Lust & Sorrow & Comfort | Jaedotae

四

"I still had a job! I didn't even want to believe it was you yet. So I didn't offer any information to them! I stayed silent. You might think it's selfish but I need a way to support myself too!"

"It's not like I could just stop. I didn't know what you were really doing so I never picked up any of your old files even though I knew exactly where they were."

"Who do you think wiped away the last of your records from N Culture's database?"

"Because we both know it physically couldn't be anyone outside the agency and I was the only person still working there besides Dai that knew what happened."

He scoffed as Sicheng crossed his arms and looked down.

"And I think we know that bastard wouldn't have helped you. Our friendship did mean something. You left and never contacted me."

Sicheng sighed. "Fine. But I had my reasons too believe it or not. I need some time to myself before I talk to you, sorry."

Doyoung smiled sadly. He knew after spending so much time with the younger that pushing him was never the answer. "Sure, that's fine."

The younger quickly picked his basket up and hurried inside the mansion.

Doyoung sighed and walked over to a small fountain and sat down on the ledge, looking at the water.

He heard footsteps and looked up to see Taeyong walking towards him. He gave the elder a small smile as he took a seat next to him.

They stayed silent for a few minutes before Taeyong spoke up.

"Hey."

Doyoung groaned as he looked at the leader apologetically.

"Sorry. I'm already causing trouble in the mafia. I don't want to make things tense."

"It's fine Doyoung, everyone argues now and then. But, I only heard the ending bit. Mind telling me what happened?"

"Only if you're comfortable of course."

Doyoung sighed. "Sure."

"Well, I really didn't want to turn him in. I barely helped with the case. But I felt kind of betrayed you know? Just like him. We made a pact together, more than just taking the mandatory oath when we got into N Culture."

"We promised we'd always use our skills for good. We'd always be on the right side of the law. Kind of like with Yuta too."

Taeyong looked at the younger softly. "Why aren't you mad at Yuta then?" He asked, his tone gentle rather than judgmental.

"I don't know. Maybe because I've known him for a lot longer?"

He sighed and buried his head in his hands.

"He kept in some contact with me after he left, so I had an okay idea. I just, I feel like at that point I was co-dependent on Yuta."

"It's not like he's a bad or manipulative person, because he's amazing. It's just that there's something super safe about him that I still stayed his best friend through all his stupid decisions. I guess this one included."

He paused for a second before continuing.

"But me and Sicheng, we were really just work friends. Don't get me wrong, we were friends, but it wasn't deep enough that I didn't feel betrayed at all."

"When I saw his photo one of our photographers took for the "Nameless Killer" mission, I did a little digging of my own."

"Turns out all of our hardest cases and most expensive missions were his doing. And we never got anywhere in the end. It was frustrating you know?"

Taeyong nodded as he listened to Doyoung vent all of his feelings.

"It was probably revenge for N Culture being responsible for his parents' death, but I just thought he didn't care about me at all anymore. He knows I'm the one who handles those kinds of cases so... yeah."

"Oh god, sorry if I'm ranting." Doyoung mumbled as he blushed and covered his face. The elder chuckled and patted the younger's back.

"It's fine. I like knowing about the people close to me. I think it makes both parties feel better."

Doyoung lifted his head and faced Taeyong.

"But I'm not close to you. I just joined Neo Tech, you shouldn't like me, especially after I just told you about how I didn't acknowledge Sicheng had his own reasons for what he does."

Taeyong shrugged. "Everyone's human. Sicheng shouldn't have yelled at you without listening to you either. And who said we weren't close? You seem like a great person Doyoung."

Doyoung smiled softly and looked down with a small red tint on his cheeks.

"Thanks."

~

Hey guys :) I'm feeling happy today, I won all four of my debate rounds and placed fourth overall! ^-^