how to ruin his mood. Especially with that annoying ringtone setting that he adamantly refused to change.
The can hissed and clicked when he opened it, and Vanderwood took a big gulp of the carbonated liquid before accepting the call on his laptop. The twins and MC appeared on screen, and he waited, expecting to hear one of his old partner's stupid "Miss Vanderwood" greetings, but for the first time, nothing came out of that bespectacled redhead's mouth.
In fact, the three of them looked like they'd just seen an alien or something as shocking as that.
The first one to react was MC, who gasped sharply with wide eyes. Saeran looked rather impressed, while Saeyoung kept glancing back and forth between the webcam and at his awestruck wife.
"Vanderwood, what are you doing naked?" Saeran finally asked, breaking the silence.
"I just got out of the shower. Didn't have time to change," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone, plopping down on the chair in front of his computer. "I'm assuming you called because you have something urgent to tell me?"
"More like, we wanted to see if you had any updates after that trip to Minari, but maybe not—"
"Oh my goodness, Vanderwood! You didn't tell anyone you had a body like that!" MC gushed, interrupting them once she snapped out of her stupor. "You're almost as ripped as Zen! We have to take a picture and show everyone!"
As flattering as it was to be complimented by a pretty woman like MC, she was still his ex-partner's current wife, which made things extremely embarrassing and awkward. He felt an urge to cover his nipples all of a sudden.
"Babe!" Saeyoung whined in protest. "I have a great body too!"
"With all those nasty chips you eat all the time? No way," Saeran retorted, to which everyone nodded emphatically, while Saeyoung slumped in his seat, releasing the hem of his shirt.
MC patted his back in reassurance, saying that she only had eyes for him, though her gaze kept trailing back to the screen like a magnet until an embarrassed Vanderwood decided enough was enough and threw on the nearest shirt he could find.
"Aww, we didn't get to take a picture. Zen would have been so riled up." MC didn't even bother hiding her disappointment, which only made Saeyoung's self-confidence visibly sink further. Vanderwood heard the sound of crinkling plastic and tried to stop the corners of his lips from twitching upwards when he saw Saeyoung haphazardly toss an unopened packet of honey butter chips over his shoulder with a huff.
"Never mind that, we have more important things to talk about," Saeran cut in, veering the conversation back on track. "Vanderwood, did you manage to find anything?
He nodded as he took another gulp of his beer. "Mint Eye is still in business," he said gravely. His words commanded everyone's solemn attention, and the mood became serious.
"What did you find?" Saeyoung questioned.
"As Saeran suspected, they're still operating the same way. Prostitutes get the drugs from their rich clients. I managed to take pictures of the accounts book that the lady owner keeps. Would have taken more but there was no time. Anyways, it should be enough to track down the people working with Mint Eye and if our hunch is right, they should be connected to Park Ha Yoon too."
"Send those pictures to me," Saeran said.
"Already on it." With a few speedy clicks on his mouse, Vanderwood sent the files over, and Saeran got to work typing away and looking up information on the computer that he was using.
"The drugs are being used in the elixir that Rika used to drug and brainwash her followers," Vanderwood explained, carefully shifting his gaze to Saeran, as did Saeyoung and MC.
"I'm fine," Saeran muttered, eyes not leaving his own computer's screen as he typed away. "I guessed as much."
"So that means all the people involved in Mint Eye would have their details on the accounts book that the owner has?" MC asked. "Why would she have that information though? Aren't they supposed to be confidential?"
"She did it in secret. It was an insurance of sorts for her," Vanderwood answered. "You can't trust anyone out there."
"I guess... that's true," MC murmured, though Vanderwood could tell she had a hard time agreeing with him. She was an idealistic person, so that was no surprise. In his line of work though, he had seen some of the ugliest things in this world, and the monsters people turned into when they had power and money in their pocket. Same went for Saeyoung, but at least he had MC now to show him the better and prettier side of life. He was extremely lucky to have met her; not many people had that kind of fortune. Perhaps it was the universe's way of making up for the shitty childhood it gave him.
"Okay, got the profiles," Saeran announced. "A lot of famous people in here. Celebrities, successful businessmen..."
"He's... not in there?" Saeyoung cut in apprehensively.
"If you're referring to the Prime Minister, no. I checked that first," Vanderwood said, to which Saeyoung heaved a big sigh of relief.
"So, what do we do with this information now?" MC chimed in after giving Saeyoung a reassuring smile and a squeeze on his shoulder.
"I think... we need to get to the bottom of things. Find out what is going on with Mint Eye exactly," Saeyoung replied.
"So you're suggesting to break in?" Vanderwood gawked. "We have no idea what they're doing down there. For all we know, they could be making chemical weapons or something just as dangerous. Remember the last time we were at Mint Eye and the royal disaster it turned out to be?"
Saeran remembered the events all too well. Betraying his brother, MC and Vanderwood, putting their lives in danger, locking them up in the dungeon and wishing for nothing more than for his own brother—his only family left in this disgusting world—to die and vanish off the face of this earth forever.
He remembered the gun in his hand, the pounding headache that made the world around him spin each time he moved and screamed his throat hoarse, and he remembered the smell of gunpowder and blood that lingered in the air, and the terrible, terrible scream that monstrous woman released as she fell to the floor in front of the body of the man he'd shot.
Saeran felt sick to the core as the memories came up like bile in his throat. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, willing it to go away eventually, as it usually did after a while.
"Not Mint Eye," Saeyoung answered Vanderwood, no one noticing the younger twin's discomfort, much to Saeran's relief. "Park Ha Yoon's office. If he's key to the whole operation of Mint Eye, we should be able to get enough information from his home computer."
"I can't do that alone. What if the files are encrypted or something? I don't know how to do your hacking voodoo."
"I know. That's why I'm going with you," Saeyoung said.
Saeran's eyes flew open, instantly forgetting about the nightmarish memories invading his mind. His attention instead fell onto his brother who was sitting next to him. His brother who was safe, alive and healthy, and who may not be staying that way for long if he went on the stupid mission.
He stood up abruptly, causing everyone's attention to turn to him then. "You can't go," he protested. "It's too dangerous."
"Relax, it's just his house. Saeyoung and I have been on missions ten times more dangerous than this," Vanderwood assured him, but Saeran wasn't convinced or placated in the slightest.
The older twin stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Vanderwood's right. We can handle this. It'll be a piece of cake."
"You're rusty. You're not a secret agent anymore, you're just Saeyoung Choi. You can't do it."
"Vanderwood will have my back. He always does. You can trust him."
"No," Saeran shook his head. "I'll go."
"That's not happening." Saeyoung's tone was suddenly strict, his eyes burning fiercely. "You're staying here in the bunker, and you're not leaving until Vanderwood and I come back."
"And if you don't?" Saeran challenged, raising his voice. "You left the house that one time, carrying that huge black bag with you, and promised you would come back. You didn't. You couldn't."
Saeran knew he had hit a sore spot — it was the single greatest regret Saeyoung ever had in his life. And right then, his older brother was completely speechless, and the hurt was resurfacing in his golden eyes.
But Saeran couldn't find it in him to stop and apologise either. He genuinely didn't want his brother to go. It wasn't that he didn't trust Saeyoung to come back. Things had changed now, and MC was with them too. By hook or by crook, Saeyoung would make it back.
But with missions, things could go wrong. Horribly wrong. And Saeran didn't want to take that chance.
He didn't want to lose his brother again.
Saeyoung abruptly pulled him into a hug, squeezing him like Saeran was his lifeline, and in turn, Saeran clutched tightly onto the fabric of the honey buddha chip-smelling hoodie.
"Trust me. I'll make it back," Saeyoung told him. "I know you're scared, but I promise I know what I'm doing. I've been doing this for years, and Vanderwood will be with me. We've always been a great team, it'll be fine. So trust me on this, okay?"
"Yeah Saeran," Vanderwood's voice came from the computer. "I've saved his ass tons of times before. I know how to watch out for him. I'll bring him back home to you. And to MC."
"I don't want Saeyoung to go either, but I think it's for the best," MC added. "He'll be fine, I know it. Plus, he's with Vanderwood and even if Saeyoung isn't in top form, Vanderwood is. He has a really defined six-pack. It'll be fine."
Vanderwood's long, embarrassed groan that followed caused them all to break into laughter, which lightened the mood considerably.
Saeran pulled away from Saeyoung and with a scowl, said, "You better make it back, or I'll hunt you down and kill you myself."
"Me too," MC warned. "I'll make sure Saeran beats you up on my behalf as well."
"Aww, you guys worry too much. Of course I'll come back, I have the cutest wife and the cutest baby brother waiting for me here at home!"
"I am literally two minutes younger than you," Saeran muttered, but didn't object to letting Saeyoung ruffle his hair. Then the redhead turned and duly gave his wife a loving peck on the lips.
"Sorry to break up the love fest," Vanderwood cut in, "but we should discuss the game plan soon."
"Right, right," Saeyoung agreed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Let's get started, Miss. Just like old times, huh?"
"Aaaaand I can't wait for this to end already," Vanderwood muttered with an eyeroll, while pulling on a sweater to add another layer of protection for his modesty.
A/N: So that's that, I think the next chapter will be out in 1-2 days. I'm trying to speed things up plot-wise (so I do apologise if it feels rushed/weird) because I just want to wrap up this story asap.
Sorry for the long time away guys, I've been busy with school + didn't think I wanted to write for MM anymore simply because I felt like I had exhausted my inspiration in this fandom.
The reason why I decided to run back to this story was because of the periodic comments I received in between my long break from this story, from people who read Believe Again and told me that they really wanted an update. I'm honestly thankful to everyone who has chosen to support this story even though updates have been so irregular. Thank you for your kind words, and honestly I don't think I would have the motivation to pick up this story again if it weren't for you guys.
I'm having my recess week right now so in between catching up on readings and doing my research paper assignment (FML) I'll be working on this story. I think it's wayyy too ambitious for me to say that I want to finish this whole story by the end of the week, but I'm hoping I can finish planning a substantial amount of content so that I can breeze through the writing (because it's really just the thick plot that's making me go UGH) and yeah! Fingers crossed, I'll freaking get to the end of this story asdlfkjadklfja.