The thought crossed your mind as you exhaled the smoke from
a cigarette, watching as it disappeared with the wind. Just like you had, a
year ago.
The sun’s rays peeked out from behind the familiar, tall
building in front of you, spreading its light over the shadows where you hid.
Rika’s old apartment building. The same place where he had brought you to, and the same place he had taken you away from.
Even now, you were unaware of their intentions for bringing
you to the RFA and then stealing you away, but… it didn’t matter. No, nothing
mattered anymore.
You crumpled the lit cigarette with your bare hands, tossing
it to the ground to stamp out the flame, feeling satisfied by the small crunch! sound it made. You wouldn’t have
started to smoke, had it not been for the influence of Mint Eye. Sure, you knew
it’d kill you, but everything you’d learned at Mint Eye had opened your eyes to
the world—that nothing was worth living for in the first place. What did it matter if you killed yourself a
little more?
It didn’t.
“MC?” A familiar voice called out to you, making you snap
out of your thoughts. Your eyes widened with recognition as you stared at the
person before you, but you quickly narrowed them, pursing your lips as you
gazed at them coolly.
Yoosung
He did a double take, as his eyes roamed over your face,
taking in the familiar features of your face that he hadn’t seen in a year…
“MC? Y-you’re MC, right?”
His voice was filled with hope and desperation, and he
subconsciously reached out to you, as if he wanted to catch you before you
slipped away.
But you didn’t reply, instead brushing past him, barely
acknowledging his presence. As you passed him, he noticed the cold look in your
eyes, and shuddered. That… that wasn’t the kind and warm MC he had grown to
known. You wouldn’t look at him like that, no… not you.
Yoosung could only stare after you in disbelief, but he
never gathered the courage to approach you again, not even to confirm your
identity.
It couldn’t have been you. You wouldn’t look so… so… empty.
He’d lament about it to Zen later, drunkenly babbling that
he’d seen someone just like you on the streets… admitting his fear that he was
too much of a coward to find out if it had been you.
“I’m scared if it really was MC… Her eyes looked so distant…
so empty… so cold… it can’t be her,” Yoosung would deny, shaking his head with
a drunken grin on his face. “MC… our MC would never…”
He refused to believe it, avoiding the thought completely. A
tear fell from his eye as he gazed at Zen through his glass of champagne. “You
should’ve seen those scars on her body… god, no, they can’t… they just can’t
belong to her,” he hiccupped, still shaking his head in denial.
Even as he fell asleep from the heavy amount of alcohol he’d
consumed, he would continue to cry in his sleep, dreaming of the broken girl
that he’d been too afraid to even talk
to.
“Not MC…”
Zen
You didn’t bother sparing him a second glance as you met
eyes with him, but he grabbed your arm before you could even turn the other
way.
His eyes were shining almost too brightly, and you could
practically see a tail wagging excitedly from behind him like a dog. “Jagiya!!
Oh, I knew it was you. I would recognize your pretty face anywhere. I’m so glad
you’re okay, jagi, I can’t wait to tell the others! I’ve missed…”
Zen trailed off as he noticed your unchanging expression,
but he mustered up another smile to cover up the fact that your lack of
reaction dampened his mood. After all, it had been a year since he last saw
you. He didn’t want to waste any more time with you, and he didn’t want to be
gloomy with you after so long.
“Come on, why don’t we sit down somewhere to catch up?” he
smiled warmly, tugging at your arm gently. He didn’t miss the unusual way you
winced a bit as he did.
Zen loosened his grip on you arm, worry building
uncomfortably in his heart. “MC… is it okay if I roll up your sleeve? Please…”
His eyes searched yours for an answer, not just to his spoken question but to
the millions of questions bottled up.
You… you felt torn. Why was he acting so nice to you even
though you weren’t even a part of the RFA? Even though it’d been a year? Even
though… even though he had no reason to be nice to you? You felt a pain tugging
at your heart, but you tried to ignore it instead.
Zen looked at you while rolling up the sleeve of your right
arm, watching your expression carefully for any hint that he should stop.
But you let him.
You let him see the dark purple bruises lining up your arm,
the faded scars that left scabs in their place… the pain. The pain you’d
suffered the past year.
He felt sick. What had happened during the time you had gone
missing…? Why… why couldn’t he be there for you? Why did this have to happen?
Why weren’t you saying anything? Why aren’t there even tears in your eyes? Why
wouldn’t you look at him in the eyes?
So many questions were spinning in his mind, but he couldn’t
voice a single one. “I’m sorry,” he whispered instead, tears prickling at the
corners of his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
His hands were trembling as he held yours, bringing the tips
of your fingers to his lips as he kissed every one softly… treating you as if
you were the most delicate thing in the world.
“I’m so sorry I let them hurt you.”
Jaehee
Her eyes had dark circles under them, even larger than the
ones you’d last seen on her face a year ago. You wondered, could it be that
you’d caused that? But you quickly brushed aside the thought. ‘I don’t care,’ you told yourself.
It took her a moment to really look at you, her tired mind
barely processing what was going on. “MC…?”
She just barely recognized you. Gosh… you looked so
different. You were wearing dull, dark clothes, even gained a piercing… There
were obvious scars at the base of your neck, travelling down toward your chest…
But your eyes. Your eyes looked so dead.
Jaehee had always thought that she herself looked stressed
and tired enough… but seeing you today made her think twice. You looked far
worse than her, and she hadn’t even thought that was possible.
She swallowed her thoughts, choosing to make small talk with
you instead. “You’ve… changed a lot, MC,” she commented softly, unsure what to
say.
You cocked your head at her. How were you supposed to
respond to that?
“Uhm, maybe we could grab some coffee?” she tried, still
trying to get over her shock of seeing you after your disappearance a year ago.
Jaehee had no idea what exactly had happened to you, and reality hadn’t quite
hit her that you were standing in front of her just yet, but… she was so, so
glad to see you.
Your heart swelled at the delighted expression Jaehee wore,
and you flashed a small, sad, tired smile at her. You’d missed her. She’d been the
only female in the RFA, so you’d put in a lot of effort to befriend her. Jaehee
had been one of your closest female friends in your entire life, despite the
fact that you had only known her for a short period of time…
But no matter how you felt, you couldn’t do anything about
it.
“I’m sorry.” You pulled her into a tight embrace, closing
your eyes briefly to savour the moment. But you quickly let go before she could
even wrap her arms around you. “I… don’t want to put you in danger.”
With that, you turned on your heel, leaving a confused,
sleep-deprived Jaehee behind to suffer from your absence yet again.
V
(Reminder: he’s
unaware of Mint Eye in this.)
“MC!” His voice was urgent and desperate, very different
from the gentle tone you remembered him by. “MC… I’m so glad you’re okay…”
His eyes were filling with tears, relieved to see you after
so long. He noted your features… the bruises, the healing injuries, the broken
look in your eyes as if you’d lost all meaning in life. Dread and guilt
overwhelmed his relief, his body growing stiffer and stiffer the more details
he noticed.
Because it was his fault.
He was the one who swore you’d be safe. And yet…
He almost choked on his tears as he managed to whisper, “Oh
god, I’m so sorry, MC.”
Reality hit him. It was all his fault that this had happened
to you. If only he hadn’t convinced Jumin… if only he’d ensured your security…
if only it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t have these scars.
“Leave me alone,” you muttered, brushing past him. He
watched you walk away, your eyes downcast and lacking life. He could almost
hear his own heart cracking more with every step you took.
Because he had no right to stop you. He had no right to
interfere with your life and risk ruining it more than he already had.
Your brief meeting with him had started with a broken girl,
and ended with a broken man.
Jumin
His heart was hammering as he stared at you with wide eyes.
He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He took quick, long strides to
make his way toward you, but you broke into a sprint, running away from him.
No. No. Not him. Not Jumin. No.
You knew how he’d felt about you. Hell, you knew you’d felt
something with him, too. If you looked at him any longer, all the feelings, all
the memories, would come rushing back. You couldn’t let him see you.
But he chased you.
God, there was no way he’d let you go again.
He ran the fastest he’d ever run in his entire life,
ignoring everyone and everything around him, only focusing on catching you. But
then he tripped just as he got within an arm’s reach, and you halted in your
steps on instinct. A pained smile crossed his face as Jumin grabbed at your
ankle tightly, making sure you couldn’t run off again.
“I knew you would stop for me,” he murmured softly. He stood
up slowly, his eyes trained on you. “I thought I’d never get the chance to see
you again. That I’d never be able to tell you how sorry I am for letting you go
that day… Even after a year, you’re still the same kind, gentle MC I know.”
You held back your tears, avoiding his gaze. “I’m not the
same, Jumin,” you started, your voice coming out as an unintentional whimper. “I…
You don’t know what they did to me, Jumin… They t-touched me, and drugged me, and
hurt me and killed me in so, so many ways… I… I’m so disgusted with myself…”
You didn’t know why you were telling all this to him. But you
couldn’t help it. He was the man you had loved… The man you probably still held
feelings for. Even if a year had gone by, the way his mere presence made you
feel safe and loved never changed.
He gently cradled you in his arms. “I promise you, MC. I
will do anything and everything in my power to protect you. I will never let
this happen again, I promise,” he murmured in your ears, his chin resting upon
your shoulder. You felt dampness on your shoulder, and you realized… Jumin Han was crying.
“How? Seven couldn’t even protect me,” you muttered, holding
yourself back from returning his warm embrace.
He didn’t answer you. Instead, he acted immediately on his
words. Jumin exposed your identity to the world, requesting an international TV
station to release the news. Everyone would know you. If Mint Eye attempted to
take you again, they wouldn’t be able to do so without raising the public’s suspicions.
Furthermore, he assigned you trustworthy guards and increased security around
his apartment with Seven’s help.
They had let you go once. They wouldn’t make the same
mistake twice.
It would take time to help you recover from your traumatic
events, but.. They would never let anything happen to you, ever again.
Because they love you. They all do.
Seven
He would recognize you anywhere. Even worse, he recognized
the glazed look in your eyes immediately, too.
“Come with me right now,” he scowled, grabbing your hand
roughly. You tried to pull back, but his grip was firm, and you couldn’t fight
against his strength.
As he led you angrily through the streets, throwing you into
his car and locking the two of you inside, a million thoughts were filling his
mind.
“Who did this to you?” Seven demanded. He was seething, his
golden eyes flashing with detest.
You only glared back at him, refusing to answer his
question. What good would it do you? Mint Eye had overpowered him and his
security once. Even if you went crawling back to the RFA, they would only get
you again. It was hopeless. Everything was fucking hopeless.
Hurt flashed across his face as he realized what you were
thinking, and he lowered his eyes, guilt clouding them. “You think I’m useless,
huh. I know. You entrusted your life with me and I only let you down. I can’t
promise you that I can help, but please, at the very least, let me try. Tell me
what happened, MC,” he pleaded softly.
“Even if I told you, what could you do?” you replied in a
quiet, tired voice. “It’s an entire organization, Seven. Mint Eye, if you must
know. Look, I don’t expect you to do anything.” An empty laugh escaped your
lips. “You claim to be this amazing hacker, but you couldn’t even find one girl. You… you have no idea what I
went through.”
With that said, you left his car, slamming the door shut
behind you.
That night, when you returned to Mint Eye Headquarters, you
noticed that everyone was in a frenzy, running around like mad dogs. “What’s
going on?” you asked someone passing by.
Their eyes reflected yours with fear. “We’ve been exposed.
Revealed to the world. We have to get out, NOW. They’ve sent the government and
news stations after us. Each man for himself, run for your life!”
You stood there, shocked as you realized that Seven had
taken action immediately. Your phone buzzed with a notification, and you
noticed a distinctly familiar number texting you.
707: It’s been a year,
MC. I haven’t done nothing throughout this time. I always swore to myself that
if I finally found you again one day, I would save you.
Your eyes welled up with tears as you read his messages.
707: If you trust me,
come to this address: [Address Here]
707: We’re waiting for
you, MC. Everyone’s waiting.
You started to run away from the building and towards your
friends. Yoosung… Zen… Jaehee… Jumin…
Seven… V…
The thought of their smiling faces, greeting you, was enough
to bring a smile to your face. The first genuine smile since you’d been taken
away from the RFA.
It wouldn’t be the last.
*clears throat*
FIRST OF ALL I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO END BADLY BLESS YOU FOR DOING FLANST INSTEAD OF PURE ANGST
SECOND OF ALL I FUCKING LOVE THE PAIN IS SO NICE PUNCH ME IN THE STOMACH AND KICK MY HEAD WHY DONT YOU
THIRD OF ALL-eh there’s no-WAIT YOU SHOULDVE DONE THE BLOOPER (I’m disowning you as my friend) BUT I LOVE IT REGARDLESS
fadeslikewhispers 