#mystictober 2024

[pastelsapphy]

Mystictober Day 12: Best VNM/Saddest Moment

Summary: The broadcast failed. Saeyoung is a liability.

The Agency doesn't like liabilities. 

Warnings: Major Character Death, Hurt no Comfort, Angst

A/N: About a year ago I thought too much about Saeray's Normal End and this was the result. As cute as the scene on the island is, there's one RFA member conspicuously absent from his narration. We can guess what happened to Saeyoung and I'm not okay.

Thank you to Mystictober for finally giving me the motivation to tidy this up and post it. Playing a little loose with the prompt, since it's not an on-screen moment, but I digress.

------------------------------------------------------------

Saeyoung doesn't know what's going on past the fucking cage he's been thrown in. It's a warehouse, by the look of it, with the windows blacked out and a large steel grate blocking him from the rest of the room. 

He'd fought like a cornered animal when they came for him. The rational part of his brain knew it would probably be safer to play along, just for the moment. If he struggled, they were more likely to kill him and be done with it than whatever else they were planning, but it was instinct. And beside that... he knew.

Saeyoung knew.

The goons who followed Vanderwood into the house didn't look like they were all from the agency. Some definitely were, but others... they looked too clean. Too put together. Too official.

Secret agents don't wear dress shoes to a kidnapping.

He definitely did some damage to his assailants. If he'd been armed, he might have even gotten away. But he wasn't, and he didn't, even though he fought and kicked and screamed and scratched and bit as if—no, because—his life depended on it. But he was outnumbered and outgunned, and they had the element of surprise. He was covered in blood that wasn't his own when something jabbed his neck and he knew he was done for. He was unconscious before he knew what happened.

When he woke up he was on a concrete floor in whatever building they'd dragged him to. Knowing the agency, it's out in the middle of nowhere. Saeyoung won't give them the satisfaction of screaming, but he knows no one would hear him if he did.

His options are limited... if not nonexistent. He's handcuffed so tightly he's losing sensation in the tips of his fingers. He's dislocated his thumb before to wiggle out of handcuffs, but he knows even that won't help him now. His glasses broke in the struggle; he's unarmed and no one knows what happened to him.

If he can't figure out something fast, he's fucked.

And that was even before he showed up. The monster who had been chasing him and his brother for over twenty years. The monster that he had, apparently, been working for—one of the Agency's best clients. A monster with a deceptive smile that fooled an entire country, but not Saeyoung. Never Saeyoung.

Saeyoung knows exactly what kind of monster Saejoong Choi is.

The second time Saejoong comes to see him, there are no pleasantries. Not even the illusion of them. Saeyoung's eyes immediately lock on the object in Saejoong's hand.

"Thought you wanted to use me for something," Saeyoung says. 

"That was until that little stunt you and the other brat pulled. Nuisances until the very end."

“What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't know!" 

A kick sends him sprawling face-first to the floor. A boot makes contact with his back, pinning him to the rough concrete. "You two vermin and that damn RFA are trying to destroy everything I've spent my life working for. I'm sure you're the one who dug everything up, even if the other one did the legwork. I should have taken you out sooner."

Saeyoung hears the safety on the gun click and he knows, he knows, that this is it. The RFA and... Saeran?... Saeran... tried to take down their father. He doesn't know how it could be possible, he hasn't seen Saeran in so long—

In that moment it hits him: he's never going to see Saeran again. And if his brother and the RFA tried something so blatant, so public, to get rid of Saejoong... every single one of them is in danger. And there's nothing Saeyoung can do about it.

He failed, and he's about to die for it.

Even if his soul is being overcome with despair—Not Saeran, Saeran please be safe, I wish I could have seen you one more time... please be safe—he won't go down quietly. Saeyoung is a cockroach, and roaches don't die easily.

"At least look me in the eye when you kill me," he growls. "Or are you a goddamn coward?"

There's a pause, and for a moment Saeyoung thinks they'll just shoot him and be done with it, but then the weight disappears from his back and someone snaps their fingers. He's yanked up to his knees by his hair and it takes everything in him to suppress a wince. He won't give his father the satisfaction. Not even once.

The monster haunting his nightmares glares down at him with a look of pure hatred. Saeyoung is sure he has the same look on his own face, and that thought makes him feel things he doesn't want to unpack (at least he won't have to).

"Normally I don't care for getting my hands dirty," Saejoong says, pressing the cold metal of the gun to Saeyoung's forehead. "But you two pests are a special case. You've been a thorn in my side for far too long."

Saeyoung looks him in the eye and musters up his last act of defiance. "One day, you are going to die. One day, everything you've built up will mean nothing. You will be a cold, hard corpse in the ground like the rest of us. Bloated, rotting, festering. Death will find you one day, no matter how much you try to run. And so will I."

He leans up; the gun presses hard against him, but he doesn't flinch, doesn't even blink as he stares his father down. "I may be going there first, but one day you will die and you will rot and when you do, I will drag you down to Hell myself. You'll never escape me. We'll burn together for eternity."

He spits out a glob of blood and phlegm, right on Saejoong's shiny politician's shoes. 

They say you never hear the shot that gets you. 

Saeyoung doesn't. 

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober 2024 Day 8/9: His Muse

You can read this over on Ao3 if you’d prefer.

Rating: T

Prompt: Jihyun x MC / Painting || Fate / Lie

WordCount: 8028

Summary: Jihyun needs a muse for his new painting collection. Author's Notes: So, Day 8 got away from me and became both that and day 9. Sorry it's a day late... but not sorry it's over 8000 words.

Hen knocked on the studio door, then stood and fidgeted nervously with the strings of her hoodie. She’d replied to this advertisement on the Art Department’s bulletin board for a model, specifically one who could stand for long periods of time without moving. Honestly, she was pretty sure that most people these days just took reference photos and painted from that, but if some student wanted to pay her an exorbitant-seeming amount of money to stand in one place with her clothes on (the ad had been very specific that while there would be an outfit provided, it was modest), she wasn’t about to complain.

Her friends had been on her case about applying. She’d always wanted to be a model, but she wasn’t model material. She was in that nebulous middle-point, Far too big to be a classic fashion model, but still too small to be an acceptable plus-size model. And she didn’t hate her body by any means. So she let them nag her into it. She’d sent what the flier asked for. Her name (preferred, even, not even her wallet name) and then a headshot and a full body shot. She’d tried to be as confident as she could while her friends took photos for her, but even now, having landed the job, she was nervous.

What if he was a creep? Art students could be anyone really, and…

The door opened to reveal a man in wire-frame glasses with teal hair and eyes and a warm smile. Wait a minute… 

“V?!” Hen had studied his pictures for one of her photography classes, they’d done a unit on current artists, and…

He chuckled looking chagrined. “Call me Jihyun, please.” He led her inside and shut the studio door again before continuing. “V did photos. I’m… well, I’ve moved on from that and I’m pursuing painting, which has been my passion far longer, though I didn’t have the guts to change mediums until recently.”

“Oh.” Hen said, just as awkwardly as she felt. “I didn’t mean to be rude, I…”

“Not rude.” Jihyun interrupted. “I was V. I am still, technically, that same man. I simply am using my given name now.” 

He sighed, and shook himself loose from whatever thought seemed to be plaguing him. “We got off on the wrong foot.” He held out his hand for her to shake. “Hi, I’m Jihyun Kim, the artist who will be painting you for the next few hours.”

She took his hand with a grin and a firm shake. “I’m Hen. And I’m very good at standing still.”

The outfit that he’d chosen for her to wear was very fantasy. Flowing skirts, a corseted belt over a lightweight top. She felt like a peasant girl in a magic world, and she loved it. He’d positioned her standing at a window, and she’d gotten to people-watch campus while he painted her. She’d expected a need to be quiet or mostly still, but he told her to go ahead and fidget if she needed to, and kept her engaged in a number of different light topics as he worked, almost as though he was trying to keep her entertained.

Eventually, as the light was waning, Jihyun stood. “Alright, that’s time. Thank you so much for all of your help today.” He smiled. “Do you need assistance with the belt or anything else getting back out of the costume?”

Hen waved him off. “Nah, I’m good. Give me two shakes and I’ll be out of your hair.”

Once she was back to her normal self, she was sad to see that Jihyun had already closed up his work, so that she couldn’t see it. He immediately spotted her looking, however.

“I’ll show you when it’s done. I was intending to invite you to whatever gallery it shows in, of course, as the model.”

Hen grinned. “It would be my honor!”

Jihyun handed her the envelope containing her payment, all smiles. “Honestly, Miss Hen, you’re an amazing model. May I call on you again for another piece? Same terms, but the next one likely won’t be standing.”

Hen nodded, she’d had a great time, and the pay was definitely worth it. “I’d love to.” She said, honestly. “I enjoyed today!”

Jihyun nodded, and they parted ways. Hen couldn’t help but smile, her friends were going to be so surprised when she told them she might even get a callback.

The second time that Hen stood as a model for Jihyun had her sitting on a bench in an awkward position. It was uncomfortable at first, but she made it work. Eventually, Jihyun admitted to her that the piece involved the woman sitting in a tree, but he couldn’t justify making her sit somewhere ostensibly dangerous for hours on end, so he’d made the bench setup like the branch he had in mind. Once he explained that to her, she found it much easier to settle into a pose that was actually useful for him.

She may have caught him grumbling to himself about wasting less time if he could just trust her more. She didn’t blame him, of course, Artists were often secretive, and she knew it was hard to trust someone you didn’t really know. Goodness knows she’d only met this man twice and definitely didn’t trust him with anything personal, so she didn’t blame him. Not even a little.

When the time was up and Jihyun started cleaning up, Hen realized she was stiff as she changed back out of the costume. 

“Hey, Jihyun, do you mind if I do some stretches on the floor here before I head out? I’m a little bit stiff.”

“Ah. Go right ahead. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. Your stiffness is the consequence of my art, after all.

Hen sank to the ground, grateful that she’d worn leggings today instead of jeans. She worked her way through some yoga poses, careful of the fact that she didn’t have a mat of any variety, only realizing she was humming as she finished the last of the stretches because of Jihyun’s quiet chuckle.

“I’m glad you’re so comfortable in my studio.” He said, chuckling. 

Hen blushed even as she nodded. “You make it easy, Jihyun. This is by far the highlight of my week.”

“Even with the odd held poses?” He was surprised.

“Even so.” Hen nodded. “I’d be honored if you wanted to call me in again.”

Jihyun smiled so brightly at that, Hen couldn’t help but smile in return.

The next sitting was more stereotypical, and Hen couldn’t hold back her giggles as Jihyun helped her pose in a very Ancient Grecian looking gauzy dress while half-laying on a chaise lounge.

“What is it?”

“It’s just… if you told someone they were going to model for a painting, they’d probably imagine something like this.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Yes, I suppose it might be. I hope that the outcome of the painting far exceeds my pedestrian posing layouts.

“I’m certain it will.” Hen had no doubts that the man had an impressive artistic eye - his photographs were stunning enough that she’d written an entire paper on them her freshman semester of college. Sure, her major had nothing to do with art, but one didn’t see one of V’s photos and not know the man was gifted. “If nothing else, Jihyun, it’s fine to have one simpler piece in a collection.”

He chuckled, and Hen settled in to hold her position. It was surprisingly comfortable, and she knew it wasn’t going to be too difficult, especially because he was good about giving her breaks.

For the first time in their sessions, Jihyun was quiet and focused on the painting, which gave Hen time to think about everything going on in her classes, in life, in that book she was reading… eventually she started to feel sleepy. She knew she should say something, get up and take a walk, get some water, anything so that she didn’t cause a problem for Jihyun.

Instead, she found herself drifting off to sleep while watching him paint with the most blissfully calm look on his face that she’d ever seen on another human being.

What felt like a blink and also an eternity later, Hen woke to the soft shake of a shoulder, Jihyun crouched down next to her.

“Hey, Miss Hen.”

She startled, coming to consciousness all at once. “Oh, no, Jihyun! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep!”

“It’s alright, you held the pose I needed, and you just looked so happy I couldn’t bear to wake you. Good dreams, I hope?”

Hen shook her head, holding a hand to her chest to will her heart to calm down from its momentary panic. “No dreams. One minute I was watching you paint, and the next you were waking me up. I feel insanely well rested though. Probably going to be up late tonight.” She chuckled.

“Hm, I should have been responsible and woken you.” He sighed, but continued before Hen could argue. “Would you let me take you to dinner as an apology?”

“What time is it?” Hen asked, sitting up properly so she could stretch the sleep out of her bones.

“Just about six.” Jihyun said, backing up to give her space.

“I could do dinner, I don’t have any other plans.” She said, and the smile that bloomed across his face warmed her soul. Yeah, she’d do a lot just to see that smile more.

Dinner was lovely. They went to a little hole-in-the-wall bibimbap restaurant that seemed to know Jihyun well, but wasn’t so expensive as to make Hen feel out of place. It was even on an easy bus route home again, so she wasn’t even particularly going out of her way, either.

They chatted over dinner about this and that, nothing important, the same calm, cheerful kinds of conversations that they usually had while he was painting. That just cemented for Hen that Jihyun was just like that and he wasn’t just chatting to keep her from getting bored. It made her wonder why he wasn’t chatty during their session today, but by the time they got to a break in conversation where she might have asked, she’d already forgotten.

When the bill came, Hen snatched it away before Jihyun could pick it up, and handed the whole bill to their waitress - a granny who she suspected was simply the owner of the place - with a smile. The granny even turned a look on Jihyun like she was surprised he was letting her pay. Jihyun looked stunned. “Hen, you don’t need to buy my dinner.”

“But I want to.” She smiled. “We’re friends, now, right?”

Jihyun smiled in that way that made her feel alight, and she blushed and fidgeted with her hoodie strings. By the time she realized it, the granny had gone and come back… and she was only paying for her half of dinner. Jihyun smirked at her, and Hen wondered if she’d been played. As they packed up to leave, Jihyun’s phone started ringing, and his face took on an ominous look.

“Sorry, you head on home, I have to take this… and it might be awhile.”

Hen nodded and waved, waving again to the granny on her way out.

That had been a fun dinner. She hoped his phone call wasn’t too painful.

It had been a few months since Hen sat for Jihyun, and almost as long since she’d heard from the man. She’d thought it was Fate when they met and hit it off that well, even just professionally, but then he’d disappeared. Hen tried to convince herself that it was fine, but at this point even she would admit she was moping. She really enjoyed his company, and couldn’t help but feel like she’d done something wrong. Had accepting his dinner invitation been too forward? But she’d even paid for her own meal… Hen had been worrying about this, of course, for weeks now, with only her coursework to keep her mind occupied and off of her presumed faux pas, whatever it might be. And unfortunately, winter break had just started so she had an entire month to mope about and worry about a problem with no guarantee of resolution.

At least she had her favorite coffee shop to curl up and read in. She usually got tea, but today she splurged on an extra sugary coffee drink, and the woman behind the counter chuckled. “Am I celebrating with you or commiserating, Hen?”

“Ugh.” Hen grumbled. 

“Commiserating it is!” The woman behind the counter quietly put an extra pump of caramel into the drink - Hen didn’t comment, not sure if it was intentional, but she wasn’t going to turn down more caramel goodness.

An hour or so later, Hen’s reading was interrupted by someone sitting down across from her. She ignored them for a moment, but when they didn’t move she put her bookmark in and looked up, only to let out a surprised squeak as she realized the person sitting there was none other than Jihyun, patiently waiting for her to pause.

Before she could say anything, the woman behind the counter appeared and set a coffee down in front of him. “Don’t scare away my regulars, Jihyun.” She said sternly, then returned behind the counter.

Before Hen could say anything, Jihyun immediately spoke up.

“I’m so glad that I found you.” He winced. “I threw my phone in the ocean in a fit of temper. Did you know that there is such a thing as backing up your contacts? I… did not do this thing. And as such, I had to simply hope to run into you. It took some time.”

He slid a brand new phone across the table to her. “My friend set it up so I can’t do that again, even if I do something as stupid as throwing my phone into the ocean again. May I have your number again?”

Hen sighed, and immediately added herself as a contact. “So you’re saying you didn’t respond to my texts not because you were upset with me, but because you didn’t know who they were from?” She looked over at her phone as the message she sent herself pinged in as an unknown number.

Jihyun had the grace to look embarrassed. “I needed a new number.”

“Did something happen?” Hen added his new number to her contacts, and changed the old one to read “Davy Jones’ Locker”, just in case some fish tried to text her later.

Jihyun sighed. “The unreasonable unbelievable drama that is my life simply continues to happen.” He took a sip of his drink and sighed happily. Jaehee could really make a mean latte.

Hen chuckled. “Everyone’s got some weird rats in their closet, I swear. I’m glad you reappeared, I was worried.”

“You were?” His eyes lit up for a moment, but then dimmed. “I’m sorry, Miss Hen. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Hey, it’s fine, you reappeared before I could mope myself into a corner.”

“Why would you be moping?” Jihyun was clearly confused.

“Well, I mean, I bullied my way into paying for my own dinner and then you disappeared. I was sure I’d said something stupid, or maybe that I shouldn’t have gone to dinner.”

“God, no, Hen. That dinner was one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time, I just had to leave for a trip the next morning…”

“His not wanting you to pay is just some misplaced chivalry.” The counter lady said, stopping by to leave a to-go cup refill of Hen’s coffee. “This one’s on the house. For celebrating this time, and for putting up with him.” She winked, and Jihyun looked scandalized.

“Jaehee! Are you buying my… are you buying Hen’s loyalty with coffee now?”

The woman - Jaehee apparently - cackled. “Yes.” The look she was wearing told Hen that she had no idea what their relationship was, and was assuming all kinds of things that Hen didn’t want to have to be the one to dissuade her from.

“Listen…” Jihyun took a deep breath. “Between the trip and needing to find you back, I’m way behind on painting work, and the gallery’s already booked. You wouldn’t happen to be… staying in town for winter break? I could book you… a lot… if you had time.” He looked like he expected her to say no, like he was already letting himself down before she could.

“I’m so game.” she said, laughing awkwardly. “I have, well, nothing going on for the next month until classes start up again.”

“No family events, or friend things, or…” Jihyun looked surprised. 

“Nope. Just lil ol me and my TBR.”

“TBR?”

“To Be Read. All the books I haven’t read this past semester because of classwork.”

Jihyun laughed at his own expense. “I should have known what that was. Fair, fair. Um.” He took a deep breath. “So, I can’t use my campus studio during break. Would you be okay coming to my apartment? It’s safe, I promise, and if you don’t feel safe you can leave, I won’t be upset.” Hen nodded, but winked at him before calling out to Jaehee behind the counter. “Hey Jaehee, can I trust this guy?”

Jihyun paled as though he had no idea what Jaehee would say.

“With your life.” Jaehee responded, without a pause. “But if you need an emergency text check-in hit me up before you leave.” Something relaxed in Jihyun, and Hen wondered if he’d let her give him a hug, but the moment was lost when he stood and bussed her empty mug.

Jihyun’s apartment was the 79th floor of an 80-floor high rise building. The entire 79th floor. Well, apparently his apartment was half of it and the other half was studio space, but still. She went directly to the windows and looked out over downtown, her eyes shining when she looked back at him.

“Jihyun, we should have done that first painting here…. this is such a great view!!” The painter smiled. “I’m glad you think that, actually… because I was hoping to do a triptych of that one, and so I’d need you to stand for two more at windows, and, well…”

He looks so nervous! Hen thought, and smiled, shaking her head and then nodding.

“Listen, Jihyun. I will sit for you to paint as often as you need me this month, as long as I don’t starve to death, and get to sleep properly.”

“That’s a low bar. I’m still going to pay you. Same rates. Also, since we’re not on campus I’m covering at least one meal a sitting. No arguments or pulling what you did at Yu’s!”

Hen blushed. “I still think it was only fair.”

Jihyun laughed, and walked over to a closet. “So, this closet has the outfits for the other…” he winced. “Four paintings I have in mind.”

“That’s only like one a week, do you have other obligations? We both already know I don’t.”

Jihyun chuckled. “Well, I can get the part of the work I need you modeling for done in our usual 6-hour blocks, so we could do those, say… every other day? That should give me plenty of time for finishing work on all of them and still be able to get them to the gallery on time.”

“Do you want to start today, since I’m here?”

Jihyun looked at the clock. “Only if you let me buy lunch and take you to dinner after.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Kim.” He raised an eyebrow, and she relented. “Yes, okay, okay. I want to see your gallery look good. I don’t know why you’re not the one begging here.”

Jihyun blinked. “I… really should be, shouldn’t I? You’re too good to me, Miss Hen.”

“Just call me Hen. It’s already a nickname.”

“It is? No wonder I couldn’t find you.”

Hen laughed so hard she sat down abruptly on the floor. “Jihyun Kim. You seriously thought my given name was Hen. Like a chicken.”

“Yes. Why would I assume otherwise?”

Hen just made flustered hand motions while she laughed at him.

“It’s Henrietta.” She said, once she could breathe properly. “Henrietta Chatham.”

“I like Hen better.” Jihyun said through a pout.

“Me too! That’s why I introduce myself that way! If you start calling me Miss Henrietta, I’ll quit.”

“Please don’t.” Jihyun said, helping her up off the floor. “Hen.”

She blushed at their proximity, and turned toward the closet so he wouldn’t notice. “So, which outfit first?”

Jihyun pulled out an outfit that was leggings and a leotard and a cropped leather jacket. “Cyberpunk? Or 80s Workout?” She asked, and as usual he gave her a shrug. No insight from the artist. No hints. No spoilers. She would get to see the paintings at the gallery opening with everyone else, and no sooner.

Hen was changing back into her regular clothes when she heard a knock at the door. Grateful that this wasn’t her house and thus she was spared from needing to rush to get clothes on and the inevitable falling over that would come with it, Hen simply continued at her leisurely undressing and redressing pace… which also meant she was able to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Ah, good evening, Jihyun.” A warm baritone that matched V’s friendly tenor practically sang into the apartment.

“Jumin. Good to see you well. What can I help you with?”

“Miss Kang told me you found your muse.”

“I did. At Jaehee’s coffee shop, no less. I owe her.”

Muse? Does he consider me his Muse?? Hen felt her cheeks heat as she considered what that meant, if it meant anything. She hurried a little bit faster to get herself put back together.

“Well, I suppose you shouldn’t have any problems getting five more pieces done in time for the gallery opening, assuming she’s amenable to sitting for more paintings?”

She heard Jihyun laugh as she opened the bathroom door and made her way over to the costume closet without even glancing at the door.

“I’d say she is, we already got one session in today.” His volume changed as he turned and called out to her. “Hen, come over here when you’re done there, would you?”

She turned, surprised to see that Jihyun’s guest was in a three-piece suit, albeit one decorated with white cat fur.

“Hi.” She said, holding out a hand. “I’m Hen.”

He shook her hand, professional to a T. “Jumin Han.” Then, he turned back to Jihyun. “You should tell Luciel you’ve found her so he stops sending photos of random chickens to the chat and asking if they’re her. He’s been at it for approximately two hours now.”

Hen couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “Seriously?! Will you show me? We can pick which chicken looks most like me.”

JIhyun smiled that smile she loved so much. “We can look over dinner.” He turned to Jumin. “Would you like to join us? We’re going out for barbecue.”

Jumin shook his head. “Elizabeth is waiting for me. But thank you. Maybe next time.”

They watched as he turned and went back to the elevator and rode it…up. “He lives above you?” Hen asked, as they waited for the elevator to return for them to take it down instead.

“Yes.” Jihyun said with a smile. “We were childhood friends, Jumin and I.”

“And now?”

“Still friends. Less so children.”

Hen giggled, and tried to keep herself from thinking of this dinner as a date. It was just.. a work dinner.

The rest of the week flew by, and before Hen knew it she was back on her own, her sittings were all done and now she had all the free time in the world to get her reading done, but she couldn’t stop thinking of Jihyun. She hadn’t really been being honest with herself about him, it seemed, but now that she had some time to think clearly, it was plain as day. She was in love with the painter. He made her smile and laugh in a way no one else had. None of her previous partners even held a candle to the way he made her feel.

Sure, she might be his muse, not that he’d said as much to her even after she’d heard Jumin say it, but regardless… that was an art thing, not a personal thing. And now that this collection was done, other than the gallery opening he’d wanted her to come to, she may not ever see him again. Hen sighed, and like clockwork, her phone started ringing. Who called these days? Oh. It was Jihyun!

“Hey Jihyun!”

“Hi… I have… a selfish request.”

“Shoot.”

“I need your help. I’m trying to get all the finishing work done and for the life of me I cannot focus. I thought maybe getting someone to body double for me would help, but all of my friends are normal boring adults with day jobs. Jumin offered his cat, but she’s white and a mischief and I do not think that would be a good idea around all the paint…”

“Jihyun. Slow down. Calm down, it’s okay. What do you actually need from me?”

“Come and sit here and hang out? You can bring your books. I know you were eyeing that oversized chair, I’ll clear it out so you can relax. Maybe… get coffee from Jaehee’s on the way? I’ll pay you back, I swear, I… Hell, I’ll even pay your sitting fee just to chill with me for the day.”

“Jihyun! That’s not how friendship works! You don’t need to pay me to hang out with you. But you can take me to dinner. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

“Thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Peppermint! Bye!” She hung up to the sound of his laughter, and if she wasn’t about to walk through his door with two coffees and a tote bag full of paperbacks to devour, she’d hate to end the call. Yeah. She had it bad.

Hen knocked on Jihyun’s door in the most inelegant fashion possible: with her forehead. She’d considered kicking it, but that would have sloshed the coffees too much.

Of course, Jihyun opened by her third knock, and instead she stumbled forward a step when her head met air.

“Were you knocking with your head?”

“Shhh.”

“Nooo. Your poor face.”

“I said shhhhh.” She allowed him to take his coffee, and laughed when she spotted the oversized chair in her usual posing space. “I’m modeling my dumb reading faces for you today.”

“I told you I’d pay your sitting fee.” He winked at her when she blustered, and instead she blushed. “What? You’re going to be sitting!”

“You. Are a brat.”

“That’s what they tell me.”

“What, your RFA Friends?” She said, thinking back to the chatroom entirely full of chicken photos.

“Only ones I’ve got.”

“You’ve got me!” Hen argued, and Jihyun turned a look on her that she couldn’t decipher, not even paired with the radiant smile.

“You’re different. You’re my Muse, Hen.”

“Well, you’re my… artist… i guess.. there’s not a good word for that. I’m sticking with friend.” She grinned at him, and he laughed. 

“Well, get to reading, Muse, I better get myself actually working so you didn’t come here for no reason.”

Hen settled and then realized the scale of the canvas he was currently working on. 

“Damn, Jihyun, that’s huge. Is it the centerpiece?”

“It is!”

“And you still won’t let me sneak a peek?”

“Of course not! and ruin the effect of the collection as a whole on opening night? Never.”

“I’m still invited to that?”

“Of course. You’re my muse. You’re my plus one.”

Hen saw the chance and had to ask… to save herself heartbreak down the road.

“What, no boyfriend? I was sure you and Jumin had--”

“No.” He cut her off. “I’m single, Hen. Have been since… well. Everything.”

“You’ll have to tell me about that someday, you know? I hate walking into landmines that just hurt your feelings.”

“You’re right. I should. Maybe over dinner?”

They spent the day in quiet companionship. Every now and again Hen would laugh at something that happened in her book, or absolutely have to read part of something to Jihyun because it was just written way too well.

They took a break for lunch, Jihyun had ordered sandwiches while she was still wrapped up in the most recent book.

“Your reading speed is ridiculous.”

“Jihyun. I’m in law school. Of course it’s ridiculous.”

“…I keep forgetting that. You’re so nice.”

“Sometimes lawyers are nice.”

“My lived experience begs to differ.”

“Hm.” Time to change the subject so that he could get back to work and not just spill everything now. “You’re going to tell me about that over dinner you said. Any ideas where you want to take me?”

Jihyun blinked for a moment, and then shrugged. “I was thinking Sushi?”

“I do not know if I am dressed well enough to go out for sushi, but…”

“I was thinking about a local place that has all you can eat sushi. No dress code. Plenty of time to sit and talk about difficult subjects in an informal environment.”

“Oh. Well then. You will be surprised at how much sushi I can eat.”

“With my friends, I don’t get surprised by much anymore.”

“And since then, she’s been in Alaska, at an inpatient rehabilitation center.”

“Jesus. That was… you? We discussed the situation in one of my classes while it was ongoing.” 

“Yes, I’m not surprised, it was a clusterfuck.”

Hen reached her hand out across the table to take Jihyun’s, heedless of how forward she was being. The man needed comfort.

“That’s a lot of stress, Jihyun.”

Jihyun sighed, but didn’t move his hand out from under hers, a choice that Hen chose to take as a positive sign.

“It was, but it’s over. Now I can move on and be better. To myself. To my friends.”

They paused to eat more of the sushi in front of them, when something he said suddenly connected for Hen.

“You said she’s in Alaska… is that when you ‘lost’ your phone?”

Jihyun chuckled. “When I threw it into the ocean. Yeah. We were still engaged when she was sentenced, and I hadn’t woken up at the hospital yet, so they put me down as one of her guardians. She was demanding to see me since I was on her paperwork… I had to go there in person to get my name removed.”

“Oh because that was safe and healthy for your trauma…” Hen muttered grumpily.

Jihyun nodded. “Exactly. Anyway, once I left, she started texting me begging me to come back, and… I just… I needed to be free of her. Of all that. I’d managed to put myself back together in the two years since and I couldn’t go back to that mental place. So I chucked my phone off of the side of the ferry. ‘Oops’. My only regret is losing your contact information in the process. Why did we never email?”

Hen shook her head with a low chuckle. “Hubris. I don’t know. I’m just glad you found me back. I was really worried I’d done something to upset you.”

“Well, I do wish you’d let me buy you dinner. Grandma Yu teases me to this day about ruining that date.”

Date? Hen must have thought about it for a minute too long, because Jihyun was rushing past the statement like he’d never made it.

“You’re not buying dinner tonight. This is my gift in return for you sharing your day with me.”

Hen nodded. “The chat with the chickens - that was those friends?”

“The very same.”

“I hope I get to meet them someday.”

“They’ll be at the gallery. Maybe… don’t wear feathers.”

Hen laughed so hard she aspirated her tea. “Jihyun!! What should I wear?!”

Leaving the restaurant, Hen realized this would be a perfect time to tell Jihyun how she felt. He deserved to know. She deserved to be let down in a nice quiet parking lot, not in front of however many people at the gallery showing. And since that was the last time she was likely to see him, well, she chose now.

“Jihyun, I…”

He reached out and held a finger to her lips, stopping her from talking.

“I know what you’re going to say. Can you wait until after you see the paintings? Please?”

Hen blinked. He wanted her to wait to confess until after the gallery? That was exactly the opposite of what she wanted.

What she was thinking must have shown on her face.

“I promise I will hear you out. I will give you privacy if you want it. But I need you to see… what I see… first.”

Hen sighed and nodded, and only then did he move his finger.

As her bus pulled up to the stop, Jihyun smiled at her. “See you at the gallery.”

“Yeah.” she forced a smile onto her face. “See you Saturday.”

The entire ride home, Hen let the tears silently track down her cheeks. He was going to turn her down, she knew it. He’d known she was going to confess. How many people had fallen for him while modeling? How many women had he turned down? Had he known since he came back from Alaska? Had he known before she did?

He’d had probably the worst relationship experience on the planet, there was no way he’d be interested in trying something. It wasn’t even that there was anything wrong with her, just that with everything he’d been through…

Hen sighed. She was thinking in circles. She should have known better than to fall for anyone. It’s not like her dating history was stellar either. She wiped the tears from her face as her bus arrived at her stop and she started walking home. She would be the best possible muse at this gallery opening. The belle of the ball. Maybe they could stay friends, if she didn’t make a complete mess of everything. She’d like that.

Hen had gone all-out for the gallery opening. She’d secretly talked to Jaehee at the cafe about what the dress code would actually be like, so she wouldn’t embarrass anyone, and the woman had actually volunteered to go shopping with her. Hen turned her down, but they exchanged numbers so Hen could send photos if she needed advice. She felt like she needed to do this herself.

Eventually she found what she needed. A navy blue and black jacquard dress, with an off-the shoulder sweetheart neckline and a subtle high low hem, from knees to tea length. The neckline showed a lot of skin, but a shawl would temper it, especially with her hair in loose curls over one shoulder.

Hair and makeup were easy. She knew how to put on a flawless face, it was practically a requirment with law school. Her favorite jewelry - understated sapphire earrings and a matching pendant on silver chain - finished the look. With a pair of short black suede ankle boots, a cashmere shawl, and her wool coat, she was prepared for a gallery opening in mid-January. Hopefully Jaehee hadn’t steered her wrong. She wouldn’t know what to do if she were dressed improperly. Both overdressed and underdressed were a possibility here, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous.

“You’ve really outdone yourself, Jihyun, these pieces are magnificent.”

Hen stepped into the gallery, slightly early for the actual opening, but Jihyun had requested her to be early to meet his friends. The entrance to the room was slightly raised, and had an unimpeded view of the collection. She could hear people talking, but she had eyes only for the art on display. She recognized all of the pieces along the edges from her sittings. First the triptych, Three pieces, one looking left out a window toward a historical setting, one looking right out a window in a cyberpunk-esque future setting (she knew that’s what that outfit was!), and the third looking straight out a window into a modern wartorn landscape.

“I see why you wouldn’t show us any of them early.”

The one where she’d been posing on the bench like it was a tree seemed to be robin hood? Or maybe hunger games? Either way, very stealthy, she loved the look of it. Opposite that was the grecian chaise lounge scene… he’d actually painted her asleep?! Jihyun! She internally scolded him. He could have just asked her to pretend to be asleep. Brat.

“Imagine if he hadn’t found his muse back!”

Her favorite so far had been the hardest pose to hold for the time he’d needed - a sword-weilding maiden from chinese folklore. It actually showed her in three distinct poses, as though in motion, and she stared at it for a long time. The last had her crumpled on the floor in front of a grave, hair in her face, soaked by rain. She’d remembered that - he’d asked her if she’d be willing to go stand in the shower in the giant pile of organza. She’d gotten the entire studio wet. It had been a riot.

“You did five of these just this month? You’re a madman, V… I mean Jihyun.”

But it wasn’t until she focused on the centerpiece - the only one she hadn’t posed for - that she realzied that none of the women in the paintings were actually her. She’d posed for them, but they had different hairstyles, different facial features, like she was playing characters instead of being herself.

“Jihyun, this collection is radiant. If it’s this good, then your muse must be exquisite.”

The centerpiece was actually a painting of her, done the last day she’d been in his studio, sitting ridiculously sideways in that oversized chair engrossed in her book, but instead of it being in his studio it was in a vast library. She couldn’t help but laugh when she realized how many hints he’d tried to give her that she was in fact sitting for another painting. He’d clearly wanted her to be herself. God she loved him.

She looked down, then, to where Jihyun was standing surrounded by a small group of people… all of whom were looking up at her. Of them, she recognized Jaehee from the coffee shop and Jumin his upstairs neighbor / childhood friend. There were also two gingers who could be twins, a girl with long brown fringe and even longer hair, a blonde with dark roots, and a … was that Zen?! Huh. He wasn’t kidding about the eclectic group of friends he had.

Jihyun held out a hand to beckon her over, and she made her way down the stairs and over to the group. Jihyun took her around the group; Jaehee, the owner/operator of the coffee shop she frequented. Jumin, his best friend from childhood and Director of C&R International. Saeyoung and Saeran, the computer-savvy twins. MC, the insightful party planner. Yoosung, the newly-minted Veterinarian. Zen, also known as Hyun, the actor.

“And I’m the model.” She shook her head. “I mean law student.” She smirked at Jihyun who laughed. She didn’t miss the surprised looks from his friends at the sound of his laugh. She was right. This man needed to smile and laugh more. If she could give that to him, she would gladly — no, that was a lie - she would accept simply being his friend. “You sell yourself short.” Jihyun said, a soft smile flickering into place. “This is Hen. My muse. My friend. I hope you can all get along well.”

“Don’t worry, Jihyun. We’ll take care of your girl when you inevitably get pulled away by boring rich guys.” One of the twins - Saeyoung, she thought, gold eyes - said with a smirk. 

After the introductions, the RFA scattered around the room as other patrons of the arts started to filter in, the official start time having passed. Jihyun held his arm out for her like a proper gentleman. “You look absolutely stunning tonight, Hen.” He said with that smile she loved so much.

“Thank you.” She felt her cheeks heat and willed herself to calm down. This was his show. “I didn’t want to make you look bad. Not after you made me look so good.” She gestured to the biggest piece of art in the room, and he had the grace to look embarrassed.

“I should have been up front and asked for your permission, but I wanted to paint you naturally, not posing. I’m sorry I lied to you, Hen.”

Hen shook her head. “You didn’t lie to me, Jihyun. You left so many crumbs, I could have assembled an entire loaf of bread from how much you were afraid to surprise me with this. Hell, you even offered to pay me a sitting fee just to hang out with you. The fact that I was still surprised is more on me than it is on you!”

“I’m still going to pay you for that.”

Hen smirked. They’d had this back and forth so many times, she couldn’t help but kick it up a notch.

“You could pay me back with a kiss.” She said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Jihyun not only sputtered trying to respond to her in any fashion, he even stopped walking.

Hen turned to apologize to him, just in time to see Jihyun school his features and hold his arm out properly again. Great, now you’ve done it, Hen. If he wasn’t going to turn you down before, he definitely is now.

Moments later, a group of men walked up and started talking to Jihyun about his works, and Hen tuned in so that she could respond to any questions asked of her. There weren’t any, of course, she was arm candy and most of them probably hadn’t even noticed that she was the woman pictured in the art.

Eventually, the event was in full swing, and Jihyun went up to the landing to talk about the art a bit. He told a story about a woman who loved to read more than anything, and her trips of imagination through storybooks. He talked about how the collection was about escapism through fiction, and how the modern world has made even fictional war more glamorous than our day-to-day slog through capitalism. 

He introduced her to the assembled patrons as his muse, the beautiful law student who deigned to stand, sit and otherwise pose for long hours just so that he might put some paint on canvas. There was nothing in his description about their friendship, or the bond they’d formed, simply a focus on a beautiful woman who inspired his art. He even kept her name out of it, kept her away from being associated with his art in any way but visually.

Hen was more certain than ever that this would be the last night she would see Jihyun. Maybe she wouldn’t tell him how she felt. Maybe it would be better to pretend that she wasn’t feeling any of this. After his talk, Jihyun passed her off to Saeyoung to walk through the gallery while he was accosted by too many people all at once, just as they’d predicted. 

Hen looked around for the rest of his friends, and couldn’t help but notice MC snuggled up to the other twin. “Those two are cute together.” She said discreetly, and Saeyoung laughed. 

“They are. They’ve been dating for a few years now.”

“Aww, that’s just too sweet.”

“You mean like you and Jihyun?”

Hen laughed bitterly. “I wish.”

“Oh come on, Hen, I’ve only known you for a few hours and—“

“I didn’t realize I was that obvious.” She chuckled ruefully at her own hubris. “He stopped me from confessing, Saeyoung. I don’t stand a chance with someone like him.”

Saeyoung sighed. “I think you’re selling yourself short. You’re good for him, Hen. I haven’t heard him laugh like that in… a very long time.”

Saeyoung’s words stuck with Hen the rest of the night, even as she was bounced between the other members of the RFA. Just as she was thinking she’d hit her limit for socialization for one night, and thought she might try to find Jihyun to say goodbye before heading out, the man found her himself, a hand at her elbow leading her away from the crowd.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get much time together tonight.” He said, turning her to face him, his hands gently circling her, keeping her close enough that their quiet voices wouldn’t carry.

“All those hours with me in your studio, I’m sure you had more than enough of me.”

“Never!” He said with a laugh. “What you were going to say the other night…”

Hen blushed, and bit her lip. Her confidence was gone. Her willingess to have her heart trampled had gone with it. “Jihyun, I…”

“Hen, I’m in love with you.” Jihyun interrupted, and Hen was suddenly very aware of how he was shaking.

“You…”

“I know, it’s inappropriate. I tried to be good, but I couldn’t have you end everything before you at least got to see the gallery and—“

Hen reached out and put her finger against his lips to silence him. “Jihyun. Me too.”

His eyes went wide, but she didn’t move her finger, and he didn’t attempt to say anything.

“I was so sure you were going to turn me down when I tried to confess after sushi.” She moved her hand away then, anxiously twisting her fingers together.

“Wait, you meant—“

She nodded, cursing the tears beading up in her eyes. “And then when you kept me out of your speech except the fact that I was standing there, I..”

“I wanted to keep your bright future from being tainted by my questionable past, is all.”

“We’re idiots, aren’t we? ”

He nodded. “Complete idiots, but at least we’re together.”

“We have got to learn to communicate better. No more throwing phones in the ocean.”

They shared a laugh, and Hen knew, then, that everything was finally going to be alright.

“Hey, let’s get out of here.” Jihyun said, that smile she loved so much lighting his face. “Jumin can handle the cleanup and closing.” He looked over her shoulder and she felt him shake with silent laughter.

Hen followed his line of sight to where Jumin was standing with Saeyoung, the former nodding discreetly while the latter made hand motions as if shooing them away. She giggled. “Okay, Jihyun Kim, I will allow you to drive me home.”

The ride home was silent, but it was a calm introspective kind of silence, rather than an anxious uncomfortable one. Hen, of course, was warring with herself internally about what she wanted to do with her night. She was reminded, as they pulled into her parking area, that she didn’t have to make these choices alone anymore.

“Do you want to come up for tea?” Hen asked quietly, fidgeting with the ends of her shawl in lieu of her usual sweatshirt strings.

“I would love to.” Jihyun said, just as softly.

She led him through the building to her lofty third-floor apartment, where she stepped out of her shoes and set about getting tea started. She set the mugs on the counter and opened the tea cabinet. When she turned to ask Jihyun what kind of tea he wanted, he was right behind her, and she startled. 

“Oh, hello there.” She said with an awkward giggle.

“Hi, Hen.” He said, leaning into her space. “May I kiss you?”

She nodded even as she felt the blush on her cheeks, and moments later his lips were on hers, and her arms were looped around his neck, holding him close. When they broke for air, they both laughed before moving toward each other again.

“What about the tea?” She asked, softly, afraid to break the spell.

“I… don’t need tea.” 

[eleiyaumei]

Saeyoung as Jihyeon from White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

Mystictober Day 21: Video games

[dailysaeran]

"The year I turned 20, Rika gave me a floppy disk without letting the agency know. Inside were pictures of you and what she wrote... I believed all of that."

"I believed that V and Rika saved you and that you were happy... But... I was a fool to believe that. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you till the end."

Mystictober 2024 | Day 9: Fate / Lie

[kumaclick]

Mystictober 2024 Day 1 | Favorite Character

[rayroseu]

mystictober 2024 day 1: favourite character

this is probably low effort but whatever lol i wanna draw saeran like how i used to draw him back in 2019 aljslaks maybe in other prompts i'll try my best to draw him properly ✨✨✨🙏🙏

[reifromrfa]

Mystictober 2024: Favorite Character/Hourglass

Hello, it's been a while (ᵕ—ᴗ—) I really missed the mysme universe and, though life is still busy, I'm trying to make time to do things I love; one of which is writing, even if I only write one fanfic per year lol XD

Sooo without further ado, here's a short fic based on this list by @sensetenou :)

P.S. I think tumblr broke my post, I can't add the "Keep reading" link after editing a typo ;A;

Vanderwood

He steps out of the cabin and takes a long, deep breath

It feels suffocating inside

With that damn 707, the girl, and their blue-haired friend...

Vanderwood ties his hair into a low ponytail and reaches for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket

Taking a stick, he lifts it to his lips

He pats his pockets for his lighter and mutters a curse under his breath when he realizes he left it inside

With a frustrated groan, he turns around—

—and he freezes

Standing before him, a nervous smile on her face, was the girl

MC

"You left this inside, I thought you could use it," she says, holding out the lighter to him

His throat feels tight and Vanderwood can hear the loud drumming of his heart against his ribcage

It takes every bit of his strength not to reach out and pull her into his arms

MC tucks her hair behind her ear, outstretched hand wavering as Vanderwood stood there staring at her

He clenches one hand into a fist

Then slowly relaxes his hand, his shoulders drooping as he resigns himself to the fact that she'll never recognize him

And it was all his fault

"Thanks," he mutters, cigarette still between his lips

He holds out his hand, expecting her to drop the lighter onto his palm

But the girl looks up at him and then lights the device, holding it close to his lips

Instinctively, he leans closer before he could even stop himself

As MC focuses on lighting the end of his cigarette, he can't help but stare into her eyes

At the reflection of the flames in them

"Maybe it's the fire in your eyes that I love, baby."

"Because it matches yours?"

"Hahaha MC, baby, I don't think my fire even comes close to yours."

"It's because got this fire from you, baby. You're the one who inspires me to be bold and brave."

MC takes a step back, smiling at him

Vanderwood takes a step back too, looking away from her

Blinking away the memories he so desperately wants to cling to

"Thanks," he mumbles, taking a long drag

Allowing the poison to fill his lungs before blowing a puff of white smoke away from where MC stands

"Umm...so..."

He glances at her

She has her hands clasped together in front of her

Then she bows to him, which startles Vanderwood

"Thank you so much for helping us save him."

Him

That V guy

Her current route

"Hey, don't worry about it," he replies, rubbing the back of his neck

He doesn't want to hear this

He doesn't want to listen to her talk about how much she loves that man

Because she once felt that way about him, too

MC straightens and grins at him

"I mean it. You saved his life and I hope I can repay your kindness one day."

Vanderwood waves a gloved hand dismissively, pulling the cigarette from his lips

"If I didn't do it," he forces himself to say. "707 would be distracted and he'd stop doing his damn job and we'd both be fucked."

She gives him a look that says she doesn't buy a single word out of his mouth

"Even so, without you that elixir might've brought more harm to him...Whatever your reasons, I'm really grateful to have you here, Vanderwood."

A mixture of feelings erupt from his chest, despite all his efforts to smother them

The bloom of hope, the scathing pang of hurt

Despair in the knowledge that she'll never recognize him ever again

Vanderwood looks to the door that leads back into the cabin, unable to meet her eyes

"You really care for him, huh?" he asks, careful to keep his feelings hidden

"Do you love me, MC?"

"Yes," she answers, her voice full of emotion

Vanderwood's brows furrow as he puts the cigarette back to his lips, turning his back to MC and choosing to gaze up at the stars instead

Here, out in the middle of fucking nowhere

Away from the city lights

They can actually see the starry night sky

Out here, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, everything is quiet

He can hear the grass and leaves rustling from the gentle night breeze

Hear the crickets and owls

Hear his own heart breaking all over again

MC moves to stand beside him but Vanderwood doesn't dare look at her

He keeps his gaze up at the stars, remembering his promise to her

"It's beautiful out here, right?"

"It's only beautiful because you're here, baby."

I don't have the right to call her that anymore

He lost that right when he gave her up

But it wasn't because he didn't love her anymore

No...

He doesn't think it's possible to love anyone else but her

His MC

But when MC only chose his route, over and over again

When he and MC found a way to be together —breaking through the codes and the walls

Breaking the impossible

...the system found a way to keep them apart

"NO!" Vanderwood yells, holding MC in his arms

She's not moving, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow

His big hand envelops her smaller one as he cradles her to his chest, tears rolling down his cheek as the red stain on her clothes start spreading

"Baby, stay with me, baby. Please. I'll get you to a hospital, MC. Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Don't leave me, MC. Please. Please!"

He tries to lift her into his arms, but he hears the cock of guns and he protectively holds her close, glaring at the men in suits surrounding them

Each one with guns trained at the couple

A lone woman in a suit approaches them, her face expressionless as she gazes at Vanderwood and MC

"This could have been avoided, had she not foolishly jumped in front of you."

"You fucking bitch!"

Still, the woman remains impassive

She steps forward, closer to where Vanderwood and MC are

"You can save her, you know."

Vanderwood glares at the woman, but she continues

"I offer you the choice, ██████ ███," she says, lifting her hand and opening her palm

Over it, a hologram of an hourglass appears and becomes solid

"Return to the game and reset the clock. Go back to the beginning and undo what has been done. Or..."

The woman's eyes go to MC's pale form

"...live with your reality."

Return to the game...rewind time?

"If I do that...reset the game," he begins through gritted teeth. "She'll live? She'll be okay? She'll...be happy?"

"Yes. But she'll forget about you. And, to prevent a repeat of your insolence, we're removing your route from the game. We'll take your name, ██████ ███, your identity, your story...she will be happier this way, believe me."

Vanderwood's head snaps up, his eyes widening

Then...that means...

No.

"What the fuck?! If I fucking agree to this, then���"

Then I'll lose her forever

"You're losing her now, ██████."

He tenses and looks back at his girl, whose eyes flutter open slightly

She shakes her head, those beautiful eyes filled with tears

"No...don't."

"Shhh, it's okay, MC. It's gonna be okay," he whispers, his heart twisting painfully in his chest

The answer is obvious...so fucking obvious

He's the one who broke the game, who defied all the rules and brought this shit onto her life

He's the one who put her in danger in the first place...

"Mi███n...please," she pleads in a soft voice, panicking at what she sees in his eyes

"I'd rather die, having lived my life with you than live the rest of my life without you."

Vanderwood chuckles sadly, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers

He presses his forehead to hers, holding her close to him

One last time

"MC, baby..."

"I love you so damn much."

"There's not a single day of my life where I won't be loving you, MC."

"You're my North Star...you'll always be my home, you'll always be the light in my life."

"That's why I have to say goodbye."

"I can't...I can't live in a world without you, baby."

"I'm sorry...this is so fucking selfish of me, but I'm just a character in a game."

"You are REAL."

She sobs and winces, reaching out and cupping his cheek despite the pain

"You're real to me, ██nj█n."

He smiles and kisses her again

"Even if your mind doesn't remember me," he whispers between kisses

"I hope your heart won't forget me."

The woman, watching the two lovers, turns the hourglass

Around them, everything slowly fades into dust

Vanderwood smiles at MC, tears streaming down his cheeks as he memorizes all the details about her

MC holds onto him with the last of her strength, panic coursing through her body

She doesn't want this, she doesn't want to leave him

"Hey, lady," Vanderwood tells the woman without looking at her

"I have one favor to ask. Please."

"Yeah," Vanderwood replies to MC, keeping his gaze trained at the brightest star in the sky

"It's beautiful."

"Vanderwood..."

He turns to look at her and sees a confused expression on her face

"Have we...?"

The door suddenly bursts open and Seven comes out, a smile on his face

"He's awake!" he informs MC

A smile spreads across her face and she bows again to Vanderwood

"Thank you, Vanderwood!"

She runs inside and he watches her go, swallowing the lump in his throat

Guess he'll have to get used to this

Watching her from afar as she runs into the arms of another man

A man that will never be him, ever again

"After all this time?"

Vanderwood rolls his eyes, blinking away the hurt and pain and arranging his expression into one of annoyance

He turns his back on Seven, putting his cigarette back between his lips

"Aww c'mon. This is the perfect time to re-enact that scene from Garry Potted!"

"Go back to fucking work, Seven."

Seven stares at Vanderwood's wide back, a sad smile on his face

Even though Vanderwood isn't aware of it, Seven actually knows who he is

What he's been through

After all...Vanderwood isn't the only one working on breaking the game's code

Working on ending the reset system, once and for all

Seven wishes he could do more to comfort his friend

But instead, he goes back inside and sits on the couch

Cracking his fingers, Seven focuses his gaze on his laptop screen

"Hang in there, Minjun. We'll get out of this one."

"Promise."

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

If you're reading this, thank you so much for reading my fic ;w; I hope you enjoyed it <3

P.S. Minjun is a name I made for Vanderwood, but it's not official or anything! Still hoping and praying Cheritz makes a route for him ;w;

Check out my other Mysme writings here!

Mango Shake/Ko-fi is always very much appreciated (ᵔᴥᵔ)

[marshmallowprotection]

Mystictober Day 26

Mystictober 2024 | Day 26: AU/(Mint) Eye

These eyes are no longer golden, they are bathed in the poison of Rika's burning desire.

Saeran hated seeing his face in a mirror, and for the longest time, if he saw a reflective surface, his first instinct was to destroy it so he'd never have to see his face again. It was better that way, to not think a lot about the truth or what he thought he knew. He could only trust that Rika was doing the right thing by him, and even if she wasn't, it was hard to abandon the one person who didn't leave him behind in Hell. She didn't leave, even if she tortured him, and that was the sole reason why it was hard to believe anyone else.

But, believing her and not opening the door to anyone else caused him to lose everything he had.

His gold eyes were gone... forever.

His hair could no longer be red without making him feel sick. 

His hands ached from years of working himself into the ground for "Paradise."

His mind was warped beyond comprehension, caught up in a swirling sea of night terrors and nightmares that would never go away, and all he had to show for what he went through was the scars left all across his body.

It didn't make him a better person, it made him a person numb to the difficulties of life, and now he had a hard time finding joy in anything. Even the freedom he once enjoyed, staring at the clouds until many of his aches went away didn't fix what had been done to him. He only had the clouds to make him peaceful, and when they didn't help him feel better during a day like this?

All Saeran could do was lay there, listless and restless, unable to do a single thing but pray for sleep to take him with open arms. A nice and comfortable sleep was the one that came with darkness, nothing for his mind to speak of but the void, as it was a break from the screams that haunted him at night. Those nights were rare, even when he had better chances to feel at ease.

He just hated that this particular cycle started because he thought he was ready to see his reflection. His reflection caused all of this, and it was impossible to overcome this pain in the middle of the night when he felt sick to his stomach.

"I got rid of it," your voice came from the doorway of his room. You didn't dare get closer than that for his comfort. "Saeyoung and I took the mirror down. You... you don't have to worry about using the bathroom now."

Saeran didn't know what to tell you, but he didn't have the strength to say anything. All he could do was stare blankly ahead of himself, watching as the light created shadows from your body as the light from the hallway poured in. The same old song and dance, with enough pain to make him weep, except, he never knew the relief of a single teardrop to mend his pain.

He cried himself out of tears years ago.

"I'll leave you alone for now, okay? If you need me, you can text me... or press the emergency button Saeyoung installed by your bed. I'll be here in an instant. You don't—"

"Stay."

"Are you sure?"

"Please."

Wordlessly, you stepped into the open door and sat down in a chair by his bed, leaning over so you could prop yourself up on your arms. You wouldn't leave if he needed you, but you wouldn't stay if he needed alone time, either. If he called, you would always come to his side. It was where you wanted to be, and he knew that when you looked at him.

Even as broken as he was, you still loved him.

Golden or not.

[password-door-lock]

Mystictober 2024 Masterlist

Read it all in one place on Ao3!

(Links to individual days below the cut)

Day 1-- Favorite Character/Hourglass Unknown brings an hourglass to the RFA party. (1k words)

Day 2-- Domestic Life/Sweater Weather You visit Saeran in the garden (708 words)

Day 3-- Ending/Prologue Ray takes you back to Magenta after the prologue (797 words) Content warning: stalking

Day 4-- Pirate/4th Wall Unknown breaks the fourth wall (928 words)

Day 5-- Date Night An evening in with SE Saeran (791 words)

Day 6-- Skull/Possession You’re a demon. You try to possess Suit Saeran and get more than you bargained for (931 words)

Day 7-- Chatroom/Bomb You share some concerns about the special security system with Seven and Jaehee (648 words) 

Day 8-- Painting Unknown catches you painting in the intelligence room (722 words)

Day 9-- Fate/Lie You and Ray have a conversation about boundaries and fate (963 words) Content warnings: referenced abuse

Day 10-- Robot Unknown attempts to make a robot (932 words).

Day 11-- Doll/Heart Saeyoung teaches you and Saeran how to make dolls (771 words).

Day 12-- Saddest Moment SE Saeran stares up at the ceiling (936 words).

Day 13-- Secret Ray route, day 9, 1:29am (957 words).

Day 14-- OST You can hear the OST playing during a confrontation with Unknown (691 words).  Content warnings: manipulation, guns

Day 15-- Empty/Hurt You try to comfort Suit Saeran (780 words).

Day 16-- Theater You and Saeran discuss Zekyll and White before watching Zen’s performance (866 words).

Day 17-- Vampire/Elixir Vampire Ray gives you a special elixir (1.2k words).  Content warning: blood, blood drinking, manipulation

Day 18-- Antagonist/DLC Unknown comes to rescue you following Jumin’s BSE2 (832 words).

Day 19-- Healing SE Saeran reflects on his healing journey on a visit to your favorite museum (788 words).

Day 20-- Best CG You come home to find Saeran in the maid dress again (723 words). Content warning: slightly suggestive (just in case)

Day 21-- Video Games You have a lot of questions about Ray’s work as a game developer (915 words). 

Day 22-- Moon/Sun You try to get Ray and Saeran to take care of themselves (926 words). 

Day 23-- Saeran/Ray x MC/Ice Cream Saeran shares his ice cream flavor preferences with you (815 words). 

Day 24-- Love/Hacked Ray really had no choice but to hack into your thoughts… right? (825 words)  Content warning: manipulation 

Day 25-- Tea Party Unknown hosts a little tea party (1.2k words). Content warning: manipulation 

Day 26-- AU Mint Eye is obviously a vampire cult (960 words). Content warning: death mention

Day 27-- Haunted House Saeran comes with you to a haunted house (1k words).

Day 28-- Elegance You can’t understand why Saeran insists on playing dress-up with you (950 words). 

Day 29-- Fairy Tale You and Saeran get married (1.2k words).  Set after Glow-in-the-Dark.

Day 30-- Role Swap Ray would love to spend his life with you, if only you weren’t fictional (732 words).

Day 31-- Halloween Suit Saeran decides to participate in a Halloween tradition (776 words). 

[cupcakefactory]

Mysticober 2024

Hi-Ho!

So i'm taking part in Mysticober this year, writing a short (yes, short, i set myself a 500 word limit and so far as of writing this {Sep 26th} ive only failed once) novella for Zena on each day.

Mainly because i was bored ngl. Take that as you will. The banner was made by Me and Luca, so, tell Luca he did a good job (relevant links to PNGS ext are below). I hope you enjoy joining me on this journey?? Is kinda crazy to have wrote/be writing 31 different short stories - im going a lil crazy lolol.

Mystictober is made by Seeme (@dailysaeran) , and each day has two options, if you wish to join the post made by her is here.

>-<

My mystictober masterlist is: Here

>-<

Relevant Links:

Background colour: Coral (Not Owned)

Picrew: Here

Bats: Here

Pumkin: Here

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober Day 10: Seven/MC & Robot

You can read this over on Ao3 if you’d prefer.

Rating: E for Everyone <3

Prompt: Seven/MC && Robot

WordCount: 1507

Summary: MC is keeping a secret from 707, and it's tearing him apart. But is it as earth-shattering a secret as he thinks?

Seven looked around the bunker, even going so far as to check the locked storage room. No MC.  This wasn’t the first time they’d gone somewhere, of course, but lately it had started to grate on him a little bit that she wouldn’t tell him anything.

She knew that secrets nearly tore about the entire RFA.  She knew he had abandonment issues. He was working on them.  But just disappearing was no good.  Sure, she’d leave a note telling him she was heading out to “work on something” or “take a class” but never about what, on what, for what.  Sometimes she took Saeran with her, sometimes he was moping around because she was busy.  As if one twin moping around wasn’t bad enough.

He flopped backwards onto the couch, fighting back the tears that were threatening.

“You could just ask her.” Vanderwood said, and Seven shouted in surprise.

“Where the hell did you come from?”

“I’ve been here for the last twenty minutes, watching you pace around like an angry kitten.”

“Yeah, well MC’s gone.”

“Yep. Note says she’s working on something. Why are you so out of sorts?”

“She’s been ‘working on something’ or ‘taking a class’ or ‘out with school friends’ almost every day.”

“You’re supposed to be working too, you know.  So she’s doing something with her summer break, what of it?”

Seven sighed. “I know I’m overreacting. I just. I’m nervous. What if she.. what if she’s bored with me? What if I’m just too much and she needs a break? What if she only thought she loved me because there was a bomb and things were scary and she was trapped in a bad situation and now she realizes she has so much future ahead of her that being with a nerd like me is holding her back, and --”

“Zero Seven. You’re spiraling. MC Loves You.”

Seven huffed but didn’t say anything else, and Vanderwood stood and left the room.

Great, now I’m making everyone else hate me too. Soon I’ll be all alone. Poor little Zero Seven who can’t even keep the people around him who are paid to be there.

He sighed as his eyes started leaking.  He wasn’t crying, they were doing this all on their own without his input, just like everything else in his life.

Seconds or hours later, perhaps millennia, (but what was probably like three minutes), Vanderwood appeared with a glass of PhD Pepper on ice, and a bottle.

“You should take one of these, brat.” Vanderwood said quietly, shaking the pill bottle at him gently. “You’re stuck.”

Seven knew they were right, and took the pill with the soda, not even arguing when Vanderwood set the soda aside in order to pull Seven into a hug.

“Why do you care so much now?” Seven said, once words seemed like something he could make again.

“I always cared. It was just… forbidden.  But you freed me from those rules, so now you’re stuck with my feelings, kid.”

“You’re not even that much older than me.”

“Really? Could have fooled me.”

“No one can fool you, Vandy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

The telltale beeps and clicks of the door opening woke Seven from the unexpected nap he’d been taking on the couch. At some point Vanderwood had disappeared, but a coaster had appeared under the (still cold) glass of PhD Pepper, so not all was lost.

Seven looked up to see MC walking in with her arms full of fast food fried chicken.

“Hey sweetie, I’m back from class, did you have a good nap?”

Seven shook his head, and MC set the food on the counter before coming over to crouch next to him.

“What happened?”

“You were gone.” he croaked, and wrapped his arms around her. “And you’re leaving again after dinner.”

MC hummed softly, hugging him back. “Yeah, I’m working on a project.”

“Are you going to leave me? Am I too much?”  He sniffed, trying not to cry. He’d gotten this far without crying about it, surely just another minute more…

MC pushed him out to arms length so she could look him in the eye. “Saeyoung Choi. I love you. More than my projects. More than school. More than the stars in the sky. More than life. More than PhD Pepper.”

He sniffed. “Now I know you’re exaggerating. It’s not possible to love something more than PhD Pepper.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. Our love defies the laws of physics.” She leaned her forehead against his, and he shut his eyes. He may be weird, but that was probably the strangest view you could have of another person. “Listen, Sevenny.” She said, softly. “I love you. I’m trying to surprise you with something for your birthday, but I think the secrecy of it is too much. Not worth the stress I’m causing you. Do you want to come with me tonight?”

He gasped. “Wait… really?”  He pulled back from her, confused. “You want me to… come with?”

“I mean, I wanted to surprise you. But this surprise will be enough. I’d rather have you happy and confident every day than overjoyed on one specific day and stressed out and sad the rest.”

Seven’s chest felt tight. She really… “God, I love you MC.”

“I love you too, babe.” She chuckled, and kissed his cheek. He really did have the best girlfriend. “Come on now, I brought chicken and if it gets cold I think Jaehee would come beat me on principle.”

“Ooooh, she would.” Seven said, considering how that woman felt about proper nutrition and food safety combined. “Let’s not invoke her wrath.”

“What is this place?” Seven said, turning circles as he looked around the big, loud warehouse full of people working on various crafts.

“This is our local Maker Space.  It’s got all the tools I could possibly need, and classes so I can learn how to do things, and I can reserve space so I can work on projects like my lovely boyfriend’s birthday present without him spoiling himself by trying to help.” MC said with a pointed look. 

Seven blushed. He did like helping, was the thing. He was already itching to try and see what some of the people were doing so that he could hold a nail or put down some glue, or god forbid saw something.

“This is amazing.” He said, feeling very much like a Gisnep Princess. “But what are you working on?”

MC chuckled, and pulled him along over to a space along the wall where there were welding torches and other heavier metal-working tools set up.

“Stay right here and don’t touch anything and I’ll be right back.”

Seven was vibrating. This place was awesome.  So much better than just building his robots on the floor of his office. No wonder Vanderwood had been trying to get him to make a workshop… Now he didn’t have to. He could just come here with MC!

“Okay, close your eyes and hold out your hands, Seven.” MC said, and he did as he was told, until something solid was put in his hands.

“Can I look yet?”

“Not quiiiite…. okay, look!”

Seven opened his eyes and a small little Calico Cat sat in his hands.  She wasn’t complete, there was etching to mark out where all of her different colors would go, but her eyes lit up, and her ears twitched.  He’d never seen anything more adorable in his life, and he’d both met Elly and had a girlfriend. 

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah, like the Elly-bot you made me. but calico!” She looked chagrined. “She’s not done yet, and the personality chip is way harder to program than I thought it was, even taking a class on it.”

“I can help with that!”

“I know you can, babe, but that’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to have to do all the work to make your own present. I wanted to do it for you.”

“Oh.”  She was right.  If he’d known she was working on this he would have made her a full step-by-step IKEA-level guide on how to do all of it, but then it would have been basically him doing it with her hands, and not her making it for him, and he’d even gone and spoiled the surprise by being a complete ball of garbage, and--

“But how about this… Now that you know, there’s no way I’m going to keep you from helping… what if we made her together? We can make one for Saeran too.”

Seven bounced on his toes. He loved doing things with MC. And making a gift for Saeran? That was ideal. “He wants a shark.” He said, thinking about his twin.

“A shark robot.” MC was dubious.

“Yes.”

“We can’t make it swim though.”

“No. But we can make it hover.” His glasses flashed.

“Oh god.”

“Say yes, MC. Tell me we’ll build robots together.”

“Yes, Saeyoung. Seven. My love. Of course. The answer was always yes.”

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober Day 1: A Matter of Time

Prompt: Fav Character / Hourglass

Pairing: Vanderwood / MC

Wordcount: 1897

Summary: Vanderwood saves his neighbor from a burglar. They bond over unexpected topics.

Author's Notes: This is the first fic in my endeavor to write all 31 days of Mystictober 2024! The last time I managed this was my first attempt back in 2021, which also opened with Vanderwood, so.... maybe it's a sign. Song & Tea links after the fic!

You can also read this on Ao3 if that's more your speed!

A Matter of Time

Vanderwood smiled contently as he pushed open the door from the quiet stairwell. Living on only the third floor of a high rise building meant he never had any interminable elevator rides that weren’t for work. Also, it was better than a bunker. He also had never met his neighbors, which he deemed a resounding success. Until tonight. Tonight, there seemed to be some kind of breaking and entering in progress on his neighbor’s unit.

Great. Vanderwood set the grocery bag next to his door, and continued down the hall to his neighbor’s apartment. He didn’t figure they were home, given the brazenness of the burglar, but just in case… As he was thinking that, a loud thump and a muffled cry came from the apartment.

Fuck, misjudged that. Not a random B&E. Vanderwood thought, and rounded the corner through the door to see a woman being held against a wall. Her attacker had one hand over her mouth and the other around her throat.

No weapon? Vanderwood scoffed mentally. This would be easy. He cast his eyes around looking for something to disable the man, and grabbed the first thing he saw that would do the job - he had no idea how much her airway was being constricted, and didn’t want to risk needing a second hit.

I’ll have to replace this later. He thought, then brought the hourglass down against the back of the attacker’s head with a sickening thud and the bright chime of shattering glass.

“Thank you again.” The woman said, while the police were hauling off her attacker. Her voice was hoarse, thready. Bruises were already blooming around her neck.

Vanderwood shook his head. “You shouldn’t be talking. Is there anyone I can call for you?”

She shook her head, looking anywhere but at him.

“Do you want them to call an ambulance for you?”

Her eyes snapped up to his, half-panicked. She opened her mouth as if to answer him, and he gave her a look. She shut her mouth with a snap, and shook her head. Then she pursed her lips.

In for a penny, in for a pound. “Do you want me to drive you to the ER?”

Her face lit up, and she nodded, before looking away, shy.

“It’s fine.” He said, putting a hand tentatively on her knee. “I wouldn’t want to be alone with strangers right now either, but are you certain I’m any less of a stranger to you?”

She gave him a look. It screamed “You saved me, idiot.” He felt like an idiot, to be fair. He should never have gotten involved, but if a murder happened next door, he’d have to move, just to avoid accidental press coverage, and he was not about that. He liked this apartment.

“You’re sure I can’t call anyone? An ex-boyfriend or an estranged parent is probably better than the neighbor you didn’t meet until you were attacked.”

She shook her head again. He felt like she probably would have been the type to babble endlessly if she hadn’t been injured.

“Alright, well.” Vanderwood took a deep breath, and let it out. “I’m Marius. And you are?”

She opened her mouth and then shut it before handing him her ID, which she’d gotten out for the police, before any of her voice had come back.

Vanderwood looked at her name, looked at her, and smiled.

“Madeleine Camellia?” 

She spun her finger to tell him to keep going.

“…Edelweiss Fairfax-Saville? Jesus woman, and I thought Marius Lestat Vanderwood III was bad enough.”

Her eyes widened, and she tried to laugh, but it sounded pained.

“Sorry, sorry.” He chuckled. “I knew better than to make you laugh.” He stood, and held out a hand for her to take. “Come on, Madeline Camellia, let’s go get you looked at.”

She held up her hands and made a squishing motion, and then held up two fingers. He paused and considered what she meant.

“You want me to call you MC?” 

She nodded.

Vanderwood was pretty damn good at charades.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, your form is incomplete, we need you to fill out the Emergency Contact section.” The nurse said, handing the clipboard back to MC. She frowned and looked at Vanderwood, and given her previous quietude on the subject of acquaintances, he took it from her without question and filled in his own information.

Well, guess it’s time to find a new apartment. He thought, bitterly. Better to save a life and have to move than have let her die and still have to move.

The nurse smiled when he handed her the clipboard back, and they went back to waiting for the next available doctor. Vanderwood had been all over the world, and everywhere the emergency room had the same issue: Waiting. He’d have taken her somewhere else if he thought she’d get seen any faster, but no. This was the best choice.

They waited long enough that MC dozed off against his shoulder, and both of them were startled when his phone started ringing in his pocket.

“Your phone ring is Johnny Rivers' Secret Agent Man?!" She croaked and he shook his head.

"My little brother changed his ring tone in my phone." Vanderwood grumbled. "He's a millennial so he never calls unless he absolutely has to, hang on I need to take this." He stood and patted her on the head, walking over to the window so he'd have better reception (and a bit of privacy).

"What is it?" Vanderwood answered. "Where are you?" "Dealing with some fallout from an incident." "Were you part of that attack that was on the news?" Vanderwood grunted. "You're the mysterious savior aren't you?" ". . ." "I knew it! Do you have a girlfriend?! You know we can't have attachments!" "She's just my neighbor, simmer down. I just happened to be getting home when it happened." "Mhm. Sure." “If anyone calls looking for Marius Vanderwood III, vouch for me.” “Marius?! Ok, Mary.” Vanderwood sighed. "Why did you actually call, Zero Seven?" "Rika wants me to invite you to the party next weekend." "I'm not going to your charity auction." "Aw, but V will be there too!" "Not happening. Just because I let you maintain contact doesn't mean I want to be involved. Besides, I have to find a new apartment now. No time for frivolity." "Boo, you're no fun, Vandy." "Don't call me that."

Vanderwood ended the call, and took a few deep, cleansing breaths before heading back over to where MC was waiting.

“Sorry about that, he can be a pest.”

She shook her head, and tipped it sideways as if to ask what the call was about. Vanderwood was getting tired of having to carry the conversation. He never really talked this much.

“He wanted me to come to a party next weekend, but I can’t, I have other obligations. He’ll probably complain to me about it all week, but it won’t change the fact that he waited too long to ask. I’m bad at short notice.”

She smiled wanly, and laid her head back against his shoulder.

“MC, we’re home.” Vanderwood shook her shoulder, having parked the car.

She startled, and then sighed. “Thanks.”

They walked up the stairs to the third floor in silence, and MC looked forlornly at the door. The management company had already had a locksmith out, as well as a cleaning service to clean up the glass. Everything was safe, but he could tell she was still nervous.

“Just thump on the wall if you need anything, I’ll come right over.” Vanderwood said.

MC sighed again. “I know you’re probably tired, but… would you come in for tea? I know, I know, short notice.”

Vanderwood chuckled, but nodded. “Let me change out of my work clothes and I’ll be right over.”

He waited until she was inside with the door shut before heading back to his own. Once alone in his apartment, Vanderwood unloaded his weapons back into the arsenal closet, and switched out of the leather and into an unassuming pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved tee. His biggest relief was that neither the police nor the hospital had noticed that he was carrying. As far as he could tell, neither had MC.

Stocking-footed, he walked back down the hall and knocked on MC’s door. She opened it with a smile, also cozily clad in pajamas, the bandages around her neck the only sign anything strange had even happened.

“I made Dry Desert Lime. It’s a bit odd, so if you hate it don’t drink it, I won’t be offended. I just wanted a comfort tea after a night like tonight. No caffeine, I’m going to have a hard enough time sleeping tonight.”

Vanderwood chuckled, and sat across from her at the tiny kitchen table. “I thought you were supposed to be resting your voice.” He took a sip of the tea and made a small pleased noise. It was sharp and acidic, and dry without being bitter. “Oh, this is lovely.”

“It’ll get enough rest tomorrow.” She said, with a wry smile. “Besides, I think you’ve already done enough talking for both of us, Marius. I’m glad you like the tea.” She was blushing.

A few more quiet sips of tea, and then she sighed.

“Thank you again for saving my life.” She smirked at him. “But did you have to use my Lead Crystal hourglass? That was my favorite one!”

Vanderwood sighed. “I’m sorry, MC. It was a spur of the moment impulse. I’ll replace it.”

She waved him off. “No, no. I’m sure I’ll find another one like it eventually. You already did more than enough.”

This woman was going to be the death of him. She was exactly his type, and she already seemed to understand him. He really was going to have to move. He wasn’t allowed attachments.

There was a knock at the door, but when MC opened it, no one was there, simply a box waiting by her feet. She bent down and picked it up, taking it over to her kitchen table to open it.

She looked at the lovingly hand-packed gift in front of her, a cut lead crystal hourglass exactly like the one she’d had before it was broken, only the sand inside this one was purple instead of blue. With it was a box of the dry desert lime tea. There was no note, and no return address, but it could only have come from one person.

“Silly, why didn’t he just bring it over?” She hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, but then their paths had never crossed before the incident either, so she hadn’t been particularly concerned.

She got up and slipped into her shoes before going over to knock.

A woman opened the door, and took out an earbud. Behind her, boxes were strewn all over the place. “Hi, are you my neighbor? I’m Choi Suyeong, just moved in!” She stuck a hand out to shake in greeting, and MC numbly shook it before shaking some sense back into herself.

“I’m MC, just down the hall. Just wanted to say welcome! Let me know if you need anything.” Suyeong nodded, and MC wandered back to her own apartment, leaning on the door once it shut.

Gone? Already? What if he really was a ‘secret agent man’?

Here's the song that's Vanderwood's phone ring: Secret Agent Man by Johnny Rivers, from 1966!

Here's the tea they're drinking: Numi's Dry Desert Lime

If you're interested in making requests for other prompts this month, hit up my ask box!

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober 2024 - Day 15: Bad End: Waiting.

Rating: T (Violence) Prompt: Empty/Hurt WordCount: 2225 Summary: Saeran is saved. They've made it to the party at long last. But they didn't account for every variable, and it's going to cost them. Author's Notes: MC in this fic is named Abigail, nickname Cal, and she's the feature MC of a new full-run messenger fic I have in the works with a friend, @rogue-knifehead. If you're interested in more shenanigans with Cal, including "how did we get here" and "but what's the good ending like", stay tuned.

Saeran looked around the party venue, somewhat uncomfortable as he stood near the bar with Vanderwood. He knew what the plan was. He knew what was coming, and still, he felt like he was going to be sick.

Vanderwood quietly put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at the former agent.

“We’ve planned for this. You have to trust them to do their part, or what’s the point?”  Vanderwood was right, of course, but what Saeran was most afraid of were the parts of the savior’s plan… no, of Rika’s plan that he didn’t know about, that they couldn’t plan around. He wanted to be sure they’d be fine, but some of the pessimism that he’d steeled himself with before he left Magenta was soaking back in, despite his best efforts.  If something happened to Cal, or to Saeyoung, or heaven forbid any of these other idiots… he would never forgive himself.

Cal was busy greeting the rest of the guests as they entered, and Saeran was honestly happy to stay out of the way, out of the spotlight. Things were already tense, and he didn’t particularly want to draw the attention of the Believers he knew would be in the crowd.  They were unlikely to clock him at first glance - he was wearing a white suit, and Unknown.. Ray… they wouldn’t have been caught dead in white before they left.  White was the Savior’s Color.  But when Saeyoung had offered it to him, he knew. It was his best chance of blending in.  Sure, sure, it had pink lapels, which made the pink tips of his hair stand out more, but was that really a bad thing?  Zen had said he looked a bit like a KPop star trying to dress down, and he thought that seemed… odd, but then he knew nothing at all about music these days. Or any days, if he was being honest.

Everything he did know about Mint Eye’s infiltration plans they had a counter for. Jaehee had completely rebuilt the presentation from absolute scratch overnight, even including the graphics they’d been planning on using, given how much Saeran knew about the embedded subliminals, it was the safest choice.  Saeyoung had made new firewall algorithms to keep out hacking attempts.  Jumin had doubled the number of bodyguards, adding an equal number of plain-clothes operatives amongst the partygoers as his usual black-tie squad obviously keeping things orderly.  Vanderwood was, while a guest themselves, his very own bodyguard.  No one had even had to ask them, they appointed themselves.  It was probably because Cal was worried, but Saeran wasn’t going to turn down the friendly gesture.  The agent was part of his life at this point, no matter what else happened.

The party had gotten well underway, and nothing untoward had happened.  Everyone seemed to be relaxing, but Saeran was more and more on edge.  Something was wrong, and he knew something was wrong.  He’d moved over to stand with Cal, Vanderwood at his side as usual. He looked up, and saw something that broke the thin layer of ice holding back his panic.  Cal was holding the teal and pink sport bottle he always saw her with on the cameras, about to take a long drink of water. Only… she’d left that bottle at the apartment. 

“Cal!” He called to her, his voice choked with panic, reaching out towards her bottle.  She stopped suddenly, just as his hand reached hers, and the motion sloshed the water out of the bottle to splash at his feet. His panic spiked into abject terror as the liquid soaking into the cuffs of his tuxedo pants wasn’t white but distinctly…. mint green.  The smell of it wafted up to greet him and he clapped a hand over his mouth, his jaw locked tight against his body’s instinctive response to purge.

Cal looked at Saeran and knew she needed to get him out of there and to a bathroom where he could vomit in peace but also where she could try to rinse the teal liquid out of his cuffs.  The smell was wretched, sickly-sweet but also acrid in a way that made her hair stand on end. She almost drank that the way she drank water. She’d have had half of the bottle down her throat before she knew she had a problem.  A shiver ran down her spine, and she knew that later she was going to fall apart, but right now Saeran was in no way capable of handling the situation, and it was his turn to be not-okay. She’d worry about her own mental situation later. As usual.

“Can you take him to the bathroom? I’ll catch up.” Cal said to Vanderwood, who nodded, and started leading Saeran out of the banquet hall toward the restrooms.

She capped the bottle, turned, and caught Zen’s eye.  She’d only met the actor in person today, but he was just as insufferably narcissistic and affectionate as he had been in the messenger. Surprisingly uptight due to the internalized misogyny, but just as good a friend in person as in text. Way taller than she expected, and definitely as hot as advertised…. oh. Her focus was shot.  Apparently her look gave something away, because he came over immediately, sensing the problem, and she handed him the bottle. 

“Take this to Jaehee. Do not open it. Do not drink it. Tell her it’s evidence, and that Rika is or has been here.”  Zen nodded, and she almost couldn’t tell that he’d been shocked by what she’d said, but the slight widening of his eyes gave him away.  He turned and walked off, and Cal took a breath before turning to head out to catch up with Vanderwood and Saeran.  Sure, Vanderwood was perfectly capable of taking care of Saeran and protecting him, but the thought of leaving Saeran during all of this made her intensely uncomfortable.

Cal hurried down the hallway, grateful in that moment that she’d chosen to wear flats.  She was short enough that heels wouldn’t have made a difference in height for her the way it did for Jaehee, but the flats definitely let her move faster and more silently. She paused to take a breath when she reached the bathroom.  She knew they’d chosen the family bathroom so Saeran could have some privacy, which would also be much less awkward than her sitting in the men’s room with him. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she missed the telltale sound of heeled footsteps.

“Looks like they got a little careless, and left their new party planner all alone.” A saccharine-sweet voice said behind her, and Cal swiveled to see a blonde woman, taller than Cal but still short, with piercing green eyes. This must be Rika. She thought, considering the photos she’d seen, the woman looked sharper somehow.

“Is there something I can do for you ma’am, or someone I can find? I’m just on my way to the restroom, but—” It’d be easier to get out of this if she didn’t try to accuse Rika of anything right off the bat….. despite the sheer number of things the woman had done that were horrible, not to mention illegal.  She had to convince Rika to go back to the party, where all of the guards were, where people who knew what she looked like would spot her, where everyone would be safer.

“Oh, I’m here looking for you in particular.” Rika said, taking a step closer. “I’m surprised you managed to notice I was here before you drank your water.  This would be so much easier for you if you were cleansed, Abigail.”

Cal shivered. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her given name, but hearing it from Rika just made her incredibly uncomfortable. “Ma’am, I think you should go back to the party.” Cal said, hoping to get her to leave the area Saeran was in. “I can’t really help you with anything out here, but if you look for anyone with an RFA lanyard, I’m sure they can help you out until I return.”

“Hmm. So formal.” She stepped closer again, almost toe-to-toe with Cal, who refused to step back. She had to keep this woman from getting to Saeran or finding out where he was, no matter what.  He was safe with Vanderwood, so long as Rika couldn’t get back in his head. “That scent…”  her eyes flared hot. “You.  It’s You. You Did This.”

Cal flinched. She wanted to stand strong in the face of the suddenly angry woman in her personal space, but the fire of that anger burned so hot and fast that it overwhelmed her.

“You stole Ray from me.” Rika continued, her voice shifting manic, with a sharp laughter to it. “So, who else will you take from me? Will you take all of my believers one by one?  Will you hold all of the RFA in your tiny hands so that none of them are free to come to Paradise?”

Cal took a breath. “I have so many things I could say to you, Rika.”  She hated how airy her voice was right now, but this woman was legitimately frightening, and at this point she was just trying to buy time so that someone would come check on her.

“Lies, of course.  Would they be the same lies you told my Ray?”  Something in her tone was terrifying. All of the light had gone out of her eyes, and Cal felt herself starting to tremble from the adrenaline.

“Alright, I think we should both calm down.” Cal said, holding her palms out and taking a step back from Rika. “We’re getting agitated, and that never helped anyone.”

“Ray promised me that he would stay with me. That he would help me reach the pinnacle of our paradise together. Why would he break his promise?” 

Was she not listening to anything I just said?

“You stole Ray, and now V has also gone missing.  I created the Mint Eye and saved people… What is all that ever for, without them? You’re just the same… You’re just like those people who thrust me into darkness! I trusted them. Trusted… Believed in…  And now my light is gone. My sun. My moon.  I truly loved them, and you took them from me.  They will only come back to me when you’re gone.”

Rika lunged forward and grabbed at Cal’s collar, pulling her forward even as she sank a knife into her stomach, its blade hot and sharp.

Cal sucked in a breath through her teeth, the pain robbing her even of the voice to scream.

“I’ll finish this scene for the both of us.” Rika said darkly, plunging the knife into Cal repeatedly before pushing her away, allowing her to slump to the floor, boneless.

Saeran heard what could only be Rika’s voice raised in anger, and struggled his way out of the panic that gripped him simply at hearing her.  If Rika was here, if she was somewhere that he could hear from the bathroom, then… Cal was in danger.

“Vanderwood… Cal…”  He rasped out through the panic, and Vanderwood nodded, leaving the restroom.  

Saeran scrambled to his feet to follow the agent, making it out of the door just in time to see Cal slump to the ground.  The Savior was laughing and running the opposite direction, and Vanderwood looked at him and then at Cal, and at her attacker. The shock at seeing Cal covered in blood broke through the panic, and Saeran nodded at Vanderwood.

“Go get her, I’ve got Cal.”  He ripped his phone out of his pocket and dialed Jumin, calling for help, even as he sunk to his knees next to Cal, his suit jacket pressed against her wounds to try and keep as much blood in her body as he could.

The party had been shut down at that point, everyone sent home, and an official investigation into Cal’s attack and the cult began.  They couldn’t sit back and let it continue in quiet, not now that someone had been grievously injured by its leader.  Saeran told them everything he could, no longer afraid for his life while Cal’s hung in the balance.  

Surgery to repair her injuries took hours. Long hours under the knife, and so so much blood.  Even after the doctors proclaimed her stable, she didn’t wake.  They said this could happen, with her body under so much stress, she’d slipped into a comatose state.  She could wake up anytime… or never.

“Saeran, you need to get some rest. Go home, shower, rest.  Take a few days for  yourself. I swear to you that we will call the instant something changes.” Jaehee was worried, of course, about him. And for Cal.

He looked up from his vigil next to Cal’s bed and shook his head. “She could wake up.  I need to be here when she wakes up. She needs to know that I’m fine. That everything is going to be alright.”

Jaehee sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to win this argument. They’d had it countless times in the past three weeks.  She’d saved him, all of him, so many times.  Waiting for her was the least he could do.

Wake up, Cal, I need you. We need you.

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober 2024 - Day 14: Actually Just Ink

Rating: G Prompt: Headcanon WordCount: 582 Summary: Unknown has time to kill, and surely he couldn't waste it sleeping, so he will have to refresh and prove his devotion to Mint Eye. Author's Notes: This one's been floating around in my brain for awhile, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it.

As the screen flickered in front of him, Unknown sighed.  The algorithm would eventually find the holes in the special security system, which would allow him a spare few minutes for rest.  He knew better than to try to sleep. The Savior needed him to always be available, so sleep was not an option.  She was always so disappointed when she found him sleeping at his computer.

He was considering slacking off again. That wouldn’t do, he did not want to tempt the Savior into another cleansing.  He would have to refresh and prove his devotion to the cause, of course. Checking that his algorithm was still tapping away at that traitor’s code, he reached out and grabbed the pen off of his mouse pad, and started to draw over the edges of the tattoo on his arm.

The edges had started fading from his showers, and especially where it rubbed against the inside of his jacket.  He pressed harder with the ballpoint pen than he probably needed to, but left behind a fresh, sharp line of black.  With each line, he reaffirmed his purpose. 

To serve the Savior. He lined the eye as if he were applying eyeliner, carefully and sharply marking the lashes and the iris. Someday, perhaps, he would find a pen with the correct color of ink, and fill the iris instead of simply lining it. A true mint eye.  Irrelevant for now, as he only had black ink to hand. His Savior saw all, and he enforced her will however she needed him to.  She was the Savior of Mint Eye, but she was his own personal savior as well, taking him from the hell that his brother had abandoned him to.  

To protect the paradise. The thistle, with its thorns hidden in beauty was one of his favorite parts of the motif he’d designed.  Beauty, unless you attempted to touch, and then all you were left with was pain and regret. He would protect Magenta with his life, and no regrets.

To save the believers from their harsh fate.  He lined the crown above the eye, representing the absolution and cleansing that the unwashed masses underwent to become believers under the Savior’s Mint Eye. Together, they would save everyone from the uncaring, unfeeling world.

To undermine the RFA. That ‘charity’ organization that lied to everyone just as bad as the rest of the world.  Claiming to help while only perpetuating the problem.  Unknown lined the stylized M - for Magenta, for Mint Eye.  For the naive MC who was even now sitting in the apartment chatting away and getting him information on the group.

To bring the traitor and the liar before The Savior for her judgment. They would eventually be cleansed until they, too, understood the beauty of paradise. The thorned moon with the thistle stem was usually hidden by his jacket, and tended to fade the fastest. It was the least important to the Savior and the Mint Eye, but it was the most important to him, and always the last thing he refreshed, to keep himself going despite everything.

In the middle of the last, the line stuttered and died.  Unknown threw the pen in the garbage bin under his desk, and looked back at the screens again.  Still nothing. His idiot twin was better at this than he seemed.

Unknown reached out and took a new pen out of the box in his desk drawer. Looks like he had more time to kill.

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober Day 13: Decipher This

Rating: T Prompt: Vanderwood/MC || Secret WordCount: 1263 Summary: The new member of the RFA seems familiar somehow. Author's Notes: This fic is either a massive troll or a Chapter 1, so... let me know if you want to see more of this one.

Of all the jobs that Vanderwood had done for the Agency over the years, they had to admit they were happiest being Zero Seven’s handler.  It wasn’t the most glamorous job, wasn’t necessarily using their best skills most of the time, but it also kept them decently out of danger, and afforded them the luxury of breaking rules they thought were garbage.

They hadn’t really thought too hard about the Agency’s rules about interpersonal relationships.  On the surface it made perfect sense that attachments were forbidden, given that if a job went bad you might have to completely erase yourself and start new somewhere else entirely leaving them behind. But it could also mean that they were used against you.  Of course, Vanderwood knew that the people most likely to use a partner against them were the Agency themselves, but it still stood as a good enough reason, until they started being Zero Seven’s handler.

Zero Seven was an enigma.  They’d started being his handler a little over eight years ago, when he was just a bright kid who would do just about anything the agency asked him to do.  Study abroad? Great!  Track down this person with the explicit explanation that it was for them to be take out? Done.  Over time, in private he had mellowed the way most of the agency techs had.  He did his work on his own schedule, and very rarely did he need to be reminded to get things done before the deadline. Usually he only got behind if it had something to do with that charity group he was for some unknown reason allowed to stay a part of even after joining the agency. Around them, he was still the jokester kid that he’d been when just twelve.  Vanderwood wished the melancholy hacker was the fake version of Zero Seven… but they knew better.

Vanderwood knew that if someone were disappeared for any reason, Zero Seven could find them, alive if possible, but he’d find proof of death if not. And so, the rules from the agency about attachments were revealed to be what they truly were - yet another way to keep a choke-hold on their agents. As long as the ties were sanctioned by the Agency (like that charity group) or kept secret from them, they were safe.

Most of the time, the only potential tie Vanderwood cared about was their charge.  They thought about Zero Seven like the younger brother they’d always wanted.  They knew no family before the agency, but… they liked to think they had a tiny one, now.  Zero Seven seemed to care about the charity group, and occasionally he’d wonder aloud (usually when he thought Vanderwood couldn’t hear him) about how ‘Saeran’ was doing.  So of course Vanderwood noticed when he received the improbable floppy disc of photos of a less-trained version of himself - clearly a twin brother - that Vanderwood understood.  Zero Seven had sacrificed his relationship with his twin in order to keep said twin safe and happy.  They’d taken a private look at the disc, and no matter how they looked at it, all of those photos were taken on the same day.  The boy was wearing contact lenses and his hair had recently been dyed. If it wasn’t for the fact that Zero Seven needed glasses, they might not have thought to look for the contacts - but they were colored. The boy in the photo had green eyes, and there were telltale marks from hair dye along his hairline and the tips of his ears.  How had Zero Seven missed this? Wishful thinking?

Something had happened to his twin, and Vanderwood was determined to find out what it was, even if they had to enlist help to do it.  Clearly the agency was complicit - the disk of photos had come from one of the charity group. They would have to look outside the agency for help.  They’d crossed paths with people from other agencies as well as independents, a number of whom could probably find out the information that they wanted to know. The best choice was the agent hiding in plain sight as an investigative journalist; Cypher Jones. If anyone could figure this out, it would be her.

Seven knew that Vanderwood was hiding something. Every agent had secrets, but lately they would come back agitated about something and an agitated Vanderwood never did bode well for his ability to slack off. Really any emotion out of Vanderwood was a bad sign.  So at least his work was getting done in a timely manner, since he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Vanderwood’s ire.

On the bright side, they hadn’t gotten on his case about being in the RFA chat so much, so he’d been able to spend more time with his friends.  He really did think of them as friends, even though he wasn’t supposed to get attached to people as per the agency rules.  But if Vanderwood wasn’t complaining even after all these years, well, he was going to run with it.

But that led him to today, when he was out of work to get done and everyone was in chat, which was awesome, but Vanderwood came in tense.

“What is it, Vandy?”

“Don’t call me that. It’s just that I lost contact with someone.”

“I can—“

“No.”

“But if it’s someone important—”

“You can’t.”

“Ugh, fine.”

It wasn’t another agent. There was no way, or they would have used everything at their disposal agency-wise to keep track of them.  Which meant. Vanderwood was hiding a friend.  Seven wanted to tease them to death, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.  Having confirmation that Vanderwood was hiding an illicit relationship (be it romantic or platonic, it didn’t matter to Seven) was everything. But the fact that they’d lost contact took it off the table as a teasing subject. He’d just have to try to get Vanderwood to talk to him about it later.  For the time being they’d settled on the couch in his office, and were tapping away at their phone.  Seven went back to the RFA chat, only to realize there was someone new in it.  Someone unauthorized.

“Holy shit.” He said, pulling up the app code and tapping away to dig into the user database and figure out where they came from.

“What, Zero Seven?” Vanderwood asked from the couch, and Seven knew they were probably expecting his usual silliness.

“There’s someone new in the RFA Chat.”

“Huh.” Vanderwood said. “New recruit?”

“Well that’s just the thing. No. I think they hacked in.”

His fingers were flying over the keys, and he even told the chat that his fingers were trembling as he hacked.  Not true, but they were going fast enough that no one could tell if he was lying, excepting maybe Vanderwood, who saw everything.

Vanderwood had perked up behind him, watching his screens, which was eerie, but he was pretty used to it. 

“Huh, she’s in Rika’s old apartment.” Seven said, even as Vanderwood stood and came over to… well, he’d normally have said inspect his work, but it seemed like Vanderwood was just standing there for moral support. Weird, but not unwanted.

Seven clicked a few times and brought the camera feeds from Rika’s apartment up onto one of his side monitors. There, standing looking down at her cell phone with her long brown hair half-obscuring her confused expression, was a girl.

“What?!” Behind him, Vanderwood seemed to choke on nothing and their phone clattered to the floor. 

“What is Cypher doing there?”

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober Day 3: Common Sense, Ch. 1

Prompt: Ending / Prologue

Pairing: Saeran/MC (Retta)

Wordcount: 1402

Author's Notes: I always loved the potential endings in the prologue for Another Story, and this one has been sitting around in my brain for awhile. I thought I'd be able to knock it out as a one-shot, but as usual Saeran has other ideas. So here's Chapter 1. This fic will eventually be finished - that sounds ominous, but I don't have another longfic in the works right now, and I have a couple other chapters planned for this during MysticTober, so! #soon.

You can also read this on Ao3 if that's more your speed!

Chapter 1: Apology Required.

Retta blinked and looked at her phone. The app wasn’t even on the app store anymore?  She’d uninstalled that app right away after the developer had tried to convince her to get into a car blindfolded and go who-knows-where to “test a game”.  She was in school for Computer Science, and even if she wasn’t, she wasn’t stupid enough to go somewhere when no one knew where she would be. 

The worst part was, she really wanted to learn game development, especially chat games.  There were so many stories she was just dying to tell in that fashion… but she really didn't know how to get started. Also, she was mortified. She’d had to tell him that she wasn’t interested in meeting him. That she didn’t need to know him.  And that… that was too much.  It was a lie, and even if it hadn’t been it was the worst kind of thing to tell someone. And she’d said it. He’d sounded so heartbroken, all she wanted to do was apologize.  

She thought maybe if she reinstalled the app he’d yell at her or something so she could apologize, but it didn’t even exist.  She’d tried looking up the R.F.A. that was mentioned, but all she found was a charity organization that had nothing to do with game development, and they didn’t have an app or anything, so it couldn’t have been them.

“Hey, Retta, Ray’s tea is ready.” Her coworker, Janelle, grinned at her. “Why don’t you take it over to him? You know he only comes here when you’re working.  I won’t tell the boss your boyfriend hangs out with you at work.” She winked, and Retta sighed. He’s not my boyfriend. She’d considered giving him her number, but he was always gone any time she worked up the nerve.  And trying to tell Janelle that he wasn’t her boyfriend was just asking for more teasing. She knew. She’d tried.

Retta picked up the tray and walked over to Ray’s table. 

“Ray? Your tea’s ready.” He looked up at her with a start, and then smiled.

“Thank you, Retta.” He said, softly. “Do you want to sit?”

She looked back at Janelle who waved both hands at her, and she sighed and sat down.

“What’s bothering you, princess?”

She pursed her lips, then sighed again. “You’re a customer. One of our best regulars. You don’t need to listen to my sob story.”

He shut his laptop, and took a sip of his tea. “But what if I want to?”

“Are you sure? It’s…”

“If it’s you, I’m sure, Retta.”

She felt herself blush, and looked down at the table.  This boy was like a fairy tale prince, and she didn’t deserve his attention, but oh how she craved it.  Would he think worse of her? Well, he was waiting.

“I hurt someone.” She started with the bare truth. “They needed my help, but I was too afraid to help them, and when they questioned me I lashed out.”

“Oh.”

He seemed disappointed.  That was fine, Retta was ashamed of her actions, she wasn’t surprised he was disappointed in her. She should never have sat down. Not during her shift.

As if to cement this thought, a wave of college students came in the door, and Retta jumped to her feet. “Oh! I have to get back to it.”  She turned her bright customer service smile back on, and turned to head back to the desk. Ray caught her arm, and she looked back at him.

“Same time tomorrow, princess?”

Retta shook her head. “I don’t work tomorrow. Thursday, though.”  She ran off to the counter before she could see his response - she didn’t know why she’d told him that. Maybe because he wanted to listen to her? He’d sounded disappointed in her, but he still wanted to see her so… maybe she hadn’t ruined her chances too badly.

Thursday was a slow day at the cafe. It would be the perfect day to actually get a chance to sit and talk to Ray.

Retta perched at the counter, watching the few people who came in and out.  She shouldn’t be surprised, it was a gorgeous day, and Thursdays were slow days anyway.  When Ray’s usual arrival time came and went with no sign of him, Retta wilted internally. He hadn’t come. Maybe he’d said that just so he could get away without her trying to apologize for disappointing him? Great, now she had two people to apologize to. Classic Retta.

Retta tied a clean apron over her dress, pinned on her nametag, and strode across the floor to unlock the front door of the cafe.  Fridays were busy days for them, and it was one of the only days where she worked the early shift.  She’d already been there since 4 helping the baker get everything set up, but noon seemed like an eternity away. She bit back a yawn and looked up to see their first patron of the day, standing outside the door.

“Ray? Here already? It’s only 6!” He was a computer nerd. He shouldn’t be awake at this time of day. Didn’t that go against some kind of natural law? But, then, she was also a computer nerd and she was here, so… maybe she was thinking too much into it.

“The other girl you were working with on Tuesday… Jenny? said you were here until noon today.  I couldn’t get here yesterday. I tried to tell you, but you ran off so fast.”  He chuckled ruefully. “I’m an airhead. I should know your schedule by now.” He yawned. “Oh. I need some caffeine, I think.”

“Hey, you came to the right place for that.” Retta said, and led him over to his usual spot - near the plants and the window, right by an outlet. “Your usual tea?” She was trying so hard not to think about the fact that he really was here just for her. Well for her and caffeine.

“Yes, please. And something sweet. I know your baker’s here, I can smell their work.”

“We’ve got—“ she started, but he cut her off.

“You pick. I trust your judgment completely.”

Retta blinked. “High praise.” she muttered, but then grinned at him. “Alright, I’ll be back shortly!”

She made his drink - a Victorian London Fog - and set aside two of the Apple-Honey tarts that the Baker had made special for today.  By the time his tea was ready, Janelle swept in and took up her throne at the register. 

“Oh wow, your suitor’s here already?” She said, winking at Retta.

“My lord, Janelle! I just think he’s cute okay? Cut it out before you actually ruin my chances!” Retta hissed, and then covered her own mouth, stunned at the words she’d said. Janelle just cackled and got to serving the new customers.

“Go take your break with the little prince over there. I know you need it, you’re dead on your feet.” Janelle shooed her away. and Retta wasted no time grabbing the tray with his tea, her coffee, and the tarts.

“…May I sit with you?” Retta asked when she paused at Ray’s table, and he smiled, closing his laptop and gesturing to the seat across from him, the same way he had a few days prior. 

“Of course, princess. I’d hold your chair for you, but alas, it’s a booth.”

Retta giggled and slid in across from him, passing him one of the tarts.

“Honey and Apple tarts.”

“Oh. They look divine.” He smiled, and cut himself a bite. The blissful face he made was worth every minute of her interminably early morning.

“Listen, before I get pulled out of my break early or something, I wanted to apologize. You seemed so disappointed in me on Tuesday, and I really don’t want you to be. I was sighing because I.. because I really want to apologize to that person, but I don’t have a way to contact them, is all.”

Ray paused, and shook his head. “It wasn’t you I was disappointed in. It was me.  Hold on.”  He opened his laptop and did whatever ten arcane things it took to unlock it and then turned it around to face her. What she was seeing was the same green glitched code that had shown up on that app when it glitched.

“I’m the one who disappointed you, Retta. I’m Unknown.”