It's been a few weeks since you went out with Zen. Since then Rika hasn't sent you to any other organization-related business and you make it a point to stay out of the chatroom whenever possible. The other RFA members don't bother looking for you, with the exception of Yoosung and Zen. They keep you company most of the time, even when you don't ask for it.
A couple of times you see Seven Zero Seven in the hallways with a boy with white hair and mint green eyes and built exactly like him. You assume that he's the brother Seven Zero Seven mentioned to you before. You usually lock eyes with him every time, but you never bother to greet him and he does the same.
Zen and Yoosung still continue to use the candies whenever they want. You learn that there are rewards Rika gives whenever a transaction goes well. You ask them if a transaction hasn't gone well before, out of curiosity.
"It only happened once." Yoosung told you, and both he and Zen made grave faces before returning their attention to the candies, not bothering to elaborate.
You begin spending more time at the university's library, enjoying the peace the place gives you. You've begun to proclaim the seat farthest from the librarian's desk as your own and would spend your free time there doing your homework.
A couple of your friends would accompany you there sometimes, but you feel like you don't belong with them anymore, because they were leading normal lives and you feel that you're on the path to destruction. Every time you're with them, you feel the envy blossoming inside of you; envy because unlike you, they were able to laugh freely. Unlike you, they never have to fear when Rika would be texting you, to make you go do another transaction.
You start to isolate yourself from the others, something you've promised yourself you'd never do once you enter college, but you feel like you can never open up to those people again. Out of all the friends you've managed to gather over the past months, there are only two people you can really confide in, and both of them are induced with illegal substances.
"That homework won't magically complete itself if you just keep on staring at it." You were inside the library, sitting on your favorite place with your homework propped open on the table. You've been staring absentmindedly at it for the past thirty minutes or so, twirling your pen between two fingers, when you hear someone beside you speaking. You almost shoot up from your chair, and you whip your head up to see who the intruder is and see a familiar mop of red hair.
"Stop popping out of nowhere." You hiss at him as he takes a seat in front of you, placing a thick volume in front of him. He raises a brow at you.
"Then stop giving people chances to surprise you."
You decide not to answer and return your attention to the task in front of you. You both fall silent for a while as you each focus on the opened textbooks in front of you. You stare at the printed words on your physics textbook, trying to decipher the problem printed in black ink, and coming up with no solution. You end up doing doodles on the notebook lying open beside your physics textbook before your pen got snatched.
You turn towards the only possible perpetrator and tell him, "So you've gone from coke thief to pen thief." but he doesn't answer you. Instead, he took the notebook and started scribbling. You try to read what he was writing but his vibrant mop of red hair keeps it out of view. When he was done, he gave you the pen and slid the notebook in your direction. You turn it around to see that he's written the answer to your homework.
"Thank you," you mumble a little too softly that he almost didn't catch it. Almost. He shrugs.
"I'm the Defender of Justice, remember?" He gave you a boyish smirk. Your face turned a light shade of pink and you think that the temperature inside the room just went up a little.
Rika sends you a message telling you to go on the messenger. You sigh and do as you are told. The usual flood of messages pop on your screen. As per usual, you remain silent in the messenger, not even bothering to read the others' messages. You see that everyone in the RFA is logged in, even the blue-haired one you know as V.
"What's up Rika?" A man called Han Jumin asked, and everyone stopped sending messages to wait for Rika's response.
"We are going to have another party at the end of the month." the blonde replies. "And I expect everyone to be there." You feel like the last sentence was sent especially for you. Rika informs everyone that the party will be bigger than last time, and this time, she is inviting more VIPs from across the globe. "Secrecy will be very important," she tells everyone. "Jumin, I want more security placed. Some of the guests we'll be having are known across the globe. Luciel, make sure that none of the intel leaks out of the internet."
You stare at the name Luciel, wondering who Rika was referring to. You were about to ask who Luciel is when Seven Zero Seven replies with a thumbs-up. You realize that Luciel must be his real name, however unusual the name is. Maybe he's only half Korean?
"Joohyun, I want you to stay by my side during the party." Rika said, and you stared at your phone screen for a couple of seconds, trying to decipher the words. Why would Rika want you to stay by her side at the party? You type out the question but you never got to send it because Rika has already logged off. You log off a few seconds after.
You find yourself dreading the end of the month, wishing for time to pass by slowly. Of course it doesn't go like that and you find yourself standing beside Rika in the mansion where Rika first announced your membership to the other members.
Rika, it seems, plans to introduce you to all the most important customers. The two of you have been weaving in and out of the crowd for the last two hours to meet up with people of different nationalities. Not being good at English, you mostly offer nothing more than a smile while Rika rambles on.
Your eyes wander to the hall full of people and you wonder vaguely why these people would throw away millions of won just to get a whiff of temporary ecstasy. Rika has tugged on your arm and you bring your attention back to the person in front of you, a popular actress, you've seen her a bunch of times on television. As you and Rika walked away from her Rika told you in a low voice, "Glam Choi is one of the highest paid actresses in the country. But it's not just that, she's also Jumin's father's current girlfriend. She's a really important customer. Don't get on her bad side, got it?"
You give the blonde a little nod and she leads you out of the crowd into a hallway. You know that you are going to the RFA's hideout. The tension goes out every step you take that will take you further away from the crowd. Rika opens the door and you step inside, taking the flight of stairs, Rika following behind you. She stops at the foot of the stairs and called out V before going back. As V passes you, he gives you a small nod and a smile that you return.
You made your way to the bar and slumped on one of the stools, placing your hands on the bar and resting your forehead on your left arm, letting out a groan. You hear shuffling footsteps and you look up to see red-haired Luciel with that smile on his face, a glass of wine in one hand.
"Met up with the very important persons?" he asked, raising the glass to his lips. You give him a nod and a sigh.
"I didn't understand most of the people," you told him. "they speak in English and that was my worst subject in high school." Luciel laughs at that and places a glass in front of you.
"How about you drink some wine to calm your nerves?" he says, turning around to the shelves full of expensive wine. You tell him that you don't really drink wine but he didn't listen. He pulled out a bottle of expensive-looking wine and popped out the cork. He filled half of the wine glass and pushed it towards you. You stare at the red liquid, not making any move to take the glass. Luciel continued drinking. You stare around at the room and realized for the first time that there seemed to be two people missing. "Yoosung and Zen are partying upstairs." Luciel answers your unspoken question, pouring himself another glass. You nod and turn your attention back to him, a frown forming on your face.
"I got a bone to pick with you," you started. Luciel only set down the bottle of wine and raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you tell me your name's Luciel?" He gave you a chortle and your frown deepened. Taking another swig of wine, he tells you, "I bet you were really confused who Rika was talking to in the chatroom right?" You don't bother to answer and continue to stare at him. He leans on the bar and you get a closer view of the golden orbs behind those glasses. "Well, guess I have to introduce myself now. The name's Luciel Choi. It's nice to meet you Park Joohyun."
"Are you half Korean?" you ask him, and he gives you another grin. "Getting interested in me now?" He let out a tsk tsk sound and shakes his head. "Now that's dangerous. Better not get caught up in the world of Luciel Choi."
You let out an annoyed groan. "I'm already caught up in the world of drug-dealing. Just how dangerous could the world of Luciel Choi be?"
You see his eyes losing its mischievous glint as he leans closer to you, leaving an inch of space. He tilts his head and you freeze in place, your eyes open wide. "It's a whole different level of depravity you'd wish to never enter." He whispers, his breath tickling your cheek. A shiver runs down your spine and your heart jumps erratically inside your chest. He leans away, mischievous smile back in place, and gives you a wink before walking away.
You see Luciel inside the library on Monday after the party, engrossed in a thick volume. You take the seat in front of him, making the chair screech as loudly as possible to signal your presence but the redhead doesn't bother to look up. You give a little frown and tried to instead focus on the schoolwork laid out before you.
A few minutes into the homework, you hear the red-head sitting in front of you speak and it takes you a while to understand what he said. You look up at him with a confused expression and he gives you a little shake of the head. His arm takes the notebook you've been writing on and you watch him as he works on your homework. You admire the fringes of red hair covering his forehead, the long, beautiful lashes hidden behind the stripe-patterned glasses.
"Better focus on your homework now. I'll give you time to admire me later." His voice was light, teasing, but you still couldn't stop the blush from creeping up your face because he caught you admiring him. He looks at you through those long lashes and you see the corners of his lips curve up to form that mischievous smile. You force yourself to look down at the notebook and see the answer written.
"Defender of Justice, just what will I do without you?" you tell him with a smile.
"Probably failing?" You stick your tongue out at him and he laughs at your reaction. You tell him that, given enough time, you probably would have been able to solve it without his help. He just gives you a condescending nod and you reach out and flick his forehead.
"So what are you majoring in?" he asks, rubbing his forehead. You give him the same grin he gave you at the party and tell him, "Getting interested in me now?" He grins and gives you an approving nod.
"Using my words on me," he said, giving you an approving look. "Smart. Now I see why you're in Yonsei, Park Joohyun." Before you can give out a reply, you notice someone with bleached white hair and mint green eyes stopping just behind Luciel. Sensing someone behind him, the redhead looks behind him to see the guy with white hair and you realized that this is the same person you've seen Luciel often hanging around with and the person who was smoking the first time you went to the party, what seemed like ages ago.
"Saeran-ah!" You hear Luciel say, as he stands up. "Park Joohyun, sorry I can't keep you company much longer," Luciel Choi tells you, turning back to you. "I have something important to do. I'll see you around." He gathered up his things and walked away from you, wrapping an arm around the white-haired person's shoulders. You absentmindedly watch the two of them until they're out of sight. You hear Twice's TT intro and you know you have to pick up your phone before the librarian kicks you out of the library. You answer the phone without bothering to see who's calling you.
"Joohyun-ah!" Yoosung's cheerful voice fills your ear and you can't help the smile forming on your face. You miss spending time with the boy. You've been so wrapped up in your own world that you've almost forgotten the sound of Yoosung's voice. You agree to meet up with him before two pm. You grabbed your stuff and hastily placed them inside your studded backpack, slinging it on one shoulder. You half-ran towards your meeting place and leaned against the wall, deciding to play a game on your phone while waiting for your blond friend.
He arrives a few minutes late, apologizing profusely because the professor asked him to run an errand. You shake it off and decide to get some bungeoppang. As you both walk to the stall, Yoosung asks you how you've been coping up with the situation. Your expression turned a few shades darker but you decide to answer him nonetheless.
"I'm starting to get used to it I guess," you mumble, and your blond friend gives you a smile. "That's great, isn't it?" You just nod in agreement no matter how much you want to disagree. There's nothing good about getting used to a life of constant hiding, you think. Yoosung must have sensed your dark thoughts because he shifted gears and started talking about his current LOL guild and their worldwide ranking. You were happy for the change of subject, even though you don't understand a single thing he's saying.
He stops talking once you both reach the bungeoppang stall and ordered four bungeoppang each from the nice ahjussi. Yoosung offered to pay for the bungeoppang, and the two of you went to sit down on a nearby bench to enjoy the bread delicacy.
"Seven hyung only eats the stomach part." Yoosung tells you, attacking the fish-shaped bread's head. You stop eating and stare at Yoosung and blinked. "Really? Why?"
Yoosung gave you a shrug. "It's one of the mysteries shrouding Seven hyung… and Unknown hyung for that matter." You ask Yoosung who Unknown is, and he informs you that it's the white-haired person who fetched Luciel from the library a while ago.
"They're twins, if you haven't figured that out yet." Yoosung tells you. "Although that's the only thing we know about them. I've known the two for years but they've never given us information about themselves. They're so secretive. I bet nobody else in the RFA knows where they actually live except for Rika noona and V."
"Are they half-Korean?" you ask Yoosung. He shakes his head.
"No. You thought they were half-Koreans because of Seven hyung's name huh?" You nod your head. Yoosung continues, "Luciel is Seven hyung's baptismal name. Nobody knows what his Korean name is. Well, except for Unknown hyung, Rika noona, and V. We all asked him what his Korean name is several times but he wouldn't give us a straight answer." You store this new piece of information inside a section of your head saved for your growing curiosity for the bespectacled redhead.
You and Yoosung continue to talk about the growing difficulty of each class, Yoosung mostly complaining about his professors. You listen to him, half of your mind wandering to the red-haired member of the RFA and his twin brother.
You see him again inside the cafeteria on Wednesday, sitting alone at a table near yours. You were with your circle of friends, minus Yoosung and Zen, when you happen to pass by his table. You sit on a table with the perfect view of his mop of radiant hair, until two of your friends sit in front of you, obstructing your view of the redhead. Through the gap between your friends' shoulders you see him bringing his headphones to his ears, swiping his phone's screen, as if searching for something. Your friends ask you a question and you try to bring your attention back to them, giving them a reply after they've repeated the question.
You give him another peek a few minutes later, and is surprised when you find him staring back at you. He gives you a wink and a little smirk and it caused the rush of blood to your face. Your friends try to get your attention but Luciel Choi is all you can see. You feel your phone vibrate inside your pocket and check to see the same redhead's name flashing on your screen. You look back at him with a puzzled expression and he nods his head towards the phone, telling you to open the message. You nod and swipe your phone screen to open the said message.
"Missed me already?" it said, complete with a smile emoji. Before you could reply, another message popped up, this one saying "better not let your friends know about me. I'm from the RFA after all. Quick! Hurry up and answer their question!" You look up to see your friends looking at you with puzzled expressions. You give them an apologetic smile, and asked them to repeat the question. They asked you if you know where Yoosung went. Your expression darkened a little and you tell them that you don't know where he went, hoping that they wouldn't see right through your little lie.
You know perfectly well that Kim Yoosung went with the short-haired lady named Kang Jaehee from the RFA to who-knows-where to complete a transaction. Another buzz from your hand brought your attention back to the mobile device in your hand. "Worried about Yoosung? Don't worry. The kid's been doing this for more than two years already." Your thumbs fly around the phone screen, typing out a quick "I'm not worried about Yoosung. Just don't like that he's skipping school because of that." You look at Luciel and watch him read your message. He looks at you with a raised brow before he slings his bag behind him. He grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper and carried the bag of Honey Butter Chips in another. He stands up and walks out of the cafeteria without sparing you another glance.
A/N: Another update for the two or three readers lol please give more comments lololol thanks
-olympicmayhem