✧ Day 11 - 08:12 AM ✧
POV: Yoosung Mode
If possible, the morning after was even harder to deal with than the actual incident itself. At some point during the night, Yoosung and Seven had moved to his bed. When he woke up, he'd done his best to snake out of Luciel's grasp without waking him, only to discover that neither Zen or Jaehee had gone home. They were both entwined on Seven's couch, and if Yoosung was more aware of his surroundings, he'd probably feel bad about the aches that the two of them would no doubt be experiencing once they got up.
Yoosung went through his morning routine as slowly and methodically as possible. He made four cups of coffee, one for Zen, one for Jaehee, one for himself, and one for Seven. He set them aside to be reheated later, and afterward, made his way back to bed and let himself fall into Seven's waiting arms.
"There you are, Cutie...I missed you."
"I just got up to make coffee, Luciel." Turning to nuzzle into his boyfriend's shoulder, Yoosung sank into the blankets with a hum. None of the house's occupants were ready to deal with the aftermath of yesterday's event, but they still had to get up and prepare regardless of how they felt.
After all, the party was today.
✧ Day 11 - 08:55 AM ✧
POV: Jumin Mode
Knocking on Seven's door for the third time in the past five minutes, Jumin idly wondered when his life had gotten so complicated. At the current moment, he was standing outside with several suitcases full of formal clothing while his..boyfriend? Lover? panicked quietly next to him for the seventh time since the two of them had left Jumin's penthouse.
Sighing, he was prepared to knock a fourth time when the door was suddenly opened by a disgruntled looking Jaehee who immediately ushered them both inside before all but slamming it closed again.
"Jaehee-" He wanted to ask how she was doing when he was suddenly interrupted.
"A-ah, no. No words right now. Be quiet." Jumin was silent mostly due to surprise. He couldn't remember the last time someone had spoken to him with such a tone. Jaehee pointed towards the couch before walking into the kitchen and coming out with two sets of utensils and two plates of omurice. She handed one pair to each of them. "Knowing you and V, I doubt that either of you has eaten anything yet. So finish that first, then we can all get ready."
Jumin looked over at V, who was staring at the food in front of him, before trying a bit of the egg. It didn't taste that bad, and neither he nor V had any desire for food the previous night. So after assuring that it wasn't poisonous, both men dug in with vigor. While they were eating, Seven dropped into the empty seat next to Jumin and slid two coffee mugs their way.
"Here. If you're anything like me in the morning then you're probably not fully functional until your second cup." His normally enthusiastic grin was only at about a third capacity, and Jumin wondered if it was possible for the RFA to completely recover from losing their second party planner.
"Thank you, Luciel." He took a fortifying sip of the bitter liquid, the taste doing more to wake him up than the caffeine.
"If...you don't mind me asking, how are you and Yoosung holding up?" Jumin watched Seven stiffen, before almost immediately relaxing again.
"Hahaha, you know. I had a little meltdown, but my boy kept me from losing my cool. He's just what I needed!"
Jumin hoped that Seven knew that he could understand a redirection when it was given to him. Seven was calm on the outside but Jumin knew that he was undoubtedly a storm of emotions on the inside. The boy was obviously avoiding the deeper subject that was currently at the forefront of everyone's minds. However, he wasn't going to press. He understood that things were rather strained at the moment. It wouldn't do him any good to unnecessarily stress him out when they all needed to be in proper form for the party and the following impromptu press conference.
"I see. I hope you don't mind our intrusion then. We thought it would be better for us to come here instead of requesting that everyone else move."
"Yeah yeah, that's fine. You brought the fancy stuff?" Jumin gestured to the suitcases that had been moved out of the way. "Okay, just give us a minute to clean up and we'll all get dressed."
Seven hopped off of the couch and made his way back into the kitchen. Turning to face the man sitting next to him, Jumin set his empty plate aside and placed his hand on V's thigh, trying not to relish the feeling of him stilling at his touch.
"Jihyun, you have to tell them." V placed his plate on the table and sighed. Although Jumin couldn't see his eyes through the dark glasses, he knew that V was most likely looking anywhere but his face.
"Jumin I'm not sure if they'll listen, or even understand."
"They don't have to, but you still have to tell them. They deserve to know the truth."
V looked like he'd rather take a flying leap off of Seven's balcony than have to explain his absence from the RFA to everyone. Jumin let his hand fall from his thigh and moved it to intertwine their fingers together instead.
"Jihyun..." There was a moment where he could've sworn that V's eyes were locked with his.
"Okay."
"...You'll do it then?"
"Yes, but only if you'll stay here to help me."
"As if I'd have it any other way."
✧ Day 11 - 09:20 AM ✧
POV: 707 Mode
Seven had been doing his best to avoid the inevitable fallout. After he'd lost it the previous night and ended up breaking at least two keyboards and a computer screen, it had taken Yoosung a whole hour to bring him back down. Now all the (remaining) members of the RFA were sitting in his living room, waiting for V and Jumin to finally explain just what had been going on.
"So like, who's gonna start?" V had already been slouching a lot, but now he'd deflated so much that he was practically folded in half over himself. Jumin didn't look much better, but he was keeping his composure in order to put up a strong front.
"I suppose there's no better time than the present." Zen looked like he was about to say something rather scathing, but Jaehee had squeezed his shoulder almost imperceptibly in order to prevent him from starting a possible argument. Likewise, Yoosung was sitting in Seven's lap, half for comfort, half to keep the other boy from suddenly getting up in case things got heated.
"You all know that the RFA was founded by Rika and I, yes?" A round of nods from everyone.
"Well, there were things...that we kept from the rest of the association."
"Like what?" Of course, Yoosung was always the first one to question V. That was how it'd been since he announced his engagement to Rika.
"There was the bomb, for example."
"There better not be anything else like that, V, or I swear to-" Zen's expression briefly turned into something undecipherable before he went silent. Thanks, Jaehee.
"No, no. You're all right. I should have never given in to that particular request. But at the time, considering what was at stake..." V slowly reached up before pulling off his glasses, folding them, and handing the pair to Jumin, who pocketed them smoothly.
"Rika...I tried so hard to maintain her image after everything, but there was nothing I could do to keep her."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Now Jaehee was speaking up too.
"I'm sorry everyone. We've been misleading you for so long. Rika...did not commit suicide, like we'd led you to believe."
At that, the entire room was filled with silence. Seven tightened his grip around Yoosung as he felt the beginnings of movement from him, no doubt because his boyfriend probably wanted to jump V and get him to explain further. Zen seemed to freeze, going taut as though he was a puppet with his strings being pulled. Jaehee looked like she was ready to collapse, and Jumin...
Jumin's expression hadn't changed at all.
"Haha..hah...that's a funny joke, V. But you're forgetting, I'm the prankster here."
"I'm not joking, Saeyoung." Seven jolted in his seat and would have thrown Yoosung off his legs had he been lighter.
"Luciel!"
"S-stop!" His voice felt unnaturally raw.
"I don't understand...You told us she was.."
"I know, I was trying to help her, protect her even. It didn't work." V pressed a hand against his face as he shielded his gaze from the room's other occupants.
"Somewhere along the line...Rika stopped being the woman I had fallen in love with. I did everything I could to keep her safe, but she took everything I gave her and rejected it, rejected me."
Looking up, Seven realized that V's eyes were pale, much paler than normal.
"V...your eyes.." Said man gave him a gentle smile.
"Yes, my eyes. Rika always said she loved my eyes...until she did her best to rid me of them. Right now I can barely see any of you, and it wasn't for Jumin, I wouldn't have been able to even dress myself this morning." Although the words themselves were humorless, he said them as if he was glad.
"There is no way for me to completely make up for all the damage I have done to the RFA on Rika's orders, but I promise I will do my best to be the leader that you all thought I was from now on. It won't fix everything, but I am hoping that with time, we can all make this organization into what we all wished it could be in the future." Everyone seemed on the verge of tears, but Seven could sense the tremors currently wracking through the boy in his lap.
"W-what..what happened to Rika? Is she alive? Where did she go!?" Yoosung's voice was full of emotion, what kind, Seven didn't know. He tried giving his boyfriend a comforting squeeze as they waited for V's answer.
"Rika decided to start a new organization someplace else. As for where? I do not know. I broke ties with them some months ago when they approached me in an attempt to get me to convince the rest of you to join them."
Seven swallowed hard. There was something...someone he was supposed to remember. Someone he'd made a promise to.
"V...V if Rika really is how you said, then what happened to him..?"
"What happened to who?"
"My..my brother..My brother! What happened to Saeran!?"
✧ Day 11 - 09:47 AM ✧
POV: ZEN Mode
Everyone had gone still and silent at Seven's outburst. A brother? He had a brother?
"You and Rika... you were supposed to look after him! I trusted you two! What happened to him!?" V looked startled, and Seven was clutching at Yoosung so tightly that it looked like the younger man was going to pass out.
"V, what the heck did you do to them?" Zen felt like he was going to be sick. He might not have had the best relationship with his brother, but if what V had said about Rika was true, then he wouldn't have wanted any member of his family to be trapped in the woman's care for any amount of time.
"I didn't...She told me that she had given him a brand new purpose in life. I assumed that meant she'd given him a new identity and sent him to live elsewhere."
"You didn't even think to check on him!?" Yoosung was now trying to pry Seven's arms away from his torso before he was snapped in half.
"Saeyoung, I'm-"
"No! Don't call me that!" Seven let Yoosung slip off of his lap and Zen automatically beckoned the blond over to take shelter next to him and Jaehee.
"You promised you'd watch over him! I trusted you both to look after my twin and now you don't even know if he's alive! For all I know, he might be dead!"
Zen felt Yoosung slip under his arm, shaking like a leaf. Jaehee was statue-still at his side, her expression unreadable. Jumin was in a similar state, but his arms, which had been folded across his chest, were shaking almost imperceptibly. V's near milky eyes were blown wide with uncertainty.
Everyone watched as Seven grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair he'd been sitting on before disappearing through the door to his garage. Yoosung tried to follow but Zen grabbed him by the wrist before he could get too far.
"No, you definitely don't want to follow him when he's in a mood like this. He's almost as dangerous as Jaehee when he's mad." The woman at his side gave a huff before she set a hand on Yoosung's shoulder as a comforting gesture.
"Give him some time to cool down, Yoosung." The boy looked like he wanted to disobey at first but then withdrew, his eyes swimming with pain.
"Okay, everyone... This hurts, it really does.." The remaining people in the room focused their eyes on him.
"V, I'm disappointed in you for not telling us this earlier, but what's done is done, and we can't do anything about it now. So let's all get ready for the party."
He reached to the side and wrapped his hand around Jaehee's who did her best to smile despite the circumstances.
"Zai... Zai put a lot of hard work into making sure that this party would be a success. So we have to do our best to honor her vision!" His statement was met with nods of agreement, and everyone got up to begin preparations.
"I'll go call the reporters we have on file for the press conference. I'm sure you'll still be wanting to make a statement on Echo Girl's claims?"
"Yeah." Zen let go of Jaehee so she could get dressed before looking in the direction where Seven had vanished.
"I'm gonna go check on Seven."
"I thought you said he was dangerous?"
Yoosung looked nervous, which was understandable considering that his boyfriend had nearly broken him in two a few seconds ago.
"Don't worry about me, I'm more than capable of handling him. You just go get dressed, 'kay?"
There was no time to wait for a confirmation from the blond as he started moving towards the garage. Thankfully he hadn't heard the squealing of tires or the roar of an engine, so he knew that Seven would at least still be in the building. As for what his mental state might be, that was another question entirely.
Opening the door as slowly as possible, Zen called out for his friend.
"Seven? ...Seven, you in here?" Stepping into the garage, he wasn't expecting to almost get hit in the head by a flying wrench.
"Dude what the- hey!" Dodging another projectile tool, Zen spotted Seven hunched over a toolbox, rapidly flinging objects in every direction.
"I get that you're upset but that's no reason to try and put me in a coma!" Zen rushed over to the redhead and grabbed at his wrists in order to prevent himself from sustaining any possible damage. However, when Zen moved to stop him from continuing his rampage, he didn't expect Seven to start crying.
"W-what? Come on man don't cry. I've had enough crying these past few hours to last me the next few years. Talk to me, Luciel..." Letting Seven's arms drop out of his grasp, he fell to his knees next to the younger man and set his hands on his shoulders instead. Seven's glasses were full of tears and for a moment, Zen wondered if he was out of his depth.
"Zen...I know you don't get along with your family...but if you had to leave in order to help them, would you have still done it?"
"Is this hypothetical or literal?"
"Just answer the question, Hyun." Well, if Seven was able to snark back at him then he must not be feeling that bad.
"Ugh, I guess I'd leave. But then again, we're not talking about me, are we?" Seven bowed his head and remained silent.
The two of them sat on the cold concrete floor for a few minutes. Zen could feel his legs starting to cramp up from the position he was in, but he didn't want to move and risk startling Seven. At some point, he started worrying about whether or not he'd pushed too hard.
"My brother...I left him." Zen's eyes widened. He knew from Seven's outburst earlier that the two of them had needed to go separate ways, but he hadn't expected this.
"V and Rika promised me that he'd be taken care of if I went with them...Now I know that isn't true." Pulling up his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs, Seven withdrew into himself completely.
"Seven...Luciel...don't shut me out like this. For all you know, he's still out there waiting for you to come back."
"I know that! I feel terrible about it!" Tears were still flowing from his eyes, and Zen wished he'd thought to bring some tissues.
"I abandoned him and there wasn't even any time for me to explain why. He probably hates me, and I deserve it if what V said is true."
"No, you don't. Stop thinking that way. You can't blame yourself for everything that happened, you were a kid!" Zen shook Seven's shoulders as if that would emphasize his point more.
"I can see you giving up right now, and as soon as that happens you lose all chance of ever seeing your brother again!" He was shouting now. "Abandoning hope doesn't help anyone at all! Do you think it would've helped your brother? Is it helping you right now? Stop acting like the world revolves around you! Only you can choose your actions, and right now you're making some pretty stupid ones!"
Seven looked half stunned at Zen's words, but there was no sign of him stopping.
"Last night... Jaehee and I lost the girl we loved, but do you see us shutting down over it!? No! Because she would have wanted us to live, and she'd have wanted us to go to the party that she worked so hard to put together!" Zen tried to ignore the tightness in his chest as he thought about her.
"When the party is over, I'll probably feel even worse, because I know when I wake up in the morning, there won't be any messages from her on my phone, and I'll never hear her voice again," His voice was breaking. "But right now, I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to smile in front of all those people because it's what she'd have wanted me to do, and collapsing and wallowing in my own misery won't do anything."
Zen pulled his hands away did his best to stand on wobbly legs as he tried to regain his composure.
"You can stay here all day, Seven. Just know that it does nothing to help you find your brother or make amends for what happened." He started to move away when he felt a hand grab onto his.
"Zen?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks." Zen let out a huff before ruffling Seven's already messy hair.
"Don't mention it. You coming?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute to clean all this up."
As Zen exited the garage, he could suddenly feel the previous day's events catching up with him.
"Zai..I hope you're proud of me..."
✧ Day 11 - 10:30 AM ✧
POV: V Mode
It was an hour and a half until the party started. Despite all the bumps in the road they'd encountered that morning, everyone had been dressed and out the door by a quarter after ten and were now taking separate means of transportation to the venue where they'd be hosting the event. Jaehee was riding with Zen on his motorcycle, Yoosung was going with Seven in one of his sports cars, and V was once again staying with Jumin as Driver Kim chauffeured them to their destination.
V wondered if his revelations about Rika's true nature had been ill-timed in the wake of the tragedy that had occurred yesterday. Absently, he pondered on whether or not Zai had any living relatives, and how he was supposed to contact them and inform them of the unfortunate event. There wasn't even a body left for them to hold a funeral for.
"...Jihyun?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and V turned his head to face in the general direction of his lover. The stress must have accelerated the deterioration of his sight because now he could barely see a thing beyond vague blobs of color that were starting to gray out at the edges.
"Yes, Jumin?" He knew that if he had his sight at the moment, he'd be seeing those familiar steel-gray eyes trying to decipher him from afar.
"You've been rather silent this whole time. Are you feeling well?"
"I'm fine, please don't worry."
"I'm not worrying." V gave a short sigh of amusement at the pouting tone before holding out his hand. He was rewarded with the sensation of soft fingers curling around his, and he took a moment just to appreciate the fact that Jumin was here with him.
"I love you..." The man sitting next to him froze, and V tried not to start laughing as he felt the tremors which suddenly overtook Jumin's body.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you?"
"No! I- ah, wait I just-" The back of the limousine was filled with breathless giggling as V listened to Jumin sputter.
"It's okay, Jumin, you don't have to say it right now."
"...But I want to."
"That's fine, just don't force it."
V exhaled gently at the feeling of lips against his neck and relaxed as a warm head of hair fell against his shoulder. Shifting to lean against Jumin's side, he closed his eyes and hummed.
"Thank you for staying with me."
"As if I'd be anywhere else."
✧ Day 11 - 11:00 AM ✧
POV: Jumin Mode
Although they arrived a whole hour early, the venue was already packed with people waiting for the party to start. Upon noticing just how many were standing in line for entry, Jumin realized that he'd have to call for backup before the press and general public started showing up.
"Jumin? Are there a lot of people outside?" Oh, right, V's eyesight had taken a rapid downward turn after yesterday, and he probably couldn't see the volume of people that were currently swarming outside.
"That would be an understatement, I think..." Driver Kim was now having trouble navigating through the crowd.
"We might have to walk the rest of the way, do you think you can make it?"
"It's my eyes that don't work, Jumin, not my legs," A hand slipped into his and Jumin tried to keep his heartbeat from skyrocketing. "As long as you're guiding me, I'll be fine."
Jumin and V stepped out of the limousine and were immediately surrounded by several men and women in suits. Gently pulling V along, they finally made it through the throng of excited guests and into the building where the rest of the RFA members were waiting for them.
Yoosung was pressed against the window, looking out at the crowd with a look of awe on his face, while Zen, Jaehee, and Seven were situated around a table.
"There's so many people! I can't believe Zai managed to invite them all! I don't remember us giving her nearly this amount of recommendations!" His voice was tinged with both amazement and regret. Jumin thought back to all the potential guests he'd requested invites for. It couldn't have been more than two dozen at the most, and there were at least three hundred people waiting in line just outside.
"She did this all for us..." Jaehee's remark was so quiet that he almost missed it. They all turned to look at her and realized that only a fraction of the people here to attend the party had been suggested by the RFA. Zai had gone above and beyond and managed to gather all these people on her own in under eleven days.
"If I'm correct, then this party will have more attendees than both of Rika's parties combined," Zen let his head drop, and Jumin could see his shoulders quaking lightly. "She really meant it when she said she wanted this to be the best party ever." Once he looked back up, they could see the tears in the corners of his eyes, but there was a genuine smile on his face.
"Okay, everyone. Time to get this place set up!" Zen's words spurred everyone into action.
V couldn't help much with setting up tables or food due to his vision problems, but he'd brought his most recent collection of unreleased photos in order to make up for the fact that he hadn't been able to take any new ones. Jumin was surprised to see Yoosung helping him pick which ones to display. He would have intervened but it looked like the two of them were actually getting along just fine.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he pulled out his phone and called the party's security so he could ask them to start preparing the guests for entry. Afterward, he'd have to notify the reporters he'd chosen to attend the press conference.
As he watched the remaining members of the RFA flutter around the room putting everything in order, Jumin thought, for not the first time that day, if this was what it was like to be a part of a family.
✧ Day 11 - 8:56 PM ✧
POV: Yoosung Mode
"Goodbye! Thank you for coming!" If he had to shake another hand, Yoosung's arm was going to fall off.
He'd been thanking guests for at least half an hour while everyone else was cleaning up the ballroom they'd rented for the party. Although his hand was getting really sore, Yoosung couldn't help but smile. The party had been a huge success. All of V's photos had sold, and there was plenty of money raised by the event that they could afford to make plenty of substantial donations to charity organizations throughout the country.
Yoosung had just finished waving farewell to the last guest when Zen came over to place a hand on his shoulder.
"We're all done here. Are you going back to Seven's place or do you need someone to drop you off?" Automatically wrapping his hands around his middle, Yoosung thought about whether or not he'd be going home with his boyfriend or not.
"I don't know..." Zen looked at him with concern.
"Well if you need a ride make sure you tell me, 'kay?" Yoosung got one more reassuring pat on his upper arm before Zen was walking over to Jaehee's side, their voices low.
Standing in silence for a few moments, he nearly screamed when he felt arms slide around his chest and a soft cheek against the back of his neck.
"Yooosuuuungg..." Turning around slightly, his vision was obscured by red hair.
"..Luciel? What is it? Are you drunk?" His response was met with gentle laughter.
"Heehee...no...but I kind of wish I was," Seven's breath was tickling his ear and it was taking all of his self-control not to shiver in the other boy's grasp. "I hurt you earlier...I'm sorry."
Yoosung leaned back so he could get his arms around Seven's waist.
"It's okay, we were all under a lot of stress at the moment. I forgive you." Seven let his hands fall to Yoosung's hips and smiled at the giggles he let out as he dotted the blond's neck with kisses.
"You're too good to me! But thank you," The two of them relaxed in the evening atmosphere for a while, just enjoying the other's company as the hype of the day winded down. "Do you still wanna come home with me?"
Yoosung spun around and pressed his lips to Seven's, stunning him as red flooded his cheeks.
"There's no place I'd rather be."
After Zen had finished speaking with Jaehee, he turned to ask if Yoosung still needed someone to take him back to his dorm. His face quickly flushed as he realized that the boy was currently preoccupied.
"Guess he doesn't need a ride home after all."