There are some spoilers for 707's route so don't read unless you've played it. I'm sorry if my 707 isn't in character and seeing as MC is us, I hope you all like her characterization! Tiny explicit scene. Dedicated to my best friend for her birthday. Hope everyone enjoys!
MC hummed as she stocked the shelves of the pet store, a tedious job but much better than having to demonstrate anything about the animals she was surrounded by. Mostly as more often than not, she knew next to nothing about any of them, not much of an animal person. It was probably a miracle they hired her to begin with.
She sighed as she neared the cat section of the store, the fluffy creatures never failed to bring her mood down. MC didn't understand what about cats made her feel so lost and depressed, but it was a daily occurrence.
Duly MC began her job, stocking up the shelves, ignoring the cries of the cats in the cages right in front of her. Every once in a while, she'd look up due to cats' cries, rather than decreasing, only seemed to grow louder.
MC looked at each of them in complete boredom. Whereas the others cooed over the different colored furs and the trinkets that covered them, MC only saw the same thing over and over again in different shades of gray.
There were other pets that she had the same problem with like fish, hamsters, even snakes but for some reason cats filled her with a sense of depression and anger that she didn't feel otherwise. MC didn't necessarily have any bad or trauma filled incidents regarding cats, but she could never bring herself to come too close to one.
There were no colours in her life, MC had accepted that as a fact and was happily getting on with her life. Her only regret was working at a pet shop, where people were constantly asking for things in different shades. And the cats. She often wondered if she was really that desperate for a job to be constantly surrounded by the one animal that made her so miserable.
The worst part was that she didn't even know why that was the case. She hoped one day she'd figure it out so the feeling of depression linked to cats could disappear or at least find another job that didn't require being near cats. Either option was appealing to her.
A smile grew on MC's face as she came to her favourite part of the shop. A dark black dog stood in its cage surrounded by other black and white things. MC never felt as if she were missing out on a part of the world here. Other than black and white there were no other colours.
MC didn't know why this particular pet shop sold the large mastiffs that weren't exactly a crowd favorite, but she was immensely happy they did. At least there was some other living creature that lived in the same world as her. A world of darkness. She glanced at the clock, as she fixed the stands, another hour until she got to return home.
She got up, musing on what she should have for dinner that night. Probably just grab a pack of chips, the Honey Buddha ones if she were lucky enough to find them at her local convenience store that night. She began to hum the song Black and White by Michael Jackson like she often did when she thought about her life and the fact there were no other colours in it.
Her head bowed as she wandered the store lost in her song, she bumped into one of the customers. MC began apologizing while the other customer waved her off trying to assure her there wasn't a problem. MC bowed once again before moving away.
A loud voice interrupted her movement. A man with glasses moved into her periphery. MC blinked before realizing that he was a customer and moved forward to try to help him.
"May I help you?" The girl inquired, watching with wide eyes, as the man flailed around yelling about an Elly and how he couldn't find the right gift for her.
"Excuse me? Hello!" MC finally yelled, tired of attempting to gain the man's attention. He stopped his tirade and looked down at her. The light glinted off his glasses and MC had to blink to avoid being blinded.
"Yes?" He asked completely bemused. Before MC could utter a word, his face brightened and he leaned in and stared at her deeply. The girl blushed violently, unused to such behavior.
"Sir!" Stammering, MC asked what it was that he wanted her help with. Her heart was beating wildly, though it began to calm down once she realized the man was describing a fluffy, snow white cat named Elly.
"Do you have any idea what you're looking for sir? Perhaps a toy or a new collar?"
"A toy!" He exclaimed gleefully before his face fell. "Uh…don't call me sir," the man ordered.
When MC pointed out she didn't know his name and therefore couldn't call him anything else, he laughed. "Just call me…Defender of Justice 707!"
Personally, MC didn't think he was doing much defending, but she remained silent on the matter. It would do her any good to offend her potential customer. "Okay sir, uh I mean Defender of Justice 707, our toy selection…" MC got cut off by his hysterical laughter.
She turned to stare at him incredulously. "I can't believe you went through with it. No, just 707 is fine. Or Luciel if you prefer." Rather than gaping at his unique personality, MC chose to maintain a more professional attitude.
"Luciel then. Our toy selection is right this way, so if you would please follow me? I think I can help you find the right thing if you would tell me more about your cat?"
"Oh, Elly isn't mine," Luciel revealed. "She belongs to one of my friends."
"Is she a newborn? Or did your friend just recently get her?"
"Of course not. Elly has been with Jumin since before we were friends."
MC inferred that Jumin must be the friend in question to whom Elly belonged too. MC also had to swallow the urge to quench her curiosity as to why Luciel had to buy the cat anything. Or why he was so hyper about it, figuring it really wasn't any of her business. Once again hoping to remain professional she stopped in front of the pet shop's extensive collection of cat toys.
"So is there anything in particular that Elly likes? Mice? Fish? Yarn?" MC listed the most likely options hoping there was something that would be obvious.
Much to her disappointment, Luciel merely shrugged. "Jumin gets her really high class stuff. I don't think there's anything he doesn't provide."
"High class?"
"Like exported from around the world. Jumin spends a fortune on Elly. Also, I think Jumin kind of dreams that Elly will become human one day, since he's always creating ridiculous things for her. Like this one time, he tried to make wine for cats. That's insane but it would be fun to drink wine with Elly…"
MC cut him off the tangent he was on, amazed he could speak so much without the overwhelming need to breathe. He grinned at her unabashedly, and no it did not make her heart skip a beat. That was just her brain coming up with ridiculous ideas.
Rather than focusing on the obvious question of, why was he trying to buy the cat anything at all then, MC took in a deep breath. "Sorry, is the Jumin you refer to Jumin Han? The young heir of the C&R International Company?"
Luciel nodded happily. MC stared at him incredulously. "Let me see if I understand the situation. You wish to get this Elly something she doesn't already have, when her rich owner can obviously provide her with the best of the best?" And yes, MC was aware that she was driving off a potential customer but the absurdity of the situation, compelled her to speak her mind. In the back of her mind even as she spoke, it also registered that she needed more customers, so she could prevent getting fired and inwardly winced for ruining her chances. Ah well, she hated the job anyway.
"Yup! You're so smart. Help me find the perfect gift!" Luciel was nearly bouncing up and down like she had seen the young children that came to the shop did. A fully-grown man, in front of her, for a cat, was acting like a toddler. It was endearing but MC was already weary of her day and had to bite back a groan at her misfortune. Plus, she hated cats. Very much. What could she say? After all she was a dog person, that and cats just weren't her animal.
"Give me any clue. I don't know what Elly even looks like!" MC told him after a few moments, unable to ignore his hopeful look. In reply, Luciel held up his phone to show her a picture of a white cat, or so she assumed, with light eyes.
"What are the colour of her eyes?" Luciel held the picture up higher. "No, I-I can't tell really. If you could tell me the exact colour I can find something that fits her." MC covered for the fact she couldn't see the colour. She knew people thought it was freaky that her brain couldn't let her process colours and she didn't want everyone she met to label her as an abomination.
"Oh! Give me a minute. I'll ask Jaehee! She's the really smart one in the group, so she'll know the real name of the colour and everything down to the correct shade. That way things will be as perfect as possible!"
"I thought the owner of the cat was Jumin?"
"Elly," Luciel corrected her, "and he is. Jaehee is his assistant."
"Assistant? Oh wait, never mind. I nearly forgot we were talking about Mr. Jumin Han. Of course, he has an assistant."
He frowned at her, "You act as if he's some kind of celebrity or person with power, like a president."
Feeling almost stupid for replying MC told him, "Though not a president, he is a celebrity with a ton of power. He's the youngest corporate heir remember? And a very successful one at that."
He ignored her, in lieu of texting to Jaehee she supposed. "Okay, Jaehee gave me a description of her entire appearance. Here goes: Elizabeth 3rd has long, fluffy, white fur with icy blue eyes, and sharp pink ears. That's pretty good to go on, what do you think?"
"Elizabeth 3rd? Who's that? I thought we had to look for a present for Elly? Do you have two cats or something of the sort?"
"Huh? Right you wouldn't know. Elly is a nickname I gave Elizabeth 3rd."
"Okay. Great. Icy blue eyes huh? And pink ears?" MC mused as she scanned the shelves, thanking the fact her manager had written out the colours of the items on the label so she could easily find what would match. Her manager also made her memorize what colours go together and reviewed it every single day. MC deadpanned thinking just how much of a harsh taskmistress her manager was.
Either way, she had finally found something that could potentially please the enigmatic red headed man in front of her. A smile crept on to her lips as she took a hold of it. "Mittens and socks!" MC pronounced proudly.
Luciel stared at her bemused. "Elaborate."
"Okay so you told me that Jumin, uh I mean Mr. Jumin Han prefers to think of his cat…"
"Elly," he interrupted.
"What?"
"Her name is Elly. Or Elizabeth 3rd. Don't call her cat."
MC shrugged. "Fine. As I was saying, he treats her as if she were a real person. So, if you gave her a present that people us, it's much more likely that he'll actually appreciate the present and get uh Elly to wear it even."
She held up the mittens and socks that were created to fit cat paws, the label facing her so she could check she had picked the right colour. Fighting to ensure her voice didn't convey she was reading, MC read "The mittens and socks are cream in colour and there's even a little pink bow! The embroidery looks quite elegant as well, so I suspect it will meet the expectation of a corporate heir."
Luciel carefully took the mittens and socks from her and examined the material closely. Finally, he looked up and nodded. "This looks great, thank you so much."
MC beamed, she had gotten his approval. Then frowned wondering why she cared about that. "Come on. I'll ring it up for you." Luciel for once, quietly followed her to the counter. She rang it up, he paid using a credit card and she quietly put the items in a bag, feeling a little sad their search was really over.
He had come and made her day much more exciting. With a small smile, she handed the bag to him, but as she did their fingers brushed and a sense of euphoria came over her. They both cried out and fell to the floor.
MC felt as the world was tilting on its axis as her eyes blinked rapidly. A peculiar sensation came over them and she shut her eyes tightly. When she opened them, it was like a foam had been lifted, each thing she took in looking strange and new.
Several people alarmed came over to them, but for both MC and Luciel the only important thing was each other. Luciel grabbed his things shakily and dragged her out the door and into the alleyway so they could talk.
His golden eyes bored into hers and it felt as if he could read her very soul. His golden eyes. His golden eyes. Her own eyes widened and she began to stammer.
"I-I don't understand. What happened?" MC began to panic looking around. There she saw blues and reds and greens, her knees felt weak and she fell to the floor. "W-what's happening to me?!" MC had thought that not being able to see in colour was bad but the different colours now blinded her. Water dripped out of her eyes and MC was stunned realizing that she was crying.
Luciel seemed to be panicking as well. Whether it was due to him being unable to react to her reactions or if he was facing a life changing event himself. He leaned against the burgundy brick wall and inched his way towards the ground until he was sitting on the alley floor with his back to the burgundy wall.
As MC stared at the wall in fascination, analyzing where the wall went from burgundy to a brighter shade of red,0 he turned around and laughed in disbelief. "Burgundy?" Then he looked over to a gray trashcan and sighed in relief. "At least some things are still gray."
Her jaw dropped and she shakily crawled over so she was sitting in front of him. He blinked at her bemused. "At least some things are still gray?" she repeated changing the phrase into a question.
Luciel was looking at her distrustfully, but she leaned in her desire to know what he meant urging her forward. A red tint overtook his face and he looked away. "All my life, I've only seen things in black or white or in different shades of gray. Until five minutes ago, colours were just different letters put into words. Something abstract that didn't even register in my life."
She must have stayed silent a beat too long because he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I know what you're thinking. He's such a freak, right? An abomination of nature? I'm not sorry though. This is who I am or was anyways. You don't get to judge me." His voice grew harsher with each word.
MC cleared her throat and shook her head. "No. No I'm… I was just surprised. I've never met someone who lived the same way as me."
Luciel whipped his around and looked right at her. "Sorry? Did you just say…"
"That life was a mixture of black, white and gray? Yes. That I needed to read each label to know what colour I was seeing? Yes. That my boss made me memorize every colour in the world as well as the colour wheel since I obviously couldn't see them? Yes," MC gasped for breath.
"The both of us? That's impossible." Luciel denied.
MC snorted derisively, "I think you'll find that nothing is impossible here."
"Then what changed?" Luciel demanded. Both went deep into thought, trying to decipher the million-dollar question. Then it was like a light turned on in their heads and both glanced down at their fingers.
Where their fingers had brushed, the skin had darkened, like the duo had been branded. MC swallowed nervously, "What does this mean?"
"You don't actually think that just because our hands touched that changed the way we see things, do you?"
"What else could it be?" MC pulled back, her eyes darting between Luciel and the ground. "Okay this
is going to sound insane…"
"More insane you mean?"
MC nodded. "I did some research once because I was curious as to why we couldn't see in colours, and there was an article that talked about…well soulmates."
Luciel's face dropped, "Soulmates?"
"Think about it Luciel. The sensation we both felt, the marking on our fingers, the fact that both of us couldn't see in colour but after having skin to skin contact we can? It all makes sense."
His face turned stony, "I'm not the type of person that would have a soulmate. Listen it was a good guess but it's obviously something else. Give me your number, we'll talk about it. I have to go." He got to his feet moving quickly away from her.
"You're a coward Luciel!" MC accused getting up herself. He spun around. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"How dare you. You know absolutely nothing about me!" He took a menacing step towards her, but rather than cowering she stepped towards him as well.
"You're not the type of person to have a soulmate. Listen if you don't think I'm your soulmate or whatever that's fine, but say the truth okay Luciel?"
Luciel paused, "Wait you think it's because of you I'm leaving?"
"Take a look around. Who else could it be?" MC asked sarcastically looking intensely at the ground.
Luciel's face softened and he took a hold of her chin, tilting her head up. MC's eyes shone with unshed tears. "I'm sorry that you're stuck with me, but all I ask is not to be lied to. If you're just not interested, please say it. Don't, don't make me hope for something that can't happen."
"I am interested. From the moment we met."
"That was maybe half an hour ago."
"You're amazing MC. It doesn't take long for a guy to get interested." He caressed her cheek, brushing strands of her hair behind her ear. She took a step back.
"Then why were you leaving like that?"
He gave a sad smile. "It's the other way around. Its not that you aren't good enough, its that I'm not good enough."
"Luciel I get to decide who is good enough for me, not you. I want to get to know you. Today has been the best day of my life. Don't take that away from me. Please," she pleaded with him.
He opened his mouth to give more arguments, predictably about how terrible he was and how she shouldn't get involved with him. MC wasn't going to stand around and keep talking about something that she wouldn't let happen.
Throwing caution to the wind, she grabbed hold of his jacket and forced him to lower his face so it would be right in front of her. Then she kissed him. Hard. For a few moments, he didn't react, but then slowly he began to respond, his hand tangling in her hair. The other hand grasping her waist as he pulled her closer to him.
Feeling brave, she licked his lips asking for permission. It was like he was confused or living in slow motion since it took him awhile to part his lips. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and began to rub her tongue in circles against his. The feeling of perfection hit her and she let out a moan against his lips.
He responded painfully slow, as if he were waiting for her to come to her senses and reject him. But the same exhilaration overtook him. Their grips tightened as they tried to make each other get closer, even as they were pressed up right against each other so he could feel her curves and she could feel the solidness of his body.
Her hand reached into his jacket and trailed it over his shirt-clad abdomen. He groaned, and she felt arousal deep in her gut. He pushed her away from him and she whined in protest.
"No, no we can't. Not right now." He rested his forehead on hers, breathing heavily.
Even as she gasped in breaths to fill her aching lungs, she tried to change his mind but he stilled her hands. "MC, it's not the right time. We don't even know each other yet."
"My soul yearns for you. Like you've been the thing that I've been missing all this time. I don't care."
"I do. If you really are my soulmate and we belong together then give me a chance to make sure of it. Make sure I'm good enough to be with you." He saw her open her mouth to object but he cut her off.
"So, I can feel good enough to be with you."
MC felt the fight drain out of her, "Alright Luciel," reaching her hand into his pocket, ignoring him gasping as her hand felt around, she took his phone out of his pocket.
He cleared his throat, "Uh it's Saeyoung."
She looked up from adding her contact information to his phone, "What are you talking about?"
"My name. I lied. It isn't Luciel or 707 or anything like that. My name is Saeyoung Choi."
MC felt a smile creep on to her lips. "Saeyoung Choi huh? I much prefer kissing him than the angel who became Lucifer." He laughed, at the familiar joke evidently glad she didn't mind he had lied or questioned him about it.
She pressed a couple of buttons on his phone to send herself a text. "There you go," she told him handing his phone back, "now you have my contact information and I have yours. I've got to go back in to work but I get off around six."
He stared at her then immediately checked the time. "It's uh 5:51."
MC smirked, "Saeyoung, could you be asking that I leave work a little early today?"
"No. But I would like to wait for you, if I could?"
"That would be perfect." MC looped her arm in his and dragged him back to the shop. No one cared if she left a couple minutes early, so after filling in the log, changing out of her uniform and grabbing her things she rejoined Saeyoung.
"Mary! I'll be leaving now!"
Her manager, Kyungju waved goodbye at her, winking conspiratorially as she noticed Saeyoug beside her. MC blushed and waved back, nearly running out of the store, Kyungju's laughter ringing out behind her. Saeyoug was laughing as well.
"What now?"
He smiled at her. "Let's have dinner." Beaming at him, she agreed to get something to eat.
"You know, I wasn't planning on getting Elly anything," he began conversationally. She looked at him bewilderedly before recalling Elly was the cat they had searched a present for.
"Then, why did you?"
"I saw your shop and something dragged me there. Maybe there is a connection, but if it weren't for Elly I doubt anything would have helped us connect so soon."
MC laughed and Saeyoung stopped turning to her in confusion. "What's so funny?"
"It's just, I've never really liked cats. They always made me feel terrible. And now? Possibly the best thing in my life is thanks to the existence of a cat."
"That's ironic. But hey, Elly really is lovable." He slid an arm around her shoulders to get them moving again, and her arm automatically goes around his waist so she can steady herself.
"Yeah. I'm sure she is. At the very least, I'll always be thankful to her for you." He smiled at her sweetly and MC felt as if her life was finally beginning. A real life, full of colour and promise.