AN: Hello again! :) Thank you so much for reading this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Darker than Grey: Hey Kathryn :D Thank you so much for your review and I'm glad you thought the chapter was glorious. Prepare for loads of angst in this one, but I promise it'll be worth it! I hope you're doing well~
Chapter Eighteen
Panora's Box
It should have been funny.
Seven would have laughed, which was his usual coping mechanism when life threw another building-sized boulder in his path. It's what he did when Vanderwood delivered bad news, his boss threatened him or an RFA member had one of their weekly meltdowns. He'd usually make a joke out of it, so the dread didn't overwhelm him, and he would have had a maniacal giggle or two, if his world view hadn't been upended like a card table by an angry toddler's tamper tantrum.
Just that it wasn't a toddler's work, but his very own—now possibly evil—lost twin brother who flipped the table directly in his face.
It's why he didn't find it all that funny.
He had basically spent his entire life worrying about Saeran, working to protect him and give him the life he deserved, only to find out that it was all for nothing. Unless of course, you call being part of Magenta, a secret hacker organization bent on misguided revenge, a healthy environment for his little brother to grow up in.
Yeah, he was still wrapping his head around that one.
Seven had trusted V and Rika to protect Saeran. He had believed their promise with every cell of his being because the alternative was just too bleak, but apparently he had been naive and now he had to deal with the consequences.
It had been a mistake he would never be able to forgive himself for.
The silver lining on the horizon was that he now knew where his brother was and made it his mission to save him from Magenta. However, Seven knew that it'd take more than kind words to break through the wall of mistrust his twin surrounded himself with. Apparently, Saeran hadn't only been caught up with the wrong crowd, but they had fed him lies to cause a rift between them.
Saeran hated him.
Even hours after their meeting his hands were still shaking, which was a testament to how much seeing his brother affected him. It had dragged up memories that he had tried to suppress for years. Memories were he was just Saeyoung.
Seven would never forget the moment his resolve to protect his precious little brother first began to form. When his plan to earn money by hacking was set into motion, so they could escape from their mother and those men in black suits their powerful father sent.
When the bread he got from church was their only stable food source. When they dreamed of the outside world and adventures they would go on once they were free. When he proudly showed off his book on computer science to his twin. When V came to him with the suggestion to become a secret agent, forcing him to abandon Saeran.
Was it too late for them now?
Hands slowed to a stop on the keyboard and he let out a frustrated sigh. His feelings didn't matter, he needed to focus on securing the apartment, hacking the agency for leverage, tracking Saeran's movements and he needed to squeeze a proper explanation out of V.
"Good morning."
Alerted by the sudden presence of another person, Seven tore his eyes away from the laptop, shoulders stiff and aching from the uncomfortable position. Mei stifled a yawn behind her hand as she entered the living room in an over-sized cobalt blue shirt. Her chocolate hair was piled up in a lazy bun on top of her head and apart from the fading redness around her eyes, she looked fine, but he wasn't fooled.
She had been crying and it was his fault.
"Wow, the guy from the repair service did a good job. It's like the window was never broken," she said in awe, studying her surroundings. When he caught himself staring at her exposed legs, the hacker quickly forced himself to turn around.
Seven was a lot of things, but innocent was far from it.
It wasn't easy to keep your thoughts from wandering to dangerous territories when the woman you're in love with prances around in a pair of satin boxer shorts, looking all adorable and confused as though someone had just plucked her from cloud nine in dreamland. He was so tired ... he'd love to sweep her up in his arms, comfort her and built a pillow fort.
Seven attepted to squash the thought the instant it formed, ruthlessly shoving it back into the depths of hell where it came from. He couldn't allow himself these thoughts and desperately needed a distraction before his resolve broke into tiny little pieces. What was the least romantic thing he could think of?
The mitochondium is the powerhouse of the cell.
Mei stopped in front of the bathroom, cocking her head to the side in confusion. She pouted cutely at his lack of reply.
A single solar flare can release the equivalent energy of millions of 100-megaton atomic bombs.
With a shake of her head, she disappeared behind the door to begin her morning routine and when he heard water running, he released the breath he held. Seven didn't feel relieved though.
He hadn't said a word to her since yesterday evening and the guilt was crushing his insides.
After Mei's sudden confession, Seven had allowed himself to hope and got caught up in the overwhelming happiness. It was the greatest feeling in the world, knowing that the person you love, loves you back. It made him imagine the future they could've had together; going on dates in all sorts of places, cuddling beneath the stars at night, marathon every trashy TV show in existence and maybe even marry at the space station.
It had only lasted for a moment because then reality started to settle in and the joy got overshadowed by an inner voice that listed all the reasons why they could never be together.
Love was terrible, he concluded, it only made everything worse.
If she didn't love him then she wouldn't have to suffer, too. He wouldn't have to try so hard to push her away, wouldn't have to make her sad and wouldn't have to hurt her. Now, he was even more afraid than before that something terrible would happen to her.
It was as though Pandora's box had been opened and all of his worst fears came pouring out, poisoning the world around him. And just like in the mythical story, there was also hope at the bottom of the box, but he wasn't sure whether that was such a good thing anymore.
Hope could be more cruel than any of his worst fears could ever dream to be.
The sound of the bathroom door opening shook him out of his dark thoughts and he quickly returned to work, hoping that if he seemed busy she would leave him alone.
Mei shuffled around behind him as though she was debating on how to approach the situation and he internally steeled himself to ignore her attempts at interrogation. Seven knew she had questions, but he didn't have most of the answers himself and wasn't ready to give her the others. She must've come to a decision because seven seconds later, she was standing at his side, close enough that he could smell her flowery shampoo.
"Seven, what's your favorite food?" Mei asked cheerfully, her unpredictability shocking him enough to break his vow to ignore her. "Also, no, I'm not talking about Honey Buddha Chips or ice cream. I mean real food."
Her innocent question threw him for a loop. It wasn't because it was unexpected, but because he had honestly never thought about it. Seven had never payed much attention to what he ate, as long as it filled him and kept him energized enough to function, it'd do.
It took a lot out of him to school his expression back into a mask of indifference, forcing himself to look away from the bright, smiling woman.
Please don't smile at me like that ...
"Well, if you're bent on pretending to be mute and deaf, then you'll have to live with whatever I make for breakfast." Mei huffed sulkily and crossed her arms. "You've officially forfeited you right to complain."
She was cute—really cute—when she was pretending to be offended to hide her concern for him. Truthfully, he was actually kinda hungry since he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and a homemade breakfast from Mei was a dream come true. However, he couldn't get her hopes up like that, so he had to refuse.
"I'm not hungry," Seven lied, putting the denial of an experienced politician to shame. "I don't want your breakfast."
"You have to eat something," Mei cried stubbornly, stomping her foot on the ground like a child. Immediately after doing so, she froze and winced in pain. Seven felt a little bubble of amused tenderness warm his chest when he watched her, but it quickly faded into concern.
It wasn't fair that she was always collecting injuries while everyone else got away without a scratch. The scrapes on her arm had healed, but her palm was still in progress and now even her feet were hurt. If she hadn't gotten involved with the RFA, she wouldn't have been hurt at all.
"Are you an idiot? Don't stomp you feet like that, you'll only hurt yourself more." Seven swallowed thickly, gathering the determination to spit out the harsh words he was about to say. "Or is that what you wanted, perhaps? Making me feel sorry for you, so I'd eventually go along with your lovey-dovey fantasies? It won't work, so you can stop playing the damsel in distress."
Seven knew he was being unfair. Mei wasn't a damsel, quite the opposite actually with her insistence on facing problems head on. He could tell that she proud of that, rightfully so, but that made his intentional remark all the more cutting.
One could've heard a pin drop in the silent room.
"You know what? I'm going to pretend I never heard that." Mei put her hands on her hips with a defiant frown on her face. She never missed an opportunity to surprise him with her reactions. "If you really want to antagonize me into hating you so that you can go through with whatever crazy Houdini mission you've cooked up, be my guest. Whether you like it or not, I care for you and I won't just leave you be no matter how much you annoy me right now. So go ahead, do your worst."
Please don't be so kind to me ...
Satisfied with her little rant, she disappeared into the kitchen, leaving him staring after her speechlessly. Mei had seen right through him and not only that, she was swallowing her own feelings to cheer him up. She was trying to lighten the mood with her cheerful act, which was why his heart ached even more at the thought of breaking hers.
The only thing that stopped him from running into the kitchen and apologize to her was the knowledge that this was for the best. He was doing this for her and he'd trade being the bad guy for her safety any day.
Against his will, Seven found himself amused by her antics in the kitchen. Mei had turned the room into her personal cooking show stage and was narrating her steps as though she was explaining it to a large audience. When she wasn't talking to herself, she danced to the music from the old radio while mouthing the words of the song and mixing the pancake batter in time with the beat.
It was endearing.
He wanted to join her, twirl her around and tease her for being such a dorky cook. Although, he wasn't in the position to judge her. Last time he had attempted to cook, he had almost impaled his foot with a kitchen knife and his HBC and Dr. Pepper smoothie had been an epic failure.
Seven was almost disappointed when she stopped.
Mei entered the room, balancing two full plates and two glasses of ice-tea on her arms. How did she manage to carry all of that at the same time? It defied the laws of physics. He didn't move a muscle when she sat against the wall he was facing and pushed one of the plates towards him.
A fresh wave of love for this woman warmed his chest when he snuck a glance at the food. It was nothing special and to any other person it'd have been a regular breakfast, but to him it was so much more than that. Seven could tell Mei had been raised in a caring family by the way her raspberry pancakes came in different shapes, the apples had little bunny ears, the bacon and eggs were draped artfully next to two slices of toast and the ice-tea had a slice of lemon hanging from its rim next to a multi-colored straw.
Earlier, Mei told him that he had forfeited his right to choose, but it was obvious from the items piled onto the plate that she included as much as possible because she didn't know what he liked.
This woman …
While Seven was brooding over the food, Mei attempted to fill the silence with chatter. He pretended not to listen to her and focused on the code in front of him, but his brain was unwilling to cooperate. According to her, Zen's press conference went incredibly well and now the ball was back in their court. She recounted their chat from earlier, laughing merrily at Jaehee's display of sadistic glee about Echo Girl being in the line of fire now.
Please don't laugh like that ...
His stomach growled, which made him glance back at the food.
It would be a shame to waste it and he needed energy to continue working, so maybe he should accept it. With those logical thoughts in mind, Seven finally picked up a fork and brought a piece of pancake to his mouth. It was a struggle to keep his expression neutral while he was coming to terms with the fact that this was the first time he had a proper home cooked meal.
It was even better than he imagined.
Obviously, their mother never cooked for the twins and even when he was invited for dinner by the RFA, they usually ordered take out or went to a restaurant. Seven had never cared or felt like he was missing out, because how can you miss something you never had, but now that he experienced it he felt like he did.
"Do you like it?" Mei asked with a spark of newfound hope and Seven found himself unable to snuff it out.
"Yeah."
"I'm glad," she laughed like she just won the lottery. "The raspberry pancakes are my favorite."
Seven was impressed with her level of composure, but to be honest, he had expected it. From what he knew, she had been through a lot in those twenty-one years and despite everything, her stunning blue eyes were still bright and hopeful. Her parents death, her job as detective, being forced to become an adult as a teenager—all those events tested her endurance and endurance was what she gained.
"How can you ... stay calm? You've been acting like you normally do," Seven wondered. "I don't understand it. Aren't you scared?"
"Of course, I'm scared but pretending not to be helps me deal with it." Mei admitted, smiling at him with a fond look. "Also, there is nobody more suited to defuse a bomb than the one who installed it. I feel safe because you're here with me."
Please don't look at me like that ...
"It's nice that you can be so positive, but you should now that I didn't come here from a sense of justice. I'm not like you. I don't help people out of the goodness of my heart," the agent muttered, frustrated, throwing the fork back onto the plate. "Aren't you supposed to be angry with me? I'm the one who put you in danger. I'm so mad at myself! Why aren't you mad at me?"
"Yes, I am mad at you, but for different reasons. I'm here because I want to be and I don't blame you for your brother's actions," she explained calmly. "You saved me, remember?"
"That's not important. Your life was … is at risk because of me." Seven shook his head. "I wish non of this would've ever happened. The party, the bomb … and you joining the RFA."
He didn't really mean the last part, but she had told him to do his worst. Judging by the hurt that crossed her features, he must've hit a sore spot, but where he should've felt accomplished that his attempts at pushing her away were staring to bear fruits, he felt nothing but regret.
"What? Are you telling me not to download weird apps on my phone?" She laughed awkwardly, trying to dispel the tense atmosphere with humor. "Kyu already chewed me out for that and she's waaay scarier that you. All jokes aside though, I don't regret meeting you at all."
Please don't be so optimistic …
"Well, it's not like it's my business." Seven grumbled and got back into his original position. He hadn't even noticed, but he had been unconsciously turning towards her. "I'm gonna put my headphones on and work, so don't bother me."
Apparently, Mei didn't take well to orders because in the next moment, her warm hand was on his shoulder and he got lost in the sea of her determined blue eyes. Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she searched his face, trying to read his unreadable expression, and Seven knew if she moved any closer right now his resolve would be out of the window.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
Please don't come so close to me …
His lack of reaction made her tone grow pleading. "Is it because of what I said yesterday? If yes, then please don't—"
Seven didn't give her the opportunity to finish that sentence and swiftly put his headphones on, effectively shaking her hand off his shoulder.
… because it's making it so much harder ...
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her mouth moving, but her melodic voice was drowned out by the staccato of electronic music. "Requesting to satellite … code is G2X0, coordinates are 16.29562, 500:1 … possible satellites: Germany or France. Analyzing header information, decoding hash code … altering visual information."
… to be so cruel to you.
In the reflection of his monitor, he saw her give his back a longing glance before she turned and left him alone.
Seven didn't tell her, and Mei wouldn't find out until a few months later, that he hadn't had a favorite meal before today. Now his favorite food was raspberry pancakes—the same as hers—because it made him think of her and of the first time he ate breakfast that she made for him.
Seven was extremely tired. Two nights with only power naps in between and adrenaline fueled action was slowly starting to kill his concentration. The blurring numbers on his monitor made him wonder if that's what students who hated math always saw when they were faced with equations. If this was anything similar to that, he could suddenly understand their hatred for the subject.
Looking at his own reflection on the screen made him cringe.
Mental exhaustion was bleeding into his outward appearance. He was still digesting the sinking realization that his brother hadn't been living the happy life he was supposed to be, coupled with that was the crushing guilt he felt for mistreating Mei and stacked on top was the desperation for answers that V wasn't there to give.
He was a mess.
At the moment, the hacker was securing messenger's data on another server while monitoring the chatroom. Everyone, apart from V and himself, was online. Since the worst of the shock had worn off, they were currently busy distracting Mei's from the situation and she was taking it gratefully. In fact, she was the one initiating the entire thing as though she was trying to comfort them instead of the other way around.
MC: Dumbest scar stories, go! (σﾟ∀ﾟ)σ
Yoosung : Winner gets bragging rights (´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
MC: And a private concert of 'mmm whatcha saaay' on the smallest violin in the world.
ZEN: When I was INNOCENTLY drying my gorgeous hair, I got distracted by my face in the mirror and didn't notice I had turned the hair dryer around.
Yoosung : Oh boy … (ノ_・。)
Jumin Han: It sounds like this was your own fault. Typical.
ZEN: Shut up, Jerkmin, and let me tell my story (ಠ ∩ಠ)
ZEN: It sucked a bunch of my hair in and when I tried to untangle it, I ripped a few of them out.
Jaehee Kang: That must've hurt a lot (ノ﹏ヽ)
MC: Smth similar happened to me with a round brush. Those things are evil (ಥ‿ಥ)
Jaehee Kang: Never again!
ZEN: I was traumatized. Still haven't recovered actually, but letting hair dry naturally is better for it anyways.
Jumin Han: You are disqualified. That couldn't have left a scar.
ZEN: I was emotionally scarred!
MC: A severe case of Hair-PTSD (╭ರ_•́)
Jumin Han: Disqualified!
Yoosung : You're afraid of hair dryers?! Lmao
Seven appreciated the familiarity of their banter and while he wasn't in the mood to join in, it was a relief to know that they had enough energy to comfort each other without his help.
ZEN: Why don't you tell us your story then, huh? (¬_¬)
Yoosung : I was taking a cup of instant ramen out of the microwave, spilled it on my hand and got a really bad burn.
MC: Wow, you're really playing into the entire college student cliché.
Jaehee Kang: Why did you microwave instant noodles? That's not how you prepare them.
Yoosung : I forgot to eat them because I was playing LOLOL … so they got cold.
Jumin Han: The stupidity (눈_눈)
ZEN: It's called dumb scar stories for a reason.
MC: Jumin Han can't relate lolol
For the fifth time this hour, he caught himself watching her through the reflection on his laptop. Mei was currently lying on the couch with a smile, legs popped up comfortably on one of the large cushions. Meowy guarded her lap, being rewarded for its efforts with the occasional pat on the head.
Was it normal to envy a robot cat?
Jumin Han: What about you, Mei?
MC: Ah well … I had a lollipop and a can of cola and was in a mood to experiment ໒( " •̀ ᗜ•́ " )७
Jaehee Kang: Why do you sound so happy about that?
Jumin Han: I don't like where this is going.
MC: In the name of science, I tried to improve the flavor of the candy by dipping it into the cola.
MC: The stick of the lollipop was too short, so it disappeared into the can and when I tried to get it out my thumb got stuck on the sharp edges on the opening.
Jaehee Kang: Omg （￣□￣；）
Yoosung : Aaaand we have a new favorite to win this contest.
MC: I never even found out if it's a good combination (ಥ﹏ಥ)
Jaehee Kang: That's whaT YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT?!
MC: ┐(´∀｀)┌
Seven had to suppress a grin when he heard Mei's laughter from behind. The idea to experiment with odd food combinations could've come from him.
ZEN: Your turn, Jaehee~
Jaehee Kang: It was a dark, rainy day and I was at the mall.
Yoosung : Wohaaa she's properly narrating the experience (ﾟ□ﾟ*川
ZEN: So dramatic~ I'm at the edge of my seat!
MC: +100 points for creativity
Yoosung : Wait. There were points? (・о・)
Jaehee Kang: There was a sale in one of my favorite stores, so it was packed with people. I got into a fight with a lady over the last, black skirt and she scratched my arm with her acrylic nails.
Jaehee Kang: It was the first battle that I lost.
Yoosung : Women are scary (ノдヽ)
MC: But did you get the skirt?!
Jaehee Kang: Yes, the store manager ordered me another one in apology (◠‿◠✿)
MC: Nice! (๑°⌓°๑)
Jumin Han: That was very considerate of them. Not many companies have such excellent customer service.
Wow. He had no idea Jaehee would be the kind of person to get into a fight over clothes.
ZEN: Let's hear your story, Mr. Trustfund. I bet you never got a scar in your life (¬‿¬)
Jumin Han: At my first day at work, I burned my tongue drinking coffee.
Jumin Han: I sent a complaint to the coffee machine company and they gifted me an improved version that always produces it at a drinkable temperature.
Jumin Han: Problem solved (￣ω￣)
ZEN: Laaaaame (￣⊿￣)
Yoosung : Do tongues even scar?
MC: You can do better, Jumin (~￣▽￣)~
Jumin Han: Very well.
Jumin Han: I accidentally stabbed myself with a pen in third grade. The ink got under my skin and never quite went away.
Jumin Han: I have a small, blue spot on my left palm forever.
ZEN: hahahHAHAHAA _(:D｣┌)
MC: DIY tattoo by Jumin Han lmao (≧艸≦*)
Jaehee Kang: It's tragic, but I think Mr. Han might've won the competition.
Yoosung : How do you even stab yourself with a pen? (≖͞_≖̥)
Jumin Han: Talent.
Jumin Han: On another note, we cannot avoid talking about the subject forever. I've been trying to reach V but was unsuccessful.
Seven sighed to himself and stared at the message with grim determination. Jumin was right. They couldn't pretend like everything was alright, but it had been nice while it lasted. In the last few hours he had called V twenty times, but didn't get through.
Jumin Han: I was hoping he'd have answers since he was the one who claimed that the hacker must've been one of Rika's friends.
Jaehee Kang: That's how he convinced us to let Mei join.
Yoosung : Not that I'm not glad that Mei is here, but it's suspicious.
Yoosung : Why isn't he here? Where did he disappear to? He's supposed to be our leader dammit (╬ಠ益ಠ)
MC: I've been wondering the same actually.
ZEN: Now, now~ If he's traveling again his phone probably doesn't have service, so it's not like he's ignoring us on purpose.
MC: Not to burst your bubble, but there actually aren't many areas in South Korea that are out of satellite range anymore.
Yoosung : SEE? Even the detective agrees with me.
MC: It's too early to jump to conclusions, Yoosung. He might be in one of the few rare spots or has his phone turned off.
Jaehee Kang: Like one of those phone detoxes? I've heard they're supposed to be good for your mental health.
Yoosung : I don't trust him. Ever since Rika died he hasn't been the same.
Yoosung : I'm tired of all the secrets.
Yoosung : Perhaps V was never the person we thought he was.
MC: I don't think V is a bad person, but even good people make bad decisions sometimes.
A rueful smile played on his lips when he read her message, which made her sound older than she was. It hit close to home and the sad acceptance in her words made his chest tighten.
Jumin Han: Well, it's not fair to judge him if he's not here to defend himself.
Jumin Han: However, I still can't believe Rika chose to be such an idiot.
Jumin Han: A bomb as security system? What the hell was Seven thinking? Why didn't V say anything?
It was the first genuine argument he had ever had with Rika and at first, he protested strongly against installing the bomb.
He didn't want to be responsible for potentially killing someone or endangering her and even if Rika had been dealing with an intruder issue due to the increasing numbers of guests, it didn't have to be a bomb. Seven had argued that all of them would've preferred to keep the parties smaller and safer since their original goal was to help marginalized people, however, their leader disagreed and claimed she understood humans better than him.
Looking at you reminds me of how innocent I was, Rika had said, You think respect and love will bring justice? No, justice is created by fear. If you want to save lives you need to create fear, that's the bitter truth of this world.
She always knew what to say to make people bend to her will.
ZEN: You wanna know what makes me really mad?!
ZEN: The fact that V and Seven let Mei go to that apartment, knowing that there was a bomb.
ZEN: She was left ALONE with A BOMB?! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ
Jumin Han: Hmm. Zen is overly excited right now.
Jumin Han: Maybe the press conference and then this event was too much for him?
ZEN: Don't psycho analyze me! I'm not overly excited, I'm freaking angry.
MC: Zen, it's okay. I'm fine ᕦ(≧◡≦)ᕤ
ZEN: No, it's not okay. I know that you're a nice person, but I won't accept you out of all people shielding them.
It might have been Rika who had the idea and V who ordered him to keep quiet about it, but when it came down to it he was blaming himself more than anyone else. He had betrayed them and they had every right to be angry. Back when Mei joined he had been so excited about having another party that the danger of the system hadn't even occurred to him. It had been perfect, never caused any issues so far, but that way of thinking had been arrogant.
ZEN: I don't care if you're a detective or used to this kind of danger. That's your go-to excuse for everything so we don't have to worry, but it's not gonna work this time.
ZEN: You could've been seriously hurt and I won't forgive them so easily. The least they could do is explain it properly.
Jumin Han: Would it really change your opinion if they explained it?
ZEN: Of course not. There is no circumstance where leaving a person with a bomb is okay in my books.
MC: Zen …
ZEN: I really care about you, Mei. We all do, so please don't say it's fine.
Seven was surprised that Zen knew Mei well enough to call her out on her behavior and judging by the shocked yet touched expression on her face, she was just as surprised. The newly discovered closeness between them made the green monster in his stomach grumble, but his jealously evaporated as soon as he saw the grateful smile on her trembling lips.
MC: Okay. I won't.
MC: I just don't want you guys to fight right now.
MC: And while I can't speak for V, Seven is doing his best to fix everything so don't be hard on him.
Yoosung : I'm pretty sure Seven only kept it a secret because V asked him to.
Jumin Han: I agree. He isn't that kind of guy, but his relationship with V is special and he'd never refuse a request from him.
Jumin Han: Anyways, if you want to get out of there just give me a call, okay?
Jumin Han: Naturally the same counts for Luciel.
MC: Aye, aye sir (≧∀≦ゞ
Gritting his teeth, Seven clenched his hands into fists as a wave of self-hatred threatened to overwhelm him. He didn't deserve their kindness.
MC: Actually, I want to thank all of you.
Jaehee Kang: There is no need to thank us. It's because of us that you're in this situation.
MC: That's actually not quite true.
ZEN: What do you mean? (゜-゜)
Yeah, what did she mean by that?
MC: It's not your fault this happened. Anyways I want you to know that I'm grateful to have met you guys.
Yoosung : We're glad to have you in the RFA, too.
MC: I believe we can get through this and I'm gonna do my best to help ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
MC: Then we're going to have the best party ever. With a non-poisoned buffet, loud music and a huge fireworks show.
MC: Maybe we could make it a costume party next time? （๑✧∀✧๑）
ZEN: Sounds like fun~
Jaehee Kang: I repeat myself, but I'm not allowing you to come in a cat costume (눈_눈)
MC: Yes, mom ((( ；ﾟДﾟ)))
Jaehee Kang: You understand. Good.
Yoosung : Say hi to Seven from me ヾ(＾-＾)ノ
MC: Talk to you guys later ~
[MC has left the chatroom.]
ZEN: She's acting too strong for her own good.
ZEN: I want to get her out of that place.
Jumin Han: A Prince Charming without brains. How tragic.
ZEN: Shaddup! (-＿- )
Jaehee Kang: Yeah, I'm worried about her but I think she's safest around Luciel.
ZEN: I know.
ZEN: That guy would never ever let her get hurt on his watch.
Mei already got hurt on his watch, but he wasn't about to let it happen again. A part of him was relieved that despite everything, they still trusted him with protecting her. It sounded insane, but it was safer for them to stay in the apartment because as long as the bomb was here, neither Magenta nor his agency would be very keen on setting a foot in here.
Soft footsteps, muffled by the plush carpet, drew near and he quickly closed the safety mode of the messenger. She didn't need to know he had been reading their conversation, predicting that she'd lecture him on not coming online. Talking to the other members must've sparked something in her because the steps grew more confident before they stopped in his line of vision.
Mei had a look on her face like a woman walking into a hostage negotiation she expected to go badly and he couldn't blame her, considering the way he had been acting.
"I want to look into that drawer," Mei declared, hands on her hips.
He took his headphones off and fixed her with a glare. "Why?"
"We might find the answers we are looking for," she explained, fumbling nervously with the hem of her blue shirt. "Maybe there is information on why the RFA is being targeted."
"Don't you know that curiosity kills the cat? It's probably classified information on big-shot party guests." Exasperated with her request, he sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "If V says to leave it alone, we're gonna leave it alone."
"Probably? So you don't really know what's in there either," Mei deduced, making him blanch. "Seven … please just hear me out. Back at the party when Mr. Wong was murdered by Mr. Nam and Ms Kwon, there was something that didn't add up. Kyu and I have been loosing sleep trying to figure it out, but their motive for the crime was too shaky for us to accept."
"What are you trying to say?" Seven asked, perplexed. "Didn't Dr. Nam put them up to it?"
"No, he didn't." Mei shook her head, eyebrows pulling together in worry. "After you told me about the connection between them, we searched his clinic and found evidence that he had been blackmailed by them. We even tried to trace where Dr. Nam got the Botulinum in the first place—black market and everything—but we came up empty handed."
"Why didn't you just interrogate the good doctor then?" He didn't understand what all of this had to do with the drawer. "With that much evidence, it'd have been easy to make him talk."
"He was killed the night after the party," Mei informed him grimly. "A sniper got him through the window."
"What? But that means ... more than the three of them were involved. It sounds like the work of a large organization," Seven concluded slowly and gasped when the pieces of the puzzle she presented him with clicked into place. "Magenta ..."
Oh God no. Saeran. He was involved in this.
"We have a theory that the two of them were convinced by that organization to poison the food." She soldiered on despite his obvious distress. "However, convincing people like Ms Kwon, a determined business woman, and Nam Jr., the former vice president of an electronics company, into poisoning innocent people isn't a cake walk. You'd have to know them very well to exploit their weaknesses. They have also been at an RFA party before, that can't be a coincidence."
"That's … you can't be serious."
Was she suggesting the RFA was connected to Magenta? That V and Rika were involved in this mess, too?
Mei was holding back information. The agent could tell from the vague way she chose her words and the guilty look she was trying to hide from him with her calm facade. There was something she wasn't telling him and while he wanted to know what it was, he had no right to push her. In a way, he understood her for being wary since it's not like they have been entirely upfront with her either.
"As a detective, you have to take even the most impossible scenarios into account." Mei grimaced, cracking a sorrowful smile. "I don't want to believe it either, but if there is the even slightest chance that it's true then we need to know."
"V can't be involved with people like that. He would never try to hurt us," Seven forced the words through his teeth, anger radiating off him in waves. "He'd never lie to us."
Seven had been friends with the man for a long time, enough to give his surrogate father figure the benefit of the doubt. V was a kind person, everyone in the RFA apart from Yoosung agreed on that, so he must've good reasons for acting like he does. There must be some logical explanation, there just had to be.
"I know," she mumbled forlornly though her conviction didn't waver. "That's all the more reason to look into that drawer. If it contains documents that Rika and V didn't want anyone to see, it must be important. You admitted yourself that none of you, apart from V, know the circumstances around Rika's suicide and after everything that happened recently, don't you think it's time to start looking for answers?"
"How can you say that with a straight-face?!" Seven yelled, effectively making her freeze like a deer in headlights. "V would never betray the RFA! You have no right to doubt him!"
"Even good people make bad decisions," Mei repeated her words from the chatroom and the somber expression on her face made him falter. "I don't want to doubt V either, but if there is no room for doubt then there is no reason to believe is there?"
"You don't know what you're talking about," Seven argued, "I believe in V. I'm sure there is an explanation for everything and we're not opening that drawer until he says so!"
Mei remained silent for a long time and the longer it stretched, the more anxious he grew. He could tell she was close to her breaking point since her inner conflict was visible on her face. His anger dimmed with the realization that she was fighting a battle by herself, too. She shouldn't have to, but he was making her.
"You can hate me for what I'm about to say and I don't blame you if you do," she muttered brokenly, "but I will still tell you the truth because I care about you."
Her shoulders and hands were shaking now, and her expressive eyes were shadowed by a silky curtain of thick hair. Seven waited for her took look at him again and when she did, he was taken aback by her tenacity.
"In order to find out what happened to Saeran, you need all the information on Magenta you can get. They're obviously connected to the RFA. If you really want your brother back, you need to open your eyes and stop trusting V so blindly. Why are you so afraid of searching for the truth when you believe he's innocent?!"
"There is a difference between the truth and what you think is the truth," Seven insisted icily. "Having faith in someone doesn't require proof, but I guess that's hard to understand if you've never really trusted anyone in your life. Maybe that's why you make such a good detective, doubting everyone around you … even your friends."
He knew he messed up the moment he finished speaking because her face fell and her large blue eyes grew watery. Earlier, she had told him to do his worst but it was evident that he went too far this time. It took all of his willpower to suppress the instinct to take her into his arms.
"You're wrong. I have faith in him but I know that others won't." Angrily, Mei wiped a few stray tears from her face with the back of her hand. "I just want proof so that I can believe in him."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was hinting at.
Seven had been wondering why they haven't been interrogated by the police after the party, but he had been so busy with the hacker that he pushed the thoughts about the case aside, telling himself it was because they had already caught the two main suspects. However, if the police was still investigating the circumstances of the poisoning, then it was only a matter of time until they would have to pay a visit to the precinct.
Seven shook his head, staring at her in a mixture of wonder and disbelief. She wasn't trying to be nosy or acting irrational because of the stress, she was trying to protect them. God, this woman.
"Belief without doubt, that's nothing more than a lie," Mei continued persistently, willing him to understand and he hated to admit it, but he could see the reason behind her words. If he was in her position, he'd have acted the same way, but this was V. "... and I really hate liars."
"Good," Seven replied with a bitter smile. "Then it will be easy for you to hate me."
It had been his intention to push her away, but the tears that were now cascading freely down her rosy cheeks made him want to shoot himself. Normally, Mei could brave through a false facade with relative ease since she had experience with uncomfortable situations thanks to her job. So far, she had been able to reign her emotions in, but now her false smile was wavering. He hadn't analyzed her tells as well as he thought he did.
Mei looked utterly crushed like the sun would never shine again. She was slowly crumbling and Seven absolutely despised himself for putting that expression on her face.
"This is just like the disappearance of Elizabeth the 3rd," the detective accused in a small voice, "You're afraid of the truth because it might hurt you. I get it, I really do. So don't worry, I won't bother you about the drawer anymore."
Shocked, his head snapped up to protest but she was already making her way towards the bedroom, slamming the wooden door behind her. It was the second time that day that she left him speechless, sitting in his pitiful corner to stare after her.
Was he really acting the same way Jumin was back then?
After sleeping for a few hours, Seven had experienced a spike in productivity and changed the algorithms of the special security system. Not only was the system stable again, he had discovered the true identity of the organization Saeran belonged to by hacking the police servers. They had been farther along with their investigation than he thought they'd be, however, apart from the name they didn't have more information on Mint Eye.
The hacker drummed his fingers against his leg and stared at the RFA messenger on his phone, gathering the courage to go through with the decision he had arrived at after today's events. It was too late in the night for anyone else to be online, but he preferred it like that. This way he could get his thoughts out without anyone interrupting.
707: I just want all of you to know that … I'm very sorry.
707: I'm going to quit blaming myself and make sure you are safe.
707: I think that's the best apology I can give to all of you before I go.
707: The security system is stable now, so I'll collect information for myself to infiltrate the hacker's HQ.
707: Mint Eye.
707: After this situation is resolved and I talk with V
707: I'm going to leave the RFA.
[Yoosung has entered the chatroom.]
Yoosung : Seven!
Yoosung : I didn't realize you felt so bad about this (╥﹏╥)
Yoosung : I understand that this is hard on you, but that doesn't mean that you have to leave the RFA.
707: Yoosung, please don't make excuses for me.
Yoosung : We're just really worried about you two. That's why Zen got so angry earlier.
707: Don't worry about me.
Yoosung : Of course, I'll worry.
Yoosung : Isn't there anything I can do to help you?
707: No. You better not involve yourself with me right now.
Yoosung : I don't mind putting myself at risk if it's to find the truth.
Yoosung : V has been keeping secrets for so long. I'm tired of it.
Seven growled in frustration. Yoosung was really similar to Mei in that regard, though his judgment was clouded by his obsession with Rika's suicide.
707: I'm sorry to break your spirit, but there is nothing you can do.
Yoosung : I know I won't be a huge help, but there must be something I can do.
Yoosung : We must help each other to get through this! Together! (๑•̀ㅁ•́ฅ✧
707: You are seriously being pathetic right now.
707: I don't want your help and I've already decided that I will leave the RFA.
Yoosung : You leaving … does that mean you're never going to talk to us again?
707: Yeah. I'm going to forget everyone here.
Yoosung : Why did you suddenly decide that?
707: It was always going to end like this. I'm a secret agent, remember?
Yoosung : What's wrong with you?
707: Nothing. I have always been like this.
Yoosung : Seven, I'm getting mad (ಠ_ಠ)
707:I can never have an identity, so having friends is temporary for me.
Yoosung : You bragging about your cars, trashing your boss, going to the movies with me … all the time we spent together was temporary?
707: There are all memories that will become meaningless to me.
Yoosung : So our friendship means nothing to you, Seven?
707: No, it doesn't.
Yoosung : Who are you?
707: You don't know anything.
Yoosung : I thought I understood you, but I guess I was wrong.
Yoosung : The Seven I know always said weird things and was a workaholic, but he was always worried about us despite all the work.
707: So what?
Yoosung : WHAT DO YOU MEAN SO WHAT?
Yoosung : I can't accept this. This isn't you.
707: Stop it! You could never understand me!
[707 has left the chatroom.]
Seven was breathing heavily, overwhelmed with self-hatred and guilt. He hadn't meant to be this harsh and get into an actual fight with Yoosung, but the gamer had left him no choice. This was for the best, he told himself despite the pain in his chest.
Lowering the screen of his laptop, Seven stood slowly and quietly made his way towards the bedroom door. He just had to check on Mei this once to make sure she was okay, seeing her face always calmed him down and after his fight with Yoosung he needed a little peace. He listened for any sound that would indicate that she was awake and when he heard nothing, he hesitantly peaked through the door.
The beam of light from the open door cut through the otherwise pitch-black room.
On top of the rumpled sheets, Mei was curled up in the middle of the double bed, chest rising and falling with even breaths. Carefully, he sat on the edge of the bed and took in her peaceful, angelic appearance. Her closed eyes were puffy and the salty, dried streaks on her cheeks were evidence that she had cried herself to sleep.
Why did it turn out like this?
There was just something about this woman, maybe it was the gentle curve of her lips or the mischievous twinkle in her deep blue eyes, but Seven was pretty sure he'd never meet anyone more perfect for him. Rationally speaking, he knew the notion was ridiculous since there were about a billion people on this planet and many of them fall in love more than once, however, his heart was convinced that she was the one.
"You've been talking all day but you're so quiet when you're asleep," he whispered, brushing a strand that got lost on her face behind her ear. "You're so weird, you know that? I hurt you by saying all of those things but you still manage to be so bright."
In a way, she reminded him of his happy-go-lucky persona in the chatroom, the mask he was no longer able to wear. She was so warm and nice, having her around made the world seem like a better place. He desperately wanted to be that person for her too, but Saeyoung was different. He was dark and pessimistic. She didn't deserve someone like that.
"I want you to realize that this complicated and icy person is me and be disappointed," Seven continued, a finger ghosting the shell of her ear longingly. "But you won't listen to what I say because you're a strange and persistent person, so I think I'll end up hurting you again tomorrow morning."
All he was good at was hurting her and putting her in danger.
"I want you to know that you're the best thing that ever happened to me. For a moment, you even made me dream of our future together." Seven laughed lightly. "Of course, it's a ridiculous dream … but thank you for letting me dream at least. It's much more than I deserve."
It broke his heart to imagine the hurt he'd inflict on her once he disappeared, but he knew she was strong enough to get through that. Slowly, he began to lean forward until his forehead touched hers and he could feel her breath fanning his face.
It was warm.
"Mei, I pray that each and every one of your days is filled with laughter and happiness. I don't want to hurt you or make you sad, but I know I do. I hope that one day you'll find someone who loves you so much, you forget how it feels to be lonely," Seven whispered softly, smiling fondly at her sleeping face. His fingers lingered on her warm cheek when he drew back a few inches. " … even if that someone isn't me."
He gently pressed his lips to her forehead, pouring all the feelings he held for her into the action.
It didn't matter if they could never be together. If she was safe and happy, it was enough for Saeyoung.
To Be Continued ...