Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The bridge of your nose was burnt from the late spring sun adding an extra layer to the fatigue that you felt from a long day outside. You were among friends, at least, and you were happy, but a part of you was already daydreaming of going home to rinse off the dried sweat and thinned sunscreen. A nice soak sounded like it would be heaven.

These were idle thoughts in your mind as your group began to say their goodbyes and depart to go. You poked mindlessly at your nose and cheeks to gauge how bad of a sunburn you had gotten when you saw bright red reflect the stark oranges of the sunset. Your attention was immediately caught, and thoughts of going home were chased away as you spotted Luciel tugging his cell phone out while walking away. There was only one thing in your mind now, and it was finally getting the opportunity to get him alone.

You hurried over to him. “Luciel!” you called, grabbing his arm to hug it. He yelped, startled. His eyes – golden like the dipping sun, and just as captivating – widened as he instinctively tried to jerk away, only to catch himself when he realized it was just you. His immediate displeasure shifted into fond exasperation as his lip jutted out.

“Don’t cling to me~! I’m sensitive!” 

“So am I!” you teased back, knowing he was just being difficult. You didn’t let him pull his arm away and leaned more into his space, matching his longer strides even as he slowed to try to match yours instead. “I’m sensitive to loneliness~ Hang out with me a bit longer, please?”

“Why me?” he complained, not looking at you and still pouting. You knew there was some level of truth to his desire to leave – you’ve hung out with him enough to tell the difference between genuine displeasure and his more teasing difficulty – but he wasn’t at the point where you needed to be considerate. It made your heart warm with the crush that had long since taken root there. Any of his attention was better than none when it was hard enough to get him alone to begin with. 

“You don’t have anything to do after this, right?”

“I have to study for my midterms.”

You scoffed a laugh at the mere thought of Luciel having to study. He was the smartest person you’d ever met. The fact that he was the same age as you but was already in the fancy university while you were still stuck in high school was proof enough of that fact. “Liar,” you accused.

“It’s the truth!” he whined. However, the twitching of his lips told a different story. Just staring at him for a little longer had his grin breaking free, and you grinned with him as he laughed and said, “Well… I should try to study at least… I need to put my all into schooling so I can get a high-ranking job.”

Your grip on his arm softened, though you didn’t yet let go. He didn’t push you away, either, which only added fuel to your already-smitten heart. Hope could and did hurt when you knew that Luciel wouldn’t let these feelings go anywhere, but it was hard not to have it when he treated you like this. It was so different from when you had met him four months prior and when he had kept an arm’s length distance from your curious approach to get closer to him. How could you not wonder about what-ifs when Luciel let you closer than anyone else? Maybe he wasn’t interested in dating now, but…

You shook it off. You knew better than to think too deeply on this topic lest you ruined what you had. Whether or not you sensed reciprocal feelings from your attractive crush was beside the point when he had not been subtle about his rejections of anyone who showed interest in him. You were mature enough to recognize this wasn’t a “you” problem.

Back on topic. “Computer jobs definitely make a lot of money, right?” you asked, watching your steps together as you took advantage of being able to lean against his side. You were consciously trying to be as casual as possible so as to not scare him off. This was platonic. Platonic. Kind of.

“Yah.” His expression turned rueful, though whatever he was thinking he didn’t say. He relaxed into your hold, eyes drifting towards the horizon and over the tall buildings of the city. His curly hair ruffled in the breeze of cars passing by. His own face was a little pink too. He probably got a sunburn. You wanted to tease him about it, but the mood didn’t feel right. The air about him spoke of so many untold stories. The mystery of it all drew you in, but it was the respect that you had for his boundaries that had allowed you to get as close to him as you were now. You wouldn’t dare to dig too deeply… but that didn’t mean you didn’t poke at the walls sometimes.

“Do you have family back home that you plan to send money to?” you asked.

You weren’t sure if he was going to playfully brush you off like he usually did. He always danced around the topic of his family. You could relate. You weren’t in the best relationship with your own parents. It was part of the reason you were reluctant to go home despite having been out playing all day with your mixed high school and college friends. 

Luciel surprised you then by stopping. His eyes were complicated, dropping first to you, then the ground, before finally lifting to watch some of the clouds across the sky. His sadness was familiar in a way that made your chest ache. Empathy was tough like that. 

“It’s not about sending money,” he explained. “But… If I do well… Then my brother will get to have the happy life he deserves. So, I gotta work hard every day.”

You felt like you had been given the clearest glimpse you had ever seen into Luciel’s heart. You treasured it for what it was, sparkling like a crystal in a dark cave, and kept it close to your chest as you said, “We’ll work hard together to become proper adults. I’m sure your brother appreciates all that you do for him, Luciel!”

He looked down at you with soft eyes, but the air of sadness didn’t leave. You wanted to cheer him up, but you didn’t know how. In seconds, though, it was gone as he pulled on a bright smile and pulled you in closer, linking your arms more playfully as he gave a laugh. “Sure, sure! But man… All this talk is making me want some ice cream! Wanna go?”

“Are you buying, Mr. Moneybags?” you joked, thrilled while releasing the harder atmosphere. Once again he had slipped emotionally away from you, and you wouldn’t try to stop him.

“I don’t have a job yet! I’ll just owe you, alright?”

“Uh-huh, sure. I’ll pay for us today! Ice cream sounds great. But you definitely owe me next time!”

“Next time,” he agreed, eyes sparkling. And honestly, you thought, just his happiness was enough payment for you. You wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

You have always tried your best to live your adult life in the best way possible for yourself. Having to work to make ends-meet aside, you had told yourself again and again that you wouldn’t let happiness slip you by whenever possible. Life hadn’t been easy for you while growing up, and having to basically give yourself therapy for the sake of emotionally surviving the turmoil of your family life before your escape overseas to start over had taken a toll on you. But you had confidence, a level of emotional maturity beyond your years, and you had curiosity on your side.

When you had been contacted seemingly at random by a stranger who had just happened to find you at the right time to offer you a position as a game tester while you were in between jobs and worrying about the future, you had just assumed that luck was on your side. It was all more than a little sketchy, but life was about having some adventures. Such actions had caused old friends to call you a little too trusting in the past (and you didn’t doubt that you were) but you wouldn’t have ended up living in South Korea after growing up in the United States if you didn’t have courage. And that’s what you saw this as: bravery.

That is, that was your opinion for a while. You had been given home in a large building with a gorgeous room that looked built for a high-end hotel and work with a man named Ray who was gorgeous to look at. Ray was the developer of the game you were testing, but frankly just his presence itself was distracting for a number of reasons. He was shockingly familiar, though you couldn’t quite place why considering you’d never met the white-haired, teal-eyed man in your life. But his face was attractive, and he was sweet and attentive to all of your needs despite being busy. The job you had taken on was easy and interesting, and your food and board were all taken care of. Honestly, this really did feel like luck was on your side despite the way some things sat wrong with you.

Whatever, you thought. You could put it all aside. Gamers were weird people in general (you would know), so you figured that Ray’s attentiveness was him just being openly attracted to you, and you took it as the flattery that it was. Who didn’t like a hot guy being sweet on them? You only needed to set a few boundaries, and you were free to enjoy the bits of time you got with him. If only you could see him in person more, and if only he wasn’t as troubled as he was. You had only been there for a couple days, and already your heart was set on someone new for the first time in a couple years.

Despite how kind he was to you, you worried about him. You had quickly felt a connection with this familiar stranger that made you care about his well-being, but more so still were the red flags surrounding Ray that made you worried. The red flags weren’t on him – Ray’s kindness was genuine, and your heart soaked in the sweet words he would tell you like a sponge since you were weak to such a thing – but rather on his surroundings. He stayed up very late and hardly seemed to eat or sleep. He always looked pale and sickly when you saw him, and his body was far too skinny for a man his age. He spoke of how wonderful the place they were at was, but his words turned hateful and mocking towards the very game he had you playing. It was all very strange. But you had always been drawn to a mystery.

You didn’t really understand why he would create such a complicated game that focused on trying to befriend and/or date the AIs he had made for this mobile dating simulator if he hated them so much. He claimed that he saw them more as a task to complete rather than having any real vitriol towards them, but that wasn’t necessarily correct for the characters of 707 and V. 

The RFA was a charity organization, and your story focused on you getting very abruptly thrown into an apparently-secret chatroom for the organization consisting of six dateable options where you were supposed to organize and throw a charity party. It sounded easy enough, but the AIs… They were entirely too realistic. Ray was a genius (you knew one when you saw one having been friends with someone of a similar caliber once upon a time ago), so you weren’t terribly surprised that he could create such complicated strings of data like the AIs of the RFA, but your intuition had you doubting yourself. Between Ray’s strange obsessive hate of two of the AI and the realistic reactions and storylines presented between the conversations of the AI characters, you began to wonder how much of what Ray had told you was true. It didn’t help that you were both living in these sketchy surroundings.

You weren’t stupid, and between playing the RFA game and taking phone calls from the AIs that sounded just like real people, you paid attention to your surroundings. You were allowed to wander the floor of the building you lived on, discovering an entire living area that looked more suitable for a penthouse than just a boarding space for someone testing a game. You saw people dressed in strange cloaks walking the grounds outside of your room and through the garden you’d had the pleasure of walking around in during the night with Ray a few days into your stay. You were brought food by people every day whenever you wanted to eat, whether it was made by Ray himself or some kind of cook who lived in the building. And frankly, the way Ray talked about his boss made you wonder what the hell kind of cult you had walked right into.

Needless to say, it had put you on guard, though you felt that guard often dropping whenever you were conversing with the RFA. And you felt completely left wide-open whenever Ray talked with you.

Maybe it was a problem that you were so weak towards attractive people. The fact that both Ray and his AIs were all very pretty with wonderful personalities just made your life that much harder. 

In the beginning of your story with the RFA, you were introduced to all of the characters and had gotten a look into each of their personalities. Jumin was the CEO-in-line for a huge corporation you knew existed in Seoul with Jaehee as his chief assistant. Zen was a musical actor you had never heard of, but whose selfies you had come to gobble up every time he posted them. Yoosung was a cute university student, and V was the mysterious head of the organization who had granted you permission to stay. All of them were still quietly mourning the sudden loss of the woman named Rika, who you had told them had invited you to take her place though you had never met her. And finally, the person in charge of security and tracing the “hacker” who had put you into the chatroom in the first place was the character of 707.

All of the RFA were fun to talk to in their own ways, and you had been really impressed with how it felt like a real friend group interacting with each other. It was the main factor, along with the few pictures that were sent in the chat, that had sent your suspicions about the reality of your “job” shooting upwards. But there was one final nail in the coffin that had pushed you over the edge.

From the second that you had seen 707’s profile picture featuring himself, you had felt like you had been punched in the chest. His bright red hair and golden eyes had brought back memories of an old friend of yours from back when you had lived in America. You and Luciel had lost touch with each other before you had even graduated high school. He had appeared quickly in your life and had disappeared just as quickly after graduation. There had been no goodbyes or promises to maintain a line of contact. Your friendship with Luciel had ended abruptly, and it had been a sore spot in your fairly miserable high school years. The fact that he had been your first love was a footnote when you had thought your relationship had at least deserved a goodbye.

You had thought it had to be a coincidence. Maybe Ray (who you now understood looked much like Luciel and that was why he had looked familiar to you) had created 707 to look like him and that was partially why he disliked him so much. It wasn’t like you hadn’t noticed how Ray would put himself down over and over again (much to your distress). If he had created 707 as a way to project his hurt onto something inanimate to harass and bully, well… You weren’t going to judge a harmless coping mechanism, strange as it might be.

But your opinion completely changed on the day V first called 707 by the name of Luciel right there in the chatroom. Had it been any other name – or even one that was a lot more common than Luciel – you would’ve still probably been only a little doubtful about the veracity of this game. But between the looks, the personality that resonated in your soul with nostalgia, and the name, it was impossible to deny. Even the fact that 707 was a hacker and worked with some strange agency doing missions (whether or not he was joking about the latter part) tracked with the career you had known Luciel would be going into once he had graduated from university. 

The RFA were real people. You had been lied to about it being a game, which meant that everything that was occurring within it must be real. Ray must actually be a hacker, and for some reason you had been brought into this place in order to get these people to host a new charity party, as well as pull secrets out of 707 and V. 

Your head hurt from the revelation. Even now as you scrolled through the backlog of every conversation you’d had on the messenger, you were having a difficult time grasping what was right in front of you. This building and this organization was one thing to figure out. Ray and your rapidly-growing feelings for him were another. What was happening within the RFA and your continued job of emailing apparently-real clients was yet another thing. And lastly, you were once again talking with your old friend. 

Your old friend who hadn’t been able to find any information on you. And who didn’t know who you were because you didn’t set your profile picture as an image of you, and your name didn’t particularly stick out to him.

(Had he forgotten you? No, no, this wasn’t the time to think about that). 

What were you even supposed to do from here? You knew you had to keep up this lie about it being a game. You didn’t want to upset Ray, but you also needed to figure out how much of what he said to you was true. Were his feelings for you true? Or were those a lie as well? And what, exactly, was happening in the RFA? You couldn’t even ask because you knew that Ray was tracking the chatroom. You had to be careful of what all you said in there.

What about the text messages? The phone calls? Were either of those safe? You didn’t know for sure. You would have to ask Ray.

You sighed and rolled onto your back on your large bed, letting your phone screen time out as you frowned up at the chandelier. Your room was beautiful and suited your tastes well. Ray often talked about how he was willing to make any changes to this room as you desired, but you liked his attempt and how it had turned out already. You just missed him by your side.

You threw an arm over your eyes. The warm evening air from last night still floated in your memory. The floral scent of so many blooming flowers clung to your skin and hair and lingered on your bedspread even after a full night. The gorgeous bouquet that Ray had brought and left you as a gift evoked the memories of last night and the gentle smile on his face. You ached to be with him and wished to talk to him. You wished you could just ask him all of the questions that you had, but you had to be careful. You couldn’t bring yourself to fully believe that Ray was faking his feelings towards you, but the situation you were both in was too suspicious to be careless just because of your emotions.

You huffed a laugh to yourself, startled by your thoughts. Maybe your old friends were right and you really were too trusting. Any normal person would doubt Ray more considering his connection with this shady place and dealings. But you couldn’t bring yourself to do so. The gentle expression in his tired eyes, the loving way that he spoke and wrote to you, and the consideration he put towards your happiness had latched onto your heart and had held it tight.

You liked Ray. He was so kind. You weren’t completely sure what was happening here, but you had a feeling maybe he was also being taken advantage of by this place you were both staying in. Since he wasn’t actually a developer but was still constantly working and barely sleeping, it made you think that he was definitely being used. At the very least, he needed to take better care of himself.

You rolled over and picked up your phone again to unlock it and open up the messenger app once more. You clicked on 707’s profile to stare at him in his Game of Kings cosplay while looking cool and fierce. He had changed since you had last seen him. His face was more angular and less childish, and you could see the muscle on his body from the picture. He and Ray looked far too similar to be anything but related. You knew that Luciel had a brother too.

How was it, then, that this situation had occurred? Why were the brothers fighting each other? Luciel was clearly unaware of who the hacker he was fighting against was, but Ray had to know who Luciel was. Had something happened between them? Had Luciel changed over the time you hadn’t seen him? How does the RFA and V play into this?

There were, you thought with a narrowing of your eyes, too many questions.

You took a breath and let it out, turning your phone screen off once more as you sat up in your bed with determination. You had questions? Then you needed to find answers. If you were going to get dragged into the middle of this, then you would solve this mystery. And the first thing you needed to do was talk to V and Ray both. Luciel would have to wait until you had sorted out your own feelings on the matter. You needed to figure out what your situation was now that you were no longer tricked by this video game nonsense, and you needed to find out what Ray’s actual feelings were towards you. Only then could you decide what to do next.

You sincerely hoped you hadn’t gotten yourself into a terrible mess.

Chapter Text

The familiar sound of your phone notification alerting you to a new chatroom woke you up from your sleep. The white morning sunlight filtered in through the curtains where you had forgotten to close them last night. It was regretful to have to wake up already when you had gotten so little sleep, but now wasn’t the time for that. You must have passed out in the middle of your worrying, and now that you were awake all of those thoughts were rushing back to you.

You yawned and rolled over to reach blindly for your phone before pulling it off of the charger to turn on. It took a few sleepy blinks for your eyes to focus and process what they were seeing, but when they did you were quick to sit up. 

“Ray…!” you whispered to yourself, elated. Just the sight of his name made your heart jump and begin to race. Honey sweet memories of his white hair reflecting the moonlight against the backdrop of multi-colored flowers floated like a dream in your mind. You wished to grasp it and fall back asleep with it tucked to your chest in hopes it would drop you back into that moment. You never got enough time in person with your crush.

You opened up the chatroom right away, ignoring one of the RFA chatrooms you had missed while sleeping. 

 

You: 

Ray! Good morning!

Ray: 

You’re here!

Ray: 

I wasn’t sure if you would be awake…

Ray: 

so I thought I would try here first.

Ray: 

I hope I didn’t wake you

You: 

You did, but that’s okay! I wanted to see you.

Ray: 

Me? Really?

Ray: 

That makes me so happy!

Ray: 

I wanted to see you too but I wasn’t sure if you would be bothered by it.

You: 

I’m never bothered by you.

Ray: 

You’re amazing…

Ray: 

It makes me want to run to you right now.

Ray: 

You said last night you wouldn’t be bothered if I held you… Is that still okay during the day?

You: 

Then why don’t you?

Ray: 

Should I?!

Ray: 

Oh

Ray: 

Wait, I was going to visit anyway.

Ray: 

Look, I made you breakfast. Do you mind if I bring it to you today?

You: 

That looks delicious! Please come visit me.

Ray: 

Then I will!

You: 

You’re not busy, right?

Ray: 

Sadly, I’m always busy.

Ray: 

 

 

 

 

Ray: 

But I have some time this morning! I’m coming right now, okay?

You: 

Okay! I’ll see you soon!

Ray: 

See you soon, my lovely lady.

Ray:

 

 

Your heart was racing with anticipation as you smiled to yourself, opening the picture of the breakfast Ray was bringing you. He had only cooked once for you so far, but it had been delicious. This one looked even better, and a little more catered towards your preferences. He really did pay attention to everything you said when you had chatted with him once briefly about what kind of foods you liked. A man who could cook was a win in your book. You hoped one day you would get to return the favor.

Wait, now wasn’t the time for this! You shook your head and threw yourself from your bed in a hurry to make yourself a little more presentable. You didn’t mind being seen in your pajamas, but you wanted at least a bra on if a guy was going to be in the room.

This was a rare chance, and you knew it. If Ray was on his way, you needed to take advantage while you could. You didn’t know how much his supervisor saw, and you wanted to see his face when you asked him some of the questions that you had. You wouldn’t say you were the best at telling when people were lying, but Ray was very honest with his expressions. It was something that you liked about him. If you could watch his face while talking with him, you were certain you would be able to tell if he was faking his emotions or not.

You paused as you straightened your shirt, cheeks warming with memory. Well, he was very good at what he was doing if he was attempting to seduce you to get you to let your guard down. Somehow you got the impression that wasn’t his intention… but his bits of jealousy and desire to talk with you more hit all of the right points in you. If only he wasn’t so busy…

You trusted your intuition. It had helped you more than a few times over the course of your life, from convincing you to travel to South Korea in the first place, to dumping your crazy ex, to actually getting you some money to help build your savings. And you trusted it now when it said that Ray was a good person in need of some help. You wanted to be that person to help him.

You heard the knock on your door a few moments later, and you didn’t hesitate to hurry and open it with a broad smile. “Hi!” you greeted, unable to keep the warmth from your voice as you opened the door wider to let him in.

“Good morning,” he greeted back, smiling softly as he entered. He had your breakfast on a little push cart with a silver cover over the plates. It really did feel like you were at one of those nicer hotels being served. In combination with Ray’s nice suit and neatly-combed hair, it wasn’t really a bad feeling. It would be nice to be served by a butler as handsome as Ray was.

“Did you sleep well? You were up playing the game really late last night,” he said as you closed the door. He immediately began to set your plates onto the tea table near the window where you often ate your breakfasts while soaking up the sun. Now that you were more suspicious about his identity, you noticed that his bleached white hair looked pink around some of the ends where the dye hadn’t been thorough. You could easily imagine him with matching red hair like Luciel’s. Something tightened in your chest.

“I’m a little sleepy,” you confessed, joining him. You reached out to touch his hand, making him start a little and pause. His wide teal eyes regarded you with wonder. It was as if he was always surprised that anyone would want to touch him or care for him at all whenever you tried to reciprocate his affection. It broke your heart. It only made you want to do it even more. Your fingers slipped into his palm and you squeezed it, savoring what bit of his skin you could touch under his half-gloves. The smile that built on his lips was a little wobbly, cheeks turning pink with his pleasure. You preened under your success. “But I know you were up really late too… Did you get any sleep after we went to the garden?”

“I tried,” he admitted, eyes flicking from yours down to your hands. He shifted his grip so that he could cradle your fingers more. You half-expected him to kiss your knuckles as if you were some kind of princess. He didn’t do it, though. “But my heart was racing so much… I couldn’t sleep. So, I stayed up and worked instead.”

“I was excited too,” you agreed, stepping a little more into his space. Your doubts about his feelings for you were rapidly melting under the light of his clear affection. He would have to be the best actor in the world for this to be fake. He might be a genius, but surely not in this sense, right? “But I hope you rest more. I’m worried about you.”

“You’re really worried about me?” Once again he was startled. You wished that he wouldn’t be so surprised that you cared for him. “Thank you… But I don’t want you to be worried for me.” He paused, frowning, and then hurried to say, “I’ll try to get more rest soon! I have to go back to work right after this, but I can have a nap later.”

“More than a nap,” you tried to bargain. He had said he power-napped in his chair most of the time. Who the hell survived on three hours of sleep? It was no wonder he looked so pale and exhausted all of the time. What, exactly, kept him so motivated to fight Luciel like he was doing? Why was this place so against the RFA to the point they had looped you into some kind of ploy? You didn’t even really know where to begin to dig into that. 

He looked regretful. “I’m sorry… I can’t promise that.” You sighed sadly. This made him fret, “It won’t be for much longer, though! Please don’t worry so much about me. Once you’ve completed your game with those AIs, we can move onto our next step.”

You wanted to press more about that, but you knew that time was limited. And as much as you wanted answers, you wanted to help him more. “Okay. I know you have to leave soon, but why don’t you sit with me for a bit longer?” You motioned to the breakfast. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, my sweet lady,” he murmured, happy and touched. He glanced once at the door and then at his watch to check the time. “I… can stay for a little longer. Since I worked through the night…”

“Thank you!” You hurried to sit down, and Ray joined you. He looked simply happy to watch as you started to dig into your delicious breakfast, humming with pleasure as your food melted on your tongue. “Ohh… You’re such an amazing cook, Ray! Have you eaten what you’ve made before?”

“Sometimes,” he said, smiling. If it was any other guy you might have been unnerved by how intensely he watched you. You had only known him for a few days, but his feelings for you were almost overwhelming. But you were drowning in the sweetness, and you couldn’t say you were unhappy about it. He might toe some of your boundaries sometimes, but he always pulled back if you expressed discomfort. You appreciated that. “But I don’t cook much for myself these days. I do like cooking, though.”

“I hope you get the chance to cook more.”

“I do as well.”

You stabbed some of your eggs and scooped them onto your toast. You were about to eat the bite yourself, but paused with an idea. Instead, you stretched out your arm to offer him the food. “Ray~ Say ‘ah’~” you crooned.

He sat up sharply, eyes widening once more. “O-oh! You’re…” He didn’t finish, and neither did he argue. Instead, he obeyed with an “Ah~” before you fed him. He ate a lot more eagerly than you had thought, which only encouraged you to feed him more bites. You wondered if he would eat anything that you fed him. Would he eat from your mouth should you both decide to kiss?

It was a silly thought, but one that didn’t leave you as you imagined it. You wondered what kissing Ray would be like. Would his lips taste like syrup and butter if you kissed him right now? How would he react to it? You wanted to try it out very badly, and almost said it out loud just to see if he would get flustered from your announcement, but you were cut off before you could try as he rejected your next offering.

“You should eat,” he insisted. “I made it for you, after all. I want to see you enjoy it.”

“I’m enjoying feeding you, though,” you argued, wiggling the fork in offering playfully. “You look so handsome when you’re enjoying good food.”

“And you’re even prettier when you’re eating the food I make for you,” he shot back. You blushed. Damn him for being able to match your energy. It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t say things like that to you when he had that kind of face. He was so sincere and honest that it shot an arrow to your heart every time. “I know you said you prefer Western style breakfasts, so I made sure to research some good recipes.”

“I love it. Thank you so much, Ray. I’ve always been more fond of them since I grew up in America.” Actually, you thought, this was a good opportunity. “You knew that, didn’t you?”

“That you grew up in America? I…” He seemed to hesitate, but then inevitably decided to confess, “Yes, I knew that. I had to do some research on you before you came here, after all, to see if you were a good fit.” He paused again. “And… I wanted to know more about you. I hope that was okay.”

Between the knowledge that both V and Seven had been trying to look into your past and the fact that you didn’t really have anything to hide, you could hardly bring yourself to be bothered. You were more curious about what kind of stuff he had learned about you.

“What kind of things did you learn?” You leaned on your elbows on the table as you ate, attentive.

“Hm…” He tilted his head with thought. “Everything? I even hid some of it… I mean–” he quickly corrected his murmur, “I didn’t learn about you, though. The more I get to know you, the more I like you. How am I supposed to stop this feeling?”

“I don’t think you need to,” you soothed him. “We both like each other.” You reached across to take his hand, making him smile again. “I’m happy you like knowing about me. But I still want to know what you learned. Did you know my friends? Where I worked? My family?”

“I know much of what you’ve put on the internet. And what I could look up.” He blinked at you. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s the AIs,” you said, cutting into your French toast to take another bite. Ray always closed up just a little when his AIs were mentioned, and that wasn’t any different now. “I’ve noticed that they called the 707 AI ‘Luciel’. I just thought it was strange.”

Ray laughed a little to himself. “Oh, that. Of course they’re meant to simulate real people, so a ridiculous name like 707 is just a pseudonym! Then again, Luciel is a silly name too, isn’t it?”

Again, he was insulting him. There was a hardness to his gaze, sharp with emotions that cut when he talked about both V and Luciel. What caused that hatred he felt for them? Who even was V that Luciel obeyed him so easily and Ray hated him so much? Was V related to whatever agency Luciel had alluded to working with?

“It’s very unique,” you agreed, offering him another bite of food when you thought you could sneak it. You were pleased when he accepted it effortlessly. You could get used to caring for him like this. “I had a friend with that name back in high school, so I had thought maybe that inspired the name for your AI.”

“No, not at all!” Ray shook his head. “This game was in creation long before we chose a tester.”

“What a coincidence then! Though, I did grow up in a pretty Catholic area.” You had to cover your tracks. You didn’t want to make Ray suspicious. 

“I’m sorry if it bothers you,” he apologized after he had swallowed his bite. It seemed to genuinely worry him. “I can’t change the names now. I hope you won’t mind too much! I must not feel good to hear me talk down about someone with a similar name to your friend.”

“I’m okay,” you assured him. “He’s not named after my friend, so I don’t mind! These things happen.”

His expression relaxed. “You haven’t decided to romance him, have you?”

“I’m too busy romancing you~”

He sighed a little longingly. “I wish I could be the only one whose route you choose… but that wouldn’t let you play the game right, would it?”

You had come into this ‘game’ with the expectation that you could ‘romance’ any of the RFA characters, but you doubted that ‘pursuing’ anyone who wasn’t V or Luciel would allow you to get the secrets you needed. Unless, maybe, it was Jumin since he was best friends with V and could influence him. Not that you planned to romance any of the RFA at this point. You were even reluctant to talk to Luciel now that you knew his identity. Just another problem to deal with later.

“Would it help you if I go after him?” you asked sincerely.

Ray’s smile melted as he didn’t answer for a long moment. His eyes drifted down and to the side with thought. He didn’t take long to think, but it was enough for you to see his displeasure at the thought. Of course he would feel upset at the thought of the girl he liked trying to pursue his hated brother no matter what his current plan was. But he covered it up with a fake smile this time. “It’s up to you! I’m excited to see what kind of ending you get.”

With that, he pushed back from the table and stood. “I’m sorry I have to leave you already… But I hope you have a good day today as well.”

“Do you really need to go?” you asked, standing as well to follow him to the door.

“I’ve taken out more time than I was supposed to. I don’t want my ‘supervisor’ to take notice…” He paused and corrected, “No, no… I just want to make sure you’re unbothered. So, I must get back to work on my coding.” He picked up your hand and brought your palm to his lips. A flush ran from your cheeks and ears and down your throat as he caused you to cradle his cheek in your hand. His eyes were soft as he murmured, “Please have a good day. And please talk to me again soon. I’ll miss you while I’m gone.”

You weren’t sure if it was because you were being just as bold with your own confessions or not, but you were sure that Ray was doubling down on voicing his affection for you and it was doing numbers on your heart. You desperately wanted to kiss him. You just weren’t sure if he would respond well to it when he seemed unsure of how to handle his own feelings right now. Just because he was voicing his thoughts didn’t mean he knew how to process them.

“Let’s talk soon. And I hope we can go to the gardens again. I want to go with you,” you said.

He smiled and released you. It was clear he was regretful and reluctant to leave. You felt much the same. “I’ll try to make time soon. You said you were thinking about staying with us, right? Once you’ve been through our enrollment procedures, you’ll be allowed to explore more of the building. I’m sure we’ll be able to find time then!”

You smiled back, but the alarm in the back of your head warned you of the danger of agreeing to enroll in… whatever this place was. You still didn’t have enough information. But you had to keep playing ignorant for now. “I’m going to think on it a little more. But I’ll let you know soon!”

“Please do. Well then… Have a good day.”

“Make sure you get some food and eat!” you called to him as he left. You closed the door behind him and dropped your head against the wood with a sigh. You already missed him. 

Your head was more of a mess than it was last night, and you were still tired despite having some food in you now. You would have to finish eating. At least you had one answer to your many questions. 

You weren’t someone who had a lot of social media. You were sure there were pictures of you with your friends on the internet and that you had old profiles he had probably found. But you knew for a fact that Luciel hadn’t had any digital footprint online during the time you had known him. He had told you so himself, and had rejected being in photos with anyone. Whatever pictures he did take were strictly regulated by him. He seemed a lot more willing to take photos now than he had back when you had been teenagers. But then again, he had seemed more guarded back then as well.

You only had one picture of Luciel from back when you were in high school, and it was from a photobooth you two had taken together at an arcade. There were only physical copies. Even now you knew those pictures were hidden in an old journal that was in one of the drawers at your house.

You were certain now that Ray didn’t know about your relationship with Luciel. You would keep that under wraps for now until you figured out what was the problem between the two of them. You still needed to get confirmation that they were actually brothers, though you were convinced anyway unless proven otherwise.

If Ray didn’t know about your relationship with Luciel despite having no-doubt thoroughly researching your past (his slip-up about burying some of your information hadn’t been missed by you), then you doubted that V knew either. Which meant that V’s apparent concern for you seemed valid and unrelated to Luciel at all. You could leave that there, though you were suspicious of him too if only because Ray seemed to hate him so much. You had known Luciel well, you had thought, but it had been years. He could’ve changed quite a bit or could’ve done some awful stuff. Who knows what his mysterious agency had made him do.

You wouldn’t be able to proceed with the little information that you had. Ray would be busy for a while, and Luciel would probably be busy defending against his brother’s attacks. You had to try to contact V. He was the only one who seemed to know where you physically were.

It was time to talk with the RFA once more. And this time you were carrying secrets of your own.

You sighed and sat down to eat breakfast once more. You really hated carrying secrets. What a burden.

Chapter Text

It was surprisingly difficult to get a hold of V. You were becoming impatient while having to wait for him and having to be careful about what you said in the chatroom, but it was also enlightening. V seemed to be worried about your safety, and you understood why if he really did know what was going on here. It only made you more suspicious, and you weren’t willing to hide it entirely just to see how he reacted. However, he only ever seemed sad and apologetic that he couldn’t be more forthcoming. Maybe he was in a similar situation to you? He seemed like he had more freedom, though.

The main problem was that you just didn’t know V at all. He was someone you had met along with a majority of the RFA members through phone calls, the occasional text, and the chatrooms. And with V hiding what he knew, you had more reason to be reserved in trusting him. Luciel trusted V immensely, and so did the rest of the RFA except Yoosung, but Ray kept pressing that V wasn’t trustworthy. You were a little more inclined to believe the RFA since Jumin and Jaehee were responsible and level-headed, but you weren’t about to discount Ray’s opinion either. You just wished that Yoosung would talk a little more about what happened to make him not trust V. You hadn’t yet found a moment to ask him recently. You regretted not pressing for more answers back when the conversation had already been on that topic, but you had thought they were AIs and Yoosung had been upset back then. You hadn’t wanted to lose relationship points with him.

There was something about V that you liked, though. His secrets aside, he was kind and a little mysterious. When you had been told that he was a photographer, it was like things clicked for you. V felt like an artist, and he spoke in a flowery way that matched it. You could feel the depths of his emotions as he spoke, and you related to him in turn. You thought that if you weren’t already attracted to both Ray and Luciel that you might have chosen V to pursue if this actually was a game. But this wasn’t a game, and you needed someone you could get a hold of more.

At least this seemed to be abnormal even for V. His behavior stood out as strange even to the rest of the RFA, who had pointed out how trusting and focused V seemed to be on you despite only having known you for a few days. You felt more and more like you were somehow entangled deeper in V’s secrets than you had originally thought, but you didn’t yet know what you were supposed to be careful of. Ray didn’t want you to mention your role to the RFA in the chatrooms, and so you wouldn’t. But V also seemed to agree with that and was careful with how he worded things as well. It was as if he knew how tenuous your position was and that he suspected you might be in danger. Or maybe V also just didn’t want your location being revealed. You weren’t sure yet. Despite that, he still had Luciel trying to track you, and he was still trying to subtly get information out of you (though Jumin had bluntly called him out on it, exposing him). 

You sighed and ran a hand through your hair as you strolled around the floor you were staying on, thinking about it all. You had too many worries on your mind. Ray had been dealing with a terrible headache earlier, and you were worried about his health. You wished that you could go to see him and help him feel better somehow, but you weren’t allowed. The only thing that had made him happy was your worry for him. You still weren’t sure what this place was other than hearing the people in it refer to it as ‘paradise’, but you didn’t have a lot of fear. Ray had mentioned being indoctrinated which made you really feel like maybe you were in a cult. And if it was a cult, then…

Well, that wasn’t the worst thing. You didn’t want to be in a cult at all, but you could fake being a believer until you figured out exactly what your current situation was. Cults could be weird, but you were from America. You knew enough to know most cults were usually silly religious fanaticism. And you doubted you would dive straight into a ‘drinking the Kool-aid’ situation from the beginning. You would have some time. And you would use that time to get closer to Ray and maybe convince him to leave with you. RFA aside, you didn’t think this place was good for his health. 

So, you had told Ray that you agreed to join. He had been ecstatic and had promised to get the ceremony ready by that evening. You had played excited, but didn’t actually feel much in terms of the situation at all. The only thing that made you a little concerned was V hinting that he had a feeling he knew what you were doing and had subtly warned you against it and to take care of yourself, but you could do that even if it meant playing pretend for a while. You were certain about that.

But how did V even know that you had such a decision to make in the first place? Was he in the same building as you? He sounded like he was traveling a lot, though, and he rarely had signal to talk with anyone who wasn’t Luciel, who was probably using his computer skills to connect them or something. You never had a problem with your own phone signal, so if he was really here wouldn’t he be able to use it too? There was still too much you didn’t know. 

Was V on your side or not? And even if V was on ‘your’ side, what did that mean? You were inclined to follow Luciel’s example, especially since the RFA had been welcoming – if a little suspicious – of you. But that required you to believe that Luciel was the same person that you remembered. And, adding onto that, that meant that Ray’s word couldn’t be trusted.

You stopped in a nearby room. It was a small library with only two tall bookshelves, but the chairs in it were comfortable and had a nice view of the forest. You couldn’t see any other buildings for miles. You had a feeling you were somewhere in the mountains maybe. You sat down in one of the chairs and pulled out your phone to respond to a text from Zen before attempting to call V once more. Your text messages wouldn’t always arrive, so calling appeared to be your best bet. After trying three times and getting the voicemail each time, though, you gave up. You had already left him a voicemail earlier. You didn’t need to do it again.

You considered giving someone else a call. But there was really only one other person in RFA that you wanted to talk to.

V was pretty much only talking with Luciel… so if you couldn’t get a hold of V, maybe you could get Luciel to open up a bit instead. Your old friend was a complex person to deal with, though, and you knew that he was different than he was when you were teenagers. The secrecy he kept seemed a little looser now that he was older – after all, you had no idea he’d even planned to work for some kind of agency and had thought he was just going into computer engineering or something – but it was hard to tell how much of what he said was true and how much of it was a joke. Luciel had been playful, but he seemed a little more ridiculous now. He had been a bit more reserved as a teen, as if he didn’t feel safe just being himself. The only times you felt you had really seen him had been in moments alone, far from the eyes of anyone other than each other. There had always been a wall, though there had also been a longing affection in his eyes that had told you he felt closer to you than he liked to say. That more than anything had reassured you of your relationship with him when it had often felt like he was keeping up walls.

Now, though, seeing how he talked to and messed with the rest of the RFA it felt like he was a lot more playful. He would use his humor to dodge serious questions relating to him or his work. You could tell the difference even having only seen him for a little while. It had all come back to you. It was a familiar wall that you had seen around him. But you also recognized his clear affection he felt for the RFA members, and the respect that he had for V. 

Luciel was in charge of the RFA’s secrets. He was battling Ray for control of the messenger in between whatever work that he did. But other than that he just seemed…

You huffed an irritated sigh, dropping your chin into your hand. Your eyebrows scrunched with frustration at how effortlessly your heart had reopened for Luciel once more despite how hurt you had been when he had disappeared. You were a sucker with your emotions, and unfortunately you had started to empathize and develop a picture as to why Luciel had appeared and disappeared so quickly from your life. He had always warned you that he couldn’t have friends and to not get close to him. It wasn’t his fault you had taken that as a challenge. You were a little annoyed that interacting with him regularly had made you miss him more than ever and had reopened the affection you still harbored for him.

Nonetheless! You planned to give him a piece of your mind the next time you saw him in person. Maybe even sooner. It really depended on how serious your current situation actually was. You were technically kidnapped right now, even if you were willingly staying. Luciel might have his reasons for leaving without a goodbye all those years ago, but that didn’t mean you had forgiven him.

You could put your grudge aside for the sake of facing your current reality. And right now you needed someone to pass on the message to V that you needed to talk to him; ideally before tonight when your ceremony was supposed to take place. Hopefully Luciel would be available.

You clicked the call button and held the phone to your ear. You half-expected Luciel not to pick up since he so rarely did for you (he’d always been that way, even back then) but you were pleasantly surprised – and startled – when he answered with a loud, “Oh my god! I was about to dive my head into my keyboard!”

You jolted at his cry, phone jerking from your ear before you carefully brought it back. “Seven?” you asked. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, yes!” He let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks to your call, I was able to wake up! Thanks a million.”

You frowned. “You should sleep if you’re sleepy.”

He groaned, “Gah, I want to… but I can’t sleep right now. There are so many things I need to do.” Even while he was speaking, you thought you could hear the quiet sounds of his computer keyboard clacking. You wondered if Ray was in a similar state right now. What was with these brothers and not sleeping enough? Their eyes would go bad from looking at computer screens for so long. You doubted that either of them went outside often. 

“Just listening to how hard you’re working makes me sleepy too,” you confessed to him, tucking your legs up onto your chair to hug them. “I hope we can both go for a nice walk or something when we meet.”

“Ooh, that sounds fun. Maybe we’ll meet before an RFA party is held?”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

“Mm, anyway! You wanna play word relay since we’re both sleepy?” It was a sudden change in topic, but that wasn’t unusual for him either. You had gotten used to this kind of thing and found it easy to keep pace. It was one of the fun things you liked about Luciel.

“Relay? Like a race?” you asked.

“Yeah, yeah! Okay!!! Ready or not, here I come! ‘Album’! Now, say a word that starts with M.” 

You could practically imagine his sparkling golden eyes and cheeky grin as he sat in his chair completely focused on the conversation. It reminded you of the occasional late nights you had stayed in his dorm when you were avoiding going home and he was able to sneak you in. Sometimes you two would need a palette cleanser from whatever you two were doing and would play some game or another with each other. His optimism had been infectious. As long as you had never asked him about what work he was doing on his computer, you were allowed to stay over since he rarely slept, he had told you.

(Wait, was this a sibling thing? Were both brothers just like that too?)

“Hello?” Luciel called when you took too long. “It’s called a relay for a reason, you know~ I can see you’re still on the line!”

“I was thinking! Korean isn’t my first language,” you lied to him. “How about… ‘Music’?”

“Ooh, not bad! Korean isn’t your first language? Hmm… You’ve given me another clue to think about right in the middle of a competition! Very sneaky of you!” You scoffed a little laugh, which brightened his own voice with a smile. You found yourself smiling back too, heart pounding with the bittersweet ache of longing you had grown accustomed to. “Now, back to my turn! Uh, C… What’s a word that starts with C? Oh! ‘Club’!”

You were quicker this time. “Blog!”

“I figured you’re not an easy opponent! It’s back to my turn. Hehe, this is fun. A word that starts with G is ‘glass’!”

He had switched to the English word, which you thought was probably cheating. Had he recognized your accent and had pinpointed your first language? How sad was it that he could do that, but he couldn’t even remember your voice? You didn’t think that your voice had changed all that much from when you had been younger (it had only been, what, four years? Five? Since you had last seen each other) but maybe you were wrong. You wanted to ask him. How would he react if you exposed your identity right there?

But no, wait, there was a reason why you couldn’t do that. You still needed to ask–

“Heeey! Come on!” Luciel once again interrupted your thoughts, small pout in his voice. “Say something that starts with an S! Don’t tell me I threw you off with the language switch? Hehe, if you can’t answer, then you have to tell me one of your secrets~!”

“Didn’t I already give you one? You know I can speak English,” you pointed out to him. “That’s why you did that, didn’t you?”

“Argh, you caught me! But that wasn’t really a secret. I knew that from the moment we first talked on the phone,” he said. You heard the creak of his chair. “Is it really so difficult to feed me something new? Come on… I’ll even ask cutely!”

You laughed softly, hugging your knees a little tighter. Yes, he really was still the same as you remember. The same, but still different. Time really changed people. You were probably different in many ways too. Maybe that was why you were unrecognizable. “If I tell you my secret, you’ll be too shocked! You’ll jump so high out of your chair that you’ll hit the ceiling! And then who will protect the RFA server?”

“If you can do that, then give me a big enough shock to launch me right into space!” he joked. “But I doubt there is anything you can say that would shock me that much… Unless you tell me you’re the hacker!!! Or that I’m living in a video game all along!”

“Maybe you and the RFA are all AIs?”

“If I was an AI, I’d just have to break my own programming.” He said it a little idly, and you could tell he was getting distracted mid-sentence. His playful tone shifted into something a little more serious, and you heard the sound of his keyboard clicking get louder and faster. “Aah, aah… Speaking of that. Are you the hacker? Hey! Stop harassing our server already if you are! If you’re this good, why don’t we just meet and solve this in person, huh?!”

“Oh! I just thought of an S word!” you cried, suddenly remembering. “Seven Zero Seven, good luck!”

Luciel let out a gasping cry like he was struck in the chest. “HRGH!” He fake-sniffled and spoke as if pained and through gritted teeth, “Hey… How’d your words move me this much?! My tears are blinding me…” He fake-sobbed. You could practically see him wiping away his fake tears. You rolled your eyes at his antics, amused. “I was so surprised! Thanks!”

“Does this mean I win?” You asked. “I stuck down the mighty Seven, so now I get to hear one of your secrets?”

“The mighty Seven,” he laughed to himself. “Sounds like a superhero team.” Then, louder and to you, “One of my secrets, though?! You wanna know about my secrets?! God Seven’s secrets are too secret-y for the likes of mortals!”

“That’s not fair. I won the game,” you whined. What a little sneak. “If you won’t tell me one of your secrets, then can I ask about something else?”

“I will answer one question.” he declared, faux-serious. He almost sounded like Jumin there.

Asking about this actually made you feel a little nervous. You instinctively glanced around the room and checked the doorway to make sure nobody was around, half-afraid you’d be overheard. The other people in this building didn’t really come up to this floor unless they were bringing you stuff, though.

“When the hacker hacked the RFA chatroom… Would he be able to see our text messages or phone calls? Since it’s all done through the app, I mean. I was curious.”

Luciel didn’t respond for a beat. He seemed a little surprised by your serious question, so he gave you a serious answer as he hummed to himself and said, “Right now it can’t be helped that he’s seeing the chatrooms even though I’m trying to kick him out. But as for the other stuff… He can only see logs. Like, he could probably see the texts, but the app doesn’t record voice or anything. So, phone calls are fine. Even I can’t listen in on those unless it’s through the phone itself, not the app, and I’ve already checked about bugging. Anyway, he can probably only see your phone log. Why do you ask?”

Ah, you recognized that worry too. How many times had you been rescued by Luciel before? How many times had you heard his quiet concern even when he tried to hide it? He wasn’t good about keeping his heart out of his voice around people he trusted. It was strange to think he trusted you to an extent already despite not knowing who you were, but you had always been good about getting people to open up to you. You just had that kind of personality, you guessed.

Instead of answering his question you asked, “Have you been in contact with V? I’ve been trying to get a hold of him all morning and haven’t had any luck.”

“Uh, it’s been a bit…” His voice trailed off, unsure and a little suspicious. You ignored that.

“Can you tell him to call me when he gets the chance? I need to talk to him about something.”

“Okay, I will,” he promised. “Though it might be faster if you just tell me.”

You sighed, relaxing back into your chair. The knowledge that Ray shouldn’t be able to hear your phone conversations was a comfort, but you knew you couldn’t fully relax. Luciel said things could be different if your phone itself was bugged. You could be a little more open, but for now you still needed to keep your cards close to your chest. If you were going to risk exposing yourself, it was going to be on a phone call to V in hopes he can help you if you needed it. “If all goes well, maybe I can tell you later,” you said.

“That just makes me want to know more~” You didn’t respond to him, so he gave up. “Anyway, I’ll do what you said, so don’t worry alright? Listening to you makes me want to work better. Cheer up, and let’s both do this!”

“Yeah… Good luck to us both!” you cheered with him.

“Then I, Seveny, will get to work. See you again!” He said his goodbye and hung up, leaving you once again alone in the library with a complicated heart. You stared out of the window, mind drifting back into memories from when you were younger. This building felt more like a cage than ever, and you had only been there for a few days. You hoped you wouldn’t be there for too long.

Chapter Text

Despite being locked up in this gilded cage, you didn’t really think you had a lot of time to be bored. At least, you weren’t bored enough that you thought Ray needed to bother to have some kind of event occur in the “game” when he was already so busy and in pain. You hadn’t spoken to him since he had complained about his terrible headache and about having not eaten. You had sent him a text message not long after you had gotten off of your phone call with Luciel. You hoped that you would get to see him soon and before the indoctrination tonight. He had promised to do his best to come see you before then, stating that he had missed you as well. 

The funny thing about this rapidly-developing relationship, you thought, was that you didn’t usually fall for people this hard or this fast. You hadn’t had many crushes in the time you had been alive, but they had all been fierce and pretty all-encompassing the second you had let yourself sink into them. It had been like that when you had been in middle school and had had your first real crush, fawning after the pretty girl in your class and becoming good friends with her with the half-expectation of maybe something more occurring, only for it to end when you both went to separate high schools. And it had been even stronger when you had fallen for Luciel hard enough to consider him your first real love but which had also been a dead-end love. You’d made a bad choice with your crazy ex, but it had been half your fault anyway for being just as obsessive with them. And now here you were with Ray, who you could tell showed signs of being obsessed with you as well, but at least he was respectful of your boundaries. You could tell he was just overwhelmed with his own feelings. You could teach him healthy boundaries for you both.

If only he wasn’t forced to work while sick and on little food and sleep…! It made you angry to think about. You wished that you could just take Ray’s hand and escape, but you didn’t know his story and he seemed to think this place was paradise. What, exactly, was so nice about working Ray half to death and pitting him against his brother? 

Ugh, it was upsetting you more to think about. You couldn’t really focus on how much Ray’s situation bothered you when you were investigating here.

The floor you lived on was three stories up from the ground, and you couldn’t find a window where escape would be possible. It was way too far to jump, and there weren’t any trees close enough that you could jump to. You thought that you could do the whole bed sheet rope trick (even if you didn’t exactly trust your athletic ability), but even if you made it out of the building what would you even do? You were in the mountains somewhere, and you doubted you would have a consistent signal. The internet here was already kind of slow. Running away was not a possibility.

Not that you had plans to run anyway, but it was something you’d had to consider in case this whole cult thing ended up being worse than you had thought. You had watched through the window as workers continued with the construction of the basement that Ray had mentioned to you. Why would they build a basement after building this huge place, you weren’t sure. The thought of it wasn’t particularly comforting when it was associated with a cult that talked about paradise, though. Your mind was filled with all kinds of creepy possibilities, making you shudder and shake it off.

Even if you did somehow escape the building, there were guards you had noticed. It wasn’t just the floor you were on that was being guarded, but also there were people walking the grounds. If this really was just a game development place, you doubted there would be a need for guards. You didn’t know how Ray would react if he figured out that you knew he was lying to you, so you would need to keep your mouth shut about that for a little while longer yet. 

There were also guards stationed at the two sets of stairs that would take you down to the next floor. The third floor you were on seemed isolated from the rest of the building since nobody ever went in or out of it other than Ray or the person who would bring you your meals, or when the guards switched. They all wore these weird cloaks so their faces were shadowed and kind of obscured, so you couldn’t even tell if it was the same people guarding you since yesterday. They had to switch at some point, right? You definitely felt like a prisoner, but at least you were being treated well for now. 

“Excuse me,” you called to the guards as you approached them. They both turned – two women this time, you noticed – and greeted you with nods. There was always a weird tension about them that reminded you far too much of those times at home when your mother clearly didn’t want you talking to her but had been forcing herself to engage anyway. The feeling of being unwanted was palpable. They were uncomfortable with your very presence. Was this cult just filled with socially awkward people or something?

“Do you need help with something?” one of the guards asked.

“I was wondering if maybe I can go to the kitchen and bring Ray something to eat. He said he hasn’t eaten…” And you doubted that he had eaten yet. You kind of wanted to feed him yourself. You wouldn’t even be bored if you could just sit next to Ray while he worked.

“I’m sorry, but nobody can go to see Mr. Ray while he’s working,” the other guard said. “His room is off-limits to everyone unless otherwise specified. You’ll have to stay here.”

You wondered how true that was. Maybe they were just lying to you. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind,” you tried again. You didn’t expect your request to go anywhere, and you weren’t surprised when you were rejected once more. Instead of pushing harder and risking annoying the women, you gave up. You would just ask Ray directly next time you spoke with him.

He had made it sound like you couldn’t stay if you weren’t indoctrinated into the cult. It still wasn’t something you were eager to do, but you couldn’t leave yet either. You doubted things would go well for you if you had said no to joining even if you had planned on staying for Ray in the first place. You would just have to figure out an escape plan once you had more of a grasp on things. When you were more free to roam the building, things would be easier.

Your phone rang as you were reentering your room. It was the ringtone you had set specifically for the messenger, so you eagerly pulled it out. Relief filled your face at the sight of V’s profile picture, and you quickly answered it. “V!” you called.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” V responded.

“Yes, I can hear you.”

“Hello? Oh, my signal is terrible here. Should I try another window…? If you can hear me, please wait just a moment! I’m going to try to move elsewhere.” You could hear him moving. “Are you there?” he tried again after a moment.

“Can you hear me now?” you asked.

“Oh. Yes, there we go.” He sounded relieved to hear you. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to call you earlier. Is everything okay? Are you safe?”

You frowned to yourself. The last time you had chatted in the messenger, he had asked a similar question. “Do you think I’m in danger here?”

“It’s not that… I was worried because Luciel said you were trying to contact me. He made it seem like it was important.” 

V’s voice was so calming. It was difficult for you not to be soothed by what sounded like genuine worry. However, when you were suspicious of someone you kept your guard up. You just felt a little guilty that you had to keep such a guard up against V when you wanted to trust him. He would need to work harder to earn it from you. You were only giving him so much benefit of the doubt because the RFA trusted him so much.

“It is. I was trying to call you earlier. You said to tell you if something was up here.”

“Has something happened?” He sounded more alarmed now. Your hand clenched in the fabric of your dress skirt.

“I mentioned that I had an important decision to make… and I’ve made it. Tonight, something is going to happen.”

“Oh… No, you can’t!” V cried, and then backtracked, withdrawing his emotions. “I think you should reconsider. I hope you’re not planning to agree to something… that won’t be good for you. I want you to be safe.”

“You make it sound like you know what I’m referring to,” you pointed out, eyes narrowed. 

V was silent for a long moment. Then, “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“I would know if people would tell me more.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized right away, as he was prone to do. “I know you’re frustrated. I wish that I could be more frank too, but I’m telling you what I can for now. About tonight… What are you going to do?”

You didn’t need to answer that. You were sure he already knew anyway based on your earlier answers. “There’s someone here I need to help. Someone important to me.” You hesitated and then said, “I think you might know who he is too.”

“...What?” There was still hesitance in V’s tone, but it was a little different now. There was some level of confusion, but not enough to plead ignorance of Ray’s existence. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you keep telling me to try to keep myself safe, and I’m going to do that. But I’m staying in this place in order to help that person,” you told him seriously. “Because… I care about him. And I don’t think his brother would be happy with me if he finds out about what’s going on and I did nothing to help.”

V called your name, and now you could hear the slight panic in it. “I don’t know what all you know, but please. Please reconsider. There can’t be any more victims. I wish to help you.”

“I’m fine,” you insisted. “There’s someone here who needs more help than me.”

“I wish you would tell me more about what you mean. I’m on your side,” V swore. “But–” He tried to speak, but the connection was beginning to cut again. You called for him, and you heard him make a rare noise of frustration. “I’m getting another call,” he said when he found a clearer signal. “It’s Luciel. It has to be important. But this is important too…” He spoke almost to himself. “No, I have to take this.” Then, to you, “I’m sorry. Can we please talk about this again later? Before tonight. I’ll try to call you again soon. I’m so sorry.”

You were a little annoyed that you had barely had any time to talk to him when finally it seemed you were getting somewhere, but you weren’t going to hold him there. “I’m not changing my mind. But yes, we’ll talk later. Go talk with Luciel. Please take care of him.”

V said your name again, half-pleading. But he didn’t clarify what he was asking for. Instead, he said “I will. I’m one of the few people who know what he’s going through, after all. Good bye for now… And please take care,” and you both hung up.

You clutched your phone in your hand as you glared a little at the ground. V really didn’t want you to be indoctrinated. He clearly thought you were in danger here. Maybe you were. He had to know more about what was going on. You would need to ask him about this place later if you got a chance. If he really was nearby like you suspected, then maybe you could find a way to meet somehow. 

You glanced out of the window once more. Admittedly, though, you had no idea how you two would meet. That would be something to figure out. Hopefully V really did manage to contact you before tonight.

You realized very quickly later on why Luciel had been so insistent on contacting V not only by phone but by messenger. It was a little nice to know that V’s signal problems were real as Luciel had trouble contacting him too, but that relief was dismissed as soon as you saw just how panicked Luciel really was. He didn’t go into many details over the messenger where others could see, but you didn’t need him to. You got your information straight from the opposing source.

It didn’t feel good seeing Luciel freaked out, but it felt even worse to see how giddy Ray was to have caused the drama. Apparently this was what he had hinted at to you earlier about trying to “entertain” you. Even if you were happy to see Ray in person, you didn’t like how he had this mindset of having to prove himself through these deeds. Did he see torturing the RFA as proving his worth? 

You wished that you could say that you were completely turned off by this behavior, but… There was something a little exciting about Ray’s change as well. He promised to be bolder with you and to express his feelings more. But before you could suggest that he could do that without harassing his brother, he was already off to prepare for your ceremony that night. You couldn’t stop him if you’d tried.

You were left feeling conflicted and wretched as late afternoon stretched into evening. You worried for Luciel and you were anxious for another contact from V. You had agreed to the ceremony tonight, but you also didn’t want to go into it completely blind. It was frustrating being locked up! You couldn’t even say anything in the messenger as you watched Luciel fake being better to recover face in front of the RFA, despite how Jaehee had easily seen through it. How long had Luciel been hiding who he was from them? They all seemed close, but you knew that was just a trait of Luciel too. It was easy to feel close to him, but he had a skill at keeping people at arm’s length by giving them just enough information about him before dancing away. 

You had attempted to hint to him that you knew what kind of information that was sent to him by Ray (after all, Ray had bragged about sending Luciel information about his past that he wanted to forget), but that had only worked against you and had sent Luciel’s suspicions higher. He was colder in the conversation, and wary of everybody. You couldn’t even imagine what it was Ray had sent him, but it had really hit a sore spot for him. 

You were still beating yourself up over your stupid mistakes when you were logging off of the chatroom as Jaehee had left. You knew that Luciel wasn’t in the right state right now, and you had ended up pushing him further away. You had to recover this.

You were scrambling to open up the phone app and just call him to tell him the truth when your phone started to ring instead. You yelped, nearly tossing the device, and fumbled with it before catching it. You had already managed to answer the call and heard the voice on the other end, but couldn’t pick up the words.

“Sorry! Sorry, hello?” you said, heart in your throat as you pressed the phone to your ear.

“You okay?” It was Luciel. That was surprising. Had he known you were about to call him? Talk about a psychic connection! You hoped if he was connected to you that he could feel the worry you had for him so that he would trust you more. 

“I’m okay. Just clumsy.”

He huffed a laugh that sounded nothing like how he usually was. If anything, it brought back memories of your time together in America when Luciel had always been tired and just a little reserved. You had forgotten it with time, but now you remembered how he had warmed up to you with time. This, you thought, was too much like the beginning of your relationship.

“What are you even doing?” he sighed, quietly amused. 

“I was about to call you, actually. You beat me to it.” You sat a little more comfortably on your bed. You were nervous.

“You were? Maybe we connected. Oh, right. It’s getting close to dinner time. Did you eat?”

How could he be nice to you after being so cold in the chatroom? “Not yet.” You eyed the door. It was around the time they usually brought you food. You worried about when they would show up. “I wanted to talk to you first and, um, clear up what happened in the chatroom.”

“Don’t even mention it,” Luciel said. “It’s not important.”

“It’s important to me. But… you sound terrible…”

“Like I said,” he stressed, “it’s not important.” He was putting up that wall again. He was even more defensive than usual. Well, it wasn’t like you weren’t good with dealing with these types. You could be stubborn too. You weren’t going to let the topic go. 

“You should have some ice cream,” you suggested gently. “Ice cream is good for cheering you up. Sweets are good for the brain, right?”

“Whoa~” he cheered softly, smile in his voice despite the stress still lacing through it, “It’s like you took the words straight from me. Do we think alike? Yeah, I was thinking about getting ice cream anyway.” He sighed a little longingly. “I love ice cream. Soft serve, popsicles, one scoop, two scoops, three scoops… I love them all. It’s like ice cream’s sweetness just seems to paralyze the part of the brain processing the world and makes me feel like I’m experiencing a whole different world for a while. This is just a theory, though.”

You closed your eyes as you listened to him and imagined you were sitting next to Luciel once more. How long ago was it that the two of you had gotten ice cream? You wanted to take him out again. Whenever you had been sad, he would take you to get some.

It seemed like he just wanted to ramble for a bit, so you didn’t interrupt him as he continued, “When I was young, I used to laugh whenever I had ice cream no matter how hard I’d cried before that. By the way, when I was young I used to eat this ice cream that you split in half… The one you can share with your friend, you know?”

You hummed, “I know the one.”

“That was my favorite,” he murmured. 

He had told you this before, once upon a time. You had insisted back then that next time he should share it with you and had been so happy when he did. But despite how much he had enjoyed it, he hadn’t seemed to have his heart in the moment as much as you did. That same reflective tone was here now. You had a better idea of who he might be thinking of this time.

“Who did you share it with?” you asked, half-hoping he would say it was you even while knowing otherwise. You could ignore your own pathetic heart anyway. This was a chance to hear about Ray from him, perhaps.

And Luciel didn’t disappoint. The longing in his quiet, open voice was so blatant that it made your throat close up. “A person most precious to me. A person I miss more than anyone in the entire world…”

“Who is that person?” you asked, unconsciously matching his tone.

“It’s a secret,” he laughed gently. Then he sighed in a big whoosh, breaking the atmosphere and changing the subject before you could pursue it further. “Man, my head is just full of thoughts. You know, for some reason I talk about a bunch of things on my mind when I’m with you. There aren’t many people like that in my life. I heard there was a class for being a good listener… You didn’t take that class, did you?”

You laughed now. “I didn’t end up going to college, unlike someone.”

“Oh, you know that, do you? Did Yoosung tell you? He’s out here spilling my secrets.”

“I knew that before he told me, actually.” You tried to be light about it, but your nerves cut through. You were sure he could hear them.

“By hacking~?” he asked, voice pitching high as he attempted to be playful but didn’t quite make it. He could be good at pretending, but it seemed he was still off-kilter. And you were fine with that. You wanted him to be open to hear the truth. And you didn’t see a need in hiding it anymore.

“No, not by hacking. Because we knew each other.”

He was quiet for a moment, processing that. Then, he laughed. “What? There’s no way~! Ah, if you want to play around with me now, I don’t really want–”

“Luciel,” you interrupted, “I’m not playing. I’m being serious.” You decided on a different tactic and switched back to English to continue speaking with him, “I thought you were a genius, Luciel. Can’t you recognize my voice? I know my name isn’t that uncommon, but… Who else could I be?”

The silence on the other end was palpable. You could tell he was still there despite the dead air as you heard the sharp intake of breath. Then he yelped, shocked, as he cried out your name and switched languages as well. “No way!! You have to be lying!! You can’t be? You couldn’t– I mean, how–?!” He tried again. “What are you doing here?!”

“It took you long enough to realize,” you huffed, both thrilled and terrified now that the truth was out. You still wondered if this was the right timing for this, but you had hated seeing Luciel be so suspicious of everyone around him. You wanted him to at least know he had you on his side… Even if you weren’t sure he would believe you. “You really didn’t find any information on me?”

“NO!” he yelled. Then he quickly apologized for yelling. You could hear things being knocked around on the other side of the receiver. Knowing him, he was pacing. At least he didn’t sound as sad. “How is this even possible?! How did you find me?”

“I didn’t find you! This is a coincidence, I swear!”

“It’s one hell of a coincidence!”

“You’re telling me.”

“How long have you… Wait, why didn’t you just tell me who you were in the first place?” He was suspicious again, but it was more confusion than anything. The shift in his trust for you was already so obvious that it was shocking. “You’ve known it was me, right?”

“I figured it out eventually.”

“What do you mean, eventually? My picture’s right there.”

You couldn’t talk about the situation you were in right now in detail. You still weren’t entirely sure your phone wasn’t bugged. This was already a huge risk you were taking. You supposed you would find out the hard way for your impulsive action if this was going to be a problem.

“I figured it out eventually,” you repeated. “Though I couldn’t really believe it at first.”

He said your name once more, this time much more serious. “Where are you right now? And what have you gotten yourself into? You realize this just makes things even more confusing for me, right?”

“I wish I could tell you, but…” You ran a hand into your hair. V’s warnings were still there. “I’m frustrated that I can’t say anything either. I don’t know if my phone is bugged or what might be heard…”

“Your phone! Ugh…” Luciel fell silent, though you still heard him moving. He muttered to himself, “Right. You’re not safe right now, probably. V told me to just trust him and you… so I guess this helps with that. But that just makes things worse as well. At least that’s one problem solved, even if it just opens up even more problems. You can’t tell me anything, can you?” He took a breath and let it out in a rush. “Okay. Okay! You’ve blown my mind apart, and it was already a mess before! How could you do this to me?!”

“It’s ice cream time,” you attempted to joke.

“Ice cream will have to wait! You’ve at least saved me from having to do more research on you. I can focus on doing something else now since I was coming up with nothing anyway!”

You were stunned. You had known Luciel had been researching you to find out information about you. You even knew that V and Jaehee had been doing the same thing. You had also known that all of them had been failing to find much, if anything at all, because of Ray. So to hear Luciel giving up entirely on investigating you all because he knew you personally from years ago was a bit hard to take in. You couldn’t believe it.

“Wait, you’re not going to investigate me more?” you asked, still trying to process.

“I wasn’t finding anything new about you anyway, but a lot is suddenly making a lot more sense now that I know who you are,” Luciel explained quickly. He always talked faster when he was rushing. He was having a burst of energy now. “Unless you’re telling me there’s suspicious stuff in your past?”

“Not much has happened since we last saw each other, other than learning Korean and moving, I mean.”

“Hehe, I’m sure there’s more than that, but I’ll believe you for now! I’ll give up on the background search and leave that to V and Jaehee so I can focus on the present instead. Thanks for telling me!”

Something about this felt unsatisfying to you, and you knew it was the part of you that was still hurt by his behavior and abandonment of the past. “You got over finding out who I am very quickly, you know…” you grumbled.

“Are you angry? Ah, ah, don’t be like that! Man, you really haven’t changed that much, have you? Ugh…” he sighed. “Actually, I’m avoiding talking about that stuff right now. Forgive me, okay? There’s a lot happening. I have a ton of questions for you, but I’d rather make sure you’re not in danger first. You are safe, right?”

That was a hard question to answer, and you felt your hesitation in your response told him more than your actual words as you said, “Yes.”

“...If something happens, tell V, okay? I can’t be your knight in shining armor, but I can at least be the guy who tells the knight where to go!”

You’d rather Luciel be your knight than V. You didn’t like that distance he was putting between the two of you. “Why V?” You didn’t understand. “Do you trust him that much, Luciel?”

“I owe him everything,” he explained with a passion. “You can trust him.”

You wanted to believe him. His swearing by V did, in fact, make you trust the man more. But you still kept yourself from trusting him completely. There had to be a reason why Luciel’s brother hated him. Luciel just told you without saying it how dear his brother was to him, and you still remembered that Ray was the entire reason Luciel was working as hard as he did at the job he currently had. You doubted he would trust V nearly as much as he did if he knew how bad things actually were for Ray.

You changed your mind. You were now completely suspicious of V’s role in both Ray and Luciel’s lives. You would need to do some digging on your own. You would take Luciel’s trust with a grain of salt.

“...I’ll reserve my judgment,” you muttered.

“I know this is rich coming from me, but you’re too suspicious~! I really mean it, okay?”

“You’re right; that is rich coming from you. But I have my reasons.”

“Erg! Is this how it feels to be on the other end of desperately wanting answers to questions…?!” Luciel joked, sounding pained. Then he sobered up once more. “If you have any reason not to trust him, you should tell me. I’m on your side.”

“Now that I believe,” you smiled. “You’re still the same Luciel I know. Even if you did completely abandon me.”

“Ouch! I had a good reason… Argh, I wanna tell you now but there’s no time! I’m going to check and make sure your phone is all safe and let you know in the chatroom, okay? Keep an eye out because I can’t say it directly!”

“Got it. I have to go anyway.” Your eyes turned towards your door where you could hear people talking. You knew your food would be here soon. It was time. You had to lower your voice.

“I seriously hope you’re actually safe,” he told you. “Before you go! Keep pretending in the chatrooms that we don’t know each other, alright? That’s why you never said anything, right? Because the hacker can see everything?”

He really was a genius. “Yeah.”

“Okay. Keep it up then. This will be our secret for now!”

“Luciel, don’t tell V either. Not… Not yet, okay? Not until I can trust him too.”

Your chest tensed, waiting to hear Luciel’s insistence that you could trust V. You were betting a lot on someone who had just told you he owed V everything. You would be disappointed, but not surprised if he denied your request. After all, you were just some girl he had known a few years back. He didn’t really owe you anything, even if you had both been best friends once upon a time.

“...Alright. It’s just our secret,” he agreed, surprising you once again. “Not even V knows what I did while I was in America… so this works out. There’s no trace of our relationship. We’ll keep it that way for now.”

“Pending that my phone isn’t bugged, you mean.”

“I’ve already started looking and haven’t found anything yet! Don’t worry!” There was a knock on your door, making you wince. “I’m sure everything’s okay.”

“I have to go,” you interrupted him. “Luciel, I… There’s a lot I want to say but can’t. Just… If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, make sure you harass V!”

“Wait, what is that supposed to mean–?” he started, but you hung up quickly as your door opened without your clearance. The usual people in cloaks had brought your food. At least it smelled good.

You felt bad for leaving Luciel hanging like that, but he could figure things out on his own. You had your own problems to deal with. The sun was beginning to set. You had a ceremony to take part in. You would have to eat your dinner and wait for the day to end.

On your phone you got a single text message from Luciel.

Trust me.

That, at least, you could do.

Chapter Text

You were wrong to say that being locked up didn’t bother you. It did, in fact, bother you a lot. When you had been under the mostly-true impression that you were in this building willingly for the job you were doing it had been easier to deal with the limitations of your wandering. But now that you felt more locked up, the building felt more cage-like. You were constantly thinking about the mysteries surrounding you. As stressful as it was, you had to admit that it was all kind of exciting.

What could you say? You enjoyed a good mystery, and it was thrilling to be wrapped up in one. Yes, maybe you were in danger. But you didn’t think it was a danger level that you couldn’t handle. You were calm despite the wariness you held about your situation. You attributed a portion of that to knowing that there were people on the outside who knew of your location or were at least worried about you.

At least you had the RFA to chat with. Though you were still getting to know all of them, they were a welcome relief to befriend. Zen and Yoosung seemed almost too relaxed considering you had suspiciously entered the RFA, but that’s part of the reason why you liked them. Zen seemed like someone who went with the flow and trusted V’s word that you were a good person, so he welcomed you with open arms and a flirtatious smile. You had never really been hit on so much by someone, but it made him kind of charming. Zen wasn’t your type and felt a little more like the older brother you’d never had with the way he would act towards Yoosung and even Luciel at times. You were much more interested in the fact that he was an actor and that Jaehee often talked about him being on stage. You wanted to research him, but that would give away that you knew the RFA existed. You would have to wait until you could confront Ray with the truth before you could try to find MeTube videos on Zen.

Yoosung fully believed the lie that Ray had told you to feed the members about Rika having sent you. You’d had no clue who Rika was when you had first joined, and even now you only knew of her. Yoosung was clearly heartbroken by the loss of her life and you understood enough to know he resented V for it. But while he was still struggling with his grief, he was open and even excited to be talking to you despite you not knowing anything about Rika. You felt bad for leading him on even while being honest. He seemed like a sweet – if a bit immature – younger brother. You weren’t even that much older than him either.

It was nice to listen to their normal problems while you were in a fairly abnormal situation, and you passed your time like that while you waited for night to come. Their genuine care for Luciel reminded you that at least in the time you hadn’t known him, Luciel had managed to make new friends who cared about him. Whether he planned to abandon them as well in time or not was something you preferred not to think about. Right now, you all were wrapped up in each other. That was a problem for a later date. You would rather immerse yourself in seeing Yoosung cheering up thanks to the game Luciel had infected his computer with and listen to Zen discuss skincare and take selfies than worry about stuff.

It was a short but enjoyable break in normality as night time fell and you found yourself in another chatroom conversation with V. It was rare to catch him alone, and you hadn’t spoken to him since your phone call earlier, so it was nice to be able to talk with him again. He always seemed less talkative in the chatrooms, and you suspected he knew that everyone could see it. As you talked with him, you kept in mind Luciel’s trust and tried to put your guard down a bit, but you had to admit that you were still a little stiff with him. You couldn’t help it.

You wished that you could believe fully that his worry for you was genuine, but Ray’s words of caution still rang in your mind. You knew that you were probably being biased, but something about the entire situation just wasn’t sitting right with you. You felt that both sides were only telling you part of the truth. You hated liars.

At least it was easier to talk about the upcoming RFA party. V’s update on the party plans were welcome and even exciting. The members of the RFA had been quick to offer a handful of guest recommendations that you had already been emailing with back and forth. Some of them were… questionable… mostly because they were from Luciel and, surprisingly, Jumin, but that was what made it more fun. You had thought that they were just silly things associated with the game (seriously, though? Pluto?) but… You guessed that they were actual people. Or things. Or animals? Honestly, you had no clue. The fact they weren’t part of a game was wild to consider.

Now that you thought about it, why, exactly, did Ray want you to help throw an RFA party? If he hated the leader of the organization and the head of the security so much, why would he want there to be a party? Yes, you were working to make sure it would benefit good causes (after all, that was also part of your job as the party coordinator. You’d never had to throw this kind of party before, but you were doing your best since that was your whole purpose here. If you screwed it up, you didn’t think Ray would be allowed to keep you in the building even if you were indoctrinated) but you doubted this was out of the goodness of his own heart.

Who was his ‘supervisor’, and what did they want with the RFA?

You wanted to ask V and Luciel their thoughts, but you didn’t have a way to do so. Judging by how V acted in the chatroom, he didn’t even know that you had talked to Luciel since Luciel’s last login. He seemed to have kept his promise to you, which relieved you more than you had thought. You just hoped he wasn’t still freaking out over whatever it was Ray had sent him. It really did hurt you to see him in pain.

V:  

It’s also important to me that none of the members get hurt.

V:  

Luciel, the rest…

V:  

and you too.

V:  

I’m especially concerned for you.

V:  

You literally found yourself thrown into the middle of strangers.

V:  

I believe you’ll be nervous.

V:  

So that’s why

V:  

In case something bad happens to you

V:  

I’ll protect you.

You frowned at your screen. Your heart was aching. Confusion weighed heavily on your mind. V wanted to protect you, but what was he protecting you from?

You:  

What kind of bad things?

V:  

Uh… just if something bad happens.

V:  

I didn’t have anything specific in mind…

V:  

I’m sorry if I worried you.

V:  

I trust in you.

V:  

You’re a good person…

V:  

I’ve never met you for real

V:  

and we didn’t even get to talk a lot…

V:  

but I can tell you’ve come to us

V:  

with an innocent intention.

He had dodged your question again. Maybe he really didn’t know enough to even warn you. You wondered how much of what he was saying was lip service and how much of it was actually the truth. You were someone who was normally willing to take what people said at face value, but your trust was in the people you knew more. Luciel and Ray had told you conflicting things, but even Jumin had vouched for V. He might be biased as well since they were childhood friends but…

Despite your hesitancy, you trusted V. He sounded sincere. You didn’t doubt he was hiding a lot, and so you wouldn’t give him your full trust at all, but you felt like you could trust what he was telling you for now. Your intentions with RFA were innocent even when you had thought it was a game.

You:  

Yes, I like the RFA!

V:  

I knew you’d say that!

V:  

V:  

Because

V:  

I can feel that from you

V:  

as you write outside this chatroom…

V:  

Actually…

V:  

that’s why I’m even more worried.

V:  

I’m worried… what happened to Luciel

V:  

might happen to you too.

But what, exactly, had happened to Luciel? You just knew that it had something to do with his past. Ray was his brother, so you didn’t doubt he had information about Luciel that others wouldn’t know. V did know, however. It told you more than anyone in the RFA could that Luciel really did trust V. His actions spoke louder than his words when Luciel liked to hide behind the guise of his goofiness and being weird. 

You:  

There’s nothing to worry about with me. I can handle myself.

You:  

But I’m looking into things too and keep my eye out.

V:  

That’s enough for me. 

V:  

Do take a look around

V:  

If anything looks suspicious… call me.

V: 

I’m worried someone bad would exploit your innocent heart.

V:  

So I’m worried even now that you might be under someone’s exploitation…

V: 

I hope my heart can reach you.

V:  

I’m worried about you, and I trust you.

So, he was worried you were being manipulated. Looking back on the situation and the conversations you’d had with him, you could understand why he thought that. He said that he trusted you, but you were certain he was wary of the place you were in and the reason you were even thrust into the RFA. If he knew more than he let on, then maybe he even knew what this building was for and why these people wanted him to throw the RFA party.

You didn’t think you were being manipulated. Maybe you were to some extent since you cared about Ray so much, but you hadn’t really had any interactions with anyone else. If Ray was the one who was supposed to manipulate you, two could play at that game. Ray wanted to keep you there, but your ultimate goal was to get him out and to someplace better for him. This prison wasn’t it. Whether he called it paradise or not, a true paradise wouldn't have him half-dead on his feet and looking at you with marvel every time you so much as showed appreciation or reciprocated his clear affection for you.

You:  

I can tell. Thank you for worrying ^^

V:  

No, thank you

V:  

I hope the hearts of the other members could also reach you.

V:  

They truly wish to host a fabulous party with you.

You:  

I hope your phone stays working… just in case something does happen to me.

V:  

Please don’t even imagine something bad occurring to you…

V:  

I’m worried about you… but I believe in you too.

V:  

I’ll protect you, I promise.

There was a part of you that felt relief knowing V was watching out for you. You didn’t know how much he could actually do, but if he was close to your location like you suspected then he was already more helpful to you than anyone else. And with Luciel on both of your sides, it was a very secure feeling.

However, you didn’t know yet if V’s goals to protect you also included Luciel’s brother. If V knew Luciel and Luciel trusted him as much as he said… he had to know about Ray. He had certainly reacted when you had hinted at it earlier. So that meant if V’s plans to protect you didn’t include Ray, then you didn’t want his help. Not in the way he was offering, anyway.

Was there any way for the two of you to get on the same page when all of your interactions were being monitored like this? It was probably already too late for V to interfere with your indoctrination, but there was still time. One of the reasons he had even come to the chatroom was to solidify the party date for you all. It was soon – way too soon, in your opinion, but he must have a reason for that decision other than what he was saying – but you trusted that you would all succeed. V had faith in the rest of the RFA members’ competence and experience, so you would as well. 

It felt like a deadline for what you needed to do in this building. Once the RFA party was over – pending that you could even go to the RFA party since Ray still claimed this was all a ‘game’ – you would probably be given a different job in this cult.

You needed to convince Ray to run away with you before that. You only had a week.

V:  

I hope your heart heads towards

V:  

the same path as ours…

You:  

I wish for the same.

V:  

V:  

That’s what my heart always wishes for.

V:  

Now excuse me…

[V has left the chatroom.]

You were about to leave the chatroom as well when an unexpected name popped in.

[707 has entered the chatroom.]

707:  

Huh? I just missed V

707:  

I was hoping to catch him.

You:  

Luciel! You were a little slow this time.

You:  

Are you losing your touch, God7?!

707:  

707:  

Is that what’s happening?!

707:  

have I, God7…

707:  

lost my power…?

You:  

Recharge!!!!!

707:  

Ohhhhh……!!!

707:  

I CAN

707:  

FEEL YOUR ENERGY FLOWING INTO ME…!!!

[ZEN has entered the chatroom.]

707:  

[707 Recharge Level: 67%]

You:  

You mean ‘69%’ lol

707:  

lololol

707:

shhhhhhhhhh!!!!

ZEN:  

lol what the heck are you two doing?

ZEN:  

I didn’t expect such a joke out of you

You: 

You should know I’m full of surprises ^^

ZEN:  

That just makes me want to know more!

ZEN:

What kind of surprises?

ZEN:

You:

Wouldn’t you like to know? ;)

707:  

Me too me too! I’m full of surprises too!

ZEN:  

Nobody asked you lol

707:  

707:  

u’d care more if I was also a cute girl

707:  

this is sexism

707:  

all u care about are looks

ZEN:  

Only my own and beautiful women

ZEN:  

But anyway, what are you doing here so late?

You:  

I was talking with V. Did you read above?

ZEN:  

Not yet. Let me go look.

707:  

Ho!! Did I read what happened correctly?!

707:  

The party date’s been set?

You:  

It’s kind of soon… But I think we can do it.

707:  

It’s really soon.

707:  

…

707:  

But if that’s what V wants, what can we do?

You:  

Let’s work hard!

707:  

lol but I see you were being all sketchy with him again

707:  

learn to trust a little more~

707:

Ur one of us now!

You:  

Didn’t you just say you were full of secrets?

707: 

I said surprises~!

You:  

You’re full of secrets too

707:  

That’s my job. I can’t help that

You:  

I’m glad you seem better now, Luciel ^^

707:  

Let’s not talk about that!

707:  

Besides, I feel more secure now that I’ve double-checked our security!

707:  

Everything’s good ^^

707:  

well… except the server

707:  

i’m still working on that

The relief was palpable in you. Not only had Luciel seemed to have recovered, but your phone wasn’t bugged. You were safe to communicate as long as it was by phone! You were glad he managed to find a way to tell you without being suspicious about it. You were just a little guilty he even had to add even more work to his plate when it sounded like he was overburdened already.

You:  

I’m sorry for all the trouble ;;

ZEN:  

I just read everything.

ZEN:  

Seven’s checking all the security… and so’s V…

ZEN:  

And the party is in a week…

ZEN:  

We’re going to be busy!

You:  

So be sure to give lots of guest recommendations~

ZEN:  

Of course!

ZEN: 

ZEN:  

man, Seven, how much more do you gotta do to secure our chat? 

ZEN:  

I can’t have my selfies getting out!

707:  

I’m fighting every day over here!

707:  

I’m doing so much…

ZEN:  

Then do better!

You:  

lol this is from the guy who was worrying about Seven just earlier and wanted him to cheer up~

707:  

707:  

ZEN:  

Get those gross faces out of here!!

ZEN:  

But I’m glad you’re doing better.

ZEN:  

What was all that about anyway?

707:  

Why are we still stuck in the past? 

707:  

The future is so much more exciting!!!!

707:  

PARTY TIME!!

You felt like you could talk all night with the two of them, but you knew you wouldn’t be able to last forever as you glanced at the clock on your phone. It was a good to know that if you made a phone call to V right now that you could actually try to talk to him without worry of Ray or anyone else listening in, but you didn’t think the timing would be right after your conversation earlier. Someone might suspect that you thought something was up if you called now. So, you stayed in the chatroom talking about the party with Zen and Luciel until you had to get off to go bathe. 

You didn’t want to talk to anyone but Ray now. It felt like it had been far too long since you had spoken to him even if it was only a few hours ago. You already missed spending time with him like you did that morning.

It was nearing ten at night when Ray finally reached out to you. It was as if he knew you had been thinking about him when you entered the mysterious chatrooms that even Luciel couldn’t seem to find a way into. The green and black background was always disorienting to you, but it was worth it to see his cute emojis and his purple chat bubbles. You could almost imagine his face and voice.

V’s concerns for you were still in your mind even as you chatted and agreed one final time to stay in this place with Ray. Talking with Luciel and V both had only solidified your resolve to help the man you had fallen for quickly. Even if it was just a crush, your heart had reached for him and you didn’t want to leave his side. Even if he hadn’t been Luciel’s brother, you had known from the beginning that you had wanted to follow this feeling. And so, your heart was filled with joy that matched Ray’s own as he told you about what the two of you would be able to do together as soon as you were indoctrinated. 

But soon, that feeling passed as he began to speak about Luciel to you once more, even if it was only in vague details. He never said who it was specifically when he spoke to you of betrayal and nightmares of the person he hated, but you knew who he was talking about. What had happened between these brothers to have caused so much hurt? You felt like Luciel truly had no idea with how he longed to see Ray again even while Ray was furious with him. 

Ray:

I have nightmares almost every single night…

Ray:

But I hope that’s not the case for you.

Ray:

I want to make you fall asleep every night with happy thoughts

Ray:

once you start living here…

Ray:

Because…

Ray:

…I’ve actually fallen for you.

You bit your lips, heart leaping to your throat at the sight of the words on your screen. Though you had felt your feelings were mutual, it was another thing entirely to see someone confess their love like this. Even your last partner had not been so straightforward. Your heart fluttered. You had always longed for a romance, and here Ray was just waiting for you. You no longer had any concern for manipulation. V had thought maybe you were being coerced or manipulated, but you didn't feel that way at all. You were sure Ray's feelings for you were just as genuine as yours were for him. You chose to believe in that.

You:

Me too… I like you too, Ray.

Ray:

Me too… I like you so much…!

Ray:

Even if I open my eyes with agonizing thoughts

Ray:

my heart becomes peaceful when I think of you.

Ray:

Even if my heart clenches in my chest

Ray:

I feel like I can breathe again… when I think of you.

You:

That’s the only kind of pain I ever wish for you to feel, Ray.

Ray:

This pain…

Ray:

It’s a happy pain, isn’t it?

Ray:

I’m fine with feeling this pain as long as it means I can stay with you!

You:

I feel the same pain. It’s the feeling of our hearts together showing how much we like each other.

You:

It doesn’t hurt in a bad way, right?

Ray:

No

Ray:

It makes me want to go back to this morning… when all we could see was each other.

Ray:

I hope we can spend every morning like that from now on…!

Ray:

You:

That would be amazing! And maybe I can make you breakfast some time too?

Ray:

I don’t want you to have to cook if you don’t need to.

Ray:

I’ll cook you every meal, if you want. 

Ray:

…

Ray:

If I have time, I mean.

Ray:

But!

Ray:

I’m sure as soon as my job is done, we will have all the time in the world for each other!

Ray:

It felt a little like reality had crashed in on the rose-tinted bubble you two were in. As wonderful as it was to have confirmed your mutual feelings, your situation was still standing in the way. No matter how much you wanted to be by his side, you were still imprisoned in this place and Ray was dreadfully overworked. You wanted something better for both him and for you, and you wanted to resolve the mystery between V, Ray, and Luciel. You couldn’t let yourself get too caught up in your fantasies quite yet. A little indulgence was alright, though. You wanted to share in your love with Ray.

Ray:

You’re not going to betray me, are you?

Ray:

I hope you won’t trust those AIs

Ray:

more than me, for example…

Ray:

I hope such a sad thing won’t happen…

Trust was something that Ray worried about. You could understand why, since he felt he was betrayed by his brother. You didn’t know the relationship the two of them had, but you knew the pain of betrayal and being left alone by a family member to fend for yourself. Ray had spoken so much about how little he respected himself, and you knew he considered himself weak. His apologies to you over little things, the fear that you would leave him if he did anything wrong, and now his concerns that you liked the RFA more than him told you more than anything that Ray was desperate for someone he could rely on. He needed someone who would not only support him and encourage him, but would help him grow to stand on his own two feet and see how wonderful he was.

You wished that you could show him the parts of him you had already become so attached to. His kindness, his gentleness, and even the large, damaged heart he had shown you had already become so precious to you. You wanted to hold that heart in your hands carefully and protect it. 

Even if you didn’t have romantic feelings for him, you were sure this was a path you would’ve taken if only for the sake of Luciel. You were loyal to your friends, even if Luciel had failed you once before. It only gave you more reason to stay. You felt like whatever pain Ray was going through was something you could help with, and so you would. You were already in too deep to turn around now. You would rather get hurt first than betray the tentative and desperate trust this kind man had put into you.

You:

I won’t betray you. I promise.

Ray:

You have no idea how glad I am whenever you tell me that.

Ray:

Please keep our promise…

Ray:

Ray:

Throughout my life, all of the people

Ray:

who betrayed me were unwelcome and uninvited guests…

Ray:

But you’re not one of those people.

Ray:

You came here for me.

Ray:

You chose to.

Ray:

So…

Ray:

now I can hope, right?

Ray:

I can hope that you’re nothing like those who betrayed me… right?

You:

Please trust me. I want nothing but your happiness.

Ra y:

Yes… I will.

Ray:

My happiness is your happiness… and your happiness is mine.

Ray:

I’ll do everything to make you happy.

Ray:

So please… stay by my side.

Ray:

My trust has been met with nothing but betrayal so far…

Ray:

But… I’ll trust you…

Ray:

So please don’t hurt me.

You:

I care about you so much…

Ray:

Do you know what I think of everyday?

Ray:

I want you to be by my side…

Ray:

I want you to give me all of your sadness and pain…

Ray:

I want to stay here with you forever.

Ray:

I want to protect you…

Ray:

from everything bad that could happen to you.

Ray:

From morning when you wake up until night when you fall asleep.

Ray:

I want to protect you

Ray:

I really want to protect you…

Ray:

Do you understand… how I feel?

You hugged your pillow to your chest, heart soaring and aching at the same time from his sweet words. It was all so bittersweet knowing he was being vulnerable and showing his pain to you while also sounding like he was praying for happiness for you both. You loved his openness and felt his desire matched yours. You understood him more than he probably thought.

You:

You said everything I wanted to say, Ray…

You:

I want to do the same. Let me protect you too, please.

Ray:

I don’t want you to ever get hurt.

You:

And I feel the same way.

You:

Ray, can we do that for each other?

You:

I know you want to protect me, and I’m so touched. You’re so kind.

You:

But I want to be there for you too.

You:

So don’t hide your hurt from me either. Let me help you too.

Ray:

No, I never want you to get hurt…

Ray:

I don’t deserve you risking yourself, so just let me take on all the pain.

Ray:

I can do it for you

You:

Ray…

Ray:

Uh… I’m not used to praises so I’m not sure how I should describe this feeling…

Ray:

Just knowing you care so much for me…

Ray:

My heart feels kind of… ticklish!

Ray:

…I wish you’d stay with me…

The feeling of excitement, fear, worry, and adoration was too much for you. You knew what would come next. You were going to see Ray again, and you were planning to stay with him. This time, you thought, it was finally time for the event he had kept mentioning. Soon you would be officially part of whatever it is that was happening here.

You wouldn’t regret your choice. You were someone who always wanted to be true to yourself. Despite your surroundings and the cautions of those in the RFA, V, and Luciel, you felt in your heart this was the right decision. Even if it became difficult, you knew you had support. You would just have to be careful. You felt that all of this would be worth it if it meant protecting this man. You refused to become someone to be added to the list of those who had betrayed him.

You:

I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait for you.

Ray:

I was hoping you’d say that…!

Ray:

I’ll come for you now…

Ray:

Please wait for me… my love.

[Ray has left the chatroom.]

Chapter Text

You got dressed quickly upon hearing Ray would be coming to visit you. The night had become late already, but your energy was restored at the mere thought of what was to come. The excitement of Ray visiting was twisted and tangled with the nerves you had over what kind of initiation you were about to go through. A phone call with Ray earlier made you think you would be eating or drinking something, and your mind had been quick to make you think your “Kool-aid” joke might be more serious than you had thought. If you could, you wanted to avoid drinking anything until you knew what was in it. You only had faith that Ray wouldn’t give you anything that would be harmful to your body when he seemed to care about you so much.

You had only just finished changing when there was a knock at your door. You checked your hair in the mirror one last time and lamented quietly to yourself that you still looked tired from your late night last night before you opened the door. Ray smiled gently upon seeing you, and your heart clenched with delight. He truly was far too handsome.

“You answered the door quickly,” Ray said, pleasure and a hint of laughter in his tone. “Were you waiting for me?”

“I was! If I had known you were coming sooner, I would’ve made myself a little more presentable,” you lamented, feeling a little shy. You had pulled on the closest dress that you’d had available. It was probably going to be a little chilly outside since you were in the mountains, though. You didn’t have time to get a jacket. Hopefully you wouldn’t need it even while you were quietly wishing to go to the garden with him once more. It had been so beautiful in the moonlight last night.

“I’m sorry it had taken so long.” He reached out and brushed gloved fingers over your cheek, bringing a smile to your face. His gaze was so gentle. How could you believe for one second that he had ill intentions towards you? V must be wrong. “I wanted to prepare everything just for you, so I wanted to be part of every step of preparation. It ended up becoming quite late. I couldn’t wait any longer after you agreed to stay. Now all you have to do is take the pledge to our contract. Then we can stay here forever.”

You didn’t want to promise to stay in that building forever, though. You caught his hand and pressed your cheek to his palm. His hands were warm, but they smelled a little strange. There was a sweet scent coming from them. You couldn’t quite place what it was. “It feels like a dream,” you murmured to him. “I’m so happy to stay by you, Ray.”

He murmured your name back, heart in his voice as he stepped closer to you. You hoped he would kiss you, though you didn’t expect that he would. His pale cheeks looked pink in the intimate light of your bedroom. “It really does feel like a dream. I can’t believe it’s actually coming true…” His thumb stroked your cheekbone before he pulled away to simply hold your hand. You linked your fingers together, which only made him glow a little more. “I knew it,” he whispered. “Everything I believed in was right. I knew I wouldn’t regret listening to Savior.”

“‘Savior’?” you asked.

He nodded once. “Savior told me that I can be useful if I work hard here at Mint Eye. When I was young, I was good for nothing. But now, I can entertain you at least for a moment.” His smile widened, and you felt something twist a little in your stomach. It didn’t feel good to hear him talk like that about himself. “I’m… so happy. I’m so happy I’m not sure if this is real or not. I’m so happy to see you smiling. That’s why I’m afraid it will all go away like a dream…”

He grabbed both of your hands now and clutched them to his chest. You could feel his heart beating wildly, even more than your own, as sad, hopeful teal eyes met yours. “This isn’t a dream, is it?” he asked quietly. “I’m not going to wake up to find myself alone in my cold, dark room with nothing but computers, am I?”

You gripped his hands harder and shook his head. “This isn’t a dream. Trust me,” you told him passionately. “I’m here with you. We promised each other, didn’t we?”

His lips twitched. The sadness lingered, but his gaze was brightening. “You promised to never betray me.”

“If I was a dream you could wake up from, wouldn’t that be a betrayal too?” You laughed lightly. “It would be a betrayal to your heart and mine. So I have no choice but to stay, right?”

“That’s right,” he decided, and you saw as his shoulders relaxed just a little. “You don’t have a choice because you chose me. I feel safe thanks to your warm hands. It assures me this is real.” He kissed your knuckles. You felt you might melt on the spot. He gazed at you through his lashes, bright eyes shining even in the dark as his cheeks blushed with his feelings once more. “Please keep doing that. Hold on to me when I’m not sure what is happening.”

You twisted your hands to link your fingers together once more and smiled brightly. He was beautiful. His words cut through whatever doubts or defenses you might have had. You wanted nothing more than to stay by his side for as long as he would let you. You knew how precious this time together would be, so you would hold onto him as long as you could.

He took a breath to steady himself and seemed to get himself back on track. Your linked hands dropped between the two of you. “Like I told you before, if you officially take the pledge according to the Mint Eye’s rules, you’re free to roam around this place. To take the pledge, you must go through a certain procedure. But that procedure might be painful… depending on the person.”

There was worry in his voice. It raised alarms in your head. You attempted to joke, “It’s not poisoned Kool-aid, is it?”

He blinked with confusion, missing the joke. “No… it’s nothing like that…?”

You cringed internally. “Sorry. That was a lame joke.”

His lips twitched. “I’m glad you can joke about this. I want you to feel comfortable.”

“But you said it might be painful?” What kind of procedure would you be doing that it would be painful depending on the person? 

“It was painful… for me,” Ray clarified, hesitant. He was more reluctant than you had ever seen him. He had been so excited for you to join just earlier, but now just the thought of you being in pain was making him hesitate. He really did care for you like you did for him.

“What happened?” you asked right away, gripping his hands a little tighter. “What hurt you?”

“Oh,” he turned away and released one of your hands to open the door to your room, “why don’t we talk somewhere else? I’m sure you were frustrated to stay locked in here. Let’s look at the flowers and chat.”

He had dodged your question. He was definitely troubled about this scenario. V had told you that he was worried you would be exploited, but now you were starting to wonder if maybe Ray was the true victim. Was Ray someone V had been trying to protect and had failed to do so? Was that why Ray had hated him? Would you become just another person V had failed to protect? You suddenly had a lot of concerns.

For now, though, you would follow Ray. “Okay,” you told him. “I’d love to get out of this room for a bit and see the garden. We didn’t get to stay very long last time.”

“Thanks. We can stay a bit longer this time,” he promised. “Now let’s walk.” He guided you out of your room and past the guards that were usually at the end of the hallway. They bowed their heads and hid their faces a bit as Ray passed, but he ignored their existences. He seemed strangely withdrawn in front of them as his face fell somewhat flat. You watched him curiously. Ray was always gentle and smiling with you.

It was when you had entered the hallways on the lower floor and you two were alone again that he spoke once more with a smile, “There are lights in the garden that allow people to take a walk during the nights as well.”

“Since I’ll be able to roam freely, will you be able to join me for more walks?” you asked. “You’re so pale… I think some more sun would be good for you.”

“I’m sorry I’m so pale,” he lamented. “I have to stay inside for long periods of time due to my work. It’s usually night time before I know it.” He paused as they walked past other people in cloaks once more. You tried your best to memorize the route you two were taking. A lot of the building looked much like the floor you had been staying on. It was a bit of a maze. You could hardly believe how big this place was. “I wish I could spend some more time outdoors. The garden was supposed to be mine anyway.”

“I remember how beautiful it was. Did you take care of it yourself?”

“I’ve done a lot for it, but I haven’t been able to really go to it lately. We have a gardener to help in my absence.” He turned directions as you reached the ground floor. “This way.”

This late at night you didn’t expect to see that many people, and you were happy that there weren’t. Whatever activities happened here seemed to be more limited at night, though there were always a few people. If you ever did decide to escape, going through the hallways wouldn’t be a good idea. You knew there were security guards here because you had seen them, and you knew this place was protected. You couldn’t simply run away when everything looked so similar. It didn’t help that you could see cameras in many of the locations too. Was Ray in charge of watching the cameras too?

You were going to ask when you heard Ray mumble something to himself, so instead you asked, “What was that?”

“Oh, I’ll tell you in the garden,” he responded, and pushed open the same doors you two had exited through the last time. Just as it did last night, the colorful garden glowed under the moonlight and the clear skies. It was a gorgeous sight to behold. It was far bigger than you even remembered as you two took a different path than you had last night, granting you the privilege of gazing at orange roses, blue hyacinths, and cascading vines blooming with white flowers you couldn’t recognize. It was a bit exciting to see even a hedge maze. You wondered if Ray would walk it with you.

“The air is so sweet,” you commented, breathing deeply and reveling in the fresh air. The flowers filled the air with their aroma, surrounding you along with the warm breeze. The mountain air was good for both of you as you saw even Ray perk up a little now that you were both free from the building, but he still seemed a little troubled. “Do you think we can have a tea party here or something? It would feel like we’re in a royal garden!”

“We can try some time,” Ray told you. You broke away from him briefly to drop into a crouch to examine some newer buds. He simply watched, though kept close as he spoke. “Though it would be a bit better during the day. The night is lovely, but I want to be able to watch the clouds with you while we snack. I want to come here with you during the day, but my work always takes too long.” He sighed. “It usually ends when you would be asleep…”

“I like this place at night too,” you reassured him, standing once more. You stumbled a bit, but he caught you. You took advantage to link your arm with his. The soft pink blush on his pale cheeks in the low light of the garden made you smile. “But I can wait until we come out here during the day.” You should probably take everything a little more seriously, but you were genuinely just happy to be with him for a little while.

He guided you as you two slowly walked together. His stiffened body relaxed in your hold as he adjusted to your closeness. “You know, you’ve always accepted me the way I am,” he started. “You always have for the past few days. I’ve never had a chance to feel… what it’s like to have someone accept me. So I’ve been thinking about it all day long. And I thought… you would trust me no matter what I tell you.” His eyes met yours, hesitant but trusting. You hoped he could feel how much you wanted to be here with him in this moment. “Even if I tell you something that is completely out of the rules of the world you know… you’ll trust me… won’t you? Will you believe me no matter what I tell you?”

It was too serious of a moment for you to even joke around even as you felt the impulse to do so. You couldn’t help it sometimes. But now, you understood that this was going to be something that would affect Ray greatly. You wanted to be genuine, so you spoke from your heart, “Yes, I will.”

He paused, feet coming to a stop as he gazed at you with startled eyes. “...You didn’t hesitate at all.” He was breathless with wonder as surprise melted into affection. 

“Is it really so surprising to hear me say that?” you questioned with a little tilt of your head.

His head dropped to hide a shy smile before he quickly wiped it away. “You are such an amazing person… You’re nothing like those people I’ve known so far.”

“That’s because I trust you, Ray.” You would say it as many times as you needed to get him to understand how you felt. Even if you had questions about this place or knew that Ray was hiding things from you, you didn’t blame him. You trusted the man he was even if you hadn’t known him for long. His innocence felt real, and his hurt was something you wanted to help heal. You couldn’t stop your feelings.

“I’ll trust you too,” he swore to you. “I’ll trust you… more than anyone else.” He turned to you then, breaking your hold on him. His hands clenched by his side as he gathered his courage. You could only wait with bated breath as he asked, “Don’t you want to know what this place is?”

You nodded once. Finally it seemed he was going to be truthful with you.

“You’re supposed to take a pledge after a special ceremony, but you also get a rundown on what this place is really about,” he explained. “And for this ceremony… you get to drink a specially made elixir for clean–” he cut himself off and corrected quickly, eyes darting away, “I mean, for an orientation.” You frowned a little. He still avoided your gaze. “Yes, that’s it. And then you officially become one of us.”

“But it’s painful?” you asked. Your stomach churned a little with unease. All of this sounded terribly suspicious. You didn’t need the reminder that you were in some level of danger. You weren’t oblivious, after all.

“To some people, the side effect is just too strong, so it could be painful.” You could tell there was more, though. It lingered in the air waiting to be spoken, but he still hesitated.

“...Ray,” you prompted softly. He had said he would trust you. You hoped he would prove it now.

He was silent for a moment. You could see Luciel in that blank expression of his. Both brothers looked awfully alike when they were hiding their true thoughts from the outside world. You wondered just how fooled you might have been if you hadn’t already had experience with reading his brother.

However, your thoughts weren’t necessary. As soon as he risked looking at you finally, his expression broke to show his worry and his sadness. “To be honest…” he confessed, “I’m scared you’ll be in pain after drinking the elixir. Just like me.” Your eyes widened. Just how painful was this elixir? Ray was one of the people who were in pain after drinking it? No wonder he always looked so tired and sickly… What was the elixir? “If you’re in pain, my heart will be in greater pain.”

“Is it really necessary to take it, then?” you asked a little nervously.

“We make people drink the elixir in order to show them the truth. Then they’ll believe in us and become faithful followers,” he explained. That sounded like an actual drug. You were going to have to take a drug that could hurt you, and you didn’t even know what was in it. Would you also become faithful after drinking it?

Maybe V had been right to express his worries for you.

Ray’s hand touched your cheek, eyes softening. “But you… You already trust me and believe in this place so much… even without the elixir. So I think you don’t need the elixir or the orientation.”

Something in your heart instantly relaxed. You had been right to trust him. You didn’t know if he was being truthful or simply lying to you and himself in order to protect you, but you would take it.

“You’re right.” You took his hand and pressed your cheek to his palm. It was so warm on this cool night. It was a little unfair to give him the trusting, attractive expression you were sure was on your face, but you hoped seduction would work in your favor. You absolutely did not want to take an unknown drug created by a cult. The flush on his face told you that you were a little successful. “I don’t want to leave this place anyway when you’re here with me, Ray.”

He breathed your name like a prayer and hugged you to him. He was only a little taller than you. You could smell that strangely sweet scent lingering on him. It was almost bitter in the back of your throat to breathe in. “Thank you…! You chose me… Please never forget that. Just remember, though, that if someone asks you, you must tell them that you took the elixir. Alright?”

You nodded and pulled back from him. You could easily lie about that. “But Ray, is it actually painful if you take that elixir?” You touched his arm. You had noticed that he was skinnier than most guys your age. The pale faces of those people in hoods made a lot more sense now. This must be a side effect. “Has it really been hurting you?”

“Yes…” he murmured sadly. “I think the side effects are really bad for me. My head hurts, my heart throbs… It’s so difficult to work while the elixir is in effect. So I used to take it a lot in the past, but now I take it only when I really, really need it.”

“Is it related to your headaches?” 

“Sometimes.”

You opened your mouth to express doubts about the veracity and necessity of taking such a drug, but then stopped. If you tried to implant doubts in him now right after he had decided not to make you go through the orientation, you might cause him to change his mind. You needed to at least pretend to be convinced of this place being good. Or, at least, you needed to be careful as you tried to change his mind. You couldn’t push this right now even if you wanted to. Ray trusted you, but it was newly-formed trust. You would need more time, and you needed to gather more information.

“Anyways,” Ray continued when you didn’t speak, “it’s our secret that you didn’t go through the orientation, okay?” You nodded in agreement. “And now, I’ll tell you what this place is. Shall we walk more?” He offered his hand, and you gladly took it before you two started a very slow stroll among the bushes and blooms. “Remember what I told you before? I told you that this pace makes games. But honestly… there are more things going on in this place.”

“It did seem a little strange for everyone to be wearing cloaks, even for gamers,” you joked with him. “I was expecting more t-shirts and ragged jeans or shorts.”

His lips quirked with amusement. “You have an interesting view on gamers.”

“I’m just saying what I wear when I game.”

“I’ll have to remember that. I feel like I’ve only ever seen you like this.”

“You’ve seen me in my pajamas, silly.”

He laughed a little. He always laughed like he wasn’t allowed to be too loud about it. You hoped that you could hear him truly laugh from his heart some day. Maybe if you were a bit funnier? “You’re distracting me. I still have more to explain.”

“Sorry. I’ll listen well.”

His fingers brushed over a bloom of pink flowers as you two rounded a corner. The rustling of the wind through the leaves was a gentle white noise that cut through the silent night. “One of our activities that is close to a game would be…” He thought about how he wanted to word it for a moment, expression thoughtful. Then he smiled at you, “Ah, yes. Providing delight to people tired of life, should I say? We do something fun and very meaningful at this place. People here call this place Magenta, the paradise of hopes and dreams.” He laughed that soft laugh once more. “Sounds like a world in the games, right?”

“It does!” you agreed readily. It sounded like maybe this cult might be something more religious than you had previously imagined. Honestly, ‘hopes and dreams’? But they used drugs? This wasn’t the 70s. Luckily for you, you were good about being able to hide those thoughts from your face.

“This is where people wounded from the outside world gather. Magenta is the only place they can be happy at.” His smile fell as a familiar darkness crossed his eyes. He closed those eyes briefly, simply breathing in the moment, before he opened them once more. He seemed a little more at peace here, at least. “I, too, had terrible wounds when I first came here. But after the cleansing, I learned how to push behind the trauma of the past and step forward.” His expression softened along with his tone as he glanced at you. “And in the end, I was able to meet you.”

You squeezed his hand and gave him an encouraging smile. That, at least, was a positive in this situation. You had known he was clearly a hurt individual, but you wondered what kind of trauma he was referring to. And how, exactly, did the drug help him? It hardly seemed therapeutic, and you doubted it was some kind of antidepressant or something. If it was, maybe you could tell Jumin and it could be marketed.

“Everyone at Magenta is like me. They ended up here like destiny with profound wounds and traumas. We all were born as the weak ones in the world where only the fittest can survive and the strong prey on the weaker. Only the strong ones can survive in the outside world.” His tone darkened.

“That’s… such a sad way to view the world,” you said quietly, sorrowful. Was this place truly full of individuals who had been hurt by the world? Were they being exploited into staying in this place as well? Were they like Ray and were used and overworked? He said this was to help them, but was it really? You weren’t so sure yet.

“Do you think those born weak should live as prey until death?” Ray countered. “It was our experiences in life that caused us to have to rely on a single salvation. The light isn’t for everyone. This is the one and only place for such people. That’s why we call this place Magenta our paradise.” 

“Am I someone who’s weak like prey?” Was this how Ray viewed you? Weren’t you chosen at random to participate in this game? Ray had done his research on your background, so you didn’t doubt that he knew you didn’t come from the best family. However, your life had hardly been terrible. You thought you were a pretty happy and strong individual. Your pain had made you into the person you were. What you went through was not the norm. Your mentality was not the same.

He stopped and turned to you, imploring you to understand. “All of us carry pain within us. We all seek salvation, and Magenta can give it to you.” He called your name as he squeezed your hand. You weren’t sure what your expression was, but it saddened him just a little. You could tell he truly wanted you to see his viewpoint as he explained, “People from the outside world are completely different from us… So I understand why they can’t understand us. I was told that it’s only logical – by their standards – that there are so many people who deny us. So that’s why everyone has to live according to their rules. The strong ones live by their rules, and the weak ones live by theirs. And this is the rule that we’ve chosen.”

“So Magenta is a safe place for you?”

He nodded, and your heart ached for him. “Only those who follow our rules will get to join the ‘Mint Eye’ and live here at Magenta. Each of us has a role in this place. And my role is to protect Magenta and Mint Eye’s belief from the strong ones from the outside world.”

You were starting to get the picture here as you realized why Ray and Luciel were fighting with each other. Luciel was included in the ‘strong ones’ that Ray referred to. And based on his metaphorical conversation he’d had with you just the other day, he was determined to crush Luciel in order to make himself stronger. 

But how, exactly, would hurting Luciel genuinely help him? Just for revenge? And how did V and the rest of the RFA play into this?

You needed to get rid of the facade that you were still playing a game. You needed the truth from Ray, and you had long since grown tired of pretending to play a dating simulator. “So, the game you’re having me play is…”

Ray’s expression fell. He looked almost a little afraid you’d be upset with him. His voice was apologetic even as he confessed, “Yes… The chatting game you’ve been playing… is actually not a game. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”

“I don’t understand why you told me that in the first place, though,” you said. “You couldn’t tell me the truth from the beginning?”

He avoided your gaze. “I told you it’s a game because I was afraid you would hate or attack us like the people from the outside world. And about the people from that messenger you’re on… I mean the RFA. They’re real. The people from the RFA are actually existing people.”

“I had wondered,” you admitted. “They had seemed so real… I know you’re a genius, but that level of personality seemed out of this world.” His lips twitched at the compliment. It caused him to relax a little. You didn’t want him to think you were upset with him because you honestly weren’t. You were more confused by his choices and hopeful for more information to help you solve this mystery instead. You needed to play into being a believer in this cult and asked, “So the RFA are all bad?”

He seemed a little surprised by the question. “Oh, uh… no, not all of the people in the RFA are dangerous. There are only two dangerous people there.” He frowned, and his grip tightened around your hand. You could hear the anger in his voice as he said, “They’re V and 707. You should beware of them.”

You brushed his hair from his eyes soothingly. “You’ve warned me of them before. Did they hurt you?” 

“Those two hurt me and my savior even before the Mint Eye was created. We came to need this place because we couldn’t take the pain they gave us,” he said, capturing your other hand. His gloved fingers fell between yours as he cradled your palm to his face. He seemed to use it to calm himself as his anger receded, allowing for an old ache to leak in. You knew the feeling of anger burning out to leave only the true hurt behind. It reassured you that Ray truly was a gentle soul. “I’ll give you the details later… This story is so painful for me to remember.”

“You have to tell me next time, okay?” you said. It might hurt him, but you thought it might do him so good to speak to someone about his pain. You knew that it helped you.

“Yes, I will. I want to tell you everything someday…” He closed his eyes and he nuzzled against your hand before he allowed them to drop from his face. You thought his eyes seemed to glow in the light of the night. 

“The reason why I hacked the RFA chat room was to protect this place and to save the members of the RFA. They’re being tricked by V. You’ve seen V making secrets in front of the rest of the RFA, didn’t you…?” he asked.

You nodded. “I thought he was hiding a lot too. The RFA trusts him a lot, though. Do you think he’s manipulating them?”

“Yes,” he insisted, pressing into your space as he latched onto the bait you had put down. “He’s a liar. You should never trust him. At first, he pretended to save me, but that wasn’t his plan. He was planning to throw me into the bottom of the abyss. I realized that only after suffering a near-death…” 

Your breath caught with horror. “What…?”

His eyes shined with tears that he blinked away. “I would have lost my will to live if it weren’t for my savior.”

“What happened? What did he do to you, Ray?” you couldn’t help the heat in your voice. The very thought that V truly did do something like that to hurt Ray was angering you. You only ever got so angry on behalf of others. Your trust in V was on thin ice to begin with. If Ray had truly been treated in such a way, you wouldn’t stand still. Though, admittedly, you weren’t sure what you would do yet either.

“I’m sorry… I can’t talk about it now.” There was genuine grief in his voice. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “It really does hurt too much. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I hope you tell me that later too.” You wiped away some of the tears that had gathered in his eyes. He used that moment to gather himself again, and he was steadier as he said,

“I don’t know the rest of the RFA very well… but I kind of agree with my savior. I agree that any foolish soul who is being exploited by V deserves salvation. That’s why we decided to make an innocent person – a person who knows nothing about the RFA or the Mint Eye – to contact them. And that person is you. You had to move them in order to figure out how the RFA collects information and data. Thankfully, you’ve done well so far so the RFA decided to hold a party. And all the data related to the party, which is the core of the RFA, started to move.”

Right, the party. What was the purpose for throwing a party? Would it somehow expose V as being a fraud? You still didn’t understand the end goal of this project even if you had more insight as to both your role and Ray’s role.

“So… you had me talk to the RFA to gain their trust so I could make them throw a fundraiser party?” You were so confused on the matter. 

“I’m so, so sorry I told you that this is a game,” he apologized again, releasing you. At least he was willing to apologize for lying to you. You appreciated that. “To be honest, I had zero expectation on the tester. My savior told me multiple times that since we’re bringing someone outside of Magenta into this… that we must not get our hopes up. My savior told me to never forget that people from the outside world like V and 707 can turn their backs on us and hurt us anytime.”

Then he didn’t bring you in because of your past. You really were chosen randomly. What a coincidence of fate that you would happen to meet the brother of the boy you had once been best friends with back in high school.

Ray called your name as he grabbed your shoulders, face blushing with his happiness as he continued, “But I realized you’re special. You’re the type of person… who can be with us.” He smiled brightly. “I’m so glad I got to meet you.”

“I’m happy I got to meet you too, Ray,” you said, heart unwillingly melting at the sight of his joy. It looked much better on him than the hurt from before.

“There was nothing but endless fighting in my life… but now I have a haven called you.” He stepped closer and cupped your face. Your heart leapt to your throat, half-anticipating that he might kiss you. He was already so close. That sickly sweet smell was stronger the closer that he was. You wanted to pull him in the rest of the way. When you pressed your hands to his chest, you could feel how his heart was racing. Your feelings were mutual, but would he take the first step? 

“If you help me… just a bit more… we can save the RFA as well,” he said instead of kissing you. “Then don’t you think I can live my life completely differently? You know… life with more comfort.” His eyes dropped to your lips and back. But instead of feeling drawn in, you sensed a more desperate hope from him. He really, truly wanted to find relief from the pain of his life. “...Do you think that’s possible for me?”

“You deserve it,” you told him. “And I know you can find that happiness. We can work on it together.”

You could see how he soaked in your words, desperate for such a truth. “My savior told me that this fight wouldn’t take forever,” he explained, hands sliding from your face and down your throat. The moment was passing. You let it go with just a little bit of sorrow. There would be a next time when he was ready, you were sure. “That this fight will come to an end… if I work hard. Really hard. That day will come soon, don’t you think? So…” his eyes lifted to yours once more as he murmured, “please continue this game a little longer. Once you hold the party… Mine and my savior’s goal will be complete. And then after that–”

Whatever he was about to say, though, was interrupted before he could finish as an unexpected voice cut through the intimate isolation you two were in saying, “So that was what she made you do.”

You leapt from Ray, who spun towards the voice. “Who’s there?” he demanded, stepping in front of you to shield you from the intruder. The bushes rustled as another black cape stepped into view from where they had been hiding.

“Security…?” you hesitantly suggested. Ray still didn’t move from in front of you, though. His arm was held out protectively.

“Saeran…” the new person spoke with a tired sigh in his voice before he addressed you. “I’ve come to rescue you… but it appears I’m too late.” You couldn’t see much of the man’s face from under the shadow of his hood and in the darkness of the night, but his voice was familiar to you. You frowned at the sight of teal hair peeking from under the hood. Who was this person to mention rescuing you? It couldn’t possibly be…?

“You…?” Ray sounded stunned. “How come you’re…?” But his shock began to fade quickly, and anger rapidly replaced it as he spat, “Ugh… I knew it. I knew this wouldn’t go well. No matter what I do, there will always be someone getting in my way. This happens all of the time!”

“Ray, what’s going on?” you asked, worried. You were becoming more certain who this person was now, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was how upset Ray was becoming.

“Saeran,” the man spoke again, stepping forward with hands placating, “please calm down.”

“‘Saeran’...?” you asked, more confused than ever. The name only seemed to agitate Ray more as he gripped his head and shook it.

The man finally pulled off his hood, and your suspicions were confirmed as you recognized V. His hair color was impossible to ignore, though it was longer and messier than it had appeared in his profile picture. “It seems he’s under the name of Ray at this place,” he said by way of explanation.

“Wait, your name is Saeran and not Ray?”

Ray ignored you, trying once more to place his body between you and V to shield you. “V… How did you get in here? Stop trying to torment us!” he shouted.

V’s expression fell as if he had been hit. “It’s all just a misunderstanding, Saeran–”

“Don’t call me like that!!” he screamed before wincing and gripping his head once more. “Ugh… My head…!”

“Ray, are you alright?!” You grabbed his arm. You could see the tears of pain in his eyes as he fought back against what was hurting him even as he glared at V. His breathing was labored. You didn’t understand how this situation had spiraled so rapidly.

“I’m… fine…” he tried to reassure you, but it did little to actually do so. “I’ll explain about my name later. Don’t believe anything that man tells you!”

You turned to V instead. Ray was trying to protect you, but if V had truly hurt Ray then you wanted to protect him more. “V, what’s going on? Please explain!” He took a step closer, but you pulled yourself and Ray back a step in response. V stopped then and sighed, steadying his expression.

“I infiltrated this place after determining that you’re in danger, but I believe taking you out of this place at the given time is impossible. According to what I overheard, you already believe more in him than in the RFA,” he said.

“Of course she won’t believe you! You’re a liar…!” Ray accused.

“I trust Ray,” you told them both. “It has nothing to do with trusting or not trusting the RFA. It’s you that I don’t know about, V!”

Ray called your name and pulled you behind him once more. “Stay back. Don’t ever get close to him. He’s dangerous.”

V looked heartbroken, face cracking under the vitriol and desperation in Ray’s voice. “Saeran… it pains me to see you. I’m sure this is all my fault…”

You didn’t know what to believe right now. You had told V earlier that you trusted him, and that wasn’t exactly wrong. You would trust him more if he just told you the truth. “If this is your fault, then explain it to me!”

“Don’t listen to him! He’ll just lie to you!” Ray insisted. “He doesn’t even feel guilty at all! I’m not falling for your lies this time! Never!”

“I’m not the one who’s lying to you. Not to you or to her. Please… can’t you both listen to me?” He tried again to approach. He didn’t seem like he was intending any kind of harm. Your gut told you that you were seeing genuine remorse on his face despite what Ray was saying. You were on Ray’s side, but you also trusted the impression of V you had gotten before. You wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but this didn’t seem the right time for it. V couldn’t speak at all as Ray began to scream,

“Get away! Get away get away get away! Get away from me!! ” He swung his arm out at V as the man attempted to reach for his shoulder to calm him. V retreated and then turned to you. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ray continued to shout over her, “Don’t you dare touch her! I will never let you get away with it if you do…!”

“Ray, please calm down! He’s not trying to hurt us!” you attempted to soothe, but Ray was far too agitated. His eyes were wild like an injured animal desperate to get away from a predator. He was in a state of panic, you realized. The pain he was experiencing on top of the emotional weight of seeing someone he hated so much had sent him into a fit. “V, don’t come closer. Give him some space.”

“Okay.” V raised his hands and obediently stepped back. He was listening to what you were saying. You were sure now that he really wasn’t there to cause harm. Was he speaking the truth about trying to rescue you tonight? “Saeran… you must be the one who hacked the messenger. You learned how to hack after you brother, didn’t you…? Why did you have to go that far?”

“No…” Ray panted, gripping his ascot so hard you felt that it might tear. “I’m going to beat that redhead. My savior told me that I have to…!”

“‘Brother’? Does he mean…” Your gaze flicked from Ray to V, half-asking for confirmation even while already knowing the answer, “Are you referring to Luciel?”

V ran a hand through his hair before nodding once. “I’ll tell you now. You will find out eventually. The boy whom you call ‘Ray’ and 707 are twins.”

“Twins?!” You had known they had to be brothers, but twin brothers?! You felt a little silly for not guessing it earlier. Despite the hair and eye color difference, they looked identical. But how did they even have different hair and eye colors unless…

You looked a little closer at Ray now, and realized what the bits of pink in his hair must truly be. He was hiding his hair color. Perhaps he was even wearing eye contacts. It would make sense with the cult being called Mint Eye. All of the followers you had seen so far had similarly-colored eyes.

“I have no such thing as a brother,” Ray spat. “I threw that part away from my life years ago!”

“Saeran… You even brought a complete stranger into this? I promised Luciel you would be safe–” V attempted to step closer to comfort Ray, but Ray shook his head once more and flinched away.

“Liar. That’s all a lie. Get away from me! Please…!”

“Saeran–”

“V, maybe–” you tried, but was cut off.

“Please… please get away!” Ray begged now, anger turning into panicked desperation. He was terrified, you realized, but he was still standing his ground between you and V. “Just get out of my sight!”

V had an air of calm sorrow around him as he watched the man trembling in fear before him. His gaze dropped, thoughts unfathomable to you, before they lifted once more as he reached into his cloak. Ray grabbed your arm as if to prepare to run from whatever he was bringing out, and he flinched once more when V held out two thin items. You spotted flowers on the two differently-color pieces of plastic and paper.

“Saeran,” V called, offering the items to Ray.

“What… is this?” Ray asked.

“Are those bookmarks?” you suggested.

“I know you were heartbroken as much as you missed him,” V continued without acknowledging either of your questions. “This is what you really looked like. I hope you would keep that in mind at least. Please, take them.”

“No…” Ray stumbled backwards into you where you helped to support him. V pushed the bookmarks into Ray’s hands, though. Surprisingly, Ray didn’t let go of them despite protesting, “No. Don’t give me this. My savior will be so mad if I take it.” He tried to hand them back. His entire body was shaking from either pain or fear. You wanted to hug him and escape with him for his own sake, but you couldn’t just yet. Not when V was finally being honest. “You never gave me this. I did not see anything! Take them back!”

But V wouldn’t take them. Instead, his eyes were filled with regret as he murmured, “You’re shivering in fear while trapped by her side. My heart is wrenching in pain…”

“You’re going to torment us all… just like you did to my savior… You can’t fool me!”

“I’m so sorry things turned out like this, Saeran…”

That seemed to be Ray’s breaking point. His voice was shivering as he cried out, “Help… Somebody… Help!!”

You decided to step in now. Your own heart was shattering at the sight of so much fear breaking Ray before you. You regretted not stepping in a little sooner for his sake. “V, you should leave Ray alone for now. He’s…” Ray was cowering now, slipping down to his knees and holding his head as he cried, overwhelmed. You fell with him and held him close.

“I know,” V lamented. “I’m terribly sorry this is how our first meeting turned out.” You could hear new voices calling out and many people moving. The security was coming. V glanced nervously in that direction and spoken quickly, touching your shoulder, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions and that everything is confusing for you, but I hope you can see what is true for his sake. I hope you won’t believe any more what you hear here.” He released you and hurried down another path, but paused before he made it too far to call back to you, “I heard everything that took place between you two. I suggest it would be better to pretend nothing happened in the chat rooms. For Saeran’s sake. I hope we meet again…”

He turned then and fled, leaving you with Ray sobbing and gasping for air in your arms and security rushing towards you both. You rubbed Ray’s back and hushed him. “Ray… I’m so sorry. I know you’re scared. It’s okay. He’s gone. We’re both okay.”

Ray seemed to struggle to speak as he lifted his head. His eyes were tinted red and his face was a mess of his tears. You didn’t mind, wiping at his cheeks with your hands in hopes it would help to calm him. His gaze was bleary with pain and tears both. You were terrified for his state. Between whatever drugs he was on and now everything that had happened, you feared for his health.

“He’s gone, right…? You’re safe too?” he finally managed.

You nodded. “We’re both safe. It looks like security is after him. It’s just us here now, Ray.”

Ray looked around once before another sob broke from him. Instead of the total panic from earlier, it seemed like genuine grief as he pressed his palms to his face and cried more. “I… I’m too weak… I hate myself… I really hate myself… Maybe it’s impossible. Maybe I can never make you ha–” he stopped, voice breaking once more, before he shook his head.

“Ray?”

“Uh… no… Forget that.” He sniffed and pushed himself to his feet. You assisted him until he was steady on his feet as he wiped at his own face. He was unable to look at you. “I’ll… bring you back to your room. I understand even if you hate me… because of how pathetic I am.”

“I don’t hate you,” you swore to him. “Ray, you did nothing wrong! Please don’t hate yourself…”

“I know you’re just being kind to me. I’m grateful… but I don’t deserve it. You can be honest.” 

You couldn’t stand how much he was beating himself up. What part of that had been weak of him? He had been scared. People got scared all of the time. You still didn’t fully understand what V had done to hurt Ray, but you weren’t sure anymore of the truth. V didn’t look like he had been trying to hurt Ray at all or lie. He had told you the truth that Ray and Luciel were brothers. And all he had tried to do was…

You looked down at the ground where Ray had dropped the bookmarks. You picked them both up. One was blue and the other was green, and they both had different flowers on them. They were labeled with both the name of the flowers on it, and a simple “For Saeran” and “For Saeyoung”. You stared at them both.

If Ray’s real name is Saeran, then did that mean Saeyoung was Luciel’s name?

You would have time to think about this later. Instead, you offered the bookmarks to Ray. “Do you want these? They’re so pretty… it would be a shame to just leave them here in the dirt.”

Ray sniffed and wiped at his eye with the heel of his hand. He stared at the bookmarks before grimacing. “I can’t take those. I don’t trust what he gives me.”

“But… your name is on this one.” You weren’t sure of the significance of the bookmarks, or if they were a gift from V or whatever. But you had a feeling they were important to Ray. You knew how much he loved flowers, and V had hinted that these were from some time he had known him before.

“I’ll get in trouble if I’m caught with them…” he protested, but it was a little weak. You felt that he did want them, so you insisted.

You grabbed his hand and placed the bookmarks in it. “Take them for now, and if you really don’t want them anymore, I’ll take them. They’re pretty.”

Ray didn’t respond to that. He gazed down at the bookmarks as one final tear fell from his eyelashes. He wordlessly put the bookmarks away into his coat and murmured your name. “I’ll… walk you to your room now. We can talk later when we’ve both calmed down if you want to. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.”

“I’m okay,” you reassured him. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

It seemed that nothing you could say would comfort him now, though. The walk back to your room was a silent one. The night felt much heavier than it had before. You had doubts you would be able to sleep well tonight. There was far too much to think about. You were just grateful you seemed to have plenty of free time with which to think for now.

Chapter Text

It was well past midnight, and you were left sleepless. Your mind was too harried with everything you had experienced that evening. The silence of the night was both a blessing and an irritant as you had nothing to distract you from the various thoughts racing through your mind.

V was safe, you knew, and he had escaped from the security personnel who had gone after him. He had been in the chatroom you’d joined while he had been talking with Jumin. He seemed to have changed his mind about having Luciel go after Ray (or was it better to call him Saeran? You still weren’t sure if you should call him by that name). That, at least, was the right call in your opinion, and you had expressed your agreement with it. It had been frustrating having to mince your words because you had so much that you wanted to say and ask V. But the chatroom had too many eyes, and the last thing you wanted to do was have Ray develop doubts about your faith in him when he was already in a vulnerable state.

Jumin was smart enough to pick up on both your displeasure with V (who had sheepishly admitted to realizing he had done something to piss you off) as well as realize that you two held more secrets together. And if he had noticed, you didn’t doubt Luciel would notice as well. A part of you was debating if you should try to call someone this late at night just so you could get your thoughts out. But even that seemed like too much.

Ray… Your throat clenched just remembering how distraught he had been. Ray often complained and called himself weak, but this was the first time you had really seen it. You didn’t judge him for this weakness, though. There was nothing wrong with feeling grief in the wake of a tragic past. But you wished that you had known more so you could know how to comfort him. Instead you had only really been able to watch Ray lash out at V, and then silently take you back to your room. You hadn’t heard from Ray since then yet.

You rolled over in your bed and buried your face in your pillow. Ray hated V with a passion, but he seemed strangely scared of him. He claimed that V and Luciel had hurt both him and his savior. But who was this ‘savior’ that they would know V and Luciel? And what was V’s connection with Ray in the first place?

Jumin had hinted that V was like a guardian to Luciel. Did that mean he had been like a guardian to Ray as well? If so, how did Ray get here? V mentioned something about a misunderstanding and Ray suffering by ‘her’ side… Was he referring to you? Or was there a different woman involved?

It would be so much easier if you could just talk to V now. You had received a text from him stating that he would call you as soon as he had better signal, and so you were waiting. You doubted you would be able to sleep much tonight anyway. You could feel the overflow of questions waiting to bubble from your mouth the second you took away the dam.

You stared at your phone silently wishing it would ring, and you jumped when it miraculously did. You fumbled for it and quickly pressed the answer button before blurting out, “V! What happened back there? Tell me now, or if you don’t I’ll make sure you regret–”

“Whoa whoa whoa!! Time!! Time out!!!” A voice that was most definitely not V interrupted your threat. You paused and looked at your screen only to be greeted by Luciel’s profile picture. “Gah! I wasn’t expecting to be suddenly threatened after calling! I’m more used to that kind of behavior from Ms. Vanderwood!”

“...Luciel?” you asked. Your brain needed a moment to switch gears.

“Yeah, it’s me. Were you waiting for V’s phone call or something?”

You sighed. “Yeah, I was. I still am.”

“Wow! I knew you were suspicious of him, but now you’re threatening him too?” He laughed a little, but then he sobered up to something more serious. “It sounds like something happened. I called to complain after reading the chatroom. I’m waiting to hear from V too… but it sounds like you saw him?” He sounded really confused. “How can I complain now when you’re threatening him? What happened? You can tell me, right?”

You took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, head dropping between your knees. The exhaustion, disappointment, frustration, and everything else you could think of rushed out with the air from your lungs.

“Whoa… That was a big sigh. Here, I feel the same! Let me do it too!” He copied you, making you smile as you could feel similar emotions in his own voice. “That feels marginally better! Like, maybe .00005% better, right? It’s good to share such complicated emotions with a sympathetic ear! Ah, but I wish I could talk to V too… I want to know why he’s taking me out of the game…”

You huffed a laugh and switched to English to continue speaking with him. There were few people you could speak your native language with, and talking to him in English reminded you of better times when you were both younger. You closed your eyes and pictured him sitting in front of you on your bed when you had both been teenagers and whining about schoolwork and everyday life. Those days were fun. “Alright, Luciel. I’ll bite. You can complain first.”

He obliged with your silent request without comment, much to your appreciation. “No, no, I’ll hold back! Guh…! Though I really wanna complain…”

“You’re being benched, God Seven! No more court time for you. You have other games you gotta focus on.”

“Benched!” he gawked. “Noooo!! Coach V, put me back in! I still have so much energy left!! I can’t stand not handling this myself!”

Playing around was fun, but the reality of the situation didn’t allow you to put your full heart into it. Luciel didn’t know who he was actually fighting against. That, itself, was already a huge problem in your book. You didn’t know if V planned to tell Luciel himself, but you had a gut feeling that he wouldn’t. He had known Ray was here the entire time and Luciel still didn’t know. You would make sure to give that man a piece of your mind. You needed to find out why Luciel didn’t know about the state his brother was in. He doubted that Luciel even knew where and what V was doing judging by the fact he seemed confused at the thought of you having met V.

“...You’re quiet?” Luciel said after a moment when you didn’t respond to his playfulness. “Are you tired? Do you want me to let you sleep? I might be able to suffer all night and chug energy drinks and PHD Pepper while I take advantage of the hacker not working right now, but you should get as much rest as you can! It’s bad for your skin to stay up so late.”

“The hacker isn’t working right now?” you asked, surprised. Did that mean Ray wasn’t in his room? You hoped that meant that he was sleeping. You really hoped he was sleeping.

“Nope,” he said, popping his ‘p’. “He hasn’t been for a little while now. I guess even he has to sleep sometimes? Ahh~ I should really sleep too while I have the chance, but I couldn’t after reading the chatroom! I was going to call you to whine, but… I think I’ll save it for the chat anyway. I was reading poetry before checking the chatroom so I’m gonna write a poem to express my thoughts… I need V to see how okay I am! I can track the hacker myself!”

Your heart twisted in your chest, and you had to swallow the knot in your throat. “I’m… on V’s side for this. I agree with his decision.”

“Yeah, I saw that,” he huffed. “It doesn’t make sense. You know I’m good at my job, right? I mean, you’ve only really heard of me doing stuff since we reunited a few days ago, but you remember from high school, right?! I’m ten– no, one hundred times better than I was back then! I’m a hacker god now!”

“I don’t doubt that. But…” The weight of your secrets pressed down on you. You regretted talking to Luciel before you could talk to V. You didn’t want to be stirring up problems in a family situation when you didn’t clearly know what all was happening. Jumin had even hinted that there was something familial-feeling between Luciel and V, which you kind of got the vibe for as well. Luciel talked about V with respect in comparison to how he teased the other older members of the RFA. He might joke around, but he always obeyed V when he was asked not to do stuff (at least while V was around). It really felt like maybe he saw V as an older brother or something.

Luciel was silent as he waited for you to continue, but you didn’t. You weren’t even sure how to finish that sentence. You could only let your head roll against your arm and gaze sightlessly out the window across from your bed. The faint sounds of crickets filled the dead air. “...But you’ve talked with the hacker,” Luciel finally filled in. “Are you sympathizing with him or something? Did he do something mean to you?”

“No!” you hurried to say. “No, he hasn’t been mean to me at all.”

“Ah~ Ah~ So you really HAVE been in contact with the hacker!” He sounded a little proud. “Well, not that I hadn’t already guessed that. He really hasn’t been mean to you?”

“Not at all. He’s kind, Luciel… Really kind…”

“If he’s really that kind, then why is he after the RFA?” he asked, genuinely confused. “Tell him to stop already if you two are so friendly! His attacks are aggressive and really similar to mine… I’ve never seen someone like him. I’d really like to recruit him, if possible. But if he’s kind, maybe he deserves a different life than this… If he’s kind like you say, is he being exploited?”

“The situation is complicated… Would it make you feel better if I can give you information about the hacker instead of you doing the research yourself?”

“But that would be dangerous for you, wouldn’t it? You could’ve told us earlier if it was an option.”

“Well… that’s only kind of true. I feel like the more I learn about him, the more confused I get…” You ran a hand through your hair and flopped back onto your bed, brows furrowing as you stared at the chandelier. “That’s why I want to talk to V.”

“What does V have to do with the hacker?” There was a certain tension to his tone that you didn’t miss.

“I’d tell you… but I don’t want to give you the wrong information.”

“If the information is dangerous, you can just tell V. You don’t need to–”

“Luciel,” you snapped a little, “I already told you I don’t trust V like you do. I trust you more, okay? I– Ugh…” You cut yourself off and sighed once, apologizing, “Sorry. It’s been a long day. I’m really lost on who to believe right now, and you’re… Well, I don’t know. Maybe you’ve changed a bit since we last met, but I get the impression you’re still the same Luciel I knew. And that Luciel was one of my best friends.”

“‘Was’, huh…?” he mumbled to himself. You almost didn’t catch it. You didn’t comment on it. Then he said, “I get that,” and you knew that he did. He probably had his own slew of trust issues, but you were flattered he seemed to trust you as well even after the time you’d both been apart. “I did ask you to trust me. That’s why I’m vouching for V.”

“But if I believe you and V, it means I have to betray the belief I hold in someone else. And I don’t think that’s the right call. Things are a mess, Luciel, and you know I’m a truthful person. I can keep secrets, but I don’t want to keep secrets that I don’t feel are necessary to keep secret. But I’m not about to spread misinformation either.” You rolled over and hugged your pillow. “What would you do in my situation? I would prefer to share the burden with someone, but… The entire RFA is wrapped up in this weird mystery I’ve been thrown into, and I don’t want to make things worse.”

Luciel hummed long and low, thoughtful. You heard his computer chair creak faintly. That amused you for some reason. Both of you were silent for a very long time. You could feel your eyelids drooping, Luciel’s presence on the phone soothing some of the anxiety in you. You could almost see his back sitting at his computer desk in his tiny dorm room where he would type away all night working on projects he insisted you were never allowed to look at. He would let you use his bed on some of the nights when life was too hard for you at home and when he could sneak you in even when he would tell you off for it saying how he could get in trouble. It was a grumpy kindness that was different from the man he was now who was much more of a goofball. You liked both sides.

You had almost drifted off when Luciel’s soft laughter pulled you back from the edge. He was giggling a little to himself. You smiled sleepily and asked, “What are you laughing about? I’m being serious~”

“I know you are. This just… I was reminded of the past I hadn’t thought about in a long time. It’s all really nostalgic. You used to complain about everything and get all sad before deciding you weren’t going to go home, and I had no choice but to come collect you because your friends wouldn’t let you stay over so suddenly in the middle of the night.”

How was it that you were both ruminating about similar things? Maybe you two really had connected. It made your chest feel warm with affection and longing. You had missed him. But you pushed the feelings away. Nothing good would come from revisiting those thoughts.

“Uh, I think you’re misremembering!” you corrected with a little playful offense. “You were one of the friends I relied on when I would run from my house at night! You were one of my best friends, Luciel.”

He didn’t respond to that one. Instead he jumped back on topic, “I know you’re someone who likes to talk about your problems with others… but if the secrets you and V keep hinting at in the chatroom are that bad, it might be better to wait a little longer and collect more information. I’d like to hear more about this hacker, but…”

It was disappointing to hear, but somehow you had anticipated he would say something like this. It wasn’t like you weren’t planning on doing just that anyway. “Alright. I’ll do that then. Maybe I’ll change my mind once I can get a hold of V again.” You didn’t really feel like you could plan your next move until you could decide if you could trust V to be looking out for Ray too, or if he was only trying to help you.

“Did you actually meet him?” Luciel suddenly asked as if remembering. “It sounded like maybe you did in the chatroom I read, but maybe I was misunderstanding? There’s no way V knows where you’re at, right?”

You weren’t one to lie, and if this brought up more questions for Luciel then that wasn’t your problem. You didn’t know any more answers as to what V was doing anyway. “I met him tonight… but we didn’t get to talk long. And what he did say just left me more unsure than ever.”

Luciel hummed, still confused, but didn’t press for more. “I thought he was traveling… I didn’t realize he was near you. He sent me some coordinates earlier today that I looked up, but he told me not to do any deep research on the building I found. He said it was just in case of an emergency. Now I’m wondering if it’s connected to what you said earlier too. Were you both in danger or something? You had warned me earlier too. Is the situation connected?”

V had planned that far ahead? He had mentioned that he had been trying to rescue you but hadn’t found a way to get you out. Was Luciel his backup? Why wasn’t he using his skills more? “...I wasn’t in danger, but I know V said he was trying to help me. So… take that as you want. Maybe he sees more than I do right now. It sounds like it, anyway.” You couldn’t help your grumble.

“...I think I see why you’re mistrusting him now when you don’t even know what’s going on.”

“See? Now you’re getting it.”

You wanted to say more, but your phone beeped at you. You paused and noticed a new call coming in. “Speak of the devil,” you muttered before pressing the phone back to your ear. “Luciel, I have to go. That’s V calling me.”

“Oh! You should take it. Go complain to him now!”

“You’re so mean!” you whined. You weren’t constantly complaining, after all! This was serious!

He laughed at you. “Go go go! I’ll talk to you soon. Oh, and get some sleep soon! I’m gonna go complain where V can see me, hehe. Be grateful to me that I’m letting you have him first!”

“Yeah yeah. Go complain in the chatroom, you dork. Bye.” You hung up quickly and caught V before the phone could stop ringing. V should be so lucky you weren’t in such an anxious mood anymore as you started off right away with, “V, it’s good to hear from you.”

He greeted you back. He sounded a little bit tired, but not in the same way as the last time you had seen him. You were sure the night was wearing on him too. “I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you. It’s easier for me to access the chatrooms with limited connection than it is to get a phone signal… Please understand.”

“I’m just glad you managed to escape. I was worried,” you told him honestly. You didn’t dislike V, after all, and you couldn’t imagine getting captured by an aggressive cult would be good for him. 

“Thank you for your concern. But are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m back where I was before.”

“...And Saeran? Is he alright? I figured you would have been surprised seeing me like that.”

You sat up on the bed to try to stay awake a little better. This bed was far too comfortable. It made you want to sleep, but you couldn’t when you’d been waiting for this call. “He’s… It’s hard to explain. I don’t think he’s okay, but he was calmer when he dropped me off back at my room. I’d appreciate it if you could explain things to me now.”

“You’re right… There’s a lot to cover, though, and even then I can’t explain everything… I’m sorry. I’ll try to explain what I can for now.”

“That would be helpful.”

“I don’t know how you will take this when I say this, but… I have been monitoring you for some time. And I learned that that child relies heavily on you. I can still vividly recall that child stepping before you trying to protect you when we met.”

“You’re talking about Ray?”

“Yes… Though I only learned somewhat recently that was the name he was going by in that place. I know him as Saeran.”

“Is that his real name?” you asked. “And is Luciel’s real name…” you trailed off meaningfully.

“Ah, right… You must have seen the bookmarks. I ask that you never mention either name in the chatroom for both of those boys’ sakes. Please understand that what I say is a secret as well.”

You could guess as to why Luciel’s name would be a secret given his job. He referred to his work as being an informant, but you could guess he did some illegal or underground stuff too, which explained why his life was so dangerous. Of course he would be using a fake name. You had mixed feelings about discovering his true name when you had known him as Luciel all of this time. You had known that was his baptismal name, but it was strange nonetheless. This would be an easy secret to keep. One day when you met Luciel in person you could maybe ask him about his name.

“I will,” you told him.

“Thank you,” he breathed with relief. “I know I’m asking a lot from you when you lack trust in the RFA–”

“I told you that it’s not that I don’t trust the RFA,” you interrupted, intent on being clear where your loyalties lied. “I do trust the RFA. And I trust you too, to an extent. But I’m someone who doesn’t like lying or liars, and I trust Ray more than I trust you right now. I’m most suspicious of you and your connection with those brothers and this place. I don’t believe everything Ray has said about you… but that’s because I believe in my ability to judge people. I don’t think you’re a bad person, V. You could help your case a lot more if you were more open with me. Especially if we’re both supposed to be on the same side like you say we are.”

V took a moment to process that before giving a rueful laugh. “You are very direct, aren’t you? It reminds me a lot of Jumin… I think that’s a beautiful part of you. I don’t know if you would believe me, but I don’t like having to lie either. I’m trying my best not to.”

“Dodging the truth is lying as well.”

“So I would agree. I know that my secrets will only cause more doubt to build in you, so let me say this: I want nothing but for you, the RFA, and everyone in it to be safe. I would do anything to achieve that.”

You gritted your teeth as your voice grew a little cold, “So does that mean Ray isn’t included in that?”

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand… I didn’t mean it in that way,” he backtracked quickly. “I misspoke. He’s part of the people I wish to be safe. Please believe me.” 

You wished that you could. If V truly cared about Luciel, then he would have to care about Ray as well since Ray was the most important person to Luciel. You felt like maybe V was stretching himself too thin if he had forgotten to include Ray in what he had said. It sounded like V was juggling a lot, so you would give him the benefit of the doubt. It was also very late at night, so you were both exhausted.

“But right now I’m not in the position to help either of you… which is something I’m attempting to change,” he continued. “You both are not safe in that place. But since he trusts you so much, I want you to look after that child. You already know he’s weak since you’ve seen it all just by being next to him. Looking at how desperately he was trying to protect you… It made my heart pained to witness it.”

“I plan on protecting him,” you said. “I care a lot for Ray.”

“Yes, I can tell. It genuinely makes me glad to see it. I, uh, didn’t mean to spy so much… but I could see how much you cared for him in the garden.” You could feel your cheeks warming. Yes, you and Ray had been pretty close in the garden. You were rather glad now that he hadn’t kissed you. It would’ve been pretty embarrassing to have a voyeur for your first kiss with him. “Even if I say to look after that child, it would be nothing new for you. I want you to just look after what kind of situation he is in and how he’s feeling while talking to him more often. That’s all I ask.”

That didn’t feel good to hear. “Are you telling me to keep an eye on Ray?”

“Oh… No. It would be a misunderstanding if you understood it like that. It’s more of just watching over him, not monitoring him. It will be enough to know that nothing happens to that child. What I’m worried about is that something might happen to Saeran. And when that something does happen… I’m very afraid that I won’t be able to handle it at the right time. Since you seem close with him, I thought you would know right away if something happened.”

Hm. That was a better explanation. You relaxed a little. “You keep talking like Ray and I are both in danger. I think I know what you were worried about… but how did you even know about it? What do you know about this place, V?”

“I can’t tell you everything. I’m sorry. It’s… a long and complicated story. And it is something I need to handle on my own.”

“You’ve burdened yourself a lot already. Can’t you ask someone for help? Luciel seems ready, and Jumin as well…”

“Are you worrying for me? Thank you… I really appreciate it.” You could hear the smile in his voice. “As you read in the chatroom, I’m delegating what I can.”

“I’m glad Jumin can help. He seems like a really reliable friend.”

“He is. He may seem cold, but he always comes through when you need him.”

He said that, but then why wasn’t he reaching out for more help? The RFA members had spoken like V had become more reclusive and withdrawn recently. It made you wonder how V used to be even while completely understanding the vibe the others were picking up from V. 

“I reiterate,” he continued, “that I don’t have bad intent. All the decisions I make are for you, Saeran, and our RFA.”

You were starting to actually believe that now that you felt more reassured that V was trying to look out for Ray. But you were still on Ray’s side, so you asked, “You say that, but why did Ray react like that towards you? You and Luciel are close, so what is your relationship with Ray? Jumin mentioned guardianship for Luciel?”

“Ah… That’s… also something complicated. I’m not sure it’s my place to tell.”

More secrets. “Then tell me what you can,” you answered a little shortly. “Because Ray’s aversion to you isn’t normal. He’s terrified and hates you and Luciel. What, exactly, happened between you three?”

V didn’t respond for a long moment. 

Frustrated, you pleaded, “Please. I care about both of them greatly. I want nothing more than to help Ray. You heard what he said in that garden just as I did. He’s taking some kind of drug, and they’re overworking him here. You said his anger towards you was a misunderstanding, but what kind of misunderstanding would have anyone react in that way? I don’t know what Ray was like before he came to this place, but I’m certain the brother that Luciel loves so much wouldn’t hate him like this without a reason! And clearly Luciel has no idea Ray is here!”

“...You speak as if you’re close to Luciel despite only knowing him for a few days,” V responded, a little stunned. “Have you grown just as attached to both brothers?”

Argh! You could hit yourself for being so blatant about your emotions. You couldn’t help the slight stutter in your voice as you said, “I-I like Luciel! He’s funny and nice and smart, and I care for him even more knowing that his brother is here. I care for Ray, so that makes me care for Luciel more too!”

“I’m just surprised you knew how Luciel felt about his brother… Even without what happened, the rest of the RFA doesn’t even know of that boy’s existence. If you managed to get that kind of information out of him…” he trailed off, thoughtful. Then came back to himself to say, “No… Nevermind. That’s none of my concern. Just… Please be careful not to mention Luciel’s brother at all to him. I’m afraid of how it might hurt him.”

You narrowed your eyes. They were stinging from how exhausted you were. “Is that why you haven’t told him that you found his brother here?”

He called your name, just a little insistent, “I can’t explain the history of those two to you. I’m sorry. But my decision to keep Saeran’s state a secret from Luciel is because of the disturbance it will cause to Luciel’s psyche. You saw what happened earlier today, right?” 

How could you forget how disturbed Luciel had been? It was the most panicked you had ever seen him, and you hadn’t even gotten to hear his voice for it. “Yes.”

“What that boy sent Luciel was related to their past… and you could see the havoc it caused for him. You can imagine the pain he might be in to know his brother is… in the state you’ve seen him in.”

You could begrudgingly see V’s point. Luciel missed Saeran greatly. You didn’t know their past, but the longing in his voice just from talking to him earlier told you all you needed to know about how Luciel would be heartbroken to see his brother not only hating him, but possibly drugged to hell and back. If he found out the hacker he was trying to fight was his own brother, how would he even react?

You felt like V was right about this. You didn’t fully agree with hiding it, but until you could figure out a way to properly explain everything to Luciel, you wouldn’t talk about Saeran. It sounded like V was thinking much the same and trying to handle it for Luciel instead of burdening him with it. You would first figure out why Ray hated Luciel so much so you could maybe mediate between the two. You would love to see the brothers reunited if they were both okay with that.

“...And you’re not just saying that so Luciel will focus on protecting the RFA’s information?” you asked shrewdly. There had been too much from both sides telling you that Ray and Mint Eye wanted whatever the RFA had. They weren’t just attacking Luciel, after all, but the entire organization. Luciel was in charge of security for the RFA and maintaining the information flow. If, by chance, he turned against V or the RFA in general, or lost focus and Ray slipped through and stole information, something bad would happen, right?

“I… can’t say that’s not part of it. I trust Luciel’s skills, but he has much he’s dealing with as well. That, and you know that the party will continue as scheduled. As such, we have to maintain what has been occurring in the chatrooms. I hope you will continue to converse with potential party guests and help to coordinate the party.”

“That’s actually a good point. I want to know why you want this party to happen anyway. Why did you guys suddenly decide to throw a party just because I mentioned Rika’s name? Nobody has explained that to me. I had thought it was some kind of cheat code to bypass the AI, but you all are real people.”

“AI? Right… You thought we were part of a game, it sounded like? Fortunately we are all flesh and blood people. And about the party, it’s because…” V hesitated before finishing, “All I can say is that it’s for the sake of Saeran.”

“What do you mean?” you asked, alarmed. Was Saeran under threat?

“If the party is canceled, he might fall in danger,” V explained. “All I want is to avoid that as much as I can. I believe you wouldn’t want anything dangerous happening to him either.”

“Why would he be in danger?”

“According to the data I’ve collected, he is in charge of handling the RFA party. If something suddenly goes wrong… he will have to take responsibility for everything. What the result of such responsibility would come to be… I would rather not say. I do not want to burden you with the thought.”

You could feel your stomach drop. Ray was already taking some kind of drug that was physically affecting him and making him ill. He was rarely eating, couldn’t leave his room often, and was sleeping only a few hours a night. All of this was while he was actually complying with the job that was given to him.

…And despite it all, Ray had taken the risk to lie to his savior and the entire compound and say that you were indoctrinated when you weren’t. All because he didn’t want you to be hurt by the drug.

“Oh…” you whimpered, hand over your face. “Ray…” He was truly protecting you at the risk to himself. You could screw up this entire thing for him, and V was hinting Ray would be terribly punished. You could cry just thinking about it. But you held back your tears with a sniffle and asked, “This is how you’re trying to protect him… right?”

“Yes,” V breathed with relief. “You understand… Thank goodness.”

“V, he protected me… He didn’t make me take the drug…”

“Yes… I saw. I heard it. That drug was what I was most afraid of. I was trying to find a time to rescue you earlier today because I overheard he was going to perform the ceremony on you. I’m just grateful it never occurred and that you’re still safe.”

“What is that drug? Do you know?”

“I’m still finding information on it. It’s not simple… My skills are not nearly as good as Luciel’s, but I have my own methods. But please, stop asking anymore questions. Saeran, he… has been scarred numerous times internally and needs someone to rely on. I think you are that person for him.”

“Can you at least explain the misunderstanding Ray has for you and Luciel? Was it you that emotionally hurt him?”

He fell silent briefly before responding in a shuttered tone, “I don’t think I should be the one answering those questions. The wounded should be the one to judge that, and me giving my opinion would be an arrogant behavior.”

“What about the misunderstanding, then?” you pressed.

“That would be better to hear from Saeran. The fact that he can talk to you will be a great strength for him. Please look after him.” So he was going to avoid this question too. As frustrating as that was, you felt you could actually get some answers out of one or both brothers instead of this man. “Of course, you should take care as well,” he added, a little lighter. “This is a favor I’m asking as the head of our association.”

“Don’t worry so much about me. I’m more resilient than I come off,” you assured him. “Ray said he would protect me, and I’ll be protecting him as well. So… I’m telling you this just in case: I will not be leaving this place unless Ray is with me. I hope you take that into consideration before trying any kind of rescue attempt. I won’t cooperate otherwise.”

“...That’s good to know. I’m grateful you care for him so much. He needs someone like that by his side. But please, don’t put yourself in too much risk either. Despite having only been in the RFA for a few days, I can feel how much all our members care for you. I’m included in that as well.”

“Thank you, V. I’m going to take a look around. I’m hoping that I can go to the party with everyone and… I want to bring Ray with me. Or, at least, make sure we’re both just out of this place before the party.”

“That’s my wish as well. But… I must hang up now. I’ll contact you again.”

“Keep in touch.”

“You as well. Goodbye.”

Your throat hurt from talking too much, so you got up to drink some of the water from a nearby pitcher as your tired mind attempted to slosh through everything. However, it was all a lot for you. You had gotten a lot of your questions answered, or at least toned down to be less worrisome. You would need to take time tomorrow to actually pick through everything to decide your next move. But you could barely think anymore now that you were more relaxed, and you collapsed onto your bed. You checked the past messages in the RFA chatroom just to read the silly poem and complaints Luciel had promised, making you smile. You were sure V would see them too.

You were more reassured about V’s efforts and his goals, but you were still bothered by the lack of knowledge as to what had happened between Ray, his brother, and that man. The fact that you hadn’t heard anything from Ray since you two had parted was stressing you out as well. You hoped that he was okay.

You could only send him a text message telling him good night and that you missed him and hoped he had good dreams. You would be thinking of the two of you in that garden again tonight, and you hoped that your next visit together will be much more pleasant.

You didn’t see any responses from him before you fell asleep, but you hoped your feelings got across nonetheless

Chapter Text

You ended up sleeping through most of the morning, even going so far as to miss breakfast. You didn’t really mind skipping breakfast, though, since you had gone to bed so late. Sleep was more important, and you could ask for some food to be brought to you anytime, so you had brunch before getting back to your job with the RFA and catching up on everything that you missed.

There wasn’t much to be said, though it was all interesting anyway. V and Jumin were called away for something regarding their families and some kind of art project and whether it would proceed or not. Jaehee had been tasked with setting up a new Intelligence Unit to take the place of Luciel in finding out information about the hacker so that Luciel could concentrate on reinforcing and protecting the information and security of the RFA servers. As tragic as it was that Jaehee wouldn’t get to fangirl or get the break that she had been desperately hoping for, you had high expectations for what kind of system she and Jumin could set up with their combined skills and power. It was one weight taken off of your shoulders to know that V had been successful in preventing the brothers getting into even more conflict, but there was still the second half to deal with.

Then there was Yoosung, who was suffering from being lost in life and still deep in his grief over Rika. You felt pity for him. You hadn’t known him for long, but you could understand his frustration of not being able to comprehend why someone would commit suicide. A death as abrupt as that and caused by a person who seemingly had no reason to die would be shocking for anyone. You wished that you could comfort him more, but he was lashing out against even those who knew him better. Zen made some valiant attempts, but sometimes you agreed that Yoosung was being treated too much like a kid. He needed room to grow and a place to vent properly. Luciel may have infected both Yoosung’s computer and mind with a video game to help give him an outlet, but you felt he would need to find a way to come to terms with Rika’s passing. Yoosung’s suspicions of V were valid considering how secretive V was being, but attacking the man over his lover’s death was probably not the way to go about it.

Speaking of V, you hadn’t heard much of him since last night. He had been overall missing for most of the day, though you could understand. The C&R building was far from where you were, and V would have to travel to it to attend the meeting. You didn’t know what all he was doing in between all of that too. You wondered if he would be coming back here right afterwards. With all the time that you had on your hands in between your job, you found yourself developing sympathy for V. He seemed to be carrying a lot by himself. You wondered if you could convince him to let you carry some of that burden.

For now you could only keep an eye on Ray like V had requested you to do. Unfortunately, you hadn’t gotten the chance to see Ray either. Your heart ached with loneliness and fear for the man. You had missed your chance in the middle of the night to talk with him in the chatroom where he had lamented his weakness and had degraded himself once more. You had fallen asleep too early, and you had teared up seeing all of his self-hatred. He didn’t pick up the phone often, but he did do it a couple of times at least. Just hearing his voice told you how sick he was. He was coughing and sounded awful, and you could tell he was suffering alone.

You wished that you had the ability to reach through the phone and hold him. You wanted to bat away every negative thought he had about himself and reassure him that he was strong enough and good enough. Ray refused to listen to the good parts you liked about him, and he disparaged himself both for his weakness and also for making you pity him. He spoke as if he had a lot of conflicting thoughts, and sprinkled throughout it you were able to pick up a few clues on his relationship between him and his savior.

The savior was someone you still had yet to meet. Ray spoke of that person as if they were responsible for him and gave him everything, but his recent sickness allowed for doubts to slip through to you. His savior was worried he was focusing too much on you, and his punishment was forcing him to work even more through whatever manipulation they had over him. He cursed himself for his doubts that he had about them even while he longed to see you. He agreed with his punishments and felt he deserved them, but he couldn’t stop what his heart wanted. And no matter how much you worried for him or tried to hint that they should meet soon when his savior didn’t have people watching his every move, he denied it with apologies. 

There was little you could do to lift your mood. Ray had told you that since you were “officially” indoctrinated that you would get access to the rest of the building, but you hadn’t yet received proof that you were part of them. You guessed that you would get it sometime today, but the day passed into evening, and even with your dinner being delivered you had yet to get access off of the floor you were on.

Your only solace in this entire depressing day of being unable to meet with Ray, talk with V, and even talk on the phone with Luciel was the fact that Zen had good news. He had gotten a new role, and it was a big one. It was a breath of fresh air in the depressing day you had been having, and you were genuinely happy for him. It had been fun cheering for Zen and also teasing him alongside Luciel during the man’s break.

Now that you knew for sure that these were real people, you wondered if you would be able to see Zen on stage. You remembered a conversation with Ray about how he didn’t particularly like most of the RFA members. He hadn’t been fond of Zen for how narcissistic the man was. However, you could imagine that Ray might enjoy watching a stage performance. He might even change his mind about Zen. Zen’s narcissism could be annoying (and, sadly, he never picked up on your half-joking sarcasm when you would fawn over his looks) but he was a good guy. And Jaehee ranted and raved over how good he was on stage, so you wanted to see it for yourself. Jekyll and White sounded like an interesting enough play, even if Luciel had disagreed with you.

Your happiness fluctuated on and off during your day. When you weren’t emailing with people or the RFA, you decided to fill your time with playing on the internet. However, you felt kind of weird using the internet too much since you felt your computer was possibly hacked. All of these hackers around you made you feel watched, so unless you were watching Youtube videos or doing your hobbies, you avoided your computer. Luckily you had the library nearby and it was full of various kinds of books. It felt strange to have a library to yourself, but few people other than your four watchers ever came up to this floor. It made you think that this was a restricted area to the cult.

You were finishing up your dinner and a conversation with Luciel and Yoosung. The setting sun was casting beautiful oranges against the white and pink of your room, and you were laughing as you scrolled back up in the conversation you had just finished. The sight of the SEVENSTAR drinks outside of the convenience store was the best thing you had seen in a while, and you started laughing again so hard that you had tears in your eyes.

This was something you had fallen in love with Luciel over. No, he hadn’t been advertising for fake projects back when you two had been teenagers (that seemed to be something he had picked up more recently, based on the reactions of the RFA members), but the Luciel you remembered had come up with get-rich-quick schemes even back in America. He had been a little more reserved than the goofball you saw through this screen, but the genius was still there. You recalled the number of times he had made connections within the school to get people to finish his homework for him in exchange for hacking grades. He would make up absurd stories about what he would do at night or on the weekends, and come back one day with proof of his so-called “adventures” in the form of some wild object or another. His “mission” that he had done and dressed up as a fairy for in recent memory tracked with his history of cosplaying back in America to infiltrate big corporations that he refused to specify about. 

You had been enthralled with his tales every time, both half-believing and half-disbelieving that anyone could have such a wild life. Even now you doubted that he had flown with wings he created since he talked as if he had shrunk to the size of a fairy, but if it was all false, how come he had sounded so real over the phone? Luciel had a habit of sprinkling the truth with fiction to the point that you were left guessing on what was real. His games were hilarious and fun, and you never got tired of them. And now he had the SEVENSTAR drink he had been hyping up and advertising for the past few days while lying about the wacky ingredients in it, only for it to end up on the shelves of actual convenience stores.

It was simply too hysterical. Just when you were starting to think he was constantly feeding bullshit to everyone, he turned around and slapped you all in the face with the absurd reality.

Ah, it was hard for you. How could you get over him when every day that you interacted with Luciel brought back all of your intense old feelings? You had always fallen hard and fast, and your heart was loyal. Luciel was simply your type of man. You were coming to accept that you could love more than one person at a time. Sadly, you doubted you would ever reach Luciel even now. Your relationship with him was even more complicated than it was back in high school. You were once again caught in a hopelessly one-sided romance.

Loving Luciel came naturally to you now, though. It would probably always be part of you. Your resentment over his abandonment of you held very little weight in comparison to the size of your feelings for him. You had grown used to this weight, though. You felt you could redirect your attention to the one you hoped would continue to reach back towards you. You could figure out your complicated feelings regarding both of the brothers if the problem ever came to a head.

You were in the middle of downloading and saving the image of the SEVENSTAR truck to laugh about again later when the devil you were thinking of began to call. You hadn’t gotten to talk with Luciel since late last night because he had been so busy up until this point, so it was a pleasant surprise. You liked being able to talk to him every day again.

You answered the phone while giggling and wiping at your tears and greeted him in English, “Hi Luciel.” It really was just easier to use your native language. “I still can’t believe you actually made a drink. I’m losing it over here.”

He let out a laugh as well as you broke out into more giggles. “Ye nay-sayers! So little belief you have in the great God Seven! I see now you and Yoosung are firm believers!”

“Oh God Seven, how can I get my little fingers in on your business schemes? I was so wrong for forgetting how powerful and manipulative you truly were! How much money did I lose out on because I didn’t follow your guidance in the past?” you lamented. “I’ve seen the error of my ways!”

“It can’t be helped if you forget with time,” he agreed sagely. “But… hey! How can you call me manipulative?! I earned that money!”

“Uh-huh,” you sniffed and dabbed at your wet eyes with your shirt. “You say that like you didn’t totally lie about making that AI robot and sold it to Jenny so she could avoid a late night doing that essay.”

“I didn’t lie~” he complained. “You just don’t believe that I did it!”

“There’s no way you could make a robot in only three days, let alone one that could write her essay for her.”

“Well… it didn’t write the essay for her. That would be academic fraud! But it did the research for her, hehe.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure, just like how you were flying and were attacked by sparrows.”

“That’s true toooooo!” You laughed a little at his whining.

“But anyway, how are you? You just left the chat full of guilt and now you’re calling me? That didn’t last long.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I’m trying to ignore the nagging. Besides, this is part of my work.” He sounded sobered up now as he sighed. 

“This is part of your work?”

“Yeah, while I still have a moment to breathe. I feel like all I’ve been doing is staring at a screen. Between my work and this hacker, my eyes are dying…”

The reminder of Ray and the state he was in caused bubbles of anxiety to ripple in your chest and throat. You, at least, could look outside at the sky and the sun and trees, but you doubted that Ray had even left his room today. You didn’t know what kind of room he was in, but based on movies that you had seen, hackers liked to work in dark rooms surrounded by monitors. Ray’s pale skin and bruised eyes reflected in your thoughts.

“...Do you have updates on the hacker…?” you asked, concerned.

“He’s a monster,” Luciel sighed. You flinched at the description even if he didn’t sound like he was trying to disparage Ray. “At least before I felt like I was fighting against a human, but he’s just crazy. I’ve never met someone who’s been capable of fending me off like this. Did something happen recently with him? It’s like I’m fighting a machine… He’s not actually a robot, is he?”

You didn’t feel up to joking anymore. “No… I told you that he’s kind.” You struggled to hold back the tidal wave of complaints that you had. You wanted to vent your thoughts, but Luciel wasn’t the one to do it to. Despite how you felt, you knew that you needed to keep information about Ray a secret from Luciel until you had more information. “I don’t know what happened to him. I know he’s sick right now… but I can’t imagine being sick would make him work harder…” Unless he was being even more threatened by the savior of this place to work even while as ill as he was. It was enough to make you angry.

Luciel hummed. You could hear him typing as he spoke in a low tone to you, as if he didn’t want to be overheard. “Are you friends with the hacker?”

It was the most direct question he’d asked you about the hacker yet. He had helped to dissuade the other members of the RFA from prying for information about the hacker from you despite your occasional hints about wishing for things to be resolved peacefully. You knew those orders had most likely come from V and that Luciel was just following V’s wishes. That’s why it was so surprising he was even asking you.

You didn’t like answering a question with another question like this, but you wanted to know, “I thought V said to leave that to him?”

“And you’re going to obey that?”

“You’re not going to obey that?”

He huffed a laugh before falling silent briefly. It was enough to make you wonder if he was suddenly doubting V. He wouldn’t do that just as you were really starting to trust V, right? “I’m not going against his request. I won’t ask for concrete details or anything. But… Well, if he’s your friend, that means he’s probably not doing this because he wants to, right? I kind of had this vibe that he was being used. Just a feeling from one computer slave to another.”

You were stunned. Luciel could pick up on that? Maybe you could be a little honest. “He won’t agree with me… but I do think he’s being used. I just don’t know the details yet.”

“Ah, I wasn’t sure if I was hoping to be right or wrong… I guess I’m happier than I’m right,” he lamented. “Now I’m feeling sympathy for the guy. Hey, can’t you convince him to stop?”

“I would if it was that easy…”

“When did you even have the chance to become friends with the guy? And actually, I wanna know what’s going on on your side to begin with. Are you sure that you’re safe?” 

It was sweet that he was worrying for you. “If I was really in a lot of danger, V probably would be doing a lot more than he is now. I’m in a weird position since I’m stuck in the middle between the RFA and this place… but I’m gonna try my best to mediate things if I can.” You paused and admitted, “It’s not… completely safe, I don’t think. But I’m not in immediate danger.”

“What?!” he yelped. “That doesn’t make it any better!”

“It’s okay! I’m safe!”

“I hear that quiet ‘for now’! Ugh,” he grumbled your name, “what the hell did you get yourself into? How did you even get stuck in the middle, and why did the hacker throw you into our server to begin with? I have so many questions!”

“I want to know that too,” you told him. “I’ll tell you more when I can find out more. Just… please tell me if you get more vibes from the hacker. Please. I don’t have as much contact with him as I want, and I… He’s someone I care about a lot, Luciel.”

“I’ll let you know,” he promised. “You know, you’re really too trusting, though. You’ve always been that way. How is it that you found yourself wrapped up in two hackers, huh?”

If only he knew who the other hacker was. The pure coincidence of meeting both of these twins and becoming so close to them had to be some form of fate, right? Your romantic heart wanted to believe that. 

“My intuition with people is usually right, though,” you pouted. “...Except for my last ex.”

“Oh ho, that sounds like a story,” he teased. “Now I get why you said that when we were talking about pests the other day.” You recognized his piqued curiosity.

“Mind your business,” you huffed.

“That’s against my instincts~”

“There’s nothing to even talk about there. That was a mess of a relationship,” you complained. “Maybe I’ll tell you when we meet in person.”

“Is it someone I knew?” he asked curiously.

“No, I don’t think so. Anyway, other than that I’m a good judge of character!”

“I have doubts about that. You became friends with me, after all.”

“Ugh, come on,” you sighed. “I can’t have both of you two shitting on yourselves all of the time. What did I tell you the last time you said that to me?”

Luciel paused now. It was uncommon to catch him off-guard, but you knew you had surprised him this time. You felt the silence being played with as he decided his next question before he settled on, “I don’t remember that. But I can’t help it. I’ve been feeling down all day. Is this what it means to be getting all sentimental…?”

You didn’t know for sure, but it was sad he was feeling depressed. A part of you cringed a little at the thought of saying this out loud – your heart twinged with the pinpricks of hurt you still felt towards this man, after all – but you nonetheless repeated the words you had once said to him years ago, “I don’t like listening to the people I like talking bad about themselves. If you don’t like yourself, then trust in me who likes you for you.”

“Ah, I remember that line now…” he murmured, voice full of the sentimentality he had just been contemplating. “But you don’t like me like that anymore, do you? I…” he tripped up on his confident statement, exposing his weakness, “You can’t after what I did to you.”

You fell silent now. You couldn’t agree or deny what he had said as both sentences were equally true. You decided to dodge that by saying, “...You could apologize for that time, you know.”

“Even if I apologize, there’s no point,” he muttered. “I couldn’t do anything back then, and I can’t do anything now. It’s better that you keep your distance from me and not get any closer than you already are. You’ll just be hurt worse by associating with me.”

He had said similar stuff to you in the past, but somehow it felt heavier now. Maybe he had more historical precedence to back this statement. You still disagreed with it. “I’ll decide that for myself. I’m not going anywhere, so can’t you at least apologize for not saying goodbye?” You folded yourself down against the table and continued to gaze outside, hurt painting your voice. “I get that your situation is complicated. You said as much when we were younger, and I’m not stupid. I know your informant job is… probably crazier than I imagine it to be. Hopefully it’s not as dangerous as I think. And I knew you would leave one day since you had always warned me. But I wish you could’ve said goodbye at least. I thought we were close enough for that.”

He said your name with contained regret. Maybe he was thinking about your last time together as much as you were. It had been a single night spent together with him in his bed as you had been avoiding your house and he had been available to hang out with. An evening had turned into a late night, and a late night had turned into dreams next to a warm body and a feeling of happiness you rarely found anywhere else. It had been a night shared between two lonely, hurt people. Your flavors of loneliness might have been different, but you had both been sharing the same dinner table nonetheless. You had sought comfort in that silent acknowledgement of simply being present for the other with words left unsaid about a history neither of you could or wanted to discuss. You were more open about your problems at home, but you had rarely delved into the depths of the hurt. And just as well, you had known nothing about Luciel’s past or even current troubles. In that moment, everything had been perfect. A body of a person sharing in a similar fate to you had soothed the ache in a way you had hoped he had felt as well. 

Neither of you had had any expectations of each other on that day, and you’d had no idea that the summer plans you had been trying to make with him would go absolutely nowhere as just two days later he had disappeared entirely from your life. It had been without warning, and Luciel hadn’t even given you a hint that it would occur. That was why the wound had cut so deeply. You had felt a bond torn asunder and had been given no closure. You were compassionate enough not to be angrier about it. You were sure your love for him was getting in the way of being more upset.

“I…” he started, but then audibly cut himself off. You could practically see the shake of his head. “Let’s talk about this another time. This isn’t the time for this kind of thing.”

That wasn’t the answer you had wanted to hear. You were understanding, but that only made it hurt more. He was avoiding this topic. You would allow it. Luciel was busy, after all. You were the one who was being selfish by trying to resolve old hurts. He was right, but you hated that he was right.

“I’m not letting this go,” you warned him for next time. You would get your apology out of him. If it never came, then you would be deeply disappointed in him. Luciel didn’t seem like the type who didn’t own up to his mistakes when he genuinely cared about someone. If you couldn’t even get an apology out of him, then you doubted your relationship with him would recover from it. You respected yourself too much for that.

“Right,” he agreed. “I wanted to talk more about this situation you’ve gotten yourself in, but I think I should go. He’s starting back up again, and I need to focus on this.”

“That’s fine. Thanks for telling me what you know about the hacker. Please let me know if anything changes.”

“I’ll try. Just… Please stay safe. I’m trying to find information to help you, but I haven’t had a lot of time available. Don’t do anything dangerous.”

You wondered what information he was talking about. Maybe he was prying where V had asked him not to. You would have to ask another time. “I’m watching my back. Don’t worry too much.”

“If it was anyone but you, maybe I’d worry less… Just be careful.”

You didn’t know what, exactly, he meant by that. But you said your goodbyes nonetheless and wished him luck. Your mood was a mess after that conversation. You felt lonelier than ever.

You thought about Ray. One brother apologized too much, and the other didn’t apologize enough. You missed both of them, but you longed for Ray more. If you closed your eyes, you could see the happy smile on his face from the garden last night before V had interrupted you both. You hoped you would get to hear from him soon.