I recommend you read Chapter 12 if you've somehow skipped it, because I'm going to apply the name change here (For Art and potentially for Unknown).

Thank you for all your reviews! I greatly appreciate them.

Also, I'm going to say something here:

Yes, what Saeran is doing right now is OOC. Quite OOC, actually, but I didn't exactly think of that when I first started the story. I'm fairly certain that many of you think that as well, so I'd just like to say this: I'd love to fix that issue, but by fixing it, I'd have to change the entire story. I hope you understand why I will most likely not edit the previous chapters to fix this character issue.

But, I will be editing previous chapters over the weekend (insert cheering because it's finally the weekend) for clarity.

Thanks! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

(Self-insert warning: 199)

Chapter 13

Seochan Road
Underground, Level 1
February 3rd, 2017
9:17 AM KST

"I'm fine, Seven."

"You're bleeding. Now stop fidgeting and let me bandage it."

Varia was back in her seat, her fingers tapping on the arm of the couch. Sweat drenched her black shirt and pants, although Seven did cut the pants to check the bullet graze. Her eyes were focused on his red hair, messy, and each strand of it covered in sweat. She looked to the side, where Yoosung was still resting peacefully, his head leaning against the couch, his mouth wide open, drool still coming out of it.

Her backpack was still on her back, especially since she had planned to leave for Rika's apartment right after the entire incident with Unknown.

Saeran.

His brother.

As soon as he pointed it out, she saw the similarities. Their face structure was identical. Their hair were equally messy. Both of them had the exact same look when they were angry. Their voices were similar, although one more more screechy than the other. She clearly remembered dropping both weapons to the ground afterwards, because once she saw it...

How could she kill Saeran if she couldn't even kill Seven?

Sure, Saeran had white hair and teal eyes. But as soon as she looked at his face, she would immediately connect him to Seven. It wasn't possible to just shoot or stab Saeran, since she knew that things wouldn't exactly go well if she tried.

She knew that things wouldn't go well, especially if she succeeded.

Seven clearly loved and cared for Saeran, no matter what his brother did before.

She looked around the room. The CCTV footage for Rika's apartment was being shown on the screens. There was one for outside the door, and one showing an entire collection of cars. His garage, maybe? It made sense, although she didn't understand why he had so many designer cars.

She sighed, sitting still as Seven reached for a bottle of clear liquid, before pouring it on a cotton pad. Without any warning, he wiped the injured area with it, which caused Varia to grit her teeth. A burning sensation came from her thigh, and spread all the way to her toes and her chest.

"You're still bleeding a lot." Seven's hands, long and slender, reached for more tissues to wipe away the blood, which continued to pour from her injury.

"I swear, I'm fine, Seven. Are you okay?"

Seven stopped wiping and kneeled there for a second. She heard a breath come from Seven, before he replied, "I said, I'm fine. How many times have I told you that?"

Varia flinched again after hearing those words. Everything that Seven said after the Unknown incident had an edge to it, and she wasn't surprised. If he hated her, then so be it. She deserved it in the first place.

At the same time, she wanted to reach out to him. Tell him that everything would be fine, that he should forgive her, because she wanted to fix it all. She bit back her tongue. No. These desires were selfish. She should never think these thoughts, because she wasn't considering anyone else's feelings or safety. Wanting to be with Seven, wanting him to forgive her... those were dangerous thoughts.

"Many. I just wanted to make sure."

There was absolute silence in the room as Seven picked up the pair of scissors once more and started to cut around the pants. Snip. He made a cut.

Varia raised an eyebrow. "What are you-"

He looked right up at her, his usually warm eyes absolutely cold. "Why did you lunge for the guns?"

He continued to cut, as Varia sat there, her mouth in a straight line. That's true. Why did I lunge for it?

I didn't know that Unkn- Saeran was his brother at the time.

I figured that to end this game...

I had to kill the one behind it all.

She didn't bother to answer his question, but he continued to cut, the cuts surprisingly straight. He finally finished with a final snip, and reached for the bandages. However, as soon as he turned around to face Varia again, she was starting to walk towards the door.

"What are you doing?"

She turned around, her ponytail flinging sweat on the floor. "I'm leaving. Thanks for your help."

"Don't be an idiot, and sit back down. Your pants look terrible, and you're still bleeding."

"They only look terrible because you cut them." She had a small smile on her face, intending for this to be a joke.

"Come back here. I don't want to see blood on the concrete."

She sighed in reply, and walked back over to the couch. Seven really was different compared to Messenger Seven, although she couldn't really put a finger on it yet. She heard the sound of something ripping as Seven started to wrap the bandages around her leg.

Both of them continued to sit there in silence, until she heard another snip, and Seven saying, "You're finished."

"Hm, thanks." She stood up, prepared to walk out the door, although her pants were still uneven and strange looking, until he said, "Wait, don't leave yet."

She froze in her steps, her eyes closed.

What does he want now?

"What is it?"

"Don't... don't tell the others about this, okay?"

Oh.

This was what Saeran meant.

She turned around, her eyes wide. "If you want someone to talk to this about..."

"No! I don't need anyone to talk to this about. They won't understand, Art. And neither would you."

"But we'll try our best." Varia sighed, walking to the door. "We'll try our best to understand your story and to help. You just have to tell us."

She opened her mouth once more, prepared to tell the door to open, until Seven closed his eyes tightly, in hopes of this being all a dream, before saying, "I-I'll tell you. Come back in."

Her eyes weren't as wide as before, but it was clear that she wanted information. She walked back in, her shoulders more relaxed than they were before. "Take your time, Seven. If you're not comfortable..."

"I am. First you want me to tell, and now you say-"

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry about that."

"Just know... that you don't want to know too much about me. It's dangerous, Art."

"I'm fine with that. Danger consumes our lives."

Seven sighed as Varia finally took her backpack off, gently tossing it onto the ground. She took her seat on the arm of the couch, while Seven stood up with a groan and sat on the actual seat itself. He took a deep breath, holding it in for a while, before looking down at his hands, clasped tightly together. His cross necklace was dangling from his neck, and Varia managed to focus on that instead of Seven's face, which looked as if he was pained.

"I- My brother and I were both born out of a wedlock. My father was a politician, and he's the current prime minister." He looked at Varia to see if she would have any response, but she only nodded, urging him to continue.

He continued to look down, but this time, his hands started to fiddle with his necklace. "My mother... she told him that she would hide me and Saeran in exchange for my father paying her. She-" He took a little short breath. "She didn't treat us so well."

"What do you mean?"

"Saeran. He was weaker than me, and became sick more often than me. She... abused him. Tied him to a pole. Starved him. Threw heavy objects at him. And... I had to watch. I was always the one sent outside, and eventually, I started to go outside more and more."

"I found a nearby church. I clearly remember it. It was grand, the stained glass windows with colors more vibrant than I've ever seen. I think I truly felt like I belonged at that time, especially after I found Rika."

Varia tensed as soon as he mentioned Rika, although Seven didn't notice.

"I met V afterwards, and they saved me. They promised to save Saeran, too, but..."

"He was sent to an organization called Mint Eye," she interrupted.

Seven looked right up at her as she put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't bother to pull back. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Here. I wish I could have found more, but I was more worried about the time."

She reached for her black backpack, her hands unzipping the bag. Seven looked at it, not sure what to expect. He held his breath as she pulled a file out of it. It was a simple file, the main folder itself yellow. But it was filled with papers, all seemingly shoved in, and it was filled to the brim.

The file was labelled Mint Eye.

"Mint Eye? What?" Seven reached for the folder, but Varia just set it down on the table instead, moving a few of the bags and cans that were on the table, as well as their handguns.

Varia shook her hand as Seven opened it, his hand shaky. "I found this in one of the cabinets that I was told not to open. It's a fairly surprising file, too. Explains, potentially, why Rika killed herself. But then again..."

Her eyes met Seven's, and both of them knew what she wanted to say.

What if her suicide was faked?

Seven returned to the file, his face growing paler by the second. There were blueprints in the file, as well as designs for a logo. He continued flipping through the file, until he found one sheet of paper that reminded him of someone. He put the file down on the coffee table, only picking up that single sheet of paper to show to Varia.

"What's that?" She leaned towards him, cautiously, and Seven blinked a few times.

I can't have her in my life. We'll both be in danger.

"It's nothing," he replied coldly.

She blinked, before moving away, not saying a word. He felt a little bit of guilt eating away his insides, but there was also satisfaction mixed in with that guilt. Satisfaction that maybe, both of them would stay safe.

And separate.

He looked down at the paper, his eyes brightening. This paper, this little sheet, would explain why Saeran was acting this way.

But why was it in Rika's apartment?

Nothing made sense anymore.

He closed the file, pushing it towards Varia. "I'll keep this sheet of paper. Go back to your apartment now. And don't open any more cabinets. How'd you open it in the first place?"

"Thanks. And, well, your locks and alarms were a fun challenge. Just not that difficult. You forget that I'm just like you sometimes."

Right. But that's still impressive.

She took the huge file and shoved it into her bag, the clinking of metals and crinkling of paper heard by Seven. "What about Yoosung?"

He shook his head. "You shouldn't worry about him. Go back."

"I have some sort of right to worry about him."

"I said, go back. It's dangerous for you to stay here with me."

"And it's not dangerous for Yoosung to stay here with you?" She stood up, slinging her bag across her shoulder, her eyes fixated on Seven. "Listen, Seven, I don't know what you're trying to do, but if you truly dislike me, just tell me."

Seven flinched slightly under her glare, but also because of those words.

He didn't dislike her. It was hard to. What he felt was the opposite of dislike, but he didn't want to admit it.

After all, it was wrong to fall in love with the same person who pushed them all into this situation. He took a slight breath. "Leave, Varia."

He didn't notice her shiver slightly, all because of the way he said her name. It was cold, but she could hear it. There was something behind that single word, and she didn't know if it should scare her or comfort her.

She faced the door, starting to walk out. "Door, open."

Seven decided to focus on Yoosung and how he was still sleeping, while she was walking away, her shoes clicking against the floor. He heard the door close with a little click, and looked up to see that Varia wasn't at his door anymore.

He stood up quietly, trying not to wake Yoosung, and headed towards his room.

If her name really was Varia Lee, and Saeran wasn't trying to mess with him... maybe he could find a bit more information on her.

Before he even reached the door of his room, he heard someone say something.

"So... what about Rika? Why did she kill herself?"

Oh shit...

He turned around, only to see Yoosung standing by the couch, looking perfectly fine even though he had been tied up just moments before. There was something serious about his violet eyes that Seven rarely saw in him, which caused him to back up just a bit in surprise. His teeth were gritted, his hands both curled up into fists.

Seven opened his mouth, before closing it, not quite sure what to say to the blonde. "That's nothing for you to worry about."

"It's important for me to find out!" In one simple, slightly clumsy, move, Yoosung hopped over the couch, now two steps away from Seven. His eyes were dead serious, but they were also pleading for Seven to tell him. "Please, Seven... Luciel... why? What is this about Mint Eye?"

"You were awake this entire time?"

"I was awake as soon as she mentioned the file. I only pretended to stay asleep because I thought you guys were going to say something about Rika that you would have never said if I was awake. I need to know. Please."

Seven continued to stare at Yoosung's face, twisted up in pain and grief over his dead cousin. "Today's her death anniversary, right?"

Yoosung nodded, finally taking off his jacket and throwing it on the couch.

Seven walked closer to him, his hand reaching for his shoulder. "It's okay, alright? Knowing more about this... her death... you don't have to worry about it."

"I do!" He jerked back, away from Seven's hand, his mouth open and ready to say something. "Don't tell me that I don't have to worry about it! We're related by blood! We were closer than you ever were to her, so I have a right to know!"

"Yoosung... it's too dangerous for y-"

Yoosung continued to glare at Seven. "Don't tell me it's too dangerous! Everything's too dangerous for me, huh? Am I right?"

"Yoosung..."

"All I want to do is know." He lowered his voice, now quieter and more somber. "I just want you to tell me."

Seven sighed. "I'm sorry, Yoosung. I can't. Go home, now."

He leaned against the wall once again, his eyes closed and taking one deep breath, feeling Yoosung's glare on him.

"Open. Door, open."

The sound of footsteps and the sliding of the door were heard once again.

I... I'm sorry, Yoosung, but I can't tell you anything.

He felt something wet on his hands, and he cursed silently, for not realizing that he was crying before.

There was no reply from Yoosung except for silence, and all he heard was the sound of the door. Trying his best to stop the tears from continuously flowing, he forcefully wiped them off and stood up again. He shook his head, blinking a couple of times, before managing a look at the screens.

A blonde was walking down the hall, his hands still curled into fists.

Because what will happen if I do?

RFA Chatroom
February 3rd, 2017
9:31 AM KST

V: Please, calm down. Simply complaining about your situation will not help.

512: He left! Probably to help you guys and the traitor.

199: yeah! i cant believe he decided to run away after we tried to talk with him

V: This... 727 you're talking about; he might have good motives for leaving. Please don't put the blame on him.

512: And what do you think you're doing, telling us to stop?

V: I only want this group chat to return to what it was before.

241: Listen V whoever you are 727 isn't doing anything but running from his issue

241: issues

V: Everyone has a reason for doing something.

Yoosung has entered the chatroom.

Yoosung: V!

Yoosung: You have a lot to explain.

Yoosung: What's this about Rika?

V: What?

Yoosung: Tell me! Is she dead or alive?

199: oooooh drama

V: Yoosung... I can't say.

Yoosung: What do you mean you "can't say"? You know, right? You know everything, but you're keeping everything away from us!

V: I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you.

241: Looks like 727 isnt the only one with secrets

Yoosung: Yeah, he isn't.

Yoosung: Don't just apologize and not tell me anything! I want the truth!

Yoosung: You and Seven are always hiding together with your little secrets

Yoosung: Tell me! What is so important that you can't say anything?

V: Yoosung...

Yoosung: Rika was my cousin. She was important to me; we were related by blood!

Yoosung: Don't just hide everything from me and expect me to deal with it!

512: Who is this... Rika person?

Yoosung: She's my cousin! I cared about her the most... she cared about me the most...

Yoosung: And now he's trying to cover up what really happened to her!

V: Yoosung, I'm not trying to cover it up.

V: I just can't tell you.

Yoosung: And you're telling me that it isn't "covering it up"?

Yoosung: I'm sick of your lies and apologies.

Yoosung: I'm sick of it.

Yoosung: I'm going to find out, no matter what.

Yoosung: I don't care what happens to me, I'm not going to stop until you tell me!

V: No, Yoosung, don't!

Yoosung: Then tell me, V!

Yoosung: Did Rika really kill herself? Or was she murdered? Still alive and well?

V: ...I can't tell you.

Yoosung: Then why did you tell me to stop?

Yoosung has left the chatroom.

V: Because the truth is dangerous.

V: But it seems as if he already left.

241: Ooooh V are you hiding something

512: Drama in RFA alert. Oooh, scary.

199: sarcasm doesnt translate well in text 512

512: Yeah, whatever. Who's Rika, V?

512: And who are you?

V: Rika was... the love of my life.

V: As for me?

V: I'm a photographer.

V: I'm 26 years old.

512: No, not what do you do and stuff.

512: Who is V? You seem to be all about calm and stuff, but who are you really?

512: What do you hide? I'm always one for gossip. It's fine if you tell me.

241: 512!

512: What? I'm serious.

V: Who am I...?

V: I'm V. I... just want the best for everyone.

512: By keeping secrets?

V: Yes...

512: Look at 727. Look at what happened with him and his secrets.

512: I know nothing about his past before the agency. I know nothing of how he and his brother found 144.

512: I know nothing about his personality. I don't know what he hides and what he knows.

512: Look at how that turned out. We're all rallying up against him because he's not telling us anything.

512: Think about it, V. Are you helping this RFA group by keeping your secrets?

241: 512

241: cordelias coming

512: Sorry, V. Gotta go.

241 has left the chatroom.

512 has left the chatroom.

V: I have my own reasons for my secrets.

V: I have my own reasons for keeping them.

V: But... I understand what you are saying. I will keep that in mind.

V has left the chatroom.

Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.

Jumin Han: V was here before?

199: hey its hot ceo guy

Jumin Han: Do not refer to me by that.

199: okay hot ceo guy

Jumin Han: But Rika...? What about her?

Jumin Han: I suppose I'll have to ask him myself.

Jumin Han has left the chatroom.

Thank you for reading! I'd greatly appreciate any reviews of that sort, especially on character, since one of the hardest characters to write happens to be in this chapter (cough V). I don't know if I have his personality spot-on, slightly off, or way, way, way off, but I tried to write this based off of Yoosung's route.

Thank you, again!

-Teri